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Pitt Peas Book of the Month club

AreWeWinningCover.jpgThis summer I have been pretty big on reading. With some spare time on my hands and no Public Relations textbooks to bog me down I have done my fair share of reading over the past three months.

I have read “Blink” my Malcolm Gladwell, and a pair of books about Pirates history. But the one that stuck out, not only from the books I have read this summer, but from all books I have ever read is “Are We Winning?” by Will Leitch.

I have always been a fan of Leitch’s. I loved “God Save the Fan” where he trashed ESPN and other media outlets, it really got me thinking. I also enjoy his columns in The Sporting News. But this book is the end all be all of Leitch and baseball books everywhere.

It is an honest tale of the game of baseball and how special it really is to fathers and sons. The memories made, the lessons taught and the good times that can ony be shared and understood by a father and his son.

Each chapter in entitled as an inning, top of the first, bottom of the first, top of the second and so on.

The premise of the book details Will’s trip to Wrigley Field where he meets his father and college buddy who is a die-hard Cubs fan. The Leitch family lives and dies by the Cubs’ bitter rivals, Cardinals. Just as you can expect hilarity ensues with raunchy slurs and colorful words
wrigley.jpg to describe Wrigley Field, Wrigleyville, Cubs fans, Vince Vaughn, beer, women and everything and everyone in between.

He gives a vivid recap of the game at hand, it is a special game as the Cubs are just one win away from clinching the Division title. Along with the game play by play he also flashes back to important moments in his life.

College days, Cardinal games and life in general. It is a perfect autobiography that all men who love baseball can easily relate to, and get many laughs in the process.

While Leitch doesn’t necessairly bash the Pirates he just tells the truth. Many times he spouts that there are not any Pirate fans, well quite frankly there are not. When he spoke of this fact many times he really made me sad, driving me to put down the book a few times and collect my thoughts. I thought long and hard about what the Pirates mean to me, what baseball means to me, what I would possibly do without being a Pirates fan and what a shame it is that more people in Pittsburgh have turned their back on this franchise.

However, all the disdain will eventually turn to the most powerful statement of the whole book. Towards the end he describes baseball towns and how other sports take a backseat to these citizens compared to their baseball teams. New York, Boston and St. Louis are examples of these baseball meccas. To conclude the chapter he delievers a bold prediction.

“Kansas City. Pittsburgh. Cincinnati. Baltimore. These are baseball towns. They will rise again.

Man is that beautiful and I simply could not agree more. All four have had their time in the sun with a large period of famine since either one of the franchises have seen a good baseball season. Cincinnati is seeing what could happen when winning occurs and it has transformed that city in Ohio. If the Pirates have even just a winning season within three years fans will flock back. My generation does not know what winning feels like. The book makes that clear and makes me jealous when Leitch describes how amazing it is to live and die by every pitch, call your father after a must win game and live out dreams by seeing a World Series live and in person.

While its been a tough 18 years with the 18th consecutive losing season just a few games away, the Pirates redirected their future today by signing their first and second round draft picks, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie.

stetson.jpgTaillon and Allie have been touted as the two best high school pitchers in the country. They are now part of the Pittsburgh organization. Homegrown pitchers have been a specialty of the Bucs, however they never seem to live up to the hype let alone pan out as formidable Major League starters.

This pair has a chance to change that mantra and allow the Bucs to become part of the competitive baseball landscape. We’ve seen that this year has been dominated by pitchers and now that the Pirates have two pitchers with the potential to dominate it just shows that down the road Pittsburgh will rise again.

photo credits: amazon.com, destination360.com,mackmetblog.com, hotstoveinfo.com

I hope Leitch is right by saying KC, PITT, BALT, CINN will rise again. Baltimore is the easiest fix. Those ARE 4 great baseball towns. Thanks for the review!

Matt: I hope the Pirates keep those two guys. Tallion and Allie could be what they need to turn thigns around in the future. They will rise again! You are such a good fan, staying with your team even when they are down.

The key to thie ‘rise’ of these teams is smart draft choices. Last place translates to high rated picks… choose wisely. You need only look to Tampa to see how quickly that can move your team from worst to first.
Bucs fans DESERVE a winning team after all of these years.
Great review Matt!

Thanks for the review Matt! You know sometimes I want to start sending emails to Bud Selig on a daily basis about having parity in baseball. Not sure if he will read them.

I’m gonna have to check out that book. Whenever I chat with other folks from the Burgh, it’s always given that the city is a Steelers town and nothing else.
(Towards the end he describes baseball towns and how other sports take a backseat to these citizens compared to their baseball teams.)
It’s hard to say what is a good baseball town. I wouldn’t rank New York as a “baseball town” by the definition given. Not even close compared to St. Louis. I know many people in New York who don’t even care about baseball compared to football. St. Louis is a better example. I grew up just outside St. Louis, although I live in the southern California area now. I also think to say a place is a “great baseball town” is a little simplistic. Only Major League Baseball? I know more people out here in the L.A. area who could tell you who’s in the College world series, who follow the top high school players in the country and who to look for in the draft, who have fantasy leagues for the regional players, who love baseball across the board. When I was back in St. Louis for a family event last spring, nobody even knew the Caribbean Series was going on, but people out here will watch that, and a lot of international baseball – the World Baseball Classic last year was really exciting, yet some so called baseball fans I knew back home wouldn’t even watch it because it was on at the same time as spring training. I also know many more people out here who actually play baseball, compared to just watching it. Myself, I’m a coach and the competition here is something crazy like I never saw back in St. Louis. So if the book is saying “Major League Baseball” cities only, I’d say St. Louis is the best, but I remember a time when Kansas City was, too. And definitely Cincinnati. As a Cards fan I don’t like what they’re doing this year, but as a baseball fan I can respect it. I do hope for Pirates fans’ sake things do turn around. 18 years for a winning season is too long to wait.

I guess I am gonna have to get that book and read it myself.

Lynn, about making the “smart draft choices” that could go either way. Over the years we have seen lots of guys go from “can’t miss” to failing. It’s not easy to tell what is a “smart” choice. Sometimes all that meticulous scouting backfires on you. On paper a lot of choices look smart. The Rays are an example where most things went right for them. Also, teams can make smart draft choices but mishandle the players, later. We have seen that happen a lot too.

Those ARE 4 great baseball towns. Thanks for the review!
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(Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

(Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

fan-morning-show-podcast-b The Fan Morning Show
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PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) — Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders joined The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday after OTA’s got underway on Tuesday.

He told the guys that getting a restricted free agent tender from the New England Patriots was a win-win situation for him, because no matter how things ended up, he’d be in a good place.

“I just sat back and was patient,” Sanders said. “You know, I had the Pittsburgh Steelers, I had the New England Patriots, those are two great franchises, two great quarterbacks, and so I was in a good situation. So I just waited, I just continued to work hard, and just let the chips fall where they may.”

He explained that he never stopped thinking of himself as a Steeler, even though he started to wonder about his future with the Steelers when they hadn’t made an offer as the midnight deadline drew near.

“The whole time I was thinking I’m still a Pittsburgh Steeler, I was still out here in Pittsburgh,” Sanders said. “It definitely came down to the wire around about [that] four o’clock, five o’clock area, I really started thinking like, ‘Okay, maybe they won’t match the tender, I’ve got to be out in New England tomorrow, so should I start packing? Should I not start packing?'”

When asked if a potential long-term deal was part of the discussion when Sanders’ camp worked out his deal for this season, he admitted that the topic has been broached.

“Of course, and those conversations are going on right now,” Sanders said.

But he made it clear that any talk contract extension is a secondary concern right now.

“You guys keep talking about the contract,” Sanders said. “You guys won’t let the contract go, but you know, at the end of the day, I’m telling you that I’m honest when I say I’m not worried about a contract. The contracts will come.”

The interview can be heard here:

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Photo Credit: Centre Daily Times

Police: Pa. Woman Attacked Elderly Boyfriend With Hacksaw, Model Airplane

Police say a Pennsylvania woman attacked her 82-year-old boyfriend with a hacksaw and model airplane.

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Marshall RB Charged In Beating Of 2 Gay Men, Kicked Off Team

Marshall running back Steward Butler was charged in the beating of two gay men Wednesday and dismissed from the team.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Police, College Campus On Alert After Girl Allegedly Attacked In North Hills

A report of an alleged attack on a child over the weekend in a wooded area of the North Hills prompted an alert at a nearby college campus.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Hockey Stick Used To Bash Township Truck Over Salt Beef

Police in a southeastern Pennsylvania township are investigating a hockey stick attack on a public works truck, apparently by someone upset that their street wasn’t getting road salt after recent snows.

(Photo Credit: Thinkstock)

Death Row Inmate Gets 5-10 Years For Hitting Lawyer In Court

A man on death row in the killing of his girlfriend in 2004 has been sentenced to 5-10 years in prison for sucker-punching his lawyer by swinging his cuffed hands during a court hearing.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

New Wearable Technology May Help Prevent Attacks

A physical attack can happen at any moment and anywhere, but some wearable technology might prove useful in such a situation.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Father, Son Injured In Pit Bull Attack In Beaver Co.

Police in Beaver County had to put down a dog after it attacked a father and son Thursday evening.

Nous Sommes

The following Editorial discussed the attack on the French publication Charlie Hebdo.

NewsRadio 1020 KDKA–01/09/2015

(Photo credit  -/AFP/Getty Images)

Sony Pulls Plug On Controversial New Movie Over Threats

Federal investigators have now connected the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. to North Korea, a U.S. official said Wednesday, though it remained unclear how the federal government would respond to a break-in that exposed sensitive documents and ultimately led to terrorist threats against moviegoers.

(Photo credit  -/AFP/Getty Images)

Sony Hackers Threaten 9/11 Style Attack On Movie Theaters

Sony hackers have reportedly threatened a 9/11-like attack on movie theaters that screen the new Seth Rogen, James Franco North Korean comedy “The Interview.”

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Cal U Turns To Kansas Firm To Restore Football Program’s Reputation

California University and its football program have seen better days.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Aggressive Bear Attacks, Kills Fayette Co. Woman’s Goat, Donkey

Bear sightings are not uncommon this time of year, but one in Fayette County was especially alarming.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Man Arrested For Kicking Dog In The Head, Attacking Owner

A Fayette County man and his dog are recovering after they were attacked and threatened while out for a walk earlier this week.

(Source: Westmoreland County Jail)

Jeannette Woman Attacks Neighbors, Hits 1 With Lamp, Vacuum & Flower Pot

A Westmoreland County woman is accused of going on a rampage earlier this month, attacking three women in her neighborhood and sending one to the hospital.

(Source: Twila Lindsey)

Beaver Co. Man Released From Jail After Metal Pipe Assault By Ex-Girlfriend

A Beaver County man, arrested by Aliquippa Police on charges of assault and harassment, was released from jail Thursday after spending about 10 days behind bars.


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Kretchmar’s Bakery

Vote For Oakmont, Kretchmar’s As Best Bakery In America

Two Pittsburgh-area bakeries are finalists in a national competition.

Best Bakeries In Pittsburgh

Whether it’s cakes you crave or pastries you prefer, the Pittsburgh area has no shortage of bakeries that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

CBS Pittsburgh–05/11/2011


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War Never Changes, Only Perspectives

By Bobfish12-03-2014

You know what we don't see enough of in our dudebro, self absorbed, message about war video games? So caught up in their exploration of the horror of war as seen by the perpetrators. Whilst somehow trying to cast them as heroes. Know what we don't see? The bystanders. The innocents.

The civilians.

Sure, we may get some moments of revelation as we are confronted with what the non-combatants are forced to endure. Sometimes, even, those scenes are handled extremely well. Dear Gods! The white phos scene in Spec Ops...

But my point stands, we simply do not see enough of the civilian perspective of warfare in video games. And even when we do, outside of those short story segments designed specifically to pull at the heart strings, all we get is some contrived opposing side viewpoint. Take on the role of the 'bad guy' so you can see hyis motivation for fighting back, that kind of thing.

The reasoning is obvious, of course. Guns and explosions are much easier to work with in a video game sense. The overwhelming success (still) of the first person shooter will attest to that. And, y'know, it's kinda' hard to make a first person shooter about someone who isn't doing any shooting, so yeah.

Then along comes 11 Bit Studios, of Anomoly fame, to step up and show us all how it's done. Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to present to you, This War of Mine. Via Vimeo, rather than YouTube, because YouTube (at time of writing) is being YouTube and not working. They're actually updating it or something...but that's a story for another time.

I must confess, I was in mixed minds as the trailer first opened out. On the one hand, the imagery and choice of music was very powerful, suggesting something more thoughtful than the usual twaddle. On the other, it's hardly the first time the usual twaddle has employed precisely that kind of advertising in a vain attempt to show that they're, well, not the usual twaddle.

I knew it was leading to some kind of unexpected payoff, and my trepidation grew as the beautifully directed visuals played out. I was expecting some trite, painfully pretentious moment of self indulgence that would make me groan, close the browser window and tyr to lobotomise myself with a spoon...then it hit me, and I was honestly floored.

So, ladies and gentleman, I leave you with this.

In war, not everyone is a soldier.

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A Musical Petting Zoo?

phiirThere are many benefits to living near NYC.  We are so close to amazing museums, great Broadway (capital B here!) shows, and many musical events. But sometimes you don’t want to head into the city. It’s nice to have options in Westchester for entertainment and musical enrichment.

I recently learned about the Westchester Philarmonic through a friend.  Now in its 31st season, the Westchester Philharmonic is the oldest, continuously running professional symphony orchestra and largest performing arts organization in Westchester County. The Philharmonic’s main stage concert series makes its home at the 1,300 seat Concert Hall at the Purchase Performing Arts Center, as well as outdoor concerts, chamber concerts, children’s programs, and special events throughout the area, attracting savvy music-lovers from Westchester, Fairfield, Rockland, Putnam, and Bergen counties, and even New York City.

This Sunday, they are hosting a family-friendly performance of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE  and selected other pieces.  Beginning at 2 pm teaching artists from the Philharmonic will be on hand in the lobby to guide young listeners in a “musical petting zoo” as they explore violins, cellos and more courtesy of Ardsley Musical Instrument Service, the place where we’ve always gotten our kids’ instruments!

Here is some more information on the performance.  Hope to see you there!

Mozart: Overture to The Magic Flute
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

Or, call (914) 682-3707

The Phil invites audiences to hop aboard Principal Conductor Ted Sperling’s guided tour to a family-friendly program, perfect for all ages yet fully satisfying to the most sophisticated musical palates. Opening with Mozart’s mischievous Overture to The Magic Flute, the whirlwind scene is set for renowned pianist Anne-Marie McDermott performing the magnificent Grieg Piano Concerto, with its famous opening passage. Then optimism and boundless possibility suffuse Beethoven’s Second Symphony.

*February 8 concert tickets for young people 17 and under are FREE with a paid adult ticket but you must call to reserve your seat. Advance reservations are required. Call (914) 682-3707*

Disclosure: I received 2 complementary tickets to the Philharmonic to facilitate writing this post.

Cord Blood: Separating Facts From Fiction

Last week, my family celebrated my daughter’s 15th birthday. Certainly one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind was how impossible it was that I was the parent of a child that old. As I often do on milestones like birthdays, I went back in time and thought about my pregnancy with her. Everything felt so new and scary. There were so many choices we had to make, some as simple as picking a nursery pattern. But others were more involved, involving her health and well-being.

One of the conversations we had with our doctor involved cord blood banking… if you want to call it a conversation. We had seen some material about it in the waiting room at the hospital, and we brought it with us to one of our prenatal appointments. Our doctor didn’t know much about it and dismissed it out of hand as science fiction and ridiculously expensive. Like many new parents, we took her word for it and decided not to pursue it.

Seven years later when I was pregnant with my son, it was a very different conversation we had with a different ob/gyn. She was more informed than our prior doctor was, but still didn’t know much more. She didn’t discourage us from pursuing a banking opportunity, but she didn’t offer much knowledge either.

So it was fitting that 15 years after my daughter was born, I attended a session hosted by ViaCord to discuss stem cell banking. It was the kind of opportunity I wished I had as an expectant mom, to learn more about what cord blood banking is all about.

The Cord Blood 101 Presentation

The Cord Blood 101 Presentation

The session was hosted by Morey Kraus, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, ViaCord and Kate Falcon Girard, RN MSW, Clinical Manager with ViaCord. They took the time to explain what cord blood is, how they collect and store it, and why it’s more important than we ever realized.

In their 101, they explained that cord blood is the blood that remains in a newborn’s umbilical cord after birth. This blood is a great source of stem cells, which are the building blocks of tissues, organs, blood, and the immune system, and have the power to heal. The potential for the cord blood extends beyond the child who the banking was done for. Certainly the baby is a perfect genetic match to his or her own stem cells. Siblings have a 75% chance of being a match for each other, and studies show that using matched cord blood from a relative will double the chance of transplant success. According to ViaCord, more than 60% of their transplants have been used for a matched sibling.

A sample ViaCord kit

A sample ViaCord kit

The process is quite simple. If you choose to do this, a kit is sent to the hospital. After delivery, the baby’s umbilical cord is clamped and cut. The doctor or nurse will then insert a needle into the umbilical cord to collect the remaining blood. The bag is then sealed and placed it in the ViaCord collection kit. From start to finish, the cord blood collection process takes about five minutes and neither the baby nor the mom is hurt in any way.

During the session, I was curious who in my circle of friends had done this, who had not, and what was their decision making process that led them to their choice. I went to Facebook during the session and asked who had and who had not, and why. Most of them had the same questions that I did when I was pregnant and I figured I would use the information shared in our session to address them.

Here are some of the most common misconceptions:

  • “We don’t have a history of blood diseases in the family, so we didn’t pursue it.” – Cord blood stem cells are certainly vital to transplant medicine, where the infusion of stem cells goes into a patient’s bloodstream to regenerate blood, tissue, and the immune system. But there is a good deal of emerging research that’s aiming to bring about potential therapies that use cord blood stem cells to cure some serious conditions, including autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy, and Type 1 diabetes.84
  • “The viable storage time is 3-5 years” – According to ViaCord, the first cord blood collations frozen nearly 25 years ago were shown to be just as healthy as cord blood that had been stored for much shorter periods. And yes, based on this answer, they did have cord blood collection technology 20 years ago, but doctors and nurses were probably not well educated about the potential benefits.
  • “It’s too expensive” – 15 years ago, that’s definitely how we felt. I can’t remember how much it was exactly, but as a new parent preparing to move, buy a new house and begin furnishing a nursery: money was tight. ViaCord has made an effort to address this by lowering the upfront cost of banking by 40%. They also have a gift registry where friends can choose to support your decision to bank cord blood instead of gifting yet another receiving blanket.
  • “My doctor didn’t do it for her child when she was pregnant, so I figured it wasn’t worth it for me.” - This was the big one for me. When I was pregnant 15 years ago, I had no information on cord blood banking to go on. Now that it has been used in transplants and studies are looking at more and more uses for it in treatment of nearly 80 diseases2, we know much more than we did at the beginning. As such, it’s important for parents to understand this option, what it means not just for their child but for their entire family, potentially, so they can make an informed decision.

So, knowing what I know now, would I have made a different decision 15 years ago? Hindsight is 20/20 of course, so it’s impossible to say for sure but I certainly left the session feeling a lot more informed than when I walked in. Hopefully all expectant parents will take the time to learn what cord blood banking is all about so they can make the right decisions for their family.

The Great Shampoo Debate

In the category of “we always want what we do not have”, I have spent most of my life dreaming of having big volume curly hair.

I loved the 80s!

I loved the 80s!

OK, so maybe not THAT big and messy. But definitely in the category of “the bigger the hair, the closer to God.”  My natural hair is very thin and flat, and I have just never been able to build volume without getting a perm.

You’re not seeing a photo of that.

OK, maybe you are.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 11.38.13 AM

That’s me using my perm to full effect, dressed as “Magenta” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  I think it was for a school Halloween dance, but it could have been any random Tuesday.

It was still pretty curly in college.

It took a LONG time to grow out that perm.  I swore I would never get one again, but never stopped dreaming of big, luscious hair.

I’ve read a lot about people giving up shampoo, whether it is for a baking soda treatment or to just condition your hair without having shampooed it.  I was intrigued, and started going without shampoo and only using conditioner.  I never got my curls to last more than a few hours, but I certainly liked the way it looked while it lasted.  I definitely took the chance to hit DryBar whenever possible.

Me, with Sasha Grey, and two great blow-outs

Me, with Sasha Grey, and two great blow-outs

The above photo was during a trip to LA to work on Sasha’s book promo video.  I hit DryBar first thing and got the “Southern Comfort”.  Even though we were in LA where it’s not humid, the curls still didn’t really last.

Earlier this year, I attended Getting Gorgeous where Alberto Vo5 was the presenting sponsor.  I happened to get there early, so early that they were still setting up the room.  I saw that the Vo5 booth was offering hair consultations, and it seemed only right to take advantage of my early-bird arrival to get one of those makeovers.

Megan was the stylist.  She asked me what kind of a hair treatment I wanted – straightening, braids, curls, whatever.  I told her of my quest for the perfect head of cascading curls.  Agreeing that she could make that happen, she began to work while asking me about my hair care routine.  I told her about the no shampoo thing I had been doing, making do in-between with dry shampoo.  She said that was a great idea for someone with course, curly hair, but for me, I was better off shampooing not once but twice (the first time moves the oil and dirt around, the second removes it) and using a very light conditioner, or none at all.

I was flabbergasted.  How was that possible?  But as Megan went on, it made sense.  My hair was very thin, and hence light.  When I weighed it down with conditioner and even most products, it went flat instantly.

She said the best way to style my hair after washing it was to curl it with my usual iron and pin up the curls in clips for at least 20 minutes.  Right before removing the clips, spray it good with hair spray.

She gave me samples of two products from the Salon Secrets line.  First, the Simply Stunning Leave in Conditioner.  Rather than using a heavy conditioner in the shower, she said this was great to keep my hair untangled, but not weighed down.  Second was a hairspray designed for maximum hold – Perfect Hold Non Aerosol Hairspray.  I was quite happy with these products, as Alberto Vo5 is a very affordable product line and if I liked these products, I knew I wouldn’t experience sticker shock when I bought them.  But what about the results?

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 11.24.16 AM

Here’s the headshot that they took of me at the event.  This was such a fun hairstyle, and it lasted for 3 days, pretty much as you see it here.  I’m using Megan’s techniques whenever I want a special look for an occasion, and I remain a devote to shampoo, rinse, repeat and call it a day.

Don’t Wait for the Ice Cream Truck!

This is a sponsored post from Global Influence on behalf of Unilever and Walgreens

There is one food group that my entire family can agree on, and it’s ice cream. Given most any choice, we will always look for some frozen delight over cake, cookies, or the like. Doesn’t matter whether we’re at a high-end place or the local diner.  If it’s time for dessert, that means ice cream.

He screams for ice cream

He screams for ice cream

On one of my first trips to London some years ago, I spent a fair amount of time walking around the city and seeking out new sights.  Over and over again, I would see the logo for an ice cream bar called Magnum at newsstands and street carts.  Magnum wasn’t sold in the US back then, and there was no other equivalent that I knew of to compare, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it.  Who knew what goodness I was passing up! Later in the trip, my colleagues and I went to a West End show.  Like Pavlov’s dog, I was salivating for intermission, knowing that’s when London theaters served ice cream treats to the audience.  As soon as the lights came up and the curtain went down, I was prowling around looking for the ice cream lady.  Surprise, surprise, she was selling Magnum bars.  I picked a vanilla bar with white chocolate coating.  It was absolutely yummy.  Of course, as sugar can make you, I felt immediately elated, and then a little depressed because I knew I couldn’t find this heavenly treat in the US.  I also ended up walking out with my colleague’s used stick and wrapper snuck into my purse, but that’s a story for another post.

Years later, I was THRILLED to see a commercial announcing that Unilever was bringing Magnum bars to the US.  Maybe you remember it?

You may think that is Rachel Bilson in the commercial, but no.  That was me as soon as I learned I could get my beloved Magnum bars here in the States.

We used to keep half gallons in the fridge, but found that, ahem, portion control was an issue.  It was much easier to have single serve treats ready to go, so we couldn’t overindulge.  I was thrilled to know that I can find with delicious Unilever ice cream brands, such as Magnum, Breyers, Klondike, Frutare and Popsicle, readily available at my local Walgreens store.  Our neighborhood store is open 24/7.  I’m just saying.  Not that I have ever made an ice cream run at that hour, but I could.  Just knowing I could keeps me a little sane.

UNI_WAG_IceCreamScale_Asset2[5][1] (1)

Go to your local Walgreens and grab what you are craving. This is ideal for hot summer (or fall) nights with the entire family, and it’s super convenient so you don’t have to make that grocery store stop or wait around for the ice cream truck.  Be sure to have one (or two…three) for me!

Learning Meets Fun at the KidzVuz Back to School Bash

Photo Credit: Justin Lee, Josh Strauss Studios

Photo Credit: Justin Lee, Josh Strauss Studios

This a sponsored post brought to you by KidzVuz and Microsoft

Last month, Jordan and I had the chance to attend the KidzVuz Back to School Bash.  The party was held as the closing event of the two-day Blogger Bash, and I am happy to say it brought the fun, for kids and adults.

In case you’re new to this world, KidzVuz is a video review sharing site for kids age 7-12.  It’s the only online destination exclusively dedicated to letting tweens have their say and share their views about the stuff they love.  It’s also totally safe for the kids – you don’t share any personal information, all videos are viewed by the KidzVuz team before they are posted, and there is no bullying of any kind permitted.  Because of all this, parents can feel good about having their kids participate on the site.

KidzVuz is also known for having the best parties around, and there was no way my guy was going to miss that.  At first, I couldn’t figure out a way to get from Blogger Bash in the city all the way up to Westchester to pick him up, and then turn back around to get into the city.  “Schlep” was the word that came to mind.   I took a chance and asked his day camp if they could bring him on one of their buses into the city, as I knew there were kids on routes not far from the venue.  Of course they could and it worked out perfectly for both of us.  I had to only walk a few blocks to get him, and shortly thereafter, he was able to experience all the fun of the party.  And experience it he did!

Jordan has a KidzVuz account but hasn’t made any videos yet.  He does however love watching videos from other kids, especially if they are talking about video games or technology.  It won’t surprise anyone to know that his first stop inside the party was the Microsoft booth.

Photo Credit: Justin Lee, Josh Strass Studios

Photo Credit: Justin Lee, Josh Strass Studios

Maybe it was the candy?  There was a huge display of beautiful, tasty sugar, and since it was gluten free, Jordan dug into it.  At least at first.  Then, he saw an XBox console, and all bets were off.  As you can see in this quick video, he was all ears for the demo.

While he was monopolizing the XBox, I was able to chat with some of the Microsoft folks in attendance.  They have a lot of fun stuff going on, and shared with me some of their tips to foster growth, learning, and, of course, fun with kids.

  1. Fuel creativity and create your own video game world with Project Spark. Take it from me – I used to work with game programmers and I know you can actually make a living playing video games! With Project Spark, we are opening the doors to the development process, encouraging parents and their children to build their own game worlds that let their imagination go wild while at the same time, learning the nuts and bolts that make up video game development. Play Project Spark for free on Xbox One and Xbox 360, and check in on your game worlds on your Surface tablet.
  2. If they love Project Spark, try out a new kind of free summer camp at Microsoft Retail Stores. Microsoft YouthSpark Summer Camps are the perfect solution, with free camps at Microsoft Retail Stores across the nation. The camps include programming designed to teach kids computer science skills in fun and engaging ways including learning how to build, publish and bring mobile games to life, as well as produce and design their own digital movies.
  3. If you’re looking for something a little more physical, get extreme with Kinect Sports Rivals. With the new Kinect Sports Rivals game for Xbox One, your kids can experience their favorite extreme sports challenges! Kinect 2.0 registers the slightest flick of a finger to grab the hold on a rock or pull the throttle on your jet ski, making for a rewarding and realistic sports experience that may even get them breaking a sweat.
  4. Make online searches safer and more rewarding with Bing in the Classroom. With a new school year comes a new, interactive way to search. Encourage your child’s school to sign up for Bing in the Classroom, a program that provides ad-free, safer, more private search in schools, daily lesson plans that ask questions that inspire critical thinking and a Rewards program that you can use to earn Surface tablets for their school! No matter what your child is searching, you can be sure that they are seeing appropriate content and learning along the way.
  5. Write, type and play with Surface Pro 3. Help your teen tackle their assignments and stay organized as they pursue part time jobs, college applications and of course extracurricular activities with the tablet that can replace a laptop: Surface Pro 3. Its sleek, lightweight and durable design brings together the best of a laptop and the best of a tablet in one gorgeous package, making it perfect to take anywhere from the classroom to a friend’s house. Attach one of the colorful Type Covers to turn out a term paper, or open an OneNote page with the click of the all-new Surface Pen for hand-written notes or doodles. And with up to nine hours of battery life, it will last all day at school and be ready to take on a Netflix session when it’s time to relax.
  6. Have fun while learning with educational Windows Apps. School is out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean your child needs to stop learning! Windows apps like Where’s My Mickey introduces a whole new world of physics-based gameplay from Disney. If you want to test math skills, Number Tap challenges the player against the rest of the world in a fast paced number tapping math frenzy. To disguise learning as a game even further, try out BrainPop, where your child can watch a different animated movie every day about current events, historical figures, holidays and more.
  7. Want to be more active? Get fit with Xbox Fitness. For Mom and Dad, try Xbox Fitness, which offers the same great tracking technology as Kinect Sports Rivals for a personalized training experience in the comfort of your living room. Choose from a library of training programs from favorite trainers like Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson.
  8. At the end of the day, stay entertained with Surface 2. With the 1080p widescreen display, Dolby® audio, and built-in multi-position kickstand, Surface 2 is perfect for those nights when watching Frozen with your child is at the top of the to-do list. Or, if your kid is musically inclined, they can stream free music and even import their iTunes playlist. Your child can get the most out of their time with Surface 2 by using apps side-by-side; keeping an eye on their music downloads while emailing friends and family in Outlook. Surface 2 also comes with Office built in, making the perfect family device for having fun and getting stuff done.

A glimpse of some of the party fun - Photo Credit Justin Lee, Josh Strauss Studios

A glimpse of some of the party fun – Photo Credit Justin Lee, Josh Strauss Studios

Without a doubt, I was the coolest mom in the world that night, at least in Jordan’s mind.  He left the party in happy tears, crying out “I wish I could live here!”  Oh my sweet boy, so do I.

Top 5 Reasons Why I runDisney

1958061_10152399341898054_1217425668_nI’ve always been someone who loves fitness and exercise…with the exception of running.  Give me a hardcore spin class, an elliptical machine, or a grueling cross training class any day.  Running is for OTHER people.  The non-top heavy who don’t run the risk of getting a black eye on the straightway (I’ll let you ponder that image for a moment…go ahead, I’ll wait).

But then one day, I saw the bait and bit.  I blame a lot of people, but mostly Amy.  Amy is the woman I walked 26.2 miles through the moonlight streets of Manhattan, dressed in a bra.  During our 10 hour walk of shame bonding session, we talked about a lot of things, including her runDisney experiences.  It was then that I decided if I could finish the crazy walk, I could do a runDisney race.  After all, there were shiny medals to be won!

Amy and I before the 10K

Amy and I before the 10K

Since this was my first race, well, ever, I wanted to take it slowly.  I signed up to do the Enchanted 10K that was being held during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend.  Amy was going to do the Glass Slipper Challenge, which involved running the Enchanted 10K on a Saturday, and a 1/2 marathon that very next day.  I knew I wasn’t up to that, but running essentially 6 miles was.

The trip was originally going to be just me, but somehow the kids and my mom got added into the trip.  Sarah didn’t want to run herself, but I signed Jordan up for one of the kids races.  We ended up having a weekend we would never forget, and vowed to sign up for this year’s weekend.  Why was it so amazing?  Without much effort, here are five reasons.

1. runDisney races are magical affairs with liberal pixie dust all around.  I will always remember when “Let It Go” came up on my iPod shuffle at the beginning of the race.  I ran with a little bit more spring in my step, until I thought I heard the same song at a different point somewhere else.  I pulled out my ear buds to find out, yes, it was playing off speakers.  Speakers that were attached to a gigantic truck on the overpass, where Elsa was waving to all the runners, and sprinkling snow all over the course.  I turned to a runner next to me and she looked as struck by it as I was.  That was but one of the amazing moments I experienced during the race.

I found my name on the 10K board at the Race Expo.  I was officially a runner!

I found my name on the 10K board at the Race Expo. I was officially a runner!

2. People dress in costumes – I decided to create a very simple tribute to my favorite rodent, Minnie Mouse.  But during a runDisney race, people come to play. There were heroes and villains.  Thousands of princesses.  A few Olafs.  And this costume, which I think was probably my favorite.

One little spark!

One little spark!

My friend Ashley has worn some amazing outfits.  While I loved what she’s done, I wasn’t sure about running in costume, much less running period, so I kept it simple.  For next time, I’m stepping it up and have a grand plan I can’t wait to share it with you!

3. runDisney is about inclusion – Jordan isn’t much of an athlete.  He has hypotonia, which means he can’t run for long periods of time.  So why did I sign him up for a race?  I had a lot of questions very similar to that as we waited at the finish line.

Boy is ready to run!

Parents are allowed to run with the kids, so I went out there with him.  When the starter pistol fired, he ran a little but very quickly announced he was tired.  I tried to encourage him to RUN RUN RUN, which he did.  And didn’t.  He was moving rapidly towards the back of the pack.  At the end when we could see the finish line, we saw Goofy waiting.  When Goofy spied Jordan as the last runner, he ran out and got him and cheered him (silently) across the finish line.  Jordan was disappointed that he finished last, but was thrilled that Goofy supported him.  Of course, when he got his medal, that was all he could talk about.

It seemed to take a really long time for Jordan’s race to start.  The time came and went, with no announcements other than “soon”.  I texted Sarah who was waiting at the finish line to see if she knew anything.  Then, coming from the finish line, I heard a huge cheer.  Sarah texted back right after to say the race was now over because the last competitor finished while pushing her wheelchair across the finish line.  Sarah said it was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen, and had mad respect for the girl who had pretty much won the hearts of everyone that day.  Mad props to Sarah Kate who rightly was the most amazing kid in the world that day.

4. runDisney is about supporting others – when I was done running the back loop of the 10K going around the lake at the back of Epcot, the final runner was coming out of Epcot to begin that same loop.  When I tell you that every single runner with me moved to the side to high five that runner and cheer her on, know that I am not exaggerating.

When I was finally done with the race, I could not walk.  No, really, I couldn’t walk.  My feet were killing me, and I was as sore as you can be.  I started shuffling off to the front of Epcot to meet my family.  I started to notice that someone was walking behind me and talking to me.  It was a woman named Trish, and she was telling me about all the races she’s run.  When I told her it was my first race EVAH, she insisted on buying me a latte to celebrate.  Just a wonderful act of kindness from a fellow runner.  Made me feel like I had entered some sort of special club.

5. THE SHINY MEDALS – when I tell you that I wore my medal around the whole day, I am not kidding.

Minnie was most impressed by my outfit.

So was the prince.  This year, I’m doing the Glass Slipper Challenge and when I finish, I will be wearing all three medals around my neck everywhere.  Let TSA try and pry them off me on the return trip home.  Ain’t gonna happen.

Have you run a runDisney race?  How was it?  And if you haven’t, tell me what race would you want to run?

The Cure for Soccer Fever is in New Jersey

WP_20140802_002Like many of my friends, I’m in a bit of a post World Cup hangover.  For a good month, we had access to the best soccer in the world, sometimes with more than one game a day.  While I am terribly nostalgic for those days of being spoiled soccer rotten, I know that there is a way to get my fix in.

In the NYC area, we have a top-flight MLS team of our very own.  Of course I am talking about the New York Red Bulls.  They have been members of the league since it’s inception, and play in an amazing, state of the art arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

We try to get to at least a game a year.  The Red Bulls are very involved in our soccer community and we usually find ourselves at events that they are participating in.  For instance, they were a part of the Verizon Wireless #vzwbuzz #soccerfever event that kicked off the world cup.

Note, this post is NOT sponsored by Verizon or the Red Bulls.  Just sharing here people, just sharing.

Anyhow, we have several friends who are season ticket holders, and when one of them let us know he was not going to be able to use his tickets….well, I don’t think he got all the words out before we said YES PLEASE.  Sometimes opportunity has to knock before you take time out of your day to make something happen.

Our game was Saturday, August 2 and OF COURSE the opponent was a Boston team.  Yes, we were going to see the NY Red Bulls (who play in NJ) take on the New England Revolution.  Fine by me.  What’s another wrinkle in our family’s NY-Boston rivalry?

The seats our friend the season ticket holder has are considered club level.  I had never gone “club” before, so to speak, and I was curious to see what it was like.

On the day of the match, we ended up leaving A LOT of time to get to the arena.  How much time, you ask?  Well, the Bullevard opens 3 hours before the game, and they were just setting up when we got there.  In actuality, the drive from Westchester was 40 minutes.  I was prepared for traffic.  There was none.

Now, what’s the Bullevard, you ask?  Well, it’s a great assortment of family-friendly sponsor activities.  Jordan got to play a little FIFA ’14 thanks to AT&T and their truck o’video games.  WP_20140802_16_51_25_Pro

He also took a picture as a corporate shill.  As a loyal Verizon customer with a mother who loves her Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone (which, yes, was a prize won from Verizon), you know he was not happy.

WP_20140802_16_52_16_ProWe spend a little time playing games (there are Red Bulls trainers doing skills drills and hosting kick arounds on the Bullevard) until the club entrance opened.  How did we know where it was?  Oh, the Red Carpet told us…

We went inside, and after the usual security check and ticket punching, we were off to the races.  Or, rather, the club lounge.  It was a good thing we were hungry.  You could definitely make a meal with everything they had inside.  Food ranged from simple kid-friendly offerings like hot dogs and house-made potato chips to more adult offerings like carved loin of pork and a RB clam bake.  I was thrilled to see a salad bar with roasted veggies and other toppings.  We had time to kill in here, and I can say we put that time to good use!

Carving station and home of the RB Clam bake

Carving station and home of the RB Clam bake

Hot Dogs and chips with Old Bay seasoning, anyone?

Hot Dogs and chips with Old Bay seasoning, anyone?

Husband and I were quite comfortable in the lounge, but Jordan was getting anxious.  He wanted to see some soccer, and he wasn’t going to wait!

"Me Want Soccer!"

“Me Want Soccer!”

We figured he’d get antsy in the seats, so we walked around the stadium.  It really is one of the finest in the land, and I do believe it would rival anything that the rest of the football world has to offer.  Even though we were stuffed to the gills, we were impressed with the offerings of food and beverage outside of the club.  I remember when the Red Bulls played at Giants Stadium and it was slim pickings for grub.  No more.  Fantastic beer selection too.

Finally, after we did a lap or two of the stadium, it was time to sit down.

Pre-game festivities

Pre-game festivities

I still resent Keith Olbermann’s comments about the Red Bulls.  He said something in one of his rants tirades Special Opinions that when you went to buy tickets to a Red Bulls match and asked what time it started, you were told, “What time can you get here?”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Red Bulls have an amazing base of loyal and devoted fans who show up in force to support their team.  Attendance for this match was announced at 20,800 something, which is pretty impressive for any sport.

The match was a classic from the beginning.  The Revs scored first, but the Red Bulls came back with 2 unanswered goals and won 2-1.  Jordan just loved it.  Our seats had a great view of the action, but I think it’s hard to find a bad seat in that place.  The lounge was open throughout the game, so when the men looked a little tired, I was able to run up to grab them some more popcorn.  The Gersteins officially at our weight in popcorn that night.  If you were there and found no popcorn in the club lounge, all I can say is “Sorry.  Not sorry.”

So, if you need that cure for Soccer Fever, you simply must head out to Red Bull Arena to check out a game.  We drove from Westchester, but there are many mass transit options available, as the Arena is easily accessible to fans via public transportation including the PATH Trains and NJ Transit to the Harrison Station.  It’s great for families or a bunch of friends who want a night out.  If you get a chance to go for club seats, do it!  In addition to the special entrance and access to the club lounge, you get practically on the pitch seating and VIP parking.  The next home game is August 23rd versus Montreal, but there are games in September and October as well.  Check the web site for information on special multi-game ticket packages.  Don’t wait, get your cure for soccer fever now!

Get Social with the Red Bulls!

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/newyorkredbulls

Twitter – @NewYorkRedBulls

Website – www.newyorkredbulls.com

Great Times with the Staten Island Yankees

InstagramCapture_1de76183-f4ea-44fc-94d7-3494e7b90ac4_jpg_1Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the Staten Island Yankees. I received tickets for the game as well as food vouchers to facilitate my review.

Living near New  York City, you find yourself positively spoiled by the array of sporting teams available to view.  We have not one but two major league baseball teams, 2 basketball teams, 3 hockey teams (if you count the Islanders, which I usually don’t) and 2 football teams (that have the name NY but play in NJ).  But here’s the thing – most of the time, it’s pretty expensive to go to these games, if you count admission prices, food, transportation, and parking.

I love a good baseball game as much as the next girl, so when I got the chance to attend a Staten Island Yankees game, I was all in.  The SI Yanks, nicknamed “the Baby Bombers” are a short-season A minor league team that’s part of the NY Penn League.  They were originally brought to NY in 1999 as part of a deal brokered by noted Yankees fan Mayor Rudy Giuliani.  They play their games at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on the northern tip of the island.

A minor league game offers the same experience of attending a great sporting event, at a lower cost which makes it great to bring a crowd.  Like most minor league teams, the SI Yanks keep ticket and concession prices down to attract a family audience.  Last time we brought the kids to a game, we spent over $150 including tickets and food.  No souvenirs that trip – thankfully there was a giveaway so we didn’t have to pay out for that as well.

The SI Yankees ballpark is really easy to get to from lower Manhattan.  A quick, FREE Staten Island Ferry ride will get you to within a few feet of the ballpark.  Really!

There’s nothing like a Staten Island Ferry ride.  It’s one of my favorite tips for tourists, and frankly, us New Yorkers could benefit from a quick sea getaway too.   You board the Ferry at the terminal – during peak times it normally runs every 20 minutes, but check the schedule to be sure.

Waiting with the crowd for the Ferry

Waiting with the crowd for the Ferry

While the game is a great option for families, because we were going on a weekend, we decided to make it a date night.  My husband works in the city, so I met him in front of the Ferry after he took the subway downtown.  We had a quick 10 minute wait before we were able to board the boat.

Our vessel!

Our vessel!

We ran to the top of the boat so we could have some amazing views of the city as we pulled out on the 15-20 ride to Staten Island.

Can you believe this was his first ferry ride?  The views were unreal, as lower Manhattan disappeared into the horizon and we headed out to sea.

Once on the Island, we were pleased to see people were respectful.  They greeted my husband quite nicely.

OK, so that’s really the Staten Island Railroad.  Who knew?  Plus, the terminal is one of the few places in the area with a DQ.  I miss DQ.

The St George terminal had great signage that directed us to the ballpark.  It was a 5 minute walk, tops.  Once we arrived, we got our tickets and checked out the place.  Like most things, we arrived an hour before the game so we had some time to explore.  The park is right on the water, and there are some beautiful views and lovely breezes, perfect for a hot summer night.

Beautiful ballpark by the water

Beautiful ballpark by the water

The Baby Bombers even have their own mascot.  Heck, the Yankees don’t even have a mascot.   Meet Scooter, the Holy Cow (Yanks fans will get that one, instantly!)

We decided to get something to eat and head to our seats.  To our delight, food was quite reasonably priced.  We had heard they revamped their menu, and could definitely see some unique options at reasonable prices.

One of the many concessions stands

One of the many concessions stands

While I thought Mister would go for the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese, being a New England boy and all, he decided fried food was more his style.  I got a look at the pizza and thought it looked pretty good.  Still, I went with a classic.

Yum.  Nom.  And all that.

Yum. Nom. And all that.

Yes, it was great.  A Nathan’s hot dog and fries.  How can you beat that?

Now, after all that excitement, we were still there to see some baseball!  Our boys were playing the Lowell Spinners, a farm team of the Boston Red Sox.  Which, in actuality, made them Mister’s boys, as he is a Red Sox fan.  Sigh.  There is no escaping the NY-Bos rivalry in our world.

The game was fun, but MY boys struggled, eventually pulling to a final score 4-11.  You can’t win them all.  But you can get ice cream!

InstagramCapture_dfce0dfb-49bb-4672-abff-9ec8d9884017_jpg We collect helmets from ballparks around the country, so this was a great addition to our stash.

After the game, we made our way back to the terminal for the quick ride back to the city.  From there, we could have taken trains home, but I had parked our car at a garage right next to the terminal, making it extra easy.  But if you are in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens, taking the subway to the ferry is just the ticket for a fun night out.

After attending a game, I can say for certain that a Staten Island Yankees game is a great choice for families, couples who want a different kind of date night in the city, or friends looking to get together after work.  They host giveaways and special events (where were we on Disney Pirates and Princess night?) so be sure to check out their web site – there’s something for everyone!

Use promo-code: mommy for $12 tickets to a Staten Island Yankees game! Visit: http://atmilb.com/1x4QL1c for game schedules and ticket information.

Get social with the Staten Island Yankees!

Gluten-Free Dining at Disney – New App Review

Last year, my younger child was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  Despite it being hereditary, thus far he’s the only family member with it.  It’s very important for those with Celiac to eat a gluten-free diet.  Even though Jordan ate gluten (some days exclusively) for all of his 7 years, we learned his body was reacting negatively to it and causing him to not absorb nutrients from food.  So, his meals have to be free of all gluten products.

We have a trip to Disney coming up later this year.  It will be our second trip after learning of his diagnosis.  On our February trip, we had pretty good experiences at the full service restaurants we went to.  Most were able to cook special GF items (GF Mickey waffles FTW!) or tell us what items were already GF that we should try.

One night I was tired (Princess Marathon weekend, and I was running) and just wanted to eat a quick dinner at the pool.  I went to the counter service line and asked what they could do that was GF because nothing on the menu looked like it would work.  The chef rummaged around the freezer a little and came up with a frozen package of Udi’s hamburger buns and announced he could have a burger with fries, but the fries would take a little while because she had to heat up the separate fryer.  I told her burger = good, and skip the fries because he doesn’t like them.  I was able to substitute chips instead.

That worked out well, but I really don’t feel like taking that chance all the time.  I’d like a little more knowledge about what’s GF safe and what should be avoided.   I use a Disney dining app (not by Disney) extensively.  What if they had a GF version?  Well, that company didn’t make one, but a quick search of the app store brought up an app called Gluten Free Disney Dining by Calypso Kid.  I figured for $1.99 it was worth a try.

Net net, I was quite pleased with it and think it will be a great tool before and during my vacation.  I put together a little video to talk about my experience in more depth and why this app is so important.

Just LOVING that thumbnail shot.  Trust me, the rest of the video is better.

How have you managed your food allergies at Disney?

Showing Our Disney Side

Right now, Disney Parks is running a great campaign that is totally up the alley of the Pixie Dust Girls. It’s called “Show Your Disney Side” and it’s something that a lot of people are having a great deal of fun with.

Everyone has a Disney Side- that fun-loving adventurous spirit that comes out to play when you’re feeling the Disney magic! In our house, I’m not sure we have a side other than our Disney Side!

We were selected by Mom Select and Disney Parks to host our own Disney Side party. We received a lovely kit to help make our party even more special. We printed out invitations, did some crafts from Spoonful,  had a photo booth, and made lovely snacks.

Sully Cupcakes!

Sully Cupcakes!

We also watched FROZEN, newly out on DVD.  That was pretty much the highlight of the night for me.

frozenWell, except for one other thing.  We were able to do something at our Disney Side party that made it awesome.  You see, I’ve always been jealous of all the “You’re Going To Disney” videos out there.  In our house, it wouldn’t work to do it as a surprise.  I mean, we go at least once a year, and the kids love planning as much as I do.  But this time, we had the chance to do something that meant as much to me as it did to the recipient.  A friend of Sarah’s, can you believe it, has NEVER been to Disney.  She’s always wanted to go, but for whatever reason, her family hasn’t been able to work it.  This year, we planned to go for Thanksgiving, and thought the time was right to bring a friend for Sarah.  Of course, she wanted it to be this friend.  We got to give her the surprise of her life, and boy was it awesome.  It truly brought the spirit of Disney Side home to me.  I can’t wait to for her to explore her Disney Side and for us to see the parks through her eyes.

On behalf of everyone here, we CANNOT WAIT!


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
On Thursday, February 26, and Saturday, February 28, PJTV will sponsor the “Conservatism 2.0 Conference” at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) in Washington, D.C., at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel.

The theme of Conservatism 2.0 will be “The Quest for Common Ground” where it is hoped conservatives of all stripes will be able to come together and agree on a wide variety of issues. At this critical juncture in our nation’s history, it is vital that conservatives seek ways to put aside whatever differences we may have and unite in support of conservative principles.

To that end, please follow this link to a webpage that lists issues that will be discussed. They are broken down into general headings:

  • General Principles
  • Financial, Economy
  • Government and Congress
  • Freedom of Speech
  • Social Issues
  • Other Issues

What are the common ground issue among conservative and center-right people?


text:
Meghan McCain opens her column “Cut It Out, Internet Bullies!” at The Daily Beast:

Last week, I went on Al Sharpton’s MSNBC show PoliticsNation to talk about extremism in the Republican Party. As a socially liberal Republican, this happens to be a topic I know a lot about. On the show, I told Sharpton that many Republicans treat me like a freak, especially the extreme-right members of my party. I went on to say that I don’t understand the appeal of extreme bloggers such as Michelle Malkin and the late Andrew Breitbart.

Going on Al Sharpton’s show to talk about “extremism in the Republican Party” is as offensive as appearing on a David Duke program to talk about fire safety and tying proper knots. Last summer Jeff Dunetz at Yid With Lid remembered the 10 year anniversary of the Crown Heights riots, an antisemitic pogrom provoked by the MSNBC host and Democratic Party consigliere who earns kinder words from McCain than the “extreme bloggers” who tweet things she doesn’t like.


text:
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Quick submit back issues for authors without e-mail

Are you responsible for making OJS work -- installing, upgrading, migrating or troubleshooting? Do you think you've found a bug? Post in this forum.

Moderators: jmacgreg, btbell, michael, bdgregg, barbarah, asmecher

Forum rules
What to do if you have a technical problem with OJS:

1. Search the forum. You can do this from the Advanced Search Page or from our Google Custom Search, which will search the entire PKP site. If you are encountering an error, we especially recommend searching the forum for said error.

2. Check the FAQ to see if your question or error has already been resolved.

3. Post a question, but please, only after trying the above two solutions. If it's a workflow or usability question you should probably post to the OJS Editorial Support and Discussion subforum; if you have a development question, try the OJS Development subforum.

Quick submit back issues for authors without e-mail

Postby dankomed » Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:14 pm

I have tried several ways to quick submit articles in which at least one author is without e-mail, e.g. diseased person, and got error.
1. The Empty Author Email plugin does not work with Quick submit.
2. The proposed by asmecher edit of: classes/submission/form/MetadataForm.inc.php
Code: Select all
$this->addCheck(new FormValidatorArrayCustom($this, 'authors', 'required', 'author.submit.form.authorRequiredFields', create_function('$email, $regExp', 'return String::regexp_match($regExp, $email);'), array(ValidatorEmail::getRegexp()), false, array('email')));

also does not work. I replaced 'required' with 'optional' as suggested but invalid email error ocurred. I even deleted the whole line from the .php file, cleared the history of the browser, and still got invalid e-mail error using the Quick submit.

Is there a way to disable globally this compulsory e-mail check, until I publish the back issues, and then enable it again. I suspect the file: classes/submission/form/MetadataForm.inc.php is not the only code that must be edited when using the Quick submit plugin.

I am using freshly installed latest version ojs 2.4.3, and there are 3 different journals in one ojs database. Is it possible that somehow the php files that need to be edited have tripled. I ask this because plugin configuration appears to be journal specific, not global to all journals in the ojs.

Last edited by dankomed on Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 8:09 pm

Re: Quick submit back issues for authors without e-mail

Postby asmecher » Tue Feb 25, 2014 3:19 pm

Hi dankomed,

The Quick Submit plugin is implemented separately from the submission form etc.; the check you're looking for is in plugins/importexport/quickSubmit/QuickSubmitForm.inc.php.

Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team
Posts: 10015
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2005 12:56 pm

Re: Quick submit back issues for authors without e-mail

Postby dankomed » Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:52 pm

Dear Alec,

Thanks for the superb help as always !!!

Instructions for those who need the Quick Submit plugin to work without e-mail inputs:

Step 1: Go to /ojs/plugins/importexport/quickSubmit/
Step 2: Rename QuickSubmitForm.inc.php to QuickSubmitForm.inc.php.BACKUP
Step 3: Upload and unzip the customized QuickSubmitForm.inc.php to the same directory

(4.89 KiB) Downloaded 52 times

Note: the asterisk (*) after the E-mail will be still there, but you will be able to save the submission even with empty E-mail fields.
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 8:09 pm

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• acceleration

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From The Player Project

Revision as of 07:45, 21 May 2009 by Ptroja (Talk | contribs)
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The Player distribution comes with code libraries that simplify the writing of Player clients by hiding the details of the Player Protocol and providing a set of functions or objects that communicate with the Player server.

Libraries in the Player distribution

Currrently these libraries are distributed with Player:

The number of libraries in the distro is deliberately kept small.

Third-party libraries and groups

Several alternative libraries have been released by third-parties to enable Player client development in many languages.

Please help to maintain this list!

Also there are groups interested in translate Player headers and/or developing code in:

Personal tools


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Friday, March 30, 2012

Cleaning frenzy, and a request for inspiration

Yesterday I couldn't stand the mess any more. A few days back, I went in my storage closet for something, tripped on a big box, and went flying, landing with a crash face-down on the floor and bruising my knees. Thank goodness I wasn't hurt more. The 6th graders were entering the room and saw me go flying. I told one boy to go the nurse and get me an icepack, PRONTO!! Some of the kids were asking "are you OK?" and others were simply saying "where's my project?" or "where are the poofing tools?", barely noticing I was flat on the floor. The nurse, knowing that I'm an absolute klutz from prior incidents, stopped up in the room to make sure I wasn't really hurt (I guess the boy had charged into her office yelling "Mrs. B needs ice NOW!!!!")

Anyhow, I've had so many projects ongoing that the materials needed for them all had piled up and gotten out of control. By yesterday afternoon, the mess had me so freaked out that I didn't know what to do first. I knew I didn't want to risk any more injuries, so I had to do SOMETHING. So after the kids were gone, I finally tackled the closet, hoping I wouldn't come across this:

I didn't leave my classroom until 7pm. My garbage pails were full, and my storage closet was hugely improved, with nothing on the floor to trip over.

So I told my husband I would be home early today.

But then, after the kids were all gone, and I had stacked up the dry paintings, I noticed the ever-growing pile of leftover paper on the counter.

There was construction paper of every dimension, some in good condition, some faded or with staple holes around the edges, in every color imaginable. I began trimming them down to manageable sizes, cutting away torn and faded edges, and stacking them by color family into a big flat box. A lot of the colored paper will be used for a flower-making activity I have planned.

But I was still left with a HUGE pile of white, especially strips and rectangular chunks, from when I've cut 18"x24" paper into 18" squares, or 12"x18" into 12"x15", and so on... And it was 6pm on a Friday evening and certainly time to go home.

You must have those strips and chunks of white paper too, right? WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM?? I had already used some of them yesterday for a really fun painted paper activity with first graders (we used printmaking rollers - very cool results), but there's still just SO MUCH of it left.

Do you have any brilliant ideas for the use of a volume of white paper strips, in a variety of sizes? INSPIRATION, PLEASE!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Some teddy bears are going to be very happy!

Making teddy bear chairs is an annual 2nd grade project in my art room, and the kids really look forward to it. In the spring, the 2nd grade classes go on a fun field trip to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, crossing Lake Champlain via ferry on the return trip. Many of the kids make Build-a-Bears while at the factory, and the bears will all have chairs to sit on when they get to their new homes with their 2nd grade companions.

This is a ridiculously easy project, with 100% success. I send a letter home asking for cardboard rolls from toilet paper and tin foil, paper towels, plastic wrap, etc., and I end up with way more than I will need. Even now, every day I find another bag of cardboard rolls by my door, which is so funny since the chairs are all built and mostly painted!!

Meanwhile, way back in the fall, when I received my new supplies, I cut up the shipping cartons into 7" squares, two for each 2nd grader. I'm sure other sizes would work, but this size seems "just right" to me. I have an old "workhorse" paper cutter that makes easy work of cutting up the cardboard.

To build the chairs, we do it in little steps over a period of three art classes, while working on other projects. For the first session, each child is given a cardboard square, and their name and class is written on it in the middle. One table is set up with newspapers on it, and a dish of Elmer's Glue-All. My big box full of cardboard rolls is on the floor. Two at a time, I call kids to put the legs on their chair. They go to the box, pick out 4 toilet paper rolls and check to make sure they are matching in length. Then they dip them in the glue, slosh them around, and stick one on each corner of the square, with their name in the middle. This year the kids then carried them to the hallway where we lined them up to dry, legs up, until the end of the day. In a class of 23 kids, everyone got them done in one class and also worked on another project. I glued legs on for anyone who was absent.

In the next art class, the chairs were turned right side up, and two posts (paper towel-size rolls) are glued on adjacent corners, using the same process. These become the supports for the back of the chair.

In the 3rd art class, the chairs are placed on their backs. Each child gets another cardboard square, and lays them on the posts marking the top of the square on each post with a pencil. The posts are painted with Elmer's Glue-All up to the mark, and the backs are placed onto the wet glue. The chairs dry laying on their backs. Again, this is done a couple of kids at a time while the another project is ongoing.

Finally, in the 4th class, the kids begin to paint. Some years I've used tempera, but others, like this year, I use school acrylics, and I think it gives the best results. I mix up a ton of colors in plastic souffle cups with covers, and place them all on the round table in the center of the room. Kids pick one color at a time to use, and are pretty well-trained in washing brushes. (Tables are newspaper covered, and brushes are wiped on the paper, washed, and wiped again before being dipped in a new color.) Most colors were pre-mixed by me with a little white to give them better coverage, and no black was put out to use until the 2nd class period for painting (most kids were done painting in 2 sessions). Some years, time permitting, I've had the kids paint a coating of an acrylic gloss varnish over the chair. It looks nice but is time-consuming. Also, some years I've used slats instead of squares for the back, and they look very cute too.

Here's the back of a chair, and a chair in use! This chair is actually blue and purple, not blue on blue, but I cannot seem to get the photo to show the true color.

By the way, the original inspiration for these chairs was in an article I saw many many years ago in School Arts magazine. If you like making the chairs and have lots of cardboard and cardboard tubes, and have time to spare, or maybe an after-school group, you could get really creative and make little tables or desks to go with the chairs! What fun!!

Monday, March 26, 2012

A Giant Leap

My son is about to take a giant leap in life. He's landed a 'real' job! (This photo, by the way, is of my son a couple of summers ago, in full-out bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa, the world's highest commercial bungee jump. Luckily he didn't tell me about it until AFTER he had survived the adventure.)

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I'm a pretty proud mama. My son is an interesting and multi-talented guy. He's musical, creative, intelligent, energetic, outdoorsy, adventurous, and inquisitive. He has a fun quirky sense of humor and can play a mean game of Scrabble (lately he kills me every time). Anyhow, he graduated cum laude from a prestigious university last May, and struck out on his own in search of a grown-up job in Boston, where many of his best friends were headed for jobs or grad school. Since that time he's been both a server in a chain restaurant and a barista in a funky cafe, but had grown increasingly frustrated by his inability to find a meaningful job.

This photo on the left below is my son and a sand sculpture we built together on a beach in Maine last summer. We were thrilled to be able to scoop him up in Boston and take him with us for a few days. At that time, the Boston MFA was in the final days of a Chihuly exhibit, and the photo on the right was taken there.

Anyhow, he's excited to finally start a real career. He's going to be working for an event planning firm in Boston, his dream job at least for now. Good luck to my baby!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Random Views from a Busy Week in the Art Room

More cats underway. I like the whiskers on the cat on the left. The green one in the center is the largest of all the cats, and has cougar pawprints on it - our team mascot is the Cougar and our school colors are green and gold. But the sad story about this cat is that it will have to wait at least a couple of weeks to receive eyes and to be completed. The boy who is making it, an athletic, exuberant, outgoing, fun sort of boy, tripped in a running game outside in gym class (during last week's run of summer weather) and severely broke his arm. I mean the bone broke in at least 2 places and slipped down inside his arm, and he had surgery done and will be out for a while, and when he's back it will be with a cast right up to his shoulder. And this is of course his right arm, and he's right-handed, and baseball season is starting, and he's a HUGE baseball player. Poor kid.

The unfinished yellow cat below (love the tilt of the head) has an Autism Awareness ribbon on its back, in honor of the sweet younger brother of the lovely girl making the cat.

Below is "camo-cat". The next two cats are really intriguing - can't wait to see how they will look when complete!

Here's a cave painter entering a cave through a tunnel...

And below are a couple of the annual kindergarten thumbprint pussywillows. The color is all wrong on the photo on the right but I can't correct it somehow. The paint was a pale silvery gray and the paper was pink. I forgot to photograph the rest. I took some better photos last year and posted them here. Process was the same, but I used a different size/shape paper this year (longer and narrower) because I had extremely tall real pussywilllows to show the kids.

Painting of teddy bear chairs is underway!

And finished kitties have been moved to the library for display. This is how I've made room for the teddy bear chairs and the garden gnomes (which I'll show you more of in a couple of days.)

Busy busy busy!

Look at these goodies I received!

Remember my post about my Gesso Woes? I told you in subsequent posts about being contacted by a rep from Liquitex, apologizing for the problem and informing me they would be sending me some free replacement gesso. I also told you about meeting the rep at the NAEA convention vendor area, and even posted a photo of us together.

Well Friday a package arrived in my classroom, and the photo above shows what was in it!!!! Not one, but two bottles of gesso! I opened one up and tried it out and it is PERFECT. No rubbery lump this time, but rather a perfect consistency gesso with excellent coverage.

And if that wasn't enough, the package also included a sample set of colors of their new acrylic ink, which I tried out at the conference and loved. The inks, including metallics, are fabulous, and I think I am going to be very stingy and use these 6 little bottles of brilliantly colored ink myself. Hooray for Liquitex, and THANK YOU for following through and caring about the satisfaction of your customers. I will definitely continue to use Liquitex products.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

It's the 4th grade annual cave adventure!

Huh? Where is everybody??

Oh. There they are.

Fourth graders are in 'caves' under my tables. The caves are made with sheets of cardboard and big pieces of fabric, and flashlights are their torches.

Today 4th graders were practicing drawing animals while in their caves. In their next art class they'll go back into the caves where they will paint their animals directly on those hunks of cave wall that they made.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Making our hunks of cave wall

This is our 'glop'- shredded paper, moistened w/water, and then saturated with dog drool (Art Paste) and an added hit of Elmer's Glue-All.

I gave a big handful of glop to each 4th grader, and for the next half hour, while we took a virtual tour of the Lascaux cave and looked at images from Chauvet as well, they pounded, twisted, kneaded, and 'worked' the glop into paper clay. And YES, they are doing it DIRECTLY on the table surface. With several minutes left, they each flattened their glop into a big pancake, and inserted a paper clip in the top for hanging. Once they were put away for drying, they used scrubbers and sponges and gave the tables a good cleaning.

We made them rather large this year, and I'm not sure they would have dried fast enough, but it has been - GASP - 80 degrees outside! My classroom windows open onto a flat roof covered with stones. The sun has been bright and the roof is hot enough to fry an egg, and so I leaned out the windows and set the hunks of cave wall on the rocks to dry in the sun.

It's so warm that things are blooming way earlier than usual, and the robins are outside chirping. It feels like July, but there are still 3 months of school left. I think it is making the kids a little wacky.

Tomorrow my fourth graders head into the caves. Hopefully that will take their minds off the summer weather outside. Meanwhile, construction of the teddy bear chairs is complete and 2nd graders are ready to start painting them, and my 3rd graders are about to begin the papier-mache on their garden gnomes. Busy busy busy!
Like a house of cards! Don't dare move a chair.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Creative Challenge

(random photo)

I have responded to a challenge posted on the blog Created 2B Creative, and part of the challenge is to continue it forward. Here's how it works.
  • I will create something (I don't know what yet!) for the first three people who say (in the comments below) they would like to participate.
  • If you say you would like to participate, you must issue the challenge somewhere (on your own blog, on facebook or twitter -- wherever you want) and personally make something in 2012 (don't wait too long and then forget - I actually would suggest you do it in the next month) for at least three people, who will pledge to make something for three more people . . .
  • If you're one of the first three respondents, send me your address in a private message (my email address is listed on my profile) so that I can mail you my creation -- no matter where in the world you live! :)
So, who's in?

My art room is like a cat hospital

A cat hospital filled with unfinished kitties - waiting for whiskers and noses,
eyes, and some patterns, and a little TLC.
It's kind of like Edward Scissorhands - their Creators have gone home for the weekend and left them incomplete, banding together to fend for themselves against the elements. Poor kitties.

Or maybe just waiting for a pat on the head or a rub on the tummy.
But this one is not made out of papier-mache.

And now for a little more art room crazies - here's the next step with that shredded paper I showed you. We are mixing it with papier-mache goo ("dog drool") till the paper breaks down and becomes clay-like. Fun, fun, fun....

And a tower of teddy bear chairs in-progress obliterating my word wall. On Monday 2nd graders will complete their construction so we can begin painting them later in the week.

And then, today, Saturday, I poured OJ and milk at our annual Teachers Association sponsored free community pancake breakfast, and then helped direct kids to transform an old flat into something useable for the grade 5-8 musical production of Cinderella, coming soon. I'll add something that looks like framing on the window when the stones are dry. The kids did a good job, but boy oh boy, the kids looked like a mess when they were done!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

A few more cats and a little more insanity

Nancy's colorful cat. The collar will be getting bedazzled with jewels.

Connor's cat has a wistful expression.

Jeff's camoflage cat. Not exactly Laurel Burch, but he loves it, so I do too.

Chelsea's Glamour Puss got a necklace and earrings today and I think will be getting jewels on her collar too.

Anna and Grant have rainbow cats in progress.

And what's this below? Shredded paper - lots of it - three full garbage bags - I poured in a couple of buckets of warm water to break it down a bit, and tomorrow it will get a bunch of papier-mache goo mixed in, because my 4th graders will be building hunks of CAVE WALLS and I want them to be bigger than last year. Check out here to see what I'm planning with this glop.

As if I don't have enough stuff in my room, I have a tower of teddy bear chairs stacked practically to the ceiling on my counter, and 18" square paintings in the drying rack, and clay pinch pot clusters on a shelf, and... and... and... INSANITY.


text:
Video Testimonials

Students learned from a variety of women policymakers at our Women, Law & Legal Advocacy Seminar in November 2013.

Students share what they learned at the Women & Science/Technology Seminar in January 2013

Nearly 60 college women from across the country learned about global careers during our Women & International Policy Seminar.


text:
Michael Torrie torriem at
Tue Feb 13 16:27:22 MST 2007

On Tue, 2007-02-13 at 16:19 -0700, Levi Pearson wrote:
> I'm not sure what you mean when you say that Smalltalk doesn't have a
> concept of a class and a class instance.

Right.  That was my point.  In Java a class is a somewhat abstract thing
that doesn't quite exist as a first-class object.

> Smalltalk actually has a
> very well-developed concept of classes, though classes are indeed
> objects as well.  Every object has a class, which is an object of its
> own metaclass.  Metaclasses are also objects, and have a class as
> well, etc.  Thus, while everything is still an object, there are also
> classes and instances.  Here's a page that describes it, with some
> diagrams that really help make it comprehensible:
> It's Self, which is a derivative of Smalltalk, that eschews the
> class/instance distinction and instead uses a prototype-based form of
> inheritance.  This is similar to how Javascript does things.
> While Java has the concept of classes, if I recall correctly it does
> not treat them as fully-fledged objects, and I certainly don't recall
> a concept of metaclass in Java.

Correct.  So a Java class is not really an object (static classes are
kind of an exception to that).  Hence my statement about shoe-horning
the Smalltalk-style object system into Java's
not-quite-so-object-oriented paradigm.

In Python, because a "class" is really must an object (or a metaclass),
I can get a reference to it, and add methods or what have you to it, and
have all the existing (I think) and subsequent instances of said class
gain the new functionality on the fly.  It's very useful, especially
when you want to extend a mechanism that's already been implemented in
one unit and used by another, without have to do a lot of inheritance.
Sounds messy, but there are times when this capability just makes very

(Is this sort of what aspect-oriented programming is all about?)

>                 --Levi
> /*
> PLUG:, #utah on
> Unsubscribe:
> Don't fear the penguin.
> */

More information about the PLUG mailing list


text:
Can’t take water for granted

Karl Terry

The physical properties of water are pretty amazing. We can drink it, bathe in it, swim in it, clean with it, heck it keeps us all alive.

Let the temperature drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, though, and the stuff can be a real pain.

I came home on a recent night and sat down at the table in the dining room. A strange noise stopped me before my fork had even delivered the first bite. I stepped to the patio door and I could hear water running out back, it sounded like the fountain in a Marriott courtyard. I thought to myself: “Why would the neighbors be watering their yard at this hour in the winter?”

Turns out the fountain was in my own back yard, gushing from my sprinkler box.

I quickly changed to old clothes and grabbed a light and a wrench I thought I could use to shut the water off. My light revealed that the meter box was filled with water. I found a dry spot uphill from the flood flowing under my fence and plunged my arm into the icy water. No luck. Shutting the valve off on a balmy summer day with the rudimentary tools I had was one thing. Trying in the dark of a frigid January night with my arm submerged to the shoulder in nearly freezing water was another thing.

I went in and called the emergency number for the city water department then went out to look closer at the source of the leak and stepped in two inches of water. I went back and called the number again. Soon enough a young man in a water department truck arrived to stem the flood.

I went over to mom’s that night to shower and brought back two big jugs of water to flush with and we made it through the night.

I learned to flush a toilet manually in the first place I lived in after I moved to Tucumcari in the late 1970s. The old trailer house didn’t have a heater so I used an electric space heater and just moved it from room to room that first winter. I put heat tape on my water lines under my mobile home but one particularly bad cold spell, not unlike the one we just experienced, the water lines inside the house froze up. I decided I needed a bigger electric heater.

Growing up on a farm where we depended on well water, it was a familiar sight to see my dad on his stomach in the snow trying to thaw a line or pressure pump. I got my own taste of that the first year I lived in Colorado.

My mother-in-law arrived on the bus the week prior to Thanksgiving that year for a long visit. It snowed like crazy on Thanksgiving and that Friday then got down to 11-below that Saturday morning. No water flowed from our well.

I needed a trouble light to drop down the hole by our well where the pressure pump was seized with ice and more heat tape for plumbing under the house. The roads were terrible and I didn’t know if the hardware store would be open even if I did make it to town. The complaining from the wife and mother-in-law when I suggested manual flushes pushed me out into the cold.

I guess from time to time it’s good to be reminded how easy we’ve got it when we casually turn on the tap.