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Logical basis for restrictions on use and form

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:09:41 +0000

lacoste women long-sleeved shirts outlet One can see a logical basis for restrictions on use; you don’t want to put an abattoir next to a residential district. On the other hand, you don’t want to put the factories too far from where the workers live. Or, you don’t want to put poor people where the rich people live.
Unfortunately, these bylaws and rules carry over to today; in many municipalities, zones have minimum floor area requirements specifically to keep out small houses; so much for the Tiny House movement. They don’t allow for second units on a property, that might turn into a slum; so much for the granny flat and back lane housing movement. Everybody talks about the need to increase density, but literally, not in my backyard.
It is a difficult job, finding the right mix; in 1916 New York they tried “to separate the stores from the residence districts, and yet not put them too far away, but always have them within reach.” Today of course, within reach means driving to the mall, the same principle blown up to a completely different scale.
The use rules are also coming back to bite us; many people now working from home are in fact, doing it illegally. Cities are beginning to wonder about if teleworkers should be paying residential or commercial tax rates.
Restrictions on building form make Manhattan the wonderful sight that it is, with the setback requirements giving buildings their distinctive wedding cake shape. But Talen also explains how rules on form can be much more subtle and just as important, with something as simple as the curve radius required at corners. As curve radii go from five feet to fifty, you get a completely different pattern and scale.
Rules determining street width, building height, setback, and lot coverage have produced an urban form that in twenty-first century America, has little ability to define space. Instead, rules have prioritized traffic flow and parking provision, health effects and fire prevention, often based on reasoning that no longer holds.
But what is the alternative?
Today, zoning rules are under attack from economists like Edward Glaeser and Ryan Avent, who claim that they are keeping density down and increasing the cost of housing. But as the planners of 1916 knew, and is still true today, the price of land is a function of the allowable zoning, and if you double the density, it doesn’t halve the cost of land. Look at Toronto, in a building boom; the towers get taller but the price per square foot doesn’t go down, it goes up. Zoning drives the economics of the development industry, but if smartly done, that can be a very good thing.
On the other side, we still have officials and planners that defend sprawl as the American Dream unfolding before your eyes”, and don’t get me started on Agenda 21.
Yet in a system with proper controls, Andres Duany writes that form-based codes can “actually protect the public realm from politicians, fire marshals, corporate interests, engineers, the architectural avant garde and the “vicissitudes of ownership.”
Talen concludes:
gaining better, more sustainable cities, places that are walkable, diverse, compact, and beautiful- will require strong public support and, along with it , a new approach to the rules of city making.lacoste polo shirts men’s outlet

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Self-Destructing Janitor Satellite to Clean Up Space has come to the true

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:21:18 +0000

cheap abercrombie bikini Self-Destructing Janitor Satellite to Clean Up Space,can you believe it?
In space, no one can hear you clean. But given the astonishing amount of trash in orbit around our planet, it’s a chore that needs to be done no matter how quietly.
According to NASA over half-a-million pieces of trash, from decommissioned satellites to discarded bits of rocket parts, are orbiting around Earth every day, raising the danger of catastrophic collision with each future venture into outer space. With that in mind, a team of scientists from one of Europe’s tidiest countries, Switzerland, recently announced plans to deploy a series of junk-collecting satellites to remove some of the dangerous space debris currently floating high above our heads as part of a project called Clean Space One.
“It’s time to do something to reduce the amount of debris floating around in space,” says Claude Nicollier of the Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne. “Most debris comes from satellites that are no longer in use – typically they have run out of energy and their solar panels or batteries don’t work; when they collide it creates lots of debris.”
So how does one go about cleaning up space, humankind’s seemingly immeasurable sweep-under rug? With self-destructing janitor satellites, of course. Taking a cue from nature’s best grippers, Swiss researchers devised small orbiters which find and clasp onto intersteller trash before plummeting back towards Earth where both would be destroyed during the heat and friction of re-entry.
Given the amount of trash in space, and the potential damage to expensive satellites and spacecraft such debris could inflict, the scientists can see a future ripe with their astro-janitorial assistants.
“Space agencies are increasingly finding it necessary to take into consideration and prepare for the elimination of the stuff they’re sending into space,” Swiss Space Center Director Volker Gass told SwissInfo. “We want to be the pioneers in this area.”
If the idea of tentacled litter-busting satellites sounds like quite an imaginative solution for cleaning up space junk, it’s certainly not the most far-fetched. In the last few years, a range of creative suggestions have been put forth to keep mankind’s final frontier from looking like a dump — from using giant gold balloons to gather junk or just firing lasers at it, to recycling that debris into new satellites altogether, the ideas have bordered on science fiction — but then again, so does the notion that we’ve trashed space so much that this has become a problem in need of a solution.cheap abercrombie bracelets

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U.S. rate of interracial marriage hits record high

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:39:49 +0000

cheap womens jeans shorts Interracial marriage in the USA reached an all-time high in 2010: 8.4% of all marriages, compared with 3.2% in 1980, finds a Pew Research Center study, released today, that analyzes unions between spouses of different races or ethnic groups.
Among marriages in 2010, 15% of couples married outside their race or ethnicity.
“Interracial marriage has gone from taboo to a rarity, and with each passing year, it’s less of a rarity,” says Pew’s Paul Taylor. Pew reviewed Census data from more than 850,000 people in the American Community Survey between 2008 and 2010.
In addition, Pew surveyed 2,003 adults in September and found more tolerance: 43% agree that “more people of different races marrying each other has been a change for the better in our society.” Another 44% say it made no difference; 11% say it’s been a change for the worse.
But questions about race make people cautious, says sociologist Daniel Lichter of Cornell University. “People don’t want to reveal negative attitudes that might reflect badly on them, and they tend to tell interviewers what they want to hear,” says Lichter, whose data analysis last year found similar trends in interracial marriage.
Pew found that minorities, younger adults, the college-educated, those who say they’re “liberal” and those who live in the Northeast and the West are more likely to view intermarriage positively.
Other regional differences were clear in the 2008-2010 data Pew analyzed: 35% of all newlyweds who married outside their race live in the West. In Hawaii, 42% of newlyweds fell into that category; other states with 20% or more are all west of the Mississippi.
Pew also found that among those who married in 2008-2010, 42% had been married before (one partner or both). And some patterns vary by gender among blacks and Asians but not among whites and Hispanics. Among blacks, 24% of newlywed men married outside their race, compared with 9% of women. Among Asians, the opposite is true: 36% of women married outside their race, compared with 17% of men.cheap womens knit tanks

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Rajon Rondo suspended two games for throwing ball at ref

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:49:43 +0000

Rajon Rondo suspended two games for throwing ball at ref

lacostebagsinhongkong Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president for basketball operations, announced the suspension Monday, one day after Rondo received two technical fouls and was ejected late in the third quarter of Boston’s 96-81 loss at the Detroit Pistons.
Rondo was upset that a foul wasn’t called with about 3:00 left in the quarter and tossed the ball at referee Sean Wright. He followed that with a verbal barrage directed at Wright and was ejected from a game for the first time in his professional career.
PHOTOS: Rajon Rondo on the court
“You’re always disappointed when that happens,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “You should never put yourself in front of the team. lacoste polo long-sleeved outlet But it’s an emotional game. We can all agree that it was a pretty bad foul and a clear foul that wasn’t called. At the time, we were getting our butts kicked and the frustration was high and it’s a human game. I can guarantee you five seconds, 30 seconds after it happened, I guarantee you Rondo wished he could take it back.”
Rondo will miss Monday night’s game at Dallas and Wednesday’s matchup with Oklahoma City.
Rivers didn’t seem surprised that the suspension was for two games.
“They told us early to don’t prepare for him playing tonight. When they said that, I felt it meant multiple, otherwise they would have said one game.”
Chiefs CB Brandon Carr — This 2008 fifth-rounder has started since Day 1 and never missed a game. We say keep Carr and fellow CB Brandon Flowers together and worry about inconsistent WR Dwayne Bowe’s situation later. (UPDATE: CB Stanford Routt’s arrival could swing the tag to Bowe.)
Falcons MLB Curtis Lofton — He’s worked his way into being a solid three-down player and defensive leader. We’re giving him the nod over CB Brent Grimes, who battled injuries and inconsistency in 2011 after a Pro Bowl year in 2010.
Bills WR Stevie Johnson — Believe it or not, the only Buffalo payer to ever record consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. (Yes, we checked, and Andre Reed never did it.) Johnson should tone down the antics, but it doesn’t seem to make sense to strip QB Ryan Fitzpatrick of his only deep threat.
Jaguars DE Jeremy Mincey — It seems like Jacksonville has been seeking pass rushers ever since Tony Brackens left. Mincey had eight sacks in 2011, so why not lock up the 28-year-old for at least a year and see if he can do it again?
Jets NT Sione Pouha — Stout 3-4 nose tackles are tough to replace, and the Jets don’t need another problem. Pouha has been more than up to the task of anchoring Rex Ryan’s defense since first replacing injured Kris Jenkins in 2009.
Browns ILB D’Qwell Jackson — The last two times he’s survived a full season, he’s averaged 156 tackles. Problem is, injuries cost him most of 2009 and all of 2010. We’d take a $9 million chance as a prelude to keeping him for a few more years.
Redskins TE Fred Davis — Love the talent. Hate that he managed to incur a four-game drug suspension in a post-lockout environment. Another slip, and he’s gone for a year.lacoste polo shirts men’s outlet

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Franchise players? Here are 20 USA TODAY would tag

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:40:35 +0000

lacoste women long-sleeved shirts outlet No NFL franchise tags have been handed out so far even though Monday marked the first day they could be used.
Still, they remain a very effective way to hinder free-agent movement — no one has switched teams at the expense of the franchise tag’s price of two first-round picks since 1998 — but can also serve as the first step toward signing a star to a multi-year deal.
Traditionally, a dozen or so tags are used each offseason. Teams must weigh the cost of losing a talented player vs. the cost of likely overpaying him — which is why, for example, the Giants probably won’t tag WR Mario Manningham as much as they’d like to keep him — just not for $9.4 million.>
Saints QB Drew Brees — This is a no-brainer, though it’d be even smarter to get record-setting Brees re-signed quickly so the tag could be reserved for all-pro G Carl Nicks or WR Marques Colston.
Texans OLB Mario Williams — He had five sacks in five games in 2011 before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season. We can only imagine what Houston’s all-time sack king could do in a full season under DC Wade Phillips’ tutelage. Restricted free agent RB Arian Foster (who could still be protected by a prohibitive first-round tender even if Williams is tagged) is also a priority, but we’d wait for unrestricted Williams’ situation to be resolved first. Elite pass rushers are harder to find than tailbacks.
Ravens RB Ray Rice — League leader in yards from scrimmage last year certainly deserves a lengthy deal but better to get him locked down first. After all, Baltimore’s offense runs through him.
Patriots WR Wes Welker — Yes, he dropped a pass in Super Bowl XLVI that some in New England are unfairly putting in the Bill Buckner category. Stop. What about the standard reliability, toughness and average of 111 catches during Welker’s five-year stay in New England?
Bears RB Matt Forte — His loss was even more crippling to Chicago than QB Jay Cutler’s in 2011. Forte probably would have had the most rushing/receiving yards in the NFL had he not injured his knee.
Packers TE Jermichael Finley — We wish he’d hang onto more balls, wasn’t quite so chatty and didn’t treat every first down reception like it had just won the Super Bowl. But Finley sure does alter defensive gameplans. Green Bay C Scott Wells is also a major priority.
Cardinals DE Calais Campbell — He’s got 180 tackles and 21 sacks over the past three years, excellent production from a 3-4 end. lacoste women short-sleeved shirts outlet Then there’s that 6-8 frame that makes him a threat to block FGs.
Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch — He scored in 11 consecutive games at one point last season. He got a lot of tough yards behind an average O-line, a contrast to the days when Shaun Alexander got a lot of easy yards behind an elite front five. Losing Lynch’s relentlessness would be a big blow to a developing team. If Seattle can get something done with Lynch, franchising 323-pound DE Red Bryant is also worthy of consideration.
Lions DE Cliff Avril — His sack total has gone up in all four of his NFL seasons (he had 11 in 2011). No reason to mess with that D-line.
Chargers WR Vincent Jackson — He and GM A.J. Smith aren’t best buds, but the offense sure does blossom when VJ, who’s averaged 17.5 yards per catch during his career, is stretching the field. He does need to stay out of trouble off it.
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson — Didn’t love his attitude in 2011. Don’t love his 175-pound frame. But he sure can change a game quickly, as a deep threat or a punt returner.
Titans CB Cortland Finnegan — He’s not the most beloved player in the league … unless you’re one of his Tennessee teammates. We do love his fearlessness.
49ers CB Carlos Rogers — His last impression wasn’t so good after Giants WR Victor Cruz abused him in the NFC Championship Game. Still, Rogers had a breakout year and gets a slight nod over Pro Bowl S Dashon Goldson. And, yes, QB Alex Smith also needs to be addressed, but we’re not prepared to tag him for more than $14 million.singaporelacostesale

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BAFTA Predictions

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:02:45 +0000

WHEN predicting this year’s BAFTA hair trends, Charles Worthington – the official hair stylist for the event – knows what to expect.
“We’re definitely seeing a more spontaneous look on the red carpets this season,” he told us. “Hair is either worn up in a loose chignon, either behind or to the side – think Charlize Theron’s beautiful side chignon at this year’s Golden Globes – or loose and wavy and more contemporary than past seasons.”
SEE CHARLIZE THERON’S HAIR STYLE FILE
Worthington and his team will be on hand at the BAFTA Style Suites at The Savoy before the event this Sunday, alongside fellow official partners: Asprey, Escada, Hackett and Lancme.
“Many of the nominees and presenters do book in advance on a first come, first served basis, however we do keep some appointments free for last minute reservations,” revealed Worthington. “We also have a team of roamers, myself included, to make personal visits to celebrities’ homes or hotel suites to give that extra care and attention to stars that have perhaps just flown in.”
Charles Worthington’s BAFTA and 25th Anniversary collection is available nationwide. Visit www.charlesworthington.com for more information.

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10 great places to ski on a national wildlife refuge

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:41:42 +0000

10 great places to ski on a national wildlife refuge

Michigan
More than nine miles of groomed trails wind through hardwood forests of sugar maple, beech and yellow birch in this Upper Peninsula park. The routes, rated easy to most difficult, are forgiving. “It’s not a lot of advanced terrain so it’s good for beginners,” Caldwell says.
New York
Skiers at this Upstate New York park between Rochester and Buffalo can see otters and bald eagles while exploring a 7.5 mile designated Nordic trail, or a 2.5 mile hiking trail. Both are ungroomed and welcome snowshoers through February, after which part of the area’s closed through July for nesting migratory birds.
Wisconsin
The bluffs of the Mississippi River make great terrain for snow lovers. The refuge offers free snowshoes on site, and also provides ski and snowshoe tours on select days throughout the season. Ungroomed runs cover about four miles, and connect with state and local trails. “You can ski this as part of a loop,” Caldwell says.
West Virginia
You’ll find 31 miles of ungroomed trails, plus another 10 miles of groomed routes maintained by the privately owned White Grass Ski Touring Center. The facility has a restaurant, ski rentals and instruction, and offers the opportunity to try demanding terrain in a former downhill ski area. With an elevation of about 4,000 feet, there’s usually good snow. “You get on some of the ridge tops and you get some pretty wild views,” Caldwell says.
Maine
You won’t find many tourists at this park near Kennebunkport, but you may encounter moose, mallards and Canada geese. The refuge offers about five miles of ungroomed trails. “It’s where the locals might ski. You’re not going to have a lot of competition out there,” Caldwell says.
North Dakota
North Dakota has more refuges than any other state, and this one, with its sweeping prairie views is one of the prettiest. Hard-core skiers will head out in the dead of winter, but Caldwell says March and April are ideal with longer days and higher temperatures. The park, near Minot, has about nine miles of ungroomed trails. “Not too many people are out touring that part of the country. If you can say you’ve skied Des Lacs, you’ve done something,” Caldwell says.
Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge
Idaho
Magnificent tundra swans winter at this refuge near the Canadian border. “They are really impressive, with long necks and a really interesting call,” Caldwell says. Skiers can choose from two mostly flat ungroomed refuge trails. There’s also an auto-tour route.
Washington
With roads closed to all vehicles (including snowmobiles) through mid-April, skiers have the run of this rolling park about an hour from Spokane. “It’s mostly upland and wooded. You’re going to have an experience very much like skiing in a forest,” Caldwell says. The 12-mile ungroomed auto-tour route makes for a good day’s outing, he adds.
Alaska
Six ungroomed trails cut through boreal forest and across frozen wetlands. About three hours from Anchorage on a major highway, the park offers a wilderness experience with the possibility of seeing moose, lynx, coyotes and bald eagles. “It’s a real out-there adventure,” Caldwell says. “It’s one of our most scenic refuges, even by Alaska standards.”
Minnesota
Skiers can take light rail from downtown Minneapolis to this urban refuge located just a few miles from the Mall of America. The ungroomed routes, which cross frozen flood plain inaccessible during warmer months, link up with state and regional paths, creating a trail network of about 100 miles. You can even borrow snowshoes without charge from the Rapids Lake and Bloomington Ferry unit visitor centers.

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Painting on a New Canvas

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:26:55 +0000

WHEN she left North Carolina 23 years ago, Beverly McIver never imagined returning. Feisty, talented and ambitious, Ms. McIver was more than eager to shake off the warm clinches of her family and the chilly, intractable racism of the South.
And in her lush, narrative paintings for which she has gathered, at midcareer, an impressive array of fellowships, residencies, solo shows and awards she has never stopped exploring those themes. Portraits of herself in blackface and a clowns wig show her kinship with artists like Cindy Sherman; in her laundry paintings, her mother and her mentally disabled older sister, Renee, hang wash on a clothesline, lyrical compositions that recall the work of Millet and other 19th-century realists.
But in 2007, Ms. McIver, now 49, was lured from a tenured position at Arizona State University by North Carolina Central University, the historically black university where she had learned to paint. By then, her mother had died of cancer and left Ms. McIver with the care of Renee, a responsibility she assumed just as her career was taking off.
Raising Renee, a documentary that will be shown on Feb. 22 on HBO, follows the sisters for six years, from Ms. McIvers first New York City solo gallery show in 2003 to the day Renee, now 52, wakes up in her own apartment, a rather miraculous turn of events.
This happy ending for both sisters could not have been foretold by Beverly, who initially cringed at the thought of making a home back in North Carolina. In the film, she says drily, Im not here an hour before someone reminds me that Im black, reminds me Im in the South and a second-class citizen.
As for caring for her sister, she protests, I can hardly take care of my cats.
The movie takes its tone from Ms. McIver, who is a wry, frank narrator with a comedians timing. She and Jeanne Jordan, who made the film with her husband, Steven Ascher, met in 2002 at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, to which they had been awarded fellowships. Ms. Jordan was intrigued by Ms. McIvers paintings, which she found cinematic, like movie stills, she said, and by her complicated personal history.
MS. McIVER grew up in Greensboro, N.C., a city with a grim racial past. Her mother, Ethel, was a maid, a devout Baptist and a single mother, raising three daughters (Beverly, Renee and Roni, the middle sister) in Morningside Homes, a housing project that has been torn down. Renee, who was born mentally disabled and with epilepsy, was a violent child, particularly during adolescence, when she once threw Beverly down the stairs.
When Beverly turned 16, her mother dropped this bomb: I have something to tell you, she said. Your father is at the door.
It was never fully explained, Ms. McIver said. But it appears that while my mother was in this bad marriage, she and my father, who was a cab driver, had an affair.
Ms. McIver will protest time and again that she is a lousy caretaker, but the film reveals otherwise. Despite the complexities of her relationships, she takes them on with gusto and humor. Her biological father, who maintained only the most tenuous connection with her when she was young, is one of many people she now keeps a watchful, warm eye on. A few years ago, as a way of explaining what she did for a living, she made a portrait for him. When he learned that people pay tens of thousands of dollars for her work, he put it in the closet.
He thinks its safer there, Ms. McIver said, shaking her head.
When Renee first moved in with her, Ms. McIver was still living in Arizona. Now a gentle adult with the interests of a very young third grader, Renee embraced her new life. She loved the way her sister outfitted her room to her taste, in pink and purple everything. She loved shopping for a new wardrobe, shedding the church lady clothes, as Ms. McIver put it, for bright T-shirts and pants.
But Ms. McIver, a successful, single artist and professor, was overwhelmed by her charge. Feeling responsible for Renee would consume me, she said. What would she have for dinner, and what would she have for lunch and were her clothes ready? My idea of dinner, until that point, was maybe hummus and some pita bread.
Enlarge This Image
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
The film chronicles Ms. McIver’s life with, and without, her mentally disabled sister, Renee.
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Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
The sisters sit under a portrait of Renee, left, painted by Beverly.
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Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Renee McIver is living by herself, for the first time, in an apartment in Greensboro, N.C.
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Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
A Hello Kitty figurine on the stove in Renee’s apartment in Greensboro.
Still, she realized there was an opportunity for Renee to gain her independence. I planted the seed of her someday living alone, Ms. McIver said. I told her, If something ever happens to me, youll have your own place. Renee is aware enough that she is vulnerable, and doesnt have a say in where she lives and who she lives with. I wanted to give her that peace of mind.
Ms. McIvers friends and Ms. Jordan had another insight. They said that Renee is there to teach me what it feels like to be adored, so I can find a man who adores me, Ms. McIver said. Jeanne said its for me to get used to saying, I love you, too!
Once the filming was completed, Ms. Jordan and her husband waited a year before releasing the movie. They knew it would be a cheat if their happy ending unraveled if Renee, all grown up, as she puts it, in her new, bright apartment in Greensboro, had to move back in with Ms. McIver, who is thrilled to be living alone in her new house, in Durham.
But the ending did not unravel. And on her birthday last December, Ms. McIver shed another weight and had breast-reduction surgery, something she had been dreaming of for years. On a recent afternoon, standing in her downstairs bedroom, she demonstrated the slope-shouldered, cross-armed pose she had hidden behind since adolescence.
I couldnt do it with Renee, she said of the surgery. You need too much care. But now I can focus on me. Look at my new bra, isnt it beautiful? It has jewelry on it! Ms. McIver dangled a bright blue lace number with fetching bedazzlements.
The week before, Ms. Jordan and Ms. McIver had given a fund-raising speech for the Radcliffe Fellowship at the Harvard Club in New York. Because we are the poster children of what can happen there, Ms. McIver said.
Ms. Jordan recalled thinking, Ill eat my hat if Beverly doesnt bring up the surgery.
Sure enough, she continued, Im looking out at all these wealthy donors, and someone says to Beverly, What are you doing now? She looked at me, and then says, I know I shouldnt tell you this, but several weeks ago I had breast-reduction surgery, and Im fascinated by the artistry of it.
Stunned silence.
In fact, Ms. McIvers new paintings are all about my new breasts, she told a reporter later.
They are about coming out.
POST-SURGERY, Ms. McIver has been sleeping downstairs in her new house, which has three bedrooms and more than 3,000 square feet. Sometimes I sleep in different beds, just because I can, she said. I am so grateful to be here.
She showed off the wide, open spaces: the glassy, double-height living room, the huge kitchen, the studio in the basement. Its the archetype of a suburban family house, which irritates some friends who think I have no business living alone in such a big house, she said.
Then again, Ms. McIver is lucky in real estate. This clapboard contemporary, built in the mid-1990s, was on the market in 2007 for $579,000; she bought it for $475,000, the exact amount a bank had approved for her. Just offer them $475,000, she told her broker. You never know.
But after she and Renee moved to Durham, it was another two years before Renee had her own place. I was at the end of my rope, Ms. McIver said. It was time.
Ms. McIver, who paints at night, tried to teach Renee not to interrupt her when she was working at home. Renee, who is extremely social, struggled with that. Ms. McIver also worried when Renee was home by herself. When she had been living with her mother, Renee had opened the door to a man who beat and raped her. Ms. McIver urged her sister to ignore the doorbell. Just let it ring, she told her.
Finally, in 2009, a disabled cousin moved into a small housing complex for the disabled and elderly around the corner from the Greensboro school where their sister, Roni Bryant, is the assistant principal. Ms. McIver, ever tenacious, found Renee an apartment there and decorated it in Renees favorite colors. Ronis husband, Hobson, now does Renees grocery shopping and takes her to church. And every day, a bus picks her up and takes her to a program that teaches her life skills, like how to pay bills and cook. Such an intricate system of support for someone like Renee is rare and precious.
The other day, Renee wore an Obama T-shirt and bright purple pants. There were pink linens on her bed and pink throw pillows. Even the DVD player and the remote were pink Hello Kitty, she confided.
She said she was happy to be back in Greensboro. Speaking slowly and carefully, she ticked off the best parts.
Starting over with my family again, Renee said. Getting and meeting more new friends. How to be responsible with myself.
The only downside, she said, is the stove, which is not her favorite appliance.
Isnt she great? Ms. McIver said, beaming. Then she got back in her car and drove home.

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10 great places to explore the world’s best-kept secrets

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:07:15 +0000

Venezuela
One of the largest islands in the Caribbean remains largely undiscovered by Americans. Yogerst says it offers a huge variety of landscapes and culture in a small area. “It’s all of Latin America on one island. It has rainforests, deserts, fabulous beaches and little Spanish colonial towns.”
Peru
The “Grand Canyon of South America” is more than twice as deep as its Arizona counterpart. It’s also one of the best places to see Andean condors. “You can go and watch them ride drafts up the canyon wall. It’s a majestic desert landscape that goes on forever and ever,” Yogerst says.
Alaska and Canada
Head north to explore one of the world’s largest protected areas, the combined lands of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Canada’s Kluane National Park. Taken together, they reach from the Gulf of Alaska to northern boreal forests and cover about 20 million acres. “It’s some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing I’ve had anywhere in North America,” Yogerst says. In one trip, he spotted grizzly and black bears, caribou, mountain goats, Dall sheep, and dolphins.
New Mexico
Before the Pilgrims arrived, Spanish missionaries were settling the Southwest. But the desert landscape in one corner of what later became New Mexico proved to be too challenging. “What’s left now is red-brick adobe ruins,” Yogerst says. “People will be surprised by how big some of these missions were with very large churches.”
St. Kitts
Once called the Gibraltar of the West Indies, this former British colonial fort dominates a flat-topped seaside mountain. Abandoned 100 years ago, it has been restored and offers views of a volcano on the nearby Dutch island of Sint Eustatius. “It’s the most impressive of all the British forts I’ve seen in the Caribbean,” Yogerst says.
South Africa
This 40-mile path is laced with streams and heavy subtropical forests that reminds Yogerst of the Pacific Northwest. He hiked it over the course of five days staying in unstaffed, basic huts along the route. “It is a wild part of Africa. There are monkeys and baboons and leopards there.”
Sri Lanka
Now that Sri Lanka’s civil war has ended, visitors are again discovering this charming fortified colonial city. Built on the Indian Ocean in the 16th century, its tall stone walls protected it from the tsunami that ravaged the region in 2004. “It’s preserved almost intact,” Yogerst says, and now even has a chic boutique resort. “It’s unexpected and not too well discovered.”
Small Museums of Tokyo
Like New York, London and Paris, Tokyo has many major museums, but Yogerst suggests seeking out more obscure galleries, such as the Sumo Museum, devoted to the unique Japanese sport, or the Ota art museum. “It’s probably the best collection of Japanese wood block prints on the planet,” Yogerst says. Another highlight: the Mingeikan Folk Crafts Museum with more than 17,000 objects. “In some ways these say more about Japanese culture than the big museums do.”
Suffolk, England
Yogerst says it’s just a coincidence that the Tudor town where his mother-in-law lives makes his list. “It’s the epitome of a quaint English countryside village.” There’s a cobblestone square with pubs, and no sign of “twee shops,” he says. It also has England’s largest collection of half timber buildings. “It’s the real deal.” When he visits he likes to take half-day hikes through the countryside that surrounds the town.
Cambodia
This Southeast Asian ruin near the more famous Angkor Wat reminds Yogerst of something out of an Indiana Jones movie. “The stone ruins are literally wrapped in the branches and roots and arms of jungle trees.” He says visitors have the feeling they are discovering the site for the first time. “It’s cleared enough so you can walk through, but that’s all.”

From love nature, post 10 great places to explore the world’s best-kept secrets

Woody Harrelson mesmerizes in ‘Rampart’

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:22:26 +0000

A verbose smooth talker with top brass and a sociopath on the beat, he dismisses one of the Los Angeles Police Department’s most egregious scandals which involved more than 70 officers accused of unprovoked brutality as “somewhat hyperbolic misdeeds.”A verbose smooth talker with top brass and a sociopath on the beat, he dismisses one of the Los Angeles Police Department’s most egregious scandals which involved more than 70 officers accused of unprovoked brutality as “somewhat hyperbolic misdeeds.”A verbose smooth talker with top brass and a sociopath on the beat, he dismisses one of the Los Angeles Police Department’s most egregious scandals which involved more than 70 officers accused of unprovoked brutality as “somewhat hyperbolic misdeeds.”Harrelson’s casually malevolent performance as Dave Brown, an officer in the scandal-plagued Rampart division, is the actor’s most impressive portrayal. In this haunting character study, Brown hasn’t lost his moral compass, he has smashed it into pieces.It’s a testament to the direction of Oren Moverman and the script he co-wrote with James Ellroy that we care what happens to such a despicable character.
Amid his cruelty, there is something moving, if unhinged, in his desperate attempts to connect with his daughters and pretend he’s the powerful patriarch of his shattered family.The film is set in 1999, just after the discovery of widespread misconduct. A relic of an earlier era, Brown sits smugly in his squad car sucking down booze and casually roughing up anyone who crosses him.The film is set in 1999, just after the discovery of widespread misconduct. A relic of an earlier era, Brown sits smugly in his squad car sucking down booze and casually roughing up anyone who crosses him.He’s certainly an all-around nasty guy with his own warped code of justice that involves doing “the people’s dirty work.” When he is caught on tape viciously beating a suspect, his slow downward spiral revs up.Moverman, who directed 2009′s The Messenger, reunites Harrelson and Ben Foster from that film. Foster, good as he is as a drugged-out paraplegic, feels extraneous to the story.His presence only underscores the depth of Brown’s malice. Also contrived is Brown’s relationship with a lawyer who represents victims of police brutality (Robin Wright).Yet many of the smaller parts are noteworthy: Sigourney Weaver as a top LAPD official, Ice Cube as an Internal Affairs investigator, and Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche as sisters who happen to be Brown’s ex-wives.Also startlingly good is Sammy Boyarsky, who plays his youngest daughter, alternating between childlike innocence and a sad wisdom beyond her years.Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski intriguingly depicts the grittiest corners of Los Angeles. Moverman’s choice of tight close-ups, an almost hallucinatory color palette and electronic score add to the film’s off-kilter, jittery tension.Though the plot can be vague and occasionally convoluted, Harrelson is mesmerizing.
It’s never completely clear whether he’s being targeted or whether he’s merely imploding, but he so vigorously transforms himself into the debauched and venomous character that it almost doesn’t matter.Somewhere beneath all his spite is a kernel of humanity. He senses what he has lost and impotently reaches out to his daughters, who wisely walk away. What is burned into the audience’s memory is a fascinating portrait of self-destruction.

From love nature, post Woody Harrelson mesmerizes in ‘Rampart’