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Popjustice is an internet pop thing that sometimes crosses over into real life.
Popjustice started life in the year 2000 and took its first steps to becoming what you see today at the end of 2002 with the arrival of the front page blog – The Briefing.
Our first Briefing post was very upset about the lack of success experienced by S Club Juniors' cover of 'Puppy Love'. Eleven years later that cover is rightly seen as a classic of our times, and Popjustice continues its mission to give pop precisely the level of respect it deserves. Sometimes it deserves very little.
Popjustice is about loving pop and shouting it from the rooftops. If anyone tells you their favourite pop tune is a guilty pleasure tell them to fuck off. Guilty pleasures have no place on Popjustice.
Some of the people who come to Popjustice don't really like pop music and just like the way we write about it. Others don't care for the words and just like the pop we feature. Some people like both and if you're one of them HELLO TO YOU.
Popjustice is here for everyone who knows that pop music can be at its most important when it's being stupid and at its most stupid when it's trying to be important.
We love it when people make pop look easy, but we don't like it when they look like they're not trying.
We know that terrible popstars can make brilliant pop songs and, yes, brilliant popstars can make terrible pop songs.
We like popstars to be honest and we like popstars to make it all up. We like popstars to make it all up as they go along, and we like popstars to have a plan.
At Popjustice we know that a pop song doesn't have to sell to be brilliant, and a pop song doesn't have to flop to be awful.
We know it is possible to critique a popstar without hating them, to praise the same popstar without calling for their public execution.
We love popstars who take pop too seriously and popstars who treat the whole thing like a series of happy accidents.
We love Lady Gaga for being closely involved with her career to a degree that would send most of her peers insane, but we also love Britney for being a Britney sort of popstar. We don't have much patience with people who criticise Lady Gaga for not dancing like Britney or Britney for not writing like Lady Gaga, because we know that the trick with pop is to define your own terms then succeed or fail against those, not to measure your worth against your contemporaries.
While we're on the topic, Lady Gaga thinks her songs are brilliant because she wrote them. We think they're brilliant because they're brilliant. She thinks her shows are sold out because she saved the gays. We think they're sold out because she's a good popstar (and her songs are brilliant). We don't really want to read people banging on about how Lady Gaga is of interest simply because she is 'a phenomenon' or 'a fascinating example of the modern popstar' or any of that other fence-sitting bellendery you might find in your average broadsheet profile written by and for people who aren't really interested in the matter at hand. In this specific instance Lady Gaga is of interest firstly because of the amazing pop tunes she appeared with – any old twat can wear a funny hat and demand the world's attention but it's 'Just Dance' and 'Poker Face' that made anyone pay attention. Music doesn't always come first, obviously, but you can fuck off if you're saying it's irrelevant. Well, it's never irrelevant to Popjustice anyway. Lady Gaga isn't popular simply because she's 'interesting' – she's popular and she's interesting because she makes brilliant pop music, and knows how to sell it.
We try as much as possible to step back from fan-on-fan hysteria built on the unnecessary pitting of one (usually female) artist against another.
We won't deny that many of our favourite artists, from Abba, The Magnetic Fields and Pet Shop Boys to Take That, Example and Robyn have all got well stuck in (music biz term) when it comes to songwriting, and if you think about it like that you start to think about how great it is to hear a track when you know there's a strong emotional connection between the performer and the song itself. And then you think about about all the great songs that people have sung without even having a clue who wrote them, let alone what they're about, and suddenly none of that really matters.
Wailing about The Wanted not writing their best songs is a bit like complaining that a carrot is not a balloon, but while we don't really mind if people write their songs or not, we don't like it when they don't but say they do, or when they don't even bother to think about the songs they're singing. Will we ever use that dreaded phrase, that last refuge of the alternative twat, "but they don't even write their own material"? No, but we might occasionally come close: it gets our goat when the cred brigade conveniently ignores, say, the fact that The Artist Adele is only partially responsible for writing her biggest hits.
We know pop music is not easy to get right. That's why we get excited by the triumphs, find ourselves amazed by the successes, are made upset by the failures and get angry with anyone who undervalues the genre and its fans so much that they exploit pop by try to get away with what they know is rubbish.
It's impossible to sustain any belief in the concept of The Record Buying Public being 'right' when they like a song you consider good, then 'wrong' when they like something awful, so it simply makes no sense to feel somehow vindicated when a great song gets to Number One, if – as is usually the case – 80% of its
sales are to people who also buy awful music. It makes no sense at all. For this reason we feel a thrill when one of our favourite songs hits Number One and a wave of sadness when another favourite song misses the Top 40, but we try our best to ignore chart position-based distraction when we think about other areas of pop. Life is a lot easier – and there's a lot more to concentrate on – when you learn to stop worrying about Beyoncé's latest chart position.
Guilty pleasures, 'so bad it's good', 'alright for a pop song', 'screaming fans love it': these are all phrases people use to distance themselves from pop. Popjustice believes that you shouldn't grow out of pop music the moment you hit puberty and you shouldn't grow back into pop music the moment you discover irony.
We also believe that pop music is not a children's genre, so we despair at out of touch knob-jockeys (MIKE STOCK) who criticise popstars for making videos for (or aiming themselves at) adults. Pop music is often – usually, in fact – enjoyed by kids, but most of the good stuff is not made for them. In fact we reckon some of the worst pop music is made specifically for children, or for gays, or for housewives, or for students, or for straight thirtysomethings; for any demographic patronisingly targeted by songwriters, producers and major label marketing departments. If your first consideration when writing a song is to think about demographics, we're sorry but you are a dick. Similarly, if you're only writing a song for your existing fanbase you are on very thin ice indeed.
We know what we like.
Popstars who say "pop just means popular" don't really get it. And forget singing, writing, dancing or any of the other stuff: 'getting it' is one of the most important abilities of the modern popstar. It can't be taught so it can't be learned. You either get it or you don't. It's not about being well read, it's not about whether you're bright or not. Artists who, in the history of Popjustice, have 'got it' include Lily Allen, Marina & The Diamonds, Shakira, Nicola Roberts, Calvin Harris, Robbie Williams, Sia, Sky Ferreira, The Sound Of Arrows and Adele. People who don't get it include Britney Spears, Leona Lewis, Cher Lloyd and Duffy. The most dangerous sort of popstar is one who thinks they get it when they don't. In this category you will find Jessie J. If your favourite popstar doesn't get it that doesn't matter, they can still be amazing.
You can be a fan of The Saturdays without liking everything they've done. In fact, we'd say you're not a true fan of any act if you're so blinkered that you praise even their rubbish. You are enabling popstar shit. So you can look at all the Saturdays songs in your iTunes library, you can go 'this one's great, that one's great, I love that one, the rest is shit' but even though you've done that you can still say you like The Saturdays.
A genre's popularity at one point in history does not automatically mean that a genre or way of presenting pop music is by rights relevant in every other era of pop. We are thinking of boybands here. Made sense in the 1990s, didn't make sense in 2000s, make sense again in the 2010s.
There is a lot to be said for an underground approach to mainstream music and there is a lot to be said for a mainstream approach to underground music.
We know that pop is made great by the popstars who say yes, but pop is made vital by the popstars who say no.
We know that when we interview popstars we are just the latest in a line of dozens of people they have to endure meeting in the course of promoting their music. We know they don't really like being interviewed, and why would they when most pop interviews involve questions dredged up from Wikipedia entries, nonsense questions about last week's nonsense lies, and relentless probing about which boys they want to get off with. Female popstars don't get it much easier. We try to talk to popstars about stuff they don't get to talk about everywhere else, and we try to talk to them in a way that other people don't always talk to them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes when it doesn't work that's our fault. Sometimes, on the other hand, it is painfully obvious that shoddy media training has completely sucked the spunk out of the modern pop community, and not in the good way. Sometimes, during the course of an interview, a superstar can emerge. Sometimes they're just a bit funnier than you thought they'd be. Sometimes we ask them questions about horses and we find out more about what they're really like than if we'd asked them a million questions about their new single.
We can do without most of the Monsters/Crazy Cats nonsense, to be honest, particularly when it originates not with fans but in a marketing meeting at a popstar's label. Any popstar naming their fanbase before that fanbase even totals triple figures is having an elaborate wank. Fanbases should find their own identities. We'll let Marina & The Diamonds off on this occasion,
Just as pop is at its best when it's both completely meaningful and utterly trivial, so Popjustice is about caring a lot and caring a little, sometimes both at the same time.
We care about the best music from past generations, but we know most of it should stay there, which also means that we're not too bothered about how pop in the here and now will sound in twenty years. Every generation has its own idea about pop's greatest era, but pop itself is mostly about the here and now, even if it draws directly from the there and then.
In the spring of 2010 we asked our Twitter followers why they liked Popjustice. Here's what happened.
Sometimes, we feel that this present pop moment is all that matters. Pop is in a constant state of nowness. But we understand that pop music changes month to month and year to year and generation to generation, and we know that it is possible and important to view this entire history from above in order to find out a little bit more about what is happening in pop today. Things that were right once are wrong now, and wrongness from pop history seems great in pop present moment. The economist John Maynard Keynes once responded to criticism that he'd shifted his stance on economic policy with this statement: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" Which was his way of saying, "oh fuck off". When pop changes, we change our minds. What do you do?
We once thought that the idea of pop music 'going in cycles' was something mostly peddled by artists and publicists desperate to reinvigorate a dead musical scene to suit whatever they were trying to foist on the world. We still think it's pretty unhelpful to insist that pop is governed by a predefined cycle or series of cycles, but it does, of course, tend to follow certain patterns. How are these patterns established? Is it some extra-terrestrial power guiding the minds of songwriters and singers towards a certain new direction? Do planets align? Does a spooksome sixth sense exist in the pop community, allowing all involved parties to drift in similar directions? Perhaps it's something to do with the tides. OF COURSE IT'S FUCKING NOT. When pop changes – when things become pop that weren't pop before, and things that have been pop for a while cease to sound like pop at all – it's often because some people have very deliberately sat down and gone, 'right, this is what happens next'. Does that sound scary and like some sort of secret society? It's not. It's just some people changing pop music. Pop music has to change. Christ alive, imagine if it stayed the same forever. Fair enough, it would be better if the future of pop didn't lie (as it frequently does) in the hands of some supercilious dickwad who's never bought a Britney album in his life, but perhaps what pop actually needs is not the softly-softly approach you or we might take. Maybe it requires a kick up the arse from someone who doesn't give enough of a shit to handle with care.
We only recently came to realise and accept that our favourite popstars probably do not like our favourite pop music. So we understand that girlband members, for instance, will probably not listen to or particularly like, or be obsessed about in the way we're obsessed about, other girlbands' music. It's even true that many – maybe most – popstars have pretty bad taste in music. That's not a problem until band members go solo and decide to 'spread their wings', although it does seem a bit rich when they plug their new single and expect people to buy music they wouldn't necessarily buy themselves. We are not sure what it says about the way they view their fans. "I wouldn't buy this shit but you should," seems to sometimes be the suggestion. Anyway, it's those other influences – particularly for songwriters and producers who end up making music that sits alongside stuff they wouldn't necessarily like if they heard on the radio – that keeps pop interesting, keeps pop moving forward, keeps taking it in directions it would never have gone if, for example, Katy Perry hadn't spend a summer back in high school listening to Radiohead.
If all you do is sit around listening to nobody but Girls Aloud four years after they last released an album, and if you're doing that you need to get out more. Pop is happening and you're missing out.
To start off with Popjustice was a bit defensive of pop's territory. We used to get overexcited about how boring indie music was, and we would bang on about how amazing pop music was in contrast. As time has passed, while we would still struggle to care less if Bon Iver never made another record, the idea of pop versus indie seems like something that should be left behind in the debris of the last millennium. Indie fans may need to imagine pop music as an 'enemy' in order for their cherished 'alternative tunes' to be an alternative to something, but pop music does not require indie to be bad in order to be great. To be a fan of pop – this massive, brilliant metagenre that picks the best bits of everything else anyway – your horizons are already broader than you might think. Ultimately pop is not a different genre to all those other ones – it is a lightning rod that grabs the best bits of other styles and makes them brilliant. Having said all this, we do know that pop music at its best is better than the best alternative music. At the other end of the spectrum we are not sure whether the worst alternative music is also worse than the worst pop music. We suspect that the very worst pop music we will ever hear is probably worse than the worst alternative music. With pop the stakes are far, far higher, the extremes far, far more exhilarating. There is nothing greater than great pop, and nothing more dismal than bad pop.
While we might be prepared to let The World Of Alternative Music go about its business, we are still quite aware that an obsession with credibility can harm amazing pop. There are certainly problems when people who don't really have any emotional investment in pop start wading in. You probably hear a lot from certain quarters about how an artist 'fucks with' or 'subverts' pop. If you only love pop music that breaks the rules you don't really love pop music, you're just trying to impose irrelevant boundaries on a genre that's quite happy with its own values thanks very much. Pop does a pretty good job of defining its own agenda – a One Direction single sets out to do something quite different from a Scissor Sisters track, for instance, and the two acts co-exist brilliantly. Marina & The Diamonds hopes to be a different sort of artist to Joe McEldery. Not all pop has the same ambitions. But it is all pop. In summary: we like pop to be credible in the sense that you can believe in it, and in the sense that it should exist and succeed on its own terms. Beyond that, normal notions of credibility do not apply.
A few years ago we got involved with the 'Wonky Pop' brand that Alphabeat's then-management company launched. Looking back on that we guess their idea was to create a 'scene' around the band to help give them a press angle while they were starting out. They were putting on a tour also featuring acts we liked, like Frankmusik, so it made sense to us that we got involved and DJd at some of the nights. We even went so far as presenting it as a Popjustice tour, though perhaps if we had known we were effectively launching someone else's pop brand we might not have been quite so happy to help out. Anyway, it didn't really work out. The idea of selling pop to the indie world, which was the thrust of the 'movement', is a whole world of unnecessary shit full of half-apologies. It was a world were excuses were made for pop music. Clearly, pop music never needs an excuse. You either like it or you don't. And if you don't like it, you can fuck off.
Here's one thing it's important to state: pop music is never good simply because it is pop music. There's no pop shortage that necessitates the lowering of standards to hit some sort of quota on your iPod's Recently Added playlist. There's so much good pop around that it is unnecessary to fetishise the genre to a degree where woeful acts of pop's past, present or future are held up as somehow listenable simply because they operate within the same genre as people capable of decent tuneage. Just as pop music takes the best bits of other genres and bins off the rest, so pop fans should feel happy to do the same with what's in the charts, and even the output of acts they like. The Saturdays have never made a perfect album and they never will. Let's not dwell on the bad album tracks or attempt to artificially elevate them. If we do that, it means less when we like their actually great songs.
"Just a bit of pop fun." There's a phrase for you. Scooch is a good example of this. At the turn of the century they sort of made sense in the post-Steps climate; they were tacky and rough around the edges and, compared with the Steps machine they attempted to copy, completely unsophisticated, but there was a bit of a ramshackle charm to the whole thing, and 'For Sure' and that other one were great. By the time their Eurovision entry came around several years later it all seemed a bit different. Being a bit shit was part of their act, but you could tell they also wanted to be taken seriously. Their schtick seemed to be something along the lines of it being 'proud to be pop' and it being 'just a bit of fun'. These people who claimed to be flying the flag for pop were actually doing the opposite: they were saying that low quality output was allowed, because it was 'just' some silly fun. It wasn't much fun at all. It was shit on a stick. Claims like "it's just a bit of cheap pop fun" are usually made in relation to pop music that is trying to be – but is actually not – fun. Most pop reunions and comebacks – Steps, Atomic Kitten, whatever – offer an unconvincing impression of fun. It's the clown turning up at a kids' party drunk, taking his £40 at the end of the same miserable routine he's been doing for twelve years, then going back to his bedsit for a cry, a Pot Noodle and a wank.
If you feel the need to bill yourself as a shameless pop fan you're probably not a shameless pop fan.
Popjustice is one word with a lower case 'j'.
We love songs built for single song repeat.
We know pop should be lifechanging and important, but completely disposable if the mood is right, although bad pop often happens when people deliberately try to make it either disposable or lifechangingly important.
We know that in our quest for the next amazing popstar, the whole point of the next Lady Gaga is that they won't look or sound anything like Lady Gaga. (To be fair, the next Leona Lewis may well look and sound quite a lot like Leona Lewis.)
We know most artists never make a better album than their greatest hits.
We love sad songs you can dance to and happy songs so great they bring you to tears.
Pop is not a bloodsport. We try not to get involved with the current trend for whooping and clapping from the sidelines while popstars are mindlessly torn limb from limb by 'fans', cretinous hecklers and an entertainment media that seems locked in a depressing race to the bottom. If this sounds a bit aloof and moody so be it, but we're here because we love pop, not because we want to see the people who make it kicked into the gutter.
Popjustice tries to fly a flag for great pop music in an era where radio programmers and TV scheduling bigwigs are still embarrassed to like pop music or provide it for their listeners and viewers.
If you don't have the Pet Shop Boys somewhere in your Top 10 Pop Acts Of All Time In The Known Universe list you need to be asking yourself some serious questions, and if you don't have that list in your wallet with you at all times you're doing life wrong.
It's obvious that relentlessly aggressive marketing and street-teaming taught a generation of music fans to be suspicious of the pop industry, but it's also meant that pop has to try harder to make itself heard. Pop that doesn't try at all is rarely worth your time.
We like cheap thrills and expensive videos.
The pop single's demise is inevitable but still sad.
We believe that pop is not a lifestyle choice.
We reckon £7 is a fair price for an album. £10 used to seem fair. Now it's £7. It will probably be about a fiver in 2015.
We love great packaging for physical formats, but we buy most of our music digitally.
We know pop music is not a matter of life or death, it's more important than that.
It's all about the music and it's all about everything except the music.
We bathe in the pure, heavenly light of the radio edit.
We look for pop in all the wrong places.
Popjustice is just about pop music.
Pop music is never just pop music.
Pop music is everything.
Pop just is.


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Symptom of Moral Crisis
Yes, there was systemic failure, but we should be raising individuals capable of separating right from wrong anyway.
BY: Richard Land
When I first saw the photos, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, I was shocked and horrified. The feelings of outrage were intensified by the fact that the perpetrators were American soldiers. How could American boys and girls do things so contrary for all we stand for in the world?
As I struggled to answer that question in my own mind and heart, I was reminded of a little book called The Abolition of Man written in 1947 by C.S. Lewis, the British author and social commentator. Responding to a textbook that introduced subjective and relativist values into post-war British schools, Lewis defended traditional Judeo-Christian morality.
Lewis explained that in the properly ordered composition of a human being, the head (the intellect) ruled the belly (the visceral appetites) through the chest. Lewis defined the chest as the "higher emotions organized by trained habit into stable sentiments or character." Lewis went on to argue that the higher emotions of the chest-in essence, the workings of the heart--were the essential liaison between the cerebral and the sensual. Without the chest, human beings become self-idolatrous worshipers of their own minds and their own appetites.
C. S. Lewis understood that moral relativism eventually eviscerates moral character. When schools train students to "clarify" their own values, tell them they have the right to question parental or societal values, and that each person's values are as valid as any other person's values, then you have made all morals relative and each person becomes the final arbiter of what is "right" or "wrong" for them.
When such thinking permeates society, there are no agreed-upon absolute Truths (with a capital "T") where some things are always right and some things are always wrong. Instead, you are left with an almost endless number of personal idiosyncratic "truths;" nothing is always right or wrong but entirely dependent upon the situation, circumstance, or personal opinion. Additionally, no one has the right to assert that anyone else's values are wrong. In such a society, where nothing is always objectively wrong, anything is possible.
Post-modern relativism tears out the "chest" so necessary for stable moral character. As Lewis put it so poignantly: "In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked when we find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then we bid the geldings to be fruitful."
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Since upgrading my system to Windows 7 64 Bit, whenever i am using AutoCAD 2006 in XP Mode the cursor follows the Crosshair. The cursor is either an arrow or the "pan" hand. It is very frustrating as it makes drafting really hard. Any thoughts on how to remove the Coursor? Any help is much appreciated.
Solved! Go to Solution.
Thanks for the suggestion, however I have my computer set to Windows Classic theme and I still have the arrow and hand following the cross hairs. Any other thoughts?
Thanks for the advice. The driver for the mouse I am using is a Microsoft driver so I guess I will have to deal with the issue.
Thanks again.
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McALESTER — Thousands of people were affected by an cellular outage Thursday that happened at a McAlester chemical plant.
Yesterdays telephone outage was caused by a soil testing contractor at a McAlester chemical plant, officials say.
Thousands of people were without telephone cellphone and internet access yesterday for hours after a contractor working at Tony's Gas and Chemical House in McAlester cut into a fiber optic wire while testing soil, according to Bob at Tony's Gas and Chemical House. Bob declined to give his last name but he confirmed the accident which affected Latimer Pittsburg and McIntosh counties happend because the area was not properly marked by AT&T.
Bob said a contractor testing the soil for chemicals around the chemical plant cut the line because the ground was not properly marked by AT&T when the fiber-optic cable was installed.
Emergency Management Director Trent Myers and Pittsburg County Sheriff Joel Kerns confirmed the accident occured at the chemical plant on Washington Avenue.
Contact Jeanne LeFlore at email@example.com.


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As a follow up to our IFA Takeaway post, we thought this article from Dan Martin, CEO of IFx was appropriate. Maximizing your Franchisee's buy-in is something near and dear to every systems heart and this article gives you a great method of doing that.
The process flow necessary to achieve the highest franchisee buy-in incorporates franchisee (and/or FAC) INVOLVEMENT. It is critical for the franchisor to include their franchisees (or key franchisees or FAC) IN the process even if the franchisor knows that their franchisees will buy-into the innovation simply because it is the best thing for them.
Involving franchisees in the consideration of new products, services and/or innovations provides valuable input from franchisees. Further, politically it serves to empower franchisees.
The A-Z formula or process flow that relates to franchisee buy-in is based on INVOLVEMENT. The premise being: How often do franchisors turn to their franchisees and ask them what they think? Not often enough.
A. Consider a new product, service or innovation at the franchisor level
B. Build-in a component that benefits your franchise development efforts
C. Incorporate political, practical and legal elements at franchisor level
D. Incorporate political, practical and legal elements at franchisee level
E. Obtain buy-in from the franchisor's management team
F. Incorporate tracking/analytics
G. Negotiate an individual or cumulative break
H. Provide the break back to the franchisee or;
I. Provide the break as a supplement to the National Ad Fund noted in FDD
J. Develop examples of the products/ service for FAC/ Beta Group
K. Indicate that their input in needed to determine viability
L. Encourage brand-specific input that based on political, practical, legal
M. Ecnourage input that you already know that answers to (trial lawyer)
N. Assemble Feedback
O. Make adjustments to the product/ service for pacification
P. Re-roll out to FAC/ Beta Group
Q. Obtain additional input/ testimonials
R. Channel introduction via existing franchisee(s) (not the franchisor only)
S. Name the product/ service so it's unique to the brand
T. Refer to the renamed product/ service as an asset in operations
U. Implement the benefits for franchise development use
V. Provide self- analytic capabilities to franchisees to determine metrics
W. Incorporate micro and macro use reports (franchisees/ franchisor)
X. Incorporate micro/macro reports on cumulative break progress
Y. Further incentivise franchisees for breaks
Z. Publicize process, net benefits, analytics and breaks to franchise
About Dan
Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 23,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For any inquiries e-mail Dan directly at firstname.lastname@example.com
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Home > Find a Cruise > Western Mediterranean > Glamorous Coastlines > Excursions > Sanary-Sur-Mer > Discover Marseille
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Discover the charms of Marseille on this pleasant half day tour.
Meeting your coach at the pier, you will set-off on a scenic drive to Marseille, traveling via the Cornich J.F. Kennedy which runs alongside the natural coast of France. En route, you will be treated to lovely views of offshore islands, dominated by the Marseille Veyre massif. Your first stop will be at the Old Harbor or Le Vieux Port where you will have a brief photo stop before continuing on to the Pharo Park for a second photo stop. From here, you will drive along the promenade de la plage, a new extension of the Corniche which skirts the immense Prado beaches, as you make your way to the Notre Dame de la Garde, a Basilica that was built in the mid 19th century during the Romano-Byzantine era. The Basilica features a huge gold statue of the Virgin and within the crypt you will find the Mater Dolorosa, a marble carving by Carpeaux. Your visit here also affords you a spectacular view of Marseille, and if you wish, you may choose to climb the 40 steps that will give you a breathtaking 360° panoramic view of Marseille and the surrounding cities.
Following your visit to the Basilica, you will have approximately 1 hour of leisure time to explore the shopping streets near the Old Harbor, such as the Rue Paradis, Rue de Rome and Rue St. Féréol among others, before it's time to return to the ship.
Please note: This tour includes approximately 1 1/2 hours of moderate walking, at times over uneven and cobblestone surfaces, plus any additional walking at the guests' discretion during free time. This tour is not recommended for wheelchair guests and those with mobility concerns are cautioned to evaluate their personal level of ability and stamina. Weather appropriate clothing, a hat and flat, comfortable walking shoes are suggested. The order of the sights viewed or visited may vary.
NOTICE: All Oceania Cruises shore excursion fares are listed per person, and are subject to change and availability. Some tours are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time without prior notice. Tour departure times are subject to change so please reference your actual tour ticket for the correct departure time. Minor children under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a an adult parent or guardian on all shore excursions. While Oceania Cruises makes every effort to adhere to the specifics mentioned in each shore excursion description, circumstances may require otherwise. All shore excursion information contained on this website is subject to change without notice at Oceania Cruises' discretion. Oceania Cruises is not responsible or liable for typographical error, omissions or misprints.
*Click here to view complete terms and conditions associated with this special offer.
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LANSING — U.S. flags within the Michigan Capitol complex have been lowered to honor a former state senator who died this week.
David Plawecki, 65, of Dearborn was a Democratic senator for the 12th Senate District from 1971 to 1982. He was the youngest state senator elected in Michigan history at age 22.
Gov. Rick Snyder, who ordered that flags be lowered through Thursday, says Plawecki was respected and made government more open.
He helped enact the state's open meetings and freedom of information acts along with a law letting employees access their own personnel records. Plawecki later was deputy director of the former state Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
He ran for governor in 1982 and lost in a primary to Jim Blanchard, who would go on to be governor.


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Explore Cleveland's Premier Lineup of New Ford Vehicles at Jacky Jones Ford of Cleveland - Georgia
Everybody has a different lifestyle and budget. Find the new 2013 - 2014 Ford that fits yours at Jacky Jones Ford of Cleveland. In fact, we already have 2015 Ford trucks in stock like the F-250, F-350 & F-350 Chassis Cab. Conveniently located in Cleveland, Georgia, our amiable sales team is happy to share complete Ford specs, compare models (such as the Ford F-150, Escape, Fusion, Edge and Mustang), and arrange for test drives.


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HOUSTON – A Houston dad was in serious trouble after his child ingested marijuana while in his care, according to Houston police.
Danny Roy Montez, 31, was charged with endangering a child.
Police said Montez was alone with his children – ages 2, 4 and 6 – on August 25 when he left a bag of marijuana out. The toddler accidentally ate the pot and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
During the investigation, police discovered the father was a suspect in several recent burglaries. He was arrested and placed in jail with no bond.
The children remain in their mother's care, but CPS has gotten involved in the case.


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Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star
Bound for the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Terry Eldredge stopped in his hometown for a concert, bringing some famous friends along for the ride.
The co-lead singer and guitarist for The Grascals helped bring a touch of Nashville to Indiana 46 on the stage of Union Christian Church on Friday evening. The group plays again tonight in Chicago before Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony, where they've been nominated for Best Bluegrass Album.
Inside the church, Eldredge joked that he hopes the third time is the charm for the group, as this is their third such nomination, this time for "Life Finds A Way."
"Just glad to be back home. Being back brings back a lot of memories, all good," he said inside the church.
These days, The Grascals perform between 120 and 130 shows a year, and will soon hit their 138th appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. In recent weeks, they performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" as well as at the inaugural ball of President Barack Obama.
But long before his name appeared on record labels, it was typed onto a birth certificate at Union Hospital. Eldredge grew up in Paris, Ill., and Terre Haute, graduating from West Vigo High School in 1981, where he sang with the "Vikatones," the school's choir, directed by Becky Akers.
His father, Merlin "Bud" Eldredge was a computer programmer who played piano, and a university education was one option, but Eldredge took a path straight to Nashville, Tenn.
"My college was the Grand Ole Opry," he said, expressing slight regret at not continuing his education. "I do wish I went to college for the business part of it."
Landing his first Grand Ole Opry job in 1980, while still in high school, Eldredge performed with "Lonzo and Oscar," a comedy team most famous for their novelty song "I Am My Own Grandpa."
"I played in all the bars," he said of his youth in Terre Haute, guessing he was about 13 when he began to play in the taverns and at festivals such as the Bean Blossom.
His family had a musical bent, with his Aunt Vera Eldredge Shipley playing piano alongside his dad.
"She was known as the 'Carolina Sunshine Girl'," he recalled, adding she had her own radio show during the 1940s.
Eldredge's brother, Grady, played banjo, and it was the lessons Grady received which led to Terry's start.
Serving as an opening act was Louie Popejoy, who recalled teaching the banjo to Grady while Terry was a kid.
"I've known him since he was 6 or 7," he said after Eldredge credited him as the reason he went into music.
Popejoy, owner of Popejoy's Music Center since the early 1970s, said he was happy to play Friday night as an opening act for his old student.
"We'll have as much fun here as anybody will," he said, explaining that entertaining the audience and having a good time is what it's all about.
Minister Mark Grayless said he too would be joining in on the dobro.
"I play tonight," he said proudly. "I've played bluegrass hard the last 10 years."
Having a Terre Haute native make the big time is very exciting, he said, particularly since The Grascals have never played here before.
Eldredge advised upcoming musicians that dedication is required to be successful.
"Just know that's what you want to do and work hard at it, and stay in school," he said. "Eat your Wheaties. You're going to need them."
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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There's always something happening at Chamard. Stay current by joining our email list.
Visit the Vineyard
VISIT CHAMARD:Tuesday - Saturday
11 am - 9pm Sunday 11am - 8pm
Wine Tastings:Offered Room on a first come first served basis. Our $15 tasting includes 5 wines and a glass Groups of 8 or more visiting Saturday & Sunday require a reservation for the Barn
SINGER SONGWRITER Series:
Friday 5:30-8:30 -Tasting Room
Saturday 5:00-8:00 -Barn
Sunday 4-7 -Tasting Room
Enjoy CASUAL OUTDOOR DINNING:
Saturday 2-8pm & Sunday 2-7pm
Our Farm Kitchen & Barn will be OPEN Memorial Day Weekend thru Columbus Day Weekend
Reserve a Table in the Bistro:
In the Vineyard
The first vines were planted in the spring of 1984, a 5.0 acre vineyard consisting primarily of Chardonnay with a small quantity of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. From 1986 through 1992 the remaining acreage was prepared and planted, for a combined total of 20 acres. The winery was completed the summer of 1988 when Chamard became a licensed farm winery. The first wine, a 1988 Chardonnay was released for sale in November of 1989. We have bottles of this vintage in the wine cellar library
Chamard Vineyards | 115 Cow Hill Road | Clinton, CT 06413 Phone: 860-664-0299 | Fax: 860-664-0297


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Past Events
Events List Navigation
Florida Keys New Years Eve Celebrations
The Southernmost City celebrates with a conch shell drop at Sloppy Joe's Bar, 201 Duval St.; a descending 6-foot red high heel shoe carrying drag queen Sushi at the Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans House complex, 724 Duval St.; and a pirate wench descending from a tall ship mast in the island city's Historic Seaport.Find out more »
New years Eve Fireworks on Blackwater Sound
The back bay is the setting for the annual New Year's Eve fireworks extravaganza hosted by Sundowners, Senor Frijoles, Cactus Jacks, Gus' Grille at the Marriott Key Largo Beach Resort and the Caribbean Club, MM 103-104. Check website for details.Find out more »
Schooner Wharf Bar 22nd Annual Lighted Boat Parade
Lighted and decorated vessels from rowboats to tall ships proceed around Key West's Historic Seaport and harbor areas. Holiday revelers can watch and applaud from bars, restaurants and resorts in and around the Historic Seaport.Find out more »
Boot Key Harbor Lighted Christmas Boat Parade
A middle Keys holiday kick-off event for more than 15 years; watch as dinghies, mega-yachts and anything in between turn the harbor into a sparkling procession along the parade route. Best viewing sites include Lazy Days South, Marathon Marina, Sombrero Dockside Lounge and Burdine's Waterfront. Starts at dusk, near 5 p.m.Find out more »
Key Largo Lighted Christmas Boat Parade
Blackwater Sound is to shimmer as decorated boats parade along the shoreline in celebration of the holiday season. The best viewing and libations are to be found at Sundowners, Senor Frijoles, the Marriott Key Largo Bay Resort and Caribbean Club, MM 103-104.Find out more »
Don Gurgiolo Sailfish Classic
Part of the acclaimed Redbone at Large series of tournaments, this all-release tournament offers anglers a chance to pursue sailfish in Captain Don's memory. Up to four anglers can fish per boat.Find out more »
Florida Keys Holiday Festival
This extravaganza begins with a tree-lighting ceremony at Founders Park, MM 87. A holiday parade follows, featuring Santa, food, kids activity booths and live "on stage" performances. A mountain of snow is the favorite among mitten-clad munchkins.Find out more »
IFC Captain's Cup Sailfish Tournament
A winner-take-all prize of up to $30,000, along with the prestigious Captain's Cup, is to go to the top boat team – each team is allowed up to four anglers per boat. The guaranteed cash prize is based upon the number of boats registered for the one-day event; for a field of 15 registered boats the top payout is to be $20,000, for a field of 20 boats, payout increases to $25,000 and a full field of 30 registered boats…Find out more »
A vibrant three day festival and art walk celebrating all of the arts in Key West: visual, performing, literary, film, musical events, performances and exhibitions. Galleries are to have extended hours and exhibitions. Art and culinary pairings are to be offered in local restaurants as well.Find out more »
Islamorada Sailfish Tournament
The first leg of the triple-crown Florida Keys Gold Cup Championship Series is characterized by high-flying sail action, conservation and sportsmanship. It's also the only tournament in the Gold Cup series to offer a junior division for anglers aged 16 and younger. Unlimited anglers are allowed per vessel.Find out more »


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- Posts:263
- Followers:2
Lines out for week 3 and I see 8 nice plays
4 Replies | 577 ViewsOn 09/12/2011 10:30 AM in NCAA Football
(Lock of the Day) Auburn +4. Wow getting 4 points to play a Clemson. Auburn is getting overlooked. Offensively they will crush a Clemson team that barely beat Wofford. this is my Play of the Day
Stanford -10. Gunna buy 3 points but think the cardinals make a statement here and win by 3 td's
(Top Play) C Florida. -4. Gunna bu a point here but they proved they can play with the big boys. Florida Int has played well but has not see an athletic team like C Florida yet
(Top Play) TCU -27.5. TCU is anry after 1st week loss. Look for a blowout 52 to 7 vs UL Monroe
OKlahoma St -14. Too much offensive firepower. They destroy Tulsa by 4 TD's
(Top Play) Cincy -31. Bearcats Bounce back and will fire away at a bad Akron team. 63 to 7 final.
Arkansas -24.5. They can put aup points quick and will find the endzone alot against Troy. Gunna buy half point just to be safe.


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Mary Josephine "Mary Jo" Moore, 90, of Terre Haute, passed away at 4:35 p.m Sunday, June 23, 2013. She was born on June 27, 1922, to Theodore John Hauer and Mary Ann (Dosch) Hauer, in Prairieton. Mary Jo was a member of St. Benedict Parish. She graduated from St. Anthony School of Nursing in 1943. She worked as a RN for Dr. Ed. Voges, St. Anthony Hospital, ISU Health Department, and retired from the Vigo County Health Department in 1985.
She was a member of Veteran of Foreign Wars 972 Auxiliary, St. Anthony School of Nursing Alumni Association, German Oberlandlers Club, and Prairieton Fire Department Auxiliary Rug Cutters. She also volunteered at St. Benedict's soup kitchen and Beacon School of the Valley. Mary Jo enjoyed traveling, gardening and cooking.
Mary Jo was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Thomas E. "Curley" Moore; siblings, Theodore J. Hauer, Dorothy Brentlinger, and Helen Michl. She is survived by her children, Thomas E. Moore Jr., his wife Nancy, Timothy J. Moore, John F. Moore, his wife Kan of Birmingham, Ala., and Cathy Ann Tarrh, and her husband Mark of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Matthew Clark, Sarah Ashley Blubaum, Derek Tarrh, Brandon Moore, and Myra Jo Woodason; great-granddaughter Olivia Clark; and numerous nieces and nephews that she had a special affection for.
Mass of Christian burial is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. in St. Benedict Parish, 111 S 9th Street, on Friday, June 28, 2013. Father Ed Goldbach will be officiating. Burial will be in Highland Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in DeBaun Springhill Chapel, 85 E Springhill Drive, from 4 until 8 p.m. Online condolences can be made at:


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The Glenbard West Hilltoppers hit hard over the weekend and made their way to the IHSA 7A State Championships, beating Lake Zurich 19-13.
On Saturday, the Hilltoppers will take on Frankfort's Lincoln-Way East in the 7A Championships being held at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
Now, the call is out for Hitter fans and Glen Ellyn residents to show support for the team.
A Facebook post, shared with Glen Ellyn Patch, is asking members of the community to wrap their trees in green and white to show support for the team as it makes its way to state.
We here at Patch want to provide a place where readers and fans can show their support for the Glenbard West Hilltoppers by leaving comments, posting photos and even videos offering positive motivation. Register on Patch and then add your comments, photos or videos.
Not sure how to upload? Send your photos to Mary Ann Lopez at email@example.com. Be sure to include your name!
Let the Hitters know they have Glen Ellyn cheering them on as they head to State!


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Seekers of the Ashen Crown
is intended for 2nd-level characters. In Darguun, the Kech Volaar (Wordbearer) goblins have recovered a part of the fabled Ashen Crown. If they can restore the entire artifact, they would significantly enhance their claim as the rightful inheritors of the longlost Dhakaani Empire.
Unfortunately for the Wordbearers, word of the Crown's reemergence has leaked. Others—rival goblins, elf historians, and human spies—seek the artifact. The characters are caught in the middle of these competing forces.
A special thanks goes to Jon Schindehette, art director for this project, plus artists and cartographers Jason A. Engle, Dave Allsop, Steve Argyle, and David Griffith.


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Where is Gerald Harrison when you need him the most?
He always had a handle on who should be at practice... and who shouldn't be.
If you didn't pass his "sniff" test, there you went, right out the gate.
It was always impressive in the olden days of the 1990s or early 2000s how many people would call the radio talk shows, saying, "I just left practice...."
Their analysis could only be described as "breathless."
If all the people who called the talk shows about practice had actually been at practice, there would have been a concession booth set up, maybe even tickets being sold.
Come to think of it, that probably wasn't a bad idea.
Bet those practices at Duke run like clockwork, without significant controversy.


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October 24,
Japanese edition
of Banzai Babe Ruth Released
February 6,
Banzai Babe Ruth
SABR's Seymour Award for Best Baseball Book of 2012
February 1,
Banzai now
available in paperback on
November 12,
Banzai named as a
Finalist for the
2012 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year
June 30, 2012
Spies, and Ballplayers: The Untold Story of the 1934 All
American Tour of Asia." Wins the 2012
Pappas Award for the best oral research presentation at
May 15, 2012
Banzai wins a
silver medal at the
2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards
May 8, 2012
Feature article
April 13,
Wall Street Journal Review for Banzai
April 2, 2012
Banzai mentioned
NY Times article on Univ. Nebraska Press
March 17,
Podcast Interview
on NPR's
Only A Game
for Banzai
Baseball America
New York Journal of Books
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
ForeWord Reviews
Library Journal
Only a Game
Daily Freeman
About Town
Publishers Weekly
The Bleacher Report
High Heat
Going Nine Baseball
Books & Culture
Tampa Bay OnLine
Shelf Awareness
Bronx Banter
New Books in Sports
C70 At the Bat
NPR's Only A Game
Baseball Ph.D
Babe Ruth Central
Sports Radio 1250 Milwaukee
With Bruce Berglund
Sports Talk
High Heat Stats
Spies, and Ballplayers: The Untold Story of the 1934 All
American Tour of Asia." at SABR 42
September 20,
I am very pleased to
have joined the writers at the web site
My first article
Wally Yonamine and the Integration of Japanese Baseball,
tells how a young man who grew up on the plantations of
Hawaii became both the first Japanese-American to play
professional football for a NFL franchise and became the
first American to play baseball in Japan after World War 2.
Have a
If it's of
general interest, please post it on my blog
If it's
personal, please email me at
Banzai Babe Ruth
Winner of SABR's 2013 Seymour Medal
for Best Baseball Book of 2012
Finalist for the 2012 CASEY Award for
Best Baseball Book of the Year
2012 Independent Publisher Book Award
Silver Medalist
University of Nebraska Press
Personalized Copies of
Banzai Babe Ruth Available
Banzai Babe Ruth is the
story of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States
and Japan though the tour of Major League all stars in 1934
and the efforts of fanatical ultranationalists to drive the
nations apart. The story contains international
diplomacy, espionage, attempted murder and, of course,
"Banzai Babe
Ruth reads like a multi-stranded mystery novel. Fitts has an
eye for the quirky details that make historical writing
Michael R. Stevens, Books & Culture
researched and brought to life in lively prose."
Publisher's Weekly
fascinating story of international intrigue. ... This is a
well-researched, fascinatingly told tale of two super powers
whose shared passion for baseball wasn't enough to maintain
the peace, though it did help to restore it in the years
following World War II."
James Bailey , Baseball America
Learn more about Banzai Babe Ruth
Autographed & Personalized Copies
through Oblong Books
Amazon.com (hardback)
Amazon (paperback)
Barnes & Noble.com
Wally Yonamine:
The Man who
Changed Japanese Baseball
University of
Nebraska 2008
"Fitts creates a book
in which the life of Wally Yonamine almost jumps off the
page. Expertly researched and crafted book. This is a
must-read and a must-add to the bookshelf for those with an
interest in the history of Japanese baseball, and a
worthwhile read for any baseball fan looking to broaden
their knowledge of this great game that has spread around
the globe." -BaseballBookReview.com
way that Fitts brings history alive in this book is gripping
... [It] makes you feel as though you were there in the
stands." - JapaneseBaseball.com
Learn more
at Wally Yonamine .com
Autographed & Personalized Copies from Rob on Amazon
Japanese Baseball:
An Oral
History of the Game
Illinois University Press, 2005
Winner 2005
Society of American Baseball Research & The Sporting News
Award for Best Baseball Research
Remembering Japanese
Baseball: An Oral History of the Game is the first oral
history of baseball in Japan published in English. Written
in the style of Glory of Their Times, Remembering Japanese
Baseball features the narratives of 25 men who played in
Japan from 1948 to 1996. Through their stories, readers will
understand the history of Japanese ball and see how the game
changed over time.
Learn more about Remembering
Japanese Baseball
Autographed & Personalized Copies from Rob on Amazon


text:
Himalayan and Persian Kittens
Himalayan and Persian kittens to be born. Father Himalayan, mother is a Teacup Persian silverback. Himalayan and Prestigious Persian to be born as well. Father Himalayan and mother Prestigious Persian. I am selling them for $500 each. No papers. Will be born in the beginning of August.
Jul 29 -
East Aurora
Maine Coon kittens
Two kittens are remaining. All others have been sold. Special pricing if you purchase both together.
Jul 29 -
American Shorthair kittens, black and silver
I have a litter of American Shorthair kittens available.
The kittens are ready to go to their new forever homes.
Happy, healthy, fully litter trained and socialized !
They are use to birds, dogs and family living.
Parents are friendly and gorgeous. Daddy is an exceptional hunter
here on our farm. Did you know American Shorthairs where brought on the mayflower because of their hunting abilities? Its true!
Inside or out, they make for excellent pets. For more information give us a call or send us a e mail
Jul 27 -
Bengal kittens
Two females available. reduced price for quick sale. both for 500. ready to go. champion bloodlines. very sweet. call or text.5852977012
Jul 26 -
Free to good home, purebred calico/angora
Moving must part with my baby, want a good home for my inside cat only, free to good home, one year old, trained, calico/angora, spaded Little Girl is her name. Will only part to good home. Moving to a mobile park who only allows one cat and one dog. Have two pets and Little Girl was the third. Please help me find her a home, she is loving, and soft as velvet, contact 716 239 5319, Christine
Jul 25 -
Persian Kitten
One Blue and white male Persian ready for his new home. Shots included. Please call 716-242-1129 for more information.
lovable orange cream tabby kittens- 8 weeks
Orange cream tabby. Very playful & snuggly. Raised with kids, other cats and dogs. Rehoming fee. Kittens qualify for Operation Pets very discounted pricing on neuter and spaying. Also includes 1st set of shots. Please contact if interested.
Jul 23 -
North Tonawanda
Maine coon male
Born January 5, 2014. Gorgeous mackerel male, great lynx tips. Super lovable, neutered with shots.
Jul 22 -
Ready to Leave - Flame Lynx Himalayan
We have a GORGEOUS little male available to a loving pet home. He is WONDERFUL with children and other cats. He would do GREAT in just about any home.
ALL kittens leave Prints of Peace with (2) sets of vaccines and will be de-wormed.
We breed CFA REGISTERED cats ONLY!!
ALL our cats come from Champion, Regional and National winning bloodlines.
Please visit our POP STARS page at www.printsofpeacepersians.com for testimonials on how happy past pet owners have been with their POP Persian.
Jul 21 -
chausie/ savanna cat
Mew mew is a hybrid, she is spayed with shots. Only to approved home.
Jul 21 -
I have a beautiful Persian kittens ready to go to her forever home. She is a long hair Persians (born 5/1/2014). Parents are both Persians. They are home raised and I have mom and dad here to see. She is register and ready for forever home
Contact me if you have any additional questions or to schedule an appointment to see the kitten 716-563-6896
Jul 20 -
I have a litter of Persian kittens ready to go to their forever homes end of August 12, 2014. They are long hair Persians (born 06/10). I have 3 females. Parents are both Persians, Dad is Tabby Brown and Mom is a Tortie . They are home raised and I have mom and dad here to see. They will have there first shot and vet. visit.
Contact me if you have any additional questions or to schedule an appointment to see the kitten 716-563-6896
Ragdolll Kittens Available!!!!
Leasragdolls Cattery located in Grand Island, NY
Purebred Ragdoll kittens are 4 weeks now and will be ready for
adoption on the Labor Day weekend!
Visit our site at the end of July to see the new pics of kittens or make a $200 deposit on paypal to reserve a kitten sooner. Visits to see/reserve a kitten will start the weekend of July 26th. You can reach me by phone/text at 716-715-6993
We have Seal point, blue point and flame point and bicolor kittens!
Jul 19 -
Grand Island
6 month Siamese---PHONE PICTURES READY
Adorable male flame point kitten ready for forever home. All 3 kitten shots and wormed. 6 months. Extremely loving and affectionate. Raised by myself and a black lab whom he loves. Absolutely no bad behaviors or problems of any kind. Phone pics on request.
I also have his mommy. Free with purchase of baby IF INTERESTED. She is papered and She is spayed. All shots. Takes great care of and plays with her son when no one is around. She is a true joy and a love bug. Purrrrs constantly. 2 ...
Jul 18 -
Siamese kittens
Siamese kittens, seal pt. males, Very adorable and cute. Playful and funny. Ready for new homes. Call or text if your interested. 716-449-8389. The date on picture, was never set on my camera, I don't know how too. Its a very recent picture. The males are adorable.
Jul 16 -
Himalayan & Exotic Shorthair Kittens/Cats Available
Hello, I have available to the right loving homes some kittens and young adults. I have Himalayans and also Exotic Shorthairs. Colors are blue point, cream point, blue, & black. These are nice quality cats from a loving home. Please inquire for prices (prices from $450-$650), ages 5 months to just over a year. I have males & & females. Buyers are screened & some of the are already neutered. No declawing. Must be kept indoors.
Some of these have potential to be shown in Premiership if that is ...
Jul 14 -
Persian kitten
New baby Persian for sale taking 50% deposit on them now , come and meet them u will fall in love with them .
They will have there first shot and any thing else they may need .
They are register and mom and mom and dad are here also .
They be ready t go in 5 week or so
Jul 14 -
Persian kittens flat face
Up for sale flat face persian kittens one girl and one boy they are both 750 the first three pictures is the female and the last 3 pictures is the male both will be vet checked and will have dewormed interested please call 7167155808
Jul 11 -
Exotic Shorthair Calico Female Kitten, 11 Months
Gorgeous ESH Calico Female Kitten, 11 mos old, CFA,Top Show/Breeding lines.... Faithful Felines, Stonecreek, For Sale, Show/Breeder Quality [email removed]
Jul 10 -
Most beautiful Persian female born May 1 . Your heart will melt when you see her.SHE receive a vet-issued health certificate, health record and receive age appropriate vaccinations and worming. Price will IS $600 for females.
Call 716 563 6896
Jul 7 -
SIamese "Applehead" kittens
7/24/2014 - Reduced price from $150.00 to $125.00.
Born April 28. 1st 3-in-1 shots give on June 27th.
Liter includes 4 kittens as follows:
1 Sealpoint Female
1 Sealpoint Male
1 Bluepoint Male
1 Lilacpoint Male
Mother - Bluepoint Siamese
Father Flamepoint Siamese
All are very "human friendly" - raised with dogs and other cats, never crated or caged.
Interested parties please contact Kathy at 716-675-0981 after 10:00 A.M., or, leave a message on the answering machine.
Thank you for your interest.
Jul 5 -
Registered Male Maine Coon Cat
Mr. Tails is a 5 year old retired breeder. He is beautiful and quite the character. He can be sketchy with other animals so I would want him in a home without other cats. He has many good years of playfulness and lots of love........
Jul 3 -
Maine Coon Registered CFA
Stella is a retired CFA Registered female Maine Coon, she is 4.5 years old. She is spayed and vaccinated. She can only go to special home for a life of kitty luxury! She is a classic tabby and very sweet.
2 adorable grey tiger kittens for forever homes
Diamonds in the Ruff from Lockport has 2 super sweet grey tiger striped kittens ready to go to their new homes now.
They are 14 weeks old brothers, Mason, and Moose. Being raised with other cats, a large dog and small children.
They have had their first vet visit with vaccines, worming and their feline Leukemia/FIV test was negative. This is all included in their adoption fee.
They will come with spay/neuter vouchers for a vet that works with our rescue. Not from the Lockport area? That's ok ...
Jul 1 -


text:
Why DES uses 16 rounds why not more or less then 16. what is the significant of using 16.
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From Schneier's description of DES in Chapter 12 of Applied Cryptography (12.3): "DES with any number of rounds fewer than 16 could be broken with a known-plaintext attack more efficiently than by a brute-force attack." This explains the "Why not less than 16". As for the "why not more than 16", that is a tradeoff for speed of execution (more rounds = less speed).
Applied Cryptography mentioned this. With 17 or 18 rounds a differential attack is about as costly as brute-force. And 19 rounds or more makes differential attack impossible since it requires more than 2^64 chosen plaintexts, which is impossible since the DES block size is 64 bits.


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Crookes radiometer
The Crookes radiometer, also known as the light mill, consists of an airtight glass bulb, containing a partial vacuum. Inside are a set of vanes which are mounted on a spindle. The vanes rotate when exposed to light, with faster rotation for more intense light, providing a quantitative measurement of electromagnetic radiation intensity. The reason for the rotation has historically been a cause of much scientific debate.[1][2] Today the device is mainly used in physics education as a demonstration of a heat engine run by light energy.
It was invented in 1873 by the chemist Sir William Crookes as the by-product of some chemical research. In the course of very accurate quantitative chemical work, he was weighing samples in a partially evacuated chamber to reduce the effect of air currents, and noticed the weighings were disturbed when sunlight shone on the balance. Investigating this effect, he created the device named after him.
It is still manufactured and sold as an educational aid or curiosity.
General description[edit]
The radiometer is made from a glass bulb from which much of the air has been removed to form a partial vacuum. Inside the bulb, on a low friction spindle, is a rotor with several (usually four) vertical lightweight metal vanes spaced equally around the axis. The vanes are polished or white on one side and black on the other.
When exposed to sunlight, artificial light, or infrared radiation (even the heat of a hand nearby can be enough), the vanes turn with no apparent motive power, the dark sides retreating from the radiation source and the light sides advancing.
Cooling the radiometer causes rotation in the opposite direction.
Effect observations[edit]
The effect begins to be observed at partial vacuum pressures of a few torr (several hundred pascals), reaches a peak at around 10−2 torr (1 pascal) and has disappeared by the time the vacuum reaches 10−6 torr (10−4 pascal) (see explanations note 1). At these very high vacuums the effect of photon radiation pressure on the vanes can be observed in very sensitive apparatus (see Nichols radiometer) but this is insufficient to cause rotation.
Origin of the name[edit]
- The prefix "radio-" in the title originates from the combining form of Latin radius, a ray: here it refers to electromagnetic radiation.
- A Crookes radiometer, consistent with the suffix "- meter" in its title, can provide a quantitative measurement of electromagnetic radiation intensity.
This can be done, for example, by visual means (e.g., a spinning slotted disk, which functions as a simple stroboscope) without interfering with the measurement itself.
Radiometers are now commonly sold worldwide as a novelty ornament; needing no batteries, but only light to get the vanes to turn. They come in various forms, such as the one pictured, and are often used in science museums to illustrate "radiation pressure" – a scientific principle that they do not in fact demonstrate.
Thermodynamic explanation[edit]
External radiant source motion[edit]
When a radiant energy source is directed at a Crookes radiometer, the radiometer becomes a heat engine. The operation of a heat engine is based on a difference in temperature that is converted to a mechanical output. In this case, the black side of the vane becomes hotter than the other side, as radiant energy from a light source warms the black side by black-body absorption faster than the silver or white side. The internal air molecules are "heated up" (i.e. experience an increase in their speed) when they touch the black side of the vane. The details of exactly how this moves the hotter side of the vane forward are given in the section below.
The internal temperature rises as the black vanes impart heat to the air molecules, but the molecules are cooled again when they touch the bulb's glass surface, which is at ambient temperature. This heat loss through the glass keeps the internal bulb temperature steady so that the two sides of the vanes can develop a temperature difference. The white or silver side of the vanes are slightly warmer than the internal air temperature but cooler than the black side, as some heat conducts through the vane from the black side. The two sides of each vane must be thermally insulated to some degree so that the silver or white side does not immediately reach the temperature of the black side. If the vanes are made of metal, then the black or white paint can be the insulation. The glass stays much closer to ambient temperature than the temperature reached by the black side of the vanes. The higher external air pressure helps conduct heat away from the glass.
The air pressure inside the bulb needs to strike a balance between too low and too high. A strong vacuum inside the bulb does not permit motion, because there are not enough air molecules to cause the air currents that propel the vanes and transfer heat to the outside before both sides of each vane reach thermal equilibrium by heat conduction through the vane material. High inside pressure inhibits motion because the temperature differences are not enough to push the vanes through the higher concentration of air: there is too much air resistance for "eddy currents" to occur, and any slight air movement caused by the temperature difference is damped by the higher pressure before the currents can "wrap around" to the other side.
Motion without external radiation[edit]
|This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008)
When the radiometer is heated in the absence of a light source, it turns in the forward direction (i.e. black sides trailing). If a person's hands are placed around the glass without touching it, the vanes will turn slowly or not at all, but if the glass is touched to warm it quickly, they will turn more noticeably. Directly heated glass gives off enough infrared radiation to turn the vanes, but glass blocks much of the far-infrared radiation from a source of warmth not in contact with it. However, near-infrared and visible light more easily penetrate the glass.
If the glass is cooled quickly in the absence of a strong light source by putting ice on the glass or placing it in the freezer with the door almost closed, it turns backwards (i.e. the silver sides trail). This demonstrates black-body radiation from the black sides of the vanes rather than black-body absorption. The wheel turns backwards because the black sides cool more quickly than the silver sides.
Explanations for the force on the vanes[edit]
Over the years, there have been many attempts to explain how a Crookes radiometer works:
- Crookes incorrectly suggested that the force was due to the pressure of light. This theory was originally supported by James Clerk Maxwell, who had predicted this force. This explanation is still often seen in leaflets packaged with the device.[citation needed] The first experiment to test this theory was done by Arthur Schuster in 1876, who observed that there was a force on the glass bulb of the Crookes radiometer that was in the opposite direction to the rotation of the vanes. This showed that the force turning the vanes was generated inside the radiometer. If light pressure were the cause of the rotation, then the better the vacuum in the bulb, the less air resistance to movement, and the faster the vanes should spin. In 1901, with a better vacuum pump, Pyotr Lebedev showed that in fact, the radiometer only works when there is low pressure gas in the bulb, and the vanes stay motionless in a hard vacuum.[citation needed] Finally, if light pressure were the motive force, the radiometer would spin in the opposite direction, as the photons on the shiny side being reflected would deposit more momentum than on the black side where the photons are absorbed. The actual pressure exerted by light is far too small to move these vanes, but can be measured with devices such as the Nichols radiometer.
- Another incorrect theory was that the heat on the dark side was causing the material to outgas, which pushed the radiometer around. This was effectively disproved by both Schuster's and Lebedev's experiments.[citation needed]
- A partial explanation is that gas molecules hitting the warmer side of the vane will pick up some of the heat, bouncing off the vane with increased speed. Giving the molecule this extra boost effectively means that a minute pressure is exerted on the vane. The imbalance of this effect between the warmer black side and the cooler silver side means the net pressure on the vane is equivalent to a push on the black side, and as a result the vanes spin round with the black side trailing. The problem with this idea is that while the faster moving molecules produce more force, they also do a better job of stopping other molecules from reaching the vane, so the net force on the vane should be exactly the same — the greater temperature causes a decrease in local density which results in the same force on both sides. Years after this explanation was dismissed, Albert Einstein showed that the two pressures do not cancel out exactly at the edges of the vanes because of the temperature difference there.[citation needed] The force predicted by Einstein would be enough to move the vanes, but not fast enough.
- The final piece of the puzzle, thermal transpiration, was theorized by Osborne Reynolds,[3] but first published by James Clerk Maxwell[4] in the last paper before his death in 1879. Reynolds found that if a porous plate is kept hotter on one side than the other, the interactions between gas molecules and the plates are such that gas will flow through from the cooler to the hotter side. The vanes of a typical Crookes radiometer are not porous, but the space past their edges behaves like the pores in Reynolds's plate. On average, the gas molecules move from the cold side toward the hot side whenever the pressure ratio is less than the square root of the (absolute) temperature ratio. The pressure difference causes the vane to move, cold (white) side forward.
Both Einstein's and Reynolds's forces appear to cause a Crookes radiometer to rotate, although it still isn't clear which one is stronger.
All-black light mill[edit]
To rotate, a light mill does not have to be coated with different colors across each vane. In 2009, researchers at the University of Texas, Austin created a monocolored light mill which has four curved vanes; each vane forms a convex and a concave surface. The light mill is uniformly coated by gold nanocrystals, which are a strong light absorber. Upon exposure, due to geometric effect, the convex side of the vane receives more photon energy than the concave side does, and subsequently the gas molecules receive more heat from the convex side than from the concave side. At rough vacuum, this asymmetric heating effect generates a net gas movement across each vane, from the concave side to the convex side, as shown by the researchers' Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) modeling. The gas movement causes the light mill to rotate with the concave side moving forward, due to Newton's Third Law. This monocolored design promotes the fabrication of micrometer- or nanometer- scaled light mills, as it is difficult to pattern materials of distinct optical properties within a very narrow, three-dimensional space. [5] [6]
Nanoscale light mill[edit]
In 2010 researchers at the University of California, Berkeley succeeded in building a nanoscale light mill that works on an entirely different principle to the Crookes radiometer. A swastika shaped gold light mill, only 100 nanometers in diameter, was built and illuminated by laser light that had been tuned to have an angular momentum. The possibility of doing this had been suggested by the Princeton physicist Richard Beth in 1936. The torque was greatly enhanced by the resonant coupling of the incident light to plasmonic waves in the gold structure.[7]
See also[edit]
- Citations and notes
- ^ J Worrall, The pressure of light: The strange case of the vacillating 'crucial experiment'. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 1982. Elsevier.
- ^ The Electrical engineer. (1884). London: Biggs &. Co. Page 158.
- ^ Osborne Reynolds (1879)"On certain dimensional properties of matter in the gaseous state … ", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 170 : 727-845; Part 2.
- ^ James Clerk Maxwell (1879) "On stresses in rarefied gases arising from inequalities of temperature", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 170 : 231-256.
- ^ Han, Li-Hsin; Shaomin Wu; J. Christopher Condit; Nate J. Kemp; Thomas E. Milner; Marc D. Feldman; Shaochen Chen (2010). "Light-Powered Micromotor Driven by Geometry-Assisted, Asymmetric Photon-heating and Subsequent Gas Convection". Applied Physics Letters 96: 213509(1–3). Bibcode:2010ApPhL..96u3509H. doi:10.1063/1.3431741.
- ^ Han, Li-Hsin; Shaomin Wu; J. Christopher Condit; Nate J. Kemp; Thomas E. Milner; Marc D. Feldman; Shaochen Chen (2011). "Light-Powered Micromotor: Design, Fabrication, and Mathematical Modeling". Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 20 (2): 487–496. doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2011.2105249.
- ^ Yarris, Lynn. "Nano-sized light mill drives micro-sized disk". Physorg. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- General information
- Loeb, Leonard B. (1934) The Kinetic Theory Of Gases (2nd Edition);McGraw-Hill Book Company; pp 353–386
- Kennard, Earle H. (1938) Kinetic Theory of Gases; McGraw-Hill Book Company; pp 327–337
- Patents
- US 182172, Crookes, William, "Improvement In Apparatus For Indicating The Intensity Of Radiation", published 10 August 1876, issued 12 September 1876
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Light mills.
- Crooke's Radiometer applet
- How does a light-mill work?-Physics FAQ
- The Cathode Ray Tube site
- Bell, Mary; Green, S. E. (1933), "On Radiometer Action and the Pressure of Radiation", Proceedings of the Physical Society 45 (2): 320–357, Bibcode:1933PPS....45..320B, doi:10.1088/0959-5309/45/2/315. 1933 Bell and Green experiment describing the effect of different gas pressures on the vanes.
- The Properties of the Force Exerted in a Radiometer


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Effective April 2002, all fully licensed NAIC companies and dental plans should renew their certificate of authority online. The current certificate of authority expires June 30 and must be renewed before then. If your company filed its certificate of authority application late last year (i.e., after June 30), you must renew your certificate of authority on or before June 1.
The certificate of authority renewal process for fully licensed NAIC companies and dental plans can be completed online without attaching any certificates or other paperwork. This online process also will include the Workers' Compensation Law Compliance Certification. You will be required to pay using a Visa or MasterCard. There is no extra charge for renewing online. When you receive your credit card statement, the charge for renewing online will be shown as "Maryland Insurance Administration."
How to Renew Your Certificate of Authority Online
Login for Online Company License Renewal
You will enter your User ID, which is your NAIC number, and your password that was provided previously to you. Each company is associated with a unique UserID/Password combination. The system will not allow you to renew more than one company using the same UserID/Password combination.
- If you fail to complete any portion of the renewal process, you will not be able to continue with your online renewal, and you will get an error message when you click on the "Continue" button. Use the "Back" button at the bottom of the online application page to go back to previous screens and renew information; do not use the "Back" button on your browser toolbar.
- Before submitting your credit card information, be sure you review all the screens to ensure that the information is correct. Use the "Back" button at the bottom of the online application page to review previous screens; do not use the "Back" button on your browser toolbar.
- Please be sure to print the confirmation screen for your records. This will be your proof of renewal.
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All insurers are expected to utilize the online company licensing renewal process. However, if there are extenuating circumstances that will not allow you to renew online, you will be allowed to renew your certificate of authority by submitting a paper application. Click on each of the links below to download the application.
Application for Insurer's Certificate of Authority
Paper application should be mailed with a check for the appropriate fees made payable to the "Maryland Insurance Administration." Renewal application packages should be sent to:
Maryland Insurance Administration
ATTN: Company Licensing Unit
200 St. Paul Place, Suite 2700
Baltimore, MD 21202
An insurer may submit its renewal application any time after April, but the new certificate of authority may not be mailed until the last week of June.
If you have questions or need help with this license renewal process, please contact:
Glenda Manning


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Another view of this story was recounted by Steven Barr here. While both Dr. Barr and David Bentley Hart see the stuff of a mythology here, Dr. Barr supports a thesis that the opposition of the Church to science is part of a myth eagerly passed on to us by the scientific materialists whose narrative supports an atheist world view.
One of those historical myths that enjoy popular currency, even though they cannot survive the scrutiny of serious historical study, is that, at the dawn of the Christian era, there was a thriving Hellenistic scientific culture that Christianity — through some supposed hostility to learning and reason — methodically destroyed; and that this Christian antagonism to science persisted into the early modern period — as is evident from Galileo's trial in Rome — until the power of the Church was at last broken, and secular faculties of science began to appear.
This story is impossible to reconcile with the historical evidence, ancient, Medieval, or modern. It misrepresents the characters both of Hellenistic science and of early Christianity as well as that of Medieval intellectual culture; and it entirely belies the fascinating reality that, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Christian scientists educated in Christian universities and following a Christian tradition of scientific and mathematical speculation overturned a pagan cosmology and physics unchallenged since the days of Aristotle
Ancient And Medieval Science
There never was a particularly advanced culture of Hellenistic science — at least, not in the sense the word has now: a systematic and analytic use of experiment and observation to correct and refine hypotheses. Careful astronomical observation had led to the invention of the astrolabe, some of the remedies prescribed by medical 'science' were effective (or, at least, not harmful), some fine work in the geometry of optics was achieved by Ptolemy (c.100-c. 170), and a few clever mechanical inventions had appeared by the end of the first century Ala; hut Greek science had never been much interested in concrete experiment and as a \%hole had declined towards encyclopaedism and commentary before the Christian age. But research of a sort did persist in Alexandria, and was pursued during the Christian period as avidly by Christian scholars as by pagan.
Cosmology was at once the most elaborately developed and the most static area of scientific erudition. From antiquity through the late Middle Ages, almost all scientists — pagan, Christian or Muslim — accepted some version of the Aristotelian model of the universe, and some version of Ptolemy's attempt to describe a geocentric universe mathematically. According to the former, the stationary earth is surrounded by a series of revolving concentric crystalline planetary spheres, the lowest of which contains the moon; the 'sublunar' realm is the region of change and decay, of the elements of air and fire, earth and water; the 'superluna' realm, however, is composed of the 'quintessence' or 'aether', and there all is changeless. Beyond the farthest planetary sphere lies the sphere of the fixed stars. And the whole machinery of the cosmos is driven by the outermost sphere of the 'prime mover'.
Ptolemy's exquisitely complex model of the heavens was an attempt to make this model of reality somehow consonant with the observable movements of heavenly objects — including the apparent 'retrograde' movement of certain planets — but this., iii the end, was impossible. Ptolemy was forced to introduce such bizarre devices as 'eccentrics' (extraterrestrial axes for certain planetary orbits), 'equants' (imaginary secondary axes that allowed orbits to be measured as mathematically uniform) and 'epicycles' (small local orbital axes located within the planetary spheres) into his calculations. Nor did Ptolemy trouble overly much about empirical observation (one could disprove his description of the lunar cycle, for instance, simply by looking at the moon several nights in succession). None of his mathematical devices, moreover, was compatible with Aristotelian physics, but — while scientists occasionally attempted to improve upon the model thus produced — few ever thought to reject it outright.
One exception to this rule was the sixth — century Christian scientist John Philoponus, who speculated that heavenly bodies are in fact mutable, that above the atmosphere there was perhaps a vacuum, that the stars were not (as pagan scientists believed) spiritual intelligences, but merely masses of fire, and that the planets might move by an 'impressed' impetus. A few later Muslim astronomers addressed Philoponus' ideas, without adopting them, and by that route they entered into Western Christian scholastic science, where they were taken up and explored by men like Thomas Bradwardine (c. 1290-1349), Richard Swineshead (fl. 1348), Jean Buridan (1300-58) and Nicholas Oresme (c. 1320-82).
The heliocentric revolution Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a beneficiary of this tradition; but be was the first Christian theorist explicitly to argue for a heliocentric cosmos, in his treatise De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (published 1543). His argument was not particularly compelling, as it happens; his mathematical models were defective and almost as complicated as Pto1emy's (and as fraught with 'epicycles'). His basic model did seem to explain why Mercury and Venus remain always near the sun, but so did the later system of Tycho Brahe (1346-1601) according to which all the planets above revolve around the sun, while only the sun revolves directly around the earth. By the time of the trial of the most famous defender of the Copernican theory Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), many of the best astronomers (a great many of whom were Jesuits) had adopted the 'Tychonic' model.
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler (1571- 1630) was a brilliant astronomer natural scientist, theorist of optics and mathematician, but was also a metaphysician, an astrologer and something of a mystic; in his youth, he had intended to become a theologian and to the end of his life he regarded his scientific endeavourers a sacred vocation, which allowed him to discover the sublime harmonies informing creation, and the ways in which the Trinity is reflected in them.
In Copernicus' heliocentrism — which he encountered in the early 1590s — Kepler believed he had found (if only in intuitive form) a model of the cosmic order that adequately mirrored the divine governance of the universe, the sun's centrality being as it were, a physical symbol of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit ruling over and guiding all things; And even in his discovery of the elliptical shape of planetary orbits (in which he was aided by Tycho Brahe's meticulously precise astronomical observations) he believed he could discern depths of geometric perfection in which the divine archetypes of all things shone forth.
Though a devout Lutheran, Kepler had no interest in sectarian disputes; he was on good terms with many Calvinists and Catholics (with many friends and protectors among the Jesuits). He was content to labor under Catholic or Lutheran princes; he was not, however, shown comparable tolerance. At one point, he was expelled form the Lutheran communion; at another, Catholic authorities confiscated his books and told him to end his children to mass.
Kepler though, labored on inspired to the end by his vision of cosmic order or intricate beauties and delicate concords. The work that probably best expresses his vision of reality is his Harmonices Mundi of 1619, in which he gave free rein to his Christian Platonist and semi-Pythagorean tendencies. He described there the structure of the cosmos in terms of a 'universal music', found in all the geometric rations of the natural order; and especially in the subtle consonances – and spiritual influences – between heavenly bodies and the human soul.
When challenged by theologians, Galileo quite correctly appealed to the Church Fathers to defend the claim that the scriptures ought not to be mistaken for cosmological treatises. In the 17th century, though, under the pressure of Protestant criticism, the Catholic Church had become much more diffident in the latitude with which it read scripture, and had begun to incline towards greater literalism. That said, in the years leading up to his trial, Galileo had enjoyed the esteem of many prominent churchmen; several Jesuit astronomers helped to confirm many of his telescopic observations; and even when his Copernican sympathies became clear in 1613 he was not censured by ecclesial authority Galileo's most important admirer and ally in the Church, in fact, was Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (1368-1644), who in 1623 became Pope Urban VIII — the very man who would ultimately command Galileo to recant.
Galileo, however, was a frequently unpleasant man, who often refused to give other scientists credit for their own discoveries, belittled those he saw as rivals (such as Johannes Kepler), and insisted on provoking disputes. His demands for unconditional acceptance of his theories led to an ecclesial consultation in 1616. When he failed to produce a single convincing proof for his position, the consultation admonished him against teaching Copernican theory as a fact. Even so, Urban himself encouraged Galileo to write the book that became the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, the Ptolemaic and Copernican (1632), enjoining only that it include a statement to the effect that Copernican theory was only an unproven hypothesis. Galileo did include such a statement in his dialogue, but placed it on the lips of a clownishly obtuse character named Simplicio.
This seemed an unwarranted insult of a generous friend; Urban took offence and resolved upon a trial. Moreover, as it turned out, Urban was quite right about the unproven nature of the Copernican theory For all his brilliance as a physicist, Galileo was an amateur astronomer at best, and seemed unaware ho\v mathematically and empirically incoherent Copernicus' book was. The only evidence he provided for the Earth's movement was a theory about the tides that was completely irreconcilable with observable tidal sequences. He could have defended heliocentrism better if he had been willing to adopt Kepler's theory of elliptical planetary orbits — of which he was aware — but he was loath to do so.
The ultimate effect of Rome's authoritarian meddling was to make the Church hierarchy appear ridiculous. The case was, though, an aberration, and not a true indicator of the relation between the Catholic Church and the sciences. In fact, the Church was a generous patron of the sciences, while the Jesuits fostered many of the most original scientific minds of the age. But the embarrassment created for the Catholic Church by Urban's outraged pride has never entirely faded.
Read on (this is a series);