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Dame Edna
- You may be looking for Germaine Greer and not even know it!
Dame Edna Everage, more commonly known as Damn Eddie Average was a half-man-half-woman television personality who was dubbed by Queen Elizabeth II in 300BC for being the world's oldest prostitute. She/he was born in Austria and rose to the position of Crown Princess. However, in 1788 she visited neighbouring Hungary and accidently caught a plane back to Australia where she was mistaken for Dame Nellie Melba (mistress of Lord Melbourne and anonymous inventor of the Peach Melba) and hailed as a great music hall entertainer and slut. She was successful in her early years, but now somewhat struggles to find sex with anyone nowadays, which is the reason why no one will ever see anyone that looks like Dame Edna while walking around a mall or park or public toilet. A few elderly men have attempted to have sexual intercourse with her, but ended up having the fright of their lives after she undressed, as she is a woman with a penis, a deformity she shared with her cousin, Dame Margaret Thatcher.
Note that her name should not be confused with Mount Etna. That is the name of a volcano, although the words "Mount Edna" ("Edna begatten") have been on the lips of many of her Austrian countrymen including Adolph Hitler. (Damn! Godwin's Law again!)
Battle Scene[edit]
Dame Edna is most famous for her appearance in the 1700BC war documentary, Lord of the Rings as one of the 124350139426589713650103451634 individuals in this massive army with extra-large elephants.
It is not known why she was there, but according to Damn Edna, it was a war against fags, with all the homosexuals, semi-homosexuals and gay elephants vs the Westboro Baptist Church, all of whom were armed with "God Hates Fags" protest signs. 124350139426589713650103451632 people lost their lives, proving that she's a mighty good fighter and a success at beating people over the head to death with her pet chihuahua. Fred Phelps, however, was the only one other than Edna to still exist, as he was the only one who was inside a forcefield bubble. She later married Mr Barry Humphries, whom she made the world's first ever semi-homosexual man to be successfully married.
Also, in 1957, she dated The Joker for a short period of time, making her the fourth human being to have sexual intercourse with a relative of Ronald McDonald other than Ronald himself - in this case, Ronald's father.
Dame Edna has become famous for turning dancing into something that makes people look predominantly stupid as well as having naturally purple hair, making this one of the two biggest blunders to appear in evolution. The other blunder also belongs to Dame Edna as she's the only woman on the planet with a purple bikini line, which she publicly admitted. Edna isn't famous for anything else, apart from possums filling her front lawn at night, which she repeatedly greeted and became a bad habit (which probably isn't real, but is probably just some strange myth that someone made up for her greeting of "Hello possums!").
Although not officially a member of the royal family, Dame Edna was touted as a successor to Queen Elizabeth II. Despite claiming to be a woman, and holding the title of "Dame", Dame Edna's gender continued to be disputed and may not be crowned Queen. The position for the next monarch is currently also disputed as Elton John is also a likely candidate. Although he is registered as a male, he is hoping to be the next "Queen".
Barry Humphries announced Dame Edna's death in April 2023.
- Australian television presenters
- Australian culture
- Nobility
- Things that may be out to get you
- Hot Babes You Don't Have A Chance With
- Weird People
- Awesome people
- People You Wish You Were
- My kinda people
- Nosy know-it-alls
- Royalty
- Nicest Person Ever
- People you wouldn't piss off
- Crikey!
- Goddesses
- Cross dressers
- Babes
- Better than you
- Highbrow
- People With Talent


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Sheryl Crow -- Questioned By Federal Agents In Lance Armstrong Scandal
Sheryl Crow Questioned By Federal Agents
If federal agents were looking for a smoking gun in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal ... they were hoping it might be Sheryl Crow -- this according to a new report.
The country-singer was called in by federal agents in late 2011 and questioned about any knowledge she might have regarding accusations that Armstrong was using illegal substances ... this according to The New York Daily News.
The move to question Crow makes sense ... she dated Armstrong from 2003 to 2006 (he won 2 Tour de France titles in that time span) -- and spent lots of time with him in Europe, traveling on private jets and in other locations where, according to the report, Armstrong allegedly participated in doping programs.
It's unclear what information Crow gave during her interview ... both the Feds and her attorney declined to comment.
As you know -- the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency recently stripped Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France Titles in late August and banned him from the sport of cycling ... after he dropped his case to fight back against doping allegations.

subset: commoncrawl


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Fishing in Dumfries and Galloway
Fishing is an ancient pastime and one that enjoys a big following in the UK. Great Britain is a maritime country and so its an ideal place for almost any type of fishing. You are never far from a lake, the sea or a river and that means youre also never far from fish! With rivers like the Thames or the Tay, lakes like Menteith or Windermere and plenty of offshore water too, Britain is a fishermans paradise. A wealth of ideal river conditions mean even specialist disciplines like fly fishing are well catered for. Beginners benefit from an array of clubs, organisations and dedicated fishing locations, some complete with loan or hire equipment and skilled instructors. You can easily find residential fishing holidays that will enable you to get away from it all at the end of a rod. Britain is ideal for beach and sea fishing with its miles of coastline and hundreds of harbours and ports. The many beaches often play host to fishermen casting out into the oncoming sea. Piers, jetties and quays can give easy access to deeper waters. A ride out in any decent boat can get you safely to where all the fish are. Anything from cod to crab, whiting to mackerel awaits the fisherman around Britain's coast. Inland, the UK water offers an equally rich catch ranging from pike to salmon, and with an awful lot in between!
- Annandale & Borders Fly Fishing, Annan
- Brighouse Bay Holiday Park and Leisure Club, Borgue
- Broom Fisheries, Annan
- Case Sport, St Johns Town of Dalry
- Dalry Angling Association, St Johns Town of Dalry
- Damsel Fly Fishing, Twynholm
- Forest Enterprise, Newton Stewart
- Fradam Fishery, Gatehouse Of Fleet
- Fred Olsen Sporting Estates, St Johns Town of Dalry
- Kirkchrist Fishings, Kirkcowan
- Kirkcudbright Bay Cruises, Kirkcudbright
- Moffat Fishery, Moffat
- Mossroddick Loch (Trout Fishing), St Johns Town of Dalry
- New Galloway Angling Association, New Galloway
- Newton Stewart Angling Association, Newton Stewart
Other Activities in Dumfries and Galloway
Recommended Books:
Extreme Sports |
Surf UK |
Classic Mountain Scrambles in England... |
Cycling Guide from Lands End to John... |
Brit Quote: |
On this day: |


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Well, this year is surely going to be depressing because the LHC will come to a long halt, after a brief period of shit-on-shit collisions in January and February*. During the next 2 years the machine will undergo necessary
On the other side of the Atlantic two important experiments will kick off in 2013. Between Fermilab and Minnesota, the NOvA neutrino experiment will carry the first attack on the CP violating phase in the neutrino mixing matrix. Over in South Dakota, the LUX dark matter experiment will join Xenon100 on the frontier of WIMP detection. However, neither of the above is likely to deliver anything groundbreaking as early as this year.
What else? When times are tough we turn our eyes to heaven. The Planck satellite, that has performed precise measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background, will release the cosmological results in March. Disappointingly, the release will not include the CMB polarization data, which are supposed the meat of the whole mission. Nevertheless, the new CMB temperature maps should give us a better grip on cosmological parameters and improve on what we learnt from WMAP. Elsewhere in the sky the AMS-02 experiment, glued to the International Space Station since 1 and half year now, is supposed to release first results this year. Although we don't expect anything spectacular, a confirmation of the positron excess claimed a few years ago by the PAMELA satellite would already be something. Back to the Earth, an upgraded version of the HESS gamma-ray telescope has been operating in Namibia since last summer. The previous HESS data has been used to put limits on the monochromatic gamma-ray emission from the galactic center at very high energies, 0.5-25 TeV. According to some reports, HESS-II should be able to go down in energy and quickly refute the presence of the line at 135 GeV that seems to be present in the data from the Fermi gamma-ray satellite.
So, the new year holds some promises, although it's unlikely to match the fabulous 2012. Actually, I'm already worried about 2014, when there'll be so little new data. Most likely, Résonaances will then have to turn into a tabloid blog publishing topless pictures of physicists on Caribbean beaches. But let's not think about that for a moment, and let's enjoy 2013 with the avalanche of LHC data soon to be released.
*) As correctly pointed out by a commenter, this year we'll have proton-on-shit rather than shit-on-shit collisions. Apologies for the inaccuracy.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government ran a lower deficit this July than a year ago, keeping it on course to record the lowest deficit in six years.
The July deficit was $94.6 billion, an improvement of 3.1 percent from a year ago, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday in its monthly budget statement.
For the first 10 months of this budget year, the deficit totals $460.5 billion, down 24.2 percent from the same period a year ago.
The Congressional Budget Office expects this year's deficit to total around $500 billion, down from $680.2 billion last year. That would be the lowest deficit since an imbalance of $458.6 billion in 2008, which was a record at the time. The Great Recession and efforts to deal with the financial crisis sent deficits above $1 trillion for four straight years.
The July imbalance followed a $70.5 billion surplus in June, a month when government coffers are swelled by quarterly tax payments. But without the quarterly payments, the government ran a deficit in July, a month when it has recorded deficits in 58 of the last 60 years.
The yearly deficit peaked at $1.4 trillion in 2009 and remained above $1 trillion for each of the next three years, finally falling to $680.2 billion last year.
CBO projects the deficit will fall to $469 billion in 2015 before starting to rise again, topping $1 trillion annually starting in 2023. Spending on the government's major benefit programs, including Social Security and Medicare, will drive those increases as more baby boomers retire.
For the first 10 months of the current budget year, which began in October, government revenue totals $2.47 trillion, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago, reflecting a stronger economy which has boosted employment and led to rising income tax revenues and higher corporate tax payments.
With two months left in the current budget year, government spending is up 1.2 percent to $2.93 trillion, compared to a year ago, reflecting government efforts to restrain outlays in an effort to get control of the budget deficits.
Republicans have accused President Barack Obama of failing to propose significant cuts to reduce soaring entitlement costs. Democrats counter that Republicans would rather impose sharp cuts on needed government programs than impose higher taxes on the wealthy.
Neither side is expected to make major concessions in this congressional election year. But the budget wars of the past three years have subsided at least for a brief time. An agreement was reached in December on the broad outlines for spending over the next two years. The agreement will allow Washington to avoid the gridlock that culminated in October's 16-day partial shutdown of the government.
The budget cease-fire also includes legislation that suspended the government's borrowing limit through March 15 of next year. That puts off another battle over raising the debt ceiling until a new Congress takes office in January.


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Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®
Testosterone transdermal patch is used for the treatment of males whose bodies do not make enough natural testosterone, a condition called hypogonadism. Testosterone is a male hormone responsible for the growth and development of the male sex organs and maintenance of secondary sex characteristics.
This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.
This product is available in the following dosage forms:
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered:
Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.
Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of testosterone transdermal patch in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established.
Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of testosterone transdermal patch in the geriatric population. However, elderly patients may be at an increased risk for developing prostate problems, including prostate cancer, which may require caution in patients receiving testosterone transdermal patch.
Studies in women breastfeeding have demonstrated harmful infant effects. An alternative to this medication should be prescribed or you should stop breastfeeding while using this medicine.
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.
The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
Your doctor will test the testosterone levels in your blood before you start and while you are using this medicine.
This medicine comes with a patient information leaflet. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.
Testosterone skin patch comes in two different doses and different patch sizes. Ask your doctor which is the right one for you.
Make sure that you wash your hands with soap and water before and after applying the patch.
For patients using the patch:
The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.
If you forget to wear or change a patch, put one on as soon as you can. If it is almost time to put on your next patch, wait until then to apply a new patch and skip the one you missed. Do not apply extra patches to make up for a missed dose.
Store the patches at room temperature in a closed container, away from heat, moisture, and direct light.
Keep out of the reach of children.
Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed.
Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.
Keep the medicine in a safe place. Do not give it to anyone else, even if you have the same symptoms.
It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and check for any problems or unwanted effects that may be caused by this medicine. Blood tests will be needed to check for unwanted effects.
This medicine should not be used by women who are pregnant or might become pregnant. Testosterone may cause birth defects if a pregnant woman comes in contact with the patch or medicine. Make sure your doctor knows if your sexual partner is pregnant. If a pregnancy occurs while you are using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.
If a woman comes in contact with the patch, wash the skin area right away with soap and water to remove all the medicine. If the patch sticks to a woman, remove the patch right away and wash her skin thoroughly with soap and water.
If your female partner starts to have male-like changes such as unusual hair growth or increased acne, check with your doctor.
This medicine may be habit-forming. If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose. Call your doctor for instructions.
This medicine may increase the risk of prostate cancer, especially in older men. Make sure your doctor knows if you have prostate cancer, or if anyone in your family has prostate cancer.
This medicine may cause blood clotting problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have pain, redness, or swelling in the arm or leg, shortness of breath, sharp pains in the chest, or trouble breathing.
This medicine may increase your risk of having heart or blood vessel problems, including a heart attack or stroke. Tell your doctor right away if you have chest pain that may spread to your arms, jaw, back, or neck, faintness, headache, nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, trouble seeing or speaking, or unusual sweating.
In some cases, this medicine may decrease the amount of sperm men make and affect their ability to have children. If you plan to have children, talk with your doctor before using this medicine.
Tell your doctor if you experience too frequent erection of the penis, nausea, vomiting, yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes, or swelling of the ankle.
This medicine may cause swelling of the breasts (gynecomastia) and breast pain in some patients. If you have questions about this, talk to your doctor.
This medicine may cause changes in the level of cholesterol and fats in your blood. If this condition occurs, your doctor may give you a medicine to adjust the cholesterol and fats. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
This medicine contains aluminum that may cause skin burns at the patch site if you have a procedure called a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan while you are wearing the patch. You must remove the patch before your MRI to prevent skin burns.
Check with your doctor immediately if mild, burn-like skin blisters, redness, itching, or swelling occurs at the site of application during or after treatment.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.
Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:
Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/testosterone-transdermal-route/description/drg-20068985


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Terms of Reference
The OCUL Digital Curation Community will bring together OCUL members who have roles in supporting preservation and access to digitized and born digital materials. The scope of this conversation is envisioned as encompassing the full digital curation lifecycle: including digital object creation/digitization, preservation, and the facilitation of access.
The impetus for the OCUL Digital Curation Community comes from the OCUL Digital Curation Summit at York University in May, 2013. There was a clear desire among summit participants for opportunities to share knowledge, experience, work being done at our institutions, and occasions for collaboration. As such, this will be the initial focus of the community. It is also anticipated that the community will serve as a sounding board for issues around digital curation, and provide advice for curation focused activities within OCUL.
As digital curation activities are core to the OCUL mission, this is envisioned as an ongoing community.
Membership to the OCUL Digital Curation Community is open to all OCUL member institutions. Community membership is at the discretion of each institution and may include more than one person from an institution.
For more information or to become involved contact Community Moderator: Steve MarksBridget Whittle, Digital Preservation Archives Librarian, McMaster University of Toronto (steve.marks AT utoronto(whittle AT mcmaster.ca).
Note: Any documents that are posted in a members-only area of the OCUL website or SPOT-Docs wiki *shouldn't* be re-posted in this wiki space.
Members List
Activity Plan
- Work with OCUL membership on opportunities for training in digital curation and preservation. These could be programs led by people in OCUL libraries or by other experts on a particular topic. Areas such as digital forensics and data curation, for example, are taking on importance in digital preservation work; few OCUL institutions have expertise in this area, and arranging training for a single institution may be cost prohibitive.
- Work with OCUL membership on opportunities for shared infrastructure (e.g, platforms and tools such as Islandora, Hydra, Archivematica or methods for cross-institution discovery of digital content). Where support for shared infrastructure is identified, serve as point of contact with OCUL Standing Committees around proposal/implementation details.)
- Work with OCUL membership on consortially negotiated support for digitization of complex formats (e.g., audiovisual recordings, and maps). These formats generally require specialized equipment not found in OCUL institutions. Where support for shared infrastructure is identified, serve as a point of contact with OCUL Standing Committees.
- Hold a reoccurring event focused on digitization and digital curation to provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experience, and to network with colleagues across institutions. This could be a broad, summit-type event, and/or a day focused on a specific topic.
Work Plans
- 2013-2014
- 2014-2015
Meetings and Meet-ups
Information about upcoming and past Community meetings and events
- OCUL Digital Curation Summit, May 28 and 29, York University
- Meeting Agenda and Notes
Who is Digitizing What? - Help reduce duplication of effort and coordinate digitization of fragmented collections
Who's Got What Gear? - Help institutions with hardware needs find institutions who have a piece of said hardware.
Tool Shed - What institutions have evaluated/tried/used what software tools and what did they think of them?
Magical Ghost - OCUL has contacted these institutions on behalf of the archival community. If you want to get in touch with them to get best practice, use equipment, or maybe you have a collection they might be interested in, you can get in touch!
Digitization Dreams! - What would you love to digitize at your organization.
Mailing List
To subscribe please email the Community Moderator or email@example.com.
Policies, procedures, and best practices documents
Digital Curation Bibliography
Member List
Recent space activity
Recently Updated | ||||||||
Space contributors
Contributors | ||||||||||


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Mega Millions winner in South Carolina to share record jackpot with charities
A South Carolina woman who won $878 million in the biggest Mega Millions jackpot payout to one winner in U.S. history wants to share her windfall with the city and state where her good fortune happened. She wishes to remain anonymous because she wants to "live a life of relative normalcy, free of fear," she said in a statement issued Thursday by her lawyer, Jason Kurland.
The statement answers some questions about the winner after the South Carolina lottery announced the winning ticket was claimed 10 days ago. CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reported the South Carolinian was visiting the Greenville area in late October when signs advertising the billion-dollar jackpot at the KC Mart in Simpsonville caught her eye.
"She decided to take a chance and purchase a ticket, never once thinking she had the slightest chance to win. After checking her ticket the morning after the drawing, she was in complete shock and disbelief. She stared motionless at the ticket for what felt like hours, then came the jumping and screams of joy," Kurland wrote in his statement.
An earlier statement from the lottery said the woman had the lottery computer pick her numbers and let someone go in front of her in line to buy their tickets.
The woman wouldn't officially claim the winning ticket for 131 days. She took her time researching lawyers and financial planners who could help her stay anonymous and manage her newfound wealth, her statement said.
The jackpot for the Oct. 23 drawing was $1.5 billion if the winner took payments over 30 years. Instead, she chose the lump sum of $878 million.
It was South Carolina's first Mega Millions jackpot, WCSC-TV reported.
The winner has already donated money to several charities, including the City of Simpsonville Art Center; the One SC Fund for hurricane relief; the Ronald McDonald House in Columbia; In The Middle, a charity in Columbia helping women undergoing breast cancer treatment; and the Red Cross relief fund for victims of the recent Alabama tornadoes, according to the statement, which didn't say how much she was donating.
"I do realize that such good fortune carries a tremendous social responsibility, and it gives me a unique opportunity to assist, support and contribute to charities and causes that are close to my heart," the winner said.
The owner of the KC Mart is also a winner, getting a $50,000 bonus after the winning ticket was claimed. And every income taxpayer in South Carolina may also end up winning. The state's budget plan that just passed the House offers a $50 rebate check to every taxpayer symbolically linked to the estimated $61 million in state income taxes the winner will pay on the jackpot.
for more features.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
The City of Citrus Heights has 2 specific plan areas and 1 overlay zoning area. These planning areas allow special development standards to a particular geographical area.
The newest specific plan area is called the Boulevard Plan and it regulates the development between the Old Auburn and Auburn intersection north to Interstate 80.
The other large specific plan area in Citrus Heights is called Stock Ranch. The Stock Ranch area is approximately 129 acres and allows a mix of commercial and residential uses combined with open space.
The other planning tool used within Citrus Heights is called the Corridor Overlay. The Corridor Overlay areas provide opportunity for a mix of low-intensity nonresidential land uses in certain residential sections along sections of major corridors throughout the city.


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7 Jobs that Require Great Credit
You've shined your shoes, know where you see yourself in five years and boned up on the firm's bigwigs. Before applying for that dream -- or even interim -- job, you may want to pull your credit report and deal with any problems first.
Nearly half of all companies check an applicant's credit report prior to a hiring decision, according to a 2012 report by the Society for Human Resource Management. While some only give the reports a cursory glance, certain industries are especially discerning about what's listed. If your file indicates that you've had money troubles, you may score the interview, but not the position. To date, only 10 states limit an employers' use of credit information in employment decisions.
Here are seven jobs for which checking your credit report is de rigueur.
1. Parking booth operator. As long as it involves financial dealings, no job is too small for a credit check, says Steven Kane, a human resources expert and former associate general counsel for labor and employment law at Baxter international, a Fortune 500 global medical services and manufacturing company.
Even if you're considering such casual work at a car park, your credit report should be clean. "The parking booth where they take in money all day long is a good example," says Kane, who is also board president of the Oakland Zoo in Oakland, Calif., where they also check reports on potential employees. "If someone has a bankruptcy, that's something we'd look into and question. If it's a mortgage issue and there was a foreclosure, late payments or extremely high debt, that would also be a red flag." When you handle hundreds of dollars in cash each day, a report that shows you're trustworthy is important.
2. The military. So you want to do your civic duty by joining the armed forces? Fantastic. Unless, that is, you have a credit report that has collection accounts, unpaid loans or bankruptcies on it. Those black marks will affect your security clearance, which is an inquiry that focuses on your character and conduct. Financial responsibility is one of the key factors it gauges.
Each branch of the military has its specific credit requirements. The Air Force, for instance, will reject you if your monthly consumer debt exceeds 40 percent of the anticipated pay. Bad checks, repossessions, canceled or suspended charge accounts or indebtedness exceeding half the annual salary of your future pay grade will sink your chances in the Navy.
3. Accounting. Whether your goal is to become a CPA, auditor or other professional who balances books, it only makes sense that your own record should be above reproach. Since you'll have access to individual or company private data, a credit report that indicates indiscretions will be flagged.
Attorney Don Phin, president of the human resources company HR that Works, says late payments and bankruptcies will be a major barrier to employment in this field. "No one will hire you if you have them," says Phin. "You're viewed as risky. They may not take the time to find out what happened."
4. Mortgage loan originator. Securing loans for homebuyers can be a highly rewarding occupation. But a mortgage loan originator requires a license, and according to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, the way you've borrowed and repaid your personal debts is a factor in approval. Each state regulator independently reviews the credit information of mortgage loan originators in their jurisdiction, and your license may be rejected or revoked if your credit is damaged. As per their resource center, mortgage loan officers need to have "demonstrated financial responsibility, character, and general fitness such as to command the confidence of the community and to warrant a determination that applicants will operate honestly, fairly, and effectively."
The impetus for the high standard? Tony Deblauwe, founder of HR4Change, and author of "Tangling with Tyrants: Managing the Balance of Power at Work," cites the subprime mortgage debacle of 2008, when some in the industry were overstating incomes to get people loans they didn't qualify for. Today, banks are more selective with their employees, paying close attention to their financial management. "I don't think there's a bank or lender today that would knowingly hire someone who has a poor credit history," says Deblauwe.
5. Transportation Security Administration. Walk through this credit check slowly: The TSA expects its employees to possess stellar credit. As per its job application form, the administration is "very serious about the reliability and trustworthiness of individuals hired into the agency." You'll be turned down if you have cumulative delinquent debt of more than $7,500 and any amount of unpaid federal or state tax liens, delinquent child support, unsatisfied court judgments or delinquent student loans.
6. Law enforcement. Picture this: You're about to arrest a crook, when suddenly he whips out not a gun, but a wad of cash as incentive to let him run free. Do you take it? If you have overwhelming debts, you might hesitate. Therefore, a credit report that shows you're consistently behind on bills or maintain massive balances makes you appear risky to the department, says Richard Weinblatt (aka "The Cop Doc"), who is also dean of the School of Public and Social Services at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis.
"If someone is under financial pressure, they are more open to bribes," says Weinblatt. "The other thing we look for is people who have patterns of responsibility -- or irresponsibility. A one-time blip on a credit report is not a problem. But consistently not meeting your debts? That is a problem."
7. Temporary service positions. Hold on to your resume if you're trying to get by with a temporary position. A placement agency may not just hire you, but fire you if your credit report isn't up to snuff. Pre-employment screening is the norm and, when not disallowed by law, credit report reviews are standard procedure. According to the Robert Half Professional Staffing Services' document, "What You Should Know about Background Checks," they're conducted "to get a sense of whether a candidate is responsible with money or has financial difficulties that could affect his or her job performance."
There are a few reasons temp agencies look for a blemish-free report, says Deblauwe: "They take a risk by putting you in the position where there could be a security breach. Also, a good percentage of temps turn into permanent employees, so if everything is perfect and nice going in, there's less trouble in the future." It gives the agency flexibility with assignments, too. You may be working where excellent credit is not needed one week, but is the next.
Where might job seekers not experience discrimination for poor credit? Serving as a U.S. politician, apparently. As a society, Americans may be becoming more sympathetic to others who have money woes, and so can be surprisingly forgiving. As for what's on the credit reports, well, that's not public information. So while you may need to fix financial indiscretions before a job search, a mayor, senator and even the president is safe from the same scrutiny.
See related: How bad credit can affect your job search, 6 myths about credit report checks by employers


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Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets
Pretty specific name for a post, right? That's because I am a newcomer to the Cornas appellation. I have tasted a grand total of two Cornas wines, and the first was about four years ago and I don't remember the producer. This post is not about Cornas, or this specific producer. It is about my experiences tasting this one wine, the 1999 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas les Ruchets, $58 (but I bought mine on Wine Commune for $32).


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In this section
Micrognathia and Pierre Robin sequence
What is Micrognathia and Pierre Robin sequence?
Micrognathia is a smaller than normal jaw, often the lower jaw or chin. Micrognathia may be part of a syndrome, which is a condition where more than one body system is involved. A syndrome may be inherited (passed down from the parents) or come about spontaneously.
Pierre Robin (Pee-air; Ro-ban) sequence refers to a combination of small jaw, a normal tongue that is crowded at the back of the throat and difficulty with breathing. Sometimes there is a wide cleft palate (hole in the roof of the mouth). It is not clear why this occurs, but it may happen because of some problem with development early in pregnancy.
There are several reasons why the jawbone may not develop normally:
- Positional deformation (the chin is pressed against the chest of the baby)
- Intrinsic hypoplasia (restricted growth)
- Neurologic or neuromuscular problems (reduced movement related to muscle or nerve involvement)
- Connective tissue disorder (reduced movement related to connective tissue problems of the jaw)
The most important issue is that the airway may be blocked. Sometimes it is difficult to appreciate it in the early days after birth, and the struggle with breathing becomes more apparent a few days or weeks later. These babies often have difficulty gaining weight because they are using so much energy just to breath.
There are mild cases and severe cases. In mild cases, the airway may be improved by placing the baby on his or her stomach, and having gravity move the tongue a little forward. Even a small amount often helps. In more severe cases, a number of tests can be employed to help understand the severity of the problem, and make sure there are no other issues in the airway. Ultimately, some children may require surgery, including tongue-lip adhesion, mandibular distraction or tracheostomy. In every case, the child requires intensive care until the full extent of the problem is understood.
How common is Pierre Robin sequence, and what causes it?
Pierre Robin occurs in about 1 per 8,500 live births. It occurs equally in males and females. We usually can not know the cause of Pierre Robin sequence, but we do know it is not caused by anything the mother did or did not do during pregnancy.
Prenatal diagnosis of Pierre Robin sequence
Doctors may see a small chin on a profile view of the face during a routine ultrasound. If your doctor suspects this, he or she will pay particular attention to the growth of the chin throughout the remainder of the pregnancy.
When a smaller chin is noted, because of the increased likelihood of other birth defects, your doctor likely will refer you to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist (a doctor who is specially trained to manage high-risk pregnancies). This doctor will perform a more detailed ultrasound to look closely at your baby for other birth defects. Some doctors also may want to do an MRI at some time during the pregnancy to examine your baby's palate.
How does Pierre Robin sequence affect my pregnancy?
If your doctor suspects a problem with your baby, he or she will likely refer you to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. The maternal-fetal medicine specialist may recommend additional tests:
Targeted ultrasound: The doctor will perform a targeted ultrasound to evaluate your baby for any other problems, paying special attention to the heart and skeleton.
Amniocentesis: When micrognathia is suspected before your baby is born, we may recommended evaluation of the chromosomes. This is done with a genetic test called an amniocentesis. The doctor will discuss risks and benefits of this test with you before it is done.
Fetal echocardiogram: Because of an increased risk of heart disorders seen with micrognathia, your doctor may recommend a fetal echocardiogram. The echocardiogram is an ultrasound that looks at the heart's anatomy, blood flow and circulation. A pediatric cardiologist would perform this test before your baby is born and maybe again after birth to confirm what they suspect initially on prenatal views.
How does Pierre Robin sequence affect my baby?
A baby who has been diagnosed before birth with micrognathia should be delivered at a tertiary care center because of possible difficulties with breathing at birth. A neonatologist or a pediatric anesthesiologist should be available to assist in the resuscitation efforts in the delivery room.
Often, positioning and/or a nasal airway are enough to keep your baby's airway open, but a tube may need to be inserted to help your baby breathe. Putting in a tube for a baby with micrognathia can be difficult because of the altered anatomy.
Even more rarely, a tracheostomy tube may need to be placed in the delivery room because the baby's anatomy does not provide an adequate airway. A tracheostomy is a surgery that creates an airway through the front of the neck.
Delivering your baby
If there are concerns about your baby's airway, plans may be made for you to deliver your baby in a Children's Wisconsin operating room with a pediatric ear, nose and throat doctor available to help with the airway. The delivery rooms at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital Campus are located within Children's Wisconsin, which makes access to the doctors needed to care for your baby very easy. The delivery rooms are just an elevator ride away from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where your baby will be treated.
What are the biggest concerns for my baby after birth?
The two biggest issues for babies with Pierre Robin sequence are breathing and feeding issues.
Breathing issues: Babies with a small jaw and tongue that are pushed back may have difficulty breathing. If your baby has difficulty breathing, you may meet a team of specialists that includes:
- An ear, nose and throat doctor
- A craniofacial/plastic surgeon
- A pulmonologist (a lung and breathing specialist)
Possible treatment procedures
Your team may recommend different positions to help your baby's breathing. These positions, such as sleeping on the stomach, will be tried under safe monitoring. Another way to keep the airway open is with a special device placed in your baby's mouth on top of the tongue to hold it in place and keep it from blocking the airway while he or she sleeps
Also, your baby can be evaluated to see if one of three procedures may be needed:
- Tongue-lip adhesion
- Mandibular distraction
- Tracheostomy (if the first two procedures don't work)
Tongue-lip adhesion involves sewing the tongue to the lower jaw to make it more difficult to block the airway, especially the nasal passage.
Mandibular distraction can help the lower jawbone to grow. This is a surgical procedure in which a special appliance is inserted to literally stretch the jawbone over a number of days to weeks. A metal device is placed into the bone and extensions on the outside allow for daily stretching of the bone and soft tissue. The part of the device that extends out to the skin has a piece that may be turned with a key. This will allow the piece of the device in the bone to stretch the bone and tissue in the jaw. By using this device, no bone grafts are needed and doctors may be able to avoid a tracheostomy.
If a distraction device is used, care of the site will be reviewed with you as well as signs and symptoms of complications and device malfunction. The site needs to be kept clean and dry for healing and to prevent infection.
A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure that places a hollow tube into the windpipe to create an airway. The tube is placed in the lower middle portion of the neck. The baby will breathe through this tube.
After a tracheostomy, babies will have more secretions because of the surgery and the tube that is in the airway. Frequent suctioning may be necessary.
Oxygen can be provided through the new tracheotomy tube. The air should be humidified to keep the secretions loose. If the mucous is too thick, it can form a plug that may block the tube. This is life threatening. The tube is left in place for five to seven days to allow for healing. Then, the tube will be changed and can be switched to a metal tube with an inner cannula. This inner cannula can be removed and cleaned periodically, which helps keep the tube clear of secretions and maintain the airway. The surgical opening needs to be kept as clean and dry as possible to ensure that the site does not become infected. If the plan is for your baby to go home with a tracheostomy, the home care teaching will begin right away. You also will need to begin to prepare your home with the equipment necessary to care for your baby. Before your baby goes home, you will learn about all equipment, emergency procedures and daily care.
Concerns about feeding
Feeding is the second major issue with these babies. The cleft palate, in combination with the small tongue, prevents a baby from developing effective suction. This makes it hard for them to take in enough calories to grow. It also means breastfeeding may be unsuccessful. Breast milk or formula can be placed in a bottle to be given to the baby. It is a matter of trial and error to find out which nipple, hole size in the nipple and feeding position works best for your baby.
When feeding, positioning the baby sitting and tipped slightly forward can help keep the tongue out of the way. However, it is sometimes very difficult to keep the tongue down to get the bottle nipple in the mouth. Sometimes, a feeding tube placed into the stomach is needed to ensure that the baby gets enough food. The placement of this gastrostomy tube is done in surgery. The tube is placed directly into the stomach through a small hole made in the abdomen.
If a gastrostomy tube is necessary, the surgical site must be kept clean and dry to help healing and to prevent infection. Before we begin feedings through the tube, we give the gastrointestinal tract time to recover from surgery. We will teach you how to care for the tube and insertion site (also called a stoma) and how to feed your baby through this tube before he or she goes home.
Will I be able to help care for my baby after surgery?
Yes. Please ask your baby's nurse about ways to interact with and care for your baby.
If you had planned to breastfeed your baby, you can begin to pump breast milk while you are still in the hospital. A lactation consultant can assist in answering your questions. Your milk will be frozen and stored in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit until your baby is ready for it. The NICU has breast pumps and private rooms available to you when you are visiting.
When can my baby go home?
Your baby will go home when he or she is able to keep his or her airway open and eat enough to grow and gain weight. It's hard to predict the length of stay for these babies because of the wide variation in the type of interventions that may be needed.
Many babies with this condition will go home with a variety of equipment, including an apnea monitor. As the parent, part of the discharge planning involves learning all you need to know to care for your baby at home.
If your baby needs surgery, he or she will need time to recover and learn to eat enough to grow. Expect a minimum of 1 to 2 weeks for those minimally affected and 4 to 6 weeks for those who require a gastrostomy tube and/or tracheostomy. The length of stay can also be affected by associated anomalies.
What should I expect long-term?
The survival rate of a child born with Pierre Robin sequence that does not have other problems is high. The most likely cause of death for these children is related to a blocked airway and/or aspiration. The mandible usually has grown sufficiently by 6 to 18 months of age, whether distraction is used or not, so that the airway problem is not as critical of an issue. Distraction may be used later in some children to help make up for ongoing slow growth.
The other complications are related to surgery (cleft palate repair, mandibular distraction, gastrostomy or tracheostomy). The incidence of fatal complications related to surgery are extremely rare. Babies with a tracheostomy have a higher death rate than others, but this may be due to other complex health issues.
Because Pierre Robin sequence is often a cleft-related disorder, these children require cleft palate repair by a craniofacial surgeon around the time of the first birthday. Also, because of the cleft palate, they are much more prone to fluid buildup behind the eardrum, which can affect hearing. This fluid buildup can lead to ear infections. Therefore, these children need long-term follow-up with ear, nose and throat specialists and an audiologist. The audiologist specializes in testing the hearing of infants and children.
The cleft palate can cause problems with speech. Children with a cleft palate also need follow-up with a speech pathologist and may require speech therapy.
We will refer you to a geneticist, which is a specialist who takes care of children with syndromes and genetic problems. Pierre Robin sequence can be part of a more complex syndrome. If we discover that your baby has a syndrome, there is an increased risk of future children being affected. Some syndromes also need follow-up by other specialists, including an ophthalmologist for vision issues.
Learn more about services at Children's Wisconsin:
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Research and outcomes
Our outcomes reports help families and partner providers make the most informed healthcare decisions. Learn more about our surgical outcomes and current research studies.


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By: Herman Rosenthal
Court physician to King Sigismund I. of Poland; son of Abraham of Jerusalem; died at Kazimierz, a suburb of Cracow, about 1510. He was recommended in 1504 to King Alexander Jagellons by Archbishop Andreas of Gnesen, whose court physician he had been. On the archbishop's recommendation, the king permitted Isaac to purchase from the heirs of Frederick of Olmütz, formerly surgeon to King John Albert, the right to the taxes of the Jews of Cracow, which amounted to one hundred Hungarian florins per annum. For this privilege Isaac paid the heirs the sum of three hundred florins. In order to disprove the taunts of the Jews of Kazimierz, who had ascribed to him a humble origin, Isaac persuaded two Polish noblemen, Jacob Wagorzowski and Thomas Czarnycki, who were setting out to visit the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem, to secure his pedigree ("yiḥus") from his sister Sarah, resident in that city, as written evidence of his descent from a family of undoubted antiquity. His friends accordingly returned to Isaac with the required documents. King Sigismund evinced great interest in the matter, as appears from a decree dated Cracow, May 12, 1507, embodying the facts in regard to Isaac's lineage. Isaac's difficulties with the Jewish community continued nevertheless, as is evidenced by a second decree, dated June 14, 1509, affirming the fact that the taxes of the Jews of Cracow had been made payable to the "king's physician, the Spanish Jew Dr. Isaac, during his life."
Isaac must have died before June, 1510, as by a decree dated June 18 in that year it appears that, as a reward for Isaac's services, the king granted the Jewess Barsaba (Isaac's widow), together with her children, all the privileges which had been enjoyed by her husband. Whether Isaac was a Sephardic Jew from Palestine or a Spanish exile is difficult to determine. The Russian historian Bershadski, referring to the Polish sobriquet "Jerosolimska Schlachta" (noblemen of Jerusalem), declares it as his belief that the term arose out of Isaac's efforts to establish his noble birth.
- Metrika Koronnaya, 1504, No. 21, fol. 95, v..; No. 21, fol. 116, v.; ib. 1505-06. No. 22, fol. 149, v.; ib. 1508, No. 24, fol. 124, v.; No. 24, fol. 283 (published in Russko-Yevreiski Arkhiv, vol. iii., St. Petersburg, 1903);
- Bershadski, in Voskhod, 1893, i. 79 (with errors in dates).


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Story highlights
Thailand's southern insurgency has dragged on for almost a decade
About 5,300 people have been killed and more than 9,000 injured
Muslim separatists are calling for an independent state
Human rights groups say radical militants now dominate the insurgency
Thailand's festering southern insurgency has come a long way since the early 2000s when ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed the insurgents as mere "sparrow bandits."
Initially unwilling to take seriously what could emerge as a threat to Thai national integrity, Bangkok has over the past decade attempted to paint its restive southern Muslim states as suffering from little more than a small-scale insurgency led by shadowy groups with nebulous demands.
In the light of the last week's brazen attack in southern Thailand in which 16 militants were killed in an hour-long firefight at a naval base, analysts say that argument is looking increasingly threadbare.
Well-armed, motivated and increasingly audacious, the Muslim insurgency in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Songkhla has emerged with a clear goal: the creation of a separate Muslim state for the region's 1.8 million Muslim ethnic Malays.
The insurgency has so far claimed more than 5,300 lives and left more than 9,000 injured in nine years of escalating attacks that have included drive-by shootings, bomb blasts and beheadings, according to Deep South Watch, an non-government that monitors the conflict in the southern provinces.
"We are seeing a greater radicalization of the insurgency," said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand at Human Rights Watch (HRW). "They don't want the presence of anyone in the region apart from ethnic Malays and this they've made clear with public announcements."
The Pattani Independence Fighters (Pejuang Kemerdekaan Pattani) come under the umbrella of the BRN-Coordinate (National Revolution Front-Coordinate) – a group that combines ethnic Malay nationalism and Islamist ideologies in equal measure. Their aim is to create an independent state called Pattani Darulsalam (Islamic Land of Pattani) using violence and terror to oppose what they claim is a Thai Buddhist occupation.
The Thai government has sent more than 150,000 soldiers to the region to protect it from an estimated 3,000 to 9,000 rebel (or juwae as they are called locally) fighters, according to estimates from human rights groups.
While government statistics put Thai Buddhists at just 6% of the region's population, Muslims complain they dominate the region. Education, in particular, has been one of the fault lines in the conflict, with hard line Muslims viewing the school system as a tool of Thai colonialism.
Human Rights Watch say 157 teachers have been killed since 2004.
The southern provinces were once part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until they were annexed by Thailand – then called Siam – in 1909.
While calls for secession have simmered since then, an insurgent raid to steal weapons from an army camp in January, 2004, led to a crackdown by the Thai military, which sparked the modern insurgency.
Later that year, the Thai military opened fire on protesters at Tak Bai in Pattani, killing seven people. Almost 1,300 protesters were detained at the scene, stripped and some of them tortured, while others were transported to Inkayut Military Camp in the province – a journey of five hours. Detainees were stacked into military vans so tightly that 78 people died of suffocation en route.
The government has since tried to reverse its heavy handed policy in the region, using instead a heart-and-minds campaign to pacify the provinces.
According to Lt. General Ditthaporn Sasasmit of the Internal Security Operations Command, the operation has been a success.
"If we compare it to nine years ago, the situation was very bad," he told CNN. "Every time officers tried to round up or search suspect targets, we received strong resistance from locals.
"Now we have prevented many attacks thanks to information given out by local residents - a good example is the latest military base attack; insurgents lost a lot of lives."
Despite this, non-government agencies say there is unlikely to be peace in the region in the near-term. According to Phasuk, the 2004 Tak Bai incident marked a turning point in the insurgency, radicalizing a younger generation.
"The commander in this latest attack was a survivor of the Tak Bai incident," Phasuk said, referring to the failed attack on a Thai military camp in Narathiwat province on February 13 that left insurgent commander Maroso Chantrawadee and 15 other militants dead.
"What we are seeing is a transfer of power within the insurgency from an older generation, which favors negotiation, to a younger radicalized generation who see negotiation as an act of betrayal to the ideology of separatism," he said. "There is now a split in the leadership."
The Tak Bai incident, viewed by many as a strategic blunder on the part of the Thai military, has been instrumental in turning "unarmed sympathizers into brutal insurgents," Phasuk said.
"This man (Chantrawadee) survived torture at Tak Bai and many of the new generation of commanders also survived Tak Bai."
Certainly if leaflets found in Narathiwat's Bacho district on February 14, the day following last week's attack, are anything to go by, the insurgency is showing no signs of easing.
"We will retaliate in every way for our losses. … From now on, we will attack and kill Buddhist Thai teachers and Buddhist Thai people. We will attack Buddhist Thai community…One Muslim life must be repaid with 10 Buddhist Thai lives," reads the leaflets according to HRW.
One of the features of the campaign, which has had a marked escalation since last March, is that insurgents have shown little regard for Muslims that they see as collaborating with Thai authorities.
Everyone from imams to Muslim rubber farmers has been targeted by death squads and bombs detonated in Thai ethnic areas have indiscriminately claimed Muslim lives.
"The new radical leadership has no problems with collateral victims in its campaign. Their attitude is that Muslims should not be living next to ethnic Thais anyway," Phasuk said.
Amnesty International's latest report on the armed conflict called on insurgents to halt the campaign of targeting civilians.
"The insurgents seem to be attacking many of the very people on whose behalf they are ostensibly fighting, destroying their lives and livelihoods," said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, at the 2011 release of the report.
"Whatever their grievances, they do not justify this serious and systematic violation of international law."
Human Rights Watch said that while insurgents use human rights abuses by the Thai military as an excuse for its reprisals, Bangkok – where the government has a long tradition of drawing its legitimacy through the army – needed the political courage to hold the military accountable.
"If this had happened, it may have slowed down radicalization," Phasuk said.


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The Cleveland Show is about to get really secretive.
On the Fox animated comedy's Season 4 premiere (Sunday, Oct. 21 at 7:30/6:30c), fittingly titled "Menace II Secret Society," Cleveland discovers a secret hip-hop society headed by Kanye West. (Cleveland makes the discovery after confronting Kanye for not sharing credit for the megahit they created together, "Be-Cleve in Yourself.")
6 reasons Seth MacFarlane is a good pick to host the Oscars
Members of this Group include Bruno Mars, will.i.am, American Idol judge Nicki Minaj and ?uestlove, all of whom lend their voices to the episode. You can see their animated characters in our exclusive first-look photo below:
Before the Oct. 21 premiere, Cleveland & Co. will return for a special Halloween episode this Sunday at 7:30/6:30c on Fox.


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Green Day Talk 'Revolution Radio,' Donald Trump, 'American Idiot' Film Adaption + More
Green Day were the guests on the Loudwire Nights radio show hosted by Toni Gonzalez. All three members of the legendary punk outfit were on hand to discuss their chart-topping new record, Revolution Radio, their own radio success, the movie adaptation of American Idiot, lyrical themes, longevity and a lot more. Check out the chat below.
Green Day embarked on a club tour this fall. After all that time off the road, how does it feel to be back in front of fans and performing live again?
Billie Joe Armstrong: It feels like I'm being baptized coming back into playing live again and into the theaters and clubs. It's just great. I'm not home channel surfing, sitting there feeling unemployed and feeling sorry for myself. I get to do what I love; we get to do what we love.
The tour sold out immediately. You guys are known for doing the smaller venues into the larger venues. So, can we say that there's going to be a larger scale North American tour in 2017? Is there any kind of timeline for that?
BJA: Yeah, next spring. Is that right? March? We're gonna do a full North American tour. We're just gonna keep going. We'll come around to different cities and then we'll go to Europe after that in the summer. Then after that, we're just gonna keep going ... There's a European tour this January and then there's the U.S. tour March / April, and then another European tour after that in the summer.
[Editors Note: Shortly after the interview, Green Day announced a full-scale 2017 North American arena tour set to kick off March 1.]
Tré Cool: We're currently building a clone army and we're going to send them off to different continents to play Green Day shows for us.
How's that working out?
TC: We haven't quite gotten the Mike down yet. He has very complex DNA.
Mike Dirnt: We only have the masks.
I saw the masks! Those are a bit creepy.
MD: I've actually heard the masks aren't quite as creepy as my actual face.
TC: The stuff nightmares are made of.
You got into the subject of Donald Trump at a recent show. I think it'd be really useful if you could say, what is the No. 1 reason, in your opinion, that people should not vote for Trump?
BJA: There are so many reasons to not vote for Donald Trump. To me, I feel like he's a white supremacist and he's turned the Republican Party into the white supremacist party. That's the thing that stands out to me right now, on top of many many other things. It's just scary. He's a demagogue and he's sort of a neo-fascist; he's got neo-fascist media behind him. Hopefully, everyone will get out and vote and we'll never see the likes of someone like that for a long, long time.
The single "Bang Bang" shot to the top of the charts in record time for the band. No. 1 for the fifth week in a row.
BJA: Wow, that's awesome! Thanks for the news. [laughs]
You guys have been around for over a quarter of a century. Is chart success still as sweet? Does it get old?
BJA: I love radio. There's something very old fashioned about it. It's kind of like when we find out that were No. 1. You know that scene in That Thing You Do when they hear their song on the radio for the first time and they're all running to the television store to turn it on, and they're all like — that's really what it feels like in a lot of ways. You get to hear what you made and it's just, through radio airwaves. It's a great feeling.
"Still Breathing" is a very powerful song. What can you tell us about it musically and lyrically?
BJA: Lyrically, I think the song is about survival. I think the whole record is in a lot of ways. That's the underlying theme. I think "Still Breathing" brings that out. I think it's the one of the most catchiest songs we've ever written. It's really powerful and we tried to make it powerful in the production also.
What's one song on Revolution Radio that you really wish fans would just sit in front of a computer, google the lyrics and really take them in because of the message?
BJA: My favorite song right now is "Forever Now." It's sort of an epic ride, sort of like a suite. It has a lot of — some of the most honest lyrics I've ever written. The first line is "My name is Billie and I'm freaking out," [laughs] and then it just goes from there, but it gets really — it takes a lot of turns musically. The performance is pretty epic and it's a game changer, nah, I don't know. I just wanted to say game changer once in this interview. It's just a ride and it kind of wraps up the record in a nice way.
You recently shot your first lead movie role for Ordinary World. How do you relate to your character Perry Miller and his life and his reality?
BJA: One thing I really related to was that he's a clumsy parent. My wife is sort of the CEO of the house and I just try to have it together. It's been on the job training for the last 21 years. So it's — I just do the best I can and sometimes I fall flat on my face and other times I have the right thing to say at that particular moment. I think the fact that he puts his family first was something I really related to.
Mike, how's your wife doing?
MD: Oh, my wife is doing much better. She's coming out on the good side of breast cancer, thank goodness. She's in remission and nobody in the world wants us on tour and out there doing what all of our families love us doing, more than my wife.
I read this morning that HBO is behind the movie adaptation of American Idiot, congrats. Billie Joe, you're going to be reprising your role as Saint Jimmy. Mike, Tre, will you be making cameos?
TC: I don't know.
MD: If they need a good bartender, I'm the guy.
BJ: [laughs]
Yet to be determined?
BJA: We have to record the music again, because the cast will be singing it. So we're gonna have our hands full for sure.
There's no timeline for that?
BJA: Not sure. Going through one little rewrite right now and we'll go from there.
The first incarnation of the band started 30 years ago. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to your 14-year-old selves?
BJA: I couldn't give advice to a kid that's starting a band. The main thing is, just stay true to who you are and keep doing what you're doing and it'll all come out.
MD: I would say cut your hair sooner. [laughs]
BJA: Buy strings.
MD: Don't grow your hair as long as you think you should.
Would you ever consider having your son open for Green Day, one of your sons?
BJA: Maybe. I think it'd be fun if they — we'll see. The thought has definitely crossed my mind.
Rock music is pretty unique in that if you look at the rock charts right now, it's Green Day, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, kind of what we would have seen on the charts 20 years ago. You don't really see that in pop. What do you attribute that to?
BJA: I could attribute that to maybe record companies not taking particular chances on good rock music for young bands. Or it could be it's just the way people get their music. There's different charts for everything and there is a lot of great underground music out there for people to hear. It's just a matter of how you find it and it's not really on the charts, per se.
Speaking of changes, you've seen a lot throughout you career. What would you say was the hardest change to adapt to, or get used to?
BJA: Honestly, the hardest changes for me was when MTV stopped playing music videos. That was bizarre. For some reason, I thought, "Okay, they're going to go back to playing videos again". That was weird to watch. I used to watch MTV, or flip through it almost every time I'd turn on the TV and now it's not even on my radar anymore. It's all reality TV.
You've sold over 75 million records worldwide, five Grammy awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Is there a milestone that you hope to one day achieve that you have not done yet?
BJA: For Green Day, the sky's the limit. [laughs] There's no real goal that I have in mind. The goal is to have fun doing what we're doing and play new interesting places and go on tour in places that we haven't been before or have been to in a long time.
MD: The other goal is to always put out a great record. That's what makes it all worth it too, with Revolution Radio we're ready to tour because we just feel like — when we finished this record, we all looked at each other and said well, we should be really proud of this. It's time to share it with the world.
What are you most proud of?
BJA: Longevity is the thing I'm most proud of with the band. We all still have our heart in doing what we're doing.
Thanks to Green Day for the interview. Pick up your copy of 'Revolution Radio' at Amazon or digitally through iTunes. Catch the punk icons on tour with Against Me! next year with a list of dates found here and don't forget to catch Toni Gonzalez on 'Loudwire Nights,' airing Monday through Friday from 7PM to midnight. To see a listing of stations that air 'Loudwire Nights,' click here.
See Where Green Day Landed on the Top 25 Punk Albums of All Time
See Where Green Day Rank Among the 15 Greatest Punk Bands


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Holy Land Pilgrimage on Ohio River Cruise
by Steve Ray on October 7, 2012
Some good folks from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish In Cincinnati Ohio had a great idea. They chartered a riverboat on the Ohio River and invited me to come and take everybody on a virtual Holy Land pilgrimage.
They made passports for everyone with pictures of all the holy sites in Israel and I talked about each one of them and we all pretended we were at the sites as I took them on a virtual tour of the Holy Land.
It was an extremely clever idea and worked out stunningly well. I hope other groups pick up on this idea.
To see my hike over the Ohio River from Cincinnati Ohio to Covington Kentucky with the beautiful churches (two cathedrals) click HERE.


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LOVE what Shailene Woodley wore at the Movie Awards last night. And then she went up on stage and goddamn I wish she didn't.
It was the Breakthrough Award. She was the only person in her category who attended the event. So...
Her people don't explain how this sh-t works?
Let's not front like this is the Oscars, ok? We all know. They all know. Or ... is it possible that Shailene Woodley doesn't know? If she doesn't know, that might actually be worse; it would mean she's an idiot. Like, she can be an eco-advocate AND not have to pretend she didn't know she'd be winning an MTV Movie Award, can't she?
Also, using the word profound, repeatedly, doesn't make you profound. I'm sorry. Am I being unfair? Is it unfair to be so annoyed?


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** Update – competition is now closed **
We've teamed up with McDonald's, the official Community Partner of the FA, to offer ten readers the chance to win two match tickets to watch Manchester United take on Manchester City at The FA Community Shield, sponsored by McDonald's, on 7 August at Wembley Stadium.
This year's match will be a Manchester derby, which will see Manchester United and Manchester City go head-to-head in this competition for the first time since 1956. The Red Devils look to secure their 14th Community Shield victory against current FA Cup holders City.
McDonald's has been the Community Partner of the FA since 2002 and aims to create more football opportunities for all. Since the partnership was formed McDonald's has created over 20,000 qualified football coaches, offering two million hours of free, quality coaching to young players across the UK.
"This year's FA Community Shield will no doubt be a sell-out as fans from across the country make their way to Wembley to support the Reds and the Blues. It's going to be a great game – a fantastic match to kick-off the new football season and I wish everyone who enters the competition the very best of luck," said Geoff Hurst, McDonald's Director of Football.
To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, answer the following question and email your answer to firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject line "McDonald's Compo".
Q: How many times has Manchester United won The FA Community Shield?
The Small Print
1. Rules: Please note that, in addition to these Provisions, entrants are bound by both the Promoter's terms and conditions at https://www.nqatpod.com/latest/win-tickets-to-the-fa-community-shield/ and the Supplemental Rules For Third Party Promotions Featuring Football-Themed Prizes Supplied By McDonald's ("General Rules") at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/policies/football-terms-and-conditions.shtml.
2. Participants: Must be 18 and over and UK resident
3. Duration of Promotion: Enter the Promotion between 6pm 18th July 2011 and 6pm 28th July 2011 inclusive.
4. Entry Criteria: Answer a question correctly to be entered in to a draw for a chance to win.
5. Conditions of entry: Limit of one entry per person.
6. How to Submit your Entry: Entries to be submitted via email. No other method of entry will be accepted. Email: email@example.com.
7. Prizes: The prize pool consists of ten prizes each of: Two match tickets to The FA Community Shield on 7th August 2011 at Wembley Stadium.
8. Prize Awards: Winning entrants will be notified by telephone and / or email and should be contactable no later than Friday 29th July 2011. Prize notification will be sent by email to the address registered at time of entry. If the winner cannot be contacted by telephone before 1pm on Monday 1st August, an alternative winner will be selected.
9. General: Winners will be required for promotional and media activity in relation to this promotion and other related McDonald's football activities, including facilitating the publication of press releases, editorial and photographs on the UK websites of the Promoter, McDonald's, and The FA, winners' local media and in McDonald's UK restaurants.
10. Promoter's Details: United Rant, email@example.com, www.unitedrant.co.uk


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There aren't a lot of games out there like Catherine, and even fewer of them exist in English-speaking territories. That's probably one of the best things going for Atlus' boys-to-men tale about a love triangle with a supernatural twist. It seems that unfaithful men are dying in their sleep, and you'll quickly find yourself caught among their ranks as you figure out what to do with the two girls in your life by day and climbing a seemingly endless supply of block towers in your sleep. You'll need to be adept at both if you want things to end your way, but Catherine's limited character interaction, shallow characters, and monotonous puzzles combine to form a unique experience that feels frustratingly limited in every respect.
In the game you'll play as Vincent, a weak, wishy-washy sort of guy who's always getting admonished or outright bossed around by his longtime girlfriend, Katherine. Just as he's lamenting that he's not sure he's ready to commit further in this relationship, a younger woman named Catherine stumbles into his life, and before long, he's cheating on his girlfriend with Catherine, who, by comparison, seems completely carefree and indifferent about, well, everything. Being faced with a choice between carefree youth and the increasing responsibilities of adulthood only intensifies as the story proceeds. Before long, things get decidedly supernatural as rumors start of nightmares that are killing traitorous men in their sleep and, sure enough, cheating Vincent finds himself in a nightly fight for survival against endless block-filled towers and his own worst fears.
The interactive parts of Catherine are broken into two separate chunks. When awake, you'll watch a lot of cutscenes and hear a lot of dialogue, but you'll eventually find yourself turned loose in a bar, where your friends gather at the end of every night. In the bar you can walk around and talk to the various patrons, many of whom are also enduring the same nightly ordeals that you are, but no one can really remember their dreams all that clearly. Most of the dialogue has you sitting and listening to their stories, but you'll occasionally get to make a dialogue choice that might just give them the encouragement they need to survive the night's trials. You'll also receive text messages from the two ladies in your life, and how you respond to them--or, in fact, if you respond to them--helps determine how the story unfolds by swinging an alignment meter one way or the other. Generally speaking, it'll shift to the blue side if you're choosing the responsible options that Katherine might agree with or red if your decisions are more in line with something that free-wheeling Catherine might do. The interactions feel incredibly limited, and there isn't that much to do in the bar before heading home and starting the next action stage unless you're interested in playing a retro-styled arcade version of the block puzzles that make up the rest to the game or working over the jukebox, which slowly gives you access to Catherine's soundtrack, as well as select cuts from Persona 4 and other Atlus releases.
At night, the action begins, as Vincent finds himself surrounded by sheep at the foot of a large tower of blocks. You can push or pull the blocks around, and the goal is to quickly climb the tower. The game starts out slowly to show you the basic logic behind the blocks' properties. For example, blocks will attach at diagonal edges, so you don't always need to have a block directly underneath another block for support. Once you've got the basics, later levels start introducing special blocks, like ones that crumble when you step on them, or trampoline-style blocks that let you jump up and grab onto ledges you wouldn't be able to reach otherwise, or ice blocks that cause you (and the blocks you're pushing) to slip and keep moving. Once you get the logic behind how the blocks move and start to see solutions in the puzzles instead of just a mountain of blocks, it isn't impossibly difficult. Unfortunately, that moment didn't happen for me until I was most of the way through the game. But the difficulty of the individual puzzles isn't what brings Catherine down. It's their repetitive nature. It feels like there are tons of levels in the game, and they're all roughly the same. The special blocks change things up a bit, and you'll have to climb towers while running away from a large boss-style monster during the last puzzle of every night, but the act of pulling and pushing blocks around to form staircases and create paths doesn't hold up for the entire game, and by night three or four (which is a little before the game's halfway point), I found myself not wanting to play anymore.
The big issues with Catherine are that the gameplay of block puzzles gets old fast and the way the characters develop in the story isn't engaging enough to pick up the slack. Despite being able to make choices that sway the alignment meter and alter the outcome of the story, Vincent's behavior usually doesn't line up with the choices you've made. Even if you're very clearly steering him in one direction, the story beats essentially force him to remain mostly indecisive right up until the final set of challenges. In my case, this resulted in a Vincent who was constantly saying that he was looking to remain true to Katherine, yet kept having nervous breakdowns about Catherine and her feelings. Considering how pushy and psycho Catherine acts, it's hard to imagine anyone feeling the need to "let her down gently." With the characters written that way, it's hard to care about the story very much, especially when you consider that most of your choices are made in-between action stages, where a confessional booth acts as some sort of personality test, asking this-or-that questions about how you'd act in specific situations and so on. It feels like the decisions you're making are almost completely detached from the story itself.
That said, the story sequences themselves are pretty well-made. There are a handful of fully animated sequences, but even the in-engine stuff is sharp, colorful, and full of personality. Some of the characters you'll meet around the bar have interesting side stories that are told both in and out of the dream world, and the voice cast is solid enough to make those stories work. It's a shame that most of the game's strongest points are practically crammed into the margins to make room for more block pushing.
It's certainly not awful, but too many aspects of Catherine felt like they were actively trying to push me away. More variety in the gameplay would have helped, as would more meaningful interactions with the game's cast. As it stands, the coolest thing about Catherine is that there really isn't anything else out there like it. If that's enough for you, you'll probably have a better time with the game than I did.


text: Right-Wing Media Use Interruptions To Attack Debate Moderator Raddatz Written by Justin Berrier Published 10/12/12 2:07 AM EDT Right-wing media are attacking ABC reporter Martha Raddatz, the moderator of the vice-presidential debate, complaining that she interrupted GOP candidate Paul Ryan significantly more than Vice President Joe Biden. In fact, Raddatz interrupted Biden and Ryan roughly the same number of times. Following the October 11 debate, right-wing media figures complained that Raddatz cut Ryan off significantly more often than she did Biden. Washington Examiner senior editorial writer Philip Klein tweeted, "Every time Biden starts interrupting Ryan, Martha Raddatz cuts Ryan off." Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham complained that Raddatz interrupted Ryan when he rebutted "Biden's illogical position on abortion and Catholic Church." Town Hall news editor Katie Pavlich wrote, "This debate should be renamed: Joe Biden and the Moderator Interrupt Paul Ryan!" But Raddatz interrupted Biden and Ryan approximately an equal number of times. According to a Media Matters review of the debate, Raddatz interrupted Biden 15 times and Ryan 18 times:


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First Solar Recognizes Top Suppliers with 2012 Achievement Awards
First Solar Recognizes Top Suppliers with 2012 Achievement Awards
Morgan Crucible, Nippon Sheet Glass, Expeditors International, Oryx Advanced Materials, Rapid Manufacturing Honored for Outstanding Performance
TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- First Solar, Inc. (NAS: FSLR) yesterday honored its premier suppliers at the company's second annual Supplier Recognition Day, held on Nov. 13 in Phoenix, Ariz. Approximately 160 of First Solar's top suppliers attended the event, five of whom were honored with the company's NOVA award for outstanding performance in 2012.
First Solar estimates that its business supports approximately 33,000 supply chain jobs, on a global basis. The company created the NOVA award to recognize suppliers who significantly support its mission.
"Our suppliers play a critical role in fulfilling our mission to create enduring value by enabling a world powered by clean, affordable solar electricity," said Shellie Molina, First Solar Vice President, Global Supply Chain. "We appreciate the exceptional efforts of these NOVA award recipients and the value they provide through the highest standards of quality, cost and performance."
The companies honored with the NOVA award were the Morgan Crucible Company, an advanced materials supplier; Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG), one of the world's largest glass companies; Expeditors International, a global logistics company; Oryx Advanced Materials, a provider of thin-film deposition applications; and Rapid Manufacturing, a global manufacturer of custom cable/wire harnesses.
Collaboration with Morgan Crucible substantially improved critical materials processing. NSG helped First Solar achieve its efficiency roadmap while decreasing cost. Expediters International is facilitating effective entry into new markets while maintaining compliance with local laws and regulations. Oryx contributed substantially to cost reduction through its own R&D efforts. Rapid Manufacturing has demonstrated a commitment to First Solar initiatives, providing notable flexibility on project support.
About First Solar, Inc.
First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar systems which use its advanced thin-film modules. The company's integrated power plant solutions deliver an economically attractive alternative to fossil-fuel electricity generation today. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life module collection and recycling, First Solar's renewable energy systems protect and enhance the environment. For more information about First Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com.
For First Solar Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with the company's business involving the company's products, their development and distribution, economic and competitive factors and the company's key strategic relationships and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Solar assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.
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Some records slip beneath nearly every radar. These brilliant albums end up not only missing out on end of year plaudits but throughout the year these records failed to procure the reams of verbiage they deserved. These are the outsiders; the records which people weren't brave enough to crank out on their airwaves, nor to fill a page or two of their publications with. These are the records so special that our writers sent death threats to our offices for not including them in DiS' 50 albums of 2008. These are individual writers favourites of the year which they suggest, nay they demand, you take the time to investigate.
So without further ado, these are the eight that you (and we) should have been celebrating.
Glass Candy
Pedants with a passing knowledge of Italo-disco will probably be on about heart attack 15 by now: technically speaking, Glass Candy's B/E/A/T/B/O/X came out in the dying days of 2007. 'Technically' being the key word – that first issue was a US-only limited edition, with a reasonable expectation it'd get a UK release sometime in '08. Didn't happen, but over the course of this year it slunk out onto iTunes and vinyl, and scored a trickle of glowing but somewhat erratically timed reviews in the British press (including Patrick McNally's 9/10 back in January). Had it been put out here properly it'd be unquestionably sashaying its way up many an end of year list by now, but, well, it wasn't, so it hasn't, so here I am talking up an album that's managed to get itself particularly lost.
Though generically speaking B/E/A/T/B/O/X is Italo-disco, I'm still a little hazy on what that exactly means. So not worrying too much about it, let's say this album is two things: prosaically, it's classy, poised, slow tempo but eminently danceable electro-pop, and as with any great record it comes with undercurrents of both menace (Ida No sings in a distant howl that still holds some of the darkness of the band's early no wave days) and silliness (No's interaction with the 'DJ' on 'Beatific', the whole of 'Introduction').
However, B/E/A/T/B/O/X's heart lies in the fact it evokes the pure joy of the night. Not just because it's dance music, though there is that, but because it so perfectly channels the romance of a city after dark. At core the songs are dark, minimal, and lonely, even a little eerie, but they're illuminated and warmed under the neon glow of sparse, dramatic effects: the rolling fuzz on 'Beatific', the distant fanfare on 'Candy Castle', 'Life After Sundown's arpeggio refrain, swirling like the lights of a far off motorway. It sounds a little unreal, elegant synthetic strings strings coming down like a dreamy veil between your ears and reality, No's voice, dramatic and alluring, but just a little detached, like something enticing spilling out of a distant party.
It perfectly evokes the dreamy, transgressive, did-it-really-happen? euphoria of the best times you've had at 4am – be it making a gurning tit out of yourself, a ridiculous end of night chat, or a sun-coming-up walk home on your own – while never being anything less than an immaculate pop record. It's an album that's been lost more than most, but that should make the finding all the sweeter.


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Who Will Crumble? Kell - once assumed to be the last surviving Antari - begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?
Who Will Rise? Lila Bard, once a commonplace - but never common - thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.
Who Will Take Control? And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.
Review: After thoroughly enjoying the first two books in the Shades of Magic series, A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows, I had very high expectations for the final book in the series. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met and I appear to be in the minority who felt that the series finale did not end on a strong note.
There are three main reasons why I gave A Conjuring of Light a low rating: the lack of character development, pacing issues, and a weak villain. In the first two books of this series, we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters with quirky personalities and watch how they interact with one another. I wanted more character development in this book. We get pieces of it sprinkled throughout the book such as Rhy's parents change of heart when it comes to Kell and his actions or Kell getting the chance to learn about his parents, both of which are great discussion points but Schwab barely scratches the surface with it. I also needed the answer as to what happened with Lila's eye that is constantly asked throughout the book by each character that she meets and never answered. I also wanted to dig deeper into Lila's past. The romances in the book also left me unsatisfied. While we get the romantic tension climax between Kell and Lila as they finally openly admit their attraction and affection for one another, I was actually more interested in Rhy and Alucard's romance that was quickly summed up.
Another issue I had with the book is the inconsistency of pacing in the book. There were parts that I quickly read, particularly the beginning where we get answers to the cliffhanger of A Gathering of Shadows, and others that dragged on and on. I think my issues of pacing is that I did not feel threatened by the main villain in the story. While I do understand his threat to the Londons in the series, I didn't just find him compelling enough to read pages and pages about him. As a result my interest in the book embed and flowed and I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first two books. Despite my issues, this was still an okay read and I would still recommend this series. I guess I need to lower my expectations for series finales.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is some strong language and violence in the book. There are two small sex scene that isn't too graphic in the book.
If you like this book try: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, A Madness of Angels (Matthew Swift #1) by Kate Griffin


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We've suspected the bad news for months but now, it's been confirmed that the Brotherhood series has indeed been cancelled by Showtime.
Brotherhood revolves around the lives of two brothers in an Irish-American neighborhood in Rhode Island. Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) is a family man and local politician while his brother Michael (Jason Isaacs) is a professional criminal who's involved with the Irish mob. Others in the cast of this gritty drama include Kevin Chapman, Annabeth Gish, Fiona C. Erickson, Brian Scannell, Kerry O'Malley, Fionnula Flanagan, Madison Garland, Billy Smith, Frank Ridley, Matt Servitto, Ethan Embry, Brian F. O'Byrne, Tina Benko, and John Fiore.
The series debuted on Showtime on July 9, 2006 and, despite some very positive reviews, Brotherhood didn't attract a lot of viewers; just 450,000. Showtime nevertheless renewed the show for a second season — albeit one made up of only 10 episodes. They started airing in September of 2007 and the premiere brought in just 370,000 viewers.
Brotherhood won a Peabody Award in 2007 and continued to garner critical attention. Situated behind Dexter, the show attracted its best ratings with 650,000 viewers on November 18, 2007. The pay-for-view cable channel continued to stand behind the show and renewed it for a third season.
Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt said, "Brotherhood is one of our shining hours at Showtime — a drama series that is among the highest-quality shows offered anywhere on television, and we're proud to keep it firmly in our portfolio." In November 2008, the season three debut attracted just 305,000 viewers.
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Earlier this year, rumors started to circulate that Brotherhood wouldn't be returning for a fourth season. Showtime execs wouldn't say one way or the other and the actors, as well as viewers, were kept in the dark as to the show's future.
In January, Greenblatt said, "It's a show that we love, and we're just trying to figure out what the future might be. We have a finite number of slots for shows, and we're in that difficult place of trying to make that decision."
Lost actress Flanagan told EOnline in February, "We're on hiatus, and we're waiting to hear what Showtime's pleasure is about that. It will all have to be balanced with what else Showtime has on its roster for this next year. Usually the shooting season was the summer, so I should imagine that we'll know soon."
The show's future began to look especially grim when Australian actor Clarke was cast in U.S. Attorney, a new drama series for CBS. Though the show was not picked up for Fall, it may end up on the network's midseason schedule.
Now, the speculation about Brotherhood can finally be put to rest. Showtime and Paramount Home Entertainment have officially announced the DVD release of season three and the title is Brotherhood – The Final Season. Things don't get any plainer than that. The set will be released on September 22nd and can be purchased now at a pre-release discount. (Please note, the title on Amazon hasn't been properly updated as of this writing.)
Some have expressed that the third season finale gave closure to the series. Tommy became the speaker of the house and Michael left Providence once again. Do you agree, or are you just left wanting another visit to The Hill?
Image courtesy Showtime.