text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Requesting Your Help and opinion... Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Requesting Your Help and opinion... Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message rcthompsJoined: 10 Apr 2004Posts: 2Location: Chandler, AZ Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 2:40 pm Post subject: Requesting Your Help and opinion... Hello, my name is Ray and I'm a student working on my thesis. My topic is Forced Distribution Systems of Employee Evaluation and I planned on getting data from employees where I work. Unfortunately, it looks like my request to gather this data at work will be denied by upper management, so I'm tweaking the scope of the study a bit. I need data for my study from as many people as I can get so if you're willing to take less than 1 minute to help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. The survey is just 10 quick questions. If you are a manager, please click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=47733422988 If regular employee, click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=68319408076 Thank-you very much for your time and help. Ray I would be very happy to share the results with anyone who might find them useful Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


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FICTION WINNER- Remote Control
The only light in Martha's bedroom comes from the nineteen-inch television across the room. Unable to concentrate on the book some well-meaning friend gave her, she flips the channels, looking for something to occupy the rest of the hours until daylight. She passes the cooking shows and the infomercials, unconsciously vetoing each program in the impossibly small increment of time it takes for her thumb to press the "channel up" arrow. She's in danger of exhausting her options as the numbers go into three digits.
Now the screen shows a cable news reporter in her mid-twenties standing next to a heavy-set woman in her mid-forties. The older woman's face has a typical Scots-Irish roundness, light complexion prone to freckling, and puffiness around the eyes. She reminds Martha of someone, maybe her grandmother when she was younger, but like a wax museum version.
Normally when she stumbles on a news channel she skips past it quickly, but she feels this woman's face drawing her in, disabling her thumb. The muscles in the woman's face have gone slack; she's given up on using them to form expressions. Martha has a feeling this woman needs to use all her energy to keep her insides from shattering. Without warning, the image is snatched away and replaced by a different reporter, a different scene.
"It's been thirty-seven hours," says Henry Sondberg. "We don't know for sure how much oxygen remains underground." Even though the hilltop where he's standing is in the same time zone as Martha's home in the Washington DC suburbs, it looks like full daylight there. The foreground is flooded in camera lights, while far in the background a yellow glow emanates from the windows of a church. Henry interviews a representative of the United Mine Workers who speculates about the location of the explosion and the culpability of the mining company, then says, "Back to you, Jenna."
Feeling a hot flash coming on, Martha flings off her covers. Her husband, Steve, stirs and opens his eyes. "Go back to sleep," she tells him.
He pats her on the arm and drops off again.
The young reporter and the older woman are somewhere on another part of that same hillside.
"I'm here with Rose Campbell, whose son Jamie is one of the trapped miners," Jenna says.
Martha gasps, suddenly understanding what she saw in Rose's face.
"Mrs. Campbell, how are you feeling?" Jenna thrusts the microphone under her nose.
Rose stares ahead into the camera lens.
Martha winces and shakes her head. That's not a question a mother should be asked at a time like this.
Jenna tries again. "Tell us something about Jamie."
Rose holds up a photo of a handsome boy with a crewcut wearing a prom tuxedo, his arm around a petite girl with red hair. The cameraman keeps adjusting his angle to compensate for the glare of the lights on the glass of the gilded frame.
"He just started working in the mine in June– right after he finished high school."
Scarcely a month ago, at the prep school in suburban Maryland where she has taught English for twenty years, Martha saw hundreds like Jamie lined up at their graduation ceremony, wearing their uniforms of hope and expectation.
She watches for hours, waiting for another glimpse of Rose. Two weeks ago, Martha would have been quick to dismiss this sort of woman– overweight, bad haircut, wearing a t-shirt with the logo of a cheap beer, lacking the ambition to get out of that dead-end Appalachian town. She would have wondered why Rose and people like her were so surprised when their family members' dangerous jobs put them in situations like this.
In the newsroom, a man named Bob sits behind an electrically shiny desk. "Again, an explosion at a mine in Kentucky, twelve miners trapped underground. We'll be following the story as it unfolds. Right after the commercial break, a zoo finds an unusual friendship developing in one of its habitats."
Martha hits the mute button on the remote control. Even without the sound, she can figure out what they're advertising. The scene of a middle-aged couple walking hand-in-hand across a beach, laughing and swinging their arms, means it's a prescription medication with horrendous side effects ("ask your doctor if it's right for you").
Martha gets up to go to the bathroom. Steve stirs again and finally rolls over to face the wall.
On her way down the hall to the bathroom, Martha hurries past the doorway of her son's room without looking in. Steve insists on keeping the door open, saying it's not healthy to shut everything up. There's no reason for her to look anyway; she's memorized the uncharacteristic tidiness of it. The bed hasn't been unmade for months now. There's no carpet of dirty laundry. The Eagle Scout certificate hangs on the wall next to the American flag and the sports trophies are lined up on the dresser like ranks of toy soldiers. She now regrets having cleaned the room when David left.
Back at the anchor desk in Atlanta, Bob's smile gives way to a grave expression. Martha sees the specially-designed graphic for the mine disaster hovering over his shoulder: a map of Kentucky with the number twelve superimposed on it. She turns the sound back on.
"The governor has just been rushed into the church to address the families gathered there. We're expecting a press conference within the next hour."
The scene switches away from the mine story and Martha again mutes the television. She's never been to Kentucky, but she has images in her mind of Daniel Boone in a mountainous wilderness. There are caves in Kentucky, she remembers. There must have been millions of places for the Indians to hide for an ambush.
She remembers her brothers in their coonskin caps running with air rifles through the woods behind their house, whooping and yelling, not concerned about whether the enemy might be lying in wait for them. The Indians had been gone for a hundred and fifty years by then, and the real war was far away from the woods of eastern Ohio.
In the seventeen hundreds, with the caves and the mountains and the dangerous natives, Kentucky might have been a lot like Afghanistan is now, except that she thinks of Afghanistan as brown and dusty, and Kentucky as leafy green. She pictures David and his unit wearing coonskin caps in the poppy fields of Helmand province, but that's all wrong. She shakes her head.
Her neck is getting stiff from sitting up in bed staring at the screen. She rearranges her pillow, trying to get comfortable, but nothing feels right. She closes her eyes and imagines trying to get comfortable enough to sleep on top of a mountain, or three hundred feet underneath one, or on the hard pews inside that church. The light from the screen flickers across the insides of her eyelids for a few minutes until she dozes.
Steve's alarm goes off at six o'clock. Martha feels him gently folding the corner of the covers down enough to swivel his feet to the floor, then shifting his weight carefully to avoid causing the mattress to spring back and reverberate across to her side of the bed. He's done this every weekday for the past two weeks. As he reaches toward the television to turn off the picture, her voice breaks the silence.
"No. Leave it on."
"Did you get any sleep last night?" he asks.
"I don't know. Two or three hours I guess."
"What were you watching?" he asks, opening his sock drawer.
She hesitates, not sure she wants to share this part of her world with him. "Miners in Kentucky."
"Did they get out yet?"
She glances at the screen and sees the graphic again and the somber expression on the anchor's face. "I don't think so." She turns the sound back on.
He sits back down on the bed and they watch together for a minute. "Want me to bring you some breakfast?"
"Not hungry," she says.
The morning anchor team has taken over, with their coffee-infused chatter. They're always dressed with no regard to the season even though they have a whole weather department right there to advise them. Like Steve, Martha realizes. While he's drinking his coffee, he'll turn on the radio to listen to the weather report, even though he's already gotten dressed in the suit and tie he has to wear to his information technology job at the National Archives. She used to envy his devotion to his daily rituals, but she's begun to find it irritating. Things happen out in the world that change your life. It's no use pretending they don't.
Martha fidgets while the Washington reporter talks about something the President said yesterday. Then the anchor says, "More American casualties..." Martha reaches for the remote and hits the mute button just in time. She looks away from the explosions on the screen as Steve comes back into the room buttoning his shirt cuffs.
"I saw Sandy Smith yesterday," he says. "She asked if you wanted any visitors." He waits. "I told her I'd ask you."
She looks down at the sheet and smoothes a wrinkle she finds there.
He continues. "I think it might be a good idea. For her to come over. Or if there's somebody else you'd rather see. Or if you got out of the house for a little while even." He leans toward her and raises his eyebrows, as if making his eyes wider will somehow hypnotize her so she'll do his bidding.
She shakes her head. Steve's been on this normalcy campaign with her for the past few days. He hasn't said it in so many words, but she knows him well enough. Going to work, staying in his routine– he needs to do these things to keep the earth rotating.
He sighs and stands up. "I'll see you tonight. Call if you want me to bring dinner."
Steve's car tires crunch the gravel outside the bedroom window as he pulls out of the driveway. She never used to hear this sound because she was usually in the kitchen having her coffee when he left, on the other side of the house. Now it's a familiar noise.
Jenna must have been up all night without a shower–she has dark circles under her eyes and her hair is flatter on the top than it was earlier. She has Rose Campbell next to her again. Martha crawls to the end of the bed, closer to the screen.
"What's the mood in the church, Mrs. Campbell?"
"We been prayin' all night. We cry some in between the prayin'. Then we sing hymns. All we know is we got to stick together."
Martha scowls at Rose's passivity. If she were there, she'd tell Rose to go and stand above the spot where the miners are trapped. That small pocket of life is like a magnetic field. If you're going to pray, Rose, that's where you should do it. Martha wills Rose to go there and extend that magnetic connection upward through her body, straight into the heavens, drawing her son up through the ground, becoming the conduit for his ascension.
Rose isn't thousands of miles away from her son– he's right there. She could be within three hundred feet of him. Martha has an impulse to call directory assistance for that town in Kentucky and ask for the phone number of the Campbell residence, but, of course, Rose isn't home. She's in front of the church talking to a reporter. Where is Jamie's father in all this, anyway? Is he at home sleeping so he can go to work tomorrow?
For the past two weeks, Martha has barely turned on the television, instead spending her days listening to folk music from the sixties and staring at the ceiling. Today she passes the rest of the morning toggling the mute button off and on, occasionally closing her eyes for catnaps, sometimes leaving the volume on as she drifts off to sleep. With the heavy curtains closed it's hard to tell the position of the sun, but she looks at the clock finally and sees it's twelve-thirty. In the next half hour or so, Steve will call to check on her, and she'll let the machine pick up.
Jenna, still in front of the church, is speaking in an agitated voice. Behind her, people pour out of the building, scattering, being pursued by other reporters holding microphones. Martha leans forward to get a better view, but the two-dimensional screen can't offer any more depth. Are those red flashing lights?
Jenna puts the microphone to her side for a moment and turns away from the camera. The zoom lens takes over suddenly and allows the viewers to see a train of ambulances in the distance, racing down the road, down the hill and disappearing around a curve.
"Ambulances," announces Jenna, her hollow eyes electrified by adrenaline. "Headed toward the mine entrance." She reaches her microphone into to the stream of people, but nobody stops to talk to her. Her left hand goes up to cup her left ear. "Apparently something's happening... we're going to Henry Sondberg, at the mine entrance."
"Several ambulances arrived here at the mine entrance just moments ago," says Henry. His open-necked dress shirt looks freshly ironed, as if he's just walked out of his house. "Of course, the hope is that they're about to bring someone out, but so far we haven't seen anything, and no statement from the company spokesman."
Martha sees a parade of pickup trucks in the background, coming down the hill, disappearing behind the curves and then reappearing. She smiles at the thought that Rose must be in one of them, finally going to be near Jamie.
Henry says, "We're going back to Jenna at the church. Jenna?"
Jenna is nearly breathless now. "I'm speaking with Pastor Whitehead. You've just come from the church—has there been an announcement?"
His face is encircled by silver hair. "They're alive! Praise the Lord! They sent the ambulances down to get them."
"Has the company made an official announcement to the families? How did you hear about this?"
"The company? No. They haven't bothered to talk to us. Word came back from somebody on the rescue team." He leans so far into the microphone that it looks as if he's trying to devour it. "Now we just gotta keep waiting and praying they can get them all to the hospital in time."
"Do you have any family members down in the mine?"
"I consider every one of those miners family," says the Pastor.
Martha has never lived in a place where people feel that way about each other. At least not the people she's known. She draws her knees up to her chest and clasps her arms around them.
Bob at the anchor desk says, "Several hospitals in the region are preparing their emergency rooms to receive the miners."
Those young men will be able to go home. Sure, they might have to spend some time in the hospital, but they'll get to go home. Martha's body shakes as she cries, soundlessly. She uses a corner of the sheet to sop up the tears that won't stop coming.
She knows what it's like to come out of the darkness. Every time they'd gone through a few days with no reassuring email, she would descend into her own sort of mine shaft. There would be echoes of voices from outside that she couldn't quite make out, and she would feel as if she had nearly used up all her air supply. Then the electronic signal would arrive to rescue her, bringing her back to life on the surface, and she would suck in as much oxygen as she could.
The governor is on the screen now, standing at a podium, praising the rescue efforts, praising God, thanking the country for their prayers. The church bells start ringing, drowning out the rest of his speech.
Someone has fixed Jenna's makeup and fluffed her hair out. "Still no official statement from the company, but there's a celebratory mood here." She smiles for the first time in many hours. Martha smiles back at the screen. Maybe Jenna will be able to go home soon and get some sleep.
For the first time in two weeks Martha feels like getting dressed. She lays a pair of jeans out on the bed with her favorite purple shirt– the one with the embroidered yoke and the mother-of-pearl buttons–and gets in the shower.
The warm water running over the top of her head and down her back crashes to the blue tiles under her feet. She holds her breath as she puts her face under the shower just to feel what it's like to breathe afterward. The shampoo lather slips between her fingers like silk. The lavender smell travels to her brain and triggers a shudder.
Toweling her hair off, she goes into the kitchen to look for something to eat. She finds a granola bar and a package of peanut butter crackers, which she takes with her to the living room television.
Jenna cocks her head, frowns, and squints. Martha bites her lower lip. She hasn't seen this expression on Jenna before.
"We're hearing conflicting reports. At first we were told the rescue team had made contact with the miners and they were all alive." Jenna pauses as more information comes through her earpiece. "Now several of our sources say that eleven of the twelve have been found alive. We're trying to find out the identity of the one who didn't survive."
Martha's knees buckle, delivering her to the seat of the sofa. Don't let it be Jamie Campbell. Rose, keep holding on. Martha picks up her purse from the chair by the front door where she must have left it after the funeral. She jams the granola bar and the peanut butter crackers inside.
One family holds the losing ticket in this lottery. They still have the luxury of hope, maybe for a little while longer, but when they redeem that ticket, they'll look back on this brief period as the time God, or the Universe, or whatever they believe in, was taunting them.
Steve and Martha were notified about their son twelve hours after his unit was ambushed. She spent the first few days afterward taking inventory of her actions during every one of those twelve oblivious hours. While she was doing laundry, he was already dead. While they were having a glass of wine at dinner with their friends, he was already dead. David was one of five who were killed that day. There was no national vigil for their convoy's trip through the valley.
David was only seventeen on September 12, 2001, but he had wanted to enlist. They made a deal with him, hoping to buy some time. He agreed to wait until after college. The war outlasted their crossed fingers.
Jenna's eyes and mouth are sagging. She seems to have aged ten years. "The mining company is holding a meeting in the church with the families. This is the first direct communication."
The church bells have stopped. Jenna turns just as the double doors open and a few people rush out. A man holding a legal pad and a pen is walking briskly toward her, his lips pressed tightly together, his brows furrowed.
"Are you a family member?"
"No. I'm a reporter with the local paper."
"Can you tell us what happened inside?"
"There's one miner alive, and the rest didn't make it, not the other way around."
Jenna's mouth drops open and she stares at the newspaper man, as if she's forgotten who she is and why she's there.
"The company says it was a 'miscommunication.'" Shaking his head, he continues. "It's a bad scene in there. Everyone's screaming, crying, shouting 'liars, liars.' One man tried to attack the company spokesman."
Jenna's lip is quivering. The control room switches to Henry Sondberg.
"The surviving miner, identified as Clark Miller, has been taken away in an ambulance. The rescue workers are going back in now with empty body bags."
"Jamie!" Martha screams. How could this happen with his mother right there? She feels her chest tighten and her breathing speed up. She flashes on the image of army officers at her door. This was what it felt like right before she fainted. She doesn't want to faint. She struggles to slow down her breathing, to steady her racing heart. She won't be any use to anyone this way.
Finally calm, she scribbles a note: "Steve, gone to Kentucky." She leaves it on the kitchen counter and heads out the garage door.
Rachel Unkefer is the first place winner of the Hook's 2009 short story contest, judged by top novelist John Grisham.
2 comments
I really enjoyed this story, being pulled in gradually until I had full identification with the main character, Martha. The parallel story lines of the mine disaster and the loss of Martha's own son are developed in syncopation, providing both a sense of plot movement and subtle messages on class, war, the differences between men and women in handling tragedy, and the potential healing power of bridging those differences to support each other. Congratulations on a deserved first place finish!
Thank you, Rachel, for doing the hard and lonely work of writing this story of a family's grief, love, and compassion. The cultural struggles of the Appalachian area are clearly described; you have also described the uniting and caring elements of our common humanity so well.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It was built in Brazil, and sold new in Mexico. It was imported to the United States by the husband of a diplomat. When his wife left her consulate job, he had to let it go – along with a few bags of spare parts, a California title, and a strongly worded legal document stating that the buyer assumes all risk for getting it registered.
And that's the story of how Jalopnik reader Aaron Moreau-Cook found himself heading home from Los Angeles on the 101 freeway in a 2001 Mercedes A160, unsure of whether he would ever be able to legally drive it on public roads.
Or at least, that's the short version.
The long version begins with the US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Section 591.5, which states, and I am paraphrasing here: No vehicle under the age of 25 shall be imported to the United States, or else the importer will face death at the hands of large, angry grizzly bears. However, any vehicle over the age of 25 can be imported, regardless of whether it has airbags, seat belts, headlights, or tactical nuclear weapons mounted on the front that could wipe out an entire metropolitan area.
Most car enthusiasts know this code as the "25 year rule," which prohibits many cool cars from entering the US until they're so old that we've practically forgotten about them. But it makes an exception for diplomats, and that's how this A160 first made its way to the US: an embassy employee's car enthusiast husband, whose other vehicles included a Ferrari 348 and a Land Rover Defender, shipped it from Mexico to LA and drove it around for years on diplomatic plates. But when his wife left her job, the plates left the car – and that meant he had no way to legally keep it. To eBay it went.
And that's where Aaron, a San Francisco Bay Area resident, discovered the A-Class in all its wedge-shaped glory: a front-wheel drive, compact Mercedes; one of over a million built from 1997 to 2004; a car that wouldn't turn a head in Europe, or Asia, or Latin America. But here it was on American eBay, located right here in California! He knew he wouldn't have another chance.
Stemming from what he calls an "unhealthy obsession" with the A-Class dating back to time he spent in London during the early 2000s, Aaron decided he had to have it. After settling on an $8,000 budget, he submitted a bid. Then another. Then another. When the auction ended, the final price was just over $9,000 – and Aaron wasn't the winning bidder.
But the winning bidder backed out, probably due to concerns about registration. So the seller contacted Aaron, and the two worked out a deal for $8,950. In other words: Aaron was paying nearly $1,000 more than his budget for a grey market used car he had never seen before. It came with no plates. There was no certain way of getting it registered. And no US mechanic had ever been trained to work on it.
He flew to LA and did the deal anyway.
If you're like me, you're probably especially curious about what happened next. After all, the federal government clearly prohibits importing cars under 25 years old unless a substantially similar vehicle was sold in the US – and there was no substantially similar vehicle to the A-Class. It has a unique shape compared to other US Mercedes models. It also has a unique engine, a unique interior, and a unique clutchless manual transmission. Nothing about the A-Class is substantially similar to any US-bound Mercedes, right down to the alloy wheels.
This point was made especially clear when the seller asked Aaron to sign a document written by the seller's attorney stating, in Aaron's words, "It's a grey market car, good luck getting it licensed, no returns, have a nice day." In other words: the car was being sold as-is, buyer beware, and the seller probably wouldn't be answering the phone if Aaron's name came up on the caller ID.
Aaron then began the five-hour drive home from LA to the Bay Area... in a strange-looking foreign car with no license plate and a now-defunct diplomatic registration. His only proof of ownership was a California title issued with the diplomatic plates and that legal document from the attorney saying that he was driving an unregistered grey market used car.
If he got pulled over, he probably wouldn't be showing that to the cops.
But he didn't get pulled over. The drive went flawlessly, and Aaron noted that "it was a great drive to spend with the car." He also told me that he was surprised at how well the unusual clutchless manual transmission behaved. More importantly, the car ran perfectly: the previous owner had babied it, completing every service on time, and the 11-year-old car had just 73,000 miles on the odometer. He made it back to San Francisco without an issue.
The next step was getting some plates. Registering in California was out of the question, largely because California has its own import laws that are – surprise, surprise – stricter than federal regulations. Fortunately, Aaron's parents live in Washington, one of the many states that shares a border with Canada. He decided to try his luck at registering the A160 there, reasoning that Washington probably deals with ex-Canadians bringing over imported cars all the time – and that meant they might not be so strict about registering the A-Class.
So, just a few days after driving from LA to San Francisco, he embarked on a second long trip: a pilgrimage to the Washington Department of Licensing.
But before he could drive to Washington, Aaron had to secure insurance – a process that he says was surprisingly easy. "I called Allstate, who I've had insurance with my entire adult life," Aaron told me. "They insured the car with a stated-value policy." Aaron said they didn't given him any trouble with the foreign VIN, and that insurance rates are about the same as his new Jeep Wrangler.
The uneventful drive to Washington took place overnight, and ended with Aaron – and the A160 – arriving the next morning at a privately-run Department of Licensing office in the Seattle area. Armed with his insurance documents, the California title, his Washington driver's license and a checkbook, Aaron walked into the office.
He emerged a few minutes later without plates.
Fortunately, it was just a small snag: before Washington would register the A-Class, they asked Aaron for a written estimate on the vehicle's value. So he drove to a local Mercedes dealership, which incited a reaction that would later repeat itself anytime he found himself near Mercedes aficionados: amazement. The entire sales staff – people who spend all day selling six-figure luxury cars – was astounded by an 11-year-old used car with a 100-horsepower 4-cylinder engine.
More importantly, the Mercedes dealer gave him the written estimate of value he needed – but only after telling him that they, personally, would never buy the car from him ("too much unknown," said the sales manager). Fifteen minutes later, Aaron was back at the Department of Licensing — and this time, he walked away with a shiny new pair of Washington license plates to put on his now-legally registered 2001 Mercedes-Benz A160.
But there's more to the story than how Aaron Moreau-Cook registered his A-Class. He also told me two other interesting stories about owning one of the most unique cars on the road in the United States. One relates to the process of servicing a grey market Mercedes here in America. And the other is about the time he got pulled over.
When it comes to servicing, Aaron tells me, nothing is easy. "Scheduling oil changes at the Mercedes dealership requires 30 to 45 days of lead time because Mercedes has a convoluted process to order special parts from out of the country," he says.
And what exactly is that process? Aaron explains in detail what happened when he went in for his "A" service:
I visited the local dealership and worked with the parts manager to get all the right parts ordered in for a Mercedes "A Service". He told me he didn't know how long it would take to get the parts in, he could not order via the computer system. He had to fax paperwork to Mercedes USA HQ in New Jersey where some person there had to manually approve the parts to be ordered via the computer system. This process took nearly a month to complete after which the dealer was able to order parts directly from the computer system, with one exception. Mercedes USA would not allow them to order new windshield wipers without a clear reason; we both assume it was because Mercedes A160 wipers were not DOT approved and they were concerned about liability.
The parts arrived a week after they were ordered, all sent overnight from Germany. I dropped the A160 off one morning and was given a 2013 C250 coupe loaner (awesome car). The service advisor told me that they were not sure how long they would need and in the end they took almost 1 1/2 days to complete the service. When I picked up the A160 they had completed the service except they didn't know how to install the air filter. They asked me if I wanted to keep the air filter or not and I opted to keep it.
That night I opened the A-Class Manual by J H Haynes I had bought on eBay months before and installed the filter myself. It was straight forward but you had to remove a considerable number of screws that seemed un-related.
One thing that they observed during the maintenance was that the timing belt was looking worn. They clearly didn't have a new belt in stock, so I opted for them to order a new one.
A few weeks later the new timing belt arrived and I dropped the A160 off for them to complete the work (and pick up another 2013 C250 loaner). The service advisor and I had talked about the air filter debacle and he asked that I bring the A-Class Manual by J H Haynes "in case" they need it for reference. The night before I read the section on replacing the timing belt, realized it was a complicated process (remove drivers-side wheel), so I bookmarked the page and handed it to my service advisor with a smile. He told me they used the guide as it was different then the documentation they had access to; which was incorrect.
So servicing can be a pain – but it's doable if you have a receptive dealership, a penchant for turning a wrench on your own, and, apparently, a Haynes manual. But what about the time Aaron got pulled over?
Headed home from work one night, he was caught by a California Highway Patrol officer doing 80-plus miles per hour in a 70 zone. Although he didn't mention it to me, Aaron must've been pretty scared: this would be the judgement day! If the officer believed the car was illegal, he could tow it – and it might never come back. But if he let it go, other officers probably wouldn't give it any more or less scrutiny, should a future traffic stop arise.
According to Aaron, the officer approached the A160 and immediately began asking questions. What is it? What kind of Mercedes? Where's it from? But the questions seemed to be more for the officer's personal interest than law enforcement purposes. Eventually, he walked back to the patrol car. After a while, he returned with a speeding ticket in hand – and a suggestion that Aaron should slow down in the future. He hasn't been pulled over since.
Aaron Moreau-Cook isn't sure how many other A-Classes are in the States, but he thinks it's probably only a few. He tells me people often notice it and point, or stare, or approach him at gas stations. He admits he will someday have trouble selling it, pointing me to an A-Class in Ohio that's been on eBay for the last few months, with no takers. He runs a blog documenting life with the car, though an extended road trip has recently pulled him away from it for a few months.
But I can tell that Aaron is eager to get back to his car. It may only have 100 horsepower. It may be a boring economy car in nearly any other country on earth. It may take six weeks to get an oil change. But it's still one of the most unique cars on the road. More importantly, in spite of Title 49 and that carefully worded letter from the seller's attorney, it's his unique car. And he has the title and registration to prove it.
@DougDeMuro is the author of Plays With Cars. He owned an E63 AMG wagon and once tried to evade police at the Tail of the Dragon using a pontoon boat. (It didn't work.) He worked as a manager for Porsche Cars North America before quitting to become a writer, largely because it meant he no longer had to wear pants. Also, he wrote this entire bio himself in the third person.


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Classic Design Services is a one stop source for all your transit, installation, and warehousing needs. Classic has over two decades of unparalleled collaboration with the purveyors of goods and services for homeowners. That is why top interior designers, art galleries, manufacturers, high end furniture showrooms, and antique dealers all turn to us when they need a trusted, reliable partner for moving and interior installation.
Staffed by professionally trained crews, skilled customer service agents, and equipped with a private fleet, Classic is prepared to deal with any request, whether it is a one van errand, a detailed packing and moving job, or a delivery of household goods from storage. Classic is known for its timely, skillful installation of fine art, furnishings and the specialty handling of precious heirloom items.


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I still have not retired my freesco router. I recently got dial-up Internet access to try to figure out why my e-mail doesn't work (I no longer trust my ISP).
Anyway, when I boot in dial-up router mode on a test machine, nothing happens. If I login as "up" I get the following message: "Command 'up' has just been sent" .... and nothing happens.
After reading about the modem intialization bug in 0.4.x, I went back and added an initialization string for modem0 (with the same results). During boot, no network cards were detected. Would that prevent dial-out?
I was able to successfully dial-out under Win98 (with the same machine). Knoppix failed PPP negotiation for some reason. A "NO CARRIER" response occured several times, so the line may be noisy (freesco does not even make the modem go off-hook). The modem is external.
Instead of switching to dial-up mode, I would prefer to leave the router in ethernet mode and have the modem link become the default route when in use. Is there an easy way to do that?
I had to change my user name for my ISP link. I failed to select my ISP as expected in menu 81. With no ISP selected, option 811 "Edit selected ISP" prompts you with option 822 "Define new ISP", which gives you an error message when you type in an existing ISP. I was under the impression the 'default' ISP would be selected automatically. I was able to edit things after accidentally typing the ISP name (selecting an ISP according to the computer).


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At Saint Louis University, the nearly 500-year-old Jesuit tradition inspires everything from the kinds of classes students take to how they spend their free time. But just what does it mean to be "Jesuit"?
Who are the Jesuits?
The Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Early on, the Jesuits became known for education as they traveled throughout Europe
doing missionary work and starting schools and seminaries. Less than two decades after
they were founded, Jesuits had established 74 colleges on three continents.
Today, there are close to 200 Jesuit institutions of higher learning around the world, including Saint Louis University. The Society of Jesus is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with almost 17,000 priests and brothers worldwide. They are teachers as well as pastors, lawyers and more. In fact, Pope Francis is a Jesuit priest.
Nearly 30 Jesuit priests and brothers live, teach and minister at Saint Louis University. In addition, Bellarmine House of Studies, one of only three houses of Jesuit First Studies in the country, is an on-campus residential community for 25 scholastics in training. Jesuit Hall is home to priests who work on campus, as well as some who have retired from teaching or ministry.
What is Jesuit Education Known for?
Jesuit education entails caring for the whole person — mind, body and spirit — and encouraging students to become well-rounded people who contribute to the greater good.
Inspired by the Jesuit practice of "finding God in all things," students take a broad range of study, which is grounded in the theological and philosophical foundations of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Then there's the idea of "the magis" (more), which leads to excellence in all pursuits. This ties into the Jesuit legacy of academic rigor, which requires students to go deeper, think critically and solve problems creatively for the glory of God and the service of humanity.
Finally, Jesuit education prepares students to become "men and women for and with others," to make the world a better place by seeking justice and serving the most vulnerable among us.
Do SLU Students Have to Take Religion Classes?
All undergraduates take a course that is unique to SLU called "Theological Foundations." The course is an exploration of the Judeo-Christian religious traditions that have contributed to shaping cultures throughout the world for more than 3,000 years. Connections are also made in this course to other major religious traditions alive and well today.
Do SLU Students Have to Attend Mass?
No. While there is ample opportunity for Catholic students to go to Mass, other students are welcome but not obligated to join them. The Department of Campus Ministry also works with affiliate ministers of many faith traditions who accompany students on their spiritual journeys, on and off campus.
Who Was St. Ignatius?
Inigo de Loyola (1491-1556) was the youngest child of a noble Basque family loyal to the Spanish crown. He spent his early days not as a priest but as a courtier and a soldier. During the battle of Pamplona in 1521, his leg was seriously wounded by a cannonball. While he recuperated at his family's home, he reconsidered his way of life. A spiritual and religious conversion followed, and he decided to lay aside his sword of war and take up what he called the "sword of Christ."
After his convalescence, Ignatius began his new life as a pilgrim. He stopped in a town called Manresa, intending to stay for a few days. Instead, he stayed for 10 months, spending hours each day in prayer. This led to the creation of what is now known as the "Spiritual Exercises." Also during this time, Ignatius had a vision that led him to seek "to find God in all things."
After his religious conversion, to be of greater assistance to others, he went back to school, studying at a variety of different universities. While at the University of Paris, he formed a circle of friends who decided to dedicate themselves to the greater glory of God and "helping souls." They placed themselves at the service of the Pope, who would send them throughout the world, wherever they were needed most. Everywhere the Jesuits went, their mission remained the same: to seek the greater glory of God and the good of humanity.
St. Ignatius was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622. His feast day is celebrated on July 31, the day he died.


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this is a discussion within the College Community Forum; Iowa safety commits to join Green Wave From staff reports Coach Les Miles' words, "Would you like to be a LSU Tiger?" played like sweet music to the ears of Destrehan wide receiver Tim Molton on Wednesday. Molton didn't hesitate ...
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Destrehan WR chooses LSU
Iowa safety commits to join Green Wave
From staff reports
Coach Les Miles' words, "Would you like to be a LSU Tiger?" played like sweet music to the ears of Destrehan wide receiver Tim Molton on Wednesday.
Molton didn't hesitate in answering in the affirmative during a private meeting with Miles on the final day of LSU's summer camp. Molton, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound three-sport standout at Destrehan with 4.45-second speed in the 40-yard dash, became LSU's 12th commitment.
"That's where Tim has always wanted to go," Destrehan Coach Steve Robicheaux said after describing the Molton-Miles meeting. "(LSU) had him in camp and loved him. They called his mother (with an official offer), and they discussed it. And he committed to LSU."
In Molton, who could not be reached for comment, LSU has landed a receiver similar in style to Craig "Buster" Davis, the 30th overall selection in this year's NFL draft and the No. 1 pick of the San Diego Chargers. Molton caught 35 passes for 420 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in helping the Wildcats to a 9-1 regular-season mark and 10-2 overall record.
Molton was an All-District 5-5A selection in football, basketball and track in addition to finishing second in the state in the long jump at 24 feet, 2.75 inches at the Class 5A track and field championships. Molton is not yet academically qualified, lacking a test score, Robicheaux said.
"Tim is probably one of the better all-around athletes at our school," said Robicheaux, whose 2007 squad boasts several top Division I prospects. "He could play quarterback. He plays receiver. He punts. He could play point guard on the basketball team. He finished second in the state in the long jump. He's just a tremendous athlete, and he's a real competitor. He runs good routes, and he's got good moves when he gets out in the open. He's real fluid."
Tulane also secured a verbal commitment, its fourth, with the addition of Iowa safety Ian Harson. Harson committed to Coach Bob Toledo and the Green Wave on Tuesday night, Harson and his coach, David Miller, said Wednesday. Harson, 6-0, 175 with 4.6-second speed in the 40, projects to being academically qualified, Miller said.
Harson is entering his third year as a two-way starter for the Yellow Jackets, who were District 4-3A champions in 2006 en route to a 7-4 record. Tulane's coaching staff discovered Harson, Miller said, while reviewing game videotape of another Iowa player whom the Wave has offered a scholarship to, linebacker Seth Granger.
Tulane is the lone school to have extended an official scholarship offer to Harson, although he said he has received interest from Louisiana-Monroe.
"I know they have a pretty good football program, and they are Division I," Harson said. "I've always wanted to play Division I football. They were the first school to come after me, and that gave me a lot of confidence in committing to them."
Mike Strom
BASTROP WR INELIGIBLE: Wide receiver DeAngelo Benton of Bastrop, one of LSU's top recruits, will not join the Tigers this fall because of academic ineligibility, according to Benton's high school coach.
Benton, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound Parade All-American, did not make the required grade-point average on his core high school courses and will attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., in the fall in hopes of coming to LSU in January, Bastrop Coach Brad Bradshaw said.
"He came so close to getting in they (LSU) think he can go to Hargrave and be ready after one semester," Bradshaw said.
Benton caught 41 passes for 869 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
LSU is awaiting word on the academic eligibility of another recruit, Demetrius Byrd of Pearl River (Miss.) Community College. Byrd is retaking two classes he did not pass the previous semester. He caught 45 passes for 730 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Jim Kleinpeter
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Re: Destrehan WR chooses LSU
We snatching up all the Louisiana talent this year... but for some strange reason, they're all ranked low. No one in the state is a five star this year.
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Re: Destrehan WR chooses LSU
nice I went to this high school
it's good to see they are still turning out top notch players
and they are picking good schools to play for
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A pedestrian was struck and killed in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 near Philips Highway early Tuesday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The FHP said 26-year-old James Carter (pictured, right), of Jacksonville, was standing in the outside travel lane of I-95 southbound just before 2 a.m. when he was struck by a Buick LeSabre driven by Brandon Young, 27, of Orange Park.
The car pulled over and waited for police and rescue personnel, who pronounced Carter dead at the scene.
Vanessa Jones, Carter's mother, said she's torn up over the loss of her son. She said he had a disability and was struggling with anxiety after his cousin was killed in a crash. Jones said Carter would walk to help with his anxiety.
"He said he got to walk, he got to walk. And when he walk he feels better. Now he can't walk no more, he's gone," Jones said.
Jones said her son had sought mental health treatment and went to many different clinics asking for help, but no one would admit him. She said doctors thought he was fine.
Tuesday morning, she called those doctors to tell them what happened to her son.
"I told y'all about the anxiety he was having and all that walking, walking, walking. Now he's dead. He got hit by a car," Jones said of what she told the doctors.
Jones said she pleaded with the facilities to keep her son so he could get treated for what he was dealing with, but they continued to release him, sending him back home. He had been getting treatment this weekend and was again let go.
Jones said that Monday night Carter was having issues again and left their house on the Westside to walk it off. Hours later, he died, nearly 20 miles away from home.
"It cost him his life, but the mental health place, they could have saved him. They could have kept him there, evaluated him and gave him some medication," Carter's aunt, Cheryl Wilson, said.
Carter's family says doctors could have done more. Instead they continued to let him go when he needed extra help.
"Thats what they told me, it was nothing wrong with him and he don't meet the criteria," Jones said. "That's what they keep hearing from y'all: 'He don't meet the criteria.'"
One southbound lane of I-95 was closed for about three hours while troopers investigated. The other two lanes remained open.
According to the FHP report, charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.


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i see the reference now... still kinda kinky if you ask me...Caterwaul wrote:Believe it or not, I think they're making a Blake reference.
"Art thou a flower! art though a nymph! I see thee now a flower;
Now a nymph! I dare not pluck thee from thy dewy bed!
The Golden nymph replied; pluck thou my flower Oothoon the mild
Another flower shall spring. because the soul of sweet delight
Can never pass away, she ceas'd & closed her golden shrine."
Caterwaul wrote: avante physique is the in universe company making the two.
no Ohmestrada?


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Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)
Michigan's Mackinac Island was fought over by France, England and the United States. The 200-year-old city in northern Lake Huron is a popular tourist destination. But the demolition of old buildings has raised a fierce debate about how to hold onto the past while profiting from it.
Click on link above to listen to show.


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To Serve and Protect
I've expended many hours of my life watching just one movie and I can't seem to be able to stop. No Country For Old Men is a mesmerizing tapestry of evil, violence and resilience. I watch some of the scenes again and again just to savor its dialogues and its beautiful intricacies – like the creak of a rusted signboard, the crunch of stones under a boot, the mundane sounds of traffic underscoring the stunned silence following a murder. The Coen Brothers have bestowed this movie with the maximum artistry, thoughtfulness and depth they could muster (perhaps a function of the book it's based on, which I haven't read.) However, the core of the movie is the disillusioned narrative of a grizzled veteran policeman tracking the murderous mayhem unfolding across his county. In Sheriff Ed Tom Bell's voice comes alive the pain of a policeman who has taken an oath to serve and protect but has failed to find redemption after a lifetime of doing so. He comes from a long line of proud policemen and idolizes the old-timers for their courage, but feels even they'd have failed to comprehend the debased criminals of today.
Evil is constant. It just is. It manifests itself in new ways, taking different shapes depending on the time it's born in. But the men and women who protect us come from the same pool of society that is capable of such evil. There's probably a law of conservation that also applies to good and evil. That there will always be someone willing to counter harm. Whether they have an opportunity to do so depends entirely on their life's circumstances and chances that provide them the means to do so. But what compels these men and women to put themselves in harm's way? I'm not sure. I once wrote about how a cop following the letter of law was better than the law he was upholding. Two events in the last two days have made me more uncertain of that stance. The Boston Police put on the show of a lifetime as they chased two terror suspects through their city with resolve, ingenuity and sheer bloody-mindedness. When they shot the first suspect, he had bombs strapped to himself. I followed the chase most of the night, aided by the endless stream of information pouring in through social media. They caught his brother 24 hours later after a door-to-door search eventually yielded his location (the back of a boat). They went after him knowing fully that he too, could be strapped with explosives like his brother. There was no point sending machines to do a man's job. So basically, someone decided they had to get closer to the suspect, risk their life and apprehend him.
"The crime that you see now, it's hard to even take it's measure.
It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you'd have to be willing to die to even do this job." says Sheriff Bell. And so he does, driven by the hope of salvation.
"A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, 'OK, I'll be part of this world."
Many officers of the Boston Police Department and FBI said that sentence to themselves in different ways that night.
Seven thousand miles away, in Delhi, an excerpt from a newspaper report:
"A five-year-old girl was raped, battered, had a plastic bottle and candles shoved into her vagina and was left to die in a locked room in east Delhi by her 25-year-old neighbour before she was discovered two days later, lying in a pool of her own blood."
After Dec 16 2012, I thought the preceding lines would qualify as one of the worst manifestations of a person's ability to harm another. I was wrong. The clincher is in the next sentence in the report:
"When her father went to the police for help, they gave him Rs. 2,000 to hush up the matter."
These are the people who have chosen to protect Indians from harm. Drawn as they are from the society they seek to protect, their attitude is a stinging indictment of our own failings. That's what the newspapers say. They tell us about the need to move beyond India's patriarchal culture, to educate policemen about sensitivity. I'm sure this is a step in the right direction but I wonder, are these people even aware of the moral duties they've signed up for? Is being a policeman just a job for them?
It wasn't for Tukaram Omble. Assistant Sub-Inspector Omble threw himself on Ajmal Kasab's AK-47 with the barrel pointing towards him. "A spray of bullets entered his stomach and intestine. Omble collapsed, but held on to the gun till he breathed his last, stopping Amir from shooting anyone else."
Where are our Tukaram Ombles?
I've reconciled myself to the fact that evil will exist, but it need not prevail. There isn't a divine entity who will suddenly step in and clean up our mess. The ability to rectify and do good resides in us. I have great respect for the police in general, but the Indian police evokes contempt and disgust in me. Perhaps it's a few bad apples, perhaps it's a culture that rots them. I'm astounded at the stark differences in response of the Boston and Delhi police to horrifying incidents. There might've been bigots, slackers, racists among that team of Boston PD officers trawling their city for the Tsarnaevs, but we'll never know because the chatter on the police radio represented a unit working with the single-minded objective to weed out the killers who had caused their citizens harm.
In one of the most poignant scenes in No Country For Old Men, Sheriff Bell returns to the scene of a crime on a hunch that the killer is still present. As he drives up to the scene of the crime, a motel room, he sees the punched out lock and knows he's right. Sheriff Bell pauses and contemplates the possibility that he might die in a few moments in a hail of gunfire. Then he gets out of his cruiser, removes his revolver, takes a deep breath and opens the door. The shot cuts to the entrance to the door where Sheriff Bell stands as the wash from his cruiser's headlights illuminates him, casting his shadow on the blood-stained carpet of the motel room. You can't see his face but the silhouette in the door isn't that of a hesitant, fearful, timid man tentatively approaching his death, which he had contemplated not moments ago. It's a confident figure standing with courage and authority.


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Shannon Brown 'Getting On Up' in Game-SIx of the NBA Finals
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Lamar Odom is grabbing rebounds and bouncing a little when dribbling up-court. Ron Artest doesn't resemble a lost tourist in the triangle. Pau Gasol asserts his will in the paint. Instead of pacing the sideline and dropping quotes about collecting oneself, Phil Jackson is laying back in his throne -also known as The Ergonomically Correct Chair. Kobe Braynt is 'facilitating' rather than scoring. Sasha Vujacic, the self proclaimed machine, is knocking down three-pointers, alienating opponents, and styling his straight-outta-Slovenia do. And those celebs' rocking courtside seats at Staples Center are flashing their Hollywood smiles for ABC.
If you haven't guessed it, these are signs the Los Angeles Lakers are winning. However, there is a notable omission: Shannon Brown's highlight reel jams.
The purple-and-gold always seems to win when the 2010 Sprite Slam Dunk Gets On Up like Jodeci and rocks the rim for two points.
(Yes, HoopsVibe News is referencing the classically cheesy R&B group from the 1990s. And sadly, HoopsVibe News is old enough to legitimately do so.)
Consider game-six of the NBA Finals. First Brown rammed home a one-handed breakaway jam and then he rubbed his man off an Odom back-pick, grabbed an alley-oop toss and converted an amazing jam.
Both dunks inspired teammates and fans. Not surprisingly, the Lakers won game-six of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
And they're hoping -at least in California - that Brown repeats his aerial antics in game-seven, even if it's got that Jodeci thing going on.
Got thoughts? Did Brown Get On Up like Jodeci.


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I hope people who support agencies on missing persons issue will either get hidayat or suffer the same in this world to see how it goes.
There were people in Nazi Germany who suppored such acts and supported Hitler's crimes in the name of nationalism. It is surprising to see our nationalists also claim for Pakistan as "Islam ka Qila" and forget the principles of justice and humanity given in Quran and Sunnah.
Most of these nationalists like fake liberals support these acts due to their sectarian and social class prejudices. The only thing is that they add nationalist flavor to it.
This nationalism and worship of army cannot be associated with any country using the words "Islamic Republic" and I see it as another form of Shirk as teachings of Allah are being sidelined for new Gods like State, Army etc. Iqbal righly said:
In taza khudaon main baRa sab se watan hai
Jo pairhan iss ka hai, woh mazhab ka kafan hai
Yeh bott keh tarasheeda-e-tahzeeb-i-navi hai
Gharat gar-e-khashan-e-deen-i-nabawi hai
Baazu tira tawheed ki quwwat se qawi hai
Islam tira dais he, tu Mustafawi hai!
I often criticize the hypocrisy of fake liberals but today I want to remind those nationalists who consider Pakistan as Islam Ka Qila that Islam doesn't allow these type of unjust actions and violations of human rights. If some of these missing persons have done some crimes then even in that case army, government and security agencies cannot deny them of their rights including the right to defend themselves in court. If they believe in Islam and consider Pakistan as Islamic Republic then they should know what are the principles of justice in Islam. Islam doesn't allow injustice with worst enemies of Islam:
"O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do." [Quran : Al-maeda ,8]


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This week one of my best friends was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I'm devastated for her. The news that she will be hurled into the same ugly fight I've endured has rocked me to my core. Naively, I hoped I'd taken the "hit" for all of the women I love, but cancer doesn't work that way. Cancer is indiscriminate.
After two suspicious mammograms and an ultrasound, my friend had a needle biopsy. For the next three days we waited for the results. Thursday her doctor left a voicemail saying, "We need to chat. I'll call you, again, tomorrow." Tossed out like a line from a bad "B" movie, I wondered what kind of doctor leaves such a thoughtless message. Surely the doctor knew the implications of her words, that they would hang in the air like bold letters etched in stone. At that point it was hard for me to throw out positive lifelines, and even harder for my friend to catch, and so we steeled ourselves for the worst.
Since high school my two best friends have been Gayle and Lee. They are smart, funny women who've seen me through good times and bad. Today it's my and Lee's turn to be there for Gayle, because Gayle is the one who's been diagnosed with estrogen positive breast cancer. To say we're shocked is an understatement and to say we're angry doesn't begin to describe the anguish and devastation we feel.
At the same moment Gayle called me on my landline to tell me her biopsy results, Lee was calling my cell phone to see if I'd heard from her. In a weird kind of conference call, I put Gayle and Lee each on speakerphone, and held the two phones together, while Gayle told us the results. I think we were all prepared, but hearing it and having it confirmed was sobering. I stared at the phones, imagining each of my friends on the other end. I could see their faces, the same faces I've loved since we were 16. Our conversation was punctuated by silence, then tears, followed by laughter and more tears.
Yesterday when I told Gayle I might start writing blogs with information I wanted her to have, she suggested I go ahead and use her name. Perhaps by personalizing her breast cancer journey, it might help someone else in ways we have yet to imagine.
Next week Gayle is having a lumpectomy. This will tell us a lot about her cancer and the kind of treatment she'll need. At this point, we believe her cancer was caught early; Stage 1, and she may need radiation but no chemo. I can't help but think of when Gayle and Lee and I went to an outdoor Sting concert, in 100 degree plus Texas heat, eight days after my first mastectomy. I wore white linen and my turkey basters, as Lee called them, the temporary drains attached to where my breast had been. Our seats were in the last row and Carrot Top could have been lip-syncing Sting songs for all we knew, but I didn't care. I was there. I was alive, with my two best friends, singing and clapping like my world hadn't been condensed onto a glass slide two inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide.
As I looked at the thousands of women in the audience, I thought of the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer. I looked from woman to woman thinking, "She's had it, or she has it and doesn't know it." If each of these women had known about my bandages and my turkey basters, where the week before my breast had been, many wouldn't have agreed with me that life doesn't get any better than this. I wanted to hug each one of them and tell them to keep singing, keep laughing. Pull from each moment the things you want to remember. Savor them. Laugh at them. Live your life with joy.
So now I'm telling these things to you, Gayle. I love you, sister girl. This won't be easy, I know, but you will get through this and emerge on the other side stronger than ever. You will be all right. Of that, I am certain.
And to Gayle's breast cancer, "You've raised your ugly malignant neoplasm in the wrong breast, and we're fixing to kick your ass to the curb!"


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The street is the centre of Yogyakarta's largest tourist district surrounded with many hotels and restaurants nearby. Sidewalks on both sides of the street are crowded with small stalls selling a variety of goods. In the evening several open-air streetside restaurants, called lesehan, operate along the street. Less obvious to the tourist, but more for the local population, side streets, lanes and structures that lead on to Malioboro are as important as the street itself.
This article in Outdoors, Action and Adventure about the Sunderlands has a shot from the show that is probably from episode 2.Sailor Zac Sunderland and father to appear on new season of 'The Amazing Race'Note the Indonesian license plate:
(I'm sorry if it shouldn't be posted here )From the new promo, I spotted twins are in Bukit Indah HotelBukit Indah was their first stop after they arrived in Jogjakarta (possibly there's an HOO )(spec) : From this photo, looks like they're done picking up their clue and get a route info clue headed to Jomblang caves
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US elections 2016
Update 5 November (click image to enlarge) As you can see the chances of winning dropped considerably for Hillary Clinton, however she still has the lead. Data 21 October Click image to enlarge Bewaren


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It's Father's Day here in the USA (not sure if it is for our friends elsewhere) so I thought I'd share a terrific song from down under. It preceded Frank's version by at least a decade and was song of the year in Australia in the 90s.
Should it agree with you, you might seek out Trophy Night, by Weddings Parties Anything, as it provides a great overview of this band's highlights. I think Frank fans would really embrace this Melbourne band.
Peter T.
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Avoid Infant Circumcision Mistakes
• Are you arguing about infant circumcision?
• Thinking about circumcising your baby boy?
• Want to verify you made the right decision?
This common sense, evidence-based research tool is for you. Just click decide to get the infant or adult circumcision information you need.
Be fully informed before signing a circumcision consent form. Circumcision is permanent. Avoid making an infant circumcision mistake. When in doubt, just ask yourself, "What would he choose for himself?"
<<The following is provided for text readers>>
Circumcision Information, Pros and Cons
So, you want to circumcise your new baby boy. Many parents struggle with the decision on whether to circumcise or not circumcise their baby boy. Parents have many questions regarding circumcising their baby boy and this can lead to confusion, and sometimes even making the wrong decision. Their concerns include:
Do I really want to circumcise my baby boy?
How do they circumcise a baby boy?
What will happen if I don't circumcise my baby boy?
How will I care for my son if I don't circumcise him?
What are the pros and cons of circumcision?
What is the difference between circumcised vs uncircumcised vs intact?
Circumcision Definition
To circumcise or circumcision: the often surgical procedure to remove the prepuce (foreskin in males–often in infants or babies, clitoral hood in females–often in girls).
About This Circumcision Risk Assessment Tool
Circumcision Decision-Maker is an online decision-making aid for anyone considering male circumcision at any age including infants and baby boys. Its focus is first and foremost on what is best for boys themselves, and only secondarily for parents, culture, or religion. Its content has been drawn from and approved by a panel of experts following an extensive review of the literature. Almost all male circumcisions in the United States are performed on infants, and American parents tend to make their decisions in one of two ways. Some choose male infant circumcision quickly without first researching it or considering its effects on their child. Others agonize and perhaps even argue over it. This decision-maker was designed to assist both groups. Its approach is to ask you to make a number of little decisions rather than a single big one. This will help you to identify your real reason for considering male infant circumcision, and then give you expert information on which to base your final decision. This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. It also complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information on the Internet.
Circumcision Experts
Our expert panel's consensus, after an extensive review of the literature, is that the only possible justification for circumcision is to treat boys or men with penile diseases or disorders—never as a preventive measure. The foreskin is a vital, functional part of the male genital anatomy. It is not a birth defect. Therefore, if there is not an absolutely urgent reason for removing it, it should remain intact—for ethical, psychological, and sexual reasons. The boy himself, when he is old enough, is the only person who should make any decision affecting the looks and function of his penis. However, if either or both parents-to-be are considering male infant circumcision, they need to research this life-changing procedure to learn just what happens during an infant circumcision, and what the unexpected complications could be. They should do this before their son's birth. It is too late once a maternity-ward physician or nurse inquires whether they want their son circumcised. At that moment they might have difficulty saying "No," or might make a hasty decision that they could later regret. Male circumcision is completely optional, but disfigurement and the potential severe injury are permanent. Extremely important, also, is the fact that no matter how well-meaning, parents simply cannot know or predict how their son will later feel about being circumcised. Male circumcision is an American anomaly. Worldwide, only about 10 out of every l,000 male infants are circumcised—and eight of those are in the United States alone. You, too, can do what those 990 parents do: skip making a decision altogether, and your child will be perfectly healthy and happy. You won't be alone; already in the past four years, the US male infant circumcision rate has plunged from 56% to 32%.
Circumcised vs Intact (Uncircumcised)
However, if either or both parents-to-be are considering male infant circumcision, they should do this before their son's birth. It is too late once a maternity physician or nurse inquires whether they want their son circumcised. At that moment they might have difficulty saying "No," or might make a hasty decision that they could later regret. The surgery is completely optional, but disfigurement and potentially severe injury are permanent. Extremely important, also, is the fact that no matter how well-meaning, parents simply cannot know or predict how their son will later feel about being circumcised. See also this list of reasons about not circumcising your boy.
Infant Circumcision Statistics
The foreskin is intact in most Europeans, and in 80-85% of all other men around the world. At one time, virtually all Americans were intact, too. It became popular in the Victorian era because doctors (mistakenly) thought it curbed masturbation, which they viewed as an unhealthy practice. Circumcision is an American anomaly. Worldwide, only about 10 out of every l,000 male infants are circumcised—and eight of those are in the United States alone. You, too, can do what those 990 parents do: skip making a decision altogether, and your child will be perfectly healthy and happy. You won't be alone, the US circumcision rate has plunged to 54%.
Infant Circumcision Risks
Circumcision is a surgical procedure and not without risks, including death. Common complications are hemorrhage and infection. More than 100 baby boys die each year in the United States as a result of being circumcised.
Infant Foreskin Facts
Human males, like all mammals, are born with a foreskin. Sometimes called the prepuce, the foreskin is thus an integral part of the normal penis. Its female counterpart is the clitoral hood, with which it shares many valuable features. The average adult's foreskin is:
- the most sensitive part of the penis, with 3/4 of its nerve endings
- fifteen square inches in surface area, about the size of a regular postcard
- a specialized double layer for a unique purpose.
Foreskin and Penis Anatomy
The foreskin (prepuce) is a retractable, double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane (the only such example on the human body), and uniquely constructed for its sexual purpose. It covers and protects the head of the penis (glans) and the urinary opening (meatus). Its outer layer is the same as the skin of the shaft of the penis, but the inner layer is mucous membrane, like the inside of the eyelid. The mucous membrane keeps the glans moist, providing a natural lubricant. Similar to the eyelid, the foreskin is able to move freely. When not retracted, muscle fibers keep it in position over the glans, but leave it elastic enough to retract backward up the shaft. The foreskin is tethered to the underside of the glans by a highly sensitive strip of tissue (frenulum, or "little bridle"), which helps return the foreskin to its normal position over the glans. The human body has other frenulums, including one under the tongue. The inner foreskin includes a ring of specialized tissue (ridged band) that is extraordinarily rich in nerve endings. A typical American circumcision removes the most sensitive portions of the penis— all or nearly all of the foreskin and frenulum, and in all cases all of the ridged band—leaving the glans, the least sensitive.
Foreskin Development
The foreskin is not just some useless "flap of skin." It is, rather, a highly important part of nature's careful attention to sex and procreation. As much as the genitals of males and females look and work differently, they have a lot in common. The penis and foreskin (prepuce) begin in the womb as a penile bud. Eight weeks after fertilization, the foreskin begins to grow over the head of the penis (glans), covering it completely by sixteen weeks. At this stage, the foreskin and its glans share a layer of skin (balano-preputial-lamina, or BPL) that temporarily fuses the two structures together. At birth, the foreskin is almost always still fused to the glans. As the boy becomes older, they gradually separate of their own accord, a natural process that may not be complete until puberty or even into early adulthood. The average age of separation allowing full foreskin retraction is ten years. Some foreskins, however, never fully retract–and that, too, is normal. Interestingly, the same penile bud is present in girls, and, as a result of genetics and hormones, eventually forms into the clitoris and clitoral hood (also called the prepuce). Occasionally, the penile bud develops into other forms, or combinations of forms, and the child is called intersexed.
Foreskin Care
Parents can relax, knowing they can care for their natural son using this basic information, and that he will be healthy, safe, and happy. Physicians now agree that you should not retract his foreskin. Because you don't have to deal with a circumcision wound, caring for an intact (not circumcised) boy is easier. Bathing and Hygiene: Use warm, clear water to bathe him. Soaps and bubble baths can cause irritation of sensitive genital skin in intact boys (and girls and circumcised boys). When he's ready, he can be taught to keep himself clean. As his foreskin begins to loosen naturally, he should be encouraged to gently pull his foreskin as far back as is comfortable, rinse himself, and return it to its forward position. Talk with him about germs and proper hygiene, and caution him about touching his bottom; his fingers might transfer germs to his penis. Normal Growth: Before birth, the foreskin and penis grow as a single structure. After birth, the foreskin slowly begins to loosen over a period of years. As the inner layer dissolves during childhood, excess skin cells slough off and appear as small white lumps (smegma) collecting in the space between his foreskin and glans, which are easily washed away. Few foreskins retract in the first year, most take many years, while some never retract; this is all normal. Foreskin Retraction Danger: Forced foreskin retraction by an uninformed adult is the greatest penile risk boys face. It causes severe pain, bleeding, scarring, and may lead to infection and adhesions. The foreskin should be retracted only by the boy himself, and only when he is ready to do so.
Foreskin Retraction Warning
Stay with your boy during all medical examinations. Some healthcare professionals might forcibly retract his foreskin. Before every examination say, "Please, do not retract his foreskin." Diaper Changing: Clean only what is seen. Change his diapers often. Make sure that the whole diaper area is clean before putting a new diaper on. Do not retract his foreskin.
Infant Circumcision Facts
Here are some facts regarding the circumcision procedure that most parents are unaware of, and some websites and many physicians fail to mention. We thought you should know them. More than 100 newborn boys die each year in the United States as a result of their circumcision, most from infections or blood loss. Most physicians do not have their sons circumcised. Why not, if circumcision is medically advisable? Since most have performed the surgery as part of their training, they are the ones who should know more about the procedure's consequences than anyone else. Contrary to frequent claims, infants do feel pain as intensely as adults, and very possibly even more. Circumcision regularly removes a shocking 3/4 of the penis's sensitivity through the removal of the ridged band, foreskin "lips," and most often the entire frenulum. Anesthesia is used in only 45% of circumcision procedures; the type of anesthetic varies. The most effective method does not eliminate all pain, and the most common type used, a topical creme, does almost nothing to reduce it. In fact, a major clinical test of the various types of anesthetics, on actual infants, was halted for humane reasons because of the intense pain. s adults, men circumcised in infancy are 4.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED). They are also 1.6 times more likely to suffer from alexithymia, a psychological trait disorder which causes difficulty in identifying and expressing one's emotions. Crcumcision has never been proven to be effective in either reducing or treating cervical cancer, penile cancer, urinary tract infections, or sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Not one medical association in America, or anywhere else in the world, recommends infant circumcision; some even recommend against it.
Penis and Foreskin Washing Instructions
Explaining how to wash a baby boy penis seems a little silly; especially since it is actually a lot easier to clean than a baby girl's genitals, with its many folds. But then, if you'd never seen ears before, and your baby was born with them, you might wonder how to clean them, too. So here goes…
Your instructions: Wash his penis just as you wash his fingers. Using a cloth, wipe it from base to tip. Use only mild soap and rinse well with clear, warm water. NEVER attempt to retract his foreskin to clean underneath; before separation it's self-cleaning. That's all there is to it — it's that simple!
His instructions: When it's time for you boy to learn how to wash his penis, just show him what you have been doing. If his foreskin has begun to separate, have him gently pull it back as far as is comfortable (remember: only he should retract it, to avoid injury). Show him how to clean his glans and inner foreskin with clear water only (no soap), rubbing lightly with his fingers. Then have him return the foreskin to its normal position, drying only the outside.
Soap warning: All soaps, shampoos, and bubble baths can irritate the sensitive inner foreskin, which is mucosal tissue, and are entirely unnecessary for cleanliness anyway. Even worse, they also destroy the beneficial pH balance and "friendly flora."
NOTE: This information has been reviewed by our panel of experts and other trusted advisors, however, it is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, or spiritual advice.


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The American Film institute (AFI) released a list of the Top Ten movies of the year. Blockbuster movies like "Inception" and "Toy Story 3" topped the list, as well as independent contenders like the suspenseful "Black Swan" and James Franco's at times painful-to-watch "127 Hours." "The Social Network" graced the list as well.
AFI also voted on the top ten television shows of the year, including Emmy favorites "Mad Men" and "30 Rock." Others on the list include Showtime's "The Big C," a comedy of sorts about a woman coping with terminal cancer, and "The Walking Dead," AMC's new zombie cult hit.
The majority of the films selected don't come as surprises. Each has been well received by critics, fans, or—in rare cases—both parties. Think of it as sort of a litmus test for the Oscars.
U.S. & World
According to Entertainment Weekly, special awards were also given to two films that didn't quite make it on the list. First was "The King's Speech," which, as a British film, couldn't qualify, and "Waiting for 'Superman,'" which was a documentary.
Selected Readings: AFI, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture


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Hastings' Death Ruled an Accident by Coroner
Had traces of drugs in his bloodstream
Journalist Michael Hastings, who was killed in a fiery Los Angeles crash in June, died of "traumatic injuries" as a result of the accident and had traces of drugs in his system, Los Angeles coroner's officials said Tuesday.
Hastings, 33, died June 18 in a single-vehicle accident. His car burst into flames and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Coroner's officials said Hastings had traces of amphetamine in his system, consistent with possible intake of methamphetamine many hours before death, as well as marijuana. Neither were considered a factor in the crash, according to toxicology reports.


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Another game has gone by at Rio Tinto and Real Salt Lake are still unbeaten at home. But this game was special – by extending the streak in Sandy, Utah, RSL have officially clinched a playoff berth.
Real Salt Lake have 48 points, a total that only ninth-place Kansas City Wizards can match. RSL have the head-to-head tiebreaker clinched over the Wizards, though, with a 1-0-1 record. The reigning champs will now officially begin their title defense, joining the LA Galaxy in the playoffs.
It was a less joyful weekend for the Houston Dynamo and the New England Revolution, who will now spend the postseason watching from their couches. Despite defeating D.C. United 3-1, the Dynamo vindicated head coach Dominic Kinnear, who famously proclaimed the season over after a 2-1 defeat last week to Toronto FC.
[inline_node:319317]The Revs, meanwhile, will be particularly disappointed – especially given they could only manage a tie against the East-leading Columbus Crew on Saturday after going up a 2-0 in the first half.
The playoff hunt continues this week, and several more teams' fates can be decided. If the Wizards fail to win in New York this weekend, the Crew can clinch with a victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. But Columbus can also clinch with a tie if the Wizards lose to the Red Bulls.
FC Dallas' playoff scenario is simpler: Win and you're in. Even if the Hoops tie the Chicago Fire this weekend, though, a result by New York against the Wizards would put FCD into the postseason.
Meanwhile, Chivas USA and Toronto FC will be aiming to avoid elimination this weekend. The Goats can be eliminated before they even take the field for Sunday's SuperClásico if the Sounders, Quakes and Rapids all win their matches. Even if Chivas manage to hold out until Sunday, they will still need a win against the Galaxy to stay alive.
The Reds are in less dire straits than the Red-and-White, but if Toronto lose in Seattle and the Quakes and Rapids both win, Canada's team will be officially eliminated from postseason contention.


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Newt Gingrich is currently the leader of the Republican field of presidential candidates. So it's only fitting that the quotes come out of the skeleton closet. Here are more than a dozen quotes from Newt Gingrich that reveal his lies, his arrogance, his hatred, and his hypocrisy and disqualify him from ever being President.
1. "I'm not a natural leader. I'm too intellectual; I'm too abstract; I think too much."
~Newt Gingrich, admitting that he's an intellectual elite incapable of leading.
2. "If the Soviet empire still existed, I'd be terrified. The fact is, we can afford a fairly ignorant presidency now."
~Newt Gingrich, saying that it's okay for the President to be ignorant.
3. "The idea that a congressman would be tainted by accepting money from private industry or private sources is essentially a socialist argument."
~Newt Gingrich, arguing that it's okay for politicians to be bought and paid for.
4. "Give the park police more ammo." ~Newt Gingrich, responding to a reporter who asked what to do about the homeless a few days after the police shot a homeless man in front of the White House.
5. "The problem isn't too little money in political campaigns, but not enough."
~Newt Gingrich on campaign finance reform.
6. "I have enormous personal ambition. I want to shift the entire planet. And I'm doing it. I am now a famous person. I represent real power."
~Newt Gingrich, blowing his own horn.
7. "Gingrich – Primary mission, Advocate of civilization, Definer of civilization, Teacher of the rules of civilization, Leader of the civilizing forces."
~ Newt Gingrich, blowing his own horn.
8. "The most serious, systematic revolutionary of modern times."
~Newt Gingrich, blowing his own horn.
9. "It doesn't matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."
~Newt Gingrich, saying we should do as he says, regardless of what he actually does.
10. "This is one of the great tragedies of the Bush administration. The more successful they've been at intercepting and stopping bad guys, the less proof there is that we're in danger…. It's almost like they should every once in a while have allowed an attack to get through just to remind us."
~Newt Gingrich, at a book talk in Huntington, NY, April 2008, saying that Republicans should allow terrorist attacks on American soil to remind us of the dangers in the world.
11. "Now, we don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that that's politically smart, and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it's going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it — voluntarily."
~Newt Gingrich, admitting that while they won't kill Medicare outright, Republicans will try to make it wither on the vine and die.
12. "She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's wife."
~Newt Gingrich, talking about his first wife after divorcing her.
13. "I read Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them and I found frightening pieces that related to…my own life."
~Newt Gingrich, talking about his problems with women.
14. "It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in child laws which are truly stupid…These schools should get rid of unionized janitors, have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school."
~Newt Gingrich, advocating for an end to child labor laws so businesses can fire union workers and replace them with cheap labor.
15. "We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."
~Newt Gingrich. Two years later, Gingrich unveils a new Spanish-language website, The Americano.
16. "The left-wing Democrats will represent the party of total hedonism, total exhibitionism, total bizarreness, total weirdness, and the total right to cripple innocent people in the name of letting hooligans loose."
~Newt Gingrich, smearing Democrats when in fact it's Republicans who want to cripple innocent people. Remember when they cheered for letting a man without health insurance die? And speaking of exhibitionism and bizarreness, have you seen the Republican Presidential field?
17. "These people are sick. They are so consumed by their own power, by a Mussolini-like ego, that their willingness to run over normal human beings and to destroy honest institutions is unending."
~Newt Gingrich, once again smearing Democrats, but telling the complete truth about himself and the GOP. Republicans want to kill Medicare and Social Security, the EPA, and several other honest institutions that serve normal human beings. Speaking of running over normal human beings, remember when Republicans cheered for letting a man without health insurance die?
18. "I think one of the great problems we have in the Republican party is that we don't encourage you to be nasty. We encourage you to be neat, obedient, and loyal and faithful and all those Boy Scout words."
~Newt Gingrich, advocating for hateful rhetoric and smearing opponents with lies.
Obviously, we could fill a book with many more quotes by Newt Gingrich, so putting them all here would make for a very long read. Hopefully, just by reading these quotes, you will get a good idea of what kind of person and politician Newt Gingrich is. He is a hateful, vile, nasty, despicable, hypocritical, arrogant man and he is personally and professionally unqualified to be President.


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Yippee Ki-Nay!
At 58, Bruce Willis is aging gracefully – but his creation, action-star John McClane, has fared less well. In this installment, McClane simply wants to rescue his adult son Jack (Jai Courtney) from imprisonment in Russia, but, whoops – once again our reluctant hero finds himself needing to save the free world from yet another Eurotrash baddie.
John's daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) drives Dad to the airport where he plans to catch a flight to Moscow. She admonishes her father, "Just try – try not to make a bigger mess of things." Those familiar with the franchise know McClane is always ready with a sarcastic quip, but he remains silent – one of several times he bites his tongue when taken to task by his adult children.
Estranged from his son, McClane is unaware Jack has become a CIA operative assigned to a sensitive mission. When Jack is arrested and placed on trial for murder, the success of that mission is endangered.
Hurrying to Jack's trial, John is forced to endure a Moscow cabbie butchering Frank Sinatra's song "New York, New York" in a Russian accent.
It's a harbinger of the misfortunes to come. Moments later, John arrives outside the courthouse just in time to be flung to the ground by an explosion – the first of many. The plastic cage, holding Jack inside the courtroom, is shattered. Along with his codefendant (Sebastian Koch), Jack escapes in a delivery truck. He is pursued by Russians intent on acquiring weapons-grade uranium. These baddies are followed by John, who steals and wrecks three different cars, each one in a more spectacular fashion than the last.
Executing a series of daring maneuvers, Jack proves himself a chip off his old action-blockbuster dad. The lad excels at jumping through plate glass windows and blowing things up, but he lacks Dear Old Dad's crooked smile, bent sense of humor, and the ability to spot an impending double-cross. All this results in lopsided banter between father and son, leaving Jack little more than a plastic action figure as John struggles to convert half-baked one-liners into zingers.
With Chernobyl's weapons grade uranium on the line, there can never be too many gunfights, crashes or explosions, but Moscow's policemen are either asleep or vacationing – since none can be found.
One after another, those willing to help Jack and John are bumped off, just as the Evel Knievel stunts of father and son leave innocents dead or dying in their wake. Whether the duo is jumping from 20-story windows, or smashing their cars into those of innocent bystanders, we never see anyone injured aside from Jack or John's occasional photogenic scratch.
These gratuitous clobberings might be fun if the plot made sense or if we believed that the father-son competition evolved into bonding on the fly.
The plot, loaded with extraneous bad guys, focuses on which moron can kill the others and turn uranium into my-ranium, as they considerately save the government the cost of trials and executions.
Both Jack and John become puppet-soldiers in the hands of reboot scribe Skip Woods, who shows us that the "Die Hard" franchise can easily be killed with a few strokes of his pen.
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FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas used a lot of pressure and a bit of luck as an own goal off of Philadelphia defender Sheanon Williams was the difference in a 2-1 victory over the visiting Union at Toyota Stadium Saturday night.
After good pressure from FC Dallas for much of the first half, the Texans finally broke through with Blas Perez making a quality floating pass to Tesho Akindele, who had worked his way behind the Union defense. The rookie made no mistake, hitting the volley past onrushing goalkeeper Zac MacMath in the 26th minute.
Philadelphia responded with their own goal in the run of play, and in the 43rd minute Amobi Okugo buried a cross by teammate Cristian Maidana that made its way through a number of FC Dallas defenders, including a late effort from Victor Ulloa.
Then Dallas scored four minutes after the break when a passing sequence was intercepted in the box by Union left back Fabinho, but the defender inadvertently played the ball into his teammate Williams, and the ball rebounded into the Union net.
The rest of the half saw Philadelphia press without success, as they inserted forwards Andrew Wenger and Aaron Wheeler into the attack in search of an equalizer. But Dallas brought on influential midfielders Hendry Thomas and Mauro Diaz, allowing the home team to comfortably manage the ball and their lead through the rest of the match.
Things were made that much easier for Dallas when the Union went down a man after Maurice Edu's late sliding tackle into Perez led to an 88th minute red card.
FC Dallas returns to the field on Wednesday evening as they travel to North Carolina to face the NASL's Carolina Railhawks in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.


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Bronze Star of David Sculpture by Yoel Ziv from Kibbutz Kalia.
All rights reserved to Yoel Ziv 2009
This blog (by Zeev Barkan) is dedicated to the Star of David, its history, its various meanings and usages in different cultures. It includes thousands of pictures of Star of David, six-pointed stars, hexagrams, Solomon's Seals, Magen Davids and yellow badges,and served as a resource for three books and four art exhibitions.


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