text: Back For Adults: Take Care with Antidepressants Antidepressants are an important part of the treatment for depression. With the help of antidepressants, prescribed alone or along with psychotherapy or counseling, the great majority of adults who suffer with depression improve, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH). Depression is a complex brain disorder that affects how well nerve cells in certain parts of the brain work. Antidepressants improve the way some of those brain cells work and change the activity of certain chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Antidepressants are powerful medications that affect people mentally, emotionally, and physically and must be taken with care to increase their benefits and decrease their chances of any serious side effects. Many antidepressants are available, and sometimes you and your doctor may need to try several to find the one that is best for you, according to the FDA and NIMH. Also, these drugs take time to be effective; it may take a few weeks to know if one is helping you. Your health care provider will help you find the one drug or a combination of drugs that work. It's important to take antidepressants exactly as prescribed. Doing a good job of communicating with your doctor and pharmacist about your symptoms and your medication use also is important. Variety available Examples of the variety of antidepressants available: Tricyclic antidepressants, such as Elavil and Pamelor SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), such as Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, and Paxil Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, such as Effexor, Pristiq, and Cymbalta Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors, such as Wellbutrin Tetracyclics, such as Remeron MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), such as Nardil, Parnate, and Emsam (a skin patch) Possible side effects Most antidepressants cause side effects, but many of the side effects ease after taking the drug for a period of time, the FDA says. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what side effects to expect of your antidepressant and if there are more serious side effects that you should report to your doctor. Don't stop taking medications or decrease your dose because of side effects without first talking with your health care provider. Different drugs have different side effects. Among common side effects are: Nausea Sexual dysfunction Constipation Urination problems, primarily in men Dizziness Sleepiness or problems falling asleep Dry mouth Restlessness Blurred vision Medication musts Stick with your medication. It often takes three to eight weeks before antidepressants take effect and you start feeling better. Ask about drug interactions. Antidepressants can have an effect on many other medicines and vice versa. When you're taking an antidepressant, tell your health care provider and pharmacist about all the other medicines you take, including over-the-counter medicines and herbal health products. St. John's Wort is a nonprescription herbal product sometimes used by people for mild depression. It is not approved by the FDA to treat depression and can interact with other antidepressants, according to the NIMH. Let your doctor know if you are taking St. John's Wort. Follow instructions carefully. Taking an antidepressant exactly as prescribed, including the time of day, is crucial. You should never stop taking your medication without checking with your health care provider. Doing so could cause your depression to return with possible risk for suicide or cause symptoms from the sudden withdrawal. To stop taking an antidepressant safely, you should taper off your dosage over time, as your provider prescribes. Follow any warnings carefully. Some antidepressants cause drowsiness, making certain activities dangerous. Call your health care provider immediately if your depression becomes worse, you start to have suicidal thinking or begin to think of ways to commit suicide. Tell your health care provider if you become pregnant or start to breastfeed a child. You may have to change medications.


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Two Eds are better than one? Well perhaps not as Labour's new leader opted not to make his namesake Ed Balls shadow chancellor, despite the weight of expertise, a strong leadership campaign and many votes in the shadow cabinet elections behind him. His wife Yvette Cooper then, who topped the poll of Labour MPs, would surely get the chance to carve Labour a new, distinctive position on the deficit in response to the Con-Dem's cuts? No. 60 year old Alan Johnson, the earliest backer of Ed's elder brother, was chosen by young Ed as his right hand man. Despite David's choice to bow out from frontline politics, his shadows hangs heavy over his brother's first team selection.
Of all the shadow cabinet roles assigned it was obviously that of shadow chancellor that carried the most importance and also Johnson's appointment to that role which was the biggest shock. Ed Miliband has been either slammed for his caution or praised for his unifying skills and his courage to make the right choices regardless of popularity. I happen to think that making Johnson shadow chancellor is a missed opportunity for Labour's new generation but there are some well selected roles in Ed's team. Andy Burnham is a good match for the education brief, given his reasonably strong leadership campaign, working class background and accessible, relevant character traits such as his love of football. His ordinary accent will contrast well with Michael Gove's nasal snobbery in the Commons. Likewise Jim Murphy seems a good choice to shadow the MOD and Liam Fox, with his dour Scots accent he shall be able to pour scorn on government defence cuts whilst emphasising the needs of the ordinary soldier and citizen. There is also no reason why Harriet Harman, Douglas Alexander and John Denham ought not to succeed in their new roles in International Development, Work and Pensions and Business respectively. Alexander and Denham in particular have their work cut out, with capable coalition opponents in Ian Duncan Smith and Vince Cable, but both are able ministers themselves.
However in my view Miliband has made a mistake in his handling of where exactly to place the popular and talented husband and wife team of Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper. Both are wasted at the Home and Foreign office. Those who support the leader's decision say that it was unavoidable to maintain party unity and to avoid the mistakes of the Blair-Brown years. An economic policy handed to Balls, they say, would have conceded this ground to him permanently as Blair did for Brown, dividing the party again and sowing the seeds of future turmoil. My response to the argument of unity is that by appointing Balls Shadow Home Secretary Miliband has not necessarily pacified him. Balls will be gutted as it is to have missed out on his shot at the Treasury yet again; he made no secret of his desire for the job. To be so bluntly snubbed and given what many regard as the jinxed ministerial brief will not endear him to the younger Miliband. Besides there was no reason for Balls and Miliband to be enemies as Blair and Brown were, especially if Miliband had trusted Balls and rewarded with a job he had long coveted. If Miliband was uncomfortable handing his most important role to the volatile Balls though, he should have given it to his wife Cooper. Cooper won the shadow cabinet elections, and therefore had democratic legitimacy as well as the additional merits of youth (only 40 years old and part of the new generation), expertise (she was previously Work and Pensions secretary, a closely related role), intelligence (Harvard educated, a journalist at the Independent) and the fact that she is female. Appointing her to his top job would have sent exactly the right sort of modern, fair message but instead Miliband played it safe. Whilst being Foreign Secretary is an important, prestigious position, shadowing the area is less glamorous and less crucial to the argument defining British politics at the moment; how best to respond to the deficit.
With Johnson's appointment Miliband signalled that he is planning to stick largely to Alistair Darling's failed election pledge to halve the deficit in four years. This is disappointing as frankly Labour need a new idea to be championed by their new generation. Ed Miliband needs his equivalent of David Cameron's "Big Society" and he has an enormous opportunity if he can find his big idea, because voters refuse to buy into the Prime Minister's. Appointing Johnson though is unlikely to lead to a distinctive, radical or inspiring position on the deficit with credible, imaginative solutions. Yes Johnson is a capable minister, having held high profile jobs as Home Secretary and Health Secretary amongst others, but he has always taken a back seat and kept a low profile. He has shown the capacity to be popular with ordinary voters; with his working class charm often talked about, but lacked the desire or courage to use it. In the past he has passed up opportunities for advancement and you wonder if he is genuinely enthused by the task set him by his new leader and the opportunities to make a real difference to fairness he has, or whether he is merely grimly descending to his task for the sake of previously mentioned, holy party unity.
Forging a successful, coherent and credible economic policy that is also electable is THE challenge facing Labour. The coalition is struggling over issues like universal benefit, tuition fees and the spending reviews. Tension is set to rise, with the NUS leading students to the streets on the 10th November to highlight the backtracking of Lib Dems. The shadow chancellor should be the spearhead of Labour's new generation, with new ideas gradually forming a fresh vision, one more accessible than Cameron's "Big Society" and fairer too. He should be prepared to examine ideas like the Robin Hood tax, mansion tax and graduate tax, whilst also backing the more sensible reforms of the coalition, such as a standard benefit payment and lifting the income tax threshold, as long as they are carried out properly. Labour needs to propose ideas for a new sustainable economy that can support essential and modern public services, whilst always striving for growth. It should look at green taxes, green jobs and green industries and offer a new deal with concrete investment. It should be prepared to ring fence areas of spending the Conservatives are set to cripple, whilst being ready to remain credible and a force in the argument by suggesting alternative means of revenue. Labour has to offer the opportunities a modern day, liberal British society craves in a way that can be paid for and delivered on; not the idealistic, vague promises of Cameron's individualistic rhetoric, which merely serves as a cover for a smaller state, no matter how well intentioned.
Unfortunately I fear that Miliband's selections for his shadow cabinet and his chancellor in particular, will lead to half baked, over cautious policies that lack the passion for real change. Indeed an incoherent policy on the deficit will lead to policy clashes throughout the party that might give Labour's new generation an identity crisis. Balls as shadow chancellor would have relished the chance to set out a genuine alternative to the coalition and Miliband would have had to rein him in at times when he was wrong. But ultimately I feel the dynamism glimpsed in the Labour leadership campaign would have been better channelled towards George Osborne than given a bitter, limited home in opposition to Theresa May. Balls is likely to propose tough, populist positions on crime, driven by his resentment at missing out, policies that could undermine his new leader's courtship of liberal Britain. Cooper too could have been a far more effective weapon against Osborne than Johnson and shall be wasted in her standoff with Hague, on issues like Afghanistan where there is no real disagreement. She also could have been a far better symbol of the new party Miliband is trying to create. Ultimately I can only assume Miliband feared she would be the puppet of her husband and his appointment of an ensemble of women to less important ministerial positions shows that he may not be as pro-women as he likes to make out. His appointment of an unknown to his previous brief as Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary also shows a disappointing lack of regard for an issue he led supporters to believe was vital to him, but now may well have proved to be a mere rung on his career ladder. A high profile appointment to this area in his shadow cabinet could have been a signal of intent. Despite my criticisms though it's possible that the team Ed has chosen, with its mix of his and his brother's supporters, will offer a unified and passionate opposition. It is wrong to judge before they have set to work, after all the road to the election is a marathon not a sprint, it just might have been possible to set out at a faster pace.

subset: commoncrawl


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At least three people were hurt in an explosion Saturday morning near downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, a city spokesman says.
Officials received a call about a blast and fire at a two-story commercial building, Director of Communications Michael Parks said.
Parks told CNN that officials are working to contain a three-alarm fire that spread to at least two other commercial buildings.
Josh Edmonds shot this video from a half-mile away.
"The entire building shook and some of my coworkers were jolted in their cars when the explosion happened," Edmonds told CNN over Twitter.
Jesse Green posted a video clip on Twitter.
"I live about two miles away and it rattled my windows," he told CNN. "I was able to get close and get this video."
He said about 50 people were in the area, and state police cleared everyone out shortly after he recorded the video.
Two people were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and another with minor injuries, Parks said. Officials are trying to determine if others might have been injured.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Harrisonburg is about 54 miles northwest of Charlottesville, Virginia.


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An assessment of the new software for the Massachusetts Health Connector website, set for early July, will provide the first read on whether the state is likely to succeed at running its own health insurance marketplace in 2015 or will default to the federal system.
Meanwhile, the state will extend until the end of this year the transitional programs that have enabled people to obtain coverage despite the Connector site's failure to work properly since it was launched last October.
The Connector announced last month it would scrap the trouble-plagued software that was intended to bring the state's system into compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act. Instead, the state is pursuing a "dual track," working to adapt software used in other states, while preparing to join the federal Healthcare.gov insurance marketplace in case that effort fails.
The "critical checkpoint" with the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in July will start to clarify the most likely route. If state and federal officials conclude that the state-based website is progressing well, the Connector will continue on the dual track. If not, it will focus on preparing to join the federal marketplace for one year.
Maydad Cohen, special adviser to the governor, told the Connector's board Thursday that the first version of the software, developed by the Virginia technology company hCentive, will be completed by June 30. Cohen has replaced Sarah Iselin, an insurance executive hired temporarily to oversee website repairs; Iselin returned to the private sector last month.
Jean Yang, the Connector's executive director, said federal officials this week approved extending through December the temporary programs: Commonwealth Care — a subsidized-insurance program that was supposed to shut down last year because it did not match the requirements of the Care Act — and Medicaid coverage for people whose eligibility for subsidized insurance could not be determined because of the Connector site's troubles. The programs were set to expire on June 30.
The temporary Medicaid program has enrolled 227,374 people whose eligibility could not be verified. Glen Shor, Connector board chairman and state secretary of administration and finance, estimated that 99 percent of those enrollees are in fact eligible for either subsidized insurance coverage or Medicaid.
He told the board that despite the inability to enroll people in the expected programs, the aggregate spending "closely matches" budget projections. Neither MassHealth (the state's Medicaid program) nor the Connector will need to ask the Legislature for additional money to cover care, Shor said.
The Connector has enrolled 296,686 new members since December, mostly using paper forms and other workarounds.
While Connector officials expressed optimism about their progress with hCentive, preparations to join the federal marketplace are also moving along smoothly, Ashley Hague, deputy executive director, told the board. The only glitch with using Healthcare.gov is an inability, so far, to provide state subsidies along with federal subsidies, she said. The hCentive software is able to integrate the state subsidies.
The total cost of the "dual track" approach was estimated last month at $121 million. Since then, the Connector has identified $40 million in federal grants that could be "repurposed" to support this effort. It remains unclear what the total bill will be, nor how much of the cost will be borne by the federal government and how much by the state.
Lora Pellegrini, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, said that many of the people temporarily enrolled in Medicaid probably belong in private coverage, paying premiums. Additionally they are all in fee-for-service Medicaid, missing out on disease management programs that managed-care plans provide. "That's why we think it's important to get those folks into permanent coverage as soon as possible," she said.
"Our plans need to very quickly have one path to pursue. . . . We were very committed to health care reform and we're very committed to seeing this through, but obviously it's not what we expected to be doing in 2014," Pelligrini said.
Felice J. Freyer can be reached at email@example.com or on Twitter @felicejfreyer.


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Patio DJ
Consider that quintessential warm-weather hearth, the barbecue. What better way to complement the sounds of chatting friends and sizzling burgers than with a playlist of hot tunes?
Traditionally, outdoor sound systems have fallen into two categories: First is the boombox. Nowadays, many of these portable stereos have integrated iPod docks, making them easy to use, but none could qualify as a serious sound system. A second, more labor-intensive path is to permanently wire weatherproof speakers (see "All-Weather Wiring," next page).
But in the age of wireless networking and PC-based music files, wiring outdoor speakers to a receiver that isn't necessarily anywhere near your PC seems like a complex and probably unnecessary exercise. As it turns out, there are several ways to bypass the AV receiver and throw music directly from PC to patio, and there's one simple way to control it all.
More From Popular Mechanics
An easy, and relatively cheap, way to stream music outside is to use Apple's AirPort Express. This small, $100 device plugs into any wall socket, taps into a Wi-Fi network and has a 3.5-mm audio minijack that can output either an analog or digital optical signal. When you use Apple's AirPort Utility software, your computer sets up AirPort Express units on your network, and then any speakers attached to them show up in iTunes. The AirPort Express's audio output is unpowered, however, so the speakers you hook up should have internal amplifiers. (Most computer speakers qualify.)
Any AirPort Express setup will need to be temporary, however, since the device is by no means weatherproof. (For that matter, neither are most computer speakers.) Some wireless speakers, however, are specifically designed to withstand the elements. Acoustic Research has a variety of speakers that can run on a handful of AA batteries and link via radio frequency to an analog input up to 150 to 200 feet away, depending on the model. But by far the most impressive outdoor sound system I've tried is the OutCast omnidirectional wireless speaker from SoundCast. The battery-powered $700 OutCast has a built-in 100-watt amp and produces serious bass with an 8-inch woofer (its smaller, cheaper sibling, the $500 OutCast Jr., has a 60-watt amp). Instead of Wi-Fi, the OutCast uses a spread-spectrum proprietary 2.4-GHz wireless connection to either a $100 iPod dock or a $100 Universal AudioCast Transmitter, which attaches to a computer by tapping into Windows' or Mac OS's built-in USB speaker interface.
To control it all, try Apple's free Remote app--a program so cool it single-handedly justifies the purchase of the iPod Touch or iPhone that it runs on. Remote uses the Wi-Fi antenna in either device to tap into the iTunes libraries on any computer hooked up to your network. Used with a wireless speaker setup, Remote allows you to browse all the music on your computer and DJ your tunes from your handheld device without ever going inside.
Pool Tools
Okay, weatherproof speakers will withstand rain, but what about a dunk in the pool? Call them novelties if you like, but there are wireless speakers designed to float on the surface of the water. The Aqua Sounders system, from Grace Audio, will transmit audio from a base station to up to 10 battery-powered speakers. The sound quality from these audio balls is barely acceptable (underwater, you can hardly hear them), plus they are conspicuously solid enough to provide a conk on the noggin to anyone unwise enough to cannonball into them. Nevertheless, there is something uniquely appealing about the pool-party atmosphere these things instantly create.
Far more functional is Uniden's totally waterproof WXI2077 Series cordless phone. In the days of data-optimized cellular smartphones, ordinary cordless handsets may seem passé, but just try doing laps with a BlackBerry clipped to your swimsuit. The WXI2077 floats, so you don't even have to get out of the pool to answer it, plus it uses the relatively uncongested 1.9-GHz bandwidth, so it won't interfere with Wi-Fi networks.
Life-Size Wii
The same home theater projector that can turn a living room into an at-home cineplex can also turn your backyard into a drive-in. And bringing movie time outdoors is made simple with all-in-one projectors such as the Epson MovieMate series and the Optoma DV11. These projectors have built-in DVD players and speakers, so the only connection needed to set up an instant lawn theater is an electrical extension cord.
If you like your outdoor video entertainment a bit more active, any projector with composite video and RCA audio inputs can easily be hooked up to the Nintendo Wii gaming system, throwing human-size characters on any available projection surface. For the standard-def Wii, no fancy screens are necessary--an ordinary white tarp will do. To ensure a 6-foot-tall image, you'll want a tarp measuring at least 11 x 6 feet (for a 16:9 aspect ratio) or 8 x 6 feet (for 4:3 aspect). Tie the ends to trees or use spring clamps to attach your tarp to a fence. Keep in mind that the Wii needs an infrared-light-sensor bar placed at the bottom or top of the screen to work properly, and the wire for the Wii's IR bar is 11 feet long, which can restrict the placement of the Wii and, consequently, the projector. In my experience, you want to get your projector back a good 10 to 15 feet to ensure a large enough image. That's doable with the existing wire, but you can avoid a lot of potential trips and tangles with a wireless IR bar accessory from Nyko ($20). Also, you'll want to offset the projector to get it out of your way and avoid playing against your shadow. Most projectors have dials that allow you to correct the keystone effect you get when projecting from an angle. Once you're all set up, you and your friends can swing your Wiimotes to your hearts' content while racking up strikes in your virtual open-air bowling alley.
All-Weather Wiring
Despite all the newfangled wireless speakers on the market, the majority of outdoor speakers get their signal and power the old-fashioned way--through speaker wire. Weather-resistant patio and garden speakers are available from many major manufacturers, including Bose (the Free Space 51 is pictured above), Polk Audio and JBL. If you are powering only two outdoor speakers and have available speaker outputs, you can hook them up directly to your home theater receiver. Otherwise, a separate amplifier is needed.
To get your audio signal from the inside to the outside, you either need to tuck your wires under a closed window or drill a hole in your house. If you do the latter, make sure you seal it appropriately with silicone on the outside. Use outdoor-rated speaker wire for all exterior speaker wiring. For garden speakers with long cable runs, consider burying PVC conduit, then joining wires with direct-burial wire connectors. (Wires and accessories are available through online retailers such as outdoorspeakerdepot.com and ticcorp.com.)
Patio speakers are more likely to be connected via exposed terminals. To prevent water from getting into exposed speaker wire, it helps to dab a bit of silicone around the connection to seal it.
Remember to position the speakers in your yard with the same care you would take when positioning them in your living room. Leave enough in-between space for proper stereo separation, and face speakers inwards toward your desired sweet spot.


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I wouldn't be surprised if the Polk RTiA7 floorstanding speakers were in more living rooms than any other speaker. Or at least in the race for that title.
The RTi series from Polk Audio, which includes three variations of the floorstanding speakers and two bookshelf speakers offer:
- real wood veneer
- a warm balance of high fidelity and musical precision
- perfect for home theater application or stereo applications
- are damn good looking
- go wayyyyy… down to 20Hz with clean, fast bass
- non-fatiguing and detailed tweeter that is easy to listen to for hours on end
- good stage imaging and can fill a room with wonderful sound
All of which are damn hard to beat at this price point. The RTi speakers use the same tweeter and mid-range woofer across the series. Only bass woofer and size or woofers vary. So voicing in the series in near identical. Which is ideal if you are setting up a 5.1 or 7.1 home theater system. The RTi A7 use 2 – 7-Inch diameter polymer composite with rubber surround bass woofers with a ported cabinet. These puppies go all the way down to 20Hz, so there really is no need for a subwoofer unless you want more power in your explosions and thumps. With one 1 – 6-1/2-Inch mid-range woofer and a 1-Inch silk polymer composite dome tweeter.
We were able to spend a fair amount of time with the bookshelf RTi A3 a few years back and remember it with fondness.  We did pair it with a rather warm solid state Van Alstine amplifier which helped to accentuate the rich mid-range of the RTi A3.  But it was smooth and the high end was detailed and none fatiguing. Able to fill a huge amount of space and give off a very reasonable sound stage with good placement and separation.  The RTi A7 should do all that and much more on the low end.  That massive port will give you an in room response all the way down to 20Hz.  Incredible for speakers at this price point.
These are easy to drive and should pair very well with any consumer level or slightly better stereo amplifier or A/V receiver.  But most likely if you spend a bit more for a good Denon or entry level Marantz you'll most likely be more than pleased with the controlled base and extra clarity in the mid-range.  One can bi-amp these as well to get even better performance.
If we had any complaint about the RTi speakers we heard it was that if paired with to warm an amplifier the mid-range could become a bit muddled and vocals wouldn't pop out as they should. Otherwise a fantastic speaker. Â Just read the reviews, we aren't kidding.
More Floorstanding Speakers from Polk Audio >>
Search AudioReview forums for the Polk Audio Audio RTi A7 >>


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ATLANTA (AP) – Mike Minor struggled early before recovering to throw seven strong innings, and also hit a go-ahead double that led the Atlanta Braves over Homer Bailey and the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 Saturday.
The Braves, who lost starting outfielders Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton to injuries in the first two games of the series, found success with their fill-ins. Jose Constanza, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, started in left field and hit leadoff with Reed Johnson in center and rookie Joey Terdoslavich in right.
The patchwork outfield combined for seven hits, including three by Constanza. Brian McCann and Dan Uggla hit home runs.
Minor (9-4) snapped a streak of five straight starts without a win. The left-hander allowed two runs on six hits and one walk – including only one hit in his last five innings.
Minor's two-run double in the fifth gave the Braves a 3-2 lead.
Bailey (5-8) lost his second straight start since throwing his second career no-hitter on July 2. He faded after be given an early 2-0 lead, allowing four runs and 10 hits in six innings.
Minor appeared headed toward a short outing when he threw 51 pitches in the first two innings. He gave up singles to Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto and walked Brandon Phillips to load the bases with one out in the first. Minor escaped by striking out Jay Bruce and ending the inning on Todd Frazier's liner to third base.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the second. Zack Cozart tripled, Chris Heisey doubled and Choo hit an RBI single.
Minor then recorded 11 consecutive outs, providing his teammates an opportunity to rally.
After McCann's 12th homer in the fourth, the Braves took the lead with two runs in the fifth. Johnson singled, Terdoslavich hit his first career double and Minor followed with a sharp grounder down the left-field line that drove in both runners.
Constanza hit an RBI single in the sixth. Uggla hit his 17th homer off Alfredo Simon in the seventh.
Braves reliever Luis Avilan walked Votto and gave up a single to Phillips with two outs in the eighth. Bruce ended the inning with a fly ball.
Craig Kimbrel struck out Frazier, Cozart and pinch-hitter Xavier Paul in the ninth for his 26th save.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said before the game he is confident Heyward can recover from his strained right hamstring by resting through the All-Star break. Gonzalez said the 'trickiest' injury is Justin Upton's left calf strain. He said calf injuries can be nagging.
B.J. Upton, who has a right adductor muscle strain, said he felt 'a little better' Saturday but couldn't predict if he expects to be ready after the All-Star break.
The Braves plan to delay decisions on possibly placing the Upton brothers on the disabled list until after the break.


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Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at firstname.lastname@example.com with any questions or concerns!


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The new Robot Coupe CL40 Vegetable Processor will process six and a half pounds of vegetables/fruits per minute. The CL 40 with its two hoppers provides consistent processing of all fruits/vegetables, including fragile and delicate produce. Its large kidney-shaped hopper will hold up to seven (7) tomatoes for processing; its cylindrical feed tube provides uniform cutting of long, thin veggies – slice, ripple cut, grate, julienne, dice, and French fry. Get unmatched processing versatility with the 26 different stainless steel discs available for this unit. The lateral ejection of this unit makes it convenient, easy to use, and saves counter space in your kitchen.
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.


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It's a strange one to say the least..
Sarah Keane, Willie O'Brien and Bernard O'Byrne are the three candidates in the running to replace Pat Hickey as Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) President, it has been confirmed.
The OCI will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday, February 9 in Dublin City Centre following the messy saga that brought about Hickey's resignation from the post.
Hickey was arrested in Brazil at last year's Rio Olympic Games and charged with ticket touting, though he was eventually released on bail and is now back in Ireland.
O'Brien has been acting OCI President since last August, and before the touting scandal broke was seen as Hickey's likely successor, and is in the race for the job following nominations from the Irish Ice Hockey Association, the Irish Amateur Wrestling Association and his own Archery Ireland.
Also nominated are Swim Ireland's Keane and former FAI Chief Executive Officer O'Byrne, now of Basketball Ireland, who have both been put forward by their own associations.
Pat Hickey pictured shortly before last year's Rio Olympics
Nominations for the post closed on January 11 and the vote will be taken on February 9 at Dublin's Conrad Hotel.
It has been expected that Rowing Ireland's Dermot Henihan would be nominated for the OCI top job, but he isn't on the short-list released yesterday, though his name is being put forward as honorary general secretary.
Hickey was OCI President since 1989 and ruled largely uncontested, though he often courted controversy. Interestingly, he is still entitled to a seat and a vote on the OCI Executive Committee because of his role on the International Olympic Committee.
The positions of first and second vice president, honorary general secretary, honorary treasurer and the 12 places on the executive committee will also be decided at the EGM in February.
Former Olympic boxer Darren O'Neill is one of the interesting names on the list of nominations for the executive committee.
Nominations for OCI President:
Sarah Keane (Swim Ireland)
Willie O'Brien (Archery Ireland)
Bernard O'Byrne (Basketball Ireland)
Nominations for OCI First Vice President:
Colm Barrington (Irish Sailing Association)
Martin Flemming (Irish Taekwondo Union)
Nominations for OCI Second Vice President:
Colin Buckley (Weightlifting Ireland)
Robert Norwood (Snowsports Association of Ireland)
Nominations for OCI Honorary General Secretary:
Dermot Henihan (Rowing Ireland)
Sarah O'Shea (Snowsports Association of Ireland)
Nominations for OCI Honorary Treasurer:
Nicky Jermyn (Badminton Ireland)
William Kennedy (Cycling Ireland)
Boxer Darren O'Neill is seeking a place on the OCI Executive Committee
Nominations for OCI Executive Committee:
Colin Buckley (Weightlifting Ireland)
Con Cronin (Rowing Ireland)
Grainne Culliton (Volleyball Association of Ireland)
Robert Downes (Pentathlon Ireland)
Georgina Drumm (Athletics Ireland)
Martin Flemming (Irish Taekwondo Union)
Ciaran Gallagher (Gymnastics Ireland)
Aaron Guli (Irish Ice Hockey Association)
Robert Johnson (Hockey Ireland)
Fintan J Lyons (Irish Olympic Handball Association)
Patrick John Nolan (Cycling Ireland)
Darren O'Neill (IABA)
Karen O'Sullivan (Ice Skating Association of Ireland)
Tom Rafter (Fencing Ireland)
Joe Reynolds (Horse Sport Ireland)
Sally Anne Tobin (Horse Sport Ireland)
Denis Toomey (Paralympics Ireland)
Lochlann Walsh (Triathlon Ireland)


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I had a chance to join a random pick up raid in STO recently. The window came up, I clicked yes to zone in and …
It was … duh duh DUH … the crystalline entity! There were ships all over the place, no one had a clue what to do, local chat was buzzing, adds zoomed around, lots of people died. And then somehow order was slowly pulled out of chaos. People started to give useful instructions, working out how to avoid healing the entity by mistake. There were more deaths, more waves of adds, more swearing. And then finally, the crystalline entity was vanquished by the combined forces of the Federation. Hurrah! Loot for all.
Even my little low level cruiser helped a bit, or at least failed to hinder. And you know what? It was fun. Really good fun.
The conclusions I draw from this are:
- STO is actually a pretty fun game at its core. (I gave up for a week or two in solidarity with my husband who couldn't play until his new computer arrived, but now it is here and settled, it's back to the Klingon bashing.)
- Raiding in pick up groups can be insanely good fun. There is some genuine fun gameplay to be had.
- Holy shit, WoW raids would not work as cross-server PUGs the way they are currently designed.
I have seen a few people express the wish for a cross-server random raid tool in Warcraft. For this to work, cross-server raids really need to be designed differently from the current 10/25 man raid instances. The only current raids that even come close to viable for cross-server groups are VoA and Onyxia. And I want to discuss why that might be.
Firstly, current 10/25 mans are way too dependent on the tank/s and their gear. Anyone who has used the LFD tool will be familiar with the way tanks get heavily scrutinised even in random 5 man instances.
Now imagine a cross-server PUG ICC raid. What would happen is that people would drop group instantly if the tanks weren't highly (over)geared. They would drop group if the group makeup wasn't optimal, for whatever they considered to be optimal. They would drop group as soon any anything went wrong. They would drop group as soon as anything went right and they'd gotten their loot. They would drop group as soon as anyone told them to do anything they didn't want to do. They wouldn't all be using the same addons. Half of them would refuse to use flasks or other consumables.
Or in short, as soon as the raid gets remotely hard, it's vanishingly unlikely that a cross-server PUG will have the patience to do it. Especially for people from lively servers where they have the options to organise their own PUGs where they can also inspect and vet the other players first.
But there is an answer to this.
Fun pick up raids need to be epic, they need to be large scale, they need to not be overly dependent on one or two people, and they need to have simple tactics that are easy to communicate.
So for example, in DaoC, one of the master level raids involves players invading an enemy keep full of elite minotaur-type mobs and clearing them all out. The keep was huge. Players could use siege equipment if they wanted. There were a lot of mobs. We often zerged the place, telling people the rough kill order and which objectives they needed to capture first. It was chaos, and madness, and constant fighting. And players loved it.
The crystalline entity that I mentioned above was another fun large scale raid. It was chaos, and madness, and constant fighting. And I loved it (can't speak for the other players!)
I suspect that key to the random raids being fun is that they're not so heavily skill based that you need to care whether anyone else in the raid knows the tactics or is a hardcore raider. As long as you have a good mix of people, and people can obey simple instructions, the stronger players will make up for the weaker ones. And everyone will get the reward.
If WoW does choose to go this route, and make some public raids for the cross-server random groups, maybe it is time to go back to the big 40 man raids. Make them big. Make them epic. Make them fun. Make them chaotic. Allow people to let their hair down a bit.
But absolutely do not make them hard, because that does nasty things to random group members.


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Home » Sound Art - Radio Art » OZU, YASUJIRO HITOKOMAKURA: dbl CD
OZU, YASUJIRO HITOKOMAKURA: dbl CD
A collection of 31 commissioned pieces inspired by Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu's 'pillow shots' - resting shots with a fixed frame focus on material not instrumental to the trajectory of the narrative; there is a marked emphasis on soundscape and environmental recordings - some manipulated, some accompanied, some as they come; a few tracks are performance based, mostly meditative, and one is silent. Invitees include Steve Roden, Bernhard Gunther, Roel Melkoop, Haco, Toshiya Tsunoda, Hitoshi Kojo, Marc Behrens, Sawako, Jason Kahn, Dale Lloyd, Kiyoshu Mizutani and Michael Shannon. A mixed bag; some fine tracks, some less engaging - perhaps listening to one piece at a time would serve the project better? Each track is associated with a still photograph (the 'booklet' is on each CD as a computer readable pdf file, so you can watch the picture as you listen; though, as is generally characteristic of the field, even with no limitation on information space, only a few contributors offer more than a bare minimum of supplementary data).
Code: and/26
Price: £22.00


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I love reading (and writing) MMO blogs. If you're reading this and you're a blogger, THANK YOU. I love the level of conversation, the thought provoking writing, the platform for people to explain very different play styles and perspectives, the theorycraft, the rants, and the interaction.
Mythic Interactive
Ever since the development stages of Warhammer, Mythic employees have been actively chatting to bloggers.
So perhaps it isn't surprising that they've chosen to publicise their two long awaited upcoming classes via (not very) obscure gift packages sent in the mail to bloggers. One to Keen and Graev (who have a cute post puzzling about it, of course it's about Slayers, you berks!!) and one to The Greenskin.
Apart from the side-effect of inciting jealousy in all the other Warhammer bloggers, I can't help wondering how effective this is for getting the word out.
How many people read gaming blogs?
But how many people really read blogs? We know that most MMO players don't even read official forums, and blogs are surely a smaller proportion than that.
As a rough guide, when the Book of Grudges was at its peak, we used to get about 1000 visitors a day. We were one of the more popular Warhammer Online blogs but my guess is that blogs like Waaagh and The Greenskin would get two or three times that. (A lot of blog readers will just pick one favourite blog and not regularly read several). A popular but more generalist blog like Tobold's may get at least that many, possibly more.
And presumably the big WoW blogs may be on 5000+ hits per day. WoW Insider may have much higher numbers, I suspect that as a site they have a lot of readers who don't typically read blogs.
I am assuming that gamers are more interested in specialist blogs about the game they are currently playing than are interested in general MMO issues/design. And since WoW is the big gorilla on the block, that translates into more traffic for the big WoW blogs than for those of other games. It might be incorrect, there may be some games which just foster a higher level of web activity than others.
This is not to say that I don't love and appreciate both of my readers 🙂
How influential is the blogosphere?
Obviously it's cheap PR to send a few pieces of tat in the post. And certainly the pro online gaming news sites do keep an eye on the bigger blogs (this is the story from Eurogamer.net about the Slayer) . It also enhances the company's reputation for engaging with its players/fanbase on a very grass roots level. (Can you imagine Blizzard doing this? Thought not.)
Anyhow, it is because of being picked up by the larger media sites that this method seems sound to me. It's just an alternative, cute way of putting out a press release. I thought it was all quite fun!
An addendum about the word blogosphere
I love the word blogosphere. It has a "trendy media talking about web2.0" vibe to it, but according to dictionary.com, the word dates back to 1997 (ie. practically the dark ages.) Now that it's out of my system I promise that I will never use it again.


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Tania Barricklo — Daily Freeman
Ariel Zangla — Daily Freeman
SAUGERTIES >> Kate Teall entered The Hudson Project music and arts festival Friday afternoon carrying a large, handmade cockroach with doll limbs.
Teall, from Clarence, near Buffalo, said the group Modest Mouse has a song called "Doin' The Cockroach" and she was hoping they would perform it Friday night at the festival on the Winston Farm. She said she figured the group would play the song but that having the giant cockroach in the crowd should ensure it.
"If they don't play it, I'm throwing a giant cockroach at them," she joked.
Modest Mouse was one of more than 85 musical acts scheduled to perform at the three-day festival, which opened its inaugural run Friday under sunny skies. Other acts on the bill include Kendrick Lamar, Bassnectar, The Flaming Lips, STS9, Big Gigantic, Excision and Capital Cities. The music is scheduled to run through Sunday evening.
Friday afternoon, many festival attendees had set up their camps and were beginning to enjoy the live music being performed by groups such as Yacht and Moon Hooch. In addition to the music on four different stages, a large tent was devoted to free workshops, including one on Hula-Hooping. Early in the day, more than two dozen women were showing off their skills and learning to twirl.
Cole Demarco of Connecticut was wandering the grounds with four of his friends and the image of a Corgi dog on a tall pole. The group said the image was for "good vibes" at the festival.
"I like the music lineup, and I've never been to a music festival so, I thought, 'Why not?'" Demarco said. He said he was most excited to see Lamar, STS9, Atmosphere and Bassnectar.
But music wasn't the only attraction. Artists created live paintings, there was a booth that offered body painting, food and other goods were being sold, and a colorful Ferris wheel offered festival-goers a bird's-eye view of the grounds.
The festival also provided attendees the chance to charge their cell phones and other electronic devices at a solar charging station, and there were "hydration stations" where people could fill their water bottles for free.
Town of Saugerties Supervisor Gregory Helsmoortel, who was on the festival grounds Friday, said he thought the festival was going well as of early afternoon. He said there had been some drug arrests, but they mostly involved dealers in the parking lots and people who didn't take advantage of "amnesty boxes" before going through security. The amnesty boxes were for people to dispose of illegal drugs without penalty before entering the grounds, he said.
Helsmoortel said the crowd seemed well-behaved and that security seemed to be working. He said traffic through town was backed up for two to three hours Thursday night as festival attendees began to arrive but that there were no delays Friday morning.
The festival promoter, MCP Presents, has said it expects 20,000 people per day on the grounds – far less than the 350,000 who descended on the farm for the muddy Woodstock '94 festival 20 summers ago. The Hudson Project is the first concert on the site, at the junction of states Routes 32 and 212, since the 1994 show.
Emily Brophy of Boston spent part of Friday afternoon lounging in a hammock. She said she has been to other music festivals and was most excited to see Bassnectar and Keys N Krates.
"It is incredible," Brophy said of the festival. "It's very open and free. It's not too 'everyone is on top of each other.'"
Emma Badra of Burlington, Vt., said she, too, was excited about the festival's lineup. She said seeing Modest Mouse is on her bucket list.
"This is actually my first festival experience," Badra said.
She said she found The Hudson Project to be a "pretty cool, collective experience," with everyone there for the same purpose.
"Everyone has been so friendly so far," Badra said.
Online: www.hudsonmusicproject.com.


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Father of Newtown victim urges assault weapons ban
WASHINGTON - After weeks of arguing constitutional fine points and citing rival statistics, senators wrangling over gun control saw and heard the anguish of a bereft father.
Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was among those cut down at a Connecticut elementary school in December, asked the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to ban assault weapons like the one that killed his child.
"I'm not here for the sympathy or the pat on the back," Heslin, a 50-year-old construction worker, told the senators, weeping openly during much of his hushed 11-minute testimony. "I'm here to speak up for my son."
At his side were photos: of his son as a baby, of them both taken on Father's Day, six months before Jesse was among 20 first-graders and six administrators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. That massacre has hoisted gun control to a primary political issue this year, though the outcome remains uncertain.
The hearing's focus was legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds. A Bushmaster assault weapon was used at Newtown by the attacker, Adam Lanza, whose body was found with 30-round magazines.
Feinstein said such a firearm "tears peoples' bodies apart. I don't know why as a matter of public policy we can't say they don't belong.'"
Republicans had several answers. They argued her proposal would violate the Second Amendment's right to bear arms and take firearms from law-abiding citizens, and said current laws aimed at keeping guns from criminals are not fully enforced.
"The best way to prevent crazy people" from getting firearms is to better enforce the existing federal background check system, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
That system is designed to prevent criminals, people with mental problems and others from obtaining guns. It only applies to weapons sold by federally licensed dealers, and expanding that system to nearly all gun transactions is the central proposal in President Barack Obama's package of gun restrictions he unveiled last month, along with bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.
As if to underscore the hurdles Obama's plan faces on Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told reporters Wednesday that he opposed universal background checks like the president wants and predicted it would not be part of his chamber's gun legislation. He wants the current federal background check system strengthened, improving how states provide it with mental health information about citizens and cracking down on illegal gun trafficking.
At the same time, election results from Tuesday highlighted gun control's potency as a political issue. Illinois state Rep. Robin Kelly won a House Democratic primary in the state after a political committee favoring firearms curbs financed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Independence USA, spent more than $2 million on ads for her. Kelly's opponent had opposed an assault weapons ban.
The Senate Judiciary panel could begin writing gun legislation today, but that seems all but certain to slip to next week.
At the Senate hearing, spectators dabbed tears from their cheeks as Heslin described his last morning with his son, including getting a final hug as he dropped him off at school. The hearing room was packed with relatives and neighbors of victims of Newtown, as well as people affected by other shootings at Aurora, Colo., and Virginia Tech.
"It's all going to be OK," Heslin says his son told him. "And it wasn't OK."
Dr. William Begg, an emergency room doctor who treated some Newtown casualties, described assault weapons wounds. Begg noted that the coroner's report said each child had three to 11 bullet wounds.
"They had such horrific injuries to their little bodies," said Begg. He said an assault weapons bullet "opens up" and does not travel in a straight line, adding, "That's not a survivable injury."
The hearing featured heated exchanges, such as when Graham pressed Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn about the government's prosecution of only a handful of the roughly 80,000 people annually who fail background checks after falsely stating they qualify for guns.
"I want to stop 76,000 people from buying guns illegally," Walsh said, defending the background check system and heatedly interrupting Graham, a Senate rarity.
Former Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Fla., once a law enforcement officer, told the senators they have an opportunity to take effective action against gun violence. She has favored expanding the availability of mental health information to the authorities and opposes taking guns from people.
"It is not time for feel-good legislation so you can say you did something," she said.
That drew an angry objection from Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who said, "This is not feel-good legislation."
Feinstein's bill - and most of Obama's guns agenda - will have to overcome opposition from the National Rifle Association, which has long kept lawmakers from enacting gun restrictions.
Another hurdle is uncertain support from moderate Democrats.
Feinstein's measure has 21 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Including herself, it is sponsored by eight of the 10 Judiciary panel Democrats - precarious for a committee where Democrats outnumber Republicans 10-8. Among those who haven't co-sponsored the measure is Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who did not attend Wednesday's session.
Her bill would ban future sales of assault weapons and magazines carrying more than 10 rounds of ammunition, exempting those that already exist. It specifically bans 157 firearms but excludes 2,258 others in an effort to avoid barring hunting and sporting weapons.
Meanwhile, the House Education and Workforce Committee debated ways to keep students safe, such as the NRA proposal for more armed guards at schools.
"Two thousand kids die each year in automobiles each year," said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., comparing that number with the comparatively few children who die in schools. "Schools are safe places and for the most part they really are."
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said school safety is linked to firearms, saying, "Turning schools into armed fortresses is not the answer."


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Chef Dan Barber Tackles Food Waste with Delicious Fare
I don't often have guest bloggers that I don't assign a particular restaurant write for my blog, but food waste is a problem that I've always been interested in. America waste 70 billion pounds of food each year. Let that number sink in a bit. Ashley is also passionate about this issue, so I agreed to have her publish a post here to promote what she's trying to do in educating people on food waste!
This blog post originally appeared on Ending Food Waste (http://www.endingfoodwaste.
co) and is written by Ashley Gelineau (http://www.endingfoodwaste. co/your-foodprint-and-how-to- reduce-it-with-ashley), a food activist looking to educate people on food waste and its impact on the environment.
In many cultures, cooking with food remnants that we in the United States deem 'waste food' is common, and often encouraged. Home and professional chefs around the world have been creating delicious meals from whatever they have for years; this isn't anything new. That said, many of us in America simply haven't experienced the marvels of making something tasty out of scraps when it comes to food.
In a recent article by The Guardian A chef's Manifesto: Let's Tackle Food Waste with Good Fare (http://www.theguardian.com/
environment/world-on-a-plate/ 2015/oct/30/a-chefs-manifesto- lets-tackle-food-waste-with- good-fare), Dan Barber's philosophy on this exact matter is brought to light. The article states, "Waste is central to Dan Barber's cooking, and yet, he'd rather you didn't sense that when you eat it. In fact, if you're experiencing anything other than sublime thoughts when you taste his food, he'll consider it an unsuccessful dish."
Dan Barber is the executive chef at the famous Bluehill Restaurant in Manhattan, as well as Stone Barns in upstate New York. He recently released a book called The Third Plate, in which he writes about sustainable cuisine practices that explains his core belief; stop TELLING people to cut food waste and start using it to make irresistibly delicious dishes. To attain this goal, he transformed his restaurant into a pop-up called wastED. The menu contained "fried-skate-wing-cartilage" , "pock-marked potatoes" and "carrot-top marmalade."
Many Cultures Use 'Waste Food', Why Not America?
Barber claims that America is an anomaly because we're such a young country. "…When we came over here we had all these virgin soils. You'd put a seed in the ground and it became a garden of eden. We've never been forced into the kind of negotiation where we develop dishes that take full advantage of what the landscape can provide. In many other parts of the world the idea of a waste dinner wouldn't be possible, or if it were possible it would be appealing to the very elite and wealthy [because 'waste food' doesn't really exist]." It's in a chef's DNA to turn something that is ugly or uncoveted into something that is delicious and desirable for the 'eater.' Cultures around the globe have been doing this since the dawn of time; it's time for America to follow in their footsteps.
Back in September, Barber and Sam Kass (former senior advisor for nutrition policy at the White House), made headlines when they served waste food to world leaders in a meeting at the United Nations. The menu? A vegetable burger made of the pulp left over from juicing and fries created from the starchy corn that would typically go into animal feed. "It's the prototypical American meal but turned on its head. Instead of the beef, we're going to eat the corn that feeds the beef," said Barber. http://www.abc.net.au/news/
2015-09-28/world-leaders- given-trash-to-eat-at-un-to- highlight-food-wastage/6808838
Dan Barber's Bluehill Restaurant
Since this blog does often do reviews of restaurants, it wouldn't be complete without a little plug for Bluehill Restaurant in Manhattan :) I recently dined there on a trip to New York city and the fare was exquisite. The best part about it for me was knowing that by supporting that restaurant, I was also supporting the cause of wastED and eliminating waste food. (While wastED - http://www.wastedny.com) is only a pop-up restaurant, his efforts to further the mission are on point. Try it out sometime!)
A few things I tried for dinner:
Tomatoes with Smoked Cloud
Poussin with Haricot Verts
Grass Fed Beef
While the menu often changes up, I would say that everything the group I was with ate was delectable and worth every penny. I highly recommend it!
So here's the big question, if you were to go to a restaurant and saw vegetable pulp burgers and fried skate wing cartilage, would you give it a try? Have you ever tried something that out of the ordinary? Share below!


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Sicilian strawberry extra jam - 360 gr
Shipping and Returns
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Via Torrente Porto Salvo, 27
98028 - Santa Teresa di Riva (ME)
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Extra Sicilian strawberry jam, in a convenient 360g jar, on your table directly from Sicily, sweet and unmistakable flavor and taste
Ingredients: Strawberries, Sugar, thickener: carob seed flour, acidifier: citric acid
Fruit used: 90g per 100g
Net weight: 360 gr.
Storage: Room temperature, after opening the product should be stored at temperatures within 4 degrees, and consume within 14 days.
|Average nutritional values
|100 g
|20 g
|Energy value
|Fat (g)
|of which saturated fatty acids (g)
|Carbohydrates (g)
|of which sugars (g)
|Protein (g)
|Salt (g)


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"The Blue Comet" (season 6, episode 20; originally aired 6/3/2007)
In which Bobby actually does see it coming
The Sopranos gained a reputation for loading up its penultimate episodes with action almost by accident. After all, there's a damn big moment in the first season finale—when Tony tries to kill his mother—and in almost every other finale thereafter. (The exception is "Kaisha," which was never meant to bear the burden of a season finale anyway.) No, what the penultimate episodes of the show's seasons did was manage to surprise us with big moments we didn't always see coming. Janice kills her abusive boyfriend and cleans up something Tony has been needing to take care of. Christopher finds out Adriana's been informing the feds, finally, and it proceeds exactly as you might expect, after a brief tease of hope for the doomed woman. Vito comes back to Jersey and wanders right into the dragon's den. These storylines, by and large, bring some of the most important thematic storylines of their respective seasons to a point of closure, and that makes them feel like the real climax, leaving the season finale to mop up what's left behind.
In keeping with this tradition, "The Blue Comet" is a barnburner of an episode. After seven straight episodes of mostly allusive passages, of episodes that don't always seem to have concrete meaning and invite the audience to interpret what they could possibly have to do with anything, "The Blue Comet" is much more straightforward and plot-heavy. This is not to say that it doesn't contain its own passages of stark beauty and thematic heft—the scene in the train shop, for instance—but it's primarily concerned with ushering Bobby Baccalieri out of this world, putting Silvio Dante into a coma, and showing how the Soprano crew allowed itself to get outplayed by Phil, who lives to fight another day. The last 10 minutes almost feel like David Chase thumbing his nose at the section of the audience that wanted a more straightforward mob drama by saying, hey, I could have made something like that, and it would have kicked ass. Those final scenes are rife with tension, and when Tony beds down in his mother's old house, assault rifle in his hands, it's very easy to believe the next episode might open with a giant gun battle on the Jersey streets.
Yet, for as much death as this episode has and for as much as it has in the way of moving the seasonal plot forward—indeed, it might have something like 95 percent of the season's plot movement on the mob-storyline front—the truly devastating moment here is when Dr. Melfi finally has enough of her most famous patient and kicks him out of her office once and for all. As the series has gone on, fewer and fewer people have been willing to stand up to Tony Soprano, but now that he's in a place where he might genuinely be able to do with some sage counsel and hard-headed advice, he no longer has the one woman who was anything like a moral compass around. The scene where she kicks Tony out of therapy might be the most significant in the whole run of the series, actually, because it finally argues that there's no helping Tony Soprano. And maybe that makes Melfi a chump, and maybe it tries too hard to turn Tony into a monster, but it gets at something very important to the show's overall message: You can't change unless you want to.
Tony, of course, doesn't want to. Why would he? Changing would ultimately mean that he'd have to leave behind his line of work, which has been very good to him. Changing would mean he'd have to embark on a sort of moral-accountability tour, and he most certainly doesn't want to think about all of the people he's ruined or killed. Changing would mean owning up to all of the awful poison he spreads around him and having some empathy for the many, many people he's hurt over the course of the series, including those closest to him. To do any of these things would stop the perpetual motion that is Tony Soprano, would cause him to freeze in his tracks and look back, and that's something he simply can't afford to do. The only way to survive in the modern mafia The Sopranos depicts is to mercilessly keep moving forward, to keep selling vitamin pills and power drills, if you want to make any money at all. And that might make Tony a more effective mobster, but it also makes him, effectively, untreatable.
I'll be honest: I find the whole "Tony is a sociopath, and he probably can't be treated, and Melfi realizes this and kicks him out of therapy" storyline a little abrupt. I like the heft it has within the episode, where Tony needs something stable to latch onto, and Melfi refuses to offer it to him. And I like the way that it once again situates her as the one moral person in the show's universe. But it's also something that rises up out of nowhere and doesn't seem to have a lot of grounding in the story of the characters' relationship, even if we view it solely through the prism of this half-season. Yes, Tony has been skipping out on sessions, and yes, Melfi might look at that and realize he's a man who cares only for himself, but it also feels incredibly heavy-handed, particularly when Melfi is reading the study in bed, and the show is helpfully highlighting particular passages for us.
That almost doesn't matter, though, because the scene where Melfi finally kicks him out of therapy is one of the strongest for both James Gandolfini and Lorraine Bracco in the whole series. Here's the one person who holds any real power over Tony, the one person who knows what goes on inside his head, and she's telling him he'll never get better. She stops short of telling him just why he'll probably never get better, but she doesn't waver from her course. Once she sees him ripping that page out of the magazine in her waiting room, she's done. Here's a man who just doesn't give a shit, and never will give a shit. That makes him someone she can't treat. She's trying to give a new limb to an emotional amputee. It'll never work. The final shot of this dazzling sequence, where the two never really yell at each other, yet spit some of the harshest things they'll ever say at each other in friendly tones, purposefully apes the final shot of The Godfather. Only instead of Michael shutting Kay out of his man's world, his world of violence and bravado and unchecked machismo, Melfi is shutting Tony out of her world, a world of healing and culture and moving forward. Tony could have been a part of that world. Hell, maybe there's a chance he still could be. But she won't be his fellow passenger. In both cases, that door slamming shut is meant to be a tragedy, but for very different reasons.
I don't think it's a mistake that the barely restrained chaos that's threatened to rain down around Tony all season finally begins to in earnest once Melfi decides to stop treating him. The hit on Phil goes south when the Italian assassins kill his mistress and her father (also possessed of a shock of bright white hair) instead, and Tony is forced to suffer through a dinner where he realizes that the Buccos—or, rather, Charmaine Bucco—finally have the slightest of slight things to hold over Tony and Carmela's heads, as they must know how unhappy the two are about Meadow dating Patrick and going to law school. (This is the first appearance by the Buccos in this half-season, and I love the look of smug self-satisfaction Charmaine wears throughout.)
Then, everything explodes. Having learned that the assassins botched the hit, Tony orders everyone in his organization to go to ground. The order gets out too late to save everyone. Bobby misses the call because his phone is in the pocket of his jacket when he goes shopping for a new expensive toy train (after Janice complains about how the couple doesn't have the money to properly care for Junior). Silvio is just too late, as he and Patsy are waylaid by other gunmen and drawn into a gun battle. Patrons and strippers from the Bing watch the fight, who gasp in titillation and horror at the gunshots, then at the would-be killers peeling out of the parking lot and causing a hapless motorcycle rider to swerve and fall off his bike. Yet nobody does anything to help. It's tempting to read this as Chase's swipe at the portion of his audience that just wanted unending mob violence—and plenty of critics have—but I see it as just another expression of his cynicism about human nature. We all love the blood and guts until it's we who are spilling them.
The Bobby scene is particularly notable for what his mind is on when the hit men come to whack him. He's thinking about his completely innocent hobby, the thing he'd rather be doing than just about anything else nowadays, according to Janice way back in "Members Only." The train shop proprietor, after reminding Bobby of the price, is pleased to hear he's going to buy the Blue Comet, telling him that his son will enjoy it as well. "He don't care," says Bobby, the last words he'll ever say, and there's real heartbreak there. If the first season of this show was about mothers and sons, maybe the last season of this show is about fathers and their sons, the unbridgeable gulf that inevitably opens up between them, especially in cultures where it's impossible to really express emotion and affection. Bobby looks at the Blue Comet, dreaming of all it represents. It's a better time, when classy ladies and gentlemen traveled in style between New York and Atlantic City. It's the kind of innocence he's always seemed to possess, despite his line of work. It's the hope for a son that might reach out to him again. It's the man he, and so many like him on this show, might have been.
It's also, quite literally, the train barreling down the tracks, the one he should see coming but doesn't until it's too late. The final scene of the episode briefly flashes back to the moment when Bobby tells Tony that he bets you don't even see death coming, and it seems odd, because Bobby really does see his death coming, in the form of two gunmen who close in on him. Yet, at the same time, he doesn't, at least not until it's too late. He's so lost in his reverie, his thoughts about that other life and that other Bobby, that he doesn't even bother to do anything to avoid the gunmen. They shoot him, and the episode cuts between the very real violence and the pretend mayhem of the train set. A bloodied Bobby crashes through the table, trains and figures going everywhere, and that's the end of that. His life ends, but so does whatever hope he had for anything else.
That's the worst thing death does: It freezes you. Until you die, you are someone who has the potential for change, the potential for betterment, the potential to get even worse. Until you die, you are a person living in a present tense, capable of motion and not stasis. Yet all death is is stasis. Throughout its final season, The Sopranos argues that to get stuck, to not realize the daily gifts you receive just from being alive, is to be metaphorically dead, to be someone who's consigned to the past tense and doesn't even know it. And in some ways, that's even worse than getting gunned down in a model-train shop, or being put into a coma in a gun battle, or being knocked off your motorcycle in the middle of oncoming traffic, because nobody can help death. It's coming for all of us. But change is growth. Growth is life. To stop improving, to get stuck in your own rut and not battle back when you must (as Melfi does) is to be dead before the gunmen get to you. And not one of us will ever see it coming.
Stray observations:
- I searched and searched for an organic way to work this into the above, but there just isn't one. The photos that Carmela and Rosalie—another reminder of death in this episode—look over are from their Paris trip back in "Cold Stones." And remember what Carmela realized there? That it's not worth it to spend your life in worry, because it will all be washed away. Just as quickly, she forgot it, and those Paris photos are a happy memory of a good time now and nothing else.
- The final shot of this episode might be the most haunting of the whole series. Tony, back in the home of his childhood, clutching a gun, certain death is about to come.
- Of all of the people who suffer awful fates in this episode, perhaps none suffer a worse fate than Bobby's kids, who now get to spend their lives with Janice as a mother through no fault of their own.
- A.J.'s already out of the hospital and watching Frontline. While there, he bumped into Rhiannon, from earlier in the series, and the two are tentatively flirting, though A.J.'s still worked up about all of the sick rot in the world he sees around him. As if underlining the point about how bad of a mouthpiece he is for these ideals, the scene where Tony yanks him out of his bed to get him out of the house (for his own protection) involves the expensive items in his room getting trashed in the ensuing struggle. He's another spoiled child of privilege, playing at a social conscience until he remembers his toys.
- Even though Kupferberg puts her up to it, I find the way that Melfi's colleague brings up the study on sociopaths at dinner hilarious. "Say, my daughter is dating a criminal, and I'm really worried about her, so I've started reading up on sociopaths!" (Also, Kupferberg revealing that Melfi's treating Tony is the greatest dick move by a character known for being a giant dick.)
- Paulie blithely remarking about how great it must be to be young while watching A.J. flirt with Rhiannon—in the wake of Bobby's death and Sil's coma, no less—is one of his greatest oblivious moments. When Tony has to bed down with what's left of his crew at the end, and Paulie is the most senior member, it's a sorry sight.
- I searched and searched for a site that might tell me what happened to Artie and Charmaine's daughter who played soccer with Meadow, but I don't seem to see one. (I know what happened to Meadow's other friend Hunter, who pops up in the next episode—spoiler alert!) Do the Buccos have any reason to seem so self-satisfied?
Speaking With The Fishes (spoilers):
- I really do love the way that the terrorism angle, which has been dangled all season, fizzles out into nothing. Tony's information is the reason Agent Harris tells him about the coming war, but it also ends up being completely unhelpful in almost every way, and there's never a terrorist strike.
- I remember reading an interview with Chase around the time of the final episode when he said that he'd finished production on the show, then realized he wanted one last Tony and Melfi scene for the finale, so he went back and shot that. I have no idea if that's true, or if I misread something that was meant to pertain to this episode, or what, but I continue to be sad this is the last we'll ever see of Lorraine Bracco (who submitted this episode to the Emmys but lost to Katherine Heigl, of all people).
- I believe the state mental ward that Janice tells Tony about is where he visits Junior in "Made In America." I realize this is grasping at straws, but we're pretty much out of spoilers at this point.
Next week: Tony Soprano: "Made In America."


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Next: Emacs Lisp, Up: Emacs for Heathens [Contents][Index]
Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
vile users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
"Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift", and not "Editing Macros", as you
may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all the time. The control key is normally marked "CTRL" or something like that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked "Alt", which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
Now, us Emacs people don't say "press the meta-control-m key", because that's just too inconvenient. We say "press the C-M-m key". M- is the prefix that means "meta" and "C-" is the prefix that means "control". So "press C-k" means "press down the control key, and hold it down while you press k". "Press C-M-k" means "press down and hold down the meta key and the control key and then press k". Simple, ay?
This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a meta key. In that case you can use the "escape" key. Then M-k means "press escape, release escape, press k". That's much more work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without it.
Next: Emacs Lisp, Up: Emacs for Heathens [Contents][Index]


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RHB Research's top picks are Matrix Concepts Bhd and IOI Properties Group Bhd. It has a "buy'' call on both stocks and a target price of RM2.66 and RM1.38, respectively.Telegram分享群组(www.tel8.vip)是一个Telegram群组分享平台。Telegram分享群组包括Telegram分享群组、Telegram群组索引、Telegram群组导航、新加坡Telegram群组、Telegram中文群组、Telegram群组(其他)、Telegram 美国 群组、Telegram群组爬虫、电报群 科学上网、小飞机 怎么 加 群、tg群等内容。Telegram分享群组为广大电报用户提供各种电报群组/电报频道/电报机器人导航服务。
PETALING JAYA: Higher interest rates are likely to dampen the demand for property but the extent of this will depend on the strength of economic growth.
Based on historical data since 1991, transaction volume typically falls when the average lending rate is revised up, and vice versa.
According to RHB Research, the extent of the decline in demand would also depend on whether the economic growth trajectory remains intact, as any slip in gross domestic product (GDP) could worsen the drop in housing demand.
As global inflation worsens, the research house in its latest report also expects one more overnight policy rate (OPR) hike for the rest of the year, after Wednesday's 25-basis-point (bps) hike, and possibly two more increases in 2023.
That should bring the OPR to around 2.75% to 3% by the end of next year, while mortgage rates may reach 4.1% to 4.15% by end-2023 from 3.1% to 3.15% currently.
On assumption that the Malaysian economy continues to recover (RHB Research's current GDP growth forecasts for 2022 and 2023 are 5.3% and 4.5%, respectively), it believes that the decline in demand for property may still be relatively moderate.
It said mortgage rates by end-2023 would still be comparatively lower than the 4.5%-4.6% levels recorded five years ago.
It believes that home buyers should be able to adapt to the higher interest-rate environment over time.,
But the risk of a recession emerging in the West is growing – although the potential downside risk to economic growth may delay the speed of interest rate hikes – demand for property will still be negatively affected, as unemployment rates may rise.
In a rising interest-rate environment, RHB Research's preference are developers with affordable landed township with ongoing matured developments, as well as asset owners.
It said sector valuations are cheap but given the negative headwinds, re-rating catalysts seem remote.
It retains its "neutral'' stand on the sector.
Its top picks are Matrix Concepts Bhd and IOI Properties Group Bhd. It has a "buy'' call on both stocks and a target price of RM2.66 and RM1.38, respectively.
RHB Research expects house prices to remain flat as the persistent supply glut has already capped the price increase over the past four years.
The overhang issue will likely stay put longer as unstable economic growth will affect the speed in unwinding unsold units.
"Home buyers tend to be more sensitive to rate hikes amid an inflationary environment, as every 25 bps hike in the OPR will lead to a 3.2% to 3.5% rise in monthly mortgage repayments," it said.环球UG声明:该文看法仅代表作者自己,与本平台无关。转载请注明:新2正网平台出租_Higher rates may hurt real estate sector


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1. MASTER CRAFTSMANSHIP - Handcrafted in Sakai, Japan, where more than 90% of Japanese professional chef knives are produced. It is produced one at a time manually by highly skilled master artisans. It outperforms industrially mass-produced products from every aspect. The master craftsmanship shines through in every single product. The unparalleled performances make you feel standing at the pinnacle of cooking! The sheath is sold separately.
2. RAZOR SHARPNESS - Ready to use out of the box with ruthless sharpness. The core is Takefu VG-10 high carbon stainless steel (HRC 60-62) produced in Fukui, Japan. Combined with 46 layer clad Damascus construction, it gives exceptional sharpness, edge retention, durability, and ease of sharpening at the same time. You can easily feel your upgraded technique level just by using a Syosaku Knife. Hand wash only and regularly sharpen on quality whetstones.
3. VERSATILITY - Ideal for everyday chefs handling daily kitchen tasks, whether professional or non-professional. Ultra-sharp medium size blade can be used as a smaller chef's knife or a larger paring knife. You can do any cutting tasks with one knife. You can use it as a sushi knife too. It is double-edged, so it doesn't matter if you are right-handed or left-handed. To avoid a chip in a blade, don't chop hard stuff like bones, nutshells, and frozen foods. Do not use on granite countertops.
4. DURABILITY AND EASE OF USE - Both the VG-10 core and outer Damascus steel are stain & corrosion resistant. The material used for the handle is taken from center core of Walnut tree, which is water-resistant and non-slip. You don't have to worry when it is left wet during use (recommended to wash and dry after use). The ergonomically designed Octagonal handle and perfectly balanced construction make you comfortable even for long-time use.
5. AESTHETICS AND 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE - An exquisite outer steel not only eliminates friction and keeps food from sticking, but also the beauty makes your cooking more enjoyable. The Japanese-style Walnut wood handle with a beautiful Water Buffalo Horn bolster (color may vary) adds more visual accents. Impress your guests with its stunning beauty. It is a perfect gift for your loved ones too. If you don't like our Syosaku Knife, please return it within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
High carbon content (1%) combined with special production techniques gives exceptional hardness (HRC 60-62) to the core. The hardness allows the thinner blade edge, resulting in razor sharpness. High chromium content (15%) and other alloy components make it stainless. The hard VG-10 is clad in softer stainless steel. This gives the blade an added toughness and durability, as well as stunning Damascus beauty. Handcrafted in Sakai, Japan, where the master craftsmanship has been handed down from generation to generation for centuries.
Can be left wet during use, but don't leave it in water for a long time. Hand wash after the use with mild detergent, rinse, and dry with a kitchen towel. Doesn't have to be oiled often, if regularly used. If occasional rust spots happen to appear, use knife maintenance oil with a rust eraser. Dishwasher might damage the blade. Sharpen regularly with quality whetstones. Honing steels are not recommended as they can damage the edge.
Total length: 11.5 inches (285mm)
Weight: 0.2 pounds (70g)
Blade length: 6 inches (150mm)
Width at widest heel: 1.2 inches (30mm)
Bevel: Both-sided 50/50
Rockwell hardness: 60-62
Finishing: Hammered finish
Handle fixing: Octagonal Walnut wood handle with a Water Buffalo Horn bolster (color may vary)
A Petty Knife with a clear plastic blade cover in a fancy box.
Enjoying using my new Syosaku Petty Japanese knife.
The short wait is over. I've just received all the way from Japan my beautifully handcrafted Syosaku Petty Knife with a Damascus stainless steel blade and a gorgeous walnut handle.
Mine has also had my name JONATHAN translated into the Katakana characters ジョナサン engraved on the blade for that personal touch.
Fit and finish seem to be on par with knives in this price range, sharp enough out of the box to use right away. A few pushes on the stones will make this a great addition to the daily use collection.
nice balance, confront handle and super sharp