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I ought to start this article off with the reasons as to why I decided to write this article. I got scalded recently for criticizing Jack Baruth's article on why Top Gear USA will fail. On reflection, the scalding was well earned. It's a bit unprofessional to criticize a fellow worker's work no matter how much you disagree with it.
But this set off a light bulb in my head. Why should I post a comment about why I disagree with an article, and get browbeaten, if I can write an article of my own, highlighting my thoughts? Isn't that the American way? Why give something away for free, when you can sell it?
But before I proceed, I ought to clarify that I'm not going to advocate why Top Gear USA will fail. That's another topic completely. I'm going to talk about my reasons as to why I think Top Gear is all right.
Top Gear does something which few shows do: capture our imaginations. Say what you want about these awful reality shows (America's next supermodel, American Idol, America's got talent, etc), but everyone watches for one reason, to see an underdog story come true. Want proof? Look at the Susan Boyle video.
And this is what Top Gear does. It shows us what deep down we'd all love to do, if we were given a budget of their size. I would love to do a cheap car challenge with my friends which (nearly always) ends up destroying the car in some fashion. Or do a race across Europe. Or build an amphibious vehicle.
Now many criticize Top Gear for not catering to "normal people" and not doing enough "proper reviews". But wouldn't that be defeating the object, somewhat? When Top Gear WAS doing reviews of Vauxhall Vectras and Toyota Corollas (A.K.A "Old" Top Gear) did it capture the imaginations of people around the world?
There were probably a thousand other shows on American TV doing exactly the same thing, so what would have made "Old" Top Gear distinguishable from the rest? In fact, I find it strange that it's normally "petrol heads" who criticize Top Gear for not doing enough reviews on "normal cars".
You'd have thought, showing Lamborghini Gallardos doughnutting and Bugatti Veyron being maxxed out would get the petrol in their veins flowing? But no, what they actually want to see is a Honda Civic being tested on whether it has the best boot space in its class. Yeah, right(!)
Top Gear talks more about the car industry as a whole. They criticized the car scrappage scheme in the UK for not being environmentally sound, they moan about speed cameras & various new motoring laws and the price of petrol. These are topics WE'VE talked about on TTAC.
But for some reason, it's fine for us to talk about it because "we're The Truth About Cars and we're committed to telling the truth about the car industry", but when Top Gear does it, it's seen as silly and frivolous.
Now as I mentioned earlier, the reason (I believe) for Top Gear's success is the way it captured people's imagination. Top Gear started doing stunts which, quite frankly, people hadn't seen before on any show. Can anyone name a TV show (I won't even say "car show", just any show) before Top Gear which did stunts like this:
- Race an Aston Martin DB9 against the Eurostar/TGV to Monte Carlo, France?
- Cross the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle?
- Have a road trip across South America?
- Race a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti against a plane to Verbier, Switzerland?
- Try to see if they could go from London to Edinburgh and back again onone tank of fuel?
- Race a Mercedes-McClaren SLR against a boat to Oslo, Norway?
- Try to destroy a Toyota Hilux?
- Race a Bugatti Veyron against a Cessna 182 to London, UK?
- Try to send a Reliant Robin into space? (I doubt anyone had the budget to do that!)
- Have a road trip across Africa?
- Race a Nissan GT-R against the Shinkansen Bullet Train across Japan?
- Race a Toyota Hilux against a dog sled to the North Pole?
- Drag-raced a Bugatti Veyron against a Euro Fighter Typhoon Jet?
All of these stunts/races were thing people had rarely seen on TV, let alone on a car show. Now we come to the "Star in the reasonably priced car" segment. I'm going to gloss over the comments who say that it contains a load of British stars who they don't know, because if you remember it's a British show with, well, British stars.
My criticism stems from the petrol heads who see this part as the bit which could easily be cut out of the show. But I believe this segment has merit. Now, I'm not a fan of "celebrity culture". I couldn't give a toss what Madonna has been doing for her lunch. But a lot of people do care. As TTAC commentator Tricky Dicky eloquently puts it "The whole point of the 'Star in the Reasonably Priced Car' is NOT to deliver a benchmarkable assessment of driving skills, it is to get another angle on a celebrity doing something outside of their comfort zone."
No-one actually cares if Michael Gambon has a perfect driving line. In fact, quite the opposite, we WANT to see how bad celebrities actually drive. And at the very worst, this segment has given us one thing. Andy Garcia, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Jeff Goldblum driving a Kia C'eed. What other show has done that?!
Now is Top Gear perfect as it is? Hardly. Top Gear has thrown some clunkers our way. The bit where they tried to make their own electric car was painful to watch as it didn't tell us anything and was quite unfunny. The caravanning episode, whilst funny, told us what we already knew; that caravanning is utter misery.
But even "The Sopranos" had some dud episodes, too ("Pine Barrens" springs to mind). To say Top Gear is brilliant all the time, tells us that,
1. There's no room for improvement (which there clearly is!) and
2. You're believing the hype.
Top Gear is a great show, but is it without fault? No.
So, there you have it, my case for why Top Gear should be given a great deal of respect for what it has done. It has got people who weren't that interested in cars, interested in cars. And surely that can't be a bad thing?
Disclaimer: Cammy Corrigan is fully aware that this article may end her writing career, but still went ahead with it. With a little TOO much encouragement from Bertel Schmitt, who said: "I'm a sucker for career-ending stories."
Tagged as Cammy Corrigan, Top Gear, UK
59 Comments on "In Defense (Defence?) Of Top Gear..."
psarhjinianAugust 9th, 2010 at 11:31 am
No, I think you're right on all counts.
It's a good show, entertainment wise, and the previous "anti" piece smacked a little of the intellectual snobbery it was supposed to be mocking. You're right that it's not perfect, and the American show is probably going to fall flat for the reasons you both share, but it doesn't diminish the original or it's appeal.
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segfaultAugust 9th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Pine Barrens was a great episode.
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jastereoAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
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Advance_92August 9th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
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beeb375August 9th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
It was worth watching just to see Bobby in his hunting gear
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segfaultAugust 9th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
"He was an interior decorator? His house looked like #$%&."
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August 12th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I loved the Pine Barrens episode, it was the Sopranos equivalent of the Seinfeld "Chinese Restaurant" episode, and directed by Steve Buscemi to boot.
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philadljAugust 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
No rebuttal on the previous author calling The Stig and the Test Track "jokes?" The Stig is the finest driver alive or ever to have lived, if he is indeed alive in the way we consider organic life forms to be. No wetness of blanket nor wealth of real-world racing experience will convince me otherwise. Barrichello beating him in a Liana was a fluke, which should soon be corrected.
Meanwhile, the Lotus-designed Test Track is a tarmac masterpiece, capable of drawing out a car's weaknesses and dulling its strengths; a true equalizer. In concert with the Stig's not-inconsiderable talents, The track reveals a side of the tested car neither we nor its makers ever saw, and the position of said car's time on the leader board is a matter of such pride and importance, automakers such as Koenigsegg and Bugatti went out of their way to redesign their cars specifically so that they would improve their standing on the board.
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SinistermistermanAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
+1 on the track. I was a bit surprised when Jack slated the track. As you say, it was designed by Lotus and a variety of manufacturers have actually modified their cars after their experience around it.
FYI, The Stig is and has been a variety of different drivers over the series. Pretty much all of them are pro or semi-pro drivers. Indeed I have even got drunk on one occasion with a fellow who was The Stig for one segment of one show (I have seen the photographic proof!), however I am sworn to secrecy as to who he is.
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nikyAugust 9th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
The fact that the infamously tempermental weather around the track plays merry heck with the lap times is reason enough to disregard it as the litmus test of ultimate pace that petrolheads worldwide hold it to be.
Now if it were in the middle of the Arizona Desert…
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August 9th, 2010 at 11:53 am
I'd agree – its not meant to be a serious car show. We have those and for the most part they are dull and appeal to a small section of society. Sure a lot of the stunts are scripted and contrived but they are entertaining when done right. The treks across South America and Africa in particular are fantastic – even non-car buff can enjoy those. The same cannot be said of say Fifth Gear for example. Overall more good than bad.
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lawmonkeyAugust 9th, 2010 at 11:58 am
This is a perfect show for the DVR world – I usually sample about 30 seconds of the Star's interview, and if the banter is good, I'll watch it. If not, cue the TiVo bloop bloop bloop.
In any case, the episode set in Africa and the one at the North Pole will both stick in my mind for quite a long time.
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trucosmAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
another underappreciated aspect of Top Gear UK is that its production values are unparalleled. Visuals, music, etc. are very well done.
Compare TG to a stereotypical American car show (eg Motorweek), generic guitar riff v. actual good music.
I'm not familiar with the UK licensing laws but it obviously must be different than in America as most BBC shows put it music that would cost a fortune to license in America.
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thecavanaughsAugust 9th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
I think the roughly 150 pounds tax per television per year in the UK has a lot to do with that. Three and a half billion per year buys a lot of helicopter fuel, special effects, ugly flowery shirts, and all white fire suits.
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Advance_92August 9th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I wouldn't think it all goes to Top Gear, but it does provide a nice pool of funds for someone to come up with their own vision without having to curry favor with sponsors. Something like a MacArthur grant, perhaps, though that's not enough to produce your own TV show.
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gossfanAugust 10th, 2010 at 2:35 am
When you watch Top Gear, you're watching SOCIALISM!
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RadaAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I think the real reason is that the car culture is dying/dead. There are just so many alternatives, especially for the young, to spend the time on – computers, gadgets, XBoxes, iPhones, Web 2.0/Facebook/Foursquare.
Nobody cares about cars that much anymore. In the mind of the young, cars are firmly planted in the past century. In Japan many young people voluntarily give up car ownership.
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mythicalprogrammerAugust 13th, 2010 at 5:29 am
They mostly live in the urban and have bullet trains. Their gas cost $9+ bucks.
Making it a generation problem is just taking the cheap way out. There are factors beyond the simple excuse of it's a generation problem and technology.
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CliffGAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Hear, hear. There are genuinely funny moments to Top Gear, and it is rare for even their clunkiest show not to have at least one inspired moment in it. Their Vietnam and S. America and S. Africa trips were absolutely tremendous and kudos to the stars for being willing to torture themselves for our enjoyment. It is the one car show you can have a non-car person sit through and usually enjoy themselves. The other car shows that you can do that with? Zip, zero, nada. I don't think you will get fired for this one, Cammy. (Yeah, and Top Gear USA has no chance with those giggling ninnies.)
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Mailbox20August 9th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Agreed 100%. My better half couldn't give a rat's behind about cars, but she will watch (and enjoy) this show with me.
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RobstarAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
+1. My wife will occasionally watch TG with me. She won't watch any other car show except F1 Sunday races…
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rehposolihpAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Cammy, I agree whole-heartedly. When Jack attacked Top Gear I thought about the things he said was wrong with it. Ultimately I concluded that although it isn't perfect, when I want to watch something on TV, Top Gear will always bring a smile to my face and make me chuckle.
Top Gear makes me happy. What more can I want from television?
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Amendment XAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Top Gear =
cars + outlandish stunts + British humor + unbeatable chemistry between May, Clarkson, and Hammond
I wouldn't change a thing. The greatest automotive television show ever made.
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Dr. Kenneth NoisewaterAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I thought _Top Gear_ minus the stunts and comic relief was _Fifth Gear_?
I mean, Tiff Nedell is his own Stig..
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skorAugust 9th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
The formula for TV auto show success:
Monty Python + Road & Track = Top Gear
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fisher72August 9th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
One of my favorites was: which is faster to the airport in London? Car, bicycle, public transportation, powerboat.
It is not meant to be a factual show, it is entertainment with elements of near factual.
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holydonutAugust 9th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I'm baffled that people need to be reminded that the show is meant to be entertainment and not factual. The races are interesting, but the show does so much low-production-value stupid stunts that it should be plainly obvious they're just being silly on TV.
This is the show where they drop a piano on an old Morris, roll Robin Reliants, convert a Hilux into a motorboat, set caravans on fire, play Aygo-Soccer, have a "Cool Wall," etc etc, etc.
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Daanii2August 9th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
"It is not meant to be a factual show, it is entertainment."
Agreed. When Tesla complained that its Roadster had been treated unfairly on the Top Gear show, I just shook my head. The last thing Top Gear should do is treat things fairly. Who would want to watch that?
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thesalAugust 9th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
"It has got people who weren't that interested in cars, interested in cars. And surely that can't be a bad thing?"
That was the most important line in this article. Top gear is a show that puts cars in "layman's" terms. It takes away the intimidating technicalities and highlights the emotions that make cars what they are.
Top gear is the only show that my entire family religiously sits down and watches together once a week. My dad and I are engineers but both my Mom and brother come from an arts background.
Us so called "enthusiasts" sometimes forget how much of our car passion is emotion rather than technical. Jezza and the crew bring that back, sometimes saying they prefered driving the car that losts all the tests, but won the big smushy one, the "feel good test". Opinion, yes. But does it inspire the non-car-enthusiast to think twice the next time he gets behind the wheel? For sure.
I couldn't pay my 50 year old mother to watch Car and Driver TV, but she's normally the one saying "So when are we watching TG this week?". If it can do that, it's a great show in my mind.
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doctorsuarezAugust 16th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Couldn't be more right. TG made me a car enthusiast, got me into F1, and probably wound up costing me a pretty penny when it finally proved to me that I could and should escape from my Prius-induced misery.
And here's the important thing: Being a car person makes you a better, more attentive driver. And that could bloody-well save your life.
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August 9th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Agreed. When Top Gear is 'on', it's a good show, not just a good car show. Good television period. Some segments fall flat, but many of their segments have me rolling on the floor, while others have me in awe and still others have actually have me thinking. The treks across Africa, South America, & Vietnam were epic (to me) and even the one in the US was entertaining in a meaningless US bashing way.
On a side note, while the Top Gear test track may not be a serious race track, but it's inclusion in Gran Turismo 5 does make me want the game more.
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xyzzyAugust 9th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I loved the so-called US bashing road trip through the south. And any time TG does something about or related to the US I enjoy it more. No I'm not an America-hating Euro-weenie as Jack implied in his stupid rant. Exactly the opposite: I love America so much I enjoy seeing it mentioned, and experienced by non-Americans, even if they are making fun of it. And besides if we Americans can't laugh at ourselves every once in a while we might as well be Germans or Finns or some other dour people. Some of us are are just too damn thin-skinned. Lighten up! We're Amercia! Laugh at us and make fun of us if you want, just make sure you spell our name right (to steal and mangle a phrase).
Besides it's fun to watch three clueless (about their surroundings) Brits try to go redneck in $1000 cars in Alabama!
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August 9th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Top Gear UK is great entertainment, as far as I have seen on the Internet.
Jeremy Clarkson trying to destroy a Porsche might even enjoy Baruth.
I've heard that Top Gear will even start a German version, soon. Language might be a problem in Germany. But English shouldn't be a problem in the US. So, why is there a need for Top Gear US?
Both will fail, IMHO. Far too many "normal" people in the prospective audiences.
Wait, until these philistines find out that "Clarkson has long been noted for his pro-smoking viewpoint, with him even publicly smoking as much as possible on National No Smoking Day." Imagine!!!
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Dr. Kenneth NoisewaterAugust 9th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
"I've heard that Top Gear will even start a German version, soon. Language might be a problem in Germany. But English shouldn't be a problem in the US. So, why is there a need for Top Gear US?"
IIRC there's a competitor show starring Sabine, the hot German racer who almost beat Jeremy's Jaguar time on the Nurburgring in a Transit van?
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xyzzyAugust 9th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
+1 on TG being accessible outside hardcore car enthusiasm. My wife is an example, she thinks it's silly but there are many segments she has enjoyed, her favorite being foxhunting a small suzuki SUV.
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tankinbeansAugust 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Top Gear is great. I loved the episode where Jeremy Clarkson had the race against the Corvette with a Fiesta in the mall. Also, last night I saw a bit where they were talking about how much safer cars made during Tony Blair's term as Prime Minister v. those made while Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and he quipped that "…they are safer for those riding in them and for those they run over…" Priceless.
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MikeARAugust 9th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
It's the best show on tv anywhere. I've never seen a bad episode, some aren't that great but they have fun doing the show and that makes it always watchable. The US version will fail miserably, BBC caught lightening in a bottle with Jeremy, James and Richard and any other hosts will fail when put up against them.
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john.fritzAugust 9th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I thought the electric car show was one of their best. It illustrated what electric cars at this time: Niche personal transportation at best and , well, what they built as worst.
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sfendersAugust 9th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Seriously. They drove to the magnetic north pole. That feat alone gets them a pass for the "cool wall" nonsense, their total inability (pretended or not) to do something as simple as building a functional electric car, and whatever other various foolishness didn't quite work.
Top Gear needs no excuse for making fun of Americans based on ridiculous stereotypes. Same goes for Germans, French, Swiss, Koreans, environmentalists, advocates of public transportation, bicyclists, gypsies, old people, gay people, and James May. No need to consider yourself "better people" to enjoy that sort of thing. When the target is me rather than some stereotype I can join in on looking down on, I most often enjoy it all the more.
The SLR to Oslo was my personal favourite. If Top Gear America ever manages to do just one episode with that kind of genius, against all odds, it'll be made worthwhile. If they want a lesson in how to horribly fail to do that, they can check out Top Gear Australia. Whoever is responsible for the one episode I watched seems to have understood the appeal of Top Gear about as well as Jack Baruth.
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tbp0701August 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I had heard about Top Gear quite a bit, had seen some clips and liked them before ever seeing the show, as I rarely watch TV. When I finally caught a full episode, I became a fan. Cammy does a great job listing many of its attributes, but I think one of the defining moments for me was the Africa challenge, which was one of the first shows I'd seen. The particular moment was when Hammond drove his car into the river. It was clear that he had developed a genuine attachment to an old, inexpensive car, and was genuinely hurt that he'd nearly destroyed it. It may have been acting or overdramatic entertainment, but I doubt it.
The astounding thing was he set to work repairing it, a pretty impressive feat even with a full production crew around. For me, this humanized him, and I saw him as someone who really loves cars, especially an inexpensive, old car that managed to take him through Africa.
The show is also great for its humor and the hosts' willingness and ability to bring up criticisms that I seriously doubt will be allowed here. While I suspect the hosts would think someone insane if they bought/didn't buy a car based solely on their review, the show is one of the very few things I will bother watching on television.
As for the American Top Gear, I'm not sure. I think that one of its biggest challenges is that it has absurdly high expectations. I doubt that the BBC expected Top Gear to become the global phenomenon it is, and I'll guess that the show was allowed to develop over a few seasons. The US version doesn't have that luxury, and–unlike most British ideas recreated for the US market–much of the show's audience will already be familiar with the original.
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August 9th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
@ Dr. Kenneth Noisewater:
great hint! Again, I've learned something new at TTAC. Waiting for Sabine Schmitz…
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Dynamic88August 9th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I thought Jack's analysis of TG was spot on. Camry's defense does not persuade me to change my POV.
It's telling that TG is mentioned in the context of reality shows. It is a reality show. It's Survivor meets demolition derby. It has all the "intelligence" and faux drama of a reality show.
I do have to give TG points for creating the faux drama. Comparing the car-boat episode with the American version that Jack featured yesterday, TG at least has the good sense to create a competition between hosts. Who's car-boat will be silliest? Who's will sink first? It isn't much, but it's something, rather than nothing. In the American version we watch two dweebs standing around watching the third guy smash up a Caddy. No drama at all.
IMO, TG does not get people who aren't interested in cars to watch a show about cars. It gets those people to watch yet another reality show, this one featuring smashing up cars. (as opposed to say, eating gross things) No one's wife/girlfriend/nerdy brother in law ever watched TG and then became a petrol head. They continue to be uninterested in cars, but will watch them being beat on with a hammer then driven across a desert.
I do get the piss-taking aspect of the show. The truth is, Brits just love that piss-taking, even when it's mediocre. We Yanks, not so much. In fairness, I'll say that as a people we Yanks are perhaps a bit too serious and too earnest. Instead of car-boats that sink in 10 minutes and pretending that's hilarious, we'd probably try to make car-boats that could actually do an ocean crossing.
Still, even for Brits, one would think that 50 year old teenager schtick would get old in a hurry. TG doesn't actually provide witty banter, but it provides a close enough substitute that many people will accept. It's popular with a certain sub-set of Yanks; those who think everything British is witty.
TG is by far the best show tangentially about cars, but that says more about car shows than it does about TG.
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LALoserAugust 9th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Well said D88. Jack, IMO, was spot-on. The only reason I read TTAC is to get as straight of a story as possible. No touchy-feely, no "look at me" needy people, just facts on whether the car delivers in performance at a certain price point.
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sfendersAugust 9th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Top Gear is like Survivor because they both rely on faux drama. A mouse is like a tiger since they both have teeth. They do both have teeth, the existence of which is very important to the survival of each. One can use them to greater effect than the other when taking down large game, and has sharp claws as well.
The kind of show Jack has in mind would be good too though, pity we didn't get that instead of Top Gear USA.
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LesMay 27th, 2011 at 9:48 am
*No one's wife/girlfriend/nerdy brother in law ever watched TG and then became a petrol head. They continue to be uninterested in cars, but will watch them being beat on with a hammer then driven across a desert. *
No one? Strong words, considering I R one. :P
Before I started watching Top Gear the amount of automotive knowledge I possessed could be written on the back of my hand, and I'd have to keep checking it to answer any questions I was asked. Did I learn more about cars than I already knew after watching my first episode of Top Gear? No…
The hours of scouring the internet researching everything car-related I could get my hands on, and eventually leading me to This very website and replying to This very post? Oh yes, I learned so very much, and it was the spark of interest in cars that Top Gear provided me with which started it all.
Have you ever wondered why so many crap cars get sold? Why? They're crap! Why would anyone put-up with creaky chassis, wallowy suspension, mushy breaks and sloppy gearboxes? Why haven't these cars gone the way of the Dodo? Why do people still buy them?
Because We, the Mainstream Car-Buying Public, just flat don't Know better.. and for the most part we don't Want to know better because that brings us into the orbit of you lot, the car 'Enthusiast'. Nothing can make us love cars, or even Want to love cars when we the perception is that we have to wade through all the stat-quoting, vein-popping, adenoid-flapping Serious Business of a nest of car-geeks who we just know are waiting to pounce on us and laugh when we're forced to admit that no we don't know the difference between a manumatic transmission and a dog-clutch sequential gearbox or why that's important.
But Top Gear cuts through all that and makes cars.. Fun! I finally give a damn about my next car beyond 'does it have four wheels and an engine? Oh, and a cool stereo?' I, and no doubt many more members of the Mainstream are getting drawn into your special little club by Top Gear and it's irreverent attitude to all things automotive. Maybe that makes your club a little less special, but the truth is.. you need us.
You need us because the days when the Enthusiast's club can be maintained solely by it's own cloistered membership are at an end and if you reject us, if you insist on berating us as not 'True' Petrolheads because we had our interest piqued by the likes of Top Gear then we shall just shrug and abandon that interest like a passing fancy; and then one day we'll all happily trade-in our 4th-generation hybrids for shiny new Autonomobiles and enjoy a fine wine with a nice cheese while you desperately try to push-through the paperwork to get your 'Relic-and-Curio' plates for your beloved sports-cars before government comes 'round and replaces their engines with a stack of batteries.
Sleep tight. :)
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Sanman111August 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
There is a very simple reason that I like Top Gear. It is very much the TV show for the average auto enthusiast and people who like fun. Look, buff books/shows are nice. But, the truth is that I will not have an amateur racing career outside of some local autocrosses. More likely, I will dream of Ferraris and hop into something disgustingly more reasonable/ cost effective and hoon it the best of my abilities on my local back road. That is Top Gear…three buffoons chatting about cars, cracking jokes at the expense of each other, and getting the chance to indulge in a dream ride. Add in a round of beers and you have what I would call a good time. The things many car "experts" talk about confound me as an average person. Do I care if the M3 has fractionally better skidpad numbers than the Mercedes AMG? No, even if I have the cash, I lack the ability to actually test these limits. They will also admit the real world things that most car buffs will not. That old lamborghinis disappoint, that old supercars/sportscars have charm and also but many problems, that it is okay to want the auto/semi-auto instead of the manual car. Top Gear isn't about cars, it is about FUN! The problem with the American Top Gear promo is that they seem to lack the most important aspect of the show. Three average guys having fun and cracking on each other.
You want an example of American Top Gear…watch MythBusters on discovery.
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DC BruceAugust 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
"Top Gear" is just the latest in a series of TV shows that illustrate "British Humor," its predecessors being "Fawlty Towers" and "Dr. Who." That the show involves cars is somewhat secondary. It certainly isn't network "reality TV," IMHO, which, among other things, asks its audience to pretend that the "participants" are in some life-threatening situation, all the while in the company of a camera crew and producer. (It is interesting that Discovery's "Deadliest Catch" about Alaska crabbers recently did a show that took viewers in front of the cameras to the guts of how the show worked and addressed head-on some of the questions about the relationship between the fisherman in front of the camera and the unseen film crew behind it.)
Clarkson is an insouciant fellow and proud of it. While I have no opinion of the depth of his knowledge of automotive engineering or his skills as a driver (who am I to judge either?), it's clear that the man is passionate about cars and pretty good about articulating his passion.
The idea that TG is a "car review" show is risible. Good grief, Charlie Brown, where'd you get that idea?
And no, I don't like the because I'm one of the effete Americans who are into self-flagellation and enjoy a dose of USA-bashing from Mr. Clarkson. Whatever . . . I haven't seen every episode, but if the episodes I have seen were rife with anti-Americanism, it flew under my radar.
As for the American knock-off . . . well, for obvious reasons, it can't duplicate the original. So, the question is, with TG as an example of what can be done with some original thinking, let's hope the producers of the American version can figure out how to duplicate that part of the show — the willingness to take risks and fall on your ass sometimes in an effort to produce something good.
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JimalAugust 9th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I'm not so sure that TGUSA will be a failure. I see this as being more like an American Chopper or one of those crabbing shows where the cars or the crabs are the background. This show will succeed or fail based on the personalities of the cast and how they are accepted by an audience that for the most part has no idea who Jezza, Captain Slow and the Hamster are.
If you want technical stuff watch the Power Block on Spike.
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HankAugust 9th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Scalded? One of the things I like (liked?) about TTAC was room for disagreement among its writers.
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August 9th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I'm with you, Cammy.
+Honestly, I thought Jack's article was nothing but flamebait for pageviews.
The old Conrad Newel "throw a brick at somebody famous"-thing or its variant, "attack something everyone loves".
It would be sad if he were serious.
Not a snob, love British humor, esp. Clarkson-buffoonery; measuring everything in hammer-lengths, etc.
It's funny someone would call TG-viewers euro/brit-snobs, as the Saturday before I pull down an episode of TG, I'm usually watching MuscleCar, HorsePower, Extreme 4×4, Overhaulin' reruns, etc. and sometimes even the execrable MotorWeek just because I like cars that much.
Definitely a: *<-Over there is the point., You are here.->@, to anyone who would apply any actual Seriousness or metrics to TopGear's content. Ie: If I have to explain the entire concept of humor…, then you know what, just forget about the joke I was telling…
Anyhoo, you hit the nail on the head, Cammy.
There is absolutely NOTHING else as captivating on TV as these guys racing a Veyron against a Typhoon, a GTR against a Bullet-Train, an RS6 down a mountain against 2 yobbo Para-Skiers, or watching those 3 Stooges pull up into Ha Long bay, seeing the mindblowing helo shot of it and hearing the "Evey Reborn" music from 'V for Vendetta' when they finally get to the bar in the center.
->You could write a novel better than every single travelogue James Michener ever wrote -Combined-, if you did it about the TG Vietnam special.
*Note: For anyone who would critique TG's track or SIARPC times, you obviously missed out on both Stats and Scientific Method classes.
Because there Is a trend/distribution on those track times,
And an instrument or methodology does not have to be Perfectly Accurate to produce Statistically Significant results.
All it has to be is +/- the same every time, thus making the shift the same for all experiments, which Does yield Statistically Significant trial results.
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cackalackaAugust 9th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
+1 for Cammy.
I agree with Jack, in that it should fail. But then I said the exact same things about the Office. Now, I love Steve Carrel, but he's no Ricky Gervais. Seriously, that character situation commedy has gone on, for what now? Seventy-four years without a coherent and plausible story narrative.
We'll see, didn't that douchebag who hosted the show formerly known as the Tonight Show try ripping off TG?
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marjanmmAugust 9th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Top Gear is just three middle aged men horsing around being ambitious but rubbish. Where in the testosterone filled, long tanned legs obsessed, incredibly competitive and burdened with complexes world of TV can you find anything similarly light hearted.
I mean a "very self motivated personality" for a Top Gear (US) presenter, oh for god's sake, give it a break, it just misses the whole point entirely.
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James2August 9th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
+1 Cammy
While Jack is out driving, hopefully going way too fast in some Porsche Deadly Sin that will self-destruct, I will gladly watch Top Gear. I really think he misses the point about the show, which is to have a good time in a car or (if you're in Vietnam) scooter.
Life is too short to have only MotorWeak (sic) on the telly.
The others who compared TG to a reality show… are you kidding?!?
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nikyAugust 9th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
I actually enjoy the "Star" segment, sometimes. It's interesting to see whether Lionel Ritchie will roll the dinky little thing… aaaaand… he did!
I used to whinge about the changes in Top Gear, too. But I've learned to forget about it and simply enjoy the show. It's rubbish as automotive journalism (except for the odd witty or insightful observation of society and industry that it throws our way, as you alluded to), but as automotive entertainment, it's top class.
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Kristjan AmbrozAugust 10th, 2010 at 3:05 am
While I agree with your analysis of why TG is a success (a major rea draws viewers far more diverse than the miniscule number of car enthusiasts), I also find that they are maneuvring themselves into a position, where they will slowly run out of steam. my thoughts regarding this are as follows. In order to top the stunts of the previous season they need to do sillier and sillier things. Now some are very nice, the photography is astounding, the cars are beautiful, as is the scenery, I enjoy a spot of hooning as much as the next man. But some stunts are getting downright bloody stupid (like the truck crashing episode), and with time (watching several seasons) you can pretty much (without watching) replicate exactly what everyone will say about which car and the jokes that will be cracked. I find I can personally no longer motivate myself to watch and know many other people who feel likewise.
This is not meant as a criticism of the show – if you constantly have to raise the ante without changing the format or the people, you are bound to stop appealing to some of the viewers – maybe most, maybe not.
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RonmanAugust 10th, 2010 at 4:34 am
Well Cammie, you forgot to cover the Stig.. but the rest was spot on i believe…
Although I agree with Jack Baruth on many things, I disagree with his view on top gear. Perhaps he's blowing smoke in our faces because he's the Stig's American Cousin? I say… he sold his lime green Audi S5 to avoid detection on his way to the top secret test track… and.. he writes damning reviews of the TV shows he is a part of to confuse people of his true identity… All we know is that he Might be the STIG's American cousin his biography will tell…
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Tricky DickyAugust 10th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Cammy, thanks for that balanced and correctly positioned rebuttal of JB's original post. Honest, realistic, insightful, intelligent – as ever. I'm only disturbed that you thought you'd be fired for writing such a thing. Wasn't the real issue that the original article was so flagrantly unbalanced and yet readily published? Please keep doing what you do.
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cdnsfan27August 10th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
TG is outstanding TV. My wife who is not a car girl loves it. What other show has a host falling in love with his car "Oliver" and Jeremy's ad for the new Scirrocco "Berlin to Warsaw in one tank" was priceless…no other show would get away with that…or showing up for a Brit/German challenge in Belgium flying Spitfires….it doesn't get any better than that.
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Adam OmelianchukAugust 10th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
One of the reasons Top Gear is so great is that it understands that Television's medium is to entertain. Factual shows, in priciple, don't do well on TV. Watch Motor Trend or Inside Line do a video on the CTSV or the ZRI and you will see some impressive numbers alongside shots of–oh my gosh–drag runs, skid pad turns, and breaking tests. Meh. Compare that with TG having them run across the western United States around curvey roads and the streets of a casino town. They make you want to own the car! Without such entertainment and enthusiasm we would be guilted into driving hybrids. TG allows us to be children dreaming of getting behind the wheel of a Lambo and having a blast.
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social media marketing strategy
Why is it important to make your own social media marketing strategy?
There are many factors which contribute to the success of a business. It will not matter how well you product is, no one will buy it if you do not advertise it properly to the right kind of people who has the potential to become your customers. Anyone who is in the business world knows the important of advertisement and they also know that advertisement alone cannot contribute to the success of the business. Customer care or helpful service provided to a customer or a potential customer is also a very important factor which definitely helps a business to grow and also helps in brand loyalty. Social media sites are the best place to promote your business and also provide helpful customer care services and thus it is very important to have a social media marketing strategy to make sure that you can reel in more customers and keep them coming back.
Why make a social media marketing strategy?
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If you have a social media account and is not getting any success or if you want to open a new account, then you need to know the important strategic moves which will help you to have an account which will be successful and as a result it will be endorse your brand and thus your business will growth too. Thus there are some strategic moves which you should definitely know and the important ones are discussed below.
Researching really helps
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Another step which should be in your social media marketing strategy is that you should take time to make a plan of action and you have to stick to it or do what you decided to do. You need to have an active account as having an active account will reel in more potential customers. Visitors tend to avoid pages or accounts which do not post regularly and thus you need to provide fresh materials everyday, which can be an enormous task.
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Admit your mistakes and handle it like a pro
It is not possible to be correct all the time, so it may happen that you might make some mistakes in your account. But do not panic about it and of course do not delete it and use harsh words to the people who will correct it or make fun of it. When such incident will take place in the social media site, you have to be gracious about it and apologize if needed and make another post correcting the post which had the mistakes. Be cool and collected about the situation and take steps wisely to fix the problem, it is the best social media marketing strategy one can learn.
So, now you know some of the important social media marketing strategy. So what you need to do is make a strategic make based on this and also make up your mind how to conduct the social page and account. There are many social media marketing consultant which you can hire who will help you in the smooth running of all your social media account or you can hire anyone who will take care of all your social media accounts. So, research and search carefully and you will be able to have a successful social media account and in turn successful business.Hits: 2574


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We are giving away a pair of tickets to Ecstacy @ Holocene on January 10. To win, comment on this post why you'd like to attend. Winner will be drawn and emailed Friday, January 10.
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They may have shot a movie once in his hometown, but now Gordon Downie of the Tragically Hip will have a street named after his band in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario.
On Tuesday night city counsellors voted to create a place where locals can meander down a strip of downtown called Tragically Hip Way, indeed a very cool place to hangout. The new road will run along a one-block segment of Barrack Street from King Street East just past Ontario Street. It is located in front of the entertainment venue the K-Rock Centre. They also voted to create a Walk of Fame.
"We are humbled and flattered by the efforts of those who undertook this initiative and those who supported it throughout this process," Tragically Hip bassist Gord Sinclair said in an email, as reported by CBC News. "It is our hope that the creation of the Tragically Hip Way and a Walk of Fame celebrating our fellow Kingstonians will serve to strengthen and unify our community in the years to come. We would like to thank the mayor and council for this recognition and offer our sincere hope that any divisiveness this issue may have caused will not impede the progress of the city's business."
With 12 studio albums under their belts, the Tragically Hip first hit the music scene back in the late 1980s. They've amassed an impressive 14 Juno awards, and have been honoured with spots on Canada's Walk of Fame as well as being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.


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Garmin (Booth No. 2853) is highlighting what it calls three major upgrades to its all-glass, G1000 integrated avionics suite–the FliteCharts, ChartView and SafeTaxi features.
ChartView brings an electronic version of Jeppesen's chart and airport diagram library directly to the G1000's multifunction display (MFD). In addition, pilots will see the aircraft's present position on the chart. Customers subscribing to ChartView will periodically receive DVDs from Jeppesen for on-aircraft updating. The DVD may also be downloaded to a personal computer to display and print charts while on the ground.
FliteCharts is an electronic version of the National Aeronautical Chart Office (NACO) U.S. Terminal Procedures publication. It lets pilots quickly find and view all NACO departure procedures, standard terminal arrival routes (STARs), approach charts and airport diagrams on the MFD. G1000-equipped aircraft with FliteCharts will have access to all currently published NACO approach plates–17,500 for 2,916 airports. Garmin will offer regular updates to FliteCharts as they become available from NACO.
In addition to the terminal procedures available with ChartView and FliteCharts, Garmin's SafeTaxi helps pilots navigate the surface at unfamiliar airports by identifying runways, taxiways and hangars relative to the aircraft's exact location on the field. SafeTaxi information will be a standard feature integral in the basemap and will be displayed on the G1000's MFD. More than 700 U.S. airports and diagrams will be pre-loaded on G1000-equipped aircraft with the SafeTaxi feature, and Garmin will continue to develop and offer new airport charts as NACO provides new information. Garmin also plans to offer international airport diagrams in the future, pending approvals from the necessary agencies.
Cessna's Citation Mustang is the first aircraft to incorporate these three G1000 enhancements. All aircraft manufacturers using G1000 will also be incorporating these enhancements in the next year.


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Yesterday, in an interview with Diane Rehm, Iraq war architect Doug Feith — who has been on a campaign to revise the record about the failures in Iraq — vigorously defended Donald Rumsfeld against claims he invaded Iraq without considering the facts. The administration, in fact, was not "hell bent" on war, Feith claimed.
Feith cited a pre-war memo in which Rumsfeld "laid out the strongest case possible not to go to war." The memo included the prospect of there being no weapons of mass destruction, no link to al Qaeda, and the potential of sparking ethnic strife — proving that Rumsfeld was "analyzing" both sides of the issue:
FEITH: I don't think that anyone who actually examines the record would come to the conclusion that this administration was hell-bent on war. … There was an extremely intense effort and a respectful effort made to look at the arguments against going to war. […] It's interesting that Secretary Rumsfeld is viewed as an 'advocate' for war. But he wasn't advocating. He was analyzing. And he put forward the arguments against war much more strongly than Secretary Powell did, than Director Tenet did, than anybody else in the administration who now likes to put himself forward as a skeptic ever did.
Listen here:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/04/rummyfeith.320.40.flv]
In reality, Rumsfeld was "advocating" for the military invasion of Iraq well before 2003. In 1998, Rumsfeld wrote to President Clinton as a signatory of the neoconservative Project for a New American Century, urging "military action" against Iraq. After 9/11, Rumsfeld pushed again:
— On 9/11, an aide recorded Rumsfeld's orders, which said, "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] at same time. Not only UBL [bin Laden]."
— "Tasks. Jim Haynes [Pentagon lawyer] to talk with PW [Paul Wolfowitz] for additional support…connection with UBL," an aide also recorded.
When it came time to vote on the Iraq war in fall 2002, Rumsfeld pressured Congress to authorize force against Iraq as soon as possible:
— "It's important that Congress send that message before the U.N. Security Council votes," he said. "Delaying a vote in Congress would send the wrong message, in my view."
Feith has long shilled for Rumsfeld. Before the war, Feith worked in the Office of Special Plans, Rumsfeld's intelligence shop that drummed up the threat of Hussein. In 2005, Feith wrote an op-ed titled "The Donald Rumsfeld I Know" in the Washington Post, proclaiming that Rumsfeld "is the opposite of an ideologue."


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The sentencing of two men convicted of terror offences has been adjourned.
Ibrahim Abdullah-Hassan, 28, of Carr Road in Walthamstow and Shah Jalal Hussain, 31, of Cannon Street Road, in Whitechapel admitted encouraging terrorism and disseminating terrorist material at the Old Bailey on March 24.
The pair previously denied publishing lectures calling for a holy war against the West but changed their plea at the last available chance.
Abdullah-Hassan and Hussain posted a link on their website of an extremist speech by senior Al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki.
The 28 year old also known as Abu Nusaybah was arrested following an interview on BBC Newsnight in which he claimed his friend Adebolajo had been offered a job by MI5.
In February, Adebolajo, 29, was handed a 45-year minimum term for murdering Lee Rigby in a Woolwich street in May 2013.
The men were due to be sentenced today but will now appear at the Old Bailey on May 9.


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22-250 under $600
I want any gun that is factory new if any know of or has a good reasonably priced rifle let me know the model and manufacturer
Savage 110 or Tikka T3
They are both accurate and a great value but the Savage is made in the USA, though the Tikka is less likely to be bullet picky then the Savage.
They are making the Ruger American in .22-250 now, if I understand correctly. - Not the prettiest, but they do have a reputation for accuracy.
Savage 11xp trophy hunter, comes with a nikon 3-9x40 BCD
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Associate Professor of Music
Head of Instrumental Studies: Director of Bands, Conducting
Phone: (239) 590-7188
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com: MUS 121
Rod M. Chesnutt is associate professor of wind ensembles at Florida Gulf Coast University where he is responsible for those components of the university music program while teaching courses in music education, wind literature and conducting. He holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Tennessee Technological University , a master's degree in trombone performance from Arkansas State University , and a Ph.D. in music education with an emphasis in wind conducting from Florida State University. Previously, he served as chair of the Division of Ensembles and Conducting and director of Symphonic and marching bands at the University of Northern Iowa. He was also the director of bands at Mississippi State University and the State University of West Georgia. Additionally, he served as Music Director/Conductor of the Starkville/MSU Symphony Orchestra and served as the assistant director of bands and the director of the Cornhusker Marching Band at the University of Nebraska. While at the University of Nebraska , the Cornhusker Marching Band received the Sudler Trophy for outstanding contributions among the nation's university bands. Prior to teaching at the university level, Dr. Chesnutt built superior-rated bands in the public schools of Trumann and Blytheville, Arkansas. He was recognized as an Outstanding Young Man of America in 1988, Who's Who in American Education 2006, Who's Who in America 2006 and received the National Music Clubs' Award of Merit in 1991.
As a clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Chesnutt has appeared throughout the United States. He is also an arranger of note having studied with Robert Jager and Jared Spears and his arrangements have been performed by such accomplished ensembles as the New Columbia Wind Band, the U.S. Army Band [Pershing's Own], Florida State University Symphonic Band, Syracuse University Wind Ensemble and the University of Nebraska Wind Ensemble. He has been actively involved in commissioning and premiering new music for winds including works by Michael Colgrass, Eric Ewazen, David Maslanka, Paul Richards, Robert W. Smith, Philip Sparke, and Jack Stamp.
Professionally, he is a member of Music Educators National Conference, College Band Directors National Association, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Mississippi Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the National Band Association. A past Arkansas State Chairman for the NBA and Mississippi State Chair for the CBDNA, Dr. Chesnutt is a former Midwest and Southeast District Governor for Kappa Kappa Psi and currently serves as its Immediate Past National President and member of the Board of Trustees. He has conducted ensembles and presented scholarly research at regional, national, and international conventions, and his articles have been published in CBDNA Reports, Journal of Band Research, The Instrumentalist, National Band Association Journal, and Clarino Bläsermusik International. He is a contributing author to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series.


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Latest Stories
XNA Communal Shower, Vol. 40 Comments
January 14, 2009
About This Game
- Summary
- Specifications
- Game Editions
An independent project designed using the XNA development suite.
The LAN party smash-hit comes to the Xbox. Featuring local 8 player support, this frantic, fun-filled platformer has you escaping down a deep shaft whilst deadly saw-blades whirl ever closer to you. Features over 20 characters to unlock, 4 difficulty modes and unlimited levels to play.
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FalldownPublisher: IndependentRelease Date: January 01, 2009MSRP: 5 USD
Help us solve the toughest (or most puzzling) game puzzles and challenges.
Our attempt to answer issues which most commonly occur on IGN's wikis.


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Ankey, Iowa -- Casey's General Stores Inc.'s reported Monday that its net income declined nearly 13% in its fiscal second quarter on lower sales of gasoline, groceries and cigarettes.
Casey's made $32.9 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from $37.6 million in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose 7.2% to $1.91 billion. Same-store sales of gasoline fell 0.4%, while sales of merchandise dropped 0.7%. Cigarette sales were hurt by competitive pricing and an increase in an Illinois state excise tax, CEO Robert J. Myers said in a statement.


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…from SouthFront
[ Editor's note: We strongly suggest you sit through the video and make sure this article gets into the hands of as many Americans and British as possible. America's adventures around the world invariably involve building a military force or rebuilding one America herself destroyed as in the case with Iraq.
America has built armies for 4 dozen nations around the world at a cost of nearly $7 trillion with interest, making up the single biggest source for America's national debt, money almost entirely stolen. We can judge Russia in Syria by the results, which thus far have been impressive… Gordon Duff ]
When asked about Russian operations in Syria, most people would immediately mention the Russian fighter-bombers, attack aircraft, combat helicopters, and cruise missile volleys.
Few would mention the quiet work behind the scenes that was performed by a large group of highly dedicated professionals who helped transform the Syrian military that was on the brink of defeat, into a force that could once again begin liberating Syria's territory. Without denying the importance of the air campaign, the air strikes alone would not have turned the tide of the war.
When the Russian military began its intervention in Syria, the situation at the front demanded a rapid provision of specialized military support in order to offset the jihadist numerical superiority by superior firepower. That was quickly provided by supplying the Syrian Arab Army with T-90 tanks and TOS-1A self-propelled thermobaric rocket launchers which are highly effective at reducing fortifications.
However, in order to allow the Syrian army to resume the offensive, both its equipment and personnel would have to be replenished and retrained. Unfortunately, the Syrian military was in a state of serious neglect when the rebellion broke out, and large-scale combat operations quickly revealed this sad state of affairs. Much of its equipment was sidelined for lack of maintenance, units were understrengthed and short of specialist personnel.
At the time, the Syrian soldiers were poorly trained, even ones assigned to crew sophisticated weapon systems like tanks and self-propelled artillery weapons. Equipment maintenance systems were sufficient to cope with peacetime demands, but quickly broke down as soon as the Syrian military attempted large-scale operations. Syrian military's large pool of equipment also created an attitude of neglect toward maintenance and evacuation of damaged machines.
To help, the Russian Ministry of Defense utilized the Syrian Express supply route to send a large number of T-72B tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, and rocket artillery weapons to Syria. Russian advisers then got to work training Syrian troops both on the use of the new vehicles and operating them as part of tactical combat teams.
Even more equipment found its way into the Syrian units thanks to Russian specialists restoring Syria's armored vehicle repair workshops, which quickly returned hundreds of broken-down or long-term storage armored vehicles to service. Syria's air force returned to the skies thanks to Russian specialists and timely deliveries of spare parts.
The Russian advisers also established training courses for the specialist personnel without which no military can effectively conduct large-scale operations, such as logisticians, communications experts and, equally important, operational planners. This work is, of course, not without danger, given the terrorists' ability to strike in almost any part of Syria. One Russian adviser was killed in Latakia province in unknown circumstances.
The Russian advisers also serve as de-facto diplomats, whose presence is necessary to ensure the capability of pro-government forces which include recently recruited tribal and regional militias and even former opposition forces working smoothly together. For example, it is difficult to imagine the Kurds and the Syrian military cooperating effectively without Russian intermediation.
For all these efforts, the situation in Syria still remains critical. Syrian forces' problems have not been fully resolved, and ISIS and other jihadist forces are capable of launching local counter-attacks, as they recently did at Khanasser, because government forces are not large enough to properly defend the lengthy front lines against all the rebel factions. However, the trend is in a positive direction.
The January fighting in Salma was a demonstration of the Russian efforts to train complete battalion task forces of the Syrian army to conduct offensive operations. It was the first operation carried out by one of the new Russian-trained battalions.
Since the training program was launched in October, it would appear that the training cycle lasts 3 months before the unit is sent into the front lines, and more such units have been joining the fray recently and turning the tide of the war. The opposition's newly discovered willingness to negotiate is entirely due to their belated recognition that the balance of forces has been shifting against them.
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Retrial of Israeli Spy Due in Egypt Sunday
The Egyptian Higher State Security Court will begin Sunday the retrial of Sherif Ezzat Al Filali, who is accused of providing the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad with military, political, economic and tourism information about Egypt, the Cairo-based Al Gomhuria daily reported.
The suspect is also accused of harming Egypt's national interests and receiving bribes from abroad.
The court session will be headed by Mohammed Abdel Mageed Shalabi and will include Abdel Azim Azzam and Mohammed Al Sawi as members.
In early September, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to approve a security court's acquittal of Filali, and subsequently accepted a prosecutor's call for a retrial.
An appeals court ordered that Filali, 35, be arrested again, and set September 19 as the opening for a new trial in another branch of the state security court.
Filali was tried, along with a Russian who was absent from the proceedings, on charges that he collected information for Mossad on Egyptian military equipment, tourism and agriculture.
But the court acquitted Filali under a law absolving those who come forward before an investigation, although it said the truth of the charges against him had been proven.
The Russian, a former military officer whose whereabouts remain unknown, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison with hard labor.
Verdicts by the security court only become final after they are ratified by higher Egyptian authorities.
The state security prosecutor acknowledged in his July request that Filali had come forward, but maintained that he "did not inform the Egyptian intelligence services of his espionage activities ... and wanted instead to be a double agent."
The prosecution said that the ruling neglected to consider the confiscation of equipment found in Filali's house, which contained information connected to the country's national security, and failed to confiscate the money in his possession, which Filali said he had received from Israeli intelligence agents.
Filali had been detained since his arrest in September 2000, but was released after his acquittal – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)


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Continuing its reputation as the biggest international documentary film festival in UK, the 21st Sheffield Doc/Fest welcomed documentarians and activists from the public domain with a fierce independent spirit this year.
Georgia Korossi
The past is always with us. But who wants to live in an antique shop?
– Ian McShane in How We Used To Live
Continue reading "Independent spirit: 21st Sheffield Doc/Fest"


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Posted 7 years ago
(2 items)
Does anyone hae any info on this MSPCA "Be kind to animals" badge/medal? Found it during an attic clean out and can't find anything on it - it was in a drawer with news papers from the early 1900's but not sure if it is really that old or just paked away in a drawer with the papers. ade by the Pilgrim Badge company, Cambridge MA


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The holy grail for this area would be one equation to express how "evolved" something (anything) is. The same equation should be able to demonstrate why a human is more evolved than bacteria, why a pre-nova star is more evolved than a new star, and how evolved a human is relative to a star.
I think you will have a hard time finding such an equation, because I don't think there is a sense in which a human is more evolved than bacteria.
I'm not just saying this to be cute. I'm a biology student, and my un
It may well be that if you can come with an equation to compare the "evolvedness" (or some more sophisticated concept) that a bacteria and a human are simply too close, and the difference (while existing) may just bee too small to be noticable.
Your reply to my "you won't find any, since it's not there" seems to be "maybe it will be too small to notice".
FWIW, I believe we won't find a metric or a scale along which a human would come out more evolved than bacteria; not because the differences will be too small along the relevant axes, but because we won't find any relevant axes.
The term "evolution" sometimes misleads people subtly into believing that progress is being made from species like bacteria towards species like Homo sapiens. There is no such progress, there is no "towards" in it. It's just fiddling with parameters, keeping in synch with an ever changing environment (or a few steps behind, as it were).


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Most information security professionals argue over this question, but, usually agree that even if our government establishes a single data breach list requiring mandatory public reporting, a true measurement of data breach activity may always be a point of serious debate. With this level of potential ambiguity facing information security managers in organizations, and rather than trying to focus on a question without a clear answer, we recommend that they read/review the recently released 2009 Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) Breach Report. The ITRC report used percentages to analyze … [Read more...]
Information Security Lessons to be Learned from 2009 Data Breach Listing
As you would expect at this time of the year, many 2009 events are being chronicled and organized into some kind of list for publication. One such list that our staff found interesting and appropriate for our business continuity and information security community was recently posted on the Computerworld website. The name of the list cited, in an article written by Jaikumar Vijayan, is "The 2009 Data Breach Hall of Shame". The reason our staff decided to bring this list to your attention, was to offer your information security managers and risk assessment team members a … [Read more...]


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William Horine Zimmerman
The co-founder of the nationally acclaimed Herbfarm Restaurant died Tuesday, January 16, 2001, after a year-long battle with cancer.
Bill Zimmerman, 83, was known throughout the region for his gentle manner and love of gardening, cooking, birds and animals. He delighted patrons by regularly appearing with a pet goose or chicken under his arm.
"He was a wonderful, wonderful man," said Jerry Traunfeld, the restaurant's executive chef. "He was very kind and exactly what you would want a grandfather to be."
An avid grower of succulent plants and scented geraniums into his 80s, Zimmerman would try and outdo the restaurant gardeners by producing the first ripe tomato of the season.
"He was very good at it," Traunfeld said.
Bill Zimmerman was born in a log cabin at the corner of Second and Dunkle Streets in Fairbanks, Alaska, on July 16, 1917. His father, John Franklin Zimmerman, a Chicago-educated mining engineer from the Zimmerman family farm in Harvel, Illinois, provisioned in Seattle in the summer of 1897 on a stopover en route to the Alaska Gold Rush. After his father died in a mining accident in the 1920s, young Bill lived in Los Angeles with his mother, Mary Horine, his brother Frankin, and his sister, Mary. As a boy during the Depression, he helped support his family by selling fruit and vegetables from a roadside stand.
He studied engineering in Los Angeles, and met Lola Kammer, formerly from Brule, Nebraska, at a Burbank rooming house where she was working. They were married on December 10, 1941. (Pictures from Bill's youth.)
Mr. Zimmerman worked for Lockheed Aircraft during World War II and after, serving as part of the team that built the first American jet fighter. In 1946, after the war, Bill and Lola moved to Gold Beach on the southern Oregon coast where they built and operated a salmon fishing resort, Rogue Woods, near a spot that the author and sportsman, Zane Grey, had made famous. The couple's two sons, Ron and Bob, were born in Oregon and the family lived on a hill in a house that Bill built with hand tools. They grew a large garden and Lola canned fruit at the end of every summer.
He moved to what was rural Bellevue in 1954 with his wife, Lola, and their young family after landing a job with Boeing. During this time the family built another home on Pine Lake on the Sammamish Plateau complete with dock and small boats. Bill and Lola, who had always wanted to live in sight of Mt. Si, purchased a former berry and dairy farm in Fall City in 1974.
The next spring, Lola found herself with too many chives in the garden and set up a small roadside stall. By the mid-1980s, the Herbfarm had grown into a restaurant, school, garden and retail store, and attracted visitors from around the world.
In January 1997, a fire destroyed the restaurant. Katrina Gammon, a former Herbfarm employee, said that when she drove Bill home after the post-fire fund-raising event, he stopped to clean her car's dusty headlights with his dress shirt.
"He was selfless," she said. "He would come through the office pretty much every day, making sure we weren't working too hard and bringing little clippings, quotes, inspirational sayings."
The family temporarily opened shop again in Issaquah while they built a new permanent restaurant in Woodinville.
"He would have loved to eat there," said daughter-in-law Carrie Van Dyck, who runs the restaurant with husband, Ron Zimmerman. "He loved to eat."
Indeed, Zimmerman approached his cancer treatment as he did many things in life -- through food.
"He ate a lot of herbal medicines, garlic and natural grains," said long-time Herbfarm employee Carol Divers. "He often said his healthy eating had contributed to a long life."
Dad's last days were difficult for the entire family. Bill's youngest son, Bob, relates his memories:
"I was present with my brother and my mom when dad died. He had been going downhill rapidly in his last few weeks and was not lucid at all. The day he died, even though he never opened his eyes, he was able to squeeze my mom's hand to show that he still could hear what was being said and to show that he still understood."Bill is survived by his wife, Lola, and his son's, Ronald William, and Robert Raymond.
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Possible Help For Family Pennsylvania Caregivers
The care that millions of Americans count on to stay healthy and live independently is delivered by family members, friends and neighbors. They may not even describe themselves as caregivers. But they are indispensible. And they form the foundation of our health care system. Family caregivers provide nearly 80 percent of the long-term care services that allow countless Americans to remain safely in their homes and communities.
See Also: If you are caring for a loved one, you might be eligible for compensation
Caregivers fit varied profiles in Pennsylvania. Many caregivers are employed or on fixed incomes and struggle to meet the demands of their day-to-day responsibilities while providing their loved ones' needed care.
AARP Pennsylvania needs your help convincing state lawmakers to approve long-overdue assistance for millions of families caring for older adults at home.
The Family Caregiver Support Program is a cost effective program that enables families to receive some financial, emotional and physical relief. Services provided under the program may include care management, respite care, financial reimbursements for home modifications, and others.
Pennsylvania's Family Caregiver Support Act of 1990 served as the model for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which was established in 2000. Unlike Pennsylvania's program, the federal government permits non-relative caregivers to participate and does not require that caregivers reside with care recipients.
Legislation recently passed by the House Aging and Adult Services Committee and the Senate Aging and Youth Committee would provide for the first-ever upgrades to Pennsylvania's Family Caregiver Support Program.
The Family Caregiver Support Program has not seen an increase in the monthly maximum allowance of $200 or the lifetime home modification maximum allowance of $2,000 since the program's inception.
House Bill 210 and Senate Bill 639 amend the existing law by raising monthly reimbursement rates and the lifetime home modification allowances. The bills also expand the definition of "primary caregiver" to include non-traditional caregiver arrangements, better reflecting today's reality of extended family & long-distance care giving.
The bills require no new spending. In fact, the changes will actually help ensure all the money already budgeted is spent. Passing the legislation before adjourning for the summer recess also allows lawmakers to help seniors and their families without impacting the state budget at all.
Please call 1-800-515-8134 today and ask your State Senator to support Senate Bill 693 and ask your State Representative to vote for House Bill 210 when those bills come to the floor for a vote.
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Open daily from 10:00 to 17:45
Open Friday from 10:00 to 22:00
Illustrations for my first novel, 'In Delirium's Circle' (Egaeus Press), particularly focusing upon the full colour endpapers at the front and back of the book, yet also including the final illustration that concludes the actual narrative of the novel. The illustrations within the novel also serve as an integral part of the narrative, interrupting the text while conveying the overall ominous atmosphere of the story.
Further images of the publication are available at the Egaeus Press website: www.egaeuspress.com


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Our profiles crossed on the internet
Our profiles crossed on the internet within a few minutes of each other. We both replied immediately and from then on it was regular [several times daily.] I sent her my phone number and she called. We talked for three hours! From then on, our phone bills were astronomical! I met her in Salt Lake City on the 4th of October. For our first date we went to the Salt Lake Temple. Then, on Friday and Saturday we attended Conference and spent the evenings enjoying each others company. Then, she came to my area and we spent the better part of a week getting better acquainted. I will be flying to San Antonio on the 20th where we will be dating until we are married in the Salt Lake Temple on the 4th of December. We are excited and want you to know how grateful we are to ldsmingle for its part in getting us together. Thank you so much.
Jay and Carole


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|PR Web
Meritage Medical Network is proud to achieve the coveted Elite status from the
CAPG kicked off its national conference of healthcare experts by releasing the results of its annual
The four key domain scored areas are:
1. Care Management Practices: timely, safe, effective, efficient, and constantly improving care.
2. Health Information Technology: utilizing the technical tools required to support the above, plus conduits for individual care coordination, population awareness, performance measurement, and feedback.
3. Accountability and Transparency: responding to the demands of the people we serve.
4. Patient Centered Care: turning PR terminology into actual service culture.
Domains 5 and 6 are not scored but are instrumental in providing information about improvement in certain areas:
5. Group Support of Advanced Primary Care: making the "Patient-Centered Medical Home" a system-wide functionality and revitalizing the discipline of primary care.
6. Administrative and Financial Capability: how physician groups respond to the financial challenges of healthcare reform.
Eighty-six medical groups participated in this voluntary, critical self-assessment for CAPG's 180 medical group members in 30 states. Collaboration with the
About Meritage Medical Network
Meritage Medical Network is a healthcare network representing physician members in
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11959350.htm
|(c) 2014 PRWEB.COM Newswire


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Get an overview of this hotelFamily-friendly Bangkok hotel in Bang Rak, near Patpong Night Market
Popular property highlights
This family-friendly Bangkok hotel is located in the entertainment district, within a 15-minute walk of Sri Mariamman Temple and Patpong Night Market. Lumpini Park and MBK Center are also within 2 mi (3 km).
Hotel Features
Along with a restaurant, this hotel has an outdoor pool and a fitness center. Free WiFi in public areas and free valet parking are also provided. Additionally, a bar/lounge, a poolside bar, and a coffee shop/café are onsite.
Room Amenities
All 251 rooms provide conveniences like refrigerators and coffee makers, plus free WiFi and LCD TVs with cable channels. 24-hour room service, minibars, and free newspapers are among the other amenities available to guests.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Opens in a new window
Furama Silom, Bangkok
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to an outdoor pool and a children's pool, Furama Silom, Bangkok provides a sauna and a fitness center. The hotel offers a restaurant and a coffee shop/café. Guests can unwind with a drink at one of the hotel's bars, which include a poolside bar and a bar/lounge. Public areas are equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access.
This 3.5-star property offers access to a business center and a meeting room. Event facilities measure 1938 square feet (180 square meters). This family-friendly hotel also offers a rooftop terrace, tour/ticket assistance, and concierge services. For a surcharge, a roundtrip airport shuttle (available on request) is offered to guests. Complimentary self parking and valet parking are available on site.
Furama Silom, Bangkok has designated areas for smoking.
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Total number of rooms - 251
- Number of floors - 19
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Coffee shop or café
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- Fitness facilities
- Designated smoking areas
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- 24-hour front desk
- Business center
- One meeting room
- Rooftop terrace
- Bar/lounge
- Laundry facilities
- Free valet parking
- Poolside bar
- Porter/bellhop
- Luggage storage
- Restaurant
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Free self parking
- Conference space size (feet) - 1938
- Sauna
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Steam room
- Children's pool
- Outdoor pool
- Television in common areas
- Conference space size (meters) - 180
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Children's pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Refrigerator
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking, Free valet parking
Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- Refrigerator
- Minibar
- Coffee/tea maker
- Free bottled water
- Daily housekeeping
- Bathrobes
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- In-room massage available
- In-room safe
- Desk
- Cable TV service
- Free newspaper
- Room service (24 hours)
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
- Free WiFi
Where to Eat
Rama at Silom - This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Open 24 hours.
Silom Sky Bar - This rooftop bar is located by the pool.
24-hour room service is available.
Nearby Things to Do
An outdoor pool and a children's pool are on site. Other recreational amenities include a sauna and a fitness center.
Hotel Policies
Minimum check-in age is 16
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children 4 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding. Children may not be eligible for complimentary breakfast.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available for THB 1000.0 per night.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- Deposit: THB 1000 per night
Optional extras
- Breakfast fee: THB 460 per person (approximately)
- Airport shuttle fee: THB 1200 per vehicle (one way)
- Late check-out fee: THB 1300
- Rollaway bed fee: THB 1000.0 per night
Hotel Name
- Furama Bangkok Silom
- Furama Hotel Bangkok Silom
- Furama Silom Bangkok
- Furama Silom Hotel Bangkok
- Unico Grande Silom Bangkok
- Unico Grande Silom Hotel Bangkok
We should mention
This property offers transfers from the airport (surcharges may apply). Guests must contact the property with arrival details before travel, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. Children 4 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. Children may not be eligible for complimentary breakfast.


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I went for a drink in Tokyo's Ni-Chome last night on my way home, to my favorite bar, Usagi. I sat next to a guy who works in sales of advertising.
The bar was in full swing when I came in, so I spent most of my hour or so there mainly listening. No matter how good my Japanese may have become, all it takes is an unfamiliar word, or a slightly muffled expression, to lose the thread somewhat. But I added the odd comment, and occasionally contributed at some length if given the opportunity.
The conversation was mainly about fashion, especially fashion victims. They were talking about Comme des Garcons and there was mention that it was basically subsidized by the Mitsui-Sumitomo Corporation, a senior executive of which organizes support of it in the name of keeping alive a Japanese cultural institution.
One notable observation by the owner was about how high fashion is being increasingly eschewed by the young, and how the rough, cheap look rules on Ni-Chome. One interesting story he recounted was his overhearing an exchange between a group of young guys in their early 20s the other day in Ni-Chome and a slightly older guy in his early-to-mid 30s.
The younger guys were all casually dressed in Levi's, or the like, and T-shirts, and were giving the older guy the third degree for being dressed osharé, or trendily. "Do you think you're going to get lucky if you dress like that?" and "Does it somehow make you feel special looking like that?" and "Do you think spending on yourself that way has some effect?" etc. etc. – generally giving the guy the third degree.
Subsidized Japanese high street brands and young gay Japanese who scorn anything catwalk? What is Japan coming to?
© JapanVisitor.com
Monday, May 19, 2008
Is fashion dying in Japan?
1 comment:
Being a gay man myself and having spent a lot of time in Nichome, I can tell you that most gay people in Japan are a LOT more modern and internationally minded than the average Japanese person and are aware of how tacky and corny someone can look wearing expensive designer clothes to a small bar for a drink with friends.ReplyDelete
They're also more willing to "take the piss" where the average Japanese person would avoid any negative comments about another's clothes despite how humorous the comment may be.
Of course maybe Japanese people are just realising that buying expensive brands is not what fashion is all about and the fact that the men you overheard didn't understand this says more about Japan's fashion than anything else.
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