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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Can Dementia Be Prevented?

Let's start with the good news. Among Americans, only one out of eight develop any form of dementia by the age of 65. By 80, four out of seven are still dementia free. Nevertheless, dementia and the related cognitive impairment and short term memory loss, can be devastating to both the person who suffers from it as well as to friends and loved ones.

When I speak of dementia, I mean all types of dementia, including the most common called Alzheimer's and the second most common called vascular or multi-infarct dementia. For a good video review of the the entire topic of dementia and it's prevention based on lifestyle changes, please see my five-part youtube video lecture that starts at

Since giving this lecture back in 2011, the preponderance of evidence I have come across supports the relationship between lifestyle and the development of dementia  However, there were two recent studies worthy of careful consideration. The first, which I wrote about in my blog titled "If You Jump Up and Down After Reading Today's Blog, You May Actually Remember It When You Get Older!,"which can be found at, identifies the correlation between physical fitness and dementia prevention. Exercise is undoubtedly the number one best known strategy to delay or prevent the onset of cognitive impairment. It's better than intellectual stimulation and all the drugs and supplements on the market today. Move!

What about diet? Well, a new study just came out, prompting today's blog that demonstrates the relationship between what you eat and what develops in your cerobro-spinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that encases the brain and spinal canal.  In this study, people fed a low fat, low carb diet were found to have the lowest levels of beta-amyloid, a peptide (smaller than protein) most scientists believe (some believe it's a protein called tau and others think it may be something else entirely) is responsible for the development of Alzheimer's. Although this study was not conducted long enough to offer definitive evidence that a diet that decreases levels of beta-amyloid in the CSF results in lower rates of dementia, I think it still merits close attention because it supports the strengthening assertion that what you eat affects the long term health of not only the rest of your body, but your brain as well.

With the preponderance of evidence showing that what you eat has a profound impact on your chances of living a longer, healthier, pain-free life, or dying prematurely from cancer, heart disease, etc, isn't it seriously worth rethinking the foods you eat?

The short list remains the same. Avoid processed sugar based products, saturated fats, and trans fats, and consume plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, seeds, whole grains, and wild Alaskan Salmon.

1 comment:

  1. Dementia is a part of the clinical presentation in Alzheimer's disease. It is a silent killer. A clear idea about it is important at least for early diagnosis.

    Dementia Clinic


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Thursday, February 21, 2008

P.A.D. February 19th

Maybe you can sense a theme here with my pictures....I love taking pictures of bare trees. I think they look awesome, especially against a really blue sky. I was pulling into the kid's preschool and saw how fluffy the clouds looked and how stark the tree was and so I pulled over and took this picture. It was really windy and the clouds were moving fast. I just think this looks cool.

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October 5, 2010

Winding Path

Well, my trek through the forest has led me far away from where I expected to be. We recently relocated to the other side of the state where I know nobody and have very minimal knowledge about the surrounding area. It has been a bit overwhelming.

This change has been good in many ways, though. The past few months have been a blur of chaos and despondency that found me unable to write more than a few words at a time. I am hoping that the new location will help me regain my inspiration so that I can revisit my writing projects, and perhaps even complete the book I have been working on for some time now.


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Fetti, DomenicoFetti also spelled Feti  ( born 1588/89 , Rome, Papal States [now in Italy]—died April 16, 1623 , Venice, Republic of Venice )  Italian Baroque painter whose best-known works are small representations of biblical parables as scenes from everyday life—e.g., The Good Samaritan (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City). These works, which Fetti painted between 1618 and 1622, were executed in a style that emphasized the use of rich colour and the changing effects of light and shade. They are important in the development of Baroque landscape for the way small-scale figures and landscape scenery are fused into an atmospheric whole.

In Rome Fetti was a pupil of Ludovico Cigoli but was principally influenced by the followers of Caravaggio and also by Adam Elsheimer. Through Cigoli he attracted the attention of Cardinal Ferdinando Gonzaga. The cardinal went to Mantua to become Duke Ferdinando II, and Fetti became his court painter about the end of 1613. At Mantua he saw the works of Peter Paul Rubens as well as those of Giulio Romano, and his style was considerably modified. Later, the influence of Venetian art was even more marked; he took up residence in Venice in 1622.


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I am accepting new patients.
Phone number: 908-277-8667

Personal Notes:

Jeffrey Bauman, MD, is Department Chair of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Summit Medical Group and the Chief of Endocrinology at Overlook Medical Center.  He was among the first physicians in the nation to receive ECNU, an advanced certification in thyroid/parathyroid ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsy. He is one of the few endocrinologists skilled at in-office ultrasound for early detection of recurrent thyroid cancer.  His refined approach to ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy results in minimal patient discomfort.  He is also certified in bone density interpretation.

Dr. Bauman serves as the physician champion on the multi-disciplinary Diabetes: Together 2 Goal® campaign committee at Summit Medical Group. The campaign focuses on providing diabetes patients across the organization with the highest level of care to help them live longer, healthier lives. He advocates patient-centered care and says, "I believe each of my patients deserves to clearly understand their condition as well as decisions about treatment. It's important to me to answer my patients questions and address their concerns."

Dr. Bauman was born and raised in New Jersey, residing in Madison, NJ with his wife and two sons. He was a practicing pharmacist prior to attending medical school.

When he is not working with his patients, Dr. Bauman enjoys running, strength training, music, reading and spending active time with his boys. He includes running a marathon on his list of running awards.

Dr. Bauman has been featured in yearly New Jersey Monthly "Top Doctors" listings since 2009.

I help patients with:

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Fitness Tips from Top Indian Cricketers - Rahul Dravid & Yuvraj Singh

Fitness Tips from Top Indian Cricketers - Rahul Dravid & Yuvraj Singh

They play non-stop cricket throughout the year. Ever wondered how much of physical effort is required to be on the field for almost 200 days an year?

Yeah that roughly comes out to about spending 4800 tough hours in the field every year. You can’t do all that if you aren’t physically and mentally balanced. What one does in the field is one thing, but what one does outside it, decides the amount of cricket one can play. To sum it up all, if players didn’t workout and controlled their diet, they won’t play for as many years as they do. Here is what few of the star performers of team India have to say about fitness and health.

Rahul Dravid

He starts his day at 6 am with a metabolic run followed by a meditation session of about 30 minutes and during match days; he does a bit of shadow practice too. “It’s important to stay and look fit to be able to play for the country”, says Rahul.

Dravid takes time out of his busy schedule and makes it a point to hit the gym at least thrice a week. His fitness regime in the gym comprises of a lot of cardio and light weight. “As a player, you have to be flexible and quick. If you overbuild the muscles you lose some of your flexibility. Therefore, I don’t do heavy weights” adds Rahul. His basic idea of fitness is to do a lot of aerobic exercises and yoga to remain physically as well as mentally fit. He is extra careful about what he eats and how many calories he takes. He prefers sports nutrition food packets.

Yuvraj Singh

His skill set on the field is well known, but not many people know the hard work that he puts in while being off field. Like Rahul, even Yuvraj doesn’t do heavy weights as his idea of fitness is not to build muscles, but to maintain a toned body. For that, he works out in the gym for about 3-4 a week, with his main focus on the cardio exercises.

"My hard work off the field keeps me physically fit on the field. At this level only the fittest survive, and I keep reminding myself with this fact" says Yuvraj.

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Monthly Archive: June 2004

Jun 14

Hair I Am!

6-14-04 Hey there everyone! Long time no write, eh? Sorry about that, but you can probably guess why. I’ve been feeling great and out having FUN! You know what they say… Life is short. Play hard! I finally got around to visiting the Big Sur area of California, and what a beautiful area! It was …

Continue reading »


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July 31, 2010

NYU Hospital: Day 1

Today we checked into NYU Hospital for several days of video EEG (VEEG) monitoring. Hopefully we'll get a better handle on the increased seizures Evan's been having. We are also hoping to reduce Evan's meds. He currently gets medication six times a day and is taking way too many pills every day:

Evan was not happy about having the EEG leads glued to his head but getting unlimited time to play his DS is a plus. We think he looks like a sailor in his fancy EEG cap.

Tonight is my night to spend the night in the hospital and it's always an adjustment being here. There is a child crying in the next room, the little girl in the room with us is coughing as she recovers from surgery on her lung and I'm sharing a twin bed with Evan -- which is much preferred to the foldout chair a lot of parents sleep on!

Tomorrow morning they will draw blood to check medication levels and I'm hoping for the best on that experience. All in all everyone is in pretty good spirits and we're one day closer to coming home.

July 20, 2010

The Tracks of My Tears

So I'm a complete dork, in case you don't already know that, and was all teary driving into work today listening to Smokey Robinson on the radio...

People say I'm the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears...

So of course the rest of this is a break up song but we have had a rough couple days with Evan and the beginning of the song sort of fit how I was feeling.

On Monday Evan had another pretty bad seizure and today he had a bad toxic reaction to his medication so it's been a bit of a roller coaster. It seems like every week we are adjusting his medicine up or down or adding in something new. Evan is completely unfazed by all of it so we really have to follow his lead, but it isn't always easy.


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Monday, 31 December 2012

An evening of the crumbling shoes, blouse-watching and slinking away

Weddings, as you already know, are events that call for remarkable theatre. Thus, to endure the ordeal, I have a theory: arrive early enough to be seen, leave early enough so you aren't missed. And, come Sunday, I  was all set and colour-cordinated to attend the wedding of mum's friend's son. Theory in head, I marched out, gift-laden, lip-shimmering, and hair-flowing, to St. Patrick's Church, where I was to wait for another friend.

I walked around the car park. Smiled at unknown people. You know, the usual. Then, ten minutes into the classic clacking-around cars-and-adjusting-hair routine, my feet began to feel rather sandy. I leaned against a car, reaching down to dust off my footwear.

Holy. Mother. of. Ten-headed. God.

It wasn't sand in my feet, but my footwear - crumbling. Literally. Crumbling to pieces. Breaking into bits like old biscuits. Self-destructing like the Terminator. Committing shoe-suicide. As if my evening wasn't going well already, a stray heel even decided to simply wrench itself off. Drowning in self-pity, I bravely yanked off the other heel, and walked all the way down to Brigade Road to buy a pair of cheap sandals.

At a quarter past seven, I arrived at the wedding; gift-laden, lip-shimmering, hair-flowing and - feet-flat. And I realised -

I'd no idea what the host looks like.

3 voices:

Kappu said...

HHHHHahaha! :D POOR THING! :D And, psst did your friend come or not, this was like an unfinished story you see!

Nice to read your write after long! AND Happieee New Year! Please wish Sharmi on my behalf.

Meera Vijayann said...

Hello hello! Yes, I'm back after a long interlude. Well, if you must know, the wedding was not at St. Patrick's church, I mis-read the invitation and was first of all waiting at the wrong place. Then, mum's friend picks me up after I buy some cheap shoes, and we both turned up at the wedding, having forgotten what the host looks like. We finally met him and spent an awkward 10 mins making silly conversation and he figured out that we didn't recognise him. Hahaha :D

Happy New Year and yes, will tell Sharmi!

Kappu said...

:D :D quite an experience I guess!! AND - Sharmi was my language / accent trainer at Sutherland! Incredible Woman! :)

She once showed your photos to us - we wouldn't believe she had daughters that old :DDDDD

All right so! Take care! bye!


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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Round 1: Bell (Season 1: Fall)

Bell Household:

Hannah Bell: Family/Romance  |  LTW: Become World Class Ballet Dancer  |  First Wishes: Flirt with Issac (Bell), Obtain a Pet, Dance with Issac (Bell), Talk to Issac (Bell)  |  First Fulfilled: Obtain a Pet

Issac Bell: Popularity/Fortune  |  LTW: Become World Class Ballet Dancer  |  First Wishes: Obtain a Pet, Have a Party, Entertain, Earn $100  |  First Fulfilled: Obtain a Pet

Sharon Wirth: Romance/Knowledge  |  LTW: Become Prestidigitator  |  First Wishes: Be BFF with John (Mole), Have 2 Loves at Once, Gain a Skill Point, Flirt with Zeeshan  |  First Fulfilled: Gain a Skill Point

Daniel Bell: Child  |  First Wishes: Obtain a Pet, Play with Julien (Cooke), Be Friends with Madeleine (Greaves), Be Friends with Julien (Cooke)  |  First Fulfilled: Obtain a Pet

We start the round at the Bells with everyone but Sharon wishing to obtain a pet, so they head to the pet store and decide to pick up a couple of cats  Maybe they will have kittens and we can start a pool of kittens for the inevitable raise puppies/kitties wants from others.

The kitties are a big hit with Issac and Daniel.  After returning home they both wished for things regarding the cats.  There is a scottish fold male named Neil, and then a tuxedo female we named Diamond.

Currently Sharon and Hannah are in the dance field, although it's not Sharon's dream to stay there they work on some body skills, fulfilling some wants in the process.

Issac, the popularity sim, always is wanting to throw parties and meet people, so he is happy to great the welcome wagon.  Sharon gets to know one of the Cordial sisters, although I can't remember which one this is currently.

He also starts to become friends with Herbert Goodie.  Herbert's wife Faith is also a part of the welcome wagon.

Issac still wants to throw a party so he invites everyone he is closest two.  This included the entire Aspir family.  If you remember from their update, there was a bit of drama when a love triangle emerged between Luis and his son Victor for Elizabeth's affections.

Sure enough, the party was in full swing and going well when I hear the sounds of jealousy.  Out to the porch I go in time to see Victor slapping his father.  I take it Luis and Elizabeth interacted in some romantic way.

With that interaction love is gone in the Aspir's marriage for now.  We have a long way to go before we get back to this family so time will tell what happens before then, but I have a feeling it will be tumultuous at best.

Hannah often wants to dance with someone, and Issac is always game to dance with her.  These two are relatively easy to met wishes for most of the time.  They each have a day or two that they don't want to reach anything, but early on it was easy.

Hannah did set the kitchen on fire, but they have a fire alarm so the fireman was there to assist in no time and no damage was done....other than to the comfort soup she was mixing up.

Daniel is mostly an easy kid.  He's already in private school, makes friends pretty easily, and always wants to play with, praise or teach the cats.  He brought a friend home from school and they spent some time playing together.

Sharon has been pretty easy as well, but she seems to have mostly forgotten she is a romance sim first.  The fall and secondary knowledge has made her a skilling machine. John Mole did call and invite her on a date however, and since we always try and answer the phone, and accept every invitation she went.  They had a decent time, but Sharon was pretty tied and ended the date somewhat early.

Issac and Hannah have had lots of time together as well, and we get the first hint that another Bell may be on the way.  This is about 1/2 way through the season so we will get to meet the baby before the season, and round, is done.

Everyone here always wants to talk about their hobbies, and it has caused the sisters to become best friends.  They share quite a bit, and help each other meet wishes frequently.

We have confirmed a new Bell is on the way when Hannah has her first "pop" to start showing a bit of a baby bump.

The cats are still here, and mostly get along.  They had a pretty high relationship and then something happened to drop it on Neil's end again.  We still hope eventually there will be kittens.  Neil is a very good cat and calm.  He watches Sharon exorcise.  He followed her to the different equipment and just watched.  I had never see a cat watch like that.  (He didn't even want something, it literally said Watch..."

Sharon does always have her sister around to talk about her hobby with, but luckily Issac is around and willing to share his thoughts about the same hobby.  This whole family is growing closer by the day.

Towards the end of the season we have a birth on the way.  Hannah wakes up from a nap with the first pains of labor.

 We get notice that the Bell's actually will have TWO (2) new babies.  Twins were born Friday, September 15, 2005 (day 5) at 4:56 PM.  There is a boy and a girl and they are named from the BC Pop list.  Intoducing Isabella and Mason
The very happy Issac decides to hold a party to celebrate his babies birth and everyone he can think of is invited, except for at least part of the Aspir clan.  We don't need drama today.

The party is a lot of fun, and multiple pillow fights happen.  Mary Gavigan and Faith Goodie also just talk at the table.  It was a good party.

Right at the end of the season/round Daniel Bell grows up into a teenager in his room.  It is redecorated to better suit his new age and we found out that he is Family/Grilled Cheese sim and has the desire to become a Prestidigitator just like his aunt. He likes brown haired vampires, as long as they don't have glasses.

Hannah: Was really easy to keep happy for a couple of the early days.  Then she became pregnant and was nearly impossible.  She nearly starved to death a couple of times, and was never in a good enough mood to do much.  Hopefully the babies being born will help next round.
Ending Wishes: Ask Sim on Date, Dance with Someone, Talk About Hobby, Play Modular Synth

Issac: The easiest adult to keep happy.  Being a pop sim he was frequently wanting to talk to people and be friends.  He also had a lot of  fortune wishes from his secondary and that helped as well.  He did eventually get into the dance career and is on his way.
Ending Wishes: Buy a Car, Daniel Gets Scholarship, Talk About Hobby, Command Neil to Speak

Sharon: Almost exclusively wanted skills, which was fairly easy, but she struggled at the beginning and end of the week.  Never did find a job in her desired career.  Spent so much time keeping Hannah alive I wasn't able to focus as much on her as I would have liked.
Ending Wishes: Ask Sim on Date, Talk About Hobby, Dance with Someone, Play Modular Synth

Daniel: Easiest sim to keep happy this round.  Came over every day with a wish to get a skill, or make a friend.  Woke up every morning wanting to do homework, get an A+ and play with the cats.  He is a teenager now, so the wishes will probably change quite a bit and we'll see what happens.
Ending Wishes: Get A+ Report Card, Meet Someone New, Flirt, Have Very First Kiss

Issabella/Mason: Still babies so they were pretty easy to take care of.  Everyone loves to come feed the babies as most simmers know.  Hopefully having 3 adults and a teenager will make taking care of the twins a bit easier.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Round 1: Cooke (Season 1: Fall)

Cooke Household:

Julien Cooke: Popularity/Family  |  LTW: Have 20 Simultaneous Best Friends  |  First Wishes: Meet Someone New, Entertain, Talk, Play With  |  First Fulfilled: Meet Someone New

Since Julien's initial wish is to meet new people he talks to the paper girl a little when she comes to drop off his paper.

He then greets the welcome wagon members just to have more people to call up and talk to.  He really doesn't know a lot of people and it's going to take awhile to build up all those friendships for his LTW.

The welcome wagon the welcome wagon consists of two members of the Bell family, who is next, and the Traveler's family is also represented.

The first day was easy to get wishes, but the second day he only wanted friends with people he had no relationship with except Mr. Bell, so the family is invited over after talking on the phone for a bit.  Their relationship on Julien's side is at 100 daily, and still no friendship.  He spent all day on this relationship and had to go to work with only meeting a single wish.

The next day after meeting some general wishes about food and skills he brings home Madeleine Greaves with him after work.  They are friendly and are able to become friends easily.

Cynthia Kim is also here, and I can't remember if he invited her in, or if she just invited herself, but they all hang out for awhile.

After everyone leaves Julien gets a phone call, which we answer since we have to try and answer every call here in Megalahood.  It's Cynthia Kim, and he is ready to go.  So they head to the ever popular location for some poker.

Julien sits down with Madeleine, who is also on this outing, Cynthia Kim and someone else who came with them that I don't remember the name of.

Julien started wanting to throw parties, so we threw a party and invited almost everyone he knows.  Most of them came, and while it was really rocky for a bit, it turned out good.

The TV is popular during parties, and Julien is slowly growing up friendships so he can start reaching those "friend" wishes.

Suddenly, during a party Madeleine goes over and flirts with Julien, all on her own.  He accepts, and they have a crush.  She has no attraction bolts to Julien though, so this isn't likely to last.

The next day Julien really wants friends, and the closest person is Elle Lum.  They talk on the phone most of the morning, and by the afternoon accepts an invitation over.  Once she is at the house Julien throws all kinds of wishes for interactions with her, but nothing romantic.  Shes doesn't have any bolts either.

The next to last day of the round Julien is not having much luck with wishes, so we take him to a coffee spot to meet some new people.  It does the trick and he makes his wishes easily once he gets home.

During another party Julien greets this passerby, Rose Dai and she wants to set him up on a blind date.  We accept everything we can here in Megalahood and so he accepts and in drops Alexandra Teatherton, who I don't know, but she is currently in Riverblossom Hills where she has a daughter who lives with an ex-husband.

After a few interaction, in which we discover they are 3-bolts hot....at least on his end.  This might be a very good match for Julien.  They head inside, and we get Madeleine's "you are cheating on me" tantrum.

It doesn't stop the date, and soon Julien and Alexandra are crushes as well.  This is the last day of the season, so unless Julien suddenly wishes for her to move in we'll have to wait until Alexandra's entry to see if anything happens.

The date ends Good, as does the party and Madeleine comes to kick over the trashcan.

Julien: Other than the second day Julien was pretty easy to keep happy.  He wanted to serve a lot of food, so he needs a family soon.  His fridge is stocked with leftovers, which is handy for all the parties he wants to throw.  Not an overly interesting round until he met Alexandra, but it was the final day, so I'm interested what sorts of things she wishes for when we get to her.
Ending Wishes: Be Friends with Antonio, Be Friends with Renee, Be Best Friends with Alexandra (Teatherton), Meet Someone New

Monday, February 2, 2015

Round 1: Mole (Season 1: Fall)

Mole Household:

John Mole: Popularity/Pleasure  |  LTW: Become a City Planner |  First Wishes: Have a Party, Play with Pauline (Aspir), Be Friends with Pauling (Aspir), Go Swimming  |  First Fulfilled: Go Swimming

John's initial wish is to go swimming.  Since he has a swimming pool this is quickly met with a nice belly flop....err....fresh dip in the pool.

Then John wants to throw a party.  He is interested in dating, but doesn't have too many people he is actually interested in.  He invites over everyone he has a decent relationship with and most of them come.

He dances with his crush Sharon Wirth, however, she is a Romance sim and he knows she's not really good for him.

During her update, John met Natasha Una and they become best friends, fulfilling wishes for him.

Then, as has become very custom for that first night, John get invited to an outing by Hannah Bell.  She must be some sort of community out reach person since the last two houses have received her invite.

There are a lot of town sims there that night and John tried to meet most of them.  He does want to have a million friends, that's what popularity sims want. Of all the gitls he met, however, no one is very attractive to him.

Then the drama from the last house spills into this one.  No one is upset about any sort of cheating, but the father/son relationship between Luis and Victor is so damaged they just start slapping each other right at the bar.

John doesn't stay around much after that and goes home to read about Tinkering, his hobby preference of choice.

He manages to get a job in Architecture, you wouldn't think there would be very many openings since it seems a popular career choice around here, but he has a wish for a logic skill point so a chess board is installed near the pool.

John really wants to make friends and best friends with everyone so he is thrilled when Tara Kat becomes another best friend.

To keep up on wishes and giving him people to get to know John starts meeting nearly anyone who will walk by.  Especially if it's a woman.  However, John isn't really picky, he'll be friends with anybody.

Meeting new people is one of John's favorite past times and there are a lot of people in the world to meet.

Throwing parties is a daily wish and he takes a lot of time influencing people to talk with and interact with each other.  Maybe he can get Victor and Luis over and have them talk.

Sharon would very much like to make John one of her lovers and leaps into his arms.  He does like her but knows it isn't forever.

Still, the heart wants what it wants and he is now in love with her.  No additional wishes roll up, however, so Sharon is left wanting....until we get to her house I'm sure.

We didn't take many pictures throughout the days as most days were the same.  John got up and cleaned up a bit, maybe took a bath, and went to work.  He would then come home, throw a party, get the guest talking, serve food and clean up, take a bath and go to bed.  Wake up, rinse and repeat.  On the last day John almost didn't make his 5 wishes as someone was causing many relationship points in loss at the party, I THINK it was Jason Cleveland but I'm not 100% sure. So the final party of the week wasn't fun, and he had to quickly make friends with someone.  He made it, but just barely.

John: Besides Natasha Una he has to be the easiest sim to earn wishes for.  He could almost border on boring being so clock work but there is something nice about playing him.  I do have him on a quest to meet as many women as possible to try and find a non-married 2-bolt couple.  Time will tell if I am successful.
Ending Wishes: Meet Someone New, Gain a Skill Point, Be Friends with Meredith, Buy a Bar


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Monday, February 2, 2015

Round 1: Mole (Season 1: Fall)

Mole Household:

John Mole: Popularity/Pleasure  |  LTW: Become a City Planner |  First Wishes: Have a Party, Play with Pauline (Aspir), Be Friends with Pauling (Aspir), Go Swimming  |  First Fulfilled: Go Swimming

John's initial wish is to go swimming.  Since he has a swimming pool this is quickly met with a nice belly flop....err....fresh dip in the pool.

Then John wants to throw a party.  He is interested in dating, but doesn't have too many people he is actually interested in.  He invites over everyone he has a decent relationship with and most of them come.

He dances with his crush Sharon Wirth, however, she is a Romance sim and he knows she's not really good for him.

During her update, John met Natasha Una and they become best friends, fulfilling wishes for him.

Then, as has become very custom for that first night, John get invited to an outing by Hannah Bell.  She must be some sort of community out reach person since the last two houses have received her invite.

There are a lot of town sims there that night and John tried to meet most of them.  He does want to have a million friends, that's what popularity sims want. Of all the gitls he met, however, no one is very attractive to him.

Then the drama from the last house spills into this one.  No one is upset about any sort of cheating, but the father/son relationship between Luis and Victor is so damaged they just start slapping each other right at the bar.

John doesn't stay around much after that and goes home to read about Tinkering, his hobby preference of choice.

He manages to get a job in Architecture, you wouldn't think there would be very many openings since it seems a popular career choice around here, but he has a wish for a logic skill point so a chess board is installed near the pool.

John really wants to make friends and best friends with everyone so he is thrilled when Tara Kat becomes another best friend.

To keep up on wishes and giving him people to get to know John starts meeting nearly anyone who will walk by.  Especially if it's a woman.  However, John isn't really picky, he'll be friends with anybody.

Meeting new people is one of John's favorite past times and there are a lot of people in the world to meet.

Throwing parties is a daily wish and he takes a lot of time influencing people to talk with and interact with each other.  Maybe he can get Victor and Luis over and have them talk.

Sharon would very much like to make John one of her lovers and leaps into his arms.  He does like her but knows it isn't forever.

Still, the heart wants what it wants and he is now in love with her.  No additional wishes roll up, however, so Sharon is left wanting....until we get to her house I'm sure.

We didn't take many pictures throughout the days as most days were the same.  John got up and cleaned up a bit, maybe took a bath, and went to work.  He would then come home, throw a party, get the guest talking, serve food and clean up, take a bath and go to bed.  Wake up, rinse and repeat.  On the last day John almost didn't make his 5 wishes as someone was causing many relationship points in loss at the party, I THINK it was Jason Cleveland but I'm not 100% sure. So the final party of the week wasn't fun, and he had to quickly make friends with someone.  He made it, but just barely.

John: Besides Natasha Una he has to be the easiest sim to earn wishes for.  He could almost border on boring being so clock work but there is something nice about playing him.  I do have him on a quest to meet as many women as possible to try and find a non-married 2-bolt couple.  Time will tell if I am successful.
Ending Wishes: Meet Someone New, Gain a Skill Point, Be Friends with Meredith, Buy a Bar

  1. It's nice seeing John reasonably happy in your game, when in my game he died during his very first week (in a fire... of course!).
    Isn't it funny how some Sims always seem to be the ones who invite others for an outing, or turn up after work, or come home from school with them? In my game, all during her teenage years, Sally Riley was the Best-Known Sim in New Maximiliania. When Hailey Hart (Matthew Hart's daughter) reached that age, she became the one who would always get off the school bus with someone.

    1. I do find it interesting to see who invites who out and comes home with who. It does seem that it's often the same people over and over again. I kind of like that though, I went and read quickly through your Mole update and saw John died quickly. Kind of sad, he's pretty interesting and I'l be interested to see what happens as this hood progresses.

  2. I have only played this guy in one incarnation, unblogged. He's happily married and has a daughter :)

    1. He's interesting. I do kind of hope he finds someone. In Megalahood there are plenty of people. By the time we get back around to this house in rotation someone could have wished for him in their house and he would move there. It all depends on the wishes. :)

  3. So much to catch up on! John seems like a nice guy to play. I love Pop sims with their parties and friendships. Definitely not boring. :)

    1. So far I like John. He is consistent but not boring. :) I don't know if he will ever find love, but in a hood this size either way is fine in my book. :)


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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Doug Hughes the Flying Mailman - Madman or Martyr?

By Mel Carriere

I can't precisely remember where I was when I first heard some nutbag had crashed on the Capitol lawn in a Gyrocopter, whatever that is.  On the contrary, I will always recall exactly my exact location when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, when the 9/11 attacks were announced, even when they finally got Osama. But to me the Doug Hughes report of last April 15 was just another in a string of half-heard mundane news items  that you forget about as soon as you hear them.  I even wondered if it wasn't just some lame Jeff Bezos stunt to demonstrate the delivery power of his Amazon Air Force!

Neither was I particularly thrilled to learn, sometime later, that this psycho pilot on a flying bicycle was a letter carrier.  In fact, I think I shook my head and rolled my eyes a little, thinking that's all we need, another screwball in a postal uniform to deepen the public perception that postal employees are just overpaid malcontent misfits who can't play well with the other kids.

Little by little I finally learned the truth about Doug Hughes, but it didn't happen right away, probably because it took a while for the details of his assault on US Capitol corruption and cronyism to be sorted out and trickle down the news pipeline.  One of the details I didn't know right away was that he had written a letter to all 535 members of Congress.  This was another eye-rolling moment, because  I assumed it was something along the lines of the letters celebrity stalkers write to their famous crushes, full of incoherent rants and half baked paranoid delusions.  I tuned it all out; glad that at the very least he had not killed or injured anybody.  Then I swept the whole mess into my mental file that that includes the deranged fence jumper that assaulted the White House with a knife last September 20th, and asked myself what he hell is going on with the Washington DC security?

Eventually the details of Doug Hughes' impassioned manifesto came out, and I began to wonder if he really was a kook or a danger to society after all.  Because we blog writers are always trolling for ideas and a lot of times there's just nothing biting in the mental waters that we go fishing in, I decided I would write an article about this flying mailman, as much for my own edification, to learn what he really stood for, as well as for the entertainment and education of my blog audience.

The more I dug into the life of the flying mailman from Florida and the details of his aerial assault on Washington, the more I realized the precision of his planning and the depth of his intellect.  Yes, Doug pulled off a magnificent stunt in catching Washington with its pants down, but Mr. Hughes was not a mere circus clown making a mockery of the DC authorities as he whisked through the air defenses of our nation's capital unopposed.  His was a carefully conceived and executed act of civil disobedience, two and a half years in the making, and he has specifically enumerated and well defined grievances that inspired the flight, ideas that we should all pay attention to.

What Doug Hughes was trying to tell us, and what we should all start to take seriously before it completely destroys us, is that Congress is on the take.  Democrats and Republicans alike are both in the back pockets of corporations, and even though the amount of money our lawmakers can accept from individual campaign donors is restricted by law, the promise of a cushy lobbyist job paying 14 times Congressional salary upon leaving Congress is pretty good incentive for the crooks of Capitol Hill to betray their constituents in favor of the deep pockets of their corporate overlords.

I won't make any attempt to paraphrase Doug's ideas here.  He is a very learned, articulate gentleman who is more than capable of speaking for himself, so you should read what he has to say in his own words.  With this in mind, I am going to post a link to Doug's website, and also a link to the copy of his letter to Congress.  There is also a place you can go to donate to his defense fund.  I encourage you to do so, because our Mailman brother from Florida who really did deliver to the Capitol lawn faces 9 years in prison just for telling the truth.

Yeah, but come on Mel, there are other avenues to do this, you say.  You don't have to jump on some weird airborne gizmo and scare the hell out of people who think ISIS is carrying out a terror attack by dropping in on propeller beanie hats.  In response to this, I say that a lot of people, such as myself, constantly wear ourselves out trying to point out this corruption through more conventional means, such as our facebook pages, twitter feeds, and blogs, but NO ONE F---ING LISTENS!

The flying mailman knew that the only way to get people to wake up and pay attention to the problems in Washington was to do something weird, unexpected, and perhaps a little bit frightening.  Don't let Doug's flight be for nothing.  Please read what he has to say, and then support him.

Click here to visit Doug's Democracy Club

Click here to donate to Doug's defense

Click here to read Doug's letter to Congress

Neil Young: Another great voice of protest from the past:

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  1. Mel, a really great post!

    We can only hope more people come to realize the pertinent facts and to understand the motivation behind Doug Hughes act of civil disobedience.

    While postal carrier Hughes' heroic deed indirectly reflected well on the USPS (nothing 'postal' there), he was fired. And he's in big trouble with the federal charges against him.

    Acts of civil disobedience are harshly punished. It is likely Hughes will be sentenced to some years in prison. Even Sister Megan Rice, an 84-year-old nun, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for sabotaging (writing graffiti) a nuclear weapons complex. (Thankfully, she was released after serving only 3 months.)

    We should be supporting Doug Hughes in every way possible. He stuck his neck out, big time, for the rest of us.

    Thank you for linking to my post about Hughes. JoAnn

    1. I wholeheartedly agree JoAnn. It surprises me that so many people seem offended by what he did. Thanks for reading.

    2. JoAnn I am going to be publishing a longer article about Hughes in the next couple of days. I will probably link to you again.


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Meme Express Rings in 2012

Happy New Year!

How did you ring out the old year and ring in the new one! Did you fly right into the new year, with horns a-blowing, or did you chug slowly through the calendar change?

New Year Train Vintage Postcard
Public Domain Artwork

What did you do to celebrate the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012? Were you able to stay up to usher in the brand-new year?

Did you blog about the New Year's arrival?

What New Year's resolutions did you make? Are you still keeping them?

Did you spend New Year's Eve recounting or revisiting memories of the past year?

Leave a comment with a link to your relevant New Year's blog posts/online articles. Be sure to stick a link to Meme Express in your post on your own site as well.

Happy New Year all around!

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    Above are links to my posts on two different blogs. There is a link to Meme Express in both blog's side bars.

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Lysander's World

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Lysander's World was a planet located somewhere in the space of the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrants, noted in part for its exotic native birds. Deanna Troi once visited this world, and included Lysander's World's birds into the holographic program she shared with Beverly Crusher for her birthday in 2367. (TNG comic: "The Lesson")

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Menachem Mendel

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Archive for February, 2012

The Sanctity of Jerusalem in Islam

From the late Hava Lazarus-Yafeh. Also available here on Google Books. Hava Lazarus-Yafeh-The Sanctity of Jerusalem in Islam

Artscroll Talmud Goes Digital-Updated

A reliable source of mine has written on Facebook that Artscroll has announced a digital edition of the Artscroll Talmud that will be available before the next Daf Yomi cycle begins in August. This has tremendous potential. Details to follow. Update: Thanks to the link by Steven in the comments below, you can see the […]

Another Rashi on the Movie Footnote

Makor Rishon has a very good article that gives some background to the movie Footnote. See here for another “Rashi” on Footnote. Article on Footnote, Makor Rishon Feb. 23, 2012 For those who can’t read the Hebrew, here is a choice quote from Menahem Kahana about the Department of Talmud at Hebrew University. It’s true, […]

Rashi on the Movie Footnote

At Yekum Tarbut (H), Adam Freidheim posted (H) a Rashi-like commentary on the movie Footnote. He addresses the characters of the movie, the real-life personalities behind these characters, and the schools of thought that influenced these personalities.

Gershon Scholem’s Library and the Cairo Geniza

The Times of Israel has an article about Gershom Scholem’s library and its importance. Although Gershom Scholem is most well-known as a Jewish cultural figure and the definitive scholar of Jewish mysticism and Kabbala, he was also the first head librarian of the nascent National Library’s Judaica collection, from shortly after his aliya in 1923 […]

Historical Photographs of the Land of Israel

The University of Haifa Library has posted a wonderful collection of pictures of the Land of Israel, spanning much of the twentieth century. (hat tip) The pictures are from numerous collections, including those taken by Moshe David Cassuto during his trip in 1943 to Syria and Lebanon when he examined the Aleppo Codex. If you’re […]

Oh no, Bezek trashes American Jews

Bezek, the largest telecommunications company in Israel, has a new commercial that pokes fun at American Jews. It really isn’t that funny, although I am sure that somebody will say that this reflects more Israeli trashing of diaspora Jews. The commercial depicts an American, the Israeli entertainer Gido Gov, who had left Israel for America.  Upon […]

New Book-The First Modern Jew: Spinoza and the History of an Image

Daniel Schwartz‘s book The First Modern Jew: Spinoza and the History of an Image has just been released. Ranging from Amsterdam to Palestine and back again to Europe, the book chronicles Spinoza’s posthumous odyssey from marginalized heretic to hero, the exemplar of a whole host of Jewish identities, including cosmopolitan, nationalist, reformist, and rejectionist. Daniel […]

New Book-A Window Into the Responsa Literature

Shmuel Glick, the editor of the Kuntress ha-Teshuvot he-Ḥawash, has published Eshnav le-Sifrut ha-Teshuvot (A Window Into the Responsa Literature). The book is available from the Schocken Institute in Israel.

The Times of Israel

The Times of Israel has gone live. Fair-minded journalism, based in Israel, and read both here in Israel and among those who care for the Jewish nation around the world, has a vital, even noble role to play in enabling informed debate over the challenges and the choices that face the Jewish state. Informing that […]

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Tag Archives: paper

low res for life

stuff yet again in progressions, i have an appointment to get some real photos made, not the cell phone variety. so, sometime in the next few weeks i may finally update this thing and put some new stuff in the portfolio section.

til then you can just watch adam curtis docus on youtube:

Stuff done posted elsewhere, now here too part II

Forms III

it is an actually finished drawing. making schemes to get some photos of other things which i made lately… site will be getting some updates (one day, one day, some day.)

exhausted opium

what did i say, weather forecast in effect.

decompression sickness

so many works finally winding up, giving up or moving ahead. and i didnt destroy a single one so far this year.

“null” pen/ink/stuff 42.0 x 59.4cm

a thing has actually been finished

hitcounters the webring

words are for turds.

Current WIPs/Gape_08

some more works in progress. a couple of sketch pages. forms #3 is best forms so far.

here is a link to bunch of photos from last saturday nights one night exhibition at gape berlin: FACEBOOKLINKAHOY

Pictures : Miss Moon FotografieFeaturing 6 unique performances inspired by the artworkPERFORMER INFORMATION AFTER…

Posted by Gape on Sunday, February 21, 2016

slow/not dead

sunday pusher

works often in progress but not so much at this point in time, blame the commonwealth. here are some photos i took in order to give purpose to my day:

i made a couple of drawings recently that were attempts at a sort of field of hatching, drawing in a .zip file. photoshop seems unable to photomerge the scanned parts. and i have given up on it. i like the messy scan more anyways.

also some pages from a zine under slow construction:


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Forex Benefits of Trading the Forex Market

Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.

Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:

Superior liquidity. Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.

24hr Market. This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.

Leverage trading. Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.

Low Transaction costs. Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.

Low minimum investment. The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.

Specialized trading. The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.

Trading from anywhere. If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.

Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.

Forex market vs. Equity markets

FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume. Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.

Trading hours

FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week. Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Morning Light

                                                                                acrylic, 6x6"

Painted about a month or so ago, this geranium had just had a drastic haircut.  It has about three times as many leaves now.  I should try to paint it again--I would have more compositional choices.  Painted in the morning with the sun coming through the window.  I was happy enough with this one, except I don't like how the right side of the pot is almost just touching the right side of the painting.  That is not what my intention was, but I don't have a handle on these ellipses yet.   They seem to push me around.  Live and learn....

Bonus show and tell.  My mother asked to see a landscape.  This one was done in the fall of 2010, when I had the admirable goal of running around on my lunch hour painting plein air.  So, this one was painted probably in about a half hour by the time I found a site, set up, painted, packed up, and got back to work.  I also clearly remember I only had an unprimed panel in the car, so I had to use it.  The panel was drawing a lot of the moisture from the paint.    Oh yeah, the painting:

                                                  acrylic, 6x8ish

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Look Mom, No Shadows

                                                                                acrylic, 8x8"

Several times this painting actually had shadows, and several times I actually painted them out.   Thank goodness May 9 is the start of Lorelle Bacon's class on painting shadow and light.  I need that class!

I find I have a much easier time painting shadows on objects than painting shadows on surfaces the objects sit on.

This was painted yesterday.  I didn't paint at all today.  I painted longer than usual yesterday, maybe because I painted larger than usual yesterday.   Or maybe it was those shadows...

Painting on an 8x8" support instead of 6x6" was fun.  The brush fit better.  Who knew?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Great News!

                                                                                acrylic 6x6"

Painted within the past couple weeks.   Same flowers and vase from the 4/22/12 post, but this one was painted outside and the other, inside.  I actually had to use my plein air umbrella while painting this, because the sun was so strong.

The Great News:  I am going to be taking a four week art class on shadow and light with Lorelle Bacon, my original art teacher.  When I first started doing art (five or six years ago), I took several months of classes with Lorelle.  She then moved to Texas, and I haven't really had a regular teacher since.  Well, Lorelle is back and happens to be offering a class on the very topic I want to study, on the very day I have off each week.  And I happened to stumble upon this news in time to sign up for the class rather than just in time to have missed it.

Lorelle Bacon is a master of EVERY medium, even scratchboard, it's amazing.  You can see her site by clicking her name in the right column of this blog under Art Blogs and Sites.  I am so excited to get back into a class with her!

(Editor's note:  I know I said I wasn't going to complain about my photos anymore, but for the sake of artistic honesty, I want to tell you I think this photo is making my painting look better than it really is in terms of the lighting of the flowers.  I don't think I got as much sense of light into the flowers in the actual painting as they appear to have when lit by the computer screen, at least on my screen.  The vase looks fairly accurate)

A Favorite

                                                                                acrylic 6x6"

Yesterday's painting met an early demise, so I thought to cheer myself up, I would show you one of my favorites.

And do you know why this is a favorite?  Because it only took 10, 15 minutes tops to paint it!  Most of my paintings take close to 2 hours. This one was so quick because I was already warmed up from painting other things.  Hmmmm....a lesson there?

My screen shows a fairly accurate version, except in the real painting, the stems and dark part of the water are a lighter green, so the whole painting is fairly soft, not too contrasty (it's a word now).

Have a great day, Watchers!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Last Red Azaleas

                                                                                acrylic, 6x6"

Yesterday's painting offering.  I'm going to stop complaining about how the photos don't look true to the colors of the painting....I'm putting you on notice that I will be working to correct the issue, probably by changing the software I am using for photo editing.  Until I do, please just assume I am not happy with the photos, so we can move on.   I wonder whether other artists are satisfied with "close enough," or if they keep editing until the photo looks perfect.  One of my friends told me she thinks the photos will never completely match the paintings.  She's an Off-Blog Commenter.  I have a few of those among the Watchers.  I am very grateful for all of you.

For the first time since I started my painting practice, I left in the middle of a painting and returned to finish it.  I really had to go somewhere for about 30 minutes yesterday, and I think maybe the pause was good for the painting, because the first layers of paint had a chance to dry well before I got into layering over them.  I like to paint wet over dry, but sometimes with acrylics, I end up painting wet over kind of sticky.  I wonder if the painting is still considered alla prima since I stopped for a half hour--I'm not really concerned about the label, just curious.

You can see I am still having an ellipse problem.   I'm expecting improvement with practice.  Sometimes the ellipses are a matter of a drawing/seeing/mind distortion and sometimes a paint-handling issue.  In Last Red Azaleas, the ellipse was a seeing distortion.

I feel kind of guilty cutting flowers to paint them.  I usually leave flowers to grow where they are.  The azaleas were on the way out, though, so how guilty can I let myself be?  It's supposed to be quite cold tonight.   I went around the yard trying to cover up plants and cut some flowers I didn't think I could cover well.  I guess they would have died tonight anyway.  We'll see what's left in the morning....

Hi Brooke!  Hi T!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Painting the Light

                                                                                acrylic, approx 6x8"

This painting isn't quite a standard size (slightly less than 6x8"), because it is on a masonite board that was cut to size at home, and apparently when you take a large piece of masonite and cut it into a bunch of smaller boards, the end ones are going to end up slightly smaller.   I've been told.  Anyway, I am wanting this to be slightly even smaller at the bottom, because think it would be a better composition that way.  I'm going to have the same sawer saw some off as soon as other projects around the house are finished and the table saw becomes available for art cropping (unless someone out there knows for a fact that sawing a completed acrylic painting on masonite is a bad idea and lets me know).  Here's how I would rather this look:

It's slight, but I think it makes a difference.

You can see that the ellipse at the top of the vase (BTW, same vase as yesterday's painting) is kind of off, tilted.  You know what?  That doesn't bother me.  I have decided that I am not after perfection in the drawing, because I think having some things a little off gives the painting some life.

I like the sense of light in this one, and my main interest in painting is to capture a light effect.  Whether painting still life, landscapes, or people, that is what I am interested in.  I have so much to learn about painting light.  Lighting a still life has been a big learning challenge, because of wanting to have a nice light effect without harsh shadows.  I've done research and experimented, but if anyone can direct me to any reference information on this topic, I would be so grateful.

So far, natural light on the still life when the light is at certain angles gives me more of the effect I want....but then I have the same issue painting still life as with painting plein air--the light CHANGES!  It's pretty interesting over a painting session to watch the light change--you see all your light and shadow effects disappear and reappear in other places.  But it makes it hard to complete the original vision of the painting.  At least in the amount of time I need to do one of these paintings.

For the light effect in this painting, I think I lucked out in finding these purple flowers and being able to pair them with my peachy-colored vase.  I think being sort of complementary colors, they helped make the light effect on the vase pop.  Then again, I am not a trained artist, so maybe I am making that up.  But I do think from my readings on color that these are near complements and that having them together did help give a sense of light.  I'm happy to hear from any artist out there who can tell me if I am making sense!

Photos.  First, I want to acknowledge my friend Dixie for letting me use her art photo shooting set-up.  Without access to Dixie's set-up, I would not have this blog on-line yet.  So, thank you SO much, Dixie.  Secondly, I want to say that the photos for this post and the prior two were done by me, alone with the photo-shooting set-up, without Dixie there.  For the first three posts' photos, Dixie was there.  One thing we know that made a difference is that she had one extra light on that I didn't use.  When I look at the photo from this post and the last two compared to the first few, the first few look more accurate to the paintings to me.  So, I'll need to try that extra light from now on.  Or maybe actually having Dixie there made all the difference...

Friday, April 20, 2012

Painted these Outside

                                                                                acrylic 5x7"

This painting was more recent, within the last few weeks.  Again, I am not so sure if the photo is representing the painting accurately...

I am always trying to get rid of "things," but since I became a painter of still life, I have had to collect more things to paint.  This vase is a favorite.  You will see more of it, I am sure (it's already in several other paintings).

I didn't know that somebody was photographing me while I painted this.   You can see that my cat Spider was clearly helping.  I don't know why the text below this photo is being centered.  Excuse me while I learn how to make my blog behave.....

(EDIT:  Somebody already noted above commented that this actually is not his photo because since I cropped it, it's not his composition. So give me credit for the bad crop.  I admit I cropped it because I didn't want you Watchers to see any more of the smock I was wearing, because it just gets goofier the lower down it is on me)

By the way, GREAT NEWS for the Commenters among the Watchers...I have figured out how to remove the Word Identification step you have to go through to put a comment on this blog!  Your comment will still go to me before it goes on-line, and now I'll have to use my own brain to decide if an actual human wrote the comment.  I think I'm capable...but if I find too many nonhumans are getting past my brain to the blog, I will have to revert back to the dizzy word thing.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Big Brave Me

                                                                                (acrylic 6x6")

Hello again, Watchers!  Here I am being oh so brave, because I am showing you what I painted today, this very day!  This is a whole new level of "showing" for me, because I haven't had any time to live with this one and see how I feel about it.  But I want to be timely; I don't want to be showing you irises in the Fall.

I'm not sure how I feel about the photograph of this painting.  Photographing paintings is just plain difficult.  Even with a good set-up, which I am lucky enough to have access to.  The image doesn't look quite the same from my painting to my camera, or from my camera to my computer, or from my photo viewing program to my blog.  Goodness knows what these things look like by the time they get to you.

I would like for the photo to be a honest representation, but I just don't think I have total control over that one.  Especially with my inexperience at this process...

I was happy enough with this painting, the way the actual painting looks to my actual, unaided eyes.  Which is lucky for me, because putting precious free time into a painting and hating it makes for a difficult time afterward.  Let's just say a disappointing time.  I should add that having a regular painting practice is teaching me many things, among them the idea that my worth isn't based on my most recent painting!  I have also learned to adjust expectations, because with my current skill level, I am unable to paint the beauty of what I see in anything, let alone a delicate, gorgeous flower like an iris.  I have learned that in order to judge the painting, I have to stop looking at the iris.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Painting Alla Prima

                                                                                (acrylic 6x6")

This one was a real challenge for me, and I unfortunately ran out of time while I was painting it, as I had to meet friends.  This was my second try to paint this gold plate, and I was happy with the results this time.   I can't remember what else I had in the set-up with this plate the first time I tried to paint it, but it was an absolute disaster.  I was much happier with how the plate came out in this one.

I definitely see things I would change throughout this painting if I could, but I never touch the small paintings again once I pull them off the easel and clean up.  Somehow, changing them doesn't feel right.  It's almost like they are not mine to work on any longer.  I think because I'm in such a state of concentrated consciousness when I am painting, each color mixture flows from the next.  Now, they don't always flow as I wish they would flow, but at least while I'm in the throes of the painting, I have an idea of where each mixture that worked and where each mixture that didn't work came from.  I don't feel I could jump back into the same state later.  I feel I should start a new painting of the same object and try again.

(For those non-artists in the group, creating a painting in one sitting only is called Alla Prima)

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Daily Painting and Still Life

                                                                                (acrylic, 6"x6")

I was introduced to the Daily Painters movement by Karen Margulis a few years ago when I took a pastel workshop from her.  She told us that she taught herself to paint with pastels by doing one small painting every day, and she blogged each painting to help herself stay accountable to the daily discipline.  I thought her idea of daily painting was interesting, but didn't see how I could apply it in my own life.  Well, this past November, I saw another presentation by Karen, heard the story again, and took what she said to heart (by the way, Karen is a generous, fantastic painter/blogger/teacher and if you want to learn anything about pastels, I am sure she has blogged about it or will.  See Karen at  When I learn how to change her name into a link, I will.).

I had been doing art for about five years prior to hearing Karen speak the second time.  My art-making time was very inconsistent, applying myself only occasionally and whenever it fit in after everything else.  In other words, I didn't make painting a priority or a disciplne.  So, inspired by Karen Margulis, in November 2011, I decided to be a daily painter.

I looked at lots of daily painter art blogs and saw that not only Karen, but many people had truly created miracles in their art, by painting one small painting each day and keeping at it.  I SO wanted to created miracles, myself.

Painting daily, however, did not work with my current schedule.  I tried painting before work, after work, and even on my lunch hour--all options that stressed me out rather than helped me improve.  I decided I didn't need to add any further stress to my life.  I'm already hard enough on myself with regard to my art.  I have settled into painting one small painting, alla prima, three days per week, a schedule that works well for me.  I am at peace with not being a daily painter.  Rather than referring to what I do as daily painting, I will refer to it as my painting practice.
When I first started my regular painting practice, I jumped from medium to medium, depending on what suited my circumstances.  Literally, I tried to do my daily paintings in pastel, oil, gouache, and acrylic.  In January 2012, I settled in on my one favorite medium, acrylic.  Since keeping with one medium, my painting seemed to improve.  As a bonus, now I have my routine, I know exactly how I will set up my easel, paint, what I will use as a palette, etc.

Prior to my painting practice, I had mostly been painting from photos, from my imagination, and sometimes plein air landscapes.  One day in January of this year, I decided to paint a still life object.  I was absolutely astounded at the difference painting from life made.  Yes, I had been doing plein air landscapes from life, but the landscape is very difficult to organize, and most plein air paintings I do are less than pleasing to me.  When I painted my first still life object, I left my studio stunned, thinking, "I didn't know I could paint that well."

Now, that first still life is not a great painting (maybe sometime I will show it here), but it was life-changing, and that's what counts.  No matter that I knew the light source needed to be different on the subject than in the room, and the only way I could figure out to make that happen was to have my still life object UNDER a table with a light shining on it and myself lying on the floor painting!

I wish I had kept track of the dates of all the paintings I have done since November, or even since January when I started working exclusively with acrylics.  I can tell you that the painting with this post and the prior post were either done in January or February of 2012.

I have such respect for the daily and almost daily painters who post on a blog every single painting from day one of their practice.  They do other artists such a service in allowing us to see the improvement from the very beginning.  I, however, am not going to be able to do that.  I won't insist on just posting paintings I really like, but I simply cannot post the ones I hate.  Partly out of shyness and partly because when I hate a painting and decide I can't fix it, I do one of two things.  I either "go off" on the painting, using with abandon whatever paint is left on the palette,  to vent my tension and  to see what I can learn (I have learned how to work my way towards one solid color of mud on my surface this way!).  OR I simply paint the word "puke" on the painting.  So....the ones I hate, there is nothing left to show you of them by the time I finish with 'em!

Well, long post, but I wanted to be honest here about how I view my painting practice and how much of my painting I will be blogging.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Paint Like Nobody's Watching

And maybe nobody will be watching....                                              (acrylic, 6"x6")

The title of this blog was inspired by the song "Come from the Heart."*   This song left a lasting impression on me from the first time I heard it--performed by Garnet Rogers in a small venue many years ago.  The lyrics have become quite popular, so you have probably heard it, too. The chorus is:

"You've got to Sing, like you don't need the money,
 Love, like you'll never be hurt,
You've got to Dance, like nobody's watching,
 It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work."

(*to the best of my research, this song was written by Richard Leigh and Susanna Clark and recorded by Kathy Mattea)

I knew that if I wanted to start an art blog, I would have to "Paint like Nobody's Watching."   I've never put my art "out there" before.  I never had to wonder if anyone was watching before.  Now, here I go....

I do think at least my mother will be watching.

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University of Miami Libraries > UM Libraries Digital Collections > Special Collections Digital Collections > Michael L. Carlebach Photography Collection

BROWSE ALL images in this collection

The Michael L. Carlebach Photography Collection consists primarily of black and white photographic prints taken and personally hand developed by Professor Michael L. Carlebach. In general, the images are thematically grouped around journalistic pieces published in newspapers, or artistic topics such as portraits and landscapes. The collection also includes pieces shown in various exhibits as well as photographs made for special assignments like the George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign and the exclusive insider's look at the Krome Avenue Detention Center for refugees in South Florida. Another highlight of the collection includes photographs dealing with the medical profession, especially children in hospital settings. In addition to photographing using 35mm black and white film, Carlebach shot color slides, vividly portraying the flora and fauna of the Everglades, historic structures such as Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and news stories dealing with the environment. The entire collection consists of over 5,000 silver prints, color slides, and publications. Currently, over 2600 images have been digitized and are now available online.

Biographical Note. University of Miami Professor Emeritus Michael L. Carlebach's photojournalism career began in New York and Washington DC. Upon coming to Florida, he worked briefly as a staff photographer for the Miami Herald. In 1973, he began teaching at the University of Miami, which launched a thirty-year career in higher education. Dr. Carlebach taught photojournalism in the School of Communication, reestablished the program in American Studies, and chaired the Department of Art & Art History.

Throughout his life he remained a sought-after photojournalist with a discerning eye for the subtleties of the human condition and the comic aspects of everyday life. His photographs have been published in Time, People, The Miami Herald, The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, and The New York Times. His books include thorough scholarly histories of photography, such as The Origins of Photojournalism in America, and American Photojournalism Comes of Age, both published by Smithsonian Institution Press. He remains active as a photographer, scholar and writer. His latest book, Sunny Land, showcases his startling, humorous black and white images of the lesser documented "margins" of South Florida society. He is especially interested in illuminating the lives of people outside the glare of contemporary media, and in finding and memorializing extraordinary moments that would otherwise be lost.


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Metalfields Encyclopedia

Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation

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Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation

1. Sideshow 2. Nothing's Free 3. Lost in America 4. Bad Place Alone 5. You're My Temptation 6. Stolen Prayer 7. Unholy War 8. Lullaby 9. It's Me 10. Cleanced by Fire

released: 1994

Publisher: Epic Records

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Topic Details

The expansive metamaterial concept was developed in 1999 by Rodger Walser, then at the University of Texas in Austin, who suggested that carefully constructed composite materials could achieve physical properties well beyond their constituent components. The idea was not without precedent: Fiber composites—mixtures of carbon or glass fiber and polymers—had existed for decades prior, and were widely used for creating strong yet lightweight structures. Still, Walser and many others believed there was much more to the concept that had not been fully exploited, especially in areas outside of structural engineering. Indeed, as the metamaterials community grew and started avidly exploring the concept, a wealth of new physical paradigms and engineering approaches were quickly discovered. So profound were these discoveries that some of our most basic physical concepts were challenged. In fact, the advent of metamaterials prompted a re-examination of underlying concepts in the field of optics as well as in many other fields. To this day, the metamaterials concept continues to inspire and influence thought across many disciplines of science and engineering.


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GDP's … something?

While the government is shut down, it seems like a good time for a rousing round of Alan Atkisson‘s GDP Song:

The shutdown means GDP measurements are on ice, which is not all bad, though we can expect a 15 basis point drag on GDP per week to include some real harm.

Shutting down our measurement systems strikes me as alarmingly close to turning off the instruments on the flight deck of a plane, due to a route dispute between the pilot and copilot.

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A brand new Mario game is always cause for celebration, but does the new coin-grabbing theme of New Super Mario Bros. 2 cut too close to the bone?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 review – a leap too far
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) – all that glitters is not gold

First released on the Nintendo DS in 2006, New Super Mario Bros. has gone on to sell over 29 million copies worldwide. If it was a music single that’d make it the fourth biggest seller of all-time (ahead of anything by Elvis or The Beatles). It’s also sold (slightly) more than either Call Of Duty: Black Ops or Modern Warfare 3 – despite them both being on multiple formats. And yet the odd thing is it’s a game that not even diehard Nintendo fans are all that keen on.

Together with the completely different, yet almost identically named, entry on the Wii the New Super Mario Bros. titles sound like a game made in fan heaven. A return to Mario’s two-dimensional roots the games promised a true sequel to Super Mario World, taking advantage of both modern technology and Nintendo’s unparalleled history with the 2D platformer.

But where the previous games remain amongst the most lauded in video game history New Super Mario Bros. ended up just a competent retread. A curiously bland addendum to the classic series, the two New games lacked any of the imagination or invention of the earlier titles. And given their sales success it’s unsurprising to find that the same is true of this new sequel.

Under no circumstances could New Super Mario Bros. 2 be considered a bad game – in fact if it were by anyone other than Nintendo there’d be no quibbling at all. The controls are perfectly judged and the level design is still as excellent as ever, even if it often fails the unspoken Nintendo promise of a new idea every level.

What you get instead is a peculiarly pointless gimmick about trying to collect over 1 million coins over the course of all your play. The game is absolutely obsessed with coins, which rather than appearing rarely now regularly explode on screen in a fountain of dozens at a time. Exactly why though is a secret known only to Nintendo, as they add almost nothing to the gameplay beyond granting more extra lives and making the game even easier than it already is.

The power-ups are disappointing too, with the only genuinely new one letting you fire golden fireballs that turn enemies into coins. There’s an amusing-looking block-headed power-up but its primary use is to, you guessed it, generate more coins.

The Racoon Suit (and P-charge bar) from Super Mario Bros. 3 return and grant you the ability to fly, but there’s rarely the chance to get much of a run-up for them. Most of the other pre-existing power-ups seem even more superfluous, with the mega and mini mushrooms (which make Mario bigger or smaller) appearing so rarely it’s a wonder anyone bothered to include them at all.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 suffers from a number of such peculiar design decisions, perhaps the most bizarre being the way the background is blurred out when viewing the game in 3D. Exactly what this is meant to convey, other than that Mario is getting short-sighted in his old age, we’ve no idea but it’s distractingly ugly. Especially as if you switch it to 2D the background suddenly moves into sharp focus and you can see all the detail.

Alas the art design is never interesting enough that you feel you’re missing out on anything. The music is even worse, and so irredeemably boring and unimaginative it shames the Super Mario name more than anything else in the game. Everything from the gameplay to the presentation seems so far removed from the experimental beauty of Super Mario Galaxy, or even Super Mario 3D Land, that it seems impossible to reconcile it with the ‘real’ Super Mario games.

Even the co-op options, which could’ve justified the whole game if properly supported with an online mode, seem half-baked. You can play through the whole of the main campaign with a friend, but only wirelessly and both people have to own a copy of the game. But in another utterly incomprehensible decision the camera is always focused on player one – despite the fact that both players obviously have their own screens.

The other main multiplayer mode is called Coin Rush, which takes three random levels from the main story and challenges to you to complete them within a strict time limit and while collecting as many coins as possible. The idea is you’re mean to then swap your high scores via StreetPass, except of course because the levels are random the chances of you meeting anyone else that has done the same three is remote.

As negative as all this sounds we have to again reiterate that this is a very good 2D platformer. In mechanical terms it’s far better designed than almost any other rival. But in terms of imagination and attention to detail it’s one of the most disappointing games Nintendo has ever released.

Not because it isn’t as good as its predecessors, but because it doesn’t even try to be. This feels more like a yearly update than a proper sequel that the developers were genuinely interested in making. In short the Nintendo magic just isn’t there.

In Short:Arguably the most disappointing Super Mario game ever made, and one that certainly doesn’t deserve the world ‘New’ at the beginning of its name.

Pros:In terms of controls and level design the Super Mario games still can’t be beaten, even on their worst days. Coin Rush is an interesting, if flawed idea.

Cons:Far too reliant on past glories, with very little attempt to innovate or move away from the themes and settings of the past. Bungled co-op and weird 3D mode.

Formats: 3DSPrice: £34.99Publisher: NintendoDeveloper: Nintendo EAD Software Development Group No. 4Release Date: 17th August 2012Age Rating: 3

Video:Check out the New Super Mario Bros. 2 trailer

Thoughts? Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk or leave a comment below


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Eurovision winner Conchita reveals 007 dream
Triumphant: Conchita Wurst revealed her Bond girl aspirations (Picture: EPA)

Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst made a triumphant return home to Austria yesterday… and revealed how she could leave 007 Daniel Craig with serious stubble rash if she has her cheeky way. The bearded Austrian drag queen told how she dreams of being a Bond girl after triumphing with her song Rise Like A Phoenix in Copenhagen on Saturday. Asked about the prospect of an 007 romp, the brunette – real name Tom Neuwirth – coyly responded: ‘I think you know the answer.’ Then she added: ‘Of course!’

Fans take pictures as Austria's Conchita Wurst arrives at Vienna's airport May 11, 2014. Wurst, popularly known as "the bearded lady," won the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with the James Bond-theme-like ballad "Rise Like a Phoenix", before a global TV audience of about 180 million people in 45 countries. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger  (AUSTRIA - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
Fans flocked to Vienna’s airport to catch a glimpse of Conchita (Picture: Reuters)

The 25-year-old dedicated her win to diversity and tolerance after she caused upset in parts of Eastern Europe with her participation. Belarus even called for the show to be cancelled. However, it was the star who had the last word, declaring: ‘I really dream of a world where we don’t have to talk about unnecessary things like sexuality, where you’re from or who you love. I really felt tonight Europe showed it is full of respect and tolerance.’ She also indicated she’d like to return to Eurovision – as a host.

epa04200476 Conchita Wurst representing Austria poses with the trophy after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final in Copenhagen, Denmark, 10 May  2014. Austria won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Rise Like a Phoenix' sung by bearded drag queen Conchita  EPA/FLINDT MOGENS / POOL DENMARK OUT
Conchita Wurst won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song Rise Like a Phoenix (Picture: EPA)

Austrian president Heinz Fischer called Wurst’s success ‘not just a victory for Austria, but above all for diversity and tolerance in Europe’. Poland’s eye-opening performance left BBC1 presenter Graham Norton speechless. Their entry featured scantily-clad women suggestively dancing to lyrics. The Poles ended up on 62 points and finished 14th – three places ahead of Britain’s Molly Smitten-Downes. Twitter revealed yesterday the contest generated more than 5million tweets on social media.


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Discography of Limitation:

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1 Limitation - Marcar Marcar 3 mp3 1995 Pssst Music

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Play online without registration Limitation all albums in mp3 download a single file or separately.
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On this site you can find any kind of music except for MP3 download. This website is an encyclopedia of music in all formats. Here you can not download free music in mp3 or listen online. On the site there are no links to download free mp3 music. Buy music only from official suppliers of audio content. All rights belong to their respective owners.


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Showing posts from August 10, 2014

Canswerists* biopsy new CA classifications

Those whose lives revolve around cancer treatment, both the caregivers and the survivors, know that change in therapies, drugs, and procedures is constant.  A year is a lifetime.  One hundred years is an eternity.  That's why it is astounding that researchers and scientists have just announced a new classification system for cancer.

According to the lead source in this 'social current see,' "The old system classifying cancer by the tissue of where it arose is outdated. It's been in existence for over 100 years now, and we know it doesn't merit the true nature of the cancer," said Dr. Christopher Benz, a professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato and co-senior author of the study.

[View the story "Canswerists* biopsy new CA classifications" on Storify]
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Mother Charged After Leaving Infant In Car

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Tampa Bay area mother has been arrested after allegedly leaving her infant daughter in a van for several hours.

The St. Petersburg Police report 32-year-old Natasha Graver left the child in the back of her car and went to attend a funeral Saturday for three women killed in a hit-and-run crash.

Graver told investigators that she forgot about her child, leaving the van with the windows up and engine off.

After the service, she allegedly drove home and left the 4-month-old girl still in a child restraint seat in the car again.

When the child’s parents went out later to eat, police say they discovered their daughter unresponsive in the car.

The infant was taken to All Children’s Hospital in stable condition. Graver has been charged with child abuse.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Egg Freezing Becomes A Second Alternative For WomenAfter a walk down the aisle ended in divorce, Melanie Bradshaw, walked into a fertility clinic to undergo a procedure to harvest and freeze her eggs.

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« Greg Camarillo signs deal with Miami Dolphins | Main | Another Dan Marino pass record in jeopardy »

Miami Dolphins need to improve on passing TDs

As the Miami Dolphins biggest game in years draws closer it is worth noting that coaches this week are looking for ways to score more points more consistently. The Dolphins scored a season-high 38 points against New England on Sept. 21.

But as Miami readies for the rematch this Sunday it finds itself in something of a scoring slump. Simply stated, one or two touchdowns per game is not enough to keep the current playoff push on course. And that's pretty much what the Dolphins are averaging these days.

The Dolphins have 209 points this season which means they average 20.9 points per game. In today's high-speed, high-scoring NFL that's only good enough to be ranked No. 23 league-wide in scoring.

And if you want to look what area of their offense the Dolphins need to improve most to step up the point-production, it is glaringly the passing game. The Dolphins have only 9 passing TDs this season. That means the Dolphins are tied for 26th in the NFL in passing scores.

Quarterback Chad Pennington has only eight passing TDs this season.

Pennington's game-management has been very good, his leadership is excellent, the guy is very valuable. But Miami simply needs more scoring passes from him.

But while Pennington would like to get more TD passes, he says there is a reason his number is modest.

“We’re running the ball really well in the red zone," Pennington said. "A lot of times, that’s where you can get some easier touchdowns so to speak, as in the red zone. But we’re running the ball so effectively; we just haven’t had to throw it as much. It’s one of those things as a quarterback: Would you like to have more touchdown passes? Absolutely, just to create more success for your offense.

"But, at the same time, I’m not going to sacrifice, trying to force something in there to try to drive stats up. That’s just not good football.”

True enough, the Dolphins have 14 rushing touchdowns this year and that is tied (with the New York Giants) for second most in the NFL. So there are potential TD pass opportunities that Pennington is passing up (pun intended) to get the team in the end zone via the ground.

But to believe the Dolphins don't need to improve their scoring through the air is not realistic.


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« The spirit of 'meanness' and the dying legacy of Jim King | Main | Cuba sentences Maryland man to 15 years in prison; White House, Miami lawmakers furious »

Dean Cannon: Rick Scott's SunRail freeze won't 'leverage' me

Sounds like House Speaker Dean Cannon' is confident Gov. Rick Scott will ultimately approve of SunRail. Could Scott leverage Cannon by freezing some SunRail projects in the meantime? No way, says Cannon. He trusts the governor. His written statement:

"It is true that I support the SunRail project.  The economics of the project, the degree of specific direction from legislature, the carefulness in planning and the potential benefits to Florida differ substantially from the recently canceled high speed rail project.

It is also true that I have a great deal of faith in the integrity and business judgment of our Governor.  I do not believe he will play political games with a project that could serve such an important role in Central Florida's economic recovery.

However, if anyone expects SunRail to serve as 'leverage' with the House, he or she will be sorely disappointed.  While I support the project, I will not abandon responsible, conservative public policy for any infrastructure project."


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Friday, June 27, 2008

Friday Finding

I am so thrilled because one of our designs has been featured!! Susan of Capitola Girl writes a weekly column for Posh Mama about great new jewelry findings. She has done a write-up about her ring fetish and has included our Ring of Autumn as one of her faves! Have a look:

Annette Piper said...

How wonderful! Congratulations and hope it leads to many sales :)

ChezChani said...

Great ring! Love your blog.


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To St. Benedict, on his feast day (A repost from last year)

My Dearest Benedict,

You and I didn’t meet in the regular way. I wasn’t making lifelong vows in a sacred space, a cross pressed to my chest, holy fingers on my forehead.

Instead, I was soaking in an Epson salt bath, recovering from birthing a child. (Something I’m guessing, you encountered little of in your cloistered life. Though, of course, who can be sure?) I was reading a book and stumbled on a few lines about you. Maybe one sentence? It was about how you believed there was enough time. How you always believed there was enough time.

Oh, Benedict, I longed for you to be right. Of course, what would you say about our lives today? My four-year-old playing Angry Birds on his grandfather’s iPhone? What would you say about my staying up late tonight, coffee in hand, to write this post about you? What would you say about how tired I am, how I’m relying on caffeine to get me through my work? What would say about the noise of this world I was born into?

There is enough time, you’d say: Enough time for work, for prayer, for rest, for study.

You’re known for your reasonableness. Reason is something I need more of in my life. I come from a culture of Christianity that says if you love Jesus you must shout it really loud. The louder you shout, the more Jesus will be glorified. You, Benedict, said humility was the key to Glory. You said it’s better to keep quiet.

I come from a culture that says, Go out by yourself and do something great for God! Do something big and individual and prove your worth! You came to me holding out the quiet goodness of community, of hard work, of prayer.

I come from a culture of belief that says the most important work is the tasks I do for God. You said nothing counts more than the love I have for Christ. You said the “Work of God” is prayer.

I come from a culture that says Pray long and elaborate!, a culture that wants me to prove how well I know God by the holy order of my words. You said to keep prayer short.

I come from a culture that demands we do good deeds from a distance: short term mission trips, twice a year work at the Food Bank, money passed in clean and tidy ways. You said that every guest should be considered Christ. You spread the doors of your home wide open. There was always room, always food for the traveler.

Benedict, you imposed “nothing harsh or burdensome,” even when the culture around you demanded penance, demanded solitude in the far-off caves. You offered kindness, gentleness, charity. That’s why I heard your words and clung to them that day in my bathtub. In that moment, I was not sealed into a flock of brethren. I was not blessed by sacred hands and ushered into a new name and new robes. But I discovered that you and I had a lot more in common than I ever would have believed. Your words have walked with me through these early years of childrearing. You might not agree with me, but Brother, you have a Mother’s heart. You gathered and gathered and look at us: We are still being gathered into your fold, your cloister.

Thank you for offering a world to me I had never imagined: the hope of quiet faith and severe hospitality. I have found in your words a beautiful perspective of time and work and God’s sweet goodness.

I don’t know how to go about celebrating a saint on his feast day. You probably can’t imagine this, but we Protestants don’t usually do that sort of thing. I imagine, though, that in celebration I should do what you’ve taught me: Practice gentle humility.

The cloistered life is the gentle life, after all. I’ll dress my boys for bed here at my parents’ home. I say a blessing over their heads, like any faithful priest. I’ll visit my grandfather in his nursing home bed, where he lies uncertain and a bit confused. I’ll run my fingers through his hair like I do my little boys and sing the old invitation hymns to him while he falls asleep, his mouth curled tight around the empty space where his false teeth have been removed.

And, like you would do, I’m sure, Benedict, I’ll raise my thumb to his ancient forehead, run it down and across his wrinkled lines. I’ll mark him with the cross, a blessing for an old man in the in-between, a man who told me Jesus would be coming for him soon.

I’ll sing quiet, like a monk chanting ancient Psalms: Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me. And that will be my celebration, Benedict. As quiet and simple a celebration as you would require.

For more on St. Benedict, read the series I wrote on Benedict’s Rule here.