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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
How Bad Is Too Bad?
We all have breaking points in various areas. Friendship, for example. Most people are willing to maintain friendships with people with differing opinions, but there's always a point at which the friendship just has to end. This might be the point at which you discover your friend owns a Tony Abbott for PM t-shirt, for example; or the point at which you discover your friend is sexually aroused by Fran Drescher. But there's always a deal-breaker.
It's the same with TV. Anyone who loves TV loves at least one terrible show. And by the same token, there's always a show that is a bridge too far.
This occurred to me when watching a little show called Four Weddings. Perhaps you have seen it. If so, my condolences. I had been pretty sure it was going to be my deal-breaker before I even saw it, but out of a sense of duty to my loyal reader (hey that's you!) I sacrificed myself.
Oh my goodness, what a show it is. Here is how an episode of Four Weddings goes:
We open with Fifi Box, making a gallant bid for the world record for Most Unnecessary Host of a Television Programme, standing in the doorway of a church, quivering in that nervous way she always has due to her deep instinctual knowledge that she is in the wrong place, telling us the premise of the show in a manner that obviously an anonymous voice-over person could never do because the task is such a skilled one it requires a famous radio giggle-jockey and weathergirl with a solid record of garnering big votes in FHM's Sexiest Lists from men with peculiar fetishes and poor TV reception.
We then move on to the four brides, who take it in turns to tell us about their lives, and how they will be meaningless without a massive wedding and a free trip to Fiji. Fifi will then explain how each bride is spending between a year's salary and the budget of a small but prosperous Arab state on her wedding, and we meet the ladies' fiances, who are mostly mild, balding men who float about the place wearing a slightly dazed expression, as if they do not quite know how they got into this situation, but have no idea how to get out of it.
Then we move on to the weddings themselves. The weddings fall into four basic categories: Extravagant and Tacky; Cheap and Ugly; Weird and Embarrassing; and Not-Really-Exotic.
For example, on the first episode I watched, an Indian lady had a Not-Really Exotic Wedding, which was promised to us as a "Bollywood Spectacular", but turned out to be a woman in a white dress exchanging vows with a man in a tuxedo, before proceeding to a reception hall where non-Indian food was eatan and an African drummer entered the room for no apparent reason to bang on his drum for about three weeks.
For each wedding, the other three brides come along to judge the event in four categories: Dress, Ceremony, Reception and Food, or something. Each one will in turn tell the camera how disappointing all the others' weddings were and how much better their wedding was/will be. Having given their views on how bland and disgusting the food was, how dull and lifeless the reception was, how weird the ceremony was, and how the dress was ugly and made the bride look like a dumpy toilet doll, they then give scores in each category. The scores will reflect both the brides' desire to make it clear just how much better they are than everyone else, and their essential failure as human beings
During all this, Fifi Box's voice-over, which costs about eighteen times as much as a voice-over from someone who could not possibly be worse, breaks periodically in to make observations that I think are supposed to be wry and witty but are actually just meaningless strings of words shoehorned into the show to assuage the typical TV producer's terror of putting anything on air that doesn't have at least five minutes of complete vapidness from a minor celebrity.
After the scores are tallied, the brides wait outside a house for a limousine, which pulls up and disgorges one of the grooms, the other three having been taken into the woods and shot. Whoever's husband emerges is the winner, and the happy couple are jetting off to Fiji, the Pacific's partyingest military dictatorship, for a dream honeymoon that only a fairly small amount of money can buy. The happy winners will then express their euphoria, given they could never have afforded such a wonderful honeymoon themselves.
Yes! They really say this! One couple said this, right after SPENDING FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ON THEIR WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right, Four Weddings is a show about people who will happily spend enough money to rent a Tuscan villa for a month or sail down the Nile, in order to win the prize of a trip to Fiji which they could have bought themselves just by getting a slightly cheaper brand of napkin for their reception.
In other words, it is an insane show about horrible women for whom no price is too high to get their faces on TV, for whom the rest of humanity exists only to service their desire to demonstrate the extent of their vulgarity to the world, and who are filled with such a loathing for their fellow women that one assumes the reason Fifi Box never actually appears in the same place as the contestants is that they'd probably strangle her for wearing nicer shoes than them
So...it's pretty bad. I may watch it again due to my basic masochism, but it's pretty close to my deal-breaker.
What's yours? Is it Four Weddings? Is it Australia's Next Top Model which, the hilarity of Murdochgate notwithstanding, forces you to hurl rocks at the screen in anger every time Alex Perry squints his beady little eyes at a lovely young girl as she towers above him in mentally-deranged shoes and tells her she's too short and fat for his liking?
Or are you one of those who will watch pretty much anything, even Random Breath Testing, and whose pressure point has only ever been triggered four hours into Hot Dogs' Up Late Game Show (clip below, for those of you who've forgotten how much you loved it)?
Or are you at the other end of the spectrum, who has taken a strict monastic vow to watch absolutely nothing except shows rated "Mad Men or Higher"?
How bad is too bad? Let me know.
12 comments:
- Jane Shaw said...
You need to be more careful Ben. Acquired Brain Injury is a serious condition, particularly for the young. If you keep slamming your brain up against this kind of rock solid turdery you'll end up in a nursing home taking kerosene baths and having your bottom wiped by a sweaty young nurse named Stan. No-one wants to end up like that.
- September 29, 2010 at 6:14 PM
- Ben Pobjie said...
I know, isn't it touching what I go through for my art?
- September 29, 2010 at 6:21 PM
I cannot express how much i hate this show - oh no, actually yes I can - except there is no need, as you described it accurately. This show is proof to me that evolution is now running backwards (Well this and 1. hole in the wall. 2. wipeout 3. BRT 4.customs/border anything etc).
If evolution was still moving forward surely dostoyevsky would be replacing Home and Away. I am fast moving to be someone who only buys the series of the wire on DVD just so I never have to even watch the ads for this crap. OMG I am becoming my parents.
- September 29, 2010 at 6:48 PM
- Zenfancy said...
I've never watched 4 Brides or whatever it's called - but I trust that it could never be as entertaining as your appraisal.
My threshold lays in a different part of the reality realm, far away from the foreign lands of ANTM and 4 weddings.
It's somewhere in the triangle of Big Brother (RIP), COPS and Border Patrol (or Border Security - or whatever it's called).
- September 29, 2010 at 8:03 PM
- Natalia the Russian Spy said...
Two and a Half Men. I don't need to explain do I?
I've seen the ads for the show of which you speak - even saw you tweet the hell out of it and I am grateful you took one for the team.
- September 30, 2010 at 5:34 PM
- Unknown said...
My line lies with Big Brother. I cannot cop to Big Brother - which is a massive indictment on the show as I'd probably watch the inside of an ant hill if it was billed as Reality Television.
Actually I have another line - Jersey Shore. It burns, it burns!
- October 2, 2010 at 12:34 AM
The great thing about TV is not having to watch it anymore. We have recorders to record it, twittererers making fun of it as it airs and reviewers/pundits telling us what to think of it afterwards. TV sorted.
- October 4, 2010 at 12:45 AM
- ImpotentAnger said...
I think Keeping Up With The Kardashians is the straw that broke the tv camel's back.
At least with most reality tv you can see why it's been created, no matter how banal the reason.
But the point of following around 5 vapid females, all of whom have weight issues and only one of which you'd sleep with, possibly, if you'd have a couple of beers, is a point that escapes even my fertile imagination.
I can't even figure out how it started, even Wikipedia doesn't know. One day it wasn't there, the next day it squatted over our tv schedules like some vile demon from the nastier pits of hell.
- October 6, 2010 at 10:52 PM
- ImpotentAnger said...
Also, Wipeout UK is terrible. Who thought Richard ON HIS OWN would be a good idea??
"oh he's on, no he's off....here he goes up a slide....and he's off....oh dear....tum ti tum...I'm so fucking middle class it hurts..."
The Hamster is barely funny on Top Gear. Thank god for the mute button, then I can imitate the vastly more amusing presenters of the US edition.
Also, not enough fat people on the UK one. Fat people were put on earth to amuse us less weightier types and we shouldn't be denied this avenue of amusemment.
- October 6, 2010 at 10:55 PM
- Elias said...
Following this blog as of now.
I'm the monastic vow person, I only watch Man vs Wild, and SBS documentaries.
And Mixed Martial Arts, but that's different.
- October 7, 2010 at 6:57 AM
Any current affairs show, Naomi Robson makes my skin crawl, let alone any of the content...
That and all of the RBT, Border Security nonsense! Who watches that?! Seriously? Even my grandparents - who watch 4 hours of television a night, including Packed to the Rafters regularly - don't watch that scare-mongering crap.
Thank GOD for television online, crap free, sans ads.
- October 11, 2010 at 11:33 PM
- Ben Pobjie said...
There's a theory that Today Tonight is just there to make Packed to the Rafters look better by comparison.
- October 12, 2010 at 12:28 AM


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Dropbox file versions...
Can someone please remind me how to access file versions through Editorial? I It's been a while since I've needed to, but I thought I used to get there by tapping on the file name in the editor, then tapping on the Dropbox icon. Now all I get is an indication of when the file was last uploaded, and the option to "Share Dropbox Link"...
I've removed that feature, sorry. It seems like hardly anyone used it – you're the first to even notice this after about 1-2 months.
Ah— good to know I'm not going crazy! Sad to see it go. It was one of the "above and beyond" features that added a little extra shine to Editorial for me. That said, it's not a feature I use every day. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it make a return in a future release, but I can appreciate the drive to pull back on underused features.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kara A. Bernstein, PhD
Associate Professor: Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
2.42e University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
5117 Centre Avenue
PhD in Genetics, Yale University
Research Summary
Repair of DNA damage is crucial to prevent accumulation of mutations that can cause genomic instability, aging, and cancer. Our lab studies how double-strand breaks in the DNA, one of the most lethal types of DNA lesions, are repaired. By understanding the mechanism of double-strand break repair and the role of DNA repair proteins in this process, we will uncover mechanisms of tumorigenesis and cancer progression. We will then use this knowledge to aid in diagnosis/prognosis of different types of cancers to find novel therapeutic targets for these patients.
Dr. Bernstein conducts her research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
Click here for a full listing of publications
Kondrashova O, Nguyen M, Shield-Artin K, Tinker AV, Teng N, Harrell MI, Kuiper MJ, Ho GY, Barker H, Jasin M, Prakash R, Kass EM, Sullivan MR, Brunette GJ, Bernstein KA, Coleman RL, Floquet A, Friedlander M, Kichenadasse G, O'Malley DM, Oza A, Sun J, Robillard L, Maloney L, AOCS Study Group, Giordano H, Wakefield MJ, Kaufmann SH, Simmons AD, Harding TC, Raponi M, McNeish IA, Swisher EM, Lin KK and Scott CL. 2017. Secondary Somatic Mutations Restoring RAD51C and RAD51D Associated with Acquired Resistance to the PARP Inhibitor Rucaparib in High-Grade Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Discov. 7: 984-998. | View Abstract
Kong M, Liu L, Chen X, Driscoll KL, Mao P, Böhm S, Kad NM, Watkins S, Bernstein KA, Wyrick JJ, Min JH and Van Houten B. 2016. Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals that Rad4 Employs a Dynamic DNA Damage Recognition Process. 64: 376-387. | View Abstract
Godin SK, Zhang Z, Herken BW, Westmoreland JW, Lee AG, Mihalevic MJ, Yu Z, Sobol RW, Resnick MA and Bernstein KA. 2016. The Shu complex promotes error-free tolerance of alkylation-induced base excision repair products. Nucleic Acids Res. 44: 8199-8215. | View Abstract
Gaines WA, Godin SK, Kabbinavar FF, Rao T, VanDemark AP, Sung P and Bernstein KA. 2015. Promotion of presynaptic filament assembly by the ensemble of S. cerevisiae Rad51 paralogues with Rad52. Nat Commun. 28: 7834. | View Abstract
Godin SK, Meslin C, Kabbinavar F, Bratton-Palmer DS, Hornack C, Mihalevic M, Yoshida K, Sullivan M, Clark NL and Bernstein KA. 2015. Evolutionary and functional analysis of the invariant SWIM domain in the conserved Shu2/SWS1 protein family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens. Genetics. 199: 1023-1033. | View Abstract


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Three people injured in two-vehicle collision
Three people were hospitalized after a two-vehicle accident at Ruth Road and East Sanilac Road (M-46) in Bridgehampton Township.
The crash happened at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
According to Sanilac Deputy Fred Ameel, a 1992 Ford F150 pickup being driven by a 38-year- old man from Carsonville, was traveling west on East Sanilac Road. The driver reported seeing a vehicle traveling east near the intersection.
The eastbound vehicle, a 2004 Toyota Tundra, being driven by a 61-year-old man from Deckerville, turned north onto Ruth Road in the path of the westbound vehicle. The two vehicles collided and went off the roadway.
The driver of the westbound vehicle was transported by Sanilac EMS to McKenzie Hospital. The driver of the eastbound vehicle and a passenger, a 54-year-old man from Deckerville, were taken by Sanilac EMS to Deckerville Hospital.
Carsonville and Sandusky Fire Departments were dispatched to the accident.
The names of the people involved are being withheld pending further investigation into the accident and pending charges. All occupants reported wearing their seatbelts and alcohol was believed to be a factor in the accident.


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Do Cheney and Rumsfeld get a fair shake in new documentaries?
LOS ANGELES – President Obama is well into his second term, but key players from the former George W. Bush administration remain a hot topic for some of Hollywood's top filmmakers. Two of the most talked about documentaries on the film festival circuit this year have centered on the lives of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, with both politicians' participation.
The Venice Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival all screened "The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld," by Errol Morris, best known for his 2003 Academy Award-winning film "Fog of War."
"It was one of the most talked about aspects of the festival," one Toronto attendee said. "You walked away really understanding that Rumsfeld made decisions like Iraq with 100 percent conviction that it was the right thing to do, and reason to do so."
For Morris, the objective was to unravel "Who is Donald Rumsfeld?" and he says he chose not to interview others in order to give full focus to his subject. The reviews for the film have been mixed. Several critics claimed that Morris wasn't hard enough on his subject, while others disagreed.
"Morris points out several serious mistakes that Rumsfeld made, and Rumsfeld himself only in a few instances offers excuses," Stephen Marche wrote for Esquire.
And in January this year, Oscar-nominated director R.J. Cutler premiered "The World According to Dick Cheney" at the Robert Redford-helmed Sundance Film Festival, a film in which he insisted he wanted to give the "most powerful vice president in history" a fair chance to address his fans and foes.
"I thought it was a great opportunity to tell his story, whether you agree with him or not," Cutler told FOX411. "There haven't been many things written, or in film and television, that really put his voice at the center of the debate. That's what I wanted to do. Tell Dick Cheney's story with his voice, and it is a story of a remarkable career of over 40 years."
The Cheney-centered film went on to air on Showtime in March, and Morris's Rumsfeld doc is being distributed in the U.S. by Radius-The Weinstein Company.
Some media critics say it's a start for Hollywood to give prominent GOP figures the opportunity to tell their side of the story when it comes to critical subjects such as the developments after 9/11 and claims of weapons of mass destruction, rather than indulging audiences in pure propaganda pieces.
"Every film needs a star or at least a celebrity. There are very few people in the political realm who would qualify as being well enough known and having the 'aura' to carry an entire film. Cheney and Rumsfeld certainly qualify," filmmaker and media critic John Ziegler observed. "But very few people are ever even open to changing their minds about public figures once they have gotten a strong opinion on them."
He also questioned whether many of their liberal counterparts would be willing to step into the fray in such a way.
"For instance, Nancy Pelosi would never do what George W. Bush did in letting Pelosi's daughter follow him around during the 2000 election for her documentary," Ziegler said. "I wish Cheney and Rumsfeld would at least get some credit for taking that chance."
The National Journal reported earlier this year that Cheney was none too happy with Cutler's film and is said to have told friends "he's disappointed the producers showcased the internal politics surrounding Bush administration policies at the expense of the policies themselves."
Yet one only has to look at the somewhat unflattering picture of Rumsfeld on "The Unknown Known" poster to suspect that Hollywood agendas are still at least a little at play, added Dan Gainor, VP of Business & Culture at the Media Research Center.
"That Rumsfeld poster is intended to make fun of him and make him look the butt of the joke. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, that's 1,000 reasons why conservatives shouldn't bother being part of such lefty documentaries. While Cheney and Rumsfeld are involved, they don't dictate how their words are used," he said. "If conservatives want reputation rehab, they should give up counting on lefty documentaries to do it. There might be a mild positive tweak, but the left still hates them."


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Tuberculosis, or TB, is a contagious bacterial infection that starts in the lungs. With time, the disease can spread to other organs, and in many cases, it is lethal. Unfortunately, while children and adults can be immunized against TB, the vaccine, BCG, has provided very little in the way of protection against the disease. Because of this, and the fact that TB claims the lives of more than one million people worldwide, that scientists have been working very hard at coming up with a better solution.
"A vaccine is likely to be a cost-effective way of preventing TB," Richard White, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Yahoo News, comparing the $650 million that has been invested in finding a better vaccine against the condition over the past decade to the more than $4 billion it costs to keep the disease under control.
What's more, White says that we cannot afford to ignore the TB spikes worldwide, or the fact that many of these strains are resistant to treatment.
"There are certain boroughs of London that have higher rates of TB than parts of Malawi," he said. "TB is such a big problem that we really need to throw the book at it."
That's exactly what Dr. Helen McShane of the University of Oxford and colleagues hoped to do with the development of the MVA85A vaccine. Unfortunately, after injecting 2,800 BCG immunized infants from South Africa with the new vaccine, researchers found very little in the way of positive results.
Half of the 2,800 children were given the MVA85A vaccine and the other half had been given a placebo injection. Researchers then followed the children from the next three years. Unfortunately, while the vaccine did not seem to have any major side effects, it only offered an efficacy rate of 17 percent – 39 of the children injected with the placebo ended up contracting TB while 32 given the MVA85A vaccine ended up contracting TB over the three year time period.
The news of the failed study proved to be rather disheartening for some health officials.
"It's pretty disappointing," Dr. Jennifer Cohn, a medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, who was not involved in the study, told Yahoo News. "Infants are at really high risk of TB, but this doesn't seem to offer them any protection."
But despite the lack of positive feedback from this study, the work done wasn't a waste. Not only does this particular study help teach researchers something new about this vaccine and others that are currently being tested or in development, there have been previous studies that have shown some promising results for the MVA85A vaccine. This means that the vaccine could provide protection for adults and adolescents since, as McShane points out, their immune systems work differently than those of infants. But only more studies will prove if their hopes of providing a vaccine to adults will come to fruition.
"If this vaccine is effective in adults, that would be hugely valuable because the majority of TB disease and deaths are among results," White said. "But no one knows the answer to that right now."
Related Articles:
- Commonly Used Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers Increase Risk of Kidney Failure in Children
- CDC Panel Recommendation Changes – Pertussis Vaccine Every Pregnancy and More
- Triaminic and Theraflu Products Recalled Due to Failure to Meet Child-Resistant Closure Requirement


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I almost felt guilty. The morning started off at 4 AM and it was the drive up to Tekamah for a day of duck and goose shooting. That is the good news. The bad news was winds were out of the south forecasted to move to the southwest around 5 – 10 miles per hour. In addition, temperatures were to be climbing from the middle 40s in the morning to the mid 60s by noon. Still, it has happened before, and it doesn't always hold true that this type of weather does not produce good waterfowl shooting. Northerly flow, cold weather, and a spit of precipitation seems to work the best.
There were only three club members and two guests for a total of five hunters. Fortunately one of the hunters there owned an outstanding yellow lab. When we did, or if, we got into some birds watching the dog work would be one of the highlights of the day.
|Watching a good dog work is one of the highlights of the day.
The lake was empty when we walked in, and that was not a good sign. At shooting time a small flock of mallards flew overhead and stayed way out of gun range. They had been there before and a burning bottom was probably well etched in their memory. Several other small flocks of ducks worked the lake with a couple of passes, but they seemed to get higher as they approached. The comment was made, "We need some fresh birds and a snowstorm in the Dakotas."
And then it happened. A flock of low flying Canada geese locked up and began to sail towards the lake. As they got closer, they re-formed into a V climbed and flew directly overhead. Another comment was made to the effect that they know this place. Finally a group of about 15 Canadas locked up and sailed into the kill zone coming in from the northeast. At the edge of the lake they began to pump and started up. The shot was called and four were dropped. There was debate about the call on the shot. Some people felt they were just going around again to set up and drop into the water. Another opinion was they must not have like what they saw and decided to get the heck out of Dodge. These Canadas are really big, and they will make a lot of meat for someone.
Sitting there for another two hours was more that my backside could take. The Big Chicken had a patty melt special and since we had been eating so much healthy game a little fat and chlosterol was to be enjoyed.
Calling my good friend north of Fort Calhoun, I asked for permission to stop on the way home and try out his farm for turkeys. The week before the Nebraska Deer Season, a spot was found in the afternoon where they were running. Nebraska is a rifle state, and when the deer hunters are out in force, staying out of the timber is a good rule to follow.
At the farm a quick check in with the owner was done. Down below the farm house at the bottom of a steep hill runs a small stream. Two weeks ago it was discovered that the turkeys were coming up from the stream and then moving up the hill to an area that held a lot of oak trees. This location was where the first one was taken. Finding a downed tree with multiple branches, I wedged myself into the fallen timber to blend in with the mix. Sixty+ degree temps and a light wind made for a perfect opportunity for a short nap which turned a little lenghty. The crunching of fallen leaves woke me up and here they came. There must have been 30 hens scratching and pecking the ground, and they were not quiet.
Slowly moving the gun to my shoulder a nice big hen was selected from the flock, and at the right moment, ker-plunk, dinner was made available. This was way way too easy, and the total time invested was not over 90 minutes including the nap.
This was just too easy.
I am limited out on Nebraska Turkeys and now have one more tag to fill for Iowa. The farm has not been scouted so there needs to be some immediate contact with the landowner to find out where they are running.
The Christmas Sales are on. Now is the time to stock up on all the gear you can afford to buy. Whatever you do in life, do not let the golfers own more gear.
The Christmas Sales are on. Now is the time to stock up on all the gear you can afford to buy. Whatever you do in life, do not let the golfers own more gear.
Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck. Hank


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Bob Mainwaring
Bob Mainwaring
Shell Lubricants Technology Manager for Innovation
Mainwaring is a mechanical engineer who, prior to joining Shell in 1988, worked in the heavy engine and nuclear industries focusing on engine development and computational fluid dynamics. He is Shell Lubricants Technology Manager for Innovation, a role that neatly combines elements of his earlier roles in Shell, which included engine and lubricant research and chairmanship of industry groups linked to test and specification development.
Andrew Hepher
Andrew Hepher
Vice President, Global Commercial Technology
Hepher was appointed Vice President, Global Commercial Technology in February 2016. In this he is responsible for leading a global team of scientists and engineers, developing and delivering a broad range of technology programmes including innovation, R&D and technical services that support Shell's Downstream Global Commercial business. In his previous role, he was responsible for the global marketing of B2C lubricants.
Tony Davenport
Tony Davenport
Shell Lubricants Innovation Project Leader
An experienced mechanical engineer with a unique background in manufacturing, component design and prototyping, instrumentation, delivery and design of gasoline, diesel and lubricant development test methods. A champion of innovation with an ability to visualise solutions from a blank page, he joined Shell in 1997 as an instrumentation engineer, is now project leader in lubricants innovation with a focus on co-engineering and proof of concept demonstration.


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The secret to long life? : Well. According to the world's oldest man, 112-year old Chitetsu Watanabe in Japan, "keep smiling". Me, I think the secret is just don't die.
Justice delayed, but catches up: Omar al-Bashir, the ousted dictator of Sudan, may finally face international justice. This is still a very, very big maybe. But on Tuesday, Sudan's new joint military-civilian council offered the first real signals that the former leader could finally appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for his role in the genocide in the Darfur region that began in 2003. A simply animalistic "civil" war on par with Rwanda and other genocides. Movies that should be seen; "Attack On Darfur" and "The Devil Came On Horseback". Not pleasant friday night at the movies type movies. But they should be seen.
This one I watch: It's pretty clear how I feel about "award" shows. I do watch the Westminster Dog Show. I like dogs, probably more than people, and there are no "acceptance" speeches. This years grand winner is Siba the Standard Poodle. Not my favorite breed, but I have inter-acted with several and they are a great breed. Second place went to Bourbon the Whippet, another classy breed (they just look scared all the time).
For God's sake, Just say no: Recent leeks are that MLB is planning on some changes that will make baseball more "drama filled, higher rated" playoffs. This means adding a bunch of play-off games to attract more viewers. Here we go, change everything for the sake of generating a few more bucks. I have no problems with them wanting more money, but this will turn people off, not on. They'll wait until it's all decided, then watch. This will be a disaster.
Love (Head) Line: "I had sex twice a day instead of going to the gym – my body got more toned, my mood was better but I got sick of orgasms." Yeah, wish I had a dollar every time I heard that one. I have, well a dollar.
Another is safe; Recently we heard of a Nessie sighting, now it's a Big Foot spotted in Ohio, in Salt Fork State Park. The picture looks, to me, like a common Brown bear walking on his hind legs. But I wasn't there, and I glad Foot is doing okay.
And another sad good-bye; Paul English,87, drummer and sometime self-appointed bodyguard to Willie Nelson. Met Paul at an after concert party for Willie and Kris back in '84. He was intrigued by the fact I was doing contract bodyguard work and we talked for a very few minutes. He was a great musician and seemed a straight shooter (in more ways than talk). He will be missed.


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2.3: The Busboy
After George accidentally causes the firing of a restaurant busboy, he attempts to make amends. Elaine has an unwanted would-be boyfriend to stay.
An early example of mixing things up, as George and Kramer team together to visit the titular character. This also stands out as the first not to have a "Jerry" plot. And it's an episode Larry David cites as inspiring his most successful structures; two (or more) disparate plotlines that converge in the final stages.
If Jerry is in incidental, somehow he still manages to get many of the best lines; perhaps because he's even more reactive. This is particularly acute during the diner scene the day after the restaurant incident. Not only is he cheerfully flippant regarding the consequences of the busboy's firing ("He'll probably kill his family over this") but he shows complete indifference towards George's pangs of guilt ("Maybe I'll try that pesto").
There are the usual incidents of small talk ("Where was pesto 10 years ago?" spotting someone with a hair transplant) that probably didn't make it into one of the improv bits (this time we begin with Jerry riffing on the bills placed in a book at restaurants). But the episode really picks up when Kramer sallies forth from his apartment for the first time to visit Antonio (David Labiosa). George's nervousness and insecurity is perfectly mirrored by Kramer's exuberance and unselfconsciousness.
The scene is all the more amusing because Labiosa makes Antonio such a dangerous presence; squat and pugilistic, glowering with anger. Michael Richards is on fire, launching into pigeon-Spanish ("Agua?") and generally making matters worse for George and Antonio; he leaves the door open allowing the busboy's cat to run off, then he breaks his lamp (and attempts to "re-fix" the broken ceramic). Then, when Antonio asks who left the door open, he makes eye gestures implicating the hapless George.
Elaine's plotline is all prelude to a scene of magnificent physical comedy as she attempts to get not-boyfriend Eddie (Doug Ballard) packed and dressed so he meets his flight on time. She's already detailed to Jerry how she can't stand him, pretending to be on her period so she doesn't have to sleep with him, with a misanthropic bent that epitomises the show ("He's a wonderful guy, but I hate his guts"). Her berserk rampage in a huge nightie, attempting to get Eddie into his trousers and throwing his clothes randomly into his suitcase, is a tour de force (Louise-Dreyfus may tut that she could have done it better, but she's just being picky).
The dovetailing conclusion occurs off-screen, as the now grateful Antonio (an exploding gas main at the restaurant means that George's act of selfishness saved his life!) has an altercation with Eddie on the stairs to Jerry's apartment. Jason Alexander plays George's fear-then-relief that Antonio doesn't intend to kill him perfectly, while Kramer's giddy excitement captures his lack of awareness of the potential repercussions for George ("The busboy's coming! The busboy's coming!") And, of course, George and Elaine must suffer the fall-out from the set-to (George has to look after Antonio's cat, while Elaine is stuck nursing Eddie back to health).
George: I didn't know he'd get fired.
Elaine: I said I'd never eat here again.
Jerry: I didn't say anything.
Jerry: Kramer, George wants to know when you want to go look for the cat again.
Kramer: Well, it's been a week. It's up to the cat now.


text:
She rarely cooks in the compact kitchen of her circa-1892 New York apartment, yet each day, she is surrounded by nearly four thousand cookbooks.
What might appear to be curious contradictions in an era of web-based businesses and instant search results are quickly dispelled during a visit to Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks at 163 West Tenth Street in New York's Greenwich Village. The experience is like a journey back in time.
Bonnie Slotnick is a slender, soft-spoken woman. Her words are underscored with fluid, graceful hand movements that convey a sense of gentle elegance. She describes her inventory as vintage cookbooks and ephemera, which is the word typically used for something short-lived and without lasting significance. Yet, she quickly clarifies that the term is really a misnomer in her mind when it comes to her collection.
She spent 16 years in cookbook publishing, and over time, honed her skills as a "book searcher," someone adept at tracking down rare editions. She opened her New York store on West 10th Street just off of 7th Avenue South in 1997.
I have just finished a leisurely browse through the shop, and carry three treasures to the front desk – a 1928 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook by Fannie Farmer, a 1969 facsimile edition of Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, and a book from the 1970s titled Recipes from America's Restored Villages. I ask Bonnie if she recalls her first cookbook.
She removes a fragile pamphlet from a cubby hole at her desk. The red cover has faded over time. The title is Butternut Bread's Interesting Collection of Good Ideas, a pamphlet from the "Here's a Good Idea Radio Series." There is no date on the pamphlet, but it is probably from the late 1950s or early 1960s. The name "Libby" is written in pencil at the top of the cover. It is her mother's name, and Bonnie wrote it there as a child because it was her mother's book. Inside is a checklist of household tips organized according to iconic homespun green illustrations. She remembers being captivated by the book, and particularly the illustrations, as a child. When she discovered it again in a drawer as she was preparing to sell her parent's house, it immediately evoked "the most comforting, wonderful nostalgic things."
I mention my favorite book from childhood, Betty Crocker's New Boy's and Girls Cookbook. "That's the one with yellow stripes," she notes immediately.
Bonnie personally tends to gravitate towards 19th century American and English cookbooks of the period 1850 to 1950 – "books without dust jackets." She points out that as she began to collect, she wasn't necessarily doing so for the recipes. "I love reading the recipes, but in the period that attracts me, the recipes aren't all that attractive." Indeed, she notes that most cookbooks of that period advocated the systematic overcooking of vegetables.
While she does enjoy baking, her attraction to cookbooks amounts to something more. "I've always been nostalgic, even when I was very little," she notes. "They kind of take me away. It seems like a gentler time." The aura of vintage cookbooks even extends to the language. "The word grand is one I miss. It was used a lot in early food writing."
While she does stock some volumes by celebrity authors, she is not enamored of the current celebrity chef obsession. "The celebrity chef, I cut off at Julia Child."
What is it that draws her customers to her collection? "They like where the books take them. Maybe an older book takes them back to their grandmother's kitchen." In a large, often impersonal city like New York those kinds of associations can be important. "They [vintage cookbooks] represent some kind of comfort and security," Bonnie responds.
"Cookbooks tell you about the one universal aspect of human beings. They eat."
She shows me a lower shelf lined with boxes that are stuffed with food company promotional cookbooks. "My friend calls these cookbooklets," she laughs. She opens a box that contains dozens, ranging from Chocolate to Cheese. She is quite taken by the evocative illustrations and photography. The small booklets seem to carry a Proust-like ability to conjure up sentimental memories for her.
She pulls out a first edition of Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, priced at $250, and places it on the desk. The gilded lettering on the spine is faded. I feel a sense of awe. I'm almost afraid to touch it. "Go ahead," she encourages. "That book has been taped together so many times."
As we conclude our conversation, two women are preparing to leave the shop. They have not made a single purchase, but they are clearly delighted. "It's just so much fun in here," one woman enthuses.
Upon hearing the comment, Bonnie gives me a contented smile. That is exactly the reason she collects cookbooks.
©2008 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved


text:
Arriving November 22nd is the highly anticipated sophomore effort from death metal band, Blood Incantation. Their new album titled "Hidden History Of The Human Race" features only four tracks, but has the band stretching out their sound on this new release. Blood Incantation kick things off with the aggressive attack of "Slave Species Of The Gods," as what may sound like chaos is filled with intensity and emotion. They mix up the tempos of "The Giza Power Plant" with stellar musicianship, before closing out their new album with the eighteen-minute epic, progressive death metal piece "Awakening From The Dream (Mirror Of The Soul)." To find out more about Blood Incantation and their latest release "Hidden History Of The Human Race," please visit the band's Facebook page at facebook.com/astralnecrosis.
Also arriving on November 22nd, is the new self-released album from the doom metal band, Canyon Of The Skull. Their new release titled "Sins Of The Past" features only two tracks, beginning with the chugging rhythm of the nearly 26-minute instrumental "The Ghost Dance." This opening epic number is only topped by the album's closing track, all 34-minutes of "The Sun Dance." As the music continues to build on this track, Canyon Of The Skull keep the intensity of the song flowing throughout the whole composition. To find out more about Canyon Of The Skull and their latest release "Sins Of The Past," please visit the band's Facebook page at facebook.com/canyonoftheskull.
The following week on November 29th is the arrival of the self-titled debut album from the hardcore metal band, Bull Elephant. Their new album revolves around the story of a slain African elephant that was attempted to be brought back to life for the purpose of battles. The band's aggressive sound comes out blasting with the rhythmic changes of "Construct Of Chaos" and the nearly seven-minute progressive metal appeal of "Communion." Bull Elephant lay it all out on the aggressive take-over of "Corrupted Truth," while "Reflections" showcases another side of the band's songwriting that is more mainstream and accessible. Bull Elephant close out their new release with the growling vocals of "Winterfist" and the speed of "Dread Reactor," as the band continue to display a progressive side to their music. To find out more about Bull Elephant and their new self-titled album, please visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/bullelephant.
Then as the calendar turns to December, we get the latest full-length effort from the U.K. doom metal band, The River. Their new album titled "Vessels Into White Tides" features only five tracks, but the first two songs are epic numbers that take their time, as the music simply bleeds from your speakers with a slow, steady climb of buzzing guitars. The River showcase their softer side with the acoustic strumming of "Open," before finishing off their new album with the dark, clashing sound of "Passing" and melodic closing tones of "Tides." To find out more about The River and their latest release "Vessels Into White Tides," please visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/riverbanduk.


text:
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#tbt That episode of #theoffice I was on when Oscar was crushn' on me. shirt reads: My balls have biceps and my biceps have balls.
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text:
What I've shared here took place two months ago. I'm sharing it, now, in honor of Autism Awareness, in the hopes that some parent who feels like they are in the pit of despair with their own child, will know that they are not alone.
"Mommy, look at my invention! Isn't it cool?"
It's a hanger, with a piece of twine attached to it. He's decided that he can use it to pick up his sleeping mask so that he doesn't have to pick it up with his fingers.
"Isn't that a good invention, mama?", he asks again, looking for my approval.
I give it, readily. "Yes, Honey, it is! That's some great inventor-type thinking right there. I like the way you are thinking of inventions!"
He is so pleased. "I'm going to get a piece of paper to write about it and that will be my invention for Invention Convention at school."
The teacher in me responds before the mama in me has a chance to sensor my mouth. "I'm thinking that's a really good start. Let's see if we can add some more things to make it a bit bigger for your school project."
He goes from 0 to 60 in the time it takes me to blink. The self-loathing, it starts pouring out like lava. "I'm a FAILURE! I'm stupid and an idiot!"
And then, a phrase we'd never yet heard, "I want to get a gun and shoot myself with it, I'm so dumb!"
I'm incredulous! I look at my husband and we have an silent conversation with our eyes. No. NO! He couldn't have.
But he did.
All of this vitriol comes forth in the heat of the moment. I'm trying to remember that he's frustrated. That we are all capable of saying vile things when we are feeling so dark and jaded and hurt.
But we've been walking this tightrope of thought patterns with him for the last few weeks. Ever since the Invention Convention paperwork came home. According to the paperwork provided, "Each 3rd grader must choose one of three projects to complete by March 6th. 1. Write a paper on a famous inventor. 2. Conduct a Rube Goldberg project with a small group. 3. Invent a never-before-invention, independently."
My own 3rd grade teaching experience prepared me for the complexity of steps involved in this process. I knew, without a doubt, that he needed to choose the easiest option. But no. Our child, with his quirky, wonderful mind challenged to the max, already, during each mainstreamed day at school, has fixated on the most difficult option.
Only, this child? He works off of a script. We've only just begun the exciting and tenuous process of creating thoughts off of a script. And my mind screams, "NOOOO!!!! Not that choice! Anything but that choice!" But my mouth makes no sound.
So we go through the paper together, looking at the objects he can gather and the different examples of ways he can put them together to create an invention. It becomes agonizingly clear, after the first solitary minute, that he is completely overwhelmed. I pull back and attempt to lay this complicated project out in even more minute steps, deconstructing each one into its most simplistic form. He will have none of it.
And the self-loathing begins. The tears stream. The hurts starts pouring out. He lays out his own perceived stupidity one offense at a time. "I'm stupid! I'm just a stupid kid! I can't do ANYthing!"
And then, to me, he says, "You just think my ideas are stupid. You hate my ideas!" Each statement, NOT a fact, sinks the knife deeper into my heart.
And then, it comes. The one phrase no parents enjoys hearing and everyone parent abhors, "I HATE YOU!" Butcher knives couldn't leave deeper cuts. It is clear, now, that this 9 year old boy, who we've worked so hard to give the tools for life and communication to, he is stretched as taught as he can be. He is beyond his ability to comprehend the possibilities. I can do nothing to assuage this tension inside of him. I know that.
I try anyway. I softly begin to list the many many ways he was created that are amazing. How smart he is, how kind, how gentle, how funny, how adventurous… He wants to hear none of it. His mind has locked me out. No key on earth will allow me entry.
So I retreat. Into my own bedroom to cry. Away from him. Away from the pain that each word inflicts.
Just as on that first day, many weeks ago, we have this conversation all over again. And I try to block out what these kinds of conversations are going to mean from a mental health perspective. Can I just pretend that all kids think these thoughts of themselves and their parents. That all 9 year old boys go into rages that last an hour or more and fits that involve banging their heads against the wall or rapping their knuckles against their own heads as they rail against their perceived stupidity? Can I?
But in this Saturday moment, I try desperately to work out in my mind how best to proceed. In this very moment, what do we do? Should I try to console him? Should Daddy step in and tow the hard line of unacceptable talk?
No. He wants none of it. By turns, he melts into me and expresses deep sorrow and rails against me even as one single syllable leaves my lips. "You HATE me mama!"
"No, sweetboy, I do not.", I assure him vehemently.
"Yes, you hate what I make. You said my invention was horrible!"
"Sweetboy, did I say your invention was horrible?", I ask him. I'm essentially begging him to help me understand when or how he heard me say those words.
"No, you said it was too small."
I understand now. I crushed his spirit.
I'm still learning.
"I did.", I say. "And I'm so sorry. It was your invention. We love that you were thinking like an inventor."
And at that, somehow, the rage is reignited within him. He stiffens and begins railing all over again. The entire process, we go through it again. Less than minutes after it began to finally subside.
Twenty minutes seem like an entire month. I am inconsolable inside. He is inconsolable outside. Sweetman takes over. He tries to intervene. Sweetboy has decided that I am the enemy.
"You HATE what I make! You ruined the whole thing, MAMA!" he spits out at me.
Daddy takes this boy, that seems to me to have just been born yesterday, upstairs. "Yeah, I really am a bad kid! I'm the worst kid ever. How can I make inventions? By my stupidness?"
At this, I must run into the bathroom as I choke back sobs.
"I'm the worst kid! That's what my self thinks.", more slapping of his palm against the side of his head. They are upstairs now. I hear too much.
Some minutes pass. They walk back downstairs.
He immediately comes over to me. "Maybe I should go away. My self is horrible. No really, my self is horrible. I'm the worst! Maybe you should just kill me or something."
"We love you. We think you are amazing. You have such a good heart. We are so very sorry you're feeling this way, but please know that we think we are the luckiest parents in the world to have you in our family.", Daddy tells him. And many more loving, positive words of affirmation.
He refuses to accept a word of it. He threatens to chop my coffee cup in half. We remind him that breaking things isn't going to make him feel better. His eyes light on his earphones. He takes them and, before we can react, pitches them angrily across the room. They break. Of course, they break. He is now sliding back down into the pit of despair.
"See what I did? I'm just a stupid, stupid kid."
And I begin to tear up. Again. This cycle – it slices through all of our hearts. No one is immune.
Little sister asks him if he's okay. He screams at her, "Be quiet, sis! It's NOT your business! Just leave me alone."
Now, she too, is crying.
This vicious cycle takes well over one hour to struggle toward closure. I know this to be true because we were locked out of Sweetgirl's iPad this morning. We weren't able to try the code again for "60 minutes" far more than an hour ago, according to the clock.
I've retreated to the kitchen this time. I press the little round home button, focusing intently on something, anything, other than the agony going on around me right now. It says the code is incorrect. We are locked out for another 60 minutes. Just like with him. Locked out. Unable to enter the right code to open him up.
I begin pleading, "Please Lord, calm these hearts. Especially his. Oh, Lord, let his little heart feel full of the love we have for him and not the hate he is developing for himself."
He begins to calm. A bit. And all at once he starts crying and asks, "Am I evil? I was so evil to myself!"
We rush to assure him that he is not evil. That we all feel mad at ourselves sometimes. I wrap him in a hug so tight that I fear suffocating him. But I want to shield him. From himself, yes, but from the fiery darts he's trying so hard to stab himself with. I just want, so desperately, for him to feel the love I have for him. We all have for him. "Please, let my love overtake his dark, Lord!", I silently, fervently, pray now.
No words. Not now. Now isn't the time for words. I mouth to daddy with no small emotion, "NO WORDS!!!".
His body, still so much like a child's, though so tall for nine years old, starts to relax. I kiss the top of his head and murmur over and over and over, "I love you. I love you so much."
He continues to soften. I can feel it. I can't let him go.
He breaks away and looks up with tear-stained eyes and asks for some lunch. We all begin to pad around the kitchen together, circling the island as if stopping for too long will break the peace that has finally, finally began its descent. We ask him softly, "White bread or wheat, American cheese or Muenster?", as if these small decisions will hasten the peace that is finally breaking through the turmoil we've all been in.
All is calm now. We're sitting at the table with our lunches before us, pretending nothing major just happened. It's just another Saturday.
We're all feeling fragile. We eat, not really focusing on any food going in, or taste going down.
I frantically begin trying to remember, while they are still fresh, all of his words, so that I can recall them when the therapist asks. Each phrase I remember is another slice with the knife. I bleed for him. I pray, sometimes, that he will know the extent to which his father and I bleed for him. And then, I almost instantly regret that prayer. And instead, I pray that he never has to know.
I get up now, to go check on the progress of the iPad. We're still locked out.
Please God, Let it not be true with him.


text:
Nikil Ramanathan
Email alerts are an incredibly valuable tool for highly active internet users like yourselves. The tool is a great way for you to stay up to date with all the latest happenings in the news. Whether it's a specific topic you are interested in, or you just want to get the rundown of some of the latest happenings in the world, email alerts are a great tool for you.
In the broadest sense, email alerts are a method to stay informed on a topic of your choice. There are really two key kinds of email alerts as described by Professor Scott Moore. There are topical or organizational email alerts and there are search-based email alerts. Email alerts are best used in conjunction with other news resources.
For many people, reading the news is already a daily habit. Exploring the web for information is already something you have experience with and something you already do on a daily basis. But, like anything in life, sometimes you need some added structure to give you the best user experience. This is where email alerts can help provide you with the information you desire at a timeframe you want and can control. The structure is something many need in order to stay on top of the news. Additionally, there are so many different websites nowadays with so many different articles and so much different information that it's hard to keep track of everything in an orderly manner. Email alerts give the structure for this, but without losing the flexibility of collecting information from a wealth of sites.
While relatively self-explanatory, email alerts are best accessed through your email. Since they work on various platforms, you can set up email alerts for pretty much any major email site. The most common ones are Gmail and Yahoo, but hotmail and comcast among others have their own alerts capabilities as well. This makes it very easy to setup no matter what pre-existing email address you have.
If for some reason you don't have an email address yet, you should definitely make one before creating email alerts. Based on user experience with email alerts and the capabilities offered by various emails, a GMail account would be the recommended choice. You can do so by clicking here.
If you already have an email account, the best place to get started with email alerts is through Google. There are two ways to access them, depending on whether you are interested in a topical or organizational email alert or a search-based email alert.
The great thing about email is that it can be accessed on the go. While many check their email on their desktops or laptops at home, the increasing number of tablets and smartphone devices means greater access to email at a quicker pace. Furthermore, this means email alerts can be used for spontaneous and up-to-the-second updates. For those with smartphones, email alerts are an even more critical tool.
As the internet age continues and the age of information gives us more and more accessibility to information at the touch of a button, you have a responsibility to get that information the quickest and fastest way possible. Email alerts are certainly just one way to make this feasible.
Specialized search strategies
Email alerts are a basic search tool, but there are some key strategies to highlight that can help you maximize your use of them. One of the key types of email alerts are those that are broadly called "topical or organizational" email alerts. These types of email alerts can also be set up using a search-based query, but there are also a few specialized ways to do this.
Let's say you are a big follower of the technology industry. You read sites like Techcrunch, CNet, Mashable among others, but you are still finding it hard to stay on top of all the latest happenings in the technology world, as they are happening minute by minute. You want a way to stay in touch with all this information, but in one place. In comes email alerts. You've heard about the concept, but you don't know how to use it for what you want. You enjoy reading a lot of the articles on these sites, but you feel like some of these sites give you too much information and you want to specialize the types of articles you are reading.
The specialized search strategy is best used here. Let's say you want to follow specific topics in technology industry such as "tech stocks", "mobile computing" and "mobile apps." Instead of doing a basic google search for these topics, you can search these under many of Google's various tabs. For technology-related topics, it might be common to use "News", "Discussions" and "Blogs". "News" is a popular topic of choice for most people naturally, but often people overlook "discussions" and "blogs" which can give you opinions on various technological advancements and hardware that you may be interested in. To search under these categories, you will want to use the "more" pull-down menu on the google search screen.
This is a basic web search showing the various options. If you were to choose one of the aformentioned options as your method for the Google search, you then not only get access to Google's related searches at that moment in time, but you then have an option of creating an email alert for that specific topic. Google's search engine realizes that often people searching under news or blogs are often looking for constant information about a topic, and thus provides an option for adding an email alert at the bottom of the screen along with options regarding RSS Feeds. In Professor Scott Moore's video, "Email Alerts", this is evident in one of his searches, but for easy accessibility, you can see this option below when you search for "mobile computing" under the blogs pulldown filter.
Clicking on the "create an email alert for mobile computing" will take you to a new screen where you can set up an email alert. You can also make different choices about the timeliness and frequency of these alerts.
This is a specific specialized feature associated with Google email alerts. You will notice if you use Bing, that it also allows a place for you to sign up for an email alert when searching under News or Blogs. However, Yahoo's search engine does not have this capability. This is something to keep in mind if you do choose to sign up for email alerts.
The other search strategy you can employ when using email alerts is something that a lot of other chapters focus on and a lot of other articles as well and that is search engine queries. Certainly if you are doing a topical or organizational email alert, you will be searching for a specific organization or topic. But for various topics, choosing your words carefully can make a huge difference between the type of results you get in terms of your email alerts, especially if you elect to only get alerts on the best searches.
While someone may be interested in "mobile computing", another person may search for "mobile devices", "tablet market" or "smartphone industry" and get more limited results. Choosing your words is always important, but even for topic email alerts, the difference between one or two words can make a huge difference, even for people looking for similar articles. Not only are the initial news results typically different for "mobile computing" and "mobile devices", but thus the email results you receive in your inbox will be different as well. As Professor Scott Moore recommends, you should try out various search queries and various topics and set up email alerts for all of them. After exploring and experimenting, you'll be able to figure out which ones make sense and which ones you aren't reading or aren't finding the information you want. You can always remove and delete these alerts afterwards.
How to use
Email alerts can be used on various platforms in two central ways. There are various sites that allow for email alerts. The main one that has gained a brand name across the web is none other than Google. As illustrated earlier in this chapter, Google has a knack for coming up with the best interface and best search queries available on the web, and with email alerts, this holds true as well. Other places that can be used for email alerts are Yahoo!, Bing, Hotmail, but none seem to have the ethos and credibility attached to them that Google has.
As mentioned earlier, there are two main types of email alerts – topical or organizational email alerts, and search-based email alerts. Topical and organizational email alerts are very easy to use. They are best used as a way to stay up-to-date on a specific topic or organization. You can follow an organization on the web and get all the latest resources and information about the company or organization in real time. This way anytime an organization posts new information, you can find out instantly with a notification in your inbox. If following an organization isn't your thing, you can follow a specific topic that interests you. It's a great idea to try out various different topics and see what you enjoy the most. Then you can simply cancel certain email alerts and continue the ones you are getting benefit from.
If you are looking to use an email alert, setting this up is very easy. First, you want to go here and type in the search query you are looking for. This could be anything, but you want to try and be broad enough that you are getting strong results, but narrow enough that you don't get extraneous results. This definitely takes some guessing and checking and some experimenting, but over time you should be able to get a query that works well for you.
Next, there is a pulldown menu for result type. You can sort just by news, or blogs or videos or you can do everything. For some, they'll like the structure of only news, or only videos, but others will want to see all results, and that choice is really up to you.
The next pulldown menu is for how often you want to get these email alerts. The email alerts get sent straight into your email inbox, so depending on how you use email, you will want to set this accordingly. On Google, you can do it once a day, once a week, or as-it-happens. If you are an active email user and like to know breaking news and have access to email on your phone, as-it-happens might be right for you. A good compromise for people is usually once a day as it doesn't clog up your inbox with notifications, but it also allows you to keep up with the news for that topic accordingly. If you want to avoid getting your inbox cluttered everyday, then the email alerts weekly might be the best bet for you.
The next pulldown menu is for how many results you want to get. You can either get all results related to your query or only the best results. Again, this is an experiment. With some broad search queries and all results, you may get hundreds of links that may not all be relevant. However, with a specific search query and just the best results, you may only get a few daily. As Professor Scott Moore recommends in his lecture "Email Alerts", keeping this setting at all results at first and then narrowing it down once you see you are only reading the top results might be an appropriate measure to partake in.
The last part is where to deliver the email alerts. While it's been mentioned you get them directly to your inbox, if you are a more active user and want them delivered to your Google feed, you can do this. However, when you make it your feed, you are automatically implying that you want notifications "as-it-happens" so you'll want to make sure this is what you want.
While this covers the basic uses of search-based email alerts on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and others all have very similar and comparable formats. Google's alerts arguably do an even better job than others, and it is why theirs is highlighted in particular. The crux is the same however for all formats. You can set up alerts or notifications about different searches and topics and have them sent directly to one place – your email inbox. It is both valuable and feasible. This site is a great place to explore for setting up alerts for Bing. Yahoo is unique in that it actually gives you suggestions for popular topics such as fantasy football to get email alerts about.
One last part to mention is that you can always manage your alerts. This allows you to add email alerts whenever you want and at the same time remove any that you have found that have been unsuccessful. To manage your alerts is very easy. Simply go to your alerts page and click "manage alerts" here. Easy enough right?
Comparison with Google Web search
When looking at Google's Web search and comparing it to your standard email alerts, there are a few differences. In terms of the process, there are obvious differences. Email alerts are set up in advance one time and then the information comes to you when you want it; you do not need to constantly search. With Google's web search, when you are interested in finding out information about a topic, you must complete a search query every time you want information. Thus, email alerts are stronger in the sense that the information comes to you; you do not have to go out and seek it. Google searches are more valuable if you are looking for a specific query every time as sometimes the alert notifications can be more broad than you are looking for.
In terms of results, both a Google web search and email alerts are very comparable. Google web searches allow you to be more specific in terms of search queries since you are doing them at various points in time. Email alerts are typically a bit broader because you are trying to find more general information on a topic. Web search results are typically better for answers to specific questions or specific information about a certain topic. But if you are looking for general information about a given topic or organization, email alerts are comparable to a Google web search and provide the added convenience of having the information delivered to your inbox without having to constantly go seek it out.
Arguably, where Google web search really separates itself is with its diversity. While you can set up email alerts for "everything", typically people only use it for news alerts. Thus, with email alerts, you lose out on great videos, images, blogs and discussions that you can easily find through a basic Google web search. These could be critical components to a search depending on what you are researching or what kind of information you are trying to find. For example, let's say you had to do research for a collection project, which encompassed not only information sufficient for a research paper, but also audio, video, pictures and opinions on a class topic. In this case, setting email alerts might be minimally valuable, but certainly numerous Google web searches would provide you with the necessary information you are looking for.
How to get the most out of it
To get the most of email alerts is very simple. You simply need to take advantage of the settings it provides. Sign up for multiple email alerts; don't limit yourself. When you actually set up the alerts, be cognizant of the search queries you are entering, and evaluate it over time. See if the queries you are entering are giving you alerts and notifications and results that are strong and valuable or whether they are useless. If they are valuable, keep them. If they are not, remove them or try tailoring them more to what you want. Staying up on your alerts and managing them frequently at least initially is very important.
Experimentation is a critical component to get the most out of it. Seeing which searches work and which don't takes time and observation. Furthermore, seeing if alerts are the best way to get the information you are looking for is another thing you will have to determine over time.
Knowing when to use email alerts versus other techniques is vitally important as well. As mentioned before, the collection project would be a great example of a place where you probably AREN'T getting the most value out of email alerts. However, if you are maintaining a weekly blog with summaries and analysis of all the latest happenings in the 2012 NFL season, having a weekly email alert for the "2012 NFL season" might be exactly the way you can keep up with all the information and have one central place to access all of it.
One of the best ways to take advantage of email alerts is in the professional world. All of us at some point in our lives have interviewed or will interview with a school, company, or organization of some kind for a job or leadership position. One of the central and critical aspects of most of these types of interviews is knowing information about the place you are applying for. Whether it's a school or university, an organization or a company, knowing information about it could make or break your chance of landing the job.
Email alerts are an incredibly useful way to keep tabs on an organization. Say you have an interview with a company coming up in 2 weeks. You can set up a daily email alert for that organization so that you can get news and information about the company every day leading up to the interview. This way you have something to talk about during the interview and you are well-informed about the company and you have not had to seek out all this information the night before. Instead it is all collected and stored in your inbox in daily messages that keep you up-to-date with what the company has done recently and news about it. This might be the best way to get the most out of organizational email alerts. It could also be incredibly useful depending on your job. For equity research positions, where your team is in charge of 20 or 30 other companies, email alerts could be a great way to stay informed of what these companies are doing so you have all this information in one place for quick and easy access. Email alerts are critical for positions like these.
For the average internet user, email alerts might be best used to keep tabs on an industry that they are interested in, but otherwise wouldn't seek out. Perhaps you don't have time to read too much into the tech industry after school/work, and only have time to keep up to date with the latest happenings in the US and in the political world. Having email alerts coming to your inbox allow you to quickly peruse these links during a lunch break, right before or after work or class, or right before you head to sleep.
There are definitely places where email alerts may be lacking to a typical Google web search. For specific information and answers to questions, email alerts are not the best method of choice. Additionally, if you are trying to do a major research project that incorporates various topics and various sources, email alerts probably aren't going to be your best bet. While email alerts give you great access to certain topics, they are best used on a broad scale for personal and professional use. Email alerts are likely more useful in the professional workplace than perhaps in the classroom. Email alerts also can be hit or miss. Some search queries will bomb and return weak email alerts to your inbox and you will have to use time to manage these alerts and refine them constantly, whereas you may be able to solve this problem with a web search query on Google in a matter of minutes.
Email alerts are a great way to have information come to you. They are convenient because they only require an initial setup and not constant searching. They work best for organizations and companies you are interested in or specific industries. They are a critical component of the age of information and as we move more towards tablets and smartphones, having access to information through email makes browsing and finding information that much easier. With this evolution and progression towards quick access to information in a portable way, email alerts can only become more useful. Furthermore, email alerts are a huge part of the business world and as more new generation tech-savvy people start to infiltrate the business world, email alerts will start to have an even greater presence. Soon, they will become almost expected and required of analysts and associates at major financial institutions among other companies and organizations. There are pros and cons to everything and everyone has their own method of searching, finding and collecting information. Email alerts are just one way, but they can be quite valuable if they are used appropriately.
Bing Alerts, http://binged.it/YkvVND: Where to go and how to go about setting up Bing Alerts.
CNET, http://cnet.co/GJpsPn: Used for my analysis on receiving text alerts.
Google Alert, http://bit.ly/Xd03ZU: Image of the option Google provides to add an email alert.
Email Alert, http://bit.ly/Tu4cma: An image of an email alert for "Mobile Computing" on the Android.
"Email Alerts," http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tGJ8fcQZn-A: A brief lecture from Professor Scott Moore on the basics of email alerts.
GMail sign up, http://bit.ly/I5hu7E: How to sign up for a GMail account.
Google Alert, http://bit.ly/Ykqz50: This is an image of a Google Alert for "Mobile Computing."
Google Alert, http://bit.ly/Tz99xm: Image of a possible email alert for the "2012 NFL season."
Google Alerts, http://www.google.com/alerts: How to get started with an email alert. Some type of email is necessary.
Google Alerts Logo, http://bit.ly/WBjzu5: The official logo for Google alerts.
Google Search-based Alert, http://bit.ly/YktxXc: Google Alert search query results for today using "Mobile Computing" as an example.
Google Search-based Alert, http://www.google.com/alerts?t=4&q=mobile+computing&hl=en: Google Alert search query for Blogs using "Mobile Computing" as the example.
Google News Search, http://bit.ly/TAxbXX: "Mobile Computing" results when searching under the "News" tab.
Google News Search, http://bit.ly/11yhuU4: "Mobile Devices" results when searching under the "News" tab.
Google Support, http://bit.ly/Uxv5ZJ: How to use Google support to find the type of alert right for you.
Manage Google Alerts, http://www.google.com/alerts/manage: An image of where to go to manage your Google alerts.
Yahoo! Alerts, http://bit.ly/RsqSaG: Where to go to create a Yahoo! Alert.
About the Author
Nikil Ramanathan is a student at the University of Michigan. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He is currently enrolled in BIT 330 at the Ross School of Business. He has a passion for business, technology and education and in his free time, he enjoys watching sports and film, writing, and blogging.


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Conference Plenary Speakers
The Power of Collaboration in a Partisan Age
Humayun Javaid Chaudhry, DO, DSc (Hon), MS, MACP, MACOI
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.
Dr. Humayun Chaudhry is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the United States, which represents the nation's state medical licensing boards and co-sponsors the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). In September 2016, he began a two-year term as Chair of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA), which represents more than 118 member organizations from more than 48 nations.
Dr. Chaudhry is a graduate of New York University and the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine, and earned a Master's degree in Health Care Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. He did an internship at St. Barnabas Hospital, New York, followed by an ACGME-accredited residency in Internal Medicine at Winthrop-University Hospital, New York, where he spent an additional year as Chief Medical Resident. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine from 1996-2006 and of the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine from 2006-2016.
Dr. Chaudhry spent 14 years with the United States Air Force Reserve, rising to the rank of Major and serving as a Flight Surgeon attached to the 732nd Airlift Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. Dr. Chaudhry spent two years as Health Commissioner for Suffolk County, New York, overseeing 1,300 employees and a budget of $400 million. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, and is the co-author of two books: Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine, 4th edition and Medical Licensing and Discipline in America. In 2016, Dr. Chaudhry was recognized by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders in America.
Where to Turn When the Political Climate Heats Up
Amy Walter
National Editor
Cook Political Report
Over the past 19 years, Amy Walter has built a reputation as an accurate, objective, and insightful political analyst with unparalleled access to campaign insiders and decision-makers. Known as one of the best political journalists covering Washington, she is the national editor of the Cook Political Report and the former political director of ABC News. From 1997–2007, Walter served as senior editor of the Cook Political Report. She is also a regular panelist on NBC's Meet the Press, Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier, and CBS' Face the Nation. She provides political analysis every Monday evening for the PBS NewsHour.
In her presentations, Walter expertly breaks down the electoral process, congressional culture, and the Washington political scene. Her astuteness, wit, and range of expertise create an engaging, compelling presentation, and her reliable and accurate analysis has earned her numerous accolades. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Amy Walter takes audiences on an insider's tour of Washington through the eyes of the woman with her finger on the pulse of politics.
Political History. While at ABC, Walter oversaw the organization's political coverage – including the daily political tip sheet The Note, guided the editorial content of all political news, and provided on air analysis. She co-hosted 2012 election night coverage for the Yahoo!-ABC News Network with Good Morning America weekend anchor Dan Harris. She and Harris also anchored the live-streamed coverage for the presidential and vice presidential debates. Before ABC, she was the editor-in-chief of The Hotline, Washington's premier daily briefing on American politics. There she served as the political publication's primary voice for three years, and she provided regular analysis of the national political environment in her weekly National Journal column, On the Trail.
Walter has provided election night coverage and analysis since 1998 and was a member of CNN's Emmy-award winning election night team in 2006. She has also been a regular contributor to PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and has provided political analysis on virtually every major political program on television.
Accolades and Education. Named one of the "Top 50 Journalists" by Washingtonian magazine, Walter was dubbed one of the most powerful people in politics in George magazine for her insights into the mechanics that make the political machine run. She also won the Washington Post's Crystal Ball Award for her spot-on election predictions and has been frequently quoted as a congressional election expert in newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the New York Times. Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report, said, "Today, her work is trusted and respected by Democrats and Republicans alike. She knows how to get beyond bluster and spin to unearth – and explain – what really matters in a political arena. And, she has a proven track record of success, which is essential for those whose jobs depend on accurate political forecasting."
Walter graduated summa cum laude from Colby College and serves as a member of its Board of Trustees. She was also a fellow in the fall of 2013 at the University of Chicago's institute of politics.
Susan Dentzer
President and CEO
Network for Excellence in Health Innovation
Susan Dentzer is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the NEHI, the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization composed of more than 100 stakeholder organizations from across all key sectors of health and health care. NEHI's mission is to advance innovations that improve health, enhance the quality of health care, and achieve greater value for the money spent. With offices in Washington, DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, NEHI conducts independent, objective research and thought leadership to accelerate these innovations and bring about changes within health care and public policy.
One of the nation's most respected health and health policy thought leaders and journalists, and a frequent speaker and commentator on television and radio, including NPR, Dentzer previously served as senior policy adviser to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Prior to that, she was editor-in-chief of the journal Health Affairs, and from 1998 to 2008, she served as the on-air Health Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour.
Dentzer is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee, a leading humanitarian organization; a member of the board of directors of Research!America, which works to advance research to improve health; and a member of the board of directors of the Public Health Institute. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Hasting Center, an institution dedicated to bioethics and the public interest. She previously served as a public member of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
A graduate of Dartmouth, Dentzer formerly chaired the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, and is a member of the Board of Overseers of Dartmouth Medical School. She and her husband, Charles Alston, have three grown children, and live in Chevy Chase, MD.
Exhibitors & Sponsors
Exhibits & Sponsorships
301-968-4190 or 301-968-4189


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Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format- ebook
Source- Review copy
Publisher- self-published
Publication date- 2012
Synopsis- Lieutenant Noel Casey is taken aback by her newest military assignment. Her usual routine of vaccine development is interrupted when she's assigned to analyze Killian, a genetically engineered soldier designed for exceptional strength and intelligence. She's not accustomed to working with human subjects, especially a person created for warfare, and Killian's indifference is making it difficult to see past his robotic demeanor. When Noel is attacked outside Killian's containment quarters, he is forced to intervene. The altruistic act instantly transforms their relationship, though neither will admit to the shift in sentiment. The predator is now the protector in Noel's eyes, and she's thrown off by her growing captivation. As if her infatuation with a virtual stranger isn't enough of a distraction, she begins having terrifying nightmares. Her cryptic dreams appear to harbor an elusive warning as she watches them materialize into existence, proving the nightly visions foretelling. She starts to suspect the military base is concealing far more than an experimental soldier, and she can't shake the feeling Killian is the axis of the chaos. Noel must decide whether she'll accept the unconvincing explanations offered by her peers, or reject her comfortable environment for an unimaginable truth. With her premonitions pointing towards a violent outcome and her irrational draw to Killian becoming impossible to ignore, she realizes the choice has already been made for her. Noel's understanding of science is about to be shattered.
Review- When Lieutenant Noel Casey, a scientist is assigned to an isolated Military mission in Fort Braden she is of the belief that her scientific experience and skills are required. Instead, when she arrives at the male dominated military base, it is her intuitive and personal skills that are needed. She is assigned to determine whether a genetically engineered soldier, Killian, is loyal to his service prior to serving for the country.
Although, Noel is disgusted by the treatment of Killian, she is also fascinated by this handsome, strong and intelligent man. Initially he is indifferent towards her, but she is drawn to him and determined take her assignment seriously. But when Noel is attacked by a colleague, Killian comes to the rescue and her professional relationship with him becomes blurry. Despite her professional integrity, she is drawn to him; his candidness is reflected in her own open expression of feelings which surprises them both. At the base, Noel befriends playful lieutenant, Taylor who she has an immediate connection with and one of the only personnel she can trust. Most of the men at Fort Braden ogle her, especially Quinn who has his sadistic eyes set on her from the outset.
Noel realises she is quite vulnerable on the base and when she starts having vivid nightmares that come true, she wonders whether there's something else going on at Fort Braden that she is not being privy to.
I was instantly hooked with Decoy. The eerie setting of Fort Braden, the mysterious and intense Killian and fun, loyal Taylor made this a very interesting story. There's plenty of suspense and action and some twists that surprised me. Noel is a strong female protagonist, who is smart and fiercely independent. But those qualities are challenged when her feelings for Killian are sparked.
Decoy by indie author, Michaela Debulius is an intriguing start to a paranormal series and I look forward to reading more. With paranormal and fantasy elements, suspense and romance, it makes for a great addition to your virtual bookshelf .
3.5/5 rating
About the author: Hello. My name is Michaela, and I'm a paranormal romance writer. Originally from New England, I now live in Arizona with my husband and two furry children. As a child, books were a form of escapism. No matter what troubles may have found me I was only a page turn away from a place where bad people got punished, good people were rewarded, and everything ended with a happily-ever-after. I believe there is nothing better than a book that engrosses you. It should be so titillating you're thinking about it at work, relishing in the thought of getting home and snuggling into bed with a delicious three hundred pages of bliss. That is what I hope to offer you. Thank you for giving me that opportunity. Author Blog: http://www.michaeladebelius.com
The author has kindly offered THREE ebook copies of Decoy to give away to a follower of The Australian Bookshelf. This is an international giveaway. Entries close on 29th June at midnight (Syd time).
To enter please leave a comment with your email address to enter.


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The Bombay High Court Friday sought the response of Shapoorji Pallonji Pvt Ltd in a petition filed by managing trustee of Tata Trusts R Venkatramanan seeking to quash a notice issued by a lower court in a defamation complaint lodged against him by the company.
On October 11, a magistrate court issued process (notice) against Venkatramanan following a complaint of defamation filed by Shapoorji Pallonji Pvt Ltd under section 500 of the IPC.
Justice Mridula Bhatkar Friday directed the company to file its affidavit and posted Venkatramanan's petition for hearing on December 17.
In its complaint filed in September, the company had claimed that Venkatramanan, on May 30, issued a false, frivolous, baseless and defamatory press statement against it.
The statement was issued after the CBI lodged an FIR against Venkatramanan and others in the AirAsia alleged corruption case.
Venkatramanan, who is also a director with AirAsia India Ltd, in the press statement had refuted the allegations levelled against him.
He had further claimed that the FIR contained charges which he believes stem from the malicious and defamatory allegations made by former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry and Shapoorji Pallonji Pvt Ltd in their pleadings before the National Company Law Tribunal.
In his petition filed in the high court, Venkatramanan has claimed that a defamation complaint can only be filed by an aggrieved person and not by a company.
"Only a person who has directly or indirectly suffered his or her own reputation can move the court and file a complaint," it said.
The petition claimed the company has failed to show as to how it is a party aggrieved by the alleged defamatory press statement.
The petition has sought the high court's direction to quash and set aside the magistrate's order issuing process against Venkatramanan.
Source: Business Standards, December 7, 2018


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Sat, 10 September 2005
Late September Summer here in the Netherlands, lots of hi temperatures, lots of sweat and again some heavy thunderstorms last night...Like the music for today's show: uptempo with an unpredictable twist! Private Dancer brings you a nice groovy flow of (most)podsafe dancemusic followed by some serious chillout. Have a look into the 'songtext tab' in iTunes for the Music Cue Sheet. Don't pay attention to this cold I had while doing the show, you'll be sweating anyway!
Direct download: spacemusic-2005-09-10.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:33pm CEST


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Improving Academic Performance with Physical Fitness
Cincinnati, OH, June 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ -- Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence is beneficial for both physical and mental health throughout life. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that it may also play a key role in brain health and academic performance. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the independent and combined influence of components of physical fitness on academic performance.
Cardiorespiratory capacity, muscular strength, and motor ability are components of physical fitness that have documented potential to improve health, each of which may have different effects on the brain and, therefore, academic performance. According to Irene Esteban-Cornejo, MSc, Autonomous University of Madrid, "Because these physical fitness components are highly associated with each other, it is important to differentiate which physical fitness components are important in relation to academic performance."
The study sample included 2,038 Spanish children and adolescents (6-18 years of age) with complete data on physical fitness, body composition, and academic performance. Esteban-Cornejo and the UP & DOWN Study Group members found that cardiorespiratory capacity and motor ability, both independently and combined, were related to academic performance. However, the association of academic performance and physical fitness was stronger for motor ability than cardiorespiratory capacity, meaning that motor ability may be more important for academic performance. In contrast, children and adolescents who had both lower levels of cardiorespiratory capacity and motor ability had lower grades. Muscular strength was not independently associated with academic performance.
Although the combined components of physical fitness can influence academic performance, this study suggests that cardiorespiratory capacity and, to a greater extent, motor ability, may be greater influences. Notes Esteban-Cornejo, "Having high levels of cardiorespiratory and motor fitness may, to some extent, reduce the risk of school failure." Efforts should be made to promote physical activities for children and adolescents that involve aerobic exercises and motor tasks to enhance cardiorespiratory capacity and motor ability, thereby improving academic development.
Notes for editors
"Independent and combined influence of the components of physical fitness on academic performance in youth," by Irene Esteban-Cornejo, MSc, Carlos M. Tejero-González, PhD, David Martínez-Gómez, PhD, Juan del-Campo, PhD, Ana González-Galo, MSc, Carmen Padilla-Moledo, PhD, James F. Sallis, PhD, and Oscar L. Veiga, PhD, on behalf of UP & DOWN Study Group, appears in The Journal of Pediatrics, DOI 10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.04.044, published by Elsevier.
About The Journal of Pediatrics
The Journal of Pediatrics is a primary reference for the science and practice of pediatrics and its subspecialties. This authoritative resource of original, peer-reviewed articles oriented toward clinical practice helps physicians stay abreast of the latest and ever-changing developments in pediatric medicine. The Journal of Pediatrics is ranked 4th out of 121 pediatric medical journals (2012 Journal Citation Reports®, published by Thomson Reuters).
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make ground-breaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions — among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey — and publishes nearly 2,200 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and over 25,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works.
The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
Media contact
Becky Lindeman
+1 513 636 7140


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Captain Frederic John Walker (Johnnie Walker) on the bridge of HMS Starling leaving Gladstone Dock in WW2.
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Cartoon used with permission Michael Leunig
Time draws in on us
Maybe we can draw up time to ponder and wonder
Just maybe it is time to make time to have time
Take time to wonder and to ponder
Allow wonder to take you to a new place
Allow it to be … in you and with you
Allow a space where wonder is
and becomes a realm of your reality.
Ponder and Wonder ….
graces to be received and felt within.


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Teen gets prison for shooting police detective in the jaw
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A police detective who was shot in the jaw has lashed out at the teenager who pulled the trigger during an emotional sentencing hearing in the New York City suburbs.
The Journal News says Yonkers Det. Kayla Maher (mahr) told 19-year-old Frank Valencia on Friday that she hopes he never feels safe and always has to watch his back.
Judge Barry Warhit (WOHR'-hiht) pronounced a sentence of 24 years to life. The judge said it would be fine with him if the defendant never sees "the light of day."
Maher was shot in September 2017 while checking out a suspicious vehicle. Other officers rescued her during an ensuing gun battle.
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. called the shooting "an attack on the entire Yonkers police force."
Valencia says he hopes God can forgive him.
Information from: The Journal News, http://www.lohud.com