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NLCS Game 4: Cardinals back in command after downing Dodgers
The St. Louis Cardinals regained control of the 2013 NL Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 set for Wednesday at 4:07 p.m. ET.
Presenting SN's nightly Five by Five, a quick recap in which we try to figure out exactly what we just saw by looking at five key moments during the game for each team.
MORE: Box score | TV schedule | Must-see photos
For the visiting Cardinals . . .
1. St. Louis hit .330 with runners in scoring position during the regular season but was just 7-for-34 (.194) during the postseason heading into Game 4. In the club's first such opportunity Tuesday, Matt Carpenter laced a double into left-center to chase home Daniel Descalso from second base in the top of the third inning. Carpenter led the majors with 55 doubles during the regular season, but this was his first two-bagger in 32 playoff at-bats. After Carlos Beltran grounded out, Matt Holliday (who was 0-for-13 in the NLCS) stepped to the plate and crushed a Ricky Nolasco fastball way beyond the fence in left field to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. It was the first home run of the series, for either team.
2. The Cardinals opted to give Lance Lynn his second 2013 postseason start, even though his first one was forgettable (five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Pirates). He breezed through the first three innings, but Adrian Gonzalez led off the fourth with a double, and then Lynn compounded his problems by walking Andre Ethier. Singles by Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis chased home a pair of runs to cut the Cardinals' lead to 3-2.
3. David Freese, a postseason hero in 2011, had an opportunity to add to his legend in the sixth inning. The Cardinals had two runners on base—Yadier Molina walked and John Jay reached on catcher's interference—with one out, and Freese got a fastball middle-in from LA reliever Chris Withrow. But Freese hit a grounder to third baseman Juan Uribe, who started an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
POST-DISPATCH: Full Cardinals coverage
4. Shane Robinson, of all people, hit a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning off Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell. Robinson, an extra outfielder, started just 30 games for the Cardinals this season, and had just five home runs in his major league career. He had just 22 homers in 418 minor league games. But he now has one in the playoffs, a solo shot that increased the Cardinals' lead to 4-2.
5. Carlos Martinez turned 22 years old in early September. On Tuesday, the youngster provided two brilliant, and very important, innings of relief. He only faced six hitters—see the note about Nick Punto in the Dodgers' portion of this article—and bridged the gap to closer Trevor Rosenthal.
LEGENDARY HOMERS: See where Gibson's '88 shot ranks
For the host Dodgers . . .
1. Nolasco needed just six pitches to breeze through the first inning of his first start since Sept. 25—Carpenter grounded out, then Beltran and Holliday fouled out. Rust, schmust. Of course, his night took a dramatic downturn in the third inning.
2. With one on and one out in the second inning, Puig walked. Yep, he walked. It was his first walk of the postseason, in his 32nd plate appearance. In the first two games of the NLCS, the Cardinals took advantage of his overaggressiveness at the plate, getting him to chase pitches outside the strike zone. In this plate appearance, though, Puig took a 3-1 offering from Lynn and drew the free pass. His next time up, Puig singled on a 3-2 pitch to chase home Gonzalez with LA's first run.
3. Withrow, who took over when Nolasco was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fourth, dug a hole in the top of the fifth inning when he walked Lynn with one out, then moved him to second with a wild pitch and to third on a balk. But after walking Beltran, he induced a harmless grounder from Holliday to end the threat.
4. Punto replaced an obviously hurting Hanley Ramirez at shortstop, primarily for defensive purposes, but delivered a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh. With the top of the order up, suddenly the Dodgers had a legitimate threat going. But shortstop Pete Kozma sneaked behind Punto, Martinez whirled, and fired a strike that nailed Punto before he got back to the bag. The out was an unfortunate TOOTBLAN (an acronym that stands for Thrown Out On The Bases Like A Nincompoop, originally coined by a Cubs blogger to describe Ryan Theriot's basepath adventures).
5. The Dodgers might have found a bright spot with the pitching of reliever Carlos Marmol. The former Cubs closer wasn't on the NLDS roster, but he came in with two on and one out in the eighth inning and produced a strikeout and flyout. He then pitched a scoreless ninth to give LA a fighting chance in the bottom half.


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text:
As if I needed an excuse.
I went to Akihabara to get a new battery for my Mickey Mouse watch and some blank DVDs to backup all the crap that I have accumulated in Japan filling my hard drive to the brink. Not that a laptop drive has a lot of space to start with anyway.
As my "fixed" watch is in the shop getting re-fixed, I've got a week to wait to get it back hopefully working much better than before.
Before I left the apartment, I looked up a shop on Google Earth and made it part of my mission to see if I could find it. It's a little outside of Akihabara, so I was relying on my net reference and a little help from my phone GPS.
It's a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it picks up the satellites, and sometimes I can't get it to fire up at all. Today, I was in luck. It got me within a block of the target so I found the place easily. Maybe I'm not going to be as lost as I thought.
Akihabara is an interesting place to wander around.
I searched in as many shops as possible to find the cheapest watch battery and discovered that Yodobashi Camera was the least costly at 390 yen. I was hoping to find the 397 battery in a 100 yen shop, but it looks like it isn't the most common battery around these parts.
I went into the closest Maccas with yet another expired coupon and.. success, another free coffee! Sugoi!
While I was there I used my swiss army knife to carefully remove the tiny screws of my watch. It's probably not the best place to change a battery, with a potentially watch destroying coffee close by.
Nearby I also picked up a pack of Tim Tams for 298 yen. It wouldn't be a bargain back home, but here that's a pretty good price.
It gets dark here early about 5pm, so I made my way back home to make nice din dins for the gf and myself. The salami and cheese are yet to finish, so on tonight's menu is a tasty combo with these tasty morsels. I got the oishii seal of approval.
She got her keitai back too. Looks like the japanese are honest enough to return a misplaced phone. That would NEVER happen back home.
Oh, eight months in Japan by the way. Bring it on!
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Oh Mickey You So Fine
As if I needed an excuse.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:35 pm 0 comments
Labels: Akihabara
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
What's The Time?
I could tell you, but it would probably be five to ten minutes behind.
Maybe I spoke too soon, but my "fixed" watch is anything but fixed.
For some reason the second hand decides to have a little break every now and then, and the chronograph is all over the place. (I admit that it did fall from the couch to the floor, but I doubt that is a hard fall).
This is not a good thing.
It has the potential of a) making me late to get to my school and b), making me run classes over their scheduled finish time.
Yesterday I woke up early to go to the watch repairer again to see if it might just be something simple. Say, a bad battery or something.
They said that I had to reset the watch which they did, which "sort of" worked. I thought maybe that reset thing would also fix the time problem.
So, with not a lot of time to get to work, and not much small talk in japanese I left and hoped everything was ok.
It wasn't.
Today I brought my alarm clock and used it as a backup. I don't like the idea of using it. I think it makes the students too conscious that this is a timed class.
To cut a long story a little bit shorter. I rushed from work in Yokohama to Shibuya to get there before they closed.
This time they said they'd check it and for me to come back in, in a week. So crossing my fingers. For now, I'm going to have to bring Mickey out of retirement for a while.
While I was in Shibuya I wandered around.
First, I went to the Ishibashi music store. I tried out the black L6-S guitar. This one sounded as good as the other one I tried. I MUST have had a bad one.
Moving on, I did go to the Adores UFO catcher here. They had a 100 yen per play. I couldn't resist and after too many tries, I got the blue "sister" of the other DOA doll that I already have.
Someone is going to need an intervention soon. This is possibly getting out of hand now. I'll stop.. er.. maybe.
I used another expired coffee coupon. With a Totoro smile, I was secretly hoping he wasn't going to turn it over and look at the date. He didn't.
A small american film crew with a video camera wanted to film me while I was using my wifi phone on the internet in the Shibuya street. I must of been in a good mood because I said yes.
I just hope footage of me is used for good, not evil.
I was hoping to find a Daiei supermarket or 100 yen shop to get some juice for my new shochu, but it somehow eluded me to where they were.
On the other side of the station (opposite side to Hachiko), I saw a long forgotten Taito. Yes, I went in and was tempted but I resisted.
I noticed earlier that I was over-charged for a trip from Shibuya to Yokohama.
I printed out the receipts and found they had in fact made me pay 240 yen extra. Lucky the train staff knew what I was talking about and gave me a refund without any problems.
A bit of a long day. Another bit of bad news is that the gf lost her phone in a taxi.
We're hoping that the reputation of japanese honesty brings it back home.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:01 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shibuya, UFO catchers
Sunday, 27 January 2008
The New 'Chu
I have a few ideas of new places to go in the near future, but today was not going to be one of those days.
After not fully waking up and getting out of the house until about 3pm, the choice was made to go to Roppongi.
The gf wanted to go to the National Art Museum to get a present for her friend at the museum shop there.
I thought it'd be a good time to get a new 4 litre bottle of Shochu, as my faithful bottle of Green is almost coming to a end.
The Museum is actually quite an interesting looking building. She bought a printed carry bag at the shop and then we made our way to Midtown.
We perused the international supermarket, Precce. "Sampleman", my alter ego, found some juicy beef samples and regained his power to fight evil once more.
I mentioned the azuki and butter rolls we had in Ginza to the gf, so we made a bee-line for the bakery area and got some. Lucky they had them here. It saved us a trip to Ginza.
We saw some Masuno Sushi so we bought that as well. We found a small seating area just outside the supermarket and ate them both there.
I am really getting a taste for raw fish. Who would've thought?
Once you get over the, "but it's not cooked" feeling, it's quite a tasty treat. Bring it on!
Finally we made our way to Don Quijote to get me that 'Chu!
Originally I had in mind to get another four litre bottle of Green, but there was a bottle of Suntory Shochu for 1880 yen saving about 500 yen, so I decided to give this one a try. Shochu is shochu right? I'll soon find out.
Leaving there I had in mind to try the expired coffee coupons, but the girl was too smart and turned them around to tell me they were overdue.
I did my best surprised look and shot out of there as quick as I could.
I have to go to bed early tonight. I have to get up at about 6am. That should be fun.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:40 pm 0 comments
Labels: Don Quijote, Roppongi
Friday, 25 January 2008
Valley Of The Hentai Dolls
Remember I said once that the staff make it so easy to sink some prizes in, that you could bump the machine and it'd fall in?
Well, tonight I saw another (um, schoolgirl) doll that looked like someone else tipped it into a bad position, but if adjusted would be an easy win. I asked the staff to right it up letting them think I knocked it down.
He put it practically falling in and it did, before I put any money in!
Lucky he left before it happened (and NO, I didn't bump the machine). I have to say, this is the first time I got it for nothing.
Well.. I guess we have to backtrack a little bit tonight.
Actually before that I spent an embarrassing amount of money (I think 2000 or so yen, but who counts when there's challenges to be fought and won?)
There was a sexy Dead Or Alive Doll at the Club Sega near work that I thought I'd have a go at. Eventually I got it, but I also thought to try the blue one, because they are like, a match and shouldn't be separated but I wasn't having much luck. Maybe some other time.
At this point feeling a little guilty and perhaps a little hentai-d out, I decided to try for a very cool Gundam robot figure.
Again, this took a while, but finally I brought it on home. Overall not a bad catch for one night. The gf is sure to be thrilled. At least I have the rent money (and I paid my keitai and health insurance for the month).
At Yotsuya, I saw a Pizza Hut boy looking for a place he had to deliver to. I don't know how they find the house. He actually did without too much trouble.
Oh, I noticed Mickey's battery has finally died. Good timing to get my other watch fixed huh? So far so good.What a day though.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:22 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shinjuku, UFO catchers
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Today I Had A Hard Off
It's not what you think. The gf didn't confuse the crap out of me, leaving me not in the mood again.
Hard Off is Japan's secondhand shop, not unlike good ol' Cash Converters back home.
Strange name? Well along with that, there's also Book Off, Garage Off, Off House, and Hobby Off!
You probably thought I went there just so I could come up with that title huh?
Most of the Hard Off stores are located in the sticks, suburban areas without a train station conveniently located nearby. What I suggest, and what I did was to copy the addresses from the net into Google Earth to see which is the closest.
To save anyone the time and frustration of doing this, if you live in Tokyo the closest one is in Oimachi on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line.
For the first time since I've arrived in Japan I managed to head in the wrong direction. This train was bound for Omiya, not Ofuna.
I realized this after twenty minutes from where I left, the landscape outside the train was becoming quite "rural". If I stayed on this train I would have made my way to Saitama, (Where there IS another Hard Off by the way).
I heard about these places from another teacher, and I was keen to check it out as I'd heard that japanese people throw out their old "outdated" technology once some slightly higher spec model comes out.
What I found out was, this is the place where old nintendo, Dreamcast and every other old game console comes to die.
Along with that, there were lots of old music gear and cameras.
I almost bought a Velbon CX440 camera tripod for 1050 yen. I'm kicking myself a little for not getting it. These things cost between $50-60 back home. What stopped me was in Labi ( a Yodobashi clone) they had a Slik SDV-550 tripod for 1980 yen with bubble levels, and besides, I don't really have the need for one of these just yet. But it was CHEAP!!
I somehow managed to stay in Oimachi until dark. There isn't much else to do there. Was it worth it? Probably not.
At least I did something today rather than stay home.
Just to leave you with another "off", this is the special discount promotion going on in the Porta complex in Yokohama.
A shopkeeper was watching me take this picture. "Dem gaijin makin' fun of our english!" It must've made him real angry. Grr.. Haha.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:47 pm 2 comments
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Snowing In Japan?
I knew it was cold, but this morning I looked out the frosty window and I thought I saw snow flakes falling outside.
Yes, it's true! After weather reports of 50-70% chance of snow it was actually happening right outside my front door.
It wasn't snowing heavily. With what was coming down, I couldn't collect enough of the white stuff to make a snowman. As much as I wanted to, I had to get ready for work anyhow.
As soon as I finished work I rushed to catch the first train to Shibuya.
It's one of the places in Tokyo where you come out of the station and get awestuck from the view looking from Hachiko square towards Center Gai in wonder, with all the pretty lights and tv screens.
Finally today I got to pick up my watch from Taga Watch Repair.
It looks like they did a great job. Everything seems to be working as it should. There was a loose bracelet pin that I asked them to look at and seems ok now. The last thing I want is the watch to come off my arm.
This is it. Isn't it real pretty?
In the store next to the foyer, there was Medicom Toy Project 1/6, a toy store selling collectible figures.
In the front window there is a Mickey Mouse smashing a guitar. I think this was a sign to point me in the right direction to find the watch repairer. I WANT!
After that I had a brief look around Shibuya. I saw a black L6-S (like my old one). Again, they ask way too much for it. Vintage? I don't think so. I didn't give this one a try. Maybe some other time.
The gf has been sick in bed lately, so my mission today is to get mineral water, Pocari sweat, yoghurt and a pizza.
I hope she gets better soon. I feel her pain.
Day off tomorrow. Woo HOOOo!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shibuya
Monday, 21 January 2008
Blast From The Past
This is the exact black Gibson L6-S that was my very first electric guitar.
Why am I mentioning this in my Japan blog?
Well, after an early shift (getting up at 6am!), I had a little wander around Shinjuku and went into the Rock Inn primarily to get a guitar strap for my headless Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro.
I remember seeing a simple strap for 399 yen and since I looked around at other shops this was the cheapest I could find.
Looking at it again I noticed a better leather Fernandes strap for only 1050 yen. A little more yes, but still much cheaper than the equivalent with other brands.
While I was there I saw a natural finish L6-S, making me reminisce about my first guitar.
To tell you the truth I thought my black Gibson was a total piece of junk, with muddy sounding pickups and frets so low it felt like I was hugging a tree trunk. I traded it in for $800 towards my super Gibson Les Paul that still rocks my world.
Here, at the Rock Inn they were asking for the equivalent of about AUS $1600! I have read quite a few favourable reviews of this on Harmony Central, and it looks like it's increasing in value. Could I have been wrong?
Just to make sure, I asked if I could have a play on it.
To my surprise, it actually sounded a whole lot better than what I remember mine did. Even the frets were a lot faster to get around. Maybe mine was poorly set up. Still, I think my Les Paul sounds better than this. The L6-S has a vintage 70's sound, not very modern to my ears.
I had a go of a heavily discounted Paul Reed Smith guitar. I don't get why these cost so much, but again better than the L6-S. I know, I DON'T need another guitar. The prices here are too irresistible though. A Ibanez Jem for $2000? (about $4000 in Australia). Amazing.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Hentai Girls & Otaku Boys
UH OH.. Houston we have a problem.
My new obsession has already made a turn for the worse.
As usual after work I made my way through the streets of Yokohama, stopping into the usual catcher arcades.
In front of the Club Sega there was (I believe a japanese person) in a very cool Rilakkuma suit.
I was going to ask for a photo, but I was let down by the staff when I asked them to move some items closer for me, but they only moved them a little.
In return I didn't give them anything, not even a yen.
I was thinking of heading home when I had an urge to go to the Taito UFO arcade near Minato Mirai.
There I saw some more hentai dolls that looked easier to sink than the other places.
I took my chances and put 500 yen in for three goes.
The machine only gave me two, so I told a girl staffer about it, so she fixed it, but gave me two extra tries instead of one! Sweet.
While she was at it, I asked her to move it into a more favourable position. So, after just 500 yen the first one was mine.
Maybe I should have left, but the staff here were much nicer so I asked them to move another one.
This time it only took 200 yen! That's the good news.
The bad news is that in my "crack-like" compulsion, I failed to notice I just won the same doll as last night! Shit!!
I pleaded with the staff, explaining I already had the same one and they exchanged it fairly easily.
So, another two to add to my hentai doll collection. Great huh?
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:05 pm 0 comments
Labels: UFO catchers, Yokohama
Friday, 18 January 2008
Shabu-Shabu And A Haruhi Doll
Ok, the title says it all.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. After riding that vicious ufo catcher circle of stuffed toys and chocolate, I have finally turned to the dark side and I set my sights on the little talked about phenomenon of the hentai doll.
These manga dolls have various states of undress, costumes and suggestive poses.
Strangely enough it's the guys (the ones that hang out in Akihabara) who seek these out, jealously guarding their new prizes.
I want to say that in these politically correct times that men can play with
dolls, I mean "action figures", if they want to. Just don't make me think what they might do with them once they get home. I guess there is always Gundam for the "real" men out there.
So, yes I found two undiscovered UFO catchers on the south side of Shinjuku station. There was a machine that had these for 100 yen a go and the one I saw was tantalisingly hovering over the edge of the chute.
After four goes I got it. It would have been three, but because there was an non-functioning third button I misunderstood how it worked on the first try. So yes, I jealously guarded it and put it in my backpack before anyone would yell out, "Hentai!!"
I can now see my mother and father rolling their eyes thinking that their son has finally lost it. Mi dispiace Mamma.
I walked over to Kabuki-cho. I was going to check out a few catchers that I haven't been to in a while. Yes that's right, just the catchers!
I moseyed into Macca's to use an expired free coffee coupon. Luckily they never check the date on the back unless you have it upside down. In these freezing nights even a hot coffee from Macdonalds is welcome.
I got the call from the gf saying she was in Shinjuku so my plans evaporated and we checked out accessories and dresses before heading on back.
Dinner was quickly decided once it was established neither of us wanted to cook. (I cooked an excellent salami and provelone cheese pasta last night by the way). The gf had a 1000 yen discount coupon to Onyasai, a Shabu-Shabu restaurant in Yotsuya.
Tonight is my first time to eat Shabu-Shabu. It's similar to a yakiniku except instead of frying the thin meat yourself, it magically cooks in boiling seaweed water and spicy tantan soup.
It's great to try something new, but I prefer yakiniku, mostly because the gf tried to stuff me with boiled veges and tofu rather than the meat I needed to grow big and strong!
Still, it was tremendously filling for about 2000 yen each of "all you can eat" goodness in two hours.
The only question now remaining is, "Is this the last of the Hentai dolls?" Stay tuned.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:52 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shinjuku, UFO catchers
Thursday, 17 January 2008
OMG, I Think I Might Be Charisma Man
I couldn't really understand how going back to Australia would turn out to be mostly a let down.
Recently a fellow teacher brought in a comic book called "Charisma Man". It's story is basically how a back home loser becomes desirable to japanese women.
Going back home I guess I was just another face in the crowd. I have to say coming here has improved my confidence so much.
One great thing about women here is that they don't blow off guys as easily as western women do. Not all guys are looking to pick up. Sometimes conversation is just that.
Another teacher noted that the type of people they hired had similar characteristics. At the time I didn't think much of it, but there is a kind of otaku vibe to us.
Sure, one can say being geeky isn't the most appealing trait in a person, but the opposite can be as off-putting as well.
There is someone who, from my first impression came across as over confident. He walked the walk and talked the talk. Basically he had tickets on himself. Ha, there's an aussie idiom for you!
He talks how he's so great with women. Yet, the only gf he has had since coming here many months ago was a 19yr old girl working at some fast food restaurant.
He said he has TOO MUCH respect for women. I just think that the fish stinks from the head (Thanks papa for that one), and the girls know it.
Anyway enough about that little rant. I feel like I'm beginning to sound like Doogie Howser MD.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:48 pm 0 comments
Monday, 14 January 2008
A Day Off With Panettone.
There was a public holiday today, so we just slept in.
Along with the salami and cheese, we also got stuck into the yummy italian panettone cake. I guess you could say it's to celebrate seven months together.
We didn't go anywhere except to the supermarket. On mondays they have a lot of 100 yen specials.
I've done a few mods on my phone. The best is a phone locker that looks similar to the iPhone screen that works great. It makes it easy to make sure I don't make any unwanted calls if I forget to lock it.
I tried putting an iPhone launcher screen on it as well. It looked pretty cool with all the buttons, but it wasn't the most stable thing, and it showed the wrong time.
I actually prefer the default today screen.
I put on an iPod skin player as well. This looks very cool, but it's a little gimmicky.
Last night we cleaned the air conditioner's filters. They were caked in dust. It runs much better now. I'm counting down the days till the end of this freezing weather.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Guitars, Cheese and Salami
Being a good a day as any, I have decided to start eating the massive salami and Pecorino cheese.
I wish I had an electric slicer. It'd be so much easier to cut some thin slices.
I was going to share it with the gf, but with the cold and the soothing glow from our new electric heater she fell asleep.
It won't be a problem though. There is still a LOT more to go to finish it.
Last night I looked up an old co-worker from a previous job.
He actually bought my very much missed Marshall stack. A few years ago he also packed up and left for Tokyo to teach english. That is one reason I was looking for him. The only problem now is that he is now studying visual arts in San Francisco!
Looking over his stuff on the internet made me realize that I have been wasting years not playing as much music as I should have.
Before I left Brisbane I took this picture of my favourite guitars.
My absolute best guitar is the once pristine white Les Paul with gold pickups and pink binding. This guitar has mojo. Shame I had to leave them back home.
In class I asked students their New Year's resolutions this week and I told them mine was to learn Japanese. Now, I think to add to that is to play more guitar and record those songs in my head once and for all.
Later today we're going to head to Harajuku.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 3:24 pm 0 comments
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Where The Streets Have No Name.. Literally
One of my little irritations about Japan is the confusion with finding how to get somewhere.
By that I mean that most streets in Japan don't have street names, and if you think that is bad, they are numbered when they were built, NOT consecutively or logically.
Now normally I don't have anywhere specific to go, or my route is pretty well mapped out, but today I had in mind to take a detour to Shibuya to get my old "un-repairable" Swiss Military watch to what may be regarded as the best swiss watch repairer in Japan.
I left the apartment about an hour earlier to account for any problems. Lucky that I did, because I was wandering up and down those streets in total bewilderment. I asked about five people for directions and while I was in the general vicinity, I wasn't having much luck.
Finally I found it. There wasn't any sign in romanji or english. There was a small foyer with some japanese for the floor I was after. After going up the elevator to the third level, the room didn't even have a sign! It looked like some temporary office space.
Thankfully the assistant knew enough english to tell me the watch would take two weeks to overhaul and cost 15,000 yen. Not too bad. I had thought I'd be prepared to pay up to 20,000 yen before giving up to buy a new one.
For anyone that happens to need a swiss watch repaired, this is who they are -
Taga Watch Service Centre, Mani Building 303, 37-10 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, TOKYO.
They are said to be the only watch repair technician in Japan approved by Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
I'll be happy to get my watch back home.
For now it's "Mickey Time", a watch that I've had for about twenty years only requiring the occasional battery change and strap replacement that I can do myself.
You'll notice that it's "old school" Mickey, not scary, modern "Michael Jackson" Mickey.
All I need now is time to get to work.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shibuya
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Raw Like Sushi
Last night I was reunited with the gf.
She had dinner with a classmate, so when I got back to Yotsuya I decided to make some curry risotto rice with vegetables and pork.
By the time I was almost done she came through the door and still had room for some of my dinner.
Today we slummed it, resting most of the day.
When we finally left the house we made our way to the Yotsuya library so I brought back those CDs I last had. In its place I borrowed Best of T-Rex and Nirvana, Nikka Costa (feat. Lenny Kravitz), and a Rolling Stone magazine.
We went into Shinjuku after that. There are a lot of clothing sales at the moment. The gf was looking for a new dress for a wedding she'll be going to in two weeks. I patiently tagged along.
On our way home we had sushi together for the first time.
Maybe it's strange after almost seven months in Japan for me to not have done it sooner. While none of the fish tasted bad, I still prefer to eat sushi in small doses. I'm just not used to eating fish raw.
This is some funny english from the menu.
"We recommend this tasty tuna with BIG CONFIDENT!" and "semi fatty tuna", "mostly fatty tuna". I didn't think fish had fat. Yes, it was tasty.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:28 pm 0 comments
Labels: Sushi
Friday, 4 January 2008
Osaka Aquarium, Osaka-jo and Namba
For what was going to be my relaxing last day in Osaka, I did more than I expected.
I checked out of the hotel at 10am but still managed to not get myself out of Shin-Osaka until about 11:30am.
First, the original lockers I was looking for were already taken so I had to look somewhere else. It didn't take too long to do that.
Next, I had to decide where to go first. Finally over a free Maccas coffee and mama's biscuits I thought the Osaka Aquarium should be first off the list.
It looked to be the furthest out. I wanted to be as close to Shin-Osaka at then end of the day in case of any delays. A young station helper offered some great advice for cheaper travel.
Because I was going to the Osaka Aquarium, there is a combined subway and entry ticket for 2400 yen (the normal entry fee is 2000 yen). The other 400 yen is UNLIMITED subway trains for the day. Seeing that one way to there was 270 yen, this is a steal.
Also, it trashed my plan to walk to Umeda again. If it's this cheap I'd be an idiot wasting precious little time that I have left to look around.
The Kaiyukan Aquarium as it's properly known, is in the Tempozan port area of Osaka.
It's other main attraction is (another) ferris wheel, claimed to be the largest one in the world.
With the rail pass it's possible to get a ticket on the wheel for 630 yen (as opposed to 700 yen), which almost tempted me to go for a spin, but again with not much time available to me, I passed on it.
The biggest surprise at the Aquarium was outside.
There were real penguins on show! It's a shame the gf wasn't here. She would have loved to see them. And yes, they all had happy feet.
The place was packed so it was hard at times to see all the exhibits clearly. There's something about Aquariums that I find really peaceful, watching fish go around in circles over and over again. Fish have uncomplicated lives.
I was probably there longer than I should, but I was well ahead of schedule still. I even managed to squeeze yet another Maccas coffee there while I MSN'd on my phone with my mama in Australia.
So, next on the itinerary I decided to check out Osaka-jo.
Up close the castle doesn't look too bad, but it's nowhere near as impressive as the majestic Himeji-jo. Still, it's possible to get into the castle grounds up real close for nothing. It's only charged on entry to the building.
After checking out the castle from every (outside) angle it started to get dark so I made my way back to the station in search of Den Den Town, Osaka's Akihabara.
I got out at Nipponbashi station, but for some reason I couldn't seem to locate it. I was getting disorientated somehow ending up in Doguya-suji arcade (not much there) and Namba.
Namba was interesting. I wish I had a bit more time to check it out properly. Lots of interesting shops.
With little time left and for something different (well, not really), I went to Yoshinoya for some Gyu-don (beef over rice).
After that I finally found the Namba subway station to go directly back to Shin-Osaka on the Mido-suji line. I say directly, but for some unknown reason the train's final stop was Nakatsu, two stops before mine.
I got off the train and waited patiently for the next train. After getting my luggage I was at the platform with an easy twenty minutes to spare.
The train left at 7:10pm and arrived at Tokyo station about 9:46pm. I watched "The Descent" on my laptop. It's not a bad film, a few genuine scares but only a rental I think. Good, not great.
Unloading my suitcase is taking a while. This holiday has been too good. It's going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:03 pm 0 comments
Labels: Kaiyukan Aquarium, Namba, Osaka, Osaka Castle
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Himeji Castle And Kobe
Try as I might I couldn't leave the hotel before midday, even though I got up early once more. Maybe i set the aircon too high at 31 degrees and it was making me sleepy.
I caught the Special Rapid train at 12:39pm to Himeji to see what is regarded as Japan's finest castle, Himeji-jo (also known as Shirasagi "White Egret").
It's not the Shinkansen, but a local train. It cost 1450 yen one way. The bullet train is a bit more than double that.
It took a little over an hour but not worth the extra cost. It's a good thing to know, as the JR staff easily try to "up size" the ticket to people that don't know. You can trick me once, won't let you trick me twice.
The time went quick though. If you look out the left window not long after Kobe, you can see the longest, almost 4km, suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi Kaikyo bridge to Awaji-shima.
By the time I got there it was almost 2pm. I walked about 15 minutes from the station to get to Himeji Castle.
Apart from the Castle there doesn't look to be much else to go there for. There is a discount ticket for the adjoining Koko-en ticket if you purchase it at the same time.
I almost got it, but I soon remembered the last painful time I had in a japanese garden, so I gave it as miss. Arriving so late I didn't think I'd have time to see it anyway.
The entry to the castle is 600 yen and well worth it. I recommend it as a must see if you go to the Kansai area. I thought there wasn't entry to the actual castle building, but it's possible to go up all levels to the top. Do it, you know you want to.
The full tour around the castle is said to take one and a half hours, but I managed to take two hours.
By this time it started to get dark, so I caught the train to go back.
Next stop was to go check out Kobe. It's on the same line, so it's a good idea I think.
The darkness and neon transforms all japanese cities from moths to butterflies hiding the ugly concrete structures.
The harbour, with it's own Ferris Wheel reminded me of Yokohama. Being only about 30 minutes from Osaka, it's a fair comparison.
I made my way to Kobe's Chinatown, Nankinmachi.
There were a lot of stalls selling food. I was pretty hungry, so I bought a pork sauced bun, Nikuman for the nice price of 150 yen.
I was able to pick up a strong wi-fi signal from there, so I loaded up the GPS and internet on my phone.
I'm really liking my Tytn II. Nothing like getting Google satellite maps, MSN messenger, Skype and train timetables for nix. Very sweet.
From there I walked to JR Sannomiya for a good beef and rice combo at Sukiya, and to catch my quick train to Shin-Osaka (540 yen).
I arrived home at about 1030pm, so I decided to walk around the station here. There really is nothing around here except a few other hotels. Pretty dull.
I found some lockers that should be big enough for my suitcase for my last day here. Well, I hope so.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Himeji Castle, Kobe, Osaka
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Umeda And Dotombori
Even though I woke up early, I didn't leave the hotel until midday.
At first I had planned to go to Himeji Castle. Starting so late I thought I may try it another day.
In my madness I thought it would be a good idea to walk across to Umeda. On Google Earth it looks like it's not that far.
In reality reaching the Shin Yodogawa bridge I wanted to cross revealed that there wasn't any pedestrian access.
Feeling defeated I sat on the hilly bank eating the remaining corn chips and watched quite a few japanese at leisure, exercising, walking their dogs, practising baseball bating and one was even flying a kite.
I decided to walk east along the river and try my luck at the Juso bridge further down.
Thankfully it was possible to cross on foot towards the Umeda Sky Building in Kita ("north"). This building stands out prominently in the Osaka skyline so I thought it good to go up to the Floating Garden lookout at the top.
The view is fantastic. Well worth the 700 yen entry. I actually stayed there for a few hours both to take in the view and to relax.
It's been said that Osaka people are very friendly. While checking out where places were on my map and looking at the view, a woman asked me what I was looking for. Very strange considering I was just getting my bearings and wasn't really lost.
I finally made my way back down and headed from Umeda to Shinsaibashi and Dotombori.
I was confident I was walking in the right direction, but there were hardly any people around between places and I thought that strange. It was the same thing walking from Shin-Osaka to Umeda.
The Shinsaibashi-suji is a long arcade area that reminds me a lot of the Hiroshima mall area.
As I got closer to Namba and Dotombori the crowds started to thicken.
Crossing the bridge from Shinsaibashi-suji into Dotombori was a revelation. It's amazing what sparkling neon can do to a place.
I really enjoyed the Dotombori area.
If there's any place to be in Osaka this is it. And no, it's not because it seems like there's a UFO catcher arcade every ten metres (I only played once and lost 300 yen on a big Totoro).
By this time I was feeling extremely hungry.
I saw an Okonomiyaki stall advertising 300 yen for a basic dish. I super sized it to the "Okonomiya Special" that had the works with added Kimchi, egg and spring onions for 550 yen. This was real good. Just what a growing boy needs.
After wandering around what seemed like an endless labyrinth and a record four Macca's coffees, I decided to make my way back from Shinsaibashi station to Shin-Osaka. (230 yen) There's no way I was going to walk all the way back.
In hindsight I think it may have been better (and cheaper) to sleep at the hotel I was thinking of in Tennoji. Still, I'm getting used to this place. I don't mind it so much. I just wish it was closer to the Minami ("south") action in Dotombori.
My legs are tired but I think I put in a fair effort on my first real day in Osaka.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
New Years Resolution
I was meaning to go to bed earlier so I'd be chipper to wake up at 6am for my flight home.
Probably for the first New Years Eve in a long time I stayed home.
The last few had been lacklustre. Everybody seemed to hug strangers lovingly, and half an hour later it felt like any other night getting pissed.
Best of all I was spared "Auld Lang Syne". Shame I can't say the same thing about "Last Christmas". I heard it a few days before the big day.
As midnight came around I could here the fireworks from the city and revelers cheering. I don't feel like I missed that much.
Let's just say that I hope that what I'm doing here in Japan is getting me closer to my resolution. Make of that what you will.
There was no problems getting the flight. I was there in plenty of time. Jetstar was surprisingly better than I expected.
The flight to Sydney was almost empty and the plane looked OLD inside. I wish it was direct from Brisbane, but I guess cheaper ticket beggars can't be choosers.
The Sydney-Osaka plane was more packed. I requested a window seat exit row. This is the best seat on a plane. First Class leg room and easy to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately I had a big sumo guy next to me which I was hoping was a seat free to lie down.
Compared to europe, flying to Japan takes no time at all. Normally a 8 hour flight.
I brought along quite a lot of food to eat on the plane - corn chips, bread sticks and ah.. mama's biscuits!
I thought I'd have to dump them at Quarantine, so I reluctantly ate as much as I could without feeling like throwing it all up.
The Customs at Osaka are pretty relaxed. I could have saved the food for my time while I am there as they let it all go through, even a monster salami and cheese that I have to go through sometime.
I caught the Limited Express Haruka train to Shin-Osaka where gf had booked my room at "Hotel Live Max" close to where my Shinkansen conveniently leaves for Toyko on friday.
I thought I was doing it on the cheap using my suica card, but an inspector said I had to pay 1150 yen supplement for being on the express. That sucked, but I'm so tired right now I'm glad to get here as quick as I could.
I found the hotel pretty easily. The desk clerk didn't speak any english so it was a little uncomfortable until he called gf to clarify a few things.
The hotel itself is pretty basic for 4500 yen a night. I have a fridge, microwave and even this open wifi connection that I suspect doesn't belong to the hotel.
Outside the weather is a balmy 5 degrees, so I'm thankful to work out how to turn the heat for the aircon.
I'm hoping for a big adventure tomorrow in big bad Osaka.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:24 pm 0 comments


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text:
WASHINGTON – In theaters, the movies might look the same. But perhaps now we see them differently.
After the gun massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, in December, the ground shifted for good. Assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and background checks became a permanent part of the conversation, as did movies and video games. Everyone — even movie fans — seemed willing to re-examine our national obsession with violence and a popular culture addicted to aggression, senseless gunplay and reckless notions of rough justice.
Then the blood-spattered spaghetti western "Django Unchained" opened — on Christmas Day, of all times, not even a week after "Jack Reacher" arrived in theaters, its first-person perspective of a sniper recalling the events of mid-December with a repellent shudder.
In successive weeks, theaters were awash in a sea of unbridled carnage and ballistic mayhem, as "Gangster Squad," "Parker," "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," "Bullet to the Head" and "Stand Up Guys" blasted their way onto neighborhood screens. In the most perverse coincidence of the season, "The Last Stand," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and an enormous machine gun, arrived the very day that the Aurora Century 16 in Colorado reopened after a mass shooting there in July.
"This time it's different?" Hollywood seemed to taunt. "Prove it."
And we did. Sort of.
Consider: "Django Unchained" was an instant hit, becoming the most successful movie of Quentin Tarantino's career. But in short order, "Gangster Squad," "The Last Stand," "Parker," "Bullet to the Head" and "Stand Up Guys" tanked. Only "Hansel and Gretel" — like "Django," an outlandish exercise in artistic license, in this case making a Grimms' fairy tale even grimmer — proved successful, while its slightly more realistic, and far more cynical, brethren hit the deck like so many carnival-range rabbits.
The sight of such icons as Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone trying to look tough while wielding their high-caliber phallic symbols wasn't just a ridiculous burlesque of macho posturing. After Newtown, it was downright distasteful. As one reader wrote in an email in December, he wasn't sure where the post-Newtown conversation about gun violence was going, "but I for one am no longer willing to support it in films."
It seems that he wasn't alone. There are myriad variables at work whenever box-office numbers are in play — it could be that audiences simply think Cruise, Schwarzenegger and Stallone have outlived their credibility as action heroes. But another possible takeaway from the past six weeks' worth of action flicks is that, when it came to screen violence, we accepted it in a universe of fables and flagrantly outlandish B-movies and rejected it in more realistic stories. Ritualized aggression may not faze us in the realm of imaginative play. But real-world body counts — even if they're only enacted on-screen — have swiftly lost their entertainment value.
It might be wishful thinking, but I'd like to think that audiences can tell the difference between escapist fantasy and the kind of brutal realism — or realistic brutalism — that doesn't just fetishize guns and bloody violence but normalizes them. They can tell when they are being patronized.
Audiences can also tell whether they're being respected or coerced. The Oscar-nominated CIA thriller "Zero Dark Thirty"opened like gangbusters in January, when its top-performing theaters were (surprise, surprise) in Northern Virginia locations convenient to military, intelligence and policy-making personnel. Despite premature criticism from politicians, journalists and activists who took issue with the film's depiction of torture and its role in the search for Osama bin Laden, "Zero Dark Thirty" has found a large and receptive audience of viewers who presumably can judge for themselves whether waterboarding or old-fashioned intelligence-gathering proved more crucial in the hunt.
The debates about violence — whether vigilante or state-sanctioned — come down to one conclusion: that in a world of proliferating media, the ability to decode what movies say and how they say it has never been more important. Media literacy has now become as important as the three R's. We still have a long way to go in making media literacy an everyday part of school curricula and living-room conversations. But generations raised on a steady diet of visual information have proved remarkably astute in sifting through movies, their messages and the moments when they go too far.
We don't possess granular information on how subtly audiences processed the lurid revisionism of "Django Unchained" or whether they emerged from "Zero Dark Thirty" believing that torture has a justified place in American foreign policy. But the box-office figures do suggest that audiences are far more sophisticated and discerning than pundits — and movie studios — often give them credit for.
It will take more long-range data to detect a bona fide post-Newtown trend: "A Good Day to Die Hard" opens Feb. 14, and this summer will see its usual complement of shoot-'em-up spectacles. But over these past few weeks, at least for a moment, American filmgoers seemed willing to send Hollywood their own message: This time it really is different. We've finally had it with being played for chumps.


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Microsoft has launched a new Windows Phone development center in a bid to woo developers a little closer to its oft-maligned mobile platform. This new portal is an evolution of the old App Hub, which previously was the focal point for this technology support.
The new presentation is clean enough in terms of design and has a clear Windows 8 Metro style GUI emphasis. Microsoft's Ash Wahi writes on the Windows Phone Developer Blog that there is a streamlined set of menu options and quick links (Submit App, Get SDK, and View Samples) — all aimed at providing faster access to common tasks.
Blogs and other information resources encourage "absolute beginners" to the Windows Phone 7 space; but whether this means juniors or more seasoned developers (or both) have not considered the platform to date is unclear.
Monetization matters, and Microsoft has paved the way for developers to soon register in four times as many countries or regions and get paid in three times as many as what is possible today. Plus, the Dev Center now supports PayPal, an option that the firm says programmers have asked for.
"One highly-requested feature coming in our next release is in-app purchasing. The Dev Center will support this important new revenue-generating mechanism in multiple ways, making it easy to do things like add and manage in-app merchandise and track sales," writes Microsoft's Wahi.
"Finally, beta testing is a key part of the development process, and some developers told us App Hub's 100-tester limit didn't provide them with enough feedback on in-progress apps. So the Windows Phone Dev Center now supports thousands of beta testers."
But just how well (or really not well at all) is the Windows Phone market actually doing?
UK tech news site Computer Weekly's Jennifer Scott reports on a Canalys study which showed that, "Windows Phone still only held 3.2% marketshare; shipments have increased by a huge 277.3%, growing from 1.3 million handsets sold in the second quarter of 2011 to 5.1 million in Q2 2012. Whilst this has had little effect on Google's Android mobile OS, which now accounts for 68% of market share, iOS, Blackberry, and Symbian all fell in marketshare, with the last two also losing out on shipment numbers compared to last year."


text:
Arapahoe High gunman planned much larger attack
Arapahoe High School gunman Karl Pierson scrawled messages on his arms pointing to five areas of the Centennial, Colo., school he planned to attack, the county sheriff said Tuesday.
Also written on his forearm in permanent marker was the Latin phrase "Alea iacta est," which means in English "The die has been cast."
The letters and numbers on his arm correlated with specific classrooms located near the school's library, where authorities have said Pierson planned to target librarian and debate coach Tracy Murphy.
The sheriff released the new details but said it still appears that Pierson, 18, acted alone.
"The letters/numbers written on the shooter's arm is an indicator to investigators of the shooter's plan," Sheriff Grayson Robinson wrote in a news release, adding that investigators will try to determine the relevance of the list "while closely evaluating if the occupants of those classrooms may have also been targeted for harm by the shooter."
Before killing himself inside the library on Friday, Pierson shot and wounded Claire Davis, 17, a fellow senior, who remains in a coma.
Pierson came to the school armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun he bought legally at a sporting goods store as well as three Molotov cocktails, and a machete concealed in a canvas scabbard. Strapped to his chest and waist were two bandoliers containing some of the 125 rounds of assorted ammunition, a mix of steel-shot, buckshot and slugs, Robinson said.
Robinson also announced that the FBI has joined in the investigation of the shooting. The sheriff described the investigation as ongoing and methodical.


text:
Rosenberg RN. Positive potential of fetal nigral implants for Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol. 2004 Jun;61(6):837-8. PubMed.
Please login to recommend the paper.
What a great group of papers...View all comments by Mark Cookson
From my perspective, the most thrilling paper is the one from Kevin McNaught and colleagues. It is important because it tests the idea that proteasome dysfunction is central to cell damage and inclusion formation in PD and related disorders. A problem with this idea is that although dopaminergic neurons do appear to be susecptible to this type of damage, there are reports that decreased proteasome function also occurs in other diseases that may or may not have a parkinsonian component (e.g., the polyglutamine diseases or ALS). Therefore, unless one looks at the whole nervous system one cannot be sure that proteasome inhibition is a sufficient explanation for PD, and not a general facet of neurodegenerative diseases. The McNaught paper directly addresses this, and as a bonus may provide us with an easily replicable model that has both neuronal loss and inclusion formation - something that has been lacking to date. The challenge for the community will be to replicate the current methods and expand them into other areas - finding out whether this works, for example, in mice would be helpful to start testing ideas in transgenic and knockout animals.


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Back in 2009, Joss Whedon wrote (and "Cloverfield" writer Drew Goddard directed) an homage to classic horror films called "Cabin in the Woods." Two years later, and all we got was a poster.
In the meantime, of course, star Chris Hemsworth went from "Who?" to "Thor!", and Whedon was handed the keys to the biggest superhero crossover movie to date, "The Avengers." Thanks to that, the studio has decided to not give "Cabin" the "Trick 'R Treat"-ment (short version: Inexplicably dumping a really good horror effort on home video).
First we got a release date (April 13, 2012) and now, the first official trailer. And it is a head-scratcher. Did you think this was a deliberately old-school "campers get slaughtered" pic? Think again. And then get back to us with your theories about what exactly is going on.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Once again, "Cabin" arrives next April, followed almost immediately (and conveniently) by that little superhero thing that Whedon and Hemsworth are futzing around with.


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Ben Fikkert's "Frivolité" ©1984 was his first tatting publication. It is a small paperback with 30 pages. All the basic tatting techniques are presented in tutorials in the first 20 pages of the book. The last part of the book contains 9 patterns of which 5 are very large pieces. Several edgings and small motifs are mixed in with the instructional section.
The front cover gives the tatter a clue that the patterns included are the most traditional styles of tatting patterns, the doily, the collar and edgings. A closer look at the cover collar shows some interesting treatments with long picots. Although this collar pattern is not in the book, it could be tatted with a little study.
Ben's book also contains a couple of instructional sections worth noting. Some tatters specialize in tatting history. Knowing when a technique first came into vogue is hard to document. Old lace pieces when scrutinized yield interesting facts, like it was tatted only with rings, or only with chains, or the rings were made as chains folded back and joined to the previous work. Today this is called a self-closing mock ring. Since Ben's book was published in 1984 it is an early documented example of this technique.
Two joins are illustrated in the techniques section, the traditional up join and the shuttle lock join. Picking out an error with a pin is recommended and in the last resort cutting a ring. (I would bet that Ben does not recommend that now since "retro-tatting" to correct an error is managed with patience.)
Ben also included a terrific set of illustrations concerning mignonette tatting. (At that time Ben might not have been using the split ring as the illustration of the round center ring which starts the mignonette pattern shows a tail hanging out. Today the tatter would tat the round center ring with one picot short, creating a mock picot with the tail and climbing into the mignonette rounds with a split ring. Leaving a long tail allows the tatter to also climb from row to row as the mignonette gets wider.)
The use of the long picots, node stitch, and added needle weaving in some of the centers give Ben's work added elegance. This is a great sample of traditional tatting patterns. Although this book is out of print, it is worth the time to search for it on the secondary market.
Note: This book was a gift to me many years ago and is part of my personal tatting reference library. G. Seitz
Please visit tatting.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Tatting. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Tatting located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback! Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Georgia Seitz, Tatting Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


text:
OKAMOTO USA INC, a subsidiary of OKAMOTO INDUSTRIES INC – Tokyo, JAPAN (collectively, "OKAMOTO"),
imports and sells the following U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") registered condoms
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Harris Academy Bermondsey
Harris Academy Bermondsey is an 11-18 girls' school in central London, which opened as an Academy in September 2006. The Academy has twice been judged by Ofsted to be an Outstanding School, most recently in March 2015. Harris Bermondsey's students make exceptional progress as a result of the uncompromising but caring approach to success taken by staff. Girls at the Academy are prepared well for life in modern Britain, with a rigorous academic and creative curriculum alongside a wide range of world class opportunities, including a unique one-to-one business mentoring programme, STEM scholarships and the Commonwealth Festival Choir.
PrincipalRebecca IIes-SmithHarris Academy Bermondsey
Academy Contact
55 Southwark Park Road
London SE16 3TZ


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UBS Americas (UBS) trimmed a layer of management under CEO Robert McCann (left) and increased the duties of some of wealth-management leaders, according to a memo released by McCann on Friday. Experts say the restructuring should prove positive for UBS' advisor force, which stands at about 7,000 reps in the Americas.
"The removal of the duplicative layer of regional sales management is the most powerful step, bringing senior executives closer to the line, cutting costs and streamlining decision making," said Chip Roame, managing partner of the consulting firm Tiburon Strategic Advisors, in an interview with AdvisorOne. "The wirehouses all had gotten very thick in their organizations. This is the right move; I am impressed."
The new leadership means that there will be fewer direct reports to McCann. He will still chair the executive committee of Wealth Management Americas, and its members are generally taking on more responsibility, which should allow McCann to focus on his tasks as head of UBS Americas.
McCann was made head of UBS' operations in the Americas on December 1, 2011, after serving as head of UBS' Wealth Management America (WMA) unit since October 2009. Robert Mulholland, McCann's top lieutenant at UBS who runs the advisor force's field operations, is now in charge of investment products and platforms.
The new structure, Roame (right) says, means that McCann elevates himself and gives Mulholland more responsibility for the core business, both sales and products. "Mulholland, who came with McCann from Merrill Lynch, moves from being narrowly the sales head to more of a business head," the consultant explained.
Jason Chandler, for instance, moves from running the ultra-high-net-worth business to running sales in the mainstream business, according to Roame. "This is a clear step one likely must take in the line of promotion," he said.
Dan Cochran, now COO for WMA, becomes the firm's chief control officer, and all COOs for the WMA business lines will have accountability to him; he was previously chief administrative officer for WMA. "Cochran seems to have taken a large step up the chain," Roame said. "The next generation of leaders are emerging, further signaling commitment to this business."
In addition, Paula Polito, formerly chief marketing officer, is becoming chief strategy officer. She will continue to be in charge of marketing while focusing on the unit's emerging-affluent segment and retirement services business.
"This is a vote of confidence for McCann and his lieutenants and recognition of what they've accomplished so far," said executive-search consultant Mark Elzweig (left), in an interview. "They took over a low-morale firm that was bleeding advisors and transformed into an attractive destination for many. They've made a number of impressive new hires. Their newly expanded responsibilities give MCann's team oversight not just of the retail salesforce but of the brokerage platform as well."
Revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 30 for WMA was $1.46 billion, down 4% from last year but up 2% from the third quarter. For the fourth quarter, UBS says it had the highest revenue (or fees and commissions) per financial advisor in the industry at $842,000, as well as the highest invested assets per FA and net new money per rep.
"All of these leaders are exceptional individuals, and together with you, represent the future of WMA and our ability to deliver for clients," McCann said in the memo. "I look forward to speaking with all of you at an Americas Town Hall with [UBS Group CEO] Sergio Ermotti on April 3, where I will discuss the new Americas Executive Committee and our strategy for the region."


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By Patrick Hawthorne
Ok…I've had it up to here! I know you can't see where the here is but use your imagination. First of all, I am a Charismatic. Yeah, yeah, I'm one of those nut jobs who have fallen to the insidious master plot of satan to put a veil between my eyes and God's inerrant Word. Now that we have established that, let's get on to what has me somewhat ticked.
I am fed up with these off the wall, wacked-out, wing nuts who fall under the designation of Charismatic coming up with some of the most ridiculous nonsense ever told and then claiming, "Thus saith the Lord." No! The Lord didn't saith, your pizza did.
I repeat…I am a Charismatic. I have operated in several of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I've heard the arguments of those who wouldn't know the presence of the Holy Spirit even if He slapped them upside the head and hung a neon sign around their neck. Your arguments are noted and filed and yes, somewhat understood because we Charismatics can be our own worst enemy.
For instance, there are times when some nut job who claims to operate in the gifts of the Spirit waltzes into town claiming to have the latest, greatest, and most update-est revelation of God only to see many in the Body…mainly those who call themselves Charismatic…drool over this person like a love struck teenager. Have we forgotten we need to test the spirits to see if they are of God?
I don't mean to be blunt…ok, that's a lie because I aim to be very blunt… but come on folks. Is it any wonder that Charismatics are given a "Koo-Koo" label by other denominational groups? Let me give you an example. I will not mention the person's name, but he is declaring, from a prophecy given him several years ago, that if the Carolina Panthers win the Super Bowl, their win will signal a nationwide awakening and movement of God. Come on! Really? What if they lose?
Now for you none Charismatics. Get off your high horses. Many of you love to spout off about the problems of those who dare believe God still moves. I remember the uproar many years ago because Oral Roberts dared have a theme song which claimed, "Something good is going to happen today." Let's be honest. Some of your churches are so dead they are mistaken for a grave yard.
You love to point out all the wrongs of those you disagree with. You claim freedom in the Lord but are bound tight by your legalistic board driven committee who tells the Pastor what to preach but will not allow the Holy Spirit to orchestrate the service.
I guess what I'm really ticked off about is that we, the Body of Jesus Christ, have been acting like a bunch of two year olds throwing a temper tantrum. KNOCK IT OFF!! There are people who are dying and going to hell. They are looking at all this nonsense which only serves to validate their reasoning for wanting to stay in their sinful life style. Ok… I'm through. Please have a blessed day.


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THQ has announced that UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will grace the cover of UFC Undisputed 2010, probably the closest he will come anytime soon to a head-to-head competition Fedor Emelianenko, on the cover for EA Sports MMA.
Fans have pined for both cover fighters to duke it out in real life, but that is unlikely to happen soon, given the rivalries between both fighters and their promotional circuits (Emelianenko has the third of a three-fight contract with Strikeforce coming up in April.
UFC's Lesnar, although the reigning heavyweight titleist, has been inactive since October due to illness and is not expected to fight again until the summer. The fact he will not have fought in 10 months when UFC Undisputed 2010 comes out May 25 is a curious detail, but Lesnar is an A-list name within mixed martial arts and otherwise an obvious cover choice.
UFC Undisputed Enters Octagon May 25 [GameSpot]


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Seller: James Bass, NKYPHOTOS, KENTUCKY, US Log in to ask the seller a question
Other items by this seller Email this listing to a friend.
Please email the seller to answer any questions you may have on this item before bidding. Buyer pays postage/shipping unless otherwise noted. The seller assumes all responsibility for their own listings. Currency used in the listings is U.S. Dollars. For an up-to-date conversion to worldwide currencies, click here.
Price: $15.00
Shipping/Handling charge in the U.S.: $3.50
Postcard 200607-0676
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Pohl Force Knives- New Tactical Knives from Deitmar Pohl
The Pohl Force combat knives have been very popular in Europe for some time. Dietmar Pohl has been a knife designer for some time and we have sold many that were made by Boker. This line of combat knives is manufactured by Lionsteel in Italy or in Taiwan. The Taiwan models use 440C steel for the blades and they are affordable. The Italian models use D2 for the blades and have a three dimensional texture for the G10 handles. These knives are really well made, both the Taiwanese and Italian models. Each is checked by Dietmar who also signs it's certificate. The packaging is amazing with the fixed blades coming in a zipper pouch and the folders in a nice case. These are all large knives with thick blades and will serve you well. He always includes things like a sticker, certificate and instructions.


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Financial Facts: You need more than just a down payment
Special to the Daily
When it comes time to buy your first home you need to know that a down payment is just part of the real costs in buying a home. The down payment is a big part of the purchase, but there are other costs that must be paid by someone, and that someone is usually the buyer.
If you are paying cash for a home many costs are eliminated, but how many people today pay cash? From my background as a NYSE stockbroker, let me tell you that paying cash is generally not the smartest thing to do. Cash is king and cash can do a lot of things, but cash real estate deals, in many cases, cost more than having a mortgage.
So back to the cost of buying a home. When you have a new mortgage you will have costs such as appraisal of the property, title Insurance, homeowners insurance and other fees that can add up quite quickly.
On the purchase of a $400,000 home you should plan for an additional 2-3 percent for the various closing costs and such items as taxes and insurance.
Another item that you may have to plan for if you are buying a condo is the homeowners association fee. More specifically, some associations require that new owners make a payment of 2-3 months of association dues to keep the cash reserve for the association. Then, when you sell your condo you are reimbursed this amount at the time of closing the sale.
Prepaid items are an expense at closing that includes real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. A full year of homeowners insurance will be paid at the closing and part of this year's real estate taxes will be escrowed so that when the county sends out tax statements next year, the lender will hopefully have sufficient cash to pay this year's taxes. Keep in mind that not all lenders require you to escrow funds, this means that the lender will collect one-twelfth of the taxes and insurance each month. Most lenders now allow you to pay the taxes and insurance direct, but most lenders add a onetime fee, as they really want to pay these fees direct.
One way for you, the buyer, to finance these costs into the loan is to have the seller pay them. This sounds a little odd, but what you do is raise the price to offset the dollar amount of the closing costs. This can be done with the help of your mortgage professional and your Realtor. Keep in mind that the home must still appraise for a value equal to or more than the purchase price.
The bottom line is that you as a buyer need to know well in advance of making an offer to purchase a home that the down payment is just part of the final equation. Make an appointment with a mortgage professional today to become educated in what can and cannot be done. Know your options before you sign on the dotted line and end up regretting the fact that time and knowledge is an important factor when making what may be the biggest investment of your life.
For answers to your mortgage related questions call Bob Kieber at (970) 453-4700 or email him at email@example.com. Bob is a local mortgage lender with Centennial Bank. He has 30-plus years of professional experience in real estate, finance and investments, and is a longtime resident of the High Country. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. NMLS Bank #401640 Broker #289610. For tax benefit information please consult with a professional tax advisor. The opinions expressed are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect those of Centennial Bank.
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Players have created more than two million mods and tracks on their own for popular PS3 kart racer Modnation Racers, and all of them will be playable on the NGP version of the game when it hits, Sony says.
The yet-to-be-named NGP version of the game was designed from the ground up for Sony's upcoming portable, Scott Rohde told a gathering of press. That means that players will be able to use the front and rear touch sensitivity of the NGP to draw their own tracks and then tinker with the creations.
The creation mode uses a series of icons displayed on the screen to allow players to quickly go in and customize their map by manipulating the terrain with their fingertips.
You can also adjust the weather, the sun and of course, race those tracks with the device's two thumbsticks. The NGP game also tracks how many real-world miles you've traveled with your device and rewards you for racking up the miles. Players will also be able to take photos with your modes in the foreground using the device's built-in cameras.


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Rising home prices are the foundation of today's housing recovery. They are drawing much-needed buyers back to the market. Prices would not be rising if the number of foreclosures wasn't falling. They also wouldn't be rising without underwater borrowers getting a break from their banks. Both of those are happening because banks are slashing the balances of thousands of mortgages and letting homeowners sell for less than the value of their loans rather than going to foreclosure.
That debt forgiveness is currently not taxable, thanks to a law passed five years ago which expires at the end of this year. There is bipartisan support to extend that law, but so far any action has been mired in stickier negotiations surrounding the so-called "fiscal cliff."


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Touch screen HMI displays are panel-mounted devices with responsive touch screens for operator input. HMI means 'human-machine interface' and these appliances are intended to streamline the use of machinery. They display graphics and allow the easy selection of options, making them helpful in many industrial and commercial environments.
What are touch screen HMI displays used for?
Touch screen HMI displays aid control and visualisation in a wide range of applications. They have high-resolution displays, dynamic memory, LED backlighting and built-in ethernet to support a variety of networks. Their commercial uses include kiosks, information points, hospitality and air-traffic control. Their clear displays provide precision control over certain variables that can also be customised.
Choosing the right touch screen HMI displays
Touch screen HMI displays are available in a range of different screen sizes, resolutions and colours. They can be configured to support both landscape and portrait devices depending on their intended end use. When choosing the right touch screen, certain parameters should be considered, including processor speed, memory, port and processor type.


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Linda Chavez
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Amnesia lets you easily and thoroughly uninstall apps and more. Many software titles on Mac OS come with the uninstall directions of simply "Drag the application to the Trash and empty it". In reality, this often leaves many related files on the computer taking up valuable hard drive space. Amnesia performs a smart scan to determine all related files to be removed.
Easily uninstall not just applications, but also Screen Savers, Dashboard Widgets, and Preference Panes. Amnesia will remove logs, caches, application support files, preferences, crash reports, and other application specific files. Take the frustration and time out of searching for all of these files manually. In addition, turn on a secure deletion option to prevent recovery of the removed files.
Scared to accidentally remove something you may need later? Amnesia comes with a built-in backup function which creates an archive of related files in case you wish to restore them at a later time. It will reinstall the pieces of the product exactly where they came from – even if you choose to restore to a different machine!
Another powerful feature Amnesia has to offer is the ability to create a list of Untouchables (in addition to the ones built-in). Untouchables are software products which Amnesia will warn you about incase a remove is attempted. This is handy incase a particular software product should be removed using a manufacturer-provided uninstaller instead.
What's New
Version 1.3.9:
- New Feature: Retina Display Support.
- New Feature: Main window now turns into a progress wheel when adding files for an app.
- Bug Fix: Searches with less recursion to improve speed.
- Bug Fix: No longer eats up CPU when idle.
- Bug Fix: Numerous GUI issues resolved.
- Bug Fix: Apps now have generic icon if icon retrieval is cancelled.
Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Intel
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