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By Alyssa Braithwaite, National Entertainment Writer

SYDNEY, July 29 AAP – To many, The Bangles were one of the original girl groups, but the reformed 80s band doesn’t want to be lumped into the same category as the Spice Girls or the Pussycat Dolls.

The band,discount tiffany jewelry, who are famous for chart-topping songs like Eternal Fla

A St. John woman who was transferred last week to a Miami hospital with possible dengue fever symptoms died there Aug. 20 from complications, her husband said.

Mark Campion said Thursday that doctors suspected his wife — Sandra Brown — had dengue fever, although he did not know whether that had been confirmed through testing.

V.I. Health Department epidemiologist Eugene Tull said earlier this week that he had no information abo

A year after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cleaned house at a regulatory board that routinely took more than three years to take action on nurses accused of violations, an Agoura Hills woman has been hired to help the board complete its path to reform.

Tricia West, a nurse and legal consultant with 30 years experience reviewing cases involving alleged medical violations, will serve as the executive officer for the California Board of Registered Nursing. Her respon

Frederick Linder scored two goals and the Exeter High School boys soccer team opened its Division I season Friday night with a 3-1 win over Salem.

Ryan Donlevie had a goal and an assist for the Blue Hawks,key rings, while Quinn Conner, Connor Scott and Jimmy Petruccelli all had assists.

Exeter goalie Evan Mikulich had seven saves.

Handsome has trotted all over the county.

The small mixed-breed dog was first found in Blacksville as a stray, and taken to Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center on River Road. Last night,bangles, he escaped and made it all the way to South Pierpont Road overnight.

Each time,

Pak Fahru, 65 but wizened and hunched like a man of 100, smiles a gap-toothed smile.

He’s sweating and exhausted – his wife has a steadying hand on his back, as if he might keel over at any moment – but excited too.

"I really love SBY,Bead bracelet," he says.

Pak Fahru lives in a kampung – a slum –

Austin Peay State University issued the following news release:

Austin Peay State University women’s soccer team will get a chance to measure its progress when it host Freed-Hardeman in a 7 p.m., Friday exhibition match at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.

The Lady Govs are anxious for their first opportunity to the field against players in different jerseys, much like most teams are after several weeks of preseason camp. Although the heat has been an issue for all outdoor sports, Austin Peay head coach Kelley Guth and her team have made the necessary adjustments in order to get practice time.

Defense always has been priority, but expect to see the 2010 version of the Lady Govs score some goals. For a team that lost seven one-goal games a year ago, Guth compensated by adding several young players that should be able to contribute right away. However,rings, the Ariza twins,bangles, who most recently played at the U20 FIFA World Cup, are yet to join the team, but should arrive by the end of the month.

Highlight the offensive side of the pitch is a pair of seniors in Kellie Cannon and Monique Wong. They are complemented by freshman twins Joceline and Andy Quiceno, from Houston, Texas, along the front sides. Transitioning the midfield are seniors Samantha Northrup and Michelle Johnson, both of whom played more than 1,000 minutes in 2009.

Senior goalkeeper Carley Newman returns for her third season in net and will be backed up by junior Mackenzie Ladd,watches, sophomore Jackie Magurn and freshman Haylee Shoaff. In front of her is an experienced defense led by senior center back Hannah Jones, sophomore Jazzmine Chandler – an OVC All-Newcomer pick as a freshman – and junior Sara Kluttz.

Freed-Hardeman, meanwhile, is in a unique situation of returning all of its starters from the 2009 season. Included in that mix are all-league selections Tiffany Harris and Nikki Ceeney. Harris, the Lady Lion’s keeper,Beads necklace, is the program’s all-time saves leader. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Seymour wrapped up its first week of the girls golf season with its second second-place finish at an invitational on Friday.

The Lady Owls tallied their best score of the week, a 368, just eight shots off of winner Jennings County in the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational at the sectional course, Otis Park Golf Club. At their own invite on Wednesday, the Owls tied with Columbus East at 374, but the Olympians won on the fifth golfer’s score.

BNL had a 370 for third place on Friday, Bloomington North had a 374, Salem had a 379 and in sixth and the final team to break 400 was Brownstown Central, shooting a 397. The remaining four teams’ scores ranged from 409 to 427.

Brownstown Central’s Allyson Hackman had her best score of the week, a 78, and earned medalist honors. Kori Jacobsen of BNL was second individually with an 80, Katie Dennis of Bloomington South had an 81 and Paxton DeHaven of Seymour and Macy Dalton of BNL had 82s.

"She’s just so consistent,rings," Lady Braves coach Jennifer Chastain said of Hackman, a junior. "She’s striking the ball better. She’s hitting the fairways, and if she does miss a green, she’s getting her up-and-downs."

The Braves started on the back nine, and Hackman had a 1-over 36 at the turn. She then had a 42 on the front.

"The front nine’s tough," Chastain said. "It’s kind of tight and a little bit longer than the back, but she played it well. Still, that’s a great score for Otis Park."

The Owls began their day on the front, and DeHaven was 5 over on both sides.

"She’s been struggling with her swing, and she’s working through it," Lady Owls coach Noelle DeHaven said of her daughter, a freshman. "We’re getting back to normal again, so I was proud to see how she hit the ball. She wasn’t real lucky on the green, and that’s OK. That’s the worst she could have shot today was 82. She’s looking better."

Three other Owls were under 100. Preston DeHaven went from a 103 on Tuesday to a 96 on Wednesday to a 93 on Friday. Allison Applewhite broke 100 for the first time at Otis Park, coming in with a 96, and Hannah Lewis finished with a 97.

"That’s about what is normal for her," DeHaven said of Preston,tiffany, "so it was good to see her come through today and shoot that."

For the Braves, Taylor Morrow was the only other player under triple digits, finishing with a 97. Haley Hackman shot a season-best 110, while Erin Bane came in with a 112.

"I’m proud of Taylor. That’s her best score here at Otis," Chastain said. "She’s striking the ball a lot better. She’s just having a little bit of trouble around the greens with chipping, and she might get into trouble around the trees and she’s got to punch out into the fairway and then try to save herself, so it’ll come with her.

"Erin started out rough today. I think some of them just get a little nervous with past experiences at Otis Park. I think nerves started off with her, but she made a good comeback. That’s totally not her score, and hopefully she’ll turn it around."

Haley Hackman was down seven strokes from Wednesday’s invitational, and Jordan Stevens lowered her score by seven from Tuesday’s invitational.

"I’m just happy to see little improvements each time we play," Chastain said.

It was the team’s last invitational to open the season, and now they’ll focus on nine-hole matches until conference in September. The Braves’ next match is against Edgewood on Tuesday at Cascades Golf Course.

The Owls will have their fourth and final 18-hole invitational on Monday at St. Anne’s Golf Course in North Vernon, which is where the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament will be in September.

DeHaven said she likes the direction her team is going.

"I think we’ll do OK over there. The greens are larger, but we’ll be OK," she said of St. Anne’s. "Now, they can see that they are right in there and they’re going to keep working harder."

Results

Bedford North Lawrence Invitational

At Otis Park Golf Club, Bedford

Team scores: Jennings County 360, Seymour 368,bracelets, Bedford North Lawrence 370, Bloomington North 374, Salem 379, Brownstown Central 397, Bloomington South 409, Floyd Central 410, Madison 412, Mitchell 427

Top individuals: Allyson Hackman (BC) 78, Kori Jacobsen (BNL) 80, Katie Dennis (BS) 81, Paxton DeHaven (Sey) 82, Macy Dalton (BNL) 82, Jessica Beeman (JC) 84, Paige Meeker (JC) 88, Katie Stanhouse (BN) 90, Janice Heffernan (FC) 91, Abby Rogers (BN) 91, Chelsea Katt (Sal) 91, Abbie Clark (JC) 91

Other Seymour: Preston DeHaven 93, Allison Applewhite 96, Hannah Lewis 97,watches, Jordan Booth 106

Other Brownstown Central: Taylor Morrow 97, Haley Hackman 110, Erin Bane 112, Jordan Stevens 119

Sometimes I think it’s a mistake to leave home. It would be awful, for example, to find somewhere on your travels that is more agreeable than where you live. So I fear for Michelle Obama, currently summering briefly in cumbersome opulence at a luxury resort between Marbella and Estepona in Andalucia, southern Spain. Not that I think that the Costa del Sol will turn her head – when it comes to lousing up a beautiful coastline, the Spanish do it even better than the Americans. But if she were to look up towards the sierra, she might wonder what lies beyond those forest-cloaked ramparts.

I know what it’s like in those hills: I came down from them this very morning. And, I thought I’d take the liberty of telling the First Lady what she might find up there in back-country Spain.

As you leave the coast at Estepona, the air gets cooler and cleaner, and soon you enter a forest that cloaks the southern slopes of the mountains. For miles there is nothing but Mediterranean pine, ringing with the shrieking of cicadas, and filling the air with its heady scent. Looking back along the coast, you no longer see the ugliness, just range after range of misty mountains and capes, made more magical by the heat haze. On and on climbs the road, twisting like a sheep’s gut, until, after half an hour’s drive, it brings you to the high pass of Penas Blancas.

To the north,rings, you can see the green depths of the Serrania de Ronda, presided over in the distance by the bare rock pinnacles of the Sierra de las Nieves. Here and there are scattered tiny villages, impossibly remote, like spills of white beans on the plunging backs of the hills.

At this point you could do worse than take the road signposted for Genalguacil. As you plunge down the hill, the forest, that thinned at the pass, closes over you again, only now it has changed. The pines give way to bright chestnuts, huge ilexes and, everywhere, the fabulous cork oak, their peeled trunks like the limbs of dancers in stockings.

You’re on your own down here; driving for an hour on this road I passed just one other car. Occasionally there is a little white stone house in a clearing, with a tree-trunk bridge to cross the stream, and a fence to keep boars out of the vegetable patch. Finally the Tarmac gives out, and you continue on a dirt track. It may not be to everybody’s taste but to me it gives the impression that you are going somewhere just a little unconventional, somewhere to which there might still cling the faintest vestige of the mystery that tends to forsake a place with the arrival of a Tarmac road.

Suddenly, through a gap in the trees, you see it: Genalguacil, a village plumb in the middle of nowhere. Who lives here, you wonder, what do they do out here? Why would anyone bother to come all this way?

Well, it’s worth the journey because, among other things, it’s beautiful – and there are not so many places of which you can say that these days. The village clings to the edge of a ridge, looking over forested mountains down to the sea,Bead bracelet, 30 miles away. At the bottom is the simple church dedicated to San Pedro de Verona, a saint spectacularly depicted with an axe lodged in his head, and by way of a labyrinth of stone-flagged alleys the village rises to the big white shed of the chestnut co-operative at the top. And as you amble up, contented in the way that good vernacular architecture makes you, you become aware of a most singular phenomenon: art.

In the angles of the alleys and in the nooks and corners, are sculptures and murals of every conceivable stamp. There are some that are gorgeous, a few that are magnificent, here and there a touch of wry humour, and one or two that are hilarious. Some, too, are poignant, and all of them are good for stroking, which is what sculptors like you to do to their creations. As I wandered, I wondered, and to satisfy my curiosity, I sought out the village’s mayor, Beatriz. (This is not as peculiar as it may seem: in small Spanish villages and towns, the mayor is often pleased to see you.)

Beatriz was drinking in the bar of the Posada del Recovero, where I was staying. Attractive and petite, and bursting with nervous energy, she is one of the few mayors in the land who has actually lost weight since entering office. (Most go in thin and come out fat.)

"It’s like this," she says . . . life was hard throughout rural Spain in the 20th century: if it wasn’t the dead hand of the church, or the dismal strictures of the dictatorship, it was the iniquities of earlier rural political structures that kept the country people wretched. And so they left in droves, just as today the people flee North Africa and South America, driven by poverty, desperation and corruption. They went to Madrid and Barcelona, or Argentina and France, and the population of the villages dwindled to nothing. Genalguacil, like so many others, was left with a just handful of old people, longing for the day when their children would return and swell the choir of village voices, reduced now to the feeble croak of the aged. (This is beautifully evoked in "The Emigrant", a sculpture at the top of the village.)

The dictator died; the church, monstrously discredited, was no longer taken seriously, and little by little, Spain joined the ranks of modern European democracies. Things got better, and the countryside began to take on a little more life. But it was still hard to keep the young people in the crumbling villages; there’s only so much you can do with chestnuts and cork.

And then,Beads necklace, 14 years ago, the previous mayor came up with a plan to bring in new life. They would invite artists, house and feed them and give them a good time. In return, the artists would conduct workshops to teach and inspire locals, and leave their works to embellish the village.

The plan was a resounding success – artists love this sort of thing – and soon an annual festival grew out of it. Quite by chance,money clips, when I visited last weekend, Genalguacil was getting ready to celebrate its 10th festival of art (it takes place over the first fortnight of August every other year). Even now artists from all over the country, and indeed the world, were pouring into the village. Beatriz told me that there would be thousands of visitors over the next couple of weeks, and every night in the plaza there would be theatre, music, and dancing beneath the summer stars.

The success of the scheme reverberated in other ways, too. Some of the artists settled in Genalguacil, and with them and their families and the visitors, the breath of economic life wafted through the village, and young people either returned or stayed on. From all over Spain, too, mayors waddled up to Genalguacil to learn about rural regeneration from this simple little miracle.

If only you could see it, Michelle, I know it would be just your thing. I read about the run-in you had with the conventional farmers’ lobby when you stuck your neck out for organic producers and what you people so charmingly call "locavorism", and I’m with you all the way.

But anyway, Beatriz was fired up with the village’s history, and it was taking time to get it told, so we moved on to the Vizier’s Garden, a restaurant run by Miguel, who typifies the whole story.

Miguel was born in Genalguacil, but at 13 had to go down to the coast to continue his education. "I hated it," he says. "As often as I could I would get on my motorbike and come home for my mother’s coffee and cakes."

Later he studied science but, flying in the face of the vortex of the coast and its easy money, he decided to make his stand in the village. The food served in the restaurant is sourced locally and is organic, encouraging and supporting small local producers. His chef, by some curious glitch in the time/space continuum, makes a superb apple strudel. The place is heaving; it’s a job to get a seat (although I’m sure that in your case, Michelle, it could be fixed.)

One of the other pleasures of Genalguacil is civic pride. This manifests itself in a hundred small ways: from a man picking up a dog mess with a plastic bag – a thing I’ve never seen before in Spain – to the striking lack of moronic graffiti (and I am a man who admires good graffiti), but most of all to the vent that is given to the popular love of beauty: patios, pots of plants, and the simple adornment of windows and doorways. Call me a fuddy-duddy, but these simple things are what give the passer-by a frisson of the profoundest pleasure, and make him feel that God’s in his heaven and everything may be all right in its way.

How wonderful it would be if Michelle Obama could give her heavies the slip and get up into the hills to see this simple and glorious little miracle. She’d love it, I know, but then again, perhaps it’s safer that she stays in her luxury hotel down on the coast. That way, when she brushes the dust from her travelling boots back in Washington and looks up at the cobwebs that have gathered in the corners of the White House, she’ll probably think to herself, in the way that we all do, "Well, it may not be much, but it’s home, and home is where I like it best."

Chris Stewart has written three bestselling books about his life in Andalucia including ‘Driving over Lemons’. His latest book is ‘Three Ways to Capsize a Boat’ (Sort Of Books)

When Teri Blevins told her family recently that she successfully concocted an apple pie cupcake recipe, she remembered her son turned to her and said: "I’ve never loved you more than as much as I love you now."

Blevins, who as a hobby bakes and sells cupcakes out of her St. Albans home,Charm pendant, is used to the accolades. Usually, someone is on hand to eat a cupcake or three.

"When you come bearing cupcakes, you are instantly popular," she said. "Everybody is glad to see you."

Blevins recently sent one of her cupcake recipes to a national contest to compete against more than 200 other recipes from bakers across the country.

Her Devilly Good Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle was named one of the top 10 cupcake recipes in the competition, which was sponsored by cake mix giant Duncan-Hines.

Once the competition cupcakes were whittled down to 10, critics from magazines like Saveur and Ladies Home Journal sampled the finalists’ creations. Wisconsin native Katie Rousonelos’ Red Carpet Glamour, with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla bean frosting, beat Blevins’ Devilly Good recipe.

As the winner, Rousonelos will pass out her cupcakes to celebrities during this year’s Emmy Awards.

"If I had it all to do over again, I asked myself ‘would you have made a different cupcake?’" Blevins said. "And the truth is, I wouldn’t have."

Aside from her apple pie and Devilly Good cupcakes, Blevins bakes Oreo cream, brownie white chocolate cream,Bead bracelet, coconut cream pie, key lime pie, and especially dangerous death by chocolate cupcakes.

She said her husband’s favorite is her orange Dreamsicle cupcake,rings, made to taste like an orange cream Popsicle.

"When you bite into this cupcake it tastes like you are biting into a Dreamsicle Popsicle," she said.

When Blevins is in her experimental stages, she takes a bowl of batter and a spoon to her husband, Dan, to get a second opinion.

"Here, try it, tell me," she tells him.

He considers her the "cupcake wizard," she said.

Blevins bakes cupcakes only because she said they are easier than baking full cakes. There are fewer ingredients and less of a mess afterward,pendants, she said. She sells six to eight dozen cupcakes from her home every week at prices ranging from $15 to $24 a dozen depending on the cupcake.

Blevins works in customer service for third-party used car financer JD Byrider. She said after a tough day, it’s nice to come home and do what she loves.

"This is why I love baking," she said. "When I come home, I put all of the baking ingredients together and it comes out. It’s very therapeutic for me."

Those interested in Blevins’ cupcakes may call her at 304-421-8640.

Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Taylor@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.