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Monday, 14 September 2015

How a Predictive Dialer Is an Efficient Dialing System

Efficient predictive dialer software has made the job of a typical call center agent much easier. With the help of this auto dialing software, it has become simpler for the call center staff to manipulate the data, easily increase call volume and prepare effective reports. This predictive dialer software is a perfect combination of technology and modern digital equipment. Using this tool, you can dial phone numbers automatically in a systematic way, follow an organized database and, keep a record of your daily goals.
If you own a call center like and you're willing to purchase predictive dialer software for your computer then you can easily browse through different online websites to find a program that matches with your requirements. With a single click of mouse, you can easily find a web based predictive dialer software within a few minutes.
Predictive dialers were originally developed from the auto dialer which then evolved to an predictive dialer which predicts an agents availability and increases or decreases calls as needed. While the basic dialer merely automatically dials phone numbers for agents who are idle or waiting for a call, the predictive dialer uses a variety of algorithms to predict the agents are available or not and called party answers, setting the process of calling to the number of agents it predicts will be available when the calls are answered.
This modern technology monitors the answered calls it places, detecting how the calls it makes are replied. It eliminates unanswered calls, busy numbers, lines with problems, answering machines, answers from fax machines and similar automated services. It only connects calls answered by live people and connects them with a waiting agents. Thus, it helps agents not to listen to unanswered or unsuccessful calls.
Simply put, this software automates the total outbound process of dialing numbers. This technology converts the manual dialing process into automatic dialing process via a web based auto dialer platform. It dials a number, waits for a response from other end, and transfers a call to an available telemarketer when it connects with a real human voice. The dialer has pre-programmed artificial intelligence based on an algorithm to prevent non-productive calls from reaching to the agent. The telemarketer can take one call after another as he doesn't have to deal with busy signals, answering machines, network messages, and "no answers,". The main reason why predictive dialers are in such demand currently is just because of its ability to increase the efficiency by decreasing the dead time between calls.
A hosted predictive dialer is a major type of dialer which is hosted on a web server. One of the outstanding features of this remote system is that it has the ability to makes the calling agents virtual. This means that the agents are not required to be physically present at the organization and still they can work and generate calls. This system, just like any other predictive dialing system can detect answering machines, busy tones, fax tones and no answers and deliver only the legitimate calls to the agents. This makes the dialing process more productive and the agents more fruitful. This dialer has a built-in virtual intelligence system that can transmit calls equally to the available ports. Another important feature of this system is that it does not dial the National Do Not Call Registry telephone numbers. This can eliminate the fear legal actions against the call center.
Predictive dialer is concern to improve the efficiency of call center business. It dials four lines every time agents are available. It also increases the utilization to around 56 minutes per hour. So, we can say that predictive dialer not only increase the efficiency of product but also helps in various way in making calls effectively.
Hosted dialer

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Saturday, 12 September 2015

Recession Solution? Auto Dialer!

Rising unemployment rates and sinking consumer confidence affects business to business companies, just like any other. In these slouching economic times, all businesses have to look at new ways to reach their targeted audiences.
An inefficient business can still turn a profit in a good economy, but a recession can painfully highlight all the failing areas in a company. One such area is manually dialing sales leads instead of automating the process using an auto dialer.
An inside sales call center who's sales professionals manually dial all numbers can at times perform reasonably well when a greater percentage of contacts convert into clients. In a typical well-run B2B call center a sales professional, whose primary responsibility is lead generation, can be expected to make 40 or 50 calls each work day. That's if he was dialing manually. Once that same sales professional switches to using an auto dialer he can expect to be making 170 to 350 calls each workday.
An autodialer works like this: First the dialer has a contact list of leads loaded into the database. The auto dialer will then automatically place a call to each number on that list. Once dialed, the call is routed through to an available sales agent who takes the call as the number is ringing. If the call is busy or not answered, the dialer system can be used to send fax, voicemail, or email. By doing all this, auto dialers not only reduce the wasted time spent manually dialing, but also eliminate much of the wasted time spent dealing with busy signals and voice messaging systems.
A hosted auto dialer solution adds even more value to this system. By contracting with a hosted autodialer provider the maintenance, development, and set up of the dialer is completed by the host company. Also, no software needs to be downloaded on company computers. Instead the dialer software is accessed through the internet. This allows sales professionals to work from any location with a telephone and a PC connected to the internet. A hosted dialer solution works with whatever hardware a call center may currently be using.
Inside sales operations can continue to grow in a difficult financial recession, but only when smart telephony technology is used. An auto dialer is such a solution that eliminates much of the wasted time in call centers.
Hosted dialer

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Wednesday, 9 September 2015

Choosing a Phone Dialer that Works

If you own or operate an outbound call center, you've probably heard quite a bit about various phone dialer systems. In fact, it's likely you're using one of the many systems currently on the market. While your current phone dialer may be adequate for your business needs today, you'll probably grow out of it shortly. Even if you're not anticipating high levels of growth in the near future, just staying competitive in the call center business means having the latest technology.
These days, most phone dialer systems come as part of an all-in-one CRM system package. This is usually the most cost effective way to get a phone dialer. In addition, by purchasing everything from one source, there's the added benefit of smooth interfacing between the phone dialer system and other portions of the CRM package.
If you're not already using a phone dialer, not familiar with how they work, or if you're already an expert, but just don't have the time to spend on optimizing your current system, it may be a good idea to invest in a web-based CRM system. You'll need three things to get one up and running: a PC, an internet connection, and a phone connection. With some of today's more advanced web-based CRM systems, all the mundane, time wasting aspects to running a phone dialer-equipped CRM system are handled for you by the company from which you purchased the system. This results in a higher number of calls, leads, and revenue for you, not to mention more time to handle other critical aspects of your business.
Most quality phone dialer systems also come bundled with several other features designed to make your sales force more effective. Some of these timesaving features include voice messaging systems and automatic faxing and emailing capabilities. The more time your sales agents can save by automating their busy work, the more time they will have to follow up on leads generating by the other CRM applications.
By increasing out-bound calls by as much as 400%, some of the more advanced phone dialer systems help prevent busy signals, answering machines, and wrong numbers from wasting your sales agents' time. The best phone dialer systems also include a "power dialer" feature. The power dialer feature is designed to optimize business-to-business (B2B) sales calls, where secretaries and voice mail are likely to present more of a time drain and obstacle to closing sales than no one being home at a residential lead.
Whether you're already using a phone dialer system, or looking into making an investment in your business, the latest dialers have what you need to boost revenue and save time.
Hosted dialer

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Sunday, 6 September 2015

The Auto Dialer For the Complex Sale

Business to business (B2B) sales occur when commerce happens between businesses, such as a manufacturer trades with a wholesaler or a wholesaler selling to a retailer. When a remote sales operation participates in B2B sales, those sales are often more complex than business to consumer (B2C) sales. These complex sales require different telephony software than the simpler B2C sales, such as a different kind of auto dialer.
All auto dialers work in a similar way, but not every kind could be described as a complex sale dialer. The purpose of any dialer is to increase the amount of calls and contacts a sales agent can complete in a business day. All auto dialers load a previously generated list of phone numbers and then systematically call each of those numbers. These calls are then routed through to a sales agent. This method is significantly faster than manually dialing, often bringing an increase in call volume upwards of four times what it was previous.
One of the largest differences in telephone dialers is the amount of phone numbers that the dialer calls at a time. Ratio dialers or predictive dialers call several at a time. This ensures that on each dialer a customer will be reached, but comes with some very large drawbacks. First, when a call is answered the dialer has to determine that there is someone on the line before they patch that call through to the sales agent. During this process there is a few second gap between when the contact answers the phone and when the sales rep starts speaking. This "telemarketer pause" is one of the negative experiences that contacts often complain about. Another problem that these kinds of dialers face occurs when more contacts answer the phone than there are available reps. When this occurs the extra calls are dropped, even when their was a person on the contacts line.
Both of these problems are not acceptable for a complex sale dialer. One of the unique qualities of the business to business sale is the "gatekeeper." This can be either a recorded message system to navigate through or a receptionist whose job could very well be to prevent sales calls from reaching his or her employer. In order to speak to the important decision makers, sales teams cannot afford to come across as automated and impersonal. That is why power dialers are a much better solution for complex B2B sales. These complex sale auto dialers call only one phone number at a time for each available agent. This still speeds up the sales process dramatically, but eliminates the problems of dropped calls and telemarketer pauses.
Hosted dialer

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Friday, 4 September 2015

Regardless of Type, an Auto Dialer is a Needed Sales Tool

Auto dialers are powerful software tools used in inside sales. The purpose of such a dialer is to give the sales representative the ability to dial more quality leads in a day as he or she could without the technology. Numerous companies provide auto dialer software for call centers and individual sales people to use in their work.
To operate, the dialer needs to be programmed with a list of phone numbers. If the sales company uses a CRM (customer relationship manager) this call list can be uploaded from the list of leads within the CRM database. As these numbers are called by the auto dialer the CRM displays for the sales rep all available information on the lead, including contact info and previous contact history. These numbers are routed to and answered by the best available sales rep. This greatly reduces the amount of time individual sales representatives spend looking up a leads' contact information, manually dialing the phone numbers, and sitting through ring tones, busy signals, and answering machines.
Some dialer providers require their customers to purchase and host the auto dialer software on their own computer system. Others may require special hardware to be bought and installed to use their auto dialer system. These practices can drive up the cost of acquiring an auto dialer, significantly.
An alternative to this is a company that provides a hosted dialer. These hosted dialers require no on site software hosting, instead all of the necessary software and databases are housed on the host company's servers and accessed through the Internet. An online hosted dialer also requires less specific telephony hardware as some other auto dialer providers. Hosted auto dialers only require a telephone, a phone line, and a computer with Internet access.
Auto dialers are able to be integrated with other telephony software. A CRM can be used to upload and save data on the leads and customers dialed. Email and fax messaging solutions can be used to send important messages to contacts right from the dialer interface while the sales rep is still on the phone with the contact. Inbound-outbound call blending allows sales representatives who are using an auto dialer to also receive incoming business calls.
In addition to online autodialers, there are several different forms of these telephone dialers, such as the power dialer that strategically dialers one lead per each available sales rep at a time. Regardless of the type of auto dialer, they are used for one purpose - make more calls and close more sales.
Hosted dialer

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Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Auto Dialer: A Virtual Call Agent

An auto dialer is an electronic device that can automatically dial telephone numbers to communicate between any two points in the telephone, mobile and Pager networks. Once the call has been established (through the telephone exchange) the auto dialer will announce verbal messages or transmit digital data (like sms messages) to the called party. A regular PC, desktop or laptop, can be turned into an auto dialer.
If a customer is attended by the telemarketer it will take long time. He may not be interested to hold for a long time to talk to the telemarketer. The development of auto dialer technology is a great gift for the entire telemarketing industry. Auto dialer enables business to broadcast phone messages without the use of call center agents. Auto dialer service will begin to dial out from a predefined list of phone numbers.
Auto Dialer application allows you to out dial to consecutive or random telephone numbers. There are several types of auto dialer:
· Smart Auto dialer: Smart Auto dialer is an auto dialer capable of personalizing messages and collecting touch tone or speech feed backs. A speech engine is usually included for converting text to speech and recognizing speech over the phone. To customize or personalize messages, a smart auto dialer system uses message template, which contains variables that can be replaced later by actual values.
· Preview Dialer: Preview dialer enables your phone agent to view the phone information before the call is being placed. Preview Dialer is an application that enables outbound "preview" or "progressive" dialing through the agent desktop. Preview Dialer gives agents the opportunity to review contact information to know whom they are calling and the purpose of the call before dialing the outbound call.
· Power dialer: The power dialer provides efficient, reliable, and scalable multi-line outbound dialing. It is used in situations when an application needs to be able to make large volumes of outbound calls. For example:
1. An application that monitors the status of a large network may need to call hundreds of technicians all over the country.
2. A large-scale voice mail delivery system that delivers messages directly to a large number of individuals.
Hosted dialer

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Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Call Center Auto Dialers

Inside sales is the process of collecting leads, making contacts, and closing sales from a remote location - typically over the telephone. This differs in several ways from outside sales, where sales professionals meet with their prospects face to face. Because it is different inside sales professionals need to utilize sales technologies in order to be the most effective, and compensate for the personal touch. An auto dialer is one such technology that is essential to productive inside sales call centers.
Call centers need to make as many quality calls in a day as they possibly can. A high number of outbound calls also allow call centers to contact individual leads numerous times, if necessary, in order to convert as many customers as possible. Many call centers use ratio auto dialers or predictive auto dialers because of the high level of calls that can be made each day with these solutions.
Ratio and predictive dialers both burn through a large number of leads very quickly because both types of dialers dial more leads than there are available sales agents to take those calls. This is done to account for the number of calls that are not answered or busy. These auto dialers also come with a percentage of dropped calls. For B2B call centers that have a more complex sales process and typically a higher profit on each call, dropped leads are not an option. In this case a power dialer is the only type of auto dialer that should be used.
Power Dialers call only one lead for each sales agent at a time. When a call starts to ring it is routed through to the agent. If the answering machine picks up the auto dialer can be instructed to leave a prerecorded message while the sales agent takes another call. Since these B2B sales are complex and could require a significant amount of time, the power dialer will not begin dialing other leads until the sales agent finishes his call. This solves the problem of burning through leads, dropped calls, and lag time.
Companies using a power dialer can expect to triple their daily call volume compared to manually dialing, but cannot dial the same volume of leads that a company using a ratio or predictive dialer can in a day, which for B2B companies is not necessary. What this kind of auto dialer may lack in shear call volume it more than makes up in its ability to provide each lead with a quality sales experience.
Hosted dialer

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Out of the Shadow of Poverty by Ruth Jenkins- Oliver and Lakeisha Oliver

Out of the Shadow of Poverty: Living the American Dream Through FaithOut of the Shadow of Poverty: Living the American Dream Through Faith by R. Jenkins-Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Title: Out of the Shadow of Poverty: Living the American Dream through Faith
Author: Ruth Jenkins-Oliver and Lakeisha Oliver
Publisher: Avid Readers Publishing Group
Release date (or anticipated release): 2/28/2012
ISBN: 978-1-61286-083-1
Specs: 230 paperback
Website (optional): http://hstrial-rjenkinsoliver.homeste...
Category: Memoir*

Review Summary:
Ruth Oliver with co-author, Lakeisha Oliver writes about Rudy, an African-American girl, living a poverty-stricken community in McIntosh County, Georgia during the 1950s. It also captures the historical Geechee and Gullah communities in South Georgia, from slavery times, where people believed in their roots and faith in God. Throughout all the hardships, living on a farm, and going through the motions, Rudy still keeps her faith and grew up in a loving family environment regardless of the challenges she had to face.

Dream Moment(s): I loved to see how family lived nearby on the several acres of land that was passed down a generation and always sharing their food. I would love to see families like this, not tit for tat, or only care about them and forget their families when one is in need. There was also a part in the story that discussed bullying and how Rudy and Addie later became friends because Rudy fought back. “Don’t ever close your hands too tight because if you do, nothing will come back to you” (page 105). I always heard a similar phrase, “Closed fists don’t get fed.”

Nightmare(s): There were a few minor grammatical and punctuation errors while reading the book but should not deter you from the actual story. The flow of the storyline was a little bothersome in the first chapter (Eulonia) because it was rather confusing at times when it jumps from scenes of the character’s life without a break to see the transition. Although there were two editors mentioned, a good developmental editor would have helped with the transitions and flow of the story itself and lastly a proofreader to catch these minor errors.

Dream 4 More: Since this story takes place in the 1950s and in the South, I was glad on some terms, the author gave clarification by defining the words and offered a glossary (but most of the Southern dialect, I was quite familiar with it). Ironically, I enjoyed learning about the natural herbs and remedies to cure or alleviate pain, rashes, and illnesses mentioned in the story. There were some moments of inspiration, historical memorable people, and tragic events during the 1960s.

Dream 4 More Reviews has received Out of the Shadow of Poverty by the author for a book review.

Dream 4 More Reviews,
What a Dream!
Adrienna Turner

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Saturday, August 31, 2013

...or you may just lose your head.

"You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long."

"A collective tyrant, spread over the length and breadth of the land, is no more acceptable than a single tyrant ensconced on his throne."

“Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom.”

"A throne is only a bench covered with velvet."

Thursday, August 29, 2013

On the Wrong Side of Hypocrisy: TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE DAY in TN

"For Marriage Equality" Inks on Bristol / 2013
Love is the only tradition the human race needs to worry about- or rather not worry about.  Love in all its forms has moved humanity forward millions and millions of years.  Without love, man would not strive to lift one another up as well as create and nourish new life.  Love is not limited to the human race but is the basis of the entire animal kingdom's will to survive.  Love is beyond definitions and above limitations.

Here in the United States and especially in my home state of Tennessee, authorities have time after time placed limitations on the legal definitions of relationships as well as the social benefits which go along with such unions.  This year, August 31st has been declared "Traditional Marriage Day" by Senate Joint Resolution 134.  Turning a biased eye from the supposed separation of Church and State set forth by our Founding Fathers, the second line of this bill authored by the Tennessee State Senate reads:

"WHEREAS, in Genesis 2:24, matrimony is delineated; it is expressed only between a man and a wife."

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

These dOOdles come with a twist...
Blue Ink Pen on Blue Scrap Paper / 2013

“And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world.”

Sunday, August 25, 2013

A #ZOMBIE is Entitled to Change his Mind!

Front and Back - The First Two PROOFS
My PROOF Copies of my ZOMBIE WALK OF FAME book arrived!!! They were misprinted!!! Wait, no "!!!" Womp womp woooooooooomp...  So seriously- I'm super-stoked about finally having a book of this entire collection of zombie illustrations in my hands.  Over 120 pages of glorious zombie gore and a three year process is the largest accomplishment in my art to date.  After mulling the proofs over, I decided to change the cover and re-order them with correct page count.  The printer did a beautiful job but screwed up the first and last page which are supposed to be white like the inside of the cover (which threw off the page layout for the entire book.) I screwed up by doing too much with my name and adding art to the letters which makes it damn-near impossible to read.  Corrections on both ends will have us ready for the next step. I'm about to begin an application process with KickStarter to get this bad boy crowd-funded and IN YOUR HANDS!

The Final Product will have an all-white layout at the front and back where I can sign them (and probably draw in them in certain cases!)

Dr Seuss Zombie and William Shatner Zombie!

Groucho Marx Zombie and Ed McMahon Zombie!

The FINAL Cover!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

My wife Aurora brought home some new water color pencils a couple of weeks back.  I played around creating a Topsy-Turvy style illustration in monochrome using just red.  Of course, I don't use watercolors very often but this was fun!  I outlined it with a purple marker this morning, check it out....

Water Color Pencil and Sharpie on Paper / 2013

Water Color Pencil and Sharpie on Paper / 2013

My TOPSY-TURVY Series is a process where I create works of art which can be hung EITHER SIDE UP to give a new perspective to the imagery. CLICK HERE to see MUCH MORE!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Tonight's moon is an "extra" Summer Moon- the third occurrence between the June Solstice and the September Equinox making it a rare seasonal Blue Moon even though it's not the second Full Moon of the month...

Pen and Hi Lighter on Scrap Paper

Pen and Hi Lighter on Scrap Paper

To GLEET or Not to GLEET

Gleeting Doodle (pen on scrap paper / 2013)
When I was in Grade School another lifetime ago, there was a certain skill set each and every young man vied to conquer.  This included many sects of marksmanship starting with the ability to launch a rubber band with razor precision from one hand.  Of course, using two hands with a rubber band is only acceptable in the case of the crossbow, where ammo is required in the form of folded paper, paperclips, etc.  Requiring a bit more mechanical engineering, the perfect paper plane and paper wad designs were openly and frequently debated.  Of course the basest and most primal of all aerial assaults involves one's saliva.  The oral arsenal consists of primarily two weapons: the loogie and the gleet.  The loogie would be the WMD of the two, having a large wad of phlegm at the center which explodes on impact.  The all so subtle gleet is the weapon of a more sophisticated assassin.  Gleeting incorporates the element of surprise as there is no throat clearing or cheek puffing required.  One simply masters the art of lifting their tongue and making a thin stream of fresh hot saliva arc forth.  Another method for those without full control of the tao of tongue is to push the spit through one's front teeth hydraulically launching a stream of attack.  As if the act were not vile enough in itself, the young soldier may find himself truly horrified at the origins of the word gleet.  The original use of this cute quip is to define the penile discharge from gonorrhea, which roots from Old French's glette which means "slime or secretion."  In fact, a true oral gleet would require combining the loogie with a gleet... a gloogie if you will!  Today's youth with the resources of the internet have modified the term in many circles to "gleek" which has many regional variations including glick, gland and geez.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Book Cover for the ZOMBIE WALK of FAME!

If you didn't hear me from 100 miles away exclaiming my glee yesterday, here's what the ruckus is all about...
Wraparound Cover for the ZOMBIE WALK of FAME Book

After three years in the making, I've ordered the first two PROOF copies of my ZOMBIE WALK of FAME book which includes 101 zombified portraits of stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame!  I hope you've had as much fun watching the creation as I've had evoking the decimation through my colors.  We still have a hill to climb though as I'm now in the infant stages of planning a KickStarter campaign to fund the printing of this epic 120 pages of FULL COLOR guts and gore.  As my friends, fans and supporters, you'll have the first crack at crowd-funding my project where you can donate to the cause.  How does it work?  Well, you'll get the specifics later but you will be able to donate money toward my printing project and in exchange, I'll be giving away signed copies of the book, zombie portraits and much much more!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Soft Serve dOOdle

Blue Ink Pen on Scrap Paper
The inception of soft serve ice cream was purely a mistaken one.  On Memorial Day weekend back in 1934, a Mr. Tom Carvel was stranded in his ice cream truck with a flat tire in New York.  In an effort to move his inventory before it completely melted, Tom sold his thawing dairy delights to vacationers passing along the road.  The softer the ice cream got, word spread and he sold out.  The surge of business served as an inspiration to the young entrepreneur who two years later opened a permanent ice cream stand on the very lot he had broken down on to find good fortunes.  Capitalizing on his experiences, he kept his ice cream at lower temperatures and soft serve was born!

This dOOdle's been in the sun too long but I'm not certain it will make him more marketable... click HERE for the ENTIRE dOOdle ARCHIVE!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was an immigrant to the United States during his long thrillride of a career which spanned more than half a century in the television and film industries.  Today is Hitch's birthday and to celebrate, here is my portrait which was composed for a solo exhibit back in 2009 entitled Cult of Personality.
"Man cannot live by Murder Alone" (inks on bristol / 2009)

Sunday, August 11, 2013

For our 4th Wedding Anniversary, Aurora and I took an overnight trip to Gatlinburg in East Tennessee to get away for a couple of days at the end of last week.  We fought the state-wide thunderstorms on our drive to the mountains to find ourselves graced by perfect weather during our stay.  The sky opened up over Gatlinburg as we got in some pool time, creek-side time and relaxed for the evening.  The next morning, we took a very scenic drive through The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The storms had left the air cooled with abundant towering clouds filling our ride.  The fresh mountain air gave us a new lease on love for the day as we climbed to the highest heights offered.  We managed to get too many gorgeous pictures to not share the art of Mother Nature with you!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Frizzle-Fried Green Tomatoes for TOMATO ART FEST

Frizzle-Fried Green Tomatoes / inks on bristol / 2013
This Saturday, August 10th will mark the 10th Anniversary of East Nashville's TOMATO ART FEST!  I've been honored to be invited back to exhibit my art time and time again at Art & Invention Gallery for their homage to this wonderful fruit.  The gallery hosts the Tomato Art Exhibit throughout the month of August featuring dozens of local and regional artists who submit their tomato-inspired masterpieces. The owner of Art & Invention, Meg MacFadyen is the chief architect of this annual festival which brings music, food, art and various vendors to the streets of 5 Points!  Drop by between 10AM-10PM Saturday for all the fun!  Contact Meg at the gallery if you are interested in purchasing my new illustration for this year's show, "Frizzle-Fried Green Tomatoes!"

Here are some process pictures of this new work...

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

WHAT did that #ZOMBIE SAY?! (PLUS a Zombie Walk of Fame UPDATE!)

Nom Nom Nom Nom! Here's a quick dose of miniature zombification I threw down via dOOdling the other day utilizing a piece of blank card stock....

Blue Ink Pen on Yellow Card Stock / 4in x 6in

Monday, August 5, 2013

Portrait of a Wire Sculpture? (A Unique Commission Indeed)

5in x 7in / inks on bristol / 2013
Our friend Alexis recently commissioned me to create a work of art for her friend Ryan Ralston as a gift for his birthday.  It turns out Ryan also hangs out on the right side of his brain and creates wire sculptures as well as writes.  Alexis passed along photos of some of his work and words for me to draw inspiration from.  I decided to have a bit of fun and illustrate one of his wire sculptures along with the head from one of his figures (only decorated with an eye so you know who made it!)  So's here's a unique commission based on wire sculptures which is most certainly one-of-a-kind!

Initial Sketch

Line Work

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Blue Pen on Scrap Paper / 2013
While on a phone call a couple of days ago, I threw some quick gestural lines down on a piece of scrap paper which looked oddly familiar to me.  Twenty minutes later, I had a dOOdle based on Edvard Munch's The Scream!  This imagery of the agonized face with hands clapped aside it was something the Norwegian artist himself revisited to create multiple works of art of during his career.  Munch created 4 versions of The Scream of Nature (Der Schei der Natur which has been shortened over the years to simply "The Scream.")


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Friday, July 3, 2015

Claire's 4th Birthday: An Outer space Adventure

I'm a week behind (of course!) but last weekend we were able to celebrate Claire's 4th birthday with an outer space party!
This was the first year that we did an all friends party, rather than just a family party with a few friends. With Claire being in preschool this year, and actually having more friends her age it seemed like the perfect year to transition that way. I think she actually liked it more because her birthday lasted almost a full week as she was opening presents randomly throughout the week when family members saw her ;)

Of course it was forecasted to be the hottest day of the summer so far (101 degrees) for the day of her party. Thankfully it stayed slightly overcast, so although it was muggy, it wasn't too terrible to be outside! We filled up the pool and let all the kids splash around.

She had such a great time, and was especially excited to see her friends from school since it had been about a month since they had all been together! She woke up the morning after the party and asked if all of her friends could come over for another birthday party again that day!

 Earth cookies and star shaped PB&J!

 Strawberry, marshmallow, and cantaloupe 'rocket ships'
 I filled the space themed goody bags with pop rocks, glow sticks, and outer space erasers!

Happy 4th birthday sweet Claire! I can't believe how fast these four years have flown by!

1 comment:

  1. You never cease to amaze me! I think you need to plan my next birthday party!


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Clarendon Scholarship

The Clarendon Fund offers around 140 full scholarships every year to academically excellent graduate students from all around the world. Clarendon Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and potential across all degree-bearing subjects at graduate level at the University of Oxford. The scholarships cover tuition and college fees as well as a generous grant for living expenses, and all graduate applicants who apply for study at the University by the January deadline, in their respective year of entry, will be automatically considered for this prestigious scholarship funding.

Last updated December 2016

Fields of Study:

  • Arts and Creative Fields
  • Business and Law
  • Education
  • Health
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
  • Social Sciences and Humanities

  • Oxford, UK

Program Type:

  • Study
  • Travel

  • US Citizen
  • US National or Permanent Resident
  • Citizen of another country

Program Length:

  • One year
  • Multi-year

  • January (exact date varies by course)

Degree Level:

  • Post UG
  • Graduate

  • at least £14,296 living stipend plus tuition and college fees


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Friday, October 26, 2012

Merchandise By The Dashboard Lights

From the WaPo:
Meat Loaf endorses Romney in Ohio
Posted by Philip Rucker on October 25, 2012 at 10:24 pm

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Meat Loaf bestowed a meandering endorsement upon Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney here Thursday night, making what the hard rock icon said was his first move on the political stage.

The singer, who rose to fame in the 1970s with his power ballads, performed a short concert at a high school football stadium in Defiance to rally some 12,000 supporters before Romney came on stage to give a speech.

Meat Loaf performed a few songs familiar to his most devoted fans; his most famous hit, “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” didn’t make the cut. And then, with dramatic flair and wearing a sparkly black ensemble, explained why he was getting behind Romney’s candidacy.

Wingnut Base: Will you love me forever?

Mittens: Let me sleep on it.

Wingnut Base: Will you love me forever!!!!

Mittens: Let me sleep on it!!

I think we all remember how this ends...

blackdaug said...

Wow. It is really amazing how, as I read the various celebs coming out for Mittens...the list coincides with either: "People I always hated to begin with"...or "People I didn't give a shit about".
Meatloaf, strangely enough, being a member of both of those groups simultaneously...
When I was but a wee daug, true rock aficionados would often vomit at the fat pop voice pretending to be an actual "rock star".
Pop was to light to vampires. We longed to beat "Loaf" senseless with Clapton or Page's guitar.
"Hard Rock Icon?.."
...I guess..if you were a teenage girl...and had know idea what "hard rock" entailed..

Alatea said...

Mitt has Meatloaf and Obama has Bruce. I think that says it all.

Anonymous said...

Seriously? Hard rock icon?

Jethro Tull is hard rock. Meat Loaf left his dick out in the rain.

Maybe if Willard sneaks into the WH poor Meat Loaf will get gigs at better county fairs.

n1ck said...

I've never liked Meatloaf's music. It's fucking god awful.

He and Rmoney deserve each other.

jurassicpork said...

Where are the bayonets? We need bayonets, damn you!!!

David said...

Where are the bayonets? We need bayonets


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Monday, September 17, 2012

Summer is coming to a close....

 So we had to pack as much as possible into one day... first the girls and I met the other Boatcallies at the splashpad for some good ole' cousin fun!

 It is crazy how much bigger they are than this time last year!! Jacob is too big to come (in his mind :0) and Brayden was still napping. But, the middle five had a great time!!

 Then after naps for everyone, we headed to the Children's Museum to meet up with the Carr girls!

 Now I head back to work fulltime tomorrow... yuck! It's been a fun summer... but August snuck up on us and school is about to back in full swing! BLAH!! It sure is always a great treat to spend the summer home with my babies!!!

This time all the cousins were there but I somehow didn't get a picture!!!

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The Doc Fix Debacle (again)

Haven't we seen this movie before? It's late December (on the Congressional calendar) and physicians across this country are again focused on Washington, DC seeing how the "Doc Fix" chess game will play out. "Doc Fix" is the main stream media's buzz phrase for the Medicare SGR band-aid Kabuki theater that happens every other year in the halls of Congress.

Last night, Tuesday, December 13, 2011, the US House of Representatives, by a 234-193 margin, passed legislation including the "Doc Fix," extend the payroll tax cut, and speed the process for governement approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, (and prevent a federal government shutdown).

Now, the predictable political drama continues as the clock ticks down. The Senate and the President vow to reject this House bill. Meanwhile, millions of Americans, including physicians, are hanging on every word that comes out of Washington, because whatever happens, people's lives will be changed.

Without action from Congress, Medicare physician payment sees a 27.4 percent pay cut on January 1st. Now, some of you may not care, because you see physicians as "the 1%." But this Medicare payment is what is also used to compensate people that work in physician offices like nurses, secretaries, lab personnel, etc.

What will happen? C'mon, everyone knows what will happen here. Mark my words: The Senate will pass their version of the bill, and then Congressional leaders go into the back room called "Conference Committee" where things will be hashed out, and no one's fingerprints will be seen anywhere. Congressional accountability? That's an oxymoron.

My prediction (I know you'll tell me when I'm wrong. But what's your prediction? How will this play out?): The Republican debate is Thursday night. I think the Senate will pass an amemded bill on Friday or Saturday. The Sunday news show pundits will guess what will happen in Conference Committee. At the beginning of next week, the public's attention will shift to the upcoming holidays and they will care even less about politics.

Conference Committee will really get to business on Monday. And, the President will sign it into law - with the band aid Doc Fix and without the controversial stuff - on Wednesday next week, just in time to get on a plane to join his family in Hawaii for a 2 week Christmas vacation. And then in 2 years, the "Doc Fix" Drama Sequel will happen all over again - exactly the same way - Isn't groundhog day in February?


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Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

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Genuine Samsung Galaxy S3 Slim Case & Crystal Case Review

It’s been a while since I reviewed a Samsung Galaxy SIII cover, the last one being the very beautiful Crumena pouch by the Korean SGP firm. Whilst that case got a very favourable review from me, it’s not really the type of case I would normally use of

Samsung Galaxy SIII Official Extra Battery Kit Review

As you’re reading this I can safely assume you own, or intend to own an android device. Android, like all smartphone OS’s aren’t the easiest on the phone's battery. Those who actually use the features of their device fully generally won’t see more than a day

Video Shootout: SGSIII vs One X vs One S vs Galaxy Note

As we explained in our camera shootout post, mobile phones are fast overtaking the need for a separate digital camera. This is true for photos, and with the latest smartphones recording at 1080p quality, its fast becoming true for videos too. Below we've uploaded a 30 second clip recorded at

Camera Shootout: SGSIII vs One X vs One S vs Galaxy Note

I've mentioned this before, the end is nigh for the digital compact camera! The top end smartphones have been progressing well camera wise the past couple of years, and we're almost at a point where they render the digital compact rather useless. If you go out you take your phone,

Is This The Samsung Galaxy SIII

By now you should all have heard about the unveiling of "a new Galaxy" in London on the 3rd May (which I'll be happily attending btw!). Samsung have been incredibly secretive about their new device, although there have been lots of rumours and "leaks", we're yet to hear anything official.


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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bridgman studies 1

This is my new sketchbook shown on top of the book I used for (very loose) reference. Bridgman's figures are all very dynamic and lively, while not going crazy with realistic proportion and detail everywhere. It's refreshing to be inspired by his lines from time to time.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Liz B

I actually cheated a tiny bit on this one. Corrected one eye in photoshop after digitizing it.
This is the last sketch in my current book, off to start a new one tomorrow - yay.

Reference: ebanks_GL_19dec08_pa_bt.jpg

Friday, May 29, 2009

Face again

Same routine as yesterday. Got some glare on the picture. Was about to go terrible early on, but I salvaged most of it (still some smudge left around her mouth and jaw that won't erase). Couldn't get her gaze properly fixed on the observer - tricky part, especially when drawing on this scale. Still looks ok that she's glancing off to one side though... I think mine ended up looking more "western" and "traditional" than the reference.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Face on neck

She's a little bit crooked. Expression is completely off, but I didn't even try getting a likeness. I just used the photo as a loose crutch to make some kind of "typical female face".
There are a million things I could adjust in Photoshop, but I won't... I'll just make a few mental notes for next time - vertical eye symmetry, longer nose / less upper lip, jaw symmetry (watch angles). Whoops, mental notes slipped into text. Her head is actually rotated to picture left, which can be seen by looking at the neck. So the picture right side of her jaw/cheek should be wider than her left, not the other way around. An uninitiated observer immediately notices this (though possibly on a subconscious level), but it's very hard to see and fix while drawing. Honestly though, I didn't even think of the neck hint when I drew it. Could be useful in future attempts.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cheshire girl?

Very quick, from reference. Actually I tend to like this approach better than the "opposite" where I start blocking in facial outlines first... it's so hard to enclose something that's not there yet. Building a face from the "inside" is easier. Eyes turned out crazy large, now that I look at it again. Or rather, the nose/mouth parts ended up smaller than intended. I started with the eyes.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Random figures

Very nearly forgot to sketch something before heading to bed. Ended up doing some boring figure scribbles inspired by the last few days of pose reference. I wasn't very "into it" though, very tired. Will have a more serious go later. I like the kind of male back view seen on the right - there's something satisfying in blocking out the whole back ribcage/scapula region with just a few lines.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Posemaniacs 4

Let's keep doing this for a while... No effort or imagination required. 30 sec/pose, once again with my modified randomizer app, which I've concluded only works on my computer for some reason. I might port it to javascript or something for better compatibility.
I can feel myself getting a bit looser and more comfortable with these quick figures, which is great. They should probably be coupled with some more careful study though, as I find myself wondering about some specifics now and again, only to have the reference image disappear before I can really figure it out.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Posemaniacs 3

More, 45 seconds this time. I got a bit fed up with the weird poses that would sometimes show up on the official randomizer, so I wrote my own that only selects from a few hundred "normal" poses and angles.
You can try it here (but do as the instructions say and download the swf).

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Posemaniacs 2

Some more of this.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Posemaniacs 1

30 seconds per figure. Really neat way of sketching. Try it @

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Male rear ... head

Simple little thing. No reference, sort of winging it. Worked out rather well I think. I don't think I've really studied ears from this angle, took a few tries to get something plausible.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

He-Man recollection

Re-did the He-Man pic from a few weeks back, without reference. Comparing the two was interesting - most obviously I completely forgot about the shoes, but the overall pose and body shape is also much less dynamic and interesting... sort of falling back towards a stereotypical "anatomical" front view and smoothed-out shapes. Not very surprising, but clearly illustrated by this.
I think I'm going to try this kind of thing some more, since it wasn't particularly daunting to just go ahead and repeat stuff I had moderately clear in my memory - I didn't have to try anything "new".
I'll have to focus more on trying to "jazz up" my pose and shapes though, to avoid boring averageness. Refreshing a bit on anatomy for inspiration wouldn't hurt either. It's much easier to go wild with design and shape when you feel the confidence of knowing where everything should go (through reference or experience/knowledge).

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Susan P

Kind of ok. Not awesome likeness but she looks cute enough. Like many others, this one started off very bad and I wasn't sure if it was worth continuing with it (actually I should have taken a snapshot at this stage). I kept tweaking and adjusting though, and eventually it sorted itself out somewhat. Not the ideal way of working, surely.
I find some comfort in the fact that I can "salvage" an early sketch even if it's looking rather bleak. It should mean that I don't have to accept poor results as long as I stay patient and don't ruin the thing by making lines too heavy to erase early on.

Monday, May 18, 2009

I thought I was going to have more time for sketching today than I ended up having... so it's a late-night weak effort once again. The expression on this guy's face ended up even more insane than the original, I think.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Face again

Similar story as yesterday's. This time I left the "warmup" until right before bed though...
Had more confidence with this one, didn't need to do any major corrections. Jaw is a bit arbitrary, I think I improvised a bit there instead of following my reference by the numbers. I like her fluffy hair.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Elizabeth Taylor

This was actually just meant as a warm-up done earlier today before embarking on some more elaborate sketching and studies, but I ended up spending more time than anticipated on this and then I sort of didn't draw any more all day ;)

The image actually started out rather terrible, with eyes way too big among other things. I hadn't done a referenced female portrait for weeks, so there was definitely some rustiness going on. Managed to salvage the whole thing rather well imho, and I experienced a relatively rare sense of... "sensing" the face/shapes/image in general after working for maybe 20 minutes. I think it's partly from spending all that time and attention on the same thing, but also from actually trying to work in shades more than I usually do.
Trying to shade surfaces is obviously more intimate than just drawing outlines. That, and the time aspect, made me kind of "zoom in" gradually - at first the nose was just a vague scribble, but towards the end I was very aware of all the angles and shapes going on there, working very carefully to refine some parts of the nostrils.

Likeness and accuracy towards the reference isn't great. Mainly her real face is sort of longer. I started refinement and detail work without really REALLY leaning back and going over the whole thing multiple times to iron out all the proportions. At first I was actually just going to do a quick study of the eyes and brows.

Reference here:

Friday, May 15, 2009

Look closely. This is what tends to happen when I really really don't know what to draw. The woman doesn't actually count since I drew her yesterday... The swirly blobby shapes constitute "raw flow" of hand sans head. Perhaps some day I'll be able to make something useful out of them.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Blob says Bleck

Blecki got this idea for a sketch event - we'd each draw a random blob, then hand it over to the other person for him to draw something within that contour. After a few seconds of blank stare I saw this and then I couldn't get it out of my head even if I tried.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Lineless take 2

It's a cat looking at a flower. No lines used for anything, just drawing the shade directly. Also no reference. I like it.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Blecki suggested that I do some value sketching without lines. This was doubtlessly not what he had in mind, but I left it for too late and had to rush something out before bed... Reincheck on that one.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Somewhat simplified anatomy

I was going to do a quick proposal for a simplified anatomical figure/framework, shaving off needless details and isolating characteristic keypoints. Main inspiration was my memory of what Loomis used for figure frames (which kind of looked like awesome Doom monsters). I more or less failed with this one though, ending up with a rather traditional layout which is a lot more fleshed-out than I had intended, and less suited for quick pose sketches. I'll try again tomorrow, perhaps digging out some Loomis stuff for closer study.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Trying to remind myself of the curviness and flow of human limbs. It's all too easy to just fall into the habit of doing random blobs or tubes vaguely based on some anatomical masses, without paying attention to overall coherence and "elegance". It's a lot easier to pull a focused and dynamic-looking pose if you have some natural curves to work with.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Racer style. Rear view. Do you see it? Late night drowsy scribble. I had no idea what it would be until I had already drawn half.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Constructing some heads

The topic of methodical head construction came up earlier today. Figured I might as well do some of that. I can't say it went very well... Started with some basic layouts for side and front view, then a reasonably successful 3D attempt (upper right). The next one after that (below) was really weird though - it started out pretty nice as a seen-from-below view, but the more I worked on it the more I gradually changed it into a level view... No doubt because that's what I'm used to drawing, and my eyes kept telling me that various details should approach that template to look good. I think I need to simplify this a lot more, and draw a very crude sphere+cylinder with a few lines on it before I start considering it as being a head. Weird perspective issues are best handled with an abstract model, while making it look like a natural face is something better left for later when all the keypoints have been established beyond doubt... Tricky.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Quick and dirty again, but with some reference to help me along. It's the title pose and pretty much the only image of him that's easily found everywhere. I intended to spend more time trying out different poses and angles to work on the anatomy, but as usual I left things until way too late when I was dead tired, so there's only this one for now. Legs are kind of disproportionately large, but I like how it looks. This guy isn't meant to carry any kind of earthly physique.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Random figures

Not particularly inspired today. Starting to feel that I should practise constructing human bodies in 3D. One idea I had was to learn some specific superhero costume/figure and draw that one from memory in various angles. I sort of scribbled something resembling He-Man there, but needs more effort and reference to be useful. The main thing I often have trouble with is connecting upper torso and pelvis/legs. The stomach and lower spine are very flexible gizmos.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Grumpy face

Sketched a lot of stuff today, but not much worth showing. I'll choose this one as it's kind of fun and not my usual kind of thing.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Female profile, again

No reference. Getting closer to what I want. Mouth area is still a bit too rough and large, not particularly feminine. Reasonably good considering the long pause since my previous attempt though (more than a week).

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Not from around here

Visited an H. R. Giger exhibition. Saw the original creature stunt suit and prosthetic/close-up head from the Alien set. They were severely dried up and cracked from old age but it was all very cool stuff. This sketch is a loose "inspired by" thing using no particular reference other than a random pic of the mouth area for basic shapes.


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Healthy Fruits – Healthy Vegetables:Brooke Douglas RD Tells All

Brooke Douglas RD is back with her first of the month post, this time telling us about healthy fruits and healthy vegetables.  Don’t miss a word.

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fruits and Vegetables

Research shows that people who eat even 2½ cups of fruits and vegetables a day have only half the cancer risk of those who eat less than one cup a day.  Hundreds of studies show that increased fruit and vegetable consumption may also help prevent heart disease, stroke, hypertension, birth defects, cataracts, diabetes, obesity and other serious conditions.

Healthy Fruits and vegetables are nutritional powerhouses which:

  • Are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals and contain disease fighting fiber
  • Contain antioxidants and phytochemicals
  • Are virtually fat-free (exceptions: coconut, olives & avocado) and cholesterol-free
  • Are helpful in weight management, due to their high-fiber, high-water, and low-fat content

Vitamins and minerals: Are essential in maintaining the health of the brain, heart, bones, teeth and nerves; making/repairing red blood cells; regulating body’s balance of fluids; and in other vital functions.

Many healthy fruits and vegetables are particularly good sources of vitamins A, C, E and K, some B vitamins, and many important minerals needed for healthy bodies.  Beta-carotene and related compounds called carotenoids are converted by the body to Vitamin A. Carotenoids are found in high concentrations in carrots and other orange and yellow vegetables and fruits such as winter squash and cantaloupes.  Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and other members of the cabbage family, also contain high concentrations of carotenoids.

Dark green vegetables are also excellent sources of folic acid (a B vitamin needed during pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural defects in the fetus), Vitamins E and K, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, and potassium.  Many fruits are also a good source of minerals, such as chromium (grapes), iron (cherries), manganese (pineapple), and potassium (apricots, bananas, orange juice, peaches and prunes).

Citrus fruits are good sources of Vitamin C, as is the family of plants that includes tomatoes, red and green peppers, potatoes, and eggplant.  Other good sources of Vitamin C include papayas, strawberries, kiwis, cantaloupe, and the cabbage family, including broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

While there is overlap in the vitamins/minerals supplied by fruits and vegetables, you need a wide variety of colorful healthy fruits and vegetables to fully benefit from the various nutrients they contain.

Antioxidants: Disease-fighting compounds found in many foods, especially healthy fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals (compounds that damage cells and lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts, premature aging, and impaired immunity.)  Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, and E; beta carotene, minerals (selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese) and some of the phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals: From plants, “plant chemicals” are recognized as powerful disease-fighting compounds. Fruits and vegetables contain thousands of different phytochemical compounds. Categorized as carotenoids, flavenoids (compounds that give flavor/colors to fruit/veg), and other compounds, such as allicin, indoles, lycopenes, lutein, and phenols.  Scientists studying phytochemicals are finding an impressive range of health benefits.

Color & Examples Phytochemical Examples Potential Benefits
Red: apples, cherries, strawberries, watermelon, beets, red peppers, radicchio, tomatoes Lycopene, anthocyanins Maintain memory function, heart health urinary tract health; reduce blood pressure, fight infections, and reduce risk of some cancers
Orange/yellow: apricots, mangos, oranges, peaches, pineapple, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, winter squash Carotenoids, bioflavonoids Maintain health of heart, eyes, and immune system, slow aging, and reduce risk of some cancers
Green: leafy greens, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, peas, spinach, honeydew, kiwi, avocados Lutein, indoles, carotenoids Improve vision, strengthen bones and teeth, and reduce risk of some cancers
Blue/purple: blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, plums, eggplant, purple cabbage Anthocyanins, phenolics, resveratrol Facilitate healthier aging, enhance memory function, urinary tract health and cardiovascular health and reduce risk of some cancers
White/tan/brown: onions, garlic, cauliflower, turnips, mushrooms, potatoes, bananas, pears, dates Allicin, quercetin, sulphoraphane Improve heart health, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and reduce risk of some cancers

Not all foods listed above, even within the same group, have the same health benefits.  Foods with the same phytochemicals may contain different concentrations of the phytochemicals, and the compounds may be absorbed differently.  Even different varieties of foods within the same category (such as different varieties of apples or lettuce) may contain widely varying concentrations and kinds of phytochemicals.  However, those darker in color usually contain higher concentrations.  So think “more color and more variety” in making your selections!

What is considered one serving of fruit?

  • • 1 medium whole fruit (apple, banana)              • ½ cup of fresh, frozen or canned fruit
  • • 6 oz. (¾ cup) 100% fruit juice                             • ¼ cup of dried fruit

What is considered one serving of vegetables?

  • • 1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables                 • ½ cup cut up fresh, frozen or canned vegetables
  • • 6 oz. (¾ cup) 100% vegetable juice         • ½ cup cooked beans, peas, or lentils

How Can I Get More…Healthy Fruits and Vegetables in My Diet?

At home:

  • • Top your hot or cold cereal with fresh fruit.
  • • Enjoy a glass of 100% real fruit or vegetable juice with breakfast.
  • • Make smoothies with fresh or frozen fruits and juices for a great breakfast or lunch choice.
  • • Choose hundred percent fruit and vegetable juices as delicious alternatives to soft drinks.
  • • At dinner, include salad/raw veggies; use low-fat or non-fat dressing to reduce fat and calories.
  • • Steamed vegetables are always a good side dish.
  • • Add vegetables to your favorite entrees, like tacos, lasagna, casseroles, and pasta dishes.
  • • Add pureed vegetables to sauces to fortify them.
  • • Try more vegetarian meals, like tofu, rice or pasta with vegetables, and Asian stir-fry dishes.
  • • For dessert, bake sweet potatoes, apples, peaches, pears, or bananas, or make fruit cobblers.
  • • Discover some of the many cookbooks that specialize in fruits and vegetable recipes.
  • • For a snack or when you’re on the go:
  • • Choose fruits and vegetables that can be eaten out of hand, like apple wedges, baby carrots, broccoli spears, or cherry tomatoes, grapes, bananas, and seasonal items like peaches and plums.
  • • In place of candy, choose dried fruit (easily packs in a bag/take on the road or eat at office.

When dining out:

  • • Order a dinner salad to begin your meal.
  • • Request an extra serving of vegetables as a side dish.
  • • Order meals that include vegetables or fruits as a major component. To keep fat and calories in check, request vegetables steamed without the addition of butter, oil or cream sauce.
  • • Ask for extra lettuce and tomato (or other vegetables) on sandwiches and burgers.
  • • Choose healthful desserts; fresh fruit, sherbet, sorbet, or angel food cake topped with fruit.
  • • Choose dishes on the nutrition charts of Healthy Dining Finder that have more servings of fruits/vegetables.
You can read more by Brooke on this health blog just look under the nutrition category.  I especially like her post on intuitive eating and eat five a day. Also check out her site at Nutrition Authority.

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2/28/08 - Life Journal - Simple Man

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12

Paul knew his knowledge was limited to his earthly mind. He didn't have all the answers, but eventually, when he met Jesus face to face he would be perfected and everything will be known.

I know nothing. Really. Compared to the vastness of God's wonder I know nothing. I can make a quasi-educated guess based on my study with help from above but it's just a fraction of what I'll know then. I think this was tacked on to the "Love Chapter" to emphasize how we need to go about our mission. I need to be humbled enough in the understanding of my limited knowledge to let love take the lead. Bashing people over the head with doctrine and man-made rules that I don't even fully comprehend when they are just infants in Him will severely retard their growth. There will be a time for all of that but first I must let them know the love of the Father and Son.

Father, of everything I've thought I've figured out and put into words how much of it is correct? I'm just a simple man with a fraction of Your wisdom. I pray that I'd never lead anyone astray or give false impressions. All I'm doing, out of love for my brother and for You, is the best I can.

1 comment:

FishHawk said...

Very well said and sincerely meant.


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digital surveillance

CS Table 2/7: Privacy and security

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has put together a detailed guide of a number of recommended practices used to maintain privacy and security at, which we will rely on for this week's discussion. Please complete the following readings before Tuesday:

  1. An Introduction to Threat Modeling. EFF Surveillance Self-Defense Guide.
  2. Seven Steps to Digital Security. EFF Surveillance Self-Defense Guide.
  3. At least one other overview, topic, or briefing from the SSD guide.

If you have specific practices that you use and would be willing to share, please come prepared to demonstrate or describe them. When you choose additional readings, you are encouraged to look for guides that you think are relevant to your own use of technology.

Computer science table (CS Table) is a weekly meeting of Grinnell College community members (students, faculty, staff, etc.) interested in discussing topics related to computing and computer science. CS Table meets Tuesdays from 12:00-1:00pm in JRC 224B. Contact the CS faculty for the weekly reading. Students on meal plans, faculty, and staff are expected to cover the cost of their meals. Visitors to the College and students not on meal plans can charge their meals to the department.

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Now showing items 1-1 of 1

    • The impact of career progression on employee retention

      Phinithi, Isaac Kgaohelo (North-West University, 2008)
      Employee retention, especially of the best, most desirable employees is a key challenge at Sasol Nitro. Employers are trying to find ways to motivate employees to stay with their organisations for a longer period, but the ...


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Immaculate Lake Front Home - 70 Round Pond LN , Charlotte
$199,000 DE #: Print Brochure* Email Listing
BR: 2 BA: 1.00 MLS#: 1286666
Listing Agent: Melissa Small
*For your convenience, the QR code linking to the web page for each Due East listing is displayed on the property brochure.

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Beauty inside and out. Private immaculate year round home on the lake. Great kitchen with granite countertops w/open kitchen dining area along with spacious bedrooms. Offering over 200 feet of waterfront custom built outdoor fire place perfect for gatherings overlooking the water. Large detached garage excellent for a boat or tractor with plenty of storage, with additional attached 2+ car garage fully headed with wood stove and furnace. Large front deck to enjoy the glorious sunsets.. A MUST SEE!!!

Property Features

  • Granite countertops
  • Large area for gardening
  • Large deck
  • Listen to the loons
  • Canoe and kayak from your ...
  • 200' of waterfront on Round Pond
  • Large detached garage, Attached 2 car garage
  • Custom built outdoor fire place, great for entertaining

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Some of the many upcoming festivities in our area.

A Cranberry Christmas

ROCHESTER – The Women’s Guild of the First Congregational Church will hold its annual Christmas fair, A Cranberry Christmas, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Many handmade items, abundant food table, silent auction, children’s corner and a delicious luncheon will be served. The church is located on Constitution Way, Rochester.

Silver Lake Chapel craft fair

PLYMPTON – Silver Lake Chapel, 33 Lake St. Plympton will host a Craft Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Along with local crafters will be a bake table, raffles, and a snack bar. Silver Lake Chapel is a non-denominational church that is over 100 years old and serves the area communities. Call Cindy Lynch at 781-585-8702 for more information or to reserve a table to sell your craft items.

Craft fair

DUXBURY – The Corner Stone Lodge in Duxbury will hold a craft fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Masonic Lodge, at 585 Washington St. This event is free and open to the public. Pick up a special Christmas gift or unique object. Vendors are welcome at $25 per table. Home crafted items only; no commercial or franchise items. Call 781-834-3441 for information.

America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration

PLYMOUTH – America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration takes place in Plymouth Nov. 16-18. Features include a free patriotic concert at Memorial Hall (7 p.m. Nov. 16), the annual parade (10:30 a.m. Nov. 17), New England Food Festival, Crafters Pavilion, Makepeace Farms Harvest Market and more. See or call 508-746-1818 for details.

MAC holiday shop opening

MARION – The Marion Art Center, 80 Pleasant St. will start the holidays with a gala opening of its annual Holiday Shop from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. Both galleries will feature one of a kind and limited edition gifts in ceramics, fiber, photographs, wood, jewelry, paintings, glass, scrimshaw, collage, toys, painted furniture and more. Truman Terrell will entertain on piano while shoppers enjoy food and wine at the opening. Over 30 artisans will be selling their fine arts and crafts through Dec. 20.

Holiday Shop Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free.

Silver Bells Fair

KINGSTON – The Annual Silver Bells Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at the First Parish Church, Beal House, 222 Main St., Kingston. There will be something for everyone... attic treasures, pies, fudge, baked goods, plants, wreaths, Christmas ornaments and decorations, floral arrangements and the popular cookie room. A raffle table will feature a number of holiday baskets and gifts for you to take a chance on. After you shop, visit our snack bar, have a warm bowl of chowder, a homemade sandwich, or one a fabulous dessert while you rest your feet. Admission is free.

Craft vendor fair and recycling

ROCHESTER – Old Colony third annual Craft/Vendor Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at 476 North Ave., Rochester. Proceeds to benefit the Class of 2013. Get your Christmas shopping started early, or shop for yourself.

Over 30 crafters and vendors: Artwork, Avon, baked goods, candles (Soy), country décor, gift baskets, holiday décor, jewelry, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, pet items, quilted items, sewn items, Silpada, tarot card readings, Tastefully Simple, Thirty-One, wood carvings, crafts, food, raffles and more.

Old Colony Fair hosts CRT Recycling Inc. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Electronics and appliances can be discarded for a minimal fee, plus a $5 donation. Proceeds benefit Class of 2014 and SkillsUSA. TVs under 27 inches - $15, TVs over 27 inches - $25, console or wood TVs - $25, projection TVs - $30.

A complete list includes electronics: plastic TVs, wood TVs, laptops, computer monitors, computers, CPU boxes, all computer parts and accessories, keyboards, mice, cell phones, speakers, video games and systems, camera/video/audio equipment, fax/copy machines, printers, wires, plugs, drives, cards, servers.

Household appliances: All white goods including refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, stoves, dishwashers, washers and dryers. Smaller household appliances including toasters, irons, hair dryers, and microwaves. Metal items (less than 8 feet long), metal poles, metal desks, barbeque grills (no propane tanks).

Harvest and Holly Fair

WAREHAM – The First Congregational Church of Wareham will be holding its annual Harvest and Holly Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, in the Rowland Thacher Fellowship Hall located on the corner of Main Street and Gibbs Avenue. The hall is handicap accessible and there is plenty of parking.

The festive tables will include attic treasures, book and candy tables, decorations, bake sale, gifts, jewelry and raffle tables, kitchen corner, soup-n-stuff, balsam fir wreaths, and many new vendors.

Take your camera for photos with Santa – Get that perfect shot for your Christmas cards.

Complimentary cider will be served, as well as the luncheon of lobster rolls, clam chowder, meatball subs, hot dogs and dessert. The “Next to New” Thrift Shop, located downstairs, will also be open.

For further information and directions, call the Church office at 508-295-1630.

Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair

BUZZARDS BAY – St. Margaret Regional School on Main Street in Buzzards Bay invites you to join them for the 7th annual Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair. The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. Attractions include handcrafted jewelry, stocking stuffers, blankets, ornaments, fresh Maine wreaths, baked goods, concessions, the children’s choir singing carols, and lots and lots of raffle items. Event is free to the public with plenty of parking.

Craft Showcase

DUXBURY – If you love holiday shopping for one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts and also meeting the artisans behind the art, call friends and plan a trip to the 40th annual Duxbury Art Association Craft Showcase. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 18, at Duxbury High School, 130 Saint George St., Duxbury. This event celebrates more than 75 of New England’s most gifted artisans, and includes a gourmet food court. Whether your gift list includes a $10 handmade soap or $100 sterling silver necklace, you will be amazed at the array of quality crafts for sale at this annual DAA event. General admission is $5, children under 12 are admitted free. See for details.

Craft and vendor fair

BUZZARDS BAY – St. Margaret Regional School, 143 Main St. in Buzzards Bay, invites everyone to its seventh annual Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. Attractions include handcrafted jewelry, stocking stuffers, blankets, ornaments, fresh Maine wreaths, baked goods, concessions, the children’s choir singing carols and lots and lots of raffle items. The event is free to the public with plenty of parking.

Drum and Bugle concert

PLYMOUTH – Tickets are now on sale for the Nov. 17 Senior Drum and Bugle Reunion Concert which will be held from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall, at 83 Court St., Plymouth. Tickets may be purchased by calling America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays) at 508-746-1818, or at the office of America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration, at 10 Cordage Park Suite 230. Visit for details.

Holiday boutique

PLYMOUTH – A holiday boutique will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, 11 North St., Plymouth. Shop for unique, one-of-a-kind gifts. Artisans participating will be offering paintings, prints, cards, ornaments, photography, fine jewelry, quilting, pottery, walking sticks and many more fine crafts. There will be half-hour oil painting portraits for $100 by artist Dianne Panerelli Miller. Call 508-746-7222 to reserve your spot for a portrait. This event benefits The Plymouth Center for the Arts, an all-volunteer organization. Call Maria Sellman if you have any questions, at 508-830-3630, or email, or call the Plymouth Center for the Arts at 508-746-7222 or visit

Thanksgiving open house

PLYMOUTH – There will be an open house from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 22, at Church of the Pilgrimage, 8 Town Square, Plymouth. All are welcome to stop by. Light refreshments will be served. See or call 508-746-3026 for more information.

Thanksgiving dinner in Halifax

HALIFAX – The Country Club of Halifax will host a free Thanksgiving dinner at noon Thursday, Nov. 22, at 100 Country Club Drive, Halifax. This free dinner has been offered for the past 22 Thanksgivings, for seniors, people living alone, families that cannot financially provide a holiday meal and various other groups and organizations. The only requirements to attend are to call the club at 781-293-9061 to make your reservation and to take a canned good donation for the local food pantries.

Community Thanksgiving dinner

MIDDLEBOROUGH – All Are Welcome community kitchen will serve a full Thanksgiving dinner at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 22, at 60 Union St., Middleborough, inside the Church of Our Saviour parish hall. Everyone is invited to share a family style dinner with appetizers, fruit cup, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, all your favorite fixings and dessert. There is no charge for the meal but donations are always appreciated. A $15 donation is suggested, for those who are able. Reservations are strongly encouraged by calling 508-443-0243. Volunteers are needed. Visit for more information.

Manomet tree lighting

MANOMET – The St. Bonaventure Knights of Columbus, Cub Scout Pack 51 and the Simes House Foundation will host the annual Manomet Christmas tree lighting and visit from Santa Claus, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23. The event will be held at the Simes House, 29 Manomet Point Road, across the street from Manomet Plaza. The event is free of charge. The Knights and Cub Scouts will serve hot chocolate, sing Christmas carols and raise money for God’s special children.

Holiday arts and crafts fair

PLYMOUTH – The “Holiday Arts” fine arts and crafts fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Overlook Clubhouse in The Pinehills. Great Island Artisan’s Guild is sponsoring the event, and you’ll see folks from all around The Pinehills exhibiting, as well as a number of guest artisans from Plymouth and beyond. Here you will be able to examine arts and crafts of all sorts – original watercolor, pastel and oil paintings, prints and greeting cards, photography, woodworking, personal items such as jewelry and handbags, unique floral arrangements and more. Many new crafters who have never exhibited before will be at this show. Two $25 gift certificates will be given away every hour. Food and beverages will be available for purchase provided by Danish Dogs Food Service.

Holiday craft fair

DUXBURY – The Duxbury Senior Center’s annual Holiday Craft Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25, at 10 Mayflower St., during the Duxbury Business Association Holly Days festivities. More than 25 exhibitors will be displaying their unique, handcrafted items of reverse glass painting, pottery, jewelry, photography, watercolor prints, hand-painted items, hand knits, button dolls, miniatures, greeting cards, calendars, pressed flowers, aromatherapy, soaps, soy candles, edibles and so much more. There will also be a bake sale of many delectable goodies. The Boy Scouts will be selling fresh wreaths to adorn your doors and windows. There is plenty of parking at the Senior Center and it will also be a stop on the trolley route around Duxbury during Holly Days.

Edaville Polar Express

CARVER – Polar Express tickets at Edaville USA are on presale right now. This winter, the Polar Express comes to life at Edaville, where pajama-clad guests take a magical ride to the North Pole. Santa will greet each child with a Christmas gift as they board the train. Then it’s time for hot chocolate and cookies as the Polar Express rides across 1,800 acres of winter wonderland. For $30 per ticket, children get to enjoy a 40-minute steam train ride, all 12 of the park’s amusements rides and the beauty of over 7 million holiday lights.

After you have experienced the magic of the North Pole, check out the new additions to the park. This year, Edaville will feature a marshmallow-roasting station for s’mores and a brand new Christmas Village. The Christmas Village is filled with holiday shops, Santa’s new home and beautiful animations.

Purchase your golden ticket for the Polar Express before they sell out by going to or calling 508-866-8190. The Polar Express will be at Edaville from 4 to 9 p.m. Nov. 26-28, Dec. 3-5, 10-11 and Jan. 2-3. Adults and children tickets are $30, and children under the age of 2 are admitted for free.

‘The Nutcracker’

SANDWICH – Sandwich Dance Academy will present its 11th annual Nutcracker at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Sandwich High School. The Nutcracker is a classic ballet based on the fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffman. It is the third and last of Tchaikovsky’s great ballet scores. More than 125 local children from Plymouth and Cape Cod will be featured. The show is directed by Jennifer Walsh with choreography by Candice Dunn and Jenn Walsh, both of Plymouth. Seats are $15 at the door or call 508-888-0802.

Holiday fair

PLYMOUTH – Plymouth United Methodist Church will hold a two-day holiday fair, from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at 29 Carver Road, Plymouth. There will be activities for the whole family, live Christmas trees and festive decorated wreaths for sale, craft vendor tables, Mrs. Santa’s Country Store, costume jewelry boutique, media shop, Nearly New shop; baked goods shop, silent auction, Children’s Corner with craft activities, visits with Mrs. Santa, music and live entertainment. Refreshments and lunch will be available.

Holiday House Tour

PLYMOUTH – Pilgrim Hall Museum’s 2012 Holiday House Tour will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2, featuring some of Plymouth’s architectural gems all dressed up for the holidays. Your ticket includes lunch at the Plymouth Country Club between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. (ticket holders are entitled to one lunch). Exact locations of the houses are kept confidential until the day of the tour. You must pick up the booklet and map that will serve as your ticket and will reveal the locations of the houses, at Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court St., Plymouth, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Dec. 1 or 2. The houses themselves will not open before 10 a.m. Tickets will not be sold at the houses or at the Plymouth Country Club. Advance ticket orders must arrive in the mail at Pilgrim Hall Museum by 3 p.m. Nov. 16. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 if purchased after Nov. 16. Call 508-746-1620, ext. 7, for additional information.

Holidays on the Green

PLYMOUTH – The Pinehills in Plymouth will host its 8th annual Holidays on the Green from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1. Activities include something for everyone in the family. Enjoy holiday musical performances, march in or just watch the Reindog Parade, take pictures with Santa and decorate cookies and ornaments. Watch the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Village Green. There will be plenty of opportunity for seasonal shopping at the Arthouse Boutique and at the shops, Sylvia’s by the Sea, Charles David Salon & Spa, Café Olio and The Market.

Pancakes with Santa: 8 a.m. to noon at Café Olio; reservations required.

Arthouse Boutique: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; shop for unique gifts created by area artists.

Ice sculpting demos: 1-4 p.m.; see professional sculptors create masterpieces from ice.

Petting zoo: 1-4 p.m.; meet, feed and learn about friendly farm animals.

Meet Santa Claus: 1-5 p.m.; take your camera and letter and meet Santa at the Post Office.

Cookie decorating: 1-5 p.m.; kids can decorate (and eat) holiday sugar cookies.

Ornament decorating: 1-5 p.m.; create a work of art and hang it on your tree at home.

Victorian carolers: 1-5 p.m.; carolers will roam throughout the Village Green all day.

Reindog Parade: 3-4 p.m.: dress up your furry friends in their best holiday gear and win prizes.

Tree lighting: 5 p.m.

For more information about The Pinehills, visit or call 508-209-2000 or visit the Facebook page at

Holiday Fair

PLYMOUTH – A holiday fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Plymouth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, 123 South St., Plymouth, in the Arena Room. Handmade crafts, baked goods, a white elephant table and raffle prizes will be offered and there will be many community vendors. Pictures with Santa from noon to 2 p.m. Lunch and refreshments will be available. All proceeds benefit the resident activity fund. Call 508-746-4343 if you have any questions. Call 508-746-4343 if you have any questions.

Fairy Christmas at Hedge House

PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Antiquarian Society will present Fairy Christmas, a magical holiday celebration for the whole family, from noon to 7 p.m. Dec. 1-2 and 7-9, at the historic Hedge House Museum, at 126 Water St. The elegant 1809 mansion will be transformed into a fairy wonderland, featuring eight rooms decorated in an enchanting fairy theme with hundreds of handcrafted fairy and holiday ornaments. Learn about the habitat and lifestyle of fey folk in a special section devoted to fairy houses, and pay a visit to the Fairy Queen and her attendants in their glittering crystal throne room. A holiday shop will offer a selection of wreaths, ornaments and fairy accessories for sale.

A special highlight is an exhibition of original artwork by Salley Mavor, nationally recognized fiber artist and one of the country’s most lauded children’s book illustrators. Three original illustrations will be displayed, including fairy characters from her book Pocketful of Posies and Mavor’s most recent piece, Birds of Beebe Woods.

 Admission fees are $15 per adult, $10 per child. For members: $12 per adult, $8 per child. A family four-pack (two adults, two children) is $45. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All proceeds benefit the Plymouth Antiquarian Society and are used to fund educational programs and help preserve Plymouth history. For more information, email, call 508-746-0012 or visit

Pilgrim Festival Chorus winter concert

PLYMOUTH – Pilgrim Festival Chorus will launch its 2012-13 season with the winter concert “A Northern European Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Church of the Pilgrimage, 8 Town Square, Plymouth. PFC Music Director William B. Richter will conduct the chorus and soloists accompanied by Elizabeth Chapman Reilly on the church’s treasured pipe organ. Demonstrating the rich cultural heritage, A Northern European Christmas was conceived as a journey through some of the rich musical traditions of that part of the world. From carols that originated in medieval times through contemporary compositions, the program captures the spirit of this joyful season.

In its 14th concert season, the PFC membership numbers more than 80 vocalists of all adult ages dedicated to authentic choral singing. Richter and Reilly customize their approach to each season based on the collective sound the chorus produces. During the performance, selected soloists from the chorus will share their talents.

Tickets for the performance are $20 for adults, $18 for senior citizens and $15 for students over 14. Children under the age of 14 are admitted free. Advance tickets may be purchased online at, and are available at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, 11 North St., Plymouth, 508-746-7222; and from PFC members. To reserve tickets by phone, call Susan at 774-283-4848. Complimentary refreshments will be served in the church hall immediately following the performance. For more information on the concert or PFC, visit, or follow Pilgrim Festival Chorus on Facebook.

Mayflower House

PLYMOUTH – As part of Christmas on North Street, the Mayflower Society House, at 4 Winslow St., Plymouth, off North Street, will be decorated for the holidays. Every room will be decorated by designers from different organizations. The house will be open from 2 to 7 p.m. Dec. 7, from noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 8 and from noon to 6 p.m. Dec. 9. Admission is $8.

Holiday Greens sale

KINGSTON – The Plymouth Garden Club will hold its annual Holiday Greens sale from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Independence Mall in Kingston, in front of Macy’s. Decorated holiday wreaths, small decorated trees, centerpieces and baskets as well as other decorations will be offered for sale to benefit the club’s scholarship fund and other civic programs.

Breakfast with Santa

PLYMOUTH – The Old Colony Y will host its 11th annual Breakfast with Santa from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at Camp Clark, 200 Hedges Pond Road, Plymouth. Tickets at the door are $5 per person; children age 3 and under are admitted free. Enjoy a pancake breakfast with Santa, arts and crafts activities, face painting and Roll-Up raffle. For details call 508-888-2290.

Christmas fair

PLYMOUTH – Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, at 384 Court St., will hold a Christmas craft and food fair entitled “A Fair to Remember” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. The Lutherans are noted for their handiwork, thrift and baking abilities. Enjoy baked goods and food from the kitchen in between strolling the tables of quilts, handicrafts, ornaments, men’s table, plants, Gramma’s Attic, and a children’s activity corner. There will also be a large selection of themed gift basket raffles.

Old Time Holiday Fair

FAIRHAVEN – “The Brick Church” First Congregational Church, 34 Center St., Fairhaven will hold an Old Time Holiday Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8.

The church will be alive with activity: Crafts, baked goods, cookies, home cooking, Vermont cheddar cheese, chance auction, coffee shop and much more. A custom made “rocking horse” will be raffled. Heavenly Treasures, the second-hand shop, will be open all day. A lobster roll luncheon will be served 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until sold out.

Hot dogs and chowder will also be available. In addition there will be 16 craft vendors. For more information, call 508-993-33368 or email Fully accessible.

South Shore Polar Express

KINGSTON – The South Shore Polar Express, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Plymouth, will ride the rails Saturday, Dec. 8. The popular train ride will depart the Kingston MBTA station with readings of the Christmas story written by Chris Van Allsburg, a visit from Santa and fun for kids of all ages. Tickets are on sale for this one-hour train ride on double-decker passenger cars from Kingston to Halifax and back on the MBTA’s Old Colony Line. There are four time slots: 11:45 a.m., and 1:45, 4 and 7:15 p.m. Kids are encouraged to wear their “jammies” over their clothes for the train ride. Elves will read the “Polar Express” story and present gift bags to each child. Santa Claus will also be present on the train to greet children and adults.

Individual tickets sell for $20 each. Family discounts are available at $75 for a five-pack of tickets and $125 for a 10-pack. They can be purchased at NorthEast Community Bank, at 8 North Park Ave., Plymouth, or online at For more information about tickets, call Rotary Club of Plymouth President Donna Ouellette at NorthEast Community Bank at 508-746-7400. Proceeds benefit local charities sponsored by the Rotary Club of Plymouth and the Plymouth Housing Authority.

Community Voices concert

DUXBURY – SSC Community Voices, South Shore Conservatory’s adult chorus for individuals with developmental delays, will present its annual winter concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at South Shore Conservatory’s Ellison Center for the Arts, 64 St. George St., Duxbury. The chorus will present a variety of seasonal tunes including “Auld Lang Syne,” “Shalom Chaverim,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Celebrate With Joy.” Performing again this year will be handbell choir The Dead Ringers, and for the first time, under the direction of conductor Kathy McMinn, Pure Treble and Pure Harmony children’s choruses join them on three selections.

A non-auditioned chorus, SSC Community Voices provides joyful ensemble singing and performance opportunities for over 30 adults and young adults with developmental delays. Directed by Eve Montague and Kari O’Briant, the chorus begins their next session in January and welcomes new singers and peer mentors.

The concert is free and open to the public. Audience members are invited to join the chorus members for a complimentary reception following the concert. For more information on SSC Community Voices or South Shore Conservatory Music Therapy Programs, call Eve Montague, Director of Creative Arts Therapies at 781-934-2731, ext. 20, or email or visit