Here is a very good song, showcasing the vocal artistry of the great singer Frank Ifield.
Frank Ifield (born in 1937) is an Australian/English country music singer. He was born in Coventry, England and moved with his Australian parents to Dural, 30 miles from Sydney, in about 1946. It was a rural district and he listened to Hillbilly music (now called Country) while milking the cows. He learned how to yodel in imitation of country stars like Hank Snow. At the age of 13 he recorded "Did You See My Daddy Over There?", and by the age of 19 was the number one recording star in Australia and New Zealand. He returned to the UK in 1959. He first record in Britain was "Lucky Devil" (1960) which only got to number 22. His next six records were less successful, but he finally broke through with "I Remember You" in 1962. It has been said this was the first record to sell one million copies within the UK alone. His next single was a double A-side: "Lovesick Blues" (originally sung by Hank Williams) and "She Taught Me How To Yodel", a virtuoso piece of yodelling with the final verse sung at double-speed. His next hit, "Wayward Wind", made him the first person to reach number one three times in succession. In 1963 he had a hit with "I Remember You" and sang at the Grand Ole Opry, introduced by one of his heroes, Hank Snow. Frank Ifield was the second artist to score a hat-trick of (consecutive) #1 singles in the UK charts, the only other by that point was Elvis Presley. Ifield toured the UK, supported by The Beatles. They released an album called "'Jolly What' England's Greatest Recording Stars: The Beatles and Frank Ifield on Stage" on February 26, 1964. This consists of four studio recordings of the Beatles plus eight recordings of Ifield. The original pressing has a drawing of a chubby old man with a moustache, and is itself quite rare. Then the sleeve cover was changed to a drawing of the Beatles. Probably less than 100 copies were pressed. It is the rarest Beatles album. Three sealed stereo copies were discovered in 1976. The first copy sold for 600 dollars, the second for 900 and the third for 1 800 dollars. One of the three was sold in 1995 for 22 000 dollars!
Listen to Frank's warm voice, with a great range and to his vocal jugglery and enjoy!
And here is a wonderful medley from the Ed Sullivan Show.


Saturday night view. Texada Island (northeast point to the left) and Francis Point and Nelson Island to the right.
The weather is great, but brings with it a new risk. It's so hot I "need" to go swimming.
Problem is, once in how do I get my fat aging carcass out of the water and up on the dock, I need a ladder but have no clue. My solution is to skulk around on the yacht club dock and "reverse engineer" their design – it must be fancy.
Turns out their dock ladders are very simple. Ingredients: three 2x4s and a handful of screws. Now I can get in; and get out.
The 46th Annual Halfmoon Bay Country Fair will be held July 14-15, 2012 @ Coopers Green. There will be a Kids Fishing Derby on Saturday in the morning, a Family Dinner/Dance on Saturday evening, a Pancake Breakfast on Sunday morning, and Craft Booths, Bingo, Beer Garden on Sunday. Click here to see the brochure and the complete schedule of events.


Normally I'd probably do a whole skit but as it is I literally need your help, PC Tech experts of Charas. I am about to embark upon a different sort of quest than I normally do as there will be no random battles involving sci-fi plagiarism based monsters not an evil Al Gore final wielding an energy efficient lightsaber.
NO MACS. I HATE THEM.A laptop that is powerful enough to play console imports without needing to be an Alienware and MUST be able to be backward compatible with Skyrim and Divinity as those two are all I played on the end. I would like to keep RPG maker 2003 even though I'm not primarily an MV developer since I still want to take part in Chain Games. I don't need a lot of onboard memory since I had s terrabyte Drive and still lost vital data I could have preserved with a portable drive. -_-; Stupid virus overfilled the OS drive but left half a terabyte in the internal free but worthless. I would like a model that works with a universal gaming controller since I plan specifically to buy the Spyro Trilogy and replay it via PC as I will never be able to get wi-fi in this dead zone I live in...So I can never return to being a console gamer sadly.
Other than those features I'd prefer to spend less than 1,000 if possible.
Re: Hey kids! Fish needs your help!
Sounds like you want a windows 10.
Seriously, laptops are not my forte. I've never bought a gaming laptop and don't know what they can or can't handle or what is considered "good" in the laptop world.
Well, if you're looking for something right up to the $1k mark, here's a laptop with good ratings that's currently on sale at a pretty huge discount. It's rocking a GTX 1060 with 6 gigs of VRAM, 8 GB RAM, a pretty solid mobile processor, but only 256 GB of internal (SSD) storage. If you don't mind keeping all your files on an external, it's a pretty killer deal. If you want to maybe keep the price tag lower, but still want something that's gonna keep you in the game, try this MSI laptop (also on sale). It's got a more modest GTX 1050Ti with only 4GB VRAM (the lowest I'd be willing to go, tbh), a comparable RAM and slightly better CPU, 16GB of Optane memory (!), and 1TB of storage onboard. It also currently has two bonuses in the form of a backpack meant to safely carry the laptop, and a copy of Black Ops 4. Not a bad deal at all. It even advertises a 7.5 hour battery life while gaming, but I never really trust those kind of numbers.
Actually, the MSI looks like it might be the better deal right now, if you don't mind the weaker GPU. Both offer free shipping, and in some states (such as here in Texas), Newegg is tax-free.
WHOA, HEY, UPDATE. I JUST SPENT A LITTLE MORE TIME LOOKING AND I FOUND A NICE COMPROMISE WITH THIS NEAT ASUS.
That looks like a pretty perfect match, it even shows a game on the display!
Damn that is nice! A tad flashy with a light up keyboard but I do write late at night and have this weird *** phenomenon happen: I cant type with a light off. Literally can type in low light and not even look at the keyboard unless I need a special character or when playing a game that's not WASD capable.. xD But if you turn out the light my mind goes to hunt and peck almost automatically so yeah a lighted keyboard could be a godsend. Still would only have three USB slots but that's okay. I wouldn't use a wireless mouse when running the types of games I want so not so bad. I'll see if they have it locally before I 100% invest in a site as I want yo use credit to pay for it aforementioned but thanks Archem! This looks like it'll do all I need. Just hope it's backward compatible with Skyrim, Divinty and Masseffect. The later especially as somebody reminded me today I still haven't tried all the DLC.


Hello, I would like to see more pictures of the 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, stock# S5064.
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Please send me the vehicle history report for your 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU (S5064) that I saw on the Siouxland Cars For Sale.
I am interested in this 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU (S5064) that I saw on the Siouxland Cars For Sale. Please contact me with more information.


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text:
Retcon Punch
Comics: Scrutinized
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The Fury of Firestorm 0
Today, Drew and (guest writer) Scott Baumgartner are discussing The Fury of Firestorm 0, originally released September 26th, 2012. The Fury of Firestorm 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.
Drew: When I was in middle school, we didn't have book reports. Instead, we were periodically asked to have conversations with parent volunteers about books we just read. You'd get called out into the hall, summarize the plot, and say what you liked and didn't like about it. These conversations often fell far short of the twenty minutes prescribed by the school, prompting the volunteer to pad it out with some leading questions about still-vague notions of "mood" and "voice." They were a pleasant alternative to writing the same information, but the conversation that stands out the most in my mind is when I attempted to summarize Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for a parent who had inexplicably never read it. Every detail needed to be explained, so I basically spent the entirety of the twenty minutes vomiting exposition. My goal was to convince this poor volunteer that they had been missing out, but I'm sure my rambling, stream-of-consciousness summary only served to confuse and intimidate. I couldn't help but think of that volunteer as I read The Fury of Firestorm 0.
I have no clue what is going on here. I think a "Firestorm" is a person who has undergone "firestorm protocols," but I have no idea what any of that means. Jason Rush either was a firestorm, as was Ronnie Raymond, but they're not now, for some reason. They're both in high-school, so understanding protocols that could turn human beings into walking nuclear reactions should be out of their depth, but that doesn't stop Jason from adorably attempting to figure it out in a poorly lit chemistry room. He accidentally generates some balloons out of thin air (I think), and rushes off to tell Ronnie they maybe are still firestorms, after all. Ronnie isn't happy to hear the news, and refuses to believe it, but is kind of confronted with reality when a hulking monster named Helix (who is maybe also a firestorm) shows up. Ronnie and Jason turn into one firestorm (which is apparently a new development) and defeat Helix, but cause a nuclear explosion. It's basically like the season one finale of Heroes, only is somehow even less climactic. The issue concludes with Jason and Ronnie maybe coming to terms with the fact that they turn into a nuclear man sometimes.
The last panel informs us this is "THE BEGINNING!" with no explanation for newcomers if this takes place before, during, or after any of the series proper. I suspect that this zero is in the Green Lantern vein of being a new chapter for the heroes, but doesn't actually take place before the series proper, but that's just a guess. The "Who's who" page talks about their being classmates in the past tense, as if they don't attend high school anymore, which makes this issue seem like it must be set prior to the rest of the series, but there's so much back-story referenced here, I can't really imagine that hasn't been shown before.
If this issue really is just picking up the story in the middle, I can't really blame it for not explaining things to me — I've never cared about this title, so why should it care about me — but it's strange, then, that Jason explains as much to us as he does. Writer Joe Harris manages to strike just the right balance of exposition that it doesn't actually tell us anything, but still manages to feel incredibly clunky when characters say it. Ultimately, though, it's the complete lack of clarity in the action that undermines the storytelling here.
Take, for example, the scene where Jason rediscovers his transmutation abilities. He's concentrating, trying to get something to happen, when he sees a flash of Helix's eyes. Here's Jason's reaction:
What just happened, indeed. I'm pretty sure Jason transmuted those balloons out of something — maybe the faucets from the sinks, which have all disappeared — but since we never got a clear before shot of the lab, it's difficult for this after shot to mean much of anything. Maybe Suzanne just brought the balloons? Maybe they were there the whole time? Without making it clear what just happened, it's essentially impossible for us to understand why Jason reacts the way he does.
You'd think the news that he still has these incredible abilities might be urgent — as it seems like it is when he storms off — but what does Jason do when he finally finds Ronnie? He hands him his trig homework, of course!
I get that this exchange is supposed to examine their deep-seated character motivations as "nerd" and "jock" (subtly emphasized by putting Ronnie in a football uniform), but it completely undermines the urgency of Jason's message. Either that, or a football player not being that good at math is bigger news than I thought.
Botching these context cues wouldn't be as big a deal if I had anything else to go on, but since I don't, it's hard for me to have much of an investment in these characters. It feels like totally generic high-school drama that just happens to have a nuclear monster show up in the middle. Basically, it's like Glee, but with action instead of singing. That summary makes me question who the audience is for this title; I can't imagine there are a lot of folks that tune into Glee for the drama, but there have got to be even fewer that watch it for its action. I dunno, Scott, am I missing something that's there, or is this all as confusing as I think it is?
Scott: It's definitely more confusing than it needs to be. Anyone picking up this zero issue might reasonably be expected to already have some familiarity with Firestorm mythology, but I went in blind, completely uninitiated with the title. I didn't expect this issue to cater to someone like me, but it seems like the writer went out of his way to not explain anything (By the way Drew, wasn't there a Joe Harris in your middle school class? Let's pretend it's the same guy and say he was just trying to provide fodder for verbose hallway book reports when he penned this issue.) From what I understand, the purpose of these zero issues is to provide, if not an origin story, at least a story that shows us something new about these characters, and I have a real hard time believing this story does that. We get the gist of what seems like the proper origin story during a one-page flashback.
I'm assuming this story was fleshed out in greater detail earlier in the series, otherwise it would have been the obvious choice for a zero issue plotline. But we also know that the Firestorms were "snuffed out" (killed?) around that same time, so nothing Firestorm-related could really have taken place between the flashback and this storyline, unless there were a bunch of boring issues about Jason toiling away in the science lab, trying to turn particles into other particles and…well, not. So, that means any other adventures involving the Nuclear Men would have taken place after the events of this issue, which makes me wonder what we're really getting here. My guess is that they invented a story where Jason and Ronnie lose their powers only to regain them as a roundabout way of maintaining the status quo after the real origin story. I mean, if this story didn't exist and Jason and Ronnie never lost their Firestorm powers at all, would it make any difference as far as the big-picture of their story is concerned? With no explanation as to why their powers disappeared or why they're coming back, the entire issue comes off as lazy, forced, and ultimately pointless.
It's hard for me to lay the blame on Harris for not delivering here, though. DC made the decision to roll out zero issues for all of the New 52 titles, some of which were certainly needed more than others. The Fury of Firestorm could just be a case where there was not a whole lot left to explain in this format. Or maybe it's just a dud title. Honestly, I don't think there's anything they could have done with these pages that would have made me interested in hearing more about "Firestorm protocols."
I did enjoy the details of the football game going on right before Helix bursts in and seemingly kills a bunch of people with lightning and fire. Ronnie's team, Walton Mills, is trailing by 6 points in the fourth quarter, with just enough time for one more play. A touchdown would win the game! Keep in mind, the college scouts are watching! It all comes down to thi — wait, no, here comes Helix, forget about all that football stuff. I don't know why, but there's something about playing up the drama of a football game that the readers couldn't possibly be invested in, and then not paying it off at all, that I find really funny.
I know Drew wasn't all that impressed with the story's climax, but there was a three page stretch towards the end where some pretty crazy shit happened, which I would now like to describe to you from memory. Basically, Jason realizes that the way to defeat Helix is to surround him with some blue stuff that could be water, could be ice, but is almost definitely Gak. Once this is completed, Ronnie is able to condense Helix into a series of smaller and smaller bubbles, until he's in a golf ball sized bubble that Ronnie carries into outer space, where it causes an explosion about a quarter of the size of Earth. If you're thinking this explosion happened far enough away that it wouldn't have wiped out an entire continent, you'd be wrong. At least a billion people died just then. Finally, as Ronnie plummets back to Earth, he and Jason get married. I'm fairly certain this is what happens.
Lastly, one small quibble with the typography: I understand the practice of adding emphasis to certain words by putting them in bold and italics, but is it really necessary to do this in every sentence? There were instances here where I felt like it was misused to the point of actually altering the tone of some lines. Take the first conversation between Ronnie and Jason in the locker room, which Drew mentioned above. We already know that these two have been through some shit together — whether they're allies or enemies at this point is not yet clear — but it's obvious they are not about to engage in some friendly chit-chat. So, when Jason opens by telling Ronnie that his teammates "really look up to" him, it's hard not to read that as sarcasm, even though I'm pretty sure it's meant to be sincere. Four words in and already I'm confused about the tone of this conversation. That Jason follows up with snarky remarks in each of the next two panels only adds to the confusion, and I found myself re-reading these few panels, searching in futility for subtext in the most stereotypical of nerd-jock interactions. I know I'm reading too much into this, but when these emphases start to interfere with the clarity of the dialogue, I say it's best to leave them out entirely.
Scott Baumgartner is a writer/comedian living in LA. He currently works as a production assistant on impossibly dumb reality shows, which you should probably ask him about some time. You can follow him on Twitter @scaumgartner.
For a complete list of what we're reading, head on over to our Pull List page. Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore. If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to DC's website and download issues there. There's no need to pirate, right?
By Drew • Posted in Alternating Current, Drew Baumgartner, The Fury of Firestorm	• Tagged Firestorm, Helix, Jason Rusch, Joe Harris, Nuclear Men, Ronnie Raymond, Yildiray Cinar
7 comments on "The Fury of Firestorm 0"
mikyzptlk
I read the first few issues of this title because I'm a big fan of the character. Unfortunately, the concept of this title was a huge misfire from the start. They tried to do something "new" and "exciting" with the characters involved but what they ended up with was a convoluted mess. The concept could have worked. Instead of having 2 kids with the power of Firestorm, EVERY nuclear powered nation on earth would have their own version. Heck, the Armor Wars worked for Iron Man so why not Firestorm? One reason. "Fury." Fury was the original amalgamation of Jason and Ronnie. I'm really not sure what the point of Fury was but the only thing the concept did was undermine the entire series thus far.
I'm not surprised to see that this issue glosses over Fury for the most part here and I've got to say that, from the perspective of a fan of the Firestorm that was, this was the best issue of this title I've read so far. To me, this issue is an acknowledgement that the powers that be at DC fully accept that the previous issues were a failure and are moving forward with a Firestorm will be much more similar to what it was in the Pre-52. Jason and Ronnie will transform into "Firestorm" not "Fury" and, like before, there will be only ONE entity by the name of Firestorm.
I actually enjoyed this issue, not for its quality (or lack thereof), but because it reestablished the version of Firestorm that I know and love and says "ignore what you saw in year one because that was a royal fuck up." I wish that this issue would have made more sense for people picking it up for the first time because Firestorm really is a great character when written well. Unfortunately, Dan Jurgens is taking over this title and with that we are going to get a title that probably makes a lot more sense than what we've seen before in The New 52, but will be far too boring to pick up any steam.
patrickjehlers
So wait.. this is stupid – sorry: I didn't read this issue because I'm terrible. But I'm still going to ask questions. Did the N52 totally ignore the Blackest Night / Brightest Day stuff with Firestorm? Ronnie and Jason being a horrible team (because one of their zombies turned the other's girlfriend into salt) was pretty cool. A team that has to share a body and HATES eachother? Good place to start. A nerd and a jock? not as interesting.
Yes, this title started over from scratch. Ronnie never died/came back and Jason was never the replacement Firestorm. New 52 established both characters as high school students who never saw eye to eye. So yeah, not nearly as interesting.
shelbykpeterson
Yeah, I had a passing familiarity with Firestorm pre-52, and I had no clue what was going on here. Mikyscsrasprk, you're right, this definitely feels like an "oops, let's start over" sort of issue; even still, the whole "we had powers, but we lost them, OR DID WE?!?" execution is just awkward and not especially interesting.
Right Shelby, I wasn't sure how or why or if they had lost their powers either but I didn't care either. The cool thing is, neither does DC apparently. Firestorm is getting a "fresh" start with Jurgens. Unfortunately, Jurgens version of fresh is just plain stale.
Pivitor
I knew I dropped this series for a reason. This review doesn't make me regret my decision.
I really don't know what happened with this title. The concepts should work, the high stakes should be interesting, but nothing ever really clicked. Even Gail Simone couldn't make it work and eventually left the title before the current writer took over. It was just kind of a muddled mess from beginning to end.
I think my biggest qualm with the title as a whole was that it seemed to change the status quo in every single issue, and considering that it never had a single established status quo in the first place, it just left me feeling like we rushed from one plot point to another at such a hurried pace that I never had the chance to really figure out what just happened and whyit was supposed to be important.
zachkastner
So, the New 52 wanted them to each be a Firestorm then fuse into a bigger, meaner Firestorm? Ok. Now, something happened one lost and regained his powers only to have them fuse into the normal pre-New 52 version of Firestorm thus negating the need for the title to even be called "The Nuclear Men".
Neat. Ok. I didn't miss anything not reading this title then. 😀
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10 Facts to Get You Started
Missed That Deadline!
rorypond2020	Uncategorized	Leave a comment
When last I posted, I was going to be away "for a few days." Well, it's been more than a few – and I still odn't have time for more than a quick post to say "Sorry! My life has become horribly busy. I hope to get back to posting some day!"
Away for a Few Days
rorypond2020	Uncategorized	2 Comments
Hopefully back on December 11!
10 Facts About Women with the Initials "L.L."
rorypond2020	Other entertainment	DC Comics, drama, Laura Linney, Lene Lovich, Lois Land, Loretta Lynn, Lotte Lenya, Lucy Lawless, superheroes, Superman, TV	10 Comments
1. There are a lot of them in comics involving Superman: his girl friend Lois Lane; Lois's sister, Lucy Lane; his high school sweetheart Lana Lang; his college romance Lori Lemaris; his Kryptonian affair, Lyla Lerrol; his cousin Supergirl's secret identity, Linda Lee; his Kryptonian mother's maiden name, Lara Lor-Van; and that's only scratching the surface.
2. The tabloids would be much quieter without Lindsay Lohan. More
10 Facts About Former Child Star Paul Petersen
rorypond2020	Other entertainment, Television	child stars, comedy, Donna Reed, Paul Petersen, TV	1 Comment
1. Born September 23, 1945, Paul Petersen started out at age ten as a Mousketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club. (He was fired – by Disney himself – apparently for punching a casting director who kept calling him "mouse.")
2. He gained much more attention playing Donna Reed's son, Jeff, from 1958-1966 on The Donna Reed Show. More
10 Facts About the Great Chicago Fire
rorypond2020	History	Chicago, disasters, fire, Great Chicago Fire	1 Comment
1. The Great Chicago Fire started around 9:00 p.m. October 8, 1871 and burned through the morning of October 10, 1871.
2. The exact death toll attributable to the fire is not known; 125 bodies were recovered but about 200-300 are estimated to have perished. Some 100,000 of the city's 300,000 people were left homeless. More
10 Facts About Madame Fatal
rorypond2020	Comics	Crack Comics, crossdressing, DC Comics, Madame Fatal, Quality Comics, transvestite	1 Comment
1. Madame Fatal holds the distinction of being the first male cross-dressing hero in comics. (Mainstream comics, at least.)
2. She first appeared in Quality Comics' Crack Comics #1 (May, 1940). More
10 Facts About Grampa Simpson of "The Simpsons"
rorypond2020	Television	animation, cartoon, comedy, Grampa, Simpsons, TV	6 Comments
1. Grampa Simpson's real name is Abraham J. Simpson. (What does the J stand for? Dunno. And I doubt if Grampa does either.)
2. He is a veteran of both World War I and World War II. (Don't ask how. This is a cartoon.) More
10 Facts About "Summer and Smoke" by Tennessee Williams
rorypond2020	Theatre	Broadway, drama, Geraldine Page, off-Broadway, play, Tennessee Williams	1 Comment
Geraldine Page backstage during the off-Broadway run of "Summer and Smoke"
1. The play was originally produced on Broadway in 1948, where it had a disappointing run of 102 performances. (Hey, that's 102 more performances than anything I've ever written!)
2. The play was more successful in a 1952 off-Broadway production which ran more than 350 performances; this production is often credited with starting the modern off-Broadway movement. (For which I say, "Thank you very much.") More
10 Facts About the Tin Man of Oz
rorypond2020	Books	fairytales, land of Oz, Oz, Tin Man, Tin Woodman	12 Comments
1. Although the movie The Wizard of Oz refers to him as the Tin Man, his official name (in the Oz book series) is the Tin Woodman. (Names are important, people!)
2. Oh, and the Tin Woodman's "real" name is Nick Chopper. More
10 Facts About (and Recipes Using) Pomegranates
rorypond2020	Health	fruit, pomegranate, recipes	4 Comments
1. Also called a Chinese apple, the pomegranate is a basically round fruit, usually of a deep red color, with a funny little crown at the top. (All hail King Pomegranate!) (Want some roasted sweet potatoes with pomegranate glaze? Go here.)
2. Pomegranate means "seeded apple." (Hell, takes the poetry out of the name, that does.) (Try an eggplant-lentil stew with pomegranate molasses here.) More
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PlanetKids, Planetshakers' childrens ministry released "Nothing is Impossible". This album has 16 fun tracks that will encourage kids in their praise and worship and allow them to enjoy cool music that is relevant today. It's Planetshakers Kids' desire to provide Christ centered, positive and uplifting music, where kids of all ages can have fun listening to the music whilst worshiping God and being encouraged.


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Charles Bronson's Blue Suit in The Valachi Papers
Charles Bronson as Joe Valachi attending the Apalachin meeting in The Valachi Papers (1972)
Charles Bronson as Joe Valachi, Mafia soldier
Apalachin, New York, November 1957
Film: The Valachi Papers
Costume Design: Giorgio Desideri & Ann Roth
"It was a glorious time, before Apalachin," recalls Ray Liotta's voice-over as Henry Hill in Goodfellas. For readers not mired in the history of organized crime, Henry was referring to a now-legendary meeting of the American Mafia at the Apalachin, New York home of mobster Joseph Barbara. The summit was organized by powerful New York mob boss Vito Genovese and found more than 100 mobsters from across the country gathering at Barbara's home on November 14, 1957… sixty years ago tomorrow.
Of course, dozens of silk-suited fat cats in shiny Cadillacs is bound to get attention anywhere, let alone a small census-designated town on the southern border of New York. Local police and New York State Troopers busted the meeting almost as soon as it began, sending scores of gangsters stumbling through the woods in their wingtips in a scene that would be humorously depicted in the opening credits of Analyze This (1998). The actual consequences for the sixty or so men who were detained were negligible, but the greatest impact of the failed Apalachin meeting was that the American public could no longer deny the existence of an organized crime network linked across the nation.
A more straightforward depiction of the Apalachin meeting is seen in The Valachi Papers, the 1972 cinematic adaptation of Peter Maas' biography of Joe Valachi, the low-ranking soldier in the Genovese crime family who became the first major Mafia informant when he testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on organized crime in October 1963. Valachi would spend the rest of his life in federal prison where he died of a heart attack on April 3, 1971, less than a year before The Valachi Papers was released in theaters. The film was directed by Terence Young, the three-time James Bond director often credited with helping Sean Connery perfect his image as the iconic secret agent, and starred Charles Bronson as Valachi.
After a series of boldly striped three-piece suits in the 1930s sequences, a more mature Joe Valachi tones down his dress for the 1950s sequences with tasteful and well-tailored solid-colored suits in shades of blue and gray. When accompanying his boss Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura) to the Apalachin meeting, Valachi wears a rich navy blue two-piece suit.
The single-breasted suit jacket has notch lapels and a two-button front. Both of the dark blue buttons are interestingly positioned more than an inch from the edge of the jacket.
Valachi's suit jacket has a welted breast pocket and straight flapped hip pockets placed low on his jacket, in line with the lower of the two front buttons, in addition to a flapped ticket pocket on the right. Each sleeve has two non-functioning buttons spaced apart on each cuff.
The suit's flat front trousers are appropriately proportioned to rise to Bronson's waist, meeting the first button of his jacket. He wears them with a black leather belt that has a large silver-toned single-prong buckle.
In addition to the wine bottles lining the walls of his restaurant, Valachi keeps some Campari and Scotch (Glen Stewart blended whisky, specifically) next to the phone.
Martin Scorsese's gangster films have popularized the long spearpoint collar, and Scorsese has said that these shirts specifically remind him of the "neighborhood guys" from his youth. This collar has earned a plethora of descriptive monikers across the internet – Goodfella collar, Guido collar, Italian collar, Mafioso collar, and Soprano collar to name a few – all generally derived from its pop culture associations.
A year before Scorsese broke onto the scene with Mean Streets, The Valachi Papers dressed its gangsters in these long-collared shirts. Valachi himself wears white shirts with a long point collar that – while less pronounced than those seen in Goodfellas – would still be plenty fashionable for a New York gangster in the late '50s. Valachi's shirt also has a front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs.
At the Apalachin meeting, Valachi wears a navy-on-blue paisley patterned silk tie.
Tie #1: All blue.
Upon returning to New York City and his restaurant, Valachi wears the same dark blue suit and white shirt but with a different tie best described as a series of closely spaced maroon amorphous shapes, each with a green-gold border, on a dark navy ground.
Tie #2: Crowded color.
Valachi wears a gray felt fedora with a wide black grosgrain band, and he carries his gray scale-patterned wool topcoat.
Valachi dons his hat when leading his boss Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura) and others out of the busted Apalachin meeting.
Valachi's shoes in this sequence appear to be his usual black leather cap-toe derby shoes.
Charles Bronson's Joe Valachi presents a tastefully understated approach to "mob fashion" with none of the flashy fabrics or accessories that many associate with gangsterdom.
Navy blue wool suit:
Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets with right-side ticket pocket, spaced 2-button cuffs, and single vent
Flat front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
White dress shirt with long spearpoint collar, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
Navy patterned silk tie
Black leather belt with silver-toned single-prong buckle
Black leather cap-toe derby shoes
Gray felt fedora with black grosgrain band
Check out the movie. Happy #MafiaMonday, folks.
Terence Young, who directed the film, defended the timing of its 1972 release, saying "The Godfather is the most expensive trailer ever made – a trailer for our film!… The Valachi Papers is no 'spin-off' trying to cash in on the phenomenal success of The Godfather… we are really much closer to The French Connection. We are the other side of that coin – you could call us 'The Italian Connection'!"
In fact, one piece of The Valachi Papers' marketing collateral cited an NBC Chicago affiliate that asked "Is it as good as The Godfather? The answer is… no, it is better."
That's certainly a bold claim and not one that I agree with, but Peter Maas, author of the original The Valachi Papers who sold the rights of his book to make this film would vehemently disagree, actually calling it "one of the worst films ever made."
Written by luckystrike721 Posted in Suit, Two-Piece Suit, What to Wear to the Office	Tagged with 1950s, 2-Piece Suit, Blue/Navy Suit, Charles Bronson, Costume design by Ann Roth, Derby Shoes, Fall, Gangster, Joe Valachi, Mafia, New York City, Suit, The Valachi Papers, What to Wear to the Office, White Shirt
November 13, 2017 - 6:05 pm rasputin1066
Wow! A movie starring Charles Bronson and Lino Ventura, directed by Terence Young, about the Mob and I have never seen it!
Definitely going to check it out! Thanks for the tip!
November 14, 2017 - 11:52 pm luckystrike721
I'm really happy to hear that I could introduce a film that you may be interested in! I hope you enjoyed it!
Revolutionary Road: Frank Wheeler's Gray Business Suit
Warren Oates' Brown Striped Suit as Dillinger


The Trinidadian poet, Derek Walcott, was honoured with the Nobel prize for Literature in 1997. In this speech delivered on the ocassion, he gives us a panoramic view of his country's history,geography and general cultural heritage.
Under an open shed on the edge of the field, there were two huge armatures of bamboo that looked like immense cages. They were parts of the body of a god, his calves or thighs, which, fitted and reared, would make a gigantic effigy. This effigy would be burnt as a conclusion to the epic. The cane structures flashed a predictable parallel: Shelley's sonnet on the fallen statue of Ozymandias and his empire, that "colossal wreck" in its empty desert.
Multiply that moment of self-conviction when an actor, made-up and costumed, nods to his mirror before stopping on stage in the belief that he is a reality entering an illusion and you would have what I presumed was happening to the actors of this epic. But they were not actors. They had been chosen; or they themselves had chosen their roles in this sacred story that would go on for nine afternoons over a two-hour period till the sun set. They were not amateurs but believers. There was no theatrical term to define them. They did not have to psych themselves up to play their roles. Their acting would probably be as buoyant and as natural as those bamboo arrows crisscrossing the afternoon pasture. They believed in what they were playing, in the sacredness of the text, the validity of India, while I, out of the writer's habit, searched for some sense of elegy, of loss, even of degenerative mimicry in the happy faces of the boy-warriors or the heraldic profiles of the village princes. I was polluting the afternoon with doubt and with the patronage of admiration. I misread the event through a visual echo of History - the cane fields, indenture, the evocation of vanished armies, temples, and trumpeting elephants - when all around me there was quite the opposite: elation, delight in the boys' screams, in the sweets-stalls, in more and more costumed characters appearing; a delight of conviction, not loss. The name Felicity made sense.
And here they are, all in a single Caribbean city, Port of Spain, the sum of history, Trollope's "non-people". A downtown babel of shop signs and streets, mongrelized, polyglot, a ferment without a history, like heaven. Because that is what such a city is, in the New World, a writer's heaven.
Ours are not cities in the accepted sense, but no one wants them to be. They dictate their own proportions, their own definitions in particular places and in a prose equal to that of their detractors, so that now it is not just St. James but the streets and yards that Naipaul commemorates, its lanes as short and brilliant as his sentences; not just the noise and jostle of Tunapuna but the origins of C.L.R. James's Beyond a Boundary, not just Felicity village on the Caroni plain, but Selvon Country, and that is the way it goes up the islands now: the old Dominica of Jean Rhys still very much the way she wrote of it; and the Martinique of the early Cesaire; Perse's Guadeloupe, even without the pith helmets and the mules; and what delight and privilege there was in watching a literature - one literature in several imperial languages, French, English, Spanish - bud and open island after island in the early morning of a culture, not timid, not derivative, any more than the hard white petals of the frangipani are derivative and timid. This is not a belligerent boast but a simple celebration of inevitability: that this flowering had to come.
On a heat-stoned afternoon in Port of Spain, some alley white with glare, with love vine spilling over a fence, palms and a hazed mountain appear around a corner to the evocation of Vaughn or Herbert's "that shady city of palm-trees", or to the memory of a Hammond organ from a wooden chapel in Castries, where the congregation sang "Jerusalem, the Golden". It is hard for me to see such emptiness as desolation. It is that patience that is the width of Antillean life, and the secret is not to ask the wrong thing of it, not to demand of it an ambition it has no interest in. The traveller reads this as lethargy, as torpor.
Here there are not enough books, one says, no theatres, no museums, simply not enough to do. Yet, deprived of books, a man must fall back on thought, and out of thought, if he can learn to order it, will come the urge to record, and in extremity, if he has no means of recording, recitation, the ordering of memory which leads to metre, to commemoration. There can be virtues in deprivation, and certainly one virtue is salvation from a cascade of high mediocrity, since books are now not so much created as remade. Cities create a culture, and all we have are these magnified market towns, so what are the proportions of the ideal Caribbean city? A surrounding, accessible countryside with leafy suburbs, and if the city is lucky, behind it, spacious plains. Behind it, fine mountains; before it, an indigo sea. Spires would pin its centre and around them would be leafy, shadowy parks. Pigeons would cross its sky in alphabetic patterns, carrying with them memories of a belief in augury, and at the heart of the city there would be horses, yes, horses, those animals last seen at the end of the nineteenth century drawing broughams and carriages with top-hatted citizens, horses that live in the present tense without elegiac echoes from their hooves, emerging from paddocks at the Queen's Park Savannah at sunrise, when mist is unthreading from the cool mountains above the roofs, and at the centre of the city seasonally there would be races, so that citizens could roar at the speed and grace of these nineteenth-century animals. Its docks, not obscured by smoke or deafened by too. much machinery, and above all, it would be so racially various that the cultures of the world - the Asiatic, the Mediterranean, the European, the African - would be represented in it, its humane variety more exciting than Joyce's Dublin. Its citizens would intermarry as they chose, from instinct, not tradition, until their children find it increasingly futile to trace their genealogy. It would not have too many avenues difficult or dangerous for pedestrians, its mercantile area would be a cacophony of accents, fragments of the old language that would be silenced immediately at five o'clock, its docks resolutely vacant on Sundays.
The finest silhouettes of Port of Spain are idealizations of the craftsman's handiwork, not of concrete and glass, but of baroque woodwork, each fantasy looking more like an involved drawing of itself than the actual building. Behind the city is the Caroni plain, with its villages, Indian prayer flags, and fruit vendors' stalls along the highway over which ibises come like floating flags. Photogenic poverty! Postcard sadnesses! I am not re-creating Eden; I mean, by "the Antilles", the reality of light, of work, of survival. I mean a house on the side of a country road, I mean the Caribbean Sea, whose smell is the smell of refreshing possibility as well as survival. Survival is the triumph of stubborness, and spiritual stubborness, a sublime stupidity, is what makes the occupation of poetry endure, when there are so many things that should make it futile. Those things added together can go under one collective noun: "the world".
Alexis Saint-Leger Leger, whose writer's name is Saint-John Perse, was the first Antillean to win this prize for poetry. He was born in Guadeloupe and wrote in French, but before him, there was nothing as fresh and clear in feeling as those poems of his childhood, that of a privileged white child on an Antillean plantation, Pour Feter une Enfance, Eloges, and later Images a Crusoe. At last, the first breeze on the page, salt-edged and self-renewing as the trade winds, the sound of pages and palm trees turning as "the odour of coffee ascents the stairs".
There is a force of exultation, a celebration of luck, when a writer finds himself a witness to the early morning of a culture that is defining itself, branch by branch, leaf by leaf, in that self-defining dawn, which is why, especially at the edge of the sea, it is good to make a ritual of the sunrise. Then the noun, the "Antilles" ripples like brightening water, and the sounds of leaves, palm fronds, and birds are the sounds of a fresh dialect, the native tongue. The personal vocabulary, the individual melody whose metre is one's biography, joins in that sound, with any luck, and the body moves like a walking, a waking island.
I stand here in their name, if not their image - but also in the name of the dialect they exchange like the leaves of the trees whose names are suppler, greener, more morning-stirred than English - laurier canelles, bois-flot, bois-canot - or the valleys the trees mention - Fond St. Jacques, Matoonya, Forestier, Roseau, Mahaut - or the empty beaches - L'Anse Ivrogne, Case en Bas, Paradis - all songs and histories in themselves, pronounced not in French - but in patois.
'Ous kai dire ça vrai.
Pas ka faire l 'amour z'autres pour un rien.
That is what I have read around me from boyhood, from the beginnings of poetry, the grace of effort. In the hard mahogany of woodcutters: faces, resinous men, charcoal burners; in a man with a cutlass cradled across his forearm, who stands on the verge with the usual anonymous khaki dog; in the extra clothes he put on this morning, when it was cold when he rose in the thinning dark to go and make his garden in the heights - the heights, the garden, being miles away from his house, but that is where he has his land - not to mention the fishermen, the footmen on trucks, groaning up mornes, all fragments of Africa originally but shaped and hardened and rooted now in the island's life, illiterate in the way leaves are illiterate; they do not read, they are there to be read, and if they are properly read, they create their own literature.


text:
Q: how to setup more than offer Buy 2 Get 1 free in magento? I setup Buy 2 Get 1 free offer in magento. it's working fine. But I setup morethan one in same way it's not working?
Can you tell me any one how it is?
and how to setup if cellphone purchase! memory card free?
thanks in advance...........

A: Real buy X get Y free, where X and Y are different SKUs is not available in magento without custom extension.
There are a few at the magento connect or you can build you own, that extends default shopping cart rule functionality. See http://www.magentocommerce.com/wiki/5_-_modules_and_development/0_-_module_development_in_magento/custom_module_with_custom_database_table

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sometimes, if a WiFi network doesn't have a strong signal, your iOS device will not show it in the WiFi options. The iOS Settings app doesn't show a network below a certain signal strength. That doesn't mean that you cannot connect to it, but iOS doesn't let you. To get rid of that problem, there's a new tweak available in Cydia right now, called WiFi Booster.
Like its name, the tweak boosts WiFi reception on your iOS device and displays every available network in range, including the weak ones. It also shows the MAC address of the WiFi network along with true signal strength.
Therefore, using the WiFi Booster tweak, you can connect to a network that would otherwise be impossible to connect to. This tweak isn't new, it's been available on iOS 7 and older for sometime now. However, it was recently updated with support for iOS 8.
WiFi Booster isn't a free tweak and will cost you $1.99. Is it worth it? Well, we'll let you decide that. If you were already using WiFi Booster on iOS 7, then the update is free on iOS 8.
Try it out and let us know what you think of this tweak.
Does your iOS device have a broken or problematic Home button? Do you hate using AssistiveTouch to lock your screen or put your device to sleep? Well, this new tweak should solve that problem. DoubleTapToSleep is a new Cydia tweak that does exactly what the name suggests.
Once you install this tweak, you can simply double tap on your homescreen or the lockscreen to put your device to sleep. Simple as that. There are no options to fiddle with, just a straight-to-the-point tweak.
DoubleTapToSleep will work with all the new iPhones and iPads and yes, it supports iOS 8. The tweak is available for free in the BigBoss repo. Another tweak called Smart Tap, which wakes your device using the double tap gesture is also useful. However, you cannot use them both together unless the developers add other gestures or custom gestures to activate these tweaks.
Both these features have been taken from the Android ecosystem and can be very useful. What do you think of this tweak?
Be sure to check out our Cydia Tweak List for more handy tweaks for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
The stock Camera app on iOS 8 doesn't really give you a lot of options to meddle with. If you're someone who prefers manual settings over automatic, then you're going to love this tweak. CameraTweak has been available for a while now, but it was recently updated to CameraTweak 3 and came with iOS 8 support and a few other features.
CameraTweak for iOS 8 brings extra features to the stock Camera app, such as a time lapse timer, manual focus, exposure, ISO, shutter speed and more. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cameras are awesome, but the stock camera doesn't really do justice to the hardware. With this tweak installed, you can take some truly amazing shots with ease.
Using the tweak, you can adjust the resolution of the camera and the FPS when shooting videos. It also comes with four different composition overlays to help you get that perfect pictures.
CameraTweak 3 is available in the BigBoss repo for $1.49 and it is totally worth the money. It is only compatible with iOS 8, if you want the tweak on iOS 7 or earlier devices, you will have to try out CameraTweak 2.
Let us know what you think of this tweak.
Check out our Cydia Tweak List for more tweaks for your jailbroken iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
If you're not a morning person, but are forced to wake up early to go to work, school etc, then you probably set back to back alarms. Allarm is a new Cydia tweak that allows you to turn on all alarms in one tap.
A very simple yet functional tweak that will save a few seconds every night. After installing the tweak, you'll see a Toggle All Alarms button when you set an alarm. If you have set back to back alarms for every half hour, you can simply use this tweak to turn on or off all the alarms. Very useful for the lazy ones and the sleepy-heads.
There is another way of doing this, and that is with the help of Siri. Simply say Enable all alarms or Disable all alarms and Siri will do what this tweak does. So, is this a useful tweak? Well, maybe for some.
Allarm is not compatible with iPad as of now and will only work on iOS 8 or later. It's available in Cydia for free right now. Let us know if you're going to check this tweak out.
Make sure you check out our Cydia Tweak List for more awesome tweaks for iPod touch, iPad and iPhone.
iOS 8.1.2 is currently the latest version of software available for all compatible devices. This firmware can be jailbroken using the TaiG 1.2 tool on Windows. If you are on iOS 8.1.2 and have jailbroken your iOS device, then you probably would be interested in this list. This is an updated list of jailbreak tweaks that are compatible with iOS 8.1.2.
Many of the tweaks that worked with previous versions of iOS 8 will still be compatible with iOS 8.1.2. However, there are going to be quite a few tweaks that will either work partially or not work at all. The list, compiled and updated by iAdam1n, shows what works with a certain tweak and what is broken.
For those who want to know if their favorite tweaks work with iOS 8.1.2, this list will come in very useful. You can refer to this list and see if a tweak is fully compatible or not. Sometimes if a tweak is incompatible, it'll cause crashes and other annoyances.
You can view the complete list with over 1,000 entries over here.


At 42, Virginia's Ken Cuccinelli stands as one of the most high-profile, active attorneys general in the state's history.
RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has concluded that the state can impose stricter oversight over clinics that perform abortions, a move immediately decried by abortion-rights organizations and others as an attempt to circumvent the General Assembly, which has repeatedly rejected similar measures.
Cuccinelli's legal opinion empowers the Board of Health, if it chooses, to require the clinics to meet hospital-type standards. Abortion-rights advocates say that could force some clinics to close because they would be unable to afford to meet the new requirements.
"It is my opinion that the Commonwealth has the authority to promulgate regulations for facilities in which first trimester abortions are performed as well as providers of first trimester abortions, so long as the regulations adhere to constitutional limitations," Cuccinelli (R) wrote in his opinion, released Monday.
Cuccinelli declined to be interviewed, but his spokesman said in a statement that the regulations must comply with Roe. v. Wade.
Abortion-rights advocates said they are not surprised by Cuccinelli's decision and predicted that if the Board of Health acts on his opinion, the regulations could prompt the shutdown of 17 of the state's 21 clinics performing abortions.
"We've been waiting for the attorney general to take on abortion providers, and it looks like this is his first pitch," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "These so-called regulations are only an attempt to shut down abortion clinics in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
It's unlikely that any changes would occur soon. The 15-member board is appointed by the governor. Eleven board members were named by former governor Timothy M. Kaine (D), and there are four vacancies.
In his seven months in office, Cuccinelli has sued the federal government over new health-care rules; waded into the national immigration debate, saying law enforcement can ask about immigration status; and launched an investigation into whether a former University of Virginia professor and climate scientist manipulated data to reach his conclusions about global warming.
"It is frightening to think of what Cuccinelli will do next," said Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), House minority whip. "The public needs to understand how reckless he is. He is not working on what is important to Virginia consumers. Instead, he is focusing on his own extreme ideology."
In his legal opinion, Cuccinelli concluded that the Board of Health, which regulates hospitals and nursing homes, has the authority to write new regulations requiring that doctors who perform abortions at the clinics hold hospital privileges, counselors have professional training and buildings undergo structural changes. The legal opinion is not binding, and the board must decide how to proceed.
Cuccinelli's opinion was a response to requests from Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) and Sen. Ralph K. Smith (R-Roanoke), who asked whether the state has the authority to regulate facilities that provide first-trimester abortions and the medical personnel who perform them. The opinion applies only to first-trimester abortions. Second- and third-trimester abortions are performed in hospitals.
Smith did not return phone calls seeking comment. But in a statement, he said, "This opinion clarifies any legal questions on the issue and sets the stage for regulating abortion clinics like other medical facilities."


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Inmate Visitation Schedules
Sending Mail to an Inmate
Corrections Phone Numbers
Inmate Phone Account
Inmate Trust Account
Cook County Jail Divisions
Sheriff's Work Alternative Program (S.W.A.P.)
Cook County Jail's History
Detainee Programs and Services
Home > Corrections > Programs and Services
Inmate Services
Sheriff's Rehabilitative Programs
Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort - SAVE
Mental Health Transition Center
Supportive Release Center - SRC
Inmate Services is made up of Correctional Rehabilitation Workers (CRW's) who serve as the human service liaisons to the detainees assisting them with needs as it relates to their confinement as well as ongoing needs they may have within the community. The CRW's serve as a bridge to the detainee's families and loved ones assisting with property, legal documentation, etc. CRW's process all detainee requests and grievances, pertaining to their needs and any challenges they may have while in our custody.
The Law and Public Librarians also serve within Inmate Services. They assist detainees with legal research as it relates to their cases and with finding books they wish to read for literacy advancement, general interest, inspiration or leisure.
Sheriff's Rehabilitative Programs
The Sheriff's Rehabilitative Programs provide programming services that allow inmates an opportunity to engage in meaningful and pro-social ways while incarcerated at the Cook County Department of Corrections. The goal of Sheriff's Rehabilitative Programs is to prepare individuals for reintegration into our communities.
Programs offered:
Mental Health Transition Center (MHTC)
Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort (SAVE)
Religious programs support community organizations in their endeavors to provide spiritual guidance and charitable resources to detainees. Religious volunteer programs are offered on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, with a one-year volunteer participation minimum. Volunteers assist with Sunday worship services or other religious/faith-based education programs.
Organizations interested in offering religious volunteer programs must submit an application and attend an annual volunteer training session. There are two applications periods per year which occur from March 1-15 and August 15-29. Voluneer training sessions are held four times per year in Feburary, April, June and August. For more information, please email: ccso.religiousservices@cookcountyil.gov
The Chicago Board of Education offers high school classes to detainees ages 17-21 through their onsite facility, Consuela B. York Alternative High School.
The PACE Institute is another onsite organization that offers Adult Basic Education and General Education Diploma (GED) preparation.
Literary Services
ConTextos is "An intensive writing program that incorporates peaceful conflict resolution and trauma-informed practices to develop pro-social behaviors" and therapeutic interventions.
DePaul University is currently offering 3-hour college course credits to detainees by providing classroom instruction onsite at CCDOC. The Inside Out Model utilized by DePaul University's Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning & Community Service Studies allows individuals in custody to study in a classroom alongside non-incarcerated DePaul University students.
Substance abuse treatment programs are court-ordered. Detainees are eligible for services based on their charge type and security classification. Detainees must present with issues related to substance use and dependence.
Westcare
Contracted provider that offers substance abuse to the male inmate population.
In-house substance abuse program for the female inmate population; THRIVE stands for Therapeutic Healing Recovery Initiative for Vitality and Empowerment.
Human Trafficking Response Team (HTRT)
The HTRT, formed in 2009, works in collaboration with Cook County Sheriff's Police to help human trafficking victims and prostituted women and girls. The team is comprised of mental health professionals, health service providers, addiction specialists, and case managers. HTRT staff, some of which are former victims themselves, refer the sexually exploited individuals to our trauma informed service partners.
The practice of yoga imparts skills which increase participants' sense of self-awareness, personal responsibility, and problem-solving abilities. The increased capacity for mindfulness fostered by yoga is a benefit to participants during their time in custody, and continues to serve them after their return to the community. The majority of yoga instruction at CCDOC is trauma-informed, taking the specific needs of this population into account.
Established in 2012, the chess program is believed to be the first of its kind nationally. Detainees are given weekly chess lessons and participate regularly in chess tournaments. More recently, players were challenged to compete online; they participated in three international online chess matches. Detainees learn to apply critical thinking skills, patience, impulse control, and positive pro-social interactions. Individuals must demonstrate good behavior during their time in CCDOC custody in order to be considered for acceptance into the program. The program is available to inmates throughout the entire jail, and is facilitated by CCDOC programming staff and volunteers.
Recipe for Change was founded by Italian Chef Bruno Abate. Five days a week, detainees are immersed in culinary skills training in a state-of-the-art industrial-grade kitchen.
The students are not only taught food preparation and recipes, but also receive instruction on nutrition, safety and sanitation and proper serving etiquette.
Participants who complete the program gain knowledge in the following skills:
Food sanitation
Artistic painting
Courtesy of recipeforchange.org
*501C run by a non-profit organization. Interest in program participation is not a guarantee of admission. Willing parties undergo a rigorous application process that considers violent criminal background, the nature of the applicant's charges and security classification.
Sheriff's Garden Program
The mission of the Cook County Sheriff's Garden Program is to increase participants' skillset by offering them a routine working environment and transforming destructive behavior into conscious life-enhancing decisions.
History of the Garden Program
The program began in the pre-release center in 1993, incorporating inmate labor to its 600-square-foot seasonal vegetable garden.
Over 25 years, the program has shipped approximately 50 tons of fresh produce to non-profits, taught horticulture to more than 500 non-violent detainees, and certified more than 200 Master Gardeners who underwent classroom instruction and hands-on testing.
In 2010, the construction of a 1,500 square foot greenhouse helped extend the farming season. A year later, the garden's land was expanded into 2 acres of "classroom" workspace for the horticultural program. Currently, one acre cultivates flowers and the other vegetables.
Benefits of the Sheriff's Garden Program
Horticulture therapy provides numerous psychological and physical benefits such as patience, peer collaboration, strong work ethic and aerobic exercise.
The self-sustaining program comes at no cost to tax-payers. All proceeds are deposited into the inmate welfare fund that finances the garden and other rehabilitative programs. Detainees help sell the harvest to local restaurants and at the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market, giving them the opportunity to learn employable skills such as business operations, production, packaging, delivery, bookkeeping and marketing.
Restaurant Supporters
Our restaurant supporters are particularly interested in purchasing micro-greens such as arugula, mustard greens and basil. Their support proves to extend beyond a business transaction when they hire the program's graduates. Over the past 3 years, approximately 8 detainees have pursued a career with these local restaurants.
Visit the links to support our partners:
Sopraffina
The Publican
Old Irving Brewing
Billy Sunday
Former military service members who self-identify as veterans during intake may be eligible for housing in a veteran's living unit and benefit from veteran-specific programs such as yoga, health education and veteran peer support.
Community support programs are designed to reduce recidivism by providing assistance in safe and secure environments.
Individual, group and family counseling assistance along with community referrals aim to enhance discharged detainees' quality of life by improving their problem solving, decision making and coping skills.
Victims of the cracks in the criminal justice system, as well as West Town and Markham residents, all benefit from these efforts.
Markham Community Support Center
Location: Markham Court House |16501 S. Kedzie Parkway | Markham, IL 60428
Hours: Wednesdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
West Town Strength and Wellness Center
Location: 2418 W. Division Chicago, IL 60622
Phone: 773-674-LINK
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The van is available for discharged detainees that need transportation to court, medical appointment, job interview, etc. An officer picks up the individual at a previously provided address, drops him/her off at their appointment location, and upon completion, and returns them to the initial address.
Community members schedule a ride at least one week in advance by calling 773-674-4686. Accommodations with only 24-hour notice are discretionary, and only made in case of an emergency. A staff member confirms availability on a first-come, first-serve basis; if a time and date are not available, sheriff's personnel work tirelessly to attempt to accommodate each caller.
Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort – SAVE
For approximately five hours a day, five days a week, mental health professionals provide group and individual cognitive behavioral therapy for detainees, who range from 18-to-24 years old and come from Chicago's most violent neighborhoods.
Participation is voluntary.
The curriculum focuses on conflict resolution, anger management, anti-violence and therapy to end a violent cycle and prevent recidivism.
Social workers are available to help inmates post-release to secure stable housing and employment.
Media coverage that highlights the SAVE program:
WTTW Chicago
WBEZ
The Cook County Sheriff's MHTC develops a community support system for individuals with substance abuse and/or clinical mental health disorders.
Individual and group therapy with cognitive behavioral interventions focus on cognitive restructuring that address participant's thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs.
The MHTC:
strengthens participant's community transition and long-term recovery plan
aims to reduce recidivism
eliminates criminal thought patterns
equips participants with social coping strategies like thinking before acting
offers mental health and substance abuse treatment, vocational skills training, and educational services
teaches resume writing, professional and social networking, and job interviewing
The Community Van is available to MHTC alumni who need transportation to and from job interviews, doctor appointments and/or court by calling Sharon Latiker at 773-674-8436.
Supportive Release Center
In partnership with the University of Chicago Health Lab, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) and Heartland Alliance Health (HAH) – the Cook County Sheriff's Office helped to open the Supportive Release Center (SRC) near the jail at 2755 S. Rockwell Ave.
The SRC supports persons being released from the jail who are struggling with mental illness, substance use disorders, or homelessness. Participation in the SRC is voluntary, and interested participants are transported to the SRC by TASC staff, where they receive light food, clothing, and access to showers. Individuals are also able to spend the night, while being connected to resources for longer-term care.
TASC staff at the SRC conduct needs assessments and facilitate linkages to services in the community, including substance use treatment, mental health services, supportive housing, job training programs and legal aid resources. Participants also have access to an advanced practice nurse (APN) on-site, to provide immediate medical care and any necessary prescription medications.
For those individuals who are identified as being homeless, Heartland Alliance Health (HAH), the leading provider of healthcare for the homeless in Chicago, is offering longer-term, more intensive case management services.
The University of Chicago is studying the results of the program for eventual expansion and application in other jurisdictions.
Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church has eight campuses in the Chicagoland area, with its broadcast campus located in South Barrington. Willow Creek offers several programs for individuals transitioning back into the community.
The Willow Creek Care Center offers the community access to legal aid, employment search assistance, dental and vision clinics, health services, food and clothing, among other services. Learn more here.
Willow Creek Care Center Job Connection Board highlights current job openings in the area and upcoming career fairs. Learn more here.
The Restart Community is a weekly gathering at the South Barrington campus where dinner and reflections in a faith-based environment are shared among those who may have experiences with incarceration, trauma and/or addiction. The meetings are an open space to share stories of struggle and words of encouragement. Learn more here.
Prison, Jail & Re-Entry Connection Breakfast is held the first Saturday of each month at the South Barrington campus and provides information for the formerly incarcerated and their families. Learn more here.


RARE NEW ZEALAND BIRD LANDS IN NEW YORK CITY!
Relive the experience that is Salon Mika with these YouTube clips. Watch Mika's interview for Salon Mika here. And watch a performance clip of the catchy Salon Mika original song "Coffee" here. Enjoy!


text:
Antoon (Toon) Colpaert is een Belgisch voormalig topambtenaar.

Levensloop
Toon Colpaert studeerde algemene economie aan de Rijksuniversiteit Gent. Hij stond van 1989 tot 2001 aan het hoofd van SEVI, de studiedienst van sp.a. Vervolgens werd hij havencommissaris, de link tussen de Vlaamse Regering en de havenbesturen van de Vlaamse zeehavens van Antwerpen, Zeebrugge, Gent en Oostende. Na het bereiken van de pensioengerechtigde leeftijd volgde Jan Blomme hem in 2015 op.

Hij bekleedt of bekleedde verschillende bestuursmandaten. Eind 1992 werd hij bestuurder van de NMBS. Later werd hij ook bestuurder van de NMBS-Holding en van de oprichting in 2005 tot 2009 was hij voorzitter van de raad van bestuur van spoorwegbeheerder Infrabel. Hij is onder meer bestuurder van Infrabel-filiaal TUC Rail sinds 2015 en is lid van het toezichthoudend orgaan van North Sea Port sinds 2019.

Belgisch ambtenaar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Astrological calendar details, 14th century. This detail is from an English set of prognostic calendars from the second half of the 14th-century. The text is in Latin, and this section shows the predictions for October, November, and December.


This class begins on 04/03/2019 and ends on 04/04/2019. The class meets W & Th : 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, 2 Sessions.
We have a limited sleeping room block at the Holiday Inn Orange County Airport. To make a reservation, please see the instructions below.
The group code box should automatically populate with "TE6". Select the dates you would like and proceed to continue making your reservation. THIS LINK IS NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY. You must use a computer to book your reservation online.
Please note this room block is expire on March 4, 2019.
The Holiday Inn Orange County Airport features complimentary parking and wireless internet. They also have complimentary shuttle service to and from John Wayne International Airport in Orange County. To request service, please call the hotel at 714-481-6300 after retrieving your luggage and going to the ground transportation/courtesy shuttle pickup area outside the terminal. They hotel are located off the 55 freeway and Dyer Road exit at 2726 S Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
This class is offered in partnership with the California Department of Transportation, Division of Local Assistance. Registration fees are subsidized with funding from the Cooperative Training Assistance Program. Reduced rates are available to employees of California's city, county, regional, and other public agencies only.
To register online you must use a credit card to pay any fee.
Use this form to register by mail or fax.
The course will examine the origins of changing the transportation metric from level of service (LOS) to vehicle-miles-of-travel (VMT). We will discuss VMT and its relationship to climate change impacts; the legislative history of VMT in California, including Senate Bills (SBs) 375 and 743; and an overview of the new CEQA Guidelines update. We will also discuss means by which local agencies can continue to address the issue of traffic congestion outside of the CEQA process.
OPR has selected vehicle-miles-of-travel VMT as the preferred metric to comply with SB 743. The recommended changes to the CEQA Guidelines include a Technical Advisory that provides recommendations about VMT screening, methodology, and thresholds. These recommendations require fundamental changes in current transportation impact analysis practices and have implications for transportation planning as part of general plans and regional transportation plans. This course will explain the technical details of how to address these changes and include detailed step-by-step flow-chart explanations of how to analyze land use projects, transportation projects, land use plans (e.g., general plans), and regional transportation plans under SB 743.
Click here for a detailed outline.
What is vehicle miles travelled (VMT)?
Is LOS still a thing?
Exception for "roadway capacity projects"
This class will provide attendees with a background of CEQA's VMT traffic metric, including an understanding of the origins of the new traffic metric; a discussion of the new CEQA Guidelines provisions on VMT, including an introduction to the OPR technical advisory; and suggestions on how local agencies can adapt so that concerns about congestion and traffic impact fee programs can be addressed outside of CEQA. Students will obtain a rich set of practical information to help them navigate SB 743 compliance.
This will include how to estimate and forecast VMT using a variety of methods and what limitations apply; how to relate VMT reduction goals across technical topic areas including energy, air quality, greenhouse gases, and transportation; how to select the form of VMT that is most useful in measuring transportation impacts; how to select appropriate thresholds; and what constitutes substantial evidence to support these decisions.
This course is intended for planners, engineers, policy analysts, and CEQA practitioners, among others, in private or public practice who want to understand the technical details associated with SB 743 implementation and the fundamental changes in current transportation impact analysis practices. It will also provide a foundational understanding of the origins and underlying philosophy behind California's new VMT traffic metric.


Using a home theater integrator might not be your first thought, but if you're like me, you better understand the value of time as you get older. We cannot put a dollar value on time, and we would be foolish to try. Think about it. No matter how much money you have, there are still only 24 hours available to you in each day. No amount of money can buy more than that. We can spend time, but we cannot buy more time.
What is your time worth? No, don't think of how much you get paid. What is the value of your time? What is spending time with your spouse, children, family, or friend's worth to you? What about doing things that you want to do? Things like going on vacation, hobbies, relaxing, playing sports, watching a great movie, or… Fill in the blank. What are those activities worth to you? More importantly, what is the cost of missing out on those things? As time passes, spending time doing what I want becomes more and more precious to me.
As professional integrators, we cannot give you more time. What we can do is let you choose how you spend your time when it comes to setting up your entertainment systems. Below are five reasons why hiring a professional integrator may be far more valuable to you than the dollars you pay.
A long time ago, before becoming an integrator, I had an experience that many of you may relate to. My wife wanted to mount our new flat screen on the wall. No problem, I thought. I'm reasonably handy. I have tools. I can do this! Off to the electronics store I went. Four and a half hours later, I had a wall mount that I was reasonably sure would work with my TV, and longer cables. Getting what I needed took the better part of Saturday. I decided to wait until Sunday for the installation.
It's a good thing I didn't have anything else planned for that Sunday. The majority of my day was spent finding tools that had "grown legs" and walked away from my toolbox, installing the mount, putting tools back away (where they belonged this time), and cleaning up the mess I made. Come to think of it, it was a good thing I didn't have anything else planned for the entire weekend. Nearly all of it was spent on that stupid mount project!
Fast forward to today. A typical wall mount only takes between two and three hours. That includes travel time and clean up. The difference is simple experience. We have mounted dozens of flat screen TV's on walls. We know how the mounts we sell work, how to assemble them, how to attach a flat screen to the mount and where it should go on the wall. We know which tools we will need and where to find them in the truck. Finally, we have experienced problems and have learned how to avoid them, so nearly all of the installations go smoothly. Which is more valuable to you, paying for two to three hours of an integrator's time or losing an entire weekend? It sounds like easy math to me.
Another part of this equation is peace of mind. You know that if the integrator has done similar jobs many times over, there are strong odds your job will be done right! Let's face it, integrators that do shoddy work or have TV's that fall off the wall won't stay in business for long. If you are unlucky, you can find them, but pretty much any integrator that has been in business for more than a few years should give you quality work.
Anyone who has ever worked on a car knows that only certain parts will work with their vehicle. For example, you would never buy a Mercedes alternator to install in a Chevy. The voltage output may be about right, but the electrical and mechanical connections would be completely wrong. Oh, I'm sure you could make it work, eventually. Why would you want to go through that extra work when you could just buy the correct part that fits perfectly in the first place?
I will grant that you can mix and match many of today's electronics with relative impunity. However, you cannot mix Yamaha MusicCast speakers with Sonos or Denon Heos systems. They just won't talk to one another. Beyond this obvious example are specification suggestions that professional integrators make that are based on your particular situation.
There are dozens of manufacturers out there that make AV Receivers. Which one is right for you? Why?
For example, we know which AV Receiver has the correct number of inputs and outputs that are needed to connect to other components in your system. We also know which models have the power ratings for your room size and speakers. Finally we know which features of the receiver will give you the most bang for your buck and how to avoid a receiver that is overkill for your situation.
All of the above applies if you are only looking at a single manufacturer. What if you are starting from scratch? There are dozens of manufacturers out there that make AV Receivers. Which one is right for you? Why? A good integrator has experience with different brands and can recommend one that should work well for you and that meets your requirements. I will grant you that integrators have their favorites, but most of the time the favorite brands come about because they work well, play nice with the other electronics in your cabinet and have good value for the money.
Now take the above scenario with an AV Receiver and multiply it by every other piece of equipment in your system. A good integrator can give you a system that will work well, give you features that are beyond your expectations, and still keep it within a reasonable budget.
Finally a good integrator should be able to explain to you why they are recommending the equipment that they are selling to you. More importantly, they should be able to explain to you in terms that you understand. Never let an integrator intimidate you with tech-speak. If they start talking over your head, you should be comfortable enough with them to ask them to stop and explain again – in your native language! If you are not comfortable enough with your integrator to do that, maybe you need to look for a different integrator.
One of the biggest challenges I face as an integrator is making old electronics work with new additions to the electronics cabinet. One challenge that I face on a fairly regular basis is a customer that wants to continue using their VCR (remember those?) when replacing an AV receiver. New AV receivers are built around HDMI inputs and outputs. They still have analog inputs, but the receiver defaults to using HDMI inputs from all components. Many of you know that a VCR only has analog outputs. Configuring a new receiver to get input from a VCR's analog connections instead of the HDMI input that it is factory programmed for can be challenging if you haven't done it before or read the friendly manual.
A recent request we got was to place speakers next to a bed that the customer could use instead of the sound bar mounted under the TV. They wanted this so they would not disturb others in the house when watching TV late at night in that room. The issues were that they also wanted to adjust the volume at the bed-side speakers and they did not have a receiver in the room. We came up with the idea of using quality computer speakers and specifying a TV that had both optical audio and analog audio outs on the back panel. The sound bar was fed by the optical cable and the computer speakers were served by the 3.5MM audio output. The system worked perfectly, and our customer was thrilled!
Sometimes integrators can even solve problems that the customer didn't even realize they had. I have lost count of the times I have asked why a system was set up the way it was. Only to receive the answer of, "That was the only way we could get it to work," or "It was good enough, so we didn't try to fix it." There are often ways of configuring equipment so that it works better or more efficiently. Unless they have experienced it in the past, most do-it-yourselfers would never consider the possibility of a simple fix that an integrator might suggest every other week. Sometimes it's as easy as a configuration change. Other times, adding a simple component will make all the difference in the world for the use-ability of a system. This is where integrators really earn their fee!
In addition to knowing how to install the components, integrators often have special tools that make the job much easier and faster. Have you ever wondered how an integrator can know which one of the cables coming out in the garage panel goes to the upstairs bedroom, on the left side of the hallway? They have special line tracing electronics that tell them, that's how. How about getting those HDMI cables from the new box on the wall behind the TV mount to the box at the floor? We have flexible rods and 'tapes' to fish wires through walls. Do you have a full set of standard and metric Allen wrenches in your tool box? I have sockets that work with my ratchets and stand-alone sets in my truck at all times.
What happens when a DIY is installing something and they drop a tiny little screw that falls down the heater vent? Yep, you guessed it. They have one less screw in their assembly than they should. Integrators usually have a magnetic pick-up tool that can often retrieve the screw. We also have a couple of boxes of spare screws, nuts, and bolts that we keep in our trucks. When that screw, nut, or bolt is missing from the box, goes missing during installation, or was not included in the box, extras are readily at hand.
The last area where an integrator earns your money can be well after the job is said and done. What happens if your new sound electronic component stops working? If you bought it and installed it yourself, you get to deal with endless phone trees and warranty departments that want to avoid replacing equipment at any cost. If you hired an integrator to supply and install the sound bar, you only have to make a single phone call to the integrator. The integrator will then take care of the problem for you. It may mean coming out to your home and re-configuring a sound bar for you. It may mean dealing with warranty departments or replacing a defective component with a new one – often out of their own stock. Regardless of what needs to be done, it isn't you doing it.
I'll be the first to admit that the phone tree's and 'customer Care' people reading from scripts drive me nuts (Some days it's a VERY short drive!). That's why I go out of my way to get back-door phone numbers to manufacturers and develop relationships with manufacturers rep's so I can handle warranties efficiently. It can be a pain, but it is part of the service that a true professional integrator offers.
Most of us have to work to survive, but all of us have days off. What are those days off worth to you? "Working for the weekend" has become a sad reality of the American worker. We all wish there was more weekend in the two days between work weeks. An integrator can't give you more weekend, but we can let you enjoy your weekend more. Integrators offer value in ways that are far more valuable than the fees charged. We offer peace of mind and a better way for you to spend your time!


text:
6th grade classes to be added to three Boston…
6th grade classes to be added to three Boston schools in ongoing shift to new model
BOSTON MA. – SEPTEMBER 9: Boston Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius greets children on the first day of school on September 9, 2021 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
By Alexi Cohan | Boston Herald
Three Boston elementary schools will be expanding to include sixth grade classes in an ongoing shift to a new model that aims to reduce the number of school transitions for students.
The schools are Blackstone Elementary School in the South End, Mendell Elementary School in Roxbury and Charles Sumner Elementary School in Roslindale.
Boston Public Schools has been working for years to shift schools to a more condensed model as part of its BuildBPS plan that will reduce the number of school transitions for students. The goal is to have schools with kindergarten to eighth grade instruction and schools with seventh grade to twelfth grade instruction.
The Blackstone, Mendell and Sumner were originally left out of the expansion, which Boston School Committee member Rafaela Garcia Polanco said greatly concerned parents.
Polanco commended BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius during Wednesday night's school committee meeting for listening to families and committing to making the expansion.
Cassellius said that while she's on board for making the shift, there is still work to be done to find out just how it will happen.
"We realized that there are significant space challenges, which have not made this process as seamless as we'd hoped," Cassellius told school committee members.
The superintendent will present proposals with more details to the school committee during the board's next meeting on Dec. 15.
The switch to include sixth graders at the school will begin in the fall of next year. BPS families were notified of the news on Tuesday.
Several parents spoke during the meeting to express gratitude for the sixth grade expansion, and said they felt as though their voices were heard.
Boston Public Schools
Boston School Committee
Brenda Cassellius
Alexi Cohan | Reporter
Alexi Cohan is a general assignment reporter covering local news and government as well as health and medicine stories. Alexi is from Springfield, Massachusetts and attended college at Hofstra University in New York where she majored in journalism and Spanish. Alexi's professional experience encompasses print, television and radio at NY1, CNN en Español, 88.7FM WRHU and The Republican newspaper. She enjoys making connections with the community she covers and imploring others to use journalism as a tool to stay informed and engaged.
Follow Alexi Cohan	@lexcohan
Boston-area coronavirus wastewater data keeps dropping: 'I'm cautiously optimistic'


The two adorable Swarovski Lovlot Country Mos sparkle in clear crystal with brown and black print respectively. A must-have for collectors, this one time production was originally only available online at Swarovski while stocks lasted. It is no surprise that Swarovski sold out really quickly of the Country Mos!
Sold as a set of two cows.
Not intended for children under the age of 12.


E Fry Ottawa offers practical, effective programs and services for women, including young women. Most of our programs and services are open to self-referral.
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa works with young and adult women who have been or may become criminalized, to reduce harm and oppression, and to contribute to a healthy community.
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
I have left my dysfunctional, abusive relationship and I'm committed to remaining clean from drugs.
I am very grateful for E Fry programs. They help you when you think no one else cares.
I'm learning that I don't have to do this alone. E-Fry is there every step of the way. They are awesome people and support me. I could not be where I am today without them.
Celebrating 67 Incredible Years Supporting Women!
Since 1951, E Fry Ottawa has been advocating for and supporting women and young women who are criminalized and marginalized, and those at risk.