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It's a rainy, stormy morning in NY, where the weather was perfect all throughout the Romance Writers of America national conference until today. No matter. I can catch up on sleep, which I didn't get much of during the conference. Plus, I've got a gigantic bruise penetrating the thickness of my right foot and I have nooooo idea how I got it. I just woke up with it this morning. Did I sleepwalk? Sleepdance? This might hamper my efforts to walk to the Chocolate Bar cafe later. But now's a perfect time to interpret some of the hieroglyphic notes I took during the conf on YA news.
Editor Melissa Frain said she wanted to see a ghost-ship submission. She later amended on Twitter that she also wants a buried treasure book. Aside from those, she's into character-based stories and books with romantic elements. I also have here a scribble that reads "Trends toward 15-to-17 age group."
Editor Whitney Ross is hanging out for a YA along the lines of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Her YA tastes run similar to Melissa's. She likes not necessarily a happily-ever-after ending but a hopeful ending, and books that aren't entirely dark.
Kristen Sevick, editor of A Dog's Purpose, is not a YA editor per se, but she is horse crazy. (A woman after my own heart!) Loves Black Beauty (but is interested in books from a human perspective rather than a horse's POV), any stories in which horses feature.
Editor Susan Chang, who was not at the spotlight on Tor Teen, takes care of younger/middle-grade fiction for Tor Starscape.
Tor Teen books to look out for: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton; Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake; Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers.
Pocket has a limited YA focus at the moment, but RITA-nominated Jennifer Echols is their YA star.
My agent's assistant, Beth, very kindly took me on a tour of Writers House lit agency. The building was once owned by the Astors. We went inside a vault the size of my hotel room. It used to house VIPs for the Astors. That is, very important paperwork like deeds and bonds, etc. I was too busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the bookshelves filled with Sweet Valley High, Stephenie Meyer, Nora Roberts and Ken Follett titles to take pictures, but you can see some nice shots of the Victorian interior on the agency website.
I didn't get to all the YA events/workshops this time around, and at one very useful one that I did attend we were asked not to divulge info we learned there. But I will say a number of editors and agents said, submissions-wise, they often don't know what they're looking for until they see it. You just have to write a darn good book and if it happens to be a darn good vampire novel, then so be it.
Speaking of darn good books, my dear friend Erica O'Rourke celebrated the release of her debut YA novel, Torn, at the conference. Torn was last year's Golden Heart-winning book. Erica's beautiful new website went live, too. If you have one of her bookmarks, the QR code printed on it will lead you to exclusive content and extra scenes hidden on her site.
CONGRATULATIONS to this year's Golden Heart winner, Suzanne Kaufman Kalb, and the 2011 RITA YA winner, Julie Kagawa, for The Iron King, which was the first book editor Natashya Wilson acquired for the Harlequin Teen line. For the full, stellar list of GH and RITA winners, see RWA's announcement here.
Okay, the rain's slowing down and I'm all out of Cheetos, so it's time to venture out into the City. I ♥ NY!


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Publication: Fast Company
Title: We Are All T-Pain
Article by: Jason Feifer
In this article Fast Company meets with T-Pain about the importance of branding yourself as a musician and exploring ventures outside of the record business.
The article explains the evolution of Auto-Tune:
"Cher's "Believe" used the trick in 1998, earning it the name the "Cher effect." T-Pain followed in 2005–an unknown rapper with a thing for top hats, who Auto-Tuned so consistently and colorfully that by 2009 he had three platinum records and had unseated Cher in Auto-Tune lexicon."
And how T-Pain came to capitalize on the Auto-Tune technology.
According to Fast Company,
"We were like, what the hell do we do? Do we tell Pain, 'Don't use Auto-Tune anymore?'" says his manager, Michael Blumstein of Chase Entertainment. (Note: When you're on a first-name basis with T-Pain, just call him Pain.) But no. The man had found a niche, an identity. "It just got to a point where, from a business standpoint, you've got to capitalize on it. It's sitting right there in front of you."
In 2009 the "I am T-Pain" app was released and sold more than 2 million units at $3 a piece. Both T-Pain and Antares (the company that licensed the software) made a nice profit.
T-Pain has since split with Antares and developed his own software with a company called iZotope. The software sells for $99 and is called the T-Pain Effect.
He has a new toy microphone out on the market for $40 called I Am T-Pain.
According to the article:
"… Auto-Tune has become a catchall verb, like Photoshopping. So T-Pain's task is to change the lexicon one more time, to own it outright. "I drop the software off to every studio I go to," he says. "I know Wayne's using it. Kanye's using it. Drake thought about it. There's a lot of people, man. I love it. I love it. It's all-out war.""

subset: commoncrawl


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'Rider' running on empty
NBC redo third in time slot; CBS on hot streakNBC's "Knight Rider" had starter trouble in the ratings race Wednesday night while CBS continued its premiere week victory lap of year-over-year gains.
Despite having the highest level of viewer awareness of NBC's new fall shows, the series premiere of "Rider" (7.4 million viewers and a 2.5 rating/7 share in preliminary adults 18-49) opened in third place in the 8 p.m. hour — slightly less than "Deal or No Deal" in the slot last year and half the rating the "Rider" movie pulled down in February.
"Rider" faced the debut of CBS' new comedy hour, featuring "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (6.5 million, 2.1/6) transplanted from Monday night and the series debut of the Jay Mohr starrer "Gary Unmarried" (6.8 million, 2.4/7). The comedies underperformed "Kid Nation" in the slot from last year, with "Christine" earning 34% less than when it snuggled in the Monday block.
NBC and CBS faced heavy competition in the hour from ABC, which came in second place for the night and won at 8 p.m. by stretching its "Dancing With the Stars" (15.9 million, 3.6/10) legs to Wednesday this week.
President Bush's brief live address at 9 p.m. EDT pushed back the rest of the night's major broadcast network programming, but the speech didn't stop CBS from having a terrific rest of the night.
The season premiere of "Criminal Minds" (17 million, 4.7/12) was the highest-rated show of the night, followed by "CSI: NY" (14.6 million, 4.0/11) winning the 10 p.m. hour. "Minds" was up an impressive 34% compared with last year, and "CSI" climbed 8%.
CBS has now demonstrated gains on the first three nights of premiere week despite a relatively modest performance from its new shows. With the network not facing "Dancing" next week at 8 p.m., CBS expects its comedies to improve and help the network dominate the night.
"We're extremely happy with the way our returning series have performed so far," CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl said. "We're up on the first three nights, bucking the conventional wisdom that audiences might not come back as strong. Continued strength with these shows establishes a great environment for audiences to find our new series."
Other results: Fox aired "Bones" (9.7 million, 3.1/9), followed by its comedy block of " 'Til Death" (4.6 million, 1.4/4) and "Do Not Disturb" (3.5 million, 1.3/3), with the comedies dropping slightly again.
NBC aired "America's Got Talent" (10.3 million, 2.7/7) followed by the Season 2 premiere of NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" (6.3 million, 2.4/6), which was in third at 10 p.m., down 14% from last year, bested by "CSI" and the final hour of the ABC special "David Blaine: Dive of Death" (7.1 million, 2.6/7, and, nope, he didn't die). The CW aired an on-par "America's Next Top Model" (4.1 million, 2.1/6). (partialdiff)


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An Apple for Every Meal: 15 Sweet Apple Treats
Today we kick off a week of autumn fruit! The Kitchn will be setting out a fruit bowl of pears, plums, quince, figs, grapes, and persimmons for you this week. But the sweet bounty of autumn harvest must start with the most elemental fruit of all: Apples. We have 15 of our favorite apple recipes for you here, from a sweet and tender apple-yogurt cake, to a whole grain apple breakfast strata. Read on for apple recipes for every meal, including tea-time.
The humble apple is easily brushed aside for more glamorous fruits like peaches and figs, and it has suffered at the hands of grocery stores who let their customers believe that mealy Red Delicious apples are the pinnacle of what this fruit offers. Not so, we say! The sweet, modest apple is the quiet star of fall fruit — American as apple pie, carried from hill to orchard by Johnny Appleseed; and mushed into applesauce, pressed into cider, baked into double-crust pie.
Don't let its ubiquity keep you from enjoying it this fall; embrace its presence as a sign of the harvest, and pull the cinnamon from the cupboards. You can easily eat apples at every meal of the day — here's how:
• 1 Apple Yogurt Cake with a Cinnamon-Sugar Streak – A quick, one-bowl recipe. Simple enough for breakfast, yummy enough for dessert.
• 2 Sticky Spiked Double-Apple Cake with a Brown Sugar-Brandy Sauce – A wicked awesome recipe. You have to make it at least once!
• 3 Apple Cardamom Upside-Down Cake – Cardamom scents this rustic and delicious apple cake.
• 4 Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Meringue – A review of a Food52 recipe, a cake with a heady topping of meringue.
• 5 Apple & Cinnamon Whole Grain Breakfast Strata – A lightened-up breakfast casserole.
• 6 Hearty & Healthy Apple Muffins – Seriously hearty muffins, with no eggs or dairy.
• 7 Shelby's Shredded Apple Muesli – A no-cook quick breakfast.
• 8 Apple Bettelman (Alsatian bread pudding) – A lovely bite for breakfast from Clotilde, one of our favorite bloggers.
• 9 Apple Gouda Oatmeal Cookies – Apples baked with gouda cheese into a lacy jumble of oatmeal cookie.
• 10 Oatmeal-Brown Sugar Baked Apples – Apples stuffed with oats and brown sugar.
• 11 Crispy Turnovers with Apple, Bacon, and Caramelized Onions – A sweet-savory turnover, good for breakfast or for lunch.
• 12 Rosemary Apple Turnovers with Honey – One more simple turnover, so sweet and easy.
• 13 Free-Form Apple Tart – A simple, elegant apple tart.
• 14 Apple-Blackberry Pie with Ginger – My personal favorite incarnation of apple pie.
• 15 Candy Apple Pie – Winner of our 2008 pie bake-off.
What's your favorite apple treat — for breakfast, lunch, tea-time or after supper?
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)


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First things first. This is a phone from Micromax, but it does not look like a phone from Micromax. In fact, it looks like a phone from a well-heeled international brand, the sort that Micromax wants to become in the near future. This is the Micromax Canvas Knight, the phone that will take over the flagship mantle for the company from today.
Quick Tech Specs: 5-inch IPS display (1920×1080 pixels, 443 ppi) | 2GHz Tru Octa core MediaTek MT MT 6592 processor | 2GB RAM | 32 GB storage + no microSD slot | 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, 1080p Full HD video | 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 | 2350mAh battery | Android 4.2 JellyBean
Price: Rs 19,999.
Price: Rs 19,999.
Design: As I said this phone does not look like a Indian phone. In fact, it has the cuts and sides of the Apple iPhone 5s and even reminded me a bit of the Lava Iris Pro 30, which also had a similar design language. The unibody design is reinforced by what seems, and feels, like a graphite frame. There are mico-SIM slots on both sides that can be accessed by a pin. And, no there is no space for a SD card. Another thing that sets this phone apart is the power key, that is now placed along with the volume keys on the right. This take a bit of getting used to.
The camera, the 16 MP sensor that it houses, results in a significant bump on the rear and there is an extra rear cover to sort of protect it. This feature is a bit like the one on the Nokia Lumia 502 and it becoming common in slim phones with large cameras. The phone is very light and easy to handle despite the large screen.
Screen & Audio: The Full HD IPS panel is one of the best features of this phone. To start with, there is hardly any light bleed on the sides. The phone can be bright enough to be legible in bright sunlight. The audio quality is good, but not great. The overall experience, however, is quite good.
Performance: This is a Tru Octa core phone. So performance should not be, and is not, and issue at all. In fact, the Antutu benchmark scored it in the top draw and exclaimed 'amazing'. Yes, that doesn't mean much for an average used. What matter for him is the fact that there is no lag anywhere and that multi-tasking is a breeze. We tried multi-tabbed browsing on Chrome and the experience was superb.


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Japanese companies, bearing the brunt of the economic fallout from a territorial dispute between China and Japan, appear to be heeding one message from the spat: adapt now or pay the price of a dispute that looks likely to rumble on for some time.
Nissan, Japan's second biggest automaker, plans to spend about $376 million on a new plant in Thailand in 2014 to diversify its production following a wave of anti-Japanese protests in China last month, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.
A poll released by Reuters this week showed that almost a quarter of Japanese manufacturers are rethinking their investment plans in China, while some could move their future production off the mainland.
The long-term risks from the dispute have grown and Japanese firms clearly see a need to adjust their strategies to protect themselves from a further deterioration in relations between Asia's two biggest economies, analysts say.
"We're seeing almost every day car companies saying, look we're just too worried about investing in China, pulling their investments and saying there are safer places to invest in Asia, or moving their investments to Brazil," Nick Smith, director and strategist at CLSA in Tokyo told CNBC's "Cash Flow" on Wednesday.
China- Japan tensions flared up last month after a row over disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, led to violent anti-Japan protests in China and prompted Chinese consumers to shun branded products such as Japanese cars, with sales falling sharply as a result. And although the protests have died down, tensions continue to simmer - the Japanese coast guard said it spotted five Chinese vessels in the area just outside the waters around the disputed islands.
Data on Monday showing Japanese shipments to China tumbled 14.1 percent in September from a year earlier, the biggest decline since January, have fueled worries about the impact of the dispute on Japan's economy, which some economists say is now at risk of slipping into a recession after a strong start to the year.
China is the number one market for Japanese exports and Japan is the number two market for Chinese exports.
Lessons From the Past
Analysts say that although it will take time, Japan has shown before that it can lower its reliance on China when faced with a threat.
(Read More: Japan Firms Say China Protests Affect Business Plans)
During a territorial spat in 2010, China, believed to be the producer of 95 percent of the world's supply of rare earth minerals, implemented a de facto embargo on exports of the materials to Japan, which uses the minerals to manufacture hybrid cars, mobile phones and other high-tech products.
The incident forced Japanese firms to diversify its sources of rare earth materials. Japan's imports of such minerals from China fell 50 percent to 3,007 tons in the first half of 2012, according to global mining website mining.com. Before 2009, China accounted for at least 90 percent of Japan's rare earth imports.
Analysts say the fact that rare earths have not been a significant feature in the latest row between China and Japan reflects Japan's reduced reliance on China for these imports.
"I don't think they (Japanese firms) will abandon the China market but they have to assess what it means for their future growth and investment," said Patrick Chovanec, associate professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
"Look at what happened two years ago when this dispute flared up and China blocked off rare earth materials to Japan. Well Japan has spent the last two years working out what to and reduce the impact of Chinese influence," he said, adding: "China doesn't have a stranglehold on Japan."
Still, China remains a key market for Japan and the concerns about the economic implications of the dispute are unlikely to go away anytime soon, analysts say.
"These tensions are going to continue and the consumer boycott of Japanese products is likely to last for some weeks to come, possibly for some months," Alastair Newton, senior political analyst at Nomura told CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday.
"There is a risk that we are taking a long-term step down in relations between Japan and China. I've heard people talking hear about 'cold politics, cold economics,'" he said.
—By CNBC's Dhara Ranasinghe.


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But I think the main reason we stay so connected is social media.
When I talk about how important social media is for young adult Friends, I often get blank looks. "You mean Facebook?" they say. "I have a Facebook account. I don't really use it very much, though."
A few days ago, I had a conversation online that was a perfect example of the type of connection with other young adult Friends I am talking about.
This Sunday, in addition to being Easter, is the fifth Sunday of March. At Freedom Friends Church, when there is a fifth Sunday, we alternate between having programmed worship and unprogrammed worship rather than our usual semi-programmed worship. In the programmed worship, we ask someone to bring a prepared message and usually have someone lead special music.
I am scheduled to bring the message this Sunday. While I am excited about it and I feel led to speak, it also makes me nervous. It is unusual for anyone to preach at Freedom Friends. In the nine years the church has been around, this is only the fifth time we have had programmed worship.
On Wednesday, I wrote on Twitter:
Last night, I dreamed that I lost my sermon notes for Sunday and when I got up to preach, I was completely naked. Whatever can it mean?I wrote it in part because I thought it was funny. It seemed to me like a classic anxiety dream, the kind where you haven't studied for the test and then you realize you are up in front of the classroom naked.
That afternoon, I got two responses. The first was from Jon W, saying,
Don't clothe yourself in plans! Let the Spirit strip you of the safety of notes! Prepare to be a pure, unfiltered channel!The second was from Greg W, who said,
You are nervous! Relax! Also if God leads you to give another message, be open to that!Greg also asked,
Will you have an elder present?And I realized that, although my recording committee is going to be there, I had not asked anyone to elder. I immediately sent an email to a member of the committee, asking if he would be willing to ground the space and hold the message in prayer.
In this brief, online conversation, fellow ministers who live in different cities reminded me of two important things: faithfulness in delivering the message and asking for the support I need. I am grateful to them for their responses, and grateful for the ways that interactions on social media provide support and accountability for me in my ministry.
I wrote this article for an application to a scholarship sponsored by Direct2TV.com


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Table Surface is marble and Legs are made from Wood. This type of table is the new table design in 2014 and only available in Black and White. There are suitable places to have the LED LAMP and Drill Machine installed within the table
Massive discount for all nail polishes and gel polishes


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I had grandiose expectations for a recent reunion with my five closest friends. Nearly 20 years in the making, the gathering was both less and more than I had imagined. Two of my favorite texts inspired my anticipation and now give shape to my reflection on the event—T. S. Eliot's poem Four Quartets and Thomas Merton's essay "Fire Watch, July 4, 1952." Both works speak to the relationship between relinquishment and spiritual fulfillment. Key to internalizing this connection is learning to embrace the profoundness of the moment while at the same time detaching oneself from it. For me, reconciling this apparent contradiction is bound up with my ongoing reflections about how friendship evolves over time and distance.
With age comes a growing awareness of being part of something vast stretching before us—God, the universe, eternity—which tends to focus the mind and spark a kind of conversation that can leave even longtime friends at a loss for words. As we watched the desert sunset, with its many stages of light and color, we drank it in, sharing the wonder and a silence that spoke of the imperceptible passing of days into years. Hence Merton: "Eternity is in the present. Eternity is in the palm of the hand. Eternity is a seed of fire, whose sudden roots break barriers that keep my heart from being an abyss." And the questions, whether voiced or tacit—Are you where you want to be? Are you who you hoped you'd be? What has been gained and what lost?—remain, as ever, part of the Now we must embrace if our friendships are to thrive. At 40, when the concepts of time and eternity start to become rather more tangible, if not poignant, our old motto, carpe diem, carries new weight. Because for those who bother to ask those questions,
every moment is a new and shocking
Valuation of all we have been.
Unlike when we were 20 and had no real responsibilities, no end of time and the world was all before us, at this stage an essential part of seizing the day is not to seize it at all, but rather to relish it. Whatever I had planned and hoped for in this reunion—as with countless much-anticipated events in life—dissolved as expectation gave way to flesh. In other words, fully engaging without wanting to control was the only way to receive the grace and gift that was this gathering:
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting....
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
To meet friends—to meet life, in general—in this manner means accepting a certain uncertainty, journeying in a half-light, prepared for utter surprise and liberated from the pressing need to anticipate every moment. To be metaphorically still, amid gathering darkness, is to give oneself over to unknowing, a disposition Merton believed uniquely rewarding, for "the night has values the day has never dreamed of."
The reunion has taught me this: neither desire to shape the future nor sentimentality about the past, but detachment alone can perfect the moment dividing who we were and who we will be. For old friends separated by thousands of miles and countless experiences, the deepening of that bond depends on learning how to let go rather than hold on. Letting go is not my strong suit. Thus I fear detachment, which makes me think of separateness and isolation. Time that once seemed limitless and, like everything else, both distant and intensely knowable, has become, like everything else, a shadowy companion tinged with contradiction and incomprehensibility. Eliot describes this chastened and oddly freeing outlook:
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of disposses sion....
And what you do not know is the only thing you know.
Detachment would seem to be the polar opposite of the kind of risk-taking that first forged our friendship: throwing ourselves into the moment with a youthful passion for life. And yet from where I stand true detachment brings the greatest risk of all. Insofar as it represents the purest leap of faith, I realize that it has always been at the heart of what and how we share. Without it there would be no "seed of fire," no silent desert sunset—what Eliot calls "the still point of the turning world." Trusting in that moment is what friendship has always demanded. To be together, in and through and despite and beyond our separate and changing lives, deeply affirms us. For
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion.


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The annoying web marketing folk have recently discovered a way to circumvent Mozilla Firefox's pop-up blocking mechanisms. The exploit seems to use Macromedia Flash, and can be blocked with the FlashBlock extension, which will allow you to play selective Flash animations when arriving at a website that tries to use this trick.
I've just installed FlashBlock, and it has worked for at least one site that has started delivering pop-ups in Mozilla.
It's too bad the extension doesn't allow you to also deliver electric shocks to the authors of the ads.


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Sales & Marketing Pro
Create Powerful Sales & Marketing Plans With the Help of Professionals and Start To Execute These Plans
About Sales & Marketing Pro
Sales & Marketing Pro was created by Palo Alto Software, the people who also brought us the top rated Live Plan and Business Plan Pro software, with the goal of helping us close more deals and get our business's message in front of the right people! This allows us to ultimately create and constantly adapt the sales & marketing plans that have the best potential of helping us achieve the live we want to live through constant action based around the plans!
On their platform we start out by creating our marketing plans so that we can find the right type of people that we can offer a solution to their problems. Our marketing plans will focus on attracting and retaining our ideal customers by focusing on marketing our core values, getting the customer educated about our business's products & services so that they are inspired to buy and being able to plan & schedule out our marketing activities each and everyday to take action towards a better future! Next, we go onto the part of the program where we will be able to create a sales plan that gives us the edge we need and that we can start to implement immediately! With the help of their easy to use software and many professionals, we will be able to create a sales plan and use it to track our results and growth in our businesses! In addition to our sales plans that we can create we will also be able to use their contact management system to manage all of our contacts and leads effectively so that we can find who we need to, when we need to contact them, as well as manage our leads. The last sales portion of their program helps us create a sales pitch that reflects our values so that we are able to create the relationships that can lead to sales down the road, NOT try and sell to every random person we see!
Sales & Marketing Pro can help us create sales & marketing plans that we can actually implement and not just look at as well as track the data from both areas of our business to see how our plan is working and if it needs to be changed!
How Sales & Marketing Pro Will Benefit Your Business
-You will be able to create the marketing plan that will drive your ideal customers into your business and then create a sales plan that will help you explain what value you offer and create a relationship with them to get the sale down the road!
-You will get the help of professionals and experts in business while you are creating your sales pitch or your marketing & sales plans.
-You will be able to manage your plans and track the data that you need to see if your plan is working or if you need to adjust and continue forward!
-You will get a ton of valuable tools for growing your business from learning the best way to use each social media site to press release and email marketing partner platforms!
-You will get hundreds of dollars in extras by joining the Sales & Marketing community that includes savings on things like email marketing, business cards, an appointment schedule service and much more.
Sales & Marketing Platforms To Execute Our Plans On


text:
Featuring stories from:
JT Holland
Misty Rose
Scotty Diggler
Rickie Sheen
Copyright 2018 by BS Publications
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.
DISCLAIMER: These stories are intended for a mature audience only! Contains explicit, graphic sex and language, including rough and aggressive sex, dirty talk, anal sex, alpha males, bdsm, femdom, lesbians, threesomes, and more. Not intended for individuals under the age of 18 or those with a weak constitution. All characters are over 18 years old.
It was a Friday night and I was at an Irish Pub a few blocks from my house, drinking some beers and scoping out the women. The pub was a popular hangout for the local college kids, a place to come at the end of the night and throw down a few beers before heading back home. They had a reputation for not looking to closely at ID's, plus cheap prices and a reasonably comfortable atmosphere.
I was dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a collared shirt. Nothing close to my normal attire, but perfect for the occasion. I'd scored many times in just such an outfit; it seemed to attract the kind of young women that inevitably ended up at this specific location on these nights.
But tonight it looked like I was going to strike out. I'd had a few beers and so far hadn't really gotten anywhere and was considering hanging it up for the night. I pulled out my phone and saw that it was pushing 1AM and decided to have one last beer before tapping out. It turned out to be a great decision.
I ordered a Killian's from the bartender and sat down at the bar. I had just taken my first drink when I saw a young woman enter that was utterly unlike anyone else that I'd ever seen in the place.
She was of Latin descent, with long, silky, dark brown hair and olive skin. Young, in her early twenties at the oldest, with a gorgeous face; big brown eyes, full lips, sultry nose, and lots of makeup, especially around the eyes.
She was wearing a pink sweater that barely covered her ass and showed off her ridiculous body. Tall and thin and fit but still soft, with curvy hips, a plump ass and firm, full breasts.
On her feet she had black leather knee-high boots, making her already long legs look like they went on forever. And to top things off her toe and finger nails were painted black.
She was gorgeous and sexy and slutty and incredible. Absolutely perfection.
She'd come in alone, looking around the place as though she was searching for someone specific. It quickly became apparent that whoever she was supposed to meet here hadn't showed up. And without a good reason to stay, she wasn't going to be in the pub for long at all; it just wasn't her kind of place. I knew I needed to act fast. So I scooped up my beer and headed over towards her.
I decided to test my theory in the most straight-forward way possible. Walking up to her, I simply said: "Do you want to go back to my place and fuck?"
"Are you serious?" she asked, speaking like she wasn't all that surprised to hear that exact question, like she'd been asked it a hundred times before.
"As a heart-attack," I replied.
She looked me up and down like I was a piece of meat, her mouth turned up in a little smirk. "I don't know, buddy," she said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not really my type."
"What about this?" I asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her hand down towards my cock, which was already a little chubby and by no means on the small side. "Is this your type?"
"Perhaps," she said. "But I've come across many guys in my life with big cocks. Most of them don't know how to use them."
"Well I can assure you that I do," I replied.
"Maybe you do," she said. "But that doesn't mean you can give me what I need."
"And what is that, exactly?"
She looked at me sideways, dismissing me. "If you have to ask then you probably can't deliver."
"If you're talking about an aggressive pounding, you might be surprised. Deep down I'm a pretty fucked-up guy."
"Yeah, I doubt that," she said, drinking from her beer.
"Why?" I asked. "Because I don't have any tattoos or piercings?"
"That's part of it," she said.
"And the other?"
She shrugged. "For one, you're dressed like a yuppie."
"That's because I'm playing a part."
"And what part is that?"
"A wolf in sheep's clothing," I said, taking a drink from my glass. "It's a little game I like to play."
She turned her head towards me, suddenly more interested. "How does it go?"
"It's simple," I said, taking advantage of her interest to hop up onto the stool on the other side of her table. "I dress up like a nice, normal, everyday prude to attract a certain kind of girl."
"What kind is that?"
"The cute, innocent little college that are always running around this place. Like her," I said, pointing out a little blonde in a sundress, smiling widely and acting all shy. "Or her." I pointed to a long-haired brunette wearing a skirt and sorority sweatshirt. "I make them think I'm a nice, normal guy, just looking to screw around a little bit."
"And then?" she asked, clearly interested.
I finished off my beer and flashed her an evil little smile. "Then I give them a night they'll never forget, even if they want to. But it also ends up being a night they'll dream about for the rest of their lives, even if they won't admit it."
She chuckled and finished off the rest of her beer.
"Tell me you're not at least a little intrigued," I said.
"I have to admit, I'm a tad bit curious," she replied. "But I still really doubt that you can give me what I need."
"Maybe not," I said. "But what's the worst that can happen if you give me a chance? You come away a little disappointed?"
"Or worse yet, unsatisfied," she said.
"Which was probably going to happen anyway," I said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you obviously came here looking for someone that wasn't here. And you're clearly disappointed about that. And you're sure as not going to find what you need at this place if you decide to pass on my offer and stick around."
"True enough," she said.
"So the way I figure it, you've got nothing to lose."
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think you're right."
"Then let's go back to my place," I said, slamming the rest of my beer. "It's only a few blocks away. I'm Mike, by the way."
"I'm Isabella," she said. "But you can just call me Bella."
"Okay then, Bella, let's rock."
I took her hand and we left the bar.
"I'm guessing you like things a little rough," I said as we walked along the sidewalk towards my house.
"More than a little," she said.
"That's what I figured. What about control?" I asked.
"What about it?"
"Do you like to have it or relinquish it."
"Both," she said. "It all depends on my mood."
"And what kind of mood are you in tonight?"
"Oh, I wouldn't mind at all if you took charge," Bella said. "I kind of feel like being told what to do." She flashed me a dirty little smile. "Do you think you can do that for me?"
"It would be my pleasure," I said, smiling back.
"And don't take it easy on me," she said. "I'm a big girl. I can handle whatever you can dish out."
"Sounds good to me," I said, fighting the urge to lick my lips in excitement.
A couple minutes later we came to my door. I unlocked it, opened it, and let Bella in. After closing and locking the door behind her, I grabbed her arm and spun her around, right there in the living room.
"Get on your knees," I said as I undid my belt and zipper, pulled off my pants and boxers and tossed them aside.
Bella did as she was told without hesitation. She was looking up at me with puppy dog eyes, desperate to please. My already hard cock was sticking straight out, practically poking her in the eye.
"Now suck my dick."
Bella opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around my cock and started bobbing back and forth on the head while her hand worked the shaft.
I grabbed her wrists, yanked her hands from my cock and forced them down to her side. "No hands," I said. "Just use your mouth."
Bella's head bobbed faster and faster on my cock. Spittle ran down her chin and onto the floor. Gagging sounds escaped from her throat.
"That's right," I said. "Just like that."
I glanced down at Bella, saw that her eyes were closed. I gave her a little smack on the cheek.
"Look up at me," I said. "I want to saw your pretty little eyes while you suck that hard cock."
Bella tilted her head slightly, allowing her to make eye contact while continuing to blow me. Her eyes were huge and full of the need to please.
"There you go," I said. "That's more like it. Keep looking up at me. No matter what happens I want you to keep your eyes on mine. Understand?"
She nodded as best she could with my cock in her mouth.
I put my hand on the back of Bella's head to hold it in place and started pumping my hips forward, forcing her to take me deeper and deeper.
After pumping Bella's mouth continuously for a good thirty seconds, I held her head in place, my cock three-quarters of the way inside her mouth, pressing on the back of her head, keeping it in place.
She started to choke.
"That's it," I said. "Fucking choke on that cock."
Bella tried to back away but I didn't let her go.
"Where do you think you're going?" I said, taunting her as she struggled. "I didn't said you could pull off yet."
Bella still struggled to back away. But that was fine. I didn't mind at all. In fact, I liked it better when she struggled. It was more fun for me.
After another ten seconds I finally let Bella go. Her head flew back and she gasped for breath. Tears were leaking from her eyes, making her black mascara run down her cheek. It was sexy as hell. Not to mention hot as shit.
I grabbed two handfuls of her hair and used it to control her head. I pulled her face into me, smashing her mouth against the base of my cock. I rubbed her face against my flesh then pushed down on her head until her mouth latched on to my ball sack.
"That's a good girl," I said. "Suck on my balls."
She took them both in her mouth and went to town, licking and sucking and fondling them with practiced ease. Her hand flew up to my cock and started jerking me off while she continued playing with my balls. From there, she continued southward, licking my taint before returning to my sack.
"You're a dirty little fucking slut, aren't you?" I said.
"The dirtiest," she replied.
"Yeah? Well let's just see how dirty you really are." I forced her head even further down until her face was staring directly at my asshole. "Do you like the taste of ass?" I asked.
"I fucking love it," she said.
"Prove it," I said.
"With pleasure," Bella replied.
She slid her hands onto my asscheeks and spread them apart, giving her more room to attack my asshole. And attack it she did, going after it with enthusiasm and energy. She started by exploring around the edges, getting me nice and warmed up before she dove in proper. Her tongue was magic, flicking in and out of her mouth, working my asshole with skill, getting it nice and wet and slippery and sloppy.
After going to town on my asshole for almost a full minute, I grabbed a handful of Bella's hair and roughly yanked her to her feet. Leaning in, I touched my forehead against hers, taking in her breaths from close range.
"You like that, don't you?" I said. "You like it when I dominate you. When I forced you to do things you don't want to. Don't you?"
She nodded, her breath still ragged.
"What?" I said. "I can't hear you."
"Yes," Bella said, her voice desperate and laced with need. "I love it. I fucking love it."
I slid my hand under her dress and yanked her panties aside, then jammed two fingers into her pussy and started banging away, going full-bore right from the get-go. With my other hand I yanked down on the top of her dress, spilling her tits out. I gave them each a squeeze and a little smack while continuing to finger-fuck her mercilessly.
Bella started to moan. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth and her eyes were wide and staring into mine.
I slid a third finger into her pussy, and then a fourth, and continued banging away, hammering my fingers into her, shoving them deep inside her, as far as they would go, then sliding them back out again to repeat the process.
Bella's breath was coming rapidly now and little sounds were coming out of her mouth even though she was trying desperately to hold them in. Her hands had migrated up to her tits and she was squeezing them with everything she had. Her pussy was soaking wet, drenching my hand and causing wet, squishy sounds as I continued banging away at her pussy.
After a particularly aggressive couple of finger thrusts, Bella's body tensed up for a moment before releasing as an orgasm ran through her. She let out a guttural groan and her pussy squirted out a river of juices, sending a stream onto the hardwood floor.
I punctuated her orgasm by rapidly yanking my fingers out of her and then smacking her pussy a couple of times, sending her into another convulsion.
"Holy fucking shit," Bella said quickly, like it was a single word. Her breath was ragged as she tried to recover.
But I didn't gave her a chance to, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her towards the floor before she was fully recovered.
"On your hands and knees," I said, giving her a smack on the ass to get her moving.
She scrambled down, turning her head to look up at me as she dropped, as if to ask if she was doing it correctly. She was, but I wasn't going to let her know that. Squatting down behind her, I gave her a double smack to the ass, one hand for each cheek.
"Face forward," I said. "Arms locked out. Ass up in the air."
Bella did as she was told.
Staring down at Bella, I marveled at how sexy and slutty she was, especially with her heels still on and her dress framing her body, even though it was scrunched up around her midsection.
I dropped to my knees and sidled up to her. After looking down at her tight, perfect little ass and then running my gaze up her slim, well-defined back with her black hair spilled over it, I grabbed ahold of my hard cock and slide it into her wet, gaping pussy.
Bella gasped loudly as I started hammering away at her, slamming my cock in and out of her with full force right from the start, not even bothering to take things slow.
She let out an even louder moan as I grabbed ahold of her hair and yanked on it, forcing her to arch her back to alleviate some of the pressure.
I looked down at the straining muscles of her back as I fucked her doggy-style, her vertebrae sticking out and her shoulder blades protruding as she struggled beneath me. My body was slamming into hers with enough forced to make her ass jiggle with every thrust.
"You like this, don't you?" I said, practically snarling the words at her. "You like it when I fuck you mercilessly, don't you?"
Bella nodded her head.
"Say it," I growl. "I want to hear you said it."
"I love it!" Bella said between ragged breaths and deep, guttural moans. She was almost screaming the words. "I fucking love it when you hammer my pussy!"
Hearing her voice turned me on even more, made me want to fuck her even harder. I released my hold on her hair and let my hands slide to her shoulders. Gripping them tightly, I yanked her entire body back towards me as I moved forward, allowing me even deeper penetration every time our bodies come together.
"Holy fuck!" Bella screamed as I pummeled away at her, our flesh smacking together loudly, the sounds of sex echoing about the room.
After a few more brutal pumps, I slammed my cock into Bella one final time, holding it deep inside her pussy, grinding away, forcing it as deep as it would go. I threw my arm around her neck, choking her with it while I hold her body in place, making it impossible for her to get away. She struggled against me, trying to escape, but I didn't let her, holding her there, my cock planted all the way inside her pussy while my arm continued squeezing the breath from her body.
"Take it," I said, my voice not much more than whisper. "Take it like the good little slut you were. Show me how tough you are. Show me how much you can take."
Once I thought she'd enough, I released my hold on her throat. As she gasped for breath, I pushed her head towards the floor, keeping her on her hands and knees. I angled her head a little to the right, until it was right above the reservoir of juices her pussy squirted out a couple minutes ago.


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If these pics are anything to go by.. it only gets better frm here..
& I CANT WAIT for this one!!
Black Xero, 06 Aug 2013Mr. Heins said in Feb: there'll be 6 or 7 BB devices and the Last One will be Cadillac of Phon... moreI hope that is true black zero, the z15 looks amazing!
me, 05 Aug 2013bb should give up their o.s and just use android . lets face it no matter how hard you try you... morewell i think the best of the new BlackBerry is the OS10 it self, i'd say they should keep on going, till people get to know its amazing OS.
AnonD-79632, 05 Aug 2013Blackberry, please take out gestures and all these not so fancy things on the phone, simple is... moreThe gestures are what is making BB10 so easy use. It's never been easier or faster to switch between apps and tasks than with BB10.
me, 05 Aug 2013bb should give up their o.s and just use android . lets face it no matter how hard you try you... moreYeah that seems to be working really well for HTC, not.
Anonymous, 06 Aug 2013Just buy third party addon bluetooth keypads.
Best of both worlds, provided your phone is p... moreYou obviously know too little, smh. bluetooth keyboard had been available for any device that support, well, bluetooth connection. only iphone shipper will pay crazy amount for a mini keyboard that have no travel and no feedback.
now, the problem of bluetooth keyboard, they are extra stuff to carry, they are larger than the phone, they are either too cheaply made or too expensive, the worst of all--the response, wireless always have delay. go experience it yourself before telling me what to do, thank you.
epos, 05 Aug 2013Never use an BB but I always like slider with physical keyboard, virtual keyboard can never be... moreJust buy third party addon bluetooth keypads.
Best of both worlds, provided your phone is popular enough to warrant it made.
AFAIK, only iPhones have it.
Sneha, 06 Aug 2013What the hel* going on blackberry every time they launch new devices. and the main point ... moreYou say Apple on top lol what a joke. And if you dont like blackberry why you in this fòrum
What the hel* going on blackberry every time they launch new devices.
and the main point is all r gona super flop
and take a look how the make people foolish
1> there os should be bb 1 then 2 then 3 then 4
but they r reading 5th table
5*2= 10 os
5*3 = 15
5*4= 20
what rubbish
so listin Apple was on top and Apple will be on to. Its no matter they r loosing
Mr. Heins said in Feb: there'll be 6 or 7 BB devices and the Last One will be Cadillac of Phones, 1. Z10, 2.Q10, 3.Q15,4.Z30,5.Z15. Cadillac is still in there and I hope it'll be out soon. Waiting for Cadillac to beat Green Robot's Cycle and Cart full of Apple.
me, 05 Aug 2013bb should give up their o.s and just use android . lets face it no matter how hard you try you... moreIf you haven't been watching the news, the Federal Government is constructing a new ginormous headquarters for the NSA out in Arizona, we're talking hundreds of acres of buildings, and the Feds are RIGHT NOW downloading and warehousing EVERY single email, and blog, every Twitter Tweet, everything that is written (including this comment I'm typing right now) on the web by individuals EVERY DAY. And the Supreme Court is allowing this action to take place because, the Feds are allegedly NOT reading all these texts, they are just STORING them. And the reason? Simple: Take a look at the recent Boston Massacre. Obama's logic is: If the Feds identify a subject, they can immediately go to a Judge to obtain a warrant (for instance the Boston bomber) and then they will go to his Facebook account, Twitter account, or any other place that he's written dialogue, and they will search for evidence. So, on the one it's good but there will ALWAYS be a few people in Government who abuse the power they have (like Obama has repeatedly done) and they will simply go on a withc hunt (like Obama has dome, for instance he is allegedly blackmailing Colin poweel because of his alleged affair with a Romanian diplomat, which is no secret) and so my point is: Facebook, Google, Nicrosoft and others were all in the news saying they were going along with Obama and invading peeps privacy, but, and that's a BIG BUT, Blackberry did NOT. Reason: They are a Canadian company, and they are the most secure out there.
Face it folks, QNX software is utilized where it is imperative to have the best and most secure, tamper proof software available, and that's why QNX is used in high speed trains in Germany and France, defense applications, and in automobiles. QNX is the award winning software company owned by Blackberry.
Folks, they've already debuted the Q10, Z10, Z5, and now this new device (either Z30 or Z15) and Mr. Heins said back in the February launch that there would be 6 or 7 devices this year, and the last one will be the Cadillac of phones - the A10 (tentative) due out in Novemberish, in time for Christmas. And I think the Q5 debuts in Canada next Tuesday on the 13th.
There's something for everyone in every price range, with or without a physical keyboard, and in 4 colors. Don't count them out yet.
Folks, 33% of Blackberry bashers are Apple shareholders and have this convoluted idea stuck in their head that by criticizing, nitpicking, and attempting to change the opinion of Blackberry supporters, that they are some how accomplishing something and benefiting their beloved Apple and/or the stock price. Here are the facts:
Apple shareholders saw over a quarter of a trillion dollars simply evaporate, $290 billion - Poof! - gone, when the share price fell from it's high of $705 to around the low of $385. They were so sure that it was going up to the $1,111.11 target that was bandied about, that they were buying at $550, $600, $650, certain they would double their money. And to assist it they have been bashing Blackberry ever since.
It reminds me of when I was growing up and listening to the gearheads in the neighborhood with their constant bashing of Ford (found on road dead) vs shimmy and shake Chevy with a slip-and-slide power glide transmission. and it wasn't just a local phenomenon, the two car companies went at it full bore (pun intended) with first a 265 cubic inch, then the 283 cubic inch engine, then Ford made the 289 ci, then Chevy came out with a 327, Ford had the 303 Boss Mustang, then they got in with 427s and Boss 429. That's what Blackberry vs Apple has become: my car is better than your car, nyah nyah.


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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The February 2014 edition (volume 2, issue 2) of the monthly ANC Newsletter focuses on upcoming ground breakings, a recent ribbon cutting and black history facts related to development.
[PDF] This document is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). A PDF reader is required for viewing. Download a PDF Reader or learn more about PDFs.


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Turkey Pot Pie with Cornbread CrustFrom fireraven 10 years ago
- 2 lb boneless turkey breast, cut into 1/2 in cubes shopping list
- 2/3 c AP flour, divided shopping list
- 1 tsp salt shopping list
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper shopping list
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper shopping list
- 2 carrots, sliced shopping list
- 2 stalks celery, sliced shopping list
- 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped shopping list
- 2 med onions, chopped shopping list
- 2 cups frozen mixed veggies shopping list
- 2 cloves minced garlic shopping list
- 1 (4oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained shopping list
- 2 c chicken broth shopping list
- 1/4 c sherry shopping list
- Cornbread: shopping list
- 1 c AP flour shopping list
- 1 c yellow cornmeal shopping list
- 1 tbs baking powder shopping list
- 1 tsp salt shopping list
- 1/4 c veg oil shopping list
- 2 tbs sugar shopping list
- 1 egg, lightly beaten shopping list
- 1 c milk shopping list
How to make it
- Combine 1/3 c flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Toss turey cubes with flour/spice mixture and place in crockpot. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, frozen mixed veggies, garlic and mushrooms. Pour broth and sherry over all. Stir to blend. Cover and cook on Low 7 to 9 hours, or on High 4 to 5 hours.
- Turn slow cooking to high while preparing cornbread. Preheat over to 400F. Blend remaining 1/3 c flour with 1/3 c water; stir until smooth, then blend into stew in Crockpot slow cooker. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 mins or until stew is thickened.
- For corbread, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in mixing bowl. Blend in egg, milk and oil. Pour over stew. Lift the crockpot out of the base and place in preheated oven. Bake 15 to 20 mins or until cornbread is golden brown. Allow to stand 15 mis before serving.
People Who Like This Dish 2
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Reviews & Comments 2
- piscesinsantafe 10 years ago Was this review helpful? Yes Flag
- momo_55grandma ate it and said... Was this review helpful? Yes Flag
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great turkey pot pie high 5momo_55grandma in Mountianview loved it
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Russia oil talks pose new hurdle to Iran nuke pact
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States could impose economic sanctions if Iran and Russia move forward with a reported oil-for-goods contract, Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday, discussing with a Senate panel an emerging threat to talks designed to finalize a nuclear deal with Iran.
The Russian business daily Kommersant has reported Russia plans to buy 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day, shattering an export limit defined by an interim nuclear agreement world powers and Iran reached last year. The oil-for-goods exchange is still far from finalized, the newspaper said, but its potential challenges Western efforts to secure a comprehensive agreement.
While nuclear negotiators met in Vienna, Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Obama administration has warned Iran and Russia about moving forward with the oil contract. It would violate the interim agreement reached in November in Geneva, he told the Senate panel, "and, yes, it could trigger U.S. sanctions."
However, America's top diplomat stopped short of saying a Russian-Iranian deal would automatically trigger U.S. economic penalties on Iran. The Obama administration has avoided giving a clear ultimatum because fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran would likely derail diplomatic efforts over its nuclear program.
Critics of the administration's outreach to Iran are seeking a clear marker.
In a letter to the president Monday, Congress' leading sanctions advocates said the U.S. must re-impose all penalties on Iran suspended under the interim pact if Moscow and Tehran move forward. "We urge you to put Iran on notice," said Sens. Bob Menendez and Mark Kirk, both Republicans.
Sen. Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Republican, said the two countries were testing America's resolve. "The administration must be prepared to restore all sanctions if Iran cheats," he said.
The six-month interim agreement, which went into effect in January and expires in July, allows Iran to continue exporting a total of 1 million barrels a day of oil to six countries: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Washington pledged no financial penalties against them as long as they weren't boosting purchases.
But the promise didn't apply to Russia, which wasn't an existing customer of Iran's petroleum industry. And the administration has been raising its concern with Moscow for months about any moves that would lessen the economic pressure on Iran, including in discussions between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Concrete progress on the oil-for-goods proposal would put President Barack Obama in a bind.
If he publicly threatens too forceful a response, he risks opening up a new rift with Russia at a time when the two countries are trying to maintain cooperation on nuclear and other matters even as they go through one of the worst crises in decades related to Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. And unblocking suspended U.S. sanctions against Iran would likely prompt its negotiators to abandon the nuclear talks.
But if the president and his administration fail to dissuade Russia and Iran from moving forward, the interim agreement that forms the basis of America's ongoing diplomacy with Iran would be undermined. The U.S. and the United Nations say Iran is living up to its commitments thus far, and officials have expressed increased belief a final deal may be taking shape, averting the possibility of a future military confrontation.
In Austria's capital, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif said this week's talks are designed to start work on drafting the text of a new agreement. Still, he told Iran's state-run television: "The differences will be lots."
The Russian-Iranian oil deal could provide Tehran with billions of dollars, according to experts, softening the blow of years of U.S. and international sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and helped end more than a decade of deadlock in nuclear negotiations. Iran insists its program is solely for peaceful power production.
Mark Dubowitz, a leading sanctions proponent with the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said his understanding was that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed earlier this year not to move on the deal until August, after the interim agreement would in theory be replaced by a final accord. But he said Putin's assurance came before the Crimean crisis and may no longer hold.
Citing unidentified sources close to the Russian government, Kommersant said a Russian-registered oil trader without an international presence would be tasked with purchasing the Iranian oil. The objective would be to limit Russia's exposure to U.S. economic pressure that could be applied to a global player like state-controlled oil giant Rosneft.
Still, it would be difficult for Russia to gain immediate access to the petroleum since most Iranian oilfields are far from the Caspian Sea through which the oil could be shipped, and lack the infrastructure to ensure deliveries.
Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.


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Land of the Wild Geese: Visiting Schwarzenberg Park
Unknown even to many Viennese, this magical untamed woodland was once the largest landscape garden in Europe
Tram 43 cuts like a knife across the 17th District of Hernals, from the Gürtel out to the edge of the city. Although the journey holds little of real interest (except for the Art Nouveau Jörgerbad and the Kalvarienberg pilgrimage church) the terminus at Neuwaldegg conceals something very special.
Two towering obelisks
Just beyond the terminus is Waldegghofgasse, and halfway up a right turn drops down onto Schwarzenbergallee. This poker-straight avenue lined with mature trees is no ordinary suburban thoroughfare. At the lower end stands the magnificent Schloss Neuwaldegg and at the other are two towering obelisks, which form an entrance to an 80 hectare swathe of wild woodland known as Schwarzenbergpark. Since the late 1950s, when the area was opened up by the City of Vienna, walkers have come this way to enjoy the untamed woodland of what was once Europe's largest landscape garden.
Return to nature
Visiting Schwarzenbergpark today is an intriguing experience, not least because it's now indistinguishable from the surrounding Vienna Woods. It probably looked much the same back in 1765 when a wealthy soldier of fortune, Count Franz Moritz Lacy (1725-1801), purchased the land together with the Schloss. Adhering to the principles of the then-fashionable back-to-nature movement, Lacy cleared the woodland and imposed an entirely planned landscape. It was the first great landscape garden in Austria, inspired by the work of English gardening guru Lancelot "Capability" Brown.
Made up of rolling hills and sweeping vistas, Lacy Park was punctuated by clumps of trees, ponds and streams, and all manner of architectural novelties. These included a Chinese pavilion, a miniature Garden of Eden, and a model village or Hameau, comprising seventeen thatched chalets (one of which is still standing), where Lacy's guests could experience the simple pleasures of country living.
Na Géanna Fiáne
Lacy was born in St. Petersburg, where his father, Count Peter von Lacy (1678-1751), was a successful military commander. The Count was no Russian though. English suppression and religious intolerance had forced him and others to flee their native Ireland, selling their military skills along the way to various ruling Catholic families. Together they were dubbed the Wild Geese (Na Géanna Fiáne).
Lacy Junior did likewise, settling in Austria where he became a highly paid field marshal and statesmen for Empress Maria Theresa (1740-1780). He received her military order for services rendered during the Seven Years' War with Prussia (1756-63) and went on to become a close adviser to Emperor Joseph II (1765-90). A century later and another wild goose, Max O'Donnell (1812-1895), would save the young Emperor Franz Joseph I from an assassin's blade on the Mölkerbastei at Schottentor.
Count Lacy's Tomb
During Lacy's lifetime, he opened his park to the public, and it became popular with day-trippers. After his death it was acquired by the Schwarzenbergs, one of the Habsburg Empire's most powerful aristocratic families. Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg beat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, so it is little wonder the park still carries his rather than Lacy's surname today.
Over time, however, the park returned to its original natural state, and today only ghosts remain: an overgrown pond here, a pile of toppled stones there, and everywhere paths winding off into the leafy gloom. One of the few remaining structures is Lacy's own tomb, a miniature classical temple erected at the top of a track running up from Hohenstrasse. Surrounded by rusted railings and dense beech woods, it's a melancholy resting place. Looking out at the enveloping wilderness the scene inevitably evokes Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias": "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" ÷
Duncan J. D. Smith is the author of
Only in Vienna
(Christian Brandstätter Verlag)


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Hi Experts :)
After upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, once I'm opening the Windows Explorer the left pane display it's content with delay.
This is also happening when I try to save something and browsing to were to save, folders displayed with delay.
See the video in the below link.
Any help will be appreciated!


text:
Observing that the accused has the propensity to influence the trial, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of former Goa Tourism Minister Francisco Mickey Pacheco in connection with the death of his woman friend.
A bench of Justices R M Lodha and A K Patnaik rejected the plea of the former minister that he was not involved in the murder even though he had a relationship with the deceased Nadia Torrado.
The apex court said that besides the fact that Pacheco was a influential political leader, the post-mortem report had indicated that the deceased had 13-14 contusion marks on various parts of her body.
Earlier, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had on June 21 rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Pacheco. It had also turned down the bail plea of his close aide Lyndon Monteiro on technical grounds.
Both are accused in the case registered following the death of 28-year-old Nadia, who passed away after allegedly consuming poison on May 30 in Chennai. Police have charged Pacheco with culpable homicide while Monteiro has been accused of destroying evidence.
The Bombay High Court, while rejecting the bail plea, had said the offence was of serious nature and custodial interrogation was required in the case.
Monteiro's bail plea was rejected on the ground that his counsel did not bring on the record the fact that he had withdrawn his anticipatory bail plea from the high court on an earlier occasion after he was asked to remain present in person.
The sessions court in Margao had earlier rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of Pacheco and Monteiro.
Crime branch, which had interrogated Pacheco on June 5, said they wanted custodial interrogation of the accused, as they were yet to recover two mobiles and a laptop belonging to Nadia.


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Grace has been ready for months. But honestly? I've been avoiding it. She wakes up dry every morning, pees when I put her on the potty, and tells me that she needs changed. A week ago, on Thursday morning, she asked to go potty and I decided that we were done with diapers. We talked about how she was a big girl and didn't need diapers anymore.
Being the person that I am, I've researched potty training a ton and decided to go with the letting her run around diaperless approach. I put her little potty in the living room for easy access and set a timer to go off every 15 minutes to remind her to try to go potty. She did amazingly well the first day and only had one accident. On Friday she started going without me reminding her and again only had one accident. Saturday, no accidents at all!
Sunday, we decided to get brave and go on some short outings. We went to church, Lowes and the park with her in big girl panties and she did perfectly! She even went in the public bathroom at Lowes with no trouble using a foldable potty seat.
So by the end of Sunday, I was feeling pretty good and was fully prepared to write a post about how EASY potty training was. Yeah, that was wrong. Since Monday she has been having accidents constantly. I will admit that I have not been as good about reminding her to go. And we have been playing with her friends so she is pretty distracted. There have been several times in the past couple of days where I've just wanted to give up. Today is one of those days. But I'm pushing through. Going back to diapers now would make potty training later even worse. Please tell me it gets easier? Right?
So far, my best investments for potty training are flushable wipes and the fold up portable potty seat. Buy them if you are or are thinking about potty training in the near future. Trust me.
Oh, so I said on Facebook that I would share the comedy of errors that happened on Friday that really grossed me out. Yeah, stop reading if you are squeamish :P
While I was trying to rock Connor to sleep (he was having a very fussy day) I heard Grace running around and then get very quiet. When you have a toddler that generally is a sign of trouble. I go out to find her playing with the maple syrup. Let's just say the fridge now has a lock on it. She was extremely sticky so I plopped her in the bath. About an hour later Connor wakes up and I have to change his diaper, clothes, and sheet because he has had a massive pooplosion. So I get him all cleaned up and attempt to do the dishes while they play in the living room.
Well, if you remember from earlier, her little potty is still in the living room at this point and all of a sudden I hear splashing and giggling. I run out to find Connor happily splashing in pee. Oh yes, she had gone while I was cleaning up the poopsplosion and hadn't told me and I stupidly hadn't checked. I was horrified. So I immediately strip him down and put him the bath. Grace continues to play in the living room. I get Connor all cleaned up and pull him out of the tub when I see Grace start running towards me with the potty seat in her hand yelling "Mama, I pooped! Ice cream!!" (she gets ice cream when she poops, yes we bribe her!) So I have a wiggly, wet, cold baby laying on a towel in front of me with a toddler running at me with poop in a very shallow potty seat. I felt like I was in a Clorox bleach commercial. Of course when I told her to give me the potty seat, she ran the other way laughing. I finally got it from her, got it clean, got Connor dry and dressed and all was good with the world again. And yes, Grace did get her ice cream. It was not a proud mommy moment let me tell you. Mike was horrified by this story and I'm sure both kids will hate me some day for posting it. I am not generally squeamish but I am DONE with bodily fluids. I don't know how nurses do it!
The joys of potty training.


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Grey's Anatomy Caption Contest CLXXXVIIISteve Marsi at . Comments
Welcome to the Grey's Anatomy Insider Caption Contest - for the 188th week!
This week's winner is April_J. Congratulations! The winning entry appears below!
Scroll down the page for the full list of captions submitted for this week's contest.
Honorable mentions go out to merry christmas, lovingslexie and fluffymunky.
Thanks to all of you for playing, Grey's Anatomy fans, and good uck next week ...
Meredith: I'm beginning to understand Callie a little better.
Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.


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Kevan Jon Erte maxi dress cobalt textra crepe jersey. Maximum glamour and effortless style this dress has all the essentials for your holiday nights out or your next formal event. Made form a soft stretch crepe jersey it provides all the above with comfort thrown in! Features wing style sleeves, v neckline, split front and ornament ring gather at the tummy for a flattering shape.
Blush Boutique are delighted to be one of the few stores to house the UK's most up and coming designers Kevan Jon. Kevan creates wearable exciting fashion for ladies looking style with edge. His unique designs are worn by a host of celebrities and is a firm favourite with our customers who frequently declare " I love his stuff! Kevan Jon designs will have you looking fabulous at your next wedding, party, black tie event, right through to poolside to glamour.


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By KERRY LYNN FRALEY
Staff Writer
North Hagerstown High School senior Carly Wolfensberger never knew Kenneth Mann, who served 29 years as a teacher and principal in Washington County before his death last May of cancer.
But she embodies the qualities Mann thought important in an elementary school teacher, said Eastern Elementary School Principal Randy Schultz, who worked with Mann during his long illness to establish criteria for the new scholarship.
"He was very overwhelmed his name would live on in it and would help someone else get into the profession he loved," said Schultz, chairman of the scholarship committee.


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Johann Sebastian Bach's early years come to life in a delightful salute to the 17th-century German composer.
Johann, raised in a large family of musicians, is intrigued by the patterns he sees in musical notation and imagines the kinds of sounds he could invent with "just seven notes." While this simplification of the concept of composition is likely for the benefit of budding musicians (Bach used the Western 12-tone scale), it also lends an immediacy to the light, first-person text. Leonard uses expansive double-page spreads throughout to illustrate Johann's love of music. On one such, the notes of a score fill with vibrant color and float away beyond the young copyist's hand. The artwork in acrylic paint on illustration board leaves plenty of room for young readers to interpret metaphorical images. An evocative, vertical double-page spread is a visual play on the word "scale," as notes pour out of Johann's hands to reach new heights and form castles in the air. A second vertical spread shows Bach as he "pulled out all the stops" on the organ to fill a church with sound that literally soars to the rafters. An afterword fills in the details of Bach's life as a family man and his career as a composer, and a list of source material, suggested listening, and websites is provided.
An imaginative look at what sparked a musical genius.(Picture book/biography. 4-8)


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Satoru Iwata confirmed that according to internal Nintendo estimates, the company will ship a combined total of 4 million Nintendo 3DS units by end of March 2011. According to Iwata the company estimates that it will sell 1.5 million units in Japan, and around 2.5 million units worldwide. This weekend marks the first public look at much of the software and hardware that Nintendo will be offering when the device ships in February.
Among the recent announcements: Nintendo's launch lineup for the 3DS, A 3Ds Software Trailer, and numerous gameplay showcases like, Zelda, Street Fighter, BlazBlue, Paper Mario and many more.
Source: VG247


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2013 POPSUGAR 100 List
Announcing the 2013 POPSUGAR 100!
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey's past year has been dominated by two very different roles. He reaffirmed his heartthrob status when he played a stripper in Magic Mike and shortly after dropped an extreme amount of weight while filming Dallas Buyers Club. With filming wrapped up, Matthew is prepping for the Fall release of The Wolf of Wall Street and focusing on his newborn son, Livingston, who was born in late December.
Matthew McConaughey ranked 19th in the Classics category.


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"Thank You Bob Seger" Card Signing Outside Of Van Andel Arena Saturday!
Bob played what could be his final show Saturday at Van Andel Arena. And as you would expect from WFGR, your Bob Seger channel in West Michigan, we were there and had the WFGR "Thank You Bob" card, celebrating 35 years of Michigan Rock N' Roll!
First, from McFaddens, the card and last chance ticket giveaway was awesome!
Then out in front of Van Andel before the show!
Hi Bridget!


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P5 in 2017-2018
A Parents'/Carers' Guide
Teacher: Mrs C Hooks
This guide is to share with you some of the things your child will experience this year. It will also give you 'handy hints' about our routine and expectations at Bainsford Primary School.
Our school uniform consists of a dark green sweatshirt and golden polo shirt with the school name. White shirt/blouse and tie. Green Blazers are optional. Fleeces/waterproof jackets are also available. In warmer weather girls often wear Green/Yellow checked dresses and girl kilts are available. All clothing must have your child's name on it.
Money for school lunches should be brought in a named purse or envelope. When money is sent to school for outings please put it in an envelope with your child's name and the purpose clearly marked on the front. Please name packed lunch boxes clearly.
If your child is absent from school please telephone the school before 9.15am on the first day of absence. This avoids any unnecessary worry if a child fails to arrive at school. If your child is taken ill at school, a member of staff will try to contact you or your child's emergency contact. If your child receives a bump on the head at school they will have a note and will wear a sticker to alert you. This is purely precautionary so you can monitor your child at home in the evening. If the First Aid staff have any concerns you will be telephoned, for this reason please ensure your contact details are up to date.
Gym Kit
We will have two sessions of P.E. One with Mrs Barbour and one outside with Mrs Hooks. Please make sure your child have their gym kits (gym shoes, shorts and T-shirt for inside and joggers, sweatshirt, rain jacket and trainers for outside) in a bag. The bag and every item of kit inside it must be clearly labelled. The gym kit can be kept in school and sent home to be washed every so often. Football tops, shorts etc should never be worn. Earrings and other jewellery must not be worn.
The children may bring to school a snack or play piece which is eaten just before playtime whilst listening to a story. Children (and staff) have in the past been attacked by seagulls trying to take the children's snacks. This was quite distressing for the children and therefore we eat our snacks inside. As we are a Health Promoting School we encourage the children to bring a healthy snack and drink. Once item of snack is usually all they can manage so it is not necessary to give numerous items. We allow our pupils to access water, for this they should bring a filled bottle in the morning and we can refill it for them in the afternoon. Please make sure that any snack tubs or water bottles are clearly labelled with your child's name.
On dry days the children will play outside unless it is very cold. Please make sure your child is suitably dressed. The P5 children play in the big playground and the Support Staff will put out some equipment. Playing football in the playground does at times cause arguments, we encourage good sportsmanship and pupils know if there is a dispute it may be followed up with a 'red card'. Being out with all their friends is quite exciting and some children enjoy running about, unfortunately bumps do happen and the staff will help your child if they are hurt. Some children find it difficult to understand that other children do not like rough play. Some children love to chase each other but they are sometimes too rough when they catch each other. We discourage playing games which involve pretend fighting as children often get over zealous and hurt each other. All children learn that if someone hurts or upsets them they should tell a member of staff. We do not encourage hitting back, it is not the solution we want our pupils to learn when trying to resolve conflict. We would ask for your support with this so that the children are learning the same message at home and at school – we do not resolve violence with violence. If you have any concerns please contact the school.
Homework – Learning Logs
Homework will be given out weekly, we call it Learning Logs and it may consist of a selection from the following: reading, sounds, handwriting, maths and occasionally work from other areas of the curriculum. If your child persistently says, 'I've no homework,' please contact the school to discuss it. We ask that you sign your child's Learning Log as this helps enhance the school/home partnership which is so vital to your child's education. At various times throughout the year we will ask for specific help with homework e.g. bringing items into school or taking your child to the library to find information and we would appreciate your support with this as it is as important as written homework.
We plan to send homework (Learning Logs) as soon as all the children have settled in the class. We encourage our parents/carers to work with their child on their Learning Logs tasks. If you would like some more information please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher for an appointment/chat.
The Curriculum
Schools in Scotland are now embracing the Curriculum for Excellence which aims to help your child become a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. Your child will be taught in whole class, small group or individual settings depending on the type of activity and also through play. If your child has a specific learning difficulty we will work very closely with you so you are aware of all strategies being used to support learning in school.
Our work in language covers reading, writing, listening and talking. A great deal of time is spent helping your child learn to read and developing the skills necessary for your child to make best use of what is read. Reading forms the basis of a lot of work in all areas of the curriculum so it is vital that both home and school support each child's efforts. Aspects of work covered this year will include letter recognition, word building, reading for pleasure and information, composing simple stories and listening and talking to others.
Our work in maths covers number, money and measurement, problem solving and enquiry, information handling and shape, position and movement. It is vital that your child gets lots of practice with mental arithmetic eg adding on, more than, less than, find the difference between and this is where you can help by playing games at home, in the car or even in the supermarket!
Social Subjects
Your child will be taught the skills of observing, describing and recording delivered through a variety of cross curricular topics. We will also help your child develop informed attitudes to allow him/her to make choices which best suit his/her needs. This area of the curriculum covers People, past events and societies, People, place and environment and People in society, economy and business. Where appropriate, your child will be taken on educational visits relating to the topics being studied or on occasions, experts will be invited into school to work with classes.
Enterprise Education
Primary 5 will undertake an Enterprise Project later on in the school year and parents/carers will be informed nearer the time of what this will be.
Expressive Arts
It would be helpful if you provided your child with an old shirt to protect school uniform during art and design activities.
Religious and Moral Education
Your child will be given the opportunity to study Christianity and other world religions. Assemblies are held in school to celebrate various occasions and pupil achievements. Where appropriate you will be invited to attend. All families are welcome at our end of term services in Bainsford Church.
Personal and Social Development
We hope that our programme of skills development will encourage your child to play and co-operate well with his/her peers. This is taught through such things as 'circle time'. We encourage your child to be considerate and helpful to others at all times and we expect good standards of politeness and truthfulness. Our Positive Behaviour Programme is proving very beneficial in reinforcing the above. We have a Pupil Council comprising of representatives from P1-P7. They ensure that the opinion of every pupil is voiced, listened to and where possible, their suggestions acted upon.
Holidays during term time
Requests should be put in writing to the Headteacher. It will not be possible to provide missed work. We cannot guarantee that your child will remain in the same working group on return from holiday.
Times of the school day for P5
We hope that this gives you an insight into your child's routine in P5. If you have any concerns at all during the year please telephone the school (01324 508530) and make an appointment.
We hope that both you and your child will enjoy this year!


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Published: January 2, 2015
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You will need an app called KinScreen, and here is the link for the app


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Dawat-e-Islami is founded by Sheikh-e-Tariqat, Ameer-e-AhleSunnat Hazrat Allama Moulana Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri (دامت برکاتہم العالیہ) in 1981 In Babul Madina Karachi, Pakistan. Dawat-e-Islami is serving Ummah in more than 187 countries of the world. Different departments are being formed in order to process the welfare work in more effective manner. For example: Jamia tul Madina, Madrasa tul Madina, Majlis Khuddam ul Masajid, Madani Qafila, Madani Tarbiyat Gah, Madani Channel etc.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Jumma Mubarak | جمعة مباركة | Madani Channel | Fantastic Friday
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Monday, 26 May 2014
What's your sign?
7 comments:
Me too - glad it is less prevalent these days!
- 26 May 2014 at 10:28
- Gam Kau said...
Is it ExactingL? I recently was ensnared in a very lengthly conversation about astrology, birth dates and special numbers. :(
- 26 May 2014 at 14:24
It brings to mind my mothers "fortune telling" each day with her Japanese playing cards :) She's very superstitious and reads her horoscope from the newspaper as well.
Hmm ... astrology, birth dates, and numerology? I think I'm too pragmatic for that sort of hocus pocus!
- 26 May 2014 at 21:43
- Gam Kau said...
Yes, numerology, not special numbers, lol. I don't know Anon, I suppose it is all harmless fun and I shouldn't be judgmental. If it makes someone happy or gives them a sense of control or peace it's all good.
- 27 May 2014 at 10:16
- Yuko Jones said...
Haha! I can see it's fun but we don't want astrology controlling us :)
- 28 May 2014 at 16:05
- Shelley said...
I think of it as similar to genealogy: perhaps interesting to the individual but boring as anything to anyone else. As an only child I liked that I was a Gemini, thinking perhaps I had a secret sister only I knew. I decided 5 was my lucky number because I was born in the 5th month, my Mom and I both wore size 5 shoes and size 5 rings (it's very lucky to wear the same size as your mother!). So I just said it was boring and then went on to tell you...sorry about that!
- 31 May 2014 at 08:59
- Gam Kau said...
Shelley - I find genealogy really interesting and enjoy hearing about ancestors, even of other people. Astrology not so much. :)
- 31 May 2014 at 12:54


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Exposure: The Machine Room
- Malcolm Jack
- 15 June 2012
Grand, glistening electro-indie invoking New Order, Chapterhouse and The House of Love
One of the essential new Scottish bands to catch at this summer's festivals (they play Go North, T in the Park and Wickerman), Edinburgh quintet The Machine Room's grand, glistening electro-indie invokes all from New Order to Chapterhouse and The House of Love without ever losing sight of its overarching pop sensibilities. We chatted with founder-member, singer and songwriter John Bryden. But only after his post-work shower. 'Farm stuff,' he says.
'Farm stuff'? Um.
My family farms near Dundee so I'm there, in my dungarees, chewing straw and shooing crows off.
That clears that up then. Tell us a bit about how the band came together.
I began demoing songs in my bedroom, let some friends hear them and got quite a good response. That was the initial rush that spurred me on to try and get a band together, which happened pretty quickly after a friend's gig at the Wee Red Bar.
The Wee Red, and Edinburgh College of Art in general, seem to feature large in The Machine Room's story?
Cecilia [Stamp, bassist] is the only one of us who actually studied at the ECA but as a band we rehearse and socialise there. I've always liked the relaxed atmosphere, where you can get chatting to people with similar interests or ways of thinking. That's where creative things often start.
Are there any other bands in Edinburgh that you admire and share a particular affinity with?
PET and Magic Eye are both making some spellbinding music, and doing so on their own terms, so we can relate to that. Go listen.
The Machine Room's debut EP, 'Love From a Distance', is out now. The Machine Room perform at T in the Park's T-break stage.


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More than 100 of those students, from high schools throughout the district, then returned back to school to participate in a special summer session at Galileo High School that provided extra tutoring so students would be better prepared to take the test in July. According to Galileo's new principal, Vicki Pesek, about 70 "nervous" students showed up for English tutoring and about 50 showed up for math tutoring.
Of the students who had enough credits and the grades to graduate but did not pass the exit exam, 97 re-enrolled for the 2006-07 school year. Some of those students might not have to show up for the first day of school, however, because in recent weeks results of a May administration of the test have been released to students. Those results did not come in time for graduation, but came in midsummer.
Although the district does not yet have a final count for the number of students who passed that test, students have already received their test results from the state Department of Education.
Many brought their results to Pesek, who had already printed up official diplomas for those students who were taking the summer remediation course, optimistic that they would eventually pass the test. They walked out of her office with the prized piece of paper.
"I looked into the price [per diploma] and it was only 37 cents," Pesek said. "It was worth it; they were very happy."
How San Francisco's class of 2006 did on the California High School Exit Exam:
4,404 Senior students in the 2005-06 school year in SFUSD
3,988 Senior students who passed the California exit exam by June 2006
416 Senior students who did not pass the California exit exam
226 Senior students who did not pass the exit exam, but achieved grades, credits to graduate
190 Senior students who did not pass the exit exam, did not have grades, credits to graduate
184 Last year's senior students who did not pass exit exam, did not have grades, credits to graduate and re-enrolled for the 2006-07 school year
Source: San Francisco Unified School District, Office of Public Engagement and Information


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LOS ANGELES – In the pre-dawn darkness of downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione settled into a booth at his favorite local diner. Before the waiter at the Original Pantry Cafe could come over and pour his first coffee, Castiglione looks over and sees a familiar face. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity strolls in with his wife, Sheryl. The two athletic directors, both wearing school-logo pullovers, chuckle at the kismet of ending up a few booths apart while being thousands of miles from home.
In the past two years, both McGarity and Castiglione made high-stakes decisions that allowed them to cross paths in Los Angeles this week. Georgia's hiring Kirby Smart in December of 2015 and Oklahoma promoting Lincoln Riley to head coach in June appear in retrospect to be homerun hires that could shape the sport for decades to come. With No. 2 Oklahoma playing No. 3 Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl on Monday, however, it's easy to overlook the risk and unknown that came with hiring two coaches that have elevated their team to the cusp of a national championship.
The decisions varied in scenario. Long-time Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops stepped down unexpectedly in June, and McGarity fired Mark Richt in November of 2015 after 15 seasons and a 74 percent win percentage. They replaced the successful head coaches with promising but young assistants – Riley is 34 and Smart is 42 – with no head-coaching experience.
Fast forward to this week, and Oklahoma is poised to play for the national title for the first time since 2008. Georgia has been this close to a title only a few times since it last won the title in 1980. In separate interviews, Castiglione and McGarity sat down with Yahoo Sports on Thursday morning and reflected on bold decisions that paid immediate dividends.
Joe Castiglione loves diners. He has a favorite one in each city. He stopped at the Original Pantry Cafe – cash-only since 1924 – a few weeks ago when Oklahoma played USC in basketball out here. (He even remembered giving a few dollars to a homeless veteran outside, and did the same upon exiting Thursday).
As he picked at eggs over easy and pancakes the size of Frisbees, Castiglione laughed when recalling his immediate reaction to Stoops telling him he'd be stepping down. "I did what any [sane]-thinking athletic director what do," he said. "I tried to talk him out of it." Hard to blame Castiglione for having that reaction, as Stoops went 190-48 and only four of his 18 seasons finished with single-digit victories. They've worked in lockstep over their time, building Oklahoma into one of the country's most consistent powerhouses.
After mulling the decision for a few more days at Castiglione's suggestion, they met again and Stoops hadn't changed his mind. "There's a difference between listening and hearing," Castiglione said. "[The more] I listened to Bob talk about why he reached this point and feels it's the right time, the more I heard what he was saying. He was truly at peace with the decision."
In the days between their meetings, Castiglione researched and pondered potential replacements. But he ultimately never contacted or interviewed another candidate. When Riley arrived on campus in the spring of 2015, he made an immediate impression on the players, recruits and administration. His maturity belied his age. His energy coursed through the offense and recruiting trail. He showed a comfort level in managing experienced coaches significantly older than him.
Riley won the Frank Broyles award as the nation's top assistant coach in 2015, as Oklahoma's offense ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring. In 2016, quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Dede Westbrook finished No. 3 and No. 4 in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Interest in Riley as a head coach coincided with the success. North Texas reached out in 2015 and Houston and Oregon showed interest in 2016. As he navigated this space, he and Castiglione had several conversations about patience in making career moves, the value of where you are and where you want to end up. "I actually used Bob as a perfect example," Castiglione said. "He was that way, too, coming out of Florida. He decided to be more selective."
After the 2016 season, Castiglione met with Riley several times as they figured out a new contract to keep him as a coordinator. Castiglione met with his president and board of trustees to secure the additional compensation. When asked by his bosses how he saw Riley's career arc, Castiglione said: "I could project him as the coach that replaces Bob Stoops," he said. "Time will tell, we'll never know. But I could project it. And everyone said, 'We can too'. Bob did, too."
Castiglione is a conscientious deflector, admitting there's no science to a decision this complicated. He credits a kaleidoscope of people, starting with Stoops, for believing Riley was the right choice.
After Stoops decided he was stepping down, Castiglione met with Riley and they went through a formal interview. Riley did the same with Oklahoma president David Boren. They declined to speak with anyone else. "My gut feeling," Castiglione said. "I know you want a lot more description than that. I don't think I'm alone in that [feeling]. I trusted everyone's gut."
McGarity interviewed others for the Georgia job, but Smart began and ended the search as his top target. In all reality, even though they'd never met, the deal had been done for days. McGarity acknowledges with a chuckle the stakes of his blind date with Smart that night. Georgia hadn't won the SEC since 2005, and needed someone to lead it back there. "We needed someone," he said, "to tell us what it means to go big."
Smart grew up as the son of a high school coach in Georgia, starred there as a player and did two stints on the football staff. And when he arrived at the interview with his agent, Jimmy Sexton, he laid his vision for exactly how Georgia could go big: "We had operated under one way for seven years," McGarity said. "I don't think anyone knew how [to go big], not to be negative towards anything [former coach] Mark [Richt] did, but he was pretty set in his ways. The part important to us is we needed help understanding what do we need to do."
Richt's 15-year stretch at Georgia proved successful by most conventional metrics. Along with winning 74 percent of his games, Richt had a solid reputation in both the local and football community as a classy citizen.
Finding a replacement to win at a better clip wasn't simple. "Those decisions are so hard because they affect so many people and can't be done lightly," McGarity said. "If you start thinking of the impact and risk, you get overwhelmed." Everything for McGarity came back to a simple notion: "Are you okay with being just good? I don't think that's the vision for Georgia."
Georgia recruited well, produced a churn of NFL draft picks and were competitive. But McGarity saw the rise of Florida under Urban Meyer and Saban's run of dominance at Alabama and eventually got the feeling that couldn't be duplicated at Georgia under Richt. "We have very talented teams, but it seemed like we always got to the edge, to the doorstep," McGarity said, "and never took that step inside."
While McGarity had never met Smart, Georgia president Jere W. Morehead had taught Smart in the school's Terry College of Business in a Legal Environment of Business course. "He was an intense young man and very focused," Morehead said. "He's very smart. His name is an appropriate one."
When Smart finally arrived at a conference room at the Renaissance Marriott at the Atlanta airport, there was an instant connection. McGarity compared it to his time as an associate athletic director at Florida when he and athletic director Jeremy Foley flew to Huntington, West Virginia, to hire then-Marshall basketball coach Billy Donovan. They interviewed him at his kitchen table, and they happily accepted the Coors Lights he offered them. "You just had a gut feeling," he said. "You know a lot about people in the first five minutes you meet them. Everything I knew about Kirby was validated in those few minutes."
Two gut feelings validated in the biggest way. And for Georgia and Oklahoma, this year's College Football Playoff bids may be just the beginning.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Obama: Eagles DT Long an 'example of what's best about America'
• Kevin Durant's Defensive Player of the Year campaign picking up steam
• NFL makes concussion protocol adjustments after Tom Savage incident
• James Harden's meltdown completes stunning Celtics rally


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