When is the right time to settle down? Of course, it's different from person to person. One couple might find it completely necessary to settle down in their mid 20's the moment they find they have a child on the way and have a secure form of income. Someone else might not want to settle down, but instead, travel the world and rent until they're in their late forties. What works for one person might not work for another, so it's important to truly isolate what makes you tick and follow that will all your effort.
Often people find that settling down is a true consequence of love. However, this isn't the love that leaves you travelling all over the world with a significant other, but the mature, experienced form of love that makes you both want to settle down. This usually occurs in the mid-thirties, but can happen at any time. You need to make sure the other person is your best friend, and you have a solid history of living and renting together before you make the move to your joint financial ownership of a property. It's also a good sign if you have shared financial matters for some time without any difficulty or deep argument, as defaulting on a mortgage payment can leave you both in the financial dust, and tear down the relationship you have built.
Remember that owning a home is not something that is sure to keep you both together. Much like having a child, it doesn't fix problems but strains the bonds you have made. This means you need to be sure you are competent and able to handle this requirement and can manage the responsibility effectively. Without the means to do so, you're likely to get lost in many different issues that require your attention, and the relationship will be strained as a result.
Having a child is a good a time as any to settle down. This is because children thrive on the stability of a home life as they grow. Children who move from home to home never know that sense of stability and peace, and this can be quite hard on them, especially as they progress past their infant years. For this reason, it's incredibly important to settle on a home with a mortgage broker that could potentially gain some longevity. This might mean buying a home that has room for extension potential – you can find this out by contacting the government or local housing authority and requesting information on the potential of planning permission in the area. After all, in ten years you may have three times the amount of children you have now.
This metric is likely one of the most reliable and accepted forms of understanding you need to settle down on this list.
Your working life can also signify it's time to settle down. This is, of course, important if opening a business in a certain environment, as this area will be the place you need to invest all of your time and effort to for the considerable upcoming years. It might be you need to move for a job, and hope to climb the hierarchical structures there in its entirety.
It can often be a case for firms to assess our living situation regarding how they consider your application and suitability for being selected. Highly intensive roles may require you are continually on-call, or that you simply have a stable home life. Sometimes, the ability to be a homeowner can influence this decision unofficially, and so it's important to set up your home correctly. However, obviously a good family or relational unit can make for a better home life, and this translates to work. You might find your business performance going up, your creativity becoming more relevant in day to day life or your simple satisfaction within your profession.
There are many reasons why you may choose to settle down. Some are a little more quirky. It could be that you hope to run your profession out of your household, and for that need to make many adjustments during the life of your output that requires permanence as a first and foremost requirement. For example, it may be you need to construct a home studio. This means that you will need to install equipment, soundproof and maybe even construct the room or divide it into different layouts. It might be you sell a certain service within those walls and need a permanent location for people to find. It might also be that you need to take advantage of a growing audience you have achieved as a side hobby. For example, it's not uncommon for home-run podcasts to grow and become a thing worth taking advantage of, and there are many stories of these amateurs becoming professionals through acquiring equipment and developing home studios alone.
When you realize that you've been planning projects for some time, and these seem to be taking longer than a year in their scope, you are likely ready to settle down. The mark of a flexible youngster is often the willingness to flick from certain pursuit to certain pursuit, but when you start making long-term strategies a part of your daily life, there is a large chance you'll flourish feeling more connected to an area.
Not only is your personal family unit important, but also your extended family group. This might mean heading home to an area your family have always occupied, or moving to another state with them. Family is the most important thing, and so sometimes coming home to be with your or your partners family can help you feel connected, supported, socially looked after, and generally more satisfied than you might otherwise have been.
With these tips, you can be sure that settling down is not only possible but begins at the right time for you.


Triple e not only provides literacy and numeracy courses, we also provide basic conversational skills training which includes African language courses. English and Afrikaans speakers often struggle to communicate with their colleagues and workers because of the language gap. Our African language courses include Zulu, South and North Sotho, as well as Tswana and Xhosa. We do a pre-assessment orally with each attendee to ensure that the candidate starts the African language courses at the correct level. This also enables us to customize the learning material and the African language courses to fit the requirements of the attendees.


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Justia Lawyer Directory Foreclosure Defense New York Geneva Attorneys
Geneva, New York Foreclosure Defense Lawyers
William Kurtz
Cicero, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 38 years experience
(315) 752-0325	5793 Crabtree Lane
Foreclosure Defense, Animal, Criminal and Family
For over 35 years Bill Kurtz has been practicing in Syracuse, Onondaga County and throughout Central, New York. We pride ourselves in fighting for our clients and always preparing our cases to go to Court and proceed through the Court until a Judge or Jury makes a decision. We have found that being ready to go to trial allows us to avoid trials and still obtain the best results for our clients. When considering a lawyer ask the lawyer if he has actually had any trial recently in that court or in that area of the law....
Richard P. Ruswick
Ithaca, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 36 years experience
(607) 272-3484	121 E. Buffalo St.
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Business and Real Estate
The University of Chicago Law School
Bruce Ikefugi
Lancaster, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 30 years experience
(716) 636-7600	43 Central Ave.
Lancaster, NY 14086
Foreclosure Defense, Business and Real Estate
State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law
Chair of the largest residential real estate department in Western New York. Extensive third party relocation, REO, commercial and residential lending representation. Recently closed a $3 Million dollar refinance, and a $965,000 commercial purchase secured by properties in Western New York and Florida. Experienced in time share, zoning, land use, condominiums and cooperatives, real estate negotiations and litigation. Voted for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America" for the past four years.
Doreen Elizabeth Letty
Foreclosure Defense and Real Estate
As an attorney in the real estate department, Ms. Letty oversees the everyday operations of all aspects of the real estate practice including buy/sell, mortgage handling, as well as, all transactions that require litigation or attention beyond the normal closing procedure. She is also the principal title insurance attorney who examines titles, prepares preliminary title reports, resolves title problems, and issues final title insurance policies through various title insurance agencies, in an effort to ensure that our clients, whether they are purchasers or banks, are fully protected against adverse title claims that may arise as a consequence of their purchase...
Theodore "Ted" Araujo
Syracuse, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 34 years experience
(315) 422-1234	Bankruptcy Law Center
6739 Myers Rd.
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense and Bankruptcy
Ted is the Chair for the State of New York (Northern and Western Districts) for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. I am the Managing Attorney for the Bankruptcy Law Center. We have offices in Syracuse and White Plains, New York. After I graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Economics I went to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where I got not only my law degree by also my Master of Arts Degree in Economics. Rather than jump right into private practice I decided to voluntarily give back to my country by joining the U.S....
Jessica B. Smith
Lancaster, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 6 years experience
Foreclosure Defense, Landlord Tenant and Real Estate
Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law
Jessica B. Smith is an Associate Attorney in the firm's Real Estate Law Department; assisting buyers and sellers through the closing process. Ms. Smith also handles post-closing issues, property tax challenges and landlord-tenant issues.
Ms. Smith obtained her B.A. in Government from Saint Lawrence University, and received her Juris Doctor in 2013 from Barry University School of Law in Orlando, FL. Ms. Smith is admitted to practice law in both New York & Florida.
Before joining HoganWillig, Ms. Smith provided legal advocacy to clients facing eviction, assisted clients to obtain and retain housing subsidies and representing clients in public and subsidized...
Casey Callanan
Cheektowaga, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 36 years experience
(716) 994-0787	10 SLATE CREEK DRIVE
Cheektowaga, NY 14227
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Appeals, Arbitration & Mediation and Collections
I became a trial attorney after many bench and jury trials as a Monroe County, NY, Assistant District Attorney. Through years of experience in civil actions, I have undertaken dozens of civil trials for personal injury and property damage, relentlessly pursuing the protection of the rights and interests of my clients.
Thomas Denny
Buffalo, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
331 Alberta Drive
Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy
Florida A&M University College of Law
Buffalo bankruptcy lawyer Thomas Denny is a reputable New York state attorney who focuses on consumer bankruptcy law and foreclosure defense. He has extensive experience working with consumer debtors and homeowners. He personally handles each case according to the unique circumstances of each of his clients.
Matthew Steven Mansfield
Elmira, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 15 years experience
(607) 734-1647	Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
215 E Church St Suite 301
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy and Consumer
Joseph Douglas Barics
Commack, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 26 years experience
(631) 864-2600	356 Veterans Memorial Highway
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Appeals, Divorce and Family
I was admitted to practice law in 1994, and since then the bulk of my practice has been focused on matrimonial and divorce law, appeals and closely related areas such as foreclosure defense.
My approach in representing clients is straightforward. Good people sometimes find themselves in bad situations, and people come to lawyers for solutions. That means whenever possible, negotiating a fair agreement is often the best route. Nevertheless, agreements, negotiations, litigation and appeals are only the tools used to obtain these answers. By taking a broader holistic approach, it allows me to see solutions that others may miss.
Reaching a fair...
Mr. John P. Fazzio III Esq.
New York, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 14 years experience
(201) 529-8024	305 Broadway
7th Fl., Ste. 19
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Business and Tax
New York University School of Law and Brooklyn Law School
John Fazzio is an aggressive young trial lawyer who is a fierce advocate for his clients in and out of the courtroom. He lives for David and Goliath type contests. John is not afraid to go to trial and has gone all the way to verdict on varied cases including foreclosure, bankruptcy, tax, intellectual property, criminal, and personal injury. John has also prosecuted a number of appeals cases. John regularly practices in the State and Federal Courts in New York and New Jersey.
Adam Leitman Bailey
New York, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 24 years experience
(212) 825-0365	One Battery Park Plaza
Eighteenth Floor
Foreclosure Defense, Business, Landlord Tenant and Real Estate
Adam Leitman Bailey, Esq. practices residential and commercial real estate law at the eponymous law firm he built from scratch. Among New York's most successful and prominent real estate attorneys, Adam Leitman Bailey is one of two attorneys from a law firm with less than 30 attorneys that has been ranked in Chambers & Partners, honored with a Martindale-Hubbell "AV" Preeminent rating, a Best Lawyers ranking for himself and his law firm and selected by Super Lawyers as one of New York's "Top 100" attorneys, a list that included only five real estate law firms' attorneys.
The internationally esteemed Chambers &...
Jonathan David Warner
Albany, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 7 years experience
(518) 451-9388	6 Automation Lane
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy and Tax
Jonathan D. Warner is the co-founder and managing partner at Warner & Warner, PLLC in Albany New York. Jonathan focuses his practice in the areas of Consumer Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosure Defense Law, Consumers' Rights Law, and Mortgage Modification assistance. Prior to attending law school, Jonathan graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from SUNY Albany in 2007. Thereafter, Jonathan graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2011. During law school, Jonathan participated in the Jessup International Moot Court Team, served as an elected student leader in two student organizations, and worked as the Senior...
Neil Harris Ackerman
East Meadow, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 37 years experience
(516) 493-9920	90 Merrick Avenue
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy and Real Estate
Personalized care & attention to your concerns & issues by atty with 35+ years' experience, rated 5.0 " "AV® Preeminent" on lawyers.com and martindale.com (highest ratings achievable). Experience includes successful representation of numerous individuals in Chapters 7, 11 and 13 cases; public corporations & other businesses in Chapter 11 Bankruptcies; defendants in preference, fraudulent conveyance, & other bankruptcy & commercial litigation; and buyers and sellers in real estate transactions. Former bankruptcy trustee in LI for 20+ years. Interviewed on television twice about Bankruptcy Law and issues. Former Chief Law Clerk for Bankruptcy Judge. Wrote numerous articles published in NY...
Elaine Shay
(212) 520-2690	880 Third Avenue, Suite 2800
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Appeals, Landlord Tenant and Real Estate
A respected and skilled attorney with over 28 years of experience as a litigator representing clients before the Courts in the Bronx, Brooklyn, New York City and Queens. Ms. Shay is also a talented negotiator who understands her clients and works tirelessly to achieve their goals.
Her practice is primarily concentrated on real estate and housing matters, including evictions, nonpayment cases, holdover proceedings, HP cases, ejectments, partition actions, DHCR filings, PARs, commercial litigation, leasing, summary proceedings, property transfers, mortgage transactions, corporate governance, shareholder disputes and appeals.
Allen A. Kolber, Esq.
Suffern, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 30 years experience
(845) 918-1277	Rockland County Office
134 Route 59, Suite A
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy and Business
Allen A. Kolber, Esq. graduated as a Belkin Fellow from Cardozo Law School in 1987 and was admitted into the New York State Bar. Mr. Kolber served as a Queens County Assistant District Attorney, was appointed a Supervisor in the Trial Bureau and later served in the Appeals Bureau drafting and arguing appeals before the New York State Appellate Division. In 1991, Allen Kolber accepted a position with a Wall Street litigation firm, and for the next 7 years, Mr. Kolber represented Underwriters at Lloyds of London in the New York Federal Courts, litigating multi-million dollar cases to...
Janet Fashakin
Richmond Hill, Queens, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 29 years experience
(718) 805-2522	105-22 Jamaica Avenue
Richmond Hill, Queens, NY 11418
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Divorce, Immigration and Real Estate
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Janet Fashakin is a seasoned attorney of over two decades, a journey that started in Africa in 2000 church. She received her bachelors in law from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, She proceeded to receive her Masters in Law from Yeshiva University, Cardozo School of Law in New York. She embarked on her doctorate studies at Walden University in Baltimore, USA, where her dissertation focuses on the "Challenges faced by the African American Women upon their release after serving their terms."
Bar Admissions: The Supreme Court of Nigeria;
The Supreme Court of New York State 2nd...
Brian L. Ponder Esq.
New York, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
(646) 450-9461	200 Park Avenue
Foreclosure Defense, Consumer, Entertainment & Sports and Real Estate
Attorney.
Jesus A. Cachaya Jr.
White Plains, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 11 years experience
(800) 318-9750	203 E Post Rd
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Immigration and Personal Injury
Capital University Law School
Todd Steven Cushner
(914) 600-5502	399 Knollwood Rd
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy and Estate Planning
St. John's University School of Law
Since 2001, I have had extensive experience in the area of Consumer Bankruptcy , Chapters 7 and 13. Over the years I have help many individuals and families regain economic stability by losing their debt and keep their homes without losing their dignity. Bankruptcy is a "power move" available to all Americans who qualify.
Chapter 11 is available to business as well as individuals who cannot meet the chapter 13 requirements. We have helped many small businesses and individuals reorganize debt and get back to business and life with much improved economics.
Additionally, we have helped...
Elliot S. Schlissel
Jamaica, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 41 years experience
(718) 350-2802	80-30 164th St.
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Criminal, Divorce and Estate Planning
SUNY Buffalo Law School
Established in 1978, The Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel is a multi-service firm of five lawyers committed to client-focused, cost-effective legal services in the Five Boroughs of New York City, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Our law office provides high quality, personalized legal services regarding divorce, family law, foreclosure defense, criminal cases, real estate, personal injury, elder law, bankruptcy, and wills, trusts and estates. Mr. Schlissel graduated from SUNY Oswego in 1972 and attended the Hofstra and Buffalo law schools.
Mark S. Anderson
Bronx, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 8 years experience
(800) 696-9529	901 Sheridan Ave
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Collections and Consumer
University of Baltimore School of Law
Mark Anderson has a broad range of legal experience in civil and criminal litigation topics. His practice areas include foreclosure and foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant law, quiet title actions, and family law.
Mr. Anderson is a native of Minnesota. He received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006. His J.D. was earned from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2011. He is licensed to practice in the State of New York as well as the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Mr. Anderson has obtained millions of dollars in settlements for his...
Raymond D. Radow
(516) 338-7800	1010 Northern Boulevard
Free ConsultationGreat Neck, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 26 years experience
Ray Radow is a founding partner of the Radow Law Group, P.C. His practice concentrates on Real Estate and Commercial Litigation with a focus on Foreclosure Defense Litigation and Real Estate Transactions, as well as Personal Injury and Criminal Law.
Since the onset of the housing crisis, Mr. Radow has represented countless borrowers faced with the looming prospect of foreclosure and has regularly obtained loan modifications for eligible clients, resulting in significant reductions in monthly mortgage payments and, most importantly, keeping families in their homes.
Mr. Radow is a former Brooklyn prosecutor and has years of experience in private practice...
Peter A. Hurwitz
New City, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 28 years experience
(845) 634-4966	151 North Main Street
New City, NY 10956
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Estate Planning, Personal Injury and Traffic Tickets
Peter A. Hurwitz began his legal career working with his father, Martin Hurwitz, and became a partner in the Law Firm of Hurwitz and Hurwitz P.C. His father, Martin Hurwitz, established the law firm in 1955. The firm brought decades of experience with a strong commitment of expertise, competence, and the finest legal representation to its clients. Martin Hurwitz practiced law in Rockland County with both a respected and exceptional reputation by his colleagues, clients and courts. Upon retirement, the legacy of his law practice continues today with the Law Office of Peter A. Hurwitz. Peter A. Hurwitz has...
Scott Frederick Humble
Jamestown, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 30 years experience
(716) 664-2889	7 Jackson Avenue
West Ellicott
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury and Real Estate
Mr. Humble is an attorney at law with the firm of Scott F. Humble, J.D., Esq., and Humble Law Offices. His office is 1 mile outside of Jamestown, N.Y. and is 1 mile from Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood, N.Y. He has spent his life in the Southern Tier and represents people in all courts in both New York and Pennsylvania. He has experience prosecuting personal injury, other civil litigation, getting people debt free, and defending criminal and DWI matters. Mr. Humble is, and always will be, committed to zealously representing his clients with great pride. ...
George C. Selby
Free ConsultationNew Paltz, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
Foreclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury and Traffic Tickets
Located in New Paltz, NY, George C. Selby is your local attorney offering a variety of client-based legal services. This firm was founded on the idea that every client deserves a patient ear and an open mind. Your legal matter is important. Where other offices may shrug you off or lose your file in a sea of "bigger problems," this office can offer you confidence that your call will be returned and your questions will be answered.
Stephen Z. Starr
(888) 867-8165	260 Madison Ave
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Arbitration & Mediation, Bankruptcy and Collections
University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Derek John Soltis
New york, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 5 years experience
(844) 533-3367	276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 704
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Employment and Probate
Rutgers School of Law-Newark
Derek J. Soltis, Esq. is graduate of Rutgers School of Law Newark and an admitted attorney in the State of New York. Mr. Soltis also has an MBA in Management Systems with an International Business Designation from Fordham University Graduate School of Business and a Master of Science in Information and Communication Systems where he specialized in System Dynamics. While at Fordham Mr. Soltis graduated in the top 10% of class and was enrolled in Phi Kappa Phi the Collegiate Honor Society and Beta Gamma Sigma the Business Honors Society. Mr. Soltis's undergraduate degree is a BBA from the University...
John Peter Brooke
Bay Shore, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 12 years experience
(631) 397-0042	85 W. Main Street
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Family and Landlord Tenant
After working for several Long Island law firms practicing in the areas of bankruptcy, loan modifications, estates, civil litigation and family law, John P. Brooke, Esq. opened his own law office. The Brooke Law Firm serves is a full service law practice dedicated to helping Long Islander's in all the legal challenges that life throws at them. John P. Brooke, Esq. also interned for Senior Federal Judge Leonard Wexler while in law school. John is also currently a Special Assistant Prosecutor for the Village of Ocean Beach on Fire Island.
Dayrel Sewell
Brooklyn, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
(347) 787-6824	599 E. 2nd Street
Foreclosure Defense, Appeals, Business and Health Care
Mr. Sewell has several years of transactional experience as well as significant, state and federal litigation practice. Moreover, he is well-versed in prosecution matters before the United States Patent & Trademark Office and the United States Copyright Office. He has represented the spectrum of patent, trademark, and copyright owners, food and drug companies, business owners, non-institutional clients, and more. While at Kaye Scholer, LLP, Mr. Sewell's foci were in the areas of litigation and intellectual property. Prior to large firm practice, he honed his skills in Manhattan at the law firm of Ullman, Shapiro, & Ullman, LLP that specialized in...
Michael H Schwartz
(914) 997-0071	One Barker Avenue
Michael H. Schwartz has been helping people get their lives back on track throughout the Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Hudson Valley and New York City area for over 30 years through bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and mortgage modifications.
As Westchester County's leading consumer bankruptcy firm, Michael H. Schwartz, P.C., has earned a reputation for making the process as easy and painless as possible. We have helped thousands of people preserve their families, save their homes, their possessions, their jobs and their dignity.
The firm also assists businesses with filing for bankruptcy protection and represents parties to bankruptcy proceedings. Michael H. Schwartz, P.C.,...
(212) 835-1532	5 Pennsylvania Plaza
23rd Floor
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Appeals, Consumer and Real Estate
Attorney Jeffrey Benjamin is enjoying his third decade of practicing law. In 1997, he started practicing law in the field of consumer protection and class actions. Out of the starting gate, he was trying cases, arguing substantial motions and appeals, and building a practice under the motto: "Doing Well, by Doing Good."
Today, he continues to develop skill and expertise in trial and appellate advocacy. Adversary counsel against him come from some of the largest and most resourceful firms in New York City down to competent and capable sole practitioners. From the beginning of his practice, Mr. Benjamin has felt that...
Rafael Ariel Poltielov
Forest Hills, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 7 years experience
(718) 520-0085	118-21 Queens Boulevard
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Business and Real Estate
Natasha Meruelo
White Plains, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 13 years experience
(914) 752-5098	99 Church St. 4th Floor
As the founder of Natasha Meruelo, Attorney at Law, White Plains attorney Natasha C. Meruelo Esq. provides legal assistance in bankruptcy and other debt relief matters. Presently, Attorney Meruelo maintains active legal licenses in three jurisdictions: the District of Columbia, New York and New Jersey. She received her undergraduate degree from New York University and her Juris Doctor degree from the Fordham University School of Law. Get in touch with her firm today for your free consultation.
Yuriy Moshes
(718) 504-6090	322 W 48th Street
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense and Real Estate
Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Yuriy Moshes remained close to his roots as he received a Bachelors of Science degree from Brooklyn College and a Juris Doctor degree from the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.
During his years of practice, Yuriy has concentrated in litigation and real estate transactions as his areas of expertise. Through the years, he has successfully helped hundreds of homeowners in New York and New Jersey remain in their homes or, in the alternative, pursue liquidation options.
Yuriy has also assisted clients with all forms of commercial and residential transactional
work, including the preparation of various types...
Melvin Monachan
Lake Success, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 4 years experience
(516) 714-5763	3000 Marcus Avenue,
Suite 3W04
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Landlord Tenant and Real Estate
Pace Law School
Melvin Monachan is the founder of The Law Office of Melvin Monachan, PLLC, a full service, real estate law firm representing individuals, investors and corporate entities in all aspects of real estate law.
On the transactional side, Melvin represents purchasers and sellers of coops, condos and houses from the pre-contract due diligence through closing. He also represents landlords and tenants in the review, drafting and negotiation residential and commercial leases.
On the litigation side, Melvin represents individuals and corporations in the Civil Court, Housing Court, Supreme Court, and Appellate term and Appellate division of the State of New York. These matters include...
Ronald Weiss Esq
Melville, NY Foreclosure Defense Attorney with 31 years experience
(631) 479-2455	734 Walt Whitman Rd.
Ronald D. Weiss, ESQ. is a Long Island bankruptcy, foreclosure, and modification lawyer, who since 1988 has represented individuals and businesses in the greater Long Island and New York areas undergoing financial hardship.
The Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss, P.C., for over twenty-five (25) years, has concentrated in legally representing residents of Suffolk County and Nassau County, Long Island under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, foreclosure defense litigation, mortgage loan modifications, and general debt negotiation. Through advice and representation, our attorneys help determine and implement the best and most affordable ways to: eliminate overwhelming credit card...
John Chul-joon Kim
Brooklyn, NY Foreclosure Defense Lawyer with 21 years experience
(718) 210-4794	50 Court Street, Suite 708
Free ConsultationForeclosure Defense, Bankruptcy, Divorce and Real Estate
Boston University School of Law
John C. Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the United States in 1971 as a five year old. Brought up by business owning parents in Baltimore, Maryland, he is proudly both Korean and American, embracing the best of both worlds. As a seasoned, respected attorney for nearly 20 years who handles cases across multiple practices areas that focus on debt resolution and dispute resolution for individuals and businesses, he has practiced in New York City since 1999, across all the boroughs of New York City and in Federal Courts in New Jersey. The firm Mr. Kim...
Michael David Siegel
(212) 721-5300	One Penn Plaza
Check out my background at my website, www.siegelandsiegel.com.
Btzalel Hirschhorn
University of Baltimore School of Law and Midrash Shmuel
I am a dedicated attorney at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates. I am licensed to practice before all courts in the state of New York as well as the Federal District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. My practice includes bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, consumer law, collections, arbitration & mediation, workers' compensation, criminal law, family Law, and personal Injury.
I am a native of South Florida and currently reside in Queens where I am an active member of the Kew Gardens Hills community.
Foreclosure Defense Lawyers in Nearby Cities
Foreclosure Defense Lawyers in Nearby Counties
Use Justia to research and compare Geneva attorneys so that you can make an informed decision when you hire your counsel.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Vatroslav Suvala, AKA Suki FPV, is Team Armattan's top freestyle pilots. His smoothness, proximity awareness in flight and his mind boggling moves are a trademark of his flying style and skills.
Here is Suki's Channel on YouTube.
There are many excellent pilots these days. Some are well known, while others, sometimes better pilots, are in the dark; The underdogs. Suki FPV is a good example of that. Despite being prolific on YouTube, and of course, despite being a world class pilot, he is still relatively unknown. We hope to change that. We truly feel that there are many awesome pilots who are not well-recognized in the FPV community, and some of them are incredibly good. Suki FPV is one of these guys, and he's one of the biggest underdogs in the hobby today. Not to mention that he has not been flying for all that long. He is just getting warmed up now, and we are honored to have first row seats in 2017 because he will only be getting better. Suki doesn't Vlog much. That's because he is busy having fun flying :) Subscribe to his channel, and you'll be blown away.
What is different about the frame?
The frame is almost identical apart from the different arm profile. It is also pink, Suki's color of choice. Each frame has also been blessed, one at the time, by famous Croatian monks, where Suki hails from.
The third and final Chameleon innovation (that we will explore here) is the VTX mount on the rear of the bus. While it is outwardly a solid point to mount your SMA adapter, it has a couple secret functions as well. Cut into the carbon fiber top-plate are a set of holes that line up above where you will mount your VTX. These were carefully measured to align with the screens, dip-switches, and buttons of many popular transmitters on the market today (Hawkeye, Aomway, etc). We think changing your channel at the field should be as quick and easy as changing your camera angle. This helps us achieve that goal. The other secret is the little bar next to the SMA hole. This is a diversity receiver mount for your RX of choice. If you zip two ties to that spar you can angle them for horizontal (out the back) and vertical (out the top) polarization. This should help prevent against an unforgiving failsafe at the start of your greatest dive yet.
In the unfortunate instance that you meet the ground at a high rate of speed (and breakage does occur), Armattan is offering a full bumper-to-bumper warranty for the Chameleon frame. Included in the list price is a warranty that covers all of the pieces (both Carbon Fiber AND Aluminum) for that added peace of mind. Important note: The Suki FPV Edition metal parts, if damaged, will be replaced with a different color alumi. It is a limited edition and only 50 frames will be made this color.


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episode 6 - Lou and Kevin's Halloween Special
Lou and Kevin's Halloween Special featuring The Highland Brothers Band, Shag Dog Melon Head, Wine and Spirit, The Hawkeyes. Highway 4 and Lou Lombardi's Strangelove. Don't miss this SPOoKETACULAR Edition with great Halloween Bumper music too!
Highland Brothers Band
Justin Highland-lead vocals,rhythm guitar
David Highland-lead guitar,vocals
Vit DeBacco-dobro,lead guitar,vocals
Terry Penrod-bass guitar
L.D. Williams-drums,percussion
It all started in a small shed in January 2009 as 4 guys jamming together 2 times a week. The idea was brought about to form an original,acoustic guitar driven, good ole fashion rock band. We strived to be different...unique....honing our sound,while writing blue collar words for the everyday working stiff, such as ourselves! Added Vit DeBacco in June 2012 to bring that extra something that we felt was missing and haven't looked back since. We are currently working very hard on a new album that we hope will be done in the fall of 2013!
Mark Fennell-Guitar,Vocals /
Brian Stutz-Drums /
Adam Stutz-Bass
We are Shag Dog Melon Head. SDMH are now a three piece from Butler playing original music as well as covers from artists such as Sublime, Citizen Cope, 311, Old Crow Medicine Show, Everlast, Rusted Root, Dispatch, and many more. We enjoy what we do very much and it shows when we play. Check out the music and come check out a show.
Paul Joseph - Vocals, Guitar, and Harmonica
Derek Ruby - Bass, Vocals
Scott Morrison - Drums, Vocals
T.J Hervatine - Lead Guitar
Mick Jagger, Kieth Richards, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, David Lee Roth, George Harrison, Chris Cheney, Tim Armstrong, Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone, Blink 182, and Jim Joseph.
The Hawkeyes of Pittsburgh, PA play a raw and driving brand of rock 'n roll that is as much about honesty as it is attitude. Drawing upon the storytelling traditions of roots and country music coupled with the driving force of straightforward rock n roll, the Hawkeyes write songs with an anarchic sensibility, biting humor, and phrases that turn on a dime, while their live performances are marked by a lot of sweat, a little blood, and an occasional busted guitar.
Formed in 2010 as a combination of two Pittsburgh alt-country acts, The Jay Wiley Band and The Country Music Gas Station, The Hawkeyes' ragged style of rock recalls the crunchy guitars and drunken harmonies of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, the roots experimentation of Sticky Fingers and Exile-era Rolling Stones, and the just-right mix of irony and sincerity of current country/southern rock revivalists like The Drive-By Truckers and Lucero.
With this pedigree, The Hawkeyes sing full-throated songs of a world populated by meth-addled truckers, barflies who all used to be somebody, and those not-so-secret secrets you find in every burned-out and boarded-up small town. Using humor (and more than a little empathy), The Hawkeyes shine a light on these characters and their places - and maybe find a little redemption along the way.
We'll be doing this again next week - Thunderbird cafe - Jan 30th w/ Bastard Bearded Irishmen & André Costello and the Cool Minors !
Tickets: http://www.showclix.com/event/3914509
In one week! Secure online ticket purchasing here: tinyurl.com/HWY4-Jan25.
Many thanks to The Rex Theater & Gorilla Music. #hwy4life #PGHmusic


A few weeks ago when I was home visiting Scotland I received some samples of Bounce Balls to try. I've tried so many energy and protein snacks in bar form so I was excited to try a ball shaped snack for a change! Bounce Balls do five different kinds of balls and each one has it's own special ingredients. I tried the Peanut Protein ball, Almond Protein ball and Spirulina Ginseng ball. The peanut and almond balls are high in protein (and around 220 calories) so these are ones I would eat before or after a long run to give me some tasty energy. The nutty flavours are strong in these snacks which I really enjoyed. Â The ginseng ball is very different. For some reason I thought it would be my least flavourite of the three but I really enjoyed it. It has an interesting taste and feels much lighter than the other two I tried. It's marketed as an defense boost as the ingredients it contains are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. I'd eat all three again but particularly the ginseng one.
The other two balls they do are Cashew and Pecan and Fudge Walnut. I haven't had the chance to try these yet but they sound pretty awesome.


Boris Johnson's personal PR hit a new low with his "f*** business" comment on Brexit concerns – and that was after he decided that Kabul was a great place to hide from the Heathrow vote. But there's more to the news than BoJo's antics and we've gathered our market highlights for you here.
Technology vs a society at work: who wins?


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After Life Season 2: Here's Everything We Know So Far
by Kane Dane April 24, 2020, 12:00 am 0 Votes
The first six-episode season of Afterlife returned to Netflix on March 8, 2019.
The comedy has a roller coaster of emotions and has been one of Netflix's new debut shows of 2019 thus far.
The show has been nominated for several Emmy Awards. The folks at GoldDerby have ranked Ricky Gerwice as Best Actor in the Best Actor category. Despite Guers' recent statement during the awards ceremony, where he said, "All award submissions are Tedder."
Ricky Gervais has signed an exclusive agreement with Netflix since the launch of the Afterlife, where Netflix has its first look at any new project. Don't forget that Ricky is also involved with two other projects coming to Netflix.
Release date of After Life season 2 be on Netflix?
Thanks to announcements made by various Netflix social media accounts, we now have confirmation that the second season of Netflix will arrive on April 24, 2020.
What time will it be After Life Season 2 on Netflix?
As is the tradition with each new Netflix original, Afterlife Midnight Pacific will be available to stream on Netflix from Standard Time. This means that if you live in Europe, you will get the latest weather in the morning, and if you prefer it in Asia or Australia, you will have to wait until noon or night:
After Life 2 season 2 renewed?
Life was renewed just one month after Season 1, one month after landing on Netflix worldwide. The news came from Netflix's What's Next account.
Ricky repeatedly expressed his love for the show. It has gone mad. And shocking. But now I have to make sure that the second season is even better, so I'll probably have to work a lot harder than usual. Really annoying. "
The cast of After Life Season 2?
It is confirmed that everyone, with one exception, will return for Afterlife season 2.
This means
Tom Basden as Matt
Tony Way as Lenny
Diane Morgan as Kath
Mandeep Dhillon as Sandy
Ashley Jensen
Paul Kaye
They are making a comeback.
Some new artists have been added there, who have been bothered with the cervix and called them "shocked." The only exception, of course, is Julian, who will not be returning after his untimely death in Season 1.
Where is After Life Season 2 in production?
Current position: Postproduction (Last update: October 2019)
The second season of the Afterlife has officially finished filming.
What to Expect From After Life Season 2?
For most, the first few seasons were pretty well wrapped up. Tony's character arc swirled and turned out to be more positive than the other side. This led many people to wonder in which direction Season 2 would go.
On his social media, Gervais has repeatedly stated that he is not killing the dog in Season 2. This is all a relief to me because I don't think he can handle the scene of another dog's death after Derek.
Of course, there could be more deaths for Tony with his father (played by David Bradley) who is currently in a nursing home with Alzheimer's disease.
Tony is also planning an appointment with his father's nurse again. Hopefully, we'll name it this season, too.
We'll also see what happens in Tony's workplace, who is struggling like most print media.
See also White Lines On Netflix; What's The Confirmed Release Date And Other Things To Know
Solve Captcha* 5 + = 6


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Homechevron_rightKeralachevron_rightCBI invokes...
date_range 28 Oct 2014 9:37 PM GMT
CBI invokes anti-terror law in RSS worker Manoj murder case
New Delhi: In a surprise move, the CBI Tuesday invoked a stringent anti-terror law while registering a case in the murder of an RSS worker in Kannur district which is alleged to be a fallout of a long-standing political rivalry between the CPI-M and RSS.
CBI registered the case against unknown people under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act besides various sections of IPC including murder and the Explosives Substance Act, agency sources said.
The Centre had issued a notification yesterday to the CBI for registering a case in the murder of the RSS worker on September one. It is alleged that a gang of workers of a rival political party hacked E Manoj to death after attacking him with deadly weapons and country-made bombs in Kathiroor area and also attempted to kill Pramod, who was accompanying him. 42-year-old Manoj was a district RSS office-bearer.
There are allegations that the attack and murder was due to animosity among political groups in the district, the CBI said. Kannur district in north Kerala has a volatile history of rivalry between the CPM and the RSS. Both sides have lost several workers and leaders in the past. RSS and BJP leaders have alleged that the CPI(M) was behind the killing of Manoj.
Kerala's Home Department had last month issued the notification for handing over to CBI the case of murder of Manoj. The state government had decided to hand over the case to the CBI on the basis of a report from state police chief K S Balasubramanian, who did not rule out the possibility of of the murder having inter-state and even foreign links.
Manoj was allegedly involved in an attack on CPM leader P Jayarajan in 1999 and was sentenced in 2005 along with five others by a district sessions court in Kerala to 10-year rigorous imprisonment. However, the sentence was stayed by the Kerala High Court.


As we all know, the GFR is an important sign of the kidney function. And when the patients are diagnosed with the CKD, that means their GFR are decline a lot. And the CKD patients eager to know, can the low GFR be reversed without the dialysis? Now I will discuss the question with you.
Why the CKD patients with low GFR don't want to do the dialysis?
The dialysis is always be used to deal with the kidney disease. However, no patients want to do the dialysis. why? Most of the CKD patients who are in the dialysis told me that doing dialysis needs a long time, and some of them need to do the dialysis three or four times a week. What's more? They will suffer from a large amount of the side effects of the dialysis, such as the vomiting, anemia, muscle cramps, high blood pressure and so on. How painful it is! So I agree more why the kidney disease reject to do the dialysis. And the dialysis can't improve the GFR level for the CKD patients.
In view of the pains of the dialysis, our experienced doctors have developed so many Chinese medial osmotehrapies which are based on the Chinese medical herbs. Now I will present one of them to you.
The Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotehrapy is an effective therapy to improve the GFR level. This therapy is composed by the traditional Chinese medial herbs and the modern equipments. There are various Chinese medial powders and with the equipments help, they will be penetrated into the damaged kidney. So they will take away a lot of the waste and blood toxin and improve the permeability of the cells and tissues. The GFR will be improve a lot, if the CKD patients can insist this therapy for a lone time.
Beside the Micro-Chinese Medicine osmotheapy, there are also some other Chinese medical therapies can reverse the low GFR without the dialysis for the CKD patients. Please send emails to kidneyhospitalabroad@hotmail.com to know them, or you can leave your phone number to our online doctors.


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Weprin's 'double play' with Obama
By Erik Kriss
September 3, 2011 | 4:00am
President Obama comes to the aid of David Weprin (above) in his race against Bob Turner, even though Weprin has distanced himself from the president. Ellis Kaplan
ALBANY — Democrat David Weprin is trying to have it both ways when it comes to President Obama, his opponent charged yesterday.
While distancing himself publicly from Obama, congressional hopeful Weprin is taking behind-the-scenes help from the struggling commander-in-chief's political operation.
Jeremy Bird, the national field director for the president's political arm, Obama for America, orchestrated a ground effort for Weprin in the 9th Congressional District yesterday including phone calls and door-knocking.
"The calls you make could be the ones that put him over the top," Bird said in a mailer to Democrats.
"If we're going to continue to build on this work and create jobs, we need strong allies like David in Congress. On the other hand, the Republican nominee supports making harmful changes to Medicare and Social Security, and has even put raising costs on the table. The choice couldn't be clearer."
But Republican Turner's campaign called the operation "an effort to avoid a humiliating defeat for the Obama agenda in the special election."
Weprin on Thursday told The Post: "I've never met President Obama. [Turner] is running against me."
And Weprin told the Jewish Press, "I will probably not refuse to endorse [Obama] because I think I will be more effective by supporting him, but at the same time being very strongly against him on some of his policies."
Turner's spokesman responded, "Mr. Weprin is walking away from the president in public while Mr. Obama's ground troops are flooding the district."
"He's trying to fool voters and have it both ways. His duplicity is breathtaking."
Earier, Weprin sent a mailer to voters that focused on endorsements by state Democrats — but Obama was MIA.
Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in the district, but an independent Siena College poll last month found Turner within six points of Weprin.
Turner has characterized state Assemblyman and former City Council member Weprin, a son of the late Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, as a "career politician."
And Turner is linking his rival to Obama, whose popularity in the district is sagging.
But Democrat Weprin may not need Obama's help: A new Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll shows him eight points ahead of Turner — a day after a GOP poll had the Sept. 13 special-election race for Anthony Weiner's Queens-Brooklyn House seat a dead heat.
The DCCC called its poll "more credible" because it used a larger sample and was conducted over two days, rather than one. But Turner spokesman William O'Reilly labeled the survey "highly suspect."
For his part, Weprin has portrayed Turner as a threat to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a bill to ensure health-care reimbursement for Sept. 11 volunteers.
A new State Democratic Committee-financed mailer (pictured) portrays "Tea Party" Turner in a captain's hat and accuses him of supporting "tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs overseas" by "recently" signing an Americans for Tax Reform pledge swearing "to protect tax loopholes for companies that outsource American jobs."
O'Reilly said Turner has signed no pledges in this race or last year, when he was running against Weiner.
Turner signed an ATR pledge opposing any increase in income tax rates for individuals and business.
"Last time I checked, pledges don't have a shelf life," said Weprin spokeswoman Liz Kerr.
Police search for laundromat burglars caught on camera


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Lev Nyikolajevics Tolsztoj, orosz író
 Lev Tolsztoj, település Oroszországban, a Lipecki terület Lev Tolsztoj-i járásának székhelye, ahol Lev Nyikolajevics Tolsztoj meghalt
 Lev Tolsztoj, 1984-es szovjet film

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


At Dream Eyelashes we create lashes that give volume to your eyes while maintaining a natural look. Our lashes aim to provide you with the right amount of oomph' to make your eyes pop beautifully.
All of our lashes are all hand made so the hair strands can be layered onto the lash band carefully, producing a fluffy and feathery appearance. The lash strands are extremely soft making them lightweight and super comfortable to wear.
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As the snow continued to fall, silently covering the earth in a mantle of white, Cara briefly caste her eyes skyward, then returned to her downward gaze and continued with sowing in her seeds……………..click on the post title or image to find out more.
On the way home from Incredible Farm I pulled in at Rough Hey, a large area of mixed woodland on the steep valley slopes above Hebden Bridge. I was looking for Mark Simmonds and Matt Taylor…………….click on the post title or image to find out more.
Incredible by name, incredible by nature! Nick Green created Incredible Farm in 2010 with the aim of teaching small scale commercial food growing and marketing skills to young people. The idea being that they then to start food production businesses…………….click on the post title or image to find out more.
You can't get a more dramatic demonstration of passion and commitment to the one I saw at Moss Brook Growers near Manchester. Here Stuart, Rob and Carl lease land owned by the whole food supermarket, Unicorn……………click on the post title or image to find out more.
Question…..can you farm 800+ sheep from a small terraced cottage in Maiden Bradley and own no land? Well, as you might guess from the fact that I ask the question, the answer is yes, cos Tim White is doing it……………click on the post title or image to find out more.
Pigs running free in woodland, hens also in the woods and goats being goats….this is Chagford Community Farm or Chagfarm, and not to be confused with Chagfood, the Chagford Community Market Garden…………..click on the post title or image to find out more.
I could see a group of half a dozen or so people in the distance working in the field as the mist lurked across the surrounding hillsides. They were rhythmically bending, rising, chopping, bending, rising, chopping………….click on the post title or image to find out more.


Hippo Open Source Enterprise Content Management System. What Happened to Hippo? - Why Hippo? - Marketplace - Careers. Kind regards, Michiel Eggermont  energie-du-paysage.com On Wed, May 23, at PM Pablo Bravo wrote: Documentation x - Get Started with Hippo CMS - Build a Website - Hello World. -DarchetypeRepository=https: //energie-du-paysage.com /maven2 \. - DarchetypeGroupId=energie-du-paysage.com7 \. -DarchetypeArtifactId=hippo-project- archetype \.
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With our innovative Content Management and Portal technologies, Hippo helps companies manage and access information, protect sensitive data, share. Free Twitch Lurker / Multi-Twitch site to help Twitch communities and teams (c) Mr. Baggins. Website, energie-du-paysage.com Hippo CMS is an open-source, dual licensed, Content Management System. I have followed the steps from the onehippo web page. I have downloaded Maven seperately. I have removed all the metadatas from other projects, but it. Digital Experiences come to life at Connect, November 15th at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.


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THE CURSE OF BILLSON: FAMOUS MEN I HAVE FANCIED
With Proust, it was tea and biscuits that set him off. With me, it was a movie. Backbeat is the story of Stuart Sutcliffe, the one-time Beatle who left the band in 1961 to become a painter. When I saw it on its release in 1994, it reminded me that I'd once had such a big crush on Sutcliffe I'd torn his picture out of Beatles books to make a Stuart Sutcliffe collage. The problem was, I had that crush in the mid-1970s, by which time he'd been dead for a decade and a half.
Stuart Sutcliffe
I can't help it, I've always gone for unsuitable men. I'm not talking about my private life (though some of the men in that have been unsuitable too). I'm talking about the sort of public figures whose pictures end up on bedroom walls: film stars and pop singers, sporting idols, TV personalities – pin-ups and pashes. I made a list. Some of the names on it are embarrassing. Here are men whose dork-rating shoots off the end of the scale. Here are names that could be held against me. But I'm going to tell you about them anyway.
Towards the end of the 1950s, I was sufficiently sentient to have formed preferences, and my favourite TV personalities were Tonto and Mr Turnip. Evidently, my taste in men was already showing signs of nonconformity, but I'm happy to say this was the first and last time that headbands were featured. In the early 1960s, I was still intending to be a ballerina and accordingly nursed a pash on Rudolf Nureyev, blissfully unaware that the bulge in his tights was not for the likes of me. I must have had a thing about Russians, because the next object of desire was Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.CL.E. as portrayed by David McCallum with his trendy polo-neck sweater and floppity blond hair.
Mr Turnip
Illya Kuryakin
Then there was Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones, bestowing on my list a hip credibility — almost immediately neutralised by his being followed by Peter Tork of The Monkees. (ETA: Note to young people: The Monkees may have some retro-respect now, but at the time of their TV show they were about as trendy as Elsie and Doris Waters.) Any lingering trace of hipness is then blasted out of the known universe by the two names that come next: Peter Frampton from The Herd and Mike D'Abo from Manfred Mann. Uncannily enough, they too had that floppity blond look. They were all cast from the exact same physical mould, and only now can I face up to the true identity of the prototype. Let's hear it for the guy who was always stuck on his own in the Thunderbirds space station. John Tracy: loner, philosopher, puppet.
(ETA: My first live teenage crush was on a boy called Bryan who had that same floppity blond hair. We never went out, but he did once stick his tongue in my mouth at a party while we were slow-dancing to "The Long and Winding Road".)
Mike D'Abo
John Tracy
Skip this next paragraph if you have a weak stomach. I was bewitched by John Hurt's freckles in A Man for All Seasons, bothered by David Hemmings's horsemanship in The Charge of the Light Brigade, and bewildered — God forgive me — by Peter Wyngarde's sideburns in Department S. I can reclaim a smidgeon of pride by confessing to a brief A-level crush on Lucifer in Paradise Lost. But Milton would have wept.
And then – catastrophe! No sooner had I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to Robert Powell in Doomwatch than his character blew himself up while defusing a nuclear bomb, so leaving the actor free to take on the title role in the Jesus of Nazareth mini-series. A generation of schoolgirls went into shock, and thence into mourning. Black armbands were seen in class. This violent termination of a favourite TV character had a profound and traumatic effect on me. After that, my crushes tended towards the morbid and the damned.
It was the Curse of Billson: throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s, my chosen darlings bought the farm, one by one. Remember James Beck, the spivvy Private Walker, now gone to that great Dad's Army in the sky? He was one of mine. I transferred my allegiance to Sergeant Wilson, aka John Le Mesurier, but he passed away as well. Warren Oates? Lee Van Cleef? Lino Ventura? One by one, these hard-boiled heroes were snatched away.
Warren Oates
And yet there are a few on my list who cling to life, though – even now – they are old enough to be my father. I surprised even myself when I had an erotic dream about Walter Matthau (shortly after watching The Secret Life of an American Wife). Not so surprising was the erotic dream about Jean Rochefort, that wonderful pointy-faced French actor, perhaps best-known for his Arabian dancing in The Hairdresser's Husband.
I thought I was finally exhibiting symptoms of an orthodox if belated schoolgirl crush when I started fancying Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans, but it turned out to be a one-off; when not reloading his rifle while simultaneously running through the woods in a loincloth, the actor left me cold. I developed a fixation on Michael Keaton's mouth, but only when it was set off by his black rubber Batman costume. The nearest thing I had to an unconditional infatuation was with Christopher Walken, who invariably played misfits and psychopaths. I like to think Christopher and I would have got on rather well.
And the spirit of space-loner John Tracy lived on in the studly form of one of my most intense 1990s crushes, Data the android from Star Trek: The Next Generation, occasionally enhanced, though never entirely supplanted, by sporadic weaknesses for other members of the crew: Worf, Riker, Counselor Troi. And the dead men kept on coming: Gary Cooper, Gary Grant and (a final desperate stab at hip credibility) French surrealist Boris Vian – literary prankster, occasional actor and cat-lover to boot. This isn't nostalgia; it's virtual necrophilia.
But what are we to conclude from all this? What erotic imperatives are at work here? And what would I get if I fed all these crushes into a dating computer to construct my composite ideal? A dead blond ballet-dancing surrealist father figure, with strings. No wonder I never got married.
This is an edited version of an article first published in GQ (the British edition) around the time of the UK release of Backbeat in 1994, hence the reference to it in the opening paragraph. Walter Matthau, bless him, was still going strong when the piece was written. I'm retrospectively dedicating it to everyone on the list who has passed away. RIP.
TEN ACTRESSES ON WHOM I HAVE GIRLCRUSHES
Posted in Actors, Memoirs	| Tagged The Curse of Billson | 8 Comments |
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8 thoughts on "THE CURSE OF BILLSON: FAMOUS MEN I HAVE FANCIED"
Hi, I too have crushes on dead people (Louise Brooks, Emily Dickinson, Laura Nyro, Audrey Hepburn) or people who are decades past it (as am I but it's their younger selves I am in love with) Looking at your list I am struck by the contrast between the early members, who were surely handsome and considered cool by most(Frampton, d'Abo, McCallum) and some of the later ones who are more of a mixed bag. But maybe you traded looks for something else. Best, Peter Henderson
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PaulDBrazill says:
Sep 25, 2012 at 09:34
No mention of Putin there.
I enjoyed this very much and was amused to read about Mr Turnip because the first male I ever fancied was Alexander the Great's horse Bucephalus. I was 6. Then came Mark Lester in "Oliver" when I was 8. He was replaced by Sean Connery a couple of years later when my parents decided I was old enough to watch racy Bond films ("Just close your eyes when Bond's kissing a girl," they said.). Although, looking back, I suspect it was his marvellous DB5 I really fancied because to a 10 year old, a secret agent of 34, dashing as he was, was very old indeed. I had a brief crush on Rudolph Nuryev too, and will always have one on Christopher Walken.
Phil Jeng Kane says:
Oct 16, 2012 at 17:00
This is an excellent list and a great piece. I like the unexpectedness of these men and the fact that discerning a coherent pattern is pretty much impossible. There's some kind of alchemy that occurs when watching an actor playing a role and suddenly feeling you fancy them. Obviously, it's the purest form of projection. The subject of your crush is fictional, after all. I think there is probably something here about the ability to love diversely. For the record, Gina Gold (played by Roberta Taylor) from the later seasons of THE BILL was my most unexpected telly crush. Gold was anti-glam, hard-bitten, no-nonsense, but also holding herself together and remaining human.
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annebillson says:
Sep 2, 2014 at 08:38
Oh, what lovely comments. Thanks for those. Sorry I didn't see them earlier. Haven't visited this page in a while.
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Technological literacy refers to the skills needed to adequately use computers.
Visual literacy, probably the oldest literacy, dates back to interpreting cave drawing and has evolved to competently decoding and comprehending the icons on the tool bar, navigating the Web, and encoding images in multimedia projects. John Debes, one of the most important figures in the history of the International Visual Literacy Association, first coined the term visual literacy in 1969 as "a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences" (International Visual Literacy Association, n.d.).
Media literacy refers to the necessary skills to access, evaluate, and create messages in written and oral language, graphics and moving images, and audio and music. In addition, media literacy requires the composer of multiple texts to select graphics, moving images, narration, and music that complement the multimedia project. Media literacy also recognizes the role of media in a society and the skills of inquiry and selfexpression necessary for citizens in a democratic society (Center for Media Literacy, n.d.).
Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information. The development of the World Wide Web dramatically changed the availability, method, depth, quantity, and sometimes quality of accessible information; consequently, the Internet has initiated critical reading skills not typically required in traditional texts.
Ruth (first author) met Kyle, Ray, and Colleen (all names are pseudonyms) a few years ago while conducting research on struggling writers. All three children were in the fourth grade. Their classroom teachers described them as struggling writers based on their writing performance, and the children perceived themselves as struggling writers based on their scores from the Writers Self-Perception Scale (Bottomley, Henk, & Melnk, 1997), a public domain instrument that measures individuals' attitudes toward their writing.
All three students are struggling writers but for different reasons. Kyle does not hesitate to begin a writing task once it is assigned and is eager to complete it. He circles words in the first draft to indicate he is unsure of the spelling, but he does not access the resources available in the room to check for accurate spelling, nor does he make revisions even after the teacher instructs the class regarding ways to improve their writing and time is scheduled for that purpose. Kyle is very artistic and draws popular cartoon figures that closely resemble the original character.
Unlike Kyle, Ray has difficulty starting writing. Even after the teacher assists prewriting activities such as brainstorming to generate ideas or supports an upcoming writing assignment by facilitating class shared writing, Ray still has difficulty actually starting the task. Often when he does begin a composition that extends over several days, he does not complete it or he loses it. Ray does his best work, or at least completes a composition, when he has a small window of time for completion rather than several days, as demonstrated by his timed writing practice for the state writing assessment.
Colleen has creative ideas, eagerly shares them during whole-class prewriting activities, and includes them in her writing, but insufficient details leave the reader trying to connect the ideas to make sense of her text. Rather than unfold events to develop a plot or transition between settings, actions, and episodes, Colleen sums them up in a few sentences. Her illegible handwriting often impedes the readability of her composition, further complicating a transactional process between the reader and the text. When reading aloud her writings, Colleen was on par with her classmates. She read aloud her writings with expression and confidence. Sharing was more than reading her story to her classmates; it bordered on performance. Because she was so expressive, she added another dimension to her story that was not apparent in her writing.
Writing behaviors of struggling writers are not limited to the characteristics of Kyle, Ray, and Colleen. In a study of elementary age children, Bright (1995) noted that struggling writers view capable writers as students who work hard, have good penmanship, and write long compositions. Moreover, they believe that good writers write single draft compositions without having to revise or edit them.
Students identified as having a learning disability that interferes with their capacity to adequately meet classroom writing demands show clear problems in simply generating text (Graham, Harris, MacArthur, & Schwartz, 1991) and are less knowledgeable about writing and the writing process than more capable writers (Englert, Raphael, Fear, & Anderson, 1988). Their compositions are generally brief and lack detail and elaborations (Graham et al., 1991). They are likely to produce poorly organized text at the sentence and the paragraph levels. Although their compositions are replete with spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and handwriting errors, they are less likely to revise spelling, punctuation, grammar, or the text to increase the clarity of their communication (Englert, 1990; MacArthur & Graham, 1987).
Careful examination of children who have a learning disability in written expression has identified several factors that may intensify the lack of content in their compositions. First, it is not unusual for these students to terminate their writing before they have accessed all they know about a topic. In one study, children with writing difficulties spent six to seven minutes writing an opinion essay, but when prompted to write more, they generated two to four times more text, and at least onehalf of the prompted material was new and useful (Graham, 1990). Yet once an idea is generated and reproduced as written text, they are reluctant to discard it even if it is not pertinent to the topic (Graham et al., 1991). Interference from poorly developed text production skills such as handwriting, spelling, and mechanics contributes to the failure to generate possible ideas (Graham et al., 1991). Furthermore, incomplete knowledge or lack of interest in an assigned topic may influence the quantity and quality of a composition (Graham & Harris, 1997).
The passage of state-mandated assessments of writing has undoubtedly contributed to students identifying themselves as struggling writers. Conventionally, identity is affected by the social group to which an individual belongs, such as ethnic, gender, and economic. In a classroom setting, a student's identity may be further defined by a myriad of factors such as athleticism, intellect, personality, and perceived writing ability (Bloome, Carter, Christian, Otto, & Shuart-Faris, 2005).
In most states, one grade level at each major school division is slated for administering a writing assessment. Most writing assessments are timed, usually 45 minutes, scarcely allowing students time to think about the topic, plan their paper, physically compose the text, and have time for possible revising and editing while contending with anxiety. To further confound the writing process, students are typically given vacuous topics to which they must respond. Understandably assigning everyone the same topic and imposing time constraints is an attempt to assess students' writing achievement by giving all students at specified grade levels the same prompts and then comparing them with anchor papers; yet, for many who may already be intimidated in this discipline, timed prompt writing further promotes their feelings of incompetence. Teachers who are ensconced in inequitable literacy practices that limit students' writing opportunities to experiences that prepare them for testing — rather than encourage students to write about things that are important to them or interdisciplinary writing — are, to a degree, silencing their students as writers. For many, this practice can drive the construction of social identity and position students as struggling or low-achieving writers.
While Kyle, Ray, and Colleen may struggle with traditional literacy, tapping into other literacies may boost their motivation and scaffold their understanding of traditional literacies. Digital storytelling is an example of a multimedia text that encompasses both traditional and new literacies and has the potential for stimulating struggling writers.
Students in contemporary classrooms are the first generation enveloped by sophisticated computers, video games, digital music players, cell phones, and other tools of the digital age. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2005) in 2003, 83.5% of students in the United States used computers in school and 67.6% used computers at home. By 2004, all public schools in the United States had Internet access. For many students, their comfort level using technology exceeds that of their teachers and parents and, consequently, they confidently explore new software, devices, or other technological tools. Prensky (2001) cleverly described these students as digital natives because they are native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. The presence of computers in schools has offered unprecedented prospects for instruction and learning across the school curriculum.
Center for Digital Storytelling — Examples, articles, and resources.
The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling (University of Houston) — Includes tutorials, rubrics, software, etc.
Creative Narrations — Examples of stories created by students who attended workshops facilitated by Creative Narrations.
Photobus — Documentary of the Free Photographic Omnibus.
East of England Broadband Network — Videos are not narrated but use music and moving images to tell the story; over 150 videos have been scored by viewers and commented by judges.
Tech Teachers — An impressive list of websites to view digital stories.
Kelvin Grove Urban Village — Personal stories of triumph and tragedy of elderly members of a community.
Most computer operating systems include or offer free digital storytelling software such as Windows Movie Maker and Macintosh iMovie. Ken Burns made digital storytelling popular in The Civil War, a documentary published by PBS in 1990, by using archival images, music, narration, modern cinematography, and first-person accounts that served to reveal the heart and emotions of this tragic event in American history (Burns, 2002).
Point of view — defining the specific realization the author is trying to communicate within the story. Digital storytelling allows the storyteller to come close to his audience by expressing personal experiences through first-person point of view.
Dramatic question — setting up a conflict from the beginning that will hold viewers' attention until the story is over. Similar to traditional storytelling, a plot is developed in a digital story, thereby distinguishing it from a slideshow of wedding pictures enhanced with music and flashy transitions.
Emotional content — dealing directly with the fundamental emotional paradigms such as love and loneliness, confidence and vulnerability, acceptance and rejection. Effective digital stories evoke an emotion from the audience, thereby validating the time and effort invested to the creation of the digital story. For the novice storyteller, laughter is a more commonly witnessed emotion.
Economy — consciously economizing language in relationship to the narrative. This requires the storyteller to be sensitive to the attentiveness of the viewing audience.
Pacing — determining the rhythm of a story to sustain an audience's interest.
The gift of voice-employing the pitch, inflection, and timbre of one's own voice to narrate the story is one of the most essential elements that contribute to the effectiveness of digital storytelling.
Soundtrack — using music to enhance the story and create an emotional response.
When creating digital stories in a classroom setting, students go through the writing process of composing a story by traditional methods: using pencil and paper or the word-processing functions of a computer. This composition later becomes the digitized voice-over narration (Figure 1). Once the composition is completed, scenes or image frames that complement the narration are sketched onto a storyboard (Figure 2). Sections or paragraphs in the composition can be numbered to correspond with scenes on the storyboard. Next, personal photographs, clip art, or any type of graphic that portrays scenes represented on the storyboard are collected into a subfolder on the computer. When students use media from the Internet to enhance their stories, they must cite where they obtained the files and any other copyright information (See Table 2 for copyright information). The rolling credits at the end of the movie are an ideal place to display this information. Next, the story is recorded, and because the narrator's voice is what makes the story interesting, it should be recorded as a performance, allowing the audience to hear the personal content and emotion inflected in the voice. The next step is to use a video-editing program to compile the media files into a movie (See Figure 3). Music can be added to enhance the narration, but adding music only at the introduction and ending of the narration is easier for novices. Finally, including a title frame, transitions between frames, and rolling credits to cite sources or any acknowledgments adds the finishing touches and completes this stage of production.
Once movies are created, showing them to the class is the publishing step in the writing process and should not be omitted because students generally enjoy showing their movies. In most cases, users who are unfamiliar with digital story software programs or who have limited technology skills can create a digital story in ten 45-minute sessions. Users who are more experienced with video-editing software can offer their assistance to their peers even as they create their own digital story. Table 2 lists several recommended tutorials for creating digital stories.
It was my tenth birthday and I was asking for a motor scooter. I got up that morning and my mom had all my presents out on the table. I quickly opened all the ones on the table and wrapping paper went everywhere. I got a cool outfit, a DVD, and shoes but no motor scooter. I was really sad. This was the present that I had been asking for and could not believe that my mom and dad didn't get it for me. They knew how much I wanted it.
All of the sudden I heard a sound of a motor and looked outside and saw my dad by something. I swung open the door and ran outside. Next to my dad was my red shiny motor scooter! I was so happy that I got the present that I had been asking for. My dad was trying to tell me how to drive it but I was paying no attention to him. I just wanted to get on it and go.
Finally the time that I was waiting for came. I jumped on the scooter, pulled back on the gas and...I went flying! I had no idea that a scooter could go that fast. I hit a big hole in my backyard and went flying off. My heart was beating so fast and I was scared to death.
My dad came running and asked me if I was all right. When I got up, Dad asked me why I didn't listen to him when he was telling me how to drive it. I told him I was just really happy that I got the present that I had been asking for and I just want to get on it and go. This time when dad told me how to drive my scooter, I was all ears. I drove it until it ran out of gas. That was one of my best birthdays ever.
Most writing in the classroom has a physical audience of two: the writer and the teacher; yet when students write for a larger audience, they are much more motivated to write and tend to do their best work (Cohen & Riel, 1989). In some classrooms, students may read aloud their writing to the class, thereby extending their audience from self and teacher to include the class. Digital stories can further expand the audience because of the method of delivery, duplication of stories, and posting to the Internet. Work published on the Internet, such as on the popular website www .youtube.com, can be viewed by anyone who has access to the site, thereby multiplying potential viewers. Teachers report an increase in student motivation to write when they know their writing will be published on the Internet (Karchmer, 2001); however, teachers should verify their districts' policy regarding publishing student work on the Internet.
Digital stories appear in many forms including still photographs with voice-over narration, short videos, documentaries, professional creations, or student productions. In short, digital stories can be anything that employs digital technology to construct narrative. Using digital technologies, students can turn a one-dimensional writing composition into a digital story that can be published and shared to a small, intimate audience or with the world.
Struggling writers are seldom strategic writers; however, the components of creating digital storytelling may help them compose more strategically. Students' narrations of their stories reduce overt weaknesses in conventions such as spelling, capitalization, and handwriting. The process of storyboarding facilitates the introduction of events in a logical and orderly sequence thereby illuminating gaps or omissions overlooked in a traditionally composed draft. When these breaks in the flow of the story are realized, the writer can make necessary revisions in the draft before recording the narration. While competent writers employ sensory words, dialogue, and figurative language to make the story vivid for the reader, a struggling writer may overlook important details that are central to the story. Photographs, clip art, or other graphics may visually compensate for the details that the struggling writer inadvertently omits. When a digital story is composed to be viewed by others, it promotes the writer's awareness of audience, purpose, and form, an awareness not always demonstrated by less capable writers. Digital storytelling has the capacity to not only motivate struggling writers as they experience the enjoyment of creating stories enhanced by multimedia, but also to reposition themselves from struggling writers to competent writers.
Because of time constraints, we were unable to facilitate the creation of digital stories with Kyle, Ray, and Colleen. However, since their encounter with these three students, we have facilitated the creation of digital stories with approximately 100 elementary and secondary students with similar writing behaviors as Kyle, Ray, and Colleen. We have observed digital storytelling as a promising construct to position struggling writers as competent writers. The following section describes how digital storytelling can support struggling writers like Kyle, Ray, and Colleen.
Digital storytelling benefits students like Kyle in several ways. Although they promptly begin an assigned writing task and complete it, they are reluctant to make any type of revision. Creating a movie gives them a reason for writing and makes them more conscious of their audience, one that reaches beyond themselves and their teacher, and motivates them to write more clearly and with more detail. They employ their artistic ability by drawing pictures to illustrate their stories, scan and save the illustrations, and then import them into a video-editing program.
Knowing the movie would be viewed by classmates, a Kyle type initiated accountability for herself. After she recorded and listened to her narration, she realized it was too fast and expressionless, and she willingly chose to rerecord the narration until the recording satisfied her. Through this process she critically evaluated each recording before making a final selection.
Another Kyle type acquiesced to writing the narration for the digital story and expressed the same behavior when selecting graphics to illustrate scenes or actions for his digital story. Some of the pictures he selected did not consistently and suitably represent scenes or actions described in the narration. For example, he selected a photograph of a competitive cyclist racing down a mountain to illustrate the scene in his story where he raced his new bicycle down the sidewalk in front of his house. Although he acknowledged the apparent disconnect, he explained that he gave up the search for pictures after several unsuccessful results from a Google image keyword search using the words bicycle and sidewalk. However, when his teacher gave him the option to create his own illustrations rather than being stymied by only what was accessible or available, he became much more engaged in the project. By encouraging this Kyle type to draw his own illustrations to depict scenes for his digital story, the project became more meaningful to him.
A third Kyle type made certain he wore a headset when listening to his narration while editing the movie rather than using the speakers even though he had to wait approximately 15 minutes for the next available headset. He explained that he did not want his classmates to hear his voice. Ruth attempted to reassure him that he had a pleasant voice and should be proud of his narration, but he accepted her reassurance with diffidence. A few days later, the assistant principal was invited to the premier showing of movies created by the class. Not only did the assistant principal affirm the student as a writer by commenting about the content of his story but also verified him as a storyteller by making specific comments about his articulate narration. As a result, when this Kyle type returned home, he voluntarily created a digital story about a policeman and his dog who had been killed in the line of duty. He explained that he retrieved pictures from the online edition of the local newspaper to illustrate the movie. The student later duplicated the movie for the victim's wife and his own father, who was a close friend of the victim.
Students like Ray are reluctant to begin a writing task and are easily distracted when confronted with a blank sheet of paper. The interactive nature of composing a digital stor y reduces nonproduction resulting from disengagement or distractions. Undoubtedly the countless graphics and music clips available on the Internet may also be a distraction, but limiting the websites that students may access and setting a time frame to select graphics and music may reduce the distractibility. On the other hand, the multimedia used to create a digital story promotes active learning and collaboration: two approaches to learning that help distracted students stay engaged with the assignment.
Creating a digital story requires a multiplicity of tasks. Some of these tasks include (a) visualizing a scene to depict an event in the story and then choosing graphics from a plethora of sources that best support the text, (b) determining the emotion the audience should experience and then selecting appropriate music, (c) using technological literacies such as searching the Internet, saving files, downloading music and graphics, and creating a folder to store all files related to the digital story, and (d) adding the finishing touches such as a title slide, credit slide, and transitions between slides and each of these additions have many options to choose from.
At one moment students are fully absorbed in the process of creating the digital story, but at any time, because of the openness of the computer screen, they become a source of information to fellow students. The exposed nature of the computer screen makes students' work available to anyone who intentionally or accidentally views what is displayed on the screen. Frequently, when a bystander notices something interesting on the screen, the bystander is curious to know how to add the feature to a project and typically follows up with, "How did you do that?" The creator of the project then becomes the expert, explaining the steps to add the feature, and then the ripple begins when the bystander becomes an expert to a bystander of her computer screen. Giving students an environment in which interaction and collaboration are encouraged help them write more productively.
Students like Colleen have creative ideas for their stories but often omit important details that are central to plot development. The reader is further confounded by presentation of text on the page because of poor letter formation and inadequate spacing between words. The process of creating a storyboard after drafting their stories helps the writers visualize the story as it unfolds and more concretely reveals to them any gaps or omissions of details that are important to plot development. Once the omissions are visualized, students add details to make their stories more fluid and comprehensible.
One Colleen type wrote a creative story about animals in a pet store who had escaped from their cages to report a burglary. While conferencing with her teacher, she realized she had not explained how the animals escaped nor had she sketched a scene on the storyboard to show how the escape occurred. The final draft that was to become the narration for the digital story was basic and lackluster; however, the story was drastically transformed through the power of multimedia technology, voice, and creativity.
Using Microsoft Paint, she drew large, black ovals to cover the mouths of specific pets in the picture to make it appear as if they were talking. In her narration, she raised her voice an octave when speaking for the mouse and seamlessly lowered her voice an octave when the German Shepherd replied. Although the classroom teacher had reminded students of the importance of expressive narrations, she had not discussed using different voices for dialogue. After viewing the digital story created by this student, several classmates echoed the comment, "I don't want to go next," suggesting approval of the movie and evaluating their own movies as inferior to hers.
There are several factors that could deter a teacher from using digital storytelling within the classroom. First, and probably one of the major reasons for the dearth of digital storytelling in schools is that most teachers have not been exposed to the medium. (See Tables 2 and 3 for tutorials, resources, and hardware.) We have noticed when introducing digital storytelling to teachers, colleagues, and students, the majority are not aware of the free and powerful tools already packaged on their own computers. Digital storytelling has been popular for several decades in settings outside the classroom, but just over the last decade has it been introduced to the education community. Its popularity has grown in some classrooms and even schoolwide within the last few years.
Some teachers are familiar with digital storytelling and concur that using digital storytelling in the classroom is a worthwhile endeavor but are reluctant to initiate it because of their lack of competence or confidence. Unlike many software programs used in schools that are interactive and require no support from the teacher, using software to create digital stories requires skills and concepts that the teacher may need to facilitate. Even teachers who feel comfortable creating digital stories may not feel as comfortable guiding a class of 20 students through the process because of significant logistical issues encountered in a school setting. These may include fearing a loss of classroom management, technical glitches, time pressure, and lack of administrative endorsement in a time of accountability and, for some, fidelity checks — an inspection by a district personnel that classroom teachers are teaching only reading during the reading block, that lesson essential questions are posted, that scripted programs are followed closely, and various other mandates by the school district passed on to classroom teachers.
With proper planning these issues are minimized. Many media centers and computer labs are staffed by highly skilled teachers who not only have an affinity for technology but also enjoy teaching. Most media or technology specialists are willing and even eager to assist teachers who are attempting to integrate technology into their instruction. The key is to give them sufficient lead time to schedule a class in the lab and ask for their help rather than expecting them to be responsible for the project. If students are writing a personal narrative, but personal photographs are not available, finding graphics could be challenging for students if they are not equipped with websites or software to access images that will adequately support and even enhance the narration. Depending on the artistic ability of the student, scanned drawings created by the writers can be imported into the movie.
Some may argue that using technology as a carrot to motivate students toward completion of a curricular goal is counter to student-driven experiences; however, struggling writers may be motivated by digital technologies because they are more literate in new literacies and employ these to scaffold traditional literacy. Knowing that a piece of writing will extend beyond the writer and the teacher may motivate reluctant writers to polish, clarify confusing parts, entertain, inform, or, for some, even complete a writing assignment. Recognizing most students' attraction to new technologies, creating stories of any genre using digital storytelling may be a viable solution for struggling writers.
Sylvester teaches at the University of South Florida Polytechnic, Lakeland, USA; e-mail [email protected]. Greenidge teaches at the University of South Florida Polytechnic; e-mail [email protected].
Bloome, D., Carter, S., Christian, B., Otto, S., & Shuart-Faris, N. (2005). Discourse analysis and the study of classroom language and literacy events: A microethnographic perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bottomley, D.M., Henk, W.A., & Melnk, S.A. (1997). Assessing children's views about themselves as writers using the Writer Self- Perception Scale. The Reading Teacher, 51(4), 286-296.
Bright, R.M. (1995). Writing instruction in the intermediate grades: What is said, what is done, what is understood. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Cohen, M., & Riel, M. (1989). The effect of distant audiences on students' writing. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 143-159.
Englert, C.S. (1990). Unraveling the mysteries of writing through strategy instruction. In T.E. Scruggs & B.Y.L. Wong (Eds.), Intervention research in learning disabilities (pp. 180-223). New York: Springer Verlag.
Graham, S., & Harris, K.R. (1997). It can be taught, but it does not develop naturally: Myths and realities in writing instruction. School Psychology Review, 26(3), 414-424.
Lambert, J. (2002). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives, creating community. Berkeley, CA: Digital Diner.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
Sylvester, R., & Greenidge, W. (2009, December). Digital Storytelling: Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284–295.
This is a great piece. Thanks, it helped me a lot.
This site is amazing and brought the idea of Digital Storytelling from theory to practice for me, thank you!
Little Bird Tales digital storytelling is great for all ages, even kinder and allows students to easily create stories by recording their voice and using their own artwork, photos or images. And it's FREE, with teacher accounts and a new assignment tool that allows teachers to easily create interactive digital assignments for their students!
I work with Special Education LD students and this would be a wonderful way to get them interested in their writing! Thanks for posting. I am going to share with my department tomorrow!
This is an extremely informative and well written piece. Thank you for posting it!