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- Conference date: 19-22 March, 2007
- Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland (USA)
Cosmic atomic plasmas can be divided into two broad classes: electron ionized and photoionized. Electron‐ionized plasmas are formed in objects such as the sun and other stars, supernova remnants, galaxies, and the intercluster medium in clusters of galaxies. Photoionized plasmas are formed in objects such as planetary nebulae, H II regions, X‐ray binaries, and active galactic nuclei. Understanding the spectral and thermal properties of these objects requires an accurate knowledge of the ionization level of the gas. This in turn depends on a reliable understanding of the underlying ionization and recombination processes which determine the ionization balance. Here we review some of the various atomic collision processes which determine the charge state distribution in a cosmic atomic plasma and briefly discuss some of the recent theoretical and experimental advances in generating the needed atomic data. We close by describing the relevant atomic data needs for the near future.
Key Topics
- Ionization
- 4.0
- Plasma ionization
- 3.0
- Active galaxies
- 1.0
- Atomic collisions
- 1.0
- Atomic ionization
- 1.0
Probing Inflation with CMB PolarizationDaniel Baumann, Mark G. Jackson, Peter Adshead, Alexandre Amblard, Amjad Ashoorioon, Nicola Bartolo, Rachel Bean, Maria Beltrán, Francesco de Bernardis, Simeon Bird, Xingang Chen, Daniel J. H. Chung, Loris Colombo, Asantha Cooray, Paolo Creminelli, Scott Dodelson, Joanna Dunkley, Cora Dvorkin, Richard Easther, Fabio Finelli, Raphael Flauger, Mark P. Hertzberg, Katherine Jones‐Smith, Shamit Kachru, Kenji Kadota, Justin Khoury, William H. Kinney, Eiichiro Komatsu, Lawrence M. Krauss, Julien Lesgourgues, Andrew Liddle, Michele Liguori, Eugene Lim, Andrei Linde, Sabino Matarrese, Harsh Mathur, Liam McAllister, Alessandro Melchiorri, Alberto Nicolis, Luca Pagano, Hiranya V. Peiris, Marco Peloso, Levon Pogosian, Elena Pierpaoli, Antonio Riotto, Uroš Seljak, Leonardo Senatore, Sarah Shandera, Eva Silverstein, Tristan Smith, Pascal Vaudrevange, Licia Verde, Ben Wandelt, David Wands, Scott Watson, Mark Wyman, Amit Yadav, Wessel Valkenburg and Matias Zaldarriaga
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A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public-service or emergency announcements. Some robocalls use personalized audio messages to simulate an actual personal phone call.
- 1 Canada
- 2 United States
- 3 Reverse robocalling
- 4 Enforcement
- 5 See also
- 6 References
- 7 External links
Robocalls can be and are legitimately used by mainstream political parties in Canada to reach voters. Controversy surrounded the use of robocalls during the Canadian federal election, 2011, leading Elections Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate claims that robocalls were used in an attempt to dissuade voters from casting their ballot by falsely telling them their poll stations had changed locations.[1] Elections Canada traced the origin of the automated calls to a disposable cellphone registered to a fictional name "Pierre Poutine" at a phony address from 450 area code of Joliette, Quebec, and issued a subpoena to the cellphone provider that produced a list of outgoing calls from the same number. One of the calls was to the toll-free number used by customers of 2call.ca, a subsidiary of Edmonton-based Internet Service Provider RackNine, to phone in and record their outgoing messages. The burner cell phone belonging to "Pierre Poutine" was used to contact the owner of Racknine at his personal unlisted number and gave the name "Pierre Jones". This burner phone initiated a series of automated robocalls mostly in Guelph but with a few dozen in other ridings, that targeted mostly non-Conservative voters with false voting location changes. Some voters attended what they had been led to believe were their voting locations, and sometimes destroyed their voter registration cards in anger.[citation needed]
In November 2011, the investigator served RackNine with a production order for records and had the account holder associated with the bogus calls quickly identified.[2] Investigators have also examined the Conservative Party's CIMS voter database and showed that "Pierre Poutine" used the Conservative voter database to select who to call. Investigators have blank entries for one specific login, leading to speculation that evidence has been deleted. PayPal has also surrendered their records to investigators since "Pierre Poutine" has used a PayPal account to pay for the bill for the automated calls. The cost for these May 2, 2011, calls was $162.10, Elections Canada said in court filings. This expenditure was never reported to Elections Canada, as required for legitimate political spending.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada have denied any knowledge or involvement.[3] A Conservative party staffer resigned soon after the scandal was reported but has since come forward stating that he was not involved.[4] Elections Canada has made a statement[5] and reported to Parliament,[6] that the fraud was extensive, affecting 200 ridings in all ten provinces plus Yukon Territory.[7] The Council of Canadians, a left of centre activist group, has asserted that the robocalls may have been enough to swing the result by 4%, enough to win a number of ridings in very close races. A court challenge has been initiated by this group to overturn the results of the election in seven ridings, and initiate by-elections for the respective seven House of Commons seats.
After reviewing the investigation of the "Pierre Poutine" scandal in 2013, Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley found that election fraud had taken place in six ridings across the country but found no evidence that the Conservative party or candidates were involved. He also did not find sufficient evidence to support charges in ridings other than Guelph. As well, he indicated that the "robocalls" had not affected the outcome of the 2011 election in any riding.[8]
After a lengthy investigation of the circumstances of the scandal,[9] Michael Sona, the former director of communications for the Conservative candidate in the Guelph (Ontario) riding[10] was charged on June 2, 2014[11] with "wilfully preventing or endeavouring to prevent an elector from voting".[12][13] Sona was found guilty on November 14, 2014 [14] and was sentenced to nine months in jail plus twelve months of probation.[15] Sona was released from jail on bail after serving twelve days, pending his appeal of the sentence. However, Sona did not appeal the conviction.[10][10] During the trial, Justice Hearn agreed with the Crown allegation [9] that Sona had likely not acted alone.[16][17]
United States[edit]
Political calls[edit]
Robocalls are made by many political parties in the United States, including but not limited to both the Republican and Democratic parties as well as unaffiliated campaigns, 527 organizations, unions, and individual citizens. Political robocalls are exempt from the United States National Do Not Call Registry.[18][19] The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit anyone (including charities, politicians and political parties) from making robocalls to cell phone numbers without the recipients' prior consent.[20] The FCC permits non-commercial robocalls to most residential (non-cellular) telephone lines.[21]
The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) regulates automated calls.[22] All robocalls, irrespective of whether they are political in nature, must do two things to be considered legal. Federal law requires all telephone calls using pre-recorded messages to identify who is initiating the calls and include a telephone number or address whereby the initiator can be reached.[23]
Some states (23 according to DMNews) have laws that regulate or prohibit political robocalls.[24] Indiana and North Dakota prohibit automated political calls.[25] In New Hampshire, political robocalls are allowed, except when the recipient is in the National Do Not Call Registry.[26] Many states require the disclosure of who paid for the call, often requiring such notice be recorded in the candidate's own voice. The patch-work of state laws regulating political robocalls has created problems for national campaigns.[27]
California prohibits any robocall unless there is an existing relationship.[28] The California Public Utilities Code §§ 2871 et seq. holds political campaigns to the same rules as other organizations making calls with an automatic dialing–announcing device.[28] The guidelines are:
- A person must come on the line before the recording to identify the nature of the call and the organization behind it.
- The recipient of the call must consent to the recording being played.
- The call must be disconnected from the telephone line as soon as the message is over or the recipient hangs up, whichever comes first.
Indiana requires introduction of any prerecorded message by a live operator; the message may only be played if the called party grants permission.[24]
In September 2008, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon alerted political campaigns in Missouri that his office would aggressively enforce federal rules (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991) requiring calls to include identifying and contact information.[29]
North Carolina[edit]
Robocalls were made during the 2008 North Carolina Democratic primary, targeting African-American voters in the days leading up to the primary in late April 2008,[30] which essentially told registered voters that they were not registered.[31] According to NPR[32] and Facing South,[33] these calls were made by the organization "Women's Voices Women Vote."[34] Voters and watchdog groups complained that it was a turnout-suppression effort, and the state Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered them to stop making the calls.[34] The group stopped the calls and no further legal action was taken.
South Carolina[edit]
South Carolina had a law prohibiting most types of unsolicited consumer and political robocalls, but in 2010, campaign consultant Robert Cahaly was arrested by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, being charged for making illegal robocalls to six state house districts.[35] The automated opinion polling system asked whether U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be invited to campaign with six Democratic candidates for the South Carolina Legislature.[36] Cahaly was arrested despite having a written opinion from the state attorney general stating that he had acted within the law.[37] The charges were subsequently dismissed in October 2012.[38] After the charges were dropped, Cahaly filed a suit against state officials, claiming his constitutional right to free speech had been violated. U.S. district court judge, Michelle Childs ruled that South Carolina's anti-robocall statute was a content-based restriction on speech and therefore unconstitutional.[39]
Proposed additional regulations[edit]
California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Federal Robocall Privacy Act[40] in February 2008 at Senate Committee on Rules and Administration hearing. The Act proposed to: 1) Limit robo calls to no more than 2 a day by any one candidate, 2) mandate that candidates have accurate caller ID numbers displayed, 3) mandate that the disclosure of who is paying for the call occur at the start of the call, rather than at the end of the call, 4) mandate that the time of the call occur not before 8 AM or after 9 PM. The bill was read twice, and since it received no further action during the session, it did not become law.[41] Similar bills have been submitted in subsequent years without success.[42]
Shaun Dakin, CEO of Citizens for Civil Discourse, testified at the hearing and described how robo calls impact the lives of voters across the nation.[40] He also wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post calling for a Voter Privacy Bill of Rights in which all voters would have the right to opt out of political robocalls if they did not wish to receive them.[43]
Dakin, a former John Kerry campaign worker,[44] set up a website called Stoppoliticalcalls.org and claimed to allow citizens to opt out of receiving robocalls.[45][46][47][48] However, there is no guarantee that the registry will stop the calls and since there is no law that supports the database it is essentially an Internet petition. As mentioned above, the Robocall Privacy Act failed to become law and neither bill had provisions for a 'do not call registry' for stopping robocalls.[41][49]
Despite heavy media publicity of the database, only seven politicians in the United States voluntarily pledged to respect the list during the 2008 general election cycle. Of those seven, only three made it to the general election and only Virginia Foxx (R) was successfully reelected in November 2008.
On September 1, 2009, a new regulation of the Federal Trade Commission went into effect, banning most robocalls without written opt-in from the receiver.[50] Political campaigns, surveys, charities, debt collectors, and health care providers are exempt, as are calls to businesses. Calls from banks, insurers, and phone companies are out of the jurisdiction of the FTC. In situations under federal jurisdiction, the federal law will supersede a slightly less restrictive law in the state of California.[51]
Reverse robocalling[edit]
In December 2011 reporting described "robocall revenge" where voters can turn the table and send robocalls to politicians and others using online website tools.[52]
In August 2016 a "Robocall Strike Force" of thirty companies said they would help crack down on the problem. [53]
2015 Federal Communications Commission Declaratory Rulings[edit]
After receiving more than 215,000 consumer complaints in 2014 alone, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) strengthened and clarified its regulations protecting consumers from unwanted robocalls and spam emails and texts. The Commission issued a package of declaratory rulings in June 2015 that clarified the provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that deal with prerecorded and artificial voice calls received by residential wireline phones as well as wireless numbers.[54]
2009 Federal Trade Commission action against an illegal robocall provider[edit]
In May 2009, in response to numerous complaints, the Federal Trade Commission asked a federal court to shut down a telemarketing campaign that has been bombarding U.S. consumers with hundreds of millions of allegedly deceptive robocalls in an effort to sell them vehicle service contracts under the guise that they are extensions of original vehicle warranties.[55] The FTC took action against both the promoter of the phony extended auto warranties, as well as the telemarketing company that it hired to carry out its illegal, deceptive campaign. The FTC contends that the companies are operating a massive telemarketing scheme that uses random, pre-recorded phone calls to deceive consumers into thinking that their vehicle's warranty is about to expire. Consumers who respond to the robocalls are pressured to purchase extended service contracts for their vehicles, which the telemarketers falsely portray as an extension of the manufacturer's original warranty. According to papers the FTC filed with the court, however, the robocalls have prompted tens of thousands of complaints from consumers who are either on the United States National Do Not Call Registry or asked not to be called. Five telephone numbers associated with the defendants have generated a total of 30,000 Do Not Call complaints. Consumers received the robocalls at home, work, and on their cell phones, sometimes several times in one day. Businesses, government offices and even 911 dispatchers have been subjected to the calls.
Those who answer the pre-recorded calls hear a message telling them that their vehicle warranty is about to expire and that they should "extend coverage before it is too late." They are told to "press one" to speak to a "warranty specialist." The "specialists" then mislead consumers into believing that their company is affiliated with the dealer or manufacturer of the consumer's vehicle. They try to sell consumers a service contract for between $2,000 and $3,000, which they falsely portray as an extension of the vehicle's original warranty. The seller of extended auto warranties sued by the FTC allegedly took in more than $10 million on the sale of these deceptively marketed service contracts. In their robocalls, the companies dialed every phone number within a particular area code and prefix sequentially, without knowing whether the consumers called were motorists or owned motor vehicles, or whether those consumers' numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry. Consumers who asked that the calls be stopped often were met with "abusive behavior" or were simply hung up on, according to the papers filed with the court. Some of the defendants used offshore shell corporations to try to avoid scrutiny, and a top officer in the telemarketing company bragged to prospective clients that he could operate outside the law without any chance of being caught by the FTC, the papers stated. This defendant also claimed that he makes 1.8 million dials per day and that he had done more than $40 million worth of dialing for extended warranty companies, including one billion dials on behalf of his largest client, according to the court papers filed by the FTC. In addition to the robocalls, the FTC charged that the company selling the warranties mails out deceptive postcards to consumers, warning them about the imminent expiration of their auto warranties. The postcards are designed to mislead consumers into believing that they are being contacted by their dealer or manufacturer, and the postcards offer consumers the chance to "renew" their original warranties.[56] On May 15, 2009 U.S. District Judge John F. Grady issued the temporary restraining order against the defendants Transcontinental Warranty Inc. and Voice Touch Inc. Grady's orders also applied to Transcontinental CEO and President Christopher Cowart, Voice Touch executives James and Maureen Dunne, Voice Touch business partner Network Foundations LLC and Network Foundations executive Damian Kohlfeld. Besides ordering a halt to the automatic telephone sales calls, Grady's order froze the assets of the two companies. The FTC alleged in its complaints that the calls were part of a deceptive scheme and asked the court to assure the assets will not be lost in case they might be needed to repay consumers who have been victimized. The FTC isn't immediately seeking civil fines against the companies but may do so later, agency officials said. Attorneys general in Arkansas, Indiana and Missouri have taken similar actions over calls offering extended warranties on automobiles.[57]
See also[edit]
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Maher and McGregor. "Tracking telephone tricks". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ Maher and McGregor. "Robocalls probe centres on disposable 'burner' cellphone linked to black ops in Guelph riding". National Post. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ CBC News. February 29, 2012 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/02/27/f-robocalls-players.html. Missing or empty
- ^ "Elections Canada Online - News Releases and Media Advisories". line feed character in
|title=at position 27 (help)
- ^ "Elections Canada Online - Statements and Speeches".
- ^ Delacourt, Susan (March 30, 2012). "Robocall probe stretches to 200 ridings across Canada, chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand tells Commons committee". The Star. Toronto.
- ^ "Greasy 'robocall' scandal will haunt Conservatives at the polls: Editorial". thestar.com. August 14, 2014.
- ^ a b Stephen Maher, Postmedia News (June 9, 2014). "'Pierre Poutine' robocalls planned by 'more than one person,' but Michael Sona was 'directing mind,' Crown says - National Post". National Post.
- ^ a b c Stephen Maher (April 9, 2015). "Michael Sona won't appeal robocalls conviction but will seek lighter sentence: lawyer - National Post". National Post.
- ^ "Michael Sona, charged with Guelph robocalls, starts trial today". June 2, 2014.
- ^ "Trial begins Monday for Guelph PC staffer charged in robocalls scandal". Kitchener.
- ^ "Guelph robocall victims ask Elections Canada to reopen case". July 17, 2015.
- ^ "Michael Sona sentenced to 9 months in robocalls scandal". CityNews.
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/michael-sona-sentenced-to-9-months-in-jail-for-callous-robocalls-1.2839410
- ^ "Conservative staffer Michael Sona given 9-month jail sentence in Robocalls case - CTV News". CTVNews.
- ^ "Michael Sona guilty in robocalls trial - but 'did not likely act alone'". August 14, 2014.
- ^ The do-not-call list restricts "telephone solicitations" and does not apply to tax-exempt nonprofit organization. 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(3) defines "telephone solicitations"; 47 U.S.C. § 227(c) enables the do-not-call list.
- ^ FTC - Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
- ^ 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A); there are other prohibited destinations such as hospital rooms; some calls, such as those for an emergency purpose, are permitted.
- ^ 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2) [2007] permits non-commercial and tax-exempt nonprofit calls.
- ^ Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227.
- ^ 47 U.S.C. § 227(d)(3); 47 C.F.R. §64.1200(b)
- ^ a b States enforce limits on robocalls – DMNews, "States enforce limits on robocalls"
- ^ Phonebank accents irk congressman – UPI, November 5, 2006.
- ^ Repeat calls not from Hodes – Concord Monitor, November 5, 2006. "Repeat calls not from Hodes"
- ^ Regulating Robocalls: Are Automated Calls the Sound of, or a Threat to, Democracy? – Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, Forthcoming 2009. "Regulating Robocalls: Are Automated Calls the Sound of, or a Threat to, Democracy?"
- ^ a b "CA Codes (puc:2871-2876)".
- ^ Attorney General's News Release. Nixon alerts political campaigns that federal law requires "robo-calls" to include identifying and contact information. September 4, 2008.
- ^ "Elections board hunting robocaller," The News & Observer, April 28, 2008. Accessed April 29, 2008.
- ^ Daily Kos Blog.[unreliable source?] (blog) Accessed April 29, 2008.
- ^ "Group with Clinton Ties Behind Dubious Robocalls". NPR.org. May 1, 2008.
- ^ "- The Institute for Southern Studies".
- ^ a b Murray, Shailagh, "Women's Voices, Women Vote: Did the Outreach Overreach?", Washington Post, Sunday, May 4, 2008; Page A10, found at Washington Post article on Women's Voices Women Vote. Accessed May 5, 2008.
- ^ "GOP consultant arrested for illegal "robocalls"". Retrieved Oct 27, 2015.
- ^ "Call Me Unconstitutional: Hang-Up For SC's Robocall Law". Retrieved Oct 27, 2015.
- ^ "Fourth Circuit: SC Robocall Ban Is Unconstitutional". Retrieved Oct 27, 2015.
- ^ "Charges Against GOP Consultant Cahaly Dropped". Retrieved Oct 27, 2015.
- ^ "Fed Court rules law Cahaly charged under unconstitutional". Retrieved Oct 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Committee on Rules and Administration. Protecting Voters at Home and at the Polls: Limiting Abusive Robocalls and Vote Caging Practices. February 27, 2008. Archived copy at the Library of Congress (February 25, 2009).
- ^ a b S. 2624: Robocall Privacy Act of 2008. Accessed January 4, 2009.
- ^ Schumer pushes bill to expand robocall ban. Democrat and Chronicle. Accessed October 11, 2014
- ^ Washington Post. A Privacy Shield Against the Campaigns. Shaun Dakin. Saturday, September 13, 2008; Page A17.
- ^ "Stop political robocalls and telemarketers with Nomorobo".
- ^ "Robocalls flood phone lines in battleground states". CNN. October 23, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Stop the Calls". NBC Affiliate TMJ. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- ^ Guy R. Briggs (September 29, 2008). "Tech Q and A: I Am Serious. And Don't Call Me Shirley". Fox News.
- ^ Stephanie Condon (October 23, 2008). "Election Day brings invasion of robocalls". CNET.com.
- ^ H.R. 5747: Robocall Privacy Act of 2008. Accessed October 23, 2008.
- ^ "New Rule Prohibiting Unwanted "Robocalls" to Take Effect on September 1", FTC News Release August 27, 2009 Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Kathleen Pender - Net Worth Plus : FTC is putting an end to most robo calls". The San Francisco Chronicle. August 27, 2009.
- ^ Ali, Ambreen (December 8, 2011). "Website Seeks Robocall Revenge". Roll Call. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
Launched last month, Reverse Robocall has already helped individuals and advocacy groups make nearly 2,000 calls to lawmakers, politicians and private companies.
- ^ Reuters USA
- ^ "Commission Strengthens Consumer Protections Against Robocalls". In Compliance Magazine.
- ^ http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/twi.shtm, "FTC Settlement Bans Robocalls from Auto "Warranty" Company", FTC News Release, 9/1/2009
- ^ FTC: Judge Orders Halt To Robocalls Selling Deceptive Warranties, Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2009 Archived July 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Judge blocks 'robo-calls' selling car warranties, Associated Press, May 15, 2009 Archived June 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

subset: commoncrawl


text: One option for addressing inclement weather is opening on a snow schedule. If the weather or the roads are not severe enough to warrant cancellation, but problematic enough to cause delays, this option will give students and staff additional time to get to school without having to use another full snow day. The announcement that the School District of Clayton is opening on a snow schedule will be made at the same time and via the same channels that are used to announce school closings. Please review the following items so that you can better understand what would happen if the District opens on a "Snow Schedule:"


text:
It all started with email. Targeted emails from friends were a revelation, and are still welcomed, but spam emails quickly became an equally familiar reality of the modern age. Entire industries have been launched to create and deliver them, with counterparts created to battle and suppress them. Law enforcement efforts to take down spammers have had limited success, and filters still deliver false-positives and false-negatives, often to the chagrin of the recipient — who hasn't missed a vital email because a spam filter trapped it in error?
Spam is an approach to reaching a large customer base, but a way that leverages abundance by compensating for low-yield with high capacity. Content farms have sprung up to essentially spam search engines, and one could argue that even scholarly publishing is tending to grow in this direction — new journals with unlimited capacity, the majority of papers going uncited and unread, and other signs of embracing abundance with abandon.
Now, the spam approach to publishing is hitting the Kindle and Amazon.com in a significant way, as content farmers move in to the e-book space.
The practice was apparently first examined in-depth by Mike Essex in the UK, in a blog post from March 2011 on the Koozai blog. Scraping Web sites, plagiarizing blog posts, and simply stealing content and courting objections — all are valid ways for content farms to harvest content and distribute it through the Amazon store. One "author" — Manuel Ortiz Braschi — created 2,879 eBooks in just a couple of years. As Essex points out
. . . having an eBook on Amazon's domain (PageRank 8), or Apple's (PageRank 9) is a sure fire way to ensure your content gets found, and if you have a keyword rich book title it certainly will do so. . . . Even pricing an eBook at a dollar or 99p a scammer can make a 30% royalty on Amazon. This is more than the average AdWords click – the financial factor in content farm growth – and is the payout for scammers using the eBook platform to hold their content.
The story has become a little bigger and more complicated since March. As Alistair Barr wrote recently in the Globe and Mail:
Spam has hit the Kindle, clogging the online bookstore of the top-selling eReader with material that is far from being book worthy and threatening to undermine Amazon.com Inc's publishing foray. Thousands of digital books, called ebooks, are being published through Amazon's self-publishing system each month. Many are not written in the traditional sense.
It turns out that in the era of information abundance, creating a spam business model for long-form content isn't significantly more difficult than creating it for short-form content. The spammers are apparently using Private Label Rights (PLR), a way of buying or acquiring rights to a book at very low cost. Once the rights are acquired, the book can be formatted and published in minutes. One such publisher decries the allegations that the Kindle store is being spammed:
I completely disagree. . . . When someone wants to purchase a book with rights such as "resell rights", "master resale rights" or "private label rights", they are given the right to redistribute the work. In many cases, they can redistribute the ebooks for any price they choose as well as rebrand in some cases with their own name, URL and images within the source documents and then re-render the doc files into an adobe PDF or similar document. . . . I have sold thousands of books . . . that are accompanied with re-distribution rights as outlined above. Many sites offer these books as well as many other products to include website scripts and website templates, audio books and video tutorials in redistributable packages that are built for people who want to resell them for 100% pure profit over and over again.
The number of books being sold in this manner is truly staggering. As the Globe and Mail story details:
In 2010, almost 2.8 million nontraditional books, including ebooks, were published in the United States, while just more than 316,000 traditional books came out. That compares with 1.33 million nontraditional books and 302,000 conventional books in 2009, according to Albert Greco, a publishing-industry expert at Fordham University's business school. In 2002, fewer than 33,000 nontraditional books were published, while over 215,000 traditional books came out in the United States, Greco noted.
Albert Greco interviewed Mike Essex on his blog, where Essex added this worrisome point about what else he's found out about book spammers:
The thing that scared me the most was an email promoting a viral ebook Automatic Submitter. Anyone who purchases it gets 149,000 articles that they can use for any purpose, so they can make their own ebooks very quickly.
Part of the problem seems to be Amazon's quick turnaround time for both publication and payment — since fast cash is the incentive spammers like best, building in delays can demotivate a spammer. For instance, Smashwords — another major e-book platform — pays only quarterly, so spammers can be caught before they get paid. Apple has a six-week process for posting a book to the iBook store. Smashwords also has an iterative process for determining ownership of content, one that requires you to keep track of things, another hassle for the fast-cash spammer crowd.
Slowing down things with an approval process is one solution proposed by Joe Wikert in a recent blog post. Another is to leverage the power of the Amazon community. While poor reviews are used to warn other customers about spam publications, perhaps an explicit "spam" flag could be used to not only warn off others but also to alert Amazon. Right now, poor reviews on spam books signal nothing more than a book somebody didn't like.
The danger to Amazon's reputation is significant — finding good-quality content becomes a challenge in a spam environment, and safer environments gain appeal. When readers are ripped off by spam books, it's not good for anyone.
While spam is an approach to abundance, another approach is targeting (or, as Kevin Kelly and others call it, "prosuming"). It's an approach Amazon famously uses for content-matching (readers who bought this also bought, etc.), and one that is currently being debated in online advertising circles.
Just like spam, targeting isn't anything especially new, as Kelly writes:
Technology allows us to target the specifications of a product to a smaller and smaller group of people. First we can make Barbie dolls in the millions. Then with more flexible machinery and computer-generated target marketing we can make ethnic Barbies, in the hundreds of thousands. Then with improved market research and advanced communications we can make subculture Barbies, biker and grunge Barbies in the thousands. Eventually, with the right network technology, we can make the personal Barbie, the Barbie of you. In fact there is a company in Littleton, Colorado, that currently makes the "My Twinn" baby doll to look like the doll's owner. The doll's eye and hair color and hair style are matched to a photo of the child who will own it.
Targeting reduces the amount of noise by using customer information to tailor information presentation based on data a computer system can derive and manipulate through myriad factors emanating from a user's system and transactions. However, privacy advocates warn us that targeting could shade into something more nefarious.
Recently, Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post undertook a project he called "Operation Track Me More," an effort to see if exposing himself to all the ad targeting technology possible resulted in a better or worse online experience. Google's recent tagline for its ads — "There's a perfect ad for everyone" — served as an inspiration. As he put it:
My goal: Stop the Internet from frequently showing me ads for products I don't care about or need, such as Preparation H or Gillette's new Venus Bikini Trimmer, which sounds positively terrifying and totally useless to me because, among other reasons better left unsaid, I only buy swimsuits that reach my knees.
Rosenwald offered himself up for ad targeting whenever he could, actively like and disliked ads now and then, and waited for the results. It didn't take long. As he wrote:
. . . relevant ads can grab attention. I played a little turn-it-on/turn-it-off game with AOL. I clicked over to its ad preference settings and saw what it already discerned about me: that I liked gadgets, news and other consumer products. So they had me somewhat figured out already. Then I spent a lot of time on AOL's various Web sites studying the ads. I kept noticing one particular ad for a wireless charging gadget for cellphones. The ad followed me around AOL's sites. I eventually I clicked on it to see more. A study performed by Yahoo explains what was happening: Consumers spend 25 percent more time fixating on relevant ads than those that aren't relevant. How's this for spooky: Their pupil dilation actually increases 27 percent. I can't see my own pupils, though I bet they dilated while I was following this ad around. When I went into AOL's settings and opted out of ad targeting, the new ads that turned up were useless for me. Car insurance. Banking. LivingSocial deals I didn't want. Leave me alone! Please show me something that will cure my volatile sneezing spasms every spring.
The beauty of targeting is that it requires abundance of both information and customers, but eliminates the spam parts of abundance for each user, making each experience — if done right — useful and manageable. The trouble with targeting is, as Eli Pariser explored in the TED talk we shared recently, it can create a filter bubble for each person, making the "you" of one role, one time, and one place essentially the baseline "you" from now on, while only using the most superficial measures of transaction — the click — to inform its refashioning of this baseline.
It seems at times that between these two extremes — overwhelming and unwelcome information onslaughts versus tightly controlled and personalized information — the age of abundance will push and pull us before finding some clever balance.
As Clay Shirky once said, "Abundance breaks everything." Whether abundant information is targeted or spammed, it certainly seeks to break some of our boundaries.


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They are 1 mile away from shore, so it will take 15 mins to get to shore.
If it takes 15 mins to get to shore, then you can't have the boat take on any more than 2 gallons/min (Because 2x15 = 30).
So LeRoy will have to remove water at the rate of 8 gallons/min.


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- Borowiec, Lech. 1999. A world catalogue of the Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). 476
- Dtsch. Ent. Z., 1909, 723.
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In the aftermath of the Miami Marlins mega-trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, speculation was rife that slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton would be the next player shipped out of town. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Juan C. Rodriguez recently wrote that the Marlins won't be trading Stanton anytime soon. However, everyone has their price, and one of the teams that might have what it takes to step up to the plate and make a bid for the emerging superstar is the Boston Red Sox.
Rodriguez cited an anonymous MLB executive as saying the Marlins were building around Stanton for the upcoming season and likely the foreseeable future. Larry Beinfest, the Marlins' president of baseball operations, recently spoke about Stanton. "Our plans for him in 2013 are to be our right fielder and to be in the middle of our lineup."
The reluctance of the Marlins to trade Stanton is because he is a young, cheap star. The 23-year-old has hit 93 home runs in his first three major league seasons. He made just $480,000 last season, isn't arbitration eligible until 2014 and won't be eligible for free agency until 2017.
It would take a lot to get the Marlins to agree to part with the five years of relatively low-cost control a team would have of Stanton, but it can be done. Teams willing to offer up a package of premium young talent could get Miami to change its mind. The Red Sox have the resources to get such a deal done if they wanted to go after Stanton and make him the centerpiece of their lineup.
Boston team president and CEO Larry Lucchino recently indicated on the WEEI radio show Dennis & Callahan that the Red Sox want to get away from lengthy expensive contracts. Because he won't hit free agency until 2017, Stanton would be a potential star who could prove his worth over the next few seasons before the Red Sox had to make a decision about offering him a long-term extension.
Any team trading for Stanton would have to pay dearly. ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes tweeted about the high price he heard it would take to even get the conversation started on a potential Stanton trade.
It'll take 3 top prospects to get him, I'm told//RT @patgonzo3: @gordonedes any chance of Giancarlo Stanton getting moved?— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) December 3, 2012
Even more recently, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reported that the price for Stanton may have risen, writing "From what the Marlins are telling teams, any package would need to begin with three top-level prospects (very top level) and likely would need to include two other players as well."
The Red Sox don't have the same number of premium major league-ready prospects as some other teams. However, they do have the depth to get a deal done.
Click through to see what I think the Red Sox would have to give up to have a legitimate chance to trade for Stanton.


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International Edition
December, 4, 2016
About Us
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EU is 'not interested' in trade war with China
By Robin Emmott and Sebastian Moffett, Reuters
October 22, 2012, 12:58 pm TWN
BRUSSELS -- The European Union will not back down from protecting its industries against Chinese competition it sees as unfair, but mutual self-interest will prevent a damaging trade war, the EU's trade chief Karel De Gucht said.
Disputes with Beijing have taken on a bigger scale in recent months and Brussels brought its biggest ever trade case against Beijing in September after European companies accused China of dumping solar panels in Europe.
The EU is also gathering evidence to see whether Chinese telecoms companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE are dumping or receiving illegal subsidies.
"We are not going to shy away from what we have to do," De Gucht told Reuters in an interview.
"But we are not interested in escalating tensions. I believe that the Chinese also realize that this has to be kept within limits," he said from his office in the European Commission.
The growing trade spats come at a dangerous time. Europe's economy is hardly growing and the continent is suffering from record unemployment, while China's much-faster growth is cooling. Both downturns raise the specter of social instability.
De Gucht, who first got to know China during his term as Belgium's foreign minister between 2004 and 2007, sees the tensions persisting precisely because China is seeking to produce sophisticated products that will compete with Europe.
"China is facing a tremendous challenge: how to get a larger share of the value-added pie, as it otherwise can't possibly take the next step in economic development, which Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong have already taken," De Gucht wrote in a book published this month called "Freedom: Liberalism In A Time of Cholera."
There he cites a Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."
Trade between China and the European Union has doubled since 2003, rising to 428 billion euros (US$558 billion) in 2011, making the EU China's biggest trading partner. China is the second biggest destination for European goods after the United States.
But ongoing disputes range from metal tubes to China's restrictions of exports of rare earth metals.
Nanya Technology to buy 5 percent stake in Micron
2017 Smart City Expo to focus on the internet of things: organizer
DBS deal for ANZ set to be a boon for digital banking
Acer Inc. listed on 2 global sustainability indices of 2016
Mainland Chinese online shoppers spend billions on Singles' Day
EVA aims for 100 North America flights a week
Securities sector eyes fintech for development
TransAsia Airways to close down
Anti-corruption protests sweep Asia
GlaxoSmithKline shaking up the pharma sector


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MBLAQ's Lee Joon guested on the most recent episode of MBC's "Exploration of Genders," and he made a statement about APink's Eunji that has made netizens second guess his motives.
When he was asked how many members are in APink, he answered, "Six," which caused Eunji to glare openly at him. He quickly recovered by explaining, "I love APink, always have," and began to sing and dance to the girl group's song, "My My".
Teen Top's Chunji took charge of the situation and asked him to perform to the group's latest single, "Hush", but Joon stated, "I don't know Hush that well." He unexpectedly continued, "I want to live in the same house as Eunji!"
The MCs quickly said that the two looked like they would make a cute couple, which caused Joon to notice what his words meant. He explained, "I want to make Eunji my little sister."
What do you guys think about Joon's statement?
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Aww, that's so cute!
06/03/12 1:13 pm
Joon's so adorable! >.< The second picture had me laughing for good 30 seconds
06/02/12 10:25 pm
Jooooon! <3
06/02/12 4:23 pm
LOL Joon's so cute XD
06/02/12 4:47 am
haha~ Joon is so cute~~
06/02/12 1:37 am
Haha, Joonie is so cute~ ^0^
LOL Joon the fanboy.
06/02/12 12:13 am
He's wearing pink too LOL probably a coincidence xD
Fanboy mode~
06/02/12 12:10 am
lol Joon is such a fail, it's absolutely adorable! =D
hahaha :D it looks like he really love them but i just couldn't stop laughing at the second pic xD


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Friday, August 5, 2016
Pyrrhon - Running Out of Skin (EP) [2016]
In an alternative universe, I could have actually enjoyed records like The Mother of Virtues or Vermiis, records by two bands which pop up on occasion in my reviews since I entertain the prospect of teasing their most avid followers and acolytes by readdressing how artificially elevated they seem to be, especially when compared the bee knee's of the technical/avantgarde death metal spectrum, Canada's masterful Gorguts. That said, Pyrrhon's Growth Without End EP which came out last year was a refreshing coat of paint that fractured their immensely busybody stream of waxed, alienating notes and chord fusions into something more in tune with my ears, even though it still retained its caustic freakishness. Come 2016, I was excited to get my hands on their latest opus, Running Out of Skin, which turned out to be something less of an opus and rather a flimsy filler that obeyed the law of its titular maxim more than anything. Crafty and deracinating as these gentleman are in their approach, there is a level of versatility on this EP that I simply found unnerving, spin after spin.
And unnerving not in the most positive sense. Firstly, Pyrrhon are beyond doubt inaccessible, a feat they've already proven wit 2014's Mother of Virtues, but while complexity is certainly a characteristic, the real asset of their craft the cauterizing, unfazed attack of the guitars, the insomniac lying wait behind the thickset of instruments. Nevertheless, one reason for me abjuring this 16-minute EP is not it's dense focus on intricacy and avowed inaccessibility; it's the band's inability to employ little else that cultivates captivating musical experience. Let's take a look. ''Statistic Singular'', the opener and longest track here, broils with tense, discordant chords that weave into each other in a seeming mess, a characteristic choppy, bass-driven rhythm guitar driving a grotesque sort of groove beat while the lead guitars mingles with the fringes of utter ear-razing frippery: the intended effect IS alienation, but I'm too busy either scratching my head over what the hell is happening or waiting for a hook to give a damn about their skill. I profess: I do enjoy the simpler, plainer things in life, but the track absolutely lacks any momentum to engross anyone to a satisfying degree. As the same rule sadly applies to the rest of the disc, the quartet has apparently invested more time in attempting to emulate the philosophy of their half-sober practice sessions that actually filing any sensible flourish into the music.
But hell, if you're still pleading 'that's the whole point of the music, to sound dissonant'', be my guest. The guitar tone is unruly and boring, not a major deviation from the industrial grind of their previous records but nonetheless a degree more downtrodden, sharp high-end notes cutting at your eardrums like tiny bacteria with rusted, nail-sized cleavers hacking away in unkempt bliss.I actually enjoyed the vocals on here, though, perhaps the only single attribute that preserved some of that vile, cantankerous timbre I so loved on their previous outings - thankfully some things never change. There's something to be understood here if the best song on the whole disc is a cover of Death's ''Crystal Mountain'', surprisingly well applied into the individual, splenetic science which Pyrrhon has constructed on its own, - complete with both thicker and raspier variations on Schuldiner's voice plus tingling, cyborgian lead sections - and that's Running Out of Skin feels more like a piece of audio commitment fit for donation to poverty-stricken heshers in need, and even then I imagine a good many people wouldn't waste much tine before dumping it into the CD heap. Certainly not a 'terrible' effort by any means, but I felt that in between the dense interplay of meaningless notes and riffs some more substance would have been added, something which I hope the band will seek out to improve on their next full-length. That ''Crystal Mountain'' though.
Statistic Singular
Rating: 52%
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Phobocosm - Bringer of Drought [2016]
Although the relentless 'cavern-core' trend of the past few years has quelled in the absence of convincing riffs and atmospheric dynamics that we associate with this murky, spelunking sub-genre, there is still plenty of chaos to be had around, Canada's Phobocosm being one of them, with influences of anything from Blasphemy to Ulcerate running amok through their thick, mired veins. Their debut, 2014's Deprived, was one of the reasons (alongside the creme de la creme output of pioneering mavericks like Antediluvian, Mitochondrion and Portal) that, despite its blooding excess of unruly brutality and sluggish Incantation-worship, I still keep my faith in this niche of music, and it was inevitable that through the conduit of one Dark Descent Records the group would continue to expand its retinue as a budding entity of this formula. Granted, whatever genre it is we're talking about, it's a perpetual labor to patronize and renew your sound; not only that, but to execute the newfound divisiveness in a coherent manner... none of which Phobocosm have quite attempted on their sophomore, Bringer of Drought, leaving, perhaps, something more to be desired.
Yet when I say the Canadians have not upped or refined their cavernous repository at all, I am not instinctively correct, but rather reflecting on the paucity of fresh elements that would render the music as immersive and punishing as the debut. The Canadians, unsurprisingly, have brought their huge, lumbering, even slightly granular guitars to the fore, such that songs like bombastic, crushing ''Ordeal'' reveal they haven't at all kept their cutlery dusty, delivering astonishingly heavy and smoldering waves of low-end chugs and sludge-like ruptures. Still, the song is probably my favorite among the bunch, (we're talking 4 tracks stretching between 8-12 minutes) so the rest of the songs hardly exhibit the same level of tactile destructiveness and pulverizing force, or, if anything, allure. Throughout the other three songs, we're exposed to a lot of contemplative post-metal, limping, desolate arpeggios that burst into cloudy swathes of distortion and titular chords in an almost Neurosis-esque fashion, sans the experimental tribalism of the California giants, sinewy impulses of fairly 'straightforward' old school death metal tremolos joined up by loose aural sections that make up for plenty of emotional resonance, occasional drum fills daunting and intimidating on the way.
The picture you get isn't a whole lot different from what Deprived had to offer, although a sludge/post-metal leaning is apparent, almost as though the Canadians are morphing into something in the mode of Mouth of the Architect or Holland's Sistere. However, there is a aridity to the riffs that just makes them too dry, lacking in intricacy, to be paired with Ulcerate, Deathspell Omega, or their fellow countrymen Gorguts, who possess an immovable vocation for balancing the cataracts of brutality and unearthly technical deceptiveness in a storm of highly refined wizardry. Not that any band has to be enormously technical to evoke satisfying, even stunning music: that much is abundantly clear. Indeed, Bringer of Drought nevertheless destroys within the furrows of its neanderthal regime: penalizing walls of sound and magnitude. The vocals are trenchant and great, highly claustrophobic and monstrous, just as you'd want them to be, looming over the instrumentation like an overfed cyclops out of hell, sending the listener's tranquility into a grating spiral of falling dominoes. My gripe is that by and large this isn't the most innovative thing I've heard, and even though its kills in its own standards, there's a point where it ceases to offer the listener anything more. I, too, am content that new bands are still channeling this atavistic and visceral sound that the new generation of old school death metal fanboys seem so enamored by, but without refurbishing their style, bands like Phobocosm don't have plenty of space to grow into. Solid stuff, gets a passing verdict, though I'd still vie for their debut.
Rating: 70%
Monday, July 11, 2016
Terra Tenebrosa - The Reverses [2016]
There is something distinctly unnerving about Terra Tenebrosa even as you glance at their various cover arts. Slanting, oblique figures in masks that look like they were stolen from a hellish carnival around the whereabouts of Chernobyl, set against a grainy, black-and-white bucolic landscape as though something out of a modern indie horror movie. But even the cover of their albums - among which their third, The Reverses, I find the most visually frightening - does not begin to encompass the integument of the aural and parasitic trance which these Swedish obscures have no offer, a kind of digestible, if not lacking experimentation, configuration of grating, otherworldly senses which seems to liaise between highly industrialized, bogged down venture, and a more cohesive palette of instrumentation akin to Deathspell Omega, Samael, Neurosis at their most unhinged, Blut Aus Nord, Red Harvest, and the Dutch hopefuls Dodecahedron. While most of the time I'm accustomed to slab the label 'unusual' or 'strange' onto bands, the classification does not help much here. In fact, the only way to rectify the crawling insanity of such a band as Terra Teneborsa should require a deep dissection of the band's style and music.
How exactly to go about this? The Swedes are frightening, theatrical, capricious and dissonant. Predictability is completely out of question, with the band employing such a rich mixture of dense, broiling industrial guitars, cavernous murmurs intermingling with chants, and the production value is simply off the chain, pummeling and bombastic, it's oddly yet titillatingly loud which gives the parasitical quality of the riffs a great deal of punch and energy. Truly, production is at the helm of the sheer momentum of this music. Had the band opted for a grainier, lo-fi production the aural experience, while no less unnerving, might have come off as underwhelming and appropriately downsized, but the magnitude of sound here enhances the claustrophobia and atmosphere, much like the Swiss Samael, especially after their 1996 masterpiece, Passage, only instead of the cosmic, ethereal aura they manifest so endearingly, the Swedes meticulously fabricate the auditory equivalent of a industrial nightmare doll-house, with charred pieces of plastic and piled masses of doll's heads lying about. Ambient sounds textures and multitudes of creeping voices fill in the almost mindless discomfiture they strew in between tracks or passages, and these as freakish and harrowing as a lengthy shot from a Tarkovsky or Kubric opus, dragging in the listener for several minutes with terrible anticipation until a load of jagged, heavyweight riffs are unburdened.
This is very noticeable with the final, overarching megalith, ''Fire Dances'', some 16 minutes long, which not only has a terrific set of crushing, grooving riffs but a totally immersive center section with long, drudging currents of sound and discord enveloping the listener with minutes at an end. But besides the band's obvious stylistic merit in cultivating such shadowy, implosive chaos, I was surprised at how many of these songs which I felt like coming back to, even with actually memorable riffs and sections I could pick out across the board. ''Ghost at the End of the Rope'' is like a titular, cadaverous Leviathan track, with one guitar chugging out huge rhythms and the other plodding at a terse, repetitive melody; the band's mastery at experimental black metal is apparent from the unusual timing and signatures, the explosive drums and the few, narrow moments of pureblood Scandinavian dynamics which they employ, making for a delicious kind of escape for the bedraggled black metal outlaw. ''The End is Mine to Ride'', with its more traditional structural approach and mid-paced gait, is also very good. Intensity is never a problem for Terra Tenebrosa when they are so apt at picking paces and tempos apart, diverging and converging into varying structures and patterns, which they equally reveal on ''Exuvia'', a forlorn industrial metal piece utilizes a single riff for its entirety, building upon the soundscape around it. Granted, there is some repetition with the riffs but overall the sound sustains itself and the album never yields to musical equanimity, which means I was rarely disinterested throughout. The Swedes have not quite deracinated black metal as others, like, say, Arcturus or Sigh, have. Instead, black metal remains an element of the recipe which in itself is, beyond just 'unusual', mortifying and creepy as fuck. Tribal and nightmare-inducing, this is the kind of album you definitely don't want to give a spin at 2-3 in the morning, not in the least if you're living in a wooden cabin, with the closest scrap of civilization being a petrol station located 20 km away. You've been warned.
Where Shadows Have Teeth
Ghost at the End of the Rope
Fire Dances
Rating: 80%
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Dark Forest - Beyond the Veil [2016]
What can I say? Metal and metalheads in general tend to have a soft spot for concept. That concept, whether its dragons, knights, spelunking ghouls, something out of Michael Moorcock or Tolkien, or in the case of Dudley's Dark Forest - embodying medieval myths and legend in lyrical, pastoral gloss - is always a profound selling point. And as lyrical/conceptual deviants from the foray of the more Goth-induced imagery of Swedish traditional heavy metal bands, Dark Forest, like some of the genre's greatest underground staples - to wit, Brocas Helm, Slough Feg, Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road - have a more retrogressive approach to their music, one that has helped absorb my initial exposure to them, their 2014 album The Awakening, with healthy and savory intakes as a powerful, melodic, moving barbican to the continuing presence of heavy/power in such a vein. To be sure, King Diamond and Mercyful Fate are great, no question about it, but bearing in mind the implants they've detonated across a good half of the entire traditional heavy metal revivalism, - hence the notorious 'Swede-fever' - the soundscape offered by Dark Forest, however slapstick it may seem to its condemners, is a welcome entry.
I get that Dark Forest aren't the most innovative bunch out there; that's never been the point. Beyond the Veil does not resort to be anything of that sort, instead you get tons of atmosphere, quite a perfect Anglo-Saxon feel as though you were an enchanted knight strolling through a forest in search of some covetous chalice, not even so much of a battle-hymn the way bands like Ironsword or DoomSword evoke Conan-esque violence and triumph, but more of a melodious assemblage of busy, technically affluent guitars conjuring up a rich groundwork of history and folklore. Again, the UK quintet does not possess the same jumpy, splenetic piquancy I so adored on magisterial albums like Traveller or Down Among the Dead Men, but assuredly the 'retro' feel is there, a lack of keyboards provides impetus to the lucid and poignant acrobatics of the guitars, ballasted by heavier, albeit simple rhythms underneath. The guitars are, blatantly, upfront and lead the charge. Crisp but not overdone, the guitarists employ stirring, 'epic' melodies and plenty of harmonization, not unaccustomed to in this niche, the sort of lead playing that's not as liberal and unencumbered as, say, one Protest the Hero or whatever progressive/technical act you can imagine, nor should they be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, I was surprised at the number of riffs they could pen on a song for song basis bearing the length of the songs in mind, a tasteful array of sweeps and hooking solos rounding up the arsenal, like speckles and shingles of Dragonforce seeping in occasionally.
That doesn't leave much else to be said about the record. John Winnard's vocals are fine, blending the operatic theatricality of Dickinson with the more high octane adventurism of Mike Scalzi, appropriately embellishing the vocal buoyancy needed. But Beyond the Veil is altogether feels repetitive after 2-3 spins, not that the craftsmanship is subpar but rather because there's too much of the same structural and stylistic melody/rhythm pattern to be had: while the first 4-5 songs kicks and swerve their way with atmosphere and a masterful, titular patronage of riffs, the formula essentially feels force-fed by the time you've made it to song no. 12, ''The Lore of the Land'', a lurching epic. It's essentially a sale from a soigne antiquarian who's selling us the feel, archaic and seemingly embossed in legend, even though the songs are memorable enough as you're listening to them (''Blackthorn'' has a great, choir-esque accompaniment to its chorus and ''Where the Arrow Falls'' is downright charged with energy) but the bulk of the record feeds back into the bands backlog of three full-lengths, principally an extension of the ideas explored therein. That's not to say you should omit Dark Forest, though; their position is certainly oblique, with songs like ''The Wild Hunt'' propagating such a delicate balance of folk metal a la Ensiferum, Korpiklaani and Turisas with ballsy heavy/rock (think Saxon and Def Leppard) and the more occult, atmospheric leanings of King Diamond, that I can't help but recommend it to an aficionado of the style. Be your own judge. With four albums at their belt, Dark Forest still have it. Gaunt, chivalrous and surging, I can't think of a whole lot of other bands fit to perform in a medieval fun fare. Have... fun?
The Wild Hunt
Where the Arrow Falls
Rating: 75%
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Megascavenger - As Dystopia Beckons [2016]
This comes as a shocker to me as well, considering the organic and fleshy quality of the majority of his releases, and although this daring repose offers a few breaths of comfort for the seeker of experimentation, Rogga, unfortunately, doesn't implement the stylistic shift with as much meticulousness as you would have liked. The introductory tracks, ''Rotting Domain'' and the gimmicky ''The Machine That Turns Humans into Slop'' explode with fierce, bulbous guitars accompanied by whizzing electronic feedback and tingles, moving into casual industrial breakdowns redolent of Godflesh or Samael at their more experimental, but the riffs retain their trademark simplicity throughout. There is even considerable clarity on this disc, as if somehow Rogga had rectified the gravel and grime of his traditional crusty Swedeath guitar tone with a few buckets of water to wash the mud and cake off, almost as an homage to the development of slightly cleaner melodic death sound. But be sure that the songs rage with uncompromising carnality and hefty slog of chainsaw-heavy guitar work we are so fond of. ''Dead Rotting and Exposed'' is another one of those industrially-tinged bulls that stampede with generic chugs and patronizing spells of industrialized distortion, almost at an attempt to redeem the lack of fresh, sticking riff work on the record.
Kudos to Rogga for channeling a distinctly 'dystopian' feel, or at least trying to, through the use or reverb, robotic vocal syntheses, and mechanized d-beat rhythms that fluctuate around creepy tremolos and and chord-driven bevies. Force your imagination, and songs like ''Steel Through Flesh Extravaganza'' might just cloud your mind with the image of a gigantic, malicious, electrical saw-wielding cyborg chasing you down the streets of Detroit circa 2025, but at best these songs leave something more to be had, certainly in that they feel inchoate, and most likely because other, excellent death metal bands with industrial influences like The Monolith Deathcult have already played this weird, perfunctory sound to near-perfection. The oddballs across the record, like the Timat-esque ''The Harrowing of Hell'' (with Kam Lee on vocals) and the moody, stringently melodic ''As the Last Day Has Passed'' with its clean vocals and lumbering monotonous chords hardly contribute to the overall quality of the record; if anything, they should be hung up as addendum on a 'bonus material' disc. Fact is, Rogga has proven many times that he is a great songwriter. Peek into an album by Revolting, Humanity Delete, Paganizer, or the fantastic Putrevore and you'll see that my claims are justified. As Dystopia Beckons may be our gateway to a newer, more refined, maturer Rogga, one keeping tabs on occasional experimentation and versatility, but employing naked industrial synths into the traditional formula with guest vocal appearances on every track is almost like proselytizing the listener. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he's running out of material. At any rate, I would love to see him at the helm of another great, pummeling bastion of a brutal, sordid pummeling death metal machine, doted by the sounds of the late 80's and early 90's that we so love, not something as lackluster as this. Decidedly, Rogga needs his gusto back. Prescription: hard-boiled baby Cthulhu tentacles, blood syrup, and 5 hours of mandatory death metal listening every day.
Rotting Domain
Steel Through Flesh Extravaganza
Dead Rotting and Exposed
Rating: 63%
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Qrixkuor - Three Devils Dance (EP) [2016]
One of the most strenuous challenges of the reviewer is, perhaps, beyond arbitrating his/her attention toward so many releases, (black and death metal albums are a dime a dozen these days) to selectively deploy his/her while rummaging from one near-indistinct album to the other. Such has been my travail when it comes to London's Qrixkuor, a quartet going by the rather practically brief pseudonyms R., M., A. and S. Now, while I always give considerable space to bands refurbishing the stylistic chaos and miasma of Blasphemy and Incantation, among a few less-known cults, I find it difficult to keep track of things when whole allure of mind-fuckery and heavy, discordant music turns its own head over itself by providing stale crumbs when the listener is looking forward to a nice, healthy helping of engaging chaos. Barring the caprice of this disappointed reviewer, the band's first EP, cleverly titled Three Devils Dance (there are three songs on it), is canned dissonance at best, but at least it doesn't try to veil the influences from which its malicious barbarity stems.
There isn't so much of a busy flow of ideas and novel sounds on Three Devils Dance as there is this tendency to emulate the sounds emanating from a slaughterhouse full of obnoxious ghouls and fat corpses: compared to renowned arbitrators of the black/death/war metal sounds (think Archgoat, Weregoat, Proclamation, Blasphemy, etc.), Qrixkuor is, to a strong degree, more pure death metal than anything else, a nostalgic manifestation of Incantation, Immolation and Morbid Angel as if there wasn't anything half so delectable to the retro death metal fan. Oozing, disgusting rhythm guitars cavort sluggishly with a tempest of tremolos and barged picking techniques as the drams waddle on in chaotic, yet formulated, disarray. What's interesting to note, perhaps, is that the Brits will employ twitchy, caterwauling leads sequences more often than many other bands in this niche, typically enclosing one riff with a wild flurry of notes and high pitched tremolo wails before cutting into the next riff, in a fashion that would have formed a malicious little grin on Trey Azathoth's face.
However, this EP is just so choked down to a mere three songs, each hovering above and below the bounds of the 10-minute mark, that it feels something is alack, but as the record trudges forward there seems to be no fresh catalyst of tension and furore that could make it more exciting. The guitar is fleshy and grimy enough, and the picking sequences are certainly intricate enough to offer some depth, but the overall trajectory of the album seems frozen in one formulaic engraving that can't seem to break the confines of its limitation. Tangibly, the artistry also freezes over; you just know you're not going to get much more out of this after two spins. Qrixkuor try to dress it up a notch with a lengthy intro full of dramatic buildup and taught violins clawing at your ears before riffs pop up, it's only a shame they can't deliver the same aural tension that's promised at the beginning. The vocals are 'good', to say the least, muffled cookie monster growls fed into a few bouts of treble and feedback that works well with the grisly tonality of the guitars for the first 4 minutes or so, but their venom quickly wanes. Three Devils Dance is not a bad piece, but as long the Brits resume their spelunking without much daring, - and there doesn't seem to be any sign of genuinely unique or ravishing craftsmanship - they have a long way to go, and their material won't entice me beyond the first 1-2 spins.
Serpent's Mirror
Rating: 55%
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Zhrine - Unortheta [2016]
To be sure, it is a bit unfair to be labelled 'French black metal' every time you try to put on a little bit of dissonance, but there's still some credibility to that statement when you think of the collective impact of Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord on the black metal scene. But then by nature I've come to expect nothing less from Iceland, home not only to some of the most astounding black/post-black metal acts of the last decade (Sólstafir, Kontinuum, Misþyrming) but also to a veritable breeding ground of pyroclastic destruction and ash, a fitting environment for the country's latest upstart Zhrine to pop out, a force to be reckoned with solely on the grounds of Unortheta's cover: a cavernous concave built within an archaic isle floating with the majesty of a tributary running straight through it, whose origin remains alluringly mysterious. Or so I would have it. And so, even though these gentleman come from the Deathspell Omega school of fucked-upedness, (a poster of Si Monvmentvm Requires, Circvmspice behind the bandstand in one of their early rehearsals evinces my deduction) there must have been a deal of unease when entirely emulating the sound of the famed Frenchmen, and for that reason Zhrine come off as genuine engineers of chaos and tumult in a form that feels both fresh and somewhat familiar, a healthy combination.
The forecast of this record is depravity and lifelessness. The opener ''Utopian Warfare'' aches with terrible beauty and emptiness, but the Icelanders have a wonderful tendency to keep the tracks within a certain range, scarcely mounting the 6-minute mark, which reinforces the tension with considerable brevity. The core of Unortheta, - largely a caustic brew of Gorguts, Ulcerate, Deathspell Omega, some Demilich and some Portal - should certainly appeal to audience toward which the sound is tailored, but this is a record busy with riffs and conscious about chord clarity which sets them apart in one way or another from their notorious benefactors. Songs like the virulent, fantastic ''Spewing Gloom'' are as good as their titles suggest, fleshing out discordant but enticing chord progression and distorted arpeggios, ballasted by frenetic, almost poly-rhythmic drumming that oscillate into slower Meshuggah-like grooves (as on ''Syringe Dance'', my favorite piece on the record) tempered by a slew of cymbal crashes and splashes. The idea is a veined array of cables, taut, snapped, then jangling and jumbling all over the place like a bunch of mechanic eels. The gloomy lows of vocals, to add, are not just great and evenly placed within the tracks, but also stretch into these far raspier, anguished chants that provide the perfect contrast of duality and grimness to the record.
Zhrine are great at building up moods and tensions before imploding with catharsis - hence the cable imagery. They don't take their sweet time with it though, which is good, because who wants to hear hours upon hours of dysfunctional clean guitars drowsed in reverb just to hear a bunch of cool riffs at the end? The mechanism of Unortheta is rewarding in that the build-ups are just long enough for you too feel truly ravished and incited about the upcoming spasm of dissonance, a perfect example being ''World'' with boils into a crushing wave of riffs before plateauing into slower pace once more, after which the listener is greeted with a broiling haunt of pure black metal chords. Rhythmic variations also bring atmospheric sludge mavericks like Mouth of the Architect, Neurosis and Isis to mind, so it's undeniable that Unortheta is keenly probing the boundaries of its norms; what's better is that there seems to be no shortage of good riffs or hooks throughout the record, with humdingers like ''Empire'' and ''The Earth Inhaled'' counterbalancing the rear end of the album. With the exception of a few dull moments here and there Unortheta retains its abysmal aura and dire pallor, mapping out a new gap to be explored by bands performing in accordance to the so called 'French' school of black metal, or just contagious, neanderthal caverncore, which remains surprisingly popular in 2016. All told, unless you were looking for something burlesque or cheerful on this album - and you quite literally have to be a neanderthal to be searching for that - the probability that it will disappoint is low; the probability that will erase all your hopes and yearnings off the face of the earth and turn your ears into honeycombs of tar and ash - much higher.
Spewing Gloom
The Syringe Dance
Rating: 83%
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The Cream of the Crop: Arthalos Picks His Best of 2015
Overall I felt this was quite a strong terms of both quality and quantity across all genres of metal, but that has always been the case so I doubt 2015 surpassed annual mean scores by a great deal. In another sort of Murphy's Rule for yearly releases, the bulk of the quality was concentrated in the first and last couple of months, at least for me, and the pool of better releases in between was spread out a little more thinly. Still, that may also have to do with the fact that much of my own lack of research during these months was due to a combination of slight disinterest in and reluctance to pick up newer recordings at the time, which I managed to rectify somewhat by the end of the year. In terms of reviews I did start strong but my writing dwindled as lots of real life issues started filtering in, and unfortunately I had to conclude the year on a low-ish note in terms of reviews. Towards the end of the year I pushed to listen to as many new albums as possible, thus molding the current shape of my lists, but of course a good deal of albums went below my radars. I hope to make up as much as I can for those in the initial months of 2016.
Nonetheless, there was an excellent scree of releases all around, with France and Norway sticking out more than usual, beyond the usual suspects like USA and Sweden. France may not have made the top 20 cut, but it produced metric tons of great, caustic black and death metal in its national brew, fitting selections at a time when Deathspell Omega have remained idle for a good long while (seriously, new album better be in the work, guys). And Norway just trumped with an unprecedented triplet of gold from its three avantgarde mavericks Solefald, Arcturus and Dodheimsgard (though the latter did not make the cut) who assuredly produced enduring masterpieces to enrich the legacy of their discographies. But of course the Enslaved album, being more 'black metal' than its gonzo counterparts, perhaps one of the safer records they've done in the last decade, is also fantastic. 2015 is perhaps most surprising considering the wealth of releases that either belong to long-time masters (Sigh, Raven, Motorhead, Saxon, Solefald, Angra, Satan, Killing Joke, Enslaved, Arcturus, even Iron Maiden, etc.) or newer entrants and banner-carriers who had already won my heart from a few years hence (Horrendous, Sulphur Aeon, Tribulation, etc.).
As always, I avoided or just downright disliked many of these uber-hyped mainstream metal records, not to mention the mass of stoner/sludge material promulgated by media-friendly review sites and communities. But downsizing that pool in its entirety is also risky, as several of the year's best turned out to be some of the most 'overrated', like the Ghost or Enslaved records.
I have also compiled an extensive list of my 100 favorite releases, in non-hierarchical order, so as to provide a little more mileage on the density of worthwhile recordings for the year. You can take a look here
YouTube links have been embedded in the lists below.
Edit: After numerous listens the new Leprous record has earned my heart's fondness with exponentially high returns, hence acquiring a spot in the top 10. Pushed back the Katavasia album and replaced the Enforcer album with the new Nechochwen record.
Top 20 Metal Albums of 2015 ****
21) Lychgate - An Antidote for the Glass Pill (Blood Music)
20) Nechochwen - Heart of Akamon (Bindrune Recordings)
19) Crypt Sermon - Out of the Garden (Dark Descent Records)
18) Kontinuum - Kyrr (Candlelight Records)
17) Black Trip - Shadowline (Steamhammer)
16) Tribulation - Children of the Night (Century Media Records)
15) Ghost - Meliora (Loma Vista Recordings)
14) Sulphur Aeon - Gateway to the Antisphere (Imperium Productions)
13) Trial - Vessel (High Roller Records)
12) A Forest of Stars - Beware the Sword You Cannot See (Lupus Lounge)
11) Sadist - Hyaena (Scarlet Records)
10) Horrendous - Anareta (Dark Descent Records)
9) Soilwork - The Ride Majestic (Nuclear Blast Records)
8) Leprous - The Congregation (InsideOut Music)
7) Killing Joke - Pylon (Spinefarm Records)
6) Satan - Atom by Atom (Listenable Records)
5) Year of the Goat - The Unspeakable (Napalm Records)
4) Enslaved - In Times (Nuclear Blast Records)
3) Zierler - ESC (Vanity Music)
2) Arcturus - Arcturian (Prophecy Productions)
1) Solefald - World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud (Indie Recordings) ****
Top 10 Non-Metal Albums of 2015 **
10) Sammal - Myrskyvaroitus (Progressive Rock/Folk)
9) Julia Holter - Have You in My Wilderness (Dream Pop)
8) Grimes - Art Angels (Pop)
7) Grave Pleasures - Dreamcrash (Post-Punk/Goth)
6) Mew - +- (Progressive Pop/Rock)
5) Squarepusher - Damogen Furies (Electronic/IDM)
4) Purity Ring - Another Eternity (Pop)
3) John Carpenter - Lost Themes (Electronic)2) Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs (Synthpop)
1) Everything Everything - Get to Heaven (Progressive Pop/Rock) **
Honorable mentions:
Hot Chip - Why Make Sense? (Electronic/Synthpop)
Zombi - Shape Shift (Electronic)
Steven Wilson - Hand Cannot Erase (Progressive Rock)
Django Django - Born Under Saturn (Progressive/Indie Rock)
Carpenter Brut - Trilogy (Compilation) (Synthwave/Electronic)
Braids - Deep in the Iris (Indie Rock)
Knife City - Star Versus (EP) (8-Bit/Chiptune)
A little addendum on my non-metal choices. Of course my auditory leisure time generally circulates around the realms of metal, but these albums reflect part of my interests outside of those realms, and as you may have noticed this year supported a wealth of wonderful pop albums with scarcer electronic music, rounded by a selection of rock albums of varying style and contour. Every album on this list is compulsive and I enjoyed them immensely, but I have to say the Everything Everything album earned its plaudits by far, a record I listened to more than any other album, in any genre. That may be partially because the songs are fairly short, but I also found myself in entranced with the Brits' ability energize with song after song, amazing falsetto vocals, synthesizers and other electronic influences popping in - just fantastic. I cannot recommend it enough, even though it has some minor flaws. But the Susanne Sundfor record comes close, despite the simplicity of the compositions. The John Carpenter album of 'lost' film scores is also extremely noteworthy, and should come as no surprise for someone who adores the man's backlog of 80's horror flicks. The oddest ball of the bunch is arguably the Sammal record, which not only restored my faith in modern prog rock outfits but strengthens Finland's hand as one of leading conduits of 60's-70's worship. Points for Svart Records (which also released the new Seremonia album this year).
And Now... Listmania: A List of Lists *
Autothrall's Execution Through Listification: The 2015 Edition -- The best of the best. His lists amaze me for their depth, range and also for the sheer fact that I tend to enjoy almost every record in the top 20-25 unanimously. There's also a very extensive bonus section comprised of top-lists for books, non-metal and various games. Simply mandatory for metal music nerds.
Skull Fracturing Metal's Top 30 of 2015 -- Perhaps a bit too high on modern power and traditional heavy metal but SFM has nonetheless been one of the very first blogs I've been acquainted with since my initiation and consequently I can't help but promote this list.
Listmania 2015 (No Clean Singing) -- These guys have a freaking open sale of awesome lists every year, from so many different users and with different labels that I can hardly keep track of all them. This is just a link to one of those individual lists, be sure them to give them all a decent look.
Arson Cafe: 2015 Dispirit -- Just a very well composed list that endures no truncation, leading up to 100 entries, all listed hierarchically. All sorts of meritorious extreme metal can be found here, as well some more modern metal records that should accord well with you if you have experimental tastes.
The 2015 End-of-Year List (Heavy Metal Spotlight) -- Just seeing the Slugdge album at #20 makes me happy. I dunno, man, it just does. Plus range and diversity run fairly wide with this list, An opportunistic mash of death, black, doom and traditional heavy with a good focus on the more 'old school' side of things.
Best Albums of 2015 (Metantoine's Magickal Realm) -- Basically your go-to blogspot (along with Slugdelord) when it comes to DOOM. All sorts of great, obscure, retro-related rock and metal here, and the list is pretty sweet to top it off. So much of a 70's stoner reprise in this blog that it practically begs a joint while you're browsing for music.
piotrekmax: Best metal albums of 2015 (Sputnik Music)
Best Albums of 2015 (Metantoine's Magickal Realm) -- Basically your go-to blogspot (along with Slugdelord) when it comes to DOOM. All sorts of great, obscure, retro-related rock and metal here, and the list is pretty sweet to top it off. So much of a 70's stoner reprise in this blog that it practically begs a joint while you're browsing for music.
piotrekmax: Best metal albums of 2015 (Sputnik Music)
Finally, you can seek here an even larger compilation of RYM lists, if that's your thing, a great, long shelf of worthwhile lists with actual descriptive commentary and out of the ordinary pickings. That rounds the end-of-the-year craze for 2015. You have no excuse not to check out at least a few of these works. Now is a time for rest, which I believe I've earned, shortly before I get on the 2016 bandwagon. Praise Cthulhu and stay metal, my friends.
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"Ultrasuede" reveals the story behind his famous halter dresses and sheaths worn by Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor, Bianca Jagger and Lauren Hutton, as well as his longtime models Pat Cleveland and Anjelica Huston. Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, New York Times fashion editor Cathy Horyn, Diane von Furstenberg and dozens of others describe his influence in American fashion and brand licensing long after his death from AIDS-related lung cancer in 1990. The story of Halston's early life and influences—such as what inspired Jacqueline Kennedy's famous pillbox hat, which Halston designed for the 1961 inaugural—is left vague.
A self-described 70s addict, director/writer/producer Whitney Sudler-Smith takes the audience along on his journey of discovery (in a de rigueur Trans Am, of course), a technique that painfully reveals a lack of research. He appears in nearly every frame, chatting with the fashion editors and designers, which inadvertently gives "Ultrasuede" the look of a film-school thesis.And there are missed opportunities for real discovery—Sudler-Smith uncovers a long-hidden archive of Halston scrapbooks, sketches and garments incongruously kept in boxes at a tiny Bible college in Tennessee, but exits the premises after rifling through a few clippings. Even an interview with Borghese CEO Georgette Mosbacher, keeper of the archive, reveals nothing of the collection's contents or value. A visit to New York's fashion week in search of Halston's influence also leads nowhere.
So much of New York's cultural influence in the 1970s originated with gay artists, whether the medium was disco, visual art or fashion, and Halston, presumably, was a part of that meme. "Ultrasuede" sails over the any investigation into the role Halston's sexuality played in his creativity and social circle, another strange oversight in a documentary that seems averse to too much depth.
"Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston" opens January 20 in New York City at the IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd Street (ifccenter.com).


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It was not so long ago when I was sitting with a small group for a private tasting in a stylish New York wine store, sampling a variety of small-production reds and whites. When the riesling was poured — I forget whether it was from Germany or from Alsace in France — I was struck by the almost visceral reaction of the woman across from me. She put out her hands defensively, retreated in her seat and pursed her lips as she let out a spontaneous "eeuw." And she hadn't even tasted it.
Such are the hurdles that the often-misunderstood riesling still faces. The wine was off-dry, meaning that it had a degree of sweetness up front but finished, on its descent in the mouth, with ample acidity that is the hallmark of great semi-sweet and sweet rieslings and rescues them from being dismissed as little more than fruit cocktails in a glass. With a little explanation and a few sips, the woman was largely won over. Few wines, it turns out, are as satisfying to taste and contemplate.
It was a wine from New Zealand, in fact, that got me thinking about all this again — the 2006 Dry Riesling from the Drylands winery in Marlborough on the South Island, which is the country's most important wine area and, with its cool climate, is well-suited to riesling production. Notice how the Drylands label emphasizes that the wine is a "dry" riesling, just in case anyone thinks for a moment that what they're about to buy is anything but that.
In any event, this $15 wine is a very good place to start to get a feel for this style. Packaged in a Bordeaux-style bottle (as opposed to the long, thin bottles traditionally used for riesling) and with a screw cap closure, Drylands' riesling is also unusual in that it is from New Zealand, where sauvignon blanc is the flagship white wine.
The overall impression is crisp, with pleasing tropical fruit aromas and notes of pear, peach, strawberry and vanilla in the mouth. Bright acidity makes it a refreshing match for fish and shellfish, chicken dishes, cheeses and for sipping as an aperitif.
Riesling is still a minor player in New Zealand, accounting for just four percent of the vineyards (sauvignon blanc, by contrast, has a 34 percent share, followed by pinot noir at 18 percent). But riesling plantings have tripled in the last decade, and Drylands' 2006 Dry Riesling shows why the grape deserves even more attention in New Zealand, and from wine drinkers who might have been hesitant to take the riesling plunge.
Edward Deitch's wine column appears Wednesdays. He welcomes comments from readers. Write to him at firstname.lastname@example.com.
© 2013 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints


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If you are a member of the Internet Wrestling Community then you know that the BFG Series is one of the biggest things IMPACT Wrestling has going on right now.
If you don't know what the Bound For Glory Series is, I'll tell you.
IMPACT Wrestling's top twelve wrestlers all have the chance to headline the biggest pay-per-view of the year, Bound For Glory.
The twelve wrestlers have to compete against each other in Series matches to earn points.
10 points for submission victory
7 points for pin fall victory
5 points for draw
3 points for win by disqualification
-10 points for loss by DQ
The four wrestlers with the top scores will then advance to IMPACT's September pay-per-view, No Surrender.
There, the Final 4 will battle it out, with the winner being granted a World Heavyweight Championship match at Bound For Glory in October. You don't even have to be the all-time points leader to win a title shot.
Right now I am going to break down the competition in this year's BFG Series and try to predict the Final 4 and eventual winner.


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Daniel R. Sholem
Adjunct Lecturer of Finance
All Publications
Articles in Journals
Sholem, D. 2010. "Reduce Equipment Costs through Leases". American Society for Quality
Sholem, D. 2007. "Will Private Equity Drive the Equipment Leasing Industry's Train of the Future?". The Monitor, 34: 86-87
Sholem, D. 2001. "It's All High Tech". The Equipment Financing Journal
Sholem, D. 2000. "Pro-Active Lease Management - Who Adds the Most Value". The Monitor
Sholem, D. 1999. "High Tech Equipment Life Cycle Management". The Equipment Financing Journal
Sholem, D. 1993. "Flying High - China is Building Its Airline Fleet"


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Meet the 2011 Social Innovation Fellows: Mohammed Rabah Salem
We've recently announced our Class of 2011 Social Innovation Fellows and we're excited to share the diversity of their world-changing work with the PopTech community. To learn more about this new crop of Fellows, we posed one question to each of them: In one sentence, what is your work's projected impact when it reaches scale?
We'll be highlighting one Fellow's response per day for the next couple weeks. Stay tuned!
If I reach my goal, in a very simple way, every home will have light, the darkness will disappear, warmth will spread everywhere in happy, safe, and silent nights: the wind of peace will blow between Palestinians and Israelis under the shining lights in safe, kind areas.
Image: Mohammed Rabah Salem
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Backcountry Ideas
A buddy and I are planning to go hiking/camping/fishing Tuesday through Friday (not sure if we're gonna stay 2 or 3 nights) of next week. We spent 3 nights last fall on Hazel and in Bone Valley and had a blast. Would like to go somewhere different this time but have a similar sort of trip... (good hike in, a little off the beaten path, good fishing, cool sights and views). I was just wondering if you guys had any favorite trails/sites. Would love to hear any suggestions for anywhere in the park. Thanks so much!
Cades Cove campground taking Anothony Creek trail up to Spence Field. You can fish, stop at 9 and go to Spence Field the next day or stop at 10 and go to Russell Field.
I think Deep Creek would be a smiliar type trip lots of backcountry campsites and miles of good water similar to Hazel. Also there are tons of nice hiking loops in the area up around martins gap, thomas ridge and places, and other fishing opportunities such as Indian Creek which is a nice stream. I have stayed at burnt spruce cs 56 and it was nice and 55 (pole road?) looked very nice too.
My favorite backcountry trip is up the LR trail above Elkmont....CS24 at Rough Creek and CS23 at the fork of Goshen Prong on Fish Camp....Fish Camp Prong offers some great water and varying scenery....this is an old lumber rail trail with a lot of local history as well as some fine fishing opportunities.....at 24 you always have a chance of scoring a slam when fishing above the campground on a single stream.
bumhopingfortrout4--Crockett's idea is a good one, and there are a bunch of campsites on Deep Creek besides the two he mentions. Another possibility would be Forney Creek, another Eagle Creek, and yet another Noland Creek. In truth, if you are willing to do a bit of hiking there are many streams on both the N. C. and Tenn. sides of the Park where you can have the kind of experience you describe. Indeed, although I camped at Bone Valley last year, Hazel Creek would be several notches down my list for one reason. It's a victim of its own popularity--too many people.
Jim Casada
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Baxter Black
There is nothing pretty about killing a horse. Nobody knows that more than those of us who have done it.
There are people actively attempting to get a federal bill passed that will "prevent the slaughter of horses in and from the U.S. for human consumption and other purposes."
Those supporting this bill seem to fall into two groups; (1) those that have very little knowledge of the horse industry, of the problems facing the BLM Wild Horse Program, and the practical realities of burying a dead horse, and (2) people who are very knowledgeable about horses yet find the slaughter of them using packing house methods inhumane.
Both of these groups are sincere and are not always raving animal rights lunatics. They admit their solutions are not necessarily practical and probably expensive, but are worth it. Those that are against the bill admit there are no easy solutions, particularly with the BLM wild horses, but say we've got to do something even if it's not pretty. They are not cruel people, they just don't have the luxury to do nothing.
Somebody has to be responsible. It is they.
Horses have been this country's most valuable beast of burden since Cortez turned 'em loose in 1535. The motorcar diminished their importance as a tool in the 20th century but they have returned to huge numbers today as a toy, sporting good, pet or friend.
The middle ground is not so hard to find. In my observations, one issue that would have to be faced is the idea that we have the right to deny other cultures our horses for human consumption. It would be like Mexico refusing to sell their marijuana to our addicts because they think it's harmful, or India not selling us beef because their cows are holy, or France refusing to sell us pâté because we couldn't appreciate it.
And, the supporters of the ban would need to concede that traders should be allowed to make money. This is America.
Which leaves the biggest and most substantial bone of contention: humane slaughter. As it was pointed out to me by one horsewoman, dead is dead. The disposition of the carcass, be it dog food, taxidermy, wolf bait or Pierre's platter is irrelevant.
Like most complicated issues, the answer doesn't have to be. If Solomon were here he might say "Waste not, want not. Recycling horsemeat through omnivores beats dumping them in a landfill, but … horses are not cows, and they deserve an anesthetic cocktail before the .44-caliber entrée is served."
Baxter Black is a self-described cowboy poet, ex-veterinarian and sorry team roper. He can be contacted at 1-800-654-2550 or by e-mail at: