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My naked toddlers almost got arrested down the Jersey Shore: @jeffedelstein
If you're a parent of toddlers or babies, do yourself a favor and stay out of Spring Lake. Why? Well, they might end up in jail for 90 days.
That's the situation my wife and I found ourselves in last week when we decided to rinse off our children — ages 2 and 4 — before we drove home from our day at the beach..
Yep, that's right: We took off their bathing suits and hosed down their sandy butts under the boardwalk shower. The horror.
"You can't do that. Spring Lake is not that kind of place," said a man, later identified to me by a police officer – oh yes, the police were involved – as "the beach supervisor." (By the way, "the beach supervisor" is best said in a thick, cinematic 1940s German accent.)
So the beach supervisor says this to me, and I, man of a million words, just stared back at him. I was struck dumb by what he was saying.
To be clear: We ripped the bathing suit off my boy, stuck him under the shower, put a towel around him. Same thing with my daughter. The beach supervisor apparently stumbled into the scene at the midway point. If memory serves, my son was singing a happy tune while in the altogether. And that's when the supervisor told us Spring Lake "is not that kind of place" and that we couldn't do what we were doing.
So what did we do? What any other decent parent of small children with sand up their respective wazoos would do: Ignored the guy and finished what we started.
Please note the guy did not come up to us, make a little joke, maybe tell us to hurry up. Nope. He just went right into the deep end. And he kept going, as the next thing I hear him say is this: "I've got two naked people on the boardwalk."
He was saying this into his phone. To the police. I know it was the police because a policeman showed up a minute later, with the supervisor screaming "that's them!" as we started walking down the boardwalk steps.
The policeman stopped us when we got to street level. He surveyed the scene. He looked … perplexed.
"You were naked?" he asked my wife, clearly not quite believing what he was saying.
"No," my wife said. "They were." The "they," again, are our children. Ages 2 and 4.
To his great credit, the police officer saw fit to let us – well, really the kids – off with a verbal warning.
Not to his great credit, the beach supervisor of Spring Lake saw fit to call in the police because a 2-year-old girl was naked for a few moments.
Velcome to Spring Lake, Herr Edelstein!
Of course, being the diligent reporter type, I later called the supervisor (no return call) and I checked out Spring Lake's borough code, and yep, right there, code number 114-12 reads: "No person or persons shall disrobe or dress or undress on the beachfront or in the water adjacent thereto or on public streets or in public places or motor vehicles or any other vehicles on the streets of the Borough or on or under the boardwalk immediately adjacent to the beachfront."
Which means, according to the law, a baby can't even get his diaper changed on the Spring Lake beach. Or the Spring Lake boardwalk. Or a Spring Lake street. Or if the baby's car happens to be parked in Spring Lake.
To put a finer point on this, the Coppertone baby would be in deep doo-doo should she ever have her dog nip at her bikini bottom in Spring Lake.
Anyway, the fines for this type of infraction? Under "general penalty," it reads things like: "the maximum penalty … imprisonment in the county jail for any term not exceeding 90 days, or by a fine not exceeding $2,000 …"
Well, whew. Thanks to a police officer exercising his right to not slap the cuffs on my children — because, after all, that's what the statute reads, makes no mention of "responsible parties" or the like, meaning it was my criminally-minded children (have I mentioned they're 2 and 4?) who would be on the receiving end of the summons — we were able to get out of town before the wall went up.
You can be sure Spring Lake got their last beach fee out of me.
A quintet of final thoughts …
1) With the beach supervisor repeatedly saying "Spring Lake is not that kind of place," I finally said back to him, "Not family friendly?" He went right back to his "not that kind of place" statement. Now, I could take that to mean a few things, like socioeconomic code for "if you don't own a house here, we don't want you here," but me, being a more magnanimous sort, will instead believe all he meant was "Spring Lake is not that kind of place, a place where we actively work to prevent diaper rash from sandy bottoms."
2) There were onlookers to this event, as you might imagine. They cheered when the police officer made his obvious decision.
3) Question: If you don't rinse your sandy-bottomed kids off before you put them back in the car, and thus expose them to what's surely going to be a horrible rash, would a call to DYFS be reasonable?
4) Why Spring Lake? We were actually going to Belmar, but on first pass couldn't find a parking spot right at the beach, so we kept going.
5) I'm thinking about staging a Spring Lake sit-in. Everyone comes with their babies and toddlers, we get them all sandy and naked, and then we march on the boardwalk, screaming things like, "Please don't bash us, we just don't want rashes!"
Read Jeff Edelstein every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at email@example.com, facebook.com/jeffreyedelstein and @jeffedelstein on Twitter.
Guess The Coppertone kid would get a summons and the dog would get put in jail for attacking and exposing the kids bottom. "Book em Danno. Exposure of bottom to the PC Police. "
Posted on July 9, 2013, in Government, Politics and tagged current-events, government, law enforcement officials, liberal establishment, politics. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


text: Power Hour: Wet Weather Feeds Summer Rally Potential June 4, 2013 09:30 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Sara Schafer Top Producer Editor Email Two marketing experts agree several factors are pointing to the potential of higher prices during the next few months. Corn planting is finally back on track. As of June 2, 91% of the crop is planted, which compares to a five-year average of 85% by this date. Yet, even though the crop is in the ground, it is still behind. Around 74% of the crop has emerged, which is behind the five-year average of 82%. Also, only 11% of the crop is rated to have an excellent condition rating, while 52% is good. For soybeans, slightly more than half of the crop has been planted. Normally, three-fourths is in the ground by the first week of June. Only 31% of the crop has emerged. The excessively wet spring has started to whittle down the record 97.3 million acres of corn USDA predicted farmers to plant with its March Prospective Plantings report. Andy Shissler, Roach Ag Marketing, says with the potential loss in corn acres, a summer price rally may be in the cards. "Going forward, we are going to seem some dramatic rallies for the summer. I project we could hit $6.20 on corn, depending on weather." While he acknowledges he is probably more bullish that other advisors, he thinks farmers will be able to price corn above $6 this year. Arlan Suderman, Water Street Solutions senior market analyst, agrees the market dynamics are changing. "The next three weeks are very critical." He thinks the soybean market also hold rally potential. "All we need to see is a 4% to 5% reduction in yields this year to start getting some hot soybean markets." Hear Shissler and Suderman's full analysis in U.S. Farm Report's Markets Now segment: See more Power Hour news, blogs and videos. Back to news

subset: commoncrawl


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Evil Dead
Now on Blu-ray™
About Evil Dead
A secluded cabin. An ancient curse. An unrelenting evil. The original producers reunite to present a genuinely terrifying re-imagining of their original horror masterpiece. Five young friends have found the mysterious and fiercely powerful Book of the Dead. Unable to resist its temptation, they release a violent demon on a bloodthirsty quest to possess them all. Who will be left to fight for their survival and defeat this unearthly force of murderous carnage?
Executive Producer
Peter Schlessel, J.R. Young, Joseph Drake, Maya Fukuzawa, Nathan Kahane
Shiloh Fernandez, Jane Levy, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Phoenix Connolly, Stephen Butterworth, Randal Wilson, null Inca, Elizabeth Blackmore, Jim McLarty, Sian Davis, Karl Willetts
Ellen Sandweiss, Rupert Degas, Bob Dorian
Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Diablo Cody, Rodo Sayagues Mendez
Robert G. Tapert, Robert Tapert, Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi
Fede Alvarez
© 2013 Evil Dead, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


text:
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• Provide up to £1,000 cover per year of cover


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Willie Gary hosting fundraiser for commission candidate Sean Jackson
Willie Gary, the prominent Treasure Coast-based attorney who is representing Bishop Harold Ray in his fight against the city of West Palm Beach, is also jumping in to support a city commission candidate who is not the favorite of the city's elite.
Sean Jackson, a 22-year-old community activist, is considered a big underdog in the District 1 race against incumbent Sylvia Moffett. Moffett was appointed to the seat in April to replace Molly Douglas, who resigned to run for mayor. Douglas also filed last spring to run against Moffett, but Douglas hasn't raised any money and isn't expected to try to qualify.
Moffett, 61, has Mayor Jeri Muoio and the influential western community backing her, and has gained favor with many politically active north end residents. But Jackson has landed some local bigwigs on his host committee that could especially help with the black vote.
In addition to Gary, County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, Mangonia Park Councilwoman Addie Greene, State Rep. Mack Bernard, Riviera Beach Councilwoman Billie E. Brooks and School Board member Marcia Andrews are on the host committee for the Jan. 5 fundrasier at Bradley's. Gary supported Muoio in the mayoral race.
Jackson also has conservative activist Jack Furnari, founder of the Bizpac Review, on the committee. The commission race is non-partisan, although Jackson describes himself as a Christian conservative, while Moffett was a Democratic committeewoman before being appointed to the commission.


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Source: Wikipedia Commons
Sample size issues have been known to cause crazy amounts of unwarranted hysteria. The 2011/12 season of Eric Nystrom should be Exhibit A in the coming years whenever a player comes out throwing bulls eyes to start a season out of nowhere.
There is usually a reason the career bottom six player with ten goals by Thanksgiving startles you. In your mind you know it shouldn't happen, but it has. Yet, you look up again and said player is getting more ice time, playing against increasingly more difficult competition, and given more defensive responsibility. All of this after said player was given away by one of the worst teams in hockey to help the team you follow get above the cap floor after the New York Rangers ditched Sean Avery (which, I realize, makes very little sense). Fans had to attempt to reconcile what they saw on the ice with what they intuitively knew about the player.
This is the story of how Eric Nystrom confused an entire fan base for several months while proving how fickle small sample sizes and the results-based analysis springing from them can be.
The Rise of Nyzerman
Eric Nystrom made his Stars debut on the 18th of October after inexplicably finding his way to Texas. The bankrupt Stars carefully straddled the cap floor last year. Around two million of their 2011 cap space was dedicated to "the Sean Avery please leave" tax. When the Rangers got tired of his schtick the Stars dropped below the cap floor. Recently waived Eric Nystrom was Joe Nieuwendyk's solution to the cap problem.
Nystrom wasn't intended to be anything more than a bottom six minutes eater which, oddly enough, is pretty similar to what he was for most of his career after being a premium draft pick. After a week he began scoring though. The week of November 4th-11th Nystrom scored in four straight games. He went another week without scoring. In the seven games past the cold streak Nystrom got on the board with five goals and two assists.
Seems fishy, no?
It wasn't fishy enough. Nystrom became an immediate fan favorite. It was hard not to root for the guy. The goals he was scoring were ridiculous. Every other one seemed to feature Nystrom jumping off the half wall into the slot, humiliating the left defenseman, and firing a low hard wrister for a goal. Example one is here. The problem is that expectations rose based on the limited sample.
Fans began clamoring for Nystrom to get more minutes. The Stars were struggling to score goals, and, hey, this guy has been putting them in the net. It's a common, and logical, reaction to the situation. Nystrom never had the peripheral statistics to support that he was a brand new player though, and it caught up to him like it does for everyone eventually.
Through New Years Eve Nystrom had 12 goals. His previous career high for a season had been 11. He scored those 12 on just 59 shots. Nystrom was leading the NHL in shooting percentage when the calendar changed over at 20.33%. At one point he was as high as 25%.
The crash was anything but pretty. In the second half of the season Nystrom scored three goals on 43 shots. The 7% clip he shot the remainder of the year is much more in line with his career numbers, and much more representative of the player he actually is, but expectations had been raised by that point.
After the hot start Nystrom's minutes continued to increase. The graph of Nystrom's minutes per game is below, and as you can see there was a consistent upward trend until his 48th game of the season.
As the season moved forward he was established on a de facto checking line with Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak. They skated together for just about the entire season. The Stars lack of depth undoubtedly played into the fact that they continued to be used as a checking line, but Dallas did have some other options so they don't get to completely wiggle off of the hook. Their fourth line was particularly effective in transition and in their own end, even if they couldn't do much offensively. The checking line remained in tact though. After the hot streak the Dvorak, Fiddler, Nystrom trio had an aggregate 47% Fenwick% as a line which is in Columbus and Calgary territory.
The early season results more or less established the trio, and it would have taken something drastic to alter their role significantly. Results-based analysis failed the Stars.
The Moral of This Story
Drawing conclusions based on small sample sizes is very rarely going to be beneficial, and should be avoided at all costs. This is only the most recent example. It wouldn't take long to find several others, and you can probably think of a few just off of the top of your head.
Eric Nystrom is a solid NHL depth player. His game is even fun to watch at times. It was easy for some fans to get sucked in by the hype and make bold proclaimations about his future. I vaguely remember someone guaranteeing me that he would score 30 goals at one point (though in fairness it's been a while, and I can't actually find proof that it happened). We see how that worked out. Nystrom's situation isn't unique. It will come up again, and very possibly in 2013. There's nothing wrong with being a fan, but if you expect an outlier situation such as Nystrom's to continue you are guaranteed to be disappointed.
Keep your eyes open and don't get carried away by the hype.
Follow @JoshL1220 and @NHLNumbers on Twitter


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Re: Your Mand'alor beckons
"I don't think he's a dar'manda...just quiet," Solus shrugged. "Anyway, yeah, I could do for a fight. I've been so busy saving honor, and the occasional life, that I let my combat training get rusty." She looked over to he Newcomer. "Let him join too. He looks like he could use some training as well."
-Rampage, Beast Wars


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Our patrons are Emma Thompson, actress, writer, director, comedienne and campaigner, author Hari Kunzru and Lord Bill Morris, former leader of the Transport and General Workers Union.
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is best known as an award-winning actress, but her talents go much further than that. Writer, director, comedienne, campaigner - she has the distinction of having won Oscars both for acting and for screenwriting, for Howard's End and Sense and Sensibility respectively.
In 2005, she combined those talents to make Nanny McPhee - a delightful children' s film. Emma and the film's co-star Colin Firth agreed that the proceeds from ticket sales for its West End premiere should go to the Refugee Council. In previous years she has supported our Day Centre with very generous donations that have allowed us to hold our annual festive party for clients. And as well as financial support, Emma has often come along to help in person.
Here's what Emma said about becoming a patron:
"I am delighted to become a patron of the Refugee Council. I have been a supporter for a number of years and have seen at first hand the great work the Refugee Council does. Helping out at the Festive Party has given me an opportunity to see how remarkable and resilient asylum seekers and refugees are and how they deserve respect and understanding.
It's only when we imagine for ourselves what it would be like to run from state terror, torture, rape, the destruction of our homes and families that we can understand how vital it would be to find a place that welcomed us and tried to heal our wounds. Fortunately the Refugee Council provides such a place."
Hari Kunzru
Hari Kunzru is one of this country's brightest literary talents. His debut novel, The Impressionist won a number of prizes and is currently being made into a film. It also led to him being named by Granta literary magazine as one of the best young British novelists. The follow up, Transmission was also praised by the critics and Hari has become a well known figure on television and radio.
Hari's association with the Refugee Council began when he donated prize money from the Daily Mail to the Refugee Council in protest at coverage of asylum seekers. He has twice taken part in our literary evenings and continues to be an active supporter.
Hari said of becoming a patron:
"I am very pleased to become a patron of the Refugee Council. My association with the organisation stems from my refusal of a literary award sponsored by the Mail on Sunday newspaper. In protest at its editorial policy of vilifying and demonising refugees and asylum seekers I suggested that instead of paying £5000 prize money to me, they should write a cheque to the Refugee Council.
I was motivated by my anger at the way refugees and asylum seekers are treated in the UK. Britain is a wealthy country and a safe country. It also has a reputation as a fair country. We have a duty of care for victims of persecution and conflict. At the moment, we are failing shamefully in that duty.
Fortunately the Refugee Council, both through its direct work with refugees and asylum seekers and its campaigning and lobbying, is leading a fight-back. I am proud to be associated with this effort and will work to support it in any way I can."
Lord Bill Morris
Lord Morris is a man of great distinction and commitment. He was the first black trade union leader in this country, leading the powerful Transport and General Workers Union for 12 years. He was born in Jamaica and rose to lead his union after starting on the shop floor in Birmingham. Lord Morris's involvement with the Refugee Council began when he was a strong supporter of the campaign to end the voucher scheme for asylum seekers.
He has remained a strong friend of refugees and asylum seekers, speaking up on their behalf during last year's General Election. We are delighted that among all his other commitments Sir Bill has agreed to become a patron. This is his message of support:
"Now more than ever Britain needs an asylum and immigration policy that has integrity, not one that is dictated by hostile headlines or driven by fears about security and terrorism. That is why I am pleased to become a patron of the Refugee Council, which has taken a lead in supporting asylum seekers and refugees.
Whilst holding office as General Secretary of the Transport and General Worker's union, I worked closely with the Refugee Council to end the government's voucher scheme. I believe that refugees, like other immigrants, make a huge contribution to the UK and we should be giving them opportunities instead of denying them basic rights.
The last general election turned into a bidding war between the political parties over who could be nastiest to asylum seekers. We need to keep working with the politicians to make them see how dangerous such policies are. The Refugee Council has a huge role to play in the years to come and I will be supporting it in every way I can."


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Saturday, July 3, 2010
6 Things on a Saturday: Linger Music & Panicking with Cookies Episode
2. This is because I have been barraged by e-mails from readers who have pre-ordered copies of Linger from Barnes & Noble and have since gotten e-mails from B&N telling them that their copies of Linger had been shipped and would be getting to them on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
3. This sort of unexpected surprise always makes me high strung and more prone to baking, especially of the gigantic sort. When I found out that Barnes & Noble pre-orders had shipped, I got the urge to bake cookies. When I found out that you could buy and download the audiobook version of Linger on Audible.com, too, suddenly I decided I needed to make cookies the size of my head.
4. I listened again to the audio samples I'd been sent and discovered, again, that Cole's narrator sounds like sex on a stick. Back when they were casting for audio narrators (we still have the same Grace narrator, whom I love), they had me give my input into who I wanted for Cole, Grace, and the new Sam. So we have smexy Cole, cold Isabel, and Sam the hobbit. I hope readers -- um, listeners -- like them. Otherwise I will feel Personally Responsible and be forced to rend my clothing and make bigger cookies.
5. Lest you all run out and buy books from Barnes and Noble & Audible, please remember to be kind to indie bookstores and that you can buy a signed copy of Linger anywhere in the U.S. or Canada by ordering from Fountain Bookstore. OR you can come see me on tour in California and Texas.
6. I completely forgot about posting Linger music yesterday, because I was saving my energy for flailing and panicking. So today I wanted to post something Completely Different. I don't just listen to singy music while I'm writing. I also listen to a ton of instrumental music, especially soundtracks, especially when a scene takes me a long time and I need something to fade back more. While writing Linger, I didn't really have a particular soundtrack to hang my hat on until my youngest brother gave me a copy of THE LAST SAMURAI for my birthday. It worked pretty darn well, much to my surprise.
So here's one of my favorite tracks from the soundtrack (though I recommend all of it if you like this one). (As always, buy these suckers legally, 'kay? Thanks.) This is "Spectres in the Fog" by the always incredible Hans Zimmer.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat 14 cookies the size of my head and flail my arms some more. Have a good holiday.
11 comments:
- Larissa said...
No flailing! Deep breaths, okay?
Great music rec! I am also a fan of soundtracks, so I'll have to get that one when I can afford to. LOL.
BTW - I recommended a band to you a while ago, and you were going to check them out. I wanted to let you know that their cd is available on itunes now (The Rise of Defiance). :)
Enjoy your cookies! :)
- July 3, 2010 at 5:28 PM
- JSavant said...
Oh, darn, I'd want Linger early too -- but I'll be a patient little duck and wait for the official release. There's nothing like going down to a bookstore and hand-picking out a new hardcover book that you've been dying to read. :)
Also, I *love* that The Last Samurai soundtrack inspired you during your writing of Linger. I always thought the music for that movie was particularly beautiful. (The music for the movie Memoirs of a Geisha was really lovely as well -- just wanted to put that out there. :P) I think I'm in need of a rewatching of that movie soon.
Anyway -- hope you don't get too frantic with the cookie baking and the flailing! My guess would be that more people will love Linger than not. :)
- July 3, 2010 at 5:49 PM
- maine character said...
You do know that I'm about a third of the way through SHIVER. Knowing I won't have to wait a day for LINGER doesn't change the fact that I'm going to linger over these pages as I go.
Cool cookies. (Both about LINGER and your baking.)
- July 3, 2010 at 6:03 PM
- Dawn Embers said...
That is awesome. I almost wish I was going to be in California or Texas any time in the near future. Oh well. Yay for book and... OMG cookies!!!
- July 3, 2010 at 8:04 PM
- beth said...
I'm so excited you're coming to Austin! No one ever comes to Austin. Yeigh! I pre-ordered Linger from Fountain, but if I bring my copy of Shiver to the book store could you sign it?
- July 3, 2010 at 8:58 PM
- Amy said...
i love how you can hear the priates of the caribbean tid bits in this song... and I'm pre-ordering mine on amazon so.... no worries there.
- July 3, 2010 at 10:11 PM
- Ann Elise said...
I feel like cookies now. I feel like "Linger" as well, come to think of it :)
- July 3, 2010 at 10:34 PM
- Zoë Marriott said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- July 4, 2010 at 1:33 AM
- Zoë Marriott said...
*Shakes fist* We don't get Linger here until 21/7! Damn you, Atlantic Ocean!
I love that soundtrack. It's not particularly Japanese in its sensibility (I say this as someone with twelve albums of traditional Japanese music on her iPod) but the use of traditional instruments is gorgeous. In fact, I haven't listened to it for too long, so I'm off to do that now!
Edited for: unnecessary and unprovoked anger towards the Pacific Ocean, which is of course completely blameless and a fine body of water.
- July 4, 2010 at 1:39 AM
- Maggie Stiefvater said...
Hahaha, no anger toward the Pacific Ocean.
I have calmed down considerably, having made another batch of cookies and read all of these comments. So thank you for that.
- July 6, 2010 at 6:21 PM
- marmaladelibby said...
Thx 4 the soundtrack rec! I recommend to you (if u don't have it already) The Power of One. It's favorite standby! Also mostly Hans Zimmer! p.s. i can't WAIT 4 Linger!
- July 11, 2010 at 7:35 PM


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Congratulations Dillon!
Thursday, October 27, 2016
IMTA Alum Dillon Westbrock in WWD! Reviewed by IMTA on 9:03 AM Rating: 5
The ultimate modeling, acting, dancing and singing event of the year. Many of the celebrities you know and love were discovered right here at IMTA. Here at That IMTA Blog, we'll give you all the news and inside scoops on our alumni's success as they continue to work hard at pursuing their dreams.


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It was a love story for the ages, and America was transfixed.
Superstar Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o meets a beautiful Stanford coed after a game there and over the succeeding years they fall in love. There are reports of her visiting his family in Hawaii. But later, in 2012, she falls victim to leukemia and dies. Her last wish is that he not come to her funeral but instead excels in the game that Notre Dame has that Saturday. He calls her "the love of his life" and shares his grief with the nation. His grandmother dies on the same day.
What a tragic burden for a young man advertised by his university and the press as an exemplar of character. Notre Dame goes undefeated and plays in the national championship game. The story of Manti's lost love and his courage in the face of adversity is told and retold. He is a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. What drama, what pathos, sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Except for the fact that the woman never existed and most of the story is not true.
This past week, Notre Dame released its version of the "cruel hoax" perpetrated on Manti. Evidently he received a call from the same phone his supposed dead fiancée had used and it was her voice. She wasn't dead. Notre Dame and Te'o waited over a month to go public with the story. A month, in which Te'o continued to tell the same public story about her death.
It seemed Stanford had no record of the woman's enrollment and Manti had never met her, just communicated by phone and social media.
We may never know the true facts of the situation, whether Te'o was innocent victim of a cruel hoax, or complicit in it. But there will be damage to a number of parties in the situation. Because of the repetitive news cycle with 24-hour CNN and ESPN coverage, enhanced by local news, talk radio and the Internet, this story will run over and over again. Until there is a credible explanation of the circumstances, an aggressive press will challenge facts and motivation endlessly.
Michael Vick and Tiger Woods discovered the self-destructive results of stonewalling the press and their images worsened.
Athletes who transcend the narrow genre of sports fans to become household names also become brands. Hundreds of magazines, newspapers, television magazine and talk shows, and social media, focus on interesting people. Due to the prominence of Notre Dame, the success of the football team, Te'o's superlative regular-season play — the story of doomed love got heavy national attention. America yearns for role models. Te'o's chance for heavy endorsements and marketing packages with this pre-packaged prominence was certain. Now it hangs in the balance.
Te'o is currently training for the scouting combine, pro scouting day and competing to be a high draft pick in the NFL. He once was projected to be a top-five first-round pick, with a chance to be the first pick. If there are doubts as to his character, will it impact his draft status? NFL teams will primarily focus on how he projects as an on field force for the next 10 years.
His performance against Alabama is vastly more important than one negative incident in his past. The NFL is not the priesthood. But a team will put $15 million into a guaranteed signing bonus that will be hard to recoup if a player doesn't make it due to personal or competitive problems. And there are continuing cap penalties to a team in that circumstance.
Notre Dame is as high profile a school and athletic program as exists in this country. It has a nationwide following and legions of fans due to its ties with Irish symbolism and the Catholic church.
Notre Dame was the first football program with its own national television contract. The school makes millions in revenue in television, radio, marketing, sponsorship and merchandising, and football success triggers heavy alumni giving. That prominence also has a dynamic effect on recruiting. The Te'o story was a boon to Notre Dame in all those areas. If Notre Dame is found to be somehow complicit in promoting a story it knew to be untrue, the effect would be devastating. If Notre Dame is completely blameless, the publicity and damage as the story continues is unpredictable.
Te'o spoke to ESPN Friday night. If the public believes he was an innocent victim, he may engender sympathy. At worse he will be seen as naive and trusting. But if any of his statements are inconsistent or at variance with what reporters discover to be different facts, this story will have a long run.
An athlete seen as doing wrong can always rehabilitate himself by making a clear public apology. If he acknowledges his errors, apologizes to the negatively impacted constituencies, makes it clear there will be no recurrence, he can start the healing process. If over time, his play and conduct is circumspect, he can recover.
Americans love the fall of the high and mighty. They also love a comeback story. Kobe Bryant and Ray Lewis each had a dramatic untoward situation in the past and today are popular endorsement figures.
I hope that Te'o and Notre Dame were simply victims of a hoax. We need figures in this country to believe in and root for.
LEIGH STEINBERG is a renowned sports agent, author, advocate, speaker and humanitarian. His column appears weekly. Follow Leigh on Twitter @steinbergsports or blog.steinbergsports.com.


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Happy ebooks day!
Dear amazing backers,
This is a huge day for me—and for all of you who supported Don't Go Back to School. Your ebook download code should be in your inbox... Read more
One milestone down!
Hi everybody,
I'm excited to report that I sent the full complete first draft to Mandy, my freelance editor, at the end of November. Did I mention it's complete? Woohoo! ... Read more
Don't Go Back to School on Twitter
Now tweeting book & education related stuff as @dontgoback2schl, including neat projects that the interviewees are working on.
Two days to go!
With two days left, Don't Go Back to Schoolis over 200% funded with nearly 1400 copies sold. As a result, I'm going to be able to devote much more... Read more
Welcome new backers!
A huge thank you to Kickstarter for featuring Don't Go Back to School in the newsletter this week, and even huger thank you to all the people who jumped on... Read more
And thankful isn't the half of it.
I'm so thrilled and honored that this project is currently fully funded as of last night. The flood of people supporting the project... Read more
Getting some press!
Thanks to all the people who have jumped on board in the past few days! Don't Go Back to School was featured on Laughing Squid and Boing Boing, which resulted... Read more
Almost 50%
As of tonight, Don't Go Back to Schoolis 49% funded with 241 backers. I'm thrilled by the enthusiasm the community has shown for this project, and even more thrilled... Read more
Amazing first day!
Thanks so much to everyone who supported the project and spread the word today! We're at 23% funded in less than 12 hours. Even more exciting, I've gotten some great... Read more


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Despite its naysayers, the U.S. cotton industry creates a positive environmental footprint worthy of bragging rights.
"If you look at U.S. cotton's energy footprint, the cottonseed in a bale of cotton contains more energy than the energy required to produce the cotton and gin the bale," according to Ed Barnes, director of agricultural research with Cotton Incorporated, Cary, N.C.
Energy inputs for cotton include diesel fuel, nitrogen, herbicides, and irrigation among others. Barnes spoke at the joint annual meetings of the Arizona Cotton Growers Association and the Arizona Cotton Ginners Association in Rio Rico, Ariz.
Barnes rattled off praises for the natural fabric. Cotton is grown on less than 3 percent of the world's agricultural land. Cotton yields have increased on average over the last three decades, showcasing improved land use efficiency.
Among cotton's naysayers, Barnes says, is the Lenzing company, which manufacturers man-made cellulose fibers. The rayon maker hails itself as nature's friend, with minimal negative impact on the environment. Lenzing points a finger at the cotton industry as an environmental polluter. Barnes maintains that studies and publicly-released data sets indicate otherwise.
"In the cotton production process, more greenhouse gasses are sequestered in the fiber and soil than are emitted into the atmosphere," Barnes noted. "There's more carbon in the fiber than the cotton industry emits in growing and ginning the fiber."
Water use in cotton is a tougher sell with the public and regulators. About one-third of the U.S. cotton crop is grown with irrigation. New drought-tolerant cotton varieties are water-misers.
"In Arizona, people want to claim that cotton is a big water user, but we're not compared to other crops," Barnes told the grower/ginner crowd. "Arizona cotton growers have some of the best yields in the country. Growers have optimized land use efficiency. There's a lot to be said for irrigated systems."
Barnes referenced USDA data from 2007 that foliar insecticide is not applied to one-third of the U.S. cotton acreage; in part due to Bt technology.
Some of the latest positive spins on cotton are from the results of the Natural Resource Survey of U.S. cotton growers conducted by Cotton Incorporated and the Cotton Board last year.
The survey's purpose was three-fold: promoting natural cotton using fresh data; examining the cotton industry's greatest research needs to better reflect where research dollars are spent; and gaining a benchmark on current production practices.
About 1,300 valid responses were received representing about 16 percent of U.S. cotton acreage, plus 1.7 million acres of rotational crops. More than 100 growers from the Far West submitted responses.
Survey results indicate about 80 percent of U.S.-grown cotton is rotated with other crops. In the Far West, about 90 percent of the cotton is rotated with alfalfa, wheat, corn, vegetables, and orchard crops.
"Many people don't believe cotton is rotated," Barnes said. "This is a good statistic to show that cotton is not just monoculture; there is a lot of variety out there."
The survey revealed about 75 percent of the growers reduced pesticide use by 40 percent or higher over the last decade. Foliar insecticides were not applied on more than 40 percent of the farms. About 30 percent of the acreage received no insecticide treatment.
The survey results revealed needed improvements in scheduling cotton irrigation. About half of the growers responding to the survey make irrigation decisions by visual assessment. Less than 10 percent utilize monitoring tools or evapotranspiration.
Irrigation scheduling is tricky in the West, Barnes says. "We will try to direct Cotton Incorporated's research to develop easier irrigation tools that better achieve farmers' needs."
To produce cotton from "dirt-to-bale," the energy to create fertilizers represents about one-half of the total energy used in non-irrigated production. In irrigated cotton, drawing 40 inches of water from a 300-foot deep well requires about two-thirds of cotton's energy demand. "Water pumped from any depth can quickly dominate the energy footprint," Barnes said.
About 7,600 BTUs of energy are required to produce 1 pound of cotton for typical production practices in the U.S., Barnes says.
After a year of lower energy prices, the cotton researcher predicts the return of higher energy costs. "Energy will get expensive again," Barnes said. "We have a break right now in prices. I think what we saw last summer was a hint of what the future holds for us. Anything the cotton industry can do to reduce energy use will lower our greenhouse gas emissions and production costs."
e-mail: email@example.com


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Opinion: Burger Flippers on Strike
Editorial board member Steve Moore on fast-food workers' demands for a $15 living wage, and the likely effect on prices and employment. Photos: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... labor unions have a new target and it's not a soul crushing factories of old ... no they're upset about ... the company's see there on your screen McDonald's ... editorial board member Steve Moore joins me now from Washington ... to explain why ... Steve ... we had a Michael Saltsman on the show from the Employment Policies Institute many months ago I'm talking about these protests ... they spread alliance is still going on ... you know Mary who never knew the Ronald McDonald was such a villain but have ... the odd Ronald McDonald become a kind of poster boy ... of of these unions who were what they want is a living wage for ... of for people to flip burgers and as the prize said that ... and that deliver the pieces and so one at Gosford restaurants ... throughout the country on their calling for up to eighteen and a dollar an hour of wage minimum for people who work at these fast food restaurants ... when I got the people to fast food restaurant industry what they tell me is that we'll end up destroying a lot of these jobs they will not can I say they can't afford to pay that kind of low wage this is all being orchestrated by the way Mary got so much by the workers who actually are behind the counter at McDonald's and Wendy's and Burger King ... it's the service employees union that wants those three million workers to be paying our dues to their union ... but says the SEIU have appoints even then it's hard to make a living ... off of seven dollars an hour or eight dollars an hour ... yet the average worker by the way Mary um who was working at fast food restaurant ... makes somewhere between eight and eleven dollars an hour I've that are not all minimum wage workers of course so they they they move up in salary the longer they were there but you raise that point ... that you cannot raise a family of eight dollars an hour there's no question about it ... aam but these jobs in a hurry were never intended to be ... for heads of households these are for people on teenagers fell about half of these jobs are young people under the age of twenty five diet ... pill bought two thirds of those jobs ... on the day were never meant to raise families the problem is the economy's been so lousy Mary ... a lot of people you know in their thirties and forties increasingly have to work in fast food restaurants if they can't find any other job ... I can't find any other job so isn't it ... politically astute of these unions ... suited to strike in this way ... now because it touches a quorum ... with a broad swath of America and its offerings for this week recovering ... sure and I amaze actually him today that ... the outcast the restaurant industry ... Mary is terrified that these will spread to other cities there's about twelve major cities include Kansas City Chicago New York Los Angeles where these add the strikes have been held ... here is the problem areas all if you were to succeed in requiring the Burger Kings in the Wendy's Taco Bell's to pay fifteen dollars an hour or there is no question what would happen is a lot of those jobs would simply go away use the computers UCI iPads you would see PR people having to fill their own drank as as as is happening already at fast food restaurants to reduce labor costs so you may not actually be providing people with higher wages married the dim sum result of this may be no wages at all well so what about the prices for consumers Steven and I stopped at McDonald's this morning and got my one dollar coffee ... I've been doing every day this week with accolades ... you know that's a really good point there you know the law to the people who live favor these out and the stock higher wage by the way everybody wants a living wage for people and for that to what everybody you know the the but they say at the McDonald's restaurants is that you know when they protest is super size the wages well everybody wants higher wages the problem is but they say as well they can just charge fifty cents more for any number of or if you do that married people are so price sensitive they won't go to these restaurants that slide at ninety nine cents copy and ninety nine cents for now because people are so spry sensitive so you would put some of these restaurant right out of business if you require them to charge a lot ... yes I'm one of those price sensitive people Steve I walk right as Dunkin' donuts and went straight to make dolls for the dollar to ... God for that you know copyright I think it's going to die so ... editorial board member Steve Moore keep an eye and this issue for us to have the vaccine ... thank you thank you


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Jan. 21, 2008
The Lipscomb University Men's Track team opened the 2008 Indoor season Friday at the ETSU Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn. Despite only doing three speed workouts so far this season, the Bisons started the season very well.
Ryan Chastain led the way by finishing second in the Invitational section of the mile with a solid early season time of 4:23.27, a time that will likely lead the conference standings for the mile. Ryan was doubling back after running a great 1200m opening leg of the Distance Medley Relay 2.5 hours earlier.
Jordan Wilson also ran a great early season distance race, finishing 2nd in his heat of the unseeded 3000m in a time of 9:04.14. Jordan came back to anchor the Distance Medley Relay later in the day, posting a 4:35.1 mile leg.
Chad Roberts was a pleasant surprise. A senior, Chad is turning out for track for the first time since high school. Despite the time gap since last competing, he picked things up quickly, posting a 54.66 open 400m to finish second in his heat on Friday, dropping a second Friday night with a 53.5 4x400m relay split, then dropping yet another second Saturday in the 400m leg of the Distance Medley Relay with a 52.6.
Andrew Shankles won his heat of the unseeded mile in a time of 4:37.96. He was followed by teammate Jared Carlson in 3rd place with a time of 4:46.31.
Clint Carter posted a time of 52.97 in the 400m and 2:02.69, while also running a leg of the 4x400 relay and an 800m leg of the Distance Medley Relay.
Freshmen Tylar Peoples and Michael Knox got things going for the sprinters. Michael, who hasn't run track since middle school, won his heat of the 60m dash in 7.32. Tylar finished second in his heat with a time of 7.24. In the 200m, Tylar won his heat in a time of 23.49, with Michael right behind him in 23.64.
Other competitors for the Bisons:
Paul Wright: 3rd in both his heat of the 400m, 55.62 and his heat of the 800m, 2:05.34 Jonathan Williams: 6th in both his heat of the 400m, 56.54 and his heat of the 800m, 2:06.51 Jeff Nelson: 4th in his heat of the 400m, 57.48 Ryan Bell: 5th in his heat of the 400m, 58.19, 10th in his heat of the 800m, 2:09.99
"My expectations were very minimal," said head coach Bill Taylor. "We don't focus on the indoor season...we train through it to peak in the outdoor season and we've only done three speed workouts since the season started, so this meet was really just an indicator of where each person is so they know where they need to go.
"Despite the lack of training, I was really impressed with the competitiveness both teams showed. That's really what I was looking for most. Competitiveness will pay off later when the training catches up. And we had terrific performances by a bunch of the guys. Ryan Chastain's second place finish in the Invitational mile was a motivating way to end the meet. The distance and middle distance guys are going to have great track seasons.
"I was also impressed with the ability shown my Tylar and Michael, our two sprinters. It's obvious both have a lot of talent, they just need to do the work necessary to become true collegiate level sprinters. They can get there if they want to.
"It was a great trip that really served its purpose for us."


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Thomas Cogan. Queens Gazette. 4/12/2006.
Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi is challenging the seemingly unstoppable Eliot Spitzer for this year's Democratic Party nomination to be governor of New York. As a way of admitting the difficulty of his task, he told his audience at the Queens Chamber of Commerce Installation Luncheon that Spitzer, the state's attorney general, is "a giant", while in contrast, "62 percent of the people don't even know me." To make himself better known, he is on a heavy speaking schedule between now and the date of the primary election, September 12. At the QCC luncheon in April, he was getting some attention in advance of Spitzer, who is to be the speaker at the QCC Business Expo and Luncheon, May 18 at Terrace on the Park.


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Re: Young Failurs with Girls?
u know u guys r talkin about boba being s ss sexy okay tad creepy but youre right hes so cool he doesnn t even need to talk to them!!!!.........LUCKY!!!!
As a girl I'm totally allowed to find Boba sexy. Its the helmet and reputation.
"Suggestion: Electrocution works well. Evisceration and Decapitation are also effective, or um, so I've heard."


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The album/app has finally been released to app world. Availible to os 45. and up it has some pretty cool features including
# Get inside the album with access to songs from No Line On The Horizon, essays from the band, and video clips
# View the original, origami-style photo displays inspired by the music
# Access dynamic news feeds from U2.com and receive alerts when new content is available
# View exclusive images of the band in the recording studio and on the road
# Mark your place in the crowd with geocoding, chat and share images with other fans, and view postings from the band (coming soon!)
# Tap into the Who's Listening section and see when and where other users are listening to the album (coming soon!)
# Track the tour as the band moves across the globe - see where they're going and where they've been (coming soon!)
Its free so head inside app world and check it out


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