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[Metroactive Movies]

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Kiss, Kiss, Bust, Bust

Geena Davis & Samuel L. Jackson
Kerry Hayes

Partners in Crime: Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson survive an attack of explosive set pieces in "The Long Kiss Goodnight."

Brutish 'Long Kiss Goodnight' dies for want of a script doctor

By Richard von Busack

THE PREMISE for The Long Kiss Goodnight shows promise: An amnesiac New Jersey housewife, Samantha Caine (Geena Davis), turns out to be Charlie Baltimore, a Femme Nikitastyle assassin. With the help of a low-budget detective named Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), she finds out what happened to her, fights off various shadowy government types and reconciles being a top-notch secret agent with being a mommy. In the hands of director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island) and writer Shane Black (The Last Boy Scout), though, the film is an unpleasant, brutish piece of work, a casualty that died for lack of a script doctor--perhaps dumb enough and explosive enough to be a hit but not really human enough to interest anyone in the audience smarter than a bag of hammers.

Davis is possibly the least-convincing bifurcated heroine since Elizabeth Montgomery played evil cousin Serena on Bewitched. Admittedly, an amnesiac heroine raises inconsistencies in the plot, but The Long Kiss Goodnight poses such challenges to internal logic that it seems like Harlin and Black have a touch of amnesia themselves. Black is perhaps the crudest and most grossly overpaid writer in the history of cinema; call this opinion envy, but I'd rather spend my time envying someone with talent as well as money. The Long Kiss Goodnight relies on the two laws of the modern action movie: A) when stuck for what to do next, send in some snipers in a helicopter; B) when shooting fish in a barrel, make sure the audience thinks the fish asked for it. It's bad enough when the movie tries some kid-snuggling to win our hearts (Caine's daughter ends up a hostage, for instance), but Black can't tell irony from inanity: no character is too sophisticated to have a dick joke or a toilet joke ready to go.

It's a noisy movie, with semiautomatic fire, explosions and an Alan Silvestri score that would give a taiko drummer a headache. When Black comes up with what he considers percussive dialogue to match the ambient noise, it sounds like he's been typing with boxing gloves on. "Look at my inordinately large ass," says Davis as Baltimore, whose aerobicized rump is supposed to be evidence that her other personality let herself go. Henessey, pulling a gun, says, "This ain't ham on rye," and then explains that he was almost late on the draw because "I was thinking up that 'ham on rye' line."

Sometimes the grubbiness hits the right chord, as when Henessey tells a pretty good joke to Larry King at the end of the movie. But the joke makes you laugh not because it relieves tension but because the finale (a fire fight next to a bomb-laden oil tanker stuck on a bridge) is so little fun by comparison. Harlin clubs you with fight scenes and torture scenes, making Davis' Baltimore hurt and bleed; there's none of the gracefulness of the Bond or the Jackie Chan movies here. Worse, not one serious moment of sexual attraction between Davis and Jackson is allowed. Inevitably, there isn't even one long kiss.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (R; 120 min.), directed by Renny Harlin, written by Shane Black, photographed by Guillermo Navarro and starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson.

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From the October 17-23, 1996 issue of Metro

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Copyright © 1996 Metro Publishing, Inc.

Foreclosures - Real Estate Investing
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A Republican Dis for Ivan Harmon

While Gov. Bill Haslam has said he is staying out of the current mayoral race to pick his successor, some members of his family evidently remember some television ads from the 2003 election—the ones about a family oil company.

But their contributions to Democrat Mark Padgett, who is running against Haslam's former opponent and city staff member Democrat Madeline Rogero, also feels like a dis for some Republicans. Ivan Harmon, supported by the county party and the "Republican Club Republicans" could use a few contributions. But there have long been different factions of the county party. County officeholders, rank-and-file Republicans, support the party and help elect the Republican slate. They are sometimes at odds with wealthy Republican establishment types who write the checks.

County conservative Republicans are primarily focused on helping Becky Duncan Massey get elected to the state Senate, but many of them know and like Ivan—a former City Council member and county commissioner.

Harmon has support, but he has yet to convince some people he has a chance to win. His fund-raising is abysmal. But if he manages to get into a run-off, that could change.

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Preview: Game 60 - Cards at Mets - Miller vs Gee

St. Louis Cardinals (42-22) at New York Mets (23-36) 7:10 PM ET
SeasonRd/HmLast StartLast 3 App
S. Miller (R) 12 7-3 1.916.03-22.836/6ARIW6.0622-018.12.45
D. Gee (R) 12 4-6 5.205.21-33.546/5@WSHW7.0912-119.13.26

Young hurler Shelby Miller tries to pitch the St. Louis Cardinals to a third straight victory on Wednesday night in the second contest of a three-game series against the struggling New York Mets.

Miller, a 2009 first-round pick, is coming off a win over Arizona on Thursday as he gave up a pair of runs -- both in the first inning -- before settling down to log six solid innings. He worked around six hits and did not walk a batter, striking out nine and setting down the final six batters faced.

The 22-year-old was staked to a 10-2 lead by the fourth inning and added to the offense with a home run the following frame.

Miller is 7-3 with a 1.91 earned run average in 12 outings this season and that includes his first ever start versus the Mets on May 15. The righty did not factor into a 4-2 win despite giving up just four hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. However, New York scored twice in the seventh frame to leave Miller without a decision.

Miller follows fellow rookie Michael Wacha, who picked up his first major league victory with Tuesday's 9-2 win. He recovered from a tough first inning to hold New York to a pair of runs over six innings of work.

Wacha also got plenty of support in the form of a five-run fifth inning. Allen Craig capped the big frame with a three-run homer, while David Freese went 2- for-4 in the game to push his hitting streak to 20 straight games. It is the longest active hitting streak in the majors.

St. Louis won for the fourth time in five games and owns the best record in baseball at 42-22.

"I think we're just a relentless group," said Craig. "When somebody has some success, the top of the lineup guys kind of feed off it and get that confidence going. We kind of just thrive off each other's success."

Things are moving in the opposite direction for the stumbling and recently reshuffled Mets, however. The team dropped their seventh game in eight contests and own the third-worst record (23-36) in all of baseball.

New York demoted struggling first baseman Ike Davis, as well as outfielder Mike Baxter and reliever Robert Carson, following the team's fifth straight loss to league-worst Miami on Sunday.

Seven of the Cardinals runs went unearned, including the five scored in the fateful fifth off Jeremy Hefner, who tossed six frames but was charged with six runs total. The Mets had just five hits.

Daniel Murphy, filling in at first for the recently demoted Davis, began the fifth with a throwing error on a Jon Jay grounder as the floodgates opened.

"We've got to catch the baseball, we've got to pitch better, we've got to hit better," said Mets manager Terry Collins. "It's pretty much the same stuff every night."

New York's lone victory in its past eight games belongs to Dillon Gee, who takes the mound tonight looking for a third straight winning start.

Gee or Hefner could be the odd-man out when prospect Zack Wheeler arrives from Triple-A Las Vegas, possibly as soon as this coming Tuesday. The right-handed Gee is not making the decision for New York easy, giving up just a run in each of his last two wins while striking out a total of 19 batters.

The 27-year-old stayed in the win column with a 10-1 rout in Washington last Wednesday. Gee worked seven innings and retired 11 of the final 12 batters faced, moving to 4-6 on the season with a 5.20 ERA that was sitting at 6.34 before his two recent wins.

"I can't be satisfied," Gee said on New York's website. "I've got to continue to do it. It feels good to do it again, give the team a chance to win, and the guys did an awesome job scoring a bunch of runs. Thankfully I was able to keep them there."

Gee is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts versus the Cardinals, getting the loss on May 14. He was charged with five earned runs over just four innings of work.

St. Louis won three of four in that series from May 13-16 and has taken seven of the previous nine encounters overall.
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Dada Life on Miami Show: "You're All Going to Leave Ugly as Hell"

What pairs well with bananas? If your answer is anything but champagne, raucous electro-rage bangers, and two wild and crazy guys from Sweden, then you definitely don't know about that Dada Life.

The duo brings a certain rock'n'roll-meets-Dali atmosphere to their live performances, and by that, we mean the energy is massive and nothing seems to make any sense. In short, they put on one helluva party, and you'd be crazy to miss their complete takeover of the Mana Wynwood Production Village, Saturday, Nov. 23.

We had a little email chat with the bros and tried to get a peek at the method behind their madness. They promised they'd leave Miami lookin' ugly.

Crossfade: What was the conversation that led to the use of the bananas and champagne?

Dada Life: It started with us having it on the rider. It's the perfect combo. Bubbly alcohol and potassium to keep you going. Also a banana stays fresh in the nastiest places.

You guys show a lot of rock 'n' roll influence in your productions, your subject matter and your presentation. How do you see the relationship between rock 'n' roll attitude and modern dance music culture?

It's the same. It's all about finding that energy where everything just explodes.

BTW, did you ever find your vintage '69 Rolling Stones T-shirt? Did you throw that bitch in the pool for losing it?

Haha, yeah it's lost forever...

You guys are known to bring the ruckus. What's the key to getting people to stop worrying about taking selfies and start fucking dancing?

We're just having fun. I think people see that and realize that they want to have fun too.

You seem to have fun with your music and performances, and part of that appears to be about ridiculousness. Do you feel compelled to remind people that dance music is not serious, or do you take it more seriously than you appear?

We have started our own nation ... Isn't that really serious?! We're also always serious when it comes to the music being created.

What's the most important Rule of Dada?

Don't trust us.

I heard you released 39 versions of "Born to Rage" for 39 different countries. Isn't that kind of cheating? What do I have to do to get my own personalized version?

Win one! Check for details. Competition ending soon though so hurry up!

Have you ever had a Spinal Tap moment where you played the wrong country's version at a show?

Not yet. But it's bound to happen.

For this upcoming showcase, how much control do you have over the design and transformation of the space? What's your vision? Can you give us any impressive specs to whet our appetite?

The vision is to create Dada Land, complete with tough immigration and then all the fun when you're finally inside the borders.

Anything else you'd like to say or mention to the people of Miami before we enter the world of Dada?

People in Miami are into beauty a lot. That's great because you're all going to leave ugly as hell!

Dada Life Compound with Tritonal, Henry Fong and more. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Mana Production Village, 318 N.W. 23rd St., Miami. Ages 18 and up. The party starts at 7 p.m., and tickets cost $42 to $125 via Call 305-305-5474 or visit

Follow Crossfade on Facebook and Twitter @Crossfade_SFL.

Follow Kat Bein on Twitter @KatSaysKill.

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Software X10 CM17A API

Feedback About About
API to control the FireCracker Computer Interface (CM17A) from any computer with a serial port. The FireCracker Computer Interface is shipped with The FireCracker Ultimate Home Control Kit.
Who's Using This API? Who's Using This API?
Bubble, Bubble, Build's In Trouble
Mike Clark, author of the book Pragmatic Project Automation How to Build, Deploy, and Monitor Java Applications , uses this API in a psychodelic solution to automate the building and testing of your software. Visual feedback about the state of your project if obtained by lighting up red (failed) and green (success) lava lamps controlled via X10 devices. You should check it out!
X10-ified & FirecrackerComm
Aaron Lerch has ported this API to C#.
Let me know how you are using this API!
Documentation Documentation
Java Communications API
Sun's implementation only supports Microsoft Windows and Solaris/x86.
For other platforms, check out RXTX. (includes Linux support)
Recommended Downloads
Nevelex Arguments API
The example code uses the command-line argument processing features from this API. If you want run the example program, you need to download it.
Browse HTML Documentation (current release)
The current release in the downloads section includes this documentation too.
LGPL (freeware)
Download Download
X10 CM17A API version 1.0.1 (x10-1.0.1.tar.bz2) [10/21/2003]
Includes source, binaries and documentation.
e-mail me
Software Central
Copyright © 2002-2008 Michel Dalal. All rights reserved.

Page:    /sw/java/x10/index.html
Last Updated:  Sunday, 22-Oct-2006 14:01:41 CDT


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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Advertise with us »

Michigan beats No. 1 North Dakota 2-0, advances to NCAA title game

By Stephen J. Nesbitt, Daily Sports Editor
Published April 7, 2011

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Led by a 40-save performance by senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick, the Michigan hockey team beat top-ranked North Dakota 2-0 in its first Frozen Four appearance since 2008.

With just over six minutes left in the first period, freshman Jon Merrill slapped a laser from the blue line. Winnett picked the puck up his own rebound to the right of North Dakota goalie Aaron Dell and buried it for his fourth goal of the season and Michigan’s first goal of the game.

North Dakota came out flying in the second period, but Hunwick remained up to the task for Michigan after a stellar first period. The Fighting Sioux outshot the Wolverines in the first period, 14-10 and continued to hold and increase their shot-advantage throughout the second period.

Just over five minutes into the third period, the Fighting Sioux held a 29-15 shot advantage on the Wolverines, but because of strong defensive play down low by the Wolverines and some crucial saves by Hunwick, the Wolverines held onto their one-goal lead.

For a defense that was missing a presence in junior Brandon Burlon, who was a scratch for tonight’s Frozen Four contest, the rest of the Wolverine defenders made smart plays with and without the puck and were able to keep the potent North Dakota offense at bay, even as the Fighting Sioux continued to pressure Michigan in its own zone.

The Wolverines best scoring chance of the third period came at the 10-minute mark when Vaughan had a breakaway shot that rebounded to wide open junior defensemen Greg Pateryn, but Dell got a stick on Pateryn’s shot to keep it a one-goal game.

Merrill took a holding call with 8:50 left in the third period to give North Dakota its fourth power play opportunity of the game, but the Wolverine penalty killers again came up strong, with nice clears by Winnett and junior forward Luke Glendening.

North Dakota boasted the No. 2 team offense in the nation heading into Thursday’s Frozen Four game, but Vaughan scored an empty-net goal to put the Wolverines 2-0 with just under 35 seconds in the game and the Wolverine bench erupted.

Michigan takes on Minnesota-Duluth in the National Championship Game on Saturday at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.


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Deseret Peak

Elevation: 11,031
Location: Stansbury Range, Utah

Deseret Peak is just an hour's drive from Salt Lake City away from the crowds in the Wasatch mountains. Many people are un-aware of this high peak so close to the city sitting out in the west desert. The ascent is pretty and on good trails all the way.

Summit cornices on Deseret Peak in June From Salt Lake you'll need to drive through Grantsville. A sign in town points the way up into South Willow Canyon. A fairly good dirt road leads to the trailhead at the Loop Campground at about 7,600 feet. The road is tricky in a two-wheel car, but four-wheel drivers will find no difficulties getting to the trail. The peak has a loop trail of sorts allowing ascent from one side and descent down another and returns you to the same parking lot. My first ascent in 1994 I stayed on the southern Mill Fork trail both ways, then in 1998 I was to attempt the loop hike with the Wasatch Club, but the leader couldn't make the trip and with a heavy snowpack the fill-in opted to do the same as I had done in '94.

Follow the main trail for about 3/4 of a mile to a split. Left leads into Mill Fork, and right is the route up Dry Lake Fork (Pockets Fork also). It is a pretty hike up Mill Fork. You'll see a high, rugged peak ahead, but it is north of Deseret, so don't be fooled. In early summer a lot of snow may remain on the higher parts of the trail making a tedious climb, but a quick glissading descent. In August of '94, after a weak winter only one patch of snow near the ridge needed to be climbed (it was about 20 feet high and very steep). In 1998, snow filled much of the mountain and I was glad I had brought ski poles. Once on the ridge, it is just a short mile or so to the peak. Great views open just before reaching the peak of the rugged east face of the mountain descending down into Dry Lake Fork. Be careful when a lot of snow is present not to wander too far out onto the cornices. If not under snow, a clear trail can be followed right to the summit where a grand view awaits you.

View north from Deseret Peak summit You'll see the lower and bland Oquirrh mountains directly to the east, with the northern Wasatch barely visible (through fumes probably) beyond. You'll have a good view of the southern part of the Great Salt Lake, and to the west will truely be desolation. If you're doing the loop hike you'll want to head north along the gradually descending ridge. This route, used for either ascent or descent offers better views of the peak along the way really. Distances are about the same, with the northern route being just slightly longer perhaps. Deseret Peak is now a small wilderness area and for good reason. The rest of the Stansbury Range is relatively untraveled, and not as high as Deseret Peak.

From Salt Lake it is a good day hike. Expect a little over an hour each way of travel, with about five to six hours of hiking time. The vertical climb is 3,400 feet in about four miles (each way). It is an excellent outing and I think a "must" hike for any avid hiker or climber in the Salt Lake area.


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Poll vault: 20 politicians who have shifted loyalties this election season

The battle for 2014 Lok Sabha elections is on in full swing, with politicians going all out to make an impact. Some have even crossed over to the opposition camp in their endeavour. Here's a look

    Leave a Reply

    (Clockwise from left): Jaya Prada, Satpal Maharaj, Jaswant Singh and Mohan Rawale. Read about them and other political leaders, who have made news for switching parties

    You May Like


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9 Tips For Dealing With Internet Trolls

Posted by Kelly Kirkham

Every business has at least one troll they just can’t escape. Here are some tips on the best way to handle the inevitable negativity that comes with success. (more…)
July 27, 2015

Have You Grabbed A Summer Sizzler?

Posted by Kelly Kirkham

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up: our summer sizzler deals are smokin’ hot at prices that will keep the budget cool. (more…)
July 23, 2015

What Is A CDN?

Posted by Kelly Kirkham

A content delivery network, or CDN, serves your data to all corners of the globe at lightning speed, but how does it do it? (more…)
July 15, 2015
Stop blending in with the rest of the crowd and start leaving your mark on the web


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Cuddeback Attack IR Infrared Game Camera 5.0 Megapixel Brown

Product #: 655631 Cuddeback #: 1156 UPC #: 700868001156
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  • Information
  • Videos (6)
Find that next trophy buck with the fastest Cuddeback camera ever, the new Attack IR. This new camera features 1/4 second trigger speed, and will take up to 50,000 images on one set of 4 D batteries allowing you to get a full season out of one set of batteries. The new Guard Duty Mode will take 5 images per minute without requiring "triggering" making it perfect for monitoring fields or stand activity all day long. Featuring 36 high powered LED's the new Attack IR has a true 60 foot flash distance ensuring you will get that picture of your next trophy buck. See why many of the top professionals trust their season to Cuddeback and try the new Attack IR.

  • Super Simple Setup
  • Guard Duty Mode
  • Video Plus Mode takes a 30 second clip followed by a still image
  • Genius Mounting system
  • High Powered LEDs with a true 60 foot range
  • USB Port allows you to copy images from a card without a reader

Technical Information

Resolution: 5.0 MP
Trigger Speed: 1/4 second
IR or Incandescent: IR
Number of LEDs in Flash: 36
Range: 60 ft
Video: Yes
Video Time: 5/15/30 second clips
Internal Memory: Yes up to 60 images
Memory Card Type: SD
Memory Card Size: Up to 32GB (approximately 200 5.0MP images per GB of storage)
Memory Card Included: No
Multi-shot: Yes, up to 3 shots
Weather-resistant: Yes
Menu Type: N/A
Programming Remote: No
Viewing Screen: No
Battery Type: 4 D
Batteries Included: No
Battery Life: 50,000 Images
Computer Requirements: N/A
Time and Date on Pictures: Yes
Temperature on Pictures: Yes
Moon phase on Pictures: No
Mounting Strap Included: Yes
USB Cable Included: No
TV Out Cable Included: No
Camera Dimensions: 8" x 3.5" x 3"

Product Videos

  • 655631
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American Theater Campaign Ribbon

American Theater Campaign Ribbon
Item# R056
Ribbon Attachments:
Availability: Usually ships the next business day

Product Description

The American Campaign Medal is awarded for service within the American theater between 7 Dec 41 and 2 Mar 46, under any of the following conditions:

1. Permanent assignment outside the Continental United States.

2. Permanent assignment as aircrew members of airplanes making frequent flights over ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 days nonconsecutive

3. Outside the Continental United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty (TDY) for 30 consecutive days or 60 days nonconsecutive

4. In active combat against the enemy, if personnel were awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the unit's commander stating that they actually participated in combat; or

5. Served within the Continental United States for an aggregate period of 1 year. Personnel who were assigned or attached to and present for duty with a unit that was accorded battle credit for the Antisubmarine Campaign are entitled to wear a bronze service star.

Ribbon Device Attachments:

1. 3/16" Bronze Campaign Star

This American Theater Campaign Ribbon is manufactured by the same government contractor that supplies the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and the Armed Forces Exchanges, it's quality is guaranteed.

If you need assistance ordering or would like to order by telephone please call us toll free at 1-800-864-5062 and one of our customer service representatives will assist you.

Visit us on Facebook for additional product photos and information!

Vets Supply Line
10550 County Road 81
Suite 218
Maple Grove MN 55369
Tel: (800)864-5062 Fax: (763)425-2577
M-F 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (CST)
Closed Federal Holidays


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Discussion Five Critique

Discussion5Given all the furor over the pending disciplinary council being held to discuss Kate Kelly’s future standing with respect to the LDS Church, I was intrigued to again see the promised discussion regarding “Visualize Our Potential!” be delayed.

An Emotional Appeal: The Soft Challenge

The cover of this discussion is an adorable picture of a light-haired, white/hispanic girl gazing up into heaven, her chin poised pensively on clasped hands. The first blurb tells the story of a three-year-old girl playing at preparing and passing the “sac-a-ment” after seeing a woman in another denomination officiating.

An activity follows, showing staged images where women appear to be blessing others. One is a baby blessing where only one man appears to be standing in the circle. The other is a woman with female hands on her head. How, we are asked, would the optics of the Church be different if women were ordained?

No mention is made here of the scholarly consensus that female ordination is correlated with declining membership. As one female PhD concluded, “none of the groups that have dramatically increased in influence between 1960-2005, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, have opted to ordain women… both groups who have opted to ordain women during this time frame have shown a noticeable drop in membership.” 1 For an older but more official-looking publication, see Leon Podles’ The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity. 2

We are then treated to a page of soundbites from LDS Church leaders, where we are encouraged to imagine our eternal potential, hope that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us, prepare [to]…become more like our God. One presumes these soundbites have been selected to provide reassurance that male leaders do approve of female ordination.

The Commitment Dialogue

This is followed by another activity, were we are supposed to draw a river on which images of the moments when female ordination seemed desirable and even compelling would be drawn. The prior activities were appealing, but this is the activity where a woman who has felt unsatisfied commits herself. It is personal now.

Another activity is conducted, where participants are asked to envision hearing Official Declaration 3 (hypothetically granting women the priesthood) read from the pulpit. Alternately, we are asked to imagine a Conference Address where Thomas S. Monson declares that women have been granted the priesthood. These fictional constructs are well-crafted, they feel authentic. Surely, the participants might think, this is the only appropriate outcome. Insignificant bishops may call councils, but these women have experienced the revelation as though it has already happened. Female ordination is obviously inevitable, they now feel. The painful experiences they drew in the river activity will be subsumed in a bright future where women are positioned throughout the Church, a future where the optics are fully aligned with the staged photos at the beginning of the discussion.

After all these activities, intended to build to a crescendo of desire for female ordination and even complete confidence that this is the only reasonable outcome, we are given three articles to read talking about women who are ordained ministers: the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton assuming the office of presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran church in America (ELCA) in November 2013, the Right Reverend Mary Glasspool of the Episcopal Church talking about her role as assistant bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles since 2010, and the 50th anniversary of the 1956 general conference of the Methodist church approving full clergy rights for women.

Again, none of these articles speak to the precipitous decline in membership in these denominations.

The Persecution Narrative

A column of scripture passages concludes this discussion, with eschatological promises of a joyous end despite sorrow and hardship in the now.

Those participating in the discussion rejoice in the certainty that they are doing God’s will. Any sacrifice is warranted, to bring to pass the female empowerment visualized in this discussion.

Would Eliza Approve?

This past Sunday it is likely any Mormon who attended Sacrament Meeting heard the final stanzas of Eliza Snow’s most famous song, Oh My Father:

I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I’ve completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.

Besides teaching us of a Mother in Heaven, Eliza was the one who wrote up the first proposed constitution for the female organization that eventually became Relief Society. She founded the youth ministry, including a young women’s ministry. She organized the children’s ministry. She was presiding over the Relief Society when Utah woman were granted the vote in 1870.

Eliza presided with power, performing blessings on all as requested and required.

And yet I somehow doubt Eliza would appreciate the way these discussions create a fictive environment that eliminates the possibility of a divine “No.”

My Potential

I am a woman of God, able to minister with power to those I have been called to serve. I am a mother of children, able to nurture them to become great in their own way. I am a wife, able to cherish the soul of my husband. I am a sister, able to gather my age-peers in my heart. I am a friend and a mentor and a teacher. I preside when my duties so require. I lead when so assigned. And I follow those with stewardship over me.

I’ve laid blessing hands on my son’s head when he was ill. I’ve keened when my only hope to hold him was relegated to the resurrection. I’ve played thumb war with my autistic daughter. I’ve listened with aching sadness as she declared her aspiration to be a wife and mother. I’ve sung to my eldest of hickies after finding her neck festooned with evidence of an enjoyable date.

I am able to comfort those whose heads are bowed. I am able to greet all I encounter with an honest love derived from a faith in a shared eternity in which I loved them as myself.

If at some point I am asked to bear priesthood keys by those in authority to grant such to me, I will do so. But I will not allow the lust for such keys to canker my soul against the God I love and the Church He has given me.

  1. http://donnawelles.blogspot.com/2014/02/relationship-bw-ordination-of-women.html
  2. Podles, The Church Impotent, available online at http://www.podles.org/files/Church-Impotent/ChurchImpotent_Chapter1.pdf, retrieved June 17, 2014.
This entry was posted in General by Meg Stout. Bookmark the permalink.

About Meg Stout

Meg Stout has been an active member of the LDS church for over four decades. She lives in the DC area with her husband, Bryan, and several daughters. She is an engineer by vocation and a writer by avocation, and is working on a midrashic treatment of the events in Nauvoo associated with early polygamy.

15 thoughts on “Discussion Five Critique

  1. I just replied to my youngest daughter who e-mailed me after reading part of your series on Joseph Smith and polygamy. She asked if I had experienced washing and anointing of pregnant sisters by other women. Only in the temple as a set apart temple worker, and then not particularly for the pregnant. I have also experienced a variety of spiritual gifts, including prophecy, which I guess makes me a prophetess but certainly not in the sense that those in authority by virtue of the keys they hold are Prophets. Those writing these discussions betray their contempt for the insight and intelligence of their audience. It’s the same PR mentality that assures us that ‘you deserve a break today’ in order to sell us a substance that is harmful.

  2. Meg, thanks again for doing this series. I earlier postulated that this series of discussions would have a call to action, a call to join, just as the old missionary discussions. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the next (and last) discussion is “Be the Change.” I find it somewhat interesting that this discussion is currently slated to come out after Kate’s disciplinary hearing, because I fully expect that the point of that discussion will be to get the OW crowd to go into their wards and stakes, where they are still members, and “raise hell” as Ms. Kelly so eloquently stated it in her last appearance on the FMH podcast.

  3. Hi Pat,

    Given that the letter from Joseph Fielding Smith et al. to Sister Belle Spafford requesting the sisters refrain from performing washings and anointings for prospective mothers was in the mid 1940s, I would hope you’d not experienced that. Though I suppose we who have known you for lo these many years are aware of your views on the historic tactic where men accuse women of “witchcraft” for acting as healers and midwives. And Joseph Fielding Smith did allow that the practice was permitted, merely discouraged.

    Your youngest also e-mailed me with a few suggested grammatical improvements and a request that I include a timeline and a scorecard of the good guys and the bad guys. That’s actually a really great idea. I mean, I have a bright and precise timeline and scorecard in my head, but that doesn’t help those who don’t live in my head.

    Hi Michael,

    I was interested in the cunning progression of activities in this discussion. I also imagined the statistical male response to this. It was not intended for men. It is not intended to persuade men. It obviously doesn’t care that there are centuries of combined experience in other denominations showing that congregations do *not* thrive when women are admitted to the ranks of the ordained. The Church of England has twenty years experience with this. There was to have been a revitalization of the faith. That is what the advocates of female ordination promised. But you can’t even see the impact of female ordination in their statistics, which have steadily declined to the point where a mere 2-3% of the population attends the state church.

    I find the arguments of those advocating ordination of women in the Mormon faith to be focused on the ego and emotions of the women involved, with no serious attempt to evaluate the wealth of data our unfortunate fellow Christians have collected for us on the actual impact of female ordination.

    They may argue that the decline in membership in these denominations is merely correlated with, not necessarily caused by, ordination of women. And yet they proclaim that the Mormon practice of restricting priesthood keys to men is somehow responsible for a great exodus that otherwise wouldn’t be happening. We have data that correlates. They have aspirations based on fiction – fiction with respect to how the Church functions, fiction with respect to human nature, and fiction with respect to the allegedly harmless nature of their campaign.

  4. The more I think about this, the more I think that we are getting on the other side’s turf when we start debating issues of gender equity as a factor of retention and/or recruitment. The Church was true with six members and it could be true with six members again. The fact that people may* be leaving for reasons of perceived gender inequity is not a reason to change the Church. It is perhaps a reason to clarify some things, and reach out to some people in ways that doesn’t constitute a change in established doctrine, but not a reason to change the doctrine. The only reason to change the doctrine is if God tells the Prophet to do it. It is not an issue of activities rates or membership numbers or positive references in the NY Times. Instead, it is an issue of being right, because without that we are all wrong.

    * If we began ordaining women, there would be plenty of other excuses people would make for not coming to Church … you can’t “fix” them all.

  5. I’m not arguing that doctrine should depend on popularity.

    However I am pointing out that those attempting to use activist means to sway doctrine are making arguments that aren’t supported by the experience of the many other Christian denominations that have decided to ordain women.

  6. Meg, just an ocd/aspergerish technicality here… your two indented paragraphs confused me. At first i thought the indentation meant that they are quotes from the source or other material. But i think you meant them as commentary in your own voice. Since your article is written in first person, it’s my opinion that they don’t need to be indented, even if you intended it as an aside. If they are quotes from source material or elsewhere, some indication is needed.

    I’m not enough of an editor to properly describe a more correct style, but this is mainly let to let you know that i am confused about who “says” those two paragraphs, and why they are indented if you are the one saying them.

  7. For some reason I felt those particular comments were sufficiently other that I wanted to set them off in some manner.

    Sorry for confusing you!

  8. Meg,
    I liked that you addressed the fallacy reasoning that OW seems to be using. This is the fallacy that if someone feels any sort of inequity because she is a woman from any person in authority in our church, the ONLY way to redress and change that is to ordain women.

    I have seen a number of responses to the OW movement from women who say that the men in our church have never made them feel unequal. They are lucky. But, that doesn’t mean that we either feel like there is no problem or that we think women should be ordained. That is a fallacy. Those of us in leadership positions (or not) would do well to recognize that, in fact, there are times women are not treated with the intellectual respect and dignity we deserve, but that we are imperfect and striving to do better.
    I think that I would like to hear less from the people who have had no problems and more ideas of how we, as a church, can do better without changing doctrine or speaking against the prophets

  9. Hi Amy,

    I agree that there are some inequities. But I feel the most lasting and expeditious way to effect meaningful change is in an atmosphere of respect.

    Over at BCC, I posted a few suggestions related to the Church Handbook and Church discipline. In fact, someone quoted me out of context and wondered how I could say such things and not risk my good standing in the Church, given what is happening to Kate.

    The difference, I submit, is that I put my suggestions in the subjunctive case, and made it clear that I wasn’t making demands. Similarly, even in the absence of being told why my ideas are wrong, I will seek to understand the good reasons behind the current practice. Not that all the reasons are good, and not that current practice couldn’t be changed, but there are always good reasons underlying any existing pattern of behavior.

    It has been fascinating for me sitting in the youth classes with my autistic daughter. I find this new youth curriculum extremely agile. Here we have Ms. Kelly facing a disciplinary council tonight, and this month’s lessons for the youth are talking about priesthood and priesthood keys. One of the suggested topics is How do women and priesthood holders work together to build the kingdom of God? It’s been fascinating to hear these young people learn more about this topic, knowing that their teachers and youth leaders are extremely aware of what is going on with Ms. Kelly and her supporters. One of the youth even specifically mentioned Ordain Women (the bishop’s daughter) and the mention was respectful, but also stating that their representation of how women feel or should feel does not represent her own experience.

    My husband and I talked about a variety of issues and possible solutions a couple of months ago, in a post titled Ordain Women: A Husband and Wife Respond. But having made my observations about past events, I am happy to return to the now and simply enjoy. In my experience, the vast majority of my Church interactions are marvelous and filled with joy.

  10. Meg,
    “The most lasting and expeditious way to effect meaningful change is in an atmosphere of respect”

    I couldn’t agree more! And if my response suggested otherwise, I did not express myself well. I think the point of my response was that when I only hear responses from individuals who haven’t had reason to complain about their treatment as a woman in the church, it can also be a reason for those who feel they have been mistreated to feel more closely aligned with OW. I think a real benefit of some of these discussions is that it presents another option. Perhaps women have been treated less than equal by certain male leaders in the church. We can acknowledge that without having to disrespect anyone, without having to change doctrine and give the Brethren ultimatums. I have appreciated this forum where we can acknowledge these types of things and have respectful discourse with each other as well as respectful towards the church and it’s leaders.

  11. Hi Amy,

    It’s hard to convey and interpret nuances when comments are only written.

    Looking back at what each of us wrote, I intended my comment on lasting and expedition change as a comment to those who are attempting to effect change using antagonistic activist techniques.

    Tonight I was writing up the post about William Law. Slightly scary the parallels between William Law and current events.

  12. Discussion 6 is delayed as well. They must not have been all written ahead of time, or else they are busy amending this one as a result of recent events. I will make some bold predictions:

    – There will be a quote from Audre Lorde.
    – There will be references to Mormon Feminist Foremothers, and honor given to those seen as trailblazers. This will include praise for KK, which may be not so veiled.
    – There will be a call to action to preach the gospel of Gender Equity.

  13. Hi Michael Davidson,

    At this point I don’t know that Ordain Women has to do anything. The 6th discussion is titled “Be the Change.”

    At this point, with what they’ve posted in the 1st 5 discussions, your average intelligent feminist ought to be able to figure out what to do.

    Of course, lack of the 6th discussion is frustrating for people, like me, who hate to leave things undone.Hi Michael Davidson,

    At this point I don’t know that ordain women has to do anything. The 6th discussion is titled be the change.

    At this point, with what they’ve posted in the 1st 5 discussions, your average intelligent feminist ought to be able to figure out what to do. It appears that those seeking female ordination are retrenching. It will be sad if we do have a mass exodus of individuals who feel wounded by this week’s events. Such an exodus, I believe, would be counterproductive to the public image of the movement seeking female ordination.

    Of course, lack of the 6th discussion is frustrating for people, like me, who hate to leave things undone.

Comments are closed.


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Here are two films we’ve seen recently in our Sunday morning Cinema Club which have (young) love as a central theme, one of which belongs on a ‘to see’ list when it hits the theaters shortly.

Young Goethe in Love **1/2

As far as I can find out, this film is based on actual occurrences in Goethe’s life, although there is some dispute about many of the details.

It follows Goethe when he fails his law exams and is sent by his father to a small town to work and to correct his slothful ways (wanting to write poetry).  He starts off well, working in a law office, but when he falls in love with a Lotte, who unbeknownst to either of them, has been promised by her father to another, his life is turned upside down.

Our movie club gave this film a positive rating (excellent + good) of 89.9%, and these folks fancy themselves good judges of film.  We thought the film was nothing special and, in fact, seemed a bit corny and trite.  But our fellow film folks thought it was a good, old fashion love story, from another time, that was quite entertaining.

Let readers know what you think if you see it.

My Week with Marilyn *****

I doubt we would have seen this film if it had not been one of our Sunday morning club films. But it’s definitely one to put on your list to see.

Similar to the Goethe film, it is the story of a 23 year old English lad (Colin Clark) who wants to be something other than what his father wishes him to be; in this case, it has to do with following his interests in the film industry.  He gets an opportunity to work on a film that is in production starring Sir Laurence Oliver and Marilyn Monroe, who had recently married Arthur Miller.

What transpires comes from Clark’s diary, published many years later.  And it is only partially a love story as Clark falls heavily for Monroe who is struggling with both her acting and with the recent knowledge that Miller thinks she’s a fool. Improbably, but apparently true, Monroe and Clark spend a week together when Miller is not there.

For the young Clark, it is a love story.

For the aging Oliver, tho he’s continually frustrated by Monroe’s lateness for rehearsals and need to be encouraged every other minute, he too falls in love, albeit at a slight distance.

For Monroe, it’s another time when she is struggling with all the insecurities that life and her beauty have brought her.

Michelle Williams as Marilyn is simply fantastic. With a good script and with her ability to become Marilyn, it feels as if you’re watching ‘The’ Marilyn Monroe.

Eddie Redmayne is also terrific as Clark, and there are other good performances as well.


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Mini Teddy Bear

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Who doesn't love teddy bears? The fairies love this tiny teddy bear and he's a favorite miniature for any tiny display. This delightful little jointed bear is a tiny version of your favorite teddy bear and will add a touch of adorable charm to any of your miniature gardens.

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No One Will Know

By September 18, 2007, summer was over, but Bella was determined not to let those shorter days get their listeners down. The trio's coyly titled Mint debut No One Will Know extended the blissful season with its dreamy girl-boy-girl vocals, synth hooks, and punchy rhythms. It channels the synth-heavy '80s, but in a gorgeous, non-ironic kind of way, allowing you to relive those sweaty carefree nights from the comfort of your living room, wishing and hoping for one last weekend of summer heat as you and your friends bounce around, perfecting your dance moves.

No One Will Know features contributions from Roddy Bottum and Will Schwartz (Imperial Teen) and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59) under the guiding eye of producer/mastermind Dave Carswell of JC/DC Studios (Tegan and Sara, New Pornographers).

"Bella sound like Dragonette without the cheese factor and Metric minus the “hipper than thou” attitude. The West coast trio’s Mint debut captures futuristic indie pop at its most danceable." - Exclaim!

"... while the parts are distinctly familiar, the end result is a creation that gleefully leaves behind the box it came in." - Chart

"... if you are a fan of indie pop, you simply have to have this record in your collection." - AllMusic

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Memoirs of a Minyan: Foul Play

The purpose of the journey is the journey itself.

Jim was still a central player in our fund, which continued to struggle in the wake of 9/11. Not once during this period did he and I connect. We were still up for the year but the slow, steady grind of the fourth quarter took its toll, both on the fund and its stewards.

I didn't discuss with my partners. They, like I, had more pressing responsibilities. I tried to let the situation settle despite my growing unease with the way it was being handled.

Each time I saw an advertisement that promoted "Todd Harrison's Trading Diary," I looked the other way.

With every email I got from a concerned reader who asked for the date of my promised return, I internalized the aggravation.

I actually convinced myself that I had put the entire experience behind me until I dialed into conference call after they reported earnings.

After discussing top-line results, CEO Tom Clarke, fielded questions from the audience. Marc Cohodes, a well-known hedge fund manager and a large holder of TSCM stock, finally asked the question that everyone seemingly wanted to hear. "What happened to Todd Harrison and is he ever coming back?"

Tom paused before answering as I sat up in my seat and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Todd went through a lot and is experiencing emotional difficulties. We hope to have him back soon."

Trading Places

I was managing a $400 million dollar portfolio through a tsunami of terrorism. The last thing I needed was the CEO of a publicly traded company telling the world I was emotionally unstable.

I tried to focus my energy on trading which was a battle unto itself; the frustration was palpable as we clung to single digit returns. After eleven months, we had little to show for our efforts. I still had a hefty base salary to fall back on but that was supposed to be a buffer.

That's the fatal flaw to the Wall Street persona, the personal high water mark. Once you make five million dollars, anything less feels like a failure.

It's outrageously silly with the benefit of hindsight and the wisdom of experience but at the time, the mindset was gripping.

The junior staffers on our desk weren't as secure with their financial standing. I took that personally as most good managers do and promised them they would be taken care of.

Insiders at whispered to me that subscriptions were considerably lower after September 11th and I couldn't help wonder if some of them wrote letters to my grandpa.

I felt guilty -- not happy, not validated, not vindicated -- but guilty. The welfare of those around me -- my traders, my readers and my family -- weighed heavily on my psyche.

I missed my column but didn't admit that to anyone. I set out to explore alternatives, another venue that would take the place of my once stable stage.

I was in need of a solution, a new beginning, something to stop the intense pain.

I wanted to create an alternative reality as an escape from the pain that seemed to saturate my soul and spirit.

Click here for next chapter of memoirs, "The Genesis of a Dream."

If you'd like to receive e-mail alerts each time a Memoirs article is published, please send us an e-mail and we'll put you on our list.
No positions in stocks mentioned.

Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.

Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The 'Great Derecho' Exposed Old Grids

The power is back up (for the most part) after the storm that swept down on the mid-Atlantic states in early July. Now utilities are going to have to calculate what it cost them.

The Great Derecho of 2012 knocked out power to 4.3 million people over 10 Midwest and Middle Atlantic states. The toll in human lives and property damage has yet to be fully counted.

Hurricanes typically take days to form at sea. That gives first responders, utilities and government agencies in threatened areas time to prepare for damage control. In contrast, the Great Derecho came with hurricane-force winds virtually without warning. Recovery plans had to be made on the fly, in some cases with emergency communications networks out of service.

The longer the outage, the greater the cost incurred by utilities. The storm's intensity is a clear warning we've entered a period of greater extremes, with increased stresses on basic systems, particularly electricity.

Electric utility companies' performance following storms is increasingly under scrutiny from customers, and by extension regulators. Utilities are heavily insured for property damage and in many cases against loss of load as well. Instead, the exposure lies in the perceived effectiveness of a company's response-and how that perception affects relations with the regulators who set their rates.

Last autumn, for example, a destructive winter storm triggered outages throughout Northeast Utilities' (NU) New England territory, nearly derailing its merger with neighboring NSTAR Electric (NSARO). Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen is still pushing state regulators to levy huge financial penalties. Meanwhile, National Grid (NGG) lost its contract to manage the Long Island Power Authority system, largely because of its poor storm response.

Public perception of utilities' performance in the wake of the Great Derecho of 2012 is still forming. In the crosshairs are regional utilities American Electric Power (AEP), Dominion Resources (D), Exelon (EXC), First Energy (FE), and PEPCO Holdings (POM).

So far, Dominion Resources' response seems to be drawing the best reviews. Not only did the company set and later meet clear goals for restoring power to customers, but it also provided an extraordinary amount of information on its efforts.

Conversely, the press and politicians are already slamming into PEPCO Holdings, which serves the District of Columbia and large parts of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. DC Mayor Vincent Gray declared himself "fed up" with PEPCO's performance.

The company has asked Maryland regulators to delay their decision on its request for a 4% rate hike, almost surely because it fears denial in the wake of its criticized storm response. PEPCO also has a 5% rate hike on file in the District.

Denying PEPCO these rate hikes-and perhaps tacking on penalties such as a denial of storm cost recovery-would prove politically popular. The problem is, defunding a utility boosts its capital costs and inhibits investment. When that happens, shareholders are the first to suffer. Consequently, it pays for investors to be wary of utilities with tough regulatory environments.

PEPCO, for example, hasn't raised its dividend since early 2008, and its share price has dropped 33% over the past five years. In contrast, neighboring Dominion, which has consistently enjoyed strong relations with Virginia regulators, has boosted its payout five times in five years by a total of almost 50%, returning nearly 55% over that time.

To grow, utilities must earn a fair return on their system investment from regulators. And nothing affects utility-regulator relations as strongly as a company's performance during power outages. Investors ignore this reality at their own risk.

Editor's Note: This article was written by Roger Conrad of Personal Finance.

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The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.

Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Fight for fitness is on track in playing fields

Have your say

A new track around playing fields is already being well used by the community.

The tarmac track in Savile Town playing fields is also helping to tackle health problems in the area, Coun Masood Ahmed said.

The route around the fields in Savile Road was completed in August last year after funding was given by the Dewsbury Area Committee.

Three benches and bins have since been installed by the track.

A rough, inaccessible track had prevented people with wheelchairs and prams from walking freely around the park.

“It’s attracted a lot of people, young and old,” Coun Ahmed, chairman of Dewsbury area committee, said.

“Local GPs are telling their patients to go and use the track as it is just nearby. I’m really pleased it’s being used by people wanting to keep fit and healthy.

“Savile Town has problems with diabetes, coronary heart disease and asthma and this will encourage people to be more active.

“New benches around the track mean people can stop and have a breather if they need it and the bins will help to keep the area clean.

“I hope people continue to use it as much as they can. It may be located in Savile Town but it is there for everyone to use.”

Kirklees Council has previously said there are no plans to put lighting around the path.

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Arsenal transfer news and rumours: Mirko Vucinic wants move as Martin Keown warns off Julian Draxler

All the latest Arsenal transfer news and rumours will be right here every day throughout the transfer window

Getty Images FC Internazionale Milano v Juventus - Serie A
Hopeful: Juventus striker Vucinic is said to be expecting a late bid from Arsenal

Arsenal's recruitment drive is beginning to gather pace as we enter the final few days of the transfer window.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has so far been typically tight-lipped about his dealings,  but stories have continued to link the Premier League leaders with a host of players.

With just five days left before the January 31 deadline, we take a look at the latest news and rumours doing the rounds.

Sunday's Arsenal transfer stories from other newspapers and websites

Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic reportedly still harbours hopes of an Arsenal move before the end of the deadline.

The Gunners have been linked with the forward throughout January, and the Montenegrin is thought to be keen on a switch to north London.

However, despite the Gunners' interest in Julian Draxler, Vucinic is still anticipating a late move from the Premier League leaders, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The 30-year-old was part of a swap deal with Inter Milan midfielder Fredy Guarin last week, but the exchange eventually fell through.

With Arsenal lacking traditional centre-forwards, a deal for Vucinic could be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, club legend Martin Keown has admitted his doubts around the move for Draxler.

As revealed by our man John Cross, the Gunners have made a €30m offer for the Schalke star.

The former centre-back believes that Wenger would be better placed to make the bid in the summer when he may be able to land the 20-year-old at a significantly lower price than the reported fee.

Getty Julian Draxler
Wise move? Keown has said Arsenal should leave Draxler until the summer

Speaking to talkSPORT, Keown said: "If Arsenal are going to buy a player now, it's got to be a ready-made player, like Mesut Ozil.

"Wenger is the sort of manager who deals himself a hand at the start of the season, and then plays it.

"He doesn't like dipping in [to the market in January]. They'll be saving their money for an Ozil-like signing in the summer."

It is understood that Draxler is keen to make the move to the Emirates.


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Japan’s Kii unlocks the Internet of Things

July 29, 2015 | MARTIN VEITCH

How big is the Internet of Things? It’s a bit of a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question but it’s a fair starting assumption that this piece of string will be very long indeed and any company that can act as an IoT platform stands a good chance of being very significant indeed.

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Frequently asked questions dealing with Urban Forestry in Mississauga.

Is the tree in front of my house on City property or private property?
Answer: City trees are usually located on the boulevard, which is the piece of grass between the sidewalk and the road. If there is no sidewalk, a tree inspection must be requested from the Forestry Unit at 3-1-1 (905-615-4311 outside city limits) to determine tree ownership.

Who do I contact if there is a problem with the tree in front of my house?
Answer: Tree service requests can be directed to the following number, 3-1-1 (905-615-4311 outside city limits). Q:Why did the Forestry crew working next door refused to work on the City tree in front of my house? A: A Forestry Inspector must investigate all requests before any work can take place to verify the ownership of the tree and to ensure that all issues regarding the tree are addressed and documented.

What maintenance am I allowed to perform on my City tree?
Answer: Regular watering in the summer is all that is required. All other maintenance required should be forwarded to the Urban Forestry Section at 3-1-1 (905-615-4311 outside city limits). OR Please refer to our Tree Care Information page.

My neighbour has a private tree that's causing problem for us, can the City do anything about it?
Answer: Unfortunately as a civil issue, the Urban Forestry Unit cannot get involved in regard to private tree issues. It is the responsibility of the owner and any problems with it should be discussed with them or referred to the City's By-law Department at 3-1-1 (905-615-4311 outside city limits).

What do the orange markings on trees mean?
Answer: An X orange mark on the trunk of a City tree means that it will be removed. An orange circle or dot means that maintenance work will be completed on the tree.

What does a green T on the curb mean?
Answer: This symbol signifies that a replacement tree will be planted on the City boulevard.

The tree in front of my house has a bees' nest in it, will the City remove it?
Answer: The Urban Forestry Unit is not responsible for removing bees' nests from trees. The Animal Services Section should be contacted instead at 3-1-1 (905-615-4311 outside city limits).

I trimmed my private tree, will the City come by and chip up my brush?
Answer: No. It is the sole responsibility of the owner to maintain and clean up after their private tree. However, the Region of Peel Garbage Collection Unit should be able to pick tree debris up as long as the limbs are cut up into small pieces and bundled up and placed along the curb. For more information on waste disposal, please visit their website at www.region.peel.on.ca

When does stump removal take place?
Answer: Stump removals usually take place within 12 months. However, scheduling is based on weather conditions and volume of stumps to remove.

Is there a cost associated with having a tree planted or replaced?
Replacement trees or infills are planted at no cost to the residents. Home owners in new subdivisions, however, may find that there is a tree-related charge on the closing purchase of their new home. For further information, please refer to the Street Tree Planting Section page.

How should I care for my new tree?
Answer: Please refer to our Tree Care Information page.

When do I need to get a Tree Permit?
Answer: A tree permit is required where in a calendar year three (3) or more trees each with a diameter of greater than 15 cm (6 in) are to be injured or removed (destroyed) on a lot. For more information, please refer to the Private Tree By-law section.

Do I need to get a permit to trim my tree?
Answer: No. Please refer to the Private Tree By-law section for more information.


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PenPass compasses

by Kum

The Kum Penpass is a compass made in the shape of a pen. This compact compass features a protector cap with a clip, a grip zone, and durable metal legs. The maximum diameter of circles made by this compass is 260 millimeters.

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Voodoo Box Trick Booklet by Andrew Mayne

Price $14.95
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Voodoo Box Trick Booklet by Andrew Mayne

The magician offers his audience a demonstration in the latest high-tech pseudoscientific technology: The Voodoo Box. Guaranteed to ward off bad luck and ill omens! His assistant steps inside and the box is closed shut. The magician unveils twenty-one umbrellas that have all been opened indoors. He proceeds to shove the umbrellas through all the sides of the box at various angles. All twenty-one umbrellas are shoved into the box, yet no screams are heard from within. The magician removes the umbrellas (and opens a few to show that they are real). The box is opened and his assistant steps out unharmed!

Is it a feat of teleportation? Is the assistant a contortionist? Are sinister forces at work? Find out for yourself!

The Voodoo Box is a brand new illusion plan from the mind of Andrew Mayne. Designed to be built in under 30 minutes for less than 30 bucks, the Voodoo Box is a full scale stage illusion that packs flat and travels easily. The effect can be performed surrounded and everything can be inspected afterwards

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625. Theories of Close Reading in Socially Motivated Criticism

Saturday, 5 January, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Back Bay D, Sheraton

Program arranged by the Division on Twentieth-Century American Literature

Presiding: Robert Dale Parker, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana

1. "Vectors, Schemas, and Percepts in the Practice of Close Reading," Paula M. L. Moya, Stanford Univ.

2. "No Good: On Sentimental Miseducations and Socially Motivated Queer Theory," Lee Charles Edelman, Tufts Univ.

3. "Feminist Reading in the 1970s: New? Close? Theoretical?" Jane Gallop, Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

  • American Literature – Twentieth Century

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© 2015 Modern Language Association.


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2015 Gold Leaf Celebration and
Helena Devereux Women In Leadership Award

The Main Line Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with The Society of Professional Women and Devereux, is proud to announce Alba Martinez, Principal at Vanguard, as the winner of the 2015 Helena Devereux Women in Leadership Award.

This prestigious award will be presented at the Seventh Annual Gold Leaf Celebration Luncheon on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at Philadelphia Country Club.

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Helena Devereux Women in Leadership Award
Honors Alba Martinez

The Main Line Society of Professional Women (SPW)

SPW Lunch & Share Conversation
Managing Through Life's Transitions

Date/Time: July 30, 2015 /  11:00 am - 1:30 pm
Location: Seasons 52, King of Prussia
Presenters: Elva Bankins Baxter (Bankins Consulting), Nanette Carney (The Carney Group), and Carla Marino (Lamb McErlane PC Attorneys at Law)
Moderated By:
 Julie Sommese of Univest

Join our experts to learn how to regain and maintain financial control and independence during changing circumstances.

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Lunch & Share Conversation:
Managing Life's Transitions

Make More Save More Series (MMSM)

Rules of Work:
Legal issues for bosses and their employees

Date/Time: September 24, 2015 /  7:30 - 9:30 am
Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Philadelphia-Valley Forge, King of Prussia
Title Sponsor: Wells Fargo
Robin Bond, Transition Strategies, LLC
George Randolph, Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco
Opening Remarks:
Lynn Yeakel, Drexel University College of Medicine - Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership™ & Vision 2020

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Make More Save More Series:
Rules of Work

Chamber Blog

Your Chamber Wants You

The Main Line Business Monthly July issue focuses on Connecting with Business, Leadership Development and Talent – along with our new Members First initiative – helping members in new ways. Chamber CEO Bernie Dagenais encourages you to help spread the word.

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Chamber Blog:
Articles & Resources for Business


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Birgit Klohs, a West Michigan commerce powerbroker, joins Ford Airport Board

Zane McMillin | By Zane McMillin |
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on January 24, 2013 at 10:23 AM, updated January 24, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Birgit Klohs Birgit Klohs, president and CEO of The Right Place Inc., has been appointed to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Board of Directors.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Birgit Klohs, a West Michigan economic development powerbroker, has been named to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Board.

Klohs, the 26-year president and CEO of The Right Place Inc. in Grand Rapids, will take up her post on the board later this month at its first meeting of the year.

Klohs was appointed to the spot by the Kent County Commission, which installs three of its own members on the Ford Airport Board.

Her appointment is liable to add a dynamic, business-oriented point of view to an airport whose customers range from families to the CEOs of major corporations.

At The Right Place, a regional economic development firm, Klohs has spearheaded efforts to attract and retain businesses in West Michigan.

By the firm's tally, it has helped spur creation of nearly 8,700 jobs and total investment of $635.3 million in the area over a four-year period.

Klohs fills a vacancy left by Joseph Tomaselli, who chaired the Ford Airport Board until his retirement last year from the upper echelons of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel management.

"I’m very excited about this opportunity to serve on the board and look forward to building on the successful work the Ford Airport has undertaken in the past few years,” Klohs said in a statement.

Klohs joins the seven-member board whose members include former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, S2 Yachts Inc. CEO David Slikkers and Floyd Wilson Jr., executive vice president of public relations and marketing for Metro Health.

Kent County Commissioners Roger Morgan, Richard VanderMolen and Ted Vonk also serve on the board.

Klohs is a native of Germany. Before joining The Right Place in 1987, she served as assistant director of Grand Valley State University's Office for Economic Expansion.

"Her professional background in providing national and international customers with location and expansion assistance to West Michigan will be value added to the new energy at the airport," said Jim Saalfeld, vice chair of the Kent County Commission and chair of the committee that recommended her appointment.

Klohs officially joins the Ford Airport Board at its Jan. 30 organizational meeting. The board will elect a new chair and vice chair, and will assign members to committees.

Zane McMillin may be reached through email and Twitter.


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Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 plays key role in 'The Lords of Salem' soundtrack; he's from Grosse Pointe

Eric Lacy | By Eric Lacy |
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 19, 2013 at 8:42 AM, updated April 19, 2013 at 9:01 AM
john5.jpg Rob Zombie's lead guitarist, 42-year-old Grosse Pointe native John 5, plays a key role in the soundtrack for Zombie's new movie: "The Lords of Salem."
DETROIT, MI - The soundtrack for Rob Zombie's new horror movie "The Lords of Salem" includes some Metro Detroit rock flair.

Zombie's lead guitarist John 5, a Grosse Pointe native, has six songs on the soundtrack. The movie hit theaters across the country Friday.

I interviewed John 5, whose real name is John William Lowery, this month and he told me how this area shaped his music career, what it's like working with Zombie and plenty of other topics.

He also explained drama that occurred between Zombie and Marilyn Manson last fall during a show in his home state.

Zombie gave his side of the story this week during an interview with Howard Stern.

John 5 and his boss are expected to return to Metro Detroit this summer for the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston.

Will you go see "The Lords of Salem?? Let me know in our comments section.

Some video trailers for the film are out and look pretty intense.


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Social media and international reach key to University of Michigan's brand in 21st century

Screenshots of various U-M social media accounts.
Kellie Woodhouse | By Kellie Woodhouse | The Ann Arbor News
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on March 27, 2014 at 5:35 AM, updated March 27, 2014 at 5:36 AM

A year ago University of Michigan had 3,100 Instagram followers.

Twelve months later that number ballooned to 23,300. And U-M's Instagram is far from its only social media asset experiencing exponential growth.

In January 2013 U-M's Pinterest account had 600 followers, but by December of that year the account had grown to 11,700 followers. Its Twitter account grew from 31,200 followers to 58,700 followers, creating more than 174 million impressions over the course of a year.

"Social media continues to amaze me," U-M's vice president for global communications Lisa Rudgers said during LA2M, a lunchtime speaker series for Ann Arbor-area marketers and communicators, on Wednesday at Conor O'Neill's. Rudgers said that U-M's adaption of social media as a marketing and engagement tool has been "the most exciting piece" of her long career in higher education communications.

U-M's Facebook account has more than half a million followers, expanding from 469,400 followers in January to 528,500 followers in December. Interestingly, growth in social media occurred during a time when U-M was absent a social media director. Rudgers hired Nikki Sunstrum into the position in January after a yearlong search.

021612_NEWS_Regents_Mee_2-1.JPGLisa Rudgers during a Board of Regents meeting at the University of Michigan.

Rudgers has worked for U-M since 2000, although she took a break from 2007 to 2011.

"From a communication perspective, it means I can engage directly [with stakeholders]," she said of social media.

As social media rises in importance, so does the school's online presence. For many students, the website is a gateway to the school. The site is visited by 20 million viewers a year, according to Rudgers, and received an overhaul last year.

Rudgers talked to LA2M about what it takes to brand and market a major university, and the planning that goes behind everything from disseminating the Block M to creating a social media presence in China.

Alongside the surge in social media, Rudgers says the other big sea change in U-M branding has been the school's increasing focus on global reach.

"We are familiar with what we know," Rudgers said. "We do a lot of work (locally), we're familiar with that. It's closer to us. But what's happening in the rest of the world, and where our brand is in the rest of the world, is important to us because it's our future."

Rudgers said U-M is translating press releases into several languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi and Portuguese. The result, she said, is more reach internationally. In February, for example, there were 231 U-M-related articles in China, 25 in Columbia, 37 in Chile, 365 in Spain and 305 in India.

U-M has more than 25,000 alumni living outside the U.S., and roughly 9,000 international students are enrolled in the school.

In many ways, the school's social media presence and its international presence go hand in hand. For example, Rudgers recalled visiting China in 2011 and hearing from alumni there that they felt disconnected from their alma mater.

"So many alumni and parents say they never heard anything about the University of Michigan," Rudgers recalled. "And we struggled with that because it is a challenge all the way across the world."

The biggest thing that helped bridge that perceived lack of connection, Rudgers said, was when U-M began using the Chinese social media website Sina Weibo.

Today, U-M has one of the largest Weibo presence of American universities. As of March, U-M had more than 13,300 followers on the social media website, up from 5,000 followers in January 2013.

U-M's social media presence continues to expand. In late February the school joined Snapchat, prompting the student body president Michael Proppe to tweet: "We live in bizarre times."

Yet for Rudgers, each new platform represents a new way to communicate with stakeholders.

"When I think about social, it is not at all from a marketing perspective," she said. "It is foundational to all of the communications work we are doing now, and it will only be more so ... in the future."

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for the Ann Arbor News. Reach her at or 734-255-5303 and follow her on twitter.


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Can we not 'talk maturely, openly, and seriously about sex and fidelity' with Dan Mulhern?

granholm-husband-daniel mulhern.jpgMichigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, left, with his husband Daniel Granholm Mulhern, right, arrive at the White House to attend a dinner hosted by President Obama on Feb. 22, 2009 in Washington.
Deeply concerned about the potential ramifications of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infidelity, Michigan’s former First Gentleman Dan Mulhern want to have a talk. Man to man. About sex.
May 17, Twitter: Men: can we talk maturely, openly, and seriously about sex and fidelity? #arnold #masculinity. Time to replace balls w brains and heart.

If the idea of talking about things like sex and “balls” with Dan Mulhern made you vomit a little in your mouth, don’t feel bad. It’s a pretty awful concept.

Mulhern is, for all intents and purposes, Greg Kinnear’s character in “Little Miss Sunshine.” A hapless guy looking to hawk some dubious self-help program. Now, in addition to helping you leverage your business into infinite blue sky, Mulhern wants to make you a better man.

After the Promise Keepers, Frank T.J. Mackey, and those guys who go into the woods, beat drums, and cry, you’d think we’d be passed this nonsense. Sadly, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Generally speaking, leadership consultants, life coaches, and various other forms of gurus are like secular Elmer Gantrys, telling people what they want to hear under the guise of “tough love” for a tidy profit.

Mulhern’s entry in the self-help racket is all the more sketchy considering his self-ordained status as a “nationally recognized expert in the fields of leadership, gender and organizational culture” appears to be based on the fact that his wife was governor of something.

Honestly, there’s little reason to believe his advice is any more valuable than that of, say, downtown’s “sir-sir” beggar. Say what you will about “sir-sir,” but he’s actually built a truly effective brand.

“Leadership consulting” is probably harmless enough in the boardroom. For whatever else, leadership training sessions offer employees an occaisional mindless respite from the daily grind.

But, honestly, nothing good can come from bringing into the bedroom some guy who gets paid to say “shift the paradigm.”

Marriage and relationships are complicated and fragile things. If you truly want to “talk maturely, openly, and seriously” about them, skip the self-help huckster. Go seek out a licensed marriage counselor, psychologist, or trusted member of the clergy.

Expecting a second-tier Tony Robbins to help your marriage is akin to hoping Peter Popoff can cure your cancer.


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Flint-area activists celebrate defeat of emergency manager law

Kristin Longley | By Kristin Longley | The Flint Journal
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on November 07, 2012 at 12:00 PM, updated November 08, 2012 at 8:53 AM
Over one hundred gather at Flint City Hall to protest Public Act 4 Opponents of Public Act 4 rally at Flint City Hall in May.
FLINT, MI -- Flint-area opponents of Michigan's controversial emergency manager law are celebrating the measure's rejection by voters.

"I am so, so happy," said Flint resident Nayyirah Shariff, one of the local activists who circulated petitions to get the measure on the ballot. "It was volunteers across the state that really believe in democracy and they really worked hard to educate their neighbors and their friends of the dangers of Public Act 4."

Follow this link for our latest reports on the Genesee County election results. From there you can join our Election Day discussion.

Michigan voters defeated the measure 52 percent to 48 percent. With 94 percent of precinct results in Wednesday morning, Nov. 7, the measure had 2,239,006 "no" votes and 1,983,228 "yes" votes.

It was the closest vote of all the statewide proposals on the ballot.

The statewide coalition Stand Up for Democracy, funded almost exclusively by union groups, collected more than 200,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot, and the group had a strong Genesee County contingent.

Voters in the Flint area were even more clear in rejecting the law. It was defeated with 58 percent of the vote, with 92 precincts reporting their results Wednesday morning.

"It was an effort by a group of people who stood together in order to bring change about," said Bishop Bernadel Jefferson, chairwoman of the Genesee County branch of Stand Up for Democracy. "It was a long fight that came out victorious."

Public Act 4 allowed the state to appoint emergency managers in cities and schools districts facing serious financial trouble.

Michigan has had such a law on the books for more than two decades, but a new version passed by Gov. Rick Snyder and the Republican-controlled Legislature grants the managers broader powers, including the authority to amend collective bargaining agreements.

The law's opponents say those powers go too far, and the law undermines democracy because it strips elected leaders of their authority.

Snyder and the law's supporters argue the law provided an early-warning system for cities and school districts falling into financial crisis, and helped communities avoid municipal bankruptcy, which would have statewide implications.

The measure's defeat was a political loss for Snyder, who embarked on a statewide tour ahead of the election urging people to vote "Yes on 1, no on the rest."

With Public Act 4's defeat, state officials say Flint emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz will remain in power in Flint under the old version of the law, Public Act 72.

Kurtz was appointed in August after the referendum was certified for the ballot, leaving Public Act 4 suspended pending the vote of the people. Flint's former emergency manager, Michael Brown, was forced to step down because of a technicality of the law.

Brown had been appointed by Snyder Dec. 1, after a state financial review team found Flint to be in a financial emergency because of its structural deficit, among other financial problems.

Kurtz was expected to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon on the election's implications for Flint.

"For us, it's the status quo," Kurtz said Wednesday morning, adding that he talked to state officials on Monday about the situation. "We've been acting under Public Act 72 and that's what we'll continue to do until someone tells us we can't."

Two legal challenges against Public Act 72 are pending in Genesee County and Ingham County circuit courts.