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As of March 2016, there are over 85,000 pending civil cases in the High Court of Bangladesh according to the Law Minister of Bangladesh,2 Mr Anisul Haque. One of the steps that the Bangladeshi government is currently taking to manage the overwhelming amount of pending cases is to divert more time and resources to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) instead of going through the traditional court process, which takes longer.

In Bangladesh there are two main ways to resolve a dispute without seeking the assistance of the court, one being mediation and the other being through arbitration. It must be stated that mediation in Bangladesh is unregularised except for certain laws that provide room for mediation. On the other hand, the concept of arbitration was introduced to legal system of Bangladesh from the beginning of the country’s existence.

The first Act which has tried to tackle the issue was enacted in 1940 by the name of the Arbitration Act 1940,3 well before Bangladesh came into existence as an independent country. Hence the idea of an alternate means of handling court cases is not something new for Bangladesh, however, the implementation, practice and popularity of the Act has taken time. Though the 1940 Act was eventually repealed by the enactment of Arbitration Act 2001.4 The 2001 Act was heavily influenced by the UNCITRAL Model Law.5 The 2001 Act was mainly enacted to tackle some of the issues that were observed in its predecessor. The main issue with the 1940 Act was that it was extremely difficult to enforce foreign arbitration awards in Bangladesh. It was a result of the fact that the 1940 Act did not specifically have any provisions that dealt with foreign arbitral awards.

The Arbitration Act 2001 currently is the operative law that dictates the whole aspect of ADAR in Bangladesh, and the courts of Bangladesh are providing a steady flow of case law to sufficiently interpret and enforce the 2001 Act. The 2001 Act, though not perfect, attempts to resolve the issues observed in its predecessor.

ii Arbitration

i Form of arbitration clauses and their application

As per Section 9(1) of the Arbitration Act 2001 ‘An Arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clause in contract or in the form of a separate agreement,’ so like many other country’s arbitration law, Bangladesh also recognise an arbitration clause in an agreement. The other requirement for an arbitration clause to be valid is that it must be in writing if it is contained in any of the following forms as per Section 9(2) of the Arbitration Act 2001:

  • a a document signed by the parties;
  • b an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams, fax, e-mail or other means of telecommunication which provide a record of the agreement; or
  • c an exchange of statement of claim and defence in which the existence of the agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other.

It seemed that the Arbitration Act 2001 covered all the aspects regarding an arbitration clause, however, a question was raised regarding the legality of a separate arbitration agreement. This was seen as a problem as the Arbitration Act 2001 did not mention anything regarding a separate arbitration clause, however, this issue was resolved by the High Court Division of Bangladesh in the case of Lita Sama Samad Chowdhury v. Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan.6 In this case the High Court stated that ‘An arbitration agreement which forms part of another agreement shall be deemed to constitute a separate agreement which giving decision for the purpose of determining the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribune.’ The High Court went so far as to criticise the decision of the joint district judge by stating ‘The learned Joint District Judge committed illegality by not acting in accordance with law by not staying the proceeding of Money Suit.’ The High Court division directed both the parties to take steps at first to refer the matter for arbitration as per the clause of the agreement to resolve the dispute. Hence, it was made clear that the arbitration clause would be considered as a separate agreement and it can also be used to determine the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribune. Therefore, the courts of Bangladesh have already accepted the status of an arbitration clause as a valid and very much as an enforceable term of a contract.

Two important aspects of the Arbitration Act 2001 that are of vital importance when an arbitration clause is present in the agreement are when is the correct time to apply for the matter to be referred for arbitration and the court’s duty regarding the claim that was filed.

ii When to invoke the arbitration clause

As per Section 10 of the Arbitration Act 2001, an arbitration clause may be invoked at any time before filing a written statement (defence statement or response to particulars of claim) and the application to do so must be made to court where the claim is pending. After receiving the application, the court must as per Section 10(2) of the Arbitration Act 2001 ‘... if it is satisfied that an arbitration agreement exists, refer the parties to arbitration and stay the proceedings, unless the Court finds that the arbitration agreement is void, inoperative or is incapable of determination by arbitration.’ Hence, the correct time to refer a matter to arbitration is after a claim has been filed at court and before the respondent or defendant has filed the defence.

Moreover, another way of invoking the arbitration clause is laid down in Section 27 of the Arbitration Act 2001, which states that the proceeding will be deemed to commence if any dispute arises where the concerned arbitration agreement applies and any party to the agreement has received a notice stating that the party wishes to refer a dispute to arbitration or a party has received from another party to the agreement a notice requiring that party to appoint an arbitral tribunal or to join or concur in, or approve the appointment of, an arbitral tribunal in relation to the dispute.

iii The court’s duty when an arbitration clause has been invoked

The court’s duty when an arbitration clause is invoked was clarified by the High Court Division in the case of International Sea Foods Limited v. BD Corporation7 where the Court stated ‘A plaint will not be rejected under Order VII, rule 11 of the Code [the Code of Civil Procedure 19088] because of the presence of an arbitration clause.’ The Proper recourse is to stay the proceedings under Section 10(2) of the Act, till the conclusion of arbitration proceedings. By the passing of this judgment the Court made two things abundantly clear. If a claim has been filed with regards to a dispute regarding an agreement where an arbitration clause has been mentioned then the correct time to refer the matter to arbitration is before submitting the defence statement, and the court must stay the proceeding and refer the matter for arbitration.

iv Jurisdiction

As per Section 7 of the Arbitration Act 2001 ‘where any of the parties to the arbitration agreement files a legal proceedings in a Court against the other party, no judicial authority shall hear any legal proceedings except in so far as provided by this Act’. Moreover, as per Section 2(b) of the Arbitration Act 2001 a court means ‘District Judge’s Court and includes Additional Judge’s Court appointed by the Government for the discharging the functions of District Judge’s Courts under this Act through Gazette notification’. Though, originally the jurisdiction was given to the courts of Bangladesh but as per ECOM Agro Corp. Lts. & Anr v. Mosharaf Composite Textile Mills Ltd9 if the arbitration procedure has already started in a different institute of Bangladesh then the courts of Bangladesh would not have any jurisdiction to accept and try a civil case in the courts of Bangladesh. In this case it was held that ‘The defendant has already commenced a proceeding against the plaintiff before the Tribunal if the MCCI10 under the arbitration clause of the contract, which is not defined by the plaintiff. If it is so, under Section 7 of the Act, the subordinate Judge would have no jurisdiction to proceed further with the suit.’ Therefore, if the arbitration process was initiated at tribunal then the courts of Bangladesh would not have any jurisdiction to try the case. This aspect of the law is crucial as it sets out a clear guideline as to the jurisdiction of the courts with regards to arbitration procedure and matters that must be left to the arbitration tribunals.

v Place of arbitration

Section 26 of the Arbitration Act 2001 provides the procedure to be followed while selecting a venue for the arbitration hearing to be conducted. Primarily the selection of the venue for holding the arbitration procedure is up to the joint mutual consent of the parties. However, if it seems that the parties cannot mutually agree upon a venue then the decision will rest upon the arbitral tribunal which will have regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenience of the parties. The arbitral tribunal may, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, meet at any place it considers appropriate for consultation among its members, for hearing witnesses, experts or the parties, or for inspection of documents, goods or other property. Hence, the Arbitration Act 2001 does not provide many restrictions as to the actual location of the hearing rather it has been left to the parties to mutually agree upon the venue.

iii the Arbitral tribunal

i Composition of the arbitral tribunal

As per Section 11 of the Arbitration Act 2001, it is the right of the parties to an arbitration tribunal proceeding to determine the number of arbitrators and if the parties fail to mutually decide upon the number of arbitrators then there will be three arbitrators. If the number of arbitrators decided by the parties is an even number then another arbitrator must be appointed with the joint consent of the parties.

The procedures to appoint arbitrators have been provided in Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 2001. Primarily it has been left to the parties to arbitration to agree on a procedure for appointing the arbitrator or arbitrators. The arbitrator can be of any nationality, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. If the arbitration clause requires only one arbitrator to be appointed and a request to appoint the arbitrator by one party to the other was not agreed within one month of receiving such request then the party requiring the arbitrator to be appointed must apply to the district judge of Bangladesh for it to appoint such arbitrator in cases other than international commercial arbitration. In the case of international commercial arbitration then the appointment must be made by a judge of the Supreme Court who was in turn nominated by the Chief Justice.

Where there are three arbitrators to be appointed then each party will appoint one arbitrator each and the third arbitrator will be appointed jointly by the other two arbitrators. Moreover, if two arbitrators fail to mutually appoint the third the arbitrator then again in cases of international commercial arbitration the third arbitrator will be appointed by a judge of the Supreme Court who was in turn nominated by the Chief Justice and in other instances the district judge. The third appointed arbitrator shall be the chairman of the said tribunal. The appointment of the arbitrator by the district judge or Supreme Court judge must be made within 60 days of the receipt of the application thereof.

So, it can be said that the composition of the arbitral tribunal is primarily up to the joint decision of the parties, as it was further evident in the case of Mohammad Enamul Huq v. Govt. Bangldesh &Ors11 where the district judge wrongly did not allow the parties to propose names who may be appointed as the arbitrators and the High Court in response to the decision stated that ‘The learned Joint District Judge in passing the impugned order stepped beyond his jurisdiction inasmuch as according to express provision of Section 12 of the Arbitration Act the District Judge is empowered to direct the parties to make proposal of the name of the Arbitrators.’

ii Arbitration procedure

General responsibilities of the arbitral tribunal are established in Section 23 of the Arbitration Act 2001, which states among other things that it is the duty of the tribunal to deal with any disputes submitted to it fairly and impartially. This Section also provides some general rights to the parties involved in the arbitration procedure such as the parties will be given opportunity to present their case orally or in writing or by both, each party shall be given reasonable opportunity to examine all the documents and other relevant materials filed by other party or any other person concerned before the tribunal, the tribunal shall deal with a dispute submitted to it as quickly as possible and the arbitral tribunal in conducting proceedings shall act fairly and impartially.

The Arbitration Act 2001 further provides that the tribunal is not bound by the Bangladesh Code of Civil Procedure and Evidence Act 1872.12 Hence, it provides the tribunal with a wide range of discretion while conducting the trial more specifically with regards to evidential matters. With relation to other procedural requirements as per Section 25 of the Arbitration Act 2001, the arbitration procedure will follow the same procedure that was agreed upon by the parties to the arbitration procedure through the arbitration clause in the agreement. In the instance where there is no agreement as to the procedural requirements of the arbitration then it will be duty of the arbitrators to set the procedure for the arbitration proceedings. As per Section 25(3) procedural and evidential matter relates to the time and place of holding the proceeding either in whole or in part, language of the proceeding, written statement of claim, specimen copy of defence, time of submission and range of amendment, publication of document and presentation thereof, the questions asked to the parties and replies thereof, written or oral evidence as to the admissibility, relevance and weight of any materials, power of the arbitral tribunal in examining the issue of fact and issue of law, submission or presentation of oral or documentary evidence and submission or presentation of oral or documentary evidence. Therefore, it is quite evident that arbitration as a procedure in Bangladesh is independent from the general ambit of the civil litigation and evidence law.

As per Section 29 of the Arbitration Act 2001 it is up to the tribunal to decide the period of time the claimant has to state the facts supporting his or her claim, the points at issue and the relief or remedy sought, and the period of time the respondent has to state his defence, unless parties have mutually decided upon a different time frame. The parties also have the right to submit all documents they consider to be relevant or may add a reference to the documents or other evidence they will submit in future. The parties are also at liberty to amend or supplement the claim or defence during the course of the arbitral proceedings unless the tribunal decides the amendments to be inappropriate considering fairness or the delay in making such amendments.

With regards to terminating an arbitral procedure, the tribunal holds various powers, for example, as per Section 35 of the Arbitration Act 2001, the parties are at liberty to agree on the powers of the arbitral tribunal in case of a party’s failure to do what is necessary for the proper and expeditious conduct of the arbitration. However, the tribunal may terminate the arbitral proceedings if the claimant fails to communicate his or her statement of claim to the tribunal and if the respondent fails to communicate his or her statement of defence, the tribunal shall continue the proceeding without treating that failure in itself as an admission of the allegations by the claimant. Moreover, the tribunal may also dismiss the proceedings if the tribunal is of the opinion that there has been an inordinate and inexcusable delay on the part of the claimant in pursuing his or her claim and the delay has given rise or is likely to give rise to a substantial risk that it is not possible to have a fair resolution of the issues in that claim, or has caused or is likely to cause serious prejudice to the respondent. Moreover, as per Section 41 of the Arbitration Act 2001 an arbitral proceeding shall be terminated if:

  • a a final arbitral award is made;
  • b the claimant withdraws his or her claim;
  • c the parties agree to terminate the proceedings or the arbitral tribunal; or
  • d the tribunal finds that the continuation of the proceedings is unnecessary or impossible.

Whether the hearing is an oral hearing for the presentation of evidence or for oral argument, or whether the proceeding shall be conducted on the basis of documents and other materials will again depend on the decision of the arbitral tribunal as per Section 30 of the Arbitration Act 2001. The tribunal may hold an oral hearing at an appropriate stage of the proceeding either at the request of the parties or at its own motion unless the parties otherwise agreed that there shall be no oral hearing. The tribunal must also give sufficient prior notice before conducting a hearing and of any meeting of the tribunal for the purpose of inspection of different materials that are subject to the arbitration procedure. While making its decision, the arbitral tribunal must indicate to the parties the statements, documents or other information that was taken into consideration while reaching its decision.

Legal or other representation can be appointed by the parties to represent its case to the arbitral tribunal as per Section 31 of the Arbitration Act 2001. Moreover, as per Section 32 of the Arbitration Act 2001, unless otherwise agreed by the parties the tribunal may appoint different kinds of experts or legal advisers to report to it regarding different matters that might be an issue in the arbitral proceeding. In this instance the experts will have access to all the relevant documents or information that might be required to determine the issue referred to them. The parties have few rights as to the report produced by the expert and they also have the right to put question to the expert witnesses in order to testify them on the points of issue or issues, to review the documents, goods or other properties that were used by the expert to produce his or her report and the right to have reasonable opportunity to comment on the report, information, opinion or advice submitted in the tribunal by the expert.

With regards to a summons, the arbitral tribunal does not have any direct jurisdiction to compel any witness to come before the tribunal, however, as per Section 33 of the Arbitration 2001, the tribunal or a party with the permission of the tribunal may apply to the Court13 to issue a summons to the witnesses. The summons will have the same effect as the summons that was issued by the courts of Bangladesh. Therefore, a person who is compelled to attend the tribunal as per the summons and does not appear will be punished in the same manner as one failing to attend a summons for a hearing that was issued by the district judge.

iv the arbitral award

i Making of an arbitral award

Section 36 of the Arbitration Act 2001 the arbitral tribunal must decide the dispute in accordance with the rules of law as is designated by the parties as applicable to the substance of the dispute. Generally, in cases of arbitration proceedings the arbitration clause dictates the law of the country that shall be followed in determining the arbitration proceeding. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, where there is more than one arbitrator the decision of the tribunal shall be made by a majority of all its members.

As per Section 38 of the Arbitration Act 2001 the arbitration award shall be made in writing and shall be signed by the arbitrator. In a proceeding where there is more than one arbitrator, the signatures of the majority of all the members of the arbitral tribunal shall be sufficient as long as the reason for any omitted signature is stated unless otherwise agreed otherwise by the parties. The arbitral award shall state its date and the place of arbitration and the award shall be deemed to have been made at that place. After the award is made a copy of the award signed by the arbitrator or arbitrators shall be delivered to each party.

ii Enforcement of an arbitral award

The award obtained by arbitration can be enforced in the same manner as if it was a decree of the court as per Section 44 of the Arbitration Act 2001.

With regards to foreign arbitration awards as per Section 45 of the Arbitration Act 2001, a foreign arbitral award shall on the application being made to it by any party, be enforced by execution by the Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, in the same manner as if it were a decree of the Court. An application for the execution of a foreign arbitral award should contain the original arbitral award or copy thereof duly authenticated in the manner required by the law of the country in which it was made, the original agreement for the arbitration or a duly certified copy thereof and such evidence as may be necessary to prove that the award is a foreign award. The High Court division has recently made it clear in Goenka Impex SA v. Tallu Spinning Mills Ltd (Civil)14 that if all the requirements are met a court must accept the foreign award as having the same force as a decree of its own.

iii Recourse against an arbitral award

A party has the right to apply to the court to set aside an order given by the arbitration tribunal, however, such application as per Section 42 of the Arbitration Act 2001 must be made within 60 days of the receipt of the award in cases where it is not an international commercial arbitration and in cases of international commercial arbitration the appeal must be made to the High Court Division within 60 days of the receipt of the award.

Section 43 of the 2001 Act provides the situations where the appeal against an arbitration award will be accepted and these are (1) when a party to the arbitration agreement was under some incapacity, (2) the arbitration agreement is not valid, (3) proper notice was not given of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings, (4) was otherwise unable due to reasonable causes to present his or her case, (5) the arbitral award deals with a dispute not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, (6) the arbitral award contains decision on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration, and (7) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties.

Also, the High Court Division has wide discretion that can undermine a decision given by the arbitral tribunal in cases of foreign arbitral awards. The High Court Division can as per Section 43(b) of the Arbitration Act 2001 can set aside an arbitral award if it is satisfied that (1) the subject matter of the dispute is not capable of settlement by arbitration under any law of Bangladesh in force, (2) the arbitral award is prima facie opposed to the law for the time being in force in Bangladesh, (3) the arbitral award is in conflict with the public policy of Bangladesh, and (4) the arbitral award was induced or affected by fraud or corruption. This aspect of the Arbitration Act 2001 produces a huge number of controversies mainly due to the fact that the High Court can easily throw out a foreign arbitral award if it goes against the public policy of Bangladesh. It should be noted that the meaning of ‘public policy’ has not been defined in the Act, hence the power of the High Court in this regard is immense. This is because the legislators intended the courts to have enough power to dismiss an arbitral award if it might cause substantial harm to the economy or to any other sector of the country. This fact was evident in the case of Maisha Corporation (Pvt) Ltd v. BSMMU (Civil),15 where the High Court outright stated ‘compensation for any part thereof can be allowed to spend from the Public Fund’ furthermore a very vague definition of the term public policy was provided that stated ‘It is against the Public Policy meaning thereby that Public Fund cannot be misused by granting such Award’. The High Court by delivering this decision has made its stance clear with regards to foreign arbitral awards.

The party appealing against the decision of the arbitral tribunal may be ordered by the Court or the High Court Division as the case may be to deposit the amount awarded by the arbitral tribunal in to it before it entertains the appeal. Therefore, the appeal procedure cannot be used to delay the payment of the arbitral award.

V Conclusion

Alternative dispute resolution in Bangladesh has two branches and of them only arbitration is regulated. Though the arbitration law of Bangladesh is far from perfect, especially with regards to enforcing foreign arbitral awards, the procedures involved in the process of invoking and later obtaining an arbitral award are sound. Now that the government of Bangladesh is focusing on the concept of alternative dispute resolution, more changes can expected soon.

1 Fahad Bin Qader is an associate barrister at Counsels Law Partners.

2 The Independent BD.

3 Came into force on 1 July 1940.

4 Came into force on 24 January 2001.

5 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985).

6 6 ALR (2015)-HCD-20.

7 22 BLC (2017)-HCD-145.

8 Act No. V of 1908.

9 23 BLT (2015)-HCD-42.

10 Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry Bangladesh.

11 23 BLT (2015)-HCD-542.

12 Act No. I of 1872.

13 As per Section 2(b) court means the district judge.

14 2 ALR (2013)-HCD-427.

15 18 BLC (2013)-HCD-194.


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Strikers Violate Concordia’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities

Dear fellow classmates,

Consider this a public service announcement from one to student to another. In light of how the student strike is being executed, I decided to inform myself of Concordia’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities—which few of us actually take the time to carefully read. As it stands, the strikers have violated, are violating and will continue to violate the Board of Governors’ BD-3 policy.

Clause G. of Article 29 from Section V prohibits the “obstruction or disruption of teaching … study … or other University activity.” Furthermore, “[m]embers are free to engage in … picketing that [does] not disrupt the functions of the University … that does not impede access nor interfere with the activities in a class.” Blocking classroom entrances as well as clapping and shouting amongst other gestures inside classrooms violates this clause.

Moreover, Clause A. of Article 28 Section V prohibits harassment, defined as “repeated or ongoing unwelcome, vexatious conduct,” when the action(s) are “interfering with a Member’s right to pursue his/her work, study or other activities.” If you feel as though the strikers’ conduct is harassment, then it is your right to submit a complaint. As much as it is a student’s right to protest, it is their responsibility to ensure such actions do not inhibit the rights of their classmates.

Not only am I concerned with how the strike has developed, but now I know that this is simply wrong. Students have the right to protest, peacefully, but that right cannot proceed further once a student’s right to attend lectures and acquire the education they paid for is impeded. The moment a student enrolls at the university and pays for that enrollment, this individual becomes subject to the BD-3 policy amongst other regulations. And students must abide by them as long as they are enrolled, like the rule of law.

So, what can you do? First, you and your professor are entitled and encouraged to ask for assistance during picketing from Concordia’s security—and subsequently report any complaints to them. Second, if your class is being picketed, enter anyway. Even if the professor can’t get in, form a study group with your classmates. Don’t give the strikers the satisfaction of disrupting class activity. Third, I implore you to vote against prolonging the strike at the upcoming general assemblies of your respective department associations.

The strike was only approved because of outrageously low voter turnouts.

By commenting on this page you agree to the terms of our Comments Policy.

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Bears News/Notes Rumors/Rumblings

Bears: Hoyer Heading to San Francisco, Glennon Deal “All but Done” at this Point

CHICAGO – The Chicago Bears have been mentioned quite a bit to this point in regards to the NFL free-agency landscape, both in terms of targets and potential departures, most notably Alshon Jeffery, who the team decided not to franchise tag, allowing him to become an unrestricted free-agent. This week the Bears have been mentioned as a front runner for the services of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon, as well as other players.

This afternoon, multiple sources confirmed that Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer will sign a two year deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Hoyer started five games for the Bears in 2016 before losing the remainder of his season to a broken collarbone suffered after a big hit he received in a late October match-up with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Hoyer threw for 1,445 yards while tossing six touchdowns and zero interceptions during his brief stint with the Bears. Hoyer completed 134 of his 200 passing attempts in his six games in 2016, and the Bears went 1-4 with him as the starter.

With Hoyer heading to San Francisco, and Jay Cutler expected to be cut by the team in the coming weeks, the Bears appear to be leaning in the direction of Mike Glennon at the quarterback position for the 2017 season. While teams can’t make any deals official until 3:00 pm on Thursday when the new league year begins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Glennon to Chicago deal is “all but done.” Rapoport made the comments on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football today, and stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if the deal was finalized as early as this evening.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report conquers with Rapoport’s belief on the situation as well, tweeting this out this afternoon.

Glennon has been rumored to be asking for $14-$15 million dollars per year, and was also said to have turned down an $8 million dollar per year offer from the Buccaneers to remain in Tampa Bay, so Bears fans can expect the deal to range from two to three years in length, at somewhere in between eight and fifteen million dollars per season.

Glennon, 27, was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and has started 18 games for the Buccaneers during his three seasons with the team, spending the last two seasons backing up Jameis Winston. Glennon has posted a 5-13 record to this point, recording 4,100 yards, 40 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while completing roughly 60 percent of his nearly 700 passing attempts.

In his only full season as a starter in 2013, Glennon threw for 2,608 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the Buccaneers to a 4-9 record in 13 starts.

Stay with us here at The Loop Sports for the latest Bears free-agency news, reactions, and analysis as it becomes available.

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Analysis Preview White Sox

White Sox Series Preview: Road-Trippin’ with the Indians

The Chicago White Sox (2-3) open their first road series of the 2017 campaign Tuesday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians (3-3). Here is our series preview.  And be sure to check back for the latest preview on the afternoon of the first game of each series this season.

White Sox Preview

Source: Jon Durr/Getty Images North America

The White Sox have scored 22 runs and only allowed 17 over their first five games!! Yeah, buddy!

Not so fast, though. Outside the 11 runs they dropped on the Tigers in the second game, the offense hasn’t been the model of run-scoring efficiency, twice being held to one run. I’m looking at you Todd Frazier. And you, Jacob May. You’re wanted on the stat sheet.

Other than Frazier and May struggling, Avisail Garcia (gah) is having a fine start to the season, amassing a 1.261 OPS over 21 plate appearances. Geovany Soto (.273/.429/1.091, 3 HR) is handling his, as well. Expect a regression for both in short order.

And it will be interesting to see if manager Rick Renteria gives DH Matt Davidson some at-bats against three straight right-handed starters, or if he sticks with left-handed hitting Cody Asche. If you ask me (and you aren’t), a straight platoon at DH is folly. Just ride the bat that’s producing. Right now, that’s Davidson.

From the pitching staff, keep an eye on Nate Jones. Off to a slow start, Jones is in need of a 1-2-3 outing in the worst way. Also watch the efforts from James Shields and Derek Holland. I’m betting against a repeat of their strong starts last week, though anything is possible.

Indians Preview

Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America

After beginning the season with a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, the Indians rolled into Arizona for a set with the Diamondbacks. To say things didn’t go as planned is an understatement. They were out-pitched, outhit and overwhelmed, losing all three by a combined 15 runs. Sunday’s contest was closer, though that does little to sate concerns.

At the top of that list for Indians fans is the recent stretch Carlos Santana has put together. Overall, the first baseman owns an .845 OPS over 28 at-bats, which isn’t terrible. Over his last 14 plate appearances, however, the switch-hitter has two hits with nary a base on balls and one run scored. Shields and Holland are going to have to keep the ball in on Santana if they hope to keep him stymied. Unfortunately, neither is adept at riding the ball into left-handed hitters.

Also pay attention to how Renteria’s lineup fares against Carrasco and Salazar. Over 17 starts against the White Sox, Carrasco is 3-9 with a 5.63 ERA and 1.375 WHIP, while Salazar owns a .250/.337/.399 lifetime slash against over nine starts vs. the South Siders, though his WHIP is an inflated 1.454. Tomlin’s gonna Tomlin, though, so if the White Sox can get to Salazar and Carrasco before getting into the Indians bullpen, they have a chance to take the series.

Where to Watch and Listen

Tuesday: 3:10 p.m., CSN-Chicago

Wednesday: 5:10 p.m., CSN-Chicago

Thursday: 5:10 p.m., WGN

*All games on WLS-AM 890

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday: RHP James Shields (1-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 3.18 ERA)

Wednesday: LHP Derek Holland (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Danny Salazar (0-0, 6.35 ERA)

Thursday: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Tomlin (0-1, 11.57 ERA)

Series Prediction

*In which I take random stabs at calling the result ahead of time. One of these has to be right. Eventually.

Tuesday: Carrasco maintains his dominance against the White Sox. Shields returns to the man we know and loathe. Sox lose.

Wednesday: The White Sox offense breaks out against Salazar. Dutch holds his own. Sox win.

Thursday: Tomlin gives up three home runs and walks six. Gonzo continues to demonstrate the Orioles give up on pitchers way too early.  Sox take the series!!

Follow General Soreness @matthewsmitbr

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Tag Archives: calories

Fruit & Sugar: How to Maintain a Healthy Balance

11 Jul

“I can’t eat fruit, I don’t want to get fat.” Does that statement have any truth to it? …..Let’s find out.

Fruit, compared to many other options, is a great choice.  It often contains a decent amount of fiber helping to fill the body and has a variety of nutrients.  The downfall to fruit can be its sugar content.  Sugar is something we should try to limit in our diet, as having too much causes all sorts of issues for us.  So, it’s not to say you can’t have some, it is to say that you keep the amount in check.

There are two types of sugars, those occurring naturally in foods such as fruit (fructose) and those in dairy (lactose).  Other sugars are those sugars and caloric sweeteners  added during processing.  The American Heart Association (www.Heart. Org)   recommends we limit out sugar intake to 26 grams a day for women and 36 for men.  Those should come from naturally occurring sugars.

So, think about your diet.  I’m guessing the vast majority of us are consuming way too much sugar.  It’s partially habit, lack-of-knowledge, convenience, and let’s face it, it just tastes good.  One thing that helps is to be educated on where you find sugar though, which will aid in beginning to limit our consumption.

Fruit is not all created equally.  When looking at the sugar content, here’s how it stacks up:

Blackberries: 7 Grams Per Serving

Strawberries: 7 Grams Per Serving

Apples: 13 Grams

Pineapples 16 Grams

Bananas: 18 Grams

Grapes: 23 Grams

Here are some simple tips to help you maintain reasonable amounts of sugar intake:

1)      When reaching for fruit, pick berries first.  Overall they seem to be one of the lowest on the spectrum of sugar content.  That and the fact that they are packed full of vitamins make them a good choice.

2)      Don’t drink your food.  It’s easy to throw a bunch of fruit in a blender and feel like you are eating healthy but it’s important to remember that the body craves the sensation that comes along with chewing.  Allowing yourself to actually eat foods rather than drink all of them aids in this desire. In addition, we often consume more than necessary when we drink our calories because it goes down so easily.  This is particularly true of fruit smoothies. Same goes for juicing oranges.  Fresh squeezed orange juice tastes delicious but should be reserved for a treat, as it can easily result in quickly downing 5 oranges, putting us over our daily limit.

3)      Shop the produce section, not the grocery store isles for fruit.  Canned peaches in heavy syrup do not constitute fruit.  There is very little in the way of nutrition in canned fruits and whenever possible the best choices are fresh fruit.  Frozen fruit without any additives is also a good option.

4)      Avoid the attitude of “It has fruit in it, it must be healthy”.  There is nothing farther from the truth.  Fruit is contained in many products and dishes but that does not mean it’s healthy.  Even dried fruit is often coated in sugar and should be avoided unless it’s something you consider your “treat”.

5)      Combine fruit with other things.  Get your fruit intake by adding a bit of fruit to a variety of dishes you eat during the day.  Considering adding blueberries to Greek yogurt, apples to Steel-cut oats and bananas with a tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter.  Doing this can help you combine proteins, carbs and healthy fats to your snacks.


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Write On Wednesday – How are you using your gig to protect your gift?

“We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.” ~ character, James L. Farmer, Jr., “The Great Debaters.”

Four months ago, I wrote an angst ridden, tongue-in-cheek blog post aptly titled, “Excuse Me…What Happened to My Log Cabin?”

In it, I complained about how I had been hoodwinked into believing that my life  as an author would be the stuff every writer dreams of.

You see, I was throwing a tantrum.  That’s right, flailing my arms and stomping my feet, mad that my author dream (eerily reminiscent to my former Hollywood dream) was a sham.

Oprah hadn’t chosen me for her book club. My novel wasn’t a New  York Times Best seller. And my Amazon.com payments were barely worth more than the free emails they sent every few months or so to alert me.

Dag it! I couldn’t avoid reality anymore. I needed to get a job.

And not just because I needed to eat, pay rent and buy new underwear. But because of something even more important — My muse was dying.

O.K. , that was real flowery. What I had meant to say was I wasn’t writing anymore.

I know.  I see you scratching your head. Every writer dreams of not having a job and having all of their free time to write. But I’ve learned that if my “free time” is constantly bombarded with bill collectors calling for money I don’t have, a funny thing happens – My muse, strangled by stress, suffocates and I.stop. writing.

Now, I don’t know about you, but my muse and I go way back. And I’ll do anything to protect her. So if that means getting a gig, then damn it, I’ll bite the bullet and be responsible.

Creative and responsible, that is.

Travel back with me, if you will, to 2004. I was a freelancer then for the Director Guild of America’s Magazine and I had the opportunity to cover a panel that  episodic director/documentary filmmaker , Jessica Yu was featured on.

She spoke of working as a director for hire on shows such as “ER” and “West Wing” — a feat I was foaming at the mouth to do — but admitted that her true love was documentary filmmaking.

In fact, she added, the only reason she really kept her well-paying day job was so that she could continue making documentaries, which paid nothing at all.

I remember thinking at the time that she was crazy. Why would anyone prefer making boring documentaries that no one saw over being paid boat loads of money to direct episodes for the most popular television dramas of all time?

Well, Fam, it’s taken eight years, but I finally understand where Jessica was coming from:

She was safeguarding her muse. Using her day gig to protect her gift.

Wow. Here, I’ve been calling myself an authorpreneur, all the while not so secretly resenting that I have to do anything else, but write.

But my muse, like a child, needs to feel safe.

She can’t perform or thrive under pressure.

And it’s my challenge to create and employ my skills – whether it be for myself or others – to provide a safe place for her to stay and play. 🙂

Fam, how are you using your gig to protect your gift?

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The Pitch is Back Weekly Preview-Week 6

The last week has been a busy week in football and it’s finally all starting to take shape. We are six weeks into the new season and there has already been lots of impressive games and goals. The league table is taking shape now and every team is out for the win. There are still a few teams that are fighting for their first win of the season too.  This weekend we have some big games, Arsenal v Chelsea, Man U v Spurs, Qpr v West Ham and Man City v Fulham. I think game of the week will definitely be the North London Derby.

Arsenal v Chelsea

Arsenal seem to be on scoring form at the moment and it’s a definite improvement on last season’s dreadful start. They had a great game last week and also another great performance by the 2nd team on Wednesday. Frimpong and Vermaelen make returns. Chelsea are also are starting their season in much improved form. John Terry will be playing this weekend, not having made a decision on whether to appeal or not and Chelsea no longer have Drogba, which makes Wenger very happy. Both these North London teams are unbeaten so far in this Premier League season. The Derby games are always full of drama and amazing to watch and I think this one will live up to the expectations. This will be either a goal filled game or a goalless draw but I think it will be an Arsenal win.

Players to watch- Cazorla, Mata

Everton v Southampton

Everton have started this season on great form, they are playing really well at the moment and getting good results. They also have a good home record. Jelavic returns to the team after a knee injury.  Southampton have been playing really well despite their results and they got their first win of the season last week. Hopefully this will have boosted their confidence. Southampton are without Jack Cork who is out with a knee injury. Everton are the favourites to win this and I agree. Home win for me.

Players to watch- Jelavic, Lambert

Fulham v Man City

Fulham have started this season with a great spell of results. Looking strong defensively and also scoring lots of goals, they have definitely gained some good form. They have had a rest midweek as they were knocked out of the Capital One cup in August. Manchester City have had an odd start, Whilst they have maintained their form from last year they are having a few defensive issues that are leading to goals being conceded. I think Man City are favourites to win this but I actually think Fulham will win.

Players to Watch- Duff, Nasri

Norwich v Liverpool

Norwich are finding this season tough so far, they seem to have lost some form from last season. Grant Holt seems to unusually quiet on the scoring front too. Their Capital one cup win during the week may give them a bit more confidence on the pitch this weekend. Liverpool have also had a rough start to the season under new manager Brendan Rodgers, they’ve struggled defensively and with Agger and Kelly injured this doesn’t help their defensive woes. With both teams still searching for their first win of the season this game is important. I think Norwich might actually win this one depsite Liverpool being the favourites.

Players to watch- Holt, Sterling

Reading v Newcastle

Despite winning the Championship Reading are finding it hardest to settle into the Premier League. They are bottom in the table and have lost their last 3 games. Newcastle have had a pretty hard start in terms of games but they have managed to do pretty well result wise. Both teams won during the week. Reading looked improved against Qpr but Newcastle have that edge. I think this game is going to be one full of goals but mostly from Newcastle. This has Away win written all over it.

Players to Watch- Cisse, Pogrebnyak

Stoke v Swansea

Stoke are notorious for being one of the hardest and physical sides to play against and they have maintained that this season despite not winning any games. Their defence is so strong at the moment. Swansea really started off well but haven’t won any in the last 3 games which they will be hoping to end this weekend. They are boosted by Dyer and Flores back from suspension. Neither teams have an injury worries to conetnd with. Both teams are capable of winning this game but I think it will be a draw.

Players to Watch- Shawcross, Dyer

Sunderland v Wigan

Sunderland have had a lot of draws over the past few weeks and although this is good defensively they still need to score. This is the longest Martin O’Neill has gone without a victory in the Premier League. Larsson and Cuellar return from injury for this game. Wigan had a good start but Martinez said this week that his side have “struggled” since the International break. They have defenders Di Santo and Alcarez still out injured. Both teams are going to be out to get that win but I think this will be a draw.

Man U v Tottenham

Man United have won 4 out of 5 of their games but I think they look a little off form compared to last season. They have done well to win those games but a couple of them have been ‘lucky’. They have Rooney back from injury so Tottenham could be the first team to experience the Rooney/Van Persie partnership in full force. They have injuries to Valencia, Jones, Smalling and Vidic. Tottenham have had a mixed start under AVB but they looked like they had finally got settled in their last game. They have a lot of injuries too, Adebayor, Assou-Ekotto, Livermore, Gomes and Kaboul. Tottenham haven’t won a game at Old Trafford since 1989 and they will be looking to rectify that. This is such a hard result to predict but I think I will go for a Draw.

Players to Watch- Van Persie, Demebele

Aston Villa v West Brom

Aston Villa must be smiling after a massive midweek boost of beating Manchester City in the Capital One cup. If they can transfer the way they played into this game then it will help them onto a win. They have Ireland out due to a cracked bone, but winger Holman will be likely to start.  West Brom are right up the top in 4th place after starting off the season quite well but they are on the back of a midweek loss against Liverpool. They have Reid out due to Hamstring injury. I think this will be an away win.

Players to Watch- Bent, Morrison

QPR v West Ham

Qpr have not had the best of starts and they are still yet to get a win this season. They have failed to score at home this season so far. They also have defensive issues with Ferdinand, Fabio, Bosingwa and Traore out injured. West Ham are on the rebound after losing against Wigan during the week, but they have done ok so far in the league. They are still without Carroll but Benayoun could make his first appearance after re-signing on Loan. This London Derby is set to be as agreat as all the others. I think West Ham will win this one.

Have a Great Weekend 🙂

2 thoughts on “The Pitch is Back Weekly Preview-Week 6

  1. I have come to realise you always give results against Villa.
    Well,like I proved you wrong against Swansea,this will be an emphatic home win.4-0 for good measure.
    Agbonlahor,Benteke brace and Bent.

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Baroness X October Polish Pickup: Stone Fox

Today I’m sharing Baroness X’s contribution to the Polish Pickup facebook group. If you’re new to polish pickup, read the next paragraph! Or, skip to hear me yammer my thoughts 🙂

Polish pickup is a group created through the dislike of boxes. Members vote on a theme each month, and makers are able to select a corresponding photo to customize a polish from. Dozens of makers are featured each month and shoppers can purchase the exact shades they want, without the obligation of buying an entire collab box. Also, shipping is very reasonable. The voting group is through a Facebook group called ‘Polish Pickup Pack’.

October’s theme is mythical creatures and monsters. Baroness X’s contribution is inspired by Medusa:

Fun fact, I used to LOVE Medusa’s story when I was younger. I always felt so bad for her.

This polish created from this photo, is Stone Fox. Official description is a dusty deep teal base with violet to green shifting shimmer, pink to green iridescent flakies and a touch of holo.

We know Baroness is known for her shimmers! In regular indoor or ‘plain’ lighting, You can see the holo sparkling back at you in a subtle fashion with the shimmer peeking out pink at you. The flakies will apply scattered, so there isn’t too many overwhelming the overall finish. This shade can appear a little more blue leaning depending on lighting, as the shimmer can play with the shade. This is definitely what I would call a dusty deep teal. Though I know teal can be argued as more green or blue depending on who’s looking. So for the sake of what my eyes are staring at my fingers right now, I’m saying dark teal. All swatches show two easy coats plus topcoat. Removal is easy peasy.

baroness X stone fox 2Baroness X Stone Fox 3baroness x stone fox

For funsies I decided to see what a matte finish would look like and it brought out the flakes and shimmer nicely. *if you’ve read any of my previous posts regarding matte, I use the harshest matte I have- Essie matte about you. Please keep in mind the matte versions shown here are a touch lighter than what you’ll see in person if you decide to matte.* The shimmer is hiding in these photos, but it’s there promise.

baroness x stone fox matte 2baroness x stone fox matte 3baroness x stone fox matte

The sale for Stone Fox will begin Oct 6 (11am EST) and run until Oct 9 (11:59pm EST) on polish pickup’s website ->HERE<-. Pricing for this pretty will be $11.

Thanks so much for reading!

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New Mills, England

New Mills, England

New Mills is a town we will never forget! After visiting the area three times in the past year, it was our home away from home and a refreshing escape out of the city. We stayed with family New Mills Kitchenand each visit reminded us of being back at home. We would watch movies together with plenty of snacks and find new recipes to try in the kitchen. David also learned some new cooking techniques that I will make sure he puts into practice soon. We will miss our family in New Mills when we move back to Canada and are looking forward to them visiting us in the future. Other fun things about New Mills are 1) they have a candy factory 2) they have the best Fish n Chips place 3) they have beautiful walking paths through the Torrs and 4) they have an old school railway station.

Swizzles Matlow Ltd. (the candy factory), has been located in New Mills since the 1940s after relocating from the London Blitz during WWII. During this time the factory was being used to make water purifying tablets for the Ministry of Defense. In 1957 they launched my personal favourite candy of theirs, the Drumstick lolly, the only chewable lollypop available at that time. Today they are one of the largest employers in the area with their sweets being constantly in demand from the public.

For the outdoors type, Torrs gorges, created during the ice age, are beautiful to walk through in New Mills. The area is known as the park beneath the town with rivers Sett andTorrs, New Mills Goyt intersecting. New Mills has a history of being a leader in renewable energy with 18 mills once surrounding the area. Today they have the Archimedean screw (they call it Archie), a rotating turbine attached to a generator used to produce clean, green electricity. They are the first town in the UK to own and run community hydro, Torrs Hydro.

Fish and Chips in New MillsFinally, the Fish n Chips in New Mills are fabulous. It’s the batter that make them stand out from the rest, and of course making sure the fish is fresh. Our family took us to two places where they are amazing, 1) the golf course and 2) The Crispy Cod. The railway station in New Mills is also picturesque and a great viewpoint. The railway was opened in 1868.

3 thoughts on “New Mills, England

  1. Can’t fault your taste – we moved here to New Mills (from Brighton) in June and love it. But if you REALLY want the best fish and chips, you have to go a couple of miles to Hayfield – The Chippy there is the best for miles and easily rivals Compo’s Cafe in Holmfirth!

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The Real Deal New York

Punitive Fannie, Freddie fees add thousands to financing costs

Government controlled mortgage giants seeing profits, but still charge recession-era fees
By Kenneth R. Harney | May 09, 2014 04:30PM

From the May issue: When you’re raking in tens of billions in profit by helping credit-elite borrowers purchase homes, couldn’t you lighten up on fees a little for everyday folks? [more]


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The Real Deal New York

Tenants claim harassment at G-Way building in Crown Heights

Public Advocate Letitia James says the firm is "engaging in tactics that border on criminal behavior"
March 07, 2016 05:35PM

From left: Letitia James and Walter Mosley

UPDATED, March 7, 6:30 p.m.: Tenants charge G-Way Management, a boutique real estate company that manages 410 Eastern Parkway, is trying to kick them out of the Crown Heights building to increase rents.

“G-Way Management has been threatening [tenants’] health and safety and engaging in tactics that border on criminal behavior,” Public Advocate Letitia James said at the protest in front of the 72-unit, six-story building.

Tenants say G-Way has not fixed mold and rodent infestation issues in apartments, and denied tenants lease renewals, Politico reported.

A representative from G-Way e-mailed a response to The Real Deal saying the company aims to comply with all safety regulations and address issues in a timely manner.

“We’ve managed 410 Eastern Parkway for the last  22 months and addressed all issues in a timely manner,” the representative wrote. “The building was built in 1928 and currently has less than 1 housing violation per unit, much below average compared to similar 88 year old properties.”

James and Assembly member Walter Mosley, who represents the booming Crown Heights neighborhood, say they’ve been trying to meet with G-Way for almost a year, but to no avail. James has targeted unscrupulous landlords during her tenure in office, and despite pushback, continues to use lawsuits as a means to push the city for change.

According to James, G-Way has more than 630 violations on several buildings throughout the city, Politico reported.

James’ “Worst Landlords” list — which features property owners who have racked up the most violations relative to the number of apartments they own — came under fire when it wrongly included a landlord two years in a row. Rachel Phipps, who manages the 410 Eastern Parkway building for G-Way checks in at No. 67 on the list. [Politico]Dusica Sue Malesevic

This post was updated to include a response from G-Way Management.


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5 Staging Mistakes – Great Article from Trulia

5 Staging Mistakes Sellers Think Are Awesome —and How to Change Their Minds

Nowhere in life is the old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder truer than in real estate. One woman’s dream home might be a mid-century modern, Mad Men styled contemporary, while another’s includes all the gingerbread charm of a classic Victorian. But when it comes to prepping a home to be viewed and (fingers crossed!) sold, there is both art and science to staging a home before its listed to maximize its appeal to the broadest number of target buyers.

The challenge is this: staging is an investment, one every seller can’t afford to make (although studies have shown professionally staged homes sell faster and for more than non-staged counterparts). So many sellers take it on as a do-it-yourself project which, like all DIY home improvement projects, can be fantastic or, mmm, not—depending on the approach, skill, and resources of the ‘self’ who does it.

Here are a few common scenarios in which sellers think their staging is awesome and buyers, well, beg to differ. Plus, check out the tactful things agents can say to help get sellers back on track:

Love these tips? Share this helpful handout with clients.

  1. The sellers used beat up or ugly furnishings and decor.

Great staging—DIY or professional—includes choosing furniture that shows the home off in its best light, and positioning the furnishings optimally, too. Sometimes this can be done using certain pieces of the seller’s furniture. Other times, furniture must be rented or otherwise obtained. One area in which budget-minded sellers like to save money on staging is by finding cheaper alternatives than renting new furniture from a staging company or store.

In this era of Craigslist, eBay, Freecycle, estate sales and other peer-to-peer online stores and trading sites, there is an abundance of access to used furniture at great prices. I have no bone to pick with the smart sellers who use these tools to replace their own furniture with something that is in better condition, more attractive or a smaller scale than their own, so as to highlight how much space their home truly offers. That said, using old, floral sofas from Craigslist’s Free Section, unattractive thrift store ‘artwork’ or even their own truly worn out, old furniture is a recurring reason buyers cite for focusing on how bad the staging is vs. the house itself.

What’s worse, the furnishings a seller might think was THE BEST BARGAIN EVER might actually give the nice home a worn-down, unkempt feel to the buyers who come to see it.

How to help your sellers: Have a consistent message throughout the process of staging. Clean and simple typically highlight a space. Before letting sellers go to town on the staging, show them examples of a beautifully staged home and one that’s not so great. The visual examples can help get your message across better than simply talking it through.

  1. They created distracting themes and scenes.

My friend Barb Schwarz is the head of the International Home Staging Professionals Association; she defines staging as ‘preparing a home for sale so the buyer can mentally move in.’ The goal is for buyers to visualize the new-and-improved versions of their lives that the home will help them realize, so some pro stagers will set up objects to communicate the lifestyle activities that a home facilitates. It’s not bizarre to see a breakfast table and chairs on the patio of a home with lovely views, a crib and baby gear-vignette in a small room suitable for a nursery, or a popcorn maker and recliners to show off a media room’s theater-readiness.

Occasionally, though, these scenes and vignettes can go rogue, creating borderline bizarre scenarios that distract and detract more than they help.

A beach scene (ball, umbrella and all) in a midwestern bedroom, a lively Parisian mural and Eiffel tower replica in a California condo and bizarre collections (taxidermy, anyone?) are all real-life examples of staging scenes that have done more harm than good.

  1. The house is neither clean nor clutter-free.

For various reasons, some homes just take time to sell. And if a client is living in a home that is on the market for long, it can be challenging to ensure it is perfectly pristine at all times, meaning every single time a buyer enters it. And it doesn’t take a truly filthy house to turn a buyer’s impression of a home from awesome to awful. The little messes that a family accumulates through daily living can be perceived by buyers as distracting at best—disgusting, at worst.

If the home is well staged, do not underestimate the power of piles of clothes, mail, paperwork, dishes or kids’ toys to deactivate the home-selling power of all the hard work and money that went into preparing the property in the first place.

How to help your sellers: Make sure your clients understand that you know how challenging this situation can be. Empathize with them, but also consider working out a referral coupon or discount with a local cleaning service. A weekly cleaning during the 30-60 day showing period, especially with a generous discount, can be well worth the cost, and show sellers that you get it, and you’re on their side.

  1. There are glaring gaps.

Sometimes a home’s staging leaves a glaring gap, an elephant in the room house, so to speak. This often happens when sellers run out of time and money to prepare a place, but it can be avoided through smart advance planning and budgeting for the pre-listing property preparation.

How to help your sellers:

  • Rooms—Listen, I personally live in a house that is beautiful everywhere until you poke your head into my young adult son’s room. So I can relate to these sellers. This situation might be okay to live with, but it’s a real home staging fail for a property that’s on the market. Remind sellers not to let there be one or two rooms that it looks like the stager—or house cleaner—missed. And this goes for the garage, closets, cupboards and drawers, too. Buyers like to look inside these areas to see how much space they have—if they are crammed full of junk, it creates the impression that the house lacks storage and order.
  • Exterior vs. interior—Some homes have amazing curb appeal, but look like they’ve been run over roughshod on the inside. And the opposite is true: some look like Martha Stewart handled the inside and junk man extraordinaire Fred Sanford was in charge of the yard. Neither of these is ideal. Again, here a visual tour can help. Make note of the most budget-friendly or simple-to-do projects that may be able to help remedy any eyesores.
  • Multi-sensory gaps—If a home is beautiful to the eye but smells bad, is strangely hot or cold, or has a noise issue (think: neighbors’ music, freeway noise or strange in-house creaks or whirrs), buyers might appreciate the visuals but fixate on the multi-sensory challenges. Especially if there are pets, sellers may need a gut check on whether your home is smelly—sellers might be so used to it, that they can’t sense it anymore. Here, honesty is the best policy. If you have a super smelly property and don’t want to offend the seller, you may want to consider bringing in a stager for a consultation (use someone who you have a good relationship with and often send referrals to). After they look around, have them write notes for the seller. The third party perspective can help get the point across without causing tension within your client/agent relationship.
  1. The seller lacked a neutral, expert eye.

Home decorating and home staging are two different things. When an owner decorates a home, they customize it with your specific tastes, preferences and aesthetics in mind. When staging it, the goal is to neutralize the home’s look and feel so it appeals to more buyers and doesn’t have turn-off potential.
Schwarz puts it this way: ‘Decorating a home is personalizing it. Staging a home is depersonalizing it.’

I cannot count the number of beautifully decorated homes I’ve seen where the seller must have thought they needed to do zero staging, and where the seller was simply wrong. Their very personal tastes in Elvis quilt art, red lacquer furnishings or sewing machine collections had been beautifully executed for them, but also were so highly personal, so very specific that it was near-impossible for a buyer to envision their own lives or families or homes or activities taking place in that space.

This is one reason I—and every agent should—encourage even sellers who are on a tight budget and can’t afford pro staging and sellers whose homes that have been beautifully decorated to at least have a home staging consultation with their agent and a professional stager. These pros can call out little ‘edits’ (furniture or decor items you should remove) and give advice about what buyers love and hate to see in a home that clients might be able to execute yourself at a surprisingly low cost.

Tell us! What is one the biggest staging missteps you have seen (or made!)?

I read this article at: http://www.trulia.com/pro/sellers/5-staging-mistakes-sellers-think-awesome-change-mind/

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

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Sabrina Caton - The Caton Team Realtors

Sabrina is a native Californian born and raised in the Silicon Valley with a passion for Residential Real Estate and writing. Sabrina is partnered with her mother in law Susan - together they have 35+ years local experience. A full time Realtor Team with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices - Drysdale Properties out of Redwood City. The Peninsula is our backyard - let us help make it yours. We represent Buyer’s and Seller’s throughout the Bay Area. Effective. Efficient. Responsive. What can The Caton Team do for you?

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text:
5 Days for the Homeless participants speak out

By in News
Alex Denysiuk, Lane Bannerman, Matt Brennan, Amber Freistadt and Jordana Knobluach (left to right) are this year’s homeless participants.
Alex Denysiuk, Lane Bannerman, Matt Brennan, Amber Freistadt and Jordana Knobluach (left to right) are this year’s homeless participants.

Five University of Saskatchewan students have been sleeping outside since March 9 as part of the annual 5 Days for the Homeless campaign.

The Canada-wide 5 Days for the Homeless campaign  raises money and awareness for homelessness across the country. Participants sleep outside on their campus for five nights with only a sleeping bag, pillow and the clothes they are wearing. They must survive solely on food donations made to them.

All non-perishable foods and non-food items given to the U of S campaign are being given directly to Egadz, a local community-based organization that works to support at-risk youth in Saskatoon. Egadz runs a variety of programs including meal plans, teen-parent education, school support and street outreach initiatives.

“We’re so honoured. It’s really special that young people are trying to make a difference and to know they care about this issue,” said Don Meikle, acting executive director of Egadz.

The five U of S students involved in the campaign as homeless participants — Lane Bannerman, Alex Denysiuk, Jordana Knobluach, Amber Freistadt and Matt Brennan — were in high spirits at press time after their first two nights outside.

“It’s been pretty good. The first night we didn’t get much sleep, but it’s humbling to know what homeless people face and the different challenges. It’s been pretty cold, but it’s been an alright week so far,” Bannerman said.

The group spent the night of March 9 between the Agri-Canada greenhouses, where their already restless night was cut short by the building’s automated lights early in the morning.

“We thought we had the perfect location, we were in between these greenhouses, it was pretty sheltered and it was dark,” Brennan said. “Then the greenhouse lights came on at 4 a.m. and lit up our spot.”

The group’s consensus was that sleep was a challenge, but everyone acknowledged that they’ve developed a new understanding for what Saskatoon’s homeless population experiences on a daily basis.

“It’s been tough getting to sleep. You’re lying there thinking, ‘Man, how can I get comfortable?’ and then you realize I’m doing this for five days and other people have to do this for however long,” Brennan said. “The tossing and turning, you don’t really get comfortable, you just make do with what you have.”

The participants expressed gratitude about the favorable weather conditions for their week outside. Temperatures during the day have been climbing above zero degrees, but have been dipping back into the negatives overnight.

“I think we’ve been fairly fortunate. I mean, in Saskatchewan, in comparison to what we’re used to, this is pretty nice,” Bannerman said. “But even last night, it dipped down pretty low. I think we can be thankful for the weather we’ve had to this week.”

During the 5 Days campaign in 2013, temperatures dropped to as low as -27 C with windchill at night. Though the official campaign rules say participants can move inside if “inclement weather becomes a health risk,” the group took it as a challenge and slept underneath the law building anyway.

With this year’s warmer temperatures comes the challenge of melting snow. However, the participants said that staying dry hasn’t been an issue yet.

“It hasn’t snowed on us and we’ve been fortunate enough that nothing around us has melted.” Brennan said, adding that temperatures have been low enough at night to keep things frozen.

The campaign’s participants are required to attend all regular classes and extracurricular activities during the course of the week. Freistadt said that this has posed a challenge in itself.

“Class is pretty tiring, but once you’re outside of class, you get to come to the tunnel and raise money, so it’s been solid,” Freistadt said.

The participants said the campus community has been supportive of the campaign and attributed its success to the generosity of the U of S as a whole.

“The university’s been pretty sweet at raising awareness through people who aren’t involved in the campaign and continuing to support Egadz,” Freistadt said.

Photo: Jordan Dumba/Photo Editor

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(Updated on Thursday 5th October 2017 07:12pm)

During 1968 Andy spent time in Klagenfurt, southern Austria under the IAESTE scheme. This was followed by Marion spending time in Sweden in 1969 under the same scheme. This slideshow is from Klagenfurt but includes some photos taken by Andy in Denmark, where he visited while Marion was working in Sweden (he went with her to Sweden and enjoyed a holiday!)


text:
September 2010

A month of mellow fruitfulness with the hedgerows full of berries, hips and haws, late colour in the gardens supplied by dahlias, Michaelmas daisies and chrysanthemums but the reds, golds and browns of autumn colour were gradually creeping into the tips of trees and shrubs to suggest the year was beginning to wane. Sadly, most of the village's horse chestnut trees were showing signs of the bleeding canker that is rapidly spreading through this lovely tree species. The leaves turned brown and crispy before their due time and the reduced crop of conkers fell almost unnoticed to the ground. The young boys who used to rush to collect the brown shiny fruits in order to put a string through them and play a game with friends to find the strongest conker seems to have disappeared.

Although night temperatures were falling to lower levels, daytime temperatures reached a very welcome 20 degrees enabling some outdoor jobs to be completed before the winter. Painters in the Ferris were busy restoring the outdoor paintwork to some of the properties in the Old Manor. In the grounds of Sibford School the final thatching was underway to ‘top-out’ the Celtic house that had been constructed and completed during the summer months by some of the younger pupils. The practical experience of constructing the frame from tied strong branches and building the walls from wet mud had been messy and great fun. The authentic replica of this ancient style of house is used as an outdoor classroom for the children to experience, at firsthand, the materials and lifestyle of their forbears.

Both Parish Councils met separately early in the month and discussed the possibility of preparing a joint Parish Plan. This would incorporate the ideas and aspirations of villagers for the future of the Sibfords and Burdrop. Such a joint project was something of a first for the community as, in the past, the individuality of the separate villages had been carefully protected but the future of the Sibfords resides in the co-operation of the whole community to look forward – to preserve all that we hold dear and to accept new hopes and ideas.

On the national stage Pope Benedict paid a State Visit to Britain and was welcomed by the Royal family and members of the diverse faith groups now active in Britain. The Conference season for the political parties also took place during September and the Labour party voted for Ed Miliband to lead their party after a four month campaign to replace Gordon Brown who resigned after the Labour party’s defeat in May 2010.

Most Clubs and Societies recommenced their programme of meetings following the summer break. The WI and the Horticultural Society both welcomed speakers to their meetings but attendance was reduced by villagers taking late holidays once the children had returned to school. The Friendship Club enjoyed their river trip from Upton on Severn, lunching on board on a warm and beautiful day. A celebration birthday party was held in the Village Hall to mark the 100th birthday of one of the Club’s members and Gower’s resident Mrs Beatrice Tanner. On leaving school she first came to the village from Woodford Halse to work at Sibford School and has lived in the village ever since. She celebrated her special birthday with her family, grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends.

The Oxfordshire Historic Churches annual Ride and Stride event took place when sponsored cyclists and walkers visited as many churches as possible during the day to raise funds for the Trust and their own local Church. Our own Church benefited from the efforts of villagers who took part and enjoyed visiting and being welcomed by other church communities. Two marriage services took place during the month and Holy Trinity was beautifully decorated on both occasions. The Church ran another sociable and successful coffee morning raising a further £171 for Church funds. By the time visitors were enjoying a cup of coffee, a chat and the chance to buy items from the sales table, the early morning frost, which had whitened the outlying fields, had long since melted in the low September sunshine.

The Sibfords’ Society welcomed back Liz Woolley to talk about Child Labour in Oxfordshire in the 19th century. She took us back to a period when very young children were expected to earn money to supplement any family income just to enable the family to survive in their impoverished circumstances. Small children were set tasks in factories and mines where their diminutive size made it possible for them to reach inaccessible place. They were employed as agricultural labourers, in domestic service, in cottage based industries, in quarry work in the brick and stone fields, as climbing boys in chimney sweeping, as errand boys and as newspaper sellers. Education was either non-existent or cast aside if there was a chance to earn a few pennies and it was not until 1870 that the Education Act made education compulsory for children under 10 and even this was waived during haymaking and harvest times.

The Village Hall committee ran the first of their new season of films – the 1961 Oscar winning film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Sadly, it was very poorly attended (perhaps September is a month when many ‘seniors’ take a holiday break) but this District Council initiative to bring good films into the village communities will be lost if it is not better supported.

Sibford School welcomed Erika Mancini from the Wellcome Trust for Human Genetics, University of Oxford to the meeting of their Café Scientifique which was extended to include villageras. Her talk, entitled What’s in Your Genes? was illustrated by slides and cartoons and explained the nature of the genetic code which provides the unique information for each and every individual. Recent work has shown that a further epigenetic code ‘sits on top’ of the basic genetic code and this additional code is affected by the personal and individual choices made during our lifetime. The argument of ‘nature versus nurture’ should be replaced by nature WITH nurture. If the genetic code is the alphabet of life, the epigenetic code is the grammar of life as it specifies how each genetic code can be read. We look forward to the next meeting to be held in March 2011 and realise how fortunate we are that such eminent speakers come to Sibford School and that we too can benefit from hearing about their interesting work and research.

During the month the harvest work was completed, the grain dried and stored and the countryside began to assume its brown mantle as ploughing began in earnest ready for replanting for another season. Apples and ripe plums made their way into fruit crumbles, jams and chutneys while the central heating thermostats were adjusted on one or two colder evenings! Appointments were made with the chimney sweep to ensure that all was well for the open fires and wood burning stoves which might eventually supplement the heating systems in some of our homes.


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Like your uncle who is currently going through a midlife crisis, the city has become increasingly worried about their ‘hip meter’, which has led to a name change.

‘The Falls’ will become the city’s official name after 10 millennials gathered outside of City Hall to protest the, “old person name” that The Falls once had.

“It’s a really old and wrinkly name. Just say it! ‘Sioux Falls’. I would imagine them driving really slow in front of me when I’m in a hurry,” said one millennial we spoke with.

The Falls city council overwhelmingly voted to change the name after all 10 millennials messaged them on Facebook, but could not figure out how to respond.

“There was a ton of support for this name change. We had 10 millennials lined up outside to protest the old name. We couldn’t just stand by,” said one city councilor who wrote out the response on a piece of paper because they couldn’t figure out their email.

With this new name change, The Falls hopes to attract hip millennials to open cool businesses that we can all post about on Facebook, but never go to.

“It’s a very exciting time. I once had a hip business, but now I’m Mayor. I know all about being hip and cool,” said new Mayor Paul TenHaken.

The Falls will start changing maps and signs to reflect the change as soon as possible.

The Falls Headliner
Adam K. White


text:
One thing

I have two words crafted on one of my wall at home;

The key to success, I believe, is not found in quantity, but in quality.

The way that quality is quantified will vary from person to business, but the principle remains the same.

Take coca-cola for example: Through the perfection of one drink, back in 1889. Coke has grown to be one of the top successful brands in the world.

2 thoughts on “One thing

  1. marketingwmoxie says:

    just came across this blog post and i literally just wrote a post about Coke and its success on Facebook as a most “liked” brand..thought that was neat to see it be a top of mind brand for you as well

    • leemac85 says:

      Hey, thanks for leaving a comment! Coke are a great example for brand marketing. The brand just sells itself so well that they don’t need to put any great effort into marketing. I didn’t go into Coke that much today, but it is certainly top of my favourite brands list. Great minds think alike! 🙂

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text:
Delusional 69-year-old man asks to be legally declared 49 — to boost dating and job prospects

'If you're 69 on Tinder, you're outdated,' reasoned Ratelband, who has seven children and is now without a partner

Self-styled Dutch positivity guru Emile Ratelband answers questions during an interview in Utrecht, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Peter Delong/AP photo

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In the quixotic battle against old age, some people use skin care and spin class.

Not Emile Ratelband, a 69-year-old who feels like he’s in his 40s. The Dutch pensioner is asking a court in his hometown of Arnhem, southeast of Amsterdam, to change his birth certificate so that it says he took his first breath on March 11, 1969, rather than on March 11, 1949. The judges heard his case on Monday and promised they would render a verdict in the next several weeks.

Ratelband sees his request as no different from a petition to change his name or the gender he was assigned at birth – and isn’t bothered that this comparison might offend transgender people, whose medical needs have been recognized by the American Medical Association. It comes down to free will, he maintains.

“Because nowadays, in Europe and in the United States, we are free people,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. “We can make our own decisions if we want to change our name, or if we want to change our gender. So I want to change my age. My feeling about my body and about my mind is that I’m about 40 or 45.”

Being in his 40s would make his life much better, he explained.

For one, it would boost his dating prospects. “If you’re 69 on Tinder, you’re outdated,” reasoned Ratelband, who has seven children and is now without a partner. His friends urge him just to modify his age on dating apps. “But I don’t want to lie,” he said. “If you lie, you have to remember everything you say.”

It would also help him land more projects at work. The trainer and life coach – and baker and political provocateur in past lives – said potential clients ask him if he can “speak the language of young people” when he tells them his age. He assures them that he’s well-versed in the ways of the youth. But they’re skeptical, telling him that their other options are “young people in the gleam of their lives.” He assures them that he is more experienced, wiser and more knowledgeable, but he is beginning to think those attributes may not be enough.

He wants to be young again, and he has the physical fitness to match, Ratelband said.

His bones have grown approximately half of a nano millimeter over the last two years, he said. He has low blood pressure. His joints are working well. His eyesight is clear. His mental health is in top shape, he reported. “Well, everything, I guess,” he said. “I get it all checked every two years.”

This is what he told officials at the town hall, where he first went to ask for the change.

“Are you crazy?” they inquired, rejecting his request. It wasn’t his first brush with the officials there. Many years ago, they refused to let him name his twins, Rolls and Royce, after the carmaker. He continues to call them by these titles, but made their legal names France and Minou.

This time, he was undeterred, telling his lawyer that he wanted to take the matter to court.

Adopting the playbook used by transgender people suing to alter their birth certificates, which often requires submitting to psychiatric evaluation, Ratelband agreed to see professionals to ensure he wasn’t a “victim of the Peter Pan syndrome,” as he put it. He convinced experts that he wasn’t deluding himself, he said, and that he understood the consequences of his actions.

At first, he said, the judges “laughed like little girls.”

But after he delivered an inspirational speech about how modern society had freed itself from the false gods of money and government and religion – “nowadays, we are free people,” he reportedly told them – they became more receptive, in his telling.

Ratelband’s desire to remake himself is distinctly American, he said, and comes from his training under Tony Robbins, the motivational guru and master of the life hack. He lived and traveled with Robbins for about six months in the late 1980s, he said, and came to believe that, “You have to make your dreams come true from visualization.”

“This is American thinking,” he said. “Why can’t I change my age if I want to? You have to stretch yourself. If you think you can jump one meter, now I want to jump 20. If you earn 100 grand a month, now I want to earn 120 grand.”

He drew a comparison to the forces elevating President Donald Trump, arguing that people don’t want to be told how to live or what to believe, and therefore appreciate that the president has cut himself loose from standards of decorum that governed prior presidents.

“He is just himself,” he said. “Trump is the first one who is honest. He shows his emotion on Twitter, saying to everyone, ‘Shut up.’ He’s a new kind of person.”

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