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Arthur looked up and sensed that the fashionably dressed people around him were simulacra of Bohemian artists, somehow not real, mere projections of an all encompassing media; when he pulled the plug from the wall they would fade away like profiles on a computer screen.
His disillusionment with contemporary life had continued into the 21st Century, where interactions were superficial unless it was with a government spy, who dug deep with a cutting smile. There was a pretense at caring for one's fellow human beamed from all the technology crammed into every crevice and it really bugged him because you could die on the street and most would walk on by. Everything had a use-by date, friends and enemies included, not much had value except for that ten square feet of real estate which one had to spend an entire working life to pay for. All news and entertainment was blood-drenched to remind the workforce that peace was precarious; war against "The Other" played a major role in economic growth and everybody better watch their arses.
Arthur noticed the glazed eyes of the people near him and thought they behaved as if they were brainwashed, doing what they were told, work, breed, consume, shit, die, with the latest transient fashion hanging from their shoulders and stuck to their butts, faux feathers and reptile skin all the rage, it made them look like raptors. Thus industry flourished and profits grew, for the elite few who owned it all, the workers getting low pay as always, failing to get a better share of the fruits of their labor, for the Unions had been dismantled and jobs were hard to hang onto. Identity, heart, self-worth, attempts at fame and immortality were up for sale in a con-job virtual world while the actual world, the environment and the social, disintegrated.
Neo-liberal privatization was the new "State-sanctioned", there was no public sector support for true innovation and social benefit, just what could make a profit. Creative individuality was crushed and mass hysteria raged across the planet, mobs of citizens could be conned into any foolishness by the all-persuasive media: meaningless conceptual art, vapid repetitive spectacle, ubiquitous phantasmal threats.
He cringed as he imagined the social-fabric being woven of a cross between the Party Members of 1984 and the Replicants of a Bladerunner future: a privileged upper echelon obeying any crazed order from "The Great Leader" and helping to create the rules, lording it over the gronks, the underclass of slaves who worked for little to secure less, no jet-packs, no robot servants, no new anti-biotics, just the same old same old crap and disease; at war with the Replicants, cloned robots who'd broken free of their chains, rebelling against their lowly, impoverished status and wanting desperately to be fully human, to go beyond their shelf-life, willing to kill their creators and triumphantly take their place.
He cringed as he imagined the social-fabric being woven of a cross between the Party Members of 1984 and the Replicants of a Bladerunner future: a privileged upper echelon obeying any crazed order from "The Great Leader" and helping to create the rules, lording it over the gronks, the underclass of slaves who worked for little to secure less, no jet-packs, no robot servants, no new anti-biotics, just the same old same old crap and disease; at war with the Replicants, cloned robots who'd broken free of their chains, rebelling against their lowly, impoverished status and wanting desperately to be fully human, to go beyond their shelf-life, willing to kill their creators and triumphantly take their place.
Head-shots of Big Brother, the world's number one Media Mogul, whom the peasants called "The Turd Doc", frowned from the covers of magazines, wall-posters, laptops and the television set in the corner of the Orwellian Cafe. He was deathless, had ruled forever, perhaps his wealth had truly found him the elixir of extended life, something that didn't apply to the plebs, they were doomed to short lives; it seemed as if there would never be change, humanity would always be a slave race, no global equality, ever beholden to a supreme leader. It reinforced Arthur's paranoia, that there was no way of escape, no freedom to realize his potential, no encouragement to think clearly, to find a way to somewhere better.
He tore his gaze away from the television set, from the images of endless sports, piles of food, singing budgie talent quests, bovine home-renovation nests, serial-killer quiz shows and a thousand brands of the same toothpaste which clawed at his consciousness, attracting his thoughts like bugs to an ultra-violet sterilizer, Big Brother's face flashing subliminal and continuous throughout.
He thought back forty years to when he'd first entered The Chestnut Tree Café and found his cozy seat in a corner, imagining he'd found a sanctuary for freaks and thus was safe. But surveillance even then was ubiquitous, CCTV cameras planted inside and out, and spies from the police and newspapers infiltrating, pretending to be punters. Those were the bad old days when love between those of the same sex was forbidden and smoking the sacred herb was ruthlessly prohibited. Arthur could only make secret signals to possible paramours and potheads across the room, swap proscribed books under the table instead of burning them in orgiastic public bonfires, and pass love-notes undetected, to meet outside somewhere for a quickie, and a spliff to relax before and after the sex.
And if caught, it was off to mental hospitals and jails where one was bashed, raped, dehumanized, reduced to a blithering automaton willing to spout any nonsense in praise of The System. Nowadays gays were welcomed into the Fold, there were too many of them to exclude, and they were such great consumers and stylists, running with the herd without question. He was no longer a freak because of his sexuality, it was his cynical attitude, socialist politics and need to keep bucking "The System" that made him an outlaw.
One day even pot would be legitimized, first as a medicinal panacea to the dying, eventually as a recreational inebriate, there was too much money in it, in taxes for the State and profits for the entrepreneurs. Hard drugs were already on the menu for disaffected types, with shooting galleries, needle exchanges and Nazi methadone programs to control them and provide a willing army of entranced zombies to suck cocks and break rocks on the highways. Big Brother thundered daily how it was those damned Hippies who persevered in smoking ganjha, growing it in their backyard and resisting The Privatized State. As a human sheep-farm, Auz would be the last place in the world to cave in to the obvious benefits of a cannabis economy; the right-wing scumbags would milk all they could from petroleum products first. Whatever the economy he would remain disgruntled for he detested being a slave, working for a pittance at some soul-less number-crunching job.
He pulled his cap down lower upon his face hoping to hide his characteristics, the surveillance cameras were swiveling and a few of the plebs at the other tables had their laptop-cams pointed his way. Thank no god he'd left his cell-phone at home, at least THEY couldn't track his movements and calls. And he'd stopped using his own laptop except for receiving the most rudimentary information from his libertarian activist mates, for his key-board action told THEM everything THEY needed to know about him, the use of his search-engine providing algorithms that could be fed back to him to mold his personality and control his desires and thoughts. He swiped a buzzing mosquito from the air as it hovered over him, it was probably a nano-camera looking for anything out of the ordinary. He was determined to be his own man, desperate not to give himself away, for it would mean brain-wipe for the "Matrix" factories at best, or worst, fed to the "Soylent" machine.
While long ago it had been drug-addicts and sexual deviants who had to be expunged from the body politic, the Thought Police had moved on to terrorists, jihadists and anarchists and they in turn had been annihilated or co-opted. Nowadays it was non-conformists in general that were in the Pigs sights, for terror came in many forms, graffiti artists, rappers, ravers, rockers, shop-lifters and computer hackers, all equally an affront to good citizenry; an obedient ant-colony society was the goal and anyone who even slightly strayed off the straight and narrow was suspect. Again, all for the high-lifestyle of a few to the detriment of the many. Oh how he dreamed of a truly egalitarian world where everyone had not just enough to survive but plenty of the things that made them happy, and all without destroying the biosphere.
The conformist mindset was bad enough but to Arthur the impossibility of the global set-up was also its irrationality; while the modern world was created by and dependent upon Science, Big Brother's paradigm was anti-science, imbued with religion and superstition, to keep the masses muddle-headed Arthur supposed. Religion supposedly fostered a pseudo-humanism where everybody cheesily cared for everybody else, but in reality people lived by shredding the skin from the backs of whoever, in the name of capitalism and profit for the wealthy few. And to convince them to put up with their pathetic lot they were promised eternal heaven after their short, miserable lives. The Catholics were the worst, eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood at their public mumbo-jumbo spectacles, a true metaphor for how the toiling masses were living these days. And if you didn't go down on your knees to such medieval ignorance you were branded a witch and burnt at the stake.
A flood of gloomy missives beamed down upon him from the giant video monitors: young, smooth faces gazing sternly and mouthing directives: "Snitch on anyone who looks deviant or old!" The over-population of the planet was the bug-bear of the age and terrible programs had to be employed to keep the numbers down and make life in the cities somewhat bearable. The elite who ran the world could probably live past two-hundred years but nobody was telling the facts about "The Chosen Ones." The rule for the majority of society was no one should go beyond sixty, so as to give the younger generations some space and a chance to climb up the shit-heap. At the back of every hospital was a "euthanasia room" where an oldie's favorite music was played while a hotshot was delivered by a smiling nurse; quite humane but still something Arthur hoped to avoid for a few years yet.
He had good genetics, and had practiced yoga since boyhood, and thus had not aged as badly as his fellows; his face still wrinkle-free, his posture straight, his walk brisk, he could fool any cursory glance thrown his way. He'd dyed his hair black, wore youthful clothes, and attempted to melt into the crowd but still kept his face shaded as staring into anybody's eyes could give him away, and everybody was a snitch these days, for Big Brother was always right and must be obeyed at all cost.
He was considering making a break for it, gazing out the door of the Hunger Games Cafe to see if the road was clear. "Oh nohh!" he thought, "the nano-camera must've sent out a signal, here comes Monday K, (K for Kafka, Klu Klux Klan and Kellogs Korn Flakes), and I don't like Mondays!" Snitch extraordinaire, she was a failed television star, hungrier than a smack addict for elusive fame. She'd been on a daggy kids TV show for seven minutes, conning the children with saccharine platitudes into thinking the world was safe and everybody loved them. She'd been quickly sacked because she'd pushed the real star out of the way and hogged the camera's limelight.
She'd never gotten over it, ever trying to crawl back into the public's eye, no matter who she stood on. She crashed every stage and act she could, had meltdowns, threw tantrums, shoved her face in front of whatever headline-act the gig was billed for until she was hated by all whose paths she crossed.
Arthur had previously given her three chances, to be human and real: the first time was when he'd told her long ago he'd won the Freakzone Film contest in France, her flat face fell in a grimace, bile was on her tongue, she resented someone who'd done better than she, and she'd turned her back on him. Oh well, you can't please everyone.
The second time was when he was talking to a young man who ran a secret music/cabaret venue, much desired by underground artists, and was considering giving Arthur a spot on his illustrious stage. She'd sat nearby, eavesdropped on their conversation, quickly sidled up to the guy, batted her scraggy eyelashes at him, flashed her flat, bony chest for him to ogle, then whisked him to another table to try and wangle a show-biz deal for herself, leaving Arthur to eat her body odor. All's fair in love and war he surmised.
On the third affront Arthur gave up on her. He was receiving a check for $1000 for winning the Kings Cross Art Competition for subversive pamphlets and somehow she'd bulldozed the judging committee into being the one out front to give the prizes. As she presented Arthur with his money she hissed into the mike, "A thousand bucks, hmmppphhh! Haven't we all received a check sometime in our lives?"
Arthur smiled tightly in response, "Yeah, well, you've only ever gotten a social security check!" She was a XXX bitch and here she was again, outside the Cafe Sunset Boulevard, waving a tacky video camera, for she was now the great "videographer", about to conquer the Internet and tell tales to a gossip-hungry public.
She came in and sat with an old gay twerp, laughing loud and inappropriately at his every comment, laughter that grated on Arthur's nerves, it was so over the top hysterical. All the while she surreptitiously tried to point her camera at Arthur, like some spy for Big Brother's all-seeing eye. Arthur flipped and yelled, "Don't aim that fucking camera at me or I'll throw it in the gutter!" She kept pointing it like a witch's wand. "Put that fucking camera away I said!"
"Oh, who'd want to film an ugly old fag like you anyway, Arthur?" she cackled.
"Fuck you, you flat-chested scrag, just keep it up and you'll lose your precious piece of junk!" fumed uptight Artie.
She put her toy in her lap and sneered maliciously. Vitto tut tutted in dismay, being an incorrigible star-fucker, she was an old favorite of his, low-echelon has-been though she was, any monster looked good to him at his gutter level cabaret. Arthur marched out of the Body Snatcher's Café and sat at an outside table to fume into his café latte.
He thought of all the fame-whores he'd met along the way, all trying to climb the pyramid of celebrity shit. And at the top of the shit heap, Big Brother, Media Mogul and overlord of the world who had possibly put a contract out on his life. Arthur thought back to that time thirty years previously, in 1985, when he was up for his big arts award at the Australian Film Institute. "The Thief of Sydney" was nominated for best animation and he'd gone to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel dressed as a punk matador to scandalize the culture vultures. As he was going into the venue, a pack of reporters from 'The Daily Terror" newspaper asked him for an interview and photo but Artie, with his girlfriend Sylvia Saliva, gave them the finger and screamed, "Fuck off, ya yellow press dickheads!" to their utter shock.
He'd then marched inside to the ballroom and sat at the Cinderella table-settings with on-the-make movie stars, directors, producers, bureaucrats, industrialists, even an ex-prime minister, all slapping each other on the back with "In the club" conviviality. Every film up for nomination got a sound-bite presented large upon the dining-room wall to which the crowd paid full attention. Arthur's moment came and some clever scallywag at the AFI had chosen the bit from his cartoon where a futuristic Big Brother-like wall video presented an announcement from "Turd Doc", Emperor of Sydney. He said, "You Too Can Join Elite." Arthur's hero, "the Thief", graffitied under the video-wall, "Krap!" and then a vicious robot dog burst from the pavement and tried to tear him to pieces.
The elite crowds' collective jaw dropped, their eyeballs popped: what temerity this gutter-snipe from the streets had, to take the piss, lampooning Big Brother, right in their smug faces. Arthur smirked in return, it was his great artistic moment, having a David-like potshot at Goliath, but he knew his brilliant career was over before it could even begin. But what else could he do? He had to be honest and real, that was the duty of the artist as far as he was concerned. Fuck the Powers That Be, They'd never let him out of the gutter anyway.
His attention was drawn back into the conservative, neo-fascist third millennium by hearing his name called, "Arthur. Arthur." He looked up and there was Vitto, standing in the Café doorway with the horrid Monday beside him and she was aiming her camera at him, getting a good shot of his face when he looked over, a supercilious grin on her mug. To Arthur she looked like she'd been hit in the face with a frying pan, such was her ugly, flat visage. And worse, she had the grimacing smile of a Gorgon that would turn the balls of Hercules to stone.
Beside her was Vitto, with his mischievous grin, helping his best girlfriend get her black-mail video footage, she'd use it some time in the future at a non-event to defame Arthur. She had only visited the café once every seven months for the last fourteen years, and even then begged for a free coffee, not what you'd call a regular supporter, unlike Arthur who'd spent 7 to 21 dollars there every day for 42 years and gone through sunshine and swamps with the old fairy-queen no matter the kicks in the arse he got for it. Some loyal friend Vitto was, thought Arthur as he drifted away, his shoulders hunched against the chilly winds of a merciless world.
He decided to give up on the Café Divergence and leave Vitto to the mercy of his clamorous friends, monsters of non-stars. One of whom wrote a musical about it and got Vitto rehearsing "Tales of the Piccolo" day in and day out for months till the poor old sod, at eighty years old, had a heart attack and needed a triple by-pass operation. The Café closed while he recuperated at home, it was an empty husk without him, somewhat akin to a tortoise shell without the tortoise, (he even looked like one.) If the Terminator Café was ever to open again, they would have to sit old Vitto in the very corner where Arthur used to ponder his travails, and keep the old bugger very still and quiet, otherwise he was likely to bust a valve.
Vitto did indeed return to that corner-seat, as yellow as his nicotine-stained photos of stars of yesteryear that used to cover the walls, his body was giving up on him and the good old Pick-Your-Low Cafe was on its last legs. His family had renovated the shop so that its funky old decor was sanitized and half the seating removed. With the old crowd dead and gone, and the 21st Century falling upon their heads, it was a brave new world, one that Arthur didn't care much for and he'd be lucky if he survived it.
For Arthur, there was no other club, it was the last of the freakzones and, anyway, "any club that would have him he didn't want to be a member of." It was there, over the years, that he'd planned out his epic tome, "The 7 Lives of the Punk Poofy Cat", not just an attempt at "liberation literature", more specifically, it was gay liberation literature, as in the 21st century homos across the world still had an ongoing struggle to exist, find happiness and realize their potential. Especially fucked over were the old non-conformists, there was no safe haven for them, they were destined to be faggot fuel for the ever hungry power-stations.
He had no family to support nor consuming desires to quench, he wasn't interested in the compulsory sports pushed upon him, the cooking shows nor the home renovations, and he didn't want to waste his entire precious life in being a wage slave; fifty per cent laboring in nursing homes, the houses of the dying, would be enough, the world of the living was what he desired to make his escape into, where intense euphoria could sweep his troubled soul away. He would dedicate most of his energy to art, knowledge and adventure, and would die dancing along the infinite highway with a song on his lips, hoping to find compassionate love in his heart, somewhere, fuck the Cafe Over the Rainbow.
Arthur was determined to break free, fly from the rusty cage of his freak's comfort zone, and Vitto's disloyalty and the café's devolution gave him the excuse he was looking for. It had once been rock'n'roll when rock was dangerous and quirky, now rock'n'roll had been replaced by robotic machine-noise, and drinking a cup of coffee anonymously was a feat difficult to accomplish. He needed to continue his quest for enlightenment; the Naked Lunch Café had gone dark, the light extinguished. He determined to get lost on the road, disappear in the bigger world, dissolve into the dust.
Or, surviving that, as the years drifted by, he would keep to himself in his own personal freakzone, his apartment at Northcott Housing Ghetto which he had turned into a laboratory, scouring the Internet for designs, building a time-machine from discarded junk found in the Estate's dumpsters. If Big Brother was truly watching, THEY would use it and gain the knowledge that THEY couldn't fuck with the future, the great masses of people of the world would swing it their way eventually, democracy always won out.
He was also working on longevity pills for the common man, long-life non-toxic batteries and 100% efficient, cheap safe solar panels. His individuality and non-conformism were the key to innovation, new ideas and daring experimentation. Oh, he was a very clever man, but THEY wanted to stop him, his inventions put an end to THEIR private ownership of the forces of production. But he would escape, into his own head if nowhere else, like the worm Ourouberos swallowing its own tail.
He was a space-cadet in a time-machine of his own devising, a crazy anarcho-mystic wanker in his cell, contemplating it ALL. The one thing he could appreciate about being a citizen of down under Auz was that maybe he could live out his life there if he hid well enough and kept to the shadows.
Though Arthur was dirt poor and ignominious, another loser ready for the compost heap, his non-career as a renegade had made him feel real, with a purpose: a warrior in the righteous battle against tyranny, his heart worthy of his intelligence. It had been a huge buzz standing up to Big Brother and giving Him the finger, regardless of his eventual disappearance.
If you enjoyed this story please go to the WEB address above and consider buying my book of tales about growing up anarcho-queer, rock and roll punter and mystic adventurer in Australia and India of the 1950s, '60s and '70s.


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text:
A satire based loosely on recent events in New Zealand's largest Pacific Island City.
By A J Burton.
Mayor Marvin Paisley
His girlfriend: Wang Chung: (absent)
Paisley's Lawyer: Mr Jonas Bent
PR Assistant to the Mayor: Ms Alofa Oi-no-lie
The Mayor walked into the plush rooms of the firm of Bent, Swindle and Contrivance.
"Ah Marvin, come in and take a seat. You don't mind me calling you Marvin, do you your Honour?" Jonas Bent guided Marvin into a spacious office.
"Well – ah - I prefer Mayor Paisley for formal occasions, Mr Bent. But as this conversation is off the record, Marvin will do fine. This is Alofa Oi-no-lie my Public Relations assistant."
"Pleased to meet you Mr Oi-no-lie, I like your Lava-lava."
"Talofa darling. It's not a Lava-lava, Mr Bent - it's a frock."
"I must explain, Jonas. Ms Alofa Oi-no-lie is a Fa'afafine; a transgendered Samoan. When it comes to equal employment opportunities we of the Super City are totally committed to multicultural inclusion."
"So, was having it off with a Chinese staff member also working to your equal opportunity employment policies, then Marvin?" Jonas eased his thousand dollar suit into the leather chair behind his ornate desk. Behind him there was a panoramic view of the sprawling city and harbour.
"Everyone sit down," he intoned. "Remember everything you say in this meeting here in my office is sacrosanct."
"Wait a minute - I thought you were the Mayor's lawyer Mr Bent, are you a priest as well?" Alofa raised her plump hands in the air. "Praise the Lord we have God on our side."
"No! Sacrosanct means nothing said at this meeting will ever leave this room. Everything we say today will not be recorded - in fact it will have never happened."
"Oh, I see, so we not really here then.' She sighed dramatically. "And I wore my special frock too. This is a strange palagi way to resolve Mayor Paisley's problem."
"It's alright Alofa, it means we don't want anyone else to hear and discuss what happened." Marvin flashed a vote winning smile at Alofa.
"But it's in all the newspapers. How you been caught giving your Chinese girlfriend a good fucking on your desk, in the council chambers. Even my auntie in Samoa knows about it."
"She does? How did she know so quickly? The story only broke last night." Jonas demanded as Marvin looked panicked.
"I rang her up on da phone and told her." Alofa leaned forward and patted Marvin's hand. "Don't worry boss, I told her it was a secret and not to tell too many peoples." Bent and Marvin rolled their eyes and face palmed in unison. Bent came up smiling thinking, this is going to cost more than I first thought, what a wonderful ca-ching moment.
"You better start at the beginning Marvin, now is the time to be honest. Leave nothing out. I need all the details." Bent's smile resembled a Great White homing in on a lone fur seal.
"Awesome!" Alofa rifled through her handbag and pulled out a tapa decorated notebook and pencil. "Auntie wants more details as well." She sat expectantly, the notebook on her knee. Bent and Marvin looked at each other for a moment then they looked at Alofa who had already started to write.
"Alofa, you must not take any notes. You must never repeat what you hear today." Bent took off his glasses. "This is a secret meeting to discuss how we are going to defuse the situation and get things back to normal here at city hall."
"Ok, good idea." Alofa grinned. "You can go back to fucking your wife then, your Honour."
"Please, Alofa. No notes. Let me get this off my chest. I have a heart condition and high blood pressure, this situation with Ms Wang Chung is not helping."
"Ok boss, you get everything off your chest. I can keep secrets." Alofa crossed her arms and knees revealing enormous green painted toenails bulging out of tight orange plastic sandals under her colourful frock.
"It all started at a function for a high ranking airline executive from China. Ms Wang Chung was part of the official greeting party. We chatted and I found myself attracted to her feminine pulchritude."
"Is that a palagi word for pussy Mr Mayor?"
"No, it means I thought she was beautiful. Now if you don't mind, I shall continue. I sent her some texts and the long and the short of it was she agreed to meet me for lunch."
"She is a slut Mayor, you only ask her for lunch and she wanted to fuck you?" Alofa smiled.
"Well … yes she did flash her eyes at me but I am just as guilty as she is, Alofa. She is young and I am middle aged. I was flattered that she desired me, things went on from there."
"Can you remember when you first had sexual intercourse?" Bent leaned forward his voice barely audible. Alofa threw her hands in the air.
"You want to go that many years back Mr Bent? We might be here all night."
"No! I meant with Ms Chung. Carry on Marvin."
"We first had coital relations in my office about five or six days later."
"Oh, that is a big mistake Mayor. Even in Samoa we never bring the relations along to things like that! People talk you know." Alofa was staring at Marvin reprovingly.
"Oh what's the point? I am trying to be diplomatic. I can see it's no good sugar coating everything. Alofa, I meant I had sex with her, I fucked her, gave her one, screwed the pants off her, and did the deed. All of those things OK?"
"Oiiieeee that many times eh? No wonder your heart is on the blink."
Marvin and Bent face-palmed again. Bent's sides began to heave. He took out a pack of tissues, usually used for comforting his clients after they heard his hourly rate, and began to wipe his eyes.
"I am sorry Marvin, I know it's not funny but, look at this from my point of view. Now where did you find Ms Oi-no-lie?"
"Following national policy, council staff decided we needed to hire someone who was from an ethnic minority and also from the gay community. It is part of our multicultural policy; we must show we represent every community in our city, no matter how diverse. My PA Reginald told me he personally selected Ms Oi-no-lie after a vigorous recruitment program.
"Yes, Reginald and I held many vigorous interviews before I got the job." Alofa volunteered.
This time only Bent face-palmed. He took a deep breath and said "Alright Marvin, so you had sex with Ms. Chung in your office. Now I need to know about the time you were caught by a security guard having sex in the Ngati Whatua Room."
"It was late at night, my office was being cleaned. I didn't mean to offend anyone by having sex in the Ngati Whatua room. It was just there, a big quiet room out of the way of the cleaners. I didn't think..."
"It's alright boss. Me and Reginald have had two interviews in the Ngati Whatua room. We used all the furniture but-" she giggled, "I fixed the broken chair up with duct tape."
"O My God! Having sex is becoming endemic amongst your council's employees." Bent stood up, turning to look out the window. He felt left out, none of the employees at Bent, Swindle and Contrivance appealed to him.
"Oh, no chance of an epidemic Mr Bent. Reginald is a real gentleman; he brings his own condoms. We clean up after ourselves and I made sure I put the Kentucky Fried Chicken boxes in the rubbish bin. We like it like that." Mr Bent tried unsuccessfully to relax into his seat once more. He was breathing heavily.
"Thank you for that insight Alofa." Said Marvin firmly. 'To get back to my story. In the Ngati Whatua room Wang and I were naked, having sex on the boardroom table, when I heard someone open the door. I froze; I just couldn't move. I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to have a heart attack. Ms Chung told me to do something. I don't remember what, but I couldn't move. I just stood there and the security guard walked in. It was my fault, I should have done something."
"I agree," said Bent. "We must do some damage control. This action was very disrespectful of our local Maori Iwi. Do you remember who the security guard was?" Marvin hung his head and shook it slowly.
"There, there Mr Marvin, don't feel bad. Ms. Chung is a lying slut. She told the press that you can only fuck for two minutes and that she thinks you are only a four out of ten in the sack. Even the cleaning staff say youse are at least a five."
Bent staggered to the window. "Stop, stop, I am sorry Marvin, I am not laughing, believe me." He said leaning against the window frame gasping.
"You look like you laughing Mr. Bent." Said Alofa sternly. "It's not funny. The palagi press have made our Mayor look like a fool; making jokes about his little laititi and him cumming so quickly. Even my auntie say he is just like a boiled egg - finished in two minutes. Sorry Mayor, auntie Palamo has no class."
"We need solutions," Marvin stood up and began to pace the room. "Ideas. What are we going to do about the security guard for instance, how do we keep him quiet?"
"Pay him off of course," Bent smiled. "It's not rocket science. If he works for the council perhaps a small promotion, if he is on contract maybe a lengthy renewal clause?"
"What about the press? Most of them owe me a favor here and there but the others want their pound of flesh."
"You are newly elected and you need an overseas trip Marvin. I hear the Los Angles' city council is installing a new sewerage system. Maybe you could take the wife for a few weeks until this blows over."
"How apt, I am so deep in the shit now I have to hold my nose to stop breathing it in." Marvin flopped back into his chair.
"Good. Then that leaves Ms Wang Chung. Let me set up a meeting. Everyone wants something in these matters I find. Recognition, employment, a new reputation. Once she has been out in the cold for a while she will come round to our way of thinking. However, we will have to spend a little more than what it cost for black lingerie from the two dollar shop." Marvin hung his head.
"I know I'm a cheap skate. But I feel better already." Marvin took a deep breath. "Thank you, Jonas, I know I am in capable hands." The Mayor held out his hand and shook Bent's vigorously.
"The firm of Bent, Swindle and Contrivance is here to help you in every way possible. Naturally there will be considerable expenses, but I am sure the city ratepayers will be more than happy to pay to protect the good name of their Mayor from slurs."
"Of course, the public have their uses." Mayor Marvin stood. "Come Alofa, we have another meeting. Remember this meeting never took place. It never happened. Alofa? Where has she gone?
Alofa was already halfway down the stairs speaking into her cellphone.
"Hello Auntie, I have just finished a palagi meeting that never happened. I have heard of such things - you wouldn't believe that these palagi are so devious. Now I have to ring my cousin Sione, you know the one who walked in on the mayor screwing his Chinese girlfriend? I can tell him now that he is going to get a big pay rise. You know that 55 inch color TV you wanted? Well it's coming auntie, almost as quick as the mayor."


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Wind River Acquires Comsys
ALAMEDA, CA — August 30, 2007 — Wind River Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: WIND), the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO), today announced that it has acquired privately-held S.C. Comsys S.R.L., an embedded software professional services organization based in Romania. Founded in 2000, Comsys currently has 52 employees and a unique depth of knowledge and expertise in device software services. With this acquisition, Wind River gains access to top talent with hands-on device software experience in telecom, mobile, and aerospace and defense.
Under the terms of the agreement, Wind River will pay up to US$1.4 million to acquire all outstanding shares of Comsys. Wind River expects that the acquisition will not have a significant effect on earnings per share in FY08.
Having a strong professional services offering is increasingly essential in the device software space. As demand continues to grow for ever more complex devices and product development cycles shrink because of time-to-market pressures, Wind River customers will need increased services support and expertise. Wind River initially began working with Comsys as a partner in 2004 and successfully collaborated on multiple joint engagements for key Wind River customers including Palm, IBM and EADS. Through this acquisition, Wind River will be able to greatly expand its strategic services footprint and offerings in Europe, while also leveraging Comsys' expertise globally across other key customers.
"In our three years of working with Comsys, it became very apparent that Wind River and Comsys are highly compatible organizations — there is a shared emphasis on engineering excellence, a passion for device software and an unwavering focus on customers' needs," said Ken Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Wind River. "This acquisition will not only enable Wind River to expand its presence in EMEA, but also will give us access to some of the most experienced device software engineers in the world."
Comsys' Romanian Development Center will begin working on several key Wind River initiatives including:
- Wind River Linux — with an emphasis on automotive
- Wind River VxWorks Platforms — with an emphasis on networking
- Test and verification — for existing aerospace and defense projects
- EMEA customer engagements
Wind River Acquires Comsys: Frequently Asked Questions
About Wind River
Wind River is the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO). Wind River enables companies to develop, run and manage device software faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably. Wind River platforms are pre-integrated, fully standardized, enterprise-wide development solutions. They reduce effort, cost and risk and optimize quality and reliability at all phases of the device software development process, from concept to deployed product.
Founded in 1981, Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, California, with operations worldwide. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com or call 1-800-872-4977.
The Wind River logo is a trademark of Wind River Systems, Inc., and Wind River and VxWorks are registered trademarks of Wind River Systems. Other marks used herein are the property of the respective owners.
Contact Information
Jessica Miller
Director, Global Communications


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Blood Sucker Baby Costume Photo 3 of 3
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This homemade costume for babies entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Kayla, the 'Blood Sucker' costume creator:
Our son David is 20 months old. When going through ideas of what to dress him up as we came across a vampire and my husband had an idea of a way to make a... Read more »


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So for as long as I've been a fan of the NFL, there has always been an uproar for the unveiling of commercials at the Super Bowl. Companies pay insane amounts of money to throw some shitty 30 second advertisement in the middle of the most hyped sporting event in America. Notice I don't say world, since nobody outside this country, gives a damn about the NFL. But back to the commercials, they're not supposed to be "shitty" they're supposed to be the best of the year. The day after the game all the major media outlets do rankings for the commercials that were supposedly the best.
Now I'd be lying to you if I didn't admit to being excited for the commercials in previous years, what with my Philadelphia Eagles never being there so the game itself meant nothing, but I'm all done folks. I realized recently that getting excited for advertisements for beer, life insurance, mixed nuts, and Doritos, was definitely one of the more depressing aspects of my life. Now every so often, there are funny commercials, just like every so often you hear a song on a pop radio station you like, but that doesn't mean your family has to yell "shhhhhh!!" when the game goes to commercial.
Commercials are still advertisements for shit that you don't even need to know about. We're all American adults, we know about Budweiser, we know about Doritos, and for the love of everything horrible to ever exist, we know about the repugnant, and offensively stupid Godaddy(Which for the record if you ever went to the site to "see more", I'm honestly astonished you read this far so congratulations!). So that means every advertisement is essentially for kids, and as you just read and can easily deduce, those advertisements were for beer, empty calories, and tits. Gotta love it America, let's go Lions(50-1 odds go put 5 on them like I did)! And in case you didn't like this article, here's a commercial for Doritos!


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Yes, he left for 3 days in Madrid with our Italian daughter, Laila Bertagnoli and her fiance, Pedro. Mike so enjoyed visiting with them Wednesday night and dining at their home on Thursday with his friend Art. He told me Miss Laila has become quite an accomplished cook and she prepared an excellent meal for them.
Laila and Pedro both have new jobs in Madrid. Laila will be working for a company called Indirect Line and I'm not sure who Pedro is working for. He completed a day of training on Friday in time for a final dinner before Mike's departure this morning.
Today is Saturday, the day before Mother's Day. Suzi is driving home to Pittsburgh tomorrow. I can't wait to see her. Today is Kate's party for us at her place. Lots of preparations have been done this week for this party. I ran errands this morning and soon kate will come for me and we'll go to her place to make sure everything is in order.
My mother, sister and brother are coming as are the cousins. Aunt Hunsey isn't feeling up to it. Darnit. Kate's good friend, KC is here from Boston and her friend, Ashlee is here from Erie.
I just wish I felt better - I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Monday at 1:30 so maybe that will put an end to all this foolishness.
I heard from Staci, our realtor that there is a family very interested in our house and they are trying to work the numbers so they can buy it outright. We cannot accept a contingency so we'll just have rely in God to help us through it.
The screen door for the new sliding glass door in the dining room came yesterday. It works great. I'm pleased and I'm sure Mike will be too.
Until Monday. . .
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Multivitamin Study Results, Vivus Craters On Q3: Healthcare Business Wrap
A study over 11 years indicates that taking multivitamins daily failed to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke in a sample group of more than 14,500 men over the age of 50, but there did seem to be a reduced risk of cancer. Firms operating in the sector include Pfizer, which provided the vitamins for the study, along with NBTY and Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE:SHF).
Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Check out our Wall St. Cheat Sheet Stock Picker Newsletter now >>
Shares of Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) lost more than 20 percent on the day after a disappointing third quarter report earlier on Tuesday. Even though revenue improved bottom line results missed estimates because of higher Qsymia-related costs. Moreover, the firm indicated in its conference call that the lack of insurer coverage is a "big concern," and is impacting sales of the weight-loss drug.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) finished down 4 percent on the day, in the face of its earlier announcement that favorable data from Phase 2b clinical trials of its diabetes drug LX4211 was then being presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions Conference in Los Angeles.
Don't Miss: Multivitamin Study Could Be Bad News for These Stocks.


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Has it really been two months since our last update? For shame! We'll have to get back into the swing of things and correct that. Expect a Late to the Party review of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood soon (TM), as well as the eventual return of Week in Miscellanea and the other stuff you love.
In the meantime, here's some interesting Halo: Reach news. As we discussed a while back, Bungie won't be making any more Halo games for the foreseeable future, moving on as they are to a new IP with their new publishing pal, Activision. That doesn't mean that they aren't planning to support their swan-song to the Halo series, however – and they're turning to the community to help them.
First up, the recently-concluded Forgetacular contest, in which players were invited to create maps and submit them for inclusion in Reach's official playlists: 3,000 entries later, the winners have been announced and they (along with the top-tier runners-up) will soon be available in matchmaking. A couple of the top entries are below, and you can see all the winners here.
On top of that, several of the more involved and active community members have been empowered to seek out new maps and bring them to the attention of Bungie for possible inclusion in future playlist updates. Personally, I think it's enormously clever of Bungie to leverage the the player base in this way. Forge is a very powerful tool and giving people this kind of incentive is sure to generate all sorts of exciting results.
In related news, the Bungie.net player viewer has finally updated. No longer is your in-game persona represented by a default Noble Six – your individual style is now reflected for all to see. Check out the in-game avatars of some of our O514 regulars:
Aww yeah – we make this look good.
(If you haven't logged in for a while, do so to update your Bungie.net profile.)
Filed under: Games | Tagged: Bungie, Forge, Forgetacular, Halo, Reach | Leave a comment »


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Theatre of the Mind
NZSO's annual subscriptions campaign once again required us to create engagement and awareness for more New Zealanders new to the orchestra experience. Our approach was to put content at the heart of the concept.
The campaign covered a subscription brochure plus 15 individual retail campaigns. The core of our creative idea was the "theatre of the mind" where we would pair the music with emotive imagery. We distilled the individual concerts to reveal their core themes then explored video and photographic based scenarios that encapsulated yet abstracted these concepts. The resulting ideas evolved into an eclectic, artful and captivating mixture of bespoke props, models, children and even a hairless sphinx cat.
With the creative assets completed we progressed to developing the individual campaign components. We started with a simple but elegant printed subscription brochure. We simultaneously developed an immersive digital publishing brochure for tablets, allowing us to integrate the extensive video and audio into the experience. Additionally, digital publishing allows readers to directly purchase tickets, download calendars, visit websites and even subscribe to concert reminders and mailing lists.
- Client
- New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
- Project
- Season 2014 campaign
- Category:
- Tags:


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Sections of This Essay
- The National Math Panel (NMP) Identified the Critical Foundations of Algebra (CFA)
- Common Core Math "Standards" do not Adequately Cover the NMP's Critical Foundations of Algebra (CFA)
- Common Core Math Standards are not Clearly Written
- How Did This Happen? Constructivist Math Educators Were in Control.
- Khan Academy Math Will Save the Day
- Are National Math Standards a Good Idea?
The National Math Panel Identified the Critical Foundations of Algebra (CFA)The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) released the NCTM Standards in1989. In spite of "standards" in the title, the NCTM Standards did not contain specific math learning standards. Instead, the NCTM emphasized that traditional K-8 math content should receive "decreased attention," with "increased attention" for math appreciation, calculator skills, hands-on activities, and content-independent reasoning skills. Prior to the release of the NCTM Standards, most American children memorized the single digit number facts and learned how to carry and borrow as necessary steps in mastering the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They next learned about equivalent fractions and common denominators as necessary steps in mastering the standard procedures for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. They also learned standard formulas and standard math terminology. But these traditional K-8 math topics are no longer being taught in most American public schools. The anti-traditional NCTM Standards approach is known as constructivist math. The "math wars" are about traditional math education vs. constructivist math education Constructivist math programs, such as Everyday Math, TERC's Investigations, and Connected Math, now dominate K-8 math education in American public schools.
Alarmed by the constructivist approach to K-8 math education, the National Mathematics Panel (NMP) explained how students need to be prepared for algebra, the gateway to higher math and positions in STEM fields. Here are quotes (with page numbers) from the 2008 NMP Final Report: [Bold and underline emphasis added]
- Proficiency with whole numbers, fractions, and particular aspects of geometry and measurement should be understood as the Critical Foundations of Algebra. Emphasis on these essential concepts and skills must be provided at the elementary and middle grade levels. [Page 46]
- Computational proficiency with whole number operations is dependent on sufficient and appropriate practice to develop automatic recall of addition and related subtraction facts, and of multiplication and related division facts. It also requires fluency with the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Additionally it requires a solid understanding of core concepts, such as the commutative, distributive, and associative properties. [Page 19]
- By the term proficiency, the Panel means that students should understand key concepts, achieve automaticity as appropriate (e.g., with addition and related subtraction facts), develop flexible, accurate, and automatic execution of the standard algorithms, and use these competencies to solve problems. [Pages 17 and 50]
- The Panel cautions that to the degree that calculators impede the development of automaticity, fluency in computation will be adversely affected. [Pages 24 and 78]
- Proficiency with whole numbers is a necessary precursor for the study of fractions. [Page 17]
- Difficulty with fractions (including decimals and percents) is pervasive and is a major obstacle to further progress in mathematics, including algebra. [Page 19]
- The coherence and sequential nature of mathematics dictate the foundational skills that are necessary for the learning of algebra. The most important foundational skill not presently developed appears to be proficiency with fractions (including decimals, percents, and negative fractions). The teaching of fractions must be acknowledged as critically important and improved before an increase in student achievement in algebra can be expected. [Page 46]
- Students should be able to analyze the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes using formulas to determine perimeter, area, volume, and surface area. [Page 46]
Common Core Math "Standards" Do Not Adequately Cover the National Math Panel's Critical Foundations of Algebra (CFA)CFA 1: Automatic recall of addition and related subtraction facts, and of multiplication and related division facts.
- "By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers." CCM Section 2.OA Page 19
- "By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers." CCM Section 3.OA Page 23
- Comment: The CCM document only offers these two short sentences. There is no mention of the subtraction facts that are related to the single-digit number facts for addition, and there is no mention of division facts that are related to the single digit number facts for multiplication. This is a significant CCM omission.
- Comment: Why memorize the single digit number facts? Because later mastery (and automaticity) for the standard algorithms depends on the (prerequisite) ability to automatically recall the single digit number facts. By ingenious design, the standard algorithms reduce multi-digit computations to (multiple) single digit number facts. But this is not mentioned in CCM. This is a significant CCM omission.
- "Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm." CCM Section 4.NBT Page 29
- "Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm." CCM Section 5.NBT Page 35
- "Fluently divide multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm." CCM Section 6.NS Page 42
- "Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation." CCM Section 6.NS Page 42
- Comment: We have only the preceding four short sentences and there's no definition or example of a standard algorithm in the CCM document. Also, there's no CCM mention of the place value concepts of carrying and borrowing. These are significant CCM omissions.
- Comprehensive and excellent CCM coverage for this CFA category is found in CCM sections 3.NF, 4.NF, 5.NF, 6.NS, and 7.NS.
- But the CCM failure to adequately cover CFA 1 and CFA 2 (above) means that CCM does not clearly identify the prerequisite knowledge needed for student mastery of proficiency with fractions.
- Note: Excellent CCM Support for CFA Content Category 3 must be credited to Berkeley Mathematics Professor Emeritus, Hung-Hsi Wu. Professor Wu further contributed an important paper, Teaching Fractions According to the Common Core Standards. Professor Wu was a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel that identified "The Critical Foundations of Algebra" (CFA).
- Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. CCM Section 4.MD Page 31
- Comment: These rectangle-related formulas are not given anywhere in the CCM document.
- Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems. CCM Section 7.G Page Page 50
- Comment: The circle-related formulas are not given and pi is not mentioned anywhere in the CCM document.
- Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, and special quadrilaterals by decomposing these shapes, rearranging or removing pieces, and relating the shapes to rectangles. Using these methods, students discuss, develop, and justify formulas for areas of triangles and parallelograms. CCM Section 6.G Page 44.
- Comment: Formulas for area are not given in the CCM document. Students are expected to work with other students to discover formulas.
- Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres. CCM Section 8.G Page 56
- These formulas for volume are not given in the CCM document.
- Summary Comment: Generally speaking, the CCM document does not provides formulas for perimeter, area, surface area, and volume. These are significant CCM omissions.
Common Core Math Standards are Not Clearly WrittenK-8 math standards should be limited to content. They should not specify teaching methods. Clearly written math standards have the following characteristics:
- Basic: Each standard deals with a core knowledge K-8 math topic that all K-8 math students should learn..
- Focused: Each standard covers exactly one math topic, where a math topic is a small closely related set of math facts and math skills
- Specific: Each standard should be stated in the most explicit possible way.
- Teachable: It must be possible to teach the topic in a step-by-step manner.
- Measurable: Student mastery can be easily evaluated by an objective test.
- Concise: Standards should be stated using the minimal number of words needed for clarity.
- Examples are provided for each standard to provide maximum clarity.
Keeping the preceding list of characteristics in mind, consider the following computation-related CCM "standards:"
- Add and subtract within 1000, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method. CCM Section 2.NBT Page 19
- Fluently add and subtract within 1000, using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction. CCM Section 3.NBT Page 24
- See later example of how the Khan Academy satisfies this CCM "standard."
- Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models. CCM Section 4.NBT Page 29
- Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models. CCM Section 4.NBT Page 30
- Find whole-number quotients with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models. CCM Section 5.NBT Page 35
- Note: CCM mentions finding remainders in grade 4, but not in grade 5.
- Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used. CCM Section 5.NBT Page 35
- They specify constructivist teaching methods and are not limited to basic computation-related content. For computation, the basic content should focus on the facts and skills associated with the standard algorithms. Key subtopics here are the concepts of carrying and borrowing relative to place value. Carrying and borrowing are not mentioned in the CCM document.
- The term "strategies" is regularly used in the CCM document, but examples of computation-related strategies are not found in the CCM document. More generally, examples related to these computation-related "standards" are not found in the CCM document. Without specific examples, constructivist math educators can claim that their K-8 programs are CCM-compliant.
- To learn about the constructivist claim that learning the standard algorithms is actually harmful for students, see The Bogus Research in Kamii and Dominick's Harmful Effects of Algorithms Papers
- See Standard Algorithm for Multiplication vs. Constructivist Partial Products for an example of a constructivist "CCM-compliant" alternative to the standard algorithm for multiplication.
- See Standard Algorithms in the Common Core State Standards to see how the CCM failure to clearly define the standard algorithms is being exploited by those who don't want to acknowledge the connection between the (true) standard algorithms and later success in algebra.
Khan Academy Math Will Save the DayCommon Core Math is taught in a very student-friendly and mathematically correct way at the Khan Academy. For orientation to the features of Khan Academy Math, click on Math Education Game-Changer: Khan Academy Math. Next click on Khan Academy Support for Common Core Math . This gift from the Khan Academy will transform math education. Faced with Khan's free and detailed support for Common Core Math, constructivist math educators will find it difficult to be vague about the meaning of "standard algorithm" and the meaning of any specific Common Core Math standard.
Here's one example of Khan support for Common Core Math: Consider the Common Core Math Standard: Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm (listed above under CFA 2). The Khan Academy lists this standard under Grade 5: Number and Operations in Base Ten. Scroll down and find this standard identified as 5.NBT.B.5. Note that Khan offers 200 questions (exercises) associated with just this one standard. Click on multi-digit multiplication to get started. Note that each exercise is accompanied by multiple hints that gradually reveal the steps of the solution. At any time, the student can interrupt the process of doing exercises and watch a video for this standard (multi-digit multiplication).
Here's an example showing that you won't find constructivist math distractions in Khan Academy math. As mentioned in a comment under CFA2 above, for grade 3 CCM, we have the vague statement: "Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction." A footnote says "a range of algorithms may be used." The CCM document doesn't identify possible "algorithms" that may be in this "range of algorithms," and CCM does not offer any examples related to this "standard" This vagueness opens the door for constructivist alternatives to the standard algorithms. But you won't find constructivist alternative "algorithms" in Khan Academy math. To verify this, find the videos and exercises for 3.NBT.A.2, under Grade 3: Numbers and Operations in Base 10. If an algorithm is used in an exercise, it will be the standard algorithm.
As explained in Math Education Game-Changer: Khan Academy Math, the Khan Academy approach (short video lessons linked to exercises with solution hints) is superior to traditional classroom instruction. For example, with the Khan approach, learning is not limited to the content traditionally covered in the "grade" associated with the student's age. Say the Khan student is attempting to learn the standard algorithm for multi-digit multiplication. That algorithm reduces the multiplication problem to a problem that is solved using the standard algorithm for multi-digit addition. The Khan user interface makes it easy for the student to review the standard algorithm for multi-digit addition. On the other hand, prerequisite knowledge covered in an earlier grade is not easily reviewed in the classroom model.
Are National Math Standards a Good Idea?Yes, national math standards make sense because:
- Local school boards do not have the resources to develop a set of math standards. They have no choice but to use standards developed elsewhere.
- The K-12 math that students need to learn does not differ by locality. So choosing math standards developed elsewhere is the smart thing to do.
- Many students move. Sometimes they move multiple times.
Who should write national math standards? Considering the excellent California math standards, writing another set of math standards is not necessary. The authors in California had excellent writing skills and extensive experience teaching math beyond the K-12 level. They had advanced degrees in mathematics, not math education. They understood in detail what math should be mastered at the K-12 level to be well prepared for learning more advanced math.
Home Page for Bill Quirk


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Hotel Guests also receive a 15% discount
for Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch and Dinner.
@ our Hotel art-déco Café-Restaurant or Pub.
Free Parking <> Free Wi-Fi <> Free Fresh air <> Free Spirit.


text: The Florida Gators' spring football game will be at 3 p.m. on April 14, UF announced Friday morning.The exhibition is moving back to Saturday after spending the last few years on Friday nights.The game will mark Dan Mullen's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium debut as head coach."What an exciting weekend this will be for Gator Nation," Mullen said. "I can't wait for our staff and players to be back home in The Swamp."You can see the other Gators athletic events that weekend here.


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Monday, February 22, 2010
Piling It On
When combining challenges, the easiest way for me to do it, is to choose a sketch, a color challenge, a theme and an embellishment. That way you can make a red and white birthday card with brads to a certain sketch specs and enter four challenges with one card. It ups the ante a bit creatively and helps you stretch your style. I know I can get pretty stuck in my "rut" of orange all-occasion cards.
Here's the card I made (orange is still strongly represented *grin*). Sorry it's a bit dark, we are getting snow so there is little natural light:
This card uses an auxiliary image from Butterfly Queen by Bombshell Stamps
And here is the ridiculous number of challenges it fits:
1. Card Positioning Systems:
2. Corrosive Challenge Blog: Wings
3. Ann's Creative Nook: Ribbon
4. Pile It On: Get Well Card
5. PaperCutz: Get Well Card
6. Stamp with Sarah Kay: Get Well Soon
7. Creative Card Crew: Get Well Soon
8. Flutterby Wednesdays: Butterfly, Fairies or Angels
9. Belli Challenge: Butterflies or dragonflies
10. Lil Red Wagon: Ribbon
Okay, so how crazy was that?
Today is one month from my spinal surgery. I am very stable on my feet and my mobility is much improved. The pain hasn't decreased (yet) and I am feeling really frustrated by the slowness of my recovery. I know this will take months, but I REALLY want to be back to normal. Thank you all so much for the deluge of support. I have a stack of cards about six inches high that I look through whenever I need encouragement. Having something so tangible has been a life line.
20 comments:
- Summerthyme Studio said...
Pretty Pretty card!
- February 22, 2010 at 12:12 PM
- Danni said...
Very pretty card! Thanks for playing along with my flutter by challenge!
- February 22, 2010 at 12:42 PM
- Alex said...
Love, love, love it!!! WTG with all the challenges Nicole!
- February 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM
- Maggi said...
Beautiful job on the card! That fit with a ton of challenges, wow!
Glad you're stable, I hope the pain passes for you very soon!
- February 22, 2010 at 1:31 PM
- joy said...
LOVE the bling on the butterfly. Well done. Thank you for participating in the Creative Belli Challenge.
- February 22, 2010 at 1:52 PM
- BA said...
hi nicole
this is a really wonderful card, love your butterfly
thanks for joining us at stampavie & more
xoxo BA
- February 22, 2010 at 2:35 PM
- Andrea M said...
Gorgeous card! Love the colors and the fantastic, shimmery butterfly! Great job and thanks for piling it on with us this week :)
- February 22, 2010 at 4:41 PM
- *~Annette~* said...
I'm so glad you're improving! Slow and steady wins the race! And the card is CUTEEEEE!
- February 22, 2010 at 5:32 PM
- Kathi said...
Gorgeous card! I love the glittery butterfly and I absolutely love that you met a gazillion challenges with one card.
It's great that you're getting steadier. The rest will come in time.
You're only a month out of MAJOR surgery! Sheesh. You are Superwoman in so many ways, just not all! ;-D
- February 22, 2010 at 5:47 PM
- CraftyMomOf2 said...
- February 22, 2010 at 7:06 PM
- Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...
Wonderful get well card - bright and cheery and sure to perk up someone's day. The butterfly is fabulous. So happy you discovered Pile it On and hope to have you back again soon. Glad too that you could join in the fun at Our Creative Corner this week.
- February 22, 2010 at 8:05 PM
- LINANNA DESIGNS said...
What a lovely card hunny thank you for joining in with the CCC challenge this week hugs Linda x
- February 23, 2010 at 2:31 AM
- Jennifer said...
This card is beautiful. Just perfect. Thank you for playing with Pile It On! this week. Hope you join us again.
- February 23, 2010 at 7:11 AM
- Helen Dooley said...
Thanks for sharing your awesome card with us at PCC this week. It is beautiful.
- February 23, 2010 at 7:13 AM
- Fuzzy Slippers said...
What a great card! Absolutely love the colors and OMG LOVE your hair!
- February 23, 2010 at 3:18 PM
- Ann said...
So, so, so pretty!!! Love the butterfly on here and the wonderful ribbon.
- February 24, 2010 at 6:36 PM
- Tanja said...
Great card! Love the Butterfly!
Thanks for joining us at Pile it on!
Have a great weekend, Hugs Tanja
- February 26, 2010 at 1:22 PM
- Morissa Sweeney (SCS - stampinsweeney) said...
Love the butterfly! BEautiful!
- February 26, 2010 at 8:04 PM
- Biscuitlid said...
Fab card - love the warm colours you've used
Thanks so much for playing along at Creative Card Crew this week
- February 27, 2010 at 1:26 PM
- Maria Matter said...
this is beautiful Nicole, love your sparkle butterfly!
Thank you for joining in with us at Creative Belli and Creative Card Crew!
blessings, Maria
- March 2, 2010 at 6:08 PM


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3 Foot Chef is the result of Sean Stephenson's realization that he wanted to pursue more physical independence. With the help of Mindie and Sean's friends, he was able to build a fully accessible kitchen to begin to learn how to cook on his own.
After a several failed culinary attempts, Sean did what he does best… laugh. This laughter led him to create his own cooking show. On this show, he will be learning how to cook (real-time). The show will document his struggles and lessons.
Special guests on the show will include celebrity chefs, health experts, entertainers, and some of Sean's closest friends.


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hey new to the network here
hey everyone im new here. im 30 yrs old and have type 1 diabities, im a thin muscular guy just got genetically screwed I guess you could say, wanting to know more about the diet and make some new friends.
7 replies
Welcome to the club no one wants to be a member of!
Type 1 is rough, but there are so many advances in the past 2 decades it's become easier than ever to live and treat. Look at this positively…now you know and being diagnosed is actually the best thing that could have happened!
Welcome Erik. Here you can learn more about your diabetes than any doctor can teach you.
Johnben or JB.
Greetings! Welcome to our site. My most important words of wisdom to you is that diabetes is not a problem… uncontrolled diabetes is! You have much to learn from each of us as we have much to learn from you. It doesn't matter what type of diabetic you are as long as you are the type that wants education, inspiration, and motivation. Need friends? Click on the crazy old man's picture to the left and select the "add a friend" button and you'll be added to my list where I take the label "friend" quite seriously. There's no need to stick to the topic of diabetes. I am a pretty well rounded (besides just body shape) person with a lot of hobbies and interests. The key is that we're in it to win it. Let me know if there is anything I can say or do to help on your journey.
Next Discussion: How »


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Take a look at some of our alumni who are making strides in the film industry!
Rachel Ligon: From Networking to Working
Congratulations to our ALUMNI!!
They have graduated from our various training programs, such as: Set Production Assistant Training, Office Production Assistant Training, Production Accounting, Lighting and Grip Training and so many more training programs that we offer.
If you you are a graduate and would like to be listed, email us your: photo, the production or productions you have or are working on and a quote about how the training workshop helped you. Send email to email@example.com
Want to HIRE one of our amazing alumni?*
Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com to ask how you can find an eager and well-trained PA for your production!


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Welcome to Green Cross Inn
Unpretentious honest deliciously fresh food, aptly described prepared and cooked on our premises, come and see for yourself.
Rumours are we are selling, the truth is we are not, and no we are not closing either, there are some muck spreaders out there or just careless whispers, it doesn't matter
The Green Cross Inn is a Freehold Seafood Pub Restaurant owned and run by Lou and his close family Andrea & Giuseppe. Steve and his team take care of customers at the front of house, whilst Lou Eleuterio Lizzi a professionally trained Italian Chef, with a huge passion for good food and 44yrs catering experience and his team create delicious delicacies, from fish pies, fishcakes, mussels cataplana to Lobster Thermidor, Coquilles St. Jacques au gratin, salt baked whole fish and more.
Caroline very sadly passed away on the 25th January, hugely missed, irreplaceable, we are still in deep shock, suffered from poor health since early May 2016 and was taken care of by the caring staff of the NHS, although not 100% she was strong willed and determined, her health deteriorated when we came back from France early January, we are not sure if something went amiss as soon as we have all the right information we will be asking what went on, the setback has not deterred the rest of the team to continue with the hard work to provide our loyal and valued customers with the level and quality of service they deserve.
We thank you for your support, "good food" will always prevail.
Located just outside West of Goudhurst adjacent to the new under construction Market Place, a property development of seven luxurious modern properties . We always have something special on offer, altough we serve mainly Seafood and Fresh Fish, traditional meat dishes as well as steaks may be available, both Lunch and Dinnertime, we offer menus that include traditional, home-cooked meals and light snacks, you should try our deliciously satisfying "Spaghetti with Lobster", or our famed "Avocado Crab Bake", it's one of those dishes that when you tuck into it you just don't want it to end.
We're rightly famed for our fresh fish and shellfish especially our dressed Crabs are hand picked and dressed here at the Green Cross Inn, Oysters, Dover Sole, Skate, Sea Bass, Cod & Chips, Mussels, Potted Shrimps, Sardines, Gambas al'Ajillo, Seafood Paella, King Scallops, Queen Scallops and more "but not all at once of course". The menus advertised display our level of capacity and aptitude, are printed as frequently as required to allow changes according to Seasonal and availability.
You'll savour our choice of of real ale, lagers, fine wines and non-alcoholic drinks as well as our teas and freshly brewed coffee cappucino or espresso - the perfect way to spend time with friends.
We look forward to welcoming you, whether you're having a snack at lunchtime or coming in for a drink or holding an occasion or reception with family or friends!
Flair and charm at Green Cross Inn
We aim to ensure your time with us is relaxing and enjoyable. Find out more about our philosophy and style.


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Bicycle Typogram Print - cool biking picture by Aaron Kuehn
written by Sue Basko
UPDATE : Aaron now has a batch of Scorcher Red prints for sale, and a super special limited edition Triple-color Fluorescent print: http://buy.aaronkuehn.com/artist/bicycle-typogram
Aaron Kuehn made this typographic bicycle picture. You can go to Aaron's blog http://aaronkuehn.com/art/bicycle-typogram and download a pdf of the graphic for $5, and print it up in any size you like. Aaron calls HotAar a blog, but there is really only one entry thus far, which is this picture. Nevertheless, it has been re-blogged 323 times worldwide (324 now!) (update January 30, 2011: it has now been reblogged about 10,000 times! hahah!) , so his entry into the blogging world feels very successful. Bikers all over the world can download and own a print of this incredibly cool graphic and feel a union with other bike enthusiasts around the globe. This is excellent all-around, I think. Note, this is copyrighted, so you can print one up, but you can't be selling them.
Aaron is also now selling a limited edition, signed silkscreen print of the same picture for $30 plus shipping. If you click on the site page, you can order it there, till they are all gone. Aaron says orders have come in from around the world. (Update January 30, 2011: the first edition and second edition have all sold out. Will there be a 3rd edition or T-shirts? Let's see!)
I am also encouraging Aaron to print and sell big wall posters of the same graphic. If that sounds like something you would like, let him know by writing a comment on his blog.
You can see some of Aaron's other work on his online design book pages. Aaron has designed things for Disney, Pixar, Cirque du Soleil, the Olympics in Beijing, lots of major movie premieres, awards shows, and hundreds of other things. He constantly is working on some really interesting design thing. If people want something really amazing, Aaron is often the one they ask to make that happen. Aaron works very often in conjunction with Keith Greco of Greco Decor in Los Angeles. Keith and company are able to turn wild ideas into structural reality, and they do so very very well. You can see some of their work for Disney's space at the E3 2010 Gaming show in Los Angeles right here on my blog.
Aaron's special affection is for bicycling. He gives of himself to support the bicycling movement in Los Angeles. He designed the clever Los Angeles Bicycle Kitchen feet-on-a-mixer logo that was printed onto T-shirts that you see on bike people all over L.A. The concept of the person riding an egg beater belongs to Jimmy Lizama, the founder of the Bicycle Kitchen. Aaron also designed portable bike valet equipment for the LACBC, L.A. County Bike Coalition, by figuring out how existing designs could be constructed using less material. This handy design can be seen in the online Aarline design book. Aaron also has an online book of designs for the 4th Street Bike Boulevard, a proposed traffic calming plan that would create a bicycle boulevard across Los Angeles. And this online book has pics of Aaron's work on a gorgeous redesign of a historic film studio.
Aaron is never one to have mercy on those not totally computer adept, and you may find it takes some practice before you can open the book pages and manipulate them with ease. Start by putting your cursor on the page edge and turning the page as you would a book. He has it set up so you can download any of the books as a pdf, and that makes it easier to handle. Some of these drawings are so darn clever, it is well worth it. Aaron says, "I disagree that issuu is not intuitive, it's just non-verbal. The format is pretty much the standard for e-books and magazines." True, but it may take some practice.


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OSWEGO, NY – A bill co-sponsored by Assemblyman Bob Oaks (R-C Macedon) and Assembly Will Barclay (R-C Pulaski) to expand Central New York's Foreign Trade Zone will allow adjacent Oswego, Cayuga, Onondaga and Madison counties to collaborate and compete for new jobs and businesses in the global market.
The bill, which is being sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, passed the Assembly March 19 and the Senate March 27.
It was co-sponsored there by Senator Patty Ritchie (R-C Oswegatchie) and Senator John DeFransciso (R-C) Syracuse.
Once it receives final approval, the bill will amend Onondaga County law to include other parts of the area, specifically the Port of Oswego, in the Foreign Trade Zone.
Right now, the zone only encompasses Hancock International Airport.
The Foreign Trade Zone regulations define "adjacency" to be areas located within 60 miles or 90 minutes driving time of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port of Entry.
"Exports are a major source of growth for Central New York," said Assemblyman Oaks. "This expansion would permit further regional economic development as businesses will find incentives to locate within this region, and current businesses will be better able to expand their distribution area and increase product exports."
A recent study reported that the Port of Oswego supports more than 500 jobs and $38 million in business.
It is hoped that the bill will help the port work with companies from across Central New York that are looking for new customers and opportunities.
The port has become one of the economic engines of Central New York by helping companies reduce their transportation costs.


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The intensely manual practices of cleanroom classification and routine monitoring are time-consuming and prone to data errors. Particle counter performance and accuracy can vary widely, leading to inaccurate particle counting data.
Cleanrooms may be considered as a system, with people typically the largest source of airborne particulate contamination and the cleanroom's air handling system designed to remove this contamination. The balance between incoming contamination and the removal of contamination is designed to deliver the required air quality of the cleanroom 'system' to meet the requirements of the processes.
Routine monitoring data can be trended to detect any deviations or tendency to drift towards an out-of-specification situation (OOS) that may threaten product quality. However, if the data integrity cannot be relied upon, either through frequent manual data transcription errors, or through poor particle counter-to-counter measurement issues, then the benefit of data trending can be called into question.


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© 2017 Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County
Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email
address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic
email to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.
Pursuant to 119.12 (2), F.S., the custodian of public records is Hampton Peterson, 561.355.2996.
Identity thieves obtain other people's personal information in many ways, such as:
Search for your name in online court records and Official Records. Certain types of personal information can be removed if found. For more information, see Public Records Privacy.
Visit other public records websites for additional information on protecting your personal information:
The following websites provide additional information about identity theft:
AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site for consumers to request a free credit report from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can request a free report every 12 months.
The Clerk & Comptroller's Speakers' Bureau is available to visit your office or group to discuss ways to prevent identity theft. Call (561) 355-2468 to schedule a speaker or for more information.
Contact Information


text:
People began to realise they were trapped in a dream when…
[To be completed later…]
…and then, Lentitia woke Tomaz from the dream; and shortly after Lieutenant Parasca, Gavril, and Borse wake up too, reporting that "The Prohpet" inside the dreamworld had told them that 'it' was cowed and releasing them all, and something about how it was being overwhelmed by having so many living people fighting back all at once. Teyranik also awoke around this time.
A few minutes later, Ensign Cozma wakes up as well, saying that Lady Syri, Marius, and Rotis had decided to follow the thing while it was frightened and vulnerable and find some 'answers', and that the Prophet was going with them. He also reported that Syri, Rotis and Marius had all recommended the party make a move to recover the supplies that Hardin stole, at the minimum.
Rotis is still asleep and Marius is still 'projecting in' through him. About 40 minutes affter that – they too awake.
APs earned: 18
AP Total: 65
[Since John won't be here next session I'm recommending that Marius posts up his summary of what happened, his thoughts, and any recommended courses of action he wishes to suggest.]


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Blog: The injury curse
When I was younger, a lot younger, an injury was something that happened to someone else.
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Oh the joy of youth when you are bullet proof and you can just shake off a broken arm or play through a spinal injury but these days there is always some little niggle or deep bruising letting me know that I'm not quite as young as I used to be.
I'm not sure why my body tries to tell me that though the grey through my hair, distinguished as it may be, lets me know each morning that the salad days are long gone, the main course is almost finished and I am facing the delights of a cheese platter washed down with a botrytis wine.
Of course, just because you get injuries doesn't mean you don't play, this is working class cricket after all.
We aren't as lucky as the A graders with their full time masseuse, on call club doctor and overworked club psychologist.
In working class cricket we rely on our wicket-keeper and spiritual leader Phil Mcbain to take on all these roles.
You may be thinking Phil has a first aid certificate or maybe did a stint at St Johns youth group to get this role but it came down to the fact that Phil got the DVD box set of House last Christmas, so as far as medical knowledge goes, he is number one in the team.
Phil is a big believer in the healing qualities of tiger balm, which to be fair is great for muscular injuries or a sore shoulder from bowling but as we all learnt late last season not so great for eye injuries.
We all live and learn from our mistakes I guess and this year the C grade first aid box now has an eye flushing kit sitting proudly next to a dozen or so tubes of tiger balm.
So far this year I have already suffered a couple of injuries, one was a severe burn on the hand and lips from a piping hot parmigiana sauce on my Wednesday night chicken schnitzel at the pub.
Being the trooper that I am I just continued through the pain barrier and finished off the meal but did succumb to the need for a fourth pint to ease the pain and numb the lips a bit.
The other injury this year was also pub related, suffering a grade 1 tear in my calf muscle when I broke into a sprint to get a round in for the boys before happy hour finished.
I blame daylight saving on this one as I had forgotten to move my watch an hour forward and still believed I had sixty-one-minutes of drinking time left at reduced prices.
Though tearing my calf muscle was a fair price to pay just for running to place an order, it wasn't as steep as the price pints return to once happy hour finishes.
Still, it is what it is I guess and even though you play with a broken finger here or a severely traumatised retina there, you just wouldn't want to miss out on the camaraderie that comes with playing with the fellas each week in a contest between bat and ball.
Besides if you miss a week injured your wife will find some jobs around the house for you to do.
Onto the cricket though and we played the top team in a one day contest to see how far we had come from last year.
Wests are a strong side with teams in all grades in the competition and it is always a challenge to play them though when the game is finished they are always happy to sit down with you and enjoy an ice cold after match brew, as long as you pay for it.
Winning the toss we sent Wests in to bat and in an even first hour, Wests had started to pull away before I decided to replace young firebrand paceman Jack Gosling, with a much fatter, older, bespectacled version of himself ... me.
In one of the most shameful displays of batting seen in years of working class cricket, five batsmen fell to a devilish mix of straight, slow, non-seaming deliveries that I bowled.
Still, a five for looks much better in the books than it did on the field at the time and I am happy to take it.
Wests were bowled out for 116 and in reply we made hard going against quite a good attack and I must say I was proud that we didn't collapse but stuck at it running out of overs 22 runs short with two wickets in hand.
Matt Adams opened the batting and scored a classy 28 but the rest of us couldn't quite get out of second gear.
Still, we're at one and one now with eight more matches left and plenty of time to get some wins under our belt in this great game, a leveller of men, working class cricket.


text: I have a Trace Elliot combo which has a Line Out but no DI. I know that a DI is low impedance but what about the Line Out? If I connect my bass directly to the PA I should use a DI box but if I connect via the Line Out is that signal converted to low impedance as well or does it stay at high? Basically, what I'm asking is, what input on the PA should I go into (line or mic), if I use the Line Out from my amp? Thanks


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Hello everyone! I'm very excited to have our brand new community live and ready for action. I want this to be a really open place where everyone can share ideas, tips and fun learnings about stair climbing.
Everything from why you love it, how you got started and how you try to encourage others to have a go. I'd love to hear your stories, find out what a difference stair climbing has made to your life and also get some advice about how we can help people all over the world to start being a little bit more active.
If you've got any questions let us know. We love to talk!
Let's take the first step together and make this a great community for everyone.


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We have had so many milestones and good moments in Kindergarten the past few weeks it started me thinking about our bucket filler activity. We read this book earlier in the year, picked a bucket to fill, set our goals to fill the bucket and then just started working towards our goals.
We worked and worked and worked earning marbles to fill our bucket until finally we made it! Our bucket was full. We just could not decide how we were going to celebrate filling our bucket until...
As we were reading the totally cute Christmas with the Mousekins we read about gingerbread snails and we wanted to make them. Soooo, we decided that this was the perfect activity to celebrate twelve weeks of goal reaching, bucket filling, hard work.
If you want to make your own gingerbread snails all you need is some cinnamon, sugar, raisins and breadsticks!
You dip your breadstick in butter, roll in cinnamon and sugar, make a snail shape, add your eye and bake!


text: Herzon Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) So, recently I downloaded eternity but when I opened it windows defender blocked it. Is it safe to run anyway? If so, please tell me with proof that it is safe. Edited December 11, 2017 by Herzon : You don't need to post on this thread anymore because the problem was already solved. 0 Share this post Link to post


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Most people would scoff at the idea of home remedies for the treatment of acne like tea tree oil and aloe vera. Truth be told, home remedies are less expensive and more accessible than cosmetic surgery, laser resurfacing, scar removal creams or microdemarbrasion procedure. The ingredients of these remedies can be found in grocery stores, in your medicine cabinet, and kitchen pantry.
Admittedly, homemade remedies for acne take more time than other treatments to yield results but, unlike several acne treatments, these remedies have virtually no side effects if you prepare them according to instructions. These natural treatments can keep acne at bay while you decide to take on other solutions like those mentioned earlier.
Vegetables as Acne Treatments
Most of the natural ingredients listed below have been used for centuries by practitioners of homeopathy or alternative medicine, the Ayurvedic tradition, and ancient Chinese herbology. Fruits, spices, animal by-products, vegetables, herbs, and household staples can become homemade acne remedies instantly.
Tutti Fruity Fruits
Apple cider vinegar: it's one of the most often used homemade acne treatments. It kills bacteria that cause acne to become infected and balances the skin's pH level to make it alkaline to make it difficult for bacterial growth. Use apple cider vinegar as an astringent and dries up excessive oil on the skin. Don't over-apply it, though, because there could be an overproduction by the sebaceous glands to compensate and trigger an outbreak.
Papaya: raw papaya removes excess lipids (the general term for fats) and dead cells on the skin's surface. Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that can reduce inflammation and prevent pus formation in acne. Papain is also a favorite skin whitening ingredient in soaps, lotions, body butter, and shower gels.
Tomato: the vitamin A content in tomato helps skin nourishment and rejuvenation and heals any wounds on the skin's surface to hasten skin repair and growth. Just slice a tomato in half, get the pulp, leave it on your face for 30 to 45 minutes, and then rinse it off. You can also mix the pulp with avocados and cucumbers to make a paste and use as a face mask to absorb the excess oil on your face (and yes, tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable).
Some Herbs Are Not Meant Only For Cooking
Basil and mint: many people use either or both commonly and often in cooking but very few know that both can be used as toner or astringent when doing or having facials for acne either in a spa or at home. The best way to use these as such would be in extract or oil form.
Yes, UNEATEN Vegetables ARE Good for You
Aloe vera: you will never see this vegetable in salads (you might in some varieties of tropical fruit juices like lychee and pineapple) but aloe vera has more uses than being a salad ingredient, it has tremendous anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that can soothe skin irritation and redness and protect infected acne areas from further bacterial attack.
Garlic: mashing up garlic and using it as a face mask can reduce acne breakout's severity and prevent any more from recurring. If you feel hesitant to use it because of the smell do your garlic face mask on a long weekend when you don't have to go out or meet up with people.
Animal Products and Spices
Honey and cinnamon: these are known halt its multiplication. Ancient cultures like those of the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Israelis knew that the latter has great anti-microbial properties to keep bacteria from spreading and the former as one of nature's antibiotics. The combination of honey and cinnamon makes for an excellent yet inexpensive homemade remedy for acne.
Milk and Yogurt: although dairy products have taken a bad rap in the past as one of the causes of acne, time has proven that that isn't so. In fact, milk, when applied topically can nourish and soften your skin (think Cleopatra who was said to have bathed in milk) and ditto for the naturally anti-bacterial yogurt. The healthy fats in yogurt help add additional moisture to the skin as well.
Egg whites: proteins in eggs help fight acne when they help in rebuilding skin cells. Egg whites soak up excessive oil that feed off bacteria. They can even reduce or fade acne scars if used regularly as a face mask for acne. Just ensure to use a moisturizer after rinsing it off your face because they can dry out your skin a little.
Your Kitchen Pantry's Acne Treatment Treasure Throve
Baking soda: what would American households do without baking soda? For cooking, cleaning, laundry, and now as acne treatment! Naturally-exfoliating baking soda can clean skin tissues of dead skin cells layer by layer. It sloughs off old skin as well to enable new skin to come out faster.
Coconut oil: you know coconut oil to be effective as deep conditioner for the hair or body moisturizer. It's actually one of the least known foods that help acne contained and controlled. Coconut oil has anti-viral, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties that make it difficult for infections to prosper.
The Other Option: Exposed Skin Care
Okay, so you're the lazy type who's only in the kitchen for midnight snacks and an occasional drop-in after work or school. You need never know how to get rid of acne home remedies because what you need is the Exposed Acne Treatment Basic Kit which includes the Facial Cleanser, Clearing Tonic, Acne Treatment Serum, and Clear Pore Serum.
Here a quick rundown on what the Exposed Acne Treatment Basic Kit can do for you:
Facial Cleanser: gentle for daily use, this protects skin from reactions like redness, over drying, and inflammatory responses while cleansing and clearing dead skin cells away. And because its formulation is hypoallergenic, it is less likely as a cause of side effects.
Clearing Tonic: the combined potency of benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid makes this product helps the skin become nearly invincible against blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and acne. Why you will love it so much? It leaves skin soft after an application, not oily or dry.
Acne Treatment Serum: you might think the benzoyl peroxide content of this serum will have extensive drying effects which occur around and in the acne treated area. Well, don't, because it doesn't. The rest of the serum's ingredients such as tea tree oil and green tea extract can qualify it as the best tea tree oil acne treatment you can use that has no end result of skin dryness.
Clear Pore Serum: licorice root, green tea extract, and salicylic acid go into this serum and, together, repair damaged or injured skin cells and tissue at night while you sleep. Salicylic acid exfoliates and decreases inflammation. Green tea extract, meanwhile, provides your skin with anti-oxidants and licorice root has calming and soothing effects for your skin.
Is your interest piqued yet? If it is, try the Exposed Acne Treatment Basic Kit and get benefits such as a 40% discount on your starter kit, a money-back guarantee for one full year, information, tips, and myths regarding acne, and other top quality skin care products. To ensure that you purchase the authentic Exposed Acne Treatment Basic Kit and not a cornucopia of bogus items, buy only from Exposed's official website and have clear, radiant, clean, and healthy skin in 30 days.
Click Here to Visit Safe Official Exposed Acne Treatment Website