Luke Judge

Northolt, Middlesex, London — (SBWIRE) — 04/09/2012 — The special bear that is Tiny Tatty Teddy has captured the heart of consumers the world over since creation in 1987 and its launch in 1995 as a novelty brand. Capturing the lucrative essence of this are new products from Obaby through Tiny Tatty Teddy Wholesale.With trademark light grey fur, white snouts, blue noses, and coal black button eyes, these elements combine into an irresistible reflection of a parents love for their newborn child. Not only are they known for bringing joy into a receivers heart therefore, but also for the special value attached by the giver to such a present. Otherwise known as me to You Bears, the character now appears on new Obaby products, available from your Tiny Tatty Teddy Distributor, and guarantee to emphasise the meaning with which such a gift is intended. Previously, the Tiny Tatty Teddy was found on products as varied as Teddy Bears, jigsaws, key rings, socks, watches, wedding items, stationery, school accessories and graduation gifts.This new range of Baby Goods Wholesale therefore provides the perfect opportunity for you to expand your product range, and your client base. Appealing to well-intentioned colleagues, family, friends, and community members as well as just parents, this is a great extension to the line-up in your baby retail outlet.Ideal as gift register entries, you can position the larger ticket items as perfect for a group of work peers or neighbours to purchase. other products are the model for nursery decoration to create a loving nest for the newborn. When your customers want to get creative about sharing their love of Tiny Tatty Teddy Bear and the intended gift recipient, there are certainly plenty of options.thus one of the greatest characteristics about Tiny Tatty Teddy is the variety of uses in which the lovable bears can be placed. The range extension therefore of this character means that you will now find nursery furniture, changing bags, strollers and accessories, high chairs, and car seats adorned with the enticing theme. another fabulous feature is that this line of products is manufactured by Obaby, so you can be assured that you are selling your customers goods of the highest quality and relevance for todays parenting needs.Creatively packaged, these nursery goods are guaranteed not to remain on your shelves for very long, whilst introducing a new set of customers to your retailer.Contact Information :Email : ukWebsite : babybrandsdirect.co.uk/

me To You community members, middlesex london, northolt, school accessories, socks

Friday December 30, 2011

LENOX — For 700 current and former employees of Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club, it will be an especially happy New Year’s Day thanks to $7 million in lawsuit settlement checks that landed in their mailboxes this week.

The 400 food-service and 300 spa workers are each getting thousands of dollars from a class-action lawsuit that was settled out of court then finalized at a fairness hearing in Berkshire Superior Court last month.

The settlements include tips withheld by the resort plus interest, said attorney Paul Holtzman of the Boston firm Krokidas and Bluestein, which represented the workers.

Checks for food-service workers also include the difference between their $2.83 an hour “sub-minimum wage” and the $8 an hour state minimum for other employees.

“If an employer doesn’t pay all your tips, then state law prohibits them from using sub-minimum wages,” Holtzman said. “The tips were withheld, so that violation triggers the other minimum-wage violation.”

Spa employees who were paid at or above the $8 an hour minimum are receiving settlements representing the 20 percent gratuities that were not paid to them, Holtzman explained.

This week’s checks also include penalty interest charges — 32 percent for the spa workers and 40 percent for the food-service employees.

For Erin Meizinger of New Lebanon, N.Y., now the mother of two and a part-time waitress at Mario’s Restaurant on Route 22, the check will “help us get ahead of bills as much as we can.”

She worked at Cranwell in 2002 and 2003 as a nail technician in the spa and recalled that the non-payment of gratuities was brought up to management. but she said the claim “was ignored or people were pushed out the door. They weren’t fair to the workers in general. It’s nice to see more people are getting the justice and the money they earned.”

Meizinger plans to attend beauty school and then seek employment in a smaller, family-oriented spa.

“The worst part was having to lie to the spa-savvy guests who asked us if we were receiving the 20 percent gratuities on their bills,” said Polly Karis of Stephentown, N.Y., a massage therapist at Cranwell from January 2003 to June 2007. she plans to use her settlement to help pay for graduate school.

Karis and her fellow workers quickly realized that the gratuities were missing from their paychecks but during a meeting with the spa director, she said, the employees were told to lie to the guests who asked if the tips were being passed on.

“My mother always taught me not to lie,” said Karis, adding that she always told the truth to her clients “as tactfully as possible” despite instructions to the contrary.

Following complaints by the workers, the resort started referring to the 20 percent gratuity listed on patrons’ bills as a “service charge,” she added.

“It was very demeaning when the spa director went around the room, asking us to rehearse how we would lie to the guests,” Karis told the Eagle. “That was the biggest frustration for us.”

But now, Karis said, justice has been served and the “people who were wronged were compensated. most important, it sets a precedent for people who work on tips.”

“There were many wonderful things about working at Cranwell, and I didn’t want to be the kind of employee who speaks badly about our employer,” she recalled. “It put many of us in a pickle, we were up against having to put a lie between ourselves and the public.”

According to Holtzman, “the laws on wages are intended to make sure workers get monies owed in a timely fashion.”

The food and beverage-service workers did receive 75 percent of their tips, he said, but the spa employees did not receive any of the 20 percent gratuity or service charges billed to guests who paid on average $100 apiece for spa services.

“Any time there’s a settlement in one of these cases it’s an important reminder to companies, hotels and spas that tips are required to be paid 100 percent to the employees who earned them,” Holtzman said.

The lawsuit, first filed in 2007 by a half-dozen plaintiffs representing the 600 workers, named Cranwell Management Corp. and those who made up the resort’s five member executive team at that time. the lawsuit covered unpaid tips dating back to 2002.

Cranwell’s current general manager, Carl Pratt, who assumed the post last March, has told the Eagle that Cranwell denies any liability and never instructed employees to lie to patrons.

“We’re pleased to have the matter behind us,” he said Thursday, “and we’re looking forward to continued support of the economy as we have done for the past 19 years.”

Similar cases involving withholding of gratuities to employees have been resolved in recent years. In 2008, Canyon Ranch paid out $14,750,000 in an out-of-court settlement to 600 employees who worked there from April 2004 until October 2007. Canyon Ranch also denied any wrongdoing.

To reach Clarence Fanto:cfanto@berkshireeagle.com,or (413) 496-6247.

wendy Boston class action lawsuit, minimum wage, spa employees, superior court

Marktleider in Open Source telefonie, IsraPunt, heeft samen met Getronics de certificering afgerond inzake de integratie van Microsoft Lync. Hiermee combineren zij Unified Communications (UC), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), LDAP Active Directory, Novell E-directory, een geïntegreerd Contact Center met een groot aantal ACD functionaliteiten in de door IsraPunt ontwikkelde IP Businessmanager® VoIP telefooncentrale.

IsraPunt is zowel system integrator als software ontwikkelaar en gespecialiseerd in het implementeren van innovatieve Open Source telecom- en dataoplossingen, waaronder telecommunicatiesystemen, contactcenters, netwerkinfrastructuren.

Voor meer informatie en een demonstratie van de onbegrensde mogelijkheden van de IP Businessmanager® kunt u terecht bij; IsraPunt BV, israpunt.nl 0575-560336 of kijk op denieuwemaniervancommuniceren.nl

IsraPunt Telecom & ICTZonnehorst 177207 BT ZutphenTel: +31 575.560.336Fax: +31 575.560.975Web israpunt.nlEmail

This post was submitted by Chantal Veenstra.

schuco contact center, ldap active directory

Age no matter when it comes to toys

BY NEIL STEINBERG Columnist Dec 18, 2010 04:58PM

• Share
• E-Mail
• Print

The toy collection of Malcolm Forbes was auctioned off Friday in New York City. Toy boats, mostly, glorious pre-World War 1 dreadnaughts, their decks festooned with flags and turrets, and triple-stacked ocean liners with clockwork mechanisms.

The sale netted millions and brought me a pang, because I liked to visit the Forbes Galleries when I was in New York, to ogle his toys. Not just fleets of whimsy, but armies of lead soldiers and the earliest Monopoly set, handmade in 1933 by the game’s inventor.

I’m a sucker for a good toy. I think my kids were the last boys on earth who actually played with lead soldiers, because I couldn’t stop myself from buying them — at FAO Schwarz downtown, at Hamleys in London — and, once you’ve bought toy soldiers, how can you not let kids play with them? To my credit, I didn’t care about wrecking their value, and am rather proud that they’re lined up on shelves in their bedrooms, proudly displaying their chips and dings and scars of battle.

Of course kids nowadays don’t want lead soldiers or fancy ships. Adults splurging for classic toys are, to a greater or lesser degree, really indulging themselves. And that’s okay. Your kids will learn to appreciate them in the fullness of time.

And if they don’t, at least you do.

When my sons were born, I bought each a Steiff teddy bear. Steiff bears, made of mohair, are not the cuddliest bears — they’re hard, with arms and legs that move. I bought them because my father went to Germany on business in 1962 and brought home a suitcase jammed with lovely, colorful Steiff toys — a green tortoise, an orange lobster, a brown squirrel, lots of birds.

They were a bargain, then. They’re not a bargain anymore. the teddy bear — a placid, light brown fellow — cost $160, and that was 15 years ago. my wife, discovering what I paid, was in the midst of her “Are you out of your MIND?!” lecture when I deflated her with the most effective retort I’ve managed in 20 years of marriage.

“When you see that bear in your grandchild’s crib,” I observed, “it’ll seem a bargain.” Husband: 1; Wife: 0.

I’ve just dug the bear out from the bottom of my son’s closet, along with that 50-year-old Steiff lobster. they both look new.

And — like Forbes’ ships — they are worth something. Not that it matters — I hope the kids never are in a position where they need to sell their teddy bears. but maintaining value does provide ammunition in the constant why-are-you-buying-this debate I have with my wife.

We were on our honeymoon, driving through New England, and we stopped in Boston and visited its Museum of Fine Arts. in the gift shop was a wooden pull toy robot — “Space Robot” by Hoobert Toys of King Ferry New York, “durably constructed from Eastern hard maple and beautifully painted with bright, non-toxic colors,” according to the box, which I kept. “It is designed to stimulate playtime fantasy and enjoyment of the natural world, while arousing a child’s finer instincts.”

My finer instincts aroused, I held it with what must have been a proprietary air, because my bride swept over, made a sour face, and said, “Absolutely not. It’ll just sit on the shelf, collecting dust.” And the price! Thirty dollars! Too much.

Chastened, I set my robot back on the shelf, and was led, head bowed, from the store.

We were outside the museum, at the curb, when the realization dawned that, despite being married, I was still a man, someone whose wishes mattered, if only to me. I stopped.

“Wait here,” I told my wife. “I’m going back for that Space Robot. It’s my honeymoon too.”

So I spun around, went back inside and bought the robot.

Flash forward five years. I’m reading a newspaper article about David Kirk, the author/illustrator of the best-selling Miss Spider books. Turns out, before he got into the children’s book business, he used to have a toy company, Hoobert toys.

“He produced some whimsical and sophisticated toys that are now worth thousands of dollars,” the article said, “particularly his clunky ‘Bob’ robots.”

I hurried over to my wife.

“Ha!” I said, tapping the article with my finger. “Double ha!”

I don’t think mine is a “Bob” robot, but it’s probably worth the 30 bucks I paid for it — not that I’m selling the thing. We’ll leave that, like the Forbes heirs, to my kids when I’m dead.

What I’m trying to say is this: toys are too important to be left to children. nor can they be reduced to a mere addition to the ever-burgeoning credit card bills. my wife was correct — that Space Robot has sat on a shelf in my office for 20 years, and it makes me happy every single time my eyes fall upon it. It’s swell.

So guys, if you see a toy you like this Christmas, I say, “Get it!” Life is too short. Sure, it’s nice if there’s a kid to give it to. but that isn’t absolutely necessary, and if the womenfolk are outraged at the expense, heck, tell ‘em it’s an investment.

steiff e mail, ocean liners, toy boats, toy soldiers, turrets

22 December 2010 Last updated at 18:24 ET Share this page

In Rome, students in their thousands marched peacefully through the streets

Thousands of students have demonstrated in Italy ahead of a Senate vote on controversial education reforms.

Protests in Rome remained orderly, though students clashed with police in Palermo, roads were blocked in Turin, and rubbish set on fire in Naples.

Police prevented a repetition of last week's violent clashes in Rome by blocking off parts of the city centre.

The government says university education has become bloated and inefficient, and needs streamlining.

But critics say Italian universities are already severely under-funded.

On the march

In Rome, students in their thousands marched peacefully through the streets.

"We are in the square to protest against [Education] Minister Gelmini and to show that after the 14th of December we are not divided, we are not violent, we are simply here to demonstrate and to validate our ideas," a student called Franco told Reuters TV.

Clashes flared on the streets of Palermo, Sicily

The demonstrators avoided a so-called "Red Zone" created by police blockades to avoid a repeat of last week's violent protests sparked by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survival of a no-confidence motion.

But clashes were reported in Palermo, Sicily, where some students allegedly threw stones at police and tried to enter a local government building.

In the northern city of Turin, protesters attacked a publishing house owned by the prime minister, while in Naples students reportedly brought traffic to a standstill.

Demonstrations also took place in other cities across Italy, including Milan, Venice, and Perugia.

Reforming the system

The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.

The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says there is excessive power in the hands of ageing professors and teachers.

But while many agree that reforms of the education sector might be needed, there has been criticism of the swingeing cuts, thought to total around 9bn euros (£8bn, $12bn).

Italy spends less than 5% of its Gross Domestic Product on education – lower than many developed countries.

But the cuts are part of wider austerity measures that the government is introducing in order to reduce its public debt.

Job losses

Students have held a number of demonstrations in recent months over the cuts, which some estimate will lead to the loss of about 130,000 jobs in the education sector.

"We are asking for this bill to be blocked and for the whole public education system to be refinanced," the Student Network said in a statement.

A protester offered a book to a policeman during a demonstration in Milan

On Tuesday, Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said she was open to talks on the reforms.

But she has insisted the measures were urgently needed to equip Italian students for employment.

"It is essential to restore dignity and usability to Italian university degrees," she said in an open letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Our correspondent says there is heavy youth unemployment in Italy and many university graduates take years to find jobs.

The education bill proposed by Ms Gelmini was discussed in the Senate on Wednesday, although, according to Italian media sources, the vote was delayed until Thursday afternoon.

If it is passed, Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano – who met a delegation of students on Wednesday – would then have to sign the bill into law.

giorgio prime minister silvio berlusconi, violent protests

The idea is as simple as a brushstroke. The Museum of Fine Arts asked 10 well-known contemporary Chinese artists to come up with an artistic response to a work of their choice from the MFA’s rich holdings in Chinese art. five years in the making, “Fresh Ink: ten Takes on Chinese Tradition’’ is the result. it runs through Feb. 13.

“Fresh Ink’’ is a study in polarities: past and present, figuration and abstraction, even East and West. one of the artists, Arnold Chang, chose Jackson Pollock’s painting “Number 10’’ for a work to respond to. his “Secluded Valley in the cold Mountains,’’ an ink on paper, is a topographical reply, its contours more a memory of the Pollock than an echo of it. That said, Chang’s study for “Secluded Valley’’ is very Pollock: nervy, inky, blotchy. It’s as if, having shown how well he could subsume Pollock, Chang then transcends him.

Liu Xiaodong’s mural-like acrylic on paper, “what to Drive out?,’’ shows nine Boston-area high school students. There’s a little dog, too, who’s the most irresistible thing in the show. Said canine is a far cry from the creatures on display in “Erlang and his Soldiers Driving out Animal Spirits,’’ the 15th-century painting Liu is responding to. The Western affinity in Li Huayi’s “Dragon Amidst Mountain Ridges’’ involves style rather than subject. Much of its right-hand portion could be a Helen Frankenthaler wash or lithograph.

Li’s point of departure, Chen Rong’s 13th-century “Nine Dragons,’’ also inspires Zeng Xiaojun. his “Nine Trees’’ has tremendous energy. It’s an arboreal maelstrom. “Nine Trees’’ is further distinguished by the extremely handsome screen Zeng designed and had built for it.

One of the pleasures of “Fresh Ink’’ is how the freshness can extend to wood and other materials, too. The mute, blunt eloquence of the pair of wooden printing blocks accompanying Xu Bing’s “Mustard Seed Garden Landscape Scroll’’ wonderfully complements the delicacy of Xu’s painting. Its appearance is almost diagrammatic in its use of white space, characters, and drawings. That’s as it should be, perhaps, as Xu’s response is to a popular primer for painters, “Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Paintings,’’ first published in the 17th century.

Theatricality and restraint (another pair of polarities) define Qin Feng’s installation “Civilization Landscape.’’ it recalls both Anselm Kiefer and Richard Serra — without either artist’s tendency to bombast. Inspired by an 11th-century BC bronze vessel, Qin has created a set of tall, booklike objects facing a small stage with scrolls behind it. The effect is of a dressed set (the scrolls) facing an audience (the books).

Liu Dan’s ink on paper “ten Differentiated Views of the Honorable old Man’’ turns East and West inside out. his rendering is very much in the tradition of Chinese art, and it takes off from another Chinese tradition: the scholar’s rock, a treated piece of stone (geology as objet trouve) singled out for contemplation and appreciation. What’s Western about it is the stone’s appearance, which in its rusticated elongation looks uncannily like a Giacometti sculpture. It’s a resemblance underscored, whether purposely or not, by the contemplative space Liu has set up for it and his painting.

gund chinese tradition, mfa, museum of fine arts

Toy vintage cars are easy to find, and fun to collect. If you are a car enthusiast, then you will already know the pleasure that can be had from searching for and buying these antiques. If, however, you are looking for a one off, special gift, then a vintage toy car could be the answer to your dreams.

If you have a friend or relation who is a car nut, try and find out the first car they ever owned.

We all remember our first cars with affection, even if they were clapped out old bangers full of rust!

My VW Beetle was my pride and joy. I still kick myself for trading it in for something bigger.

Once you have discreetly found out as much as you can about the car, set about trying to find a toy replica.

Bear in mind that a lot of these toy vintage cars are genuine antiques, whilst other reproductions are collectible models. Have a realistic budget in mind when you embark on your search. Antique shops, garage sales and online auction sites are good places to look. Who ever you are buying this gift for will really appreciate the trouble that you have gone to. Although it may seem rather strange, buying a toy for an adult, these toys are unusual and impressive. Many of the top quality models are advertising replicas of the original cars, produced at the same time the car first came on the market. This gives them a historical context as well as a modern value.

If the recipient of your gift is delighted with your originality and imagination, you may well encourage them to take up collecting as a hobby. You may even get the bug yourself. Toy vintage cars are a good place to start if you are interested in collecting as a hobby. There is plenty of information, and thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world to guide you.

schuco car enthusiast, garage sales, old bangers, toy replica, vintage cars

schuco schuco 1050

Frank A. Boyd, 94, longtime Iowa City businessman and developer, died Sunday, June 20, 2010 at Mercy Hospice.  

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 am Friday, June 25, 2010 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Iowa City with the Very Rev. Rudolph Juarez officiating.  Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 3 to 7 pm at St. Patrick’s, where a rosary will be recited at 3 pm.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Catholic Community Foundation for Regina, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church or Mercy Hospital Foundation for the Mercy Hospice.  Arrangements are with Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service.

Mr. Boyd was born on December 16, 1915, in Haskins, Iowa, the son of Patrick Henry and Deborah (Tobin) Boyd. He was reared in Washington, Iowa to the age of 15 and has resided in Iowa City since 1931. He graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in 1934. He was united in marriage to Lucille Leeney on February 4, 1942 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Iowa City.

Frank was self-employed as a co-owner of Boyd Rummelhart Plumbing and Heating which was established in 1946. He was a co-founder of City Electric Supply in Iowa City, City Electric in Ames, Contractors Tool and Supply in Iowa City, Plum Grove Acres Development, Washington Park Development, and Court Hill Development.

He was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church since 1931 and a 50-year member of both the Knights of Columbus and the Iowa City Moose Lodge. Frank was highly involved in the Catholic education system in Iowa City: a member of the Bishop’s Diocesan Advisory Board for several years, a co-chair of the original fund raising drive for Regina High School in the late 1950?s and chair of the fund raising drive for Regina Elementary School in the late 1980?s; served on the Hills Bank and Trust Board of Directors for many years, on the Mercy Hospital Board of Directors Advisory Board for 20 years, received the Ronald McDonald House Service Award in 1985, received the Economic Development Award in 1997 from the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce, served on the St. Joseph Cemetery Board for 30 years, and the Atrium Village Board of Directors for 10 years. He was the past president of the Iowa Saddle Horse Association, was elected to the Iowa State Fair Hall of Fame in 1999 for his many years of raising and showing Hackney Ponies, was named a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the Diocese of Davenport on November 21, 2002, Frank and Lucille Boyd were awarded the Outstanding Individual Philanthropists Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (Eastern Iowa Chapter) on November 15, 2005 and Frank received Regina’s first-ever Distinguished Honorary Alumni Award on May 27, 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Lucille and their two children, Robert Boyd and his wife Judy and Diane Boyd, all of Iowa City; 3 grandchildren, Kelly Boyd and his wife Sloan of Mill Valley, CA and their children; Ryan and McKenna; Casey Boyd and his wife Nicki of Iowa City and their daughter Taylor Nicole, and Molly Boyd-Strickland and husband Seth of Breckenridge, CO; two step-grandchildren, Adam Henn and his wife Angela of Greensboro, NC and their children Natalie and Olivia, and Stephanie Henn of Charlotte, NC; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded by his parents, and five siblings, Robert, Richard, Paul George and Ellen Milisen.

Online condolences and memories may be sent to lensingfuneral.com

boyds bank and trust, mercy hospice, plum grove

Mobility Disability Medical Products

Health lifestyle Goods

Gold Auctions & Sales

Wedding Wear and Products

Red Sox Ticket Sales

New york Yankee Ticket Sales

Smart Phone sales

Antique Auctions & Sales

Motorcycle Auctions & Sales

Used Cars Auction & Sales

Classic Cars Auction & Sales

Holiday Auction & Sales

CamperAuction & Sales

Games Console Auction & Sales

Bike Auction & Sales

Boat Auction & sales

DarkDesires Emporium

PC Auction & Sales

Scooter Auction & Sales

Television Auction & Sales

Tradesman Websites

World Cup 2010 News

Caravan Auction & Sales

V W Campers For Auction

Concert Ticket Sales

Spares And Repair Sales

Weight Loss Goods & Products

Auction Promotions

CoolerChoice Fans & Coolers

South Ribble Handyman

Music Songnetworks

High Tech Gadgets

Consumer Electronics

Christmas Gadgets

chad Valley antique auctions, bike auction, boat auction, holiday auction, mobility disability, new york yankee

Steam along to meet Paddington Bear

6:00pm Friday 12th June 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

PADDINGTON Bear will meet his fans in Swindon when he pops into Steam next weekend.

The popular bear will be at the museum in Kemble Drive next Saturday and Sunday as part of Paddington Bear’s Big Weekend – a fun-packed programme of bear-themed activities.

Children are being encouraged to dress up as a Paddington Bear character for the fancy dress competitions that will run three times during each day, with categories for under fives and over fives.

Youngsters can learn about Paddington’s homeland of Peru and even get their own bear passport stamped at the special checkpoints throughout the museum.

Activities will include story times with ‘Mrs Brown’, face painting, bouncy castles and a miniature railway.

Mr Gruber’s Antique Shop will revive fond memories for many visitors with its display of Paddington memorabilia and there will be a well-stocked Paddington Bear Shop for fans wanting souvenirs.

Prospect Hospice and Oxfam Books will be attending the event, with home-made cakes, a tombola, and a book stall. For more information, see the Steam website at swindon.gov.uk/steam or call 01793 466626.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

Comments are closed on this article.

paddington gov uk, miniature railway, mr gruber, paddington bear, tombola, uk steam

FAIRBANKS — Opening day of the National Football League season is less than a week away, and John Jefko needs to make a tough decision.

The resident of Chicago Bear Lane still doesn’t have the premium pro football package for his satellite TV subscription, and the $300 price tag sounds pretty steep for the newly retired mechanic. Still, entering the season without a guarantee that he can watch the Bears every Sunday is a lot like preparing for Thanksgiving without a turkey.

“I’m considering making a sign and standing in front of Walmart: ‘Need money for NFL Sunday Ticket,’” he said with a laugh.

Jefko’s deep devotion to his favorite team makes that a plausible option. His wardrobe of Bears-themed clothing, his house full of Bears memorabilia, and even his dogs, Ditka and Payton, leave no doubts about his allegiance to the Monsters of the Midway.

The energetic 56-year-old even has a mustache that looks like it was modeled after one worn by the ultimate Bears icon, former tight end and coach Mike Ditka.

“Ditka’s the man,” Jefko said. “What can you say? The guy was awesome.”

So how exactly did Jefko, who grew up deep in Chicago Bears country of Rockford, Ill., end up in actual bear country — the wilderness north of Fairbanks?

Jefko said it’s all about fate. He met his future wife, Saundra, in Phoenix in 1992, where the Fairbanks girl was going to school and he was working as an airplane mechanic.

Their introduction turned out to be a good peek into his soul. She was dating his roommate at the time, and said she met Jefko after seeing him toss a television off their second-floor balcony during a particularly brutal Bears performance.

After graduating, Saundra, a lifelong Alaskan, was eager to return home, but she got a skeptical response from Jefko. To find out for himself, Jefko decided to take a solo northern vacation to see what Alaska was all about. He started with Barrow, where many of Saundra’s relatives live.

“I got out of the plane, I looked around,” he said. “I called my wife and said, ‘We ain’t moving to Alaska.’”

But she convinced him to keep looking, and after visiting Fairbanks he realized this was his new home. On Jefko’s first day back to work in Arizona, he quit his job and announced he was moving north.

“I decided it was awesome here,” he said. “There’s so much to see, but there’s no one here.”

Jefko spent the next dozen years working on the North Slope, followed by a few years with a local hardware rental company. He’s planning to spend at least the next football season retired, free to follow the Bears as closely as he can.

Despite his distance from Soldier Field, Jefko has remained as devoted as ever. A back room of his small home serves as a shrine to the Chicago Bears. Pennants, caps, posters, Wheaties boxes and old football cards fill the room. In the past 20 years he’s accumulated Bears shot glasses, figurines, lunch boxes and even an unopened bottle of Walter Payton Pilsner beer.

Jefko’s short driveway along the Elliott Highway may also be the northernmost photo opportunity for the world’s Chicago Bears fans. After the Jefkos built their home in the late 1990s near 4 Mile, Saundra’s gift to her husband was to officially name their driveway Chicago Bear Lane.

“At the time, my father-in-law was kind of frowning on it,” Jefko said. “But what do you expect? He was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.”

It’s not unusual for Jefko to look toward the road and see tourists posing for pictures next to his street sign.

It’s even been swiped twice, although he put a stop to that by attaching the sign to the post with a metal plate and sinking it in concrete.

And when a big game comes up, Jefko still makes an effort to be there.

He traveled to Miami for the 2007 Super Bowl, even though he didn’t have a ticket to watch the Bears take on the Indianapolis Colts. He brought $2,300 in cash, but couldn’t find a scalper willing to go that low.

Jefko ended up watching the game with his brother and nephew across the street from the stadium at a Hooters restaurant. He was disappointed by the Bears’ loss, but said the trip was a pilgrimage he had to make.

“Just the adventure — the noise, the atmosphere, the rush,” he said.

His wife, he admits, is extremely tolerant of his obsession.

It turns out that Saundra doesn’t even care much for football, and she usually makes herself scarce during games.

“I’ve got my own sewing room, and I’m putting a door on it,” she said with a laugh.

The worst part about being an Alaska Bears fan, Jefko said, is the feeling that you’re badly outnumbered.

He said the state is thick with Packers fans, but that there aren’t many fellow Chicagoans around to relate to.

“Packers fans are the best people in the world — until game time,” he said. “Then we go in separate directions.”

There’s also the sad fact that the Bears aren’t looking like contenders in the tough NFC North Division, where Green Bay and Minnesota are expected to fight for the title.

Jefko wants to be optimistic about the future exploits of Jay Cutler and Brian Urlacher, but even a die-hard supporter can only muster up so much confidence.

“I’d like to tell you we’re going to the Super Bowl again, but …” Jefko said, his voice trailing off.

It could be a long season on Chicago Bear Lane. Even during the bad times, however, Jefko is always happiest when he’s focused on his hometown team.

“If he gets somebody to talk about the Bears, he’s like a chatty old lady,” Saundra said.

Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518.

bearington bear country, chicago bear, deep devotion, nfl sunday ticket, northern vacation

September 2, 2010

souvenir Bears bears game, bears game stream, bears game tickets

Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED*

Get your Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* here. Our Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* reviews are the most useful available. W? t?st them with ?v?ry conceivable t?chniqu?. The Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* is about the coolest one availabl?. It wi?? really blow you ?w?y! When I say ?his I m?an; You will ?ever ?hink of the Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* ?he same ?g?in.

The Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* works líke no other. B?y it here now at thi? amazing price.
Ensure your purch?se is ? sound on?. Get ?he Chicago Bears Hat Reebok L/XL *USED* online now!

With discounts like this they’ll not be around long. Get one today there flying off the shelves

This entry was posted on Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 8:48 am and is filed under hats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

bears Publications chicago bears, pings, purch, shelves, xl

Do you remember Pete Carril’s “four corners” offense? His typically undermanned and outmatched Princeton squad would play tenacious defense and lull their opponent into a false sense of security on offense until they found a slim seam to score. It wasn’t a particularly exciting strategy but for the pure hoop enthusiast, it was a thing of beauty. For the opponent, it was the definition of frustration.

Mr. Carril was one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball, amassing a 514-261 (0.658 winning percentage) record between 1967 and 1996. He was also the only coach to win over 500 games without a single athletic scholarship, winning 13 Ivy League championships over 29 years and securing 11 NCAA tourney berths. His final victory against defending national champs UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAA tournament is widely considered the greatest upset of all time.

Why are we talking about a retired college basketball coach from a traditionally weak conference? Simple; since the uptrend that ended shortly after the second quarter, Boo’s Bandits have seemingly stolen a page from Mr. Carril’s “four corners” strategy. The offense has been slow and methodical and the players appear to be in no rush but — at least thus far in the third quarter — it has been chillingly effective. 

Let’s go to the video tape: After the initial surge by Hoofy’s Heroes that opened the second half of play, the S&P is off 6%, the banks are down 12%, the semis are down 11%, the drillers are down 11%, the Russell is down 11%, the transports are down 10%, crude is down 13%, and gold, believe it or not, is down 2%.

Here’s the rub: This wasn’t an eye-popping decline like The Flash Crash rocked the world in May, nor was it a headline-grabber that accompanied the EU the trillion dollar (cough) solution. No, this has been entirely more sinister, like a Chinese water torture or worse, PBA bowling. In fact, the anticlimactic nature of the decline — as evidenced by less than 30% bears and the VXO trading at 25 — is perhaps the most troubling dynamic.

This isn’t to say it’s easy, as evidenced by my decision yesterday to cover my short-side schnitzel in the S&P. I’m not complaining, mind you; it was initiated during the run into S&P 1100 and I’ve learned (the hard way) never to complain when making cake. I’m simply speaking to the stealth agenda of the bears’ four corners offense and the risks of being lulled into a false sense of security on both ends of the court.

Yes, Mr. Carril may have retired from the hardwood, but his legend lives on in many ways, shapes and forms. Somebody please call a time out.

Random Thoughts:
 

• We touched on the litany of negative headlines making the rounds. Professor Jeff Saut discussed how mainstream The Hindenburg Omen was. Financial websites? Gloom! Planetary alignment? Doom! Technical analysis? More Head & Shoulders than aisle five at Duane Reade!
• I’m a card-carrying contrarian but at the same time, I’ve out-thunk myself plenty of times when I assumed “it” was too obvious. Therein lies the delicate nature of the current construct regarding what is vs. what would be (if free markets were “free” and accounting was truly transparent).
• The bulls will point to M&A and low yields/few alternatives for cash reserves and, all else being equal, they would be right. The trick to the trade is that all else isn’t equal. in fact, I would argue that the playing field has never been so inequitable.
• When the player on the other side of the table can deal himself more cards and change the rules when he still doesn’t win, it becomes easier to understand why the guys with the bracelets have chose to go dark.
• Is “going dark” a necessary precursor to light at the end of the tunnel?
• We’ve got dets on the west coast swing (SF 9/10-9/11 and SD 9/12-9/14) so West Coast Minyans who wanna connect can phone home for further sniffage.
• What do they do with all the uncured meats?
• I suppose you can’t blame the average American for wanting to “turn off” the markets; it was a heckuva decade we just lost. The risk, of course, is what happens if one assumes The Ostrich Position – pretending something doesn’t exist doesn’t magically make it disappear.
• For a long time, we spoke about capital preservation, debt reduction, and financial awareness as the three tenets of financial prosperity. While low rates make the middle mandate increasingly difficult, I continue to feel they’ll serve us in good stead.
• How’s this for a little levity?
• Y’all keeping half an eye on Apple (AAPL) $240, right?

  Click to enlarge
  

• Transocean (RIG), Halliburton (HAL), Walmart (WMT), and Coke (KO) all trade as green beans in the Red Sea (read: they trade “dry” given the supply).
• Social unrest? What social unrest?
• I’ve heard of 100-year storms but 100-year bonds?
• Who rocks the best Little Wing: Jimi, Stevie Ray, Clapton, or Sting?

R.P.

Follow the markets all day every day with a FREE 14 day trial to Buzz & Banter. Over 30 professional traders share their ideas in real-time. Learn more.

Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at .

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer’s business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.

Copyright 2010 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Bears false sense of security, uptrend