RolePlayGateway?

Water splashed out of the sink and onto the green formica countertops, forming a small puddle that oozed at the edge of the basin. Sol watched the streaming water from the faucet fill the cereal bowl he?d just put in the sink, turning the milk from white to a thin, translucent color. A few flakes of puffed rice bobbed on the surface, then spilled over into the drain.

?There?s my handsome son.? Sol turned and looked over his shoulder at his mother. She stood there beaming at him as if he?d hung the moon, her frame shriveled with age and her grey hair dyed pale apricot in the fashion so many of the ladies in her Bingo league sported. ?Where you off to today, huh??

Sol looked down at the white undershirt he was wearing, the worn-in jeans, and the socks on his feet. ?I?m not going anywhere,? he said, but his confusion made the statement sound more like a question than a statement of fact. ?Where are you going??

His mother was in her ?good? pearls, which were really just her best looking fake ones. Though he was sure she had real jewelry stashed away somewhere, it seemed only to come out at weddings, funerals, and Bar Mitzvahs. A brocade pair of Moroccan slippers were on her little feet and a small handbag was clutched under her arm.

?Off to see the girls!? She winked, teeth flashing in a smile. ?And Doris is bringing her granddaughter. Maybe you want to go??

There was a suggestive tone to her voice, and it didn?t take a genius to figure out what she was implying. At least once a month since he?d moved back in with her, his mother had been trying to set him up with all her friend?s daughters and granddaughters. She was forgetting though; he?d already met Doris?s granddaughter, and the girl- while charming- was a charming nineteen year old. At thirty-two, he?d felt like a pervert all through a long, awkward dinner in which his mother and Doris tried to set him up with the teenager. He?d smiled politely, nodded at all the right times, and made sure not to make contact with her when passing the peas.

Sol felt his neck go slightly warm, but said nothing for a moment. He carefully deposited his cereal bowl into the dishwasher, then turned and gave his mother a quick kiss on her brow. ?Thanks, ma,? he told her. ?But no.?

He hurried out of the kitchen before the inevitable interrogation began, passing through the formal living room his mother kept spotless and down the stairs to the basement. The air became slightly cooler as he descended. Two doors led off to separate rooms, the left leading to his temporary bedroom, the right leading to a storage space his father had once used as a workshop. It still held all of his tools, perfectly in place on his peg board as if he was going to come back for them. Sol shook his head to himself and went into his room.

The cellphone on his side table was glowing. He?d missed a call and had a voice message. He flopped onto his bed and reached blindly for the phone, then dialed his own number. The message began to play.

?Hey, Sol. It?s me, Juanita. Hey, I was wondering if... Actually, I think we better talk about this in person. Will you call me back??

Sol looked down at the phone that was cradled in his hand and sighed. Call her, one part of him was saying. Return her call. The other part of him was screaming at him to delete Juanita?s number from his phone book and write her off altogether. It was time to get over it, the voice in his head said. He scrolled through his phone book and pondered her name, face contorted into a deep frown. His hand hovered over the button to delete her- if not from his life and memory, at least from his phone.

?Argh,? he sighed, and closed his eyes. His finger descended onto the button and the phone beeped. He opened his eyes and saw that she?d been deleted. Sol felt stunned, and he swallowed hard against the knot in his throat. It refused to go down, sticking to the inside of his throat like one of those bitter horse-pills. His fingers clenched the material of the blanket he was sitting on.

That was when the panic set in. What had he done? He didn?t know Juanita?s number by heart! How was he going to get it back if he needed to call her? He didn?t know any of her friend?s numbers. He didn?t even know where she lived anymore.

?Shit,? he hissed, putting his head in his hands.

?Sweetheart!? His mother?s voice rang down from upstairs. ?I?m going out! Dinner?s in the fridge!?

He heard the door open, then close; heard her key in the lock. Minutes passed, then Sol crossed the room to his computer. He pulled up the search engine, hands poised over the keys.

How do I retrieve a deleted number on my phone?

Up came a link to a small electronics shop.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

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Shakira: Losing Baby Weight for The Voice Was ?Stressful?

"I knew I had to come back here to do The Voice two months after I had delivered a baby. I didn't have my four months of maternity like every woman on earth has. I'm not trying to complain, but it's been a process full of challenges."

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/QhNauRaZxRc/

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Estonia's capital gives residents a free ride

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) ? Looking for a free ride? Go live in Tallinn.

Estonia's capital became the world's first to introduce free public transport for all of its residents. All that's required is a transit pass showing you're a registered Tallinner ? and the city's buses, streetcars and trams are yours for free.

"I live on a tight budget since I don't have too much work right now," said Mare Tulp, who recently registered as a Tallinn resident. "I need to save money wherever I can, so I'm very happy with the free public transit scheme. This is a good thing for the common person."

Three months after launching the initiative, city officials are hailing the experiment as a success, though skeptics call it an expensive, populist trick ahead of local elections.

The free-ride scheme is the brainchild of Mayor Edgar Savisaar, who wants to reduce congestion and pollution while alleviating expenses for the city's poor.

Savisaar has even dubbed the program the "13th monthly salary" since, he claims, families will be able to save a month's salary now that they can get around Tallinn for free.

Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas says the experiment, which will cost the city some 12 million euros ($16 million) annually in lost ticket sales, has surpassed expectations. Passenger numbers are up 10 percent, while the number of cars on city streets has fallen by as much as 15 percent, according to Tallinn's transport authority.

A recent opinion poll commissioned by the city showed that nine out of 10 Tallinn residents are satisfied with the project.

"People now move around the city more frequently during weekends," Aas said. "This means they also spend more money, which boosts the economy."

City officials say it's too early to tell how much the city's economy has been stimulated in this way.

But the program is expected to boost the city's tax revenue because the registration requirement is essentially winning the city more taxable residents.

According to city calculations, some 40,000 people living and working in Tallinn are registered in other cities and towns. But more than 5,000 new Tallinn residents have been registered since Jan. 1, compared with 3,600 residency registrations during all of last year.

With 1,000 new residents equaling an estimated 1 million euros in city tax revenue, the current registration rate would offset the program's costs this year, Aas said.

The initiative covers buses, streetcars and trolleybuses in Tallinn ? a city of 425,000. The only catch is that one must be registered as a city resident and get a transit pass for 2 euros.

Once on board, you must place the pass on an electronic reader. If you don't, expect a fine of up to 40 euros ($52) should a ticket controller emerge.

Installing the system was a breeze in tech-savvy Estonia, birthplace of Skype and pioneer of online voting.

Many European capitals, including London, have similar electronic fare systems, but the difference is Tallinners never have to top up the card with money (out-of-towners do).

The fact that the Tallinn card is personal, essentially allowing the transit authority to monitor every resident's travel pattern, has raised some "big-brother-is-watching-you" concerns. City officials have responded that tracking travel patterns will help them improve transit service.

To be sure, Tallinn is not a trailblazer with free transportation. Many small European towns, such as Hasselt in Belgium and Colomiers in France have tried it, as well as some Chinese cities. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has mulled over the idea.

But Tallinn is the first capital and the largest city after Changning City in central China to introduce free public transport, Aas said.

He said the project's two risks ? insufficient capacity and the risk of derelicts spending entire days in buses ? have not materialized so far.

Critics contend the experiment is doomed and will bankrupt Tallinn. Lawmaker Valdo Randpere from the conservative Reform Party, the ruling party in Estonia's center-right government, said the center-left Savisaar is wasting taxpayer money for his "own purposes and propaganda."

"There are lots of other areas where the city should invest but doesn't have the money," said Randpere, a former member of the Tallinn City Council. "It all sounds nice, but it's a lot of populism."

Some Tallinn residents groused about the affect the scheme is having on their business.

Andrea Green, manager of a Tallinn-based taxi company Saksa Takso, said Tallinn's free transportation is undermining entrepreneurship and risks taking jobs from cab drivers. He said orders declined 25 percent in the first two months of the year compared with the same period in 2012.

"The city should invest in improving the condition of Tallinn's streets instead," he said.

But for Tallinners on a moderate income, the free rides are a gift.

"It gives you freedom," said Tulp, as she boarded a bus on her way home to a suburb of Tallinn. "It's not just money."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-04-Estonia-Free%20Ride/id-57a09481cd0949e0b2151590e014ef1d

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Arias to answer juror questions in murder case

Jodi Arias gestures toward the jury, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix. Arias is on trial for the murder of Travis Alexander in 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic,Tom Tingle, Pool)

Jodi Arias gestures toward the jury, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix. Arias is on trial for the murder of Travis Alexander in 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic,Tom Tingle, Pool)

PHOENIX (AP) ? Jodi Arias has spent two weeks on the witness stand answering detailed questions from attorneys about practically every aspect of her life including the day she killed her lover and the painstaking steps she took to cover her tracks. Now it's the jury's turn.

Arias is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2008 killing of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. She says it was self-defense when he attacked her after a day of raunchy sex, but police say she planned it in a jealous rage.

Arias initially told authorities she had nothing to do with Alexander's death then blamed it on masked intruders before settling on self-defense. Her repeated lies to authorities, friends and family in the days after his death, and her methodical efforts to create an alibi and avoid suspicion have been center stage throughout the weekslong trial as she explained how she remembers little from the day of the killing.

Alexander had been shot in the head, stabbed and slashed nearly 30 times and had his throat slit.

After a withering cross-examination last week, and her attorneys' efforts to portray the victim as an abusive womanizer, in part, hoping to spare Arias the death penalty, jurors on Wednesday will pose their own questions to the defendant, something allowed in Arizona criminal cases.

Judge Sherry Stephens told attorneys Tuesday the panel has about 100 questions for Arias. The prosecutor and her attorneys will gather Wednesday morning to review the written queries and submit any objections, then Stephens will pose them to Arias directly.

Throughout her testimony, Arias has described an abusive childhood at the hands of her parents, a past littered with cheating boyfriends and dead-end jobs, and the minutia of car problems, cooking and converting to Mormonism. She has also detailed for jurors how Alexander grew physically abusive in the months leading up to his death, once choking her into unconsciousness, and how he had sexual desires for young boys.

However, none of her allegations have been corroborated by witnesses or evidence during the trial, and she has admitted to lying repeatedly prior to and after her arrest, but Arias insists she is telling the truth now.

She has acknowledged she dumped the gun in the desert, got rid of her bloody clothes, tried to clean the scene at Alexander's home, and even left the victim a voicemail on his mobile phone within hours of killing him and dragging his body into the shower. She said she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth.

Arias' grandparents had reported a .25 caliber handgun stolen from their Northern California home about a week before the killing ? the same caliber used to shoot Alexander ? but Arias says she never knew her grandfather had the weapon. Authorities believe she brought it with her, though she has testified she shot Alexander with his own gun as he chased her into his closet after body-slamming her and threatening to kill her.

"I was very, very scared," Arias told jurors.

"Did you want to kill Mr. Alexander on June 4?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked.

"No, that was not a goal of mine," Arias replied, sobbing. "I considered myself a nice person."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-06-Boyfriend%20Slaying/id-d27b7bac54f143d4958f272bc0f802a9

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Rome exhibition takes aim at the Church as papal vote looms

By Naomi O'Leary

ROME | Tue Mar 5, 2013 5:52pm EST

ROME (Reuters) - As cardinals flock to Rome to choose the next pope, two artists have taken the opportunity to stage an exhibition taking aim at the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the sex abuse scandals that plagued Pope Benedict.

Held in an ancient building where Italy's patron Saint Catherine of Siena died, "The Unspeakable Act" is a life-size model of Benedict in a confessional box, his sumptuous red and cream-colored robes spread about him.

Installed on the stage of a darkly-lit theatre, the artwork is surrounded by eerie music and a track of Benedict announcing in Latin his decision to resign after eight years topped with the whispering sounds of people confessing their sins.

Benedict's papal tiara lies on the ground and his bejeweled hands cover his face in apparent horror or shame at a phrase from the Gospel of St. Luke that lies open on his knee: "Let the little children come to me".

The exhibition is the work of artists Antonio Garullo and Mario Ottocento who became famous for lampooning the scandals of the powerful in 2012 with an exhibit depicting a sleeping Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his hand in his trousers and a satisfied look on his face.

"Too many scandals have been hidden by the Church. Even children were abused in the confessional," Garullo told Reuters at a preview of the work on Tuesday.

"These jewels and rich clothes contrast with Christ, who was in rags. The Vatican even has a bank, which is hypocrisy."

A folded paper tucked into the papal tiara represents the 'Vatileaks' scandal, when Benedict's personal butler leaked documents alleging corruption in the Church's business dealings

The artwork, that opens to the public on Wednesday, has personal importance for Garullo, 48, and Ottocento, 40, an artistic duo for 20 years who were the first Italian gay couple to be married when they wed in Holland in 2002.

Since then they have battled for their union to be recognized by authorities in Italy, which has no legal provision for same-sex couples, although a 2012 survey found 63 percent of Italians support equal rights for gays.

"I don't understand how the pope could say in one of his last addresses that gay couples are a threat to world peace," Garullo said. "I don't understand how we are a threat."

Their pope statue is surrounded by books by reformist Swiss theologian Hans Kueng and the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a liberal voice who urged the Church to modernize before his death last year, saying it was "200 years out of date".

Garullo said the fact that Benedict is ignoring the books is a message to the Church to bring its teaching up to date.

"It shows the Church has remained 200 years in the past, and is not open to the modern world," Garullo said.

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/oddlyEnoughNews/~3/franvgELB1U/us-pope-succession-artists-idUSBRE9241AF20130305

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House, debris over Fla. sinkhole to be removed

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush is destroyed Monday, March 4, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, evening swallowing Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush is destroyed Monday, March 4, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, evening swallowing Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Demolition experts remove a piece of furniture from the home of Jeff Bush, 37, during demolition Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, gets a hug from a family friend while speaking to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, prays as he speaks to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, gets a hug from a family friend while speaking to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) ? Authorities hope to get a better look at a sinkhole that swallowed a man in his Florida home once demolition crews knock down the remaining walls of the house Monday and begin clearing away the debris.

The remainder of the house and its contents will be dragged toward the street so crews can recover items inside and keep debris from falling into the hole, Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz said Monday morning. Authorities were still not certain exactly how big the sinkhole is.

Crews on Sunday razed more than half the home, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.

The opening of the sinkhole has been covered by the home, but once emergency officials and engineers can see inside it more clearly, they could begin planning how to deal with it. They also need to decide what will happen to the two homes on either side of the now-demolished house. Experts say the sinkhole has "compromised" those homes, but it's unclear whether steps can be taken to save them.

Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night.

On Sunday morning, Bush and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home ? where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker; their daughter, Hannah, 2; and others ? was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside. The home was owned by Leland Wicker, Rachel's grandfather, since the 1970s.

The operator of the heavy equipment worked gingerly, first taking off a front wall. Family belongings were scooped onto the lawn gently in hopes of salvaging parts of the family's 40-year history in the home.

As of Sunday afternoon ? when demolition had stopped for the day and only a few walls remained ? a Bible, family photos, a jewelry box and a pink teddy bear for Hannah were among the items saved. Firefighters also were able to pick out the purse of one of the women in the home.

Cheers went up from family, friends and neighbors each time something valuable was salvaged.

Wanda Carter, the daughter of Leland Wicker, cradled the large family Bible in her arms. She said her mother and father had stored baptism certificates, cards and photos between the pages of that Bible over the years.

"It means that God is still in control, and He knew we needed this for closure," she said, crying.

Carter said she spent from age 11 to 20 in the home, and she had to close her eyes as the home was knocked down.

"Thank you for all of the memories and life it gave us," she said.

The Rev. John Martin Bell of Shoals Baptist Church said he had been with the family all morning. "We just prayed with them," he said. He added that all five who lived in the house ? Bush, Wicker, Hannah and two others ages 50 and 45 ? were in need of support and prayers from the community.

Several generations of family members lived in the home at the time of the ground collapse, including Jeff Bush, the man now presumed dead.

The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday. He was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner ? a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa ? when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house at the time escape unharmed as the earth crumbled.

Jeremy Bush tried to save his brother by jumping into the sinking dirt hole. He had to be pulled out of the still-shifting hole by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy, who was shaken when talking about the incident more than a day later.

"I've never seen anything move so fast and do so much destruction," Deputy Douglas Duvall said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Detective Larry McKinnon said the sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, Bush's family must petition a court to declare him deceased.

"Based on the circumstances, he's presumed dead; however, the official death certificate can only be issued by a judge and the family has to petition the court," McKinnon said.

The area around Seffner is known for sinkholes due to the geography of the terrain, but they are rarely deadly. No one ? from longtime public safety officials to geologists ? could remember an incident where a person was sucked into the earth without warning.

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-04-US-Sinkhole-Swallows-Man/id-2a6eccbce89147a9957b09c619297e39

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At least 65 new jobs available at MYR job fair this week

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) The Myrtle Beach International Airport, specifically MSE Branded Foods, is holding a job fair to hire 65-70 people this week.

MYR will host a job fair Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8a.m.-6p.m. Applicants are asked to bring two forms of identification and expect to have an interview lasting 10-15 minutes.

Anyone who is offered a position at the airport will have to pass a federal background test.

The jobs are all food service industry based such as cashiers, cooks, servers and bartenders.

The new employees will work at one of the restaurants in the new terminal. Nacho Hippo, Caribou Coffee and Steak ?n' Shake will be by the boarding gates and the Boardwalk Caf? will be before the security checkpoint.

It was previously announced that a Dunkin Donuts and Bubba's Fish Shack would also be new additions at the new terminal, but MSE Branded Foods General Manager Andy Nicol said those restaurants aren't on the list as of now.

Nicol said brining in nearly 70 jobs is a boost for the Myrtle Beach economy.

"I think it's important for the growth of Myrtle Beach. We have an opportunity to find some great qualified people and help them get to work, it's good for Myrtle Beach," Nicol said.

Copyright 2013 WMBF News. All rights reserved.

Source: http://myrtlebeach.wmbfnews.com/news/news/50690-least-65-new-jobs-available-myr-job-fair-week

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