pimblr.com

Mothers are great, kind and generous. They’re loving and supportive. They’re genuine.
You’ve heard that before, perhaps felt it in your lifetime and most definitely read it on a greeting card.
As a result, I’ve struggled the past few days to organize my thoughts about mothers and motherhood.
My thinking, nevertheless, led me to pondering my own mother and reflecting on time we’ve passed together.
There was the day when I was a young boy, riding in the car with Mom, who began to make funny faces at passing cars in an attempt to make me laugh. It worked. She made herself goofy, caring not about her own possible embarrassment, for my benefit. I realized then how cool my mom was, and I’ll never forget that beautiful moment.
Another time, we drove to the city to see a movie, an experience that was a rare and big deal for kids in rural areas with no movie theaters. And so it was a rare, big deal for me to go to a movie with my cool mom.
My mother did many fun things with me, but she also made decisions in raising me that, as I consider them in adulthood, couldn’t have been easy.
As a thrill seeker whose friends were allowed to take their bikes down our dirt road and across the nearest paved road, I once felt it was time for me to expand my permissible roaming area. Until then, I was not allowed to cross Johnson Road without an adult.
“But Mom, I’m 9 years old,” I declared. What I don’t remember is if she laughed in my face, as maybe she should have. What I do remember is she granted my request. She must have wrestled with the question in her own mind and decided, hesitantly, to let me have a little more independence. Now a parent, I can relate to that hold-your-breath feeling she must have had when I took off on my bike. That afternoon, she let go a little.

battlecreekenquirer.com

(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 01, 2008 ) Free printable Mother’s Day cards Availbe in Both Printable and E Card Formats
San Francisco, California - May 1, 2008 — KeepandShare.com ( http://www.keepandshare.com ) today announced its free online free printable mother’s day cards resource center. The free Mother’s Day Cards center offers easy online Mother’s Day cards and Mother’s Day cards that are in both printable and e card formats. The printable Mother’s Day cards are all in gorgeou, high-res PDF formats that can be downloaded for free. Every card is also available for immediate delivery as an online digital e card.
KeepandShare’s free free printable mother’s day cards online web center is available now at:
“I always had difficulty using the web for Mother’s Day cards that are in both printable and e card formats.,” said Christina Johnson of Phoenix, Arizona. “But now that KeepandShare provides free printable mother’s day cards I’m ready to rock.” Christina continued “I’ll try using easy online Mother’s Day cards and Mother’s Day Cards as soon as I get home and fire up my new laptop computer. Mom will be proud of me!”
“Why not use the Internet to let Mom know you love her? That’s what I say,” said Eps Marcus of Phoenix, Arizona. “I have this great color printer at home. I’m going to use it to print a card out ahead of time and mail it. But I’m also going to send a personal ecard on Mother’s Day itself. I want her to know I’m thinking of Mom, and all she did for me. “
KeepandShare.com is the free website that makes group sharing easy. KeepandShare’s free secure file and calendar sharing accounts can be accessed securely from any Internet connected computer. The new free free printable mother’s day cards resource center joins several other popular Mothers Day centers at:

emailwire.com

Film listings are edited by Cheryl Eddy. Reviewers are Heidi Atwal, Kimberly Chun, Michelle Devereaux, Max Goldberg, Dennis Harvey, Johnny Ray Huston, Maria Komodore, Lynn Rapoport, Sara Schieron, Jason Shamai, and Matt Sussman. The film intern is Jennique Mason. For rep house showtimes, see Rep Clock. For first-run showtimes, see Movie Clock at sfbg.com.
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival runs through Thurs/9. Venues are the Castro, 429 Castro, SF; Clay, 2261 Fillmore, SF; Kabuki, 1881 Post, SF; and Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft, Berk. Tickets (most shows $12.50) are available by calling (925) 866-9559 or at www.sffs.org. All times p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Clay Big Man Japan 4:15. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon 6:45. Timecrimes 9:45.
Kabuki Calavera Highway 1. Mongol 2:15. Medicine for Melancholy 3:30. Latent Argentina 4. Dust 4:15. My Winnipeg 5. Sleep Dealer 6:15. Ballast 6:30. Vasermil 7. Scott Arford: Static Life 7:15. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans 9. Valse Sentimentale 9:15. La Zona 9:30. Not By Chance 9:45.
PFA Recycle 6:30. Wonderful Town 8:45.
Castro Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 7.
Clay Orz Boyz 5:45. The Art of Negative Thinking 8:15.
Kabuki Children of the Sun 1:30. American Teen 3. Secrecy 3:15. All Is Forgiven 4. Glasses 5. Big Man Japan 5:15. Flower in the Pocket 6. The Secret of the Grain 7:15. The Man from London 7:30. Shadows in the Palace 7:45. Umbrella 8:30.
PFA Calavera Highway 6:30. Up the Yangtze 8:55.
The Favor The Favor delivers its familiar refrain about the family we make being the family we keep with all the assuredness and innocuousness of an ABC original movie. Lawrence Hull (Frank Hood) is a schlubby pet photographer who is left to raise 16-year-old wild child Johnny (The O.C.’s Ryan Donowho) after his mother is killed in a freak accident. Lawrence and Johnny’s newly minted relationship is subject to the usual barrage of troubled teen slings and arrows: substance abuse, truancy, and an all-around communication breakdown. But harsh words eventually give way to tears, and the two men at this story’s core deliver both with enough credibility to let the film’s genuine sweetness shine through its most clichéd passages. (1:32) Red Vic. (Sussman)

sfbg.com

As a nation, we observe and participate in various national cultural and social awareness events through mass media attention and educational curriculum. However, we have not allocated appropriate recognition of the most important presence in the world today, an entity that impacts each and every American in a significant way, the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
National Military Appreciation Month, as designated by Congress, provides a period encompassing both the history and recognition of our armed services with an in-depth look at the diversity of its individuals and achievements. It allows Americans to educate each generation on the historical impact of our military through the participation of the community with those who serve encouraging patriotism and love for America.
The month of May gives the nation a time and place on which to focus and draw attention to our many expressions of appreciation and recognition of our armed services via numerous venues and also to recall and learn about our fast American history. National Military Appreciation Month (May 2008) includes Loyalty Day (1st), VE Day (8th), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (9th), Armed Forces Day (17th) and Memorial Day (26th). This very important month honors, remembers, recognizes and appreciates all military personnel; those men and women who have served throughout our history and all who now serve in uniform and their families as well as those Americans who have given their lives in defense of our freedoms we all enjoy today.
It recognizes those on active duty in all branches of the services, the National Guard and Reserves plus retirees, veterans, and all of their families - well over 90 million Americans and more than 230 years of our nation’s history. Let us celebrate them just as we celebrate the other important entities that make up this wonderful country of ours.

zwire.com

Tips to generate sales
With Mother’s Day almost here the Google AdWords Blog has some tips on converting procrastinators into customers.
Google says to create ad groups with keywords and ad text aimed specifically at Mother’s Day. Keywords to use include "mother’s day gifts" and "mother’s day gift ideas."
The AdWords Blog recommends writing "compelling ad text that features the products you offer on your web site. This invites shoppers interested in those products to click through, and prevents clicks from shoppers who aren’t interested."
The company also suggests promoting gift cards as an option for Mother’s Day. Close to 40 percent of shoppers will purchase a gift card for their mom this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Google says gift cards are delivered faster than standard packages.
Other things to do include," Extend shipping deadlines. You can convert more last-minute shoppers into customers by offering delivery options, such as overnight delivery, and free or discounted shipping. Also, it’s important to clearly inform buyers of delivery deadlines on your home page as well as on specific product pages."
Google also says to highlight gift-wrapping if you have it and to offer shoppers alternative payment options, like Google Checkout.

webpronews.com

If you’re a hospital patient and a doctor refers to you as a “rock” it’s probably not a compliment, but try not to take offense if a nurse mutters “S.O.B.” in describing your condition.
Those are just two examples of the common slang and shorthand that reveal one of medicine’s little secrets: Doctors and nurses gossip just like anyone else, and they’re not above gossiping about the patients they serve.
Some of the jargon is harmless or even useful; for instance, “S.O.B.” usually is an acronym for “shortness of breath.”
But medical educators are trying to curtail the use of more callous language that can lead doctors to think of their patients as obstacles to overcome, rather than human beings deserving of empathy.
Medical residents tend to pick up such terms quickly during training, and many said the lingo ranges from humorous to downright nasty. A patient not in obvious need of surgery may get the tag “lgfd”—short for “looks good from the door.”
But a “rock” describes someone whose condition never seems to get better or worse, creating a hassle for doctors who often see their job as moving patients smoothly through the system.
“It’s implying that these human lives, these suffering people, are no more than mere insults to you,” said Dr. John Schumann, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center who tries to prevent medical students from adopting crude habits of speech.
Medical slang always is changing, but doctors say many of the terms in current use appeared a generation ago, when residents routinely endured seemingly endless shifts and a crushing workload that was supposed to prepare them for the rigors of medical practice.
Some residents said they still pick up slang terms from the influential 1978 novel “The House of God,” one doctor’s fictionalized account of the absurdity and emotional churn of medical training. One of the most infamous words that book introduced was “gomer,” short for “Get Out of My Emergency Room”—an epithet usually reserved for elderly patients with difficult, chronic illnesses.

chicagotribune.com

“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” a character chortles “in his joy” in Lewis Carroll’s poem, “Jabberwocky.” Thursday promises to be a “frabjous day,” launching the first national Poem in Your Pocket Day, which New York has celebrated since 2002.
Join in by carrying a poem in your pocket and pausing to read it during the day. Copy down poems for friends and family, too. The American Academy of Poets at www.poets.org makes it easy by providing short poems to print out. It’s all part of April’s National Poetry Month, for which you’ll find 30 more ideas and activities at the Web site.
Invite children to celebrate the day and month. Lewis Carroll’s poem is a perfect place to start with the stunning picture book version illustrated by Christopher Myers, titled Jabberwocky. Myers re-imagines the poem by setting it on an urban street. Readers, told to “Beware the Jabberwock,” see a huge basketball player who takes on a much smaller hero in a game of one-on-one. The vivid, angular pictures give the famous poem a new twist.
For elementary school — and even middle school — readers who like their poetry and pictures humorous, two new collections will have them chortling. Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky has paired up with the incomparable illustrator, James Stevenson, to create My Dog May Be a Genius. Bouncing rhymes and light-hearted themes prevail throughout the 150 pages from this popular poet. Stevenson’s droll sketches add to the humor. The combination will win fans even among children who think they don’t like poetry
Similar in theme and even more outrageous in humor is Alan Katz’s Oops!, with drawings by Edward Koren. Underpants make their appearance on the first page and bathroom humor emerges often in the hundred-plus pages of verse. Scruffy, cheerful characters by Koren, the erstwhile Brown University art professor whose cartoons appear in The New Yorker, extend the jokes. Many children already love Katz’s earlier Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs, which sets funny words to well-known tunes.

projo.com

By Aida Sevilla-Mendoza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
SIX years ago, Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) introduced an out-of-town driving excursion and competition called the Isuzu Challenge to demonstrate the versatility and fuel efficiency of its vehicles. The Isuzu Challenge soon became a much-anticipated annual event for motoring journalists and Isuzu vehicle owners alike.
Lately, IPC has expanded participation in its out-of-town driving events to include the lifestyle as well as the motoring media. IPC’s recent “Great Drive, Great Life” two-day happening, for example, had trendy lifestyle outdoor activities on the agenda such as trap shooting, cruising aboard a yacht around Subic Bay, horseback riding and sailing as well as the usual driving skill contest of an off-road slalom course and river crossing with the 2008 Isuzu Alterra.
Apparently, IPC is presenting its flagship model, the Alterra, in a new light. Strong, durable, reliable, all-terrain and fuel-efficient, yes, but also comfortable, smooth, on-street driveable and well-suited for long family trips and leisure activities. Since the Alterra is built on the same platform as the Global D-Max and is powered by the same engine, it inevitably acquired the rough-and-ready image of a made-over pickup truck rather than a family-friendly sport utility vehicle. IPC is trying to balance that image.
Anyway, more than any other truck-based SUV, the Alterra is equipped with on-board entertainment facilities and safety features to make long hauls out of town relaxing, enjoyable and safe for families with small children. Dominating the dashboard is a new JVC DVD/ tuner with 3.5-inch monitor, Dolby digital decoder, iPod and Bluetooth wireless capability, 5.1-channel digital surround 10-speakers system with a slim-design, detachable 180-watt pre-Amp subwoofer at the back. Second row passengers can watch a DVD movie via dual 7-inch LCD screens with tilting function mounted on the backs of the front headrests.
On a trip to Clark with a professional driver at the wheel, I sat in the back and was able to enjoy the entertainment offered by the Alterra’s DVD system. The DVD I viewed was a Wallace & Grommit movie. Driving the Alterra myself on another day toward Makati, I watched a DVD movie on the life of Bobby Darin — but to play it safe, I only looked at the in-dash monitor whenever traffic crawled to a full stop, which happens often on the South Luzon Expressway.

blogs.inquirer.net

It was a bright idea back when the Lee County Resource Recovery facility was built in 1994 and it is looking even smarter today. For 14 years, the facility has provided reliable waste disposal services, processing over 5 million tons of waste into enough energy to power 40,000 homes every day.
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign oil to create renewable energy, the facility has offset over 5 million tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere.
Annually, we also recycle over 13,000 tons of metals both ferrous and nonferrous from being landfilled. So, by reducing the amount of waste going into landfills, the Lee County Resource Recovery facility works every day to help create a sustainable environment. And that’s important because Earth Day should be celebrated every day.
Facility Business Manager
Covanta Energy Lee
Re: “Southwest Florida Sells,” Mark Marymont, Real Estate section, April 17. The story featured photo of a Bonita Springs resident relaxing with a book during an October visit to a “picturesque,” umbrella-covered Fort Myers Beach, cluttered with commercial beach chairs and sunbathers.
Two trends have become clear:
1. People love to have places to take their pets;
2. There’s a growing interest in homes that conserve or at least make better use of natural resources.
Now, these are conflicting ideas for Sanibel. Creating a dog park attraction on city conservation land, such as being petitioned for Algiers Public Beach, seems oppositional to appropriate use of the island’s natural resources.
Property owners are increasingly aware of native landscape values, and working to reduce water pollutants and invasive vegetation. Public lands are committed to be shared with wildlife habitat uses. Zoning of Sanibel Bay and Gulf beaches permits only passive recreation and conservation uses.
Both the 1976 Sanibel Land Use Plan, which established zoning to preserve natural systems, and, the 1995 Vision Statement, recently passed by Sanibel voters for inclusion in the City Charter, provide Sanibel homeowners basic protections from threats of human over-uses and commercialization of Sanibel’s natural beaches.

news-press.com

Bridge Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: BBNK), whose subsidiary is Bridge Bank, National Association, one of the best performing full-service business banks in California and the Nation, announced today that Thomas M. Quigg has been named Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors. Mr. Quigg has been a director of the Company and Bank since August 2001.
“Tom has been an especially active and valued member of the Board. His many years of experience as a banker, entrepreneur, and member of a number of private and public boards have served the bank well as Bridge Bank has grown rapidly since our launch in 2001,” said Allan C. Kramer, M.D., Chairman of Bridge Capital Holdings and Bridge Bank, N.A. “As Vice Chairman, Tom will become more active in leading the work of our various board committees to enhance our commitment to corporate governance and board best practices. He has been and will continue to be an outstanding resource for both me and Bridge Bank as we grow in the future.”
Mr. Quigg spent most of his career at Bank of America N.T. & S.A. and its various subsidiaries spanning a nearly four-decade career. Most recently, Mr. Quigg was Chairman, CEO and President of Bank of America’s Federal Savings Bank subsidiary, and in that capacity managed all day-to-day operations. Under his leadership during a six-year period through 1999, the bank grew to over $4 billion in size through rapid acquisitions of another savings and loan company, a national manufactured housing business, and three regional mortgage banking companies.
Previously, Mr. Quigg served as Managing Director of the Bank of America’s High Technology Practice, where he was responsible for worldwide management of that function, including marketing to the Silicon Valley venture capital community. Mr. Quigg’s unit served a full spectrum of companies ranging from newly emerging ventures to Fortune 100 companies. Mr. Quigg’s top-level executive positions with Bank of America included Division Executive Officer of International investment and Private Banking from 1987 to 1989, Chief Administrative Officer of the World Banking Group from 1982 to 1987, and Regional Senior Vice President of North America Division in Houston, Texas. At the start of his career, he was a lending and administrative officer at various retail branches operated by Bank of America throughout the State of California.

money.cnn.com