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President #16, C-SPAN Historians Ranking #1
The Standard
Back when I was in eighth grade, I entered an American history essay contest at a local prep school. The winner would receive a partial scholarship to the school. It was actually a timed test in a classroom setting and we didn't know what the question would be.
I had barely made it to the school in time as I had to serve as an altar boy at my local church. As it turned out, the church was beginning a special prayer service called "Forty Hours Devotion." (If you're Catholic, you probably know what I'm talking about. If you're not, you can read about it here.) The Mass that preceded the Forty Hours Devotion took an extra long time, so my classmates and I barely made it to the school in time for the test.
The essay question was: Name the greatest President and explain why. I opted to pick Abraham Lincoln, cranked out about eight paragraphs in an hour, and went home. A week later, I found out I had won the contest, which guaranteed me admission to the school for the next year. This turned out to be a mixed blessing as that school was awful, and I spent the most miserable year of my childhood there.
What's my point here? I'm not sure. But, I hope I'm writing something more cogent on the man that I and nearly every historian considers to be America's greatest President than I did back in eighth grade.
Abraham Lincoln biographies are not hard to find. He is the most popular figure in American history to write about. His life story almost defines America. He left an enormous amount of writing behind. He was one of the most intelligent men to hold the office, despite having just one year of formal education. He was, perhaps, the best speaker to be President. And to, top it off, he was also an incredibly shrewd politician.
George McGovern, the former Senator from South Dakota and failed Presidential candidate in 1972, added to the canon of Lincoln biographies with this slender work, released this year, the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. It is a good read about the life of the most famous President. Also, McGovern manages to add some new details about Lincoln's political dealings that added to my understanding of the 16th President.
Abraham Lincoln, so closely identified with the state of Illinois, was actually born in then Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. He shares his birthday with Charles Darwin. His parents were Thomas and Nancy. And, as we've learned from childhood, Lincoln was born in a log cabin.
Thomas Lincoln wasn't extremely poor; but, due to some financial setbacks, he moved the family out of Kentucky to Indiana. Thomas also did not feel comfortable living in a state where slavery was legal. In Indiana, Nancy Lincoln passed away at age 34 after contracting a fever from drinking milk from diseased cows. Thomas would later remarry. Abraham's stepmother, Sarah, was the one who saw that young Abraham was a special child. She gave him books and did her best to educate him. Lincoln would develop a formidable knowledge of literature and history. He also became an accomplished speaker and writer almost entirely of his own making. Few Presidents not named Thomas Jefferson were as well-read as Lincoln, and perhaps none was more eloquent as a writer and speaker.
In 1830, the family settled in Illinois, first in Macon County, and then later in Coles County. At age 22, Abraham Lincoln set out on his own and moved to New Salem, Illinois.
Lincoln was interested in politics early. He ran for a seat in the Illinois Legislature in 1832 at age 23. He finished in eighth place. But, in 1834, Lincoln won. He ran as a Whig Party candidate and favored Henry Clay's (his political idol) platform of a national bank and Federally-funded internal improvements. At this time, Lincoln began to teach himself law. He would soon be admitted to the Illinois State Bar. He quickly gained a reputation as a formidable litigator.
During his time as a legislator, Lincoln saw other dramatic changes in his personal life. His first love, a woman named Ann Rutledge, passed away in 1835. Lincoln went into a deep depression, one that likely would have required hospitalization today. These bouts of depression would recur throughout Lincoln's life even when he was President.
Lincoln eventually became engaged to a woman named Mary Todd. The relationship started and stopped due to each person's delicate psychological conditions. They eventually married late in 1842. They would have four sons, but only one, the eldest Robert, lived past the age of 18.
In 1844, Lincoln decided to run for a seat in the House of Representatives. However, the district had three Whig party candidates, all of whom were friends. Lincoln hit upon the idea that each of the three should serve one term and then give the office to the next in line.
So, Lincoln was not elected to the House of Representatives until 1846. Lincoln was an outspoken opponent of President James Polk's plans to declare war with Mexico. Lincoln opposed the war because he opposed giving the South more territory where it could expand slavery. At this point, Lincoln was not opposed to slavery, per se, just to its expansion in to new territories.
Lincoln looked forward to the election of a Whig President in 1848. Zachary Taylor turned his success on the battlefield into a home at the White House. However, Taylor died in office. His successor, Millard Fillmore, signed into law the Compromise of 1850, which divided up the new territories into free and slave areas. This had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, an act which Lincoln felt was essential to checking the growth of slavery in the United States. Back in Illinois, all Lincoln could do was rally Whig opposition to the measure. Although this was futile, Lincoln made important political connections in Illinois through his efforts.
The Whig Party died out after Winfield Scott lost to Franklin Pierce in the 1852 Presidential election. The party split along sectional lines. Northern Whigs formed a new party that was strongly opposed to the spread of slavery. They called themselves Republicans.
In 1854, Lincoln gave what McGovern described as his first great speech. Before a crowd in Peoria on October 16, 1854, Lincoln railed against the Kansas-Nebraska Act, another attempt to smooth out the slavery controversy. This act allowed for "popular sovereignty" (essentially plebiscites of the residents of the territories, although it never worked perfectly) to decide whether or not the Kansas and Nebraska territories would be organized as free or slave states.
Lincoln declared the measure to be contrary to earlier laws like the Missouri Compromise, as well as antithetical to the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
Repeal the Missouri compromise—repeal all compromises—repeal the declaration of independence—repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak.
The speech greatly raised Lincoln's national profile in the slavery debate. According to McGovern, it also represented a turning point in Lincoln's life. Slavery was becoming less of a political issue and more of a moral one to Lincoln.
In 1858, Lincoln was tabbed by the Republicans to run for the Senate against the architect of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Stephen Douglas. Lincoln gave, in McGovern's view, his second great speech in accepting the nomination. (Emphasis mine.)
If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object and confident promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South.
Lincoln and Douglas would engage in a series of seven debates throughout Illinois. It turned out to compelling political theater (even though each debate lasted over three and a half hours) as the race drew national attention. Lincoln, who stood 6'4″ (tallest ever to become President), faced off against the 5'4″ Douglas. Both men could command the stage. In the end, the Democrats won enough seats in the Illinois legislature to reelect Douglas to the Senate.
Nevertheless, the publicity generated from the debates further improved Lincoln's position nationwide. In 1860, it was beginning to look increasingly like the Republicans could win the Presidency, as the Democrats started to tear apart on a sectional basis. In February of 1860, Lincoln gave what McGovern called "his third famous speech." It was an address at the Cooper Union in New York City.
The speech laid out Lincoln's idea that the Founding Fathers intended for slavery to disappear. He urged the Federal government to act and do the right thing. Slavery was too important of an issue to be used as a political bargaining chip.
Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation; but can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the National Territories, and to overrun us here in these Free States? If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. Let us be diverted by none of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so industriously plied and belabored – contrivances such as groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a man who should be neither a living man nor a dead man – such as a policy of "don't care" on a question about which all true men do care – such as Union appeals beseeching true Union men to yield to Disunionists, reversing the divine rule, and calling, not the sinners, but the righteous to repentance – such as invocations to Washington, imploring men to unsay what Washington said, and undo what Washington did.
Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
At the 1860 Republican Convention in Chicago, Lincoln's supporters managed to get him nominated on the second ballot. There were backroom deals (Cabinet choices and patronage promises) made to help secure some delegates; but, ultimately, the Republicans knew that Lincoln had wide appeal to all Northerners.
The Democrats could not agree on a candidate. They held two conventions and nominated two different candidates, Douglas and John Breckinridge. John Bell of Tennessee was a fourth candidate, running under the Constitutional Union Party banner. Bell tried to appeal to the still strong nativist movement (think Lou Dobbs) that had once been called the Know-Nothing Party.
Even though Lincoln did not appear on the ballot in eight Southern states, he won the election easily. Lincoln picked up 39.9% of the popular vote. Douglas finished in second at 29.5%. In terms of electoral votes, Lincoln had 180 with Breckinridge in second at 72.
Southerners reacted to the election of Lincoln by threatening to secede. Lincoln did not believe that Southern states would go with through such a plan. It had been talked about for decades, dating back to the Jackson administration. But, this time, the South meant it. South Carolina voted to secede in December of 1860. By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, eight states has passed acts of secession.
Due to threats made against his life, Lincoln sneaked into Washington in the middle of the night before the Inauguration. In his Inaugural Address, he held out an olive branch to the South.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that— I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.
However, just a month later, Lincoln decided to send supplies to Fort Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina. Southerners interpreted this action as hostile and opened fire on the fort. The Civil War had begun.
Lincoln's actions during the beginning of the Civil War were controversial and remain so to this day. Believing that secession was unconstitutional, Lincoln refused to meet with any Southern leaders. He viewed their actions as acts of rebellion.
Soon after the Civil War began, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus rights. At first, the suspension was only in an area immediately surrounding the capital, although it would later extend to the whole country. Lincoln believed that he had to take drastic steps to keep the secessionists in check. However, the President has no authority to suspend the right of habeas corpus. That right is reserved to Congress (Congress would subsequently approve the suspension.) Despite an unfavorable court ruling, Lincoln maintained the suspension of habeas corpus. Even McGovern, who writes in a worshipful style, has a hard time defending Lincoln's actions.
Later on, Lincoln would order newspapers that were sympathetic to the Confederacy to be shut down. He also authorized the Treasury to make direct cash payments to individuals, another unconstitutional action. (The Treasury can only make payments to people if Congress appropriates the money.)
Nevertheless, Lincoln believed that he had to take these drastic steps in order to preserve the union and the Constitution.
By 1862, Lincoln had finally moved into the camp that believed that slavery had to be totally abolished. Lincoln did not want to wait for the war to end. He believed that under his powers as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, that he could order the freedom of the slaves. In the summer of 1862, Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation. He showed it to his Cabinet. Secretary of State William Seward, who would become Lincoln's most trusted adviser, told him that the Proclamation should not be issued until after a major victory by Federal forces. Seward feared that if the Emancipation Proclamation were issued when the Confederacy was winning on the battlefield, it would look like a desperate maneuver to curry favor internationally.
However, early in the war, the Confederacy was winning more than its share of battles. The Union Army was hampered by poor leadership. Union generals were unwilling to confront the main portion of the Confederate Army. But, after the horrifically bloody battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, a day that saw more Americans die on a battlefield than any other day ever (over 3,600 men on both sides), Lincoln felt that his military position was secure enough to issue the Proclamation.
On September 22, 1862, Lincoln's proclamation read, in part:
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
While the Emancipation Proclamation did little in actually making any slave free immediately, it forever changed the terms of the engagement. The Civil War was no longer being fought over abstract concepts like Federal or State sovereignty. It was not fought over the concept of whether or not the Constitution was a voluntary pact. It was now a battle between two forces: one who believed that no one had the right to hold another person as property, and another that believed that it did.
Lincoln was an active Commander in Chief during the Civil War. He changed generals in charge of the Army as often as George Steinbrenner changed Yankees managers in the 1980s. It wasn't until 1863 that Lincoln finally found his man: Ulysses S. Grant. Grant agreed with Lincoln's concept of fighting a total war against the South. No longer would the Union just try to wear down the South into surrender. Instead, the North would try to destroy the South completely.
The process would be a long and painful one. Hundreds of thousands died during the Civil War. Lincoln started conscripting soldiers, a plan that met with massive opposition in parts of the country. In New York City, riots in opposition to conscription lasted for a week and killed over 100 people. But, the Union Army kept getting its supply of soldiers. And the Union contingent would always remain numerically superior to the Confederacy.
On November 19, 1863, Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A cemetery for the soldiers who died in massive battle there earlier in July was to be dedicated. Lincoln spoke only briefly at the ceremony. But his words, the Gettysburg Address, are, perhaps, the most famous speech ever given by a President. Lincoln succinctly summarized everything that the United States was fighting for and what it hoped to be.
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Despite the war, there was still another election to be held in 1864. Lincoln believed that a Presidential election would be beneficial to the country. It would demonstrate that the nation's democratic principles had not been compromised by the rebellion.
Lincoln took no chances during the election. He dropped his Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin, from the ticket in favor of pro-Union Tennessee senator Andrew Johnson. Hamlin had been toying with the idea of replacing Lincoln with Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase. Lincoln decided to take both Hamlin and Chase out of the picture. Chase would become Chief Justice. Other Republicans wanted Grant to run in 1864, but the general declined.
The Democrats ran one of Lincoln's fired commanders, George McClellan. Although McClellan had shown to be mostly incompetent on the battlefield, the soldiers he commanded had mostly loved him. The election of 1864 was expected to be close. McClellan's hope rested on the belief that the North was tired of the war and would accept peace at any terms. Lincoln even believed that he was going to lose.
But, in the fall of 1864, the war began to turn decisively in the Union's favor. On September 2, 1864, Union forces under the command of General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and burnt it to the ground. Grant's troops won a series of bloody conflicts in Virginia.
Lincoln, a master politician at any time, arranged for soldiers to get leaves to go home to vote, or, to vote absentee from the battlefields. Soldiers became fundraisers for Lincoln in some cases. The election of 1864 was a huge victory for Lincoln. Lincoln won all but three states (Kentucky, Delaware, and New Jersey) and over 55% of the vote.
After the election, Sherman led his army on a march through the state of Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah, laying waste to nearly everything in its path. The South was being brought to its knees by the onslaught of power from the North.
With victory seemingly at hand, Lincoln again struck a conciliatory tone during his Second Inaugural. The brief address (the shortest Inaugural Address ever given) contained these words:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Although it may have seemed that all of Lincoln's activities as President involved the war, he made three other notable contributions to the United States. The first was the income tax, which was implemented as a wartime measure to raise funds. The second was the Homestead Act, which gave away land in the territories to people who would improve it. The third was the Morrill Act, which set up the Land Grant College system, which established many of the nation's largest and most prestigious state universities. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which formally banned slavery in the United States, was passed by Congress during Lincoln's time, although it would be ratified later.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee finally surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. The war was over. Five days later, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington. Lincoln had now become a martyr. He passed almost instantly from politician to legend.
McGovern asks if anything can be learned from rehashing the life of Abraham Lincoln so many times. Perhaps, we don't think about Lincoln's life enough. As McGovern writes:
Abraham Lincoln holds the highest place in American history. General William T. Sherman said, "Of all the men I ever met, he seemed to possess more of the elements of greatness, combined with goodness, than any other." He was our greatest president, against whom all others will forever be measured. We wish our leaders could be more like him; we wish we all could be. There has never been an American story like Abraham Lincoln's.
Abraham Lincoln's Presidency was far from perfect. But if you compare him to the men who came before and after him in the office, he was indispensable. One adage goes "History is written by the winners." Thankfully for the United States, I wrote about Abraham Lincoln the way I did.
Other stuff: Abraham Lincoln is memorialized seemingly everywhere. He is buried in Springfield, Illinois, which is also the site of the Abraham Lincoln Home. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the capital. If you can't find something that bears Abraham Lincoln's image on it, you are either someone who doesn't like pennies, or you are a person who believes that the South will rise again. If you're the latter, you're wrong. All the South gets now is exaggerated love of its college football teams from ESPN.


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An online storage service, FileSonic, has disabled file sharing between users following the takedown of the MegaUpload service for alleged copyright infringement violations.
The company, which lists corporate offices in Hong Kong and the U.K., ran a banner on the front page of its website saying: "All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally."
On Friday, New Zealand law enforcement officials and several other people wanted by U.S. prosecutors for allegedly profiting from the distribution of copyrighted content without proper permission.
FileSonic offers a free service that allows users to upload up to 10 GB of data for up to 30 days and throttles the speed at which the material can be uploaded or downloaded. Its subscription service, which starts at $9 per month, lets users upload unlimited files up to 5 GB in size with no time limits or speed throttling.
The company says on its website that it has a "zero tolerance" policy for copyright infringement and says it will promptly respond to complaints made under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The antipiracy law sets guidelines for service providers and copyright holders.
FileSonic is using Vobile's vCloud9 product to examine uploaded content to see if material under copyright protection is being illegally stored, it said in a news release last month. Compressed files can also be examined using vCloud9.
Efforts to reach FileSonic officials on Monday were unsuccessful.
Send news tips and comments to email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Rams take quick lead over Patriots, but then fall apart in 45-7 loss to Patriots in London
WEMBLEY, England – It all started so well for the St. Louis Rams on their first trip to the famous Wembley Stadium. It all ended so badly.
Sam Bradford led the Rams (3-5) to a 7-0 lead on their first possession, but Tom Brady and the Patriots (5-3) took over from there Sunday and won 45-7 in the NFL's sixth regular-season game in London.
"We just got beat in every phase of the game. We got dominated," Bradford said. "I don't think there's any other way to put it."
The Patriots elected to kick off after winning the opening toss. Once they did, Bradford went to work.
After a New England penalty on the first play, Bradford completed a 14-yard pass to Steven Jackson. Then came a 5-yard pass to Austin Pettis.
After a pair of short runs by Jackson to bring up third-and-2, Bradford sent Chris Givens deep, and connected on a 50-yard touchdown pass.
Eighty yards on five plays.
"You can't ask for a better start to the game. First time we touched the ball we go down and score," Bradford said. "It just all fell apart from there."
Bradford ended up 23 of 31 for 205 yards, but the Rams offense just couldn't put anything else together while the defense couldn't stop the Patriots.
"What is required to beat a team that well on both sides of the ball is a near perfect game, and obviously we were unable to do that today," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "Tom got a hot hand and had a good sense and those guys made a lot of plays for him."
One thing Fisher will need to address in the coming weeks is penalties. The Rams were flagged 12 times for 102 yards, compared to eight penalties for 42 yards for the Patriots.
"It's inexcusable," Bradford said. "We've got to start holding each other to a higher standard because obviously when we do that, we're not going to score points."
The Rams played as the home team, but much of the 80,004 fans at rainy Wembley — the home of England's national soccer team — were cheering for New England every step of the way.
Brady led four straight touchdown drives to give New England a commanding 28-7 lead by halftime, and then hit Brandon Lloyd for a 9-yard score to start the third quarter.
Brady passed for 304 yards with four touchdowns and tight end Rob Gronkowski caught eight passes for 146 yards and two scores. Lloyd also had two touchdown catches, while Stevan Ridley ran for 127 yards and a score as the Patriots put themselves atop the AFC East heading into their off week.
"I know the game got out of hand today, but that's the Patriots," Brady said.
The Rams also have a bye next week, giving them a chance to regroup and get ready to face the 49ers in San Francisco in two weeks.
"Our bye comes at a good time. Obviously, we've had a rough stretch the last couple of weeks," Bradford said. "The bye should allow us to refocus and get back to playing the way we know we can."
It'll have to be better than Sunday, when both the offense and defense failed to figure out the Patriots.
"It's embarrassing the way we played tonight," Bradford said. "Just embarrassing."
NOTES: The Rams had originally agreed to return to London in 2013 and 2014 but pulled out of the deal. ... The NFL will stage two regular-season games in London in 2013 for the first time. ... The Patriots didn't punt until 2:36 left in the third quarter. ... Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola missed his third straight game with a right shoulder injury. ... Flamboyant London Mayor Boris Johnson addressed the crowd before the game, saying he was proud to welcome "this glorious descendant of rugby union football" to Wembley.
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL


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KROTZ SPRINGS, La. — Deputies warned people Sunday to get out as Mississippi River water gushing from a floodgate for the first time in four decades crept ever closer to communities in Louisiana Cajun country, slowly filling a river basin like a giant bathtub.
Most residents heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground, even in places where there hasn't been so much as a trickle, hopeful that the flooding engineered to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge would be merciful to their way of life.
Days ago, many of the towns known for their Cajun culture and drawling dialect fluttered with activity as people filled sandbags and cleared out belongings. By Sunday, some areas were virtually empty as the water from the Mississippi River, swollen by snowmelt and heavy rains, slowly rolled across the Atchafalaya River basin. It first started to come, in small amounts, into people's yards in Melville on Sunday. But it still had yet to move farther downstream.
The floodwaters could reach depths of 20 feet in the coming weeks, though levels were nowhere close to that yet.
The spillway's opening diverted water from heavily populated New Orleans and Baton Rouge – along with chemical plants and oil refineries along the Mississippi's lower reaches – easing pressure on the levees there in the hope of avoiding potentially catastrophic floods.
About 11 miles north of Krotz Springs in the town of Melville, water was already starting to creep into some people's backyards. Parts of the town not protected by levees were under a mandatory evacuation order. Glenda Maddox's husband had temporarily reopened the gas station he closed in December so people could fuel up before they leave.
"Nobody knows what's going to happen," she said. "We don't know if the levee is going to hold up."
The station's shelves were mostly barren, save for a few soft drinks and bottles of motor oil. Only cash was accepted – no credit cards.
In Butte LaRose, some 50 miles downstream from where the Morganza spillway was opened, no water was expected until at least later Sunday.
Chalmers Wheat, 54, was among the few left – and even he was headed for his father's home in Baton Rouge outside the flood zone. He and his brother were making a few final preparations to protect his home with plastic lining and sandbags.
"It's almost like a ghost town," said Wheat, who was getting some help from his twin brother, Chandler.
Sandbags were still available in the center of town, but there were few takers Sunday.
Krotz Springs is roughly 30 miles closer to the floodgates, and deputies ordered people to evacuate Sunday morning even though the water hadn't yet arrived.
Wayne Duplechain, who lives in the parish about eight miles outside Krotz Springs, said he would have his family stay in a camper parked on his son's property outside the flood zone. He hoped to return, though, and ride out the flooding. He has three layers of sandbags stacked 2 feet high surrounding his ranch-style, brick house and figures the water won't start lapping against them for seven or eight days. Plus, he has a generator and a boat to escape in if the water gets too high.
"It's going to be slow-rising, so I'll get out if I have to. I'm not totally stupid," he said. "If it comes over the sandbags, I'm leaving."
It will be at least a week before the Mississippi River crest arrives at the Morganza spillway, where officials opened two massive gates on Saturday and another two Sunday. There are 125 in all. The Mississippi has broken river-level records that had held since the 1920s in some places.
The Army Corps of Engineers has taken drastic steps to prevent flooding. Engineers blew up a levee in Missouri – inundating an estimated 200 square miles of farmland and damaging or destroying about 100 homes – to take the pressure off floodwalls protecting the town of Cairo, Ill., population 2,800.
The Morganza flooding is more controlled, however, and residents are warned each year that the spillway could be opened. A spillway at the 7,000-foot Bonnet Carre structure in Louisiana also has been opened.
Just outside Krotz Springs, 23-year-old Jake Nolan said National Guard troops knocked on the door of his home in a subdivision to tell his mother of the evacuation order. He said they advised her to have white towels and have access to the roof if they planned to ride it out – presumably in case of a rescue – though that didn't appear to be part of any official instructions. And besides, he didn't need an order to leave with his wife and three children.
"I don't want to be stuck here if the water does get bad," said Nolan, who planned to stay with a sister in Port Barre.
It seemed animals didn't want to be stuck anywhere, either: Deer, hogs and rabbits have started running from the water flowing near the floodgates, said Lt. Col. Joey Broussard of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. An electronic sign on Interstate 10 warned of a possible animal exodus: "Wildlife crossing possible. Use caution," it read.
Despite the mandatory evacuation order, Krotz Springs town clerk Suzanne Bellau said it was unlikely the sheriff's office would force people to leave. For most, the worst part was wondering what may happen. National Guardsmen were building a new levee to bolster protection for the town, in addition to a levee already standing.
"It's the unknown, that's the problem," Bellau said. "Is it going to come into their homes or not? And the people who are leaving, what are they coming back to?"
That was also true downstream in Butte LaRose, where Chalmers and Chandler Wheat were preparing. Chalmers Wheat figured his house would be all right so long as the water level didn't exceed 2 feet.
"If the water gets higher, we're pretty much …" Chalmers Wheat said, before his brother chimed in: "Screwed."
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The games of March
Today the PS blog announced the titles making their debut on the Instant Game Collection in March. Every week in March one of these titles will be made free for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Here's what you'll be taking a break from Second Son and Stick of Truth with:
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS4)
Free for PS Plus members
Run-and-gun through the zombie apocalypse as hit arcade shooter Dead Nation shuffles onto PlayStation 4. Fight for your life alone or with a friend as Jack McReady or Scarlett Blake as you step onto the streets of a city overrunwith undead flesh-eaters. And, if you're feeling really brave, take a walk down the Road of Devastation – a deadly experiment that pushes your survival skills to the absolute limit as you face hordes of zombies with no extra lives and no second chances. The dead may walk – but you can make sure they don't walk very far.
Tomb Raider (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
This newest rendition of Tomb Raider explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to the hardened survivor that she would become known as. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold.
Thomas Was Alone (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
Thomas Was Alone is the critically acclaimed indie platformer about friendship and jumping. Guide a group of sentient rectangles through a series of environments, combining their skills to reach the end of each level. Listen to awesome music by David Housden, negotiate obstacles meticulously placed by Mike Bithell and immerse yourself in the characters' journey with a voiceover read wistfully and amusingly by Danny Wallace.
Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
In this psychological survival adventure, the masked protagonist must escape from a city ravaged by disease, by any means necessary. Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut is a new kind of adventure where the choice of how to survive is up to you. Sneak through without firing a single shot, or kill everything in your path. Eat and sleep well, or resort to drugs to keep going. Search for survivors, or try to escape the city alone. Look after your mental health, or descend into madness. Lone Survivor is a game where your choices genuinely matter.
Unit 13 (PS Vita)
Free for PS Plus members
Jump into the action with Unit 13 for PlayStation®Vita and conquer 36 tactical missions and 9 high value target battles as you help take down global terror networks and earn your place in the military elite. With the precision of the PlayStation Vita systems's dual analog sticks and unique touch interface, Unit 13 is the perfect on-the-go action shooter. Wi-Fi connectivity adds fast 2-player co-op action, and 3G compatibility keeps you connected for instant social updates and new daily mission challenges.
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite (PS Vita)
Free for PS Plus members
In the world of Monster Hunter you're never alone.
-The biggest Monster Hunter title to date with over 500 hours of gameplay.
-Huge variety of character customizations including 1400 weapons and over 2000 armor sets.
-Players can form a team of up to 4 players through Ad-Hoc play and experience the social gaming phenomenon.
-AI Felyne companion, who will accompany players on quests and provide aid through the challenging battles. With the 'Felyne Exchange' feature players can share their companions with other players, transferring data using the PSP's sleep mode.
-Fans of the series can transfer their data from Monster Hunter Freedom 2.
Check the PSN store every Tuesday to see what game is available.


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How Scripps Is Writing a Winning Script
Scripps Networks Interactive was ahead of its time in anticipating that cable television viewers would flock to a network that stressed lifestyle programming. That was the key to Scripps becoming a successful enterprise in the crowded cable-television industry. Its management recognized how to differentiate itself from the pack.
Scripps Networks was created in 2008 with the spinoff of the E.W. Scripps Co. After rolling out HGTV in 1994, Scripps evolved into lifestyle media, introducing programming for television, books, magazines, digital-satellite radio, and additional media categories.
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based media company has gained an enviable reputation as a lifestyle-television destination for viewers, owing to such assets as the Food Network, HGTV, the Travel Channel, DIY Network, the Cooking Channel, and Great American Country (GAC).
Investors naturally fret over whether Scripps can continue to come up with winners. Shareholders also worry whether the financial trends in the cable industry will be accommodating enough for SNI's ahead-of-the-curve programs.
So far, so good.
Scripps' shares have gained 27% on a year-to-date basis and 24% during the past 12 months, compared with the S&P 500's record of gaining 15% year to date and 16% over the last 12 months. After faltering late in 2012, Scripps has rewarded investors.
Recently, Scripps' second-quarter performance topped Wall Street's projections for revenue, segment profits, and adjusted earnings per share ($1.08, which surpassed the general consensus of $1.05).
Plus, Scripps' advertising and fee growth came in ahead of projections as a result of the continuing strength in the scatter market. The company, sensing that its programming will have an international appeal, pressed foreign development by scooping up the Asian Food Channel and further examining expansion prospects abroad.
The company's move to increase its presence overseas underscores both the power of its niche brands and a desire to capitalize on fast-growing markets outside of the United States. This is exactly the kind of aggressive activity that Wall Street analysts like to observe.
Barclays, for instance, approves of the strategy. In a recent report to investors, the company pointed out: "Given the positive outlook on both ads and affiliate fees, we now expect a 2013E EPS of $3.72 (compared to $3.69 prior), and are increasing our price target to $76, which represents a 2014E P/E of 18.3x (compared to 17.1x prior). We nonetheless reiterate our EW as we look for clarity around strategy to reverse ratings trends at Food Network."
Scripps is also highly competitive with its counterparts when it comes to measuring advertising progress. Its advertising results were robust in the second quarter, advancing about 10% against the consensus of 9.5%, with the scatter pricing moving up to the range of high single digits during the three-month period.
For the third quarter, scatter pricing is in the mid-to-high single digits year over year and gaining mid-teens to low-20s over the upfront points, too, Barclays noted, while increasing its advertising revenue projection for 2013 to 9.5% from 9%, underlining the encouraging developments in the advertising landscape.
Scripps seems to be uniquely positioned to capitalize on the cable-television ecosystem movement -- particularly in the United States -- to gravitate toward a lighter form of broadcasting fare. Niche channels, such as the entities forming Scripps' arsenal, present viewers with an opportunity to cut right through the clutter of the universe of cable offerings.
Perhaps the level of success for Scripps in the coming years will hinge on its ability to profit abroad from its programming mix. In the United States, its channels are fixtures -- who among us doesn't follow the Food Channel?
Scripps' international entities formed roughly $16 million of revenue in the second quarter, thanks largely to the Asian Food Channel acquisition as well as the enlarged distribution of Food and Travel. Scripps continues to eye ways of achieving growth throughout Europe and Asia.
I have often wondered if -- or, more to the point, exactly how much --Scripps benefits from being based in Knoxville, far from the bright lights of the New York media capital and the glare of Wall Street. Plenty of creative minds prosper when they don't have to subject themselves to the cauldron of New York on a daily basis, and they have time to develop ideas at a more unhurried pace.
All in all, Scripps is writing a good script.
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The article How Scripps Is Writing a Winning Script originally appeared on Fool.com.
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Madonna has finally expressed herself about Lady Gaga's smash single "Born This Way" — nearly a year after the world deemed the disco anthem a knockoff of Madge's 1989 chart-topper "Express Yourself."
"I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done," Madonna told ABC News' 20/20 in an interview aired Friday night.
Apparently this is not one of those times.
"When I heard ["Born This Way"] on the radio, I said, 'that sounds very familiar,'" Madonna said. "It feels reductive."
When ABC interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked if that was a good thing, Madonna smiled coyly, took a sip of tea and said, "Look it up."
A quick peek in the dictionary reveals that reductive is defined as "simplified" or "crude." Ouch. Who knew Madonna could be such a "Judas?"
Lady Gaga, who counts herself the Material Girl's "hugest fan personally and professionally," has nevertheless criticized the collective comparisons to "Express Yourself."
"I will look in your eyes and tell you that I'm not dumb enough or moronic enough to think that you are dumb or moronic enough not to see that I would have stolen a melody," she said last year in an interview with NME magazine. "If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression."
Madonna, who will headline next month's Super Bowl Halftime Show, also in the interview called Gaga "a very talented artist" and said she admired her songwriting. In a separate interview in the upcoming issue of Newsweek, Madonna described "Born This Way" as "a wonderful way to redo my song. I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was…interesting."
Whether you worship the Queen of Pop or revere its new reigning princess, one thing's for certain — Madonna sure knows how to deliver a mean backhanded compliment.
Madonna: Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is "Reductive"
Don't go for second best, Gaga
Madonna has finally expressed herself about Lady Gaga's smash single "Born This Way" — nearly a year after the world deemed the disco anthem a knockoff of Madge's 1989 chart-topper "Express Yourself."


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Marled Light Blue Woven Cotton Rug by Dash & Albert
The Marled Light Blue Rug is a light blue and ivory tweed in 100% cotton handwoven. Hand wash in cold water separately; do not bleach; do not tumble dry. Professional cleaning recommended.
To ensure safety and prevent slipping, we recommend you use a rug pad with all rugs, regardless of the type of flooring they are used on. Select Rug Stop rug pads for everyday use or Solid Extra Grip for stairs and extra thickness. See HOW TO INSTALL a stair runner.
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Most rugs are in-stock and ship in 1-3 days


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Meet our 450+ Studios!
Nightclub 7 is unique in the composition of the erotic catalog. Besides the well-known studios we also offer all European productions. Nowhere else will you find more unique German films than here! For the real lover of amateurs, mature women and swingers a real must to view. At the moment we have 450 studios online and 15,000 full dvd movies


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The last couple of days have been AMAZING, and for so many reasons:
1) Takeshita Demons is becoming more real!
Woo hoo! Takeshita Demons has a cover (thanks to everyone for your input: you picked a winner!) and its own ISBN! (978-1-84780-115-9, in case you were wondering)(Can I get this as a personalised bicycle plate?).
Plus it has its own webpage on Amazon UK where they say nice things about me (I'm always a sucker for that) and exciting things about Takeshita Demons (wow!).
And more incredibly, you can even pre-order Takeshita Demons! (Did you ever think it would become an actual *book*!? How surreal!)(Go on! Pre-order it, just for a laugh!).
2) Takeshita Demons is (very probably more-than-likely) going to be a trilogy!
We still haven't put pen to contract paper yet, but Janetta and the Frances Lincoln sales team like my proposal for turning Takeshita Demons into a trilogy…. Books II and III promise to be super-exciting and will star my favourite yokai demon of all. I tried to include him in the first book but it just wasn't right. So watch this space… I'll be writing the sequel over the next few months… Thrilling but scary at the same time.
3) I made my first appearance as an author!
On Tuesday I was lucky enough to join a room full of librarians and some great speakers in Preston, a couple of hours north of London. It was particularly fab to meet Catherine Johnson, who lives just round the corner from me…what a coincidence! (Catherine had the room mesmerised with a reading from her latest book, A Nest of Vipers…check out her stuff!)
The day was organised by Jake Hope of the Youth Libraries Group to stimulate discussion of modern multicultural childrens writing, and to cast votes for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway children's book awards…
IT WAS FABULOUS! Not only did I get to talk to book lovers about books all day long, but I also did a presentation on Japanese yokai, Takeshita Demons, my take on multicultural writing, and more. We also did some quick training exercises: how to identify and disarm a vampire (easy), a werewolf (more difficult), and a nukekubi (needs some work). It was good fun.
Plus, because uncorrected proofs of Takeshita Demons were available, I even did a few book signings, just like a real author. Woo hoo! Thanks to all those kind souls who asked me to sign their copies…I felt like a real celebrity 🙂
And for those of you who have no idea what an uncorrected proof is (like me just weeks ago):
They are draft versions of the book, where the pages are all bound and the text is laid out book-ily, with page numbers and indents and all that jazz. They're designed to be a sneak preview of the book and as such aren't final versions, but are pretty close. (I'm holding a Takeshita Demons uncorrected proof right now, and it feels like a real book to me!)
Contact the Frances Lincoln Books publicity team, supply chocolates, and mention you'd like a proof copy. You can get in touch with them at:
UK Publicity/Marketing
US Publicity/Marketing
(The chocolates are optional; I'm trying to start a new trend ;-))


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Abiraterone Acetate in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Previously Treated With Docetaxel-Based Chemotherapy
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00638690
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : March 19, 2008
Results First Posted : May 16, 2013
Last Update Posted : April 30, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Prostatic Neoplasms
|Drug: Placebo Drug: Abiraterone acetate Drug: Prednisone/prednisolone
|Phase 3
Abiraterone acetate is a steroidal irreversible inhibitor of CYP17 (17α hydroxylase/C17, 20-lyase), blocking 2 important enzymatic activities in the synthesis of testosterone. The goal of this study is to compare the clinical benefit of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who have failed one or two chemotherapy regimens, one of which contains docetaxel. All patients involved in the study will be randomized (assigned by chance) into one of two arms and will not know what study drug is being given to them. Study drug randomization allocation will be 2:1 (abiraterone acetate: placebo). The study will be conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the EU. The study will consist of screening, treatment, and follow-up. In this study, patients will receive study treatment (abiraterone acetate or placebo) plus prednisone until progression of clinical disease. Follow-up will continue until patient dies, is lost to follow-up, or withdraws informed consent. After providing written informed consent, patients will have screening procedures completed to determine eligibility. Safety evaluations at the screening procedure will include a physical examination, vital signs, and clinical blood laboratory tests, ECG, radiographs, urine tests, and recording of any adverse events including details of current prostate cancer symptoms. Patients will be asked to use a method of birth control with adequate barrier protection as determined to be acceptable by the principal investigator and sponsor during the study and for 13 weeks after last study drug administration.
Study medication, abiraterone acetate,is an oral (by mouth) medication to be administered as four (4) 250mg abiraterone acetate tablets or 4 placebo tablets to be taken at least one hour before or two hours after a meal anytime up to 10PM everyday. Prednisone will be administered as 5mg orally twice a day for both groups. Each cycle will be 28 days. Study treatment will continue until disease progression as determined by investigator or when the patient meets criteria for withdrawal from study.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|1195 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Abiraterone Acetate (CB7630) Plus Prednisone in Patients With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Who Have Failed Docetaxel-Based Chemotherapy
|Study Start Date :
|May 2008
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|August 2010
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|October 2012
|Experimental: Abiraterone acetate plus prednisone/prednisolone
Drug: Abiraterone acetate
Four 250-mg tablets once daily until disease progression
Drug: Prednisone/prednisolone
5 mg twice daily until disease progression
|Placebo Comparator: Placebo plus prednisone/prednisolone
Drug: Placebo
Four tablets once daily until disease progression
Drug: Prednisone/prednisolone
5 mg twice daily until disease progression
- Overall Survival [ Time Frame: Up to 60 months ]Overall survival is defined as the time interval from the date of randomization to the date of death from any cause.
- Time to Prostate-Specific Antigen Progression According to Prostate Specific Antigen Working Group Criteria [ Time Frame: Up to 12 months ]The time interval from the date of randomization to the date of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression as defined in the protocol-specific Prostate Specific Antigen Working Group (PSAWG) criteria, namely, a PSA level of at least 5 ng/ml that has risen on at least 2 successive occasions, at least 2 weeks apart.
- Number of Patients Achieving a Prostate-Specific Antigen Decline >=50% [ Time Frame: Up to 12 months ]A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response was defined as a >=50% decline from baseline.
- Radiographic Progression-free Survival [ Time Frame: Up to 11 months ]Radiographic progression-free survival is based on imaging studies according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST): baseline lymph node size must be >=2.0 cm to be considered a target lesion; progression on bone scans with >=2 new lesions not consistent with tumor flare, confirmed on a second scan >=6 weeks later that shows >=1 additional new lesion.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression after one or two prior cytotoxic chemotherapies
- At least one chemotherapy must have contained docetaxel
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status <= 2
- Medical or surgical castration with testosterone < 50 ng/dL
- Adequate bone marrow, hepatic and renal function
- Potassium >= 3.5 mmol/L
- Able to swallow the study drug whole as a tablet
- Informed Consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- More than two prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens
- Prior Ketoconazole for prostate cancer
- Prior abiraterone acetate or other CYP17 inhibitor or investigational agents targeting the androgen receptor for prostate cancer
- Uncontrolled hypertension
- Active or symptomatic viral hepatitis or chronic liver disease
- History of pituitary or adrenal dysfunction
- Clinically significant heart disease
- Other malignancy
- Known brain metastasis
- GI disorder affecting absorption
- Not willing to use contraception
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00638690
|Study Director:
|Cougar Biotechnology, Inc Clinical Trial
|Cougar Biotechnology, Inc.
|Responsible Party:
|Cougar Biotechnology, Inc.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
COU-AA-301 ( Other Identifier: Cougar Biotechnology, Inc )
|First Posted:
|March 19, 2008 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|May 16, 2013
|Last Update Posted:
|April 30, 2014
|Last Verified:
|April 2014
Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Abiraterone Acetate
Prostatic Neoplasms
Genital Neoplasms, Male
Urogenital Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Genital Diseases, Male
Genital Diseases
Urogenital Diseases
Prostatic Diseases
Male Urogenital Diseases
Abiraterone Acetate
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
Antineoplastic Agents
Steroid Synthesis Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Hormone Antagonists
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors


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|Research and Conservation
|Public Programs
|About the J. Paul Getty Museum
|Museum Home Past Exhibitions
November 18, 2009–February 8, 2010 at the Getty Villa
This exhibition traces the modern history of a monumental Roman statue of a god, on loan from the Skulpturensammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections), that has been restored in various guises over the last three centuries. Recently conserved at the Getty Villa, the sculpture today is identified as Bacchus, the Roman god of wine.
17th-Century Restoration in Rome
Following its discovery in the 1600s, the statue was restored with both ancient and modern parts. This was a common practice among restorers of ancient sculpture in the 17th and 18th centuries, who often used other classical fragments to complete a figure.
This engraving, the earliest illustration of the statue, shows the figure fully restored as Alexander with the helmeted head, the new right arm, and the staff in the left hand. It was published in 1704 in a book documenting the best-known sculptures in Italy.
19th-Century Restorations in Dresden
In the late 1700s, sculptures similar to the Roman statue of a god were discovered in Italy, and their attributes clearly associated them with the wine god Bacchus. In the 19th century, archaeological discoveries and publications established that the sculpture's restoration as Alexander the Great was incorrect. The statue was first re-identified as Bacchus and then as Antinous (about A.D. 110–130)—Emperor Hadrian's beloved—in the guise of the wine god. This latest identification was based on the anatomy of the torso, which is comparable to other nude sculptures of Antinous.
2007–8 Restoration at the Getty Villa
The statue was severely damaged at the end of World War II, and its broken pieces were placed in storage. In 2007 it was sent from Dresden to the Getty Villa as part of a partnership between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, in which the Dresden State Art Collections have shared objects with the Getty Museum in order to conserve works from their various collections.
Ultimately the statue will return to the Skulpturensammlung, where it will once again grace the halls of the sculpture galleries after an absence of almost 70 years.


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Graduation Flowers
What are the best flowers for a graduation flower arrangement?
There are so many beautiful flowers from ProFlowers, every single one would be a great choice for a graduation flower arrangement. But, if you are searching for some inspiration, know that we have your back. Our Congratulations flowers or our multi-colored bouquets give a great mix of beauty, class, and thoughtfulness all wrapped in one. Plus, if you are unaware of the grad's favorite flowers, a mixed bouquet is the ideal way to go.
Is it thoughtful to send a graduation flower bouquet to a graduate?
The short answer to this one is yes! Sending a graduate a graduation flower bouquet is an extremely thoughtful gesture, especially if you are unable to make it to the ceremony or celebration afterward. Though they would probably love to see you, getting a stunning bouquet full of beautiful blooms like yellow roses, irises, lilies, or tulips from you will come in a close second.
What gifts can I send besides a graduation flower delivery?
ProFlowers has plenty of options to send a graduate, besides flowers. You can choose from our wide variety of gift baskets, gourmet food items, or plants. Money trees make for a popular item for graduates as they are meant to be for those that are starting a new career or a new life venture.
Can I send a graduation bouquet with same day delivery?
Of course! ProFlowers' same day flower delivery is a service that can be used for every occasion, which of course includes graduations. Order in the morning and the grad will receive them by that same evening, making for a lovely addition to their esteemed accomplishments.


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(2019) Sports Biography (MGM/United Artists) Florence Pugh, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Kimberly Matula, Stephen Merchant, Chloe Csengery, Aqueela Zoll, Paul Wight, Eli Jane, Julia Davis, Stephen Farrelly, Hannah Rae, Theia Trinidad, Helena Holmes, Josh Myers, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ross, John Cena, Ellie Gonsalves. Directed by Stephen Merchant
When I first saw the trailers for this film, I thought it looked like a glorified recruitment video for the WWE – and it is. What I didn't expect was that the movie would be as funny as it was and have the heart that it did. Then, I noticed that it was directed by Stephen Merchant, one of the co-creators of the original British The Office.
Based on the true story of the WWE wrestler Paige (real name: Saraya-Jade Bevis), it shows her formative years as a young wrestler (Pugh) in the family's low-rent British wrestling promotion based in their home town of Norwich, the Mustard capital of England (we critics are required to know such things). She and her brother Zak (Lowden) have dreams of making it in the big leagues – World Wrestling Entertainment – and are encouraged by their ex-con turned grappler dad (Frost) and recovering ex-junkie mum (Headey).
When a WWE Scout (Vaughn) offers the two of them a try-out, it seems like their dreams will come true, but that's quickly dashed when they offer a spot to Saraya – but not Zak. She's loathe to go by herself but is eventually convinced to and she heads out to Orlando to the WWE training center there. Unsure whether she is living out her dream or her family's, she struggles under the pressure but this is a movie after all, so you just know it's going to end well.
Even armed with that foreknowledge, it's surprising how much heart the movie has and that's a tribute to the cast. Even Dwayne Johnson, the executive producer for the movie who recruited Merchant (who co-starred with him in The Tooth Fairy) to write and direct the film after seeing a documentary on Paige/Saraya in his hotel room while working in the UK, gets a little bit inspirational playing the Rock as an extension of himself. And, yes, the movie does seem to insinuate that if you work hard enough and have the "it" factor, you can come out of nowhere and become a WWE champion based on talent alone – which isn't how it really works in anything, let alone professional wrestling – you still find yourself getting hit in all the feels. Yeah, it ignores the scripted nature of sports entertainment but nonetheless it will leave you with the warm fuzzies when it's all over.
REASONS TO SEE: Pugh does a terrific job. Shows unexpected humor and heart.
REASONS TO AVOID: Probably won't appeal to non-wrestling fans.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some crude language including sexual references, violence, and drug references.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The real Paige was forced to retire from the ring in 2018 due to a neck injury.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, AppleTV, Epix, Fandango Now, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Redbox, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/13/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 93% positive reviews, Metacritic: 68/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Peanut Butter Falcon
NEXT: Root of the Problem


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Let's face it, a lot of us don't enjoy attending meetings and can often find them to be a bit of a struggle. They may even feel like a waste of time and sometimes dare I say it, they actually are!
It doesn't have to be this way though and today I'm going to show you how to make the most your time by ensuring that all meetings you attend are effective. We'll look at how a successful meeting is determined even before it's begun and discuss what you can do to ensure you achieve the results you want from your meetings.
Subscribe now to make sure you catch all my posts and get exclusive content sent direct to your Email inbox or favourite RSS Reader.
Are Meetings Really Just a Waste of Time?
There seems to be a lot of "advice" out there suggesting that meetings are a waste of time and recommending that you should avoid them at all costs. That's just plain ridiculous! As a Data Professional you have to work with others in order to be successful and deliver results.
Funnily enough, effective meetings do not just happen as if by magic. They require deliberate planning and preparation. If you are regularly leaving meetings feeling as though nothing has been achieved, then YOU are not doing enough preparation beforehand.
If you truly respect and value your time, then you should be taking appropriate steps to ensure all your meetings are effective.
Every Meeting I Attend is Effective, Yours Can Be Too
As with a lot of the work we DBAs perform, ensuring a successful outcome is often determined by having completed sufficient preparation. Ensuring a successful meeting is no different. Before you attend any meeting it is imperative that you have the answers to the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the meeting?
If you are not clear on what the purpose of the meeting is, then how can you be sure whether or not it is appropriate for you to attend? Just because you have been invited to attend, does not automatically mean that you should. The first step to ensuring effective meetings is to only attend those that you either need to or can add value to. If you decide to attend, make sure to either request or define a meeting agenda.
- What are the meeting objectives?
More specific and refined than the overall purpose of the meeting, these are the primary measure for determining a successful meeting. If not already explicitly defined by the meeting organiser, you should be able to determine the meeting objectives from the contents of the meeting agenda. If the meeting objectives are not clear, seek clarification from the meeting organiser before the meeting.
- What are your objectives for the meeting?
Not to be confused with the meeting objectives, although there will likely be some overlap. Before you attend a meeting, you should have clear in your mind what it is that you want to achieve. Maybe there is a topic that you would like to have discussed or a decision to have been reached? If so, consider raising these with the meeting organiser for inclusion in the agenda.
- Do you have everything you need for the meeting?
In order to add value to a meeting you need to be able to actively contribute to it. You can only do this of course if you have actually prepared any information that you may require, in advance of the meeting. Dependant on the objectives, this could be as simple as getting your thoughts in order ready for further discussion or it could be more formal, such as preparing documentation or a report (bonus points if you share and distribute this type of material with attendees, before the meeting). Whatever you do, don't try and wing it. As part of your preparation ask yourself questions such as, what is expected of me at this meeting and do I have the information required in order to deliver on the objectives of the meeting?
Start Ensuring Your Meetings Are More Effective Right Now
As a task, go through your calendar and review your upcoming meetings for the next week. Are you sufficiently prepared for them? Are you able to answer the questions we have outlined above? Use the instruction in this post to help you prepare for your meetings and be sure to let me know how you get on.
Your most valuable asset is time and by ensuring you have effective meetings you can make the best use of yours. I hope you have enjoyed this post and that it helps you on your path towards more effective meetings.


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Well, there are lots of tools that are designed to find trojans and malware available, but what do you do if these tools fail? You may find youself having to identify the processes manually. This tutorial will show you how. It is also a good idea to do this on a clean system in order to create a process baseline with which you can compare future data.
I did this mainly as a reference for all the noobies, as well as to remind myself that even "experts" have a tendency to forget! (Memory, cheyenne1212, and MsMittens, you all know what I'm referring to!)
Part I - The tools
This method in this tutorial relies on the netstat command, notepad, and the Windows Task Manager, which are part of the Windows OS, in addition, in order tosucessfully accomplish this task, we will need access to the following:
1.) An active internet connection
2.) User account with administrative privelages preferred, but not entirely needed, as long as the user has access to the command line.
3.) Access to a spreadsheet program. A text editior such as notepad can be used, but the output is much cleaner in a spreadsheet. I will be using Microsoft Excel in my examples.
Part II - Gathering the information
OK. The first thing that we want to do is get information on all the active TCP/IP connections. To do this, we'll bring up a command line and type "netstat -ano"
the "-a" operand will display all the connections and their listening port
the "n" operand will display the addresses and ports in numerical form, as opposed to the DNS name and TCP/IP service name. I use this option because the output is cleaner.
the "o" operand will list the process identification number (PID) of the process using the connection. Without this switch, we're wasting our time, so don't forget it.
The resulting output will look something similar to this:
Active Connections
Proto....Local Address.....................Foreign Address.......State.....................PID
I trimmed it down and all, but you get the idea.
Now, if we right-click inside the command prompt window, we'll be presented with an option menu. We want to "Select All". Now, to copy the info, right-click on the title bar of the cmd window and you'll see a menu option that says "Edit". If you hover over this option, it will open another menu where we can select "Copy". That's what we want to do.
Now on to the next step
Part III - Formatting the information for analysis
Now, we'll open notepad and paste the information. Save it. Now we have a text file with most of the critical information that we need. At this point, I import the text file into Microsoft Excel as a Tab delimited spreadsheet. That gives me a much cleaner layout to work with, as well as the use of a search function. However, this is optional.
In Excel, I add the following columns:
Process Name
Runs As
You can do the same thing in notepad by tabing over and inserting.
Now it's time to match the info from netstat's output to the processes that are running. To do this, we simply press <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Delete> and select the "Task Manager". From here select the "Processes" Tab. Now select "View" from the menu at the top of the Task Manager Screen and then "Select Columns" option. For our purposes, the only item here that we are concerned with are "Image Name" (Process Name). "PID" (Process Identifier) and "User Name".
Now we simply match the PID in our table to the PID in the Task Manager's Process List. If a process is hidden, we'll be able to easily identify it, as it's PID and image name will not be listed in the Process List. For each PID in the table (spreadsheet), record the corresponding Image Name and User Name.
The reason that we want the User Name is co that we know under what context the process is running. This is important if a rogue process is identified, as this will show you the account, which can then be checked to see if it has been compromised by reviewing the system logs.
Part IV - Research and Analyze
Now comes the dirty work...finding out what the process is. For this, we will need an internet connection and our best friend Google. Enter the process name that you have for each process into the search engine, and you'll be able to identify what that process does. To save time in your process identification, you can access the Wintasks process library , which has a listing of most of the common system, application, and trojan process names and there discriptions.
Armed with this information, you'll be able to not only find the process, but you'll know what it does, the port it's using, and with any luck, the IP address of the person using it.
Hope you guys liked it.


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Brit Marling does it all again in 'The East'
With the release of the new political thriller "The East," Brit Marling earns herself a hat trick of a moviemaking hat trick. This is the third film (after "Another Earth" and "Sound of My Voice") that she's co-written, co-produced and starred in.
The 30-year-old Chicago native has also been doing a lot of acting for others, most recently opposite Robert Redford in "The Company You Keep," and last year as the daughter of Richard Gere's character in "Arbitrage."
But Marling appears a bit surprised that she's made a career out of acting and filmmaking. It seems to her that it was only yesterday when she was studying economics at Georgetown University. She spoke by phone from Dallas about "The East" and how she made it to Hollywood.
Weren't you supposed to be working on Wall Street by now?
That was supposedly the plan. I feel like life should just be called adventures in Plan B. (laughs) I studied economics in school. And during my junior summer internship, I worked at a bank as an analyst. Lots of people around me loved what they were doing. But it just didn't move me. There was a moment there, when I was in my cubicle, crunching numbers on Excel, and I thought, "I've gotta get out of here, this isn't for me."
Weren't you already involved in making films at that point?
Yes. In my freshman year, I saw a film that was co-directed by [students] Zal Batmanglij and Mike Cahill that was stunning. So I basically stalked them on campus until they let me make movies with them. I was pitching myself as a sound girl-lighting tech, but Zal said, "Well, maybe you should be in one." I had done plays in high school, and I liked acting, so I did it, and had a lot of fun, but I never really thought of it as a thing to do with one's life. It wasn't until I graduated college that I realized that the thing that you love to do is exactly what you should do with your life.
When you all went to L.A., was it difficult to break in?
We had a really hard time when we first got there. Mike and I were doing documentary work. I was getting work as a camera woman on odd projects. I was trying to audition for things, but I couldn't figure out how to even get an audition except for parts in intense horror films. So we started making films on our own, again, very much the way we did at Georgetown, and then we realized that we had a lot to offer the system, about how to make films now, for less. So we changed our perspective a bit.
"The East" is about an FBI agent that infiltrates a group of eco-terrorists who are living off the grid. Did the movie take shape based on the time you and Zal lived on the road for a while?
At one point, four summers ago, in L.A., we had run out of money. So we decided to go have an adventure. We were reading about the freegan and anarchist movements, and we were interested in what young people in this country were feeling and thinking. So we learned to train-hop, then got some back packs and train-hopped back and forth across the states. We stayed on organic farms, and fell in with freegan groups and collectives, and learned about living off the grid. The biggest thing we learned was about living and working in tribes, and the value of a collective. That's when we got back into the sort of more tribal filmmaking. We knew we could make collective films with the same sort of dumpster diving spirit. That's when we made "Another Earth" and "Sound of My Voice." It wasn't till years later that we noticed when we talked to people about that summer, they seem very interested. What if we put them in an espionage thriller? That was the idea.
You're a writer and actor and producer. Are there plans to start directing?
I get a lot of pleasure out of writing and acting, and I feel so challenged by the craft of acting. It never seems to get any easier to be honest and present and not close up because you have a moment of insecurity. I feel so compelled by that, and I'm in awe of people who can act and direct at the same time. So I don't know if I can bite that off and chew it. At least not now. But maybe somewhere down the road.
"The East" opens on June 14, then expands into more theaters.
Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now.


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By Anne Cosgrove
Published in the June 2005 issue of Today's Facility Manager
School may be out, but there are still things to be learned from facility management departments on campus-and the students they serve. Across the nation, students at colleges and universities are involved in sustainable practices on their campuses. Often, facility managers are involved in these efforts in one capacity or another-as initiator or participant.
One annual event gaining momentum nationwide is RecycleMania, a competition between college students to recycle, per resident, the most paper, cans, bottles, and cardboard used in residence halls, campus apartments, and dining halls. This past spring, the 10-week event resulted in the gathering of 10.4 million pounds of materials. This was a significant increase from the 2.4 million pounds collected in 2004, attributed primarily to the fact that participation jumped from 17 schools in 2004 to 47 for this year's competition. The 2005 winner was Miami University, recycling 66.19 pounds per student during the 10 weeks.
RecycleMania was conceived in 2001 as a contest between Ohio University and Miami University when Ed Newman, recycling and refuse manager at Ohio, contacted the recycling department at Miami about the idea of competing. (The two schools have traditionally been sports rivals, and RecycleMania was an extension of this rivalry.) "We had determined that approximately 70% of waste on campus comes from the residence halls and dining halls," explains Newman. "Clearly, we needed to do more."
RecycleMania has since been joined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which launched a Web site for the 2005 event in addition to gathering and tallying the statistics. The National Recycling Council also recognized RecycleMania in September 2004 with an award for Outstanding Recycling Innovation.
Another participant in RecycleMania has decided to enter an innovative environmental challenge. Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins recently became involved in the Tide Coldwater Challenge, a promotion created by the laundry detergent manufacturer. A new product, Tide Coldwater, is formulated to clean laundry in cold water as well as other detergents do in warm or hot water. Through the challenge, Tide encourages consumers to use its product in cold water on all types of laundry to see if the results are the same as with warm or hot water.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, approximately 80% of the energy used to wash a load of laundry is dedicated to heating water. So, when Cam Elvheim, project planner for the Department of Housing and Dining Services at CSU, Fort Collins, heard about the challenge, she signed on her facilities. "When we learned about Tide Coldwater and the ColdWater Challenge, it just seemed like a great fit for CSU," says Elvheim. "The ColdWater Challenge inspired Colorado State to advocate washing in cold water to save energy, money, and lessen the school's environmental impact." As an incentive, Tide donated 5,000 single use packets of the detergent for CSU residents.
Now, while the typical college student can be expected to take anything that's free, the ensuing participation reflected something larger: the ongoing sustainability efforts at CSU. In February, the facilities management department there was recognized by the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce with the 2004 Overall Environmental Business Award. The award is presented to businesses whose efforts "promote the enhancement of the natural environment of Fort Collins."
Believe it or not, laundry is also a hot topic at Harvard University. As part of its conservation efforts, the Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI), a group comprised of faculty, staff, and students, has educated campus residents on saving time and money when doing laundry. For its part, the university, as part of a scheduled replacement, ordered 300 front loading washing machines to replace less efficient models. According to HGCI, this has saved the university at least $50,000 per year in water and energy costs.
Efforts of this kind are not limited to a call for student action, however. HGCI also reaches out to faculty and staff members with a message to promote sustainability. For the past three years, HGCI's Faculty of Arts and Sciences Computer Energy Reduction Program has headed up an effort to remind staff and students to turn off computers or activate sleep software when machines are not in use. Having achieved more than $100,000 of annual savings, program members have moved to spur more people to action. Spreading the word involves displaying award-winning student artwork in academic and administrative departments to remind occupants to turn off computers.
One way the administration at Harvard has supported student efforts was to establish The Green Campus Loan Fund in 2001. Under this program, $3 million in university funds were slated for campus projects expected to save natural resources as well as money over time.
Campus building and project managers can apply for these no interest loans which are evaluated by an advisory committee. As projects yield financial savings, the participating department gives the savings back to the fund. Loans are required to be repaid within five years. In December 2004, monies for the fund were increased by $3 million up to $6 million. This will help to support ongoing initiatives, since much of the original funding is tied up in active projects, according to Thomas E. Vautin, associate vice president for facilities and environmental services at Harvard and co-chair of HGCI.
Along with the support of their universities, these facilities management departments and students are making a difference. This demonstrates a broader concept that can be applied by facility managers all over-involving others in sustainable practices. There is a smorgasbord of choices to foster sustainability. Fellow staff members, building occupants, and upper management can be an important ingredient to that success.
To learn more about the programs featured in this column, visit RecycleMania at www.recyclemaniacs.com, CSU facilities management department at www.colostate.edu/Depts/Facilities, and HGCI atwww.greencampus.harvard.edu.


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Trainwreck – A Comic Collision
Trainwreck is the best and funniest rom-com since Bridesmaids, another hilarious quasi-feminist film by Judd Aptow, known also for bro-coms like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. And like previous Aptow productions Bridesmaids and Girls, Trainwreck is both funny and a little sad. The scenes that are the most memorable and vivid, however, are comic fireworks. Written by and starring Amy Schumer, the humor is raunchy, pushes the boundaries of conventional one-liners, and is as sexually explicit as Schumer's Comedy Central TV series.
Amy Townshend (Schumer) is the daughter of a cantankerous, alcoholic dad (Colin Quinn) with infidelity and commitment issues. Amy naturally follows in his footsteps. Disagreements with her younger sister about Dad's assisted living expenses become a key indicator of Amy's attitude toward the deeply unsympathetic man who helped shape the mess she's become. And it's all too clear that Amy's commitment-phobia, compulsive drinking, and pot smoking are masking deeper wounds. As a staff writer for a low brow men's magazine, Amy gets assigned to interview Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), a sports doctor to the elite like LeBron James (who surprises with impeccable comic timing). The reason for the assignment: she hates sports.
Schumer and Hader have unbelievable chemistry together. Hader's goofy Mr. Nice Guy channels Tom Hanks early on in his career. And he plays perfectly to Schumer's fear of intimacy and seeming invulnerability. That's the basic theme here: rejecting those we desire before they have a chance to reject us. The why-try-if-we-know-how-it-will-end syndrome.
And what a comic team Schumer and Hader make! Funny or serious, they approach every scene without skipping a beat in timing. Open, fearless, undefended, masterful. The supporting cast (Tilda Swinton, Quinn, Vanessa Bayer, Brie Larson) also delivers hilarious and moving performances. What every great comedy requires!
Some of the comedy in this film may not appeal to all, but Schumer's a juggernaut for women in comedy just as much as her predecessors: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, and Lena Dunahm, most of whom have been supported by Apatow. Beat for beat, Trainwreck is one of Aptow's most consistently funny and charming films ever.
I want to see more of Amy Schumer!
Highly recommended.
Diana Y. Paul
This review was first posted on the Unhealed Wound blog:


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The Republican-controlled Arkansas state Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that would exempt from public disclosure the names and zip codes of gun owners, those with permits to carry concealed guns and permit applicants.
The bill comes in response to the controversy late last year over a New York newspaper's decision to publish the names and addresses of thousands of gun permit holders on its website after a shooting rampage at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 children and six adults.
The Journal News, which serves suburbs just north of New York City in Westchester and Rockland counties, pulled the information from its site last month.
The Arkansas bill, which passed the Senate 24-9, now moves to the state House of Representatives, which is also controlled by Republicans. Governor Mike Beebe, a Democrat, has said he opposes the bill because it restricts the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Republican state Senator Bruce Holland, the bill's sponsor, said he introduced the legislation after a constituent contacted him with concerns about the Journal News' actions.
In January, New York included a similar provision when it passed a sweeping gun control and mental health law in response to the Newtown massacre. Kansas, Oregon, South Carolina and Kentucky have similar laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"You lose the element of surprise when criminals potentially have access to a public database of known gun owners," said Nicholas Stehle, a member of the board of directors of the advocacy group Arkansas Carry.
Names and zip codes are "more information than I'd be comfortable sharing if I were a single woman with an abusive ex-husband," he said.
In 2009, a similar push was made in Arkansas to restrict all information about gun owners. Lawmakers reached a compromise to release only the names and zip codes under the state's Freedom of Information Act. Beebe signed that bill into law.
Tres Williams, communications director for the Arkansas Press Association, said the matter was not about guns but freedom of information.
"It is unnecessary and it voids the compromise from the 2009 General Assembly where we came up with how to deal with personal privacy and open government," Williams said. "We will continue to fight this bill."
Arkansas lawmakers are considering several gun-related bills. Earlier this week, the House approved a bill to allow concealed gun permit-holders to take their weapons into churches. The Senate had already passed that measure and the governor is expected to sign it into law.
Editing by Edith Honan, Corrie MacLaggan and Peter Cooney
© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
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After my Purple Friday dress, it feels great to return to my bold and graphic print roots!
But, let me tell you. This was the slowest silk sewing, evah. Let me splain you.
I first saw this silk jersey material in store at Mood Fabrics back in August. I hemmed and hawed and finally placed a phone order in October (now sold out). I loved the blue and gold because they are my sorority colors and I knew I could get some good wear out of it during graduate chapter and regional meetings. Since the silk was just 45″ wide, I bought five yards at $25 a yard. I seriously debated the investment (hence the two month wait to purchase). But, both Trena and Liz pointed out a similar RTW dress would easily be twice as much.
This is my second time sewing with silk jersey. This Prarie NY silk jersey presented some new challenges for me. The fabric was 'tough' in that even when pinning, I had trouble penetrating the material. I knew silk was strong (silk thread for buttonholes, silk organza for stablising, etc.). But, my serger just wanted to eat this material. I tried both stretch and ball point needles and my overlocker was having none of it. My sewing machine was punching holes through the jersey I wanted to cry. I think I may have a little.
I posted on Facebook and had some superhelpful responses. I went out and bought microtex and titanium needles upon the suggestions of the Interwebs. Both sewed through the silk like a knife through butter. It's my first time experiencing this challange. But, again, only my second time with silk jersey.
I did a little handtacking of the collar to keep it in place. In a similar dress to this from Burda, there is interfacing throughout the facing and collar. I think this is a better way to stabilise the front.
I took two inches off the bottom and decided not to 'finish' the hem. I made my usual alterations of a slight FBA and a big swayback adjustment. I sewed a 12 and the fit seems to be good. I am very self conscious about my lower thighs (saddlebags), so a slip is needed for me when I wear this dress.
The puzzle print is pretty bold. And, for a hot second I thought about trying to match the motif. But, decided not to bother.
There is some mirroring on the upper back. Trust me, I can live with it.
The skirt could probably be cut on the fold, but for my swayback adjustment purposes, I like a center back seam.
If you see my cuffs, they are folded under toward the inside. On PatternReview.com I read some people took length out of the sleeves.
I thought the length of the sleeve was fine, but the cuff wide for my taste. So, I'm folding it back.
Have I mentioned my mom *hates* sashes on me? She calls them 'that fabric in front of you hanging from your waist'. HAHAHA! She cracks me up.
Overall, I'm thrilled. This dress is *so* me. It's body conscious without being tarty, the bold print, the shape of the skirt, the full sleeves. The silk. Man, the silk. I want to have a work week of silk jersey dresses. It's so luxe. I love that I'm wearing a dress that would start at retail around $300. Absolutely worth the investment.
The material for this dress was purchased in part using an allowance from Mood Fabrics for the Mood Sewing Network.