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As I write the final words of this blog, it is June 5th, 2012, the date of a very rare Venus transit of the Sun, and, "coincidentally," my 58th birthday. It's also the day I officially change my name from Tara McKinney to Tara Faulkner. Yesterday, during the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse, I managed to complete the elaborate bureaucratic process necessary for my new name to be legally recognized, but today I celebrate that this has actually occurred, through the posting of this blog and in other meaningful ways. This is the story of a series of seriously strange and significant synchronicities that led to my decision to change my last name to Faulkner and then helped me understand, in ever-widening circles, the underlying reasons for doing so.
Numerology and the Case for Major Mojo
It all started a couple of months ago, in mid-April. I was in Montana for a quarterly meeting with my Inner Sight friends and colleagues, Isha Lerner and Janet Morrow, and for fun one afternoon we decided to each have a reading by a local numerologist by the name of Terry Cito. Much to my surprise, after giving me a lot of very valuable and insightful information based on my birth name and date, Terry gently but firmly advised me to change my last name, explaining that the name McKinney "doesn't have the right 'mojo' for you at this stage of your life." I should explain that McKinney is not my birth name, but rather my mother's maiden name, which I gave myself fifteen years ago at the age of 43, in the throes of my Uranus and Saturn oppositions, more commonly known as "the mid-life (identity) crisis."
The name McKinney has very meaningful associations for me, so initially I resisted the thought of changing it (Please see my blog, "The Hungry Ghosts of the Irish Famine," for more information on the McKinney ancestral line). By the next day, however, I was starting to wrap my mind and heart around the idea of the name change, so I called my Mom, who happens to be a genealogist, and asked her for a list of our family surnames, going back as far as my great-great grandparents on all sides. One surname on the list called out to me: Faulkner, the name of my mother's maternal great grandparents, Ione and Frank, and a long line of others from whom Frank was descended.
I asked Terry to evaluate the name Tara Clare Faulkner from a numerological standpoint and he gave me an enthusiastic two thumbs way up, saying it had "major mojo" for my work (Destiny Number: 77 (master number), indicating dramatically increased mystical and clairvoyant abilities), would give me the visibility and strength to inspire justice in the world (Soul and Ultimate Goal Numbers: 17/8, representing the Star Card, plus the Strength and Justice Cards in the Major Arcana of the Tarot), and, last but not least, would even improve my love life (Personality Number: 60/6, correlated with the Love Card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot).
The Falcon Animal Totem
I did some research on the origins and meaning of the name and discovered it derives from the 12thcentury occupation of the "falconer," i.e. one who trains falcons to hunt prey for humans. I looked up the esoteric meaning of the falcon animal totem and was excited to learn that falcons are associated with great clarity and focus, in addition to the ability to identify inner obstacles (prey) and overcome them at an astonishing rate of speed (since they can fly over 200 miles an hour!). For all the above reasons, I was leaning heavily in the direction of changing my last name to Faulkner, but what happened next definitely sealed the deal.
Am I a Falcon, A Storm or a Great Song?
On my way home from the quarterly meeting in Montana, I had a 2 ½ hour lay over in Minneapolis. Just off the plane, I was meandering through the terminal in search of edible food when I heard someone call my name. It was a friend of mine from Montana whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Over dinner, we got caught up on our lives and I told her all about the possibility of changing my last name to Faulkner. At the end of my story, I raised my hands above my head, replicating the flight of the falcon as it circles the heavens, at which point my friend excitedly interrupted me to announce that a falcon-related poem had been spiraling around inside her head for the past week or so, apparently in anticipation of this very moment. It was Rilke's "I Live My Life in Widening Circles," which she promptly recited for me:
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
As my friend said the word "falcon," I had one of those goose bump experiences I always get in the presence of seriously strange and significant synchronicities, and, as it turns out, that was just the beginning. On my flight to New Orleans later that night, I fell into a kind of reverie, imagining the falcon forever circling the "primordial tower," evocative of the trunk of the World Tree, with it's branches reaching into the heavens and its roots to the far side of the galaxy. The evidence was piling up and I suddenly knew the Faulkner name change was inevitable.
My Faulkner Ancestors and the Revolutionary War Connection
Back in New Orleans, I received a large manila envelope in the mail from my Mom with 20 pages of detailed records on our Faulkner ancestors going back to my 7th great grandfather, Samuel Faulkner, born in Dublin in 1691. With the crucial birth and death records, I was able to do some research of my own and confirm that at least two of my Faulkner ancestors were veterans of the Revolutionary War. (This is not true of any other line of my family tree, most of whom arrived in the U.S. in the mid-1850s). I was thrilled to discover the Revolutionary War connection, especially since I am feeling the need at this time in our evolution as a species to find my own 21st century expression of the revolutionary impulse, nonviolent, of course, but nonetheless Plutonic. (As I allowed this information to sink in, I reflected upon the fact that we are fast approaching a series of six Uranus/Pluto squares, which will play out over the next three years beginning on June 24, 2012. The last time we experienced this particular astrological configuration was during the Revolutionary War period in the latter part of the 1700s.)
More recently in the Faulkner branch of my family tree, I knew from stories passed down to me that my great-great grandmother, Ione Faulkner, had been a feisty, tee-totaling member of the Women's Temperance League throughout her adult life, and that she had once threatened to disown my grandmother for playing women's baseball on a team sponsored by a beer company! Her yard was always overflowing with wild flowers that she cut every Sunday morning and took to church to decorate the altar. In fact, I have a picture of her and my Mom in Ione's front yard – Ione in her mid-80s but looking truly ancient; my Mom about 3 years of age, with a pageboy hair cut and one of Ione's wild flowers in her hair.
The Story of Odin, the Tree of Life and the Falcon, Vedrfolnir
Less than a week after my return to New Orleans from Montana, my niece (my identical twin sister's daughter) gave birth to a healthy baby boy here in New Orleans, whom she and her husband named Odin after the Swedish God who hangs upside down from the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, in order to gain wisdom and humility. In researching this Nordic version of the Tree of Life story, I discovered that perched at the top of the Tree was an eagle with the falcon, Vedrfolnir, sitting between its eyes, symbolizing omniscience. As the story goes, the falcon reported directly to Odin on all it saw in the Heavens, on Earth and below. In this way, Odin gained wisdom from the all-knowing falcon with the 360-degree perspective at the top of the World Tree. Shades of "I Live My Life in Widening Circles"!
With more help from my Google search engine, I soon discovered that, on a galactic level, the Swedish version of the Tree of Life is identified with the Milky Way. When viewed from the northern hemisphere at midnight on the Winter Solstice, the top of the World Tree/Milky Way is due north in the constellation Aquila, associated with the falcon, Vedrfolnir, while its base is due south in the constellation Hydra, associated with the serpent that coils around its roots (where, by the way, my sidereal Moon is located).
Carl Calleman's Planetary World Tree and the Swedish Connection
Similarly, in his book, The Purposeful Universe, biologist and Mayan scholar, Carl Calleman, hypothesizes the existence of a planetary Tree of Life – a macrocosmic, galactic version of which he identifies with the Milky Way. According to Calleman, the trunk of the planetary Tree of Life coincides with the 12 degrees longitude line demarcating Western and Eastern Europe, running through Sweden, Germany, Italy and Libya, etc., with its roots in the deepest parts of Africa.
Using the tools of Astro*Carto*Graphy (which superimposes one's birth chart on a map of the world), as conveyed to me by the very gifted astrologer and wizard, Wayne Moody, I had recently learned that my Saturn Midheaven line (the vertical line bisecting one's astrological chart (which is, itself, symbolic of the uppermost point of the Tree of Life)) happens to run exactly on top of the trunk of Calleman's "hypothetical" World Tree, at 12 degrees longitude. Furthermore, much to my surprise, according to the results of a recent DNA test, my deep ancestry going back approximately 500 years is primarily Swedish!
The Egyptian Falcon God, Horus, and His Mother, Isis
With all of the above in mind, I did a Google search for additional iconography related to the falcon, worldwide. In a matter of seconds, I was scanning a list of websites dedicated to the Egyptian Falcon God, Horus, with his all-seeing "Eye of Horus." I had been vaguely aware of Horus as the son of the Goddess, Isis, one of my all-time favorites (due to her associations with Venus, the star Sirius and the Galactic Center), but hadn't paid much attention to him. Suddenly, Horus shifted to the forefront of my imagination and came into sharper focus.
In Astro*Carto*Graphy terms, my Venus/Saturn crossing line (the place where my angular Venus and Saturn lines intersect on the planet) runs right through Egypt, at 29 degrees latitude, wrapping itself around the planet horizontally and connecting me in especially impactful ways to those places which fall on the 29 degrees latitude marker, including the city of New Orleans where I currently live (on my Venus Midheaven line, no less).
Even before knowing any of this, I had noted a mysterious connection between Egypt and New Orleans, as evidenced by the number of Mardi Gras parade krewes (crews) that are named in honor of various Egyptian deities, including the Krewe of Isis (which every year spends many thousands of dollars decorating its elaborate floats with her likeness). What I find especially moving and significant about the Egypt/New Orleans connection is that Egypt was one of the places where the revolutionary impulse erupted most dramatically during the "Arab Spring," or "Arab Awakening," of 2011. I felt the idealistic energy of that grassroots uprising very powerfully here in New Orleans and continue to be inspired by the ongoing efforts of the Egyptian people to achieve true democracy. The Egyptian Revolution catalyzed the revolutionary impulse in my own DNA, I believe, going back through my Faulkner ancestral line to the Revolutionary War that birthed the United States into being, and beyond.
Conclusion: Angels Among Us
Three weeks ago, as I was standing at the sink loading the dishwasher, I announced to my sister that I intended to "manifest" a June 4th date for my name to be legally changed, just in time for our birthday on June 5th. I'm really not the sort of person to make pronouncements like that, but something came over me: I was in the manifestation zone, in the interest of co-creating yet another seriously strange and significant synchronicity. Yesterday – June 4th, I might add – I found myself in the Civil District Court Clerks Office at New Orleans' City Hall completing the final bits of paperwork for my name change before heading to Courtroom G, where I had been assured a "friendly judge" was on the docket who would rubber stamp my Name Change Judgment.
Minutes later, my sister and I walked into a courtroom that was completely empty except for a very elderly gentleman sitting with his back to us, hunched over the table where lawyers typically sit facing the judge's bench. He appeared to be having a heart attack or at least in a lot of distress. Just as we were about to intervene (my sister is a nurse), the gentleman swiveled around in his chair, saying in his gravelly Louisiana drawl, "Oh, hello. I didn't realize anyone was here. What can I do for you?" I quickly explained my mission, at which point, I began to consider the unlikely possibility that the mysterious gentleman who appeared to have one foot in the grave was, in fact, the judge.
Noting the 2012 date on my Judgment document, the gentleman began speculating about what might, in fact, occur on December 21, 2012, telling us he had heard that all the planets would be lining up with the Center of the Galaxy, the poles would spontaneously reverse themselves, causing the volcano in Yellowstone National Park to erupt and burying all of us under two feet of ash. This prompted an animated five-minute conversation on the subject, during which my sister and I shared our thoughts and feelings on all matters related to 2012, including that extreme weather events might occur but that, ultimately, we felt the Mayan Calendar end date was all about rebirth. "Good!" he's said, "We could use a rebirth! Actually, we could use two!"
We all laughed as, to my relief, the judge finally signed my Judgment! As I turned to follow my sister out of the courtroom, he called after me, saying, "Ms. Faulkner!" I immediately turned around, saying, "Yes?" and then "That's the first time anyone has ever called me that." He laughed and said, "I know. I just wanted to make sure you were ready." I felt his words land somewhere deep inside me, setting up a resonance that made me feel I was in the presence of a guardian angel of some sort, not unlike the Archangel Michael character played by John Travolta in the movie Michael. It was a little spooky, but in a good way.
I stumbled out of the courtroom in a daze, down the hall and back in the District Court Clerks Office to file the Judgment. This is when things got even weirder, like Twilight Zone weird. The clerk who had advised me to seek out the judge in Courtroom G, looked at the judges signature on my Name Change Judgment and with a very puzzled look on her face, said, "Louis De Rosa? Who's that?" When I asked if there was a problem, she replied, "No. I've just never heard of that judge before. Hmmm… Sometimes they call in adjunct judges. That must be what happened." Mind you, this was a clerk who was close to retirement age, who, no doubt, had worked at City Hall for at least 30 years and would presumably have known all the judges, adjunct or otherwise. And what about that name: De Rosa, meaning "Of the Rose," the rose being the most Venusian, 5-petaled/5-pointed stars of all the flowers? Are you kidding me?!
I had to restrain myself from bolting back down the hallway into Courtroom G, where I suspected I would NOT find Judge De Rosa sitting hunched over the lawyers' table, but, instead, some other judge of a less ethereal nature with a full docket of cases and no time or inclination to speculate about 2012 or test my readiness for the mantle of my new name. Part of me wanted to know, but another part of me was just as happy not to…
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Registered User
- Apr 8, 2018
- 532
Bloomin eck that's a lot of eggs I love eggs but I don't think I've ever eaten that many in a week.Oh Goodness, if its egg shells you are after - do come here. I think the Tesco team doing my grocery shop ( we live rurally and no car) wonder what I do with all the eggs I buy - OH goes through 36 a week, no matter what I say to him - so plenty off egg shells here.
I tried crushing them last year and putting them on the garden to deter slugs, but the pesky devils just crawled over them,,,,,
Have a good night
A x

subset: commoncrawl


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Colorado Springs City Council Win
Colorado Springs City Council Win The Colorado Springs Utilities Board voted to approve an increase in solar of 100 MW with a rate increase of 0.95%, bringing the city to 15.6% renewables. The
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Governor Hickenlooper signs Paris Climate Agreement
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There are approximately 35 immunization vaccines given to a child from birth to the age of 12! This make me wonder, two things to be precise. First, how did people manage 50-60 years ago? Did they have so many vaccines at that point? Were they even aware? Which brings me to my second point. How diseased has the human race become? Will we see a rise in the number of vaccines as time goes by?
These 35 vaccines are what hospitals and doctors follow in Mumbai, India, which is apparently the global immunization schedule.
Within 10 days of her birth, we took our daughter for the first batch of vaccines as per schedule. She was getting three that day:
- BCG – Bacille Calmette-Guerin, is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease
- OPV (1) – Oral Polio Vaccine (The Indian government is proud to have eradicated this disease from the country, but still are keeping up the efforts of delivering the vaccines through camps)
- Hepatitis B (1) – A viral infection that affects the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease
That day she was sleeping since morning, even when we reached the hospital around 1pm. We had to wait our turn and prayed very hard she doesn't wake up, but God decided to disregard our prayers and she woke up bawling! There were other kids crying too but that was thanks to all the shots they were getting.
It was this festive orgy of bawling and wailing, felt like the kids were communicating in some secret code, only deciphered by them. But the staff were ice cool, the receptionist was at her usual business on the phone, "Hello this is blah blah hospital" with some kid in the background testing her lung power, converting wind energy into scream energy. Imagine the person on the other side of the phone, wondering whether they called a hospital or a torture chamber. The nurses and doctors wore a consistent deadpan look that would make Steven Segal look like an actor with a wide range of emotions. Over the years these guys must be so used to the cacophony that if a kids doesn't cry, they would spin out of control flying into a paroxysm of panic.
She was asleep for four hours and woke up famished. At that precise moment the doctor called us in. We decided not to feed her, let's get over with the shots and drops and once and for all feed and put her back to sleep. It was a good call.
We were weighing her for the first time after her birth and we were a bit nervous, the doctor had told us that she shouldn't lose weight or else we'll have to put her on formula (top feed) and that is something as parents we were not willing to do. The nurse weighed her and we waited with abated breath… our little monkey had put on 150 grams in six days after discharge! Sabiha was very relieved to hear this, the breast milk was doing its job.
Our daughter was given the first dose of polio drops, she was in a bit of a crabby mood but now that there was something in her mouth she seemed a bit distracted, trying to comprehend this new taste, which was not milk, she reverted to crying as soon as the drops disappeared down her throat. Now came the tricky part, the injections. The nurses and the doctor readied her and I was cringing to see her get poked. But surprisingly she didn't flinch at all, for both the shots, I guess the hunger had completely taken over her nervous system.
We fed her in one of the empty rooms put her to sleep and we were back home.
Next vaccine, 6 weeks later. The dreaded DTP vaccine – Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis. And this is the painful one. Will write a follow-up post on this soon.


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There are [specialist nurses] Administrative, psychiatric, peri-operative, ophthalmic, paediatric, intensive care, accident and emergency, ear, nose, throat, tuberculosis, leprosy, orthopedic, anaesthetic and family planning. Others under the department are general nurses, midwives, nutritionists, dieticians, nursing assistants, nursing aides, porters, orderlies, cooks, laundrymen, morgue attendants and chaplin
The Nursing Department is headed by head of clinical services that is in the consultant cadre. The department provides medical/surgical cover to patients. Under the department are listed clinical units: – Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, obsteterics, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Anaestology, Dental, Ear/Nose/Throat, Psychiatry, Physiotherapy, Laboratory, Medical records.
The department offer attachment training programs for students from Umaru Waziri Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi and school of health technology Jega. Houseman ship training for medical doctors will commence in the


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Reply 20 of 28, by tincup
- Rank
- Oldbie
Not the most technically elegant solution but Jedi Knight DK2 is available on GOG for 6 clams American and claims to run under XP. I know it works with Win7 because I bought it - but can't vouch for XP.
I was aware of this, but even at $6, it bugs me that I should have to pay for something I already own....
I hear you. Put it on your GOG wishlist and wait for a sale - everything goes on sale sooner or later. I'm a big GOG fan and over the years have amassed quite a collection of stuff in the sub 5 buck range - often at their quirky $1.47 to $3.47 prices. I grab duplicate GOG copies of stuff I own hard copies of all the time too. But XP - even if quoted as running - is a bit of a gamble; I'd jump at 3 clams though.
After days of failure trying everything (I could think of) I just got Flying Corps Gold (D3D) running using a single ddraw.dll called DDrawCompat. Have you tried that one?


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RANS Stratus XPPosted on May 10, 2016 by Bryan Ball
By BRYAN J. BALL
Managing Editor
Most of the first recumbent bikes available in the US were Long Wheelbase (LWB). More recently, they haven't been as popular as they used to be. However, the things that people have always loved about the LWB still remain true. They offer great comfort without usually needing suspension due to the longer frames ability to soak up bumps. The riding position is often more upright and with a lower bottom bracket. They perform exceedingly well at carrying touring loads due to their ability to carry panniers both on a conventional rear rack and under the seat.
Nearly since the beginning, the RANS Stratus has been one of the most well-known LWB recumbents on the market. It started as a typical large-wheel in the back (either 700C or 26"), small wheel (either 406mm or 451mm) in the front bike. In 2005, RANS redesigned the venerable Stratus to accept a dual 26" (559mm) format. That bike was named the Stratus XP.
The Stratus XP remains unapologetically old-school with its heavily triangulated frame design. The entire thing is made out of equally old-school Reynolds 500 tubing. The Stratus XP comes in several sizes (which is also fairly unique in the recumbent world). The small and XXL sizes are made in Kansas, the Standard and XL are made in Taiwan.
My test bike was an XL frame made in Taiwan and I have zero complaints about the build quality. Since its inception in the early 1980's RANS was owned by Randy Schlitter and based in Hayes, Kansas and the bicycles were built alongside his line of popular and award-winning light aircraft. Last year the RANS bicycle division was sold to Jerrell Nichols and moved to Montezuma, Kansas. Nichols hasn't made a huge amount of changes to the line as of yet, but the ones he has made are still quite noticeable if you're a longtime RANS fan.
I have a lot of experience with the Stratus XP, having personally owned two of them previously to reviewing this one. I have to say that while the other two were nicely made, Nichols and his team have brought the quality up to another level. The deep gray metal-flake powdercoat is beautiful in the sunlight. All of the custom-made parts that recumbents require are also just as nice as anything you'll see in the recumbent industry.
Older RANS LWB's had wide handlebars with small fabric fairings on them. That went away for awhile, but RANS brought it back with the Stratus XP and its highly adjustable 3-Way handlebars. When I use the term "highly-adjustable" I'm not exaggerating. The bars can be adjusted for angle and each individual grip can be adjusted up and down several inches. They can also be adjusted for angle. If you can't find a comfortable hand position with the RANS 3-Way bars, you just aren't trying hard enough.
The optional small fairing has a single large pocket that is immensely useful. It was more than adequate to hold things that I wanted to reach quickly while riding such as my small DSLR, my phone and a snack.
Before I first rode the Stratus XP years ago I said that I was expecting it to handle like a cruise ship. As I discovered back then, it's much better than that. At walking speeds, there's no escaping the fact that the XP is a lot of bike. It does wander just a bit but I quickly got used to it. Above five mph, it's as stable as any other LWB on the market. Once you get up to cruising speed, the big RANS is rock solid. On fast descents, it's just superb and very confidence inspiring.
The Stratus XP is not a cheap bike but at $2500, it's right in the range of other LWB recumbents and none of those have the dual large wheels that RANS offers. The components are also pretty equal to the competition. The drivetrain is mostly SRAM X9 9-speed with FSA Gossamer cranks (one of my personal favorites from an aesthetic point). The stock brakes are Avid Single Digit but the frame and fork can take disc brakes. The stock wheels are also disc-ready.
RANS recently switched to Vuelta wheels and 28mm Continental GP3000 Gatorskin tires. The tire choice was made because anyone whose ridden across Kansas can attest that the entire state is rotten with goat head thorns. The Gatorskins resist those road-side curses better than most. The Stratus XP can handler slightly wider tires if needed but won't accommodate true "fatties" like the Schwalbe Big Apple.
Spending an entire day or several days in a row on the Stratus XP would be a more than acceptable task. The RANS seat has long been the standard for comfort in the recumbent world and the long steel frame does a great job of soaking up road imperfections without being a complete noodle when you put the power down.
RANS' largest bike is also capable of performance that will have you eating up the miles during those long days in the seat. At a naked weight of 29-33 lbs depending on frame size, it's never going to be a rocket ship when you hit the climbs. However, it cruises along the flats at a very nice clip and just flies down hills.
RANS offers a lot of useful accessories for the Stratus XP. They have a conventional rear rack that's a bit wider than a standard rack to better mount to the unique frame and clear disc brakes if you choose to use them. RANS offers their own mid-ship or TerraCycle also makes a more expensive, but higher quality option.
Since the XP has been around for over a decade now, there are numerous other aftermarket sources for accessories. Front fairings, upgraded idlers, provisions for more water bottles, light-mont solutions and all other matter of bling items are readily available.
Of course the biggest downside to any LWB is its overall size. This can be an issue when storing, transporting, or sometimes even trying to find a spot in a bike rack. Since it has a larger front wheel than some other LWB's, the Stratus XP doesn't exactly help in that regard. It's not a common occurrence in daily life, but there are times when this bike will cause you to plan ahead a little bit.
Overall, I would characterize the RANS Stratus XP as a very mature and sorted design. When RANS changed hands, some people may have expected the old big Stratus to get a revamp. But the truth of the matter is that they really didn't need to. This old bike has been doing its job very well for many years and there's no reason to think that it won't keep doing the same thing for many years to come.
Highs – Supremely comfortable, Very well made, Versatile, Great handling above walking speed
Lows – In some situations you will be reminded that it's a very large bicycle.
More Info – http://www.ransbikes.com
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.


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When Canzani Center exhibitions director Michael Goodson first saw some of the works in Brooklyn-based artist Sam Martineau's exhibit "Fair Touching," he'll admit, "I thought some were sort of awful."
When Canzani Center exhibitions director Michael Goodson first saw some of the works in Brooklyn-based artist Sam Martineau�s exhibit �Fair Touching,� he�ll admit, �I thought some were sort of awful.�
The 13 paintings in the show are all one size, but that�s where the uniformity ends. Each whispers hints to a different era or style of painting � from minimalism to clunky �70s pizazz � with Martineau�s modern, post-painting touch evident in his playful use of material � from T-shirts spread across the canvas to chopped-up, pattern-rich dish towels forming the painting.
�He disrupts painting in a way that is very good,� Goodson said.
Martineau�s little decisions like using matchbooks, tissues and plastic shopping bag overlays in understated ways throughout his paintings eventually convinced Goodson of their value.
�They never try too hard to be beautiful,� he said. �I love pieces that change my mind.�
Let them slyly convince you of their cleverness, too.
Photo by Meghan Ralston


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Kim Zetter
Kim Zetter is an award-winning, senior staff reporter at Wired covering cybercrime, privacy, and security. She is writing a book about Stuxnet, a digital weapon that was designed to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.
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As a lawyer, I became involved in privacy back in 2011 when Vodafone asked our team to help them write best practice guidelines for developers. Back then there really wasn't that much of a spotlight on privacy and certainly none you could find with a quick Google search. I understood the growing importance of privacy at the time so I joined the IAPP because it offers globally recognized certifications and would put me in a strong position to tackle the issues which were inevitably due to arise with mobile technology.
Founded in 2000, the IAPP is a non-profit organization that helps define, support and improve the privacy profession globally. It provides a pool of people, tools and global information management practices that help privacy professionals in their day-to-day activities.
I chose to get certified for CIPP/E and CIPP/US. As a lawyer based in the EU, much of my focus was spent on EU legislation and I decided to also thoroughly study and understand US legislation. The legal systems are so different and the interpretation of the best practices principles also vary – the knowledge of both European and US principles can at times help to find a middleground, when this is feasible, in particularly delicate situations.
The base certificate (necessary to pass the EU and US certificate) also pushed me to increase my knowledge on security and global prerogatives. The knowledge gained has placed me in a position where confidence deriving from expertise allows me to work on a number of varied and avant-garde solutions.
The IAPP also offers its members the possibility to join the IAPP boards. I had the honor of being invited to join their EU Advisory Board. As a board member, I'm at the forefront of the privacy world and kept informed of the latest privacy issues not only through the great source of information the IAPP provides, but also by participating in the selection of topics and insightful panel sessions in the privacy sphere. Being a board member offers the chance to chair panel sessions and meet with the most eminent, knowledgeable and experienced privacy professionals. It allows me to constantly challenge my opinions and interpretations of best practices while getting inspired by others to find ways and strategies to implement privacy and security by design, in the most efficient way possible.
DMI's clients know that privacy is important, but they may not have clarity on exactly how to tackle it or how to bridge the gaps between their need for more data and the users' need for more transparency. The expertise in privacy and the value proposition we have built with our knowledge have helped us establish DMI as a thought leader in the digital space.
What is your company doing to stay ahead of the privacy implication of digitalization? And would you like some help?
Agathe Caffier, Senior Counsel, International Operations and Privacy Specialist
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Stan Brakhage: Glaze of Cathexis (1990)
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Many of Stan Brakhage's films are available for viewing in multiple venues. You can watch Glaze of Cathexis here.
Speaking as a long-time fan and infrequent consumer of psychoanalytic texts - Glaze of Cathexis is one hell of a title. Put simply, cathexis is focus, a focus so strong that it collects associated experiences that take place around that object or sensation and give the ego something to reach for. Blocking the cathexis is potentially unhealthy for the ego, leading to a regressed state where the subject expends energy in ways related to but not necessarily toward the object or experience that the cathexis has fixated on.
I'm likely butchering some of the application of cathexis, but anytime psychoanalysis enters the discussion the peril of miscommunication comes along with it. Stan Brakhage invites the issue directly via that great title and the subsequent film. I love that it's a glaze of cathexis, as if its possible to get the slightest glimpse or taste of your fixation and find satisfaction with just that bit. Like a potato chip or doughnut, if you come into contact with something that has the whiff of your obsession, chances are you're going to want more.
Repressing this longing can lead to formless sensations that exist only for themselves as the repressed desire is misplaced from its cathetic focus. Brakhage's film takes place at this level. The structure is similar to Rage Net in that once the painted world begins to collect itself or seems to form an object there is a process of awakening, represented here by a bright exposed beam on the film, that starts the colors and designs over. The seemingly dreaming viewer continues to awaken, it's not to a displaced or torn off sensation, but to a blank slate to try and rediscover he trigger to make the film start over again.
I loved the layered effect of the film here with the painting always at the forefront and the lights come screaming from behind when the trigger for transition is hit. The variations in the color schemes and patterns don't play off of each other directly but they recall bits and pieces of all the arrangements with each section. Brakhage's attempt at making a film that's entirely unto itself, a film without referent, is an impossible task but the idea plays out nicely in the structure of awakening into a world trying to recall its past focus.
Creating something without referent is to essentially create something without precedent or knowledge. Interestingly, Brakhage's direct attempt at doing so ended up recalling one of his previous films, whereas something with a more concrete subject like Window Water Baby Moving came close to creating that sensation. Glaze of Cathexis is a wonderful attempt that was sure to fail due to its deliberate aims, but works well all the same.
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How do you solve a problem like Ash Thompson? The heroine of "Neverhome," Laird Hunt's enthralling new novel set during the Civil War, is at once sentimental and aloof, a savior and a killer, a folk hero who shuns her own legend, a fierce and wounded woman who finds strength in her troubled past. Above all she is a liar, but one whose every word has the sheen of truth. "I was strong and he was not," she begins her tale, "so it was me went to war to defend the Republic." Yet it becomes clear that Ash is hardly motivated by patriotism, and that an equally devastating war awaits her return home.
In a previous incarnation, Ash Thompson was Constance Thompson, a housewife and farmer from Indiana who, in 1862, decides to disguise herself as a man to enlist in the Union Army. Her meek and devoted husband, Bartholomew ("made out of wool," Ash explains, "and I was made out of wire"), encourages her mission, watching as she dons pants and marches through their field, practicing her new identity. Passing as a man comes easily to Ash, who excels at arm-wrestling, cursing, fighting and especially shooting; in a letter, Bartholomew advises occasionally missing her target so as not to arouse the suspicions of her company. At first Ash's sex is recognized only by women she meets in passing, including one to whom she gives her jacket — a gesture that inspires a nickname and a song, "The Ballad of Gallant Ash."
To her annoyance, the song follows Ash throughout her travels, its lyrics conjuring memories from both her distant and recent history. She has visions of her mother's tragic, mysterious death and hears her long-ago advice: "We do not ever turn our cheek." She dreams, too, of life with Bartholomew, from the sweet early days of their courtship to the death of their newborn son. Her past clings and calls to her even as she fights through her present: bloody battles, a shocking betrayal, the slow but persistent erosion of her sanity. Letters from her husband reveal his hopes for her return and fears that she never will, an "Odyssey" in reverse, with Bartholomew the Penelope to her Odysseus. Out of necessity she occasionally resumes the guise of a woman, losing something each time she makes the switch. "I do not know myself," she apologetically tells one acquaintance. "I do not know myself at all."
The enchantment cast by a first-person narrator is contingent on so many factors, many of them subjective: the degree of intimacy or detachment elicited, how convincing or fascinating or grating we find the character, whether we ultimately feel manipulated or seduced. Rarely, a voice so compels it's as if we're furtively eavesdropping on a whispered confession, which is how I felt reading "Neverhome": I was marching alongside Ash, eager for more of her well-guarded secrets.
In an author's note, Hunt says he was inspired by the real-life tale of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, who disguised herself as "Lyons Wakeman" and enlisted with the Union Army. Ash, however, is entirely Hunt's own creation. His ability to evoke her demeanor and circumstances in a gorgeously written sentence or two is one of the book's many pleasures: A soldier boy has "a curlicue elegance to his scream"; her colonel wonders if she's been "set adrift by the moon." Of the physical machinations of Ash's disguise, we're told little; we don't know if she has noticeably small feet or hands, if she menstruates or where she hides when she binds her breasts. But Hunt has such masterly command of his character's singular, incantatory voice that this reticence seems to be Ash's decision alone.
As Ash starts to come undone, and her tales grow taller and more fanciful (she once dances naked with a group of Confederates, without any of them commenting on her body), even she struggles to separate her desires from her reality, to know what is real. Her visions and dreams, dropped like a careful trail of crumbs, lead her back to her Indiana farm, where Bartholomew and her past are waiting. "You can't ever know when the dead world will come to you," she muses, "only that it will" — and as the strong one, it is up to her to face it.


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Tag: eCommerce Guide
When we talk about retail these days, the first thing that comes to mind is ecommerce. Consumers have started to prefer shopping online rather than visiting brick and mortar shop. This has also ringed the bell for offline retailers who have started to acknowledge ecommerce and are making the transition to take their business online. This post covers crucial dos and don'ts for those retailers offering a clear picture before making the transition.
In the current market dynamics many aspiring entrepreneurs are mulling the idea of launching their own marketplace. However, many do not actually understand challenges associated with the multivendor model, and fail to reap its maximum benefits. Here in this post, we highlight these challenges, and also list out the best practices that help in overcoming them.


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Christophe Mathieu
Naharro furniture distributes the lighting pieces designed by Christophe Mathieu in its stores in Madrid and online store, with delivery and assembly service throughout Spain. Ask us any additional information.
Ask us for more information or call the 915014749
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The Belgian's current deal runs until June 30, 2019 and he is no rush to sign new terms at Stamford Bridge.
Courtois is keen to see what happens with other goalkeepers in the transfer window before making a definitive decision.
Spanish outlet Marca say the 25-year-old is watching what is going on at Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Manchester United.
David De Gea, Keylor Navas, Jan Oblak and Gianluigi Donnarumma have all been linked with moves away from their current clubs.
And Courtois is keen to keep his options open for now.
If one of the above goalkeepers move it could cause somewhat of a chain reaction with Europe's elite shot stoppers switching clubs.
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest gossip, rumours and done deals
Courtois was in fine form last season, making 36 Premier League appearances as Chelsea won the title in Antonio Conte's first campaign in charge.
But the Blues couldn't make it a domestic double as they were beaten in the FA Cup final by Arsenal.
Chelsea will start the defence of their Premier League crown at home to Burnley.
Conte will be hoping to overhaul his squad before then as the Blues prepare for a return to the Champions League.


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Here's the latest article from the Short Stories site at BellaOnline.com.
Are Writing Groups Necessary?
Writing groups have become very common. This article considers the pros and cons to participating in a writer group.
Please visit shortstories.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Short Stories.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Short Stories located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Nicole Pickens, Short Stories Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


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At the beginning of my design process I started from the name 'Rezdora'. As you explained the
Rezdora is the engine of a typical house in Emilia, the heart of the northern Italy. She grows kids,
nephews and she always does one thing very well: fresh pasta. For you it is important to show the
taste of something just made along with the love and passion that Rezdora puts in making it.
For this reason I wanted to create a warm, welcoming and domestic interior. In other words: a place
where it feels like home. To create this atmosphere I used some warm elements such as wood and
nice chairs. I also used the 'Rezdora colors' yellow, red and green.
With the combination of finishes like the oak timber floor, the mosaic tiles, the colorful and wooden
furniture and some plants, there is a tiny hint of Italy.
Furthermore I used white walls to keep the interior light, welcoming and easy accessible by
everyone. The white color also refers to the healthy and fresh recipes/ kitchen. (Industrial buildings
often consist of brick walls, but they can be easily paint in white)
This design is replicable in retail and high traffic but also in other locations with a larger or smaller
surface area. If you need more inspiration to use the same design elements, you can always look at
the board with textures and materials. There are plenty of examples of how furniture, textures and
materials can be combined.
Kind regards,


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CHICAGO -- We're pleased to announce that MedPage Today and Emergency Physicians Monthly have launched a collaboration, starting now at the American College of Emergency Physicians annual meeting. To kick off the partnership, we sat down with Mark Plaster, MD, founder and executive editor of EP Monthly, to chat with Greg L. Henry, MD, a past president of ACEP who writes a column for EP Monthly. Henry talked about his hot-button-topic-take-aways from the council meetings.
Workforce Change Resistance
MPT/EP Monthly: We've talked a lot about workforce in the past, about the expansion of emergency physicians and the roles of physician systems and various practitioners and other advanced practice clinicians or mid-level healthcare providers.
Where do you think the expansion of emergency physicians and the expansion of emergency care is going and what factors come into play?
Henry: Workforce has been essentially ignored since the specialty started. We function with a model that says "me doctor, you banana poo poo, and we're going to give our care and that's the way it's going to be." We have not been asking the right set of questions as to who should be doing what. How many technicians should you have? How many nurses? How many doctors? How many extenders of one form or another?
We're the only specialty which has really not concentrated on asking that question. If you go into your ophthalmologist's office, he sees you for 30 seconds of the visit. Everything else is done by technicians. We can rethink this entire emergency medicine experience.
The other thing is, we've lost control of where things need to be done. The emergency department is an answer. But in a lot of urban centers, urgent care clinics, 24-hour-a-day emergency departments are not based at a hospital, and other various forms of care need to be thought through and utilized.
What we've been doing is defending our position without asking a single question about what is in the long-term best healthcare interest of tax-paying citizens of the U.S. And I think until we're willing to ask that question, we haven't really done a lot.
You know there is a famous line that says "all specialties, all trades are a conspiracy against the citizen." That's right. We get together to talk about things like how much we charge, can we increase it? How do you code so you get more money, etc., etc. Nobody ever held a seminar here that said, "Let's do our part to cut healthcare cost by taking less money." It never happened in the history of the world.
So we're going to have to draw back, force ourselves to look at what is real productivity change, who should be doing, what should they be getting paid, and what does that mean in a broader context here in the public?
ACEP Election Rules Remix
MPT/EP Monthly: You precipitated a little bit of a crisis here at the council because you wanted to ask some questions of some candidates. What happened, and what next?
Henry: ACEP has election rules; one of the election rules was that they were going to limit, [for] those people running for the presidency of the organization and for the board of directors, who they spoke with. We thought that was not right. I wanted to, as an independent outside voice, be able to ask those kinds of questions.
Now this did precipitate a little bit of a crisis. There was hyperbole here. People were talking about the first amendment and freedom of speech -- it was really none of those things. First amendment issues don't apply to this in truth. But what this had to do with is, what are the information sources councilors can have to decide to vote on those people who will lead the college?
What we don't want is people who have not been drilled and vetted. We need people who would be willing to handle the press of the U.S. If you can't handle talking to me, how are you going to handle CNN? How are you going to handle the New York Times? How are you going to handle all of the other news outlets which have a perfect right to speak to the college?
So we thought this was useful. The debate was spirited, they decided to maintain some control of the election. But I think everybody wanted this because we've got to hear, we've got to vent the ideas and the concepts allowing a certain amount of freedom in this election process.
I think that we have a role here at EP Monthly in bringing up issues which are quite frankly very sensitive and difficult to vent through the organization itself. We're not beholden to anyone. So we have the ability to focus in on things which we feel are important at this moment in time.


text: The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by the White House in 1995. The PAESMEM program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). PAESMEM recognizes individuals for their mentoring of persons from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, persons with disabilities, persons from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and early career scientists and engineers. Historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields include African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, and Native Alaskans. These are groups who might not otherwise have considered or had access to opportunities in STEM education or careers. Nominations, including self-nominations, are invited for "Individual" and "Organizational" PAESMEM awards. Individuals and organizations in all public and private sectors are eligible including industry, academia, K-12, military and government, non-profit organizations, and foundations. Nominations are encouraged from all geographical regions in the U.S. including, its territories and particularly jurisdictions designated by Congress under NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). NSF EPSCoR-designated jurisdictions are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Each "Individual" or "Organizational" PAESMEM awardee will receive a $10,000 award and a commemorative Presidential certificate. Awardees are also invited to participate in an award recognition ceremony in Washington, DC which includes meetings with STEM educators, researchers and policy leaders. Up to 16 awards may be made from the nominations received on or before October 3, 2014. PAESMEM awardees serve as leaders in the national effort to develop fully the nation's human resources in STEM.


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However, age, wear and an event such as a tropical or winter storm can make your roof vulnerable. Damage cannot always be easily observed from the ground, but on closer inspection such as by ladder access, you can identify common roof problems.
1. Wear and tear. All shingles will eventually wear and need replacing. If there is no layer underneath, you may be able to have a roofer place a new layer on top. Check with your local zoning laws to confirm the same.
Signs of shingle deterioration including blistering, cracking, missing granules, curling and missing shingles. Any problem by itself or in combination of two or more should be addressed immediately.
2. Cupped and buckled. If you observe that shingles have buckled and cupped, then you have a moisture problem underneath. This is often the source of internal leaks and those shingles should be repaired or the entire surface reproofed.
There are a number of reasons why shingles cup. First, shingles that are not installed properly are more likely to cup. Second, as shingles age, cupping is just one sign of deterioration. Third, there could be a defect in the manufacturing process. Attending to this problem right away can save you money and headaches.
3. Ice dams. A roofing problem that is common to homes during the winter months are ice dams, or a pooling of frozen water that accumulates due to improper ventilation. When a dam is in place, it prevents melted snow water from draining from your roof and may cause it to back up into your home.
The immediate solution here according to the University of Minnesota Extension is to remove snow from the roof. A roof rake or a push broom can make this happen. In one-story homes, this can sometimes be done from the ground with a roof rake. Solutions include sealing air leakage between the house and the attic space, and making sure that the ceiling air is tight so that moist and warm air won't flow from the house into the attic space.
4. Failed flashing. Flashing is used on roofs to help prevent water damage. You'll find roof flashing, typically made of rust-resistant metal, around vulnerable areas of the roof including vent piping, the chimney, a skylight, in roof valleys and around windows.
When flashing becomes detached or loose, you have a potential disaster waiting to happen. You may need to replace it with new flashing, by first cleaning out the old caulk or roof cement, and replacing it with new material.
If you have the tools and the expertise you can handle most simply roof repairs yourself. For everyone else, calling a roofer is in order. If the damage follows a weather event, contact your insurer first and file a claim.
When contacting a roofer there are several things to keep in mind as you go through the selection process. Yes, you will want to contact more than one roofer to get estimates.
First, find out if your roofer has a business address. Some people have the skills to do the roof, but not the business in place for you to call upon years later. Second, ask your roofer for proof insurance. Third, obtain at least three customer references and call them. Fourth, get a price that includes the entire cost of the job from stripping down your roof, buying new shingles and related materials, installing the same and hauling off debris. Your roof job should be completed within one or two days — make sure that your roofer is available to handle your project and yours alone until it is done.
University of Minnesota Extension: Ice Dams — http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1068.html
Don Vandervort's Home Tips: How Roof Flashing Works — http://www.hometips.com/how-it-works/roof-flashing.html
home remodeling reference (links to internal page)
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And please share this article within your social networks.


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whatever was given a rehearsed reading at the Soho Theatre in Summer 2005.
It was directed by Benet Catty (who had recently helmed JMC's I Really Must be Getting Off at the White Bear Theatre).
The actors were Robert Boulter (Swain), Caroline Burns Cook (Cressida), Euan Macnaughton (Deelen), Jamie Martin (Tone) and ex-Eastender Christopher Parker (Dean).
The play was revised as a result of the reading.
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Videogames stormed into YouTube's top 10 most-viewed trailers for the second quarter of 2014, with the official "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" reveal beating major movie and TV show teasers in the period.
The Q2 rankings exclude views of the trailer for "Fifty Shades of Grey," released last week, which is already one of the most-viewed trailers of the year to date.
The top 10 most-viewed trailers on YouTube for content uploaded between April 1 and June 30, 2014, accounted for a total of 98 million views and 160 million minutes watched. Average view duration for the trailers was 1 minute and 43 seconds (74% of the video length).
According to YouTube, media and entertainment companies are using the vidsite to engage audiences for longer periods of time, with all videos in the top 10 longer than 90 seconds.
Here are the top 10 trailers for the second quarter, by views:
1. "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" Reveal Trailer: 20.9 million
2. "X-Men: Days of Future Past," 20th Century Fox: 18.0 million
3. "Mortal Kombat X" Announce Trailer: 11.0 million
4. "Orange Is The New Black" Season 2 Official Trailer: 8.5 million
5. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," 20th Century Fox: 8.4 million
6. "Gotham," Fox Broadcasting: 8.0 million
7. "Disney's Cinderella" Official Teaser Trailer: 7.5 million
8. "The Interview" Official Teaser Trailer: 6.0 million
9. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Trailer No. 2: 5.7 million
10. "Hercules" Trailer No. 2: 4.2 million


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3.5 Rover V8 Reliant Scimitar
Mark's unique SE5 V8 Convertible is a proper restoration car. I've put a few pics below but click on the link above to visit his web site and get the full story on a car which the Government denies exists. The fully restored chassis and AVO suspension make Sam a jealous lad...)


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Hope you will like ;)
Title: Car-Stealing (4/4)
Fandom: Zeke & Casey
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: of course, not mine
Author's notes: remember this post aliensouldream made some time ago? I always thought it makes a good premise for a new story
If you want to go back first chapter one - chapter two - chapter three
Zeke stared at him, half amused, half annoyed. This was so ridiculous.
"Casey, this is the most upturning shit I've ever seen!"
The boy stopped unbuttoning his shirt and frowned.
"But we are supposed to get naked, aren't we?"
Zeke smirked. It was so obvious that he tried hard to play cool ... but he wasn't. His cheeks were deep red, his hands trembling, he barely dared to look at him.
Fuck it. Zeke cursed inwardly. What the hell was he doing here when he was not ready for it? But maybe it was not fair to blame Casey. Zeke was the experienced one. He had known that Casey was still a virgin ... and he never did virgins. Never! It downright cried for complications. He didn't want to play someone's babysitter, he just wanted to fuck!
His eyes wandered back to Casey, over the half open shirt. The pale but soft looking skin. He could see one of his nipples, dark and hard ... from the cold air or from excitement, Zeke couldn't say. The dark jeans which didn't hide anything today. He had caught a look at Casey's ass when he'd followed him into the living room. A cute one, small but well formed and tight. And no matter what he had said just a moment before, he could feel his own dick harden when he thought about it.
Ridiculous! He wanted to fuck Casey Connor. He wanted him so much as if he hadn't fucked for weeks.
"You sure you want this," he asked with a rough voice.
Last chance, Connor! You should leave now, before it's too late. Casey stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"What is all this about, huh? Did you change your mind? Do you want me to leave?"
When Zeke said nothing he shrugged and started to button up his shirt again.
"Fine. I'm not gonna beg you, y'know? I don't need to. There are others who would like to fuck me."
Zeke frowned when he grabbed for his backpack, ready to leave. He wouldn't do that, right? He was just hurt and angry, but he wasn't that loaded with determination to get fucked that he would go with anyone. He could picture him in a dark back room of a shabby bar, together with some guys, much older than him, and they would give a shit about it that he was still so inexperienced. The things they would do with him ... things Casey couldn't even imagine.
"Shut up!"
He grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him around. Casey eyes flickered wide with shock when he pressed his lips onto his mouth. There was no resistance when his tongue searched for its way, lips opened almost on its own, only a soft, surprised gasp for air. And he kissed him, demanding, rough, with the promise for more. A Zeke Tyler kiss no one could resist.
It was evident that Casey didn't know what to do. One of his hands searched for hold onto his shoulder, beside of this he didn't dare to move. He even seemed to stop breathing. Zeke chuckled inwardly when he pulled him even closer, one of his legs pressed hard against Casey's groin. What he could feel almost made him groan. Geez, this boy really needed to get laid. Finally he let him go. Casey swayed and struggled for air. Zeke smiled and bend forward to his ear.
"I've promised you one hour," he murmured.
"You will get one."
Why he did what he did next was beyond him. He had fucked them everywhere: on the couch, on the floor, even on the counter to his kitchen. Most of them never got to see more from his house. When it was over it was over and he was almost relieved when they finally left.
Only two of them had stayed over night, had shared his bed with him. Number one, Jessie, he had really liked her and being together with her for almost three month was what came closest to a serious relationship for him. Number two, Maria, she had been a great mistake. After their night - and it had been just one night for him; they had met at a bar, they had flirted and maybe he had drunk a bit more than usual before he took her home - she had started to stalk him over months until he felt ready to kill her. Thankfully one day she hadn't turned up anymore - probably she had found another poor victim for her exaggerated affections of love. He had promised himself that this would never happen again ... unless ... yeah ... unless Jessie would come back to him. He knew this would never happen, but sometimes he still missed her.
Casey was not Jessie, of course not, Casey was the school's geek and this was just a one-time-thing. But nevertheless he grabbed for his hand and pulled him upstairs into his room.
He closed the door with a kick of his foot and pulled him back into his arms. Another kiss, a bit softer this time ... and Casey started to kiss back. The boy learned quick.
His tongue was dancing over his penis one last time. One last touch of his balls. Then Zeke let him go. His eyes rested on Casey. He had closed his eyes, his eyelashes fluttered slightly, his twisted mouth told about his disappointment because Zeke had stopped to spoil him. Zeke chuckled slightly. It was not like he had expected it to be. Casey had lost most of his shyness as soon as he had noticed that Zeke would not laugh about him. His eyes wandered over his body. There was indeed nothing to be ashamed of.
It was nice to tease him, to touch him carefully, to kiss, to nibble, even to bite from time to time. It was great to hear him groan and cry softly when he discovered another sensitive place. Casey loved it when he nibbled at his neck. When his hands caressed the inside of his thighs. Then he giggled and leaned in even more into the touch.
Finally he had started to suck him. Only for a second Casey had stiffened, then he relaxed ... and enjoyed. Zeke wondered if this would be enough for him. It would be easy to drive him over the edge. Just a bit more teasing and it would be over. The boy would leave him happy. This here was so much better than the quick fuck he had expected, Zeke was sure of this. But he didn't want it to be over. He wanted to fuck him, wanted to put his dick into this cute little ass. After all he deserved this.
Casey eyes finally flattered open. Zeke smiled and crawled over him.
"You like," he asked.
Casey licked his lips and nodded.
Zeke bend forward for a little kiss.
"Will you repay me?"
Casey swallowed and hesitated. His eyes were resting on Zeke's groin. He was still wearing his jeans, but the bulge between his legs was highly visible.
"I guess, I could," he finally said, sounding only a bit unsure.
"Do it!"
Zeke turned around.
"Make me ready for more."
He grabbed for his belt. The buttons of the jeans followed, he kicked the denim aside and laid back onto his bed. Casey had followed him with his eyes. Now he stretched out his hand to touch him. The little, black brief didn't hide anything. It was obvious that Zeke was well endowed. Without hesitation Casey started to stroke along the shaft, to touch his balls. Now it was Zeke who closed his eyes and groaned slightly. No matter how inexperienced the boy was, it felt good. So good. It was hard to hold back, not to urge him to pull the brief down and to take his dick into his mouth. Deep ... deeeeep ...
He didn't need to wait for long. To his surprise Casey suddenly straddled over him. Zeke could hear him giggling a bit nervous, could feel his breath onto his cock when he shoved the brief aside. Then he bent forward. Holy shit. Zeke stared at the ass right in front of his face. Before he could think about it he felt Casey lips onto his dick. A bit unsure at first, he was just licking over the head, hesitated a moment, giggled again. Then he dared to lick over the whole shaft, like Zeke had done it before with him.
Zeke couldn't help it. He grabbed for his head and pushed him forward.
"Do it," he groaned.
"Take it in! Suck me!"
And he did ... and started to choke in the same moment. He tried to fight against Zeke's hand but he was not willing to let him go.
"Hey, hey, relax," he said reassuring.
"Take it slow. Put your hand around the base of the shaft, this will make it easier. And watch the teeth. You can do this. I know, you can!"
It lasted a few moments. First Casey tried to copy what Zeke had done to him, but finally he found his own rhythm. Zeke felt like in heaven. ... girls had sucked him ... guys had sucked him ... but Casey was the biggest surprise. He started to meet his movements, careful first, he didn't want to freak him out, but soon enough Casey was able to take him in deep and deeper. Hard to believe that he hadn't done anything like this before. He was born for sex. Born to be fucked.
Zeke grabbed for his ass, stroked and kneaded the cheeks, his thumbs started to move around the cleft. Casey groaned and took him even deeper. Fuck! Blind Zeke fumbled for the tube of lube in the drawer, opened it, pressed a bit of the cool mass right onto Casey's ass. The boy yelped surprised. Zeke chuckled.
"It's okay. Just go on. You do great. Almost ready!"
Casey smiled and turned back. It was obvious: he liked what he did. He would like even more what Zeke was going to do with him soon. Just a bit more preparation ... He wet his finger with the lube and after a bit more massage he started to shove it in. It felt tight and hot. Zeke could feel that Casey stiffened.
"You need to ..." he started, but at the same moment Casey jerked around and stared at him with great eyes.
"It hurt," he said with a trembling voice.
Zeke huffed annoyed. What the fuck ... this little shit outright begged for a good fuck, he did everything to make him hot and now ... when it came to the best part ... he turned into a whining bitch?! Ohhh ... nooo ... I can't do that ... don't hurt me, please ... nooo ... nooo. Zeke narrowed his eyes.
"What did you expect, huh," he hissed.
"Chocolate and roses? It's a fuck, Casey, and it's supposed to hurt first."
Casey blinked nervous and swallowed. The geek was back. And to Zeke's own surprise this calmed him down. If not today ... maybe another time. The boy had discovered a lot of wonderful feelings today ... it wouldn't be long and he wanted more.
"Your choice," he said.
"There are still twenty minutes left, it's up to you what we are gonna make with it. We can have a coffee ... or a chocolate, if you prefer that."
Casey's eyes changed again, the defiant sparkling was back in an instant.
"Oh, fuck you!"
"No chance, baby!"
Zeke smirked.
"I'm not gonna put my ass in the air for anyone. But you ..."
He bent forward, his lips almost touched his ear when he whispered.
"You are the perfect bottom. If you let me I'm gonna give you the best time of your life."
That was it! Zeke stubbed out his cigarette and glanced at the watch. Almost seven. Three hours. And he hadn't fucked him once, but twice. First Casey had been very unsure and much too tense. But this time he knew better. Casey was still a virgin and needed a bit more time. He would be more careful. First he had spoiled him with his fingertips. He had kissed him, the other hand was stroking his dick and had teased his nipples. When Casey had calmed down enough, he dared to move in a bit deeper. Deeper. One finger, two, three at the end. Casey had yelped once or twice, but he was willing to take it. Finally Zeke had decided that he was ready now. One last kiss, then he grabbed for his ass and pulled him up.
"Trust me," he had murmured while he positioned his dick.
"Get over it and you're gonna love it!"
In the moment he was inside he knew, even if Casey would cry and beg him now to stop, he wouldn't be able to do so. He couldn't. All he wanted was to fuck, to fuck this oh so perfect ass.
After a while Casey's choked, little outcries changed into deep, satisfied groaning. When he started to push back, to take him in even deeper, Zeke knew, everything was okay. He quickened the pace, fucked him into oblivion ...
Casey almost collapsed after his last, endless climax and dozed off. Zeke chuckled slightly. No wonder, after the last hours. Three hours. Two fucks. No one at school would believe that. Casey Connor was one of the most sexiest guys he'd ever had. Next time ...
Wait! What? It had been just a deal, hadn't it? He had promised him one hour ... and had given him three. That was it. He couldn't meet him again. He couldn't raise false hopes. They had had a lot of fun today ... but there wouldn't be more. He was the King at Herrington High ... and Casey was the geek ... They had nothing in common.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
He nudged him slightly.
"You can have a shower before you leave, if you want! Next door on the left side."
His eyes opened, limped and solemn now. He nodded slowly.
"Yeah, that would be nice!"
Carefully he sat up onto the bedside and pulled his face. Zeke knew, he must feel sore and stiff. But he stood up without further hesitation, grabbed for his clothes and off he was. When he came back he looked different. Zeke wondered if his parents would notice this change or if he would be back to his usual 'good boy' image as soon as he had left his house. He hoped not.
"Hey," he said.
"I guess, I could need a beer now. Want one too?"
Casey hesitated for a moment, before he shook his head.
"No, thanks, but I don't drink!"
Zeke chuckled.
"Sorry, I forgot. What about a coke?"
His eyes were unfathomable now.
"Zeke," he finally said.
"You don't need to play nice any more. We both know what to think about all this. I saved your ass. You did me a favor. Just a deal. Nothing more!"
It hurt. To his own surprise it hurt that Casey could dismiss everything what had happened between them today as a stupid deal. Had it meant nothing for him? Well, he should have known this. Casey had seen this as a good opportunity to get what he wanted. No stupid feelings. How often had he himself acted like this?
"Yeah, sure!"
But without thinking about it any longer he added:
"Though ... I wouldn't mind if we're gonna do it again eventually."
Casey blinked twice, that was the only sign of surprise he showed. Finally he shrugged.
He grabbed for his backpack and Zeke was alone.


text:
August 13, 2018 Juneau Empire
Everyone's talking about the solar eclipse coming up, and volunteers at the Marie Drake Planetarium are ready to tell you how to experience it.
This coming Tuesday, Aug. 15, volunteers from Juneau's planetarium will be at the Valley Library to provide some answers about the eclipse and how to take it in. The event is free, and begins at 7 p.m.
Though Alaska isn't in the area of the country that will be able to see the full eclipse, the event will be at least somewhat visible from Juneau. The planetarium volunteers will talk about what exactly will be visible during the event, when it will happen and how people can safely view it.


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Wed, 6 September 2017
A portion of our Young Turks Main Show from August 29th, 2017. For more go to http://www.tytmembership.com.
Hour 1: Cenk & John. John Kelly & Trump beef. Rush Limbaugh's Hurricane Irma conspiracy. Ralph Peters North Korea strike. Pro-Clinton CNN panel on Sanders. Man arrested for asking "threatening" question during town hall. Polk County Sheriff threatens jail for those with warrants seeking shelter from Irma. Saudis' luxurious gifts to Trump.
Hour 2: Cenk & Ana. Michael Bennett police confrontation. Mexican volunteers crossing border to help Harvey victims. Mayoral candidate lists "white" as top qualities. Myanmar leader under pressure on Rohingya genocide.
Direct download: 170906__EC.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:04pm EDT


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The blog post was called Rip It Open, and writing it was painful for author Mandy Stobo.
For the first time, the Calgary artist publicly detailed a lifetime of sexual abuse. She alleges she was raped by a family member from ages 3 to 9, raped again as a teenager while in the psychiatric ward of a local hospital, and forced to work in a brothel for a week while backpacking in Cambodia at age 20.
Privately, she struggled with shame. But when sex allegations involving Jian Ghomeshi surfaced, Stobo, 31, added her voice to an ever-growing chorus decrying violence against women.
"I thought even if it helps one person say out loud something that's happened to them and it lets them breathe for a minute, it's worth it," said Stobo, who has received hundreds of emails from fellow victims across Canada since publishing her post.
Ghomeshi was charged with four counts of sexual assault Wednesday. Experts say the story has pushed rape culture into a global spotlight and allowed victims to find strength in numbers.
Janice Du Mont, a scientist at Toronto's Women's College Research Institute, said the Ghomeshi scandal has had a "ripple effect." A week and a half after the Star reported allegations against the radio star, it emerged that two New Democrat MPs alleged they'd been harassed on Parliament Hill; Justin Trudeau immediately suspended the two accused Liberal MPs. In recent weeks, several of Bill Cosby's alleged rape victims have also come forward.
"The most important thing really arising out of this is it's making the invisible visible, in terms of the sheer scope … of the problem of sexual violence," said Du Mont.
Hashtag movements such as #beenrapedneverreported, which also surfaced in the wake of the Ghomeshi allegations, are empowering victims worldwide, she added.
Scores of women have used the hashtag online to recount their own tales of being sexually assaulted.
"There's strength in feeling like part of a collective, that you're not alone in experiencing victimization," Du Mont said.
Only about 1 per cent of the 460,000 alleged sex assaults that take place in Canada each year result in charges, according to Statistics Canada. While the Ghomeshi allegations are now in that small minority, Lenore Lukasik-Foss, president of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, cautioned against expecting that to become the norm.
"The majority of survivors will not tell police and that should not be our yardstick of whether they're credible or not," she said.
In light of the scandal, Lukasik-Foss said the public seems to be more aware of the barriers to criminally reporting sex assaults, such as the re-traumatization victims often face in the justice system. The emphasis should be on making victims feel supported and believed, whether or not they press charges, she said, adding that only 4 to 5 per cent of assault allegations are false.
"We hope that the shift is permanent in that our knee-jerk reaction is not to go after the women to discredit the allegations."
Diane Hill, a counsellor with the Canadian Women's Foundation, said this will be a watershed moment only if people are willing to accept the prevalence of sexual assaults and deal with it head-on.
"I think it's very hard for men to move out of denial on this and to move out of defensiveness … I think it's critical that more men do," she said. "For women to face it means that we're actually not as safe as we would like to think we are."


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I am a little bewildered.
Donald Trump says we have too much political correctness. In the Fox News/Facebook debate, Megyn Kelly asked him a question about not being politically correct, and he objects. Trump supporters went wild on social media. They are aggrieved on behalf of their candidate. Not being politically correct runs both ways.
Kelly responded on her TV show Monday night, but not directly to Trump.
First, the question about his temperament at the debate.
Kelly said to Trump, "You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs' and 'disgusting animals.'"
On Monday night, Kelly defended her line of questioning and stated: "Apparently Mr. Trump thought the question I asked was unfair and felt I was attacking him, I felt he was asked a tough but fair question. We agree to disagree."
She then went on to say: "Mr. Trump is an interesting man who has captured the attention of the electorate. That's why he's leading in the polls. Trump, who is the front-runner, will not apologize, and I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism. So I'll continue doing my job without fear or favor, and Mr. Trump, I expect, will continue with what has been a successful campaign thus far. This is a tough business and it's time now to move forward, and now let's get back to the news."
The winner in all of this is the media, because this is sensational to write about.
The loser: the American people and any chance to address the issues that plague us daily. Kelly is right, let's get back to the news.


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Willy Won't He?
Miller Time: Frank DeMartino and Rebecca Allington
Photo by Michael Amsler
'Death of a Salesman' suits the Players
By Daedalus Howell
ARTHUR MILLER'S plays are the red meat of the American theatrical diet--heavy, bloody, emotional carnage that is a staple for a plurality of theatergoers. To wit, the Santa Rosa Players' production of Death of a Salesman (directed by Carl Hamilton) is an imminently faithful production of Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning eviction notice to the American Dream, served medium-well with a small side of bitter herbs.
Originally produced 50 years ago, Death of a Salesman is a touchstone to an era that accommodated sexism (quasi-macho references to "ruining" women take one right out of the play) and an erstwhile work ethic (few of the Lomans' career objectives reflect present-day concerns). Consequently, the work has long ago graduated to period-piece status, a fact director Hamilton embraces successfully.
As Willy Loman, Frank DeMartino is a masterful student of character and is the Players' capital talent. His Loman is a vital, pitiable, grave portrait of spiritual crash-landing that provides the gravity necessary to hold the other actors in consonant orbits. DeMartino is, as he should be, this production's greatest endorsement, inhabiting Loman with alacrity and with corporeal and emotional perceptiveness.
As Loman's laggard sons Bif and Happy, actors Chris Schloemp and Rick Codding deploy agreeable if occasionally antiseptic performances. Schloemp's portrayal of the prodigal, malcontent ex-football star Bif is intermittently donnish and hot-blooded, admirably conjuring the mien of resignation without purging passion. Schloemp falters, however, when Miller's script veers him near melodrama--e.g., exposing Loman's suicide device (a silly little rubber hose used to access a nipple on the gas pipe) with the fervor of introducing inane mystery evidence in a courtroom farce: "All right, phony! Then let's lay it on the line."
Codding's Happy is a jaunty, well-meaning wastrel plausibly stunted by the drama of his elder brother's life. The fact that Codding and the alpine Schloemp bear absolutely no resemblance as siblings is absorbed by Codding's spirited comic relief--though the ad hoc references to his paunch and relative lack of stature come precariously close to demeaning him.
David Herbst is refined and subtle as Charlie, Loman's congenial next-door neighbor, and applies an able polish to the play's signature requiem monologue ("He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine"). Talented Donovan Dutro, turns in an understated performance as Bernard, Bif's brainy lackey, and is by turns an amusing flunky and foreboding foil.
Rebecca Allington's Linda, a stand-by-her-men wife and mother, credibly transmits maternal concern, tough love, and warmth through Elija Gollander's appropriately cold, Spartan set--a mélange of stone-hued furniture and floating, skewed window frames affecting the expressionistic appearance of a family-sized mausoleum.
Adding little to the show is the canned emotionality of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies, piped in for an obvious but benign pluck on the heartstrings. Totally malignant, however, is the deluge of music accompanying Loman's climactic second-act monologue--a din that is an insult to both DeMartino and the audience.
Generally, the Santa Rosa Players perform widely known and accepted, commercially viable theater for a consistent and appreciative audience. On this score, Death of a Salesman will not disappoint. Nobody dast blame this show.
Death of a Salesman plays Friday-Saturday, Jan. 23-24, and Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 29-31, at 8 p.m. with matinees Jan. 24 and Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. Santa Rosa Players, Lincoln Arts Center, 709 Davis St. Tickets are $10-$12. 544-STAR.
[ | MetroActive Central | ]
From the January 22-28, 1998 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.
© Metro Publishing Inc.


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Real quick — one of my favorite bands, Old 97's, played a special gig at SONAR in Baltimore last night to benefit the Obama campaign in what was referred to all night as "the crucial swing state of Ohio." I'd never been to SONAR before, but I liked the club a lot, and its entire staff was working for free last night, along with the talent. The merch and the concessions were all donated, too. Whether you bought one of the $20 T-shirts or the $10 event poster signed by all four 97s or just a beer for $4.50 (the same ones you pay $6 for in D.C.), every penny you pried from your wallet was, we were told, to go straight to Obama's Ohio machine. 97s frontman Rhett Miller and bassist/second singer Murry Hammond each performed a solo acoustic set in the Talking Head Lounge (SONAR's equivalent of the Black Cat's backstage) for people who sprang for the $100 tickets. The tix for just the Old 97s gig in the main room were $25. Two Balmer bands opened the mainstage gig, Desert Boys and Caleb Stine and The Brakemen. Neither of them were bad at all. Stine sounds eerily like Jay Farrar, but Uncle Tupelo-era Farrar, so that was no bad thing.
It was a fun evening, though I wish the club had been more than half-full. The 97s just played a sold-out show at the 9:30 here in the District six weeks ago, so that plus the fact that it was a Monday night might have depressed the turnout a bit. Their set was on the short side for them, at a mere 20 songs, but that was forgiveable given that Murry and Rhett had each performed a solo set beforehand, and anyway, the band's actual performance absolutely smoked.
For me, though, the evening's clear highlight was the interview Murry gave me about his fine new solo album, I Don't Know Where I'm Going but I'm on My Way, and about the origins and history of the 97s. We spoke for about 20 minutes before his solo set, and then he actually came and found me after he and Rhett were finished so I could ask him the rest of my questions. Hell of a nice guy, he. I'll be posting the interview on DCist probably late next week, in advance of Murry's solo gig at IOTA on Monday, Sept. 22. I'll see y'alls there.
Old 97's at SONAR, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008
The Setlist
01 The Fool
02 Barrier Reef
03 The One
04 Buick City Complex
05 No Baby I
06 Mama Tried
07 Indefinitely
08 Early Morning
St. Ignatius Alone So Far
10 Question
11 Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue
12 Dance with Me
13 Hands Off
14 My Two Feet
15 W. Tx Teardrops
16 Rollerskate Skinny
17 The Easy Way
18 Salome
19 Murder (Or a Heart Attack)
20 Timebomb
The Band
Philip Peeples — drums
Ken Bethea — guitar
Murry Hammond — bass, vocals
Rhett Miller — vocals, guitar


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1960 National New Yorker - 6-string Lap Steel Guitar
1960 National New Yorker - 6-string Lap Steel Guitar
For shure one of the most beautiful lap steel designs ever, the National New Yorker has been introduced in 1937. Over the years small things changed, such as the fretboard-markers, the shape of the headstock and the pick-ups. This New Yorker has two "Vista Power" pick-ups, known for great "bell-clear" clean-sounds and brilliant sustain and the Volume-knob goes to 100(!). The lapsteel is in excellent condition for its age and comes in its original brown "Stone" hardshell-case.
Art.Nr.: Vi60NatNY_T38820


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In 2010, Hamburg producer Christopher Rau delivered a confident, charmingly slight debut album in the form of Asper Clouds. Like many of the releases on Smallville, its label, Asper Clouds conveyed a homey, intimate take on house, drawing the listener in on the virtue of what it wasn't. Rau has put his name to a series of 12″s in a similar style since, but Two, again released via Smallville, is that record's proper follow-up. It follows its predecessor in breeziness, but with markedly less success.
In its unassuming nature, Asper Clouds set the bar for a second album at a strange level. Nothing in Rau's catalogue suggests that record was a low-key prelude, and even the producer's recent flurry of 12″ activity, ostensibly more aimed at the dance floor, has been a far cry from epic. Still, he might be expected to deliver a statement with a bit of heft, especially given the refined contours of releases like Marbled World, a recent EP that stands as some of his best work. Instead, Two feels every bit as nondescript as its title, more a collection of disparate tracks than a fully-formed album.
On opener, "Apple Snapple Tracking," Rau deploys looping strings no doubt sampled from a soul or exotica record, which immediately lend it a pleasant, if saccharine, wooze. Underlining it with a steppy rhythm and twitchy accouterments, the producer pushes the track in a garage direction. It comes across clumsily, however, as the sounds are less interwoven than stacked on top of one another. "Swag Lude," meanwhile, is more sparing in its use of sampled strings, but falls victim to the same problem, as it's pervaded by ugly cut-ups and random splices of plucked strings. One gets an acute feeling that many of the tracks here were rushed, or perhaps even left unfinished. Rau certainly seems of the tier of producers who could record an album in a matter of days, but much of his appeal comes from how his tracks sound so intensively stripped to their essentials.
There are a few bright spots. "Weird Alps," for example, recalls Tevo Howard or Omar-S in its slightly ominous, economical arrangement, with sputtering hi-hats meeting a syncopated monotone synth while a whistle percolates in the background. Certain tracks like, "Ciao," the finale, or the lightly fluttering "Girl," have a gentle beauty, but don't lead anywhere in particular, while "High" finds Rau attempting to work his trademark airiness into a more rigid electro format with meager results. Granted, Rau's throwaways — assuming these are throwaways — still best albums by a number of producers. There's a slyness to Two that suggests the artist is simply enjoying himself in the studio, and such a casual approach is always welcome. But one would be advised to stick to his recent 12″s to hear what he is truly capable of.


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Students can access the review sheets from their Oral English class.
Find your grade and download the week's PDF.
Spend at least 15 minutes a week to check the latest PDF and further improve your English.
Your teacher will let you know when a new PDF has been added to the site.