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Colbie Caillat: MySpace to mainstream
So I can totally relate to California singer-songwriter-guitarist Colbie Caillat's "Tailor Made," one of 12 acoustic soul and pop songs that comprise her debut album, "Coco."
The album, released July 17 on Universal Republic, reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 1 on iTunes. Meanwhile, lead single "Bubbly," which blew up on MySpace and helped Caillat land her record deal, has been No. 1 at AAA radio and is a Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit.
In a Sept. 17 interview from southern California, Caillat, 22, discussed "Tailor Made," written for her sister, Morgan, 27, and her fiance.
"I wrote it for her and it was when she met him because she had just gotten out of a five-year relationship," said Colbie Caillat, who will headline Oct. 12 at the Grand Ballroom in New York City. "And we really liked that guy, but just not for her. When I met this guy that she's gonna be marrying, I just realized that he's perfect for her and she found the love of her life. So I was just very happy for her.
"It made me feel happy because those guys, they're going in a really good direction together," she added. "I can see that they're gonna have a really good life. They're both responsible and motivate each other to do better things for each other. So I know she's gonna be happy and that's what matters."
For Caillat's first-ever headlining tour, she'll be joined by a five-piece band. They'll perform album tracks, plus up to three other originals -- iTunes exclusive "Older," the unreleased "Circles" and "Dreams Collide," a bonus track from the "Coco" LP's New Zealand release.
Caillat has also been covering "Tell Him" by Lauryn Hill, "Beast Of Burden" by the Rolling Stones and "Georgia On My Mind" by Ray Charles.
And let's not forget the big hit.
""�'Bubbly' was not written about any certain guy in particular, but I missed having a crush on someone just because it's so much fun to," Caillat said. "You know, if you don't like anyone, it's always fun to have a crush. And there wasn't anyone that I liked at the time, so I was remembering all the feelings that you get when you do like someone and they give you butterflies in your stomach. That's what I wrote it about."
Born May 28, 1985 in Malibu, Calif., Colbie Caillat grew up in Thousand Oaks. Parents Ken and Diane run companies that transfer analog tape to digital for Universal Warner.
Meanwhile, Ken Caillat co-produced Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" and "Tusk" LPs; engineered albums by Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and the Marshall Tucker Band; and owned Immergent Records, which released albums by Dishwalla, Alan Parsons, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bob Marley.
"It was great because I got to see that whole lifestyle and my dad would teach me everything," Colbie Caillat said. "When he had a record label or when he was recording with bands or mixing or mastering an album, I would get to go there and watch him on the console. And he would teach me things about it. So it's good that I got to learn young about it."
Caillat began taking piano lessons at age 14, but was far more into playing guitar, which she took up five years later.
"After my first guitar lesson, I wrote a song ('Someday') and that made me realize that if that's four chords and I wrote a song, what can I do when I learn more?" she said.
Studying at Moorpark Junior College, Caillat eventually began playing shows at the Hollywood-area clubs Room 5, the Temple Bar, The Roxy and House of Blues. Joining her was fellow singer-guitarist Jason Reeves, an Iowa transplant.
"He's my good friend," Caillat said. "Two years ago, he moved out to L.A. to record his album with my producer. And the first night we met each other, we kind of wrote a song together ('Droplets'). And we just have everything in common. He's like the brother (I never had). We love singing together and we have the same kind of interest for lifestyle, so writing songs with him is just so much fun. We really get everything about each other that we write.
"We're really laid back," she added. "We like to go to the beach. We like to go on hikes to waterfalls. We like to go on road trips up the coast and listen to music. And we like taking pictures. We're really into photography. We have fun doing stuff together."
Caillat and Reeves co-wrote a number of songs for the "Coco" LP. About a year and a half ago, Caillat's friends made her a MySpace page, uploading her songs. Through word of mouth and songs like "Bubbly," Caillat's profile has been visited more than 7 million times, her songs have received more than 10 million plays and she has more than 208,000 "friends."
"Because my plays were going up because people were listening to it, I got onto the top unsigned artist charts, which then got everyone all over the world to be able to see me," she said. "That did it right there."
Caillat's label liked that fans found her music -- rather than having to have it pushed on them by radio or MTV.
Caillat recorded "Coco" with producer Mikal Blue (Carrie Underwood, Five For Fighting). Father Ken helped out too.
"He has so many good ideas and he knows what he's talking about, so it was really good having his advice because it's some stuff that none of us would have ever thought about," Colbie Caillat said. "But then it's also sometimes annoying because it is my dad. ... He can just be more upfront with me, which sometimes bugs me in the studio. So sometimes I would be like, 'Dad's not coming in today!' But it was great working with him."
For her second single, Caillat is going with "Realize." (On the day of our interview, she was considering proposed treatments for the song's video.)
"We went by sales on iTunes because that's the one that people have been requesting and that's the one that, at shows, the fans just go crazy," she said. "So we based it on that. But I'm also glad because I think that that song can relate to a wider range of fan base. Adults can like it and young teenagers.
""�'Realize,' I started writing the song and it wasn't about anyone," Caillat added. "I just started writing it and I got stuck with it and I e-mailed it to Jason. His roommate at the time liked me, so we ended up actually dating. At that time, I didn't know he liked me. So the song was pretty much from his perspective of wishing that I would realize that I liked him!"
Caillat, who's been listening to music by John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley and the Weepies lately, hopes to move to Hawaii someday. She has a second home there and has been visiting the islands for 11 years.
The singer, who plans to release a more folk-oriented duo album with Reeves, said she learned considerably from touring with the Goo Goo Dolls and Lifehouse over the summer.
"It was amazing," Caillat said. "We became friends with everyone -- both bands and the crew. Watching them -- when they've had these careers in this business for so long and they still go out every night and give their all when they're performing and sound amazing -- it inspired me to keep on doing what I'm doing. They're still happy, they love it and their fans love it."
The show begins at 7 p.m. The venue is at 311 West 34th St. Tickets are $20. Call Ticketmaster.com at (203) 744-8100.


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Recorded and barely released way back before The Trials of Van Occupanther, 'Milkmaid Grand Army_' is an EP of tracks that disclose the formative years of* Midlake*, even if it is a rather questionable decision.
Mixing motorik rhythms, languorous arrangements, lo-fi gargled vocals and a large debt to the likes of Grandaddy and Radiohead's OK Computer, the seven-track CD is an intriguing if very uneven unveiling of Tim Smith & co's burgeoning songwriting promise. It is, though, highly derivative and occasionally extremely unflattering.
Among the highlights are 'Paper Gown', which sounds like a wobbly, waltzing Thom Yorke; all grandiose fragility and keening falsetto, while 'Excited But Not Enough' is a fuzz-sludged run through the Muse back catalogue. Tracks like 'Simple', on the other hand, meander and fade away without amounting to anything more than polite atmospherics and closer 'Golden Hour' sounds uncannily-like a barely-disguised lift from long-lost Radiohead B-side 'You Never Wash Up After Yourself_'.
'Milkmaid…' does little to further the growing reputation of Midlake, but does provide a sometimes-fascinating insight into the growing musical powers of a band. Ultimately though, it is the ultimate example of a record that should be marked 'For Enthusiasts and Collectors Only'.
We wait with higher anticipation for the next Midlake album proper.
5Gareth Dobson's Score

subset: commoncrawl


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History Of The Berlin Blockade
24/04/17 History Reference this
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The Berlin blockade was an event which did not occurred just overnight. The blockade by the Russians of the city of Berlin came as a resulted from events beginning in the early part of 1947. This paper will discuss these events leading up to the blockade of the city. The reasons Russian leader, Stalin decided to enact the blockade of the city and how it was completed. How the Western allied powers (United States, Great Briton, and France), reaction to the Russian blockade of city and how they would overcome this virtual act of war. How this all accumulated with the ultimate ending of the blockade almost a year later as a bitter defeat by Russian leader Stalin.
The Berlin Blockade Discussed by Events
The Berlin blockade was the first crisis to follow the ending of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. In order to understand what preceded the blockade of Berlin one must look into the days and even months prior to the end of World War II. It was during this time that the Allied powers began having some misgivings and even distrust of their Eastern Allied alliance with Russia. Russia's leader Stalin had already begun to show signs of his intentions once the war end.
Upon the conclusion of fighting Germany was divided among the Allied powers. The United States, Great Briton, and France held the Western area of Germany while Russia controlled the Eastern area. However this division of area also included the division of the German capitol city of Berlin. The city of Berlin was also divided into four sectors with each of the allied powers control a sector. This distribution therefore put Allied troops approximately 110 miles inside the Russian sector.
Events which lead up to the Berlin Blockade
Even though President Truman and Marshall Stalin agreed in 1945 that along with the separation of Germany into for sectors, the city of Berlin which would be located inside the Russian sector would also be split into four sectors. It was then three years later that the Russians would begin conducting actions leading up to the blockade of Berlin. Now during this time the western Allies which consisted of United States, great Briton, and France began instigating measures to consolidate the control of Germany. This consolidation did not mean now on powers would leave Germany however would allow the Germans to govern themselves.
The Russians who up until this time had been invaded by Germany several different times did not agreed with the other Allied powers. The Russians believed this action would result in the rearming of the Germany. The Russians further believed that by the actions of the other Allied powers that they had therefore negated their rights in the city of Berlin. Furthermore since the city of Berlin was located within this Russian zone they felt they had full control over the city.
In early March 1948 the Soviet's walked out of the Allied Control Council, which was set up as the controlling power over occupied Germany. Days later the Soviet deputy military governor presented a letter to the U.S relating that on April 1, 1948 new provisions would go into effect concerning the occupation of Berlin. These new provisions were basically the prelim to the blockade of Berlin, by restricting the free access of the moment agreed upon in 1945. The Allied powers protested these new restrictions to no avail.
As identified these actions by the Soviets was only a preview of what was to come. Four during this time the western Allies had been working on a plan which would become known as the Marshall plan. This allowed for Germany to govern its own self and establish an economic base. The Russians were against this plan with their biggest objection being that of the currency which would be used in the occupied areas. After several months of negotiations in June 1948 no agreement could be reached and at that time the Allied powers in a reduced the West German mark as our form of currency.
Upon the introduction of the new currency in the western zones, the Soviets enacted a full blockade of the city of Berlin. At this point the Russians cut off all access to the city of Berlin via rail hwy and water. The only access left open for the Allies to use was the air corridors. By this action the Soviets bitterly trapped U.S. servicemen and their families along with German citizens residing in the western zones of occupation. Even though there was discussion of possible withdrawal from the city of Berlin, the western Allied powers agreed to stay enforce their rights within the city.
Now at this point in time the Soviets not only cut off the city of Berlin from any outside access by land. They also restricted moment within the zones inside the city. This meant that literally all members of the western Allied forces, dependence, and German citizens now had to rely on what they had. Then on 1 July 1948 the Allied forces began airlifting supplies into the city of Berlin to sustain those people.
The Berlin Airlift
The Soviet blockade of Berlin was an attempt to control all of Berlin. However in only blockading moment by land and water the Russians felt that this was significant in order to accomplish their mission. At the time of the blockade inside the western zones of Berlin there were only two operating airfield each with only one operating runway. Since the Russians knew this it was inconceivable that the western powers would be able to sustain themselves for any length of time by air.
The Russians were proven wrong in their assumptions that a sustained are left cannot be accomplished. As most would put it the airlift into Berlin code name operation vittles, showed some of the best work of our military and was a brilliant idea. In order to persuade the Russians not to attempt any escalation into the crisis B-29 Superfortress bombers as were sent to Germany and Britain as a deterrent.
(George Herring, 2008) "For eleven months in what was called Operation Vittles, fleets of C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster transports flew 250 missions a day around the clock, moving an average 2,500 tons of food, fuel, raw materials, and finished goods daily into Berlin to feed and heat two million people and maintain some semblance of a functioning economy. At the height of the blockade, planes landed every forty-five seconds."
Even though the blockade of Berlin was lifted by Stalin in may of 1949. The airlift continued to bring in supplies to the city of Berlin until September of that year. However successful the operation was in sustaining life in the city of Berlin it did come with the cost of losing equipment and lives. During the eleven month operation there were 40 crashes resulting in 78 deaths.
End of the Berlin Blockade
By the latter part of early 1949 the Soviets had pretty much given into the fact that the blockade was ineffective. The Soviets than began making secret contacts through the United Nations in order to broker and into the crisis. It is ironic that the efforts of the Soviets in initially starting the blockade open the door to the creation of other organizations with a vested interest in protecting Europe. The most notable organization to be created was the north Atlantic treaty organization Allies known as NATO. The blockade itself also failed in its attempt to halt a reorganization of Germany into a single state.
Therefore in May 1949, Stalin officially lifted the blockade of the city of Berlin. However it must be noted that the free access it was originally guaranteed in 1945 agreement, was never fully reinstated. Even though access through the Soviet sector two West Germany had been open all military traffic whether by email or highway still had to proceed through checkpoints. Then in the early 1960s the Soviets bad guy and attempted to control moment within the city of Berlin by building a wall around the western sectors. Even though this was not officially a blockade because axis and not denied. The twenty-two miles of wall which surrounded the western sectors literally made it an island with the Soviet sector.
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Campbell Baseball Claws out State Championship with a Walkoff in the Tenth
June 16, 2017
submitted by Michael St. Onge
The Campbell High School Cougars went a perfect 19-0 on the season. With a never-give-up attitude, the Cougars embodied their namesake to claw their way to a state championship on Sunday. This final victory definitely didn't come easy. It took a three-inning surge in extra innings at Delta Dental Stadium in Nashua against Belmont to eke out a 6 to 5 victory.
It was a battle of the top two seeds in Division 3. The teams had not played each other during the regular season. It took ten innings for number 1-seeded Campbell baseball to ultimately edge out Belmont by one run following a walk-off. This tooth-and-nail win was entirely fitting as retiring Campbell Coach Jim Gorham goes out on top after 16 seasons at CHS and five championships.
The Cougars trailed 5-3 going into the bottom of the tenth. After a lead-off walk, Campbell bunted into a bizarre 1-3-2 double play while trying to take third base. With two outs, Keegan Mills hit a gap shot for a triple and scored on a wild pitch. Campbell loaded the bases and Jake Donovan found himself in a 1-2 count when he hit a groundball to third base for what looked like the final out. An off-target throw and a collision at first base allowed two runs to score for the win.
It was Belmont who captured the lead in the first inning. With two outs, Can Magerer drove in one run when he singled.
Campbell evened things up at three in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jason Neild drove in one when he singled in the sixth.
Corey Derosier started the game for Belmont. He went nine innings, giving up three runs, six hits, and striking out nine. Griffin St. Onge started the game for Campbell. He tossed eight innings, allowing three runs, six hits, and striking out four. Both pitchers exited the game due to pitch counts. Keegan Mills earned the win for Campbell in relief. He threw two innings, surrendering two hits and two runs.
Payton Musco, Bryce Barrett and Jason Neild each drove in one run for Campbell. The Cougars were sure-handed and didn't commit a single error. DJ Simoneau made the most plays with eight, including a diving catch that was turned into a double play, ending a Belmont rally.
Prior to the championship win Saturday, the Campbell Cougars defeated Raymond 3-2 on Thursday at Southern New Hampshire University courtesy of a walk-off single. Like the Belmont championship contest, the Cougars triumphed in an extra-innings battle. The semi-final game was tied at two with Campbell batting in the bottom of the 11th when Matt Gagne singled off of Alex Sweeney, driving in one run.
The pitching was strong on both sides. Campbell pitchers struck out 10, while hurlers for Raymond sat down 11.
Campbell took an early lead in the first inning when Keegan Mills scored from third off a wild pitch. Raymond answered in the fifth with two runs to go ahead 2-1. Campbell evened things up at two in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs in the fifth inning Matt Gagne drove in one run when he singled.
Keegan Mills earned the win for Campbell. He pitched three and a third innings, allowing no runs, no hits, and striking out two. Alex Sweeney took the loss for Raymond. He went three and a third innings, allowing one run, three hits, and striking out seven.
Andrew Dupuis started the game for Raymond. He tossed seven innings, surrendering two runs, five hits, and striking out four. Bryce Barrett started the game for Campbell. He went seven and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs, six hits, and striking out eight.
Campbell Cougars had eight hits in the game. Mills and Gagne each collected multiple hits for Campbell. Gagne led Campbell with two runs batted in. Campbell will face the number 2 seed Belmont in the state championship Saturday, June 10, at Delta Dental Stadium at 10 a.m.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved."


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Dropkick Murphys Cancel Show After Tragic Accident
Dropkick Murphys had to cancel their show at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, after a pedestrian committed suicide by running out in front of their tour bus. The accident happened just north of Austin Texas after the band was dropping off Al Barr, who was flying home to attend the funeral of a friend. The driver was severely shaken up, and there was too much damage to the bus to continue on to Tulsa.
The band posted the following on their Facebook:
Throughout the early morning hours we tried every possible way to get our band and gear to Tulsa but we've simply run out of time. As much as it pains us to miss a show and we truly apologize for it, we'd like to stop and acknowledge that a man has lost his life. Please keep him and any family he might have in your prayers.
All tickets that were purchased via phone or Internet, will automatically be refunded. Those that bought tickets at the door can return to Cain's box office for a refund.


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I will be presenting a program at the Indianapolis Professional Photographers Guild On March 7th 2017. I will be going over all of the techniques in photoshop to make your images look amazing. From raw processing, to color, to finish retouch and presentation.
Have an image that you want retouched? Bring it!! I will be using several images from Guild members in the presentation.
I will also be giving out some free actions, brushes, and the like! Can't miss this one!!


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One of the five harness belts can unlock during use and allow the user to fall out of or be thrown from the vehicle, posing a risk of serious injury or death.
Corbeau USA collect at 801-255-3737 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, email at firstname.lastname@example.com or online at www.corbeau.com and click on "Product-recall" for more information.
Recall Details
This recall involves 5-Point Camlock harness belts intended for use on off-highway vehicles. The belts have part numbers 53001B, 53007B and 53009B. These 5-point camlock harness belts have five mounting points; two lap points, two points behind the seat and an additional strap between the legs. Only harness belts with a date code between May 2016 and May 2017 are included in the recall.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and contact Corbeau USA to receive a replacement or refund.
None reported
CJ Pony Parts Inc., Latemodel Restoration, Transamerican Auto Parts and other aftermarket auto parts stores nationwide and online at www.corbeau.com from April 2016 through April 2017 for about $150.
Corbeau USA, LLC., of Bluffdale, Utah
Corbeau USA, LLC., of Bluffdale, Utah
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.
Please use the below phone number for all media requests.
Phone: (301) 504-7908
Spanish: (301) 504-7800


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My friends and I have a drinking game: start watching Jurassic Park with the sound turned off, and any time someone says a line perfectly along with a character on screen, everyone but that person must drink. We're very picky on accuracy, and most times we don't even make it to the dinosaurs.
The point is, I love Jurassic Park. It was the Star Wars of my childhood, and while it does have inferior sequels of its own, they haven't tainted the original's legacy in nearly the same way. It's an action-adventure classic, and a truly inspiring piece of science fiction. But let's be honest: nobody should be surprised to see that Jurassic World is shaping up to be a brain-dead action flick. Jurassic Park was a brain-dead action flick, and contained the exact same stupid, anti-science message too.
Crichton was an interesting guy, in that he was a trained doctor who seemed not to like science very much. Leaving aside his early medical novels (which are his best books, and take place in hospitals he clearly knew well), they all seem to boil down to the same easy, overly simplistic moral: do science, and you'll pay big. His training in scientific language let him give this questionable thought a veneer of sophistication, but from dino-cloning to cyborg implants, it really all came down to fear.
Congo? Scientists try to improve the world with a special jungle gem, but discover that killer apes are protecting them. The situation is resolved when the characters apparently decide that driving science forward isn't worth going and getting some poacher dudes with tranquilizer guns, and they leave the jungle forever. Conclusion? The apes were right, and trying to do science will get you killed for absolutely no gain whatsoever.
Sphere? A bunch of people have their rational minds turned against them, and simply imagining a better or even different world is itself made a destructive act. In the end, the characters reject an innovation from the future, implying that mankind later dooms itself through Icarus-like striving for forbidden powers. They only live by voluntarily giving up these powers and living like good, moral plebs once more.
Prey? Scientists try to do nanobots to improve the world, but that was clearly a bad idea because literally the first thing the bots do is hurt someone. There's no half-way point discussed, no idea that we might be able to preserve some medical applications without the evil swarm part – Crichton goes so far as to give them the ability to evolve and become more malevolent than we ever made them, implying that science can't even move forward cautiously without dooming mankind.
The Terminal Man? (This one's weird, coming from a doctor.) A man who has violent seizures undergoes a landmark surgical procedure to put a computer-controlled implant in his brain that can release pulses to stop his seizures before they start. Doesn't that sound great? Well, this implant promptly makes the man insane, and there is much running and shooting. To be fair, you could probably argue that this one is about the necessity of careful testing before human trials but whatever.
Think about the debate from the original movie, between John Hammond (creator of the eponymous dino theme park, self-made immigrant millionaire, American hero) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (sneering mathematician whose research can be boiled down to water droplets in a moving car). Hammond makes the very good point that nobody would have objected to bringing back a species killed by man, like condors — but the audience scoffs at this because Malcolm does. "This is not an animal wiped out by deforestation or the building of a dam," he explains, like an idiot. "Dinosaurs had their shot and nature selected them for extinction."
Don't confuse Crichton's love of nature and animals with a friendliness for science. Are these dinosaurs just uncontrollable "wild animals," as is often claimed by sympathetic characters, or is their viciousness some sort of divine retribution from Gaia? Her wandering asteroid was apparently a worthwhile reason to wipe the majority of all species from the planet — apparently better than the building of a dam.
Crichton's own Jurassic sequel, The Lost World, lays this out plainly, as the ever-insightful Malcolm is fully brought back from the dead to come chew gum and frown at progress. Some stupid person once again thinks it might be worth exploring the history of life, and obviously something so foolish and wicked can't go unpunished. The sheer frustration of the main characters is telling. They, and thus we, see it as a totally foregone conclusion that the dinosaurs will break free, so when that happens it has a certain weight of meaning behind it. "Stop it!" the dinosaurs seem to say, as they chomp and claw in all directions. "Stop cloning! Stop stem cell research! Stop building robots!"
People call these stories "cautionary tales," but the sheer silliness of the core problems they "warn" about makes that idea pretty hard to support; are we supposed to actually look out for door-opening raptors? Because if not, then what exactly is the warning being delivered? And if so, then let's acknowledge that as a species, we can probably still take them. Especially when the threat is so thin, there's no real way to track "your creations will always kill you" back to any moral that could hold a candle to the nuance of Frankenstein, a book first published in 1818.
Sheep cloning and other contemporary issues primed audiences of the 1990's to respect DNA-based technobabble, and Crichton gave them some truly good nonsense to chew on. Today, in the age of stem cells and genetically modified food crops, the most convenient bugaboo is genetic engineering — and so we get closeups of Pratt worrying wisely about the unimaginable monster those idiot scientists cooked up. He may not know much about genetics, but he does know that if you mix genes from two things together, you get a baby with all the powers of both.
In his novel A Case of Need we get to see that Crichton can certainly write a thoughtful story when he's got something to say, he just often has nothing particular to say. Crichton was simply not a very deep thinker on many issues — a great writer of plots, and a fantastic imaginer of scenarios, but by the middle of his career he was a writer looking for excuses to make characters run down hallways. He loved draping lowbrow material in highbrow trappings, telling pulpy thriller plots in scientific compounds, soap opera love triangles in richie TV hospitals. You can't deny his ability to spin an engaging yarn, but you can't deny that about Dan Brown, either; neither his or Crichton's best-sellers have ever shone a particularly insightful light onto society.
Jurassic World looks to have an obviously flimsy scientific premise underlying its stultifying, pro-ignorance agenda, but that's probably for the best. The original film convinced a large portion of a generation that it's inherently dangerous to play God, I think purely because Crichton and Spielberg both realized that it's more fun to watch people get eaten if it feels like poetic justice. The plot required that we see the dino-revolt as inevitable, because that makes the movie into a tragedy, and that's what Shakespeare wrote, right?
Jurassic World will probably be a fine romp through the jungle, but it won't be a bastion of clear thinking on anything, from paleontology to shotgun physics. Why should it be? As a monster movie, its core reason for existing is no different from Sharknado's, and its pedigree is pure anti-science propaganda.


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I had to talk about this. I recently bought some AussieBum underwear and swimsuits and I can't even remember when it was the last time I checked their website, but when I did I just couldn't stop watching, there are so many great pictures that I had to share them with you.
Take some time to enjoy their catalog and the great pictures... of course you can always buy something for you or you boyfriend!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
I love my Aussiebums!
Posted by Master G at 5:17 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Julian has a last name!
Well... after a research that made me feel like the gay version of James Bond, I found out that Julian's last name is Gil. He is 36 years old and he is a model/actor/entrepeneur from Puerto Rico (although I could almost be sure that he was from Argentina because of the accent).
I will keep researching until I find where can I buy one of his calendars!
Posted by Master G at 6:00 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Great Memorial Day!
Yesterday I was watching "El Gordo y La Flaca", an entertainment gossip show at Univision. At the end of the show they were having some female models showing some bikinis for the summer season. Before the show ended a beautiful guy came in wearing a small blue speedo and.... God! He is GORGEOUS! The only bad thing is that they never said his name, I only caught that his first name is Julian and he has a calendar filled with very nice pictures.
If you know who this handsome guy is, please let me know! I will be the first to buy his calendar!
There are some more pictures of him in Univision.com
Posted by Master G at 7:48 AM 0 comments


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All of us have heard the famous saying that dessert goes straight to the heart and not to the stomach and this is very true for all the dessert lovers out there. They always have a room for some chocolate brownie or apple pie even if they have stuffed themselves.
Do you know that desserts actually come with some of the fittest nutrients which are essential if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle? One must never forget that carbohydrates are actually beneficial for your health and provide your body the required energy. Also, there are essential vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber in the desserts which must be incorporated in your diet.
Tout Sweet offers some of the best desserts for you which are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Here is the list of some of the best desserts San Francisco has to offer:
You'll find these marshmallows to be fluffy, light clouds of sweetness which come with a very delicate texture. You'll be surprised with the flavor when you'll actually taste them because Tout Sweet makes them tangy which ignite the thrill of your inner child.
Nibbles and Kisses
Once you pop the lid open, it might become impossible to close it again because that is how much alluring the flavor of these nibbles and kisses is. They have been given this name because while eating these bite-sized delights, there will be an amazing combination of various flavors and textures which include chocolate, meringue, and nuts right inside your mouth.
Pate de Fruit
These morsels of soft chewy candy will take you to another level of taste because at Tout Sweet, we put in a lot of extra effort in bringing out a unique yet best flavor in them. There are different fruity flavors available which contain an amazing punch of that particular fruit.
Cookies and Brittles
If you miss your grandmother's flavor then you need to try the cookies which are offered at Tout Sweet because they are surely going to remind you of it. Our confectioners blend the traditional taste with a unique style of their own which turns out to be a crazy yet appealing combination.
It is not so easy to come up with a perfect macaron because they are handcrafted over a period of three days. A lot of love and dedication goes into them because they need to be incredible right from the first crumble of the inner shell to the cakey, moist interior. We aim for the best and provide our customers with it.
Jams and Sauces
We only buy the freshest fruits from the local farmers and come up with the jams which carry the best taste and provide you with all the nutrients which are present inside that particular fruit.
Our desserts can easily be presented as gift items as we provide some customized gift box options. So if you have been craving to eat the best desserts San Francisco has to offer or want a perfect gift for a loved one then we'll be obliged to provide you with our services.


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First Day is Remarkable!
Today was remarkable (and the noises were incredible with all the construction)! Please see the slideshow below of the various stages of construction!
Each day we will introduce a different builder, Habitat partner family or other partners on this project...
Charles Ross Homes has been a designer and builder of custom homes in the Williamsburg, Virginia area for more than two decades. This three bedroom, two bathroom home is being spearheaded by Charlie Ross and Tim Cleary. "We are long-time supporters of Habitat for Humanity," said Tim Cleary, Managing Director of Charles Ross Homes. "We are delighted to partner with our employees, suppliers, trade partners, and our clients to make the dream of home ownership a reality for a deserving, hard-working family in our area." The home is being built for Tameka Dandridge and her 7-year old twins, James and A'Nihah. Tameka works for the Williamsburg-James City County Public School system as a bus driver and also delivers papers for the Daily Press. Tameka is so excited to own her first home!
6/4/2012 02:26:50 pm
Yahhhhh go cuzn Tameka....... Im so so proud of you keep up the good work
Comments are closed.
Habitat for Humanity Peninsula & Greater Williamsburg
11011 Warwick Blvd | Newport News, VA 23601
About Us
Habitat for Humanity builds homes, communities and hope in the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg, plus the counties of Charles City, James City, New Kent and York, Virginia.
Habitat ReStore Locations
371 Chatham Drive | Newport News, VA 23602
Phone: 757-596-5553, Option 4
1303 Jamestown Road | Williamsburg, VA 23185
Phone: 757-596-5553, Option 5
FREE PICKUP HOTLINE: 757-246-4955, Option 1!
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Jefferson City woman stabbed in the face with knife
Related Story
JEFFERSON CITY - A woman said that she was stabbed in the face with a kitchen knife while at the Miller Street Park Monday night.
Jefferson City Police Officers said that earlier that day the woman complained about the suspect harassing her and filed a police report.
Police officers received a call about a fight and stabbing and went to the 900 block of East Miller at around 8 p.m. The woman left immediately to get medical attention. Her medical condition remains uncelar.
Officers located the 23-year-old suspect Kashay Davis when in the midst of another disturbance. Davis is currently being held at the Cole County jail and part of a knife was found inside of her vehicle when it was searched.
Davis was arrested on charges of second degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
According to online records, Davis pleaded guilty to an assault in 2012 and also has a pending property damage case against her. For the assault, she was sentenced to five years of probation (which would go through 2017) but her probation ended last May (2015).


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Over $150 million dollars in closed real estate transactions.
Let your search for a real estate professional end here. Our office of qualified real estate professionals are ready to assist you with any of your real estate needs.
Our approach is customized for each client; our solutions for you are never one-size-fits-all!
Please view this website as an introduction of our services and capabilities in this local area.
Give us a call or send an email when you are ready to visit some homes, or to schedule a free home selling consultation. We look forward to working with you!
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(718) 423-7700
I cannot fully articulate how amazing Jessica is. My husband and I were searching for a home in Queens and she saw to it that we found exactly what we were looking for. She is extremely knowledgable, personable, and most importantly, does not try to push a sale on you. Jessica actively listens to her clients and will only show them properties that match their needs on various levels. Furthermore, the entire staff at Anne Donohue Real Estate is professional, kind and promptly handled all of our needs. I highly recommend doing business with them! Nancy K
Jessica Akde-Elmazi
Jessica has a uniqueness that keeps her and her team second to none. Since 2001, Jessica has been progressively advancing her expertise and experience in the real estate market. Besides her numerous industry specific designations which include:
MLS North East Queens Chapter President
Director for New York State Association of Realtors
Common Interest Committee Director
Young Professional Network, YPN Director
Senior Relocation Specialist SRES
Military Relocation Specialist
- Property Management Certified
With a specialty in co-op sales and home purchasing, Jessica provides a systematic approach for people who are making the transition from apartment living to house living. With her amazing team of agents, any person on the continuum of home purchasing is given the special attention they need to achieve their specific goals, even if that means identifying those goals in the first place.


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|Good for you: less exercise than you might think
|Still no good evidence: herbs for weight loss
|Beverage taxes work
|Stevia beverages may be boon for weight loss
|Mediterranean diet helps reduce your risk of Crohn's
|More reason to eat breakfast?
|Mediterranean diet easier to stick to than intermittent fasting, Paleo
|More vegetables, less meat: it can be done in restaurants
|Will fewer carbohydrates at breakfast help you lose weight?
|Testing conventional wisdom, Celiac disease edition
|Low-carb vs. high-carb: who's less hungry?
|More evidence against sweet drinks
|How to 'cure' diabetes
|All Health and Nutrition Bites
Plant Sterols in Chocolate
I'm sure you've seen them at the supermarket: foods that have been enriched with plant sterols. These compounds have been shown to help improve cholesterol scores - so much so that the FDA has approved the use of a health claim about it on foods that contain plant sterols.
A Little More Effort, a Lot Less Eaten
Last week we talked about how a little bit of effort - specifically, walking about 6 feet - made study participants eat fewer chocolate candies than having the bowl of candy on the participants' desk.
One Way to Resist Cravings
Most people have cravings of some kind, whether it be for an addictive substance like alcohol or cigarettes, or for something benign, like chocolate or french fries.
Get the latest health and diet news - along with what you can do about it - sent to your Inbox once a week. Get Dr. Gourmet's Health and Nutrition Bites sent to you via email. Sign up now!
People think of chocolate as a guilty pleasure, much like coffee. Both, however, are good sources of antioxidants, and as we've seen, the antioxidants known as flavonoids that chocolate contains have been linked with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's Disease and improving both blood pressures and cholesterol scores. Still, unlike coffee, chocolate is high in calories, making it something to consume with caution, especially if you are working on your weight.
The flavonols in chocolate come from the cocoa solids that are derived from the cocoa bean: chocolates that have a higher percentage of cocoa solids, like dark chocolate, are thus higher in flavonols than milk chocolate, which has a lower percentage of cocoa solids. White chocolate, however, is made from cocoa butter, which contains no cocoa solids.
There have been studies to suggest that different types of chocolate (dark vs. milk) might have varying effects on satiety, but the results have been mixed: in one study, consuming milk chocolate reduced intake at a later meal, while in another, consuming dark chocolate had the same effect. A team in Australia noted that neither of those studies included white chocolate (Appetite 2017;116:544-551), nor did the studies ensure that the types of chocolate used had the same amount of flavonoids in the cocoa solids, which can only come from using different chocolate types made from a single batch of cocoa beans.
Accordingly, they designed a study that corrected those issues and recruited 13 postmenopausal women to participate in their feeding study. (The things people will do for science!)
The participants were all between 50 and 65 and were not diabetic, were non-smokers, were not dieting, and admitted to "regular consumption of all types of chocolate (white, milk and dark)." On three separate occasions over the course of three weeks they visited the lab first thing in the morning and consumed about 500 calories in the form of either dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate, with one type served at each of the three visits. All of the chocolates were made from a single batch using single-origin cacao beans and specifically manufactured for the study (note that the study was not funded by a chocolate company, nor did the chocolate company provide the chocolate for free).
Ninety minutes after consuming the chocolate the participants were served an identical test meal, a type of instant oatmeal (remember this was breakfast time), in a standardized amount large enough to ensure there would be some left over after the participant ate until they were "comfortably full." The authors could then weigh the leftovers and know exactly how much the participant had consumed.
The day before each visit the participants kept 24-hour food diaries and avoided caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, and "vigorous physical activity," and on the day of the visit completed multiple questionnaires to measure mood and appetite as they changed over time, both before and after consuming the chocolate and the standardized meal. Further, the authors took multiple blood samples to measure levels of blood glucose and appetite-related hormones to see how these would be affected by chocolate consumption and if they in turn affected hunger and mood.
The authors found that the participants felt about the same over time, in terms of feelings of hunger and overall mood, regardless of which type of chocolate they consumed. This was despite the fact that the participants were blindfolded as they consumed the chocolate, and their blood levels of glucose and appetite hormones varied according to the type of chocolate consumed. That said, when the women consumed the dark chocolate, they consumed less of the following meal than they did after they consumed the milk chocolate - 20% less, in fact - and 26% less than they consumed when they initially ate white chocolate.
This is a very small study but does suggest that somehow dark chocolate is more satisfying than milk or white chocolate. The authors were careful to match the number of calories consumed in each type of chocolate, but then the amounts by weight were slightly different, with about 3 ounces consumed for the dark chocolate, 3.2 ounces of milk chocolate, and 3.3 ounces of white chocolate. They were, however, careful to ensure that the cacao used in each type of chocolate came from the same batch, so a difference in flavanol or other micronutrient nutrient content can be ruled out. If you must have your chocolate but are working on your weight, it would appear that dark chocolate would be a better, more satisfying, and higher in antioxidants choice.
First posted: November 1, 2017


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The clinic of the Jamaica Cancer Society carries out screening for cervical, breast and prostate cancer as well as selected diagnostic and treatment services.
Along with our trained staff, the clinic activities are supported by a dedicated group of volunteer medical practitioners who are committed to helping in the fight against cancer.
Our opening hours to have a Pap Smear are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 2.00pm. Results can be obtained between 8.30 am and 4:00 pm.
The clinic is closed on Public Holidays and for the last two weeks of December.


text: Photo courtesy of Karen Eliot at Flickr.com. Last week, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative held the first auction for US Carbon credits. This was an important milestone because the auction may set the pattern for a federal carbon tax. Funds raised at the RGGI auction will … [Read more...] about The first auction of US carbon credits


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Flight Delays .pdf
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When to Get Compensation for Flight Delays and Cancellations
When faced with flight delays and cancellations it is only logical that you get a refund for the
airfare, but many airlines in the EU will not budge. Many people give up and rant on social media,
but do nothing to get their refund if they are entitled to it. One of the ways is to enlist the services
of a flight delay compensation company to handle the process.
Flight Cancellation and Delay Compensation
Before filing your flight delay compensation request, it is important to know the EU air passenger
rights and if they apply in your case. Below are your rights that also guarantee your cancelled
flight compensation.
• If you are flying in the EU irrespective if you are using an EU or a non-EU airline
• If the flight lands in the EU from outside of the EU member countries with the flight operated by
an EU airline
• If your flight leaves the EU to a non-EU country and operated by either an EU or a non-EU
You will find these and more rights displayed by the check-in desk or on the internet.
When to Forfeit Compensation
You ought to forfeit the airline delay compensation especially in the following situations.
Bad Weather: - The airline will delay flights in the case of bad weather this extends to incoming
aircrafts as well as the weather at your destination. Do not demand compensation due to bad
weather, it is for your own safety not to fly.
Airport equipment failures: - Equipment at the airport may fail at any time and unplanned
maintenance maybe effected by the management. Since the delay is not in your airline's control,
do not expect any compensation.
Multiple schedule changes: - If your airline notifies you of a delay in your flight, you ought to be at
the departure gate at the original time you were supposed to board your flight. There are
occasions that the airline informs you of a flight delay then circumstances changes and the flight
reverts to the normal schedule. When you miss the flight, you are not entitled to a reimbursement.
Air traffic control: - There are more planes in the air than ever before, these means that the air
traffic control team is busier than usual. If their landing and taking off pattern is full, do not
expect compensation since any inbound aircrafts will not land unless they give clearances
You own Schedule: - If you miss your flight because of personal schedule, out rightly, you do not
have a reason to expect compensation from the airline.
In conclusion, when it comes to requesting for compensation, it is best to keep it brief, do not be
emotional and know what you want. Importantly, speak to the right person and have all the
documentation required to support your complaint.
Blueway Limited is a UK company that has initiated Flight Delay Refunds to assist EU passengers
in successful compensation claims even for past flights. They recognise that there is a lot of
reluctance amongst airlines to compensate passengers and help you recover the reimbursement
you are entitled to. For more information please get in touch with them at: Flight Delay Refund,
Flight Cancellation & Claims
Related documents
Related keywords
there flight weather airline delay airlines compensation expect entitled refund control rights these schedule aircrafts


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Just adding a (somewhat) tangential note: In the discussion of script inserted script elements, assuming we were at a point where (all) browsers loaded scripts independently of each other, I think there is another solution for dependent script loading: adding them together. Let me explain: If you added four script tags A, B, C, D, then all four would be loaded at the same time and the first one done runs first. If you had dependencies such that B relied on A etc, noted as following: A->B and the same with C and D: C->D, then it makes sense to me that instead of adding them one at a time (four inserts into the documents DOM), that you could instead create two DIVs with two scripts each: DIV 1 -- SCRIPT A -- SCRIPT B DIV 2 -- SCRIPT C -- SCRIPT D Then insert DIV 1 and DIV 2 into the document. Thus, scripts "added to the DOM at the same time" (via the insert of the parent DIV) would execute serially. In the above case the user agent could load all four at the essentially the same time, but will execute A before B and C before D. >From a web-dev point of view this is easy to grasp and easy to implement. Steven RousseyReceived on Saturday, 30 October 2010 03:12:59 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Thursday, 29 October 2015 10:16:06 UTC


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19th Annual American Indian Tourism Conference Underway at Oneida Nation, Near Green Bay
Published September 12, 2017
ONEIDA NATION – WISCONSIN – Hundreds of tribal leaders, travel industry professionals, and tribal business developments staff are at the Oneida Nation, near Green Bay, Wisconsin for the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association's (AIANTA's) 19th Annual American Indian Tourism Conference.
AIANTA Board President Sherry Rupert welcomed the attendees from various parts of Indian Country.
The annual conference is being hosted by the Oneida Naiton of Wisconsin at its award-winning Radisson Hotel and Conference Center. The conference will conclude on Thursday.
On Monday evening, the conference attendees were given a warm welcome at the opening reception. The Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin provided a traditional meal, complete with Indian fry bread and corn soup.
The annual AITC provides a high-quality educational forum to tribes, tribal businesses and other attendees to help them with their tourism development and marketing initiatives. As the only national conference on Indian Country tourism, AITC is designed to share knowledge, experience and best practices from tourism programs around the U.S., and features an impressive line-up of expert speakers whose experience provides new information and guidance for all, from tribes just entering the tourism industry to tribes with experience in travel and tourism.


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Formules Intuitives
'Formules Intuitives' is a research on the impact of intuition in the user experience.
By drawing analogies, by reminding former experiences, intuition allows users to understand and read their daily environment.
Can designers take advantage of this sense to improve people's life ?
Research conducted under the direction of Marie-Haude Caraës.


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Return of the Flash Sale Sites (part 3)
It has been forever and a day since we began (and abruptly discontinued) our coverage of the wave of flash sale wine sites that have come into the national marketplace. In that time, there have been some interesting new players to the game, and a bunch of half-assed pretenders as well. But this is America, and any business concept that gains any media traction at all- even if few players are actually profiting- finds a slew of posers and thieves peddling close facsimiles of the most visible early-to-market examples. But the realities of the intersection of wine buying (and collecting) and the flash sale model caught up quickly, and it is no longer a growing landscape. Besides those with massive personal cellars or substantial off-site professional storage, most early flash sale wine enthusiasts learned to curb their impulse buying out of spatial necessity, and the race to replace them with new users is a costly one.
At this point the growth of flash sale sites has been replaced by email lists which build slower but yield a more consistent audience. But in fairness, the email based offer was the original version of the medium, led by the much lauded Garagiste, with whom I have a long time bone to pick, but that's a story for another time.
Of the flash sale sites I used to frequent before I had my own retail operation (and access to wholesale pricing) some have undergone unnecessary redesigns, largely for the worse, like the otherwise excellent WineAccess from which I still occasionally purchase west coast wines- for personal consumption- not available in the NY market. My only frustration there involves the ownership of WineAccess and one of our wholesale distributors- here in New York- being the same, but few else will suffer under this conflict of interests, so I'll spare you my bitching. Before I go a bit more in depth on a couple of standouts in the market, here is a list flash sale sites with which I've had multiple positive experiences (and no significantly negative ones):
WineAccess.com – I don't entirely understand the recent redesign, or why after many years of successful digital service, the site seems to be in beta, but I have been purchasing excellent west coast wine at lowest available prices for many years. So, I have to give them credit where it is due. While I've rarely, if ever, purchased European wine through them, WineAccess continues to source some of the finest, best priced, old vine wines CA has ever had to offer. Over the years, they've introduced me to a few of my favorites, and one can get a fairly good free education on the history of American viticulutre, and the nature of the industry, from vineyard to consumer. It's worth getting on their e-mail list, just for the regular info on CA's oldest vines. *The liquor laws are different in every state and change frequently. Check the site to see if they can ship to your state (today).
Vitis.com – Vitis is the flash sale extension arm of a brick and mortar shop in New York (not The City). They've got a couple of fancy MWs making their selections and offer reviews, technical specs, aging potential, cheese pairings, and a suggested recipe for each and every bottle; with a slightly weighted specialty in the Italian direction. It's a visually attractive site with solid info and little clutter. Every deal I've bothered to corroborate has been the best available price in the country. *The liquor laws are different in every state and change frequently. Check the site to see if they can ship to your state (today).
WTSO.com – WinesTillSoldOut is the original version of the Vitis model and they move more units, but their content is far less compelling, and visually, it's as boxy and unappealing as an '86 Volvo. While they seem have to long since settled into a groove, where long time users have noticed that they seem to run many of the same labels vintage after vintage, their marathon sales can yield some decent scores, if you have all day to continuously refresh and pull the trigger at just the right moment, avoiding the Whammies. *The liquor laws are different in every state and change frequently. Check the site to see if they can ship to your state (today).
CinderellawWine.com – CinerellaWine is an extension of WineLibrary in NJ, and whatever you buy from Cinderella gets dumped directly into a shopping cart of said long time margin squeezing retailer. Both operations were grown by the infuriatingly ra-ra Jets fan that is Gary Vaynerchuk, but he's since run off to be some kind of a motivational speaker and half-assed author that really gets the juices flowing of state school communications majors in fly-over regions across the county. *The liquor laws are different in every state and change frequently. Check the site to see if they can ship to your state (today).
Look for the next installment(s), when we'll go to the mat for the two most interesting players in the flash sale wine market today. Until then, keep on keepin' on…
Another Tasting Night at Apiary – What day is this… man?
I'm insanely behind on my posting; more so than I've been since I began doing such things. But helping a guy open a restaurant will do that, and I'm quite proud of what we put together, in a very short period of time. While I still have piles of CA content to get to, here are some tasting notes that should have been posted quite some time ago…
[It was] another Monday night at the bar at Apiary and the place is buzzing; not bad for August [yeah, that's how far behind on tasting notes I am!]. By request, I've brought nothing but whites: one long shot, a probable, and a couple of sure things. First, the long shot: Van Duzer Oregon Sparkling Wine Methode Champenoise 1991. I bought this wine for basically nothing at all, from an unverified source, assuming– like the seller- that this wine was likely well beyond its pleasurable drinking window. That being said, 1991 has proven to be one of the longest lived vintages ever for most OR wines that have been around that long, and Van Duzer bottles some high art, on their best days. * And I know I've said it 1,000 times before, but it bears repeating that Chef Scott Bryan of Apiary (formerly of Veritas) puts out- every night- some of the best, wine friendliest, food that has ever existed on this vile rock they call Manhattan.
The foil off, and the cork still has some pressure behind it, the CO2 persists, and the initial pour shows a respectable head for a 21 year old American bubbly. It's pale gold, or brilliant straw, bubblier than expected, and it's rather captivating immediately. The nose is deeply yeasty, but subtly, not pungent. The palate shows bright integrated Meyer lemon zest over a broadly bready body, with a slightly creamy texture in the mid-palate, and faint mingling notes of raw honey and honeysuckle…. Van Duzer Oregon Sparkling Wine Methode Champenoise 1991 is unquestionably one of the most pleasant palate surprises of the year, to date. At the price that was offered, I should have grabbed the 2 cases that were available…
While unanimously declared a tough act to follow, the hesitating beauty to my right, Roy (Apiary's Wine Guru), and I moved on to the Vincent Girardin Chassagne Montrachet Le Cailleret 1999. I can't overstate how universally fantastic and underrated world wine is from 1999. It's a solid- if not classic- vintage in many major wine regions from the Rogue Valley to Ribera del Duero, and represents many of the last "bargains" from overpriced earth, like that of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
In the glass the the Girardin Chassagne Montrachet Le Cailleret '99 is as much caramel as gold, though the pictured softness is condensation on the glass, not the telltale cloud of oxidation. The nose is ripe with a damp earthy funk over a building tide of increasingly prevalent salt air. The palate is soft and integrated, with a citrus spike, punctuated by a flutter of honeybell rind, dancing about a tight mineral core. I would love to blind taste this one on a roomful of Burgundy snobs who scoff at such negociant wines.
It would be dishonest of me to give full tasting notes on this Guigal St Joseph Lieu Dit 2007 as I can't locate my notes on the matter. But I do have a small list of bullets from Roy: "apple, papaya, lychee, white river stones, limestone, calcium- medium long finish, med+ weight." The wine was quite beautiful and deserves a more considered review, but the above list represents the only primary resource I have from that evening.
Flash Sale Sites Part Deux (Vitis.com) and Jack White's Blunderbuss
One of the quietly classier flash sale wine sites around is Vitis.com. Vitis offers one wine at a time and organizes professional reviews, background and bottle information, and a pairing recipe, in a visually appealing way. Selections can be hit or miss, and as I click over right now, I see yet another Oriel selection. Oriel has been placed widely and repeatedly throughout the flash sale market. I've always respected Oriel's business model, but I've never been terribly impressed with their wine per price, and they make much more sense to me at flash sale prices.
But if you don't like the deal, just wait for the next e-mail. And when Vitis is on, you can claim some reasonably rare stuff, properly aged, at rock bottom prices, such as the '01 Alenza Ribera del Duero and the '95 Felsina Chianti Classico Rancia Riserva, I've picked up in recent months, well below market rate.
Vitis has also had a few of my favored tasty cheapys recently (at lowest national prices): Byron Chardonnay, Marques de Carceres Reserva, and Marti Fabra Masia Carreras, each of which represent excellent with-food drinking per dollar.
So, I'm listening to Jack White's new record, Blunderbuss. Jack White is so fucking cool that it kind of pisses me off, though I have begrudging respect for just about everything he does. And as far as people who get to do whatever/wherever/whenever they want, in that Kid Rock on a bender kind of way, he seems to deserve it. And unlike Kid Schlock, Jack White can really play (and write) and he has at least as deep a respect for all that which came before, as all that which lies ahead. He's constantly working on music in a creative and deliberate way, such that even when I'm not that interested in the resulting recording, his prolific drive is inspiring.
While I am big fan of the first 3 White Stripes records, most especially De Stijl (unquestionably one of the finest rock records of our time), I haven't been enthralled with much of White's recorded work since. I was going to mention what I thought of the new record, but White reminded me, at Stephen Colbert's expense, that talking about music is bullshit:
"You want to talk about music? That's ridiculous. It's like dancing about architecture or singing about paintings." – Jack White
Jack, I'm sure there are a dozen modern dance companies in this town that would be happy to interpret the work of Gaudi, they kind of do that already just by existing. And I'm fairly certain that Dan Bern (who is just one man) has written a dozen songs about paintings and sculptures and plays, though I suppose all of those songs are really about women. And yes, Jack, I take your fairly obvious point, well illustrated, about the singularity of art.
But I digress. I'm really just waiting around to find out that Jack White doesn't actually exist and what we believe to be Jack White is really just an intricate Johnny Depp character. Maybe he's really that good.
Sean Thackrey @ St. Anselm: Wednesday, April 4th
While I still have a pile of tasting notes to relay ('07 Volnay Premier Crus, Brewer Clifton Pinot and Chard '02-'09, Damilano Barolos, Ribera del Duero '93-'96…), but it's not every day that I get to host an event with one of my favorite winemakers in the world, at one of my favorite restaurants in New York.
On Wednesday April 4th, Sean Thackrey will be joining us as at St. Anselm, here in Brooklyn, for a tasting and dinner event, featuring the widest selection of Sean Thackrey wines ever assembled. While we are down to a waiting list for the 8:30pm seating, there are still tables available for the 5:45pm seating. Please e-mail me (firstname.lastname@example.com) or call St. Anselm directly (718.384.5054 – ask for Krystal) to claim remaining seats.
But first, I'll gush a little: Sean Thackrey is an American original. He was an unconventional high level hobbyist, sourcing techniques he translated himself from ancient texts. It's no wonder he discontinued his career as an art dealer to go pro (back in the '80s), as one of this country's most unusual winemakers, who makes some of the most interesting (and tasty!) American wine. While his exceedingly rare Orion starts at around $100 these days, and will live (and improve) for decades, Thackrey's non-vintage Pleiades blend starts at around $25 at retail and is a substantial tasting experience. Somewhere in between lie his Aquila Sangiovese, Andromeda Pinot Noir, and Sirius Petite Sirah, each worthy of serious (sirius?) consideration.
While I'm neither a car guy nor a TV guy, I recently came across Oz & James' Big Wine Adventure (thanks BBC!). And while it can be difficult to watch James May stain upon brilliant winemakers and slug down rare syrah like it's a hip flask of Old Overholt at a ball game, the dynamic between his deliberate drunkard's brutishness and Oz Clarke's world-class wine poncery is bloody brilliant (if you want to be all British about it). Anyway, have a click and take a look at what happens to James' face upon tasting Thackrey's Orion. And no, it's not the wrong clip, Thackrey just doesn't appear until the next segment, beginning at 5min 21sec. Enjoy!
If anyone is seeking a musical (poncery) interlude, here's the best live music thing I've attended in quite some time, even if it was 2pm on a Friday afternoon (and I may have told some people that "I was in a meeting"). The full hour show is available free (godbless NPR!):
Here are the full event details:
Wine Tasting and Dinner w/ Sean Thackrey
@ St. Anselm, 355 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Date: Wednesday, April 4th
Time: 2 seatings at 5:45pm and 8:30pm
Price: $52 (prepaid) for the basic tasting
**supplemental plates, glasses, and bottles a la carte
For $52 (pre-paid) per person: meet the winemaker, Sean Thackrey, who will lead a tasting of his Lyra Viognier 2010, Aquila Sangiovese 2002, Pleiades XXI, Sirius Petite Sirah 2009, and Orion California Native 2009. This will be accompanied by a vegetarian small plate and salad.
Available at an additional charge: 2 supplemental small plates (elk medallions and shellfish of the day), an abbreviated dinner menu, and an extensive selection of Sean Thackrey wine, including numerous vintages of Pleiades, Sirius, Andromeda Pinot Noir, and at least 10 vintages of Thackrey's flagship, Orion, sourced from the Rossi vineyard, planted in 1905. Thackrey will remain on hand during the dinner to discuss any and all of his wines that guests choose to order.
Those who wish to experience the basic tasting, order another glass and a modest entree, can escape for about $100. Those guests less concerned with price can build a truly unique tasting experience, from what is unquestionably the largest selection of Sean Thackrey's wine ever offered publicly, at one time.
Price: $52 (prepaid) per seat
– Includes: vegetarian small plate, salad, and tasting glasses of Lyra Viognier '10, Pleiades XXI, Aquila Sangiovese '02, Sirius Petite '09, Orion California Native '09.
– 2 supplemental small plates, abbreviated dinner menu, and an extensive list of Thackrey wine will be available, at additional cost.
Contact: Jack Chester
– firstname.lastname@example.com
Sean Thackrey:
St. Anselm:
When in doubt, Go Rioja! A Few Rules for Basic Wine Shopping (and the Absurdity of Linear Thinking)
There are so many intricacies to wine which can make just walking into a proper wine shop a daunting task for the uninitiated. But one doesn't have to know all that much to be a good wine buyer. There is method to the madness and ways to make small pieces of information work for you. Like this: When in doubt, go Rioja. The Spanish region of Rioja makes some of the nicest wine in the world, per dollar spent (particularly red Tempranillo), and most wine shops will carry at least a couple of them. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you're in a wine shop that can't sell you a decent Rioja for $15 or less, you should find another shop. Also, OR pinot noir is pretty amazing stuff these days and in 2008, they had one of their best vintages ever, so you can't go too wrong with most any bottle from that region and year, and again, most decent shops will carry at least a couple, though the best ones can be costly. There are numerous recent examples of these little generalizations that can help: '05 Bordeaux, '09 Sonoma Chard, '07 North Coast everything.
On a critical level, it's relatively silly to generalize like that. Every single bottle of wine comes down to the grapes grown in a particular place and time and the choices made by the winemaker who begins the winemaking process with those grapes. But generalizing is like playing the percentages and certainly is no sillier than rating wine on 100 pt scale, implying that linear perfection can be achieved. One of the reasons I drink wine and- to this day- one of my favorite wines in the world is 1986 Dunn Vineyards Napa Cabernet. Some guy named Bob tells me it's 92 points good. This isn't far from walking into the Louvre, finding yourself before the Winged Victory of Samothrace, taking in its mass, its setting and the nuances of its construction (and destruction) and proclaiming, "I give it a 93." Both of these things are artistic expressions in their given mediums and they are each effective on their own terms, to an open recipient. Empirically they are high quality examples of what they are. But assigning them numerical values and insinuating that they have a linear place in a measurable hierarchy from shit-on-Hellfire to absolute perfection is comical. But people like numbers, marketing is important, and anything that can be quickly described as an "A" should sell briskly.
Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007 and Megafaun's Gather, Form & Fly
It's been hot lately, here in Brooklyn, and I've been drinking more white than usual; most recently a Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007. Back when Sanford Chardonnay made a cameo appearance in Sideways, it was still owned by the fellow whose name is on the bottle (Richard Sanford). Now a Terlato Group property, they're still producing bottles with nice wine under those old labels.
I'm listening to Megafaun's Gather, Form & Fly, which opens with a gorgeous instrumental called "Bella Marie". These guys are as comfortable with the acoustic weapons of Americana and thick harmonies as they are with coaxing a subtle background loop out of a laptop. The result is a record as deep of orchestration as in sheer range, and reassurance that nerds make all the cool stuff. "The Fade" is the closest I've heard to a CSN moment in any band that's currently vital. "Worried Mind" is their campfire ballad that's often performed without amplification. The album ends with "Tides" which is sleepy as a lullaby yet somehow urgent. If I were deliberately pairing these musical tangents, Gather, Form & Fly would have been perfect with that sweetly off-beat Dettori Bianco.
Now back to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress. Sanford Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2007 is pale gold in the glass with just the faintest tinge of green. The palate and nose are in relative harmony, wearing well Bartlett Pair and lemon zest. It finishes with a crisp acidity and is wholly food friendly. As the wine warms toward room temperature and breathes a little, the mouthfeel gets richer and leaves behind that tip of the tongue dryness, but mostly it's just a pretty summer wine. Their single vineyard bottle sourced from La Rinconada is a more substantial offering, but at the next price point, and more importantly, a story for another time.


text:
A widely tunable dual mode laser diode with a single cavity structure is demonstrated. This novel device consists of a distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). Micro-heaters are integrated on the top of each section for continuous and independent wavelength tuning of each mode. By using a single gain medium in the DFB section, an effective common optical cavity and common modes are realized. The laser diode shows a wide tunability of the optical beat frequency, from 0.48 THz to over 2.36 THz. Continuous wave THz radiation is also successfully generated with low-temperature grown InGaAs photomixers from 0.48 GHz to 1.5 THz.
©2012 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
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