text:
Vintage ISB email: Experience from the initial days
I can't help smiling after reading this email I found in my mailbox sent on a yahoogroup. An Akshay Soni forwarded an email from his friend who shared his experience of initial days at ISB, probably from the first batches. The email dates back to Jul 17, 2001.
Note the excitement of the guy on receiving his "high" config laptop. Interestingly, it seems the students in the that batch were handpicked and had the "wow" factor in their profile. It's a little long but I'm sure those who are related to ISB in anyway would treasure it. :-)
Hi There
Sorry about not replying earlier. Have been very busy the last few days. In fact, I have been sleeping only 4 hours a day on an average the last 8 days (i.e. since I joined ISB). & coming from me, that REALLY means that we have had a lot of work to do because I never ever compromise on my sleep ;-) But of course, u already know that.
Well, a brief recap of what happened over the past few days:
Our apartments were not ready on time so we were put up at the Taj Krishna (which is a Taj Luxury hotel, not a Taj Business or a Taj Value hotel). I registered on the 26th of June in the morning & was given two big bags containing books, course materials & case studies. I also got an ISB mug, an ISB pen, an ISB T-shirt, an umbrella (??!!), a planner & of course, my LAPTOP!! Man, I love my laptop. Its an IBM ThinkPad with a 800 MHz P-III, 128 Mb RAM, 10 GB hdd, 1.44 fdd, a 24x CD-ROM & a 15" TFT LCD which is equivalent to a 19" desktop monitor. It also has an inbuilt 56 KBPS modem and an Ethernet card. I don't need the modem except when I need to send out faxes. I have a data port in my room, which allows me to access the net from my room using our Local Area Network. I'll be getting a wireless card in the next two days which will allow me to surf the net even when I am on the lawns outside my apartment. I wouldn't need any cables to connect the laptop to the network!! Impressed? Well, I am :-)
Ok, well, after registration we had lunch at the hotel & then I went around meeting people and generally chilling out. There was nothing to do that day so I just went through the contents of the bags that ISB had given us & got scared out of my wits. I mean, the course material was really scary. & to top the whole thing off, I came to know that we would be having a course entitled "Take Charge" DURING our orientation week. The course was taken by Prof Dominic Houlder who had come all the way from London Business School for this. & to compound our agony, this course involved 5 case studies, two written assignments, one oral assignments & was to be graded. Matlab fail/pass ka funda bhi tha!! Anyway, the day passed uneventfully with the only thing exciting happening was that I got to meet some really gr8 people in my batch. Would u believe it, we have the Ms. India '97 semi-finalist who is a mech. engineer, was the University gold medallist of her batch, & then helped setup the production line of Tata Indica, was appointed the line-incharge at the Indica plant at pune & was the ONLY female on Telco's shop floor. We also have a member of the Indian Golf team; an army wallah who commanded the UN Peace Keeping forces in Somalia, fought in Sri Lanka as part of the IPKF, fought the kargil war & was awarded the Veer Chakra for it; We also have the Nivea Ms.Photogenic' 99 who incidentally happens to be in my study grp (the whole class is divided into two sections of 65 each which are further sub-divided into study grps of 5 each). & the best part is that since Ms Nivea & I are positioned next to each other in the class (we have fixed class settings), we also end up being partners in the class discussions where sometimes the class id divided into pairs!! ;-) & hey, Ms Nivea is not a dumb bimbo. Be4 ISB, she worked at Arthur Anderson, Merrill Lynch, KPMG & has a GMAT score of 710.
Day II (June 27):
I met Dean Sumantra Ghosal, Ex-Dean Don Jacobs of Kellogg B-School & Dean Deepak Jain (also of Kellogg B-School) in the space of 30 mins. I was really thrilled. I mean meeting people like these is a gr8 learning experience in itself. Anyway, there was nothing on in the morning so I just lounged around after talking the above three. We had our orientation in the afternoon. We were introduced to the diff people who would be responsible for our welfare, student affairs, placement etc. We were also formally introduced to the dean & the various profs. We then had a photo shoot of the whole batch along with the deans & the faculty & it was this very photo which was published in the Economic Times dated 4th July. We came back to the hotel after this coz we were supposed to prepare for a case study the next day. There was a formal dinner that night at the Taj Residency.
Day III (June 28):
Had our first class in the morning at the ISB campus. The Prof was Dominic Houlder (I've already mentioned this earlier) & the guy was absolutely phenomenal. I mean, the kind of energy & enthu that he radiated would put people 30 yrs his juniors to shame!! Anyway, the class lasted for 3 & a half hours & time just flew. Had gr8 fun that day. We had lunch on campus that day & the food was something!! After lunch we had a tree plating ceremony on campus & by around 3:30 we were back at the hotel. That evening we had "The talent night" at the disco of Taj Krishna. We were divided into teams according to our housing blocks on campus & we were supposed to perform something that reflected on the ISB ethos for about 10 mins or so. Everybody really freaked out that night especially since the disco was booked by ISB for the whole night & after dinner, everyone let their hair down & danced till around 11:00-12:00. Then junta suddenly realized that we hadn't started out on the case for the next day so there was almost a mass exodus from the disco. In less then 10 mins, everybody was with their study group preparing for the next day.
Day IV (June 29):
We had classes at the ICRISAT. I dunno the exact full form but that's an UN funded agricultural institute. The campus was really beautiful but we hardly had any time to walk around be4 we were herded into an auditorium where we had another gr8 session with Prof Dominic. We then broke up for lunch which was followed by a Treasure hunt (??!!). This was not just any other hunt. The ICRISAT campus is Huge & the clues were scattered all over the campus. so we were given bicycles to ride on. I must have ridden almost 6 kms that day. But at least our team (teams were the study grps) had the satisfaction of coming in first!! :-) After the treasure hunt, all of us got together for tea & snacks & then the radio jockey got out his guitar & started to croon with all of us chipping in. We came back to the hotel by around 8:00pm, freshened up & were down again for dinner. Dinner was followed by another round of discussions with my study grp for Case Study # III which was to be discussed the next day. We broke up at about 2:30 am & went back to our rooms.
Day V (June 30):
The day started pretty early coz I was up at 5:00 in the morning. I had to go through the case again & also had to complete the first written assignment which was due today. Thankfully, the class was to be held at the hotel itself, so that gave me an additional time of 45 mins (the time it took to travel from the hotel to ISB). I barely managed to complete the assignment, get a printout, grab a light breakfast & reach the class on time. The case discussion was superb as usual. We broke up early coz we had to start working on a simulation program where we are supposed to be running an airline company. Based on the decisions that we take (such as %age spend on mktg., airfare, service quality, recruitment, number of aircraft purchased) the performance & share price of the company would be affected. Even the competitors would react according to the decisions that we take. So it was a very exciting & realistic experience. The final objective was of course to maximize the share price at the end of 32 quarters. Our group managed to get the price to around $365 from the original $1.25 while the group that won pushed it to $1283. This activity took quite a long time & lasted till 2:45 p.m. I just had time to go back to my room, put my stuff back & come down in time for the first Dean's Forum which started at 3:00 p.m. The whole faculty along with all the admin people were there & we had some really inspiring moments with the deans. This was followed by a dinner at the ISB campus which was hosted by the ISB Executive board. It was here that I got to meet & talk one-on one with people like Rajat Gupta (MD, McKinsey), Girish Reddy (Head of Goldman Sachs' London office), Rajinder Pawar (NIIT founder) & Anand Mahindra. Man, were these guys good!! & they were so damn humble & down-to-earth that u just couldn't help feeling that they deserved all that they have achieved. Anyway, we also got to look at our apartments-to-be for the first time that evening & it was an awesome experience. These apartments are truly world-class; the student housing Village II is divided into 10 blocks of which 8 blocks have 4-bedroom apartments & 2 have studio apartments. There are huge & beautifully manicured lawns all around the housing village but the coup-de-grace are the 4 beautiful pools between the various blocks. The external lighting around the place really lights up the whole village. There is also one huge tower bang in the middle of the housing village. After dinner, we came back to the hotel at around 11:00 p.m. Now since there were no classes the next day (thank god for that), we had two options - we could either crash & catch up on our sleep or freak out. & guess what?? We actually chose the second option against our better instincts & 7 of us (incl. 2 girls) got together in Vicky's room & had a ball. Vicky & mkg played the guitar while the rest of us crooned along. There was a lot of leg-pulling & general masti happening. This continued till around 4:30 am when one of us had the bright idea to take a stroll down to the swimming pool. & since it was such a wild idea, all of us decided that we just had to do it. So down we trooped & continued with the singing & masti at poolside. We finally wrapped up at around 5:30 am & then went back to our rooms.
Day VI (July 01):
This was the big day guys. The day when ISB was to be normally "opened" (not "inaugurated" - the inauguration is sometime in Nov-Dec). Well, after the wild night, I woke up at around 10:30, missed breakfast & had to make do with the silly biscuits that room-service typically provides. Anyway, went down to lunch at around 12:00 p.m. where over lunch we had a talk by a female named Ms Lata Krishnan, co-founder of SMART modular technologies. She talked to us about her experiences as an entrepreneur, the starting up of the company & the problems that she faced when she started out in the silicon valley. Immediately after lunch, we moved on to the ISB campus where Chandrababu Naidu officially opened ISB. That guy is to be seen to be believed. I mean he's even simpler that he appears on TV or in print. He spoke eloquently about his vision for Hyderabad & how he had managed to convince the ISB board to choose Hyderabad as the venue. After Naidu left, we had a santoor recital by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma which went on for about an hour. & hey, when Naidu was introduced by Rajat Gupta, he (Rajat Gupta) also announced the appointment of Pramath Sinha as the first dean of ISB. This announcement was greeted by a standing ovation by the student community (since we had come to know this guy so well over the past few months when he had been interacting with us in his capacity as the CEO of ISB). Pramath was really moved by the response & he actually had to brush off a few tears. Anyway, after the santoor recital, all of us got Pramath over outside tha hall & told him that as the founding batch, we will be setting some traditions. The first & foremost of which will be that ISB would be the only B-school where all the students would call the dean by his first name (instead of dean Sinha as he would have been called elsewhere). & then what followed was truly mind-boggling!! We actually lifted Pramath onto our shoulders & then proceeded to give him bumps as our way to congratulate him for his appointment. We are now the ONLY B-school batch in the world to have shouldered the dean!! & while the tradition of calling the dean by his first name would continue long after we have passed here, I don't think there would be another batch which would get the chance to actually give bumps to the dean. man, we got some "bragging rights". After we were finished with this, all of us came back to the hotel at around 6:30 p.m. We then had to get set or the BIG DINNER that night which was to be hosted by Chandrababu Naidu. We walked into the hall by around 8:00 p.m. & Naidu came in bang on time at 8:15. Then as he was being led to the center table by Rajat Gupta, he stopped & walked towards the students. He then proceeded to shake hands with each of us, talked to us personally about our backgrounds, about why we chose ISB & stuff & only after he had met all 130 of us, did he go to the center table. & hey, I was the second student he talked to!! I actually got a whole 5 minutes to talk one-on-one with him!! That has to be among the most memorable experiences in my life. Well, after dinner, it was back to ground realities for us & all of us got together with our study group to study & analyze the case study for the next day. These ISB guys really consider it a personal affront to their egos if we have even a free minute!!
Day VII (July 02):
Had classes as usual the whole day & then half of the junta moved out the hotel that night except for the junta who were supposed to shack up in A & J blocks. & since I am an A blockwalla, I was among those who stayed back at the hotel. There were 32 of us that night & we all went out to Pizza Hut for dinner that night. Freaked out totally there, came back & went back to our books for, what else but, another case study. I also had to complete the second assignment of the "Take Charge" course which was to write an eulogy that ur best friend would say for u on ur funeral!! Believe me, corny as this assignment sounds, it really was one hell of an experience trying to complete it. I don't think that I've ever thought abt my value system ever before more than I did that night. But I did manage to complete my assignment & turned in at around 3:00 am.
Day VIII (July 03):
Moved into my apartment this morning after classes. Today was also the day when our orientation wek came to an end. Lounged around during the afternoon, unpacked & settled in. & then in the night we had another of our "crooning & guitaring" sessions but this time the venue was on the lawns just beside one of the pools. One thing about the ISB campus is that there is a great cool breeze blowing across the campus all through the day & night. & it was the same case that night. The reflection of the moon in the pool, the gentle breeze, the waves rippling across the surface of the pool & around 30 of us sitting there just crooning along was some way to spend the night!! Anyway, the session just broke up around 45 mins back & here I am writing this mail at 2:30 in the night. So I guess I'll just end here & turn in


text:
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A contest to determine the best protein shake made by a college student likely will never be held.
But Oklahoma State basketball player Michael Cobbins would be a shoo-in as one of the finalists.
"I drink six of those shakes a day," said the redshirt freshman forward. "I wake up and have two before I go to class. I have two after practice. Then I have two each night at the house."
The 6-foot-10 Cobbins' meal plan is not some crazy diet fad but part of the process of developing into the Division I player he wants to become.
"When I left Palo Duro I weighed like 185 pounds," said Cobbins, known for his quick smile, friendly manner and the nickname "Big Mike" during his high school days. "I've put on about 30 pounds. I eat nonstop and then pound those protein shakes. The biggest difference between my days at Palo Duro and playing in the Big 12 is the physicality of the game. Every game is a physical challenge. So I had to get stronger."
Cobbins' eating habits — and basketball skills that include rebounding, a solid midrange jump shot and his foot speed — are paying off.
After sitting out last season, Cobbins has stepped into a starting role for Oklahoma State, and Tuesday night will play against Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Cobbins, the only former Amarillo ISD athlete playing basketball in the Big 12, has started 12 games for the 10-11 Cowboys. He averages five rebounds and 5.8 points per game, and ranks second on the team in blocks with 28.
OSU head basketball coach Travis Ford is all-in with his compliments for Cobbins.
"Just the other day I called my assistants in my office and we talked about how much Mike continues to improve and grow every practice and every game," Ford said. "It's like nothing I've seen recently. And then you add his great attitude to it, and I can't say enough good things about Mike."
Ford said Cobbins took advantage of his redshirt year by lifting weights, drinking those shakes, learning the basketball ways of OSU, and then took to heart a recent pep talk.
"Mike was playing well when we started, then he started going against some older and maybe some more physical guys," Ford said. "Oh, about a month ago I sat him down and said, 'Hey, Mike you are a freshman. You may not at this point be as strong as some of the other guys, or as old. But you have strengths you can play to. Don't worry about the things you can't control. That will come in time.' There are so many ways he can affect a game. Rebounding. Blocking shots. Scoring. Running the court. And he's the best screener I've ever seen."
Cobbins said the college learning experience continues.
"It was tough sitting out a year," Cobbins said. "But I understand I needed to gain weight and I see my redshirt year as a learning experience. Now, I'm actually getting to see what the Big 12 is like. I've learned it's pretty tough, physical and aggressive down low. But my confidence is growing."
Cobbins has secured 104 rebounds, tied for third on OSU, just 13 boards behind the team leader.
"Being at Oklahoma State has been great so far," Cobbins said. "Coming off a redshirt year and now becoming a starter, it's pretty good. Going all over the country playing basketball is amazing. Playing in Madison Square Garden was big time. Just big time."
Cobbins' best moment came last Wednesday when OSU (playing on ESPN) shocked No. 2 Missouri, 79-72, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cobbins hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds and blocked four shots in playing 35 minutes.
"Man, that was exciting," Cobbins said.
"Everybody on our team stepped up and did their role, fought hard and we got the 'W'. We played with a lot of emotion. Playing in front of this crowd is lovely. It's amazing."
Ford said Cobbins had a unique fan rush the court trying to find him after the Missouri game.
"I was so proud of our guys the way they fought," Ford said. "And Mike's dad (Dennis) was right there with the college students rushing the floor.
"With Mike he's getting better and better. We had to get his weight up. And he's doing a great job with that. He's understanding now why he needs to do that and next year he will play a lot more at the four-spot because of his really good mid-range jump shot. I think he has learned, 'Hey, I'm going to go out there and play with what God has given me and not worry about anything.' He's done a good job of just worrying about playing hard."
As for Tuesday night's game, Cobbins said he had to secure extra tickets.
"Playing in Lubbock will be special because I get a chance to play in front of my family and friends," Cobbins said.
"But on the other hand, I have to treat it like any other game and just go play as hard as I can."
And pound a couple of protein shakes when it's over.


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Solar Tool Hits Sweet Spot
A version of this article appears in the Solar & Efficiency Special issue of Home Energy Magazine.
March 20, 2007
The SunEye, a solar-access and shade analysis tool from Solmetric, is really easy to use. It is so simple that you don't even have to adjust the compass for magnetic north, as you do with other units to ensure accurate orientation. First, simply use the built-in compass and orient the unit south. The SunEye lets the user select a city near the location where the site survey is being taken and automatically adjusts for it. Then, take a snapshot with the unit's fisheye lens and digital camera. The snapshot is then run through the software and instantly produces a report giving the available sunshine, and what the shading effects from trees or buildings will be.
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text:
Inside draft day
"The Phillies select 4378, Kyle Drabek from The Woodlands High School, son of Doug Drabek, a right-handed pitcher."
With those words, Phillies Director of Scouting Marti Wolever, made the Phillies' first-round selection in the First-Year Player Draft that started at 1 p.m. (EDT) today.
The annual draft is held by a conference call, all 30 teams and Major League Baseball's central office in New York.
Wolever and the Phillies staff have been holed up since May 31 in the Draft Room located on the Hall of Fame Club level at Citizens Bank Park. He is joined by scouting coordinators Jim Fregosi Jr. and Mike Ledna; John Castleberry, East Regional Supervisor; Brian Kohlscheen, Central Supervisor and Billy Moore, who handles the same duties for the western part of the country.
Others include Pat Gillick, Ruben Amaro Jr., Mike Arbuckle, Steve Noworyta, Rob Holiday, Mike Ondo, Jay McLaughlin, Don Welke, Dallas Green and John Vukovich, all of the baseball administration department. Green and "Vuke" left after the first round to head for Reading to see RHP Scott Mathieson pitch tonight.
Also in for the draft are Mike Compton (Minor League Field Coordinator), Gorman Heimueller (Pitching Coordinator) and Scott Sheridan (Coordinator, Minor League Athletic Trainers).
A large (12' x 21') conference table takes up the middle of the room. Eleven laptops are stationed around the table. A circular speaker phone is stationed in the middle of the table. McLaughlin, Baseball Information Analyst, mans the main keyboard that is tied into MLB.
All players are given a four-digit identification code. Clubs are asked to announce their selection by the code number, first name, last name, position, school and hometown.
Three sides of the room are dominated by magnetic boards. Over the course of preparing for the draft, players were assigned to certain boards. The four main ones were college pitchers, college position players and the same for high schools. A total of 816 names were posted.
As names are selected, the magnet name plate is removed and tossed into a Rubbermaid container for use next year.
The right-hand side of the white board directly in front of Wolever is where the Phillies post the players they select.
On Monday, Wolever and his regional supervisors spent the day and evening calling area scouts. They were checking on last-minute changes concerning health, status of an advisor, signability factors, etc.
Time was also spent trying to learn as much as possible about how the teams ahead of the Phillies would make their selections in the first round.
On the board headed "High School Pitchers," the first name was Drabek. Wolever, with all the information he could possibly have in hand, thought there was a good chance Drabek would be there when the Phillies' turn came in the first round, the 18th overall selection.
Kyle's dad, Doug, nearly made history at Veterans Stadium while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was one out away from a no-hitter when outfielder Sil Campusano singled to right field on a 3-2 pitch. It was the closest anyone had ever come to a no-hitter at the Vet up to that point.
The date was August 3, 1990. Nearly 16 years later, a Drabek did make history in Philadelphia. Son, Kyle, goes down in the record book as the Phillies' first selection.
2 Comments
The best part of MLBlogs is that whether you are a player, fan or journalist it gives you a place to share your thoughts and opinions on not only baseball but just about anything you want to share. The number of people and the places they come from is amazing to see each day! I recently had visitors to my MlBlog from Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, England, Taiwan and several other countries as well as almost all of the 50 states.
Check out my MLBlog at http://theballhawk.mlblogs.com
Simply the best Phillies draft day story published anywhere, thanks Larry.


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| 5.7°C Belfast
A couple arrested over the death of an 11-month-old girl killed by a banned dog have been released on bail.
Ava-Jayne Corless was asleep in bed at a house in Blackburn on Monday night when she was savaged by the pit bull terrier.
The girl's mother, Chloe King, 20, and her partner, Lee Wright, 26, were held on suspicion of manslaughter.
Lancashire Police said: "The two people arrested in connection with the death of Ava-Jayne Corless at Blackburn have both been released on bail pending further inquiries."
Police and ambulance staff attempted to resuscitate Ava-Jayne at the address in Emily Street but she was pronounced dead at Royal Blackburn Hospital a short time later.
Police said the dog, which was destroyed after the attack, had been identified by experts as a pit bull terrier-type dog which people are prohibited from owning under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Locals claim to have made previous complaints to police about the dog's behaviour.
King and Wright were said to be downstairs when the attack took place, while Ava-Jayne was in a front bedroom.
Yesterday, Chief Superintendent Chris Bithell of Lancashire Police said: "This is an absolutely horrific incident in which a baby girl has lost her life and I would like to take this opportunity to express my own personal sympathy to the wider family of baby Ava.
"As part of the investigation we are making inquiries to see whether there have been previous issues with this particular dog and I think at this moment it would be too early to speculate on that."
The couple were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect before they were re-arrested on the more serious offence of manslaughter.
Family liaison officers are offering support to the wider family of Ava-Jayne.
The child's father is understood to be Dean Corless.
Writing on Facebook, his sister, Shannon Corless, said: "She is a beautiful little girl, she was only 11 month and didn't deserve to be took away so soon.
"You know what they say god only takes the best, you really didn't deserve to go. I love you loads princess. Your with the angels now princess. Auntie Shannon loves you loads."
According to King's Facebook page, she is a former student at Witton Park High School and Blackburn College who is studying food, nutrition and health at Edge Hill College in Ormskirk.


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Jimmy Burns Hosts The Jam
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Showtimes are subject to change. Please visit buddyguy.com for the most up to date showtimes. No refunds. No exchanges.
All tickets sold are General Admission. Table seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend arriving early.


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Sazerac Cocktail 24 out of 28.
I have challenged myself to post 28 Sazeracs in 28 days for the month of February.
I'll try some different spirits, try some out at bars, and have some friends make them for me. Hopefully, if I can get my act together we'll have some video.
Sazerac Cocktail.
1 Lump of Sugar. (Small Hand Foods Gum Syrup vs. 1-1 Organic Cane Sugar Syrup)
1 Dash Angostura or Peychana Bitters.
1 Glass Rye or Canadian Club Whisky. (Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey)
Stir well and strain into another glass that has been cooled and rinsed with 1 dash Absinthe (Duplais Blanche) and squeeze lemon peel on top.
One of my goals was to blind taste a Sazerac made with Gum Syrup vs. one made with regular Simple Syrup. I woulda also like to have had a rich simple syrup and a muddled sugar cube in the mix, but what are you gonna do?
So what better to do, than to stop by when my coworker Jennifer Colliau, the proprietress of Small Hand Foods, was working at Heaven's Dog for a little Gomme Geekery. It is true, I have featured Jennifer before, but that was so long ago, does it really count?
Gum Syrup, aka gomme, is made by including Gum Arabic along with the sugar in the solution used to sweeten drinks. Gum Arabic is produced on certain types of Acacia trees, mostly in Africa. It is essentially air dried tree sap and contains a lot of weird complex organic compounds like Polysaccharides and Glycoproteins. It is used in industrial food manufacture as a stabilizer and source of viscosity.
I've always floated the idea that Gum Syrup was originally used to imitate the viscosity of highly concentrated sugar syrups. That at some point including X amount of Gum Arabic was cheaper than using X amount of Sugar. Sort of makes sense, especially when you consider that before granulated, refined sugar was available, how much work you had to go through to get sugar. It had to be cut from a loaf or augered out of a barrel. Then ground or dissolved and clarified. A lot of work to get a clear-ish simple syrup.
Or Gum Syrup was solely used to increase the viscosity of sugar solutions and the drinks they were used to sweeten.
Gum Arabic is a pain in the ass to dissolve, and currently is far, far more expensive than sugar, so it seems like a lot of work to go through, just for a fairly subtle aesthetic change to the cocktails it is used in.
One interesting characteristic of Gum Arabic is that it blooms in high proof alcohol solutions, and turns the solution cloudy. It can be a bit unattractive if you are making an old fashioned with Gum Syrup and Barrel Proof Whiskey. Sorta looks like Coffee or Tea with Milk.
An even cooler thing about it if you continue adding water to the solution, once it is below a certain point, the "bloom" disappears again.
Jennifer also mentioned that she had read that Gum Syrup was sometimes used to check the proof of spirits, though I am not exactly sure at what dilution level the bloom disappears.
That's a Dash of Absinthe, 1/4 ounce of Gum, 1 oz of Thomas Handy Barrel Proof Rye, Chilled Water, and a couple dashes of Peychaud's. Kind of a lazy person's Sazerac, really, and quite tasty. Ha! Now that I think about it, the above is the closest I've come to what Antoine Peychaud may have been serving at his Pharmacy: Bitters, Water, Sugar, and Spirits. The original "Cocktail".
Jennifer and I have talked often about what drinks we think are best when using Gum Syrup. To me, the delicate viscosity is often lost when using it in a shaken drink, so I prefer to use it in drinks like Old-Fashioneds and Sazeracs.
Other people really like it in shaken citrus drinks. Jennifer mentioned that Ryan at Beretta really loves to use it in traditional Daiquiris. We use her Pineapple Gum in our very popular Gin Fizz Tropical and Pisco Apricot Tropical drinks at Heaven's Dog.
She made the two drinks, had me turn around, and scrambled them up.
Could I tell the difference?
Well, I could tell they were different, and I made an educated guess which was which. Fortunately, I was right! Whew. The viscosity was a difficult thing to quantify. As I tasted the Sazeracs, it seemed like the bigger difference was in the taste impact. The flavors in the Sazerac sweetened with Gum Syrup seemed to be married more happily together than those in the one sweetened simply with simple syrup.
If you're curious about Small Hand Foods' Syrups, they can be purchased in the San Francisco area at Plump Jack Wine Stores, K&L Wines, and Cask. Outside of the Bay Area, I have it on good authority that Cocktail Kingdom will soon be carrying them.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.


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Ghost Rider haters, beware — the spirit of vengeance is returning to your screens. Nic Cage has already promised to star in the sequel, filming in Romania, and now the first script review has turned up online.
Ghost Rider: Spirits Of Vengeance is based on a story by David S. Goyer, and it'll be directed by Crank auteurs Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, so expect tons of gonzo violence. Cage has already hinted that the new film will barely acknowledge the unsuccessful first outing, although it won't contradict the first film either, and we'll see the flaming-skulled biker in a darker, more "existential" place.
According to Italian site Comicus, the sequel will pick up years after the first film, when Johnny Blaze has gone into self-imposed exile, hiding from the rest of the world. There's no mention of Roxanne, his love interest from the first film. Instead, Johnny's traveling alone, viewing his abilities as a curse — until he meets Moreau, a monk from the order of St. Michael, the warrior angel. Moreau needs someone with supernatural powers and stuntman abilities to track down a mom, Nadya, and her son, Danny, and protect them before someone named Roarke gets to them. (And Roarke turns out to be someone with an old connection to Johnny Blaze.) On the downside, it turns out to be yet another rehash of the same old Mephistopheles/Faust storyline.
More details at the links. [Comicus via Comic Book Movie]


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- Home
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Herbert Wells Ice Rink
- Changing Room
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- Showers
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Facility OverviewThis seasonal ice rink is open October through April. Facility features include:
- Part of the Wells-Linson Complex
- Regulation sized
- Semi-enclosed
- Share facility with Ellen E Linson Splash Park (open Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day)
- Standard NHL (National Hockey League) size
- League locker rooms
- Party room by rental
- Warming hut with fireplace
Admission & FeesLearn about the different admissions and fees for the facility.
Public Skating
Click here for public skating times and prices.
- Birthday party packages
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- Learn to Play Hockey classes
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Leagues & Teams
- Herbert Wells Ice Rink Skating Teams
- Wells Warriors USA Hockey Youth Recreation League


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Mets value what Abreu's approach can teach
NEW YORK -- When Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens managed Bobby Abreu in the Venezuelan Winter League, he saw all the tools that once made Abreu one of the most disciplined hitters of his generation.
"He's not an everyday guy anymore, but he'll give you a good at-bat," Hudgens said of Abreu, whom the Mets signed to a Minor League contract earlier this week. "He can be a good guy off the bench, plus he's a good influence on some of the young guys, as far as how to take an at-bat, how not to panic, not going out of the strike zone -- the kind of things we like to teach."
Hudgens pointed to Abreu's winter ball at-bats against Henderson Alvarez, Edgmer Escalona and other big league pitchers as evidence that the 40-year-old can still succeed at baseball's highest level. Still, for right now, the Mets have no long-term plans for Abreu. They will simply send him to Triple-A Las Vegas and, if he performs well, consider using him as a reserve later this season.
"He's somebody that we think, conceivably at some point, could be a guy off the bench," general manager Sandy Alderson said. "He's got a great approach at the plate. So at this point, signing him to a contract to Las Vegas was attractive to us."


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Be the first to attend this event.
Cauliflower Steaks with Tahini Dressing
Cauliflower via Shutterstock
Contributed by Katie Sweetman, from the Real Food Right Nowseries
Cauliflower steaks are a wonderful way to enjoy a "meaty" vegetarian dish that pairs well with seasonal vegetables. Make sure you have at least a 10-inch skillet with a lid. (Shhh, this dish is vegan, too.)
1 head of cauliflower, leaves removed
1 tbsp olive oil
Fine sea salt
2 tbsp tahini paste
Wedge of lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Using a sharp knife, make a vertical incision from the top of the head to the base, slicing the cauliflower in half, thirds or fourths to make 1-inch "steaks". Use your knife or a smaller paring knife to trim away any extra leaves or tougher bits of stem from the base.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, allowing it to coat the pan. Place your cauliflower steaks in the pan, moving them around so they get a quick coat of oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of fine sea salt.
Sear the steaks on one side for three minutes or until golden with flecks of char. Flip the steaks and cover the skillet with a lid, making sure you turn down your heat to medium-low. The steam produced in the covered pan will cook the cauliflower until tender. The charred bits will give the steaks a deliciously nutty flavor, so don't be afraid if things get a little crispy and brown in the pan.
Cook the steaks for five minutes or until tender. Steaks will be ready when you can easily pierce the cauliflower with a knife.
While the steaks are cooking, add tahini paste to a mixing bowl with a squeeze of a lemon wedge. Add a tablespoon of water and mix ingredients with a whisk. This is a little bit of an art versus a precise science. You're aiming for a thin, runny, off-white tahini dressing. Keep adding a dash of water until you reach that consistency. Add more salt or lemon to taste. The tahini plus the nuttiness of the cooked cauliflower creates a very rich and savory flavor.
When the steaks are done, plate anddrizzle with tahini dressing. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve.
Learn more about cauliflower in Katie's full post on Ecocentric Blog.
appetizerscookingfallfoodfood consumptionmain dishesrecipesveganvegetarianwinter


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U.S.-only stock portfolio investors may be the subject of equity envy with their globally invested peers, but to load up on American stocks while ignoring international equities these days may be a bad idea, says a GersteinFisher report released Wednesday.
The recent strong performance of U.S. stock markets has caused many American investors to feel anxious about international investing and to question the merit of globally diversified portfolios. That concern is understandable, considering that U.S. stocks have gained 19% year-to-date on the S&P 500 Index versus a 7% gain for international developed country stocks as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index and a 12% loss for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
Yet believing that the U.S. market is the only place to be flies in the face of GersteinFisher's strong data suggesting the contrary, according to a report written this week by Gerstein Fisher CIO Gregg Fisher.
The New York-based investment management and advisory firm looked at global versus domestic portfolios across rolling periods, using the S&P 500 Index as a proxy for the U.S. portfolio and rebalancing quarterly. The global portfolio had an overweight to the U.S. and a market neutral balance between developed and developing countries.
The result? Over 157 three-year rolling periods, the global portfolio outperformed domestic 68% of the time. And as the investment horizon extended to 10-year rolling periods, the global portfolio beat the U.S.-only portfolio 100% of the time, with an average outperformance of two percentage points annualized.
"In other words, the longer the time period examined, the better diversification performed," Fisher writes. Is It Time to Abandon a Global Stock Portfolio? "It just seems more prudent to own a broadly diversified global portfolio of stocks than one limited to domestic-only stocks, wherein the investor is subject to the vagaries of a single economy's business cycle, politics and currency."
World Bank data show that in 2012, the U.S. economy generated 23% of global, and yet as of May 31, U.S. stock markets accounted for 49% of global market capitalization, according to indexing firm MSCI Inc. "That doesn't sound like a sustainable situation," Fisher concludes.
"There will always be one asset that returns more than others, but that winning asset will almost always be different for every one-year or even six-month period," Fisher argues. "Neither we nor anyone else we know can reliably pick the winning asset class out of the myriad of options every year in advance."
U.S. large cap value stocks (see color chart) were the best performer among 12 different global asset classes that GersteinFisher surveyed as of June 30. But if this situation holds until the end of 2013, then it would be the first year in a decade that U.S. large value will lead the pack – and the first year that it even places in the top three.
"In a similar vein, gold was at the bottom in the first half of 2013, yet dominated in 2010 and 2011," the report asserts. "The point is that no prudent investor should attempt to pick the highest-performing asset in advance."
Read Signs of 'Great Rotation' as Inflows Hit Record for U.S. Equity Funds at ThinkAdvisor.


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As you may have learned from checking our weekly Motorsports Roundup yesterday, this weekend marked the first two days of the 2013 Dakar Rally, the famously intense off-road race that doesn't go to Dakar anymore but is still pretty badass.
Since 2009 the race has been held in South America due to fears about terrorism along the old route, which ran from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. It will run from Lima, Peru (where it began this weekend) to Santiago, Chile over the next two weeks.
If you're anything like me, you enjoy looking at hi-res photos of trucks, motorcycles and dune buggys blasting across the sand, so I thought I'd indulge you with some photos of the action. Enjoy yourselves.
Anyone following this? Who are you cheering for?
All photos credit Getty Images


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Fear of discrimination saw Paddys and Biddys decline
The Durham and Northumbria Universities study, both based in the UK, suggests that a fear of prejudice made the Irish immigrants steer clear of giving their children Irish Catholic names, a trend also seen in today's society among other immigrant communities elsewhere in the world.
The study, which looked at over 30,000 records, found that the number of Irish Catholic names was dramatically lower among the second generation Irish in all seventeen counties studied, whilst the frequencies of English Protestant names went up.
In other studies, some from the modern day, similar trends have been found for the Turkish community in Germany, Indians in Australia, and Irish migrants in the United States, say the authors.
The researchers say the findings give further insight into the pressures faced by immigrants generally and what they do to try and integrate.
The study is published in the journal Annals of Human Biology and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The researchers compared the frequency of first names among first and second generation Irish at the 1881 census of England and Wales of seventeen counties which were chosen for their substantial Irish-born populations.
Eleven per cent of first generation Irish immigrants were called Patrick which had dropped to around two per cent among the second generation. The name Bridget was found among nine per cent of first generation immigrants which dropped to around one per cent in the second generation.
Conversely, the popularity of typical English Protestant names like George and William surged among the Irish immigrant communities. The frequency of George went up from just under one per cent to around five per cent, and William saw an increase from five to 11 per cent.
The Office for National Statistics shows William and George in 10th and 12th place respectively in the list for most popular baby names for 2008 whereas Patrick and Bridget do not appear in the top 100.
Lead author Dr Malcolm Smith, from Durham University's Anthropology Department, said: "We think that people chose to avoid traditional names to minimise prejudice rather than people simply being influenced by general or English names within their community and choosing those instead.
"In some of our other work, we have found that prejudice against the Irish immigrant community was quite common. At the time, there was a feeling among the British public that the Irish would come and take over their jobs and possibly even spread disease. This would explain why the Irish immigrants tried to take steps to hide their Irish identity to avoid discrimination."
The research shows how people react to a new environment, and can be applied to understanding dynamics of migrant identities and culture change in general, say the investigators.
Co-author and professor in history, Donald MacRaild from Northumbria University added: "There is ample historical evidence of the difficult and often hostile situation which many Irish people faced in Britain as immigrants escaping the Great Famine.
"It is highly likely that the first Irish immigrants were an embattled enclave who decided against traditional Irish names for their children because of the prejudice those names drew down. Had their strategy been to assert their Irish identity, we would probably have seen a jump in traditional Irish names."
The authors say there is even evidence to suggest that some adults changed their first names to avoid discrimination.
Dr Smith said: "Where names connoted particular negative cultural associations, as in the classic, derogatory use of the 'Paddy' and 'Biddy' stereotypes, the pressure to change their names must have increased. There are examples in literature where people have said they felt the need to change their names out of fear of prejudice or improve their job prospects."
Gerard Delaney, Director of the Irish Family History Foundation in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, said: "Nineteenth century emigrants from Ireland to Britain and North America attempted to make their names appear as white, Anglo-Saxon and protestant as possible to increase their social standing, reduce the possibility of racial prejudice and generally disguise their Irish roots in the days when "No Irish Need Apply" was a familiar notice in job adverts.
"In Britain, there was a tendency for people to 'translate' their surnames into loosely corresponding English surnames and in the US it became common to drop the O or Mc prefix to make names appear more American."
Source: Durham University (news : web)
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Posts Tagged 'dot-dot-dot'
R: Building functions – using default settings that can be modified via the dot-dot-dot / three point argument
Before you read this post, please have a look at Enrique's comment below. He pointed out that the built-in R function modifyList() already does what I wanted to describe in this post. Well, I live to learn :) I was wondering how I could write a function that uses default settings but accepts a list […]
Filed under: R / R-Code | 4 Comments
Tags: building functions, dot-dot-dot


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Investment in rail infrastructure in the Wellbeing Budget will make trains more reliable and cut down on maintenance time and costs, rail ministers announced today.
The Wellbeing Budget provides opportunities to grow and modernise New Zealand's economy while ensuring a just transition to a low emissions future. We need to preserve and enhance our environment, as part of the foundation for our long-term wellbeing.
The Government is keeping electric locomotives on the North Island Main Trunk Line running to help meet its long term emissions goals and boost the economy.


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4610.0 - Water Account, Australia, 2010-11 Quality Declaration
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/11/2012
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Australian's water consumption decreases yet prices rise
Household water prices have risen 17 per cent in the last year while total household water consumption dropped by eight per cent, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publication released today.
ABS Director of Environmental Accounts, Mark Lound, said the latest Water Account Australia publication looks at the costs and consumption of water for the 2010-11 period.
"We found the average price of water for households increased to $2.44 per kilolitre in 2010-11 from $2.10 per kilolitre in 2009-10," Mr Lound said.
"Consumption in households decreased eight per cent to 1,699 gigalitres, compared to 1,844 gigalitres in 2009-10.
"With the rise in price of water came a fall in total consumption for Australia which decreased one per cent to 13,337 gigalitres, down slightly from 13,515 gigalitres in 2009-10.
"The Agriculture industry accounted for over half of Australia's total water consumption using 7,175 gigalitres which represented a three per cent increase from 2009-10.
"Australia also did more with the water it consumed. At current prices, there was a nine per cent increase in the industry value added per gigalitre of water consumed, to $113 million per gigalitre in 2010-11 from $103 million in 2009-10," Mr Lound said.
Further details, including state summaries, can be found in Water Account Australia, 2010-11 (cat. no. 4610.0), available for free download from the ABS website www.abs.gov.au
Media note: When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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Dennis Hopeless Enters Brutal AVENGERS ARENA
Avengers Arena, debuting in December from the creative team of writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Kev Walker, was the Marvel NOW! series announcement no one was expecting. It's not a revamp of an existing concept —making it impossible to guess from the initial one-word teaser, "Survive" — though it does include characters from Avengers Academy (Hazmat, Mettle, Reptil, Juston and his Sentinel and X-23) and Runaways (Chase and Nico), plus Darkhawk, Cammi from Annihilation and multiple new additions to the Marvel Universe.
It's also been one of the most talked about and perhaps the most controversial of the bunch, due to its central concept: A riff on familiar Hunger Games and Battle Royale elements, with Arcade capturing 16 of Marvel's teen heroes and placing them in the latest iteration of Murder World, where only one of them can make it out alive.
Newsarama talked to Hopeless and series editor Bill Rosemann about Avengers Arena, who both state that the series isn't about killing off teen heroes (though that will happen), it's about the effect their situation has on them as characters.
Newsarama: Dennis, Bill, first, congrats on having the most surprising (and arguably the most talked about) Marvel NOW! series announcement yet.
Bill Rosemann: Thanks! When you combine the talent, characters, high concept and cover we unveiled, we had a suspicion people would be talking and debating and raving… which I'm predicting will only increase as the story unfolds.
Dennis Hopeless: Ha. Thanks. It's definitely the most talked about thing I've ever done. Pretty exciting to have so many people so passionate about the book.
Nrama: To start in a fairly pedantic place, some folks seemed confused as to whether or not this was, as every other new Marvel NOW! launch has been thus far, an ongoing series, since it "feels" like a closed-ended story. Are those folks not getting the whole picture? Or is it an ongoing series in that it's not a 4, 6, 12, whatever issue limited series, but it's not necessarily designed to go on forever and ever, either?
Rosemann: Dennis and Kev have thought long and hard about how and why these characters will react to the scenario and the ripple effects their actions will create. Each month — and, yes, this is an ongoing monthly series — they'll use the creative space to dig deep into the emotions of each character. As to what our cast will look like a year from now, well…
Hopeless: Yeah, this is definitely a long game sort of story. We need the space to explore all the different ways a worst-case scenario like Murder World affects this massive cast. I'm not sure we could have done them justice in a miniseries.
Nrama: Arcade is at the center of the series. As acknowledged in the Marvel.com interview, he's been kind of a hapless character, who hasn't been exactly successful in his goals of actually murdering people. How much of a challenge is it to sort of rehab him, and present him here as a threat — apparently a very potent one?
Rosemann: When at his best, Arcade's creepy façade of a cheery carnival barker is a calculated play that both distracts his targets and also leads his unsuspecting foes to underestimate him. And never forget he began his career by murdering his own father before embarking on a successful run as a freelance assassin. Dennis and Kev both completely understand his potential and knew instantly how to peel off the cheese to reveal his untapped terrifying core. Previously, Arcade always left a way out of his deathtraps, giving his prey a sporting chance, but now… soon everyone will learn that to underestimate Arcade is a deadly mistake.
Hopeless: Arcade doesn't get a lot of respect and we all kind of understand why. For the longest time, nobody ever died in Murder World. But despite all of his failures over the years, Arcade is a brilliant guy. Deranged and bizarre, but brilliant. He designed and built all of those crazy death traps.
The scenario Arcade has cooked up in Avengers Arena is a game changer for him. It's his way of saying, "You don't respect my reindeer games? Fine. Respect this!"
Nrama: Speaking of challenges: Obviously it's tough to get people to accept comic book deaths as meaningful at this point, and part of the hook of Avengers Arena is that anyone can go at any time. Is that at all a tougher sell at all given the natural skepticism found in so many readers?
Rosemann: We can't think about the cynicism or skepticism that readers may or may not be bringing to the show. We can only create the most intelligent, unpredictable and compelling adventure possible. Dennis and Kev both know that meaningless violence is easy and artless… it's characterization and story craft that matters.
Hopeless: The thing is, the book is about characters, not killing. It's about how teenagers (super-powered as they may be) react to and interact within this god-awful situation. It wouldn't be very interesting to read or write a book about a teenage superhero meat grinder.
Yes, there's death in the book. There has to be to give this concept any stakes. But the deaths serve the story, not the other way around.
Nrama: Avengers Arena looks like to be wearing its influences on its sleeve to an extent, with the cover to #1 being a clear Battle Royale homage (and #2, Lord of the Flies). Was "Hunger Games/Battle Royale but with superheroes" always there in the pitch, or did the similarities develop organically in the process?
Rosemann: Giving credit where it's due, the series concept was sparked by an idea that Mark Waid was generous enough to offer up during a recent Marvel creative retreat. We were kicking around options for our younger heroes when Mark asked why — hitting on some of the inspirations you mentioned — we didn't just put them on an island and let them fight it out.
As a huge fan of YA novels, I jumped at the chance to use this rich scenario (the older generation forcing the younger to fight… teens enduring the hell of war) as a coming-of-age metaphor. Theseus vs. the Minotaur, Lord of the Flies, Ender's Game, Battle Royale, Starship Troopers, Survivor, American Idol, Hunger Games, the Olympics… young adults competing for supremacy is the perfect platform to explore the challenges of your teen years.
Hopeless: Yeah, this concept was always part of the conversation. When I was first pitching, we talked a little bit about doing Murder World as an arc or mega-arc within a more traditional Avengers Academy-style book. It became clear pretty quickly that this was the book.
We decided to own it and never looked back.
And really, if you're going to tell this story right, especially with a cast this size full of characters you don't want to ignore, you need to give it your all.
Nrama: A lot of the Avengers Arena characters, especially the ones from Avengers Academy and Runaways, have very dedicated fans who have a very strong attachment to them, and are likely feeling very conflicted that they're starring in a new series, but it's one where they might get killed off at any point. Is that, then, what makes those characters ideal for this book (and likely very deliberate choices) — that they're ones that people would truly be upset to see go?
Rosemann: I'll answer your question with another question: If the audience and creators don't care about the competitors, why would they care about what happens to them?
Hopeless: Look, I love these characters too. This is a heartbreaking story to tell with them. But, that's what makes the thing so compelling. How will these kids I love deal with actual kill or be killed stakes? How will they change? Who are they deep down in the dark when they're scared and no one is looking?
The kids are the stars of this show and we're doing everything we can to give them a big meaningful story their fans can enjoy.
Nrama: And in superhero comics in general, there's a sense that teen characters — and newly introduced characters — are somewhat disposable. This book features both. Is part of the aim of the series sort of poking at that notion, and subverting it?
Rosemann: Exactly. Adults think they know what's best for teens (and often treat them like disposable objects)… teens hate when adults tell them what to do… and most comic readers hate young characters, even voting to see them beaten to death by crowbar. Seems a topic bursting with potential, right?
Hopeless: I honestly never thought about it like that. To me, this story (like all the ones that influenced it) is about the brutal gut-punch that is being a teenager. You're stuck in this weird place between child and adult. You don't have much freedom but you're expected to act mature. Your hormones and emotions and stress-levels are pounding you into the ground every day. And then they trap you in a building full of other teenagers until you've grown out of it. I honestly don't think our concept is that much more brutal than high school.
All we've really done is lock the door and up the stakes.
Nrama: It's been established that the book has a cast of 17 characters in issue one alone. Aside from Arcade, who are some of the main focal points of the series? Or does the spotlight rotate to give fairly equal time to them all?
Rosemann: Dennis and Kev are investing time in the members of our ensemble, giving them all moments to shine. Hopefully you will care equally about our entire cast… or at least quickly pick you favorites to cheer for and against.
Hopeless: Yep. The only thing I'd add is that we focus more on the teens, not the trap. Apart from issue #1 and a few key moments later, Arcade stays out of the way. That's always been his thing. The guy likes to watch.
Nrama: There's also new characters in the book, including the intriguingly named Deathlocket. Can you share any insight at this point about the new (albeit potentially temporary) additions to the Marvel Universe?
Rosemann: They're all complex, fresh, captivating, cool looking, full of secrets… and determined to be the last teen standing! Will their inexperience lead them into failure, or will a rookie shock everyone by outlasting the more experienced competitors?
Hopeless: I know these new characters seem like obvious cannon fodder. They aren't. That would be a cop out and we're doing this thing right. Not to say the newbies are safe. Nobody is safe in Murder World. These new characters are just that, new. And they'll all play important roles within the story.
We could have easily filled the cast out with other existing teens, I just felt like we had an opportunity to create some new Marvel Universe characters and it would be silly to pass that up.
Nrama: Final question might be missing the point, but seems worth asking: The series is said to take place exclusively on Murder World, but at some point, other heroes are going to start noticing that these characters have disappeared, right? Does that aspect factor into the story?
Rosemann: They would indeed be missed, right? But the question is, can they be found?
Hopeless: Yeah, superheroes notice when you take their kids away. That said, don't expect a bunch of grown ups to swoop in an save the day. Arcade is smarter than he looks.More from Newsarama:
- Fatal Events: 10 Comic Book Crossover Character Deaths
- Christos Gage Comments on AVENGERS ACADEMY Ending in Nov.
- Familiar Creative Team Tackles NOVA in MARVEL NOW! POINT ONE


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Despite US Magazine confirming that Jon Gosselin cheated on his wife Kate by having a 3 month affair with grade school teacher, Deanna Hummel, Jon has come out denying all cheating allegations.
Jon released a statement to People saying, "These allegations are false and just plain hurtful. As I adjust to the attention that comes from being in the public eye, I need to be more careful and aware of who I am associating with and where I am spending my time. But the bottom line is, I did not cheat on Kate. I am sorry for putting my family in this awkward position, given some poor decisions and bad judgments I've made recently."
The "other" woman involved in this scandal, Deanna Hummel, also denies the allegations leveled against her by her own brother who claims she had an affair with Jon. Deanna said, "My brother is making this all up," she says. "I can't even stomach the lies he's saying about me."
Kate opened up for the first time on the Rachael Ray Show's taping yesterday about how she's dealing with this entire scandal, "It's one of those things that we're just handling privately. We're just taking it one step at a time and I'm trying to walk through it." The episode will air on Tuesday.
Kate also admitted to Entertainment Weekly that Jon's behavior has caused some problems for the couple, "Jon's poor judgment and irresponsible behavior has also without a doubt caused some added tension and stress between the two of us."
Deanna's brother, Jason Hummell, continues to stand by his story saying he has no reason to lie. Jason states, "I noticed that in both her and Jon's recent comments, that neither of them addresses the fact that he was sleeping over at our house and was videotaped leaving our house at 7:30 in the morning."