Monday, November 4, 2013

The Second-Chance Dog

The Second Chance Dog
Frieda

Photo courtesy Jon Katz/Ballantine Books








The following is excerpted from Jon Katz’sThe Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story which is being published next week by Ballantine Books.














I heard the barking as soon as I pulled into the gravel driveway of the sprawling old farmhouse on a country road about five miles from my farm. The noise was coming not from the house but from a barn behind it.










It was the deep-throated, door-rattling roar of the guard dog, and there was something undeniably frightening about it. A dog with a voice like that had to be huge and powerful. I had never heard a roar quite like it. None of my dogs ever barked in such a furious, almost panicked way. It was a bark to be taken seriously, very seriously, and I was reminded of the raptor in Jurassic Park busting out of its prison.












I was not looking for trouble from a dog. My life, at this point, was in upheaval. I was spectacularly disconnected from the world and attempting to stave off a crack-up. I tried to soothe my internal turmoil by focusing on fixing up my collapsing Civil War–era farm and barns, at least three of which were about to topple over into the road. Barns were collapsing and being torn down all over Washington County, N.Y., where I lived, but I was determined that my four would be saved. This project was horrifically expensive and complicated, but I couldn’t bear to see these beautiful old structures disintegrate.










I wanted some old windows to put in one side of my big dairy barn so that the grand old red silo housed inside the barn (an unusual feature) could be seen from outside. No real farmer would consider such an insane thing. But at the time, I was not sane. An HBO film crew had just finished making a movie of my trek upstate, and the very air was suffused with unreality.

So, I had come to this place because I’d been told that the couple restoring this farmhouse had some old windows. A thin, wiry woman with short brown hair, wearing tattered jeans, a paint-splattered shirt, and sandals, came out of the door and approached me. As we stood in the drive, she began urging the dog to calm down. “Ssssssh, Frieda, quiet,” she said. Her voice was so soft and tentative I knew she didn’t really mean it, and the dog surely knew she didn’t. She was concerned that I might be frightened, but I can tell when somebody means to change a dog’s behavior and when they don’t.










“We can’t have many people over.” She smiled, tilting her head back toward the frenzied roaring and charging coming from the small barn.













The Second Chance Dog
Frieda

Photo courtesy Jon Katz/Ballantine Books








There was something melancholy about this woman. She was so quiet and reserved. She shyly explained that she and her husband were living in a small barn while they fixed up the farmhouse close by. “Who is that?” I asked, gesturing toward the barn, whose door was still rattling from the force of the dog inside throwing herself against it.










“That’s Frieda,” she said, surprising me with a radiant smile.










“Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Jon.”










“I know,” she said. “I’m Maria. I have to confess,” she continued, “I haven’t read any of your books.” She was small, frail, almost elfin. But I knew I saw some humor in her eyes, attitude, pride. She was restoring houses with her husband, she said, adding almost under her breath that she was also an artist.










“That’s OK, most people haven’t. Anyway, I can give you one,” I said, reaching into the car. I had brought a paperback with me.










I don’t know why I’d brought a copy of that book—it was The Dogs of Bedlam Farm—for Maria. She looked at it and laughed, and would soon put it aside.










Maria invited me into the barn, into the small room she was living in while working on the farmhouse. I hesitated.


















Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/heavy_petting/2013/11/the_second_chance_dog_a_love_story.html
Category: world series   chris brown   Dreamchasers 3   constitution day   marshawn lynch  

Watch the Entire History of Nexus Phones in Just Three Seconds

Watch the Entire History of Nexus Phones in Just Three Seconds

The Nexus 5 is finally here, and it looks lovely. But it was a long road to Nexus 5 greatness, and with this GIF from the folks at GadgetLove, you can speed down it in just three seconds.

Read more...


    






Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/E8hzRdUkyzM/watch-the-entire-history-of-nexus-phones-in-just-three-1458054891
Tags: rafael nadal   area 51  

How to add and arrange home screens in Android 4.4 KitKat

Android 4.4 KitKat home screens

The launcher — the app that controls how your home screens look and act — arguably is the most important part of an Android smartphone. And from the earliest devices, we've seen manufacturers and app developers diverge from Google's solution and roll their own interpretations. (To varying degrees of success, for sure.)

In Android 4.4 KitKat, Google changed things up once more adding a couple of simple but much-needed features — the ability to add home screens, and the ability to rearrange your home screens.

Oh, Google Now is still attached to the far left — that's not going anywhere anytime soon, probably. But these new additions are welcomed, and easy to get used to.

We've got your primer videos after the break.

read more


    






Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/VxbNzBPbdBI/story01.htm
Tags: miranda kerr   college board   chicago bears   Cristy Nicole Deweese   reggie bush  

The MMA Hour with Eddie Alvarez, Dominick Cruz, Dan Henderson, Renzo Gracie, Gunnar Nelson, Joey Beltran, Bobby Green


The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Below is a rundown of who will be stopping by and when:


1:00 p.m. ET -- Eddie Alvarez will talk about beating Michael Chandler to become the new Bellator lightweight champion.


1:25 p.m. -- UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will talk about his much-anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 169.


1:45 p.m. -- Former UFC turned Bellator fighter Joey Beltran will talk about his Nov. 15 fight against Quinton Jackson.


2:05 p.m. -- Dan Henderson will preview his Nov. 9 UFC Fight Night 32 bout against Vitor Belfort.


2:25 p.m. -- UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson will talk about the almost-life-threatening car accident he was in last week and his road back to the Octagon following knee surgery.


2:45 p.m. -- The legendary Renzo Gracie will talk about his latest efforts to fight again, coaching on TUF 19, Rafael Natal's main event fight against Tim Kennedy, and more.


3:05 p.m. -- "King" Bobby Green will preview his UFC Fight for the Troops 3 bout against James Krause on Wednesday.


3:25 p.m. -- We'll answer your #themmahour questions on anything and everything going on in the MMA world. Hit us up on Twitter using that hash tag, leave a question in the comments section below, or give us a call.


Plus, we'll be taking your calls on anything and everything. Got a question or comment? Give us a call at 1-888-418-4074.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. GMT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here or via TuneIn here.


Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/11/4/5059514/the-mma-hour-with-dominick-cruz-dan-henderson-renzo-gracie-gunnar
Similar Articles: brett favre   Johnny Galecki   Boulder Flooding   Robin Quivers   Placenta  

Britney Spears Shares "Perfume" Single: Listen Here!

Sharing another tune with her fans, Britney Spears released “Perfume” on Facebook last night (November 3).


The “Work B**ch” singer opts for a slower jam with the new tune, which will be featured on her upcoming album Britney Jean.


In addition the single, Spears wrote, “This is like sharing a piece of my heart ♥ Listen to Perfume now!”


Listen to the track below and let us know your thoughts!






Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/britney-spears/britney-spears-shares-perfume-single-listen-here-1085802
Similar Articles: kenya   yom kippur   miley cyrus   robin thicke   evelyn lozada  

Eminem Wins Big at the 2013 YouTube Awards

Coming together for the first annual YouTube Awards, stars including Vanessa Hudgens and Lady Gaga walked the red carpet at NYC’s Pier 36 last night (November 3).


Eminem, M.I.A. and Macklemore were also in attendance, taking the stage for the live-streamed award show, which featured a slew of music performances and comedy sketches.


In addition to the entertainment, YouTube presented awards to a number of artists including the “Thrift Shop” duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for Breakthough of the Year and Taylor Swift for her video “I Knew you Were Trouble.”


Check out the full list of winners below!


Breakthrough of the Year


WINNER: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kendrick Lamar

Naughty Boy

Passenger

Rudimental


Response of the Year

WINNER: Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix, "Radioactive"

Boyce Avenue (feat. Fifth Harmony) "Mirrors"

Jayesslee, "Gangnam Style"

ThePianoGuys, "Titanium/Pavane"

Walk Off the Earth (feat. KRNFX), "I Knew You Were Trouble"


Innovation of the Year

WINNER: DeStorm, "See Me Standing"

Anamanaguchi, "Endless Fantasy"

Atoms For Peace, "Ingenue"

Bat For Lashes, "Lilies"

Toro Y Moi, "Say That"


YouTube Phenomenon

WINNER: "I Knew You Were Trouble"

"Diamonds"

"Gangnam Style"

"Harlem Shake"

"Thrift Shop"


Video of the Year

WINNER: Girls' Generation "I Got A Boy"

Demi Lovato, "Heart Attack"

Epic Rap Battles Of History, "Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney"

Justin Bieber (feat. Nicki Minaj), "Beauty and a Beat"br> Lady Gaga, "Applause"

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert) "Same Love"

Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop"

One Direction, "Best Song Ever"

PSY, "Gentleman"

Selena Gomez, "Come & Get It"


Artist of the Year

WINNER: Eminem

Epic Rap Battles Of History

Justin Bieber

Katy Perry

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Nicki Minaj

One Direction

Psy

Rihanna

Taylor Swift


Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/music/eminem-wins-big-2013-youtube-awards-954818
Similar Articles: Miley Cyrus Halloween Costume   Ken Norton   Andre Drummond   NSync   elvis presley  

WeddingLovely Puts Thousands Of Wedding Vendor Listings Under One Roof


WeddingLovely, a small, but growing 500 Startups-backed wedding planning service, has now launched a comprehensive wedding vendor directory which combines over 2,300 wedding vendor listings under one roof, allowing couples to easily search, filter vendors by budget and location, plus read and write vendor reviews. The new vendor guide is the culmination of several years’ worth of efforts by the company, which had previously operated a series a specialized directories including WeddingInviteLove.com,  WeddingVenueLove.com and WeddingPhotoLove.com, for example, ahead of the launch its consumer-facing planning product last summer.


That product, for those unfamiliar, is designed to walk couples through the exhausting and stressful wedding planning process with a series of how-to’s and guides that can help you figure out all the tasks you’ll need to accomplish to properly plan a wedding. The guide includes helpful advice and tips, like “flower mistakes to avoid,” and “questions to ask caterers,” for instance, and then points couples to vendors who can help them with the various services. The site also offers its own wedding websites for couples with all the standard features like event details, registry links, an “About Us” section, and more.


Before WeddingLovely, the company had built out several wedding vendor directories in specialized verticals. Says founder Tracy Osborn, these specialized directories had initially given the company a lot of credibility with the various wedding industry vendors, but as the company grew, referring people to eight different directories had become “a little ridiculous.”


In the WeddingLovely planning product, the company would point couples to these vendors, but couldn’t actually support a full directory listing for a number of vendor categories, which was also a problem.


Stylish Papers


“We couldn’t cover people who do wedding rentals,” says Osborn, as an example. “If someone signed up for our photographer directory who does photo booth rentals, it didn’t quite fit,” she explains. “The new general directory pulls in the listings from our specialized directories so our vendors don’t have to do anything additional, but it also supports those vendor groups that haven’t been able to work with WeddingLovely up until now.”


This also includes other groups like dressmakers, honeymoon providers, wedding website makers, officiants, jewelry designers, favor designers, and more.


Going forward, all sorts of vendors can submit an application for inclusion in the WeddingLovely directory. If approved, they can choose a free basic account, or a $25/month pro account, which offers branding opportunities, more exposure in search results, and other opportunities for promotion on the company blog. WeddingLovely also charges couples $9.95/month for the service, or a one-time fee of $79, if they prefer.


The company has been profitable since July, and remains a bootstrapped team of three women. Osborn, a sole founder and self-taught coder, says the service saw thousands of signups following its launch last year, and the conversion funnel is holding at about 20% trial conversions, and then 75% of those becoming paying customers. Like all wedding companies, WeddingLovely must continually acquire users. Currently, it has a several hundred paying couples on board.


The majority of vendors added to the service today come from word-of-mouth referrals, often by other vendors. The company also relies on SEO and is considering using paid ads in early 2014.


Remaining small makes sense for this Mountain View-based startup for now. “I really love bootstrapping,” says Osborn.


“The wedding industry can be kind of crazy. I love being able to focus on my gut and where I want to go, rather than worrying so much about profit and making sure the company is exploding. I can make some good decisions,” she explains. “And I can take as much time as I want.”


The new WeddingLovely Vendor Guide is live here.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/v5MV42m12mM/
Similar Articles: allen iverson   Common App   2020 Olympics   Jane Addams   Vma 2013 Miley Cyrus