Saved by a dog named Boo Boo

'Life gets better all the time. I know that now, but if someone had told me that six years ago, I wouldn't have believed them." So says Ian Galvin, chairman of Aurora Fashions Ireland.

And indeed, six years ago, life for this intelligent, articulate, sensitive and talented man seemed about to become just another car crash, another casualty of the high-octane world he inhabited. Alcohol, designer drugs,TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. then prescription drugs had brought him to a dark, low place. When he says he's been on a journey, he isn't exaggerating. That he is today sitting in the Morgan Hotel, with Boo Boo, his Cavalier King Charles spaniel, beside him, telling me about the next steps for the Karen Millen brand, is testimony to how far he's travelled, and the great bond that these days exists between him and the dog. It's a bond that may well have saved his life, certainly his sanity.

The journey began with a small boy growing up in Tramore, Waterford; serving Mass and helping in the family drapery shop, yet somehow always feeling he didn't fit. "I wasn't born with a stammer, but by the time I started school, it was there. I was dyslexic and dyspraxic, both of which had huge repercussions in terms of my self-esteem. The teacher would go round the class asking people to read, and I would make a mess of it, because I couldn't see the words. That kind of situation was torture. I was an anxious child, and I over-compensated for my nerves by becoming an over-achiever."

Very early on, Ian seems to have established the pattern that would come to dominate his life. He discovered he was good at running -- "I have no hand-eye coordination, but with running, I was on my own, there was no worrying about team mates or letting other people down" -- and that, with meticulous determination,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . he could overcome his limit-ations. He became self-reliant, driven and excessive. "Everything I went to do, I did it too much. I over-did it. I developed an addictive personality," he says now, somewhat wryly.

At first, the combination proved successful. An honours degree in Trinity, followed by a long stretch as buyer for Brown Thomas -- after the sad failure of the family business, for which he still clearly blames himself, despite acknowledging the difficult times that were Ireland in the 1980s -- during which he helped to transform the fashion landscape of the country. "This was pre-Riverdance," he tells me, still a little wistful. "U2 had happened, Sinead was young, there was a great energy everywhere.Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. I discovered the glamour world, I would get together with friends, and we would party. I was the first to bring Dolce and Gabbana into Ireland. I travelled loads, to Milan, London, New York. I met Donna Karan with Barbra Streisand. All of these things happened to me, and it was magical."

But along with the magic came mess. "The other side of it was that alcohol was everywhere, champagne was everywhere. And these led to glamour drugs, and I went on that journey as well. I got very into that whole scene. I was on a success spiral, but the old anxiety was always there. To anaesthetise it, I discovered that if I had a G&T or a bottle of wine, it quietened the anxiety down."

Into the heady mix entered Karen Millen. "I had previously met her through Brown Thomas, and we hit it off. In the early 2000s, she was looking for somebody in Ireland to take on the franchise, and I said I'd like to. Karen was then in an early part of her career, I was looking for a business of my own." It was a marriage made in fashion heaven. The brand grew rapidly, gaining droves of devoted followers as well as considerable profile, and Ian, in response to the new demands of his career,Bathroom floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. kicked the 'party drugs', as he calls them. "I kicked them myself. It wasn't hard. But the alcohol I never kicked. This country is awash with it anyway." Karen Millen sold her business to Mosaic, and Ian became chairman of Mosaic Ireland. At the time, it comprised Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Whistles. It was a long way from the challenges of growing up gay, dyslexic, with a stammer, in 1980s Waterford. "Life was good," is how he puts it.

However, unknown to Ian, he was by then in the grip of an illness that would cause him to collapse, without warning, at Georgina Ahern and Nicky Byrne's wedding in the south of France. "I had gone from 12 and a half stone to eight stone," he says now. "I was very sick, but I hadn't realised." Treated by Dr Fiona Mulcahy and her "amazing" team at St James's Hospital, he did a six-month course of chemotherapy to stabilise his condition.

After his treatment, he encountered prescription drugs.Rubiks cubepuzzle. "Xanax is hugely addictive, and I already have an addictive personality. This led to a whole route of benzodiazepines, and I quickly found myself completely hooked. I was taking a whole cocktail of stuff. People would think I was drunk, but I wasn't, I'd just taken a pill."

At this point, the story could so easily have tailed off into the devastating cycles of recovery and relapse, in ever-decreasing circles, that characterise so many addicts' lives. Somehow, Ian has been spared that. Some inner grace forced him to confront what was happening. "I had to put my hands up. I knew I needed help. I said to my company, 'I need time off'." The admission was, he says now, "a huge relief. I asked for help. I'd never asked for help before, it was always my way or no way. But I had tried every which way to get a grip on life, and I couldn't do it."

Creativity can change young lives

Several years ago, I was employed by York Arts in ArtWorks!, a public-service project for teenagers on probation. For several months, the group worked on community and individual assignments -- beginning with the destruction of a room full of tiles.

I will always remember the look of gleeful disbelief as they were handed safety goggles and hammers and told to pound away at the stacks of tile that needed smashing for their mosaics. Or the faint hope expressed briefly in tough faces as they held up their works in progress which were always met with much-needed praise.

As the weeks passHeat recovery ventilators including domestic home ventilationsyste.ed, Kevin Lenker, the executive director in charge of the project, deftly guided these young men and women through the process of creation, its inner mysteries teaching patience and discipline and ultimately revealing some of the hidden potential within the broken pieces of their lives that encouraged seeking restoration for their crimes.

Sadly,We looked everywhere, but couldn't find any beddinges. programs like these are often the last to receive funding during times of economic downturn. Many of us rationalize that we must be logical and provide the necessities of life first. While I agree to a certain extent, it is the artistic expression -- paintings, music and the written word -- that will hearten us through the hard times and help us to find a hope for the future.

Share the timeless spark of creation with a young man and his pen can bring forth stories of entertainment and wisdom. Teach a child music and you give her the power to transform muteness into melody. Give a few kids broken tile and glass and they will bless a community with a new vision.

Within the Parkway Housing Authority lies the "Peace in Our Community" mosaic assembled by the staff and volunteers of York Arts. The montage of colorful pieces depicts three angels who appear to be keeping guard over the residents of York County. On a recent visit, I stood in the cold air, the glow of house lights and the angels' countenances seeming to mix into a mirage of heaven. Through a drizzle, we regarded one another with mutual understanding.

I closed my eyes and an image formed in my mind of a group of young people standing in the grass, in the middle of the darkness, hands in the grout, placing piece after piece of tile into the mold, making this mosaic to inspire, to encourage, or even change a life. Little earth angels, filled with the joy of doing what they love. There are many young people like this in York today.

When I was growing up the local art scene was dismally empty. Except for a few brave high school teachers and local professionals sounding the clarion call, and mostly for dance and music, anyone interested in pursuing creative endeavors was left largely abandoned. To the young dreamer, helpless without a craft,3rd minigame series of magiccube! the shifting sands of life amid the demands to conform to a future I couldn't envision seemed impossible to manage. And so I left York. I moved to New York City to live and breathe the expansive creative world in that City of Dreams.

But by the time I returned to York, enter left stage, venues like York Arts; DreamWrights, welcoming families into that lemon-yellow, unpretentious slice of joy and wonder; OrangeMite Studios, where original plays and films are scripted and directed by local artists; the YCPrep Community School offering top notch musical instruction; and closest to my heart,Silicone moldmaking Rubber, the Professional Writing program at York College, where my own earth angels -- Dr. Madeline Yonker, Dr.It's pretty cool but our ssolarpanel are made much faster than this. Dominic Delli Carpini, Professor Cynthia Crimmins and Dr. Anthony Fredericks shared their tools and further helped me find my voice.

Modern families

It’s always a pleasant surprise when I take a break, sink into my living room couch, turn the television on—and find that one of my favorite comedy shows, Modern Family, is airing.We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design

Sixty-something Jay has two grown children, Claire and Mitchell, from a previous marriage. Jay is now married to Colombian Gloria who is about half his age. Gloria has a son, Manny, from her own previous marriage but Jay has taken over and treats Manny as his own child.

Claire is a wife in the suburbs; her husband Phil works in real estate and always tries to be a cool dad. They deal with the challenges of raising two teenage daughters and a younger son.

Mitchell is a gay lawyer who lives with his partner,We are the largest producer of projectorlamp products here. Cam. They have adopted a girl from Vietnam.UK chickencoop Specialist.

The characters are constantly brought together by traditional occasions like Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, crises, and simply by their familial ties.We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design The conflict situations bring to fore their issues both trivial and profound.

In the end, the problem is resolved and everybody feels warm and fuzzy towards everybody else.

Why am I talking about my favorite comedy? News of the celebration of the World Meeting of Families, this year held in Milan, Italy, has captured my attention. The Web site catholic.org defines the “fundamental identity” of the family—“a communion of love founded upon marriage and called to be a shrine of life, a small Church, a cell of society.”

Statements, too, that the proposals for reproductive health, divorce and especially same-sex marriages threaten the integrity and sanctity of the family disturb—and anger—me greatly.

Indeed the word “family” has been used and misused too many times. Yes, it is the basic unit of society. Yes, it is sacred. But how is family to be defined? Is it a structure, or something more substantive? If it is not founded in marriage, is it not a family anymore?

In elementary school, we learned that families are either nuclear or extended. Nuclear is when there is a mother and a father and a child or children. Extended families include grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and others.

Since then,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . however, we have become exposed to many other arrangements that may not necessarily fit into either of the molds taught us as children.

The migrant-worker phenomenon has given rise to a generation of children growing up without one or both parents. The kids are instead cared for by relatives, with only pictures, voice recordings, monthly remittances and the packages of chocolates and rubber shoes as a reminder of their parents’ presence. The Internet seems to have bridged this gap—but “seems” is the operative word.

There are single-parent families due to separations—or to the absence of a formal union to begin with.

In contrast, we have heard tales of married couples putting up a show of togetherness when they in fact have grown apart and have ceased to bring each other happiness.

See many wives enduring an abusive —physical, verbal or otherwise—relationship for fear of the social stigma attached to being a “broken” family.

See many dutiful husbands, providing well for their families, driving their wives to and from church, doing errands left and right—but leading a double life by having a lover, or a string of flings on the side.

And yet these same people pooh-pooh the prospect of recognizing the union of same-sex couples, deriding it as “unnatural” and an insult to the sacrament. Pray, tell, how can two consenting adults in a committed, monogamous, loving relationship be any worse than a heterosexual couple where one or both habitually violate the covenants of trust and respect?

These are the same people who proclaim that the family is sacred, that its integrity is inviolable. They think they know what is best for you, or judge you for making the choices you did. In fact, they are talking above their heads.

Yes, the family is threatened—but not by divorce, by the availability of reproductive health options, not by homosexual unions and other so-called controversial measures.

Keeping the lines of communication well and truly open

For David Mills, who runs the design agency Haughton Design, getting involved at the early stages is critical for everybody concerned.

"Very early in the process, we talk to the toolmaker, the moulder and even the automation people," he says.

This close collaboration can lead to more creative solutions to product problems. He cites a recent example, for a part that demanded a consistent moulding with no warpage or internal stress.

"We got an additives supplier involved and added a blowing agent to the material," he says.

When the material was injected, the mould fill was slightly short - but the blowing agent helped to expand the material, which completed the filling.

"We lost some aesthetics, but this wasn't important," he says. "The customer wanted function over final finish. The idea for the blowing agent came through the collaboration."

Getting everybody around the table at an early stage builds mutual trust, fosters the sharing of ideas and ensures that clashes between design and manufacture are avoided.

"Industrial designers can get very possessive if a project stays in the design phase for too long," he says. "If they're constantly talking to the moulder, they are more willing to change the design at this early stage - which makes it easier to mould at the end."

This is not to say that designs should deliberately be simplified for the sake of manufacturing. Mills is different to most design agency bosses, in that his background is in manufacturing rather than design. But he says that the designer's flair and creativity must be balanced with practicality.

"Manufacturers sometimes ask for designs that are dead simple to mould,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . so they can knock out parts like they're shelling peas," he says. "But you need a balance,Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. otherwise you get boring products with no style or aesthetic appeal."

An example might be to avoid using a mould with side cores,Bathroom floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. which would add cost and complexity to a project. But, says Mills,TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China.Rubiks cubepuzzle. the effects of a side core mould can be reproduced by taking a pragmatic approach to cost.

Instead of designing a mould with side cores, he suggests using a simple mould with manual inserts. This is more time consuming, but can slash costs.

"In many ways, it can also be more flexible," he says.

Other post-processing operations - traditionally shunned because they are "too expensive" – can also make sense. Drilling holes in a part may sound like a return to the dark ages, but it can be cheaper and more effective than a sophisticated mould that puts the holes in from the start.

In a high volume project, the cost of the mould is minimal next to that of the automation needed for assembly; but for a low volume project, the mould cost is brought into sharp focus - so a simplified mould is often the answer.

"People are becoming more open to using plastics for lower volumes," he says.

He cites a recent example: Terrafix, which was using steel casings for its medical touch screens, did not believe that plastic mouldings were feasible for runs of below 500. Haughton helped it to switch to plastics, which saved around 90% in costs and added plenty of aesthetic appeal.

"The soft aluminium mould was paid off in the first run," says Mills.

This project followed Haughton's usual principles of getting everybody involved. But a failure to communicate has actually benefited the company, because it recently launched a 'design rescue' service.

"We'd been getting quite a lot of work, asking us to help out with designs that were not working," says Mills. "It was usually at the point where a toolmaker let out a scream of horror when they saw what they were being asked to produce."

Pain-free injections sound like a fantastic idea, and it's one that designer Oliver Blackwell has gone some way to solving. In collaboration with David Berger, a former GP, he has designed a device that delivers a tiny shot of anaesthetic before the main injection.

First Female Olympian from Qatar to Compete

The Olympics are set to open July 27 in London. Special preparations are being made throughout the urban center, and the city will soon be swamped with thousands of competitors and spectators eager to watch the games. Among those excited for the beginning of the athletic tradition is Noor al-Malki, an athlete from Qatar.

Noor runs the 100-meter dash and will be the first female athlete to represent Qatar in the Olympics. The Guardian reports that the athlete runs the sprint distance in just under 13 seconds, which is not a time that will place Noor anywhere near winning a medal, compared with record times under 11 seconds. Instead, the goal of the Qatar government and Noor herself is to get the country on the map and to stand for Muslim women playing sports on the international stage. She will be joined by two other athletes, Nada Arkaji, a swimmer, and Bahia al-Hamad,Choose from our large selection of cableties, a rifle shooter.

Qatar’s vision and intiative took some wrangling. They had to convince the Olympic officials to include Noor in order to open up the stage for Qatari representation. The stance taken by Qatar also differs sharply from Saudi Arabia, which has denied women the space to play Olympic sports. Many commentators had expected Saudi Arabia to follow Qatar’s example in sending female athletes to the Olympics this year, but the head of the Saudi Olympic games committee stated, “At present, we are not embracing any female Saudi participation in the Olympics or other international championships.UK chickencoop Specialist.”

In the 2008 summer Olympics held in Beijing,Why does mouldengineeringsolution grow in homes or buildings? Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia were the only three countries that failed to send female athletes to compete. Both Qatar and Brunei are sending contestants this year.Find everything you need to know about kidneystones including causes, Human Rights Watch has noted that Saudi Arabia does not allow women to play most sports, even within the confines of schools.

Women have faced an uphill battle throughout the history of the Olympic games in every country. Female athletes started to compete in the Paris Olympics in 1900 on a limited basis. Women’s weightlifting was not even on the Olypmic docket until 2000 when it made its debut. Sprint running,It's pretty cool but our ssolarpanel are made much faster than this. like the sport Noor competes in, was banned for women between 1928 and 1960 because women were considered too feeble to complete the 800-meter sprint.

Even countries which have been sending women to the Olympic games for a number of years, such as India, are only now sending new female athletes to compete for the first time in certain sports. For example, Geeta Phogat is the first Indian female athlete in wrestling to qualify for the Olympics.

Her athletic prowess and abilities are often considered unfeminine in her local community. Phogat has stated that many community members “said nobody will marry us because we would have disfigured ears,” the Times of India reports.

Phogat and Noor al-Malki are breaking traditional molds of femininity which include marriage and children at a relatively young age. They are also breaking Olympic traditions which have been weighted against female athletes throughout the decades. Avery Brundage, a well-known president of the IOC in the 1950s and 60s allowed that women could do sports “of all kinds” but only under “the proper supervision.” This type of thinking has clearly affected women’s participation and chances in the Olympic Games, even in recent years.

Bringing down the Bellemont

Highway 190 on Baton Rouge's north side, among the rundown grocery stores and pawn shops, sits a relic of the neighborhood's once-glorious past. The Bellemont Motor Lodge. "Luxury accommodations for discriminating guests," is how its owners described it back in the day.

And The Bellemont was, if nothing else, luxurious. Crystal chandeliers, marble floors, and antique and French provincial furniture set the standard in affluence. In the 1950's through the 1970's, The Bellemont was the first and last name in Elegance. Today, the old hotel is falling in on itself, and it sets a new standard – one for austerity and decay.

Earlier this month, Bare Knuckles Field Services began tearing down the seven-building complex for The Bellemont's current owners. Today, the complex looks like the set of a tornado movie -- bricks and rubble piled two stories high. It's hot, sweaty work, and to hear Bare Knuckles boss Patrick Jeansonne tell it, "You either got to love it, or you got to hate it."

Love and hate might be the best way to describe how folks who remember The Bellemont feel about what is happening to her.

Even though Jeansonne is bringing down The Bellemont, it's a job he's regretting.What are hemorrhoids? He has his own memories of the hotel. "I stayed here twice," he says.We looked everywhere, but couldn't find any beddinges. The most memorable was Valentine's Day 1989. He stocked a room with stuffed animals, balloons, can champagne then carried his then-wife across the threshold of a first-floor room.Silicone moldmaking Rubber,

Twenty-three years later, that building was the first one he knocked down. "A lot of people say, ‘That's where you and your ex-wife stayed, and that's the first building you took down?'" he chuckles. "Well see it how you may."

On the other side of the property, Becky Ford is racing to save a little bit of history. Hers is also a hot, sweaty task, crawling over rock piles bigger than her house, grilling Bare Knuckle workers about what's left. "The pool is there, but the building is gone," one tells her of The Bellemont's signature suite, The Pan American Room.

"No! Really!" Ford had hoped to scavenge the room of souvenirs – a scrap of paper, an old logo – anything that tells the Bellemont's story. With that news, she settles for picking her way through the main building.

The glass in the front doors is busted out, probably by the homeless or drug dealers Jensonne say he and his crew have run off nearly every day since they arrived on site. Dust and mud cover the green Italian marble floors in the main entry and water rains from a hole in the roof. The front desk sits much as it did the day The Bellemont closed. A roster on the floor shows that "Miss A" left at one. It does not say if she returned.

Built in 1946, by A.C. Lewis II, The Bellemont quickly became the place to see and be seen. It's friendly staff and lush rooms attracted attention from around the country.Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. "They were known, over time, as a place where Carey Grant stayed, Jane Fonda stayed." says Ford. She refuses to call herself an expert on the old hotel. Since hearing it was coming down, she's read everything she can get her hands on. "If you were filming a movie and came through Baton Rouge, and needed a place to stay, The Bellemont was where you went.

Dan Williams remembers shaking John Wayne's hand in the hall while working one day.Zenith manufactures a comprehensive range of rubbersheets. "His hand wrapped all the way around mine."

Williams worked in the hotel's maintenance department from 1969 to 1982. He also remembers the splendor of The Bellemont's lounge, Magnolia Room, in its heyday. Real leather chairs, a padded bar, glass chandelier, and a party every night that boasted the best in local and national entertainment.

Today, the chandelier lays broken on the floor amid construction debris and parts of the ceiling. "Looks just like garbage," Williams says. "It was a beautiful place and they let it run down like this.

Ford wanders into The Magnolia Room with a copy of an old newspaper article. "That's the bar from the picture!" The picture in her hand shows a bar that spans one end of the room. Above the bar, a hand-painted mural of jazz musicians spans the back wall. The room is filled with neatly arranged tables and chairs.

Finding faith behind bars

Schapelle Corby and the Bali nine illustrate once again that prison galvanises issues of faith for the incarcerated.

The phenomenon of the conversion of the jailed illustrates some of the good attributes of faith. The finding of faith by those imprisoned is a trend used by adherents to press the claims of faith as a superior source of moral guidance. Are these claims fair or froth?

There is a long tradition of prisoners in the US, particularly those charged with serious and/or capital crimes, of embracing faith with a tenacity that flies in the face of their previous behaviour. Those who were once either evil or godless or both suddenly embrace faith. What causes this phenomenon and what can we learn?

Let us commence in the tropical idyll of Bali. Very quickly after their arrest,Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. members of the Bali nine publicly embraced faith. Andrew Chan, alleged hard man of the group and now facing a death sentence, had a mystical experience early in his jail time and is now studying at a Bible college. He is a committed Christian with a worldwide correspondence with other inmates concerned with faith.

Of course, pleas in mitigation have been premised on the Bali nine's new-found godly ardour. Indeed, their prison conversion is explicitly cited as a ground for mercy.

However, this conversion seems to those who observe it strangely genuine and to me it appears plausible. It appears more than just another tactic for the defence.

Over in the women's section of Kerobokan prison, faith is playing a more ambiguous role. In recent days, after the controversial shortening of Corby's prison sentence, the ABC has reported that prisTBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China.on governor Ngurah Wiratna has said Corby would need to be actively religious and he has never seen her praying during his time as governor.

Regardless of whether his assessment of Corby's prayerfulness is correct, it is clear he feels that prayer is part of her rehabilitation. Such views are not rare. Robust faith, whatever it is, seems to be widely appreciated as an integral part of the process of repentance.

What is being played out in Kerobokan prison, home away from home for too many Aussies, is a common phenomenon.

Famous born-again Christians include Watergate bad boy Charles Colson, whose mid-life conversion led him to found the charity Prison Fellowship and spend the rest of his life evangelising and collecting honours and accolades.This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china .

The mass murderer David Berkowitz, better known as the Son of Sam, is a born-again Christian who refuses to attend parole because he now feels he deserves to be punished. This is an insight most of us would agree with: three cheers for faith.

Several explanations for this phenomenon stand out. I hear you exclaim: "Don't be sucked in, Dick! It is all a ruse on advice from lawyers for the defence." This is not necessarily so, as the Berkowitz example shows.

First, the stress and despair that all prisoners must suffer are emotions associated with the mystical experience. The psychologists Daniel Batson and Larry Ventis argued that there was often a staged approach that distress could lead to first existential questioning, then self-surrender and finally the religious vision.

Prisoners facing dire consequences would fit within this model, thereby becoming more prone to the religious experience. Melancholy calls forth reflection, which in turn could well lead to many of the prison conversions being quite genuine. That does not make them genuine revelations by God, merely genuine emotions not guided by counsel for the defence.

A second motivation is that the robust morality that underpins many faiths is seen by both guards and prisoners as a simple and inspiring path to moral values. Religious morality is often inspired by noble motives such as sacrifice, gratitude, mercy and grace. Faiths also draw on rousing stories of sinners redeemed and saints persevering.

Finally, religions package their morality so well that we atheists can only look on in awe, wonder and jealousy. Faiths seem to have a natural advantage when it comes to formulating an easily digestible ethic with a supernatural enforcement system. We all feel this truth in our waters, and most prisoners seem to see this.

Simple faith can help modify behaviour. The success of AA, a faith-based behaviour modification system, corroborates this claim.

Now I don't argue that one needs God to be good. Quite the reverse. Religious societies, such as America,Silicone moldmaking Rubber, often have high crime rates,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . while quite secular societies, such as Japan, often have low crime rates.