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Cellar/Tasting Notes Sparkling pale gold in colour the Ardèche Chardonnay 2013 has a delicious bouquet of honey accompanied with aromas of yellow fruits and apricot. In the mouth it is rounded with flavors of yellow peach and a lovely lasting freshness.
Cellar/Tasting Notes Cremant de Bourgogne wines are aged for a minimum of 9 months. Today's Burgundian sparkling wines are viewed as an excellent, lower-priced alternative to the wines of Champagne.From the famous Chablis domaine, now owned by Louis Latour, this is an absolutely delicious, crisp, elegant,..
Cellar/Tasting Notes "For over two decades, Hubert Clavelin and his importer have been promoting non-vintage Cremant du Jura Brut-Comte Chardonnay Tete de Cuvee...having spent 36 months sur lattes - is as fine as any I can recall, and a wine that deserves to be taken seriously at the dinner table. A hint of..
Cellar/Tasting Notes Domaine Chêne is a small family winery in the heart of the Mâconnais region of Burgundy. They started producing in 1973 and then expanded in 1999 to improve their winery and safe guard the operation for later generations. The Chêne family has been in the general environs of Burgundy since the..
Cellar/Tasting Notes "A gorgeous wine, the 2010 Marsannay is refined and utterly impeccable. Readers will have a hard time finding a more polished, harmonious white Burgundy for the money. Citrus, white peaches and crushed rocks are some of the many nuances that flow from this taut, focused Marsannay. Clean, saline..


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Fish Tacos
The Sidebar, the steak restaurant in the lobby of the 221 N. LaSalle Street building, has delicious fish tacos on their lunch menu. I don't know if they're "traditional," but they're very similar to fish taco recipes I've seen on Internet recipe sites - seasoned fried fish fillets in this case tilapia), crisp red onion, and a creamy spicy dressing.
for fast food - I happen to like the fish tacos at Taco Fresco ( www.tacofresco.com ) - they taste similar to the ones I have had in san diego -
No joke, Baha Fresh has very good fish tacos.
Fonda del Mar on Fullerton and Hamlin has fish tacos that seem pretty good to me. Although I have eaten thousands of tacos, when it comes to fish tacos I am not sure what constitutes "traditional". They are made with fried fish topped with cabbage in freshly made tortillas. They are listed on the menu as an appetizer. You get 2 tacos for $5 with a cup of really tasty and peppery seafood soup.
re: shachi
I'm not sure how they're fish tacos are but I certainly know what their fish soup is like. I think that El Cid is overrated. I ordered fish soup at El Cid on Kedzie and It was by far the worst fish soup and food in general that I've ever tasted. In fact, the fish tasted like it was rotting for days. The fish was cut in cross sections so all of the thick skin and bones were present. Now I know that the skin and bones give a lot of flavor but at least serve it fresh. The staff was pretty embarrased. The owner came over and asked if I wanted another fish soup...no thanks. If you find a decent fish soup then you'll find good fish tacos.

subset: commoncrawl


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The brought Santa Claus to six-year-old Dominc Daniele's home, in Butler, Wednesday night for a special visit.
While Daniele was visiting with Santa in the firetruck, elves in firefighter uniforms snuck bags of presents into his home to be re-delivered by Santa on Christmas morning. Toys were all donated or purchased through donations.
If you'd like Santa to pay your family a visit in Butler, contact the


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Today is Friday. I definitely need Friday and a weekend break. Happy weekend!Picture source: Vogue UK
T shirt-Acne, shorts-H&M, cardigan-Urban Outfitters, belt-American Apparel, hat-Monki, boots-Mango, necklace-Cheap Monday.
Inspiration from the always inspiring Alexa Chung.Source: unknown
I want this knit from Zara so bad! I love the difference from front to back. Would fit perfect in my winter wardrobe.
I've been looking for the perfect vintage, leather shoulder bag for a while now. These are from Celine, and they're exactly what I've been looking for. Except for the price… Source: Jak&Jil


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The hard is what makes it great.
Well, the only thing we have to worry about? Yep!! Pitching!! They have a few guys that pitch pretty good. If we falter on the mound, as has happened often, we could blow this series, since we ARE on the road for this one.
Let us pray!
Why do I get the feeling Neb will win the series but won't sweep??
Originally Posted by Bearkat Husker
Why do I get the feeling Neb will win the series but won't sweep??
Hey, don't forget, we don't play this Friday!! That, my fellow Husker, is a plus!
Hugely disappointing!!!
That was one tean we should have swept.......other than pitching, we scored enough runs to win.
"According to a Gallup poll, President Obama's approval rating has dropped to 45 percent. Luckily for Obama, he has 'impeachment insurance.' It's called 'Joe Biden.'" Jay Leno
Our pitching is the pariah on this team, period! Our offense is amongst the top 15, if not top 12. Sure, our D struggled, but the walks, alone, killed us!
HuskerMax BBS Rules


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Bell Museum residency programs provide long-term learning opportunities and a chance for students to work with University of Minnesota scientists and museum professionals. Over several weeks and regular visits by our teaching staff, we introduce you and your class to animals, museum collections, displays, scientific equipment and more. Whatever your learning objectives—to integrate life science into your curriculum, to understand how scientists conduct research, or to connect students with the environment in their neighborhood—a Bell Museum residency is an effective, creative, cost effective tool to achieve these goals.
Transportation Fee: Please contact for pricing, (612) 626-9660
Grade Levels: K - 8
Using methods of scientific inquiry and real museum specimens, investigate the diversity of living mammals and answer such questions as "How can a cheetah run so fast?", "Why does a horse eat like a horse?", "How do bats 'see' using sound?" and "Why do some mammals live alone while others form herds?"
Introduce your students to the scientific method through this unforgettable program. Your students will get the chance to conduct a month-long science experiment using their own live mealworms. They'll determine the impact of diet on their mealworms' growth using making observations and collecting data over time. Bell educators visit your classroom twice - at the beginning and the conclusion of the experiment to summarize data and observations - and will provide everything you need to care for and experiment with the mealworms. (grades 3-8 only)
Bring an aquatic ecosystem to your classroom. Introduce your students to native Minnesota fish species including bass, sunfish, perch, stone rollers, sculpin and long nose gar and discover the fascinating behaviors and unique adaptations. In addition, receive the use of 12-foot fish banners highlighting fish of Minnesota and the Gulf of Mexico, and a museum fish collection.
Explore the world of invertebrates through Madagascar hissing cockroaches, African millipedes and much more. Find the answers to such questions as "How do you protect yourself if you have no bones?", "What makes a spider an arachnid, a cockroach an insect and what is a super organism?" Students will take part in self-developed experiments and learn how to care for these unique creatures.
For details and information about transportation scholarships, as well as general residency inquiries, contact email@example.com or (612) 626-9660.


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Visitor Center Rennovations
Park is having major heating/cooling system work done. The Visitor Center is closed (we don't know how long-mid July?) but restrooms, movie auditorium, historic ruins area, and picnic area remain open (no fees or pass sales during rennovation)
Jim Hatfield Family Collection, used with permission
The history of Casa Grande Ruins includes more than the archeological studies and ethnographic guesses about the Ancient Sonoran Desert people. Stories compiled from written and photographic accounts range from diary entries of early explorers to photographs of work done by a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crew and tales of a great "Arizona Pageant" held several years within the park grounds.
Perhaps your family has had a special relationship with Casa Grande Ruins? Share your story, and old photographs, by using the contact us link!
Did You Know?
The difference between a National Monument and a National Park is the way they are created. National Parks require Congressional approval but National Monuments are established by Executive Order of the President.


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Kyle Hobstetter
The Independent
Boyd County coach Pete Fraley said Mychal Johnson is the best player his team will play against. She adequately filled out that description.
Johnson had 36 points as Huntington St. Joe defeated Boyd County 53-47 in the opening contest of the Boyd County Roundball Classic.
"If there is any better I don't want to see them," Fraley laughed. "She's the real deal. She's the best player I've seen playing high school basketball in a long time."
The Irish were coming into the game without starting guard Griffin Dempsey, who sat out with a shoulder injury.
Johnson, along with scoring duties, had to take care of ball-handling duties as well.
"When you have the ball in your hands for 32 minutes it takes a toll on you," said St. Joe coach Shannon Lewis. "She's just an incredible player. You could tell she was tired, but she pulled through for us."
While Johnson had a big night for the Irish, Boyd County carried a 37-33 lead into the fourth quarter.
Taylor Wheeler led the way for the Lady Lions with 18 points and seven rebounds while having to share duties of guarding Johnson.
"If there is someone tougher than Taylor Wheeler we haven't found them," Fraley said. "She is so strong, she's a bull in there. She guarded Mychal there, and for a while (Johnson's) shot wasn't falling. But at the same time we wore Taylor out as well. "
Logan Fraley also had a big night for the Lady Lions, scoring 13 points and hitting all four of Boyd County's 3-pointers.
But Huntington St. Joe turned up the pressure in the fourth with a full court press. Boyd County committed several turnovers and never got its offense into a rhythm.
Boyd County does itself no favors today either, taking on a 7-0 Wheelersburg team with tipoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
"I told them I'm not going to schedule you wins to pad your stats," Fraley said.
Huntington St. Joe (53) — Mychal Johnson 36, Ra. Lee 10, Petitte 7, Re. Lee, Mychelle Johnson, Gale, Anderson. FT: 18-21. 3-PT FG: 3 (Mychal Johnson 3). PF: 15. Technical Foul: Bench.
Boyd County (47) — Stewart 6, Wheeler 18, Fraley 13, Hu. Reeves 2, Coburn 4, Kenser 4, Hou. Reeves, Lunsford, Goins. FT: 7-12. 3-PT FG: 4 (Fraley 4). PF: 15.
Boyd County 81
Shelby Valley 70
Boyd County coach Randy Anderson has not had good luck against Shelby Valley.
Friday night, the Lions finally found a way past the Wildcats in the second game of the Roundball Classic.
"They're a school with a state championship banner hanging in their gym," Anderson said. "I haven't had a good history with them because when I was at Lawrence County they beat us in the region finals.
"For us to be down ... and to get ourselves back in the game in the fourth quarter and take over the game, it was a big win for us."
Boyd County (3-2) found itself down by as much as nine in the first three quarters of the game.
The Lions came back with a 27-point fourth quarter, and a huge game from senior Todd Stacy, who had 18 points in the game, 12 coming in the fourth quarter.
"I just kept telling him to quit pressing," Anderson said. "Don't try to do too much and just be Todd. And tonight he was 4 of 5 from the arc. He relaxed and let the game come to him tonight."
Anderson credits Boyd County's picking up its aggression in the fourth quarter, especially senior guard Austin Hunt.
Hunt finished with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. He also had five assists by aggressively driving the ball to the basket.
"As the game went on our transition got better," Anderson said. "Austin did get to the rim and if he didn't, it gave us great space. Stacy hits those corner threes and there is no one there because of that."
The Lions shot well from the charity stripe as well, finishing 28 of 36.
Brandon Lowe finished with 18 points for Boyd County (3-2), while Jesse Wallace added 10.
Shelby Valley (4-1) took an early lead as it played an inside-out game, looking toward Andrew Newsome, who led the Wildcats with 20 points on 71-percent shooting.
The Wildcats also had five 3-pointers.
Anderson said Shelby Valley's inside game was what worried him. Boyd County outrebounded the Wildcats, 34-26.
Both teams will play today in the second day of the Roundball Classic.
Shelby Valley will play East Carter in the opening contest at noon, while Boyd County hosts Mason County in final game of the event.
Shelby Valley (70) — Hamilton 16, Swindall 18, Richardson 14, Newsome 20, Huffman 2, Lucas, Rowe, Wright. FT: 5-10. 3-PT FG: 5 (Hamilton 2, Swindall 2, Richardson). PF: 24.
Boyd County (81) — Hunt 21, Wallace 10, Stacey 18, Taylor 4, Lowe 18, Anderson 4, Burgess 6, Griffith. FT: 28-36. 3-PT FG: 7 (Stacey 4, Burgess 2, Hunt). PF: 15.
Huntington Prep 61
Walnut Hills 54
Kentucky Blue surrounded Boyd County Middle School as Huntington Prep continued its tear with a win over Cincinnati Walnut Hills.
No. 1 high school prospect, and Kentucky recruit, Andrew Wiggins was on full display for Huntington Prep. He scored 32 points on 61-percent shooting.
The highly touted prospect had a double-double with 10 rebounds, including two putback dunks that brought a lot of blue-clad fans to their feet.
Ohio University signee D.J. Wingfield led Walnut Hills with 17 points, while Akron signee Isaiah Johnson had 17 points as well.
Huntington Prep will play against Arlington Country Day of Jacksonville, Fla., tonight at 7.
Walnut Hills (54) — Wingfield 17, Johnson 17, Burton 2, Irby 2, Hill 2, Jackson 8, Gilmore 6, Brown, Tyson. FT: 5-9. 3-PT FG: 3 (Gilmore 2, Wingfield).
Huntington Prep (61) — Wiggins 32, Gill-Ceasar 8, Rathan-Mayes 8, Landry 2, Woodson 7, Kingsley 4, Strake. FT: 10-18. 3-PT FG: 3 (Wiggins 2, Rathan-Mayes).


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The Affordable Care Act (the health reform legislation signed into law in March 2010) has already made some significant changes to your health insurance. The law is complicated and phases in many of the changes over time. And, many of the most significant changes (such as the mandate that all Americans have health insurance and the establishment of health exchanges) will not take place until 2014.
This article compiles and answers 15 questions that are sent to me by readers of this site or have been posted in health insurance forum or as blog comments.


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Filed under: Freedom, Fun n Games, Sports
Five week old orphaned lion cubs being raised by keepers at the Maryland zoo. Their teeth are just coming in and they are getting their first bits of meat. A brother and sister, whose mother died soon after giving birth. See zooborns.com for more guaranteed cuteness.
Filed under: Developing Nations, Environment, Freedom, Heartwarming, Sports | Tags: Ashol-Pan and Her Eagle, Hunting With Golden Eagles, Mongolian Kazakhs
Here is a remarkable look at a thirteen-year-old Mongolian girl hunting with a golden eagle, from the BBC. Beautiful photography, beautiful young Mongolian girl, and a glimpse of her school, and the beauty of Mongolia. Enjoy.
Filed under: Domestic Policy, Entertainment, Pop Culture, Religion, Sports, Television | Tags: Seattle Seahawks, The Super Bowl
Had an appointment at the hospital yesterday, and it was fun to see all the receptionists in Seahawk tee shirts. There were some women, who clearly were not former cheerleaders, who seemed to be wearing extraordinarily large lime-green pompoms on their heads, and wearing a strange variety of homemade costumes. The grocery store was wall-to-wall appetizers, and beer of course.
Go Hawks!
43-8 !
Filed under: Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Freedom, Fun n Games, Heartwarming, History, Sports | Tags: Even for Kids, Growing Up In America, Individual Freedom
Filed under: Freedom, Military, News, Science/Technology, Sports | Tags: A Wonder Material, Incredibly Strong, Thin As A Single Atom
Every time you think that all discoveries have been made, all economic progress is over — comes a wonder material: a substance 200 times stronger than steel yet as thin as a single atom — which has sent "companies and universities racing to understand, patent and profit from the skinnier, more glamorous cousin of ordinary pencil lead."
The material is graphene, and to demonstrate its potential, Andrea Ferrari recently picked up a sheet of clear plastic, flexed it and then tapped invisible keys, triggering tinkly musical notes.
The keyboard made at Dr. Ferrari's University of Cambridge lab was printed with a circuit of graphene, which is so pliable that scientists predict it will fulfill dreams of flexible phones and electronic newspapers that can fold into a pocket.
It is the thinnest material known. But it is exceedingly strong, light and flexible. It is exceptional at conducting electricity and heat, and at absorbing and emitting light.
Andre Geim, a Russian-born scientist at the University of Manchester in Britain, and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for isolating graphene. Dr. Geim wanted thin graphite to study its electrical properties. A doctoral student suggested using cellophane tape."They used the tape to peel off layers of graphite until they got to a layer so thin it was transparent. Not only did it not fall apart, it was strong, flexible and possessed astonishing electrical properties."
It is still far too expensive for mass markets, it doesn't lend itself in computer-chip circuitry and scientists are trying to find better ways to turn it into usable form. There are still lots of hurdles, but Graphene is a material like steel or plastic or silicon that can change society.
And the race has begun, as of May, there have been more than 9,000 patent applications for graphene. Companies like Apple, Saab, Lockheed Martin, Samsung, Nokia, BASF SE. The potential uses are as broad as filtering salt from seawater, flexible touch screens, anti-rust coatings, sports equipment like tennis racquets, DNA sequencing devices, and distilling vodka. Everybody is trying to patent everything, so that you have the option of suing your competitors later and stopping them. Labs all over the world are hard at work, as is the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Dr Geim, the Nobel laureate, has said that "Graphene opened up a material world we didn't even know existed." Scientists are looking at scores of other two-dimensional materials with unusual properties.
The Wall Street Journal piece is here, it may be behind a paywall. Watch for news stories about this new wonder material as scientists learn more about its possibilities. Think also of the Alaska Gold Rush and the Oklahoma Land Rush, now we have a Patent Rush — this may be the real Twenty-First Century promise.
………….André Geim………………………………Konstantin Novoselov
Filed under: Entertainment, Humor, News of the Weird, Sports | Tags: Funny Mental Images, Glacier National Park, Headline Mistakes
Today's Headline: Aol
Tim Bartlett Chased by Wolf on Motorcycle in Canada
If you had visions of someone named Tim running, screaming, down the highway hotly pursued by a wolf riding a motorcycle., Nevermind. I just thought it was funny.
Filed under: Freedom, Heartwarming, Sports | Tags: Sled Dogs, The Inuit, Thousand-Year Old Mode of Transportation
A mode of transportation thousands of years old, a pack of dogs and a dogsled. Notice the way the dogs are harnessed. Quite different from what I've seen on the Iditarod.
Filed under: Entertainment, Fun n Games, Sports | Tags: Agile Little Kids, Strength and Balance, Tarragona Spain
The Concours de Castells in Tarragona, Spain is a human tower-building competition. It is a long tradition in the region, castells began at the end of the 18th century. The sport has rules, techniques, and team responsibilities to guard safety and success. The pinya or base is made of a few hundred people that can catch anyone who falls. The tower itself has a variety of different formations. The top three levels are the pom de dalt, made up of children in helmets. This 2010 video by Mike Randolph shows why safety and teamwork are so important.
Strange and interesting sports. I'd be a spectator.
Filed under: Capitalism, Economy, Freedom, National Security, Sports, Terrorism | Tags: A Peaceful Patriot Day, An Act of Terrorism, The Boston Marathon
This picture hit me harder than the videos of the explosion itself. A "person of interest" is in custody, and Boston's police are efficiently following up on every lead, combing through videos and pictures taken at the scene, and through surveillance tapes.
It all seem so pointless. Americans are not cowed by acts of terror, but enraged. Groups that are too small and too weak to gather either notice nor interest think that acts of destruction can—what? Draw interest to their cause? The record would not bear that out. Terrorist groups don't usually attack conventional security forces, they attack "soft" targets like tired athletes and their supporters that will draw widespread publicity.
In Iraq, al Qaeda operatives are suspected of 12 explosions responsible for killing 55 people across Iraq on the same day as the Boston Marathon. Max Boot, an expert on guerrilla warfare, traveled to Boston yesterday where he was scheduled to speak about the history of guerrilla warfare and terrorism, which he reprised in today's Wall Street Journal.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and the families of those who were killed. City officials, security people and ordinary bystanders and first responders were magnificent. Bless them all.
Filed under: Democrat Corruption, Energy, Freedom, Humor, Junk Science, Politics, Sports | Tags: A Differet Kind of Freedom, Imaginary Physics, Who's In Charge Here?
The Centrifuge Brain Project is a short (fictional !) film by German digital artist Till Nowak about making super imaginative amusement park rides that are divorced from ordinary physics and reality. As Chief Engineer Dr. Nick Laslowicz says "These machines provide total freedom…"
You could consider this a metaphor for the president's budget released today, only two months late. Divorced from reality. But adventurous.
(h/t: thekidshouldseethis.com)
Filed under: Fun n Games, News of the Weird, Pop Culture, Sports | Tags: National Soccer Jerseys, Recycling Plastic Bottles, Transformation
Football here refers to Soccer, not American football. But this is what happens to all your recycling. Well, not all, just the plastic bottles. Kinda cool though.
[(h/t: NikeBetterWorld)
Filed under: Heartwarming, History, Humor, Sports | Tags: Bunny Traps, How To Build a Trap, The Easter Bunny
Re-posted from last Easter:
You need some preparations first. The Easter bunny comes in the early morning hours, right at dawn, when the sun is just coming up and the dew is still shining on the grass. You have to find a likely spot which seems as if it might be a bunny path. You will require a standard bushel basket, a long straight stick of kindling, and a good strong straight pin or slender nail. And you will need a nice fresh young carrot with its greens still intact.
You must set up the trap the night before Easter, just when it is about to get dark. Turn the bushel basket upside down, and prop up one side with the stick of kindling. Attach the carrot so it hangs on the front of the stick of kindling. You many have to take the kindling out and attach the carrot with a hammer. It must be well attached, and yet still look enticing. When the Easter bunny comes hopping along, he will spot the carrot right away. Bunnies cannot resist nice fresh carrots. When he takes a bite of the carrot, the stick of kindling will fall and the basket will land on top of the bunny, and he is captured.
Then he needs only love and care. Bunnies are particularly fond of carrots, of course, and soda crackers, and rabbit chow, grass and clover.
It always worked for me. You can tell if it is the real Easter bunny because he will have a blue ribbon around his neck.


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We all know that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are one of the hottest celebrity couples and they met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Which other celebrity couples met on the set of a hit movie or TV show?
In 2007, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the sparks flew immediately. Rumors swirled in the tabloids that the two were getting cozy off set but of course, they denied the chatter. Coincidentally (or not), Brad and Jennifer Aniston called it quits on their marriage just a few months later. Within months of the very public split, Angelina was pregnant with Brad's baby.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
In 2003, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met while starring together in the less than critically acclaimed film Gigli. The two must have hit it off, because they quickly became engaged with Jen sporting a humongous diamond on her left hand. Blaming the media pressure, the two split in 2004 and Ben is now married to Jennifer Garner with two kids and Jen is married to Marc Anthony and they also have two kids.
Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal
In 2007, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal starred together in the film Rendition and became quite close. While they denied reports that romance was in the air, Reese and Jake were constantly photographed out with her children. We even heard talk of a possible engagement in the works. By January 2010, they called it quits with speculation that Jake was looking for marriage and Reese (divorced from Ryan Phillippe) was on a different track.
Jude Law and Sienna Miller
In 2004, Jude Law and Sienna Miller met while working together on the set of the film Alfie. Following a whirlwind romance, by Christmas of that year, the two were already engaged. Just months later, Jude publicly apologized to Sienna for cheating on her with Daisy Wright, the nanny hired to care for his kids. Jude and Sienna split, reconciled, and split again. In early 2010, Sienna and Jude were rumored to be back together and talking marriage. By 2011, it was over again.
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy
In 2009, after meeting on the set of Ghost Whisperer, Jennifer Love Hewitt and comedian Jamie Kennedy began dating and even publicly declared their mutual affection for each other. Exactly one year later, the seemingly sweet romance was over. A source close to the couple said that there was no scandal involved and the relationship had simply run its course.
Evangeline Lily and Dominic Monaghan
In 2004, Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan hooked up while working together on the set of Lost. Things got pretty serious and the two dated for nearly three years and even became engaged before calling it quits in 2007. That wasn't the end for Evangeline and Dominic as they were spotted back together in the summer of 2009 and were even rumored to be planning a walk down the aisle.
Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia
In 2008, Hayden Panettiere and her Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia secretly began a romantic relationship. While he was 31 at the time, she was barely 19 years old. When they called it quits a year later, the word on the street was that Hayden liked to go out and party while Milo was more of a homebody. The split came as no surprise to anyone with basic math skills. I imagine the 12 year age difference had something to do with it.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
In 2008, cuties Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens met while working together on the hit High School Musical and they began dating. Despite constant rumors in the tabloids and scandalous photos of Vanessa that surfaced on the internet, these two managed to remain intact and solid for a while there. Not for long as the lovebirds split in December 2010.


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(REUTERS – 27TH FEB) In the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Monday (February 27), hundreds of demonstrators, led by ruling party local government councillors, marched to the United States embassyin protest against the U.S. decision to support a UN human rights resolution.
Protesters shouted anti-American slogans and held placards supporting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Some protesters carried placards with photographs of the president and his younger brother Gotabhaya who is secretary of the ministry of defence and is credited with ending the country's civil war.
The Indian Ocean island nation, which ended its quarter century Tamil separatist war in May 2009, is under heavy pressure from western nations and international rights groups to investigate alleged war crimes in the final phase of the war.
Sri Lanka says the allegations are fabricated by the Tamil Tigers' overseas propaganda network, and that its soldiers acted in accordance with international law.
"Tamil diaspora and the LTTE sympathises, they are spreading false rumours, false statistics. We came to tell the truth," retired Major General Roshan Soyza said on Monday as protesters marched on the U.S. embassy.
The U.S. earlier announced its decision to back a resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva asking the Rajapaksa government to submit a time table to implement recommendations made by a government appointed commission to improve good governance, human rights and reconciliation with minority Tamils.
"Without any political differences, religious differences, without any party politics, without any party political differences we have got together here and marched towards the embassy of the United States and we handed over a petition requesting and informing them not to do so," Riaz Farook, a local government councillor from the ruling alliance, said.
Protesters marched towards the U.S. embassy in Colombo chanting "no bombs, no firing, we have peace in Sri Lanka, hands off Sri Lanka, let Sri Lanka enjoy the peace it won, let's defeat the international conspiracies".
Police set up barriers ahead of the U.S. embassy compound while U.S. officials watched from the rooftop.


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Dorsal nucleus of vagus nerve
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Dorsal vagal nucleus)
|Brain: Posterior nucleus of vagus nerve
Nuclei of origin of cranial motor nerves schematically represented; lateral view. ("X" visible at bottom center.)
#9 is vagus nerve and nucleus
|nucleus posterior nervi vagi
|NeuroLex ID
The dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve (or posterior motor nucleus of vagus) is a cranial nerve nucleus for the vagus nerve in the medulla that lies under the floor of the fourth ventricle. It mostly serves parasympathetic vagal functions in the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and other thoracic and abdominal vagal innervations. The cell bodies for the preganglionic parasympathetic vagal neurons that innervate the heart reside in the nucleus ambiguus.
Additional cell bodies are found in the nucleus ambiguus, which give rise to the branchial efferent motor fibers of the vagus nerve (CN X) terminating in the laryngeal, pharyngeal muscles, and musculus uvulae.
Additional images[edit]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- dorsal+nucleus+of+vagus+nerve at eMedicine Dictionary
- Brainstem at UWisc 08CNX
- MedEd at Loyola GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cn10.htm
- Overview at mcgill.ca
- NIF Search - Dorsal nucleus of vagus nerve via the Neuroscience Information Framework
|This neuroscience article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


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As dog owners ourselves, we tend to do pretty much anything to make our beloved pet feel great. Depending on what breed you have, dogs can be quite expressive. Sure, they can't speak, but they can express what's going in their little minds. What would you say to a machine that could record and translate your dog's barks while you were away?
Posts Tagged 'dogs'
Bowlingual: The Two Way Dog TranslatorPublished August 29, 2009 blogs , technology Leave a Comment
Tags: Apartment Therapy, blogs, dogs, pets, technology, translator, unplggd
Sled-Doggies in AlaskaPublished March 10, 2009 asides , photos Leave a Comment
Tags: Alaska, asides, Boston Globe, dogs, photos, sleds, the big picture
Pointer MIAPublished October 31, 2008 travelogue Leave a Comment
Tags: dogs, pointers, travelogue
On my way to a class, a pointer-type dog started running around me happily. There were other people around, but I guess he knew that I was a dog person and wanted to play with him. He didn't have a leash on and he was pretty cute. He kept running around me for at least 7 minutes. I was starting to worry that his owners wouldn't find him. He playfully bumped into my back legs lightly a number of times. It was cold and his fur was wet. He was a small black and white dog, with a red collar.
Finally, when I was near the parking of my work, I saw the owners call him in the distance. I watched until they caught up with him and went on my way.
Yoda's LifePublished June 28, 2008 travelogue Leave a Comment
Tags: asia, banqiao, cats, dogs, fleas, French bulldog, kitten, lice, stray, taipei, Taipei County, taiwan, Yoda
Yoda, the two or three week old kitten that I rescued earlier this week, is doing fine and dandy. Her life revolves around sleeping, being bottle fed some warm milk that I heat up, being cuddled, playing with my French Bulldog Spike and exploring her new surroundings. She's never kept me up at night and always sleeps throught the entire night.
During the day or when I'm awake and she's around, she sleeps either on my chest or snuggled right next to my arm, hip or leg. She's really affectionate and playful. She's also quite athletic and curious about what is around her. She plays with Spike all the time and they get along well. After the first night and after having her defleaed and deliced, she's purring a lot when I pet her.
She's doing pretty well and she's incredibly cute. I've successfully taken a few pics which I'll upload over the weekend.
I'm always amazed at how tiny she is. I'm glad that Spike gets along well with her. In the end, I think that he needed the company. For now, she stays crated during the day when I'm at work and at night. She sleeps most of that time anyway.
YodaPublished June 26, 2008 asides Leave a Comment
Tags: asia, banqiao, cats, dogs, fleas, French bulldog, kitten, lice, stray, taipei, Taipei County, taiwan, Yoda
Yoda has moved into a new sleeping position, into the crook fo my arm. Spike has jumped down onto the tile floor to cool off. He was busy grooming and licking Yoda most of the time. She was busy playing with him with her sharp little claws. She's also had her ears cleaned and her nails cut.
Mr. Micro CatPublished June 26, 2008 travelogue Leave a Comment
Tags: asia, banqiao, cats, dogs, fleas, French bulldog, kitten, lice, stray, taipei, Taipei County, taiwan
Last night, right before my job, I was walking my French bulldog when we came upon a sight for sore eyes. A little kitten was mewing right in front of us. We waited for a few minutes to see if a mommy cat was around, but no one turned up. I looked at the poor little thing and I picked it up. It was so small that she fit in one of my hands.
I took her home and left her on the porch behind the kitchen, where the washing machine is. The weather was hot and she'd be comfy. I left her some milk and water, a towel in a box to serve as bedding and even some of Spike's dog food and left for my jog.
While I was jogging, I noticed that a few young people were trying to coax kittens out of a locked shed. Apparently a cat had given birth a while ago and Mr. Micro Cat was a result.
When I came home, my wife was already home. She was talking on the phone and hadn't noticed Mr. Micro Cat. I showed it to her and she almost cried of the cuteness and the hard life that Mr. Micro Cat must have endured. Mr. Micro Cat is actually a missus and she's extremely cute.
I tried to find someone to take her but to no avail. I left her most of the day in the same spot. When I came home, I took her to a pet grooming place. Initially I wanted to take her to a vet, but finding one wasn't easy. So I remembered that there was a pet grooming store nearby. I stopped there and the lady knew exactly what to do. The kitten was actually being quarantined away from Spike because of the fleas and the lice.
She was going to be deliced and defleaed. I was extremely relieved that she was going to be alright. The pet grooming store owner showed me how to feed the little kitten with a little itty bitty milk bottle. I was told that she needed to be fed four times a day. She would have to come back six times this month to completely delice and deflea her.
I brought her home in her new cage and set about the task to feed her. I immediately introduced her to Spike and they have begun a fast friendship. She is very calm around him and Spike enjoys her a lot. He's kind of become her foster dad. It's very cute to watch.
Right now, both have been fed and are hanging on the sofa with me. I've decided to call Mr. Micro Cat Yoda. She's mews a lot when Spike isn't around and loves being near him. It's the start of a beautiful friendship. I've always wanted to get another dog, but Spike is enough work on my busy schedule. Yoda won't be that much trouble I gather. She's awfully cute and I haven't taken any pictures yet.
My wife tried to do so yesterday before she left for Canada for a few weeks, but Yoda was just too fidgety. Yoda has stopped mewing and is sleeping by my side. Spike is fast asleep near my feet.
Outdoor TeachingPublished June 10, 2008 travelogue Leave a Comment
Tags: Alpo, asia, banqiao, dog food, dog life, dogs, kindergarten, outdoor teaching, parks, Petlife, Shulin, Spike, Taipei County, taiwan, teaching, 板橋市, 樹林市
I went outdoor teaching today. It was 35C. It was incredibly hot. I had 4L of water with me. I was using a hydration bladder. It was cool. My Osprey Atmos 25 is perfectly suited for the job. Still, I brought too much water. I like using the hydration bladder. It makes drinking water on the go a cinch.
I hate it how the playgrounds in parks are so dirty. It's terrible. There are dog turds all over the place. You don't even want to sit down. Shit all over the place, bums hanging around drinking alcohol, dogs all over the place. Don't get me wrong, I'm a dog owner myself, but I never let my own dog near a playground.
I stopped at the Carrefour and got some dog food for Spike. It took forever to find the place where they moved it to. I couldn't decide between PetLife, Purina, Alp and a few others. In the end, I got a 15kg pouch of PetLife and a 4kg of Alpo.
Today was a great day for Spike. He was off leash in the park and stayed near me the whole time. He came when I called and did his business by himself. After he finished, he heeled and we left the park. I put him back on the leash before I exited the park.
Coco Is Eating ChuckPublished February 20, 2008 asides , entertainment Leave a Comment
Tags: Chuck, Coco, daily, dogs, dooce
Potty Training At DoocePublished February 15, 2008 asides , entertainment Leave a Comment
Tags: asides, dogs, dooce, potty training


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Priority Codes are on the back of the catalog, mail promotion, or within an advertisement.
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Learn why Christianity is one of the world's most enduring monotheistic faiths with these courses on its history, its core beliefs and rituals, its foundational texts, and much more.
We all have associations with the word "Israel." But how did ancient Israel emerge? Who were the Israelites and where did they come from? What was it like to live in biblical Israel? In The World of Biblical Israel, journey through ancient Israel and be introduced to the world, the people, the challenges, and the triumphs of ancient Israel. In 24 captivating lectures, Professor Cynthia R. Chapman of Oberlin College introduces you to the stories of the Judeans in exile and grounds them in their historical context. By comparing the history in the Bible to the archaeological record, Professor Chapman gives you a complete picture of life in biblical Israel.
Christianity is the largest and most global religious tradition in history. For nearly 2,000 years, the Christian faith has remained at or near the center of Western moral debate and conceptions of human identity, just action, and ultimate meaning. It has both shaped history and responded to history, showing an extraordinary adaptability within greatly differing cultures. Its practice and influence appear in every land and every language, and one-third of humanity now affiliates in some way with Christianity. Now, in 36 enthralling lectures, The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation tells the phenomenal story of Christianity's first 1,500 years, in all its remarkable diversity and complex dimension.
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What Causes Vaginal Dryness During Treatment?Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy can interfere with the body's production of natural vaginal lubrication.
Surgery: A radical hysterectomy to treat invasive gynecologic cancer forces a women into menopause. The drops in estrogen production that occur as a result cause vaginal dryness to occur to varying degrees.
Women with a strong genetic risk of breast cancer may undergo a prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, a surgery to remove the ovaries, which also forces a woman into menopause. When this occurs, it is called forced menopause or surgical menopause.
Chemotherapy: Pre-menopausal women may have this problem simply because chemotherapy reduces all types of secretions, leading not only to vaginal dryness, but dry skin, dry mouth and even constipation. A temporary menopause, caused by the cessation of ovarian function during treatment, can also cause vaginal dryness. In those whose menstruation begins again, estrogen is restored, and vaginal dryness improves.
Radiation Therapy: Unfortunately, women who undergo radiation therapy to the pelvis have more long-term vaginal dryness issues than women undergoing other treatment methods -- even after treatment has ended. It can be a chronic condition that may require prescription strength medication for relief.
Hormone Therapy: Women taking aromatase inhibitors to prevent tumor growth and the recurrence of breast cancer often experience vaginal dryness. These drugs work by suppressing estrogen production in the body. Again, like with other treatment methods, low estrogen can equal vaginal dryness.
Vaginal Dryness TreatmentsThere are many treatments for vaginal dryness, ranging from homeopathic options to prescription medications. Before starting any medication, talk to your doctor to be sure it will not affect your treatment.
Over-the-Counter Vaginal Dryness Remedies: Mild cases of vaginal dryness can usually be remedied by using an over-the-counter product sold at your drugstore. These products are sold in cream, gel, and oil forms. You may have to try a few different kinds before finding the right one for you. There are many, and some examples include Sylk, Astroglide (for intercourse), K-Y Silk-E, Replens, Reprhesh, Lubrin, and Emerita.
If you are unsure of which to choose, ask your doctor for a recommendation. He or she may also have samples for you to try.
What Over-the-Counter Products to Avoid: You should avoid using petroleum jelly products like Vaseline as vaginal lubricants. Mineral oil (baby oil) and cooking oils are definitely not advised, as well. Old home remedies may have recommended these household staples at one time, but today we know that they can breakdown the latex in condoms and may also alter our vaginal pH, ultimately causing infections.
Vaginal Estrogen: Vaginal estrogen is available in a cream, suppository, tablet, and vaginal ring forms. All are inserted into the vagina and must be prescribed by a physician.
Some of the more commonly prescribed vaginal estrogen medications include Vagifem, Estrace, Premarin, and Estring. Your doctor may want you try a non-hormonal medication before prescribing vaginal estrogen, especially if have estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer.
Natural Remedies: Several oils and herbs are used by women to combat vaginal dryness. Again, oil-based products can alter vaginal pH and cause infections. Not all herbal remedies are safe to use during cancer treatment, so it is best to have your doctor recommend a natural therapy if this is the route you want to go.
What To Avoid if You Have Vaginal DrynessMany things can make irritation caused by vaginal dryness worse. You may want to avoid:
- soaps and body washes that contain fragrance; bubble baths
- laundry detergent that contains fragrance (wash panties and pants in fragrance-free/allergy-safe detergent)
- feminine cleansing cloths/douches
- tight-fitting pants
- panties made of material other than soft cotton (sometimes lace and other fabrics can cause friction with movement)
Effects of Cancer Treatment on Male Sexuality. Treatment Topics and Resources. American Cancer Society. Accessed January 10, 2010. Frequently Asked Questions. Treatment Topics and Resources. American Cancer Society. Accessed January 10, 2010.
Effects of Cancer Treatment on Male Sexuality. Treatment Topics and Resources. American Cancer Society. Accessed January 10, 2010.
Frequently Asked Questions. Treatment Topics and Resources. American Cancer Society. Accessed January 10, 2010.


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So yes, the problem has been raised in parts multiple times already. Still I'm looking for a keyboard layout that has the following features:
- Easy on fingers (Dvorak-like layouts welcome)
- Easy for coding
- Includes german characters (typing ä with AltGr-p is not ok).
- Works well with web-browsing (Ctrl-t and Ctrl-w on one hand, left one very much preferred, since that's where my ex-CapsLock, now Ctrl lies)
- Works well with default Emacs bindings
- Works on both Windows and Linux (at least easily installable)
I've looked at Dvorak and Neo, they both have a "shortcut problem", i.e. web-browsing and most frequent Emacs combinations use both parts of the keyboard. Using right Ctrl is usually not an option, since it'll give me RSI much faster than keeping QWERTY/Z. Funnily enough, mirroring the default Neo layout would probably be enough for me.
So, any ideas?


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Syrris Limited
Atlas is a high performance, low cost synthesis system that is flexible and truly easy to use. The intelligent base can be configured to control one or many reactions at scales from μl to 5 litres in ...read more
Atlas is a high performance, low cost synthesis system that is flexible and truly easy to use. The intelligent base can be configured to control one or many reactions at scales from μl to 5 litres in vials, flasks or jacketed reactors.
The Atlas has the following applications in discovery and process development:
- Reaction development
- Reaction optimisation
- Process screening
- Synthesis automation
- Process Analytical Technology
- Scale-up chemistry
- Crystallisation
- Parallel chemistry
- High throughput chemistry
- Calorimetry
Atlas benefits
- Easy to use: twist & click knob, large display and intuitive
- Automated: walk away synthesis
- Full data capture: download all data to a USB stick in .csv format
- High performance hotplate or circulator temperature control: rapid heating to 280°C and accurate control
- High performance magnetic or overhead stirring: 1200RPM magnetic or 800RPM powerful overhead stirrer
- Quick: everything clicks together quickly and easily without tools
- Small footprint: 23cm (9") square easily fits in fume cupboards
- Robust: specifically designed for use in chemical laboratories
- Safe: Auto shut down, alarms and safe touch surfaces
Application notes and news
- Syrris increases the flexibility of its Atlas jacketed reactor systems
- Syrris Announces New Atlas Reporting Software for Quick and Easy Graphical Analysis of Log Files
- Syrris Expands Adaptability of Atlas System
- User-friendly, Real Time, in situ IR Spectroscopy System
- Flexible, Easy-to-Use, High-Performance Calorimetry
- Bumper year for Syrris: modular approach is a hit with chemists worldwide
- Intelligent Design Makes Automated Chemistry Affordable
- Syrris launch new innovative tool for laboratory synthesis


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Safari Books Online is a digital library providing on-demand subscription access to thousands of learning resources.
I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone at O'Reilly involved in the development and production of this book. First, I'd like to thank Nat Torkington for telling me that the idea had merit and was worth pitching, Mike Hendrickson and Brian Jepson for listening to my pitch and getting me excited to write the book, and especially Mary O'Brien who took over as editor from Brian and could always assuage my fears that the project was too much for me.
On the production team, I want to thank Marlowe Shaeffer, Rob Romano, Jessamyn Read, Amy Thomson, and Sarah Schneider for turning my illustrations and writing into something you might actually want to look at.
Thanks to everyone who took part in the review of the book, specifically Paul Tyma, Matthew Russell, Jeff Hammerbacher, Terry Camerlengo, Andreas Weigend, Daniel Russell, and Tim Wolters.


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Unless otherwise noted, classes are free.
Upcoming Events
July 2014+ iCal Import Listed Events
August 2014
A-B Tech Small Business Center
TH (7/31), 6-9pm – Seminar: "How to Effectively Market Your Natural Products."
A-B Tech Small Business Center
TU (8/5), 6-8pm – Seminar on marketing natural products for small businesses. Registration required.
A-B Tech Small Business Center
TH (8/7), 10am-noon – Seminar on assessing business ownership skills and the feasibility of ideas. Registration required.


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Results 1 to 3 of 3
after Police Academy, Matt Grice to return to UFC
After police academy, Matt Grice expecting UFC return in early 2009
by Dann Stupp on Nov 11, 2008 at 8:45 pm ET
Matt Grice, a UFC lightweight who recently put his fighting career on hold to attend his local police academy, has graduated from the program and plans to return to the UFC in early 2009.
Grice (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a former University of Oklahoma wrestler, hasn't fought since October 2007 and will likely take a warm-up fight in a smaller organization before his return to the octagon, Scott Newell, Grice's manager, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"The UFC has granted him the ability to take a tune-up fight locally to help knock the rust off after the 13-month layoff," Newell said. "Then, they have told him, that as soon as he is ready to just let them know and they will have him a fight."
Grice, who attended OU on a full wrestling scholarship (but saw limited activity because of injuries sustained in a car accident), debuted in April 2007 at UFC 70, where he faced a patient Terry Etim. Grice was shot out of a canon at the opening bell, displaying the type of strength and speed that made him a rare four-time state wrestling champion in high school.
His ground and pound was relentless, but after returning to their feet, Etim locked in a standing guillotine choke that Grice barely survived. He wasn't as lucky a few seconds later; Etim was successful on the second attempt and forced the tap-out.
Grice, though, returned six months later to face highly touted PRIDE veteran Jason Black. The back-and-forth bout was initially ruled a draw, but after a recount, it was determined that Grice had actually earned the decision win. The 27-year-old picked up a $40,000 Fight of the Night bonus for the effort.
Soon after the victory, though, Grice spoke to UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva. He had a request; the new and proud father of a baby girl had been accepted into the Oklahoma City Police Department academy, and thinking about his longtime future, Grice wanted to enter the nearly year-long program to become a police officer.
Silva and the UFC obliged, and a scheduled fight with Gray Maynard in January was scratched so Grice could pursue his new career.
"He is still under contract," Newell said. "[They just] froze it until he completed his job requirements."
Graduation from the policy academy came in July, and his additional training will tie him up until next month. But the law enforcer could be in the cage by year's end and back in the UFC early next year.
In the mean time, Oklahoma criminals beware.
At 5'7, 149 lbs, I sure hope he can wrestle.
another fighter, Jerry Bohlander, is a deputy near me. He had a shooting a couple of years ago also. He is a nice guy'Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a
delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly
promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which
holds forth the proposition that it is entirely
possible to pick up a turd by the clean end!'
A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. Sigmund Freud
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NORMAN — Oklahoma's won seven Big 12 championships and never had to share any of them. All were claimed by winning the Big 12 Conference championship game.
But if OU beats TCU Saturday and No. 7 Kansas State tops Texas, the league will, technically, have co-champions.
Sooner coach Bob Stoops, who has been opposed to the co-champions concept in the past, said OU will take the trophy if that's the case.
"The rules are what they are; I don't make them," he said at his press conference on Monday.
If both the Sooners and the Wildcats win on Saturday, both will finish with 8-1 conference records. However, the Wildcats will receive the automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl because it beat OU in the head-to-head matchup on Sept. 22.
Ovation appreciated: When OU introduced its seniors prior to the Oklahoma State game, the loudest ovation was for quarterback Landry Jones. He expressed his gratitude on Monday.
"It was great. The fans here are great. I always really appreciate all that they do for us. The energy that they bring to our field, it just makes this place definitely have a bigger home-field advantage," he said. "On senior night, I was just so appreciative of what they have done and how they supported me that day."
The grind is almost over: The Sooners will play their ninth game in nine weeks on Saturday. Players admit there's been a physical impact from playing that many weeks in a row.
There is, however, a way to get through it.
"Stretch and ice. The ice tub and stretching to take care of your body, basically," wide receiver Justin Brown said. "That's where the maturity level comes in and you have to know what you have to do to get ready for the next game."


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As one of the region's boutique wealth management firms, Haberling Financial Group (HFG) delivers a level of service that goes beyond what you would expect from commission based investment providers. This stems from a core difference between our planning-based advisory practice and the product-based practices of brokers. Advisory clients of HFG receive financial planning and wealth management that follows a repeating cycle of planning, implementation, and evaluation. What follows is a brief summary of our process.
Getting to Know You: The Initial Meeting
We believe that effective wealth management goes much deeper than a one-time event of simply recommending an investment or choosing an allocation. That is why we employ a continual cycle of examination, action, and performance evaluation. In these turbulent times it is important to have an advisor who takes the time to understand your needs and who provides ongoing oversight. Our team of experienced professionals draws upon more than 70 years of combined experience to help you formulate, manage, and achieve your financial goals, while giving you the peace of mind and the freedom to focus on what is important in your life.
For prospective clients, all decisions begin with a discovery process. Our advisors initially meet with you to discuss your current situation, your problems and your goals. Specifically, we may review some or all of the following subjects:
- General objectives
- Funding needs
- Tax Planning
- Estate Planning
- Other planning topics specific to your needs
- Portfolio management
Together, you and your advisor determine whether we are the right advisory firm for you. If a relationship is established, we encourage you to have a review with your advisor anytime there is a significant change in circumstances or personal goals. Your client review meetings will include what we call "On-Track" analysis – a quantified examination of your progress. Portfolio volatility and the complexities of financial planning can leave a person wondering if they are making adequate progress. Our "On-Track" review aims to provide you with answers to questions such as, "How much income can this portfolio provide if I retire a few years early?" or "Will there be enough for Maggie if I die and she loses my pension income?" Our goal is to simplify your life and it begins with helping you find answers to the tough questions.
Many Heads Are Better Than One: Our Advisor Forum
Prospective clients or existing clients with unique or complex planning issues are discussed in our weekly Advisor Forum. There, an advisor's analysis and forthcoming recommendations are vetted through peer review. We collaborate as an advisory team to provide the planning advice and investment strategies we feel are most suited to your specific needs.
We Get To Work: Implementation
At this stage our advisors implement the appropriate investment strategy for new clients or make any needed adjustments for existing clients. Our investment strategies are specific and team-developed. We subscribe to the concept of risk management through carefully selected asset allocation. Each portfolio is managed with the objective of maximizing return without exceeding the appropriate risk-level for that client.
We Do Our Homework: Research & Our Investment Committee
Being an independent advisory firm, we conduct our research and investment selection in-house and add or remove investments from our approved list according to our own evaluation and judgment. In order to perform this function with skill, our advisors commit to career-long study and research in the fields of economics, investment valuation, and portfolio management. Each client portfolio is constructed using investments selected from HFG's approved investment list. These investments are monitored and evaluated as part of a weekly Investment Committee review. Each approved investment serves a specific purpose in the construction of an efficient portfolio.
Allocation and Performance Review
Each calendar quarter we conduct an examination of all advisory client portfolios. In the first phase of this 90-day review cycle, portfolio performance is evaluated against benchmarks representing a similar overall risk-strategy. Portfolios deviating significantly from their benchmark are reviewed further to determine cause and corrective action is taken where appropriate.
Secondly, all advisory portfolios undergo a review of their asset allocation weightings. Over time portfolios naturally deviate from their allocation targets as the component investments expand and contract in different ways. When any asset class shrinks or expands outside the constraints of its target weighting, the portfolio is rebalanced. This process can sometimes be confusing to investors because it often entails selling some of an investment that has recently gone up in value and buying more of one that has not. In fact this process of portfolio rebalancing can increase returns over time because it is a systemized method of buying low and selling high.
What Qualifies Us To Handle Your Money?
HFG employs what we feel is the most qualified team of financial advisors in the region. It is our long-standing policy that all HFG advisors hold finance degrees. We also require our advisors to progress toward achievement of the Certified Financial Planner™ professional designation. This requires approximately 2,000 hours of coursework covering financial planning, investments, insurance, tax planning, retirement, employee benefits, and estate planning. Candidates must then pass a 10-hour board examination. Once certified, practitioners are required to complete continuing education requirements and adhere to an enforced professional code of ethics.
The world is in a constant state of change. We feel that to remain effective and competent at our craft, constant study and self-improvement is required. We embrace a culture of being life-long students of our profession.


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Massa on Fox, Democracy Now, Tue. Dec. 12
by howardpark, Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 04:29:16 AM EST
24 year Navy Veteran & Fighting Dem Eric Massa, who narrowly lost to Rep. Randy Kuhl in New York's 29th district in 2006, will be on Fox's Martha McCallum show today, Dec. 12 in the 1:00 PM hour (EST). Schedules are subject to change.


text: Populence NYC Wine-Infused Popcorn? Why Not? By Karla Brown July 4, 2013 If you're a wine lover, you might like this new creation. Read More|Comment Category: Articles, Contributors, Entertainment, Karla Brown, Newsletter KMXC, Shared Content Tags: wine infused popcorn Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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The book is a funny, heartfelt and a loving tribute to America's Sweetheart, Betty White Rules the World looks at her extraordinary entertainment career, her beloved characters and her love of animals and is sprinkled with funny "what-ifs."
At the tender young age of 90, Betty White is going strong with two TV series and two new books! She has given us priceless moments to escape from this crazy world with laughter. No other actress has the buzz that Betty has—from constant reruns of "The Golden Girls" to "Hot In Cleveland" and "Off Their Rockers" to the Facebook campaign landing her a hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live," Betty White has never been more beloved. In her spare time, Betty selflessly helps vulnerable and endangered animals. Now, take a look at her storied television career and her impact on the industry and let's see where she goes from here.
Betty White Rules the World is the must-have book about television's must-have Grande Dame written by Mike Pingel, the 70s TV fanboy. Having penned books as Channel Surfing: Charlie's Angels, Channel Surfing: Wonder Woman and The Brady Bunch: Super Groovy After all these Years! He currently lives in Los Angeles and stalks Betty White daily.
- "Betty White is a down-to-earth sweet woman." - Actor, Sean Fairs
- "She is very funny and very real" – Actor, Dick Van Patten
- "Betty appeals to everybody." - Betty White's Fan Club President, Kay Daly
- "I want to be Betty White when I grow up." - Artist, Glen Hanson
Buy "Betty White Rules the World - The Ultimate (and Unauthorized) Guide to Television's Grande Dame"


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Almost as common as ghost, witch and vampire costumes on Halloween is the covers concert. Many bands will forgo their latest release or greatest hits and instead pop on a costume and break out the cover songs. Over the years bands like Phish and The Flaming Lips have become known for their Halloween concert festivities and cover sets of full albums or songs from a decade; this year we take a look at some of the other artists getting their spooky fun on. Continue reading »
Watch: Beck, Sean Lennon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cover Serge Gainsbourg at Tribute Concert
Last night at the Hollywood Bowl, an assortment of indie and alternative stars and upstarts paid tribute to Serge Gainsbourg. Beck and his band curated the event, which found artists like Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear), Victoria Legrand (Beach House), Mike Patton (Faith No More), Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl (The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger), and Zola Jesus playing an assortment of Gainsbourg tunes before an orchestra performed the entirety of Gainsbourg's 1971 magnum opus Histoire De Melody Nelson. Continue reading »
When he's not stuck in a dream within a dream or falling in love with Ben Gibbard's wife, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps himself busy with a new media project entitled hitRECord, which invites content creators to come together and collaborate on projects online. In the name of this project, Gordon-Levitt hosted an event this past Tuesday at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, where he was moved by the spirit of the city to take out his black Stratocaster and perform a solo rendition of Nirvana's Lithium. The result, as captured in attractive black and white for YouTube, shows that JGL actually does have some musical talent, although he probably shouldn't try to make a career out of it. Continue reading »
Celebrities have finally caught the "Bad Romance" covers train, and only about six months after everyone else! No matter. There's plenty of room on the Gaga Express!
First up is Joseph Gordan-Levitt aka. Arthur (Inception) aka. Tom Hansen ((500) Days of Summer) aka. Tommy Solomon (3rd Rock from the Sun). His performance comes from a summer benefit show he threw with his production company hitRECord. It's solo. It's electric. It's fun.
Courtney Love's live performance is more funny than fun. She didn't bother to learn the lyrics, but that doesn't stop her from making some up! The rest of Hole tries to guide her, but as the world well knows, there is no controlling the Love-machine. Continue reading »


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Forest medley 1 SKETCHES
Sometimes its fun and challenging to take a simple premise of a "forest" and see how a little creativity and imagination can expand upon it. In this case where I was exploration ideas I came up with Giant lily pad based one and a giant mushroom variant. Nothing really original but again fun to paint up.


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Runners, on your mark!!
The 25th annual Say No To Drugs Holiday Classic 5K/10K & 1mile race will be on Saturday, December 21ST, at 8am, starting in beautiful Coachman Park. Runners in the 5K and 10K will run a scenic out-and-back course over the Memorial Causeway bridge to Clearwater Beach.
Back by popular demand are the pre-race packet pick-up locations throughout Tampa Bay, during the week prior to the race!
After the race, under the big-tent in Coachman Park, runners and their families get to enjoy a fabulous, from-scratch pancake breakfast, while we give out the colorful plaques for the top runners in their age groups, and while we give out an abundance of raffle prizes! And the best part of it is… the breakfast is free – - and so are the raffle tickets (one per person though).
Go ahead and get yourself and your family registered now! You won't regret it! Please stay tuned to this website and to our email blasts for more information as the race gets closer.
Chris Alexander & Sue Minkoff
Race Co-Directors
What Makes Us Special?
USATF Certified 5K & 10K Course
Fully certified and measured USATF course for both 5K and 10K races.
Finisher Medals and Long Sleeve Tech Shirts
Great Goody Bags for Runners
Fun filled goody bags with valuable coupons and freebies everyone is sure to enjoy.
Lots of Giveaways & Prizes
Awesome raffle prizes and gifts just waiting for you as part of our appreciation for your support.
Timing Chips Embedded in bibs for 5K and 10K Races
The latest in race timing technology for accurate results of your course time.
Fabulous Post-race Awards Breakfast
After the race, relax and enjoy a delicious pancake breakfast (including Gluten Free pancakes) and refreshing beverages during the awards ceremony.
6 Easy ways to register
- Register Online. On-Line Registration closed on 12/11. However, it has been temporarily re-opened!! BUT - if you pre-register after 12/11, your name will not be on the packet pick-up list and you will only be able to get your shirt, bib & goodie bag on race-day, and not at any of the packet pick-up locations this week.(Active.com or Racersignup.com)
- Pre-Registration Sites : CLOSED
- By Mail: CLOSED
- Packet Pick-up - you can pick-up your packet (shirt, goodie bag & race bib/chip) during the week before the race! Click here to see where and when locations.
- Last Minute Registration - click here for info…
- Race Day – Saturday, Dec 21st (race morning) packet pick-up starting at 6am at the registration tent in Coachman Park. !!!!! RACE STARTS AT 8:00am !!!!!
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PHOTO CALL: Sneak Peek at Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick in "Pitch Perfect"
By Matthew Blank
Tony Award Nominee Anna Kendrick (High Society), Anna Camp (Equus), Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening), Rebel Wilson and more sing in the new musical film comedy "Pitch Perfect," directed by Jason Moore.
Universal and Gold Circle Films acquired the rights to the film, based on the Mickey Rapkin non-fiction book "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory," which follows three real-life powerhouse a cappella groups.
Kay Cannon and Jeff Roda penned the screenplay. Paul Brooks, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman produced.
The film is slated for a limited release on Sept. 28 and will be in theatres nationwide Oct. 5.
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2014 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Archive for the 'Television' Category
Justified Season 4, Person of Interest Season 2
Tags: CBS, FX, Jim Caviezel, Justified, Michael Emerson, Person of Interest, Taraji Henson, Timothy Olyphant, TV, Walton Goggins
It's Pilot Season – 2013
Tags: 2013, Avengers, Black List, Headless Horseman, Ichabod Crane, iron man, James Spader, Joss Whedon, Marvel, Michael Bay, pilot, shield, sleepy hollow, The Office, TV
Haywire, Louie Season 2
Tags: Dark City, FX, Gina Carano, Haywire, Louis C.K., Michael Fassbender, Steven Soderbergh
What do you get when you cross Ocean's 11 with The Bourne Identity? A steaming pile of shit, that's what. This 2011 movie was written by Lem Dobbs whose previous work included such gems as Dark City. It's directed by Steven Soderbergh who filmed the aforementioned Ocean's movies. Haywire is about a beautiful female spy (is there any other kind?) who gets betrayed on a mission and has to go on the run. 90% of the screentime is dedicated to Mallory (played by Gina Carano) avoiding capture by spies or police. At times she must outwit them, and other times she must beat the crap out of people. This is exactly what happens in all the Bourne movies. The espionage angle and the fights are portrayed realistically, just like in the Bourne movies. However, unlike the Bourne movies, this movie eschews madcap pacing necessary to build tension and keep viewers interested. Haywire insists on being slow and methodical, even during chase scenes. Mallory doesn't seem particularly in a hurry even though everyone wants to kill her. For example, after she kills the man who was supposed to assassinate her, she takes a shower, does her makeup, and makes a phone call before vacating the premesis.
Carano, a former martial artist turned actor, is headlining in her first major motion picture. Her acting, as expected, is just as good as any former martial artist turned actor: shitty. You could easily replace her with Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal, and get the same caliber of wooden line delivery. The only difference is that Carano has a pair of tits, so I suppose that makes her better than those other guys. Soderbergh does a terrible job directing. Clearly, he wishes he had been a movie director in the 1970s. All the framings, the zoom-ins and zoom-outs, random use of black and white, and weird lens filters scream 1970s. Hey, guess what, Soderbergh? We aren't living in the 1970s. Get over it. You can't make a Bourne movie and film it like an Ocean's movie. It just doesn't work.
Haywire happens to have a pretty good cast, including Awesomely Shitty favorite Michael F. Assbender, Channing "C-Tates" Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Douglas. Sadly, the good actors (Douglas and Banderas) get the least amount of screen time possible. The majority of the film is taken up by the people who suck at acting, namely Carano and C-Tates. Lastly, the story is goddamn retarded. The double-cross against Mallory makes no sense. If the bad guys hadn't involved her in the first place, their plan would have totally worked. Let's not forget how Mallory, who is a fucking spy, has a bad case of verbal diarrhea, spilling the entire events of the movie to a hostage who looks like the poor man's version of James McAvoy. Why did she do that? It is a narrative device, obviously, but they could have just as easily told the story through a flashback, and not made Mallory look so stupid. All in all, this movie sucks ass. The lethargic pacing, the crappy acting, the faux-70s directing, and the fact that Soderbergh just can't handle the material all make this movie a big ole turd.
Verdict: Shitty
Louie Season 2
The second season of Louie continues the harsh, honest, and hilarious look at the titular comedian's life. After watching two seasons of the show, I realize that it doesn't really conform to the typical narrative structure you see anywhere else. It is mostly a series of vignettes in the life of Louis C.K. If anything, you could say it is a bunch of disconnected short stories that can be pretty horrifying, but Louis somehow manages to extract humor from them. Although the first season was amazing, I think the second season was consistently better. Every episode was memorable, or at least had memorable parts. The two highlights for me were the episode where Louis meets comedian Dane Cook and they talk about Cook having been accused of stealing Louis' jokes, and the hour-long episode where Louis inadvertently takes a duckling to Afghanistan while performing a few USO shows for the troops. Incredibly, the show manages to be extremely high quality with Louis taking on acting, writing, directing, producing, and editing duties. If he isn't a one-man production team, then I don't know what is. Season 2 continues the greatness of the first, and is highly recommended.
Verdict: Awesome
Person of Interest Season 1
Tags: Batman, Boston Legal, CBS, CSI, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises, Fringe, Jim Caviezel, Lost, Michael Emerson, Person of Interest, The Machine
J.J. Abrams is the king of producing entertaining pilot episodes. From the incredibly awesome like Fringe to the good but flawed Alias to the hilariously terrible like Lost, he knows how to put together a first episode. Abrams, however, as a hands-off producer, isn't the driving force behind this series. That title belongs to Jonathan Nolan, brother of famous film director Christopher Nolan. Jonathan is no slouch in the writing department. He wrote a short story which became the film Memento, and he was co-writer on The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Of course, when I started Person of Interest, I didn't know any of this, I just started it, expecting another shitty, by the numbers cop procedural.
Surprisingly, this series offers much more than that. Let's start with the bad stuff. Yes, the show has a case-of-the-week format. Yes, there are a lot of filler episodes. And yes, it airs on network TV which is usually not a good thing. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the good stuff.
First, the premise is great. A computer genius named Harold Finch (played by Michael Emerson) created "The Machine" for the U.S. government in the paranoia following 9/11. The Machine is an omnipresent monitoring device the government uses to eavesdrop on everyone via security cameras, email, telephones, GPS, etc. If it finds what it perceives to be a terrorist threat, it passes that information to the government. If some piece of information is considered irrelevant, it ignores it. Finch realized that the irrelevant stuff often led to crimes and/or murders that he had no way of stopping. He eventually teams up with a disavowed CIA agent named John Reese (played by Jim Caviezel) and the two of them try to stop the "irrelevant" crimes.
Second, the show kicks ass. Solving crimes doesn't involve a bunch of CSI-style bullshit lab work. No, it typically features Reese following bad guys and then confronting bad guys. In order to solve crimes, he usually commits way more crimes including armed robbery, arson, kidnapping, assault, and murder. Of course, he is doing all this stuff to bad guys, but it is fun to watch him deal vigilante justice and cause way more destruction and mayhem than if he had just ignored the irrelevant crime in the first place. Anytime Reese throws down with someone, the show is plenty exciting.
Third, the writing is great. Despite having a case-of-the-week format, there are several story threads that run continuously throughout the episodes. Every character has a compelling back story, which is teased to the audience through flashbacks throughout the season. By the end of the season you know more about Reese, Finch, The Machine, and the two main antagonists, but you certainly don't know everything. There are plenty of mysteries left to be unraveled. The show can also be surprising, as when Reese and Finch set out to stop a crime, they don't know if the person The Machine has given them is going to be the perpetrator or the victim. A couple of times, the person they are protecting turns out to be the bad guy. It keeps the show more fresh and varied, and offers up a good deal of entertainment.
The acting is kind of a mixed bag. Caviezel plays his character as a stoic, monotone warrior who would rather kick your ass than mince words. At first this seems to be a drawback, but as the character becomes more fleshed out, you get a sense of why he became that way, and it ultimately works in his favor. Emerson is consistently good as the nerdy and paranoid Finch, and manages to be dramatic and comedic in all the right places. Kevin Chapman, who plays a crooked cop (Fusco), is also consistently good. Even guest stars like Enrico Colantoni (Elias) can bring in pretty great performances. The major weak link in the acting is Taraji Henson (Carter), who plays a sassy cop who is hot on Reese's trail. The material is beyond her capabilities, and she is completely unbelievable as a police detective. Any time she's on-screen with someone else, she's upstaged. She doesn't have the acting chops to successfully pull off this role. I've never cared for her. She was annoying on Boston Legal, and she's just as annoying here.
My biggest complaint of TV in general is that seasons are too long. With a 22 episode order, and maybe 11-12 episodes worth of ideas, the writers are stuck shoe-horning in 9 or 10 shitty episodes every year. If the networks followed cable's example, and did 13 episode seasons, the writing of all their series would be much better. With Person of Interest, it becomes obvious which episodes are meant to move the story along and which are written as afterthoughts because they needed to fill an order for a specific number of episodes. The filler episodes are generally weak, and easily skippable. The important episodes, though, are a blast, totally engrossing, and definitely worth watching.
Sure, Person of Interest isn't revolutionary. It's not meant to be. But it is a step above the typical procedural dreck that plagues network TV. If you are in the mood for something a little different, with a cool premise, fun action, and good writing, then you should check this one out.
Verdict: Good
Louie Season 1, Season of the Witch
Tags: Big Bang Theory, Black Death, FX, Game of Thrones, HBO, Louie, Louie C.K., Nicolas Cage, Ricky Gervais, Ron Pearlman, Sean Bean, Season of the Witch, The Office, Two and a Half Men, Wicker Man
Louie Season 1
Comedian Louis C.K. has the funniest show currently airing on TV, aptly titled Louie. You have probably never heard of it. Instead, you spend most of your time watching Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, and laughing your ass off because you think recycled shit is hilarious. Guess what, dumbass? You need to change the channel to FX and watch Louie. The show is an honest look at the daily life of a single-dad living in New York City who happens to be a comedian and an enthusiastic masturbator. No joke is considered off-limits. In the first episode Louie is accompanying his daughters on a field trip, and the bus breaks down in Harlem. Solution? Put all the black kids next to the windows to ensure the safety of the bus. With all kinds of jokes about race, sex, religion, inadequacy, aging, parenting, and more, there is nothing that Louie won't touch. His brand of humor can often times be like the British version of The Office. Some situations can be laugh out loud funny, but other situations can just be relentlessly cruel and awkward. At times, the show can be soul-crushing. But no matter what, in every episode, you are always guaranteed to see something completely original and well worth your time.
Verdict: Awesome
Season of the Witch
Nicolas Cage's choices in movies can be considered questionable at best. Horrifyingly shitty at worst. If you check out his IMDB page you'll see he does 3-4 movies a year. 75% of those are guaranteed to be crap. The remaining 25% has a 50% chance of being good and 50% chance of being awful. Is that enough math for one day? Well, I'll simplify things. Season of the Witch is absolute crap. And not campy, funny crap like The Wicker Man. It's stinky rotten crap so putrid you shouldn't go within 500 yards of it.
The movie offers an interesting parallel to the movie Black Death. In Black Death, Sean Bean led a group of medieval knights to a village to kill a witch responsible for the plague. It turned out she wasn't a witch at all, the villagers sacrificed the knights to some pagan gods, and HOLY SHIT I JUST REALIZED THAT MOVIE IS A TOTAL RIP-OFF OF THE WICKER MAN! EVERYTHING HAS COME FULL CIRCLE NOW! OH MY FUCKING GOD! Ahem. In Season of the Witch, Cage and Ron Pearlman lead a group of medieval knights to a village where a witch who was responsible for the plague will be put on trial. The key difference between the two movies is that in Black Death witchcraft isn't real, and in Season of the Witch, it is real.
The movie started off promising with Cage and Pearlman speaking in really half-assed English accents as they killed hundreds of people in literally every battle of the entire Crusades. After that, the movie takes a nosedive into boring mediocrity. Nothing exciting happens, Cage brings in a very restrained performance, the CGI is horrendous, and the story is thread-bare. In the end there is a huge battle against the forces of darkness, and of course the good guys win. Yawn.
To be honest, I wish Cage and Pearlman would have used their regular voices instead of making the movie even worse with their terrible English accents. There is no rule that says every historical movie has to feature people with English accents. That's a bourgeoisploitation fallacy. The fact that these guys were fighting demons excludes the notion they were going for historical accuracy. Why not just let them speak normally?
As an aside, why does everyone in Game of Thrones have English accents, too? They aren't in fucking England, and the author is from fucking New Jersey. HBO should fuck off.
Verdict: Shitty
Fringe – Season 5
Tags: Anna Torv, fox, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Observers, TV, Wyman
Fringe Executive Producer and Showrunner J.H. Wyman said this about Season 5, "My biggest concern was telling an authentic, honest story that I could stand behind, and that I would feel I was giving the fans the love letter that I think they deserve."
Well, if the final season was a love letter to the fans, then the final episode was a gigantic fuck you.
General Thoughts
After watching the final moments of the show, a show I have invested years in, I couldn't help but be furious. I wanted to smash something. Seriously. Wyman took a damn good season, a damn good series, and crushed it in a few confusing, contradictory final moments. He did two things: 1) he fucked up because he insisted on using time travel while failing to understand its logistics, and 2) he fucked up because he doesn't give a shit.
Justified Season 3
Tags: Boyd Crowder, Elmore Leonard, FX, Justified, Raylan Givens, Timothy Olyphant, TV, western
Justified has shown a great amount of depth and progression each year it has been on the air. The first season was largely plot-driven, but managed to utilize interesting characters to its advantage. It could be slow at times, but it was never boring. The second season improved on the first in various ways. The story became more character-driven, and each person affected the plot in their own way. Nothing felt contrived or forced. The third season managed to mesh what worked in the first and second seasons, and create something unique and memorable.
Game of Thrones Seasons One and Two
Tags: Arya, Daenerys, Game of Thrones, HBO, Joffrey, Lord of the Rings, nudity, Peter Dinklage, Sean Bean, true blood, Tyrion Lannister, vampires
Game of Thrones Season 1
I thought Season 1 of Game of Thrones was really good. I enjoyed the fighting, the nudity, and the midget. Since the rest of the internet also liked Season 1, I will end my review here. There's not much that I can add to the collective wisdom already out there on the subject. I will pose the rhetorical question, why does Sean Bean die in every role he gets? The world may never know.
Game of Thrones Season 2
Season 2 of Game of Thrones can suck my balls. The season suffered from slow pacing, lack of fighting, really confusing plot (or lack thereof), too many characters, and not enough nudity. Even more nudity wouldn't have made up for all of the other problems, but it would have helped. I am so sick of people talking about how awesome Game of Thrones is, because either they haven't seen Season 2, or they just weren't watching it at all and were on bookface the entire time.
1) Slow Pacing
There was a shitload of talking this season. Not yelling, not fighting, just talking. I do that all the time with teh Brik, so when I watch TV I want to see something more exciting than talking, unless the conversation is interesting. I have ADD and this did not hold my attention for 10 episodes. 10 hours of television, that is all this show takes for a season, and it was about 9 hours too long. They should have cut out all of the talking, or at least run it at 3x speed. Early in the season I had reason to believe that all of this talking meant something, but by episode 2 I realized it was useless filler.
2) Lack of Fighting
I didn't read the book series, but from what teh Brik told me, there are some pretty epic fight scenes in print. I never saw them on my TV. Did you?
3) Confusing Plot
I think the reason the plot was confusing was because there was so much meaningless conversation followed by so little fighting and the mysterious appearance of new characters that seemingly had no relation to any of the existing characters (see #4). Not to mention that the plots I cared about, involving Daenerys and Arya, got so little air time that it was very difficult for me to maintain interest. My confusion might have been my own fault, but instead of taking personal responsibility I choose to blame the writers.
4) Too Many Characters
Every episode some new asshole would appear and I would have to google who the fuck they were to try to figure out what was happening. If I wanted to do that, I would have just read the books first. I know there are a shit ton of characters in these books, but sometimes when you adapt for TV, you have to change things (OMFG!) to make them work better for television. Don't punish me for being an average American who is incapable of picking up a book not printed in an extra large font.
5) Not Enough Nudity
I think if more sex scenes and nakedness had happened I wouldn't have cared as much about #1-4. I can't guarantee I'd rate the season highly but no one can complain about more nudity, even if it is gratuitous.
The only high point of Season 2 for me was Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. His character had depth, humor, and enough screen time for me to give a fuck. If the entire show was just about him and they threw away the rest of the subplots I'd be happy. Or if he decapitated Joffrey, either way. I look forward to seeing Dinklage in something more deserving of his talents after he finishes his work in this series.
In conclusion, Game of Thrones can fuck off. I really loved Season 1 but I really hated Season 2, and since 2 came after 1, I am left with a bad taste in my mouth. I would not cry if this show was cancelled.
Season One Verdict: Awesome
Season Two Verdict: Shitty
Average: Shitty
The Only Show On NBC is The Biggest Loser
Tags: 30 rock, Alec Baldwin, Anna Kournikova, biggest loser, Chelsea Handler, chuck, cookies, Donald Trump, fat, fatties, Jack Donagy, Jay Leno, Jillian Michaels, NBC, Outsourced, Paul Reiser, perfect couples, shit, shitfest, shitty, the Apprentice, The Voice, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Whitney
I swear to god, every time I'm scanning through the channels and come across NBC, it is invariably airing an episode of The Biggest Loser. It's another one of those reality TV shows where someone gets eliminated every week, a clone of Survivor. Instead of featuring people losing weight from starvation on an island, it features people losing weight by exercising.
They get the biggest fatties, I'm talking about the fattest of the fat. The people your mom told you not to point at and make fun of, but you do anyway. Every time I've watched this show, it's 2 painful hours of watching sweaty fatties do pushups and run on treadmills and talk about how courageous they all are for exercising. Great job, fatties. Personally, I think it seems way more courageous to eat McDonald's and Dairy Queen and drink 64 ounce sodas every day and risk a slow, painful death by diabetes. But then again, this is an American TV show, so I guess to Americans exercise is hard and therefore courageous. Continue reading 'The Only Show On NBC is The Biggest Loser'
Justified Season 2, Black Death
Tags: Black Death, Boromir, FX, hollywood, Justified, Margo Martindale, plague, Raylan Givens, Sean Bean, Timothy Olyphant
Justified Season 2
The first season of Justified was really good. Definitely one of the best shows in an otherwise barren wasteland of TV mediocrity. While the pacing was a bit slow, there were great characters, an interesting story, and nice action sequences. The second season improves on all of those things. The relationships between the characters becomes the driving force behind the series, and it is a pleasure to watch. Most captivating of all is the interaction between Raylan and Boyd. They are simultaneously friends and enemies. The villain this season was particularly good, Mags Bennet (played flawlessly by Margo Martindale), the head of an Appalachian drug cartel really upped the ante in terms of amazing villains. The plot became more intricate than in the first season, as we simultaneously follow Mags, Boyd, a few other characters, and Raylan's investigation of everyone. There was hardly a single thing wrong with this season. It was great TV at its best. It reminds me that there is still hope out there, that people can still put together good television if they try.
Verdict: Awesome
Black Death
A movie from 2011, this film is meant to portray 14th-century England during the Bubonic Plague. Hints are dropped that this may be a film with a supernatural bend to it. Sean Bean (who probably walks around in full armor and broad sword in real life) has been charged by the Bishop to investigate a sleepy northern village which is rumored to be untouched by plague. What we learn later is that there is a witch in the town, and he has been charged with killing her. The supernatural-medieval angle seemed kind of cool to me, but that storyline went nowhere, as it turned out that witches don't really exist. This is certainly not the best movie I have ever seen, but by far not the worst. Some of things it does well include: casting Sean Bean, taking time to make things look realistic, attention to detail, and good performances all around. What it doesn't do well include: very bleak, very heavy-handed directing style which becomes a burden to the movie, showing shots of rats every time someone mentions "the plague", teasing us with one battle scene only to never have another, and killing Sean Bean. Why does this dude have to die in every movie he's in? I actually like this guy. Just once I'd like to see one of his characters survive a movie. Or does he have some kind of death wish in real life?
Verdict: Average


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- Northern New York Newspapers
- Watertown Daily Times
- The Journal
- Daily Courier-Observer
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- Malone Telegram
Three Clinton Street property owners have filed suit against the city of Watertown claiming flooding that occurred during the streets reconstruction caused more than $300,000 in damage to their buildings.
Christa S. Matthews, Lewis G. Spicer III and John Doldo Jr., as trustees of a residual trust under the will of Lewis G. Spicer, filed state Supreme Court action Wednesday at the Jefferson County clerks office against the city and the contractor that reconstructed the street, North Country Contractors LLC, Calcium.
The trust owns the Medical Arts Building, 161 Clinton St.; Clinton Court Apartments, 150 Clinton St., and a third building at 171 Clinton St. It is alleged that during the reconstruction in September 2012, water and sewer lines backed up, causing flooding in the buildings. According to the suit, the trust claims there was a total of $343,210 in damage sustained, including $242,460 at Clinton Courts, $74,410 at the Medical Arts building and $26,340 at 171 Clinton St.
The trust claims that workers failed to follow proper procedures for connecting and reconnecting drainage pipes from the properties to the drainage system being built by the city. They also claim the work blocked existing stormwater drainage pipes and prevented water from entering the system, which was under construction as part of a $1.5 million project to rebuild the street between Washington and South Massey streets.
The trust is represented in its action by Watertown attorney Keith B. Caughlin.
Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.
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By Andrew Gans
02 Dec 2011
Taylor told Playbill.com, "I play Bobby, a snarky dancer in the ensemble of the musical centered around Marilyn Monroe in season 1."
Watch for an upcoming STAGE VIEWS column with Taylor.
"Smash," created by Theresa Rebeck (Seminar), will include original songs written by Tony-winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can).
The series, according to NBC, "centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe—written by the successful songwriting duo of Tom (Borle) and Julia (Messing). Julia recently began the process of adopting a child with her husband of many years, but her focus is torn when she has the opportunity to write another Broadway hit. A rivalry soon forms for the lead role between a youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty (McPhee)—who is trying to find fame in the big city against all odds—and stage veteran (Hilty), who's determined to leave the chorus line and finally get her big break. A tenacious producer Eileen (Angelica Huston) discovers the 'Marilyn' project and jumps on board with a brilliant director (Jack Davenport)—whose talent is matched by his cunning and egocentric amorality."
"Smash" will launch on NBC Feb. 6, 2012, at 10 PM ET.
As an actor, Taylor recently originated the role of Michael Mouse Tolliver in the world premiere of Tales of the City at the American Conservatory Theatre. On Broadway he created the roles of Lucas in The Addams Family and Franz in Rock of Ages (Theatre World Award/OCC nomination).
As a writer, Taylor wrote and co-created the popular industry spoof webseries "Billy Green," which boasted performances by Audra McDonald, Patrick Wilson, Kristin Chenoweth and Nathan Lane.