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Home » Opinion » Editorials
Shaheen's hindsight: Rethinking the medical device tax
On Dec. 4, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen signed a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to delay implementing Obamacare's 2.3 percent medical device tax, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1. It took her only two years, 8 months and 13 days to do it. That is how much time elapsed between her voting for Obamacare and signing the letter. The Senate has only 19 days left to act before the tax takes effect. Where, one wonders, has Shaheen been all this time?
Shaheen was one of 16 (14 senators and two senators-elect) to sign the letter. Among them were Sens. John Kerry and Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand of New York - all Democrats from states with a vibrant medical device industry, which is about to get whacked hard by the tax most of them voted for.
The Advanced Medical Technology Association says the tax will cost 43,000 jobs. It will also raise the cost of medical care, as manufacturers will of course pass the tax along to consumers. Tim Steele, owner and founder of Microspec in Peterborough, told the Union Leader last month, "Everyone is talking about medical care costs going up, and here is something that is making them go up even faster."
Such are the unintended, though perfectly predictable, consequences of wealth redistribution. That Shaheen is scrambling at the last minute to lighten the impact shows that she understands how harmful it is going to be. If only she had listened when this was pointed out at the time.
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Chris Mittleman brings a private-equity mind-set to investing in public companies, with results that would be the envy of many private-equity managers. Accounts managed by his firm, Mittleman Brothers Investment Management, are up an annualized 20.6% since 2002, including a 40.7% gain in the first nine months of 2012. In contrast, the S&P 500 index has returned 7.3% a year over the same period, and 16.4% in this year's first three quarters.
The Locust Valley, N.Y.-based firm runs $115 million.
Mittleman, 44, does much of the research himself, helped by his brothers Dave and Phil, focusing on two financial measures: Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and free cash flow, the two metrics favored by private-equity firms. He likes companies that trade for low multiples of Ebitda and generate lots of free cash.
"Virgin Media has used its free cash flow to buy back about 20% of its outstanding shares in just over two years, at a very attractive average price." -- Chris Mittleman Matthew Furman for Barron's
This distinctive approach has led him to some smaller stocks, including those of cosmetics maker Revlon and Carmike Cinemas, an operator of movie theaters. He also likes Avis Budget Group, CAR 2.2652659225213396% Avis Budget Group Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD62.3 1.38 2.2652659225213396% /Date(1416952800078-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1747208 AFTER HOURS USD62.43 0.13 0.2086677367576244% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 10376 P/E Ratio 33.26569841947885 Market Cap 6472445372.78137 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 291310 More quote details and news » the car-rental operator, and Virgin Media, the No. 1 cable-TV company in the United Kingdom. Mittleman often buys shares in companies with sizable debt and thus resemble leveraged buyouts. The good thing is that Mittleman doesn't have to pay a control premium to make these equity investments. These stocks can be volatile. During 2008, Mittleman's accounts fell 64%, but they rebounded 150% in 2009.
Barron's : What appeals to you about Revlon?
Mittleman: Revlon rev 0.060240963855421686% Revlon Inc. Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD33.22 0.02 0.060240963855421686% /Date(1416952925862-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 29803 AFTER HOURS USD33.215 -0.005 -0.015051173991571343% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1217 P/E Ratio 332.2 Market Cap 1738252388.27286 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 277333 More quote details and news » [ticker: REV] sells cosmetics and beauty products in the mass market in over 100 countries, with 45% of sales from overseas. The stock is $15, and we think it's worth $26. The company's profitability and balance sheet have improved significantly since Alan Ennis took over as CEO in 2009. He has refinanced debt and cut costs. Revlon's Ebitda margin, at just under 20%—up from 16.5% in 2007—now matches that of its largest competitors. Free cash flow, which had been negative until 2008, should be around $100 million this year, or $1.91 per share. Net debt is down to 4.4 times estimated 2012 Ebitda from 6.4 times in 2007.
How does Revlon compare with its peers?
Estee Lauder el 1.0204081632653061% Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD73.26 0.74 1.0204081632653061% /Date(1416952991976-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2209758 AFTER HOURS USD73.26 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 43380 P/E Ratio 25.003412969283275 Market Cap 27620725365.7723 Dividend Yield 1.3104013104013104% Rev. per Employee 257658 More quote details and news » [EL] and L'Oreal OR.FR -0.47988187523071246% L'Oreal S.A. France: Paris EUR134.8 -0.65 -0.47988187523071246% /Date(1416958682000-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1071368 P/E Ratio 27.45632430014641 Market Cap 75661216970.314 Dividend Yield 1.8545994065281899% Rev. per Employee 289380 More quote details and news » [OR.France] both trade for around 13 times Ebitda and with free-cash multiples of about 25.
Revlon trades at an Ebitda multiple of eight [based on enterprise value, equity plus net debt] and a market-cap/free-cash-flow multiple of 7.9 times. Those other companies have much better historical growth rates, so Revlon probably does warrant a discounted valuation, but not the current gaping disparity.
How do you value Revlon?
Our intrinsic value estimate of $26 a share assumes a 10 multiple on estimated 2012 Ebitda of $280 million and 13.6 times free cash flow. One of the main reasons for Revlon's undervaluation is that Ron Perelman controls 76.3% of the shares. He has a deserved reputation for occasionally attempting to mistreat minority shareholders. Beside the Perelman factor, illiquidity in the shares and scant analyst coverage hurt the valuation. We endure those issues because of the high quality of the business and the large valuation discount to peers.
How about Carmike ckec 3.2679738562091503% Carmike Cinemas Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD30.02 0.95 3.2679738562091503% /Date(1416952800203-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 172792 AFTER HOURS USD30.0164 -0.0036 -0.011992005329780146% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4288 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 709860340.734405 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 86431.8 More quote details and news » ?
It's the fourth-largest theater chain in the U.S., operating mainly in rural areas where competition is more limited. The company [CKEC] was a chronic underperformer and became a chronic outperformer under the direction of CEO David Passman, who took the reins in 2009. He used free cash flow to deleverage the balance sheet, refurbish run-down theaters, and close unprofitable locations. He also instituted innovative marketing techniques to drive midweek attendance, and trained staff to improve the customer experience and better exploit opportunities in high-margin concessions, which are 36% of sales, but the bulk of the profits.
How is Carmike valued?
It's now around $13, but we think its intrinsic value is $25. This estimate assumes a total enterprise value of seven times the $90 million in Ebitda it likely will produce in 2012, and 10 times the $40 million in free cash flow we estimate. That's about $22.75 per share. Carmike owns 20% of privately held Screenvision, the second-largest preshow movie-theater advertising company in the U.S. behind publicly traded National CineMedia ncmi -0.5586592178770949% National CineMedia Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD14.24 -0.08 -0.5586592178770949% /Date(1416952800244-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 173045 AFTER HOURS USD14.2383 -0.0017 -0.011938202247191011% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2675 P/E Ratio 34.26371511068335 Market Cap 1853669793.41453 Dividend Yield 6.179775280898877% Rev. per Employee 649505 More quote details and news » [NCMI]. We value that stake at $40 million, which adds another $2.25 per share in value.
And how does Carmike compare with its competitors?
The largest movie-theater chain in the U.S., Regal Entertainment RGC 0.9214567792891619% Regal Entertainment Group Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD23 0.21 0.9214567792891619% /Date(1416952971516-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1100341 AFTER HOURS USD23 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2810 P/E Ratio 42.592592592592595 Market Cap 3559197292.33176 Dividend Yield 3.8260869565217392% Rev. per Employee 121107 More quote details and news » [RGC], trades for $15, or seven times Ebitda and 10 times free cash flow, with only a slightly higher Ebitda margin and probably inferior growth prospects to Carmike. The second-largest player in the industry, AMC, was recently bought out by a Chinese company for 8.2 times Ebitda. So we think our target multiples of seven times Ebitda and 10 times free cash flow are reasonable for Carmike.
Your view is that the rental-car stocks are underappreciated?
Avis Budget [CAR] is one of the largest industry players, with international sales at 40% of the total, after it bought Avis Europe for about $1 billion in 2011. Near-term concerns about weakness in the newly acquired European business have weighed on the share price recently. Avis also faces the prospect that strong used-car prices, a boon to profits since 2009, will moderate or decline and become a head wind. Those concerns are overly discounted in the current stock price
How is Avis valued?
With the stock around $16, the market cap is $2 billion, only 5.2 times the $380 million in free cash flow that the company should produce in 2012. That's a 19% free cash flow yield. We think the stock is worth $30, or 9.5 times free cash flow. Dollar Thrifty [DTG] trades today at 10 times its free cash flow.
The impact of Hurricane Sandy should be small, given increased one-way-rental demand, and demand from FEMA and the Red Cross should largely offset the decline in normal demand caused by the storm.
What about the industry?
It enjoys rational pricing because it's an oligopoly. About 95% of the U.S. market is controlled by the top four players: Enterprise, Hertz htz 3.6535303776683086% Hertz Global Holdings Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD25.25 0.89 3.6535303776683086% /Date(1416952893320-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 20476454 AFTER HOURS USD25.69 0.44 1.7425742574257426% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 267911 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 10905801586.7267 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 354339 More quote details and news » [HTZ], Avis Budget, and Dollar Thrifty. And while the business is cyclical, it's generally growing, and down cycles are cushioned by an ability to quickly reduce fleet size to adjust to demand, something hotels and airlines can't do.
What about Virgin Media?
It's the largest cable-TV company in the U.K., a resilient business that actually grew straight through the great recession. The stock [VMED] is now about $32. With 268.4 million shares outstanding, its market cap is $8.73 billion, which is 8.7 times the $1 billion in free cash flow we estimate for 2012. Adding net debt of $9.17 billion gives a total enterprise value of $17.9 billion, or 6.7 times the Ebitda of $2.66 billion estimated for 2012.
Mittleman's Picks
Carmike Cinemas
Avis Budget Group
Virgin Media
Harbinger Group
|Source: Bloomberg
We think fair value for Virgin is $40, which would be 7.5 times Ebitda and 10.74 times free cash flow. Comparable companies like British Sky Broadcasting [BSY.U.K.] and Comcast CMCSA 2.9173861674088886% Comcast Corp. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq USD56.62 1.605 2.9173861674088886% /Date(1416952800222-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 16922246 AFTER HOURS USD56.79 0.17 0.3002472624514306% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 625113 P/E Ratio 17.58385093167702 Market Cap 141632955164.496 Dividend Yield 1.5895443306252208% Rev. per Employee 499772 More quote details and news » [CMCSA] trade at higher valuations. BSkyB trades at 7.9 times Ebitda and 13.6 times free cash flow. Comcast is at 7.4 times Ebitda and 11.1 times free cash flow. Virgin Media has used its free cash flow to buy back about 20% of its outstanding shares in just over two years, at a very attractive average price of about $25.
What about management?
Neil Berkett has done an incredible job since he took over as CEO in March 2008. Virgin Media has reduced churn by bundling services in a quadruple play of TV, phone, Internet, and mobile. And the speed of their broadband network has proved to be a durable competitive advantage.
What's special about Harbinger Group HRG 3.565891472868217% Harbinger Group Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD13.36 0.46 3.565891472868217% /Date(1416953045749-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2113704 AFTER HOURS USD13.36 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4859 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 2592977280.80521 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 242074000 More quote details and news » ?
It's a publicly traded investment vehicle in the tradition of a Berkshire Hathaway BRKA 0.3040766318169281% Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD221725 672.17 0.3040766318169281% /Date(1416952830074-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 277 AFTER HOURS USD221711.6965 -13.3035 -0.006% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 8 P/E Ratio 17.601413034849568 Market Cap 362986412454.737 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 640606 More quote details and news » [BRK.A], Leucadia National LUK -1.0407993338884263% Leucadia National Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD23.77 -0.25 -1.0407993338884263% /Date(1416953083646-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 3494473 AFTER HOURS USD23.77 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 48036 P/E Ratio 43.985936343449296 Market Cap 8849664402.6622 Dividend Yield 1.051745898190997% Rev. per Employee 1051530 More quote details and news » [LUK], and Icahn Enterprises IEP 0.5340963280877444% Icahn Enterprises L.P. U.S.: Nasdaq USD105.41 0.56 0.5340963280877444% /Date(1416952800211-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 64871 AFTER HOURS USD105.43 0.02 0.01897353192296746% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 400 P/E Ratio 37.24734982332156 Market Cap 12736862989.4608 Dividend Yield 5.692059576890238% Rev. per Employee 458614 More quote details and news » [IEP]. The stock last traded at $8.63, and we think current net asset value is $11.23, or $1.57 billion. Harbinger [HRG] is run by Phil Falcone, a billionaire investor with expertise in distressed assets.
Hasn't Falcone run afoul of the SEC?
In June, the SEC filed a civil suit seeking to bar Falcone from serving as an officer or director of any public company because of securities fraud alleged to have occurred at his hedge fund, Harbinger Capital Partners. It's important to note that Harbinger Group, the publicly traded company we own, is a separate entity and is not charged or involved in any way with that action, except that if the SEC suit is successful, Falcone would be forced to step down as chairman and CEO.
If that happens, it wouldn't change the value of what Harbinger currently owns and probably wouldn't impair its ability to continue growing its NAV [net asset value] at an above-average rate in the future because it has a deep bench of investment talent there besides Falcone, like David Maura, who shepherded the Spectrum Brands Holdings SPB -0.2334370831480658% Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD89.75 -0.21 -0.2334370831480658% /Date(1416952925864-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 608905 AFTER HOURS USD90.1309 0.3809 0.42440111420612814% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2547 P/E Ratio 22.051597051597053 Market Cap 4738283240.81024 Dividend Yield 1.3370473537604457% Rev. per Employee 328081 More quote details and news » [SPB] investment
What's in Harbinger?
The largest component is its 57.4% stake in Spectrum Brands, amounting to $1.3 billion at the current price, or $9.52 per Harbinger share. [Spectrum is a diversified manufacturer whose products include Rayovac batteries.] The next-largest holding is 100%-owned Fidelity & Guaranty Life, a life-insurance and fixed-annuity company with a net book value of $845 million, or $6.03 per share. Then there's $415 million in cash and some securities, which adds $2.96 per HRG share, bringing the total assets to $18.51 per share. [Harbinger subsequently deployed most of that cash, as noted in the follow-up question below.]
We then subtract $500 million in debt, and $519.7 million in current value of convertible preferred stock, to get to the $11.23 NAV for Harbinger. There could be additional upside in Spectrum Brands, which recently announced an acquisition for $1.4 billion of a unit of Stanley Black & Decker SWK 0.052487927776611376% Stanley Black & Decker Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD95.31 0.05 0.052487927776611376% /Date(1416953005907-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1523002 AFTER HOURS USD95.31 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 24345 P/E Ratio 22.122414873616044 Market Cap 14922669168.5681 Dividend Yield 2.1823523239953837% Rev. per Employee 223560 More quote details and news » that is highly accretive to Spectrum. There's also potential for further value creation at the company as they invest their $400 million in remaining cash.
Harbinger just invested most of that cash in an energy deal. Do you like it?
Yes. Harbinger is paying $373 million for 74.5% of a joint venture with Exco Resources xco -0.5449591280653951% EXCO Resources Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD3.65 -0.02 -0.5449591280653951% /Date(1416952979942-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 3805695 AFTER HOURS USD3.65 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 219970 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 1004783592.36015 Dividend Yield 5.47945205479452% Rev. per Employee 944265 More quote details and news » [XCO] that will own 528 billion cubic feet of natural-gas reserves. It appears that this joint venture is likely to pay HRG dividends of around $20 million to $30 million per year, even at the currently low gas prices. That's a decent return on investment, with substantial upside should natural-gas prices rise.
Thanks, Chris.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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1. The #1 Opera Album (2000)
by Andrea Bocelli (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Anne Sofie von Otter (vocals), Bryn Terfel (vocals), Cecilia Bartoli (vocals), Gino Quilico (vocals), Gregory Cross (vocals), Huguette Tourangeau (vocals), Jane BerbiT (vocals), Joan Sutherland (vocals)
2. 40 Most Beautiful Arias (2006)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Anton Scharinger (baritone), Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Cecilia Bartoli (soprano), Cristina Gallardo-DomGs (soprano), Edita Gruberovß (soprano), Eva Urbanova (soprano)
As an introduction to opera that really covers the basics, Warner's 40 Most Beautiful Arias is a terrific package to give to beginners, though ... More
See all CDs | List of all editions
3. Angels: Christmas with the Great Sopranos (2008)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Barbara Bonney (soprano), Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), George Thalben-Ball (organ), Joan Sutherland (soprano), Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), Leontyne Price (soprano), Mirella Freni (soprano), Patricia Clark (soprano)
This album's title, Angels: Christmas with the Great Sopranos, wisely leaves some latitude of interpretation about exactly what type of repertoire is ... More
See all CDs | List of all editions
4. Puccini Gold (2007)
by Andrea Bocelli (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Anna Netrebko (vocals), Carlo Bergonzi (vocals), Christa Ludwig (vocals), Giuseppe di Stefano (vocals), Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (vocals), Joan Sutherland (vocals), Jonas Kaufmann (vocals)
5. Giacomo Puccini: The Operas [Box Set] (2008)
by Adelio Zagonara (vocals), Alberto Rinaldi (vocals), Alfredo Mariotti (vocals), Andrea Mongelli (vocals), Andrew Busher (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Angelo Mercuriali (vocals), Anna Maria Canali (vocals), Anna-Maria Panzarella (vocals)
6. La BohFme: The Dream Cast [Highlights] (2002)
by Andrea Bocelli (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Carlo Bergonzi (vocals), Dennis O'Neill (vocals), Elisabetta Scano (vocals), Elizabeth Harwood (vocals), Ettore Bastianini (vocals), Gianni Maffeo (vocals), Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (vocals)
La bohFme has always batted cleanup in the repertory, and never more so than at the beginning of the twenty-first century: crossover star Andrea ... More
See all CDs | List of all editions
7. The Classical Album (2000)
by Academy of Ancient Music, André Rieu (violin), Andrea Bocelli (tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Barrington Pheloung (guitar), Bryn Terfel (bass baritone), Christopher Hooker (oboe), Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), Emma Kirkby (soprano)
8. MTditation: The Beautiful Music of Massenet (2012)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Giacomo Aragall (tenor), Joan Sutherland (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), JosT Carreras (tenor), Joseph Calleja (tenor), Luciano Pavarotti (tenor), Marilyn Horne (mezzo-soprano), Nigel Kennedy (violin)
9. The Ultimate Puccini Collection (1998)
by Alfredo Mariotti (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Birgit Nilsson (vocals), Carlo Bergonzi (vocals), Cesare Siepi (vocals), Ettore Bastianini (vocals), Fernando Corena (vocals), Franco Corelli (vocals), Gianna D'Angelo (vocals)
10. Verdi: La Traviata
by Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Bryan Secombe (vocals), Frank Lopardo (tenor), Gillian Knight (mezzo-soprano), Leah-Marian Jones (vocals), Leo Nucci (baritone), Mark Beesley (vocals), Neil Griffiths (vocals), Richard van Allan (vocals), Robin Leggate (vocals)
11. Tosca [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (2001)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), David Cangelosi (vocals), Enrico Fissore (vocals), Gwynne Howell (vocals), Maurizio Muraro (vocals), Roberto Alagna (tenor), Ruggero Raimondi (bass), Sorin Coliban (vocals), Antonio Pappano (conductor)
12. Essential Opera
by Agnes Baltsa (mezzo-soprano), Alfredo Kraus (tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Beverly Sills (soprano), Carlo Bergonzi (tenor), Claudio Desderi (baritone), David Daniels (counter tenor), Delphine Haidan (mezzo-soprano)
13. Homage to Maria Callas (2011)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), James Valenti (tenor), Karen Jones (flute), Luisa Tuck (cello), Tom Watmouch (clarinet), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Marco Armiliato (conductor)
14. Divas: The Ultimate Album (1998)
by Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Birgit Nilsson (vocals), Cecilia Bartoli (vocals), Frank Lopardo (vocals), Frederica Von Stade (vocals), Joan Sutherland (vocals), Kathleen Battle (vocals), Kiri Te Kanawa (vocals), Kirsten Flagstad (vocals)
15. Puccini: La Rondine (1997)
by Alberto Rinaldi (vocals), Andrew Busher (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Antonio Pappano (piano), Enrico Fissore (vocals), Gareth Roberts (vocals), Inva Mula-Tchako (vocals), London Voices (vocals), London Voices, Monica Bacelli (vocals)
16. The Classical Album 2005 [US Version] (2005)
by Andrea Bocelli (tenor), Andreas Scholl (counter tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Bond, Bryn Terfel (baritone), Candida Thompson (violin), Czech Film Orchestra, Dominic Miller (guitar), Duel, Duel Ensemble, Elizabeth Kenny (theorbo)
17. Stars: A Night At The Opera (1997)
by Andrea Bocelli (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Anne Sofie von Otter (vocals), Bryn Terfel (vocals), Cecilia Bartoli (vocals), Gino Quilico (vocals), Gregory Cross (vocals), Huguette Tourangeau (vocals), Jane BerbiT (vocals), Joan Sutherland (vocals)
18. Verdi: The Great Operas [EMI] (2013)
by Adriana Lazzarini (vocals), Aldo Bottion (vocals), Alfredo Giacomotti (vocals), Alfredo Kraus (vocals), Andrew Busher (vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Anna Moffo (vocals), Anne Collins (vocals)
19. The #1 Soprano Album (2002)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Anita Cerquetti (soprano), Barbara Bonney (soprano), Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Beverly Sills (soprano), Birgit Nilsson (soprano), Edita Gruberová (soprano), Elizabeth Harwood (soprano), Frederica Von Stade (mezzo-soprano)
20. Arias (1996)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Turin Teatro Regio Chorus (choir, chorus), Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, John Mauceri (conductor)
21. Duets & Arias (1996)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Graham Salter (horn), Roberto Alagna (tenor), Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, Richard Armstrong (conductor)
22. Verdi: Messa da Requiem (2001)
by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano), Roberto Alagna (tenor), Eric Ericson Chamber Choir (choir, chorus), OrfTon Donostiarra (choir, chorus), Swedish Radio Choir (choir, chorus), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
23. Essential Verdi (2001)
by Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Carlo Bergonzi (vocals), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (vocals), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (vocals), Frank Lopardo (vocals), Gegam Grigorian (vocals), Huguette Tourangeau (vocals), Joan Sutherland (soprano), Joan Sutherland (vocals)
24. Simply the Best Night at the Opera (1999)
by Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Anne Sofie von Otter (vocals), Annick Massis (vocals), Barbara Hendricks (vocals), Catherine Dubosc (vocals), Cecilia Bartoli (vocals), Dawn Upshaw (vocals), Eva Urbanova (vocals), Frantois LeRoux (vocals)
25. Massenet: Werther (1999)
by Angela Gheorghiu (vocals), Jean-Marie Fremeau (vocals), Jean-Paul FouchTcourt (vocals), Jean-Philippe Courtis (vocals), Patricia Petibon (vocals), Pierre Dupont (vocals), Roberto Alagna (vocals), Sophie Boulanger (vocals), Thomas Hampson (vocals)
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You are here > Home > Baseball Newsstand > Baseball Primer Newsblog > Discussion
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
If you're painting the Giants as some sort of anti-Moneyball team you're delusional | HardballTalk
Read the whole article.
Jim Furtado Posted: October 30, 2012 at 02:49 PM | 23 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: giants, moneyball, sabermetrics, scouting
Reader Comments and Retorts
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.1. Mefisto Posted: October 30, 2012 at 03:01 PM (#4288494)
Jim, the link to the Hardball Talk gives a 404.2. Davo's Favorite Tacos Are Moose Tacos Posted: October 30, 2012 at 03:03 PM (#4288500)
Three somewhat key contributors for the Giants this season--Gregor Blanco, Ryan Vogelsong, and Joaquin Arias--were all acquired as minor league free agents.3. SoSH U at work Posted: October 30, 2012 at 03:16 PM (#4288514)
Maybe that's just luck, but it seems like SOMEONE must have seen SOMETHING there.
(Of course, as some might remember, this was Vogelsong's second time with the organization...he was one of the prospects they sent to Pittsburgh a decade ago to acquire Jason Schmidt.)
Who is Yeshayah Goldfarb?
A nice Irish lad, I presume.
Vogelsong asked for the invite and he pitched his way back on to the big league team. The Dodgers had offered Vogelsong an invite before the Giants, but he didn't want to pitch in L.A. He preferred to go back to the organization that he was familiar with.5. Hang down your head, Tom Foley Posted: October 30, 2012 at 03:20 PM (#4288521)
he was one of the prospects they sent to Pittsburgh a decade ago to acquire Jason Schmidt.
He was the only prospect. The other player the Pirates got was Armando Rios, who was almost 30, and was Armando Rios.
Not sure about Arias, but Blanco was signed on the suggestion of the Giants's hitting coach, who saw Gregor in Venezuela and talked him out of signing with the Marlins. Vogelsong actually knocked on the Giant's door looking for a contract; he'd gotten a minor league contract offer from the Dodgers and wanted to make sure the Giants weren't interested before taking it (reportedly he liked working with Righetti, and contacted the Giants' pitching coach directly).7. Jim Furtado Posted: October 30, 2012 at 03:23 PM (#4288529)
I'm not trying to take anything away from the team, but it certainly seems like personal relationships play a huge role in signing guys like this (which is only to be expected, I suppose, since the contents of the contract offers aren't going to differ much).
Mefisto, the link is working for me. Maybe they had a server hiccup.8. Mefisto Posted: October 30, 2012 at 04:02 PM (#4288564)
Yep, worked this time. Thanks.9. Walt Davis Posted: October 30, 2012 at 04:18 PM (#4288593)
Director of minor league operations/quantitative analysis? Does that mean he is director of ml operations AND director of quantitative analysis? Or does it mean he's director of quantitative analysis for their ml operations? I'd guess the latter but don't know. If he is director of minor league operations then (if that title means what I think it means) he'd be greatly responsible for the Giants' success (or luck! :-) and he'd be the boss of those grizzly scouts.10. TDF, situational idiot Posted: October 30, 2012 at 05:34 PM (#4288690)
Anyway ... Arias? C'mon, this one has to be sheer luck. 270/304/389, 97 OPS+ this year. In his minimal ML career before that he'd hit 276/314/362 which is obviously close enough to what he did this year but that was only good for a 79 OPS+ (mostly Texas). That was good for -.3 WAR, this year he had 1 WAR in half a season. His career AAA line is 274/305/374, all in the PCL (Oklahoma mainly, I have no idea if that's one of the crazy PCL places to hit).
Not only was Vogelsong a minor-league FA who asked the Giants for a job, he was a 33 year old minor-league FA. I don't see how that's a win for the scouting dept.11. Dave Spiwak Posted: October 30, 2012 at 09:20 PM (#4288854)
I'm not sure about the sum of Yeshayah Goldfarb's contributions to the Giants' success. But the sum of Calcaterra's confidence in him appears based on one rah-rah piece in a Jewish weekly from two years ago. Consequently, I'll have to maintain that Bruce Jenkins is a fool for reasons other than the particular article in question.12. McCoy Posted: October 30, 2012 at 09:38 PM (#4288870)
According to the Giants13. PreservedFish Posted: October 30, 2012 at 10:04 PM (#4288880)
Yeshayah Goldfarb enters his 12th season in the Giants baseball operationsdepartment. He helps run the minor league operations on a day-to-day basis andprovides analytical and statistical analysis for, but not limited to, player acquisition and development.
A former intern with the club in 2001, Goldfarb graduated from theUniversity of California, San Diego with a degree in History. A former pitcher,he played four seasons with the Tritons and earned most inspirational Player andthe John Roth Memorial Award (Charlie Hustle) in 2000.
Goldfarb and his wife, Miranda, have a daughter, Eliana, and a son, Ezra, and reside in Berkeley, CA
Not only was Vogelsong a minor-league FA who asked the Giants for a job, he was a 33 year old minor-league FA. I don't see how that's a win for the scouting dept.
Why wouldn't it be? Scouts watch players over the age of 22.
Perverts.15. the Hugh Jorgan returns Posted: October 30, 2012 at 11:19 PM (#4288939)
Goldfarb and his wife, Miranda, have a daughter, Eliana, and a son, Ezra, and reside in Berkeley, CA16. Hey Gurl Posted: October 30, 2012 at 11:45 PM (#4288957)
Why of course they do. I am sure Berkeley has the highest number of Goldfarbs in the continental USA.
* Barry Zito, 84 ERA+, 19M17. dr. scott Posted: October 31, 2012 at 11:20 AM (#4289191)
* Tim Lincecum 67 ERA+, 18M
* Aaron Rowand, 0 PA, 13.6M
* Aubrey Huff, 95 PA, 10M
* Brian Wilson 2 IP, 8.5M
* Freddy Sanchez, 0 PA, 6M
75.1M spent on probably pretty close to 0 wins; more than 20M more than the A's entire payroll.
If moneyball is about operating efficiently and getting the most out of the least, that is indeed an anti-moneyball club.
But Z and Timmy's wins came when it counted!!! Paying 20 million for a pitcher with a past good to great track record is not really Anti Moneyball, but it's not pro either. Rowand is the real anti Moneyball player there. 10 million for a closer injured or not is probably anti Moneyball too. Romo kind of proved that.18. Gazizza, my Dilznoofuses! Posted: October 31, 2012 at 11:36 AM (#4289201)
Here's a question: does Aaron Rowand get a ring and/or Series share?19. Mike Emeigh Posted: October 31, 2012 at 02:19 PM (#4289350)
Why is it even necessary to have this conversation?20. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: October 31, 2012 at 02:30 PM (#4289366)
We've reached a point where every major league team makes some use of quantitative analysis, and makes some use of qualitative analysis. Different teams value each in varying degrees - the key is finding a good balance for your unique set of circumstances. And Brian Sabean and the Giants' management team have done that very well, on balance.
This. I mean there'e a bit of description of how Goldfarb has helped the Giants, but we really don't have much of a clue if they're using his data or not. The Royals have a stats guy that they tout, but I certainly wouldn't call them a Moneyball club. It not necessarily the process, its the results that matter. Having a stats guy doesn't make you Moneyball, listening to him does.
75.1M spent on probably pretty close to 0 wins; more than 20M more than the A's entire payroll.
It makes it all the more impressive that they were able to field a championship team spending so little on actual productive players. Outside of that dead weight, their richest position player was Melky at 6 million, who was equally irrelevant to the team that won the playoffs. Pagan and Panda combined for about 8 million. Belt, Crawford, Posey, and Blanco were under a million. Then they probably paid about 5-6 million for their portions of Scutaro and Pence.
Why of course they do. I am sure Berkeley has the highest number of Goldfarbs in the continental USA.White pages lists 8 in Berkeley and 100+ each in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Take that, West Coast!
He was the only prospect. The other player the Pirates got was Armando Rios, who was almost 30, and was Armando Rios.
At the time he was Armando Rios, with a career statline of .279/.360/.500 in 292 games for the Giants.
But about three hours into his Pirates career, he suffered a catastrophic knee injury and from then on was The Artist Formerly Known As Armando Rios.
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Posted March 01, 2013 on AP on Fox
Texas Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz has been hospitalized over what team doctors diagnosed as a muscle strain in his chest. Assistant general manager Thad Levine (luh-VEEN') said Friday that Cruz was sent to a hospital to rule out anything more serious than a muscle problem. Cruz was set to leave Sunday to join the Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic. He leads the Rangers with five RBIs this spring training, although he's hitting just .214. The 32-year-old Cruz played a career-high 159 games last season, hitting .260 with 24 home runs and 90 RBIs.
Original Story: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Ra...
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|Oklahoma freshman Blake Griffin leaves game
|Written by Admin
|Monday, 14 January 2008 16:39
The 6-foot-10 Griffin crashed to the court after banging bodies going for a rebound and stayed down holding his left knee. He hobbled to the bench and then into the locker room. He returned to sit on the bench but kept his warmups on.
Griffin was the Big 12's freshman of the week after scoring 53 points in his last two games. He leads the Sooners in scoring, rebounding and steals.


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This piece made me LOL
Submitted by RP_Matrixxx on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 11:00. Permalink
This is so funny. Staged. Like no one has ever got on a train after his nuke procedure. LOL! Sorry Jerry, I don't buy it.
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Bond Directors at their Best
There's a lot of online debate as to who was the best actor to play James Bond. There's a lot less, I suspect, as to who was the best director the Bond series ever had. I don't intend to try and answer that question here, but I do want to draw attention to the directors who worked on some of the early and middle films. Dating back to the time when Pierce Brosnan revived the series as Bond, the convention has been to use a different director from film to film. The exceptions would be Martin Campbell, who directed two films, and Sam Mendes, who is currently directing his second. When the Bond series began, most of the directors helmed several films each, and thus set a fairly consistent tone for the series. Terence Young directed three films, Guy Hamilton four, Lewis Gilbert three and John Glen holds the record with five. Below I've embedded a clip and brief description of some of the best work of Young, Hamilton, Gilbert and Glen. I've tried to find scenes which exemplify the romanticism and fantasy of the series, some of which I think has been lost with recent emphasis on torture and Daniel Craig's moody, introspective Bond.
Thunderball (1965) – Terence Young
As Fiona Volpe, Luciana Paluzzi played the greatest villainess the series has ever seen and her demise, a dance of death with Sean Connery's Bond only a few hours after they sleep together with 'the gun [...] under the pillow the whole time', is a wonderfully playful and wicked scene. Paluzzi retired from acting in the 1970s after never quite making the front rank, another example of the Bond girl curse. Such a shame. She was certainly one of the most compelling and sexiest actresses to have appeared in the series.
You Only Live Twice (1967) – Lewis Gilbert
Lewis Gilbert directed three of the most spectacular films in the Bond series: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). There were times when the spectacle swamped the creativity, such as in the Amazon boat chase in Moonraker when Bond is simply pushing the buttons on his gadgets to take out the bad guys. At his best though, Gilbert could perfectly convey the escapist fantasy of the series, such as in this scene from You Only Live Twice when Bond visits the Kobe docks with the Japanese agent Aki and ends up being pitted against a seemingly endless series of henchmen. I love the moment when the fight moves to the rooftop and the camera pans away to capture the full breadth of the scene. Magic.
Live and Let Die (1973) – Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton directed two Sean Connery Bond films– Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds are Forever (1971)– and two starring Roger Moore, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Perhaps the greatest moment from his four films comes in Live and Let Die: when Bond finds himself surrounded by crocodiles, he has to employ an inventive method of escape. Even the unflappable Roger Moore looks scared near these things and bear in mind no stuntman would ever be asked to do this today. It wouldn't be quite as impressive with CGI crocodiles that's for sure:
Licence to Kill (1989) – John Glen
Ok, ok, Licence to Kill was the film that ushered in much of the sadistic violence of the later films. Still, it was Glen's fifth consecutive Bond film and the last film he directed in the series. It's a film that still possesses some of that old movie magic. I can just imagine how the screenwriters came up with this scene: 'We start with Bond shooting a guy on a boat, then he jumps underwater while the bad guys are shooting at him, has a fight with some scuba divers and escapes by water skiing behind a plane. Then the plane takes off with him holding onto the wings, he climbs inside throws out the bad guys and is on his way. Got that?'
The opening scene of the first episode of The Devil's Crown (1978) begins with a shot of Henry II's tomb at Fontveraud Abbey, Anjou. Sonorous narration declares:
Henry, by the grace of God King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou. Eight feet of ground doth now suffice for whom the earth was not enough.
Alas, burial would be an apt metaphor for this remarkable BBC drama about the early Plantagenet kings, as it was to disappear from view and was believed lost for years.
I have always regarded the early 1970s to the mid-1980s as a Golden Age of British television drama. Just look at the number of classic dramas that were produced in that period: Elizabeth R, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Shadow of the Tower, I Claudius, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (a personal favourite), Smiley's People, The Jewel in the Crown, Edge of Darkness and The Singing Detective to name just a few. And then there are the character-actors who appear, to quote Richard Dawkins out of context, with all the 'likable familiarity of senior partners in a firm of Dickensian lawyers'. Actors such as Peter Vaughan, Sian Phillips, Bernard Hepton, Charles Kay and Terence Rigby. Of course, there have been many brilliant dramas since the mid-1980s. But I think in later years, a certain conservatism set in. The BBC started to produce more and more Dickens and Austen adaptations, which all feel very safe. Looking back at the Seventies (I was born in the early Eighties mind you) TV drama just seemed more radical, daring and exciting. It's probably no coincidence that the Seventies was an era when the British film industry collapsed and seemed to churn out nothing but sleazy sex comedies (do you remember such classics as Confessions of a Window Cleaner and Adventures of a Plumber's Mate?), and some of our best creative talent would have flocked to TV. Indeed, parallels are striking today with the decline of Hollywood and rise of American TV channels, such as HBO, producing knock-out television.
A year or two ago, I had just finished watching a copy of the superb To Serve Them All My Days (1980). Impressed by John Duttine's performance in the leading role, I looked up what other roles he had played. One title stuck out on his resume: The Devil's Crown in which he played King John. At first I couldn't find out that much about the series. The information online was minimal and at that time the episode titles on the BFI and IMDB were incomplete. The show had never been repeated or released on DVD and was listed in some sources as lost. All I could find were comment threads where people shared their memories of the show and this scratchy recording of the theme tune on YouTube. I was stunned that a major BBC drama from the late Seventies could be lost because the information that was available on the show was very intriguing. The Devil's Crown was an epic 13 episode drama series covering the Angevin kings, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and King John. The cast was impressive and read like a who's who's of thespians from British film and television: Brian Cox, Charles Kay, Jane Lapotaire, Michael Byrne, Jack Shepherd, Thorley Walters and the aforementioned John Duttine. I kept an eye on the comment threads from time to time in the hope that a copy might resurface. Then the Wikipedia page was updated to say that the BFI had a copy that was available for viewing on request. I was just about to make arrangements to visit the BFI when – a miracle! – all thirteen episodes were uploaded online by some benevolent YouTube user. The following review is based on my viewing of the drama on YouTube, but I'm not going to link to it because that will increase the chances that some killjoy will have it taken down. The upload appears to have been taken from a broadcast on French television. All of the credits are in French, but thankfully there are no French subtitles or dubbing. According to the chap who uploaded it, someone has been peddling poor quality bootleg DVD copies, but I really think it's about time The Devil's Crown became available through the BBC Shop, and a full television repeat is also overdue.
The Devil's Crown begins with England ravaged by Civil War in the period known as The Anarchy. Henry Plantagenet (latterly Henry II), played with boundless charm and energy by Brian Cox, sees his opportunity to seize the crown and create a kingdom of law and order. He cuts a deal with King Stephen in which Stephen will name him his heir, excluding his sons Eustace and William in exchange for a fragile truce. Stephen's sudden death elevates Henry to the throne. He may have been King of England, but the bulk of the Angevin Empire was in modern day France, and it was this that Henry regarded as the Jewel in his Crown, maintained through a series of political marriages and complex allegiances. Henry pays homage to Louis VII, King of the Franks, for these lands, but it is clear that Henry is the shrewder and more ambitious of the two kings, having married Louis' ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. This is a complex story to render on screen and there was a wonderful book The Devil's Crown: Henry II and his Sons by Richard Barber which was written in conjunction with the series to clarify many of the political intricacies. Barber does a good job of separating fact from fiction in the Medieval period, but some of the myths (or should I say debatable points?) such as Eleanor's 'Court of Love' are kept in the TV series as they make for good drama. This allows the writers to embellish the role of the famous troubadour Bertran de Born, played with wonderful worldly cynicism by Freddie Jones.
Henry's first real test as king comes from his former friend Thomas Becket (Jack Shepherd). Elevating Becket to Archbishop of Canterbury from his position as Lord Chancellor seems at first to Henry to be a canny decision. It soon backfires when Becket starts using the Church as a rival power to the Crown. This is a daring portrayal of the Henry/Becket feud. Other depictions I have seen, such as the 1964 Becket with Richard Burton in the the title role, have portrayed the Archbishop as becoming pious and devout in office, ultimately achieving martyrdom for his faith. Jack Shepherd plays Becket as malevolent and power-hungry, hellbent on trying to keep the Church above the law. Upon Henry's death Richard the Lionheart (Michael Byrne) succeeds him and this is where, in my opinion, the series starts to flag. A huge amount of screen time explores Richard's reputed homosexuality, nothing wrong with that per se but it only seems to contribute to Richard's endlessly sullen, introspective and unreliable character. Byrne is a good actor but he struggles to make this Richard interesting. There are still compensations in these middle episodes. Zoe Wanamaker has a wonderful early role as Richard's neglected wife Berengaria of Navarre and when Richard is on Crusade there is one of the most quietly effective scenes of the whole series. Richard fails to take back Jerusalem from Saladin and his Saracen warriors. A truce is negotiated whereby Crusaders and Christian pilgrims are allowed to visit the holy city, but Richard doesn't go thinking that he only wants to walk into the city having taken it back from Saladin. Lying in his bed, weak from disease, he imagines one of his soldiers visiting the city. We then cut to a monologue by a Crusader describing the city. What makes this scene truly brilliant is that although we are interested in historical fiction to see how life was different in the past we are also interested in how it was similar to life now. The Crusader of the scene could be a loquacious working class man of the present day and his monologue is all the more interesting in that he describes the city in colloquial, unfussy language before ending with his disappointment that they never took it back for Christendom. Richard quietly sobs, just as heartbroken that he has let down this man as much as he has failed God. The final episodes focus on the disastrous reign of King John. By this time Louis VII has been succeeded by his much more ambitious and cunning son Philip II (Christopher Gable), who is determined to rid France of Angevin influence. John has developed a reputation for evil in popular culture and this is how he first appears in the show, a libertine coveting power to dispel his nickname of John Lackland. His brutal revenge on the young rebellious Arthur, Duke of Brittany is reminiscent of Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. Gradually though John becomes more sympathetic. The collapse of the Angevin Empire had become inevitable even before his reign but naturally he gets the blame for it. Unlike his brother or father however John has a sincere love of England, and his defeat at Philip's hands, forcing him out of France, only serves to reinforce his love of a country his ancestors regarded as a nation of serfs. The events surrounding the signing of Magna Carta also provides much intrigue. It has long been claimed that John never intended to honour the terms of the Great Charter, but The Devil's Crown shows how the Barons had never expected him to sign anyway and, knowing this, John decides to sign to wrongfoot them.
You might think having waited so long to see The Devil's Crown I would either be inevitably disappointed or slightly biased to believing the show is a lost classic. Truthfully, I would rank The Devil's Crown among the very best of television dramas that were made in the period. It's compelling, intriguing and often moving. Brian Cox himself described the show as 'very ahead of its time'. However, there are flaws, and not just the lull in the episodes focusing on Richard which I mentioned. Memorably, all historical TV dramas during this period were shot on set, even the exterior scenes. The BBC just did not have the money to stage big battles or build convincing sets of castles and the like. It could lead to some imaginative storytelling as the sets were quite malleable. On being told that Louis VII has married Constance of Castile, Henry, then in Normandy, sees it happening before his eyes on the same set. There are downsides. For some outdoor scenes they simply paint the floor green and the walls blue. A modern audience especially might find this jarring. The Devil's Crown may have been commissioned following the success of I Claudius, indeed there are some striking parallels between the two stories. A wise and mostly benevolent monarch Henry II/Augustus is undermined during his long reign by his scheming and cunning wife Eleanor of Aquitaine/Livia who strongly favours her son for the succession Richard/Tiberius who ultimately is more suited to soldiering than leadership and has a brief and unhappy reign. The parallels only go so far, however, as Eleanor of Aquitaine is just not as malevolent as the arch-villainess Livia. There were several historical dramas made during the period that tried to follow the I Claudius model of political intrigue and murder in a Royal Court. The Borgias and The Cleopatras were both panned for being lurid as they lacked the benevolent central character that Derek Jacobi's Claudius provided, the stammering, much-mocked boy who grows up to become historian and Emperor. The Devil's Crown also suffers a little in comparison to I Claudius, but ultimately it's a drama that deserves to be judged on its own merits of which there are many. This is a fascinating rendering of a very complex and brutal period of history. I'm delighted to have seen it after first hearing of it a few years ago. It now belongs to television history. I hope that it finally reaches the wider audience it deserves.
American Psycho: The Novel With a Killer Soundtrack
I finally read Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho (1991) earlier this year. It had been on my bookshelf for ages, but I was rather intimated by its reputation for gory violence, so I put off reading it. Friends of mine who read the novel said it made them feel physically sick. Anyway, having read it, I can see why American Psycho is considered such a brilliant work, but I did feel Ellis went too far with the gory images. Patrick Bateman is an investment banker in late 1980s New York. By day he obsesses over his routine, which seems to include very little working and mostly indulging his taste for clothes, drugs and fashionable restaurants. Bateman's string of consciousness narration can go on endlessly about these things and to the most minute detail. There's a great deal of black humour here. Bateman and his colleagues swagger around like pre-Revolutionary French Aristocrats. There is another side to Bateman that he hides from his colleagues and from his fiancee. Whether he is acting the role of a yuppie or that of a serial killer, Bateman seems to be the walking embodiment of the banality of evil. Be warned, this novel is not for the squeamish, and it tends to get more violent as it goes on. There is a startling twist in the conclusion (which I won't give away here). I will say,however, it's not the sort of twist that throws attention from one suspect to another, but rather one that questions the status of the entire text. It's what you might call Keyser Soze syndrome, although American Psycho was published four years before Soze appeared (or did he?) in The Usual Suspects. Reading this novel after the 2008 economic crash only adds to it prophetic feel, although perhaps Ellis' negative view of Wall Street and consumerist society is just too simplistic.
For me, the highlight of the novel was the short essays on Bateman's favourite pop groups– Genesis, Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News– which appear sporadically in the narrative, although I was left slightly puzzled as to the reason for their inclusion. Was Ellis trying to say that Bateman's love of music was every bit as shallow and consumerist as his other obsessions (some of Bateman's musical analysis is hilariously superficial) or does it point to a deeper side to him? According to this essay in The Tech it is definitely the former: 'Being a vapid soul, he likes only the most vapid bands [...] By taking these pop bands so seriously, so analytically, Ellis succeeds in showing just how soulless and transparent these bands are.' Still, if the essays are deliberately flawed, they are still as well written as anything you would find in a music magazine, and are a joy to read in what can be a gruelling book. Below, I've quoted some passages on music from the novel and embedded the relevant group's music video.
My favourite track is "Man on the Corner," which is the only song credited solely to Collins, a moving ballad with a pretty synthesized melody plus a riveting drum machine in the background. Though it could easily come off any of Phil's solo albums, because the themes of loneliness, paranoia and alienation are overly familiar to Genesis it evokes the band's hopeful humanism. "Man on the Corner" profoundly equates a relationship with a solitary figure (a bum, perhaps a poor homeless person?), "that lonely man on the corner" who just stands around.
Whitney Houston
The ballad "Saving All My Love for You" is the sexiest, most romantic song on the record. It also has a killer saxophone solo by Tom Scott and one can hear the influences of sixties girl-group pop in it (it was cowritten by Gerry Goffin) but the sixties girl groups were never this emotional or sexy (or as well produced) as this song is.
Huey Lewis and the News
"Give Me the Keys (And I'll Drive You Crazy)" is a good-times blues rocker about (what else?) driving around, incorporating the album's theme in a much more playful way than previous songs on the album did, and though lyrically it might seem impoverished, it's still a sign that the new "serious" Lewis – that Huey the artist – hasn't totally lost his frisky sense of humour.
Two Eurosceptic Thrillers
The controversial appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission brought to mind two novels I read recently. Both could be described as Eurosceptic thrillers and feature the European Union greatly increasing its powers through the office of an EU President. I first wrote about Eurosceptic crime fiction for the British Politics Review and examined this increasingly promising genre through the works of conservative writers such as Andrew Roberts, Michael Dobbs and Alan Judd. Since then, I've been on the lookout for anti-EU novels by authors on the other side of the political spectrum. I've haven't quite found them, but I have discovered an interesting diversity of opinion, i.e. degrees of Euroscepticism.
Firstly, we have the Icelandic thriller Vulture's Lair (2012) by Hallur Hallson. The 2008 economic crisis was particularly severe in Iceland, and their poor financial state prompted Iceland's political class to discuss the possibility of joining the EU. This prospect seems to have filled Hallson with dread. Set in a dystopic future where the Icelandic Republic has been abolished and become a mere province in the 'Great European Empire', Vulture's Lair includes a myriad of sub-plots, which mostly revolve around Krummi, a patriotic fisherman who begins the narrative making a minor protest in Brussels against EU regulations. Krummi is eventually spurred on to uncover a vast conspiracy with parallels to the assassination of JFK.
Perhaps something is lost in translation, although its impressive to think that one in ten Icelanders have written and published a book, but I struggled through large sections of this novel. Hallson seems much more at ease propagating nationalism than other Eurosceptic writers I have read, and the novel is just bogged down by too much preachy flag-waving. That being said, there are some wonderfully diverting passages on Icelandic poetry and folklore, and the plot really picks up to an exciting climax if you can wade through the first two-thirds.
Do you remember Nigel Farage's ill-judged comments about people not wanting Romanian neighbours? Adam Lebor's The Budapest Protocol (2009) provides a nice antidote to them. Another dystopic thriller set in a Europe where the EU has greatly increased its power and the first directly elected President of Europe holds crypto-fascist views, Lebor wrote The Budapest Protocol to highlight the plight of the Romani or Roma people in Central Europe. Indeed, a donation of every copy sold goes to the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims in Torture. In the novel, Alex Farkas is a British journalist based in Hungary, much like Lebor. After the murder of his grandfather, Farkas begins to investigate a conspiracy centered round the titular document, which turns out to be an agreement signed by Nazis in the last days of the Second World War to create a Fourth Reich through a new economic empire (if you think that's far-fetched read some of Lebor's research on this issue). Part of the narrative concerns sinister plans to implement a mass sterilisation of the Romani population under the guise of being a fingerprinting program. Lebor is a writer who writes movingly and sympathetically about ethnic minorities. The appendix documents real cases of abuse against the Roma people including sterilisation.
All in all, two very interesting Eurosceptic thrillers. Although if any readers could highlight some more examples from this small but growing genre I'd like to hear from you.
Birthday Blog
WordPress have notified me that it has been five years since Chris Routledge and I started the Venetian Vase together. At first the stats were low. It wasn't until I wrote a piece on the wonderful book A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John D. MacDonald 1967-1974 that we started to build a readership, and I began to see blogs were a great place to publish original research. Thanks to everyone whose either been regular reader or just dropped by, and here's to the next five years.
Perfidia – New Video on Front Cover
A regular reader has alerted me to this cool video of how Print Club London have created screen prints for James Ellroy's new novel Perfidia. Note that this is different, and I would argue better, artwork than the front cover I blogged about back in March:
And here is the finished cover:
James Ellroy: The Poet in the Porno Bookstore
Perhaps it's a sign of old age, but I'm looking forward to reading the critical reaction to James Ellroy's new novel Perfidia almost as much as I'm looking forward to reading the novel. Ellroy has always been a canny writer in generating critical interest. On the one hand he is a wild man figure, the Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction decked out in garish Hawaiian shirts, spouting outrageous right-wing views and howling like a dog. And yet to many critics his writing transcends the crime genre and becomes something much more powerful. In France, his books are read as social commentary, and his deep knowledge of poetry is all too often overlooked despite frequent poetic allusions in his novels.
Ellroy's skill as a publicist has been to merge these two roles, so the reader, critic or interviewer will never quite know how he will react and whether or not he is being sincere, or performing, or both. In his essay 'Where I Get My Weird Shit', Ellroy describes a period in the mid-1970s when his search for creative inspiration coincided with some of his worst experiences of drug and alcohol abuse:
I read books and shagged epigrams and insights. T.S. Eliot. Highbrow shit. "We only live, only suspire, consumed by either fire or fire." A classy fuck flick: The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann.
The Eliot quote, taken from 'Little Gidding' in Four Quartets, was to be the epigram of Ellroy's unpublished novel 'LA Death Trip'. The novel was extensively rewritten and re-titled Blood on the Moon (1984), with the Eliot epigram dropped in favour of a quote from Richard II. The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974) was a hardcore porn film directed by Radley Metzger and starring Barbara Bourbon in the eponymous role. I will leave it to Ellroy to describe the plot to you:
Pam Mann's a horndog. She's a passive punchboard and a seductress. She's a nympho candide. She's the poster girl for '70s excess. She fucks half of New York City in one day and comes home to fuck her husband. He's the best. She really loves him. Her day was satire and a goof on inclusion. Sex is everything and nothing.
I haven't seen the film (you'll just have to take my word on that), but I have read up on it and there is a further twist (no pun intended) to the ending which I won't reveal here. One of Ellroy's first jobs was at the Porno Villa Bookstore, but he was fired after stealing from the till. Really, when you can't trust pornographers what's the world come to? Let's assume Ellroy came across The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann while he was working at the Porno Villa. It clearly left an impression on him, not just due to the ample charms of Barbara Bourbon, but because it was a memorable film with a strong story. Years later, he would weave the themes of pornography and voyeurism into his work. There are innumerable examples from his novels. The snuff film which features in the second Lloyd Hopkins novel Because the Night (1985) is memorably grisly.
The Eliot epigram from 'Little Gidding' never appeared in one of his novels; however, a writer as powerful as Eliot could easily influence Ellroy's work in more ways than a mere epigram. Eliot, incidentally, was a keen reader of crime and detective fiction, so Ellroy's admiration for him seems apt. As David E. Chinitz wrote in A Companion to T.S. Eliot (2009), Eliot may have preferred genre fiction to more serious, literary forms:
The fiction he (Eliot) admitted to reading was of another sort: the comic stories of P.G. Wodehouse, and the detective novels of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and others. Eliot was in reality no friend of the sacralization of high culture that readers came to associate with him
I believe that the image of Ellroy (even if it is very carefully crafted by the author) working at the Porno Villa and jumping between porn and T.S. Eliot for creative inspiration as he nurtured his dreams of becoming a great crime writer, should appeal to fans of books of all genres.
I have found a trailer for The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann. Apart from the grating narration, it does seem like a very good, Woody Allen-like, film:


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The Splenda adds a sweetness and lower calories to this tantalizing sweet and tangy bread. The creamy texture comes from the yogurt. Give it a try, you'll love it! Makes 2 small loaves.
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Make this season merry, bright and manageable with our easy ideas.


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Dr. Allen M. Dennison, MD
Internal Medicine, Medical Associates Rhonde Island
- 1180 Hope St
Bristol, RI 02809
- 2 Office Locations
- (401) 253-8900
Dr. Allen M. Dennison has been practicing medicine for 34 years. Dr. Dennison graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1980. He practices medicine in Bristol, RI and 1 other location and specializes in Internal Medicine. Dr. Dennison is affiliated with Roger Williams Medical Center and Rhode Island Hospital. He speaks English and Portuguese.
Gender: Male
Years in Practice: 34 Years
Languages Spoken: English, Portuguese
Medical School: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Graduation Date: 1980
Hospital Affiliations: Roger Williams Medical Center, Rhode Island Hospital
Specialties: Internal Medicine
*This physician has multiple office locations. See Appointments for details.


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Rocket test pad explosion leaves Foster hanging in the balance over Spaceport designs
The unveiling of the winning design in the international contest to design the world's first Spaceport has been indefinitely postponed after a fatal rocket test pad explosion in California last Thursday (26 July).Norman Foster was among a trio of finalists waiting to hear who had landed the project to build a commercial rocket terminal for Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company in New Mexico, USA.Competition organiser the New Mexico Spaceport Authority was hoping to show off the victorious design for an 'iconic' 9,000m2 hangar, flight operations and office building at the site near the university town of Las Cruces at a press conference on Friday.But the conference was called off following the tragic events last week which killed three people and injured three more at the Mojave Air and Space Port - a separate test centre for the new SpaceShipTwo tourist rocket in California.However, following the blast at rocket manufacturer Scaled Composites, the future of the whole space tourism project has been thrown into doubt.Rick Homans, the outgoing executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, said: 'In light of the tragedy at Mojave Air and Space Port, we feel that it is important now to turn our complete attention, prayers and thoughts to the families and friends of the workers who lost their lives.'Therefore we are postponing [the] press conference until a later date to be announced.'The other shortlisted design teams are: Dallas-based architectural giants HKS, with Antoine Predock of local New Mexican practice Albuquerque; and global behemoth Gensler, with Albuquerque locals Rohde May Keller McNamara Architecture.by Richard Waite
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How to Calculate Your Food and Beverage Cost
Whether you run a steak and seafood restaurant, a family restaurant, a pub or a martini bar, you need to know your food and beverage cost.
These simple calculations can be done on the back of a napkin to calculate your food cost/margin or beverage cost/margin.
The basic calculation itself is simple:
Opening Inventory Value + Cost of Purchases – Closing Inventory Value = Usage Amount
Usage Amount / Sales Revenue = Cost of Goods Sold (%)
This formula can be used to calculate your food or beverage cost anytime you want to: monthly, weekly or daily.
Example: Weekly Food Cost Formula
First, you need to collect the information that is required to do your food cost calculation.
You will need to have done a physical inventory of your stock, and you will need to add up your purchases for the week. You will also need to have your food sales for the week available.
Your opening inventory is the dollar value of what you began your week with. If you do a regular food cost calculation, your opening values will be the last closing value you had.
Your purchases amount is the dollar value of whatever you purchased during the week.
Your closing inventory dollars is the value of what is still in stock at the end of your week.
When you add your opening inventory and your purchases, you calculate the total product that you purchased for the week. When you subtract your closing inventory, you end up with your usage for the week.
Because your closing inventory is still in stock, you need to subtract it from the equation, because even though you purchased it in that cycle, you haven't used it yet.
Then you take your usage and divide by your food sales for the week. The percentage you arrive at is your food cost.
Here is an example of how this calculation works:
Opening Inventory: $10,300
Purchases: $5,500
Closing Inventory: $8,200
Food Sales: $22,000
Using the formula, your food cost would be calculated in the following way:
$10,300 + $5,500 – $8,200 = $7,600
$7,600 / $22,000 = 34.55 %
In this example, you began with $10,300 of food product in stock. You purchased $5,500 through the course of the week, and at the end of the week you did a physical inventory and determined that you still have $8,200 of product in stock.
Therefore, your usage for the week was $7,600.
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For those of you that didn't make it to the reunion June 15 in Forest City you really missed an interesting time.Between trading info seeing pictures & meeting "new family"it was great.We also had a quilt with really old pictures on it and some newer ones.Wish we could have enjoyed your company also.
Daniel & Linda Tesenair
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Click here to print the obituary below
Teola Faye Thompson "Abe" Patterson
Teola Faye "Abe" Thompson Patterson, 80, of Kingston, departed this life after a long illness on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013, with her family at her side.
She was born Dec. 13, 1932, in Meigs County. She worked in her early years at Burlington Hosiery Mill in Harriman and later she and her husband, Max Patterson, ran Hilltop Grocery on Hwy. 58 in Kingston. After their retirement, they managed the Angler's Cove Campground for TVA. She was a member of Southwest Baptist Church in Kingston. She loved working in the yard and flower gardens with her husband, being with her family, and listening to her gospel music.
She was well respected and loved by anyone who knew her. The most important thing in her life was her children and grandchildren, and "Grandma" was always a positive influence in their life. She was the rock and foundation of her family and will leave an immense void in their lives that no shoes can fill. She was an encourager and mentor for many, giving them uplifting and godly advice for their daily lives.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Max Patterson; parents, Earl and Sophia Thompson; son, Gary Patterson; grandson, Steven Patterson; brothers, Walter, Joe, Whimp and Butch Thompson; and sisters, Evelyn Gordon, Jane Shelby and Irma Hurst.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Rusty and Michele Patterson; daughter, Donna Patterson; and daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Harry Russell; daughter-in-law, Elaine Patterson, all of Kingston; grandchildren, Wendy and Billy Colyer, Kayla Mundy, Gabriel and Lora Patterson, Lanie Patterson, April Pelfrey, Jennifer and Sean Arms, Jason and Cathy Johnson, Cody and Bethany Raby, Derek and Brooke Raby and several great-grandchildren; two loving sisters, George Gage (her twin) and Dorothy King; special nieces, Retta Bolden and Frankie Rolen; two special sisters-in-law, Gretchen Standridge and Bobbie Russell; and two special family friends, Nath Hickey and Nancy Hughes.
The family will receive friends to celebrate her life from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, in Fraker Funeral Home, Kingston, with funeral service following at 8 p.m. in the chapel, with the Rev. Tommy Patterson and the Rev. Larry Bolden officiating. She will be laid to rest at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Kingston Memorial Gardens off Interstate 40 in Kingston. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the
An online register book can be signed at
Funeral Home
Fraker Funeral Home
1445 Kingston Highway
Kingston, TN 37763
(865) 717-7727
Published in Roane County News from Aug. 6 to Aug. 7, 2013


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Ouch! Steven Tyler Loses Teeth in Shower Fallby Hilton Hater at . Comments
The first official trailer for season 11 of American Idol is a bit painful. Talk about cheesy!
But it's nothing compared to the pain endured by judge Steven Tyler yesterday, as Reuters reports the Aerosmith singer fell in the shower and lost two front teeth. He also suffered a few gashes to his face.
The accident took place in Paraguay, as Tyler was rushed to the hospital for emergency dental work and underwent a four-hour stay at La Costa medical center. Aerosmith was understandably forced to cancel its performance as a result.
What caused the fall? Food poisoning," says Eric Sherman. He tells People: "He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released."
[Photo: WENN.com]
I love you Steven Tyler!
why do they always use food poisoning as an excuse for everything ?!??
@ Steven,
I wouldn't want to miss a thing!!
Wishing you a speedy recovery!!
Dehydration or intoxication?
he is a really gorgeous person. hope he feels better soon


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Shorewood - The 50-year-old Milwaukee man who was arrested Monday for allegedly calling in a bomb threat has been charged with one count of a Class I felony bomb scare.
According to Shorewood police, Thomas Yela was taken into custody Monday without incident after Village Hall, 1700 and 1600 E. River Park Court had been evacuated and cleared.
Under Wisconsin Statutes, a Class I felony can carry a maximum penalty of up to $10,000, 3½ years imprisonment, or both.
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This menu should be great for anyone.
This menu should be great for anyone.
Good information.
Good advice: Lean fish contains all the essential amino acids the body needs to make muscles and provide the building materials for creating and repairing other tissues. Other recommended muscle foods are quinoa, pumpkin seeds, yogurt, and sweet potatoes.Thanks Lou~http://lou83.stumbleupon.com
This is so true. Active muscles not only help cut your risk of developing diabetes or osteoporosis, but the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body can burn.
Very well done and comprehensive. :D
my favourite
its cool
always fun to read such stuff
Good list, and a very well put together site.
Awesome list, you're missing a few though. Like walnuts, almonds, eggs, and more.
Hmmm, quinoa is new to me...sounds interesting.
The Connection between Aging and Muscles


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Easy-to-follow video tutorials help you learn software, creative, and business skills.Become a member
When you're populating a scene, once you've got your flows in place and your idle area set, and their parameters tweaked as you'd like, it's time to get in and simulate. We're here in a camera view, which we can get to by pressing C. And, we can see our marketplace, our flow, our lanes, and our icons for the start of people. In the foreground, the two blue and one pink icons plus the circle, denotes a group in the idle area. Three people who'll stand there and discuss things. To simulate then, I'll set the number of frames. I'll put my simulation at 400 and click on Simulate.
3ds Max will go through and generate the pedestrians, generate the people, and apply different cycles of walking, looking, and talking to them. Now when I click Play, I'll see them walking in my view. There's people looking, people talking. They're moving around. Hopefully, not walking through each other too badly, but I can adjust that if needed. I've populated this marketplace with medium res people. Depending on what we need in our people, we can always adjust how they look and how they behave.
But we need to see that basic simulation. As a side note, as your simulation get more and more complex, you may see a slow down in display performance. We can either switch the type of people, or make sure to run a preview animation to see this at true speed.
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Access exercise files from a button right under the course name.
Search within course videos and transcripts, and jump right to the results.
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Make the video wide, narrow, full-screen, or pop the player out of the page into its own window.
Click on text in the transcript to jump to that spot in the video. As the video plays, the relevant spot in the transcript will be highlighted.


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Ben Heck creates custom toilet illuminator
There is an age-old problem for many guys of all ages when it comes to taking a wiz at night. Some guys and younger boys just can't seem to make it into the toilet when they pee in the dark. That means you have to listen to your wife or significant other complain the next day that someone hit the lid. Ben Heck has the answer to this with his latest project dubbed the toilet illuminator.