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The essence of wine snobbery
Some people give the rest of us a bad name. I'm talking about the "young men" who acted like idiots in full public view and who insulted the waiter when they held a "blind tasting" at a Chicago restaurant, Mastro's Steak House, where they did everything that diners can possibly do wrong.
You have to feel some sympathy for that waiter, Cory Warfield, who reported the anecdote yesterday on his The Wine Guy blog.
Cory seems like a decent, funny, friendly guy who's come up through the ranks (doorman, barback, DJ, "unofficial sommelier" at Ruth's Chris Chicago, website owner at The Swirler), but he does have a temper, and uses his blog to vent when the venting is justified. As it certainly seems to have been in this case. Briefly, eight guys in their 40s who referred to themselves as "young men" (lol) had a wine tasting at Mastro's, with Cory as their waiter. With no prior warning to the restaurant, they arrived with their bottles, demanded 72 glasses, and proceeded to act "very rude to me, pretentious (they were all trying to 'one-up' each other with fabricated stories, many of which included strip-clubs or celebrities.. whatever), and [were] fairly clueless in general…[telling] stories…about drinking Romanee Conti out of styrofoam cups in exclusive cellars making celebrities wait outside in the cold, and bragging about how they have the 'ultimate hook-up' [at] Alinea [restaurant]."
To add insult to injury, they were lousy tippers.
We all know, or have seen or been suffered to experience, people like the "young men." If Cory is to be believed–and his blog rings absolutely true–they are the quintessential examples of wine snobbery, people so concerned with one-upsmanship, with gratifying their own egos by puffing themselves up, that they make everyone else around them uncomfortable.
Poor Cory did his best. Despite their unconscionable and unreasonable behavior, "I made it happen," he relates, setting up the 72 glasses at a moment's notice and getting the wine "poured evenly in front of each setting within twenty minutes…". The "young men" no doubt didn't have the slightest idea that Cory was secretly fuming, because he had the professional decorum not to show his true feelings. But he was able to relieve himself in his blog, which eerily comes just days after I blogged my own post, "When the critic rants: a defense." This was Cory's turn to vent, and he did it with grace and good humor.
Wine lovers, please monitor your public behavior. A few rules of the road:
Rule No. 1: If you're going to ask for an unusual glass set-up at a restaurant, have the courtesy to call them earlier and make sure it's okay and that they're prepared for it.
Rule No. 2: When you're dining out, please don't brag about your Romanée-Conti exploits, your run-ins with celebrities, your connections at the best restaurants, in voices loud enough for anyone to hear you except the person you're trying to impress. It's rude and nasty, almost as objectionable as talking on a cell phone, and takes away from your neighbors' pleasure.
Rule No. 3: If you bring your own wine, as the "young men" did, don't use this as an excuse to leave a cheap tip.
Rule No. 4: Don't treat your waiter like a slave. Be polite to him or her–offer tastes of the special wines you're drinking–be considerate of that person's feelings. That's a human being you're ordering about, not a robot. Overcome your own ego to treat others the way you would have others treat you.
Let's Play Somm!
Back from Party in the Hangar, the big Monterey County Growers and Vintners Association's annual event, where I moderated a couple of public tastings. On Saturday night, one of the best restaurants on the Peninsula, Aubergine, invited me to dine there, an offer I couldn't resist despite a very full belly, so I walked the few blocks from my hotel (in total darkness. Question to Carmel-by-the-Sea: Can you not afford streetlights?), where I was greeted by a staff impeccably groomed and friendly. I ordered the four-course menu, with matching wines, and of course the waitstaff brought over plenty of amuses-bouches.
We began with mousse of white corn, mixed with mussel frost, fried mussel and basil, paired with a 2010 Selbach Riesling Spatlese, from the Mosel. The mousse was delicious, sweet and creamy, with little kernals of corn providing a pleasant crunchiness. I'm not sure the occasional lumps of sherbert helped or hurt; at any rate, they seemed unnecessarily fussy, but the drizzle of Ossetra caviar certainly was richly welcoming. The slightly-sweet Riesling perfectly hedged the sweet, spicy and salty elements of the dish.
Next came Maine diver scallops, with umeboshi, sea lettuce and alba mushrooms, paired with a 2004 Vina Valoria Crianza, a white Rioja. Right off the bat I could smell that the wine was oxidized, almost fino-like. Too old. Yet that was precisely the choice of sommelier Marin Nadalin, as my server explained. All right, I thought: this wine, in and of itself, would not have gotten a good score from me, but it's my philosophy in fine restaurants to place myself in the hands of the sommelier. So, even though I initially recoiled from the wine, I emptied my mind of all preconceptions and decided to allow this creative pairing to dazzle me. It was, I figured, a bold, controversial choice. The wine and scallops didn't exactly clash–there was no overt incompatibility–but rather, I inferred, it was a sommelier statement that the traditional pairing of wine and food–like with like–need, in the most creative instances, be disregarded, in favor of higher values–values that, perhaps, require greater openness on the diner's part. So I lingered long over that course, and thought hard about it.
The wine would not have been my first choice. Old, after all, is old, although when it comes to old white wines, there's a fantastic range of preference on the part of wine lovers, and perhaps old white Rioja is an acquired taste. But surely, I thought, there have to be other wines that would pair better. When my server asked what I thought, I told her I could see what Marin was trying to do, but nonetheless…she asked if I could think of a better pairing. I said, "Since Marin has determined that an oxidized wine is best for this dish, maybe a Manzanilla or fino sherry might be better." That is, oxidized and fresh, instead of oxidized an old. She smiled and returned with a Manzanilla (Aurora) and another serving of the same dish. The sherry was punchier and more alcoholic, of course, than the Rioja, and perhaps too strong for the dish's subtleties; but there was a case to be made for it, and I could see a daring sommelier convincingly selling it. Yet neither the sherry nor the Rioja quite worked. I would have next wanted to try something else–a Sancerre, maybe, or an off-dry Riesling–but the next course was beckoning, and we couldn't play that "Let's try something else" game all night.
I would love to have the experience, though, of having my pick of dozens of wines to pair with that particular dish. The sommelier, in theory, does have that opportunity, but in practice he has to make a decision, and it is based on what he has available in his cellar. He may change his preferred pairing at any time, of course, if he comes across something more suitable.
On a larger spectrum, though, is what I wrote about earlier this month, on my piece about sommeliers, when I asked, "Anyhow, how hard can it be to come up with a satisfying food and wine pairing?" Not very, in my opinion. Yes, we have those classic pairings (foie gras with Sauternes, Bordeaux with roast beef, Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese, sherry with consommé) and they are do work; but with these new plates of extremely complicated foods, where sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami all find themselves working in perfectly tense tandem, the art of pairing becomes considerably less precise, and the somm has far greater latitude. I wonder how much the sommelier's enthusiasm and belief in the pairing influences the diners' experience of the pairing, along the lines of "If our sommelier says this is an excellent pairing, then it must be." And then, maybe there are no more perfect pairings. Our foods are not as direct, linear, simple as they used to be, back in centuries past. We have access to the world's pantry: anything can go with anything else, across transnational boundaries. Because of that, these foods are more accepting of the wines to drink with them: one wine may bond with this element, another that that element, a third provide contrast, a fourth similarity. The point, I guess, is to get the diner to think.
When the critic rants: a defense
The San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant critic, Michael Bauer, got some heat from his readers in the "comments" section of his blog yesterday after he [Michael] trash-talked a restaurant for selling him a bad bottle of wine at an inflated price.
The wine was a Portuguese rosé that Michael paid $30 for. "I suspect[ed] the bottle was corked," Michael wrote, explaining that he didn't return it because, as the most famous restaurant critic in Northern California, he didn't want to draw attention to himself.
It wasn't just the bad wine that irked him, it was the service. Waitstaff didn't even put wine glasses on the table, only "small drinking glasses." Moreover, "The staff didn't seem to know anything about wine." (It should be noted that the restaurant, Mau, is a Vietnamese restaurant, in the red-hot Valencia Corridor of the city's Mission District, so maybe you have to cut them some slack.) As for the $30 tab, Michael had a friend do some calculating and determined that the restaurant paid about $6.90 a bottle, meaning they marked it up more than four times, which he called "gouging."
Michael was clearly irked and in ranting mode, and some readers called him out on it. One wrote, "Here is a simple solution Bauer, if you don't like the pricing at a restuarant DON"T eat there." Another: "There's a simple solution to this. Stop wining." And: "There are people homeless in New Jersey and Staten Island and this guy is fuming over a bottle of Rose instead?" and: "This just goes to show that Bauer either has never worked the books at a restaurant or is bad at writing." And: "O cry me a river. As a poster mentioned earlier, we don't see anybody publishing articles about the mark up of popcorn in a movie theater." And: "You suspected the wine was corked but didn't send it back? I don't see how being a reviewer affects the correct behavior in this case." And: "If you are worried about saving money get a case of cheap Zin at Trader Joes and order a pizza to eat at home."
Okay, so maybe Michael brought some of this snarkiness on himself. He was in a bad mood, he was venting, and this wasn't his printed column in the newspaper, it was his blog, where immediacy and emotional transparency come easier and are more appropriate to the medium than in a print publication. But let me tell you, as a critic myself, sometimes you need to rant, and I'll explain why.
It wasn't just Michael's experience at Mau that so distressed him. He's had that same experience scores, if not hundreds of times, over many years, at many restaurants. Mau just tipped him over the edge. It happens. You see a dereliction of duty and, recalling too many such, you lose your temper and let 'er rip. Now, you can argue that a critic should always be evenly-tempered and sweet in disposition, and you might be theoretically correct, but that's not reality. Critics have very high standards of ethical behavior–Michael for restaurants, me for wineries. We bring that high moral code to the industries we report on, and even though we know we're supposed to remain balanced, sometimes the violations just get to you. You think, These people are idiots. They don't deserve to be in business! You want and need to get it out of your system–to cleanse yourself–to rant.
As for the snarky comments, I get a lot of those myself, as some of my readers know. They don't bother me, as I'm sure Michael isn't bothered, either. Both of us know, before we hit that "publish" button, that we're going to get snark, and the stronger we feel about something, the more snark we get. It goes with the territory. But intensity, two-way communication, passion, opinionating, strong expression of feeling, even snark–they're all part of the blogging experience. I'm glad. Readers have been used to being on the receiving end of a one-way communication for a long time, and now that they have the ability to respond, they take full advantage of it.
The somm: now more than ever, or endangered species?
Eric Asimov's retelling of the sommelier-customer experience in a restaurant (the somm "stands between us and humiliation" and inspires "doubt and dread…to make cowards of us all") was written with the tongue-in-cheek style he's known for. In lesser hands this language would be hyperbolic bloviation, a bad writer's attempt at columnistic color. In Eric's keen control, it exists on some meta level of shared irony.
On to what I take to be his main points: "Sommeliers can be your best friends" and "No guests want to appear cheap…". I think of a sommelier (or wine director, or whoever is the most knowledgeable wine person on the floor) as someone of potential use in an expensive restaurant. In the affordable ethnic restaurants I eat at a lot–Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican, soul food–you don't need anyone to help you, nor would you get much help if you asked, nor is the "wine list" (such as it is) worth considering. Beer, from the country whose cuisine the restaurant prepares, is the ticket.
But at what I call the white tablecloth dining experience (although white tablecloths seem to have gone out of style in all but the snootiest French places, replaced by zinc, steel, natural stone, wood or even marble) it's a different story. You generally want a nice wine. But, as we all know, the wine list can be daunting. Eric is entirely correct when he tells people to be upfront with the somm and tell him what kind of wine you like and how much you're prepared to pay. That leads to Eric's second main point: No one wants to appear cheap.
Isn't it a funny aspect of human personality that this is so? It has to do with our peculiar attitudes toward money. We like money, but we're secretive about how much we actually have, even, sometimes, with our friends and relatives. Does anyone know how much you actually make a year? Maybe your accountant and your spouse. Part of human nature is to want to be seen as happy to spend money, even if we're not. It's not that people don't want to appear to be cheap, it's more that they want to appear to be nonchalant about spending. It somehow seems big-natured. It's churlish to be seen as overly concerned about spending; it makes the person seem materialistic and shallow–or so the argument goes. So even someone who's pressed for money may find himself shelling out more than he's comfortable with on a bottle of wine, especially if he thinks he has to impress the people he's with.
Should a good sommelier–which is to say, not just one in charge of her list, but one who's also sensitive to human needs and emotions–be able to pick up on such psychological nuances? I'd argue yes, but I've never been a somm, and anyway, the pressure to upsell the customer has always to be there. My favorite type of upscale restaurant is one with a small wine list, not the gargantuan Manhattan telephone book doorstoppers that win wine list awards. I enjoy browsing through those monsters, because I like seeing the names and regions and prices. But, far from those lists being helpful to me, they're actually a turnoff–and they make me feel that even the best sommelier can't be aware of every bottle and how it goes with every item on the menu. I actually breathe a sigh of relief when I go to a restaurant that has 20 or 30 good wines on the list: a bubbly, a rosé or two, a few lighter-boded reds, full-bodied reds, crisp, dry whites, light, floral, off-dry whites, and something white and oaky. Makes me think more highly of the proprietor–that he gave careful thought to choosing a handful of perfect wines for his food, instead of throwing everything on there including the kitchen sink.
I've always thought that we make too much of the wine-and-food pairing thing anyway. Too fussy, precious and pretentious. I remember an event, years ago, at Fetzer, when the Fetzer family still owned it. They had (and maybe still have) a fabulous organic garden outside of Hopland, up in Mendocino County, and their farmer was growing a bunch of different basils. We had a tasting: the object was to determine which of a range of Zinfandels went best with each kind of basil. It was fun, but I thought that if a home cook had to go through this whole megillah every time she entertained, she'd go nuts.
If you want to make a tomato sauce with basil and drink Zinfandel with it, does it really matter if the basil is purple or green, licoricey or sweet, lemony or cinnamonny? I'm a pretty zealous home cook and, like most of you, I enjoy putting together fairly complex dishes and then pairing them with wines I think will go with them. But at some point, this whole thing hits the tipping point, because after the first sip, hopefully you and your guests will forget about the dilettante aspects of pairing and get down to the serious business of enjoying the food, wine and conversation.
Anyhow, how hard can it be to come up with a satisfying food and wine pairing? Marilyn came to dinner yesterday and for an appetizer had I planned a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad, to take advantage of the last of the season's Heirlooms. Then I realized I didn't know what to drink with it, so I asked my Facebook friends. I got scores of suggestions: Champagne, Sardinian Vermentino, Chianti Classico, Barbera d'Asti, Gavi di Gavi, a Czech or German Pilsner, Chardonnay both oaked and unoaked, Bandol rosé, Gruner Veltliner, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, vodka. I bet any of those would be a pretty good pairing with that salad. After all, my Facebook friends, like my blog readers, are some of the most food savvy people in the world. They may not have "M.S." after their names, but they know what tastes good with what.
So what did I have with the salad? Nothing! Before Marilyn came, I suddenly became ravenous for–you guessed it–mozzarella, raided the fridge and ate the entire container. So potstickers had to substitute for the salad, and with them we enjoyed Deschutes Inversion IPA which was really good.
The future of the sommelier, in my opinion, is to evolve into more of an all-service floor guide for the wine, beer, spirits and food, rather than a wine-oriented specialist. Sort of a maitre d'. Someone who can converse about everything concerning the dining experience: the restaurant's architecture and interior design, history, philosophy, and the cultural matrix in which the Chef's cuisine exists. It would be much more comfortable to interact with that person than with someone who made you uncomfortable.
The closure wars: a report from the front lines
I don't often wander into the area of bottle closures, which aside from one's personal preferences involves vastly complex issues of wine chemistry, engineering, physics and so forth. I'm on record as having said only a few things about closures: I hate those plastic, injection-molded "corks" that are difficult to pull out and then swell up so that you can't reinsert them. I extra hate that hard plastic capsule that's supposed to be "wax" but requires a chisel to remove (and at some risk to the health of one's hand). I have nothing for or against natural corks, except when they're tainted. And screwtops don't bother me in the least.
Beyond that, the whole closure thing has been MEGO for me. Obviously, though, for the wine industry, it's a major preoccupation.
I was invited to lunch (at Pican, Oakland's prime source of cholesterol) by two folks from Nomacorc, a North Carolina-based company that makes a polyethylene "cork." The only reason I accepted was because I realized I needed to know more about this world of closures. So here's what I learned. This is in no way a product endorsement of Nomacorc.
The firm began in 1999. Nomacorc currently stoppers 45% of all U.S. bottled wines, selling 700 million stoppers annually in this country. This is mainly due to their success with brands like Gnarly Head, Kendall-Jackson, Ravenswood, Robert Mondavi Private Selection and Woodbridge, Clos du Bois and other widely distributed brands. These brands at first was hesitant to embrace a non-cork stopper, but once a "critical mass" was reached, it made it easier for others to buy Nomacorc. ("If K-J is using it, I guess we can, too.")
My hosts were Katie Myers, a P.R. manager from New York, and Mark Coleman, a sales manager from Sonoma. Their job, of course, was to persuade me of Nomacorc's superior qualities. We all know that natural cork has its problems. The taint rate, while lower than it used to be, still occurs with regularity, sometimes in expensive bottles. Screwtops have their own challenges: namely, oxidative and reductive wines. Katie told me (I can't vouch for it) that even in screwtop-crazy Australia, producers are having second thoughts, and are looking to alternatives like Nomacorc, which claims to have made huge advances in "oxygen management."
Both Katie and Mark explained that Nomacorc now produces stoppers with four different OTRs (oxygen transfer rates), meaning that each type allows a different amount of oxygen to get into the bottle over time–a constant rate that can be measured, as opposed to the inconstant transfer rate of corks, no two of which are alike since it's a natural product. Since whites are less tolerant of oxygen, a producer might prefer a Nomacorc with a lower OTR, whereas reds, which can benefit from a little oxygen, might do better with a higher OTR. (Screwtops, of course, allow no oxygen in or out.)
But it's not that simple, as a tasting showed. We had two Hungarian Sauvignon Blancs. Both were identical, made the same way, and bottled at the same time. The only difference was the OTR of their Nomacorks. My hosts asked me to try them both and say what I thought. Wine #1 was fresh, clean and fruity; I liked it. Wine #2 was darker, heavier, softer, more honeyed. It did not strike me as quite fresh. When I told them my results, they smiled. Wine #1 used a Nomacorc with a lower OTR.
I personally didn't care for wine #2, but I could see how somebody else might prefer it. Mark explained that a producer might bottle a single wine with two different Nomacorcs, for shipment to different markets. The Chinese palate, for example, might prefer the softer, heavier wine #2, whereas an American palate might prefer #1.
I asked Katie and Mark the biggest problems they run into in persuading producers to use Nomacork, and they replied "legacy problems" and "the perception issue." The latter is that so many people perceive anything but a natural cork as cheap and inferior. The former refers to the fact that plastic closures have had a dreadful time in the States, and despite quality improvements (in things like ease of extraction and reinsertion), people still remember the problems of old. In our conversation there inevitably arose the topic of marketing. Marketing and sales managers are notorious for being frightened of change and innovation. Even if a winemaker, fed up with natural cork, wants to shift to, say, Nomacorc, a marketing or sales person might forbid it, on the grounds the wine would no longer be sellable because of "the perception problem." Katie in particular smiled as she explained that a large part of her job is persuading such managers to overcome their doubts; as Mark put it, "Marketing is scared of their own shadow."
I don't have a horse in this race. I don't care how a winery closes its wines, as long as my peeves outlined in the first paragraph are satisfied. But I came away from my lunch at Pican more aware of how complicated the world of closures is, and how irrational consumer attitudes can be. I also came away stuffed. Pulled pork sandwich on a Kaiser role, hush puppies, homemade potato chips, deviled eggs. Highly recommended.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Based on reader comments, I understand that some screwtops do allow for OTR. I was going by my understanding of what the Nomacorc people told me.
Why Taylor Swift likes Moscato
One of the most fascinating cultural aspects of wine in America is the attitude people have that it's something elite, difficult to understand and not for the common person.
I have a lot of younger friends who share these attitudes. It's not that they don't like to drink; they do. They like beer and cocktails and will get rip roaring drunk on a Saturday night. But wine? Something about it just doesn't interest them. I will, on occasion, treat them to a wine I think is very good: a rich Napa Cabernet, a sweet dessert wine, sparkling wine. They'll happily drink it, and concede it's pretty good–but they'll never buy a bottle of wine for themselves or order a glass of wine in a restaurant or night club.
Call it the Elite Paradox: wine's upscale image keeps "ordinary" people from liking it.
How we arrived at this situation is complex. I've written about it before–the elitest image predates modern American society, having been imported from Old Europe, and then was boosted by inept advertising following the Repeal of Prohibition that sought to tell war- and Depression-weary Americans they could better their lives with a glass of vino. The epitome of this was a T.V. commercial, back when I was young, showing a wedding couple on a little boat in on a pond, he in tuxedo, she in bridal white. They were toasting with a domestic champagne. The message was that you can drink on your wedding day, but no other time. Wine, in other words, was an aspirational product.
For a more modern peek at how this attitude survives, look no further than Taylor Swift. The Grammy award-winning country music star recently told Esquire magazine that "she drinks wine on occasion because, 'It makes me feel classy.'"
Analyze that. Here's a young woman with, let us presume, more money than you or I will make in our lifetime. She has the ability to go anywhere at anytime, in high style, stay at fabulous resorts, eat at the best restaurants, party at the most "in" clubs and buy anything she wants. Sounds pretty classy to me. And yet, give her a glass of wine, and she feels "classy"–exalted, stylish, more fashionable.
And not just any wine. "If it doesn't taste like candy or sparkles, I usually don't drink it," she adds. Taylor Swift, in other words, is The Sparkling Moscato Girl, the poster child for why Moscato is the hottest wine in the country.
I'm not criticizing her or anyone else, I'm just observing. Now, on a related note, I read that "By the middle of the coming decade, there will be more jobs in New York City in hotels and restaurants than on Wall Street and in banks…".
The Financial Center of the World now has decided to be the Lifestyle Capital of the World, as jobs in the financial sector fall and profits at Wall Street banks topple. (Let's pass the hat…) Somehow Taylor Swift's "classy" feeling about wine and the proliferation of restaurants in New York seem connected. I feel it viscerally but I can't quite put my finger on it.
Here in the Bay Area we have a restaurant boom too. It's amazing. San Francisco's food gossip columnists can barely keep up. In my home town of Oakland there's been such an explosion of restaurants and bars in my neighborhood, they've had to give it its own name: Uptown. San Francisco also is enjoying a brand new tech bubble, mostly built on apps, and centered South of Market (SOMA), near AT&T Park, surely the hottest neighborhood in town. (Well, maybe the Mission is. But SOMA and The Mission are really one big connected neighborhood.) I think in the future historians will look back at this era–roughly defined as starting with the Great Recession and ending when?–as a Golden Age of eating and drinking, with young people (like Taylor Swift) spending whatever money they make enjoying themselves at night. Why not? They have no idea if they'll be alive in 5 years. They're young and good-looking now, so they might as well get their kicks while they can. From the clubs in my hood, across the Bay Bridge to the joints around North Beach and the Financial District, through SOMA and over to the Mission and on up into the Castro, they're partying like it's 2099. I like to think our young people like wine more than Taylor Swift does, but I could be wrong. One thing's for sure: they like their Moscato and their sweet infused cocktails. And so, for that matter, do I.


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500 NATIONS - DVD review
A common misconception is that when European settlers first arrived in America they found only a scattering of "wild Indians," savages whose fame would later rest in the dubious hands of Hollywood filmmakers, where they would invariably be portrayed as the bad guys. The 1995 television miniseries, "500 Nations," goes a long way toward dispelling that myth, pointing out that when the first Europeans reached these shores, there were over 500 Native American nations in North America alone, "tens of millions of people," we're told, the remnants of some of the most-advanced civilizations the world had ever known.
Presented on four DVDs and a bonus CD-ROM, extending to 372 minutes, and introduced by Kevin Costner, "500 Nations" is possibly the most extensive documentary on Native American history and traditions ever made. Like most such documentaries, it has its ups and downs, its moments of poignancy and revelation and its moments of tedium. But every minute of the series is filled with valuable information and insights, and it works well as a continuing and painless education for all of us.
Co-written and directed by Jack Leustig, the series uses a variety of sources--archeological records, journals, paintings, art work, interviews, and CGI reconstructions--to offer a comprehensive look at the natives of North America, not just from the days before Columbus but from the days before Christ. It begins in a past that mirrored the great civilizations of Egypt and continues, mostly chronologically, through the late eighteen hundreds and the massacre at Wounded Knee, which, in fact, is where the story begins. It examines how one of the world's most prominent cultures was reduced to cannon fodder in its darkest hour. It is not a pretty story, and it does not spare either the Europeans or the Native Americans themselves in telling its tale.
The series begins with an introduction by Costner, and he pops up from time to time to continue his commentary. The actual narration, however, is done is by actor Gregory Harrison. Disc one contains segments on Native American creation myths and then chronicles the lives of some of the earliest-known inhabitants of North America: the Anasazi, whose magnificent culture dates back to before 1,000 B.C.; the Maya, from 603-800 A.D.; the warrior Aztecs, by 1500 A.D. one of the most populous nations on earth; the invasion of Mexico in 1519 by Cortez; and the fall of the Aztec civilization through war and smallpox.
The great native empires of North America pretty much ended after the European incursions, but the Native American people continue to live on despite the odds, their stories told here in paintings, carvings, ruins, writings, and computer-graphic representations. There are almost no live-action renderings of the proceedings, however, which means that the material is presented in a fairly academic manner, which may be off-putting to some viewers who might lean toward something more exciting. I have to admit that I couldn't watch more than one disc at a time myself, as the sheer amount of information advanced became somewhat overwhelming, and the pace seemed to slow as my attention span decreased.
Discs two, three, and four follow the same pattern as disc one. Kevin Costner hosts them, Gregory Harrison narrates them, and director Jack Leustig uses maps, still pictures, paintings, location shots, some CGI, and numerous interviews to tell his story. The discs contain two episodes each of the original television series, about an hour-and-a-half per disc, divided into twelve to fourteen chapters.
In addition to Costner and Harrison, the various episodes include voice-overs by Edward James Olmos, Patrick Stewart, Timothy Bottoms, Wes Studi, Amy Madigan, Graham Greene, and others. English is the only spoken language available on the discs, but there are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Disc two, episodes three and four, covers a "Clash of Cultures" and the "Invasion of the Coast." Here we find Columbus, the Spanish conquistadors, and the rest of the plunderers. Treachery and betrayal by the Spanish invaders leave a path of bloodshed and violence wherever they go. The injustices portrayed are difficult to stomach and could be unsettling to younger children. The final episode on the disc ends by chronicling the Inuit tribes of the far north from about 1500 A.D. forward.
Disc three, episodes five and six, contains "Cauldron of War" and "Removal." These segments tell of the coming of the English and French settlers from about 1500 to the early 1800s. It shows how many Native Americans were enslaved, a practice displaced only years later by the subjugation of African slaves. Then, in 1830 the Indian Removal Act became law, causing further turmoil between the native tribes and the U.S. Government.
Disc four, episodes seven and eight, contains "Roads Across the Plains" and "Attack on Culture." These segments take us from the late 1700s to the late 1800s, where the series began. Interestingly, this is the only disc to include what looks like some very brief live-action footage. Anyway, it takes us to California, the West, and the Midwest, and it includes most of the Indians known to us today through Western-movie lore: Sitting Bull, Chief Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, Geronimo, and the like. The disc concludes by stating that "renewal of native cultures reminds us of the glory of America's original people and the hardships they endured."
"500 Nations" is a scholarly look at the native peoples of North America, perhaps too scholarly to make for absorbing watching at a single sitting. But, then, it was never meant to be seen all at once. It was meant to be viewed over a period of nights, one episode at a time, which is the way I watched the series. The entire program may not be as well paced or as exciting as it could have been, and more live action would have undoubtedly animated the events considerably, but what we have is still plenty good. The information presented is enlightening and informational; oppressing, yes, but inspiring, too. A recommended watch.
Because the series was made for television, it is presented in a standard 1.33:1 television ratio. The video's most notable achievements are its natural colors--never too bright, never dull or faded--and its clean transfer to DVD. Its drawback, however, is that typical of a television product, it appears slightly blurred compared to a good DVD movie transfer. The hazy picture is not really bad, mind you, just much like regular-broadcast television, and combined with a variety of moiré effects, wavy, jittery, unsteady lines, the result is not top-notch reproduction of the kind we usually expect from a good film.
The sound, too, is typical of television, a straightforward 2.0 stereo affair clarified somewhat through the Dolby Digital process. Its strong points are its midrange clarity, superb in rendering the narration so necessary in a documentary, and its freedom from any kind of background noise. Its weaknesses are a relatively narrow front-channel stereo spread, a limited frequency and dynamic response, and almost no surround information. Fortunately, it doesn't need much more than a good midrange to reproduce voices, soft background music, and a few sound effects.
The first three DVDs in the series include sections for "Special Features" in their Main Menus but there are none. Only disc four and the bonus CD-ROM have any extras on them. Disc four includes three minutes of closing remarks from Costner and eight minutes of "CGI Insight with Director Jack Leustig."
I'm not sure why WB chose to include a bonus CD-ROM disc of archival and making-of material rather than another DVD or a DVD-ROM. I suspect that the CD was made at the time of the series' production, 1995, and that was all the technology the filmmakers had available to them. In any case, it is a typical interactive disc, with an opening menu and index that allow the user to access timelines, picture galleries, stories, histories, and so on at the tap of a mouse button. It is easy to use, highly intuitive, and instructive.
The five discs are packaged in a foldout cardboard-and-plastic container housed in a handsomely embossed, sturdy cardboard slip case. Also enclosed is further information on the contents of each disc, plus a booklet insert containing complete chapter listings.
Parting Thoughts:
"Human beings can be awful cruel to one another," wrote Mark Twain in "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." We have seen this truism play out in almost every country of the world in almost every age since the beginning of recorded history, and never more so than in the treatment of Native Americans (and Africans) at the hands of European settlers in America. Costner concludes his remarks by saying that the history of Native Americans is "a story of loss and a story of hope."
One's appreciation for "500 Nations" will undoubtedly depend upon one's appreciation for history in general and documentaries in particular. Insofar as documentaries go, this one is no better than most in style or construction, but superior to most in substance. It is probably the single best examination of Native American history and culture ever committed to film. While the series may be a long haul for the disinterested, and while it is no Ken Burns "Civil War," it is a worthwhile watch for anyone, student or non student, interested in America's heritage.

subset: commoncrawl


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Why Is Deutsche Bank Getting Into Fixed Income Now? (Video)
May 19 (Bloomberg) –- Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz discusses Deutsche Bank's venture into fixed income with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
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That said, after the festivities I aim to regain my equilibrium as quickly as possible. So, the day after any meal that involves the leaden trinity of bready stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pastry crust, you'll probably find me in the kitchen chopping and simmering my way to a post-holiday recovery soup chocked with greens, ginger, and garlic. After all, 80% of the immune system resides in the mucosal lining of the gut (aka gut-associated lymphoid tissue, or GALT), and when we keep all those T and B cells happy the whole system functions more efficiently.
A few years ago I read French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano. The part I remember best is her description of the Magical Leek Soup Weekend. Once a season or so, French ladies in-the-know whip up a big pot of leek soup and spend an entire weekend consuming nothing else - drinking its broth during the day and eating the solids for dinner. Relaxation and gentle stretching and homemade facials are also involved, if I recall correctly. Sounds rejuvenating, no?
Thus far I have not been able to conjure up enough discipline to do an entire Magical Leek Soup Weekend. But thanks to Mireille I will forever associate leeks with detoxification and cleansing -- which probably explains why yesterday, after a generous lunch of Thanksgiving leftovers, I was magnetically attracted to the lovely, fat leeks on display at the market. In no time, a steaming pot of leek and greens soup was simmering on the stove, and I was sipping a lemon ginger brew (which I have just declared Holiday Detox Part 1) and feeling better already.
Flavorful yet light on the palate and on the stomach, the soup gets a nice hit of heat from ginger, garlic, and red chili, the ultimate cleansing trio. Coriander and fennel seeds have a cooling effect on the body and help soothe the digestive tract (and also make a lovely digestive tea, 1/2 teaspoon of each steeped for 20 minutes in 8 ounces of boiling water). Collards and broccolini provide ample amounts of chlorophyll and fiber, and the soup is given an extra mineral boost from kombu (also an excellent detoxifier). I added shiitake mushrooms too, for their wonderful earthiness and immune-enhancing abilities. Built upon a foundation of the aforementioned leeks, carrot, and fennel, this soup is exactly what my body craves after holiday indulgences.
To avoid becoming overly virtuous, alongside today's lunchtime soup I nibbled on a wedge of nutty, crusty rye levain bread topped with a tangy, crumbly raw-milk cheese called Jean-Louis from NJ-based Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse. The folks at Bobolink are creating some phenomenal artisan breads and cheeses -- if you live in the NY/NJ area definitely check them out at the greenmarket, or visit the farm for a tour!
leek and greens soup
I used collards and broccolini as the green elements in the soup, but any greens will do -- try kale, chard, spinach, bok choy, or any other favorites. The soup is tasty on the day it's made, but like most things simmered in a pot it's even better after a night's rest in the fridge.
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek
1 or 2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, diced
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 to 1 dried red chili (depending on your heat preference)
3 or 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes and thinly sliced (save the liquid)
small piece of kombu (dried kelp), about 2 inches square
3 cups thinly sliced collard greens (about 5 leaves)
1 small bunch of broccolini, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1. Cut off the tough green leek tops and rinse them well. Place parsley sprigs inside the leek leaves, roll up, and secure with twine, creating a bouquet garni.
2. Slice white part of leek lengthwise, then cut into 1/4-inch half-moons. Submerge in cold water to remove any grit, and drain.
3. Add olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks, carrot, fennel, and a pinch of salt, and cook until vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, coriander and fennel seeds, and crushed black peppercorns, and stir for another minute or two.
4. Add the bouquet garni, red chili, shiitake mushrooms and their soaking liquid, and kombu to the pot. Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables (4 to 5 cups). Toss in a big pinch of salt.
5. Cover pot and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and broth is flavorful. Add the collards and broccolini and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni, stir in lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.


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aBOUT Tiritiri Matangi
A stunning open bird sanctuary
Surrender your senses to the beauty and magic of Tiritiri Matangi Island, situated in the Hauraki Gulf and only a 75 minute ferry trip from Auckland via Gulf Harbour. From the moment you step onto the island to the moment you leave, you will be entranced by the serenade of gentle bird song and the lush native bush. Tiritiri Matangi Island is one of the world's most successful volunteer conservation projects. It has been re-vegetated with around 300,000 native trees and consequently 12 of New Zealand's endangered birds and 3 reptile species have been successfully re-introduced as a result.
Tiritiri Matangi, meaning "tossed by the wind", is an Open Scientific Reserve managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in partnership with the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi Inc. The "open sanctuary" status allows 150 ferry visitors daily from Wednesday to Sunday onto the island. Here they can witness first hand some of New Zealand's rarest inhabitants in a natural and protected environment. Visitors can have the opportunity to stay on the island overnight by booking through the Department of Conservation (DOC). This experience is truly unique, observing New Zealand's nocturnal wildlife emerging as the sun goes down, wildlife such as the Little Blue Penguin (the world's smallest penguin), the Little Spotted Kiwi, and the Tuatara are just some of the highlights.
Important biosecurity information
Our vessels are licensed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Auckland Council to visit islands in the Hauraki Gulf. We run a biosecurity system (on all our vessels) which meets the criteria to hold a 'Pest-Free Warrant' for the Hauraki Gulf.
What you need to do to prepare for your trip to pest-free Tiritiri Matangi Island:
- Please check your bags for stowaways, such as: Mice, Rats, Argentine Ants and Rainbow Skinks to name a few.
- Ensure your footwear, clothing and bags are clean and free of soil and seeds.
- Your lunch must be packed in a rodent-proof/ sealed container eg. hard plastic.
- No open bags or boxes will be allowed on-board – everything you bring must be sealed or zipped closed.
What to bring
- A sun hat and sunscreen
- Plenty of water, snacks and lunch (there are no shops on the island but you can buy provisions on the ferry).
- Wear sturdy walking shoes
- A light rain jacket, swimwear and towel depending on the conditions
Exploring the island
There are numerous walking tracks throughout the island which vary in length and demand different fitness levels. Forested walking tracks are well established with board walks meandering through coastal forest. Other walking tracks skirt the perimeter of the island and pathways and roads weave through the islands interior. All are clearly sign-posted. Please stay on the pathways and walking tracks, as even the most delicate of steps could damage the natural ecosystem that has developed or disturb a ground nesting bird.
For more information about Tiritiri Matangi walking tracks please ask for the brochure produced and sold by the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi.
Guided walks of Tirirtiri
The Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi are extremely enthusiastic about sharing, with all visitors to the Island, the wealth of knowledge they have accumulated about Tiritiri Matangi over the years.
For a small additional fee of $5 per person you can join a 1 ½ hour guided morning experience and learn about the exquisite bird life, natural surrounds, revegetation and history of Tiritiri Matangi. Your guide will highlight the best spots to see various wildlife on the island, and will help you to identify birdcalls and sounds which echo through the trees and will take you up to the visitor centre with its informative exhibits. Your lunchtime and afternoon are free for you to wander, look and listen. A day on Tiritiri Matangi is extraordinary, however, a day on Tiritiri Matangi with one of the supporters of Tiritiri Matangi as your guide; will make your day exceptional.
When booking your trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island please specify to Ticket Office staff that you wish to have a guided walk so that enough guides can be provided on the day.
Overnight gear (e.g. bedding, equipment) must be thoroughly checked for pest stowaways.
Food must be packed into rodent-proof/ sealed containers.
If you have any doubts or questions about your packed items please ask customer services staff or the boat crew.
Please note: Accommodation can only be booked through the Department of Conservation. Ferry tickets are booked directly with 360 Discovery Cruises. Overnight tickets are not available for purchase through our web store.
Visit www.treasureislands.co.nz for further information on biosecurity and the Pest-free Warrant.
Please note there is no food available for purchase on the island. Occasionally weather conditions prohibit 360 Discovery from travelling to the island. Please call 09 916 2241 after 7:00am on the day of your trip for confirmation. Calls may cost 10c dependent on your phone provider.


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text: On Friday, October 19th, a small group of performers from Circus Vargas visited the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center. There were three performers; a juggler, a clown, and a hula-hooper. The juggler was only 16 years old and was able to juggle seven balls. Another performer was able to hula-hoop 23 hula-hoops. Circus Vargas advertises themselves as a circus with a touch of Broadway. This year they are putting on a new show, their most exciting ever.


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?still going on! - Einstein@Home, launched in 2005 and based at the University of Wisconsin and the Albert Einstein Institute in Germany, is one of the world's largest public volunteer distributed computing projects. More than 200,000 people have signed up for the project and donated time on their computers to search gravitational wave data for signals from unknown pulsars. In other words, they're searching for ET.
The project is beginning to analyze data from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is the largest single-aperture radio telescope on the planet and is used for studies of pulsars, galaxies, solar system objects, and the earth's atmosphere.
Researcher Bruce Allen says, "While our long-term goal is to detect gravitational waves, in the shorter-term we hope to discover at least a few new radio pulsars per year, which should be a lot of fun for Einstein@Home participants and should also be very interesting for astronomers. We expect that most of the project's participants will be eager to do both types of searches." Einstein@Home participants will automatically receive work for both the radio and gravitational-wave searches.
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
Aliens: some people see them in their lives and some people only see them at the movies. If YOU love movies, don't miss this week's Dreamland, especially Anne's provocative discussion of the film "Doubt," just for subscribers!
NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.


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My Reviews & Blog
Happy birthday Chris. I hope your day is filled with lots of love & happiness. Wishing you many blessing & the peace you so truly deserve. I love you fave, & don't forget to keep your head up!! <33 :)
by bindylu - Sunday, May 5, 2013 - 1:01am GMT


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In this handout provided by the GPO Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin... News Photo 159165392Benjamin Netanyahu,Bruno Stein,Divided,GPO,Hand Out,Head,Horizontal,Israel,Israel Police,Israeli,Law,National Traffic Police Headquarters,Politics,Prime Minister,Visit,Yitzhak Aharonovitch,Yitzhak Aharonovitch (,Yohanan DaninoPhotographer GPOCollection: Getty Images News 2013 GPOJERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JANUARY 09: (ISRAEL OUT) In this handout provided by the GPO, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R), Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (R), Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino (2nd L) and Major General Bruno Stein (L), head of the Israel Police's traffic division, during a visit to The National Traffic Police Headquarters on January 09, 2013 in Israel. Netanyahu thanked officers for their efforts during the 'Pillar of Defense' - the seven day IDF operation in the Hamas governed Gaza Strip. (Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO via Getty Images)


text: Calendar of Events <<—Back to Search Results Thurs May 22nd Knitting Crochet Circle 5pm West Waco Library Date: to Frequency: Time & Place:Thursday May 22nd, Knitting Circle at WEST Waco Library (5301 Bosque Blvd) from 5pm - 7pm in Meeting Room (front left). Description: All welcome. Come to work on your projects and chat. Social gathering. No fees. No commitment. All skill levels welcome. wacoknitters.weebly.com website, Waco Knitters on facebook. On the Web: wacoknitters.weebly.com


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Too bad this is a limited edition color - it's a nice chocolate brown with a minty green shimmer. Two coats look fine, but it needs three to deliver a salon quality finish since it doesn't quite level out on its own. Still, it's a subdued color with a little bit of funky, and one of my favorites. I found it in a clearance bin for $1.50, so really you can't go wrong with that!
A two-toned polish, mostly brown, with a green shimmer that shows up when you hold your nails to the light a certain way. I think this is the nail color equivalent of Mac Club. It reminds me of chocolate mint actually, because of the brown and green combo. This looks good with two coats. I used three, and the color is quite deep and opaque. Lasts a pretty long time too. I got about three days wear before it started to show slight wearing away on the edges of two nails. Not bad for such a dark color. This was about $10, so a bit more expensive than a cheapie drugstore polish, but a nice unusual shade.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
Downtown brown is a dark brown with green shimmers! It goes well on the application.it last verry long! It`s a verry special color! Perfect for the autumn! Love it!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No


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CRP - FAQs
How will participating in this program be of benefit to the practice?
The junior doctors in this program have made a positive decision to be part of this program so are keen to experience and learn. Having a junior doctor in the practice means your own knowledge and skills will constantly be challenged. Whether you are a supervisor, practice manager or allied health professional you have a wealth of skills and experience to pass onto junior doctors and people often learn best about their content area when they are placed in a position to teach others about it.Participating supervisors regularly report on the positive impact of training junior doctors that have been exposed to the latest medical research and techniques on their own knowledge and skills. They have also commented on how satisfying it is to be involved in attracting junior doctors to the field of General Practice.
Feedback from the program indicates that junior doctors and training registrars will interact with each other and enhance each other's learning experience.
We don't have the room/supervision for a full-time placement. Is it possible to facilitate part-time placements?
Part-time involvement will be considered under certain conditions to suit the needs of the participant or practice. This allows busy practices to have some involvement in the program and also allows the facilitation of junior doctors that need to work around family and personal lifestyle issues.
If your practice would only like to have junior doctors on a part-time basis, you might consider becoming a PGPPP Composite training post. In a Composite placement junior doctors undertake two to three days work in General Practice and the remainder of their time in a hospital or other community medicine organisation.
We are a busy practice and can't afford to be committed to too much training. What will be required?
Practices are required to provide an orientation to their business at the beginning of the placement.
Junior doctors require supervision 100% of the time they are in their placement. Supervisors must be in the Practice 80% of the time and in ready telephone contact for the remainder of the time.
Supervisors are required to help develop a learning plan based on the Junior Doctor Curriculum and provide six hours education per week for a Dedicated GP placement or 3 hours per week for a Composite placement. This may take a variety of forms including case discussions, work shadowing, practical skills sessions, meetings, tutorials, video consultations and review. A short mid-term and end of term assessment is required.
Standards for the Supervision of Prevocational Doctors in General Practice are detailed by the RACGP and are discussed with you before
What payment is there for being a CRP training post?
A payment for the use of practice resources, licenses, software and minor equipment is available to aid in the facilitation of the junior doctor in your practice. Please refer here for the current rates
Supervisors will be paid up to 6 hours per week at approximately $120 per hour for the supervision and education of a CRP participant. At the end of each term you need to submit an online In-Practice Teaching Log detailing the specified in-practice education sessions provided to the junior doctor. WAGPET will send a Reconciliation Statement to the practice at the end of each term, detailing the amount of salary recoup and the program payments.
Although practices must return the Medicare billings earned by the junior doctor up to the level of their salary, the practice retains any money earned over this amount as well as any private billings.
How is the junior doctor paid?
The junior doctor remains an employee of their tertiary hospital and continues to be paid and accrue leave entitlements etc from their hospital. They simply rotate from their hospital to your practice for their placement and return to their hospital at the completion of their time with you.
Because the junior doctor comes to the practice with their salary, the practice is required to return any Medicare billings earned by the junior doctor up to the level of their salary. This is so the junior doctor is not being paid once by the State Department of Health and, again, by Medicare.
The practice retains any billings beyond this level and also keeps any private billings earned by the junior doctor.
How long will the placement be?
General Practice placements can vary in duration but their terms are consistent with hospital terms and are usually 10-11 weeks long. Junior doctors usually elect to do one term in General Practice. They are eligible to do a maximum of two terms under the PGPPP.
How many hours a week will the CRP participant be in the practice?
Under the AMA Industrial Agreement junior doctors are expected to work no more than 40 hours for a full-time placement.
What about after hours work?
CRP provides a salary component for some on-call work should this be required by the practice.
Our practice would like to join the program – what do we do now?
Participating practices must have ACRRM and/or RACGP training accreditation. Practices in the program are usually in the Australian General Practice Training scheme and Practices apply through WAGPET to become a training post for CRP.
If a practice is accredited, WAGPET will make an assessment about the need for a CRP placement in that geographical location and offering those particular services against the number of applicants for the program. If there is a clear need for a practice in the location and offering the service, WAGPET then vsits the Practice to discuss accreditation. Once a decision is made to progress. the practice will need to be accredited by the PMCWA. Read more about PMCWA accreditation under Becoming a Training Post from the menu.


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Thanks so much for the information, Judy. I am familiar with this family group. What I do not see, however, is how to discount Ambrose and Gabriel as brothers of James, husband of Catherine Shipley, as they are of the same age/generation, born in North Carolina. Also, why is James the elder designated as James Senior in the 1830 census if the only other James (being the one married to Catherine) isn't his son? Did your grandmother leave any account? Do you know the line of Ambrose? Thank you so much for providing clues. By the way, I love the photo of the mill posted by one of your cousins! Best regards, Rhonda Notify Administrator about this message?
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Sidmouth B&B, 4 Star Silver Rated Guest Accommodation with a Breakfast Award – That's COOMBE BANK GUEST HOUSE
Proprietors Liz & Harry Ryder provide a warm welcome to all our guests at Coombe Bank providing accommodation for comfortable and relaxing stay in our 4 star Silver rated guest accommodation (the only one in Sidmouth with this accolade) with an award winning garden and breakfast described as 'yummy' by one of our younger guests.
The house was built in the 1920's, sits in a lovely quiet residential area of Sidmouth only 5 minutes walk from the National Trust owned conservation area 'The Byes' which leads to the town centre and the delightful traditional regency seafront.
Coombe Bank sits on the World Heritage Lyme Bay coastline and is the perfect base to explore the East Devon and Dorset countryside, the beautiful Cathedral and Roman remains in nearby Exeter, the delights of the nearby fishing villages or drive to Dartmoor National Park or venture further afield to the Eden Project in Cornwall – Sidmouth can meet all your needs.


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Blog | Comments |
WoW | 37 Comments |
Recent Comments:
5 not-so-simple ways Blizzard can fix the World of Warcraft Auction House {WoW}
Feb 22nd 2012 3:12PM "4. Create a stock-market-style AH."
Made of win! This would be excellent and makes a ton a s*$^-ton of sense.
"5. Blizzard should sell gold."
I have about a half-million in gold. I do make big purchases. The vast majority of my gold came through buying and craft-selling on the AH. I have ZERO interest in selling my gold for actual currency. Why? Here's why:
a) The exchange rate would suck. It wouldn't be worth it to sell. I don't need a few hundred dollars. I'd rather be rich in game.
b) If a person wanted to drop a few big bills they could achieve what took me a year.
c) I could be taxed actual money by the government. Even if I didn't do a currency conversion to cash. Loot a corpse and owe the government a copper? NO THANK YOU.
d) Blizzard would find themselves in Sarbanes-Oxley audit hell and it would stifle development.
Heart of the Aspects video and giveaway {WoW}
Feb 15th 2012 10:09AM I would sing your praises from the top of my hunter blog.
Gold Capped: This is the wrong way to do epic gems {WoW}
Dec 9th 2011 2:01PM Uhhh.
I've killed 10 normal mode bosses in DS. I got one green rare and a handful of uncommons. So while someone is getting a 3000-10000g gem, I'm getting 1-3g gems. This isn't anything special or skilled or balanced. I think of everyone in the raid there have been three epic gems. That's 3%. And none have been red.
If instead of luck, they were all 100% epics, but random in color, it might help the gem economy by letting JCs with value-add skill/cuts have raw mats to work with. Right now all routes to red are depleted from the crazy number of red sockets to fill.
Gold Capped: Epic gems must be in patch 4.3 {WoW}
Aug 26th 2011 5:06PM The "unique-equipped" designation is new for "normal" epic gems, which implies something new.
Scattered Shots: Yes, beast mastery can raid {WoW}
Aug 4th 2011 4:36PM -10% is a pretty tough pill to swallow isn't it? I don't think there will be too many high level parses for it.
I only flip to SV on fights where I'm AoE'ng like mad. Beth'tilac comes to mind. In those cases SV isn't -10% like BM. SV is in the odd case where it's 30-40k dps for each wave of spiderlings. It is true that some single-target high-movement fights may favor BM. But I find that more rare than fights asking for potent AoE.
The last thing going against BM is that kill command is more difficult to manage to get off than other talent tree's defining shots.
Win an Ask Mr. Robot app code from WoW Insider {WoW}
Jun 30th 2011 4:56PM I'm happy with my iTunes overlords.
Scattered Shots: Optimizing your racials as a hunter {WoW}
May 6th 2011 10:39AM You sir, are a Troll.
And of course Guns > Crossbows > Bows
Scattered Shots: Patch 4.1 hunter loot {WoW}
Apr 21st 2011 4:39PM I think we need more QQ about "no guns found". Why do Dwarves even have a racial for guns if they only put in bows and crossbows? Is it just to make Troll sing?
Totem Talk: Restoration raiding glyphs and patch 4.1 changes {WoW}
Apr 20th 2011 1:22PM Spirit Link Totem as a talent sticks out like a sore thumb.
There are currently 41 talents in the Resto tree. Spirit Link Totem is a straight up addition. No other ranks are being reduced; There will be 42 talents in the Resto tree in 4.1.
I imagine people wont take 2 points in Cleansing Waters anymore with that nerf. Even still that's a bit more of a nerf to Cleansing Waters, right? Sure you might steal from somewhere else, but doesn't an additional talent usually get an offset somewhere else?
Patch 4.1: Blizzard unveils dungeon finder Call to Arms {WoW}
Apr 7th 2011 1:06AM So if a pure DPS class is your main you get no shot on new pets or mounts. Let hunter and warlock pets queue as tanks. My gorilla could do better than many pug tanks.


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Police are appealing for witnesses after six canoes and paddles were stolen from a Scout group's Derby base.
Thieves broke into a storage shed on the grounds of the 35th Derby Scout Group, in Watson Street, and took the six canoes from inside.
The offenders then climbed over a fence at the site and made off with the canoes and paddles.
The break-in took place between January 1 and Friday, February 14, when it was discovered and later reported to police.
Did you see anyone acting suspiciously in the area around the Scout group's grounds, or did you witness canoes being moved off the site?
Witnesses or anyone with information should call Derbyshire police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Do you need a quick answer to a general question? Then we recommend you visit the national Ask The Police web site.


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| Email | Full Article (TrendHunter.com/id/34657) |
The February issue of Esquire has a panel in the middle of President Obama's face which opens like an Xmas Advent calendar, inside you will see an ad for the Discovery Channel with quotations from the issue's articles.
You can't read, watch, or listen to any media outlet without having President Obama mentioned. Merchandise marketing initiatives began well before Prescient Obama officially became president of the United States last week, and are becoming stronger week after week. Posters, dolls, paper dolls, t-shirts, and yes, even action figures representing President Obama have become hot sellers.
In my personal opinion, appearing in a collectible issue of Spider-Man and having your own action figure is very flattering, especially when you compare what you find to former President Bush products.
If you are a collector or just curious, just Google "Obama Toys" and you will find an endless list to view and maybe purchase. Enjoy!


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At the Monell Center, scientists from many disciplines work together to focus on understanding the mechanisms and functions of taste and smell and define the broad significance of these senses in human health and disease. Monell is the world's only independent, non-profit scientific institute dedicated to basic research on taste and smell.
Pioneering taste scientist Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD, is the third eminent scientist to lead Monell. Click to read more…
Learn about A Sense of Hope: The Monell Anosmia Project, a research and advocacy program intended to identify the biological causes of smell loss and explore the use of olfactory stem cells as a potential treatment approach.
Click this button to visit our anosmia awareness website.
Support for basic research allows Monell to provide the knowledge needed to understand and improve public health and quality of life.


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1 unbaked gluten-free pie crust from when you make your Thanksgiving pies (I like Gluten Free Pantry brand)
leftover turkey, shredded
leftover veggies, diced (carrots, corn, peas…whatever you've got goes)
leftover gravy, that's right, you are finally going to use leftover gravy!!!
leftover mashed potatoes
Real Salt to taste
black pepper to taste
*In a bowl combine leftover veggies diced up with your leftover gravy to make a pie filling. If you need extra liquid add some gluten-free turkey, veggie or chicken stock. Add Real Salt and black pepper to taste. Pour veggie pie filling into unbaked gluten-free pie crust. Spread leftover mashed potatoes on top. Bake 40-45 minutes in 400 degree oven until pie crust is done. You just used leftover gravy! Can you believe it!!! That amazing gravy from drippings doesn't have to go to waste!
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In this fifth and final blogpost of Te Epetoma o te Reo Māori Kuki Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language week, we look at five rare masks from Mangaia. Thank you for following, liking and sharing the blogs this week. In pre-European times, Cook Islanders used tapa to wrap ceremonial objects such as staff gods (wooden staffs carved with figures)… Read more »
Posts tagged with costume
M is for mystery: M initial in the waistband of Te Papa's piupiu Māori
My role at Te Papa is to identify feathers and hair in the ethnological collections, however on occasion I come across something interesting in my research including the following mystery. While identifying the feathers in the museum's Māori textiles collection, I counted eight piupiu (skirt or waist garment) with the letter 'M' sewn into the waistband. It… Read more »
It's time to celebrate – the 2011 Costume & Textile Symposium
As a curator at Te Papa, I am also on the committee of the Costume & Textile Association of NZ – a membership organisation that includes museum and fashion professionals, craftspeople, writers, and others who share a stronger than average interest in all aspects of clothing and dress! With my CTANZ hat on, I am… Read more »
Dance costume Cook Islands style
For this week's blog, I have selected this Cook Islands costume, for its beautiful arrangement, and striking colours. This striking 1920s pareu kiri'au (hula skirt) from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, is made from long narrow strips of hibiscus bast fibre. Around the waistband, is blue cloth, with orange and yellow diamonds, which have been machine sewn onto… Read more »


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Submit. Your membership request will be approved in the briefest delays. If we need more information, we will email you.
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The FORM Questionnaire: Talking to Glen Coben
This spring and summer, Glen & Company will see four of its hotel projects open (not to mention three more scheduled for next winter). With so much happening, we figured founder Glen Coben would be a perfect person to chat with about the state of architecture and design in one of our occasional q-and-a sessions. Here, the award-winning architect, and designer of hotspots Del Posto and Carbone, to name a few, shares his thoughts on architecture, design,family and the return of elegance.
What direction do you see the profession heading?
Our client's expectations are rising as [are those of] the people who dine out or sleep out. We have to be better storytellers and continue to surprise and delight the guests. Specifically, I see a trend towards more luxury and a little more formality. Hopefully a return to elegance.


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The Global Intelligence Files,
files released so far...
Index pages
by Date of Document
Our Partners
Al Akhbar - Lebanon
Al Masry Al Youm - Egypt
Asia Sentinel - Hong Kong
Bivol - Bulgaria
Carta Capital - Brazil
CIPER - Chile
Dawn Media - Pakistan
L'Espresso - Italy
La Repubblica - Italy
La Jornada - Mexico
La Nacion - Costa Rica
Malaysia Today - Malaysia
McClatchy - United States
Nawaat - Tunisia
NDR/ARD - Germany
Owni - France
Pagina 12 - Argentina
Philip Dorling - Fairfax media contributor - Australia
Plaza Publica - Guatemala
Publica - Brazil
Publico.es - Spain
Rolling Stone - United States
Russian Reporter - Russia
Ta Nea - Greece
Taraf - Turkey
The Hindu - India
The Yes Men - Bhopal Activists
Sunday Star-Times - New Zealand
Community resources
courage is contagious
The Global Intelligence Files
On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.
MORE: RE: G3 - SWEDEN/GV - Swedish parliament votes in new constitution
Released on 2012-10-18 17:00 GMT
Email-ID | 1021046 |
Date | 2010-11-24 17:37:16 |
From | email@example.com |
To | email@example.com |
List-Name | firstname.lastname@example.com |
The Government Bills A reformed Constitution, Constitutional protection
for digital cinema and other matters concerning freedom of expression and
The legal status of backup copies have been submitted to the Riksdag
(Swedish Parliament). It is proposed that these amendments enter into
force on 1 January 2011. Amendments are proposed in inter alia, the
Instrument of Government, the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental
Law on Freedom of Expression. Amendments to the Constitution require the
Riksdag to take two identical decisions, with a general election in
Government Bill A reformed Constitution (Govt. Bill 2009/10:80)
The Government Bill A reformed Constitution (Govt. Bill 2009/10:80) has
been submitted to the Riksdag. It is proposed in the Bill that substantial
amendments be made to the Instrument of Government, as well as certain
amendments to the Elections Act and the Local Government Act.
Consequential amendments to other legislation are also proposed.
The Instrument of Government
The Instrument of Government is to be modernised by making it gender
neutral and simplifying the language. By rearranging and restructuring the
text, the Constitution will be made simpler and clearer. Provisions on
courts of law, administration and the municipalities will be placed in
chapters of their own.
The provisions contained in the Instrument of Government on fundamental
rights and freedoms will be amended in order to further strengthen and
clarify protection of individuals against infringement upon their rights
and freedoms.
Protection of personal integrity is to be strengthened through a new
provision on protection against serious infringements of privacy that
entail monitoring or studying an individual's personal situation. In
addition, an amendment is proposed that will mean that the main principle
of full compensation in cases of expropriation and other such disposition
of an individual's property is made clearer.
Protection against discrimination is to be extended to include unfair
treatment on the grounds of sexual orientation. Regulation of the
protection of rights and freedoms is also to be supplemented by a
provision on protection for the freedom of research and a provision on
legal proceedings being fair and held within a reasonable period of time.
In addition, it is to be made clear in the Instrument of Government's
purpose clause that there is a public responsibility for the protection of
children's rights, and for promoting the right of national minorities to
retain and develop their own cultural and social life. The Sami people are
given special mention in the Instrument of Government.
The provisions on 'judicial reviews' carried out by the courts and other
public bodies will be amended. This amendment will mean that a regulation
in an act or ordinance that conflicts with the Constitution or other
superior statute is not to be applied, even if the mistake is not obvious.
The special position of the municipalities will be highlighted by, among
other things, the introduction of a provision stating that a restriction
to local self-government should not go beyond what is necessary with
regard to the underlying reasons.
A provision will be introduced on an obligatory vote on support for the
Prime Minister in the Riksdag following an election.
It is the task of the Council on Legislation to examine, among other
things, how legislative proposals relate to the Constitution and the legal
system in general, as well as to the requirements of legal security. The
examinatory role of the Council on Legislation will be strengthened by
expanding its area of examination and making examination obligatory.
A new provision will expressly state that Sweden is a member of the EU and
participates in international cooperation within the framework of the UN
and the Council of Europe.
The Elections Act
Election day is to be moved from the third to the second Sunday in
September to enable amendments to the budget process, which gives a new
government better opportunities to influence the contents of its first
budget proposal following an election. The provisions on preferential
voting are to be amended so that the barrier for preferential votes cast
by voters in general elections is reduced to five per cent. Information
about preferential voting is to be provided on the ballot paper.
The Local Government Act
Assemblies are to be given the opportunity, under certain circumstances,
to decide to hold an extra election between two ordinary elections. This
amendment will give the municipalities and the county councils a new
instrument for finding solutions to political deadlocks that are rooted in
unclear or unstable political majorities that make a functioning
government impossible.
The provisions on referendums in connection with 'popular initiatives' are
to be amended. A consultative referendum is to be held in a municipality
or county council on an issue if at least ten per cent of those entitled
to vote request this, as long as at least two thirds of assembly members
do not oppose this. This amendment will enable greater democratic
influence for the voters in the preparation of matters in municipalities
and county councils.
Entry into force
It is proposed that the amendments to the Instrument of Government and
other acts enter into force on 1 January 2011. Amendments to the
Constitution require the Riksdag to take two identical decisions. The
second decision may not be taken until the Riksdag has assembled following
a general election.
Government Bill Constitutional protection for digital cinema and other matters
concerning freedom of expression (Govt. Bill 2009/10:81)
It is proposed in the Bill that 'digital cinema' and other public viewing
from databases are to be covered by the constitutional protection in the
Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. The reason for this proposal is
that digital cinema is becoming increasingly common, and our assessment is
that almost all production, distribution and showing of films will be
digital within a few years. This amendment will enable public viewing from
a database to enjoy essentially the same constitutional protection as
films shown through the projection of a technical recording.
In order for digital cinema to be examined in advance in the same way as
traditional cinema, the exception to the prohibition on censorship in the
Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression needs to be expanded.
It is also proposed in the Bill that it be made possible - as applies for
programmes broadcast over the airwaves - to demand that cable TV
broadcasts be designed in such a way that the programmes are available to
people with disabilities. This could be achieved through subtitles, sign
language interpretation, audio description or texts being read.
Other proposals include clearly stating in the Freedom of the Press Act
and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression that agencies and other
public bodies are prohibited to take action against anyone exercising
their freedom of the press or freedom of expression. It is also proposed
that there be a penal provision for more serious violations of this
prohibition. Equivalent rules are to apply to local government
Entry into force
It is proposed that these amendments enter into force on 1 January 2011.
Amendments to the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression require the
Riksdag to take two identical decisions, with a general election in
Government Bill The legal status of backup copies (Govt. Bill 2009/10:58)
It is proposed in the Bill that a backup copy is not to be regarded as an
official document. 'Backup copy' refers to a document that a public
authority keeps for the purpose of being able to retrieve information that
has been unintentionally lost in an authority's regular system for
automated processing. This legislative amendment will entail an addition
to the Freedom of the Press Act. This proposal will clarify the present
uncertainty concerning the right of access to a public authority's backup
copies of information.
The public interest in accessing information on a public authority's
activities must be weighed up against the interest of the authority being
able to carry out its basic tasks in an efficient and legally secure
manner. Interest in access to backup copies of information must also be
seen to be limited, as the backup copied documents that are official
documents are available in an authority's regular activities.
According to the legal assessment carried out by the Committee of inquiry
on e-access to official documents, backup copies may be official
documents. Internal agency working material and private messages may then
be subject to access by the public, which is not reasonable. Backup copies
may also be used to examine an authority's activities in a way that could
have negative effects on security.
It is also proposed in the Government Bill that the provision on secrecy
concerning the 'tsunami tapes' continue to apply. Secrecy should apply for
a maximum of seventy years.
Entry into force
It is proposed that these amendments enter into force on 1 January 2011.
Amendments to the Freedom of the Press Act require the Riksdag to take two
identical decisions, with a general election in between.
From: email@example.com [mailto:email@example.com] On
Behalf Of Michael Wilson
Sent: 2010. november 24. 17:33
To: alerts
Subject: G3 - SWEDEN/GV - Swedish parliament votes in new constitution
Swedish parliament votes in new constitution
Published: 24 Nov 10 16:35 CET |
All of Sweden's parliamentary parties save the Sweden Democrats voted for
the most sweeping changes to the country's constitution since 1974 on
However, leading up to the historic occasion, public debate on the
document has remained conspicuously silent.
"I had obviously wished there was more debate," Per Bill, vice chairman of
Sweden's parliament, the Riksdag's, Committee on the Constitution
(Konstitutionsutskottet, KU), told newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) on
The two main parties behind the constitutional reforms that will come into
effect on January 1, 2011 were the Social Democrats and the ruling
The amendments include forcing a prime minister to face a confidence vote
within two weeks following an election and enshrining EU membership in the
constitution, newspaper Aftonbladet reported on Wednesday.
It also strengthens judicial powers to make it easier to determine whether
new laws contravene the constitution or the Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the European Union.
In addition, it has eased pushing through demands for municipal
referendums and lowered the barrier for electing independent candidates
into the Riksdag to 5 percent from 8 percent of the votes in a
constituency, a measure that is expected to result in more independent
The new agreement follows several years of constitutional inquiry followed
by two parliamentary decisions in the Riksdag separated by an election.
The first came in the spring of this year.
Future amendments will also require two parliamentary decisions with an
election in between. The next parliamentary elections in Sweden are
scheduled for September 14, 2014.
The 20 members of the Sweden Democrats refused to support the new
constitution, critical that it makes it more difficult to leave the EU and
disagreeing with calling Sweden a multicultural society


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13th Dec 2000, 10:35 AM | #1 |
TBUILDT Webmaster/Mapper
Join Date: Nov. 27th, 2000
Posts: 587
Somthing strange but could be of use to all mappers!
Last night i was working on my map (as always )
and i started adding the town into the remargen maps, now i'll start from the begining... When i built the bridge i added towers each end as they are on the real one.. but when a bot would go to the window of the tower on the other side of the bridge i could see him through the wall only when he went to the back did he disapear!!??? But this problem i noticed on ctf_faceworlds in the mid sniper area of the buildings... now heres the strange bit!! As soon as i started adding the town into my map the problem went and now the tower looks solid, as it should do! So maybe adding a bit extra to your map might get rid of probs like thease?? i mean you dont have to make it part of your map as such, just edgeing(for effect!) |
13th Dec 2000, 03:42 PM | #2 |
Thats pretty common actually...CTF_Face has a BSP issue or two, which is prolly what you had. Adding stuff to the world tends to recaculate a few bits and pieces, and can fix that prob. A rebuild probably would have worked as well.
Groove is in the heart...fool |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |


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Body of deceased man found in Murray River
A body of a Hidden Valley man was found in the Murray River a short distance away from his camp site.
April 17, 2013 10:35amAlbury Police will prepare a report for the Coroner after the discovery of a man's body in the Murray River.
The man believed to be a 63-year-old former Victorian resident was found about 11am yesterday, at 'Goat Island' near Bundalong.
The Hidden Valley man was found a short distance away from his camp site on the island.
His death does not appear suspicious.
Police from the Albury Local Area Command will prepare a report for the Coroner outlining the full circumstances of the man's death.
For more, see tomorrow's Shepparton News.
Greater Shepparton Australia Day award winners
Congratulations to all our award winners in Greater Shepparton. To find out more about what our amazing recipients have done, see tomorrow's Shepparton News.
Australian champions take prize
Some of Australia's best kayakers were in Yarrawonga on Sunday at the annual Yarrawonga-Mulwala Canoe Club's Murray River Classic kayak race.
Enough is enough
Volunteers at St Vincent de Paul in Tatura continue to be dismayed at the amount of unsuitable items dumped at the centre in Francis St.
Nash puts a little extra in his kick
When the wall is in sight, swimmer Nash Ramage finds that little bit extra.
Tree damage angers
Vandals have uprooted trees along the Campaspe River, leaving Rochester River Reserve Committee president Paul Poort furious and devastated.
Sportstar scores netball champ
Bianca Chatfield to speak at Kyabram Sportstar of the Year
Bushfires makes news across the centuries
Alan McLean looks back at Seymour's history of larrikings, louts and bushfires.
Tocumwal's farm and nursery grand opening
New tourism venture, Old Woperana Working Farm and Animal Nursery, is now open to the public.
Take care and enjoy the lakes
Warm weather during the Christmas/New Year period saw large crowds enjoy facilities at the region's major water storages.
Bowls for cancer
Cobram bowler Chris Taylor has been bowling all along Australia's east coast, and all for a good cause.
Stolen fishing gear back with family
The Free family were overwhelmed when stolen fishing equipment was returned to them on Monday night.
Kelly to leave SPC Ardmona
SPC Ardmona's managing director Peter Kelly will end his association with the company when his two-year commitment to the job expires at the end of March.
Beloved Salvation Army Majors farewell Benalla
Salvation Army Benalla Majors Heather and Peter Ellis have relocated to Melbourne.
Discover unbelievable local deals from local businesses every week in the Goulburn and Murray Valley area with Leapon.com.au!
Search properties for sale or rent across North Central Victoria and Southern NSW. Visit your local website for local homes....


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Advertising on BQDC:
The Bad Quaker Podcast is rebroadcast on several web sites including, Sticher, iTunes, podcast.de and a number of private radio stations.
Although we accept donations through PayPal, BitCoin, silver, gold, or check drawn on a US bank, we will no longer be accepting paid advertisements. However we will consider advertising your company or cause based on individual circumstances.
To advertise on Bad Quaker Dot Com send your contact information and inquiries in an email to badquaker at badquaker dot com. All potential advertisers will be considered based on the opinions of the BQDC staff.
2013 Agenda:
Ben Stone was a featured speaker at the 2013 New Hampshire Liberty Forum, at the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania's 2013 Annual Convention, and the Porcupine Freedom Festival (PorcFestX).


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Yasmine Nakhuda, owner of the "IKEA" monkey leaves the Durham Region Courthouse on Thursday January 31, 2013.
Credits: Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
The baby macaque garnered world-wide attention in early December when it was found in alone in an Ikea parking lot, dressed in a snazzy coat and a diaper.
Darwin has been kept at Story Book Farm primate sanctuary since being taken from the store parking lot by Toronto Animal Services after it escaped from Yasmin Nakhuda's parked car. Before that, it had been a pet in the Nakhuda household for several months.
It is illegal to keep such a pet in the City of Toronto.
Nakhuda's lawyer, Ted Charney, argued Darwin was loved and well taken care of by Nakhuda, but the bond between them will suffer "irreparable" harm should the monkey remain at the sanctuary until a trial.
He also challenged the sanctuary's claims that Darwin had been abused while in Nakhuda's care, pointing to testimony by animal services officers that Darwin showed no signs of abuse.
Story Book Farm lawyer Kevin Toyne pointed to video footage of Nakhuda giving Darwin a bath as an example of potential neglect.
In the video an almost unconscious Darwin is seen being bathed under a bathtub tap, Toyne said. He questioned how Nekhuda was able to get the uptight and aggressive monkey - who was known to bite everyone in the family - into such a state.
He also reported Darwin was overweight and lacked muscle mass and body hair when he first arrived.
Charney said Darwin has put on muscle and grown hair at the sanctuary because of the animal's natural growth process.
Charney said when Nakhuda went to animal services to get Darwin back on Dec. 9, she was "tricked" into signing a surrender form that transferred ownership of the animal to the municipal animal agency.
He suggested animal services officers abused their powers and were unaware that the city's bylaw didn't enable them to keep the monkey once Nakhuda showed up to claim it.
Toyne, however, said Nakhuda, a real estate lawyer for almost 20 years, knew what she was signing. He said Darwin is a "wild animal" that Nakhuda lost of after it had escaped from her car.
Justice Michael Brown is expected to make his decision Friday morning as to where Darwin lives during the run-up to the trial.


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Needs more cowbell!
Wasn't you brother in a Big Ten marching band, too? How you been, sis? Wait a minute -- that would make me a dork, too. So no, nothing like that guy.
• 6 duathlons (1 Olympic distance)
• 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)
I've got a fever...
Yep, he was a tromboner
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
Actually, you would just say "He was a Bone." And yes, you need to capitalize it out of respect. (Guess what I play).
No way!
You remind me a LOT of that dork..
BTW, I've been called a dork plenty of times before, but no one's ever told me I reminded them of a dork. I guess that's a step up. So, umm, thanks?
The voice of mile 18
who's buying?
Marathon Maniac # 3228