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Half Elf Ranger Class Build (PvP/PvE)
The half elf ranger build in my opinion is the king of solo. This build is designed to bombard enemies from an insane attack range. The Ranger has a decent critical rate and some great rooting spells.
Stat Build: Your leveling points should be distributed as 1VIT – 3 DEX or This ranger build has no psyche so you are gonna rely on pots for your mana so you must be careful not to deplete it too soon.. You will have some decent HP with 130 points of VIT just in case someone might be lucky enough to get close to you.
This build has a large distribution of DEX to boost your ranged attack quite a bit. You will have great damage and a long range to do it in.
PvE: The easiest class to solo with by far and one of the fasted classes to level also. Most mobs won't even get close enough to you to do any damage since you have long attack range and have the ability to slow your target mobility speed. Only ranged mobs will have that chance to get a few shots off before they hit the ground bleeding. You only really need to cast one skill per mob before they die since you will be doing some nasty normal ranged attack damage. You will also have an easy time when in a high level mob grind party. You don't really have to move around much just let tankers tank and do a little pulling here and there.
PvP: The ranger class i one of the few classes that do well against ranged and melee based classes in PvP. You take down magic type classes pretty easily and melee classes can be stunned and slowed down to a crawl before they can get to you. You can do some powerful critical damage at a long range using Critical Shot. The ranger has some great PvP skill at their disposal including Luxury Shot and Premium Shot leaving enemies with missed parts of their HP bar lol. A nice spell to initiate your PvP sequence is Speed Wind which boosts your attack speed to an insane rate that lasts 10 seconds. When a melee class finally does get to you, hit them with Brandish Kick which has a 70% chance to stun target for 9 seconds. You can kite away from enemies easily since you have increased mobility skills.
Conclusion: This ranger build is balanced and you will have extended use of your skills and will be able to solo and pvp well. You don't have a whole lot of mana so be careful. Remember that range is your advantage, don't let melee get to close or they will rip you up 🙂
Stat Point Build at Level 99
The recommended spell upgrades:
(Half Elf Archer Tree)
1. Darkness-Level 5: Increase dark dmg 100%, res50% 8% chance decrease target's 30% atk spd for 7 sec.
2. Psychic Pierce-Level 1: 160% of normal dmg.
3. Long Shot-Level 5: Increase 50% of attacking range for 9 min.
4. Enchanted Arrow-Level 5: Increase arrow damage by 30 for 30 min.
5. Fainting Pierce-Level 5: 35% chance decrease target movement speed by 50% for 10 sec, last 18 min.
6. Bleeding Shot-Level 1: Effect 'bleed' dealt 70% of normal dmg every 3 seconds, occur 5 times.
7. Nimble-Level 5: Increase dex by 30%, lasts 30 min.
8. Brandish Kick-Level 5: 70% chance stun the target that last 9 second.
9. Feeble Arrow-Level 1: Decrease target 3% of str last 30 seconds.
10. Fatal-Level 5: Critical dmg increases by dex * 3.0, last 15 min.
11. Sprint-Level 4: Increase movement speed by 80% in 27 seconds.
12. Evade-Level 1: Increase evasion rate by 10% last 18 min.
13. Piercing Root-Level 4: Normal attacks 130%, 50% chance hold the target in place for 5 second.
14. Double Strike-Level 1: Increase 20% of normal dmg, attack target twice.
The recommended spell upgrades:
(Half Elf RangerTree)
1. Crossbow Mastery-Level 5: Increase X-bow's atk by 25%, last 30 min.
2. Open Eyes-Level 1: Instantly removes root status.
3. Trick-Level 1: Wouldn't get attack by npc guard during gvg and during red-name period, last 5 min.
4. Detect-Level 1: Detect hidden target within the range of 10m, last 30 sec.
5. Dissapear-Level 1: 50% chance become hidden, last 30min. moving, atking or using item will expose.
6. Siege Shot-Level 5: Unable to move for 10 sec, mean while atk + 90%.
7. Murder Shot-Level 5: Increase atk dmg by murder count * 90.
8. Speed Wind-Level 5: Increase atk spd by 160%, last 10 sec.
9. Kael's Arrow-Level 2: Create 100 bolts with dmg of 120.
10. Alacrity Blow-Level 5: Increase dex by 15%, last 30 min.
11. Strip Shot-evel 5: Ignore defense, increase dmg by 70%
12. Rank Shot-Level 1: Total damage = weapon's rank * 50.
13. Critical Shot-Level 5: When hit the target, 90% chance occur critical hit.
14. Premium Shot-Level 1: Increases weapon's atk by 200%.
15. Magic Guard-Level 1: Do not affect by magics for 10 seconds.
16. Luxury Shot-Level 1: Increases weapon's atk by 200%.
17. Winged Foot-Level 5: 18 mp per sec, party member increase movement spd by 100%.
Credits go to http://freetoplaymmorpgs.com/rohan-online
Hi its Corey, owner of Freetoplaymmorpgs, I hope to bring you all the guides for all your favorite free to play games and continue to grow this fun community!
Feel free to post these articles anywhere you wish but plz keep the http://freetoplaymmorpgs.com link active and give me credit.


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Conservation and biodiversity
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As a large landowner and a water company with processes and activities that can have a direct influence on the environment, we are committed to enhancing biodiversity within our own landholdings and also to ensuring that our operations do not adversely affect biodiversity value in our rivers and seas.
Major investments in new treatment works and improvements in the combined sewer overflows during the past 10 years have been a significant factor in environmental improvements and enhanced marine and freshwater habitat.
We target investment at key areas: improving the quality of treated water that our wastewater treatment works discharge; protecting rivers and coastal areas from pollution during storms and ensuring that our processes operate with minimum impact on local communities.
We take our responsibility as a major landowner and guardian of some of Wales's most important wildlife sites very seriously. We continue to avoid or minimise environmental impacts from our activities and, wherever possible, to maximise opportunities for nature conservation and enhancement. With 60% of our land being of national conservation and biodiversity importance, and a continual capital investment programme, we are very much committed to the responsible management of our operational and construction activities.

subset: commoncrawl


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Clue: "The Americans" FBI agent Beeman
We have 1 answer for the clue "The Americans" FBI agent Beeman. See the results below.
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Last summer, Michael and his wife Elise Jordan sat down with John Avlon and his wife Margaret Hoover in a touching interview that focused on Hasting's memorable Rolling Stone article and the risks of reporting the news.
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I didn't know who he was. Michael Hastings you sound like the type of guy that this world needs. We need to get to the bottom of these tough stories.Michael RIP!I wish her family the best.
They killed this guy on purpose and everyone knows it
I offered this comment on a recent Opednews article by Cheri Roberts:
Those who cannot be led can often be driven to death
Just to start by saying that living in Ireland my principle line into American issues is as an Opednews anti-war commentator so my knowledge of American life in general is limited.
Many of us find ourselves in lives bounded by conspiracy from cradle to grave. Psychologists would have their own thoughts about that. The anti-war movement and Wikileaks is now attracting a constituency of people who, by virtue of having sexual issues, understand conspiracy on a more profound level. People who, in having the courage to lay claim to their own complex inner narratives, are fit to relate to and expose complex conspiratorial truths about the world. One of the problems with the convergence of complex inner and outer narratives is that they take us into confrontation with family hierarchies and key figures and relationships in our lives. Being sensitive and going through this exposes us to being destabilised. Psychological profiling is very advanced these days and used by secret services to try an mirror a persons inner turmoil with events in their working world creating the illusion of a 'global conspiracy'. The purpose is to create a process of derailment which is why having people know too much about the seeming trivia of your life is very dangerous. This is why PRISM – as per the Ed Snowden revelations – is so dammed dangerous. Its like giving your psychological profile and personal details to the Mafia and expecting they'll do nothing with it. Any kind of addiction is also dangerous as is indebtedness. Find a good GP and work through them. Never self-medicate or cultivate addictions. Even a sugar addiction is dangerous, more dangerous than smoking on a psychological level.
Michael Hasting's death needs to be seen as a warning signal to anti-war activists to never be driven to death. It's an issue because those who can't be led can often be driven – from behind. In the car our covert psychological profile effectively goes live. So if you find yourself being driven while driving my advice is to drive like a geriatric and to never respond by accelerating or over-reacting.
I'll miss Rolling Stone's reporter Michael Hastings honest, no BS "advocacy journalism" that is sadly lacking among the stenographic mainstream press.
Kelly Vahlos ended her eulogy, "Michael Hastings, Truthteller, Dead at 33," by writing: "Hastings was lambasted by the establishment hive for supposedly "breaking the rules," which meant he did his job … I believe his book ["The Operators"] is one of the few "must reads" to come out of the war reportage in that it rankled the powerful while keeping faith with the people, and that's real journalism. That is why he became a correspondent and why he will be forever remembered as a truthteller. To say he will be missed would be a gross understatement. We are losing so much."
Last year, Vahlos also wrote a touching tribute ("Carl Prine's Line of Departure") to another iconoclastic blogger/reporter who's been sidelined by disabling migraines he got from IED's in Anbar. She wrote that Carl Prine "is "one of the good guys, a veteran who obviously loves the military for what it could be and loathes it for what it has been used for… He's not been right about absolutely everything … and sometimes I think he could go easier on other writers [a reference to Michael Hastings], especially when they have their hearts and heads in the right place. … But he's always consistent when it counts — in his loyalty to the rank and file and exposing the corruption of power. And that makes him tops with me … because there aren't a lot of veteran-journalist-critics with his talent willing to write the things he does" [One of Carl's last columns, "McChrystal Clear" was a caustic review of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's road show; for an archived copy see the post "Never Shall I Fail My Comrades" at the Feral Firefighter blog].
Finally, last year Kelly Vahlos ended her review ("Michael Hastings vs. Team America") of his 2012 book "The Operators" on a melancholy note:
"The predominant feeling … is not outrage, nor gleeful satisfaction in seeing everything one suspects about this rotten war confirmed in tawdry black and white detail and in the rise and fall of one of the most celebrated generals in a generation. The overwhelming feeling is, well, sadness. … sadly familiar: a million film plots of mortal men who flew too high and came down with a crash. The rest … is just plain sad."
As is Michael Hasting's untimely death in a fiery car crash. … as was the 2007 death of his first fiancée, Andi Parhamovich, who was killed when her car was set on fire in an ambush in Baghdad (see his 2008 book "I Lost My Love in Baghdad").
In a 2012 Alternet interview Michael Hastings was asked: "are there individual reporters whom you want to call out publicly for their sort of following the Pentagon line and not doing their job?" He replied, "Yeah. I saw a pretty egregious example with the New York Times Pentagon correspondent [Thom Shanker] who literally just published the Pentagon spokesperson's anonymous quotes when he was reporting on my stories … he's got the official line from the Pentagon."
Shanker wrote the April 2011 NYT piece that claimed a Pentagon investigation had "found no proof of wrongdoing" by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in the events portrayed in Hasting's 2010 "Rolling Stone" profile. It's worth noting that three years previously, Shanker had also written written a May 2009 NYT piece that whitewashed Gen. Stanley McChrystal's key role in the cover-up of Pat Tillman's 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan.
Just before McChrystal's June 2009 Senate confirmation as Afghan War commander, the NYT's published Thom Shanker's piece, "Nomination of U.S. Afghan Commander Revives Questions in Tillman Case" supposedly "exonerating" McChrystal and claimed he was "cleared of wrongdoing." Although Shanker's article was full of official "facts," he ignored clear evidence of McChrystal's culpability [see the posts "More NYT's Lies Borne Out By Facts, If Not the Truth" and "Lies Borne Out by Facts, If Not the Truth" at the Feral Firefighter blog].
The evening after his Senate confirmation, McChrystal gave Thom Shanker (& fellow NYT reporter Eric Schmitt) a private tour of his new Pentagon HQ! A few months later, Shanker took a sabbatical as a "writer in residence" at the think-tank CNAS (which worked closely with McChrystal on the Afghan War "surge) and CNAS hosted his 2011 book release party. Isn't "access" grand!
I didn't come away from my personal experience with Thom Shanker & the "New York Time's" with any confidence in our "watchdog" media. As Hastings said, "they call it the Pentagon Press Corps, right? And you sort of think, oh, well it means the people who kind of watch over the Pentagon and perform the media's watchdog function, but no, it's an extension of the Pentagon."
"In its obituary for the journalist [Michael Hastings]... the New York Times toed a line peddled by the government at the time of the McChrystal scandal by casting some doubt on Hastings' reporting. The journalist's widow, Elise Jordan, has been swift to take issue with the Times obit."
- Natasha Lennard, Salon.com (June 20, 2013)
The Time's obituary for Rolling Stone's reporter Michael Hastings quoted their Pentagon reporter Thom Shanker whose April 2011 article said the Pentagon "challenged the accuracy of his profile of General [Stanley] McChrystal." Michael Hasting's widow, Elise Jordan, objected to the "blatant mischaracterization" in his obituary" and wrote the NYT asking them to make corrections.
In his disingenuous 2013 memoir McChrystal only briefly mentioned the controversy which led to his firing by President Obama [see the post "Never Shall I Fail My Comrades" at the Feral Firefighter blog]. Although McChrystal claimed he "took full responsibility" for the controversy, he blamed Michael Hastings for his supposed lack of fairness and accuracy. However, it's worth noting that McChrystal has repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the accuracy of Hasting's quotes when questioned by reporters (and was never questioned by the Pentagon investigators).
However, the NYT obituaries editor Bill McDonald refused to make corrections to Hasting's obituary. He claimed that "it's not The Times that is questioning the article's accuracy; it was the Defense Department. We're simply reporting what it publicly said" … "as we must, if we're going to write an honest obit about him." Really? His response brings to mind a quote from the film "V for Vendetta" in which a TV broadcaster said, "our job is to report the news, not fabricate it; that's the government's job" (see the post "More Lies Borne Out by Facts, If Not the Truth" at the Feral Firefighter blog).
In her take on the obit, NYT Public Editor Margaret Sullivan said that "the obituary…is not factually inaccurate, as far as I can tell" …" Unfortunately, Sullivan's column carefully dodged addressing the crux of the controversy: the truthfulness of his "Rolling Stone" profile of Gen. McChrystal. Sullivan failed to resolve this issue, although she did point out someone cut the original on-line version's final lines that praised Hastings from the print edition (supposedly for "space concerns").
Instead of seeking to discern the truth of the controversy, the Times has once again (as with the Pentagon's NYT reporter Thom Shanker's 2009 whitewash of McChrystal's role in the Pat Tillman cover-up) displayed its stenographic ability to parrot the official government position "borne out by facts, if not the truth." Stenography in the service of smearing a real journalist after his tragic, early death!
Here's an excerpt, "What Burns Faster, Memories or Flames," from the post, "More Lies Borne Out by Facts, If Not the Truth," at the Feral Firefighter blog:
"A woman I loved [Andi Parhamovich] was killed in Baghdad in January 2007 – al-Qaeda in Iraq took credit for it … The memorial service with me crying over an empty coffin."
- Michael Hastings, "The Operators" (2012)
. . ..
"Twenty-five hundred degrees Fahrenheit, fire burns down…"
"I find her personal writings and her diary… I find a note that says: 'career, death card.' Another, dated January 12, says that she and I will 'take the journey home together.'"
"The men cannot get the doors open. They cannot get into the car… The grenade doesn't make a sound when it is dropped… The explosion. In less than a second, the gas tank will catch fire."
"She sees her life. It all comes at once."
"There is more noise; there is a loud noise. What is faster, sound or memories?"
"The flames are hot. It is so hot now. What burns faster, memories or flames?"
"She sees what happens. … Her father… holding a picture of her, inconsolable. She sees her mother shaking softly in church, looking at her face, framed in a picture. … She watches her fiancée writing with tears in his eyes."
"It is almost over now. "
"She sees the rest of her life. She sees the ring. She sees a pure white wedding dress and an aisle. She sees her parents and brothers and sisters and friends smiling proudly. She sees the children and the house. She sees the reunions in Ohio; she feels the warmth and hears the laughter and feels the love for her."
"The noise continues, but she is gone."
- Michael Hastings, "I Lost My Love In Baghdad" (2008)
. . .
"… I didn't think I could love again. I feel very blessed and fortunate that Elise [Jorndan] would have me. The fact that she was able to get past that—I feel pretty lucky."
- Michael Hastings, from CNN Reliable Sources interview
All theories as to what happened to Michael have been "debunked?" Which ones have even been completely investigated yet? Wow, looks like we're going to have to work on keeping the show's new sources reliable.


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[October 5, 2016, PPF] Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan expressed concern over the killings and constant harassment of journalists in South Sudan.
PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter urged the government of South Sudan to end the high rate of impunity and book the perpetrators. Aslam Ali also urges to take action against shutting down of media outlets, harassment of media personnel and provide the security to the media fraternity in South Sudan.
According to Association for Media Development in South Sudan, since December 2013 at least 12 journalists have been murdered for pursuing their professional duties and others were became the victims of circumstances.
Recently, the dead body of Isaac Vuni, a freelance journalist was found in a farm. He was kidnapped three months back at gun point by unidentified men wearing uniform at his home in Kerepi village.
In July of this year John Gatluk, journalist for The Radio Community and Kamula Duro, a cameraman in the Office of the President was killed.
Besides murders and killings, at least 27 journalists were arrested, some were released and others are still in detention. 7 media outlets were shut down and only two were reopened, 3 journalists were kidnapped, detained in unknown location, tortured and later dumped near graveyards, 2 kidnapped journalists are still missing, several journalists fled the country for fear of their lives, 45 cases of intimidation of both media houses and individual journalists, summons and questioning of both media houses and journalists are extremely high.BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS


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Let it snow
I woke this morning and thought to myself: I wonder if it will ever snow again in Johannesburg, South Africa? Because, if you didn't know, the last time it did was way back in 1981, which, for our younger readers, was a few years before the launch of MTV "" if you can imagine a world without MTV, then sure, why not one without snow. [ed note: correction, the same year as the launch of MTV!]
(There's a joke in there about the good old days when TV stations signed off and the screen went to snow, but I've got to move along to the story here"¦)
Well, what do you know! It's snowing in South Africa! While the rest of us suffer through one of the worst heat waves on record, kids are having snowball fights in Johannesburg.
When I was a kid, we used to put snowballs in the freezer during winter with the hope of taking them out once summer arrived for a few laughs. But by that time they were just solid balls of ice, not unlike something you could have made with tap water"¦ ahh, youth.


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ATLANTA—Jim Furyk, the only American on the Ryder Cup team without a win this year, now has another chance to change that.
Furyk made seven birdies through 10 holes Friday at East Lake — including seven 3s to start the round — until he missed a few greens on the back nine that slowed his momentum. He wound up with a 6-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Justin Rose going into the weekend at the Tour Championship.
For all the 3s on his card — nine of the first 11 holes — Furyk was irritated about not making one at the par-3 18th. He missed a five-footer and slammed his yardage back onto the table in the scoring trailer when he went to sign his card.
Perspective returned a short time later. He was at 7-under 133 on a course where he won just two years ago. And while he is remembered for squandering chances to win at the U.S. Open and Firestone this year, the next opportunity is right in front of him.
Rose, who shared the 18-hole lead with Tiger Woods, made four birdies on the back nine and holed a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 68.
Woods went the other direction.
He was right in the mix when he made the turn, despite a double bogey on the eighth hole, But a series of bad swings that put him in bad positions led to four bogeys on the back nine, and Woods had a 73. It was his worst score at East Lake in 14 years, dating to a 76 in the second round in 1998. He was six strokes behind.
"I'm still right there," Woods said, but he has 10 players in front of him.
Bo Van Pelt made three bogeys on the last four holes and still had a 68 that put him two shots behind at 135, along with Masters champion Bubba Watson (66). Dustin Johnson, who had to summon his college teammate from Coastal Carolina to caddie for him when his regular had back problems, had a 67 and was another shot back, along with Georgia Tech alum Matt Kuchar (69).
Rory McIlroy, who is leading the FedEx Cup, made an eagle on the 15th that turned around his fortunes. He had a 68 and was only four shots behind.
Furyk hasn't won since he turned his cap around in the rain, saved par from a bunker and won the Tour Championship in 2010, along with the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. He lost in a four-man playoff at Innisbrook. He was tied for the lead at the U.S. Open with three holes to play — two of them par 5s — until he hooked his tee shot into the trees and made bogey on the 16th. And he led at Firestone from the opening round until chopping up the final hole for a double bogey to lose by one.
"I think that my personality is that I'm 75 per cent mad that I haven't closed the door," he said. "I have to be reminded, whether it's my teacher or my caddy or my wife or whoever it may be, that 'You're playing well. Be patient. Let it happen.' Instead of the silver lining in the cloud, I'm definitely tougher on myself than anyone else."
Furyk was close to perfect on the front nine at East Lake.
He spent close to an hour on the practice range Thursday afternoon, mostly hitting his driver, and it paid off in the second round. East Lake can only be attacked from the fairway, and only one of Furyk's six birdie putts on the front nine was over five feet — that as a 15-footer on his opening hole.
"It was obviously a fun day," Furyk said.


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Christian Edwards
(Australian Associated Press)
Australian mining companies' effective tax rate fell in 2015/16, but the industry body still wants the company tax rate reduced.
The miners paid an effective tax rate – which combines company tax and mining royalties on its profits – of 51 per cent in 2015/16, compared to 54 per cent in the previous year, according to the Minerals Council.
But MCA interim chief executive David Byers said the industry could make an even greater contribution to Australia if the company tax rate was lowered.
He did not give details on how.
"Australia's 30 per cent company tax rate is too high for a capital hungry nation which needs to encourage business investment," Mr Byers said in a statement.
The 2017 Deloitte Access Economics Minerals Industry Tax Survey, which the MCA received on December 8 and made public on Monday, showed that total taxes as a share of profits decreased three percentage points in FY16.
Deloitte partner Stephen Smith said that the easing in the tax rate was possibly because of the impact of asset sales and reductions in tax losses from the previous year, rather than to any turnaround in business conditions.
According to the report, in the decade to 2016 the minerals industry paid a total of $185 billion in federal company tax, as well as state and territory royalties.
The report said the historical average effective tax rate was 45 per cent.


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TL;DR: ZeroBin is a minimalist, opensource online pastebin/discussion board where the server has zero knowledge of hosted data. Data is encrypted/decrypted in the browser using 256 bits AES. You can test it online.
Paste, share, discuss about it.
See screenshot page.
When pasting a text into ZeroBin:
When opening a ZeroBin URL:
A test service is available at https://sebsauvage.net/paste/
(Please note that this is a test service: Data may be deleted anytime and the service may be shut down. Please do not abuse this service.)
The zip file includes all necessary files (including the javascript libraries mentioned below). Just drop the files on your server and open the URL.
ZeroBin uses:
ZeroBin is under the zlib/libpng OSI licence.
Unzip in a directory, open the page. Yes, that's all.
If you want to upgrade from a previous ZeroBin version, delete everything in your ZeroBin directory except the data directory, and unzip the new version.
ZeroBin is on GitHub: https://github.com/sebsauvage/ZeroBin
Versions history is available in this page.
The FAQ is in this page.
The project todo/ideas list is in this page.
Your remarks, suggestion, critics, ideas, bug reports are welcome in the ZeroBin discussion page.
After creating ZeroBin, I stumbled upon similar projects, but with different perspectives:
You can also have a look at:


text:
|Louisiana Division
New Orleans Public Library
|Administrations of the Mayors of New Orleans
Jonas H. French
Jonas H. French was Acting Military Mayor for a few days (August 6-20, 1862) while Godfrey Weitzel was called to Baton Rouge on official business. The personnel remained the same as under Godfrey Weitzel's administration. After Weitzel completed his term, he was succeeded by Henry C. Deming.
Next: Deming
Back to the Introduction


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Friday January 3rd: CHaD Camp
The staff at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth College understands the trials and tribulations of children, and their parents, who are hospitalized. They created a program to make life a little easier on patients and their loved ones. Shelley Walcott visited "Camp CHaD" to see how they brighten some of the darkest days.
We all have those clothes, the ones we hold on to but never seem to wear? Why not recycle them and give them a new life? Peterborough fiber artist Margaret Kasper run a one woman eco-upcycled clothing line called Mountain Girl Clothing.
Tonight on Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire: Town of Nottingham
For more information on tonight's stories:
CHaD Storybook Ball
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Wiggins Airways
Manchester, NH
Mountain Girl Clothing
Hosting this week from:
Hopkinton Fair


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The resident of a small village near the eastern Chinese city of Wenling claims he was asleep in bed when a posse of robbers broke into his home and stole his penis.
"They put something over my head and pulled down my trousers and then they ran off," 41-year-old Fei Lin is quoted as saying. "I was so shocked I didn't feel a thing-then I saw I was bleeding and my penis was gone."
Though police have no suspects currently in custody, their working theory is that the man was assaulted by a group of cuckolded men who suspected the villager was having an affair with their wives.
A search for the missing member came up empty; police believe it is still in the hands of the assailants.


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The rain came last week and a building sprouted on our campus. Well, the beginnings of a building. Here are a few pics of the early stages of construction of the Resnick Pavilion, which will be completed in 2010. This is just one small corner of the building so far—much more will come.
I love watching buildings go up, especially when I get to see it on a day-by-day basis. Every day in 2007 I walked down Wilshire on my way to work, watching BCAM take shape—first the steel beams; then the exterior walls, panel by panel; and eventually, the exterior stairs and escalator. I'm looking forward to doing it all over again with the Resnick Pavilion—especially because this time we'll have a better vantage point from which to see the saw-tooth roof come together. Already you can see the framework being installed—the frames in piles on the ground all around the building, awaiting their turn to be lifted by crane and put in position.
There was some discussion in the comments to yesterday's post about museum lighting, in which Michael Buitron of Leap into the Void and another reader, Davidsindy, brought up the use of natural light in galleries at the Getty and the Kimbell Art Museum. Likewise, the use of natural light in BCAM's third-floor galleries is, to my mind, the absolute highlight of that building. If you agree then you have reason to look forward to the Resnick Pavilion's completion: picture the quality of light and openness in one of those third-floor galleries—then multiply that by five.
For those of you even more obsessed than I with the pavilion's progress, our Transformation Webcam has been resurrected. See it all in real time! Keep your browser open for the next eighteen months so you don't miss a thing!


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Georgia Tech beats Clemson, awaits Saturday's Duke outcome
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Mott Hyde hit a two-run homer, while Dusty Isaacs and Sam Clay combined for a shutout to help Georgia Tech beat Clemson 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Isaacs (7-5) earned the win on Friday by allowing one hit in five innings, while Clay allowed just three hits from there for the ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets (35-25). They finished 2-1 in pool play and will advance to Sunday's final if top-seeded Miami (0-2) beats No. 4 seed Duke (1-1) on Saturday.
Garrett Boulware had two hits for the fifth-seeded Tigers (36-23), who also finished 2-1 in Pool A. Georgia Tech has the head-to-head tiebreaker on Clemson if Duke loses to Miami, while a Duke win would create a three-way tie that sends Duke to the final due to its higher regular-season league winning percentage.
Clate Schmidt (5-7) took the loss, allowing eight hits and two runs in 8 1-3 innings.


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Thursday, May 31, 2012
candy wreath
7 comments:
I love this idea!!!!!!Yummy!!!!This would make a great gift!!!TFS...New Follower and so happy!!ReplyDelete
I've got to remember this for next year. My college son would love this made in his favorite candies. Do you think I could glue on jelly bellys? Just kidding. This is adorable!ReplyDelete
What a fantastic idea i shall definately give this ago, i think it would be a fun thing to do for haloween. Thankyou for linking up on my making it home linky xReplyDelete
I think it would also be fun to write a message on the wreath, so as the candy is eaten they will be able to see it! So cute!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJuly 20, 2012 at 6:24 PM
too cute!! Totally love itReplyDelete
So cute!ReplyDelete
I'd love it if you shared this with the Fun Family Crafts audience.
FFC is similar to Craftgawker but it only features kid friendly tutorials.
Looking forward to seeing what fun crafts you submit!
Love this idea,have one grandson loves candy,this be great for him BuT have get by his mom,,ha,ha, Love this Hon, Just joined your blog love it..Thank's Cookie 17ReplyDelete


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The Kings of Leon are promising a redo for their Dallas fans after canceling a show because their lead singer complained it was too hot to perform, leading other members to profusely apologize to the audience.
In a statement, the family rock band, known for hits including the Grammy Award-winning anthem "Use Somebody," announced plans to return to Dallas on Sept. 21 to make up for Friday's mid-show cancellation, which drummer Nathan Followill called a "fiasco" on Twitter.
"The Kings of Leon apologize to their fans for the inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to seeing their fans again in September," read a statement sent by their publicist on Sunday.
On Friday, lead singer Caleb Followill repeatedly complained that it was too hot and that his voice was suffering because of it.
"My voice is completely 100 percent gone," he said.
After a few more songs, he announced to the audience: "I'm gonna go back stage for a second, I'm gonna vomit, I'm gonna drink a beer and I'm gonna come back out and play three more songs."
He never did come back out, leaving the rest of the band to announce the abrupt end of the show to a booing audience. The other members, including guitarist Matthew Followill and bassist Jared Followill, were apologetic and later took to Twitter to let out their frustrations.
"Not so good morning 4 me today," Nathan Followill tweeted. "Ashamed & embarrassed by last night's fiasco. Can't apologize enough, utterly gutted. A million I'm sorrys."
Jared Followill tweeted: "Dallas, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed. No words."
He added: "I love our fans so much. I know you guys aren't stupid. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."
However, the statement released by the band did not address other troubles, and it said Caleb "suffered from heat exhaustion and dehydration ... causing his vocal chords to seize."
The Nashville-based band also canceled Saturday's show in Houston. That show was rescheduled for Sept. 22.
Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music writer. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi


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Essay: The transitional animal the flying pig?
From Conservapedia
Please notice the large wing span which according to evolutionary scientists is said to have evolved over time in order to keep the flying pig aloft. Evolutionary "scientists" are not exactly sure what the flying pig looked like and the above animated picture is believed by evolutionists to be a close facsimile.
Do flying pigs really exist? Any evolutionist imagination involved?
Concerning pictures of the supposed ancestors of man featured in science journals and the news media, Boyce Rensberger wrote in the journal Science:
|Unfortunately, the vast majority of artist's conceptions are based more on imagination than on evidence. But a handful of expert natural-history artists begin with the fossil bones of a hominid and work from there…. Much of the reconstruction, however, is guesswork. Bones say nothing about the fleshy parts of the nose, lips, or ears. Artists must create something between an ape and a human being; the older the specimen is said to be, the more apelike they make it.... Hairiness is a matter of pure conjecture.[1][2]
Flying pigs are believed by evolutionary "scientists" to be closely related to the flying kitties. For details on how evolutionary "scientists" arrive at their findings please see: You obviously don't understand how science works...
See also
- Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian
- Evidence for Christianity
- The transitional animal flying kitty?
- Theory of Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation
- Creation scientists tend to win the creation vs. evolution debates
- Comedy and satires concerning atheism and evolution (large collection of comedy/satire concerning atheism and evolution)
- Poe's law
- Satires of evolution
- Evolution
- ↑ Frank Sherwin, M.A., "Human Evolution" An Update
- ↑ Bert Thompson, P.H.D. and Brad Harrub, P.H.D., 15 Answers to John Rennie and Scientific American's Nonsense


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Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody. ~Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894
If you're going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. ~Michael Jordan
Always act like you're wearing an invisible crown. ~Author Unknown
The body is a house of many windows: there we all sit, showing ourselves and crying on the passers-by to come and love us. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars. ~Violeta Parra
Secret Doorway
Austin and shandie play on the horsie's


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Health dept. searches for dog that bit woman
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Eau Claire City-County Health Department is looking for a dog that bit a young woman on a street in the Hamilton/Robbins Meadows area no Monday.
The health department says the incident happened around 1:30 p.m. The dog that the department is looking for is described as short haired, white with brown spots. That dog was with another larger dog being walked by a man wearing a black jacket and pants, according to the health department.
If you have any information about the dog, you're asked to call the Eau Claire Communications Center at (715) 839-4972.


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The route likely to offer the shortest journey time to the chosen destination, favouring main roads and, in particular, highways.
The route offering the shortest distance to a destination via the most accessible roads. Journey times for this option will tend to be longer.
The most fuel-efficient route that also avoids toll roads.
More hotels in Rome
More restaurants in Rome
More tourist attractions in Rome
Work in progress.


text:
Bottomline Technologies Announces Intention to Offer up to $150 Million of Convertible Senior Notes
Bottomline Technologies Announces Intention to Offer up to $150 Million of Convertible Senior Notes
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bottomline Technologies (NAS: EPAY) , a leading provider of cloud-based payment, invoice and banking solutions, today announced that it intends to offer up to $150 million aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes in an underwritten public offering.
The notes will pay interest semiannually and will be convertible, under certain circumstances, into cash or a combination of cash and shares of the company's common stock. The notes will mature on December 1, 2017, unless repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to that date. The company will not have the right to redeem the notes prior to maturity. The interest rate and terms of the notes, including their conversion rate, will be determined by negotiations among the company and the underwriters. In addition, the company expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $22.5 million aggregate principal amount of notes.
If the company's stock price increases from its current price to an amount greater than 130% of the conversion price of the notes and under certain other circumstances or time periods, the notes would be convertible into cash or a combination of cash and shares of Bottomline common stock. To help minimize dilution to existing stockholders, and/or offset potential cash payments in excess of the principal amount of the notes upon their conversion, the company also plans to enter into separate privately negotiated hedge and warrant transactions, which in combination are intended to significantly increase the effective conversion price at which it would issue new shares or pay cash in excess of the principal amount of the notes upon their conversion.
Bottomline intends to use a portion of the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the acquisition of companies, businesses or assets or working capital. In addition, the company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds of the offering to fund the cost to it of the hedge transactions described above.
About the Offering
The proposed offering will be an underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
For more information about the offering, please refer to the Company's Form 8-K being filed with the SEC on December 5, 2012.
This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The offering of the notes will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and related prospectus. The hedge and warrant transactions described above and the shares of the company's common stock underlying the warrant transactions have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
RBC Capital Markets (Sole Coordinator) and RBS are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Bottomline has filed a registration statement (including a base prospectus and related preliminary prospectus supplement) with the SEC for the offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Bottomline, the underwriters or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus if you request them by contacting RBC Capital Markets, LLC, 3 World Financial Center, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY, 10281-8098; Attention: Equity Syndicate; Phone: 877-822-4089; Fax: 212-428-6260 or RBS Americas HQ, 600 Washington Boulevard, Stamford, CT 06901; Attention: Equity Prospectus Library; Phone: 203-897-9874; E-mail: email@example.com.
About Bottomline Technologies
Bottomline Technologies (NAS: EPAY) provides cloud-based payment, invoice and banking solutions to corporations, financial institutions and banks around the world. The company's solutions are used to streamline, automate and manage processes involving payments, invoicing, global cash management, supply chain finance and transactional documents. Organizations trust Bottomline to meet their needs for cost reduction, competitive differentiation and optimization of working capital. Headquartered in the United States, Bottomline also maintains offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Bottomline Technologies and the BT logo are trademarks of Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc. which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other brand/product names are trademarks of their respective holders.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.Any statements that are not statements of historical fact should be considered to be forward-looking statements, including statements about our planned offer and sale of convertible senior notes, the use of net proceeds from any such sale and the anticipated effect of the privately negotiated hedge and warrant transactions. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering will be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering, including whether the hedge and warrant transactions will become effective or achieve their intended objectives. In addition, management retains broad discretion with respect to the use of any proceeds from the offering.For a discussion of factors that could impact Bottomline's operational and financial results, refer to our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 and any subsequently filed Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks or amendments thereto.Any forward-looking statements represent our views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Bottomline Technologies
Kevin Donovan, 603-501-5240
KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States North America New Hampshire
The article Bottomline Technologies Announces Intention to Offer up to $150 Million of Convertible Senior Notes originally appeared on Fool.com.
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text: "On June 18, 1983, a young physicist from California took her seat aboard the space shuttle and launched into history. On that date, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a mission specialist on STS-7. In this image, Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck."Source: NASA


text:
Jul 22, 2013, 01:30 ET
ATLANTA, July 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cartoon Network and The LEGO Group announced today that they will jointly produce an unprecedented new global entertainment franchise. Launching in 2014, Mixels is the next franchise in integrated family entertainment from two of the world's leading experts in youth engagement. The new venture will feature animated content (primarily shorts), a rich digital gaming experience, a collectible building toy concept and more.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130722/CL50827LOGO)
Animated content will air on Cartoon Network and on www.cartoonnetwork.com, featuring the colorful Mixels creatures that can mix and combine with one another in creative and unpredictable storylines. A collectible portfolio of low-priced mini building sets will launch in three waves in 2014 and an app-powered gaming experience will engage fans in a deep mobile game that will cover the sprawling world of Mixels.
Mixels was developed through a true collaboration between Cartoon Network, a leading global kids entertainment company, and The LEGO Group, globally renowned for its heritage of quality, creative play experiences. The two companies joined forces when Cartoon Network Studios had an interest in creating original content based on the inherent open-ended values of LEGO® play, at the same time that The LEGO Group was exploring a new concept involving small creatures – and Mixels was born. The property was developed by a multinational team of content innovators, designers and animators – from Los Angeles to Atlanta to San Diego to Connecticut to Denmark.
"This is the next step in the evolution of Cartoon Network Studios and the way we develop original IP," said Rob Sorcher, chief content officer, Cartoon Network. "Bringing together world-class animators and game developers with LEGO content and product design teams at the earliest stages of creation proved to be an energizing collaboration, showcasing the creative strengths of both brands."
"Our relationship with Cartoon Network has really evolved and they have been really great, supportive partners who share our passion for children," said Jill Wilfert, vice president licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. "After working closely with them for the last few years, it is obvious that they truly understand and fully embrace our brand and our core values, so we are thrilled to embark on this new journey to develop and deliver a highly creative and fully integrated new experience with them."
"Families today are engaged in many ways and want a seamless entertainment experience," said Stuart Snyder, president and chief operating officer for Turner's Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media Division. "The reach of all the Cartoon Network platforms combined with the different touch points of the beloved LEGO brand will enable us to create a fully integrated and rich experience from the very beginning."
Mixels will inspire new ways for young people to engage in immersive entertainment content that fuels sustainable, creative physical and virtual play. Fans and the audience will become creators and active participants in the process, creating new characters and content. This is a multi-format, multi-platform experience where a kid can join in anytime, anywhere.
With this exciting new franchise, Cartoon Network Studios will drive all narrative, animation and digital content and Cartoon Network Enterprises will handle Mixels non-toy licensed merchandise. The LEGO Group will focus on Mixels toy design, manufacture and distribution as well as licensed LEGO Mixels publishing to support the property.
Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com) consistently is the #1 U.S. television network among boys 6-11. Currently seen in nearly 100 million U.S. homes and 194 countries around the world, Cartoon Network is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for kids and families. In addition to Emmy®-winning original programming and industry-leading digital apps and online games, Cartoon Network embraces key social issues affecting families with solution-oriented initiatives such as Stop Bullying: Speak Up and the Move It Movement.
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit www.LEGO.com.
LEGO, its logo, the brick and knob configuration and the MiniFigure are trademarks of and © The LEGO Group. All Rights Reserved.
SOURCE Cartoon Network


text:
Virginia Tech Joel Caleb redshirt freshman suspended for season opener against Alabama
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech redshirt freshman running back Joel Caleb has been suspended for the Hokies' opener against Alabama.
Caleb said before practice Tuesday that the one-game suspension is for a violation of a team rule, but did not provide any additional details.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Caleb, a former high school quarterback in Richmond who was recruited as a wide receiver, has switched to tailback for the Hokies. Virginia Tech is thin at the position after the arrest, and subsequent dismissal from the program, of last year's starter, Michael Holmes.
The Hokies play the two-time defending national champions on Aug. 31 in Atlanta.


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I'm Not Losing Sleep. (starts 2:40 in)
Tony Hatch's time producing Bowie, having resulted in nothing but flops, is about to end, so this is something of his Pickett's Charge. In desperation he tries to turn Bowie into Petula Clark (the "too bad!" backing vocal line basically nicks the chorus of "Downtown"). The result's a thematic mess, class-struggle braggadocio from a "street" dandy ("though I dress in RAGS, I'm richer!/though I eat from TINS I'm wealthier!/though I live in SLUMS I'm purer than YOU my friend!!"). It's working man's defiance punctuated by flute trills.
But it's pretty great too. Turns out Bowie thrives in this sort of tinted spotlight—so far he's not been able to match his peers or his influences, whether in soul or rock & roll (Bowie even sings "I can get my satisfaction" here in a waspish way), but he's developed a talent for camp and pointed extravagance (stage performances of the time ended with Bowie doing "You'll Never Walk Alone", wearing "skin-tight trousers and a sweater, flinging out his arms like a vision of Garland herself" (Christopher Sandford)).
So while the "street" the singer's on may be no more than stage scrim, the artifice suits him better—he's cutting, self-righteous, something of a mod Katherine Hepburn in drag. The simulacrum is brighter than any shopworn realism; all tomorrow's disguises, from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, are first visible here.
Recorded 5 July 1966 and released on 19 August 1966 as the b-side to "I Dig Everything"; on Pye Singles.


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What makes one wine "better" than another? The score as metaphor
I somehow found myself once again in the crosshairs over at Dr. Vino's blog the other day (and what a great job Tyler Colman is doing there). Tyler was writing about "wine score inflation" (his term, not mine, and I'm not sure those words even refer to anything in the real world). Citing the writings of others, Tyler suggested that scores from the best known critics have been on the upswing, a fact (if true) he finds worthy of investigation. He didn't exactly accuse the critics of anything nefarious, but the smell of "something's rotten in Denmark" wafted over his post, as if from a nearby swamp.
I wrote in: "…if scores are rising for certain categories of wine, it's because quality is improving. Critics are simply perceiving that increased quality, and rewarding it with higher scores."
That seemed pretty innocuous to me, a statement so logical on its face, no one would even bother to dispute it.
But, wham! It hit the fan. The insults, I'm used to, especially from the usual tedious suspects. What did interest me, though, were some more thoughtful remarks that raised interesting questions. For example, Keith Levenberg (I don't know who he is) wrote: "Steve Heimoff's claim that 'if scores are rising for certain categories of wine, it's because quality is improving' and '[c]ritics are simply perceiving that increased quality' has also been Parker's refrain for years, and it's a complete fallacy." Keith bases this statement on an assumption that seems highly questionable: that "critics are the worst-situated of any of us to make the determination whether quality is in fact improving, because the wines they are tasting are deliberately made to elicit their approval."
I replied: "Are a thousand wineries in California deliberately 'tinkering' with their wines to match my 'personal preferences'? I think not. That's real conspiracy theory stuff. Instead, wineries are crafting their wines to what they perceive is a genuine shift in the consumers' palate, of which I'm just one little part."
The claim that winemakers are deliberately appealing to certain critics' palates has been around for a long time. I suppose it's true, in a way, but what's so strange about that? A winery is a business, just like the movies or automobiles. Spielberg makes the kinds of films he believes Americans want to see. Detroit makes the kinds of cars they think Americans want to drive. If a winemaker decides to go counter to prevailing consumer preferences, chances are he'll go bankrupt. The reason I have an impact in the sale of wine is because I reflect the general consumer preference in America. I don't manufacture it and I don't lead it. I like these wines because they're good, made in a style to appeal to the wine-loving American, which includes me. When they succeed, they deserve the high scores I give them.
Then Daniel wrote (I don't know him either): "Steve, Is every wine that you have reviewed 95 points better than every wine that you have reviewed 94 points?" I answered: "Yes." Short and simple. Daniel replied: "So, a 97 point, $50 Calif PN, is a better wine than a $300 95 point Napa Cab?" Again, I replied: "Yes." But, slightly troubled by something, I added, "'better' is a complicated concept. I may blog on this soon, to better understand it myself."
Is a 97 point $50 California Pinot Noir "better" than a $300 95 point Napa Cab? To begin with, let's forget about the prices. They're irrelevant. In what respect is a 97 point wine (at any price) "better" than a 95 point wine (at any price)? After all, it earned two points higher; it had to do something for those extra points, no?
This is a great question, raising profound issues that, frankly, haven't been thoroughly explored by any critic I know of, including me (which is why I said to "better understand it myself"). For some reason, a lot more people these days care about these things than used to be the case–which may be due to an Internet generation coming of age that demands the utmost transparency and explanation. So I thank Daniel for asking this question. In tomorrow's post, I'll attempt to answer it, and if readers seem interested enough, perhaps the conversation will last through the week.
Here is another question as opposed to a possible answer to your question. When you review wines, are the scores a relative score to the broad peer group (whether defined either by variety, geography, and/or vintage, etc.) or is it a score in relation to every wine and variety available in the world?
When I qualify wines with rankings, I inadvertently default to context in their broad group rather than how it stands among every wine in the world, and only then apply some thinking about how that group of wines…white or red, variety, 50 years old or 2 years old, rank in the context of all other peer groups. Certainly not a rigid science, but that's what I come up with thinking about your interesting question. Curious how you and others think about this?
Steve – If Keith Levenberg dropped his career to become a full-time wine writer, he'd be among the two or three best wine writers currently working. His prose is effortlessly clever and thoughtful. It'd be a good idea to read his semi-regular stuff: http://cellarbook.wordpress.com/
You are heading into some interesting territory. I can't help but contextualize wines when tasting critically. For me, a wine that costs $9.00 and is clearly ahead of the $9.00 competition ranks higher than a $300.00 dollar wine that is very well made, better by far than the $9.00 offering, but falls short vs. its peers. What an unholy mess I would make if I tried assigning points. Good luck with this. I'll be watching with interest.
It is clear from the same old tedious discussions of this question that the only thing determining a score is how one person enjoyed it (or didn't) at one moment in time.
This question would be answered much more easily if you had pre-set criteria for awarding each point on the merits of aroma, flavor, texture, length and possibly age worthiness and food compatibility.
Of course, to do that, one has to be able to accurately and reliably identify these sensory components of a wine….
I would be interested in seeing you riff more on what it takes for a wine to land in the 95+ category. There is at least an impression that it takes a score of this level to significantly impact sales. Perhaps as evidence of this is a story told to me by another Cabernet producer who got a (I think it was) 92 in the WA, which unintentionally published his home phone number rather than the business number, thereby setting up a situation where it would be obvious which calls were generated by that score. But there were no calls. This led him to conclude scores in the low 90's had no impact.
Sometime back you said something like (and I have to paraphrase from memory here as I can't find it in the archives) for a wine to be 95+ points it had to have a stellar strength, and you made a comparison to in the world of fashion, that there are clothes worn by models that are instantly recognizable for their quality, though you wouldn't necessarily be pleased to see them worn by a friend or relative. So can a wine described with words like finesse, elegance, or balance make it to the upper end of the scale? Or is there an edginess required, like the models in Vogue?
The issue of what makes one wine better than another is one of my absolute favorites. It is of course a very deep philosophical question that goes to aesthetics, perception, the nature of value and even issues surrounding social acceptance.
If nothing else an investigation of the idea of "better" and of the nature of quality will probably yield some very exciting and intellectually satisfying insights.
By the way, anyone who tastes and evaluates wines double blind is implicitly arguing that "value" plays no role in the issue of quality. I only note this because it begs the question, does relative value play a role in assessing the quality of a wine?
Metaphors and analogies are what we use when we can't articulate an idea.
With due respect Steve, if you truly reflected the general consumer preference in America wouldn't you be giving higher scores to low cost sweet red wines & moscato's? 😉
Is "consumer preference" and quality synonymous?
If you buy into the idea of wisdom of the masses, and if you are buying what Robin Goldstein is selling, then the answer is a resounding "YES".
Better is in the eye (or nose) of the beholder. Just because Steve likes the $50 Pinot more than the $300 Cab doesn't mean everyone else will. I certainly wouldn't think the Pinot was better than the Cab if I were enjoying both with prime rib.
It's always a crapshoot if you haven't tasted the wine yourself. Sure, you have a fairly good idea if you know how a critic's likes and dislikes compare to your own, but it's never a guarantee.
I think this is going to be good, because it gets to the heart of appreciation. To what degree is someone "objective", merely spotting quality, and to what degree are they showing personal bias? The wine world is full of issues like this around tannins, acid balance, use of wood etc etc etc.
I work hard to eschew metaphors and analogies in favor or specific and concrete words.
It is entirely possible. One only has to try.
Metaphors and analogies are more vague symbols than specific words are. As those more vague symbols are much more subject to individual interpretation, specific and precise words win out when one wants to communicate clearly.
I believe that winemakers in the luxury segment of the market commonly craft their wines in a manner to please the critic. It's in this segment where scores and critic's recommendations are most important to the wine buyer. The most obvious reason is the price of the wines and the money put at risk for a wine that you haven't tasted. There is also the insecurity of not knowing enought about wine to know the difference in this segment.
It's in the luxury market where the winemaker will incorporate new barrels, small amounts of Brett, high alcohol, late harvest fruit-forward winemaking, and other characteristics to make the wine stand out in a line up. Or if not tasted blind, the winemaker wants the critic to visit, to taste the critic through the cellar, telling the critic what he or she wants to hear, natural techniques, indigenous yeasts, biodynamic farming, yada yada yada. The goal is to impress the critic with their sincerity and subtlety. The winemaker is selling more than the wine in the glass. Here the bottle has to be big and heavy.
It's the story that is most important in the luxury market. In the luxury market the winemaker will always deny they are influenced by anyone other than their own personal taste. It is the most important part of their story.
But in the low priced segment the winemaking is directed at the customer. Here you even find wineries that use consumer panels to judge the acceptablity of a new product. You almost never find Brett, oak is usually subtle, wines are under 14 alc. The wine style is one that the winemaker thinks the customer will like . The story is important here, but it is a different story directed to the wine drinker, not the critic.
Morton wrote:
"I believe that winemakers in the luxury segment of the market commonly craft their wines in a manner to please the critic."
I can say with some degree of certainty that the vast majority of wines in the luxury end of the market sell well. Granted they are a minority of all wine in the market.
That said, if a luxury winemaker is selling his wine, does this mean the buyers are generally in agreement with the tastes of the critic for whom you say the winemakers are creating their wines? Or are the luxury buyers slavishly following the tastes of the critic.
I think its the former. I don't have the cajones to call luxury wine buyers slavish followers. It's too demeaning and I just don't think it's true in any case. But if I'm right about this, then winemakers are making wines for the consumers much more so than for the critics.
Tom Wark – You may be right, but I am influenced by my own experience. Here's a true story that helps shapes my beliefs.
A couple decades ago I was in a difficult situation where my employer was increasingly upset that, though the wines for which I was responsible were consistently scoring in the low nineties, they were falling short of the critical acclaim that my employer was seeking. Even worse, my employer had directed me to make a quantity of special wine that would sell for about $100 a bottle. (at that time $100 was a high price) It was obvious to me that a more than doubling the price of our wine without support from important wine critic would land in the market with a dull thud.
I had known the key critics from their first days and have always practiced a routine of tasting their favorite wines to get idea of their preferences. It was clear to me that one of the most important critics had a taste high alcohol and strong French oak modified by noticeable Brettanomyces. (that "French" taste). So in crafting the blend for the introductory luxury wine, a blend well in excess of 14% alcohol was given brand new French oak and a portion of the blend was allowed to proceed through a Brett secondary, and that 15% portion subsequently sterile filtered before blended back. The wine matched perfectly the critic's tastes, in my opinion. The wine was given a year's bottle age so a second vintage was in the bottle at the time the first was released. Both were made to the same style. The second vintage was five times the first in quantity.
The wine was released and a bit before the release I sent the first and second vintages to the critic. The wines were tasted, but the scores did not appear for six months both due to lag time to print and a delay in the tasting by the critic. The new luxury wine landed with a dull thud at release. Every distributor told me the same story. The wine was too expensive. The market for wines in that category was weak. I heard every excuse. I probably sold less that 50 cases in the first few months after release.
Then the results came out the first vintage was given a 96. The phone began to ring and before the end of that first day, every case was committed…allocated to distributors, and within a bit over a month all the revenues were in the bank. Then a few months later the review of the second release came out. A second high score and a singling out by the critic . Pow! Within two weeks the second vintage was entirely gone.
As I said, we are influenced by our own experience. I do not believe I am the only winemaker to figure out how to sell high priced wine. In fact, I think I was a little late catching on. Anyone who wants to succeed in the top end has to pay attention to the taste of the critic. High end wine is sold by the distributor and retailer on reputation and credentials. That is why you see shelf talkers with scores and people subscibe to Parker. While many winemakers will not be as mercenary as I in deliberately catering to a particular critic, the influence is there and winemakers do pay attention to the character of top scoring wines. Maybe they do unconsciously, maybe they are just in denial. I don't know.
Another reason I think my views are valid. I do not remember ever in my decades in the wine business of a consumer telling me they didn't like my wines. If they don't like my work, they usually keep that to themselves. Same with my friends. I have had thousands of complements from consumers who have extolled virtues of wines of which I was frankly a bit embarrassed. But not so with the wine critic. I have had plenty of wines that were panned.
So if you are a winemaker and no matter what you make, you hear good things from the consumer and friends, but get either positive or negative feedback from the critic, you consciously or unconsciously move in the direction of the critic's preferences.
A final reason. You are sitting around a campfire and passing around a bottle of reposado. With you are a several winemakers. You are far away from the wine biz, recreating, just camaraderie, you know you can talk in confidence. You tell the story about crafting the wine for the critic. Your story then is topped one by one, by each of your campfire tequila buddies. Maybe you just have a bunch of posers like you for friends, or perhaps it is just a part of the business that is so dependent on the critic.
I'm having some difficulty parsing this sentence from one of your comments in this thread: "As for Spectator, well, if he blind tastes, it's not evident, and I personally don't believe he does. My constitutionally protected opinion."
Pardon me if my inference that you are referring to Wine Spectator is incorrect. However, if you are, "Spectator" is not a "he," it's a group of men and women. And whether it's "evident" or not (and how would it be?), all Wine Spectator reviews are the result of blind tastings unless otherwise indicated in the tasting note. That's not just an "opinion", it's a fact.
Thomas Matthews
Executive editor
Wine Spectator
I think this is an incredibly interesting issue and I appreciate your calling my take thoughtful — unfortunately, I still have to insist that you're totally wrong on this. You admit it's true that wineries are designing their products to please the critics, so now the only question is how much weight we should accord to the opinions of such critics who tell us that those wines keep getting better and better. Don't you think it's obvious that if a few hundred wineries started changing the way they do things just to appeal to your personal tastes, you'd think quality was on the rise? And isn't it equally obvious that you'd wouldn't exactly be in a position to make that determination objectively?
Not to steer the lively discussion in another direction, gentleman, but as a former retailer, I find the average consumer isn't too concerned with points and/or is confused by the point system. The store I used to work for featured many wines rated 90 points or above by a variety of well-known sources (Parker, WS, and Tanzer included), but I found that the majority of buyers relied on advice from sales staff rather than shelf talkers. This was mainly because we could put it into terms that the average customer understood (, i.e "this wine is full-bodied and has notes of chocolate and a little 'gum sucking' tannin"), as opposed to somewhat obtuse descriptions included in reviews (i.e. how many consumers on average are getting hints of lilac and pencil shavings?)
Many customers have also expressed confusion about the rating system, particularly as to why a wine like a $12 Chilean Sauv Blanc got 92 points versus 90 points for a $250 Napa Cab. My coworker came up with this helpful metaphor: Think of ratings like the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. You're not looking for the "best dog" (well, not til the end, at least): You're looking for the best poodle, the best schnauzer, the best Golden Retriever in the bunch.


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Thanks to Catherine, from Mezzaphonically Speaking for being super sweet and nominating me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! I appreciate this special honor and opportunity!
Rules for this award include:
– Thank the super sweet blogger who made the nomination.
– Nominate a baker's dozen of other bloggers:
- Believe Anyway
- A Sojourning Life
- Living Live in the Glorious Colour
- Inside the Mind of Isadora
- Skedazzles
- Limey Fish
- Tudo Sobre Esmaltes
- Writing the Girl
- Print-Sense Photography & Design
- A Shot a Day
- For Lack of Tacos
- Jen Greenberg
- Virginia Plantation
They are bloggers talking about life, food, kids, adventures… All in all, a 'treat' to read! Go check them out – they're some of the examples of readings that keep me going!
And answer five questions:
- Cookie or cake? Cookie
- Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
- What is your favorite sweet treat? Brazilian Dark Chocolate (the tiny ones with caramel!)
- When do you crave sweet things the most? Night
- If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? Cupcake!
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