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Sharon Salyer Herald Writer
SNOHOMISH — David Nansel has completed the Susan G. Komen Foundation's three-day, 60-mile walk twice in the past two years.
His voiced choked with emotion Friday as he talked about the controversy overtaking the nation's best-known nonprofit dedicated to breast cancer education, treatment and research.
"Susan G. Komen is the top breast cancer fundraiser in the world," he said. "The monies that will be lost … no one has any idea what the long-term ramifications will be on the women diagnosed with breast cancer."
The organization was unexpectedly swept up in nearly nonstop controversy all week. On Tuesday, word spread that Komen had adopted criteria to exclude Planned Parenthood from future grants for breast cancer screenings because it was under congressional investigation. The probe was launched by a Florida congressman at the urging of anti-abortion groups.
In addition to providing a number of reproductive checks and cancer screenings, Planned Parenthood provides birth control and, at some clinics, abortion services.
Komen's decision about the Planned Parenthood grants ignited a national storm of protests, fueled by the near instant communication of social media sites such as Facebook.
One protest poster featured a large pair of scissors with the bright pink ribbon associated with breast cancer causes cut in half. "I'm cutting my support for Komen. I stand with Planned Parenthood," it said.
Caught in the crossfire between those who supported and opposed the decision, the organization on Friday amended its previous announcement.
"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants," the statement said.
The statement also apologized "for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives."
In Washington, the current $52,000 grant to Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest paid for 400 women in rural areas of Clallam County to receive breast cancer screenings, spokeswoman Kristen Glundberg-Prossor said.
Women were given a clinical breast exam. If lumps or other potential problems were found, mammography services were provided by a van operated by Seattle-based Swedish Health Services, she said.
The protest of the Komen Foundation's initial decision triggered a national outpouring of financial support for Planned Parenthood. The $3 million raised this week will be used for breast cancer screenings, Glundberg-Prossor said.
It's too early to know how much of that money might come to Washington, she added.
Jim Clune, communication manager for the Puget Sound Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said that the organization has received a mix of responses to the announcement made by the national organization Tuesday.
"The initial response was from people very concerned and very angry," he said. "This is an emotional issue."
It was followed by calls and emails from those "supportive of our cause and hoping this wouldn't distract from the good work that we're trying to do," he said.
The local organization's three-day walk this year is scheduled to begin Sept. 14.
"We're pretty confident that by the time the three-day comes around, people will be focusing on the reason to be there, which is to find a cure," he said.
Nansel, who has gained an avid following among local Komen participants and supporters, said he plans to join those participating in the event again this year.
In 2009, he exchanged marriage vows with Wendy Nansel as the Komen walk made an overnight encampment at Kasch Park in Everett. Wendy Nansel had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35.
The pirate-themed wedding has been widely viewed on YouTube. She has since celebrated her fifth year without a recurrence.
In 2010, Nansel was the man remembered among the throngs of walkers for wearing a pink skirt and loudly clanging a cowbell as the route took him though Everett neighborhoods, his trademark way bringing attention to the cause of breast cancer awareness.
And last year, Nansel was photographed near the end of the walk sporting a pink-tinted goatee and pink ribbons festooned on his shaved head, managing a smile despite walking with a badly injured knee.
After reading and listening to some of the angry comments made about the Komen foundation this week, Nansel said he worries about the potential for lingering effects.
"My guess is that a lot of this will be emotional decisions and emotional decisions are never good," he said.
"This whole thing just infuriates me," he said. "My fear is the future."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Our work with Greenpeace to bring their expeditions to the Arctic and the Amazon alive with their first VR app is now live.
Donate just £6 for a bespoke Google Cardboard headset to watch with! Available now in the iTunes and Play stores
Discover the future of everything omnichannel in this short video interview with one of our co-founders Phil
We're currently settling in to a shiny new studio in East London and are very proud of our new home. You can find us right next to the Allpress Roastery so there's an added bonus of great coffee on tap - just how we like it.
Last but not least, our final launch of the week is for our favourite London gallery, the Serpentine. Designed as a companion experience for gallery visitors, our innovative mobile app provides users with exclusive contextual content about the artworks, as visitors work their way around the gallery.
Planned to coincide with this summer's pavilion launch - it's a major first for the Serpentine and will soon be followed by a permanent in-gallery installation later this month - but you didn't hear that from me right?
See the video on It's Nice That
That's Brexit sorted then. Great little interview with some of the AllofUs gang in last Saturday's Times, on how terrible this could be for the UK's brilliant design industry...
Finally, after what feels like an eternity of back-and-forth visa shenanigans with the Home Office, we can announce the arrival of Heather Eddy - our super-charged new User Experience Director.
There is an air of unprecedented excitement in the studio this week as we embark on a number of high-profile project launches. The first of which is the result of our latest collaboration with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation - where we helped them reimagine their online educational platform Generation Global. It has been a wonderfully rewarding project to work on, so we're delighted to see it come to fruition.
The story is being picked up by this week's design press - with a great Design Week article here.
Even better see for yourself by visiting Generation Global - we'd love to know what you think.
We are proud to announce our new permanent exhibit for the British Museum.
You can find it downstairs in the Enlightenment Galleries...
We apologise for the lack of updates to our website recently, but 2016 has got off to a flying start leaving us with little time to shout about what we're up to.
We can't reveal too much just yet, but shortly we'll be announcing some amazing wins for Sainsbury's, Google and the Serpentine Gallery, alongside two interesting new start-up projects - one of which being the first output from our newly formed incubator.
Oh and that's not forgetting the launch of a major new addition to the British Museum and a groundbreaking mobile reading platform in the form of Oolipo that will be launching soon. Is that enough for you? No? Well how about two incredibly talented new additions to our senior management team to cap things off?
More information coming soon we promise.
Read all about our vision moving forward, the team and current projects in issue 241 of Web Designer Magazine. Available in shops or as a digital edition from your iOS / Android newstands.
We've had the pleasure to work with the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to re-design and build their website, which can be viewed here.
Case study coming shortly.
Jon Caplin has snatched the winning prize for the prestigious EDGE GIG Challenge for his first person adventure Icarus. 1.
Quoted as being the stand out game of the competition we are all very proud of him.
read the full article and download the game for yourselves here
Nice little piece by our very own Orlando Mathias in this week's Creative Review, providing the inside track on Google's Project Soli.
Check it out here
Our top mobile wizard Allan Weir has helped inspire the next generation by revealing the secrets behind his day.
have a peek here at Bubble
Case study coming soon.
AllofUs have recently launched a new online fitness and nutrition programme created with Davina McCall. Get Fit with Davina creates bespoke diet and exercise plans and allows users to track progress on a weekly basis. It's mobile optimised too so no excuses…
Full case study coming soon...
Here in the AoU studio we've discovered a new lunchtime hobby… browsing through a sparkly new database of luxury yachts that we can only ever dream of owning! BoatInternational.com is the digital representation of the world famous super-yachting publication and we're really excited to announce its recent launch. We'll leave the nautical puns to you.
Case study coming shortly.
Amongst all the exciting things that Google have anounced at I/O, the secret project we worked on with the ATAP team has now been revealed.... Project Soli
Congratulations to our co-founder Sanky on making it onto The Drum's Designerati.
Last week was the launch of the YotaPhone 2 in Moscow and London, an innovative dual screen phone created by Russian manufacturer, YotaPhone. Here at AllofUs we were pleased to have worked closely with the YotaPhone team to reimagine high level concepts for the e-ink screen UI/UX.
The e-ink screen works both independently as an 'always on' greyscale touch screen and simultaneously to accompany the LCD screen, sharing apps and generally prolonging the battery life of the phone as a whole.
To find out more information on the phone see the YotaPhone website.
Good to see our Science Museum Who Am I? installation featured in Vodafone's new TV ad.
Watch it here
We are pleased to announce the total re-design of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation website, developed to promote the organisation's work around the world providing practical support to help prevent religious prejudice, conflict and extremism.
A key priority has been to refine the organisation's messaging and vision in line with their new brand positioning. The Foundation deals with complex and sometimes difficult subject matters. Therefore a great deal of time was spent with the content teams at the Foundation to get a deep understanding of the topics at hand and create specific design features and formats around the needs of the end user, ranging from the sensitivity of the image editing to the creation of the 'snippet' tool.
We also had to accommodate a wide ranging global target audience for the site, ranging from supporters, students, governments, NGOs and professionals who are interested in gaining an in-depth knowledge of the Foundation's work .
And of course the site needed to work across multiple platforms to appeal to everyone, allowing easy access to the unique information.
Site can be viewed here.
Lucky Jem, our Design Director, is heading off to Cannes Lions this week as part of a specially selected group of women who are participating in 'See It Be It', a programme that aims to further women in the creative industry. This is the inaugural programme and it promises to be an exciting one, with meet and greets with VIP speakers, mentoring events and creative leadership sessions lined up. As part of her contribution to 'See It Be It' Jem was interviewed by Getty Images for their latest #RePicture campaign, which you can read here and don't forget to follow @allofustweet next week to see more of what she gets up to...
We are all beaming here at AllofUs this week as we have been included in R/GA Design Director Peter Jupp's selection of the best avant-garde agencies in London for Awwwards. We are in very good company with R/GA, Method, UNIT9, Poke, ustwo and Moving Brands also included in the same category as us. Our inclusion in the list came as a total surprise and we are thrilled that our hard work and passion is appreciated out in the big wide world! Big thank you to Peter and the Awwwards team :)
We have now completed work on a series of interactive exhibits for the 'Ancient lives: new discoveries' exhibition at the British Museum which opens to the public this week, May 22nd. Using breakthrough technology, the exhibition shows a never-before-seen picture of eight individuals' lives in the Nile Valley over 4,000 years - from prehistoric Egypt to Christian Sudan.
The exhibition, which runs until November 30th, is made possible by three-dimensional CT reconstructions of the mummies. These are made up from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of CT scans combined to create an impressively detailed reconstruction of the bodies and objects concealed within the wrappings.
Head over to Sky News for a sneak preview!
We're proud to announce that AllofUs is in the process of finalising a series of interactive exhibits as part of the upcoming British Museum exhibition 'Ancient lives, new discoveries.' Sponsored by Julius Baer, technology partner Samsung. There is already a lot of excitement surrounding the exhibition as seen in The Telegraph. More information coming soon...
See two of our founders interviewed in this short film by London & Partners - a celebration of London's finest tech and creative talent. It makes us genuinely proud to see so much of our work being used for such a prestigious cause... and that Orlando and Phil are keeping such fine company these days ;)
Film here: http://blogs.londonandpartners.com/business/2014/03/13/london-world-capital-of-digital-innovation/
Today our Lead Project Manager, Sarah Gautier, headed down to Skinners' Academy to speak to the students about AllofUs and the world of Project Management. Sarah was most impressed with the well behaved students (no back chat and all listened intently), as well as their attention to detail - immediately spotting the swear word included on one of her slides, whoops! It was a refreshing approach to careers advice, with people invited in to talk about what they do. Hopefully it helped to inspire the project managers of tomorrow!
We're always happy to share our experiences with students, especially at the institutions that got us started and over the next few months we have a lot of talks and lectures lined up for various members of the studio. Kicking this off were Kam and Marie, two of our visual designers, who were invited to Nottingham Trent University to give a presentation about the type of work we do here at AllofUs and how we go about it.
Kam and Marie were keen to convey the AllofUs philosophy of always putting the user at the heart of any project and explaining the breadth of work that we encounter here. They showed the students that being a digital designer isn't just about websites and if you'd like to know what they mean, then check out some of our projects to see just how varied the AllofUs portfolio is.
Interesting article on Yota Play, now known as Play, and their plans for the future. It is great to see Play go from strength-to-strength and is now Russia's most successful video-on-demand service. You can read more about our involvement in building this service here.
We have just completed a series of videos and installations to mark the launch of the MAST Foundation, a new institute established by owner of innovation-based industrial solutions group Coesia, Isabella Seràgnoli, in Bologna, Italy.
We have been tasked with designing and building three interactive exhibits for the Industrial Focus Area, which is part of the MAST Foundation's new cultural centre. The centre will open fully next year, exploring the innovations in electro-mechanical engineering and motion. - See more at: ibbonline.com
The videos give you a little taste of what's to come as we are busy developing the full Interactive experiences as we speak. Each Interactive will take visitors through a different engagement that starts with "Move It", a truly interactive journey that allows visitors to design different gears through multitouch and object recognition. "Wrap It" will allow visitors to be a chocolate manufacture, wrapping the chocolates to meet consumer demand... stay tuned as they develop further.
Last week we jetted off to Zurich airport to install our interactive installation 'LAI' for Ballantine's, in collaboration with Work Club. The refreshed experience allows travellers to create their own unique impression using colour, motion, proximity and shape. A unique, printed code then lets people share their impression at the integrated popup bar and suggests a Ballantine's whisky cocktail. All images are automatically uploaded and shared on the LAI gallery. The installation runs in the departures lounge until September.
Jem, Head of Visual Design, continues to share her knowledge with the wider world, this time round it's Digital Arts and how to get started in the design industry for all aspiring designers, as well as an inspiring talk (the students words not ours!) to the students at Loughborough University School of the Arts on creative careers and managing your online presence. Check out the Digital Arts article here
We are extremely proud to announce that Daniel Felstead, our Senior Interaction Designer, is part of the team behind the Tino Sehgal piece These Associations that is on the shortlist for this year's Turner Prize. We are keeping everything crossed that they win, but being shortlisted for such a prestigious award is quite an achievement in itself. Check out the full shortlist here.
Our most recent web project is live! We have been working with guys at Earls Court & Olympia to help them promote the fantastic venue space Olympia. The site is available on multiple devices including mobile, tablet and desktop. Check it out here.
After two years working covertly with the Telegraph Media Group on the UX and design of their new online paywall and metre, we're extremely proud to see this landmark project go live. Its clearly a bold and important step by the Telegraph, that will almost certainly have a ripple effect across the rest of the publishing business. Its already receiving a great response, as is testament in this week's campaign article.
We're in the process of getting a full case study together, so watch this space for more info.
Today sees the launch of our latest interactive installation for coffee brand Carte Noire Instinct at Westfield, Stratford.
We're delighted to learn that our work for IKEA and Paper Denim Cloth picked up awards at last night's ADC Awards. The Mobile Catalogue App for Ikea winning Silver and our responsive online store for Paper Denim & Cloth receiving a Merit in the Interactive Category. Congratulations also go out to our transatlantic partners McCann New York, whom we collaborated with on both projects.
This week sees the rather grand unveiling of our top-secret 'floating cube' project for Huawei at this year's Mobile World Congress Event in Barcelona.
We've just found out that our work on Ikea's mobile app project has been featured on Most Contagious 2012 within the Augmented Media category.
See here for more: http://www.mostcontagious.com/2012/
Visually things are looking much more modern too with the design, that is also better equipped for the multi-platform age. We've worked hard on it with our friends in McCann with the online tool performing a key role within a new integrated campaign. So keep your eyes peeled (no pun intended) for that...website link here.
This week sees the unveiling of our latest interactive installation commissioned forBallantine's, going live in the centre of Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.
Team AllofUs are proud to be part of the world's biggest urban sustainability exhibition, The Crystal by Siemens, which opened on September 29th in London's Royal Victoria Docks.
Working with McCann Erickson New York and Bekton Media Group we've created an ultra-simple, modern website for New York based premium jeans brand Paper Denim & Cloth.
We've made a Pocket Art Gallery App that allows you to place famous paintings by world renowned artists in your everyday surroundings. Brighten up the office with a Turner landscape, or enhance your local park with a pre-Raphaelite painting and share the results with friends.
Our lovingly-created new Ikea app with McCann NY - as featured in Fast Company, Wired and Creativity Online - is now available on the UK app store, go download it today...whoop!
Our new super dynamic Olympics tracker just made it in time and now proudly sits across the Telegraph's online destinations, mobile and tablet apps for the entire Olympics summer period...
Here you'll find him sharing his experience working on our latest Wave Table installation for the Mishkat Interactive Centre for Atomic and Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia, whilst also revealing some interesting facts about potatoes. Full article here.
AllofUs finds itself mentioned in Design Week this week, in an article about the upcoming Victoria & Albert Museum Furniture Gallery, in collaboration with NORD architects. It's not opening until December but, like us, these guys seem pretty excited about it.
Visitors will also have the chance to engage with two large interactive tables, featuring interfaces designed by yours truly, AllofUs.
To see the full article head here: Design week
Created by one of the guys in the studio, we have to say this unofficial guide to the London Olympic games is really rather good. By far the best Olympics app we've seen yet, Go 2012 aggregates accurate schedules, medals and news information at your fingertips…and it does so with speed, efficiency and bundles and bundles of style. Well done Muldoon we're all proud of you… we just hope this entrepreneurial venture doesn't result in your early retirement!
More info here http://www.go2012app.com
The exhibition world seems to of gone interactive mad this year…evident in the number of amazing interpretation projects coming though our doors right now….
Less mobile: more ecosystem! The age of truly cross-platform user-experience design has finally arrived, in bucket loads…
Orlando Mathias, our director of research and development, was one of the speakers on a fun-filled panel called 'Technology and Understanding' at the Museums + Heritage show last week. He joined forces with our buddies at Casson Mann and consultant Andrew McIntyre to discuss the future of technology in museums. Interesting stuff, plus worth mentioning that the Holburne Museum in Bath, the site for one of our interactive installations coming up this year, was a Permanent Exhibition Joint Winner. Double thumbs up.
The high-profile Westfield at Stratford finally opened its doors this week, allowing visitors to get their hands on our brand new digital wayfinding system for the very first time....
We're proud to announce the launch of our latest anglo-russian creation - Kommersant TV...
Yes you have indeed read the headline correctly and today we can finally (after what's felt like an eternity of having to keep this to ourselves) announce that we have joined the McCann World Group...
We've just been given the go-ahead to design the digital wayfinding system for the eagerly awaited Westfield Stratford City opening this autumn - the shopping centre next to the 2012 Olympics site. The system will help visitors plot their journeys, enabling them to easily navigate between shops, services and transport links. We are working in close collaboration with Connect IB to bring together our user experience and interface design with their wayfinding skills and touch technologies. Watch this space for more info.
We've just been appointed by the V&A to create a series of showpiece interactive exhibits for the new Furniture Galleries which will open in December 2012. The new galleries will present the V&A's outstanding collection of British and international furniture from the 15th century to the present day. Our interactives will help visitors find out more about the form, function, and techniques of construction and decoration of the furniture in the collection. More info to follow.
Our work for the Science Museum's atmosphere gallery has just received an Honorable Mention at the AAM MUSE Awards in the Interpretative Interactive Installations category. We quote: "The panel was particularly impressed by the highly interactive content of the exhibit and the opportunity it gives visitors to actually have control over their environment". We couldn't have put it any better ourselves!
We're thrilled to see that the redesign of the prestigious Holburne Museum in Bath is finally complete and already receiving glowing reviews! We've been working with the museum on a number of specially commissioned interpretive exhibits that will be installed very soon, so watch this space for more information as we're not allowed to reveal them just yet. But you can read more about the Holburne Museum's controversial new extension in The Guardian here."
We've been appointed to design a dedicated news and information TV channel for the Russian Media company Kommersant. Collaborating with our friends DixonBaxi, we've been appointed to create the station's identity and on-screen design, as well as establishing how the service will operate on new interactive platforms such as iPad and connected TVs. You can read more about the appointment in Design Week here, and expect to hear more about Kommersant TV very soon...
Our work for the Science Museum's Who Am I? Gallery has received a commendation at this year's Design Week Awards within the Installations category. Thank you very much Design Week! And congratulations to Show Studio for their 'Mirror Mirror for Topshop' which pipped us to the top prize, not that we're bitter of course.
AllofUs co-founder, Art-Director and D&AD President Sanky will be talking at this year's Adfest 2011 event. A free ticket to the palm beaches of Phuket clearly sweetened the deal, but Sanky reassures us that he'll also be working hard (yeah right!). Speaking in the Chocolate Room on 19 March, Sanky will be waxing lyrical how digital has grown up, and how collaboration is now part of the main stream and not just an avant garde way of working.

subset: commoncrawl


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I must agree, your costume is great (I have said it before and will continue to say it ) and this photo just sums it up
and it makes me want to do a ROTJ lid even more
I must agree, your costume is great (I have said it before and will continue to say it ) and this photo just sums it up
and it makes me want to do a ROTJ lid even more
I have a question Tim. Why do you and the other Boba not have your hoses attached? Is it purely a comfort/ease of use thing?
Thanks Hunters!
While not a set rule for the Singapore Garrison, new and older members have been recommended to upgrade to the movie sized helm. Doesn't take much more than that as usually after they see the difference, they want to.
Matt, Jon, thanks guys! You've been the biggest supporters of my armor build up. Thanks!
Everyone else, thank again! Your comments, especially the fact that most if not all are Fett gurus, means a whole hellva alot!
Matt, the hoses were removed for this parade as to help with the constant waving to the crowds and a comfort issue. It's back on now.
Stay safe!
Last edited by Halo 1; Feb 26, 2008 at 3:01 AM. Reason: typo
Ah. I figured that's what it was, just wanted to make sure.
Great costumes!
Thanks Drake!
Some more pics...
Blackhole Troopers at the ready:
Scouts, Jango Fett, female Mandalorian and Clones:
Sandys...always looking good!:
A Snowtrooper:
TIE Pilots awaiting orders:
Boba Fett SE and Boba Fett ROTJ:
The Garrison:
What is she taking a photo of???
Too bright and white, gotta cut down on the flash...:
Making sure the Emperor looks ...ummm...Emperorish?:
A Robot Chicken moment...ATM torso litebright:
Uh, the troopers are behind you dude...
Stay safe and enjoy!
Last edited by Halo 1; Feb 26, 2008 at 3:09 AM. Reason: typo
That looked like an AWESOME event Tim! The Singapore Garrison is getting bigger all the time
Everyone's costumes looked amazing! I really liked all the TK's staning there motionless. By the way, in the video, when the parade was happening, and you guys were stopped, how long were you standing there without moving?


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Free personalized radio that
plays the music you love
Melanie Fiona
In 2009, Fiona released her debut single, "Give It to Me Right," which sampled "Time of the Season" by the Zombies years before Miguel referred to it. Fiona's melismatic and dynamic vocal propelled the single to the Top 20 on the Canadian Hot 100, in addition to a placement on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart. Her debut album, The Bridge, was released in May 2009, and went Top Five R&B/Hip-Hop. Its greatest success was the follow-up to "Give It to Me Right," "It Kills Me," which topped the R&B chart and earned Fiona her first Grammy nomination. Subsequent collaborations included a featured role on John Legend and the Roots' update of "Wake Up Everybody" (which was nominated for a Grammy) and a co-written duet with Cee Lo Green, "Fool for You" (which was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won one of them). Fiona's second album, The MF Life, was released in March 2012. It debuted in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200, highlighted by the RIAA-certified gold single "4 AM," one of the era's best ballads. "Gone and Never Coming Back," another song of heartache, won a Juno Award. Her third album, Awake, was scheduled for 2015. ~ Matthew Chisling & Andy Kellman
Selected Discography
Track List: The MF Life
Track List: The Bridge (Acoustic EP)
Track List: The Bridge
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2. Say ur crushes name
3. Close ur hand
4. Say a school day
5. Say ur name
6. Post this on 5 other songs and your crush will ask you out on that day you have 2 hours to complete
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2012 Just MIGHT Be the Year of the Cobra
The Spittin' Cobras - Year of the Cobra
2012 Omega Records
Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Seattle might be considered the doldums capital of the United States, but someone forgot to tell Jules Hodgson that. When he's not shredding for Sascha Konietzko and co-producing KMFDM, Hodgson has an outlet where he can turn his wolves loose. In Seattle, he and The Spittin' Cobras are catching on in a big way. Even The Reverend Horton Heat's taken notice by offering this band some opening gigs. God help those folks coming to those shows, because the Psychobilly Freakout will actually need to compete with his warm-up. Yeah, I'm saying it--and I love the Rev with all my heart--because The Spittin' Cobras are that awesome.
The underhanded problem with metal and hard rock today is the high expectancy heaped its upon artists. It's not enough anymore to just kick ass, which was the founding principle of seventies and eighties-based hard rock and metal. The genres have been escalated to such proficiency levels one almost needs to bring a Juliard degree to the table, thus scrutiny becomes automatic. If you have a metallic sound at all to your vibe, you're under the gun to write progressions of such complexity you'll be a zero or a hero in nanoseconds depending on your pedigree.
That's fine, but seriously, what the hell is wrong with just plugging in and going balls-out with everything you have? What's wrong with stirring your loins to the point of lust behind your instruments and letting that tension sieve out through straightforward, cocks-up belligerence? Rock and roll in the beginning was partially an act of rebellion and partially an act of autoeroticism. This applies to both performers and listeners. Somewhere in today's rock and metal manual, however, that element has been skipped over if not obliquely omitted. The core sentiment of heavy music, people, is to rock.
With lead vocalist Alx Karchevsky bearing shades of Bon Scott (minus the latter's Aussie horndog pub drawl) and a collective dead-eyed focus upon blasting eardrums out with old-fashioned thrash and bar rock, The Spittin' Cobras deliver one of the coolest and loudest albums in quite some time. Year of the Cobra is unpretentious, it's boisterous, it's fast as hell, even at mid-tempo. Nine songs of ass-kicking mania, including a rowdy cover of Rainbow's "Long Live Rock 'n Roll," and the cover is just a well-met decoration, really.
Year of the Cobra is headbanging heaven, just from the blistering mosh rhythms of "Built For Speed," "10,000 Broken Bodies" and "Criminal Mastermind," three of the giddiest thrashfests you'll enjoy in 2012. For certain, Jules Hodgson brings some of KMFDM's faster elements into play on these songs, yet they're still grounded in Van Halen, Motorhead, Nashville Pussy and Rose Tattoo. Hodgson is a freaking maniac all over "Criminal Mastermind," torching both the top and bottom straits of the track. It's hard not to sink into this stuff while going berserk from "Criminal Mastermind's" furious charge.
L.A. Guns at their most menacing is reflected all over "Throw Your Horns," a song that deserves a pump from the fans. Guaranteed The Spittin' Cobras won't have to shamelessly ply and beg for horns from their audiences like everyone else does. It will be a reflexive act because this tune peels the paint along with "Coup D'Etat," "Hooker With a Heart of Gold" and the boomming lead cut, "All the Way." The Spittin' Cobras have not only given Chrome Division a run for the money in the alter-ego throwback sweepstakes; they zip down the final stretch for a hefty win.
Alx Karchevsky threatens to take his listeners all the way and subsequently blow them gone on "All the Way." There was a time when such poser bravado was considered cheesy. Out of this guy's wrangling pipes and backed up by three other men who obviously hold four beers worth of piss inside them whenever they play, there's genuine moxy to such a claim. Indeed, The Spittin' Cobras will blow you away.
So if you're just a bit hung over on tech metal, death metal and black metal, take a break for a moment and step up to Year of the Cobra. Take Alx's invitation to have another beer and have another whiskey while "Last Chance Saloon" spins. It's worth the dumbing down from whatever you're listening to right now. This album will remind you why you got into heavy music in the first place.


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Program Updates: 2001
CFS Program Objectives
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex, debilitating disorder characterized by at least 6 months of severe persistent or relapsing fatigue and a group of characteristic but nonspecific symptoms. Despite more than a decade of extensive research, the cause of CFS remains unknown and no diagnostic tests exist. Effective prevention and control thus remain elusive. In its role as the nation's lead public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carries out a multifaceted, integrated program to study CFS in the United States. The program's objectives are to:
- Estimate the magnitude of the problem.
- Determine if CFS represents a single illness or a final common response to a variety of insults.
- Define diagnostic and physiologic markers for CFS.
- Provide appropriate technical information on CFS to various audiences.
CDC will ultimately use information from the first 4 objectives to develop control and prevention measures.
CFS Program Strategy
The program's research objectives are achieved through an integrated, population-based strategy that includes the following components:
- surveillance of large defined populations
- clinical studies of persons with CFS and other fatiguing illnesses
- molecular epidemiology and bioinformatics
- discovery of novel pathogens associated with CFS
- education activities
Integration is achieved by using similar data collection instruments in all program components, developing clinical studies to pursue new hypotheses from population-based studies, and conducting appropriate laboratory studies (gene expression, neuroendocrine, immune function, and pathogen discovery) on specimens from each component of the program.
Surveillance Program
Objectives of the surveillance program are to:
- Estimate the magnitude of CFS as a health problem in the United States.
- Describe the clinical course of CFS.
- Revise the case definition.
- Collect biologic specimens to identify markers of disease activity.
- Identify subjects for enrollment in clinical studies.
Wichita Surveillance
CDC has conducted surveillance for CFS and other fatiguing illnesses in Wichita from 1998 to 2001.
Prevalence and incidence of CFS
The CFS weighted point prevalence at baseline was 235 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval 142 to 327). CFS prevalence was elevated among women, 373 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval 210 to 536), and highest among nonwhite women, 495 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval 0 to 1,310). CFS was extremely rare in adolescents 12-17 years of age. None of the fatigued adolescents brought to clinic over the 4-year period was diagnosed with CFS. Four new adult CFS patients were identified (all were white; 3 women and 1 man). Calculation of weighted incidence rates is in process. However, new cases are extremely rare.
Clinical course of CFS
At baseline, approximately 3,500 fatigued and 3,500 non-fatigued adults 18-69 years of age were interviewed. After the baseline survey, approximately 1,100 fatigued and 3,000 non-fatigued subjects were followed annually for 3 years. In all, 97 CFS cases were identified and considerable fluctuation in illness state was observed 1 year after identification in the study. Only 26% of the CFS cases remained in a CFS state, 60% had transitioned into a non-fatigued or insufficient symptoms/fatigue severity state, and the others had medical or psychiatric exclusions. Among fatigued subjects who reported episodes of reduced fatigue during the follow-up year, 35% reported using alternative treatments such as herbal remedies, acupuncture, and homeopathy. We defined full CFS remission as a case in which a patient transitioned to a non-fatigued state, had fewer than 4 CFS symptoms, and was fully active at work and at their personal, social, or educational activities. We estimated that 9% of the CFS patients had full remission 12 months after being identified in the study and 4% after 24 months.
Besides clinical information, the program collected serial blood specimens over a 3-year period; these specimens will be used for molecular epidemiology studies (discussed below) and the test results will be correlated with epidemiologic and clinical findings. These specimens will also be assayed for novel pathogens as necessary. CDC will not continue surveillance of the entire Wichita population cohort beyond 3 years. However, clinical studies of subjects with CFS, other fatiguing illnesses, and non-fatigued controls will continue through FY 2002 and are described below.
National Survey for CFS
It is extremely important to determine if the Wichita prevalence estimates can be generalized to the United States and to explore the occurrence of CFS in racial/ethnic minorities and adolescents in more detail. To do this, CDC will conduct a National Survey for CFS to estimate sex, age, race/ethnic, socioeconomic-specific prevalence ratios of CFS and other fatiguing illnesses. Specific aims are to:
- Determine if findings from the Wichita study can be generalized to the US population.
- Describe the occurrence and clinical features of CFS in racial/ethnic minorities and adolescents.
- Estimate the geographic occurrence of CFS, so as to detect any regional differences.
- Determine if the occurrence of CFS exhibits metropolitan, urban, or rural differences.
- Collect information to estimate the economic burden of CFS.
- Collect information that can be used to derive an empiric case definition.
- Identify populations at unusual risk for CFS in which to conduct case-control studies.
- Derive information for use in designing a national or regional CFS registry.
A pilot national survey to test questionnaires and methods, verify response rates, field-test physical examination protocols, and address issues of response bias began in August 2001, and the National Survey for CFS will begin in March 2002.
CFS Case Definition Activities
For years, CDC has had a lead role in developing case definitions for CFS. CDC was responsible for the first such definition in 1988, and an international group convened by CDC published the current international CFS Research Case Definition in 1994. It is now clear that the 1994 case definition is inadequate and CDC has taken the lead internationally to derive an empiric case definition. In May 2000, CDC sponsored a workshop to discuss possible revisions to the 1994 case definition. CDC invited an international nidus of investigators actively involved in case definition issues who could collaborate to resolve issues. This meeting was followed by a CDC-sponsored satellite session during the January 2001 American Association for CFS Annual Meeting. The objectives of the satellite session were to discuss outcomes of the May 2000 meeting and outline future plans. In May 2001, CDC sponsored a second workshop, which was attended by participants from the 2000 workshop and additional subject-area experts. The workshop was designed to follow up on 3 areas identified previously:
- Use of the case definition to identify ambiguities in the 1994 case definition that must be resolved (e.g., symptoms and exclusionary conditions).
- Standardization of classification instruments to identify how investigators currently measure variables in the case definition, and which standard instruments should be used in research to revise the case definition.
- Study design and sample collection in defined populations to identify target populations and study designs that will generate data for use in revising the case definition.
The group agreed to prepare a review article critiquing the 1994 CFS Research Case Definition and to submit the paper for publication before the end of 2001. CDC also began plans to form an international collaborative group to test standard instruments and collect data to develop an empiric case definition by 2003.
Clinical Studies Program
Clinical Assessment of CFS and Other Fatiguing Illnesses in Wichita
CFS has no confirmatory physical signs or laboratory abnormalities, and its etiology and pathophysiology are unknown. The current research case definition of CFS was derived from clinical consensus. Therefore, research is needed to obtain data required for developing an empirically derived case definition and to discover the underlying etiology or etiologies of CFS. CDC has initiated a clinical study to further characterize the pathophysiology of CFS, evaluate the current CFS research case definition, and derive an empiric case definition of CFS. The study is being developed collaboratively with the Department of Psychiatry and Division of Endocrinology at Emory University, and the University of Toronto Sleep Center. The study will enroll subjects previously classified in the Wichita surveillance study as:
- Meeting the CFS research case definition.
- Meeting the CFS research case definition but accompanied by a major depressive disorder with melancholic features (CFS+MDD/M).
- Chronically fatigued but not meeting the CFS research case definition because of insufficient number of symptoms or fatigue severity (ISF).
- ISF accompanied by MDD/M.
- Non-fatigued controls matched to CFS subjects on age, race/ethnicity, sex, and body mass index.
Assessments include the following:
- clinical evaluation of medical and psychiatric status
- sleep characteristics
- cognitive functioning
- measures of stress and coping mechanisms
- laboratory testing for neuroendocrine status, autonomic nervous system function, and cytokine profiles
Finally, peripheral blood gene expression patterns and polymorphisms in genes involved in neurotransmission and immune regulation will be measured. Findings from this study will suggest future studies needed to identify the underlying pathophysiology of CFS and will provide essential information for efforts to develop an empirically based CFS case definition. A study protocol has been written and is pending submission to the CDC Institutional Review Board. The study proposal has been submitted to the subcontractor and a business contract is currently being negotiated. A potential clinical site in Wichita where the study may be conducted has been identified. Given the substantial progress in the study development in the past months, we plan to begin data collection in Wichita as of January 2002.
Use of Model Systems to Study CFS
Studies of the pathophysiology of CFS are complicated by patient heterogeneity with respect to chronicity and co-morbid illnesses. A model system in which symptom-free subjects develop CFS-like illness following exposure to a known stimulus obviates these problems and permits controlled studies of the pathophysiology of fatigue and associated symptoms.
Modeling studies: alpha interferon-induced fatigue
Patients with chronic hepatitis C or malignant melanoma who have been treated with interferon-alpha (INF-a) frequently develop symptoms of CFS. Thus, a CDC/Emory University Collaborative Group has undertaken a series of studies using INF-a-associated fatigue to model CFS. The cornerstone of these studies is a project under way in the Emory University Clinical Research Center that measures immune and neuroendocrine parameters, sleep, metabolism, mood changes, and mRNA expression patterns in INF-a recipients who develop a CFS-like illness compared with those who do not. To date, 8 patients have been enrolled (target enrollment: 50 subjects). Findings from this study will be integrated with results of a similar analysis of these functions in CFS patients (see Wichita clinical studies discussed below). Other studies by this collaborative group include an integration of comprehensive fatigue measures in ongoing assessments of patients receiving IFN-a for malignant melanoma and hepatitis C. Early findings from these studies indicate that the development of fatigue is distinct from the development of mood disorders (depression) both in terms of symptom evolution and treatment responsiveness (fatigue appears early during interferon administration and does not respond to antidepressant treatment, whereas depressive symptoms develop later and are antidepressant responsive). These results are consistent with findings in subjects with post-infectious fatigue and are under review for publication.
Modeling studies: exercise- and allergy-induced fatigue
The objective of CDC's component of this collaborative project with the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver is to identify differences in gene expression following allergen and exercise challenge of CFS patients and controls. Observed differences should provide insight into the pathogenesis of CFS. The study enrolled CFS patients between 18 and 45 years of age and sex matched controls. Subjects were evaluated at baseline and then those (cases and controls) with allergies received three challenges: nasal allergens, exercise, and histamine. Subjects without allergies received the last two challenges. Allergies are quite common in CFS patients, and the allergen challenge is included to test for unusual responses in CFS patients compared with controls. Exercise challenge is included because exertion frequently produces an increase in CFS symptoms. Differences in response between cases and controls could identify abnormal gene regulation in CFS. Histamine challenge is a control for the allergic response, because it will produce local symptoms of itchy-runny nose and sneezing but will not produce systemic immunologic activation (e.g., cytokine production).
Modeling studies: post-infection fatigue
Fatigue, cognitive disability, sleep disturbances, and myoarthralgia (i.e., the symptoms of CFS) are common during the acute phase of many infectious diseases and appear to correlate with the normal immune response. A sizeable proportion of patients with post-infection fatigue will continue to have such symptoms for >6 months following resolution of the acute infectious illness. In August 2001, CDC funded a cooperative agreement (awarded competitively) to the University of New South Wales, Australia, to conduct a cohort study of post-infectious fatigue after acute disease caused by Q-fever (a rickettsia), Ross River virus (an RNA virus), and Epstein Barr virus (a DNA virus). Incident cases occurring in the Macquarie Health Service district will be followed prospectively for 3 years. A pilot study has shown that approximately 30% of patients develop persistent fatigue through 3 months, which is accompanied by symptoms of CFS. Approximately 10% of patients continue with CFS beyond 6 months. The overall objective is to define the disease processes leading to the development of post-infectious fatigue. Specific aims are to test the hypotheses that:
- Chronic cytokine release in response to persistent microbial antigens mediates the symptoms of post-infective fatigue and CFS.
- Post-infective fatigue and subsequent CFS is initiated by abnormal persistence of the causative microorganism.
- Psychological factors perpetuate physical symptoms after infection.
- Genetic factors predispose to post-infective fatigue and CFS.
Measurements will include immune, hormonal, and gene expression profiles of the population-based cohort of patients with RNA virus, DNA virus, and rickettsial infections, beginning at the documented time of acute infection.
Molecular Epidemiology and Bioinformatics Program
Molecular Epidemiology
The molecular epidemiology component of the CFS program was established 4 years ago. The current major laboratory effort focuses on analysis of gene expression in peripheral white blood cells to profile systemic patterns in CFS patients and controls, and to identify molecular markers that distinguish CFS patients. This approach uses two complementary gene expression-monitoring technologies (high-density filter arrays and glass microarrays and differential display polymerase chain reactions [DD-PCR]). Results should direct attention to pathways detected as abnormal and may also identify different pathologic entities within the syndrome. Preliminary studies of gene expression in cases and controls from a study in Atlanta demonstrated that gene expression profiling was feasible on peripheral blood and yielded intriguing results indicating that case gene expression was distinct from control gene expression. The Molecular Epidemiology Program has incorporated gene expression using microarrays and DD-PCR into most of the CFS program studies in which it is possible to collect a peripheral blood sample.
Genetic expression testing, or gene profiling, examines the activity or transcription of genes by quantitatively measuring messenger RNA in cells. Gene expression is altered by many factors, including cell differentiation, metabolic states, and disease status. New techniques allow quantitative analysis of RNA transcripts from thousands of genes at the same time and reveal the pattern of genes that are active at the time of sampling; gene expression patterns characterize disease states. By comparing the gene expression pattern between samples, characteristic differences can be identified. These differences, known as differential gene expression, can point to markers for diagnosis or to metabolic pathways that are altered.
CDC requires additional bioinformatics support to analyze gene expression data and integrate these data with epidemiologic information. To hasten this process, CDC began a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute's Center for Information Technology (CIT) Microarray Database, maintained at the Computational Biology and Engineering Laboratory (CBEL), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. This collaboration is supported technically through a contract with Systems Research and Applications Corporation (SRA). SRA will do the following work:
- Provide programming support to give CDC researchers the ability to use the CBEL database to upload microarray data from high-density nylon filter arrays and glass microarrays.
- Modify the CBEL analysis tools to analyze the data and access genetic databases.
- Integrate epidemiologic data with the micro array data.
- Provide training and user support for CDC researchers.
SRA has considerable experience supporting research linking genetic expression to human disease. In particular, the systems they are providing are "user friendly" and tailored to specific questions while maintaining an overall comprehensive link to the universe of gene expression studies conducted by NIH.
Pathogen Discovery Program
CDC has developed an extramural program to search for novel or poorly characterized infectious agents in CFS patients. The search for such agents is done both at the nucleic acid level (RNA and DNA) using state of the art molecular methods, and at the antibody/antigen level using epitope discovery degenerate primer polymerase chain reaction. We currently support 4 collaborative efforts that have both extramural and intramural components.
Bacteria and mycoplasma 16S rRNA detection and characterization in plasma DNA samples from CFS cases and controls
DNA coding for small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S) molecules are highly conserved in bacteria/rickettsia and can be detected using broad-range PCR primers. PCR products are subsequently sequenced for specific identification. A mycoplasma specific PCR will also be used to determine the presence of mycoplasma DNA sequences Funds have been awarded to the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation in Wisconsin to conduct such analyses on plasma DNA samples from the first time point of collection in the longitudinal Wichita study. By September 20, 2001, Marshfield will provide VEHB results of 16S rDNA PCR tests and sequence analysis of amplified products and mycoplasma specific PCR on samples from the longitudinal Wichita study.
Epitope discovery using phage display random peptide libraries
An antibody response is generally elicited in response to infection. If the infecting agent is not known, specific peptide antigens can be discovered by using a novel approach known as epitope discovery. The epitopes are "discovered" by mining enormous random peptide libraries displayed on the surface of filamentous phage carriers. Funds have been awarded to the University of Missouri to screen sera from CFS patients and controls, using these libraries. This approach will identify antibody profiles that will hopefully distinguish CFS cases from controls. The peptides identified by the antibodies will be sequenced and may identify pathogen-related sequences.
Characterization of a previously uncharacterized retrovirus
Retroviruses represent an important group of infectious agents that have been suggested as having an association with CFS. Recently, Dr. Sidney Grossberg has isolated an apparently novel retrovirus called JHK virus, from a human B-lymphoblastoid cell line established from the peripheral mononuclear cells of a CFS patient. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that a subset of CFS patient sera will bind to the JHK virus particle. It is important to determine if a true association exists with all or a subset of CFS cases. To do this will require development of JHK-specific reagents and appropriate assay systems. Funds have been awarded to the Medical College of Milwaukee - Wisconsin to purify the JHK retrovirus for cloning and sequence analysis. Goals are to characterize the virus and its relatedness to other human and animal retroviruses and to develop reagents that can be used in further seroepidemiologic studies.
Characterization of autoantibodies in CFS
Various infectious agents have been incriminated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. Beta-hemolytic streptococcus has been implicated in rheumatic fever, Epstein-Barr virus in rheumatoid arthritis, Coxsackie virus B4 in diabetes, human herpesvirus type 6 and measles virus in multiple sclerosis, and cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and many other infectious agents in coronary artery disease. Because CFS has many characteristics of an autoimmune disease, we were interested in profiling the autoantibody profiles in CFS cases and controls. Funds have been awarded to the Scripps Institute to determine the presence or absence of fifteen common and recently described autoantibodies, some which may be produced in response to infection. Findings from this preliminary study will guide further studies.
Education Program
Health Communication
Educational activities comprise the fifth component of CDC's CFS program. The program's educational activities involve providing CDC technical liaison, publishing research data in mainstream peer-reviewed medical journals, helping to organize and support scientific/medical conferences and workshops on CFS, preparing and distributing printed materials for patients and health care professionals, and maintaining telephone information lines and the CDC CFS world wide web home page. CDC's major emphasis is to legitimize the illness to health care professionals, state and local public health officials, health maintenance organizations, and insurance professionals. Education of patients and the public, although important, is a lower priority. An outside peer review committee strongly endorsed this focus and recommended it be continued.
CFS Health Professional Education Project
CDC is cosponsoring a cooperative effort between CDC, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Illinois Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program, and the CFIDS Association of America titled, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Diagnostic and Management Challenge. The project's objective is to increase health professionals' awareness and understanding of CFS. A group of CFS experts (including representatives from CDC) developed educational materials designed to improve the ability of primary care professionals to detect, diagnose, and manage CFS. Three Train-the-Trainer sessions have been held this year and included 52 trainers. Sessions involved peer-to-peer continuing education programs conducted by a core group of trained professionals working in various academic and community education settings. Session participants have agreed to teach at least 40 other primary care professionals about CFS before the end of the year. A number of such training sessions are already scheduled. Other components of the project are:
- Develop a web site that includes a study module.
- Produce educational videos.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of these methods to improve health professional knowledge about CFS.
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta, GA 30333
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Boulder International Film Festival: Come Back to Sudan
On February 16, 2009 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
[slideshow id=11] Boulder's annual International Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, with films on topics ranging from the Dalai Lama to Jean Claude Van Damme. One of the films screened at the festival was Come Back to Sudan, about Sudanese refugees living in Colorado who make a journey back to their homeland. Colorado College […]Continue Reading →
On January 30, 2009 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
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On January 22, 2009 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
In the sagging economy, many media outlets are cutting jobs and laying off reporters, and Colorado's not immune. The most recent newspaper casualty happened on Tuesday when the Pueblo Chieftain told its veteran state capitol reporter that he would be out of a job at the end of the current legislative session. Bente […]Continue Reading →
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The Governor's office announced millions of dollars in proposed budget cuts to a broad range of key programs. This comes in response to a projected 600 million dollar budget shortfall Colorado faces this year. Bente Birkeland discusses the cuts with statehouse reporters at the capitol as part of our weekly capitol conversation series.
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May 6, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Junior left-hander Ricardo Pecina tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts and senior second baseman Kevin Hansen recorded his first collegiate home run to help lead the eighth-ranked University of san Diego baseball team to a 5-3 win over UCLA Tuesday evening in a non-conference game at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Pecina (5-2) pickup the win on the mound for the Toreros has he came on in relief in the first inning and allowed no runs on four hits in 5.2 innings of work. AJ Griffin recorded his 12th save of the season as he allowed no runs on one hit in 2.2 innings of work.
USD wasted no time in scoring as in the first inning the Toreros scored one run on one hit. Kevin Muno got things started with a walk and then Sean Nicol launched a run-scoring triple up the left centerfield gap, scoring Muno from first, to give USD a 1-0 lead.
The Bruins then answered back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first UCLA run came when Brandon Crawford reached on a bases-loaded fielder's choice and the next three came on a three-run triple by Ryan Babineau to move the score to 3-1.
The Torero bats then awoke in top of the sixth inning to regain the lead. Josh Romanski led off the inning reaching on a throwing error by the UCLA shortstop, and he moved to second on a James Meador single to right field. Kevin Hansen then launched his first collegiate home run over the left field fence to push across three runs and give USD a 4-3 lead.
San Diego then added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. Logan Gelbrich got things started with a walk, then moved to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a throwing error by the UCLA catcher. Hansen then drove in Gelbrich with a single through the left side to give the Toreros a 5-3 lead.
Offensively for the Toreros, Muno went 3-for-3 with one run scored and Hansen led the offense going 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI.
The Toreros will return to action on Friday as they travel to the Bay Area to take on the University of San Francisco in a 3 p.m. West Coast Conference game.
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San Diego plays No. 6 Vanderbilt Thursday
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Take a Timeout by the beach with cross country/track Senior Sarah Kapple as she goes for a morning jog
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Bill McGillis Introductory Press Conference
USD's White Christmas Music Video
USD student-athletes sing and dance to White Christmas as a send off for the holidays
Torero Timeout with Kat Hamilton
Catch up with Women's Basketball Guard while she studies for finals
FCS Playoff Highlights Against Cal Poly
Watch the full highlights from the historic win against Cal Poly in the first round in the FCS Playoffs
Torero Timeout with Olin Carter
Take a 60 second timeout and learn something new about the sophomore basketball player from Dallas, Texas
North Dakota State Preview
USD goes on to play in the second round of the FCS Playoffs against NDSU
Torero Timeout with Lauren Fuller
Learn some quick facts about USD Women's Volleyball Sophomore Lauren Fuller as she grabs her dinner
USD Football Makes Team History in FCS Playoffs
San Diego heads to the second round of the FCS Playoffs for the first time
USD Volleyball 2016 NCAA Selection Show
USD will play Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Torero Timeout with Brian Riley
Get to know Senior and Co-Captain Riley during his workout
USD Football Reacts to FCS Playoff Selection Show
USD will play Cal Poly in first round of the FCS Playoffs
USD Football Does the Mannequin Challenge
USD goes undefeated in the PFL after a win against Campbell on Saturday
Football Plays Last Game of the 2016 PFL Season
USD will be undefeated if they come home with a win at Campbell Saturday
USD Clinched PFL Championship Title
San Diego defeated Stetson 42-7 and will go on to compete in the FCS Playoffs
Senior Night and Last Home Game for USD Football
USD Plays for PFL Championship title
Men's Basketball Season Opener Friday Night
The USD Toreros play at SDSU November 11th for their first game of the season
USD Won Exhibition Game Saturday Night
San Diego defeated UDLAP with a score of 49-25
USD Play Exhibition Game Against Team From Mexico
San Diego plays Universidad de las Americas Puebla November 5th at 4
San Diego Seniors and Coaches Attend Media Day
Seniors Bailey & Hood and Coaches Fisher & Lamont attend the 2016-17 WCC Basketball Tip-Off
USD Cross Country Competes in Home Race
Hughes and Burke finish first of the USD teams
Sixth PFL Game Against Marist
The two undefeated team in the PFL go head to head Saturday morning
USD Beats Valparaiso at Home
San Diego football won it's fifth straight PFL game of the season
Toreros Play LMU & Pepperdine at Home
No. 5 USD Volleyball play LMU on Thursday night and Pepperdine Saturday Afternoon
USD Hosts Valparaiso
The Toreros take on Valparaiso at home Saturday afternoon
Women's Soccer Plays BYU at Home
After a win at Gonzaga the Toreros take on BYU in the Torero Stadium
USD Women Lead Softball Clinic
USD Softball worked with Montgomery Middle School in community service project
USD Plays Drake In Fourth PFL Game Of The Season
The Toreros travel to Iowa in hopes of continuing their undefeated PFL season
The Rise (1973-84)
Short documentary on men's basketball's jump to DI and their first WCC championship
San Diego Beats Davidson 52-3
USD now 3-0 in the PFL
Sixth Man Night: The Rise
Men's Basketball fundraiser brings together alumni, student-athletes and the USD community
Thrive Elementary Visits Men's Soccer Team
Toreros put on skills clinic for local children
Meet the Toreros: Allyson Eylers
Freshman setter from Gilbert, Arizona
USD Receives Award From Autism Tree Project Foundation
The Legacy Award goes to USD for football and baseball's work with the athlete-mentor program
USD plays Davidson in Torero Stadium for Homecoming Weekend
Toreros play Davidson hoping to take home the 25th straight PFL home victory
Pack the Pavilion Night Against BYU
No. 6 Toreros battle No. 11 BYU for the first place spot in conference
Toreros Prepare For Butler
Smith and Coach Lindsey talk challenges and strategies for first away PFL game
Meet the Toreros: Megan Jacobsen
Jacobsen is a 6'2" middle blocker from Tacoma, Washington
USD Wins Big Conference Game Against Dayton
Toreros beat Dayton 34-22
Volleyball Plays USF for First WCC Play
Kristen Gengenbacher & Kaity Edwards talk about excitement for WCC play
USD Hosts Dayton in PFL Opener
Co-Captain Brian Riley & Coach Lindsey talk about the challenges of the Saturday's game
Volleyball Highlights from Wins Over UCSB and LBSU
Volleyball up to no. 7 after dominant weekend
Meet The Toreros: Ana Ramos
Freshman guard from Portugal
Cross Country Shows Speed on Home Course
The women finished second overall & the men finished fourth overall
Meet the Toreros: Kaity Edwards
6-2 MH From Playa Del Rey, CA
Second Home Tournament Preview
Lauren Schad & Jayden Kennedy talk about new ranking and preview upcoming games
Home Cross Country Race Preview
Head Coach Guarino and seniors Benster & Smith talk about the new team
Volleyball Highlights from Home Tournament Sweep
Volleyball beats UCI, CU and UCLA at their first home tournament
Sixth Man Night
Head Coach Smith talks about upcoming annual fundraiser
Volleyball's First Home Tournament of the Season
Kramer & Jennings recap last game and share excitement for upcoming tournament
Football Plays Cal Poly After 27-0 Opening Week Win
Giorgi and Lindsey recap game against WNM and preview Cal Poly
Men's Soccer Home Opener Preview
Price & McFadden preview UCD & Sac State
WNMU recap
Postgame Highlights & Interviews
Who's Next?
Western New Mexico Preview
Jamal Agnew & Anthony Lawrence break down WNMU.
USD vs. Stanford Volleyball UPSET
Torero women win 3 of 5 sets against #11 Stanford.
Meet the Toreros: Isaiah Pineiro
Versatile 6'6" forward will redshirt 2016-17 season.
Men's Soccer Kicks Off Season In NC
Coach McFadden & Michael Turner Preview Matches vs Duke & Elon.
Softball Golf Tournament Promo
September 17th at Bernardo Heights CC.
Meet the Toreros: Isaiah Wright
Former Utah Ute will redshirt the 2016-17 season.
Training Camp Update
Team prepares for Saturday scrimmage.
Meet the Toreros: Patricia Brossmann
6'0" freshman forward from Berlin, Germany.
Meet the Toreros: Mark Carbone
6'2" freshman guard from Wethersfield, CT.
Meet the Toreros: Madison Pollock
6'1" freshman guard from Snohomish, Wash.
Women's Soccer In the Community
Toreros host soccer skills clinic at Linda Vista Elementary.
Meet the Toreros: Juwan Gray
6'8" freshman forward from Dover, Delaware.
Toreros Open Training Camp
The USD women's soccer team began training camp today.
Meet the Toreros: Nassir Barrino
6'0" freshman guard from Newark, New Jersey.
Meet the Toreros: José Martinez
6'10" freshman forward from Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Meet the Toreros: Frank Ryder
6'10" freshman forward from Boulder, Colo.
2015-16 Highlight Video
All the top plays from 2015-16
Jordan Angus - Male Torero of the Year
Angus reflects on his time at USD
Malina Hood - Female Torero of the Year
Malina Hood looks back at her USD career
NCAA Tournament Preview
San Diego faces Vanderbilt in first round
2016 Celebration of Excellence
Behind the Scenes at the COE
Toreros Participate in Linda Vista Parade
Toreros Participate in Linda Vista Parade
Men's Tennis senior Day
The Toreros host LMU and Pepperdine Saturday and Sunday
Softball WCC Preview
The Toreros host Saint Mary's Saturday and Sunday
2016 San Diego Crew Classic
The Toreros show speed against the nation's top crews
The Torero Baseball Experience
Kris Bryant & Brian Matusz reflect on their time at USD
MBB Senior Night
Jito Kok and Duda Sanadze prepare for the final home game
USD Baseball Season Preview
Season starts at No. 3 Vanderbilt February 19
USD Softball Season Preview
Season starts February 12
UCLA Preview
USD travels to No. 9 UCLA Friday
Toreros Host Kentucky Saturday
USD looks to defend home court against No. 22 Kentucky
Toreros Host Pepperdine & LMU
USD returns home after four-game road trip
Toreros Team Up with PYBL
Men's Basketball hosts annual clinic for Challenged Division
Men's Tennis 2016
USD opens at home vs UC Irvine and UCSD Saturday
BYU Preview
Preview of USD women's basketball WCC opener vs. BYU.
City Championship Highlights
Relive the Toreros' Upset over SDSU at Petco Park
Toreros to Host Hope International
The 9-1 Toreros will host Hope International in their final game before WCC play
Toreros Stun Aztecs at Petco
Postgame reaction and press conferences
Toreros Return Home
USD will host Bethesda before Sunday's City Championship at Petco Park
Men's Basketball Season Tickets
Starting as Low as $99
Butler Preview
Pono Keni and Coach Lindsey talk about Saturday's Senior Day game against Butler
CSUN Preview
Coach Fisher and forward Maya Hood talk about Tuesday's home-opener against CSUN
USC Preview
Coach Smith and Brett Bailey preview the season opener at USC
Davidson Preview
Jonah Hodges and Dale Lindsey talk about Jonah's return and preview Davidson game
San Diego Fall Classic Preview
Coach Dagman previews the San Diego Fall Classic
Nevada Preview
USD's Women's Basketball team will start their season at Nevada this weekend
USD Men's Basketball - The Origins (1955-1973)
A Glance at the Beginnings of Torero Hoops
Campbell Preview
Coach Lindsey and Jeff Starr preview Campbell
Stetson Preview
Coach Lindsey and Jereke Armstrong talk about the season so far
WCC Media Day
Behind the scenes with Men's and Women's Basketball at WCC media day
Warner Recap
Dale Lindsey and Anthony Lawrence on USD's 45-14 win
Warner Preview
Anthony Lawrence and Coach Lindsey preview game vs. Warner
Torero Community Service
USD Athletics helps out at Father Joe's Village in downtown San Diego
Men's Basketball Camp Update
Kok and Carter talk about the upcoming season
Drake Preview
Toreros host Bulldogs for Homecoming game
Dayton Preview
Toreros look for 4th straight win
LMU Preview
Pack the Stadium Night
ITA All-American's Preview
Petronijevic, Angus, & Vittek Prepare
Marist Preview
USD Looks to Extend Home Win Streak
Valparaiso Preview
Toreros First True Road Game of 2015
CSUN and UCSB Preview
Toreros Look to Extend Win Streak
Aztec Invite Recap
Both Squads Finish Second
SDSU Preview
Toreros Take on Cross-town Rival
WNMU Recap
Highlights from 45-21 win
2015 Home Opener
Previewing Western New Mexico
Volleyball Tournament Preview
A preview of the USD Tournament
Men's Soccer Season Opener
Previewing No. 16 Cal
Training Camp Update
Coach Lindsey Recaps the First Two Weeks
2015 WSOC Preview
A brief preview of the 2015 Toreros.


text: Associated Press AJ Allmendinger needed help buckling down Saturday. After trying to calm his nerves by snacking all morning, things got even more uncomfortable for the 31-year-old Indianapolis 500 rookie when he climbed into the cockpit of the No. 2 car — and not just because he was pushing 220 mph. "The [seat] belts were a little tight," Allmendinger said after taking his first laps in an IndyCar around the historic Brickyard. If things go as smoothly as they did on the opening day of practice, the California native might stop the snacking and wind up fitting in with the Indy crowd. He needed roughly one hour of track time to pass all three phases of his rookie test and posted the fastest lap in rookie orientation at 219.239 mph. Ed Carpenter, the stepson of IndyCar founder Tony George, topped the speed chart at 220.970. American Josef Newgarden and Colombian Carlos Munoz were second and third at 220.920 and 220.720 on an unseasonably cool, breezy and mostly overcast afternoon. Allmendinger's time was the seventh best on a day less than half of the 33 drivers turned laps. Practice also was halted for 30 minutes when light showers dampened the 2.5-mile oval shortly after rookie practice ended. "We had a good race and a good car in the race, but really I have bad memories from last May because we struggled a lot and we weren't prepared," Carpenter said. "I think the whole team was really determined to come in prepared this year and they've done that." Munoz and France's Tristan Vautier also passed their rookie tests during a two-hour window carved out for the newcomers after last month's originally scheduled rookie orientation was rained out. A fourth rookie, 21-year-old Conor Daly, an American, was racing in Spain on Saturday and today and won't arrive at this track until Monday.


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HTC Imagio
I'm a phone guy. This is the best Verizon has to offer right now, with the Droid coming a close 2nd. LIVE, BROADCAST TV - a big win here for me. It's also a fully functional Windows mobile 6.5 smartphone, with wi fi and 3g...oh and it's a world phone, meaning you can take it globe trotting with you. Did I forget FM Radio, youtube [ like for real, not canned ], support for flash sites [espn fantasy football anyone?] Automatically can tie into your facebook just like those motoblur commercials you see, verizon navigator, google maps, or bings new voice activated mobile search..all at your fingertips. Okay already, enough reading, go play with one.
Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory was sporting this great DC Comic's Flash t-shirt. Awesome design.Tags: flash, t-shirts, TV, red, orange, Lightning, d.c. comics, big bang theoryAdded 7 Years Ago from Giftsforageek


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Nine years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush passed the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) with the goal of lessening America's dependence on foreign oil supplies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The RFS mandated that a certain percentage of transportation fuel sold in the U.S. contain ethanol, which is mostly produced from corn. Two years later, the standard was expanded to include biodiesel, derived from vegetable oils such as rapeseed or palm oils.
With more retailers being incentivized to offer biodiesel, and regular diesel becoming nearly extinct for owners of diesel-fueled cars, it is important to ask whether biodiesel actually helps or harms diesel-fueled vehicles. Are the environmental benefits as great as we're led to believe?
The U.S. and Europe have both implemented government programs to mandate the increased use of biofuels. In Europe, the Renewable Energy Directive requires that 10 percent of transportation fuels come from renewable sources by 2020. In the States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets a biofuel mandate each year that mandates the proportion of biofuel that must be blended with regular gasoline.
Several U.S. states have implemented laws to encourage the use of biodiesel. Illinois has one of the most generous incentive programs, exempting biodiesel blends of B10 or higher from the 6.25 percent state excise tax. President Barack Obama's home state is the leading producer and consumer of biodiesel, with B20 biodiesel now the standard diesel fuel sold at pumps.
However, an article published by The Diesel Driver notes that, despite EPA mandates to create more biodiesel and state incentives to sell it, the inconsistency of biodiesel and the varying strength of its blends are causing problems. The article notes that most U.S. modern diesel cars are designed to use B5 biodiesel, and as a result, "using blends with as much as 20 percent biodiesel have caused problems ranging from check engine warnings to reduced fuel economy and outright engine failure."


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If you're on Facebook, no doubt you know the wildly popular Off the Leash page created by UK cartoonist Rupert Fawcett. The page features daily cartoons of conversations between dogs about everything from sleeping with dogs to dog poop to Sausage Dog Nightmares, all in his trademark style that gives the reader the feeling they're eavesdropping on secret canine conversations:
Now the work of Rupert Fawcett has been collected in a new volume. Off the Leash: The Secret Life of Dogs is set for mid-October publication…but five lucky DogTipper readers will have the chance to win a copy of the pre-publication paperback edition for an early peek at this hound humor. If you need to put a smile in your day (and don't we all?), we highly recommend this volume of cartoons that also makes a great gift for a fellow dog lover!
How to Enter
You'll find several ways to enter in the widget below; you can enter with as many or as few entry methods as you choose and return to the widget anytime for additional entries. Good luck!
This giveaway is sponsored by St. Martin's Griffin and the prizes will be fulfilled by the publisher.


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Four clay artists, four distinct visions
November 8, 2012
Clay can be manipulated, and interpreted, many different ways – and this month four local artists will present their takes on it at Arts Alive Gallery. The "dimensional artistic expressions" by Sue Schmidt, Pam Herring, Dawn Koschak and Janelle Kopp will be on display throughout November, including a public reception Saturday from 4-8 p.m. as part of the 2nd Saturday gallery walk in Breckenridge.
Schmidt makes traditional, functional, wheel-thrown pieces with a colorful and elegant effect.
"I discovered my passion for clay in college," said Schmidt, an 18-year Summit County resident who earned a degree in childhood education with a minor in art. After a long hiatus, she returned to clay five years ago, now that her children are grown.
"The forms that I enjoy most making are the ones that I combine wheel-thrown and hand-built parts," said Schmidt. "I am thus able to alter the form from round to most any other shape that I can imagine. This gives me the most freedom in the expression of the work."
She said working with clay connects her to a deeper part of herself, renewing her sense of purpose. "When I am so totally focused on what I am doing that everything else drops away, I feel completely in the present moment. This is when I feel joy in what I am doing."
A Panama City native who grew up on the beaches and waters of Florida's Gulf Coast, Herring's work is both sculptural and functional, and reflects her connection to the sea and to rock formations.
"I've always loved rocks. Always. I have no idea why," Herring said. "I love the variation in color and textures, differences from rock to rock." She is currently working on pieces that combine rock with clay, where the bases are rock and the tops are clay.
Her "Contemporary Clay Fossils" series shows influences of both rock and sea.
"As a kid, the biggest rocks were at the state park where huge granite boulders were brought in to keep erosion down at the pass from the Gulf of Mexico into St. Andrews Bay. Because our parents fished there, my sister, brother and I played on the rocks for hours during these fishing trips," said Herring, who now studies rocks locally while backpacking and rock climbing.
As for the sea, she said, "reminders of the sea having been at high elevations can be found almost everywhere," especially in the form of fossils. In the Grand Canyon, she said, she saw a fossil of a scallop shell bigger than her hand.
"I have a collection of shells from decades of living in Florida," she said. "To incorporate the fossil ideas into my clay sculptures, I press the shell into clay, which gives an impression with a fossil-like quality. It pleases me and I think my clientele too."
Herring holds degrees in fine arts and interior design from the University of Florida's College of Fine Arts and College of Architecture, respectively.
A former newspaper cartoonist, Kopp discovered her interest in dimensional art in a portrait class with Leanne Wirta at Colorado Mountain College, an interest she continues to develop under the tutelage of Michelle Woods in CMC's ceramics department.
Kopp models realistic figures of humans and animals-portraits that include "gesture and expression and the play of light and shadow" and sometimes tell a specific story.
For example, in "Standing Ground," a bronze bison created from a fired-clay model, "the sentinel figure has positioned its formidable flank between a potential threat and something vulnerable, perhaps a calf or an aging herd member. Its massive head is presented to that threat with the clear message of being alert, watching, ready." The structure of the piece tells more: "The legs are unusually thick and almost indiscernible from the prairie grass – undeniably connected to the earth," Kopp said. "The hide is an impressionistic shield of wind and fur and grit."
For Kopp, these elements develop naturally in the process of building her pieces. "Working the clay is very intuitive for me, with one decision leading inexorably to the next; I see the overall connections when my part of the process is done."
Her part of the process is to create the object, but then the viewer plays a part after that. "An artist can only begin the story," Kopp said. "The final chapters are within the viewers' responses."
Arts Alive Gallery hosts a public reception for "Four Ways with Clay" Saturday as part of the 2nd Saturday gallery walk from 4-8 p.m., wherein 10 galleries on Main Street join the Arts District on Ridge Street to showcase exhibits and artists, usually with light refreshments. Pick up a map rack card at Arts Alive for info, or visit http://www.breckgallerywalk.com.


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No. 2 USC Stays Perfect With Winning Run At Lancer Invite
Feb. 16, 2013
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. -- The No. 2 USC women's water polo team was in full control once again in keeping its undefeated start to 2013 fully intact with two more powerful wins at the Lancer Invitational. The Women of Troy rolled through two more opponents today, beginning a 22-3 win over host Cal Baptist before a 24-6 win over Concordia. That brings USC's overall record to a clean 8-0.
The Trojans pulled another double day today with a tight turnaround between games. USC opened the day by building a 7-0 lead on the host Lancers in the first period of play. CBU got three goals to go in the first half of play as USC held a 14-3 halftime lead, but the Trojan defense clicked into complete control from there. USC shut out the Lancers for the last 16 minutes of action in rolling out to the 22-3 final decision. For the third straight game of the Invitational, Monica Vavic was USC's top gun. She punched in four goals to lead the Trojans, with Madeline Rosenthal, Hannah Buckling and Blair Moody each rifling hat tricks. That marked a career best for senior Moody, and it was also the first career hat trick as a Trojan for newcomer Buckling.
With just a short break in between games, USC's balanced performance extended into its matchup with Concordia next. The offense was unrelenting as 12 different Women of Troy got to the back of the net. Defensively, Flora Bolonyai manned the cage in the first half and allowed just one 6-on-5 goal to get through as USC rolled up a 13-1 lead by halftime. Hometown hero Sara Salamon would knock in her first two career goals as a Trojan in the win, the first coming at the close of the first frame as the Riverside native lifted USC ahead 7-0.
Olivia Cummins and Monica Vavic led the scoring charge in this one with four goals apiece, joined by Kaleigh Gilchrist's hat trick to power up the surge of 12 scorers for USC in the eventual 24-6 victory.
The Women of Troy now turn for next week's action at the competitive UCI Invitational, running Feb. 23-24 in Irvine, Calif.
#2 USC 22, Cal Baptist 3
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 1, Lina Medeiros (CBU) 1, Leticia Perez (CBU) 6.
#2 USC 24, Concordia 6
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 5 [1st half], Alegra Hueso (USC) 1 [2nd half], Chanté Lundskog (CON) 6, Karen Gurske (CON) 2.


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Spanish cured ham, such as jamón serrano and the prized, luxurious jamón ibérico, impart a wonderful flavor to all kinds of vegetables. This dish works well with snap peas, broccoli and leafy greens.
Food is at the very heart of Latin culture. The savory aroma of a favourite dish can transport you back to a time and place half a world away. TLN's lifestyle shows take you on a culinary tour while serving up the best food and recipes from Italy and Latin America. Buon Appetito! ¡Buen apetito!
Amore al Dente
Catherine's Roman Holiday Recipes
Catherine's Italian Kitchen Recipes
Ciao Italia Recipes
Cucina Sicilia Recipes
David Rocco's Dolce India Recipes
David Rocco's Dolce Vita Recipes
Food Trip With Todd English Recipes
In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita
Jamie's Great Italian Escape
Lidia's Italy Recipes
Lidia's Family Table Recipes
Lidia's Italy In America
Lidia's Kitchen
Made in Italy with Silvia Colloca
Made in Spain with Jose Andres Recipes
Mexico: One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless Recipes
Michela's Classic Italian
My Family Feast
Pati's Mexican Table
Stefano's Cooking Paradiso Recipes


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|Photo: Peter Gettins Photography
I began my working life as a journalist on a daily newspaper, before moving into fiction-writing. My short stories have won prizes, and been short-listed, in a variety of writing competitions.
As a sufferer of both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, I am passionate about mental health issues. Through my novel and this blog, I hope to raise awareness of these, and help to reduce the associated stigma.
I have also written for the mental health charities OCD Action and Mind, and the lifestyle magazine, Complete Wellbeing.
I hope you enjoy my writing and I look forward to receiving your comments.
I am also available for speaking engagements, in my capacity as an author and/or mental health advocate. Please email me at firstname.lastname@example.com if this is of interest to you/your organisation.