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It was with some trepidation that we made our way to Audi City London Showroom in Piccadilly, to see the next step in the Forza series. Having loved Forza Motorsport 4 and put plenty of driving hours into it, we were a little concerned about what Forza might have become. We saw the game at E3 and we'd spent time with Playground Games exploring what the game has on offer, but this was the first real chance for free play.
A change of format is something of a bold move, as Forza Horizon looks on paper like a huge step away from the world of Forza Motorsport. As we found out, it is and it isn't. Read on, and we'll try to explain why, based on a couple of hours playing the final code of Forza Horizon.
The game world
The biggest change to Forza in Horizon is the world you inhabit. FM4 has you flying around the globe racing on famous tracks. It's Silverstone, Le Mans, Circuit de Catalunya. Authentic locations replicated with precision and detail. It's a safe, contained world dominated by the raceway.
Forza Horizon, by contrast, is an open-world game. A huge map has been created, based on Colorado, because of the varied environment that part of the world offers. The terrain is one thing, but the reason you're there is also integral to how the game plays.
The Horizon Festival is that reason. The Festival location itself serves as a central gameplay mechanic, so rather than skipping to a lofty garage in a menu, the Festival acts as a sort of home environment. You can return there to buy new cars, perform upgrades and importantly advance in the story that sits behind the game.
In reality, although you can perform these game-world tasks at the festival location itself, many you can just do on the fly. For example, you arrive at a race in the wrong class of car, you get the option to upgrade or downgrade, just as you did in FM4. We also found you could buy a new car when you arrive, so to some degree, the Horizon Festival's function as a hub isn't always entirely obvious.
We spent about two hours playing Forza Horizon so we had a chance to explore some of the map. One of the new elements is that you're not always racing on asphalt. Now you have offroad racing too, so for the first time you'll be able to take some of those great Forza cars and thrash them in their natural environment.
Take, for example, the Audi Sport Quattro. This car cut its teeth in rallying and although a classic racing car, doesn't really fit into the Tarmac world of Forza Motorsport 4. However, throw it around the dirt tracks of Forza Horizon and it all makes sense.
The early stages of the single-player mode of Forza Horizon introduce you to offroad racing. In the couple of races we played we can't say it was hugely different from the road, but we noticed that the track was wide enough to maintain that bustling Forza feel, rather than the enclosed woodland tracks of something like Colin McRae, although there may be those sorts of tracks elsewhere on the map.
It's important to remember that some of the development team at Playground Games worked on titles like Dirt and McRae, so there's experience going into this game, in combination with the automotive pedigree that you expect from a Forza title.
Then you have day and night. You have night racing, you can race as the sun rises, or sets, so you get that beautiful vista with burning skies and the lights of the other cars. It all looks fantastic, as does the Horizon Festival: it's pumping during that day, but really comes to life at night with lasers arching into the sky and fireworks adding to the brilliance.
There's storyline, personality, atmosphere
Working in combination with this central concept of a racing festival, there is something of a storyline pulling things together. This moves Forza Horizon away from a simple credits-for-cars progressive racing game and brings a feeling closer to racing arcade games, like Need for Speed or Burnout Paradise.
Although the plot or storyline of such games does little other than drag you from one driving section to the next, here it lends personality to Forza Horizon. FM4 didn't have personality, just the monotonous narrator saying, "The next race takes place at…", which was really a time to check your phone whilst waiting to get to the start line.
Forza Horizon gives you story from the start. You're introduced to characters, with the opening drive being a race against the current champion, Darius Flynt, quickly followed by a race into the festival where you meet the daisy duke-wearing Alice Hart.
Alice Hart acts as the race director and, from the off, has the feeling of some sort of love interest (in Forza? Really?) Perhaps that never comes to pass, but as we said, there are characters with personality in this new word of racing. Hart talks to you, guides you, encourages you and explains things as you go along.
Through the headset that Hart gives you, you learn about the popularity system and get feedback as you go. It's neat, it works, and it's very different from the straight racing of FM4.
Then you have the festival itself and the game's soundtrack. If you're looking for atmosphere, Forza Horizon brings it by the bucketload. The Horizon Festival was created with input from Rob da Bank, Radio 1 DJ and founder of Bestival, to bring an authentic and excitement to Horizon.
It works too. Driving into the festival you're hit by a wall of noise. You're not just listening to the soundtrack provided by the cars, but the spectators and the music adds real depth here.
There are 66 licensed music tracks divided across three radio stations, so you can switch the background music to suit your tastes. It's current music too, so we caught some Dizzee Rascal, Nero, and raced to Mike and the Womp's Bom Bom. Forza Horizon: we really do like your style of womping.
Behind the wheel
Within this drastically different Forza world, however, this is still very much a Forza driving experience. Arrive at an event and things start to feel familiar. It now has a festival feel, earning your way through coloured wristbands to gain access to more exciting events, but once you're on the grid, Forza drivers will know exactly what to do.
The cars are all here. Although Forza Horizon hasn't yet announced the full list of cars we looked through those on sale and there's a healthy selection of marques and models you'll have seen in Forza Motorsport 4. You'll have to win or buy cars as you go along, although Playground Games told us that if you've been a Forza 4 player, your profile will be recognised and you'll get bonus cars from the off.
Once driving, importantly, the cars behave like Forza cars. They have the authenticity you expect. That classic Mustang wallows in corners, those front wheel drive hot hatches become unpredictable once you upgrade them too far. All the things you know and expect from previous Forza outings you'll find here.
And this is the vital point for Forza Horizon. It's still a car lover's game. It's still a racing game. It might now be called an "action racing game", but it's definitely Forza and you'll know that as soon as you jab the brakes and control that wide drift through the corner, just as you've done in the past.
One of the new gameplay elements is earning points to boost your popularity. Popularity will get you into races, but gaining it is nothing to worry about. There are 35 separate skills that will get you points and the chances are that if you're a Forza driver, you already have those skills.
Drifting is the most obvious example, but airborne overtaking, slingshotting and sideswiping all seemed to earn us points, even if we didn't consciously do anything other than win races by all available means. If you're a Forza player, you'll want to adjust the difficulty right from the start, because we won almost every race with ease, so switching off some of the assists will give you more satisfaction.
With the move from track to open world the consistency of tracks changes too. Driving around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit is predictable: you have a defined route. In Forza Horizon you might be street racing with railings and walls you can't afford to hit, or wooden fences you can. It changes your driving style slightly, as you're not a slave to the road anymore. Forza Horizon is more forgiving when you deviate off the road: where FM4 was like driving through glue, Horizon will let you cut corners much more effectively, a useful method for passing your opponents, once you know the roads.
Playing for a couple of hours we found plenty of variety. You can choose what races to take, with a selection on offer to navigate to on the map. There are also special events to get to, as well as treasure to find, like a car lost in the mountains. You also get to race rivals to win their car or get involved in private invite-only racing events.
Along the way you'll have to upgrade your car; the starting Scirocco will serve you well, but once upgraded to B class, you can't help feeling that you could do with something a little more stable on the road. With enough credit in our pocket, we bought a Nissan GT-R, an S class car, but then found it was too highly rated for any of the races on offer. At least you can just roam around the world and explore.
Our first impressions
We've seen and played some of what's on offer in Forza Horizon and our fears have been allayed. This isn't Forza Motorsport 5, it isn't straight racing, it's something more. But it hasn't lost the thing we love about Forza. The driving experience is still incredible, but there's way more personality and way more variety.
We already have confirmation that following the game's launch on 26 October, there will be DLC car packs regularly, with an expansion planned for 18 December. This will be a game that grows with you and hopefully, like Forza's of the past, see you coming back to play time and again.
We find ourselves now feeling that Forza Motorsport 4 is just a little too vanilla. It's still an amazing racing game, but Forza Horizon feels like it's going to bring thrills and spills the Forza world hasn't yet seen. Are we excited? You bet we are.


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Posted: Nov 02, 2009
Skyline Releases Men's Soccer Report #9
- Patrick Gubbins named to Honor Roll
Clifton Park, N.Y. - The Skyline Conference released the ninth Men's Soccer report for the 2009 season this afternoon, including Player of the Week, Rookie of the Week, Honor Roll and Conference statistics.
Senior goalkeeper Patrick Gubbins (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) was named to the Player of the Week Honor Roll. Gubbins started in goal agasint Manhattanville, playing the first half while stopping five shots and not allowing a goal.
To view the full report, click HERE.

subset: commoncrawl


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Class surprises lesbian teacher on wedding day
CAMPAIGN 2008 / Proposition 8
A group of San Francisco first-graders took an unusual field trip to City Hall on Friday to toss rose petals on their just-married lesbian teacher - putting the public school children at the center of a fierce election battle over the fate of same-sex marriage.
The 18 Creative Arts Charter School students took a Muni bus and walked a block at noon to toss rose petals and blow bubbles on their just-married teacher Erin Carder and her wife Kerri McCoy, giggling and squealing as they mobbed their teacher with hugs.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, a friend of a friend, officiated.
A parent came up with the idea for the field trip - a surprise for the teacher on her wedding day.
"She's such a dedicated teacher," said the school's interim director Liz Jaroflow.
But there was a question of justifying the field trip academically. Jaroflow decided she could.
"It really is what we call a teachable moment," Jaroflow said, noting the historic significance of same-sex marriage and related civil rights issues. "I think I'm well within the parameters."
Nonetheless, the excursion offers Proposition 8 proponents fresh ammunition for their efforts to outlaw gay marriage in California, offering a real-life incident that echoes their recent television and radio ads.
"It's just utterly unreasonable that a public school field trip would be to a same-sex wedding," said Chip White, press secretary for the Yes on 8 campaign. "This is overt indoctrination of children who are too young to have an understanding of its purpose."
The trip illustrates the message promoted by the campaign in recent days, namely that unless Prop. 8 passes on Nov. 4, children will learn about same-sex marriage in school.
"It shows that not only can it happen, but it has already happened," White said.
California Education Code permits school districts to offer comprehensive sex education, but if they do, they have to "teach respect for marriage and committed relationships."
Parents can excuse their child from all or part of the instruction.
On Friday, McCoy and Carder, both in white, held hands on Newsom's office balcony overlooking the rotunda and recited their vows.
"With this ring, I thee wed!" Carder said, shouting the last word for emphasis.
After traditional photos, the two walked out City Hall's main doors where the students were lined up down the steps with bags of pink rose petals and bottles of bubbles hanging from their necks. McCoy, a conferences services coordinator, was in on the surprise and beamed as the children swarmed around Carder.
The two said they have participated in the campaign against Proposition 8 and planned to travel around San Francisco on Friday afternoon in a motorized trolley car with "Just Married" and "Vote No on 8" banners.
The two met on a dance floor two years ago.
"This is one girl I can honestly say deserves happiness, and it came in the form of Kerri," said Carder's friend Dani Starelli.
Creative Arts administrators and parents acknowledged that the field trip might be controversial, but they didn't see the big deal. Same-sex marriage is legal, they noted.
"How many days in school are they going to remember?" asked parent Mark Lipsett. "This is a day they'll definitely remember."
Carder's students said they were happy to see their new teacher married.
"She's a really nice teacher. She's the best," said 6-year-old Chava Novogrodsky-Godt, wearing a "No on 8" button on her shirt. "I want her to have a good wedding."
Chava's mothers said they are getting married in two weeks.
The students' parents are planning to make a video with the children describing what marriage is to them.
Marriage, 6-year-old Nolan Alexander said Friday, is "people falling in love."
It means, he added, "You stay with someone the rest of your life."
As is the case with all field trips, parents had to give their permission and could choose to opt out of the trip. Two families did. Those children spent the duration of the 90-minute field trip back at school with another first-grade class, the interim director said.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's not controversial for me," Jaroflow said. "It's certainly an issue I would be willing to put my job on the line for."


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Moon Standing Still
If you've been outside after dark the past few days, you've likely noticed the full-appearing moon. While Thursday the 19th marks the true full phase, September's Harvest Moon fills the sky for several days at a time. The full moon closest to Autumnal Equinox, the Harvest Moon gets its name from the role it played historically in providing light for farmers to bring in the last of the season's crops.
It's not that this moon shines any longer than other moons. In fact, the full moons of December and January shine more than 15 hours compared to the 12 hours of Harvest Moon. All full moons rise as the sun sets and set the next morning as the sun rises. But for several days this moon rises and sets little more than 30 minutes later from day to day compared to the usual hour difference. Farther to the north the shift is even less, around 20 minutes near the U.S.-Canada border and a mere 10 minutes at the Arctic Circle.
The reason this moon stands still is its place along the ecliptic, the apparent path followed by the sun, moon, planets and constellations as seen from Earth. This time of year, the nighttime ecliptic is a low, shallow arc through our southern skies, with the moon slowly inching eastward from night to night.
While the moon lingers in our skies, the sun makes its fastest exit at the time of Autumnal Equinox, September 22. The ecliptic is at its most shallow in the night, but at its steepest in the day. With the sun setting along a near-vertical line, the time from the first edge of its disc sinking beneath the horizon until the whole sphere is gone is less than four minutes. Juxtaposed to the moon inching from east to west day by day, the sun moves in leaps and bounds, each day setting more than two minutes earlier and rising more than two minutes later than the day before.


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Hello there.
I have a month's worth of pictures to share.
Post coming soon.
Yes, I'm being a tease. 🙂
Hallo, gorgeous!
Luka is so handsome…. I am very curious as the circumstances under which this picture was taken,
Tease! Luka's tiny bit of tongue makes the picture a classic.


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Growing, an autobiography of the years 1904-1911
Hogarth Press, 1961 - Biography & Autobiography - 256 pages
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Tobias Harris started the season fairly strong, putting together some decent lines in November, but then fell out of the Bucks rotation. "Oh Tobias, you blow-hard!" It looked like Harris' career might be stalled. "I got my hands on some money. I can't say how or when … or where my wedding ring is, but my purse overfloweth." But with a trade to the Magic right at the deadline, Harris got a much needed new beginning in O-Town. "But guess what? There's a new daddy in town. A discipline Daddy." Harris has been a discipline daddy indeed, providing the Magic with their lone bright spot with 23 Pts 9-12 FG 2-2 FT 1 3PTM 6 Rebs 2 Asts and 2 Stls last night while being massacred by the Kings. And if any of these references are giving you a chubby, suck it up and watch Arrested Development! As I mentioned in both articles yesterday, I'm crushing hard on my boy T-Hair. Shooting a total of 21-31 (68%) and averaging 17.7 Pts 0.67 3PM 6.7 Rebs 1.3 Asts 1.0 Stl and 1.0 Blk over his three games for Orlando, he's been a dynamite find for their unloading of J.J. I called him a pickup in deeper leagues, but with a third straight big performance where he looked worthy of 40 minutes (I watched this game – he attacked the rim hard, shot well, and played spry), I'm now calling him a pickup in all leagues. Here's what else happened last night across the NBA:
Deke! Don't forget that all our Razzball mindscapes are now in one convenient social media lollapalooza on Facebook. Shoot us a like, track all the new articles when they go up, and follow more of Grey's game-winning musings on life.
Stephen Curry – Absolutely unstoppable last night putting up an NBA season-high and career-high of 54 Pts with 11 3PM 6 Rebs 7 Asts and 3 Stls. Gives the Davidson grad (that's where I'm from!) 92 Pts and 18 3PTM in two game this week. If you don't win those categories as a Curry owner, it's time for a long hard look in the mirror.
John Salmons – Everyone's favorite "hey, girl, heyyyyy" starer had a fantastic line last night going 7-9 FG 21 Pts 4 3PM 1 Reb and 5 Asts in only 22 minutes. Coming off 50 minutes in the 2OT loss Tuesday night, it's not surprising to see the vet get a few less minutes. What is surprising is his 3 PT shooting of late, going 15 for his last 20. I'm gonna try something new here, but TAGNOF! (three's ain't got not face)
Dion Waiters – No Irving, no problem as the Cavs have won two straight without their star PG, and as I predicted Waiters put up 20+ again. Finished the night with 7-16 FG 23 Pts 2 3PTM 1 Red 6 Asts 1 Stl and 1 Blk. No more waiting for Guffman.
John Wall – His worst line on the season with 3-9 FG 6 Pts 1 Reb 4 Asts 1 Stl and 7 TOs. Just one of those nights, I wouldn't panic.
Trevor Ariza – Basking in one of his best stretches on the year, Ariza went 7-13 4 3PTM 22 Pts 6 Rebs 3 Asts 3 Stls and 1 Blk. Nice rainbow line in 33 minutes off the bench. If your stats need a little seasoning in everything, Ariza might be your guy. Or it might be Guy Fieri.
Brandon Knight – Knight was hittin' it all day, with a career-high 32 Pts going 11-18 with 5 3PTM. Will Bynum was terrible off the bench and the Pistons got a tough 1-point win on the road. This Knight won this Game of Thrones.
Jose Calderon – 18 assists. It's like one of those Call of Duty games where you're like, "WTF how come they don't die when I shoot em!"
Dirk Nowitzki – Coming off a huge 3-game stretch and crashed back down to Germany with only 10 Pts and 4 Rebs. Why I have been calling him a sell-high.
J.J. Redick – Kinda freaked me out with virtually the same line two nights in a row. Has scored 14 Pts with 2 3PTM in back-to-back games with paltry other stats in only 23 and 21 minutes. If you can get anything back, I move him.
Monta Ellis – Still getting huge minutes over giving Redick additional time. Ellis deserves it though, with a monstrous line of 9-24 FG 2 3PTM 27 Pts 6 Rebs 13 Asts and 6 Stls, including a preposterous fadeaway-ish busted play 3-pointer for the win at the buzzer. Moped on that!
Thomas Robinson – I am singing myself an emo song after his debut. Only given 8 minutes in his first game in Houston, scoring 2 Pts and getting 3 Fouls. It's like he was a caged animal. Donatas Montiejunas (or whatever, I refuse to double check the spelling of a Schmohawk's name) and Carlos Delfino played 26 and 31 minutes respectively. Why trade for this guy, Houston?! I still think he'll work his way into major minutes as coach Kevin McHale said he would be brought along slowly, but there's no need to hold onto him in the interim unless you've got a deep roster.
Kevin Durant – Second triple double in his last four games as the Thunder absolute gut the soon to be Pelicans. Not quite scoring the huge totals, but you'll take the multi-stat rape-age.
Jermaine O'Neal – A blast from the past with a mid-2000's type of line from the old vet going 22 and 13 with 2 Blks. Well hello double-double. Very quietly has double-digit rebounds in five of the last seven games with double-doubles in four of those along with an average of 2.3 Blks. If you need some big man stats, he's out there in a lot of leagues.
Al Horford – Playing unreal this season with a Jazz-crushing 34 Pts on 14-22 shooting with 15 Rebs 3 Asts 1 Stl and 5 Blks. Big Al, meet big Al (Jefferson). Horford was the biggest Al.
Derrick Favors – Falling out of favor with fantasy owners, D-Fav had one of his best lines on the year with 17 Pts 15 Rebs 3 Asts and 3 Blks. Don't let go! Jack! I'll never let go!
J.J. Hickson – I remember watching Hickson for the Cavs and he would put up numbers just real lazy-like. Seems to play with the motor on full now in Portland. I watched this game last night against the Nuggets, and Hickson was a spark in virtually all his 32 minutes going 18 Pts and 14 Rebs. If anyone isn't sold on Hickson as a mid-tier big, I'd try and make a deal.
Next Games: I've got Houston @ Orlando then Thunder @ Nuggets on Friday night. I'll be watching Thomas Robinson hopefully get a few more minutes, then watching as just a plain NBA fan in what should be a thriller in Denver. Shoot me your comments below or tweet me (@jbgilpin) any of your NBA questions!


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|Hello, friends! I'm taking a break and it might take me a few days to reply to comments and emails. I'll be back! :)
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Cookbook Love: Practically Raw
You know what kind of people don't burn their mouth with hot potatoes? People who eat raw foods. Now that I have so smoothly tied my first paragraph with the rest of this blog post, let's drool over some delicious recipes created by the one and only Chef Amber Shea Crawley from her fabulous cookbook Practically Raw. I think raw "cooking" is awesome, but it's not the fact that the food is raw that interests me, it's the ingredients that are used, and most importantly the ingredients that aren't. If this had been a raw cookbook without cooked options, I wouldn't be writing this post because it would be disrespectful to the author, but Chef Amber Shea is totally cool with us cooking the food if we want to, because she's awesome and breezy like that. The cookbook also offers plenty of ingredient substitutions in case you don't want to use a particular ingredient or you just don't have it on hand. It's definitely a mind-opening cookbook that inspires you to experiment with recipes and, well, to wing it!
First things first - this cookbook was not sent to me for review by anybody. It was a gift from Mr. Wing-It and I have received no compensation from anybody to write this post. Just a note for you skeptical squirrels out there.
I chose the cooked options for all the recipes that had that option, but Amber Shea tells you everything you need to know about preparing raw foods, from where to find certain ingredients to what kind of equipment you might need to put together some of the recipes. OK, let's jump in!
I'm going to go ahead and start with what I think is the pièce de résistance: Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies and Chocolate Silk Ganache. These are two separate recipes, but I used the Chocolate Silk Ganache to make sandwich cookies. There are no words! This is embarrassing, because Amber is a linguist and I can't think of a word to describe how delicious these cute little morsels are. Heavenly? Delicious? Scrumptious? Nah. Those words don't quite cut it. The soft cookies and the creamy ganache make quite the perfect duo!
A small army of tempting cookies!
Tell me the ganache is not making you drool. You can't.
Don't cry if you don't have the cookbook yet, Amber Shea shared her recipe for the Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies on her blog. (Edit to add: I just realized that the recipe for the ganache is available on the "search inside this book" feature on Amazon.) Have you ever bought Coconut Butter? Sucker! I will never buy expensive coconut butter again now that Amber Shea has taught me how to make my own. And it's such a simple process that requires only one ingredient: coconut!
Eat it by the spoonful I can.
Of course, I had to make more Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies so I could fill them with Coconut Butter. This time I made thumbprint cookies, half filled with Coconut Butter and half filled with Chocolate Silk Ganache. (Edit to clarify: I filled them with ganache and coconut butter after they had been baked and cooled down to room temperature)
I also used my homemade coconut butter to make Strawberry Cheesecake Gelato. The coconut butter made this dessert SO exquisite! Fresh strawberries are pretty pathetic right now so I used frozen strawberries that I let thaw out in the fridge overnight. Of course I topped it with Chocolate Silk Ganache. But you already knew that, didn't you? I made the ganache a bit more fluid (with almond milk) so it wouldn't become too hard on top of the gelato. Fabulous! Just fabulous!
Crying because it's all gone now.
Last dessert! These Crunchy Salted Cashew Cookies resemble lace cookies when baked. They were fantastic - and of course I drizzled Chocolate Silk Ganache all over them. Can you blame me? That stuff is da bomb! These are super chewy cookies (the baked version), so Mr. Wing-It ended up eating most of them because of my recent dental issues. They did not last long!
Let's move on to the savory recipes. The Stuffed Peppers with Sunseed Hash and topped with Basil-Parsley Pesto were so tasty, even though I had to wing it because I had very few sun dried tomatoes left. The Sunseed Hash filling is terrific, and it would also make delicious little "meat"balls, tiny little "meat"loaves, wee little patties for wee little sliders...
The Basil-Parsley Pesto was delicious and so very flavorful! Please ignore the peachy-looking bits. My pistachios weren't skinned and that's why it looks like that. I think it looks nice and colorful, though!
I used cute mini peppers.
My Vermicelli with Pecan Cream Sauce is actually more like a fettuccine because I don't have a spiralizer and I had to use a potato peeler to slice it instead. My zucchini fettuccine (heehee!) was lightly steamed to soften it a bit. It was a pretty small zucchini which left me with lots of extra yummy sauce to pour on top of it! Score! As you can see, I garnished my fettuccine with a few thinly-sliced Simple Seasoned Mushrooms. The juice of the Simple Seasoned Mushrooms fraternized with the Pecan Cream Sauce wonderfully, and almost stroganoffily! The mushrooms really are simply seasoned, but they are so good! I am no stranger to cashew cream sauce on pasta, but I had never made one with pecans before. Brilliant! It's amazing, and you must try it too!
Moving on to the Vegetable Korma Masala. I absolutely LOVED this spicy sauce! It's super creamy and flavorful. I used only (steamed) cauliflower for this one, but you can add whatever veggies you love.
Maybe The Italian Sausage Pizza should share the pièce de résistance status with the Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies with Chocolate Silk Ganache. It's not fair to compare a savory recipe to a sweet chocolate recipe, but this pizza actually deserves to share the gold medal with that chocolate-fest! It's THAT good! The crust is perfect - I would not change a thing. I thought that maybe it was going to taste like a big flax cracker with sauce and toppings, but I was put in my place as soon as I took one bite. I loved it! The recipe calls for almond butter, but I am glad Amber Shea gave me the choice to leave that out to make it crunchier rather than chewier. The "sausage" is what steals the show though - it's even better than the crust! It's made with walnuts and a combination of seasonings that makes it taste absolutely... heavenly...? delicious...? scrumptious...? There I go again! Truly, there are no words.
I discovered that my cheese-making abilities leave much to be desired. My Basic Nut Cheese was not firm enough to crumble, so I dropped little dollops here and there. An inadequate cheese-maker I am. It was still tasty and I enjoyed the creaminess, though! (Edit: Full pizza recipe here!)
I could eat this every day!
The Nacho Cheese Sauce/Queso Dip is zingy and as spicy as you want it to be, depending on the kind of chili powder that you use. It's very creamy but also firm enough to scoop. My "chips" below are actually pizza crust triangles. I loved the pizza crust so much I've also made it naked, as crackery chips. The pizza crust was naked. I wasn't. Just thought I should clarify that.
But if it is crackers you want, the book includes a super easy recipe for flax crackers too! I've made lots of flax crackers since I went vegan, but I've been complicating myself with unnecessary dough-rolling when I could have been making them Amber Shea's way all along. It takes my slowpoke oven a while to get these super crispy, but by cooking them at the recommended low temperature I never end up with 50% burnt flax crackers like I used to. My crackers are made with ground golden flax seeds and whole brown flax seeds for contrast...
Want something to spread on your easy-breezy crackers? Blackberry Jam to the rescue! I was again put in my place when in spite of my skepticism this jam turned out perfect. I thought it would be more saucy than jammy, but it was indeed a jammy jam. It's delicious on top of the salty flax crackers!
Phew! That was a monster blog post! As you can see, I am incandescently smitten with this cookbook and I can't stop using it! Do you have a copy of Practically Raw? What's your favorite recipe? Aren't you glad you don't have to buy expensive coconut butter anymore?
Stay tuned for the return of a cute Valentine's Day treat! :)
PS: Amber and Matt got married last year, and even though I am not into weddings I think theirs was the best ever. Ever! Gorgeous dress, batty wedding invitations, delicious food. Check it out!
33 comments:
You totally rocked the sweet and savory, raw and cooked recipes - each dish looks perfect to me!ReplyDelete
Omigosh! RIVER! I am so surprised, delighted, and flattered by this thorough and amazing review of Practically Raw. Don't worry about being at a loss for words, because I'm a little speechless myself right now! Your gorgeous photos...your ingenious combinations of different dishes/recipes...your relentlessly kind and glowing praise...my head is threatening to explode with all the awesomeness! GAH! I don't even know what else to say...this post is just pure amazing and makes me slapdashedly giddy with joy. I think I'm gonna go prance and skip around my apartment for a few minutes with a stupid grin on my face...I've also more than used up my ellipsis quota for the day in this one comment, so I should stop anyway. Long story short, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You absolutely rawk (I had to, I HAD to), and you are officially my queen of Practically Raw cookery. Squee! :DReplyDeleteReplies
No, thank YOU for putting together such an amazing cookbook! I am so in love with your recipes! Winging it is my thing, and I have had so much fun with your cookbook because it lets me play and do whatever I want. You are the one who absolutely rawks! :DDelete
Don't let your head explode! We need your brain to create more delicious recipes!
I do proudly accept the title of Queen of Practically Raw Cookery! Will there be a crown involved?
Dawww. ::blush::Delete
Good news: my head did not explode. It was a close call, though.
A crown? Hmm, that depends...can the crown be made of raw cookies? Ooh! And then we could splash Chocolate Silk Ganache all over you at your inauguration! (I would say coconut butter, but that would look reeeally wrong.) Could be messy...could also be some dude's weird fantasy...but it could also be tasty. ;P
I'm glad your head did not explode! A crown made of your cookies would be very suitable indeed. Yes, you are right about the coconut butter, so let's go with the chocolate ganache instead. Phew - that could have ruined my coronation! :DDelete
K, I'm back from prancing and skipping. I'm still floored by your review, and I'm so grateful you took the time, unsolicited, to write it all up and post it--that was very, very cool of you. You are the best!ReplyDelete
Unbelievable review! This is the second one I've read this week and Practically Raw sounds like a must-have. I can't believe all the fabulous dishes you've made. I want it. I want it.ReplyDelete
Glad you're on the mend from the wisdom tooth (and potato) interference.
OK, I really HAVE to get this book now. I mean, like, NOW now. :)ReplyDelete
Thanks for the review and the mouthwatering pictures!
- Aimee B.January 24, 2013 at 1:53 PM
Wow!! I just added this awesome cookbook to my wishlist. I'm hoping to be able to get it next month. I don't think I would have ever even looked at it had it not been for your amazing review and beautiful & yummy food photos. Thank you! :)ReplyDelete
Ah, I loved reading your post! Like you, I have completely fallen head over heels for this cookbook. I kept planning on posting about the recipes on my blog, and then I'd put it off again and again because I wanted to make more recipes first.ReplyDelete
The very day that I posted about it on my blog, I made two more things that were fabulous - the sour cream and onion kale chips and the sausage pizza you posted about above. (My basic cheese turned out exactly like yours. Maybe there's a texture difference between using macadamia nuts & cashews.) I've had my eye on that korma for a while now. It sounds like I need to make it pronto! And I haven't made any of the dessert-y items yet. I'm so missing out! Thanks for all of the gorgeous pics and inspiration! :)Replies
That's exactly what happened to me! I wanted to make more and more recipes so I kept putting it off.Delete
Can you believe I have not tried any of the kale chip recipes yet? I'm relieved to hear I'm not the only one with cheese problems. I will not give up though!
Yes! You are missing out! I think you should make some Strawberry Cheesecake Gelato STAT! :D
Oh yeah! About the cheese, you two: in a future edition of the book, I may lower the water amount to 1/3 cup (instead of 1/2 cup) and advise readers to just add more water if necessary to blend, because it does seem that more people choose to make it with cashews than macnuts. Macnuts behave a little better in that recipe with the full amount of water, though of course they're more expensive.Delete
One thing you can do to firm up the cashew cheese, though, is spread it into a thick round on a silpat- or parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and put it in the oven on the "Warm" setting for a couple/few hours, until the outside looks dry and slightly cracked. Then you could even flip it and dry it some more on the other side if you wanted; it depends on how crumbly vs. creamy you want it.
Thanks for the tips! I will make another batch with 1/3 cup of water, and I'll try the oven trick just to see if I prefer a creamy or crumbly cheese.Delete
Macnuts - my new favorite word! :D
what an outstanding review, river! the pictures are amazing and the food looks SO DELICIOUS! that's the best review i've ever read. i love that you paired so many recipes together. i've never been good at that!ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Your review made me buy this book. THANK YOU! :) I love it.ReplyDelete
Everything looks amazing. Just ordered the book. :-)ReplyDelete
Wow, this looks amazing! I would never have ordered it without this review, but now I must!ReplyDelete
Wow, I'm not normally into raw/rawish foods, but everything you made looks amazing! That korma! Oh, I love a good korma. And the cookies--hello, who wouldn't like those.ReplyDelete
Awesome review!
I've been looking for a cookbook - everything I've been cooking so far has been off vegweb and Pinterest. May have to buy this book now!ReplyDelete
I used to be so hooked on Vegweb before vegan blogs took over the internet! This cookbook is definitely one I would recommend. Also Vegan Brunch, anything by Dreena Burton, Chloe's Kitchen, Cookin' Crunk, and about a thousand other cookbooks! :)Delete
Sorry about the slowpoke reply!
Oh my goodness all of the recipes look amazing! Makes it hard to choose which ones to make first!!ReplyDelete


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Classes are currently being taught online. All physical facilities are closed to the public at this time, and employees are working remotely.Please visit
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This article appeared in a 2015 issue of the
student newsletter.
Three-time Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg held a conference call with 32 college journalists to discuss his new film "Bridge of Spies," which stars Tom Hanks.
Et Cetera Life & Arts editor James Hartley participated in the call and submitted the first question included here. For more of Spielberg's Q&A plus additional coverage of "Bridge of Spies" by Hartley, visit eastfieldnews.com.
Q How do you manage to keep people's attention without conforming to cookie-cutter style movies that are becoming big?
A Well, sometimes I will conform to it like when I produced a movie like "Jurassic World." We'll conform, … we'll conform for instance to the first "Jurassic Park" and design a film which is tonally very much like the movie I directed in 1993 and sort of, you know, trade up on the nostalgic factor. I just try to find stories that I'm interested in directing into movies that are being made today or even were being made a hundred years ago. I love people challenging me … because it's a real test about my own convictions. And the more I can stand up, the more I can be the standing man of my own life and take a stand on a subject that may not be popular but I see it in a certain way that I would be proud to add that to the body of my work, that's pretty much the litmus test that gets me to say, "Yeah, I'll direct that one.'
Q How much of a role do you play as an educator when directing historical fiction?
A When I started having kids, it made me look ahead and then that forced me to look back … I've always loved history. I was a good history student and I've always said to my kids 'you, you can't go forward unless you know where all of us collectively have been.' I've always had this interest in historical subjects … but I never really turned to that until I got serious about being a parent.
Q How do you see this film contributing to the understanding of the Cold War?
A Well, the Cold War is something that we are reminded of with being in the strained relations that we've experienced over the last seven or eight years, maybe even over a decade. And so the Cold War wasn't even … the war of words that we're experiencing today, which is nowhere near as intense as the Cold War was in the 50s and 60s. It's nevertheless a kind of current context from which we can go back in time if we're interested enough to see what might have led to Vladimir Putin, you know, because he did grow up in the Cold War and he was influenced by all of the leaders in Communist Russia. We're flying drones everywhere and we were spying on each other all through the 50s and 60s, and today we have a great deal of cyber hacking which is a form of espionage.


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This Week in Auto Racing Aug. 24-26
Philadelphia, PA – The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run on Bristol Motor Speedway's new track surface, while the IZOD IndyCar Series will return to action at the Sonoma, Calif. road course this weekend.
Sprint Cup Series
Irwin Tools Night Race - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, Tenn.
Unlike recent years, racing at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night will be a tougher task than usual for Sprint Cup Series teams.
The concrete surface at this 0.533-mile, high-banked oval underwent a modification since NASCAR was last there in March. The top groove of the surface was grinded with the intention of bringing back traditional racing at Bristol.
In 2007, the track was reconfigured with the addition of variable banking. It produced more side-by-side racing and therefore lowered the amount of beating and banging among competitors. Fan response to Bristol's new banking was not favorable since the number of cautions was significantly reduced.
This year's spring race at Bristol featured just five cautions. The only major incident during that event occurred in the early going for a seven-car crash in turn one, taking out several notable drivers such as Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne. Before its reconfiguration five years ago, Bristol had featured as many as 20 cautions.
So what are teams expecting when they return there this weekend?
"Who knows what will happen," said Edwards, who is a two-time winner of Bristol's night race. "Anytime you change a track like that there is no telling. It might make it a completely different race."
The changes at Bristol might be pleasing to race fans, but will it be nerve- wracking to drivers?
"I just hope that they didn't screw it up," said Greg Biffle, who is Edwards' teammate at Roush Fenway Racing. "It is a shot in the dark if you will. You are just sitting back trying to make a plan, and you don't know if it will work or not. It is that simple. Who knows if that is going to work. You don't. We just have to wait and see when we get there. I think it is going to be exciting either way."
Biffle claimed his second win of the season last Sunday at Michigan International Speedway and moved atop the point standings.
Two months ago, Goodyear held a tire test following the completion of Bristol's altered surface. Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and defending series champion Tony Stewart were those who participated in the one-day test.
"Guys who run up there aren't going to be able to do that because it's pretty slick up there," Stewart said. "There's going to be less room to race, that's for sure. We've gone from a three-groove track to two grooves, and any time you've got less room to get around, it can get pretty interesting.
"I'm one of the guys who likes that high groove, so it's really going to change things up for me. It'll change things for everybody though, because when you take away room to race on a track this small with 43 cars, yeah, it's going to tighten things up."
With three races to go before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, as many as 10 drivers have an opportunity to punch their tickets into the playoffs at Bristol. They include: Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Bowyer, Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kahne.
Keselowski will attempt to win his third straight Sprint Cup race at Bristol. If Keselowski takes the checkered flag for the Cup event, he will join Fred Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Kurt Busch as those drivers with three or more consecutive victories there. Waltrip won a record seven races in a row at Bristol from 1981-84.
"From day one, the first day I walked in there, I respected it, but I also wanted to win there," Keselowski said. "To be on the cusp of three wins in a row there is something that was, and still is, beyond my wildest dreams. But here we are, and we are going to do everything in our power to get it done this weekend."
Keselowski, Johnson and Stewart have the most victories this season with three each.
Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Irwin Tools Night Race.
Nationwide Series
Food City 250 - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, Tenn.
After finishing second in last Saturday's road course race in Montreal, Sam Hornish Jr. continued his methodical climb in the Nationwide Series point standings.
Hornish has finished either second or third in the last four Nationwide races. In fact, the Penske Racing driver has scored 10 straight top-10 finishes and has accumulated more points than another driver in the series since the June event at Michigan.
Heading into Friday night's 250-lap race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Elliott Sadler holds a 22-point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Hornish. Rookie Austin Dillon is 35 points out of the lead.
Some of Hornish's success in Nationwide might be attributed to his extra time on the track. Hornish has been driving Penske's No. 22 Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series since the first week in July at Daytona. Team owner Roger Penske called on him to take over driving duties of that car when A.J. Allmendinger was suspended by NASCAR for violating its substance abuse policy.
"Obviously, when you get more track time in a race car, things come a little bit easier for you, especially when you get the weekend's when you can run both series at the same track," Hornish said. "I just feel like we were making ourselves better."
Hornish has yet to win a Nationwide race this season. His first victory in the series came in Nov. 2011 at Phoenix.
"I feel like it will be harder to win over here (Nationwide Series) than in the Cup Series for me at this time," Hornish admitted. "I feel like a lot of times when I'm racing now in the Nationwide Series, I'm a little bit more points racing than I'd like to be. That's what has gotten us to the position where we are, and that's what we have to keep doing - keep the car going forward all day long, and if we come home fifth and that's what the car had, that's what we get.
"We're not at the point yet where we can start trying to take a fifth-place car and make it second because we need the points. If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to get there. We just need to be smart at how we do it."
After 22 Nationwide races have been completed this season, Hornish is the only driver in the top-five in points without a victory. Sadler leads the way with four wins, followed by Stenhouse with three. Dillon and Justin Allgaier, who is fifth in the standings, have one victory each. Allgaier took the checkered flag at Montreal.
Hornish has competed in six Sprint Cup races and two Nationwide events at Bristol. Like all other competitors, Hornish comes to Bristol this time not knowing what to expect after the track's concrete surface has been changed.
"This trip to Bristol will be interesting after they made changes to the track since the last time we were there," he said. "During the previous race there, we learned some things that should be useful this weekend, even with the different surface."
Hornish finished 13th at Bristol earlier this year.
Forty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Food City 250.
GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma - Sonoma road course - Sonoma, Calif.
After a two-week break, the IZOD IndyCar Series resumes its schedule at the Sonoma, Calif. road course. Three races remain this season, and just 28 points separate the top-four drivers.
There have been recent modifications to the 2.31-mile Sonoma course, with changes made to turns seven, nine and eleven. Most IndyCar teams participated in a one-day test session there last week to familiarize themselves with the revised layout.
Team Penske drivers Will Power and Helio Castroneves were the fastest among the Chevrolet-powered cars, while Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti led the way among the cars utilizing Honda engines.
"I think the track is definitely going to promote more passing in turn seven," Power said. "The passing zone in seven is the best one, but if they changed turn eleven to modify the exit curbs a bit, it could be good as well. But good changes for sure."
Power comes to Northern California with only a five-point lead over Ryan Hunter-Reay from Andretti Autosport. Power reclaimed the top spot in the standings after his second-place finish at Mid-Ohio earlier this month. Hunter-Reay gave up the points lead after finishing 24th there. He suffered engine failure in the closing laps.
Castroneves is 26 points behind Power, while Dixon is 28 behind after his win at Mid-Ohio. Dixon had been 61 points out of the lead prior to his victory.
"It's insanely competitive," Power said. "You haven't seen anyone consistently win poles or win races. No one dominates this series. It just proves how tough it is and tight it is. You have to work on all the finer points of your driving just to be competitive."
Power has started on the pole and won at Sonoma the past two years. In 2011, Power led a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium for Penske. Castroneves finished second, while Ryan Briscoe placed third.
"I'm glad we got to practice on the new track," Castroneves said. "I believe the changes will be a benefit for the drivers and make it even more exciting for the fans. I can't wait to get back on the track this weekend, and hopefully we can repeat the good luck from before to get into victory lane."
Castroneves won there in 2008.
Hunter-Reay has finished no better than eighth in his five races at Sonoma.
"Our Sonoma test was a productive one, and we've found a direction, but we still have a lot of work to do over the race weekend if we are going to contend for a win," he said.
Dixon won at Sonoma in 2007 and then placed outside the top-10 the next two years there before finishing 2nd in 2010 and 5th last season.
"Sonoma has kind of been a bit of a thorn in my side. I don't know. We've had success there. We've won there. We've been on the podium many a times. But we struggled a little bit in qualifying."
After Sonoma, IndyCar will compete in Baltimore on Sept. 2 and then wrap up the season in Fontana, Calif. on Sept. 15.
Twenty-seven teams are on the entry list for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.


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Atlanta: Fiery Times (and Pizzas) at Fuoco di Napoli
Fuoco di Napoli
30 Pharr Road, Atlanta, GA 30305 (map); 404-781-0707; fuocodinapoli.com
Pizza type: Neapolitan
Oven type: Wood-fired brick
The Skinny: Look past the recent headline making drama and you'll find a pizzeria turning out primo Neapolitan pies in Buckhead.
Price: Regina Margherita, $9 (lunch special w/salad); Fuoco di Napoli, $17
Days of Our Lives. All My Children. And now... Fuoco di Napoli. Yes, this Buckhead pizzeria has been the star of its own soap opera within the Atlanta restaurant scene since its opening in December. Lawsuits, arrests, allegations of stolen trade secrets, even a missing pizzaiolo are all juicy elements of the ongoing drama. But what about the pies behind the headlines? Are they worth all the brouhaha? Personally, I found the exceptional product at Fuoco to be plenty newsworthy all on its own.
This is a pizza blog and not a police blotter, but it's impossible (irresponsible, even) to talk about Fuoco di Napoli right now without at least acknowledging the reasons it's making news these days. Jon Watson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Brad Kaplan of Creative Loafing, and Tomorrow's News Today have sorted through the sordid details in their writings recently, but here's the nutshell version as I understand it.
Fuoco di Napoli was started by Dino McDowell, who had previously worked across town at Antico Pizza Napoletana. In addition, local pizzaiolo Enrico Liberato—himself an ex-Antico employee—also joined the Fuoco staff. Liberato, a journeyman with stints in the kitchens of at least three other local pizzerias, is already out at Fuoco. After suddenly turning up conspicuously absent from the Fuoco oven, it was learned that he had been arrested after an incident involving aggravated assault, a knife, marijuana, and an immigration charge.
Even more troubling, Antico now claims that Fuoco stole everything from original recipes to their style of décor from Antico, and that Fuoco management even went so far as to tell patrons that they were an official Antico affiliate. Fuoco prez Dino McDowell and his wife Lori (co-owner) declined to comment, stating that their attorney would address these matters in court. (Ed. note: See the Comments section below for an update on two of these points.)
I had planned to visit Fuoco di Napoli for some time and had gone so far as to finalize a lunch date... and then the story of Antico's lawsuit exploded in the local paper three days later. Unsure of how a dude with a camera, a notepad, and a list of pizzamaking questions would be received in light of this recent pub, I visited Fuoco anyway.
What I found when I walked in was an impressive oven—built from over 1,300 firebricks (by Liberato!) and visible from every seat in the house‐with a rolling inferno inside. Long communal tables dominate the space, with hand-decorated peels and poster-sized pie pics lining the walls. The menu is streamlined, with just seven pizzas to choose from. I ordered the two most popular: the Regina Margherita and the flagship Fuoco di Napoli. (Gamblers may be interested in the Pizza Sorpresa, the "Pizza Surprise" that has the kitchen adding whatever happens to be handy, with no pre-bake input requested and no post-bake recourse allowed.)
The Regina Margherita is a thing of understated beauty. Like all of Fuoco's pies, it starts with Antimo Capuoto 00 flour and a quick hit of San Marzano sauce, which also features a noticeable amount of spice. A mixture of bufala and fior di latte mozzarella comes next, with basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil rounding things out. After two and a half minutes in the oven's fire, it showed exceptional color. While fans of blackened blisters on the topside may be disappointed, the underside displayed distinct leopard spotting. No big air pockets in the rim, but a fair bubble structure inside the cornicione itself. Fuoco's standard pie is 16-inches, much bigger than many hardcore Neapolitans, but the Margherita is also available in a personal size, part of a with-salad lunch special that's just 9 bucks.
Fuoco di Napoli's namesake pie brings the heat for sure, with thick-cut spicy salami strips and whole Calabrian peppers. "Fire of Naples?" Hell, yes... but the burn was the good kind—encouraging a quicker-than-normal drink drain and then fading fast in time for the next slice. Fuoco's pies have a near-liquid center that droops and flops when you heft a piece, but the crust has a nice crispness to its outermost skin that gives way immediately to a pleasant yeasty chew. The FdN is the restaurant's priciest pie at $17, but a steal when you compare it to many other parlors' loaded-to-the-gills 16-inchers. This one's got first-class ingredients and a taste that few others can touch. It's unquestionably one of my favorite pies in town.
It's a shame that Fuoco di Napoli has become perhaps better known for the behind-the-scenes soap opera and legal back-and-forth than for the spectacular pies coming out of that brick oven. Here's hoping that the other stuff gets cleared up sooner rather than later so the Fuoco staff can concentrate fully on cranking out primo pies.
About the Author: Todd Brock lives the glamorous life of a stay-at-home freelance writer in the suburbs of Atlanta. Besides being paid to eat cheeseburgers for AHT and pizzas for Slice, he's written and produced over 1,000 hours of television and penned Building Chicken Coops for Dummies. When he grows up, he wants to be either the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the drummer for Hootie & the Blowfish. Or both.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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IDB Group launches Open Innovation Challenge to reduce plastic use
September 26, 2019
Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Development Bank Group together with MIT Solve launch an Open Innovation Challenge that seeks to find the most innovative solutions that substantially reduce or eliminate single-use plastic and plastic waste in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Rethink Plastics Challenge offers the selected solutions prizes totaling 60,000 USD.
IDB launches Superheroes of Development contest to recognize executing agencies
March 04, 2019
In its second edition, the call for proposals will be open from March 4th to May 17th, 2019. The Superheroes of Development Award will recognize executing agencies of IDB-financed projects that have successfully addressed challenges during its implementation. The contest will identify eight finalists from across Latin America and the Caribbean who will travel to IDB's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to present their solutions.
IDB launches report detailing steps to help avoid social conflicts
September 10, 2018
A new report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) identifies ten key elements that can help projects improve their sustainability and reduce potential social conflicts, from proper community engagement and legal foundations to adequate monitoring of results.
IDB to join new Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator to facilitate $1bn of investments
August 09, 2018
Backed by 26 Caribbean governments and the private sector, the Accelerator will fast-track investments which support climate action and economic growth The Inter-American Development Bank announced today that it will partner with the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator to program and implement the additional $1 billion in funds that it pledged for climate smart-investments across the Caribbean region at the Paris One Planet summit on December 12, 2017.
Italy to contribute to IDB Transparency Fund
January 24, 2018
Italy is joining Norway, Canada and MasterCard as a partner and contributor to the Inter-American Development Bank's Transparency Fund , a vital tool to help countries strengthen their anti-corruption and pro-transparency reforms. The government of Italy has donated €1 million.
The IDB and Miami Dade College select eighteen startups from Latin America, the Caribbean and South Florida to participate in Demand Solutions Miami 2017
August 21, 2017
Miami Dade College (MDC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will host Demand Solutions Miami on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Wolfson Campus in Downtown Miami. Eighteen startups in design, fashion, gastronomy, music and multimedia have been selected to participate in a one-of-a-kind conference that will highlight innovation and entrepreneurship that improves lives.
Better governance and greater integration to determine fate of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2030
December 01, 2016
New Atlantic Council report commissioned by IDB offers contrasting scenarios for crime, democracy, trade and economic growth The Atlantic Council today released "Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios," a report commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that looks at how the region's countries could evolve over the next 14 years, underscoring how more integration and better governance hold the key to greater prosperity.
IDB President, experts to talk to members of media accredited to the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador
October 15, 2016
Habitat, the main global conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, is being held for the first time in Latin America The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will have a strong presence in the Habitat III Conference to be held in Quito, Ecuador, Oct. 17-20, 2016.
Key emerging markets attract record $126 billion in clean energy investment
November 23, 2015
Latest Climatescope study from the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund and Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows 2014 clean energy activity mainly occurred in developing countries, led by China, Brazil and Chile
IDB survey finds Latin Americans want more transparency in city governments
March 28, 2014
Follow us on Twitter using @the_IDB Poll on megacities and infrastructure covered Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City and São Paulo Latin Americans living in major cities want more transparency and participation in local governments' decisions on new policies and investments involving urban infrastructure, according to results of a groundbreaking survey released by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) today.


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Kiwi Terms That Still Crack (Or Trip) Me Up
I've lived in New Zealand for over ten years now and I'm still learning the language. Shortly after moving here I actually went to get my hearing tested. I told the technician that I couldn't understand what people were saying to me.
My hearing checked out fine—I just needed time to adjust to the accent and pacing of the way the locals spoke. I've since gotten used to that but I'm still learning some of the more interesting phrases and terms in use down here. I'm providing a sampling, with translations.
Bach, n. – Not the composer. The word is pronounced batch and it means a small holiday home. I'm told that the term is short for "bachelor" because originally baches were places just the men would go to fish and party, as in "Fancy a trip to the bach this weekend?"
Bring a Plate – You might see this on an invitation and it doesn't mean that the host is short of crockery. It means that it's a potluck and you are supposed to bring some food along. I've heard believable accounts of some literal minded people actually just bringing a plate.
Bob's Your Uncle – Yes, people actually say this. It is used to denote completion or wrapping up of a (generally) complicated task. So if your car won't start, the panelbeater (see below) might say, "We'll just hook up the jumper cables, give it a start and Bob's Your Uncle.
Bugger all – Surprisingly a n. and not a v. It means not much or nothing. "What did you do today?" "Bugger all."
Caravan, n. – Not a group of wandering gypsies but rather a house trailer or mobile home. When not at home, you stop at the caravan park.
Cark it, vt. – Go on, take a guess. It means to die and I apologize but I always laugh when someone uses it. As in, "How's Grannie?" "She carked it."
Chock-a-block, adj. – Completely full and overflowing. Often shortened to chockers, as in "I couldn't find a park, the car park was chockers."
Chuffed, vt. – Happy or thrilled. "I was really chuffed when the neighbor's dog carked it."
Chunder, vt. – To vomit. I'd love to know the origin of this term. But I don't.
Crikey dick, int. – I really have heard people say this. It is a term of amazement. So a spectacular feat of chundering might elicit an awed Crikey dick.
Crook, n. – Ill or under the weather. As in "I had the flu. I was crook for a week."
Dag, n. – An essential part of your vocabulary. Know that "dags" refers to the soiled wool surrounding the back end of a sheep. "Rattle your dags," means to move faster because presumably the dags on a running sheep rattle. Use your imagination. So anything daggy is basically undesirable. However, for some reason dag can also mean a funny story or person. So be careful.
Dodgy, adj. – Dubious or questionable. "Did you buy that used car?" "No, there was something dodgy about the salesman."
Dummy, n. – Not what you think. A dummy is a baby's pacifier. I don't expect most readers of this blog to have use for such a term, but it's important to know that this word forms part of an important Kiwi phrase. When a baby has a tantrum, the pacifier flies out of their mouth, so the term to denote an immature loss of control is "spit the dummy." In fact, in the debates before the national elections last year, one politician said that his opponent "spat the dummy," over something.
Flannel, n. – Not your pajamas (which are called pyjamas down here, by the way). A flannel is a wash cloth. "The dog was so filthy I took a flannel to him."
Flash, adj. – Upmarket or in good shape. This word is important because it can be used to describe anything under just about any circumstances. For example, "I wasn't too chuffed about driving my flash car over this daggy road. It's not too flash."
Ice block, n. – Not a block of ice. Well, maybe, technically. An ice block is a popsicle. What's your favorite flavor?
Jandals, n. – Flip-flops in the rest of the world. Standard Kiwi footgear. The name is a contraction of "Japanese sandals," which flip flops supposedly resemble.
Knackered, adj. – I love this word, partly because it has a funny sound and partly because, like flash it has amazing utility. It primarily means no longer useful, broken or tired out with a connotation of beyond repair. As in, "my hard drive crashed and my computer is knackered." But it also is a term that you say when you don't intend to exert further effort as in "Forget about it, I'm knackered." Where does the word come from, you ask? Farm animals past their prime but not suitable to be slaughtered for meat are sent to the knacker yard. I don't know about you, but that's as much as I want to know.
Legless, adj. – Extremely drunk. Often associated with chundering.
Metal road, n. – A road paved with gravel. It's called a metal road because gravel is called metal. But if you don't know that you wonder, don't you? By the way, if you are driving on a metal road and the car in front of you throws up a piece of metal and it dings your windshield, you have what is referred to as a puckered screen.
Munted, adj. – Broken or damaged. "I dropped my phone. It's like totally munted."
No worries – A term of agreement. When your teenaged son asks "Can I borrow the car?" You might say "No worries," to mean yes, even though you have lots of worries about the proposition.
Panel beater, n. – Originally a body shop. Fenders are referred to as panels down here, so when you have a prang, and your panel is dented, the panel beater pounds it back into shape, I guess. Generic term for mechanic.
Serviette, n. – A napkin. Don't ask for a napkin in a restaurant because napkin means face towel and you don't want that, unless you've spilled something. And if you are in the kitchen, you don't use a dish towel—it's a tea towel.
Squiz, vi. – To check out or observe. So if your car is making a funny noise, you might ask the panel beater to "have a squiz" at it.
Suck the kumara, vt. – A kumara (pronounced koom ra) is a cross between a yam and a potato. To suck the kumara is the same as to cark. Don't ask me why. Someone once told me that their Air New Zealand flight was cancelled because, in the words of the pilot, "One of the engines has sucked the kumara."
Sweet as – A universal term denoting approval or quality. As in, "How's the weather?" Sweet as. Incidentally, it is common to append as to just about any adjective to intensify it. As in, "Look at that spider. It's big as." Or. "Turn on the heat. It's cold as." Or. "Have you had a squiz at John's new car? It's flash as."
Shout, n./vt. – To pick up the tab. You say "my shout," or "I'm shouting," and everyone loves you.
She'll be right – An all purpose phrase meaning everything will be OK. "John, there's water leaking into the boat." "I've got the pump going. She'll be right."
Tea, n. – Another simple term that can trip you up because of its multiple meanings. Yes, it means the drink (black, green, iced, etc.). But it also means a coffee break. A break in the morning is "Morning tea," and one in the afternoon is "Afternoon tea." But wait, there's more. It also means the evening meal. So if someone invites you to tea, you might want to clarify what's going to happen because you could get tea and biscuits or a whole meal.
Throw a sickie, vt. – To call in sick when you aren't
Turn to custard – Refers to plans that don't quite work out. I wanted to throw a sickie but it was raining so that turned to custard.
Zed, n. – The last letter of the alphabet. Don't say "zee." No one will know what you are talking about. Really.
Now I hope you won't have any trouble when you come down here and hire a caravan and go out to the bach, put on your jandals and do bugger all. Go easy on the piss because you don't want to get legless and chunder.
Also, don't hire a car from a dodgy dealer, because it might be munted and you'll have to take it to the panelbeater if it decides to suck the kumara. Don't worry about driving on metal roads—she'll be right.
If some locals invite you for tea, be sure to ask what time to come and ask if it's their shout or if you should bring a plate. If you stay at a flash hotel, they'll have a flannel in the loo and tea towels and serviettes in the kitchen. But it's more fun to stay in a caravan park. If it's not peak summer they usually aren't chock a block, but sometimes the facilities are a little knackered. And don't spit the dummy if all you can get at the shop is an ice block.
I'm sure you'll be chuffed when you have a squiz at all the beautiful sights down here. But it's so far away that you will definitely be knackered from the flight back. But it will be sweet as if you can throw a sickie, but make sure your boss doesn't figure it out or it will turn to custard on you. Crikey dick, I think I've covered it A to Zed. And Bob's your uncle.
May 16, 2012 10:43 pm
Great list of words. As far as I know, chunder is a contraction of "watch under." See, when people took the long voyage to Oz on certain types of multi-storied ships, they often got seasick and would lean over the railing for relief, screaming "Watch under!" to make sure no one else leaning over the railing on a lower deck would get struck by what was about to arrive from above.
June 24, 2012 3:27 am
Wow. People actually do say this. Check out time 2:40:
Had it not been for your post, I'd have no idea why the guy would say a silly think like that after he put the mamba in the drum.
June 24, 2012 3:37 am
Oh, and then he repeats it twice at 6:05 and 8:44!
Kiwi permalinkMarch 9, 2013 3:23 pm
hahaha I just stumbled across this page somehow. As a New Zealander it's quite funny to read these sayings that I've used all my life and discover that other people haven't heard of them.
A couple of corrections though:
A Panel Beater is not interchangeable with a Mechanic. A Panel Beater does not fix a car engine, he works on the body of the car if you are in a crash. A "Mechanic" is the one that fixes your car if it breaks down.
Not all Kiwis call roads "metal roads". Actually, I had to ask my husband what a "metal road" was. If it's loose gravel, it's called gravel. Otherwise it's just a (tar) road.
Also, that video that someone posted above isn't a Kiwi – sounds like a South African. lol
Otherwise, good job! 🙂
Leeann permalinkAugust 27, 2013 10:40 pm
As a nz'er I really enjoyed this post.
I have 2 uncle Bobs and when I was young and anyone said Bob's your uncle, I'd go 'yes, so?'
Geoff permalinkAugust 6, 2014 11:56 am
As a Kiwi having a few suds (beers) with some Septics (septic tank – yank)some years ago I used the term Wanker about someone. I had to think quickly to try and explain it without offending anyone. Depending on your tone of voice it can have two very different meanings!
justin permalinkSeptember 5, 2014 9:29 am
daggy (of a person) a bit eccentric or socially awkward. uncool.
"my cousin from the 'naki came to school in this really daggy skivvie. What a egg."
Darren permalinkOctober 1, 2014 6:04 am
For gravel road, the term I have heard the most in NZ is 'shingle road'. Another one to add to the list is 'ta' for thanks. Ta for the article!


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By Christopher S. Rugaber
and Martin Crutsinger
AP Economics Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans are finally getting some relief from high gas and food prices.
Wholesale food prices fell last month by the most in nearly a year, and gas prices keep dropping after peaking in May. A separate survey suggests CEOs are feeling more optimistic and will hire more in the second half of this year.
It amounted to welcome news Tuesday after a rough patch that has stoked worries the economic recovery is slowing. More jobs and lower prices would both give Americans more money to spend on other things and rejuvenate economic growth.
Food prices at the wholesale level fell 1.4 percent, the Labor Department said. It was the largest drop since last June. About 40 percent of that decline resulted from steep declines in vegetable and fruit prices.
The drop in food prices followed harsh winter freezes, which had driven up prices of tomatoes and other vegetables in February. Even if prices don't fall further, economists say they probably won't go much higher, at least.
It may take as long as six months, but lower wholesale prices should work their way to the grocery store.
"That's a good thing for consumers, and it's even better that it comes in parallel with lower energy prices," said Gregory Daco, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
Overall, the producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, rose 0.2 percent in May. That's much lower than April's 0.8 percent gain and signals that inflation is in check.
Gas prices at the wholesale level rose in May by the smallest amount in eight months. At the pump, they're coming down. On Tuesday, the national average was $3.70 a gallon, according to AAA. Gas has fallen steadily since the national average almost hit $4 a gallon in early May. It's still about a dollar more expensive than a year ago.
For now, Americans remain cautious about spending. Another report Tuesday showed that retail sales fell 0.2 percent in May. It was the first decline in 11 months and came mostly because Americans bought fewer cars.
Auto sales fell 2.9 percent, the sharpest drop in 15 months. The decline was attributed to temporary factors, including fewer incentives offered by dealerships and a shortage of popular fuel-efficient cars because of disrupted shipments after the Japan earthquake.
Excluding the drop in car sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent. That gain seemed to please investors, who were expecting broad declines because of high gas prices. The Dow Jones industrial average, which has fallen six weeks in a row, closed up 123 points, or 1 percent.
Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said the retail-sales report shows that household budgets are still tight, forcing people to put off buying expensive items. Sales at electronics and furniture stores dropped in May.
Some of the biggest sales gains were reported by thrift shops and other stores that sell used goods, Vitner said, and by online retailers, which many shoppers use to find the best deals.
Lower food and gas prices "should provide some near-term relief," Vitner said, "but a sustainable pickup in spending will not likely occur until job growth picks up and the unemployment rate falls."
There were some encouraging signs that hiring could pick up in the second half of the year. The Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs for the 200 biggest U.S. companies, said 51 percent of chief executives plan to step up hiring in the second half of the year.
Last quarter, the figure was 52 percent said they planned to hire more over the following six months, the highest since the trade group began polling its members in 2002.
The survey began in mid-May and ended June 3, the day the government released a report that showed a steep pullback in hiring in May. The unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent in April.
ManpowerGroup, one of the nation's largest staffing companies, said the proportion of businesses that plan to hire in the next three months is higher than at any time since the end of 2008, during the recession.
Melanie Holmes, vice president at ManpowerGroup, said the company's employment outlook is still at only about half the level associated with a healthy economy.
The Commerce Department said businesses added to their inventories for the 16th straight month in April, another sign that companies are confident people will spend more in the second half of the year.
The pace at which businesses sold those goods was the slowest in 10 months, but economists said it wasn't a concern because inventories are still historically small compared with sales. Companies are unlikely to get stuck with huge stockpiles of goods.
Published: Thu, Jun 16, 2011


text:
New figures of some top names in classic rock and roll are being unveiled at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington.
The attraction is introducing new figures of Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne and Johnny Cash. The museum noted their accomplishments in movies and music. They will be part of a new exhibit of "American Icons.''
Last fall, the museum also added figures of Marilyn Monroe and Betty White to its collection of entertainers.
The museum held an unveiling ceremony for the new figures Tuesday.
Copyright AP - Associated Press


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The LAX/El Segundo area has experienced robust growth in hotel demand in recent years, buoyed by increased passenger volume at LAX, the addition of new upper-upscale hotels, and sustained corporate demand from El Segundo and the surrounding markets. LAX is the second-busiest airport in the nation, behind Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, and the gateway to Southern California. The airport reached a new peak in passenger volume in 2016, which grew 7.0% over the prior year, and this trend continued through the September 2017 year-to-date period. The addition of Delta's direct flights from China on Boeing's Dreamliner and recent renovations at LAX have contributed to this growth.
Passenger Volume Soars to New Heights
Source: Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
El Segundo, a city located to the south of LAX, has become known for its business-friendly environment because of its proximity to the airport and Interstates 105 and 405. El Segundo is home to numerous Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, local companies, and government organizations. Although the city's population is approximately 16,900 (U.S. Census 2013 estimate), over 85,000 employees commute to the area every day. Major employers in the market include Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, Mattel, Gartner Inc., Raytheon, Boeing, Ricoh USA, Chevron, and the LA Air Force Base, which all contribute to hotel room-night demand.
Corporate Demand Generators are Clustered in El Segundo
Source: City of CAFR and elsegundo.org
Major Developments Support Growing Demand Levels
Several developments are underway in the market, as well as throughout the greater Los Angeles area, that are expected to support growth in tourism and hotel demand in the future.
City of Champions Stadium: The Rams NFL football team made their triumphant return to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, and the San Diego Chargers joined the Rams for the 2017 season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In 2020, the two teams will share the new, $2.6-billion "City of Champions Stadium," now under construction in Inglewood.
Developments at LAX: The $14-billion capital improvement program at LAX, which began in 2006, includes over 20 projects and is considered the largest public-works program in the history of Los Angeles. The centerpiece of the program is the new Tom Bradley International Terminal, which opened in 2013. More recently, the renovated, $229-million Terminal 5 opened in June 2015, and in July 2016, Delta Air Lines announced its $1.9-billion plan to modernize, upgrade, and connect Terminals 2, 3, and the north side of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. These upgrades will coincide with the largest project in the program, the Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), which will feature a 2.25-mile Automated People Mover (ACM) that will connect to a Consolidated Rent-a-Car Center (ConRAC), two Intermodal Transportation Facilities, and the Aviation/96th Street Metro stop.[1]
Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line: The 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX Line is currently under construction and will connect the Green Line to the Expo Line. The line is slated for completion in 2019, but will achieve its full traffic-reducing potential in 2023 when the Aviation/96th Street Metro stop is connected to the LAX ACM. This will be the first time that airport passengers will be able to access the terminals without relying on a vehicle or bus.[2]
More to Come in Los Angeles: Other major projects anticipated to support growing airport and hotel demand levels include the planned expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the 2028 Olympics, and the new Los Angeles Football Club (LACF) soccer stadium in Exposition Park.
Hotel Landscape
Lodging facilities are a critical component of an airport's success. Guestrooms for transient visitors, distressed passengers, and airline crews support the popularity of an airport destination. The LAX/El Segundo market is well supported by a diverse array of over 30 hotel lodging facilities, ranging from economy, limited-service hotels to first-class, full-service hotels.
New Supply
The sheer volume of passenger traffic traveling through LAX bodes well for hotels in the immediate market. In response to recent robust occupancy levels and the positive outlook for passenger volume, several hotels have opened in the market in the last five years, and more are in various stages of planning and construction.
Recent Hotel Developments
Source: HVS
According to projections by the Southern California Association of Governments, LAX could reach over 100 million passengers annually by 2040[3]. As a result, hoteliers in the market expect supply additions to be quickly absorbed.
Transient Occupancy Taxes and Hotel Performance
Historical transient occupancy tax (TOT) collections illustrate the increased demand for hotels in the markets surrounding LAX. As an example, the following table outlines historical TOT collections for the City of El Segundo, which has a current tax level at 12%, one of the lowest in Los Angeles County.
Historical Transient Occupancy Tax Expected to Double in 2017
Source: The City of El Segundo
* Budget
* Budget
In 2015, TOT collections declined following the closure of the 600-room Hacienda Hotel. The property was converted to the recently opened dual-branded Aloft and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. As a result, TOT collections rebounded significantly by the year-end 2016; moreover, the City has forecast a 26% increase in TOT collections in 2017 given the recent additions of the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton and the Cambria Suites.
Our HVS database of hotels within El Segundo and the Century Boulevard Corridor illustrate that occupancy neared 90% by year-end 2016, while average rate registered in the low $160's range, resulting in an 11% change in RevPAR over the prior year. This impressive RevPAR growth marked the third consecutive year of double-digit growth in RevPAR. This trend has continued in the year-to-date period, albeit at a more moderate pace, with RevPAR increasing nearly $4, a 3% gain over the same period in the prior year. Increased passenger volume and strong lodging demand from local companies should continue to support the high occupancy levels in the market and, therefore, increase transient occupancy tax collections.
Hotel Transactions
The diverse demand generators, numerous developments, and strong hotel performance have drawn investors to seek hotels in the LAX/El Segundo market. The following table sets forth hotel transactions in the LAX/El Segundo market since 2012.
Hotel Transactions Dominated by Branded Properties
Source: RCA
Since 2012, over $656 million in assets have traded hands in the markets surrounding LAX. Notably, the Belamar Hotel transacted twice within three years, appreciating nearly 83% during that period. The appetite to own an asset in this market continues to be high, considering the consistent demand levels and robust hotel performance.
Outlook: The market has hit cruising altitude and is still rising
A well-developed transportation infrastructure, including one of the nation's busiest international airports, should contribute to this market's continued strength and expansion. The breadth of companies in the LAX/El Segundo area, Los Angeles' reputation as a leisure destination, and the developments at LAX are expected to support continued growth in lodging demand; thus, the lodging market should continue to soar.
[1] https://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LAXDev/News_for_LAXDev/Modernization%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%20FactSheet.pdf
[2] https://www.metro.net/projects/lax-extension/
[3] http://www.scag.ca.gov/committees/CommitteeDocLibrary/tc080615agn01_CommentLetter1B.pdf


text:
GRANTS PASS, Ore. —
Federal biologists say it will take $135 million and 30 to 50 years to save two endangered species of sucker fish that figure in the water battles in the Klamath Basin.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final recovery plan Monday for the Lost River and shortnose sucker. One of the key places they live is Upper Klamath Lake, which is the main reservoir for a federal irrigation project.
Irrigation was cut off to most of the project during a drought in 2001 to maintain water for the suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River.
The plan says that despite a lot of progress on habitat restoration, the fish have not seen a substantial number of new adults join the population in 10 years.


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CHARLOTTE -- NASCAR's best hope for a successful African-American driver isn't shying from the magnitude of what he could accomplish.
Darrell Wallace Jr., named a full-time driver in Kyle Busch Motorsports' Camping World Truck Series entry on Saturday, said he embraces the opportunity to throw the doors wide open for other minorities who want to race.
He is just the fourth African-American driver in NASCAR history to land a full-time ride in one of the sport's three national touring series.
"That's cool," he said. " ... I'm going to do the best I can to take that number from (four) to 30 in 10 years or so."
Wallace, a confident 19-year-old from Alabama, knows the best way to create opportunities for other minority drivers is to win. NASCAR hasn't had a black driver who could be a role model for aspiring athletes like Tiger Woods in golf.
"(Young African-Americans) want to see who they can be like," Wallace said. "They look at NASCAR (and) is there anybody there? No.
" ... Now it's my job to perform well on track and off track for kids of color ... and for people to say, 'There's someone we can look up to now.'"
Unlike others who have participated in NASCAR's diversity program, Wallace has succeeded in landing an opportunity where he could make a real impact.
Though the Truck Series is perhaps similar to Double-A baseball (with Sprint Cup being the major leagues), a win or two by Wallace would mark substantial progress for African-Americans in NASCAR.
Only Wendell Scott, Willy T. Ribbs and Bill Lester have run full seasons in one of NASCAR's top three series; Scott's 1964 Cup win at Jacksonville, Fla. stands as the lone victory by a black driver.
Why does Wallace believe he will succeed?
"I've come up through the ranks and been successful in pretty much every car I've jumped in," he said.
He already knows his equipment will be up to the task.
Wallace is a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, but will drive a Toyota fielded by Busch, whose trucks have won 18 races in three seasons.
Though he ran just four Nationwide Series races last season, he showed right away he was a capable driver; Wallace had three top-10 finishes and was 12th in the other event.
Those finishes would be considered good for a young driver, but Wallace was disappointed.
"I was actually pissed after the races, because I wanted to win," he said. "Seventh, for me, was like a 20th."
He expects to contend for Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series but cautions people shouldn't expect him to win right away. After all, he's never driven a race truck.
"I'm not going to go out there and set the world on fire," Wallace said. "That's what everybody's expecting me to do, but the biggest thing is to finish the races and then everything else will fall in place."
J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, said that's exactly the approach Wallace should take.
"What you don't want to do is push yourself too hard and make mistakes," he said. "Just be consistent. Take what you got.
"For him, he wants to go make his mark. He could do it, but what you don't want to do is go out there and tear stuff up and get in situations you could have avoided otherwise."


text:
Jim Blades
Dec. 23, 1919-Dec. 25, 2012
Pleasanton, California
Jim Blades, 93, died Dec. 25, 2012, at his Pleasanton home with his wife of 68 years, Margaret, and his family at his side. He will be fondly remembered by his children, John, Annis, Liz and Rick; grandchildren Lisa, Brian, Tony, Olivia, Skye, and great-granddaughter, Daisy Elizabeth.
Jim was born in Chicago on Dec. 23, 1919. His parents moved to Brooklyn in 1931 where Jim attended Brooklyn Tech in preparation for MIT. It was in Brooklyn that Jim joined the Police Athletic League, and was the oldest known living member of PAL.
Jim joined the Navy during WWII, and after his discharge married Margaret Annette Moore in Montreal on Dec. 19, 1944. Both Jim and Margaret?s families were from the Caribbean. Jim met Margaret on the island of Barbados where her family lived when he was 8 and she was 5.
Jim and Margaret initially settled in Brooklyn where son John was born in 1946. They moved to Orinda in 1947, where Jim found employment at the UC Berkeley Radiation Laboratory. By 1954, the family had grown to include Annis, Liz and Rick, so the family moved to a larger home in Danville. The family moved again in 1971 to Pleasanton, this time to find a special home that could also accommodate Jim?s parents, and also so that Jim could be closer to the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory where he worked until he retired in 1980 as Chief Draftsman.
Jim will be remembered as a great teller of stories, who never passed up the opportunity to capture the ear of any who would listen. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Jim was a 33rd degree Mason. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m., at the Pleasanton Masonic Center, 3370 Hopyard Rd. Please RSVP by leaving a recorded message at (925) 519-0034 (Annis). A memorial service at St. Claire?s Episcopal Church, Pleasanton, will be planned for a later date.
Tags: veteran


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Lodo - Struggle & Hammers [Unsigned Artist]
Double video containing the tracks "Struggle" and "Hammers"
Life and Times of Lodo Documentary Coming January 2013
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As the end of the year draws rapidly nearer, I thought I'd take the opportunity to remind everyone that if you're intending on buying Christmas presents from my stores, you need to take shipping times into account!
Because many of the items in Domum Vindemia are sent via parcel post (which generally takes longer), the shipping cut off dates are 14th December for Australian customers and 4th December for international customers. While purchases made after these dates may still arrive in time for Christmas giving, you would do better to get in early and save yourself some stress!
The cut off dates for Two Cheeky Monkeys purchases are 16th December for Aussies and 7th December for international customers. But again, it really is better to be organised, especially if you are shopping online. And if you're still wracking your brain for gift ideas, here are a few suggestions:
For the bookworm or literature buff: Mr Darcy locket necklace
For the fashion conscious person who follows each season's colour trends: Mr Darcy neon bracelet
For the party girl: Kiahla earrings
For the art lover or hard to buy for male: Dictionary page art prints
For the hostess extraordinaire: Eleanor cake stand
Teacher appreciation gift: Fraulein bunting