luxury web bloggers

Even the judge had a hard time understanding how a man so polite in court could be so vicious on the street.

In May 2008, Donnell Lamont Covington stabbed Robert Johnson twice with a knife on James Street, near the B&O Railroad Museum. The second slice severed the victim’s carotid artery, and Covington, known as "Lil’ Black," left him to bleed to death on the street.

A motive remains unclear, but a jury convicted Covington of first-degree murder after hearing three days of testimony in Baltimore Circuit Court. Throughout the trial, the 26-year-old suspect remained attentive and polite.

He expressed concern when his attorney’s wife became ill. He shook the prosecutor’s hand when he was convicted. And when it was his turn to speak before Circuit Judge Emmanuel Brown at his sentencing last week, Covington again took the high road.

"The American judicial system is the best judicial system in the world," he told the court. He thanked his lawyer, the prosecutor and the judge. "I can’t complain. I got a fair trial. My lawyer did his job, and the prosecutor did his job. I accept it."

Brown wasn’t sure what to make of it all. The pre-sentence report described Covington as a career criminal,shop for tiffany rings, a low-level drug dealer and a drifter. He completed the ninth grade but didn’t make it far into the 10th. His father was absent for much of his life.

Assistant State’s Attorney Charles Blomquist noted that the Southwest Baltimore neighborhood where Covington lived improved whenever Covington was in jail. "The community clearly benefited from his absence," the prosecutor said.

Blomquist asked the judge to sentence Covington to life in prison.

The defense attorney, Alan Cohen, noted his client’s upbringing but also that he was so polite in court. "With me," he said, "he has been polite, respectful and a gentleman." That, the lawyer said, demonstrates that there "is a chance for him."

Cohen asked the judge to sentence Covington to life in prison but suspend all but 30 years.

Brown pondered his options for a while.

He started to say, "This was a senseless …" but he quickly corrected himself. This is Baltimore. Brown tried again: "This was another senseless killing."

Brown added: "And the one concern I have about you is that the person I see in my court is not the person on the street."

The judge noted that many suspects bring their street demeanor into the courtroom — dressed as corner boys, copping an attitude and mouthing off to everyone, including him. Covington was unfailingly polite, not just to the judge, but to the clerks and to the corrections officers.

"You have been a true gentleman in this court," Brown told him. "Yet I have this horrendous crime."

Covington may have been polite, but he never said he was sorry for killing a man.

Whether or not the judge picked up on that omission is unclear.

What is clear is that Brown sentenced Covington to life in prison,thanksgiving key rings, no time suspended.

The judge told him that he would be open to reconsidering the sentence in five years,necklaces, but even if he lowered it,buy tiffany Pendants, he warned Covington that he would still spend most of his life in prison.

"I wish you well,tiffany key rings for sale," Brown told the man.

Then he added : "It’ doesn’t take a tough person to kill someone these days. It takes a tough person to do the right thing."

peter.hermann@baltsun.com

Sign up for Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Prepare, organize, present; a fellow GPSoIo member once told me that life is no dress rehearsal. We have spent an incredible portion of our lives preparing for something great – something great for ourselves and for our families. Recall your decision to go to law school, the law school you chose, and the area of law that first interested you. We observed, trained, and learned to practice law. In doing this, we organized for ourselves an incredible journey of service to others – our clients. And as a result, we are in the presentation phase of life as we present ourselves to our clients. That’s it, a lawyer’s professional journey in a nutshell.

By analogy, we prepare, organize, and present every day as legal practitioners, just as we did with our life’s plan. However, our preparation, organization,shop for tiffany necklaces, and presentation are focused and aided with specific tools to ensure that we communicate the clearest message. Whether we are giving an opening statement, providing a proposal to a client, or teaching search-and-seizure law to a law class, the assistance of technological tools greatly enhances our goal of communicating the clearest message. Most of us rely heavily on Microsoft PowerPoint. I don’t profess to be an expert, but I have given literally hundreds of PowerPoint presentations. Similarly, I have seen hundreds of PowerPoint presentations. As life is no dress rehearsal, I offer to you some advice on presenting with PowerPoint.

First, as you gather your notes, understand that your PowerPoint presentation is not a substitute for your notes. On the contrary,cheap tiffany bangles, each slide should only be a memoryjogger. I recommend usingthe rule of three – that is, limit each slide to three important points. Slides full of data detract from your presentation. If you have a multitude of must-have notes, imbed them in the PowerPoint as notes that only you can see in a paper copy of the entire presentation. I recently attended a PowerPoint presentation at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Florida, and the gentleman presenting included in his slides actual paragraphs and multiple data points. He also included numerous bar graphs and pie charts. At one point, I simply wanted to leave and just obtain a copy of his slides to read on the airplane trip back home. His presentation was important, but it got buried in a data overload! If he had refined his presentation and used the rule of three,tiffany money clips on sale, I might be able to recall his primary point. Instead, I only remember a garbled mess of facts and figures. Additionally, given the usually short period of time to present, overloading your slides will make you run through your presentation at Warp Factor Eight (that’s Star Trek lingo for fast). Speaking of speed, I recommend you limit your presentation – including questions and answers – to about 50 minutes. Any longer and you will lose your authence. Last, you have to know the room setup. Your data has to be clear, crisp, and readable to everyone in the room. The presentation I saw at Midyear could not be read by more than half of the room. The slides had too much information, and the screen was too far back. Additionally, the lighting was poor. Doing a PowerPoint dry run before a couple people will prove invaluable.

Another issue involving PowerPoint presentations concerns the content of the data presented. You cannot quickly jump into your presentation and expect your authence to stay with you. Use some type of attention getter. I have seen several people use a joke or picture to attract attention. However, be careful – this has to be done in good taste and has to be somewhat germane to your presentation. You must know your authence and their level of familiarity with your topic; ask questions early on to help you gauge their level of understanding. Next, you have to outline your presentation – like an opening statement. A simple introductory slide explaining your purpose and your intended outcome will give your audience a road map and enable them to better focus on your presentation. However, don’t spend too much time on the attention getter or the introductory slide. Remember your time constraints. Also, let your authence know that it is okay to ask you questions throughout the presentation. You should not be so tied to your presentation that you can’t take questions. They actually enhance your presentation.

And what about imbedded videos and pictures? The simple answer is yes. However, don’t overload your presentation. A couple pictures and one imbedded video for a 50-minute presentation is sufficient. And don’t put in a video simply because you like it. Make sure it is germane to your stated outcome and remember your authence. Similarly, graphs and charts are good, but use them judiciously. And remember, if your charts and graphs require you to stop and explain what is being depicted, they are too complex for your presentation. Keep it simple. Your choice of colors and labels is key in this area. Stay away from the teals, canary yellows, royal purples, etc. Reds, blues, and blacks are fine. And once again, make sure the authence can read your labels.

A note on handouts: This is an excellent practice! With PowerPoint, you can print handouts for your audience to follow and use to take notes. I recommend three slides per page for your handouts, and print them back to front on each paper. I once helped organize a conference on appellate practice. My staff had to get across the simple idea of vigilance in post-trial processing – a complicated area. We not only provided handouts with our slides, we also reproduced the presentation on CD. The comments we received were incredible. One person said, "Thanks for the note-taking sheets [handouts] . I found them very useful – they helped me to stay focused on what the speaker conveyed."

Lastly: the speaker. You are the key to an outstanding PowerPoint presentation. Presenting in any forum is a leadership challenge. Everything from how you dress to how you articulate will determine how well you are received. I don’t want to get into Public Speaking 101 , but here are a few simple reminders: Speak clearly and project. Eye contact is very important. Don’t talk to your slides; your authence needs to see your face. Make sure your outfit is conservative; loud clothing will distract. Don’t overuse a laser pointer either; you only need to use it a couple times if necessary. Don’t read your slides; assume your authence can read. Slides are memory joggers or notes for your presentation; don’t be tied to your notes. Don’t rush through your presentation; you are not selling a car or running an auction. Remember, you are dealing with technology and sometimes technology fails. Finally, relax; you are on display and you don’t want your authence coming away saying, "Wow, good information,tiffany jewellery, but the presenter seemed nervous for some reason." Remember to practice, practice, practice. You should be very comfortable with your material and able to convey your stated outcome from your presentation.

Prepare,shop for tiffany earrings, organize, present – this is what we do. And when we do it, it is a reflection of our professionalism as legal practitioners. Yes, you have technology to aid you, but the ultimate conveyer of knowledge is you, the speaker. Whether arguing before jury members or addressing your daughter’s fourth-grade class during Career Day, you are conveying a message with a stated point. How you do it and what you use to convey this point will define you as a professional for that authence. You must spend an adequate amount of time organizing your presentation, putting your best foot forward. You must prepare by practicing over and over, and you must present in a manner that will carry the day for your intended message. It seems simple, but even the best orators follow some of the principles and advice given in this article. Again, life is not a dress rehearsal. When you are on stage, all eyes are on you, and the small things become meaningful and lasting. Good luck with your presentations.

The views expressed herein do not refect the opinion of the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air E orce.

One day soon, this question will await you at the checkout counter: "And how would you like us to bag your receipt — paper or plastic?"

The world is changing for the lowly sales receipt. What used to be a simple record of what you bought is turning into a trail of paper — to the breaking point where every household could be the sole source for confetti at a ticker-tape parade.

I started noticing the trend after spending too many moments watching the cashier wait for the register to spit out a paper snake. The clerk would roll it up and attempt to hand it to me. Before I could grab it, the thing unravels. Jam it into the bag or pocket. Darned it if it doesn’t find a way to jump out. It’s alive!

Once home, the newest long white line joined a mountain of other receipts.

I know this is an official trend because The Wall Street Journal noted it months ago in a front-page article. Research confirms the elongated receipt is alive and well here in the River City.

As information becomes more digital, I’m happy to report a printed product is booming in the sales lane. It’s OK for longtime readers of our newsprint product to snicker here.

The upshot today is that the sales receipt doesn’t just remind you what you purchased.

It encourages you to fill out a customer satisfaction survey online.

It even offers you prizes for compliance. (A prize to anyone who can prove they won.)

It lists the rules for the survey — age, deadline, prize odds, and "void where prohibited." How do I know?

It lets you know the store has the lowest prices in town.

In a separate box, it tells you how much you saved with coupons.

One even lists a quote from the store manager on her goals to ensure your satisfaction.

Most receipts put the store’s name at the top. At least one, however, found a way to superimpose the logo behind the purchase information. Subliminal cool!

Others, if they have a deal with gas stations, detail how many perks you’ve earned.

The receipt gives you a phone number to tell the store how you’re doing. (Couldn’t you have done that by walking over to the manager whose picture is up near the door?)

It highlights a couple of new sales that you might have missed.

It details services,tiffany bangles on sale, so whatever you bought could be installed sometime in the next year.

Of course, there’s the date. Somewhere. Extra bonus points if you can find the date in five seconds. (Among the formats: 7-17-10; Jul17’10; 7/17/10; 07/17/10; 7/17/2010.)

It lists the store number. Address. Phone numbers. (A grocery store spelled our city "Richmound.")

At a restaurant, the receipt might reveal how many were in your party, your table number,cuff Links, the "SvrCk", and the time you ate (always good to share with your doctor). On one receipt, the time at the top was one minute later than the time at the bottom. Hurry up,thanksgiving cuff Links, you key punchers!

It tells you why you should go to the establishment’s website: more purchases, more sales, more surveys, and more promotions.

It offers a big block that confirms you paid with a credit card, but stars out all the numbers except the last four to demonstrate a commitment to security. Thank you!

It details with extra white space around the line telling who just served you: "Your associate today: Brittany." (There’s even acknowledgment for the do-it-yourselfer: "I’m glad you shopped here today. Your Cashier — EASY-SCAN")

It lists store hours.

Some even hawk TV programs that will let you watch the store’s commercials.

We’re not done.

On the back, other treats await:

The store’s return policy. If you make lots of purchases, it’s repeated over and over again.

Color coupons, some smaller than a business card, that send you to neighboring tire stores, fast-food eateries, and pet services — even if you don’t have a Fido.

And an advertisement for the place you’re already shopping in confirms why you went there in the first place. At one restaurant, the pictures don’t exactly bear much resemblance to what showed up on my plate. Ah, well.

Some extended receipts are masters of using dashes and stars to form boxes to further attract your eye. In fact, the creative use of stars may be an entire subculture for computer programming. I can imagine a retailers convention with a workshop about "Fun With Stars: How to Pump Up Your Sales Receipts."

Providing good information is good business. I’m sure the stores mean well in overwhelming us with added details.

But as a former checkout boy for A&P, I always hated when the receipt started spotting pink streaks indicating it was time to change the roll. What a pain to wind the paper around the route inside the register while the time-pressed customer steamed and stared at you. Talk about pressure.

I can imagine big stores having what amounts to a NASCAR-like pit crew ready to roll, tools in hand,tiffany money clips clearance, to switch out the receipt roll.

Info is money, baby.

Tom Silvestri is president and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. With this commentary completed, he can now clear off a portion of his desk at home so there’s more room for the bills, books,tiffany bangles for sale, magazines, and notes piled up on the nearby futon. And then there are the Post-It Notes with the notation: "Convert to Computer." Silvestri can be reached at tsilvestri@timesdispatch.com or at (804) 649-6121.

A racetrack powered by solar energy?

Oh, how far the engine-whining, exhaust-fume-infused world of auto racing has come on the road to being green.

Pocono Raceway, the asphalt oval that helped propel Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, and Jeff Gordon to racing stardom, is set to go on line Wednesday with a 3-megawatt, ground-mounted photovoltaic system — among the largest solar projects in Pennsylvania.

According to NASCAR, the system also will make Pocono Raceway the world’s largest solar-powered sports facility, ahead of a stadium built in Taiwan for the 2009 World Games.

In the world of NASCAR, Pocono’s solar leap is another badge of honor in a rapidly growing collection of environmentally friendly initiatives intended not only to reduce business costs, but also to encourage its 70 million U.S. fans to be more sensitive about their impact on the planet.

A 500-mile Sprint Cup race with cars using unleaded gas and getting 5 miles per gallon generates about one metric ton of carbon dioxide, according to the racing organization. The NASCAR Green Program includes planting trees to help absorb those emissions and the recycling of packaging materials, refreshment containers, car batteries, tires, oil, and other engine fuels at its 50 racetracks nationwide.

Not only a plus for the environment, the green effort apparently is also an image booster.

"We’ve actually gained some fans because of it," Brandon Igdalsky, president of Pocono Raceway, said as he strolled through his $16 million complex of suncatchers one morning last week when the rays were plentiful.

It is a veritable farm — with 39,962 modules lined up row after row after row on 25 acres of what used to be a parking field for the track, now in its 40th racing year.

Though it is directly opposite the track on Long Pond Road, the solar farm is far enough away from the grandstand — about three-quarters of a mile — that it is not likely to distract racegoers from the intended attraction: stock cars overtaking one another at average speeds of 160 m.p.h., 200 m.p.h. in the straights.

Yet Igdalsky intends to make sure all who visit Pocono know what’s across the street, and what all those glinting, bluish panels tilted at a 25-degree angle are producing.

The solar field will yield enough power to cover all the racing complex’s energy needs — the garages, the concession stands, the offices, the spectator suites,tiffany rings sale, and the media rooms — with enough left over to feed 1,000 homes.

The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series summer events, each of which attracts more than 100,000 fans. It also is used by car clubs,tiffany money clips on sale, driving schools, and auto dealerships. During winter, when Pocono is essentially shut down, nearly all the power coming from its solar array will go into the grid for use elsewhere.

"It’s a power plant that has zero air pollution, consumes no water and discharges no water, and . . . ensures the raceway that for the next 25 years [the typical life of a photovoltaic system], it won’t pay any more for electricity," said John Hanger, Pennsylvania’s environmental secretary. "It’s also an example of how solar benefits consumers who don’t directly take the power."

At NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., Mike Lynch, managing director of green innovation, praised the Pocono project as "incredibly aggressive."

If someone had suggested to him less than two years ago that one of NASCAR’s racing venues would have built "a small power plant" by now, he said, "I would have said, ‘You’re absolutely crazy.’ "

What’s crazy, said Igdalsky, is passing up the economic benefits offered by solar. He said he expected "several hundred dollars a year" in energy savings and a "seven-figure income" each year from selling solar-energy credits. The raceway would not release information on annual revenue, citing its private ownership by Pocono International Raceway Inc.

The decision to go solar in such a big way came from a very bottom line-oriented incentive: "Deregulation. We found out PPL was going to jack up our electric bill 40 percent," Igdalsky said,discount tiffany necklaces, referring to the end of state-imposed rate caps.

After first considering joining a power-purchasing consortium, then evaluating the possibilities of wind and solar,thanksgiving cuff Links, Pocono settled on blanketing the former parking field with solar panels — at the urging of CEO Joseph Mattioli, a retired dentist who had a practice in Philadelphia and now lives just down the road from his photovoltaic crops.

Important to everyone at Pocono, Igdalsky said, was that all materials used in the project, developed by enXco in California, are American-made. That added $250,000 to $300,000 to the price — something, Igdalsky said, "we all figured was an acceptable cost increase for what it would mean.

"It’s an American sport; it’s an American project, and this is America."

With a 30 percent tax credit and state alternative- energy incentives, the system is expected to pay for itself in six to eight years, Igdalsky said.

According to NASCAR, the only other of its racetracks to convert to solar power is Michigan International Speedway, which added 8,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels on the roof of a new suite/media center last year that is expected to generate 70,000 kilowatts an hour.

Igdalsky, a Philadelphia native, hopes Pocono and Michigan are just the beginning of a trend that spreads across NASCAR and other sports.

"If we get thousands of stadiums across the country to all throw on a couple thousand panels, that’s some serious megawatts," he said.

Hoping for just such a chain reaction is Jeff Schmidt, who, as director of the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania chapter, is generally into more environmentally sound practices than auto racing. But he’s impressed by the latest practices at Pocono.

"It might seem like a disconnect for a fossil-fuel-powered sport to embrace solar energy, but it is an example of how we can transition our current dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy," Schmidt said.

He’s hoping for the sport to one day make a dramatic transition and feature "less racing using internal-combustion engines and more racing using solar-powered and electric vehicles."

For now,pendants, Schmidt said, "my sport is gardening and hiking and kayaking — and I drive a Honda Civic hybrid."

Contact staff writer Diane Mastrull at 215-854-2466 or dmastrull@phillynews.com.

Raise a pint and make a toast. The First Annual Great North Carolina Beer Festival is Saturday at Tanglewood Park.

"The time is right for us to have a beer festival here," said Scott Smith,buy tiffany, the sales director for Foothills Brewing, one of more than 40 breweries that are participating in the festival. There is a mix of local, regional and national companies. "We’re seeing in the local market beers are beginning to change."

Much of that change, he said, has come from changes in North Carolina laws that have been "extremely friendly to microbreweries."

"We are able to self-distribute as opposed to going through wholesalers," Smith said. "And there was a law change five years ago (Aug. 13, 2005). We went from a 6-percent alcohol cap to 15 percent, which enabled an enormous amount of brands and styles to come into the state and be available to the consumer."

The N.C. Brewers Guild has 42 microbreweries currently with operating permits and several more under construction, he said.

"At least 20 of those will be participating," said Jessica Reavis,cheap tiffany rings, the marketing director for the beer festival. "Our vision was to have a location in North Carolina to bring all the North Carolina brewers together and have one of the biggest beer festivals in the southeast…. We want people from all over to attend."

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank, Forsyth Humane Society and the Special Olympics, said C.H. McMahan, the president of the festival.

The festival will provide music all day,tiffany rings for sale, including legendary rock-group Kansas as well as Big Daddy Love, the Part-Time Party-Time Band, The Plaids and Katelyn Marks Band. There will also be more than 30 arts-and-crafts vendors and concessions by various restaurants including Bib’s Downtown and WS Prime.

Patrons will get a wristband and a sampler glass, Reavis said. The booths will distribute small samples of various beers, but "every single one of these guys is very conscious of who’s been overserved, and when to cut those people off," Reavis said. "Being in the beer industry, they’ve seen it every day of their lives, probably. Some of them do 60 festivals a year." Designated driver tickets are $5 off.

Foothills does about 40 festivals a year, in nine different states, Smith said.

"This is the first year we’re having a home-town beer festival," he said, "and we’re very excited to do anything we can to grow the craft beer culture in our area."

The beer festival is using the example of the North Carolina Wine Festival that is held each year at Tanglewood Park. It will be at the same location as that festival. "Wine’s big, but beer has much more broad appeal," Reavis said.

"The Tanglewood wine festival has left a great footprint for a successful event out there,shop for tiffany cuff Links," Smith said. "There’s enough area for you to spread out and enjoy yourself. There’s not just beer,tiffany money clips clearance, there’s games, music, arts-and-crafts vendors … it has the formula to be a really successful event."

Rhodes College issued the following news release:

When the spring semester ended,cheap tiffany bracelets, art students had made the long, narrow wall in Ohlendorf Hall their painting canvas. Now when students return to campus this month, they can view the finished product–a dynamic 30-foot math and computer science mural.

Ohlendorf Hall houses the classrooms, computer science labs, library and the offices of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

Says Erin Harmon, Rhodes associate professor of art who with her advanced painting students produced the mural, "Creating a dynamic visual depiction of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department was a creative challenge that the students enjoyed. It was a valuable experience for advanced painting students to represent the needs of the department, work on such a large scale,discount tiffany key rings, and use professional mural painting materials and techniques."

Calculations of proportions and appropriate use of materials were considered. The result–a representation of mathematicst hat is proportional yet playful. A large black and gray symmetrical design that seems to be spiraling against the blue streams of triangular shapes. Computer science is represented by bursts of red,cheap tiffany cuff Links, yellow and gray pixels, and overall, Harmon and the students’ brush strokes have created a unity of concepts.

"It really is interesting doing a collaborative project with a class. You learn people’s strengths and what your inner strengths are," says Whitney Ranson ’10 who worked on the project.

According to Dr. Michael Sheard,shop for tiffany money clips, chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department,tiffany sets, "It was an enjoyable and intriguing challenge to negotiate a vision for the mural between faculty with little background in art and artistic students with limited experiences with mathematics and computer science. In the end we were most pleased with the result."

Rare is the person who uses their pain to help others.

Photographer Terri Shaver, working out of her East Lansing studio,tiffany Pendants sale, has done just that with the Oldham Project, which seeks to document women who are battling or who have survived breast cancer.

Shaver’s objectives include enlisting enough sponsors to place photo billboards around town during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Shaver said the Oldham Project was created following the loss of her sister-in-law’s two sisters to breast cancer.

Her work with another non-profit that provides free portraits to the families of babies who have died, added to her love of portraiture in general, further helped inspire the Oldham Project.

Shaver then connected with Susan G. Komen Mid-Michigan Affiliate executive director Chris Pearson, and that meeting proved instrumental.

"She and I sat down and started a conversation about how we might partner together, and she was 100 percent behind the Oldham Project, what we’re doing and what we provide for the community,discount tiffany bracelets," Shaver recalled.

Continuing event?

Shaver initially considered carrying out the Oldham Project as a one-time event, but with 47 women now on board, she has a vision for something more lasting.

She’s made some poignant photographs, including one of two sisters – one with breast cancer and one battling ovarian cancer.

"Hopefully, this won’t just be a one-time thing. It will be an annual event that we do, and it will just get better each time," she said.

If Shaver is successful in establishing a long-term foundation for the Oldham Project, it will be because she has improved the understanding of breast cancer in a different way than other organizations.

"There are lots of runs,tiffany Pendant, the Relays and all the kind of things that happen in town to raise awareness about breast cancer," she said.

"I want to do it in a more visual way, and I’m hoping that women can see how beautiful they will be when they’re bald, that they will feel comfortable when they’re photographed, and that other women will see how comfortable they are with their baldness, and – in kind of a roundabout way – that they won’t be scared of the whole process."

Sea change

The "process" – essentially the sea change Shaver would like to see – is women getting regular mammograms and other preventative care.

"That if they did find a lump they wouldn’t be afraid and not go, because they are already thinking ahead about losing their hair. Women are like that – we’re all about our hair,tiffany bracelets clearance," she said.

Shaver’s not talking in a vacuum, having already had one breast biopsy and another recent health scare.

"It’s amazing – like a car, you can go from zero to 60 in a second," she said.

"You can do the same thing in your brain when you’re facing something like that, when you even hear the word "lump" or "suspicious" or anything like that – you are instantly already planning your funeral. We just do that – I think we do that as women."

Denise Acker

One of Shaver’s first subjects was Lansing resident Denise Acker, who died Aug. 13. Acker battled cancer for more than 10 years, with her last diagnosis in December 2009.

Shaver said Acker – who had heard about the Oldham Project through a friend – contacted her while she was still a patient in the hospital.

"She was the perfect person for our first, to be our … poster child for our project," Shaver said of Acker.

The next step is to enlist sponsors, both to put photos on billboards and for other purposes.

I would like to give (these women) something. I would like to honor them, to reward them. It’s an incentive to come and do this, not just for the free pictures," said Shaver, who has already had several professional labs express an interest in donating a 16 x 20 print to their portrait subjects.

She’d like to do more, though.

"I would like enough money to go to retailers in the area and put together some goodie bags, so when they walk out the door I could give them this goodie bag of fun, enjoyable things to treat themselves with, lotions and potions and things that women love," Shaver said.

Throw a party

She would also like to throw a party for her photo subjects,money clips, envisioning the evening as a fund-raising gala where the women would be the guests of honor.

"All of our supporters would be there, and all of the people who care about the organization would be there to honor them and cheer them on in their battles," Shaver said.

The Oldham Project has also gotten help from Douglas J, who have pledged free makeup applications for up to 120 women; studio space donated by the Gillespie Group; and a donation from Dean Transportation.

"A lot of those people are involved in the community, and they see it as a worthwhile project," Shaver said.

For more info…

The Oldham Project continues through Thursday, Sept. 30. For more information or to help, go online to www.theoldhamproject.org

When most people think of anemones, they often visualize spring-blooming flowers that come in many colors and grow low to the ground. Lots of people do not realize that there are fall-blooming anemones that stand tall and gracefully dance in the wind.

Toward the end of summer, when most flowers are fading,cuff Links, Japanese anemones come to life. These plants came to us from China through Japan, hence the name Japanese stuck.

There are many varieties and forms of Japanese anemones. Their flowers are single, double or shapes in between. Their colors range from the purest frosty white to soft rosy pink and a lovely lavender.

They grow best in light shade. To me,tiffany cuff Links for sale, they are just the plant to brighten that dim corner of the garden. They form a nice 12-inch ground cover before putting on the tall,discount tiffany necklaces, graceful stems that support the lovely flowers atop.

Spring planting is preferred, but I have planted some in the fall, as that seems to be the time when garden centers have this plant available. Planting them in humus-rich soil with good drainage is best. They like to be moist but never wet, particular during winter. The quality of soil you have will determine how fast they will establish. Dappled light will help the flowers last longer and keep the leaves from burning on those hot summer days.

The first ones I planted were given to me by a German lady, Brigetta, who did not know their name, but she sure knew how to grow them. I later learned that her variety was Robustissima, which is pink and grows to about 30 inches tall. It is a very robust plant that will spread rapidly if it likes its site.

A few years later, I was introduced to another anemone, Honorine Jobert. I think this is one of the loveliest flowers I grow. It has an elegant white flower with a yellow center. I bought two plants and put them in the ground them immediately, but did not see any sign of them for about two years. I learned later that they like a soil that is not as acidic as ours here, so I applied just a little dolomitic lime to the area. Suddenly, they appeared and flourished.

I have since read that most Japanese anemones take some time to establish themselves. The Honorine Jobert comes along about the second week in September and has stems about 36 inches tall. This lovely plant was so admired by the Royal Horticultural Society that they gave it the Award of Garden Merit. This variety, like most other anemones, forms more of a clump and is not aggressive as the robustissima happens to be.

Robustissima is pretty too,shop for tiffany necklaces, but you need to know, of all the Japanese anemones, it is aggressive if it likes its spot in your garden. I planted it in my narrow driveway bed, which has a diverse assortment of flowers. After a few years, I realized robustissima was too hardy for that particular location. The deep roots of this variety made it hard to move, so if you plant robustissima, make sure it is where you want it to be. I finally did succeed in moving it to another place, but it was not an easy job.

Whirlwind is another white variety I have planted and loved. It has a semi-double white flower that stands elegantly atop the long,thanksgiving money clips, graceful 30-inch stems. It comes along about the first of September, just before Honorine Jobert. Both of these are real winners.

I have a few others coming along, but they are newer to my garden than the three I have mentioned above and enjoyed for the last 10 years. Queen Charlotte has a double, soft pink flower with a deeper pink underside. It is known to be vigorous. Pamina is distinguished by its lavender to deep-rose color. It is a semi-double too. Again, I am just now trying my hand at these, so I cannot give a recommendation.

To me, this fall-blooming jewel is an underused plant, which I attribute to it not being readily available in local garden centers. I happened upon anemones at Garden Gate Nursery and Raymond’s Garden Center, both in Hendersonville, N.C. Hopefully, I have piqued your interest and you will remember to be patient for the magnificent display of Honorine Jobert, my favorite. If you like instant gratification, plant robustissima to see results much quicker, but do not forget its sprawling nature.

I hope you will enjoy these long-lived, vole- and deer-resistant plants.

Credit: Betty Montgomery, For the Herald-Journal

Grammy-winning guitarist and composer Bill Frisell will make a special appearance August 30th at the Barnes & Noble in New York City (Lincoln Triangle,tiffany necklaces on sale, 1972 Broadway,key rings, NYC 10023) to promote his new project,tiffany on sale, "Beautiful Dreamers" with a solo performance and signing @ 5pm. "Beautiful Dreamers"–a stunning recording consisting of original compositions and striking reinterpretations performed along with the unique talents of Eyvind Kang (viola) and Rudy Royston (drums),tiffany ring, will be released by Savoy Jazz on August 31st. In addition, Frisell will be in New York performing as part of the Paul Motian trio for two weeks at the Village Vanguard (8/24–9/5).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081217/LAW027LOGO)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081217/LAW027LOGO)

Says Frisell: "I’m so fortunate having the chance to play music with Eyvind and Rudy and having an audience willing to go along for the latest adventure. I’m the luckiest guy in the world being surrounded by all these folks who have so much faith and trust in the music,cheap tiffany necklaces, helping me to make my dreams come true."

Bill Frisell is managed by Songline/Tone Field Productions (www.songtone.com). For more information visit www.savoyjazz.com

Savoy Jazz is a unit of the Savoy Label Group. SLG is the North American unit of Columbia Music Entertainment (formerly Nippon Columbia) the oldest music company in Japan. The Savoy Label Group has evolved into a leading independent company consistently outperforming competitors in key music categories as monitored by Billboard Magazine. SLG is led by Steve Vining.

SOURCE Savoy Jazz

In the sleepy Chilterns town of Amersham levels of anxiety are high and rising. Even though construction of a proposed high speed rail line from London to Birmingham is unlikely to begin for at least another seven years, its likely routing through the town and surrounding villages is already prompting doom-laden predictions from householders and businesses alike.

Judy Hyland,cheap tiffany key rings, a 48-year-old healthcare professional, thinks construction of High Speed 2 will be just the beginning of a process that will change the Chilterns forever.

"It will create a huge cavern in beautiful green-belt countryside. I fear once the railway is built, companies will be left slavering over use of the land for other property ventures."

Her son Andy Hyland, 22, questioned the need for the line, saying: "Great Missenden and the surrounding villages will be cut up by the track which is entirely unnecessary as there are already adequate travel links from London to the north."

Others were worried about the impact on local businesses. Frances Parker,shop for tiffany Pendants, 64, who owns a bakery in Amersham, said: "I worry that the rail line will mean that the Chilterns is not such an attractive area for outsiders to experience the countryside any more, meaning that local businesses like mine will feel the knock on effect."

The overriding concern of many though is the likely effect on property prices and the ability of the government’s new pound(s)50m fund to compensate local people adequately. "I think that the value of my property will definitely decrease, says homeowner Lucy Worth, 35. "I’ve looked into the fund but I don’t meet the guidelines so I won’t receive anything despite the fact it’s extremely likely I’ll lose out."

John Potts,tiffany Pendants on sale, 76, said: "The vast majority of people who will be affected are not going to see a penny [from the fund], and given the length of the track the money will be spread very thinly."

Not absolutely everyone agreed though. Peter Wicklow, 28, a human resources manager who bought property in the nearby village of Little Chalfont four years ago,pendants, is fairly sanguine. "Houses prices here are consistently high, reflecting the demand for the area,tiffany key rings clearance, so I think overall [the line is] unlikely to significantly lower prices in the long run."

« Older Entries