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HCQ TV re-energises consumers, carers and health staff
Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our inaugural webcast series: Sharing Power: Co-design with consumers for impact and equity during 25 May – 3 June.
Our Annual Forums are renowned for bringing together expertise across consumer partnerships. Whilst we could not meet face-to-face this year, we were delighted to still be able to bring you together with 18 inspiring consumer and carer representatives, HCQ and health staff, and NGOs representing consumers and carers to discuss four key issues which influence what it takes to truly share decision-making power.
Consumer Partnerships Going Digital: Bridge or Barrier?
Sharing Power: Showcasing successful consumer-led co-design
Why do you think I'm hard to reach?
Value based health care – What it means for all of us
Watch the episodes >
We believe impactful consumer partnerships are based on a shared vision, trust, and empowering consumers to shape health services. That's why you can still watch each episode on our website and continue to develop your knowledge, skills and awareness to build a health system that is fair, equitable and meets the needs of the people who use the system and those who serve it.
Over 660 people have viewed the series so far and one viewer told us: "Listening to you today has really stoked the fire for me and I am re-energized to work my butt off."
This response fills us with confidence and hope because now more than ever, decision-makers need to have the skills, willingness energy and courage to work shoulder-to-shoulder with consumers to make some difficult decisions as the economic consequences of COVID-19 become clearer.
Once again, we'd like to thank all our panelists, Queensland Health for their sponsorship and support, Director-General of Queensland Health, Dr John Wakefield, our event partners, Iceberg Events, Select Audio Visual, and the team & Board at Health Consumers Queensland.
Visit the HCQ TV page >


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The island is their stage: Students shine in KPAC
By by Lanaly Cabalo - The Garden Island | Friday, December 8, 2006, 12 a.m.
The drama students at Kapa'a Middle School are "Lost in Reality."
"Our theme for this show is based on reality shows," said playwright and director Keith Amano. "We've got spoofs on 'Dog the Bounty Hunter,' 'Fear Factor,' 'Snow White' and 'The Apprentice.' We try to pick what's current and see how many kids we've got and see what we come up with."
In the "Fear Factor" scene Snow White, is thrown into a situation where she has to face her biggest fear: small people.
"The principal of the school, Principal McQueen, makes Snow White a preschool teacher so she has to deal with real little people," Amano said.
But it's not just reality shows. Amano also picks on popular movies. Like "The Chronicles of Narnia."
"It's 'Antique Old Stuff' and 'Narnia,' where the witch is trying to sell her wardrobe," Amano said.
There's also "The Devil Wears Prada." Eighth-grader Chloe Sorey portrays the demanding boss Miranda.
"I like that she's so much like me and everybody worships her," Sorey said. "The cool thing about acting in Mr. Amano's plays is that he writes the characters based on our personalities. Last year, I was really shy so he made my character very sleepy. But now I'm more open so now my character's kind of loud."
"Lost in Reality" is one of three shows opening tonight as part of the Kaua'i Performing Arts Center program. The shows run this weekend only, at the Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Hall at 7 p.m.
This season marks the first time in years that all three schools will be represented in KPAC.
Bringing together all three schools was one of KPAC producer Dennis McGraw's goals when he took over the program.
"It should be all three schools because it's an island-wide program," McGraw said. "I just went to the principal and pitched it to him because we had the funding for it. My desire was to bring it back to what it was back when Arnold Meister started the program."
McGraw also directs the Chiefess Kamakahelei drama students in "Mother Earth Wants Out."
"It's environmental/space fantasy," McGraw said. "One kid falls asleep in science class and wakes up in an interplanetary cosmic council meeting. Basically, Mother Earth wants to give up because she's tired of what the world is doing to the environment. And that's all anyone needs to know about the play."
Being a part of KPAC was a big deal for the students at Waimea Canyon School.
"I was really excited when it came here," said eigth-grader Erica Garabilez. "We never got it over here so when I heard KPAC was coming I signed up right away."
She and her drama student classmates are presenting the fairy tale "One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes," from the Brothers Grimm. Unlike the other two plays, though, it doesn't deal with current events.
"It's a departure from the other two," said director John Thygerson. "It's kind of a contrast. We chose this one because it's a light-hearted play. It's like a fantasy."
"One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes" is a tale about a girl who's different from her mother and sisters and has a fairy godmother to watch over her and guide her through life.
Thygerson sees the including of Waimea Canyon in the KPAC program as a positive.
"The students seem to be very excited to have an opportunity to do theater on the Westside," Thygerson said. "We expect the program to grow and hopefully after this, we can get more Waimea Canyon students and Waimea High School students to participate in this."
Want to Go?
Who: KPAC middle school plays
Where: Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Hall
When: Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $6/adults; $3/students
For more information or to reserve tickets, call 651-2417.
Concert anchors fund-raiser
Lihu'e girl among missing foster children

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Citation LECHEA DIVARICATA Shuttleworth ex Britton, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 21: 249. 1894.
Type: FLORIDA: Manatee Co.: Without data, Rugel s.n. (lectotype: GH). Lectotypfied by Hodgdon, Rhodora 40: 97. 1938.
Broward Lit Lit: Wilbur & Daoud, Rhodora 63: 110. 1961.
Lee Lit Lit: Wilbur & Daoud, Rhodora 63: 110. 1961.
Seminole Lit Lit: Wilbur & Daoud, Rhodora 63: 110. 1961.
Lechea major var. divaricata Lechea major Linnaeus, var. divaricata (Shuttleworth ex Britton) A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 1(1): 192. 1895. BASIONYM: Lechea divaricata Shuttleworth ex Britton 1894.


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The Olympics: Where communism wins
The Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" — faster, higher, stronger — might inspire athletes training for the Games, but for a nation looking for Olympic glory, a more useful dictum might be "Maior, Ditiores, Communistarum": bigger, richer, communist. While upsets are always possible in any individual event, the factors that make a nation an Olympic powerhouse are pretty clear, and it's surprisingly easy to predict which countries will come out on top.
by By Joshua E. Keating
 | Columnist
The Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" — faster, higher, stronger — might inspire athletes training for the Games, but for a nation looking for Olympic glory, a more useful dictum might be "Maior, Ditiores, Communistarum": bigger, richer, communist.
While upsets are always possible in any individual event, the factors that make a nation an Olympic powerhouse are pretty clear, and it's surprisingly easy to predict which countries will come out on top.
Shortly before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, two economic papers appeared within days of each other looking at the determinants of gold-medal success. Remarkably, both came to virtually the same conclusion about what makes a nation an Olympic champion. Ever since, the lead authors of each paper, Andrew Bernard of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and Daniel Johnson of Colorado College, have been using these factors to make predictions before each Olympics, sometimes with uncanny accuracy.
"When we compared the final medal count with the expected result in 2000, we thought we had made a horrendous error: It was like a .96 correlation," showing very high accuracy, Johnson said. "You don't get that sort of result in an economic model."
But Johnson soon realized this shouldn't be that surprising, as overall Olympic success is remarkably predictable. The most important factors by far are population size and per capita gross domestic product. The prediction models don't look at individual athletes or sports; they consider national team performance as a whole.
"Olympic athletes are like complex machines," said Emily Williams, a recent Tuck graduate who has taken over the work on Bernard's model in predicting the London Games. "The more people there are, the more machines there are. The more resources per person each country has, the more these machines can be invested in and turned into Olympic athletes."
GDP, in particular, is a large part of why the United States holds a nearly insurmountable lead in the all-time count, with 2,296 medals, whereas Russia and the Soviet Union come in a distant second, at 1,327. (Russia's historical performance is perhaps more impressive given its much lower GDP and population figures, and it holds a clue as to how a nation can punch above its weight.)
Democratic disadvantage
This may seem intuitive enough, but there are a couple of other ways a country can gain a leg up. One is to actually host the Games. This might be partly due to home-field advantage — less travel, familiarity with the facilities — and host countries' tendency to field more athletes, but it's also because countries tend to invest more in sports generally when they host the Games. Whether or not countries actually make money on the Olympics, they may want to send a signal about their place in the global economy by fielding competitive athletes; Greece, for instance, took home 16 medals in 2004, when Athens hosted, but only four in 2008.
One other factor identified by both papers is a bit more surprising: communism. Throughout the Cold War, when medal counts became a matter of not just national but ideological pride, communist governments like the Soviet Union and East Germany were able to allocate government resources much more efficiently to build sporting powerhouses. They consistently outperformed predictions based on size and GDP alone.
This wasn't true just for the Eastern Bloc. Cuba, for instance, has won more than twice as many Summer Olympics medals as Brazil, despite having only a fraction of its wealth and population.
Australian exception
Given these factors — size, wealth, host status, and communism — China's impressive performance at the 2008 Beijing Games — 100 medals, 51 gold — was hardly surprising. But China actually outperformed the models: Johnson's model predicted 79 medals for China in 2008, while Bernard's gave it 81. According to Johnson, China has been "historically the most difficult country to predict."
The only other country in China's heavyweight population division, India, has historically been one of the Olympics' great underperformers, with only 20 total summer medals. It's tied with Slovakia, which has 0.4 percent of India's population and wasn't even a country until 1993.
The world's largest democracy has never really made sports spending a priority. Plus, several of the sports that Indians excel at internationally, like cricket and squash, aren't Olympic events. Johnson's model predicts seven medals for India in the 2012, though it won only three in Beijing.
The country that most consistently outperforms expectations is Australia, which has the most medals per capita over the last three Games. Yes, Australia is traditionally a sporting culture, and the fact that 85 percent of the country lives within 30 miles of the ocean may contribute to its historic dominance in swimming.
But it also shouldn't be surprising to learn that after a disappointing zero-gold-medal performance in 1976, the Australian government embarked on a massive centralized training program to spur Olympic glory — modeled on the youth sports academies of the Eastern Bloc. Ahead of the 2000 Sydney Games, the country spent $20 million on scientific research aimed at improving its athletes' performance. Australia might be a democracy, but since the 1980s, it's taken an almost Soviet approach to preparing for the Olympics. And it's been among the top 10 nations in medal count since 1992, including an impressive 58-medal performance in Sydney.
London forecast
So what do the numbers predict for London? Colorado's Johnson puts the United States in first place, with 99 medals. Russia, which underperformed its prediction by 11 medals last time, is still second, with 82. China is to come in third, with 67, though with more golds than Russia. And home-field advantage is expected to boost Britain into fourth place, with 45.
This year, Johnson is de-emphasizing the communist metric, because the sample size is so small in the post-Cold War world. So it may be interesting to watch what that means for countries like Cuba and Vietnam.
Using the formula developed by Dartmouth's Bernard — which has been more accurate because it includes by far the best indicator for medal count: who won last year — Williams has the same top four, but in a different order. She gives the United States 103 medals, followed by China with 94 and Russia with 67. Her projections are more optimistic for Britain, which is predicted to bag 62 medals, its highest count since the London Games of 1908, when it won nearly half the medals awarded.
There's also a new kid on the block in the prediction game. Using an expanded series of metrics that includes "political conditions, macroeconomic stability, macroeconomic conditions, human capital, technology, and the microeconomic environment," economists at Goldman Sachs have produced their own projected count, giving the United States 108 medals, China 98, Russia 74, and Britain 65.
Accurate as these models are, it's the deviations from the mean that make the Olympics fun. Watching Michael Phelps trounce the rest of the world in the pool might be fun for a while, but without the possibility of an upset, who would watch?
Williams predicts that the most interesting story in the next few Olympics may be not China, but smaller developing countries that are slowly increasing their share of the medal count.
"I'm glad the model's not always accurate," Johnson said. "Otherwise, we could just mail out the medals in advance."
By Joshua E. Keating


Production of cabbage and other brassica reached 36.2 kt in 2016 in Morocco, according to Faostat. This is 28.6 % less than in the previous year.
Historically, production of cabbage and other brassica in Morocco reached an all time high of 112 kt in 2012 and an all time low of 0.100 kt in 1967. When compared to Morocco's main peers, production of cabbage and other brassica in Algeria amounted to 105 kt, 158 kt in Spain and 30.6 kt in Tunisia in 2016.
Morocco has been ranked 81st within the group of 133 countries we follow in terms of production of cabbage and other brassica, 6 places behind the position seen 10 years ago.


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Big Brother Spoilers > Big Brother > Big Brother 17 > "People are treating me like Audrey.. yelling at me and treating me like I'm subhuman"
"People are treating me like Audrey.. yelling at me and treating me like I'm subhuman"
August 10, 2015 August 11, 2015 Simon Big Brother, Big Brother 17	Shortcut to Comments
POV Holder: Steve POV Competition Aug 8th
POV Used Yes POV Ceremony Aug 10th
HOH Becky Next HOH Aug 13th
Original Nominations: Shelli and Steve
After POV Nominations: Shelli and Vanessa
Have Nots Meg, James and Jackie
7:45pm Spot the Steve
7:47pm Hot Tub Meg, jackie, Becky and James
Becky is saying that for this weeks eviction the five people in the backyard are voting out Shelli.
Meg says Steve is going to try and win the HOH and he's targeting Austin.
Becky says if she has put up Johnnymac Vanessa would have tried to flip the house to get Johnnymac out.
Becky impersonating Vanessa – you're words are so harsh..
Becky – you straight up told me a lie to my face
Becky – she believes her lies.. pathological
Jackie – she really thought she didn't do anything
Becky – she's a lawyer and a professional poker player
Becky is saying they have a strong group of 4 plus Johnnymac and Steve they have the votes. Jackie tells her she's not switching her vote no way.
7:50pm Bedroom Vanessa and Austin
Vanessa crying
Vanessa tells him her friends suck even Jason had people sticking close to him.
Vanessa – people are treating me like Audrey
Vanessa – do people even give a shit that I'm, OK .. what the f***
Austin – you said you were coming out.. we all thought you were sleeping
Vanessa- yup..
Austin – do you need anything
Vanessa- nope..
Austin says if she needs anything give him a shout
Austin leaves.. Heads to the kitchen to tell people Vanessa is upset.
Vanessa – my f****g friends F***g joke
[envira-gallery id="127519″]
7:56pm Bedroom Vanessa Julia and Steve
Vanessa- what the f*** it's bullsh1t .. nobody can see me in 5 f***G hours.. that b1tch yelled at me like f**** game me no reason to do this..
Julia- I swear we thought you were sleeping
Vanessa – I know this is big brother I get it
Vanessa – Honestly I don't give a f**k about the money you guys don't know me.. I don't give a f**k about the money..
Steve says he honestly thought she was sleeping.
Vanessa says Becky yelled at her "It's the rudest thing ever"
Vanessa – do you know why i'm on the block because I don't
Steve – you're asking the wrong person, I didn't see them putting up johnnymac
Julia – they're so close
Vanessa – just tell me it's a game move what's the need of a lie then yelling at me and treating me like i'm subhuman.
Vanessa – she gave her word and she couldn't keep it and now she's feeling
Vanessa – I'm not going to give my word I couldn't keep
Julia suggests they have another talk with Becky
Vanessa – everybody f***g knew and nobody had the balls to tell you and everyone is guilty that is why they are not hanging around me
Vanessa – Steve did you know
Steve – no
Vanessa- everything in my gut is telling me you knew
Steve – I was really suspicious I didn't know know I kinda knew..
Julia- I swear to god I had no idea..
Vanessa – Steve I knew you knew.. don't damage your integrity more.. I know you knew she had no reason not to tell you
Steve – It didn't make sense that Becky would put up Johnnymac I didn't buy it..
Vanessa – I'm telling you straight up I don't think she's a good person.. no grace
Steve and Julia offer to bring her food. She says she's going back to sleep
Vanessa – I hate these people fake mother f****rs
8:28pm Backyard Meg, Johnny Mac, Becky, Jackie
Talking about Vanessa.. bringing up all her lies and bullshit. Shelli joins them. Becky does her Vanessa impersonation. (it's flawless)
Becky claims she never yelled at Vanessa, says Vanessa was freaking out. Becky won't talk to vanessa in private nbow because Vanessa is going to make sh1t up.
Johnnymac says nobody is believing her when she says you were yelling at her, "Rwwwhahahawwwwwhahhahwwwwwwwhaha"
Jackie starts saying she's tired of people bashing each other. (Zong!)
Jackie says it's a joke Vanessa thought becky was yelling at her "Stern maybe but not yelling"
Shelli – how long did she talk to y'all
Jackie – we were literally sleeping
They explain they were laying down in the have nots with sunglasses on.
Shelli – did y'all respond
Meg – ya a little bit
Jackie – she said she's going to blow everyones Stuff up
Meg – she said it was really personal what she had
Jackie says vanessa was threatening James if she gets evicted she's going to taint the jury.
Shelli – well everyone is going to talk in the Jury
Shelli brings up a couple times when Vanessa was stirring up shit with her and Clay.
Becky says this week is so comical the way Vanessa is acting.
Says Vanessa was making Austin feel indebted to her because she didn't backdoor him.
8:39pm Vanessa continues her Audrey transformation
8:45pm Bathroom Austin, Twins
Talking about Vanessa blowing a fuse on him.
They think if Shelli wins HOH they'll be fine.
Austin – we have to talk to James, jackie and Meg, I have already they said it's good but you guys should.
They hear someone come in from the backyard.
Austin – Scamper go
Julia leaves the bathroom
They head to the backyard to hang out with the goblins for a minute. Everyone talking about the phrases being used in the house, Brass tacks, beef cakes, Scamper…
Austin Matelson Becky Burgess big brother 17 Jackie Ibarra James Huling John McGuire Julia Nolan Live Feed Update Liz Nolan Meg Maley Shelli Poole Steve Moses Updated Vanessa Rousso
So doesn't mind when they treat audrey like that??? But she suddenly cares when it's her being treated like that. She's honestly a hypocrite lol.
more WTF? Another Alliance?
Vanessa's first foray into the backyard after self-imposed exile and she announces "I want to form another alliance called The Nice Kids, the other group is called The Mean Kids"
Seriously? All that reflection and Bible study results in more false victim claims, power plays and fight baiting. Can't she get along for 5 minutes without scapegoating, game talk, and demonizing others? I thought she was alone and wanted friends and real allies? She is actually unable to be diplomatic or build trust, while she lectures everyone else on their approach.
And her direct quotes "I've never lied" and "why don't these people like me after I put them on the block and backdoor them? " Denial, delusion, demented take your pick. Whatever friends she had left have not schooled her well on how to get back in good graces when they nod heads during psychotic rants, she really doesn't have a chance does she?
Wow. Perfectly summed up. BB likes to put a smart, yet unstable, person on the show. I thought it was just Audrey this time, but it's also Vanessa.
It's laughable hearing her say all of these things and NO ONE calls her out. They just listen to her delusional idea that she has played an honest game and was loyal to every decision she made. SHUT UP about Becky yelling at you. What did you do Jeff? Or JMac? Just because you weren't yelling and screaming, doesn't mean you weren't threatening or trapping.
The Idiots are SUCH SORE LOSERS. They really thought they would be in "power" the entire time. Their sense of entitlement is ridiculous. I really do hate the Twins. They are such bitches.
Like...I'm Jackie
And…why do Becky and Austin owe her for "saving" them?!? She put Becky up to backdoor Austin! Somehow in her warpped mind…they owe her! She is proving to be a horrible person!
Smart Guy
She was one of the only people to talk to Audrey after she was nominated by her own alliance member and she spent a long time telling her everything was going to be ok and talking her down and comforting her and even tried to enlist James because she said he was well spoken and could probably say some good things to make her feel better. All of that even though Audrey tried to turn the house on her in the first week, after she had made an alliance with her. No one else in the house had been done that way by Audrey.
The selective memory of you people is outstanding.
OMG!! James Keeping Van? WTF!!!
Another Phase of Insanity as James Meg Jackie plot EVICTING SHELLI KEEPING VAN?? Is James that abated of Shelli after the shirt stealing prank? Wet himself after Shelli shor the first arrow over his bow? Sure Shelli's gonna win and target him? Is he petrified Meg can't win checkers much less a comp and Jackie's gonna throw it so she gets a full week in the HOH?
They think Vanessa is weak now, they look like idiots. First keeping crybaby Shelli at Sho-mance Clays request, now sh*tting bricks because they didn't think it through?? So James is gonna screw up 2 HOH's over Clay's hoodie. Now they deserve to lose. Could expect it out of Meg, but now Jackie has lost all reason?
Vanessa staged all her crazy, she's not incapable of winning. It should have been Shelli last week, Van this week. No they vote out weak no-win Clay. JMAC the only halfway decent houseguest to root for. I'm gonna stop watching this Sh*t Show. How's that for your new alliance name? Here we are playing Bachelorette with the Military Prison Guard throwing away his game over the scorned woman. Good riddance to Shelli, but Underdogs really are losers! Step up wannabe JMAC & Steve!
Seriously. I hope when they get out, they go back and watch the feeds and shows to realize just how fucking stupid they actually are.
James – let's keep Vanessa
Meg, we have to do it (keep Vanessa), even if Becky is upset.
If they start pissing off their own group, they are just going to be picked off.
And deserve to go home. If they do this, they lose JMac too – and Jmac can work with Austin, the twins and Vanessa no problem.
What a bunch of fucking morons. I had such high hopes for this week too.
I was really hoping the "votes to evict Shellie" was a typo.
Strangely enough, I am torn….on the one hand, get rid of Vanessa.
You don't make unnecessary enemies (Becky and JohnnyMac), you prove you can be trusted and keep the numbers on your side.
She is sneaky, untrustworthy, drama causing and is proving to be mentally unstable.
Get rid of her and you get rid of the common denominator of the opposing sides in the house as well remove the Twins' brains.
BUT….getting rid of Shellie removes one person who is influential with the opposing side and you KNOW is gunning for you, it would be the true blindside AND you have exposed Vanessa and destroyed her game in one fell swoop.
Stupid? Probably. But oh, the fallout….
Yes, but you are forgetting one thing: Van told them about Becky throwing James under the bus to clelli, he also now knows it was Becky that wanted to backdoor him. He knows it's true because Van, Shelli, and Clay already told him last week "a person that seems close to him" wanted him out but they wouldn't say who. After Van said it, you could tell he sat in the chair and thought about it for a good long while. So in reality, he definitely doesn't feel like Becky is truly a number for him.
MsChiff
Maybe James thinks now that they've all made the jury, Vanessa's more likely to honor their deal than break it? Also, she threatened to poison the jury for him. And then there's also the hoodie lol :o
Her primary targets would probably be Becky and Johnny Mac too, while Shellie's would for sure be James.
Wonder if the DR has been planting the seeds – they seem to like chaos :/
soCal1
Agree w/ everything you said 100%. Saw this coming the moment James realized it was Becky who wanted to target him. He's so sensitive and paranoid about that. Little does he realize he has been everyones target at some point. On the other hand, I don't know what I'll miss less, Vanessa's emotional bullying and self righteous game talk or Shelli's annoying squeals, shrieks and fake tears. Whatever happens Thursday, the good news is this power duo will finally be separated.
Shelli better wisen up. They keep talking about breaking these pawns up. The only pawns are Austin and the twins. They are the floaters and haven't won anything, it's too bad they are so focused on their crappy alliance that they didn't make a better one or stick to plan to get dead weight out which would have made van and shelli more credible in the other sides eyes. If she would have taken out Austin, twins would have been next its too bad her game will be gone due to protecting 2 twins that can't win anything
Vanessa's raccoon eyes look in scary, man she is going crazy, sucks to suck!
Bitch crazy
Becky's boobs
She looks like a Morlock.
Kellym
I laughed out loud at the Vanessa continues her Audrey transformation. Hilarious!
"Becky – she's a lawyer and a professional poker player". All I know is that Becky and JMac are 2 pretty intelligent people. They are quiet, observe and figure a lot of things out accurately.
boltuprite
Becky also was discussing America's Player and said it could be something weird like making a voodoo doll out of aluminum foil. DINGDINGDING!
Captain Crunch
And Vanessa meltdown has begun…
BBFan
Becky is Bae as f*ck!
Stacked and on the attack.
Uh huh...
Wow… seems pretty clear to me now that Vanessa has some chemical imbalances…
I also just posted the following in the previous update, but seems worth posting here now:
Here's my real thinking on Vanessa and part of why she's so upset…
She's a professional poker player. And despite winning millions, she still applied to the show for five straight seasons. This indicates to me that, while yes, she would like the $500,000 it's still as equally important for her to win because she's not just a competitor, but because she also fully believed she'd outplay/smart everyone else. In her mind, she's "just that good."
She mentioned at one point that she "just wants to make it to the final four and then just have it play out from there on by whoever wins the HOH's/Veto's." To me, that indicates she went into this game thinking there was no way she wouldn't make the final four. While she still would want to win it all at that point, final four would have been an acceptable accomplishment for her within the game. It would have been enough to satisfy how great she'd be if she ever got to be a houseguest on Big Brother.
And now, the fact that it seems she is definitely getting booted far sooner then she truly felt she ever would be… well, she really can't believe it. And in combination with that is the fact she really thinks she executed a brilliant strategy in flawless fashion. It's all the more reason as to why she's struggling so much to come to terms with this. I imagine she will at some after being evicted, but right now, it isn't officially over for her so there's still that fighting spirit left even though she's all but officially out of the house.
The other reason she's so upset is because she really believes all this loyalty nonsense and that she's been betrayed to the point of thinking "people are so un-evolved… so hurtful." When it comes to that aspect of it though, she just lacks the ability to step back from things and accurately access the flaws in her game play and what not. She seems to believe she's 100% right about how she accesses everything which has occurred and that any other take, no matter how much of a minor issue it may be about, is an untruthful take on things.
I agree with your opinion that this is a poker/intelligence pride issue, but I don't know, if I were her, I wouldn't have applied to this show.
From personal experience…and also family and dating, I am pretty sure she wasn't joking that time she said she is bi-polar. Her mood swing to her lows is very extreme and I actually feel bad for her that she's getting this hate. But Jmac is right, you applied for the show, you should have mentally prepared for eviction.
I pretty much feel the same. And I also wouldn't be surprised if she was bipolar. I only heard about her saying that earlier today, but people said they weren't sure if she was being serious or not about it.
If she struggles with that it would go a long way in coming to an understanding as to why she's been a bit "off" the past few weeks (in regards to how controlling she was being without even realizing it, etc.) and especially how she's been since she's been nominated.
One other thing I was wondering about… have the other houseguests always known she's a professional poker player. I never heard it mentioned by anyone until written here that Becky mentioned it to some people. I didn't pay much attention to the first 1-2 weeks though, so I wasn't sure if it was out there from the start.
I assumed that if it had been though that there would have been more talk about it since at least some would likely have felt it implies she'd be pretty clever, have a good read on people, and let them know she should hold a good poker face.
So basically, how long has this been known about Vanessa within the house, and has there ever been much discussion amongst them about it?
GeekSquad McGee
She talks about poker pretty often. She said that she played pro for two years, probably to cover her bases in case someone recognized her from TV. But she heavily downplayed the extent of it.
I was pretty shocked when Becky said: "she's a lawyer and a professional poker player"
She went to law school, but didn't finish, per wikipedia. How does Becky know that she is for sure a professional poker player? I guess Van told them.
That's easy for Jmac to say since he goes to bed about 9 every night. If your sole contribution is grunting in the DR, you wouldn't lose much if you're evicted. "If you want to keep me, great. If you want to vote me out, cool. I haven't done anything but grunt in the DR, anyway. UUUUUHH!" 8-D
NathanR
Here's the thing… Regardless of how Vanessa has broken down, she ruled the house up until now. She had a hand, and quite possibly a major hand, in how everything played out. She played hard from the get go. If, and when she gets voted out on Thursday, 2 wks away from this game may actually be the very best thing for her. Considering, of course, she comes back in. If she comes back in refreshed, and absent of her 'psychotic, paranoid' state of mind, watch out. She could dominate the last few wks like she did the first. I'm not, by any means, a fan of hers, but she 'went too deep in this'. Let her come out, see just exactly how big the ocean is again, and she won't try to swim it the 2nd time. Houseguests be warned
Good points, I bet you're right. Do you think her extreme emotional break is purely chemical and ego bruising or has she lost some other financial career type opportunity? Do you think she was shooting for some fame, more TV cred or celebrity exposure for her career, endorsements, a reality or hosting gig?
Also what seems to have hit her hard was the lack of personal connection with the housemates. She said something about always ending up alone in life, this house is like her real life, she had trouble trusting partners, cheating partners, Mel & her don't have access to each others phones etc. She was only married for a year? Do you think she cane to make friends?
If she's a professional gamer, doesn't she have better coping skills than most to deal with loss, miscalculation, adjusting game theory? She is personalizing it sooo much, while others remind get its a game, involves chance, randomness of the universe and perhaps misperception, bad info and a faulty decision or 10?
She doesn't have much empathy whether she's horrified being compared to Audreys instability or others reaction to her. She didn't mind making Jason pack over and over despite his job loss and lodgings in mom's basement.
The guys don't collapse in hystrionics when they're on the block and demanded for it as if they are stupid, don't care, deserve it or are expected to beast all types of humiliation. James JMAC Jason Steve all repeat pawns with no breakdowns or victim rage. Vanessa behaves as if she's entitled, galley to be treated like anyone else. Maybe it's the cult of personality & celebrity like Frankie, she can't conceive of her failure or the idea that others don't love her for her mistreatment. She used everyone so completely by putting people on block and demanding multi-layered deals for protection, like classic extortion.
Definitely a wake up call. Hope she pulls it together. It could be a great learning experience. Even if she's killing future TV opportunities. Unless there's a Housewives of the Poker Tour in development.
PekingDuckDynasty
Vanessa has ADD and since I have slight OCD I recognize similar traits to a way bigger extreme so I think that she may have a mid to high level OCD.
I was curious about her real life and background, so I looked her up on Wikipedia today.- – she has always been an extremely competitive, over-achiever. Valedictorian, debate team, played a few different sports teams, etc, etc, 4.0 all the way through highschool. Then went on to study at Duke, with a major in economics and a minor in something I can't remember but she graduated in only 2.5 years which is a record at Duke, was on the dean's list and was involved in too many other academic extra curriculum activities to remember. After Duke, she went on to law school, involved in organizations, and started playing poker on the days that she did not class. In less than a year she had already won one cash prize of over $200k. It's amazing how quickly she became one of the most $successful careers of all female poker players. She was also a part of a group that got the laws changed for online gambling. She was asked to teach a poker seminar to Forbes 100 most successful women.
She has a lengthy and very impressive resume. After reading through it, it helped me understand how such a smart and strategic person played her BB game with so many flaws.
It also had me scratching my head as to how it took so long for someone like her to loose her mind in a house full of brainless children who can't even clean up after themselves or flush the toilet after taking a shit.
As for the histrionics when nominated or back doored ; Clay instantly blew up and started puffing his chest and screaming. Shelli had to snap her fingers at him and force him to shut up and go to their room. Then he moped while she cried for hours. Up until hours before eviction Clay was still acting like a hot head and chest bumping James.
When Jason was back doored, he cried like a baby for days.
Both of them had friends or allies gathered around them and sometimes thi'k even more than the nominee (Meg).
And useless Meg? She starts bawling if someone asks her to be a pawn with complete safety.
Let's admit it, a lot of people act like moronic losers when nominated and some even when they know they are the target handle it with dignity, grace and class. (Kayser BB6 & All Stars)
Objectively Speaking
I didn't say guys don't show emotion I said guys aren't crying for hours as patterned strategy. Aren't you surprised with all her credentials Vanessa routinely throws tantrums, cries incessantly and shouts FOR EFFECT and MANIPULATION. She couldn't do it in a courtroom, and otherwise relies on complex convoluted half concocted logic, but when that fails, she throws a childish tantrum to the extreme, then blames it on her period, meds, pill mix ups, bi-polar tendencies, or everyone else is making her crazy.
I'm a girl and I am surprised how often girls here use tears, less perhaps due to hormones more probably because it is culturally acceptable, or the only way to elicit empathy. Either way, Vanessa is over the top, she admits and is embarrassed by her lack of control and self diagnosis but horrified she's compared to Audrey or worse. She ostracized herself in a social game by demonizing everyone. Her self esteem is clearly achievement based and the thought of failure is incomprehensible and unacceptable to her, so she lashes out more, rather than reflect & adjust.
There are tons of theories of what causes overachievment and perfectionism, most often low self esteem. Which is the irony as she is outwardly successful, and shouldn't with her obedience have to resort to bullying type social tactics to achieve her goals, which is to win and be admired. She's used to accolades and it was horrible she was put up as distrusted rather than because they were eliminating a superior player threat. All roads lead back to get fragile ego, which must reign at the expense of the money, status and friends.
I agree: She can't get over her loss of power, since she thought she was smarter than everyone else. As a poker player, she has honed the skills of bluffing & hiding emotion.
So I was shocked she cried so much & lost her cool! At first I thought she was play acting for some reason, trying to get info by looking fragile & vulnerable. But now I think she is out of her mind with the knowledge she blew it already and lost her power.
I don't watch the feeds so I don't know if Vanessa ever works out or plays chess or does anything but obsess about her game. Did she ever join in drinking & socializing at all? I don't remember ever seeing her smile…
Ms Chiff
She does seem to be exhibiting some of the same symptoms that Britney Spears did before she got treatment that was effective – remember Britney's sobbing during the Matt Lauer interview, and her attacking the papparazzi with an umbrella after she shaved her head?
Wish it were possible to know which part might be the manic depression, and what part is definitely her.
Kind of unfortunate all around, for everybody, if it's not being treated properly :/
The only mistake she has made is thinking loyalty means something in the Big Brother house. If she had stabbed Austin in the back after he put a target on himself and her because she was expected to do the floater's dirty work, she would be sitting pretty with a house full of floaters bowing at her feet, and everyone in the comments would be praising her to high heaven. If she was half as bad as Becky and the other clueless floaters in the house, as well as half of the people on this site claims she is, she would have stabbed Austin in the back because she knew she would have had it made for the rest of the game.
Note to future Big Brother house guests: Loyalty doesn't mean anything in the Big Brother house unless you're a floater that never gets into a situation where you have to prove your loyalty. You should not even attempt to win an HOH unless you are willing to lie to and deceive anyone and everyone. Acts of loyalty do not belong in the Big Brother house.
Tell It To Vanessa!
Vanessa is having a mental collapse over disloyalty. She's the one who needs to hear the BB Rules: No trust, No morals, No truth, No loyalty, No Prizes. The rest need a dissertation on the differences between Big Brother, Bachelor and orositution, AND APPLY FOR THE RIGHT SHOW NEXT TIME! This is rediculous. There are no real men on this show either.
Yo Yo Yo
Can dish it out but Vanessa can't take it…. Funny, she's turning into Audrey. What is with these people?!?
Deep thoughts by Meg: ". .". (Yes, it's empty.)
LegendLength
She suffers from a textbook case of victim mentality in my medical opinion.
I don't think BB is going to send Vanessa back into the house, or even take 1/4 chance to now. She's pretty much checked out of the game.
Becky was definitely trying to show that she's friendly with Liz and Austin in the kitchen, which was unneeded at that moment. Really awkward :/ from all.
no sympathy. you overplayed. but really, your big mistake was obvious. if you were going to backdoor Austin, after telling 4 or 5 people you had a plan…with them to get him out….you had to do it. once you made that decision. instead you waffled, and lost the crazy control you had on the game.
they would all still be totally clueless. J-MAC seems to be one of the few who was onto her very early but didn't care to say anything, same with Becky, so many she wasn't doing as well as it appeared.
that said, she blew it. this isn't a case of someone else screwing up your game. you had Jackie, who at the time I felt was so freaking trustworthy and so down to be her partner and ally, and she spit in Jackie's face and chose Austin. Arguably the weakest male competitor both mentally and physically(comps) in years. of course Austin didn't fight for you, even had you not made the decision to backdoor him initially, he still wouldn't have done anything. they could have told him days ago and he would have sat on it.
you picked those friends, and now you are 100 percent Audrey 2.0
She didn't spit in Jackie's face and choose Austin, she was already in an alliance with Austin. The only reason she was in a fake alliance with the floaters is because she was trying the stay off of the block. Jackie was supposed to be the one to get rid of Austin, not Vanessa. Vanessa had pledged her loyalty to her original alliance and kept it intact until they showed their lack of loyalty last week. She even took heat for not backdooring Audrey in order to maintain her loyalty to her alliance. If she dropped the floaters and didn't do their dirty work and got rid of one of them instead, those people are fair game because her loyalty is with her original alliance. That's the whole point of having an alliance, anyway. Alliance members support each other and everyone else is fair game.
LOOK at me! I want to see the light in your eyes go out.
Vanessa transforming into Audrey. LOL Van get a GRIP!
Becky-Pack your bags you can't go home anymore
Vanessa-I'm a bad man
Steve-I think I'm walking into something
Austin-The war is done, the treaty signed
Vanessa-The story told with facts and lies
Some truths lives, some truths die
I don't know which, so never mind, never mind
I got caught, I crossed the line
Having fun with True Detectives theme song by T Bone Burnett ! In response to Vince Vaughn line "Look at me, I want to see the lights go out in your eyes.." whole he's performing a hit. And Geek Squad McGee line "Vanessa is best when she's at her worst" from Colin Farrel. So funny!
Last season was funnier. Frankie acting like jesus
She's (Vanessa) starting to blow
Hmm..,Jackie is still complaining about Vanessa nonstop with Meg… Is that needed at this point? She's pretty much gone/invisible.
They should just speed up the elimination and get to DE.
Vanessa land
I know the game can tear you down, but I seriously think Vanessa is extremely bipolar, she needs to get her medication changed..She's up down like a yoyo..
SmellyNebula
I would suggest Borderline Personality Disorder, very hard to manage just with medication.
Guy From Canada
BPD may be an issue, but a textbook example of BPD was Sabrina in BBCan2.
At the very least, there's a STRONG weighting on Cluster B traits (narcissism). It seems to me that Vanessa has had a life experience that hasn't required much from her socially. She has learned to "act" empathetic when she needs to, but at her core, is self-absorbed.
Gordon Ramsey
Vanessa looks like a California Raisen.
#TeamNoChill
Vanessa acting like this isn't big brother n that people like her ( decent game player, emotional as fuck) don't get back doored all the time……SURPISE MUTHAFUCKER man I can't wait to see her interview with j Chen no chill out
The meltdown has commenced. Someone should be a total smartass and make an omelet for her.
Ariana Grande stinks!
Shelli and Sssssssteve The Snake are still in her lap…
Becky looks like Jorja Fox from CSI Miami
…and like she could eat an apple through a picket fence.
I'm positive that tomorrow Vanessa will calm down, but Becky will still be a bitch.
Boomshockalocka
Exactly, Becky is by far the most annoying child left in the house, followed by Shelli…Wish Vanessa could be saved that would make this house a Main Event to watch!
Simon we should rename a few people, for instance
Liz and Julia should be called the "womb warriors" since we all know they were wombmates.
Also, Meg, James and Jackie should be known as "The Brain Trust", because they know everything.
Stan7777
Vanessa is about what I figured…. a fool!
They get a hint HG might come back. So burn every bridge, light the cross on the front lawn and leave no one unaffected. She had a chance with James for starters to flip him. Being psycho not going to help that. If she gets evicted and returns some funky stuff would have to happen for her to have folks to work with. It's almost like a 4 year old stomping their feet when mommy says no more candy!
The Audrey imitation is very disappointing. Lord who is the omelette maker this week? Such a let down if she sits in the room and sulks.
Shelli is stuck to after the shirt foolishness. You need James vote to stay you idiot! I'm saying it again James is ripe to be flipped but Vanessa is in cry baby mode. Watch Austin maybe save Vanessa by flipping James it might happen.
Howard Molson's Shovel
I think Vanessa's apparent mental & physical collapse, within the context of the game of course, is really likely to have a very negative impact on her professional career outside the house. What poker player worth their salt is ever not going to reference her meltdown in BB17 if they need to get into her 'poker head'? That's kind of sad for her.
She really didn't ever prepare herself, mentally, for the setback of facing eviction in this 'cruelly' (but exquisitely, from a viewer's perspective) executed way. It's probably the first time she's ever really failed at anything in her life.
The Ninety Percent
Oh man. This cast is brilliant sometimes. It's literally my dream come true watching her meltdown like this…
I have zero sympathy for someone who lacks as much self awareness as Vanessa. Plus, I hate this "bitter jury member" BS. So it's okay to go back on your word before jury so the evicted house guest can't use it as ammunition against you later? Obviously someone is lacking some maturity.
Vanessa with a V
This hissy fit that Vanessa is throwing is ridiculous. She had a hand in almost every eviction. Why would she think that she should not be on the block, using any means possible. This is Big Brother. Suck it up butter cup, stop whining, and start laying the groundwork for a possible return. Her antics have guaranteed that she will be talking to Julie on Thursday. So glad that this cast is not following the Helen rule; (it's too early). They are swinging for the fences. They are not netting minnows, they are harpooning whales. It could be that Meg will be the last person standing, but what the hell, this game is fun to watch.
donutlickingho
Vanessa being completely exposed renders her largely impotent in the game. I wouldnt mind all that much if they do flip and boot shelli-she is there to play and play hard. Really just want to see some spirited campaigning against each other and then on to the DE.
enough about "chemical imbalance" "she's gotta be bipolar" comments
stick to the game please
it's disgusting
If she is going to talk about it and go so far as to blame Big Brother for messing up her meds as an excuse for doing crappy in a comp, then I say it is fair game. I have a bi-polar sister and the signs are all there. Otherwise, Vanessa is just a narcissistic sociopath. One or the other…or possibly both.
YES seriously!
fair game??? please.. let me remind you that you're only a viewer in all of this and whatever Vanessa's condition is .. it does not concern you , so what's it to you really???
and thank you for pointing out that you have a "sister who may have bipolar" STILL it does not put you in any better position for you to diagnose someone
attack their game all you want ,but not their personal life
Bababooey
How does Becky know she's a lawyer and poker player? Did Vanessa admit that to anyone?
I'm wondering this too…??
She told everyone in the house in the 2nd week that she was a pro poker player for 2 years. She's also told people where she went to college. Becky probably found this out last week and the other floaters in her crew are probably just learning this today. Davonne said she knew in her exit interview with Jeff.
Shelli's Maturity level
What an idiot! Stealing the hoodie that Clay lent James. Hope you get to the jury soon! #crybaby
I loathe Shelli and her superior attitude, but James lacks common sense. Shelli is still in the house, a huge competitor and crazy in love w/ Clay. Meg told him not to wear Clay's shirts but he did anyway. Shelli is going overboard w/ her James hatred. Clay is on twitter and has indicated he and James will still be friends afterwards. Shelli, Van, and Austin are playing way too emotional.
AudreyLongLostPeenie
Lol this is gold! Bye stupid Vanessa!
I hate the interviews after someone is evicted. Their is self awareness. I love bbc after show the hgs are given a run down if their game. Vanessa and shelli gave up their game for Austin. The game is always revolving. Look at shelli you'd think she would have been the obvious choice after last week now it's Vanessa. Saving Austin was their down fall.
i think this game is james to win nobody whould beat him only shelly got a shot
but I don't see it next time she on the block she going to jury in my opinon
this how I see it going on double evection Jackie wins hoh
nom liz an shelly Austin wins pov take liz down then steve goes up
then they vote out shelly next Austin wins the next hoh to help the twins
in the game begins
I think Vanessa needs to have her Thyroid checked. People are always talking about her eyes bugging out, her mental ups and downs, her skin, being paranoid, these are some of the signs of a malfunctioning Thyroid.
Also, it wouldn't hurt if BB had their Dr. run some tests and make certain her meds are working properly.
RcCollins
its disappointing to see van give up so easy wish she would at least try to flip the script and fight.. becky was smart to target her but think she was much better off just floating along minding her own business now she won't shut up and has quickly become annoying..
There is no way Vanessa genuinely has bipolar disorder. It's just that the Adderall makes her manic-like. People with true bipolar disorder would NEVER be prescribed Adderall.
Just checked my drug reference, yup counterindicated with BiPolar ;) Also, its counter indicated with agitation. That medication could be adding to her moods.
Also she isn't taking them at the right times from what I have read. That is very bad and can even cause a major breakdown.
You're exactly right, it would never be prescribed if someone has Bipolar Disorder. Not to say you can't get Adderall illegally, or pay someone to prescribe it for you. I mentioned this on a earlier post: I doubt Vanessa even has ADD/ADHD. There's a lot of folks who are able to get a stimulant prescribed for "low energy", etc. Coupled with her modelling experience and late-night Vegas lifestyle, I seriously doubt she has any medical need for a stimulant.
Kill the Goblins
If Shelli did indeed take Clays hoodie back from James I say good for her. It is pissing off that little troll and I love it! Hey James it's not yours you little tike. I hate those 3..Meg Jackie James. But Becky I can't fucking stand! Her coming around every time she saw Vanessa out of the room was beyond anything any human would do. She wanted to make sure Vanessa saw Austin and the twins not mad at her. Also she wanted to prevent Vanessa from talking to them or anyone. She accuses Vanessa of playing all sides of the house. When it was Becky that was doing that. Vanessa clearly only worked with her people. She drew lines in the sand. Becky is and was a little rat snake bitch. The main reason Becky so mad at Vanessa because Vanessa blew off her little Generals aliiance idea and since then Becky has had it out for Vanessa. Like Vanessa said Karma is a fucking bitch. If Vanessa stays ir goes and comes back I wana see Becky hung on a spicket and roasted like the pig she is.
I like that Vanessa late tonight got a little fire in her again and said "I like a challenge. This isn't over. I'm not done"
That is the Vanessa we all wana see!
Becky the bitch thinks she is really something
Whew! Too Much Caffeine?
Glad you got that off your chest so you don't express your rage-aholic tendencies on someone in the REAL world. Vanessa's paranoia and delusions of grandeur are the reason she thinks Becky is following here around. Look at the feeds, it ain't happening. Vanessa can't control or intimidate Becky and is driving her ape-sh*t. Becky refuses to be alone with her for those reasons, and the others you openly despise follow a buddy system so there are witnesses to the unfounded stalking claims.
It's okay. We understand your disappointment in Vanessa, no one expected her to crash and burn out so quickly and often. It's her own relationship with lots of control and failure that the problem. Not James, Not Becky or the hundred other players voting her out. Even Austin her right hand dude has cut her off. Her instability has transcended the "Bible Reading Phase" to a "take no prisoners, scorched earth" strategy which dooms her in this game. She isn't cut out for team sports, she only plays individual head games.
Do some yoga and start a support group in the likelihood Vanessa doesn't win BB. Everything will be okay.You don't need to kill any goblins.
I agree with everything that you wrote. Maybe the two of us can team up and go kill those nasty goblins together ;)
Has Jame's Angles laughed about the alliance name The Generals to Becky yet? I'd love to see her as they crack up singing their song and then laugh about how 6-8people is a lot of generals.
It was Becky's legacy. Lmao
I thought that it was hysterical when Becky was sharing all of her genius tips to Vanessa like the gem "Don't tell your army info that only your general should know." She was so proud of herself for that nugget that she wanted to name the fake alliance that they let her think they were apart of The Generals. Bahaha.
And then after being dumped by her Generals and she won HOH, she not only told her army her top secret plan, she told her new buddies that she was ratting on the previous week, she then told every one who could stomach listening to her talk, about her top secret plan.
At first I thought that back flooring Van was a good strategic move, but that was an accident. Getting out Vanessa was a personal move for Becky and she still doesn't have a clue about Van's game or the SS, even though Audrey spelled it out to them before she was evicted.
Becky is nothing more than a smug, nasty, vindictive witch. And her strategic game still sucks even though she now thinks that she is guaranteed to win this season.
I hope her ass follows Van out the door on Thurs.
I like vanessa. I think she is the best player in the game and her little meltdown? It's fake you guys…..it is purely strategic. She is trying to get the house to think she is a very emotional player and will make future decisions based on emotion and not strategy. That is why she said if she stays, her target is becky. But, vanessa is smart and her target really is not becky. Becky is so easy to get out. Vanessa will get out james or some other big target before she ever goes after becky. Anyway, I would rather shelly go home because vanessa makes this show far more interesting. I don't get why people don't like her. She is very smart and knows how to play this game better than anyone else. I want to see her and steve go to final two. I want steve to start back stabbing people including jmac just because it would be so evil and epic to watch.
Does anyone know how on earth Becky knows Vanessa is a lawyer and professional poker player?????
Vanessa is THE WORST, followed by Sssssssteve and the Jiz hooks. Shelli is just another immoral person but that's her upbringing…
skeptical onlooker
I'm totally digusted with Vanessa. I get the delusional…I get the back peddling..the believing she's the victim. I get it..because she's definitely a sandwich short of a picnic.
What gets me….is how she no empathy at all. Giving a shout out to Jason…about him giving her cigarettes…acting as though Jason cares about her. Why would she think that? Well, because he certainly didn't act out like she's doing.
I wish someone would just give her a heads up..and ask her one thing.
Just ask her if she can sympathize with Jeff, Davonne, Jason…being crushed out of the game..for doing nothing wrong.
She sent them willy nilly out of the house…and didn't give a shit. In fact…crowed about it…
But now that's she's on the block…OMFG. And poor Jason never got to compete in the POV..she never gave him any notice that he was going on the block. Vanessa had her chance for POV,
Honestly…she's a sore loser..vindictive..and the biggest hypocrite in the game.
I never thought I'd say this..but I think I prefer Frankie. And that's saying something.
Personally..I think Vanessa is broke. She's said numerous times..she doesn't need the money. And when people start of a conversation with a topic..it's what most concerns them.
She needs the money..and she thought by wnning BB..she'd get a boost in her career…which is kaput.
You'd think she'd won a WSOP bracelet. Vanessa Selb is a much better poker player.
I mentioned to a poker player friend of mine that Vanessa's on BB. She doesn't watch the show..but immediately said..* she's crazy*. I said..how do you know that? And she said the whole professional Poker Community thinks that.
I believe it as well.
Your post was fabulous! My sentiments exactly. Those are the same points I've been making for weeks! Now we have to stay praying James doesn't keep her. She'd consider it a sign from God for trading the good book, and her egomania would reach epic proportions. I do think she's lost most of her marbles and credibility so maybe she wouldn't win anything and keep getting shut out as she did today.
Thanks :}
I do not get fazed by craziness…especially in BB where it's almost impossible to be *normal*. However..Vanessa sets my teeth on edge. There is something fundamentally evil about her. She has no compassion at all. And that has nothing to do with Big brother.
Her first meltdown…I think it was in the first week…crying about missing her girlfriend…was for sure fake. Trying to show that she was weak. ( remember,,poker players. Your actions are OPPOSITE to the way things are).
From that point on…it's just the real her and desperation for winning the $$$$'s and career possibilities.
I'm sure she's broke. I can hear her telling Mel and her dogs..that she'll be bringing home the loot. Easy Peasy…Because…don't ya know..she's too brilliant..everyone else is a fool. And the thing is…she will NEVER get it. She's warped. Even if she wins BB…she's a loser.
I agree that she's broke. She might look good on paper, but if her life was so great, she would not move in with a bunch of strangers and open herself up to scrutiny by America, all for the chance to win $500k.
I'm not surprised that Vanessa thinks BB should be interrupted so she can conduct her Pity Party. She shows a distinct lack of grace and self-awareness. I think when she's out of the house and watching the season she might even be embarrassed by what she sees.
What she would see is her being loyal to her alliance and her alliance turning their back on her. Clay and Shelli tried to pin the Jason thing solely on her because the floaters called them out and found out that they were being played because they thought they were in an alliance with Shelli and Clay dating back to June. (LMAO!) Vanessa said I don't think so, we made the decision to get rid of Jason (Liz and Shelli spent a long time convincing Vanessa to keep Austin), so they decided to spend the week ratting out Vanessa and then ratted out Austin. Austin didn't care what they did last week and doesn't care that Vanessa threw her game away to keep him in the house. He only cares about being with a girl that doesn't like him. Those are the things she'll see when she gets out of the house.
The smart move for James is to try to get the house to flip and save Vanessa. Shelli will be out, and Vanessa will be an emotional wreck for the DE. Then get her out.
Bb fan
Vanessa needs to stop throwing a tantrum. Lady, you are a grown adult so start acting like one! Stop acting like a 5 year old who doesn't get its way. Just when I thought Vanessa couldn't get more annoying all hell breaks loose. Sad to see her on jury but at least she is finally leaving the house!
OMG We have Nicole 2.0 in Becky! Ugggggh Another whiny cry baby! Get that baby child out of the house!
Wishy washy goblins
I'm NOT an ounce surprised these folks decided to flip their votes once again.
This time, i'm not altogether against it, as i much prefer vanessa to stay over shelli.
Vanessa prolly might go to jury during double eviction, but at least there's a fighting chance.
Don't know whether the deciding factor was diary room-influenced, or as they said, shelli is more of a threat n is a comp beast.
They wanna rope the twins n steve in.
Not surprised if they change their mind once, twice, thrice more, depending which direction the wind blows. Even though they claimed its "100%."
:: 2.49am PST ::
I doubt they are going to go through with this, but If Meg, Jackie and James really flip the script on Becky and keep Vanessa, which would really be smarter for their game at this point, i might start to respect them a little bit as game players.
twin hater
I just started watching after dark and I had to fwd through the first hour because of her crying she cries more then my 2yr old when she was teething. I had to get on my phone and chime in because she's pissing me off and Steve is just as bed really Steve your that gullible please I hope your next. I feel bad for venness's girlfriend she's gotta deal with that Omg I wish big brother would follow up with some of these guests when they watch it for the first time to see how foolish they are.
I've been away, so i'm doing a lot of catch up. my perspective may be a bit askew. sorry if it gets too long. Vanessa is alternating between the I've got no room to maneuver so I'm giving up phase and the don't count me out I've got information phase. neither are really useful to her staying in the game. if she's going to be a Darwinist castoff, she might as well make her way to the tar pit now. she blew up her own game. not by keeping Austin, but by targeting him to the entire house to begin with. there is one thing i agree with as she's sitting there in her audreyesque 'maroon cacoon', her allies have forsaken her. they talked about doing it, and that's what they're doing. Even if she chose the valorous way of leaving, having fun for her final days, she'd have to have it alone. or maybe with the ants. as far as her allies are concened, vanessa has cooties. i think she has played well, but that first big error has come back to haunt her too many times. If she stays somehow i'd be beyond shocked. i have no problem with the game moves people are making, having greater problems with actually liking any of them. John exaggerating the pattern of vanessa fights to put the target more firmly on her (to my recollection vanessa didn't argue with day or Jason before final nominations as he contended, those arguments were with shelli clay and Audrey) is a good move. partial fiction considering his own interaction with vanessa was due to his own miscalculation, and partial fiction considering he exaggerated the background facts, but a good move to cover himself. He's capitalizing on the rest of the house being inobservant, so more power to him. the delusion that he'd have her blood on his hands…. um…. how? he may have secondary bloodspray for voting against her, but he's not pulling the trigger no matter how you look at it. The james alliance moving to evict vanessa is also a good move, though i'm sick of the post pov trash talk. she's nominated/ they have the votes/ she's going to be evicted. The continuation of the trashing of vanessa post pov is tacky. Maybe they should have a house meeting without vanessa as a coup de grace. the clinging to 'they did it first' is juvenile. there is such a thing as grace and honour in victory, and two wrongs don't make a right. most of it will never make air so that the underdogs look like more heroic figures. they whined about the six alliance as the bad guy bullies , saying they'd never act like that all the while, and they act the same or worse when they have power for half the time. They're already corrupt, and still talking like they are morally superior. i'm ready for another power shift away from them. Actually, considering all a couple of them do is trash talk without actual game contribution, i'm just ready for a couple of them to go away. I'm over Jackie. I don't think she'll have anything to say once vanessa is evicted. hopefully they'll be the first two in jury together. that's a feed i'd watch. i didn't have a problem with her until today. something hit me and suddenly i can't wait to see her gone. it was the insincere exchange with shelli that did it. If i remember correctly she said that she'd hate for America to see her as a b!tch. if she doesn't… Read more »
MegCity
Great post. I agree with everything, which doesn't happen very often this season.
I love seeing power shifts in Big Brother, but man are the goblins annoying. I love how Jackie is like "I'm so sick of people bashing each other" while she has been bashing Vanessa, and to a lesser degree Shelli, since Becky has won the HOH. It's been 3 straight days of the same conversations. The 4 goblins create their goblin circle, bash Vanessa, then relocate to another part of the house and repeat. Form goblin circle, bash Vanessa, disperse, form goblin circle, bash Vanessa, disperse, form goblin circle, bash Vanessa, I think Steve will target Austin and the twins, disperse, form goblin circle, bash Vanessa, disperse, form goblin circle, hey Meg did you just fart?, bash Vanessa, disperse, form goblin circle, bash Vanessa, disperse.
i just finished with the whole vanessa is going i'd be shocked if she can stay reply, and finished catch up as of a little while ago. i missed something big time.
apparently james is now pushing with Jackie and meg to evict shelli over vanessa.
NO. really. wth did i miss in the time it took me to come up with the thoughts in my last post?
is this james' America's player task? is it a complete joke? people on here are going to be going linda blair in the exorcist if they actually do this.
"We're telling them what they want to hear, if we win all fair in love and war"
Meg "We can't not send Shelli home when she's up there!" Jackie "Becky is going to freak out!"


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© EPA/MAYSUN
Opinion and debate: The Syria Conference: a wolf in sheep's clothing?
Please note: Views expressed in this section are those of the author(s) alone and do NOT reflect the official position of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Opinion and debate: Vickie Hawkins, MSF UAE executive director writes as heads of state, ministers and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon meet in London to address the crisis in Syria.
Vickie Hawkins
Executive Director, MSF UAE
Twitter: @VickieHawkins
On 4 February 2016, London will be the stage for heads of state, ministers and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to come together to address the crisis in Syria. The aim of the conference is to raise funds for the humanitarian response both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries, and is a partnership between the UN, Norway, Kuwait, Germany and the UK.
On the surface, this conference has laudable aims: to improve education and livelihoods for Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries; to address the safety and protection of civilians inside Syria; and to raise significant amounts of 'new' aid money to fill underfunded UN appeals. The organisers might like to portray themselves as peacemakers and aid-givers, but they include countries which are parties to the conflict.
Not only facing their own government's bombs
Only a few months ago, the UK Parliament voted to extend British airstrikes into Syria, marking the entry of the UK into Syria as another belligerent. Many of the other states attending have similar military engagements in Syria – people in Syria not only face their own government's bombs, but those from two coalitions involving eleven other countries. David Cameron himself reconfirmed on 9 September that the UK is using aid as one more lever to pursue its political aims. "Assad has to go, Isil has to go, and some of that will require not just spending money, not just aid, not just diplomacy, but it will on occasion require hard military force." For humanitarians, this is a red flag, albeit a familiar one.
Street scene in Aleppo, from April 2013.
Mixing aid with politics
As we have seen in Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere, mixing aid with politics and military action endangers the ability of humanitarians to provide aid in a neutral and impartial way. It creates suspicion amongst people affected by conflict, who may question if these aid organisations are just another arm of the governments that fund them. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in conflict areas already have to take great care not to be perceived as a Trojan horse for political agendas, and yet the Syria Conference is doing just that. It is effectively co-opting civil society participation, with the lure of additional funding for their work. For NGOs that depend on external funding, it's a stark choice – you're in or you're out.
Military belligerence and humanitarian aid should never, under any circumstances, be offered as two sides of the same agenda. The politicians gathering in London know that to do so is dangerous, and their cynicism in continuing to do so is all the more disgraceful.
Absolving responsibility
There is also a deeper political undercurrent to the aim of the conference. If all goes well, the conference will result in increased aid to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to ensure that more Syrians stay in the region and do not make the journey to Europe. By focusing on education and livelihoods, the conference is targeting two major 'push' factors for Syrians who decide to make the perilous journey. Viewed from this lens, it is starting to look as if the conference will be used to endorse a policy of containment. It fits with the approach of some EU member states to provide aid to Syria and its neighbouring refugee-hosting countries as a means to absolve themselves of responsibility for those who have already made the journey.
To put it starkly, under a veil of concern this conference is about states pursuing their political agendas for Syria, co-opting and thereby denaturing humanitarian aid in the process. MSF will not be attending the conference, believing that it represents a risk to aid organisations being perceived as neutral and independent – perceptions that are vital if we are to have any possibility of providing medical care inside Syria to people caught up in the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.
I sincerely hope that I am wrong, and that the conference leaves politics at the door to concentrate on helping those in desperate need. In the horrific siege of Madaya, people are literally being starved to death – 49 people have died so far and we are still counting. In the 70 Syrian hospitals and clinics supported by MSF, more than 100 people are dying each week from bomb blasts and other war-related wounds – a small fraction of the toll country-wide. These people need all the help that the world can provide.
What do you think? Have your say and join the debate below


So, how do you want to go out? Wheeled-in kicking and screaming, longing for a life you had wished you had lived, or sliding into home base with a bottle of wine in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other?
Have no excuses and hold no regrets. Either you win or you learn.
The idea is to get up and keep moving forward. When laziness sets in, procrastination can quickly become your choice action; when procrastination is locked in, a lack in motivation can keep you lying down. Just get up and keep moving forward.
If You Wait For A Lifeboat, You'll Drown.
Life is a lot like being capsized near shore, with a big storm on its way. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to paddle later on.
We All Want To Eat, But Few Of Us Are Willing To Hunt.
The hustle doesn't start when you're making a killing, it starts long before that. The hustle doesn't end because you've made a killing, it continues long after that.


Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Diversing"
What is the difference between diverse (adj) and diversed (adj) and diversing (adj) ?
To start with, "diverse" just means very different. For example, English and German are diverse languages, and yet sometimes you will find similarities. I don't remember ever seeing the words "diversed" or "diversing". I don't think they're right. If "diverised" is a word, it means exactly the same as "diverse".


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Home Headlines National News EXPOSED! 'Everyone, even govt, benefits from insecurity' — bandit kingpin speaks in BBC documentary
EXPOSED! 'Everyone, even govt, benefits from insecurity' — bandit kingpin speaks in BBC documentary
at July 25, 2022 Headlines, National, News,
Abu Sanni, a self-confessed bandit kingpin, says insecurity has become a business everyone benefits from.
Sanni — who says he helped mastermind the abduction of students of Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe, Zamfara — was interviewed by BBC Africa Eye in a forest in Zamfara.
The 50-minute documentary titled 'The Bandit warlords of Zamfara' was undertaken by Yusuf Anka, a journalist who crisscrossed remote bandit enclaves in the state.
Zamfara is one of the worst-hit states by banditry. According to a report by TheCable Index, the state topped the list of reported killings in 2021, with 703 persons reported to have died as a result of insecurity.
The BBC documentary sheds light on the mindset of bandit leaders, the booming nature of the kidnap-for-ransom business — and how insecurity in Zamfara may have been triggered by ethnic conflict between Hausa and Fulani groups.
'WHY WE KIDNAPPED JANGEBE SCHOOLGIRLS'
On February 27 2021, Nigerians woke up to the heart-rending news that bandits had invaded Jangebe in Talata-Mafara LGA of Zamfara and kidnapped 279 schoolchildren. Some weeks later, they were released by their captors.
Sanni said the schoolgirls were kidnapped by his gang as revenge against the government for sending the military after them. He said his gang demanded N300 million from the government for the release of the schoolgirls but N60 million was paid.
"When the rainy season ended, they sent the military after us. We decided to show the government they should not interfere in our problems. We went to Jangebe and took the students. We wanted to get the government angry," he said.
"We demanded N300 million but after negotiations, N60 million was paid for their release."
The self-confessed bandit kingpin said insecurity has become a lucrative business, adding that everyone, including the government, is benefitting from the violent attacks.
"Because it has become a business. Everyone wants money. That is why things are deteriorating, from the top to the bottom," he added.
"They say when there is insecurity, the government gets money. Everyone is benefitting. We also get money. Though for our money, blood is split, so it continues."
Ado Aleru, a suspected bandit leader recently turbaned as Sarkin Fulani in Zamfara, was also featured in the documentary. Aleru was given a chieftaincy title despite being on the police's wanted list since 2019.
The chieftaincy title sparked sharp criticism – a development which prompted Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, to suspend the emir who awarded the title to Aleru.
Speaking in the documentary, Aleru said his gang invades villages as a form of protest against the government.
"We only protest with guns. We know no journalists. We don't know where to protest. Our protest is to take up arms and storm villages," he said.
The bandit kingpin said he does not kidnap people, adding that he only kills those who have been kidnapped by his gang members.
"I have never kidnapped anyone myself. My men do that. I only go and kill them," he said, noting that he has lost count of the number of people he has killed.
One of Aleru's allies who was not named said the bandits resorted to violence due to the alleged marginalisation of the Fulani.
"Tell me, where can we rear our animals? In your investigation, are the cattle routes still there? In the rainy season, you have to carry the cows on your head," he told the reporter.
"You must walk on roads or take them on rocky paths where they fall and die. Even in the forest, warplanes chase us and kill our animals.
"How have the Fulani become so worthless in Nigeria? There is no veterinary hospital. We have nowhere for them(the cattle) to drink.
"Don't cows have any value? Everyone needs meat. Everyone needs milk. Many Fulani have university degrees, the government never considers them.
"I swear, if 1,000 Hausas sit for an exam alongside a single Fulani man, they will pass all the Hausas and fail the Fulani man."
'KILLINGS IN ZAMFARA CLEARLY A TRIBAL WAR'
Hassan Dantawaye, identified as one of the first bandit warlords to import AK-47 rifles to Zamfara, said the alleged injustice against Fulani triggered retaliatory attacks against the Hausa in the state.
Dantawaye, a former beneficiary of an amnesty programme, said: "Everyone, the Fulani and the Hausa, have done something wrong. For the Fulani, retaliation is their major problem. While the Hausa don't investigate who is guilty or innocent.
"We have policemen, soldiers, governors, chairmen, even councillors, no one is stopping this situation.
"It is only when we launch an attack, they will say we (referring to Fulani people) are wrong because they don't see what is done to us."
A few months after he spoke with the BBC, Dantawaye's house was burnt down — an incident that made him pick up arms again.
He alleged that soldiers supporting the Hausa were responsible for the attack on his residence, adding that the conflict is a "tribal war".
"This was done by soldiers, not vigilantes," he said.
"How can [there be] peace with these transgressions? There is one thing with us whenever we are called for dialogue, we honour it but later our opinions are disregarded.
"In the whole world, nobody cares about our concerns. What is done to us is not fair and must stop."
Asked if the violent attacks are fueled by a tribal war between Hausa and Fulani, he responded affirmatively.
"Of course. If not, how can someone pass other settlements but burn down the Fulani ones? It is obvious, it is tribal. Why would a Fulani kill an innocent Hausa? Clearly, it is a tribal conflict," he said.
Headlines, National, News
Headlines National News


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Livable Portland
A blog about how we can become a better city, WITHOUT losing our livable heritage
Resisting the privatization of the public realm
A defeat of a new Apple store that would have occupied part of a park in Stockholm — by vigilant neighborhood activists — shows that some are still willing to fight for public space.
Stockholm's beautiful Kungsträdgården, a central public space in the city.
From CityLab:
Apple is not coming to Stockholm. At least, it's not coming to a new location at the Swedish capital's heart.
Last month, Stockholm announced that it would block plans for a new Apple Store in the city's center, overturning the agreement of a previous administration following widespread public outcry. As this article in The Guardian notes, the objection wasn't against Apple as such (the company already has three Swedish stores) but against the site they chose. Had the company's plan gone through, the electronics giant would have been camped at the end of Stockholm's oldest, most central park: a lovely oblong oasis of greenery and paving called the Kungsträdgården, or King's Garden. In doing so, Apple would have also taken over (but not necessarily built on) 375 square meters (4,037 square feet) of the park surrounding its store—a small chunk of the park's overall footprint, but a sizeable privatization of public space in such a key, pivotal site.
…The sheer force of resistance—a public consultation received not a single petition in Apple's favor—shows that there's something more at work here than a simple debate over shopping space. Stockholm's resistance is powered, it seems, by widespread concern about corporations taking over public spaces.
Indeed, Apple's Stockholm plans form part of an international pattern. The tech giant has sought to set itself up in key public areas across the world's cities, often taking over previously non-commercial spaces such as, in certain cases, former library and museum sites (more of which in a moment). They then present their store facilities as natural extensions of this public space, even as cultural institutions…
It's not really fair to only blame Apple for this: It's just a company that, following the imperative encoded in all companies, seeks profit and market position. It has found, one assumes, that promoting itself (erroneously or not) as a sort of neutral custodian of the public sphere ultimately helps its bottom line, which is, and must be, its purpose.
The problem is the ground ceded to Apple and corporations like it by the state, which (partly under corporate pressure) is relinquishing its role as place-maker and ensurer of democratic access to public space. Apple's ability to plausibly present their stores as new town squares rests on a tacit, erroneous assumption that the old, existing town squares are gone or broken. There's no consideration, for example, that a new, truly public function for an underused library could be found.
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Come celebrate the return of public life in livable cities!
Suzanne Lennard's IMCL conference is a GO in Carmel, Indiana, June 8-12
IMCL Keynote Speaker Profile: Patrick Condon
The Surprisingly Important Role of Symmetry in Healthy Places
Guardian (UK): The real cause of the housing crisis?
Eben Fodor on IMCL Keynote Speaker Profile: Patrick Condon
peggymorettiPeggy Moretti on The Surprisingly Important Role of Symmetry in Healthy Places
anna gadsby on Why "a building is not a tree"
nwexaminer25 on The New Yorker: We need to "decommodify" land and housing
Mary McMurray Artist on Learning from Vienna
Welcome! This forum presents an alternate perspective on the current challenges facing the city of Portland, Oregon. What effective solutions are available? What is the actual evidence that they will work, or not? How can these lessons be applied in Portland? We will pass along regular entries on timely issues from other parts of the world, comparing notes on our challenges here. We will also offer our own commentaries and those of Portland-area colleagues.
Portland is rightly regarded as an important global model of urbanism and of urban successes. Portland started with the advantage of small blocks, facilitating walkability; the Urban Growth Boundary was created in the 1970s, about the same time a freeway along the waterfront was replaced with Tom McCall Waterfront Park; Portlanders' love of their natural setting ensured tree-lined streets and efforts to protect views of snow-capped Mt. Hood; a proposed multi-story garage in the city center became Pioneer Courthouse Square in 1984, thanks to community effort, and many other squares and parks have followed; a streetcar system and light rail were started, which gradually helped to generate suburban neighborhood centers, improving walkability; a compact mixed-use neighborhood began to replace the old industrial area of the Pearl District, initially at a good human scale; and early development of bike lanes positioned Portland as a leading US city for bicycle planning.
But we must be honest: Portland is also, and increasingly of late, a model of what can go wrong. But that too is an invaluable contribution to share with other cities, as they share their lessons with us. In that process, we may all learn from our mistakes as well as our successes, and find a path to becoming better cities. We may thereby reverse the downward spiral of so many cities today, including Portland – losing their affordability, losing their diversity, losing their architectural heritage, and becoming places of isolation, homelessness, traffic congestion and – for too many – economic stagnation, and declining quality of life.
This blog was started by Suzanne Lennard and Michael Mehaffy, both with Ph.D. degrees in architecture (at UC Berkeley and Delft University of Technology, respectively) but also with wide interests in sociology, public health, anthropology, psychology, economics, public affairs, and above all, the ingredients of livable, sustainable cities, and how we can get and keep them. This perspective is informed by seminal scholars in urban issues including Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, William H. Whyte, Christopher Alexander, Lewis Mumford and others, and also by cutting-edge new research. We hope you'll find it thought-provoking at least, and find some of the ideas inspiring, as we have...


Ally Condie (a.k.a. Allyson Braithwaite Condie) is a bestselling author who also happens to be a Mormon (LDS). She wrote the Matched trilogy, a dystopian young adult series that made it to the New York Times Best Seller list. Ally's writing style in her Matched trilogy is extremely poetic and cognitive, and her ability to use unique metaphors in describing her characters thoughts, feelings, and surroundings are truly insightful. In all of the books she has written, she demonstrates a talent for delving into the psychology of each of her characters and emphasizing their unique personalities that have been shaped by their experiences.
The first series Ally Condie published was the Yearbook trilogy, which realistically and beautifully depicts the lives of a group of LDS high school students and their personal struggles and fears. This engaging series is a unique look into what it's like to be a Mormon teenager attending high school. Other books that Ally has written include Freshman for President, Being Sixteen, Atlantia, and SummerLost. She also co-wrote a collection of writings with Lindsay Hepworth called The Moms' Club Diaries: notes from a world of playdates, pacifiers, and poignant moments, offering insights into her experiences as a Mormon mom.
Ally was born in Cedar City, Utah and attended BYU where she earned an English teaching degree. She used her degree to teach high school in Utah and New York. She now lives in Pleasant Grove with her husband and four children. According to an article by Michelle Garrett Bulsiewicz of the Deseret News, Ally Condie considers herself a "mystery junkie" and was thrilled to discover that she was a finalist for the 2017 Edgar Award (an award given by the Mystery Writers of America) for her children's novel SummerLost. Ally was thrilled. She admitted to the Deseret News that SummerLost was not intended to be a mystery when she first began writing it. However, her writing generally tends to be surprising and mysterious, filled with unexpected twists and turns, which causes them to mirror real life extremely well and keeps readers frantically turning pages until the very end. Ally tells the Deseret News that she rarely fully outlines her stories before writing them because, she says, "It's in the writing that I discover the story." She is truly a gifted writer.


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Buzzer beater: Buggs' three-pointer lifts UTSA to victory over Middle Tennessee State
Posted on January 5, 2023 by Jerry Briggs
Jacob Germany (right) hugs teammate John Buggs III after Buggs hit the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in UTSA's 75-72 Conference USA victory over Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
First, UTSA guard John Buggs III won the game with a three-point shot at the buzzer, and then he nearly got mobbed on his homecourt.
Not to worry.
After Buggs drained the acrobatic jumper with a defender in his face to secure a 75-72 victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Thursday night, he turned and outran his teammates, who had come off the bench in hot pursuit.
Jacob Germany produced 23 points and 11 rebounds, helping the UTSA Roadrunners improve to 7-8 on the season and 1-3 in the C-USA. — Photo by Joe Alexander
He ran all the way off the floor and out of sight, somewhere on the south concourse of the Convocation Center.
"They were about to tackle me," Buggs said, smiling and shaking his head as he sat at the table in the interview room. "I was trying to get away from everybody, you know what I'm saying? It turned from one person into 17. It was crazy."
If officials had polled all the fans, they might have voted unanimously that the whole game was sort of crazy.
The Roadrunners entered the evening riding a three-game losing streak. They held an 0-3 record in Conference USA and were playing to keep their heads above water early in a 20-game schedule.
Moreover, all three of their C-USA losses were by 20 points or more.
The Roadrunners, however, put all of that behind them and played perhaps their best game of the season. At least, for the the first 32 minutes of the game, they did.
When DJ Richards knocked down a three with 8:19 remaining, it boosted UTSA into a 60-43 lead.
Middle Tennessee, a 26-11 team last season, refused to fold. The Blue Raiders mounted a charge that cut into the Roadrunners lead and made it a four-point game with 3:47 left.
Roadrunners point guard Japhet Medor attacked the paint and scored 19 to help defeat a Middle Tennessee team that dropped to 9-6 on the season and 2-2 in the C-USA. The Blue Raiders won 26 games last season. – Photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA continued to lead by four as the clock ticked under one minute. Subsequently, Middle Tennessee started taking it to the basket off of middle ball screens.
Driving layups by Jestin Porter and Eli Lawrence chopped the advantage to one. Lawrence was fouled on his drive and sank a free throw to tie it 72-all with 13 seconds left, prompting UTSA to call time.
Back on the floor, UTSA inbounded on the far end of the court, 94 feet away from the rim.
As Roadrunners point guard Japhet Medor dribbled across halfcourt, Jacob Germany popped out to set a screen. Medor tried to get past the defense but was cut off, so he stopped and tossed the ball outside the 3-point line to Buggs.
Buggs caught it, elevated in preparation to shoot and then nearly had to double-clutch his attempt as Middle Tennessee guard Camryn Weston ran past him to contest. It didn't matter. The shot was clean, swishing through the net at the buzzer.
"We ran a play for Japhet to get to the rim," Germany said. "I was kind of on the three-point line cause I slipped the screen. I was calling for the ball. I see Buggs running out of the corner of my eye.
"He catches it. Double clutch. It was great."
UTSA 7-8, 1-3
Middle Tennessee 9-6, 2-2
Western Kentucky at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
Letting it fly
First in a sequence of photos capturing the game-winning shot: John Buggs III launches the eventual winner as Middle Tennessee guard Camryn Weston (No. 24, at right) leaps to contest it. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Seeing daylight
Second in a sequence: UTSA's John Buggs finds an opening and follows through on his shot as Camryn Weston from Middle Tennessee turns to watch the flight of the ball. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Feeling the satisfaction
Third in a sequence: John Buggs watches the ball swish through the net to give UTSA its first C-USA victory of the season after three losses. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Middle Tennessee — Guard Eli Lawrence, 20 points on eight of 12 shooting. Guard Camryn Weston, 15, on five of 11 from the field. Jestin Porter, 12, on five of five shooting off the bench.
UTSA — Jacob Germany, 23 points and 11 rebounds. Germany hit nine of 14 afield. Japhet Medor, 19 points. John Buggs III, 11. DJ Richards, 11.
Germany hit four of seven shots from the field and scored 12 first-half points as UTSA surged to a 34-28 lead at intermission. Germany was active on both ends of the floor, snaring five rebounds including four on the defensive glass.
Medor also played well in the half, penetrating in the paint and scoring eight points. Forcing the action inside, Germany and Medor were a combined six for six from the free-throw line. Germany, with a height advantage on the Blue Raiders, was four for four.
Defensively, the Roadrunners did a good job on DeAndre Dishman, the Blue Raiders' leading scorer. Dishman, slowed by a combination of different looks from UTSA, including a variety of zone defenses, was scoreless on the half. He was zero for two from the field. Weston led Middle Tennessee in the half with seven points.
JB's video replay
Knocking down a buzzer-beater
John Buggs III hits a game-winning three at the buzzer. UTSA downs Middle Tennessee State, 75-72. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/t6VVXNG0NL
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) January 6, 2023
Alley-ooping to a teammate
Josh Farmer calls for the lob. DJ
Richards gives him one on the money. Farmer stuffs it. UTSA, playing well, leads Middle Tennessee, 62-46. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/SJeGxPJ5jT
Scoring in the paint
UTSA's Jacob Germany, running the floor, hitting an easy shot. Roadrunners, 27-25. Germany has 12 points. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/CX8l0B2zXB
This entry was posted in College basketball and tagged Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, UTSA Roadrunners by Jerry Briggs. Bookmark the permalink.


HERBERT I. SIGURDSSON "CHIEF STOGIE" Herbert I. Sigurdsson, 81, passed away peacefully at his home in Tacoma, Washington, on October 26, 2010. He was a lifelong resident of Tacoma and was a U.S. Navy Veteran and retired real estate agent. Private memorial services with full military honors have taken place at Punchbowl National Cemetery. Mountain View Funeral Home, Lakewood, Washington is in charge of arrangements.


According to The March of Dimes foundation, about one in every ten babies in the U.S. is born prematurely. A preemie is defined as a baby who is born earlier than 37 weeks. These little guys can come into the world with a low birth weight and a myriad of health problems. Some can even land in the NICU during their first hours of life (like the babes in this photo series). As scary as those statistics seem, a new portrait series shows that there is hope for early babies.
Red Methot is an artist from Quebec who decided to show that being born prematurely doesn't automatically equal a grim life. He took photographs of children and adults holding pictures of themselves as preemies for a series called "Les Premas." These photos show a stark contrast between the teeny babies of the past and the strong, happy people of the present.
Red says that the goal of this project is to showcase "portraits of people born prematurely that have sometimes had a difficult journey at the beginning of life." He hopes that by looking at these before and after images you can "see what they have become" and find inspiration from it. View more of Red's amazing work here.
What's your source of inspiration today? Share it in the comments!