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Current Fabrication Time: 7-10 Business Days - Free shipping on US orders over $75
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This niobium nose hoop features a long copper wrap. It also makes a great earring!
Sold individually, for healed piercings only.
Finding out what inner diameter you wear in nose hoops is not only really simple, but it will ensure that you get a great fitting nose ring that hugs the nostril perfectly!
Quick Tip: Measure your nose piercing without your jewelry inserted. This will allow you to clearly line up the caliper or ruler with your actual piercing hole.
The measurement that you need is the distance from the piercing hole to the edge of your nostril - measure in a straight line from the piercing hole down to the edge of your nose. This will be the smallest inner diameter hoop that you can wear comfortably, and it will fit snugly against your nostril. The most accurate way to measure your nose piercing is to use a caliper, however, you can also use a ruler if that's all you have.
To avoid the problems that come with a piece of jewelry that fits too tightly, make sure you always round up to the next whole number if the measurement you get is in between sizes. For example, if you measured a distance of 5.6mm from the piercing hole to the edge of your nose, do not buy a hoop that has a 5mm inner diameter. Instead, round up and get a hoop with a 6mm inner diameter.
Don't forget - if you're buying a beaded nose hoop, make sure you add 1mm to the smallest inner diameter that you can wear to accommodate the size of the beads that I use!
Please expect to wait 7-10 business days (Mon-Fri) prior to your order shipping. Business days are Monday-Friday, weekends excluded.
The shipping is a flat $3.50 to anywhere in the United States for orders under $75. All U.S. orders over $75 are eligible for free shipping. If you are a buyer outside of the United States, please add an item to your cart and use the shipping calculator at the bottom of the cart page to see the shipping rate for your country. The shipping for most international locations will cost between $9-$13.
Your item will be shipped via USPS first class mail in a small gift box for protection during transit. A tracking number is included for all shipments, including international ones. Transit time within the United States typically takes 3-7 business days, while international shipping typically takes 2-3 weeks.
If your item was damaged during transit, then I'm more than happy to make it right! Should your item(s) arrive broken or damaged in any way, please send me a picture immediately upon arrival - include both the item and the packaging in the photo. I will replace your jewelry at no cost to you - please allow up to the standard fabrication time (7 business days, M-F) for a replacement to be made and shipped out.
For the safety of all my customers, returns are not accepted on piercing jewelry. This is a standard policy in the body jewelry industry that protects the health of the consumer. I only sell completely new, unworn pieces. Custom orders are not returnable. All jewelry in this shop is made to order, shipping costs are nonrefundable.
I want you to love your new jewelry just as much as I love making it, so please get in touch and ask all questions about sizing prior to purchasing if you are unsure what size will fit you.
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Transaction performance management specialist Precise has released version 9.0 of its cloud infrastructure management tool, which is focused on managing Quality of Service (QoS) for applications during and after their migration to a cloud infrastructure. Underlining its distinct ability to handle mission-critical applications, Precise 9.0 approaches application QoS on top of virtual infrastructures with an appreciation for constant change and contention for shared services.
Precise points out that application transaction problems have become much more difficult to pinpoint in the cloud, due to the multiple virtualization layers around the application itself, the database, and the storage layer. Precise 9.0 aims to fill this void by providing application, database, and storage managers with a "single pane of glass" to analyze transactions in flight, isolate problems, and even guide resolution:
- Precise 9.0 tracks every single transaction from end-users all the way down to the storage level in real time, providing unprecedented visibility to application owners
- Precise 9.0 automatically finds the cause of application transaction problems in the Java code, database, or storage, accelerating repair of application slowdowns
- Precise 9.0 visually presents the impact of VM events on application performance, allowing application owners to reduce risk of failure
"We use Precise to monitor the performance of our SAP application, which is accessed every day by thousands of ZIM customers, partners, and employees," said Jorge Melman, SAP infrastructure team manager, global database department, global IT infrastructure division for ZIM, one of the largest shipping companies in the world. "Using Precise we can determine which users are having performance problems, and in many cases identify the root cause of the problem, even while the system is executing millions of transactions. This real-time visibility and the user interface in Precise version 9 has made Precise a central tool for monitoring SAP at ZIM."

subset: commoncrawl


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1.) Why does WMM maker keep crashing/freezing/stop/start/delay when I try to playback or add clips?
List of possible causes/solutions:
This is relatively normal for this program when you start using a lot of transitions effects or your computer is not able to handle the playback, you could look at upgrading your RAM (although this still occurs to some degree even with 2GB+) and/or CPU (Dual core makes a little difference).
Try refreshing you Virtual Memory by turning off you computer and not running other programs in the background/before you start editing. Turning off any extraneous processes or extra check your computer performs on start-up can also help.
This is very common on laptops as they generally do not have a dedicated video card.
If you are using multiple anime make sure that they do not have different frame rates or PAR/DAR as explained here
If you have the CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) Installed Haali media splitter can wreak havoc if it is set to split the file type you are editing with (eg avi).
And lastly this can also be caused by using clips which are encoded in formats WMM can't use properly.
2.)Why can't I import clips into WMM and/or the video is blank during playback?
This is generally caused by the file type/Codec's your clips are encoded with, this what not to use:
Codecs: DIVX, XVID
File types: Mov, zip, rar
Sometimes you will be able to edit with these codecs but it is intermittent at best (one episode works and the next one doesn't) so try to avoid them.
Try to encode your clips with a lossless codec read this to find out how.
3.)I'm having an error when saving the movie file?
This often happens when there are too many effects/transitions in your video and the program saved to a point and then hangs but this can be caused by other things too.
You have several options:
Option 1: You could also be using a file with the wrong codec see question 2 above.
Option 2: If you do not want reduce video quality (which is bad enough in wmm.).
Save as your project file calling it something different 1st_half for example (note: not save movie file).
Try saving the movie file, delete any footage/clips etc after the point where you cannot save the movie file (you may need to save a few times to figure out where this is) it's best to save as highest quality or as recommended here
Once you have a partial file saved, open up your original project file and import the saved 1st_half, replace the footage at the beginning up to where you save with the newly imported file and don't forget to mute.
note; you will lose some visual quality by using this method but it is relatively minor, and you could always try cleaning with AVIsynth.
Option 3: Save as a low quality file (lower bit rate) which can cause sync and major visual quality issues.
Option 4: Try to re-import the source footage.
Option 5: Or you could be splitting files unnecessarily see question 1 above.
Option 6: Some times this occurs when a particular clip is corrupted/missing (from being moved/deleted etc). Make sure none of the files you are using have a big red X on them in WMM library selection (you may have to scroll up/down to browse them all to see what has been deleted/moved). If you deleted/moved the file restoring it from the recycle bin (or moving it back) will not help you. You need to remove any footage in your project that uses the file. Re-import and replace the footage.
If the file was corrupted it may not be evident by playing the clip in Media player/VLC etc. This method will allow you to determine where in your timeline (and the corresponding clips that are causing the problem). Save your project as XXXX (whatever) delete about 90% of your amv from the timeline (note: this wont change the original of course because you saved as first… right?) from the timeline and then try saving the movie file if it works undo your delete and keep a few extra clips try resaving the movie file and continue until you hit the point that wont save. And that is the point where your problem is. This also helps with option 1 to determine where to save your file.
Option7: It can also happen (rarely) when using footage stored on multiple HDD's. put the files on 1 drive if this is what's causing the problem as the other drive may have a slow spindle speed (below 7200rmp) or low cache (below 12mb).
4.)Why does my audio is jumping/out of sync?
This can be avoided by using high quality audio files 320kbps although anything over 200kbps "should" be fine. Try only ripping directly from CD at the highest bit rate if your stuck on how to do that look here This problem occurs regardless of whether you are using MP3/WAV etc.
5.)Why can't I hear my audio or my audio has other sounds in it?
Make sure you've muted your video tracks by right clicking on the timeline and clicking mute. Turn your audio volume control all the way up, this button can be found on the left hand side of the screen next to the timeline.
6.)Why is my sync is out after exporting the movie file?
This generally happens when you have saved as a low quality video file, used anime with different frame rates (convert them with AVIsynth) or compressed audio/video (like those XVID codecs I said to avoid above). Save your files as highest quality only or see this guide if you want to encode properly.
7.)How do I tell how my files are encoded?
Look at the encode settings you used for virtual dub (or other program you may be using)
Use Gspot
Or right click on the file select properties and then check your summary information. (note: windows doesn't always tell you what you need to know).
8.)Where can I get some new effects for WMM?
Try here
But beware of viruses and system instability they can have/cause.
Can anyone think of any other links or things I've missed or gotten wrong?
Mod could you please Sticky this.
[MOD 403: updated the divx editing link. 4/14/07]


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Spartanburg Steel Installs Coe Press-Feed Line
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Coe Press Equipment, Sterling Heights, MI, has shipped a 30-in. by 10,000-lb. coil-feed line to Spartanburg Steel Products, Spartanburg, SC, a manufacturer of metal stampings and welded subassemblies for the automotive, agricultural, lawn-and-garden and heavy-truck industries. The coil line can process steel to ¼ in. thick at 50,000-psi yield strength; its servo roll feed offers a maximum roll speed of 317 ft./min. Included is a power straightener with a 20-hp ac variable-speed drive and digital control, and an alligator-style peeler dekinker station for hands-free threading.
See also: Coe Press Equipment Corporation
Related Enterprise Zones: Coil Handling
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The film and television production industry plays a crucial role in the economy of New York City. The second largest film and television production industry in the US (California has the largest), New York City's economic impact is multiplied through its continued support of jobs in other production areas such as catering, equipment rentals, and technology.
Employment Outlook
The film and television industry contributes about $5 billion to the city's economy annually. New York City is a media hub and is the home of the three major American broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. The FOX Network also owns and operates WNYW and WWOR. In addition, NY is also host to the Board of Education station WNYE, and two Hispanic language stations (on UHF channels 41 and 47) which are the New York area affiliates of Univision and NBC owned Telemundo respectively.
New York is also the headquarters of several cable television channels, including MTV, Fox News, HBO, and Comedy Central. MTV broadcasts programming from its sound stage in Times Square, which is nearby to The Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live is broadcast from NBC's studios at Rockefeller Center, where Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC Nightly News and The Today Show is also taped. Black Entertainment Television (BET) is headquartered on 57th Street and The Colbert Report, produced by Comedy Central, is broadcast on 54th Street, and The Daily Show, also produced by Comedy Central, is taped just a few blocks over on 11th avenue and 53rd street.
Public Access television is also very large in NY as WNET, New York's largest public television station, is a primary national provider of PBS programming. The oldest public access channel in the United States is the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, well known for its eclectic local programming.
Education & Training
Before you can direct the next Hollywood blockbuster, produce a film, or become a major star, it is essential to obtain a basic understanding of how the entertainment industry works. You should also have an idea of the type of career you would like to pursue, as well as some type of vision of how to get there.
A variety of schools in New York City and the surrounding area offer diploma, certificate, associate, bachelor, and advanced degrees in film and television production and associated careers.
Featured New York City Schools for Film & Television
Designed for today's generation of artists, learn to write, shoot, direct and edit your own film during an intensive Masters Degree, Associates Degree or short-term program in filmmaking.
The Art Institute of New York City
With its location in downtown Manhattan in the SoHo/Tribeca area, students of The Art Institute of New York City are surrounded by one of the most diverse creative communities in the country. This location offers access to a variety of museums and galleries, theaters, performance halls and a renowned fashion scene, making inspiration undeniable.
Find Other Film and Television Schools in New York »
Important Film & Television Resources in New York City
The NYC Mayor's Office of Film
For over forty years, the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting has been the agency providing one-stop clearance and permit operations for film and television productions in the City. As part of these services, the office continues to coordinate and provide free police assistance, free parking privileges and access to most exterior locations free of charge, including 300 square miles of City streets.


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Matthew Arnold, (born December 24, 1822, Laleham, Middlesex, England—died April 15, 1888, Liverpool), English Victorian poet and literary and social critic, noted especially for his classical attacks on the contemporary tastes and manners of the "Barbarians" (the aristocracy), the "Philistines" (the commercial middle class), and the "Populace." He became the apostle of "culture" in such works as Culture and Anarchy (1869).
Matthew was the eldest son of the renowned Thomas Arnold, who was appointed headmaster of Rugby School in 1828. Matthew entered Rugby (1837) and then attended Oxford as a scholar of Balliol College; there he won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Cromwell (1843) and was graduated with second-class honours in 1844. For Oxford Arnold retained an impassioned affection. His Oxford was the Oxford of John Henry Newman—of Newman just about to be received into the Roman Catholic Church; and although Arnold's own religious thought, like his father's, was strongly liberal, Oxford and Newman always remained for him joint symbols of spiritual beauty and culture.
In 1847 Arnold became private secretary to Lord Lansdowne, who occupied a high cabinet post during Lord John Russell's Liberal ministries. And in 1851, in order to secure the income needed for his marriage (June 1851) with Frances Lucy Wightman, he accepted from Lansdowne an appointment as inspector of schools. This was to be his routine occupation until within two years of his death. He engaged in incessant travelling throughout the British provinces and also several times was sent by the government to inquire into the state of education in France, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. Two of his reports on schools abroad were reprinted as books, and his annual reports on schools at home attracted wide attention, written, as they were, in Arnold's own urbane and civilized prose.
Poetic achievement
The work that gives Arnold his high place in the history of literature and the history of ideas was all accomplished in the time he could spare from his official duties. His first volume of verse was The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems. By A. (1849); this was followed (in 1852) by another under the same initial: Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. In 1853 appeared the first volume of poems published under his own name; it consisted partly of poems selected from the earlier volumes and also contained the well-known preface explaining (among other things) why Empedocles was excluded from the selection: it was a dramatic poem "in which the suffering finds no vent in action," in which there is "everything to be endured, nothing to be done." This preface foreshadows his later criticism in its insistence upon the classic virtues of unity, impersonality, universality, and architectonic power and upon the value of the classical masterpieces as models for "an age of spiritual discomfort"—an age "wanting in moral grandeur." Other editions followed, and Merope, Arnold's classical tragedy, appeared in 1858, and New Poems in 1867. After that date, though there were further editions, Arnold wrote little additional verse.
Not much of Arnold's verse will stand the test of his own criteria; far from being classically poised, impersonal, serene, and grand, it is often intimate, personal, full of romantic regret, sentimental pessimism, and nostalgia. As a public and social character and as a prose writer, Arnold was sunny, debonair, and sanguine; but beneath ran the current of his buried life, and of this much of his poetry is the echo:
From the soul's subterranean depth upborne
As from an infinitely distant land,
Come airs, and floating echoes, and convey
A melancholy into all our day.
"I am past thirty," he wrote a friend in 1853, "and three parts iced over." The impulse to write poetry came typically when
A bolt is shot back somewhere in the breast,
And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again.
Though he was "never quite benumb'd by the world's sway," these hours of insight became more and more rare, and the stirrings of buried feeling were associated with moods of regret for lost youth, regret for the freshness of the early world, moods of self-pity, moods of longing for
The hills where his life rose
And the sea where it goes.
Yet, though much of Arnold's most characteristic verse is in this vein of soliloquy or intimate confession, he can sometimes rise, as in "Sohrab and Rustum," to epic severity and impersonality; to lofty meditation, as in "Dover Beach"; and to sustained magnificence and richness, as in "The Scholar Gipsy" and "Thyrsis"—where he wields an intricate stanza form without a stumble.
In 1857, assisted by the vote of his godfather (and predecessor) John Keble, Arnold was elected to the Oxford chair of poetry, which he held for 10 years. It was characteristic of him that he revolutionized this professorship. The keynote was struck in his inaugural lecture: "On the Modern Element in Literature," "modern" being taken to mean not merely "contemporary" (for Greece was "modern"), but the spirit that, contemplating the vast and complex spectacle of life, craves for moral and intellectual "deliverance." Several of the lectures were afterward published as critical essays, but the most substantial fruits of his professorship were the three lectures On Translating Homer (1861)—in which he recommended Homer's plainness and nobility as medicine for the modern world, with its "sick hurry and divided aims" and condemned Francis Newman's recent translation as ignoble and eccentric—and the lectures On the Study of Celtic Literature (1867), in which, without much knowledge of his subject or of anthropology, he used the Celtic strain as a symbol of that which rejects the despotism of the commonplace and the utilitarian.
Arnold as critic
It is said that when the poet in Arnold died, the critic was born; and it is true that from this time onward he turned almost entirely to prose. Some of the leading ideas and phrases were early put into currency in Essays in Criticism (First Series, 1865; Second Series, 1888) and Culture and Anarchy. The first essay in the 1865 volume, "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time," is an overture announcing briefly most of the themes he developed more fully in later work. It is at once evident that he ascribes to "criticism" a scope and importance hitherto undreamed of. The function of criticism, in his sense, is "a disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world, and thus to establish a current of fresh and true ideas." It is in fact a spirit that he is trying to foster, the spirit of an awakened and informed intelligence playing upon not "literature" merely but theology, history, art, science, sociology, and politics, and in every sphere seeking "to see the object as in itself it really is."
In this critical effort, thought Arnold, England lagged behind France and Germany, and the English accordingly remained in a backwater of provinciality and complacency. Even the great Romantic poets, with all their creative energy, suffered from the want of it. The English literary critic must know literatures other than his own and be in touch with European standards. This last line of thought Arnold develops in the second essay, "The Literary Influence of Academies," in which he dwells upon "the note of provinciality" in English literature, caused by remoteness from a "centre" of correct knowledge and correct taste. To realize how much Arnold widened the horizons of criticism requires only a glance at the titles of some of the other essays in Essays in Criticism (1865): "Maurice de Guérin," "Eugénie de Guérin," "Heinrich Heine," "Joubert," "Spinoza," "Marcus Aurelius"; in all these, as increasingly in his later books, he is "applying modern ideas to life" as well as to letters and "bringing all things under the point of view of the 19th century."
The first essay in the 1888 volume, "The Study of Poetry," was originally published as the general introduction to T.H. Ward's anthology, The English Poets (1880). It contains many of the ideas for which Arnold is best remembered. In an age of crumbling creeds, poetry will have to replace religion. More and more, we will "turn to poetry to interpret life for us, to console us, to sustain us." Therefore we must know how to distinguish the best poetry from the inferior, the genuine from the counterfeit; and to do this we must steep ourselves in the work of the acknowledged masters, using as "touchstones" passages exemplifying their "high seriousness," and their superiority of diction and movement.
The remaining essays, with the exception of the last two (on Tolstoy and Amiel), all deal with English poets: Milton, Gray, Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, and Shelley. All contain memorable things, and all attempt a serious and responsible assessment of each poet's "criticism of life" and his value as food for the modern spirit. Arnold has been taken to task for some of his judgments and omissions: for his judgment that Dryden and Pope were not "genuine" poets because they composed in their wits instead of "in the soul"; for calling Gray a "minor classic" in an age of prose and spiritual bleakness; for paying too much attention to the man behind the poetry (Gray, Keats, Shelley); for making no mention of Donne; and above all for saying that poetry is "at bottom a criticism of life." On this last point it should be remembered that he added "under the conditions fixed…by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty," and that if by "criticism" is understood (as Arnold meant) "evaluation," Arnold's dictum is seen to have wider significance than has been sometimes supposed.
Culture and Anarchy is in some ways Arnold's most central work. It is an expansion of his earlier attacks, in "The Function of Criticism" and "Heinrich Heine," upon the smugness, philistinism, and mammon worship of Victorian England. Culture, as "the study of perfection," is opposed to the prevalent "anarchy" of a new democracy without standards and without a sense of direction. By "turning a stream of fresh thought upon our stock notions and habits," culture seeks to make "reason and the will of God prevail."
Arnold's classification of English society into Barbarians (with their high spirit, serenity, and distinguished manners and their inaccessibility to ideas), Philistines (the stronghold of religious nonconformity, with plenty of energy and morality but insufficient "sweetness and light"), and Populace (still raw and blind) is well known. Arnold saw in the Philistines the key to the whole position; they were now the most influential section of society; their strength was the nation's strength, their crudeness its crudeness: Educate and humanize the Philistines, therefore. Arnold saw in the idea of "the State," and not in any one class of society, the true organ and repository of the nation's collective "best self." No summary can do justice to this extraordinary book; it can still be read with pure enjoyment, for it is written with an inward poise, a serene detachment, and an infusion of mental laughter, which make it a masterpiece of ridicule as well as a searching analysis of Victorian society. The same is true of its unduly neglected sequel, Friendship's Garland (1871).
Religious writings
Lastly Arnold turned to religion, the constant preoccupation and true centre of his whole life, and wrote St. Paul and Protestantism (1870), Literature and Dogma (1873), God and the Bible (1875), and Last Essays on Church and Religion (1877). In these books, Arnold really founded Anglican "modernism." Like all religious liberals, he came under fire from two sides: from the orthodox, who accused him of infidelity, of turning God into a "stream of tendency" and of substituting vague emotion for definite belief; and from the infidels, for clinging to the church and retaining certain Christian beliefs of which he had undermined the foundations. Arnold considered his religious writings to be constructive and conservative. Those who accused him of destructiveness did not realize how far historical and scientific criticism had already riddled the old foundations; and those who accused him of timidity failed to see that he regarded religion as the highest form of culture, the one indispensable without which all secular education is in vain. His attitude is best summed up in his own words (from the preface to God and the Bible): "At the present moment two things about the Christian religion must surely be clear to anybody with eyes in his head. One is, that men cannot do without it; the other, that they cannot do with it as it is." Convinced that much in popular religion was "touched with the finger of death" and convinced no less of the hopelessness of man without religion, he sought to find for religion a basis of "scientific fact" that even the positive modern spirit must accept. A reading of Arnold's Note Books will convince any reader of the depth of Arnold's spirituality and of the degree to which, in his "buried life," he disciplined himself in constant devotion and self-forgetfulness.
Arnold died suddenly, of heart failure, in the spring of 1888, at Liverpool and was buried at Laleham, with the three sons whose early loss had shadowed his life.Basil Willey The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
biblical literature: The modern period…where the poet and educator Matthew Arnold (1822–88) endeavoured to find an impregnable moral foundation for biblical authority, New Testament exegesis received contributions of unsurpassed worth between 1865 and the end of the century from J.B. Lightfoot, B.F. Westcott, and F.J.A. Hort.…
education: EnglandMatthew Arnold was influential in pressing upon the English conscience the importance of public education for the state. While serving as inspector of elementary schools from 1851 to 1886, he studied European school systems and contrasted the meagre educational contributions of the English state with…
English literature: Arnold and CloughMatthew Arnold's first volume of verse,
The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems(1849), combined lyric grace with an acute sense of the dark philosophical landscape of the period. The title poem of his next collection, Empedocles on Etna(1852), is a sustained statement of the…
nonfictional prose: Philosophy and politics…the most influential English essayists, Matthew Arnold, praised in
Culture and Anarchy(1869): "a passion . . . to divest knowledge of all that was harsh, uncouth, difficult, abstract, professional, exclusive; to humanize it."…
Empedocles on EtnaEmpedocles on Etna, dramatic poem by Matthew Arnold, published anonymously in 1852 in the collection Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. By A. It is based on legends concerning the death of the Greek philosopher and statesman Empedocles (c. 490–430 bce). Empedocles is portrayed in the poem as a…
More About Matthew Arnold19 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- association with Clough
authorship of
- "Culture and Anarchy"
- "Dover Beach"
- In Dover Beach
- "Empedocles on Etna"
- "Forsaken Merman, The"
- "Scholar Gipsy, The"
- "Sohrab and Rustum"
- "Strayed Reveller, The"
- "Thyrsis"
- In Thyrsis
contribution to
- biblical exegesis


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Litter box training, scratching, biting, anxiety, shyness, etc.
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This is perhaps one of the strangest and most underrated records to have emerged from the first wave of krautrock. 1972′s Crawling To Lhasa was the first and, ultimately, only set of recordings ever released by Kalacakra, the short-lived duo of Claus Rauschenbach and Heinz Martin, but where the band lacked in staying-power they more than made up for themselves in pure imagination. You would be hard-pressed to find much in the way of comparable material from this era in time.
Resting somewhere between the surreal communality of Amon Düül and the spooky grooves of Can, Crawling To Lhasa is a largely instrumental affair (even when vocals are featured, they are generally whispered, cackled or chanted to the point that they serve more as instruments than as any real vehicles of communication) exploring a sort of mysterious, stoned spiritualism hinted at by the record's many allusions to Tibetan Buddhism. Songs meander, drift, or press on at indistinguishable points, and while this may seem to point to the record as simply being a collection of directionless jamming, the modus operandi serves the mood here in a way more elaborately crafted songs would fail to do.
All this talk about religion and mystery is not to say that this record lacks a sense of humor, however. My German is not very good, but judging by the amount of (admittedly eerie) laughter going on in the background to some of these songs, Martin and Rauschenbach definitely made it a point to enjoy these sessions – even when discussing such topics as the Black Plague in opener "Nearby Shiras." Tempos are generally slow, though the electric Indian/medieval music hybrid "Raga Eleven" does up the energy a little with cymbal crashes and an alarmingly insistent tambourine. Though the record maintains an extremely constant atmosphere, the band is not afraid to explore several different facets of sound, from the rather beautiful, nine-minute acoustic guitar and flute meditation "September's Full Moon" to the creeping blues pastiche "Tante Olga," which keeps reminding me of some sort of cosmic, acoustic Endless Boogie jam session. Rauschenbach's deranged vocal mantra and Martin's nauseous electric guitar riff just keeping their cyclical choogling from driving me up the wall.
Garden of Delights reissued this album back in 2001 on compact disc, but unfortunately took it upon themselves to grace the end of this issue with two New Age synthesizer numbers from what must have been a reunion of sorts. Their vinyl issue makes the crime even worse: rather than tacked on at the end of the record where they can be easily ignored, these two additions are spread across both sides of the LP. Looks like you will either have to suffer through these two anomalies or look for one of the few rare original pressings of Lhasa before we can get a properly restored remaster from the band. Don't let it dissuade you from hunting this number down, though. This is a real gem from the krautrock underground that anyone interested in the music deserves to hear.


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Pages: 1
I am looking at the translationstatus and I found my self troubled about which version I am looking at.
What versions is trunk?
Is 4_2 the same as 4.4.2? Or whats the system?
Trunk is 4.5.x (will be 4.6.x after the next stable release), the branches contain 4.4.x (in xfce_4_4) and 4.2.x (in xfce_4_2). You can see your version in xfce4-about.
Pages: 1


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University of Missouri Extension is offering classes on food preservation and canning this summer.
University of Missouri Extension is offering classes on food preservation and canning this summer. To make the most of your garden's delights, it is important to have up-to-date food preservation information. Processing fruits and vegetables using outdated methods may not give you the best quality and may be unsafe to eat. The USDA and University of Missouri Extension are credible sources to provide information on food preservation to consumers.
The next session will be from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. The topic will be boiling water bath canning of salsa. The class will include a hands-on demonstration of equipment and materials and MU Extension publications with recipes will be available for all participants.
Cost is $15 per person per class to cover food preservation handouts and supplies. All sessions will be held at the Camdenton United Methodist Church at 340 W. Highway 54 in Camdenton.
Registration is required at least two days before the date of the class session. Call the Camden County MU Extension Office at 573-346-2644 or email email@example.com if you have questions or to register.


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Hopefully within the next day or two we will be able to get Modeled Behavior.com to redirect to our Forbes Blog. Yet, it looks as if there is no way to get our RSS feed to continue to work. Here is a link to our new RSS feed a Forbes.
We also will not be able to transfer any of our old content and so this website will continue to exist as an archive.


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Port Dover Area Arena
809 St. George St.
Port Dover, ON N0A1N4
Click here for Google map of this location
Driving Instructions:
Port Dover is located along Hwy-6 on the northern shore of Lake Erie in southwest Ontario, approx. 140 km southwest of Toronto.
From Toronto:
QEW/Hwy-403 west approx. 75 km to Garden Ave. exit (east of Brantford). Turn left on Garden Ave. (CR-18) and proceed south approx. 11 km (becomes St. Charles Rd. in Cainsville, then Blossom Ave.) to Cockshutt Road. Turn left on Cockshutt Rd. and proceed south approx. 11 km to CR-5/Hagan Rd./Cockshutt Rd. Turn left on CR-5 (clearly marked with a sign to Port Dover) and proceed south approx. 30 km to Port Dover. At the north end of Port Dover, turn right on Mill St. and proceed west approx. 0.75 km to Prospect Street. Turn right on Prospect St. and proceed north, then west (becomes Queen St.) to Hwy-6. Turn left on Hwy-6 and proceed south approx. 0.75 km to Alma Street. Turn right on Alma St. and proceed 1 block to St. George Street. Turn right on St. George St. and proceed a short distance to arena on the left.
From Detroit/Windsor:
Hwy-401 east to Hwy-59. Proceed south on Hwy-59 to Hwy-3 (at Delhi). Proceed east on Hwy-3 to Hwy-24 (north side of Simcoe). Turn right on Hwy-24 and proceed south to Hwy-6. Turn left on Hwy-6 and proceed east to to Alma St. (in Port Dover). Turn right on Alma St. and proceed 1 block to St. George Street. Turn right on St. George St. and proceed a short distance to arena on the left.
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Arts & Events
New: Don't Miss This
One might easily imagine that things in the East Bay would slow down over the Memorial Day Weekend. Not so! There's actually a plethora of exciting events and entertainment the next several days. (How do you like that "plethora?")
For theatre lovers there's a premier performance of a new play, "Dear Elizabeth", based on letters from Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell. Berkeley Rep. West Coast Premier. (510) 647-2949)
Pro Arts East Bay Open Studios. Over 400 artists. June 8-9. Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. A self-guided tour of local artists' studios.
Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave., through July 26. Wed. - Sat. 12 - 5 p.m. Sun. 12-3 p.m. (510) 644-4930.
Oakland Art Murmur Galleries, Sat. Stroll. Open every Saturday 1 - 5 p.m.
Kate Wolf Music Festival, June 28-30 at beautiful Black Oak Ranch, Laytonville (415) 256-8400
Fox Theatre, Oakland, "Portugal, The Man". Saturday July 13.
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, June 21-23. wwwsnwmt.com.
Love our Lake Day. June 9th, Sunday 11 a.m. 4 p.m. Come play in the car free streets and parks surrounding Lake Merritt. Take Bart or AC Transit. Lake Merritt Boulevard. Grand Opening. (Formerly 12th Street).
Compared to What", written and directed by Oakland playwright, Judith Offer, about the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, three weekends at the First Christian Church Fellowship Hall, Fairmont Ave.
A Memorial Service for Barbara Oliver, well known and admired co-founder of the Aurora Theatre, June 8th, 2 p.m. at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way.
I trust that the above mentioned activities will whip up your appetite for many of the cultural events available this Memorial Day Weekend.


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Sunday Coed Volleyball Registration Now Available
Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation is now accepting registration forms for the upcoming 2013 Sunday Coed Adult Volleyball season. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, December 14. The fee for the season is $120 per team.
An organizational meeting for interested teams will be held on Tuesday, December 11, at 6:00 p.m. at Morningside Community Center, located at 2400 South Bahnson Avenue. Divisions are available for Classic, A Power, B Power, and Recreation. The ten-week season will begin on Sunday, January 6, concluding with a weekend-long tournament.
For more information on this and other programs, please refer to the current Fall Activities Guide; find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter; log on to www.siouxfalls.org/parks; or contact the Park Office at 367-8222.
Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation . . . enjoy the experience!


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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Cleveland Indians executed an unorthodox triple play in the fourth inning against the Dodgers on Tuesday night that required two video replay reviews to sort out.
With runners on first and third, Adrian Gonzalez lifted a fly ball to left fielder Michael Brantley, who threw out Dee Gordon at the plate. Catcher Yan Gomes then fired to second baseman Jason Kipnis for the tag on Yasiel Puig as he slid headfirst.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona challenged the original safe call at second and got the play overturned after a replay delay that lasted 1 minute, 29 seconds. Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly then challenged the call at the plate, but that call stood after another wait of 1 minute, 34 seconds.


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Apparently, some cars are just too good to die. After a tortured existence under General Motors and a short period of independence, Swedish car company Saab finally went under last December. Chinese company Youngman Lotus tried unsuccessfully to acquire Saab's assets, but now a new electric car company is picking off where Youngman left off.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden is trying to give Saab a last minute reprieve, and its timing could not be better. The company has only been registered with the Swedish government since earlier this week, but it is now the lead bidder for Saab's assets. Since National Electric Vehicle Sweden is so new, it is hard to tell what its plans are. To add to the mystery, the company is backed by an Asian conglomerate; 245 of the 500 shares are owned by Sun Investments, an outfit from either Japan or China. "We don't know if it's a Chinese or a Japanese company behind this conglomerate," TTELA, the newspaper of Saab's hometown, Trollhattan, told Autocar, "Nobody has really a picture of what kind of resources they have or what their intentions are, besides the fact that they want to produce electric vehicles."
The remaining shares are owned by Mikael Kubu, president of Swedish law firm Ac-Gruppen. Karl-Erling Trogen, former head of Volvo trucks, is reportedly involved with the company.
If the deal goes through, National Electric Vehicle Sweden will own one of the quirkiest, and most troubled, names in automobiledom. "Born from jets" and, according to Top Gear, "driven by architects," Saabs have never been normal.
Saab started out making small, front-wheel drive cars powered by two-stroke engines, and then built the turbocharged 900 sport sedan that was every yuppie's delight.
The company was bought by GM in 1989, and every car it made after that was based on someone else's. The second-generation 900 and 9-3 were based on the Opel Vectra, and there was also the Chevy Trailblazer-based 9-7x. Nonetheless, GM managed to include traditional Saab design cues, such as a "night panel" that turned off all dashboard lights except the speedometer's, and having the ignition on the center console.
GM divested itself of Saab as part of its post-bankruptcy reorganization. The Swedish carmaker found a savior in Victor Muller, owner of Dutch boutique car company Spyker. Saab introduced the new, GM-designed, 9-5 sedan and 9-4x crossover, but those two cars were not enough to keep the company afloat. Youngman Lotus and another Chinese company tried to acquire Saab, but GM blocked the deal and subsequent negotiations went nowhere.
If National Electric Vehicle Sweden wins its bid, it could revive Saab, or just use its assets (factories, etc.) to produce its own cars. GM has not licensed any of its designs to the Swedish upstart, so restarting production of any existing Saab model would be impossible.


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Or we could say: "A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking." (Unknown)
I kind of like this one: "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." (Orson Welles)
And my personal favorite: "Consciousness. That annoying time between naps." (Steven Wright)
Okay, that last one has nothing to do with endings, but it does concern one of my favorite subjects. Endings, however, are somewhat more bittersweet. Renee and I will no longer be blogging on ReadySetMom, and it is bittersweet. For the past 2.5 years we've enjoyed building up this community and learning, sharing and laughing along with all of you. But trying to juggle two blogs turned out to be a wee bit more than we could handle, so we'll be focusing our attention on EnviroMom and working on projects that will enable us to spread the green love further afield. We hope you'll come visit us!
ReadySetMom will continue to live in cyberspace and moms will continue to comment on old posts (particularly that breastfeeding one!). We will actively maintain and update the Portland Metro Preschool & Childcare Directory, so please check back when you are ready to seek out preschools and providers.
Thanks everyone -- you all helped us create a very supportive and respectful environment here, and we've truly enjoyed getting to 'know' you. And a big thanks to our sponsors, many who advertised here for months and months. Thank you!


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There is fabulous fashion beyond New York, Milan and Paris. In this series, CNN showcases trends in threads around the globe. Blogger Heidi Jewell of UnderTheGuise.com shares the Nashville style scoop.
(CNN) -- Fashion is loud in America's Music City.
Blogger Heidi Jewell, who's lived in Nashville for two years, said street trendsetters pair haute couture with cowboy boots, band tees with designer bags. Her website, Under the Guise, puts a spotlight on eclectic, innovative looks inspired by the arts.
"[Nashville] is packed with designers, filmmakers, musicians and artists hailing from cities all around the world, each bringing their own sense of style along with them," she said. "It strikes a perfect balance between staying true to its heritage while maintaining a youthful, modern culture that keeps reinventing itself."
The city's first official Fashion Week, which commenced Tuesday, showcases local collections alongside national lines, including Betsey Johnson, Christian Sirianao and Gustavo Cadile. It's all part of Nashville's genre-bending melting pot.
Below, Jewell explains street style.
CNN: What influences fashion in Nashville?
Jewell: It goes without saying that the music industry definitely plays a part in the overall style. Of course, country music has an impact (which rocks and I would like to see more of it).
But a lot of people don't know there's an amazing indie/rock community here as well. Brilliant local musicians playing in tucked-away historic venues and residential basements are influencing looks inspired by '40s military, '80s club and British punk while standing shoulder to shoulder with Southern Belles sporting vintage summer dresses perfectly complimented by their favorite pair of worn in cowboy boots.
CNN: What styles are popular right now?
Jewell: It's hard to put my finger on a specific look that seems dominant, but mixing in vintage pieces is very popular among the people I photograph. There are some great thrift stores and locally owned boutiques that offer affordable one-of-a-kind Southern pieces scattered all throughout the city.
You could compare Nashville to L.A. in the sense that a large majority of people who move here have come in hopes of breaking into the entertainment industry. The end result is a community of aspiring artists and service professionals who have a more eclectic sense of style than you would expect from people serving you cocktails or manning the register at your favorite local record shop.
CNN: What do people wear on a night out?
Jewell: Weekend nights have been a bit more on the grunge side lately. Black-and-white striped tops, muscle tees, biker jackets, denim or leather vests, fur jackets. Converse All-Stars, ropers and Beatle boots. Whether it's a fedora or something more summery, hats are staple pieces as well.
CNN: Where do you shop in Nashville?
Jewell: I would have to say my top picks for clothing are Goodbuy Girls and Local Honey. For shoes, I'm a big fan of the locally run Etsy shops, Granny's Bootery and Reanimated Rags. For accessories, I like Pangaea.
CNN: How can fashionistas on a budget look great?
Jewell: Thrift! Or learn how to sew.
How do people dress in your city? Submit your favorite looks to iReport for a chance to be featured on CNN.com.


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Explosive found near popular Puerto Rico island
Explosive found about 40 feet from well-known campground in Flamenco Beach, official said.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Police in Puerto Rico say an underwater military explosive has been found near a popular beach in the island of Culebra.
Capt. Rafael Romero told the newspaper El Nuevo Dia on Thursday that the explosive was found about 40 feet (12 meters) from a well-known campground in Flamenco Beach. The finding comes just days before hundreds of tourists and Puerto Ricans visit the tiny island for Holy Week.
Romero said the U.S. military will detonate the explosive in upcoming days and that the beach will be temporarily evacuated.
The U.S. Navy once used Culebra for military activity and later moved operations to the nearby island of Vieques.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Get the supplies needed to make this project with the Summer Punch It and the Punch Adhesive Sheets.
Thank You CardBy Susan Cobb
Designer Tip: Even though this punched design is very intricate, it's easy to do! These punches work well on papers, light cardstock, and foam (not for heavy cardstock or fibrous papers). If the punch becomes sticky after punching adhesive, EZ Tool Cleaner cleans it up quickly and easily.


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|No comments yet for this card.
Hide and Seek:
* (This spell is put into your mana zone tapped.)
* Choose one of your opponent's non-evolution creatures in the battle zone and return it to his hand. Then he discards a card at random from his hand.
"Brace yourselves! It's a Class 5 Metaphor!" -Shaman Broccoli.
|No comments yet for this card.


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When I started in IT, I took helpdesk calls for a small software company. I was convinced it would help me to write better software.
I still think I understand users better because of that.
I learned that when a customer takes the time to call you, he is not only telling you his problem but he might also give you a solution.
I once had a Dutch speaking customer that toughed I was French speaking and he had a hard time speaking French to me.
I was originally Dutch speaking and I had worked very hard to become better in French, so my ego liked it that he could not hear it was my second language. I kept talking French to him, and I proudly told it during lunch with my colleague's.
I don't remember what my boss said, but he made it clear that I should not do this again, I should help the customer instead of making fun of them/ using them for my own ego. Although he did bring it very subtle, it's a message I never forgot.
Fast forward to yesterday.
I was invited to do my talk about self-organizing teams at Agilis 2009 in Iceland. Tickets, hotel booked.
My flight was leaving in Brussels at 16:00 (4 PM) going to Heathrow, where another flight leaving at 21:00 would bring me to Reykjavik.
By coincidence (does that exist?), I have accepted a position of agile coach, helping a large corporation in the UK. During the week I am in Staines, which is about 10 miles from Heathrow.
So today I need to go from Staines to Brussels, take a plane to Heathrow and fly to Reykjavik from there. I would need to leave Staines at about 8:30, to take a plane at 21:00 from 10 miles where I am.
Mmm, I know some things about removing impediments and waste.
What if I skip my first flight. And go on the second one.
So a few weeks ago I contacted my airline by their website. No answer for 1 week. I guess something went wrong as I never got a message they received my message. (Ok that could be my mistake, so I won't hold it against them. Still if a website makes it hard to ask a question, that is a sign/smell to me)
After about 1 week I tried again, now I got a receive message. And an answer that I needed to contact my booking agent.
Mmm, they told me I had to contact the airline. I replied that. (And checked back with my travel agent)
To cut a long story short, after about 6 or 7 e-mails (and a lot of time) they finally gave me a number where I could contact them directly. (I could not find it on the website.)
When I called the number it was even better, it was one of those electronic helpdesk systems that supposed to help you find the correct persons quickly.
Only I never seem to know what to press. Is this just me?
Now it had options to:
– information before buying a ticket
– buy a ticket
– check-in
Of course my situation is special. So no options is made for that. Aren't most call's special? If it would have been a "normal" case, the information would be in the FAQ. Ok not many people read these. Also in software, people call quicker then reading the manual.
Having an option, to talk to an operator press x would already be a good step (now this option was hidden behind at least three or four other selections)
First time I tried when I selected an option ==> Busy statement and my call was interrupted.
Second time, I got disconnected when I had explained my situation to a male person. (Not sure if it was my phone, the system or the operator)
The third time I finally got a person that took my situation seriously.
She let me wait a little and then explained that my flight was actually not serviced by their airline, but by another one, so she would not be be able to help me.
(If all these people answering mails had looked my flight up, I would not have wasted time with their airline (wasting both their and my time).
So calling to the new airline. This one only had a Belgium number (I was in Staines when I made the calls) (Which was funny for an international airline.)
For Dutch or English press 1, for French press 2.
I explain my situation in Dutch. Sorry sir could you speak English? Euh I pressed 1. Yes I only speak English. OK no problem I speak English, but another sign off bad communication. (It's fine not to have that option, but when you have the option, be sure you support it.)
After about 5 minutes:
It is not possible to refund your ticket.
I'm not asking for a refund. I'm asking to skip a flight.
No there will be a problem with your luggage, you can't check that in in London. mmm strange. Ok I don't need much luggage. I'll take everything on the plane.
No it is not possible.
Your only option is to cancel the whole flight (including return flight). And buy two separate one way tickets. (One leaving in London)
– London-Reykjavik
– Reykjavik-Brussels
Not sure about the cost price, probably about 2 to 3 times the original ticket. (which I would loose on top of that.) Mmm I don't think the conference will pay that.
So much for customer service. Airlines are dictated by their software which says if you miss one part of the flight everything else is cancelled.
What are my other options:
– I could stay home on Monday and not help my client, but then they would suffer even more from this situation
– I could cancel my trip to the conference. Now that clients suffers from the lack of customer service from one of my suppliers.
Mmm, I could explain it, it would make a good excuse, but I prefer to take the responsibility myself.
Let's go to London and go back on Tuesday, I might even be at a morning meeting on Tuesday.
So now I have to book another ticket to go from London-Brussels.
And this is where things become interesting.
I book a train with the Eurostar to go back to Brussels. Unfortunately I make a mistake and I buy a non-refundable ticket to return Monday instead of Tuesday. I notice this while I want to check in to go to Brussels last Friday. (About 30 minutes after I bought the ticket.)
Now I'm sure I made the mistake (I still hear myself saying Monday at xxx hour.)
So I go back to the desk. I explain my situation, the lady is very friendly she advises me to talk to the same persons that has sold me the ticket.
When I got to that person I explain that I bought it for the wrong day. I'm expect to be told I need to buy a new ticket. (I was a non-refundable ticket after all)
Nope: Oh sure sir, he tears my ticket apart, so when did you wanted to leave?
Tuesday? At the same time? Do you want to sit again at a table near the window?
5 minutes later I'm out of there with my new ticket. And my old return ticket (Brussel-Londen) is still valid.
Thank you Eurostar. That is what I call customer service.
And they do this all the way. I'm typing this on that train from London to Brussels. My computer is hooked up to the electricity net. No I don't have to be in First class to have this. Eurostar recognizes that electricity is a basic need on a long trip. Just as they offer that in London in the waiting room. (In most airports I almost have to fight to use an electricity plug.) [Edited in Heathrow, lot's of electricity here also]
Could they improve? yes. And I'm sure they will over the next years (I have some idea's)
But they are far ahead of the airline in the first part of my story.
I am Yves Hanoulle, your virtual Project coach and you can reach me at blog at my training company .net or follow me on Twitter
Filed under: Agile, Coaching, Company-culture, compensation, customer-non-service, customers, Leadership, money | Leave a comment »


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The Oversight of Ourselves
Let us consider what it is to take heed to ourselves. See that the work of saving grace be thoroughly wrought in your own souls. Take heed to yourselves, lest you be void of that saving grace of God which …Read More
Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter (1615–1691) was a Puritan pastor at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. He is best known for evangelizing and catechizing families under his care. This article is excerpted from The Reformed Pastor. His collected writings have been reprinted in four volumes by Soli Deo Gloria Publications.


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As if Killzone 3 wasn't enticing enough, Sony has just announced that a very special treat will come packed in with every purchase of Guerrilla Games' PS3 exclusive FPS.
Shooter fans are in for a dream come true on February 22. Not only does Killzone 3 drop onto retail shelves that day, but each and every copy — including the Helghast Edition — will come with a voucher code for early access to the SOCOM 4 beta.
The beta will test the online multiplayer portion of the game, offering up to 32-player firefights. No word as to when the SOCOM 4 beta will kick off, but David Bull, Product Marketing Specialist for SCEA promised that details would be coming "shortly".


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Spa Valley Railway » Visitor Information » Gift Vouchers & Experiences » Groupon Vouchers: How to use
How do I use a Groupon Voucher?
How to use your voucher:
- Travel is only available for green or purple operating days and on specific trains. Check timetable colour here.
- On a green or Purple timetable date present Groupon voucher at the Tunbridge Wells West ticket office on arrival to be checked in. The Groupon offer is only available to use at Tunbridge Wells West Station. Your Groupon voucher will be redeemed and a travel ticket provided.
IMPORTANT: The following departure times are available for travel: 10:20 and 15:20 ONLY. Check in closes 20 minutes before the trains departure. Please allow plenty of time to check in to avoid disappointment.
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Children under 2 go free. Child ticket valid for ages 2-15 years only.
The Fine Print
Expires 4 months after purchase. Trains do not run all year, check availability before purchase. Limit 1 per 2 people or family of 2 adults and 2 children. Customers may buy up to 5 additional as gifts. A booking is not required. Check in required on arrival.
Conditions of the Groupon Offer:
Tickets are only valid for one return trip which must be completed without a break in the journey, meaning that you cannot alight at intermediate stations. The train will be at Eridge for approximately 25 minutes, you can alight at Eridge but must return on the same train.
The departure time is the time of the trains departure at Tunbridge Wells West Station, TN2 5QY. Please allow sufficient time to find parking and check in before departure. Check in closes 20 minutes prior to the trains departure. All Groupon customers start and finish at Tunbridge Wells West Station. Groupon voucher is not valid for journeys starting at High Rocks, Groombridge or Eridge.


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Single gene defect causes brain tumor
Pilocytic astrocytoma, the most common brain tumor in children, is usually slow-growing and benign. However, surgeons often cannot completely remove the diffusely growing tumor. This means that patients need further treatment in order to destroy remaining tumor tissue. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy can lead to severe side-effects and have only little effect on these slowly growing tumors. Affected children therefore urgently need new, targeted therapies. A typical genetic defect in these brain tumors is already known: "From our own research we know that there is a defect in the BRAF gene in the great majority of pilocytic astrocytomas," says Professor Dr. Peter Lichter of the German Cancer Research Center. This defect causes a cellular signaling pathway, which in healthy cells is active only in case of acute need, to be permanently activated.
Jan Gronych from Lichter's department has now studied, jointly with colleagues of Heidelberg University Hospitals, the actual relevance of the BRAF defect for carcinogenesis. To this end, the investigators packed a defective BRAF gene into a virus and thus introduced it into neuronal precursor cells of mice. In 91 percent of animals thus treated, tumors developed around the injection site. These tumors corresponded to pilocytic astrocytoma in terms of their biology, growth characteristics and tissue structure.
Cells of these tumors all showed the typical symptom of a defective BRAF gene: a permanently activated MAP kinase enzyme. "This proves that a single gene defect is really sufficient to cause pilocytic astrocytoma," said Lichter, summarizing the results.
A permanently active MAP kinase constantly transmits growth signals in cancer cells, while it is also their Achilles' heel: In recent years, a number of drugs have been developed which inhibit the enzyme activity of kinases very specifically and, thus, can impede cancer growth. The Heidelberg researchers have shown that brain cells which are driven to permanent abnormal cell division by a defective BRAF gene slowed down growth after treatment with kinase inhibitor sorafenib.
"Up to now, we did not have a suitable model system for testing newly developed drugs against pilocytic astrocytoma," says Peter Lichter. "The BRAF mice open up the possibility to test new kinase inhibitors or other drugs specifically for their effectiveness against pilocytic astrocytoma."
Source: Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
Other sources
- Gene causing birth defects in mice discoveredfrom PhysorgWed, 16 Mar 2011, 18:01:46 UTC
- Single gene defect causes brain tumorfrom Science DailyTue, 15 Mar 2011, 16:30:52 UTC


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Surat al-Kahf, 31-40
They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold, and will wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on couches. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful repose! (Surat al-Kahf, 31)
This verse describes the endless gifts of Paradise that are given as a reward to those believers who strive to please Allah by doing good. Allah has promised Paradise to the believers in many verses. For instance, the following verse informs us that the believers will be welcomed warmly and sent in companies to Paradise:
Gardens of Eden that they enter, with rivers flowing under them, where they have whatever they desire. That is how Allah repays those who do their duty, those whom the angels take in a virtuous state. They say: "Peace be upon you. Enter the Garden for what you did." (Surat an-Nahl, 31-32)
Following this honorable welcome, Allah bestows upon them countless gifts. But above all of these gifts will be the believers' spiritual joy of having won Allah's good pleasure and Paradise. While the unbelievers will be suffering in the punishing Fires of Hell and enduring inexplicable remorse, the believers will be leading their lives as servants having won His good pleasure and love. Contrary to Hell, which will be tight and crowded, the believers will rest in "a Garden whose breadth is like that of Heaven and Earth combined" (Surat al-Hadid, 21) in Paradise, where they will see beauty and a great kingdom all around. They will recline on couches lined with rich brocade, enjoy easily picked fruit, reside in palaces with rivers flowing under them, sit on high-raised thrones, and converse with one another. There will be cool shades in Paradise, which Allah describes as a place that is neither too cool nor too hot.
As described in Surat al-Kahf 31, the green clothing worthy of the people of Paradise is made of the finest silk and rich brocade. In addition, they will wear golden bracelets. Besides beautiful clothing, the people of Paradise will be provided with delicious foods and drinks. Specifically, the Qur'an mentions a variety of fruit, the flesh of any fowl that they may desire, tasty drinks, dates and pomegranates without equal, fruit-laden lote trees, and bananas piled bunch on bunch. And these are just some of Allah's promised gifts.
Furthermore, there will be only beauty in Paradise, for people of Paradise will no longer need to endure anything with patience, as we do in this world. There will be an environment full of endless beauty without any tiredness, fear, sorrow, or any other conceivable trouble. Allah reveals Paradise's beauty, as follows:
An image of the Garden promised to those who guard against evil: In it are rivers of water that will never spoil, rivers of milk whose taste will never change, rivers of wine that are delightful to all who drink it, and rivers of honey of undiluted purity. In it they will have fruit of every kind and forgiveness from their Lord… (Surah Muhammad, 15)
Allah has detailed the gifts of Paradise and the sufferings of Hell in the Qur'an. Those who pretend not to understand the truth will be losers in both worlds. For this reason, people should seriously prepare and strive for the Hereafter in order to win our Lord's unique gifts, as the following verse makes clear:
That abode of the Hereafter—We grant it to those who do not seek to exalt themselves in the land or to cause corruption in it. The successful outcome is for those who guard against evil. (Surat al-Qasas, 83)
Make an example for them of two men. To one of them We gave two gardens of grapevines and surrounded them with date-palms, putting between them some cultivated land. Both gardens yielded their crops and did not suffer any loss, and We made a river flow right through the middle of them. He was a man of wealth and property, and he said to his companion, debating with him: "I have more wealth than you and more people under me." (Surat al-Kahf, 32-34)
By relating this parable, Allah wants people to compare a believer with someone who claims to believe in Allah but who is, in reality, an unbeliever. One of the garden owners is richer than the other, a "superiority" that caused him to become arrogant and proud toward Allah.
But Allah, Who created everything out of nothing, is the sole owner of all that exists and tests some people by giving them wealth and property. Some people become ungrateful because they consider this wealth and property to be the fruit of their own effort and intellect. They exult in their possessions and make them a source of pride and prestige among people. On the other hand, sincere believers behave in the following manner:
Say: "O Allah! Master of the Kingdom. You give sovereignty to whoever You will, and You take sovereignty from whoever You will. You exalt whoever You will, and You abase whoever You will. All good is in Your hands. You have power over all things. (Surah Al `Imran, 26)
The ungrateful garden owner claimed that the gardens and their produce belonged to him, forgetting that they were only a gift and a test from Allah. He succumbed to a fierce pride and a blatant arrogance, as revealed in the following verses:
Do not strut arrogantly about the land. You will certainly never split the land apart, nor will you ever rival the mountains in height. All of that is evil action and hateful in the sight of your Lord. (Surat al-Isra', 37-38)
In many verses, Allah describes what will happen to such people, such as:
Fierce competition for this world distracted you until you went down to the graves. No indeed, you will soon know! Again, no indeed, you will soon know! No indeed, if you only knew with the Knowledge of Certainty, you will certainly see the Blazing Fire! Then you will certainly see it with the Eye of Certainty. Then you will be asked that Day about the pleasures you enjoyed. (Surat at-Takathur, 1-8)
He entered his garden and wronged himself by saying: "I do not think that this will ever end. I do not think the Hour will ever come. But if I should be sent back to my Lord, I will definitely get something better in return." (Surat al-Kahf, 35-36)
This ungrateful person clearly displayed his disrespect for Allah by asserting that no disaster would ever touch his gardens. In short, he claimed a kind of godhood for himself.
But only Allah, Who created time and space and is beyond them, is endless. Allah's name Al-Khaliq (the Creator) has the inherent meaning of: the One Who creates everything from nothing and creates all things with the knowledge of what will happen to them. Every stage of each person, from the first moment of existence until the moment death, exists in Allah's presence. In Allah's guardianship (hifz), everything remains as it is, for He created everything that each person experienced or saw, and every detail of their lives. Nothing is ever lost, as the following verse informs us: "That is so you will know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and in Earth, and that Allah has knowledge of all things" (Surat al-Ma'ida, 97).
Since Allah is not subject to time, everything occurs for Him and meets its destination all at once. But people, who are subject to time, divide their lives into past, present, and future. However, such a division applies only to humanity, for what we consider the "past" is the "past" only to us, and what we consider the "unknowlable future" is the "unknowable future" only to us. Given that Allah is our Creator, our ordering of time cannot be applied to Him, a fact revealed by the following verse:
[Luqman said:] "My son, even if something weighs as little as a mustard-seed and is inside a rock or anywhere else in the heavens or Earth, Allah will bring it out. Allah is All-Pervading, All-Aware. (Surah Luqman, 16)
For Allah, all events occur in one moment. The examples given from the lives of Musa (as), the Companions of the Cave, Khidhr (as), Dhu'l-Qarnayn (as), Muhammad (saas), and all of the other Prophets, as well as of our own time, are all like one moment in His presence. Our grandchildren, even their grandchildren, and the lives of all the people who will come after them also occur in the same moment. In Allah's presence, the Hour has taken place and the people have gone to their eternal abode already. Those who believe in Allah are in Paradise, and those who do not are suffering in Hell.
According to a widespread but false belief, Allah has created humanity, given its members a certain amount of time, awaits the results of their trials, and will continue to wait until the universe dies. (We hold Allah above this.) But in reality, it is inconceivable for Allah to wait, for waiting is a human characteristic whereas Allah is beyond and above all imperfections of humanity. Allah's name Al-Quddus (The Holy) means that He is free from all error, weakness, shortcoming, heedlessness and from any kind of defect. He encompasses all people's past and future, and the details of all their life experiences. But people believe that time, as they understand it here, flows from the past (before) toward the future (after), whereas in Allah's presence such words and concepts do not exist. Everything, all people and all living beings, live all at once. All times, eras, periods, histories, and even all days, hours, and minutes, are present in the same moment. Even if the limited intellectual capacity of people prevents them from seeing this truth, this reality is clear.
This is the main reason why believers appreciate Allah's might and so submit to and trust in Him. They know that Allah encompasses them and everything else, that they are totally dependent upon Him, and that they are small next to His greatness.
Being able to appreciate Allah's greatness and power, and to comprehend the wisdom behind events and their fine details, believers submit to Allah willingly.
The verse "But if I should be sent back to my Lord, I will definitely get something better in return" (Surat al-Kahf, 36) describes people who believe that they will enter Paradise without observing the boundaries established by Allah or obeying His commands. Such people consider themselves exempt and are arrogant with Allah.
Many people say that they believe in Allah and the Qur'an, although they have no fear of Him. They do not obey Allah's commands, abide by what is lawful and unlawful, and do not follow the Messenger's (saas) path. And yet they have a strong faith that they will go to Paradise after they die.
On the other hand, the believers hope for Paradise but fear Hell: "those who affirm the Day of Judgment, those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord (no one is safe from the punishment of his Lord)" (Surat al-Ma`arij, 26-28). This attitude is pointed out in: "Call on Him fearfully and eagerly. Allah's mercy is close to the good-doers" (Surat al-A`raf, 56). Believers behave in this way because no one can be certain that he or she will not enter Hell, but all of them know that the unbelievers will certainly suffer its fierce punishment:
Do they feel secure that the all-enveloping punishment of Allah will not come upon them, or that the Last Hour will not come upon them all of a sudden, when they least expect it? (Surah Yusuf, 107)
Do those who plot evil actions feel secure that Allah will not cause the land to swallow them up or that a punishment will not come upon them from where they least expect? (Surat an-Nahl, 45)
His companion, with whom he was debating, said to him: "Do you not, then, believe in Him Who created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, and then formed you as a man? (Surat al-Kahf, 37)
This verse provides guidance on how believers should behave when inviting others to good morality or when reminding people of Allah. If the people with whom they are talking have forgotten their helplessness before Allah and have become arrogant, the best thing to do is to remind them of their helplessness.
The other garden owner, being a man of faith, invites the arrogant owner to faith by reminding him that he was "created from dust and a drop of sperm." Clearly, if Allah wills it, this invitation could have a positive effect on this person. The faithful garden owner realized his neighbor's weak faith and perceived the need to provide support. To explain Allah's signs in nature is one of the best ways to strengthen another person's faith.
The speech of the arrogant garden owner differs from the speech of a Muslim. In fact, it evokes the style of an unbeliever. This is why the faithful garden owner begins his question with "Do you not, then, believe in Him?" The other person might not be openly proclaiming his unbelief, but his words clearly show that he does not believe with certainty. Although he professes belief with his words, and yet he does not actually abide by Allah's law. This contradiction means that he denies Allah.
One often meets these self-contradicting people. Most people say they believe in Allah, but they do not lead a life that pleases Him. Instead, they act contrary to the Qur'an's morality and do not follow in the Prophet's (saas) footsteps. Despite their words and deeds, which amount to denial, they consider themselves righteous and destined for Paradise. But they are only deceiving themselves, for Allah says that:
As for those who denied Our Signs and the encounter of the Hereafter, their actions will come to nothing. Will they be repaid except for what they did? (Surat al-A`raf, 147)
He is, however, Allah, my Lord, and I will not associate anyone with my Lord. (Surat al-Kahf, 38)
Throughout Surat al-Kahf, Allah points out that the majority of people ascribe partners to Him. In the Qur'an, denial by association means to prefer anybody, anything, or any idea over Allah, or to consider them equal and to act accordingly. The Qur'an calls this "setting up other gods together with Allah." In truth, this means to choose a purpose in life contrary to Allah's good pleasure, to seek salvation from or the pleasure of any other being, or to hold anything in higher esteem than Allah.
People need to refrain from such a sin, for Allah warns humanity that while He will forgive all other sins, if He wills to do so, He will never forgive this particular sin (Surat an-Nisa', 116). Obviously, Muslims will want to avoid such a great sin at all costs. Prophet Luqman (as) advised his son as follows: "My son, do not associate anything with Allah. Associating others with Him is a terrible wrong" (Surah Luqman, 13). Another reason why this sin is so great is that it causes good deeds to be erased, which leads to ultimate loss. The Qur'an reveals this:
It has been revealed to you and those before you: "If you associate others with Allah, your actions will come to nothing, and you will be among the losers." (Surat az-Zumar, 65)
Given the above, all who ascribe partners to Allah will end up in Hell, unless they sincerely repent and embrace, and then adhere to, His religion. This is why those who are in awe of Allah's glory must be aware of this danger.
Why, when you entered your garden, did you not say: "It is as Allah wills. There is no strength but in Allah." Though you see me with less wealth and children than you possess. (Surat al-Kahf, 39)
This verse indicates the importance of "ma sha' Allah" (It is as Allah wills). Believers use it to express their respect when regarding the superior art and power of Allah's creation.
Using this expression in a heartfelt manner reminds others that Allah owns all things, that everything happens in according to destiny, and that only He can will anything to happen. No doubt, such reminders are beneficial, for people easily forget their own helplessness and descend into ignorance.
For example, the unbelieving garden owner is ascribing partners to Allah by stating that he owns all of the property. Even though he does not clearly express his denial, "hidden association" is inherent in his words and behavior. Thus his friend warns him about ascribing partners to Allah and reminds him that everything belongs to Allah.
[Turn, then, away from all that is false], turning to Him alone. Heed Him and establish prayer. Do not be one of those who associate [others with Him]. (Surah Rum, 31)
Especially in our own time, people must always be aware of this danger, for such situations occur frequently. For instance, Al-Ghani (The Rich, He Who is free from need) is one of Allah's attributes, but the same word is used to describe people. There is no objection in using this term to describe someone's financial status, but it can turn into association if one considers his or her self, intellect, or effort to be the cause of this wealth.
This being the case, people easily forget, as did the unbelieving owner of the garden, that Allah is the true owner of all wealth. They also forget that just as He, the only One Who is "ghani" (rich), gave them whatever they own, He can take everything away if He wills. Such people adopt a truly crude attitude and mentality, which amounts to associating others with Allah. As a result, they will not realize that everybody other than Allah is poor and helpless, and that Allah can affect any one of His servants with any part of His attributes. Looking at things from such a perspective and acting accordingly leads to forgetting Allah's infinite power and rule, and to associating oneself with Him.
The right attitude is to know that Allah is the true owner of all wealth, to acknowledge that He is the sole governor of all that exists, and to be aware that He can remove the wealth that He gives at any time. One should not look at rich people in terms of whether they are rich or poor, but as servants of Allah to whom He has given wealth. For instance, if such people's families regard them as the true owners of their wealth, if all of their hopes rest on that person so that they forget that Allah is the Lord of all wealth and do not remind them of this reality, then their attitude would be truly misguided. Likewise, the employees of such people should not forget that Allah provides food, drink, and shelter. It would be a grave mistake to forget Allah and to consider one's employer as an independent power capable of many things. The Qur'an reveals the truth of such matters, as follows:
Instead of Allah, you worship only idols. You are inventing a lie. Those you worship besides Allah have no power to provide for you. So seek your provision from Allah, and worship Him and give thanks to Him. It is to Him you will be returned. (Surat al-`Ankabut, 17)
"It may well be that my Lord will give me something better than your garden, and send down upon it a fireball from the sky so that morning finds it a shifting heap of dust, or morning finds its water drained into the ground so that you cannot get at it." (Surat al-Kahf, 40-41)
In these verses, the believing garden owner reminds his proud friend of his helplessness by pointing out that he cannot prevent any disaster sent by Allah, and that showing arrogance in the face of this reality is to be thoughtless.
One of the greatest mistakes of people whose property and wealth make them vain is to forget that these, like all the beauty on Earth, are only temporary. Beauty and youth eventually give way to old age, just as health makes way for illness, incapacity, and weakness.
As all wealth is only temporary, Allah can make a poor person rich and destroy the wealth of a rich person in an instant. People can lose their houses, yachts, cars, or jewelry in floods, earthquakes, or other disasters in a matter of moments. No one can prevent a disaster sent by Allah. Anyone can lose loved ones, die, become disabled, suffer permanent injury, or lose his or her memory and faculties, for: "No misfortune occurs except with Allah's permission" (Surat at-Taghabun, 11). Such events cannot be prevented, reversed, or delayed. On such a day, neither wealth nor property will be of any use, for: "As for those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will ever save them from Allah in any way." (Surah Al `Imran, 10)
Someone who considers his possessions (e.g., yachts, villas, and other property) safe forever, realizes his hopelessness after a tornado. Allah gives power, wealth, health, and wellbeing to whomever He wills. He also lets people grow old to show them His Signs and to remind them that just as with all of the world's adornments, they cannot even control their own bodies.
Since eveyone experiences only what Allah has ordained, they should submit to and trust in Allah. The garden owner, in his conceit, ignored this truth when he claimed that nothing bad would befall his gardens or their produce until the end of time. He was certain that the river watering his gardens would remain there forever, that no pest would ever attack his produce, and that he would not face drought or similar disasters. He felt that his wealth, intelligence, and effort would be enough to protect his property.
However, Allah can easily turn everything on its head. The river could drain into the ground due to a small-scale tremor. Such a thing can happen in the blink of an eye, rendering the land arid and unproductive. Who, other than Allah, could bring the river back or make this man's field productive once again? Certainly his property and even all of his wealth could not help him here. This is what he earns for his conceit and ungratefulness. Those material things that he valued and claimed ownership over, which caused him to invent lies against Allah and to ascribe partners to Him, will not help him in the Hereafter, for:
Woe to every faultfinding backbiter who has amassed wealth and hoarded it! He thinks that his wealth will make him live forever. No indeed! He will be flung into the Shatterer. And what will convey to you what the Shatterer is? The kindled Fire of Allah reaching right into the heart. It is sealed in above them in towering columns. (Surat al-Humaza, 1-9)
Surat al-Kahf 40-41 also refers to the great gift of Allah willing soothing underground water to rise to the surface. Had this not been so, people would be in great difficulty. But thanks to wells and other means that enable us to reach the clear and mineral-rich underground water, we can benefit from this gift.


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We're not scandalized by "modern music". We're left flat by fake folkies and hymns that sound like butter commercials and sitcom theme music.
Tertullian (c. A.D. 200): "Musical concerts with viol and lute belong to Apollo, to the Muses, to Minerva and Mercury who invented them; ye who are Christians, hate and abhor these things whose very authors themselves must be the object of loathing and aversion."
Sacred music, whether vocal or instrumental, should (in my opinion) be solemn, awe-inspiring, and God-honoring. It should not be intentionally boring, insipid, or just plain bad, but its primary purpose is not to entertain.
American Gospel singing is not much solemn, but imho it's meant to be God-honouring and awe-inspiring and it surely isn't insipid.ymmv, Ebor
Linus: lets not forget that traditional sacred music was once CONTEMPORARY sacred music. What more, music can be awe-inspiring, and God-honouring while being vibrant, panegyrical, and gratifying and without being stodgy, tedious, or irrelevant to the people. I'm not saying we need to imitate Baptists, but I love a dynamic praise-filled service. There are few things so dull as going to church and the congregation sits there immobile while the choir sings some song no one knows the words to. I go to concerts to hear other people sing. I go to church to sing the praises of God.
Linus: "leaning on the everlasting arms," "Amazing Grace," "Pass me Not," "joyful joyful," "Oh Happy Day" NOT MUCH GOOD?? Linus, brother - we need to get you some SOUL!!
Linus: don't confuse contemporary inspired music with so called "Christian rock" which is a blatant contradiction in terms. You should come up here visit our church and see what good Christian music is
Many of the song writing Fathers did write theological popular songs to be sung to contemporary tunes.Not for church worship - but there was always a tradition of extra-liturgical christian song.
The Coptic/Ethiopian/Eritrean Orthodox have always used a small cymbal and triangles to keep a rhythm in hymns, and in sub-saharan Africa in the Orthodox missions I believe that some drums are used.
And who is to say that if David had had an electric guitar and a trap set and synthesizer available to him, Israel would not have used them?
Caffeinator: Pipe organs give me a headache.
Personally, I prefer music I can sing along with I take my worship personally.
Sure the Psalms are prophetic... but that doesn't mean that we worship exactly like they depect or we'd still be in Judaism. For eg. Ps150 talkes about praising God with various instruments, which St. Clement of Alexandria (I think) interprets to be the parts of the body that we use in singing.
It doesn't say in Scripture that we should not use instruments. Yet we don't use intruments. This isn't a contradiciton with Scripture, it would only be a contracition if It said to use instruments and we didn't, you can't be in contradiciton with something Scripture is silent with.
There's lots of NT practice that isn't recorded in the Bible. After all the Bible isn't a book laying out what Christian worship should look like. Christ taught the Apostles what needs to be in the Liturgy and the Apostles wrote thier Liturgies accordingly. The Liturgy is not in the Bible, but that doesn't mean that it's contrary to Scripture. The Bible talks about our salvation, it's not meant to be a complete instruction on how Christians should worship. The practacle aspects of worship, including the Liturgy and the disuse of instruments, are largely left to Tradition and not included in the Bible. It's not a contradiction, just two different sources of information that don't contradict but don't contain everything in the other either. (well, Tradition includes the Bible since the Bible is tradition, but not the other way...)
And trap sets don't?Me too, that's why I prefer Missa de Angelis
There's an answer to most of this discussion that is staring everyone in the face, spread out across the whole thread, once we get past guitars, cymbals, and Tertullian.
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Travel Guide of Downtown, Miami for: Four Seasons Hotel MiamiDowntown, Miami, Florida
Downtown Summary
- Sunny weather year-round
- 15-20 min ride from MIA, $12 flat rate
- Miami's financial center, great for business travelers
- Glittering skyscrapers with stunning views
- High rise hotels with elevated decks for maximum sun exposure
- Catching a game at the American Airlines Arena
- The Adrienne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts (a triple threat of opera, philharmonics and ballet)
- The Rubell Family Collection (one of the world's greatest private collections)
- The Margulies Collection
- The Museum of Contemporary Art
- Shopping and gallery hopping in the Design District
- No beach
- Not much nightlife
- Not a residential area
- Lonely, sketchy streets around the Design District and Midtown
- Unreliable public transportation
- Not for pedestrians -- driving a car or catching a cab is a must
- Difficult, expensive parking
- Oppressively hot and humid summers, especially Aug.-Sep.
- Slight hurricane potential from Jun. 1st to Nov. 30th
What It's Like
What we call Downtown Miami is really a combination of three strictly non-residential neighborhoods -- the Design District to the north, Midtown in the (er) middle and the Financial District to the south.
The city's pet project, untold millions have converted the Design District into a shopping mecca for high-end furniture, art, jewelry and clothing. The Living Room and Moore Building -- where Design Miami is held each year -- are the district's most iconic structures. But since it's mostly stores and galleries, it's pretty dead most evenings.
Separated from the Design District by the road to the airport, Midtown is what its prettier sister up north looked like before her makeover. This former rail yard houses the Rubell Family Collection ( one of the world's greatest private collections), Miami collector Martin Z. Margulies' famed Margulies Collection, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. But like its fair sister up north, it's completely deserted at night.
Miami's financial center occupies downtown's southern tip. This is where business travelers are most likely to find themselves. With glittering skyscrapers reaching to the heavens, the skyline is especially impressive in the evenings when the towers are lit like the massive prisms. If you're a sports fan, you can catch a game at the American Airlines Arena or take a cultured turn at the Adrienne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts (a triple threat of opera, philharmonics and ballet).
Where to Stay
If you're staying Downtown, it means two things. One, you're here for business (don't tell us you want a beachless vacation!); two, you're staying in the Financial District -- the only part of town where there are enough hotels to actually make a choice. This, by the way, is a good thing -- your hotel is guaranteed to be close to virtually every corporate office in Miami. And you'll find a room to suit pretty much every wallet, from the standard Holiday Inn Port of Miami, to the convention-friendly Hyatt Regency, to the luxuriously glossy Epic Hotel. If you want to stay away from the hubbub, consider a hotel on Brickell Key, a small island just off the mainland with manicured gardens and a jogging path that follows the water. Populated by towering condos, it's where you'll find some of the richest and most successful locals... and also the most expensive hotels. But even if you're staying at Brickell Key's posh Mandarin Oriental, remember -- there still ain't no beach.
Downtown Hotel Guides
Best Luxury Hotels in Downtown Miami
Price alone doesn't cut it -- what we're looking for is iconic design, beautiful rooms, overindulgent service, and the best food in Miami. Here's a list of downtown hotels where you can live in the lap of luxury.
Best Hotel Service in Downtown Miami
Just because it's an upscale hotel doesn't mean the service is great. Here's our list of the most attitude-free hotels in Downtown Miami, where you will be waited on hand and foot throughout your stay -- from check-in to checkout, from the beach to the pool, and from your room to the restaurant.


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Among our guest chatters recently was Jason Wilson, who has just stepped down from writing The Post's Spirits column. Here are edited excerpts from a recent online chat:
Q. Our garden is overflowing with arugula. Any suggestions for what to do with it besides make salads? Maybe pastas or pizzas?
A. I love putting fresh arugula on pizza right after it comes out of the oven. That crisp bite offsets the cheesy richness of the pizza nicely, I think. But the best way to handle a whole lot of tender greens like arugula is to cook it, because the volume reduces so significantly. I like arugula in pesto instead of basil. You could also blanch it, squeeze it dry, and freeze it in plastic freezer bags to use later.
— Joe Yonan
Q. Two friends are getting married this summer and asked me to develop a cocktail for the wedding: something easy that could be pre-mixed and dispensed to about 100 people. I'm thinking some kind of punch, possibly old-school, that wouldn't involve a lot of prep. Any suggestions?
A. For an old-timey summer wedding punch, I love Gin Punch, which is very simple, though it's for people who normally are cocktail people. Even more old-timey is Light Guard Punch, with sherry, cognac, Sauternes and pineapple: light and nice in hot weather. Find both at washingtonpost.com/recipes.
— Jason Wilson
Q. What's the difference between salsa and picante sauce? I have a recipe that calls for the latter, but I have the former and was hoping I could substitute it.
A. Basically, a blender. Salsa is textured/chopped, picante is pureed.
— Bonnie S. Benwick
Q. I love sidecars! But when I order one, I never know what I'm going to get. When asked, what should I say I really want in it, other than fresh lemon juice? (And if they can't do that, I get a glass of wine instead!)
A. Sidecars are a tricky business. I wrote a blog post a few years back about different sidecar variations, just to show how many directions you could go in. As for the classic sidecar, I always recommend a ratio of two parts cognac to one part each of lemon juice and Cointreau. But the cognac has to be a good one — VSOP or better — or the result can be disappointing.
Q. Can you recommend a cookbook for a college student who will be moving off-campus and cooking for himself for the first time? He's going to want recipes that are easy, quick and cheap. He does have some basic cooking skills and will be cooking for himself and roommates.
A. I guess it depends on the student's level of engagement with food. If it's modest, I'd suggest Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything." If he is curious about techniques and cooking equipment, I'd suggest "The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook."
— Tim Carman
Q. In general, do you think it's better to bake a cake the day you're going to eat it or the day before?
A. I think it depends on the cake. If it's unfrosted, or maybe just glazed, and could be eaten warm, bake it the day you're going to eat it, and try to serve it warm. You know, like a pound cake or even a quick sweet bread, like banana bread. But if it's a layered and frosted cake, I like making and frosting it the day before, because the cake soaks up some of the moisture and flavor from the frosting.
Q. I got a jar of caviar as a gift over the holidays and stuck it in the freezer. How long does an unopened jar last?
A. It's not a good idea to freeze caviar. Ruins the texture. Yours may already be compromised.