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The odd thing about medicine and science is that it does not account for the power of the human spirit, nor the power of faith.
Science and medicine also do not account for a man like Stephen Harris, who would not allow his dream to slip away from him.
Just a few years after being told that he would never play basketball again, the 6-foot-5 Harris is the star player for Warner Pacific, averaging a double-double in his senior season.
"It's been nice to go through those experiences with him and see how they've shaped him and the person he is."
Harris went to Hillsboro High from 2002 to 2006, where he was named Second Team All-Metro League as a senior after averaging 10.6 points per game.
"Some of my best friends are the ones who I created on my basketball team," Harris says. "It was a good experience. I lived like 100 yards away from the school. It was really easy for me to get back and forth from school. I really enjoyed going to that school."
After Harris finished his prep career with the Spartans, he chose to go to Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho.
"I had a couple of options and I felt like that was my best option," Harris says. "My dad and I took a road trip and visited there. I felt really good about Lewis-Clark ... and the coaching staff that was there."
Harris redshirted his first year at Lewis-Clark. One day, Harris was in the weight room. He was lifting weights just like he would any other day. As he did a power clean, though, he felt a sharp pain in his back.
"It felt like there was a knife in my back," Harris says.
Harris tried to cowboy up and ignore the pain.
"I was dumb about it," Harris says. "I thought I had just pulled a muscle. I continued to play and continued to work out and just aggravated it and aggravated it and aggravated it. A month later, I could barely move. I couldn't even get out of bed."
Finally, Harris had to have back surgery. After the operation, the doctors told him that he had a staph infection and he had to have another operation. Even more serious was that the L-4 and L-5 vertebrae in Harris' back were bulging out and hitting a nerve that ran down his right leg.
"The disc was so far protruding and hitting the nerve so much that it was causing nerve damage and starting to paralyze my right leg," Harris says. "I was 50 percent paralyzed in my right leg."
It got to the point where the only way for Harris to walk was to swing his right leg out like a plastic action figure that has been manufactured with a hip joint but no knee joint.
That was when the doctors told Harris that he would never be able to play basketball again. By that point, though, he was not terribly concerned about stepping onto the court. Just taking a normal step was a far more important goal for him.
"At that time I had given up my dream of playing college basketball," Harris says. "But, by then I wasn't worried about playing basketball again. I just wanted to get my leg back to normal and live a normal life and not have to worry about sitting in a wheelchair or something like that.
"At the time I was only 19 years old and I was 50 percent paralyzed in my right leg. It was pretty scary for me."
The rehab process was long, slow and torturous. Eventually, Harris was able to start walking normally again. Then, he began playing recreational basketball during open gyms at Warner Pacific College, where he had transferred.
"I never really thought that I would be able to play college basketball again," Harris says. "But, I started working out again. I wasn't playing any serious basketball. But, I started attending open gyms."
In those open gyms, Harris realized that his back was not hurting him as much as he had thought it would. He also realized that he still had talent and a love for the game. Harris began working hard, trying to see if perhaps he would be able to play competitive basketball again.
"It became a reality," Harris says. "I started working hard to get back into shape and doing lots of push-ups and sit-ups and low impact stuff that wouldn't injure my back. It's gradually gotten better and better and better."
Harris knew that if he ever stepped onto the court again he would be defying all medical odds. As a man of faith, he prayed about the precipice that he was standing before and asked God to watch over him.
"I'm a real big believer in my faith," Harris says. "I believe that God had a lot to do with it. I just prayed a lot about it and said that if He wanted me to play basketball, then He would allow me to; and if He didn't, I told Him that I would give Him all the glory and all the honor."
Depending on your views of divinity, what happened next could either be looked at as the will of God, or as an incredible bit of human fortune.
One of Harris' best friends from Hilhi, Reggie Guyton, transferred from Oral Roberts University to Warner Pacific to play basketball.
Guyton told then Warner Pacific coach Bart Valentine about Harris. Bart Valentine (the father of current head coach Jared Valentine) found out that Harris still had four years of eligibility remaining. After watching him play in an open gym, Bart Valentine asked Harris to join the Knights team.
"I've been here ever since," Harris says.
When he first began playing at Warner Pacific, Jared Valentine was impressed by Harris' athletic ability. Harris was still raw, though.
"When he first got here he was coming off a pretty significant back injury and physically he wasn't quite right," Valentine says.
Over the last four years, Harris has had only minimal pain from the back injury that almost ended his career.
"As I've continued to play, I've had minimal amount of pain," Harris says. "It always hurts a little bit but nowhere near with what it used to be."
Playing without pain, Harris has grown tremendously as a player. This season he is leading the Knights in both points (16.4 per game) and rebounds (11.1). He is also second on the team in assists (3.7).
"He's made significant progress," Valentine says. "He's really developed an overall game. He was a nice athlete when he came to us and a very good rebounder, but his skills have really improved. He's really developed an outside shot, some playmaking ability and his back-to-the-basket game has developed significantly as well. He's also one of the better leaders we've had in our program over the last 10 years.
"Given who he is and the amount of time he's been here and how hard he's worked, I'm not surprised that he's developed into the type of player he is. He's earned it. He's got a great mindset about himself, about development and about who he wants to become. He's worked hard. He's confident."
Valentine says that Harris being a senior who has spent the last four years at Warner Pacific has been crucial to his development.
"He's been in the program for four years and that always helps players," Valentine says. "When you've been in one place for a significant amount of time that always helps their ability to feel comfortable with a certain coach and a certain system."
Over the last four years, Harris has done more than just play basketball.
A few years ago he met a girl named Jondi Das who played both volleyball and basketball for the Knights. The two began dating, and soon Harris decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Das and asked her to marry him.
The wedding wound up being expedited after Harris and Das found out that she was pregnant.
"We had previously been engaged and then she wanted to get married before we had our baby," Harris said. "We wound up getting married a few months before she had the baby."
Bart Valentine, who retired as the Knights coach after Harris' sophomore season, was the one who married the couple.
Eight months ago, the couple welcomed a baby girl who they named Sophia. It has taken a lot of planning for both Stephen and the new Mrs. Jondi Harris to make things work with a baby. Jondi had to give up volleyball, but she is still playing basketball as a sophomore. Juggling a relationship, a child, school and an athletic career has been a challenge, but Harris says that they have figured out how to make it work.
"It's a little bit difficult," he says. "But, I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult than it actually is. My wife and I have worked out our schedules so that when I have class she has the baby and when she has class, I can watch the baby. We just do the same thing for basketball practices. We have such a good baby that it's not really that difficult and I'm actually really enjoying it."
Now, in his final season playing collegiate basketball, Harris has big goals for the Knights.
"I want to make it back to the national tournament," Harris says. "It would be great to get back. It's an unbelievable experience to get to go there. They take great care of us and we just get to experience so many things.
"Another goal of ours is to win our conference. We haven't won our conference since I've been in school, so winning our conference tournament would be a huge accomplishment."
Harris, who is a business administration major, is not quite sure what he wants to do after college.
"My wife still has one more semester to go, so she'll have to come back to school next fall," Harris says. "When I was with her in Hawaii I got a couple of job offers. And I haven't ruled out going overseas and playing some professional ball somewhere. I'm just keeping my options open and once I finish up my last semester, my wife and I will sit down and explore my options and see what I'm going to do."
Wherever Harris goes, Valentine is certain that they will remain friends for the rest of their lives.
"I really value the relationship I have with him," Valentine says. "He's a really interesting guy. He's the type of person who is really friendly and knows everyone's names. He's got a tremendous skill set to know people and be appreciated and liked by others.
"I certainly feel like he has a special relationship with our coaching staff. He's been here for a while and some of the things that he's gone through helped him trust the coaches here. I definitely expect that we'll be friends for the rest of our lives."
It is relationships like Harris has built with Valentine and with his teammates and with his family that have made his time at Warner Pacific College so amazing for him.
Harris has been able to build those relationships because he defied medical odds and went from a 19-year-old who feared never being able to walk again to the best player on a college basketball team.
As Valentine said, "Character is developed."
Harris' character was forged by fire.
Says Harris: "To be able to come back to play and meet new guys and create the friendships that I've created at this school and meet my wife and start a beautiful family, words can't describe the way that I feel about playing basketball for Warner Pacific."


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'Glee' Use 'NSYNC & Backstreet Boys To Make Nice
Michael Jackson Remembered, Three Years After Death: Family & Friends TweetToday, Jackson family members, celebrities and fans took to Twitter to honor Michael Jackson on the third anniversary of his death.
Is Britney Spears Joining The "The X-Factor"?
X-Factor Lineup Slimming Down
Steve Kemble Talks About Paul Abdul's Diva Behavior
The X Factor Taping In Dallas
The X Factor Dallas Auditions
Paula Abdul Officially Joins 'X Factor'
Paula Abdul Joins The X Factor
Simon & Paula: Together Again!?
Paula Abdul, Hawaii Five-O, And Jason Garrett In Today's Beat David Rancken

subset: commoncrawl


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Lunchtime Links 4-20
Democrats likely to drop $50 billion fund to draw Republicans (Vekshin/O'Connor, BW) Republicans are right that the fund creates moral hazard, but a bigger risk may be that the cost of a large resolution will be fronted by taxpayers. "Ex-post" funding from other banks to pay back taxpayers — which had been the alternative proposed — seems more than a bit unlikely. Post the failure of any large institution, banks would scream about paying a fee for a fallen competitor: "It will reduce lending!" If regulators could be trusted to seize large banks early enough such that there's still some capital left in them, an ex-post regime would be better. But I fear WaMu may be the exception, not the rule.
CRE prices decline 2.6% in February (Calculated Risk) Take this index with a grain of salt. There aren't many transactions happening in the CRE world from which to determine robust pricing info.
A race to the bottom in clearing Fan/Fred interest rate swaps? (Wood, Risk Mag) Wonky, but interesting.
Inside a Goldman Sachs Abacus deal (HuffPo) Also wonky, also interesting.
Goldman was Barack's second-largest contributor (OpenSecrets) If he's going to use GS as a talking point to push more stringent derivatives reform, can he keep their money? I would say sure. It's only an embarrassing political conflict if you accept money and then carry water for the donor. By taking the money and stuffing Goldman anyway, seems to me that Obama makes GS the sucker. Could be a problematic campaign issue at some point though…
Charting grade inflation over time (Economix)
Gizmodo gets new iPhone prototype (Gizmodo) They say an Apple developer accidentally left it at a bar. Whoever picked it up, sold it to Gawker for $5k. Apple wants it back.
Higher rates coming in Canada (Gillies, AP) Not soon enough considering the bubble in Canadian real estate.
Nintendo post-it art: Mario (cool), Donkey Kong (awesome!)
The animated ash cloud (YouTube) No wonder flights are grounded.
How volcanic lightning works (ScienceBlogs) Cool photos.
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
A major story, not widely linked: Goldman has utterly lost in the court of public opinion. An overwhelming majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents think they are guilty of fraud.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_c ontent/business/general_business/april_2 010/73_say_it_s_likely_goldman_sachs_com mitted_fraud


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Last week we gave you some guidance on three of the top seven exercises identified in a survey of personal trainers by the American Council of Exercise. Here are tips on the other four:
Abdominal exercises:
There is no one perfect abdominal exercise; variety is key to ensure a balanced and strong core in all ranges of motions. Here are a few of our favorites.
Straight leg lifts: Lie on your back with knees bent at about 45 degrees and feet on the floor. Put your hand on your abdominals and pull them in and up so your stomach becomes as flat as you can get it. Slowly lift one foot a few inches off the floor. Alternate legs. Your back should not move. Continue alternating for 60 to 90 seconds. To increase intensity, straighten legs; to decrease intensity, bend them.
V-sits: Sit upright with perfect posture -- chest out, shoulders back. Slowly recline a few inches while keeping your abs contracted and back neutral. Hold for two to four counts and return to the starting position. Continue for 60 to 90 seconds.
Running is an incredible activity, but with each stride, your body is forced to absorb forces as great as three times your body weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, imagine 450 pounds of force pounding through your muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons with each foot strike. During a five-mile run, the amount of force the body absorbs is tremendous. Due to the nature of the sport, specific imbalances and weaknesses can result, so proper progression is crucial if you want to run long-term. If you're just starting, try the following learn-to-run program two to three times a week on alternating days.
Week 1: Run 1 minute, walk 4 minutes.
Week 2: Run 2, walk 3.
Week 3: Run 3, walk 2.
Week 4: Run 4, walk 1.
Week 5: Run 5, walk 1.
Week 6: Run 6, walk 1.
Week 7: Run 7, walk 1.
Week 8: Run 8, walk 1
Week 9: Run 9, walk 1.
Week 10: Run 10, walk 1.
The beauty of this is that you can do it anywhere with no special equipment and very little instruction. So do it!
There are so many variations and a multitude of poses and approaches. We recommend that you start your yoga training under a certified professional or invest in an instructional video from a reputable instructor.
(If you missed last week's installment, you can find it at: OregonLive.com/health)
Alex and Sherri McMillan own Northwest Personal Training and Northwest Women's Fitness Club in Portland and Vancouver. They can be reached at www.nwpersonaltraining.com.


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Seen on Taobao: A Baby, The Nook
In China, Alibaba Group's Taobao.com has become the primary destination for online shoppers who often claim they can get "anything" on the Web site. Perhaps the most outrageous example of a listing turned up earlier this month when someone put a baby for sale for 1 yuan, apparently as a joke. Another new listing offers for sale Barnes & Noble's $259 Nook e-reader, which isn't set to ship officially until Nov. 30.


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You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'shugo chara' category.
Ever since episode 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, many bloggers have been making confident statements about how the show looks to be a dark subversion of the magical girl anime. While that is certainly accurate on some level, it seems to be the case that a lot of people don't quite understand how exactly Madoka Magica is a subversion, simply because they don't understand the subject itself. In other words, a good number of people writing about Madoka Magica don't actually know the magical girl genre, despite the broad statements being made. Thus, I am going to address at least a few misconceptions.
Misconception #1: Magical Girl Anime Are About Good vs. Evil
Correction: Magical girl anime are about "before" vs. "after."
While there are some shows which pit our heroine(s) against a dark force, the vast majority of magical girl anime and manga do not even factor in the good/evil dichotomy. Instead, they will focus on how the magic changes their own lives or how it changes the lives of those around them. Those shows which do have a good deal of fighting often have it in service to something else; in those instances, it's generally more about protecting others than it is vanquishing villains. So when someone says that Madoka Magica is different because it doesn't have "Good vs Evil," they are basically incorrect in the sense that magical girl shows were never really about good and evil in the first place.
Misconception #2: Magical Girl Anime Say, "You Don't Have to Change a Thing!"
Correction: Magical girl anime say, "the magic isn't as important as who you are!"
Yes, the "Be Yourself!" message is fairly common in magical girl shows, but there's a distinct difference between this statement and the misconception. One implies a static existence, while the other points to an active one. The self-improvement thus happens with the help of magical powers, but it is usually the catalyst for change, with the real reason coming from within.
Misconception #3: Sailor Moon/Nanoha is a Typical Magical Girl Show
Correction: Sailor Moon is more of a typical fighting magical girl anime and Nanoha is an atypical fighting magical girl anime, while a typical magical girl anime is more along the lines of Ultra Maniac or Fushigiboshi no Futagohime.
This ties in directly with misconception number 1 and it's fairly understandable why people make this mistake. Sailor Moon is a very significant show in the magical girl genre, and for many anime fans the very first mahou shoujo anime they ever watched (myself included), but it wasn't really typical for its time. Certainly it has had its influence on later series, probably most notably Pretty Cure, but Sailor Moon combined the magical girl anime with the team dynamic popular in live action tokusatsu and to a lesser extent giant robot anime, and used that as a platform to deliver action-packed fights, but don't confuse what Sailor Moon added to the genre with what the genre is fundamentally about.
Similarly, Nanoha is a show made for otaku, taking the magical girl formula and targeting it directly towards an older male audience–much like Madoka Magica itself–but it draws a lot from Sunrise action and mecha shows and adds a cup of moe. It's also understandable why this might be an anime fan's main exposure to magical girls, as fans who might have avoided the genre as a whole may have been pulled in by what Nanoha did differently, but that is the Nanoha formula, not the magical girl one.
"So what exactly is Madoka Magica subverting, then?"
To understand the answer to this question, we have to know the basic theme of the magical girl anime, which is how magic can make your wishes come true, or let you do things you couldn't before. This can be portrayed by having a character, generally a normal girl, come across their magical abilities, or it can directly target the audience (which it generally assumes to be young girls) and have a girl who already has magical powers from the start. Either way, a magical girl show typically says, "Wouldn't it be great to be a magical girl?" You can see this in pretty much every magical girl show aimed at girls, be it Cardcaptor Sakura, Majokko Megu-chan, Shugo Chara, Minky Momo, Ojamajo Doremi, and yes, even Sailor Moon. If the show is geared more towards male otaku, then the theme might turn into "Wouldn't it be great to know a magical girl?" but the opportunity magic gives you to change/better your life is the crux of it all.
On some level magical girl anime are about the exploration wish fulfillment, and when you keep that in mind the true nature "dark" element of Madoka Magica becomes clearer. The dreary aesthetic of the witch realms, the violence, and the ambiguous morality in the characters play a role, but the most important point to consider is how the magical mascot Kyubey offers the chance to make your wish come true at the "price" of becoming a magical girl. The fact that the wish-granting comes with some sort of unknown, unquantified, and unqualified cost is where the direct subversion is strongest.
"How much are you willing to sacrifice to make your wish come true?"
You're probably looking at the title and asking why in the world would Ogiue Maniax be making such an obvious, brain-dead statement. Shugo Chara! was a kids' show. Shugo Chara!! Doki was a kids' show. What's the fuss? Let me clear up something though. While the first two Shugo Chara anime were kids' shows, Shugo Chara Party! is a KIDS' SHOW.
The format of Shugo Chara Party! consists of 1/3 live actors introducing the show, 1/3 flash animation starring the Shugo Chara who proceed to engage in hijinks, and 1/3 actual anime episode. This is important to keep in mind.
While shoujo has traditionally been designed to target young girls primarily, there has been for many decades now a desire to implement a degree of storytelling sophistication. This is how the world got works such as Candy Candy and Onii-sama e, and mahou shoujo ends up being no exception. This sophistication is also what manages to draw in additional audiences outside of young girls to magical girls, be it older women, teenage boys, or adult salarymen, and while the manga for Shugo Chara! is running in Nakayoshi, very much a shoujo magazine, it is also written by Peach Pit, manga creators who know a thing or two about appealing to non-female audiences through seemingly feminine stories (Rozen Maiden).
The first Shugo Chara anime is regarded by fans as a very good show (and I would agree), with each sequel being regarded as inferior to the series that came before it. You may have seen back when the second series Doki was airing that people complained about it being significantly worse. They cited the large amounts of filler and lower-quality animation as evidence of the decline, and to some extent that is true, but what the fans of Shugo Chara were truly feeling was actually the sting of them being removed as a relevant demographic. In an old post, I talked about how the characters in Doki tended to talk directly at the audience in a manner reminiscent of Dora the Explorer, and with Party!, it is clearer than ever before that Shugo Chara is being turned into the type of show that kids enjoy at the expense of keeping older viewers and fans of the manga entertained.
Look at Shugo Chara Party! and compare it not so much with shows such as Pretty Cure or even the original Shugo Chara!, but rather Thomas the Tank Engine or Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. You have live actors talking to you the audience, asking you questions about how you're feeling. The characters in the animated portions do the same. And while Mr. Rogers can certainly be enjoyable to watch as an adult in its own way, it's always obvious that 20 year olds are not the target audience here.
In fact, the similarities between Mr. Rogers and Hinamori Amu really come to light when you consider the following famous saying by Fred Rogers.
You've made this day a special day
By just your being you
There's no one in the whole world like you
And I like you just the way you are
If there's one big difference between Shugo Chara and Shugo Chara Doki, I think it's that Doki is targeting an even younger age group than previous. With Shugo Chara Doki, there's this tendency to directly address the audience and present things front-and-center. It's less Raphael-from-TMNT-nudging-and-winking-at-the-audience and more of a Blue's Clues/Elmo-style 4th-wall break designed to get young viewers involved.
I have to wonder if Satelight and everyone in charge of the anime are trying to draw it away from the otaku popularity it has garnered (check out Hinamori Amu's high placing in Anime Saimoe 2008), and move it towards the intended Clock Show audience. Or maybe they already know that the otaku already dig it and thus they can concentrate on shoring up the younger side of the fanbase.
Of course, some will point out that Shugo Chara Doki is pretty much "filler" to the manga and will cite it as the primary reason the show seems so different. And while the show does seem incredibly episodic, I really do think the main cause of the show's style changing ever-so-slightly is a desire to draw in younger viewers.
Mixed with the more elaborate transformation sequences and an Open Heart with recoil, Shugo Chara Doki beocmes a sort of Futari Wa Dora the Cool and Spicy Explorer.
Hiiragi Kagami, alias HIIRAGIIIII, has emerged as the winner of 2008's Anime Saimoe tournament. All the more impressive was that her victory was over her own sister Tsukasa, in what is sure to remembered as a fierce battle where blood was not thicker than moe.
Kagami's status as the Moest means a few things. Remember that neither Kagami nor anyone else from Lucky Star took the title last year. Generally after the first year if your show is truly just a flash in the pan you don't get much further, but here we see the Lucky Star cast drive down harder than ever. So Lucky Star may not be the most enduring show ever, but it's not as ethereal as some might hope.
Also of note are the high placements of Kawazoe Tamaki (Bamboo Blade), who made Top 8, and Hinamori Amu (Shugo Chara!) who was a force so powerful she had to be stopped by the tournament winner Kagami.
I know a lot of people who might have liked to vote couldn't due to some of the intentional barriers put in place, but I hear there's an (arguably!) more important vote coming up in the near future…
I was spending many hours minutes seconds preparing yesterday's post (which believes in cool and spicy and is therefore power), using chibi fansubs' release of episode 1 of Shugo Chara doki. I got to that point in the opening and decided to take a screencap of Amu doing the monkey, but then I panicked.
"This is a softsub mkv, but I probably won't be able to get a good shot free of karaoke," I thought. After all, many fansub groups despite switching to softsubs still hardsub their karaoke directly into the file. "I'll have to download the raw."
On a whim, I decided to just try to turn off fansubs, and lo and behold the karaoke actually disappeared! Amazing!
Why is this amazing?! This should be standard!
Please, let this be sign that the disease known as Karaoke Effects is dying, or at least mitigated by being able to remove them at the viewer's own volition.
I went to Otakon with one purpose in mind: to go see JAM Project. Everything else on my priorities list could be postponed or sacrificed as long as I would be able to not turn away, and not show my tears, because I have the power of love to take back tomorrow. I am glad to say that not only did I see JAM Project, but the overall experience of Otakon 2008 has made it one of the best times o my life. It's a culmination of various parts of a long weekend which turned out to be all too short.
I arrived Thursday afternoon by train along with a number of friends who I've known for some varying numbers of years. The first pleasant surprise was the hotel itself. We had taken two rooms in the Radisson, and found the rooms to be spacious, far more spacious than the place we stayed at last year. This was very fortunate, as it meant sleep would be comfortable and not the hassle it usually is at a con. We were later joined by kransom and astrange of welcome datacomp, two happening guys, one of whom is currently on a plane to Japan.
Actually, scratch that. My first pleasant surprise was on the train watching episodes of Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san. I can't believe how good that show is.
Thursday night was spent sitting back and playing Smash Bros Brawl with friends in the hotel room. The character choices among everyone were quite diverse, and this became a mainstay of practically every day we were there. As is always the case, Smash is simply a great way to unwind during conventions. kransom also showed me a copy of Patrick Macias' new book, Otaku in USA. The book is in Japanese, but it doesn't seem to be a difficult read so I may pick it up at some point.
Friday morning, I went to the dealer's room. While browsing DVDs, a dealer asked me what I was looking for, to which I responded, "Something for JAM Project to sign." Luckily, a female dealer standing nearby pointed me out to a Gravion + Gravion Zwei combined thinpack that she was selling. She mentioned to me that the only reason she was here in the dealer's room was so that she could be at Otakon to see JAM Project. To the kind woman who helped me out, I thank you, whoever you are. Other than that, I also accomplished another major objective that day.
(I also got an Eureka Seven poster.)
My first sighting of JAM Project was at the opening ceremony for Otakon, though I arrived pretty much just as they were leaving. I was there to see the Madhouse-produced opening animation, which basically involved Otakon's two lackluster mascots fighting every anime character ever on their way to the convention center. Could have been worse, could have gone without it, the result was that I applaud their desire to celebrate their 10th anniversary with something big.
The JAM Project concert was to be held at the 1st Mariner Arena, a few blocks away from the convention center. After a bit of hassle, I managed to find a place in line with Sub from Subatomic Brainfreeze, and his friends, who I've met in the past thanks to a mutual friend of ours. There, we spent time enjoying the wonder and prestige of Sasaki Isao English renditions of Maginzer Z themes, who teaches us that, although humans can fight for good, give it all they've got, men are weak and they're flesh and blood. Mazinger, however, is not. I could not think of a better way to pass the time.
At 7:00 we walked inside, me carrying a glowstick which I accidentally snapped. Sitting only a few rows away from the stage got me feeling anxious as I chatted it up a little with the people around me. Smoke began to fill the stage as I realized I was without my DS and could not participate in the inevitable pictochat. This only made me more anxious, as I knew it was almost upon us, the Japanese Animesong Musicians Project, albeit minus a few members I would like to have seen.
I am not a concert-goer, but I do not think any concert will ever top this one again. JAM Project are the masters of keeping the crowd excited with both their choice of music and musical style, and their sheer stage presence. JAM Project introduced themselves in English. You had the Lover of Amateur Rock Music Yoshiki Fukuyama , the Only Female There Masami Okui, the Youngest Member of JAM Project Hiroshi Kitadani aka Dani, the Most POWERFUL Member of JAM Project Masaaki Endoh (said while flexing his bicep), and the Leader Hironobu Kageyama. With an introduction like that, greatness was inevitable.
Their set included a large number of their combined efforts, such as Nageki no Rosario, Hagane no Messiah, and Breakout, as well as individual songs for which they were famous, which included Chala Head Chala, We Are!, Rinbu Revolution, Angel Voice, and Yuushaoh Tanjou! Knowing I had plans for karaoke the next day, I sang my heart out anyway, actively trying to destroy my throat as I yelled GOLDION HANMAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH. Totally worth it.
Especially impressive during the concert was Ms. Okui, who without Rica around had to sing twice as many lines as she normally would. Not only that, but Okui sounded better than I've ever heard her sing before. Usually her live voice is different from her studio voice, but on this night the two were one in the same. This, of course, is not to say that the others were anything less than outstanding. You could tell they enjoy their careers, and have a genuine love for anime music.
They finished off the main concert with GONG, then followed up with an encore comprised of Soul Taker and SKILL. I really couldn't have asked for anything more, besides the presence of the God of Anime Songs Ichirou Mizuki! Sadly, my "Mizuki" chant did not work. By the way, that's how I think Kageyama would have introduced him.
After the concert, a woman walked by with a sign saying,"Give your message to JAM Project!" All I could do was close my eyes and smile while clapping. I then gave a deep bow to them to show my gratitude. I hope you see it, JAM Project.
With the concert over, this was already the best con ever. I could have gone home that evening and been totally satisfied. Fortunately, the weekend was not over. After greeting Erin from Ninja Consultant (she asked me what I thought of the concert and my first response was to pump my fists), I ended up eating dinner with a mighty group indeed, perhaps the mightiest ensemble in all of Baltimore that evening had JAM Project not been around. This group consisted of myself, astrange and kransom, Mike Toole (whose panel I attended earlier in the day), ricequeen, Daryl Surat, and Gerald Rathkolb. It was an enjoyable dinner at a humble chain-like mexican food restaurant, where we discussed various anime-related topics. Kingdoms fell at our feet, while my ears continued to ring from being too close to the speakers during the concert.
The social aspect of the convention, which I was concerned about prior to attending, turned out to not be a problem, and was in fact one of the most enjoyable aspects of Otakon. While I ate with some anime titans of the internet on Friday, I ate with a different group of people every night that I was in Baltimore. Thursday night, I enjoyed extremely delicious Brazilian buffet at Fogo de Chão with my close friends from New York and college in Pittsburgh. There, while chowing down on lambchop, leg of lamb, pork sausage, garlic beef, filet mignon, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken wrapped in bacon, etc (I tried to eat as wide a variety as I could), I talked to a waiter from Brazil. He mentioned his fondness for Saint Seiya and Evangelion.
Fogo de Chão is very pricey, so I wouldn't recommend it as "con food" but as a place to enjoy the company of others while stuffing one's face with protein-based brilliance, it is worth checking out.
Saturday evening, I ate with the internet. It was a Vegeta-mongling good time.
Afterwards, I ran to attend karaoke, where I gave a poor performance of Disarm Dreamer. There, along with astrange and kransom, I sat down and had a grand old time with wildarmsheero, Link, Omo, Anna, among others. You'll forgive me if I forgot all of your names, but you were many. I sang along with a number of tunes, including Pegasus Fantasy, English and Japanese Pokemon themes, and SKILL, and tried my hardest to do my Souther impression for wildarmsheero. Watch out for it on his site. I was surprised to find someone singing the ending theme to the Sega Saturn racing game, Sonic R. I salute you as well. Unfortunately I did not have time to sing Minna Daisuki from Shugo Chara, which I had also planned.
While signing up for karaoke, one of the people working there asked me where I got my badge (see all the way up top), to which I said I made it myself. As he looked closer at my badge he suddenly said, "I read your blog!" Thank you, SSJSquall. You made my day in a day full of things which can make days with little difficulty.
On the same day was the JAM Project Q&A, which was a good time for all. There were many highlights to the whole session, but the absolute best was when Masami did an incredible Mizuki impression. Very few things in life will ever top Masami going, "[Mazinger] ZEEEET!" but one of them might be Fukuyama's sheer antics. This guy is a joker through and through.
Sadly, I missed the Katsura panel because it interfered with the JAM Project autograph session, but I managed to attend the Maruyama/Madhouse panel, which is always a treat. I also sat in for the Fansubbers and Industry panel, which was informative if disappointingly peaceful. John Sirabella, head of Mediablasters, was a blast with his crotchety-yet-informative ways. I wanted to ask how buying region 2 dvds directly affects the region 1 industry if at all, but I was cut off. Maybe next year.
As for the JAM Project autograph session itself, I got to shake hands with them. As Kageyama signed my Gravion box, I pointed and said, "Sparking!" to which he responded in kind. After my friends and I all got our swag autographed, we got together in the dealer's room to do a Whoa Bundy, the second Whoa Bundy of the day.
I also saw two incredible cosplays during the convention. First was a girl cosplaying as Rosalie from Rose of Versailles. Her outfit was this bright pastel blue, perfect for a shoujo character, and it was as if she stepped out of the pages of Riyoko Ikeda's work. Second was a cosplay of Billy Mitchell, the first man to ever conquer Pac-Man. I failed to check if he had a bottle of Rickey's Hot Sauce in hand.
At the train station, I saw Erin and Noah from Ninja Consultant, and wildarmsheero. Along with the friends who I came with, we had a good conversation to wind down the convention, and one of my friends read my blog for the first time. I hope it's as frightening for you as I think it is.
There are two main lessons I took away from Otakon 2008. First is that on the internet it can become very easy to caricaturize those you talk to, to focus on only one aspect of their character and personality. In real life, we can get along without necessarily needing to debate or to try and make things "interesting." Those things will come in time.
Second is that, according to Kageyama, this was one GAY 2008.
(It actually says 9 Aug 2008)
It's recently come to my attention that a lot of the viewers of the Shugo Chara anime are disappointed at the amount of "filler" in it, especially when compared to the manga. I do not see what the fuss is all about.
I have not read much of the manga, so I do not have that basis for comparison, but I find the show at its current pacing to be very satisfying. Some episodes advance the overall plot, while others are fairly episodic and resolve themselves quickly. Either way, I get a delightful 20+ minutes of Cool & Spicy, and really, as I've said before, I wouldn't mind at all if the entire show was episodic.
Are people upset about diverging from the manga too much? The Cardcaptor Sakura anime took a lot of liberties with the source material. If you compare the Clow Decks of the manga and anime, the anime's Clow Deck is practically triple the size of its manga counterpart. That is a lot of added material! The character of Li Meiling didn't even exist in the original manga.
People are even complaining about Shugo Chara getting a second season, for fear of even more filler. Worrying when a good show gets more episodes is ridiculous. This is par for the course for magical girl shows. Considering recent examples of other magical girl shows which got extended, I see no harm. Pretty Cure only got better when it became Pretty Cure Max Heart (I know there are other Precure series, but they use completely different characters), and Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu! is just as good as the first Futagohime series.
I see no reason to despair. More Shugo Chara is good. Shugo Chara at its current pace is good.
Thank you, Hinamori Yahweh.
I've talked about Shugo Chara! here in the past, but I feel that I haven't done a proper job of conveying how highly I think of the series, so I'm here to correct that. I've already summarized the basic premise Shugo Chara! in my first post on it, so I won't really elaborate on that point.
Honestly, I'm almost surprised at how well Shugo Chara! has held up. It's simply a joy to watch every episode, to see the interactions between the characters, to cheer for Hinamori Amu as she falls in love and teaches herself and others to never give up on their dreams. I mean, who doesn't want to support a girl who more than anything wants to be herself, only to realize that the "herself" she wants to be has limitless potential? A person can never be too old to reach for the stars, especially when those stars are deep within one's own heart.
The show is simply very strong on a variety of technical notes. It has a very bright and refreshing artwork with a heavy pink and plaid motif. The humor brings a smile to my face with its charming innocence. The theme songs are catchy and match the opening visuals quite well. The overarching plot is something to watch out for, but on a purely episodic level and everywhere in between Shugo Chara! keeps my attention.
And the characters! I won't go too much into them, but I will say that it would have been so very, very easy to make a lot of the characters annoying and unbearable. Amu's sister, fellow Shugo Chara owner Yaya, and especially the Shugo Charas themselves all had the potential to be deal breakers, but they are all very enjoyable characters. Especially Yaya.
Though I do find it odd that the person Yaya wishes to be is a baby. I wonder if she's maybe an older sister who has to take care of her younger siblings, and she wishes she could live a more normal life at home. I'm probably reading too much into it.
I can safely say that Shugo Chara! is the best Peach Pit series I've seen. Yes, more than Rozen Maiden. And yes, especially more than DearS. Shugo Chara! is perhaps the finest modern mahou shoujo series I've seen since Cardcaptor Sakura.
Oh, and the best Shugo Chara? Miki, by far. I'm just saying.


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Must Watch
Q'Viva: The Chosen
- Summary
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Past Events
Q'Viva: The Chosen
Apr 07, 2012TV Network - FOX
Over the course of the past five weeks, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Jamie King have a taken us on a journey of discovery. We have gone with them through 20 different Latin American countries and seen all sorts of performers. Tonight, represents the end of the journey for Lopez, Anthony, and King, but perhaps it is really just the start of the journey for some of the talents that they have found. Will someone you see here on tonight's finale soon find themselves thrust into the international spotlight for decades to come? They just might be... they just might be.


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GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Improving economic conditions in West Michigan means more dollars for shopping and an increased demand for places to spend that money.
The market for retail space continued to show "high activity, positive absorption and decreasing vacancy rates" during the first quarter of 2013, according to Colliers International West Michigan.
"The West Michigan market is showing signs of prosperity with strong consumer confidence and steady sales for retailers across the board," according to the report released Monday, April 8.
The recent sale of Rivertown Center strip mall for $4.2 million is a positive indicator, the report said. "This will serve as a great comparable for similar properties attempting to sell for a higher price that haven't been justified by other backward looking proposals."
RELATED: Market for office space heating up in downtown Grand Rapids and the suburbs
Most of the action was in four "submarkets," which include 28th Street SE, East Beltline Avenue NE, the Rivertown Corridor and the Alpine Avenue NW corridor.
"The demand created by prospective tenants is driving rental rates to higher levels in these areas compared to the non-performing corridors like 28th Street SW," the report said.
While the Alpine Avenue corridor has a 3 percent vacancy rate and the East Beltline NE corridor have a 4.8 percent vacancy rate, the 28th Street SW corridor had a 25 percent vacancy rate. The Plainfield Avenue NE corridor had a vacancy rate of nearly 15 percent.
High demand along the hot retail strips is returning landlords "to a position of power" in lease negotiations, but "landlords of lower grade space are feeling the pressure to deliver the proper concessions to fill their remaining vacancies," the report said.
Meanwhile, new entrants and tenants are getting choosey about where they locate, the report said. "Buyer activity has slowed in the market as both investors and owner occupants wait for the right opportunity to appear from the limited stock of available properties."
In downtown Grand Rapids, the retail market is active but stalled as many retailers are unable to find storefronts that meets their space and price requirements.
Though downtown hotels have prospered thanks to increased convention traffic, "ArtPrize" and "Laughfest," national retailers have been slow to capitalize on the out-of-town visitors, the report said.
"Each retailer's situation varies, but general there are three main problems: The downtown demographics not being strong enough; no other retailer having made the leap; and the challenge of finding the right space," the report concluded. "Other underlying issues are parking constraints and high rental rates."
Looking ahead, Colliers predicted space will remain tight in popular retail corridors as the few remaining lots are developed and older buildings are demolished to make room for new tenants.
"Look for development surrounding the P.F. Chang's and D&W at Knapp and East Beltline Avenue NE," the report concluded. "This area is experiencing a heavy amount of interest and its prime location will attract tenants who wish to build or lease a brand new building."
RELATED: Vacant factory space is getting hard to find in West Michigan
E-mail Jim Harger: firstname.lastname@example.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JHHarger


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Alumni Success Story
Preserving Languages and Saving Cultures
Kate Lindsey, CAS/BA '11, was spending time in a small village in the mountains of northern Thailand when she had an astonishing revelation. "It was the first time I had really been exposed to people who didn't love the language that they spoke or felt like they had to learn a different language, that they couldn't speak the one they had," she says.
Like many students who come to American University, Lindsey is a doer—a person who wants to contribute to the world around her. She wasn't sure her French major and Arabic and Russian minors would lead her to the kind of work she really wanted to do, though. "I always just thought my studies were so far away from actually helping people," says the recent graduate. Fortunately for her, all that changed when she discovered endangered language research.
"When I started doing endangered language research, I realized that this kind of research could actually help peoples' lives and their communities and empower them to realize that their language and their traditions and culture are important. That's why I really got into it," she explained.
Lindsey first encountered endangered languages when she was 15 while studying with a community service team in Thailand. Lindsey has a knack for learning languages and picked up some Thai before her trip. She was the only person on her team to speak the language while in the country. "I was the only one that studied Thai in our little community service group, so I was translating when we were in Bangkok and in the large cities," she says.
Lindsey left the large cities to spend some time in a small village in the mountains of northern Thailand, where the people didn't speak Thai. Instead, they spoke a language called Akha.
"I really liked learning languages…so, I spent a lot of the time with the people learning their language. The people in the village were really surprised that I would even bother learning their language. They kept saying that Akha was useless and worthless, and that if you wanted a good life then you needed to learn Thai; if you wanted a great life you would learn English," she says.
The experience made such an impression on Lindsey that it opened her eyes to endangered languages in her own backyard in northern California.
"When I got back to the States I realized that there were all these Native American tribes around where I lived. The people there had the same linguistic situation going on as the Akhai villagers. They felt they had to speak English, or they were forced to speak English, and their languages were dying; no one was speaking them. I hadn't really noticed that before," she says.
This realization motivated Lindsey to become active in her community and work to empower Native Americans in the use of their endangered languages. She will continue her work with her neighbors as she teams up with University of California - Berkeley to help Native American tribes preserve their language. She says there are some tribes in California where only 20-30 people are left who speak the tribe's language.
Lindsey clarifies, though, that the number of speakers of a language doesn't determine whether or not it is dying. While the tribes she'll be working with are facing language extinction, Lindsey says that if a population continues to pass on its language, it may survive.
"It depends a lot on how people view the language," she says. "If a language is viewed negatively, if people think that their language is not worth anything, and that they're backwards for holding on to their language or that they are going against globalization, or if it's not suitable for writing or religion, then people won't transmit their language to their children."
She continues that a language with one million speakers might be cut down to 500,000 speakers in as short a span as 25 years if something negative occurs in the speakers' culture that prevents the population from passing the language on to its children. National Geographic's Enduring Voices Project estimates that languages die at a rate of one every two weeks.
However, if a population of only 1,000 people respects their language and transmits it 100 percent to their children so that everyone learns it, then that language may not be at risk of becoming endangered.
Languages that die or are on the brink of death take a certain piece of culture, history, and science with them that the world may never see again. Lindsey explains that along with the traditions and cultures that languages contain, there are other aspects that we might not be aware of. Languages can teach us about the capability of our brains, for instance.
"In some languages, there is no word for right or left, so speakers have to know at all times where North, West, East, and South are. They never say 'My left hand;' it's either my East hand or my West hand, depending on which way they're facing," she says.
Lindsey is currently doing her best to make sure the world doesn't lose more of the hidden value that languages can possess. She recently attended the Linguistic Society of America's Linguistic Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder where she helped preserve the Idi language, spoken by a small population in southern Papua New Guinea. She and her field methods class, taught by renowned linguist Nicholas Evans, created a dictionary, grammar dictionary and orthography to help the language prosper in writing, schooling, and in texts.
"It feels great, but I was nervous all the time because I felt like the fate of this language was in my hands. If I wrote down a word wrong, would everyone be learning it that way forever?" she says.
Nervous or not, the feeling of contributing to the world is what keeps her going. Even when linguists estimate that 50 percent of languages will die by 2100, it's the reward of seeing the change she can make. She renewed her motivation to continue working with Wasang, the native Idi speaker she helped this past summer.
"I feel that the work that I did in the class is doing something for the world. It's a good feeling. I feel very accomplished every day, very productive," she says.
To learn more about Lindsey, or to read her award winning thesis, "What Disappears Before a Language Dies? The Fatal Loss of Prestige in the Picard, Tamazight, and Chuvash Languages," please visit her website.


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Teachers College Press is proud to publish this collection of books to help pre- and inservice educators understand and better serve children from military families. Written in an engaging style by experts in the field, each guide provides evidence-based tools to create practices and school environments that address the special needs of this student population. Click below for the guide that is just right for you:
Guide for school administrators
Guide for teachers
Guide for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers
Guide for parents
Buy the four-book set and save
Guide for school administrators
Guide for teachers
Guide for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers
Guide for parents
Buy the four-book set and save
"These books offer the most up-to-date, research-based suggestions on how to improve the educational outcomes for children with parents in the military."
—William G. Tierney, University of Southern California
"Ron Astor and his colleagues have once more identified an urgent issue facing our country: the military family. School personnel will need to expand their knowledge in order to better serve this important population."
—Paula Allen-Meares, Chancellor and John Corbally Presidential Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
"Military-connected students often pay a high price in their schooling experiences due to the realities of military life. Thus, these guides are invaluable tools for parents, schools, and educator-preparation programs that want to provide rich academic, social, and emotional support to this vulnerable population of children. Preparation programs should consider these guides as key components of their curriculum to prepare incoming teachers, counselors, principals, and others to work effectively with military-connected students."
—American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
"I am grateful to the USC Building Capacity team headed by Ron Avi Astor for developing these exceptional resources and attuning them specifically to the needs of military-connected parents and caregivers. The content and accompanying strategies provide practical, experience-based insights that are well-supported by good science. Parents and other family members will find this reliable source useful and sensitive."
—Mary M.Keller, Ed.D., President and CEO, Military Child Education Coalition
"As an adult who spent most of my youth in military-connected schools in Virginia, I know too well what happens when adults in schools did not understand the unique experiences of being from a military family. Thus, as a scholar, educator, and military child, I am thrilled to be able to endorse these guides because they will educate adults about ways to be helpful through evidence-based prevention and intervention."
—Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., Professor & University Scholar, Department of Educational Psychology, Child Development Division, University of Illinois
"The information in these books will provide parents and community leaders the tools they need to level the playing field for military students. The Navy Region Southwest School Liaison Officer Program thanks the University of Southern California for its partnership in improving the quality of life for military families."
—Navy Region Southwest School Liaison Officer Program
"These evidence-based guides are essential reading for teachers, administrators, and support staff working with children from military-connected families. Military parents wanting to navigate the public school system will benefit from the practical suggestions. These guides provide a comprehensive overview of the issues faced by these youth and a wealth of information about how we can most effectively meet their needs."
—Amanda Datnow, Professor and Chair,
Department of Education Studies, University of California San Diego
Related videos will launch in new browser window. Close to return here.
Children of the Deployed
Connection Corners—Dewey
Friendship Garden
San Onofre—Valentine's Day
Jefferson: Recognizing the Military Student
Temecula Military Appreciation Day Celebration
Families OverComing Under Stress (FOCUS)
Eagle's Nest
All royalties from the sale of these books are being donated to military children's educational causes.


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Gubernatorial candidate Steve Levy has crisscrossed the state at least three times this year, sometimes driving hours to meet with a single county chair. The lengthy commutes and long hours are paying off, he said.
Levy, who visited Syracuse today, has won support from several big-name Republicans, including state GOP Chairman Ed Cox and Onondaga County Republican Chairman John DeSpirito III.
Both Cox and DeSpirito previously endorsed Rick Lazio, the other Republican running for governor.
"We felt that Steve would be a far stronger candidate for the GOP," DeSpirito said Tuesday. "Steve has a 10-point program, he has the ability to raise the funds, and he can win this race for us."
Levy had $4.1 million in his campaign account as of January, according to the state Board of Elections. Lazio had just over $600,000.
Levy also has been endorsed by Oswego County Republican Chairman George Williams and at least 10 other Republican Party chairs. He's gained the backing of six of New York's nine regional GOP vice chairs.
Conservative Party leaders also are jumping on the bandwagon. At least three have endorsed Levy so far, although party Chairman Michael Long continues to back Lazio.
Levy, who works as Suffolk County executive, announced his candidacy last month. He switched parties, from Democrat to Republican, to run for governor.
"We welcome him with open arms," DeSpirito said.
A spokesman for Lazio would not say whether losing the support of DeSpirito and Cox alarms him.
"Rick Lazio will be the nominee of the Republican Party and Conservative Party," spokesman Barney Keller said. "A liberal Democrat like Steve Levy that supports Obama's stimulus and government run health care will not."
Wednesday, another gubernatorial hopeful will visit Syracuse. Buffalo developer Carl Paladino will host a public town hall meeting starting 7 p.m. at The Palace Theatre in Eastwood.
Paladino, a fiscal and social conservative, is supported by members of the tea party movement and will pursue the Conservative Party nomination.


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You probably already know that advertised mortgage rates might not match the quotes that you get from lenders. An advertisement may only be valid for a few people or for a short time; a custom rate quote is based on your loan amount and property value, your credit score, the property type and its use. But wait; there's more: did you know that a mortgage refinance might come with a different rate than a purchase loan? It's true.
Refinance = Ugly Mortgage Stepchild
Mortgage lenders are operating at or very near their full capacity, for several reasons. First, government programs like HARP, the Home Affordable Refinance Program, have enabled more people to refinance, and given them a deadline in which to do it. In addition, new regulations have increased the time it takes to underwrite, process and fund a mortgage. Finally, there's the economy, which has pushed rates to new lows, fuelling the demand for refinancing.
When mortgage lenders are working as fast as they can, many of them move new purchase applications to the front of the line, ahead of the full pipeline of refinance applications. Purchases, unlike refinances, come with deadlines. Lenders don't want new customers to fall out of escrow when their closings are delayed. In addition, real estate agents can influence their clients' choice of lenders – it doesn't pay to cause anyone to lose a sale.
Some Lenders Buy Time – With YOUR Money!
Because some lenders don't want their refinancing borrowers coming unglued when their 30-day rate locks expire, they offer "free" 90-day mortgage rate locks. These extended locks cost lenders more, however, so, while some absorb the higher costs, others charge higher mortgage rates for refinances than for purchases.
Comparing Refinance Rates the Right Way
When you get refinance quotes from competing lenders, make sure that they're going head-to-head in pursuit of your business. The lender with the best mortgage rates may not be the one for you if the quote is good for only 30 days and it takes them 90 to close your refinance.


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Toucher & Rich: While MLB Slows Down, NHL Wants To Speed Things UpNHL GM's are discussing adding coach's challenges, but are concerned about the length of games. MLB, you paying attention?
Gresh & Zo: Where Do The Bruins Go From Here?Zolak was out so former Bruin and Sports Hub Bruins color analyst Bob Beers filled in next to Gresh. The guys kicked things off talking Bruins of course. Will the Bruins make any big signings in the offseason?
Roche: Savard UpdateBruins GM Peter Chiarelli said that center Marc Savard met with team doctors on Friday, but did not have an update on the injured players status.


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|Articles & Essays
The Parish: Mission or Maintenance?
"An argument for argument's sake," Fr. Michael Sweeney
"The role of the parish in the new evangelization," Fr. Robert Christian, O.P.
Collaboration with the Laity, Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P.
Government in the Church, Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P.
In The Beginning: The Unlikely Adventures of the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell & Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P.
Pope John Paul II Speaks on Charisms
The Strategic Role of Lay Catholics in the Dominican Mission, Sherry Weddell


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Saber wrote:
yusukesolos wrote:
Saber wrote:
yusukesolos wrote:
Roelito Bradley wrote: This kid doesn't know what strength feats are. Ugh.
Yes i do , ive just havent seen any.
Stop being so butthurt dude
Goku jumping into the Troposphere/ Cloud layer would require his legs to have the strength of 2,000+ tons.
Toa pierced Blues Skull with his tongue the same Blue who could stand kicks from Goku (Who is just told you his legs strength.)
He destroyed a large building by tossing KP into it which requires a lot of strength.
Tao threw a man sized stone pillar 2,300 km with his strength alone
Goku flipped and threw Piccolo who grew to rival/ exceed the large buildings in size.
All of these extremely potent strength feats done by fodder compared to Raditz.
Sniper pierced a mans head from miles away with a pencil eraser and he is a mere human
toguro punched yusuke through a forest breaking large trees .
Those are good feats but nothing comparable to end dark tournament tiers
Tao pierced a guys head who could take blows with 2000 TONS OF FORCE and he did it with his tongue that is far more impressive then anything you listed.
Tao threw this pillar 1429 miles far more impressive then punching Yusuke threw a forest hell 22nd Budokai chars could hit each other threw cities and that large island previously mentioned.
The fact that Tao is rivaling/exceeding these feats you are bringing up Shows how much stronger Raditz is to Yu Yu people since he could take a whole planet of Tao level fighters and walk away just fine (In fact its his job)
Half the stuff ive shown toguro was in base form
Full powered toguro could solo db, the only competition is goku
Relax these are only fictional characters.


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LONGMONT -- Colorado's catastrophic floods didn't just destroy or damage Boulder County homes, businesses, roads and bridges, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet was told Friday.
The disaster also created "some serious mental health needs" among many of the flood's victims, Longmont OUR Center director Edwina Salazar told Bennet.
Those needs, Salazar advised, will be long-term, in many instances, as people struggle to cope with the traumas of their personal experiences and losses.
Salazar was among a number of local agency and government representatives who assembled to greet Bennet as he toured the Disaster Assistance Center in Longmont's Twin Peaks Mall.
Bennet told the group that he wanted to hear "what's working, and what's not working" in the flood recovery and relief efforts under way.
Several local officials applauded the emergency first responders and various government agencies who began working immediately to protect and rescue people in the paths of the flooding that began the night of Sept. 11 -- and, in some areas, were able to prevent the floodwaters from being even more destructive.
"It was really amazing how well they did," said Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs.
Coombs said area governments and public safety personnel benefited from contingency planning for reacting to natural disasters.
Although there were flood-related deaths elsewhere in Boulder County, Coombs said that in Longmont, at least, "to have had an event like this without a single loss of life is really amazing."
Boulder County Commissioner Deb Gardner said that in the days during and following the floods, "we've had great response from FEMA," the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
However, several of the local officials sitting in on Bennet's Longmont Disaster Assistance Center briefing also described the tasks facing Boulder County agencies and their communities.
Longmont City Councilman Gabe Santos said one key to the success of those efforts will have to be cooperation and a willingness to work together on the part of the many local, state and federal agencies involved -- agencies that Santos said often have their own sometimes conflicting rules and regulations.
Lyons Trustee Connie Sullivan said that town's immediate focus is repairing or rebuilding the infrastructure that's needed to restore power, water and sewer services and its transportation accessibility.
Sullivan and her husband, Neil, own the St. Vrain Market, one of the town's many businesses shut down by the flood, and she said her family has relocated, at least temporarily, to Lafayette.
Nederland's post-flood highway access needs also were high on the list of priorities cited by Nederland Mayor Joe Gierlach, who said he drove more than three hours, because of the closed Colo. 119 highway through Boulder Canyon, part of the route he'd normally have traveled to get to Bennet's Longmont meeting.
Nederland was "virtually unaffected" by the heavy rains and flooding, Gierlach said, and the town stands ready to help provide housing and other services to western Boulder County mountain residents who were victims.
But people living in Nederland and its neighboring communities need a more direct route to get to and from their jobs in Boulder and elsewhere in the metro area.
Earlier Friday, before Bennet's arrival, Gierlach told a Colorado Department of Local Affairs staffer about efforts he's been making to restore at least a limited version of the Regional Transportation District's bus service between Nederland and Boulder -- pre-flood service along the RTD's N Route through Boulder Canyon -- because "we've got tons of people who need to use it."
Jim Williams, a member of the Boulder County Housing and Human Services Department's staff, said planning is under way for addressing the temporary, mid-term and long-term housing needs of people displaced by the floods -- a daunting task, he said, because there's now only about a 1 percent vacancy rate in rental housing in this county.
Gardner said Boulder County is completing the gathering of damage-assessment data it needs to submit to the Colorado governor's office in order to qualify for higher levels of federal financial disaster relief aid.
After Bennet left the Disaster Assistance Center, he stopped by a flood-stricken Longmont neighborhood southwest of Hover Street and Mountain View Avenue to see the damages there first-hand.
Bennet's Friday afternoon visit to Longmont was just the latest in a set of appearances that federal and state officeholders have made in the wake of the floods.
One of Gov. John Hickenlooper's visits was a Monday stop at the Longmont Office of Emergency Management command center, and others touring the flooded areas of Boulder and Weld counties have been U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and U.S. Reps. Cory Gardner and Jared Polis.
Vice President Joe Biden has scheduled a similar Colorado tour on Monday, the White House announced Thursday.
John Fryar can be reached at 303-684-5211 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
When retired Lt. Col. Frank Piacine returned from a year in Kuwait, he wasn't the same man.
The 50-year-old from Mechanicsburg was impatient, depressed. He couldn't sleep. The mundane realities of life seemed unimportant and irritating. He felt on constant alert for danger. He found it hard to trust people. He withdrew.
"This man is a good man, and he's really struggling with this," his wife, Robin Piacnie, remembered. "He wasn't like that before."
She knew underneath her good man was still there. She told her husband that she'd stick with him as long as he was willing to try to resolve his problems, he said.
"That was the wake-up call I needed," Frank Piacine said. "It's probably hardest on the people who are closest to you. You can keep it together at work, but it's more in your personal relationships that things tend to show through."
So, 15 months after he returned from Kuwait, he visited Lebanon VA Medical Center and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD is a problem for some veterans returning home. About 20 percent of the 1.6 million U.S. military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001 report symptoms of PTSD or major depression, according to a study Rand Corp. released last spring.
Frank Piacine said having a diagnosis gave the couple a common enemy to fight. He began taking medication to curb his anger and getting counseling to let go of some of the coping mechanisms that protected him in Kuwait but were hurting them now.
After serving in Kuwait, Frank Piacine saw the world as threatening and unfriendly.
"The way you've adapted has been successful for you, but it doesn't work well back here," he said. "You have to be open to looking at it. You can really get down on yourself. You can get down on the relationship, and that's something that's going to impact a lot of families over time.
"You think you can get your arms around this, but it's so insidious in a way. You're not living your life effectively," he said. "You want to have a productive relationship. You want to have a good relationship, but your behavior can be a huge obstacle to making progress."
One of the hardest things he and Robin, 53, had to learn together in their new life was they needed knowledge in order to make progress, Frank said. Both people need to understand PTSD, what behaviors it causes and what strategies will help their relationship survive it. The Piacines wanted to speak out about PTSD to help other military families, they said.
"You realize that this isn't just happening to Frank," Robin said. "There are so many people who would never admit it. We're trying to reach out to those others and say, 'Look, you don't have to live in this isolated world. There are people out there who can help you. You need to reach out to them and ask for help.'"
If people don't get help with PTSD, they tend to flail about until their lives spiral downward because they're concerned about a stigma or pride, Frank Piacine said.
They found help from the VA, a therapist and their church, they said. "Getting through means being willing to use the resources that are available to you," Frank said. "There is a stigma attached to doing that. People want to say, 'It can't be me, that has the problem. All I need to do is be back for 6 months.'"
It's worth taking the risk of asking for help, he said.
"There's a lot of resources out there. If people avail themselves of those things, life can be pretty good."
If a couple wants to preserve their relationship, they must commit to doing everything necessary, Frank said. "Reading about it on the Internet isn't enough. You need to work with a relationship counselor who is familiar with it and the issues it brings to couples."
Frank is much better now, Robin said. "That's because he kept up with the counseling and learning those things that push his buttons. Instead of being a reactionary person, he stops and thinks about it," she said. "He'll say, 'Could we talk about this?' I think it's extremely important to say yes."
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal such as a personal assault, rape, natural or human-caused disaster, accident or military combat.
Signs & Symptoms
- People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems or be easily startled. They may have flashbacks. Words, objects or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating.
- The main treatments for people with PTSD are psychotherapy ("talk" therapy), medications or both. It is important to be treated by a mental health care provider who is experienced with PTSD. Other ongoing problems can include panic disorder, depression, substance abuse and feeling suicidal.
More information
- Visit National Institute of Mental Health, at www.nimh.nih.gov, and search PTSD. The site has information on PTSD among veterans, children, rape victims and more. It has links to professionals, advocacy groups and more.
- For Pennsylvania resources, visit http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/ and click on Pennsylvania on the map at the top right.


text:
One act of domestic violence is committed every 7 minutes and 5 seconds in New Jersey.
In Cumberland County alone there were a total number of 3,831 domestic violence offenses in 2010.
Fifteen names of Cumberland County residents who lost their lives to domestic violence will soon appear on a monument dedicated by Tina's Fund, a domestic violence awareness group.
The ceremony will take place on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m., right in the middle of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
"Cumberland County has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in New Jersey," said Myrna Durand, founder of Tina's Fund.
Durand started the non-profit after her sister was killed in Landis Park in Vineland as a result of domestic violence.
Since 2006, Tina's Fund has raised awareness through memorial walks, dress sales, fundraisers and a Prom Fashion Show.
With the Domestic Violence Memorial Garden, Durand hopes to create a permanent display that reminds the community about the dangers of domestic violence.
"I wanted something that will give a lasting impression," Durand said.
The Memorial Garden, located in Giampietro Park in Vineland, will have a 12-feet by 12-feet area with a black granite monument in the middle.
The public can help assist with the cost of the project by purchasing pavers in the area.
The garden around the monument will be filled with purple and white flowers, which represent domestic violence.
To contact Tina's Fund, call 609-721-3078.
Tina's Fund also sponsors a Run for Domestic Violence 5k at Cumberland County College on Oct. 14 and supports Millville's Domestic Violence Sunset Walk.
The walk, which takes place on Friday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at Jaycee Plaza on the corner of High and Main streets, is sponsored by the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office and the Center for Family Services.
"This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and it's important that we bring awareness to the issue because it's an issue for everyone," said Jennifer Webb-McRae, Cumberland County prosecutor.
"This is a problem for everyone because it transcends race and social-economic level and it affects the whole community."
According to the New Jersey State Police's 2010 Uniform Crime Report, there were 74,244 domestic violence offenses reported to the police.
Of those offenses, 42 percent were assault and 44 percent were harassment.
The report states that the most frequent day of domestic violence occurrences was Sunday and 26 percent of offenses were reported between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight.
While both sexes can be victims of domestic violence, 75 percent of victims are female.
Another event hosted by the prosecutor's office is the "Together We Can End Domestic Violence" Symposium on Oct. 15 at the Cumberland County College's Luciano Center.
The symposium, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will teach domestic violence victims understand and navigate the domestic violence judicial system.
Domestic violence can include physical assault, sexual assault, intimidation, isolation, verbal abuse/harassment, threats, creating disturbances at work, economic control, harassing telephone calls, spying, child abuse and destruction of property and pets.
To reach Services Empowering Rights of Victims (SERV) services, call 1-800-225-0196.


text:
[Previous] | [Session 33] | [Next]
Kazunori Ishibashi (Dept. of Astronomy, University of Minnesota), Michael Corcoran (NASA/GSFC/USRA), Kris Davidson (Dept. of Astronomy, University of Minnesota), Jean Swank, Rob Petre (GSFC/LHEA), Steve Drake (GSFC/LHEA/USRA), Augusto Damineli (IAGUSP)
While our intensive monitoring of \eta Carinae has mapped the recurrent variation with a 5.5-year period in the hard X-ray lightcurve, we made a serendipitous discovery of 85d periodic flaring activity. In the simplest type of periodic flare model, recurrent disturbances move outward in \eta Carinae's wind, and an X-ray flare occurs when each disturbance encounters the shocked wind interaction region. Recent studies suggested that the period between successive flares might lengthen drastically well after Jan 1998 when a postulated binary companion passed periastron. This is due to a ``Doppler-effect''; as the physical separation and velocity vectors of the two stars change due to their orbital motions, any periodic disturbance originating on the primary and propagating through the wind will travel different path lengths to the wind interaction region. Therefore, the orbital motion will in turn result in an observed ``flaring'' period that is modulated as a function of orbital phase.
The continuous monitoring with the RXTE/PCA shows that such drastic lengthening of the flaring period may have occurred. The timing of such lengthening may be a crucial key to prove or disprove the binarity hypothesis of \eta Carinae.
If the author provided an email address or URL for general inquiries,
it is as follows:


text:
Titular see of Galatia Secunda, suffragan of Pessinus. No geographer or historian mentions a city of this name; Hierocles (Synecemus, 698, 1) gives "regio Trocnades", instead of Regetnoknada , referring, doubtless, to the Galatian name of some tribe on the left bank of the Sangarius; its principal centre was probably in the present village of Kaimez, about twenty-four miles east of Eski Shehir, a vilayet of Broussa. All the "Notitiae episcopatuum" up to the thirteenth century mention the see Trokmadon among the suffragans of Pessinus ; the two most recent (thirteenth century) call it Lotinou ; perhaps it should be Plotinou, from St. Plotinus, venerated there. The official lists of the Roman Curia give Trocmadae. Le Quien (Oriens christianus, I, 493), gives Trocmada. From these erroneous forms arises a confusion of the name with the Galatian tribe of Trocmi. The last named author gives a list of the known bishops : Cyriacus, who represented his metropolitan at the Robber Synod of Ephesus (449), and was represented by a priest at the Council of Chalcedon (451); Theodore, present at the Council of Constantinople (681); Leo, at Nicaea (787); Constantine at the Photian Council of Constantinople (879). Cyriacus, said to have assisted at the Council of Nicaea (325), is not mentioned in the authentic lists of bishops present at that council.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed between 1907 and 1912 in fifteen hard copy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online


text:
One of Dunmore's offensive linemen, Paul Gaughan, has received Division-1 attention and some scholarship offers.
One of the Bucks' returning defensive linemen is generating quite a lot of Division-1 interest and attention also.
Jerry Hubshman, a 6'4, 260-pound defensive tackle for Dunmore, has received interest, but no scholarship offers, from 10 Division-1 programs, according to his profile on Rivals.com. The majority of the schools interested in Hubshman hail from the Big 10 and Big East conferences.
UCONN, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia and Wisconsin have all shown interest in Hubshman, according to Rivals.
Hubshman totaled 20 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and recovered a fumble for the Bucks last season. He was part of a Dunmore defense (including reserves) that allowed 121 points in 13 games (9.3 points per game), holding eight of 13 opponents to nine points or less, with one shutout.
No team scored more than 14 points in any game against Dunmore last season.
The Bucks, 47-7 overall (.870) since the start of the 2006 season, won their third consecutive District 2 "AA" championship (5th overall) and ran off 12 consecutive victories before being eliminated by West Catholic, 13-0, in the PIAA playoffs in 2009.


text:
"The Pittsburgh Kid" Paul Spadafora (48-0-1) will match Rocky Marciano's mark of 49 wins without a loss if he beats Johan Perez (17-1-1) for the vacant WBA interim junior welterweight title Saturday night at the Mountaineer Casino in Chester, W.Va.
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text:
This report comes directly from the New Orleans Police Department's Major Offense Log for 6 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday.
Aggravated Burglary
17:03 hrs
14400 blk Peltier Dr
Victim: Female, DOB 10/5/71
Arrested Subject: Tia Gahie, female 31
Gist: Victim heard banging on her front door. As she opened her door a male known as Al forced his way into the residence followed by a female. Subjects rummaged through the house and stole victim's purse and keys. Female perpetrator was arrested on the scene.
Aggravated Battery (Shooting)
2:50 a.m.
Eve St / S Rendon St
Victim: Female, DOB 9/26/92
Victim: Male, DOB 10/10/91
Gist: The victims were sitting inside their vehicle when a gold sedan pulled up and open fire at the victims grazing both victims about the head. The victims were treated at Interim LSU Public Hospital.


text:
Albany, NY - Starting Monday, former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney will host a radio show on Talk 1300 AM in Albany, the station announced on Twitter.
The station can be heard live online.
Sweeney and @paulvandenburgh announce that Sweeney will have a weekday show on @talk1300 M-F at 11a starting Monday...— TALK1300 (@TALK1300) February 7, 2013
Sweeney lost his seat in 2006 to Kirsten Gillibrand, who went on to become a U.S. Senator. In 2007 and in 2009, he was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated.
Sweeney made news in The Post-Standard earlier in 2006 as part of the newspaper's investigation into spending at the New York Power Authority and the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
The state public authorities had been throwing an annual Lake Placid ski weekend for Sweeney and his family, staff and friends. It cost about $25,000 in public money in 2006 - the last year it was held.
Sweeney portrayed the event as a fact-finding business trip, and NYPA officials said they were trying to promote tourism.
Contact Michelle Breidenbach at (315) 470-3186, email@example.com or on Twitter @mbreidenbach.


text:
An experienced muay Thai practitioner reveals the strategies you need to succeed with this martial art's most feared weapon.
Read More »
Muay Thai
To Westerners, Thai martial arts is Thai kickboxing or, as it is more commonly known, muay Thai. However, muay Thai is technically not a martial art. Instead, it is a sport that's been around since 1930. Its techniques are taken from the more lethal art of muay boran, which originated from the older fighting style of ling lom (air monkey) via the ancient mother art of krabi krabong (stick and sword fighting).
Thai fighting arts evolved because of the country's historical conflicts with Burma. Muay Thai's ancestral arts were first described in King Ramkamheng's (1275-1317) Book of War Learning. In 1560, King Nareusan was captured by the Burmese. He was released when he defeated the top Burmese boxers. It was this event that brought about the birth of muay Thai. However, a similar story describes how Nai Khanom Tom took on 12 Burmese fighters while imprisoned in Burma and was released in 1560.
Although the ancient forms of muay Thai are Buddhist in nature, ling lom has its foundation in the Hindu legend of Ramayana, specifically the monkey god Hanuman, wherein the muay Thai fights traditionally re-enacted the battling gods.
Muay Thai Elbow Strikes: 5 Best Targets and the Best Methods for Hitting Them
– November 3, 2015
An experienced muay Thai practitioner reveals the strategies you need to succeed with this martial art's most feared weapon.
How to Get Good at Muay Thai: Strikes and Combinations
– July 31, 2015
In Part 2 of this tutorial, Alex Gong discusses, among other things, why same-side striking combinations work so well in the kickboxing ring. Prepare to learn from a true champion!
Read More »
How to Get Good at Muay Thai: Roundhouse Kick and Knee Thrust
– July 23, 2015
Muay Thai champ Alex Gong helps you fine-tune two essential techniques that work as well for self-defense as they do in the kickboxing ring.
Read More »
Muay Thai Training Videos: Inside Master Toddy's Cobra Strike
– August 20, 2014
Master Toddy's surprise punch is the secret weapon of the numerous muay Thai and MMA fighters he coaches. Watch this fighting expert describe and demonstrate it in three exclusive videos!
Read More »
Felice Herrig: Former Muay Thai Kickboxer Is Now an MMA Fighter
– February 14, 2013
Anyone who watched the Oxygen network's Fight Girls reality-TV series remembers Felice Herrig. She fared well training under Master Toddy and actually defeated her opponent, a Thai champion. Soon afterward, she made the jump from muay Thai to MMA.
Read More »
Learn 3 Grappling Techniques From UFC Star Chael Sonnen
– October 11, 2011
Chael Sonnen isn't your typical politician. For one, he actually answered our questions. But more important, the All-American wrestler from Oregon taught us some of the best tricks from his playbook.
Despite his reputation as one of the UFC's loudest stars, he doesn't have a bad word to say about
Read More »
Dr. Mark Cheng's Top 10 Martial Arts for Self-Defense
– August 8, 2011
Almost every day at Black Belt, we're asked the same question: "What's the best martial art for self-defense?" To find out the answer, we asked Dr. Mark Cheng, an expert in Chinese medicine and martial arts.
"I chose the following arts because of my personal experience with them," Dr. Mark Cheng
Read More »
Muay Boran Technique and Accessories Demonstration
– March 24, 2011
Col. Nattapong Buayam, a former Thai spec-ops hand-to-hand and weapons instructor, trained elite troops in Southeast Asia on the combative essence of krabi krabong (Thai traditional weaponry) and muay Boran (the forefather to muay Thai) for decades. The aggressive footwork and rapid-fire weapon attacks make it a nightmare to defend
Read More »
Antonio Graceffo Travels to Thailand (Part 1)
– March 24, 2011
Antonio Graceffo takes you to the other side of the world in this video supplement for his Destinations column, appearing monthly in Black Belt magazine. In Part 1 of his trip to Thailand, he discusses martial arts training and the variety of styles available to partake in, including muay Thai,
Read More »
"Mack" Shows You How to Counter a Muay Thai Kick
– March 23, 2011
Richard "Mack" Machowicz, an ex-Navy SEAL and former host of the cable-TV series Future Weapons, as well as a student of taekwondo, muay Thai, kali, boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Paul Vunak's jeet kune do, shows how counter a muay Thai kick in this exclusive footage from the cover shoot for
Read More »


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cp.max Rotortechnik GmbH & Co. KG
is the expert for rotor blades of wind turbines.
Based on the experience of 15 years we offer maintenance, inspection, repair, aerodynamic optimization, vibration analysis/balancing and photometric measurements on rotor blades. We are highly competent and are certified with SCC**, ISO 9001 and Germanischer Lloyd.
We are worldwide in action for our customers.
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experience, competence and quality.
Here you find more information about the services we provide.


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Sandra L. Beecher
Sandra L. Beecher, 61, Altoona, died Thursday at Altoona Regional.
She was the daughter of the late Donald C. and Geraldine M. (Brenner) Querry. She married Edgar H. Beecher on Jan. 22, 1977, in Altoona. He preceded her in death on Nov. 17, 2012.
She is survived by a son, Donald A. Beecher and fiancee, Nicole T. Lilly, of Altoona; a granddaughter, Delaney A. Beecher; two sisters: Donna J. Muir and Karen M. Glasson (Jim); a brother, Greg D. Querry (Karen); and multiple nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Curtis B. Querry.
Sandra was an avid bowler in leagues at Holiday Bowl and was a member of the Bavarian Aid Society.
She was a graduate of Altoona High School, Class of 1970.
Sandra enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her granddaughter, Delaney, and also crocheting and fishing.
Friends will be received from noon until 2 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2013, at Mauk & Yates Funeral Home Inc., Juniata, where a funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Brent Salsgiver, officiating. Interment will be at Alto-Reste Park Cemetery.
Sandra L. Beecher
Sandra L. Beecher, 61, Altoona, died Thursday, May 9, 2013, at Altoona Regional. Friends will be received from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2013, at Mauk & Yates Funeral Home Inc., Juniata, followed by a funeral service at 2 p.m. A full obituary will appear in Sunday's Mirror.


text:
Wyoming Passes On Gay Marriage, Moves Domestic Partnerships Forward
Lawmakers in Wyoming approved a measure to institute domestic partnerships Monday afternoon, even as they killed a bill to legalize marriage equality.
Both bills had been submitted to the state House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee by openly gay Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie), though she and other proponents had hoped the gay-marriage measure would advance.
It failed in a 5-4 vote, while the domestic partnership bill passed 7-2 and will now move on to a general vote.
Opponents of equality trotted out insulting rhetoric to deny gays and lesbians the same rights as heterosexuals. "Homosexual behavior is harmful to the mind, body and spirit," said state Rep. Lynn Hutchings (R-Cheyenne), who also accused LGBT advocates of "carpet-bagging on [the black] civil rights movement."
Hutchings even volunteered that an ex-fiance had once been gay but decided to turn straight.
We really pity the people of Cheyenne.
If history has taught us anything, it is that santimonious politicians are pure evil when they violate the human rights of other people.
They should be forced to watch the Laramie Project (with Joshua Jackson ????).
@hyhybt: Agreed. I wasn't the least bit discouraged by this news, and I usually get pretty pissed when marriage equality fails thanks to politicians and their bullshit (see: New Jersey).
But I found this particular piece of news highly encouraging. I never in a million years expected ANY kind of forward movement on any time of gay rights issue in Wyoming.
Any step forward is a good step as far as I'm concerned.
You almost made it on the good state list.
@erasure25: Why?…Wyoming politicians pretty much concluded Matthew got what he deserved.
Another redneck state that has nothing to say and too many voting rights.
At least Wyoming is moving forward. Now if my home state of Idaho would move up to
modern times it would really be a shocker. It is odd that the Mormans are opposed
when 9 out of 10 gays caught in the Fall of '55 scandal in Boise, Idaho, were Mormans.
What a bunch of hypocrites!
@gppm1103: A lot has changed since then… and what do you mean by "too many voting rights?"


text: Dear All, Despite permanently changing opinions of "official meteorite experts" citated by mass-media, it is already possible to work out some intermediate lessons. Whatever the origin of the Peruvian event, the interpretation must explain both the fireball and the crater appearence. An idea that one rare event (a large fireball), and another rare event (a large crater formation in direction of the fireball fall (or even hitting the ground?)) are just pure accidendal coincidences seems not very likely. If the meteorite is confirmed then it should be investigated all "poisoning" aspects. If the meteorite isnot confirmed, then an origin of the crater and the fireball should be investigated. Also geology structure and altitude of the event (~4 km) should be taking into account. I can add that in 1990 in former USSR there was a fall of a meteorte later named as Sterlitamak. It formed a crater 10 meters in diameter and 4-5 meters in depth. Its main body discovered in the crater weighed 315 kg. But of course, this doesnot prove that the Peruvian event was a meteorite. :) Waiting for result of the chemical analysis from Peru. Best wishes, Andrei Ol'khovatov