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Fame Jam
Wedges of half-eaten cheesecake form a circle in front of the people seated at the round table inside Madison Square Garden's Suite 200. As he walks in, David Falk quickly notices that George Steinbrenner, trademark white turtleneck and all, is standing next to the table. Falk puts his hand on the arm of the principal owner of the world champion New York Yankees.
"George, I'm David Falk. I just wanted to say hello," Falk says.
"Hi, David, are you in from Chicago?" asks Steinbrenner, a friend of cigar smoker Jerry Reinsdorf, principal owner of the world champion Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox, with whom Falk does a lot of business.
"No, from D.C.," Falk replies.
"Oh, you're in Washington," Steinbrenner says. After a few more pleasantries, Falk gets a pat on the arm from Steinbrenner and is off into the room that provides sanctuary to celebrities and VIPs during halftime of the game between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, two teams in which Falk has significant interests.
"We represent three players in this game," Falk says.
The 46-year-old Falk is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of FAME, or Falk Associates Management Enterprises. But in this room, David Falk, 6-foot-2 out of Syracuse followed by George Washington University Law, is better known as the agent to Knicks star Patrick Ewing, as well as Knicks rookie Walter McCarty. On the Rockets, FAME represents rookie Othella Harrington.
Soon after introducing himself to Steinbrenner, Falk is studying the crowd like a raptor. Not a Toronto Raptor, but one of the voracious deoxyribonucleosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park. This is not a bad thing to be in this room, where comedian Billy Crystal is holding court, Patrick McEnroe has people asking why he is no longer on the tennis court and Falk is getting something to eat because he won't be going to dinner until after the game being played on the court. Game? What game?
Falk is talking to Ken Ross, his friend and co-executive producer of the movie Space Jam, when a representative from the Nickelodeon network introduces herself and earnestly explains to Falk something about a new project that he might want to present to "Michael or Patrick." As in Jordan or Ewing. Falk is gracious. Hey, who knows? He tells the woman that he would be glad to look at the project and she should send it to him in Washington. Ms. Nickelodeon thanks Falk and is gone a matter of seconds before Andy from American Express virtually beams into her spot.
"David," Andy says, "remember me? I came down to Washington to talk to you about Michael?"
"Absolutely," Falk says, not missing a beat. "You need to make another trip down so that we can talk about Patrick."
"All right," Andy says. "Was everything OK with Michael?"
"Oh, yeah," Falk says, then pauses. He scans the room, then puts his arm around Andy and motions with his head for him to move to a quiet corner. Rob Urbach, FAME's vice president of marketing, walks over with them.
"Everybody's looking for action," Ken Ross says, chuckling and enjoying the show.
Representing so many players in one National Basketball Association game is not unusual for Falk and partners Curtis Polk, the 37-year-old president and chief operating officer of FAME as well as a lawyer and certified public accountant; and Michael Higgins, FAME's senior vice president, who turns 38 in May, who began his career as a Hollywood agent.
The three had worked together in the team sports division that Falk headed at Washington, D.C.'s ProServ, an agency that has traditionally focused on individual sports. They left in 1992 to form FAME so they could concentrate on representing athletes in team sports. Now, Falk, Polk and Higgins are the elite members of an increasingly important group in the sports world: the small cadre of financially sophisticated agents who possess marketing expertise. In a time of increasing competition for the entertainment dollar, they represent clients who have notoriously short careers and need to secure strong financial futures quickly. For the FAME partners, this all adds up to very long hours and between 150 and 200 days a year spent on the road. All three share a way to relax: they smoke premium cigars.
"I wouldn't say I'm a heavy smoker of cigars. I've probably smoked cigars on and off for about 10 years. Probably in the last three years I've gotten a good supply of up-brand cigars," says Falk, a man who, in his own field, is often instrumental in defining what the up-brands are. "It's like a good wine; you start to appreciate the better ones. I really started enjoying smoking cigars while playing cards. I'd say in the last year, I've probably smoked six a month. Normally, one or two a week. I love Cohibas and I love Hoyo de Monterreys. They're so smooth. You come to appreciate those things. Three or four years ago I wouldn't have known. I have a lot of Cohiba Robustos, and a friend gave me the longer Hoyo de Monterreys, the double corona."
While Falk doesn't smoke at home in front of his two daughters, he indulges himself on the road. He is careful, however, to pursue cigars as his own personal passion, and not merely because they have become trendy. "I'm almost fighting myself," he says, chuckling. Falk can afford as many of the best cigars that he wants, yet he says, "I don't want it to become a fad. I want to enjoy it. To me it's more like drinking a great wine. I don't drink it every day and I don't smoke a cigar every day. When I smoke them, I really enjoy them." He says smoking a cigar slowly helps him leave behind a bit of the "cutthroat world of celebrity representation."
Falk attributes the success of FAME to the diverse strengths of its partners. He considers that his major role is to bring experience, creativity and instincts to the partnership. "Curtis is my consigliere, if you will, and I think he's brilliant," Falk says. "I think he's strategic. I think he's analytical. And I think he's 100 percent committed to me and to this office. He advises, and I invariably follow his advice. I don't know that I always agree, but I invariably follow his advice.
"Then Michael comes in," he adds, referring to the graduate of the University of Southern California and Whittier Law School, who looks like an ex-football player. "Michael Higgins is probably much more of a people person than either of us." Higgins partied until 5:30 a.m. with a few of FAME's rookies during the All-Star break in Cleveland. To protect the innocent, the details cannot be reported. Falk praises Higgins' commitment and loyalty to the firm. "I'm a great believer that when you form a team, you should never be afraid to have people who have equal talents or even better talents than you do," says Falk.
No one doubts that, even though FAME is a partnership, it could easily be called "Team Falk." Basketball Digest has ranked Falk as the second-most powerful person in the NBA, subordinate only to league commissioner David Stern. Since 1991, The Sporting News has placed Falk in the top 32 on its list of the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports." And in 1995, Advertising Age named Falk one of the top 50 marketers in the United States. Falk enjoys the honors, but nevertheless believes that focusing on him sells FAME short.
"A player will gravitate to one person. It's not always to me. A lot of the younger players sort of gravitate to Mike. Like Bobby Hurley or Calbert Cheaney," Falk says, protesting that he gets too much of the credit. Then he lapses into coach language: "We present different looks. I think each of us could be successful in our own right, but to use the most overworked term of the decade, I think we have a synergy."
Synergy was very good for FAME last year. During a one-week period last summer, the company negotiated 13 salary contracts--for eight free agents and five rookies--that totaled $410 million. The players' union sets 4 percent as the maximum that agents can charge a player for negotiating a contract. At that rate, FAME's cut of the 13 contracts could be as much as $16.4 million (the partnership doesn't always charge the maximum fee).
Polk came up with the strategy and all the deals were handled from FAME's "war room." "We just set it up in our conference room and had a big chart, computers; we had all the numbers and we put up all the teams," Higgins recalls with delight. "We had six phones put in and everything. We had so many deals to negotiate. It's a discussion: 'All right, this is what's been put on the table. Are you talking to Houston?'" Each agent looked out for the interests of all the firm's clients, whether or not he had worked directly with a particular client, Higgins says. "I have a relationship with [president and general manager] Stu Jackson of the Vancouver Grizzlies who I talk to on a daily basis and who might have some [salary] cap room, and they might be interested in a Chris Gatling [now of the New Jersey Nets], and yet I don't work with Chris on a day-to-day basis. But I was talking to them about offering Chris a deal this summer, although we did a deal with Dallas."
Falk, Polk and Higgins were constantly on the phone while in simultaneous communication with each other--kind of a "three-headed monster," Higgins says.
The agents of FAME had to move fast. They did a deal for Michael Jordan first: 45 minutes, $30 million, one year. Nothin' but net. They made a pact for Bullets forward Juwan Howard to go to Miami for $101 million, then secured $105 million for Mourning with the same team. But the league later voided Howard's contract, ruling that Miami had violated the salary cap regulations. The decision left Howard without a contract and in serious jeopardy of taking a 50 percent pay cut because most of the teams by that time had considerably less room under the salary cap to match the $101 million agreement. Polk had to scramble to get a $105 million deal by which Howard would remain with the Bullets for seven years. Left out was Chapman, who had played for Miami the year before.
"We had a certain position because of the power of an Alonzo Mourning and Miami's desire to sign Juwan Howard to really leverage Miami and to force them to do Rex's deal first," Falk says. "Out of respect for Pat Riley--I said it before the thing started and I'll say it again, I have great respect for Pat Riley; there's no doubt he's one of the great coaches in the game and maybe one of the great coaches ever and he's very competitive and I respect that because so am I--I didn't want to leverage Pat Riley or [Heat owner] Mickey Arison. I think when we took the pressure off and [Riley] had a different vision of how he wanted to construct the team, I'm not sure that we brought maximum leverage to bear on behalf of Rex Chapman, so I thought I'd let him down."
Miami made offers that Chapman and Falk considered too low and Chapman ultimately landed in Phoenix with a one-year contract, still a FAME client, but not nearly as rich as he and his agent had hoped. What happened to Chapman is not Falk's first disappointment and it surely won't be his last, though usually they don't involve clients already in the FAME family.
"I would say that my greatest disappointment probably was not being selected by Grant Hill to represent him. I'm a huge fan of Grant Hill and his family," Falk says of the third-year Detroit Pistons guard. Hill's father is former Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill and his mother, Janet, is a high-powered Washington consultant. Hill has done quite well in the endorsement market, and his basketball talents are often compared with Jordan's at the same point in his career.
Falk says that it was his experience with Jordan--making mistakes and learning from them--that made him want to bring his knowledge to bear for Hill. "All of a sudden you have a young player who's very special and you don't have a chance to take all [your own] special, unique knowledge-- and it is unique-- and put it to work for him. It was a disappointment. I'm not angry about it."
Polk, a University of Maryland alumnus, describes a similar disappointment with U.M. forward Joe Smith: "I thought that Joe and I hit it off and could relate to each other very well. I had the advantage of being able to spend a lot of time with him because Maryland is just down the road here. I think that his college coach likes us and respects us and knows that we're good at what we do."
Polk says he feels that the agency sometimes loses players because others around them--family and friends--lead them into bad decisions based on their own agendas. "We tend to put a lot of heart into the effort to get the kids, and you feel that if they could really look at it on the merits, we should get [them as clients]."
A second-year player with the Golden State Warriors, Smith has yet to develop a large marketing portfolio. One wonders if Falk's and Polk's declarations of regret are not just telegraphed invitations to Detroit and Oakland: There's still room for you at FAME. Grant, babe! Joe, buddy! Guys, are you listening?
Sometimes simply having so many big fish as clients can dissuade new players from signing on, although Polk insists that FAME works equally hard for all its clients. FAME serves as agent to nearly 40 NBA players and another 15 in football, baseball and overseas basketball. Of these, of course, one stands out: Michael Jordan. Falk's representation of Jordan goes back more than a dozen years, even before he started his firm. He calls Jordan the most famous person in the world. Falk should know. By all accounts, much of Jordan's fame is due to the efforts of FAME.
"Most outside observers spend hours trying to analyze: 'Did Michael Jordan carry David Falk along for a nice ride for the past 12 years?' Other people wonder: 'Did Dr. Frankenstein Falk create Michael Jordan in a laboratory somewhere?' Michael and David haven't spent three minutes in 12 years worrying about it." Sitting in an overstuffed blue leather chair in his Washington office, Falk dismisses the question. "We just concluded that it's been great. For me, it's been a tremendous honor to have a chance to work with the greatest athlete in history, with someone I have great fondness for as a human being, for whom I have great respect as a man and whose loyalty to me personally I appreciate."
Working with FAME has helped make Michael Jordan a tremendously wealthy man, and there are clear indications that the partners of FAME are also doing quite well. Agents typically receive 20 percent of the revenue from endorsements and other off-the-court deals. By some estimates, Jordan has amassed close to $200 million from Nike, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, cologne and cartoons. Two of Jordan's recent non-basketball ventures were sheperded by FAME: "Michael Jordan," the fragrance made by the Beverly Hills designer Bijan, was cited as the best marketed product of 1996 by the American Marketing Association, and Jordan's first cinematic turn came last fall with Space Jam, an animated joint venture between FAME and Warner Brothers.
Understand that in no way does Falk take Jordan for granted. Any NBA player can say goodbye to his agent by giving 15 days' notice. And, according to Falk, his "business marriage" with Jordan did not start out as a particularly close one.
"I think for the first four or five years he intentionally kept me at arm's length, watching, evaluating," Falk remembers. "I think things happened probably after the fourth year where I passed muster. I think that it's a measure of his intelligence that he wouldn't press a button and sign with somebody and say, 'OK, I trust you now because I've signed with you.' He wanted me to prove myself, and I think that's exactly the way it should be. You've got to stand the test of time." Now they are friends who compete to exchange, um, compliments.
"A lot of people don't like David, but he's the best at what he does," Jordan told USA Today last year. "What he does is get underneath your skin, whoever he's negotiating with, because he figures out what your objectives are, your angles. He understands the market; he understands the players. He's a brash, arrogant, egotistical, aggressive negotiator, which is good, because when you have someone represent you, you want him to do that. Marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.' "
It is a measure of their closeness that Falk and Curtis Polk were among the few non-family members who gathered with Jordan after his father was murdered in North Carolina. It was soon after that the superstar had his stint in baseball's minor leagues. "Baseball is something Michael has always loved," Falk explains. "It was a challenge for him to play baseball and something that his father had encouraged him to do, actually after he won his first NBA championship. I thought it was terrific that someone who had accomplished everything that could possibly be accomplished in a career could take on a great new challenge to do something he truly loved."
The hiatus did little to diminish FAME's business or Jordan's stature as a celebrity. It might be argued that coming back to win a fourth NBA title may only have enhanced his appeal. If his salary as a player took a temporary dive, his endorsement income never skipped a beat.
Balls. FAME is really about balls. Lots of balls. Walking into the swank suite of offices in Washington's Chevy Chase Pavillion, one sees appliqués of footballs, baseballs and basketballs on the glass wall entrance. Real basketballs signed by FAME clients rest in glass cases shared with Wheaties boxes and huge basketball shoes endorsed by clients. Move back to Curtis Polk's office and there are jerseys from Patrick Ewing and Glen Rice in frames, alongside an animation cel from a Nike commercial. In Hollywood-hip, Curtis Polk is money, baby.
"Take Juwan Howard, for example," says Polk, who handled the second career contract of the Washington Bullets star, who turned out to be 1996's most sought-after and most embattled free agent. "The guy signs for $105 million and obviously he should be very set financially for the rest of his life based upon that. If you didn't do other aspects of work for him, you wouldn't have a lot to interact with him [about] over seven years.
"Where I think we really provide a lot of valuable services is in working with them after the contract and making sure that they don't go through their money, that they don't make bad investments, that they don't fall prey to people who are trying to take advantage of them, that we can insulate them from all the things that are going on around them."
This is the part of the business that fans and many reporters don't appreciate. Unlike a lot of agencies, FAME not only negotiates a player's contract, but also maintains a 25-person team of lawyers, financial planners, investment advisers, schedule makers, publicists and marketers. Financial planning and investment services are provided--for a minimum annual fee of $12,000--by a second company also named FAME, in this case "Financial Advisory Management Enterprises," which manages more than $130 million for about 18 clients.
It is a much-needed service in a world where players must concentrate almost solely on the game to succeed, but are confronted with a recruiting system that appeals to their sense of greed, while attracting parasites that show up as early as junior high school. As a result, many successful NBA candidates are ill-prepared to handle instant millionaire status and the microscopic attention and financial pitfalls that can come with it. As part of the service, Polk sits down with the players in a whirlwind accounting clinic and shows them on a spreadsheet where the money goes.
"Show him how much has to go to taxes. Forty-one percent, roughly, in federal taxes. State? Depends on where you live, but roughly 3 to 9 percent in state taxes. So it gets up to the high 40s, 50 percent. They pay us a few percent of the gross, union dues," Polk says. "Then I work with them on their expenses. Do they have a mortgage? Are they renting? Some of these guys have two places where they live, one in the city that they play in and another place, like their hometown where they grew up, [where they] live in the off-season. Maybe they're sending their parents some money every month. You know, they have certain expenses that are recurring every month, and we'll show them, after all is said and done, 'Here's what you have left.'"
Polk often draws up a budget for players and urges them to save because they will not be playing ball all their lives. The average length of service in the NBA is about five years. Polk says it's hard to tell anyone not to spend money, especially when you're talking about millions and the young player--more than half of the players in last year's draft were underclassmen--thinks that amount of money is going to last forever.
"The average person that we represent, if they can have 30 to 35 percent that they're saving, they're doing well," Polk estimates. "A guy at $100 million, I would hope that it's closer to 40 percent. If they spent a million dollars a year living, that's a great lifestyle. If half went to taxes and fees and whatnot, and they spent 10 percent, 40 percent's left. A guy saves $40 million of $100 million and he bought tax-free bonds and he got 5 percent." (In the beginning, players are generally risk-averse investors. ) "So, he's got two million a year coming in forever, but his $40 million's not gonna grow unless he saves some of that two million that comes in. That's one way to show a guy a very low-risk way of taking your money and using it to support a comfortable lifestyle for the next 30 or 40 years."
Most people hear about agents only when a player signs a one-year, $30 million contract or leaves a city to play for another team for more money. When that happens, agents typically get the blame. Sportswriters such as Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post refer to them in such endearing terms as "Benedict Arnold," "bird of prey" and "imperious." Who needs that?
"If you spend a lot of your time worrying about the criticism and defending yourself, you're not going to be able to do what you're hired to do," Falk says. "I won't say I like the criticism. I don't think it's a compliment if someone says you have your own agenda, but I think at the end of the day, the people I worry most about are the people I work for, and I don't think too many of them think I have my own agenda. I don't think any of them feel it."
When Falk needs advice on handling bad press, he turns to his own clients--Jordan and Ewing. "You don't have to defend yourself," Jordan has said on more than one occasion, according to Falk. "Your record speaks for itself."
Michael Higgins recalls talking to an old friend who lit into him about the evils visited upon the sports world by agents: "He goes, 'God, you guys rape and pillage!' " Higgins' response was simple: "If Jim Carrey can get $20 million for The Cable Guy, Michael Jordan making $30 million a year is not a big deal."
"We're always the first villain," adds Polk, who points out that newspapers rarely dedicate daily coverage to movie salaries, but almost always have a sports page in which coverage of money matters is routine. "We didn't walk in with ski masks on and a gun in our hands and say, 'We gotta have this much money.' These guys have the power to say no."
Falk's position is closer to a life-affirming mantra: "Sports is entertainment. The age where people say sports is like entertainment is over. Sports is entertainment. It's billion-dollar entertainment."
Business wasn't always so good in the NBA. Go back fewer than 20 years and the league was moribund. "In the '80s the NBA was perceived as too drug-infested, too black, [with] failing franchises," recalls Armen Keteyian, a cigar smoking sports correspondent for ABC News and co-author with Martin F. Dardis and Harvey Araton of Money Players: Days and Nights Inside the New NBA (Pocket Books Hardcover, $23.95). "It was sort of looked upon as the weak stepsister of the NFL and just sort of didn't have any image. It was dying."
But since David Stern became commissioner in 1984, the 50-year-old NBA has seen unprecedented expansion and astronomical revenue growth. The income created by spinoffs is incalculable, but the NBA licensing alone produces at least $1 billion a year by most estimates. It is, to borrow a phrase from Dick Vitale, Awesome, Baby!
But with economic gain has come, according to Araton, the loss of a "certain sense of family."
"The league was essentially like a mom-and-pop run operation," recalls Araton, who writes a sports column for The New York Times. "It's just become so big and so successful that it's now more like a giant corporation. The main focus of the league is really to sell, sell and sell. It's kind of the Nike of sports leagues. You know, Nike is push-push, drive-drive, sell-sell. The NBA is kind of along the same track: Put a logo on it, throw a couple of celebrities in, play some rock music or rap music, and just kind of throw it out there and let it be consumed."
It's hard to argue with the prosperity that this financial and marketing juggernaut has wrought, but Araton maintains that the standards of success have been diminished. "Jordan is in a league by himself," Araton says. "The guys like [Golden State Warrior] Latrell Sprewell and [Washington Bullet] Chris Webber and [L.A. Laker] Shaquille O'Neal, they're all corporate-manufactured superstars and celebrities. They basically reap the benefits that the early guys set up for them. Most people agree that they really haven't done anything to earn it. I know that the guys like Jordan and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird feel, in effect, that [the young players] are fabricated stars."
FAME is unquestionably in step with this "market-the-stars" philosophy, but its role is much more personal. Keteyian, who in 1991 co-wrote, with Alexander Wolff, Raw Recruits, which revealed the darker side of college recruiting, contends that FAME does business aggressively but honestly. "From everything I can see," says Keteyian, "David uses every bit of leverage he can to get his athletes the very best deal."
Fighting for its clients has sometimes meant very public battles between FAME and the league, including last year's much-publicized fight over the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. The uglier, very personal characterizations of the battle had Stern as the scourge of players' rights and Falk as the personification of the self-serving agent. While many players spoke out, the assumption was that Falk was putting words in the mouths of three of the more prominent dissidents, Jordan, Ewing and Mourning.
"That was certainly Falk versus Stern," says Keteyian, "but in both of their minds it's just business. It's all business and it's big, big, big, big, big, big, big business. Nothing personal."
In the end, the players ratified a revised collective bargaining agreement that lessened the restrictions placed on them. Basketball Digest wrote, "Although he didn't prevent the agreement from being ratified by the league's players, Falk played a significant role in leveraging the owners to secure a better deal for the players than was initially offered."
Falk disputes the size of his role, pointing out that everyone at these very high levels has advisers. "Patrick [Ewing] really was the leader, but all three [Ewing, Jordan and Mourning] were very active. Everybody basically accused them of being my mouthpiece and yet nobody would say that David Stern had a lawyer. He had an army of lawyers," Falk says. "I'm not a Svengali, I can't hypnotize them and make them follow a certain party line, but certainly I'm going to do my best to advise them of what's in their best interest, whether it's popular or unpopular publicly. That's my job."
Players notice how well FAME performs.
"If there's one thing of which NBA players are cognizant, it's money," Keteyian sums up. "When they see Juwan Howard get $105 million to stay in Washington or they see Alonzo Mourning sign a huge deal, they know who did the deal."
During a midseason game between the Washington Bullets and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, Michael Higgins is mildlyanguished by Washington's Calber Cheaney's form at the foul line. "What kind of shot is that?!" Higgins exclaims. "Ugly!" he answers himself, as the ball bounces off the rim. "You know, the coaches fool around with their shooting and they forget their natural form."
After the game, Higgins is on the opposite side of the USAir Arena exchanging hugs and kisses with Cheaney's family, fiancée and friends. He is waiting for Cheaney to emerge from the locker room, which only the Bullets place off limits to agents. Higgins wants to talk to Cheaney about how he is doing under the new Bullets coach, Bernie Bickerstaff. It's a quiet discussion near the stands and Cheaney is saying that things are going pretty well.
"You know, sometimes players don't play well with some teams, and when they go to another team, they just fit in better," Higgins says. "The same applies to coaches and their new teams, and the sports agents as well."
Shortly before lunch, the phone in Polk's office rings. Allen Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard, is on the line. Polk excuses himself and walks with the cordless phone to the door. "Allen, how you doin', buddy? Where are you, New York?" Polk says, his voice revealing his Brooklyn roots.
After hanging up with Iverson, Polk, Higgins and FAME's director of media services, Alyson Sadofsky, are in Polk's Lexus LX 450 on the way to lunch at Ozio, the downtown Washington cigar and martini bar where Polk and Falk have lockers and can find a safe place to light up.
"Only in the last two to three years have I started to smoke a little more socially," Polk says as he puts on his ever-cool Revo sunglasses while negotiating D.C.'s midday traffic. "You know, back then, '84, '85, if you tried to smoke anywhere--even when people weren't as hyper as they are now about cigarette smoking--they'd get on you for smoking cigars. Now in these buildings you can't smoke. I mean, I've heard stories about the 'smoking police' from a building coming into somebody's firm saying, 'Hey, we understand so-and-so's smoking a cigar in the building. This is a nonsmoking building.' Now there's a lot of restaurants and lounges where you can smoke cigars, so for the last two years I've gotten in the habit of smoking a couple a week.
"In the summer, I'll smoke two [double coronas] on the golf course and I'll try to play golf at least once a week," Polk adds. "I like smoking in the morning. A lot of times when I'm traveling, I'll wake up in the morning and if I'm not doing anything immediately, I'll just light up in my room and watch the news."
Polk shares Falk's taste for Cohibas and Hoyo double coronas, but says, "I'm a fast smoker. I just love to puff on it." He complains about how difficult it is to get his hands on large Cuban cigars, but confides that he has discovered a possible solution. "I've gotten friendly with a few people who work in embassies and they're really good people to know for cigars because they can bring them back in," he says, wondering whether it's a good idea to share this intelligence. "There's always somebody from an embassy who's bringing in a pouch."
"Growing up in Las Vegas," Higgins joins in, "everybody smoked cigars. I mean, I was probably a weekend warrior [smoker] in high school because my best friend's father was from Steubenville, Ohio, where all the gangsters came from," he says with a laugh.
"Steubenville, Ohio?" Polk asks, puzzled.
"Yeah, he was one of these guys that never didn't have a stogie in his mouth," Higgins says. "That was my first experience where you start trying cigars. I did a lot in college primarily because it was a weekend thing. I didn't know about Montecristos or Cohibas. You might have smoked a Macanudo or Partagas. There wasn't much of a variety, or at least I didn't know. Whatever you were handed or whatever you could get your hands on is what you smoked."
Higgins, who oversees FAME's basketball operations, says that he smokes more when he's on the road and will try to find good Cuban cigars when he's in Vancouver checking on Grizzlies client Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, or when he's in Toronto checking out the Raptors. "Nowadays, I'm in Vancouver a lot, Curtis goes to Toronto. You can go up there and get anything you want," Higgins says.
Polk, fresh off a visit to Canada, disagrees. "There's nothing in Toronto," he reports with some despair. "A price increase is going into effect, so people have just bought the shelves out."
Once inside Ozio, Polk proudly opens his locker and offers his companions their choice of several Cuban cigars. Higgins takes a Montecristo No. 3. Polk takes a Cohiba Robusto. Sadofsky accepts a small Dutch cigar, the third she will have ever smoked. Sitting down to lunch, Polk recommends the grilled chicken sandwich, then orders the pasta for himself. By the time lunch is served, he is already halfway through the cigar.
Halftime at the Garden, the Knicks are losing to the Rockets by three at the half and Falk is still upstairs in VIP land saying hello to people whose faces are familiar but whose names have evaporated. Relief comes when the second half starts and Falk returns with Ross to their courtside seats, about four down from Spike, eight down from Alec Baldwin, just around the corner from Woody and Soon-Yi, and a few rows in front of David Halberstam. The Knicks come back in an exciting, if sloppy, show to beat the Rockets by four. Minutes later, Falk is standing next to Ernie Grunfeld, the Knicks general manager (profiled in the Autumn 1996 Cigar Aficionado), in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Falk and Grunfeld are likely to be meeting a lot more after the season when Ewing's contract expires and he becomes a free agent. But there's time for that after the playoffs.
"A guy just gave me a Romeo y Julieta Churchill," Grunfeld says enthusiastically about the Cuban cigar. "It was great. You ever have one?"
"I like the Hoyo de Monterreys," Falk counters. Then he proudly pulls out a Dominican Fuente Fuente Opus X double corona. "I just got this tonight."
Grunfeld takes it out of Falk's hand and examines it admiringly. "What is this? Ooh, I never had one of these," he says. Falk is waiting to take Patrick Ewing and Othella Harrington to dinner. Now on opposing pro teams, they each played for Georgetown University, in different eras, under John Thompson, the only coach who is a FAME client. Critics claim that Thompson is FAME's pipeline to Hoyas players. It's now 11:10 p.m. Falk will not get to sleep before two.
"Having an agent is not so important in negotiating a contract, but it's tremendously important for the second contract," says Grunfeld, alluding to the league's wage scale that caps how much a rookie can make according to when he was picked in the draft. "Having the right agent," Grunfeld adds, motioning towards Falk, "is key in positioning a player and marketing him. Agents can really help players handle their business, but not all agents do that. A guy like David also helps the players take care of their money."
Harrington comes out of the locker room and starts walking with Falk and Ewing to the garage reserved for players and VIPs. The Rockets rookie agrees with Grunfeld about the value of getting a good agent.
"It's extremely important to get the right representation," Harrington says. "You know that if they're handling the business, you can concentrate on playing ball. It keeps your mind at ease." Harrington, the first pick in last year's second round, has convinced the experts with his play that he should have gone in the first round. Though he makes $220,000 under the terms of the rookie wage scale's minimum one-year contract, he is also included in a group endorsement deal with Signature Rookies and Classic trading cards worth about $30,000. He also has an unusual two-year "guaranteed-dollar" deal with Nike.
FAME's attention to Kerry Kittle's business interests is what has allowed him to emerge as "the best player" from the 1996 draft, according to his New Jersey Nets teammate Jayson Williams. "Some kids come in, they're worried about their sneakers, their commercials, their money," Williams, who does not use FAME, told Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News in January. "This kid [Kittles] loves to play, doesn't care anything about the business aspects, just loves to play ball. Of course, if you have David Falk representing you, why should you worry about business?"
Falk has many battle scars. He's been sued several times and so many bad things have been said about him, one would understand if he just cashed in his chips. But if anyone doubts that David Falk is a competitor of the first order, they don't understand his motivation for doing what he can to help his clients: "I think the American dream is to make as much money as you can and have a choice of what you want to do that makes you happy." Despite an overwhelming number of business possibilities, Falk isn't planning to expand the firm. Instead, he wants to spend more time with his family and his charity work--among other projects, producing a regional telethon for leukemia research and raising money for the United Negro College Fund.
As far as FAME's future is concerned, Falk and his colleagues plan to focus on generating post-NBA "opportunities" for the likes of superstars Jordan and Ewing. Falk has other goals: he wants his partners to get more of the credit for FAME's success; he may write a book about business; he would like FAME to be involved in making more movies. Most of all, Falk doesn't want to miss out on the rapidly expanding world of new media; he says FAME is uniquely positioned to capitalize on those opportunities.
"We would like to be, over the next 10 years, one of the groups that's instrumental in forging the marriage between sports as a sports form and entertainment as an entertainment form, to meld the two. I think Space Jam represents an effort in that direction. Our joint venture with Warner Brothers and the six players represents an effort in that direction," Falk says of the movie that had grossed more than $200 million worldwide through February, a figure that is still climbing (the numbers don't include video rentals and sales or merchandising). "We're investigating a number of opportunities right now. We're talking to some entertainment groups that want to be more in a sports environment," Falk adds. "I don't think we started it, but we want to be at the forefront of it."
In the category of opportunities, one potentially record-setting piece of FAME business is coming up this summer: Michael Jordan will be a free agent at the end of the season. Rest assured the Cohiba Robustos and Hoyo de Monterrey double coronas are ready for the celebration.
Alejandro Benes is a writer in Washington, D.C.


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Silver Eye Center for Photography
Call for Entries: Fellowship 2009 Competition
Deadline for Submissions Saturday, October 17, 2009
From the website:
Silver Eye Center for Photography invites photographers from across the globe to submit work to our Fellowship 2009 Competition. This year, our juror Andy Adams will select one photographer to receive a $3,500 award and a one-person exhibition in Silver Eye's main gallery in 2010. Ten honorable mentions will be awarded. These photographers will be invited to submit one work to the Fellowship 2009 exhibition. Must be a member to submit work.
Fellowship 2009 Competition
Silver Eye Center for Photography invites photographers to submit entries to our juried Fellowship competition and New Works Galleries in October 2009. You must be a current member of Silver Eye in order to enter. Also selected from these entries are the New Works Gallery and New Works Gallery Online exhibitors.
Submission Guidelines
Entries must be postmarked or delivered on or before Saturday, October 17, 2009 and be complete upon submission.
Mail or deliver to:
Fellowship 2009 Competition
Silver Eye Center for Photography
1015 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203 USA
Submissions are limited to ten images and must have been completed within the past three years. One cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work is highly recommended.
Submissions must be JPG files with a minimum 1000px wide image size. Assign a file name for each JPG that includes the checklist number and title of work. Label CD with your name and contact information. CDs will not be returned.
Entries must also include:
• Printed checklist identifying name of artist, contact information, title of work and /or series, date of work and /or series, medium, print size and size and method of presentation of work (including final framed dimensions, if applicable).
• Artist statement and short bio not to exceed one page.
Incorrectly formatted or corrupt files and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
For details click here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Whether you have big plans to traverse the globe or just a little hankering to get out of town, the most important part of the whole planning process is picking out where you're going to go. And there are a variety of chic, design-centric options out there to choose from. We're hardly suggesting this is a comprehensive list, but we are telling you that the 10 cities that follow (and the must-visits stops we're recommending for each) are our favorite stops around the globe, when it comes to style stalking.
And hey, even if the furthest you're planning to go today is from the couch to your TV (hey, it's called the laziest day of the year for a reason), we're thinking you'll enjoy the gorgeous, around-the-world eye candy, anyway. This is the stuff daydreams are made of, after all.
We already told you all about them, and as promised, the ladies of Fathom are now serving up some genius, real-life travel advice, here on R29. Follow them on Twitter @FathomWayToGo, tell them about your own travels on Facebook, and sign up for their weekly wanderlusty newsletter here.
Opener Image: Photographed by Piera Gelardi


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Do-It-Yourself Investing Gets Easy
Web-based experts tap the latest technology to offer cheaper advice
En español | After Bev Hollis got divorced four years ago, she made an unpleasant discovery: She didn't have enough money to cover her retirement.
Because her ex got the bulk of their investable assets, Hollis, 54, a veterinarian and pet photographer, found it hard to get the attention of the financial-planning firm the couple had used when they were married.
That company made its money through fees and commissions, and Hollis' account wasn't large enough to generate much income for the adviser.
"I felt like a smaller and smaller fish," recalls Hollis, who lives in Frederick, Md. "I needed someone to help me understand what was doable and what wasn't."
Hollis found that service at LearnVest, one of a new breed of digital financial firms that rely heavily on sophisticated technology — namely powerful computers and algorithms — to assess clients' financial situations and recommend investments. The idea is to let computers do what computers do best: analyze vast amounts of information and offer advice based on logic, rather than turn to brokers who may be trying to sell a particular product.
"An algorithm is reliable," says Jon Stein, founder and chief executive of one of these sites, Betterment. "It doesn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it doesn't have conflicts of interest, and it doesn't react to current events."
For a lot of people, good guidance doesn't have to come with a high price tag, says Michael Kitces, a partner at Pinnacle Advisory Group in Columbia, Md. Sites that simply review a portfolio, monitor it and make suggestions typically charge a flat fee depending on the amount invested, usually around just $20 a month. Those that go a step further and manage money, such as Betterment or Wealthfront, assess a charge of about 0.25 percent of the amount the client has invested with them. They generally provide a narrower range of services than comprehensive financial planners, though the pricing compares very favorably with what many advisers charge, which is typically $150 or more per hour or a fee equaling 1 percent of investments.
"Many of the new online financial tools represent a tremendous leap from what's been available for the past decade," says Kitces, who has studied online experts and blogs about their potential to change the shape of financial advice. Bob Veres, publisher of the San Diego–based Inside Information newsletter and website for financial advisers, sees the sites as a threat to those who aren't adding much value. Still, he doesn't think "robo-advisers" can replace the knowledge and personalized care a living, breathing financial planner provides.
"A lot of the calculation work that advisers do now can be automated," says Veres, "but the personalized advice that comes from it cannot."
There may be other drawbacks: The companies themselves are start-ups, and it's difficult to assess what their long-term performance will be. And not all start-ups survive. In fact, two digital wealth-management ventures backed by big companies — NestWise, a subsidiary of broker LPL Financial Holdings, and BloombergBlack, an investment advisory arm of the data and media giant Bloomberg LP — were shut down abruptly last year. While investors generally won't lose money managed by sites that close (because customer accounts are insured for up to $500,000 against bankruptcy and fraud), switching advisers is always disruptive.
Hollis used LearnVest to track all her financial accounts, construct a budget and connect with a certified financial planner who could answer questions about how much to save and where to invest. She filled out a detailed questionnaire and got back a 20-page plan with recommendations to increase her savings rate and keep her long-term care insurance. In follow-up phone calls, the two tackled other parts of her financial life — including her decision to sell her condo and rent for a while to free up more cash to invest. Hollis feels confident she'll be able to retire at 65 with 70 percent of her current income. "I'm in way better shape than I'd ever thought I'd be," she says.
While each company targets a slightly different audience, the sweet spot is the "mass affluent" — the 40 million or so U.S. households with assets between $100,000 and $1 million. It's a market many bigger, traditional financial-services companies are trying to reach: Vanguard Group, well known for its low-cost funds, gives free financial advice to investors with more than $500,000, and Schwab offers a financial plan to its clients for $2,000 (AARP members get a 20 percent discount). The new sites may also appeal to people with less than $100,000 to invest, since signing up is easy and often doesn't require switching accounts and big upfront costs.
Among the new players, Wealthfront and Betterment emphasize their software, which assesses clients' risk tolerance, analyzes their goals and constructs diversified portfolios for the money invested. Both firms allocate their customers' money among several low-cost exchange-traded funds primarily from Vanguard, then rebalance automatically so the ratio of stocks and bonds doesn't stray from the target mix.
Venture capitalist Kittu Kolluri, 50, of Saratoga, Calif., tried Wealthfront after hearing about it from his nephew. While most of Kolluri's wealth is still invested with a traditional adviser who gives him access to specialized investments such as private equity deals and hedge funds, Kolluri says his smaller Wealthfront account is earning returns as good as or better than the publicly traded stocks and bonds his regular adviser has picked.
Susan Shaffer, 67, of Yardley, Pa., tried a variety of traditional advisers before investing about $100,000 two years ago with Betterment. Shaffer, a manager for a pharmaceutical company, liked Betterment's low fees and its investment options. Some of Shaffer's previous advisers were "constantly moving funds around" — either from investment to investment or in and out of the stock market, she says. Others recommended she stick with a limited number of stocks or mutual funds. She was concerned she wasn't diversified enough, and the cost of all this active management was about 1 percent a year.
"The fees were higher," says Shaffer, "and I wasn't really seeing the returns."
What Wealthfront and Betterment don't do is provide comprehensive financial planning. Outside funds, such as 401(k) retirement savings or accounts at other brokerages, aren't tallied in their assessments.
But other new sites do look at the bigger picture. FutureAdvisor analyzes all of an investor's accounts for free. The site also offers ongoing management — for a fee — of accounts held at Fidelity or TD Ameritrade, as well as any accounts investors are willing to transfer to those brokerages, says CEO and cofounder Bo Lu.
Jemstep, meanwhile, focuses on retirement accounts. Though the site currently doesn't manage money, it provides monitoring and alerts to clients. SigFig analyzes portfolios for underperforming assets and recently added a service that will automatically implement its recommendations. The analysis is free, while fee-based management costs $10 per month for all accounts over $10,000.
Even sites that offer more complete analysis typically aren't providing comprehensive advice. The technology-focused services generally don't offer guidance about how to get the maximum Social Security benefit or how to determine what's your best savings withdrawal rate in retirement.
That's the bailiwick of firms like Personal Capital, an online money manager that merges technology with the human touch. People who invest over $100,000 are offered a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds and individual stocks, plus they're assigned a personal adviser to answer questions and provide guidance.
Those human advisers "are how we distinguish ourselves from the technology firms," says CEO and founder Bill Harris, a former head of PayPal and Intuit, "and technology is how we distinguish ourselves from the traditional advisers."
That high "touch" — the human component — comes at a price. Although Personal Capital provides free account-tracking software, hiring an adviser — reached via phone, email, video chat or instant messaging — triggers a fee.
Alexa von Tobel, who left Harvard Business School to start LearnVest in 2009, agrees that the human touch is needed. It's more important to offer advice, she says, than investments.
"For most people the problem isn't that they have an abundance of assets," von Tobel says. "They're living paycheck to paycheck. They need advice so they can have enough money to invest."
And while a lot of the services target younger people "who are more comfortable interacting with a mobile device than a person," says Inside Information's Veres, older investors are catching up. More than 600 of Wealthfront's nearly 6,000 investment clients are 50 or older; their accounts on average are greater than $150,000 — 50 percent larger than that of the site's typical client, says Adam Nash, chief operating officer of the Palo Alto, Calif.–based firm. "The baby boomers were the generation audacious enough to believe you don't need a full-service broker to place a trade over the phone," says Nash, referring to the advent of discount brokerage Charles Schwab in the 1970s. "They understand the value software can bring to create a low-cost portfolio that's smart about taxes."
Liz Weston is a freelance personal finance writer based in California and author of Deal With Your Debt.
Also of Interest
- Take charge of your money at 50, 60 and 70
- The best places to retire
- Get free help with your taxes with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide
Join AARP Today — Receive access to exclusive information, benefits and discounts


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Following widespread attacks and protests at US embassies in the Middle East in reaction to a film insulting Islam, several people have linked to a story from February by Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany. In the article, titled "Are They Really Religious?", Aswany criticizes Egyptian Muslims who follow the letter of their interpretation of Islamic law, but disregard basic human decency.
He cites the examples of a male pharmacist who refused to give an injection of insulin to an elderly diabetic woman because of "sharia", hospital employees leaving their patients unattended for hours so they could pray at a mosque during Ramadan, and Egyptian police officers insisting on letting their beards grow as Muhammad commanded after they had raped, tortured and killed protesters during the revolution. Aswany says:
True religion requires us to defend human values: truth, justice and freedom. This is the essence of religion and it is much more important than growing beards or giving the call to prayer in the Parliament chamber.
So, are these supposed hypocrites "really religious"? Yes, they are still religious. When people insist on spending hours in prayer, or protesting any insult against someone they consider a prophet of their faith, this is obviously driven by religious beliefs, and it is religious behavior. Considering this an act of hypocrisy, or something other than religious in nature, requires redefining religion to mean an idealized "true religion" that upholds a certain set of universal moral values. And while it may sound nice to say "religion is good, and when it's not, people are just doing it wrong", that simply isn't true.
If Aswany wants to denounce medical neglect, human rights violations, and "Egyptians who observe the superficial aspects of religion and pray regularly, but in their daily dealings are far from truthful and honest", then this is all certainly worthy of criticism in its own right. But just because something is bad doesn't mean it's not religious. In reality, religion is not synonymous with respect, honesty, fairness, tolerance, peace, freedom, the golden rule, or anything else that people might insist is a part of "true religion". Certainly, most sects of most religions will profess to hold most of these values, but in practice, their interpretations often leave exceptions wide enough to fly a plane through.
To claim that religion can only be responsible for good, and that anything terrible which results from it must not have been motivated by religion at all, would severely compromise our understanding of religion as a phenomenon and its role in shaping human behavior. If we recognize that people can be inspired to acts of extraordinary heroism and self-sacrifice by their beliefs about the foundation of existence and the ultimate purpose of humanity, what sense does it make to deny that these same beliefs could also drive people to commit acts of great evil which they think are actually good?
Even simply adhering to ideals of truth, justice and freedom still isn't enough to prevent some people from completely screwing things up when they put this into action. Why is it so implausible that someone's religious ideas about what's inherently good could in fact be utterly atrocious? A society that values shallow displays of piety over respect for human life has absolutely been influenced by religion. Bad religious behavior by religious people doesn't happen in spite of religion. It happens because of it, and it doesn't stop being religious when it starts being a problem.
Equating religion with ethical conduct, and the absence of religion with immorality, implies that non-religious people do not share the basic, humane values that are attributed to this "true religion" – or that if they do, they must indeed be religious. Neither is true. People of no religion are fully capable of acting ethically, and their ability to do so is not hindered by the absence of religious faith. It doesn't mean that they must be either secretly immoral or secretly religious. The lack of religion is not synonymous with a lack of morality, because godlessness and good behavior were never incompatible. The denial that religion could ever be responsible for any wrongdoing is not only false – it also unfairly maligns every person who doesn't need religion to know right from wrong.
Those who put their prayers before their patients, kill protesters while defending their beards, and attack embassies in the name of Muhammad have not failed to be religious. They've succeeded. And just because that success is in the fields of inhumanity, ignorance, frivolity and violence doesn't mean a lack of faith had anything to do with it.


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You might think my life is always totally glam, but I used to have horrible acne—deep, boiling pimples—the kind that hurts so badly, I didn't want to leave my house. My friends said they didn't notice, but I'd say, "It's the only thing anyone can see!" No amount of concealer and foundation could take away the texture of my skin, the embarrassment I felt, or the pain of those raging pimples. I was miserable.
At the same time, I was this skinny girl who could eat anything I wanted without gaining an ounce—so I did. If you really are what you eat, I would have been a bean burrito with extra cheese, extra sauce, no onions! Sometimes on a Friday-night drive-through run, I would order a double cheeseburger with french fries and onion rings. I was the poster child for being both skinny and unhealthy—and I had the zits to prove it.
I thought I'd tried everything to make my skin clear up, but I didn't realize all that fried, greasy, processed artificial crap was setting off a hormonal surge that sent my skin into crazy town! Once I cut out the junk, I saw such a major difference that I felt like an idiot. It not only cleared up my acne, but it also gave me this huge amount of energy. I realized our bodies are these amazing machines, created to be good to us when we're good to them. I could hear my body when it craved more veggies or water. I had energy to spare, which was something I'd never felt before. I couldn't believe I had been drowning out my natural cues for so long! I started reaching for avocados and tomatoes because they made me feel great. I went from focusing on how my face looked to focusing on all the awesome things my body is capable of.
For the first time, I really worked out. I got so strong, it made me want to see what else I could do too. I started surfing and snowboarding—I felt like I had the world at my fingertips. I'm not saying that I never indulge in onion rings anymore—the best part is that I do. When you start taking care of your body, you not only appreciate what it can do, but you appreciate those moment of treating yourself, too!
More From Seventeen
Sign Seventeen's Body Peace Treaty—and then live it!—at seventeen.com/bodypeace.


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In what might be the best random holiday EVER, June is National Candy Month! Since it sadly isn't very good for you to eat Swedish Fish all day long, the next best way to celebrate is with candy nail art. Celeb nail artist Kimmie Kyees designed this adorable mani inspired by old-school Candy Buttons, and shows you how to get the look in three easy steps.
You'll need...
Matte white polish, like OPI Nail Lacquer in Alpine Snow
More From Seventeen
Lime green polish, like Essie Nail Color in Mojito Madness
Bright yellow polish, like Orly Nail Laquer in Lemonade
Light pink polish, like OPI Nail Lacquer in Pink-Ing Of You
Baby blue polish, like Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barracuda
A clear top coat, like China Glaze No-Chip Top Coat
Cotton swabs, like Q-tips Precision Tips cotton swabs
1. Paint nails with matte white polish, and let dry completely.
2. Pour green, light blue, yellow, and pink polishes into separate sections on a paper plate.
3. Dip the end of a Q-tip with a pointed tip in the green polish and apply a straight line of vertical dots, from the cuticle to the free edge of each nail.
4. Repeat the process using a new Q-tip for the light blue, yellow, and pink polishes.
5. Apply the top coat to seal in the look.
What are you rocking on your nails? Tweet @seventeenmag your #ManicureMonday look, and we'll retweet our faves!
The Fault In Our Stars-Inspired Nail Art
Photo Credits: Q-tips/Tiffany Kyees


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Urban Grid Precast Grey
Aspecta Ten
Select Room
Urban Grid Precast Grey
A deceptively rich concrete detail, Urban Grid can enhance most design approaches, offering a versatile, contemporary dimension. The scale of this concrete patterning and the color range provide an expansive foil to any designer.
Environmental Features
Natural Materials
Environmental FeaturesUse of the relatively well-recognized characteristics of the natural world.
Natural Materials: Experiences within nature are not only pleasurable and positively effects our emotional well-being, they improve our physical health. Exposure to natural elements has been shown to increase comfort, reduce blood pressure and even benefit our creative and cognitive performance. The rich tones and intricate figuring of Aspecta's designs embody the natural elements of wood and stone, bringing the direct benefits of the natural world to our human experience in the built environment.
Natural Patterns and Processes
Information Richness
Natural Patterns and ProcessesEmphasis on the incorporation of properties found in nature.
Information Richness: Our human bodies thrive on experiences that engage our rich sensory system, with a preference for the complexity that nature provides. Biophilic design elements can mimic the patterns of nature, stimulating interest and provoking engagement. The layering of a variety of natural textures and patterns creates a deep layering of information for our brains and bodies to respond to, which in turn can facilitate our cognitive functioning, creativity, curiosity or imagination.
Product Details
|Total Thickness
|.394" (10mm)
|Plank/Tile Size
|17.64" x 35.67"
(448mm x 906mm)
|Wear Layer
|28mil (.7mm)
|Edge Detail
|Gloss Level
|Super Matte
|Sq. Ft. / Carton
|21.85 (2.03m2)
|Surface Finish
|Duraspect™ Extreme Surface Protectant
|25 Year Limited Commercial Warranty


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Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who was bringing along his 78-year-old mother for an appearance before the AARP's convention in New Orleans, reassured attendees that he and Romney care about senior citizens.
"Mitt Romney and I share your concerns," Ryan said in remarks prepared for delivery provided by the campaign in advance. "And we respect you enough to level with you. We respect all the people of this country enough to talk about the clear choices we face on Medicare, Social Security, the economy, and the kind of country our children will inherit."
Ryan argued that Obama's health care law has weakened Medicare, the popular federal entitlement program for seniors, and said the Republican ticket would give seniors more choice in their health care coverage if elected.
Americans 50 and over -- the age that qualifies for AARP membership -- are an especially important demographic for the candidates to persuade because they register in greater numbers those who are younger and are almost twice as likely to cast their ballot. An Associated Press-GfK poll that was released this week found Romney was favored by seniors likely to vote, 52 percent to 41 percent for Obama.
Obama planned to appear before Ryan live via satellite from Woodbridge, Va., where he was holding a rally Friday. He also tried to win seniors by beginning an ad Friday in Colorado, Florida and Iowa that argued Romney and Ryan would turn Medicare into a voucher program that could raise seniors' health costs by up to $6,400 a year.
Independent groups have said that a House Republican budget proposal led by Ryan could lead to higher costs for older Americans. But exactly how much is far from clear. The ad relies on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank, for the figure it cites.
Ryan said his plan would create competition among private insurance providers and bring down costs. "Our idea is to force insurance companies to compete against each other to better serve seniors, with more help for the poor and the sick -- and less help for the wealthy," Ryan said.
Obama's campaign tried to keep the focus on Romney's closed door remarks by releasing an online video that argued "Romney thinks more than half of senior citizens `don't `care for their lives."'
It played portions of the remarks that Romney delivered to donors while being secretly recorded in which he said nearly half of voters support Obama who pay no federal income tax, are dependent on government and believe they are victims. "My job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives," Romney said in the recording, made in May and published this week on the Mother Jones website.
Senior citizens receiving Medicare make up about 15 percent of those getting federal benefits; about 22 percent of those not paying income tax are seniors who get tax breaks that offset their income.
Obama's campaign video quoted seniors criticizing the remarks. "It offends me," one man says. "It puts me in that group. We have paid into Social Security all our working life and we therefore are getting what we invested in."
Romney was holding a campaign rally Friday in Nevada, where he was expected to continue pressing Obama on his comment that "you can't change Washington from the inside."
"I can change Washington," Romney said Thursday. "I will change Washington. We'll get the job done from the inside. Republicans and Democrats will come together."
The president's campaign countered quickly by noting that Romney said exactly that in 2007, when he was running for the 2008 Republican nomination: "I don't think you change Washington from the inside. I think you change it from the outside."
Polling shows Obama with a slight lead nationally, as well as in many of the eight or so battleground states that will decide the election. That includes Virginia, where Democrats with access to internal polling say Obama is up 3 or 4 percentage points over Romney in Virginia, a slimmer margin than in some recent public polling.
Obama has also pulled ahead of Romney in cash on hand, a key measure of a campaign's financial strength. The Democrat has more than $88 million to spend in the campaign's final weeks, while Romney has just over $50 million at his disposal.
Romney is facing criticism from some in his own party that he's spending too much time raising money and not enough time talking to voters in the eight or so battleground states that will decide the election. In response, his campaign added a Sunday rally in Colorado to his schedule and announced a three-day Ohio bus tour that kicks off Monday.
At the same time, his wife, Ann, said GOP critics should lay off. "Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring," she said Thursday evening in an interview with Radio Iowa.
"This is hard, and you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now, and it's an important election," she said. "And it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country."


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Hulu has been investing more and more in producing its own original series as well as securing exclusive rights to other shows—it's how the service plans to survive in the face of competition from Netflix and the cable companies. Here's a look at what's in store for you on Hulu this summer.
The trailer below offers our first look at Hulu's full slate of originals and exclusives. Hulu's also showing us previews for its exclusive content premiering next week, which look to be an entertaining mix of domestic and UK comedies. What we haven't seen yet are previews for Hulu's new original series, which include a variety show produced by Kevin Smith, and Up To Speed, a travel show by director Richard Linklater. Hulu told us that we don't have a preview for Kevin Smith's series because it will be shot on Fridays directly before the show airs—the first episode will debut June 4th. We don't have a preview for Linklater's show because it is still in production and will premiere in August.
Hulu Summer Series Trailer
The Yard
Two schoolyard gangs face off in this mockumentary mini-series, which originally aired on HBO Canada.
A rural pastor gets a promotion, and moves to a tough East London congregation.
Two teens deal with pregnancy after they hook up at a party.
Darren Brown: Inside Your Mind
British magician brings his psychological illusions and stunts to US audiences for the first time. (We're having trouble with the embed, click here to watch on Hulu.) [Hulu]


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Two D&D-related plays are running this April: SHE KILLS MONSTERS is at the Steppenwolf in Chicago until 4/21, and GOLDOR $ MYTHYKA: A HERO IS BORN is at the New Ohio Theater in New York until 4/27.
I haven't seen this one yet, but I can say that:
- it's based on a true story of a gamer couple who become folk heroes following "a theft so large and brazen that even law enforcement officials admit some admiration for it"
- the coverage in the NY Times that inspired the playwright is remarkable for presenting RPGs as the opposite of a predisposition to crime:"Mr. Dillon, who regularly led long sessions of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, dreamed of doing something grand with his life… Friends of Ms. Boyd and Mr. Dillon say they never drank alcohol, took drugs or smoked, preferring books, movies, music and role-playing games for entertainment."
- the play's production company, New Georges, is making a concerted effort to reach out to gamers, including a D&D page on their website and weekly pre-show games of D&D held in the theater every Friday at 7 pm
- this Friday the 19th I'll be running a scenario I developed for the Tower of Gygax, as this format's audience participation, short playtime, and fast turnover are great virtues in running games in unconventional settings. (Unfortunately I'll be arranging for another DM to fill my shoes on the 26th. Also unfortunately I didn't post this in time to say "hey go play with DM Andy Action of 2 Skinnee J's on the 12th!)
- if you want to check it out on any of these Fridays, they're offering complimentary tickets to the DMs to share with their gaming circles: I certainly plan to take them up on this offer at 8pm this Friday. See below for details!
New Georges presents
a new play by Lynn Rosen
developed with & directed by Shana Gold
APRIL 3 to 27
Wednesdays thru Saturdays @ 8pm Sundays @ 5pm
Mondays @ 7pm opens April 8
154 Christopher Street
(between Greenwich & Washington in the far West Village)
tickets $25 / $35 premium seats
Mondays: pay-what-you-will OR ROLL OF THE DIE (at the door only)
Fridays: enter the world of Dungeons & Dragons! starts at 7pm in the lobby; curated by D&D consultant Rusty Thelin
Sundays: late brunch! FREE McClure's Bloody Marys & crinkle-cut chips!
www.smarttix.com or call 212.868.4444
Fun and appropriate for kids, say, 12-ish and up!
WATCH, IF YOU DARETH, as love and hunger collide most fantastically with the elusive American dream. In hearty games of Dungeons & Dragons, young Bart and Holly escape the dreary reality of hauling money all day in armored transport vehicles. When jobs are lost and the boss starts looking at Holly funny, escape becomes reality, releasing Goldor & Mythyka upon the world. Thusly, lucre shall be heisted! Throngs shall cheer their criminal exploits!
And Have Nots will rule the day! Until…
I blogged about the premiere of this play at the Flea Theater before seeing it, but never got around to reporting "hey this is really awesome!" The frame story follows a woman who comes back to her home town after her younger sister's death in a car crash. Big sis finds little sis's D&D campaign notebook and, seeking to understand her better, convinces that gaming group to reform and run her through the adventure it describes.
Overall SHE KILLS MONSTERS is fantastic – funny, action-packed, and well written. If you're in Chicago at the right time, you wouldn't do wrong to invite anyone you know to go see it. For gamers in particular, you can be reassured that this is an accurate and sympathetic portrayal of the role-playing experience. Following one of the performances in NYC, I organized a panel about how RPGs relate to theatrical performance. Here are some reasons SHE KILLS MONSTERS is especially worth checking out in this light:
The frame story allows the audience to be led through the process of learning what a RPG is about. Our viewpoint character is initially awkward about sitting down and playing let's pretend with her sister's friends. As she gets into it, the staging has her and the GM sitting and talking while in the background the events described are being acted out. Soon big sis is fully into the fantasy – the actor is dressed up like the character, grooving on killing monsters as promised – and then the play cuts back to the mundane reality of being in a room rolling dice.
A gaming group is first and foremost a social gathering. I'm aware of being in a room with other human beings with whom I'm looking to have a good time. Part of the enjoyment of the game is then appreciating the imaginative performance of these people; I'm not just cheering the hobbit Lucky as he delivers the killing shot to the Beast Lord, I'm also moved by his player Quendalon's description of these events. To the extent that the game is immersive and compelling, I care about Lucky and want to learn about how he overcomes challenges. Still, this is just a shadow of how much I care about my friends and want to get to know them better through the lens of gaming. The narrative of SHE KILLS MONSTERS gets this right – little sis's gaming notebooks and the stories told about her by her gaming group reveal an inner self otherwise hidden from the world – but it's the way this story is told through the medium of the theater that sells me on the idea.
In a film like Heavenly Creatures which likewise plays with the link between reality and imagination, the fantasy sequences are neither more nor less real than the depictions of the people imagining them. Special effects aside, both are just images flickering at 60 frames a second. As a rule, I prefer watching movies to seeing a play because the awareness that I'm seeing people acting dramatical tends to inhibit my immersion into the story. As a way to explore what a RPG is like, though, theater seems to me exactly the right tool for the job.
As the audience for a play, I'm normally judgemental: watching people act rarely convinces me I'm seeing another reality the way the illusions of film can. When playing a RPG, I'm not just a spectator evaluating others, I'm also a participant eagerly trying to get to another reality. The need to be forgiving of my own ham acting in the service of this goal means that I'm full of charity and good will towards my other players' own turns on the imaginary stage.
In the frame story, I'm aware that I'm watching someone on a stage, acting out the hesitancy faced by someone who wants to be cool and adult as they try to get into the silliness of playing a RPG. When I see the character they're playing starting to sink their teeth into the game, and then in the next scene the actor is dressed like the character in the role-playing game going wild with the stage fighting and whooping out over-the-top battle cries, it's a great dramatization of why RPGs are awesome. Here is Zak's famous observation about ironic distance in the form of a play; I'm simultaneously aware that I'm seeing a person, and seeing a person pretend to be something they're not, and in my mind's eye seeing the thing they're pretending to be. Being a gamer trains me to cheer on this process and do everything I can to help with the make believe, and being a good play means that SHE KILLS MONSTERS keeps getting energy out of the frame shifts the same way that a RPG feeds on breaking the action to make out-of-character jokes or to admire the fact that it's your friend who is coming up with these wild inventions and impromptu dialogue.
In the panel after the show, we talked a bunch about the idea that a key difference between RPGs and other theatrical forms is the way that RPGs combine spectator and audience. Nick Fortugno said that plays have to be good in an Apollonian sense, worthy of being held up for objective appraisal; trying to appeal to some imaginary audience of theater critics would immediately squelch a roleplaying game. SHE KILLS MONSTERS appealed to me as a gamer because it showed the process of conjuring an imaginary space, but at the end of the night I realized that it also appealed to my desire as an audience member to sit back and be entertained by people more talented than me, at no effort to myself.
If one of the high moments of your play is going to be a puppetry gelatinous cube, it helps to have the audience in the mindframe of gamers eager to imagine that the GM's amateurish sketch is whatever it's supposed to be. But I wouldn't pay for the experience of being a spectator for the exact same roleplaying session twice, and if I were going to be anywhere near Chicago this week I'd eagerly see SHE KILLS MONSTERS again.


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Known as the capital of Provence Verte (Green Provence), the sizable town of Brignoles makes an excellent starting point for day trips around the interior of the Var region.
We were lucky enough to stumble-upon Brignoles' large (biggest I've experienced) Provençal market one sunny Saturday in July. And talk about a lively place. If you don't get drawn-in by the chatty salami-sellers, you just might fancy sampling a few of the local products on sale along the sprawling marche.
There's also a covered area with food stalls where you can pick-up roasted chickens or plates of paella for a quick lunch-on-the-go. Although we found the pretty town square a better choice for a lazy, afternoon nosh.The market boasts an interesting selection of Provençal products; including some potent liqueurs and some "brews" that seemed downright particular to Provence Verte (ie. beware of locals baring gifts…or vats of fig wine). Bon shopping!
Town-center of Brignoles, Place Caramy 83170 (on the map).
Wednesday and Saturday from 08:00 to 12:00.
Foodstuffs from Provence (olive oil, honey, cured meats, liqueurs), fruits & vegetables, Italian products, & clothing. Also a sizable flower market on Saturday mornings.
Special Interest:
Villages to visit near Brignoles: Correns (1st organic village in France), Barjols (the "Tivoli" of Provence), or tour the famous Abbey at nearby Thoronet. Don't forget to check-out a few wine estates in the area – including Domaine des Annibals , bronze & gold award recipients for their rosé & white wines at Concours Général Agricole de Paris 2011 and Concours des Grands Vins de Macon 2010.


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Alumnae Association of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing Establishes $100,000 Endowment
March 28, 2011
The Alumnae Association of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing (New York City) established an endowment fund with the American Indian College Fund to provide annual scholarships each spring to Native nursing students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing program at Salish Kootenai Tribal College in Pablo, Montana.
The School of Nursing was established in 1888 and the Alumnae Association was incorporated in 1898. Since then more than 4,000 graduates proudly wore the distinctive cap and pin that were emblematic of the finest in nursing education for the era. The school was closed in 1974, reflecting the end of the hospital-based diploma era, yet the association and alumnae remain committed to the advancement of the nursing profession.
"The Alumnae Association of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing has chosen to create a lasting legacy based on its rich tradition of public service stretching back to the school's founding in the late 1800s," said Lee Keppel Carr, an alumna of the school and member of the association. "Endowing a baccalaureate scholarship in nursing at Salish Kootenai Tribal College through the American Indian College Fund will pay tribute to this distinguished history that has provided graduates with a way to improve the circumstances in their personal lives and the health of their communities. We do not have huge resources, but we can plant a seed and ensure that St. Luke's will be a vital influence and presence in the academic preparation of Native students for the nursing profession long into the future," Carr said.
Judi Gott, an American Indian College Fund supporter and member of The Alumna Association of St. Luke's said, "After visiting the nursing department at Salish Kootenai College in Montana in 2002, I was deeply moved by the importance and the dedication of the Native nursing students at this wonderful tribal college. The experience and enthusiasm of the students brought back the pride I felt at having graduated from St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in 1960. A diploma empowered these nursing students' dreams and hopes, successes and accomplishments. How fitting and touching it might be for St. Luke's to help make this happen!"
Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund said, "We are delighted at the generosity of The Alumnae Association of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing. American Indians suffer from some of the most severe health conditions in the nation. This scholarship will help nursing students at Salish Kootenai College achieve their dreams while providing hope to their communities."


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In the quest for self-control of their websites, many people go to WordPress, Blogger, GoDaddy, Drupal, Joomla, or one of the many "free template" services, and sign up for free websites that they can "manage" themselves. In some cases, there is nothing wrong with that!
What you can get through these blog services or "free website" services is a cookie cutter, simple design in an empty shell, void of content or originality. How you get that simple design live on the web is entirely up to you, literally. You can buy space on a cloud server somewhere for a monthly fee, but you need to figure out how to get your website onto that server. You can purchase your own web address, but you need to figure out how to point that web address to your simple website on the server you've chosen. What these services won't offer is help – help getting your site live, help learning how to use their site editor system, help putting a contact form on your site, help uploading images or documents to your site, help putting your facebook widget on your site, help getting your pages to look the way you want them to, or help when your site gets hacked (which these free services are notorious for)!
The company I work for has a better solution, complete with all the necessary "help" and security: BytePages.com
To get an idea what the CMS is like, go ahead and review our Help Docs website.


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Monday, February 1, 2010
Prawn Cracker Fritter
I like this prawn cracker fritter, this is so addictive that once you have started to eat, you will be non-stop eating it. The taste actually is like those prawn cracker that you can get it from the supermarket but cut into strip, like french fries.
I used to get it from Jakarta as I didnt see any store in Singapore selling it but since last year, I saw Phoon Huat also selling but of course getting from Jakarta is still cheaper.
I bought a packet from Jakarta but was kept for quite sometimes and finally my helper took it out to deep fry for CNY.
Posted by Bakericious at 7:26 AM
Labels: Snack
1 comment:
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the Winter of our Discontent | by Jay
It strikes me, after a couple of drinks, that we might actually be witnessing a classical 5-act dramatic structure unfolding before us. After setting the stage in the first two acts, our protagonist has suffered a stunning reversal of luck in Act III, and has been trying to pull himself out of it during the falling action of Act IV. The narrative, like all narratives do, will reach a dénouement in Act V.
The only question to ponder...are we watching a comedy, or a tragedy?


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Getting firsthand information from an actual car owner is one sure way to get an idea of car performance once it leaves the lot. Autobytel features real consumer reviews that give the unbiased experience of a car.
Pros: Smooth
Cons: no heated seats...going to buy aftermarket!
Advice: good deals are out there..just gotta deal!Love it! Love it! Smooth, comfy, luxurious ride. The interior is so rich looking with the leather and wood trim. This is my first SUV so it's taking a little getting used to stepping UP into the vehicle rather than bending down into a car. My husband is so happy I went with the Bravada. Test drove Trailblazer's too, but the ride and interior and extra's the Bravada offers, was too much to resist. Too bad Oldsmobile is discontinuing them! Just hope gas prices don't go much higher. I do feel it in the wallet a bit but it won't stop me from driving in luxury!
Pros: engine
Cons: seats are a little to hard
Advice: I bought my 2003 at the end of 2003 (dec) and got a really great buyExcellent power from engine, and very large inside
Pros: Driver/Passenger front and back room
Cons: THEY LIE WHEN THEY SAY THE MILEAGE!!! It is worse than listed
Advice: Make sure you drive the Mercedes ML320 and the Inifiti QX4, more expensive but not as nice.This was the first American vehicle I have owned, and was apprehensive to say the least. I am 6'4', 210 lbs. and have a hard time finding something to fit. The power is excellent, the comfort is great. Wish they had side bolsters on the seats. The 'bun/back' warmers heat up quick, while the stereo is superb. Definitely look at this vehicle if looking for mid-size SUV. The air compressor hose in the back is nice feature for belly-boat and basketballs, etc. Rides like a luxury car, but corners better than the 4Runner I owned. Definitely rides better. Towing and going up hills is great, no loss of power. Do miss the LOW-GEAR 4wheel drive, but haven't needed it yet. Enough space in rear passenger to sit someone my size, in comfort. Better seats than the Infiniti QX4, and definitely more ameneties and handles better than the Mercedes ML320. People look at me funny when I say I am 32 yrs old, and own an Oldsmobile, but when they drive it, they love the I6 Vortec, and 270 hp. I did drive all SUV from Rav4-Expeditions and all inbetween. As a helpful hint, I did up a sheet with all the things car-magazines tested, and ratings: from mirrors, visibility, and acceleration. The sheet was used whenever we tested a vehicle, and this car came out on top. Yes, even thought it is an American vehicle...
Pros: The ride
Cons: 17 gallon fuel tank
Advice: Great deals out there, expect 20% off of list. Take the $1,000.00 refund on the waranty reduction to 36k miles & buy a 100K mile , 7 year for the same cost.Smooth as silk, great power & ride. Very well equiped & detailed. The Silver Green color gets many favorable comments. Handles excellent in snow & ice. The fully automatic memory system allows you to turn the key & drive. Climate control, defrosting, driver seats & mirror position, headlights, ect. are completely automatic.The stories floating around about the Bravada handling poorly are pure mitholigy. But what's up with that 17 gallon fuel tank?? Voice activated telephone is a great touch!
Pros: The perforated leather seating. Top Quality!
Cons: No third row seating, but I don't think I would need it.
Advice: MSRP is a thing of the past....deal, deal, dealMy Bravada is just the right size and was by far, the most comfortable of all the SUV models I drove. The quality is top notch. For a large vehicle, the cornering and stopping ability is sports car like. I am looking forward to many years of driving pleasure.
Pros: separate heated seat and back
Cons: no mute button for the radio on the steering column, I had that on my Grand Prix and I miss that feature
Advice: Make sure the seat belt situation is something you are happy withIt's fun to drive! It's very comfortable, sporty yet elegant. I am very pleased with my choice. The Bose stereo sounds great. The only problem I've experienced is that the passenger side seat belt locks up as soon as it's fastened, you can't even reach the glove box or radio. I've contacted Olds and they tell me this is normal operation, if so, I am not at all pleased. Seat belts are not supposed to lock up that tightly unless there is a sudden stop. Other than that, I say 'go for it!'


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FREEPORT, Maine — Following a recent Town Council appropriation, the town's shellfish community has started what is being called a "historic" effort to address the rapid disappearance of soft-shell clams.
The effort is the first comprehensive, large-scale research project in Maine to study the most significant factors believed to be contributing to the decline of shellfish resources, said Brian Beal, a professor at the University of Maine at Machias and one of the scientists working on the project.
"To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any community that has raised this much money for a shellfish research project, ever," he said. "(It) underscores the commitment by the town to this very important commercial resource that they co-manage with the state of Maine."
One of the main focuses of the study, along with ocean acidification, is to determine what the impact is of the clam predator and invasive species known as the green crab. The crabs eat spat, which are clams in early larval stage.
Clammers, who have been anecdotally documenting green crabs devouring the clam populations for the last few years, are now getting a chance to put defensive measures in place with this project. They also hope to get some reassurance from the scientific data that the defensive measures work.
In the past, green crabs have been reduced by extended cold periods. But now a warming climate has led to unprecedented increases in water temperatures, allowing the invasive species to prosper and grow without barriers.
Crab traps are being strategically set in the Harraseeket River to catch the crabs. There are also plans to run 18-inch tall fencing, pounded into the mud, blocking off specific coves to set up control areas.
The fencing portion is on hold pending a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected soon.
The fencing is intended to keep crabs from getting into the productive clam flat areas and eating all the spat before it can settle, clammer Clint Goodenow said.
"We're hoping that if we put a fence across and have the traps out, we'll slow down some green crabs so the spat settle in and maybe survive," he said.
To allow for fish passage, the fencing will have sections with gaps, although a pit trap will be placed in each of those areas to help prevent crabs from sneaking into the sectioned-off areas.
The state has previously conducted green crab fencing programs, but never on this large a scale, Beal said. And with state budget cuts, funding for the program is no longer available.
Instead, the town is footing the bill. The Town Council approved an up to $67,000 appropriation in the fiscal 2014 budget, and an initial $35,000 spending for the project in the next budget.
Goodenow said while they have not received the permit for fencing, clammers and other fishermen have been rigging traps to prepare for the project.
They plan to deploy about 100 traps and will fish most of them in coordination with the research project. Others will be aimed at attempting to remove as many crabs from the flats as possible, Goodenow said.
On Friday, he said, a group walked along one of the clam flat coves and lifted up the sod on the banks of the river, revealing hundreds of scurrying crabs.
"It was almost like a horror movie when we moved the sod, there were hundreds of them crawling around so fast," Goodenow said.
The lower tidal areas of the Harraseeket River are traditionally where clammers have harvested. But in recent years, the clams in those areas have all but disappeared, forcing them to move to previously unharvested upper intertidal areas.
Goodenow said he and other clammers hope the defensive measures prove successful and that they'll be able to determine better and more effective methods to keep green crabs out of the flats once the research is complete.
"At this point we don't see any other options," he said. "If we can't do something to protect the spat … I don't what we'll do. It seems all doom and gloom unless this works."
He said the crabs are not going to go away, but he hopes this project will help keep the populations low enough in the still remaining productive flats to allow enough clams to survive.
"I hope we can say look 'we can protect this cove enough and still make a living,'" Goodenow said.
The project will also attempt to measure the effects of other clam culprits, notably ocean acidification, which can lead to acidity levels that dissolve clams.
Toward that effort, another piece of the study will be conducted by Darcie Couture, lead scientist and principal at Brunswick-based Resource Access International.
Couture's work costs $40,000, with the cost shared equally by the state and town.
The study will work in coordination with the trapping and fencing, but will also try to determine the effectiveness of ocean acidification mitigation practices by testing methods like turning over sections of mud to see if it improves quality of sediment. In addition, researchers will spread pulverized clam shells along the shore, which has been shown to reduce acidity and provide refuge for young clams, Couture said.
At the end of the season, Couture said they will layout plans to launch what their research reveals would be the best strategies for mitigation.
She said the project could serve as a model for other towns seeing similar problems with their clam flats.
"This project has the potential to have a big impact on the entire region," Couture said. "The results we get from the study will weed out what doesn't work, so other towns don't have to waste time on things that don't look promising."
She said this is really the first concentrated scientific effort to corroborate anecdotes from people working in the industry.
After months of discussion with the council about getting funding for the project, the fencing permit is now the final remaining hurdle.
"We're literally waiting and ready to go," Couture said. "We've got the gear ready, the staff is ready. We're ready to go jump in."


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This is pathetic. Motorola and HTC, with their circus vixen's arsenal of makeup slathered over Google's native UI, ought to be ashamed. This idiotic LG/Prada luxury phone that nobody will buy has one thing going for it: it looks nice.
The hardware is nothing special—black rectangle, tacky branded back, gloss, etc. A phone made for dummies who trade money for objects solely because of certain words robotically stamped on the casing. A plastic wink from a sad model on amphetamines.
But the skinned version of Gingerbread underneath eschews all the aesthetic horrors, the orgiastic widget-dom of MOTOBLUR and Sense. Prada (or whoever cooked it up on its behalf) actually brings something Android has never shown as an OS: taste. Rather than looking like a crate of Duplo blocks turned upside-down, the elegant monochrome theme is restrained, clean, and beautiful. It's coherent, as if someone thought the whole thing through. No visual tricks, no eye candy, no animated swirls and koi pond splashes. It's designed.
Sadly, it's trapped on a newly debuted phone with crap specs tied to a fatuous marketing tie-in. The oil barons that will own this won't appreciate the rarity of its sophisticated menus. I only hope someone at LG realizes they have an Android phone skinned wonderfully, and let that proliferate like a million knockoff Prada bags.
Apple MacBook Air Laptop
Powerful performance
The M1 chip delivers 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation all while using way less power. Get up to 18 hours of battery life.
Every Android phone should have this much thought put into the way its software looks. Every. Single. One. [Prada/LG Luxury HQ Palace]


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New 2023 Coachmen RV Mirada 35OS
Motor Home Class A
Stock #22295
Nokomis, FL
Favorite RVs
Save your favorite RVs as you browse. Begin with this one!
Excellent Customer ServiceWe were referred here from a friend and it did not disappoint! We spent weeks researching and meeting with Chris Gerzeny to find exactly what we wanted that would work with our budget. He was always quick to respond and knowledgeable (we had a million questions) Upon delivery we found very minimal issues
Excellent Customer ServiceAs I am not a fan of writing reviews, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude and comfort by dealing with a RV specialist named Shane. He was honest, caring, forthwith, and took his time listening to our concerns and directing us towards the right fit for us. Shane explained the intricate details
Excellent Customer ServiceThe experience from the moment we met Tim Bartnett was true professional, he made us feel so at ease. He showed us a couple units and ended up getting a gorgeous Monaco Coach and doing great job on delivery, never felt the way at Camping World of Woodstock. Tim really showed his knowledge in the business
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Gerzeny's RV is not responsible for any misprints, typos, or errors found in our website pages. Any price listed excludes sales tax, registration tags, and delivery fees and may change at time of delivery. Manufacturer pictures, specifications, and features may be used in place of actual units on our lot. Please contact us @941-867-2961 for availability as our inventory changes rapidly. All calculated payments are an estimate only and do not constitute a commitment that financing or a specific interest rate or term is available.