After selling the Comfort Inn Maingate, outlined in blue, Azim Visram is planning to build a new hotel on the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Last year Elevation Development sold the hotel pad on Sherberth Road, outlined in red.
Hotelier Aziz Visram has teamed up with Align Commercial Real Estate for a new hotel project on Kissimmee's W192 tourism corridor.
Visram previously renovated and sold the Comfort Inn Maingate at 7675 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, about a mile from Disney's Animal Kingdom. He kept an undeveloped 3.2-acre lot adjacent to the hotel, and now he and Align Principal Yog Melwani want to build a new hotel there.
"We can't reveal the flag yet, but it will be a national hotel," Melwani told GrowthSpotter on Wednesday.
Newly formed SLB Hotel Group has acquired its first hotel property after paying $8.7 million for a 197-room hotel on Kissimmee's W192 corridor, about a mile from Walt Disney World.
He said they hope to break ground before the end of the year. "But 2019 might be more realistic." Currently the partners are looking for a civil engineer to assist with site planning and permitting.
The duo met Wednesday with Osceola County's Development Review Committee to discuss issues related to the site plan, zoning and cross access easements. The property has the proper land use, but it's currently zoned Agricultural/Conservation so it must be rezoned to Commercial Tourist.
Visram said he had to go through a similar rezoning in 2016 when he sold the Comfort Inn.
Rosemont Hotels Inc. paid $1.78 million on May 25 for a 2-acre hotel pad minutes from Walt Disney World property.
The parcel on Sherberth Road in Kissimmee's W192 tourism corridor was part of an 8-acre commercial project by Elevation Development dubbed Parkview Retail Center.
The partners said they haven't determined yet whether the new hotel will be select service or limited service. The maximum number of rooms allowed, based on the parcel size, would be 192. The county requires at least one parking space per hotel room, but there is no height restriction in CT zoning.
Visram is also director of business development for Vista Property Management, which has owned multiple hotels and office assets in Orlando and Kissimmee.
Melwani is vice chairman of Orange County's Planning and Zoning Commission.
The site, which can also be accessed via Black Lake Road, would be one of two new hotels planned in the immediate area. Elevation Development last year sold an entitled 120-room hotel pad on Sherberth Road to Rosemont Hotels for $1.78 million. The Elevation project also includes a new CVS drugstore and several restaurants.
It's been two weeks since the Hawthorn Suites Kissimmee Gateway opened, and General Manager Pauli Perera stepped out of the newly constructed lobby Friday to announce that the extended-stay hotel is fully booked.
Visram said the amount of new development activity in the immediate area prompted him to move forward with his project now.
Magic Village Resort and Magic Village 2 are just around the corner. The new $90 million Margaritaville Hotel, slated to open later this year, is about a mile west of the site.
To the east, Jumani Hospitality has just opened the new Hawthorn Suites Kissimmee Maingate on Reedy Creek Boulevard and has a flag contract for a Wyndham Garden hotel next door.


Published at Friday, January 25th, 2019 - 01:59:58 AM. garden bench. By Adolf Heinrich.
When the bench arrives or when you examine it at local store, check the surface for significant cracks. Cracks are a big no-no in the outdoor benches because they are exposed to water and possibly snow. Water makes cracks bigger in the concrete benches and the wooden benches quickly rot.


For contemporary styling and timeless style, this sterling silver gift set provides subtle style for day or night. The combination of sterling silver and the freshwater cultured pearl lends a unique look, create a fabulous profile. Available online or in-store.


Tom Snyder, blogger-in-chief , is taking the holiday period "off" to spend Quality Time with family and friends. He will return to his pens and ink pot in the New Year. In the nonce, he wishes his dedicated cadre of readers the very best of holiday seasons, and a most excellent New Year.
The Naval Hospital at Mare Island was finally experiencing respite from the terrible 1918 influenza epidemic. During the height of the epidemic, in October, only pneumonia patients had been admitted to the hospital while other admissions received their care in one of the 100 14×14 tents especially put up for the purpose. On 19 October, Hospital Commander Ammen C Ferenholt wrote the Navy Surgeon General that hospital workers had received more than 775 patients since the first cases arrived just two weeks earlier.
A week later, on the 25th of October, Ferenholt wrote that hospital workers had cared for about 840 influenza patients; 115 of these were victims of the feared pneumonia of whom 68 had died. Among the deaths were three of their own: physician (and chief of the lab) Lieutenant R C Christiansen, a nurse and a yeomanette. Another doctor and another nurse would succumb to the influenza before the epidemic passed.
A brief recrudescence of a less virulent strain of the disease again busied hospital staff; four days before Christmas, more than 200 cases were admitted, about 10% of whom were suffering from pneumonia.
Wark K Wins the Cup!
Ferenholt included some personal and not official snapshots of the ward decorations. These give a personal and intimate feel of what those wards looked like. It was a good morale boosting effort after an exhausting month and a half of fighting the influenza.
Holiday best wishes to all our readers, wherever they may be. May the New Year meet or exceed your expectations.
Tom Snyder, MD Captain, Medical Corps, U S Navy, Retired Blogger-in-Chief, and Executive Director, The Society for the History of Navy Medicine.
Prior to the American Revolution, according to historian Harold Langley, merchant sailors from the colonies were required to pay into the British seamen's hospital fund, even though they may have little opportunity to receive care at the famed institution at Greenwich.
Early American efforts to provide care to sailors was left to individual colonies and cities. For instance, as early as 1730 the Pennsylvania legislature instituted a tax to provide health care to sailors in hospitals, and in 1774 passed a law that provided for a quarantine hospital on Providence–now State–Island, as a means to prevent the entry of contagion into the port city of Philadelphia. This facility also cared for the sick and wounded of the Pennsylvania navy.
The maritime merchant community of Virginia early saw a need to provide for local care of their seamen, and they established a hospital near Norfolk in 1758-59 for this purpose. In 1780, Commonwealth of Virginia instituted a nine pence–raised to one shilling in 1782–per month tax on sailors and merchant seamen to fund the hospital. North Carolina instituted a similar program in 1789. That same year, the first Congress under the new Constitution took up the matter of establishing a hospital fund. Despite prodding from the Boston Marine Society and others, the matter, while brought up regularly, languished in one or another Congressional Committee until 1798, when finally, Congress enacted a law that required masters of every United States merchant ship returning for a foreign port, to pay 20¢ a month for every sailor in his employ to the port collector. These funds were to be funneled from the various ports to the Treasurer of the United States. The Act authorized the U S President to "provide for the temporary relief and maintenance of sick or disabled seamen, in the hospital or other proper institutions now established in the several ports of the United States." Congress extended the law in 1799 to tax and care for U S naval personnel.
Where hospitals were not available, states, and later the federal government often paid individuals to care for sick sailors and merchant mariners in their homes, or cities for care in municipal hospitals. The National Institutes of Health website states that by 1802, the U S government operated marine hospitals in Boston; Newport; Norfolk and Charleston; and was contracting for the care of merchant sailors in Baltimore; New York; Philadelphia; Portland, Maine; New London, Connecticut; Wilmington; New Bern and Edenton, North Carolina; Alexandria, Virginia; and Savannah.
While the earliest efforts to provide for sick and injured sailors were concentrated on ports of the Atlantic coast, by 1845 increasing commercial seagoing traffic on the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes led to the planning and construction of Marine Hospitals in Natchez, MS; Paducah, KY; St. Louis, MO; Napoleon, AR; Pittsburgh, PA and Cleveland, OH.
The Marine Hospital Service and Marine Hospitals are the precursor of today's Public Health Service.
The Marine Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky opened its doors in 1852. It cared for Union sailors early in the Civil War, but was closed during much of that conflict. After the war, the hospital undertook the care of sailors under direction of the Sisters of Mercy until 1875, when a reorganized Marine Hospital Service undertook operation of the facility.
The hospital ceased functioning as such in 1933, and has served in a variety of roles since. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the old hospital on its Eleven Most Endangered Places list; the same year, the National Park Service granted it "Save America's Treasures" status. Since 2004, Louisville residents have been working to restore and preserve the 150 year old historical structure. You can read more about their ongoing efforts a the hospital's website.
The end of the year, at least in the U S, is a time for people to pull together their charitable giving programs so as to maximize their charitable tax deductions.
The Naval Historical Foundation is not listed by any of the rating agencies. By my calculations, using criteria established by Charity Navigator, the Foundation would rank as less than average quality. The Foundation does an outstanding job in using its revenues for program expenses, and enjoys very low administrative expenses. Where it falls down, by my calculation, is in the Foundation's relatively high fundraising expenses relative to fundraising receipts.
It's a sad irony that the Navy Memorial Foundation is ranked in the bottom quarter of all charities by Charity Navigator.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the Foundation for the History of Navy Medicine. It's a 501(c)(3) public benefit charity that supports the work of the Society for the History of Navy Medicine. We spend one hundred percent of our revenues on our programs, we have no administrative costs, and we spend no money on fundraising. You can't go wrong! On the Society site "Register" page , click on the "Donate" button near the bottom and you'll be directed to a PayPal functionality to make payment. You'll be glad you did. Thanks.
If you have a favorite maritime, historical or medical history charity for which you can vouch, please send a comment. I'll research it and add it to this list, if it's worthy.


The cover of As a Child has gone through a number of revisions since publication, as shown below.
Fourth revision of the front cover.
Third revision of the front cover.
Second revision of the front cover (for both paperback & eBook editions).
First revision of the front cover (for the eBook edition).
First revision of the back cover.
I think you nailed it on the third revision!
Many thanks, Karen! Yes, getting a professional designer to revise my original design has (I feel) made a huge difference and given me a cover to feel proud of.


Leaky pipes, broken flushes and lack of hot water can to execute at any time of the day and night, and we are ready to help you Morning noon and night.
We take pride in our trained plumbers and we are available without fail in Newham N81. Our plumbing company is at your patch up Twenty-four hours 7 days a week, and we guarantee we will not let you down. We are one of the few plumbing companies putting forward our services, in Newham N81, Twenty-four hours 7 days a week even throughout the time of bank holidays. You have located a plumbing company in Newham N81, proposing services Twenty-four hours 7 days a week.
Rapid response to the telephone difficulty a little scabrous of healthy follow-up from the technician.


text:
How tackling his mental health helped this man turn his life around to help others
"I needed heroin for breakfast, lunch and dinner"
Heather PickstockNorth Somerset reporter
(Image: Mark Kaye)
When Mark Kaye was in the depths of his addiction he would smoke heroin and crack all day.
Locked in the grip of depression and low self-worth after losing a daughter with Downs Syndrome at the age of two, Mark found himself struggling with life.
His addiction saw his relationship with his partner break down and his addiction spiral out of control.
"It escalated to a point I couldn't control it," said Mark.
"I was at a place where I needed heroin for breakfast, lunch and dinner."
Mark Kaye (Image: Mark Kaye)
The death of his young daughter in his 20s left Mark with uncontrollable feelings of low self-worth.
This is how many people are rejected for disability benefit across Bristol
"I went to a place where I had no self-worth," he said.
"I felt pointless, worthless, that I could not produce healthy children, almost as if it was my fault.
"The pain of losing her ravaged me from inside, I felt very lonely, was gripped by anxiety and fear and felt I could not reach out.
"I could not deal with how I was feeling so turned to drink and drugs to numb it."
Mark lived in London and after losing his daughter and following the breakdown of his relationship moved to Portsmouth.
While in Portsmouth he sought help for his addiction.
"I went to the local doctors and accessed help through a treatment centre for my addiction," he said.
"But whereas I was getting the support through rehab for my drug addiction, I didn't deal with my underlying mental health issues."
After a few years Mark returned to drinking.
"I still had the underlying, background issues that I hadn't dealt with.
"I could not break that cycle of anxiety, fear and low self-worth."
Mark, a dad of four, lived in Portsmouth for 26 years before moving to Weston-super-Mare.
And it is while he was in the seaside town that he saw his life turn around.
"I was still drinking and using drugs initially, but not as badly has I had done previously, "he said.
How new crisis café will help people struggling with their mental health
"But I knew something had to change."
After a trip to his doctor, Mark realised he needed to get help in a different way if he was ever to deal with his demons and stay clean.
He went into recovery with the help of a counselling service in the town where he took part in therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), humanistic, person centred and psychodynamic therapies.
"I needed to honestly examine myself and why I was like I was," he said.
"I was filled with a lot of fear and anxiety.
"The counselling I received was the catalyst for me to start looking at myself as a person and not just the addiction."
Along with the counselling and support to improve his mental health, Mark took up running and has completed a number of half marathons.
"Reaching out for help and exploring my feelings and dealing with my mental health has helped me come to terms with who I am and what I am.
"I no longer feel the anxiety I once did.
"If I do go flat I know how to deal with it and where to get help. I have people I can turn to for help.
"I have learnt techniques to help me deal with how I am feeling."
Mark, who turns 60 this year, is also using his own experiences to help others.
He now works as a support worker for those battling with their addictions living in supported housing in the seaside resort.
He is also a member of St Paul's Church where he has been integral in setting up support groups locally and across the UK for others battling with addiction and mental health issues.
Homeless people in Bristol dying at more than double the national rate
He also runs a football team for other former addicts, where post match discussions are used as a place to discuss progress and issues players may be struggling with.
"I wanted to use my experiences to help others," he said.
"My mental health issues were a barrier to me in dealing with my addictions.
"I wish I had asked for that help sooner as if I had I would have understood why I was continuing to hurt myself.
"When I was in the full grip of my depression I did not ask anyone for help. It just became corrosive, destroying me from the inside out.
Mark Kaye has taken up running as a way to maintain good mental health (Image: Mark Kaye)
"I spent years trying to destroy myself because of how I was feeling.
"Now I want to make the most of life and enjoy it and help others speak put and get help with their mental health and find a solution."
Mark still regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for support.
He also now has a relationship with his children.
"I am still a full on addict," he said.
"When I use I don't know when to stop.
"But now, having learnt how to improve my mental health, I have come away from being in that insular world and I have been seven years clean."
Entrepreneur with a passion for the benefits of CBD oil
Mark has spoken of his journey as Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS launches its new Every Mind Matters campaign – a new way of empowering people to manage and improve their mental health.
It is increasingly recognised that taking care of our mental health is as important as maintaining good physical health.
NHS logo (Image: PA)
A study by PHE has revealed that 84 per cent of people across the south west have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.
While these can be a natural response to life's challenges, they can become more serious if people don't take action – and many wait too long.
Every Mind Matters shows people the simple steps they can take to be better prepared for life's ups and downs.
The new platform, which has been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RGCP), enables people to create a personalised action plan recommending a set of self-care actions to deal with stress, boost mood, improve sleep and feel in control.
Every Mind Matters is backed by a coalition of mental health charities and champions, including Mind, Mental Health First Aid England, Time to Change, Heads Together and the Samaritans.
The new resource is available for the public and for GPs to advise their patients to use. The NHS will also promote Every Mind Matters to its one-million plus workforce.
Youth unemployment in Weston-super-Mare is three times the national average
Martin White, health and wellbeing programme manager for Mental Health at Public Health England South West said: "Our health is affected by our circumstances, including having a job, friends and a roof over our heads.
"Anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping can affect everyone. Every Mind Matters aims to help people to better handle life's ups and downs."
84% people in the south west have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.
57% of people in the south west who experienced concerns about their mental health turned to unhealthy behaviours – smoking, drinking alcohol, unhealthy eating or taking recreational drugs.
54% of people in the south west who experienced concerns about their mental health avoided social situations or contact from friends and family.
Of those who took action, 31% only did so when it was having an impact on their daily life.
To discover simple steps for a healthier mind, create your bespoke action plan at: www.everymindmatters.co.uk
For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Натуральне число 1684
 1684 рік до нашої ери
 1684 рік нашої ери

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


We are a big company and therefore have to bear social responsibility. As a consequence, we have to respond to environmental concerns. We are getting ever more involved with these aspects and focus our attention on it.
If you are in favor of protecting our environment avoid unnecessary burdens to it, car sharing might be an alternative for you.
Car Sharing means borrowing a car for a few hours or days. Your advantage: you don't have to worry about anything – no insurance, no checking. You simply register-get inside-drive off.
There is a car sharing project in Marchtrenk. Contact www.mobilesmarchtrenk.at to find out more.


text:
This story is about Rangers
Taylor Hearn makes strong final spring impression on Rangers
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
Texas Rangers pitcher Taylor Hearn pitches during the eighth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Cleveland Indians on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Goodyear, Ariz.. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)
By Evan Grant , Staff Writer Contact Evan Grant on Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - First impressions are important. But so are final ones.
And Taylor Hearn made the most of his.
Pitching for Triple-A Nashville -- where he will open the season in the starting rotation -- the 24-year-old left-hander on Sunday pitched in front of Rangers manager Chris Woodward for the first time since being optioned to the minor leagues a little more than two weeks ago.
Showing work he's done to improve the arm speed on his slider, Hearn mixed it with a 96 mph fastball to hold the Rangers to a pair of hits and a run in five innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
First, the disclaimer. The Rangers were on a one-day jaunt to Nashville before getting back to Texas for good, so there was some, um, urgency to the pace at which they played. Second, only three starters (Delino DeShields, Nomar Mazara and Ronald Guzman) were in the lineup along with two others (Hunter Pence and Isiah Kiner-Falefa) who will have significant roles this season. It left the manager nonetheless impressed.
"It was really, really good," Woodward said. "When we sent him down, we talked with him about his slider and getting more intent behind it. You could see that his arm was slowing down. Today, I couldn't tell when he was throwing it. There was a lot more intent. I've been impressed all spring with the kid and I was impressed today with the work."
Hearn and infielder Sherten Apostel were the return from Pittsburgh for Keone Kela last July. Apostel is promising. Hearn, from Royse City, has a chance to make an impact on the Rangers more quickly. Of all the club's most advanced pitching prospects, he is the only one who will open at Triple-A. He could be an option for the Rangers at some point this year and should be in the mix for a rotation spot if the club deals a veteran starter around the All-Star break.
Hearn was 4-8 last season with 3.48 ERA in 129 innings over 24 starts at Double-A in the Pittsburgh and Rangers organizations. Those are the only starts he has above Class A. Compare that to Ariel Jurado, who started for the Rangers Sunday, and is the other depth option for the rotation. Jurado has 49 starts at Double-A and made another eight in the majors.
Hearn is making a big step this season and could be making an even bigger one before the year is over.
"I feel like I am [really close to being major league ready]," Hearn said. "But I'm not going to think about it too much. That's easier said than done. But I want to go out and continue to pitch like that. I'm not going to put a timetable on it, but I want to be ready when my name is called."
More In Rangers News
How Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara's absence from the Rangers lineup Wednesday is an indication of a larger issue
Why the Rangers are 'mad' about being labeled sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline
Willie Calhoun left 'speechless' after Rangers' decision to send him back to minors
Rangers stock report: Mike Minor is still a very attractive trade option; does it make sense to move on from Lance Lynn?
Before the Rangers decide whether or not to trade Mike Minor, here's what they need to ask themselves
After loss to Diamondbacks, Rangers are in danger of slipping further down the AL West


text:
Marie Aimée de Rohan-Montbazon, duchesse de Chevreuse (* Dezember 1600; † 12. August 1679 in Gagny, Frankreich) war berühmt für ihre Affären und Intrigen.

Ihr Leben war bestimmt von ihren Affären, ihrer Freundschaft mit Anna von Österreich und ihrer Feindschaft zu Kardinal Richelieu und später Kardinal Mazarin, gegen die sie zahlreiche erfolglose Intrigen und Komplotte spann. Zu ihren Liebhabern zählte unter anderem der französische Schriftsteller François de La Rochefoucauld.

Biografie

Familie und Kindheit
Marie de Rohan-Montbazon stammte aus einem alten Adelsgeschlecht, das seine Abstammung auf die vorrömischen Fürsten der Bretagne zurückführte. Ihr Vater war Hercule de Rohan, Herzog von Montbazon und Graf von Rochefort-en-Yvelines, ein Vertrauter von König Heinrich IV., der die Würden eines Pair von Frankreich, grand veneur de France und Gouverneur von Paris und der Île-de-France innehatte.

Ihre Mutter, Madeleine de Lenoncourt, starb, als Marie zwei Jahre alt war. Gemeinsam mit ihrem zwei Jahre älteren Bruder wuchs sie auf Schloss Couzières in der Obhut von Bediensteten auf. Das Geschwisterpaar war unzertrennlich. Marie soll oft die Kleider ihres Bruders getragen und sich mit ihm und seinen Freunden die Zeit mit Reiten, Jagen und Pferderennen vertrieben haben.

Ehen

Als Ludwig XIII. im Jahre 1615 mit Anna von Österreich vermählt wurde, wurde Marie für den Hofstaat der jungen Königin ausgewählt und erregte mit ihrem Unternehmungsgeist, ihrer ungezügelten Lebensfreude und ihrer außergewöhnlichen Schönheit Aufsehen bei Hof. Nachdem der damalige Favorit Königs Ludwig XIII., Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, mit dem Staatsstreich gegen Concino Concini der einflussreichste Mann Frankreichs geworden war, nahm er sie am 13. September 1617 zur Frau. Der Ehe zwischen Charles Albert und Marie entstammten zwei Kinder:
 Louis Charles, Duc de Luynes (* 25. Dezember 1620 im Louvre; † 10. Oktober 1690 in Paris)
 Anne Marie (* 1622 im Louvre; † 21. September 1646)

König Ludwig war begeistert von der jungen Frau, die sich wie er für Pferde, Jagd und Falknerei begeisterte, und machte sie nach der Geburt ihres ersten Kindes zur ersten Hofdame der Königin. Schnell stieg sie zur engsten Vertrauten Annas auf, 1619 wurde sie Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine. Nach dem Tod Luynes am 15. Dezember 1621 heiratete sie am 21. April 1622 Claude de Lorraine, den Herzog von Chevreuse. Mit ihm hatte sie drei Töchter:
 Anne Marie, Äbtissin von Pont-aux-Dames (* 1624; † 5. August 1652 in Paris)
 Charlotte-Marie (* 1627; † 7. November 1652 in Paris)
 Henriette, Äbtissin von Jouarre (* 1631; † 25. Januar 1693 in Paris)

Intrigen
1625 bahnte Rohan-Montbazon eine Liaison zwischen Anna und George Villiers, 1. Duke of Buckingham, an. 1626 waren sie und ihr Geliebter, Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord, der Graf von Chalais, in eine Verschwörung zur Ermordung Richelieus verwickelt, die der Kardinal aufdecken konnte. Chalais wurde hingerichtet, Marie nach Poitou verbannt. Sie zog sich an den lothringischen Hof zurück und gewann Herzog Karl IV. für Buckinghams anti-französische Koalition. 1628 durfte sie nach Frankreich zurückkehren.

1633 wurde sie nach Tours verbannt, weil sie angeblich ihren Liebhaber, den königlichen Siegelbewahrer Charles de L'Aubespine, Marquis de Châteauneuf, ausgehorcht und Staatsgeheimnisse an Spanien verraten hatte. 1637, Frankreich befand sich inzwischen im Krieg mit Spanien, entdeckte Richelieu, dass die Königin Anna mit ihrer Hilfe eine Korrespondenz mit ihren spanischen Verwandten unterhielt. Daraufhin floh die Herzogin nach Spanien. Diesmal konnte sie erst nach dem Tod von König und Kardinal nach Frankreich zurückkehren.

Ihr Verhältnis zur Königin zerbrach an deren Zuneigung zu Kardinal Mazarin, der sich so Maries Feindschaft zuzog. Sie beteiligte sich an der Cabale des Importants zur Ermordung Mazarins und wurde wieder verbannt. Zu Beginn der Fronde kehrte sie zurück und schloss sich der Partei des Fürsten von Condé, Louis II. de Bourbon, prince de Condé, an.

1652 versöhnte sie sich mit der Königin und zog sich endgültig von der politischen Bühne zurück.

Fortleben
Maries Affäre mit Chalais steht im Zentrum der Oper Maria di Rohan von Gaetano Donizetti (1843). Ihre Rolle in der Affäre zwischen Anna und Buckingham inspirierte Alexandre Dumas, der sie als geheimnisvolle Geliebte seiner Musketiere Aramis und Athos in Die drei Musketiere auftauchen ließ.

Literatur
 Dorothy De Brissac Campbell: The intriguing Duchess. Covici Friede Publishers, New York 1930.
 Michael Prawdin: Marie De Rohan Duchesse de Chevreuse. George Allen & Unwin, London 1971.
 Louis Batiffol: Marie von Rohan, Herzogin von Chevreuse, Ein Lebensbild der größten Intrigantin des 17. Jahrhunderts, 2. Auflage, Deutsche Übertragung von Else und Hermann Warlich, Verlag Julius Hoffmann, Stuttgart 1914.

Weblinks

Hofdame (Frankreich)
Marie
⚭Marie #RohanMontbazon
Franzose
Geboren 1600
Gestorben 1679
Frau


text:
Posts Tagged Taxi
The Undercover Soundtrack – JJ Marsh
'Broken atmospheres and clashes of sensation'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week's post is by editor, journalist and crime novelist JJ Marsh @JJMarsh1
Soundtrack by Octave One, Schubert, InGrid, Taxi, Biosphere, Photek, Jan Garbarek, Pedro Abrunhosa, Aphex Twin, Vaya con Dios
Music, along with artworks, act as ambient markers when I'm writing. I need silence to write, but return continually to certain images and tracks to remind me of my original intention. When I start a book, I know what mood I'm setting out to express. But while concentrating on the myriad elements of construction, the mood can get lost or forgotten. I also use music and art references to convey my concepts to the cover designer/artist. So these notes on music provide me with a trail to follow if I get lost.
Screenplay to novel
Octave One's Bout to Blow buzzed around my brain for a long time. I planned a screenplay – Cognoscenti – furious morality overlaid by cynical pragmatism. The Wire meets Wall Street. Turns out it wasn't a screenplay at all. It was Behind Closed Doors, my first European crime novel about corporate greed and rough justice.
I spent hours listening to Schubert while researching, and shared this fact with my paperback cover artist, James Lane. He used the second movement of Death and the Maiden to underscore the video he made of creating the oil painting.
Several characters in the book owe much to InGrid's Tu es foutu. But this track represents the voice of the character who doesn't have one.
Departures always a carry an emotional charge for me, and Taxi's Campari Soda, with all its sense of loss, longing, change and optimism is that missing chapter between 37 and 38.
Lost book
I can't find the book, but when I was a teen, I read a story about a child in the Scilly Isles seeing something she shouldn't. The first three minutes of Biosphere's The Things I Tell You triggered that memory and provoked the opening chapters of Raw Material. (If anyone can tell me the title of that book, I will send you a box of Kirschstengeli).
Broken atmospheres and clashes of sensations create an awkward, yet appealing kind of tension. There are two key plotlines in this book, and when returning to the subways of Finsbury Park, I listened to Photek's Hidden Camera to remind me of the tone of the predator: something unresolved, compulsive and endless.
In the final edits, I listened to the first three minutes of Jan Garberek's Twelve Moons, to harmonise the overall feeling. Garbarek can tell stories, and this one contains a certain damaged purity. It also led me to the final title.
Passion and tragedy
With Tread Softly I wanted to echo the atmosphere of Federico Garcia Lorca's plays. That combination of passion and tragedy and pride. Pedro Abrunhosa's Tudo o que eu te dou was my tonal base line. There's a painful tension in his voice, a love song as lament.
I had real problems nailing my villain. He needed to be cultured and sophisticated but capable of the worst cruelty. Then I heard Tree, by Aphex Twin. The scariest kind of psychopathy. Insanity on a leash. Enter Arturo de Aguirre.
One of the subplots contains an inevitable emotional car crash. A half-remembered song expressed that sense of time running out, so I spent ages trying to find it. When I did, it was so perfect, it gave me the shivers. Vaya Con Dios – Heading for a Fall. And I fell in love with Dani Klein's voice all over again
Jill grew up in Wales, Africa and the Middle East, where her curiosity for culture took root and triggered an urge to write. She has worked as an actor, teacher, director, editor, journalist and cultural trainer all over Europe. Now based in Switzerland, Jill is a founder member of author collective Triskele Books, part of the Nuance Words project and a regular columnist for Words with JAM magazine. She lives with her husband and three dogs, and in an attic overlooking a cemetery, she writes. Her novels are Behind Closed Doors, Raw Material and Tread Softly. Find Jill's detective character Beatrice Stubbs on Facebook, or find Jill's Amazon page, or connect with her on Twitter @JJmarsh1.
GIVEAWAY You could win a copy of one of Jill's novels if you comment here – extra entries if you tweet or otherwise share the post. Don't forget to let me know if you have shared on other networks and how many there are. AND don't forget those Kirschstengeli. That book is in somebody's reading backlist somewhere…
Aphex Twin, authors, Beatrice Stubbs, Behind Closed Doors, Biosphere, contemporary fiction, crime, crime fiction, crime writers, Desert Island Discs, drama, entertainment, Europe, Federico Garcia Lorca, InGrid, Jan Garbarek, JJ Marsh, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, Octave One, Pedro Abrunhosa, Photek, playlist for writers, Raw Material, Roz Morris, Schubert, Taxi, The Undercover Soundtrack, Tread Softly, Triskele Books, undercover soundtrack, Vaya con Dios, Women Writers, Words with JAM, writers, writing, writing to music


Some special things, including women, come with a very rare quality of their own.
They have the ability to put up an innocent face yet possess complex machinery running inside their interior.
Complex Simplicity. That's how I call it.
And an analogy, a metaphor or a simile pretty much falls into the same category. They are simple to get your head around but when it comes to actually use them in action—I mean, in marketing copywriting, they are not very easy to apply.
Where do you use an analogy?
Should you even put a simile there?
Is a metaphor more useful than an analogy?
Frankly speaking, I couldn't find much data on this question.
What Is An Analogy, A Simile Or A Metaphor?
Analogy and metaphor are both figures of speech in which reference is made to one thing in order to convey another.
An analogy most often involves reference to something familiar or readily understood, in order to illustrate and explain something more complex and less readily understood. The word comes from the classical Latin analogia, meaning ratio or proportion. Thus an analogy essentially possesses the same properties and characteristics as the more complex thing it's being used to represent, but in a simplified, scaled-down manner that's easier to grasp (the "thing" in question can be factual and exist physically, or be figurative and conceptual). Thus, to explain the way in which modern English has evolved, I might use the analogy of a river in which individual tributaries (representing Celtic, Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Norman French and later influences) flow into a wider stream in which their waters combine. By giving you that picture, I'm helping you to get a clearer understanding via a physical representation—in principle, at least—of a rather more complex and non-physical reality.
To a certain extent, a metaphor works the other way around. The word comes via Old and Middle French from the classical Latin metaphora, which derives in turn from an ancient Greek word meaning to bear or carry. Thus a metaphor—a descriptive word or phrase used in place of another to which it bears no literal relationship—is intended to "carry" or "bear" the meaning of the word(s) it's replacing in a manner that's generally more vivid and memorable than the original. One scientific study found that comprehension of metaphors is perceptually grounded. Unlike analogy, which involves a measure of deliberation and evaluation (in order to think of a good one), metaphor tends to be a more spontaneous process which we employ all the time in everyday conversation—let alone more structured rhetoric. While formally constructed examples may be complex in the extreme, it's been estimated we use a simple metaphor, from "devouring" a book or "killing" for a beer to "partying" with friends or being "hooked" on Quora, up to six times a minute.
Ah, what lines by the Bard of Avon! By the way, this is an extended simile.
Now that we have figured out what these 3 figures of speeches are, let's answer the most important question.
How Should You Use Them In Copywriting?
I am going to disappoint you now.
I will not be able to give you any specific answer to this question.
But I can provide you with some pointers that I use myself.
When To Use Simile In Copywriting?
Similes are not very powerful in nature, at least in copywriting. They can become impactful ONLY when present in the right context.
Still, it's hard to bring about—creating the context where a simile brings forth profound meaning along with it.
Rather, use it only when you are using it for humour. Or you are just casually making a simple point.
One thing to note: When it comes to storytelling in copywriting, similes can be very useful.
"As daft as a brush".
When To Use Metaphors In Copywriting?
Most great orators and writers master the art of using metaphors in their public speeches and writings.
Its incredible power lies in its "complex simplicity". Not only do metaphors present a wealth of meaning in just a couple of words, but metaphors entwine the human senses, our perception, in such a manner as to make it deeply palatable.
People often associate metaphor with poetry, literature, and art, but we all use metaphor in our day-to-day conversation, often without realizing it. Because they are so effective at instantly communicating both tangible and conceptual information, metaphorical expressions are woven throughout the fabric of the English language.
While metaphors are pervasive in our everyday discourse, the strategic use of metaphorical expression can be one of the most persuasive techniques in your linguistic toolbox. Simply altering a single word, phrase, or story can make the difference between the success and failure of and an argument or presentation.
Humans, psychologically speaking — the emotional fools as we are — react strongly to emotions. The power of a metaphor lies in its ability to ignite the emotional part (right side) of our brain before it activates the rational part (left side) of it.
Think about it. A picture says a thousand words. Yes, it really does. Remember when you see your ex's photos? That sudden rush of emotions inside your heart? You don't even need any words at that moment. Sometimes, words are not enough.
That's exactly why you need metaphors.
When To Use Analogy In Copywriting?
Analogies add colour to the picture you're trying to sketch for your readers.
Not much different than metaphors, right?
Metaphors are a lot more subtle and powerful than analogies IMO. Metaphors are done when you don't even know realize that it's a metaphor. It flows along with the text, along with the context.
However, analogies are straight in the face and they make you think. Or, let's say, they make you feel. If I am trying to make a point that needs explanation, I would use an analogy. If I am just trying to invoke a certain inside my reader and it just needs to be in one line, perhaps, I would use a metaphor.
Analogy…metaphor…simile…and how to use them in your copywriting piece to your advantage.
However, I will still say that it varies according to personal opinion.
As a writer, always go by your "writer guts" and do what feels right to you.


Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett stomps his feet after making a big third down stop.
Grady Jarrett was used to rejection.
He had been told "no" more than most in a short lifetime, been overlooked at every level, learned to fend for himself. And yet, his slip in the 2015 NFL draft was still a shock.
Jarrett didn't listen. No, this time was going to be different, he thought.
After a draft-night fire reduced his home to ash, his career path in fumes, Jarrett's soul burned with the rage of hellfire.


There are over 46,501 other rvs for sale on RVUSA.com that might be perfect for you! Check out some of the units below that are similar to the 2019 K-Z Connect PLATINUM New Travel Trailer , or start a new rv search below.
Check out Stock # 89501 - 2019 K-Z Connect PLATINUM on kzrvsource.com!


Ratio analysis is a quantitative analysis of financial information that converts quantities into ratios in order to allow businesses to make meaningful comparisons between their own successes and that of the competition. These calculation are also useful for business owners looking for private business loans. Ratio analysis can help business owners and financial managers evaluate various aspects of a company's financial performance. There are several types of ratios used in ratio analysis, and each one has a specific purpose. To learn more about the most common types of ratios used for this financial evaluation, see our list below.
Cash ratios, also referred to as cash coverage ratios, are also used in ratio analyses for business. These ratios are used to measure a business's ability to pay off current liabilities solely with cash and liquid assets that are equivalent to cash. The cash ratio is useful, as it is one that many creditors use to determine eligibility. It is more restrictive than the traditional current ratio or quick ratio. That is why this is a must-know for any business owner.
Liquidity ratios focus on a company's ability to pay its short-term debts. The current ratio and the quick ratio are the two most commonly used forms. The quick ratio, also known as the acid test, analyzes how much money is available in the nearest term to pay back obligations immediately, while the current ratio is calculated by dividing a company's current assets by its current liabilities. The process of using these ratios is much simpler than job costing, thankfully. These types of ratios are essential for understanding the overall financial health of an organization.
Performance ratios, as you can probably guess, provide a means for measuring the overall performance of a company. These calculations include a book value per common share ratio, cash return on assets ratio, vertical analysis ratio, dividend payout ratio, earnings per share ratio, gross profit margin ratio, price/earnings ratio and more. These calculations are arguably the most comprehensive and thus the most crucial for any business to become familiar with.
Profitability ratios, as the name suggests, are ratios that measure how well a company is profiting from a variety of outlets. This can include efficiency in generating sales, total assets and stockholder's investments. Some of the ratios included under this umbrella term are the gross profit margin ratio, the return on equity ratio and the return on total assets ratio. Understanding these figures will help to improve any cash flow problems your business may be experiencing.
Debt-equity ratios are calculated by adding outstanding debt, both long and short-term, and dividing it by the book value of shareholder's equity. This is also known as external to internal equity ratio. It compares outsider's funds to shareholder's funds.
Efficiency ratios measures how well a firm uses its assets to produce sales. These types of ratios include the asset efficiency ratio, inventory turnover ratio, receivables turnover ratio and fixed asset turnover ratio. The efficiency ratios are particularly useful as they can help provide a dynamic view of the management and success of an organization, just as margin equity helps identify lucrative investment opportunities.
Market value ratios are calculated for publicly traded companies in relation to stock price. They show the value that has been created for shareholders. Furthermore, this includes a price/earnings ratio, a market to book ratio and a dividend payout ratio. This type of ratio helps to determine if a company's share is over-priced or under-priced.
Proprietary ratios are used to evaluate the soundness of the capital structure of a company. This means that this ratio can evaluate the amount of capital that is being used to support a business. It is also known as an equity ratio because it analyzes the shareholder's equity over the total amount of a business' assets. These Excel database functions are a good indicator of an organization's financial stability.
Ratio analysis is a technical term for comparing a series of calculations in order to determine a company's financial standing. These six ratios are the most common types that can be found in ratio analysis. It is important to know these basic ratios when evaluating your business funds, regardless of whether you own a Toronto business or one in Australia.


Petra looking at the waterfall.
Me at the Creation Museum with Petra in the background.
Sorry this one is red, but I liked it.
I liked how you can see the blood on this one, you couldn't regularly.
Should I use this one for the header instead?
The path leading to our house, through the grass.


text:
Friendship September 27, 2022 10:00 am
What's better than a book about a band that welcomes a new member? A sequel about working out the challenges of growing and changing friendships! We interviewed author and illustrator Chloe Douglass about her new book, Better Together, the follow-up to Band Together. Here's what she had to say: APA: After writing Band Together, why did you decide to write this story about the members of the Band? Cover idea Cover idea Chloe Douglass: I was interested to see what would happen to the band after Duck joined and they welcomed a new friend to the group and how that might change the dynamics within the band. I think we've all experienced this at some point. APA: You explore some really powerful feelings with Seagull. She feels envy, ignored, pushed aside, sad, angry, lonely, and jealous. Why do you think it's important for kids to explore these feelings? CD: They're powerful feelings, and it's ok to feel all of them and see how they might affect your own and others. I hope the book can be a starting point for conversations about an experience readers might have with these emotions, or help them be better able to put themselves in other people's shoes. They're all feelings a reader is bound to experience sooner or later, like someone new at school joining your friendship group, or you're the new person. Either way, I hope the book can help discussions from both viewpoints. Seagull boils over APA: You describe how Seagull's body felt when the band played Duck's song instead of hers: "Seagull's insides began to flutter, then rumbled, and finally boiled over." Why was it important to include a description of how Seagull's body reacted to big emotions? CD: Feelings can manifest in so many ways, and that includes physical sensations. Again, it could be a conversation starter, learning to recognize how certain situations or things make us feel before you might lose your temper, or get control on rising anxiety before it takes over. APA: Some readers might find they have more in common with Bear, Duck, and Fox. How did they not notice how Seagull felt? Were they just not paying attention? Were they carried away with someone and something new? Were they taking Seagull for granted? CD: Absolutely this! We've all been there at some point. It's really exciting when someone new joins a group of friends, or a new baby becomes part of the family. But it can be easy to overlook those who might feel a bit left out, or those who don't want the status quo to change. It's not always intentional, from both sides, but when you realize that you've overlooked someone's feelings, you can make amends and be more aware going forward. Seagull's Song APA: Tell me about writing the songs in the story: Work It Out, Better Together (Birds of a Feather), and Super Duper
Better Together: Interview With the Author Eileen Hanning 2022-09-27T11:46:20-04:00
Celebrate Banned Books Week: READ!
Children's Books September 22, 2022 10:00 am
In recent months there has been a resurgence of book banning, especially books for children and teens that depict a diversity of experiences. Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. The theme for Banned Books Week is Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us. These Magination Press books have been challenged recently: Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP is included on the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2020. It was challenged for "divisive language" and because it was thought to promote anti-police views. Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. It includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues. Hear Something Happened in Our Town read aloud by the authors. This Day In June by Gayle E. Pitman, PhD was Named one of the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018 by American Library Association and is included in the American Library Association's"Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books of the Past Decade. In a wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBT community, This Day In June welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. Also included is a Reading Guide chock-full of facts about LGBT history and culture, as well as a Note to Parents and Caregivers with information on how to talk to children about sexual orientation and gender identity in age-appropriate ways. This Day In June is an excellent tool for teaching respect, acceptance, and understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart, PhD A positive tool for celebrating a wide range of human diversity and all kids of familial love. —Booklist A must-have primer for young readers and a great gift for pride events and throughout the year, beautiful colors all together make a rainbow in Rainbow: A First Book of Pride. This is a sweet ode to rainbow families, and an affirming display of a parent's love for their child and a child's love for their parents. With bright colors and joyful families, this book celebrates LGBTQ+ pride and reveals
Celebrate Banned Books Week: READ! Eileen Hanning 2022-09-17T19:50:51-04:00
KIDS!! Vote for Your Favorite Books!
GREAT NEWS! Three of our books are finalists in this year's KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS. The awards are organized by the Children's Book Council. The Kids' Book Choice Awards are the only national awards that are chosen by kids. Please, encourage your kids to vote for their favorite books in several categories. Voting will end November 13. VOTE HERE! Magination Press finalists by category are: For Favorite Book Cover: All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal With Climate Change, by Leslie Davenport, cover by Jessica Smith All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal With Climate Change is a timely, thoughtful book that will help young readers work through their feelings of anxiety about climate change. Through informative text and activities, the book gives children age-appropriate information about the climate crisis and gives them the tools they need to manage their anxiety and work toward making change. For Best Info Meets Graphic: Big Brain Book: How It Works and All Its Quirks, by Leanne Boucher Gill This is a fun primer on psychology and neuroscience that makes complex psychological phenomenon and neural mechanisms relatable to kids through illustrations, interesting factoids, and more. For Favorite World Changer: The Heroes from The Hero Handbook, by Matt Langdon Heroes take chances, do hard things, and sometimes even change the world. To become a hero, kids can surround themselves with supportive people, boost their self-esteem and self-awareness, find their passion, and have the courage make things happen. This book shows them how to be the hero of their own story and discover their own hero journey. What makes a hero? Activists, advocates, allies, and friends. Sometimes heroes are our parents, teachers, or siblings. The truth is, heroes are inside everyone, and kids can and discover their inner hero, too!
KIDS!! Vote for Your Favorite Books! Eileen Hanning 2022-09-17T19:15:30-04:00


Today we're going to look at the top trends as seen on the show runways for Spring 2017. There's nothing like having a notion in advance of what's going to be a top trend next season – often you can already adapt the current season to comply with up coming trends, a secret trick for achieving a sustainable wardrobe that won't already have dated by next season.
Creative director Anna Teurnell stayed close to the roots of this Finnish design house – famous for its clear bold Mary Quant type prints that were so popular in the 70's. Love the way she creates both florals and geometrics that still have a very clean and crisp look to them.
Note the shirt theme remaining, oversized tops and brightly coloured over the knee boots – fabulous!
Founded by a Dutch designer Esther Louise Dorhout Mees in 2010 – the show was simply exquisite demonstrating femininity and fun mixed in one. Note the sheer floating skirts – this trend is a winner – expect it to be seen on wedding dresses, ball gowns and any other fun occasion to think of.
Note the white sneakers making a statement all of their own.
Veronique Branquinho a Belgian born designer's show was a mixture of cotton lace and floral-print pleated skirts bringing a Victorian touch to the collection and then suddenly in the middle of the show simple hoodie appeared. The hoodie has featured throughout the Spring 2017 fashion week so it wasn't a surprise but mixing it together with 18th Century inspired designs certainly was.
In short – the trends are ruffles, pretty lace, high necklines, floaty dresses mixed with contemporary hoodie/pyjama inspired outfits.
Valentin Yudashkin is the most famous Russian designer with works displayed in various prestigious museums throughout the globe. His collections cover everything from bridal wear, pret-a-porter, accessories, right through to interior design. The Spring 2017 show was simply awesome – personally I could have taken the whole collection home.
To summarise the trends – we're talking contemporary creams, double breasted jackets, evening wear is featuring lovely see-through flowing fabrics – stunning!
A brand that was founded in Taipei in 1978 devoted to creating "Neo-Chinese Chic" to the world. This was the 3rd season I've seen their shows and I grow fonder of their collections each time. See the Fall/Winter 2016 show summary here.
Top trends are white, "matchy/matchy" – we may be moving away away from matching shoes and bags – but the trend is moving towards even more matching with tone in tone bags, outfits and in some cases shoes.
On that note I hope you enjoyed this summary of Paris Fashion Week Shows and Trends.
A huge thanks to ProFot.ch for lending me the Nikon 85 fix lense for Paris Fashion Week!
« 10 Black and White Pieces every Woman should Own!
Lots of sheer and pleats!
Yes – absolutely right…of course confirming previous pleat post about everyone needing a pleated skirt – smile.
Fab clothing of course .. and amazing photos! You need to give me some lessons, Chick! Thanks for sharing with Fun Fashion Friday! Have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Dawn, would love to do NY fashion week with you – wouldn't that be awesome!


The 2019 Lexus IS sedan comes in two models: IS300 and IS350, with several variations. The IS300 rear-wheel drive is the only model powered by a 2.0L twin-scroll turbocharged 4-cylinder, which produces 241 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It is mated to a Sport Direct-Shift 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. The IS300, when optioned with all-wheel drive, features a 3.5L V6 making 260 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and paddle shifters. Finally, IS350 variants benefit from an even more potent 3.5L V6 that delivers 311 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. Power is put to the rear wheels through the Sport Direct-Shift 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Both transmissions feature Sport, Normal and Eco modes and will match downshift revs when set in Sport mode.
All engines feature variable valve timing with intelligence (VVT-i) to help boost economy and efficiency. As a result, the IS300 RWD offers 32 mpg on the highway, the IS300 AWD returns an estimated 26 mpg on the highway, and the IS350 is rated at 28 mpg.
Suspension across the lineup is fully independent, courtesy of double wishbones up front and a multilink setup in the rear. The IS300 RWD and IS300 AWD ride on 17-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels, while the IS350 RWD sits on 18-inch alloys.
All IS sedans can also be given the F Sport treatment, which improves handling with unique 18-inch wheels, high-friction brakes, and aggressive suspension tuning. Exterior and interior design elements are also upgraded, including special instrumentation and F Sport heated front seats. IS350 rear-wheel drive models so-equipped feature a limited-slip differential. On IS300 all-wheel drive and IS350 F Sport models, the intake sound is more aggressive, which creates a more sporting engine note.
Other optional equipment on the IS lineup includes a navigation system, a backup monitor, power rear sunshade and intuitive park assist, which aids in parallel parking the IS. The Premium Package includes heated front seats, twin projector LED headlights and a backup camera. The Premium Plus Package includes power tilt and telescopic steering and rain-sensing intermittent wipers, while the Luxury Package boasts a blind spot monitor, special leather and wood trim, headlamp washers, a heated steering wheel, parking assist and more.
The Lexus IS continues into 2019 with relatively few changes, though Lexus has made small improvements inside and out. Revised ECU tuning brings a smoother power delivery to the IS300 this year, while shift quality has also been improved. In addition, Lexus have introduced an optional triple beam headlight that promises to light up the road even better than in years past. Lexus' Enform Remote system also includes Amazon Alexa and smart watch compatibility for this year.
The mid-size performance sedan segment is well-populated, and the Lexus IS sedan more than holds its own among the offerings from Infiniti, BMW and Cadillac. With an impressive set of powertrains, continual refinement and Lexus' unbeatable build quality, the IS remains undeniably appealing among driver's cars.


text:
Donat Fisch (* 16. März 1956 in Bern) ist ein Schweizer Jazzmusiker (Alt- und Tenorsaxophon, Komposition).

Leben und Wirken
Fisch wuchs in einem kunstinteressierten Elternhaus auf und wollte zunächst Naturforscher werden. Angeregt durch Freunde und den Besuch von Rockkonzerten, begann er autodidaktisch Gitarre zu spielen. 1978 entdeckte er den Jazz und begann, Gitarrenunterricht an der Swiss Jazz School zu nehmen. Unter dem Einfluss von Coltranes Album A Love Supreme wechselte er während des Biologiestudiums, das er 1983 mit einem Thema der Verhaltensforschung abschloss, zum Saxophon. 1986 absolvierte er die  Berufsschule der Swiss Jazz School bei Andy Scherrer und Sal Nistico.

Anfangs spielte er Straight Ahead Jazz; dann, schreibt er, "entdeckte ich die frei improvisierte Musik und arbeitete an ihren Berührungspunkten mit traditionellen Formen des Jazz und folkloristischer Musik  (John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman...)." 1989 gründete er die  Band Fisch im Trio mit dem Bassisten Thomas Dürst und Norbert Pfammatter, die 1993 mit Adrian Mears, 1994 mit Hans Koch und später mit Peter Schärli tourte. Zunehmend begann er sich für konzeptionelle und improvisierte Musik zu interessieren; er arbeitete in der Gruppe Klangarche mit dem Posaunisten Christophe Schweizer und zwei Schlagzeugern (Norbert Pfammatter und Christian Wolfarth) zusammen. 1997 gründete er das Trio Brilliant Corners mit Thomas Dürst  und Samuel Rohrer, das später um Philipp Schaufelberger verstärkt wurde. Seit 1998 trat er im Duo mit Christian Wolfarth auf, das bisher drei Alben veröffentlichte. Von 2008 bis 2019 gehörte Andy Scherrer zu seinem Quartett, das aus dem langlebigen Fisch im Trio entstand. Als Sideman war er in den Bands der Trompeter Peter Schärli und Martin Dahanukar sowie in Dominic Eglis Plurism und der Formation Der grosse Bär aktiv.

Diskographische Hinweise
 Fisch im Trio: Toys (TCB Records 1991)
 Donat Fisch Quartett Intervals and Melodies (Unit Records 1995, mit Hans Koch, Thomas Dürst, Norbert Pfammatter)
 Christian Wolfarth, Donat Fisch Circle and Line (Unit Records 1999)
 Donat Fisch, Christian Wolfarth: Circle & Line 2 (Leo Records 2009)
 Donat Fisch Quartett Lappland (Unit Records 2011, mit Andy Scherrer, Bänz Oester, Norbert Pfammatter)
 Donat Fisch, William Evans, Bänz Oester, Jorge Rossy, Andy Scherrer Schlitten (QFTF 2017)
 Donat Fisch Quartett Live am Jazzfestival Willisau 2011 (QFTF 2018)

Weblinks
 Webpräsenz (mit Autobiografie)
 Autobiografie (bis 2004)

Einzelnachweise

Jazz-Saxophonist
Komponist (Jazz)
Schweizer
Geboren 1956
Mann


What a breath of fresh air, an efficient and friendly company. Thank the team for me, I shall certainly be using you for my next venture!
Great service, was easy to set up, and the listing is sending visitors to my website. Thanks to Steve for the help setting up the listing!
Thank you very much, an impressive service so far.
Setting up our listing on My Local Services was simple, quick and really easy to do, and the customer service staff were friendly and very helpful. As a charity, we were kindly offered a premium listing for free, which is brilliant for us as it means we can reach more people without using valuable charity funds!
I have been advertising with My Local Services for some time now & have found it to be a fantastic way to market my business. The team of staff are amazingly helpful & friendly, offering me advice & assistance throughout.
My customers are able to leave feedback, which they love & I actively encourage.
The site is easy to use & update & because of the feedback, it tempts new customers to use my inn.
Incredible site, brilliant team & an invaluable advertising medium that I wholeheartedly recommend.


Apparently bakeries are the hot new trend right now. Despite the fact that there are now two coffee shops in town, both of which sell some baked goods (muffins, quiche, etc.), there recently opened the "Village Bakery" on Lincoln Ave. From what I understand, I think it's a new branch of a chain of two bakeries open in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.
It's a small place, kind of austere in its personality and presentation, but not cold... a few small tables and chairs are there to relax and nibble on your baked goods or sip a coffee (which they also sell), and it feels warm and inviting enough (certainly better than Starbucks, which I've always found extremely cold and uninviting).
They have the requisite display case of cupcakes, brownies, etc. as well as a back shelf for loaves of bread -- in other words, it's like a plainer, less-hyped version of Bouchon Bakery. Which is why it surprises me that the prices are a bit higher here. Whereas a standard-sized loaf of bread at Bouchon Bakery would be about $3.25, here at Village Bakery they are $4.25. I can't attest to the quality. but might try the "Sebastopol Sourdough" at some point.
Usually I pop in here when I'm hungry for a serious sweet-tooth/sugar-rush fix, because I go straight for the brownies with cream cheese frosting. These are dense, fudgy brownies with a serious layer of cream cheese frosting on top. The brownies aren't cheap -- $2.95 -- but they are pretty huge. It's like a whole meal (a whole meal of carbs and sugars). I'd actually prefer if they were cut in half and charged half the price. As it is, this one would be a good one to share with a friend. One drawback to the flavor is: I can't be sure, but the frosting tastes like the artificial, packaged variety... which is disappointing. I might be wrong, but it just doesn't taste like the real cream cheese frosting I am used to.
I've been looking forward to today for a little over a week now. Why? Because a week or two ago, as I was casually waiting on Lincoln for the VINE bus to arrive, I noticed some banners hanging outside of the Calistoga Inn and Brewery across the street.
Occasionally they hang signs outside for upcoming special events. They caught my eye this time because there was not one sign but three: Super Bowl Party, Valentine's Day Dinner, and Brewer's Dinner. As much as I like watching football, I wasn't super excited about the Super Bowl this year, and I generally don't like watching it in the pubs -- they always get too cramped, overcrowded, people get grumpy. So I usually just watch it at home (but I gave up TV years ago) or at a friend's house (but I also gave up friends years ago). Valentine's Day is a similar story -- I've done the whole "going out on a Valentine's dinner date" thing, and it's simply overrated. The romance level actually goes down because suddenly everything is stressful -- there is the stress of competing for a reservation, the stress of higher-than-normal prices, the stress of expectations for the evening. No, thank you -- I think I'll just stay in and cook a nice meal and spend some time with my significant other.
However, a "Brewer's Dinner" is not something you see every day. In fact, in 4 years living here I have never seen a sign for one. I checked it out on their website and liked what I saw: a 6-course meal in which each course was paired with a different one of their microbrews, for $50/person. I've done wine-pairing dinners, but never a beer-pairing one, so this was enticing and I made a reservation for two.
We arrived about 15 minutes early. but the restaurant doors were shut and locked. There were plenty of people hanging out in the bar area, but there were no signs or indications of where we were supposed to go for the dinner. About 5 minutes prior to scheduled dinner time, we went in through the bar entrance and scoped out the dining area to see what was going on. Nobody was there. Eventually we saw a waiter and asked him about the dinner. He looked confused and said "Oh, uh... I don't know. Let me see what is going on." He came back and said "Yeah, they aren't ready yet. You can wait in the bar area." So we went and sat down. We waited for about 10 minutes and didn't see anything happen, but that bar area sure got packed. We decided to walk around and see what was going on (and almost walked out, since it was stressful and nobody was telling us anything) -- then the waiter saw us and said "Oh, it actually starts in here."
He informed Brad Smisloff (brewmaster) who was standing right there having one of his brews, and we headed to the back where they had out tables with big bowls of homemade potato chips with gorgonzola (this was the first course). Unfortunately, it was already packed with people by now (good thing we showed up early, eh? It did no good when nobody could tell us what was going on) but we managed to squeeze to the corner table where they were pouring the first beer: their "Blintzen IPA" which was a strong India Pale Ale serving as their seasonal winter beer. To my surprise, they were pouring full glasses! I had come to this expecting small samplers/tastings of each beer, but that wasn't the case so far. The chips and beer were good, but the stress of figuring things out and people crammed together like sardines were not so enjoyable. We tucked ourselves into a corner away from everybody (but near the chips) and waited eagerly for seating to begin.
The way it worked is that they had this first-course appetizer mingler in the bar, then they had assigned seating for everybody in the restaurant area. Thankfully our table was one of the first and most easily accessible in the room. Unfortunately, it was communal. I can't say I'm entirely surprised; I had assumed they might do something like this. Personally, I was happier to be sharing a table with two other people than to be sitting at the long communal one of about 20 people where most people were seated.
The rest of the evening went pretty much as I'd expected, with Brad Smisloff coming out and giving a little speech about each course and the choice of beer to go with it, some info about the beer and why it was chosen. The one thing that did surprise me was just how much food and beer came out. It was a complete feast! They poured probably 8 ounces with each serving -- totaling probably about 48 ounces of beer over the course of the evening. I also didn't realize that is that this was their first Brewer's Dinner they'd ever held (I suppose this might explain the confusion and lack of guidance)! However, he did say they've wanted to do this for a while and they plan to make it a regular thing... so if anybody out there is reading this and likes beer, keep on the lookout for that! He said they plan to do it quarterly (I guess one each season). Heck, I might go to several of them if the menu and beers are changing.
Homemade gorgonzola potato chips, Blintzen IPA. Good pairing, chips were good, maybe could have used more evenly-dispersed cheese.
Cheese soup made with pilsner, paired with pilsner. Interesting soup... sort of thin, more like a bisque. I can understand why the pilsner was put in the soup, but I feel like a stronger-flavored beer (maybe red ale) would have been a better pairing.
A cured salmon salad, containing spring greens, cured salmon, and grapefruit pieces. Paired with wheat ale/hefeweizen. Great pairing... very light and tangy, the hefeweizen was a nice choice to go with the zest of the salad, and the salmon was fresh, delicious, and plentiful.
Porter-braised short ribs and bacon-sauteed brussels sprouts, paired with porter. A nice pairing, the strong flavor of the porter held up to the strong flavor of meat and brussels sprouts. But boy was this rich and hearty and filling!
A cheese sampler of Humboldt Fog soft goat cheese, Sonoma Dry Jack, and a pungent, sweet blue cheese (whose name I don't remember) -- paired with 3 small servings of beer: a red ale, a "Purple Haze" blackberry-infused ale, and an oak-barreled peach kolsch, which was the most interesting of the three, though they were all good.
A rich, moist, dark chocolate cake drizzled with brewer's wort for dessert. The malty, caramelized flavor of the wort (like a sweet, delicious version of vegemite) was a delicious combo with the rich chocolate flavor, and the slightly-bitter, hoppy but still syrupy and sweet barley wine made a good pairing as well.
Brad said they've had this idea for quite a while and it just took this long to finally make it happen, but they now plan to do one every few months (quarterly -- basically, once per season.) I think it's a great idea, and I'll definitely be back -- especially if the prices and quality stay the same, and even more enticing if they mix up the menu each time.
January was Restaurant Month in Napa... Who Knew?
I overheard a coworker today talking about plans to try out some restaurants for Restaurant Week in Sonoma (she lives in Santa Rosa).
I thought about it and got to wondering: is there a restaurant week here in Napa?
I looked it up online and, sure enough, there is not only a restaurant week but an entire restaurant month, with various specials and discounts at a variety of restaurants. Unfortunately, I just missed it! Why am I always finding out about these things right after it does me any good??
Anyway, click here if you want to know more about what Restaurant Month entailed this year, up and down the valley.
I'm exhausted and this is another one of those all-work, no-play days. Left for work at 6:10 am, got home at 6:10 pm. Needless to say, there won't be anything too exciting for me to talk about today.
Anyway, I really am clueless, so I decided to start going online and finding various tourism websites and listings of activities and events. It's actually not so easy to find out what is going on around here! How do people do it?? I imagine a lot of tourists might get info from hotels when they are calling and making reservations, or from the concierge once they arrive (ie. stumbling upon them by accident), but it would be nice if there were some sort of mailing list(s) or RSS feeds or something that would send auto-updates of special events. Unfortunately, the web designs of a lot of the local websites in the Valley are pretty rinky-dink. I mean, the wineries sure shell out money to get top-notch web design (because, let's face it, the Napa "brand" is 50% glitz and hype and marketing), so why can't the B&B's and city chambers of commerce and tourist bureaus do the same?
Anyway, I've started searching around for websites I can frequent in order to see the 411 for the Valley, so I'll share the ones I know about right here... if anybody knows other good sources or feeds for information, please share!
Of course, anybody who is a fan of the NFL -- or a fan of slap-stick advertising, or a fan of excuses to sit around with friends drinking beer and eating junk food -- will be centering today around the Super Bowl.
Any people who are not fans of the above but are fans of wine should probably be in Napa Valley today... where we have reached record-breaking high temperatures this weekend! It was 80 degrees yesterday and slated to be that warm again today!
P.S. I'm kind of disappointed that the Packers and the Steelers (only two of the winningest teams in NFL history) are in the big game today. I have normally been a big fan of the Steelers, but I had to root against them when Arizona was playing, and I'm going to have to root against them again today. Maybe I'm not such a big fan of the Steelersd anymore?
While sheets of ice are attacking people in Dallas, a heat wave has been brewing here in California. Napa reached record high temperatures today -- 80 degrees! (in the middle of winter!) With weather like this, I just had to go out, drop the top on my convertible, and explore one area I had been curious about: Soda Canyon/Atlas Peak.
I drive past the Soda Canyon Deli and General Store every time I commute up and down Silverado Trail, and I've sometimes seen Soda Canyon Road and wondered what's up there... but then I never wander up to see. Meanwhile, I've been seeing more and more local wines tagged with the "Atlas Peak" AVA label (of local mountain regions in Napa, the three you are likely to see are Mt. Veeder, Atlas Peak, and Howell Mountain. For a long time I couldn't keep the different locations straight, but I finally understand where they are -- they sort of form an equilateral triangle surrounding Napa Valley, with Mt. Veeder to the west, Howell Mountain to the north/northeast, and Atlas Peak to the east.) However, my interest came to a head when we recently saw a listing for a nice and reasonably-priced (by Napa standards) home, a 2000-square-foot, 2.7 acre beauty tucked up on a hillside overlooking the rugged hills, with a pricetag of $479k (it had started at over $700k but dropped steadily over the course of a few hundred days, until finally somebody bought it at this price). This is still out of our price range and a little more out of the way than we'd like a home to be, but we were curious what kind of area and home you can get for that price, so today we decided to find out.
As soon as you turn onto Soda Canyon Rd., you are entering another world. You slowly but surely start ascending a very gradual (at first) climb into the mountains -- more tranquil and not as winding as the roads toward Mt. Veeder or Lake Berryessa, but just as primitive and otherworldly. The place is rugged and almost prehistoric looking; pale green lichens and Spanish moss cling to gnarled trees and jagged outcroppings of gray rocks. Combine this with the relative silence, lack of traffic, and relative paucity of buildings and vineyards and you have a feeling you are in the Land of the Lost.
Soda Canyon Rd. is one of two roads that wind their way into the 11,000-acre Atlas Peak appellation (designated in the 1990s), with Atlas Peak Rd. being the other road and Atlas Peak being the highest point at 2,663 ft above sea level. The roads are not connected and both eventually dead-end high up in the hills.
The reason you would explore back here would probably be to enjoy the cruise itself -- ideally in a convertible or a motorcycle on a nice day like today. However, there are several vineyards and some wineries tucked back here, although some are closed to the public and the rest require you to call ahead for tasting appointments because this place does not get the drive-by casual traffic of Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail.
Hopping off the southbound 10 bus in Yountville has always proven to be a pleasant experience so far (it certainly helps that I don't have to pay the >$200/night it costs to stay here as a visitor!), so I decided to do it again.
I had been to Bouchon Bistro -- the local (and now interstate chain) restaurant of local celeb chef Thomas Keller (of the Michelin-rated French Laundry just up the street)... and let me tell you, I was less than impressed. I actually felt bad that this was the restaurant I took my parents to in their first visit to Napa Valley, but I didn't know any better at the time. The food was overpriced, way oversalted, and not memorable; the space was loud and cramped and the servers were impersonal and embittered. My mother's "trumpet mushroom salad" had one (yes, one) microscopic sliver of mushroom. How does that make a mushroom salad??
However, I had never stopped into the popular Bouchon Bakery next door to the restaurant. I had seen some of their (pricey but tasty-looking) baked goods in Las Vegas -- which is also home to a Bouchon Bistro -- but I was craving some good bread today and figured, why not from here?
It was doing a brisk business... not packed, but there was a line. I'm sure the 70-something-and-sunny weather we've been having didn't hurt. The bakery is small, with a variety of tempting-looking baked goods; my eye was first drawn to the colorful macarons, but quickly distracted by the nearby bread pudding cups (I love bread pudding), but I ended up getting a pistachio and citrus brioche. Which was good, but perhaps a little stale from sitting out for a while. Should've gone with the moist and glistening bread pudding. These items (the specialty baked snacks) are all about $3 each.
I still had time left before the next bus arrived, so I wandered across the street to check out the "V Marketplace" which I had never seen. This place is a strange duck. You walk inside, and it's an eclectic (and sparsely populated) shopping mall of sorts, done up in a pseudo-villa style. The shops seem nearly unanimous in their decision to appeal to older wome. Some have names like "Sisters, the Ultimate Girly-Girl Boutique" and "i*elle" and "Tay & Grace: Playclothes for Women"; others are art galleries featuring plenty of colorful, flower-and-vine-filled rustic scenes.
I explored the whole place but so few people were there that I didn't want to wander into any shops for fear that the shopkeeps would either swoop on me like vampires or sigh in disappointment that I'm not a wealthy menopausal lady.
Time was about up for my hour in town... I went to the bus stop (right outside the V Marketplace) and sure enough the next southbound 10 arrived within about 5 minutes.
There are several varietals being offered at the tasting room, with the whites being sauvignon blanc and chardonnay and the reds being mostly cabernet sauvignon but also some merlot, zinfandel, and blends. Tasting policy is $15 with $5 refunded for each bottle purchased.
It can be a daunting task to get through a tasting of these -- especially if you are like me, not picky about varietals but simply curious to try them all because you never know which will yield an interesting, exemplary wine. There were a total of 11 wines for tasting on the counter! The good news is that I was riding the bus (not driving), and had no other tastings that day, so I decided to try most of them -- I skipped the Solovino crisp chardonnay and opted instead for trying the fuller-bodied Ochoa chardonnays.
Luis Ochoa was there and when he heard my discussion with the server that I am a computer teacher, he eagerly asked if perhaps I could help him learn some computer stuff and he could pay me with wine. Not sure how much time I have for that right now, but I do like teaching people and he seems like a pretty cool, friendly guy; I may have to consider the offer.
The wines (by both wineries) are small-production and there is a lot of variety here under one roof -- even with grapes sourced from the same vineyards, there are vast differences between winemakers and vintages. Of the reds, my favorite was the zinfandel because it had a rich, typical zin flavor (ripe, dark berry fruit and a tiny bit of peppery earth), but my favorite overall was Ochoa's 2003 chardonnay... of which he seemed to be a fan himself, considering it was the one he decided to pour a small glass and partake of. The pourer told me it was their best-selling wine, and I have to say I really enjoyed it for its unique flavor -- it has some of the full, rich fruit so prominent in California chardonnay, but the first hit on the tongue was not fruit but rather rich, mellow, spicy sweetness, like butter toffee, or cinnamon caramel, or granny smith apples and dulce de leche. Overall I feel like the experience is something like drinking a glass of not-overly-sweet apple pie.
After trying the Vino de Casa red blend wine at Bistro Sabor last night -- and thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected -- I wanted to hit up the Ceja Vineyards tasting room as soon as possible and see what their other offerings are like.
She was under the weather, but I was on a mission. So I ended up at the tasting room, but I really felt she should be there with me in case I found some I liked and wanted to know if they would be worth purchasing. The tasting fee is $10 (refundable with pruchase of $100 or more) and no Napa Neighbors discount*, so we would probably just share a tasting like we usually do.
The tasting room is nicely decorated and lit -- as most of them are. People here know marketing and aesthetics are a huge factor. In addition to tastings, they also run as a lounge/wine bar where you can order wines by the glass. Surprisingly, they are even more expensive per glass here than they are at Bistro Sabor! (the Vino de Casa red is $9/glass and the pinot is $12) However, they might pour bigger servings... the Bistro Sabor pour seemed pretty skimpy (maybe 4 ounces?) You can also buy wine by the bottle and drink it there (same prices as Bistro Sabor in this case), but it's a much better deal to simply buy the wine at retail (which they also offer) and take it somewhere else to drink.
This is exactly what I decided to do, getting a bottle of the Vino de Casa Red ($20. they also have a white blend which I have not yet tried) and bringing it home to have with dinner. The pourer also gave me a two-for-one tasting card for when we decide to visit and taste.
Our fridge was empty and we've been sort of shelling out the cash lately, so not to break the bank I picked up some good old-fashioned American unhealthy fast food.
Vino de Casa red -- which is 40% pinot noir, 40% syrah, and 20% cabernet sauvignon -- pairs surprisingly well with Wendy's** double-stacks and junior bacon cheeseburgers!
* Actually, come to think of it, they were listed on the Napa Neighbors website as having 10% off wine purchases for locals... but I didn't get my 10% off and didn't think about it at the time.
** There are better burgers in the area, notably the classic California chain "In-N-Out" and the iconic Napa Valley establishment "Gott's Roadside", located in the Oxbow Market and originally known as "Taylor's Refresher" with its flagship location being in St. Helena. But these are both more expensive and a little more time-consuming, so Wendy's did the trick just fine for this time.
I had planned to take advantage of a local happy hour today -- specifically, happy hour at Bounty Hunter wines and BBQ in downtown Napa. The cool, rainy weekend really weather for some reason really put me in the mood for some barbecue, so we were thinking of Bounty Hunter but when we looked up their website, we saw that they have some happy hour specials during the week, so we decided to postpone it and give the Red Rock Cafe / Back Door BBQ a try instead.
We showed up at 5:30, plenty of time to spare before happy hour ended (at 6:00). I had planned to take a seat at the bar like last time, but unlike last time (in which the bar was practically empty), today was crazy! Every seat at the bar was taken... on a Tuesday? What is up with this? I thought. We sat ourselves at one of the small tables, and were promptly ignored for 10 minutes. Eventually we talked to a hostess girl (who had not been there when we arrived) and she brought us some menus -- hmmm... no happy hour menus or mention of happy hour anywhere. I was pretty confused. Last time the happy hour menus were just sitting out. So we went and specifically asked her if there were happy hour specials; at that point, she said there were and gave us the menus. Wow, these folks will do anything to make you pay more money, huh? If you really don't want to give people a deal, why even bother having a happy hour? There's no law that says you have to.
After about 10 minutes, she came back and asked if we had been served; when we said no, she said she'd look into it. Nobody ever showed up, but we saw 2 people leave the bar and we decided to shift our location to where we might actually get service, at the bar. We sat down and were promptly ignored for another 10 minutes. Sarah said "This is ridiculous, I'm really about ready to leave", which we were about to do when finally the bartender (an unpolished woman by the name of "Patty") asked what she could get for us. We ordered a Tail Waggin' Amber, Old Magnolia Stout, and an order of calamari -- we had already talked it over and decided we wanted our main meal to be at the new downtown Latin/fusion taqueria called Bistro Sabor.
She quickly poured our beers for us and sloppily set them in front of us (to the point mine was a wet, sticky mess -- and with no napkins provided or in sight. I found one at one of the tables and used it to mop up my beer.) Eventually the calamari arrived and was actually pretty good -- nicely battered and tender and juicy -- but still no napkins or silverware. Meanwhile, Patty was pouring drinks left and right; it turns out, the reason they were being run ragged is because today happened to be the day they were holding a "BBQ Rib Cookoff" in their outdoor seating area, and already there were tons of people who are just the type for Downtown Joe's. If you are an Ed Hardy-wearing West Coast Choppers fan, this might be the place for you. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jesse James and one of his mistresses here. Then again, you won't get service unless you are one of the "regulars", with a name or nickname like Dusty or Smoky or Slim. Although this is not my type of people, I don't have anything against this particular subculture -- until they pull an exclusivist attitude like this and frown upon people who actually have class.
After our beers and snack, we headed west on First St. to Bistro Sabor, a corner taqueria with a twist. This is a newish establishment opened by Ariel Ceja, son of Amelia Ceja who is the owner of Ceja Vineyards winery. I had never tried Ceja's wines, but had heard of them, and had heard that the food at Bistro Sabor was pretty good.
We walked inside and looked around, trying to figure out how it worked -- looked like a typical order-at-the-counter-then-wait-at-a-table setup (with numbers marking where the order should be delivered), which has always made a lot of sense if you ask me. We perused the white board menu and a slender, hiply-dressed young Hispanic man came over and started talking to us, explaining the menu and how things worked. He was very friendly, eager and energetic, so I could only presume this was the owner (Ariel)... and I was right.
The wine was actually quite good -- very smooth and balanced, not sure what was in it but I definitely picked up on a pinot noir flavor which seems rare for red table wine blends, but it definitely had some richer grapes in there as well... seemed like syrah, but maybe merlot? cabernet? This is a very quaffable wine, though, and we polished it off quickly. The food was good, nothing to complain about -- the prices are a little higher than average; you can get similarly-good food at local taco trucks and taquerias for a little bit lower price... but not a whole lot less, and you can't get interesting fusions of flavors like the Asian-braised short ribs. Ariel was very attentive, checking to see how we liked the food and wine and also offering to bring us an extra glass of water when we needed it (even though the setup is self-serve). I found it refreshing to see a business owner recognize the value of being present and being hands-on, actually putting plenty of his own energy and labor and pride into his restaurant. You don't always find that everywhere.
Possibly the main selling point -- and the main reason I would return to Bistro Sabor -- is the fact that Ariel has recognized the need for a legitimate "night spot" in Napa; Bistro Sabor is open until midnight on weekdays and until 2 am on weekends, and they even move the tables and chairs aside to turn it into a little salsa-dancing club on Saturdays.


Magnetic Porcelain Platinum Pure White™ dry erase surface is ghost- and scratch-resistant.
Lustrous laminate finish with contemporary door pulls.
Brushed nickel door pulls add a touch of elegance.
The 3-in-1 conference cabinet is a perfect all-in-one solution for office or conference room spaces. The bulletin board features a magnetic porcelain surface that resists scratching and ghosting and is suitable for extensive use. The large door features a easy no-pinch fully adjustable easel pad retainer. The retractable matte projection screen is perfect for presenting your PowerPoint presentations or slides. The cabinet's laminate surface cleans easily and withstands years of use. The contemporary matte handles make this a striking addition to any decor. Board Type: Magnetic Dry Erase; Board Width: 48"; Board Height: 48"; Board Depth: 5".


text:
Home > News > Data & Research > TIAA Measures Steady Retirement Satisfaction
Data & Research April 12, 2016
TIAA Measures Steady Retirement Satisfaction
Reviewing more than 30 years of consistent data on the experiences of U.S. retirees, TIAA finds satisfaction has stayed "strong and steady" in recent decades.
A new study from TIAA reveals "nearly universal satisfaction in retirement," at 93%, among its retired plan participant client base.
It is to be expected that those with access to workplace retirement accounts and long-term relationships with one or more financial services providers are likelier to feel well-prepared, and thus happier, in retirement. But TIAA says the 93% figure is impressive even in this context, especially given the changes that have taken place in the U.S. retirement system over the past 30 years, hoisting more responsibility for saving and investing onto the back of individuals.
"Satisfaction levels are virtually unchanged from when TIAA (then TIAA-CREF) conducted its landmark Voices of Experience study," explains Roger Ferguson, Jr., president and CEO at TIAA. Like the original 1982 study, in which more than 1,500 TIAA annuitants answered questions about a variety of retirement issues, the 2016 follow-up survey of more than 1,500 retired plan participants measures the evolving attitudes retirees hold pertaining to life after work, "providing insights into all facets of retired life and the steps taken to prepare."
"It's remarkable that even with all the changes our country has experienced in the past 30 years—the increase in health care costs, the predominance of technology, the overwhelming amount of often-conflicting information—nearly all of the retirees we surveyed feel satisfied with their life in retirement," Ferguson says. "It's a vastly different world today than 1982, but our findings show that a happy, fulfilling retirement is still attainable."
In fact, the "intensity of satisfaction" among TIAA retirees has actually increased, the firm says, with 65% of today's retirees saying they are very satisfied with retirement, up from 51% in 1982.
NEXT: Earlier retirements
TIAA's 2016 survey results reflect another trend first identified in 1982, increasingly early retirements. In 1982, 39% of TIAA plan participants retired before age 65. Among the retirees surveyed in 2016, more than half (54%) retired before age 65, and many individuals are retiring ahead of their own schedule, as 71% of today's retirees say they had expected to work until age 65 or older, but only 47% did.
Survey respondents also are more optimistic than pessimistic toward the prospect of retiring. Three-quarters of today's retirees said they had looked forward to retirement. "This could be due in part to the fact that the majority are retiring on their own terms," TIAA explains. In the 2016 data, 76% of those surveyed report that they retired by choice, an increase from 67% in 1982.
"What's especially interesting about the 2016 Voices of Experience study is that it contradicts today's common narrative about retirement and shows that many more retirees approached retirement with excitement and optimism than apprehension," Ferguson explains. "The study reinforces what we have known for years—that our participants can benefit from outcome-oriented retirement plans that help them feel secure about their retirement lifestyle."
In terms of what makes retirement fulfilling, the same truths appear to hold in 2016 as in the early 1980s: "Staying busy and engaged during retirement is key to these feelings of contentment." Seventy-six percent of today's retirees who are engaged in 10 or more activities report being very satisfied with their retirement, while only 52% of those who are engaged in only one or a handful of regular activities say the same.
"Seventy-four percent are using their time in retirement to connect with and spend time with family, and 64% socialize with friends on a regular basis," the survey finds. "More than half engage in other hobbies like gardening or home improvement (56%) and/or travel (51%)."
Concluding the report, TIAA highlights once again that getting an early start to retirement planning can allow retirees to "choose their own retirement adventure" and enjoy their retirement lifestyle much more. "Among today's retirees, those who began retirement planning before age 30 are more likely to retire before age 60. Not surprisingly, the majority (75%) of these early planners say they are very satisfied with their retirement."
Full results of the TIAA Voices of Experience survey are reported here.
Tagged: Client satisfaction, Post Retirement
« Court Denies Motions to Dismiss in Fidelity, Putnam Fee Cases