text:
A new show called "Alpha House," whose pilot filmed in New York late last month, has many of the ingredients necessary for television success.
John Goodman, coming off notable roles in Oscar-winning movies "Argo" and "The Artist," is the star. Bill Murray did a cameo. Stephen Colbert shot a teaser for the next episode of the series, which is written by "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau.
Yet this is not the project of a big movie studio or a television network but rather of Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>, the world's largest Internet retailer.
Amazon, along with Netflix <NFLX.O>, Google <GOOG.O>, Apple <AAPL.O>, Intel <INTC.O>, Microsoft <MSFT.O> and others, aims to play a major role in the Internet-driven transformation of Hollywood. Like Netflix, it has decided that it must move beyond being a distributor of others' shows to producing top-drawer programming of its own.
"I'm always worried I'm going to be in a YouTube video," Goodman told Reuters during a break in filming at the cavernous Cine Magic Riverfront Studios in Brooklyn,New York. "But this is just the same as a TV set – full production value, great director, good technical people."
"I'm very interested to see where this is going to go – TV distribution over your computer," he added.
Amazon's approach mixes the tactics of traditional network TV with innovations from the online world. It does not sell a stand-alone video subscription service likeNetflix – instead, it bundles streaming video with its Amazon Prime membership program, in which shoppers pay an annual fee of $79 for two-day shipping on most of their purchases from Amazon.com.
Amazon hopes original shows will encourage more people to sign up for Amazon Prime. The online retailer says Prime members tend to buy more goods, but it does not give specifics.
Unlike Netflix, which turned a lot of heads when it plunked down an estimated $100 million to produce two seasons of the drama "House of Cards," Amazon is creating pilots for about a dozen shows.
Amazon has not disclosed how much money it is investing in original video production, but some media experts estimate it likely will cost more than $10 million to produce the pilots. It will pick the shows to develop into full seasons based on the feedback it receives about the pilots, which will be posted online.
"If Amazon has a breakout hit, Hollywood will take them very seriously quickly," said Dave Davis, founder of Arpeggio Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on entertainment.
"With a hit, they will be able to attract subscribers to the only place they can get that show," he added.
The "Alpha House" set at Riverfront Studios was bustling last week with more than 100 makeup artists, set builders, camera operators and other crew members. A mock-up of the Senate floor dominated the scene, along with a large green screen used to superimpose actors alongside footage of real politicians.
Trudeau said Amazon provided everything needed to get "Alpha House," about four senators living together in a rented house in Washington, D.C., done right.
"They're moving fast and big," he said. "They want to go out and make a lot of noise all at once."
Trudeau had been trying to make "Alpha House" into a TV show for several years.
"In the last year, all at once there were new, serious players in this business, like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu," he added. "The project would not have been possible a year ago."
The streaming video business has moved remarkably quickly from reliance on licensing of old movies and TV shows to head-on competition with long-dominant broadcast networks, cable companies and movie studios.
Netflix broke new ground this year, making all episodes of the first season of "House of Cards" available only through its subscription video-streaming service. The political drama boasted A-list movie talent, including two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey. Netflix executives say it has been the most-watched show on the service in every country that it operates and critics gave it solid reviews.
Only-on-Netflix series coming later this year include the revival of onetime Fox comedy "Arrested Development" and murder mystery "Hemlock Grove," directed by horror movie producer Eli Roth.
"Everybody wants to have originals so they can stand apart from their peers, as non-exclusive content becomes a commodity," said Tony Wible, media and entertainment analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott.
"Originals have been very successful for traditional TV networks, and I don't see why it won't be successful for these emerging networks, too," Wible said, citing AMC's success with shows such as "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead."
Roughly half the pilots Amazon is shooting are comedies and half are kids shows. They include "Browsers," a musical comedy starring Emmy and Tony winnerBebe Neuwirth, and "The Onion Presents: The News," based on the satirical news service.
Established TV and movie players seem unperturbed by Amazon's efforts, considering the company just another entrant, among many, in the quest for original content.
"We are not nervous. We are aware of the competition and we have reacted accordingly," Eric Kessler, president of HBO, said during a technology industry conference in February.
HBO, a unit of Time Warner <TWX.N>, has thrived by producing high-quality TV shows of its own. It created HBO Go in February 2010, giving HBO subscribers access to its content from the Internet and mobile devices. This service has 6.5 million registered users now.
Producing original entertainment carries risks for Amazon; it's expensive, and there's no guarantee that hits will come. The company has spent millions of dollars developing feature-film scripts in recent years and has yet to green-light a movie.
"They want to walk before they run, and TV is a less-expensive way to begin," said Marty Weiss of Martini Shot Films who has a movie script, "The Alchemist Agenda," on Amazon's development slate. Weiss rewrote the script about five months ago and has not heard back from Amazon Studios since handing the revised version in.
A network TV show costs $2 million to $4 million per hour to produce, depending on whether it is a cheap reality TV show or a more expensive scripted series like a drama, according to Janney's Wible. The first season of a new TV series can range from seven to 13 shows, so it would typically cost $7 million at the low end to $26 million at the high end, he said, stressing that these were very rough estimates.
The price tag varies depending on whether it is a reality show or scripted, the time it takes to film and whether the project is co-produced or not.
Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios, would not say how much Amazon is spending on its pilots, which take about a week to film and run the standard 22 minutes. Price, who developed TV series at Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> from 1995 to 2000, said the company is not cutting corners.
Amazon has a market value of $120 billion and generated more than $4 billion in cash from operations last year. It spent $4.6 billion on technology and content, including video content, in 2012. That is almost half the market value of Netflix.
"Our process is different from what various other parties are doing," said Price, when asked about Netflix's big bet on "House of Cards." "The pilot process works well for us. We would like some evidence that customers are eager to see a show before committing to a TV series."
Amazon has delved deeply into its gigantic customer database to find the common characteristics of popular TV shows: original, scripted series with strong characters and actors did better than reality TV or special-effects-heavy sci-fi series.
The main requirement was great scripts, so the small Amazon Studios team read more than 3,000 scripts from May 2012 to early 2013. The team included Price;Joe Lewis, a former 20th Century Fox production director who heads original programming at Amazon Studios; Sarah Babineau, a development executive, and about three dozen freelance story analysts.
This spring, when the pilots are scheduled to be completed, Amazon will post the shows online for free for anyone to watch. It will then collect data on which shows are viewed and shared online the most, and monitor reviews and other customer feedback to decide which projects to pursue further.
Amazon has the option of syndicating a series later if it is popular. There are no plans to create a stand-alone video streaming service or to run ads with the shows, Price said. "The goal is to create great content that will enhance the value and attractiveness of Prime."
Great content, in the end, will depend on simple, non-digital ingredients: quality scripts, high production values and talented stars.
Goodman was planning to jet off to Berlin to shoot another big-budget movie after the "Alpha House" filming ended. But he suggested that he would show up for more Amazon-backed shows if invited.
"They keep me stored in a warehouse and ship me out when they need me," Goodman jokes. "The shipping charges are substantial." (Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Tiffany Wu and Douglas Royalty)


text:
I've posted a few more photos from our trip on my Facebook page. First, we spent a day in Bilbao, and we visited that beautiful museum that I've read about since before it was even built.
Then, we drove to San Sebastian where we spent a week in an apartment on Paseo de Ramon Maria Lili. It was situated right between the two bridges that cross the River Urumea as it empties into the Bay of Biscay. It was an easy walk to the Parte Vieja, La Concha beach, and bars, cafes, shops, and markets.
The first meal I want to talk about was lunch at Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo-Bizkaia which is about an hour away from San Sebastian by car. Other than the use of grills, wood ovens, and specifically chosen wood for cooking at Etxebarri, the other thing I repeatedly read about this restaurant was that everyone gets lost on their way there. We did too. Our little detour only made us 20 minutes late, and we were still greeted warmly. The restaurant is in an historic building with a backdrop of mountains and a winding country road. The bar is on the first floor with the dining room above.
A couple of days later, we visited Arzak, listed as the eighth best restaurant in the world, for dinner. I didn't bring my camera for this meal. I just wanted to enjoy it without documenting each bite at the same time. The photos shown here were provided by Arzak. We took a taxi, and as the car stopped in front of the restaurant, the front door opened and we were welcomed and shown inside. Our umbrellas were taken and stored for us, and we were immediately shown to our comfortable table.
The sommelier guided us through the wine list and helped us choose a couple of very nice wines from nearby regions. Then, without further ado, we were each poured a glass of the house Txakoli, which was fantastic, to go with a parade of amuse-bouches. There were long picks holding shrimp wrapped in crunchy kataifi that projected off a vertical support; an unbelievably good corn soup with morcilla; an upside-down crushed Schweppes can that served as the plate for a tiny, chorizo mousse-filled, delicate pastry called "Chorizo with Tonic;" and there were sardines with strawberry which was an uncommonly good combination. I think I'm forgetting one or two other amuse-bouches. I was too delighted to keep track of them all.
We all chose the dinner tasting menu, and there were options for all but one course. I was thrilled to be able to choose dishes with no red meat for the entire meal. The first course, shown in the top photo of this post and above, was a crispy cone made of manioc and filled with a foie gras mousse with huitlacoche. We were instructed to use our spoons to pick up the cones and keep the filling inside and then to bite into them. They were rich, delicious, lovely things, and Kurt suggested I learn to make them and serve them for dinner at home every Tuesday. I'd love to. The meal progressed with perfect timing and impeccable service. One course included a "dusted" sous vide egg with shrimp powder and a plump, little mussel. There was a tapioca salad with citrus and a course of white tuna with prickly pear and figs. I ordered the pigeon which was served with tender slices of breast meat, on which the skin had been crisped, sitting on a purple "anthocyanin" sauce topped with long pieces of chives. The pigeon legs were served on a separate, little plate with hibiscus pudding. Every single flavor complemented the others, and I've never been so happy with a course of fowl.
There were two desserts per person, and the males received different desserts than the females did. Each was a plate made up of components with a dish of a ice cream or sorbet on the side. After a chocolate column filled with a fruity pastry cream, toasted garlic slices, and edible flowers held in place with tiny dots of more pastry cream among other little chocolate confections on the dessert plate, my palate was cleansed by a basil sorbet. My next dessert was served on a clear, glass, rectangular plate that was set on top of a same-sized rectangle of colorful art. There were more little components across the plate including a bright, red, jellied ladybug that burst with a creme fraiche-like filling. The passionfruit and banana sorbet with that dessert course was fantastic. Last, our check came with a silver platter of chocolates molded into shapes of nuts and bolts.
Both Elena and Juan Mari Arzak came out to talk with us at different points in the meal. They were both extremely friendly and kind. As we were leaving, the chefs were saying goodbye to diners and happily taking photos with groups. The two of them were so approachable and sweet, we forgot for a moment what incredible talents they both are in the culinary world. Before we stepped out the door that was being held open for us, our umbrellas were returned as we were thanked and told buenas noches. And, that, undoubtedly, was the best meal I've ever had.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — The captain was a few minutes late, though no one seemed to mind.
Russell Wilson is usually worth the wait, and no more than on this day, his final one speaking about the game before he actually plays The Game.
Peyton Manning is supposed to be the star of this Super Bowl, but a minor league second baseman who refused to listen to those who said he was too small to play quarterback in the NFL may have something to say about that. Proving people wrong is almost as fun for Wilson as winning football games, and he's done both with great regularity since being drafted with the 75th overall pick two years ago by the Seattle Seahawks.
"For all the kids that have been told, no, that they can't do it, or all the kids that will be told no," Wilson said. "That's one of the reasons that I left playing baseball, to be honest with you. I had this urge to play the game of football, because so many people — I shouldn't say so many, a handful of people — said I couldn't do it.
Richard Sherman will be the player most remembered from the win that got Seattle here. But if not for a gutsy play on an equally gutsy call, the Seahawks would not be in position to win their first Super Bowl title. Wilson found Jermaine Kearse in the end zone for the touchdown on a fourth down against San Francisco in the NFC championship game, giving the Seahawks the lead for the first time.
It was the kind of play a veteran star like Manning might make when it counts most. The kind of play Wilson prepared for meticulously every day for the past two years.
The kind of play that can win a Super Bowl.
"I don't think I've seen too many people have the knack to want be great. He wants to be a great quarterback," receiver Percy Harvin said. "He just doesn't want to be average or All-Pro. He wants to be talked about as a great quarterback and I don't think he's going to stop until he does."
By now, Wilson's story is fairly well known. The son of the late Harrison Wilson III — a star athlete at Dartmouth who became a lawyer after briefly thinking of trying out for the NFL in 1977 — he lost a job as starting quarterback at North Carolina State while playing second base in the Colorado Rockies organization.
Wilson would give up baseball to star as a graduate student at Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to the Big 10 title and a spot in the Rose Bowl. But he was undersized at 5-foot-11 and languished in the NFL draft before Pete Carroll and the Seahawks took a chance on him for what was expected to be a backup quarterback position.
Instead, Carroll called him to the basketball court at the team's complex prior to his rookie season, where Wilson watched him shoot jumpers.
"I go outside and he said, 'You want to shoot?' " Wilson said. "Then he said, 'We want you to know you're going to be the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, hopefully for a long time.'
"That put a huge smile on my face. I immediately thought of my mom and dad and all the things they've done for me and all the discipline they gave me."
That discipline is evident in the way Wilson approaches his job as both the quarterback and leader of his team. Like all quarterbacks he watches film, but Wilson is constantly studying situations and is relentless about fixing mistakes.
"He makes everyone around him almost a perfectionist because we pick up off that and the habits that he has," said receiver Ricardo Lockette. "He is always the first one there in the morning and the last one to leave."
Those habits helped propel the Seahawks to an 11-5 record last season behind their rookie QB. They beat the Washington Redskins in the first round of the playoffs, then lost a shootout to Atlanta that had Wilson down in the dumps — if only for a moment.
By the time he was in the tunnel going back to the locker room he had already begun thinking what he had to do in the offseason to get the Seahawks over the hump this year.
"I want to change the game and there's a difference between being good and being great and changing the game," Wilson said. "Guys like Peyton Manning change the game in terms of the way he thinks and in terms of the way he processes things. Tom Brady is the same way, he's so clutch that people fear him. One day I want to evolve to that."
Wilson can take a big step in that direction should he join an elite group of quarterbacks (Brady, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger) who have won a Super Bowl in just their second year. He's certainly not overwhelmed by the moment, and seems to embrace the challenge, even when it comes to answering the same questions over and over during the pregame buildup.
A great believer in visualization, he already sees himself on the field at the Meadowlands, is already trying to figure out how to feel when the national anthem is sung and the stadium erupts in flashes for the kickoff.
"Then it will be, OK, I'm ready to go," Wilson said.
If he is, there may be more than one quarterback star in this Super Bowl.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — The captain was a few minutes late, though no one seemed to mind.


text:
'Smokin' Joe Frazier -- Dead at 67
Joe Frazier Boxing Great Dies at 67
"Smokin" Joe Frazier died this evening after battling liver cancer ... according to the boxing legend's agent.
The former heavyweight champ was diagnosed just last month with liver cancer.
Darren Prince tells TMZ Frazier passed away at home in Philadelphia just over an hour ago. He was surrounded by his family.
Joe fought Muhammad Ali three times in the 70s ... defeating him in '71. Their last battle was the legendary "Thrilla in Manilla."
Joe Frazier was 67 years old.


text:
- Home
- Our History
- National Historical Sites
- Mount Pleasant Historic District
Mount Pleasant Historic District
District Recognition
The Mount Pleasant Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. This historic area is 30 blocks bounded by the Charleston Harbor (west), Shem Creek (north), Royal Avenue (east), and McCants Drive (south). The district is recognized for its important architectural styles and historic functions including domestic, religious, military, transportation, and commercial purposes.
National Register Nomination-Documentation ClarificationThe Mount Pleasant Historic District was listed on March 30, 1973, which was relatively early in South Carolina's National Register program. At this time, very little documentation was required during the nomination and approval process for historic districts. Therefore, the paperwork for Mount Pleasant's nomination is minimal and only enumerates 10 properties (nine buildings and one cemetery) as selected architectural examples. However, there are many other contributing properties within the district's boundaries. Moreover, there are also a number of noncontributing properties that are not specified in this documentation.
Local Historic Overlay District
In 1979, Mount Pleasant created a local historic district administered by the Old Village Historic District Commission. This conservation historic district is a 37 block area that incorporates the smaller district on the National Register. The local district is bounded by Shem Creek (north, excluding the boatyard), Whilden Street (east), the old bridge and marshland (south), and the Charleston Harbor (west). The purpose of this district is to protect, preserve, and enhance the architecture of the Old Village and to encourage harmonious growth and development. Other goals include promoting the use and preservation of the historic district for the education and welfare of town residents while also encouraging civic pride.
Old Village Historic District
Architectural Character
The special character of Mount Pleasant's Old Village Historic District results from the particular social history of the area, especially since 1759, when the oldest surviving house was built. In the historic district varied examples of historic architecture still stand along the community's oldest streets thanks to the residents and property owners who have preserved it. As the streetscapes illustrate, Mount Pleasant history continues. Its buildings document the growth more vividly than any records or writings can. It attests to the area's origins as an early land grant up through the modern era, but without the urban sprawl that has infected many of the state's coastal towns and cities.
Social History
Quiet Residential Area
While the rest of the town has experienced tremendous development during the past 30 years, the Old Village Historic District has remained a quiet residential area of small and large houses. The land encompassed by the district's boundaries typifies South Carolina's inland coastal settlements. Shade trees line the sides of the streets and wood poles carry electrical and cable wires throughout the district. Front yards are typically lawns that extend from the sidewalk or street to the house. Setback varies with some dwellings having small front yards and others having large expanses of lawn. Along the harbor, houses sit atop bluffs with views of the water and nearby landmasses including the peninsula of Charleston.
Bibliographic Summary: U.S. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places; Town of Mount Pleasant Old Village Historic District Design Guidelines Handbook (Mount Pleasant: Town of Mount Pleasant, 2001), 2-3; Mary-Julia C. Royall, Images of America: Mount Pleasant: The Victorian Village (Mount Pleasant: Arcadia Publishing, 1997), Introduction, Ch 1; South Carolina Department of Archives.
Post House on Pitt Street
Pitt Street Pharmacy
Pitt Street Pharmacy
Soda Fountain
Historic Houses
217 Bennett St.


text:
Six Points: For the Arizona Cardinals, a win is a win
I'm not sure how it happened, but the Arizona Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium to push their record to 2-2 on the season.
Now this wasn't the same kind of shock we all felt when the Cardinals knocked off Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Foxborough in Week 2 of 2012. This is a much different kind of shock, because the guys in the red uniforms simply stunk up the joint for three quarters in a game they were expected to win.
But the fourth quarter was a different story for Arizona, as they got two field goals from Jay Feely and a 13-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald to head home with a win under their belt.
Here are six things that stood out during the Cardinals' surprising (but not surprising) win against the Buccaneers.
1. Tip your hat to the defense – No Sam Acho. No Lorenzo Alexander. No Alex Okafor. No Rashad Johnson. Darnell Dockett, Jasper Brinkley and Vic So'oto left the game due to injury. Yet the Cardinals didn't bat an eye, holding the Bucs to a total of 253 yards of offense in the game — with only 109 of that coming in the second half. Arizona bottled up Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin, holding the league's second-leading rusher to just 45 yards on 27 carries (1.7 yards per tote). And they came up with turnovers in the fourth quarter. Patrick Peterson had two interceptions of rookie QB Mike Glennon, the second sealing the game with :48 left.
It was a gutty effort by a depleted defensive unit, and that effort was the biggest factor in the win.
2. Offensive Line – Admit it. When Tampa Bay's Gerald McCoy broke through unblocked and sacked Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer for an 8-yard loss on the game's first play, you thought that was going to be a common occurrence Sunday, didn't you? It wasn't. That was the only sack yielded by the Cardinals on the day and according to NFL statistics, Palmer was hit only three times in the game. Sure, Levi Brown and Eric Winston combined for three false start penalties, but there were few breakdowns on the line, even after guard Daryn Colledge left the game with a leg injury. It wasn't a spectacular performance, but a good enough win to earn a road win.
3. The running game – If you take away Andre Ellington's 25-yard run in the second quarter and Palmer's 10-yard scramble (yes, you read that right), the Cardinals had 21 yards rushing on 18 carries. Rashard Mendenhall couldn't get anything going on the day and fumbled twice. You definitely get the feeling that the Cardinals are moving toward making Ellington the feature back in the very near future, as he is by far the most explosive option on the roster at the RB position right now.
4. Moch momentum – Dontay Moch hasn't been on the roster very long after being elevated from the practice squad, but the former Hamilton High star made his presence felt Sunday. Moch had a huge sack on a key third down for the Bucs. In fact, Moch almost gave the Cardinals a lead, as the sack happened just outside the Tampa Bay goal line. On the day, Moch had two total tackles and two hits on Glennon. The Cardinals are always preaching "next man up," meaning when someone goes down with injury, those who step in need to step up. Moch did just that in his first opportunity Sunday.
5. What is Greg Schiano doing? – Many questioned Schiano's decision to bench Josh Freeman and go with Glennon so early in the season, but early on it looked like the right move. But as the game wore on, Glennon looked less and less comfortable in the pocket, completing just 9-of-19 passes in the second half for 78 yards and two picks. But Schiano had many scratching their heads when it came to late-game play calling. On a 2nd-and-6 from their own 11-yard line and holding a 10-3 with under four minutes to play, the Bucs went with a pass play, and Glennon was picked off by Patrick Peterson, who brought it back to the Tampa Bay 13-yard line. One play later, Palmer hit Fitzgerald for the game-tying touchdown. Curious, curious stuff right there.
6. Flashbacks aren't fun – For three quarters (and for most of last week's game), the Cardinals looked exactly like the putrid 2012 version of the team — good defensive play mixed with inept offense. The Cardinals looked hesitant to take shots down the field (especially in the first half) and Palmer looked very content to throw short dump-offs to running backs.
Thankfully the scheme and the aggressiveness level changed in the second half, with more downfield throws from Palmer. The veteran had 190 of his 248 passing yards in the second half.
It doesn't matter how ugly it was, a win is a win in the National Football League, and the Cardinals will take it heading home to host the Carolina Panthers in Glendale next Sunday.


text:
We were leaving Auckland last November to begin our tour of North Island when I noticed the man on the motorcycle in front of us. I could see the city reflected in his helmet, but what made me lift my camera was the love message written on the round rearview mirror on the right side of his bike. Do you see it … the heart with two small xx's underneath?
I have been thinking a great deal lately about the ways in which we communicate and particularly with the people we love. It is a huge topic with endless amounts of information available in bookstores or a quick click or two on our computers. It's a great source of frustration for many and one most of us will spend hours of our lives discussing at some point.
One of my favorite books on this topic has been around for some time and when I went to the website of Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages, I found the short assessment that I took a few years ago. Back then it reaffirmed what I already knew about myself but more importantly, it gave me an easy and concise way to share how I interpret love when trying to explain it to others.
There are some additional assessments added that deal with children and a few other topics that you might find a worthwhile use of your time especially if you've been feeling disconnected lately from the important people in your life.
Have a look and let me know what you think and I will be back tomorrow to share my assessment and tell you which love language I speak.


text:
'Glee' to Take on 'Star Wars' During Christmas Episode
Ah, Christmas — a time for crackling fires, happy families and … Hairy creatures? Not so much. Nevertheless, 'Glee' will incorporate 'Star Wars' into next week's 'Extraordinary Merry Christmas' episode, which means the A-list guest star will be none other than Chewbacca!
Matthew Morrison, who making his directional debut as the commander of the the holiday ep, sat down with Jimmy Kimmel to chat about the show and revealed that it will be an episode within an episode — sort of an ode to the single 'Star Wars Holiday Special' and the Judy Garland specials of Christmases past.
"We called up George Lucas, and he gave us Chewbacca," Morrison said. "There's only one guy who can officially be Chewbacca, and he lives in Northern California. They flew him in. We had Chewbacca for the day. It was just great. We were taking pictures with him. He's been doing it for 12 years."
While we learned via Chris Colfer's Twitter last month that Chewie would be making an appearance, we had no idea that he'd be a major plot line in the episode until now. Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike Chang, further dove into the details, saying, "He makes an appearance into Artie's dream in a way. I can't really delve into the details, but it's something to do with Artie."
Shum also gushed that Chewbacca's invitation to the 'Glee' set was a surprise to most of the cast, and the set was "like a mad house" when he wrapped up his scene. "Everyone's face was so happy. They were showing off their pictures," Shum said. "They actually got him to come back to take pictures with us, too. We were soooo angry that we didn't get a picture with Chewbacca. It was so funny how many people actually love Chewbacca."
'Extraordinary Merry Christmas' airs Dec. 13 on FOX.


text:
Measures on Product Spaces
After considering the product of measurable spaces, let's consider what happens if our spaces are actually equipped with measures. That is, let and be -finite measure spaces, and consider the product space .
Now, if is any measurable subset of , then we can define two functions — and — by the formulæ and , where and are the –section determined by and -section determined by , respectively. I say that both and are non-negative measurable functions, and that
where we take the first integral over and the second over .
Let be the collection of subsets of for which the assertions we've made are true. It's straightforward to see that is closed under countable disjoint unions. Indeed, if is a sequence of disjoint sets for which the assertions hold — call the functions and respectively — then if is the disjoint union of the we can calculate
Since each of the are measurable, so is , and is similarly measurable. The equality of the integrals should be clear.
Now, since and are -finite, every measurable subset of can be covered by a countable disjoint union of measurable rectangles, each side of each of which has finite measure. Thus we just have to verify that the result holds for such measurable rectangles with finite-measure sides, and it will hold for all measurable subsets of , and that is a monotone class. That is a monotone class follows from the dominated convergence theorem and the monotone convergence theorem, and so we have only to show that the assertions hold for measurable rectangles with finite-measure sides.
Okay, so let be a measurable rectangle with and . We can simplify our functions to write
These are clearly measurable, and we find that
so the assertions hold for measurable rectangles with finite-measure sides, and thus for all measurable subsets of .
1 Comment »
[…] We continue as yesterday, considering the two -finite measure spaces and , and the product measure space […]
Pingback by Product Measures « The Unapologetic Mathematician | July 23, 2010 |


text:
I took this "disclaimer" from Linux-Advance Networking Overview by Saravanan Radhakrishnan (08-1999) because it applies in my own case:
All the text in this document is completely based on my understanding of implementations of various features. I have read some documents and have seen the code myself, and I described them based on my understanding. If the reader notices any concept description which appears to be contrary to their understanding of the concept, the issue can be taken up for discussion and corrections will be made to the document as necessary. I would appreciate any suggestions and comments made in order to improve the quality of this document.


text:
Hurricane Sandy crossed the eastern region south to north, leaving a trail of destruction and death, mainly because of the fragility of the houses and facilities and their lack of maintenance and improvement over a period of decades. They were sad days, but luckily we got rid of the usual political, ideological and patriotic tirades around this type of atmospheric phenomenon, common in previous years. As joy must prevail, even in misfortune, I propose this fictional chronicle for today, Sunday, the style of which appeared previously.
The enemy, begotten, trained, armed and directed by the Empire, Category 2, with winds of 150 kilometers per hour, in the October rain moved sinuously toward the impoverished Haiti, and masked in moonless nights and protected by thick curtains of rain, moved slowly toward the southern shores of the eastern Cuban provinces, presumably unguarded.
Our patriotic and sagacious observers, with foresight situated on the heights of Picos Cuba, Suecia y Turquino, and in the beautiful and idyllic beaches, tirelessly and without sleep, firm in honorably fulfilling their missions, automatics on their shoulders and binoculars to their eyes, trying to detect and thwart the invader's dark intentions against our indomitable and noble working people, our elders, women and children.
But he, the monster traitor, coward, petty, antisocial, dissident and annexationist, hidden, as only those without honor are, attacked unexpectedly, sending gusts of wind and rain and, despite stiff resistance from militiamen and villagers, supported by unbeaten and gallant military units, destroyed shacks and huts, the poorly constructed roads and embankments and the poorly tended crops that had been sown after more than fifty years of enormous sacrifices, pain and tears, in the titanic task of building a country and a better world.
Then, in an unexpected move, turning his ideology to the right, he was deeply conservative, and entered the national territory without authorization or visa, illegally and arrogantly, treading with his filthy putrid winds and waters the sacred space of the redeemed Fatherland. He progressed, striking right and left, supported by lying propaganda and the manipulations of the Empire and its minions at home and abroad, despite the Televised Roundtables, newspaper editorials and a wise and great defense organized by our authorities, who bravely tried to stop the passage of the invader and to destroy him in the most colossal meteorological battle known to mankind in all its history, but it all proved unsuccessful.
The fascist freak of nature, criminal and genocidal, alien to the most basic human feelings, continued its predator's advance, trying to trample our national honor and to shatter our sovereignty and independence as well as to shred the glorious national flag and break our indestructible Latin American solidarity. The murderer, as bloodthirsty, as the rulers he served, continued lacerating our meat, though at great cost, to the extent that, cornered between Gibara and Holguin, beaten everywhere, sore and pleading, he was forced to leave the country without even getting bronze medal, after hours of hard fighting.
As always in difficult situations, our invincible people grew and, in one go, under one will, gave the wily attacker a lesson that surely he will never forget. So the enemy is treated in this land of freedom, no matter where he comes from and who arms him.
November 4 2012


text:
To The Editor: Madison County Supervisors must restore the funding their proposed budget takes from local non-profits. The less than $400,000 in proposed budget cuts is such a miniscule amount compared to the overall $100 million budget, there must be another way to balance the budget. And while I would like to see funding restored to ALL of the non-profits, I would like to speak in particular to restoring funds to libraries. My family has always used the library education and for entertainment. When my son was in school, the library was the place where he found information for his reports and the place where he could type up his assignments before we had our own computer. I see students doing this when I visit the library now. When I was taking online college classes, the library was often able to find and loan me expensive textbooks. Now we get our books, e-books, CDs, and DVDs from our library (the Sullivan Free Library) SEVEN DAYS A WEEK! When our computer was in the shop for several days, kept up with our email by using the library's computers. Along with many, I attend plays, movies, lectures, workshops and meetings at my library. What an incredible resource my library is to almost everyone in the community! Our libraries are worth more than any dollar amount can express, but here are two figures that may surprise you. According to the American Library Association, for every dollar taxpayers invest in public libraries, "there was an average return of more than $4 in benefits to patrons, the community and the economy." In New York, according to the state Education Department, for every $1 in aid that the library systems receive, library patrons receive approximately $13 in services! I bet there is no other group in the proposed budget that comes close to matching the return on our tax monies that libraries give us! Truly, as the saying goes, libraries will get you through times of no money, better than money will get you through times of no libraries. If you cannot find another way to restore funding to our libraries and the other non-profits, I, for one, would favor a small tax increase to help restore this funding, particularly to our libraries. But if you find this untenable, please consider an option other than the complete funding cut that is on the table. You are asking the best return on your money to fund 29 percent of the funding cuts, an unfair proportion, as there are groups in your budget that are receiving NO cuts at all. While I have not yet seen the rationale for the cuts you are seeking to make, it seems that, absent a solid reason to do otherwise, why not share the burden equally by cutting ALL of the non-profits by 30 percent (which would come to $401,206, approximately the same amount of funding cuts that the proposed budget calls for now)? I thank you for your consideration. The Oneida Daily Dispatch welcomes letters from our readers about subjects of interest. Letters should be fewer than 500 words Letters are subject to editing for clarity, brevity and taste and limited to one per writer per calendar month.All letters must include the author's name, address and a daytime phone number to verify the letter's authenticity; phone number and exact street address will not be published. Please send to: Oneida Daily Dispatch, 130 Broad St. Oneida, NY, 13421 or : email@example.com
LETTER: Madison County should restore funding to county libraries
Start the conversation


text:
Hello my dearest readers. After my last post it seems like all the little workers in my mind grabbed their coats and went on holiday. Or not even that – they walked out of the office without any notice of where they were going or when they would return. Maybe it sounds a little odd, I don't know, but it didn't even worry me and I followed in their footsteps out the door. If I were to sum up the past few weeks with one word I would describe it as being in limbo, and it shows all around me. Piles of clothes, mountains of dishes, dust and crumbs and Loke's hairs everywhere. Multiply that with the mess I have previously complained about times a thousand.
I have had a few milder emotional outbursts when my lids have fluttered open to take in my surroundings, but it is like even my annoyance is in a state of limbo. All that frustration I can feel when I get nothing done goes pooff before even half its usual magnitude is reached. I still don't know whether to call this true hibernation or depression, though. All that I feel — or don't feel — and this lack of care for the state of this house or my daily doings could also be, if going by symptoms listed on the web, called depression. The thing is I think I consciously accepted I am depleted at the start of February, and it was after that I let go and disappeared. I keep asking myself does it really matter? Do I have to put a name on it?
However, in the past week it has become clear that I was meant to do this. Shut down, turn off, retreat. I had too much in my mind, too many wants, wishes and ideas buzzing around together with needs and pressing necessities. A jitter so loud that I couldn't make sense of anything at all. So after I last week made an important phone call that had been eating me up from the inside out since early January, I had a moment of clarity.
At the start of the year I received a letter to let me know it was time to begin the repayments of my student loan. I have waited for this letter ever since I finished my studies in December 2016. The way it works is that after completing your studies you get one year respite. I assume it is to give you time to find a job or to do further studies, in which case you continue on as a student and loan taker and don't have to repay anything until you are completely finished. I knew already, deep down, I wasn't going to university, but I think somewhere underneath it all I felt an immense obligation to make something happen that would generate an income within twelve months. That obligation was in conflict with my dreams and wishes — my heart's desire — to build my very own business on my own terms, and I think I subconsciously stuffed the entire affair further and further away from my conscious mind.
So the first instalment was due on the 28th of February, and at the end of last week I finally picked up the phone. I don't fully get this immense issue I have with speaking over the phone. Part of it, I think, might be that I can't see the person I am talking to, and I hear voices better if I can see the facial movements of those I speak with. Like an anchor, to connect one to the other. Without that anchor some words become muffled and I seem to miss chunks of what people are actually saying. Simply put: I lose focus when speaking with people over the phone. And somewhere amongst it all I get nervous and start shaking, my pulse goes up and I sweat, too. It really is awful. Usually I sit with the phone so hardly pressed to my ear it's all red by the time I am done, haha. It can help to close my eyes, to cut off any external impressions that might disrupt my attention. Or I can doodle on a piece of paper. Sometimes that helps, too, but it differs from time to time, mood to mood.
The kind lady on the phone was so very helpful, though, and she walked me through an application for extension over the web. She could watch live from her end as I filled in the details and clicked my way through. When it was done she told me that CSN's (the name of the student loan company) handling of these applications are automatic, but she could with confidence assure me my loan will now be frozen for another year. The tears welled up in an instant and I cried. Oh, I am getting all emotional again now as I write about it, but the relief I felt in that moment crashed over me like the most divine ocean wave. I think I overwhelmed her with my profuse thank you, thank you so much I am so happy. But I really was. And after I hung up an email arrived to tell me my application had been approved and that my payments for this year have been reduced to zero. Ahhh, can you tell I am so so happy? 😀
So as I wrote further up, I had a moment of clarity. For the first time in weeks it was like I could see in colours again, and the world didn't seem shrouded in a haze. I really believe I had to let go of absolutely everything and get back to basics. Imagine you have collected a pile of washing into your arms, you know the one that is so big it keeps falling apart, and you actually have to peer around the mountain you embrace to see where you are going. And suddenly you can't remember if you have collected all the sock pairs. So instead of running around the house with that tangled ball, I had to drop and spread it out over the floor to see what I actually have to deal with. Now I may have a mess spanning wall-to-wall in our home and in my life, but at least I can walk around with a clear view of it all. This loan was one of those things hidden deep within that pile, and it had festered and spread into so many areas of my life… I can't believe I just compared a loan to socks and used the word festering. Can't stop laughing now. 😀
Another big change is that the days are getting longer, the sun warmer, and the birds are chirping. Yesterday I took another slow stroll with Loke down our road through the fields. At first I listened only to the creak of our foot and paw steps. Loke's made this soft and crisp resonating sound, while my own were more like crunch-crunch, haha. But then I stopped and closed my eyes, turned my face to the sun and this amazing chirp and chatter of the birds soaked right through me. Usually Loke will start sniffing around the ground, but he remained completely still by my side and I think he, too, was listening to the wakening song of the birds.
Right now I really hope that I am waking up for real, but at the same time I feel there is still time left to consider the lessons from the past few weeks. From the past months, really. It all began last autumn, and I can't let go of this thought that there are stages in life, and stages within those stages. Each needs to be given its own time, and it won't matter if I don't accept it and keep going anyway — at some point those things I choose to work even harder to squeeze whatever I can out of (or ignore completely) will make their demands.
I especially think of the days I have looked out the window at the magical beauty of sunshine over glittering fields and gazed with longing at the tree line beyond. And how I barely used my camera — my amazing new camera Jay got me. Not even imagining myself there among snow-laden pines and spruces gave me the strength to get up. Still, somehow, I found ways to be at peace with it. This is where I am right now, and in all probability where I need to be. I told myself this so many times during these weeks. Told myself it will pass, just like every other time previously. What I believe and fervently hope is that giving myself an abundance of time will make all the difference; to not use up the steady-but-slow refuelling process by making myself feel guilty for all this non-productivity or inactivity. This will allow my being to truly rest. It seems like the closer to empty I have been, the harder my body and mind has worked to use the little energy in my reserves. Like an engine low on oil will eventually be wrecked, like a fuel tank sputtering when running on fumes.
And little by little I have felt that pull to get up and do things, grab my camera. A couple of days I walked around outside, if only for a short while, but I was grateful for those short little moments. I could tell myself it was enough and truly feel content. At the end of the day, a knowing I'm finding hard to explain rests within me. It may be a quiet and soft whisper, but it's an encouragement all the same. Maybe it's that trust that is returning — the relationship I think we need to build with the world around us, that there is meaning in events that at first make no sense to us, that frustrate us or even seem like a nuisance. The events out of our control. I think of it as sailing. I know nothing about sailing, but as far as I have understood it's about positioning the sails to work with the winds. I imagine you have to feel those winds and know how to set the sails to be able to maneuver the boat in the direction you want to go. Those winds can't be controlled or manufactured to suit my wants or wishes. But I can give in and work with them. To accept what I can't do and be okay with what I can do. However little it may be. It's enough. For now, it's more than enough.
I'm sending you all my love, and a big, warm hug.


text:
You know what kids don't deserve? Free pudding. And you know why? Because they're too damn eager. Puppy dog eyes may work on spineless parents, but they're not gonna move Kraft's stone hearted sample dispenser.
Jell-O's Temptations dessert is being marketed to adults so this vending machine has built-in face recognition to check the age of anyone who approaches. And if you're too young the dispenser will shut down and ask you to step aside without giving you a sample. Rules are rules, people.
Developed by Intel, the dispenser uses facial data, like the size of your eyes and their distance apart, to figure out how old you are. It can also determine gender and whether or not you start smiling once your sample is dispensed. The device does not take or store photos, because that would make this whole idea super creepy. Unlike that smiling thing.
Ed Kaczmarek, Kraft's director of innovation and consumer experiences, says that the machine "has a big gee-whiz factor." Clearly, this marketing experiment is better left to the adults. Today's youngins don't know the first thing about delicious treats or wonderment, much less the meaning of gee-whiz. [USAToday via Eater]


text:
Four Christmas Carolers. by Vicki Wade Fine Art
I recently came across a fabulous artist, Vicki Wade and was blown away by her her oil paintings, especially the snowscenes. Her paintings have a way of drawing the viewer in and becoming a part of her scene. I love her technique of achieving a soft atmosphere effect, and the animated features of her characters are totally captivating. Vicki's snowscenes takes me back to my youth – it was a fun find for me and wanted to share her blog with you!
I hope you take an opportunity to visit her blog, I think you'll find a wonderful gem. Be sure to scroll on the left-hand side to see all Vicki's categories.


text:
An impending retirement doesn't get you a pass from government watchdogs. U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, was awarded a "dishonorable mention" today from the Citizens for Responsibility in Washington in its annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress report. The bulk of the criticism is from the congressman's ability to funnel federal money to organizations his son David was running.
"After spending more than 30 years in Congress, Rep. Dicks apparently learned a few tricks on how to game the appropriations process," said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan in the organization's press release. "Directing millions of dollars to his son's organization via noncompetitive agreements and grants is ludicrous. Conduct like this reinforces the widely held view that members of Congress are more interested in enriching themselves and their family members than in public service."
While the criticism is pointed, Dicks is only within the second tier of legislators the organization names. He joins seven others in the "Dishonorable Mention" category, including California Republican Darrell Issa, who CREW says broke disclosure laws in his quest to hold Attorney General Eric Holder accountable for the "Fast and Furious" mess. And Ron Paul fans, fresh off their outrage at how their delegates were treated at the Republican National Convention, will no doubt be humbled by CREW's placement of Paul in the same list as Dicks, because the retiring Texas Republican reportedly "billed his member's representational allowance for travel receipts while receiving reimbursements in identical amounts from either his campaign or one of a handful of libertarian nonprofits, including one where the mother-in-law of one of his daughters was treasurer. "
The top tier, named the "Most Corrupt," include four Democrats and eight Republicans.
California Democrat Rep. Laura Richardson makes the list of 12 of the most corrupt because, CREW reports, she "bullied and coerced her official staff into working on her reelection campaign."
New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm cracked the list of 12 because, according to CREW, "The New York Republican enlisted a well-connected Israeli citizen, Ofer Biton, during his 2010 campaign. Mr. Biton allegedly helped candidate Grimm solicit large sums from donors, including several pornography distributors, frequently breaking campaign contribution limits in the process, all in the hope that, once in office, Rep. Grimm would help him procure a green card."
CREW has been publishing its "Most Corrupt" list since 2005. This is the first time Dicks has received any mention on it.
Dicks, Paul and Democrat Rep. Edolphus Towns are all retiring. Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida lost in that state's primary, so he won't be back.
Sloan said Dicks' retirement was not at all a factor in whether he made this year's list. I asked her that question because I remember receiving CREW's list going back a few years and each year I would look for the local angle. One year, 2010, CREW didn't name a single legislator, because after five years of publishing its list and naming 56 different lawmakers the organization grew tired that 37 of those lawmakers were never even investigated by the ethics overseers in either house. Of the 19 that were investigated, three were officially "admonished" and two were given statements of violation.
I tried to reach Dicks' office to comment on this and have yet to speak to someone there. I'll keep trying.


text:
Gates brews a national tea party emporium
When Charlene Phillips started making scone mixtures from the basement of her Gates home in 2000, she had no idea that she had tapped into the recipe for a national home tea-party business.
"Initially we thought we'd sell them (scone mixes) to tea rooms and gift shops, yet as I got into the manufacturing part of things, I realized it wasn't so much fun," she said. "I wanted to share them with people. I was excited about them and I didn't want to be stuck in the basement with the flour."
And what better to go with scones than tea?
"I have a Scottish-English heritage," she said, "and growing up I got to visit England when I was 12. I was enamored with the whole tea time experience."
Collaborating with her husband, Eric Phillips, a Gates native and Rochester Institute of Technology packaging technologies graduate, the two came up with the idea to do in-home tea parties.
"We took our assets and we combined that into a business that worked for us," said Eric Phillips. "I think that's a successful formula for anybody. You take what you're good at and you work it."
Today, Tealightful Treasures, based in Bermar Park in Gates, has about 100 consultants in 35 different states. Consultants throw tea parties in people's homes. The Hostess of the party picks certain themes such as the "You are My Sunshine Mother and Daughter Tea Party" or a "Decadent Dessert Tea Party" and consultants bring a specific line of products along for guests to sample, while ordering out of the Tealightful Treasures catalog.
Seven years after Charlene and Eric Phillips invested in the industrial kitchen equipment to make scone mixes in their basement, Tealightful Treasures has expanded so much that the 2007 offerings filled a 19- page catalog. The collection includes specialty lines of china, Zen oil burners, scented sachets, natural soaps, teas of all varieties, herb and fruit mixtures which can be used like loose tea, hand-crafted tea pods made of exotic flower blossoms and green tea leaves that bloom into a decorative and drinkable work of art, and of course, scone mixes.
It didn't happen overnight though.
First, Charlene tried it herself, bringing her scone mixes and tea products into the homes of friends and families for parties. Then, in the summer of 2004, the couple invited hostesses and customers from the Rochester area to a tea at the Springhouse in Pittsford to share their vision to grow the company into a national direct-selling home tea party business.
"When we investigated this business model, it was apparent that you could be successful on a small regional scale as well as on a national scale," said Eric Phillips. "It allowed you to take steps to get to that point."
For the next year, the group worked to develop policies, procedures and a training manual for consultants, all while going out into homes to host parties.
"It was very exciting because as they started having their first tea parties, they were having the same results I was," said Charlene Phillips. "Good attendance, good sales, and that's what I needed to see, that it wasn't going to work just for me."
That inspired the Phillips' to take the next leap of launching the company nationwide. Tealightful Treasures Inc., grew state by state, with consultants in Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York. In September 2007, the company moved to 25 Bermar Park in Gates.
"We have a huge vision and the tea industry is growing phenomenally," she said.
"When I started this there were about 100 tea rooms nationwide. Now there's well over 1,000. And the specialty segment, loose teas and specialty teas, which we do — it's forecasted to be $12 billion by the year 2011."
Consultants can get into the home tea party business for $199, Charlene Phillips said. Tealightful Treasures provides consultants with a lot of support such as Web sites, training materials, networking opportunities, weekly conference calls and incentives to bring more consultants into the company. There's even a certified CPA who specializes in home-based businesses available to help consultants with their taxes.
"We encompass everything you need to know to be successful," said Charlene Phillips.
Wendy Palczynski of Chili recently started as a consultant to make a little extra cash since her other job as a mortgage consultant has been slow lately.
A tea drinker for years, Palczynski said, she's learned a lot more about tea. She even went so far as to recommend her friend use it to help her older dog's bad breath. And when a tree fell on her neighbor's house during the recent wind storm, Palczynski brought her some scones and tea over to help calm her down.
Tealightful Treasures promotes tea not just as a drink, but as an ingredient to cook with and a way to incorporate anti-oxidants into your diet. Tea adds an interesting spice to foods and the tannins make a wonderful natural meat tenderizer, Charlene said. Foods being sampled at an open house at their Gates headquarters last week featured Tealightful Chicken soup, cooked using Tealightful Treasures' Apricot Tea, Pork and Mushroom Stew, using Tealightful Treasures' Lapsang Souchong tea leaves, Jasmine Tea Rice, and Herb and Tea Cheese Scones.
Lisa McMahon of Rochester was surprised at just how tasty the foods were.
"It's not something I would think to put in my chicken noodle soup," she said.
Amy Cavalier can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 243, or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Betsy Cross: It's not gonna cost you — if you stay healthy
New Englanders have a reputation for being, um, frugal. We buy things on sale and we put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat. We take pride in our ability to save money. Well, I've got another way to save even more! Be healthy. Don't smoke, get diabetes, heart disease or cancer. Simple, right?
Maybe not simple, but definitely achievable for many people. "Most chronic illness can be prevented or at the very least postponed by making long-term healthy lifestyle choices," says Patricia Bollinger-Blanc, BSN, MEd, RNBC, Clinical Director at the Natick VNA. We hear headlines about the skyrocketing cost of healthcare and that this disease or that illness costs the country X number of dollars each year. The numbers are incomprehensible — literally, billions of dollars and millions of people each year.
But what does that mean in the day-to-day life of the average person? A little rough math tells us a lot:
- Families who have one child with diabetes can expect to pay up to 10 percent of their household income each year caring for that child. The median income for US households is just under $51,000, which means the household cost of a child with diabetes is about $5,100 a year.
- The annual cost of smoking one pack of cigarettes a day can be well over $5,000 a year. Add to that the increased health and homeowners insurance rates, personal hygiene (teeth whitening, etc.) and cleaning (household carpets, etc.), it adds up quickly. If you smoke and plan to sell your car or home, expect to sell them for 10 percent less than a non-smoker.
- Heart disease is costly, too. One third of all deaths in the US are attributed to heart disease and nearly $1 of every $6 in US healthcare expenditures are spent on heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These 83 million Americans spend more than $444 billion on health care each year, an average of almost $5,400 per person per year.
- Cancer is another one. Taking into account doctor's appointments (co-payments and lab tests), treatments (chemotherapy and radiation) not covered by insurance, medication costs (including co-payments and over-the-counter drugs), transportation, care-giving such as home health care, personal care assistance and/or a nursing facility and employment and legal issues. Depending on your diagnosis, your care and your coverage, you could spend between $2,000 and $400,000 a year out-of-pocket!
- There may not be anything we can do to completely prevent these diseases, but we sure can try! Take a look at your lifestyle. Do you eat a mainly healthy diet? Do you exercise more days that not? How's your blood pressure? Do you visit your doctor regularly and have screening exams as recommended? Study after study has shown that these regular healthy habits work. People who eat right, exercise and visit their doctor are generally healthier than those who don't.
Cheaper and better for you? Now that's the ultimate in Yankee frugality!
Betsy Cross is Director of Development for the Natick Visiting Nurse Association (Mass.), a not-for-profit health care organization providing home care to thousands of people throughout MetroWest each year. For more information, call the Natick VNA at (508) 653-3081.


text:
Project Hoverboard 2015 needs your help to get off the ground
With just two years left to realise the promise of Back To The Future Part II's hoverboards, a US$1 million Indiegogo project is aiming to make them a reality
Back in 1989, Back to the Future Part II promised us a world of self-lacing shoes, inflatable jackets and hoverboards. And with under two years to go before we hit the film's setting of 2015, one Indiegogo project is aiming to make that future a reality.
All they need is… one million dollars.
Yes, Haltek Industires is looking to create a real, working hoverboard. It reckons that it's entirely feasible – the tech already exists, it just needs adapting.
All Aboard
For example, both Aerofex and Chris Malloy (above) have created prototype hoverbikes that use ducted fans to generate lift. And IBM's lithium air batteries use – you guessed it – air to create power.
These light and powerful batteries combined with a miniaturised version of the hoverbike could be enough to create a hoverboard. The fact that both technologies are still in the prototype stage doesn't seem to deter Haltek in the slightest.
Future smarts
Haltek plans to create apps that control the board, including diagnostics and even remote controls with a built-in camera.
So, how much will a hoverboard set you back? US$10,000 will get you a board, if they manage to make it. US$10 will get you access to the myriad data that is being collected along the path to making one.
But before you reach for your wallet, it's worth noting that Haltek is only promising to try to build a hoverboard. Its main concern is to, ahem, get the project off the ground. Its tag line on Indeigogo? "Probably impossible… but certainly worth a try!"
Also, bear in mind that Indiegogo, unlike Kickstarter, will take your money even if the project doesn't meet its target funding – so you could be throwing your money away on nothing but a promise. Still, here's hoping it, erm, takes off.
[Source: Indiegogo]


text:
Animal Sacrifice and the First Amendment: The Case of Lukumi Babalu Aye
ANIMAL LAW AND THE COURTS: A READER, Taimie Bryant, David N. Cassuto, Rebecca Huss, eds., Thomson West, 2008
28 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2008 Last revised: 5 Sep 2011
Date Written: May 13, 2011
Animal sacrifice and religious ritual have intertwined for thousands of years. The practice remains integral to Santería, an Afro-Cuban religion that has many adherents in the United States, particularly in Florida. In 1987, when the Santería Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye announced plans to open in Hialeah, Florida, the city reacted by passing a set of ordinances banning animal sacrifice. The Church sued and the issue of whether the ritual killing of animals constituted protected religious expression eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah asked the Court to resolve two linked constitutional questions: Does the ritual slaughter of animals constitute religious expression protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution? And, if so, (or even if not) may the practice be banned or regulated by the State? These are difficult questions and the Court's attempt to answer them raises more questions still. This chapter examines the Court's reasoning in the Lukumi case to determine whether it clarified or further clouded the relationship between animal sacrifice and the First Amendment. It argues that the plurality opinion's attempt to cast the Hialeah ordinances as underperforming animal protection statutes was both misguided and counterproductive.
Defining the Hialeah ordinances as anti-cruelty rather than as anti-sacrifice enabled the Court to find the laws both overbroad and underinclusive. For those reasons, the Court deemed the ordinances to be intolerably burdensome to religious practices. This reasoning falls prey to the same imprecision the Court imputes to the challenged laws. It demands that the laws be both narrowly drawn to accomplish a specific goal while yet remaining broadly applicable to behavior that lies beyond their stated scope. Such conflicting expectations create an impossible standard. In addition, by classifying the animal sacrifice laws as failed anti-cruelty statutes and then invalidating them on First Amendment grounds, the Court jeopardized future attempts to legislate animal protection laws, even when such laws only incidentally impact religious practices.
Keywords: animals, First Amendment, Free Exercise Clause, Establishment Clause, Animal Law, Animal Sacrifice, Lukumi Babalu, Santeria, constitutional law, freedom of religion, animal rights, animal welfare
JEL Classification: K00, K19, K42, K30, K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation


text:
The most comprehensive and easy to navigate link directory for anything related to other puzzles and brain activities - games, toys, crosswords, quizzes, trivia, IQ, math and much more.
Open Directory Project
The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors.


text:
System management software is a nebulous term; the discussion here is about software to provision new servers, manage packages, control updates, and monitor servers, all from a central location. This does not necessarily include server hardware inventory, software build management, and other related tasks.
The Red Hat Network is a perfect example; Spacewalk is the open-source version of the Red Hat Network Satellite. Spacewalk has been out for a while, and recently released version 0.7. Originally, Spacewalk required Oracle as the back-end database; they may have been able to remove this dependency (replacing Oracle with PostgreSQL). The CentOS Wiki has a very nice HowTo describing how to install and run Spacewalk.
However, before implementing Spacewalk 0.7, note that Lee Verbern notes that the 0.7 client is broken (rhnsd does not work properly). The problems should be fixed in the next release.
Canonical's Landscape is a counterpart to the Red Hat Network and is available for Ubuntu systems. Like the Red Hat Network, Canonical's Landscape is a commercial product and closed source. Canonical has a blog for Landscape news, but the blog hasn't been updated since November 2009. The Landscape project has a nice page with links to descriptions, tours, frequently asked questions, and more.
The blog WorkswithU has a nice article describing Landscape (albeit from February 2009).
Amazingly, the Canonical Landscape team even has a YouTube account with many valuable videos describing Landscape as well as many tutorials. They have a video introduction to Landscape you might want to see.
Finding an open source provisioning tool (outside of Spacewalk) is difficult; these tools are not common nor are they used by the average user.
One apparently powerful tool seems to be ControlTier, although it leans more towards package (and service) management than provisioning. ControlTier seems to be extremely flexible, allowing you to write scripts to interface with a variety of products and systems. ControlTier also has a blog, though it hasn't been updated since November 2009.
The ControlTier team worked with Reductive Labs (the folks behind the open source configuration management tool Puppet) to create an interesting whitepaper about integrating ControlTier with Puppet.
I think I'd like to try ControlTier with Puppet; in particular, learning Puppet would be a good thing. I'll report my experiences.


text:
Effective Web Solutions
There's a reason why some of our clients have been with us for more than 13 years! We are constantly working to improve, update, and increase your presence on the internet
At Effective Web Solutions, we want your company to succeed. Our goal is to help your company reach new heights through effective SEO and internet marketing. Our team of web developers, social media experts, and content writers work together to get more calls and customers for your business. Some of our clients have been with Us for more than ten years. We are continually working to improve, update, and increase your presence on the internet. There are many SEO companies that promise the moon, stars, and the heavens, but they all fall short. Most of what they offer is false optimism. At EWS, you can see the proven results!
Business Name:
Effective Web Solutions
1142 Broadway #220Tacoma Washington 98402United States
(253) 802-7669
About Tacoma
Tacoma ( tə-KOH-mə) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 31 miles (50 km) northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 219,346, according to the 2020 census. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third-largest in the state. Tacoma also serves as the center of business activity for the South Sound region, which has a population of about 1 million.
Neighborhoods in Tacoma, Washington
6, Browns Point, Central Tacoma, Clinton Park, Downtown Tacoma, Eastside, Excelsior, Fern Hill, Foster, Hillsdale, Hilltop, Jovita, Lake City, Larchmont, Lincoln International District
Things to do in Tacoma, Washington
Our Newest Profiles


text:
SAVANNAH — Police say three of the six men wanted in a shooting at a fair in Savannah have been taken into custody.
Savannah-Chatham police say Shawn Sibert, 21, was arrested Tuesday afternoon without incident.
Police say Sibert and 21-year-old Lajuan Sloman were involved in a shootout with each other at the Coastal Empire Fair in Savannah Nov. 3.
Eight people were injured, and police say Sloman remains at large.
The Savannah Morning News (http://bit.ly/Wu67bj) reported 19-year-old Jeffrey Crawford surrendered Monday night at the Chatham County Jail.
Crawford is one of four men who made false statements to impede the police investigation. Diqwane Butler, 28, was also arrested for submitting false statements.
Ephraim Rashad German, 19, and Terrence Lassalle Thacker Jr., 23, are both wanted for lying to police about the shooting.


text:
What makes someone a hero?
It seems like it's a simple question, but MSNBC host Chris Hayes caused a firestorm when he said on Memorial Day weekend that he was uncomfortable calling people heroes just because they served in the military.
"Why do I feel so uncomfortable about the word 'hero'? I feel uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war," Hayes said Sunday on MSNBC. "I don't want to obviously desecrate or disrespect the memory of anyone that's fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I'm wrong about that."
Hayes' remarks immediately sparked a backlash, with some saying it was inappropriate to say such things about those putting their lives on the line to fight for their country.
Hayes issued an apology Monday, saying he understood why people were angry that someone who had never served or dealt with the cost of wars would make such a statement. His apology reads:
"On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word 'hero' to describe those members of the armed forces who have given their lives, I don't think I lived up to the standards of rigor, respect and empathy for those affected by the issues we discuss that I've set for myself. I am deeply sorry for that.
"As many have rightly pointed out, it's very easy for me, a TV host, to opine about the people who fight our wars, having never dodged a bullet or guarded a post or walked a mile in their boots. Of course, that is true of the overwhelming majority of our nation's citizens as a whole. One of the points made during Sunday's show was just how removed most Americans are from the wars we fight, how small a percentage of our population is asked to shoulder the entire burden and how easy it becomes to never read the names of those who are wounded and fight and die, to not ask questions about the direction of our strategy in Afghanistan, and to assuage our own collective guilt about this disconnect with a pro-forma ritual that we observe briefly before returning to our barbecues.
"But in seeking to discuss the civilian-military divide and the social distance between those who fight and those who don't, I ended up reinforcing it, conforming to a stereotype of a removed pundit whose views are not anchored in the very real and very wrenching experience of this long decade of war. And for that I am truly sorry."
Hayes' remarks beg the question: Who exactly is a hero? We'd like to hear from you. We'd like you to sound off in the comments below or hit the button below to send a video comment to iReport. Do you think Hayes was out of line in his comments? Do you understand what he was saying?
Must you have served in combat to be a hero? Does enlisting alone make you one? Should that word be reserved for the military? Or does it apply to people who put themselves above others?
heroes are those veterans who threw their "medals" and "ribons" at the face of NATO war criminals in chicago days ago.
'heroes' are those who do the dirty killing on your behalf, in your name, on your dime, and for your lifestyle.
if you lured, with promises of money and job, the young boys and girls barely out of high school into the job of killing other human beings on your behalf, you owe them the glory of being called "heroes"at least, no?
"Hero" should be reserved for only the bravest of actions.. otherwise it loses its meaning. This is the discussion that George Carlin brought to the table years ago regarding our culture: "Nobody is stupid anymore, everybody is special, everyone gets a ribbon for showing up." Furthermore, I hate it when people say that it's innappropriate to discuss this unless you've been in the military. I call BS on that. The military is approx 2 million strong. The United States population is over 300 Million. What kind of democracy would we have if only Military were allowed to have an opinion? Oh wait.. it wouldn't be a democracy, would it? I think that the only thing this guy did wrong was to apologize for saying it in the first place.
no what he did wrong was get wrapped up in liberalism where you lead with your heart and not your mind. Liberalism is great for abstract thinking about big problems but they don't have real world applications. Chris hays just like Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Mathews, and the rest of the msnbc gang live in a world that doesn't really exist, but they like to talk about it as if their idealistic ideas can actually work in a practical matter. Chris Hays doesn't want to call people heroes because it encourages more war, because more war is bad and our goal should be world peace. The problem of course for normal people is we know world peace cannot exist it is an unrealistic goal that has no real world application.
I agree with his original statement. I have a lot of respect for those in the military and believe that there are a number of true heroes out there, but I don't think it is right to call everyone who put on a uniform a hero for the simple act of doing so.
I also think that for all the politicians out there, the test of a true political "hero" is when you can use dimplomacy instead of sending our sons, daughters, husbands, and wives into conflict.
well said.
there will always be war and there will always be sons and daughters who die in the name of their country, the least we can do is honor the heroism of these sons and daughters.
Too many so-called heroes wrere behind war zones.
Regarding "heros" in the military. Thoreau wonders about the psychology of men who would fight a war and, perhaps, kill others out of obedience. He concludes that soldiers, by virtue of their absolute obedience to the state, become somewhat less than human. He writes, "Now, what are they? Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power? Visit the Navy-Yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man with its black arts – a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity." This is how "the mass of men" employed by the state render service to it, "not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies." In doing so, the men relinquish the free exercise of their moral sense and, so "put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones." The slaves of the military are monstrous machines. They are no heros.


text: In case you didn't catch this elsewhere: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Léon Brocard <acme at astray.com> Date: 2008/12/22 Subject: Perl 5 now uses Git for version control Now you know what I've been working on for the last few months! Feel free to forward and repost elsewhere. Léon HOLLAND, Michigan - The Perl Foundation has migrated Perl 5 to the Git version control system, making it easier than ever for Perl's development team to continue to improve the language that powers many websites. Moving from Perforce to git provides a number of benefits to the Perl community: - With a public repository and Git's extensive support for distributed and offline work, working on Perl 5's source becomes easier for everyone involved. - Because Git is open source, all developers now have equal access to the tools required to work on Perl's codebase. - Core committers have less administrative work to do when integrating contributed changes. - Developers outside the core team can more easily work on experimental changes to Perl before proposing them for inclusion in the next release. - A vast array of improved repository and change analysis tools are now available to Perl's developers. - The new Git repository includes every version of Perl 5 ever released, as well as every revision made during development. Interested developers can get a copy of the Perl 5 Git repository at at http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git In true open source style, Sam Vilain converted Perl's history from Perforce to Git. He did the work both in his spare time and in time donated by his employer, Catalyst IT. He spent more than a year building custom tools to transform 21 years of Perl history into the first ever unified repository of every single change to Perl. In addition to changes from Perforce, Sam patched together a comprehensive view of Perl's history incorporating publicly available snapshot releases, changes from historical mailing list archives and patch sets recovered from the hard drives of previous Perl release engineers. Perl 5 is used by businesses around the world including the BBC, Amazon.com, LiveJournal, Ticketmaster, Craigslist and IMDb. Larry Wall created Perl in 1987 while working as a systems administrator for NASA. Larry released Perl 1.000 on December 18th 1987. Over the past 21 years, Perl has grown into a high-level, general-purpose, dynamic programming language and is widely used for Web development, Systems Administration, Genomics and in many other disciplines. The most recent major version of Perl 5 (5.10.0) was released one year ago. Git is an open source version control system designed to handle very large projects with speed and efficiency. Created by Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux to handle the vast number of contributions to the Linux Kernel, Git is highly flexible and extensible. Perl's motto, "There's More Than One Way To Do It!" perfectly matches the Git workflow. Nicholas Clark, the manager for Perl 5.8.9 which was released this week, said "I'm looking forward to Git giving me the ability to work either online or offline. Perforce is great when I have a network connection, but until now those times when I've been trying to develop on trains or planes, at stations or airports, I'm back in the 'dark ages' before version control. Git solves this problem and more". The hardware behind this and the systems administration time to maintain it is donated by Booking.com. Booking.com has also recently donated $50,000 to The Perl Foundation, to aid in the further development and maintenance of the Perl programming language in general, and Perl 5.10 in particular. Perl originally used the Revision Control System (RCS) until March 1997 when it switched to the Perforce Software Configuration Management System. The Perforce repository was graciously hosted and maintained, free of charge, by ActiveState. Perforce provided the core developers with powerful tools, but these tools were not available to users outside the core team. The switch to Git removes this barrier. About The Perl Foundation (http://www.perlfoundation.org/) | The Perl Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of the Perl programming language through open discussion, collaboration, design, and code. The Perl Foundation coordinates the efforts of numerous grass-roots Perl-based groups, including: International Yet Another Perl Conferences (YAPC's), Carries the legal responsibility for Perl 5 and Perl 6 and the Artistic and Artistic 2.0 licenses, perl.org, Perl Mongers, and PerlMonks. About Booking.com (http://www.booking.com/) | Booking.com is part of Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN). Its website attracts an average of 30 million unique visitors each month. Booking.com works with more than 57,000 affiliated hotels in 15,000 destinations around the world. Its services are available in 21 languages. Booking.com currently has 24 offices in Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Cambridge, Cape Town, Dubai, Dublin, London, Loulé (Portugal), Lyon, Madrid, Moscow, Munich, New York, Orlando, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, Stockholm, Vienna and Warsaw. About Catalyst IT (NZ) Ltd (http://www.catalyst.net.nz/) | Catalyst IT is New Zealand's premiere Open Source development house. Catalyst looks after the development requirements for the NZ Electoral Enrolment Centre, manage the .NZ registry, the largest NZ newspaper's online presence, the NZ TAB and many other exciting projects, and are organising the 2010 Australasian Linux Conference to be held in Wellington, New Zealand.


text:
Triqui/Trique Indian boys basketball team
Picture credit: Unknown
Orlando was blessed to have many fine young athletes in town this week for a Basketball event, and one of the teams that made the news this morning on our local station, WESH TV was from Mexico.
Nothing new here, or was there?
This team of fairly small boys, as far as basketball players go, played without shoes.
But, this is not unusual for them, as they nearly always do so.
These boys come from one of Mexico's poorest regions, a tiny place in the mountains of Oaxaca, that range from 4,000 to nearly 10,000 feet and the inhabitants are called the Trique/Triqui people, a blended group of Mixtec, (place of cloud-people), who are known for their beautiful weavings.
This area and these people, are not new to me, as one of my favorite Anthropology Professors at CSUN, had related his summers there, for the past 20 plus years.
Every year, he would travel down to Oaxaca to spend a month with the people, then wrote and brought back what he learned about them to his students.
Years later, when I traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, I felt that there were strong similarities between it and many places in Oaxaca.
They were both poverty stricken areas, that few outsiders came to and even fewer cared much about.
This young team makes news every time they play, mostly for their lack of shoes, but what people don't understand is that their lack of shoes, are the least of their worries.
So many where they come from, are desperately poor, with food, shelter and personal safety at the top of their daily wants/needs list, and going without shoes, much lower on it.
Native or Indigenous Mexicans, are at a poverty level of about 80%, compared to the National level in the upper 20's.
Many of these young players must walk two hours or more, on rough mountain roads just to get to their practices, and Basketball is about the only sport that can be played in such a difficult terrain.
For me personally, the hardest part of relaying this story to all of you, is in knowing that the country where these brave young players live, is in constant turmoil from outside political pressures.
A friend from school traveled down there years ago, quite concerned about the way the people were being treated and was never seen again.
"Accidents" can happen, to those who ask too many questions, or get too curious about local politics.
Just playing their games, must seem like great relief after enduring the conditions that surround them.
Whenever the team travels, they basically have become ambassadors for their people, and the state of Oaxaca, and Global generosity to them and their town, have followed them everywhere.
Their Head Coach Sergio Zuniga, was interviewed by WESH and his pride in their achievements was clearly evident as he spoke.
This week in Orlando, not only was the team gifted with shoes, so was their entire town.
Yes, back home things are very difficult, but as their Team jackets say, " Vivir es Increible, life is incredible."
Places to learn more:
Mexican youth basketball team plays shoeless in Orange County tournament
Hoop dreams of Mexico's indigenous youth provide hope in 'forgotten' region
It's Triqui to play around: Shoeless Mexican team plays exhibition match in LA
Youth Mexican Basketball Team Wins Big Playing Barefoot
Mexican Shoeless Basketball Champions Prove It's About How You Play, Not What You Have
A History of the Triqui People


text:
Report of Brig. Gen. T. H. Holmes, C. S. Army, Commanding Reserve Brigade
O.R.– SERIES I–VOLUME 2 [S# 2] — CHAPTER IX, pp. 565-566
HEADQUARTERS BROOKE'S STATION, July 26, 1861
GENERAL: On Wednesday, the 18th of July, I received orders from the headquarters of the Army to hold my brigade in readiness to support your army if called on by you. I proceeded with two regiments (the Second Tennessee and First Arkansas Volunteers) and Walker's battery that afternoon towards Manassas, and on my arrival at Camp Chopawamsic sent an officer to communicate with you. Soon after the officer left I received your telegram to Lieutenant-Colonel Green urging me forward. The march was resumed, and I encamped near Brentsville.
On reporting to you in person on Friday morning I was ordered to Camp Wigfall as a support to Ewell's brigade, charged with the defense of Union Mills and its neighborhood. My brigade rested on Saturday.
About 9 o'clock on Sunday, the 21st, I received a copy of your note to General Ewell, directing him to hold himself in readiness to take the offensive at a moment's notice, to be supported by my brigade. This order caused me to move nearer to Ewell's position, where, after waiting about two hours, another order was received through Ewell to resume our former places. Up to this time the firing was comparatively slow. About 12 o'clock m., or a few minutes sooner, the firing on our left became very heavy. About 2 o'clock p.m. I received a copy of a note from you to General Jones, dated at a point one mile south of Union Mills, directing me, among other movements, to repair to you.
I immediately marched in the direction of the firing, and on my arrival at Camp Walker received the first order directed to myself. This was a verbal one, requiring me to hasten forward as soon as possible. The march from thence to Lewis' house was made in good time. The brigade was halted there by order of General Johnston, and did not participate in the fight, as the enemy commenced to retreat within a few moments after my arrival. I ordered Walker's rifled guns to fire at the retreating enemy, and Scott's cavalry to join in the pursuit. The fire of the former was exceedingly accurate, and did much execution, and the pursuit of the latter was very effective, taking many prisoners and capturing much property.
I cannot speak too highly of the spirit and enthusiasm of my brigade.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Brigadier-General, Commanding Brigade
General G. T. BEAUREGARD, Camp Manassas


text:
August 18th, 2011
Nivea apologizes for controversial ad in Esquire
Cutting edge or just cutting?
Skin care company Nivea has offered a mea culpa for an ad that became quite the trending sensation on Twitter Wednesday.
The advert for Nivea for Men appeared in the September issue of Esquire magazine and featured a clean-cut, African-American male holding what appeared to be a mask of a black man with an Afro hair style and a beard. The copy accompanying the ad read, "Look Like You Give a Damn. Re-civilize Yourself."
Once a pic of the ad was tweeted, the outcry was fast an furious from those complaining that the ad was insensitive and racist. The controversy resulted in #nivea being a trending topic on Twitter.
"Adding Nivea to the list of companies that will not be getting my money," tweeted blogger Septembre Anderson, who appears to have been the user who first tweeted a pic of the ad. "Post-racial my ass..."
Beiersdorf AG, the parent company of Nivea (which boasts singer Rihanna as one of its spokesmodels) released the following statement to CNN regarding the controversy:
"We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific local advertisement. After realizing that this ad is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn."
The statement went on to say that "Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of NIVEA: The brand represents diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity. We value difference. Direct or indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions by, and in all areas of our activities. This applies regardless of gender, age, race, skin color, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, or disability. Nor should cultural, ethnic, or national origin, and political or philosophical conviction be of any significance."
What do you think of Nivea's ad?
8/19 Update: Some of the comments have focused on the fact that the ad may not have been as controversial if the model was white. Nivea did have just such an ad which you can see here.
soundoff (789 Responses)
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
About this blog
Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.


text:
If you simply place a chunk of text on a Web page, the dimensions of the viewer's browser window will determine the line length. When the user resizes his or her window, the text reflows to fill the new space. Although this adaptable "feature" of Web documents is central to the premise of the Web, it can hinder the user's experience with the content. All the issues of legibility, readability, and style that we discuss in this manual rely on the Web designer's ability to position words, images, and screen elements on the "page" with some precision. Without some adherence to established typographic conventions you may confuse and ultimately lose your readers.
Because of the limitations of HTML and the inconsistencies of CSS, the only reliable layout tools for site designers at this time are HTML tables.
The ideal line length for text layout is based on the physiology of the human eye. The area of the retina that is used for tasks requiring high visual acuity is called the macula. The macula is small, typically less than 15 percent of the area of the retina. At normal reading distances the arc of the visual field covered by the macula is only a few inches wide about the width of a well-designed column of text, or about twelve words per line. Research shows that reading slows and retention rates fall as line lengths begin to exceed the ideal width, because the reader then needs to use the muscles of the eye or neck to track from the end of one line to the beginning of the next line. If the eye must traverse great distances on a page, the reader is easily lost and must hunt for the beginning of the next line. Quantitative studies show that moderate line lengths significantly increase the legibility of text. Use tables to limit the line length, ideally to ten to twelve words per line.
Margins define the reading area of your page by separating the main text from nontext elements, such as interface elements and other unrelated graphics. Margins also provide contrast and visual interest. Use table cells to establish margins, and use them consistently throughout your site to provide unity.
One common use of tables that increases both legibility and functionality of page layouts is a multicolumn layout, with the page divided into columns of main text, site navigation, and perhaps a third column with page-level navigation, pull-quotes, and links to related sites. Multiple columns provide a flexible space for variations in page layout and narrow the text column to a comfortable line length.
In print the space between columns is called a gutter. Gutters keep columns from running into one another:
You can use tables to create gutters in three ways: (1) by adding a cell to your table that functions as the gutter, (2) by using the CELLPADDING attribute of the TABLE tag (the space between the cell contents and the cell), and (3) by using the CELLSPACING attribute of the TABLE tag (the space surrounding the cell):
When we talk about tables we are not speaking of the beveled beauties that HTML offers to present tabular content. We are using tables to get around the limitations of HTML, and we are using them in ways for which they were not intended. These are invisible tables whose sole purpose is to give us control over page elements, so be sure to set BORDER="0" in your TABLE tag. And if you do use tables to present tabular information, use spacing, alignment, and indents, not borders, to delimit tabular information.
Visual hierarchy
Page dimensions
Page length
Design grids for Web pages
Page headers and footers
Page layout
Layout tables
Fixed versus flexible
Other uses for tables
General design considerations
Cross-platform issues
Print this page | Print this chapter
Jump to top
Buy Web Style Guide, 2nd edition at Amazon.com
PREVIOUS: Page layout | NEXT: Fixed versus flexible
Copyright 2002 Lynch and Horton
Send questions and comments to email@example.com
Last updated 5 March 2004