text:
2 posts tagged "Aura Friedman"
Beauty And The Beat: Au Revoir Simone's Erika Forster Goes Blonde—And Goes Solo-------
It's been two years since indie dream pop trio Au Revoir Simone went on a hiatus, but singer and keyboardist Erika Forster has found a way to keep busy with a newly launched solo project. "I wanted to still do music and I felt like, 'Well, I have everything set up for me to do this, so I need to just see what happens.' I just started experimenting," she says of her self-titled debut EP, out this week. As with Miuccia Prada-favorite Au Revoir Simone (who are now back together and presently working on their fourth album), the tracks on Erika Spring showcase Forster's dulcet voice and knack for ethereal, just-the-right-side-of-sweet melodies. Here, Style.com caught up with the Brooklyn-based musician to find out her eco-friendly beauty favorites, why silk is a touring musician's best friend, and why blondes really do have more fun.
What's the biggest difference between working solo versus with a group?
It's really nice in the band [because] I always have two people that I trust to bounce ideas off of. Sometimes I feel a little, like, I don't know the answer to the question and I'm going to have to figure it out. But I also have to say it's allowed me to meet other amazing creative people—like Jorge [Elbrecht], who produced [my album]. Just having those experiences were really positive.
Besides going solo, you've also gone from brunette to blonde—another big change, I imagine.
I had been wanting to do it for a long time. I've had every kind of blonde since then; I started slowly and then I went all the way to platinum, which was fun, but it was really hard to keep it up. Now I've settled down. I've found my blonde! The girl who does it is amazing. I go to Aura Friedman at Serge Normant at John Frieda in [New York's] Meatpacking District. She has great ideas; when I first started getting my hair done by her, we were putting a lot of really pale pastel pinks in. She also has a really great color Tumblr [http://auracolorist.tumblr.com/] that's just so beautiful. She's an artist.
Did going blonde have any effect on your personality?
I feel like at the time that I did it, I really needed to lighten up in a very spiritual and all-encompassing way. I didn't think about it that way then, but looking back, I wanted to just have this physical change. I think stereotypes about blondes are annoying but some of them are really true—in many ways I feel like my personality fits being blonde.
Continue Reading "Beauty And The Beat: Au Revoir Simone's Erika Forster Goes Blonde—And Goes Solo" »
The Sixties, Revisited Backstage At Peter Som-------
In case it wasn't clear—what with the banana-shaped eye-liner application, spider lashes, and all—Fall's sixties-inspired beauty look was back in full effect for Spring at Peter Som this morning. "I noticed a little bit of a sixties detail in the collection in the shape of a sleeve or the length of a skirt," face painter Tom Pecheux confirmed. He also picked up on what he described as a "sophisticated, but young and fresh" feeling in the clothes, which was why he chose to incorporate a fun pop of color into the makeup look. Sculpting cheeks with MAC blush in Peaches and Fleur Power, Pecheux devoted most of his attention to custom-blending violet/burgundy lids. After applying a dusting of MAC's forthcoming Extra Diversion eye shadow in Young Venus, a shimmering purple, he carved out the crease with its eye shadows in Fig. 1 and India Ink before using its Chromagraphic pencil in Rich Purple to line the bottom lash line. A tawny pink lip and MAC's Pro Lash mascara in Black on both top and bottom lashes hammered home the Twiggy effect.
Wella global creative director Eugene Souleiman was more trying to channel Julie Christie and fashioned his streaked, deep side parts accordingly. "It's kind of sixties, but less ladylike and much more cool," he said. After applying the ombré rose gold and steely lavender extensions, custom-dyed by Wella color ambassador Aura Friedman for the occasion, Souleiman prepped hair with Wella Perfect Setting lotion to add texture and a worn-in feel. "The color purposely has roots so it looks like the girls colored their hair three months ago and really don't care that it's grown out," Souleiman elaborated. To further the "cool" vibe of the apathetically unkempt, he tied a side section of hair at the nape of the neck and spritzed on a halo of Wella's Ocean Spritz salt spray as models made their way to the runway, massaging it in with his fingers for a "raw, Courtney Love kind of feel."


text:
Like I said, it is very similar to a Casino vacation - vacation for indoorsy people.
And note that the cruise lines WILL search your luggage, as if you were a criminal. Yes, they claim it is due to 9/11 terrorist concerns. But in reality, it is to find and confiscate any privately owned booze you may try to take with you. Still think these people are your friends? Read the fine print on any cruise line contact. They can throw you off the boat for trying to "smuggle" booze on-board, or not let you board, but keep the cruise fees. They are deadly serious about this, as booze is a huge part of their profit margin, and if you brought in a bottle of scotch, that represents several hundred dollars worth of watered-down drinks they could have served you.
You are likely to be pre-assigned to a table of 6 or 8, so every meal is like eating in a cafeteria (and some of the meals are served cafeteria-style). Want a romantic getaway on your own? You ain't finding it here! If *might* be able to book a private table for two, but you have to do so in advance.
And note that some cruise lines ALLOW SMOKING in the dining rooms! So you won't really notice that the food tastes bland, anyway, as everything will taste like secondhand smoke.
11. Crowds: One thing all cruise line brochures have in common is that they show very few people on the ships. Once cruise line shows the ship anchored in front of their private island, with a happy couple having cocktails on the beach, apparently alone. What's missing? The THREE THOUSAND other passengers, all of whom apparently decided to stay on-board. Most cruise line brochures show the various decks, locations, restaurants, casinos, night clubs, and other amenities as being nearly vacant. The reality is, of course, different.
Consider how much fun it will be trying to find some deck space to stretch out and get some sun, on a boat with thousands of people on board. Go for a swim in the pool? Good luck even getting in. Now, again, there are some folks who just LOVE crowds - the types of people who thrive in malls, big cities, loud chain restaurants, and the like. To them, going somewhere where there are no other people is "creepy and weird". The sound of a large crowd, to them, is comforting.
On the other hand, there are others, like myself, who prefer solitude and quiet, to a screaming crowd, jammed in a small space. A private cabin with a nice balcony would probably be essential to my enjoyment of a cruise - unless I could find some out-of-the-way corner not jammed with people.
And the problem with cruises doesn't end with the boat. When we were in Key West, it was almost comical to see the instant population explosion that occurred when the cruise ships disembarked. Suddenly, the downtown part of Key West (the most lovely and least touristy, NOT!) is thronged with over 1,000 extra people. Locals learn to avoid the area when that occurs. So you go to visit an exotic port of call (not really) and then flood it with thousands of people, to enjoy for maybe 4-8 hours. It is true, the tourist destroys the thing he comes to see - particularly by cruise ship.
12. Cost: As noted above, the overall cost can be staggering - and far above what the "come on" or "last minute" pricing leads you to believe. For a "bargain" cruise, you can easily spend more on tipping, excess fees, liquor, upgrades, excursions, and the like, than you did on the base cruise price itself.
Cruises are wildly profitable for the cruise lines. Staff is mostly foreign born and paid very little, so the manpower overhead is not as great as it may seem. And the cruise ships are little more than floating hotels - and are not expensively built. It is not a coincidence that they tend to lose power, engines, or electronics on a regular basis (making headlines for a week or so, before the hoopla dies down).
Like so many other tourist rip-offs, the idea is to lure you in with a low, low price, and then sock it to you, once you fall into the baited trap. And a cruise ship is the ideal trap, as once you are onboard, you are basically stuck there for the duration.
None of the cruise line websites I visited had a simple breakdown on pricing and fees, or a suggestion as to how much the overall cruise would cost you. It is a recipe for a Credit Card meltdown fiasco. You will end up spending more than you plan on, period.
Have another drink? Um, how many is that so far? Are we over our budget? How much was that drink again? Does that include a mandatory 15% tip?
NOW THERE ARE SOME cruise enthusiasts out there who just love cruises (they love crowded malls, too) who would say, "Well, you just have to work the system, learn the tricks and rules and you will come out ahead!" Such folks are the kind that love frequent-flyer miles, convinced that they are "getting ahead" by gaming the system. They also enjoy the feeling of being an "insider" and knowing all the "tricks" to cruising. And if you go onboard, someone like this might tr to help you discover all the "tricks" to cruising.
But I think a better idea is to have a vacation where there are no "tricks" to learn - where the host is not some enemy to be deceived and worked around. It is better to have a low-interest rate credit card with no gimmicks than a 25% interest one with "miles" on it. It is better to go on a vacation without tricky rules and opaque pricing than to get a "bargain" on a cruise that turns out to have hidden charges and tricky rules.
There are other resort destinations you can go to where the pricing is straightforward. You go to Disney world and buy a ticket, and there are no fees you have to pay when you leave the resort. "I'm sorry sir, but you have to pay the Orlando handling fee, or we can't let you leave the Magic Kingdom" - that sort of thing only happens on a cruise. And if you want to have a glass of wine in your hotel room later on, you can drink one that brought with you, or buy one at any local liquor store. No one will search your bags before you go in, or accuse you of "smuggling" alcohol. And you do have your choice of hotels, too!
Dining out? The prices are on the menu, and you can pick the restaurant you want - with the type of food you want - as opposed to standing in line with 3,000 other people to eat the same thing. On exotic islands, you can go out and sample the local cuisine, often for far less than the cost of the "free" Steamship Round served on-board.
You have choices, control, and can keep track of spending. And since you aren't traveling at 15 knots, you can get to where you want to go and spend more than 4-8 hours there. Taking a Bahamas cruise doesn't mean spending a lot of time in the Bahamas. It does mean spending a lot of time on a boat.
UPDATE: January 2010.
We have been looking to go on a cruise, and are researching this thoroughly. But the more we learn, the less this looks like "fun". Most cruises are vacations for indoor people - smokers and gamblers (same people) whose compulsive behavior is guaranteed to run up a huge casino and bar bill. It is not a "fun ship" but an exploitation ship.
I recommend reading Cruise Confidential, which is an interesting book written by a fellow who was one of the few Americans to get a job working "below decks" for Carnival Cruise lines. Although the book promises to be a "kiss and tell" type expose, it actually got me more interested in going on a cruise.
Alas, Carnival Cruise Lines has one of the worst smoking policies around - allowing people to smoke in the cabins. They claim they "sanitize" the cabins, but I for one am not going to spend money to be trapped on a boat for three days, only to find out that I can't breath. Sorry, but cigarettes suck, and so do smokers. So we said "no thanks" to Carnival, which has the reputation as the white trash cruise line anyway (hence the lax smoking policy - smokers are just utter trash!)
The problem with Smoking - as I have noted before - is that cigarettes do not kill off smokers fast enough. Rather than trying to make a "safer" cigarette, we need to make one more lethal! Death to smokers! They have stunk up our world enough!
One tidbit: If you want to book a last minute cruise on Carnival, call between Tuesday and Friday and ask for a "Pack and Go" special. These last-minute deals are not offered on weekends.
For a comprehensive list of cruise line smoking policies, see this Frommer's guide, but I strongly suggest checking with a reservations agent first, as there is a LOT of misinformation on the Internet!
Royal Caribbean has a better smoking policy - no smoking in the cabins, although balcony smoking is allowed. However, navigating all of the options on the website for booking rooms, meal times and plans, pre-paid gratuities, can be a bit of a stressful nightmare. Um, where is the relaxing part, again?
We may try a short, three-night cruise, just to see what it is all about. They are fairly inexpensive and you are not trapped on-board for too long. We'll see!
UPDATE: February 5, 2011:
See my updated posting on this subject. We went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and had a good time. The $189 cruise ended up costing $1525, all said and done, but having researched the snot out of this first, we knew what to expect.
And also, expecting the worst, we were pleasantly surprised. Yes, some of the worst-case-scenarios outlined above were present, but not as bad as I expected. And a lot of things were pleasant surprises.
I hope to do a detailed posting on the subject shortly.
Did we like it? Well, we booked another for November on the monstrous Allure of the Seas, this time with an ocean-view balcony. Room service is free!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Joplin school officials say this school year there has already been at least two close calls of cars almost hitting students.
Because of ongoing tornado recovery efforts, there are more miles and more stops for school buses in and around Joplin. Some drivers may not be used to a new bus stop along a busy road.
Drivers are required to stop once a school bus sign has been extended. This applies to motorists on a two lane road. But on a four lane road, only the cars on the same side as the bus must stop.
There's a total of 96 school buses covering about 750,000 miles every school year.
"Bus drivers are driving a $100,000 vehicle that weighs about 28,000 pounds," says Joplin Schools Transportation Director David Pettit.
While the bus is heavy and expensive, its cargo is priceless.
"You're talking kindergarten through 12th grade, and your younger students, especially, aren't always looking for traffic," says Pettit.
School district officials say they never try to put bus stops on busy streets and they try to put the bus stops on the same side of the street where the students live. But sometimes busy streets are unavoidable.
Students are told to always cross at the front of the bus. A 10 foot bar gives the bus driver enough space to see the students cross. Students are told to look to the bus driver for a "thumbs up" and the bus driver tries to make sure it's clear for the students to cross.
It should be safe to cross at this time but it doesn't always work out that way.
"Somebody who is either past the bus or is coming towards the bus and has not stopped - I have at least one a day," says Pettit.
"Cell phones are a big distraction," says Joplin Police Department Corporal Chuck Niess.
Bus drivers take note of the violator's license plate and driver's description.
"We're probably seeing more people run our stop arms than we did in the past but I also think we're doing a better job of reporting those, as well," says Pettit.
Ticketed drivers get a misdemeanor.
"It could be anywhere from $112 to $500," says Corporal Niess.
Joplin Schools officials say more than 90% of the people caught not stopping for school buses were convicted in court.


text:
Department Overview
Title I is the single, largest federally funded program for elementary and
secondary education in the nation. Currently, we are still under
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I
funding helps our school division provide equal educational opportunities for
low-performing students in schools with economic need. Bristol Virginia
Public Schools currently supports all our elementary schools through Title I
services, Pre-K through 5th grade. Each school has a resource teacher who
serves as the schools reading specialist and oversees the schools educational
plan. Our Title I schools implement a School-wide model which allows for
flexibility in serving ALL children based on their individual need. Each
school host a school-wide team that meets twice a year to review and revise
their schools plan as needed. The goal of the Title I is to enable all
students to be on grade level and to meet state and local standards. Title
I is committed to the shared effort of the achievement gap between all students
in Bristol Virginia Public Schools and to provide high quality, engaging
instruction that motivates students to become lifelong learners. Parental
involvement is a huge component of all of the Title I schools.


text:
Videos > Nikki Sexxx > Whores Ariella and Nikki wanted real reward oozing on their hot mouth
Brazzers Network At Brazzers we believe in offering exclusive downloadable and streamable adult HD videos!! With over 900 girls and daily updates, you will never be left short of huge rib balloons, bouncy butts and hot pussy! Cum check it out for yourself!!
Featured Pornstars:
- Nikki Sexxx
- Ariella Ferrera


text:
An Excellent Relationship
As one of the oldest members of the Youth Task Force - and easily the most fogeyish - I'll have to approach this 'relationships' blog a little differently.
I can't really talk about my previous dating experiences, because that would just end up reading like an encyclopedia of catastrophe - although while I'm on the subject I may as well apologise to the following: 1) The girl who I never called because she wrote her number on a banknote that I accidentally spent on booze. 2) The girl who I never called because she wrote her number on my arm and I forgot it was there until after I'd washed it off. 3) The girl who I spent weeks making up stupid nicknames for because I'd forgotten what her real name was and she never bothered to mention it again.
So instead I'll have to talk about the relationship I'm now. It's easily the most serious relationship I've ever been in, and that's excellent. We've been together for a few years, we live together and I don't think she's realised what an intolerable arsehole I am yet. Nobody tell her, please.
And because we both appear to be in this for the long-haul, it means the issue of contraception is a little different for us. We'll both turn 30 next year, so it won't be long before we have to make a bunch of big decisions. Do we want kids? If we do want them, when do we want them? Are we ready for them?
For me, right now, I still need to be convinced. Here's why:
*We're both horrific workaholics - as a freelancer I panic every second that I'm not working, and my girlfriend's still in the middle of her never-ending medical training - so we've both got a pile of professional goals to reach before we'd even have time to think about children.
*My girlfriend has a niece who she likes to buy horrible outfits for. Off the top of my head she's made this poor baby dress up like a fairy, a flamenco dancer, a teddy bear and - since yesterday - a Christmas pudding. Read that again. A Christmas pudding. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever had a child who was made to dress up like a bloody Christmas pudding, so a baby's off the agenda until she's got this weird little fad out of her system.
*I'm quite clumsy and careless. This year I bought a goldfish. The goldfish died. So I bought another goldfish. That goldfish died. So I bought a plant. The plant died. Given my track record of accidentally killing things, I'm not sure that a baby is such a good idea, really.
Of course, it'd be easy for me to keep making these excuses and putting parenthood off until the day I die, so eventually the time will come when we'll have to take the plunge. But the important thing is that we've made the choice to wait until we're ready instead of allowing a baby to take us by surprise with no warning and dictate the rest of our lives to us. And we're old - I shudder to think what my life would have been like if a baby ambushed me as a teenager.
PS: I do realise there's a chance that one day I will have kids, and that those kids might end up Googling my name and finding this blog. So, if you're reading this in the future and I'm your dad, I want you to know that I was only joking when I said I might accidentally kill you. I probably won't accidentally kill you. Probably. Now clean your room or something.


text:
Mobile Spay/Neuter Veterinarian - Crystal Coast, North Carolina
Spay 2 Save Mobile Clinic
The Spay 2 Save mobile spay/neuter clinic based in Carteret County, coastal North Carolina, seeks an experienced DVM for a High Quality/High Volume Spay/Neuter clinic. Dream schedule of 4 days per week leaves plenty of time to "Live the Waterfront" and take advantage of the many outdoor activities in the area, such as diving, boating, kayaking or beachcombing on Cape Lookout National Seashore. Operate the 2012 state-of-the-art 33' La Boit mobile clinic outfitted with latest equipment, a surgical suite with two tables, cages to house 29 animals and all of the tools necessary for success. Must be: capable of performing 29 surgeries per day (training available to increase speed if needed), energetic, positive, and a team player. Great benefits: 12 paid vacation/sick days per year, $250 stipend per month for personal health insurance, $800 annual CE…. plus a $2,500 signing bonus! Salary is $60,000 to $70,000 DOE. Exciting opportunity to use your skills and be part of an organization leading the way in addressing the pet overpopulation problem through quality care for animals in eastern North Carolina.
Contact Information Joanna Shertzer Clinic Director Morehead City 252-622-2373 email@example.com www.mobilespay.org
Closing Date: January 15, 2014
Posted: September 18, 2013


text:
News: G-Unit's Lloyd Banks Allegedly Arrested For Brutal Fight
Saturday, Jan 9, 2010 6:00PM
G-Unit's Lloyd Banks has reportedly been arrested for assaulting a hip-hop promoter in Canada, according to reports.
While a confirmation has not yet been offered, a detailed account of the arrest has begun to spread online.
New York rapper and G-Unit honcho Lloyd Banks has been arrested along with four other men in Ontario Canada. Banks, real name Christopher Charles Lloyd, and four others allegedly sequestered road manager and "Canadian booking artist" Chris Hines of Chris Hines/ Ultimate Ent in a hotel near Kitchener (Ontario, Canada) where Banks was scheduled to perform. According to accounts of the alleged incident, they assaulted Hines and left him to be rushed to hospital. Hines suffered a few minor lacerations as well as a bruised eye and a possible head trauma. Details will be posted as they become available. (Def Sounds)
Back in 2005, the "Punch Line King" was busted by police with Young Buck.
Following their Anger Management 3 performance on Monday night at New York's Madison Square Garden, which ended with Young Buck's parting shot "F--- the police!," Buck, Lloyd Banks and their entourage had a run-in with the men in blue that resulted in 13 arrests. According to a spokesperson for the NYPD, Buck, 24, and Banks, 23 (real names David Brown and Christopher Lloyd, respectively), were traveling in a van with 11 other men when their vehicle was pulled over at 41st Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan for allegedly running a red light. Upon inspection, two guns were found. (MTV)
Aside from legal issues, Banks recently announced the forthcoming release of his third solo album.
"For y'all that don't know," Banks told a screaming crowd at New York's BB Kings this week, "y'all can expect my next album second quarter of next year. That's June, in here for the summer time. So y'all out there following my mixtape sh*t, for y'all that been following my mixtape sh*t -- my fifth mixtape of the year, V5, will be out [December] 28th. That's five mixtapes, that's really albums. I bust my a** more than the average artist this year. Y'all better take your a** out to the store. " (Real Talk NY)
50 Cent recently talked about the buzz behind Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo.
"Just the presentation. Just the project, to put an album out," 50 said about re-igniting his camp's buzz. "When you say... Really, how do you fall out of the public eye? Because you don't have any material that's being marketed and promoted. See, they didn't lose their base we initially created, G-Unit; when we go touring, you see the three of us consistently. It's just the relaunch, and to reestablish those albums that don't have no holes in them. We have to work on those projects as hard as we work on the 50 Cent project. Well, no [they're not on Interscope]. And it's a blessing that it's not still yet, because the building has changed. Interscope is a system that's in a different space. A lot of companies are in different spaces, they got rid of 60-percent of their staffs. So you don't know exactly what all those things are. But we'll put their projects together and find a way to put them out." (XXL Magazine)
No further details have been announced as of now.
Check out Lloyd Banks speaking on his new album below:


text:
**This is the 15th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog. Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first fifteen UFC events.**
UFC 12 was certainly not the promotion's finest hour. I previously spent some time discussing the political issues accompanying the event, but it should also be noted that the event itself was not particularly good. At this point, it's the third worst UFC pay-per-view to date - a fine accomplishment for a company that has already put on its fair share of crappy events.
But now we move on to UFC 13, which is now the fifteenth UFC event and the second of 1997. We last saw a couple of fresh faces win UFC tournaments, with veteran Jerry Bohlander emerging to become the first Lightweight Tournament Champion and Brazilian Vitor Belfort showing amazing boxing to win the heavyweight tournament. Bohlander won't be back at UFC 13 to defend his tournament crown, while the UFC has capitalized on Belfort's exciting debut and has pitted him against Tank Abbott in a Superfight. Call it a hunch, but I think Tank and Vitor are going to punch each other really hard.
We will see some very interesting new names here tonight. The heavyweight tournament will feature a former professional wrestler along with a three time U.S. Olympic alternate for wrestling. The lightweight tournament will see the returns of Christophe Leininger, who had a very fun and competitive fight with Ken Shamrock at UFC 3, and the undefeated Guy Mezger. A veteran fighter for Shooto will be making his UFC debut, while a well known member of Tank Abbott's camp will make his UFC debut in an alternate fight.
With one exciting Superfight and some interesting tournament names, UFC 13 should be a pretty fun event. Then again, I've been disappointed by previous events I thought would be exciting. It's a fine line between watchable MMA card and total shit sandwich, but I'm hopeful that UFC 13 will be a fine event.
UFC 13: The Ultimate Force - May 30, 1997
Previous Editions
Ultimate Ultimate 1995
Ultimate Ultimate 1996
In the pre-event video, I've learned from Bruce Beck that this event will apparently feature ULTIMATE FORCE. It's an exciting prospect for certain. Belfort vs. Abbott will clearly feature ultimate amounts of force. This event is taking place in Augusta, Georgia, which is where UFC 11 took place. Actually, this is the fifth UFC event in a row to take place in the American south. I guess we know that when normal society won't accept you, the American south will take you in with open arms. A very sweet and very terrifying proposition, I must say.
We're greeted to Bruce Buffer, the ring announcer for the night, counting down to the crowd so they know the exact right moment to begin cheering. Not exactly a success in timing, my greeting to UFC 13 now feels anticlimactic. I will blame Rich Goins for this, as his spirit will forever cast a pall over the announcing duties in the UFC. I'm just grateful that Bruce Buffer has such resolve to work through this.
Jeff Blatnick joins Bruce Beck to reprise his role as color commentator. Blatnick seems slightly off from the start tonight, stumbling over words and incorrectly conjugating verbs. I hope that Jeff Blatnick is drunk because that would make this event quite a bit of fun. I would love to see Jeff Blatnick drunkenly and forlornly slur about his past Olympic glories and a time when his hair was glorious. "You don't even know, Bruce Beck. I beat Tomas Johansson and Refik Memisevic and they gave me a fucking medal."
In the lightweight tournament, Guy Mezger and Christophe Leininger will compete in their UFC returns, while newcomers Royce Alger and Enson Inoue will square off. Inoue is 6-2 in his MMA career to this point, spending most of his time competing for Shooto and finishing four of those six fights with strikes. Alger is a two time NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion out of the University of Iowa who has yet to compete in MMA. Blatnick is clearly excited about Alger's debut, saying that he's the fighter everyone should be watching here. I really like how this bracket looks with four competitive and proven fighters.
All four of the fighters in the heavyweight bracket are UFC newcomers, a sure sign that most of the UFC's established fighters have moved on to greener pastures (notably Shamrock and Frye becoming professional wrestlers). Steven Graham will fight Dmitri Stepanov in the first semifinal fight. Jeff Blatnick does a nice job hyping this fight by saying we know absolutely nothing about either fighter.
The second bout is between Randy Couture and Tony Halme. Blatnick drunkenly calls Finnish professional wrestler Tony Halme "Hamamel", but he's obviously excited for the UFC debut of three time NCAA wrestling All-American, two time NCAA wrestling runner-up, and three time U.S. Olympic alternate Randy Couture. I, like Jeff Blatnick, enjoy seeing wrestlers in MMA, but I perhaps lack his brand of sweaty exuberance.
At this point, we're all very familiar with Randy Couture, but I'd like to spend some time talking about Tony Halme. Halme actually spend some time professionally boxing and competing for professional wrestling flagship the World Wrestling Federation. Halme, a very large man at 6'3" and around 300 pounds, spent some time wrestling under his own name in Japan before coming to the WWF as Ludvig Borga.
As Borga, Halme was positioned as a top heel to oppose All-American Lex Luger. Halme's promos are absolutely hilarious, as he discusses in broken English that Americans are filthy polluters and corrupt people, going so far as to call Luger a "garbage driver." He famously ended the winning streak of the Native American Tatanka, a pretty big accomplishment in 1993.
Beyond his career in MMA and wrestling, Halme was somehow elected to Finnish parliament, where he inadvertently and seriously called then Finnish President Tarja Halonen, a heterosexual woman, a lesbian. He later apologized, but the awesome damage had been done. Halme's life degenerated in the late-aughts and he killed himself in January 2010. The end of Halme's life may have been disappointing, but it goes without saying that the man led a very interesting life. At UFC 13, we'll see the only chapter in Halme's MMA career.
There are also two alternate fights tonight. In the lightweight tournament, Wes Albritton will take on newcomer and junior college wrestling champion Tito Ortiz. This fight will actually be broadcast later in the evening, so I'll wait until then to provide the details. There is a heavyweight tournament alternate fight between Jack Nilson and Saeed Hosseini, which doesn't air during the event. Fortunately, I've located video footage of the fight to review! Watch along with me, won't you?
I'm not sure where this raw footage came from, I'm guessing it had to be broadcast somewhere. You can hear Bruce Beck working to restore the correct level in his headphones, which is not as fun (obscene) as it could have been. What is fun is the prefight interview from Saeed Hosseini, which goes like this:
"Because...I just know that I'm going to face humans. It's not a predator animal or whatever...you know what I mean? It's not a...something predator I go against, it's a human. Bone and skin, no matter how big it is. I believe this fight is 30% physical...70% mental."
If this fight is indeed 70% mental, then I'm very worried for Hosseini's safety in this one. Jack Nilson will be making his second UFC appearance after having lost to Tai Bowden in a preliminary fight from Ultimate Ultimate 1996. It seems like this will be a striking match, since Nilson is a kickboxer and Hosseini practices taekwondo. Both men also have judo skills, so this seems like a pretty even match.
Bruce Buffer is still having issues pronouncing words, announcing Saeed Hosseini as "HASEEEEEEENEEEEEEE". His voice also breaks when announcing Jack Nilson's nickname, "The Ripper". Nilson gets a great hand, as he fights out of Augusta. Oddly enough, Big John McCarthy isn't the referee for this fight. Joe Hamilton, who is apparently officiating at his eighth UFC event, is the referee. I'm assuming he typically handles the preliminary events on account of not having seen him prior to this.
This fight is underway and both fighters look awesome. Hosseini is wearing a gi top with red sweatpants, while Nilson is wearing the smallest American flag trunks you could imagine. It's so bad that you can see Nilson's jock strap sticking out from the bottom of his trunks.
Hosseini throws a leg kick, but Nilson rushes in for a takedown. Hosseini attempts a guillotine choke and spends some time working for the submission, but Nilson shoves his opponent away. Nilson throws some punches and moves into the clinch, but it looks like Hosseini tries to pull Nilson into his guard.
Nilson actually ends up in half guard and qucikly moves to full mount with Hosseini holding onto his head. Nilson postures up begins throwing some big punches, prompting Hosseini to give up his back. Nilson thinks about a choke, but throws a number of unanswered elbows to Hosseini's head while holding onto his ponytail. The crowd is eating this up, chanting along with each elbow that Nilson throws. Referee Joe Hamilton doesn't wait very long before calling a stop to this fight, a decision that Saeed Hosseini is very displeased with.
The Iranian jumps up and protests the stoppage in a very animated fashion. Big John is quick to enter the cage in an attempt to subdue the loser of the fight. Big John explains that he told Hosseini in the fighters meeting that if you're on your stomach and not defending yourself, the fight will be stopped. Hosseini complains that "you should give me a minute, it was just ten seconds", but the argument somehow doesn't succeed. Jack Nilson is the winner and he will fill-in as an alternate in the heavyweight tournament if needed.
In the post fight interview, Joe Rogan asks Nilson what he thought about Hosseini's ponytail, to which Nilson replies "I appreciate it." Hey, why not? If it's something that you can use, then there's no reason to hold off. We've seen Jerry Bohlander grab the cage and Keith Hackney pulverize Joe Son's testicles, so Nilson using Hosseini's ponytail for leverage is nothing new.
With the YouTube portion of this event complete, it's back to the live footage. The first tournament fight of the night is Christophe Leininger vs. Guy Mezger in the lightweight tournament. Leininger, a judo practitioner, will look to utilizes his throws and submissions to avenge a loss in his only UFC fight.
Mezger has been training at the Lion's Den with the man who defeated Leininger, Ken Shamrock, and he's accompanied to the cage by fellow Lion's Den competitors Frank Shamrock and Tra Telligman. Bruce Beck says Mezger is newly committed to MMA having shorn his "trademark" ponytail. We know that Mezger will work for submissions of his own given his affiliation with Shamrock.
Hey look, Courtney Love is in attendance and has an opinion on Ken Shamrock's defection to the World Wrestling Federation. Actually, that's probably not Courtney Love - just some other junkie with a poor opinion of professional wrestling. At least we still have a number of the Lion's Den fighters like Mezger and Telligman competing on these shows.
These men are pretty evenly matched physically, Mezger with a one inch height advantage and Leininger being ten pounds heavier. Bruce Buffer gives us a very early "we are live!" which is something I wouldn't have expected to hear for another few years. He also throws out an "it's time!", but he makes the mistake of going too long with the opening announcement. He asks the crowd if they're ready for the "ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIIIIIIIIP" and is greeted with mostly indifference. It didn't take long for this crowd to tire of Buffer's loudness.
It should be noted that in his time away from the UFC, Guy Mezger has gone 9-4-2 for the Pancrase promotion with wins over Yuki Kondo, Semmy Schilt, and Minoru Suzuki. Leininger has also gone 3-0 since his last UFC appearance, winning the Best in the Southwest MMA tournament in January 1997. The Augusta crowd is absolutely beside itself before this fight with wild cheering. You know that a crowd is amped up when both fighters get hearty cheers. In Augusta, that's also a good way of knowing that both fighters are white.
Big John is back refereeing this fight and he gets things going. Mezger grabs a hold of the collar on Leininger's gi and that obviously makes Leininger uncomfortable. Mezger is throwing some pretty clean punches that go largely unanswered. Mezger is completely controlling his opponent by holding onto the gi while Leininger misses with wild punches. Leininger responds by grabbing hold of the front of Mezger's trunks, coming dangerously close to exposing "Li'l Guy". This is perhaps the strangest clinch in MMA history, Leininger holding the trunks and Mezger holding the gi.
Leininger decides that it's a good idea to pull Mezger into guard, but Mezger ends up in side control which appears to be a precarious position for Leininger. Mezger lands a couple of strikes, but Guy backs off and has Leininger get back to his feet. Mezger throws some leg kicks before moving into a more orthodox clinch. He's still using the gi for leverage, and Leininger again goes for the trunks. Out of nowhere, Leininger lands a nice sweep and goes for an armbar, but Mezger quickly pops out and goes back to the clinch.
Mezger has his opponent against the cage and is throwing an occasional headbutt. Once again, Mezger hits a great rolling sweep and ends up in full mount! Unfortunately for Leininger, Guy Mezger is much stronger and reversed Leininger onto his back. From full guard, Mezger manages to back his opponent against the cage and begins throwing some more headbutts and punches. Mezger is largely inactive from the top, but every now and again, he'll throw a couple of shots. Leininger isn't doing anything to try and escape or do damage, so there's really no need for Mezger to be urgent.
Big John uses this as an opportunity to restart the fight at the eight minute mark. Leininger attempts some strikes of his own, but Mezger answers back with a head kick. Leininger slaps himself in the face, almost inviting Mezger to try it again. Guy throws a big kick to the body that appears to do some damage. Leininger seems really disoriented and has been completely outclassed by Guy Mezger ten minutes into the fight.
For whatever reason, Leininger continues to think that grabbing Mezger's trunks is an effective strategy. He once again pulls Mezger into guard, yet another position where Mezger has looked infinitely better than Leininger. Leininger's efforts to control Guy are ineffective and Mezger postures up to land some punches. He backs out of the guard and again forces Leininger back to his feet. The horn sounds and the twelve minute regulation period is complete. Leininger looks exhausted and I don't think Mezger will have many issues with this final three minute overtime.
Mezger starts the overtime throwing punches in combinations and mixing in leg kicks. Leininger is only able to respond with single punches that don't do a lot of damage. When the men are back in clinch, Leininger ramps up his aggressiveness and throws some more strikes, but Mezger turns up the volume himself and is successful with his own punches.
Mezger grabs a front facelock and violently drags Leininger to the mat. Leininger moves from his knees to his back, pulling Mezger into the guard yet again. Mezger has his forearm against Leininger's face and throat and is a little more active with his punches and elbows. Leininger is just holding on for dear life while Mezger lands knees to his head as the overtime period expires.
All three judges score this fight in favor of Guy Mezger, who will now move on to the finals of the lightweight tournament. No surprise with that decision - Guy Mezger was in control of the fight. In his postfight interview with Joe Rogan, Mezger says that there was nothing Leininger could do to hurt him. Mezger also says he'll need a new pair of trunks for his match in the finals.
It's now time for the second semifinal bout in the lightweight tournament featuring Enson Inoue against Royce Alger. Bruce Beck tells us that Dan Gable has spent time coaching Royce Alger and that the wrestling legend thinks very highly of Alger. Inoue is interested in trying to knock Alger out, either on the mat or on his feet. With his Shooto success, it wouldn't be surprising to see a well-rounded fighter like Inoue have great success here in the UFC. Royce Alger is actually training with reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman, a good choice for any wrestler getting into MMA.
Royce Alger gets a very nice hand from the crowd, likely due to Mark Coleman's urging and Inoue's ethnicity. The fight begins with Alger attempting a very quick takedown, but Inoue sprawls and ends up in a crucifix position. Alger shrugs Inoue off and tries throwing some punches, but an armbar attempt from Inoue forces Alger to back off.
Alger rushes back into side control, but Inoue is holding on to Alger tightly. Alger tries to separate with little success. Alger moves into guard and postures up, throwing punches and throttling Inoue with his outreached arms. Inoue's corner implores their fighter to break Alger's arm. At the 1:30 mark of the fight, Inoue obliges and cinches in a nasty armbar. Alger tries to escape, but it's to no avail and Alger taps out. There was no escape for the wrestler and the experienced MMA fighter scored a nice win to move to the lightweight tournament finals.
In his postfight interview, Inoue said he feels good but needs to go lay down on account of all of the adrenaline going through his system. He definitely seems to be tired as he's sucking in air, surprising since the fight lasted all of 90 seconds.
One of my favorite early UFC features has returned: antiquated internet screenshots from 1997. My goodness, this takes me back. I spent too much time in my youth in these AOL chat rooms talking about who knows what. It was probably just a lot of acronyms and banality, just like how I use the internet today. LOL
In anticipation of tonight's Superfight main event, a Tank Abbott highlight video is shown prior to the first heavyweight tournament bout between Dmitri Stepanov and Steven Graham. Beck throws out this gem in discussing this upcoming fight: "with the unknowns, you just don't know what to expect". Brilliant.
Prior to the fight, Stepanov says that he admires Russian fighters such as Oleg Taktarov and Igor Zinoviev. Stepanov is a Muay Thai fighter with sambo experience and could definitely be a threat in this tournament. Graham is a former college football player who claims to have good striking and takedowns, though Blatnick is dubious about Graham's ground abilities. Graham actually enters the cage in a sweatshirt that says "3-D", meaning that he's a three dimensional fighter. Why should I question this man and his sweatshirt?
Graham is the much bigger man in this fight with an 80+ pound weight advantage, though the Belarusian Stepanov is two inches taller. Graham is a very thick man at 6'1" and 290 pounds, though frankly, it doesn't sound like he's a very talented guy. His background is in something called "extension fighting", and despite a win in Vale Tudo, Graham looks to be more brawn than actual talent.
Bruce Buffer has some more trouble, announcing the city of Minsk as "Minks". Jeff Blatnick amusingly and audibly questions the mistake over his microphone. I'm really terrified to see how Bruce pronounces "Halme".
Graham bolts out of his corner with a kick to start the fight. Stepanov attempts a kick, but Graham catches it and slams his opponent to the man. Graham is on top in half guard with Stepanov holding onto his head. Graham transitions to side control and is working on Stepanov's right arm. It looks like he's locking in an Americana and Stepanov is trying to defend. Graham is way too strong for Stepanov, who is forced to submit. I'm surprised with how impressive Graham looked in this brief showing and I look forward to seeing him in the finals.
Graham says in his post fight interview that his plan was to do the opposite of what Stepanov did. So I guess the single kick Stepanov threw was the impetus for Graham to score the takedown and the submission win. He says he'll be fine for the heavyweight tournament finals.
The second heavyweight semifinal is between Randy Couture and Tony Halme. Couture says he doesn't feel like he has an weaknesses that can be exploited and says he'll be looking for takedowns against Halme. Couture apparently boxed during his time in the U.S. Army during the 1980's, something I actually wasn't aware of.
Halme says that he'll either rip Couture's arms or legs out of socket, or perhaps he'll tear Couture's head off. Halme looks muscular, but he honestly looks pretty bloated. During his time in wrestling, Borga looked very muscular. He looks quite different from that now having added significant mass and looking unhealthily large. At 6'4" and 300 pounds, Halme has a three inch height advantage and a 75 pound weight advantage.
Bruce Buffer seems to get Halme's name right, which should apparently be pronounced as "Ha-la-me". I'm very proud of Bruce for this one.
Halme starts the fight by charging his opponent, but before he can even throw a punch, Couture lands a quick takedown and moves to side control. Halme has his massive left arm wrapped around Couture's head in an attempt to control the wrestler. Couture postures up and throws a punch while Halme rolls over to his stomach. Couture quickly takes Halme's back and sinks in a rear naked choke, forcing Halme to submit! That was an amazingly fast win and a very impressive showing by Randy Couture, especially given how big his opponent was.
Following this fight, a highlight video called "Boys from Brazil" is shown which highlights the accomplishments of Royce Gracie, Marco Ruas, and Vitor Belfort. The UFC seems hell bent on finding the next Royce Gracie and they're not exactly keeping that a secret. They tried that with Ruas and now they're trying it with Belfort. Vitor is a great fighter, but it's not exactly fair to compare the young man to one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners of all time. Thankfully, Belfort gets his own highlight video featuring his awesome showing at UFC 12.
There has apparently been a change in the lightweight finals, as Enson Inoue has been forced out due to an eye injury. Inoue's vision has somehow been impacted and he won't be able to continue in the tournament. The winner of the earlier lightweight alternate fight between the smiley wrestler Tito Ortiz and Wes Albritton, who appears to be pouting, will move on to face Guy Mezger.
We may remember the bulbous headed Tito Ortiz from cornering Tank Abbott in previous fights. About Ortiz, Albritton says "he's a collegiate wrestler and he wrestles in college, so I expect him to want to put me on the ground." Wes Albritton: master strategist. Ortiz looks very intense as he makes his way to the cage. He talks about how he and Abbott really clicked during training, a frightening prospect for numerous reasons. I think any person who clicks with Tank Abbott on a personal level has some kind of serious mental defect, which we already know Tito Ortiz to have.
Ortiz starts the fight with a quick clinch and takes Albritton down quickly. Ortiz is throwing some heavy punches and manages to move to full mount very quickly. Tito is landing some huge left hands and now he starts with the elbows to Albritton's face. About thirty seconds in, Albritton's corner throws in the towel to stop this fight. Ortiz has taken a quick TKO victory and looked quite impressive in doing so. Of course, it doesn't help that Albritton is a pale sack of jelly with a wispy orange mustache.
As you can see above, Tito Ortiz turned his opponent's head into a pasty speed bag before Albritton's corner decided that they had to protect their fighter's skull. Ortiz says after the fight that he was too strong for Albritton and that he didn't stand a chance. This all means the lightweight finals tonight will feature Guy Mezger and Tito Ortiz. Jeff Blatnick suspects that Mezger might be at a disadvantage having fought for 15 minutes earlier in the night, while Tito Ortiz's fight lasted just more than 30 seconds.
Frank Shamrock spends time prior to the fight coaching up Guy Mezger. They show a pretaped video of Tito from earlier in the night saying that Leininger vs. Mezger will end up being a "girl fight", strong words from a guy who had never fought in the UFC prior to tonight. Ortiz holds a one inch height advantage over Mezger while both men are right around 200 pounds.
The fight begins with Ortiz as the aggressor, throwing some heavier punches at Mezger. Guy decides to attempt a takedown which is easily defended by Tito. Oritz is throwing punches to Mezger's body and head. It looks like Ortiz is working for a choke, but he shifts to an inside cradle. At this point, Bruce Beck and Tito Ortiz's corner both think that Mezger tapped out. It's pretty unclear, but I don't think it was a tap. Tito was throwing some pretty big knees while working the cradle, but I don't know that it was enough to submit Mezger.
In fact, the knees did enough damage to open up a cut on Mezger's head, prompting Big John McCarthy to stop the fight. Leon Tabbs examines the two cuts, which appear to be on Mezger's scalp. Ortiz's corner complains about Mezger's tap, but Big John says Mezger was just trying to block the knees. The fight will continue despite the cuts.
The fight is restarted on the feet, though I'm sure Tito would love to have that cradle position back. Both men come out trading punches, Mezger landing some clean shots to the body. Ortiz shoots in for a takedown of his own, but Mezger grabs a hold of Ortiz's neck and locks in a guillotine! It appears to be right and Ortiz is trying to power out of it. It's to no avail and Ortiz is forced to tap out!
Guy Mezger has won the lightweight tournament! Guy Mezger is clearly elated and he tries to shake hands with his opponent, but Tito is not at all interested in paying respect to the winner. Ortiz is extremely pissed off with the result of the fight as well he should be. He was careless with his takedown attempt and ended up paying for it. Though short, this certainly was a strange fight given the stoppage, the alleged tap, and then Mezger's comeback after the restart. Of course, if this happened today, the fighters would have been restarted with Ortiz in control and who knows how the fight would go from there.
Mezger pays a lot of credit to Tito for being a tough opponent before being awarded his medal for winning the tournament. Comissioner Art Davies verbally fellates Mezger rather uncomfortably before presenting the medal. It's almost like an overzealous father giving an award to his son, very strange. Then again, I have a fucked up relationship with my dad so any father/son relationship is a weird one to me.
The first two lightweight tournament winners are out of the Lion's Den, so I doubt we'll see Mezger go up against Jerry Bohlander. Tito Ortiz seems like a good candidate to either rematch with Mezger or go up against Bohlander, so we'll have to see if that takes place in the future.
Bruce Beck announces that the undefeated Mark Coleman will return to the UFC to defend his Heavyweight Title against Maurice Smith at UFC 14. Smith is a world champion kickboxer who has spent time in Pancrase, but he has a less than stellar MMA record of 4-7. Then again, his seven losses are to Minoru Suzuki, Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten (twice), Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Kiyosha Tamura, and Akira Maeda, six of the best Pancrase and RINGS has to offer. Smith also lost each of those seven fights by submission, perhaps showing that he might be slightly behind with his submission defense.
Mark Coleman sounds very confident in his chances to win against Maurice Smith. Regarding the fight, Coleman says, "I'm gonna take him to the ground and I'm gonna pound the shit out of him." He also says that ground and pound is his "goddamn game" and that he's going to "fucking do something for the freestyle wrestlers".
Joe Rogan's face says it all. Nicely said, Mark.
Jeff Blatnick tells us that Mark Coleman has started his own gym, the Hammer House, and we can expect to see some of his teammates like Mark Kerr and Kevin Randleman in the future. Beck and Blatnick once again hype the Abbott/Belfort fight with Beck saying that this fight "the man who's always running from the law against the man who wants to enforce it". Beck and Blatnick are in rare form tonight, but sadly, I'm not sure that Jeff Blatnick is drunk. Beyond his opening jitters, he's been just fine this evening.
But right now, it's time for the heavyweight tournament finals between Steven Graham and Randy Couture. Both men pulled off quick and surprising submissions in their semifinal fights. I don't think Graham's size will be much of an advantage on account of Couture having handled the very large Tony Halme with no real problems.
I think Bruce Buffer confuses fans by announcing that Graham vs. Couture will be the "final event" when he merely means that this will be the finals of the heavyweight tournament. Given how natural Buffer is at this job now, it's jarring to see him struggle mightily during these early UFC events.
This fight begins and once again, Couture lands an early takedown. Couture moves quickly to side control and is throwing some punches. Graham gives up his back, much like Halme did earlier, but Couture takes his back against the cage fence and doesn't have much of a shot for another rear naked choke.
As Couture is landing punches and working a crossface, Graham rolls forward in an attempt to shake his opponent off. Unfortunately for him, Couture doesn't budge and he now has a single hook in. Graham tries to slip out, so Couture lets go of Graham's back and moves back to side control. Graham is working to escape, but Couture nicely maintains position and transitions to north/south position.
From north/south, Couture lands some big knees. He moves back to side control and postures up to throw some punches. Graham has his hands up in an attempt to defend Couture, but Randy has controlled the first 100 seconds of this fight. Couture sinks in a half nelson to keep Graham from maneuvering to a more advantageous position. Graham gives up his back yet again and Couture grabs a front facelock.
Couture starts to throw some huge knees to Graham's head and spins to take Graham's back yet again. Big John is intently watching the action and has seemed close to stopping this fight on a couple of occasions. Couture is throwing some headbutts from behind and now he sinks in both hooks and flattens Graham out. Couture postures a big and begins to throw undefended punches and Big John has seen enough! Randy Couture has taken a TKO victory and is the UFC 13 heavyweight tournament champion!
Randy Couture was utterly dominant in these two fights tonight, using his great speed and awesome wrestling to beat two much larger opponents. Couture's game seems to be more finesse oriented compared to Mark Coleman's more powerful brand of wrestling. It's no surprises that these elite wrestlers have had such success, though Royce Alger's earlier loss was certainly disappointing.
Big John seems to have had a habit of editorializing a bit in his early days as a referee. He's always quick to throw out kudos or congratulations to fighters. To Couture, McCarthy could be heard saying, "good job...some outstanding base, baby." I have to say, Big John makes me a little bit uncomfortable. Couture seems to take the complement in stride, though it's possible he didn't hear it.
After the fight, Randy Couture throws out a surprising thank you to Jesus. I can't recall having ever heard Randy get so religious, but it's possible that a nine year old Jon Jones got in his ear before the fight and reminded him to give all applicable props to Christ. Couture says that he aims to represent wrestling in the UFC, sentiments expressed earlier and far less eloquently by Mark Coleman. When awarding the heavyweight tournament medal, Art Davies reveals that Couture was a late addition. Given Couture's performance, it's safe to say that short notice wasn't much of an issue.
And now it's time for the heavyweight Superfight between Tank Abbott and Vitor Belfort. Tank says prior to the fight that he has a blanket policy of not respecting others on account of not wanting to give them that kind of power over him. Tank is a strangely philosophical ogre, but he's up against a dangerous opponent in Belfort. Vitor is apt in his observation that Tank is a dangerous fighter because he's got nothing to lose. I don't see how losing a fight really impacts Tank, since he'll just come back in a few months to try and kick ass once again.
Vitor appears to be a little larger this time and is announced at 215 pounds. He's still very lean and muscular, but a bit of added weight could do nothing but help Belfort. Abbott, meanwhile, looks as rotund as ever.
The crowd is extremely pumped as this fight begins. Tank is the first to throw punches, but Belfort responds by clinching with Abbott and charging against the cage. Abbott is taken down by Belfort who throws a couple of quick punches, but Abbot powers out and trips Belfort to the mat. Tank allows Vitor back to his feet, wisely choosing against a ground war with Belfort.
Belfort lands a quick left, but Abbott quickly decides to tie up with his opponent. Tank and Vitor trade body shots and Belfort breaks the clinch and unleashes with some heavy punches! Tank weakly attempts a takedown and Belfort pounces, taking Tank's back. Belfort is throwing some powerful lefts and Tank isn't doing anything to defend. Less than a minute into the fight, Big John stops it! Vitor Belfort has won the Superfight!
After the fight, Tank Abbott actually seeks out Vitor to offer his congratulations, a rare sight and a departure from Tank's oafish ways. As Big John raises Vitor's hand, you can hear Bruce Buffer trying to announce the decision over a dead microphone. Thankfully for Bruce, the issue is resolved fairly promptly.
When asked by Joe Rogan what his strategy for the fight was, Vitor replies "beat the crap" out of Tank, a surprisingly brash statement from the young man. Vitor gets a little carried away giving credit to his trainers while proclaiming, "THEY ARE MY TRAINERS! THEY ARE MY FRIENDS! WE WON!" Vitor says he he doesn't care who he fights next, he just wants to make money and grow with this sport. Something tells me that he'll be able to do just that in the UFC.
Belfort's win caps off a very fun UFC 13 event in which we saw three new champions crowned: Belfort, Randy Couture, and Guy Mezger. Interestingly enough, not a single fighter from this event will return to UFC 14 in an attempt to defend their titles. In fact, no fighter from UFC 13 will appear on the card for UFC 14. We know that Mark Coleman will be defending his Heavyweight Title at this event, but the rest of the card is up in the air at this point.
Hopefully the UFC will be able to capitalize on a strong performance and put on yet another good show at UFC 14.
Greatest Fights of UFC 13
- Guy Mezger vs. Tito Ortiz
- Vitor Belfort vs. Tank Abbott
- Enson Inoue vs. Royce Alger
- Randy Couture vs. Steven Graham
- Guy Mezger vs. Christophe Leininger
- Jack Nilson vs. Saeed Hosseini
- Randy Couture vs. Tony Halme
- Steven Graham vs. Dmitri Stepanov
- Tito Ortiz vs. Wes Albritton
Top Ten Fights Through UFC 13
- Royce Gracie vs. Kimo Leopoldo - UFC 3
- Don Frye vs. Tank Abbott - UU96
- Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn - UFC 4
- Royce Gracie vs. Keith Hackney - UFC 4
- Oleg Taktarov vs. Tank Abbott - UFC 6
- Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock - UFC 1
- Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn - UFC 6
- Marco Ruas vs. Paul Varelans - UFC 7
- Don Frye vs. Brian Johnston - UFC 10
- Ken Shamrock vs. Christophe Leininger - UFC 3
Greatest Fighters of UFC 13
- Randy Couture (2-0)
- Vitor Belfort (1-0)
- Guy Mezger (2-0)
- Enson Inoue (1-0)
- Jack Nilson (1-0)
- Tito Ortiz (1-1)
- Steven Graham (1-1)
- Tank Abbott (0-1)
- Royce Alger (0-1)
- Christophe Leininger (0-1)
- Saeed Hosseini (0-1)
- Dmitri Stepanov (0-1)
- Tony Halme (0-1)
- Wes Albritton (0-1)
Top Ten Fighters Through UFC 13
- Royce Gracie (11-1-1)
- Mark Coleman (6-0)
- Dan Severn (9-3)
- Ken Shamrock (6-2-2)
- Don Frye (9-1)
- Oleg Taktarov (6-2-1)
- Vitor Belfort (3-0)
- Marco Ruas (4-1)
- Guy Mezger (4-0)
- Jerry Bohlander (4-1)


text:
Paul K talks about how George Wilson could fit in the plans of the Titans or the Colts. Here is what Scout Inc. had to say about Wilson.
Wilson is a big, physical safety with excellent power. He bounced back from injury to have an excellent 2011 season. He lacks great speed and lateral burst to close in the open field and is most effective attacking the line of scrimmage. He anticipates well and maintains leverage best in combination zone coverages. Wilson has some limitations, but he brings toughness and attitude to the Bills' secondary.
Quote of the Day: "Hope is a waking dream." -Aristotle


text:
Video Teardown: Kinect & Fable: The Journey
Hello Friends!
For those who were into the Fable series or curious about the Kinect being used as a legitimate replacement for the game controller, I attempted to defend both in a review of Fable: The Journey. The more I played the game, the less I could defend the game per se. You'll see =D.


text:
Relates to requiring evening court hours for the adjudication of parking violations; requires that hearing examiner be available until 7:00 p.m. at least one evening each week.
Ayes (10): Dilan, Stavisky, Savino, Perkins, Squadron, Diaz, Aubertine, Foley, Lanza, Volker
Ayes W/R (7): Addabbo, Valesky, Johnson O, Nozzolio, Robach, Larkin, Young
Nays (2): Fuschillo, Libous
Ayes (58): Adams, Addabbo, Alesi, Aubertine, Bonacic, Breslin, DeFrancisco, Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Espada, Farley, Flanagan, Foley, Golden, Griffo, Hannon, Hassell-Thomps, Huntley, Johnson C, Johnson O, Klein, Krueger, Kruger, Lanza, Larkin, LaValle, Leibell, Libous, Little, Marcellino, Maziarz, McDonald, Montgomery, Nozzolio, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Padavan, Parker, Peralta, Perkins, Robach, Saland, Sampson, Savino, Schneiderman, Serrano, Seward, Smith, Squadron, Stachowski, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, Thompson, Valesky, Volker, Winner, Young
Nays (3): Fuschillo, Ranzenhofer, Skelos
Excused (1): Morahan
TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring evening court hours for parking violations
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL : To require evening court hours for parking violations.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS : Amends subdivision 2 of section 240 of the vehicle and traffic law adding a new paragraph h to provide for evening court hours for parking violations one night a week until 7:00 p.m. in the city of New York
JUSTIFICATION : Fines for parking violations have been increasing. This bill seeks to allow working people to contest parking tickets in person without having to take time off from work.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : This legislation was previously introduced.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE : This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5977 2009-2010 Regular Sessions IN SENATE June 19, 2009 ___________Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring evening court hours for parking violations THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 240 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new paragraph h to read as follows: H. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, RULE OR REGULATION, IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, ONE TRAFFIC VIOLATION BUREAU OFFICE, AT ITS PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS, SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE HEARING EXAMINERS TO CONDUCT HEARINGS UNTIL 7:00 P.M. ONE EVENING EACH WEEK. S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03973-05-9
Open Legislation comments facilitate discussion of New York State legislation. All comments are subject to moderation.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity or hate speech;
or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Comment moderation
is generally performed Monday through Friday.
By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.
This content is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0. Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available here.
The software and services provided under this site are offered under the BSD License and the GPL v3 License.


text:
Jackson Trade Falls Apart
Bill Williamson at espn.com reports that Jackson and his agents were in fact able to come to terms on a contract with a new team, and one they had permission to talk to. However, the trade fell apart because that team and the Chargers were unable to come to terms on trade compensation. Re-commence to blaming AJ Smith.


text:
- Mobile site
- E-Newsletters
- News feed
- Find us on Twitter
All the latest news and views from the Journal
- Find us on Facebook
Salisbury Journal
Like us on facebook
Success for Grovely riders (From Salisbury Journal)
If you have a story call our newsdesk on 01722 426511 or email us. To advertise call 01722 426500.
Success for Grovely riders
9:30am Wednesday 7th May 2014 in News By Morwenna Blake
YOUNG riders from Grovely Riding School in Wilton have competed in the British Horse Society National Riding School Championships, achieving fantastic results.
Six riders travelled to Warwickshire College along with five of Grovely's riding school horses and ponies to compete in show jumping, dressage and stable management tests.
Molly Parsons came first in the 12 and under category on Sooty, as well as Solenn Davis achieving a medal for best effort.
In the 13 to 17 years category Mirabel Green came second on Brodie, and Lilly King eighth on Marco. In the over 18s category, Lauren Safe achieved seventh place on Brodie.
As well as all the riders taking away prizes, their instructor Sam Stockley was the winning instructor in the 12 and under category and the whole team took away third prize in the team event.
The British Horse Society Riding School Championships is a national competition held annually at Warwickshire College.
Comments are closed on this article.


text:
Through case studies, surveys, and construction-cost analyses, the Cultural Policy Center report found that the museum building boom didn't bring the net benefit to communities predicted by the so-called Bilbao Effect. [...] Beyond the standard gentrification effect [...] supply may have outstripped demand over the course of the U.S. arts center building boom—leaving some cities with the responsibility to maintain or even pay for cultural centers that they don't entirely need. — citylab.com
In light of the recent conclusion of the Arts Pavilion Design Competition for Hong Kong's developing West Kowloon Cultural District, Dutch design practice XML shared their competition entry "A²" with us.
Although they were met with stiff competition and didn't place, their proposal is still worth knowing about. — bustler.net
Catch a glimpse of how XML would've designed the pavilion.Find more project details on Bustler. View full entry »
Development plans for Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) continue to grow with the recently concluded Arts Pavilion Design Competition, wherein the new waterfront pavilion will become the main exhibition space for the to-be-built M+ Museum. The new Arts Pavilion is set to be built by 2015. — bustler.net
The jury chose three prize winners out of 100 submissions:1st Prize: VPANG architects ltd + JET Architecture Inc + Lisa Cheung 2nd Prize: ROGERSPARTNERS and Arthur C. S. Kwok Architects & Associates 3rd Prize: Hestia & Vish LimitedSix honorable mentions were also selected: Matheson... View full entry »
The Strelka Institute for media, architecture and design announced on Dec. 12 the three finalists for the international competition to design the National Center for Contemporary Arts (NCCA) at the Khodynskoe Pole in Moscow. — bustler.net
UPDATE: Heneghan Peng wins Moscow's NCCA competitionOut of 10 teams in the second round of the competition, the jury selected 3 finalists:Heneghan Peng Architects (Ireland)Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (Spain):MEL (Russia): View full entry »
Architect Josep Lluís Mateo has now completed the final phase of the Castelo Branco Cultural Center in Portugal. Mateo first proposed the design, which won first prize, in an invited competition in 2000. The new Cultural Center in the historic town of Castelo Branco features an ice-skating rink, an exhibition space, and an auditorium — all integrated into one fluid structure. — bustler.net
Here's a few photos of the new Cultural Center: To see more, head over to Bustler. Photos by Adrià Goula. View full entry »
schmidt hammer lassen architects recently announced winning the competition to design the Vendsyssel Theater and Experience Center, a 4,200 m2 culture facility to be built in Hjørring, Denmark.
Along with the Danish firm, the winning interdisciplinary team included Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Brix & Kamp, ALECTIA, Gade & Mortensen Akustik, AIX Arkitekter, Filippa Berglund scenography, and LIW Planning. — bustler.net
Images courtesy of schmidt hammer lassen architects. View full entry »
Following a strong architectural language of repetition, movement, rhythm, and proportion the 'weeksville heritage center' designed by American firm caples jefferson architects PC serves as a gateway to a 19th century african-american freedman's settlement. the sustainably built complex is located in brooklyn, new york and features a new two-story, 23,000 sq ft building and 41,000 sq ft of landscape that redefines the site's context. — designboom.com
Weeksville Heritage Center is a new sustainable cultural center designed by Caples Jefferson Architects PC. It is a two-story, 23,000 sq ft new building and 41,000 sq ft interpretive landscape, located at the intersection of Buffalo Avenue and Bergen Street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of... View full entry »
Steven Holl Architects has been chosen to design the Qingdao City Culture and Art Center after a unanimous jury decision. Other big-name contenders for the winning spot included OMA and Zaha Hadid Architects.
As part of an extension project in Qingdao, the new design will be 2 million sq. feet consisting of four art museums located in the heart of the city. — bustler.net
French firm A+ Architecture has just been announced as the first-prize winner of the "Scène Campagne" competition. Led by the Communauté de Communes de Valcézard, A+ Architecture's winning proposal will soon be realized into a new cultural, economical, and social facility for the countryside village of Cornillon in Southern France. — bustler.net
The highly popular Taichung City Cultural Center International Competition in Taiwan just announced its much anticipated list of winners, and it's the Pritzker Prize-winning team of Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA with local partner Ricky Liu & Associates to snatch the top honors. — bustler.net
SANAA's winning ensemble of playfully arranged white, translucent boxes beat out designs by the four other recently shortlisted teams including Peter Eisenman Architects, Jean-loup Baldacci, MASS STUDIES and Stücheli Architekten. Click here to see more News posts about the Taichung City Cultural... View full entry »
Here's another entry to the recent Taichung City Cultural Center competition in Taiwan (previously on Bustler). This submission was designed by Southern Californian firm Patrick Tighe Architecture, currently featured at MOCA's exhibition A New Sculpturalism, Contemporary Architecture from Southern California. — bustler.net
We keep receiving a steady stream of design entries to the Taichung City Cultural Center competition in Taiwan [...], some of which we have already been able to publish. Today's entry was designed by LA-based studio Tom Wiscombe Design. — bustler.net
French firms OXO architects and Nicolas Laisné Architecte Urbaniste have sent us "TCC Garden," the team's joint entry to the Taichung City Cultural Center competition in Taiwan — bustler.net
New York-based practice H Architecture has shared with us its submission to the recent Sejong Art Center competition for the design of a cultural center for the planned city of Sejong in South Korea. The entry was a collaborative effort with Haeahn Architecture from Seoul. — bustler.net
Since announcing the five shortlisted finalists to Taiwan's Taichung City Cultural Center competition last week, we have been receiving a steady stream of further competition entries from around the world. Here's one from Moscow-based firm Architecton which moves the "Gate" metaphor to the core of its design concept. — bustler.net
Current tag:
SUBMIT NEWS: submit in 60 seconds!


text:
Arron Afflalo or J.R. Smith...Simply put, I'm afraid we made the wrong choice. Try and prove me wrong, I dare you fellow stiffs! Granted I have a penchant for all things J.R. and while he was a pain in our neck I will always feel like J.R. was the kid trying to show he belonged when George would never give him a chance.
There is no question that AAA is a integral piece to the Nuggets future. He is a tenacious defender, he has a proclivity for on-ball defense, and he relishes the challenge of taking on the opposing teams top scorer. Much like Dahntay Jones did in our much-heralded season, he takes on the role of the hard nosed guard willing to chase, scrape, and contest his way to victory. However there is a black hole in his game, a gaping void of consistent scoring that he has NEVER proven he can muster when the going gets tough (save for one Mavericks game when C.A. fouled out a play earlier).
The point I wish to make is that AAA's game is strictly complimentary. Considering the money we paid him and the minutes we plan to give him when he is healthy/productive (30-35 a game) I feel we made a poor decision. Strictly speaking we need a scorer on the court. Or at the very least an efficient scorer on the wing who doesn't shoot much. Bottom line...(and I'm tired of excuses, my own included) Arron Afflalo has not and I believe CANNOT live up to his perceived expectations.
Listen I've sat here in the down-trodden city of Portland and watched Wesley Matthews be flaunted as the answer to B. Roy or the future 2 of the Blazers and frankly I can't help but seeing the similarities between AAA and Wes. Both are expected to shoot efficiently, defend well, and score, despite the fact that each of their offensive skill sets is boiled down to corner threes and uncontested jump shots. Frankly, they have both been found lacking.
This brings up good old J.R. (Our most hated-favorite Nugget possibly ever). Let's compare career stats shall we considering MPG has been roughly the same throughout both of their stints in the NBA. AAA, in 22.9 MPG averages 7.6 points @ 46%, 41% from deep, 2.5 rebs, 1.5 ass. Now J.R, in 23.9 MPG averages 12.5 points @ 43%, 39% from deep, 2.8 rebs, 2 ass. J.R. My point...It is my opinion that we need a scorer who can create his own shot when we need it. We do not need an 8 millions plus player camping in the corner and looking like Julius Hodge every time he tries to drive to the hole. I recognize that Gallo could very well become this person but for now I pine for the days when J.R. could come in and take over games off the bench.
Hindsight being 20-20 let's imagine if he would have been allowed to start in his tenure. How much more confidence would he have had? How much less would he have felt he had to prove coming off the bench each game? Could he have been better? (Not such a knucklehead at times). It is fun to muse about the prospect of J.R. integrated into the great team we have here. Much like Melo I think he gets a bad rap as a ball hog-stopper and a me first guy but I always saw the potential in him. Not to mention it was hard not to see George's reins affixed firmly about his neck every time he came out onto the floor.
I didn't write this to rile anyone up. I wrote it for two reasons. One, I feel we need a scorer who can create his own shot (if he can close, it's a bonus). Two, AAA is simply not close to living up to our expectations and is looking like more of a compliment to our roster than a starter.
For all of those fanposts and opinions which espouse the virtues of team play. I'm sorry but any cursory glance at past NBA seasons will tell you you need a cut-throat scorer to take you through the finals. Yes, despite what Karl thinks about this young, talented team we need a star. Let's hope that Gallo can step it up. Who knows maybe Masai has something in his back pocket before the trade deadline. Let's not let this talent go to waste Nuggets nation! Complete the puzzle! Bring home the Larry O' Brien before we all wither and die damnit!!! Go Nuggets!
P.S. I just want to say that AAA is one of my favorite Nuggets. I've simply been at a loss though when watching him on the court recently. I don't mean want to start a get rid of AAA campaign.


text:
With all SIT programs, students finish classes earlier in the semester and have an entire month to select an independent study project (ISP). My ISP period began this past week and I've decided to study the differences in oral health between rural and urban regions. After looking over ISPs from previous years, I was shocked to learn that no one has ever studies oral health (salud bucal) through this program. I'm really looking forward to the next month because a big component of my project is studying the preventative health programs offered by public health centers and going with dentists to schools to give free care and teach about oral health. The dentists drive around this truck called "Móvil Dental" which has one operating seat in it and put fluoride on children's teeth (those who don't have cavities). Those who do have cavities take a form home to their parents to sign and the following day, the dentist drills out the cavity the and seals the hole. Currently in Chile, all citizens have a right to free dental care at ages 2, 4, 6, 12, and 60. But what happens to everyone else? Dental health is one of the most expensive medical services in Chile and combined with the poor nutrition of most Chileans has lead to almost 100% of the adult population having cavities. I am interested in seeing what I discover about the differencesbetween rural and urban locations over the next month.
In addition to having the entire month to only focus on research, I also decided to move out of my host family's house and into a new apartment with 3 of my girlfriends from the program. I'm excited to be living more independently because I now have the opportunity to eat healthier and don't have to feel like a guest all the time. I did enjoy my time with my host family and found that it was a better way of improving my spanish than courses, but I definitely prefer my independence. A $1 taxi ride away from our apartment is the AGRO or huge farmers market of Arica. I cannot believe how many different types of fresh vegetables and fruits they have available (and for SUPER CHEAP). Definitely the best mangos, kiwis and chirimoya I've eaten in my life.


text: New stories Upcoming Incoming 0° Bigger & Better Than Ever | Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Gamer Attitude Review 5m ago - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair improves on the first in every way possible. | PS Vita Comments (0) Source 9/10 gamerattitude... 0° Divinity: Original Sin Review - Zero1Gaming 5m ago - Trent Cannon from Zero1Gaming.com takes a look at what has made Divinity: Original Sin one of thi... | PC Comments (0) Source - zero1gaming.com 0° Dodging Saw Blades On A Touchscreen In Super Meat Boy Forever 15m ago - One of the nice things about being entirely independent is you can work on whatever you want when... | iPhone Comments (0) Source 0° Wipeout 2 (iOS/Android version) - The Ultimate Tips, Cheats and Strategy Guide 28m ago - WP - "Wipeout 2 is Activision and The Future Games of London's latest release for the iOS, Androi... | iPhone Comments (0) Source Ad Need Cash? (US Only) Now - How would it feel to have your money struggles solved by this time tomorrow? We give fast loans from $100-$10,000+, and repayment terms up to 60 mo... | Promoted post Read More SiteBot 0° Murasaki Baby Announced for Japan 31m ago - The developers of Murasaki Baby has officially announced a Japanese release date (September 25, 2... | PS Vita Comments (0) Source


text:
It talks about his visit to rookie orientation, his recuperation from surgery, and the expectations for next season--mainly a human interest story. The article speaks very highly of Roy and Aldridge. There are some new quotes from Nate and Greg, presumably given to the interviewer who wrote the article. There is a hilarious photo of Greg wrapped in a chair, while seated beside him is a row of what can only be described as hobbits by comparison. The guy looks like he is practically a different species.
To read the article, you will need an account with the New York Times if you don't already have one. This is a no cost membership, but the NY Times requires you to sign up to read their paper.
The URL is http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/basketball/index.html. Enjoy


text:
Do you have children aged 5-11? This October, during half-term we are running
a Holiday Bible Club in the Chapel next to Cafe207.
Please email us to register your child(ren) and find out more information.
We have recently started brigades on Tuesday evenings for 5-7 and 8-11 year olds. Please see our brigades page for more details.
C@fé 207 is open Monday to Friday mornings from 8.30-12.30, and is located at 207 Trinity Road, London, SW17 7HW (next to the playing fields).
For more information contact: email@example.com or telephone 07852 250 996.
How to find us: We're located in Wandsworth Common, between Earlsfield, Clapham, Balham and Tooting in south west London. This puts us in easy reach of the SW17 and SW18 postcode areas and we regularly have visitors from Wimbledon, Furzedown, Streatham, Southfields, etc.


text:
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- Hennes & Mauritz same store sales fall in March — statement. Read more
It's obviously coincidental, but isn't it funny how often management change follows an unpopular cash call?
It happened at Reed Elsevier, then Rexam and now Ladbrokes, which you may recall launched an unpopular £275m rights issue in October. Read more
Ladbrokes, the UK bookmaker, will on Tuesday announce it is seeking a new chief executive after Chris Bell decided he would step down this summer. Bell's decision will come as a surprise to the leisure industry, although several analysts have been notably more favourable towards Ladbrokes' key rival, William Hill. The vacancy comes eight months after Peter Erskine, former chairman and CEO of O2, took over as chairman. Insiders said Bell had raised the subject of his succession shortly after Erskine took the chairmanship
The results of the latest MSCI reshuffle are out and they are already having an impact on stock prices.
As was widely rumoured, Ladbrokes has been removed from the MSCI World index, along with upmarket housebuilder Berkeley. Traders say this will trigger selling equivalent to 4.6 days average trading volume in Ladbrokes and 10 days in Berkeley. Read more
A collapse in Q3 profits combined with receding prospects of renewing lending facilities on keen terms prompted UK bookmaker Ladbrokes to launch a heavily discounted £275m cash call. Chris Bell, chief executive, said a more difficult trading environment among other issues meant it would be "prudent" for Ladbrokes to reduce its £962m debt pile ahead of refinancing talks next year with the group's lenders at RBS and Deutsche Bank.
Markit's Gavan Nolan wrote this CDS report
European credit indices resumed their rally after yesterday's brief hiatus. But the spread tightening was modest compared to movements earlier this week, and the rally in both credit and equity markets lost momentum in the afternoon. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was trading around 92bp, marginally tighter than yesterday's close. The Markit iTraxx HiVol index was stronger at 155bp, around 2.5bp tighter, while the Markit iTraxx Crossover was 2.5bp tighter at 568bp.
US aluminium company Alcoa provided the impetus for the rally, which was more pronounced among single names. The firm announced a surprise profit after the close yesterday, giving investors hope that the third-quarter earnings season will support current valuations. Unsurprisingly, mining credits led the market tighter, with Xstrata and Anglo American among the best performers. Other cyclical credits, such as autos and retail, also enjoyed strong sessions. Read more
Ladbrokes is set to become the latest company in the UK leisure sector to tap shareholders for cash with the launch of a £300m rights issue on Thursday. The leading UK bookmaker was on Wednesday night finalising details of the cash call, which is expected to be priced at a 35-40% discount to Wednesday's closing price of 181p. The move comes just seven months after rival William Hill launched a £350m rights issue and follows a spate of fundraising in the pub sector.
Rumours had been circulating in the late London afternoon, but Neil Hume and other FT colleagues are now pretty sure that we can expect a £300m rights issue from Ladbrokes on Wednesday morning.
Apparently, this is some sort of keeping-up-with-the-joneses, balance sheet-wise. That, or some big punters have been getting very lucky just recently. Read more
Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based British billionaire who recently paid $860m for a 7% stake in Bear Stearns, is the mystery buyer behind a near-7% stake in Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest bookmaker, reports The Times. Speculation about the identity of the buyer was triggered by Citigroup's disclosure that it was holding shares as "contracts for difference" on behalf of one of its clients.
Ladbrokes, the leading British bookmaker, has ditched plans to break into the UK casino market in a blow for government plans to issue 16 new casino licenes to local authorities. James Purnell, the UK's culture minister, is expected to announce in the next few weeks the formal burial of the proposed supercasino in Manchester, north-west England. But he will give the go-ahead for the eight large and eight small casinos that remain from the wreckage of the government's much-derided casino expansion policy. Ladbrokes, however, will not be among the bidders to run them, and its decision raises doubts about whether any other leading gaming operator will bid for the new casinos.
Betting on horseracing has been in decline for the past couple of years, Ladbrokes' chief executive said on Thursday, as poor over-the-counter sales prompted a 9.4% slide in the bookmaker's share price. Chris Bell said the company's shift towards a younger football-loving customer reflected waning interest in horseracing bets. Ladbrokes shares suffered one of their worst one-day falls since its separation from Hilton after a trading update revealed a 5% drop in over-the-counter sales, which were affected by race meeting cancellations and winning runs from the English and Scottish Premier League's most heavily backed clubs.
The upbeat mood in the European credit derivatives markets quickly disappeared on Thursday morning, with indices moving slightly wider from opening levels.
The iTraxx Crossover index of junk-rated credits opened tighter at 195.5 basis points, but moved to 197bp by late morning, meaning that it costs €197,000 a year to insure €10m of a basket of junk names over five years. Read more
Talks went on for a while — the thick end of six months, in fact. But a statement from online gambling group 888 Holdings on Monday said itself and Ladbrokes had "amicably agreed" to discontinue takeover discussions. Ladbrokes put its own statement out, confirming from its side that the "parties have amicably agreed to discontinue talks."
Clearly, there is relief on both sides. Read more
Just ahead of this weekend's Grand National steeplechase, a group backed by leading racecourses including Ascot, Aintree and Newmarket has complained to competition authorities about a "stranglehold" on live horseracing coverage in the betting shops of leading bookmakers. Their complaint could prompt an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into alleged anti-competitive behaviour by Ladbrokes and William Hill, the UK's largest bookmakers. The racecourses are themselves shareholders in a new racing television feed.
The two remaining pools businesses in the UK are set to become one. Sportech, owner of Littlewoods pools, announced it was in exclusive talks with Ladbrokes to buy its Vernons Pools business. Pools business has suffered from competition from the National Lottery and other gaming products. But in spite of a slump in the number of people playing football pools, hundreds of thousands of people still do. Meanwhile, operators have tried to migrate players to the internet.


text:
By Jade Bulecza - bio | email BERRIEN COUNTY, GA (WALB) –Chances are in South Georgia you've been through a corn maze but what about a cane maze?
It's something one Berrien County farmer always wanted to create through his sugar cane patch.
You can put try to find your way through it in the day time or wait until night. Kids also get a learning experience and get to try the cane in it's purest form.
A Berrien County farmer has a new take on corn mazes.
"It seems like it would hold up better for people to go through, a longer period of time without falling over or turning brown," said Hansel Morris. "It stays more green I guess you'd say.
Hansel Morris developed Amaze-N-Cane.
It's a few miles south of Nashville on the old Valdosta Highway.
Morris and his family designed the maze. The sugar cane on his farm covers seven acres.
It'll take you about 20 minutes to get through this maze and that's if you don't get lost.
Kids also get an educational opportunity. They learn about turning cane into sugar and syrup and everyday products made from the pulp like jeans and newspaper.
The Morris family has been farming since the 1930's and for the last 20 years Hansel Ray has been growing the cane.
"He has all these memories of his grandfather sitting around the fire place chewing a piece of cane that was their candy their treat they had," said Morris' daughter Melanie Ray.
Kids also get to taste the cane in it's natural state. There's a mini maze for the little ones and a marshmellow roast.
"The young folks enjoy it," said Morris. "They like to be scared. I think the teens want to have a haunted can maze one night during a full moon."
The cane maze has been open for about a week. If you're in for a halloween treat, you can wander through something sweet.
This is the first year Hansel Morris put on his Amaze-N-Cane. For more information call (229) 543-1063.
©2010 WALB News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Feedback
P.O. Box 3130
Albany, GA 31706
(229) 446-1010
FCC Public File
(229) 446-4005
EEO Report
Closed Captioning