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Posts Tagged ‘life’

October 31, 2009

Wild in Maui

August 24, 2009

Join Donna, Gotopless leader for the islands of Hawaii on Aug 23rd for an afternoon of sun and fun on Little beach, Makena State Beach from noon to 3 PM!topless_hawaii_woman_dancing_md

Gotopless is proud to be present in Hawaii for the second year in a row as we encourage the Hawaiian women to reconnect with their traditional roots and demand to right to Gotopless on their islands as their female ancestors have always proudly done until the missionaries arrived with their shameful mentalities and forced them to cover their chest.
If NY where the weather does not always permit women to go topless is already a topfree, Hawaii should be next! Perfect weather and ancestral traditions! Stand up for your rigths, Hawaiian wahine!

Shades of Domination

July 30, 2009

Sexy Girl Does Him In The Ass

July 23, 2009

girl_powerA Chase Bank investment adviser and admitted hard-partying night crawler has been charged with looting $110,000 from a millionaire’s private account in Manhattan, The Post has learned.

Robin Katz — a sexy, 25-year-old financial planner working at Chase’s Midtown headquarters — bolted the Big Apple in May, telling her bosses that she had a family medical emergency back home in California, sources said.

A month later, one of Chase’s well-heeled clients realized that his seven-figure account balance had a six-figure shortfall and contacted bank officials, the Criminal Court complaint and sources said.

Auditors initially determined that an extra ATM card in the millionaire’s name had been created about a year earlier and that it had been used dozens of times starting in June 2008 to siphon cash out of the account.

Chase investigators zeroed in on Katz, an attractive brunette who attended Smith College and boasts on her MySpace page that she is a “rocket scientist by day, party fool by night.”

Her interests: “Politics: F– Bush. Sex: F– Me.”

Several photos show her skydiving, playing in a zero-gravity simulator and posing alluringly in a tight, low-cut top with her hands behind her head.

She says on her Web page that one of the people she would most like to meet is “my good twin.”

The bank — after notifying the NYPD Organized and Identity Theft Task Force about the missing funds — contacted Katz in California and told her she needed to return to New York to explain what had occurred or the feds were going to track her down.

She was nabbed after she flew back to the city last week.

Asked why she took the money, Katz told authorities that she had troubles paying her bills, sources said.

“She just spent it . . . shopping . . . going out,” a source said.

On her MySpace page, Katz says she wants to become a stockbroker at Oppenheimer or Carrington Fox, an investment-banking service firm.

She says she loves New York City and that her East 14th Street apartment “was much better than she ever hoped for.”

A next-door neighbor recalled loud music and Katz’s distinctive laugh resounding at various hours through the walls.

“She was kinda kooky,” the neighbor said.

Katz was arraigned Saturday and ordered held on $50,000 bail at Rikers Island, according to the Manhattan DA’s Office. She is next due in court Thursday.

Drink Responsibly

May 18, 2009

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.

Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.

The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as “female sex workers”–or FSW–and their handlers as “gatekeepers.”

“Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSWs [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSWs (i.e., the ‘gatekeepers’, defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSWs,” says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.

“Therefore, in this application, we propose to develop, implement, and evaluate a venue-based alcohol use and HIV risk reduction intervention focusing on both environmental and individual factors among venue-based FSWs in China,” says the abstract.

The research will take place in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi.

Guangxi is ranked third in HIV rate among Chna’s provinces–and is a place where the sex business is pervasive, Li said.

“The purpose of the project is to try and develop an intervention program targeting HIV risk and alcohol use,” Li told CNSNews.com. “So basically, it’s an alcohol and HIV risk reduction intervention project.”

The researcher outlined three components of the intervention program in the abstract for the project:

“(1) gatekeeper training with a focus on changing or enhancing the protective social norms and policy/practice at the establishment level; (2) FSW (female sex workers) training with a focus on the acquisition of communication skills (negotiating, limit setting) and behavioral skills (e.g., condom use skills, consistent condom use); and (3) semi-annual boosters to reinforce both social norms within establishments and individual skills,” wrote Li.

The doctor said the heart of the study involves “a community-based cluster randomized controlled trial among 100 commercial sex venues in Beihai, a costal tourist city in Guangxi.”

“We anticipate that the venue-based intervention program will be culturally appropriate, feasible, effective and sustainable in alcohol use and sexual risk reduction among FSWs,” says the NIH grant abstract.

Li said his study is being done in China rather than the U.S. because prostitution occurs with alcohol use in the United States like it does in China, Americans will be able to benefit from the project’s findings.

“We want to get some understanding of the fundamental role of alcohol use and HIV risk,” he said. “We use the population in China as our targeted population to look at the basic issues. I think the findings will benefit the American people, too.”

Li said minimal research has been conducted on the link between alcohol use and prostitution as it relates to HIV.

“Alcohol has been a part of the commerce of sex for many, many years. Unfortunately, both global-wise (and) in the United States, very few researchers are looking at the complex issue of the inter play between alcohol and the commerce of sex,” he told CNSNews.com.

The grant is one of several “international initiatives” sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Ralph Hingson, director of epidemiology and prevention research at NIAA, told CNSNews.com, “There are many Americans who travel to China each year and they should be made aware of the HIV problem.”

Hingson said that Americans will be able to apply the studies findings to the American situation because 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV.

Li’s research includes exploration, development, implementation and evaluation. Currently, the project stands at the exploration stage, which the doctor expects to last 18 months.

“The first phase is kind of an exploratory study just trying to get a good understanding of the phenomena in the population of female sex workers in China. The second phase is the program development,” the professor told CNSNews.com.

Phase two will be based on the first year of the study and on “field observations,” he added. The third phase will be the implementation and evaluation of the program.

“Prostitution is illegal in China but it exists in China,” Li told CNSNews.com, “but the Chinese government and the society’s attitude towards prostitution is complicated.”

According to Li, there may be as many as 10 million female prostitutes in China with the majority raging from teenagers to those in their 20s.

“We see a lot of governmental initiatives in China, like 100 percent condom distribution promotion programs, so they deliver condoms in those (prostitution) venues,” he added.

“The global literature indicates an important role of alcohol use in facilitating HIV/AIDS transmission risk in commercial sex venues where elevated alcohol use/abuse and sexual risk behaviors frequently co-occur,” Li wrote when introducing the project last November.

“We expect that the intervention will improve protective normative beliefs and institutional support regarding alcohol use and HIV protection,” he added.

The NIH proposal hypothesizes that the program will decrease “problem drinking and alcohol-related sexual risk” among prostitutes that participate.

“We hypothesize that the venue-based intervention will change and enhance the protective social norms and institutional policies at the establishment level and such enhancement, accompanied by individual skill training among FSWs, will demonstrate a sustainable effect within commercial sex establishments in decreasing problem drinking and alcohol-related sexual risk, increasing consistent and correct condom use, and reducing rates of HIV/STD infection among FSWs,” says the NIH abstract.


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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Best of Rest Today, Tuesday December 13, 2016 from Barebrush.com

Starving Artist by Donelli J. DiMaria of Santa Fe, NMStarving Artist
Satirical oil painting of skeleton artist in front of 1950's horror comics in a trompe l'oeil format....[more]

Donelli J. DiMaria is a Featured Artist at barebrush.com.

We at Barebrush offer the best art gallery and best nude art gallery online. Barebrush.com presents the Best of Rest Today for Tuesday December 13, 2016. Guest curator for December was Sherry Camhy, Art Students League. Barebrush operates monthly art calendar exhibitions for artists and art lovers. Online since 2006. Art is viewed and juried by guest curators. Artists win exposure, validation, awards. All monthly calendars and all calendar art are viewable at barebrush.com. See the current calendar.

This is day number 1870 of the Barebrush Best-of-the-Rest series.

Every day, the art of the day is published in our blog, Barebrush Art News & Events. Subscribe. You can also follow Barebrush founder, Ilene Skeen on Twitter. We hope you enjoy our art!

To share artwork on Facebook, click on the thumbnail and look for the Facebook "f-share" below the description.

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February 15, 2012 Clair Marie 0Comment

The winter time for me is always my slow jumping season, the cold weather really gets to me at times and I find myself tucked away, warm in my home! Because I am the kid of person who looks forward to the start of the next jumping season I try my hardest to stay in shape so once the warm weather hits there is no grace period of how hard I charge because I need to get back into shape!

In the off season there are several things that I do to stay in shape for hiking and jumping, all of which I find to be extremely fun! 🙂

First I eat right because proper nutrition is key to an active lifestyle

I do the typical go to the gym 2-3 times a week and do card, but my favorite activity of all is Parkour. I spend 2-4 nights a week at a local gymnastics studio practicing wall spins, running front flips, standing back tucks and many other variations of inverted wonderfulness. It helps keep me in shape but also improves my…flipping capacity so once the season hits it is time for some massive flipping/spinning/rolling action!!!

Not only do I stay performing at top notch (my top notch) but I have a blast in doing so!

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Recent Movie Reviews

The Argo App The Argo App

Rated 4.5 / 5 stars

sorta a waste of time BEACUSE I CAN ORDER PIZZA ON MY XBOX. and sometimes videos have things that u cant do but good job by the way

Don-Jackimo responds:

Thanks! I live in Adelaide Australia, we are a bit behind the times haha!

Recent Game Reviews

Poptropica Penguins Poptropica Penguins

Rated 0 / 5 stars

if you press bloody version it takes u to which is a kids game


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Tag Archive

Tag Archives for " Crossbow "

What Makes The Best Crossbow Fishing Kit? 9 Tips To Know

Crossbow fishing is becoming an increasingly popular fishing activity in the U.S. However, it is important to use the right type of crossbow fishing kit to enhance your fishing experience. Regular bows may not be suitable for fishing because they may not be easy to carry and be shot at a quick pace. Fishing crossbows provide the perfect middle ground between fishing reels and bows. Crossbows have evolved significantly over the last decades; they are now more accurate and easier to use.

Continue reading

Expert Model For Bowfishing Arrow Tips: #4 Is Amazing

Bowfishing is a popular hobby taken up by many people in the U.S. As the name suggests bowfishing requires the use of special equipment such as bows and arrows. However, one of the most important parts of the arrows is the arrow tip or point. This part determines whether the arrow will go into the fish and actually stop it from moving away. Although bowfishing arrow tips are designed to go through fish targets and cause legal damage, you do not have to crank the fish back in.

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How To Choose The Best Crossbow For Hunting?

Becoming a great hunter requires a lot more the sheer skill and experience. Granted, in skillful hands, every weapon can be deadly. But ever since the dawn of mankind, the advantage was always on the side of the ones who wielded the superior weapon. So, if you want to get involved into serious crossbow hunting, you need to know how to find the best crossbow for hunting.

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Posts tagged ‘#peach’

Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipstick Review!

Hey friends,

Off late, i was hunting for some drugstore lipsticks in matte. So, the search began and I reviewed maybelline, loreal and revlon matte lines. They all ranged between 600-800 INR which i thought was reasonable but a bit on the expensive side. So, the quest was on.

To my surprise, i came across Colorbar Lipsticks. They have the widest range of matte shades i have seen! beats the color range of many high end brands. And their price is unbelievable – 250 INR!

Despite the price being well within budget, i was a bit reluctant in the beginning to give it a try as when you swatch it on your hand, it has that glossy shine to it. The attendant across the counter assured me that when applied on lips, the moisture is absorbed in the lips and it looks perfectly matte. So, i bought one for trial sake. And…….i was so amazed by this product! And then i bought two more!!

So, here’s my review of the product followed by the swatches and names of my shades.

  • Has awesome variety of colors in matte shades – conservatively they have 3 shades in red, mauve, pink, peach, browns etc in matte! that’s a wide variety out there!
  • Very moisturizing. Doesn’t feel heavy or dry on the lips
  • Transfer proof!! – something that i was really looking for. Its kind of embarrassing having your lipstick on coffee cups!
  • Good sturdy packaging
  • Affordable price range
  • Doesn’t smudge or cake around the lips. Stays where it needs to be.

  • Lasts conservatively for around 6 hours without touchup and in between meals. Not that 6 hrs is not good but i would have loved to have it a little longer than that. As the day progresses, it will fade a bit but wont be off completely. It has staining quality – leaves a stain on the lips.

Colorbar Matte Lipsticks

1) 59 P – Peach Crush

This one is a gorgeous coral peachy pinky shade…more on the peach side. If you are looking for a nice summery look, you gotta have this shade. it looks soo amazing when put on. Plus the matte makes it stand out so well on the face. Totally love it. Btw, this was the 1st one i tried from this range and fell in love with it.

2) 41 M – Raisin Rum

This is a nice combination of pink n mauve. Its like a everyday go to shade. Looks very pretty and goes with anything.

3) 80 V – Hearts & Tarts

I loved this one!! its my favorite! i was dying to own a matte red lipstick that’s not to bright and wearable. This one fits the bill completely!! its a nice red with a pink undertone so it’s definitely wearable and doesn’t look overboard. its one of those red that gives your face a nice lift…if you know what i mean. The matte finish gives a very nice complete look to the face. There was also another red that i was considering while buying this one called Hot Hot Hot. That one is a real bright red with an orange undertone. I personally dont like red with orange undertones…i like them with a pink undertone. So, if you want a bright red, go for Hot Hot Hot.

I loved this product and want to try new colors in this range. Since the price is affordable, i wouldn’t mind adding a few of them to my vanity 😉

If you are fond of matte lipsticks, this product definitely deserves your attention. i highly recommend trying it. If you so try some, let me know your experience.

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Some of my Favourite Spring Jackets

IMG_9247The weather has been absolutely beautiful in London this week. The sun is shining and all those heavy layers have finally been discarded and banished to the loft.

So it’s time for a whole new set of wardrobe staples to get some use!

Here are a few of my favourite (and most commonly used) spring coats and jackets. Continue reading

My Favourite Winter Coats

I really rather like winter. Hot chocolate, Christmas lights, cuddling up under a blanket on the sofa and watching films.

Mince pies, mulled wine… I could go on.

But one of my favourite things about winter is that I get to wear all my cosy coats.

I’m a bit of a coat and jacket fanatic – I have an entire wardrobe dedicated only to them. My friends often comment that I turn up in a different one everyday. The reason for this is very simple. Whether you’ve gained or lost a few pounds (unless the change is dramatic), your beloved coats will still fit you. And will hopefully make you look lean and fabulous. Continue reading


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Stogies & Stout recap

I’ll begin by noting the tragic loss of a legend.  Sunday morning the world lost blues man Eddie Kirkland in a terrible automobile accident.  I had just watched him play the night before at the Dunedin Brewery.  An amazing talent with a brilliant career.  R.I.P Eddie.

I am also saddened to hear of the passing of a true Hollywood legend and icon in the truest sense of the world.  Jane Russell was the epitome of the Hollywood bombshell, and exuded something that the industry has so sorely lacked in recent decades: the ability to be sexy as well as classy.
On the up side of things, the annual Stogies & Stout event at the Dunedin Brewery on Saturday night was fantastic.  A great crowd of beer lovers without being cramped, top notch music by Eddie Kirkland, and an excellent selection of beers.  I love beer events that allow you to talk with others about the beer.  Plenty of open space to move around, good-size pours that allow you to really get a good mouthful, and snack strategically placed about the venue.  I want to give big-time recognition to Mike Bryant for organizing one of the best events of the year.  It was said repeatedly throughout the night how much people were enjoying the atmosphere.  More than one person said “I think I know everyone here…”  It certainly felt that way.  Even though I met several new friends, at no point did I feel intimidated or unwelcome or like I could not just walk up to anyone and say hello.  It was a very welcome and friendly feel.
Some great news on the national craft beer scene as well: the number of American craft breweries has now surpassed 1700!  That is amazing growth in a very short time.  Much of the credit has to be given to the Brewers Association for the tireless work in promoting craft beer and educating people.  And a healthy share must also be heaped upon those who have championed craft beer since before it was cool.  The brewers, their business partners, the distributors, the bars and restaurants… these are the people that make it possible for us to enjoy craft beer in so many different ways.
Much more craft beer excitement coming our way in the near future!

~ by Sean Nordquist on February 28, 2011.

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EIFF 2016: ‘Tommy’s Honour’ ★★★★

“There’s only one story you’ll get from me,” growls Peter Mullan from behind a hedgerow of coarse woolly beard. As Tom Morris in Tommy’s Honour, the veteran Scottish actor embodies the pioneering exploits of a St. Andrews man who inaugurated the Open Championship from his humble standing as greenkeeper and caddie to the club’s upper echelons. In designing courses and handcrafting clubs with the help of his sons, Morris paved the way for the sport of golf. However, the tale at hand offers more than mere sporting biopic.

To read the full review of Tommy’s Honour visit CineVue here.


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Posts Tagged ‘mountains’

Off the Silk Road

October 27, 2008

            26/10/08, Samarkand

            We have spent the last three days off the Silk Road tourist stretch. After Iran and Turkmenistan, whose precarious politics have not yet made them popular tourist destinations, the proliferation of mass tourism in Uzbekistan took me by surprise. The towns of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, each with its own claim to some civilizational greatness over the past millennium, are seeped in bed and breakfasts, tour buses and shop after stall after sidewalk of Uzbek women selling their coloured embroidered wares. Retired Europeans seem to be the pick of the moment, with French leading in terms of numbers.

            The combination of these tour groups with the recurring architecture of the Silk Road cities, which started to become tedious in that it is very similar to the mosques and madrassas of Iran, lead us to splurge over our $25-a-day budget in order to take a trip out to a nature reserve north of Samarkand. On the way there, we spent a night in a yurt camp in the Kyzylkum Desert near Lake Airdakul. Sure enough, we were joined in the camp by a group of about 20 retired French people, who filled the tranquil air with inquisitions as to the location of each other’s flashlights and an amusing, vodka-induced rendition of ‘Champs Elysees’. Yet this was to be expected, as our own presence there was equally explained by a penchant for the ‘roughing it’ type of tourism offered by yurts and camel treks that no doubt attracted them in the first place.

            On the other hand, the most amazing aspects of staying at the yurt camp were what raw, remote nature had to offer: a sunset so electric and vivid that it had me thinking that the whole planet was on the verge of bursting into flames; a night sky so brimming full and vibrating of stars that I could imagine the universe expanding; a sunrise so sublime and unassuming that it made me contemplate the insignificance of humans in that face of such simple majesty that has existed for eons before us, and will continue long after all of us loud, parasitic, digital camera-weilding, adventure-seeking travellers have faded into dust…

*          *          *

            The next day, we ventured up to the small village of Sentap in the Nuratau mountains, which sit . On the way, our driver stopped on the desert road and motioned towards some men working in the scrub. ‘Gold’, he said in English.  We got out of the car and walked over to them. There were two: one was manning a small, hand-held shovel, scraping rocks and gravel onto a grill-lined trough on an incline, while the other poured bucket after bucket of dirty grey water over the stones. The stones would run down the rough and out the other end, while small flecks of glinting material would stick in the grill. Behind them was a huge mound of gravel that had already been sifted through. Not far away was a hole that had been dug 10 metres into the ground. From the bottom, our driver explained, they had dug 200 metres horizontally and pulled out all the gravel in that tunnel, which would then get sifted through as they were currently doing.

            They said that hey sifted through some 30 buckets of gravel a day, which yielded about 2 grammes of gold, and that they received $28 per gramme. Which meant that they made $28 each a day, but only during the last phase of the extraction process, which was the shortest and least physically challenging. Factoring in the length and effort of the entire process compared to the income, the Uzbek gold mining industry came across as a harsh livelihood.

            Back on the road, we headed towards Sentap. Originally, we had been seeking the Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve, and we are still unsure as to whether or not this village was actually part of the reserve. Regardless, it proved to be a charming place, situated on the banks of a small river, where it seemed that humans were far outnumbered by farm animals. The dusty, meandering road and the walnut groves on either side of it were the realm of cows, sheep, donkeys, goats and turkeys. Here and there, big fluffy dogs with their ears snipped curled up in patches of sunlight, straining for the warmth.

            We were able to stay in the guesthouse of a lovely family spanning 3 generations, who we were fortunately able to have some minor communication with due to the fact that the village, like Bukhara, Samarkand, and much of southern Uzbekistan, is ethnically Tajik, and that Tajik differs from all the other Central Asian language in that it is almost 80% Farsi. The ‘boss’ of the house Shoddiboy and his younger brother Umid also spoke some French, because most of the visitors they received were French (ah, gotta give it to the French for their undying search for adventure…)

*          *          *

            On the second day, Umid took us on a 21km hike through the mountains, up to a lake 1000 metres higher than the guesthouse. the beginning of the walk was easy, following the river up along wide paths, under the bright yellow and orange leaves that still remained in the brisk end of autumn. About 6km in, we started to climb steeply, increasing our altitude by 400m in about a kilometre. Arriving at the top, we had spectacular panoramic views of the mountains as they sank quickly into the desert and completely disapppeared into flat yellow sands, with Lake Airdakul glowing sapphire on the horizon. The remainder of the way to the lake was much easier, along the light inclinations of the plateau atop the gorge we had just suffered up.

            The lake itself was quite disappointing: muddy, shrunken and shallow. An oversized duck pond more than a lake. We huddled next to a pile of rocks, the only minor protection from the harsh wind that swept the plateau, and ate a meager lunch of boiled potatoes, tinned corn and hard bread with our icy fingers, although our fare was more than Umid’s, who refused the potatoes and corn and only picked at some bread and an apple.

            Eager to begin walking again to fight off the cold, we started off on a different return route and encountered a stunning sight: five wild horses emerging from a distant hilltop, galloping in our direction. Four had milk-chocolate coats, while the fifth shone pearl white. As they approached, they varied their pace but didn’t seem bothered by our presence. They came within a couple hundred metres of us and stopped for a few seconds, as we fumbled with our cameras like the imagophiles we have come to be. Then, they altered their direction and galloped past us. The grace of their flowing manes and the rhythm of their hooves against the hard ground held us in rapture for the entirety of their passing. At one point, Caro noticed that one of them had a rope attached to it, which led us to question how wild they really were. Yet despite the somewhat shaming reminder of the presence of humans in their lives, the majesty of their movements still hinted at an image of absolute freedom, that notion for which they have come to symbolise.

            The descent was more grueling than the climb, for the alternate path was no more than a goat trail over the tops of the mountains and along slippery scree slopes on the side of the peaks. For a second time, we were rewarded for the difficulty of the route when we passed underneath a rock face that housed eagles nests. Three, five, eight, twelve, as we walked the number of great birds that we saw circling above us in the sky just kept increasing. With J’s binoculars, we were able to gain excellent views of the pristine white down of their underbellies, and distinguish the shapes of the thick brown feathers at either end of their outstretched wings. They glided with such ease, mastering the heights of the gorges below. I felt humbled, embarrassed at the limitations and aches in my own limbs as I plodded along so disorientated and earth-bound beneath them… All the effort we have to go through, I thought, to get one single glimpse of these beings whose innate strength and beauty shame the human condition.

*          *          *

            The following morning, while tucking into rice and pumpkin for breakfast, the sounds of music being blasted through great speakers nearby and flocks of villagers walking in its direction aroused our interest. A party for a new baby, Umid told us. Requesting our unhappy driver that he wait another hour before taking us to Samarkand, we ventured off towards the music.

            In a field not far away, hundreds of green plastic chairs and tables had been set out in two separate sections, one for men and one for women. The majority of the 1,500 villagers were there, all decked out in their finest attire: the men in grey suits or black jackets, often accompanied by some traditional hat or other; the teenage boys in logo-embedded tracksuit jumpers which ranged from Adidas to Arsenal; the older women with their hair tied in wildly colourful scarves, wearing ankle-length dresses and waistcoats in brightly patterned, sequined and sparkling materials; the young girls in solid synthetic dresses with shiny black shoes.

            A stream of people was entering the festivities from the house closest to the field,  every person carrying a bowl of soup with bits of meat and veg poking out in each hand. Every table was crowded with bottles of fizzy drinks and vodka, plates of various cold cuts and pieces of meat, round loaves of bread, and bowls of peanuts, almonds and individually-wrapped sweets. At the front of the layout, two amplifiers were set on a deafening volume, blasting out the voice of a man who stood with a microphone, singing against pre-recorded music. Behind him sat the table d’honneur, the family of the newborn.

            The six of us wandering in in our fleeces, hats and scarves was obviously an amusing sight to many of the children. We were welcomed by a man who seemed to be of some sort of authority, and he pulled up chairs for us at one of the tables with the men. Fearing I would be forced into a vodka shot at 10:30 in the morning, I managed to slip off in order to go back tot he house and collect something to offer as a present to the baby: a scarf I had gotten in Khiva and a pair of knitted socks Caro had from Bukhara. Returning 10 minutes later, my suspicions were confirmed when Di said that she had not managed to escape the obligatory celebrational vodka.

            I was not let off completely though, for as i offered our small gifts to grandmother who held the bundle centre-of-attention in her arms, I was pulled by another granny, the hostess of our gueshouse, into the space between the tables that was obviously the dancefloor. Imitating as best i could her movements, I pranced about for a couple of minutes to the amusement of the many gathered around, and then made a pink-faced exit towards my friends stood laughing from the sides.

            I would have liked to stay for longer ( think that after a few vodkas, the dancing would have been a lot easier), but our impatient driver awaited. i was grateful nonetheless for having been able to witness the celebration, however briefly. The aspect that fascinated me the most about it was that it was not only an open invitation for everyone in the village, but so many people were participating in making the event happen and run its course. I thought of how many women there would have been slaving away in several different kitchens in order to produce enough food for the hundreds gathered. I thought about how we saw big present packages wrapped in cellophane filled with dolls and clothes for the baby, and how that would also have required a pooling of resources. I thought of the beeline of people carrying bowls of soup to the guests. All this made me realise that everyone was making a tangible contribution to the event.

            I concluded that the dynamic of the celebration was very different from the way that we have large-scale parties in Europe. There, festivities are an industry: one rents a space, one hires caterers, waiters, photographers, entertainers… Whereas in Sentap, I think that the only person who might have been receiving a fee was the singer. Everybody else was just assuming their part of the responsibility that accompanies the festivity.

            These were the ethics of community that have been largely lost in the way we celebrate in urban centres around the world, where solidarity is replaced with convenience. I think that in the first major shindig I have in my life, I will take inspiration from that village party in the mountains of Uzbekistan instead of bowing to the weight of my own social conventions; not as an appropriation of some romanticised exotic, rural purity, but as a reclaiming of a set of communal values that, in many places, I feel have been forgotten.


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Alcohol Detox Symptoms

How To Detox Without Starving

Detox The Body By The Feet By Ionic Detox Foot Baths

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Master-Detail Forms & Object Scope (Context)

, , ,

Imagine a master-detail form. The top portion of the window contains a grid listing people’s names. Below is a form where the currently-selected person’s details may be edited. Should data-binding be used to connect the edit form’s fields directly to the grid’s currently selected record (row)? To put it another way, should the grid’s selected item and the edit form both be referencing the same in-memory object instance?

To find out, let’s build an imaginary application using C# .Net/WPF….

The Code

The grid is a DataGrid control whose ItemsSource property is populated with the collection of objects to display. The grid’s SelectedItem property is data-bound to a view model property named SelectedPerson. The edit form’s DataContext is bound to this same property. Whenever the grid’s selected row changes, this data-binding updates the edit form so that it displays the appropriate Person object’s details.

View Model

class PeopleViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
        // ....
        private Person selectedPerson;
        public Person SelectedPerson
               get { return selectedPerson; }
               set {
                       selectedPerson = value;

<Window ...>
        <DataGrid ItemsSource="{Binding People}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedPerson}" SelectionMode="Single" SelectionUnit="FullRow" />

            <StackPanel DataContext="{Binding SelectedPerson}" Orientation="Horizontal">
                <TextBox Text="{Binding Name,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" Width="125" />
                <!-- other fields.... -->

            <Button Command="{Binding SaveCommand}">Save</Button>

The Problem Exposed

When we run the application, the grid displays a list of people. Select a grid row and the relevant details appear in the edit form. So far, so good! Now, use the edit form. As soon as a change is made in one of the fields, the edit appears in the data grid. Wait a minute! We haven’t clicked “save” yet!

What’s going on? Both the data grid’s selected row and the edit form are data-bound to the same object. As soon as the value in an edit field is changed, the control’s data-binding passes the modification to the bound object. The grid is then informed of this change and immediately updates its display to reflect it.

While this makes sense, it is not what we want. We don’t want a real-time connection between the object collection displayed on the grid and the object being edited by the edit form. Instead, changes between these two contexts should be synchronized only when “save” is clicked. How do we make this happen?

Scoping the Object to a Context

Let’s bind the edit form to a separate view model property—say EditPerson. When the grid’s row selection (bound to SelectedPerson) changes, we’ll have the view model trigger logic that creates a new Person instance based off of SelectedPerson. EditPerson will then be set to point to this new instance. Clicking “save” will trigger logic that synchronizes  EditPerson with SelectedPerson.

We’re now using multiple Person instances, each within a different scope (or context), to represent the same logical person entity. The edit form is still bound to a Person instance. However, since only the edit form references that particular instance (i.e. it is scoped to the edit form), the rest of the application (e.g. the grid) doesn’t know about modifications made to it until synchronization occurs (triggered by clicking “save”).

For more discussion on object scope/context and a database-powered example implementation, check out MSDN Magazine’s Building a Desktop To-Do Application with NHibernate by Ayende Rahien (a.k.a. Oren Eini).

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Monday, May 12, 2008

a day for wearing an apron

i found out about national apron day last year at the apronista. i think it is supposed to be the day after mother's day, but i haven't really heard any whisperings about it in blog world this year...but i am celebrating today all the same.

i suppose the real point it to wear your apron out in the world...but i am not so much getting out into the world today...however, i did wear my apron:

watching 30 minutes of marie antoinette and feeling quite inspired by the colors in that movie

dancing with millie while the indigo girls sang "virginia woolf"

getting started

choosing fabric for some patchwork

eating some m&ms dipped in peanut butter

changing from annoyed to grateful when thinking about the garbage truck waking me up so early this morning (because of it i was able to finish editing early enough to sew this afternoon)

making tea

thinking about what flowers i would like to plant in the pots outside

smiling when jonny emailed to say he would pick up some food for dinner

reading an email from a friend just checking in with me

in progress apron

creating a few aprons that will look like this one (though this is my favorite photo of that apron in action)

chatting on the phone with a friend

singing along with billy joel to his glass houses album while the sewing machine whirred

feeling hopeful and content


text:
A Quick Quiz: Let’s Review Your Implant Vocab!

You’re not going to have a very relaxed journey with your dental implants if you don’t have the basic vocabulary down. Do you think you’ve gotten through the essentials just yet or, are you a little bit behind? Fortunately, there are just a handful of main terms you’ll need to commit to memory, so you understand the different steps and processes associated with selecting implants! Make our quiz your first stop on your adventure.

Quiz Questions: True or False?

  1. True or False: When we talk about the placement of your dental implants, we’re discussing choosing the best spot in your mouth to put them.
  2. True or False: The abutment is the part of your three-part replacement solution that holds your implant post to your restoration.
  3. True or False: When we talk about your “implant” we aren’t talking about the entire system that replaces your tooth from root to crown. We are only referring to the post in your jaw tissue.

Quiz Answers

  1. False. Placement is a word that refers to the oral surgery you’ll receive, during which the titanium root-replacing post is implanted in your jaw.
  2. True. You’ll need a stable piece that will allow us to place a restoration (crown replacement, such as a dental crown) onto your implant. This is the abutment.
  3. True. You may hear the term dental implant used to refer to the entire replacement. However, technically, it’s only the root replacement post.

Get Going With Implants By Calling Us

Learn all about implants, find out about candidacy, and receive them at our practice! James Stewart, DDS, and our team serve patients from Livonia, MI, as well as Farmington Hills, Farmington, Plymouth, Northville, Novi, Dearborn Heights, Dearborn, Garden City, Westland, Redford, and the surrounding communities. To schedule a consultation, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.


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Cosmic Mania cheat codes for CASH for Android and iOS for free

Cosmic Mania cheat codes for CASH for Android and iOS for free

Cosmic Mania hack

Cosmic Mania game is becoming more popular among the fans of this genre of games. You can download the game for free from the official websites of the Android and Ios. High-quality graphics and sound in the game will give you even more fun on the passing game. But if you have found this article, then your main objective is to obtain an unlimited number of game resources.

Each game has such a game store where you can buy various items for the successful passage of levels. Also, all gamers want to unlock all the levels in the game. It is interesting, what lies behind the castle, which can not be opened. But first, you have to earn a lot of money. For this purpose, you can use different methods.

You can earn virtual currency by your own labor. To do this, you need to devote a lot of time playing. Another option is to purchase resources for real money. Gamers do not want to do that and therefore are looking for hack Cosmic Mania. You might think that this is the best way, but very often it may not be safe for your account and your mobile device.

Cosmic Mania Cheat Codes:

  • Add 70 000 CASH for free – H#_dgr23oiwf

In order not to risk the safety of your game account, you can use our secret codes, which you see above. They are used by developers during game testing. You can not be afraid that your account will be blocked, because this is not exactly happen. This method does not violate the rules of the game.

If you have not enough of these resources, you can re-enter the codes. But not more than once per month. Otherwise, you can cause unnecessary suspicion to your account. After correct and accurate input codes, you can enjoy unlimited possibilities in the game. Just a few minutes you get a lot of virtual money absolutely free.

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text:
As soon as the news of an updated Google Reader hit the blogs a week or so ago, I gave the web app another shot at being my rss reader of choice. The functionality that I was looking for was a way to easily send posts to friends through my gmail account. Bloglines makes it a little tricky, but Google Reader nails it spot on. Now Greasemonkey developers have gone to work on the app, producing a script that allows you to search the specific feed that you are reading or all of your blogs. This is a helpful feature while we wait for Google to sort out it’s own search for Reader.

Google Reader with Greasemonkey Hack
(Thanks to Download Squad)


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• adult ed

Data Drives All of Our Decisions

Better Tomorrows is dedicated to using data and evidence -based practices to impact the affordable housing residents and community members we serve.  Our commitment to data reaches across our entire organization as we have invested in our ability to effectively track the impact of the work we do.

Better Tomorrows uses the Social Solutions Efforts-to-Outcomes program to measure the progression of program participants, and the impact of every social program that affects these participants over time.

My Region Title

Participant Data

Total Population Served
Average Family Income
Age Demographics
0-18:  n/a
19-54:  n/a
55+:  n/a
Gender Demographics
Female:  n/a
Male:  n/a

State Directory and Contact Info

My Content

My Region Title

Total People Served:
Number of Family Sites:
Number of Senior / Disabled Sites:


text: When Luke was a child, his parents went through a difficult divorce. As a result, he wasn’t able to spend as much time with his father alone, and he and his sister relied on the Pittsfield Family YMCA’s supervised visitation services to do so. Luke, his sister and father were able to do fun activities together at the Y such as swim, play basketball and exercise. By the time Luke was 7 or 8 years old, his father’s health declined and he wasn’t able to continue to see him through the Y’s program. When Luke was 13 years old, his father passed away. “If it wasn’t for the YMCA, I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to make memories that have lasted forever with my dad. The YMCA was the last place I saw my father.” Now an adult, Luke is an employee for the Y supporting other youths as they develop their character and skills.


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Friday, January 9, 2015

Play Me Backwards by Adam Selzer

* * * *

A committed slacker enlists the help of his best friend (who may or may not be the devil) to get his act together in this novel filled with humor, awkwardness, and honesty, ideal for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Leon Harris isn’t exceptional and he isn’t popular. He’s the kind of guy that peaked in middle school, when once upon a time he was in the gifted program and on the fast track to Ivy League glory.

Now, a high school senior, he’s a complete slacker who spends his time hanging out in a third-rate ice cream parlor with his best friend, Stan, a guy who (jokingly, Leon thinks) claims to be Satan. Committed to his sloth, Leon panics when he finds out that Anna, the love of his life aka middle school girlfriend, might be moving back to town.

Determined to get his act together, Leon asks Stan for help. Stan gives him a few seemingly random and mysterious assignments. Date a popular girl. Listen to Moby-Dick, the audiobook. Find the elusive white grape slushee. Join the yearbook committee.

As each task brings Leon one step away from slacker city and one step closer to Anna, he starts to wonder if maybe he shouldn’t have promised Stan his soul after all.

Leon appears to be a loser. He’s put himself in that position believing that lofty goals aren’t necessary to happiness and that there's contentment in working at a sordid ice cream parlor for the rest of his life. His parents have no clue that he’s been slacking off and in danger of not graduating. He's probably overwhelmed by the vast, open world beyond high school, that he’s procrastinating until he has to face the inevitable. That comes in the form of his life-long crush, Anna, who moved away to London years ago and who could possibly be moving back. He has always had her on this impossibly high pedestal believing that he’d never be able to get up to her level. He assumes that she's become more worldy than when he last saw her while he has accomplished nothing and has no ambition to speak of. All of a sudden, he’s not content with being indifferent about life.

His best friend Stan, offers him advice and opportunity to shape up. Leon honestly believes that Stan could indeed be Satan. The best part is that this is taken as the truth and Leon and other friends don’t even question this. Stan is not a melodramatic character. He seems like any high school kid except he’s very good at bending things his way. He’s really rather charming and funny, always having an answer for everything. So with Leon going through this personal crisis, Stan gives him a list of instructions which include listening to the audio book of Moby Dick and dating a different girl named Paige. What Moby Dick has to do with anything, lord knows. But Leon goes with it and provides what is perhaps the best part of the story – his own random musings on Ishmael and the entire Moby Dick tale which are hilarious!

Somehow between listening to Moby Dick and the White Grape Slushee Adventure Stan sends him and Paige on, Leon develops new insight into relationships, himself and even the unattainable Anna.  I have to say that he is spot on when it comes to some of his observations.  One of my favourite moments in the book comes when he and his dad discuss his dating Paige.

“Your mom and I thought you and Paige were an unusual match,” he went one. “But if it works for you, it works for you.” “That’s what I’ve been thinking”, I said. “Relationships are all about taking two puzzle pieces that aren’t even from the same puzzle and making them fit.” I supposed I hoped Dad would talk about what a wise young man I’d become when I threw a line like that out, but he just nodded a little.

There’s a lot in this book  ridiculous and peculiar  that had me laughing or shaking my head, like Leon's non-conformist parents and their cooking disasters, his dealings with Paige's nosey little sister or his ability to confound any adult in the room. There’s really no major catastrophe (may be a slight scare). It’s just about this kid who’s been complacent a while figuring out what his next move will be with a little help from his friends, as odd as they are. Oh and Stan/Satan whose banter with Leon are very entertaining. By the end Leon seems to figure out his next step. The jury is still out on whether Stan is indeed the devil though.

Play Me Backwards has started off my reading in the New Year on a high note. It's perfect if you like awkward teenage moments, knuckle-headed moves and irreverent humor. Bonus for those who have suffered through Moby Dick.

~ Bel

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text:
If you let Guns get out of control in your country its pretty obvious that the Police have to become paramilitaries for even minor arrests – what could go wrong with that…????

2 stories from the US about Police force’s that behave more like an invading army in a hostile country……..I wonder where they learned how to do that……. no wonder ‘collateral damage’ is on the increase.

“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”

Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit.

Several months earlier at a local bar, Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me shortly after his death. “None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting fifty bucks or so on the Virginia–Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation.” Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the men wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. During the next several months, he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were just more fun wagers between friends to make watching sports more interesting. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day. Under Virginia law, that was enough for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. And that’s when they brought in the SWAT team.

On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart.

Sal Culosi’s last words were to Baucum, the cop he thought was a friend: “Dude, what are you doing?”

In March 2006, just two months after its ridiculous gambling investigation resulted in the death of an unarmed man, the Fairfax County Police Department issued a press release warning residents not to participate in office betting pools tied to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The title: “Illegal Gambling Not Worth the Risk.” Given the proximity to Culosi’s death, residents could be forgiven for thinking the police department believed wagering on sports was a crime punishable by execution

Original Article

A SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son

After our house burned down in Wisconsin a few months ago, my husband and I packed our four young kids and all our belongings into a gold minivan and drove to my sister-in-law’s place, just outside of Atlanta. On the back windshield, we pasted six stick figures: a dad, a mom, three young girls, and one baby boy.

That minivan was sitting in the front driveway of my sister-in-law’s place the night a SWAT team broke in, looking for a small amount of drugs they thought my husband’s nephew had. Some of my kids’ toys were in the front yard, but the officers claimed they had no way of knowing children might be present. Our whole family was sleeping in the same room, one bed for us, one for the girls, and a crib.

After the SWAT team broke down the door, they threw a flashbang grenade inside. It landed in my son’s crib.

Flashbang grenades were created for soldiers to use during battle. When they explode, the noise is so loud and the flash is so bright that anyone close by is temporarily blinded and deafened. It’s been three weeks since the flashbang exploded next to my sleeping baby, and he’s still covered in burns.

There’s still a hole in his chest that exposes his ribs. At least that’s what I’ve been told; I’m afraid to look.

My husband’s nephew, the one they were looking for, wasn’t there. He doesn’t even live in that house. After breaking down the door, throwing my husband to the ground, and screaming at my children, the officers – armed with M16s – filed through the house like they were playing war. They searched for drugs and never found any.

I heard my baby wailing and asked one of the officers to let me hold him. He screamed at me to sit down and shut up and blocked my view, so I couldn’t see my son. I could see a singed crib. And I could see a pool of blood. The officers yelled at me to calm down and told me my son was fine, that he’d just lost a tooth. It was only hours later when they finally let us drive to the hospital that we found out Bou Bou was in the intensive burn unit and that he’d been placed into a medically induced coma.

For the last three weeks, my husband and I have been sleeping at the hospital. We tell our son that we love him and we’ll never leave him behind. His car seat is still in the minivan, right where it’s always been, and we whisper to him that soon we’ll be taking him home with us.

Every morning, I have to face the reality that my son is fighting for his life. It’s not clear whether he’ll live or die. All of this to find a small amount of drugs?

Original Article

UK version

Baby burned by police flash grenade returns home (10/07/2014)

America’s over-policing bombshell: How new data proves “stop & frisk” critics were right all along

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Five Indian children’s books on tiger everyone must read

On World Tiger Day, it’s time to show your stripes for India’s national animal.

GROWING PANGS  |  4-minute read |   29-07-2015

It’s time to show your stripes for India’s national animal on World Tiger Day. We give you a round-up of five books about this magnificent animal that should be part of your children’s bookshelves.

1. Ambushed by Nayanika Mahtani:

The ten-year-old Tara is a gadget geek, she even thinks her Papa’s birthday cake should be shaped like his BlackBerry phone. Which is why when her banker-turned-photographer father decides to take her to Ranibagh, a tiger reserve in the Himalayan foothills for the summer, she’s horrified. After all, nothing ever happens there, does it? But then Tara lands splat in the middle of an adventure – who would have thought that the forest was not only home to the beautiful tiger, but also to an international gang of ruthless poachers? Satya, a tribal boy, enlists Tara’s help to literally save the skin of a tigress and her cubs.Ambushed is a fast-paced read that puts the spotlight firmly on conservation. Nayanika Mahtani’s debut novel is peppered with trivia, such as tigers are hard to spot and that some hundred years ago, there were over one lakh tigers in the world. While doing so, she also touches upon themes of social inequalities and the politics of conservation and poaching.

2. Ranthambore Adventures by Deepak Dalal:

For any child who has visited Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Deepak Dalal’s Ranthambore Adventures is sure to transport them straight back into the Rajasthan forest. Aditya is planning to join his friend Vikram in Ranthambore, when he stumbles upon the diary of a tiger poacher. Aditya is grabbed by the poachers and his friend Aarti follows their trail, all the way to Ranthambore. At the same time, readers are invited into the world of Genghis, a magnificent tiger and his family. An action-packed adventure, Deepak Dalal’s story is an informative read about tigers and their home, the forest. It’s also a story of friendship and courage, harking back to timeless books such as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. Although Ranthambore Adventures was first published in 1998, its message about tiger and forest conservation remains as evocative as ever.

3. The Tigers of Taboo Valley by Ranjit Lal:

One of the best explanation of a poacher comes from Raat-ki-Rani, a tigress who lives in Sher-Kila National Park. She explains to her cubs that “A poacher is one of those two-legged hairless cowards who will kill you if he can. He might use any revolting method he can think of – poison, traps or guns”. Tragically, the brave tigress dies at the hands of poacher Khoon-Pyaasa, leaving an unwilling boss tiger Rana Shaan-Bahadur to take care of his four cubs, Hasti, Masti, Phasti and Zafraan. But like many forest, this one too is brimming with gossiping animals, a vulture squad called Diclo-Fenac, a photographer from the National Geographic, and an underground group of porcupine terrorists who have it in for tigers. Ranjit Lal offers a hilarious wild rumpus, where readers learn about the fascinating animals, while sparking concern for the forests and its denizens.

4. Tiger by the Tail by Venita Coelho:

Venita Coelho’s book comes with a tagline, “Save the Animals, Save the World” – which happens to be the motto of the Animal Intelligence Agency (AIA). The back of the book explains that the AIA is “a multi-species non-governmental agency. Specially trained animal and human agents work undercover to save animals and save the world. Some of them have the licence to kill”. One of the agents with a licence to kill is Agent No 002 aka Bagha, a member of the Panthera tigris species. The tiger is 250kgs of sheer intelligence and muscle. He’s really what one could call a cool cat. Bagha and Rana, a boy who can communicate with animals because he can JungleSpeak, embark on a mission to investigate the disappearance of tigers from wildlife reserves across South Asia. Tiger by the Tail is a wonderful read, interspersed with pages of trivia and facts about tigers.

5. Tiger on a Tree by Anushka Ravishankar:

Published in 1997, Tiger on a Tree is one of the most iconic books about the big cat. Resplendent in orange and black, the picture book has been illustrated by Pulak Biswas. Anushka Ravishankar tells the story of a scaredy-cat tiger who gets stuck on a tree. As the villagers “Get him! Net Him! Tie Him Tight!” they need to decide what to do with this tiger. Written in verse form, Ravishankar talks about the man-animal conflict, courage, and kindness, in a simple yet beautiful way. Biswas’ illustrations carry forward the tale, bringing the forests, the river and the village alive with his brush.

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Announcement - Bike Baton Rouge Annual General Meeting and By-Laws vote - October 5th at 7pm

At our annual general meeting on October 5th (location TBD), Bike Baton Rouge members will be voting on adopting a new set of by-laws for the organization. By-laws are the 'constitution' of any non-profit organization such as Bike Baton Rouge, and describe how that organization should be run.

All Bike Baton Rouge members will be eligible to vote on the by-laws - either at the meeting itself or online here. You can sign up for membership here any time or at the meeting itself.

Read more about the changes to our by-laws and put your vote in here.

Why else should you be a Bike Baton Rouge Member

1) It helps us be your voice. When we talk to elected officials or employees of the city (or state) about bike issues, we use our membership statistics to help our case. If we tell those people that we represent over a hundred paid members of Bike Baton Rouge, they listen a little harder than if we were there alone. Those people make and enforce our laws and buy the infrastructure that we'll be riding on in the years to come.

2) It helps us help others. The money raised from memberships goes directly back to making bicycling in Baton Rouge safer, easier and more enjoyable. Our most notable examples from 2016 include our light donation program, which has seen four hundred sets of LED bike lights donated to people without them (mostly by the BRPD) - and the Bike Baton Rouge Map stickers which we are putting up around our city to help people get around town easier.

3) It helps you help us. We are a 100% volunteer run organization. Our members make us who we are - from our board of directors, to the people who put on our bike rides, and the people who staff our volunteer events like bike parking.

Thank you for supporting Bike Baton Rouge!


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Blackberry Etiquette for Dummies

April 16, 2009

I’m normally not one to generalize, so I’m going to throw this out there right off the bat: I don’t believe that all Blackberry owners share the same behavioural characteristics.  In fact, the following guide on Blackberry etiquette probably only applies to certain types of people, namely corporate big-shots, celebrities and other narcissistic egomaniacs that still believe  owning a smartphone is the answer to their boring, socially-bereft lives.  It’s not difficult to spot them in our society.  Simply look for a hunched-over figure, staring like a corpse at a 3″ screen while fumbling with miniature buttons and a glowing white pebble that loosely resembles the look and functionality of a trackball.  I’ve attempted using one of these things out of pure curiosity.  Let me tell you, there’s nothing convenient about having to rotate the scroll “orb” 3-5 times in order to highlight an adjacent icon.  Nor is it convenient to type a full-length e-mail on a keypad with Tic Tac-sized buttons using only my thumbs.  I’d rather try to cut my own hair with hedge clippers.  Here’s a thought, RIM: Instead or spending millions in research developing a long-life battery containing enough harmful chemicals to re-enact Hiroshima, why not just make the buttons on your keypad a little bigger?  People will spend less time typing, deleting, then typing again, and they don’t have to worry about their wireless device exploding in their palm due to some sporadic chemical reaction.  If sending e-mail wirelessly and having a quasi-functional QWERTY keypad are the only benefits to owning a Blackberry, I’ll pass, thank you very much.  And yet some people spend more time with these things than their own families.

At any rate, here’s a quick guide to Blackberry etiquette:

1.  First and foremost, if you’re going to own RIM’s flagship of inter-human communication, simply storing it in your pant pocket will not suffice.  You will need to purchase a Blackberry “holster” that will clip to your hip.  It is highly recommended that this holster have a magnetic flip-top for quick removal of your RIM device.  Having to fumble with your holster to remove your Blackberry is uncool, downright embarrassing and frowned upon in the Blackberry community.

2.  Once you’ve spent some time with your new Blackberry Pearl, Curve, or what have you, now is a good time to solicit it’s superior functionality to non-owners, or “outsiders.”  Make sure they realize the benefit of such things as custom ring tones, a full QWERTY keypad and the uncanny ability to check the 7-day forecast from the palm of your own hand.  Remind them that even though they may not use all of the device’s 2,043 features, except to show other outsiders, it’s always better to have and not need rather than to need and not have.  And if they ask why the data plan would end up costing them nearly as much as their mortgage, gently tell them that you can’t put a price on convenience.

3.  Once you’ve garnered a decent list of contacts and are receiving a consistent flow of PINs, e-mails and text messages (if you’re receiving a text message, it’s likely from an outsider, so here’s another opening to solicit), it’s probably time to start practicing your Blackberry game face.  This face, which should ideally mirror a rendition of your lifeless cadaver in a morgue, is an important visual cue to would-be conversationalists.  It’s a non-abrasive way of telling someone (without actually telling them) that you’re involved in an exigent repartee that can under no circumstances be interrupted.   And while outsiders may initially be taken aback and consider it rude, over time they will understand and learn to avoid verbal contact with you while you have your Blackberry game face on.  No one likes to be around a loose-lip while they’re going pee.  It’s awkward and distracting.  Feel free to exercise use of this analogy where necessary.

4.  While the former item addresses situations in which you’re in the process of sending a PIN, the following outlines behavioural characteristics to adhere to when your Blackberry receives a PIN or phone call during a conversation with an outsider.  The main thing to keep in the back of your mind is that no matter how important the conversation may seem, it should never be prioritized over an incoming PIN or phone call.  That being said, there are a few ways of approaching this situation, all of which are acceptable, but they may trigger different responses from your outsider friend.  The easiest and most common method is to simply remove your Blackberry from its holster and immediately divert your full attention to it without uttering a word.  The outsider may attempt to continue the conversation with you, in which case you can keep them at ease by occasionally nodding your head, and saying things like, “Mmm hmm.”  If it’s a phone call, then it’s probably best to make some brief eye contact with the outsider, and then turn and start walking in the opposite direction.  An alternate technique to this method – and studies prove this method to be slightly more acceptable in the outsider community – is to raise your index finger upwards before taking the call, as if to say, “One minute.”  In theory, the outsider will believe that you are merely taking a brief detour from your conversation with him or her, but in actuality there is no guarantee that the conversation will ever pick up where it left off.  In fact, it ought not to.  You’re far too important to be wasting time on small-talk.  The last method, although widely recognized to be the most acceptable by outsiders, is considered the least efficient and may directly affect your ROP (Rank of Importance).  This method involves interrupting the conversation gently by raising a hand and pronouncing, “Excuse me, I need to take this.”  The Blackberry community tends to consider this method a last resort, and should only be used if the other methods fail.

5.  As a Blackberry owner, it is imperitive to stay on the leading edge of technology.  Thus, whenever RIM releases a new Blackberry model, it’s in your best interests to purchase the new hardware as soon as it hits the market.  Doing so will not only help you to minister to outsiders in a new and savvy way, it will also boost your ROP instantly, as nothing advertises your corporate preponderance like a flashy new piece of hardware.  Keep in mind that the transition may require purchase of a new holster.

And there you have it.  Happy PIN-ing.

One comment

  1. HAHA I love it. Thank God I never invested in a holster and I my curve is sooo 2 years ago.

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Prenatal exercise lowers risks of C-sections, higher birth weights

Pregnant women who exercise can significantly lower the risk of undergoing cesarean sections and giving birth to large babies, a study has found. Prenatal exercise has been suggested to be a means to prevent childhood obesity through a “normalization” in birth weight (ie. reducing the risk of having a large baby at birth).

from Fitness News — ScienceDaily
Read BellyTrim XP Review:


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Graphic Design

Good graphic design should extend further than a simple logo or color scheme. At Black Mountain, we pride ourselves on learning the story behind the design and implementing that into the design. We have extensive experience in logo design, corporate branding, product branding, print and digital media.

Pictures can be taken by almost anyone with a smartphone but photography is a skill that should be learned and mastered. Whether is a simple stock photoshoot, product examples, or a full photoshoot, having the skills and equipment to capture the message, tone, and story with a single shot can push your brand, product or service farther. Engaging the audience with photos is a difficult task but the team at Black Mountain has the ability and experience to ensure your message is seen and understood.

Web Design & Development

The first step to most products and businesses is the website. Black Mountain has 10+ years experience in designing, developing, managing, maintaining and securing your online presence. Whether your business needs e-commerce, SEO management, simple online presence, or a complicated setup, the team at Black Mountain will help you build exactly what you need. Just like our other services (and our entire approach), we spend the time to figure out exactly what you need and what you don’t need and help you get the online presence your business and product deserves.

Company Branding

Branding a company is not an exact science. There are techniques and skills that can be transferred but every company is different (otherwise why start a new one). The team at Black Mountain takes the time to learn everything about the business to create a branding and marketing strategy that will assist in the company’s success. In our experience, learning the reason why the company was created is a powerful message to your customers.

Product Development

Product development means many different things to many different people, however, most would agree it isn’t easy. Product development at it’s best should be the ability to take your product or brand and create it (seems pretty simple in those terms doesn’t it). All the processes aren’t that easy though. The team at Black Mountain has over 5 years experience in developing products and brands. This includes the actual creation of the product but also the marketing and potential outlets for them.

Business Development and Consulting

Creating a new business is a fun and exciting time – it’s also something else, stressful. The team at Black Mountain has 7+ years experience with consulting businesses (specifically local businesses, product, and technology companies) on how to grow their business, set it up for success, and even scale when the time comes for it.


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I have just heard on French radio an advertisement for a bank.  It consisted of the anonymous testimony of one of the bank’s supposed customers actually saying that she is convinced that her banker puts her interest before his own.

I hope you are smiling as I am.  But on second thoughts I realized that the expression is an accurate enough definition of the meaning of genuine philanthropy and even Christian charity.  The heroes of human history are those who made this ideal a reality in their lives.  We are, by nature, selfish and dedicated to our own welfare and survival.  But some people, some of them Saints, have been so unselfish that they gave the priority to others’ interests, to the point sometimes of even laying down their lives for them.  Beyond our inbuilt instinct, not to say – as some do – our hard-wired pre-programming, to contribute to the survival of our species, sometimes exceptional human beings put other people’s welfare above their own, and dedicate, even sacrifice, their lives for others.

One doesn’t need to be a believer or a disciple of the Teacher who famously defined the extreme to which love could go, “Greater love than this no man has ….”, to admire and even try to live up to the ideal He Himself is said to have accepted in His rôle as Redeemer, to suffer torture and execution to pay off our “debt”.  His self-delusion does not reduce the pertinence of His definition of the love that comes naturally to most mothers (and some fathers), and heroically to certain other rare exceptions to human selfishness.

Fortunately the rest of us have such models to set the standards for human behavior.  Unfortunately we will continue to be surrounded by the credulous suckers who will remain easy prey for bankers, snake-oil salesmen and the sleep-merchants of religion.


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Listen to free music played by gulfcoastgal

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Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station and start listening to @gulfcoastgal.

over 100 listeners

United States United States. DJ since Sep 19, 2009
Page 20
gulfcoastgal My musician friends hated the breathy technique but we adored this sweet song with all the different roads it took

Jethro TullBourée

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gulfcoastgal SRV could do amazing things with a song
gulfcoastgal have not heard this in years ..still is so pretty
gulfcoastgal similiar melody to shady grove.. but again a song from SD
gulfcoastgal here is one version of this old traditional song we used to sing
gulfcoastgal this is one of my favorite songs
gulfcoastgal another song which scared us like Alfred Hitchcock
gulfcoastgal this song properly scared us all at a young age - an old traditional British song
gulfcoastgal they always had such a unique sound

PentangleLight Flight

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gulfcoastgal QMS sang it and then we heard the blue grass versions which were much more dense and rich

Doc WatsonShady Grove

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gulfcoastgal We did not know if they discovered old old songs or wrote in the fashion of

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Listen to free music played by yuuhi_hajime

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Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station and start listening to @yuuhi_hajime.

yuuhi_hajime iTunes play "Eric Clapton - Believe In Life" #nowplaying
77ozzie gave props on Aug 27 at 10:24 pm

What other DJs are saying about Eric Clapton - Believe In Life

The101HiWay Eric Clapton - Believe In Life ::TY2 @ll my blip Dj' friends @adbert hope u enjoyed the hommage to Richie Havens [not seen u in ages~hope alls' well] (reblip)

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Give Your Car a Recall for Christmas

Red 2009 Honda Fit

Honda: Recall Champ of the Week

With all the shouting about the Toyota recalls this year, they are far from the largest. I found an interesting graphic (after the break) showing the Largest Car Recalls in History. Big numbers here, folks, really big numbers: Ford and GM totals from 1971 to 2010 give Ford 24.5 million to GM’s 19.8 million vehicles recalled. Imagine what that cost!

For this Christmas, however, if your car is one of those listed below, you can do it and yourself a big favor by calling your dealership and getting the beast some proper care, soon. Most of these issues don’t seem life-threatening, but one never knows.

There seems to be something of an epidemic: Chrysler, VW, Honda, Ford, and Hyundai all announced recalls this past week. Plus, we just heard that GM is recalling nearly 100,000 crossover vehicles for bad seatbelt buckles and 300,000 Impalas for defective seatbelt anchoring.

The numbers just keep climbing. Here’s what we have so far. (Click here for a larger view of the graphic at right.)

Autosavant tells us that there are potential fuel leaks in a whole bunch—over 377,000—of Volkswagen cars. Consumer Reports lists 228,000, including 2006-2010 models. It’s about a plastic tab on the wiper fluid reservoir chafing on a fuel line.

Honda is recalling around 1.35 million Fit and Jazz cars in the U.S., Europe, and Japan for a headlight wiring problem.

Chrysler has a potential airbag deployment issue in 367,000 of its 2008 Town & Country and Grand Caravan minivans; 76,000 Dodge Ram pickups, built from March 2009 through October 2010, are being recalled for a power steering problem.

Some 10,000 Hyundai Santa Fes and Kia Sorentos are being recalled for brake problems.

The Mazda5 has an issue with the fuel pump, and 16,000 cars are being recalled.

Ford’s Windstar minivan is in serious trouble again, and 37,000 more cars are being recalled for a possible cracked axle problem, requiring owners to park their vehicles. More details here.

Enough already; there are probably more that we have missed. The recall epidemic seems to be owing to automakers finally taking quality issues seriously after Toyota’s big bomb.

Are there more defects in cars these days? Or are automakers more scrupulous?

Find Used Cars in Your Area at CarGurus

Used Honda Fit
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‘The whole man at once:’ Scientific identities at the Dibner Library – Maria Gaetana Agnesi

“George Sarton, a founder of the history of science as an academic discipline, argued that scholars should pay close attention to portraits. These images, he said, can give you ‘the whole man at once.’ With a ‘great portrait,’ Sarton believed, ‘you are given immediately some fundamental knowledge of him, which even the longest descriptions and discussions would fail to evoke.’ Sarton’s ideas led Bern Dibner to purchase portrait prints of men and more »

The Comforts of Camping

When we think of summer, many of us think of traveling and vacations. The Trade Literature Collection includes quite a bit of travel related catalogs. As you might expect, there are catalogs advertising luggage and ones showing different modes of travel, like steamships or the railway. There are also catalogs about camping and everything you would need for a vacation in the outdoors.

Finding family ties in the American Art and Portrait Gallery Library

On a rainy April morning, Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board member Amy Threefoot Valeiras and her family visited the American Art and Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG). What they found surprised everyone! Anne Evenhaugen and Alexandra Reigle, staff at the AA/PG Library, selected a variety of books and artists’ books to show our visitors. One of these was a carte de visite book, featuring photographic trading cards for nineteenth-century American painters. (What is a more »

I See Wonder: Education and Evaluation

This post was written by Louise To, Professional Development intern in the Smithsonian Libraries’ Education Department. Interesting in interning with our Education Department? Apply for a virtual opportunity before July 26th. Hi. I’m Louise. I’m currently completing a dual-degree Master’s program in Learning Design and Technology (M.Ed.) and Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Newly Digitized: Japanese Illustrated Books from the Edo and Meiji Periods (1600-1912)

The Freer | Sackler Library of the Smithsonian Libraries have completed digitizing over 1100 volumes/41500 images from its collection of illustrated Japanese woodblock-printed books and manuscripts from the Edo and Meiji periods (1600-1912). The Libraries’ digitization project was generously funded by the Anne van Biema Endowment Fund.

Fall 2017 Internship Opportunities

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in the world’s largest museum library? Now is your chance! For Fall 2017, the Smithsonian Libraries will host internships through three distinct programs:

Saving Endsheets during spine covering repair

Endsheets at the front and back of most hardcover books serve as a protection and an attachment device. The outermost sheet, or pastedown, is typically glued to the interior of the cover board, while the pastedown’s other half, known as the flyleaf, serves as a shield between the board and the first and last leaves of the textblock. Pastedowns may be blank; marbled with a colorful design; or illustrated. If an illustration more »

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Foz do Iguaçu – water, lots of it

4:21 pm gnome, wengo

I was in Brazil last week, thanks to the funding of the GNOME Foundation, at Latinoware, giving a presentation “Getting started in free software” – a personal description of how I got involved in free software, and the lessons I have learned through it. I spoke about my experiences in the free software world, including my time with the GIMP,GNOME and OpenWengo. Before going, I didn’t really know what to expect. This was my first visit to South America, and while I had heard lots of good things about the free software community there, nothing prepared me for what we saw.

Joao Bueno of the GIMP at the falls

Foz do Iguaçu is a small town in Western Brazil dominated by two impressive landmarks – the Iguaçu falls, a dazzling array of waterfalls that stretched for several kilometers on the Argentina-Brazil border, and the hydro-electric power station at Itaipu, the biggest operational hydro-electric power station in the world. Latinoware was held in the grounds of Itaipu, about 2 kilometers from the dam.

On Wednesday, I got to visit the falls – an amazing experience. The array of wildlife on show is unbelievable, with Toucans, lizards, spiders, and the Wilber-like coati, the mascot of the town. And then there is the falls. According to Wikipedia, they consist of about 270 waterfalls, along a 2.7 km stretch of the Iguaçu river which divides Brazil from Argentina.

Itaipu is also amazing. The power station generates 25% of all of the electricity needs of Brazil, and 95% of the needs of Paraguay. One turbine of the Itaipu plant is 10 meters in diameter, and generates 700 MW of energy – more than enough to fulfill the needs of a city the size of Lyon.

I also got to visit Ciudad del Este, a free trade zone in Paraguay, across the Parana river from Foz. It reminded me of those no-man’s-land cities you occasionally see in spy films. This one city represents 60% of Paraguay’s GDP. You could buy anything – electronics, arms and clothes are apparently the most popular items.

The amazing Latinoware crowd

Thursday morning, I gave my keynote presentation in Itaipu. As I said, I didn’t know what to expect – the last thing I was expecting was 1200 free software advocates, mostly between 18 and 25 years old, coming to the conference. Aside from the size and age of the crowd, one other thing surprised me – the amount of women. A rough estimate put the number of female participants between 10 and 20 percent – coming from Europe, where we’re used to counting on the fingers of a few hands the number of women at a free software conference, seeing hundreds of women at the conference was a refreshing change. One last surprise was waiting for me in the opening addresses – several politicians, including Marcus Mazzoni, a former guest at GUADEC, and member of the regional government in the state of Parana, spoke of free software not just as a way of cutting costs, but first and foremost about sharing and community. First and foremost, free software is a social and cultural phenomenon in Brazil. I doubt many French politicians understand so well what free software is all about.

Women in Free Software

My presentation went well, I think – perhaps because the point above is one I hold close to heart. Free software is all about communities forming around ideas, and those communities are human. Almost everyone who gets involved in free software development gets involved through a friend. I also talk about the motivating factors people have which make free software attractive to them – and the thing that ties us together, I think, is the feeling that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, that we’re taking part in a movement, which is slowly changing the way the world sees technology, and the way technology gets created. We are changing the world.

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