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Engraved Pet ID Tag "Dollar Bling Gold" by Hamish McBeth - Includes FREE Engraving
|Enter the text you would like engraved!
Collars with identification are your pets' fastest ticket back to you if they become lost.
Placing identification on our pets is a basic task for a pet guardian, yet so many well-loved pets become lost without a collar and an identification tag to bring them safely home.
Hamish McBeth's engraved tags feature unique designs and many of them have brilliant Czech crystals (not diamantes!). This engravable dog tag has a tough protective coating on face.
- Includes engraving on the back
- Unique designs
- Heavy duty metal
- Real Czech crystals (where applicable) no diamantes!
- Roland laser engraver used for high quality finish.
- Split ring included for easy placement on your pet's collar
Design: "Dollar Bling"
Size: Regular - 2.7 x 3.5cm
Colour: Gold
Mini Tags - One line - Up to 12 characters (including spaces)
Regular Tags - Up to two lines - Up to 12 characters per line (including spaces)
Please leave a comment at checkout when you make your purchase with the details of engraving.
***NOTE: This item will ship separately from other purchases you make with us as it will arrive from Hamish McBeth!
|Hamish McBeth
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A trip to Crested Butte is far from a one-size-fits-all package. In the winter Crested Butte is known as "the last great Colorado ski town," and in the summer it is the wildflower capital of Colorado. At 10,000 or more feet above sea level, the sky is the limit to what you can do, and accommodations define a successful trip. A well-appointed cabin, condo, or home rental is the key to accessing the activities of your choice. There are three location choices for holiday rentals: Mount Crested Butte, the town of Crested Butte, or the town's outlying areas.
For the master-skier, a house or condo rental at the foot of the mountain is the best option. Hotel rooms are available at the resorts, but they are expensive, and, for anyone looking to stay with family or for longer than one weekend, a holiday rental offers not only a lower cost but other advantages as well. Mount Crested Butte boasts some of the best backcountry skiing, and as host of the US Extreme Ski Championships and the X Games, it also leads the state in teaching first-time skiers. There are runs for every skill level and family friendly.
The town of Crested Butte is the social center of the East River Valley. To be closer to nightlife and dining, the best lodging choice is a rental home in the town of Crested Butte. While you can catch a shuttle to the ski hill, Crested Butte itself offers historic Victorian storefronts and modern galleries, musical entertainment, and fine dining. Visitors also enjoy the town's Nordic Center, complete with an ice skating rink and miles of groomed cross-country skiing trails.
Perhaps the most convincing reason to book a rental home in town is that Crested Butte is known for its year-round festivals. These include Torchlight, New Years, Winter Carnival, and Mardi Gras in winter; Extreme Board Fest, Slushuck and Flaushink in spring; Fat Tire Bike Week, the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, the Festival of the Arts, and Ball Bash in summer; and Fall Fest, Vintok, and the Paragon Peoples' Fair in fall.
If you treasure peace and quiet and awe-inspiring views, the best rental option is a cabin or chalet in East River Valley country. Almost all holiday rentals will be only a half-hour's drive from the town or ski hill.
If you visit in the dry summer months, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, whitewater rafting, golfing, and fishing can easily keep your family entertained. With Crested Butte and its cabins, condos, and homes, you are renting time in the Wild West.

subset: commoncrawl


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FordPass is your key to smart mobility
For the first time, you and your Ford can stay seamlessly connected wherever you are.
Your Ford in the palm of your hand.
Keep all your Ford's important information in one place.
Get to your destination faster with real-time Live Traffic updates.
FordPass lets you find petrol conveniently en route.
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The best parking spots at the best price.
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Imagery and information shown throughout this website may not reflect latest ROI specifications, colours may vary, options and/or accessories may be featured at additional cost and locations and vehicles used may be outside of the ROI. Ford policy is one of continuous product development. The right is reserved to change specifications, colours of the models and items illustrated and described on this website at any time. [†]This is the recommended retail price for the model shown excludes; optional extras, promotions, delivery and dealer related charges. [‡]FordPass Connect is an optional extra. The on-board modem will be connected at the time of vehicle delivery. You may choose to opt in/opt out of certain data sharing. The technology will be made available in selected markets in 2018, with the remaining markets following through 2019. [§]Screen appearance may vary. Depending on your device, you'll need to connect to SYNC 3 via a USB cable for iOS models or via Bluetooth® for Android devices. You can use Live Traffic in those vehicles equipped with SYNC 3 and satellite navigation. These include: Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX (built after September 2016); Kuga, Transit Connect, Ranger (built after October 2016); Mondeo, S-MAX, Galaxy, All-New Fiesta (built after 15th May 2017), Mustang (built after 1st March 2017) and Edge (built after 15th March 2017).


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We offer the advanced da Vinci Robotic Microsurgical Tubal Reversal technique for women at a more affordable cost in Jacksonville, FL
For women who wish to have a tubal reversal, we offer state of the art Robotic Assisted Microsurgical tubal reversal using the most advanced surgical tools available today, and are able to still do this at a very affordable cost. Without question, having a tubal reversal performed laparoscopically is associated with a much faster recovery, less pain, and less internal scarring, limiting the chance of damaging the fragile fallopian tubes. However few surgeons are can do this procedure laparoscopically, and for those that do, because of the limitation of standard laparoscopy, sacrifices have to be made in the surgical technique compared to the older standard of having an open incision and using a surgical microscope.
By using the da Vinci Robotic system, we are able to provide you with the best of both worlds, performing a true microsurgical tubal reversal technique, while doing this as an outpatient procedure with a fast recovery and less chance of internal scarring that can affect the newly opened tubes.
How is a tubal reversal performed?
There are three methods by which a tubal reversal can be performed. These include the old-fashioned "open" method, standard laparoscopy, and Robotic Assisted Microsurgical techniques. In the past, patients who underwent the "open" method had a 3-4" incision in their lower abdomen to reach the uterus and tubes. Microscopes were then used to open the tubes and sew them back together. This method allowed precise surgery to be performed, but by using an open incision, patients had a much longer recovery, usually requiring a week or more from work. The open incision also inherently causes scar tissue, which we just hoped did not affect the tubes. Through laparoscopy, patient recovery is much faster, and less scarring inside occurs. The drawback of this procedure is that due to limitations in the instruments, even the best surgeons cannot perform as precise of a tube repair as they could previously do under a microscope by hand. This could possibly sacrifice the success of the surgery. With the use of the da Vinci Robotic surgical system, the best of both worlds are combined, allowing a true microsurgical repair to be done, with a quick recovery and low chance of forming internal scar tissue. Typically one small incision in the belly button (10mm wide), and three other small incisions (7mm wide) are made. This procedure is by far the best for the patient, providing several advantages to ensure that you have the best possible outcome
Who is a good candidate for a tubal reversal?
Tubal reversal success is dependent on the method in which the tubal was first performed. The highest success comes with those that have had "clips" or "rings" placed on the tubes. These methods damage the tubes the least. In some cases, a segment of tube is removed, most commonly done right after a delivery. These methods are termed a "Pomeroy" or "Parkland" method, and in most cases are reversible. Tubes that have been "burned" are often overly damaged and may not be reversible, though each case is different. It is helpful to obtain a copy of the surgical operative report to better determine if a tubal reversal could be performed
Fertility is very dependent on the age of the woman. A tubal reversal is most successful if a woman is 35 years of age or less. For women who are over 37 years of age, studies have shown that a tubal reversal may not be the most cost effective therapy for trying to conceive. These patients are better suited to go directly to IVF.
Is a tubal reversal covered by insurance?
In nearly all cases, insurance does not cover reversal of sterilization. Performing a tubal reversal and trying to get insurance to cover the costs is considered insurance fraud and puts the patient and physician at legal risk.
Why don't you perform this at an outpatient surgery center?
We only perform Robotic Assisted Microsurgical Tubal Reversals at an accredited fully staffed hospital. Freestanding outpatient surgical centers do not offer the use of the advanced da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. We also feel that it is the safest for patients to have surgery in a hospital. The procedures are all very safe, but in the event that any unforeseen complications would arise, a hospital setting offers you the full resources and staff to properly care for you. If complications occur in a surgical center, you must be transferred by an ambulance to a hospital to receive the proper care, possibly wasting valuable time. Having your surgery performed in a hospital is always in your best interest.


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7x7x7: Design Energy Water is an innovative program by the Division of the State Architect that encouraged California school districts to develop long-range master plans that reduce energy and water consumption on campuses and improve the quality of educational spaces. The State Architect engages seven architectural firms to develop seven conceptual case studies that reduce school energy and water consumption and result in better learning environments on seven different types of campuses (six K-12 schools and a community college). The seven campuses are representative of typical building types from different eras constructed across California's varied climate zones. The purpose and primary goal of this program is to enable all existing K-14 facilities to be zero energy by 2030.
On December 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of a new partnership to jump-start zero energy schools across the country. The Zero Energy Schools Accelerator enables states and school districts alike to design, construct, and operate these cutting-edge, energy-saving schools. This press release highlights the importance of the Accelerator by featuring a completed zero energy school, Discovery Elementary in Arlington, Virginia.


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Bird Cages and Pigeon Traps
Professional dog trainers and active amateurs alike need a steady supply of pigeons and quail for hunting dog training. Lion Country Supply has everything you need to trap feral pigeons and build your own pigeon loft. We also have quail recall pens, and bird cages for transporting them to the field for release. The only way to train dogs to be steady to wing and shot is by using large numbers of live birds. Managing your own pigeon flock or quail covey is the perfect way to ensure that you are always ready to train. Our experts at 1-800-662-5202 will help you find the right pigeon and bird equipment for your project.


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Feather cushion pad
159 - 259
Fibre cushion filling
99.9 - 259
159 - 299
We use our own and third party cookies in order to improve your experience and our services, by analysing browsing activity on our website.
If you continue browsing, we will assume that you accept their use. You can find out more information or how to configure the settings here.
We would like to share with you the actions taken given the current situation and the temporary closure of our stores.


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Help a Customer, Make a SellJanuary 31, 2012
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My interaction—or lack thereof—with customer-service associates in any store I plan to shop always impacts my final sale. If I'm in need of assistance and have difficulty locating an associate, I generally leave the store with no intention of returning to it. If the staff proves itself unknowledgeable about products that I'm unfamiliar with, I don't make the purchase. If the staff is rude or negligent, I leave.


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1. Use Crayola® crayons, colored pencils, or markers to color the face features. 2. Cut out the features. 3. Tape or glue the features to the face, and see how many wacky faces you can create.
© 2017 Crayola LLC.
Find everything imaginable at Crayola.ca
· Color Online
Be sure to visit the all new CrayolaTeachers.ca online community for Canadian Educators with access to free lesson plans, educator resources and online shopping!
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Downloading themes
All themes on this website can be downloaded and installed via the integrated themes browser in Rockbox Utility. You can also download themes manually by clicking on the picture of your player in the table below, or browse all themes here.
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Page was last modified "Mar 7 2009" The Rockbox Crew


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Journalists increasingly practiced self-censorship as Mexican drug cartels expanded their presence in Guatemala. In May, criminals in four provinces hung banners in public places, threatening journalists with harm if gang activities were covered. A television journalist in southern Escuintla province was killed under unclear circumstances after receiving several threats. While the rise of criminal groups posed a growing risk, journalists also faced danger for coverage of official corruption and domestic security issues. In the southwestern city of Quetzaltenango, a television journalist and his family escaped injury when their van came under gunfire. The reporter had received death threats related to his coverage of police corruption. A columnist in the western city of Panajachel was forced to relocate after receiving a series of intimidating text messages concerning her coverage of a citizen security committee. The local press group CERIGUA documented an increase in press freedom violations in the months leading up to the November presidential elections, as well as a number of assaults and threats against journalists on Election Day. Otto Pérez Molina, a retired general running on the conservative Patriotic Party ticket, defeated businessman Manuel Baldizón in a runoff. Facing a murder rate among the highest in the world, Pérez pledged a tough approach on crime.
Yensi Roberto Ordoñez Galdámez, a television reporter and teacher, was stabbed to death in May 2011. CPJ continues to investigate to determine if the motive was work-related.
Newspaper columnist Lucía Escobar fled Panajachel after intimidation and harassment in connection with a piece that suggested a citizen security committee might have been behind the disappearance of a local resident. Escobar alleged the committee, an independent group formed to help protect the community, had begun using extralegal measures to enforce its own code of conduct.
The local press group CERIGUA documented 15 abuses against the press in the first six months of 2011.
Nineteen violations were documented in all of 2010.
Breakdown of 2011 violations:
9: Threats
2: Cases of obstruction
2: Attacks
1: Murder
1: Harassment
CERIGUA found that more than half of the 2011 violations were committed by government authorities or politicians. Criminal groups accounted for only one case because Guatemalan journalists were practicing self-censorship, CERIGUA said.
Attack by source:
5: Officials
2: Political party members
1: Organized crime
1: Security agent
3: Unknown
3: Others
In May, three reputed members of the Zetas crime syndicate were arrested in the city of Quetzaltenango on charges of hanging banners with anti-press messages such as: "Tone it down, before the war is with you." Similar banners were found in Petén, Baja Verapaz, and Huehuetenango provinces. A week earlier, the press had covered the massacre of farm workers in Petén province. The Zetas organization, which originated in Mexico, has made considerable inroads in Guatemala in recent years.


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Conflict resolution, indeed
As part of "Conflict Resolution Month" in October, state Sen. Linda Newell is teaming up with an organization to promote better ways to discipline children in public schools.
But the group she's joining hands with, Padres y Jovenes Unidos, is one that was on the other side of the trenches on a pivotal issue in 2009. That was the year lawmakers shot down legislation that would have allowed illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition if they graduated from a Colorado high school.
Padres y Jovenes Unidos led the fight at the Capitol for the "tuition equity" bill, and Newell, D-Centennial, was one of only five Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans, helping shoot down the bill.
Newell has taught conflict resolution in multiple settings ranging from classrooms to the legislature. She got plenty of heat from her Democratic colleagues after the vote.
So was it ironic being asked to work on conflict resolution with Padres Unidos?
"That issue (the tuition bill) never came up" in a meeting with the group two weeks ago, Newell said.
Marco Nunez, director of organizing for Padres y Jovenes Unidos, said that while his group and Newell disagreed over the in-state tuition bill, they found common ground on the issue of school discipline and conflict resolution. Nunez said far too many kids are entering the criminal justice system after committing minor infractions in school.
"We see this as an opportunity to continue the conversation about all issues that are getting in the way of students succeding," he said, "and this is one of them."


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Jane W brauchte ein neues Logo Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 82 Designs von 24 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
We are a not-for-profit group needing a logo which will evoke sympathy and a desire to help dogs in rescue homes. We work with many charities nationwide who help dogs in terrible situations. Please look at the description in our brief for more details. Colours and fonts are open to interpretation. To be used on website, letterhead, car sticker etc.
My Forever Home
Click the link to see what the design must be roughly based on (the animal is supposed to be a dog not a cat btw!)
The design is supposed to convey a sad caged dog, dreaming of a time when he might find a happy home with a nice family of his own. As a guide, the size should be recognisable at approx 2" high by 5" or 6" wide.
The dog must be imagining a nice happy home, but should itself be very forlorn, as you would be if you were left in a few feet square cage. The type of dog is not important but it must be obvious that the dog is caged.
This website will be a nationwide service which all dog rescues will use to list the dogs they have available for re-homing, so that people searching for a dog will be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. The aim is to speed up turnaround of these dogs so that more can be taken from dog pounds where they are destroyed if they are not either claimed or moved to a re-homing centre within 7 days.
Currently in the UK many thousands of dogs are put to sleep every year completely unneccessarily, and we are working towards a day when this will no longer be the case. The website will also be used for other purposes such as fund-raising, providing lost/found services etc and the logo will be seen nationally when our awareness campaign produces car stickers etc, to help get the word out.
Thank you for your help with this really important cause.
- A strong design which over time would become instantly recognisable
- Almost 'stylised' dog rather than detailed, the Dogs Trust logo is one we really like
- Maybe a good way to convey a sad dog would be to have it lying with his head on his paws?
- We'd like a 'generic' looking dog as opposed to an obvious specific breed
- The cage is really important as the whole objective is to get dogs OUT of cages/kennels
- Too many colours (max of three) as printing costs will be an issue
- An overly complicated design, as it needs to be recognisable whatever the medium
- No red or yellow to be used please
- Not too 'cartoony' as this is a serious subject, and nothing looking like a cat!
Finden Sie heraus, wie ein Designwettbewerb funktioniert, oder lernen Sie mehr über unsere Logo-Design-Angebote.


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The 'Twilight' series contains four books about a dreamy vampire and the charmingly klutzy girl who loves him. It was written by Stephanie Meyer, presumably on the back of a trapper keeper while she was still in high school.
Just The Facts
- Too many people take these books seriously.
- Taken together, the series is the 'Manos: The Hands of Fate' of literature.
- Either because they love comedy or hate themselves, the winners of this week's Topics Page Contest read every word of the entire series.
Our Protagonists
The books tell the story of the vampire Edward Cullen, who is described as an "Adonis" no more than every time the author is able to, and Bella Swan, a "plain" girl who reads "serious" literature like Wuthering Heights because she's so intelligent. Also, she is much more advanced than the students in the school that she has just moved to, but that's okay, because she makes up for it by being clumsy, since every well-developed character needs exactly one (1) flaw.
Stylistic Choices
Stephanie Meyer's exemplary writing style is demonstrated in this conversation between Edward and our narrator Bella:
"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, distracted.
"No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full - full of butterflies.
Book One: Twilight
Despite being so plain, Bella is admired by everyone in her new hometown of Forks, Washington, especially Edward Cullen. Originally, Edward just wanted to eat her, but, disappointingly, realizes eventually that in fact what he is feeling is true love, and after a couple of days they start dating. After two or three weeks, Bella is begging him to turn her into a vampire because of true love.
This isn't made explicitly clear in the book, but Edward has been creeping into her room and watching her sleep every night since he met her. More on that later.
Also, Edward has mind-reading powers, except they don't work on Bella. This isn't really as big a part of the story as most people think it is, and in fact we can (and will) get away without ever mentioning it again.
A mere number of days after they begin dating, Edward takes her to the woods and reveals the real reason that vampires don't go out in the sun: they sparkle. This is the turning point in what until now has been just a bad book. Bella gasps and swoons, and Edward takes his shirt off to show her all of his glitter infection, and then they lie there chastely on the grass. The rest of the book is spent talking about true love and Edward's rock-hard abs. Kissing cold, marble, statuesque lips is apparently sexy.
Later, Bella kisses Edward so hard he almost "loses control", but luckily, as the man in the relationship, it's his duty to keep poor little overexcited Bella in line, so he tells her to stop kissing him.
Three hundred pages after "Oh, you like me too? No way, I thought you hated me!", the plot arrives late to the party, drunk, in a beat-up '53 Chevy pick-up truck. It drives away about fifty pages later and crashes into a tree, gets sent to the hospital, and is rarely heard from again throughout the course of the series.
Book Two: New Moon
Book Two begins with Bella angsting about reaching the old age of eighteen, which she worries will make her some sort of cradle-snatching freak because her boyfriend Edward is eternally seventeen. The fact that a 109-year-old vampire is sexually interested in an emotionally immature girl 90 years his junior apparently doesn't bother her. Edward cheers up Bella by giving her a mix tape. Unfortunately, later Edward changes his mind, takes back the mix tape, and dumps Bella. He leaves her in the forest by herself, and being a woman and thus without a sense of direction, she gets lost and almost dies.
Bella spends the rest of the book going crazy, imagining Edward's voice and partaking in ever more self-destructive activities. During this time she befriends Jacob Black, who turns out to be a werewolf but is still way better for her than Edward. She finally regains Edward's attention after she deliberately jumps off a cliff and almost dies. Edward, being a thirteen-year-old girl, thinks Bella has died and goes to Italy to commit suicide. He attempts to do this by exposing himself to the sun at noon in an Italian town. Since sunlight doesn't actually harm Twilight vampires, one must assume that Edward is hoping some macho Italians will see him in at full sparkle and beat him to death for being gay.
Bella teams up with Edward's sister Alice, who turns out to be straight and taken but is still way better for her than Edward, to rescue her ex from his emoness. After a crazy mix up that finds Bella and Edward temporarily in an Anne Rice novel, Edward reaccepts her.
This novel thus teaches two important lessons to young girls everywhere:
1) If a guy dumps you and says he doesn't love you anymore, he doesn't mean it. All you have to do is beg and destroy your life to prove that you really love him, and he'll come right back and love you even more!
2) It is perfectly cool to string along innocent but decent guys who are crushing on you and then dump them immediately as soon as your ex-boyfriend reappears, and totally normal if said ex-boyfriend forbids you from seeing your old friend. After all, your love for your ex must be far stronger, because he makes you feel 'alive' and 'dangerous' since he's always on the verge of killing you. And stalking you. We can't really mention that enough.
Book Three: Eclipse
The plot revolves around a villain from the first book, who is stalking Bella. But this is just a background to the real plot, which is about Edward stalking Bella. The book focuses on the choice Bella must make between Jacob Black and Edward Cullen, two tall, good-looking, devoted men with cool supernatural abilities. This is exactly the kind of problem that normal women face every day.
Halfway through, Stephenie Meyer realizes that Jacob Black is far cooler than Edward and performs a quick character assassination by having him mouth-rape her. Bella punches him and runs away, but later discovers she loves him, which teaches us more lessons:
1) If a girl says she doesn't love you, just keep sexually assaulting her. Eventually she'll realize she likes it.
2) Leading two guys on for years because you 'love them both' is perfectly acceptable, as long as you feel really bad about it at some point.
All through this we learn more about more secondary characters, who like Alice and Jacob are far more interesting than either Edward or Bella. These include:
1) Edward's sister Rosalie, who performed a massacre that sounds like Kill Bill with vampires. Kill Bill! With vampires!!!
2) Edward's brother Jasper, who is old enough to have fought for the South, and used to take part in vampire turf wars. Vampire turf wars!!!!!!!!!
Normal Vampire Turf Wars:
Twilight Vampire Turf Wars:
Unfortunately, we only get about five pages each on these guys. This gives us more space for Bella and Edward to stare into each others' eyes and quote from Wuthering Heights, in a good example of the old 'mask the inadequacies of your own work by quoting from someone who could actually write' method.
Also, Bella thinks about vampires some more.
"It was childish, but I liked the idea that his lips would be the last good thing I would feel. Even more embarrassingly, something I would never say aloud, I wanted his venom to poison my system."
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Bella Swan: eighteen and already looking forward to death, she is the perfect role model for your young teenage girl. After an unintentionally hilarious end battle Bella and Edward decide to get married, bringing us to the end of yet another 700 pages without any fucking.
Breaking Dawn: The One With The Vampire Fucking
The newly-married Bella and Edward embark on their honeymoon, where Bella spends a lot of time getting Edward to make love to her. We like to think that he is afraid of this partly because he is afraid of hurting her with his super-strength, and partly because he is still freaked out about discovering that he is supposed to be heterosexual. "If I sleep with a woman, I'll have to go home and smash my piano," we imagine him thinking. "Will I still be able to drive a Volvo? What about me and Emmett's 'hiking trips'?"
There's also some blatant foreshadowing right around the time that the "Denali clan" is mentioned. Apparently it's illegal for vampires to have babies (and it's supposed to be impossible anyway) and if that rule is ever broken, the Italian Mafia Vampires from the second book will swoop down and kill the baby vampire and its family. Then Bella has a dream about a baby vampire sitting on a pile of deadified everyone-she-cares-about. We imagine that Meyer's editor had to cross out the "DUN DUN DUN" in the original manuscript.
Around this point, the reader is shocked and disturbed to find out that Stephenie Meyer is actually using vampirism to weave quite a skillful metaphor for adolescent fears about love and physical intimacy. Bella loves Edward so much that she is willing to give up her life for him. This desire, which seems unhealthy at first glance, is only possible because of her absolute trust in the fact that he would never willingly hurt her.
Before all that, though, Edward and Bella have another one of their annoying arguments. Vampires, especially Edward because he's so special, are supposed to be super-strong and primal, and Bella wants to have sex with Edward before he turns her into a vampire. Edward thinks it will hurt Bella. Bella says she doesn't care. We skip a couple pages.
Right before they have sex, Meyer remembers that she's writing out her fantasies for an audience now, and so she abruptly pulls a PG-13 "fade-to-black", disappointing any male Twilight fans who were hoping for a closer look at Edward.
When Bella wakes up, she is covered in feathers because the sex was so rough and passionate that Edward bit a pillow. Then Edward points out that Bella is covered in bruises. She brushes off his concern and then the two of them whine about how unhappy they are now because they've made each other unhappy by being unhappy, and then we kind of stopped reading for a couple of minutes. But we learned a few more things:
1) It doesn't matter if he hurts you
2) He only did it because he loves you.
Excluding all the questionable sex, you might start to think that maybe this book isn't an entirely bad influence on teenage girls, with its 'don't go to bed with anyone unless he has proven that he loves you' message. And then Stephenie Meyer takes that trust, uses it to get your address and credit card numbers, and then breaks into your house and poisons your dog.
Long story short: Bella gets pregnant. It goes downhill from there.
After a bunch of vampire/werewolf crap that nobody cares about, Jacob, Edward and Edward's sister all gather around Bella waiting for Edward's doctor father to return so that he can help her birth the fast-growing demon spawn. Bella has one fucking job, which is to not mess up until the doctor arrives. Being an adorably klutzy flawed heroine, she can't manage it. She trips on her way to the bathroom, and the reader is treated to the sound of the placenta displacing (a 'muffled ripping sound'--thanks for the image, Meyer, you bitch) and a description of Bella's bladder releasing, racehorse-like urine flowing down her legs and onto the floor and - oh wait, this is a Stephenie Meyer novel, so the heroine only does more delicate things. Like 'vomiting a fountain of blood'. No, we didn't make that part up.
Bella (artist's interpretation)
With the baby suffocating, Edward and co decide to perform a vampire cesarean. Jacob takes some time off to write down 'Vampire Cesarean' as a possible future name for his punk band, and then races to Bella's side in time to hear her spine break.
Once again, we are not making this up.
Another shattering crack inside her body, the loudest yet... Her legs, which had been curled up in agony, now went limp, sprawling out in an unnatural way.
"Her spine," he choked in horror.
It's only implied, but we like to think Edward tries to cheer Bella up about the whole paralysis thing by saying 'Hey girl, at least we don't need an epidural!' Bella gurgles some more, and Jacob takes some time out of the birthing to randomly beat up Edward's sister. That's just how Jacob rolls. At some point, Edward rips open Bella's uterus and delivers the baby.
He rips open her uterus.
With his teeth.
Then stabs her with a vampire venom-filled syringe.
At this point the reader is filled with something not unlike calm relief. At least nothing, nothing in the world, could be more disturbing than this. Except, like, quasi-child porn or something. Luckily, of course, that would be entirely--
Then Jacob falls madly in love with the newborn baby girl.
No, we don't mean in the sense of 'Oh, I fell in love with that kitten the moment I saw it'. We mean in love love. Really, what we're trying to say--and let us know if you don't understand--is that Jacob the borderline rapist and the tiny baby vampire chest-burster are going to get married and have babies.
What Jacob did, Meyer explains, was "imprint" on the baby. Imprinting, in the Twilight universe, is what happens when a werewolf finds his soulmate. It means that the two of them are now destined to be together, no matter what. What if the girl is unwilling at first? Too bad, because she isn't any more! It's the psychic equivalent of GHB.
We must have misunderstood, though, because we found this quote from the author:
"They ended up being vampires in the way they are because I have strong opinions on free will. No matter what position you're in, you always have a choice. So I had these characters who were in a position where traditionally they would have been the bad guys, but, instead, they chose to be something different-a theme that has always been important to me."
Apparently Jacob is choosing to be a pedophile.
Meanwhile, newly de-babied Bella wakes up and describes being a vampire, which to us sounds an awful lot like being on shrooms.
"The brilliant light overhead was still blinding-bright, and yet I could plainly see the glowing strands of the filaments inside the bulb. I could see each color of the rainbow in the white light, and, at the very edge of the spectrum, an eighth color I had no name for. Behind the light, I could distinguish the individual grains in the dark wood ceiling above. In front of it, I could see the dust motes in the air, the sides the light touched, and the dark sides, distinct and separate. They spun like little planets, moving around each other in a celestial dance."
She then stared at her hands for forty minutes and announced "The real person is like, beneath the skin, dude."
Then there is explicit vampire sex. Well, not really, of course, because it's Twilight. We do, though, get the next 300 pages of sparkly boredom briefly livened up by Edward's brother Emmett implying that Edward is unable to satisfy his new wife. Edward reacts to this by playing the piano and wearing khakis, because that proves that he's straight.
Meanwhile, Bella has been transformed into the most beautifulest sparkly vampire lady ever omg!!!11! Everyone comments on how beautiful she's become, because just when you thought this book was already its own fan-fiction the author changes her Mary Sue character into a... well, we're not even sure where you go from there. Also, Bella names her child Renesmee, after her mother Rene and Edward's "mother" Esmee. Renesmee immediately sets out to be one of the creepiest things ever, and it's only made worse when everyone talks about how perfect she is.
Originally the Cullens are afraid that Vampire Bella will escape and eat people, but she proves to be remarkably compassionate and able to control herself more than any vampire ever because she is a special snowflake. Also on her first "hunt" she wears a cocktail dress, and she is able to do that because it is sexy and she is so in control of herself and totally not klutzy. We guess characters don't have to be flawed to be interesting, then, although we wouldn't know because we started falling asleep at about this point.
Anyway, Jacob is left to take care of the creepy daughter while Edward and Bella just run around and do whatever. Bella is furious when she finds out that he's nicknamed the little monster "Nessie", which we think is actually a really appropriate name. Bella does not seem to care that Jacob the Pedophile Date Rapist Werewolf is babysitting the Little Loch Ness Monster Vampire Baby from Hell.
Finally something happens, in the form of the Italian Vampire Mafia from the second book swooping down in order to kill the vampire baby and its family. SURPRISE. Curiously, although one of the vampires actually mentions the fact that modern weapons are effective against immortals, the Cullens forego stocking up on rocket launchers and instead decide to take a stand using only their vicious vampire fangs as weapons.
Oh, wait.
At this point, Edward's cooler siblings Alice and Jasper are like 'WTF, we are OUT of here' and run away to start a new life. The remaining vampires team up with the pedowolves for a glorious, bloody fight against the evil powers of vampire oppression, a vampiredammerung that lasts hundreds of pages and puts the most epic of Tolkien battles to blushing shame.
As well it should, because a lot of the vampires have special powers, like the X-Men. We know, you didn't think this story was going to be awesome, and you're so wrong, because--
The Cullens sit down with the Mafia Vampires and talk about their feelings for a while. The Mafia back down without a fight and head back to Anne Rice land, and Edward and Bella kiss. Also, Jacob has made Renesmee a bracelet. Did we mention that Renesmee somehow is going to grow rapidly to seventeen and then stop growing? Jacob is going to marry her, and she will be permanantly underage.
Fuck you, Meyer.
Book Five: Midnight Sun (unreleased)
Midnight Sun is Twilight, but told from Edward's point of view. It's a disappointment. Not so much because it's bad, but because you find out exactly how many times Bella was close to being eaten. Also because of the breaking-into-her-room-every-night-to-watch-her-sleep-without-her-knowing thing. And you thought we were joking about the stalking.
Several other interesting things revealed in Midnight Sun:
- Edward's brother Jasper is actually a barely restrained killing machine who several times offers to kill Bella simply because she's bothering Edward. He therefore gets about four lines before we go back to Edward playing his piano.
- Up until he fell in love with Bella, Edward's sister Rosalie thought that he 'wasn't interested in girls at all'. So did we, Rosalie. So did we.
- Edward is fascinated by Bella because he can't read her thoughts. This phenomenom is apparently genetic, because Edward can't hear her father Charlie's thoughts either. Rumors of a future book involving a forbidden Edward/Charlie romance are so far unconfirmed.
Apart from this, the most interesting thing about the book is that the word 'chagrin' is used once every 29.3 pages. This record is broken only by Stephenie Meyer's latest book, released in April 2009 and entitled simply 'Chagrin Topaz Sparkles'.
Alleged Sexism
Stephenie Meyer, the series' author, has been criticized for her portrayal of a weak, helpless female lead who falls madly in love with a man who wants to kill her. Others disagree and claim that the relationship has fair precedent, citing the common practice of marriages to incarcerated serial killers and the notorious original ending to the movie Terminator. This idea has been backed up by legions of the books' fans, prompting others of the female persuasion to attempt to forcibly remove their extra X chromosome.
Robert Pattinson
Unaware of the popularity of the book series or the insanity of its fanbase, the young actor signed on to play Edward Cullen in a three-movie contract deal in order to hit on to the lead actress. When he found out his mistake, Pattinson took to insulting the book and its author in interviews and appearing in public after long periods of not showering in order to avoid his fans. Of course, this didn't work. There is widespread speculation as to what Pattinson will try next, including possibly gaining 200 pounds and smearing his face with human excrement. We assume that Pattinson's agents are currently negotiating a deviation from the book in the second movie, in which Edward Cullen is unexpectedly killed by Lord Voldemort.


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Around every corner is yet another danger. Around every corner is another hard decision. Another mystery, and more paranoia.
Around Every Corner is the next episode in the fantastic episodic series of Telltale's The Walking Dead series. We find our group of survivors in a new area (episode 3 spoilers)—Savannah, GA—fighting against both zombies and human threats alike.
How long can you keep Clementine alive for? Things seem to spiral more and more out of control...
Episode 4 will release at an undeclared date this October (Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac), followed shortly thereafter by the 5th and final episode of the season. Check the new trailer above and the new screenshots below.


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Varnam's are further classified into "pada" varnam and "ata-tala" varnams. "Viriboni" is one such Ata-tala varnam set to Bhairavi ragam by Pacchimirium Sri Adiyappaiyer
Composition: Viriboni
Composer: Pacchimiriyam Adiyappa
Raga: Bhairavi
Mela: Natabhairavi - 20
Type: Varnam
Tala : Khandajathi Ata
Arohana: S
N1 S || S Gi Ri Gi Ma Pa Dhi Ni S
Avarohana:S N1 D1 P M1 G1 R2 S || S Ni Dha Pa Ma Gi Ri S
Bhashanga Raga: Chatusruti dhaivata
viribōṇi ninnē kōri ||
marulu konnadi-rā ||
sarasuḍau dakṣiṇa dwāraka ||
sāmi śrī rājagōpāla dēva ||
chirunavvu mōmuna ||
If you are thinking this is just five lines, dont. Ata-tala varanams are very complex pada-varnams and we usually take 25 minutes to finish it. Yeah 25 minutes to practise five lines of lyrics!
Ata-tala varnam, as the name suggests, are set to a 14-beat cycle, far different as compared to a varnam set to Adi tala. That complexity in beats makes it complex and yet soulful, thanks to the complex svara structures.
They are also used for the Bharatnatyam dance recitals, where the ragam-tanam-pallavi is more intricate as compared to a regular varnam and it could go on for as long as 35-45 minutes, depending on the choreography and the visual story-telling the artiste-dancer indulges in.


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Camp visiting day for parents: Worth the trouble?
By Leanne Italie
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Mom Stacey Udell couldn't wait for visitors day when her daughter first went to sleepaway camp at age 9.
"About two hours in she said to me, 'I think you better leave now. You don't want to get stuck in traffic.' We had just sat down to lunch."
Six summers later, Udell thinks the traditional day for parents, grandparents and siblings to check out what their campers are up to is definitely more about the grown-ups than the kids.
"It sets many kids back," said Udell, whose daughter is now 15 and will return to camp this year with her 13-year-old brother. "I see a lot of kids crying at the end of visiting day."
The day isn't only long and hot. Routines for the kids are disrupted and it can feel more about the goodies parents bring along than quality time. Like Udell's daughter, the kids may be more excited about water fights, cabin pajama parties and special sports tournaments planned to burn energy and distract them the night after parents leave.
As many full-summer programs have been trimmed back from eight weeks to six or seven, are parent visiting days worth the trouble? Absolutely, camp directors said, though some acknowledged most kids likely could live without them.
Every camp has its own policy on whether and when visitors are welcome.
Some with shorter sessions have done away with a single visiting day for all parents and instead invite parents to come for a few hours if and when they can. Some provide two all-camp scheduled dates so divorced parents can visit separately, according to the American Camp Association.
Some camps running four-week sessions welcome visitors on the last day so parents don't have to make a special trip if they were planning to pick up their kids anyway. Others offer a separate grandparents day or the chance for siblings to spend the night in cabins.
"Often the choice of where to go to summer camp will hinge in part on combining visitors day with other travel plans. Parents are pretty conscious of how to make it work," said Chris Thurber, a psychologist and camp staff trainer.
Making it work -- and smoothing the way for re-entry into camp life for the kids -- depends a lot on making sure parents follow the rules. At some camps, that means honoring guidelines not to haul in an excess of gifts, favorite snacks or banned foods, or following outright prohibitions on care packages of any kind.
To avoid leaving out kids whose families don't plan to show up on visitors day, camps often organize special trips for them off the grounds, such as a day at a nearby water park or beach. Or they seek volunteer parents who do plan to attend to take on a child left alone.
Campers who experienced homesickness on arrival at camp may have a touch of it again once it's time to say goodbye after a mid-session visitors day, but it usually doesn't last more than a day or two, camp directors said. Also, anticipation of visitors days can rev up campers ahead of the big event.
Visitors days come on top of camps offering parents glimpses of daily camp life through their websites, complete with video. That, said camp consultant Scott Arizala, could serve to raise or lower parental angst, depending on whether they see smiles or sad faces.
"And they'll be right on the phone," he said. "Parents are so connected these days. Camp professionals themselves are starting to see less and less usefulness out of something like visitor day, and maybe more and more disruption."
Parents aside, can kids do without visitors day? "Yeah, they could absolutely do without it," said Marla Coleman, a past president of the ACA who operates a day camp in Long Island. "Camp becomes like this private world for a child where they get to live in an environment where they're not connected to their parents at all times, but they do like to show their parents what they're experiencing, how they're getting better at certain activities, how they're making good friends, so they're proud, too."
Thurber, Coleman and others in the industry offer these tips for parents to help make visitors day a highlight rather than a hassle:
Arrival and departure: Don't be late. Nothing can kill a camper's spirit faster than scanning the horizon for his tardy parents as reunions are happening all around.
Don't linger at departure time. "It's hard for kids to expect one thing and get another," Thurber said. "Don't leave them wondering, 'I thought my parents had to go at 4, so why are they still here?"'
Parents aren't always great at goodbyes, Coleman said. "Be upbeat and happy. Wear sunglasses if you have to. You can say, 'I'm glad that you're having a great time. It was so great to see you here.' Keep it short and sweet and don't get overly emotional and clingy."
Don't bring armloads of stuff: "The kids don't like being overindulged," Coleman said. "They feel uncomfortable about it. Extravagance doesn't fit into the camp environment. It doesn't feel right. They've spent a whole summer connecting with nature, learning to be with friends. They don't need it and there's no room in the bunk anyway to put all the junk."
Know the rules: Camp consultant Jill Tipograph suggests double-checking the camp's lunch policy. Will lunch be served, or do parents bring a picnic lunch? Are there food restrictions on camp grounds due to allergies or candy bans?
If you're allowed to take your child out of camp, make sure you check when you have to return them and plan some in-town activities beforehand. Keith Klein, co-owner of Camp Laurel in Readfield, Maine, provides kids with a smallish reusable bag for parental treats and hopes they don't exceed the space. "We don't want the emphasis on shopping," he said.
Klein said visitors day is fun for all but, yes, may be more about parents than kids. "I'm not sure it is necessary," he said.
So should visitors day be eliminated?
"That's a really good question that maybe we should begin to ask one day," he said. "At the same time, children are away for seven weeks and, you know, by and large we see a wonderful happy group of parents and campers, so I think it works. It's tradition."
Leanne Italie can be reached at: http://twitter.com/litalie


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It's an annual tradition, and a sure sign that summer is fast approaching. It's the Walking Tour of Historic Pawtuxet Village, hosted by the E.T. Wyman PTA and presented by the students of Wyman, Aldrich, Pilgrim and St. Peter School.
Students set up at various historic spots in the Village, reciting their well-rehearsed speeches based on historic events and people. All of the students wore period costumes – girls in bonnets and long skirts, boys in breeches and tri-corner hats.
As the sun shone down on them, the students continued a yearly tradition that keeps hundreds of years of history alive. (Warwick Beacon photos by Kim Kalunian)
See a video of the walking tour here


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Numerous players decided not to wear t-shirts in support of Kick It Out during this weekend's Barclays Premier League matches, including Ferdinand brothers Rio and Anton and Reading striker Jason Roberts.
Asked for his reaction to the issue, Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief executive Taylor, whose union are one of the bodies which part-funds Kick It Out, told TalkSPORT: "I feel to some extent it's misguided and I feel it's quite disrespectful of people like Herman Ouseley, who has spent a lifetime fighting racism, also on the trustees we have people such as Paul Elliott and Garth Crooks."
He went on: "This is a lobby group, it just seems odd to aim their attention at a group, albeit supported by the FA, and the Premier League as well as the PFA, whose job it is to try and send out a message against racism.
"So it is quite a concern, I can understand the frustration with the events that have been in place but the fact is Kick It Out is not the disciplinary body."
The protests have raised some issues that Taylor admits need looking at, though.
He said: "Clearly there's a great deal of unhappiness in the way they (Kick It Out) are presenting themselves and we've got to ask serious questions.
"And if in fact the money we give, which is six figures from the PFA....we are a democratic union and if the members, clearly some of which feel that's not being used to best effect, then we've got to look to change it and make sure we respond to those feelings or look for another alternative method of eradicating racism from our game."
Source: PA
Source: PA


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Stony Hill is unique in that after 61 years of operation we have remained a small family business, rooted in our original vision of creating great wines in small lots from our own hillside vineyards. Today our forty acres of vines produce on average 3,500 cases of wine per year. Our winemaking style is distinctly non-interventionist, allowing the intensely flavored fruit from our rocky, hillside soils to determine the character of the wine. We describe it as fruity, non-oaky and non-malolactic in style and see it as a particularly good match with food. We sell our wines primarily to customers on our mailing list and to fine restaurants in major metropolitan areas throughout the US.
Drive 3 miles north of the town of St. Helena and turn left at the Bale Grist Mill State Park. Drive up the hill, take the first left before the park gates, and follow the signs to Stony Hill for 2 miles. The gate will open automatically for you.
Plan a trip to Stony Hill Vineyard on our interactive winery map:
In summer we taste wines under an old oak tree on the north terrace of the ranch house overlooking the Napa Valley. In winter we taste wines at the dining room table inside the ranch house.View from Tasting Room: From our north terrace visitors look eastward across the Napa Valley to Howell Mountain and the Vaca range.
Wine clubs are a great way to stay connected to your favorite wineries.
To join the wine club, visit www.stonyhillvineyard.com or call 707-963-2636.
We have a wine club with three levels of membership with discounts varying by level. Members are eligible to attend quarterly release parties and are given preference in ordering older wines and special releases.
The offer listed below is valid for all Napa Valley residents age 21 and over.
10% case discount
The Napa Green program is supported by a wide variety of groups including the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the University of California. The Napa Valley Vintners, along with Fish Friendly Farming, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, the Napa County Farm Bureau and others developed the Napa Green program. Learn more about the program at napagreen.org.
Stony Hill Vineyard is certified under the Napa Green Winery Program by the Napa County Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the Association of Bay Area Government's (ABAG) Green Business Program and completed all the regulatory components needed for environmental sustainability. These components included developing water and energy conservation methods, preventing pollution, and reducing solid waste. In addition to developing sustainable winery practices, this program is set to become the standard for the state of California.
Stony Hill Vineyard is certified under the Napa Green Certified Land Program. Stony Hill Vineyard has created and implemented a customized farm plan with measured results that addressed all aspects of its property, vineyard land as well as non-farmed land, including practicing soil conservation, water conservation, stable drainage, riparian corridor enhancement, fisheries and wildlife habitat enhancement and long-term improvement and sustainability.
Certification - certification is granted by the Napa County Agricultural Commissioners Office of Pesticide Regulation, the Regional Water Quality Control board, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Once a year the rarest new Napa Valley wines become available under one roof at Premiere Napa Valley. Wineries throughout the Napa Valley are given one task to participate: create a one-of-a-kind wine for this event to be purchased by one lucky bidder. This event is only open to select members of the wine trade and the successful bidder is the sole owner of this unique wine.
Stony Hill Vineyard
Cases: 5
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2018
Release Date: October - 2020
Appellation: Spring Mountain District
To purchase this wine or check on availability contact:
Nakagawa Wine Co.


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40 Years
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The answer to the oft-asked question of whether [a particular extreme weather] event is caused by climate change is that it is the wrong question. All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be….
— Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the USA National Center for Atmospheric Research
As I write this on a pleasant Tuesday morning in Oregon, hurricane Sandy has just passed through the North Atlantic coastal states and is ravaging inland areas from New York State to West Virginia on its way to Ontario, Canada. The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for Chicago where 50 m.p.h. winds are expected to bring waves as high as 23 feet to Lake Michigan's shoreline. Moisture carried inland by the storm is meeting advancing cold fronts, and massive snowfalls are expected as far south as North Carolina.
Inundated with sea- and rainwater, coastal cities from Delaware to Rhode Island have been brought to a standstill, and now face an enormous cleanup job. Sandy is the largest hurricane ever to hit the U.S. North Atlantic coast. The cost of repairing the infrastructure and property damage will likely be three times higher than the $15.6 billion spent cleaning up after the monster storm Irene struck the region in 2011.
And of course the human toll of the storm — the deaths, disappearances and injuries; the loss of homes, communities and livelihoods; the traumatization of children — is incalculable.
Significantly, a few days before Sandy struck the U.S. another storm — a storm of controversy about whether the hurricane's unusual characteristics could be attributed to global warming — erupted in the blogosphere. That's because Sandy's enormous size and power, and the fact that an extremely anomalous high pressure system over Greenland pushed it westward toward landfall, depended on a confluence of underlying climatic conditions and previously rare weather events that could become more common in our rapidly warming world.
When this combination of factors was described by meteorological agencies to explain why Sandy was such a dangerous storm (staffers at NOAA called it a "Frankenstorm," because it was a rare "hybrid" of tropical and North Atlantic cyclones arriving at Halloween), supporters and opponents of the idea of human-induced climate change jumped to make their cases, and a heated, sometimes vehement brouhaha ensued.
My take? Along with 98 percent of the world's climatologists, I consider the fact that humans are heating the planet by emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to be settled science. But exactly what effects can we attribute to this global warming? Does it "cause" outsized hurricanes? Or, as some "global warming skeptics" maintain, are they merely natural phenomena that have and always will occur on this planet, regardless of human activity?
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Surprisingly, the answer is — quick, grab your cognitive-dissonance shield! — "all of the above."
Of course there have always been hurricanes, some quite powerful and some influenced by distant, unusual weather patterns. Global warming doesn't necessarily create the conditions under which hurricanes (or other extreme weather events) arise. But it does exacerbate those conditions — and increase the likelihood that an "average-sized" future hurricane will be larger and more powerful than "average-sized" hurricanes of the past.
Hurricanes generally become stronger as they pass over warm water and then they weaken over cooler water and land. Globally, September 2012 had the second-highest ocean surface temperatures on record, and the North Atlantic, over which Sandy traveled, is currently about 5ºF warmer than average, which helped the hurricane picked up strength and speed at its core as is lumbered northward.
Also, global warming has now laden the atmosphere with 5 percent or more moisture than it had a few decades ago. A September 2012 National Geographic magazine article states, "In theory extra water vapor in the atmosphere should pump heat into big storms such as hurricanes and typhoons, adding buoyancy that causes them to grow in size and power…But the jury's still out on whether any increase has occurred yet."
Sandy generated storm-force winds across its entire 1100 mile girth as it hit the coast. Is it the first juror to cast a vote in our new era of destabilizing climate — the first superstorm in a century of superstorms?
More important, do we want to find out? No one knows exactly what the future will bring, but many climatologists have predicted an age of superstorms, rising tides and unending droughts. Perhaps Sandy just told us that that future has arrived — and we'd better make some changes at our ecological house.


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Applied Interactive necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 79 diseños de 30 diseñadores freelance.
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Access Fixtures clients are business owners and electrical contractors who demand quality products configured as the require, all at a competitive price.
All entries must include a color version and a black/white version. Logos that are on one line v. stacked are preferred as they take up less height on the website. Logos that match the color scheme of the web site may be preferred, but an outstanding logo with colors will be considered. Good luck! We are excited about the designs you are about to create!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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The Democratic Debate: Obama Wins, 1-0.
Barack Obama won the Democratic debate Thursday night. It was easy. He was the only one on the stage, and what a nice stage — in front of Congress and whatever part of the world was watching. Of course, it might have been even easier if Rick Perry had been there to whisper "Ponzi scheme" behind his back, instead of having Joe Biden and John Boehner politely applauding.
This was, of course, a campaign speech even as Obama said it was time for politicians to put themselves above politics and serve the people. What could be more political than that? What Obama wanted to do — as much as propose a plan that he basically dared Republicans to oppose — was to get his base back in line. Democrats who demanded a fiery Obama got it. Democrats who demanded a jobs plan of some substance got it (a $447 billion plan, for which Obama, tellingly, never mentioned the actual number). Democrats who vowed to turn off the TV set if Obama mentioned the word "bipartisan" got that, too.


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Re: "In Colorado, another recall effort over guns seeks GOP Senate control," Oct. 23 news story.
The suggestion by some activists that state Sen. Evie Hudak should be recalled is astonishing. She first served with distinction as a member of the State Board of Education and then was twice elected to the Senate. In that office she has worked harder than any other senator I know, having sponsored — and passed — dozens of bills to improve education in Colorado. She was also the sponsor this last session of the School Finance Act that provides for the financing of all our schools and the increase in preschool numbers.
Why would we want to replace someone who has been so effective on major education issues? She is term-limited and cannot run again when her term ends in 2016. Please refuse to sign her recall petition, which would lead to a special election costing approximately $200,000 and possibly early replacement of this knowledgeable, effective leader.
Pat Pascoe, Denver
The writer is a former Colorado state senator.
This letter was published in the Oct. 25 edition.
My husband and I are gun owners. We support Evie Hudak. We believe she represents the public interest in her many efforts, including her work improving services for families and children. Since our district is diverse, she can't please everyone.
No one is even talking about confiscating weapons used for protection, hunting or collection from law-abiding citizens. When our Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment, they could not forecast a future filled with semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines contributing to horrific murderous acts like the Columbine and Aurora shootings. The current gun control laws can only serve to keep us safer.
Those supporting the recall do not seem to understand the facts, or their goal is to change our voting system to meet their personal agendas. Please support Hudak and urge others to do the same. Please don't encourage continued divisiveness, unwarranted fears, and more gun violence.
Maureen Acosta, Arvada
This letter was published in the Oct. 25 edition.
There is a distressing parallel between the recent federal government shutdown/debt-limit battle and the recall elections here in Colorado. In our state, a small segment of the population had a temper tantrum because they didn't like the gun-control provisions that were enacted by our duly elected representatives. And at the federal level, the Republican Party held the entire nation hostage in an effort to repeal a law (the Affordable Care Act) that was passed by both houses of Congress, signed by the President and ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court.
In both cases, the aggrieved parties had an alternative: just wait until the next election, and vote in more people who agree with you. Instead, dangerous precedents have been set.
John Goldstein, Denver
This letter was published online only.
For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here. Follow eLetters on Twitter to receive updates about new letters to the editor when they're posted.


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How to Wear Winter White | December 2012
Why We're Obsessed With Ultrachic Winter White — Celebrity Edition
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. POPSUGAR has affiliate and advertising partnerships so we get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase.
Why We're Obsessed With Ultrachic Winter White — Celebrity Edition
We're not shy about breaking the rules — at least not when it comes to the whole "white after Labor Day" thing. We wore white jeans well into September, donned ivory sweaters through the Fall, and are now giving our Winter an even more elegant twist by embracing these ultrachic celebrity examples, all of which are supersophisticated. Yes, that's the common denominator in this latest lookbook — a carefully curated collection of our favorite celebrities and their very stylish ways of incorporating ivory, cream, and striking white into their outerwear, eveningwear, and everything in between. The shade looked gorgeous coming down the runways at J. Mendel, Derek Lam, and more of our favorite Fall '12 collections, but this celebrity pack offers some real-world inspiration for bringing the look to life. Just click on for the amazing celebrity style, and then shop the lookbook to channel the same chic play on Winter styling for yourself.


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The new Newcastle United third shirt for the 2008/2009 season has been unveiled, and it's silver with a white trim. Designed by Adidas and sponsored by Northern Rock, the shirt will be worn today (August 9th) for the first time in a friendly against Valencia.
Silver shirts are quite rare in football. So, what's your opinion about the new Newcastle shirt? Share your feedback by clicking the comments link below.
Thanks to Football Shirts for the tip about the shirt.


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A lot has already been written in recent weeks about Sports Illustrated's awesome new coffee table book, FOOTBALL'S GREATEST and I know that I'm not going to be the one to discover new lands in my review of it.
Instead, I'll take a different tack. With a name like FOOTBALL'S GREATEST, you can imagine that it's full of glossy photos from the SI archives, lists of the best players at particular positions, the best overall teams, the best coaches and the like. All of this is interspersed with writing from many of SI's current roster of writers along with snippets from writers of days gone by. It's a little bit of time capsule and modern day analysis all rolled into one big book.
Since the Jets have only been able to secure one championship during the existence of the franchise, unfortunately the lists are not littered with Jets. Instead, I'll give you a quick run-through of where the Jets do make appearances in the book.
Leaving out any Brett Favre references, of course ...
Namath's iconic #1 salute makes an appearance in the introduction
Darrelle Revis - 8th Best Defensive Back
Bill Parcells - 10th Best Coach
Super Bowl III - 4th Best Game
Jets-Patriots - 8th Best Rivalry
Boomer Esiason - 7th Best Interview
While the pickings might seem slim, a further look down the list in the results section (page 286-7) reveals that the Jets were knocking on the door of the top ten in many categories. For instance, Namath came in 11th overall at the quarterback position, Don Maynard came in 19th among all receivers and the Monday Night Miracle game ranked 14th.
While Jets fans might be disappointed with the overall representation that the team gets, you can understand that while Curtis Martin is one of my favorite players of all time and is now a Hall of Famer, you can look at the list and respect why he didn't crack the top ten when put against players like Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk.
If anything it's a great way to start conversations with your friends and family about football. Who did you thought think was the greatest? What games were most memorable for you? What single season teams you remember as most dominant? In the end, this is subjective and while it's a great collection of greatest lists from a fantastic group of experts, it's still all up for debate ... and that's the fun part. This book is a great jumping off point. It's a great book for any football fan out there to leaf through, learn about the history of the game. If you are looking for a gift for a football fan this holiday season, you can't go wrong with this one.
Buy it here on Amazon.


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I have a new collector, someone familiar with my work, but who had never purchased a piece before. Your Artwork Reveal post got her thinking, and although she didn't buy the piece that was featured, she did decide on one of my other doll paintings.
Thanks for the energy you've put into creating Artwork Reveal!
I plan to finish importing things today, and adding more pieces to my website as things come out of my kiln!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, you guys are brilliant!
I can customize my site, have multiple images for each artwork, add to my blog, and send a newsletter to my clients – all from one control panel. I have already recommended Foliotwist to a couple other artists :o) Thanks for doing such a great job!
I know I have thanked you in the past, but I want to take this opportunity to thank you again. You both have done such a marvelous job on the steps for setting up and running these websites. I am in awe on what has been accomplished so far on my website with my limited know-how.
I just sent out my weekly newsletter and I feel blest. Thank you both so much!
If I was to pay someone to build me a website I would not get 1/2 of what you are giving (not to mention it would cost me a fortune). On top of that, you are showing me what tools to use and teaching me how to get more traffic. I can't thank you enough and I want you to know that I recommend you all the time.
Sure! Head over to our PRO artist directory and click through to any artist portfolio that catches your eye.
The only difference is that your Email Blaster is deactivated (to eliminate the risk of spammers using our service) – other than that, you'll get full access to your own Foliotwist website, just like any of our PRO members.
We also won't ask for payment information until after your free trial is over, so there's absolutely no risk that your credit card will be billed until YOU decide to join.
Click here to join today, and see for yourself!
Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com or give us a call at 208-352-ARTS (208-352-2787), any time. We're available Mon-Fri during normal work hours, and by appointment over the weekend. Whatever the issue is, we'll always get back to you as soon as possible!
In a few minutes you'll get an email with your username, password, and a link to your log-in page. You can click on that link and log right into your trial website to start adding artwork or customizing your site. (NOTE: If you don't see an email from us, please check your "spam" or "junk" folders.)
As a bonus, we've made sure to include plenty of helpful tips inside your account, especially the first time you log in, so it's super easy to get started!
You can't log on to your website from here. Instead, check your email account – we'll send you your log-in information in a welcome email as soon as you sign up for the free trial.
Keep in mind, a lot of emails get sent to spam by accident these days, so if you DON'T see an email from us within a few minutes of signing up, please open your "spam" or "junk" folder and check for it there, too. If you still can't find it, let us know!
Three ways:
First, Foliotwist websites are built with Search Engine Optimization in mind, to make sure that you've got the best chance possible of ranking highly in Google's search results.
Second, for Standard Websites (and up) we've included several powerful marketing tools: our Email Blaster, an integrated blog, and social sharing buttons (for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc). We'll also promote you on our own Pinterest account with over 7,000 followers.
Third, if you're a PRO member, we do even more. We'll submit your online portfolio to Google's search index every single day, and include your website in the PRO artist directory. PLUS, you'll also be invited to join "Artwork Reveal," our artwork discovery and sharing service which sends photos of new artwork to art lovers each month.
If all that wasn't enough, PRO members also get a free 1-hour art marketing consultation over the phone with Dan (our co-founder) to make sure you're not missing any opportunities to promote your art online.
Yes, of course! That's one of our main goals at Foliotwist!
We protect your artwork images by changing their resolution and size immediately after you upload them to your website. This deters thieves who are looking to print off high-res artwork for free, and is the only REAL solution to online image theft (watermarks and other security measures can be worked around quite easily these days).
All of our artists' websites comes with PayPal buttons built right in, so if you have a free PayPal account, you can securely accept all forms of online payment for your artwork, including every major credit card.
Please note that while Paypal does take a small fee for any purchase made (usually 1.9% - 2.9% of the sale price) we will never take a cut of any sale you make. Learn more about PayPal fees.
No – once you make a sale from your website, you will be solely responsible for shipping your artwork to the buyer. PayPal will collect all of the buyer's important information (name, address, etc) and email those details to you, so you will know where to send your artwork.
Nope! By signing up for our free 30-day trial you'll get to see exactly how our websites work without buying anything. Once you decide to join as a paying member, your domain is included (for 2 years on the Standard plan, and forever with our PRO plan).
We can usually have your website's domain name live within a few hours for Standard and PRO artists, and within a few days if you're bringing your own domain and using our Totally Free plan.
Probably! Just ask about the specific domain name you have in mind, and we'll let you know!
Of course! You'll need to implement one (easy!) thing on your end, and then we'll have it up in no time!
Absolutely. If you decide to leave, we'll transfer your domain to you free of charge.
Nope, not a chance! We won't even ask for your billing information until AFTER the free trial period is over and you know you want to join, so there's literally no way you could be billed by accident.
No, none – we don't charge a site setup fee, domain fee, or any other kind of fee. And when you sell your art through your website, we don't take a percentage of the sale, either.
Keep in mind that if you use PayPal, they will take a small percentage of every sale you make. It's usually 1.9% - 2.9%, though you should look at their website for the official details.
We use PayPal to securely bill our artists. If you decide to cancel, you can do that at ANY time, either from inside your own Admin Panel, or by calling or emailing us directly.
Of course! That's the way businesses SHOULD work, right?
We never want our artists to cancel, but if you do, we'd rather you left happy. If you were billed and you meant to cancel, just let us know and we'll refund your latest payment no questions asked.


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Cycling in Brisbane Australia
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The Royals, lacking payroll flexibility, do not expect to be active in free agency. Outfielder Scott Podsednik, however, is one player in whom the Royals are showing interest.
Podsednik, who batted .303-.353-.412 and stole 30 bases for the White Sox last season, could fit with the Royals regardless of whether they trade DeJesus. The White Sox remain in the mix for Podsednik as well.
Will Dayton Moore will give him a multi-year deal?
BTW, the Mets signed Blanco to a 1-year $1.5 million deal, and the Braves signed Saito to a 1-year $3.2 million deal.
UPDATE: Rooyals officials confirm it.


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Drums Classes in Mumbai
All Is Well Dance AcademyGirgaonPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES2,000 (Per person/batch duration)
We Conduct Dance Classes,Ballet,Ballroom,Bollywood,Belly dancing,Hip Hop,Indian Classical,Latin America,Salsa Classes
FURTADOS SCHOOL OF MUSICmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,500 (Per person/batch duration)1enquiries 443views
We Conduct Music Classes,Musical Instrument classes,Drums,Guitar,Piano,Violin,Western Vocal Etc
Melanie Nazareths ClassesDadarPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,000 (Per person/batch duration)1enquiries 301views
We conduct all types of music classes in that Musical Instrument classes, Singing classes, keyboard, piano, light vocal, western vocal
BANERJEE SCHOOL OF MUSICmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,500 (Per person/batch duration)487views
We provide you with Musical Instrument classes, Music Tuition, Vocal-Classical, Tabla, Drums, Guitar, Piano, Singing, Keyboard, Music Academy, Music, BANERJEE SCHOOL OF MUSIC.
SJ MusicmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEESNot Disclosed433views
Experet in Guitar, tabla, drums, piano
Bhartiya Sangeet Prachar KendramumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEESNot Disclosed413views
we provided all music instruments like tabla,Drums,Piano,Flute etc.
Saraswati - A Musical MallmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEESNot Disclosed402views
We conduct music classes all instruments are provided Drums,Flute,Guitar,Keyboard,Harmonium,Vocal-Semi Classical
Nikhil Drum ClassesGhatkopar EastPhone VerifiedBATCH FEESNot Disclosed393views
Learn to play drums for girls and boys from 10 to 40 yrs learn dandiya and western beats on drums
FUN CASTLEmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,000 (Per person/month)383views
we conduct Art & Craft classes, Musical Instrument classes, Singing classes, Western Dance classes, Cooking & Baking classes
Chatterbuddies Classes.mumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,800 (Per person/month)372views
Acting Classes for Speech
PHONETICS - THE BRAIN TRAIN ACADEMYmumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES1,500 (Per person/month)336views
we conduct bharatnatyam, bollywood, bollywood fusion, indian classical dance, indian contemporary, indian modern dance, base guitar, bass guitar, drums,
The Chidren HousemumbaiPhone VerifiedBATCH FEES2,000 (Per person/batch duration)307views
We Provide Music and Drama Classes
Other Near By Locations


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Rotorua is a great place to come and stay with the whole family. We have Rotorua's largest selection of motels amongst all the attractions.
While staying in Rotorua come and explore over 100km's of New Zealand's best mountain bike trail network.
Experience the personality of our Maori culture and traditions.
Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity. Enjoy a soak in a one of our steaming mineral pools.
Indulge in New Zealand cuisine at one of our many restaurants.
Come and experience our range of fun activities for all the family!
Search for accommodation in Rotorua using the date picker above. We'll return available motels in our network. From there you can filter your results.Search for accommodation in Rotorua
Our association represents a number of self- contained motels and apartments within the Rotorua district offering a wide range of accommodation options.See a full list of RAM members
Rotorua is a bustling hub of activity, with a raft of epic attractions and experiences to suit any and all appetites. Rotorua has the experience for you!View our recommended attractions


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Our motivated trainers are the heart of our YASKAWA ACADEMY. We provide enjoyable premises, the latest audio-visual systems, our robots operate with a wide range of technical equipment and various application thechniques.
Our enthusiastic training team aims to inspire all of our training participants. Our trainers pick up all training delegates and introduce them to our state-of-the-art technology. Please meet our training team.


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With whale-watching being the fastest-growing tourist activity worldwide, you may be keen to catch a glimpse of some for yourself. Here are some of the best destinations to do so.Read more...
The world's best whale-watching destinations
31/07/2018 11:08
Written by Bradt Travel Guides
The world's best markets
19/07/2018 19:26
Written by Bradt Travel Guides
From Uruguay to Uzbekistan, these are some of the best markets you'll find around the world.Read more...
Our favourite UNESCO-listed towns
14/02/2018 15:13
Written by Bradt Travel Guides
Tanzania: beyond the safari
19/06/2017 16:16
Written by Philip Briggs
It's not just wildlife fanatics who love Tanzania – there's plenty to occupy beach lovers and culture vultures, too.Read more...
What not to miss on a trip to Zanzibar
14/06/2017 11:58
Written by Chris & Susie McIntyre
There's more to a holiday in Zanzibar than simply lazing on its pristine beaches. Here's what you shouldn't miss on your trip.Read more...
A walking tour of Stone Town
30/05/2017 16:23
Written by Chris & Susie McIntyre
A labyrinth of twisting streets and alleys, Zanzibar's Stone Town is a stroller's paradise.Read more...
Paradise found – Africa's most exclusive islands
24/02/2017 11:28
Written by Bradt Travel Guides
The Caribbean has long been championed as the destination for luxury, but Africa has its fair share of exclusive resorts.Read more...


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Recent News
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Shaf Rasul in Dragons' Den
We would like to announce that our Chief Executive Shaf Rasul has been invited to appear in the online version of Dragons' Den. Shaf has shown his business credentials over the past 10 years from when he first set up … Continue reading
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Writing Tools
|photo by Eric Schaller
So, a question for you, O Denizens of the Internets: What have been the most helpful tools for you when writing? (And "writing" doesn't just mean you're a professional novelist whose last few books were sold to Hollywood. We all write things in our lives, whether business letters or shopping lists of secret poems we never show anybody. Everybody is qualified to answer this question who wants to!)
I'll put my own essential items below the fold...
In some ways, no specific tool is essential to writing -- I've written perfectly well with an old pencil on pieces of scrap paper, and I've written terribly with expensive hi-tech gadgetry. But there are a few tools that have made me happy and, I think, generally increased my productivity.
Dropbox, for instance, has been really useful for me because I inevitably forget to email important documents to myself and then get to work and discover important things have been left on the wrong computer. With Dropbox, I've got access to every document on my primary computer, and because I figured out how to make it all invisibly update*, I don't even have to remember to send stuff to myself anymore.
For actual writing, though, I rely on two programs primarily: Bean and Scrivener.
Bean I use for things that only require a single file, don't need much research, etc. -- most short stories, columns, interviews, etc. It's really just a text editor, but one with some basic word processing options. What I especially like is the interface, which in full-screen mode reduces distractions considerably. Here's a screenshot:
Which, you can see, really is the whole screen:
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.
Scrivener also has a nice full-screen mode, and I use it a lot, but I find Scrivener's many options cumbersome for just plain ol' writing. When something requires shifting between various files, then I use Scrivener. I also use it to organize things -- for instance, thought I usually write my Sandman Meditations columns in Bean, I have a Scrivener project that collects them all, which makes it really easy to go through them. Or, I've been working on a novel-like-thing for almost ten years now, and everything about it has changed over that time except its title, and I have a Scrivener project that collects every version and every note, making the whole near-decade of mess and false starts feel somehow manageable and less like a colossal waste of time, so perhaps in another ten years I'll be able to finish it. For academic writing, Scrivener is a godsend -- I'm working on an essay right now that involves research from all sorts of articles I have as PDFs or HTML or text files (and even a video), and I can keep it all together in Scrivener, immediately accessible while I'm writing. I've even used Scrivener for non-writing organizations -- when I was teaching 5 totally different high school classes a few years ago, I kept all the lesson plans in Scrivener.
I still use Microsoft Word occasionally (the 2004 version, which seems to me the last time Word was actually functional -- I use the latest one on a PC in my office at work, because that's what the University installs, and I loathe it). Mostly, I just use Word when I need to pay attention to formatting, because I've used the program so much over the years that I know its formatting system best.
When I occasionally write a screenplay, I use an old, clunky, buggy version of Final Draft. (I haven't tried Scrivener 2.0 for scripts yet, though I'll probably give it a shot.) I've used the free screenwriting program Celtx, and have done some work in their premium Studio site for a production company I've been working with. Though I like everything about Celtx except for one thing, the one thing is a deal breaker for me when it comes to writing a screenplay: Celtx does not have a WYSIWYG editor that includes accurate page breaks, and I'm too conditioned to write scripts by pages that if I can't see exactly where the page breaks are when I write, I can't write a script. (In Celtx, you can see page breaks by shifting to a different, uneditable view.) I have no love for Final Draft, to put it mildly, but I could write a script more easily on a manual typewriter than on Celtx because I'm so reliant on seeing pages. If you don't absolutely need to see the pages as you write, Celtx is pretty great.
Reference Books
I love reference books. I seem especially to be addicted to paperbacks with the word Oxford in the title (and Oxford's Very Short Introductions are like heroin to me). But most of them are just around for
The reference books I open most frequently are two: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage and the 1946 edition of Roget's International Thesaurus published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
The first's utility should be obvious -- just click on that link, which goes to a complete online version on Google Books.
The second, though, might seem a bit strange. Why an out-of-date thesaurus?
Blame Stephen Sondheim. Somewhere -- and I have no idea where -- I heard him say he uses a thesaurus from about 1948, because thesauri that are much older don't have enough words in them, and thesauri that are much younger either have too many words or not enough of the useful ones. I have found this to be true.
It's easily my favorite reference book. Not only is it full of great words (and just the right amount of them!), there are also quotations on the bottom of the pages showing some words in use. And the physicality of the book is tremendously pleasant -- solid, with strong pages and binding, but not especially heavy.
There are other books I like quite a bit, but don't consider essential. For instance, I'm very fond of Chapman's Thesaurus of American Slang -- dictionaries of slang are common enough (I think I've got three or four), but a thesaurus of slang is, I find, even more useful. And an awful lot of fun to read.
I also like Patterns of English by Paul Roberts, a book that seems to have been forgotten by the world. I don't use it so much for writing as teaching, because though it has, in its details, been superceded by more complex and thorough linguistic studies (e.g. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language), I've never found anything that better helps students (and me!) understand the basic elements of English and ways of using and combining those elements. And though, being a book from 1956, some of the examples used represent occasional prejudices of the era, there are also passages that feel downright postmodern, such as this paragraph from Chapter 36: "Gender":
We might be tempted to say that we learned to use he-him to refer to male beings, she-her for female beings, and it for things that could not be classified as male or female. But this gets the story backwards. We did not first receive instruction in biology and then proceed to use the pronouns accordingly. Instead we began to use the pronouns as we heard other people use them, and this use of the pronouns helped us to sort the world into "males," "females," and "things in neither grouping."For anybody like me, who lived through traditional parts-of-speech grammar drills during elementary school, Roberts's approach is a revelation, and will help you see the language in some different ways, which is really important, I think, for a writer's flexibility. Contemporary linguistics can be, I find, confusing in its many definitions, but Roberts is pretty clear once you grasp his basic terminology, and it's a terminology that is far more practical than the traditional approach, which is confusing because it's so inadequate to the complexities of the language.
It's important to cultivate at least one addiction, or else you may suffer the hubris of unencumbered free will. For me, it's coffee. And though, because addicted, I will drink the foulest swill if nothing else is available, my coffee of choice is the dark roast from Cafe Monte Alto, a local company. Generally consumed in a mug made by Becca van Fleet, since my previous favorite mug-maker, Rick Elkin, is now primarily a jeweler (drinking coffee out of jewelry is difficult). I love my old Elkin mugs, but Becca's mugs have a unique sensuousness to them, and a pleasantly sensual experience is especially helpful during the first writing session of the day, when all you really want to do is slack off and watch mindless things on YouTube...
*On a Mac, all you have to do is put everything you want updated into the central Dropbox folder, create an alias, and put the alias into the usual place. So, for instance, I have a folder called "Working" that I keep most of the important stuff in, and it's got all sorts of subfolders and sub-subfolders (e.g. "Fiction", "Nonfiction", "School"). It lives on the desktop for easy access. To back it all up, and have access to it all via the Dropbox website, I put the whole Working folder into the Dropbox folder, created an alias of the Working folder, and put the alias on the desktop. Now, whenever I add anything to the Working folder's alias, it is actually added to the original in the Dropbox folder, where it is backed up. (I back up Scrivener projects slightly differently, using this technique.)


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Qwest still seeking repayment of Nacchio legal fees
Qwest is still trying to hammer out "differences" with former CEO Joe Nacchio over the repayment of legal fees that the company advanced on his behalf prior to his insider trading conviction in April 2007, a spokeswoman said today.
The Denver-based company, though, has recovered the legal fees it paid for Nacchio between the conviction and sentencing in July 2007, and any money doled out to his trial attorney, Herb Stern, for the appeal. Nacchio footed the bill for Maureen Mahoney of Latham & Watkins, the lead attorney on his appeal, as part of an agreement he reached with Qwest shortly after his original sentencing. He has covered fees related to his resentencing, which was handled by Sean Berkowitz, also with Latham & Watkins.
"In regard to legal fees advanced prior to conviction, we hope to resolve all of our repayment differences with Mr. Nacchio in the near future," said Qwest spokeswoman Diane Reberger.
The company issued a similar statement in October after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review Nacchio's conviction.
Reberger declined to reveal specifics, stating that the amount of money is not "material," or large enough to require the company to publicly disclose under Securities and Exchange Commission rules.
Qwest's bylaws require it to advance legal fees to current and former officers who may be involved in any criminal or civil
legal proceeding stemming from their employment. A conviction, if it holds up on appeal, allows the company to recoup those costs.
Qwest continues to cover Nacchio's legal fees for the ongoing civil fraud lawsuit filed by the SEC and litigation related to the company's failed joint venture, KPNQwest.
Based on fees rung up by other high-profile white-collar defendants, legal experts have estimated that the tab on Nacchio's defense in civil and criminal cases may be as high as $75 million when it's all said and done.
Nacchio, convicted on 19 counts of insider trading, has served 14 months at a minimum-security prison camp in Minersville, Pa. On Thursday, a federal judge resentenced him to a prison term of five years and 10 months – two months less than the original sentence.