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When author and history professor Carter G. Woodson created what would become Black History Month in February 1926, America's black citizens were on the outside looking in, spectators to the great American drama, subjected to a repression of aspiration and identity so severe that it amounted to domestic apartheid.
Lynchings were so common that the NAACP kept a flag at its New York offices to announce that "A Man Was Lynched Yesterday." The flag flew often.
The Great Migration was well underway. Black citizens moved from the southern states to the North and Midwest by the millions, and African-American voting was suppressed, sometimes violently, especially in the Jim Crow South. Woodson, grasping the enormity of the situation, created "Negro History Week" as a way of highlighting the social contributions of black Americans.
When Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, he did so as the beneficiary of the broadest, most sweeping black vote in American history. Since 1976, February has been officially designated as Black History Month, but the inauguration of the nation's first black president underscored just how much the climate that produced Woodson's noble idea had changed. Some say the need for Black History Month has ended altogether.
Black History Month has become more or less a reflex in American life, with many observances reduced to rote and repetitious rituals. Many of those observances seem to be as much about marketing products as they are about the collective national memory.
This year—like last year and the year before that—we'll see ads from major corporations featuring the images of African-American iconography: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Civil War-era soldiers, the Freedom Riders and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. … the usual suspects. Elementary school teachers will devote blocks of time for students to recite the biographical talking points of those and other black historical figures; on television and radio, and in school assemblies everywhere, we can expect to hear most of the same one-minute sound bites from King's "I Have a Dream" oration.
But this year's Black History Month will be different, taking place as it does against a backdrop of unprecedented change in the national leadership. As the events of the last month have convincingly shown, there's no separating the current fortunes and histories of 37 million African Americans from the rest of the America.
When black American history intertwines so completely with American history in general, what's the rationale for separating them?
Some, however, disagree. "The notion that it's outlived its usefulness betrays some ignorance of what its purpose was in the first place," said Howard Dodson, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the celebrated Harlem-based repository of black historical documents and artifacts.
"If you follow the logic of those who say Black History Month has outlived its usefulness, they're also saying that institutions like the Schomburg have outlived their usefulness," Dodson told me in February 2006.
The fact of President Obama necessarily calls into question the long-standing African-American preoccupation with life in that rearview mirror. His election doesn't diminish or undercut the importance of black history as an index to the future; it does make the reflexive reverence of Black History Month seem like what it's fast becoming: an observance with an existence that reinforces a sense of apartness, of separation, that Obama's election directly contradicts.
To what degree do we tarnish the spirit of black American history by holding it apart from the rest of a society it was meant to interact with?
The issue of continuing Black History Month isn't really a debate over its value or the worth of expanding it to a yearlong event or a decade-long event. It's realizing the most important thing about history in general and black history in particular, is that it provides a springboard, a lesson plan for the future.
The election of Barack Obama called on America to rethink its idea of the national future, and, similarly, it called on black Americans to rethink their relationship with history and its true value. William Faulkner once famously observed: "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." That's a usefulness that can't be outlived. That's a relationship that can't be fully, adequately contained in a month or a year or a century. African-American history is American history, and we live that history every day of the year.
Michael E. Ross is a regular contributor to The Root.


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Defenders of Wildlife produces many reports, fact sheets, tip sheets and other types of publications.
Use the dropdown boxes below to find publications related to specific animals, conservation issues, and regions.
Los Cabos is located at the tip of the Peninsula of Baja California, surrounded by desert and thorn brush ecosystems, with some estuaries along the coastline. There are more than 400 species of birds in the state with 6 endemics to Mexico. This quick guide presents illustrations of 102 species of birds found commonly around the Los Cabos region.
The Huatulco National Park has the finest preserved tropical dry rainforest in Mexico, an spectacular ecosystem that changes dramatically between the rainy and dry seasons which harbors many endemic species like the Citreoline Trogon, Orange-breasted Bunting or the Goldencheeked Woodpecker.This quick guide presents the illustrations of 115 species of birds common to the Huatulco National Park, including 13 species of endemic birds.
Magdalena Bay is a natural reserve for birds with its many islands, estuaries and channels. The bay is protected from the Pacific ocean waves by the islands of Magdalena and Santa Margarita. This quick guide presents illustrations of more than 100 species of birds found commonly around Magdalena Bay.
Guerrero Negro in Baja California Sur is known for its marine lagoons that are the foremost calving site of the grey whale. Yet an impressive array of more than 200 bird species inhabits the area which is the most important wintering site for migrants like the red knot, marbled godwit, short-billed dowitcher, brant goose as well as many others and one of the most important breeding sites for the osprey. This quick guide presents illustrations of more than 100 species of birds found commonly around Guerrero Negro.
Mexico harbors 45% of all cetacean species (whales, beaked whales, dolphins and porpoises) in the world, and the state of Baja California Sur registers 33% of the total species found in the country. This quick guide presents the illustrations of 27 species of cetaceans found in Baja California Sur.
The guide, the second in our series on wildlife conservation under the Forest Service's 2012 Planning Rule, is designed to help people develop effective connectivity conservation strategies in forest plans. The Planning for Connectivity guide is intended to be used in tandem with the more comprehensive Planning for Diversity guide.
Located on the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is internationally recognized as an important wetland, protected as a wildlife refuge and designated as a wilderness area. It's one of Alaska's most ecologically diverse wildlife refuges, with lagoons, tundra and stunning mountain peaks.
Planning for Diversity is a guide to national forest planning to conserve America's wildlife. The guide provides a roadmap and recommendations for people working on national forest plan revisions and navigating the complex diversity requirements of the new Forest Service planning regulations.
The 10 guiding principles for ecosystem services assessments are designed to encourage thorough assessments that take into consideration ecological, social, and economic values—an interdisciplinary approach that examines interdependent relationships.
This paper offers a framework for use by public and private entities who manage natural resources. It focuses on the maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity to help ensure that natural systems continue to provide intrinsic value and benefits to human communities.

subset: commoncrawl


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Madden 25 Goes Beastmode in New Commercial [VIDEO]
The Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch stars with the Houston Texans' Arian Foster in a new ad for EA Sports' upcoming video game.
Imagine a Marshawn Lynch, Sr. having a lifelong rivalry with an Arian Foster, Sr. Imagine them pushing their sons to become the two premiere running backs in the NFL. Just imagine what methods they would use to achieve that goal.
Your imagination probably doesn't get any wilder than this TV commercial for the upcoming Madden 25 video game. In it, Lynch and Foster play fictional versions of their dads, and the way they mold their young sons into NFL superstars.
Check out the situation where the term "Beastmode" is born!
Read more here.


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|Attention: DocWiki has reached EOL and will be decommissioned January 25, 2019.
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From DocWiki
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|Error while associating script loaded through AAR with application
|Error Message
|UNABLE_LOAD_SCRIPT:Unable to load script: Script=<<Script Name>> with ClassNotFoundException in MADM
|Possible Cause
|Custom step is being used, which is not supported since 4.0.
|Recommended Action
|Remove custom step from the script and replace it with scripting using expression framework.
|Associated CDETS #
Category:Unified CCX, Release 8.0


text: Circuit of Ireland Rally, Easter 1995, a photographer breaks the world record for pants-filling in both the speed and weight categories after nearly being killed by an out-of-control rally car (besting Ninja guy and this cop). Gillette couldn't create a closer shave. Watch what happens next. Talk about dedication to your job! [LiveLeak]


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NEW YORK (AP) - Facebook's stock is sinking nearly 7 percent, falling below the $38 IPO price, in the social network's second day of trading as a public company Monday.
Investors and technology industry watchers are closely tracking the Menlo Park, Calif., company's shares. The world's largest social network was one of the most anticipated initial public stock offerings ever, and now serves as a bellwether for other social media companies.
Facebook's market debut Friday suffered some hiccups, with trading on the Nasdaq delayed for a half hour and issues with traders' orders. The stock closed Friday just 23 cents above where it priced Thursday night, when many investors had hoped for a big first-day pop.
Facebook Inc.'s stock is down $2.62 to $35.61 on Monday.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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Every year to mark Thanksgiving, a U.S. president pardons a turkey. In unrelated news, here's a 1972 Porsche 914 with a Chevy 327 V8 and body panels from three Japanese donors.
Let's give credit here: This Axis and Allies 914 looks far cleaner and better assembled than most of the backyard project cars that pop up on eBay. It's been displayed in public and can travel on its own power, although the dash toupee and the owner's claims that it "corners like no other V8 car can" do raise a few alarms.
The seller admits to a little "ware" on his prize, but says he's trying to downsize his collection, and sweet mother of Modena what a collection it is. One would haphazard a guess that given the number of vehicles parked in a side yard, those aren't actual Ferraris and a Lamborghini Countach, since if they were their value would be several times that of the property they're on. The Corvette appears to have lost a fight with a criminal gang of ground effects salesmen. But all are covered and apparently clean.
If it tickles your fancy, the bidding stands just north of $3,000 with a few days to go. (H/T to a_benz_apart!) [eBay Motors]


text:
The VoxStar UC headset eliminates up to 93% of background noise, so people hear you, not the noise around you. The Bluetooth® adapter gives you the wideband audio you need for significantly better VoIP, speech recognition and Unified Communications performance.
The VXi VoxStar UC Bluetooth Headset gives you best-in-class sound quality and wireless freedom with bluetooth connectivity for your cell phone and pc. With advanced noise cancelation and wideband audio, you get better results from any voice application.
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Works with leading UC softphones — from Microsofty, Ayaya®, Cisco®, IBM®, Skype® and more.
One-year warranty — one year, hassle-free warranty


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UH Hilo offers new certificate in E-Commerce Technology and Business
UH Hilo Home > News and Events > UH Hilo Press Releases
Date: Friday, May 3, 2002
Contact: Dr. Judith Gersting, (808) 974-7450, Dr. Jerry Calton, (808) 974-7593
For Immediate Release
The University of Hawai'i at Hilo will offer a new certificate program in E-Commerce Technology and Business starting in the Fall 2002 semester. "The intent is to produce highly skilled workers who have both a strong technical foundation in Internet site development and management, and an understanding of how businesses must plan their structures and strategies to compete successfully in the world of global e-commerce," said Dr. Judith Gersting, computer science department chair. "The integration of technology and business is central to this program."
Those eligible for the program include undergraduates seeking a degree at UH Hilo and college graduates and unclassified students who meet the necessary criteria. The only prerequisites for entry to this program are successful completion of college freshman English composition and college algebra and trigonometry with a "C" or better grade.
Courses necessary for certificate completion will be offered over two years. In Fall 2002, course offerings are CS 101 Microcomputer Applications Software and CS 200 Web Technology I. Courses in Spring 2003 are CS 201 Web Technology II and MGT 235 Planning, Process and Structure in Electronic Business. Fall 2003 offerings are CS 300 Web Site Management and MKT 318 Internet Marketing. The final course in the certificate program is QBA 365 Managing Electronic Commerce, which will be offered in the Spring 2004 semester.
Gersting described the interdisciplinary certificate program one that teaches a wide range of subjects and skills concerning the integration of technology and business.
"The Web Technology I and II are not only using HTML to write simple pages, but using Web pages that interact with databases on a server," she said. "There's a certain amount of programming involved in that. Web site management has to do with Web site administration, how you run the server, security issues, intellectual property issues - and other things besides just the technical issues.
"Anybody who has an interest in how to put together any type of Web presence or manage a Web server would benefit from this, as would anybody in business who wants information on how to position a business organization for some kind of web presence or e-commerce," Gersting added.
"That's especially true with managers and management students who want to know about the technology of how this is done."
For more information, contact Gersting at (808) 974-7450 or Dr. Jerry Calton, business department chair, at (808) 974-7593.
Disclaimer: The University of Hawaii at Hilo is not responsible for the contents, links and/or materials presented in any web site listed above that are not of the "hilo.hawaii.edu" or ".uhh.hawaii.edu" domains. All comments, complaints and grievances should be filed with the author, host and/or owner of said site.


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Good roads and good schools have traditionally been two key factors in a city's growth, and now more than ever, Transit is taking its place as another, very important part of shaping a city's development. Listen to our Podcast Here Our ...Read More
Included below are luxury homes for sale in Cotswold, NC, updated multiple times a day from the CarolinaMLS.
For additional details on any of these luxury properties in Cotswold, NC, just click the "Request More Information" button located on the detail page of each listing. We can provide you with disclosures, past sales history, dates and prices of properties recently sold nearby, and more.
And, for your convenience, register for a free account to automatically receive email alerts whenever new Cotswold luxury homes hit the market that match your search criteria.


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So every once in a while I get asked what I would do if I were in charge of the Warriors. Sometimes people ask me what decisions I would make if I had that kind of control.
It's always hard to answer because, even if you know a little bit about what's being talked about among teams, you don't really know what's going on. You never know the whole story and you never even hear about most of it.
So, it's one thing to talk about trading Monta Ellis or Corey Maggette, it's another to really know what's out there for them.
But here's something I certainly would pursue. I just saw that Hedo Turkoglu told a Turkish television station that he didn't want to return to Toronto. He signed a pretty big deal there last year as a free agent, but had a pretty mediocre season.
Still, I'd get on that immediately.
Turkoglu had much more of an impact for the Magic than he did for Toronto, and it no doubt had a lot to do with him not handling the ball as much and being far less of an offensive focus.
It's about Chris Bosh – or was – and Jose Calderon when it comes to handling the ball, and that left Turkoglu odd man out. And no, he didn't exactly embrace not being the man.
What I'm getting around to is this: If I were the Warriors, I'd get in on that. I would absolutely, positively reach out to see what the Raptors think about Turkoglu wanting out.
If I'm the Warriors, I would be open to listening about any player except for Stephen Curry. It's not that I would never consider trading Curry, it's that if I'm considering trying to acquire Turkoglu, I'm going to want him to play alongside Curry.
Then you've got two very competent playmakers and ball-handlers. Now, Turkoglu's got a big contract – four more years at about $43 million. But you know what? That's not that much, and in all likelihood you're probably going to have to give up an Andris Biedrins or Monta Ellis, both of whom make comparable money themselves.
I think it's wishful thinking to believe there's a deal there that involves Maggette. Certainly, the Raptors will come asking about Anthony Randolph, and I wouldn't be averse to tossing his name around.
Ditto for Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf or Brandan Wright. Not that No. 3 has much value.
Turkoglu is not a perfect player, but he's the kind of player who would be a very nice fit on the Warriors. They do not have a player who can impact a game in as many areas as Turkoglu.
You put Turkoglu on the Warriors and he'd immediately be the team's best all-around player.
You ask me what I would do if I ran the Warriors, and that's certainly one thing: Get on the horn with the Raptors and start pestering them about Turkoglu.


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I'm not sure I get your distinction between storyline and plot. We are always able to draw arbitrary semantic distinctions, but they may be distinctions without a difference. Whatever you want to call it, there are so many more "things happening" in a bestseller by Grisham, Connelly, John Twelve Hawks, Dan Brown, what have you, than in a more "literary" book. If you count "things happening" as "things happening in the narrator's head" too, then Marcel Proust may be seen as tightly plotted.ReplyDelete
So many "literary" works have little to no plot. Updike's RABBIT, RUN has verbose description of the narrator endlessly driving for what, over 100 pages? Same with David Gates' JERNIGAN. Elizabeth Hand's GENERATION LOSS has the narrator's decades-long sex and drug lifestyle summarized in the first few pages before it hits a brick wall of endless description of taking a trip to some small Northeastern island. The difference between these kinds of books is so obvious and THERE.
I get the distinction between story and plot - story is what happened, plot is how you tell it.ReplyDelete
However, I think plot is built of conflict. Stuff happening or being described is not plot (or is weak plot).


text:
floggings is a valid word in this word list. For a definition, see the external dictionary links below.
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Here are some fun events outside of Dover that you might want to consider diving into this weekend.
Local singer-songwriter
WHAT Mike Weyrauch in concert
WHEN 9 p.m., Friday
WHERE The Golden Fleece Tavern, 132 W. Loockerman St., Dover
INFO Visit thegoldenfleecetavern.com or call 674-1776
If Johnny Cash and the crew in outfits like Pearl Jam, Of A Revolution and Breaking Benjamin all teamed up to form a band, their music would reflect singer-songwriter Mike Weyrauch's tunes.
Weyrauch, of Dover, is a self-taught musician who's been developing his music for the last 14 years. The acoustic-rockers attraction to a variety of genres has spilled over into his present sound.
Weyrauch recently released his second EP on iTunes titled "Meaning Behind the Sessions." The project is an acoustic adventure with skilled guitar picking, sultry vocals and lyrics solely based on Weyrauch's personal experiences and beliefs.
Original acoustic rock to hit the spot
WHAT Glenn Govot in concert
WHEN Friday, 6 p.m.
WHERE Fraizer's Restaurant, 9 E. Loockerman St., Dover
INFO Visit fraizersrestaurant.com or call (302) 741-2420
At the age of 5, Glenn Govot knew who he wanted to be when he grew up.
So he played in the school marching band, orchestras and later picked up a guitar. Govot hasn't looked back since.
Now as an adult, the singer-songwriter is living his dream, wooing audiences in Florida where he's based at. And he makes it easy for listeners to dig him thanks to his guitar skills and engaging vocals.
Govot, who's released three albums, will bring sunny vibes from Florida to the First State when he gigs at Fraizer's Restaurant tonight.
Live party of 5
WHAT The Fifth Level in concert
WHEN Saturday, 9:30 p.m.
WHERE Fire & Ice Lounge at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, 1131 North Dupont Highway, Dover
INFO Visit doverdowns.com or call 674-4600
The Fifth Level has a tradition of taking audiences on a smooth musical experience from the '70s through the present, spotlighting a heavy collection of mostly R&B hits, with some rock, funk and hip-hop mixed in.
Tunes from the '70s the band tackles includes Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," The Commodores' "Brick House" and The Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'."
Hits from the '80s feature tunes like Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation," DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat" and Whodini's "Freaks Come Out at Night."
The '90s catalog highlights Luther Vandross' "Hear and Now" and Naughy By Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray" and more.
And tunes spanning the early 2000s to more recent hits include Usher's "Yeah," Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" and Trey Songz's "Bottoms Up."
Hailing from Maryland, Fifth Level's next blast to the past begins Saturday when it returns to the Fire & Ice Lounge at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.


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Understanding The Difference Between Price And Value; Product And Benefit
from the let's-try-this-again dept
In the past few months, this discussion keeps coming up again and again -- and it's good to see folks pushing back and pointing out the difference between price and value. The latest is Amy Gahran, over at eMedia Tidbits, where she takes a journalism professor to task for asking whether journalism should even be done at all if people don't "find value in what we as journalists do." First, Gahran makes the point that, historically journalism has always been more supported by ads than people anyway, and then makes the price/value distinction:
just because people aren't willing to directly pay cash for something does not necessarily mean they don't "find value" in it. For instance, when was the last time you personally chipped in for a clinical trial? And how are you paying for that air you're breathing right now?She then goes on to make another favorite point: too often, those in dying industries mistake the product they're selling with the benefit they're selling. The horse carriage makers mistakenly thought they were in the horse carriage business (product) rather than the transportation market (benefit). The best way to succeed is not to focus on the product, but the benefit you're providing your customers:
Some benefits are assumed to be part of the environment in which we exist. That's what it means to have an environment. If a benefit grows scarce to the point that people feel they must directly pay cash from their pocket to keep getting it, there's probably a far more dire calamity at hand than that single point of scarcity. Most people will almost always seek other free sources of a benefit first.
I think it's important to bear in mind that people value benefits, not necessarily forms. The key benefit that journalists and news organizations have provided has been relevant, timely, accurate information that helps people make decisions, take action, and form opinions. For over a century we've established an ad-supported business model around packaging that benefit in a form known as "journalism." But that's not the only form this benefit can take, and many parts of the "American public" (and the advertising industry) are figuring that out.Good stuff.


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Mark Dugopolski is the author of College Algebra; cheap copies of this book from the Dugopolski Precalculus Series are available from our website today for affordable deals. Make sure you buy College Algebra online from our site and nowhere else, because we can assure you of the best and cheapest prices. Published by Addison Wesley in 2010, this is the 5th edition of the text book. You can even sell your College Algebra book back to us if you reach a stage where you want to use our buyback service. In short, our website offers every service you could need. Dugopolski is the author of 'College Algebra 5th edition by Dugopolski' with ISBN 9780321644749 and ISBN 0321644743.[read more]
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text:
Richard Wagner was, and still is today, arguably the most controversial figure in classical music. A self-appointed deity and hyperdriven genius, Wagner is often considered the ultimate megalomaniac. He dreamed up and achieved a single-minded plan to change the course of classical music history.
With the 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth approaching on May 22, musicians and music lovers worldwide will explore not only his operas, but also his extreme politics and egotistical worldview — in the process barely scratching the surface of this complex man.
For Wagner, music is drama — a drama of extremes. He created a new, multidimensional form of expression through a mix of music, drama and poetry that changed forever how the world thought about and experienced opera.
Wagner's magnum opus, a 16-hour series of four operas called The Ring of the Nibelungen — or Ring cycle for short — was inspired by Norse sagas. Through the cycle, Wagner set out to depict nothing less than the creation and destruction of the world. (Modesty was not a quality Wagner possessed.)
When I conduct Wagner's music, I'm drawn to the excess and to the extreme commitment in his music. There is a luxuriance of melody and an opulent use of leitmotifs — the musical themes Wagner assigned to characters and situations. There's even the instrument he invented himself, the Wagner tuba: a cross between a horn and tuba, the instrument possesses the bestial and primitive qualities evoked in the strange realms and characters of his operas.
Marking The Bicentennial
To mark the Wagner bicentennial in concert, I'm pairing an orchestral suite extracted from the Ring cycle with a Wagner-centric percussion concerto by American composer Christopher Rouse. Der Gerettete Alberich (Alberich Rescued) imagines life after Wagner's Ring cycle ends. It stars one of the Ring's principal characters, the evil dwarf Alberich, who set the entire tale of greed and betrayal in motion.
Rouse begins with the same music that closes the Ring. Then, Alberich appears in the form of a raspy guiro (the Latin American percussion instrument). The concerto takes us through many twists and turns — including a stint for Alberich as a 1970s rock 'n' roll drummer. It's all musically motivated and derived from Wagner's own music, brilliantly contorted and disguised by Rouse, and designed to showcase the virtuosity of the percussion soloist. This piece creates over-the-top excess for our own time.
Wagner's Dark Side
We cannot speak of Wagner without acknowledging his virulent antisemitism, captured in his prolific writings. Our view of him today is further affected by the fact that the Nazi Party, long after Wagner's death in 1883, adopted him as its mascot, distorting, magnifying and hijacking his music, along with his antisemitic and nationalistic writings, as propaganda tools. For me, it's essential to raise the question of whether it's possible to separate the creator from his creations — which, in Wagner's case, include some truly astounding music.
We will also explore the dark side of Wagner in A Composer Fit for a King: Wagner & Ludwig II, a new work by playwright and stage director Didi Balle. This through-composed play captures the real-life backstage drama behind the making of the Ring cycle, which spans 12 years in the tumultuous relationship between Wagner and his cunning young patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
In the process of achieving his goals, Wagner willingly compromised the lives and reputations of those he'd claimed as friends — not only the king, but also his first wife, Minna, conductor Hans von Bulow and a long list of friends and associates he'd fleeced, cheated, defamed and/or cuckolded. The symphonic play brings together the very same triumvirate of music, drama and poetry that consumed Wagner's vision and defined his life's work.
Written with contributions from Didi Balle.
(A Composer Fit for a King: Wagner & Ludwig II plays April 19-20 in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.)
The music is instantly recognizable by listeners of all ages, from a famous scene in "Apocalypse Now"...
SIMON: ...to a virtuoso performance by Elmer Fudd...
ELMER FUDD: (Singing) Kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit...
BUGS BUNNY: Kill the wabbit?
SIMON: ...and Jake and Elwood in a famous chase scene from the Blues Brothers...
DAN ACKROYD, ACTOR: (as Elwood) Oh. no.
JOHN BELUSHI: (as Jake) What the (beep) was that?
ACTOR: (as Elwood) The motor. We've thrown a rod.
BELUSHI: (as Jake) Is that serious?
ACTOR: (as Elwood) Yep.
SIMON: The music, of course, "The Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner, who was born 200 years ago this year. And this season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is commemorating Wagner with a series of programs.
SIMON: Next week, they'll play an orchestral suite from Wagner's massive "Ring Cycle", as well as a piece by Christopher Rouse that imagines what might have happened where "The Ring" left off. And the music director of the Baltimore Symphony, our friend Marin Alsop, and Christopher Rouse join us from the studios of WYPR in Baltimore. Thanks very much for being with us.
MARIN ALSOP: Great to be here, Scott.
CHRISTOPHER ROUSE: Absolutely. Thank you.
SIMON: Maestra, let me get you to step in first. So, imagine you're Wagner. OK. That's a challenge...
ALSOP: It's a frightening thought, a frightening thought.
SIMON: ...anyway. So, what amounted to an escalator or an elevator pitch for 15 hours of opera back in the day?
ALSOP: Well, if I deigned to give you even an audience to hear my pitch, I would say that I have the capacity to sum up the entirety of the world, past, present, future, predict everything that is to come, pass judgment on everything that has happened. And I could do it in, oh, you know, 20 hours of opera or so.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing)
SIMON: Of course, we think of sopranos and baritones when we think of Wagner, but this is an opera that's dominated by the orchestra.
ALSOP: It is, and the driving feature throughout Wagner's operas and what really changes the landscape is the way he uses leitmotif. They're little identifying themes. They represent the different characters but they also represent different emotions and different states of consciousness. So, the orchestra conveys all of these messages to the listener.
SIMON: Marin, what is this like to conduct?
ALSOP: Well, Wagner's music is, it's like climbing a 14,000-foot mountain. It's an adventure, it's strenuous, it's challenging, it's surprising, and the great part about it is that I'm not alone. I have 120 musicians by my side, trekking up this mountain with me. And it gets only better when there are 2500 people in the audience with us too.
SIMON: You're going to be performing, I gather, an orchestral suite of Wagner's music. And let's listen to a bit of this recording by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.
SIMON: Help us understand what we're hearing. I gather it's called the Ring: An Orchestral Adventure.
ALSOP: Well, this is an excerpt from an orchestral suite that was put together by a Dutch composer. But it's true to Wagner's music. It's really just excerpts from the operas.
SIMON: Maestra, can you point us to a section of this orchestral suite that might help us especially appreciate it?
ALSOP: I think you're going to hear an excerpt from his third opera called "Siegfried". And this is near the end of the opera. It's when Siegfried and Brunnhilde finally reunite. And theirs is the true love. And Siegfried has just won a battle with the giant, Fafner, and he's braving the surrounding fires to get to Brunnhilde. And you can hear the lushness of this music. And you can hear all of these themes coming together and reuniting.
SIMON: Christopher Rouse, tell us where your piece comes into this. Is it at the very end of the opera?
ROUSE: At the very end of "Gotterdammerung", the last of the four operas in this tetralogy. The curtain comes down and there's one character - everyone else is accounted for, most of them are dead - but one of the principal characters, Alberich, who's a villainous dwarf, his whereabouts are unknown. And so I kind of tried to imagine what he might have done after the dust settled.
SIMON: Christopher, could I get you to tell us, as only you can, the name of this piece?
ROUSE: Yes. (Foreign language spoken), which means in German "Alberich Saved."
SIMON: This is Evelyn Glennie.
ALSOP: Yes.
SIMON: This is in the recording with the Helsinki Philharmonic.
ROUSE: That's right.
ALSOP: Scott, what you heard was the exact quote of Wagner, which opens Chris's piece, but then the percussionist is playing what's called the guerro(ph), and it's Alberich breathing, isn't it, Chris?
ROUSE: I never really thought too specifically. I just kind of thought of it as just him dusting himself off and pinching himself to see if he was still alive...
ALSOP: Still alive.
ROUSE: ...after the entire universe has burned up.
SIMON: And why do you hear this in percussion?
ROUSE: Well, it was a percussion concerto that I was asked to write. Evelyn Glennie requested it. And at first I couldn't really come up with an idea of how to write a nice three-movement percussion concerto. But then it occurred to me if it were more of a narrative piece and she represented a character that maybe I could pull it off that way.
ALSOP: And I think he gets the character, Alberich, across. You know, Alberich was a fascinating and demonic character throughout "The Ring". And he has all of his little workers forging the gold and you can hear them busily working. And I think the way it's conveyed through the percussion instruments, lots of fascinating colors. And so I think it lends itself beautifully. And I think of it as not a parody but more of an homage to Wagner.
SIMON: Let me ask you both in turn, beginning with Christopher Rouse. I'm afraid, even in this day and age, impossible to talk about Wagner just in terms of the music. He was a genius and, I think it's fair to say, a racist jerk.
ROUSE: Yes, on a good day. He was a terrible human being. There's no question. The fact that he was so closely associated long after his death with Hitler and the Nazis, he has, I think, a ring of hell reserved just for him in terms of...
SIMON: He knows the tune, doesn't he?
ROUSE: That's right. And there have been quite a few nasty composers over the years but he really created new vistas in that regard.
SIMON: Is it, Marin Alsop, still a little difficult to get people to just concentrate on the music?
ALSOP: There certainly remains a tremendous amount of baggage whenever you perform the music of Wagner. But I think it's our responsibility not to try to skirt those issues because they're important to talk about. And they open a great opportunity for discourse. But I think it's important to be able to listen to the music for what it is, which is absolutely unbelievably gorgeous and complex and elevated music.
SIMON: Marin Alsop is music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. And next week, they will present several Wagner-themed programs, including "Der Gerettete Alberich" by Christopher Rouse. They joined us from the studios of WYPR. Thanks so much for being with us.
ROUSE: Thank you.
ALSOP: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: You can read Marin Alsop's essay on Wagner and hear more of Christopher Rouse's Wagner-inspired music on our website, nprmusic.org. This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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WhitePages PRO API - Developers
WhitePages PRO gives users access to the biggest database of contact information for North American people and businesses. It covers 91% of U.S. adults and includes their names, household members, addresses, ages, and phone numbers. The WhitePages PRO API includes a Person API, a Business API, reverse phone lookup, reverse address lookup, and entity retrieval capabilities.


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How To: Get Started with Coding
Monday 28 January
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Apple Bondi
Go to My Reservations to cancel your reservation
Swift is a powerful programming language created by Apple that's used to build many popular apps. And Swift Playgrounds is an app for iPad that makes coding interactive and fun for beginner coders aged 12+. Explore coding concepts and get hands-on with the same code professional developers use every day. Coding knowledge is not required. Bring your own iPad running iOS 10 or newer, or we can provide one.
213 Oxford Street
Bondi Junction, NSW 2022
You Might Also Like
Celebrate Creativity
Kids Hour
26 January, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Apple Castle Towers


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Sept. 30, 2006
By UMass Dartmouth Sports Information
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.- The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth's football team rushed for 333 yards and piled up 512 yards of total offense en route to a 41-10 New England Football Conference Boyd Division victory over the MIT at Cressy Field Saturday afternoon. Junior running back Bob Sullivan and sophomore running back J.T. Harold each went over 100 yards as the Corsairs out rushed the Engineers, 333 yards to 36.
Freshman defensive back Bryan Howard sparked UMass Dartmouth before its first possession, returning a punt by MIT's Corey Garvey 50 yards to the Engineers 22 after the Engineers failed to get a first down on their opening possession of the game. On the ensuing play, sophomore quarterback Alex Garro, making his first start of the season, lofted a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Charles Gryska to give UMD a 7-0 lead. MIT came back and drove 53 yards in 11 plays, culminating in a 35-yard field goal by Garvey. The Corsairs replied, with sophomore quarterback Ryan Walsh hitting Howard twice, and Harold scoring from five yards out to make it 14-3 with 3:09 to play in the first quarter.
Late in the opening frame, UMass Dartmouth took over on its 42 yard line after a 28 yard punt. The Corsairs went 58 yards in 11 plays, and sophomore running back Aaron Russo scored from a yard out to make it 21-3. The Engineers came back to score on a seven-yard run by Robert Utz to make it 21-10 at halftime. Utz was making his first appearance on the season after being sidelined by injuries during the first three weeks of the year.
Junior defensive back Bill Reiss returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the UMD 47, and the Corsairs covered the rest of the distance in seven plays. Harold took it for 17 yards on the final two plays of the drive, scoring from nine yards out to make it 28-10 with 12:06 remaining in the third quarter. Garro hit Gryska with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 55 seconds left in the third quarter, and Walsh completed a one-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver John Henry with 10:02 left to account for the final score.
"I was very happy with the result," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Bill Kavanaugh, who won the 101st game of his career. "Our offensive line did a great job, our backs ran well, and our quarterbacks played well. Charles Gryska made some good catches and his blocking really helped our running game. This was definitely our best effort of the year."
For the Corsairs, Sullivan carried 18 times for 123 yards, while Harold rushed 16 times for 107 yards. Garro completed 10 of 15 passes for 148 yards and ran nine times for 66 yards, while Gryska caught seven passes for 99 yards. Utz rushed four times for 32 yards for the Engineers, sophomore Rick Mancuso completed 12 of 25 passes for 153 yards, and Chris Ruggiero caught four passes for 33 yards.
The Corsairs improved to 2-2 and 1-1 in the NEFC's Boyd Division with the victory, while MIT fell to 1-3 and 0-2. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Western New England next Saturday. MIT will visit Curry next Saturday evening.


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Motorola Mobility announced last week that approximately 100 refurbished Xoom Wi-Fi tablets sold by Woot.com had not been wiped of the original owner's personal data. The affected tablets were sold between October and December 2011. The company asked buyers of the refurbished units to return them and is offering the devices' original owners a complimentary two-year membership of Experian's ProtectMyID Alert.
I'm glad to see Motorola stepping up to the plate for the customers who returned their Xooms without wiping them, but I don't think they're to blame for the debacle. Wiping a personal device prior to returning it is the owner's responsibility, plain and simple. And, not knowing how to wipe the device is no excuse. You just bought a Wi-Fi only device. Doing so implies that you know how to access the Internet, and that you should know how to type "wipe xoom", "xoom factory reset", or "delete all xoom data" into a search engine.
As Motorola said in their statement, "Original owners who performed a factory data reset prior to returning the device are not impacted."One caveat: As TechRepublic member Rymech99 noted in the discussion thread, there are times owners might not be able to wipe their devices. If the display stops working, the operating system crashes, the touchscreen sensor fails, or the device won't power on, owners may not be able to wipe the device. If this is the case, owners are in a tough spot. Depending on the device and type of damage, you might be able to wipe it remotely or via a computer connection, for example through iTunes. If the device really is dead, there's likely not much the average consumer can do other the physically destroy the device (bad if you need to return it) or trust the manufacturer to wipe the data.
Transformer Prime comes with previous owner's data
Last week, I wrote about my very own experience with an Asus Transformer Prime that came complete with the previous owner's personal data. I did the right thing. I immediately preformed a factory reset, returned the unit to the retailer, and notified the previous owner. But, everyone may not take these same steps.
I asked the TechRepublic audience if they had ever returned a device without wiping. Of the more than 550 members who responded, nearly 10 said they had.
I included instructions for wiping iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7 devices my previous article, but here they are again.
- iOS: From one of the Home Screen, press Settings, scroll down to and tap General, and then select Reset. From the Rest screen, choose the option Erase All Content and Settings. Read the warning and tap Erase iPhone.
- Android: From the Home screen, press the Menu button and then Settings. Select Privacy and press Factory data reset. Read the warning message, select the Erase SD card box if you want, and press the Reset phone button.
- Windows Phone 7: Swipe or tap the arrow on the Start screen and then scroll down to and tap Settings. Scroll down to and tap About and select "reset your phone". Read the warning message and click "yes".
Bill Detwiler has nothing to disclose. He doesn't hold investments in the technology companies he covers.
Full Bio
Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.


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DJ Deweese creates original contemporary music for a variety of media applications, including live shows, radio, TV, film and advertising. Focusing primarily on acoustic rock and adult contemporary, DJ makes production forays into a variety of genres, from contemporary classical to psychedelic rock. Band founder Daniel Jason Deweese has partnered with a variety of friends and collaborators to produce original music for local performances and licensing to interested music libraries.
DJ's latest CD, "The Red Room," is currently available on his web site, http://www.djdeweese.com as well as digitally distributed through the iTunes and eMusic online music stores. He's working on a variety of new tunes and licensing opportunities for upcoming film and TV projects, and playing select live shows in the St. Louis, Missouri area.


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Win A Team Entry For The Great Urban Race
Great Urban Race is an exciting scavenger hunt around Austin! Participants get to know the hidden gems of their city by competing in teams of 2-4 people in a race for cash prizes. They solve puzzles and participate in 12 challenges. The event runs from 12pm to 5pm and concludes with an after-party where all participants 21 and over receive one free drink. Winners are announced and a contest for best costume is held.
$300 is offered to 1st place with smaller cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd place winners. The top 25 finishing teams also qualify for the Championship race in San Juan where $10,000 is up for grabs!
Like, Comment or Share this post for a chance to win a team entry for up to 4 for the Great Urban Race. Winner will be chosen March 11th.
When: March 23rd
Fado Irish Pub
214 West 4th Street
Austin, TX 78701


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LONDON (Reuters) - Olympic chief Jacques Rogge flew into London on Friday a week ahead of the opening ceremony and predicted a "great Games", despite a security fiasco, travel disruptions and persistent rain.
The biggest single problem in the run-up to the July 27-August 12 Games has been the shortage of guards to secure venues, after the company G4S failed to meet its staffing targets and thousands of extra soldiers were brought in to fill the gaps.
Rogge, overseeing his last Olympics before stepping down as International Olympic Committee (IOC) president next year, added that in spite of "some difficulties", preparations for the greatest show on earth had been sound.
"I believe these will be a great Games," he told Reuters at the official IOC hotel in central London.
He was equally sanguine about the weather, a favorite topic of discussion after some of the wettest months on record.
"It might affect in a minor way scheduling for tennis at Wimbledon, but other than that I do not see many problems."
His comments will be welcomed by Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee (LOCOG) and a gold medal winner, who has faced a barrage of questions about a series of organizational hitches that have dominated headlines in Britain.
Transport delays loom over the event, with border officials going on strike on July 26 and train drivers in central England walking out from August 6-8 during the final week of the Games.
Athletes as well as visitors could be caught up in the disruption, with Australia's cycling team among those due to arrive in Britain on July 26.
"We are in discussions with LOCOG and they are aware of it," said Nick Green, Australian chef de mission.
Coe is hoping the arrival of the Olympic torch in the capital on Friday, which was abseiled into the Tower of London from a Royal Navy helicopter, will help steer the focus away from disruptions and towards the thrill of sporting contests.
"The sport will start literally hours after the opening ceremony," he said. "That's what we have spent seven years delivering and I think the teams have done a pretty good job."
A Royal Marine Commando abseiled down into one of London's most popular tourist attractions on the River Thames, at 20:12 local time before it was locked away with the Crown Jewels, used for royal coronations, for its first night in the capital.
In the coming days it will be carried around religious, political and royal landmarks during its tour around the capital, culminating in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in the main stadium in east London.
The emotion of competition will be matched by the human drama behind many athletes competing for medals in 2012.
Some of the biggest names in sport are already in Britain preparing for their events, including Jamaican Usain Bolt, the sprinter who stole the show in Beijing in 2008 by destroying the world 100 and 200 meters records.
Less recognizable but with a story no less compelling, Libya's small team will compete in judo, swimming, athletics and weight-lifting although the country's Olympic committee president was kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli on Sunday.
On Friday, French athlete Nour-Eddine Gezzar, who had been selected to represent France in the steeplechase, was provisionally suspended after failing a dope test.
And Spain's Olympic federation announced that basketball player Pau Gasol would be the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, replacing Rafa Nadal who was forced to pull out of the London Games due to injury.
London mayor Boris Johnson was typically blunt in his appeal to the public and media to concentrate on the positives.
"Oh come off it, everybody - enough whimpering," he wrote in the Sun tabloid.
"Cut out the whining. And as for you whingers, put a sock in it, fast. We are about to stage the greatest show on earth in the greatest city on earth, and if you believe much of the media we are all in the grip of paralyzing stage fright."
Headlines about the sometimes bumpy road to the opening ceremony have been concentrated largely in the local press, but they have also spread further afield.
The German weekly Der Spiegel, in its latest edition published earlier this week, was highly critical of everything from the rain to the infrastructure. "London and the Olympic Games are not made for each other," it opined.
In Britain on Friday, attention turned to the issue of sponsorship when Coe was asked whether spectators would be allowed to wear Pepsi T-shirts even though its rival Coca-Cola is a sponsor.
Coe said he thought this would probably not be permitted, but LOCOG later clarified his remarks.
"Any individual coming into our venues can wear any item of clothing, branded or otherwise," said a spokesman. "The only issue is if large groups come in together wearing clearly visible branding/marketing."
The argument was later stoked by London's mayor who described some of the strict copyright and brand rules, which have caught out small local businesses and residents, as "absolute nonsense".
"If you want to stick five doughnuts in your window and call them the Olympic rings, be my guest," Johnson told Sky News.
"Certainly no brand army is going to have the support of the administration in London, and we won't be making any efforts to enforce it ourselves,"
LOCOG was also called in by Britain's Border Force to check around 10,000 counterfeit Olympic flags from China seized last week at Heathrow airport. Estimated to be worth around 100,000 pounds ($156,000), they will now be destroyed.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown in Berlin, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Libya, Julien Pretot in Paris and Toby Davis, Matt Falloon, Alan Baldwin, Avril Ormsby and Tim Castle in London; Writing by Mike Collett-White)


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NYC Food Events for the Weekend and Beyond
Friday (March 22)
Cajun / Louisiana Roots Festival at Jalopy
Friday March 22nd - Sunday March 24th (all weekend) A three-day festival that blends the cooking, dancing, and music of southwest Louisiana culture together in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Cajun Cook Toby Rodriguez (who Anthony Bourdain featured on his 'No Reservations' episode in Cajun Country) will be teaching hands-on cooking classes and host a "blackpot supper" of gumbo and other one-pot regional delicacies. The festival includes cooking classes during the day and Cajun accordion, guitar, fiddle, and square dancing at night. 315 Columbia St, Brooklyn NY; website
Discover New Wines
Friday March 22nd, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Unique, indigenous grape varietals are growing all over the world. Taste your way through some of these sommelier sweethearts at Corkbuzz and discover which grapes and regions are all the rave. $50. 13 East 13th Street, New York, NY; 646-873-6071; website
Marc Vetri Cooks at Eataly's La Scuola
Friday March 22nd, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri is cooking dinner in New York for one night only at La Scuola in Eataly. Watch, learn, and eat as he prepares a four-course meal (wine pairing included), at the venue's open kitchen. $125. 200 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY; 212-539-0204 ext.304. event website
Saturday (March 23)
Senegalese Cooking Class
Saturday March 23rd, 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Join chef instructor Nafissa Camara at the new KitchenNYC space for a lesson in Senegalese food. Class is BYOB, and will be flecked with notes and stories about Camara growing up in Senegal and France. $65. 306 West 51st Street, Suite B1, New York, NY; event website
Monday (March 25)
Back-Vintage Wine
Monday March 25th, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. How do you know which wine to drink now and which wine to cellar? Find out at Corkbuzz this Monday; drinking 20 and 30-year-old wines. $100. 13 East 13th Street, New York, NY; 646-873-6071; website
Monday (March 25) and Tuesday (March 26)
Seder-Style Dinner at Telepan
Monday March 25th and Tuesday March 26th, starting at 5 p.m. Bill Telepan is serving a Seder-style dinner at Telepan in celebration of Passover. Some of the four-course menu items include hanger steak, brisket, and spring vegetable soup with matzo balls. The a la carte menu will also be available. $85. 72 West 69th Street, New York, NY; 212-580-4300; restaurant website
Passover Seder at Back Forty West
Monday March 25th and Tuesday March 26th, starting at 6 p.m. Back Forty West owner Peter Hoffman is hosting a Sephardic Passover Seder with written material about the holiday. The four-course menu will include dishes like Moroccan mezze platter, matzo ball soup, and house-smoked chicken. $55. 70 Prince Street, New York, NY; 212-219-8570; restaurant website
Tuesday (March 26)
Jono Pandolfi Designs Dinnerware Sale
Thursday March 28, 3 p.m. - 9 p.m. The Brian Morris Gallery is hosting its quarterly sample sale, featuring dinnerware from Jono Pandolfi Designs. Their products are featured in Eleven Madison Park, WD-50, Atera, and the Nomad Hotel, and will be on sale at up to 70% off. $5 to $200. 163 Chrystie Street, New York, NY; 347-261-8228; website
The Masters of Social Gastronomy Do Drugs
Tuesday March 26th, 7 p.m. Necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes drugs are too. Join the Masters of Social Gastronomy at Public Assembly as they discuss the culinary world's experiments with illicit substances. Free. 70 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY; 718-384-4586; event website
Thursday (March 28)
Odoardi Tasting at Sauce
Thursday March 28th, 6 p.m. Discover some of the lesser-known varieties in Italy's southern region of Calabria at Sauce. The Lower East Side restaurant is hosting a Jan d'Amore-sponsored, complimentary tasting with Italian producer Odoardi. Free. 78 Rivington Street, New York, NY; 212-420-7700; restaurant website
NY Drinks NY
Through March Celebrate New York wines through the rest of March with NY Drinks NY. The event features over over 40 New York wineries and includes multiple free tastings at various locations throughout the city. event website
Tickets Now On Sale
TastingTable's Lobster Roll Rumble
June 6, 2013 20 lobster roll stations and an open bar, need we say more? Check out photos from last year's Rumble (and the year before!). event website
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.


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Our family would like to express sincere gratitude for all of the thoughts, prayers, love, delicious food and many acts of kindness during our loss. We feel so fortunate to live in such a wonderful community with so many loving friends and family. We would like to extend a big thank you to Dr. McAlpin and Associates, Southwest Memorial Hospital, Hospice of Montezuma and especially Kathy Rousett for such quality, compassionate care. Thank you to the Mancos Ambulance and Fire Departments for the professional, prompt and caring attention on so many occasions. Thank you to Bud Rousett for officiating, Linda Carter and Lynne and Perry Lewis for the playing such beautiful music, the Catholic, Methodist and Mormon churches for the providing the use of tables and chairs, Southwest Cowbelles, PEO and all friends and family who prepared the wonderful meal and the Millwood Junction for graciously opening their doors for the reception after the funeral service in light of the inclement weather.
Thank you to each and every one of you for being such an important and influential part of our Mom/Grandma's life. We will miss her dearly.
Deana and Don Yeomans
Robyn Robbins
Karassa, Dan and Wesley Schaefer
Brianna and Teya Yeomans
Jori, Traycer and Trevyn White
Autumn Robbins and Bradley Dennison
Kole Yeomans and Shacee Robbins


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Matt Harvey outpitched Stephen Strasburg in a marquee matchup of young aces, escaping a late bases-loaded jam while the crowd chanted his name and leading the New York Mets over the Washington Nationals 7-1 Friday night.
Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each hit two home runs, providing an ample cushion for Harvey and the Mets to end their three-game skid.
Harvey and Strasburg paired off for the first time in their careers, with many projecting the celebrated 24-year-olds will duel far into the future. Harvey (4-0) was equal to the challenge and started out fast, striking out leadoff man Denard Span with 98 mph heat.
Davis and Duda hit solo home runs in the sixth — the first time Strasburg (1-3) ever had been tagged twice in an inning — for a 4-0 lead. The 26,675 fans at Citi Field celebrated, breaking into cheers of "Harvey's better!" that bounced around the ballpark.
Davis added a two-run homer in the eighth and Duda hit a solo drive off Drew Storen.
Harvey gave up one run and four hits in seven innings, striking out seven. He's been so dominant, his ERA actually went up, from 0.82 to 0.93.
Strasburg allowed four runs, two unearned, and five hits in six innings. He fanned six, flinging fastballs in the upper 90s.
Harvey gave up just one hit through five innings, a sliced double by Strasburg, before running into his only jam in the seventh. A leadoff walk and singles by Ian Desmond and Chad Tracy made it 4-1, and a throwing error by second baseman Daniel Murphy loaded the bases with no outs.
Mets manager Terry Collins wasn't about to pull Harvey, even though the pitcher's spot was due up first in the bottom half of the inning.
Harvey showed composure far beyond his years, quickly getting ahead of Kurt Suzuki and then making him chase a slider for strike three. Pinch-hitter Roger Bernadina was next, and Harvey got him on a foul popout.
With the crowd chanting his name, Harvey ended the inning by retiring Span on a routine grounder. Harvey watched the play, pumped his fist and got a fist bump from catcher John Buck outside the dugout.
Moments later, the crowd cheered again when the video board posted a message that the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect was in custody. That news prompted some fans to chant "U-S-A!"
Harvey and Strasburg each stand 6-foot-4, and their stature as young flamethrowers loomed large as many around the majors touted this matchup.
With fog swirling around the top of the scoreboard at the start, the Mets took a 2-0 lead in the first. An error by shortstop Desmond set up Strasburg's wild pitch that scored a run, and Buck added a single for his 20th RBI this season.
Collins said Harvey already was "sky high" with anticipation a few hours before the game, adding he might need to reign in his pitcher. Asked how he could tell Harvey was eager, Collins said with a grin, "He was a little grouchy."
Harvey grew up in Connecticut and recently said he'd heard about those crackling Friday nights in the 1980s when Mets phenom Dwight Gooden pitched at Shea Stadium. Doc was at Citi Field for this game and gave Nationals manager Davey Johnson — the Mets' skipper back then — a big hug behind the cage during batting practice.
"Good to be here," Gooden told a fan on his way toward the field. "Fun night."


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Friday 05 October
|Zosterops (1)
A relatively small bird found only in Australia, the Australian yellow white-eye (Zosterops luteus) has largely yellow to greenish-yellow plumage, grey legs, brown eyes and a grey to blackish beak (2). Like other white-eyes (Zosteropidae species), the Australian yellow white-eye is characterised by the conspicuous ring of tiny white feathers around its eye (3). In this species, the white ring is broken at the front by a blackish stripe between the eye and beak (2).
The upperparts of the Australian yellow white-eye are greenish-yellow, while its underparts are bright yellow with a greenish-grey tinge on the flanks. The tail feathers and the flight feathers of the wings are a darker blackish-brown, edged with olive-yellow (2). Like other white-eye species, the Australian yellow white-eye has a fairly slender, slightly curved beak and rounded wings (3).
The male and female Australian yellow white-eye are similar in appearance (2) (3), while juveniles resemble the adults but are duller in colour (2). Two subspecies of Australian yellow white-eye are recognised, with Zosterops luteus balstoni being slightly greyer above and paler below than Zosterops luteus luteus (2).
The Australian yellow white-eye's song has been described as a rich, high-pitched, variable phrase, or a series of melodious piping notes. It also calls with a loud, plaintive-sounding 'mew' or 'zee', or a chirping 'pleewee… pleewee' (2).
The Australian yellow white-eye usually lives in small flocks (2) (3), which keep in touch with quiet calls as they forage among trees and bushes (3). Flocks of this species can regularly be seen searching for insects among the foliage or probing flowers for nectar (2) (6). The Australian yellow white-eye feeds on a variety of insects and their larvae, with mosquitoes and midges often being particularly important in its diet. It also takes spiders, molluscs and other small invertebrates, as well as seeds, fruit pulp and nectar (2), which it is able to lick up with its brush-tipped tongue (3).
Breeding in this species is reported to mainly occur between October and March (2), or between December and February in parts of Western Australia, corresponding to the start of the wet season (6). In the Darwin region of the Northern Territory, the Australian yellow white-eye may breed in almost any month, although breeding activity is thought to peak between September and October (2).
The Australian yellow white-eye's nest is a deep cup of grass, lined with fine roots and bound together with cobwebs, and often with pieces of bark on the outside (2) (3). The nest is built between two twigs (3), usually in the horizontal fork of a mangrove tree overhanging water (2).
The female Australian yellow white-eye typically lays 2 to 3 pale bluish-green or white eggs, which hatch after 9 to 12 days (2). Both the male and female of this species help to incubate the eggs (3). The Australian yellow white-eye chicks leave the nest at 10 to 11 days old (2), and may stay with the adult birds for a further 2 to 3 weeks (3).
As its common name suggests, the Australian yellow white-eye is found only in Australia, where its range is restricted to northern coastal areas (2) (3) (4). It also occurs on some offshore islands (2), including Barrow Island (5).
The subspecies Z. l. luteus is found in coastal parts of northern Australia from the Kimberley District eastwards, and also occurs in an isolated population in eastern Queensland. The other Australian yellow white-eye subspecies, Z. l. balstoni, occurs further west, being found in coastal north-western Australia from Shark Bay to the Kimberley District (2).
A strictly coastal species (2), the Australian yellow white-eye mainly inhabits mangrove forest, but can also be found in nearby swamps, Acacia thickets, eucalypt woodland, paperbark (Melaleuca) woodland, vine thickets (2) (3), and even trees and gardens in coastal towns (2). It also lives in vegetation along coastal rivers, and its range can extend for some distance inland along these rivers (2).
Where it occurs on islands which lack mangroves, the Australian yellow white-eye can be found in open woodland and heaths (2).
The Australian yellow white-eye is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
No specific conservation measures are currently known to be in place for the Australian yellow white-eye.
Find out more about the Australian yellow white-eye and its conservation:
More information on conservation in Australia:
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
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Part II of a three part series of my travelogue to New York.
A couple of years ago, a colleague of mine, Gary Anderson, sent me a play he had written. "Naked Darrow" was that play. After reading it, I suggested that some incidental music would appropriately break up the intensity of the drama. Anderson agreed and we set to work. The premiere of the show was in St. Paul, Minnesota at Park Square Theatre. I drove to St. Paul for that event and was pleased with the result of the project.
After rewriting and adjusting the play, it was decided to take it to New York. The premiere in New York was June 7th and I was there.
I wrote bassoon solo music that I believe expressed a sound that helped to define the character that Darrow became during his battle with dementia. There is powerful emotional material in such a situation, and this is Anderson's strong point. He is thoroughly invested in relating the emotions, strengths and even shortfalls of the character he plays.
There was a reasonably sized audience on hand for the opening, and the play generally went well, but there were some first night jitters that caused some minor glitches in the technical aspect of the performance. Still, the audience was quite taken with the power of the story and the strength of the storyteller. The music, too, was well received and claimed just the right amount of attention without dominating the action.
I would return on my last night in New York to see another performance of the play. The crew had made a special effort to let me know they wanted me to see the show without errors. There was an after show gathering at the very restaurant I had chosen in my neighborhood. I felt comfortable to know where I was and to be in a place with which I was familiar.
The weather took a nasty turn the night of the opening. A storm named Andrea swept up the east coast and pounded the entire area with flooding rains and strong winds. I even bought a raincoat earlier in the day due to the forecast of the foul weather. I ended up mailing my new raincoat back home so that I wouldn't have to deal with it my luggage.
The next day I had a ticket to see Bette Midler in "I'll Eat You Last." I had seen Midler in person in Las Vegas some years ago. She is an amazing performer with impressive energy. This play is a conversation with Hollywood agent Sue Menger, now deceased. She only catered to famous people and made her mark representing them with whatever half-truths and outright lies she could manufacture in order to acquire parts in which she thought they would do well. There's no doubt that she learned and knew her business completely. The one woman show written by John Logan is simply a monologue with Menger in her own Hollywood home. She chain smokes regular cigarettes and joints while she relates gossip about those she loves and those she hates. Much of the theme revolves around her representation of Barbra Streisand, which she comments that she landed when Barbra spelled her name with the extra "a". In fact, Menger may have had much to do with Streisand's success and business acumen, mostly because Sue recognized the magnitude of the young Streisand's talent in her really early days.
The conversation is aimed directly at the audience and it is clear that she has disdain for anyone who is not famous, but lowers her standards for this one-sided interview. It is non-stop laughter as she mimics Menger's manner of speech. She invites a gentleman up from the audience to fetch her silver box with "cigarettes" in it, but he is not to walk on the carpet with his shoes on. When he removes them, she notices that he has no socks, so she redirects him so that he will only walk around the edge of the Persian run on the parquet flooring. He is used again in the show to fetch a decanter of gin, again shoeless and barefoot on the parquet floor. She then shoos him away like a gnat causing her minor irritation. It's all done with wonderful humor that is Bette Midler's stock in trade. She sits through the entire 80 minutes dressed in a silk caftan with her feet curled beneath her and sneers at everyone she has gossip about. Most anyone would recognize the names she calls, and she takes no prisoners with her slashing comments of those who have, in her opinion, wronged her.
The play is a triumph, but what else could it be with Midler at the helm. I've seen her twice now in person, and her energy is unbelievable. She has such a wonderful understanding of humor and timing and treats her audience to a smorgasbord of witticisms.
I was completely thrilled after this show, so I purchased a ticket to see an evening performance of "Annie" starring Jane Lynch as Mrs. Hannigan. It's a delightful show with about 8 little girls who drip with talent that I'm afraid some may be renting. They belt their tunes, which are exhilarating to hear, but I worry that their years of singing will be limited unless they are taught how to sing correctly without the strain that belting puts on their throat. Of course, they're all put together differently, and many survive, able to sing on into their adulthood. Somewhere along the way a vocal coach will do some correcting for those who earn a long career.
The sets, choreography and music are all handled with aplomb, and I enjoyed the show completely. There are so many shows to see that it's almost overwhelming. The choices are without limit. I don't regret any of my choices, but that is not to say that I saw all of the best offerings. I had one of the times of my life, and that made it all worthwhile to me.
The next day would be my last full day in "The Big Apple," and I had big plans. Tune in for Part III of my travelogue in a few days.


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BrickWarriors' month of releases (and Toys for Tots donations) rolls right along with the Android Head, Android Armor, RPGs, ad RPG Launchers now available!
Moderators: Dr. X, ikensall, fredde
Tzan wrote:Quantumsurfer wrote:I generally agree with TzanWarhead wrote:I agree with QuantumSmurfer.
I agree with Warhead.
Empire of Luchardsko WIP wiki pageBrikWars 2010 Rules wrote:BrikWars ... stands in pretty direct opposition to many fundamental elements of the LEGO® philosophy, such as "Not Teaching Kids How Funny It Is to Set People on Fire."
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March 12, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - This past weekend, the MIT men's fencing team competed in the NCAA Northeast Regional hosted by Tufts University. Gabriel Chan, Trevor Chang, and Igor Kopylov just missed the cut in earning at-large bids in qualifying for the National Championship. Chan and Chang placed 11th and 13th in the epee pool while Kopylov ranked 14th in the sabre competition.
Matt Gethers bolstered the epee team's efforts with a final ranking of 33rd. Namit Setia and Nadadur Rangarajan rounded out MIT's sabre squad by placing 20th and 26th. In foil action, Jason Chen posted the highest finish of his career at 10th place as Spencer Sugimoto captured 24th place.


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UK Appeals Court Agrees That Clicking A Link And Opening A Website... Is Infringing
from the are-they-serious? dept
This is, of course, ridiculous. Almost everything in the ruling is ridiculous, frankly. Let's dig into a few of the points from the original ruling, as highlighted by the Independent (first link above):
* The headlines to the various articles reproduced in Meltwater News were capable of being literary works independently of the article to which they related;Generally speaking, in the US, we don't consider headlines to have enough creative elements to be covered by copyright independent of the article. And that seems reasonable. Does anyone honestly believe that copyright is necessary to incentivize the creation of creative headlines? The whole point of a headline is to sell the story. There's plenty of incentive there. Putting copyright on headlines makes no sense at all.
* The extracts from the articles reproduced in Meltwater News with or without the headline to the article were capable of being a substantial part of the literary work consisting of the article as a whole;Meltwater News tried to get us as a customer two years ago, and sent us some sample reports, so I'm actually quite familiar with their "snippets." They are clearly designed to get you to click through, and not at all designed to provide a "substantial" part of the literary work. Here's a screenshot from a report they sent us:
* Accordingly each of the copies made by Meltwater News' end-users' computers in receiving the e-mail from Meltwater, opening it, and accessing the Meltwater website by clicking on the link to the article, and the copies of the article itself made when clicking on the link indicated by Meltwater News was, on the face of it, a breach of the publishers' copyright;Read that again. Especially the last part. The copies of the article itself made when clicking a link were infringing. There's no way to respond to that other than to say that's insane. That means the entire web is infringing. Any time you open any web page, according to this ruling, you are likely infringing on the site's copyright.
* Legislation dealing with temporary copies, or fair dealing for copyright material, or Database Regulations did not allow such copying;If so, the UK really needs to fix its copyright laws, because that's crazy.
* Thus, the end-user required a licence from NLA or the publisher in order lawfully to receive and use the Meltwater news service.And, thus, the web dies in the UK. But now, suddenly, I'm tempted to send a bill to any UK newspaper that links to Techdirt going forward...


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Leftover Chicken Chopped Salad with Red Pepper, Olives, and Feta
Tossing the diced chicken, red pepper, and olives with dressing gives this Leftover Chicken Chopped Salad with Red Pepper, Olives, and Feta that extra something. And this tasty salad is low-carb, Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, and South Beach Diet Phase One! Use the Recipes-by-Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.
(Leftover Chicken Chopped Salad with Red Pepper, Olives, and Feta was updated with better photos May 2011.)
To make the dressing, start by mixing together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, Italian herb seasoning, Vege-sal (or salt), and pepper. Then whisk in the olive oil, a little at a time. If you have time, let this sit for a few minutes.
For a lunch salad for myself, I use about a cup of diced leftover chicken.
You can use more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste, but I like about 1/4 cup diced red pepper and 1/4 cup sliced olives. (If it's fresh tomato season you can replace the red pepper with chopped tomatoes.)
Combine those ingredients with 1-2 T of dressing and let them marinate while you prep the other ingredients (or longer, if you're not starving.)
I use about 2 handfuls of chopped romaine to make a lunch salad. This is my baby salad spinner, a kitchen gadget I love!
When you're ready to make the salad, put lettuce in the bottom of the bowl. You can drizzle over a bit more dressing or not, depending on how much dressing you like.
Add the marinated chicken, red peppers, and olives and sprinkle with feta cheese. I can't imagine how many times I've had this combination for lunch. They were definitely an investment, but I love the Fiesta 2-Quart Serving Bowl shown in this photo, and I bought four of them especially to use for large lunch salads.
Leftover Chicken Chopped Salad with Red Pepper, Olives, and Feta
(Makes enough dressing for 10-12 salads. Adjust salad ingredients to make as many salads as you'd like. Recipe created by Kalyn.)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning herb blend
1/2 tsp. Vege-Sal or salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp.
1 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Combine all ingredients except olive oil in bowl or glass measuring cup. Whisk in olive oil, a little at a time until ingredients are well combined.
For each salad:
1 cup diced leftover chicken breast, cut into pieces 1/2 inch square
1/4 cup chopped red pepper, cut into pieces 1/2 inch square
1/4 cup black olives, cut in half
2 large handfuls chopped romaine lettuce
2 T crumbled Feta cheese
Make dressing and let it sit to blend flavors while you prep salad ingredients.
Chop chicken and red bell pepper and slice olives. Put those ingredients in a small bowl and toss with 1-2 T of dressing and let it marinate while you prep other ingredients.
Chop lettuce into bite-sized pieces, wash if needed, and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Crumble Feta cheese.
Put the chopped lettuce into a large salad bowl, adding a little more dressing if desired. Top with the marinated chicken, chopped red pepper, and olives. Sprinkle with crumbled Feta cheese and enjoy!
Extra dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks. You will need to let the leftover dressing come to room temperature and shake it again each time you use it. If you don't want to make the dressing, just use your favorite bottled Italian dressing.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
All the low-glycemic ingredients used in this salad make it perfect for any phase of the South Beach Diet and it's also perfect for low-carb eating plans.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Nutritional Information?
More Tasty Ideas for Chopped Salad:
Baby Arugula Chopped Salad with Chicken, Fresh Mozzarella, and Tomatoes from Kalyn's Kitchen
Italian Chopped Salad from What's Cooking Chicago
Peperoncini Chopped Salad with Romaine, Red Bell Pepper, and Feta from Kalyn's Kitchen
Israeli Chopped Salad from Cafe Liz
Leftover Chicken Chopped Salad with Cafe Rio Style Creamy Tomatillo Dressing from Kalyn's Kitchen


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Much of my time is spent on the interface between algorithms research and other areas, in the dreaded trenches of 'algorithmic modelling'. Algorithmic modelling can be a tremendously useful tool, if wielded skillfully, and in the few cases where one hits the jackpot, you have an instant argument for the value of theoryCS outside computer science. Most importantly, it provides a kind of rationale for the intrinsic value of the algorithmic method: that thinking algorithmically leads to new ways of thinking about computational problems, and hooks problems in other domains into the engine of algorithmic improvements, so that better algorithm design leads quickly to better solutions to "real-world" problems.
Such work however can be an endless source of frustration. Most commonly, there are cultural difference between areas, and terminology barriers that need to be overcome. But most of all, there's a sense of apathy towards any effort at producing formal guarantees for computational methods (either for running times, or quality). In general, methods based on formal algorithmic analysis still prove themselves in the experimental setting, rather than possessing any intrinsic value by virtue of being correct, having running time and quality guarantees etc.
This in itself can be defended: if the main bottlenecks towards providing an effective practical solution to a problem are not computational (which they often are though), then it's not clear that a practitioner needs to care about esoteric notions like formal guarantees (which can often be quite weak). What is harder to surmount is the 'I've dug my hole and I like it' phenomenon.
For example, the RMS (root-mean-square) distance is commonly used to compare two 3D protein models. But I've never heard any fundamental argument as to why this measure is superior to other possible candidates for matching shape. What's worse, the RMS measure is harder to minimize (under transformations) than other equally plausible measures of shape similarity. However, as the status quo, it's hard to do anything to change this, short of voluminous studies that argue for the relative merits of a different measure based on comparisons on shapes.
Lest it seem that I'm merely whining, Barbie-style, because 'Modelling is hard', let me summarize my main point:
The computational efficacy and guarantees associated with a particular modelling technique are not in and of themselves sufficient to convince a practitioner that this approach is valid, even if in all other respects, the method is identical to other, more entrenched methods.
This makes me wonder about the best way to do algorithmic modelling, if one chooses to do it at all.


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The N.C. House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that may let Duke Energy extend a 15-year timetable to close its North Carolina coal-ash ponds.
The 85-27 vote followed heated debate – and an unusual parliamentary move – over adding Duke's Cape Fear power plant, in Chatham County, to a list of four plants in which ash would have to be removed by 2019.
The House measure will need a third vote Thursday before members begin resolving differences with the Senate, which passed its ash bill June 25.
Both set deadlines between 2019 and 2029 for Duke to drain its 33 ash ponds, depending on the risks that a new commission decides they pose.
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But the House version allows the state environment secretary to grant Duke extensions to those deadlines by undetermined periods. Duke had complained that the timeline was too short to guarantee that work could be completed.
Duke could be given more time if it shows that it could not meet a deadline using "economically reasonable" technologies and that meeting it would "produce serious hardship without equal or greater benefits to the public."
Rep. Ruth Samuelson, the Charlotte Republican who is one of the bill's sponsors, said the extensions acknowledge the uncertainties involved in cleaning up 102 million tons of ash.
"It's simply there to help capture the best options as they become available to us," she told the House.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources would hold public hearings on variances it proposes.
An amendment to delete the extensions was tabled on the House floor.
The House made several other changes to the Senate bill, including allowing the governor to name the chairman of the new nine-member ash commission after Gov. Pat McCrory complained about the legislature's authority to create it.
Senate rules Chairman Tom Apodaca predicted Wednesday that the Senate would not agree to the change.
"What worries me is it looks like they're caving to the governor," Apodaca said. "This (commission) needs to be independent, as nonpolitical as possible, to make a decision."
Priority list debated
But much of the floor debate Wednesday focused on which power plants would have to close their ash ponds first.
By a one-vote margin, House members initially agreed to add Duke's Cape Fear power plant to a list of four high-priority sites. They tabled votes on attempts to add five other power plants to the list.
The Environmental Protection Agency rated Cape Fear's ash ponds as "poor" last year. The state said in March that Duke pumped 61 millions of gallons of wastewater into a river tributary without approval. Environmentalists said Tuesday that they plan to sue Duke over problems at Cape Fear and two other plants.
Rep. Charles Jeter, a Huntersville Republican, was allowed to change his "no" vote to "yes" on adding Cape Fear to the quick-action list. Then Jeter asked that the House vote again on the plant.
Democrat Rick Glazier sputtered, calling the move "nothing but a fraud on this House (that) absolutely impugns the integrity of it."
"I am not a lawyer," Jeter responded. "I do however have the rule book in front of me (and) this is perfectly legal."
A lengthy debate ensued on the merits of House members deciding which plants should get quickest cleanups.
"I mean no disrespect, but this (Cape Fear plant) is in my district, and it's important to me," said Rep. Mike Stone, a Lee County Republican who wanted the plant on the quick-action list.
In tinkering with the list, said Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Hendersonville, another bill sponsor, "We're making political decisions that we have said ought to be scientific."
With a second, 54-58 vote, the Cape Fear plant was deleted from the priority list.
Who pays?
The House, like the Senate, left silent whether Duke's customers will have to pay for cleanup costs that Duke has estimated at up to $10 billion.
"Growing up, I was always taught that if you break it, you buy it," said Rep. Nathan Baskerville, D-Vance. "And in this circumstance there's no doubt that Duke has broken it and now they have to pay."
Baskerville's amendment, leaving cleanup costs to Duke, was tabled. Bill sponsors argue that the financial complications of Duke's costs should be left to the state Utilities Commission. The measure extends a moratorium on Duke asking for a rate hike to pay for the work from 2015 to 2017.
The House bill also changed cleanup requirements for groundwater contamination inside a so-called compliance boundary, which marks where violations occur.
Samuelson said the change was needed because the previous version inadvertently would apply to local governments.
"I don't know how many of us want our local governments because of a compliance boundary issue to shut down their waste treatment system," she said.
Staff writer Jim Morrill contributed.


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There are a few things you should do when hiring a Soul Singer. First, always listen to audio and watch video samples. This will ensure that you book the best for your special event. Next, be sure to get a contract. Make sure to read this carefully and watch for specifications made by the singer. Last, as with any other purchase you would make, read reviews and get references. Talk to people in the area and previous clients about the performer and get feedback.
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