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The Glow at the End of the Dial; Ira Glass Is, Um (Pause, Delete) . . . Listening: The Perfectly Edited World of His 'American Life.'
By Marshall Sella
Published: April 11, 1999
One minute after midnight, Ira Glass, host of the public-radio program ''This American Life,'' is huddled over his computer, editing an interview using digital software in his chaotic Chicago office. The voices on the tape are those of Glass and Alexa Junge, story editor of the NBC sitcom ''Friends.'' For more than four hours, Glass has been agonizing over every stammer, every breath, every millisecond between words in what originally was a 12-minute chat. ''Should I laugh there?'' he whispers to himself. ''No. I should not.''
The interview was for a local pledge drive. Ordinarily, pledge drives are viewed as the sixth circle of radio hell, an unending tape loop of cheery threats that victimize host and listener alike. Given the extraordinary success of ''This American Life,'' the fastest growing show on public radio, Glass might be expected to shun the business altogether. Instead, he has become the medium's most ardent fund-raiser, precisely because of promos like this one. His talk with Junge fleshes out a simple, droll premise: if public radio adopted the techniques of commercial television -- if there was more ''hanging out'' or if one of the news readers had a pet -- it wouldn't have to pester its audience for money. Junge's vision for the future is ''Less reporting, more sexy fun!''
''The first thing you're gonna need is a big couch,'' she says on the tape. Glass listens to the pause afterward, then snaps his finger where his response should be.
''A couch,'' his voice replies, after what is now a perfect, Bob Newhart-timed blink.
''Something big you can all sit on, um, while drinking coffee. . . . If you guys are tired of asking for money, get a group, put 'em on a couch, and make sure nothing gets in the way of them just sitting there.''
Much as he likes Junge's timing, Glass knows that her comments need paring to meet his standards: Should she breathe there? That ''um'' -- does it add meaning? He asks out loud, ''Does the 'um' work?''
Glass is talking to his computer. He does this all the time: swears at it, woos it, pleads for its cooperation. Hearing no reply, he deletes the ''um'' with a series of sweeps and clicks, then continues making jump-cuts, fiddling sound levels and deleting laughter.
Glass's success mirrors the rise of public radio as a whole. Over the past decade, as commercial airwaves have descended into a slough of golden oldies and grotesque political chatter, public radio's audience has more than doubled. Stations financed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting now reach 22 million listeners, up 15 percent from just five years ago. And with ''This American Life,'' Glass, at 40, has become a one-man new wave.
He is near the end of a typical foodless, 15-hour day, in which he has spent much of his time calling former colleagues at National Public Radio to produce vignettes that illustrate Junge's theories. Ray Suarez has taped a 60-second ''Talk of the Nation,'' in which he asks his pet duck to ''weigh in on health care.'' Nina Totenberg, Bob Edwards and Noah Adams have recorded a sketch in which they all hang out and engage in Gen-X conversation about a ''Senate vote thingy.'' Adams needles Totenberg for having a crush on ''dreamy Trent Lott.'' (Totenberg replies, ''That is so not true!'')
Glass will work until 2 A.M., go home to catch a few hours' sleep, then return, wearing most of the same clothes, at 5:30 A.M. to play the promos with live commentary to Chicago's morning drive-time crowd (and to listeners in other cities over the next year). He sits in a colorless studio, his shoulders making slow, coquettish swivels at the microphone, beckoning readers to call in. ''My friend,'' he says, ''you've stayed around during pledge breaks, our least interesting programming. Look in the mirror, my brother. You are a hardcore public-radio listener. A lifer! So here's the number to call.''
The effort Glass puts into a pledge drive is only a shadow of the obsessive care he takes with ''This American Life.'' Each episode of his show, an hourlong collection of first-person stories, short fiction and the odd bit of poetry, explores a single theme -- Guns,'' say, or ''Other People's Mail.'' It is typically divided into three or four stories, or ''acts.'' An episode titled ''The Cruelty of Children,'' for instance, begins with a recording made on a school bus of Glass chatting with a first grader. The discussion is meant to be about libraries, but ineluctably turns to bullies, a pressing concern in every kid's life. The boy claims his school library lends out ''bully books'' -- books that teach children how to be mean. He insists, against all evidence, that one is called ''Bullies Make All the Rules.'' Glass, forever hovering between faith and bemusement, asks who would write such a book. The boy replies, ''Maybe the guy who wrote it was a bully himself.''
Nothing that follows is any nearer to proper, mainstream media. David Sedaris (who gained prominence when his ''Santaland Diaries'' was produced by Glass for NPR's ''Morning Edition'' in 1992) dryly recalls his cruelty to ''sissy boys'' when he was coming to grips with his own homosexuality. Ira Sher then reads some short fiction -- a sparse, chilling tale about a group of children who discover a man trapped in a well and leave him there to die. Next, Glass interviews Vivian Paley, a teacher and author, about how kids form rigid ''ruling classes'' even in kindergarten. The show ends with Louis Prima's rousing ''When You're Smiling.'' Somehow, the anecdotes add up to an idiosyncratic sociological whole.
There's no end to the raw material from which Glass may draw, because he has stripped away all traditional journalistic notions of what makes stories timely. He can therefore do entire shows about compulsive liars or Niagara Falls (including a tape of a man tumbling over the falls in a barrel, as well as another interview with a man whose job it is to haul dead bodies out of the water below). Glass calls his mission ''goony and idealistic'' -- to give voice to those outside the mainstream. Tragically, though, many will still plod through life unheard. In the warren of the show's offices, there's a box of submissions that no one has found time to formally reject. They start with lines like ''Love was not for Sam.'' Some aspire to greatness: ''By the age of 8, he was a professional eater.'' Others do not: ''I have written and performed several one-woman pieces, one of which involved a stripping clown.''
''This American Life'' made its debut on the Chicago public-radio station WBEZ in November 1995. From the beginning, Glass made it his business to compensate for the peculiarity of his show by being what he calls ''a pledge-drive powerhouse.''
''We didn't know how popular it was going to be,'' he recalls. ''We wanted stations to make more money off our show than it cost. The flakier your mission, the fiercer you have to be on the business side.''
By brazenly pitching the show to marketing directors, Glass has been as much a boon financially as he has been creatively. Last year, Glass went on WBUR, Boston's public mainstay, and in a single hour raised $50,000 -- more than double the usual pledge amount. Although the show won a Peabody Award its first year, its future was never assured. ''We were already on 160 stations,'' Glass says, ''but NPR was hesitating to pick us up.''
Though many listeners refer to all public radio as ''NPR'' the way soda drinkers refer to Coke to mean any cola, ''public radio'' actually consists of two competing networks, NPR and Public Radio International, which is based in Minneapolis. They are the sibling rivals of American broadcasting -- now battling over control for a given time slot, now joining forces when the health of public radio is at stake. Although most public-radio stations carry shows from both networks, it's PRI, not NPR, that distributes ''This American Life.''
Actually, PRI might not exist at all had it not been for a monumental NPR gaffe: in 1983, the network turned down the opportunity to syndicate Garrison Keillor's ''Prairie Home Companion.'' ''NPR declined to pick up Keillor because there was an attitude that they had plenty of producers and plenty of talent back in Washington,'' says Stephen Salyer, PRI's president and C.E.O.They didn't want to be spending resources in the hinterlands.''
Frank Mankiewicz, who was president of NPR at the time, disagrees. ''We said no to that program because it was too expensive,'' he recalls. ''More important, I didn't like it -- and I don't like it now. It mocks the values of middle America; it's obnoxious and elitist, and it had no place on NPR.'' Today, ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is the most popular cultural program on the air. Two network vice presidents were reportedly let go in the wake of the decision.
In response to NPR's parochialism, executives from five major stations (including WNYC) founded something called American Public Radio, which later became PRI. It picked up ''A Prairie Home Companion.'' Currently, Keillor reaches more than 2.2 million listeners a week.
NPR and PRI continue to compete. But even after the Keillor fiasco, NPR's reluctance to distribute ''This American Life'' came as no surprise to some. Glass's voice doesn't have the softly authoritative cadence that NPR so enjoys in its news readers: it was crackly and, at times, uncomfortably intimate. Beyond that, Glass himself had worked at NPR since he was 19, when he produced promos as a summer intern. In later years he was a tape cutter, a producer for ''All Things Considered'' and an on-air reporter. Given his history with the network, there were old-school types, Glass believes, who simply couldn't abide ''This American Life.'' It was just Ira, and they'd known Ira since he was a kid. No one takes an ex-intern seriously.
''In the end,'' Glass recalls, ''they said, 'Well . . . we'll give you what PRI is offering. We'll give you that.' And this was the courting stage!'' He grabbed PRI with both hands.
Glass then scored a $350,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- more than twice what he had asked for. C.P.B.'s condition for such unheard-of generosity was simple: that Glass and WBEZ guarantee at least three years of programming. ''When we heard Ira, it was clear this wasn't something you give money for one year, then renew,'' says Rick Madden, C.P.B.'s vice president for radio. ''Sometimes you have to see what'll happen if a person gets freedom from fund-raising and time to percolate the idea.''
Not surprisingly, Glass regards this move as ''the single most competent piece of arts administration I've ever seen. They said, 'You have a political problem you don't even know you have; stations aren't signing up for your show because they don't think it'll be around in a year.' ''
''This American Life'' is more than surviving. Glass likes to say that ''it's the only program in the history of broadcasting to win the Peabody and the DuPont-Columbia awards, and be invited to the HBO Comedy Festival.'' Between 1996 and 1997, the show's audience more than doubled. At present, it's heard on 324 stations (with San Bernardino, Calif., just about to sign on) by more than 830,000 people. That's a 30 percent increase in listeners over the last year.
Since December 1995, when Newt Gingrich suggested eliminating all Federal funds for public broadcasting, C.P.B. itself has had a fiscal knife at its throat. Public radio, which absorbs $60 million of C.P.B.'s annual $250 million budget, has had to become more sophisticated about raising money.
''The old style was to say, 'If we don't get your 10 bucks, we're going off the air,' ''says Madden. ''But fund-raising has matured. We're getting in to major planned giving amore on the model of hospitals and symphonies. We're not a fly-by-night operation, so we don't need to act like one.''
No one embodies this change better than Glass. Local stations can't get enough of his ''revolutionary'' promos. ''We've taken his pledge breaks and spliced them into whole shows,'' says Johnette Alter, manager of on-air fund-raising at KERA in Dallas. ''And those programs -- pledge-drive shows! -- rated better than the shows they replaced.''
For Glass, there's material to spare. In one pledge segment, he noted the popularity of the theme restaurant Medieval Times and was forced to admit that aficionados of jousting, a sport that supposedly had been dead for 400 years, were still as numerous as WBEZ's listeners.
Glass interviewed a Medieval Times marketer, whose fund-raising advice came to three words: ''Newsmen on horses.'' This led to yet another vintage Ira Glass ''so I got to thinking'' sketch involving a mock battle between NPR's Carl Kasell and Corey Flintoff. ''Scavengers will dine on your bones!'' Flintoff cries. To which Kasell retorts, ''You will read the news from Hades, usurper!'' In the end, Flintoff is slain, whispering his final words in agony: ''I have served my liege with unbiased reports . . . and now, I die! For National Public Radio News in Washington, I'm Corey Flintoff!''
Where comedy fails, bribery succeeds. Glass has spent whole nights delivering pizzas to pledging members in Chicago and Boston. He offers rub-on biker-style tattoos emblazoned with skulls and Gothic script spelling out ''Public Radio.'' This month, as a premium, he'll be giving out CD's of his show's greatest hits, a Rhino Records release called ''Lies, Sissies and Fiascoes: The Best of 'This American Life.' ''
But work is wearing Glass down. No two minutes of his office life pass without an interruption. Producers crack open his door to ask after the status of a segment; interns feel free to bound in with computer questions. And when there's no one else available, Glass interrupts himself, wheeling his chair around to send E-mail or return ancient phone calls. Up close, he's a medley of discrete moments, a series of phrases and gestures that don't add up to a unified man and never hold together for long. It takes a week of stressful editing to create a contiguous hour of Ira Glass.
But this week, he resolves, is going to be different; he's going to go home at a decent hour, try out some new electronic media, live in the city in which he lives. In the corridor outside his office, there's a freshly delivered computer -- a grape-colored iMac, since Glass likes his technology handsome. (He is anticipating his first-ever full hour on the Internet looking at something other than his own show's Web site.) Two days ago, he also had cable television installed. ''I now have the equipment to recraft my existence,'' he says, brightly jotting to-do notes in a little red book. ''This week . . . will be an entire narrative arc.''
Glass has the air of someone who was dropped off at a boarding school long ago and gradually took over the campus. He wears high-top sneakers and designer horn-rimmed specs that lend him a bookish glamour; his thick black hair is interrupted by moments of gray, like that of a boy who has seen something terrible. He says he owns only three pairs of pants, not counting two suits he saves for special occasions. He has lived in the same apartment for 10 years and still pays $465 a month, even if there was a four-month stretch when he forgot to pay.
Money, in the main, has little pull for Glass. After four years of ''This American Life,'' his annual salary has just hit $63,000. He once turned down an offer to do a few Crate & Barrel voiceovers that would have paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for a few hours' work. Tacked above his desk is a letter from Warner Trade Paperbacks, offering him $400,000 to write two books, neither of which specifies any firm topic or due date. A friend in the business has advised Glass that he could easily command a million. ''I still wouldn't do it,'' he says. ''I'm busy.''
Nevertheless, a few detours have tempted Glass. To the amazement of some of his purist radio friends, he's looking into doing a television version of his program. It's still in the early stages; Glass says he needs a network that would give him real creative control. His one vow is to avoid PBS, which, he insists, ''is more beholden to corporate interests than commercial television and should be abolished.'' But the glow of television has attracted him.
''It wouldn't be like '20/20' or '60 Minutes' or any other shows with numbers in their titles,'' he says. ''The visuals would be impressionistic, pretty -- more like an Errol Morris film.''
Like its creator, ''This American Life'' has spent years running on the cheap. Until recently, the staff worked on equipment so old that it was almost quaint. Each producer was afforded a single audio speaker, which made it impossible to hear if background music was swelling out of control. The sound-editing software, far from being state-of-the-art, was a $300 program popular among amateur musicians.
But the iMac has brought money luck on this gray Chicago afternoon. Glass reads a piece of E-mail from his marketing consultant again and again: Amazon.com has just signed on as a corporate sponsor, contributing a mind-bending $125,000. ''This is amazing,'' Glass says, gratefully patting the top of his computer. ''We've just made our budget.''
Now all his mad dreams can come true. Alix Spiegel, a producer, can get a cheap soundproof wall for her tiny corner of the office. Maybe Glass can even hire someone new, and take pressure off his three producers, all of whom seem to be on the verge of burnout. Glass E-mails a thank-you note to his marketer for the good news. ''You rock, you rock, you rock,'' he types. Glass's hands flap as he shoos the letter away: ''Go! go!''
For all his logistical duties, Ira Glass is a Roland Barthes man down to his socks. What he knows best, besides cutting tape, is how to evoke the pleasure of the text. If you chuckle when he tells you that he majored in semiotics at Brown University ''and it comes in handy every day,'' he'll blink at you a few times, then explain that, yes, it truly does. He describes semiotics as ''a sadly pretentious body of theory about language and narrative'' -- but make no mistake. Glass is a believer. To illustrate the art, he leans in conspiratorially and starts talking in hushed tones: ''A guy wakes up, and it's really quiet. He looks around and gets out of bed; it's really quiet. Walks into the hall . . . really quiet. He keeps walking and goes downstairs . . . it's really quiet. . . .''
The repetition is mesmerizing, and every statement raises 10 questions. Who is the man? What does he want? What's going to happen? Therein lies suspense, a pleasure that can be shaped to happy or ghastly effect, however the teller pleases. There are two people in America who so deliberately mesmerize: Ira Glass and Philip Glass. And they're related (first cousins once removed).
''A sequence . . . a sequence is like a sermon,'' Glass says. ''This happened and that happened and here's what it means. It took me years to learn that. It's a sermon. I feel like someone who went into his basement and invented something that everybody already owned.''
Glass's speech, on radio, is a strange combination of Bobby Kennedy and Paul Harvey. His youthful proclamations dip into subtle insights then leave a pause that, as stage directors like to say, you could drive a truck through. ''In radio, you have two tools,'' he says. ''Sound and silence.'' His life, an unbroken line between semiotics and radio, has taught him that pauses are dead air only in the hands of charlatans and hacks.
''I'm trying to make perfect moments,'' he says. ''And those generate meaning. If you go deep enough in how to make a moment, very quickly you come to how narrative works -- to what we are as a species, how we've come up with telling stories in scenes and images.
''Radio these days is a car people drive at 20 m.p.h.,'' he adds, ''but that no one wants to take for a spin on the freeway.''
During the conversation, with its scores of interruptions, I point out that the medium is regarded differently, say, in England, where serious writers still compose radio plays.
''Yeah,'' he says, pining for radio's heyday. ''That's like a whole different country.''
''Technically, England is a different country,'' I mutter.
Glass laughs. ''If I could recut this conversation,'' he says, ''I'd cut it to end there. We were both surprised, and it had a good punch.''
My God, I think -- Ira Glass edits conversations in real life, all day long.
But Glass cannot focus solely on radio theory. While he's still putting in vast amounts of time bringing his ''Friends'' skits to life, he gets word that NPR executives are edgy. Is it wise, they wonder, to erode their talent's credibility by using them in satire? Why didn't Glass go through channels?
''In the past, I just called up my friends and said, 'Wanna be in a show?' ''he says, smiling at the oddity at having to persuade the networks to make money. But Glass, after 20 years in the business, has developed a politic side.
''The first thing you have to say is, 'I hear what you're saying,' ''Glass tells me. He picks up the phone to make what will be the first of four days of phone calls to appease the brass of both networks. ''It is like a delicate neurological procedure.''
Glass stands, as he often does when he's on the phone, and calls a marketing figure at PRI. He smiles patiently while he listens. ''I hear what you're saying,'' he says, shifting his weight to and fro, as though he's trying to rock the phone to sleep. ''But we're in a position to be magnanimous and -- yes. Let me think about what you're saying.''
Glass waits a beat before banging down the phone and coughs out a laugh. There's time to make things right. All he really wants to do is produce these spots, to beam them up to Galaxy VI, public radio's satellite 22,000 miles above the world, so they can be pulled down again and used for the forces of good. To him, promos are programs. He wants the pleasure of fixing them and hearing them read by the talent.
Though common sense suggests that NPR might enjoy having the industry's star pledge-producer make them some cash, and that PRI might enjoy borrowing some clout from NPR's famous voices, everyone has a problem with everything. Someone from NPR warns Glass not to use any copy in a news parody that sounds like real news. Another wonders whether ''This American Life'' should be allowed to broadcast the promos Glass himself is creating. Both networks want to know who will be able to use the promos, who will own them.
Glass's natural optimism begins to fade. Nancy Updike, the most senior of the show's three producers, steps into his office. ''Sort of bad news,'' she says. ''Carl Kasell's supervisor said no.''
Glass rubs his face as though a genie might appear. ''And this is even after we were told yes to everything yesterday?'' he asks from behind a hand. Updike explains the catch. Kasell is portraying himself reading news, and the credibility issue is looming -- as is the pledge-break ownership quandary.
In his mild version of a rage, Glass tosses off an E-mail to all concerned with the ''Friends'' fracas. The gist of it is clear: as the man who conceived and organized the promos, found the executive producer of ''Friends,'' contacted all the talent involved and created the sketches, Glass thinks that maybe, just maybe, he should have some say in their distribution.
I ask Glass how he'll budge an entire bureaucracy. The phrase ''going through channels'' alone, in the real world, is at best a nine-day proposition. But Glass is unruffled. Without a trace of sarcasm, he says, ''I am gently trying to nudge them toward the path of righteousness.''
''By getting rough?'' I ask. ''Isn't that what bureaucracies understand?''
''I don't believe that.''
Well into the next day, Glass is haunted by remorse about the E-mail. ''I was slipping into darkness,'' he moans, dragging a palm across his cheek. ''If I behave nicely, all will work out.''
As it happens, Glass's faith is affirmed. All but one of the promos are accepted. ''What happened was a wonderful lesson, did you see?'' he'll say later. ''Everyone came around and did the selfless thing. PRI originally asked, 'What do we get out of this?' And I said, 'Nothing.' Now everybody feels like a hero.''
Ira Glass is smaller and less jumpy in the open air. One damp evening, he saunters up to me in the street outside my hotel, eating a hot dog. ''Want one?'' he asks, before resorting to a semiotic lure. ''It's char-broiled. The fact pattern of this hot dog is that it's completely char-broiled!''
Glass has agreed to drive me around a bit in his black Honda Accord. I've made this request so that I can talk to him without interruption -- without hearing the first half of one thousand interesting remarks. It also occurs to me that I'm most accustomed to hearing his voice in a car.
I try to think what's so different, what is so strangely intimate, about speech in a car. ''Simple,'' Glass says. ''When people talk in a car they don't look at each other. The information enters you in a different way.''
Glass has slept 2 hours of the past 38. But in the dark, eyes out of sight, he is clear as a bell. He tells the story of how he bought this car, and ends in typical Ira Glass puzzlement: ''No one is ever supposed to buy a car without getting the story to go with it, the story of buying the car,'' he says. ''It makes you think . . . when does narrative happen in real life? And why?''
Glass ends his week with little to show for his iMac and cable TV. His existence has not been recrafted. He has watched cable for little more than an hour, having seen ''The Sopranos'' on HBO. The computer has offered its baffling first hour on the Internet. He has worked a lot.
Ten days pass. One morning, I wake to find that someone has left a seven-minute message on my answering machine. It's Glass. He wants to help ''tie up a narrative moment in the story'' -- this story. This time, there's no question of looking at each other as we talk. It is the clearest, most cohesive time I will ever spend with him. His voice issues from my private little radio, as he tells me again the tale of how ''This American Life'' came to be. He speaks of Rick Madden and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and WBEZ in Chicago. Glass occasionally forgets that he's not talking to a human being. At one point, he says, ''I may have told you this story -- and stop me if I have. . . .'' Though of course he is on tape, so there's no interrupting him.
The tale is engaging and optimistic. Glass builds a little suspense about the time just before C.P.B. stepped in to finance ''This American Life.'' The moral is that altruism works, that the world bends heliotropically to righteousness. Glass doesn't dislike tragedy, but this story is about his own show, so a happy ending will suffice. This story is about the goodness of Government.
''In general, people think about these Federal agencies . . . and quasi-Federal agencies,'' his voice says, crackling up out of my black box. ''But you never hear about somebody handling something with such skill. It was truly . . . amazing . . . to me. Bye.''
Photos: In this age of high-tech communication, old-fashioned radio is unaccountably flourishing. At right, Ira Glass, of ''This American Life,'' one of the medium's saviors. (Jim Cooper for The New York Times; Amy Arbus for The New York Times); America's narrator: Glass is equally comfortable in the roles of pledge-drive huckster and radio semiotician.; Radio Free America: Glass records a swearing in of new U.S. citizens for a segment on his weekly show. (Amy Arbus for The New York Times; Jim Cooper for The New York Times) Charts: ''The New Chattering Class'' Talk radio that's worth talking about. ''On a Roll,'' syndicated on 37 stations. The wheelchair-bound Greg Smith, who has muscular dystrophy, has found an audience with his upbeat, irreverent call-in show for the disabled. The 34-year-old host broadcasts from his bedroom in Yellow Springs, Ohio. ''The Pirate Hour,'' KFJC 89.7 FM, Los Altos, Calif. Since 1992, Marlon Kasberg and Jason Biggs have been performing on air together as Jack and Skully, a pair of grog-loving pirates. The two D.J.'s trade ''yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum''-style banter and play cuts from their extensive collection of sea chanteys. Conceived as a kid's comedy show, it has developed a cult following among adults. ''Jewish Stories,'' KCRW 89.9 FM, Santa Monica, Calif. Fiction with Jewish themes is given a dramatic reading by celebrities like Charlton Heston (a selection from Saul Bellow's ''Herzog'') and Leonard Nimoy (a story by Sholom Aleichem). ''Democracy Now!,'' syndicated in 27 markets. When this lefty radio show covered the Starr report, its angle was decidedly different than MSNBC's: how, its reporters wondered, was the Florida sugar magnate Alfonso Fanjul able to direct-dial the Oval Office and pressure Clinton (who was cavorting with Lewinsky at the time) for special subsidies? ''Shoestring Radio Theater,'' KUSF 90.3 FM, San Francisco. Each week brings a fresh performance of a one-act play. Some are new; others are revivals from radio's Golden Age, like Frank M. Campbell's ''Legend of Castle Bodnar,'' a campy vampire tale from the 1940's, complete with creaking-door sound effects. ''The Savvy Traveler,'' syndicated in 160 markets. This show specializes in witty accounts of off-the-beaten-track globe-trotting. One recent segment documented a vacationer's failed attempt to escape American junk culture (''Baywatch,'' chili-dogs from 7-Eleven) during his excursion to remote reaches of Southeast Asia. ''Beautiful Noises'' A survey of offbeat music on the FM dial. ''Morning Becomes Eclectic,'' KCRW 89.9 FM, Santa Monica, Calif. This free-form show is closely monitored by L.A. record execs. The D.J. Nic Harcourt is currently championing the L.A-based P. J. Olsson -- perfect end-of-the-century pop,'' he says -- and Nina Hynes, an unsigned Irish singer whose sound he describes as ''a cross between Bjork and Massive Attack.'' 'Amazon Radio,'' WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, Conn. This feminism-infused ''women's music'' show ranges from Sweet Honey in the Rock to Ani DiFranco. Lesser-known bands like Flo Stigmata and the Icons and lesbian folkies like Rebecca Riots also get prominent play. Vietnam FM, VNFM 96.1 FM, Berkeley, Calif. This station caters to the Bay Area's Vietnamese community. The station plays a heady mix of homeland music, ranging from centuries-old Vietnamese opera to contemporary pop by Saigonese stars like Chan Que. Karaoke tracks are popular, too. ''Hearts of Space,'' syndicated in 300 markets. This ''contemplative, space-creating'' show emanating from San Francisco, which burbles with ambient, New Agey music, was started in 1973 by Stephen Hill, a former architect. Each show, Hill says, is an ''uninterrupted 58-minute sonic journey.'' ''This Week in Americana,'' syndicated in 63 markets. In response to the commercialization of Nashville, this program, hosted by Shannon McCombs, deliberately tosses together classic performers like Bob Wills with ''alt.country'' stars like the Mavericks. ''La Onda Bajita,'' KPFA 94.1 FM, Berkeley, Calif. You won't find salsa or meringue on ''La Onda Bajita'' (''The Sound of Baja''). Instead, the D.J.'s pump out ''low-rider soul'' by artists like Billy Stewart and Marvin Gaye. It's all about nostalgia: such soul hits were originally broadcast on XRPS, a Rosarita Beach radio station from the 60's whose reach extended well into northern Mexico, influencing a whole generation of Chicano listeners.


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- December 2004 /
Student Action Group at BPC's Liberty County
Campus Extends to Community
By Terry Gaston
BPC Public Relations
When Dr. Susan Kinsella joined Brewton-Parker College's
Liberty County campus at Hinesville in 2002, she said she
wanted to form a student organization that focused on community
service work while uniting the campus' largely non-traditional
enrollment through such extracurricular activities.
This fall, the Student Action Group (SAG) founded by Kinsella
-- an associate professor of sociology and human services
at the Liberty County campus -- has a core group of 10 students
that has focused its activities on helping those in need
in Liberty County.
"This year's group has really taken grasp of the projects
that we have performed on what is becoming an annual basis," said
Kinsella, who added that the SAG is open to any student attending
classes at the Liberty County campus.
For the Christmas season, SAG members established an Angel
Tree in the center's student lounge, from which students
could select names of needy youngsters as supplied through
three agencies and purchase new, wrapped gifts for distribution
before Christmas.
The benefiting agencies are Liberty County's Department
of Family and Children; Tri-County Protective Agency, for
children in both the outreach program and the shelter; and
Gabrielle House, a group home for abused children in Hinesville.
In November, SAG members donated non-perishable food items
to the Manna House, a food distribution center for needy
families from the Hinesville area. Students in the group
also donated food and desserts for Thanksgiving dinner for
women and children staying at the Tri-County Shelter.
The SAG also had two projects in October. Members collected
and donated $200 to the American Heart Association Walk in
Liberty County, with a $150 Mile Marker placed to honor Mike
Patti, who is in charge of the Brewton-Parker Liberty County
campus' maintenance and security. About 17 walkers from the
Brewton-Parker campus participated in the event.
Also in October, the SAG donated candy gift bags to the
Tri-County Protective Agency.
"I have made deliveries of many of our donated items,
and I enjoy seeing everyone's faces and that they are really
grateful," said Amy Knight, a junior from Hinesville
who is one of the group's co-presidents. "I love being
a part of the Student Action Group and like helping other
Karen Ortiz, a junior from Miami, Fla., joins Knight, who
is originally from South Carolina, as the other co-president
this year. Donna Romain of Hinesville is a graduating senior
and the SAG secretary, and Alvin Judge, a junior from Hinesville,
is the group's treasurer.
Judge brought to the SAG many of the volunteer aspects he
experienced during a 30-year military career from which he
retired in 2002.
"As a battalion sergeant major, during the holiday
period I would organize many activities and make sure we
could support Toys for Tots, making Christmas and Thanksgiving
baskets, and food collections and distributions," Judge
"Once I found the
Student Action Group, I found its activities right up my
alley. There is definitely a fulfillment,
any time and any day, to make sure folks get what they need."
Knight said the SAG hopes
to do more one-on-one activities during the spring semester,
such as visiting nursing home
residents. "I just enjoy working with different people
and helping out others," she said.
Kinsella also has presented the concept of the Student Action
Group as an example at the National Organization for Human
Service Education's national conference in Nashville, Tenn.,
during the fall 2003 semester.
"This is based on what is called the service learning
model, when you put into practice what students learn in
the classroom and allow them to go out into community and
work with community agencies," Kinsella said. "It
was very well received, and a lot of schools were interested
in the model and wanted to start a Student Action Group also."
"Wherever BPC students gather to pursue their higher
educations, they inevitably survey the local community to
determine how they can invest their time and talents to bring
improvement, quality and hope to others," said Dr. David
R. Smith, Brewton-Parker's president. "These students
at our Liberty County campus have achieved a variety of such
community service projects through their Student Action Group."

subset: commoncrawl


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Great price
By Kenny
from Hibbs,Pa
About Me Professional
Comments about Warrior 9 in. x 11 in. 220 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper Sheets 7 Pk:
Very good sand paper personally more durable than 3m and way less expensive
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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Very good I use these really a lot
By Papa
from Hemet CA
About Me Avid Do-It-Yourselfer
Easy to use I use them for wood and paint (primer)
Good quality
By Mn
from Niagara
See all my reviews
Great for sanding drywall
smooth finish
By Joe
from Orlando, FL
About Me Casual Do-It-Yourselfer
I do a lot of woodworking using the HF sandpaper and the HF quarter sheet sander. The results are smooth and scratch free finishes. I now use only HF sandpaper for my woodworking projects. The quality and price are hard to beat.
it's sandpaper
By Delta 99
from Denver, CO
It's sandpaper, pretty hard to mess that up
I would not buy this produce again
By Moe
from Exton
Sanding paper fills up quickly, wears down quickly. Use 2-3 time more than the name brand paper. Would not buy again.
Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Too thick
By apensa
from Bullhead City, AZ
Paper backing is a little too thick.
may do ok on wood
By Thom
from Houston
I bought this sand paper for doing body work on cars. It is supposed to be wet/ dry paper, but if you try to wet sand it won't hold up more than a few seconds and all the grit is gone.
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text:
Dotcom's Lawyer, New Zealand Police Spar Over Raid's Need
New Zealand police used the best people for the job in conducting a raid on the home of Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom and achieved what they wanted, the officer in charge of the operation testified.
The January raid with two helicopters and 27 police officers, some armed with assault rifles and gas canisters, was an attack on the freedoms guaranteed to New Zealand residents under the country's bill of rights, Dotcom's lawyer Paul Davison responded yesterday, on the third day of a hearing in Auckland High Court.
"Police aren't every day going into houses armed to the teeth," Davison said. "That's not the ordinary police practice around the country."
Dotcom, accused of orchestrating the biggest copyright infringement in U.S. history, is attempting to prove the search and seizure of his rented home in New Zealand as unreasonable under the country's bill of rights. The claim is part of his attempt to recover computers and hard drives taken by police, which he said are needed to prepare a defense for a March extradition hearing to the U.S. on charges of criminal copyright fraud and racketeering.
Detective Inspector Grant Wormald, who supervised the planning and the operation of the raid, said weeks were spent assessing the best way to carry out the arrests of Dotcom and his associates and the potential threats officers would face.
'Real Risk'
Dotcom had been caught speeding at 149 kilometers an hour (93 miles per hour) in his car, footage was posted on the Internet of him driving through a police checkpoint, images of him posing with shotguns were available and there was a "real risk" he or his associates could destroy evidence, Wormald said.
As a result police concluded they needed to use helicopters to execute a swift entry into Dotcom's mansion in an Auckland suburb and make quick arrests, he said. The country's Special Tactics Group, a SWAT-like team, are the only police officers qualified to use helicopters, he said.
"They were the best people for the job," Wormald said.
Wormald said there was no precedent to use the STG in New Zealand on a fraud-like charge with no threat of violence.
New Zealand residents are guaranteed freedom from unreasonable search and seizure by Section 21 of the country's bill of rights, Davison said.
"The household is a haven and a private place," Davison said. "Sanctity of that is not to be intruded upon."
Donation Refused
Davison said Dotcom had been cooperative with police in the past and even offered to donate a car to the police force.
"I doubt very much police would accept the offer," Wormald said, adding that a NZ$60,000 ($49,000) car donation could be seen as potentially buying favors.
"That's a very cynical interpretation," Davison responded.
Earlier, Allan Langille, supervising analyst at New Zealand police's electronic crime laboratory, testified the force seized almost everything in the home that could store digital information.
"I didn't know what evidence they were looking for," Langille said referring to the FBI, who had requested New Zealand's help in carrying out the arrests and seizures.
Dotcom, 38, was indicted in what U.S. prosecutors dubbed a "Mega Conspiracy," accusing his file-sharing website of generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds from the exchange of pirated film, music, book and software files. He faces as long as 20 years in prison for each of the racketeering and money-laundering charges in the indictment, with the U.S. seeking his extradition for a trial in Virginia.
Pregnant Wife
During the day of the raid, Dotcom's then-pregnant wife, expecting twins, began to have contractions and sought to go to a hospital, Davison said. Police refused to provide transportation and only offered to call the emergency 111 number to summon an ambulance, he said.
"You come on their property," seize all their communication, all their mobile phones, all their cars "and all you were doing is facilitating a 111 call," Davison told Detective Sergeant Stephen Humphries, who was in charge of executing the search warrant and dealing with the family and staff. "That's a pathetic response."
"We're police officers, not medical staff," Humphries responded. He said if Mrs. Dotcom had been in medical trouble police would have helped.
Police seized 123 items during the raid, from mobile phones, to routers, as well as hard drives and computers, Davison said, with the FBI conducting all analysis on the seized devices.
Name Changed
"The impression I had was there was potentially evidence on any digital storage device," Langille testified.
Dotcom, who was born in Germany and legally changed his name from Kim Schmitz, had testified Aug. 7 some of the digital storage devices contained more than 350 hours of personal videos and pictures.
"Every aspect of our life has been documented over the past 10 years," he said.
Justice Helen Winkelmann had ruled June 28 that police had relied on illegal warrants that were overly broad.
The case is between Kim Dotcom and Attorney-General. Civ 2012-404-1928. High Court of New Zealand (Auckland).


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"Illuminating Spirits," an art and poetry exhibition by incarcerated women in the Texas prison system, are displayed at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin.
AUSTIN, TX (Texas Tribune) - During the seven years Penney Hunt spent behind bars for attacking an alleged stalker, she had to be more than just creative to produce her art: she had to be resourceful. Without traditional art supplies, she turned to coffee grounds, deodorant sticks and even brightly colored candy to transfer the visions in her mind to paper.
The artwork of dozens of incarcerated female artists like Hunt was on display over the weekend at an exhibit at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin. Behind bars, Hunt, other former inmates and mental health experts said, art can be an important form of expression for women who have suffered from trauma, drug addiction or mental illness before turning to crime and landing in prison. And advocates for prisoner rights say they plan to ask lawmakers next year to put aside more money to provide inmates with better access to art supplies and more rehabilitative programs that include art therapy.
At the exhibit, artwork from about 50 currently incarcerated women was on display: a still life of a sparrow, a colored-pencil portrait of Mary and Jesus, a watercolor cartoon frog. The pieces, Hunt said, were most likely made from supplies that inmates bought from the prison store, or commissary.
Inmates can purchase some art supplies from the commissary, such as watercolor paints, drawing pads, pens and paint brushes. But many inmates cannot afford to buy them, Hunt said, so they make do with other items they might have on hand.
Organized by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition and the city of Austin, the exhibit was featured alongside a report that found more than half of surveyed women in Texas facilities said they were sexually abused or diagnosed with a mental illness before being incarcerated.
The project aimed to draw focus to the more than 12,000 women currently in Texas prisons, said TCJC executive director Ana Yáñez-Correa. Art, she said, brings life to the mental health problems and the trauma that can lead women to make bad choices that result in prison time.
Months before the exhibition, TCJC sent surveys to 1,600 female prisoners, 421 of whom completed and returned them. In addition to past sexual abuse and mental illness, the data showed that 82.1 percent of the women experienced some type of domestic violence before their incarceration. More than half said their household income was less than $10,000 a year, and 73.3 percent reported that family members had also been incarcerated.
The survey results show that the problems that land women behind bars, 64 percent of the 12,101 women in Texas prisons as of August 2013 were convicted of nonviolent or drug-related offenses, often start long before they commit crimes, Yáñez-Correa said.
Sarah Pahl, a policy attorney at TCJC, said the responses to the survey indicated that many inmates' offenses were related to previous trauma. One woman serving time for possession of a controlled substance, responding anonymously, wrote, "I believe the way I was raised and the things I went through as a child and young adult had a lot to do with the decisions I made in my life."
Art therapy has long been used to help people cope with hurtful experiences and develop self-esteem, to promote creativity and, especially for imprisoned women, to allow for the safe expression of fear, anxiety and emotional needs.
For Dara Musick, a six-time felon, the exhibition hit a personal note. She spent her 20's and early 30's in prison for a variety of offenses, including drug charges, forgery, theft and fraud.
Musick was a meth addict who lived on the streets of Houston, surrounded by crime. The first time she was in jail, she said, it felt like a joke. When she returned, she realized she might die there, and that no one would know about her life. She then discovered performing arts with Truth Be Told and Conspire Theatre, both of which offer theater and creative writing opportunities for women behind bars.
At the end of the day, the slightest escape can be a remedy, and art is a simple and cheap solution, Yáñez-Correa said.
For Musick, it was performing that gave her a voice.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/04/22/survey-shows-half-imprisoned-women-were-abused/.


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Lisbeth Salander, Computer Hacker and Fashion Inspiration
"The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo" costume designer Trish Summerville has collaborated with H&M for a 30-piece clothing collection inspired by Lisbeth Salander, the protagonist with edgy characteristics in the global best selling novel-cum-major motion picture of the same name. Penned by Stieg Larsson, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the first novel in a trilogy that has sold 65 million copies worldwide to date according to the U.S. publisher Knopf. Mr. Larsson died in 2004 of a heart attack.
Although H&M, a publicly traded Swedish-based retail company, has previously released collections with such designers as Versace and Roberto Cavalli, this line marks the first collaboration of the Divided brand, a division of H&M that is specifically marketed to the youth sector ages 15-25. It will premiere in 100 stores internationally and online on Dec. 14.
A fictional character, Lisbeth is an anti-social computer hacker and investigator that seeks bloody vengeance on those who have previously terrorized her. She also has a history of sexual abuse – something Ms. Summerville says is an undeniable part of her character.
"Lisbeth has a ferociousness and fearlessness about her, she does not stand idly by but rights the wrongs," said Ms. Summerville, who created both the costumes for the film and the H&M collection. "In that sense women can identify with that, they can feel empowered," she added.
In order to create the collection Ms. Summerville demanded "carte blanche," but says she often looked to the film's director, David Fincher, for guidance.
Despite repeated attempts, Mr. Fincher was not available for comment. Sony Pictures, who will release the film on Dec. 21, also declined to comment.
In 2009, Music Box Films released a previous film version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Ms. Summerville says she saw the first film but based the clothing entirely on Mr. Fincher's version. "She's a different Lisbeth. We wanted her to be something you are attracted to and repelled by simultaneously," she said.
The collection revolves around Lisbeth's "key garments," a well-worn leather jacket, hooded sweatshirts and leather motorcycle pants according to Anna Norling, H&M's Head Designer for Divided. "The look is very wearable and spot-on trend," Ms. Norling added.
The collection has met some resistance, most recently from blogger Natalie Karneef, who identifies herself as a rape victim. She posted an open letter to the fashion retailer on her website last week shaming the company for trying to emulate Lisbeth. She singled out the short denim skirts that are part of the collection.
"We don't stand behind the violence or the harshness but the look is very cool," said Ms. Norling.
To capitalize on the film, H&M is creating a two-day pop-up shop/cyber café in New York featuring four Sony Vaio laptops that can be "hacked" allowing the hacker to place their picture atop a mannequin that has an iPad for a head. The shop will also carry the full clothing collection.


text:
The Sullivan County Adult Care Center, in Liberty, will cut the ribbon on the renovated lobby, Memory Care Unit and Short Term Rehabilitation Unit at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
"We are pleased to announce the opening of a state-of-the-art Memory Care Unit and the completed renovation of our Rehabilitation Department," Deborah DeJesus, administrator of the skilled nursing facility, said in a press release. "The Memory Care Unit will provide a secure setting for people with dementia while the updated and expanded Rehabilitation Department will continue to serve people in need of short-term care."
The work was paid for by a state Department of Health grant.
Nathan Brown
Saturday's third running in Kauneonga Lake of the Allyson Whitney 5K, which benefits a foundation that helps young people suffering from cancer, raised more than $70,000, organizers said.
That's up about $10,000 from last year, organizers said. Also, this year's event drew more than 700 participants. Last year's event had about 600 entered.
The Allyson Whitney Foundation is named in honor of Allyson Whitney Strong of Monticello, who died of a rare cervical cancer at age 25 in November 2011.
The foundation helps young people between 15 and 36 who are undergoing treatment or have recently completed treatment.
Grants from the foundation cover expenses, including medical expenses, transportation, wigs and rent. Grants are reviewed by a special board, including physicians.
The foundation has also helped pay for research.
Richard J. Bayne
Location, ST | website.com


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|Grindle Point, ME
Description: Few places on earth seem to have the power to attract numerous visitors yet remain unspoiled, but Islesboro, Maine, home to Grindle Point Lighthouse, has managed to do so. Since the Civil War, Maineunofficially dubbed Vacationland has attracted wealthy Bostonians and New Yorkers. Their summer cottages on Islesboro rivaled the mainlands finest mansions. Some of the famous (and infamous) who have been drawn to Islesboro (spelled Islesborough until 1890) include the financier J.P. Morgan, Eleanor Roosevelt, actors John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, Charles Dana Gibson (who made the Gibson Girl famous), and even Typhoid Mary (Mary Malone, who worked there as a cook for the Bond family before being seized by health officials in New York).
Once known as Long Island, Islesboro is a fourteen-mile-long, curling leaf-shaped island that divides the surrounding waters into East and West Penobscot Bay. In fact, the Penobscot Indians called the island Pitaubegwimenahanuk, meaning "the island that lies between two channels." The trip from one end of the island to the other took an entire day by horse and buggy, and cars were not allowed on the island until after 1933. Several of the smaller islands that surround Islesboro Warren, Lime, Ram, Seal, Ensign, and Minot are considered part of the Town of Islesboro. Its population of around 650 people swells several times over every summer.
In the 1840s, sixty-nine men, a good percentage of the islands male inhabitants, were registered as ship captains, and Penobscots largest commercial shipping fleet sailed out of Islesboro. From 1900 to 1910, the Pendleton Brothers, F.S. and Edwin, of Islesboro owned the largest fleet of sailing vessels in the United States.
Grindle Point Light Station was built on land purchased for $105 from Francis Grindle (often spelled Grindel, as was the name of the lighthouse in Lighthouse Service records), who, for a number of years, lived in the home built by John Gilkey. The one-and-a-half-story brick lighthouse with a lantern centered on its pitched roof cost $3100.16 to erect.
According to the book, History of Islesborough, Maine, written by Master Mariner John Pendleton Farrow, in 1893:
The first keeper was Mr. H. Dunning, second Mansfield Clark, of Islesborough, third Capt. F. Grindle, of Islesborough. Those three men served about three years. The fourth keeper was Charles Nash, fifth Nelson Gilkey [1861-1869], sixth Avery Gilkey, seventh S. H. Higgins, and the present keeper Isaac Hatch.
In 1856, a Fresnel lens was placed in the lantern room, replacing the old reflector lighting apparatus. While Nelson Gilkey was keeper, an 1869 inspection found the light to be in good condition. Gilkey also worked during his lifetime as a postmaster and town clerk.
Nelsons older brother Avery, however, did not seem to share Nelsons dedication. Averys 1872 inspection report was dismal. Inspector Mayo wrote:
I had been watching the light during the night for two hoursit burned dimly all that time and at 3 a.m. had not the brilliancy of an ordinary family lamp, at four miles distant. The entire service of this lamp by Mr. Gilkey, the principal keeper, is faulty, he manifests no interest in his dutytalks much and from his own story to me I judge that he spends most of his time at the Grocery and post office. He was going to those places when I landed; but seeing the Inspectors boat returned. I found the Morning Routine neglected & that it was habitual for him to do this the personal appearance of Mr. Gilkey and the look of the Government property under his charge convince me that Mr. Gilkey is an unfit man for the post of Light House Keeper, either principal or assistant. I therefore recommend his removal.
Inspector Mayos advice was taken and Avery Gilkey was removed from his position later that year.
The Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board for 1875 records. The light-house at this place was a one-and-a-half-story brick dwelling with a lantern on top, and was in such condition that it was deemed advisable to rebuild instead of attempting to repair it. A one-and-a-half-story frame building for a keepers dwelling, and a square brick tower for the light were therefore erected; the walls of the old house taken down to near the surface of the ground, and the roof lowered. The building thus changed will be used as a covered way between the dwelling and the tower, and for the storage of provisions, fuel, oil, and supplies of various kinds. The brick tower stands thirty-nine feet tall.
Other changes later made to the station include: a new boathouse in 1886, a brick cistern and stone retaining-wall in 1887, a rebuilt, sixteen by twenty-four-foot barn in 1892, and a new oil house (which still stands) in 1905. In 1897, a hand-rung, 1,000-pound fog bell was established at the station.
A problem with the borders of the lighthouses plot arose in 1889:
The site was surveyed and its boundaries were duly marked. The initial point of the boundary, described in the deed of July, 1849, a heap of stones at low water mark, was doubtless long ago destroyed, and a boundary line surveyed according to the deed from the most probable initial point would pass through the dwelling, and embrace between it and the shore a small tract utterly inadequate for the purposes of the Light-House Establishment. It is manifest that an error in description must have occurred in drawing the deed. Stone posts and copper bolts are now planted on the line occupied by the fence for many years, and the United States attorney for Maine is endeavoring to secure a correct deed from the heirs of the grantor of the original deed.
It took several years and cost $79.30 in legal fees, but problems with the deed were ultimately solved in 1892, at which time a wire fence was erected to mark the land.
The former principal keeper at Matinicus Rock, James E. Hall, moved to Grindle Point in 1908. Hall remained there until a blasting accident resulted in his death at the light station in 1916.
Grindle Point Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1934, and its Fresnel lens removed. A skeleton tower topped with an automatic light was erected nearby as a replacement, and the station was sold to the town of Islesboro for $1,200. In 1938, the town established the Sailors Memorial Museum in the lighthouse to preserve the stories of the towns seafarers.
Some museum volunteers have reported that things move by themselves during the night, and some tell of having seen an old, bearded man who disappears into the lighthouse wall. The apparition and shifting of items are attributed to the early keeper Frances Grindle.
Islesboro residents successfully lobbied the Coast Guard to reactivate the light. The skeleton tower was torn down, and a solar powered optic with a flashing green light was set in the tower. On November 4, 1987, a relighting ceremony was held with Captain John Williams, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Group Southwest Harbor, and Ken Black, director of Shore Village Lighthouse Museum. Ken Black presented the Town of Islesboro and its museum with a 1,000-pound fog bell, similar to the one that had been used in a bell tower at the station.
Grindle Point Light is one of the few lighthouses in Maine where summer visitors may climb to the top of the tower. Although cars are now allowed on the island, they arent necessary to visit the lighthouse, as it is situated right by the landing for the Islesboro Ferry.
Head Keepers: Rufus Dunning (1850 - 1851), Francis Grindell (1852), Mansfield Clarke (1852 - 1856), Charles Nash (1856 - 1861), Nelson Gilkey (1861 - 1869), Avery Gilkey (1869 - 1872), Seth H. Higgins (1872 - 1876), Isaac Hatch (1876 - 1894), Ira D. Trundy (1894 - 1908), V.I. Trundy (1908), James E. Hall (1908 - 1916), Edward K. Tapley (1916 - 1920), William H.C. Dodge (1920 - 1934).
Located on the western side of Islesboro Island, adjacent to the ferry landing. The lighthouse is owned by the Town of Islesboro. Dwelling/tower open in summer.
The lighthouse is owned by the Town of Islesboro. Dwelling/tower open in summer.
Notes from a friend:Kraig writes:
The lighthouse is located right at the ferry landing, so you don't need to bring a car if your aim is to just visit the lighthouse. We opted to bring a vehicle and drove around the island before taking the ferry back to the mainland. Isleboro is a summer home to a handful of celebrities including John Travolta.
See our List of Lighthouses in Maine
Pictures on this page copyright Kraig Anderson, used by permission.


text:
Definition of Low German in English:
Low German
A vernacular language spoken in much of northern Germany, more closely related to Dutch than to standard German. Also called Plattdeutsch.
Example sentences
- He noted that all the speakers of Low German he had interviewed for his study all were age 60 or older.
- Modern Low German is most closely related to High German, Frisian and the Anglo-Saxon ancestor of Modern English.
- As mentioned before Low German is used in the region north of Benrath line.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: Low Ger·man
Definition of Low German in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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= trending


text:
Location: Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory
2012 Annual Report
Orchard mechanization requires reliable capture of fruit tree image and accurate quantitation in 3-D space of fruit and branches. Image capture was achieved with multiple cameras to develop datasets of skeletal objects, including control items such as a coil of copper tubing but also of tree branches. New algorithms were developed and used to convert the experiment-based voxel data to more commonly-used graphics file formats and to smooth the images. In parallel with the image work, a robot was established that can be controlled through programs. The image data will be used to direct platform-mounted robots to carry out orchard work such as pruning. Other orchard mechanization work continued to test and improve a mechanical thinner of flowers and fruit on grower peach trees in California. Due to a frost that followed early flowering, there was no peach fruit to test this year at AFRS.
Field and greenhouse studies indicate that kaolin-based particle films provide additional habitat for fungi, yeast and bacteria on plant surfaces. Studies demonstrate that microbial DNA is increased as much as 10X on particle film treated leaves in the field. Pathogenic microorganisms were not increased. This microbial growth may be a mechanism associated with ozone degradation and plant protection from ozone damage.
Review Publications
Brown, M.W. 2012. Role of biodiversity in integrated fruit production in eastern North American orchards. Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 14:89-99.
Glenn, D.M., Tworkoski, T., Scorza, R., Miller, S.S. 2011. Long-term effects of sod competition on peach production for standard and pillar growth types on yield and economic parameters. HortTechnology. 21(6):720-725.
Kim, Y., Glenn, D.M., Park, J., Ngugi, H.K., Lehman, B.L. 2011. Characteristics of active spectral sensor for plant sensing. Transactions of the ASABE. 55(1):293-301.
Tworkoski, T., Wisniewski, M.E., Artlip, T.S. 2011. Application of BABA and s-ABA for drought resistance in apple. Journal of Applied Horticulture. 13(2):85-90.
Tworkoski, T., Fazio, G. 2011. Physiological and morphological effects of size-controlling rootstocks on 'Fuji' scion. Acta Horticulturae. 903:865-872.
Glenn, D.M., Campostrini, E. 2011. Girdling and summer pruning in apple increase soil respiration. Scientia Horticultureae. DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2011.04.023.
Leskey, T.C., Wright, S.E., Short, B.D., Khrimian, A. 2012. Development of behaviorally based monitoring tools for the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha Halys (Stal) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in commercial tree fruit orchards. Journal of Entomological Science. 47:76-85.
Pinero, J.C., Agnello, A., Tuttle, A., Leskey, T.C., Faubert, H., Koehler, G., Morin, G., Leahy, K., Loss, L., Cooley, D., Prokopy, R.J. 2011. Effectiveness of odor-baited trap trees for plum curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) monitoring in commercial apple orchards in the Northeast. Journal of Economic Entomology. 104:1613-1621.
Frank, D.L., Brewster, C.C., Leskey, T.C., Bergh, C.J. 2011. Factors influencing the temporal and spatial patterns of dogwood borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) infestations in newly planted apple orchards. Environmental Entomology. 40:173-183.
Tworkoski, T., Glenn, D.M. 2012. Weed suppression by grasses for orchard floor management. Weed Technology. 26(3):559-565.


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Will King with the George Bush Presidential Library stopped by BVTM Wednesday morning to talk about some of the library's upcoming events.
Will spoke about the Classic Film Series, the community Christmas tree and mentioned that the library will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
If you'd like to watch Will's full interview, click on the video player above.


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|Women, Girls, Petite, Tall, Plus-sized
I have been knitting and sewing since I was a young girl. My mother and grandmother taught me.View all patterns by designer (77) »
Flutter Cowl is knit with 2 balls of Kiwi yarn by Zealana. This lace weight yarn knits up in a delightful light and airy yet warm cowl. The fun fluttery lace stitch matched with some dropped stitches creates the perfect cowl.
This pattern may be knit in any yarn, just change the needles to create the perfect scarf for you.
This scarf is knit in 1 section and is seamed at the cast on edges.
Measurements : 12 inches by 48 inches
Please noteyou will not see the lacy holes in the main knit sections until the stitches are dropped while binding off.
434 yards of Lace weight


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David and Victoria Beckham's Son Hangs with Famous Friend
Sick Stars: 10 Celebrities Living with Diseases
12 Fascinating Transgender Celebrities
32 Ridiculously Cute Queer Women Couples
Unbelievers: 11 Celebrity Atheists
Kylie Jenner Says She Has To Act Fake For The Kardashian Image
12 Hit Songs That Pack Some Serious Heat
How to Mix Sporty and High Fashion Like Kendall Jenner
12 Celebrities Who Are Kind of Gross
Celebs With Unusual Body Parts You Never Knew About
20 Stars With Awesome Names
Watch Ellen Shut Down Bethenny Frankel's Ignorant Comments
Victoria's Secret Angels Without Makeup
Who Are the Highest Paid Actors in Hollywood?
Woman Spent Thousands To Transform Into Disney Princesses
Is Rain Dove The Next Ruby Rose?
What Were These People Thinking? 16 Hilarious Tattoo Fails
Rose & Rosie's Baby Announcement Is the Cutest Thing Ever
Why We Want The Lesbian Taylor Swift Rumors To Be True
Hollywood's Hottest Couple is Finally Getting Married
Your Fave Mob Wife Renee Graziano Is Telling All
Katy Perry Is Way More Relatable Than We Thought
Alessandra Ambrosio Shows Off Bikini Bod In Brazil
Top 15 of '15: Women Who Rocked
A Makeup Free Gisele Takes Up Cover of Pop Magazine
14 Divas Who Need To Make A Comeback
Justin Bieber Crushes on 'Hot' Shawn Mendes
7 Things To Know About Kris Jenner's Boyfriend
The Strangest Celebrity Couples In History
Coco Only Gained This Many Pounds During Pregnancy


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On Saturday, November 9, 2013, alumni from the Boston Bruins will play the Rhode Island Hitmen coaches in a game to benefit the Ace Bailey Children's Foundation. The game will begin at 7:00pm at the West Warwick Ice Rink.
Tickets cost $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for children. All proceeds will benefit the Ace Bailey Children's Foundation.
To learn more about Garnet "Ace" Bailey, who was a passenger aboard Flight 175 on September 11, 2001, and the Ace Bailey Children's Foundation, please visit their website.
Program ads are available. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com if you'd like to place an ad.
West Warwick Ice Rink
100 Factory Street
West Warwick, RI 02893
Ace Bailey Children's Foundation
135 Langdon Street
Providence, RI 02904


text:
Public Colleges Feel the Heat From Gas Boom
Above the shale, academics debate fracking and industry influence
Shale-gas fracking is sure to bring all kinds of changes to Ohio. But what administrators and trustees at Ohio University are concerned about at the moment is who will control whether their land gets fracked.
In years past, individual boards of...
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Seth took this photo of me. I like this photo because I look like one of the early 20th century ancestors I have been archiving photos of. The overexposed mid day sun look is so common in the old photos. The distant gaze is also indicative of the era. I like to think all those people were gazing fondly at a child or the family dog, online Cialis + Viagra Powerpack without a prescription. Cialis + Viagra Powerpack 150mg,
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Open AccessThis article is
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Remote Sens. 2014, 6(5), 3716-3751; doi:10.3390/rs6053716
Automatic Segmentation of Raw LIDAR Data for Extraction of Building Roofs
1 Gippsland School of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3842, Australia 2 CRC for Spatial Information, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 15 January 2014 / Revised: 3 April 2014 / Accepted: 9 April 2014 / Published: 28 April 2014
View Full-Text | Download PDF [22754 KB, uploaded 19 June 2014] |
AbstractAutomatic extraction of building roofs from remote sensing data is important for many applications, including 3D city modeling. This paper proposes a new method for automatic segmentation of raw LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data. Using the ground height from a DEM (digital elevation model), the raw LIDAR points are separated into two groups. The first group contains the ground points that form a "building mask". The second group contains non-ground points that are clustered using the building mask. A cluster of points usually represents an individual building or tree. During segmentation, the planar roof segments are extracted from each cluster of points and refined using rules, such as the coplanarity of points and their locality. Planes on trees are removed using information, such as area and point height difference. Experimental results on nine areas of six different data sets show that the proposed method can successfully remove vegetation and, so, offers a high success rate for building detection (about 90% correctness and completeness) and roof plane extraction (about 80% correctness and completeness), when LIDAR point density is as low as four points/m2. Thus, the proposed method can be exploited in various applications.
Keywords: LIDAR; point cloud; segmentation; automatic; building; roof; extraction
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Awrangjeb, M.; Fraser, C.S. Automatic Segmentation of Raw LIDAR Data for Extraction of Building Roofs. Remote Sens. 2014, 6, 3716-3751.View more citation formats
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Awrangjeb M, Fraser CS. Automatic Segmentation of Raw LIDAR Data for Extraction of Building Roofs. Remote Sensing. 2014; 6(5):3716-3751.Chicago/Turabian Style
Awrangjeb, Mohammad; Fraser, Clive S. 2014. "Automatic Segmentation of Raw LIDAR Data for Extraction of Building Roofs." Remote Sens. 6, no. 5: 3716-3751.
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Jason, Scott and Joe Couture have all discussed the first month's financial reports from Saskatchewan's NDP leadership campaign. But I'll add a couple of other points that jump out at me.
First, the fund-raising numbers show just how different this leadership campaign will be compared to the 2009 version.
While the official reports don't seem to be available anymore, I wrote about the numbers just a month away from the last leadership vote. At that time Dwain Lingenfelter held a massive lead, while the other three candidates had raised a little over $42,000 combined – or an average of
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: On parity


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God ever arithmetizes.
Carl Jacobi
Source: H. Eves Mathematical Circles Revisited, Boston: Prindle, Weber and Schmidt, 1971.
Contributed by: Zaady
It is often more convenient to possess the ashes of great men than to possess the men themselves during their lifetime. [Commenting on the return of Descartes' remains to France]
Source: H. Eves Mathematical Circles Adieu, Boston: Prindle, Weber and Schmidt, 1977.
It is true that Fourier had the opinion that the principal aim of mathematics was public utility and explanation of natural phenomena; but a philosopher like him should have known that the sole end of science is the honor of the human mind, and that under this title a question about numbers is worth as much as a question about the system of the world.
Source: N. Rose Mathematical Maxims and Minims, Raleigh NC:Rome Press Inc., 1988.
Mathematics is the science of what is clear by itself.
Source: J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956.
One should always generalize. (Man muss immer generalisieren)
Source: P. Davis and R. Hersh The Mathematical Experience, Boston: Birkhäuser, 1981.
The real end of science is the honor of the human mind.
Source: H. Eves In Mathematical Circles, Boston: Prindle, Weber and Schmidt, 1969.
Copyright © 2016 Gaiam, Inc.


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Election Info
Student Association elections are held in the Spring and Fall of each year. The Executive Branch President and Vice President and Senators at Large, SUNY Assembly Representatives and University Council Representative are elected in the Spring. In the Fall, Living Area Senators are elected (Indian, State, Dutch, Colonial, Alumni, Empire Commons, Freedom Apartments, Liberty Terrace and off-campus).
To qualify to run in the elections, a student must fill out the appropriate forms, including the Self-Nomination form with the Election Commissioner and attend a Candidates Meeting. Campaigning usually starts a few days after the informational meeting.
Voting takes place for two days on MyUAlbany. To vote, 1.) Log onto MyUAlbany. 2.) Click 'Campus Life'. 3.) Click 'Student Elections'.
Fall 2013 Elections
Nominations for Senator are being accepted until 11:59PM on September 4th. The Self-Nomination form can be found on the SA Election Commission page on MyInvolvement under the "Forms" tab.
There is a MANDATORY Candidates meeting on September 6th at 5pm outside of the Student Association office (CC 116). Campaigning begins September 7th at 12am. The elections are September 11th and 12th.
The Fall Election process to fill currently vacant Student Association Senate seats for the 2013-14 academic year has begun! Open Senate seats include:
Senator-at-Large (1)
Business and Management Division (1)
Freedom Apartments (2)
Liberty Terrace Apartments (2)
Empire Commons Apartments (2)
Alumni Quad (2)
Indian Quad (2)
State Quad (2)
Colonial Quad (2) Dutch Quad (2)
Off-Campus (8)


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All Andrew Messick: Page 1
Andrew Messick To Remain CEO Of Ironman
- By Triathlete.com
- Published Aug 27, 2015
Ironman Announces Redistribution of Prize Purse Money for 2015
- By Julia Polloreno
- Published Aug 3, 2014
- Updated May 6, 2016 at 6:50 PM UTC
Ironman will redistribute pro prize money in 2015, will pay 10 deep at select races.
Andrew Messick Talks KPR, Validation And More
- By Triathlete.com
- Published May 7, 2014
Ironman CEO Andrew Messick chats with Bob Babbitt about a variety of topics in the sport.
Ironman CEO Announces Major Change To Kona Start
- By Julia Polloreno
- Published Apr 16, 2014
- Updated Apr 12, 2016 at 12:39 PM UTC
An update with Ironman's Andrew Messick
Breakfast With Bob & Paul: Andrew Messick
- By Triathlete.com
- Published Oct 10, 2013
- Updated Oct 11, 2013 at 6:13 PM UTC
World Triathlon Corporation CEO Andrew Messick sits down with Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle on Breakfast with Bob and Paul.
WTC CEO Andrew Messick Chats About Ironman Boulder
- By Julia Polloreno
- Published Jun 21, 2013
- Updated Jul 15, 2015 at 4:04 PM UTC
Messick also explains the unique challenge of growing a race series while trying to keep up with an insatiable demand for a Kona slot.
WTC CEO Andrew Messick On Ironman Swim Changes
- By Liz Hichens
- Published May 9, 2013
- Updated Jun 17, 2015 at 5:06 PM UTC
Messick offers insight into SwimSmart, addresses the concerns of athletes and explains why he isn't afraid to break with tradition.
Inside Triathlon's 10 Most Influential People For 2012: #1 Andrew Messick
- By T.J. Murphy
- Published Dec 21, 2012
- Updated Nov 25, 2014 at 9:35 AM UTC
WTC CEO Andrew Messick is charging forward to globalization triathlon beyond what others have imagined.
WTC CEO Andrew Messick Chats On The Eve Of Kona
- By Julia Polloreno
- Published Oct 12, 2012
Messick talks about how he'll be spending race day, WTC's new events for 2013, their commitment to anti-doping in triathlon and more.
Behind The Lance Ban: A Talk With WTC CEO Andrew Messick
- By Julia Polloreno
- Published Jun 22, 2012
- Updated Oct 31, 2014 at 4:38 PM UTC
Andrew Messick spoke with Julia Polloreno from Dubai about the internal debate that ultimately kept Lance Armstrong from racing in France.


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News 12 at 11 o'clock/ Thursday, May 24th, 2012
AUGUSTA, Ga. --Memorial day weekend is almost here and as you look ahead to the holiday you can expect a busy weekend on the road. Lots of people spent the day Thursday at the AAA office finishing up their last minute travel plans.
Diana Elliott and her family are heading out of Augusta for memorial day weekend.
"We are headed to Indiana, never been there before, so I'm expecting fantastic things to do," she said.
Like many others, they're planning to drive.
"We're just gonna have a scenic drive and just enjoy it," she said. "[It's] about nine and a half hours give or take a little bit."
She's not the only one making a long trip.
"Manassas, Virginia," said traveler Alejandro Baez. "I would say about 10 hour drive."
AAA is predicting nearly 31 million travelers will be hitting the road this weekend creating a lot of traffic and the potential for a lot of accidents.
"A lot of things that they can do to help as far as for their own sake is get their car checked out before they go get your oil checked have you're tires checked for pressure because those could cause problems on the road which in turn can cause accidents," said Krispin McGee, a travel manager at the local AAA office.
She says one important thing is to always make sure to keep an eye on the gas Gage so you don't run out.
"Probably don't let it go I would say below a quarter of a tank," said McGee. "Depending on where you are no less than half a tank."
They say nine out of ten people will be driving to their destination and with almost 400,000 more drivers on the road this year than last year being aware is key to your safety.
"Obviously just keep your eye out all around you while you're driving, watch for people coming out of nowhere," said McGee. "Those are some of the main things that we can recommend."
Recommendations that hopefully keep you safe out there this memorial day weekend.
One women said to miss the traffic they are leaving at midnight Friday night so people really will be on he roads all weekend.
Drinking and driving is one of the biggest concerns over holiday weekends. AAA and Budweiser have a program called "Tow to Go" where they will pick you and your car up from public places like a bar or restaurant and take you both home if you've had too much to drink. All you need to do is call AAA and you do not need to be a member to use the service.


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Pacquiao and Durian: Winning Coffee Blend?
Davao City's Blugre Café has an interesting take on making coffee. They brew it up with durian, the fruit which hotels and airlines around the region have banned for its notoriously stinky odor.
Now, after awarding 20 franchises up and down the Philippines and bagging boxing icon Manny Pacquiao as one of its backers, its managers say investors overseas are now applying to open up Blugre Café coffee shops around the world, especially in places with large Filipino populations.
"This is the company's first time to venture outside Mindanao and even outside the country," said Blugre's president Gloria Cuaresma, pointing out that the company is looking at expanding either through franchising or by investing in potential markets.
The company has currently five branches in Davao City and General Santos City since it started its operations 14 years ago under the stewardship of husband and wife team Gatchi and Larcy Gatchalian. Mr. Pacquiao already has two branches in General Santos City, and plans to open another franchised store in his home province of Sarangani and one in Bonifacio Global City, a new business district in Manila.
"With Mr. Pacquiao as the face of the Blugre brand, it will be easier for us to penetrate the international market," Ms. Cuaresma said.
Blugre's chief predicts there will soon be Blugre outlets outside the country from the Durian-eating countries like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to places further afield, such as Las Vegas in the U.S., Toronto, Canada, Australia and France.
But what exactly is it that Blugre makes? The durian fruit itself is a fearsome looking thing, like a spiky football, with a smell to match. Aficionados can't get enough of the taste, though, and the smelliest durians are among the most highly prized.
Chicoy Estiñoso, vice president for franchising at Blugre, said Blugre is best known for its signature drink, Durian Gatchpuccino, a hot cappuccino concoction that blends espresso and fruit durian. Also available is Durian Larcepuccino, the cold version of Durian Gatchpuccino. It is dubbed as "the king for all coffees", durian being the king of all fruits.
Andre Fournier, an IT professional who now lives in Australia says he often drinks it with friends and visitors when showing them around the city. "It combines the smooth coffee taste with the caramel-like flavor of the durian pulp," he said. "Friends who try it always want to have it again when they return to Davao."
The company is planning to launch other durian-laced drinks and food items, too.
As for the company's prospects in overseas markets, Pacita Juan, president of Philippine Coffeeboard Inc., a private-sector lobby group, said, "It could be popular with Southeast Asians who love durian" and help spread the word about the Philippines' robust, home-grown coffee culture.
Then there is the Pacquiao factor. The boxer endorses countless brands in his native Philippines, and his backing could give Blugre the momentum it needs to appeal to Filipinos living and working overseas. "Mr. Pacquiao," Ms. Juan said, "is an added bonus."


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on November 21, 2013 - 12:01 AM
"The Winter of the Robots" by Kurtis Scaletta; Alfred A. Knopf, $16.99. Ages 10 and up.
This fabulous new adventure from the author of "Mudville" and "Mamba Point" takes the battling robots of the school science fair and cranks them up several levels. Jim is tired of being overshadowed by his brilliant robot-obsessed friend Oliver, so he chooses someone else to be his partner for the school science fair project: a girl named Rocky who wants to use Jim's dad's high-tech cameras to film otters who live by the river near an old junkyard. The junkyard is also near the ruins of a Nomicon plant destroyed by fire years before, a fire in which Oliver's father died.
But the hidden cameras seem to show something strange going on, a robot that looks like a lizard or dinosaur. Then a classmate trying to steal one of the cameras gets knocked out by a Taser and almost freezes to death. What is really going on at the old Nomicon plant, and can Jim and his friends find a way to outwit the threat?
Scaletta's book has everything: mystery, suspense, great characters, even a touch of romance. And it stars kids who are all whizzes at computer programming.
– Jean Westmoore
The Lego Club, for kids ages 5 to 12, will meet from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday in the West Room on the main floor of the Central Library, Lafayette Square. For more information, call 858-8900 or visit buffalolib.org.
Eye twitching is really annoying. It can happen when you're reading a book or talking to a friend. Researchers say eye twitching is caused by muscle spasms in the eyelid. These spasms may be brought on by stress or physical eye strain.
– Time for Kids Big Book of Why


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Man dies in snowmobile accident near Dauphin
A 28-year-old man is dead and a 27-year-old man is in Winnipeg hospital in stable condition following a snowmobile crash Saturday night, Parkland RCMP report.
Parkland RCMP say the two-vehicle collision occurred on a snowmobile trail near Rainbow Beach in the RM of Ochre River. RCMP responded to the incident just before 9:30 p.m.
RCMP are investigating and alcohol is considered a factor in the collision.
The name of the deceased will not be released.
The RM of Ochre River is south of Dauphin in western Manitoba.
» Brandon Sun, Winnipeg Free Press
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition January 13, 2014
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text:
The celebrity rag game is a cutthroat business. While US Weekly has lately been getting fat feeding on the bloated corpses of mercy-killed celebrity relationships, others have to settle for applying their overly exuberant BREAKING NEWS! tags to slightly less exciting business:
BREAKING NEWS: Jessica Simpson eyes move to New York
In the first clear sign that Jessica Simpson is moving on since she announced her split from hubby Nick Lachey, Life & Style can exclusively report that the blond sensation is house-hunting in New York City!
The good news for L&S, we suppose, is that at least they're not trying to knock her up.
- BREAKING NEWS: Jessica Simpson house-hunting in New York [Life & Style]
- Previously: No, Really, This TIme It's For Real: Nick And Jessica Split [Defamer]


text:
This Day In Wrestling History – July 19th
In 2003, All Japan Pro Wrestling held an untitled PPV in Tokyo, Japan. Most records refer to the event as 'July 2003 PPV'
– Big John Tenta, George Hines & Robbie Brookside defeat Hiroshi Hase, Shigeo Okumura & Masayuki Kono – Kohei Sato & Hiro Yokoi defeat Hideki Hosaka & Yusaku – Arashi defeats Nobutaka Araya – Kohei Sato & Hiro Yokoi defeat Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto to win the vacant AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles – The Great Muta defeats Gigantes – Toshiaki Kawada & Satoshi Kojima defeat Naoya Ogawa & Kaysuhisa Fujii
In 2009, TNA Victory Road was held in Orlando, Florida
– Angelina Love defeats Tara to win the TNA Knockouts Title – Abyss defeats Dr Stevie in a No-DQ Match – Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) defeat The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles – Jenna Morasca defeats Sharmell – Kevin Nash defeats AJ Styles in a Title vs Career Match to win the TNA Legends Title – The Main Event Mafia (Booker T & Scott Steiner) defeat Beer Money Inc (Robert Roode & James Storm) to win the TNA Tag Team Titles – Samoa Joe defeats Sting – Kurt Angle defeats Mick Foley to retain the TNA World Title
In 2010, New Japan Pro Wrestling held an untitled PPV in Tsukisamu, Japan
– Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) defeat Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles – Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) defeat Blue Justice Army (Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue) & NO LIMIT (Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) in a Dogfight Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Takashi Iizuka – Togi Makabe defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Title
Title Changes
1968 – Fritz von Erich & Grizzly Smith defeat The Spoiler & Gary Hart to win the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
1971 – Thunderbolt Patterson & Toru Tanaka defeat Johnny Valentine & Wahoo McDaniel to win the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
1982 – Bill Irwin defeats Brian Adias to win the WCCW Television Title
1990 – The Great Kabuki & Jumbo Tsuruta defeat The Miracle Violence Connection (Terry Gordy & Steve Williams) to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles
1996 – Aquarius defeats Dr Wagner Jr to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Title. This change is not currently recognised by CMLL
1997 – Yoshiko Tamura defeats Toshie Uematsu to win the WCW Womens Cruiserweight Title
1997 – The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed) defeat The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von) to win the ECW Tag Team Titles
1998 – Yoshinari Ogawa defeats Satoru Asako in the final of a tournament to win the vacant AJPW Junior Heavyweight Title
2002 – Koji Kanemoto defeats Minoru Tanaka to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
Happy birthday to tag team legend Robert Gibson (54), one-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Michael Modest (41), former ECW and ROH Tag Team Champion Tony Mamaluke (35), former CMLL Lightweight, Tag and Trios Champion Rey Bucanero (38), 5-time AJPW Unified Tag Team Champion Yoshiaki Yatsu (56) and TNA personality Jeremy Borash (38)