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Kliff Kingsbury Returns Home to Texas Tech

A familiar face has returned to Lubbock.

Kliff KingsburyFor all the talk about Kliff Kingsbury’s youth, wardrobe and ability to relate to players, there is one other major factor that should contribute to his success: He’s home.

Kingsbury’s birth certificate says he was born in San Antonio, but the five years he spent as a quarterback in Lubbock have made him as West Texas as the dusty wind that whips across the South Plains or the grassroots Flatlanders, who have helped bring the area to life with their songs for 40 years. His return to Texas Tech has created the kind of excitement that used to prevail when he was tossing it around 50 times per game (at least), and the Red Raiders were starting their journey to prominence under Mike Leach.

Lubbock is a different kind of place. It sits hundreds of miles away from its Big 12 Texas brethren, who are clustered — if it’s possible to be clustered in Lone Star country — on the state’s eastern half. If you’re going to win at Tech, you have to understand the culture. You have to embrace the land and the wind, especially the wind. The school doesn’t have the same pedigree as its in-state rivals, and as late as the 1960s there was a proposal to include it in the Texas A&M system. But Tech maintained its independence and moved on. By hiring five assistant coaches with direct ties to the school, Kingsbury has assured that there will be no learning curve for his staff when it comes to selling the school’s identity.

“Texas Tech fans and students have always had a chip on their shoulder, and they take pride in that,” Kingsbury says. “I hired five coaches who played here, and they bring great energy for the school.”

Tech needs that fire. Under former coach Tommy Tuberville, who surprisingly bolted in December to take the Cincinnati job, the program had drifted away from its personality.

“We have to find our identity again,” Kingsbury says. “I don’t know where it went, but it got lost. We have to establish our identity.”

Kingsbury aims to get that back — in every way possible. That he is doing it as a 33-year old head coach has brought him considerable attention. But the bigger story is that he is the absolute right man for the job, no matter what his age, or how many boosters send secret memos to school administrators suggesting marketing strategies that capitalize on his youth. A lot of people have played football at Tech. Only Kingsbury blends a true comprehension of the Tech essence with a sparkling football résumé and a rare ability to connect with college players.

“Age does not equate to experience,” says Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, for whom Kingsbury worked as offensive coordinator in 2011 at Houston and last year in College Station. “It’s the quality of experience that matters.”

Kingsbury’s 11 years after leaving Lubbock have provided a rock-solid football foundation. Although he threw a total of two passes during parts of four NFL seasons, he had the opportunity to learn from people like Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in New England and Mike McCarthy in New Orleans. His apprenticeship under Air Raid savant Dana Holgorsen at Houston was akin to graduate work after three years with Leach in Lubbock. And all he did last year was run an offense that helped Johnny Manziel win the Heisman Trophy for the Aggies. But Kingsbury isn’t just a quarterback guy. Sumlin says he understands how to coach offense and how to direct players successfully.

“He’s got a big-picture view,” Sumlin says. “People talk about growth curves and how quickly everything happened for him, but I can tell you this, once you get to the coordinator level in the SEC, there is a lot of pressure involved. You are the head coach of the offense, and you have to be able to talk to your team in that role.”

Although Kingsbury was in College Station for just one season, he made an impact — well beyond Manziel. When he took the job at Tech, Kingsbury asked Sumlin if he could speak to the team. Kingsbury was honest and emotional, and after he finished speaking, one Aggie stood and applauded. Wide receiver Ryan Swope, who struggled to acclimate to Kingsbury’s attack — after authoring the finest pass-catching year in A&M history in 2011  — was moved. “(Swope) stood up and clapped,” Sumlin says. “Everybody did, and there were some tears shed.”

Including by Kingsbury. He isn’t just a fast-climbing coaching jet, although his trajectory is quite steep. His magic is found in his energy and ability to sell not only Lubbock but also his vision for success, in terms college kids can understand. Players are less inclined to listen to an old-schooler spout platitudes and time-tested recipes for success, even if they work. They want a modern touch — for better or worse — and Kingsbury provides that. He’s demanding and exacting in his approach, but one of the reasons Manziel was so successful last year was that Kingsbury let the quarterback freelance often within the confines of the attack. “He’s a quarterback’s quarterbacks coach,” says Case Keenum, who spent four of his six years at UH (2006-11) with Kingsbury. “He’s more inclined to check to a pass than to a run.”

It’s obvious that Kingsbury remembers well what it was like when he was a Red Raider. The whole staff, which includes only one coach older than 40, isn’t far removed from its playing days.

“Being young, we can relate to the kids, because only eight-to-10 years ago, we were doing the same things they are,” says co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, who played at Tech from 2001-04. “We relate to their struggles as student-athletes. They’re missing their moms and dads, and we can tell them how we dealt with that.”

Kingsbury is somewhat evasive about what kind of attack he’ll employ, but fans of Leach’s system will recognize plenty of similarities. The twists will come from Kingsbury’s time with the Patriots and with McCarthy, as well as his experiences with Holgorsen, a spread mad scientist in his own right. “(Kingsbury) does a pretty good job putting his own twist and slant on the offense,” Keenum says.

Mostly, Kingsbury wants to rediscover the mentality that helped Tech succeed under Leach, who wasn’t a West Texas native, but his “swing your sword” attitude played well with fans. Tuberville didn’t run from the South Plains mindset, but he didn’t embrace it, either.

Kingsbury holds tight to that personality. It doesn’t matter how old he is or what kind of clothes he wears.

“He’s up-to-date enough to wear cool brands of jeans and shoes,” co-offensive coordinator Eric Morris says.

It’s not about that, even if the alums want to market him that way. Kingsbury has returned to Lubbock, eager to rejuvenate the Texas Tech he knows and loves.

Right where he belongs.

Written by Michael Bradley for Athlon Sports. This article appeared in Athlon Sports' 2013 Big 12 Preview Edition. Visit our online store to order your copy to get more in-depth analysis on the 2013 Big 12 season.

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Schiller – You (Feat. Colbie Caillat) January 25, 2009

Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in ambient.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1 comment so far

At the moment I still can’t seem to get enough of Colbie Caillat, an artist who I’ve mentioned several times on this blog. I went to see her perform in London a few months back and I’m eagerly waiting for a new release from her to come. What draws me to her music became even more apparent recently when she described in a recent interview that the two biggest influences of her music were John Mayer and Bob Marley (both of which whose music I share a particular passion for).

I went on the hunt for a bunch of tracks that she has been featured in that wasn’t on her endlessly replayable album “Coco” and came across this track. It’s from an album which I know nothing about aside from the fact that Colbie featured on one of the tracks on it, done on the project Schiller by German artist Christopher von Deylen who’s background is in electronia. It’s definitely a departure from her usual sound – much darker with a heavier overtone then anything shes done before, which displays a versatility I hope carries through to her next release. The track has an atmospheric, almost enigmatic feel and draws you in immediately.

Schiller – You (Feat. Colbie Caillat)
[ Mirrors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ]

Abandoned Pools – Start Over June 7, 2008

Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in Uncategorized.
Tags: , , ,
1 comment so far

It never ceases to astound me of the most random places that I can find good, good music. I mean, once I even found this awesome track on some random porn site… but that can wait for another post. This track is one I discovered from watching a cartoon I’ve previously mentioned on Audio-Therapy called Clone High which is where I also discovered the fantastic Campfire Kansas by The Get Up Kids. I’m not sure why but whenever Bill Lawrence is involved with a TV project, he always seems to include great accompanying music to set the perfect mood of the scenes. This track featured at the end of the final episode and so feels very conclusive and slightly somber. It’s by Abandoned Pools who was the former bassist of the Eels (who spawned the great track “Fresh Feeling”, appearing on the Scrubs Soundtrack a while back – so there’s the Bill Lawrence link once again). It includes distorted beats, buzzing guitars and strings setting the hazy landscape, and sonically it’s all very absorbing, similarly to how Darren Hayes’ Who Would Have Thought sucks you in from the first seconds of the track when the beat kicks in. I’ve yet to properly sit through the album Humanistic from which this is taken but the tracks definitely share a similar vibe and maybe worth checking out.

Abandonded Pools – Start Over
[ Mirrors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

[ From the Album “Humanistic” | Buy CD: ]

Sigur Rós October 10, 2007

Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in post-rock.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1 comment so far

Sigur Rós are an Icelandic band who I’m sure most people have heard )about now, if not from being featured in the BBC’s documentary “Planet Earth” (“Glósóli”), then maybe from the BBC’s Wimbledon adverts (“Sæglópur”) along with many feature films including “Vanilla Sky” (“Svefn-g-englar”, “Njósnavélin”) and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (“Starálfur”). The thing about Sigur Rós is that their sounds create such deep atmospheres and massive sonic landscapes that their music almost tailer made for films.

I first had my taste of Sigur Rós after the hearing the quite awesome “Vanilla Sky” soundtrack which everyone should check out. From that, I got my hands on their second studio album “Ágætis Byrjun” which to this day stands as one of my all-time favourite albums. It really is nothing like you’ve never heard before. The tracks are both so mellow and so dramatic, both so beautiful and so dark. Anyways I thought I’d share a few tracks which are hosted on the official Sigur Rós site for all to enjoy. The music is really chilled out so I recommend you get yourself in the mood before you start listening.

This first song is from that very album and featured in “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”. It is quite possibly the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard (that’s right, I’m making the assumption that everything you’ve heard in your life up to this point is not as beautiful as this) and plays like you’ve just had the most amazing epiphany.

Sigur Rós – Starálfur.mp3

[ From the Album “Ágætis Byrjun” | Buy CD: |
Download: ]

The next two tracks are from their third album “( )”. The first is very mellow and similar in mood as the above track and featured at the end of the “Vanilla Sky” movie (more info here).

Sigur Rós – untitled #4 (a.k.a. Njósnavélin / The Nothing Song).mp3

[ From the Album “( )” | Buy CD: | Download: ]

This second track is slightly darker and one that starts slow before building towards an explosion of sounds.

Sigur Rós – untitled #8 (a.k.a. Popplagið / The Pop Song).mp3

[ From the Album “( )” | Buy CD: | Download: ]

And finally, this track is again from their second album and has quite a jolly and optimistic mood to it. It sounds like the perfect track to conclude a film where all ends well. Check it out and you’ll get what I mean.

Sigur Rós – Olsen Olsen.mp3

[ From the Album “Ágætis Byrjun” | Buy CD: |
Download: ]

Darren Hayes – Who Would Have Thought September 7, 2007

Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in pop, rock.
Tags: , , , ,
1 comment so far

Darren Hayes (formally of Savage Garden who’s second album “Affirmation” I am a fan of… which I’m not too sure I should admit) has been floating around the music scene on his solo act for some time now. Here in the UK he had a bit of success with the incredibly cringe-worthy “Insatiable” and the better track “Strange Relationship” which suggested there was life in the camp dog yet. Two albums later and he’s now released a double-disc album “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” which, while a little self indulgent, has spawned some incredibly good songs. The best of which is this one, “Who Would Have Thought” which is a haunting, incredibly well produced song with a deft beat, sweeping sounds and atmospheric overtone. It’s definitely one to check out. Savage Garden fans will lap this up like… someone lapping up something… really… fast. Yeah, I was never good with similes.

Darren Hayes – Who Would Have Thought
[ Mirrors | 1 | 2 | 3 ]

[ From the Album “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” | Buy CD: | Download: ]

Also, you may want to check out his video for “Me Myself and I”. It’s er… quite something:

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Researchers think they’ve finally figured out why bacteria only causes acne in some people

Posted on Updated on

Despite the fact that up to 80 percent of us will experience the living nightmare that is acne at some point in our lives, scientists still don’t really understand what causes the condition, and more importantly, how to stop it.

But a new study might have finally figured out why skin bacteria only causes inflammation in some people and not others – and the discovery could lead to new acne treatments in as little as two years.

Right now, doctors treat severe acne with either antibiotics, hormone regulators (such as the contraceptive pill), or isoretinoin – better known as Roaccutane.

All of these come with side effects (some more severe than others), and worst of all, most of them don’t offer long-term relief, or in some cases, they don’t work at all

It’s been years since any new types of acne treatments have been added – so new insight into the condition is long overdue.

The new study focussed on the fact that pretty much all of our skin is covered in bacteria all of the time – after all, it’s the first line of defence against invading germs.

But despite this constant coating of bacteria, many people never experience breakouts, while others can’t get rid of them no matter what they try.

“It’s a big puzzle as to why we tolerate all these bacteria on our skin,” lead researcher Richard Gallo from the University of California, San Diego, told MedicalXpress. “Usually, we walk around at peace with them. But at certain times, that detente breaks down and you get an infection.”

Now, for the first time, the team thinks they’ve discovered what causes this crucial difference.

Gallo and his colleagues showed that a usually harmless bacterium that lives on our skin starts triggering inflammation and breakouts when it finds itself trapped in airless, oily conditions, such as hair follicles.

But not everyone’s hair follicles are created equal, and that could explain why not everyone gets acne – some people might simply have hair follicles that are more suffocating than others.

This might not only explain the root causes of acne – it could also reveal a whole new pathway through which bacteria trigger inflammation, and that could help scientists understand a range of different infections.

The researchers specifically looked at a type of bacterium known as Propionibacterium acneswhich – as the name suggests – can cause acne breakouts.

Most of us have P. acnes on our face all the time, but it doesn’t always cause breakouts. So the team tested the bacteria under a range of conditions on the skin of mice to try and figure out what was going on.

They showed that when trapped in airless environments alongside hair and skin cells, P. acnes turned sebum – the oil found on our skin – into fatty acids that activate inflammation in nearby skin cells.

Usually this inflammation is switched off by enzymes called histone deacetylases, but the fatty acids produced by the bacteria deactivated that brake, so inflammation continued unchecked – going on to cause red, itchy breakouts.

So far, the research has only been done on mice, but the team is now looking to replicate their results in humans, and they’re hopeful that the inflammation pathway involved will be the same.

“For the first time, it shows how fatty acids derived from P. acnes act on skin cells to induce inflammation,” Holger Brüggemann, an expert on skin bacterium from Aarhus University in Denmark, who wasn’t involved in the study, told Andy Coghlan at New Scientist.

Brüggemann added that the new findings could also explain why teenagers are so prone to breakouts, because their sex hormones during puberty put their sebum production into overdrive, giving P. acnes more fuel.

The bad news is that cleaning your face regularly isn’t the answer, because the team showed that the bacteria clump together to form structures called biofilms, which effectively locks them onto your skin.

And, when this type of bacterium isn’t causing havoc inside suffocating hair follicles, P. acnes is actually beneficial to skin health, which explains why antibiotic treatments don’t work for many people – and in some cases, can actually make things worse.

But now that the team understands the root cause of the inflammation, they’re confident they’ll be able to come up with new treatments for acne.

“We can either inhibit these fatty acids, or block their impact on the skin,” Gallo told New Scientist. “We’re working on how to do this … If we get lucky, it could lead to new medications in two to five years.”

The researchers now want to investigate what it is specifically that makes some people’s faces more susceptible to acne. In addition to having particularly suffocating hair follicles, they might also be genetically disposed to being more vulnerable to the inflammation triggered by P. acnes fatty acids.

Or maybe the strains of bacteria they have on their skin make excessive amounts of fatty acids compared to other people’s strains. “I think all of these aspects probably play a role,” said Gallo.

Once they’ve figured this out, they’ll be a step closer to not only treating, but potentially preventing acne in the first place. Which would be a huge relief for all of us who’ve suffered the debilitating self-consciousness and pain of having breakouts.

The research has been published in Science Inflammation.

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Gear Bags Part III, Improvise!!

There are lots of bags out there, you can spend $50, $150, $300 or more for specialty or purpose built bags.  I’m not going to say they are not worth every penny.  But do you need to dump that kind of dough?   I LOVE Goodwill, Salvation Army and Garage sales.   I stop several times a month and check out the bags section.  I’ve had more great deals on bags than any other item in the entire history of my shopping.    Below is a prime example.   This is a Prince Tennis bag, typically from $59 to $89 or more.  I got it, brand new, unused still had the tag on it for $3.89.  Shop Good will people.     Now what in the hell do I need a tennis bag for?  I don’t play tennis and this bag is odd shaped.  What in the world can I use it for?

2013-06-01 16.19.12

Tennis anyone!!!

So, here I am driving home with this bag and I’m asking myself that question.  What good is a tennis bag if you don’t play tennis?  Got home, threw it in my office with a myriad of other bags and contemplated various uses for about 2 weeks.  Then I was cleaning out the back of my van to move some things around and replace one of the other bags I keep in the van.  I pulled out the two pie irons that I keep with some car camping stuff in the van.  Sat them on the table and then stared at them?  Hmmmmm,  I wonder…..   So I ran inside, grabbed the bag.   Low and behold the pie irons fit into the tennis pockets perfectly!!!.  Pie irons are heavy and this bag is very tough and has no problem with them.  So I got to thinking and decided to make this the “Gourmet” bag.  When we are camping and have the luxury of having a vehicle nearby (or don’t mind lugging the extra weight because this bag is highly portable) we try to bring some basic cooking stuff with us.  I have dutch ovens and a cast iron pan in the van.  But nothing for the spices and utensils.

2013-06-01 16.20.27

Pie irons fit perfectly, no mess, no more loose cast iron sliding around the floor of the van getting soot on everything.

So, I started packing all the other goodies in the bags ample pouches.   We have a bag of various spices, cooking utensils, a separate pouch for soap and washing/sanitation items.    All of these items are separated by the walls of the bag that also happen to be waterproof.  So if the soap pops open, it won’t soak the spices.

So what I’m saying is, don’t get hung up on bags.  Sure if you need the latest High Sierra or Jansport pack, or Maxpedition, go for it.  It’s awesome gear and will serve you well.  But don’t pass up the opportunity a quick trip to the local Goodwill store may present. You may get as lucky as I was.  Happy shopping!!!!

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Dutch oven liners, cooking spray, drying cloth, utensils etc.

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Fire-making pouch (For now).

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Dish cleaning and hand sanitizing pouches.

About Docwatmo

Just an average guy reviewing equipment for the average guy (or gal). View all posts by Docwatmo

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U.S. FAA raises safety rating for Mexico

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that Mexico complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based on the results of a November FAA review of Mexico’s civil aviation authority.

Under the leadership of Secretary Juan Molinar and Director General Hector Gonzalez Weeks, Mexico has made significant progress and is now upgraded from the Category 2 safety rating the country received in July 2010 to Category 1. At Mexico’s request, the FAA will continue to provide technical assistance to support and maintain the changes the civil aviation authority has made.

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, recordkeeping or inspection procedures.

With the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 2 rating, Mexican air carriers could not establish new service to the United States, but were allowed to maintain existing service. Now with the Category 1 rating, Mexican air carriers can again add flights and service to the United States.

As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to fly to the United States and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.

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    • A dedicated voice within AWS to serve as your technical point of contact and advocate
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Brunswick man arrested after foot chase

Posted Aug. 21, 2013, at 9:45 a.m.

BRUNSWICK, Maine — A 31-year-old Brunswick man was arrested and charged with operating after suspension and refusing to submit to arrest after officers chased him on foot through woods and backyards Tuesday in downtown Brunswick.

Officer Patrick Scott stopped a car driven by Adam Fickett just before 5 p.m. on Mill Street, but when Scott approached the car, Fickett drove off, according to Deputy Chief Marc Hagan of the Brunswick Police Department.

Scott pursued the vehicle westbound onto Pleasant Street and Lombard Street, where Fickett jumped from his car and ran into nearby woods. Scott followed him through a gully and over several fences, attempting to shoot a Taser at Fickett, before he and other officers subdued the fleeing man on Stanwood Street, Hagan said.

Fickett remained in Cumberland County Jail on Wednesday morning, held on $2,000 bail pending a court appearance Wednesday afternoon.


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Archive for the ‘Health Care’ Category

In keeping with his habit of governing in the dark, Rick Scott topped off the unveiling of his proposed budget privately with yet another private dinner at the Governor’s mansion last night for select state legislators. At the dinner were Sens. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and they were invited there to “discuss” Scott’s budget.

Here’s the gist of that discussion:

Rick Scott: “Just pass it.”

Wow. Dictator much Gov. Scott?

If you’ve kept up with Scott’s ego, you know that the last few days he’s been crowing that his budget should be a model for the entire nation. After a whole month of experience, Scott now feels that President Obama should also take his freely offered advice on how to govern. This probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, after all during his campaign he often made the mistake of thinking he was running against President Obama, and even skipped mentioning his true running mate, Alex Sink, several times in his ads. So much so that she laughed it off herself in her own ads. (I thought she deserved kudos for resisting an eye-roll on camera.)

It seems Scott is doubling down on the idea that he alone can lead the nation with his draconian budget slashing ideas according to an account of last night’s secret boys club meeting:

Later in the night that theme would be repeated when one of Scott’s top aides would suggest to all three senators that the nation will be watching to see if the Legislature enacts Scott’s “fiscally conservative” budget.

Yes, the nation is watching, but not for the reason Scott thinks it is. The nation is watching, and the nation is saying “Can you believe that those people actually elected that guy??” It’s not just that Florida actually elected the guy who was never charged with Medicare fraud, but whose former company set the record for Medicare fraud fines and is a textbook case, and now claims he wants to run the state like a business. (What could possibly go wrong in a state largely dominated by elderly residents?) It’s that combined with all that, Scott is also clueless on how to govern, and it shows.

Note to the ever-watchful nation: be afraid! Rick Scott announced last week that he would be spending a great deal of time in Washington, D.C., specifically on a monthly basis. (Gosh, I wonder if that might have anything to do with assisting the GOP in trying to dismantle the new Affordable Care Act?) If that’s the case, the “nation” may want to sleep with one eye open from now on. Don’t fall under a false sense of security if you aren’t aware of his presence. Just because you don’t see him or hear of him won’t necessarily mean he isn’t there. He operates under cover of darkness. As a resident of Florida I can tell you we have no clue what he’s up to down here most of the time. We only find out after the fact. Chances are unless you’re a lobbyist, business owner, or you’re made of money and want to throw some of it at him, you won’t either.

So by all means “nation” keep watching Rick Scott. If you’re lucky, you’ll learn from Florida’s mistake.

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Here are just a couple of things you’ll see and hear very little about in the mainstream media about President Obama’s health care reform law:

On the ruling yesterday that PART of the health care reform bill is unconstitutional:

Henry E. Hudson, the federal judge in Virginia who just ruled health care reform unconstitutional, owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform.

Most of the reports I’ve read and heard on this are neglecting to mention Judge Henry E. Hudson’s ties to the GOP.

Then there’s this, which surprisingly many people are still unaware of:

Clients lobbying on H.R.3200

Just an FYI for those who actually believe that lawmakers have only the best interests of their constituents at heart.

As hard as it is to believe, there are those who actually do.

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Yesterday was a banner day for Republicans in Congress. It was also a defining moment for the Party as a whole.

After eight years of marching in lockstep with the Bush-Cheney Administration on everything from tax cuts for the rich, right on down to lying us into wars and giving the nod to torture, just for starters, they took yet another “stand.”

The party that vowed they would like nothing more than to see our President fail (hence, the country) and that their number one priority is to see that he is a one term President, stooped to new lows yesterday. And yes, low EVEN for them.

In their quest to achieve the only goals in their platform; power and as much money as they can possibly get their greedy hands on, they also vowed to hold their breath like spoiled children until they get what they want: tax cuts for the rich, or as I call them, bailouts and bonuses for millionaires and billionaires. The only difference is when spoiled children hold their breath, they aren’t cutting off the oxygen for their entire family. But eventually children are smart enough to know that holding their breath is a dumb idea.

Not so the Republican Party. They are determined to choke off the oxygen of 98% of the country so that the 2% of the wealthiest may breathe a little easier than they do now. Besides, they have lots of money to spend on things like oxygen tanks, so no worries.

It hasn’t been enough that the Republicans have blown our economy on wars of choice, bank bailouts and yes, tax cuts for the rich, they want more. To prove it they have voted against just about everything that has come before them so far to prove it.  Just to name the most the most recent, yesterday they blocked the chances of the DREAM Act and a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. They blocked the National Defense Authorization Act. The party that goes by the mantra “Support The Troops” and claims only THEY can keep us safe is merely an illusion. They hide behind their flag pins.

Not only do the Republicans refuse to support the very troops, be they gay or otherwise, who are fighting their ginned-up wars, the troops aren’t the only ones they’re using. Yesterday they stooped to a new low. They blocked Democratic legislation to provide medical care for 9/11 first responders.

Let me repeat that:

This isn’t the first time they’ve blocked it either. This is just the first time they blocked it while also holding its victims for ransom. If some MORE of those victims die in the process, well so be it. These Republicans don’t really care. After all, the so called “War On Terror” is good for their bottom line. Why not squeeze even more out of it while they’re at it?

I’ve heard speculation that when Republicans have more control in Congress next year, they may put forth their own legislation for some of these things they’re voting against now simply in an attempt to look like heroes in the long run. To them that may seem logical. They probably see this as a win since the public seems to have a short memory. Add to that, they have a vested interest in keeping the public stupid and in the dark. That’s what FOX-GOPTV is for after all.

Well sorry GOP. There are a lot of us who have really good memories, and we plan to remind those who don’t every chance we get. Today seems like a good day to start.

So here, along, with Florida’s own Sen. “Stand-In” George LeMieux, are the names of those Republicans who yesterday told 9/11 first responders who breathed in all those toxic fumes nine years ago (those who are still alive) that the price of their bravery is just too high for them to pay.

Sen. Lamar Alexander [R, TN]
Sen. John Barrasso [R, WY]
Sen. Robert Bennett [R, UT]
Sen. Christopher Bond [R, MO]
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA]
Sen. Jim Bunning [R, KY]
Sen. Richard Burr [R, NC]
Sen. Saxby Chambliss [R, GA]
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R, OK]
Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Bob Corker [R, TN]
Sen. John Cornyn [R, TX]
Sen. Michael Crapo [R, ID]
Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC]
Sen. John Ensign [R, NV]
Sen. Michael Enzi [R, WY]
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC]
Sen. Charles Grassley [R, IA]
Sen. Judd Gregg [R, NH]
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R, UT]
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R, TX]
Sen. James Inhofe [R, OK]
Sen. John Isakson [R, GA]
Sen. Mike Johanns [R, NE]
Sen. Mark Kirk [R, IL]
Sen. Jon Kyl [R, AZ]
Sen. George LeMieux [R, FL]
Sen. Richard Lugar [R, IN]
Sen. John McCain [R, AZ]
Sen. Mitch McConnell [R, KY]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK]
Sen. James Risch [R, ID]
Sen. Pat Roberts [R, KS]
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R, AL]
Sen. Richard Shelby [R, AL]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Sen. John Thune [R, SD]
Sen. David Vitter [R, LA]
Sen. George Voinovich [R, OH]
Sen. Roger Wicker [R, MS]

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Where all that corporate misinformation on health care comes from?

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President Obama has recorded a new radio ad this week for Kendrick Meek’s Senate campaign.

The text of the ad:

President Obama:

This is Barack Obama and I want you to know why I strongly support Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate.

Kendrick’s been a powerful voice for Floridians: standing up to special interests, to hold Wall Street accountable, fighting the insurance industry to make sure health care isn’t denied to our children because of a preexisting condition, working to eliminate subsidies to banks so young people can afford a college education, and Kendrick strongly opposes extending tax breaks for the wealthy and has worked tirelessly to expand the middle class and support small businesses.

So please join me in supporting Kendrick Meek for Senate.

Because if we work together, he will win.

Go to KendrickMeek.com to learn more. Or text”join” to 35736. That’s “join” to 35736 to get involved today.

Kendrick Meek:

I’m Kendrick Meek, candidate for senate, and I approve this message.

You can listen to the ad here.

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Two more endorsements came out today for Florida Attorney General.

GOP-Tea Party candidate Pam Bondi got her anti-health care lawsuit endorsement from National Federation of Independent Business, a plaintiff in that lawsuit.

Democrat Dan Gelber, on the other hand, got an endorsement from the Florida Nurses Association.

From The Tampa Tribune:

The candidates for Attorney General have both won endorsements because of their stances on the state’s challenge to the federal health care reform.

Republican Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi’s pledge to continue the challenge has won her the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business.

“Floridians do not want and cannot afford this unconstitutional federal health care law, which I believe is the most expansive entitlement program ever created,” Bondi said.

The NFIB is a plaintiff in the lawsuit currently being heard in Pensacola.

Gelber’s support for the healthcare legislation that went into effect last week won him support from the Florida Nurses Association.

“Dan Gelber has been a long time advocate for Florida families and our members know we can count on him to fight the rampant Medicaid fraud in Florida that is costing taxpayers billions and limiting access to quality medical care for our most vulnerable citizens,” FNA President Andrea Gregg said.

Gelber has called the healthcare lawsuit frivolous and has predicted the federal government would prevail.

“Our nurses see on a daily basis how accessibility to quality medical care can make a world of difference in a person’s life, and I look forward to working with them to fight Medicaid fraud so that we can reduce costs to taxpayers and provide more Floridians with the care they need,” Gelber said.

What does that tell you?

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Wow, here’s a real “shocker.” Rick Scott unveiled his “tax and insurance” plan yesterday, where he proposes restrictions on lawsuits. The plan is centered around property insurance.

If you read closer though, he proposes some “restrictions” on other types of lawsuits. Not surprisingly, involving doctors.

Scott’s proposal also calls for several new restrictions on lawsuits, including limiting lawsuits against doctors who work at county health departments and those medical doctors who work on behalf of Medicaid. Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, has already said that he will likely pursue lawsuit restrictions against Medicaid providers next year.

Scott released a booklet outlining his proposals, on insurance and tort reform. The part addressing physicians is contained in a short paragraph on page 12 of a 16 page booklet entitled Medical Related Reform.

He proposes restrictions on lawsuits against doctors? Gosh, why do you suppose that might be?

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This week’s Medal of Honor hero is one of those guys, who never knew when the fight was over. Richard A. Anderson was a gifted young man sent to Vietnam to kill the enemy and protect his fellow Marines. There is no other way to describe it.

Make the most of your day!

Richard A. Anderson

CITATION:“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Assistant Fire Team Leader with Company E, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. While conducting a patrol during the early morning hours of 24 August 1969, Lance Corporal Anderson’s reconnaissance team came under a heavy volume of automatic weapons and machine gun fire from a numerically superior and well-concealed enemy force. Although painfully wounded in both legs and knocked to the ground during the initial moments of the fierce fire fight, Lance Corporal Anderson assumed a prone position and continued to deliver intense suppressive fire in an attempt to repulse the attackers. Moments later he was wounded a second time by an enemy soldier who had approached to within eight feet of the team’s position. Undaunted, he continued to pour a relentless stream of fire at the assaulting unit, even while a companion was treating his legs wounds. Observing an enemy hand grenade land between himself and the other Marine, Lance Corporal Anderson immediately rolled over and covered the lethal weapon with his body, absorbing the full effects of the detonation. By his indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty, Lance Corporal Anderson was instrumental in saving several Marines from serious injury or possible death. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the Department of the Navy. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.”


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Parrot Lovers – check this out!

I found this on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Facebook site. If you like parrots, you’ll love this!

Quoted form the site: “One of the benefits of studying parrots is learning how they develop their complex vocal abilities. Another benefit is… baby parrots!!! Watch this fascinating video about how Green-rumped Parrotlets learn their “names” in the wild:”

Go here to see the video:

It seemed appropriate to include this short conversation between two parrots: 🙂

Click to Tweet & Share: Parrot Lovers! You have to check out this video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology @CornellBirds Baby Parrots!

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Susan Bailey, Author, Speaker, Musician on Facebook and Twitter
Read my other blog, Louisa May Alcott is My Passion

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prevention and a parking lot

Not too long ago I was in the parking lot of my local grocery store when I saw an older gentleman pushing his empty grocery cart towards me and I heard the Lord whisper to me “put up his cart.”

In the following few seconds, I argued with the Lord because I felt that the man in the parking lot was perfectly capable of putting up his own cart and I questioned if I heard the Lord correctly in the first place, because it seemed like an odd request.

I smiled at the gentleman and said, “Hi” as we put our carts back in the cart return.

I walked back to my car and began to pull out of my parking spot. So did the parking lot man – and another grocery shopper. Right in front of my very eyes, they had a little parking lot fender bender.

I felt terrible. I called Jason and he assured me that the accident was not my fault. I knew that I hadn’t caused it but I felt that if I had obeyed the Lord I could have prevented it. If I had just put his cart up, he would have left sooner and not backed into the other car.

The Lord said to me, “That is what prevention is. You can’t see it on this side of heaven because it didn’t happen. You have to trust Me.”

If I’m being honest with you, I’ve struggled with trusting Him and I’ve come up with numerous reasons and excuses for not promoting my book: I don’t have time, I can’t afford to hire a publicist, I’m pretty sure that no one wants to talk about childhood sexual abuse, I don’t want to promote myself, just to name a few. I realized that the enemy has been whispering these lies to me and I have been believing him.

I’m finally calling his bluff.

I’m making time. I’m investing in myself, I’m talking about abuse, and I’m overcoming the fear of promoting my book and telling others what the Lord has done in my life.

Because you can’t measure prevention. You can’t see it on this side of heaven.

I’m praying for faith to trust Him more as I hear Him tell me which way to go. And I’m trying not to argue with Him like I did that day in the parking lot.


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How Should We Pray According to Jesus Christ?

Christ said, “men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 11:1). We know that we all need to pray. The next question we need to ask is, how. Thankfully, the same question came in the minds of the Apostles. They asked Christ:

“Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1).

photo-1437603568260-1950d3ca6eabChrist responded with what we now know as the Model Prayer. In this prayer, Christ gave us an outline how we ought to pray to God. Take note; this prayer is not the exact words that we should REPETITIVELY utter. It should only serve as a guide to help us know how to pray.

So let us take a look at the Model Prayer of Christ and learn how to pray. These are some of the high points that we need to take note of.

  • We don’t pray to impress other people. Prayer is an intimate conversation between God and us. Jesus warns us not to “pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the corners of the streets, that [we] may be seen by men” (Matthew 6:5). Clearly, if our intent is to please other men rather than God, then we are praying in vain.
  • Do not use vain repetition (Matthew 6:7).
  • Our Prayers should be addressed to God the Father and not to any dead saints or people.Our prayers should be addressed to God the Father (Matthew 6:9). This means we don’t pray to any dead saints and people. They are all dead, and God is the only living God that we should pray to.
  • Our prayers should start with praise to God and thanksgiving (Matthew 6:9). This helps us to set our minds to the great privilege that we have to talk to the Supreme Ruler of the vast universe.
  • We ought to habitually pray for God’s kingdom to be established here on earth (Matthew 6:10). This world desperately needs a Savior and only Christ’s second coming can bring the utopia we all have been dreaming about.
  • We need to ask for God’s will to be done in our lives (Matthew 6:10). God’s will is perfect and as Christians, we need to strive continually to know His will and to have the heart to obey Him.
  • We pray for God’s physical and spiritual blessings (Matthew 6:11). We need to realize that God is the only TRUE Source of blessings, and we are all dependent on Him.
  • Ask for forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 6:12). We are sinners, and God’s mercy is enough for us to be forgiven. However, we need to realize that there are conditions for God’s forgiveness. We need to ask for forgiveness, and we need to forgive others as well (Matthew 6:14-15).
  • We need to pray for God’s divine help to overcome sin (Matthew 6:13). Let us not commit the mistake of believing that we can overcome sin by ourselves. We need God’s help.
  • We need to pray for God’s protection (Matthew 6:13). Our enemy, the devil, is so powerful, and there is nothing in his mind but to destroy God’s people. As powerful as he is, he is POWERLESS against God and through prayer; we can be protected from his evil schemes.
  • We need to end our prayer with praises again (Matthew 6:13). Acknowledging God that He alone has the power to grant our requests is vital. This enables us to develop the right attitude and mindset when praying.

These are some of the important points we need to remember when praying. As you say your prayer, you will soon discover that it can change everything, including yourself. Prayer is not just a way to communicate with God. It is also an indispensable way to develop a healthy relationship with Him.

I hope this blog will give you a better idea how to pray and be closer to God.

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Browsing All posts tagged under »Jim Jones«

When the Lights Go Down, in Pasadena

March 6, 2011

Two years ago, about this time, I had already done the casting to do “Sex Rehab” and interestingly enough, was very excited about the potential of going into a rehab facility for three weeks. Most people I know are not as excited as I was to go to rehab. In fact, most are dreading it […]


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Marsha Mello

Hair – Truth – March VIP

Head – Catwa – Kori

Skin – Amara Beauty – Antonia – Skin Fair 2017

Body – Maitreya – Lara

Hands – SLink

Feet – Maitreya – Lara

Eyes – Ikon

Dress – EC – Norena – WCF7

Pose – Overlow Poses – Gift Pack 5

Carrie Mel

Hair – Truth Hair – March VIP

Head – LeLutka – Bento Head – Simone 2.0

Skin – 7 Deadly Skins – Wednesday – Pineapple – Skin Fair 2017

Applier – 7 Deadly Skins – Pineapple – New HUD – Skin Fair 2017

Body – Maitreya

Hands – Maitreya

Feet – Maitreya

Eyes – Ikon

Lingerie – EC – Kendall – WCF7

Pose – Overlow Poses – Pack 89

D-Style, Evil Bunny Productions, TWE12VE, SWANK, Magika, WoW Skins, Skin Fair 2017, Level UP!, Designer Showcase, Dark Passions, Darkness Chamber Fair, and Free Gifts!

Happy Sunday Everyone! I really should have finished this Post last night.  Drank a wee bit too much, got a little tipsy and fell out! 😉  There is still time for everything I want to show so no harm done! I may have some extra blogging time with week too.  New York is expecting a Blizzard late Tomorrow all the way into Tuesday Evening.  I say let it snow! Level Up’s first round ends 12pm SLT on Tuesday, March 14th, you still have about two Days to shop the Event, check it out before set up for Round 2 begins.

SWANK’s March Round has been going on for a few days, Evil Bunny Productions TWE12VE started Yesterday, March 11th.  I’m taking you back to Skin Fair 2017 with a look at one of WoW Skins Exclusive, Designer Showcase is still running, I have a peek at the Darkness Chamber Fair, plus I have a few Freebies for you all, Liaison Collaborative is Celebrating 4 Years, there are Free Gifts from many of the TLC Designers.

Besides WoW Skins Skin Fair 2017 Exclusive, I’ll be showcasing D-Style, -RC-, Dulce Secrets, Q-Essentials, Desire Boutique, Glitter Poses, Magika, [.HU.], .Ama, Nord Embel’Lys, and Dark Passion!  Original Blog Post and Credits Found .:HERE:.

Take Me to your Leader

Amity Style

Take Me to your Leader
Today is the opening of Catwalk’s Trunk Show retail area! Unfortunately, I’ll be away and unable to participate in the subsequent runway shows, but I wanted to make sure that you got a peek at some of the outfits before I leave. As you can see, I’m channeling a contemporary Princess Leia with this look. The sleeves on this dress are what drew me to it – they certainly make a statement. As a side note, if you’re a tall girl like I am, I recommend wearing tights with this dress because it’s mini!

Dress: {VU} – When Aliens Attack available at the Trunk Show
Pose: Posesion from the Lucia set available at TDME
Hair: Truth Hair – Emika.

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Faerie Queen

Over on the hill
There grows a flower
Growing quicker still
More perfect by the hour
Deep within that flower
Is a tiny chair
All a-fringed with gold
The fairy queen sits there…

It is in her breath
That the wind does blow
It is in her heart
As pure as winter snow
It is in her tears
Crystal raindrops fall
And within her years
That she is in us all…

Oh dark eyes
Help me see
Just one look
She is gone

Faerie Queen

Have fun shopping!


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The Only Way To Have A Friend Copper & Glass Coasters, Set of 4

Handcrafted of glass and antiqued copper with plastic bumpers to protect the tabletop. The featured illustration reflects Ben's unique aesthetic for the charming and unusual. Each set of 4 coasters is wrapped with pewter grosgrain ribbon. Packaged in a fantastic signature Ben's Garden gift box, ready for gift giving. The back of each coaster reads "Handcrafted with antiqued copper and glass in New York by Ben's Garden."

Style#: CI-707

Product Details

  • Tied with a grosgrain ribbon bow
  • Copper trim is hand finished, with a warm, antiqued patina
  • Packaged safely in our signature, cheerful yellow and orange box
  • Coasters measure 4" x 4"
  • Made in New York City


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From the BlogBecome a Member

Stone Wizard

Pat Maxwell, in Bernheim’s operations department, is a wizard when it comes to using big machines to move big stones.  On Friday, March 22 he created this stone wall around the pipe that carries water from the new Edible Garden project into a new filtering wetland.  Because the Edible Garden project is an applicant to […]

Burn Season

The Bernheim fire team headed by burn-boss Rick Caldwell has been hard at it. The team is attempting to get in 17 different burns this year. Each burn plot has its’ own unique fire prescription which takes into account the type of fuel (grassland, woodland, etc) the topography and the ecosystem management goals that the […]

Edible Garden Timeline

This timeline illustrates the progress of the Bernheim Edible Garden from early design and construction through to the present. The garden will always be a work in progress so stop back by again to see the updates.

Edible Garden – A Soil Story: The Beginning

  The Edible Garden project requires soil.  Lots of soil. It’s a garden after all.  And since it is being located on a patch of land that has been highly impacted over the past 50 years, it needs good healthy soil.  The options turn out to be,  a) buy the soil, or b) make the […]

European Beeches (over time)

Phenology 2013

Pond Deck Support

A new steel deck support that will eventually be decked with FSC certified wood was dropped into place today thanks to our operations team.  Start practicing your cannonballs. Fairly soon the gravel path on the left will receive a concrete walkway and steel trellis system.  When the pond fills this spring we will post another […]

Bernheim Chats with JCTC about Sustainability

On February 8th Bernheim staff met with Pamella Dunn and Maggie Peake from the Jefferson Community and Technical College system.  We look forward to working with JCTC in the future to explore where our organizations might benefit each other and the environment.


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Exciting news about the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

It has finally happened.  One of the best decisions for authors and illustrators of books for children in New Zealand has been made.  The NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards is merging next year to create the MEGA awards for children’s literature.  It means that more effort can be put into promoting the best books for children and teens in NZ and it will hopefully be less confusing for kids and adults alike.  I really like that they’re taking the best of both awards and putting them together.  The Hell Pizza Wheels have been a great way to get kids reading and I believe that it is incredibly important to acknowledge both the author and illustrators when it comes to picture books.

Read the press release below to find out all the details:

Leading New Zealand Children’s Book Awards merge and Hell Pizza encourages Reading addiction – Prize money now totals $59,500

The New Zealand Book Awards Trust and the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) have announced today that they are merging their respective children’s book awards, setting the stage for even more activity and visibility around books for New Zealand children. Complementing the Awards, Hell Pizza has partnered with the New Zealand Book Awards Trust to sponsor the Hell New Zealand Reading Challenge.

The awards have a combined legacy of more than 100 years; the Trust-governed awards began in 1975 and LIANZA’s were established in 1945. A shared passion for children’s literature has brought the two awards together in a desire to increase children’s engagement with reading.

“We are thrilled about this decision to amalgamate the awards,” says New Zealand Book Awards Trust chair Nicola Legat. “The LIANZA awards are highly regarded by authors and publishers and we acknowledge how difficult it has been for LIANZA’s board to take this historic decision. We feel privileged to have LIANZA’S trust, and their awards will be in very good and sustainable hands. They will be cherished within our organisation.

“The merged awards now have a prize money pool of $59,500. This amount is a significant contribution to the children’s literature economy in this country.”

LIANZA President, Kris Wehipeihana, is equally delighted. “Merging the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards with the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is exactly the kind of collaboration that our sector endorses.” she says. “This is a win for both organisations, and for Aotearoa New Zealand children’s literature. We’re looking forward to working with the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.”

While the new awards will still be known as the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults they will incorporate important elements of the LIANZA awards. The awards will continue to bestow the Esther Glen title to the junior fiction category which maintains the tradition of New Zealand’s oldest children’s book award. In addition, the awards will continue to confer the Elsie Locke title to the non-fiction award and will also include LIANZA’s award for illustration, the Russell Clark award.

LIANZA’s Te Kura Pounamu award for the best book in Te Reo will replace the current Māori language award. This award will continue to be judged by Māori librarian and information association, Te Ropu Whakahau,

The awards will be administered and governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust, and a LIANZA representative will have a permanent seat on its board of trustees.

Hell Pizza’s high-profile relationship with LIANZA’s awards via its Reading Challenge will continue within the new format. “The success of the Reading Challenge has been hugely satisfying. With the announcement of this exciting merger of the awards we can take it to the next level and encourage even more New Zealand kids to enjoy reading books,” says Hell Pizza’s general manager Ben Cumming. “The 150,000 free pizza vouchers we gave out earlier this year amounted to more than one million books read by Kiwi kids. We would love to build on that number in 2016. Hell has always challenged the norm, and with kids now becoming so engrossed with modern technology we are bucking that trend and making reading cool again. We want pizza to be the gateway drug to reading addiction!”

Nicola Legat concludes, “The New Zealand Book Awards Trust is grateful for the support of our major funder Creative New Zealand as well as our other key sponsors Copyright Licensing New Zealand, Book Tokens Ltd and now Hell Pizza. We very much appreciate their significant investment and we are very much looking forward to next year’s awards.”

The call for entries in the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults opens on Monday, 16 November 2015 and the awards ceremony will held be in Wellington in August 2016.

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Filed under 2015 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, book awards, New Zealand

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Body Hatred - Body Image on Better After 50I don’t have a thigh gap. And in this moment I’m not working toward having one. Stunning, I know. Imagine that. I get it, it’s not news that women are held to impossibly high standards when it comes to what our bodies are suppose to look like. If women are not thin, you’re expected to be working toward being thin and therefore beautiful. If you embrace yourself the way you are and dare to be comfortable in your own skin — you’re an outlier. And there will be comments. You will be called “Courageous” (an underhanded compliment if you think about it), or snickered at…

Women have actually become comfortable body shaming themselves and their food. It’s normal as a woman to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. “Watching our weight” is not something that women are doing now and then; it’s something women are doing all the time. I’m surrounded by it. I do it. And I am constantly in resistance to it and fighting against a way of being that is engrained in me.

This culture shames my food, my body and my sexuality and I am in a constant war within myself, just like you may be, to keep my food, my body and my sexuality in a place of not only acceptance- but in a place of celebration.

And does all of this body and food shaming impact our relationship with our erotic nature? How could it not? The dark side of food and sexuality being connected is the more we feel shamed about our body size the more we close it all down. Fat people are not suppose to enjoy lavish food — or really any food. And the side effect is that we become contracted in our sexuality — our sexual expression, and we become closet eaters who refuse to be seen naked by our lovers. And here’s what is killing me. Self love and sexuality are STILL BEING POSITIONED with THINNESS — right now, even among some of my sex educator colleagues.

If you loved yourself more — the implication is that you would be thin and then therefore, more sexual, is still the message. We body shame ourselves posting our “fat” pictures and our “thin” pictures. Please stop.

Reclaiming our sexuality, and coming back to our bodies does not equate with “thinness” — we will never be thin enough — there will always be something wrong — and you will always be a “fat” person armored up in your muscled fit body. All of this is a trap. Just ask a thin person.

Why am I talking about this? Because I want us all to be fat? No. I just want to continue to support us looking at the relationship between our food, our bodies and our sexuality. It’s the holy trinity of living a life of joy and not shame. And there is rebellion afoot — and I want to encourage you to be a part of it.

Put your consciousness to it every day. Don’t numb out the feelings.

Be in rebellion against the messages no matter what your body size.

Pamela Madsen runs retreats around the country to help women re-connect to their bodies and sensuous nature and is author of the book; “Shameless: How I Ditched The Diet, Got Naked, Found True Pleasure and Somehow Got Home in Time to Cook Dinner” (Rodale 2011).

It’s a practice. I practice every day.

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Home   >  Competitions   >

If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to support@kddcup2015.com.

Update, August 4 :

Here is the Schedule of KDD Cup 2015 Workshop

KDD Cup 2015 Workshop Schedule

9:00 – 9:30 Opening: Information about the competition and our Sponsor, XuetangX.

9:30 – 10:30 Invited Talk: Jacob Spoelstra, Hang Zhang (Microsoft) Solving the KDD Cup 2015 Challenge Using Azure ML.

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 11:25 10th Prize: Ikki Tanaka and Shunnosuke Ikeda Ensemble of Diverse Gradient Boosting Decision Trees for MOOCs Dropout Prediction.

11:25 – 11:50 9th Prize: Chih-Ming Chen, Man-Kwan Shan, Ming-Feng Tsai, Yi-Hsuan Yang, Hsin-Ping Chen, Pei-Wen Yeh, and Sin-Ya Peng A Linear Ensemble of Classification Models with Novel Backward Cumulative Features for MOOC Dropout Prediction.

11:50 – 12:15 7th Prize: Nguyen Minh Luan Combining Intention and Engagement Features with Ensemble of Models for MOOC Dropout Prediction.

12:15 – 13:45 Lunch (on your own)

13:45 – 14:10 6th Prize: Aakansh Gupta, Nuo Zhang, Kei Yonekawa, Kazunori Matsumoto, Shigeki Muramatsu, Rui Kimura, Nobuyuki Maita, Yujin Tang, Keiichi Kuroyanagi, Takafumi Watanabe, Akihiro Kobayashi, and Takuya Akiyama Approach to Generate a Vast Variety of Features for Predicting Dropouts in MOOC.

14:10 – 14:35 5th Prize: Jingming Liu A Time Series Feature Extractor for Predicting Dropouts in MOOC.

14:35 – 15:00 4th Prize: Ming-Lun Cai, Chih-Wei Chang, Liang-Wei Chen, Si-An Chen, Hsien-Chun Chiu, Hong-Min Chu, Yu-Jheng Fang, Yi Huang, Kuan-Hao Huang, Chih-Te Lai, Yi-An Lin, Chieh-En Tsai, Yeh-Wen Tsao, Yu-Lin Tsou, Wei-Cheng Wang, Yu-Ping Wu, Yao-Yuan Yang, Sheng-Chi You, Sz-Han Yu, Hsuan-Tien Lin, and Shou-De Lin NearUniform Aggregation of Gradient Boosting Machines for KDD Cup 2015.

15:00 – 15:15 Coffee Break

15:15 – 15:40 3rd Prize: Kenny Chua, Xavier Conort, Sergey Yurgenson, and Owen Zhang Featurizing Sequential Data - our Solution with XGboost.

15:40 – 16:05 2nd Prize: Yuichi Sugiyama, Kei Harada, Sayaka Yabu, Kazuki Onodera, Yuta Hino, Ryotaro Sano, Natsumi Kokubo, Daisuke Nishikawa, Sampei Nakabayashi, Masaaki Takada, Yasushi Iwata, Shinya Yazawa, Ryo Kato, and Tomomitsu Motohashi Feature Extraction for Predicting Dropouts and Feature Merging Experience with Data Veraci.

16:05 – 16:30 1st Prize: Jeong-Yoon Lee, Andreas Toescher, Michael Jahrer, Kohei Ozaki, Mert Bay, Peng Yan, Song Chen, Tam T. Nguyen, and Xiaocong Zhou Three-Stage Ensemble and Feature Engineering for MOOC Dropout Prediction.

16:30-17:30 The Serial Winner Panel (stay tuned!)

Update, July 19:

10 winners are listed here, one of the KDD Cup chairs will contact you soon.

Update, July 14:

The scores on the private leaderboard is now correct.

Update, July 13:

The rank of private leaderboard is correct, but the scores have some errors. We are fixing it.

Top 11 players are as follows. The final result is nearly same with the private rank. We will annouce the final winners today.

Rank Team （private score）

1 Intercontinental Ensemble （0.9074429656630387）

2 FEG&NSSOL@DataVeraci（0.9071299191403106）

3 DataRobot.com（0.9068038441658484）

4 CLMS（0.906652903315283）

5 ttllbb（0.9060343458177709）

6 KDDILABS&Keiku（0.9059718605039866）

7 FirstTimeEver（0.9058898193220947）

8 xiaochuan（0.9055778412303954）

9 Donquote（0.9052017384333861）

10 NCCU（0.9050289277229964）

11 kyazuki&DT@Keio univ. Ohmori Lab（0.9047145809931961）

Update, July 12:

The submission is closed. The final results with private scores will be published in several hours.

Update, July 11:

The submission will be closed at 11:59PM, July 12, 2015 (UTC).

1) Many people have asked the definition of "dropout". To better explain the definition, we extracted some information from the log file into a new file named "date.csv". However, all information regarding the data used for this competition has not been changed. So you do not need to change your existing code of algorithms. You can find the details of the file on "data" web page: https://kddcup2015.com/submission-data.html .

The sole purpose of creating this new file is to help you understand the definition of dropout. In brief, the timespan of each course is varied, thus the timespan for calculating dropouts depends on the course. We provide the timespan data of each course in date.csv. In addition, the timespan for calculating each course dropout is 10 days after the last day of that course. Please refer to the description of date.csv for more information about dropouts.

2) Because of this, we made a decision to extend the deadline of the competition to July 12, so everyone can refer to date.csv. Accordingly, we also shorten the time between the competition end date and the date of announcement, which is also July 12 now.

3) Microsoft generously provides their Azure Machine Learning services for KDD Cup participants. Please find theblog here on “Solving the KDD Cup 2015 Challenge Using Azure ML” . This blog provides detailed instruction on how to solve the KDD Cup challenge using Azure ML and achieve an accuracy of 0.87 AUC. This will help participants with a starting point for competing for the KDD Cup and help build even more accurate solutions on top.

For participants who are new to Azure ML, it is a cloud platform for developing machine learning based predictive solutions . It provides a rich UI and battle tested algorithms from Bing and Microsoft Research along with support for R & Python. It also allows users to quickly operationalize their solutions as a webservice.

Students' high dropout rate on MOOC platforms has been heavily criticized, and predicting their likelihood of dropout would be useful for maintaining and encouraging students' learning activities. Therefore, in KDD Cup 2015, we will predict dropout on XuetangX, one of the largest MOOC platforms in China.

The competition participants need to predict whether a user will drop a course within next 10 days based on his or her prior activities. If a user C leaves no records for course C  in the log during the next 10 days, we define it as dropout from course C For more details about log, please refer to the Data Descriptions

About XuetangX:

XuetangX, a Chinese MOOC learning platform initiated by Tsinghua University, was officially launched online on Oct 10th, 2013. In April 2014, XuetangX signed a contract with edX, one of the biggest global MOOC learning platform co-founded by Harvard University and MIT, to acquire the exclusive authorization of edX’s high-quality international courses. In December 2014, XuetangX signed the Memorandum of Cooperation with FUN, the national MOOC platform in France, to make bilateral effort in course construction, platform development and other aspects. So far, there are more than 100 Chinese courses and over 260 international courses available on XuetangX.


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Posts Tagged ‘Advertising’

A FAKE Back Story for “The Voice”

   I’ve noticed on Reality TV shows that all the contestants have some kind of back story. Some don’t. Recently on “The Voice” there has been one contestant heart wrenching story followed by an even more wrenching story. Very few contestants don’t have them…SO if you’re going to appear, and want to be a winner, on any of these shows let me help you with your back story, using “The Voice” as an example.

  “I’ve always loved to sing. My Dad, whose in prison and suffering from Cancer, told me that, just before he lost a leg because of a prison riot. I was raised by my uncle in Canada. He was the front man of a well known rock group. He encouraged me to sing. Then he got cancer and played that card to make millions on his final tour. I never knew my Mom because, when I was very little, she was on a fishing trip off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada, while visiting my uncle. She fell over board and was shredded by sharks. They found pieces of her all up and down the eastern seaboard. On his death bed my uncle gave me the money to get here. To honour my Mother, I’d like sing “Little Piece of My Heart”… by Janis Joplin”

Bryan Cox (Author, Radio Host, Comedian)

Newspapers Sway the Vote

Saying the print media is fair and impartial today is like having a Kardashian get upset with the paparazzi.

   What is happening people? I spent about 30 years in the radio and TV industries and when it came to politics we were always told to show both sides of a story. In Radio and TV, if you watch or listen long enough, you might see what side that network tends to “dress” to. Sure you’ve got certain hosts that are right or left, but very rarely do you have an entire network come out and endorse one candidate or the other. We were always told that if you were going to do a story on Politics, Religion, Sex or even that accident at the corner, just report the facts and as enticing as it may be, keep your personal opinions to yourself.

   Newspapers are a big part of the media landscape, whether online or printed. They’ve been around longer than radio or TV and were the source of news for hundreds of years. They too were always told to keep things impartial.
The *trusted and fair* print media, has really started to piss me off. It seems they’ve gone over the edge from having a few slanted opinion articles to a full blown voter convince-a-thon. The New York and LA Times along many more are actually coming out and endorsing one Presidential Candidate over the other. Even the National Enquirer has done an endorsement.

   Newspapers have an editorial board made up of big boss company executives, opinion writers and editors. They ask each candidate questions and if they all agree with the answers the newspaper endorses a candidate. So it comes down to if the movers and shakers in the company like it, that’s the law of the land.
The newsroom is separate and is to keep a impartial view of the candidates. We live in a time where newspaper business is hanging on by a thread. Just maybe, the “impartial” newsroom journalists are trying to figure out how to keep their job? This kind of reminds me of what every parent has said to their kid, “If everyone jumps off a bridge…are you going to jump off a bridge.?”

   People want to make up their own minds and not have you tell them how to vote. Now that you have shown bias, how can the public trust reporting?
What’s next for newspapers? I was thinking that there might be a few other endorsements that they’ve have missed,

salemwitchtrialsPuritanism … the only true religion. Join us for the NY Times endorsed witch burning in Times Square.

h35f2f219Kim Jong Un like Hitler… just a misunderstood guy with a cool haircut.

roger-ailes_and_bill_cosbySex…The LA Times endorses the Roger Ailes and Bill Cosby NFL “Sensitivity to Women” seminar.

   Most people make up their minds on who they’re going vote for from information supplied by the media. I praise the newspapers that have come out and stopped endorsing political candidates. That list is growing every election cycle. For the newspapers that think it’s their civic duty and still endorse, “Hey, Get Off My Lawn.”

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300

Bryan Cox (Radio Host, Comedian, Speaker and Author)

McDonalds Now Cooks Children

Remember the good old days when a Happy Meal toy would only cause your child to choke and gag a bit? McDonalds are recalling 33 million Chinese made,
“Step-It” fitness trackers that were the toy in the “Happy Meal”. The reason is, they tend to burn and or give heat related rashes to the children that wear them.

   McDonalds was trying to show a corporate image that they care about obesity in children, by getting kids up and moving. Intentions were good with that. Really though, a child will become obese if they are bed ridden in the burn ward. On the other hand, they might lose weight by not eating as much only using their one good hand because the other is wrapped in bandages.

This is just another example of corporate greed. Let’s get a really cheap product made in China and give it away. My guess is that Corporations like McDonalds haven’t learned from recalls of toys like Barbie and Polly Pocket, pet foods, milk powder, tires, paint and now Step-It fitness trackers. All have caused death or serious injury. If you want to stay a away from a swirling PR cesspool nightmare, give your head a shake, Chinese products SUCK!

It’s time Corporations like McDonalds and many others, show the customer, not the shareholder, that they care about them. To McDonalds, “Hey, Get Off My Lawn.” Cook burgers, NOT CHILDREN.

Bryan Cox (Radio Host, Comedian, Author and Speaker)

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300

Blowhard vs Blown Hard…USA Politics

    Blow Hard! Those two words have got Hillary and Donald where they are today.
    There are many attributes that one must have to become President of the USA. Sure there’s hard work, experience, but maybe the most important is, name recognition. Both Hillary and Donald have that in spades, but how did the achieve this most important Presidential factor?

   No one in America really knew the name Donald Trump, except for “that’s the guy that builds stuff.” Then came a reality TV show called, “The Apprentice”. America flocked to the show like overweight, middle aged, bald men at a porn convention, just to hear those two words, “You’re Fired”. The show put the Trump name into the public domain. Now, everyone knew Donald Trump as a entertaining, bombastic blowhard with either huge ego or a ton of self confidence. You figure which one it is.

   Hillary on the other hand got her real name recognition by becoming First Lady. It’s what happened while she was First Lady that blew her name into the stratosphere. Two words, “Monica Lewinsky.” The nation was captivated by the sexual exploits of Bill and Monica. There were stories everyday about cigars, the stained dress and so on. Just as interesting, was the question, what was poor Hillary going to do? Everyone in America felt sorry for Mrs. Clinton and wondered if she was going to take the moral high road and stand by her man. Americans were on the side of the woman that was cheated on. She was now in the spotlight. A name recognition spotlight, supplied by a horny husband. Hillary rode the light into politics and that is where she is today.

   In conclusion you might say that one candidate got where he is by being a blow hard and the other got where she is because her husband got blown hard.

Bryan Cox (Radio Host, Comedian, Speaker and Author)

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300

Is GM Helping Perverts?

  Now with my tongue planted securely in my cheek, I shall continue.

   Video games, movies and TV have been blamed for teaching violence. How many times have we heard in the wake of a tragic event, “It was a movie that gave him that idea.” People get ideas about the most sick things from media or maybe playing a Beatles album backwards.

   Now, GM is walking a very thin line when it comes to giving the sick…ideas. Is it just me that finds this creepy, but have you seen the TV commercial where an older man is inviting kids to play a video game then tells them to get in a GM vehicle because it has free Wi-Fi and everyone can play? The reason I explained the commercial is because as soon as GM reads this they’ll take this video off of YouTube.

   We all know the reasoning behind the spot. Get kids to tell their parents to buy GM because of Wi-Fi.
Parents have never been more vigilant about protecting their kids from the sick and perverted in our society.
I guess that GM has moved the perverts into a new age with free Wi-Fi. No longer will they use the old ploys, “Hey kid, I have this lost puppy” or “Do you want some candy?” Now parents will have to watch out for this….

Come on GM get with the program and find another way to promote free Wi-Fi in your vehicles. Until then, “Hey, Get Off My Lawn”

Bryan Cox (Radio Host, Author, Stand-Up and Speaker)

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300

What Radio and TV Sales Won’t Tell You

   You know when someone tells you a joke that you’ve heard a million times before, your mind zones out. You don’t hear any of it, all you’re doing is dying for the end and then you politely laugh. Or you stop the joke teller, like 4 sec into the joke with “Oh, I’ve heard that one before.”

   The same holds true for commercials. Radio or TV it doesn’t matter. With the advent of digital media the audience attention span has really shortened. On the internet you approximately 4 secs before your audience is gone. So if a page on your website or a video loads slowly, you’ve lost them. If you run the same commercial for a month, day in and day out, your audience gets tired of it and zones out. Any married woman can tell you,”I keep telling my husband over and over and over, it’s like he never hears me! It’s called “Listener Fatigue.”

Nagging Wife

Ad agencies, radio and TV sales people won’t tell you this. Remember they want to make a sale. They make their money on the time of day and how many times your commercial airs. Was they will tell you is that thousands will hear your commercial. But how many will be bored with it by the 5th playing? They rarely think of what the audience sees and hears. Yes, your commercial. This is the bread and butter to help your business succeed.

   It’s time the ad, radio and TV people get off the pot and tell clients the truth. Repetition is not the way to go, but a new fresh message is.Repetition

   There are few companies that keep their message fresh. Off the top of my head on the TV side, Geico and Canadian Tire come to mind. I’m sure you can think of a few more. As a company and if you’re planning an ad campaign, keep it fresh. This goes for TV networks, OMG, change up your promos once and awhile.

   Most agencies would sell a client one over priced spot. Radio stations will sell them one spot as well. Radio also tell the client that they’ll produce it for free. WOW, what an offer. Yes, that commercial will be read by the guy you hear on 30 other spots. Oh, that’ll make your spot stand out. It would be like trying to find Donald Trump in a field of Egos. Here’s a hint, use a voice that isn’t normally heard in your marketplace.

I’m lucky to work with creative clients that want to do radio. Depending on the length of their campaign, I don’t ever sell them just one ad. Let’s say they’re going to advertise for 3 weeks with 5 spots per day, 2 in morning drive and 3 in afternoon drive. I do 3 spots for them under the same theme, advertising a different aspect of the sale or business. They can run a different spot for a week or rotate the 3 spots evenly over the 3 week run. These spots are listened to more and longer, because they are listener fresh. The client gets this for a price that would be half or less a big agency would charge for one commercial.

Try this Mr Business owner, the next time you are visited by a radio sales guy, ask for 3 different spots for your sale at the price you’re paying. Believe me, those guys can grind out spots in no time and it won’t take them that much longer to make you a happy camper.

In this time of down turned economies every business has to work that much harder and smarter, for a positive bottom line. It’s time that agencies, radio and TV jumped on board. Remember, clients want you to go that extra mile. Ad agencies, radio and TV sales seem to be offering less, for more money. A happy client, is a return client, and they’ll tell two friends and so on. It’s time we all got down to business and if you can’t, “Hey, Get Off My Lawn”

Bryan Cox  (Radio Host, Speaker, Author, Comedian)

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300

Darren Kavinoky from “Deadly Sins”

Darren Kavinoky and I sat down and had a great chat on the radio feature “Hey, Get Off My Lawn.” Darren has been seen on CNN, HLN, Inside Edition and on his own show “Deadly Sins” on Investigation Discovery. This interview is very revealing and give you a peek at the man behind the camera. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did chatting with him.

Bryan Cox (Radio Host, Comedian, Author and Speaker)

Get Off Of My Promo Pic400x300


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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Photography on DC Metro raises troubling legal and privacy questions, and maybe c.p.

There is more controversy now about photography in public places, after WJLA-7 in Washington DC reported a story of people being secretly filmed on the Metro and then some mildly compromising images showing up on porn sites.

Since the photography happened in a public place, there is a real question as to whether this broke any laws. If some of the targets are minors (females in all cases), there might be a question about child pornography.
But there is more talk that laws regarding photography even in public need to be upgraded.  But n another case near the Lincoln Memorial, someone was convicted of a misdemeanor for “upskirting” photos, on Park Service property.  I’m not sure of the legal difference.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Another visit to SCOTUS replays the two battles there over COPA in the past.

When I went to the Supreme Court Monday through the “three minute line” (Monday on my main “Bill Boushka” blog, the Elonis case), I was reminded of the fact that I had attended two other times, once in March 1997 to hear arguments about the “Communications Decency Act”, the censorship portion of which would get overturned;  and on March 2, 2004, when SCOTUS hear oral arguments on COPS (the Child Online Protection Act) for a second time (the first time, in 2002, the "national standard" question, similar to obscenity, had been settled).  This time, the idea of a national standard had been accepted, and the Supreme Court was hearing whether to continue an injunction against enforcement from the Third Circuit (in 2003). The court found the questions of vagueness and “least restrictive means” compelling enough that it kept the injunction and ordered a trial on merits, which was held in Philadelphia in October 2006. Another "Smallville problem" was whether "minors" meant "all minors" or "some minors" -- most teenagers are not as cognitively mature as Clark Kent at 14 in the televisions series.
In the three-minute line that day I had an interesting discussion with a high school civics teacher on “full faith and credit” and how that could affect gay marriage, in the early days of the gradual legalization of it.  I also had lunch with some Naval Academy midshipmen visiting the Court and discussed “don’t ask, don’t tell”.  One of the female midshipmen disputed the idea that an adult-id scheme would be unworkable, but feared it would allow the government – in their case the Navy – to monitor their online activity.
History may have proved her right.  I also recall that on at least one occasion, when working as a substitute teacher, I briefed some social studies teachers on COPA during "planning period" and lunch at Haywood Secondary School near Alexandria, in early 2005.


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Zitting Cisticola

Zitting Cisticola, Graszanger, Cistensänger, Fuinha-dos-juncos, Buitrón Común

Spotted at our property Monte Horizonte in the Alentejo region of Portugal.                       Zitting Cisticola sound

The Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis), is widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa outside the deserts and rainforest, and southern Asia down to northern Australia.

Zitting Cisticola Alentejo Portugal

A small bird found mainly in grasslands, it is best identified by its rufous rump, lacks any gold on the collar and the brownish tail is tipped with white. During the breeding season, males have a zigzagging flight display accompanied by regular “zitting” calls that has been likened to repeated snips of a scissor. They build their pouch nest suspended within a clump of grass.

The Zitting Cisticola is brown above, heavily streaked with black markings. The underparts are whitish, and the tail is broad, white-tipped and flicked frequently, giving rise to the alternative name for the species. The adult males have less crown streaking and more back marking than the females, but there are no great difference between the sexes or the eighteen geographical races. The absence of a nuchal collar separate it from Cisticola exilis. In the non-breeding season, they tend to skulk within the grass and can be hard to spot.

Across their wide distribution range, several variations in populations have been noted and as many as 18 subspecies are recognized. They differ slightly in calls, plumage and size and some have been considered full species in some taxonomic treatments. The nominate form is found in southern France, Greece, Turkey, Sicily, Corsica and Egypt while western Portugal and Spain have cisticola. The population in Israel, Syria, Iraq and Iran is neuroticus while the northern and eastern African population is uropygialis and perennius (further south). Gabon, Angola, southern Africa are home to terrestris. The population in the Western Ghats of India, salimalii does not show seasonal tail length variation as in cursitans of the plains of India and dry-zone of Sri Lanak which has a longer tail in the non-breeding season. Population malaya is found in southern Southeast Asia, tinnabulans further north in southern China while brunniceps is found in Korea and Japan. Other populations include nigrostriatus (Philippines), constans (Sulawesi), fuscicapilla (east Java), leanyeri (northern Australia), normani (northwest Queensland) and laveryi (northeast Australia).

This genus is sometimes split off with various other southern warbler genera and given family status as the Cisticolidae. This species was previously known as Fan-tailed Warbler , but the current name gives consistency with the many tropical cisticola species, and avoid confusion with an American species also named Fan-tailed Warbler.

This species is found mainly in grassland habitats, often near water. Most populations are resident, but some East Asian populations migrate south to warmer areas in winter. In the Himalayas, they ascent to about 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) during summer but are below 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the winter. This species is a rare vagrant to northern Europe, mostly as a spring overshoot. Its European range is generally expanding, although northern populations are especially susceptible to hard winters.

Zitting Cisticolas are very small insectivorous birds, sometimes found in small groups. The breeding season is associated with the rains. Two broods a year occur in many regions. Males are polygynous but some are monogamous the male builds the initial nest structure deep in the grasses, and invites females using a special display. Females that accept the male complete the nest. The nest is made by binding living leaves into the soft fabric of felted plant-down, cobwebs, and grass. The Zitting Cisticola’s nest is a cup shape with a canopy of tied-together leaves or grasses overhead for camouflage; 3-6 eggs are laid. The female incubates the egg. The eggs hatch after about 10 days. More than one brood may be raised. Females change their mates frequently and rarely stay within the same territory, while males are less mobile. Females can sometimes breed in their first year.

Other synonyms:

Afrikaans: Landeryklopkloppie
Asturian: Saltón
Catalan: Butxaqueta, Trist
Catalan (Balears): Butxaqueta
Cebuano: tiktikrobong
Czech: Cistovník rákosníkový
Danish: Cistussanger
German: Cistensaenger, Cistensänger, Zistensänger
English: Common Cisticola, Common Fantail Warbler, Common Fantail-Warbler, Fantail Warbler, Fantailed Cisticola, Fan-tailed Cisticola, Fan-tailed wabler, Fantailed Warbler, Fan-tailed Warbler, Streaked Cisticola, Streaked Fan-tailed Warbler, Streaked Fantail-Warbler, Streak-headed Cisticola, Streak-headed Fantail-Warbler, Wren Grass-Warbler, Zitting Cisticola
Spanish: Buitron, Buitrón, Buitrón Común, Buitrón Ibérico, Cistícola Buitrón
Estonian: rohulind
Basque: Ihi-txoria, Trist
Finnish: Heinäkerttu
French: Cisticole commune, Cisticole des joncs, Cisticole d’Europe
Irish: Ceolaire Earrfheanach
Galician: Carriza dos xuncos, Trist
Croatian: Šivalica
Hungarian: Szuharbújó
Indonesian: Cici padi, Pikoré, Pipi-pipi kolé
Icelandic: Hálmsöngvari
Italian: Beccamoschino, Beccamoschino comune
Japanese: sekka
Latin: Cisticola juncidis, Cisticola juncidus
Mamasa: tíku
Malay: Burung Main Angin
Dutch: Gewone Graszanger, Graszanger, Waaierstaartrietzanger
Norwegian: Cistussanger
Sotho, Northern: Tangtang
Polish: chwastówka, chwastówka (zwyczajna), chwastówka zwyczajna
Portuguese: fuinha dos juncos, Fuinha-dos-juncos
Romansh: Channarel da la cua lada
Slovak: cistovník ryšavý, cistovníkovec ryšavý
Slovenian: brškinka
Shona: Kadhi-idhi-i
Albanian: Sqepholli xunktheve
Serbian: Širokorepi cvrcic
Sotho, Southern: Motintinyane
Swedish: Grässångare
Swahili: Kidenenda Zezete
Turkish: Yelpaze Kuyruk, Yelpazekuyruk
Tsonga: Matinti
Xhosa: Unonzwi

Travel Birdwatching Holiday Alentejo, Vacation Portugal for birders to see birds on your trip. Guided Birdwatching Tours & Trips

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Guided Birdwatching in the Alentejo region of Portugal