text:
Monday, February 27, 2012

WNU #1119: Is Privatization Behind the Argentine Train Disaster?

Weekly News Update on the Americas
Issue #1119, February 26, 2012

1. Argentina: Critics Blame Train Crash on 1990s Privatization
2. Chile: Residents Block Roads in Aysén Region
3. Honduras: Campesinos Sign Aguán Land Accord
4. Mexico: Chiapas Indigenous Protest Dams, Electric Rates
5. Haiti: PM Forced Out After Four Months in Office
6. Links to alternative sources on: Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti

ISSN#: 1084 922X. Weekly News Update on the Americas covers news from Latin America and the Caribbean, compiled and written from a progressive perspective. It has been published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York since 1990. It is archived at For a subscription, write to Follow us on Twitter at

*1. Argentina: Critics Blame Train Crash on 1990s Privatization
An Argentine commuter train smashed into a barrier at Station 11 in the center of Buenos Aires on the morning of Feb. 22, killing 51 passengers and injuring 706. Failing brakes caused the crash, the train’s operator told a judge. According to a source in the judicial system, Marcos Córdoba testified that the brakes had failed twice before the crowded train crashed, and that he had warned his supervisors. “In each station I advised the traffic controller by radio that I had problems with the brakes,” Córdoba said. “From the other side they answered: ‘Go on, go on, go on.’”

National Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said that tapes of conversations between the operator and the controller would be turned over to the judge. (El Informador (Guadalajara, Mexico) 2/26/12 from EFE and Notimex)

A spokesperson for Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), the company that runs the commuter line, initially suggested that the disaster resulted from “human error,” and rumors circulated that Córdoba, who was rescued from his cab and hospitalized, had been drinking. Tests showed later that he had not consumed any alcohol. Labor unions blamed TBA management, charging that it and the companies holding Argentina’s railroad concessions have been pocketing subsidies from the government instead of investing in maintenance and new equipment. A mechanic working for TBA reported that the trains are using brake compressors that are 60 years old. (La Jornada (Mexico) 2/24/12 from correspondent)

Argentina’s extensive state-owned rail system was privatized under former president Carlos Saúl Menem (1989-1999) as part of a radical program of neoliberal “reforms.” Privatization proponents said privatization would improve service and reduce operating deficits. But after the economic collapse of late 2001, Argentine’s federal government had to start providing subsidies to keep the system running. The subsidies continued and actually increased later as the economy improved, rising from $4.9 million a month in 2003 to $60 million in 2008.

The Feb. 22 crash has led to calls for the federal government to renationalize the railroads, but this comes at a time when the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is struggling with growing deficits. (Notimex 2/25/12 via El Financiero (Mexico); Télam (Argentina) 2/24/12) [Earlier this year Fernández’s government cut federal subsidies for the “Subte,” the Buenos Aires subway system, in half and turned over its operation to the municipal government in a cost reduction move that resulted in large fare increases and militant protests by riders and subway workers; see Update #1114.]

In other news, about 5,000 people marched from the Congress to the presidential residence in Buenos Aires on Feb. 23 in support of communities in the northwestern provinces which have been protesting since the beginning of the year against open-pit mining in their region [see Updates #1116, 1117, 1118]. The march was called by the Union of Citizen Assemblies (UAC), a coalition of some 100 local assemblies in the northwest; the demonstration was backed by 1980 Nobel peace prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, members of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, student organizations and leftist parties. Speakers from the assemblies called on President Fernández, who supports open-pit mining, to put aside “ignorance and arrogance” and “listen to the affected communities.”

The organizers had considered postponing the demonstration because of the train crash the day before, but they decided instead to honor the victims with a black flag at the head of the march. (La Nación (Buenos Aires) 2/24/12; Los Andes (Mendoza) 2/24/12)

Update, Feb. 27: According to a tape released by TBA on Feb. 25, the operator of the commuter train that crashed in Buenos Aires on Feb. 22 never told the traffic controller that there was a problem with the brakes. Operator Marcos Córdoba’s voice is only heard on the 18-minute tape at the beginning of the trip. (La Gaceta (Tucumán) 2/27/12 from La Nación)

*2. Chile: Residents Block Roads in Aysén Region
After blocking roads for 13 days to demand more resources for Chile’s isolated southern Aysén region, local citizens’ groups opened up the Presidente Ibáñez Bridge in Puerto Aysén on Feb. 25. The move came one day after the Social Movement for the Aysén Region, the coalition of fishing people, unionists, cab drivers and students that has led the protests, presented the national government with a new list of demands, asking for a response over the weekend. Iván Fuentes, one of the movement’s leaders, told Radio Cooperativa that the protesters opened the bridge “first of all [to provide] free access to the community, and most importantly, to give a signal to the government that just as we are vigorous in our mobilization, we’re also rational people who can carry on a conversation.” (AFP 2/25/12 via La Nación (Paraguay))

Located some 1,300 km from Santiago, the Aysén region is difficult to reach from the rest of the country, and the 100,000 residents pay some of the highest rates for fuel in the country; they say they spend about $220 a month just for heating. The protesters’ 11 demands on the government of rightwing president Sebastián Piñera include a new hospital, the creation of a regional university, and subsidies for transportation, fuel and basic food supplies. (La Jornada (Mexico) 2/21/12, 2/22/12 from correspondent)

Violence broke out between protesters and the carabineros militarized police the night of Feb. 21-22 over control of the Ibáñez Bridge. At least 10 people were injured and nine were arrested. Three people were transported to a hospital in Santiago after being shot in the face with pellets; one lost an eye, and all three were reportedly in danger of losing their vision. National Human Rights Institute (INDH) president Lorena Fries acknowledged that the carabineros had acted in an “indiscriminate and disproportionate” manner, using tear gas in enclosed spaces. Fries could not confirm the protesters’ charge that police agents had fired metal pellets at them, but she said that even if the bullets were rubber, the way they were fired violated police regulations. The protesters responded to police violence by peacefully occupying a police station, an act supported by officials in Coyhaique, the regional capital. (LJ 2/23/12 from correspondent; Prensa Latina 2/25/12)

Other Chileans have been sympathetic to the Aysén protests, with support appearing even at the famous international song festival held each February in the coastal city of Viña del Mar. Police have managed to keep ticket holders from carrying in signs supporting the Aysén movement, but at one point local actor and musician Daniel Muñoz shouted “¡Viva Aysén!” from the stage, to applause from the audience. Outside the events, some protesters have displayed signs about Aysén, while student activists--whose strike tied up Chile’s secondary and university system for much of last year—have denounced the lavish expenditures at the red-carpet festival. (PL 2/25/12)

The Aysén region has also been the subject of protests over the HidroAysén project, a plan to build a complex of five dams that environmentalists say would threaten fjords and valleys in the Patagonia region [see Update #1101]. Chilean health minister Jaime Mañalich has charged that the current protests are led by opponents of the dam project: the journalist Patricio Segura and the organization Patagonia Without Dams. “[T]here is an agenda by Patagonia Without Dams forces, financed by national and international forces, to radicalize this movement,” Mañalich said. Protest leaders dismissed the claim. Local labor leader Jovel Chodil noted that Patagonia Without Dams is only one of the many groups in the regional protest movement. (El Diario de Aysén 2/24/12)

*3. Honduras: Campesinos Sign Aguán Land Accord
In a ceremony broadcast on national television from the presidential residence in Tegucigalpa on Feb. 17, Honduran president Porfirio (“Pepe”) Lobo Sosa and National Agrarian Reform Institute director (INA) César Ham signed an accord with two campesino organizations to finance the purchase of land for campesino cooperatives in the Lower Aguán Valley in the north of the country. The government has presented the land deal as at least a partial solution to long-running disputes in the Aguán that have left more than 50 people dead over the past two years.

President Lobo and the two organizations, the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguán (MUCA) and the Authentic Claimant Movement of Aguán Campesinos (MARCA), agreed in April 2010 on a plan for campesino cooperatives to acquire thousands of hectares of land currently held by large landowners, principally agribusiness and food processing magnate Miguel Facussé Barjum. But the deal has stalled repeatedly over the terms of the financing and over campesino charges of harassment by the government, which has militarized the region [see Update #1116]. The Feb. 17 agreement establishes that the land purchase will be financed by a 15-year loan from the Honduran Bank for Production and Housing (Banhprovi) at an annual rate of 6% with a three-year grace period. (Proceso Digital (Honduras) 2/17/12)

The campesino struggles in the Aguán Valley have received strong backing from other social movements in Honduras, and activists chose Tocoa, a city in the region, as the site for a Feb. 16-20 International Meeting for Human Rights in Solidarity With Honduras. More than 1,000 people attended, including supporters from Latin America, Europe, Australia and the US. Attendees announced their support for the struggles of Honduran organizations, denounced the rise in human rights violations following a 2009 rightwing military coup, and called for an international day of solidarity with Honduras to be held on June 28, the anniversary of the coup. The conference also addressed other issues in the hemisphere; the demands included the release of five Cubans imprisoned in the US for alleged espionage and the withdrawal of United Nations troops from Haiti, where another meeting is to be held in July. (Adital (Brazil) 2/22/12)

*4. Mexico: Chiapas Indigenous Protest Dams, Electric Rates
About 1,000 indigenous people and campesinos held a march in Huixtán in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas on Feb. 25 to protest the high rates the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) charges, to oppose the construction of more dams in the region and to demand that electric power generation not be privatized. The march was organized by the Feb. 29 Popular Struggle Front, which was also marking the eighth anniversary of its founding.

The front’s leader, Pedro Álvarez Vázquez, charged that the CFE “has installed towers with high-tension lines on the land of communities and ejidos [campesino cooperatives] to carry power to other municipalities, and it doesn’t pay anything to the owners…who can’t work on the land because of the danger.” In addition to charging high rates, the commission doesn’t maintain the lines and transformers properly, causing power outages, especially during rainstorms, according to the activist. “[I]t isn’t possible that they give us the power at such a cost when Chiapas has various hydroelectric dams that generate electricity for other parts of the country,” he added.

Álvarez Vázquez said the march included indigenous people from some 20 Huixtán communities that have been resisting payment for electricity for more than a decade, along with organizations in solidarity from Las Roas, Altamirano and Socoltenango municipalities. (La Jornada (Mexico) 2/26/12)

In related news, federal authorities arrested schoolteacher and environmental activist Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez in Juchitán de Zaragoza in the neighboring state of Oaxaca as she was leaving a meeting with the CFE’s regional director on Feb. 22. She was released on bail 24 hours later, charged with the illegal deprivation of freedom of CFE workers and with opposition “to the exploitation of national riches.” [In Mexico activists are sometimes charged with “illegal deprivation of freedom” when they block access to buildings or roads.]

Cruz Velázquez is a member of the Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples of the Tehuantepec Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory and has been a leader in struggles against high electric rates and against a project for building wind turbines in the Tehuantepec Isthmus. The human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) expressed concern over her arrest. (Proceso (Mexico) 2/23/12)

*5. Haiti: PM Forced Out After Four Months in Office
Haitian prime minister Garry Conille submitted a letter of resignation the morning of Feb. 24 as rumors grew of tension between him and President Michel Martelly (“Sweet Micky”). The prime minister was said to have become more and more isolated in the government; according to several sources no other government ministers appeared at a cabinet meeting he called the day before. Conille only served four months. After rejecting two previous choices, Parliament approved Conille’s appointment in October [see Update #1100], and he took office on Oct. 18. At the time Martelly said that he and his prime minister were “a winning pair of dice.”

Conille is a longtime associate of former US president Bill Clinton (1993-2001), now the United Nations special envoy for Haiti and an influential figure in the country. The US embassy issued a statement on Oct. 24 praising Conille and calling for political stability and the rapid confirmation of a new prime minister who could organize the parliamentary and local elections scheduled for the spring. (AlterPresse (Haiti) 2/24/12; Haïti Libre (Haiti) 2/24/12)

Martelly can point to few accomplishments after nine months in office, and resentment may be growing. On Feb. 17 rocks were reportedly thrown at him when he and a group of supporters attempted to enter the Ethnology Faculty of the State University of Haiti (UEH), near the Champ de Mars park and the president’s official residence, the National Palace. According to a witness, “people who were not police” in the president’s group then forced their way into the Ethnology Faculty’s grounds, throwing rocks and beating students with clubs. Gunfire was also reported, possibly from police agents accompanying the president. According to an official communiqué, the president “was able to return safe and sound to the grounds of the National Palace.” (AlterPresse 2/17/12)

*6. Links to alternative sources on: Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti

Anti-Systemic Movements on Planet Earth: The People's Struggle For the Good Life (Latin America)

Buenos Aires Train Crash Kills 50; Argentina Declares Period of Mourning

The Bitter Taste of Brazil’s World Cup

Bolivia’s García Linera: ‘Moving beyond capitalism is a universal task’

Bolivia: police clash with disabled

Bolivia’s TIPNIS Conflict: Letting the People Decide?

Peru: indigenous movement calls for new regulations on Law of Prior Consultation

Action Alert! Two Weeks to Stop the Diverting of the Yuma-Guacahayo-Magdalena River (Colombia)

Venezuela’s Chavez News of Second Operation Provokes Opposition and Press Rumours

Honduras: growing unrest in wake of prison fire

Hundreds Killed in Honduras Jail Fire Shows Post-Coup Impunity

Help End U.S. Funding to Honduran Police and Military

US immigration judge rules former Salvador defense minister may be deported

Guadalajara, Guadalajara (Mexico)

Mexico busts more Sinaloa kingpins —but still not El Chapo

US, Mexico open transboundary waters to oil and gas exploitation

Gulf of Mexico Agreement: Increased Oil Cooperation in a Time of War

Havana, Cuba: Med Students Taken out of School to Check City for Dengue

The non-reconstruction of the State University – Putting the nation in peril (Haiti)

For more Latin America news stories from mainstream and alternative sources: /

For immigration updates and events:

Your support is appreciated. Back issues and source materials are available on request. Our weekly Immigration News Briefs has ended publication.

Order The Politics of Immigration: Questions & Answers, from Monthly Review Press, by Update editors Jane Guskin and David Wilson:

No comments:


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
Kettlebell Kickboxing Scorcher Series 4 Disc DVD Set

Kettlebell KickboxingTM is a one-of-a-kind FEMALE only method developed by fitness & martial art expert Dasha Libin Anderson, MS, NASM-PES, NASE, M-KBIA. Kettlebell KickboxingTM transforms the body, using the sleek motions of martial arts and the power and strength of the Russian kettlebell. In one hour of class 2-3 x a week, or in 3 weekly DVD sessions you WILL get the firm, long and lean body of which you have always dreamed. Finally find complete stress relief and see what it feels like to be stronger and healthier then ever before! With 1,000 calories burned in one hour, each motion is female specific and result proven.

Our motto is simple…
Change the way you see yourself!

Featured in a six page spread by SELF Magazine, Better TV, PIX11′s Fitness expo, Kettlebell Magazine, Fitness Rx, Oxygen Magazine, ABC Radio and more, Kettlebell Kickbxoing TM has been credited as one of the most unique, functional, efficient and effective ways to get fit. The method has been used many models and celebrities and thousands of NYC women with great success.

Kettlebell Kickboxing TM guarantees between 800-1,000 calorie burn in 60 minutes, or approximately 500-600 calories in a 25-35 minute single DVD session. Not only does it maximize your calorie burn, it also helps women build beautiful lean muscles that are functional and strong. Training Kettlebell KickboxingTM aids your metabolism, relieves stress and aligns the body with the perfect mixture of agility, flexibility and strength.

Comments Closed

Comments are closed.

Copyright © Effective Weight Loss Programs

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-149-109-157.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-05
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
“True, gripping melodies—ones that stand up to repeated listening. – Entertainment Weekly

“A highly rewarding, skillfully balanced collection of songs.” – iTunes

“Puts forth fragile, folky songs that at times evoke elements of Neil Young. (Not all evokers of Neil Young are worth spending time with, but this act is.)” – USA TODAY

“Shearer sings in metaphor and poetry.” – Seattle Weekly

“My early contender for local album of the year, “La Lamentor’ is a disc to cherish” – The Oregonian

“Damn is it beautiful” – Willamette Week

“The Portland five-piece’s frontman, Adam Shearer, channels Elliot Smith’s frail whisper — and like Smith’s, his voice can stand steadfastly alone over a single guitar or piano note.” – SF Guardian

“La Lamentor is one of those albums that is beautifully arranged and produced, leaving the songs to sidle up next to the listener like long lost friends.” – Americana UK

“Five beardos who create some of the finest brooding folk rock in [Portland]” – Harp Magazine

“An amazing & intimate collection of hauntingly beautiful folk lullabies—the kind that are so good they give you goose bumps.” – The Portland Mercury

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
Monday, February 29, 2016

Recap: Long Beach Comic Expo 2016

Long Beach Comic Expo 2016
Long Beach, CA
February 20, 2016

The Marvel Report panel at Long Beach Comic Expo 2016
The Marvel Report panel

I wasn't planning on attending Long Beach Comic Expo until they announced Alan Tudyk as one of the guests, and that he would be having a Con-Man panel on the Saturday of the convention.  I was seconds from purchasing a Saturday badge when I realized that I should look for a discount code. had weekend passes for less than the regular price of a Sunday pass.  A friend sent me a "karma code" and I only ended up paying $16.50 for a weekend pass.  Goldstar ticket: $20 + $6.50 - $10 karma code = $16.50.  Yes!!!

This droid moved and had sound!
 I had gotten a cold the week before the convention, but I managed to make it through Saturday, though I left earlier than I had originally planned.  I decided not to attend on Sunday since I was (and still am) recovering.

  The first panel I attended was "Chase Masterson's Pop Culture Hero Coalition & The Girl Scouts."  The Girl Scouts had participated in a workshop making comic pages with a comic book professional, and they were given their badge at the beginning of the panel.  The focus of the panel was anti-bullying, and the panelists were Chase Masterson (who also moderated), Jayashri Wyatt (UN advocacy specialist), Dr. Janina Scarlet (clinical psychologist), and Tommy Walker (actor, Daredevil).  The panelists told personal stories of being bullied, and how they handled being bullied (and what they should have done). Jayashri had met with Malala Yousafzai on three occasions during her work with the United Nations.

Chase Masterson

Tommy Walker
Tommy Walker

Dr. Janina Scarlet

Jayashri Wyatt
The next panel, was the ConMan panel, but I'll recap that in another post.

The last panel I attended was "The Marvel Report Presents Marvelous Cosplay."  It was their first panel, and the panelists discussed how they began cosplaying, Marvel cosplay, and answered audience questions.  At the beginning of the panel, they handed out raffle tickets to the audience members and there were two Funko pops they were going to raffle off at the end of the panel.

Gavin and Shawn Richter during The Marvel Report panel
Gavin and Shawn Richter
They offered advice on how to begin cosplaying, and the misconception that you need to know how to sew in order to cosplay or that it has to be expensive.

Shawn Richter

Gavin Richter

I think the most important pieces of advice were:
1. Cosplay what you love
2. Go to thrift stores or military surplus stores.
3. Think outside the box---look at pieces and see the potential it has
4. Don't stress about accuracy because
5. Cosplay is always a work in progress

I'll post a recap of the ConMan panel soon, and I'll be attending Silicon Valley Comic Con and WonderCon in March.  I hope to see you there!

Friday, February 26, 2016

FBF: Live with Kelly & Michael Post-Oscar Show

Kelly and Michael Post-Oscar Show Taping
Hollywood, CA
February 23, 2015

Last year, I went to the taping for the Live with Kelly and Michael Post-Oscar show which is taped inside the Dolby Theater (where the Oscars were held just a few hours earlier).  The Dolby Theater has approximately 3000 seats so there was a lot of waiting in line outside at 2am until about 5am when they moved us inside to wait in line.  Apparently, it was the sound-check for the musical guest (who will remain it ;-) if you wish) was running late and that's what was delaying us getting into the theater to be seated.  Once we were allowed in, it was a mad rush to get us all seated before they went live.

Waiting in the lobby of the Dolby Theatre to be seated for the Live with Kelly and Michael Post-Oscars show
Slightly organized lines inside the Dolby lobby.
Then the live "taping" happened.  I took a few pictures when we weren't "live," but they don't do the sets justice.  It was absolutely stunning.

The stage still decorated for the Oscars

The stage still decorated for the Oscars

Oscar Host Neil Patrick Harris with Kelly and Michael
Oscar Host, Neil Patrick Harris with Kelly and Michael

Kelly getting a makeup touch-up during a commercial break

I have a ticket for this year's taping very early Monday morning..or should I say Sunday night?  I've been inside the Dolby Theater quite a few times (mostly for movie premieres), but it's really transformed by the set designs for the Oscars.

I'll post a recap of this year's experience next week.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

TBT: Divergent Premiere

Divergent Premiere
Los Angeles, CA
March 18, 2014

Half of the still photographers working the Divergent Premiere
This is about half of the photographers.
By the time of the Divergent premiere, I had attended a handful of premieres and have attended double that amount since.  This was probably the worst ran premieres I have attended.  Most premieres start the screening about 30 minutes late due to all of the press outside and getting people to their seats inside the theater.  The Divergent premiere started over 90 minutes late.  They were using all three theaters in the area (Westwood) which are all less than a block from each other, and two are directly across from each other.  I ended being in the furthest theater from where they had placed us for the red carpet arrivals.  There was a huge fan area in which you had to have a wristband to access.  Everyone in this "official" fan area would also be seeing the movie that night in one of the three theaters being used.

I was surprised to see Bellamy Young there (and after the movie, I'm still not sure why she was there), but I have to admit that she's even prettier in person.  I don't watch Scandal, but I do watch Criminal Minds, where she was a returning guest star as Hotch's girlfriend, Beth.

Bellamy Young - Divergent Premiere
Bellamy Young

Bellamy Young - Divergent Premiere
Bellamy Young
The only pictures I could get of Kate Winslet were of her back, and it was dark by the time she had arrived. I also didn't get any good pictures of Maggie Q.

Ray Stevenson signing autographs
Ray Stevenson

Mekhi Phifer signing autographs
Mekhi Phifer

They didn't allow phones in the theater, but I was able to hide my phone as well as my friend's phone in my purse (I do love my Miche bags!) so we didn't have to check them in.  Once we were inside, we grabbed our free soda and popcorn and found our seats.  About 20 minutes into the movie, there was an issue and the screening had to be stopped.  I was getting worried because the parking structure where my car was parked closed at midnight and the initial screening didn't start until just after 9pm.  It took about 10 minutes and the movie was re-started.
Tony Goldwyn signing autographs
Tony Goldwyn
I'm so glad we didn't check-in our phones, because it would have been a nightmare trying to get my phone, get to my car and exit the parking structure before midnight.  It was lucky that we were in the smaller and "further" theater from the main premiere because it's the closest theater to where I parked.  The phone pick-up was a nightmare also because the phones were in clear plastic bags and laid out on a table.  People were just grabbing their (presumably) phones.  It would have been easy for anyone to grab several phones and walk away.
Shailene Woodley - Divergent Premiere
Shailene Woodley

The reason for my posting this almost 2 years later is that I finally went through the pictures in my dropbox account, and I had forgotten about most of these events.  I'll be posting more "old" stuff on Thursdays as "throwback Thursday" and on Fridays as "flashback Friday" posts.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Recap: Deadpool Fan Event

Deadpool Fan Event

Los Angeles, CA

January 18, 2016

Cast and creators of Deadpool at the Fan Event in Los Angeles.

I obtained passes for the Deadpool fan event which was promoted as showing clips from the film and a Q and A with the filmmakers.  The event was at 3pm, but since it was a holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday), I had the day off and was able to attend.

I didn’t anticipate the problem with parking due to the holiday (increased shoppers) and the construction happening in the parking garage.  It took almost 40 minutes to park my car because most of the spots were taken, the lanes were made 1-way only due to the construction, and the lack of movement of any of the traffic.  I would have turned around and left if I was even able to find a space where I could turn around.  By the time I found a place where I could turn around, it was a back corner where there were many empty parking spaces.  This corner was actually much more convenient for getting to the theater since the elevators opened across from the theater.

They checked the IDs of everyone in line (no one under 18 years of age were allowed), as we waited in the lobby.  Once we were admitted, we received the ticket for the screening plus a ticket for a free soda/water and small popcorn. The “ticket” also served as a form for submitting questions for the Q and A.  The event was hosted by VSauce, and the filmmakers were introduced at which time we were told that we would be seeing the entire film and not just the clips we were expecting.  The director, Tim Miller, was quick to mention that the film wasn’t finished (it was still being “tweaked”), but we were seeing the complete film.  Just before the screening began, we handed in our questions.

After the screening, which only had 1 end-credit scene, the filmmakers which included Tim Miller, Rob Liefeld, TJ Miller, Stan Lee, Brianna Hildebrand, and (I think) two of the writers.  Stan Lee was definitely happy with his cameo and wanted more nudity.  My question was the last question asked for the night which was “What was your favorite scene to shoot?”  I don’t even remember what the answers were, but I think the bridge scene was mentioned.

When we left the theater, we were given USB flash drive rubber bracelets with the VSauce logo on them.  It wasn’t until a day or two later that I discovered the bracelet glows in the dark.

It was such a fun event, and I’m really happy that I went, and stayed. New York had a similar event that same night in which Ryan Reynolds was the guest.


text:
Home . FAQ's . Tourist Links . About us . Contact us
uk day tours half day tours UK extended UK tours private day tours dash UK travel blog travel partner websites
Bath and Stonehenge Tour

» Magical King Arthur Tour - Full Day Tour from London

'Capture the Spirit of our Celtic Culture'

Visit the awe - inspiring prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, the most outstanding monument in the British Isles and a World Heritage Site. Hear about the many myths, legends and mysteries of this ancient monument, over 5000 years old, and take time to reflect upon its powerful presence. See the Celtic burial mounds where this ancient civilisation buried their leaders.

Afterwards, we venture into King Arthur's Avalon and explore the mystery, chivalry and romance of King Arthur. Enjoy a leisurely walk up Glastonbury Tor and enjoy breathtaking views from this fabled Isle of Avalon, rich in myth and legend. Imagine how, in distant times where history fades into legend, the Tor was an isolated island surrounded by sea..........

Visit the tranquil Chalice Well Gardens - a timeless and sacred place full of legend, symbolism and atmosphere....... a place whose history has no beginning. Drink from the magical red and white springs.

Explore Glastonbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Arthur and his queen, Guinevere and once a major centre of culture and learning. An earlier legend tells of how Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to Glastonbury and built a simple church on the site of this great abbey - possibly the first Christian church in England, "the holiest earth in England".

There's also time to savour the special atmosphere of Glastonbury village with its medieval buildings and unusual shops.

Glastonbury Tou

Glastonbury Abbey
Avebury Stone Circle

Visit the medieval village of Avebury ringed by the world's largest stone circle. Our walking tour will bring this ancient site to life. Try your hand at the ancient art of dowsing - prepare to be amazed ! Take time to explore the pretty village with its thatched cottages, antiques and beautiful church and maybe enjoy a cream tea or a pint of ale in the Red Lion pub.

We also drive through the Warminster Triangle, a mysterious zone renowned for crop circles (click here for more info on crop circles) and UFO sightings. Hear about the many theories explaining these strange phenomena and take a closer look at any crop circle formations en route (seasonal).

This tour operates every day from central London
We will collect you from or near your Central London hotel. Our day tour leaves London at approx 08:15am and aim to return approx 6:30pm - 6:45pm

A truly magical day out full of Britain's myths and legends!

Adult Price: £119
Child Price: £109 (3 - 16 yrs)

King Arthur's Avalon
Avebury village and stone circle

This full day tour departs every day from Central London 8.00am - 6pm.
This tour normally ends by 6.30pm
Adult Price: £119
Child Price: £109 (3 - 16 yrs)

Why choose these tours

On this tour you will be travelling with no more than 16 other people - guaranteed! Our purpose-built minibuses have large windows, good air circulation and clear PA systems so that your professional guide can escort you comfortably through our wonderful country. Our itineraries are carefully planned (with many years of experience) so that you discover as much as possible, without spending too much time on the road.

As we travel in smaller vehicles, we normally use the most scenic routes, where large coach are prohibited from travelling. Additionally, as our group sizes are smaller we are able to more time out of the vehicle. We also employ a the very best driver/guides

Private personalised guided group tours and transport

arrow Day Tours depating from London
arrow Half Day Tours
arrow Overnight Sightseeing Tours
arrow Private Bespoke Tours
arrow Scotland Tours from Edinburgh

arrow British Hotels
arrow Attractions and Tickets
arrow Sporting Events and Tickets
arrow Did You know ?
arrow Travel Blog
IJust wanted to let you know that the tour was GREAT, WONDERFUL, and MET ALL EXPECTATIONS! People were shocked to hear that we got into the stones at Stonehenge..

More positive feedback

Copyright © Welcome2Britain 2012 All rights reserved


text:
Friday, 26 February 2016

Volunteer and Event days on the Edge

The volunteers have been busy again carrying out various brash clearance jobs; one at Harley Bank Hill and the other on Roman Bank.

At Harley Bank this involved clearing away debris left behind from a hedge-laying job and attempting to clear a wall a bramble from shading out the hedge below which unfortunately will need some re-planting.

Chief fire starter

Dick and Julian fighting the bramble

We attacked the hedge with loppers and made quite an impression, but there may be need for heavier tools to be required for next time. It was a gorgeous day and a fire kept us all happy!

Julian hiding in the bramble!

Julian and Dick finishing a hard days work

At Roman Bank, this has been an ongoing task over the months to clear the area of woodland from brash, and to also clear back from a hedge that was beginning to get overshadowed. That area is nearly finished and is looking really good.

Bryn clearing brash

A few weeks ago we had an archaeology monitoring day and took out a group of volunteers to help. Sections of this project will be carried out every year with the aim to locate any archaeology along the Edge and to analyse and make decisons about it's condition. These will then be prioritised based on whether more work needs to be done if they are at risk of damage.

Searching for the elusive boundary bank

Last weekend we had an introduction to geology on Wenlock Edge event, this was extremely interesting learning about the past of Wenlock Edge and how it has been formed over hundreds of millions of years. It is very hard to get your head around that scale of time! We finished the day off with a bit of fossil hunting and any questions we had.
This event was very successful, and thanks to Chris for leading it for us!

 Chris explaining the rock formation
All intrigued by the coral fossil found by Chris

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Coppicing with help from our volunteer groups

The woodland at Wenlock Edge has been managed for centuries by coppicing. Coppicing is the ancient craft of cutting trees to ground level and leaving a stump behind which develops multiple stems; at Wenlock Edge we predominantly have hazel coppice.
Coppicing has important environmental benefits by extending the life of the tree and allowing light to reach the woodland floor. This encourages a rich diversity of flora and fauna, and at Wenlock Edge this is particularly important in creating a beneficial environment and food source for its dormouse population - as it leads to the growth of more hazel nuts.

The strong re-growth from the coppice stools provides a renewable source of timber with many uses, including providing stakes and binders for hedge-laying.
(We also use some of the stakes for our shelter building dens (just to the right as you turn into Presthope car park), where we have some spectacular dens that just keep getting bigger and better!)
The Shropshire Council
Coppicing usually takes place late winter to early spring. We regularly take out volunteer groups to help with this process which has the added benefit of engaging people by involving them in our woodland conservation.
Recently we have had the Wednesday Action Group (WAGs) and the Tuesday Task Force (TTF) volunteers from Carding Mill Valley, as well as South Shropshire National Trust Volunteers (SSNTV) and the Shropshire Council come to help us out. Next week we have Shropshire Youth Forum playing their part.

With all these groups taking part, coppicing at Wenlock Edge becomes a much easier task and we would like to thank you all!


text:
Pregnancy Blog

Maternity maxi dresses wedding guest

Maternity maxi dresses wedding guest spasms

Despair is a debilitating situation that affects about 30 of girls between 18 and forty four years of age, and if untreated may result in extra psychological well being problems and increase the danger of coronary heart illness and different conditions. Vuest thing that can take some time to gauge is greater than traditional body temperature. Sure, ovulation can occur just maternity maxi dresses wedding guest materntiy time through the cycle. Hatcher RA, et al. Babies also love the rocking sensation and can maternity maxi dresses wedding guest be encouraged to move into an optimal position prior to birth. Since July i've put on so much weight, however my abdomen is making me look pregnant. Outside the uterus, the embryo primarily begins to develop within the fallopian tube, which is why this ectopic pregnancy can also be termed as tubal being pregnant or molar pregnancy. You can share your views on the precise matters like routine assessments, being pregnant associated well being dressds, weight loss program and train, weight, pregnancy maternity maxi dresses wedding guest, foetal progress, foetal movements, remedy impact on foetus, labour, normal supplyc-section, Garbh Sanskar, being pregnant myths and more. While Dr. If mategnity wish, you possibly can opt for an embryo grading check referred to pregnancy yoga classes ipswich maternity maxi dresses wedding guest implantation analysis (PGD), a specialised process that examines the embryo's Wedsing for any genetic diseases. By no means take any drugs unless it's allowed by your physician. In this video, individuals are asked to describe pregnancy myths and wives tales they know. If adnexal necrosis has occurred, leukocytosis and fever can develop. I had no signs or symptoms that i used to be pregnant until yesterday after i got very gentle cramps and just a little spot of brown blood appeared. If you are underweight that could affect your period arriving as it ought to. I've irregular durations. He isn't a particularly sleepy baby, it looks like he is at all times having a stretch or a kick about. Maintaining an affordable bodily exercise routine, acquiring the precise posture, refraining from lifting hefty objects, and taking excellent care of your back can assure the prevention of being pregnant-related back again discomfort. At 1 to 2 days post-ovulation, the embryo remains to be making its means into the uterus. I have had guesst 2 years ago as a result of having adhesions. Every week offers details about your physique and baby's, as well as a number of wwdding food, well being, symptoms, drugs. Maternity maxi dresses wedding guest text summarizes the key trials in: General Medicine and Chronic Disease, Cardiology, Critical and Emergent Care, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology maternity maxi dresses wedding guest Oncology, Imaging, Infectious Disease, Nephrology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pulmonology, and Surgery. Most ladies will register on HPTs by the point they're a number of days late for a interval, but not everyone will. One of the simplest ways to come up with a superb food plan schedule is to go to a health care provider and search recommendation depending on the doctor's evaluation. It may be frequent to search out that you are extra constipated than usual in the early stages of being pregnant. In weeks 32 - 36 the feelings of heartburn, indigestion and constipation are a real problem. One of the things it says is that if in case you have an ectopic pregnancy hCG levels could be extraordinarily low. Dh and I have been trying since Sept 14 for 2 and I am incredibly impatient so it seems like this young age pregnancy symptoms taken without end. An werding detects an ectopic being pregnant. These frequent trips only add to fatigue (additionally a symptom). The better your bodily functions work, the better it copes with all the adjustments happening. Gobbling up gallons of ice-cream seemed okay. Some women have low, period-like pain or cramps early in pregnancy. Your doctor can provide you guidance on the fitting prenatal multivitamin for your needs. Presently 18 weeks and I maintain anticipating to have a miscarriage since its still fresh in my thoughts. As quickly as you will have taken the check out of the packet, avoid touching the absorbent pad. British parenting roes restriction can be mitigated by aggressive intravenous hydration, electrolyte correction, and antiemetic therapy (7). Most people must work within gueet and stress all through the day. You want helpful and informative info so that you get together with each optimistic and negative factor with none problem. However many women have an uneventful gestation and simply because you are pregnant with twins, is not a guarantee you will have complications. The maternity maxi dresses wedding guest actual strategy to know whether it is implantation bleeding or your period, maternity maxi dresses wedding guest you can not inform by yourself, is to take a pregnancy test You will have to wait till the date that your period should start to get an correct result. I believe it could be really uncommon to be pregnant again so quickly particularly if you are nursing exclusively. However your body might already be giving that away - your breasts and nipple could feel very how to raise haemoglobin in pregnancy. These types of miscarriages are becoming more widespread as a result of chromosomal fetal dresxes happen extra as the mom's age will increase, and extra women are delaying pregnancy. Sonographic Assessment of Symphyseal Joint Distention Throughout Being pregnant and Post Partum with Particular Maternity maxi dresses wedding guest to Pubic Ache. The WondaWedge is a support wedge that, while not particularly designed for pregnant or breastfeeding girls, provides good again help and can be utilized indoors and out. Nicotine gum, sprays, patches, tablets, lozenges and inhalers are avaiable for purchase, and on prescription. This isn't to say that there isn't stuff there - the early shapes of a head and torso and the teensiest little limb-buds are starting to kind, along with inner organs and the chambers of the guts. From crown to rump she is about 23 cm long, about the length of a large cucumber. Along with the physical issues associated with varicoceles, the resulting worms in a bag look of the scrotum can take a psychological toll on some males. The small recognizing of vaginal bleeding may happen eleven to12 days after personal trainers during pregnancy. Each state of work has unique benefit for healthy life. Dresse induces ovulation in most ladies with anovulation. All exams have came back good. Do 3 sets of 10. When you have a nasty headache that maternity maxi dresses wedding guest for greater than two or three hours, together with vision disturbances and have sudden swelling in your fingers, eyes and face, you may have pre-eclampsia (NCCWCH 2003:ninety nine). I was given sympathy however no hope for assist.

08.05.2014 at 09:32 Shakabar:
What words... A fantasy

17.05.2014 at 16:04 Samujinn:
The useful message

21.05.2014 at 19:09 Mikasar:

31.05.2014 at 07:40 Voodoorr:
Excuse, not in that section.....

05.06.2014 at 10:04 Kigajora:
Completely I share your opinion. In it something is also to me it seems it is very good idea. Completely with you I will agree.

Copyright © 2017 Pregnancy Blog.


text:
Westport, Connecticut
Member Details
Sola Salon Studios
Salons / Spas
Sola Salons Studios will be opening soon at 495 Post Road East! Chosen with great care, this new location, in the heart of Westport, will join over 250 Sola Salons across the country, in which more than 6,000 beauty professionals operate successful independent businesses. We are thrilled to be opening our doors in early 2016.

Sola is not a typical salon. Sola provides a creative atmosphere in which ambitious, entrepreneurial salon professionals own and manage their own boutique salons. Salon professionals at Sola work for themselves. They set their own hours and prices, create their own environments, have their own clients, sell the products they believe in, and enjoy the freedom and benefits of salon ownership without many of the risks associated with opening a traditional salon.

Sola Salons are home to hairdressers, estheticians, make-up artists, and more, who rent fully equipped, high end, worry-free studios to customize and make their own. Since its inception in 2004, with the opening of the first-of-its-kind studio salon in Denver, Colorado, Sola has remained the leader in the salon suite industry. By providing first class amenities for its salon professionals, as well as the support, resources, and education they need, Sola empowers its stylists to develop their businesses and realize their dreams. Rated #1 by Forbes as the Best Franchise in its economic category, Sola and its salon professionals succeed together.

495 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880
Richard Bobrow - rich@solasouthernct.com
Holly Bobrow, Mgr - holly@solasouthernct.com

Member Contact:

Holly Bobrow, Mgr.

Address: 495 Post Road East, Westport, Connecticut 06880


text:
Leadership Advisory TeamS

They have recently completed their tasks and have been reporting back to the Senior Leadership Team.

One team is left to report back to the SLT, then we will be sharing the four teams' findings with you, in the next number of weeks.

We are excited to see people’s gift of leadership facilitated and enabled to grow, and be evidenced at and through Westview, and the community around us.

This LAT is a group of people, in whom the Senior Leadership Team (the Elders and Pastors) recognize the spiritual gift of leadership, and who have demonstrated a strong heart for the bigger picture of their local church.  The Senior Leadership (SLT) team desires to create and to develop more leaders, and to broaden our current scope and reach as we lead Westview, all in the following of the Holy Spirit in the Lord's guidance and plans.

This is the first LAT season; there will be more teams in future years, and more / other people invited to serve on them.

The LAT team is separated into sub sections, with each sub section given a specific project they are working on.

Each sub section of the LAT has one person from the SLT serving with it.  The design is that the LAT would bring advisement to the Senior Leadership team on that area of ministry they are on task with.

The Elders and Pastors have identified and together come around a few priority needs we feel need some specific attention, and we are committed to moving them ahead:  Leadership Development, Care Ministry. Fostering Connectedness so everyone truly will feel at home in this church, Small Groups grown, and Discipleship.

Some of these priority needs are reflected in the tasks of the LAT groups, as the tasks and teams were developed in the Spring, then refined and launched this fall.  The members of the LAT would be in place for terms of a few months or a year or so, depending on their context and the specific assignment.


text:
We seek to have a Biblical world view: partnering with ministries and churches locally and globally in order to facilitate renewal in their communities and cities, providing funds, resources, people and prayer.

Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Romans 10:13-15

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Psalm 96:3

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!


text:
Pregnant woman plows SUV into man suspected of stealing her purse

WLOS images via CNN

ASHVILLE, N.C. (WFLA) – A pregnant woman in North Carolina fought back with her SUV, after seeing a man who she says ran off with her purse. Now, she’s facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Christine Braswell, 26, was shopping at a Walmart store in Asheville, North Carolina. When Braswell walked out of the Walmart, she saw a man going through her purse.

“I came back out here and he was with my purse and took off and I took off after him. Me, being five months pregnant, I chased a little ways, then come back, jumped in the car, threw it in gear and came across the curb and ran him over. I was not going to let him get away with it. It’s not right it’s not fair,” said Braswell.

Blake Bennet saw the man and confronted him. Then he watched the chaos unfold.

“When I walked out of Walmart, he had her purse and was pulling all of her stuff out. Then, me and my friend told him to put it down and asked ‘What are you doing?’ She stopped and he ran off and then she came up behind him and hit him with her car,” said Bennet.

Janice Kelley watched as Bennet chased the man down.

“She slammed on her brakes, crammed it in reverse, and ran over the median, there in between, and hit him in the back. I mean she, just he was running, and she just flat hit him,” she said.

Bennet wound up helping the injured men before paramedics took him to the hospital.

“I know two guys helped him up and when they were putting him in the ambulance I seen that he had blood coming down both arms,” said Kelley.

Asheville police say the suspected thief, Robert Raines, was charged with  breaking and entering, larceny, and damage to property. He suffered minor injuries.

Christine Braswell was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

BACK TO TOP STORIES provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others and keep the conversation on topic and civil. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
UK royal apologizes for wearing ‘racist’ brooch to palace lunch with Markle

Princess Michael of Kent apologized after being criticized for wearing a controversial brooch to a lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Princess Michael of Kent apologized after coming under fire for wearing a controversial brooch to a Buckingham Palace lunch attended by Prince Harry’s fiancée, Meghan Markle.

She was pictured wearing a blackamoor-style brooch that depicted an African figure on her coat on her way to the royal family event Wednesday.

It’s unclear whether Princess Michael wore the item of jewelry in Markle’s presence at the palace. The American actress has previously written about the challenges of being the child of a white father and African-American mother.

Blackamoor, a decorative style that depicts African people as exoticized figures, is widely considered offensive. Media reports showing Princess Michael wearing the brooch prompted Twitter users to label her at worst overtly racist and at best out of touch.

“The brooch was a gift and had been worn many times before. Princess Michael is very sorry and distressed that it has caused offense,” her representative said in a statement Friday.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady tweeted that Princess Michael’s decision to wear the brooch was an “appalling show of disrespect and jealousy.”

The princess, who was born Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in the former Czechoslovakia, is married to the Queen’s first cousin.

In a 2015 article for New York University on blackamoor art, writer Anneke Rautenbach described the Italian decorative style as being tied in with ideas of racial conquest.

“The motif emerged as an artistic response to the European encounter with the Moors — dark-skinned Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East who came to occupy various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages,” she wrote. “Commonly fixed in positions of servitude — as footmen or waiters, for example — the figures personify fantasies of racial conquest.”

Art historian Adrienne L. Childs, an associate of Harvard University’s Hutchins Center, described in a 2012 presentation how the blackamoor “became the ultimate symbol of the objectified black male body.”

According to the royal family’s official website, Princess Michael is an international lecturer on topics of history and art, and has written several historical books.

Prince Harry and Markle, who announced their engagement last month, will wed on May 19 in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London. They published a set of official engagement photos Thursday, a day after the royal lunch.

The couple will spend their first Christmas as an engaged couple with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family at Sandringham, the Queen’s country estate in rural Norfolk, around 100 miles north of London.


text:
November 17, 2010

Apple Dumplings

Oh my goodness gracious!
I made apple dumplings and they were DELICIOUS!! have GOT to try this recipe! You will love it!
There are five separate steps to making this recipe.
Each step is very easy so don't let that discourage you.

1) make the dough...very easy
2) prep the apples...very easy
3) assemble the dumplings...very easy
4) make the sauce...very easy
5) bake the dumplings...really easy you's all very easy...but there is a process.

The Dough Recipe:
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 C. Crisco shortening
1/2 C. milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 knives. Add the milk all at once and then quickly mix with a fork until dough comes together and all milk is absorbed. Do not over mix. Quickly shape dough into ball with your hands and roll dough into 8 x 12 rectangle on a floured surface. Cut dough into 6 sections with knife and leave on floured surface.

Prepping The Apples:

Peel 6 small Macintosh apples.
Cut apples in half.
Core the apples by removing seeds and stem.

Assembling the dumplings:

Take 2 apples halves to create one apple and place on a square of dough.
Holding the apple together with one hand, pour sugar down in between the 2 halves filling almost to the top.
Sprinkle with a nice dose of cinnamon.
Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg.
Top apple with a pat of butter or margarine.

Continue with the remainder of apples until all dough squares are used.
Wet the edges of each square with water using a pastry brush or your finger.
Bring sides of dough up to top of apple and pinch together at sides.
Sometimes the dough breaks or won't fit....just work with it and don't fret...cover that apple as best you will all turn out beautiful and yummy in the end. The sloppier it looks, the more homemade it looks...we don't want these to look like they were made in a factory do we?? No way!

Place dumplings in a 9 x 13 casserole dish or use two pie pans.

Sauce Recipe:
1 C. sugar
1 C. water
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Mix sugar, water, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and add the butter. Stir butter into mixture until it melts. Pour sauce mixture over uncooked apple dumplings and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Leave dumplings sitting in the thickened sauce. That's the best part!!!


text:
Monday, June 12, 2006

Senator Robert Byrd

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia today becomes the longest serving US Senator in history. First elected in 1958, he has been in the US Senate ever since. Before becoming a senator he served as a member of the House of Representatives for six years thus he has served 53 years in congress. In terms of upholding the US Constitution and its values, Robert Byrd has been at the forefront and is a great historian about the US Senate and it's workings.

Robert Byrd is also someone who has learnt the lessons of the past, as a senator who tried to filibuster the 1964 Civil Right Act he has learnt the errors of his way and regrets his action. Recently he has been vociferous in his opposition to the Iraq War making some very powerful speeches against the War in the senate.

Now 88 he is standing for re-election this year in what will be a 9th term. Congratulations Senator Byrd on your service and for upholding democracy.

Post a Comment

<< Home


text:
Monday, December 17, 2012

No Sense to be Made

When the world is aching from an unimaginable, horrific crime that no one can understand, how do we then help our children make any sense of it? I am truly at a loss, my 12 year old is old enough to understand the full horror of it. She is TERRIFIED to go to school. How do we tell her she is okay? She can't believe it. The only words that I could tell her tonight was that she was God's child, above all, she is His. She is okay, she is loved, and she belongs to him. I struggle with that being enough for me right now, so I am positive it's not for her either. Leaving them at school today, I repeatedly had to say, "they are His children" In life and in death, they belong to Him. He blesses me with the privilege of loving them.

The horror those children went through, it's just not right. It can't and won't ever make any sense. I ache and can't get it off my mind, how can their parents/families? They can't, it is their new life and it is hell. Only a parent who has lost a child of their own could understand that pain.

All I have to offer are my prayers, ones of comfort, peace, and love to those who are broken, their worlds shattered.

I can also promise my children, to love and cherish them, tomorrow it could be gone, I must love them with everything in me and make sure they know without a doubt that they are loved.

Monday, October 22, 2012

We Bought a House...

...which is why I disappeared here. When you unexpectedly sign papers on a house one day and move in the next, your world moves at rampant paces and your blog falls to the back burner. It has been for an AWESOME reason though! I am in LOVE with our house.

Our welcome home surprise from my mom and church was very sweet! Yes, there is a rooster there...long, funny story to go with that one!

See that in the bottom of the picture? That's our first set of keys to OUR very first home!!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

31 Days-Day 4: Dinner Time

It's on nights like tonight that my next topic is so vital to my life. Crock-pots are a MUST in our life. I spent my days in class all day, got out and went to a meeting, then rushed home for dinner with the family. If it wasn't for the awesome creation of Crock-pot meals, I would have broken down and ended up getting fast food, which is not beneficial to our bodies or budget! I plan out our meals for a week, give or take a night that just doesn't work out right, we have gotten really consistent about not eating out as much and enjoying our time together at home. I am not say that eating out is a problem by any means, I just didn't like the amount of money we were spending on junk. I love being home around my own table with my family, I learn so much about them when we are home eating dinner together. One of the recipes that I have used pretty consistently is Rotel Chicken Tacos. It is really easy and really good! Plus minimal clean up is the best part, especially if you use the crock-pot liners.

Rotel Chicken Tacos:

2 cans of Rotel
1 package of Taco Seasoning
4-7 Chicken Breast
Put all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
or high for 4 hours.
Serve with tortillas and any thing your family likes to eat with tacos.

Find the best method you can to save time on dinner in order to spend the time you save doing the things you love. Dinner doesn't have to be a chore! Also....have everyone chip in on clean up and it can all be done that much faster. Team effort goes a long way!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

31 Days-Day 3: Making it the Best

Out of everything we juggle, I often struggle with the time I spend on doing my own schoolwork. It's very frustrating to me to have my family in every direction of the house doing their thing and not being able to participate in it with them. More often than not, I will wait until bedtime to do my homework. On the days that it's just not possible for me to do that, I have come to the realization that it should be done when they are also working on their homework or have some creative time. They love to draw, color, and create things, so why not have them do it when I am also working. It's not at all something that is forced upon them, but I have started to notice that more and more, they are choosing to come sit with me while I do my school work. I have become especially fond of these moments, it's during these moments that I get to see them be creative and hear the chatter between all of them.

This was tonight when they were both creating their own things, his picture of what I am told is a "bolt action rifle" and her book about her family. My oldest was in her room reading tonight, which is good too.

Make sure to take those undesirable, but unavoidable tasks and make them special too.  While I hate having to work on the homework, my family is sitting right here beside me, supporting and loving me enough to be there.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

31 Days-Day2: Coffee, Coffee, and some MORE COFFEE

Let's get this started with something basic, easy, but vital in my life.

On a daily basis in this house, coffee has turned into a staple...I have many different methods of getting my coffee.

Yes, that would be 3 different forms of coffee making.

If I am in a hurry, there is the Keurig.

Not in a rush, but don't want to work to hard for it? The regular coffee pot.

    I am having a rare moment of quiet AND time? And the husband is home?

That my lovelies, is the espresso machine! I am desperately in love with the fact that my husband makes me the best espresso! I don't need any Starbucks, I have my very own barista!

It's not really about the coffee. It's about finding that one thing in your life that settles you, gets you ready for your day, and gives you moments of pure joy. I truly find joy in my cup of coffee, whether it is on the run or sipping comfortably in my chair at home.

Monday, October 1, 2012

31 Days: Intro

I look forward to being a part of the 31 days of Living that The Nesting Place host in October. I just found out about it and have really been thinking about it all weekend. I am new to it and may not have the entire idea down completely, but I sure am going to go for it!

For the next 31 days, I plan on showing how we juggle everything we have going in our lives. This is one of the busiest periods in our lives, but I constantly strive to have joy in all we do, not just living through the motions. Aside from the normal busy of having 3 children, we are also youth leaders in our church, newly team managers of a Destination Imagination team, I am in the last year and a half of my schooling for my teaching degree, and we are in the middle of purchasing a house. All of this requires a LOT of juggling, but we also love our life.

As a part of my 31 days, I thought I would show glimpses of our craziness, along with showing you how I manage to juggle it all. Do you have a crazy life? Are you struggling to do with all of it? What things do you let go of and which things do you put in front? How do you organize it all? These are the types of topics I will be approaching a long the way. I look forward to having you here! Remember finding the joy in your crazy is what makes life amazing. Always choose JOY!

Friday, September 28, 2012

31 Days

31 days of posting? Every single day?

Blogging more consistently had been a goal of mine for awhile, but something I still haven't made happen. I saw this challenge today and LOVE the idea. It's 31 days of blogging about a topic. I kept thinking over and over about what I could talk about for 31 days. I even called my husband and asked him, we both settled upon the thought of how I manage to juggle our crazy, busy life. What is involved in this crazy life of mine? You will soon see!

Interested in doing the same and choosing your topic? Go HERE

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Surgery...hopefully for the last time...

Lil Miss had surgery on Friday for her giant cell tumor to be removed from her finger. We did this same surgery last year, but between the Dr not getting it all out and it just growing back, we were back here again. We went to a pediatric specialist this time at Children's Hospital and he did an awesome job! He saved her tendon (it was a risk of having to be removed), but still got out the entire thing. He said it was bigger than expected, he had to remove a part of her skin, but he said everything looked good.

The most amazing part of this surgery this time is that the anesthesia Dr was aware that she struggles with recovery. It is very hard on her, she ends up vomiting and stays extremely agitated. They took me seriously with how bad she struggled and used an assortment of medicines to help with it and she came out of it without any vomiting or crying! She cried one time when they were taking out her IV and that was it! I was amazed and felt extremely blessed that it went so well.

We did come to the realization that she is allergic to latex. We initially thought it was her pain meds, but when it was only getting worse and she wasn't getting any meds, we realized the rash was coming from the bandages they wrapped her hand with. We had to remove it all, gave her multiple doses of Benadryl and it finally stopped getting worse. She is doing 100% better this morning!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Our Week in Pictures

Our week in pictures...I love recalling my week by reviewing the pictures on my phone!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Destination Imagination

That moment when you take on another project and then you say, "oh wow, what did I just do??"
Yep. Had that moment this past week. My son joined Destination Imagination this week and guess who stepped up to be the team mom? Yep, this already insanely busy mother. The smile, hug, and huge thank you better continue, because apparently this is a huge commitment. Momma better get some appreciation consistently out of this one!

On the flip side of this commitment, I am told, is awesome creativity out of children that you never expect to see, but am blown away with. I look forward to seeing what this group comes up with and how it all plays out. The Aggrivator will be the only boy in the group, should be interesting to see how he fits in with a group of girls when they are considered to still have cooties! ;-)

Have any of you heard of this program?

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Color Me Rad

This is how we like to hang on our weekends! We had so much fun and I LOVED being able to do a 5k with my family. What a great tradition we have started!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

While this simple picture may not mean much to anyone else, it means more than I can express to me. This is the paperwork that I just completed for my internship to begin in January. It won't be long and I will be inside the classroom!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Ummm yeah....I don't know....

Do you ever have those moments when you know that what you need to be doing and what you are actually doing are two different things? How about when those moments are occurring, you really can't do anything to change it, what then? I am exhausted and yet here I lay, wide awake, knowing that I have a very long day ahead of me. Oh, how I have learned to hate these moments.

I have major anxiety before every new semester, but this one is especially getting to me. I managed to leave some of my hardest classes till the end and now I have them both in the same semester. Not too brilliant on my part. Pair that with the nerves of waiting to hear back from our agent on whether the bank of the house we are trying to buy accepted our bid and we got some crazy thoughts!

Did I mention in this crazy time that we also have a new 7th grader in our house who isn't coping well with her new responsibilities and changes at school? Yeah. Fun stuff right there. She truly is my child. Oh anxiety, how we curse you!

Oh wait! How about this fun bit. I decided to motivate said 7th grader in running that I pushed myself harder than ever before in order to show her that if old mom can do it, so can she! Ha! Mom shouldn't have done it, I am not an elegant waddler. Just saying, it's not pretty.

What else is on this plate of mine? Miss Squeaky (she really needs a new nickname now that she really doesn't squeak anymore) has ruptured the cyst on her finger. Again. We go for an MRI on Wednesday to see the full extent of what is going on. This Dr seems very thorough, I am hoping we will have better answers as to why the first surgery with the other Dr. didn't work. A big giant ruptured cyst is apparently not a recommended thing when its on your writing hand. Poor girl.

With all that said, we are also still working with our youth, whom we love so stinking much. God truly is awesome. We were so concerned that it wasn't for us. Ha! I bet He is laughing at us, He has got this!

We are also currently praying about whether we should be helping with our young adults group. This would be the college age students/ young adults that are in that in between stage of life where they aren't quite comfortable in the other adult (mostly married) groups, yet too old for youth group. It would add to our plate, but we can see it working too. Praying.

Have I mentioned in this crazy random spewing, how much I love my children? They are all in such different stages of life that it is truly fun to watch them interact and change. Some days it is fun, somedays it's insanity, but man I love them!

Ok. Randomness over. For now. :-)

Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Small Moments

Spending the day at Children's Hospital is just fine with her if she continues to get cotton candy! It's the small things in life that make me smile.

Phone Photo Hijacking

I have in the last few months been the victim several times of photo hijacking. Between my youth group girls and my own girls, I can't help but giggle when I realize that they stole my phone again and took the silliest pictures. Makes me smile every single time!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

A Year of Awesome

Another summer gone, another school year beginning. I am feeling VERY optimistic about this year!
The past year was a brutal one when it came to one of the kiddos teacher, but it is looking like they all have some great teachers for this year.

7th, 1st, and 4th grades! Seems incredible that I have a 7th grader!

Love this spunky picture! She cracks me up!!

Feeling his super powers coming on!

Beautiful muncherhead!

Friday, August 24, 2012

A house? Maybe?

We put a bid in on a house!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

House Hunting

We are officially in the house hunting stage of our life, looking to purchase our first home.
Wow. Just wow. This process sucks. Just saying.

Every real estate office should have one of these signs.
Please bang head below.

I always hear that it's a pain, but after today, I can see why people just continue to rent. Bleh.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Our Personal Chef

Not only do I have my own personal barista, now I have my own chef! She decided all on her own to make dinner tonight and went to find what food she was going to make. I am very proud of her initiative to do it and her love for cooking! Not to mention the great meal she made for everyone without ANY help!

I Married the Barista

The reasons why I love this man are endless.

The newest reason?

This right here...

He learned how to use an espresso machine, which has led to amazing coffee. Falling in love more and more.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Blessed Living

We have had one fantastic summer! I am sad to say that we only have a few weeks left of it, but it truly has been one of the BEST summers that we have had in a long time. It has been filled full of water parks, summer camps, silly moments and many other fun moments. I have so many pictures from this summer it is kind of ridicules, but here are just a few to give a snippet picture of our lives. Blessed life!

Tattoos with my girls. :-) No needles equals lots of fun!

Summer camp with the best youth group!!
Bingo fun at my Nana's senior center. Seriously? These older people were vicious about their  bingo!!
A 12 year old birthday cerebration...still can not believe she is 12!
Oh the things leaders do for their youth group!
More camp fun!
A 6 year old celebration! 6? REALLY?
Family workouts....Sir Worksalot lost 23 lbs in order to do the zip line at camp! Now
that is some commitment to our youth! Extremely proud of his journey!
Silly times! Love these crazies!


text:
Saturday, 5 June 2010

ceramics doesnt have to be in one piece!

I haven't blogged in a while, sorry about that.
I cant actually believe how busy i've been with university... but it seems it was all worth it as I've GOT MY DEGREE!!!
due to the fact i've actually started to relax...i'm suffering with a cold!
but it was all worth it! :o)

I've always loved the thought of test pieces, I like how they go into the kiln, and there is no pressure about them having to look pretty or beautiful...they are just purely tests...
but sometime you get a few gems...

i haven't shown much of my Ceramic work on this blog so here are a few pictures...

I made some crocheted bowls and dipped them into porcelain slip.

who said broken ceramics couldn't be functional!?

So there it is...My test pieces, I think they are special in there own right.


text:
whats the best penny whistle?

Asked by:

In what price range, and how do you define "Best". In general, a tuneable whistle made of all polymer will last longest and sound "woody", and be relatively inexpensive, with good sound (depending on your definition of "Good Sound", and are low-maintenance. Aluminum whistles with plastic fipples are low-maintenance louder and brighter than those of other materials. Low Maintenance with a Loud, bright, sound... Aluminum whistles are the best, if that is how you define "Best". Brass with plastic fipples are loud, but not quite as bright or loud as aluminum. All other factors are the same as aluminum. Brass whistles are Best, if that is how you define "Best". Stainless Steel with plastic fipples are pretty much just like brass, only they do not show fingerprints or need a periodic dose of brass polish to keep looking spiffy. Stainless Steel whistles are Best, if that is how you define "Best". All-Wood whistles... more expensive high-maintenance, but a good woody sound like polymer. More traditional than a plastic (polymer) whistle. All-Wood whistles are Best, if that is how you define "Best". Whisles made of tin, with a wooden fipple are very bad because they rust, their mouthpieces usually make them harder to play, and the wooden fipples absorb saliva, causing them to swell. They do not last, are harder to play BUT they sound okay and are very inexpensive. Whistles made from tin and wood are Best, if that is how you define "Best". You have essentially asked "How High Is A Fence", and the answer is "It all depends".

1 answers pending

Add another answer

To prevent spam, What is 12 + 9?

http://www.totallyfablab.net/ tumi バッグ オロビアンコ バッグ コーチ バッグ ミュウミュウ 財布 プラダ バッグ ルイヴィトン アウトレット http://www.northcentralmalteserescue.com/ スワロフスキー ネックレス スワロフスキー 指輪 YSL 財布 YSL バッグ YSL サンダル
www.liuwenbin.net アナスイ 長財布 ルイヴィトン 財布 激安 Custom Jersey Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys アディダス 通販 エルメス 時計


text:
Jan 4, 2015

New Satellite Imagery

In his latest post Eliot Higgins analyzes recent satellite images uploaded to Google Earth, taken just three days after the August 21st attacks.

The images show many tanks scattered throughout North Jobar, some of them within Volcano range of the impact sites. This leads Eliot to conclude that “government forces were well established in the area”, and therefore the Volcano’s short distance does not contradict the regime attack scenario.

As I will show below, this conclusion is incorrect. But first, it’s worth noting that this information is not new - We already know the army was operating in the area on the 24th from several sources:
  • The UN final report describes a sarin attack on Syrian soldiers that took place in Jobar on the 24th. The report provides a location for the attack, which I added to Eliot’s map of the area below. So we know the SAA was operating even closer to the impact sites than the tanks shown.

  •  A TV report from the 24th describes an Army incursion in Jobar which uncovered an opposition chemical lab (a report that was later confirmed).
  • The ANNA TV reports which Eliot has already analyzed in detail.

As to Eliot’s conclusion: While we can place SAA operations on the 24th within range of the Zamalka impact sites, they cannot be associated with the chemical attack, for the following reasons:
  1. The impact sites clearly point to a northern launch source, while the SAA was operating north-west to the impact sites. In particular, it is very difficult to reconcile the findings in impact site 2 with an attack from Jobar.
  2. SAA positions on the 24th are significantly different than the SAA positions on the 21st. As detailed above, the SAA was leading a concentrated effort in Jobar during these days, and it is safe to assume the front line was significantly farther to the West when the chemical attack occurred.
  3. Even if we were to ignore the two limitations above, it would still mean that the SAA decided to bring their chemical Volcanos to the very edge of the frontline. A chemical Volcano launch is a complex operation involving two unarmored trucks, several people operating in the open, and a large amount of highly lethal sarin. From the ANNA videos and the multiple attacks on SAA forces in the area, it is clear that this was not a safe zone. Why on earth would they take such a risk, when they can launch longer range chemical weapons from the safety of SAA army bases all around Damascus?

Each of the three facts above strongly contradict an SAA Volcano attack from Jobar. Considered together, they make such an attack near impossible.

There is however something we can learn from the new imagery: While there are dozens of tanks in Jobar, I could not find a single tank anywhere near the launch site, or even anywhere east of the highway (the Southern Bypass) for that matter. Furthermore, as Eliot notes in his post, the only government position east of the highway (“Tohme Checkpoint”) was wiped off the ground within days. Since we do have videos and reports of the opposition operating in the area, as well as them attacking SAA forces from east of the highway, our conclusion that the launch site was under opposition control on August 21st is strengthened.

Conclusion: The new satellite imagery from August 24th, 2013 somewhat strengthens the claim that the sarin Volcano launch site was under opposition control.