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DWTS cast announced
Two Olympic gold medalists, an American Idol, a Disney Channel Star, a reality TV star and a football player. All that's missing is the Playboy factor in this field of 11. American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler was one of the first "Dancing with the Stars" cast members leaked by the press, but the full announcement of the 11 new contestants and their professional dance partners was made this morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
The cast of stars are: NFL player Jacoby Jones, country music singer Wynonna Judd, stand-up comedian D.L. Hughley, Real Beverly Hills Housewife Lisa Vanderpump, comedian and rehab celeb Andy Dick, pro boxer Victor Ortiz, Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman, Olympic gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman, soap opera "General Hospital" star Ingo Rademacher, country singer Kellie Pickler and Olympic gold medal figure skater Dorothy Hamill. Season 16 of DWTS begins on Monday, March 18 with a two-hour premiere (8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET) on ABC and will have a one-hour results show on March 26 (9 p.m. to 10:01 p.m.).
Probably the bigger surprise will be who isn't returning among the professional dancers: Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Chelsie Hightower, Louis van Amstel, Anna Trebunskaya and Peta Murgatroyd. There will still be a Chmerkovskiy–Valentin. Derek Hough is back, despite reports that season 15 (All-Stars) was his last. New professional dancers are Lindsay Arnold who was a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance" (season 9), Sharna Burgess and Gleb Savchenko.
Savchenko previously was on the DWTS Australia cast and was the Australian National Professional Latin-American Champion for 2011-2012. Burgess is also Australian and represented that country at the World Championship in both Standard and Latin when she was 15. She also performed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games closing ceremony. She appeared in the UK tour of "Simply Ballroom" and in 2006 became a cast member of "Burn the Floor" which toured 30 countries and in 2009 was on Broadway where she was one of the lead female dancers.
Arnold was born in Provo, Utah and attended Timpview High School. Her specialty is Latin Ballroom.
- Jacoby Jones & Karina Smirnoff
- Wynonna Judd & Tony Dovolani
- D.L. Hughley & Cheryl Burke
- Lisa Vanderpump & Gleb Savchenko
- Andy Dick & Sharna Burgess
- Victor Ortiz & Lindsay Arnold
- Zendaya Coleman & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
- Aly Raisman & Mark Ballas
- Ingo Rademacher & Kym Johnson
- Kellie Pickler & Derek Hough
- Dorothy Hamill & Tristan MacManus
Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos") and Brooke Burke-Charvet ("Dancing with the Stars" Season Seven Champion), "Dancing with the Stars" is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Ashley Edens-Shaffer and Joe Sungkur are co-executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.
"Dancing with the Stars" season 16 begins on Monday, March 18 with a two-hour premiere (8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET) on ABC and will have a one-hour results show on March 26 (9 p.m. to 10:01 p.m.).
Last chance to tune-up your tango this year with SYTYCD choreographers
Are you looking to make your New Year's Eve especially romantic? Don't miss the group classes with "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographers Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo this week on Monday and Tuesday in Downey.
Monday, 17 December 2012, beginners will be learning variations on cross systems because tango is all about contra-body movements. Intermediate dancers will be learning about musicality.
Tuesday night is the women's and men's separate styling classes where you'll learn exercises to give you muscle memory and this particular class will be emphasizing complex figures with musicality. The intermediate class with be looking at more advanced aspects of musicality.
Monday (17 December 2012)
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Beginners class on variations on cross systems
9:05 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.: Intermediate class on musicality and decoding the rhythm
Tuesday (18 December 2012)
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Separate women and men's styling classes on complex figures and musicality.
9:05 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.: Intermediate class on advanced musicality
Register Now Securely using Pay-Pal
@ www.LAdeTango.com
3 Classes pass: $48
1 Class: $18
Elks Lodge
11233 Woodruff Ave
Downey, CA 90241
Have a Cole Porter New Year's Eve-Eve
Want to have an elegant holiday? Want to escape the wet, slushy cold for the brisk sunny snow-less winter weather of Southern California? Escape to Los Angeles for an evening of Cole Porter music, stylish dancing on stage and the possibility of romance with like-minded souls. All aboard for the Center Theatre Group's special "Anything Goes" New Year's Eve-Eve Singles Night.
You'll have to book your own flight and hotel, but the rest is covered. Hunky dancer sailors and other "Anything Goes" cast members will attend the special early dinner at the supper club First & Hope Restaurant. From 4 to 6 p.m., you'll be eating jambalaya, black truffle macaroni and cheese, roasted rosemary garlic chicken au jus, Coca Cola braised short rib and grilled seasonal vegetables at this unassuming Art Deco New York Style dinner club. Of course, carefully selected white and red wines are included.
You'll be walking over to the Sunday evening show of "Anything Goes" and sitting together in the mezzanine section $100 seats (included in the evening's package).
Fans of the movie musical may also been surprised, but remember Hollywood often changes original musicals plot. In this case, Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse's original book has been revised by Howard Lindsay and John Weidman. Yet "Anything Goes" has a history of revisions so purists shouldn't be offended. The 1962 off-Broadway revival was revised, influenced by the movies. More Cole Porter songs were added such as "It's De-Lovely" from "Red Hot and Blue" and "Friendship" from "DuBarry Was a Lady."
The Tony Award-winning 1987 Broadway revival changed the order of some of the musical numbers and re-scored the music. It's the revival of this 1987 version (which starred Patti Lupone) that opened on Broadway in 2011 with Sutton Foster playing Reno Sweeney. Foster went on to win a Tony for Best Actress. Rachel York takes Foster's place on the national tour and her Sweeney has plenty of glamour and she was able to muddle through a few technical problems with the microphones on opening night (for my full review)
After watching this cheery romance (6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.), while Cole Porter tunes are still running in your head, you'll then skip back to First & Hope for post show champagne, coffee and tea and a luscious array of desserts: brownies, sugar cookies, profiteroles, peppermint marshmallows and a chocolate fountain. Cast members are expected to attend as well.
First & Hope's swank Bar Fedora will also help get you into the mood with a bit of mood making lighting and some specially selected music. The original costumes by designer Martin Pakledinaz will be on display. If that inspired you to find your inner glamour girl or channel the old Hollywood debonair air of say, Cary Grant, why not go tux and bow tie?
You don't have to get all dolled up or dandified to attend. Holiday festive is requested. Dinner, delightful dancing and singing on-stage and the possibility of romance off-stage–what more can you ask as part of your New Year's festivities?
For $98 what could be more delightful and delovely? For more information, contact your social director for New Year's Eve-Eve, Eileen Roberts at (213) 972-7249. The event is for adults. Parking is available at the Music Center parking lot off Grande Ave. for an additional fee of $9.
DWTS 15: All-Stars winner
Although it's not always the one who best deserves the mirrorball trophy that wins it, for season 15, there were three lovely women who had worked hard, but also professional dancers who had been challenged this season with never before attempted dances.
Two of the three had won mirrorball trophies before, but it was reality show personality and host Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani who took the mirrorball trophy. It was a first for both.
Dovolani has been with DWTS every season since he debuted on season 2 with wrestler Stacy Kiebler. They finished third and until Tuesday night (Nov. 27), that was the best finish for Dovolani. Dovolani had finished third again during season 8 with Rycroft; Shawn Johnson and her then-partner Mark Ballas took home the mirrorball trophy that season with Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke in second place.
Dovolani and Keibler received 15 tens during season 2 with four perfect scores (samba and jive). Dovolani was paired with Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur for a fourth place finish on season 6.With Winokur he received no perfect scores or tens.
This time, Dovolani and Rycroft beat Johnson. During season 8 with Rycroft, Dovolani earned 13 tens and two perfect scores, both for samba. Johnson and Ballas received 14 tens with three perfect scores. They received 21 tens for five perfect scores. This season with Hough, Johnson had 21 tens and three perfect scores.
Monday night, Rycroft and Dovolani were perfect.
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 30/30 for a samba to "Conga" by Gloria Estefan
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 29.5/30 (9.5,10.0,10.0) for a paso doble to " Espana Cani"by Erich Kunzel
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 27/30 (9.0,8.5,9.5) for a quickstep to "Hey Pachuco"by Royal Crown Revue
The super-sized freestyle added other people, making this more like "America's Got Talent." Each group added different people, but the standings remained the same. Johnson and Hough and Rycroft and Dovolani posted perfect scores, but Monaco and Val were only a half-point behind.
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 30/30 to "I Was Here" by Beyonce with trapeze artists.
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 30/30 to "Carnival de Paris" by Dario G with the U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastic Team who had just competed this summer in London (Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, and Jordyn Wieber).
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 29.5/30 (10.0,9.5,10.0) to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes with troupe members and a church choir. Monaco did some aerial tissu.
At the end of Monday night the rankings were:
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 60/60
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 59/60
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 57/60
In the final dance on Tuesday night, it was an instant Latin round.
- Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 30.0 (10.0,10.0,10.0) for cha cha cha to "Respect" by Aretha Franklin
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 28.5 (9.5,9.5,9.5) for a Samba to "Life Is A Highway" by Tom Cochrane
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 28.5 (9.5,9.5,9.5) for a jive to "Cat and Mouse" by Nikki & Rich
At the end of Tuesday night, the judges ranking was:
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 88.5/90
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 87.5/90
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 87/90
The rankings didn't change, leaving Rycroft and Dovolani the winners, but the audience favored Johnson and Hough over Monaco and Chmerkovskiy. Rycroft is only the second TV personality to win the mirrorball trophy (the first was Brooke Burke with Derek Hough during season 7). She is the seventh female winner and the only reality TV star to win.
Dovolani has always seemed like a nice guy, even when he had what seemed like the ultimate challenge: Kate Gosselin. Their paso doble to Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" has become infamous.
Rycroft and Dovolani are perfect champions for season 15 of "Dancing with the Stars."
DWTS 15: Finals
There will be a queen to the ballroom tomorrow after the final instant dance. Who will it be: Kelly Monaco, Melissa Rycroft or Shawn Johnson? You can still vote on ABC.com website or by Facebook.until 11 a.m. East Coast time or 8 a.m. Pacific Standard time.
I have barely recovered from no men making the finals after last week's double elimination took out Emmett Smith and Apolo Anton Ohno. The three female celebrity finalists are fantastic, of course, but men have a harder time learning the dancing because they are supposed to be leading.
Oh, Gilles Marini is an exceptional dancer. Apolo Anton Ohno was getting a bit more bravura than he had in his original outing. Emmett Smith has such a genial personality on the dance floor and he's so big he can really dominate that space.
The only lovely lady who calls Los Angeles home is Kelly Monaco, the winner of the first season of "Dancing with the Stars." Monaco was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia but now calls West Hollywood home. She's been on the ABC soap opera "General Hospital" since 2003 as the character Sam McCall. "General Hospital" is supposed to take place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. Her TV debut was with a Southern California based show "Baywatch." She had been an actual life guard prior to being cast on the show.
When she competed on DWTS for the first season, she wasn't the best dancer nor did she have the highest average score. She also almost had a wardrobe malfunction during one routine. Her partner was Alex Mazo and he came back for a special face-off with John O'Hurley and his partner Charlotte Jorgensen. The season was six weeks long and only required ten dances. This season (15) is 10 weeks long and requires 17 dances as of tonight, Tuesday. For the doubters, Monaco has really proved herself and has good chemistry with her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy.
Melissa Rycroft originally competed during season 8 as a last-minute replacement for the injured Nancy O'Dell. She would finish in third place in May 2009, behind Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas (winners) and Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke (runners up). Also in 2009, Rycroft got married and just last year, in February 2011, gave birth.
Johnson won an Olympic gold medal for balance beam and all-around in 2008. She was the 2007 all-around world champion and the U.S. all-around champion in 2007 and 2008. She was on a high when she won season 8 of DWTS. She had surgery on her knee in 2010 , after injuring it skiing. But this year, despite a team gold at the Pan American Games in 2011 and a silver for uneven bars, Johnson retired due to continuing left knee problems. She was not on the Olympic team that represented the U.S. in London.
Yet this season has Maksim's younger brother, Val Chmerkovskiy emerging from his brother's shadow. Wouldn't it be something if Val and his partner Kelly Monaco won the trophy that has eluded his brother for 15 seasons? Maksim, of course, hasn't been on DWTS for all 15 seasons. He wasn't on the first season or the sixth season. His highest finish was second with Mel B during season five and 12 with Kirstie Alley. He came in third during season 4 (Laila Ali) and 10 (Erin Andrews). He finished fourth during season 11 with Brandy and season 13 with Hope Solo.
Val just began competing on DWTS during season 13 with Elisabetta Canalis for an 11th place finish. She was beautiful, but stiff and had just broken up with George Clooney. He loosened up a bit when he had the bubbly Sherri Shepherd as a partner the next season (14) for a 10th place finish.
Tony Dovolani like Maksim did not appear during the first pilot season. He also joined during season 2 and his partner, Stacy Kiebler (now dating Clooney), finished third. Dovolani also finished third with Melissa Rycroft during season 8. He finished fourth with Broadway musical star Marissa Jaret Winokur during season 6. During season 10, he had the dubious honor of partnering with Kate Gosselin who famously made him lose his temper. This time around Rycroft has really blossomed and they've remained a class act throughout.
Derek Hough is the only pro still in the competition who has actually won a mirrorball trophy. The 27-year-old was in the original London West End production of "Footloose: The Musical" as the lead, Ren. He didn't get to star in the remake, but his sister Julianne did. Hough joined DWTS during Season 5 when he was teamed with actress Jennie Garth for a fourth place finish. He did much better season 7 when he paired with Brooke Burke for a win. He also won with singer Nicole Scherzinger (season 10) and actress Jennifer Grey (season 11). That's three wins. He sat out season 12 due to movie commitments. He finished third with actress/talk show host Ricki Lake during season 13. He's finished fourth three times: Season 5 with Jennie Garth, Season 9 with Playmate Joanna Krupa and Season 14 with Maria Menounos.
This will be Hough's last season and perhaps that's why he's taking so many risks with his choreography or maybe it's just that gymnast Shawn Johnson makes him want to show off his acrobatic skills as well. Hough's a year older than Val.
Dovolani is the oldest professional dancer in the finals at 39.
Of the celebrities, former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson is the youngest at 20. Monaco is 36. Rycroft is 29. Only Rycroft is married (to Tye Strickland with one child). Her partner, Dovolani, is also the only professional dancer in the finals who is married. Dovolani has three children, the youngest two (twins) were born during Season 7 when Dovolani was paired with soap opera diva Susan Lucci.
At the end of Monday night the rankings were:
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 60/60
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 59/60
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 57/60
The first round of dances were do-overs. Each couple took a dance they had previously performed and brought the routine back to the ballroom for a better score. Hough and Johnson could have scored better, but refused to change their quickstep routine which featured a lift and also got deduction for not remaining in hold.
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 30/30 for a samba to "Conga" by Gloria Estefan
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 29.5/30 (9.5,10.0,10.0) for a paso doble to " Espana Cani"by Erich Kunzel
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 27/30 (9.0,8.5,9.5) for a quickstep to "Hey Pachuco"by Royal Crown Revue
The super-sized freestyle added other people, making this more like "America's Got Talent." Each group added different people, but the standings remained the same. Johnson and Hough and Rycroft and Dovolani posted perfect scores, but Monaco and Val were only a half-point behind.
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 30/30 to "I Was Here" by Beyonce with trapeze artists.
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 30/30 to "Carnival de Paris" by Dario G with the U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastic Team who had just competed this summer in London (Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, and Jordyn Wieber).
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: 29.5/30 (10.0,9.5,10.0) to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes with troupe members and a church choir. Monaco did some aerial tissu.
You can still vote on ABC.com website or by Facebook.until 11 a.m. East Coast time or 8 a.m. Pacific Standard time.
DWTS 15 Week 9: Three perfect scores from three different couples
Last night on "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars," the competition continues despite the absence of sigh-worthy Gilles Marini. How is that possible? Of the five celebrity couples left, three posted perfect scores after performing two dances each. You can still vote on ABC.com website or by Facebook.until 11 a.m. East Coast time or 8 a.m. Pacific Standard time.
Last week, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani were almost perfect with only 1 point off of the full 100 points. This week, there was a new leading lady, Shawn Johnson. She was near perfect with 59/60 points.
This week's standings are:
- Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 30.0 + 29.0 = 59/60
- Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 27.5 + 30 = 57.5/60
- Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 27 + 30 = 57/60
- Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 25.5 + 28.5 = 54/60
- Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 27.0 + 27.0 = 54/60
Rycroft and Dovolani were in second, just 2.5 points behind the leaders. If logic has anything to do with it, then the two teams who were tied for the bottom spot with 54/60 should go in Tuesday's double elimination: Emmitt Smith and his partner Cheryl Burke and Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy.
Last week Monaco and Chmerkovskiy were tied for third with Smith and Burke. Of the five remaining couples, Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff had the lowest score last week.
Last week's standings were:
- Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 39 + 60 = 99/100
- Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 38 + 55.5 = 93.5/100
- Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 36 + 56.5 = 92.5/100
- Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 34.5 + 58.0 = 92.5/100
- Gilles Marini & Peta Murgatroyd: 33.5 + 58.5 = 92.0/100
- Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 33 + 58.5= 91.5/100
- Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 28 + 51.0= 79.0/100
Of the remaining contestants, only Rycroft hasn't won the mirrorball trophy. The first set of dances for this week were gimmicky. And that's not just the style, but the actual dances. When did Bhangra enter the ballroom and which judge really knows anything about it? I blame jazz on that risky routine that Maksim Chmerkovsky did with Erin Andrews. Only one team got a perfect score: Johnson and Hough. But one other team caught everyone's attention: Val Chmerkovsky. For his surfer flamenco, he stripped down to his Speedo. Try to top that Maksim!
Despite the skin show, Val and Monaco didn't place well. How can they? Really? What is the relationship between surfing and flamenco and, as in the case of Bhangra, just what do the judges and the pros know about flamenco? At this point, what are the judges really doing to award points.
- Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 30.0 (10.0,10.0,10.0), "Knight Rider" Bhangra to "Mundian to Bach Ke" by Panjabi MC
- Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 27.5 (9.0,9.5,9.0), "Caveman" Hustle to "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (not Was)
- Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 27 (8.5,9.0,9.5), "Big Top" Jazz to "What You Waiting For" by Gwen Stefani
- Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 27.0 (9.0,9.0,9.0), "Espionage" Lindy Hop to "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers
- Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 25.5 (8.0,9.0,8.5), "Surfer" Flamenco to "Malagueña" by Brian Setzer Orchestra
The second round of dances were themed on Michael Jackson's album "Bad." What could be better than dancing to the Prince of Pop? Johnson and Hough weren't steamy enough for judge Carrie Ann Inaba who marked them down one point for their lack of emotional effort. It was Rycroft and Dovolani and Ohno and Smirnoff who reached perfection. Ohno seems to be getting used to having his shirt off, or in this case, almost off.
- Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 30 (10.0,10.0,10.0), Argentine Tango to "Dirty Diana" by Michael Jackson
- Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 30 (10.0,10.0,10.0), Rumba to "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson
- Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 29.0 (9.0,10.0,10.0), Argentine Tango to "Bad" by Michael Jackson
- Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 28.5 (9.5,9.5,9.5), Rumba to "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" by Michael Jackson
- Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 27.0 (9.0,9.0,9.0), Tango to "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson.
Dovolani did an amazing set of lifts with smooth transitions despite an injury. What it comes down to is not who deserves to go forward, but who has the better fan base. Smith undoubtedly has a strong fan base and football players have always done well even when they didn't dance well (remember, Michael Irvin?). But there are two other athletes: Ohno and Johnson. Unfortunately, football is a bigger sport than either short track speed skating or gymnastics. That could mean bad things for Ohno.
The votes should be close so if you want your favorite or favorites to survive, be sure to vote. Tuesday is another double elimination.
You can still vote online through the ABC.com website or by Facebook. Online voting closes at 8 a.m. PST.
The 'Dralion' roadshow style in San Diego
"Dralion" is one of my favorite Cirque du Soleil shows and I saw it when it came in under the big tent. Currently, "Dralion" is in San Diego this weekend at Valley View Casino Center for seven performances only. There are only four performances left, two today (Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012) and two tomorrow.
If you missed "Dralion" when it was in Ontario or Long Beach, it's worth seeing. Some of the carnival atmosphere has been lost without the big top and so has the major merchandising. There is a small booth selling "Dralion" items, but none of the high-priced items that I remember from the initial tour.
Parking at the Casino is pricey: $20. But you can park for free if you're not running late. There are plenty of ways to avoid high-priced food as well. The area has many fast food restaurants as well as some sit-down chains like the Olive Garden or Chili's. Chili's parking lot connects with that of the Casino so you might be able to park and eat and then enjoy the show. I'd call and ask.
Many people parked across the street and found free parking.
The word "Dralion" combines dragon and lion so it's a port manteau. I love lions and I love dragons, but I also forgot to bring my own dragon. An opportunity wasted for the dragon lady. According to the press notes, "fusing the 3000 year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts with the multidisciplinary approach of Cirque du Soleil, "Dralion" (pronounced "Dra-lee-on") draws its inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its never-ending quest for harmony between humans and nature. The show's name is derived from its two emblematic creatures: the dragon, symbolizing the East, and the lion, symbolizing the West."
I think Africa might have something to say about that. Lions originally were found in Africa and western Europe to India. Wild lions still are found in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia. They had disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia. A remnant of the Asian population remains in the Gir Forest National Forest in India and are endangered. But if we think of lions in terms who they appear in royal European emblems and coat of arms as well as C.S. Lewis' Aslan, I guess we can let this little problem slide.
Again according to the press notes: "In 'Dralion,' the four elements that govern the natural order take on a human form. Thus embodied, each element is represented by its own evocative colour: air is blue; water is green; fire is red; earth is ochre. In the world of 'Dralion,' cultures blend, Man and Nature are one, and balance is achieved."
The concept of the elements is western because Asia has five (water, wood, metal, earth, air), but let we'll let this slide as well. Earth is represented by Gaya the goddess of earth. In her dancer form for "Dralion," Gaya represents Africa. Oceane (water) is the goddess of water and her dancer is dressed in a green costume of an Indian dancer. Azala is the goddess of air and her dancer is dressed in blue and is more like a European woman with the skirt of her dress supplemented by capri pants. Yao is the guide to the fire demons and has a decidedly Asian look. He's the only male element.
"Dralion" includes the clowns who open the show which includes aerial hoop, aerial pas de deux, bamboo poles, crossed wheel (or diablo), hand balancing, hoop diving, Chinese yoyo, Dralions, skipping ropes and trampoline. None of these are recommended to be done at home. Even the skipping ropes is spectacular.
My favorite acts were the diablo, the Chinese yoyo, the aerial pas de deux, the aerial hoop and the skipping ropes. The crossed wheel is where a muscular man roles and spins on a contraption made of two-connected thick metal hoops that form a ball which the man can walk through and rolls under his control.
The Chinese yoyo act has an attractive female foursome tossing, catching and trading off yoyos with a slightly hip hop beat. And while we all know what rope skipping is, I doubt that you've ever jumped rope like this.
This scaled down version of "Dralion" is still spectacular. It will surprise you, make you laugh and it always makes me wish I was younger and could run away and join this circus. And the costumes always inspire me to think of designing something beautiful to wear when I dance. Some of the soundtrack is suitable for social dancing such as Argentine tango.
Tickets are available at www.cirquedusoleil.com/dralion, www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
After the last show on this Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, the show moves on to Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix), Kansas (Topeka) and Oklahoma (Oklahoma City). According to the current tour schedule, the show will then continue on to Africa.
Remaining Show Schedule (November 15-18, 2012):
- Saturday, November 17 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, November 18 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Ticket Information:
- Adults: From $35 to $85
- Children (12 & under): From $28 to $69
- Military, Seniors & Students: From $31.50 to $72
'The Big Bang Theory' flash mob
How cool!


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The Preparatory Commission for the World Nature Organization took a number of decisions that will lay the foundations for the structure of the Organization. The Commission also discussed the details of how to conduct the process of selecting the host country of the Organization. Several countries expressed their interest in supporting the Preparatory Commission for the World Nature Organization (WNO) and they indicated that they would make offers to host the World Nature Organization. The decision on the host country is an important step for the Preparatory Commission.
The foundation of the World Nature Organization is one of the key outcomes of multilateral environmental protection negotiations. The role of the Organization is to turn declarations into implementable actions, to support the protection of the environment at an international level, and to protect water, soil, oceans, mountains, trees and climate.
According to the idea behind the foundation of the World Nature Organization, global environmental problems need a holistic approach rather than tackling them individually. Poverty, disease, environmental pollution and climate change are so intertwined that it is difficult to address one problem without addressing the others.
In addition to this, it is a challenge for countries to make environmental protection the top priority on their map of economic development. The WNO will connect these polarities and find the options which lie between. In this sense, the first meetings of the Preparatory Commission were a very productive start.
The Commission is looking forward to receiving expressions of interest for hosting the World Nature Organization. The Commission expects a strong partner who supports the work of the Organization. All States are invited to submit expressions of interest to the Commission to host the World Nature Organization.

subset: commoncrawl


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Jill Stein, the Green Party's Presumptive Presidential Nominee, Makes Inroads @WSJ @ByronTau https://t.co/n2gtfHwh2h— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) July 3, 2016
Cornel West endorses Jill Stein and says she – not @HillaryClinton – is the 'only progressive woman in the race'https://t.co/5rU1V3CMMh— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) July 16, 2016
Hey @smerconish how about a little love for Jill Stein— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) September 10, 2016
.@smerconish since you are such an advocate of 3rd parties when was the last time you or @cnn had @DrJillStein on?— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) October 1, 2016
9am every sat. That aside choosing not to give her air time is clearly an attempt to help @TheDemocrats @HillaryClinton https://t.co/bDzDj5EfHp— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) October 1, 2016
Watching @smerconish post my tweet questioning why he does give time to @DrJillStein pic.twitter.com/IJyxcsk5dX— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) October 1, 2016
This post will be successful if it gets across two important points: 1) Trump was just appointed a press secretary that is skilled at playing the Left, and 2) The Left can be played. This post is a warning.
My other recent posts relating to this unique election cycle:
fake Left's "Peace Candidate" starts a new nuclear arms race!
Jill Stein & US Green's make the Left look like a clown act
@DrJillStein now officially 'the Ralph Nader of 2016'
Where #NoDAPL covers for mass murder
Did Wikileaks call this election 10 years ago?
Did @DemocracyNow help elect President Trump?
Did the Green Party's @DrJillStein help Trump win?
How Green Party's Jill Stein tells two lies at once
Donald Trump wants to be the Last US President
Trump/Stein -- Stronger Together
Will Wikileaks "salt" the Clinton-Podesta emails before the election?
Trump Super Predator behavior is Workplace Sexual Harassment writ large
Is US Green Party's Jill Stein a holocaust denier?
Jill Stein now claiming Donald Trump is less of two evils
Did Dishonest Jill Stein change her Syria statement on the sly?
Republican support for Green Party @DrJillStein is emerging
Why "Jill not Hill" is a pro-Trump slogan
Donald Trump can only win if Jill Stein stays in
Does Donald Trump's secret plan to defeat ISIS involve using nukes?
Why doesn't "What's the Triad?" trump "What is Aleppo?"
Green Party Jill Stein's campaign in context
What should the Green Party do?
Greens could give White House to Trump as poll numbers even
Why Green Party's Jill Stein should drop her presidential bid
Amy Goodman should address this extremely important statement by her guest
How Jill Stein Tweets for Trump
HuffPost item shows how @JillStein campaign whitewashes @realDonaldTrump
Trump tells his '2nd Amendment people election will be stolen to prepare for insurrection
Trump didn't threaten Hillary, he threatened violent insurrection
Meet Green Party's Jill Stein, Putin sock-puppet & Assad apologist
Syria is the Paris Commune of the 21st Century!


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1955 Chevy Stepside Truck - True Reflection
Barbara & Ken Zimmerman's '55 Chevy Stepside
The saying "experience is the best teacher" definitely applies to the custom classic truck hobby. There's a good chance the latest vintage truck an enthusiast builds is going to be the greatest they've ever constructed.
When an individual has a 40-year history in the hobby and 13 prior cars and trucks created to one's credit, the latest custom classic pickup is bound to be the best. Such is the case for Ken and Barbara Zimmerman of Longwood, Florida's second-series '55 Chevy Stepside.
Earlier this year, Ken e-mailed CCT a brief description and some jpegs of the Chevy. I remember the day distinctly. In anticipation of getting a head start to the workweek, I was wading through my e-mails on a Sunday evening when Ken's note came in. Kismet! The '55 had the right stance, nice paintwork, spot-on panel fitment, a leather-appointed interior, and a shiny engine in a smoothed engine bay. On a fact-finding mission, I replied to Ken's missive straightaway with a bunch of questions. All my queries came with the desired replies, but there were two problems. The Zimmermans lived in the other corner of the country and didn't have definite plans to attend shows CCT would be going to.
Ironically, we had a similar challenge with another Chevy owner we wrote about in the June '06 issue ("Quick Study"). With the Zimmerman's '55, we found a different solution to getting great photography. The owner asked a local award-winning photographer, Susan Germyn, to snap some photos of the Chevy. Thanks to Susan, I didn't have to fly to my birthplace.
Since he was raised in San Diego, California, Ken wanted to find his next project from the Golden State, as opposed to his current Golden, er, Orange State. Great SoCal friend and car guy Steve Ravelli gave the Internet-found hauler a thorough going-over and arranged transport to the East Coast. Once the Chevy arrived in Orlando, Ken drove it home and begin deconstruction. He took the cab, bed, and body panels to good friend Paul Metz, owner of Metz Rod and Custom in Mont Dora, Florida. While Paul renewed the Chevy's exterior, Ken boxed the original frame and installed a Fat Man Fabrications IFS with polished stainless steel A-arms. The chassis is now 4.5 inches lower in the front and sports a Lincoln Versailles Ford 9-inch rear axle with the Versailles' disc brakes. The owner fabricated a 30-gallon aluminum fuel tank and installed it behind the differential before plumbing the fuel system with stainless lines.
Within the front framerails, Ken installed a homebuilt '89 Chevy 454ci big-block V-8 and topped it with an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold and 750-cfm four-barrel carb. A Hedman header and Flowmaster 2.5-inch custom exhaust send the spent fumes merrily streaming. Ken improved the TH400 trans that backs the beasty big-block with a Lokar shifter and finned billet trans cooler.
Since the Chevy's exterior panels were really California rust-free, body pro Paul Metz concentrated on preparing them for a perfect exterior finish. He filled all the seams and eventually sprayed the panels with PPG Viper Red and several clearcoats.
Once Ken wired the '55 utilizing an EZ Wiring harness and installed an Alpine CD/stereo system with six speakers, he handed the hauler off to Abdias Rivera for upholstery. Mr. Rivera worked wonders with some sumptuous leather and suede, making the '55's interior as comfortable as a modern luxury car's cockpit. His work took a bit longer than expected because his wife was expecting their first, Melony, who was born during his stitch time on the Chevy.
Thanks to Susan Germyn's photography, Steve Ravelli's expertise, and Roger Bolen for helping with the CNC programming on the aluminum components, Ken and the other craftsmen mentioned were able to complete the '55 in two years. The owner stated it best when he wrote on the tech sheet, "This truck is a true reflection of years of perfecting my skills and paying close attention to details."


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Leasing Specialist
Bellevue, WA 98004
Leasing Specialist
The person in this position is responsible for leasing, marketing and maintaining positive resident relations. Accountable for: securing appointments and presenting community features to maximize rentals, providing exceptional customer service to prospects and residents, and performing all administrative duties related to the on-site sales/marketing function. This position reports to the Community Manager or Assistant Manager.
Key responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
- Lease apartments and sell ancillary products and services
- Provide a quality leasing experience for future residents as it relates to their interaction with the community
- Provides professional service at all times, exercising discretion as it relates to confidential resident, property and company information
- Assists residents with work order requests, ensuring quality and completion
- Compliance with company standards as defined in the Human Resources Policy Manual, Operations Playbook and applicable laws, e.g., Fair Housing, Landlord Tenant, Local Building Codes, OSHA, and EEOC
RequirementsPHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Job is intermittently sedentary, but requires mobility (i.e., climb stairs) to tour community on a daily basis
- Will use some repetitive motion of hands/wrists using a computer
- Requires light lifting
Position requires ability to work any of the 7 days of the week, 52 weeks of the year. It is critical that individuals possess the ability to work their scheduled hours plus any other hours necessary to complete the job and must attend training classes as scheduled. Work schedules and locations are subject to change. Ensure compliance with time management policies including meal and rest periods.
- High school diploma or equivalent preferred
- Two years industry experience with proven track record of high closing ratio, or related experience
- Strong sales, marketing and customer service experience
- Good organizational and time management skills
- Valid driver license and automobile insurance
- Ability to read and write English; speak English and understand spoken English
- Proficient understanding of the Microsoft suite, property management software preferred


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Can Kim Kardashian Change a Diaper Faster Than Jimmy Kimmel? [VIDEO]
Mad props to Jimmy Kimmel, who attempted to answer the question on every reality TV fan's mind: How well can Kim Kardashian diaper a baby?
Last night (Aug. 4), North West's mother appeared on the talk show, where she was challenged to a diaper-changing race. The rules were simple: Swap out as many diapers as you can in 90 seconds.
The audience cheered as Kim seamlessly changed her first baby's diaper. ("I'm already behind!" Jimmy lamented.) We were seriously impressed by both of their skills and calm demeanors. Clearly, changing diapers is familiar territory for both the reality TV star and the late night host.
One thing that did catch everyone by surprise? When Jimmy's baby sent a stream of water right into his face! (No worries, Kim saw what happened and preemptively dodged her own changing table.)
Which star won the diaper changing race? Who can claim bragging rights (and is the proud new owner of a diaper-clad trophy)? Check out the video above to find out!
See Kim Kardashian + More Celebs Who Look Like Disney Characters


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Holiday home in Vittsjö near the lake
Welcome to this lovely holiday home in the little village Vittsjöin Scania (Skåne) located only 900 meters from the lake Höjalasjön. By the lake you have your own rowing boat so you can go fishing. In the lake there are pike, zander and perch. With this self-catering holiday home you will be able to live close to nature and you will have a lot of attractions and sights nearby. You can visit moose parks, take a trip to Vallåsen and go skiing or visit Osby there you can find activities for both young and old such as the toy museum Brio Lekoseum. You can also take a trip to Älmhult and go furniture shopping in the first IKEA store ever built.
If you are searching for a holiday home in Vittsjö this could be the house for you. NOVASOL offers a great selection of self-catering holiday homes in Skåne – you can find them all on our website.


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Hello Everyone! I am Patricio Cerda, vExpert 2011 and 2012, and virtualization blogger.
Here I am again to write about the content of the Community Blogs and to provide you with the Top 5 recommended blog posts to read.
So, here is the selection for the last 2 weeks. (In no particular order).
Is SSD only for performance?
In this article Greg give us an overview about alternate uses for SSD (besides the traditional use for performance)
Read the full article here
VMware vCenter Multi-Hypervisor Manager 1.0
Here Samuele gives us a great review about the recently launched, vCenter Multi-Hypervisor Manager 1.0, which enables support for heterogeneous hypervisors in vCenter Server.
Read the full article here
vSphere5.1 Revision: Distributed vSwitch Port Bindings
In this post, Mike talks about Port Binding on Distributed vSwitches, something important in a vCloud Director environment, where the usage of ports on the switch is much more dynamic and in a larger scale.
Read the full article here
Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?
Here Greg makes a point about the garbage data and analyze how (or if) the use of big data could be the solution for this.
Read the full article here
Simple VXLAN lab on Workstation viewing traffic with Wireshark Part – 1
In this article kevin shows to us how to setup a virtual lab to create VXLAN and view the VXLAN traffic with Wireshark
Read the full article here
Enjoy the reading!!!


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Skip to content
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A well written Resume will provide potential employers with an insight into your key abilities allowing them to get a clear indication of your qualifications & suitability before meeting you. You should provide just enough detail in your Resume to gain the reader's attention, they will then want to interview you to find out more.
General guidelines:
You should include:
e.g. Over 10 years experience as a Senior Sales Executive with a proven track record of global sales and marketing, increasing company profits by 120% in 2010...
e.g. ...looking to enhance my career within the field of sales & marketing to achieve worldwide exposure
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ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – In a memo sent Tuesday to all St. Johns County Sheriff's Office personnel, Sheriff David Shoar cited several facts that led to a fatal deputy-involved shooting Saturday night.
Andrea Sheldon, 46, refused to drop a shotgun at her home off County Road 214 and was shot and killed by deputies, according to the Sheriff's Office.
According to the memo, Sheldon's husband, Rick Sheldon, fled from his home into the surrounding woods. After he fled, he called a command member at his place of employment and reported that he fled his home because he and his wife had an argument that resulted in her "chasing" him with a "gun," according to the memo.
DOCUMENT: Sheriff's memo in fatal deputy-involved shooting
Rick Sheldon also said that he was "hiding" in the woods and the command member reported that Rick Sheldon was "crying" and "carrying on," according to the memo. The command member also reported that Rick Sheldon said he "could not take it anymore."
Prior to deputies arriving, the Sheriff's Office learned that in addition to Andrea Sheldon possibly being armed, Rick Sheldon was also armed, according to the memo.
Rick Sheldon reported to others that he was consuming intoxicants, according to the memo. Deputies responded to locate Rick Sheldon somewhere in the surrounding woods to make sure he was alright.
Deputies also responded to the couple's home to check on Andrea Sheldon, who they said had "chased" after him with a "gun," according to the sheriff's memo.
During the ordeal, Rick Sheldon sent text messages to his wife, one of which read, "Don't shoot the cops on the property," and another read, "Are you having a good time with the cops?" according to the memo.
Andrea Sheldon walked out of the home with a shotgun and was repeatedly told by deputies to drop the weapon, according to the memo. One deputy tripped and fell as he was seeking protection, and Andrea Sheldon aimed the shotgun directly at the fallen deputy, according to the memo. It was then that the fallen deputy and his colleagues opened fire on her, Shoar wrote in teh memo.
The deputies performed first aid in an attempt to assist Andrea Sheldon, who had just threatened them with a shotgun, according to the memo.
Rick Sheldon was eventually found in the woods, where he had built a fire, according to the memo. He was armed with two weapons and appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants, the sheriff wrote.
"This is truly a tragic case for many involved," Shoar wrote in the memo. "On a personal level, this case has been difficult because in addition to knowing that our deputies had to endure an extremely dangerous encounter, I knew Ms. Sheldon personally. Ms. Sheldon was the hospice nurse who assisted my father in his final days before his death in December 2011. Ms. Sheldon was in fact a wonderful caregiver in her role as a hospice nurse and our family became very close with her during those few days in December. Our hearts and prayers go out to the magnificent men and women of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is reviewing this case.


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Q: How to correctly delete items from a CListCtrl?
A: Unlike the 'HTREEITEM' values returned from 'CTreeCtrl::InsertItem()', the integer values returned from 'CListCtrl::InsertItem()' aren't stable. In short, this means that you shouldn't store them anywhere. If you need to find an entry again, it's probably best to simply put something useful in 'LVITEM::lParam', and search for it using 'CListCtrl::GetNextItem()'.
Having said that, one can use the following piece of code to correctly delete items from a CListCtrl:
Code:for (int nItem = 0; nItem < m_List.GetItemCount(); ) { if (m_List.GetItemState(nItem, LVIS_SELECTED) == LVIS_SELECTED) m_List.DeleteItem(nItem); else ++nItem; }


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The project to upgrade a reservoir that serves as the San Francisco Bay area's main backup water supply has suffered a $200 million setback.
Crews building a new dam on the Calaveras Reservoir have come across an ancient, buried landslide that has forced them to redesign the project, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.
The changes will increase the costs from $416 million to $620 million and push back completion by more than 2 years to 2017.
The existing dam has been deemed seismically unsafe.
"It's an ancient landslide thousands of years old, buried below the surface and masked from view,'' said Dan Wade, the regional project manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's $4.6 billion plan to overhaul the Hetch Hetchy water system and make it seismically safe.
The system relies primarily on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and serves about 2.6 million customers in the Bay area.
The dam replacement is among dozens of projects that are part of the Hetch Hetchy overhaul.
The additional costs for the Calaveras Reservoir will not affect ratepayers because the public utilities commission saved money on other projects in the Hetch Hetchy overhaul, said Julie Labonte, the public utilities commission official overseeing the dam replacement.
Labonte was expected to ask commissioners to approve $55 million more for the project on Tuesday.
The Calaveras Reservoir, located near the Bay area city of Milpitas, is among several local reservoirs that supply the region.
It is "critical'' in case the supply of water from Hetch Hetchy is interrupted by an earthquake or other event, Labonte said.
The current dam there was completed in 1925, but was deemed seismically unsafe in 2001.
Regulators ordered the reservoir to be drained to about a third of its capacity. The new reservoir will be filled to its historic level of 31 billion gallons. The discovery of the landslide will force crews to remove an additional 5 million tons of rock and dirt and make a deeper cut and a flatter, more gradual slope above the new dam, the Chronicle reported.
"The landslide was massive enough that it would have created an unsafe situation if workers were to continue with the original cut,'' Wade said.


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Availability date: 01/01/2016
Written for the musician who is interested in acquiring a firm foundation for playing jazz, this unique book/CD pack presents over 800 licks.
By building up a vocabulary of these licks, players can connect them together in endless possibilities to form larger phrases and complete solos.
The book includes piano notation, and the CD contains helpful note-for-note demos of every lick.
Jamming the Blues - Bass Edition
Aebersold Volume 9: Woody Shaw


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During the days leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII, several challenges have been made by fans of the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks — including a major wager between the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee and the Washington State Potato Commission.
The two football teams reached this pinnacle of competition by defeating their respective opponents throughout the season, coming to the field in New Jersey with the best win-loss records of their divisions.
Both potato commodity groups likewise come armed, each boasting a winning record of quality potato production and insightful marketing.
The gauntlet, thrown by Chris (Sherman) Voigt, executive director of the WSPC, calls for 500 pounds of potatoes per point scored by the winning football team to be donated to a food bank in the winning team's state. Voigt's challenge video was posted on the WSPC's Facebook page.
Not to be outdone, CPAC Executive Director Jim "Peyton" Ehrlich, joined by Colorado growers and shippers in a video, responded to the Washington challenge on the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee's Facebook page.
Ehrlich noted that the game will be "embarrassing for the Seahawks," and he upped the ante by saying the losing executive director must travel to the capital city of the winning state, don a potato mascot costume of the opposing group and promote that state's potatoes.
The Challenge:
The Response:


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Wallace Makes Case for Backup Position
Sun | Sports
Seneca Wallace (15), runing away from Saints linebacker Colby Bockwoldt (57), passed for one touchdown and ran for another. Judi Bottoni | Associated Press
Mike Holmgren said the preseason would be important for Seneca Wallace, and he rose to the challenge.
Wallace, tapped as Matt Hasselbeck's backup after Trent Dilfer was traded to Cleveland, scored on a slashing 24-yard scramble and passed for another touchdown in the Seahawks' 34-15 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams.
The third-year reserve out of Iowa State played from early in the second quarter through the third, completing 12 of 20 passes for 137 yards. His touchdown pass was a perfect toss that dropped softly over the shoulder of former Saints receiver Jerome Pathon for a 28-yard score.
"He's a really fine passer. That gets overlooked because he is quick and he can run," Holmgren said. "His touchdown run was really something, but he threw some very, very good passes. ... We have to get him ready to play in (regular season) games if it's necessary."
Half of Wallace's incompletions were dropped balls, including one bullet over the middle that appeared to be a certain touchdown until it slipped through D.J. Hackett's hands in the end zone. That drive ended with Josh Brown's 30-yard field goal.
"I felt really comfortable, and also the line gave me great protection and the running backs ran the ball well. All that just helped me out," Wallace said. "It was all up to Mike to keep me in there and keep seeing things."
The game was largely an exercise in humility for the Saints, who finished 2004 on a four-game winning streak, then talked throughout the offseason about looking even better and being eager to get back on the field. They turned the ball over three times in the first half, all leading to Seattle touchdowns. The Seahawks had a 24-3 lead by halftime, when a number of fans booed the Saints as they walked off the Louisiana Superdome turf.
"It's not exactly the way we wanted to get going," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "The thing that hurt us the most was the three turnovers. ... We have a long way to go but I think there are a lot of positives we can take out of it."
New Orleans' new-look, run-oriented offense still needs work.
Deuce McAllister fumbled three plays in when he was stripped behind the line of scrimmage by Niko Koutouvides. Seattle linebacker Michael Boulware recovered the ball on the Saints 18, setting up Hasselbeck's 13-yard scoring pass to Bobby Engram. Hasselbeck went to the bench for good early in the second quarter, having completed 6 of 10 passes for 40 yards.
New Orleans only score with the starters came on the second drive. It was comprised of three strong runs by McAllister and a couple of short passes from Aaron Brooks. John Carney capped it with a 50-yard field goal.
"I had some holes out there, we've just got to try to sustain it for four quarters," McAllister said.
The final numbers for the Saints' marquee players were unspectacular. McAllister finished with nine carries for 38 yards, his longest run going for 12 yards. Brooks was 3-for-7 for 15 yards. Joe Horn had no catches and one drop. Donte' Stallworth's only reception, a 25-yarder along the sidelines, was wiped out when top draft pick Jammal Brown was flagged for being lined up too far behind the line of scrimmage.
New Orleans' other turnovers were backup quarterback Todd Bouman's fumble on the Saints' 35 and an interception an underthrown bomb into double coverage.
"Turnovers happen. ... This locker room has to be strong and know we can win football games," Horn said. "We'll respond, because we have those type of guys in the locker room."
The Saints didn't get into the end zone until late in the third quarter when Todd Bouman found Talman Gardner for an 11-yard touchdown that made it 27-10.
Seattle reserve fullback Leonard Weaver broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. And Marquis Weeks ended up being Seattle's leading rusher with 59 yards on eight carries, all in the second half.
Quick hits: For Seattle, reserve cornerback Michael Harden was believed to have had a concussion after a heavy hit, while Andre Dyson left the game in the first quarter with a sore shoulder after an attempted tackle on Saints fullback Mike Karney. ... Seattle's Shaun Alexander carried the ball only three times for 18 yards.


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Playoff reality bites Tigers: 'We've got to get there'
DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers hate to admit it, but they've turned into the Midwest version of the New York Yankees.
Huge payroll.
Massive expectations.
Disappointing results.
Anything less than a World Series championship in Detroit now has become unacceptable.
The Yankees can certainly empathize as they got together Tuesday night for a crucial three-game series at Comerica Park.
"Believe me, we know the feeling,'' Yankees general manager Brian Cashman tells USA TODAY Sports. "The expectations get so high. But (Tigers president and GM) David Dombrowski has constantly put that franchise in position to be more relevant every year. It's amazing how when he got to that city, he put that team on the baseball map again.
"They're legitimately at a point where that team can run the table if they get into the playoffs.''
That, of course, is the problem.
The Tigers are fighting for their lives just to get there, sitting 1 ½ games behind the Kansas City Royals entering the night.
"We can't think about the postseason. That's not even in the discussion at this point,'' Dombrowski tells USA TODAY Sports. "We've got to get there. This has not been an easy road for us. We just can't show flashes. We've got to buckle down. We've got to win.
"It's been a long time since we've had a hot streak.''
Would you believe three months?
The Tigers, who jumped out to a seven-game lead in the American League Central on May 18, have spent the last three months muddling along with a 43-47 record.
"We never anticipated it would be easy,'' Dombrowski says. "We had some injuries, like a lot of clubs. We had guys who haven't had as good a season as in the past. And we've been inconsistent offensively.''
On Aug. 3, the Tigers had a five-game lead over the Royals, and their addition of lefty ace David Price figured to expedite their AL Central coronation.
Now? The Royals have jumped them, and now they're a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot, with the Yankees lurking two games behind them entering Tuesday.
It leaves everyone asking the same thing: How in the world are the injury-riddled Yankees so close to the Tigers with less than five weeks to play?
"Sometimes you get complacent at the top,'' Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter says. "You get comfortable, and then you don't have that drive and that motivation. It can happen. Not just in baseball, but in life, and the next thing you know you get slapped in the face.
"When you're down a little bit like we are, you try to climb out of that little hole you dug, and you try to survive. I still have faith good things are going to happen.''
Still, just battling to catch the Royals is hardly what the Tigers had in mind, not with a franchise-record payroll of $171.5 million - third-richest in baseball behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and Yankees.
The Tigers built their team for the World Series, and after winning three consecutive AL Central titles, believe that anything short of a championship will be considered a failure.
"We expect that out of ourselves,'' Tigers catcher Alex Avila says. "Winning the World Series, that's the ultimate goal. I'm not happy just getting into the playoffs. We've gone to the playoffs.
"We want to win the World Series, so obviously when you don't achieve that, it's not a successful season.''
They Tigers certainly are doing everything in their power to change that fate, desperately trying to win for beloved owner Mike Ilitch, 85. It's the same burning desire the Yankees had when owner George Steinbrenner was struggling with his health.
You win now, and worry about the consequences later.
Dombrowski wasn't stressing about the future when he acquired Price at the trade deadline. It came at a steep cost, and center fielder Austin Jackson's departure was a huge blow to the clubhouse morale, but Price was considered essential for a World Series berth.
They didn't stop. They grabbed an insurance policy for beleaguered closer Joe Nathan by trading for Joakim Soria of the Texas Rangers. They are even seeking more bullpen help by claiming Houston Astros veteran reliever Chad Qualls on waivers in hopes of landing him.
Still, just when it looked like everything was set except for the World Series parade route, starter Anibal Sanchez went down Aug. 9 with a strained right pectoral muscle. The Tigers hoped he could return Saturday, but he disclosed Tuesday he may not be coming back again this season, ending his bullpen sessions when he felt a stabbing pain.
Soria is also out with a strained left abdominal muscle and is not expected back for several more weeks.
"It's all about faith now,'' Hunter says. Don't worry about the now. That stresses you out. Just worry about the end.
"Pressure can be great. If enough pressure is applied to coal, that makes diamonds, right?''
It might be different if Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander resembled the same players the Tigers signed to $428 million in extensions the past year. Cabrera, winner of the past two AL MVP awards, has been hobbled by nagging injuries and hit just three home runs since July 1.
Verlander's 98-mph fastball has gone AWOL, and he's just 11-11 with a 4.82 ERA.
Yet, even if the big boys aren't living up to expectations, the Tigers need look no further than the Yankees for inspiration. They're somehow staying alive in the playoff race despite their dizzying array of injuries. The Yankees have been without 80% of their starting rotation most of the season, with only Hiroki Kuroda, 39, staying off the DL.
When Derek Jeter was asked before the game if he knew how many teammates he's had during his 20-year Yankee career, he deadpanned: "I can't even count the guys I played with this year.''
The number is 52, including a club-record 31 pitchers, but who's counting?
Yet, by mixing, matching, scouring the waiver wire, and trading, the Yankees have remained relevant. They picked up three games in the last four days on the Baltimore Orioles, with eight remaining games against them to wipe out a six-game deficit.
"There's no time for optimism,'' Cashman says. "And I'm not a dreamer. I'm more of a realist.
"This is the time of getting things done. We have to win. And we have to win every day.''
After all, it's the Yankee way.
"I know they have some luxuries that people don't have,'' Dombrowski says, "but Brian Cashman and (manager) Joe Girardi do such a tremendous job, they always find a way. Even when it doesn't look like they're going to be there, they find a way to get it done.
"We've got to do the same thing.''


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We invest in our people, and empower them. We believe that their creativity, energy and dedication deliver our strength. Discover why a career at Sia Partners is like no other.
Sia Partners is looking for bright and dynamic consultants. Find out here how you can apply or learn more about our campus management.
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Mike Adams
Natural News
August 23, 2012
The U.S. Census Bureau claims you are required by law to reveal your race on their (coercive) questionnaire, and Census Bureau workers can get ridiculously adamant about stalking you until you agree to fill out such forms (http://www.infowars.com/infowars-reader-receives-threatening-letter-f…).
What they don't tell you is that the data you voluntarily provide the Census Bureau may be used to target you and your entire family for armed government kidnappings and involuntary relocation to a concentration camp where you are forced into slave labor.
If this sounds outlandish and impossible, you seriously don't know your history, because this has already taken place in America. Not only was an internment camp system run for many years across the United States, but the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the "constitutionality" of those camps, which were populated by families targeted and kidnapped by the federal government solely because of their race.
As we learned after sixty years of denials and cover-ups, the U.S. Census Bureau turned over racial targeting data to the U.S. government to conduct armed, door-to-door racial kidnappings of U.S. citizens who were dragged off to internment camps by the thousands.
That this has already taken place is likely to be of special interest to those who are watching the proliferation of so-called "FEMA camps" today. Here's the "lost episode" of Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory show which details the existence of these FEMA camps:
Here are some other astonishing, jaw-dropping historical facts that most Americans simply do not know about concentration camps in America.
Facts that every American needs to know about FEMA camps, concentration camps and "refugee" camps
• In 1942, so-called "War Relocation Camps" (i.e. concentration camps) were set up in the United States of America in states like Wyoming, California, Utah and Arizona (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_World_War_II_Japanese_Americ…).
• Over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens were rounded up at gunpoint, kidnapped by the government, and forcibly relocated to these concentration camps. They were forced to abandon their homes, farms and businesses.
• This rounding up of Japanese-American citizens was "authorized" by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who bypassed Congress and issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The executive order was written and carried out in total violation of the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
• The legal loophole that was used to justify this blatantly illegal act is as follows: Military commanders were granted the "administrative right" to declare entire states to be "exclusion zones" from which people of Japanese ancestry were excluded. The internment camps were, of course, not included in the exclusion zones, meaning that all Japanese-Americans were forced to be put into the internment camps in order to comply with the exclusive zone orders. This action, by the way, is the ultimately expression of race-based profiling.
• No one was given a trial. No charges were even filed against those who were forced into the camps. They were simply rounded up at gunpoint and shoved into railroad cars and busses.
• The U.S. government issued shameless propaganda films to spread disinfo about its illegal actions. Here's a particularly shocking example of such propaganda from 1942: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OiPldKsM5w
That film, as you can see for yourself, describes the gunpoint kidnapping and internment of American citizens as nothing more than a need "to transfer several thousand Japanese residents from the Pacific Coast to points in the American interior." It does not mention that those points are surrounded by barbed war and armed guards, where prisoners are forced into what is essentially slave labor just to survive.
• How were all those Japanese-American citizens located by the government? The U.S. Census Bureau turned over the racial targeting data to the federal government. So anyone who obeyed the census and revealed "Japanese" as their ancestry on the census forms received a visit by an armed squad of government kidnappers who forced you and your family into a concentration camp ("war relocation camp").
• The U.S. Census Bureau vigorously denied its involvement in the government kidnappings, staging a multi-decade cover-up. The truth finally came out in 2007, and detailed are now published in both Scientific American and USA Today: (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-30-census-role_N.htm)
The Census Bureau turned over confidential information including names and addresses to help the Justice Department, Secret Service and other agencies identify Japanese-Americans during World War II, according to government documents released today.
Documents found by two historians in Commerce Department archives and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library confirm for the first time that the bureau shared details about individual Japanese-Americans after Japan's Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Census Bureau played a role in the confinement of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent who were rounded up and held in internment camps, many until the war ended in 1945. In 1942, the Census turned over general statistics about where Japanese-Americans lived to the War Department.
Documents found by two historians in Commerce Department archives and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library confirm for the first time that the bureau shared details about individual Japanese-Americans after Japan's Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Census Bureau played a role in the confinement of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent who were rounded up and held in internment camps, many until the war ended in 1945. In 1942, the Census turned over general statistics about where Japanese-Americans lived to the War Department.
Astonishingly, the U.S. Census Bureau, which participated in the racial profiling and rounding up of innocent Americans to be thrown into concentration camps, claims it works on behalf of civil rights:
"Information on race is required for many Federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights" claims the Census Bureau website (http://www.census.gov/population/race/about/faq.html)
The Census Bureau does NOT say, by the way, that the race data you provide to the bureau may one day be used to target you and your family to be rounded up and stuffed into a concentration camp.
Race-based arrests and internment – all enabled by the U.S. Census Bureau!
The very act of filling out a Census Bureau form is a violation of your Fifth Amendment rights, by the way. Providing this bureau with your race / ancestry information gives them information that may be used to round you up at gunpoint and have you (and your family) sent to a concentration camp.
That's not conjecture. It's not a conspiracy theory. It's historical fact. The U.S. Census Bureau did, in fact, conspire with the federal government to target American citizens based on race data.
"A new study of U.S. Department of Commerce documents now shows that the Census Bureau complied with an August 4, 1943, request by Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau for the names and locations of all people of Japanese ancestry in the Washington, D.C., area, according to historian Margo Anderson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and statistician William Seltzer of Fordham University in New York City," reports Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=confirmed-the-us-cen…).
"Anderson and Seltzer discovered in 2000 that the Census Bureau released block-by-block data during WW II that alerted officials to neighborhoods in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Arkansas where Japanese-Americans were living. "We had suggestive but not very conclusive evidence that they had also provided microdata for surveillance," Anderson says. "What it suggests is that the statistical information was used at the microlevel for surveillance of civilian populations."
The Census Bureau claims it cannot, by law, reveal your private data to the federal government. But that's just a convenient lie. The bureau can — and has — suspended those rules on the request of a federal official. In today's political climate, any claim that the census data is "in the interests of national security" would cause the bureau to immediately comply, just as it did in 1942.
Need some black genocide, Jewish genocide, Chinese genocide or Christian genocide? Just call the Census Bureau for the database
So in the near future, any time the U.S. government wants to round up anyone belonging to a specific race or religion, the U.S. Census Bureau is already sitting on all that data. They know WHERE YOU LIVE and what color your skin is. They can easily dispatch men with guns to come to your house, knock in the door, shove guns in your face and kidnap you and your entire family.
And remember: You don't have to be guilty of anything for this to happen to you. You merely have to be black, or Latino, or Asian or whatever skin color is currently being targeted by the government.
Oh, but you say, they would never do that. Not in America.
Except they already DID that. Right here in America. Reality is quite different from the goody-goody version we're shown on the propaganda TV news, huh?
A few years after they did all this in America, by the way, a group of so-called "scientists" created a couple of atomic bombs which were quickly dropped on civilian populations in Japan, in one of the greatest acts of race-based genocide the world has ever witnessed. To this day, the United States of America remains the only nation in the world to have deliberately targeted and destroyed high-density civilian populations with nuclear weapons.
FEMA camp roundups are entirely consistent with U.S. history
Americans today who naively say things like, "Oh, they wouldn't ever round us up and throw us into FEMA camps" are miserably uninformed. Not only will the government do that, it already has done that!
In fact, the government will do much worse. What's really clear, when examining history, is that the U.S. government will do anything — absolutely anything — to stay in power. The government will, if it deems necessary:
• Drop nuclear weapons on civilian targets
• Unleash weapons of mass destruction (such as depleted uranium) on civilian targets
• Round up Americans at gunpoint and throw them into concentration camps
• Issue massive propaganda campaigns to lie to the public
• Justify all its actions with a nod from the U.S. Supreme Court
So what makes you think the government won't round people up in the near future and throw them into FEMA camps?
Learn the historical truth you've never been shown
See shocking photos of Japanese-American citizens being rounded up at gunpoint:
See the map of internment / concentration camps across the USA
Learn more facts about the U.S. government's illegal concentration camps:
Read about President Obama's destruction of the U.S. Bill of Rights with the signing of the NDAA
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Crocodile Tears? Liberals Lament Lack of Their Own on the Court
An interesting narrative has arisen among some on the left that the nomination of Elena Kagan shows what chumps Democratic presidents are. That is, not only could President Obama have tapped a stronger "progressive" voice, but he — like President Clinton before him, and unlike Republican presidents — put avoiding political fights ahead of moving the Court left. Since LBJ, Democrats have opted for a "moderate technocrat" like Stephen Breyer rather than a "lion" like William Brennan or Thurgood Marshall. (Sonia Sotomayor was good and necessary for identity politics, the argument continues, but, let's face it, she's no liberal Scalia.)
Take this opening quote from a New York Times article that came out the day of the nominee's announcement: "The selection of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be the nation's 112th justice extends a quarter‐century pattern in which Republican presidents generally install strong conservatives on the Supreme Court while Democratic presidents pick candidates who often disappoint their liberal base." Or Dahlia Lithwick's op‐ed in Slate about how liberal law students are so many lost sheep because their ideological heroes are deemed unconfirmable and therefore not part of the nomination discussion.
Well. A few things on this: First, even if the argument were true, it's simply not statistically significant because we're only talking four Democratic appointments (Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Clinton, Sotomayor and Kagan by Obama; poor Jimmy Carter had none, the same number George W. Bush would have had had he not been re‐elected). Second, if you line up the Republican and Democratic nominees in recent decades, it's conservatives who are disappointed (need I even mention John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter, let alone Earl Warren and Brennan himself, all Republican nominees). Third, to say that someone like Ginsburg — a push‐the‐envelope feminist and ACLU lawyer — is a moderate is to center the jurisprudential spectrum around the law faculty lounge. And fourth, as David Bernstein details, it is people like Richard Epstein — and other Federalist Society regulars like Dan Troy, Miguel Estrada, John Eastman, Frank Easterbrook, Stephen Bainbridge, and Todd Zywicki (as well as Cato's own Roger Pilon, Randy Barnett, and Ilya Somin) — who would be considered filibusteringly beyond the pale, much more than Lithwick's vaunted American Constitution Society stalwarts.
In short, if anything it is Republicans who can rightfully be disappointed in their presidents' nominees — though Kennedy's seat was of course originally to have been filled by Robert Bork. More unfortunately, it is libertarian law students who can lament that their kind lacks representation on the High Court — though note that the second choice for Kennedy's seat was Douglas Ginsburg (the last judicial martyr of the drug war). And so, as the Court remains securely to the left of the American people, just today ratifying radical assertions of federal legislative and judicial power, Elena Kagan is poised to fit right into that jurisprudential "mainstream." Good for the left, bad for the Constitution.


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Act I
On a square in Seville, a troop of dragoons are keeping watch next to the tobacco factory, where they pass the time by watching the passers-by and chatting. A pretty girl named Micaëla appears, clearly searching for someone. Morales and the other soldiers address her: she reveals that she is looking for a corporal named Don José. Morales informs her that the corporal will be coming to the square when the guard changes. The soldiers urge the girl to wait for Don José there with them, but she shyly tells them she will come back later.
Presently, the new guard arrives, with Lieutenant Zuniga and Don José among them. The latter is informed by Morales that a pretty girl has been looking for him, and that she said she would return shortly. Based on the description of the young woman, Don José immediately realises that they are talking about Micaëla, the young orphan girl his own mother has been raising in the countryside. The bells of the tobacco factory ring out, and the men of Seville gather to admire the beautiful young women from the factory as they come out to the square – especially the sensuous Gypsy girl, Carmen, who appears last of all, singing a song of love. All eyes cling to her, except for Don José's. Carmen tosses him a flower, and laughingly returns to work. Without knowing why, Don José pockets the flower in his tunic. Micaëla returns, and before quickly departing gives the corporal a letter and money – and a kiss – sent from his mother. Don José is overcome by homesickness.
Suddenly, a fracas breaks out in the factory. Lieutenant Zuniga sends Don José in to find out what is going on. The factory girls rush out and, forming opposing sides, relate to Zuniga two different versions of what happened: Carmen and another girl had got into an argument. Knives came out, and Carmen slashed the other girl's face. Don José takes Carmen out to the square, but she refuses to say anything about the matter. Zuniga orders that Carmen be taken to the gaol, and Carmen, finding herself alone with Don José, attempts to convince him to let her free. She sings an erotic Seguidilla to him, offering her love in exchange for freedom. As Zuniga returns with the warrant, Carmen knocks Don José down and runs off.
Act II
At Lillas Pastia's inn in Seville, Carmen and her compatriots are enjoying themselves in the company of Lieutenant Zuniga and the other officers. The girls perform a dance for the soldiers. Lillas Pastia is preparing to close the establishment for the night, but Zuniga is still flirting with Carmen. It emerges that Don José has been demoted and locked up in the stockade for allowing Carmen to escape. From outside, the sounds of a festive crowd grow louder and louder. A growing clamour is heard from outside: Escamillo, the famous toreador from Granada is being cheered by the crowd on the street. The bullfighter and his companions enter the inn, where his audience is delighted to hear a true celebrity describe the matador's life. His eyes fall on Carmen, who returns the attention. Escamillo departs with the crowd in tow, leaving only Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédes. Finally, it emerges why Lillas Pastia was in such a hurry to close for the night: the inn is a secret base for smugglers, and Dancaire and Remendado are coming to recruit girls for their smuggling operation. Frasquita and Mercédes agree to the task, but Carmen, prevented by love, is unwilling to go along... Don José's singing is heard in the distance. The smugglers withdraw, leaving Carmen alone with the corporal. José had been freed earlier that day and had immediately set out to find Carmen. The girl begins to dance for him, but soon a bugle sounds calling the soldiers back to the barracks for the night: Don José must leave if he's not to wind up in even more trouble. Carmen grows angry and mocks him. The man professes his love for her, revealing the flower that she had thrown to him, which he has guarded ever since their first encounter. For the gypsy girl, however, his words are not enough: she wants José to desert and choose the life of freedom, to become one of them. Don José rejects this, and Carmen sends him away. Just then there's a banging at the door: it's Zuniga, who has slipped back to see Carmen. The two men start to fight, until Dancaire and Remendado pull them apart. José now has no other choice than to join Carmen and the smugglers.
Act III
The band of smugglers are encamped beside a mountain road. Carmen and José quarrel: the girl has started to grow tired of the man's constant fits of jealousy. Frasquita and Mercédes draw from a deck and amuse themselves by contemplating what fate the cards have in store for them: one of them will have a handsome young lover, while the other's will be old and rich. Carmen lays out her own cards: they prophesy death for her and José. Dancaire takes the three girls off with him to help him come to an arrangement with the customs officer to admit the goods into the city. Micaëla appears in the deserted camp. She has worked up her courage to confront the woman who has turned her beloved, José, into a villain. Hearing men's voices suddenly cry out, she hides in fright. Don José, left to keep watch, has called out to an approaching stranger. It is Escamillo, who tells José that he has come to find a beautiful gypsy girl with whom he has fallen in love. When it turns out that he's talking about Carmen, the two men go at each other. The returning smugglers separate them. Escamillo elegantly invites everyone to his next bullfight in Seville, and then departs. Micaëla emerges and begs José to return home, as his mother is dying. José agrees, but before he departs, he warns Carmen that they will meet again.
Act IV
Before the bullfight in Seville, the throng cheers the procession of picadors and toreadors. Arriving on Escamillo's arm is Carmen, whose girlfriends warn her to take care, as they've spotted Don José in the crowd. The girl, however, is not deterred. The crowd makes its way into the arena, but Carmen remains outside the entrance to await Don José. He soon appears and starts pleading with Carmen to come back to him, since he cannot live without her. The gypsy girl calmly replies that everything is over between them, and she now loves someone else. Inside, the crowd cheers Escamillo. José attempts to convince the girl, but she cannot be swayed, exclaiming that she "was born free, and free she'll die." She returns the ring that José had given her earlier. José draws a knife and stabs his beloved.
- Location
- Erkel Theatre
- Date
- Sept. 6, 2015
- Start time
- 18:00
- End time
- 21:00
- Conductor
- István Dénes
- Don José
- Atilla Kiss-B.
- Escamillo
- Károly Szemerédy
- Dancaïre
- Gábor Németh
- Remendado
- József Mukk
- Zuniga
- Géza Gábor
- Moralès
- András Káldi Kiss
- Carmen
- Atala Schöck
- Micaëla
- Zita Váradi
- Frasquita
- Ildikó Szakács
- Mercédès
- Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz
- Director
- Pál Oberfrank
- Set designer
- László Székely
- Costume designer
- Márta Pilinyi
- Choreographer
- Marianna Venekei
- Head of the Children's Chorus
- Gyöngyvér Gupcsó
- Chorus director
- Kálmán Strausz
- Featuring
- Honvéd Male Choir


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Problem Solved
It's just an unfortunate truth that patients tell lies. In this month of night float I've seen at least one or two patients who complain of chest pain every night. A common cause of chest pain, especially in the area I serve, is Cocaine. So, it's just a fact of life that when someone comes to the Emergency Room complaining of chest pain one of the most important questions is how many white lines they polished off that night?
Of course, a patient-doctor relationship is based on trust and I do my best to establish that trust while ate the same time verifying truth. Unfortunately, to do that requires betrayal as I send their urine for a toxicology screen. On the average, once every other night, one patient who vehemently denied drug use shows up positive. But fear not, all is not lost.
It is said that everything in the universe serves a purpose. With a little help from the chemistry lab I believe that I've found a great benefit to be derived from such patients. Currently, all we're missing is a little research money and a sharp mind.
I often blog about the amount of loans medical students assume to pay for their education. Actually, I mostly blog about my debt and how it's effecting my wife and I and the decisions we make. Through the wonderful talented minds here at the Mad House we've found a way to repay everyone's loans in one year. Actually, we're hoping to cut that time estimate to half a year, with a little promotional scheme.
If we were able to crystallize Cocaine and Heroin from the urine of patients who test positive than we can repay our loans in no time, maybe even buy a nice mansion or two in the rich sector of town. Here is how it would go.
A patient comes to the Emergency Room complaining of squeezing type chest pain. We'll send a tox-screen. He's positive. Now, a few ethical violations have to be committed, but as my grandfather says "Ethics Shmantics".
We ask the nurse to stick a Urinary catheter (Urine catheter) in the young man (Completely unnecessary). Then, we hang IV fluids at 300 ml/hr (A mega dose). Proceeding to step three, we give him 100 mg of Lasix through his IV access (Enough Diuretic to dry up an elephant) and all that's left to do is watch as the money slowly trickles in, our pure yellow pot of gold.
Judging by the amount of patients who currently test positive I estimate we could have one to two tons of Cocaine and Heroin ready for consumer distribution in less than three months. Some advantages:
1. Technically, our patients will be our suppliers and dealers. They, thus, will be subject to drug trafficking charges and, viola, one less drug addict on our streets.
2. If somehow we happen to "misplace" a dime bag or two, the poor, unfortunate Crack smoker will surely end up with chest pain and eventually return to our ED, only to be diuresed again. A never ending supply.
Now all that's left is checking with the good folks over at the Drug Enforcement Agency how they would feel about such a project. After all, they stand to benefit if medical students are able to pay off their loans, this is federal money. With a little active promotion and advertising (ie: We got a great cocaine chaser here at the Mad House) we could really build a small Fortune-Five-Hundred company in no time.
The money of course would go for beneficial causes. Like paying off said debts and buying a few Ferraris for residents so that they're never late for work again. Maybe even one or two mansions in the rich part of town so we can all sleep well.
My wife advises attaching a disclaimer: I am in no way promoting the use of Cocaine, nor, am I promoting the distribution of drugs of any kind to achieve any purpose including paying off outrageous student loans. This is for purely comical relief. Even if some genius finds a way to crystallize the metabolites found in urine and sells these, I am not taking any responsibility for supplying the idea. In reality, this is not real cocaine anyways, just metabolites, so if you want to pay off your outrageous student loans go work, you ass.


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I once had a foreign English teacher from US, who was not satisfied with the classes our school board arrenged, after talking to the dean and other principles in vain, he was disappointed and finally went to Hangzhou to teach in a high school.We heard he was doing fine there. The choice of school is definitely crucial.
Not a teacher
English Teacher