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Before we begin, it'd make sense to get one thing straight - this has been a pretty limp week for news. What with every spin doctor, gab merchant and news pusher in music decamped to Austin, TX the constant flow from the wires and press releases has slowed to a depressing trickle for us left behind manning DiSopolis.
Not to worry, though - it's Friday! That's the benefit of writing these digests. They're always written on a Friday, so whatever pessimistic bubble you've been floating around these last few days will be popped imminently by the promise of nocturnal chemical oblivion. Ah, oblivion. And it's sunny for god's sake, which makes anything better. Apart from sunburn. And possibly drought.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the week's news in a super-succint digest; waving you good sailors off into the sunset like the pretty girlfriend you've left crying down at port. Behold:
Lou Reed announces a European tour! He'll play Berlin album in full!
New York moany man will wander across our continent playing one of his best albums in its entirety through June and July...read and comment
Someone's making a biopic based on Joe Strummer! He was really, really good!
Documentary maker Julien Temple promises unseen footage, enrols Scorsese and Bono for May release...read and comment
The Horrors enrage an American audience by smashing up Elvis!
Faris Badwan, he's a bad one, smashed a porcelain bust and then got spat on...read and comment
DiS team files log from the Texas trenches! We haven't heard from them since!
Bands are watched, beers are sucked, hands are shaken...read and comment
Dodgy ticket site rips off fans! Web conman Michael Rangos under suspicion!
A website called tickettout.com managed to get scores of punters to part with scores of cash. Some pitied, some pitied the fools...read and comment
Wireless announces this year's line-up! Gareth Dobson says it "kinda looks pretty good actually"!
White Stripes, QOTSA, Daft Punk and the Kaiser Chiefs confirmed for London, Leeds...read and comment
Jetplane Landing reform! It seems people still care!
The London/Derry band are to return after a three and a half year break with a new album in June...read and comment
Simon Cowell says Springsteen is rubbish! He's angry and wants more money!
How did Simon Cowell break Will Dean's heart? No, our writer hasn't been crying on TV. He's just got a soft spot for old burly Bruce...read and comment
And finally...
Elton John is gay! Tobagons board up homes in face of imminent invasion!
Religious leaders in Tobago are worried that Sir Elton's visit will inspire a wave of gay-ification on the Carribean island...read and comment
That's your lot. Why am I still in the office? Good question...

subset: commoncrawl


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Presented by AREAA Greater Sacramento Chapter
I had a fabulous time last year and am honored Asian Real Estate Association of America asked me again to host the 3rd Annual Golf Tournament and Dinner. Proceeds from Golf Tournament goes towards AREAA Sacramento's Community Outreach programs. See you there!
Date: June 29, 2012
Golf Course: Lincoln Hills Golf Club (1005 Sun City Lane, Lincoln,CA 95648)
Contact: Linn Chinnapongse
Tournament & Dinner Fee: $145


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Barney Bubbles – Ian Dury, 4000 Weeks Holiday
Hello New Yearers, Happy New Year! To kick off this season's delights, here's a little-seen item from the repertoire of my old friend Barney Bubbles.
Late 1983 Barney designed a cover for Ian Dury's '4000 Weeks Holiday' LP, only for it to never really see the light of day. I say 'never really', because nearly everywhere across the world a different artwork solution was used, but Barney's original design did make it onto the cover of the Portuguese issue (amongst a tiny handful of other seemingly random places I am reliably informed). Check out the pics above. The photo that Barney used on the front cover is by Bob Bromide.
My English friends RandM (Barney boffins of extraordinary detailedness) are quick to point out that even the Portuguese version is not totally true to Barney's original artwork; apparently only a copy of the original UK test pressing complete with test sleeve is. Why so? By the time the LP came out to the public (after Barney's tragic demise), the record company changed the tracklist by removing 'Noddy Harris' and adding 'Inspiration', and so the record company had dutifully tweaked the design of the tracklist accordingly. But, this Portuguese issue is pretty darn close to Barney's original design, so here it is goddamit!
Pondering why the tracklist changed? The company execs feared the legal ramifications of upsetting Enid Blyton's estate with the 'Noddy Harris' lyrics "Winnie The Pooh is having a wank. And what are you up to? Said Thomas the Tank…Fuck off Noddy you stupid prat. Fuck off Noddy in your rotten hat".
Keep smiling and see you all again later for more tales of daring-do.


text: Drexel Researcher Leads Review: Music Reduces Anxiety in Cancer Patients August 10, 2011 Cancer patients may benefit from sessions with trained music therapists or from listening to music. Using music can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and may also have positive effects on mood, pain and quality of life, according to a new Cochrane systematic review led by Joke Bradt, an associate professor in Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions. Music and music therapy are used in a wide range of clinical settings. Treatments range from patients listening to pre-recorded music, to music therapists engaging patients in music experiences to improve psychological and physical well-being. In their review, researchers focused on trials with patients with any kind of cancer who were offered music or music therapy sessions. The researchers analyzed evidence from 1,891 patients taking part in 30 trials. Thirteen trials used trained music therapists, while in the remaining 17 trials, patients listened to pre-recorded music. How long and how often patients participated in music sessions varied greatly among trials. The results show that, compared to standard treatments, music reduced anxiety considerably based on clinical anxiety scores. Some trials reported much larger beneficial effects than others. The results also suggest that music therapy may increase patients' quality of life. There was some benefit in music for mood and pain, although not depression. Smaller beneficial effects were seen for heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. "The evidence suggests that music interventions may be useful as a complementary treatment to people with cancer," said Bradt, a board-certified music therapist with expertise in medical music therapy. "Music interventions provided by trained music therapists as well as listening to pre-recorded music both have shown positive outcomes in this review, but at this time there is not enough evidence to determine if one intervention is more effective than the other." Bradt added, "It should be noted, however, that when patients can't be blinded to an intervention, there is an opportunity for bias when they are asked to report on subjective measures like anxiety, pain, mood and quality of life." The researchers point out that the quality of evidence for some outcomes was low because of the small numbers of trials that have been carried out. Further trials could help increase certainty in the findings and improve understanding of music's impact on distress, body image and other aspects, for which research is currently too scarce to draw any conclusions. Bradt was the lead author of four previous Cochrane reviews on music interventions with medical patients. She is an associate professor in the Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel. Watch the video. >> Listen to the podcast. >> Visit Bradt's research web page. >>


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Matching Scarves Set
Designer: Patty Young of MODKID Boutique
Materials for Two Matching Scarves
- 18x22" piece (fat quarter) gray print
- 18x22" piece (fat quarter) solid white
- 18x22" piece (fat quarter) turquoise-and-green geometric print
- 1/2 yard turquoise-and-gray floral
Finished scarf: 4x81-1/2"
Quantities are for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics.
Measurements include 1/4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.
Designer Notes
Patty Young made two identical scarves, one to keep and one for a friend. Patty says the long scarves are perfect to be worn double-folded around your neck. If you prefer shorter scarves, cut the turquoise-and-gray floral 18x42" rectangle to a shorter length before assembling the scarf.
Cut Fabrics
Cut pieces in the following order.
From gray print, cut:
- 4--4-1/2x18" rectangles
From solid white, cut:
- 8--1-1/2x18" rectangles
From turquoise-and-green geometric print, cut:
- 4--4-1/2x18" rectangles
From turquoise-and-gray floral, cut:
- 1--18x42" rectangle
Assemble the Scarf
1. Referring to Diagram 1, sew together two gray print 4-1/2x18" rectangles, four solid white 1-1/2x18" rectangles, and two turquoise-and-green geometric print 4-1/2x18" rectangles to make a scarf segment. Press seams away from solid white rectangles. The segment should be 20-1/2x18" including seam allowances.
2. Repeat Step 1 to make a second scarf segment.
3. Join a scarf segment to each short edge of turquoise-and-gray floral 18x42" rectangle to make a pieced row (Diagram 2). Press seams toward floral rectangle. The pieced row should be 82x18" including seam allowances.
4. Cut pieced row in half lengthwise to make two 9x82" pieced strips (Diagram 3).
5. Fold a 9x82" pieced strip in half lengthwise with right side inside. Sew along all raw edges, leaving a 3" opening in long raw edge for turning (Diagram 4). Turn right side out through opening. Use a chopstick or stiletto to push out corners; press. Slip-stitch opening closed to complete one scarf.
6. Repeat Step 5 to make a second scarf.


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86-Year-Old Raises $400,000 and Then Gives It Away
(CNN) Thirty-two years' worth of recycled newspapers and magazines -- more than nine million pounds of it -- netted 86-year-old Johnny Jennings $400,000, all of which he gave away to those in need.
Recycling started off as a lesson to his son, Brent Jennings, about healthy money habits. Back in 1985, the Georgia native began collecting and selling paper with his only child, then put their profits into a savings account.
"The first memory I have of my Dad is of us recycling," said Brent Jennings. "We did that until I was about 17."
Years later, the money saved from recycling was enough for Brent Jenning's down payment on his first home.
Now that the son is grown with a family of his own, Johnny Jennings continues to recycle. Community members are involved now, sending books, food, clothes and other items his way.
Every dime he earns goes to Georgia Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries. He chose the charity after a "heartbreaking" experience.
"When I was 18-years-old, I visited the children's home and we had a meal with the people there," he told CNN. "As we got up to leave, three little boys grabbed me around the knee and asked me to be their daddy."
"From that point on, I did all I could," he said. "I give them food, clothes... whatever they could use."
Throughout the week, he collects paper from local businesses and churches, then recycles it at a local center.
Once a year, he presents the children's home with a check from all the money raised. The checks usually range anywhere from $10,000 to $35,000.
"Johnny Jennings is one of the most gracious individuals I have ever met. I have always admired his quiet, humble spirit, his commitment to helping others and most of all, his love for the children in our care," said Georgia Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries' president Kenneth Thompson. "We are so blessed to have someone of his character dedicated to serving our ministry."
A Facebook post highlighting Johnny's act of kindness brought international attention.
"I hope you see why I think Mr. Johnny Jennings' story needs to be told as it is a good one," posted Shay Drennan-Love, who met Johnny at her office where her team recycles paper. "He is the last of a dying breed. Our generation and the ones to follow could learn a lot from Mr. Jennings."
"He's a one-of-a-kind gentleman and I'm proud to say he's my dad," said Brent Jennings, who fought back tears talking about his father's contributions.
"He's not only my dad. He's the dad to thousands of children throughout the state of Georgia."
Jennings shows no signs of slowing down. During his interview with CNN, he reminded himself aloud that he needed to drop off another load of paper.
"I hope that I can keep on and keep my health," he said. He plans to continue donating "until I turn my toes up."
But more than the money and the time, he wants to make this message clear: "If you got it to give, give it away."


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Until a few weeks ago, Harvey Weinstein had no idea who designed his tuxedos. "A fashion blogger asked me at the Directors Guild awards," he told me over breakfast recently. "I had to look at the label. My wife [Georgina Chapman, designer and co-founder of the Marchesa fashion label] buys them for me … They're all laid out in the closet like when I was in school."
Weinstein clearly has more important things to think about than who makes his suits. The burly 59-year-old is, after all, the man who turned independent cinema into a thriving global business, launched the career of Quentin Tarantino, and last month was addressed as both "God" and "the Punisher" by Meryl Streep as she accepted a Golden Globe award.
And yet a tuxedo, worn most weekends from January to March as he attends a succession of the awards ceremonies that can help turn a film into a commercial hit, is practically a uniform for Weinstein. So far this year, he has dressed up for the Baftas, Screen Actors Guild awards, Globes and all the other events that can seem like mere warm-ups for the main event: the Oscars.
On Sunday, at the 84th Academy Awards, a tuxedo-clad Weinstein will once again walk the red carpet into the glitzy auditorium and find himself front and centre at Hollywood's biggest night.
With 16 nominations for three films – The Artist (favourite to win best picture), The Iron Lady, and My Week with Marilyn – released by his company, Weinstein has finally returned to the pre-eminence he and his brother, Bob, once enjoyed with Miramax, the film distribution company they founded in 1979. Named after their parents, Miriam and Max, and later acquired by Walt Disney, Miramax revolutionised the industry, delivering a string of critical and commercial hits, such as Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989), Pulp Fiction (1994), The English Patient (1996), Good Will Hunting (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Chicago (2002).
But when the brothers left Disney in 2005 to set up the Weinstein Company, with $1bn raised by Goldman Sachs, their dreams of an expanding media empire began to sour. While still with Miramax, Weinstein had experimented with publishing, co-funding with Hearst the short-lived magazine Talk. In 2006 he bought A Small World, an online social network for the wealthy and connected, and, a year later, the fashion label Halston. Taking directorships with other companies, he neglected his biggest talent: finding and distributing movies. In its first three years, the Weinstein Company couldn't buy a hit, money was running out and Hollywood was abuzz with talk that Weinstein was finished.
All of which will seem like ancient history on Sunday evening when the mogul takes his seat and the curtain goes up on the Oscars. Weinstein's Oscar comeback, which began last year with The King's Speech, has snowballed into 2012, with more nominations than he has had in years.
"I don't think I ever fell out of love with movies," growls Weinstein, when I ask why he seemed to lose his touch after leaving Disney. "But I fell out of love with the politics of making movies. It had reached the point where I didn't want to do it any more, not in the same way, anyway."
It is Sunday morning and we are in a Beverly Hills hotel with David Glasser, the Weinstein Company's chief operating officer, and Weinstein has just ordered a protein shake. They explain that a company restructuring – and a change in focus for Weinstein – helped get things back on track. "The key was seeing Harvey at the film festivals," says Glasser. In the Miramax days, Weinstein would religiously attend festivals, seeking movies to release. But when he became preoccupied with building a media empire, he neglected the events. "Between 2005 and 2008, he would maybe show up for a day and that would be it," says Glasser. "Now, he's showing up again."
Not all of Weinstein's new business ventures turned out badly. Project Runway, a reality show about fashion designers developed while at Miramax, is a global hit, becoming a foundation of the company's growing TV division. But the others were a costly distraction: at one point the company was saddled with $480m of debt. Drastic action was required: Goldman Sachs, the company's main lender, was given a library of 200 Weinstein movies as collateral. Goldman will keep the library, which produces income every year, until the debt, since cut to about $200m, is paid off. Halston and A Small World were sold while the company's 200 staff was cut to about 80. Weinstein, the mogul who never backed down, earning as many enemies as friends in Hollywood for an abrasive, take-no-prisoners style, had, improbably as it seemed, conceded defeat. "The ideas [for the other businesses] were sound but they were poorly executed," he says with a sigh. "I give myself full credit for the poor execution."
Without the other businesses to worry about, Weinstein turned his attention back to movies, releasing a string of films that show he has not lost his touch. The humility is new, though: the Weinstein of 2012 is not the same as the swashbuckling figure that spent much of the past 30 years upending established hierarchies in Hollywood. The change has been noticed by long-time friends, such as Greg Coote, the film producer who sold him My Left Foot (1989), one of Miramax's early hits and the movie that won Daniel Day-Lewis his first Oscar. "We have a different Harvey at the moment," says Coote. "He's a milder, gentler person now. Maybe that's just age but I think he was humbled by the experience of going through the problems he had and coming out the other side."
Weinstein also has a reputation for having a fiery temper. In Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film (2004), the writer Peter Biskind refers to an incident when Weinstein allegedly manhandled a New York Observer reporter out of a party (Weinstein denies the incident took place). "He is who he is," says a friend of Weinstein's. "He has incredible drive, which is sometimes fuelled by intense anger and emotional swings, which sometimes manifest themselves as physical swings at people.
"But a lot of his passion comes from wanting to do things the right way. He is so passionate about film and a lot of other people in the industry are not, which is why he loses his patience sometimes."
Weinstein tells me he toned down the aggression when the brothers left Disney to form the Weinstein Company. "We wanted to be extremely well-liked as we built these other companies, and non-confrontational." That sounds like a departure from his previous incarnation at Miramax, I say. "Absolutely. I think what we found is that there's a way to be confrontational and still be well-liked, as opposed to the previous incarnation, which was just confrontational. We didn't care if we were well-liked as long as the movies were good. We served the movie – that was our master at Miramax. In our second incarnation, the movie is still the master but we're getting the same results in more subtle ways." He chuckles. "We don't back down either, by the way." This is perhaps what Meryl Streep was intimating at the Golden Globes when she and Madonna both referred to Weinstein as "the Punisher".
I call Streep to ask what she meant. "He can't get his heart out of the way of his head, which is a strength as far as I can see," she says. "He can be really hard on people … But it's always, always, in the service of what he sees is the best interests of the film, commercially or artistically."
When it comes to the Oscars, Weinstein has good reason to hold his ground and fight to make sure his films get recognition. Oscar success can "transform a movie economically," he says. "[When] I won a best picture nomination with Chicago, we were at $75m gross, and we ended up grossing $175m [in the US] and $350m worldwide, with the best picture win."
The King's Speech, which won for best picture, actor, and screenplay last year, was produced for a budget of less than £15m. "We thought the film would gross $10m-$15m in the US," says Iain Canning of See-Saw Films, which produced the movie distributed in the US by Weinstein. Thanks to the successful Oscar campaign, the film grossed more than $400m worldwide.
Weinstein has an astonishing record at the Oscars. In 1998, he pulled off one of the greatest best picture shocks, masterminding a campaign that saw Shakespeare in Love defeat the highly fancied Saving Private Ryan. An awards campaign has a dual purpose for Weinstein. The weeks of other awards shows in the run-up to the Oscars provide bountiful publicity for a movie that might otherwise struggle. A careful hand is needed, he says: releasing a movie such as The Artist "wide" on 2,500 screens across the US would have been foolish in the early weeks of its release. Instead, he has allowed awards momentum to build, fuelled by its success at the Golden Globes and Baftas, and purposely not added too many screens.
"We were very slow on the pedal with The Artist and I won't let anyone drive the car," he says. "I get a call and someone says, 'It just got 11 Bafta nominations!' And I say, 'Don't add any theatres. Just keep it where it is. We're going to make the move … It's coming but not yet.' "
He is the master at persuading audiences to watch challenging films – and what could be a harder sell to the multiplex generation than a silent, black and white movie? "There's not one thing this movie has going for it, except for the fact that it's great," he says. It could run out of steam "if it was overly distributed. Look, we've got 10 Academy Award nominations, we're in 800, 900 theatres. Most people would go straight to 2,500. We will go to 2,500 … but not now."
This staggered approach extends to how the films are advertised. Streep says: "When I first came to the office after The Iron Lady was finished, they showed me a poster for the film. I went insane because it was so good. But Harvey said, 'No, we're going to hold off.' " He wanted to use it at a later stage of the film's release for the biggest possible impact.
Weinstein calls this having to "baby" a film – nurturing it, adding screens slowly, tweaking the marketing and allowing buzz to build. He recalls City of God, the 2002 Brazilian film about life in the favelas of Rio. It was a critical rave but initially struggled to find an audience. "People would say, 'It's the best movie I've ever seen!' I would say, 'Really? So why is nobody seeing it?'
"Then I realise, OK, I can have the best looking ads but you know what's going to work? Tenacity and word of mouth." So Weinstein kept City of God in some cinemas for 72 weeks, an astonishing time in an age when some films barely last a month. "You know what? It got nominated for four Academy awards, won three and everyone's seen it now." He was about to release the film on DVD when he got a call from Russell Crowe. Weinstein puts on an Australian accent. "He said, 'Mate, that's the best movie I've ever seen.' Russell makes that call and that was another 12 weeks in theatres."
Of course, Weinstein does not need to "baby" every film to make it a commercial success. The company's slate for 2013 is packed with movies that could support a wide release as they feature the kind of A-list stars that will attract a big audience: Brad Pitt as a mob enforcer in Cogan's Trade, and the return of Quentin Tarantino with Django Unchained, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. "It's Quentin's greatest script," enthuses Weinstein. "It's not even close to his other movies."
DiCaprio plays a villain in the film and I ask why the star seems to miss out on awards recognition, most recently with J. Edgar , which failed to earn him an acting nomination despite fantastic reviews. "He's definitely getting nominated for this one," says the master Oscar campaigner, back where he belongs in the heart of the action. "Trust me. Leave DiCaprio to me."
This article originally appeared in Financial Times. Click here to read more coverage from the Weekend FT.


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Liam and I were sitting in Kahve Dünyası, a superior coffee shop in Bodrum. We were with magnificent Murat, a handsome Brit of Turkish Cypriot extraction. Murat is blessed with a cheeky smile, dreadfully naughty eyes and buns you could bounce a penny off. Murat's not gay, but healthily gay friendly and a diverting companion. A waiter approached to take our orders.
'Sütlü americano lütfen,' I said in my best Turkish (I realise only two of these words are actually Turkish). The waiter stared at me quizzically. Murat intervened. The conversation, in Turkish, went as follows:
'What did he say?'
'He asked for an americano with milk.'
'I know.'
'So what's the problem?'
'He's got a foreign accent.'
'Yeah. He's foreign.'
'What does he want then?'
'You know what he wants.'
'An americano with milk?'
'So why didn't he say that?'
'He did say that.'
'Huh! Bloody tourists.'
I don't know why I bother. I should just shout loudly in English.
The serious point to this tale is that the British are more forgiving of people who speak bad English. Maybe we're more accustomed to the weird pronunciations from first generation immigrants. Globalish, the reduced vocabulary version of our mother tongue, is prevalent at international conferences, on the streets and in many social situations. Of course, just to confuse people, the British have developed a countless number of regional British accents to baffle people everywhere.
Language can be such a barrier to communication.
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Naming new things is tough work. Back in the 1850s they had to coin a term to describe the physical manifestation of communications sent over a distance by electrical signal. Somebody came up with telegram. That's a portmanteau of tele, which is Greek for 'over a distance', and gram, also Greek, meaning 'something written or drawn'. It's really pretty catchy, but telegram totally pissed off language purists of the day. They absolutely hated it. Hated it.
May I suggest to such as are not contented with 'Telegraphic Dispatch' the rightly constructed word 'telegrapheme'? I do not want it, but … I protest against such a barbarism as 'telegram.' [Richard Shilleto, Cambridge Greek scholar, London "Times," Oct. 15, 1857]
I'm not any sort of purist, but I find Instagram objectionable as a word. It's so bland and corporate. It could have been worse; they might have called it Instagrapheme which, let's face it, would have been intolerable. Still, Instagram is an unattractive and unappealing name, and it made it easy for lots of folks (including me) to sneer at it. And we did.
We sneered at Instagram for being a cheap, easy, lazy way to turn crappy photos into images that look artsy. Not 'artful' or 'artistic' but artsy. We sneered at it because the learning curve for using Instagram is — well, it's hardly a curve at all. It's almost a straight line. You shoot a photo with your cell phone, you flip through a couple dozen preset filters until you find one you like, tap to apply it, and hey bingo, you have yourself an artsy photo of your drunken friends at a tacky Chinese restaurant.
That ease of use is a big part of the appeal, of course. It allows any tunahead to bang out a halfway decent photograph. But it pisses off photography purists (purists of every persuasion spend a lot of time being pissed off, have you noticed?). The ease of use is another thing that makes Instagram so sneerable.
I grew up shooting film — and shooting it with a completely manual rangefinder camera without a resident light meter. That gave me certain inalienable sneering rights. But at the same time, I'm totally in favor of the democratization of photography. I love the fact that so many people are out there photographing so many things.
That put me in a damned awkward position. How can I embrace the democratization of photography and at the same time still be able to sneer at Instagram? I told myself the app, at its best, was just a cheap imitation of real photography. At its worst, it was the devil itself. I told myself a lot of people — people who might otherwise actually learn the important mechanics and physics of photography — would substitute the creative process (which, let's face it, can be really hard work) with the unthinking application of a filter. So I could argue that sneering at Instagram was actually good for photography. Right?
All that sneering was made a lot easier by the fact that I'd never really looked at Instagram. Then I bought a smartphone with a tolerably decent camera. And suddenly everybody was all "Dude, join Instagram."
So I reluctantly decided to look at it. And to my smug delight, I discovered I was right. It really was a cheap imitation of real photography. It really was an artistic wasteland of hipsters in vests photographing their lattes, and hiphop wannabes shooting pictures of their two hundred dollar sneakers, and women shooting duckface selfies in bathrooms, and …whoa…hold on hold on…what's this? What the hell is this?
'This' turned out to be good work. I started to come across photography I actually wanted to see. Images that impressed the hell out of me and made me want to see more. On Instagram.
I found solid, serious street photography. And good travel and landscape photography. And lawdy, good fine arts photography. I found good editorial news photography. Good color photography, good black-and-white photography. Good portraiture. Good photography. All of it right there in a 3-inch square on Instagram.
And that good shit, it was scalable. It looked good in a 3-inch square on my phone, but it continued to look good in larger versions. I was not expecting that.
Yes, yes — there's a staggering amount of appalling crap on Instagram, but there's a staggering amount of appalling crap everywhere in the world of photography. It's one of the facts you accept if you believe in the democratization of photography. You accept the existence of the crap, and you try to help stem the tide by not making crap yourself.
So hey, I joined Instagram. Quietly. Uncomfortably. Under an assumed name. Like an atheist going to Sunday School. I began shooting a simple little series — something I could delete easily if I decided I was contributing to the crapitization of photography. That project gradually transformed and grew into something more complex, but coherent and constrained — which is how real photo projects start. I may write about that project at another time, but what it meant for me was that I was taking Instagram seriously. How the hell did that happen?
It also meant (in my mind, at least) that I should limit that account to that project.
So I created a second Instagram account. Yes, I actually created a second Instagram account, and devoted it to shooting black-and-white images.
The photographs you see here, and along the side of the blog (and if you're interested, you can see more of them here) have taught me that Instagram is an incredibly flexible and elastic app. You can shape it to fit whatever you want to photograph, in whatever style you want to photograph it. You don't have to rely on their crappy little filters; there are some very fine processing apps for your mobile phone that give you a metric buttload of control over the image.
Instagram, it turns out, is not about filters. It's not even about easily turning crappy photos into artsy ones. It's about distribution. It's about putting the photos out there.
Instagram may, in fact. turn out to be the devil after all. It can be that seductive. But it's the devil that's likely to have the most influence on the shape of modern photography.
Here's where I drop in some more esoteric information. Eight hundred years ago King Richard I of England was captured on his way back from the Holy Land, where he'd been cheerfully slaughtering Muslims during the Crusades. While he was imprisoned, his brother John attempted to usurp the throne. When Richard won his release, King Philip of France sent a message to John, warning him. The message read: Look to yourself. The devil is loose.
The analogy isn't perfect, but the warning is. The devil IS loose. And you know what? I kind of like him.


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Diebold, the makers of touch-screen e-voting machines at the center of a fairly large number of voting problems and controversies in the US, may be considering getting out of the e-voting business. According to the company's recent annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Diebold—which also makes safes and ATM machines for banks—is concerned about its e-voting subsidiary tarnishing the company's 150-year reputation. Diebold acquired its e-voting business in 2002 when it bought Global Election Systems.
"This is a company that has built relationships with banks every day of every year. It pains them greatly to see their brand tarnished by a marginal operating unit," investment analyst Gil Luria told the Associated Press. The company blamed part of its e-voting problems on changes in emerging elections technology as well as inconsistencies between state and federal governments for e-voting requirements. They also acknowledged that recent complaints about its e-voting machines have hurt the company's relationship with government officials.
Considering that Diebold's ATM division accounts for 63 percent of the company's profit, Diebold needs to evaluate whether the negative publicity surrounding its e-voting machines is hurting the bulk of its business. If banks begin to doubt Diebold's commitment to reliability and security as a result of the voting machine controversies, then the business could take a revenue hit over the years from lost business. Luria believes that Diebold will decide to divest, saying that the probability of Diebold's holding on to it is "very low."
Diebold's poor e-voting reputation can't just be attributed to the poor performance of its hardware, however. Some of its executives have been accused of outright lying to government officials, leading to the company being investigated for criminal activity and the decertification of some machines in the state of California. Diebold was eventually sued by California's Attorney General for fraud. Instead of acknowledging the problems, Diebold appeared to stonewall at every opportunity, which contributed to the widespread distrust of the company.
A spokesman for Diebold, Mike Jacobsen, told the AP that the company looks for growth, profitability, and other characteristics when examining one of its businesses. Diebold's electronic voting unit comprises the company's smallest subsidiary, but was still responsible for 12 percent of the company's profit in 2006 despite the company's poor reputation. However, some states have begun to take steps outlawing touch-screen machines in favor of optical scan options, and other states may soon follow suit. There is also federal legislation being considered that would require electronic voting machines to produce paper trails—a capability that some of Diebold's machines do not currently have. Because of these legal developments, Diebold's e-voting unit may indeed have a bleak future ahead in terms of growth and profitability. Diebold is expected to make an announcement about its long-term strategy for the e-voting unit sometime "early" this year, but the exact time frame for the announcement is unclear.
Jon Stokes contributed to this report.


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Case Studies
Monkey food
At least 22 primate species have been seen to eat fungi. Included in these 22 are gorillas, bonobos, macaques, vervet monkeys, mangabeys, colobines, marmosets and lemurs. However the question of fungus consumption by primates has been little studied, with most reports being anecdotal. Also poorly known is which fungi the primates eat, few fruiting bodies having been identified beyond descriptive term's such as "bracket fungus" or "mushroom". The available evidence suggests that, in general primates spend little time searching for fungi, with less than 5% of feeding time devoted to fungus eating, or mycophagy. However, there are exceptions and one of these is Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii), a small monkey of the Amazon basin. An adult weighs about half a kilogram.
Goeldi's monkeys eat the fruiting bodies (or sporocarps) of four fungi on a regular basis, the four species being Auricularia auricula, Auricularia mesenterica, Ascopolyporus polychrous and Ascopolyporus polyporoides. Auricularia sporocarps are rubbery, typically somewhat ear-shaped when fresh and the genus is found worldwide. Some species of this genus are commercially grown for human consumption in various Asian countries. The genus Ascopolyporus is found in Central and South America and the sporocarps are bulbous to hoof-shaped, giving a superficial resemblance to various polypores and hence the explanation for the latter part of the genus name. However, they are ascomycetes of the broad "flask fungi" group, the asci being produced in miniature chambers (or perithecia) on the sporocarps' lower surfaces. There's a little more about the genus Ascopolyporus further on.
When compared to other foods the fungal sporocarps appear sporadically and with a patchy distribution, so the monkeys must travel widely in search of sporocarps. It is also possible that fungi would be low in accessible nutrients. There have been few studies on the physiology of primate mycophagy, but investigations on other animals have shown that sporocarps are difficult to digest and that animals without foregut fermentation systems would extract at most little protein and energy from the sporocarps. Goeldi's monkeys lack foregut fermentation so why do these monkeys seek out fungi? One possibility is that fungi provide important vitamins or minerals. The monkeys eat fungi year round but fungi are eaten much more during the early part of the dry season when fruit is rarer. Over a whole year Goeldi's monkeys spend about 29% of their feeding time eating fungi but during the dry season up to 63% of the feeding time can be spent on mycophagy. The fungi therefore appear to be a fall-back food, though it is clear that the monkeys do deliberately seek out the fungi, rather than just eating them as they come across them by chance. Still, why not spend more time looking for the scarce fruit during the early part of the dry season? There is considerable competition for fruit (especially during the dry season) and Goeldi's monkeys typically lose out to other monkeys in aggressive encounters. The fungi eaten by Goeldi's monkeys are much more abundant in the forest understorey than in the middle levels and forest canopies, where the other monkeys spend most of their time. Zoologists studying Goeldi's monkeys have reported seeing no competitions with other monkeys for fungal sporocarps, so the heavy reliance on fungi by Goeldi's monkeys would reduce feeding competition. The researchers suggested that reliance on low-nutrient fungi would help explain the fact that Goeldi's monkeys have a lower population density and much larger home ranges than those of other, similar-sized monkeys in the same forest. It has also been suggested that Goeldi's monkeys may have some other adaptation, yet unknown, to help them digest fungal sporocarps so further studies of this monkey would be very worthwhile.
In the USA annual mushroom consumption averages out at about 1.9 kilograms (fresh weight) per person, while for Goeldi's monkeys the average annual fungal consumption is about 6.1 kilograms (fresh weight) per monkey.
The following illustrations are from Alfred Möller's Phycomyceten und Ascomyceten. Untersuchungen aus Brasilien, published in 1901 by Verlag von Gustav Fischer in Jena. It was in that book that Möller gave the first description of the genus Ascopolyporus and of the species Ascopolyporus polychrous and Ascopolyporus polyporoides. He noted that the sporocarps are fleshy or gelatinous, are found on various bamboos and can grow to four centimetres in diameter (Ascopolyporus polychrous) or seven centimetres (Ascopolyporus polyporoides). In the image, the trio on the left belong to polychrous and the pair on the right to polyporoides. Going from left to right the diameters of the sporocarps featured here were 30, 35, 15, 60 and 60 millimetres. Möller noted that the sporocarps of Ascopolyporus polychrous had a weakly sweetish taste.
Möller recorded the following observations about the growth of seven Ascopolyporus polychrous sporocarps. The measurements given are diameters and a bold X indicates that on the given date the sporocarp was missing.
He wrote that the sporocarps released spores in amazing quantities. When observed in a protective container this could be seen this easily, the spores falling like a grey cloud. He left a glass microscope slide under one sporing specimen for a week and found a spore deposit a half millimetre thick. After sporing the sporocarps usually became wrinkled and noticeably shrunken.
Recent work has produced strong evidence for Ascopolyporus being parasitic on scale insects that in turn are parasitic on the bamboo. When the authors of the first of the papers listed below sectioned some Ascopolyporus fruiting bodies they found remnants of scale insects near the fungus/bamboo junction. As well as additional physical evidence of scale insects, DNA analysis showed Ascopolyporus to be a very close relative of a fungus known to be a scale insect parasite.


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Nearly a year after several Armstrong properties were targeted by an alleged arsonist, an Armstrong woman pleaded guilty on Monday.
Colette Leneveu, 61, faced numerous charges of arson after six suspicious fires were reported between March 8-12, 2018, in the Armstrong area — all of which were on Warner Avenue and Okanagan Street, with varying levels of damage.
Defence lawyer Glenn Verdurmen told the Vernon courthouse Jan. 6 Leneveu had good mental health and additional psychiatric reports were not necessary ahead of sentencing.
The charges, which said she intentionally or recklessly caused damage to property by fire or explosion, were read to Leneveu by the court clerk in Vernon Supreme Court.
Leneveu, who was 60 at the time, said she understood the charges and voluntarily pleaded guilty to four counts of arson.
The counts Leneveu addressed were amended to remove information indicating the properties were inhabited or occupied.
According to earlier reports, Vernon North Okanagan RCMP responded to suspicious fires in the Armstrong area on March 12 and found a set of tires had been lit on fire near a garage at one home and a back deck of another down the street. Both fires were extinguished before extensive damage was done.
While officers responded to those two calls, they learned another alleged arson occurred in the 2200 block of Okanagan Street where the suspect attempted to light two cars on fire before fleeing the area.
No injuries were reported as a result of any of the fires between the dates in question.
The specifics of the incidents that took place in March 2018 were not discussed in court Monday.
Leneveu will face sentencing at a later date.
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Taste is subjective, a matter of cultural, societal, psychological and emotional experiences all combined to shape how one's perception of what's beautiful and what's not. But there are commonalities, shared ideas. Last month, LiTV (Life Inspired) selected four Singaporeans who are shaping our style, design and experience palates both locally and abroad. We speak with the four tastemakers to find out what shapes their style and taste.
Bu Shukun, 34
The founder of architecture design firm Architology also co-owns Trace, a club; One Fantasy, a Thai disco; Refinery, a restaurant; a time-pledging crowd-sourced charity app; a data analytics app for fast-moving consumer goods; and Tuckshop, a casual diner. Next up is Recess (next to the Tuckshop), which will be a space available for rent to anyone for any purpose. Above the Refinery is also a workshop space that hosts a few small firms and gives them the option to construct, produce and create.
Community is clearly the focus for Shukun's projects. He's taken his expertise and wealth of knowledge in design and translated it to various projects, using the same ideas. "Architecture is about two things: solving or finding a better solution to a problem; and preventing problems before they occur." His next project, Recess is focused on community engineering. "Communal spaces are rarely privatised, because they don't make economic sense. We wanted this to be a social project in a diverse area like Geylang, to see what would happen." The location, next to Tuckshop, will be where one can host anything from a pop-up to a skit. For him, it seems, it's less about profitability, but about re-engineering a community to engage with each other once more.
Nathan Yong, 37
Former President's Design Award winner Nathan Yong first made headlines with his previous label, Air Division, but he's gone on to an edgier environment with Grafunkt, with a raw industrial showroom at Playfair Road. "People like to come here for inspiration, to discover what's new. They don't always want the formal and pristine showroom spaces at larger companies." His designs have earned him international renown, a number of which have been acquired by Italian label Ligne Roset and retailed. More recently, Grafunkt is also involved in the Ligne Roset showroom that opened at Millennia Walk.
Yong doesn't follow a rigid design style. Rules are meant to be broken. "Sometimes, methods or materials aren't suitable, and we have to find alternatives. We may envision an item in wood, but it proves difficult, so we try metal." In design, flexibility is necessary, at least in his opinion.


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While some might deem the One X's combination of svelte unibody profile, quad-core power and 720p display to be downright witchcraft, we knew differently. Fortunately, there's now scientific proof to back us up, courtesy of PCOnline, which has performed a delicate autopsy on the Chinese variant of HTC's new flagship. To explore that polycarbonate shell, a narrow plastic tool to is eased in behind the screen and around the face of the device, with the majority of the phone's tightly packed innards -- including the Tegra 3 processor -- attached to the display half. Some contacts, however, were left on the inside of the unibody, including the NFC chip. Most of the quad-core thinking parts were clustered around the 8-megapixel sensor, while the battery dominated the center of HTC's big hitter. Anyone who gets their kicks from the gentle undoing of all that engineering hard work can watch it unravel in grisly detail at the source below.
Sponsored Links
HTC One X gets teardown, battery unsurprisingly dominates
Mat Smith|@thatmatsmith|April 23, 2012 1:58 PM


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What you see is what you get..:)
Note: I have removed all items which have been sold in 2009 & 2010 . For these sold items, pictures available on your right.
Size: 2-3 yrs, cotton
(kain length 19.5', baju 17.5')
Condition: 10/10
Price: rm30
Baju Kurung bunga2 hijau gelap
Size: 2 cotton
(kain length 19', baju 17')
Condition: 9/10
Price: rm22
*aisyaa wore twice only, muat2 je dgn dia, so hav to let go...
*blh buat seluar harian - yg stripe tu Gap kids pants
Baby GAP blue jacket
Size: 3 years
Condition: 9/10
Price: rm25


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New 2023 Airstream RV Basecamp 16X
Travel Trailer
Stock #SAV5792
Savannah, GA
Favorite RVs
Save your favorite RVs as you browse. Begin with this one!
Good folks. No pressure.Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. We were able to take our time and see everything in the Wonder that we purchased as well as another one on the lot. We got a fair trade in price.
Rv buying experienceThe people that work there
Thank YouVery nice and knowledgeable staff. Loving our new Airstream.
We are here to help!
Southland 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. Manufacturer pictures, specifications, and features may be used in place of actual units on our lot. Please contact us @770-717-2890 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. Payments are an estimate only based on approved credit and are not inclusive of tax, title, and license fees.


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Like any parent you want your child to grow up healthy and strong. So be sure you don't neglect their dental care, a crucial part of overall health and well-being.
The most important part of this care is prevention — stopping dental disease and other problems before they do harm. Proactive prevention is the best way to keep their teeth and gum growth on the right track.
Prevention starts at home with a daily habit of brushing and later flossing. In the beginning, you'll have to brush for them, with just a smear of toothpaste on the toothbrush. As they get older, you can teach them to brush for themselves, graduating to a pea-sized dose of toothpaste.
It's also important to begin regular dental visits around their first birthday. Many of their primary (baby) teeth are coming in, so regular cleanings and checkups will help keep tooth decay in check. Early visits will also get them used to seeing the dentist and hopefully help stimulate a lifelong habit.
These visits have a number of purposes. First and foremost is to monitor dental development and early detection of any emerging problems, like a poor bite. Catching problems early could help reduce or even eliminate future treatment.
Some children are also at greater risk for tooth decay and could benefit from applications of topical fluoride, a mineral that strengthens tooth enamel, or a sealant to help protect the teeth. This is especially helpful in preserving primary (baby) teeth: early loss of a primary tooth could disrupt the permanent tooth's eruption and cause a poor bite.
Your child's dental visits could also benefit you as their caregiver. You receive regular feedback on how well your child's teeth and gums are developing, and the effectiveness of their oral hygiene. You also get answers to your questions about their oral health: the dentist's office is your best source for advice on teething, diet and other issues.
Together, you and your dentist can provide and maintain the best conditions for your child's dental development. The result will be the healthiest mouth they can have as they enter their adult years.
If you would like more information on preventive dentistry for your child, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.


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By Kelly Osbourne
Television personality Kelly Osbourne was introduced to audiences as a member of the lovable reality TV family The Osbournes, and further distinguished herself through her music career and appearances on shows like Dancing with the Stars. She can now be seen every Friday night at 10:30/9:30c on E!'s Fashion Police.
Following her comments about a transgender friend in Glamour UK, Kelly came under fire from transgender advocates for her use of the slur "tr*nny" among others. Kelly soon got in touch with GLAAD expressing her desire to apologize to the transgender community, but also to share some of the information she herself had researched about anti-transgender bias, slurs, and the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The essay also appears on Transadvocate.
I'd first like to make it clear that no one asked me to write this. After reaching out to GLAAD for advice and clarification, I thought it was imperative to explain and amend my wrong. I gained a lot of knowledge, and I now feel the urgency to speak out and teach others. As unfortunate as this incident was, I assure you it was taken out of context, but I cannot deny the words; they did come out of my mouth.
As a lifelong LGBT ally and friend, I feel it is my duty to not only apologize for my wrong but to also correct it. The word "tr*nny" is a derogatory and hurtful word. I was completely ignorant to this and soon came to realize most of my peers and LGBT friends are too. This is a word I will no longer use or allow. It wasn't until I googled it after speaking with GLAAD that I found out just how unbelievably offensive it was. When friends jokingly called me that in the past, I took it as a compliment or a joke, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Transgender people are some of the bravest people on Earth and among the LGBT community. I cannot imagine the courage it takes to live your life openly and honestly, reflecting who you truly are, or the hurt that comes from having to hide who you are because others may not support and accept you. Due to the fact that it is Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, I would like to raise awareness to this injustice in society. It is a day to remember those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence and speak out against the fact that transgender people face disproportionate amounts of discrimination and harassment every day. The lack of knowledge about transgender people contributes to the unparalleled number of violent acts against them every day.
A part of me is happy I've made such an awful mistake because I can now use this as a platform to help speak out against the use of such hurtful and dehumanizing words. With your assistance and support, we can get this word out of television/media. It is still being used today; I've seen it four times in the past week.
My sincerest apologies to any ally or member of the LGBT community whom I have hurt or offended. That kind of representation goes against everything I stand for and is the last thing I would ever want to do. I would also like to thank The Transadvocate for educating me and bringing this to my attention. Nobody can tell you whom to love or what gender to be. That is your basic human right, and certainly nobody has the right to discriminate against you for who you truly are!
Comment from Mike Thompson of GLAAD: "Kelly is taking the right step by using this as an opportunity to express her support of the transgender community and educate her fans about the hardships that they face for being who they are. We hope she inspires more allies of the LGBT community to speak out and have their own voices heard."
Comment from Marti Abernathey, Editor of Transadvocate: "With this post Kelly has proven she is a responsible ally to the transgender community. She made a mistake that was borne of ignorance, not malice. This post is will go far in healing that mistake. It will also serve to educate and inform others within the LGBT community and beyond about transgender people's lives. As I said to Kelly on Twitter, "You get to speak about it [the mistake], and trans people are seen as people and not things. Besides hatred, who's the loser in this?" I'm grateful to Kelly for taking the time to learn and educate others. In the process she's turned a mistake into a teachable moment. That is what an ally does. Thank you Kelly!"


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At the global climate summit in Paris on December 10, the Government of Italy announced a USD 8-million contribution to the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Italy's capital infusion substantially raises the value of SEFA from USD 87 million to nearly USD 95 million, enabling it to continue scaling up its assistance to African nations to unlock private investments in sustainable energy. Italy joins the Governments of Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States in support of SEFA.
The Italian contribution comes at a critical point for climate change. As Governments meet in Paris to map out their evolving approach to global climate response, practical actions such as Italy's announcement can help ensure that developing countries have the support they need for building their renewable energy sectors in their quest for fundamental sustainable development.
"Italy is pleased to contribute to Africa's sustainable energy development, particularly by supporting the development of more renewable energy projects, as well as AfDB President Adesina's ambitious 'New Deal' to electrify the whole continent in the next 10 years," stated Francesco La Camera, Italy's Director General, Ministry for the Environment, Land, and Sea. "SEFA's objectives are fully in line with our Government's commitment to support African countries' work to achieve economic development which is both green and inclusive. As our Prime Minister Renzi said during this summit gathering, Italy wants to 'be among the protagonists of the fight against selfishness, on the side of those who choose non-negotiable values like the defence of our Mother Earth.' We believe that joining forces in SEFA is an opportunity to do that."
SEFA is an important element in the AfDB's landmark New Deal on Energy for Africa, which looks to solve Africa's huge energy deficit by 2025 under the pivotal leadership of AfDB's new President, Akinwumi Adesina. SEFA was launched in 2012 to address several constraints to the development of Africa's renewable energy sector, including a lack of bankable projects coming to market, limited access to finance for small and medium-sized projects, and challenging policy environments for private investment in the energy sector.
"AfDB deeply welcomes Italy and is grateful for its contribution to the SEFA partnership," said Alex Rugamba, AfDB's Energy, Environment and Climate Change Director. "SEFA plays critical role in opening the door for more private sector engagement in delivering energy infrastructure as well as connecting more Africans to modern energy sources, using technologies which are not damaging to our global environment."


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Top Items:
Matthaus Krzykowski / VentureBeat:
Carriers begin to believe in data revenue, as Android's puzzle pieces come together — Carriers have long worried that they'll be relegated to being "dumb pipes" as more developers churn out applications for mobile phones. But some new figures are now making those carriers change their stance …
Cade Metz / The Register: US carriers hedge open network claims
Stephen Lawson / PC World: Carriers Look Toward Open Mobile Future
John Furrier / BroadDev: Android Carrier Friendly ? VentureBeat has the Details
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News: Mobile carrier CEOs still want network control
Sascha Segan / Gearlog: CTIA Fall: 30% of T-Mobile Phones in NYC are Unlocked
T-Mobile to offer Android smartphone soon: sources — T-Mobile to offer Android smartphone soon: sources — FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit is set to start selling a mobile phone based on Google Inc's Android software within weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion: CrunchGear, Reuters, Gizmodo, Crave, Texas Startup Blog, InformationWeek and TmoNews
Sean Fallon / Gizmodo: HTC Dream May Launch on September 23rd
Nicole Lee / Crave: The gadget blog: HTC Dream to launch in a few weeks?
Michal Lev-Ram / Techland:
Wireless CEOs back open - but not too open - networks
Wireless CEOs back open - but not too open - networks
Robert McMillan / PC World: San Francisco Hunts for Mystery Device on City Network
The Official Google Blog:
The future of search … I am a search addict. I'm naturally inquisitive - I've always liked finding things out. Plus, I've worked at Google on search for the past 9 years and 3 months. Of course I search - a lot. Yet I would guess that on any given day, I only do about 20% of the searches that I could.
Discussion: InformationWeek and SitePoint Blogs
Eric Zeman / InformationWeek: Google Pontificates On The Future Of Search
Josh Catone / SitePoint Blogs: The Future of Search According to Google
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Marissa Mayer Clarifies: Search Is Only 10% Done, Not 90% — I spoke to Google's Marissa Mayer at TechCrunch50 on Monday (a little after she we celebrated Google's 10th birthday with cupcakes) and asked her about the search is "90-95%" solved story over the weekend.
Discussion: L.A. Times Tech Blog and ben barren
Redbarren / ben barren: "I'm a writer, you monsters! I create! …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Notes and Observations Regarding Yesterday's 'Let's Rock' Apple Special Event — OVERALL SCOPE — The overall takeaway from yesterday's news is that Apple's music and iPod business is right on track. There was nothing exceptional or particularly surprising, but the incremental improvements and changes were significant.
Discussion: MacUser, CNET News, Industry Standard, MacRumors, iLounge, Washington Post, SlashGear, Tasty Blog Snack, CrunchGear, Gizmodo, The Apple Core and Macworld
Tom Krazit / CNET News: New MacBooks could arrive in October
Jordan Golson / Industry Standard: Genius in iTunes 8 gets mixed reviews
Charles Starrett / iLounge: News: Mix: AirTunes & iTunes 8.0, Let's Rock, iToner, Nike+iPod
Rob Pegoraro / Washington Post: Apple Remixes the iPod and iTunes
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Apple MacBook event October 14th rumored
Ijustine / Tasty Blog Snack: FUNNEST APPLE TREATS
Peter Ha / CrunchGear: Rumor: MacBook refresh coming in October
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo: Rumor: Apple MacBook Event on Oct. 14
Jason D. O'Grady / The Apple Core: Apple's new commitment to accessibility
Peter Cohen / Macworld: Apple posts 'Lets Rock' event video
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb:
ITunes 8: The Genius in the Box
ITunes 8: The Genius in the Box
Discussion: Crave at CNET UK, Mark Evans and louisgray.com
Tim Moynihan / Today @ PC World:
How to Confuse the iTunes Genius
How to Confuse the iTunes Genius
Discussion: Reuters, webmonkey, Listening Post and Cult of Mac
Paul Bond / Reuters: NBC shows return to iTunes after year-long feud
Michael Calore / webmonkey: ITunes 8's Genius Playlists Aren't as Smart as They Could Be
Eliot Van Buskirk / Listening Post: ITunes Crashes Music Recommendation Party; Rivals Rejoice
Elaine Chow / Gizmodo:
iTunes 8 Causing Huge Problems, BSOD for Vista Users
iTunes 8 Causing Huge Problems, BSOD for Vista Users
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0: iTunes 8 can cause CD/DVD drives disappear + possible fix
Jesse James / Homotron.net: Apple Really Hates Vista: Part 76
Rene Ritchie / The iPhone Blog: iTunes 8 + Vista = BSOD? WT*, QA!
The PC Doctor / The PC Doctor's blog: iTunes 8 made my CD/DVD drives disappear!!!
Google Mobile Blog:
Google Mobile App for BlackBerry: faster, stronger, better — Today we're pleased to launch Google Mobile App for BlackBerry. It's a free download and it looks like this: — To download the App, visit m.google.com on your BlackBerry device. — Once it's installed you'll have faster search …
Discussion: The Mobile Gadgeteer, CrackBerry.com blogs and jkOnTheRun
Matthew Miller / The Mobile Gadgeteer: Google launches Google Mobile App for BlackBerry devices
Kevin Michaluk / CrackBerry.com blogs: Google Mobile App for BlackBerry... Get It!
James Kendrick / jkOnTheRun: Google releases new Mobile Apps for Blackberry
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Yahoo announces social networking app for iPhone — Updated at 3:50 p.m. PDT with further detail and information about Blueprint programming tools for mobile devices. — SAN FRANCISCO—Yahoo on Wednesday released a preview version of a free new iPhone application called OneConnect …
Discussion: PC World, TechCrunch, webmonkey, Pulse 2.0, RotorBlog.com, Wap Review, The Register and WebProNews
Nancy Gohring / PC World: Yahoo Offers Social Connect App for IPhone
Don Reisinger / TechCrunch: Yahoo Brings a Social Address Book to the iPhone
Adam DuVander / webmonkey: My Precious! OneConnect to Rule Them All
Amit Chowdhry / Pulse 2.0: Yahoo! Launches oneConnect App For iPhone
Arnold Zafra / RotorBlog.com: Yahoo! oneConnect Could be a Killer iPhone App
Dennis Bournique / Wap Review: CTIA: Day One — I'm at CTIA in San Francisco today.
Cade Metz / The Register: Yahoo! punts! mobile! development! platform!
Chris Crum / WebProNews: Yahoo!'s "Integrated Mobile Ecosystem"
Mike Nizza / The Lede:
A Stock-Killer Fueled by Algorithm After Algorithm — What made a six-year-old article about a bankruptcy filing by United Airlines reappear on Wall Street traders' screens on Monday as if it were fresh news, prompting a sell-off that erased $1 billion in the company's market value in a matter of minutes?
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider, PR Newswire, Ed Brill and SearchViews
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider: When Algorithms Attack: How Googlebot And Tribune (And Some Idiot) …
Wall Street Journal:
UAL Story Blame Is Placed on Computer
UAL Story Blame Is Placed on Computer
Discussion: Bloomberg, elemental links and Gawker
Brenda Michelson / elemental links: UAL falls victim to GIGO processing at hyper-speed
Ryan Tate / Gawker: How Robots Destroyed United Airlines
U.S. Senate:
KOHL CALLS ON CELL PHONE COMPANIES TO JUSTIFY RISING TEXTING RATES — In Three Years, Text Message Charges Have Doubled for Wireless Customers — WASHINGTON, DC — Today, US Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, asked the presidents and chief executive officers …
Discussion: Between the Lines, Salon, TECH.BLORGE.com, The Technology Liberation …, Electronista, ZDNet Government, Valleywag and mocoNews.net
Cyrus Farivar / Salon: WTF? Y have txting costs doubled n 3 yrs?
Justin Montgomery / TECH.BLORGE.com: Text message costs questioned by Senator, AT&T charging $1,300 per MB
Paul Boutin / Valleywag: Why do text message rates keep going up?
Dianne See Morrison / mocoNews.net: Operators' SMS Price Hikes Come Under Senate Scrutiny
CTIA - The Wireless Association® Releases Latest Wireless …
CTIA - The Wireless Association® Releases Latest Wireless …
Discussion: CNET News, VentureBeat and Gadget Lab
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News: U.S. text usage hits record despite price increases
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat: Sybase makes global MMS interoperability easier
Brian X. Chen / Gadget Lab: Survey: Americans Are Crazy About Text Messaging
Fawn Johnson / Wall Street Journal:
Text-Messaging Rates Come Under Scrutiny
Text-Messaging Rates Come Under Scrutiny
Discussion: Reuters, DSLreports and The Register
Diane Bartz / Reuters: Cell phone firms queried on rising texting rates
Karl Bode / DSLreports: Text-Messaging Rates Come Under Scrutiny …
YouTube Draws 5 Billion U.S. Online Video Views in July 2008 — Americans Watch 558 Million Hours of Online Video During the Month, According to comScore Video Metrix — comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released July 2008 data from the comScore Video Metrix service …
Discussion: NewTeeVee, TechCrunch, BoomTown, Slyck, Digital Daily, ReadWriteWeb, Portfolio and Podcasting News
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee: ComScore: YouTube Nears 5 Billion Views
Don Reisinger / TechCrunch: Google Trounces Web Video Competitors With 5 Billion Views
Kara Swisher / BoomTown: Do Walk Away, Sergey (and Google) From the Yahoo Deal
Thomas Mennecke / Slyck: Where are all the Videos at? — Online videos are perhaps …
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily: Dramatic YouTube — As in search, in Web video Google is the one to beat.
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb: Comscore Says Almost Everyone (75%) in the US Now Watches Video Online
Laura Rich / Portfolio: YouTube: 5 Billion Served
James Lewin / Podcasting News: 75 Percent Of Americans Watching Online Video
Matthew Rothenberg / Flickr Blog:
There's No Place Like Home — Also available in: , Português, Deutsch — Starting today, we're rolling out a sneak preview of the new Flickr home page. — Why all the change? Well, that's easy: Everybody knows the best part of Flickr is uploading photos and getting feedback from the community.
Discussion: Mashable!
Stephen Shankland / Underexposed:
Flickr revamp spotlights photos, social features
Flickr revamp spotlights photos, social features
Discussion: Valleywag and RotorBlog.com
Arnold Zafra / RotorBlog.com: Flickr Becomes More Social with New Interface
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
TC50: Birdpost and Closet Couture, Two Social Networks for Birds — The first two companies to present at this afternoon's Vertical Social Networking session proved that niche social networks can be exciting, even for people outside of their respective niches. — On paper, a social network for bird watchers sounds like a joke.
Discussion: InfoWorld, VentureBeat and UberPulse
Tom Kaneshige / InfoWorld: Social networking hype 2.0
Chris Morrison / VentureBeat: TC50: Niche social networks thrive, for birdwatchers, fashion …
Josh Lowensohn / Webware.com: Closet Couture gives you a virtual closet with real clothes
Sydney Morning Herald:
Email becomes a dangerous distraction — Back in the early 1990s, email was a privilege granted only to those who could prove they needed it. Now it has turned into a nuisance that's costing companies millions. We may feel that we have it under control, but not only do we check email …
Discussion: PC World, Valleywag and Negative Approach
Dave Rosenberg / Negative Approach: E-mail is as addictive as gambling
iPhone Traffic Almost Doubles in the US — San Mateo, CA — AdMob, the world's largest mobile advertising marketplace, today highlighted the rapid and global growth of smartphone usage in their August 2008 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report. The anticipated launch of new smartphones in the coming months …
Discussion: InformationWeek
Eric Zeman / InformationWeek: iPhone Mobile Web Usage Soars
Jake Swearingen / VentureBeat:
Smartphones gobbling up ever more market share
Smartphones gobbling up ever more market share
Discussion: TG Daily and msearchgroove
Wolfgang Gruener / TG Daily: iPhones, other smartphones take bigger piece of mobile pie
Rachel Metz / Associated Press:
Apple senior execs settle options case for $14M — Apple senior execs and directors settle options lawsuit; company gets millions out of it — NEW YORK (AP) — Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs and several other senior executives and board members have agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed …
Tom Krazit / CNET News: Apple settles backdating lawsuit for $14 million
Betsy Schiffman / Epicenter: Apple Closer to Cleaning Up Options Mess
Robert Palmer / TUAW: Apple settles options backdating lawsuit
Charles Arthur / Guardian:
Is Apple's Genius a music subscription service in disguise? — Getting hold of a big database of peoples' music tastes would be a great way to sell more music, don't you think? Continue reading... Microsoft previews work-anywhere BlueTrack mice — It's not often you see Microsoft trumpeting …
Discussion: MacUser and TECH.BLORGE.com
Dan Moren / MacUser: Infrequently Asked Questions: Let's Rock edition
Crave at CNET UK:
Photos: Hands-on with the new Apple iPod classic — We're huge fans of the iPod classic. When you rip all your CDs in Apple Lossless format, have about 30 podcast subscriptions, an archive of music videos, and insist on carrying the whole lot around with you, the 160GB model is the only way to go.
Discussion: PR Newswire, CrunchGear, Gizmodo, Engadget and MacRumors
John Biggs / CrunchGear: iPod Classic might get Genius brain
Sean Fallon / Gizmodo: iPod Classic May Get Genius Playlists
Nilay Patel / Engadget: Zune 30, older iPod classic getting new firmware fun
Howard Anderson / GigaOM:
5 Reasons to Move Your Startup Out of Silicon Valley — All tech startups need just a few ingredients to germinate: sophisticated money; first-rate technology universities; and a few template successes (a Google or a Facebook, and so on) to encourage founders to get off their duffs.
Discussion: NewTeeVee, Xconomy and broadstuff
Robert Buderi / Xconomy: Why Startups Should Quit Silicon Valley
Alan Patrick / broadstuff: WHY SHOULD A STARTUP HAVE TO BE IN SILICON VALLEY?


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I'm honored to host today's guest post from Momma Jorje. Jorje and her husband Elmo recently welcomed a new son, Spencer, who has Down Syndrome. This post was written just a few weeks after he was born, and it details some of the ways Spencer displays characteristics of DS, and some of the ways he doesn't. Please read to the bottom to learn more about today's lovely guest blogger.
As Spencer was born, placed on my belly, and then taken across the room to be checked over, my husband and I were both watching and checking for obvious Down syndrome markers. We knew there would be some and we were fine with that. We just hoped they wouldn't be overly obvious. I discussed the possible physical characteristics in my first Down Syndrome Awareness Month post.
When they took him across the room, Elmo quietly told me he hadn't noticed any traits. I had. I noticed that he has the flatter nose bridge. I also noticed his eyes have a slight upward slant, often referred to as "almond eyes." And I also noticed loose folds of skin on the back of his neck.
Most of all though, I know we saw our son. I thought it was super sweet that my husband had overlooked these things. He hadn't seen them at all! And let me tell you, he generally has a keen eye for these kinds of details!
Since then (3 weeks ago), we've had time to get to know our son better. One of my main concerns was low muscle tone*. It is very common among babies with Down syndrome and can make breastfeeding very difficult (if even possible). I mentioned during pregnancy that Spencer certainly didn't feel like he had low muscle tone! But really, how can you determine something like that while in utero? Well I was right! We aced the muscle tone! Spencer latched on within 30 minutes of birth!
By comparing him to the list I posted before: He does have the flatter nose bridge*. He has ever-so-slight epicanthal folds at the corners of his eyes. He does have a tiny mouth. In the NICU, if he puckered up, I couldn't stuff my nipple into his mouth. I think he has small ears* and small ear passages, but it has been a couple of years since I had a newborn. Maybe they just seem small.
Spencer's head is a little on the small side and he has loose folds of extra skin on the back of his neck. I can't decide if he has shorter fingers (especially the 5th finger) or not. It is hard to tell with such tiny little hands in the first place.
He definitely has a gap between his first and second toes* and a deep crease in the sole of his foot in this gap. The funny thing about this... I've always called my babies "Monkey Toes." This stems from them all having my long slender toes and because I just love baby feet and toes! Spencer doesn't have long slender toes, but he does have this gap. It is more reminiscent of monkey's toes than my other babies! I absolutely adore his special little feet! I can't tell if they're flat or not.
This leaves plenty of possible features in the "grab bag" that Spencer didn't get. We had seen him stick his tongue out on our U/S a couple of times, so I was surprised that he doesn't stick his tongue out more. He did have some tongue thrusting issues, but the Speech Therapist worked with him on some bottle feeds and this doesn't seem to be an issue at all anymore.
I had some family members that came up to the hospital right before the NICU opened back up (from one of their 4 daily closures). They had a new baby arrive, though, so were slow to open or answer their calls. While we waited so they could see Spencer, I was asked "Do they still think he is retarded?" I don't know why I was so shocked. This particular branch of family has expressed absolutely no interest in learning about Down syndrome.
They gave up and left without seeing Spencer at all. The NICU opened back up within minutes of their leaving. I wasn't sorry they didn't get to see him, not at all. It does kind of weigh on me, though, that these family members (we're not talking extended here) still haven't seen our 3 week old son. And yet I hesitate to take him to see them, either.
I'm not offended by the R-word. At the same time, I am very offended that these family members haven't tried to learn anything and also that they assume Spencer is retarded. That word does not apply. Seriously, it just doesn't.
I think we were afraid of birthing a syndrome instead of a baby. I think we're offended that others might see Spencer in that way. Now that he is here with us, we certainly don't see him as a syndrome at all. Sure, every once in a while I catch him from a certain angle and his common DS features align and I see them. I do. But more than anything, I see and love our perfect little boy. I hope my family can get over their hangups and see him for who he is, too.
We did not birth a syndrome. We birthed a perfect little baby boy!
* These are the most common physical traits associated with Down syndrome.
About today's guest blogger, Jorje of Momma Jorje:
I am a slightly crunchy momma (and wife!) embracing my crunchiness and striving to be ever crunchier. I am passionate about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby signing, elimination communication and general attachment parenting. I am currently obsessed with hitting the road full time to unschool with my family. I am also interested in tarantulas, macro photography and becoming a minimalist. I have two daughters: Tyler is nearly 13, Sasha is nearly 2. I had one more, whom my mother adopted, she is a whopping 21 years old now! I have been married for 2 years. We've just expanded our family with our last baby, Spencer!
This post has been edited from a previous version originally published at Momma Jorje.


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With Clairaut's theorem comes the first common example of a smoothness assumption. It's a good time to say just what I mean by this.
Let's look at an open region . We can now define a tower of algebras of functions on this set. We start by setting out the real-valued functions which are continuous at each point of , and write this as . It's an algebra under pointwise addition and multiplication of functions.
Next we consider those functions which have all partial derivatives at every point of , and these partial derivatives are themselves continuous throughout . We've seen that this will imply that such a function has a differential at each point of . This gives us a subalgebra of which we write as . That is, these functions have "one continuous derivative", or are "once (continuously) differentiable".
Continuing on, we consider those functions which have all second partial derivatives, and that these second partials are themselves continuous at each point of . Clairaut's theorem tells us that the mixed second partials are equal, since they're both continuous, and we can define the second differential. These functions form a subalgebra of (and thus a further subalgebra of ) which we write as . These functions have "two continuous derivatives", or are "twice (continuously) differentiable".
From here it's clear how to proceed, defining functions with higher and higher differentials. We get algebras , , and so on. We can even define the infinitely differentiable functions to be the limit (in the categorical sense) of this process. It consists of all the functions that are in for all natural numbers . Taking any directional derivative (with a constant direction) of a function in lands us in , although such differentiation sends back into itself.
Is this the end? Not quite. Just like in one variable we have analytic functions. Once we're in and we have all higher derivatives we can use Taylor's theorem to write out the Taylor series of our function. But this may or may not converge back to the function itself. If it does for every point in we say that the function is analytic on . The collection of all analytic functions forms a subalgebra of which we write as .
It's interesting to observe that at each step, "most" functions fail to fall into the finer subalgebra, just like "most" points on the – plane are not on the -axis. An arbitrary function selected from will actually lie within with probability zero. An arbitrary infinitely differentiable function is analytic with probability zero. Pretty much every example we show students in calculus classes is infinitely differentiable, if not analytic, and yet such functions make up a vanishingly small portion of even once differentiable functions.
So, what does it mean to say that a function is "smooth"? It's often said to mean that a function is in — that it has derivatives of all orders. But in practice, this seems to actually be just a convenience. What "smooth" actually means is a subtler point.
Let's say I'm working in some situation where I'm going to be taking first and second partial derivatives of a function in a region, and I'm going to want the mixed partials to commute by Clairaut's theorem. If I say that is infinitely differentiable on , this will certainly do the trick. But I've excluded a huge number of functions. All I really need is for to fall into , of which is an incredibly tiny subalgebra.
In practice, then, "smooth" effectively means "has enough derivatives to do what I want with it". It's a way of saying that we understand that it's possible to come up with pathological cases which break the theorem we're stating, but as long as we have sufficiently many derivatives (where "sufficiently many" is some fixed natural number we don't care to work out in detail) the pathological cases can be excluded. Saying that "smooth" means "infinitely differentiable" accomplishes this goal, and it's usually easier than trying to stomach the idea that "smoothness" is a highly context-dependent term of art rather than a nice, well-defined mathematical concept.
6 Comments »
There are different foundations for Smoothness, debated at the n-Category Cafe. The September 2009 "Field Notes" from the Fields Institute has report by Phil Scott on the Workshop on Smooth Structures in Logic, Category Theory and Physics.
Comment by Jonathan Vos Post | October 21, 2009 |
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[…] be a continuously differentiable function defined on an open region . Further, assume that is injective and that the Jacobian […]
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[…] So what do we know about these transition functions? Well, is a homeomorphism from to , meaning it's continuous with a continuous inverse. But remember that , and we know a lot about real -dimensional space. We know all kinds of extra structure beyond just its topology, and in particular we know what it means for a function from to itself to be smooth. […]
Pingback by Classes of Manifolds « The Unapologetic Mathematician | February 25, 2011 |


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Migration Update: Wildebeests Cross Mara River Early
Is the grass always greener on the other side? For the wildebeests, it is. Drawn by instincts, weather patterns and their appetites, the giant herds of the Great Migration make a continuous circuit around the Serengeti ecosystem in search of food – which is, literally – green grass.
The circuit follows a general pattern each year, however given the nature of nature, there are always variations making the exact location of the herds unpredictable from year to year. For instance, this autumn, the migration crossed the Mara River almost a month earlier than prior years due to an unusual and ample amount of rainfall during the dry season in the northern Serengeti.
The sheer numbers of the Great Migration make it a sight to see however there are a few events throughout the year that safari enthusiasts with good timing are lucky to witness such as newly-born wildebeest calves in March and the annual wildebeest rut in May. The suspenseful and dynamic Mara River crossings in July and October often get top billing and have been dubbed "nature's greatest show on earth."
Many of our guests are returning from Tanzania now after witnessing this year's early river crossing. North & South Safari guests, Paul & Kirsten Kesicki, said, "We had an incredible time in Tanzania. We were very fortunate to see a couple of hundred thousand wildebeest cross the Mara River on our first day in the Northern Serengeti! That is something we will never forget. We were very pleased with the itinerary and the whole Thomson experience."
Vance Miller, who recently returned from a custom, private safari, commented, "The wildebeest migration was in full swing. We were able to witness three Mara river crossings in a single day."
The video was shot by Thomson Safaris' guest, Keeley Keenahan, and shows the organized chaos of a river crossing where thousands of wildebeests struggle to fight the strong currents, avoid crocodiles and hope to make it to the green grasses on the other side.
Have questions about the migration? Learn more here!