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MyHub: Heck yeah, we're from Denver
Ever plan a get together with the expectation that friends will chip in some money? Yeah, good luck with that. But your chances may be greater for covering party costs with the MyHub app, which merges the invite process with money collection. Just use the free app to create an event, set the price and invite your friends. They pay as they RSVP. Most of this is automated if you allow MyHub access to your contacts and location. And if you're super lazy, there's even default text to tell friends that you're having an event so please pay the fee to attend. MyHub uses Stripe to process credit cards (there's a 3 percent transaction fee, which provides some revenue for the company). Of course, don't think small. Think social-media big! The app will hook you up to Twitter followers and Facebook friends.
Headquarters: 1062 Delaware St. in Denver (at Galvanize)
Founded: 2013
Founders: Eric Hubbell, CEO, and Jill Schneider, community manager
Employees: 3
Contact: 303-328-0009
Home on the Web: myhubapp.com
This is our feature highlighting the numerous Colorado tech companies that make cool stuff. These little snippets are intended for readers to explore the technology being made right here. One company at a time, of course.
Are you a Colorado tech business in the consumer world? Submit your information at dpo.st/coinfo for consideration.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kidney disease is at the heart of our mission . . . to prevent kidney disease and improve the quality of life for those living with it. Because 70% of kidney disease can be prevented, we must also focus on the root causes of kidney disease which are obesity, diabetes and hypertension to help people avoid this disease altogether.
So while it's true that we are fighting kidney disease, this fight is not a single disease fight. Hence, we have a broad array of programs which are focused on addressing obesity, diabetes and hypertension to get at the "root" of the problem. Over the last 60 years of serving the people of Michigan, we've seen the power of prevention and it's our top priority.
We're proud of what we're doing to fight these diseases and we're grateful to partner with so many worthy organizations, communities, and people on this quest.
Explore our website and see what we're doing to create a healthier Michigan!


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CARTERET, NJ - This past weekend, Jacques Rougeau Jr. proved that he can still get his man as The Mountie -- and that he can still carry a tune.
On November 13, The Mountie suit came out of mothballs (he cannot do the gimmick in Canada) for the second Wrestling Reunion convention at the Holiday Inn in Carteret, NJ.
Rougeau was quite possibly the hit of the weekend, having the fans going crazy. He was so popular with the crowd, that he wound up signing autographs for two and a half hours, rather than the designated two-hour slot.
Later on in the afternoon, Rougeau was a part of the question and answer session, and once again he stole the show. To wrap things up, the host asked the crowd for one more question. Indy wrestler Joe Rules stepped up to the plate and asked Rougeau, "Can you sing I am the Mountie?. The crowd broke into laughter and applause as Rougeau stood up and performed.
It was an enjoyable weekend overall for Rougeau, who drove down from his home in Montreal. He also filmed a shoot interview.
Now that Rougeau is no longer a full-time grappler inside the ring, he has found another way to occupy his time and give back to the wrestling community: he started his own promotion. "It is family orientated." Rougeau told SLAM! Wrestling. Rougeau has ran many shows in the past seven years. "I draw 3,000-5,000 people," proclaimed Rougeau.
Impressive numbers for independent wrestling. Before Rougeau started, he spoke with the "King of Promoters" Vince McMahon about his idea to run a family orientated promotion called the World Wrestling Family Federation (WWFF). Vince laughed at the idea -- sex was selling quite well for Mr. McMahon.
That conversation took place seven years ago. He's proud of his accomplishments since then. "I would like to prove those who doubted me wrong."
Before promoting a show, Rougeau goes around to different shops in the Montreal area and sells blocks of tickets to various companies; those companies will then donate those tickets to a local school, in return for sponorship. The kids that show up are never disappointed. "I've had [King] Tonga, The Warlord, The Bushwhackers, Tito Santana, I 've had them all," Rougeau said. The gimmicks excite the younger kids, while older fans re-live some memories.
Rougeau has done a 15-minute halftime show for the Montreal Alouettes on a few occasions as well. This past season, he defeated Kamala. "They gave us fifteen minutes, which was just enough time to get the ring out and do a quick seven-minute match and then get the ring off." As Rougeau described it, Kamala came out with "Ten baboon guys" carrying flaming torches and Rougeau walked out with the Alouettes cheerleaders. That night Rougeau picked up a victory both inside and outside the ring. "They (Montreal Alouettes) sent me a letter saying it was one of the best halftime shows ever." Rougeau said.
Prior to his events, Rougeau travels to different schools to spread the word about not doing drugs and getting an education. His message speaks volumes. Rougeau has been invited back every year to come speak before the children and deliver his powerful message. Rougeau has also played a role in the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal along with two of his wrestling students.
Having already had a sucessful career, Rougeau is now running his own school in Montreal, teaching kids how to become professional wrestlers. He runs 52 weeks a year on Thursdays and Saturdays at La Marche des Pouces, ably helped by Eric Mastrocola. Rougeau brings young students in and teaches them the proper way on how to wrestle.
"I am creating my own talent," he said. Rougeau has a strict set of rules, in order to maintain a healthy, positive, hardworking environment. "You'd better not be late and you'd better shower," Rougeau said with a chuckle. Rougeau expects students to be on time and ready to go for class. "The other thing, you'd better get good school notes; if your parents show me your report card and they are not happy, you're out. You also have to show class and respect."
Hmm, class and respect, two terms often associated with the Mounties.
You can reach Rougeau's school (514)-955-8989.
Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY.


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Intel has released its Intel Parallel Studio 1.0, the commercial verison of a suite of C++ tools for Microsoft Visual Studio developers building parallel Windows applications that take advantage of multicore processors. To date, individual components of Parallel Studio -- Parallel Composer, Parallel Inspector, and Parallel Amplifier, for coding/debugging, verifying, and optimizing, respectively -- have been available as beta software. At the same time, the company announced that Parallel Advisor Lite, a tool for assisting in the design of parallel programs, is available as a technology preview that's freely downloaded for Parallel Studio users.
"Parallel Advisor is the fourth leg of our vision for supporting developers," explains Intel's James Reinders. "It gives advice as to which parts of serial code can benefit the most from parallelization." However, Reinders was careful to emphasize that Advisor is not a silver bullet that automatically generates parallel code. Instead it analyzes serial programs to help you decide where to model parallelism into serial programs and uses design-assist technology to finds data conflicts using your serial model before transforming to parallel code. Parallel Advisor will become official component of the commercial suite around the end of this year.
With Advisor's availability, the toolset addresses the complete software development lifecycle, from design and code/debug, to verify and tune.
- Parallel Composer includes a C/C++ compiler, libraries (such as Intel's Threaded Building Blocks and Integrated Performance Primitives), support for C++ OX lambda functions, an extension to the Visual Studio debugger for multithreading of serial and parallel applications, and OpenMP support.
- Parallel Inspector is designed to detect memory errors (memory leaks and corruption) and threaded errors (deadlocks and data race errors).
- Parallel Amplifier is intended to find multicore performance bottlenecks, tune both serial and parallel programs, and scale application performance as more cores become available.


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uPVC conservatory supply and installation
If you want to add an extension to your home that will bring a wealth of space and light, uPVC conservatories could be perfect for you. Adding over £9,000 to your home's value, they'll see you make a significant return of investment and give you something extra for your home instead of relocating.
With the housing market in recession, many homeowners are opting to stay put and improve their property rather than move. Having a fantastic conservatory installed is a brilliant way to improve your home.
uPVC is a chosen favourite in the construction industry, with manufacturers preferring the material over aluminium and hardwood for a number of reasons.
uPVC conservatory benefits
uPVC conservatories are brilliant for homeowners on a budget, but still wanting a fantastic installation that will improve the look of their property.
With a new uPVC conservatory:
Increase your home's value by over £9,000 ensuring that your get your money back in the future sale of your property
Enjoy the extra light and space in the summer, as well as winter. Conservatories are built to be energy efficient meaning you'll keep warm in the colder months without having to splash out on heating bills
Have a brilliant access point to the garden, which can be enjoyed all through the year. With French doors incorporated into the design you'll have a fantastic end product
Choose from a range of colours and separate your home from the crowd with woodgrain effects that will improve the look of your property. You no longer have to pick the bright white finish to benefit from uPVC
Why choose uPVC for my conservatory?
uPVC is highly valued as a construction material in the windows, doors and conservatory industries. This is because of a number of benefits not found in other products such as aluminium and hardwood.
One of the biggest reasons for uPVC's popularity is its price. It's far cheaper than both aluminium and wooden frames, making it a cost effective purchase brilliant for those on a budget.
And despite this, it still harbours a number of fantastic benefits including durability and weather resistance. With a uPVC conservatory you can be sure to have something that'll last well for years without heavy maintenance needed.
uPVC won't rot, warp or bow, leaving it in a great condition for many years to come. On top of this it's manufactured with stabilisers and additives to protect it from the sun's natural UV rays.
uPVC conservatory quotes
uPVC conservatories are one of the best home improvements you can make to your home, giving you a wealth of space and light.
If you want to receive up to four FREE quotes from local, vetted and reputable companies, just complete our quick form and start your journey today.
Yes! I want to compare local Conservatory prices
1 Enter your city >> 2 Complete Details >> 3 Compare Prices
Conservatory companies
Local Conservatory Projects
Reviews of conservatory companies
By Mr. Malcolm G.
Emerald Home Improvements
Very good coms excellentto deal with
By Mr DAVID J.
The Window Company
Excellent service. John the Sales director is a credit to the company. Looking forward to our new Conservatory.
By Mr Paresh I.
Britelite Windows Ltd
By Mrs Laura W.
Excellent company excellent workman shop very pleased with the work thank you puotatis
By Mrs Catherine B.
The Window Company
realistic, open, honest, informative, comfortable, no pressure. just advice,
Conservatory activity in April 2020
Conservatory Projects in the UK in April 2020
|March 2020
|February / March
|Greater London
|South East
|North West
|Western Midlands
|South West
|Yorkshire & Humber
|East Of England
|East Midlands
|Northern Ireland
|North East
|United Kingdom
Source: Numbers calculated based on the search volumes in major search engines.
Latest successful conservatory projects in April
By Mrs Catherine B.
You found us a company we felt comfortable with
By Mr Dishan P.
So far everything was good
By - Anne L.
Very quick to find a good local company.
By - William D.
Helped to find firms
By Mr Raymond K.
Quotatis found us the company we could work with and also a rival company we could compare with before we made a final decision.
About UK
Energy Performance of Houses
The below information demonstrates the energy performance of houses in Uk. Energy ratings vary from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least efficient. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating factors heavily if you want to sell your home, as potential buyers will see just how much they're likely to be spending on their heating expenses. Property upgrades such as insulation assist to considerably improve a home's EPC rating.


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If one wishes to explore a different Italy from what is usually described, you must visit Milan, as this city epitomises the elegant and refined side of Italian culture. Milan is the birthplace of high-fashion and gourmet cooking, as well as the heart of upscale shopping, the finest opera, sleek skyscrapers, aesthetic museums and galleries and broad plazas.
{{"New %s account".replace('%s', data.sAgencyName)}}Why it's valuable to create an account?
You will be able to:
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- Manage your orders history
- Save company's details and reuse it on the next purchase
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weekend reads...from the beauty blog network
How's your weekend going so far?
Hopefully good.
Here's some entertaining reads from our friends over at The Beauty Blog Network!
Find out how you can WIN $365 bucks worth of Stila products during The Daily Cookie's anniversary celebration!
The Muse is rounding up concealers! Check out a brand new concealer review for the weeks ahead at Musings of a Muse! No brand goes untouched! Lancome, Jelly Pong Pong, MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Drugstore Concealer finds are just some of the reviews the Muse will be diving into!
A Touch of Blusher got to meet YSL's latest eye palette
The Makeup Divas tells you about a skinvigorating gift set that includes all the tools for looking better.
Beauty Junkie in SF finds that Too Faced's New Mascara gets right to the point of things.
Want to know NYC "it girl" Julia Allison's fave beauty tips? Beauty Blogging Junkie scored an exclusive interview! Click here to read Julia's beauty recommendations from body lotion to faux lashes.
If you like your cosmetics cute and sassy, check out Beauty411'sreview of Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics. Enter the giveaway while you're there!
Makeup Moxie reviews the new concealer/highlighter duo, Lorac Double Feature.
Take care of your skin! Head to The Beauty of Life now for your chance to win over $300 in Murad products!
Beauty Banter reviews the latest must-have fall color lines - MAC, Smashbox, Tarte, Prescriptives... and more!
Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog gives you 18 makeup tips from the talented makeup artists at MAC Cosmetics.
Check out Rouge Deluxe's buys from the Jill Stuart, Awake, Canmake and Majolica Majorca fall collections!
Christine from 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic has already found her new fragrance from fall, Bond No 9's Andy Warhol's Lexington Avenue!
Pursebuzz.com shows you how to be part of MAC Cult of Cherry in just ten minutes. Eyes, lips and hair.. well hair is gonna cost you another ten minutes for hair :P
Enter Beauty in Real Life's Elizabeth Grant giveaway for a prize worth $100!
Toya from The Life of A Ladybug talks all about her favorite lip gloss of the summer! Come see what it is!
Spoiled Pretty is hosting two fabulous giveaways this week. Five lucky ladies will win Fancy, Jessica Simpson's new fragrance...and one winner will receive Essie's Fall 2008 Color Collection. What are you waiting for? Enter today!!!
makeup loves me exposes you to the rare treats that are givenchy's fall collection - dandy.
Product Girl's own Christina shows you signature smoldering eye look. What's your signature eye look?
How do you pull your hair back when you wash your face or put on makeup? Cybelesays is having a contest to win one that will solve this issue for you.You will never go back to your old way of doing it.
Have a great weekend!
With love (always)
Jennifer and Christine


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U.S. Women's Update - Aug. 25
Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: email@example.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 25, 2009) – The current U.S. Women's National Team Weekly update released on Aug. 25 includes briefs on upcoming U.S. events, trivia questions and much more.
For the complete PDF version that includes the trivia question answers, complete list of players training at the team's facility at American Sports Center in Anaheim, 2009 season stats and other fan interaction sections, click here.
HANEEF-PARK ANNOUNCES PREGNANCY: Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.), an opposite on the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, announced her pregnancy through her Facebook page on Aug. 21. She is a two-time Olympian and helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Haneef-Park, who married U.S. Air Force pilot Anthony Park in May 2007, states that the baby is due sometime around March 14, 2010. She expects to resume training with the National Team next summer.
NNAMANI PART OF OPENING CEREMONY: Ogonna Nnamani (Bloomington, Ill.), a silver medalist with the U.S. Women's Olympic Team at the 2008 Olympic Games, will take part in the opening ceremonies at the 76-team Nike Classic being held at Pearland High School in Texas. The opening ceremony will take place on Aug. 27 at 1:45 p.m. at Pearland High School. The event, in its 12th consecutive edition, brings in the top volleyball talent across the state of Texas. For more information on the tournament, click here.
SYKORA ON UIL BALLOT: Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) has been named to the ballot to represent the UIL All-Century Team for Volleyball. She is a three-time Olympian and was a two-time AVCA All-American at Texas A&M University after a standout prep career at Burleson High School. The UIL, which governs high school athletics in Texas, is celebrating its centennial this academic year by recognizing the top athletes to ever play high school athletics in the UIL. Online voting is open through Oct. 31, 2009. Click here to vote.
JOINES SAYS I DO: Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.), a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Volleyball Team which captured the silver medal in Beijing, was married to college sweetheart Chris Tamas on Aug. 22 at Paso Robles, Calif. Both players played collegiately at University of the Pacific, where they were AVCA All-Americans. Joines, a four-time AVCA All-American, had her No. 6 jersey retired by Pacific on Sept. 27, 2008. She has played in 105 international matches with the U.S. Women's National Team since joining the squad in June 2001. Tamas, currently and assistant coach with UC Riverside women's volleyball program, represented the USA in 34 international matches with USA Volleyball and is Pacific's current all-time leader in assists.
IN THE GYM: U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) has 30 players training at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim. Out of the group, only five have yet to be named to a USA tournament final roster (O-2bis form) in 2009. For the complete training list, see the left column on the third page of the current Weekly Update issue (pdf version).
TRIVIA QUESTIONS: 1. How many different players have played at least one set for the U.S. Women's National Team in 2009? 2. What kind of business does Nancy Metcalf and her husband Jason run outside of volleyball? Answers can be found on page four in the full PDF version (click here) of the current U.S. Women's National Team Weekly update.
STATS – THIS AND THAT: Through the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix, Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) is the USA's leading scorer in 2009 with 178 points and a 4.45 points per set average … Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) and Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) averaged 0.86 blocks per set apiece. Akinradewo has a team-leading 31 blocks in 36 sets, while Scott-Arruda has 25 blocks in 29 sets … Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.) has a team-leading 21 service aces during the 2009 season, resulting in a 0.37 ace average. She also averages a team-leading 4.75 assists per set … Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) has a team-leading .434 hitting efficiency for players with at least 10 sets played. Akinradewo holds a .404 hitting efficiency with 36 sets played … Among hitters with at least 10 sets played and 10 attempts, Jane Collymore (Seattle) has a 53.6 kill percent on 56 attacks to lead the team. Other top kill percentages include Haneef-Park's 52.8 percent, Christa Harmotto's (Aliquippa, Pa.) 51.3 percent and Scott-Arruda's 50.0 … Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) has a team-leading 179 digs for the season, while Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) has added 113. Davis averages 2.59 digs per set, while Sykora averages 2.57 digs per set.
AH MOW-SANTOS BUSY SUMMER: Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu), along with Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.), Ogonna Nnamani (Bloomington, Ill.) and Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas), was one of four U.S. Women's National Team members to take part in a University of Colorado high performance training camp in July 2009. They were part of the CU camp upon the invitation of current CU assistant coach Tom Hogan, who served as an assistant with the U.S. National Team program during the last Olympic quadrennial. For details of the camp, along with a camp Q&A video, visit by clicking here. In addition, the Honolulu Advertiser recently ran a feature on Ah Mow-Santos and her success at University of Hawaii and USA Volleyball as part of its "The Fab 50: Major Figures Who Transformed Sports in Hawaii." According to the article, she is a "full-time mom" for the upcoming year and playing volleyball in the future is not out of the question. For the full article, visit by clicking here.
GLASS STARTS OWN WEB SITE: Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.), a 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, has started her own official Web site, which can be found at http://www.kimglass10.com. The site contains contains galleries and a bio on Glasss, as well as her blog. Other sections of the Web site include a "Ask Kim" and shopping area.
FORMER HEAD COACH BACK IN CHINA: Lang Ping, who guided the U.S. Women's National Team to a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in her host country, has returned to coaching in China, albeit not with its national team. After opting not to return to USA Volleyball following last summer's runner-up finish, Lang Ping coached last winter in Turkey with Turk Telekom under a four-month contract that expired in April. Earlier this month, she accepted the head coach position with the Guangdong Hengda women's volleyball club. A national hero for leading China to the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games, she served as head coach of the Chinese National Team from 1995 to 1998 as it won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Now after 11 years, she is back coaching in China. Guangdong Hengda is the first privately funded volleyball club in China. For more details, visit China's People Daily Online article by clicking here.
CATCHING UP WITH SUE WOODSTRA: Sue Woodstra took a hiatus from her head coach position with Humboldt State University in May 2007 when she accepted the position of assistant coach with the U.S. Women's National Team. She helped Team USA to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, matching her silver medal performance as a player and captain of the 1984 Olympic Games squad. Now, she is back in California preparing Humboldt State to another collegiate season. To read a recent article on Woodstra, visit the Eureka Times-Standard article by clicking here.
2010 FIVB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION UPDATE: The 2010 FIVB World Championship, set for various cities in Japan between Oct. 29 and Nov. 14, 2010, has 20 of the 24 teams qualified for the event through zonal qualification tournaments being held in 2009. The U.S. qualified for the FIVB World Championship by winning the third-round NORCECA Pool G qualification tournament held last month at Orlando, Fla. Other NORCECA teams qualified for next year's World Championship are Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The remaining two NORCECA teams will be granted to the top two teams in the four-team NORCECA Playoff that includes Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada. The Playoff Round is set for Aug. 28-30 at Tijuana, Mexico. All four playoff teams finished second in their respective third-round qualification events. Europe has finalized its nine entries into the World Championship through the CEV's qualification process. Italy, Serbia, Turkey and Germany all won their third round CEV pools, while second-place finishers Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland and Netherlands also advanced to next year's event. Russia, as the reigning World Championship winners, is automatically granted a spot to defend its title. In Africa, Kenya and Algeria won their third-round qualification tournaments to advance to the World Championship. The Asian Confederation (AVC) has qualified two teams through the third round as China won Pool D and Thailand advances as the group's second-place finisher. The top-two teams among Pool E – including Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand – will earn berths into the World Championship Final Round. Pool E starts Aug. 28 and ends Aug. 30. As the World Championship host, Japan will also take part in the event held every four years.
REPLICA JERSEY AVAILABLE FOR LIMITED TIME: Are you looking for a unique gift for your volleyball loved ones? USA Volleyball has the answer with replica jerseys from its 2008 Olympic Games indoor teams being made available for a limited time by clicking here. The U.S. Olympic Women's Team replica jerseys, priced at $65 apiece, are available in extra small, small, medium, large and extra large. Replica jerseys are available for all 12 U.S. players who participated in the 2008 Olympic Games. Each replica jersey will have the Olympian's name on the back with their jersey number on both the front and back. In addition, USA Volleyball has several other 2008 Olympic Games apparel items commemorating the unprecedented indoor and beach volleyball success obtained in Beijing. Products available on the online store include short and long-sleeve T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies in multiple designs.
OLYMPIC COMMEMORATIVE APPRAREL ON SALE: USA Volleyball has unveiled five commemorative logo designs to appear on apparel saluting USA Volleyball's medal successes at the recent Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Beijing. Apparel can be purchased by clicking here. Men's and ladies' T-shirt designs are $15, while the youth T-shirt size is $13. Long sleeve t-shirts are $18, crew sweatshirts are $23 and hoodies are $30. Sizes XXL and larger have a slightly higher price. USA Volleyball's success on the Olympic grand stage in Beijing has never been achieved by any other nation since volleyball was added to the Olympics in 1964. The U.S. Olympic Men's Indoor Volleyball Team, which was named the United States Olympic Committee Team of the Month for August 2008, captured the gold medal at the Olympic Games without losing a single match. Women's Beach Volleyball (Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh) and Men's Beach Volleyball (Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers) both came back from Beijing with Olympic Games gold medals. The U.S. Olympic Women's Indoor Volleyball Team captured the silver medal in Beijing, as did the U.S. Women's Sitting Team during the Paralympic Games. No other country has ever participated in the gold-medal match of all four Olympic Games volleyball disciplines during the same year. Team USA added a fifth gold-medal appearance at the Paralympic Games.


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As you can probably tell, I like explaining things. I know early on in the comic I was all too eager to have talking heads explain the situation they were in. But as the comic's evolved, so has my drawing, which means drawing more, which means not as much text comes through. And since I still limit myself to four panels (usually) and I'm still trying to keep things from getting bogged down, a lot of what I have planned in my head may not necessarily show up on the page. So, here's an attempt to explain some of these things.
Remember, most of what's here follows the pre-established conventions, but I'll be explaining my personal interpretations, which are Alternate Delusions canon.
If there's anything else that doesn't make sense to you that you'd like to have explained, please reply!


text: Angela is one confident gal. She told us her goal was to become Playmate of the Year. We wish you good luck Angela. Angela loves doing hair and makeup and going shopping. Now about this confidence, Angela told us to turn a guy on all she has to do is look at him. Wow that is confident. So if there are any willing test subjects out there maybe we'll test her theory out.


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My granddaughter, Nadine, was not quite two years old when her father, my son Grey, was killed in a plane crash. So she doesn't remember him.
When she was approaching her sixteenth birthday, I tried to think of a special gift. I commissioned singer/songwriter Carol Noonan to compose a song and record it for Nadine's birthday. I gave her a photo of Nadine (showing her green eyes, which are mentioned in the song) and told her a few details. Carol did the rest, and here it is. The first time I heard it, I wept. I still do, every time.


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August 31st @ The Orioles
Missed this one. We took the kids to go see the Lakewood BlueClaws host the Hagerstown Suns – since the Chicken was there (and we had so much fun the last time we caught the Chicken when he was in town).
I did catch the last out of the Yankees game when we hit the car in the parking lot – and then heard the whole post-game wrap-up. Boy, would I have kicked myself, hard, if I had missed Andy Pettitte throw a perfect game or no-hitter…chicken or no chicken.
As it is, give Pettitte all the credit for this one. To be perfect, as long as he was, in a close (two-zip) game…and…then…to not cave in once he lost the perfecto and then the no-no on back-to-back batters in the seventh…after two outs…well…that's focus ladies and germs. That's how a pro handles it. Attaboy Andy.
Coming into this game, over his last 12 starts, Pettitte had an ERA of 4.09 and had allowed an Opp BA/OBA/SLG line of .250/.316/.368 (facing 303 batters). And, that's very good. But, four of those twelve starts were clunkers. So, that means when Pettitte has been "on," lately, he's "really on." Let's hope he's "on" in October – because the Yankees will need him in that three-slot, and performing well, when that post-season bell rings.
Getting back to the game I saw this evening…here are some photos…for those who like minor league ballparks, at night, at the end of the summer…


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The day after President Obama delivered his fourth State of the Union address, a group of school-aged people gathered at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to ask questions of some of the nation's leading technologists.
Reporters remained in the back of the room, but the tough questions during the event came from the participants up front.
The panelists included John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Lori Garver, deputy administrator of NASA, and Todd Park, the nation's chief technology officer. Also present, and fresh off their appearance in the first lady's guest box at the State of the Union, were Jack Andraka, the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair grand prize winner, and Bobak Ferdowsi (aka NASA's "Mohawk Guy"), flight director for the Mars Curiosity Rover.
The State of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — or STEM — event started out calmly enough. Holdren highlighted the two science fairs that had been hosted at the White House and how Obama "got down and dirty with kids and their experiments," forcing dignitaries to wait. Park talked about how he thought data and apps were "beautiful" and how he was "head-over-heels, madly, passionately in love with STEM," encouraging the young people in the audience to pursue STEM to do "unearthly things."
Then, it was the kids' turn.
The adults in the audience could be heard tittering, and in some cases gasping in surprise, after a young boy asked whether the U.S. government would bring Germany's education standards to the United States.
Science fairs, pshaw, these kids wanted to talk policy.
"We're a different country," said Holdren, "I don't know that we will import Germany's approach exactly."
"This is a young man who clearly listened to the president's State of the Union address," he added.
Then came a question on how the private sector will influence the future of spaceflight.
In answer to this, NASA's Garver reminded the audience that Ferdowsi, who works at JPL, was actually a contractor, not a NASA civil servant. "You might not actually all work for the government," she said, addressing aspiring space travelers, engineers and scientists.
"Mr. Bobak, your mohawks are really cool," started one questioner, before turning to Garver and, in one of the most artful ways to query someone about their age, asked how long it took her "to get to [her] current status."
Garver said she'd been on her "exciting path" for about 35 years, since graduating from high school. "You can do the math," she told the audience to light laughter from the adults.
You could almost hear the younger attendees, crunching the numbers.
Another young audience member asked whether Curiosity had found anything on Mars besides evidence of water.
This one was fielded by Ferdowsi, who mentioned the rover's most recent activity drilling into a rock on the planet's surface. "Give us another couple weeks so we can actually take that sample in and analyze it," said Ferdowsi, "I think it will be really cool."
But a majority of the questions, including one about the ramifications of NASA budget cuts, and the importance of bi- and multilingual education on international collaboration in science and engineering, were fielded by Holdren.
"Too many of these questions are being lobbed in my court," he eventually said to light laughter.
"Some of them," he continued, "have burning fuses on them."
The students assembled at the White House came from at least one of the nation's strongest-performing schools — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which is located in Fairfax County — home to some of the nation's highest earners.
After the question-and-answer session ended. Ferdowsi said he thought it went "great."
"The kids were asking all kinds good questions, as usual — as I kind of expected," said Ferdowsi.
"Students ask tougher questions than most people do."
"They do their homework or they're really interested in this stuff generally. They really understand subjects — sometimes better than I do," continued Ferdowsi when asked whether he was surprised by the level of sophistication.
In a short aside, Andraka also said he felt good about the event.
"It was pretty fun," said the 16-year-old after a circle of assembled fans had dispersed.
Just the day before, Andraka had been fielding questions from the commander in chief. "He asked a lot of questions, so it was really awesome talking to the president about your science work."
Read more news and ideas on Innovations:
Innovation party in the first lady's box
Aliens or love, it's the same hunt


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Last year we sponsored the 2011 Small Business Influencer Awards, and this year we're very excited that we are sponsoring the event again as it's back for another round. It was a pleasure to work with both Anita Campbell and Ramon Ray, the co-founders of the program, and I'm looking forward to this year's event. The Small Business Influencer Awards recognize leading influencers in the small business market for all of their contributions and support. Influencer categories include News Outlets, Corporations, Media, Leaders, Experts, and Apps. You can nominate an influencer (or yourself) over at www.smbinfluencer.com. (North America only, see the official rules).
I caught up with Ramon to chat about this year's awards as well as his work as an editor and technology evangelist, not to mention being the founder of www.smallbiztechnology.com. Check out our chat below:
[Biz Blog]: Hi Ramon, it's great to be working with you again. Can you share a little about the Small Business Influencer program and what it seeks to accomplish?
First of all a big, big thanks to Research In Motion® (RIM®) for supporting small businesses over the years – this Small Business Influencer Awards programs is one big way to continue to show this support. THANK YOU.
Also a really big shout out for Anita's leadership in this initiative – she's like small biz rock star number 1.
So about this neat initiative: There is a lot of focus on small businesses in North America, in politics, and in our society overall. Everyone knows a small business owner. There is also lots of focus on the organizations that help small businesses. However, what we don't see much of are the hardworking and often unsung heroes who influence small business owners! These influencers cut across all industries, business types, business sizes, revenue and demographics.
Our goal with the Small Business Influencer awards is to identify and shine the light on influencers of small businesses – hence, the small business influencer awards!
[Biz Blog]: When can a person nominate, vote, and attend the awards gala?
The nomination process is open now – they can head over to www.smbinfluencer.com to nominate themselves or someone else. The nomination process closes on July 15th, 2012. Voting begins the next day – July 16th through August 5th. An eligible person can vote once per day per nominee. The top 100 small business influencers will be announced in mid-August, and then we'll have a fabulous award ceremony in New York City on October 17th, 2012!
[Biz Blog]: What's changed since last year? Any new additions to this year's program that you're excited about?
Much of it will be the same – nominating, voting and an awesome award ceremony. But a few things have changed. We'll be hosting the awards at the NY Business Expo and Conference in NYC at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
We also have some great new judges this year – I don't want to call them out name by name here or mention just one, but they're rock stars in their own right and amongst their peers for sure.
[Biz Blog]: Tell me about your work in the small business community. What does "technology evangelist" mean to you?
Well, I LOVE helping small businesses succeed – first and foremost. From being a technology consultant many years ago, to my roles as a technology evangelist – that is, evangelizing about how awesome technology is for small businesses to help them grow, to help them save time, save money, boost productivity and deliver better customer service. I love what I do – helping small businesses succeed.
[Biz Blog]: I'm a big fan of www.smallbiztechnology.com. Tell me about this initiative and how it's impacted the SMB community.
Well thank you I'm a big fan too [:)]. But really, Monday to Friday you can visit Smallbiztechnology.com and find the latest and greatest information about technology with insight, interviews, news or tech products for your small business. It's been around for many years, and I'm happy to have several writers who also contribute to other great sites.
[Biz Blog]: I'm also clearly a proponent of mobility in business. I'm curious, what are some mobility trends that you're currently seeing in small and medium-sized businesses?
I see faster wireless broadband being adopted and smaller computing devices, as overall practical, becoming even more powerful devices. Finally the world of apps and online applications is going to continue to explode on mobile devices. The business owner who can leverage local and social and mobile is going to have a BIG edge as well.
[Biz Blog]: Thank for joining me today Ramon, see you in New York at the gala!
Are you a member of the small and medium-sized business community? Who has influenced your business the most? Head over to www.smbinfluencer.com to nominate them for a 2012 Small Business Influencer Award!


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Welcome to Evolotus, a public relations agency working for a better world.
Evolotus serves clients in socially beneficial industries such as health, wellness, spirituality, documentary films, green technologies, animal advocacy, and vegan foods. Our mission is to help like-minded people and businesses tell their story, gain visibility and generate sales to in turn create a better, more sustainable and peaceful world.
We chose the name "Evolotus" because it combines the concept of scientific evolution with the symbolism of the lotus, which represents purity, enlightenment, and spiritual growth.
We believe that as individuals and as a Western society we are charged with continually evolving into more spiritual life forms. In order to progress and survive as a species on the planet, we must take evolutionary and spiritual steps toward seeing the unified, interconnected nature of life.
The Iroquois have a similar concept of "seventh generation" sustainability. They believed that every choice one makes today impacts the next seven generations. While on the surface this is considered more relevant to environmental concerns, we also see it as germane to choices we make about our health, diet, emotional wellness, social institutions, political representation and our spiritual and cultural beliefs.
Our clients understand this mission and their products and services support it.
Evolotus Public Relations


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Multiple HS seal installations
When installing two split all-rubber HS seals in one cavity, the locations of the split joints should be staggered by 30° to 60° to minimize the risk of leakage through the joints. The splits should be located toward the top of the bore. Grease the cavity between the seals to provide lubricant to the outer sealing lip.
When two HS seals, split or solid, are installed in the same housing bore, a spacing washer must be placed between the two seals (fig 1). Suitable washer dimensions can be determined based on the shaft and housing bore diameters, d1 and D, respectively:
washer inside diameter = d1 + 6 to 10 mm (0.25 to 0.4 in.)
washer outside diameter = D – 0,5 to 1,5 mm (0.02 to 0.06 in.)
washer inside diameter = d1 + 6 to 10 mm (0.25 to 0.4 in.)
washer outside diameter = D – 0,5 to 1,5 mm (0.02 to 0.06 in.)
The width of the washer is determined by the application conditions. There should, however, always be sufficient room for lubrication holes to be provided in the circumference, or lubrication grooves in one side face (fig 2). These lubrication provisions must enable grease to be supplied from the housing to the sealing lips via a drilled passage or grease fitting (fig 3). When determining what washer width is appropriate for the depth of a housing bore, it is necessary to consider the axial displacement required when clamping the seals.


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Christmas is fast approaching. Are you ready? Skip the long lines and shopping frenzy by making homemade gifts for all of your loved ones. These 10 DIY gift ideas are my personal favorites. They include simple stocking stuffer ideas, food gifts for Christmas, creative DIY projects for the holidays and should cover nearly everyone on your list!
Photo by Angie Cao
Vanilla Lip Gloss
Whip up this yummy lip gloss for the beauty lover in your life. It makes a great stocking stuffer. You could also make a large batch to pass out to all of your friends at an upcoming holiday get-together.
Photo by Angie Cao
Colored Bath Salts
This is another gift that is super simple to make. All you need are Epsom and kosher salts, food coloring, essential oils of your choice and attractive jars! Be sure to tell the recipient that Epsom salt has natural sedative effects on the nervous system, helping to restore the body's feel-good chemicals and relieve stress.
Photo courtesy Lark Crafts
Cupcake Candles
Package homemade candles in cupcake wrappers for a unique spin on this traditional gift. (Nothing's cutter than a cupcake!)
Photo by Susan Wasinger
Gingerbread House
If you're hosting this year's holiday festivities, create a delectable gingerbread house for all of your guests to enjoy throughout the evening. This house uses herbs and spices to create a unique design that's sure to set you apart from the traditional candy-cane and gum-drop designs.
Photo by Sarah Goldschmidt
Chamomile Vanilla Marshmallows
Step into an old-fashioned sense of nostalgia with homemade marshmallows. You will be sure to impress family members by passing out tins filled with these chamomile- and vanilla-infused marshmallows on Christmas day.
Photo by Ellen Silverman
Raspberry Jam
Jams and jellies make great holiday gifts. They taste better than their store-bought counterparts, and they are a cinch to make. Make this delicious raspberry jam and store it in a festive jar for simple gifting.
Photo by Howard Lee Puckett
Herb Dipping Oil
This is a great (and inexpensive!) gift for avid cooks. Simply infuse extra-virgin olive oil with your favorite mix of herbs. (This recipe also calls for a teaspoon of lemon zest and cracked black pepper.) Your friends and family will love to store this in the kitchen year-round for dressing up salads or serving as a simple dip for crusty bread.
Photo courtesy Running Press
Cork Bulletin Board
Get in touch with your crafty side with this fun project. Gather all those wine corks you've been saving for a rainy day (If you're an avid Pinterest user, you know what I'm talking about.) and finally use them to create a functional and adorable bulletin board. This makes a great gift for the friend who loves new and inventive ways to display pictures and souvenirs.
Photo by Thomas Gibson
Dream Pillow
This is another crafty project that would be fun to tackle for the holidays: Make a pillow and fill it with dried sedative herbs to help your loved one get a good night's rest.
Photo by Howard Lee Puckett
Cinnamon Stick Wreath
Spice up the holidays by making this aromatic wreath for someone special. This beautiful, homemade decoration would be perfect for newlyweds or a new homeowner.
Gina DeBacker is the assistant editor at Mother Earth Living. She is excited to make gifts for her friends and family members this holiday season.


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NBA trade deadline: Winners and losers
Thomas Robinson was the big winner of the 2013 NBA trade deadline. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
By Ben Golliver
Thursday's NBA trade deadline passed without a splashy move to rival the James Harden and Rudy Gay trades from earlier this season. J.J. Redick was the biggest name dealt. High-profile players who are set to become free agents such as Josh Smith, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap stayed put. None of the stars mentioned in rumors -- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard among them -- actually changed zip codes.
Still, plenty of business was done, as 12 trades involving 18 teams and more than 20 players were completed in the final 24 hours before the 3 p.m. ET deadline.
Let's take a look at the winners and losers from the deals that went down at the deadline. (The Point Forward will address the deals that weren't made on Friday.)
Winners: Teams
Houston Rockets: A vast majority of deadline moves were subtle deals that involved fringe rotation members or financial considerations. Not Houston's trade. General manager Daryl Morey acquired the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft, Thomas Robinson, in a six-player deal that didn't require the Rockets to part with an A-list asset (player or pick), meaningfully compromise their cap space this summer or receive a dead-weight contract in return. This was as clean a pilfering as you will see in the modern NBA, as if Morey helicoptered in to pluck Robinson off of the roof as flames engulfed the Sleep Train Arena.
Robinson has the most untapped potential and upside of any player traded this week. The Rockets look like a fairly solid playoff team this season, but their window is just opening around a young core that includes Harden, Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and now Robinson. Parting with the serviceable Patrick Patterson -- who has one more year left on his rookie contract after this season -- is a small price to pay for the chance to see whether Robinson can blossom into the game-changer some believed he would be coming out of Kansas.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Delicate is the word to describe Thunder GM Sam Presti. Oklahoma City pulled off two moves on Thursday, dealing reserve point guard Eric Maynor to the Trail Blazers for a trade exception and acquiring guard/forward Ronnie Brewer from the Knicks for a 2014 second-round pick and cash.
The Thunder boast one of the league's deepest rosters, but the two moves provides just a touch of improved balance. Maynor was not having his best year after a major knee injury that cost him most of the 2011-12 season. The more athletic Reggie Jackson was emerging as Russell Westbrook's backup and there just aren't that many minutes to go around when the All-Star starter plays 36 per game. Brewer gives coach Scott Brooks one more experienced, defensive-minded body to add to a wing mix that includes Kevin Durant, Thabo Sefolosha and Kevin Martin. Brewer, a strong defender, can be used when OKC goes to smaller lineups or in certain matchups that might not be as favorable for Martin. He also provides an added degree of injury protection for Sefolosha.
Presti also shaved more than $1 million off of his books this season. That's delicate defined: improving the bench's positional balance while cutting payroll.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors' owners are deep-pocketed, so money isn't the end-all, be-all. But the new collective bargaining agreement strongly encourages teams to dip into the luxury tax waters carefully rather than make a habit of swimming in those waters year after year. Where the luxury tax zone was once an annoyance, now it can be a true impediment to team-building and a costly one at that.
The Warriors dumped 2011 second-round picks Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins to move under the $70.8 million luxury tax line. This year's luxury tax payments would have been minuscule, but the fact the Warriors are now recipients of luxury tax money rather than payers is a nice bonus. The bigger deal: Staying under the luxury tax line prevents the Warriors from taking a strike in the new "repeater" system, which promises escalating fines for teams that are regularly taxpayers. With big dollars committed to Andrew Bogut, David Lee and Stephen Curry, plus expensive players options for Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrens in 2013-14, the Warriors will be headed to the luxury tax vicinity again next year. These moves, while very predictable, kept them from being behind the financial eight ball down the road.
Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers' backup point guard position has been one of the NBA's biggest disasters this season. Few teams fall off as hard when one player checks out as the Blazers do when Rookie of the Year front-runner Damian Lillard hits the bench. Obtaining a new backup has been a glaring need since training camp opened, and Portland finally plugged that hole by acquiring Maynor for nothing more than the draft rights to Greek forward Georgios Printezis. To make room for Maynor, the Blazers released veteran guard Ronnie Price.
Maynor is in the final year of his rookie contract, so this amounts, first and foremost, to a rental tryout. He's struggled this season, particularly with his shot (he's shooting a career-low 31.3 percent), and he's only a little more than a year removed from suffering an ACL injury. With the weakest bench in the league and a need for a longer-term option to back up Lillard, the Blazers were smart to take a "buy low" flier on a game-managing point guard with some playoff experience who can spell Lillard or potentially play alongside him. If he works out, they've added one piece to a bench that needs three or four more of them. If not, no assets were expended in the trial.
Losers: Teams
Sacramento Kings: Trading a top-five pick like Robinson just nine months after selecting him without ever giving him a true shot at major minutes reflects failure in so many aspects of the management process. One: Certainly the pick could have been used more effectively. Two: A loose leash, or at least some level of patience, should have come into play in managing his role. Three: This was the best they could get as far as a return package?
The move also reflects an obvious desire to cut costs as an ownership transfer from the Maloofs to a Seattle-based group unfolds. Dealing Robinson to the Rockets reportedly netted the Kings $1 million, along with an additional $1 million-plus in salary savings. Is tossing away Robinson's potential really worth that little? If Sacramento's fans hadn't been through so much in recent years, this would have prompted unadulterated outrage. Instead, it joins a long line of blood-boiling, pathetic decisions.
The Wizards received a puzzling package in return for Jordan Crawford. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Washington Wizards: Dealing Jordan Crawford for Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins is just a mess. How exactly do you move a rotation player on a rookie deal for a journeyman center and a player with a season-ending injury without receiving any other assets and take on money (albeit only a few hundred thousand) in the process? Who cares how inefficient Crawford is or disgruntled he might be; how does this move benefit Washington in the slightest? Shedding his $2.2 million contract for next season would seem to be of little concern when, by comparison, the twin powerless towers of Emeka Okafor/Nene pull in a combined $27 million.
There really wasn't a second-round pick to be found for Crawford? It really wouldn't make more sense to just wait until the summer and try to move him then?
Winners: Players
Thomas Robinson, Rockets: It's hard to improve your lot in life more than Robinson did this week. He goes from not playing much for a lottery-bound franchise loaded with question marks and distractions to a young, fun-and-gun team on the rise that promises to commit real minutes to him and is likely headed to the playoffs. He goes from backing up a veteran in Jason Thompson to being penciled in as an every-night starter on a fast-paced team that can put his athleticism to full use. He goes from a me-first squad that has the second-worst assist rate in the league to a Houston team that moves the ball with slightly better than average regularity.
Tobias Harris, Magic: If there's one totally under-the-radar player moved on Thursday who can emerge into a real player by shifting locales and being given a larger opportunity, it would be Harris. Included as one of the pieces Milwaukee sent to Orlando in exchange for Redick, Harris has good size for a wing and posted decent per-minute numbers in a limited role for the Bucks. Milwaukee simply had too many veteran options in front of the 20-year-old, who was the 19th pick in 2011. In Orlando, coach Jacque Vaughn should be delighted to give Harris the opportunity to showcase his talents.
Eric Maynor, Blazers: After fighting -- and mostly losing -- a battle with Reggie Jackson for scant backup minutes in Oklahoma City, Maynor has the opportunity to start a second chapter to his NBA career in Portland. The Blazers are fading fast, having lost six straight games, and Maynor could very well see at least 20 minutes a game consistently as the season winds down. Missing out on a possible Finals run this year will be a bitter pill to swallow, but he has more immediate concerns, such as shoring up his future in the league.
Jordan Crawford, Celtics: It's not every day that players stuck on atrocious teams exit that situation as cleanly as Crawford. He moves to the Celtics, a team that is actually playing for something, and plugs into an injury-ravaged backcourt that will need him to provide minutes.
Sebastian Telfair, Raptors: Much like Crawford, Telfair just saw the rest of his season become relevant again. Rather than watching his playing time erode in favor of rookie Kendall Marshall as the Suns limp to the lottery, Telfair moves into the backup point guard hole created when the Raptors shipped Jose Calderon to the Pistons in the deal that netted Rudy Gay. While Toronto has some serious ground to make up to get to the No. 8 seed in the East, that uphill climb is far better for a vet like Telfair than Phoenix's trudge toward a top-five pick.
Twins Marcus (left) and Markieff Morris will play alongside each other in Phoenix. (Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Marcus Morris, Suns: Marcus and twin brother Markieff, famously inseparable, are now reunited in Phoenix. If you must play for one of the NBA's worst teams, you might as well have your best friend alongside you.
Kenyon Martin, Knicks: After essentially begging for a job, Martin finally got one, agreeing to a 10-day contract after the Knicks opened a roster spot by moving Brewer. This is a good spot for Martin: a veteran-laden team with championship aspirations that includes a number of his former teammates from the Nuggets days, including Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. Will he make the most of it?
Losers: Players
J.J. Redick, Bucks: It seemed like the whole NBA world wanted Redick's services these past few weeks, and for good reason. He's a great teammate and great shooter and has developed into a solid all-around player. Given his expiring contract, he was the ideal trade target for a contender to add in an attempt to push itself over the top. Instead, the Bucks, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference at 26-27, added Redick in an attempt to prevent a slide back into the lottery. Redick's reward for suffering through months of rumors and being one of the most coveted trade deadline targets could very well be a four-game sweep in the first round at the hands of the Heat before he undergoes the madness and uncertainty of free agency. He will surely take it all in stride, but you can't help but feel sympathy for him.
Hakim Warrick, Magic: How many times can one man be traded? Since signing a four-year contract with the Suns in July 2010, Warrick has been traded from Phoenix to New Orleans to Charlotte and now to Orlando, where he will be bought out. Perhaps all that traveling might be worth it if he finds a playoff team to hook on with for the stretch run.
Ronnie Price, Blazers: The Maynor trade came just before the buzzer and it was a bit of a surprise, as Blazers management had been promising a quiet trade deadline. The move cost Price his job and unfairly so, given that he's played better this season than 2010 first-round pick Nolan Smith. Blazers GM Neil Olshey said the franchise felt an "organizational responsibility" to continue developing Smith, but that responsibility didn't extend to picking up Smith's rookie option for next year. Price is left watching a less deserving player keep a roster spot that should have been his.
Luke Zeller, Suns:


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CLEVELAND (AP) The Browns may strike quickly to get Chip Kelly, Oregon's coach who does everything in a hurry.
Kelly, whose up-tempo, fast-paced offense has captured the imagination of several NFL teams and maintained the Ducks' status as a national power, appears to be near the top of Cleveland's list of candidates to replace Pat Shurmur, fired earlier this week after going 9-23 in two seasons.
According to several reports, Browns CEO Joe Banner is already in Arizona and intends to interview Kelly, who is preparing the fifth-ranked Ducks for Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State. An interview could take place as early as Friday.
Kelly has been deflecting questions about his future all week. He did so again on Wednesday when he was asked if he expects to be contacted by NFL teams in the days ahead.
``I don't expect anything,'' said Kelly, 45-7 in four years at Oregon. ``I said this a million times. I'm never surprised by anything. I do not know what the future holds. I do know we have a football game tomorrow night and I'm going to be there.''
After that, his next stop isn't certain.
Kelly and Alabama's Nick Saban are the hottest commodities in the college game. It's possible that new Browns owner Jimmy Haslam may make a strong run at Saban, who worked in Cleveland as an assistant under Bill Belichick in the 1990s.
Saban would not be available for an interview until after next Monday's BCS title game, and the Browns could risk losing out on Kelly if they wait that long.
The Philadelphia Eagles are also believed to be interested in Kelly, who came close to taking Tampa Bay's job last year.
Browns safety T.J. Ward knows the 49-year-old Kelly as well as anyone. Ward, who walked on with the Ducks, believes his former coach is ready to make the leap to the pros.
``I think the players in the NFL would respect him and they will respect how he approaches you,'' Ward said. ``He lets you do your job. In college, he treated us like pros. I think that's what players respect and appreciate about him.''
It is not known if Haslam is with Banner in Arizona. Haslam said earlier this week that only he and Banner know which candidates may become Cleveland's sixth coach since 1999. The Browns, who have lost at least 11 games in each of the past five seasons, are not confirming any interviews.
On Tuesday, the Browns interviewed Arizona defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who said his meeting with the team was ``fantastic.''
Horton's interview satisfies the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to speak with a minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation positions.
Haslam and Banner made it clear that their next coach will have final say of the team's 53-man roster, a perk that could entice Kelly to leave Oregon. Kelly's pedal-to-the-metal offensive system is intriguing to the Browns and other teams who have already borrowed aspects of Oregon's no-huddle, go-go-go approach.
During the offseason, Kelly met with Belichick to share insight. Belichick has acknowledged using a few tips from Kelly, including the use of one-word play calls to speed up the Patriots offense.
``He's a great coach,'' Ward said. ``You can see what he's doing at Oregon. I think he has what it takes to be successful in this league. Whoever they pick, Chip is a great option. He's a great motivator. He comes in and he knows what he wants to do and he gets his players to play for him and play hard.
``He has a great scheme, great system. He's a high-energy coach.''
If Kelly comes to Cleveland, he may have to adjust his system to fit quarterback Brandon Weeden, who can throw the ball with anyone but doesn't have the speed to run a spread offense.
``I don't think I can run the zone read,'' Weeden said, smiling.
There are some who doubt Kelly's system can work in the NFL, arguing that it's a trendy gimmick that will be exposed by bigger, faster and stronger defenders. Kelly was asked if he thought it could work at the next level.
``Don't know, haven't been there,'' he said. ``There's a lot of ways to play football. Any coach is going to learn from other people and see how they can implement it in their system. Anything you do has to be personnel driven. You have to adapt to the personnel you have.''
Banner believes some elements of the spread offense are transferrable to the NFL.
``The game evolves and there is always some stealing from college into the pros and some stealing from going in the other direction,'' he said. ``You probably can't just take a pure NFL system and put it in college and have it work and you probably can't just take a purely clean current college system and put it in the pros and have it work.
``But that doesn't mean there are things that the right coach could integrate from both systems that could work very well at this level.''
Cleveland also must replace general manager Tom Heckert, who was fired after three seasons. However, Banner said it's possible the Browns may hire a player personnel director, giving the coach ultimate power.
AP College Football Writer John Marshall in Scottsdale, Ariz. contributed to this report.
Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll andhttp://twitter.com/AP-NFL


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They probably do it according to their personal favorites :(
They probably do it according to their personal favorites :(
Can anyone else ask for clarification here:
Registration takes about few seconds. No e-mail confirmation.
He-Guy and SeltenSelten33, thanks for the download. :) I hope some day that someone will get around to releasing an official box set of the music, there was tons of music from both of those shows, tons.
It certainly wasn't Haim Saban—that's 100% for sure. He's just an avaricious businessman with zero sense of ethics that's made a fortune by profiting from the work of others through royalty schemes, while paying the real authors next to nothing. He's not a musician by any stretch of the imagination—let alone a talented one. He's only talented at being a total jerk.
And as for Shuki Levy, although he is a musician, I doubt he had much actual involvement in many of the cartoon soundtracks he's been credited in. There's no way he could have actually composed about a dozen cartoon soundtracks in 1983-1984, plus countless others before and after, including years like 1987 and 1989 where he was credited in around 10 soundtracks per year. Taking his résumé at face value, one has to believe that Shuki Levy was incessantly churning out music from 1983 to 1999 at that rate of about one full soundtrack from scratch to finish every other month. No way he's been that talented and prolific.
Besides, there appear to have been two distinct composers working on separate parts of the MotU soundtrack, since there's a stark stylistic and qualitative contrast between the earlier orchestral-dominated themes and the later synthesizer-laden themes. So even if Shuki Levy composed some of that music, he certainly didn't compose all of it (unless he suffered from Jekyll & Hyde syndrome, acting like a remarkably talented composer capable of daring textures and superb orchestration one day, only to morph into a rather mediocre one resorting to simplistic run-of-the-mill synth tunes the next).
I don't think the names of the real ghostwriters behind these pieces of music will ever surface. Most probably, not even Haim Saban would be able (nor willing) to tell, since he has hired and exploited the talents of countless uncredited people and he certainly didn't care one bit about them to remember their names long after, even though to this day he's still reaping handsome profits from their work.
There's a guy out there (a professional musician), who all by himself has recreated and recorded parts of the Ulysses 31 soundtrack to near perfection. However, I don't know if he would be interested in recreating the best pieces from the MotU soundtrack that remain inaccessible.
Other than that, our only hope is that, rather than pointlessly wait for the original sound tapes to be recovered that were probably destroyed, the idea of searching for an overseas dubbing print of the cartoon eventually strikes someone at La-La Land Records. This cartoon has been dubbed into many languages in many countries (even into different dialects of the same language, and into minority languages), which means countless dubbing prints without the English spoken dialogue must have been produced and distributed to foreign local stations (I know for a fact that at least four dubbing copies were distributed in Spain alone, since the show was dubbed into Castilian Spanish for a VHS-only release, into Galician for broadcast by the regional TVG station, into Catalan by the regional TV3 station, and into Basque by the regional ETB station; and I'm aware of many other dubs such as: Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Swedish, Polish, Slovene, Serbocroat... and I think there's even a dub in Mandarin Chinese). There has to be some dubbing print left somewhere from which the soundtrack without the overlaid spoken dialogue can be extracted (and I wouldn't really mind if some of the special-effect sounds/noises remained scattered here and there on some of the tracks, since some of those effects are also interesting in themselves and I don't think they distract from the enjoyment of the music the way spoken dialogue does).
It might be possible that another model of synthesizers were used later on which resulted in a different sound.
Curiously, his (or someone else's) previous work on Bomber X has a theme which has a similar sounding beginning as that of Jayce and wheeled warriors, which, as you likely know, what done after She-Ra:

There's no need to search for it. That's been preserved precisely for dubbing purposes and Classic media has it, but it's unlikely any record company will bother with extraction of the themes.Quote:
There has to be some dubbing print left somewhere from which the soundtrack without the overlaid spoken dialogue can be extracted
Anyway, if Shuki Levy DIDN'T compose He-Man, perhaps Henry Mancini did? Yes, THAT Henry Mancini. His theme for one of the seasons of Remington Steele bears striking resemblance to He-Man's theme (there was a thread about it a long time ago):

What makes it odd is that the season for which it was composed debuted practically at the same time as the first episode of He-Man (in US, that is. Mere 10 days apart) which ought to reduce chances of a rip off to absolute 0.
Now unless it's some bizarre coincidence, perhaps if was Henry's way of saying "Hey. Those cartoon shows... I composed 'em". The budget of cartoon shows might explain the lack of his usual full orchestra.
Oh, yeah, two themes originate from Mr T cartoon. Now what's special there is that the style is NOTHING like He-Man nor She-Ra ('cept those two themes, well one actually, the other sticked out like a sore thumb in She-Ra) despite the music being composed at the same time as He-Man!

Skip to 5:20 to hear one of the theme recycled for She-Ra. Now notice the general style of the music. It's A LOT more closer (albeit still far) to Henry's usual stuff than He-Man. So maybe, just maybe, Henry IS the actual composer?
Food for yer thoughts (and yeah, I know it's a HUGE stretch). :skgrin:
speaking of 'borrowing' existing music for the MOTU/POP series, here's another example of Saban/Levy (or their musicians) taking existing music and using it in the He-Man/She-Ra soundtrack. This original tune is somewhere from the 1970s and is definitely the reference they used for the 'circus' theme in MOTU/POP.
Fast forward to 0:36 to hear it:
For comparison sake:
you're right, it's not quite as close as I had thought, but there's still a good resemblance between the two... who knows if they used it as reference or not but they're close enough to say 'it's very possible'
Anybody have SeltenSelten33's email address? I wanted to ask him a question. If so, please just drop me a PM. Thanks!
I got a full soundtract in the grayskull dvd collection
I'm not sure how many of you have seen this, but over on the OFFICIAL He-Man YouTube channel we will now be featuring an instrumental track from the series every Sunday! However, these instrumentals from the show have never truly been heard in their entirety!
Head on over to the channel and listen to "Skeletor's Theme"! :)
Attachment 91484
And if you have yet to do so, please subscribe to the channel to show your support! :)
Thanks for the music. Really love it, but can you normalise it as the volume is very low.
Had all of the main shows music been released on CD before? I'd be more impressed if you put out tracks that haven't been put out already ;o)....
But I DO appreciate the high quality stuff!
Now, if only we can get someone to do the same for inspector gadget :)
Great job creating clean versions of the music!:hmeek:
On average, how much time take to isolate it from the sound effects?
I listen to my cd from the box set regularly in my car. Would love to hear more music from the show. It's amazing how the tracks take my mind back to afternoons as a kid. Love the main theme!


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Hi there everybody. Hope all is well.
I need some help please. I'm having a stressy time with some big things going on. I have:
1. got a new job after 2 years of looking (yay) but its quite a step up and so far quite scary, so I'm nervous
2. Relocated to a place I know nobody, and wouldnt actually have chosen to come to, but the job is hopefully worth it. I'm fining it hard to be without my support network and familiarity of home
3. the place Ive rented wasnt left in good condition and was quite stinky from dogs. I love our furry friends, just dont my house or clothes etc to smell like someone elses dogs! It has taken a LOT of cleaning to get on top of it. There are also quite a few things not working properly in the house and agents aren t that helpful.
4. I just had a message from my old landlord that the cleaners I hired to clean for end of tenancy absolutely failed to clean, and apparently used the loo and left it dirty, and left the hot water heater on etc. I spent a lot of money on that and to be honest its the last straw and I'm really upset.
So, could I please get some supportive vibes and healing to help me get on top of things enough to deal with this new and stressful life I'm living at the moment. I want to want to be here, but right now I really really dont...
Thanks everybody x


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Jane Chu selected to be next NEA chair
The White House announced today that President Obama will nominate Jane Chu as the next chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Chu currently is the president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
Although Chu is not well-known nationally, she has a long history in the civic and cultural life of the Missouri city, serving previously as an executive with the philathropic Kauffman Fund for Kansas City and Union Station Kansas City.


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Eric, our VP of Marketing, texted me earlier today that while he sat in on a new-employee Orientation session, Brooke mentioned to the group that he was one half of a "HoliCouple," meaning he and his wife met while working here. The big reaction was when he told the assembled that the year he and his…Read More »
Posts Tagged: commercial
As seen on TV
If you don't live within about a three-hour radius of Santa Claus, Indiana, chances are you've never seen our television commercials. So here is our newest, fresh out of the edit suite and airing beginning today: Thanks to all of our extras who rode Thunderbird over and over … wait – maybe they should be…Read More »
Spot-on fun
It wasn't just those beautiful Thunderbird trains flying around the skies of Thanksgiving this week. That's right. One of those new-fangled drones was hovering, equipped with a camera (plus two licensed/certified flyers). Because it's commercial-shooting time around here! Thunderbird was in fine form and Mother Nature cooperated most of the time. And the riders had…Read More »
Santa: As seen on TV
So what's the deal with Santa in our new television commercials? You know, this guy: He gives a tour of our headquarters … … he chairs the boardroom meeting … … and holds his sizable head in his hands when the Pilgrim suggests offering Free Butter Churning Lessons at the park: What's the deal? The…Read More »
"Reel Picks" Sweepstakes
Thanks to all who entered our Reel Picks Sweepstakes – we truly appreciate all the voting and comment posting! Our four winners (chosen at random) have been notified by email: Debra A. from Chrisney, Indiana, is our Grand Prize Winner Shella K. from Shepherdsville, Kentucky, is our Second Place Winner Dawn F. from Indianapolis, Indiana,…Read More »
As seen on TV
When we launched our "#1 Fan" video contest last fall, we never dreamed we'd end up with a new TV commercial. But there's something about Mark… Mark's dad submitted this video, which was voted the best of the many we received: Mark's determined message and Linus van Pelt voice clinched it with our staff….Read More »
Oops. Meant to post these photos weeks ago. This is part of the shoot for one of this season's TV spots. Starring … who else? Somehow I pictured her in a pilgrim's hat. You know … with the big buckle? But apparently the props department was fresh out. John says at first Mrs. Koch wasn't…Read More »


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Like water? Who doesn't? But if you really like it, you might want to also start liking lentils, kale, nuts and bread — and pretty much anything that doesn't come from an animal.
A new report from the Stockholm International Water Institute suggests that the world's limited supply of fresh water cannot sustain the world's ever-increasing consumption of meat, particularly if every other country continues to mimic the modern American diet, in which we get 65 percent of our protein from animal products. In order to quench such a meat-heavy diet, farmers would use up nearly all the world's freshwater resources in the next 40 years.
Read more: 9 super-healthy, vegetarian protein sources
Why? It takes a ridiculous amount of water to grow the grain that feeds the pigs, chickens and cows that we eat every day, says Robert S. Lawrence, MD, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for a Livable Future, which researches the human and environmental problems associated with modern agriculture. It takes 110 gallons of water to grow a pound of corn, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and it takes as much as 11 pounds of grain to raise a pound of beef. When you factor in the water that cattle need to drink, the amount can skyrocket to 4,000 to 18,000 gallons of water per pound of beef.
Then consider the sheer numbers of animals we eat, Dr. Lawrence says. "Right now, we're raising 50 billion animals a year for human consumption on this planet. In the U.S. alone we consume 8 billion." When you think that 1 million chickens are slaughtered every hour, he adds, you start to see where things are getting out of control.
The Stockholm researchers say that we'd all need to reduce our meat consumption to no more than 5 percent of total calories in order to sustain water resources. Cutting meat consumption by 60 percent may sound extreme, but even cutting back by 15 percent — about one vegetarian day per week — can do wonders for your health and for the rest of the world.
Here are a few of those benefits to convince you it's worth it:
1. You won't die (at least, not for a while).
One of the most compelling reasons to go vegetarian at least one day a week is you. Meat-heavy diets have been tied to a host of health complications, ranging from blindness to lung disease to stroke. On one of the most comprehensive studies to date, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, tracked more than 37,000 adults and found that simply eating one vegetarian meal per day could lower risk of dying from cancer or heart disease by as much as 20 percent.
Read more: How your parents' diet could help you lose weight
2. Better beach vacations.
As the Stockholm International Water Institute points out, it's not always the animals but what they eat that causes major global crises. And when it comes to animal feed, pesticide- and fertilizer-heavy corn reigns supreme, making up 90 percent of what pigs, chickens, and cows eat. Growing that corn requires heavy doses of nitrogen-based fertilizers, which farmers often overuse. The excess gets washed into the Mississippi River and then dumped into the Gulf of Mexico, creating large algae blooms that kill animals. Public health officials often need to close beaches when nitrogen pollution is high — and that's a real buzz-kill for any vacationer.
3. Fewer embarrassing infections.
One really unpleasant side effect of eating too much meat? Urinary tract infections (UTIs). A study from McGill University in Montreal found that grocery-store chicken is often contaminated with a form of E. coli bacteria known to cause UTIs, and what's worse is that the bacteria is resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat the condition. The bacteria can live on in your gut and cause problems as much as six months after eating the contaminated meat. That doesn't happen when you eat kale!
4. A fatter wallet.
If you think 79-cent-per-pound chicken is a good deal, consider this. Last year, reporters from The New York Times conducted their own test to see how cheaply a family of four could eat. They paid $28 for dinner for four at McDonald's, but were able to pay $14 for a dinner of chicken, potatoes and a salad and just $9 for a mostly vegetarian dinner of pinto beans, rice, bacon and various seasonings. And that $9 meal also had the fewest calories of the three. In most areas, you can buy a pound of dried beans — which have almost as much protein as a 3-ounce serving of meat — for less than $3, and it will yield 12 servings of beans, cooked.
Story by Emily Main. This article originally appeared on Rodale.com and is reprinted here with permission.
Related vegetarian stories on MNN:


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Cynthia Coffman amasses 69 percent of GOP delegate support, almost keeps Mark Waller off ballot
Chief Deputy Attorney General Cynthia Coffman nearly walked away with the GOP nomination for AG over the weekend, amassing 69 percent of the support from state delegates.
The total far outpaced her rival, state Rep. Mark Waller of Colorado Springs, who almost failed to make the June 24 primary ballot as he captured just 30.7 percent of the vote.
"I am running for Attorney General because the office is not some political training ground for another higher office or a place to make policy in order to fulfill one's political ambitions," Coffman, who has served in the AG's office since 2005, said in a veiled dig at Waller. "It is a serious place where serious actions are taken to preserve and protect the people of Colorado."
On Saturday, Waller was slammed in a handout to delegates created by former state Rep. Doug Bruce, who was ousted from office by Waller in a 2008 GOP primary. The handout featured a silly photo of Waller and questioned his time in the military, characterized him as a political opportunist and endorsed Coffman.
The Coffman campaign denounced the handout.


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Want to appear more attractive to people? Only show pictures of yourself when you're with your friends. Amazingly, this is not marketing — you don't appear more attractive because you're popular or loved, you actually trick people's brains into considering your face more attractive.
Cheerleaders are a kind of group hypnotism act. Their energy, their choreography, and their uniform appearance meant to take out people's cognitive functions and make them forget that their team is losing. Like armies marching in sync, cheerleaders overwhelm the viewer with an impression of unity and energy that no single member could convey on their own. They also, apparently, overwhelm people with an impression of stunning attractiveness that no single member could convey on her own, but neither armies nor cheerleaders not alone in that. When any people are pictured in groups, each member of the group looks more attractive than they would do on their own. This works for both men and women, and works on both men and women.
If people were to take a guess at why group members appear more attractive than individuals, they might turn up something heartwarming. We are more beautiful when surrounded by the people we love. People pictured with friends attract others because we like people who love and are loved. Unity is beautiful.
While it's true that volunteers for a study rated people more attractive when they were pictured in groups, they also rated people more attractive when they were all in individual pictures, but those pictures were grouped together in one image. A now-famous effect shows that layering people's faces, and taking the average of the however many faces are measured, creates a more attractive face. Average, in the sense of having all irregular features blurred away, is beautiful. The Cheerleader Effect does in time what layered faces do in space. When we look at groups of people we take the image of each face and mentally blur it with the next, making each individual face look more beautiful than it would if we focused on it alone. Groups of people literally fool our brains into thinking of a beautiful whole.
[Via Scientific American, The Atlantic]


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Katy Cambridge's 3 out of 4
Princess Catherine stepped out again today on official royal duty, her third appearance in four days, this time at the side of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at a visit to Baker Street underground station. Not that there was any doubt about it but this reaffirms, obviously, that Her Majesty is very fond of her granddaughter-in-law, and perhaps more so because she's (re)productive. These people get off on legacy more than most. The Queen hasn't been feeling well lately and this is her first public outing since being hospitalised for a day with stomach problems.
At the event, Kate was presented with a button reading "Baby On Board", as if she'd ever need one on the train or anywhere. Apparently she was delighted with it and said she'd wear it at home.
More importantly though, did she and the Queen coordinate outfits? Similar lining, non?
Danny E. Martindale/ AFP/ Getty, Keystone


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Hello everyone!by Kings on October 16, 2012 at 1:17 am
So NY Comic Con is over, and I'm back to normal life again. Work starts up again on Tuesday, and in the mean time I've been kicking back and doing some writing. You'll all be happy to hear that the reception our upcoming comic, Ode, has been really positive, and lots of people have already seen some of the art for it online (including Brian Lee O'Malley, which is amazing!).
But you're not here for Ode, despite my writing it. You're here for H&tW, and I don't want to disappoint you!
I've been sneaking notes on the reboot as I've been writing Ode (both share some pretty heavy concepts that I've yet to introduce, mainly the Fade, which is a name I've decided to call the world between worlds in which the Library exists), and I have to say, I believe I have a final layout for the story of the first book of H&tW.
Most of the elements are exactly the same, with, as I've said, a few small changes that will end up majorly impacting the story. But don't fear, it has everything the original had and more: Magic, adventure, the Library, time travel, dream travel, gypsies, the city of Khem, other worlds, and more. And have no fear, Divi continues to be a major part of the story, as is her ties with both Oliver and Abigail. I'm super excited to start writing, and I hope you are too!
Now all I need to do is decide how to tell the story!
much needed update !by Kings on September 15, 2012 at 10:16 am
Hey everyone! Sorry about the radio silence, I've started a new job as a guide in central park, and it has been a bit crazy (in a good way! ) I have had a lot of time to think about H&tw, and have a ton laid out. That being said, i've run into a bit of a block, and am working through it. In the meantime i've been working a bunch on Ode with Annie, as well as a new story for fun. Look for more soon!
Look for new updates soonby Kings on August 12, 2012 at 10:59 am
The process I will be doing to begin this reboot is as follows.
Step one: Write a new story arc. This is almost complete.
Step two: Illustrate a new story arc. Less complete, but on its way.
Step three: Begin reworking the original story to fit the changes I've decided it needs to work. There is basically only a few changes, but it's enough to have to rework a bit of the opening. We're going to do that thing you see in a lot of animes where we dive right in, and the origin story follows a few chapters later. In this case, the origin is the story that you know so far, only slightly different. As I've said before, I trust you guys to forget what you know, and enjoy the ride!
Step four: Find a place on the site for all of the older pages to be posted in order, but off the main page. I want them to be easily accessible to you guys. I may be changing things to how I think they should be, but I'm not the kind of author that then pretends the other never existed. I know you guys are attached to the early pages, and I'll always keep them available for you guys! Just don't get confused! haha
Thanks for being so cool! More on this later, everyone.
Annnnd we're back!by Kings on August 10, 2012 at 9:52 am
Alright guys, we are back online, and I've been working on some stuff I should be able to put up this weekend! I'm currently at my last day of work (at this cafe that is)! I cant wait for us to start back up again. More on this tonight!
Hey guys, site still downby Kings on August 1, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Hey everyone. I apologize that the site is still not working, we are having some heavy technical issues. Annie and I might cave and just hire someone to fix it. I don't have any major updates at the moment, but I'm still considering it. That being said, we have to talk.
You guys have been majorly supportive of me in all of my endeavors, a guy couldn't ask for better readers! I know our fanbase is small, but those of you who are here are dedicated and totally awesome. I don't normally like changing stories once I write them, in fact as you know when I started this comic, it was an exercise in NOT doing that, but I am completely in love with these characters, and I need to do them justice. We've had this talk before. Anyway, I know you will all be super supportive when I reboot the story, I just only ask that you suspend your disbelief and basically forget the details you think you know. I really am only changing like a couple of things to make what I have planned work, but to do so will require a different beginning, and I need to guys to start reading fresh. I know you wont have a problem as long as I'm posting SOMETHING, right?
When the story does go back live, it will feature my art, and it will be done using Annie's cintiq, which gives an entire new edge to my style. It actually makes me feel like I am not the worst ever, so I'm down at giving it a shot. Here's an example of what might be a new cover! Let me know what you guys think!
(Don't let it be said I never listen to what you guys say, either. You'll notice Abby appears physically unchanged, despite her lack of pony tail!)