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What is the planet that Superman came from?

What Planet did Superman originally come from? - thinkypedia.com What Planet did Superman originally come from? thefbi answers: Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe. No longer in existence, it is the native world of the superheroes Superman and Supergirl. Named after the chemical element krypton, the planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and was first referred to in Action Comics #1 (June 1938); the planet was given its first full-fledged appearance in Superman (volume 1) #1 (1939). Krypton exploded as a result of highly unstable geological conditions. As originally depicted, the entire civilization and race of Krypton perished in the explosion, except for one survivor: the baby Kal-El, who was placed in an escape rocket by his father, Jor-El, and sent to the planet Earth, where Kal-El grew up to become Superman. In some versions of the Superman mythos, a few additional survivors, such as Krypto the Superdog, Supergirl, and the criminal inhabitants of the Phantom Zone, were also survivors of the cataclysm. (answers.com)

Krypton

If you were going to examine a horse to determine its age, at what body part would you look?

Superman - Wikiquote Superman Jump to: navigation , search It's not about where you were born . Or what powers you have. Or what you wear on your chest. ... It's about what you do... It's about action . Superman is a fictional character and superhero, also known as Clark Kent and Kal-El. Created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel , he first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and rapidly became a popular and well-known comic book icon. For the philosophical use, see Übermensch For other uses, see Superman (disambiguation) All this time. I've been living my life the way my father saw it. Righting wrongs for a ghost . Thinking I'm here to do good . Superman was never real — just a dream of a farmer from Kansas. ~ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Contents Man in Green (brandishing a gun at Superman): Reach for the ceiling, quick! Superman: Put that toy AWAY! Superman: This is no time for horseplay! Superman: (to a man beating his wife) You're not fighting a woman now! Clark: Be reasonable Lois, dance with the fellow and then we'll leave right away. Lois: You can stay and dance with him if you wish, but I'm leaving NOW! Man: Yeah? You'll dance with me and like it! Lois: Why you! (Slaps man) Clark: (Thinks to himself "Good for you Lois!") Lois-DON'T! Man: Fight...you weak livered pole cat! (Palms Clark's face) Clark: Really---I have no desire to do so! (Lois leaves) Wait, LOIS! Superman: (to Lois, after saving her) I'd advise you not to print this little episode. Written by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel Superman: Did you ever wonder boys, how it would feel to fall from a great distance and be crushed to a pulp? Superman: It's not entirely your fault that you're delinquent-- it's these slums - your poor living conditions - if there was only some way I could remedy it--! Superman: Sorry if this is tough on your pocketbook, but I'm thinking of the lives to be saved! Mayor: The bodies of auto victims--maimed---horrible! Superman: They are men you killed! Written by Marv Wolfman H.I.V.E Goon: You can't threaten me, Superman! You'd never kill us! Superman: You're right! Taking lives is something I definitely find offensive! But roughing up criminal terrorists a bit doesn't faze me at all! Written by Joe Kelly Superman: I'm not an idiot, Black. I know there are bad men in power and the world is not an equitable place -- but you can't throw morality in the garbage just because life's tough! Written by Dan Jurgens Superman: It stops here, mister! This insanity ends in Metropolis! Superman: Too late, Lois. The JLA has already fallen and there are too many innocents in jeopardy. It's up to me. Lois: Clark... I... Superman: Just remember... no matter what happens... I'll always love you. ALWAYS. Superman: Nobody tears my city apart and gets away with it. Superman: I don't know what hole you crawled out of or where you came from, but I'm sending you back! Superman: Enough, Doomsday! If you want to get your hands on my friends, you're going to have to kill me first! Superman: (his last internal monologue before he dies) For Lois, and Jimmy and the entire city, I've got to put this guy away while I still can! Superman: The Man of Steel[ edit ] Written by Louise Simonson Batman: He gave me this ring with a kryptonite stone. He said - Superman: I have many enemies who have tried to control me. And I live in fear that someday, they might succeed. If that ever should happen -- If I should ever lose control, There would only be one sure way to stop me. Batman: Do you realize what you're asking? Superman: I do. I want the means to stop me to be in the hands of a man I can trust with my life. King of Diamonds: Aren't you going to read me my rights? Superman: See a badge? Superman: Hello, Ten. Ten of Diamonds: I was just thinking about you. How -- Superman: You've got a very distinct heartbeat. Erratic breathing. And your kevlar costume squeaks when you walk. Easy sound grouping to pull out of a crowd. Ten of Diamonds: A crowd of eleven million? Superman: My hearing's very acute. The Adventures of Superman[ edit ] Issue 505[ edit ] Deke Dickson: Maybe you can steal more money with a briefcase than a gun, but nothing beats superpowers! Superman: Close, Punk. Nothing beats Superman! Minis and Other Appearances[ edit ] Superman: I'm Superman. I can do anything. Wonder Woman: Except, apparently, face your fear. Superman: Only the weak succumb to brutality. All Star Superman[ edit ] The Sphinx: What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object? Superman: They surrender. Superman: Birthright (2003–2004)[ edit ] Each time I think I've made a connection with someone... once they find out what I can do, whether it's hours or days later, everything changes. Invariably they freak. They get retroactivly paranoid, wondering what else Clark Kent is hiding from them. Written by Mark Waid Clark: (to his mother, Martha Kent, in an email) I can see this, I suppose you could call it, aura of colors that words can't describe around living things. And when something dies the aura fades leaving something that's not easy to look at. It appears empty in a way that makes you feel empty too!! Clark: (to his mother, Martha Kent, in an email) Each time I think I've made a connection with someone... once they find out what I can do, whether it's hours or days later, everything changes. Invariably they freak. They get retroactively paranoid, wondering what else Clark Kent is hiding from them. Superman and Lois (first time) Superman: Don't be afraid. Lois: I'm not. Helicopters, danger, go, go, go! Then we'll talk. Superman: (to himself) She's not afraid. Superman apprehending an arms dealer Superman: I know it was you who sold those guns to those kids. Arms dealer: I didn't sell them anything. Superman: I can hear your heartbeat. I know you're lying. Superman(Grabbing a gun off the wall): I just saw a young girl looking down the barrel of a gun screaming. She will remember it for the rest of her life. Superman(Firing the gun at the terrified arms dealer then catching the bullet right in front of his face): Now, so will you. Clark and Lois at a diner Lois: When we first met Luthor, you acted like the two of you knew each other. Clark: Yeah. A long time ago back in Smallville. He doesn't seem to remember, which is its own miracle. I was hoping he wouldn't anyway. Lois: That's too bad. It would be nice if you could shed some light on his actions. Clark: Looking back, Lois, I think he just wants someone to talk to. Superman saves Lois from mobsters Lois: Thank God. Superman: Are you all right? Lois: I'm fine. I need to talk with you. Superman: Can it wait? Infinite Crisis[ edit ] Earth-2 Superman: [internal monologue upon hearing of the death of Superboy, at the hands of Superboy-Prime] When I had to tell Kara, all she could say was "Why? Why did we survive when he didn't?" I asked myself that question so many times. But I thought I knew the answer. Because I thought he was unworthy of the symbol I'd help. But I picked the wrong one to condone. And the wrong one to condemn. Green Lantern: I'm picking up a signal... The Society has broken open every prison in the world and brought the inmates to Metropolis. They're going to storm the city. They're saying that if Superman's city falls... the rest will follow...? Superman: Everyone, listen to me! These jerks killed Superboy. They've tried to kill us. Now they say they're going to tear this city apart. I say... like hell. Superboy-Prime: [battling Superman]] I'm the only one who can rescue this messed-up universe. I'm the only one who knows how to make it right. I will be its greatest hero! When you're gone... I will be Superman! Superman: Superman? [rips the S-Shield off Superboy-Prime's costume] You'll never be Superman. Because you have no idea what it means to be Superman. Superboy-Prime: Yes I do. I'm from Krypton! A better Krypton than yours ever was! Superman: It's not about where you were born. Or what powers you have. Or what you wear on your chest. Superboy-Prime: Shut up! [the two continue fighting] Superman: [after defeating Superboy-Prime] It's about what you do... It's about action. Superman (1940's cartoon)[ edit ] Man 1: Up in the sky, look! Woman: It's a bird! Man 2: It's a plane! Man 1: It's Superman! Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! 1-7 Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to soar higher than any plane! 8-10 Narrator: Faster than a streak of lightening! More powerful than the pounding surf! Mightier than a roaring hurricane! 11-17 Narrator: This amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, the man of steel, Superman! Empowered with X-ray vision, possessing remarkable physical strength, Superman fights a never ending battle for truth and justice, disguised as a mild mannered newspaper reporter, Clark Kent. Misc. Superman Quotes[ edit ] Wally West talking to the other Titans Wally: I remember the first time I met Superman. Barry was going to introduce us. I was just standing on the rooftop watching Barry talk to Superman. I must have tapped my foot a thousand times fighting the urge to ask for his autograph. I started to get down on myself looking at him. Like I could never measure up. I felt like taking off my costume and walking away. When they finished talking Superman walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said "I wish more young people were like you." Afterwards I couldn't stop smiling for a week. Superman and Batman Talking in Superman: Critical Condition Superman: I'm sorry for interfering Bruce. I know that could have gone badly. Batman: They're never afraid of you are they? Glowing green and seeping radiation. You could break this planet in two. And yet when they see you there struggling to hold yourself up in a doorway, they trip over each other to help you. Superman: You could try asking people nicely. Martha Kent talking to Clark about being Superman Martha: You can't wear a mask Clark. When people see you and can see the things you can do, the power you have, they'll be terrified. They need to be able to look into your eyes, see your face, so that they can see the decency and kindness that's always there and know they have nothing to be afraid of. The Atom from Superman: Critical Condition The Atom: I remember the first time I met Superman. It was a Justice League case so there were other heroes involved, but in my mind none of them stood as tall or as proudly as Superman. I began to wonder what I was doing in the same room as him, how little he must think of me. But Superman never treated me as anything but an equal. At six inches tall he made me feel like a giant. Now I had to be that giant for him. Green Arrow asks for Superman's help on a murder case involving a hanging (Identity Crisis) Green Arrow: (internal monologue) For the last victim, we went to Animal Man, the Metal Man, and Mister Miracle. We found nothing. So this time, we go to the top. (he glances at Superman) The very top. Superman: The killer used a sheep's tongue knot with a Dutch Marine twist. Green Arrow: How do you know that? Superman: It's a standard Boy Scout's knot. Green Arrow: (internal monologue)And in one sentence I can both love and hate the man. Clark Kent quits the Daily Planet over the state of news (The New 52) Clark Kent: The guy isn't a 24-hour pharmacy chief, he must not have felt like he was needed. Calling attention to Superman not being around only serves to put a big target on the people of Metropolis. Superman #13 written by Scott Lobdell Quotes about Superman[ edit ] Contrary to the rumours that you've heard, I was not born in a manger . I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El , to save the planet Earth. ~ Barack Obama Alphabetized by author If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman If I’m alive and well, will you be There a-holding my hand I’ll keep you by my side With my superhuman might Well I know what I've been told You've to break free to break the mold But I can't do this all on my own No, I can't do this all on my own I know, that I'm no Superman. Lazlo Bane I'm no Superman Superman represents an instinctive problem that we are all born and grown up with, that we can fly ─ after all, we can fly now; we couldn't before ─ and that we can carry on all kinds of scientific investigations, that we can stop crime, which Superman does, and that we can have a good influence on the world, and that we can be protected by the powerful influences in the world which may be our own parents, or may be the authorities, or what not. So I advised them that in my experience children throughout the ages, long before Superman existed, tried, to fly, and also it has been my specific experience, since I have been at Bellevue Hospital, that certain children with certain emotional problems are particularly preoccupied with the problem of flying, both fascinated by it, and fearful of it. And we frequently have on our ward at Bellevue the problem of making Superman capes in occupational therapy and then the children wearing them and fighting over them and one thing or another ─ and only about 3 months ago we had such, what we call epidemic, and a number of children were hurt because they tried to fly off the top of radiators or off the top of bookcases or what not and got bumps. There is another reason why Superman has had good influence. That is the years of continuity of the Superman character. The children know that Superman will always come out on the right side. On that, I can give you another story about what they wanted to do. At the end of the Second World War we bad the problem of a certain number of soldiers coming home as amputees. One of the script writers got the bright idea that we ought to prepare children for their fathers coming home as amputees by having one of the characters─ I don’t think it was Superman ─ one of the others ─ have an accident and lose his leg. They wanted to know what I thought about that idea. I said I thought it was absolutely terrible because I felt that the children loved this character and, after all, how many children were going to have to face the question of an amputee father? Certainly there are far better ways of preparing such children for such a father than to have to shock the whole comic reading children public. So I disapproved of it. Dr. Lauretta Bender [1] Testimony of Dr. Lauretta Bender Testimony of Dr. Lauretta Bender, senior psychiatrist, Belleveu hospital Newyork N.Y. [Jews needed] a hero who could protect us against an almost invincible force. So [Siegel and Shuster] created an invincible hero. Will Eisner How the Jews Created the Comic Book Industry Part I: The Golden Age (1933-1955) Reform Judaism (2003) You see all these super hero movies, and super heroes have a moral code that they live by and it seemed like in Kick-Ass, that wasn’t the case. It was survival on the streets and still try to fight crime. I think that’s a more realistic version of what vigilantes would be. I don’t think we’ll see a Superman ever flying in the sky or anything like that, and if that does happen, I don’t think the outcome that we watch in the movies is gonna be the outcome in real life. I think we’d send the army after this person, and the navy, and the air force, and the marines, after this person. Donald Faison [2] Josef Goebbels : Jerry Siegel, an intellectually and physically circumcised chap who has his headquarters in New York. . . The inventive Israelite named this pleasant guy with an overdeveloped body and underdeveloped mind “Superman..” Superman from cleveland to Ohio Batman: Everyone looks up to you. They listen to you. If you tell them to fight, they'll fight. But they need to be inspired. And let's face it, "Superman" ... the last time you really inspired anyone was when you were dead. Geoff Johns, Infinite Crisis #1 Superman obeys the Talmudic injunction to do good for its own sake and heal the world where he can. Blair Kramer [3] Superman is arguably the most powerful person on the planet, but how long can he sit at his desk with someone breathing down his neck and treating him like the least important person in the world? Scott Lobdell [4] Rather than Clark be this clownish suit that Superman puts on, we're going to really see Clark come into his own in the next few years as far as being a guy who takes to the Internet and to the airwaves and starts speaking an unvarnished truth . Scott Lobdell [5] I am a fan of anybody who can make a living in his underwear. David Mamet, reflecting on Superman How the Jews Created the Comic Book Industry Part I: The Golden Age (1933-1955) Reform Judaism (2003) The 2 wishes behind Superman are certainly the soundest of all; they are, in fact, our national aspirations at the moment--to develop unbeatable national might, and to use this great power, when we get it, to protect innocent, peace-loving people from destructive, ruthless evil. You don’t think for a minute that it is wrong to imagine the fulfillment of those two aspirations for the United States of America do you? Then why do should it be wrong or harmful for children to imagine the same things for themselves, personally when they read ‘Superman’? William Moulton Marston as quoted in Olive Richard Bryne's, "Don't laugh at the comics" Family circle, Oct 25, 1940. Grant Morrison: Well Mark Waid had him as a vegetarian, he sort of ratified it and then people were really angry because they used to say in the 70s his favourite food was beef bourguignon. But I kind of think of course he would be a vegetarian, I mean he would find it hard not to be. He's a super kid who grew up with animals and I'm sure he'd empathise with them pretty early on and just not be. I don't know, I might just put it in again to annoy people. Grant Morrison Comicbookgrrrl When Superman was created during the Great Depression, he was the champion of the oppressed and fought on the side of the working man. He was lawless. If you were a wife beater, he’d throw you out the window. If you were a corrupt congressman, he’d swing you from the rooftops until you confessed. I think it appealed to people who were losing their jobs to machines: Suddenly you had Superman wrecking machines and punching robots. But his popularity has declined—nobody wants to be the son of a farmer now. American writers often say they find it difficult to write Superman. They say he’s too powerful; you can’t give him problems. But Superman is a metaphor. For me, Superman has the same problems we do, but on a Paul Bunyan scale. If Superman walks the dog, he walks it around the asteroid belt because it can fly in space. When Superman’s relatives visit, they come from the 31st century and bring some hellish monster conqueror from the future. But it’s still a story about your relatives visiting. Grant Morrison Playboy Magazine (May 2012) as quoted by Craveonline.com Contrary to the rumours that you've heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El , to save the planet Earth . Barack Obama , in regard to impossibly high expectations of what he might do as president, jokingly implying that he was Superman rather than Jesus , in a speech at the Al Smith Dinner in New York City (17 October 2008) He's a fairy, I do suppose, flying through the air in pantyhose. He may be sexy, or even cute, but he looks like a sucka in a blue and red suit. Jerry Siegel Action Comics #13 (1939) If only I could fly... Jerry Siegel How the Jews Created the Comic Book Industry Part I: The Golden Age (1933-1955) Reform Judaism (2003) The story would begin with you as a child on far-off planet Krypton. Like the others of that world, you had super-powers. The child’s scientist-father was mocked and denounced by the Science Council. They did not believe his claim that Krypton would soon explode from internal stresses. Convinced that his prediction was valid, the boy’s father had been constructing a model rocket ship. As the planet began to perish, the baby’s parents knew its end was close. There was not space enough for three people in the small model craft. They put the baby into it. The mother chose to remain on the doomed planet with the man she loved, and die with him. Tearfully, hoping that their baby boy would survive, they launched the craft toward the planet Earth. Shortly, Krypton exploded and its millions of inhabitants were destroyed.” Jerry Siegel: What led me into creating Superman in the early thirties? … Hearing and reading of the oppression and slaughter of helpless, oppressed Jews in Nazi Germany … seeing movies depicting the horrors of privation suffered by the downtrodden … I had the great urge to help… help the downtrodden masses, somehow. How could I help them when I could barely help myself? Superman was the answer. Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he is Superman. His alter ego Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak. He's unsure of himself. He's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Quentin Tarantino , in lines written for "Bill", in Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) The police officer who puts their life on the line with no superpowers, no X-Ray vision, no super-strength, no ability to fly, and above all no invulnerability to bullets, reveals far greater virtue than Superman — who is only a mere superhero.

i don't know

What is the most common eye color in human beings?

Eye Color Guide - The Most Common Eye Colors Swimming Goggles Eye Color Guide - The Most Common Eye Colors The human eye is both beautiful and unique. Much like a fingerprint, each individual's eye color is specific only to them, with no others sharing the same shape, color and appearance. So what eye colors are the most common, and which are the rarest? What is the most common eye color? Which eye color is the rarest? Brown Eyes Brown eyes are the most common eye color in the world with over 55% of the world's population having brown eyes. Brown eye color is a dominant genetic trait, and is created by the presence of melanin in the eye. Over fifty percent of the world's population has brown eyes, with nearly all individuals from Africa and Asia sharing brown eye color. Brown eyes are typically darker than other eye colors, and they may even appear black in certain individuals. Hazel Eyes Hazel eyes are similar to brown eyes, although they are typically lighter in color, and have more of a green-yellow tint. Hazel eyes have a higher concentration of melanin (pigment) around the eye's border, which can result in a multi-colored appearance that varies between copper and green depending on the lighting. Most people estimate that around 5-8% of the world's population has hazel colored eyes. Blue Eyes Blue eyes are genetically recessive, and therefore much less common worldwide. Blue eyes are formed by the absence of pigments in the eye, where the blue color is formed by the scattering of light as it's reflected off the iris. While blue eyes are less common than brown eyes, they are frequently found from nationalities located near the Baltic sea in northern Europe. It's estimated that approximately 8% of the world's population has blue eyes. Green Eyes Green eye color is often confused with hazel eye color, yet is entirely separate and distinct. Green eye color is the rarest color found around the world, and it is estimated that only around 2% of the world's population has green colored eyes. Green eye color is a result of a mild amount of pigmentation in the eye with a golden tint. When combined with the natural blue scattering of the eye, the colors mix to give a green appearance. Green eye color is most common in northern and central Europe, but can also be found in western Asian cultures on rare occasion. Silver Eyes Silver eye color is also quite rare, although many consider silver eyes to be a variation of blue eye color. Like blue eyes, silver eyes are the result of a very low amount of pigmentation in the eye, which reflects a gray-silver appearance. Silver eye color is most common in eastern European countries, and is one of the rarer eye colors worldwide. Amber Eyes Amber eyes show off a yellow-copper tone, which results from the yellow colored pigment lipochrome. Amber eyes are very rare worldwide, and are most common in Asia and South American countries. Amber eye color can range from golden yellow to a more copper tone. Overall... if there is one thing we can agree on, it's that all eyes are unique and beautiful. Additionally, thanks to colored contact lenses , it's possible to change your eye color even if you were born with a common brown. Also, make sure to check out our Freshlook Contact Lenses , which are the most popular, and most widely recommended colored contact lens available.

Brown

Oct 7, 2001 saw the start of the war in Afghanistan, which is known as what?

Facts About Color Blindness | National Eye Institute Facts About Color Blindness What is color blindness? Most of us share a common color vision sensory experience. Some people, however, have a color vision deficiency, which means their perception of colors is different from what most of us see. The most severe forms of these deficiencies are referred to as color blindness. People with color blindness aren’t aware of differences among colors that are obvious to the rest of us. People who don’t have the more severe types of color blindness may not even be aware of their condition unless they’re tested in a clinic or laboratory. Inherited color blindness is caused by abnormal photopigments. These color-detecting molecules are located in cone-shaped cells within the retina, called cone cells. In humans, several genes are needed for the body to make photopigments, and defects in these genes can lead to color blindness. There are three main kinds of color blindness, based on photopigment defects in the three different kinds of cones that respond to blue, green, and red light. Red-green color blindness is the most common, followed by blue-yellow color blindness. A complete absence of color vision —total color blindness – is rare. Sometimes color blindness can be caused by physical or chemical damage to the eye, the optic nerve, or parts of the brain that process color information. Color vision can also decline with age, most often because of cataract - a clouding and yellowing of the eye’s lens. Who gets color blindness? As many as 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women with Northern European ancestry have the common form of red-green color blindness. Men are much more likely to be colorblind than women because the genes responsible for the most common, inherited color blindness are on the X chromosome. Males only have one X chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. In females, a functional gene on only one of the X chromosomes is enough to compensate for the loss on the other. This kind of inheritance pattern is called X-linked, and primarily affects males. Inherited color blindness can be present at birth, begin in childhood, or not appear until the adult years. How Genes are Inherited Genes are bundled together on structures called chromosomes. One copy of each chromosome is passed by a parent at conception through egg and sperm cells. The X and Y chromosomes, known as sex chromosomes, determine whether a person is born female (XX) or male (XY) and also carry other traits not related to gender. In X-linked inheritance, the mother carries the mutated gene on one of her X chromosomes and will pass on the mutated gene to 50 percent of her children. Because females have two X chromosomes, the effect of a mutation on one X chromosome is offset by the normal gene on the other X chromosome. In this case the mother will not have the disease, but she can pass on the mutated gene and so is called a carrier. If a mother is a carrier of an X-linked disease (and the father is not affected), there is a: 1 in 2 chance that a son will have the disease, 1 in 2 chance that a daughter will be a carrier of the disease, No chance that a daughter will have the disease. In autosomal recessive inheritance, it takes two copies of the mutant gene to give rise to the disease. An individual who has one copy of a recessive gene mutation is known as a carrier. When two carriers have a child, there is a: 1 in 4 chance of having a child with the disease, 1 in 2 chance of having a child who is a carrier, 1 in 4 chance of having a child who neither has the disease nor is a carrier. In autosomal dominant inheritance, it takes just one copy of the mutant gene to bring about the disease. When an affected parent with one dominant gene mutation has a child, there is a 1 in 2 chance that a child will inherit the disease. How do we see color? Normal Human Retina What color is a strawberry? Most of us would say red, but do we all see the same red? Color vision depends on our eyes and brain working together to perceive different properties of light. We see the natural and artificial light that illuminates our world as white, although it is actually a mixture of colors that, perceived on their own, would span the visual spectrum from deep blue to deep red. You can see this when rain separates sunlight into a rainbow or a glass prism separates white light into a multi-color band. The color of light is determined by its wavelength. Longer wavelength corresponds to red light and shorter wavelength corresponds to blue light. Strawberries and other objects reflect some wavelengths of light and absorb others. The reflected light we perceive as color. So, a strawberry is red because its surface is only reflecting the long wavelengths we see as red and absorbing the others. An object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths and black when it absorbs all wavelengths. Vision begins when light enters the eye and the cornea and lens focus it onto the retina, a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains millions of light-sensitive cells called photoreceptors. Some photoreceptors are shaped like rods and some are shaped like cones. In each eye there are many more rods than cones – approximately 120 million rods compared to only 6 million cones. Rods and cones both contain photopigment molecules that undergo a chemical change when they absorb light. This chemical change acts like an on-switch, triggering electrical signals that are then passed from the retina to the visual parts of the brain. Rods and cones are different in how they respond to light. Rods are more responsive to dim light, which makes them useful for night vision. Cones are more responsive to bright light, such as in the daytime when light is plentiful. Another important difference is that all rods contain only one photopigment, while cones contain one of three different photopigments. This makes cones sensitive to long (red), medium (green), or short (blue) wavelengths of light. The presence of three types of photopigments, each sensitive to a different part of the visual spectrum, is what gives us our rich color vision. Humans are unusual among mammals for our trichromatic vision – named for the three different types of photopigments we have. Most mammals, including dogs, have just two photopigment types. Other creatures, such as butterflies, have more than three. They may be able to see colors we can only imagine. Most of us have a full set of the three different cone photopigments and so we share a very similar color vision experience, but because the human eye and brain together translate light into color, each of us sees colors differently. The differences may be slight. Your blue may be more blue than someone else’s, or in the case of color blindness, your red and green may be someone else’s brown. What are the different types of color blindness? The most common types of color blindness are inherited. They are the result of defects in the genes that contain the instructions for making the photopigments found in cones. Some defects alter the photopigment’s sensitivity to color, for example, it might be slightly more sensitive to deeper red and less sensitive to green. Other defects can result in the total loss of a photopigment. Depending on the type of defect and the cone that is affected problems can arise with red, green, or blue color vision. Red-Green Color Blindness The most common types of hereditary color blindness are due to the loss or limited function of red cone (known as protan) or green cone (deutran) photopigments. This kind of color blindness is commonly referred to as red-green color blindness. Protanomaly: In males with protanomaly, the red cone photopigment is abnormal. Red, orange, and yellow appear greener and colors are not as bright. This condition is mild and doesn’t usually interfere with daily living. Protanomaly is an X-linked disorder estimated to affect 1 percent of males. Protanopia: In males with protanopia, there are no working red cone cells. Red appears as black. Certain shades of orange, yellow, and green all appear as yellow. Protanopia is an X-linked disorder that is estimated to affect 1 percent of males. Deuteranomaly: In males with deuteranomaly, the green cone photopigment is abnormal. Yellow and green appear redder and it is difficult to tell violet from blue. This condition is mild and doesn’t interfere with daily living. Deuteranomaly is the most common form of color blindness and is an X-linked disorder affecting 5 percent of males. Deuteranopia: In males with deuteranopia, there are no working green cone cells. They tend to see reds as brownish-yellow and greens as beige. Deuteranopia is an X-linked disorder that affects about 1 percent of males. Blue-Yellow Color Blindness Blue-yellow color blindness is rarer than red-green color blindness. Blue-cone (tritan) photopigments are either missing or have limited function. Tritanomaly: People with tritanomaly have functionally limited blue cone cells. Blue appears greener and it can be difficult to tell yellow and red from pink. Tritanomaly is extremely rare. It is an autosomal dominant disorder affecting males and females equally. Tritanopia: People with tritanopia, also known as blue-yellow color blindness, lack blue cone cells. Blue appears green and yellow appears violet or light grey. Tritanopia is an extremely rare autosomal recessive disorder affecting males and females equally. Complete color blindness People with complete color blindness (monochromacy) don’t experience color at all and the clearness of their vision (visual acuity) may also be affected. There are two types of monochromacy: Cone monochromacy: This rare form of color blindness results from a failure of two of the three cone cell photopigments to work. There is red cone monochromacy, green cone monochromacy, and blue cone monochromacy. People with cone monochromacy have trouble distinguishing colors because the brain needs to compare the signals from different types of cones in order to see color. When only one type of cone works, this comparison isn’t possible. People with blue cone monochromacy, may also have reduced visual acuity, near-sightedness, and uncontrollable eye movements, a condition known as nystagmus. Cone monochromacy is an autosomal recessive disorder. Rod monochromacy or achromatopsia: This type of monochromacy is rare and is the most severe form of color blindness. It is present at birth. None of the cone cells have functional photopigments. Lacking all cone vision, people with rod monochromacy see the world in black, white, and gray. And since rods respond to dim light, people with rod monochromacy tend to be photophobic – very uncomfortable in bright environments. They also experience nystagmus. Rod monochromacy is an autosomal recessive disorder. How is color blindness diagnosed? Color vision testing Eye care professionals use a variety of tests to diagnose color blindness. These tests can quickly diagnose specific types of color blindness. The Ishihara Color Test is the most common test for red-green color blindness. The test consists of a series of colored circles, called Ishihara plates, each of which contains a collection of dots in different colors and sizes. Within the circle are dots that form a shape clearly visible to those with normal color vision, but invisible or difficult to see for those with red-green color blindness. The newer Cambridge Color Test uses a visual array similar to the Ishihara plates, except displayed on a computer monitor. The goal is to identify a C shape that is different in color from the background. The “C” is presented randomly in one of four orientations. When test-takers see the “C,” they are asked to press one of four keys that correspond to the orientation. The anomaloscope uses a test in which two different light sources have to be matched in color. Looking through the eyepiece, the viewer sees a circle. The upper half is a yellow light that can be adjusted in brightness. The lower half is a combination of red and green lights that can be mixed in variable proportions. The viewer uses one knob to adjust the brightness of the top half, and another to adjust the color of the lower half. The goal is to make the upper and lower halves the same brightness and color. The HRR Pseudoisochromatic Color Test is another red-green color blindness test that uses color plates to test for color blindness. The Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test uses a set of blocks or pegs that are roughly the same color but in different hues (shades of the color). The goal is to arrange them in a line in order of hue. This test measures the ability to discriminate subtle color changes. It is used by industries that depend on the accurate color perception of its employees, such as graphic design, photography, and food quality inspection. The Farnsworth Lantern Test is used by the U.S. military to determine the severity of color blindness. Those with mild forms pass the test and are allowed to serve in the armed forces. Are there treatments for color blindness? There is no cure for color blindness. However, people with red-green color blindness may be able to use a special set of lenses to help them perceive colors more accurately. These lenses can only be used outdoors under bright lighting conditions. Visual aids have also been developed to help people cope with color blindness. There are iPhone and iPad apps, for example, that help people with color blindness discriminate among colors. Some of these apps allow users to snap a photo and tap it anywhere on the image to see the color of that area. More sophisticated apps allow users to find out both color and shades of color. These kinds of apps can be helpful in selecting ripe fruits such as bananas, or finding complementary colors when picking out clothing. How does color blindness affect daily life? Color blindness can make it difficult to read color-coded information such as bar graphs and pie charts. This can be particularly troubling for children who aren’t yet diagnosed with color blindness, since educational materials are often color-coded. Children with red-green color blindness may also have difficulty reading a green chalkboard when yellow chalk is used. Art classes, which require selecting appropriate colors of paint or crayons, may be challenging. Color blindness can go undetected for some time since children will often try to hide their disorder. It’s important to have children tested, particularly boys, if there is a family history of color blindness. Many school systems offer vision screening tests that include color blindness testing. Once a child is diagnosed, he or she can learn to ask for help with tasks that require color recognition. Simple everyday tasks like cooking meat to the desired color or selecting ripe produce can be a challenge for adults. Children might find food without bright color as less appetizing. Traffic lights pose challenges, since they have to be read by the position of the light. Since most lights are vertical, with green on bottom and red on top, if a light is positioned horizontally, a color blind person has to do a quick mental rotation to read it. Reading maps or buying clothes that match colors can also be difficult. However, these are relatively minor inconveniences and most people with color blindness learn to adapt. What research is being done? NEI-supported researchers have used gene therapy to cure color blindness in adult monkeys. While red-green color blindness affects about 8 percent of Northern European-descended men, it affects all adult male squirrel monkeys because males of the species carry either the gene that makes red photopigment or the gene that makes green photopigment, but never both. The researchers injected the red photopigment gene into the retinas of male monkeys born without it. The gene was targeted to green cones and allowed those cells to respond to red light. The monkeys were able to see with full three-color (trichromatic) vision. This shows that even though the monkeys’ red cones had been absent from birth, the brain circuitry for detecting red was still in place—offering hope that a similar approach could help people who’ve been colorblind since birth. In another study, NEI-supported researchers were able to restore some color perception in an animal model of rod monochromacy (in which all three cone types are missing), using a gene therapy approach in younger animals. The therapy combined gene delivery with the addition of neurotrophic factors – molecules that are known to help nerve cells grow. Further studies will be testing whether the therapy could be safe and effective in humans. An ongoing NEI clinical trial is testing whether treatment with a growth factor alone could be enough to improve or restore visual function of cone cells in people. This has the potential to help people with color blindness, as well as diseases that are the result of the loss of cones or cone function. Researchers supported by NEI are also studying how cones develop in the retina and how they are maintained and preserved throughout the lifespan. This research could lead to therapies for color-blindness that occurs during childhood or later in life due to the gradual loss of cones. Last Reviewed: 

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Lasting anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes, what are the intervals that make up a boxing match called?

Kettlebell Circuits for MMA, BJJ, and Martial Arts | Breaking Muscle Kettlebell Circuits for MMA, BJJ, and Martial Arts Coach          It is very easy to get lost in the moment during the tense theater of battle while watching a Brazilian jiu jitsu competition, boxing match, or mixed martial arts event. Competing martial artists generally practice their skills and train for hundreds of hours longer than their matches ever last, and the number of different training modalities necessary to be successful can be overwhelming. Conditioning the martial arts athlete might not be as easy as it seems at first and there are many schools of thought.   The martial arts athlete should be very wise when implementing any strength and conditioning training that does not directly involve enhancing specific combat skills. As a strength and conditioning coach for several MMA fighters, I have always lived by the philosophy that the training I do with these athletes should only enhance all of their other training. Most competitive combat sport athletes train at least twice a day and I have found that too many strength coaches overwork these athletes, as if it was another 10-round sparring session. Or, even worse, coaches implement ineffective conditioning programs that do not benefit the athlete or add to their overall training. I am not here to break down my athletes, or even more importantly, waste their time. I have to give them exactly what they need to complement their skills to be successful in competition.   Conditioning for the combat athlete is not exactly simple. These athletes need to have a balance between quick, explosive, and repetitive strength production, as well as have the endurance capacity to maintain these qualities over a match lasting anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes. Some coaches like implementing long runs. Though these runs might be effective for a completely unconditioned athlete who needs to create a foundation, if used too much you will have a weak and non-explosive athlete. On the other hand, if you solely concentrate on explosive work, such as Olympic lifting, you have an explosive athlete with little stamina, who better connect with the first couple of punches or else he/she is going to gas out and become a human punching bag for the opponent.   So, it sounds like an impossible task to train for both explosive strength and endurance and to do it without running your athlete to the ground. It can be accomplished, though, and one of the best tools I have found for the job is using the kettlebell for training circuits. By manipulating different weights, using dynamics exercises, and varying time intervals, kettlebells allow the combat athlete to be strong, explosive, and have a high level of endurance to maintain those qualities over the course of their match.   In this article I am going to show you how I use kettlebell circuits with my athletes. You do not need to train or even be a combat athlete to enjoy the benefits of these circuits. All you need is a kettlebell or two and the desire to get better.   When I create and customize kettlebell circuits for combat athletes there are a few concepts I consider when incorporating them into the athlete’s overall program:   Kettlebell exercises should be multi-joint movements that enhance athletic movements, like squats, lunges, and swings. Circuit times should be around a 2:1 work to rest ratio. I prefer 20-60 seconds of work and 10-30 seconds of rest. I also like to make the total circuit times replicate the rounds for their competition. For example, if a round in competition is 3 minutes then the circuit total time should be around 3 minutes of work as well. Each exercise should be safe to perform at a continuous and fast rate. The exercise selection should be balanced and organized properly. You want to incorporate double joint movements (squats, deadlifts, 2-arm swings) with unilateral (single-sided) movements as well (lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and 1-arm swings).   Below are some examples of strength and conditioning circuits I use to get my athletes in shape and performing at their best.  

Round

What is the name of former Beatle Paul McCartney's fashion designing daughter?

Are You Ready For Amateur Boxing? Are You Ready For Amateur Boxing? Being in shape and being in fighting shape are 2 entirely different things. Are you ready for competitive fighting? Let’s find out…   Boxing is tough, I know. But just exactly HOW tough? I spoke to several boxing trainers and from what they all told me, here is the bare minimum for anybody looking to fight in amateur boxing competition. This here is the VERY MINIMUM you should at least be able to do all in one day if you want to compete at the amateur level: Run 3-5 miles without getting too tired Jumprope for 30 minutes straight Hit the heavy bag for 15 minutes non-stop Be able to spar with any amateur from any gym (excluding pro-level amateurs with over 100 fights) Spar double the required rounds (amateur boxing is 3 rounds) Notice how I didn’t say anything about training routines, X number of push-ups or X number of sit-ups. It’s because training is only a means of achieving amateur fight-level conditioning. If you can do all of the above, then you’re in pretty good shape regardless of how you trained to get there. Some people will require more training and conditioning than others. Every individual will always have their advantages in certain exercises over others. The list isn’t the end-all be-all of what is considered to be “fighting shape” but it’s a good start. Have some fun and test yourself on the physical benchmarks above. Just make sure you don’t be too hard on yourself or get offended if you can’t do everything above. Being an amateur boxer is extremely physically demanding. Competitive fighting doesn’t purely judge on skillful execution or who “fought better”. It is simply a contest of points, which are scored by direct hits. Quite often, a boxing competition can resemble an awkward game of tag moreso than a Rocky movie. On the other hand, amateur boxing can also become bouts of pure aggression. You can be as skillful as you want but if you’re only throwing 50 punches a round and your opponent throws 200, it makes a hard case for judges to give you the fight. Whether it’s a lot of running or punching, you need to be prepared to do lots of both. Yes, skill is more important than power and endurance but only when you have reached the minimum levels of conditioning for boxing will you then be capable of applying your skills to fights. One of my favorite videos of what real amateur boxing looks like. It’s the Oxnard PAL National Boxing Tournament in Oxnard, California.   5 Important Attributes For Amateur Boxing 1. Endurance Whether you’re executing offensive or defensive moves, you need energy to do anything. If you don’t have the energy to throw punches and keep your opponent off you, you’re pretty much dead meat. I know you see boxers getting tired on TV or youtube, but that’s just them getting tired–they’re not completely gassed out. In reality, boxers are NEVER allowed to get tired. I once got tired during some focus mitt work and my trainer slapped me in the face and yelled, “DON’T GET TIRED!” As he explains, “The moment you get tired, you get knocked out.” It’s that simple. There are 2 types of endurance you absolutely MUST have: 1. Leg Endurance Leg endurance allows you to move around the ring, more importantly: in and out of range. I’ve watched many fighters get destroyed in the late rounds because they ran out of leg strength. This is when your legs feel like cement and you’re no longer able to move swiftly. All the punching power in the world means nothing if you can’t even get to your opponent. It sucks when your opponent easily moves in and out of distance while you’re dragging your legs around the ring. Build up your leg endurance with the jumprope. Don’t just do running. Jumping rope ensures your legs will always have that bounce. You don’t want to be a sitting duck on the ropes while your opponent hits you and disappears before you fire back. I’ve been there dozens of times…it sucks. 2. Shoulder Endurance VERY crucial. Once your shoulders get tired, you’re screwed. You’re too tired to throw punches fast enough to hit your opponent. You’re too tired to pull your hands back to defense when you punch. You’re even too tired to hold up your gloves to cover your face. Your shoulders run your offense and defense, without them you’re pretty much a punching bag on legs (assuming you still got your legs). Work those shoulders in training, do the speedbag and arm endurance drills! 2. Defense Your opponent will average 60-150 power punches per round. If you don’t know how to block punches, ESPECIALLY when you’re tired and every punch hurts more, you’re gonna get knocked out. Pay attention, cover your face, and protect yourself at all times! 3. Speed If your punches aren’t fast enough to hit your opponent, you’re screwed. Not only will you not be able to score, you’re also unable to hurt him and keep him from attacking you with everything he has. Make sure your hand speed stays with you throughout the fight. You can have all the power in the world, but without the speed, it means nothing! You can be as tired as you want, but your hands better be fast enough to touch your opponent–or else your punches will have absolutely ZERO effect on your opponent. 4. Power If you don’t have the proper technique and physicality to hurt your opponent, he will walk you down and outgun you till you hit the canvas. Power doesn’t come from wild swinging, that only wastes energy. True power comes from good technique. You want effective and efficient punching form! And then of course, you need to do explosive work in training. You don’t need to have knockout power, you just need to make sure that you have the power to hurt him. 5. Autonomy Inside the ring is not the place for you to be thinking about what to do next. All your punch combinations and counters should be automatic by now. It’s ok to think about general fight strategy such as “Pump the jab. Hooks to the body in close. Pivot off the ropes.” What you should NOT be thinking is “Jab, right, left hook, right uppercut, left hook, right cross. Block the jab with the right hand. Keep the chin down.” I mean seriously, if you still have to remind yourself to keep your hands up, then you’re not ready for amateur fighting. Your stance and defense should have been automatic by now. Actually, EVERYTHING should be automatic by now. Offensive moves, defensive moves, counter moves, everything. If you can’t fight automatically and respond instantaneously, you’re in deep trouble. Imagine a basketball player. He’s not thinking about how to dribble between his legs or how to make a jumpshot. He’s paying attention to to other players in the game and deciding where he wants to be. A boxer in the ring should be paying attention to his opponent, not himself. If you’re busy trying to think during a fight, you’ll always be one step behind your opponent the entire fight. He’ll land a jab and as you prepare to counter his next jab, it’s too late because now he’s already hit you with his right hand. Now you’re thinking about his right hand and it’s too late because he’s already jabbed you again, AND thrown another right hand. By the time you’re ready to counter his right hand it won’t matter because he’s throwing hooks now. Your opponent, mindless he may be, will walk you down and pry your guard apart with combination after combination, while you’re still trying to figure out what counters to throw and when to do the fancy shoulder roll you practiced. If you’re trying to remember counters to common punches, you are pretty much NOT ready for competing. Everything should be automatic by now.   Stuff That Does Not Matter This is the stuff beginning amateur boxers should not be worried about. 1. Knockout Power It’s pretty hard to knock someone out considering they’re moving so fast and wearing headgear. Although knockouts do happen at the amateur level, they tend to have more to do with endurance than power. Besides, great timing and beautiful counter-punching are more likely to cause a knockout than just pure power alone. As long as you have perfect technique and punching form, you are fine. 2. Slipping Please watch an amateur fight, not a pro fight. You notice there’s not much slipping in there and there’s a reason for that. Slipping is a beautiful skill but just how many punches are you prepared to slip? 1? 2? Try a hundred. Yes, a hundred. It’s a lot of punches, and trying to slip all those will never work. You’ll get tired and eventually get caught. Learn how to slip a punch or two here and there but don’t choreograph it into your routine as if that’s all you’ll be doing. More often than not, you’ll be relying on a solid high guard defense instead of slipping movements. 3. Trick Combinations Relying on trick combinations is silly. I’d say trick combinations are best used to break your opponent’s rhythm. You throw trick punches to score a few points here and there. In the overall scheme of things, tricks combinations mean little in regards to the hundreds of normal punches you and your opponent will be throwing. Stick with basic boxing punches (like THE JAB), and basic counters. Trick punches are something you do to escape a situation or have a little fun to confuse your opponent. You’re not supposed to fight an entire fight on trick combinations. Lastly, trick combos are like magic tricks; they require work to setup and everything must be perfect for the trick to work. And if it doesn’t work, you get punished badly.   Amateur Boxing is 100% Physical I don’t know where people got the idea that boxing was some kind of secret martial art. You’re in for a giant surprise if you believe you can think your way to victory and not have to fight with power or force. I’m going to share 2 secrets with you. Are you ready? Here goes the first reason why boxing is so damn physical. Higher-level boxing moves require more physical ability. Doing higher level boxing moves is going to require more energy. So even if you’re trying to beat your opponent with higher-level skills, you’re still going to use more energy. For example, notice how slipping requires more energy than blocking. Boxing is 90% mental and 10% physical. But that 10% physical requires 100% of your physical capacity. Get it?! Boxing is based more on mental capacity than physical capacity. However, you need every bit of that physical edge to make use of your fight intelligence. Boxing is not literally a game of chess. It’s physical. Look at boxers after their matches and you’ll see that their headaches are from taking punches and not necessarily from thinking too hard. You need to be in the best shape possible if you want to make the most of your fighting knowledge. Professional fighters never get tired and so you get to see pro fights elevate to a level where there is a high difference in skill. Amateur fighting is entirely different. Quite often, boxers step into the ring at less than 100% shape and so the fight doesn’t elevate beyond the physical side of boxing. If you ever want to use all the boxing skills you know, you need to make sure you are in shape to take the fight to that next level. Did you learn something? Share It!

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How many yards wide is a professional football field?

Length of a Football Field (American) - The Physics Factbook Length of a Football Field (American) Safonov, Alexei. Physics 218 [ppt]. University of California. "1 football field = 100 yards" 91.44 m "The field measures 100 yards long and 53 yards wide." 91.44 m "Football." The Wonderland of Knowledge. 6th ed. Wonderland of Knowledge Corporation, 1954. "The game is played on a field 100 yards long and 160 feet wide." 91.44 m "Length:360 feet or 120 yards Width: 160 feet of 53 ⅓ yards" 109.73 m (with end zones) Stern, Hal S. American Football [pdf]. Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine. December 24, 1997 "American football, which we shall call football from this point on, is played by two teams on a field 100 yards long with each team defending one of the two ends of the field (called goal lines)." 91.44 m (without end zones) "Let's get a football game started." If you were to say that to a European, holding a pigskin (another name for a football), they might look at you funny: just as you would look at them if they came to you holding a soccer ball. The reason for this is that although the word may be the same, its meaning is totally different. To American football is a word we all know; referring to a sport where 22 guys in uniform try to get the football past the opposing teams goal line. However, in Europe football is actually played with your feet and you try to kick the ball into the other teams net: We like to call that "soccer". In America, the rules of football are pretty complicated. You get four downs (or chances) to progress every 10 yards (9.1 m); which is easier said than done. If you fail to do so, the ball is turned over to the other team and they make a go for your goal line. It becomes pretty difficult to score when you have 11 steroid induced men running at you with the intention of knocking you to the ground. However, if you do happen to score, that is called a touchdown awarding you six points and a chance for a seventh which is acquired through goal kick. The field on which this enticing game is played is: 100 yards (91.4 m) long and 160 feet (48.8 m) wide plus 10 yards (9.1 m) on each end for the end zones. The position where you catch the ball (usually near your goal line) to the opposing goal line is a long way to go, and with the ovoid shape of the ball it becomes extremely difficult to regain possession once it has been lost because the ball bounces around in every which way. For those who can follow, the game is exhilarating both to watch and play. As for those who can't, there's always golf. Aleksandr Rozovskiy -- 2008 91.4 m (w/o end zone) When you hear the word football, what do you think about? A bunch of short skinny guys running around, trying to kick a round ball into a huge goal and ending up in a one-one tie? If you're an American, football means something more, much more. Twenty-two enormous guys wearing helmets and shoulder pads running at each other at full speed and colliding with a huge bang. That's what Americans think when they hear the word football, not that boring sport England calls football. Scoring in football is not easy. Your offensive team of eleven has four chances to gain 10 yards. If you gain the ten yards, you get another four chances to earn ten yards, until you either give the ball up to the other team, or score the six points. Football has many complicated rules, and for many, is impossible to understand and enjoy. But for those who do understand and love the game, they can tell you football is not just any sport. It's rough, tough, and most of the time, extremely violent. The rectangular field is 160 feet (48.5 m) wide and 360 feet (109.1 m) in length (53.3 yards, 120 yards respectively), including the two 10 yard (9.2 m) end zones. If you know the rules of the game, then you should know how hard it is to gain just one yard. Grasping onto the oval pebble-grained leather pigskin, you attempt to push your team closer to the end zone. If you think it's so easy to gain a yard or two, suit up and try to get past eleven gigantic testosterone driven men who are gunning for the man with the ball. Even if you have enough guts to attempt this, just try to hold onto the football when you get pummeled into the ground. The 14 to 15 ounces (392 to 420 g) Football seems easy to handle, but as soon as you lose your grip and the ball is tumbling around the floor, you'd be surprised how hard it is to pick up. The standard measurements are long axis, 11 to 11¼ inches (27.5 to 28.1 cm); long circumference, 28 to 28½ inches (70 to 71.25 cm). That distinctive football shape makes it impossible to predict where the ball is headed to next. Football is not a sport for everyone. It's a love or hate deal. Nin Tam -- 2001

fifty three point three distance

What type of food is Nori, which is often seen around sushi?

Length of a Football Field (American) - The Physics Factbook Length of a Football Field (American) Safonov, Alexei. Physics 218 [ppt]. University of California. "1 football field = 100 yards" 91.44 m "The field measures 100 yards long and 53 yards wide." 91.44 m "Football." The Wonderland of Knowledge. 6th ed. Wonderland of Knowledge Corporation, 1954. "The game is played on a field 100 yards long and 160 feet wide." 91.44 m "Length:360 feet or 120 yards Width: 160 feet of 53 ⅓ yards" 109.73 m (with end zones) Stern, Hal S. American Football [pdf]. Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine. December 24, 1997 "American football, which we shall call football from this point on, is played by two teams on a field 100 yards long with each team defending one of the two ends of the field (called goal lines)." 91.44 m (without end zones) "Let's get a football game started." If you were to say that to a European, holding a pigskin (another name for a football), they might look at you funny: just as you would look at them if they came to you holding a soccer ball. The reason for this is that although the word may be the same, its meaning is totally different. To American football is a word we all know; referring to a sport where 22 guys in uniform try to get the football past the opposing teams goal line. However, in Europe football is actually played with your feet and you try to kick the ball into the other teams net: We like to call that "soccer". In America, the rules of football are pretty complicated. You get four downs (or chances) to progress every 10 yards (9.1 m); which is easier said than done. If you fail to do so, the ball is turned over to the other team and they make a go for your goal line. It becomes pretty difficult to score when you have 11 steroid induced men running at you with the intention of knocking you to the ground. However, if you do happen to score, that is called a touchdown awarding you six points and a chance for a seventh which is acquired through goal kick. The field on which this enticing game is played is: 100 yards (91.4 m) long and 160 feet (48.8 m) wide plus 10 yards (9.1 m) on each end for the end zones. The position where you catch the ball (usually near your goal line) to the opposing goal line is a long way to go, and with the ovoid shape of the ball it becomes extremely difficult to regain possession once it has been lost because the ball bounces around in every which way. For those who can follow, the game is exhilarating both to watch and play. As for those who can't, there's always golf. Aleksandr Rozovskiy -- 2008 91.4 m (w/o end zone) When you hear the word football, what do you think about? A bunch of short skinny guys running around, trying to kick a round ball into a huge goal and ending up in a one-one tie? If you're an American, football means something more, much more. Twenty-two enormous guys wearing helmets and shoulder pads running at each other at full speed and colliding with a huge bang. That's what Americans think when they hear the word football, not that boring sport England calls football. Scoring in football is not easy. Your offensive team of eleven has four chances to gain 10 yards. If you gain the ten yards, you get another four chances to earn ten yards, until you either give the ball up to the other team, or score the six points. Football has many complicated rules, and for many, is impossible to understand and enjoy. But for those who do understand and love the game, they can tell you football is not just any sport. It's rough, tough, and most of the time, extremely violent. The rectangular field is 160 feet (48.5 m) wide and 360 feet (109.1 m) in length (53.3 yards, 120 yards respectively), including the two 10 yard (9.2 m) end zones. If you know the rules of the game, then you should know how hard it is to gain just one yard. Grasping onto the oval pebble-grained leather pigskin, you attempt to push your team closer to the end zone. If you think it's so easy to gain a yard or two, suit up and try to get past eleven gigantic testosterone driven men who are gunning for the man with the ball. Even if you have enough guts to attempt this, just try to hold onto the football when you get pummeled into the ground. The 14 to 15 ounces (392 to 420 g) Football seems easy to handle, but as soon as you lose your grip and the ball is tumbling around the floor, you'd be surprised how hard it is to pick up. The standard measurements are long axis, 11 to 11¼ inches (27.5 to 28.1 cm); long circumference, 28 to 28½ inches (70 to 71.25 cm). That distinctive football shape makes it impossible to predict where the ball is headed to next. Football is not a sport for everyone. It's a love or hate deal. Nin Tam -- 2001

i don't know

Daimler, Siemens, and chemical company BASF are all based in what country?

BASF | UANI BASF [email protected] Sources: According to its own reporting as of 2013, BASF maintained two wholly-owned subsidiaries in Iran, BASF Iran (PJS) Company and BASF Polyurethanes Pars (PJS) Company. (BASF Website, “ BASF Report 2013: BASF Group List of Shares Held 2013 pursuant to Section 313(2) of the German Commercial Code ”)  -- Burkhard Weimer, Managing Director at BASF Polyurethanes Pars, is listed as a member of the Board of Directors of the German-Iran Chamber of Commerce. (Deutsche-Iranische Industrie-unde-Handelskammer, “ Board of AHK Iran ”; LinkedIn, “ Burkhard Wiemer: Managing Director at BASF Polyurethanes Pars ,” accessed 4/22/14) -- "Islamic Republic of Iran Ambassador to Berlin Ali-Reza Sheikh-Attar said here Thursday despite the unjustly imposed western sanctions the economic relations of Iran and Germany have grown well on a continuous process... Several renowned German companies are involved in major Iranian infrastructure projects, especially in the petrochemical sector, like Linde, BASF, Lurgi, Krupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen and MAN." (Zawya, " Envoy: Iran-Germany Economic Ties Growing Well Despite Sanctions ," 7/11/2013) -- "BASF first started doing business in Iran in 1959, a spokesman for the company said.  He said the company continues to operate in the country  and that it monitors its business activities in Iran to assure compliance with all legal requirements and trade regulations. The company also has sold chemical products to the United States military." The company has received $12.7 million in revenue and benefits from the US government for their investments in Iran during 2000-2009.  The company's business in Iran is currently active. (The New York Times, " Profiting from Iran, and the US ," 3/6/2010) -- "Germany's trade ties to Iran stretch back to the Middle Ages, and many of the companies currently there have been active in Iran for decades. Some 85 German companies have operations in Iran, from chemical maker BASF AG to Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Bayer AG, and others such as Linde AG and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG are active there, according to the Hamburg-based German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce. More than 7,000 companies conduct business there through local representatives. Germany has become such a big trading partner for Iran because so many of its companies provide the machinery and engineering prowess Iran needs to improve its infrastructure." (The Wall Street Journal, " German Firms Feel Pressure Over Tehran Trade ," 10/3/09) -- "Several renowned German companies are involved in major Iranian infrastructure projects, especially in the petrochemical sector, like Linde, BASF, Lurgi, Krupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen and MAN." (Payvand Iran News, " Iranian exports to Germany rose 50% last year ," 12/8/08) -- Listed by U.S. Government as doing business in Iran. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, List of Companies Doing Business With State Sponsors Of Terror, Removed from the Internet in July 2007) Response:

Germany

The Proboscis Monkey is known for its very long what?

Daimler Selects CAD Software from Siemens as New Platform for Worldwide Car and Truck Development: Siemens PLM Software Press Release Daimler Selects CAD Software from Siemens as New Platform for Worldwide Car and Truck Development Erlangen, November 24, 2010 - Daimler AG has selected CAD Software from Siemens as their standard for their worldwide vehicle development. Starting in the summer of 2012, Daimler will integrate work from over 20 development centers and their most important suppliers on a single product development platform. Both companies have agreed not to disclose the contract value. With the decision for the NX™ CAD Software of Siemens, Daimler completes their current implementation of Teamcenter® , the company’s product data management backbone. Based on this combination, the automotive manufacturer will establish digital collaboration from initial concept design, through simulation during design, down to proof of concept of design solutions. The consolidation of digital product information in one single worldwide data pool will facilitate new vehicle development. The introduction of parallel processes in development, design, production planning and production will further optimize the entire value chain. “The combination of NX CAD software with our product data management system Smaragd, which is based on Teamcenter, will integrate our entire product creation process from design through production planning down to managing production machines,” said Prof. Bharat Balasubramanian, who is responsible at Daimler for R&D product innovation and process technology. With Daimler another vehicle manufacturer decided this year to optimize their worldwide vehicle development process with software solutions from Siemens. By changing to Siemens’ open software solutions, car manufacturers can enhance their quality and efficiency in vehicle design and development. Modern vehicle design requires an increasing integration of mechanical, electrical and electronic components with an ever expanding software ratio. This requires the integration of all of the information associated with mechanical, electrical and software in an integrated platform to allow for collaboration across the full value chain, including suppliers. “Our CAD and PLM software will help manufacturers enhance their development processes and their production planning and therefore increase their productivity,” Chuck Grindstaff stated, president and chief technology officer of Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Division Industry Automation. With software from Siemens, car manufacturers can manage the product and production planning in parallel with production, encompassing the entire value chain. Daimler has worked with Siemens’ Teamcenter software for collaborative product data management since the mid 90s. With NX CAD software from Siemens, Daimler will implement a computer-based tool for the entire product development process and therefore a solution for collaborative design, engineering- and development work. Today Siemens is one of the leading suppliers of PLM software with 6.7 million licenses and 69,500 customers around the world. The market for PLM software is exhibiting stronger growth than any other business software market. In 2009 the market had a volume of € 23 billion with a growth rate of 8% p.a. by 2014. About Siemens PLM Software Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division, is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with 6.7 million licensed seats and more than 69,500 customers worldwide. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Siemens PLM Software works collaboratively with companies to deliver open solutions that help them turn more ideas into successful products. For more information on Siemens PLM Software products and services, visit www.siemens.com/plm . About the Siemens Industry Automation Division Siemens Industry Automation Division (Nuremberg, Germany) is a worldwide leader in the fields of automation systems, industrial controls and industrial software. Its portfolio ranges from standard products for the manufacturing and process industries to solutions for whole industrial sectors that encompass the automation of entire automobile production facilities and chemical plants. As a leading software supplier, Industry Automation optimizes the entire value added chain of manufacturers – from product design and development to production, sales and a wide range of maintenance services. With around 33,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry Automation achieved sales of €6.2 billion in fiscal year 2010. www.siemens.com/industryautomation About Siemens Industry Sector The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the worldwide leading supplier of environmentally friendly production, transportation, building and lighting technologies. With integrated automation technologies and comprehensive industry-specific solutions, Siemens increases the productivity, efficiency and flexibility of its customers in the fields of industry and infrastructure. The Sector consists of six divisions: Building Technologies, Drive Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility and Osram. With around 204,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal year 2010 total sales of approximately €34.9 billion. www.siemens.com/industry

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What is the name of the anti-slavery novel written by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852?

Harriet Beecher Stowe - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Harriet Beecher Stowe A+E Networks Introduction Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, Harriet Beecher was the seventh child of the Reverend Lyman Beecher, a Congregational minister and moral reformer, and Roxanna Foote Beecher. She was schooled at the Pierce Academy and at her sister Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary, where she also taught. She moved with the family to Cincinnati in 1832, when her father was appointed president of Lane Theological Seminary. The spectacle of chattel slavery across the Ohio River in Kentucky and its effects on the acquiescent commercial interests of white Cincinnati moved her deeply. Google In 1836, she married Calvin Ellis Stowe, professor of biblical literature at Lane. The death of a son in 1849 led her away from her father’s Calvinism and gave supremacy in her views to the redemptive spirit of Christian love. By 1850, the family had moved to Maine , where, in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of that year, Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), her most celebrated work. Sentimental and realistic by turns, the novel explored the cruelties of chattel slavery in the Upper and Lower South and exposed the moral ironies in the legal, religious, and social arguments of white apologists. The immense impact of the novel (it sold 300,000 copies in its first year) was unexpected. Antislavery fiction had never sold well; Stowe was not an established writer, and few would have expected a woman to gain a popular hearing on the great political question of the day. Some female abolitionists had shocked decorum in the 1840s by speaking at public gatherings, but they were widely resented. The success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin went far toward legitimizing, if not indeed creating, a role for women in public affairs. To the dismay of many northern radicals, Uncle Tom’s Cabin casually endorsed colonization rather than abolition. In fact, Stowe was unconcerned about the tactics that made slavery a political issue: for her, the problem was religious and emotional, and one that women were best equipped to confront. Her stated purpose, “to awaken sympathy and feeling for the African race” and to urge that readers “feel right” about the issue, belongs to a feminist and utopian agenda that contemporary readers were slow to recognize. In the South, the book was read as sectional propaganda; in the North, it was read as a compelling moral romance. Although Stowe blamed the slave system itself as “the essence of all abuse” rather than the slaveholders and deliberately made its chief villain, Simon Legree, a displaced New Englander, the novel’s effect was to exacerbate regional antagonisms. Indeed, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which called forth anti-Tom novels from southern writers, so raised the temperature of the dialogue that Lincoln would later, half-seriously, apportion to Stowe some responsibility for starting the Civil War. Notable among Stowe’s subsequent works are A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853), documenting her case against slavery; Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856), also on slavery; and The Minister’s Wooing (1859), a historical novel that attacks Calvinism. Stowe also wrote realistic regional fiction, including The Pearl of Orr’s Island (1861), which influenced Sarah Orne Jewett and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. Her miscellaneous writings include Lady Byron Vindicated (1870), which created an international sensation by charging Lord Byron with incest, and Palmetto Leaves (1873), written at her winter home in Florida , which encouraged a Florida land boom. Thomas F. Gossett, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and American Culture (1985); Eric J. Sundquist, ed., New Essays on Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1986); Forrest Wilson, Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe (1941). ALBERT J. VONFRANK The Reader’s Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. The groundbreaking series reimagined. ROOTS premieres Memorial Day at 9/8c on HISTORY. Tags

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Disc, drum, and air are all types of what?

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Life Harriet Beecher Stowe's Life Introduction Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) published more than 30 books, but it was her best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin which catapulted her to international celebrity and secured her place in history. But Uncle Tom's Cabin was not Stowe's only work. Her broad range of interests resulted in such varied publications as children's text books, advice books on homemaking and childrearing, biographies and religious studies. The informal, conversational style of her many novels permitted her to reach audiences that more scholarly or argumentative works would not, and encouraged everyday people to address such controversial topics as slavery, religious reform, and gender roles. Harriet Beecher Stowe believed her actions could make a positive difference. Her words changed the world. Childhood and education Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, CT to the Rev. Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) and Roxanna Foote Beecher (1775- 1816); the sixth of 11 children. The Beechers expected their children to shape their world: All seven sons became ministers, then the most effective way to influence society Oldest daughter Catharine pioneered education for women Youngest daughter Isabella was a founder of the National Women's Suffrage Association Harriet believed her purpose in life was to write. Her most famous work exposed the truth about the greatest social injustice of her day - human slavery Family Life Roxanna Beecher died when Stowe was only five years old. Her later pursuit of painting and drawing honored her mother's talents in those areas. Oldest sister Catharine became an important maternal influence. Stowe wrote at an early age: at seven, she won a school essay contest earning praise from her father. Lyman's second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher (1800-1835), was a beautiful woman slightly overwhelmed by the 8 boisterous children she inherited. Her own children, Isabella, Thomas and James, added to the noisy household. In Litchfield and on frequent visits to her grandmother in Guilford, CT, Stowe and her sisters and brothers played, read, hiked, and joined their father in games and exercises. Many of these childhood events were incorporated into Pogunuc People, (1878) Stowe's last novel. Education Stowe learned to make a persuasive argument at the family table. The Beechers took in boarders from Tapping Reeve's law school. Lyman Beecher taught religion at Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy and honed the debating talents of both his students and his children. Stowe began her formal education at Sarah Pierce's academy, one of the earliest to encourage girls to study academic subjects and not simply ornamental arts. In 1824, Stowe became first a student and then a teacher at Hartford Female Seminary, founded by sister Catharine . There, Stowe furthered her writing talents, spending many hours composing essays. For more information on the Beecher family, see the Beecher section of this site and visit the Newman Baruch library at CUNY . Stowe the Writer Stowe's passion for writing allowed her to Publicly express her thoughts and beliefs in a time when a woman could not speak publicly, much less vote or hold office Contribute financially to the Stowe family household income "If you see my name coming out everywhere - you may be sure of one thing, that I do it for the pay" Stowe's publishing career began before her marriage, with: Primary Geography for Children (1833) Her sympathetic approach to Catholicism, unusual for its time, won her the praise of the local bishop. New England Sketches (1835), a short story collection Later works include: The Mayflower: Sketches of Scenes and Characters among the Descendants of the Pilgrims.(1843) "The Coral Ring" (1843) a short story which promoted temperance, and an anti-slavery tract. Numerous articles, essays and short stories regularly published in newspapers and journals In 1851, The National Era's publisher Gamaliel Bailey contracted with Stowe for a story that would "paint a word picture of slavery" and that would run in installments. Stowe expected Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly to be three or four installments. She wrote more than 40. Uncle Tom's Cabin, brought not only financial security, it enabled Stowe to write full time. She began publishing multiple works per year including the Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, which documented the case histories on which she had based her novel, and Dred: A Tale from the Swamp, another and more forceful anti-slavery novel. Other notable works include The Minister's Wooing, which helped American Protestants move towards a more forgiving form of Christianity while simultaneously helping Stowe resolve the death of her oldest son, Henry Ellis Stowe; The American Woman's Home, a practical guide to homemaking, co-authored with sister Catharine Beecher; and Lady Byron Vindicated, which strove to defend Stowe's friend Lady Byron and immersed Stowe herself in scandal. In all, Harriet Beecher Stowe's writing career spanned 51 years, during which time she published 30 books and countless short stories, poems, articles, and hymns. A comprehensive bibliography for Harriet Beecher Stowe can be found at the University of Pennsylvania web site. Marriage and children In 1832, 21 year old Harriet Beecher moved with her family to Cincinnati, OH, where her father Lyman became President of Lane Theological Seminary. There she met and married Calvin Stowe, a theology professor she described as "rich in Greek & Hebrew, Latin & Arabic, & alas! rich in nothing else..." Six of Stowe's seven children were born in Cincinnati, and in the summer of 1849, Stowe experienced for the first time the sorrow many 19th-century parents knew when her 18-month old son, Samuel Charles Stowe, died of cholera. Stowe later credited that crushing pain as one of the inspirations for Uncle Tom's Cabin because it helped her understand the pain enslaved mothers felt when their children were taken from them to be sold. In 1850 Professor Stowe joined the faculty of his alma mater, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. The Stowe family moved to Maine and lived in Brunswick until 1853. The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin The first installment of Uncle Tom's Cabin appeared on June 5, 1851 in the anti-slavery newspaper, The National Era. Stowe enlisted friends and family to send her information and she scoured freedom narratives and anti-slavery newspapers for first hand accounts as she composed her story. In 1852 the serial was published as a two volume book. Uncle Tom's Cabin was a best seller in the United States, Britian, Europe, Asia, and translated into over 60 languages... "I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw, because as a Christian I felt the dishonor to Christianity - because as a lover of my county, I trembled at the coming day of wrath." Later years Stowe was less than half way through her life when she published Uncle Tom's Cabin, and she continued to write and work to improve society for most of her days. From Brunswick, the Stowes moved to Andover, MA, where Calvin was a professor of theology at Andover Theological Seminary from 1853 to 1864. After his retirement, the family relocated to Hartford, CT. There Harriet Beecher Stowe built her dream house, Oakholm, in Nook Farm , a neighborhood full of friends and relatives. The high maintenance cost and the encroachment of factories caused her to sell her mansion in 1870. In 1873, she settled into a brick Victorian Gothic cottage-style house on Forest Street. She remained there for 23 years. While residing in Hartford, Stowe undertook two speaking tours, one along the east coast, the second taking her to the western states. Promoting progressive ideals, she helped reinvigorate the art museum at the Wadsworth Atheneum and helped establish the Hartford Art School, which eventually became part of the University of Hartford. Stowe wrote some of her best known works, after Uncle Tom's Cabin, while living in Hartford: The American Woman's Home (1869), Lady Byron Vindicated (1871) and Pogunuc People (1878) The Winter Home in Mandarin Florida After the Civil War, the Stowes purchased a house and property in Mandarin, FL, on the St. John's River, and began to travel south each winter. There were multiple reasons for their decision. The Beechers and the Stowes knew that racial equality required more than legislation; it also required education. Stowe's brother Charles Beecher (1815-1900) opened a Florida school to teach emancipated people, and he urged Calvin and Harriet Stowe to join him. Newly expanded railroads also made shipping citrus fruits north a potentially lucrative business, and Stowe purchased an orange grove which she hoped her son Frederick would manage. The relatively mild winters of northern Florida were a welcome respite from Hartford winters and the high costs of winter fuel. Harriet Beecher Stowe loved Florida, comparing its soft climate to Italy, and she published Palmetto Leaves, describing the beauties and advantages of the state. Stowe and her family wintered in Mandarin for over 15 years before Calvin's health prohibited long travel.

i don't know

What is the trademarked name for the distinctive logo used Nike?

Trademark Definition | Investopedia Trademark What is a 'Trademark' A trademark is a recognizable insignia, phrase or other symbol that denotes a specific product or service and legally differentiates it from all other products. BREAKING DOWN 'Trademark' A trademark serves to exclusively identify a product or service with a specific company, and is a recognition of that company's ownership of the brand . Trademarked products are generally considered a form of property. Most countries have agencies through which businesses can have their products trademarked. In the United States, this function is served by the United States Patent and Trademark Office . A trademark can be a logo, like the Nike Swoosh, a slogan, or simply the name of a product. Some brands, like Kleenex, are so prominent that they have almost replaced the original word (tissue) in everyday language.  One of the main purposes of having a product trademarked is to protect the product from being used without permission of the source company. Most countries have patent laws which are designed to protect against copyright infringement . International copyright regulation is much more complicated, as there exists no universally recognized patent office.  To register a patent in the United States, a business must submit a patent application to the Patent Office, which will be reviewed by an attorney to determine that the patent has been registered in accordance with federal regulations and that it is a distinct product and does not infringe on the trademark rights of an existing patent. After the application has been reviewed, the patent is "published for opposition" for 30 days, during which time other companies can oppose the registration of the new patent. Trademarks can be bought and sold. Famously, Nike purchased the instantly recognizable Swoosh logo for only $35. Trademarks can also be licensed to other companies for an agreed-upon period of time or under certain conditions, which can result in crossover brands. Lego, a distinct company, has licensed many famous brands like Star Wars and DC Comics to produce Lego versions of popular products. These are also examples of the importance of branding products from a marketing perspective. Trademarks help distinguish products not only within the legal system, but to the consumer. History of the Trademark Trademark, as the word implies, is a mark that shows the trade of the maker. In 1266, King Henry III of England passed a law requiring all bakers to make a distinctive mark for all the bread they sold. The Löwenbraü brewery in Munich, Germany claims it has used a lion (Löwenbraü means "lion's brew") as its trademark since 1383. The first modern trademark law was promulgated in France in 1857, and Britain first issued its trademark law, the Merchandise Marks Act, in 1862. The British act made it a criminal offense to try and sell a product under the auspices of another manufacturer. In the U.S., Congress tried to pass a trademark law in 1870, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court that year. Congress tried again in 1881, which was revised into the Trademark Act in 1905.  

Swoosh

If the TV parental warning includes the letters FV, what are they warning against?

Trademark Law Basics Trademark Law Basics Can I lose my trademark? What is a trademark? A trademark can be almost anything as long as it helps the consumer identify with the particular product or service.  It can be a word, phrase, symbol, image, sound, device, or even color.  Examples include such marks as the Nike “swoosh,” the NBC three-toned chime “G E C,” and the distinctive shape of a Coca-Cola bottle. What is the purpose of trademark law? The purpose of trademark law is twofold:  first, it is to aid the consumer in differentiating among competing products and second, it is to protect the producer's investment in reputation.  The U.S. Supreme Court summed up this purpose nicely in 1995 in the case of Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co.: "[T]rademark law, by preventing others from copying a source-identifying mark, 'reduce[s] the customer's cost's of shopping and making purchasing decisions,' for it quickly and easily assures a potential customer that … the item with this mark … is made by the same producer as other similarly marked items that he or she liked (or disliked) in the past. At the same time, the law helps assure a producer that it (and not an imitating competitor) will reap the financial, reputation related rewards associated with a desirable product." What do trademarks protect? The heart of trademark protection revolves around protecting consumers from being mislead.  Imparting source and producer identifying cues, a trademark provides the consumer with the means to make judgments concerning the goods before sampling them.  For example, when a consumer sees a Mercedes-Benz automobile, the trademark name "Mercedes-Benz" conveys a level of quality regarding the automobile.  What type of protection is given to trademarks? Trademark protection is not one size fits all but instead the protection is distributed across a scale of four levels with level four receiving the highest protection.  The degree of protection is generally correlated to the degree of distinctiveness.  Generic – generic or common descriptions receive no protection under the law of trademarks.  Descriptive – descriptive terms, because they are not inherently distinctive, are not generally given trademark protection unless a secondary meaning due to the public association of the mark with the holder's product or service can be proven.  Such secondary meanings can be found when a significant number of consumers and other companies associate the mark with the specific product or service.  Suggestive – suggestive terms automatically receive protection even when there is no secondary meaning if the term implies something without actually describing it.  Arbitrary or fanciful – arbitrary and fanciful terms are closely related in that they both are inherently distinctive and receive the highest degree of protection.  Arbitrary marks have real words that are meaningless with respect to the product or service while fanciful marks are completely made up words.  How are trademark rights earned? The key word in this question is “earned.”  Trademarks are not born; rather, they must be earned.  By using a mark in connection with a good or service, the user acquires some trademark rights.  Interestingly, though trademarks are protected under both state and federal law, you do not have to register a trademark in order to have it protected (there are advantages to doing so which will be discussed below).    How do I decide upon a trademark? There are basically two steps in deciding upon a trademark.  The first involves finding a mark that you want the public to see and identify with your product and that is inherently distinctive.  As noted above, inherently distinctive marks are given automatic trademark protection.  The second step is to conduct a trademark search to be sure that you are the first to use the mark.  What is trademark searching? While the first step in deciding upon a trademark is finding terms which are inherently distinctive, conducting a trademark search is an essential second step that must be performed before deciding on a mark for a good or service.  The searcher looks for marks which are either the same mark or a confusingly similar mark.  The confusingly similar standard is a legal standard and a trademark attorney can help to decode such results of the search.  The search for other existing marks is so important because marks are granted on a first come basis.  Further, if you do not conduct an adequate search, you run the risk of infringing on another’s trademark!  In addition to defending an unnecessary lawsuit, you may be required to change your mark, destroy your inventory, or pay significant licensing fees. Ideally a complete trademark search will be conducted by a professional organization that will search state and federal trademark applications and registrations as well as other non-registered resources like business directories, company names, and internet domain names.  However, it is possible to winnow a list of potential marks by conducting a simple internet or trade directory search.  Why should I register my trademark? In order to receive trademark protection, a trademark holder is not required to register.  However, registration of the mark with the USPTO does afford a number of advantages.  Such advantages include: the exclusive nationwide ownership of the mark; the refusal by the Trademark Office to register close variations of the mark used in connection with similar goods or services by others; the right to use the symbol ® to denote the registered status; the right to have the mark become "incontestable" after five years of continuous use from the date of registration; and the act of putting other later users on notice by way of the public registration. In so doing, the mark will be presumed by law to be known by everyone, rendering the "good faith" use defense unavailable. Can I register if I am not yet ready to use the mark? The short answer is yes.  You can file an "intent-to-use" application if you have chosen a mark but are not yet prepared to put it to use. An intent-to-use application is granted for six months and will temporarily grant you the benefits of trademark ownership. How long does registration last? Federal trademark registration lasts for ten years but unlike patents, can be renewed periodically to provide indefinite protection into the future.  Of course, you can also lose the rights to a mark as is discussed below. Do I need to register my trademark internationally? You should register your trademark in every country in which you anticipate a need for protection.  Importantly, there are differences between US trademark law and that of many foreign countries.  In the US , we grant trademark protection to the first person to use the inherently distinctive mark.  However, in all other countries, the first person to apply for registration of a mark is granted the trademark.  What is Trademark Infringement? A potential for trademark infringement exist when the holder of one trademark claims that another is using a confusingly similar mark.  To bring a successful claim, the holder must prove in court that the defendant is using a confusingly similar mark in such a way that it creates a likelihood of confusion, mistake, and/or deception with the consuming public.  In deciding on whether the infringing mark creates confusion for the consuming public, courts often look at the following factors: the similarity in the overall impression created by the two marks; the similarities of the goods and services involved; the strength of the plaintiff's mark; any evidence of actual confusion by consumers; the intent of the defendant in adopting its mark; the physical proximity of the goods in the retail marketplace; the degree of care likely to be exercised by the consumer; and the likelihood of expansion of the product lines. In every trademark infringement action, courts will always look at the first five of these factors while the last three factors are the most common additional factors considered.  If a trademark holder wins a trademark infringement suit, the most common remedy is injunction against further infringement. However, attorney’s fees are available if the mark is federally registered and monetary damages are available under the Lanham act but are rarely awarded.  What is Trademark Dilution? Trademark dilution refers to the weakening of a mark through unauthorized use.  Congress responded to trademark dilution by creating a federal trademark dilution statute under 15 U.S.C. 1125(c).  Trademark dilution under this statute differs from trademark infringement in that the dilution statute only applies to “famous” marks and that the dilution statute requires neither likelihood of confusion, nor competition between the parties.  Indeed, the trademark dilution statute even includes satires and parodies in commercials or advertisements when there is no likelihood of confusion.  Can I lose my trademark? Loss through usage: Once you have a trademark, your rights are unfortunately not necessarily static.  The rights to the mark remain pegged to the degree of distinctiveness at a given time.  This is to say that though at one time a mark may have been inherently distinct, over time, it can lose its distinctive nature and become merely generic.  These events occur due to misuse of the mark over time.  For example, at one time aspirin, cellophane, and elevator were all trademarks afforded protection under federal laws.  However, over time due to improper use, the marks slipped into the public domain.  In this way, it is important to think of trademarks as adjectives and not has nouns.  When a trademark holder uses his mark, it should be along with a generic term.  He should ask for a Xerox photocopy not a Xerox or for a pair of Nike shoes not for a pair of Nikes. Thus, it is essential to monitor and indeed police the use of your mark within your own organization but especially within the public.  This may require you to educate the public as to the mark’s proper uses but may also require you to initiate legal action.  Loss through non-usage: The USPTO has a policy that favors trademark use. If you fail to use the mark in business for two or more years, you may be presumed to have abandoned your mark and thus lose ownership and its benefits.

i don't know

Made from red clay, what is the name of the talking horse companion of Gumby?

Art Clokey's Gumbyworld – Official Home of Gumby & Pokey Dynamite Entertainment to Release Retrospective Art Book of a True American Icon: Gumby Gumby, the unforgettable stop motion character, has entertained generations of fans since his introduction in the early 1950s. Now, Dynamite will release the essential compendium to his 60-year history in 2017, featuring an incredible retrospective on not only the characters themselves, but a look into the life of their creator: Art Clokey. New Deluxe Collection to Pay Tribute to The » Read more Here Comes Gumby in the Hollywood Christmas Parade Mark your calendars! Live parade, Sunday, November 27. TV airings throughout the season: listings available here. Gumby will make his way down the red carpet of the Hollywood Christmas Parade on Sunday, November 27.  A 60-foot inflatable Gumby joins the Gumby mascot and the Clokey family who will be presenting Gumby DVDs (compliments of NCircle Entertainment) and Gumby bendable toys (donated by N.J. Croce) to Toys » Read more Meet Gumby’s Godfather Tom Sarnoff Gumby Central spent some quality time with Tom Sarnoff, Gumby’s Godfather. Tom, a young executive at NBC studios in the 1950s and ‘60s, greenlit the very first Gumby Show, and he’s been involved with Gumby ever since. He has made tremendous contributions to the television industry. Here’s the interview: GC: When did you first meet Gumby creator Art Clokey? TS: I » Read more Gumby Jams with the Iconic Band RUSH! The iconic Canadian band RUSH has a new documentary, RUSH / Time Stand Still, which debuted in select theaters on November 3 and 17, 2016 in the U.S. and Canada. This fascinating documentary chronicles the final major tour of the legendary rock band. Gumby – RUSH connection RUSH members love Gumby! So much so, that they featured cuts to Gumby » Read more Gumby Pops up in Toy Exhibits Across the Country Gumby and Pokey are touring the U.S. Our dynamic duo (6” bendable toys from the ‘60s) are on display in the new exhibit: Toys of the ‘50s, 60s and 70s. Now appearing in its fifth U.S. city, the exhibit is drawing large crowds. This fun exhibit chronicles toys through three decades. And you guessed it… Gumby made the cut. Gumby. » Read more New Gumby DVDs: The 60’s Episodes, Vol. 2 Now Available Iconic Remastered Gumby Episodes–Always in Style Here come Gumby and Pokey in a new DVD gift set of wild and inventive late 60’s episodes! The Adventures of Gumby, 1960s, Volume 2 was just released on September 13, 2016. It contains over 40 clay-animated episodes, fully re-mastered from their original camera rolls and soundtracks. A great bonus—two Blockheads bendable toys are included. » Read more Read more

Pokey

In mathematics, what name is given to the results of a division problem?

Art Clokey's Gumbyworld – Official Home of Gumby & Pokey Dynamite Entertainment to Release Retrospective Art Book of a True American Icon: Gumby Gumby, the unforgettable stop motion character, has entertained generations of fans since his introduction in the early 1950s. Now, Dynamite will release the essential compendium to his 60-year history in 2017, featuring an incredible retrospective on not only the characters themselves, but a look into the life of their creator: Art Clokey. New Deluxe Collection to Pay Tribute to The » Read more Here Comes Gumby in the Hollywood Christmas Parade Mark your calendars! Live parade, Sunday, November 27. TV airings throughout the season: listings available here. Gumby will make his way down the red carpet of the Hollywood Christmas Parade on Sunday, November 27.  A 60-foot inflatable Gumby joins the Gumby mascot and the Clokey family who will be presenting Gumby DVDs (compliments of NCircle Entertainment) and Gumby bendable toys (donated by N.J. Croce) to Toys » Read more Meet Gumby’s Godfather Tom Sarnoff Gumby Central spent some quality time with Tom Sarnoff, Gumby’s Godfather. Tom, a young executive at NBC studios in the 1950s and ‘60s, greenlit the very first Gumby Show, and he’s been involved with Gumby ever since. He has made tremendous contributions to the television industry. Here’s the interview: GC: When did you first meet Gumby creator Art Clokey? TS: I » Read more Gumby Jams with the Iconic Band RUSH! The iconic Canadian band RUSH has a new documentary, RUSH / Time Stand Still, which debuted in select theaters on November 3 and 17, 2016 in the U.S. and Canada. This fascinating documentary chronicles the final major tour of the legendary rock band. Gumby – RUSH connection RUSH members love Gumby! So much so, that they featured cuts to Gumby » Read more Gumby Pops up in Toy Exhibits Across the Country Gumby and Pokey are touring the U.S. Our dynamic duo (6” bendable toys from the ‘60s) are on display in the new exhibit: Toys of the ‘50s, 60s and 70s. Now appearing in its fifth U.S. city, the exhibit is drawing large crowds. This fun exhibit chronicles toys through three decades. And you guessed it… Gumby made the cut. Gumby. » Read more New Gumby DVDs: The 60’s Episodes, Vol. 2 Now Available Iconic Remastered Gumby Episodes–Always in Style Here come Gumby and Pokey in a new DVD gift set of wild and inventive late 60’s episodes! The Adventures of Gumby, 1960s, Volume 2 was just released on September 13, 2016. It contains over 40 clay-animated episodes, fully re-mastered from their original camera rolls and soundtracks. A great bonus—two Blockheads bendable toys are included. » Read more Read more

i don't know

Played by Gary Cooper in the 1941 movie, what Tennessee born Medal of Honor winner killed 28 and captured 132 soldiers during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and was the most decorated US soldier of WWI?

1000+ images about Sergeant Alvin York on Pinterest | Soldiers, Tennessee and World War I Forward Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, Pall Mall, Tennessee. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, York was drafted into the Army. York was awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted from corporal to sergeant for his single-handed capture of German soldiers and their battery of machine guns in the Argonne forest on October 8, 1918. Sergeant York, a movie based on York’s life, was released in 1941. Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the famous doughboy. See More

Alvin C. York

Played by Denver Pyle during the 6 year run of the show, who was the patriarch of the Duke clan on The Dukes of Hazzard?

WWI Research Institute Contributor:  Dustin Briggs [Map Courtesy of Australian War Memorial] Stalemate on the Western Front prompted Winston Churchill, Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, to promote a naval strategy he believed would hasten an Allied victory in the war. Churchill proposed a naval attack on the Ottoman capital at Constantinople (which would be renamed Istanbul in 1930). He proposed that a combined British and French fleet enter the Dardanelles Strait and bombard the forts guarding the thirty-mile-long passage, then sail into the Sea of Marmara to bombard Constantinople and knock Turkey out of the war. With control of the Dardanelles Strait, and the Bosporus Strait linking the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea, Allied shipping could bring much-needed military supplies to Russia, whose ability to wage war in the east had suffered crippling setbacks as a result of horrendous losses to the Germans in the Battles of Tannenberg [Map Courtesy of Australian War Memorial] (August 1914) and Masurian Lakes (September 1914). Without access to the Mediterranean Sea, Russian imports fell by 95%; imports and exports could only take place at Archangel—which, on the White Sea, was ice-bound for half the year—and Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan, eight thousand miles from the fighting on the Eastern Front.1 Defeating the Turks and opening a supply route to Russia would compromise the ability of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to continue the war on both fronts. Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, understood what was at stake. "Should the Dardanelles fall," he wrote during the Gallipoli campaign, "then the world war has been decided against us."2 The Allies also expected that defeating the Turks would encourage Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania to enter the war on the Allied side.3 Churchill convinced Lord Horatio Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War, and other members of the British War Council, to approve the Gallipoli plan in January 1915. Under the command of British Admiral Sir Sackville Carden, an Anglo-French fleet was assembled and based at the Aegean islands of Lemmos, Mudros, and Tenedos. Naval bombardment of Turkish fortresses overlooking the Dardanelles Strait began on February 19, 1915, though with nominal effect, and weather conditions forced temporary interruptions in the attack. Carden was nevertheless confident in success. He noted in a cable to Churchill on March 4 that he expected to reach Constantinople within two weeks. On March 18 the Anglo-French fleet again entered the Dardanelles Strait. Historian John Keegan would write, "Even in the long history of the Dardanelles, such an armada had never been seen there before."4 But the size and fire power of the fleet was overmatched by Turkish artillery and mines, which Allied trawlers, under heavy fire from shore batteries, were not able to clear, especially at the one-mile-wide Narrows where the mines were concentrated. Three battleships were sunk and two others were incapacitated by mines and Turkish artillery. Seven hundred sailors lost their lives. ANZACs on Gallipoli Peninsula, May 29, 1915 Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck, who had replaced ailing Carden as commander of the Anglo-French fleet, decided that the Strait could not be forced by naval action alone. An amphibious landing would be necessary to silence the Turkish guns protecting the Dardanelles Strait. General Sir Ian Hamilton commanded the 70,000 men of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force—British, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), and French—which was assembled in Egypt. Hamilton's strategy was to land forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula and destroy the Turkish artillery positions. British troops would land on Cape Helles on the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula; ANZACs would land on the western side of the peninsula, about ten miles to the north, at Gaba Tepe. The Gallipoli Peninsula landings began on April 25, 1915, with British and French troops establishing beachheads at five locations at Cape Helles and with ANZAC troops landing at Gaba Tepe. ANZACs went ashore at a place that came to be called Anzac Cove, about one mile north of their intended beach, and they had to climb cliffs before advancing against enemy positions. They were never able to take Chunuk Bair, high ground defended by the Turks. Counterattacks were skillfully conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal. To the south at Cape Helles, the Turks pinned British forces to the beaches, and casualties were heavy. The Turks withdrew northwards to a line extending east and west from a point about one mile south of the village Krithia. Three assaults on this Turkish line from late April to early June 1915 all ended in failure, in part because the Turks held high ground positions, and the Turks mounted several counterattacks. In sum, the Allied forces remained largely pinned down where they had come ashore. Contrary to all intentions, a deadlock in the trenches characterized the Gallipoli Campaign, as it had already characterized the Western Front. In an attempt to end the stalemate, Hamilton proposed another landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula's west coast, behind Turkish lines at Suvla Bay, about five miles north of Anzac Cove. ANZACs there and at Anzac Cove were to advance against Turkish positions in the hills immediately inland while British troops at Cape Helles were to commence a diversionary attack and advance northward, linking up with the ANZACs. Under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stopford, the Suvla Bay landing went unopposed on August 6, but Stopford failed to advance his forces inland. Turkish forces counterattacked and British troops from Cape Helles failed to advance northwards. Mustafa Kemal [Photograph Courtesy of Imperial War Museum, London] Following the failure of the August offensive, Hamilton's requests for additional forces were denied, and he was relieved of command on October 15, 1915. One day later his replacement, General Charles Monro, recommended evacuating the Gallipoli Peninsula. Churchill, whose reputation suffered as a result of the Gallipoli failure, later commented of Monro, "He came, he saw, he capitulated."5 Under cover of night, withdrawal began in early December 1915; the last of the Allied troops departed from Cape Helles on January 9, 1916. Remarkably, no lives were lost in the evacuation. Some 28,000 Britons, 10,000 ANZACs, 10,000 French, and 1,500 Indians lost their lives, as did 66,000 Turks.6 British General Sir William Robertson, who replaced Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Gallipoli Campaign evacuation, judged the Gallipoli campaign "A wonderful example of gallantry and endurance by men and a calamitous display of mismanagement by authority."7 The Allied failure at Gallipoli meant the stalemate would continue on the Western Front and Russia would almost certainly face more military losses on the Eastern Front. There were repercussions at home. In November 1915 Churchill, an early advocate of the Gallipoli campaign, resigned from his position as First Lord of the Admiralty, and Kitchener offered to resign, though Prime Minister Asquith refused to accept it. The next month David Lloyd George replaced Asquith as prime minister. Meanwhile, Mustafa Kemal, a hero of Turkish defense on the Gallipoli Peninsula, enjoyed increasing popularity; in 1924 he became the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Ten years later Turkey's parliament bestowed on him the title Ataturk, "Father of the Turks." In 1934 President Kemal unveiled a monument at Anzac Cove, inscribed with his words of comfort to nations that had been former enemies. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives—You are now living in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well. Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994), p. 161. Alfred von Tirpitz, My Memoirs (2 Vols, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1919), II, p. 369: books.google.com. National Archives, UK, "Battles: The Gallipoli Campaign": nationalarchives.gov.uk. John Keegan, The First World War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), p. 238. Quoted in Lloyd Clark, World War I: An Illustrated History (London: Bounty Books, 2004), p. 66. National Archives, UK, "Battles: The Gallipoli Campaign": nationalarchives.gov.uk. Quoted in S. L. A. Marshall, World War I (np: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987), p. 193. Battle of Jutland Contributor:  Christopher Stanton From May 31 to June 1, 1916, British and German fleets fought the most significant naval battle of the war. In the Battle of Jutland, about sixty-five miles to the west of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe's British fleet suffered greater losses than did the German High Seas Fleet. A dozen German ships were sunk and about 2,500 German sailors were killed. The Royal Navy lost fourteen ships and about 6,100 men were killed. But Admiral Reinhardt von Scheer, not wanting to lose any more ships, elected to withdraw from battle and return the German High Seas Fleet to his North Sea Ports. Both Germany and Britain claimed victory, Germany for inflicting more damage, and Britain for maintaining its control of the North Sea. So crucial to Great Britain was maintaining naval superiority that had the German fleet won an indisputable victory at Jutland, the island nation Great Britain would have been left largely unprotected, and British defeat in the war would have seemed all the more likely. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, assessed Great Britain's situation when he commented, "Sir John Jelllicoe was the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon." After Jutland, Germany's naval activity was based almost entirely on its u-boats, and German strategy involving the u-boat, a strategy that was the consequence of Jutland, would inevitably bring the United States into the Great War. Contributors:  Faith Cramer, Kyle DeLima Fort Douaumont, Verdun Western Front Photography ] German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn claimed in his memoirs, written after the war, that he had proposed a concentrated German attack on Verdun, including the numerous fortresses in the immediate area, believing that the French would defend at all costs their historically significant fortress city. Falkenhayn's goal, as he claimed in his memoirs, was not necessarily a breakthrough, but a siege that would "bleed France white." The French army would be so decimated that France would have to capitulate. Under the command of Crown Prince Wilhelm, heir to the throne of Germany, the Battle of Verdun began on February 21, 1916, with a punishing ten-hour artillery bombardment along an eight-mile front. Early German successes in capturing several Verdun area forts—Fort Douaumont to the east of Verdun on February 25, for example—may have been unwittingly facilitated by French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre's decision, made before the Verdun siege began, to remove many of Verdun's guns in order to augment French artillery power in other areas. Liouville, part of Verdun fortifications, [Photo Courtesy of Michael St. Maur Sheil, Western Front Photography ] On the day Fort Douaumont fell Joffre gave command of Verdun to General Henri-Philippe Pétain, replacing General Fernand de Langle de Cary. Pétain would boldly—and memorably— promise, "Ils ne passeront pas!" ["They shall not pass!"]. Over the ensuing months Petain realized that the defense of Verdun required safeguarding and improving Verdun's only source of supplies for its 500,000 French soldiers, a narrow road, later referred to as La Voie Sacrée [the Sacred Way], and a parallel railroad, both connecting Verdun with Bar-le-Duc, about forty-five miles to the southwest. Pétain also regularly furloughed front-lines divisions, replacing them with new ones. In this manner, about 75% of all French soldiers would eventually participate in the Battle of Verdun. On May 1, 1916, Pétain was promoted to command the Army Group Centre, which included Verdun. General Robert Nivelle was Pétain's replacement as commander of Verdun's defense. By June the siege of Verdun had become a battle of attrition, neither side giving ground, and casualty figures strained the confidence and commitment of both sides. June marked the fourth month of the siege of Verdun (the siege would go on for six more months) and Falkenhayn's position as Chief of Staff was already in jeopardy.1 Ouvrage de Thiaumont, Verdun Western Front Photography ] The German assault upon Verdun was undermined when, from June-August 1916, the successful Russian Brusilov Offensive against the Austrians necessitated the reassignment of German troops from Verdun to the Eastern Front. Likewise, the July 1916 Battle of the Somme—a Franco-British offensive against German forces at the Somme River, about 125 miles northwest of Verdun—required the withdrawal of some German artillery from the assault on Verdun.2 German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg had meanwhile become increasingly critical of Falkenhayn's failure to capture Verdun and on August 28 Kaiser Wilhelm II replaced Falkenhayn with a new Chief of the General Staff, Paul von Hindenburg. Falkenhayn was given command of Central Powers units fighting against the Romanians, who had entered the war that month. Meanwhile, command of the Verdun defense had passed to General Charles Mangin, who became a national hero when, on October 24, Pile of human bones, Verdun [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] the French recaptured Fort Douaumont (which had fallen on February 25) and, on November 2, recaptured Fort Vaux (which had fallen on June 7). By the third week of December the French had retaken most of the ground which had been lost to the Germans since the battle began in February.3 The ten-month Battle of Verdun ended with both the French and German positions back to where they had started, and France and Germany had each suffered more than one-half million casualties; some 350,000 French and 350,000 Germans were killed, the highest density of deaths per square yard of any battle fought during WWI.4 Falkenhayn had failed to force French capitulation and, ironically, the number of deaths the Germans had suffered in trying to bring about French collapse lead to Falkenhayn's reassignment and German abandonment of the Verdun sector. The Battle of Verdun came to symbolize the horrible toll that trench warfare would take in the Great War. Remarkably, the scars of that battle have never disappeared. Twenty-six million artillery bombardments5 over a ten-month period had stripped the Verdun area of its trees and re-contoured the land with countless craters of all sizes, a transformation of the landscape still evident today, nearly a century later. The bones of heretofore undiscovered soldiers surface from-time-to-time, and are added to the bone piles of the 130,000 other unidentified French and German soldiers in the Douaumont Ossuary memorial.6 John Keegan, The First World War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), p. 286. Donald Murphy, Turning Points in World History: World War I (San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002), p. 90. Tom and Sara Pendergast, World War I Almanac (New York City: Gale Group, 2002), p. 51. Murphy, p. 90. Return to Table of Contents Resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare With a stalemate in Europe German strategy changed. Believing that resuming unrestricted submarine warfare could result in British collapse, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich von Ludendorff convinced the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg to abandon earlier pledges not to attack merchant and passenger vessels. Germany gambled that it could bring Britain to its knees before the United States could mobilize and deploy its troops in Europe. Germany therefore announced that, effective February 1, 1917, it would resume a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Due in part to the convoy system, which had just been put into effect, the effectiveness of u-boat attacks declined, and by the time the U. S. declared war and was able to deploy the AEF in Europe Britain was still in the war. On February 3, 1917, the U. S. merchant ship Housatonic was sunk, and though no lives were lost President Wilson severed diplomatic relations with Germany that day. Return to Table of Contents President Wilson Announces End to Diplomatic Relations with Germany On January 31, 1917, the German Ambassador Count von Bernstorff advised Secretary of State Robert Lansing that, effective the next day, Germany would resume unrestricted submarine warfare. All ships could be attacked in the war zone. Three days later, on February 3, the day the U. S. merchant ship Housatonic was torpedoed and sunk, President Wilson severed diplomatic relations with Germany. Return to Table of Contents Armed Neutrality Following the February 1 German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, following the diplomatic break with Germany two days later, and a day after the loss of two American lives in the u-boat torpedoing of the British passenger ship Laconia, Wilson took steps he hoped would protect Americans on the high seas. On February 26 Wilson asked Congress for authority to arm merchant ships. In the House of Representatives the Armed Ship Bill passed with little opposition (403-13), but in the Senate "a little group of willful men," as Wilson described them, filibustered the bill. Eight days after the close of the congressional session, and acting on executive authority, Wilson ordered the arming of merchant vessels that would enter the war zone. Zimmermann Telegram Contributor:  Alec Wittschiebe In January 1917 British intelligence deciphered a coded telegram sent from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Germany's Minister to Mexico. The telegram proposed that if Mexico were to ally with Germany, Germany would help return territory to Mexico that Mexico ceded to the United States following the Mexican War. That territory included Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. British intelligence handed over the deciphered telegram to President Wilson, and, once the story was published in American newspapers on March 1, the American public became outraged at the German attempt to foment war between Mexico and the United States. The Zimmermann Telegram contributed significantly to growing anti-German public feelings in the United States, particularly since the safety of neutral Americans had been threatened by Germany's February 1 resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare. Return to Table of Contents March Revolution In March 1917 Czar Nicholas II abdicated, and the Duma, or Russian parliament, took control of the country. Strikes, mutinies in the military, and political instability continued, but to the outside world it appeared, at least for the moment, that Russia, once the only absolutist member of the Allied Powers, was now on the verge of becoming a democratic state like all the others. Return to Table of Contents On-Going U-Boat Attacks In late February the British passenger ship Laconia, en route to Liverpool from New York City, was torpedoed and sunk off the Irish coast. Among the twelve who lost their lives were two American passengers. That event was a factor in President Wilson's decision to seek congressional legislation to arm American merchant vessels. In March, several American merchant vessels were torpedoed and sunk. The German attacks on those vessels—the Algonquin, City of Memphis, Vigilancia, Illinois, and Healdton—convinced President Wilson that American neutrality was not possible. Contributors:  Sarah McMaster,  Max Parriott,  Elena Sakopoulos President Wilson Delivering War Message To Congress Color Film Copy Transparency [Image Courtesy of Library of Congress] Despite the defensive steps Wilson had taken in arming American merchant vessels, there could be no guaranteed safety for Americans at sea following the German government's announcement that, beginning on February 1, 1917, it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare. One day before Wilson went before Congress asking for authority to arm U. S. merchant vessels, two more American lives were lost in the sinking of a British passenger ship. Then, in March, American vulnerability resulting from unrestricted submarine warfare became increasingly evident when five American vessels were attacked with the loss of more American lives. Wilson called for a special session of Congress. German violation of U. S. neutrality and the Zimmermann Telegram, which outraged the American public, prompted Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. In his war message to a joint session of Congress on April 2, President Wilson described Germany's submarine policy as "warfare against mankind." The United States would enter the war because "The world must be made safe for democracy." The joint congressional resolution declaring a state of war against Germany passed on April 6. The vote was 82-6 in the Senate and 373-50 in the House of Representatives. The resolution was signed by President Wilson that day. A joint congressional resolution declaring a state of war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire passed on December 7 with one dissenting vote. The resolution was signed by President Wilson that day. Because the United States went to war as an "associated power," a member of the Allied and Associated Powers, the United States was therefore able to restrict the scope of its involvement in the Great War. Like the Allied Powers, the United States was at war with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; unlike other Allied Powers the United States was not at war with the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Return to Table of Contents Status of Army and Navy in April 1917 When Wilson's war declaration passed Congress on April 6, 1917, the U. S. Army, numbering only 200,000 men, was small and ill-equipped. In August 1916 Congress authorized construction of 157 warships— battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and gunboats, for example. As a result, the Navy would be better prepared for war than was the Army when the U. S. entered the Great War in April 1917. At that time the navy, with fourteen dreadnoughts, 250 destroyers, 36 submarines and 80,000 sailors, was among the best navies in the world. War Industries Board Contributors:  Horacio Lopez-Segura,  Forrest Minter A major responsibility of the Council of National Defense, established in August 1916, was to coordinate industrial production, but after the U. S. declaration of war in April 1917, congressional criticism of the CND's inefficiency in wartime prompted President Wilson to create the more powerful War Industries Board (WIB), and Wilson appointed Bernard Baruch, a Wall Street financier, to direct it. The primary mission of the War Industries Board, which went into operation in late July 1917, was to facilitate government war purchases. The WIB had power to prioritize goals in production, set prices of materials the government needed to purchase, standardize industrial procedures, and—though the WIB never exercised this power—take-over and operate industries if necessary. The goals of the WIB were to increase production, convert industrial plants to war production, decrease waste, and facilitate the production of war materials necessary for the U. S. war effort. When the war ended, President Wilson disbanded the WIB by executive order on January 1, 1919. Committee on Public Information Contributors:  Faith Cramer, Campbell Smith One week after signing the declaration of war against Germany, Wilson followed the advice of the Secretaries of State, War, and Navy, establishing, by executive order, the Committee on Public Information (CPI), a government agency responsible for releasing information on the progress of the war. The CPI would educate the American public about the war and forge solid American support for the war effort. The committee used newspapers, radio, movie-making, posters, and public speeches as means of garnering support for the war and hatred for the enemy. The CPI was chaired by George Creel, a Kansas City, Missouri, newspaper reporter and muckraking journalist whose writings, for example, exposed the abuses of child labor. Creel also authored a pro-Wilson tract during the 1916 presidential campaign. The CPI, later also referred to as the Creel Committee, included Secretary of State Robert Lansing, Secretary of War Newton Baker, and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. The CPI used a variety of means to unify Americans behind the war effort. Millions of "red, white and blue" pamphlets promoted the Allied mission to defeat the Central Powers. The CPI's Division of News released thousands of press releases. Film celebrities—Theda Bara, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford, for example—made public appearances encouraging Americans to buy War Bonds. Hollywood studios cooperated by producing such propagandistic films as "The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin" and "To Hell With the Kaiser." The so-called "Four Minute Men," some 75,000 volunteers selected in communities across the country by prominent citizens in their communities, gave brief speeches encouraging Americans to enlist and buy war bonds. Illustrators were hired to paint posters depicting the enemy as uncivilized and brutal or encouraging Americans to buy war bonds, contribute to the Red Cross, and enlist. Perhaps the CPI's most lasting single image is James Montgomery Flagg's "I Want You for the U. S. Army" recruiting poster. Though clearly propagandistic, the Committee on Public Information played a key role in promoting patriotism and unifying American public opinion against the perceived injustice and supposed cruelty of the Central Powers. Nine months after the Armistice President Wilson issued an executive order disbanding the CPI. Pershing and the First American Soldiers Arrive in France Contributor:  Rachel White [Image Courtesy of World War One Historical Association] When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the U. S. Army numbered only about 125,000 men. By the time the war ended in November 1918, about four million men had served in the U. S. Army, another 800,000 in the Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy. Of the four million in the U. S. Army, half, known as the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), were deployed to France under the command of General John J. Pershing. At two million men, the American Expeditionary Force was comparable in size to the British army (1.8 million) and French army (2.2 million) fighting in France.1 Prior to World War I the United States had never sent soldiers abroad to defend foreign soil. The vanguard of those two million men—General John Pershing and about two hundred soldiers and civilian staff members—arrived at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on June 13, 1917. They were the first American soldiers ever to be sent to continental Europe. A week earlier they had been the first to land in England. On June 26, 1917, about two weeks after arriving in France, Pershing greeted about 14,000 men of the First Division as they disembarked at Saint-Nazaire, France. Gerneral John Pershing and Staff at Tomb of Lafayette [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] To welcome the arrival of this first sizable group of the AEF in France, a parade took place in Paris on July 4, Pershing and a battalion of the First Division's 16th Infantry Regiment participating. On that day Pershing and his staff visited the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat whose voluntary service in General George Washington's Continental Army heralded the Franco-American Alliance during the American War of Independence. Pershing spoke of the American mission to "battle and to vanquish for the liberty of the world."2 Lt. Col. Charles Stanton, a Quartermaster officer who was fluent in French, delivered a speech implying an American obligation to repay an old debt when he proudly proclaimed, "Lafayette, nous voilà" ["Lafayette, we are here"]. Hew Strachan, The First World War (New York City: Viking, 2003), p. 310. Heywood Brown, The A. E. F. with General Pershing and the American Forces (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1919), p. 35: http://archive.org. Return to Table of Contents "Teddies" become "Doughboys" Shouts of "Vive les Teddies" welcomed the American soldiers who had come to help save France, but Pershing did not like the sobriquet, and an American correspondent's proposal that they be called "Sammies" did not gain support among American soldiers.1 Among the proposals resulting from First Division Commander Major General William Sibert's call for suggestions were "Yank," "Yankee," "Johnny Yank," and "Doughboy." The suggestion of "doughboy" took hold, a name of uncertain meaning, one theory being that the name came from one soldier who facetiously asked another if the caked white mud on his boots was the result of walking in dough.2 Heywood Brown, The A. E. F. with General Pershing and the American Forces (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1919), p. 35: http://archive.org. Ibid., pp. 39-40. First American Combat and First American Combat Deaths Contributor:  Violet Elder Following four months of training on French soil, units of the First Division took up a position near Nancy, France. There on October 21, 1917, Cpl. Robert Bralet of the Sixth Artillery fired a 75mm gun at a German position. That was the first shot fired by an American in the Great War. On the night of November 2-3, 1917, a German raid on an American trench position near Bathelémont-les-Bauzemont resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers of Company F, 16th Infantry, First Division. Pvt. Thomas Enright of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Cpl. James Gresham of Evansville, Indiana, and Pvt. Merle Hay of Glidden, Iowa, were the first Americans to die in combat in the Great War. They were buried on November 4 where they were killed, and, in their memory, the French government later erected a monument at the site. In 1921, three years after the war ended, they were disinterred and brought to the United States for burial in their hometowns. Enright was buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Burial of First Three American Doughboys Killed in Action [Photo Courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa] Gresham was buried in Locust Hill Cemetery in Evansville, Indiana. Hay was buried in West Lawn Cemetery, later renamed Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery, in Glidden, Iowa. By November 1918 when the war ended, about 116,000 Americans had given their lives. Their sacrifice and the commitment of the 4.7 million Americans who served in the Armed Forces in those years helped bring the war to an end. American participation in the war arguably doomed the Central Powers. The British military historian John Keegan proposes, "Rare are the times in a great war when the fortunes of one side or the other are transformed by the sudden accretion of a disequilibrating reinforcement. . . . President Wilson's decision to declare war on Germany and its allies had brought such an accretion to the Allied side."* * John Keegan, The First World War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), p. 373. Fourteen Points Contributors:  Jaime Echeverria, Lucas Immer, Sarah McMaster In an address before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his "Fourteen Points," a set of proposals that he believed would prepare the way for peace and then maintain international peace once the Great War came to an end. The document was the product of Wilson's collaboration with his personal White House advisor Edward House and a group of about one hundred foreign policy academicians who took the name "The Inquiry." The Fourteen Points called for "open covenants, openly arrived at." In other words, Wilson hoped to outlaw secretly held international negotiations freedom of the seas whether in peace or in war removal of economic barriers among nations reduction of armaments reconsideration of colonial possessions, giving deference to the national aspirations of colonial peoples returning Russian territories seized during the war and international acceptance of the new Russian government restoration of Belgium as an independent nation returning the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France relocating the Italo-Austrian border with deference to Italians living in Austrian-claimed territory Partition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowing the empire's multiple nationalities "autonomous development" Relocating boundaries in the Balkan Peninsula with deference to the region's nationalities Dissolution of the Ottoman empire and the granting of autonomy to its subject peoples with Turkey ruling Turks alone and freedom of navigation through the Dardanelles Strait guaranteed to all nations Creation of an independent Poland with access to the North Sea "a general association of nations" Wilson's speech was hailed in the United States for having articulated war aims that seemed motivated by a sense of morality and fairness. His Fourteen Points, as Wilson saw it, was intended to bring "peace without victory." But the realities of a brutal war—one in which England, France, and Italy had already been engaged for nearly four years by the time Wilson gave his address—made his proposals seem idealistic, even unrealistic, and therefore challenging for the Allied Nations to embrace. French Premier Georges Clemenceau is supposed to have commented, "God gave us His Ten Commandments and we broke them. Wilson gave us his Fourteen Points—we shall see." Besides looking ahead to a lasting peace, Wilson may have had additional ambitions in announcing his Fourteen Points. Point 6 may have been intended to keep Russia in the war, engaging the Central Powers on the Eastern Front, and thus forcing Germany to maintain a two-front war. In any case, by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Bolshevik Russia capitulated to Germany two months following Wilson's Fourteen Points address. Points 10 and 12 may have been intended to de-stabilize the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, encouraging nationalistic disruptions while the war was in progress. Battle of Cantigny Contributor:  Campbell Smith The first American advance upon an enemy position in WWI took place about seventy-five miles north of Paris. In the Battle of Cantigny the Americans liberated the German-held French town on May 28, 1918, and continued to hold the town despite German efforts that day and the next to retake it. News of the AEF victory buoyed Allied morale, and for Germany, it was the first clear evidence that, after nearly a year of their training in France, American soldiers had not only arrived but would make a difference in the progress of the war on the Western Front. Battle of Chateau-Thierry Contributor:  Katie Artigas By May 28, 1918, the German Spring Offensive had brought German forces to the Marne River in the vicinity of Chateau-Thierry, which was defended by French forces trying to prevent a German crossing of the river and resultant advance upon Paris, only about forty-five miles to the west. To reinforce French forces, the U. S. 2nd and 3rd Divisions reached the vicinity of Chateau-Thierry on June 1 and by June 3 saw action against German forces. The 3rd Division defended bridges across the Marne River and, with French assistance, repulsed German attacks. To the west of Chateau-Thierry, between Vaux and Belleau, the 2nd Division, to which were attached the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments, repulsed German attacks. The successful defense of the Marne set the stage for an Allied counter-offensive that began almost immediately at Belleau Wood, about five miles southeast of Chateau-Thierry. Battle of Belleau Wood Contributor:  Katie Artigas The twenty-day Battle of Belleau Wood, which began on June 6, 1918, was the first major World War I battle fought by Americans, mostly Marines. It was part of the Allied effort to turn back the German Spring offensive that had brought German troops to within forty miles of Paris. Belleau Wood is about forty miles east of Paris and about six miles northwest of Chateau-Thierry. American forces included the Army's 2nd and 3rd Divisions; the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments were attached to the Army's 2nd Division. The cost of capturing Belleau Wood was high. Six assaults on Bellow Woods were required to drive the Germans out. About 1,800 Marines gave their lives before a Marines battalion commander could communicate to headquarters, "Woods now U. S. Marine Corps entirely."1 The risk involved in assaulting Belleau Wood had been forecast by a French soldier who, while retreating with fellow French soldiers through American lines, recommended that the Americans retreat as well. Marine Captain Lloyd Williams famously responded, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"2 The twenty-day Battle of Belleau Wood not only terminated the German offensive in the region, but heralded a wide-scale Allied counter-attack that ended the German Spring Offensive. The U. S. Marines, meanwhile, had earned the nickname "Devil Dogs," or Devil Hounds, supposedly translated from the German "Teufelhunden" description of the Marines' fighting spirit which had driven the Germans from Belleau Wood.3 Marine Corps recruitment posters quickly utilized the moniker and canine imagery. Quoted in History of World War I (3 Vols; Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2002), II, p. 433. John Keegan, An Illustrated History of the First World War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), p. 375. Peter Bosco, World War I (New York: Facts on File, 2003), p. 93. St. Mihiel Offensive Contributor:  Forrest Minter Taking place September 12-15, 1918, the Battle of St. Mihiel was an American and French attack on a German salient about twenty miles south of Verdun. About 216,000 American and 48,000 French soldiers took part. It was the first time in the war U. S. forces acted as an independent unit under American commanders. German and Austrian troops, numbering about 75,000, were concentrated in and around the town of St. Mihiel, located near the western-most rim of the St. Mihiel salient. General John Pershing hoped the campaign would ultimately succeed in capturing Metz, an important railroad hub, while cutting railroad access to Verdun. Being thus closer to the Rhine River, American units would then be in position to begin offensives into Germany. The American attack, carried out along a 12-mile front, proved successful in part because it took place while the Germans, who had anticipated the American attack, had, the day before, begun to abandon the salient in order to reposition at the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line. Because the German forces were in retreat, their artillery could not be effective against the advancing American and French forces. American artillery fire began at 1:00 a. m. on September 12. The infantry began its attack four hours later, supported by the greatest number of airplanes yet used in a combat mission. Under the command of Colonel William Mitchell, some 1,500 planes—American, French, and British—machine-gunned German trenches and bombed retreating German soldiers, and engaged some 500 German planes in aerial combat. In less than 48 hours the Americans counted some 15,000 German prisoners. The initial American success was, however, undermined by over-extended supply lines over muddy terrain and the resultant inability to provide ammunition supplies to the American artillery and food supplies to the infantry. The muddy landscape also neutralized the potential effectiveness of tanks. General George S. Patton, who appreciated the effectiveness of British tanks during the Battle of Cambrai, had prepared three tank brigades to support the infantry in the Battle of St. Mihiel. The American and French advance eliminated the St. Mihiel salient, 200 square miles of France, which the Germans had occupied for four years. Believing Metz was not well defended, Colonel Douglas MacArthur wanted to continue the eastward advance. Despite concurrence by Colonel George C. Marshall, the First Army's chief of operations, French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, supreme commander of the Allied armies, vetoed the proposal. Because Foch did not want his plans for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive to be postponed, an opportunity for a major military success may have been missed. "Without doubt," Pershing wrote, "continuation of the advance would have carried us well beyond the Hindenburg line and possibly into Metz."* Following the elimination of the St. Mihiel salient, Americans were repositioned north of Verdun between the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne would follow. *Quoted in Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., ed., The American Heritage History of World War I (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1964), p. 333. Meuse-Argonne Offensive Contributor:  Forrest Minter The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was part of a coordinated Allied offensive—the Grand Offensive—and for the AEF it was the largest and most complex military operation in the Great War. It began along a thirty-mile front north and northwest of Verdun on September 26, 1918; it ended with the Armistice on November 11, 1918. The purpose of the "Grand Offensive," planned by French Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the supreme commander of Allied armies, was to push German troops out of France and Belgium. British, French, and Belgian forces were to advance through Flanders; to their right, British and French forces would attack the Hindenburg Line. The southern-most offensive would be carried out by the U. S. First Army under General John Pershing and, on the First Army's left, the French Fourth Army under Henri Gouraud. The Americans were to advance through the Argonne Forest and the open space flanked by the Meuse River, and in the process breach portions of the Hindenburg Line. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began less than two weeks after the successful Allied attack on the St. Mihiel Salient. About two-thirds of the doughboys who had been engaged in that assault were moved about sixty miles to be in position for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Colonel George C. Marshall directed the redeployment of those ten AEF divisions (of about 28,000 men each). Besides infantry and artillery units, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive would utilize about three hundred tanks under the command of General Hunter Liggett and Lieutenant Colonel George Patton, and about five hundred airplanes under the command of General William Mitchell An objective in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive was Sedan, about thirty-five miles distant. As a railroad center, the Germans would have to hold Sedan if they were to continue supplying German forces in France and in Flanders. Allied capture of the railroad line at Sedan would likely force the Germans to evacuate areas in France and Belgium which they had held since the war began in 1914. Following a 2,700-gun, three-hour artillery barrage, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive began at 5:30 a.m. on September 26, 1918. By the end of the day the Americans had advanced about five miles along the Meuse River and two miles through the Argonne Forest. By noon the next day the Americans had seized the strategic German command and observation post atop Montfaucon. By the end of the month about 10,000 Germans had been taken prisoner. Despite the success of the offensive in its first few days, numerous factors contributed to unexpectedly heavy casualties. Difficult terrain caused bottleneck traffic jams, and congestion behind the front lines; the influenza epidemic decimated the ranks; fog, rain, and mud slowed movement and complicated logistical support—building of roads over mud and shell holes and the delivery of food and medical supplies, for example. General Pershing brought the offensive to a temporary halt on October 1in part to address mounting logistical issues. Among the adjustments Pershing made following October 1 was, as group commander, giving command of the First Army to General Hunter Liggett and forming the Second Army under the command of Lieutenant General Robert Bullard. The Second Army's objective would be Metz, the capital of the Lorraine region. Nearly a half-century earlier France had ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in the peace settlement ending the Franco-Prussian War. The American advance resumed on October 4; by mid-October Americans had breached parts of the Hindenburg Line. By the end of the month the Americans had advanced about ten miles from their positions on the day the offensive began. The French Fourth Army had meanwhile advanced about twice as far. French Premier Georges Clemenceau, frustrated with the apparently dilatory American advance, encouraged Foch to replace Pershing. Foch, aware of the difficult terrain and challenges of the Argonne Forest, did not concur. In the meantime, while the Grand Offensive was producing a German retreat from the Meuse-Argonne region of France, the Central Powers alliance was disintegrating. Between September 30 and November 3, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary capitulated. By November 5, American and French forces had Sedan under siege. On November 7 the German army's Chief of Staff Paul von Hindenburg communicated by telegram with Foch to arrange a date, time, and place to begin negotiations for an armistice. The next day Foch presented the terms of the armistice to German negotiators. On November 9 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to Holland, while a republic was declared in Berlin. Following directions from the new German chancellor Friedrich Ebert, and despite protesting the severity of terms, the German representatives signed the Armistice agreement at about 5:10 a.m. on November 11, 1918, with the actual cease-fire to go into effect at 11:00 a.m. that day. In the seven-week Meuse-Argonne Offensive 26,000 doughboys were killed, twenty-five percent of all American combat deaths in WWI; 96,000 had been wounded. The Lost Battalion Contributor:  Elena Sakopoulos In October 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the77th "Statue of Liberty" Division engaged German forces near Charlevaux, France. A group of 554 men from the 77th Division found themselves unexpectedly surrounded by German forces in a ravine of the Charlevaux Valley and, under relentless German attack between October 3 and October 8, 1918, bravely fighting on for their survival. For Division headquarters to the rear, the location of these isolated men was initially unclear and American war correspondents covering the Meuse-Argonne Offensive referred to them as "the Lost Battalion." In fact, two battalions were involved, the ranking commander being Major Charles Whittlesey of the 308th Infantry; second in command was Captain George McMurtry. These 554 men had advanced farther than fellow American units on their right flank and the French units on their left. Not only were their flanks thus unprotected, but they had advanced ahead of the American line behind them by about two-thirds of a mile. Surrounded by German forces, Whittlesey dispatched three carrier pigeons which successfully delivered messages to regimental headquarters calling for supplies, food, and artillery fire against the surrounding enemy.1 On October 5, with the situation even more desperate, Whittlesey dispatched two of his remaining three carrier pigeons with messages pleading for food and relief.2 In the forest environment neither the French nor the Americans could accurately ascertain their location, and as a result supplies dropped from American planes fell into enemy hands. The situation was made increasingly desperate when, on October 5, the Lost Battalion suffered additional casualties as a result of one and one-half hours of American artillery fire which fell on Whittlesey's position. Some of Whittlesey's men who had escaped the American shelling were captured by the Germans.3 Whittlesey dispatched his last remaining carrier pigeon, this one named Cher Ami, with a message not only trying to define his position, but pleading for artillery fire to cease. The American barrage ended in the late afternoon. An official account of the Lost Battalion claims that American shelling had ceased before Cher Ami arrived at headquarters.4 Though shot in the breast and blinded in one eye, Cher Ami had delivered Whittlesey's message still dangling from a leg badly damaged by German fire. From noon until nightfall on October 6 all available aircraft of the 50th Aerosquadron attempted to drop food, ammunition, and medical supplies on the Lost Battalion. None of the efforts was successful, as all the air-dropped supplies landed in German positions. Three airplanes were shot down.5 The two-man crew of one of them was observer 2nd Lt. Erwin Bleckley and pilot 1st Lt. Harold Goettler. They had bravely flown their de Havilland DH-4 low over the Lost Battalion's approximate position and were hit by German machine gun fire. They crash-landed behind American lines; Goettler was found dead in the aircraft and Bleckley died while being taken to a hospital, but their map with hastily added hand-written notes, gave Division headquarters the Lost Battalion's position. On October 7 an American POW walked into Whittlesey's position carrying a white flag and a written German proposal that the Americans surrender. Whittlesey would not surrender, and the next day an American relief force arrived and the Germans retreated. Of the 554 men who made up the "Lost Battalion," 216 were killed, 144 were wounded badly enough to have to be taken out on stretchers, and only 194 were able to walk away with their rescuers. Helping to save the Lost Battalion capped Cher Ami's very successful career, as this carrier pigeon had already delivered a dozen messages in the American sector at Verdun. Cher Ami was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm, and is the most famous of the 600 carrier pigeons the U. S. Army Signal Corps used in France during WWI. Cher Ami was returned to the United States, but in June 1919 died as a result of his wounds. His preserved body is on display in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Charles Whittlesey's experience following the Lost Battalion episode was a mix of unsolicited fame and apparent depression. Curiously, an official account of the Lost Battalion experience includes the following: "It is believed my many that Major Whittlesey was censured and that steps were initiated to try him by court-martial for "losing" his way and allowing his command to be cut off. This belief cannot be substantiated from the records."6 One month after the war ended Medals of Honor were awarded to Major Whittlesey, Captain McMurtry, and to Captain Nelson Holderman, the only other officer who survived the ordeal, and to two enlisted men, and, posthumously, to American aviators Lt. Erwin Bleckley and 1st Lt. Harold Goettler, who perished when German anti-aircraft fire shot them down as they were trying to pinpoint the Lost Battalion's Charleveaux Valley location. They were two of only four American aviators during WWI to earn the Medal of Honor. The other two were Eddie Rickenbacker and Frank Luke. Others in the Lost Battalion received the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war Whittlesey returned to his New York City law practice, but, celebrated as a war hero, much of his time was reluctantly spent giving speeches and attending patriotic events. Though he played himself (and many others played themselves) in the 1919 movie "The Lost Battalion," he otherwise wanted to avoid public attention. In November 1921 only days after serving as one of the pallbearers for the internment of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Whittlesey went missing on a ship that had left New York City bound for Havana, Cuba. He had left sealed envelopes in his cabin, one addressed to the ship's captain indicating that he had jumped overboard.7 Several theories attempt to explain his suicide, for example, depression from the war experience, a sense of guilt for some of his command decisions, a sense of guilt for those who died under his command, and an inability to adjust to his role as a war hero. Edward G. Lengel, To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008), p. 230. Ibid., p. 231. The Operation of the So-Called “Lost Battalion,” Oct. 2nd to Oct. 8th, 1918, (Historical Section, Army War College, August 1928), p. 5: http://research.archives.gov. Ibid., p. 6. Armistice Contributor:  Charles Bertoli The Central Powers alliance began to unravel in late September 1918 when Bulgaria agreed to an armistice. In late October Turkey followed, as did the Austrian Empire on November 3. Meanwhile, by the second week of October, the German government had expressed its interest in an armistice if the armistice provisions were to reflect the spirit of President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, which the American president had announced in January 1918. Both Britain and France took issue with several of Wilson's "points," a ban on blockades and opposition to punishing reparations, for example. As for Wilson, he would not negotiate with Germany until a new government was in place. On November 7, amid revolutionary activity in many German cities General Paul von Hindenburg requested by telegram a meeting with Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch. Chancellor Max von Baden appointed Matthias Erzberger as Germany's representative. Erzberger was a German statesman who had supported the war until 1917, when he began advocating a negotiated end to the conflict. Negotiations for an armistice began on November 7 in Marshal Foch's railway car in a forest near Compiègne, France. During the three days of negotiations the German Kaiser abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. On November 9 a republic was declared in Berlin. The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Ebert, instructed Erzberger to complete negotiations for the armistice. Erzberger and Foch were the principal signatories on the Armistice agreement, signed shortly after 5:00 a.m. on November 11. The Armistice was to go into effect that day at 11:00 a.m. Paris time. At long last, after more than four years of war, the guns finally fell silent at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. By the terms of the Armistice, Germany was to evacuate occupied French land within two weeks. Allied forces would occupy the left bank of the Rhine River, a region known as the Rhineland, as well as towns on the east bank of the Rhine—Coblenz, Cologne, and Mainz. Looking ahead— Two years after signing the Armistice agreement with Ferdinand Foch, Erzberger served as chairman of the Armistice Commission and in 1919 became finance minister of the new German government and endorsed the Treaty of Versailles. Right-wing resentment in Germany over the terms of the Versailles Treaty led to Erzberger's assassination in 1921. Return to Table of Contents Army of Occupation In accordance with the armistice terms of November 11, 1918, Germany had fifteen days to evacuate France, the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine—which France had lost to the German Empire as a result of French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870—and Belgium and Luxembourg—neutral countries which Germany had invaded at the beginning of the Great War. On the heels of German evacuation, the Allied Powers would occupy Luxembourg and the left bank of the Rhine River. The U. S. Third Army, organized on November 15, 1918, under the command of Major General Joseph Dickman, was assigned the American share of Allied occupation duties. Allied occupation forces entered Germany in the first week of December 1918. About 250,000 Army of Occupation doughboys were deployed to the Rhineland area of Germany, another 50,000 to Luxembourg, with Third Army Headquarters at Mayen, about eighteen miles west of Coblenz. A key responsibility of the American occupation forces in Germany was to safeguard the bridges across the Rhine River at Coblenz, Engers (about five miles to the north of Coblenz) and at Remagen (about twenty miles north of Coblenz) so that German forces could not use those bridges to re-invade France should Germany refuse to sign the peace treaty then being composed in Paris. The British and French armies had similar responsibilities in their own occupation areas. The Belgian occupation army was stationed in Aachen. In addition to securing bridges across the Rhine, occupation forces took possession of German war materials, such as machine guns, rifles, aircraft, and military vehicles. On April 20, 1919, Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett took over command of the Third Army from Major General Dickman. Reflecting the uncertainties of the peace negotiations then in progress, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the General-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, sent orders to Liggett to march on Berlin and Weimar should Germany refuse to sign the Versailles peace treaty. Following the signing of the Versailles Treaty on June 28, 1919, the U. S. occupation forces were reduced to a single regiment, and the remaining 6,800 men were re-designated American Forces in Germany (AFG). The last American occupation forces remained in Germany three more years. Because of the U. S. Senate's objections to the League of Nations clauses in the Treaty of Versailles, the U. S. did not ratify the treaty, and the U. S. technically remained at war until late August 1921, when the U. S. signed separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The AFG's occupation duties finally came to an end in January 1923, when the remaining 1000 American doughboys returned to the United States, some with German wives. In all, about 1,200 doughboys married German women during the occupation period.1 The military policy forbidding fraternizing with the enemy went apparently unenforced.2 Among those who served in the Army of Occupation were George Clark, who became head coach of the Detroit Lions, Medal of War recipient William Donovan, who later served as Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and former President Theodore Roosevelt's sons Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Reflecting its WWI "Army of Occupation" experience, the shoulder patch still worn by the Third Army displays an "A" inside the letter "O," a design the Third Army adopted in December 1918. Peter Bosco, World War I (New York City: Facts on File, Inc., 2003), p. 133. Kathryn C. Weigel, "WWI Occupation of Germany Captures Author's Interest," Fort Lee Traveller, October 20, 2011 http://www.ftleetraveller.com. Return to Table of Contents Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye The Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, signed by the victorious Allied nations and Austria on September 10, 1919, formally dissolved the Austro-Hungarian Empire and recognized the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929), which was created from the former Austro-Hungarian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dalmatia, and Slovenia. Some three million Sudeten Germans were included in the new Czechoslovakia, a source of irritation to Adolf Hitler, who would address the matter in the 1938 Munich Conference. For Italy, the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye only partially fulfilled the promises made in the Treaty of London, ceding to Italy areas that had been under Austrian control—the South Tyrol, Trentino, Trieste, Istria, Friuli, and some of the Dalmatian islands. Contrary to the promises made in the Treaty of London, Italy was not awarded Fiume and control of Albania. Post-war Italian nationalists would point out this apparent injustice. Ambulance Service Contributor:  Horacio Lopez-Segura Prior to American entry into WWI, Americans who wanted to help England, France, and Italy could volunteer for ambulance duty. Volunteers served in the American Field Service (AFS), the Norton-Harjes American Ambulance Corps, and the American Red Cross. The AFS actively recruited college students to become ambulance drivers. The Norton-Harjes American Ambulance Corps was founded in 1914 by Richard and Eliot Norton, sons of Harvard professor Charles Eliot Norton, and Henry Harjes, a partner in a Paris-based investment company. Many notable authors joined one of the ambulance services. Examples include John Dos Passos, Ernest Hemingway, W. Somerset Maugham, and Robert Service. Their later writings reflect their wartime experiences. Following U. S. entry into WWI the American Field Service and the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps came under the direction of the U. S. Army's Ambulance Corps. Return to Table of Contents Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day The Great War, as WWI was once known, began in August 1914—the United States entering it in April 1917—and came to an end with an armistice, which, signed at about 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, was to take effect six hours later. Memorably, hostilities ceased at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Nearly five million Americans served in the Armed Forces in WWI; of those, 116,000 gave their lives. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, formally concluded the Great War. Five months later President Woodrow Wilson commemorated the first anniversary of the November 11 Armistice "with pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service," noting "the opportunity [the war] has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations. . . ." By 1926, when twenty-seven of the forty-eight states were observing November 11 as a legal holiday, Congress passed a resolution requesting the U. S. President "to issue a proclamation . . . inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools an churches, or other suitable places. . . ." On May 13, 1938, Congress made Armistice Day a legal holiday. On June 1, 1954, nine years following the end of WWII and one year following the end of the Korean War, Congress redesignated Armistice Day as Veterans Day, a day to honor American veterans of all wars. John Donaldson [Photo Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Until major league baseball was integrated in the mid-twentieth century, racial segregation in American society was reflected in the game of baseball. Beginning in the late 1800s black players had formed their own teams and played each other. When the United States entered the Great War in April 1917 many professional baseball players, white and black, were either drafted or enlisted, almost all black Americans becoming members of the segregated 92nd and 93rd divisions. John Donaldson was a pitcher for the Kansas City All Nations, an interracial team, when he was drafted in 1917. When the draft took many of his teammates the team was disbanded for the duration of the war.1 Donaldson served as a private in the 164th Depot Brigade at Camp Funston, Kansas. Following the war he rejoined the All Nations, whose owner, James Wilkinson, renamed the team the Kansas City Monarchs, a name Donaldson suggested. The Monarchs were charter members of the Negro National League which began in 1920.2 Donaldson played for the Monarchs until his retirement in 1934. Donaldson died in 1970. Dave Malarcher [Photo Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Outfielder Jimmie Lyons and infielder Dave Malarcher both played for the Indianapolis ABCs when they were drafted in 1918 and served in the 809th Pioneer Infantry in France. After the war Malarcher joined the Chicago American Giants and Lyons joined the St. Louis Giants. Malarcher's last season playing baseball was in 1934. He died in 1982. Lyons's last season was with the American Giants in 1925; he died in 1963. Spotswood Poles [Photo Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Spotswood Poles was an outfielder for the New York Lincoln Giants when, following the U. S. declaration of war, he joined the Army. Sgt. Poles earned five battle stars and a Purple Heart during his service in the 93rd Division's 369th Infantry Regiment, the celebrated Harlem Hellfighters. When Poles was discharged in 1919 he rejoined the Lincoln Giants, and ended up playing for several other teams that year—the Hilldale Daisies of Darby, Pennsylvania, the Hellfighters (as player and manager), and the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants. Poles returned to the Lincoln Giants in 1920, playing for them until his retirement in 1923. Poles died in 1962 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 42, Site 2324).3 Wilbur Rogan [Photo Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Between 1912 and 1914 Wilbur Rogan had served in the all black 24th Infantry Regiment, stationed in the Philippines and then the all-black 25th Infantry Regiment stationed in Hawaii, where he played outfield and pitched for the regiment's Wreckers baseball team. Furloughed for several months in 1917, Rogan played for the Los Angeles White Sox, the Kansas City Giants, and the Kansas City All Nations, before returning to duty. In 1918 the 25th Infantry Regiment was moved to Camp Stephen D. Little in Nogales, Arizona. Rogan was discharged in 1920 and went on to play for the Kansas City Monarchs until his retirement in 1938. Rogan died in 1967. Lewis Santop [Photo Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Lewis Santop Lofton, who usually went by Lewis Santop, was a catcher for the Hilldale Daisies when he was drafted in July 1918. When Santop failed his physical exam—doctors noted that his arm appeared to have been broken in the past and twisted—he was reclassified, later entering the Navy in November 1918. He was stationed at Naval Air Detachment in Newport News, Virginia, just before the Armistice. With the end of the war Santop was discharged and returned to the Hilldale Daisies, whose fans, noting his homerun-hitting reputation, nicknamed him Big Bertha, after the long-range German WWI artillery piece. Santop's last season playing baseball was in 1926. He died in 1942 at Philadelphia naval hospital and was buried at Philadelphia National Cemetery. Two black baseball players gave their lives in the war. Pearl Webster, a catcher and outfielder for the Hilldale Daisies, was drafted and served as a corporal in the 807th Pioneer Infantry. Webster contracted the Spanish Flu and died in France five days following the Armistice. Norman Triplett, a pitcher and center fielder for the Hilldale Daisies was a private first class in the 803rd Pioneer Infantry in France. He died in France—cause unknown—in October 1918. The participation of black baseball players in the U. S. military in WWI does not appear to have advanced the prospect of racially integrated baseball following the war. Instead, a formal Negro National League was created in 1920, one year after the Treaty of Versailles was signed formally ending the war between Germany and the Allied Powers. Integrating major league baseball—and all professional sports—did not begin until after World War II, when Jackie Robinson was signed in 1947 to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Andy Hewitt, "A Midwestern Pastime: A Look at Race, John Donaldson, and Baseball in the Midwest," p. 5: johndonaldson.braveheart.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_negro_leagues_teams.jsp#kcm. Major League Baseball During WWI Contributors:  Skylar Nelson, Harrison Reilly The U. S. entered the World War in April 1917, the same month the 1917 baseball season began, and when the first draft law was enacted one month later, many professional baseball players enlisted or were drafted.  Baseball owners were, however, subject to criticism from those who felt that it was unpatriotic to allow some men to play baseball while others went off to war. The war had its most obvious impact on the 1918 season.  As prescribed by the War Department, Provost Marshall General Enoch Crowder, who directed the military draft, announced in May 1918 that, effective July 1, 1918, draft-eligible men employed in "non-essential" occupations must be employed in war-related industries or enlist or be subject to the draft.  That "work or fight" rule would go into effect on September 1, thus requiring a shortened baseball season, 128 games instead of 152. Some players were employed in defense industries, playing for their company teams, though some fellow workers derided them as "slackers."1 Given the War Department's 1918 "work or fight" rule, the 1919 baseball season might have been cancelled had not the war ended in 1918.  The attitude of the Army, that baseball and baseball fans could wait, was reflected in a Stars and Stripes headline reading, "Secretary of War Can See But One League—France." The article noted that "baseball looks to be doomed until Germany is whipped."2 Team owners nervously watched some of their star players leave for the war.  By the winter of 1917 twelve Red Sox players had joined the Army or the Navy, causing Red Sox owner Harry Frazee to write the Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard asking for the release of Red Sox players from the Navy Reserve.  Frazee proposed that the Red Sox could hold exhibition games donating gate money to the Naval Relief Fund.  When the commandant refused the offer, Frazee appealed to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, in turn, appealed to the Commandant.  "In view of the President's statement that he hopes that professional baseball may be continued during the war, I feel that we have a good deal of reason for helping Mr. Frazee."3 The press investigated the story, suggesting that players then in uniform might be able to return to baseball in the 1918 season.  The uproar that resulted caused embarrassment to the players involved, and none returned to his team.  Harry Frazee's fears meanwhile proved unnecessary; even without the players who had left for war, the Red Sox won the American League championship and defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to two in the 1918 World Series. America's patriotic spirit was demonstrated unexpectedly in game one of the 1918 World Series at Chicago's Comiskey Park. In what proved to be a historically eventful seventh inning stretch, the band played "The Star Spangled Banner," and a few spectators immediately sang along; but before the anthem was finished, thousands of fans were joining in the singing.  The anthem ended with an ovation from the nearly twenty thousand fans in attendance.  Singing "The Star Spangled Banner" took place in each of the remaining games, and a tradition was born.  By-the-way, the winning pitcher in game one of the 1918 World Series was George Herman "Babe" Ruth, who allowed six hits in a 1-0 shutout. World War I may have facilitated the making of Babe Ruth into one of the greatest baseball players of all time. When the Boston Red Sox lost a number of key players to the war, players from other teams were acquired to take their places, and pitcher Babe Ruth was assigned to the outfield when he was not slated to pitch. Ruth, who had registered for the draft but was not called to duty, went 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA, but more impressively, in 317 times at bat, he had 66 RBI, hit a league leading 11 home runs, tying Tilly Walker of the Philadelphia Athletics (who had 414 at bats), and sported a .300 batting average. After hitting 29 home runs with a .322 batting average in 1919, the value of Ruth as a full-time batter, rather than as a part-time pitcher and part-time batter, was obvious to everyone. In a transaction that remains controversial to this day, the Boston Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920, and the Yankees played him in the outfield. Ruth went to bat 458 times in the 1920 season, his first with the Yankees, hitting a record 54 home runs with a .376 batting average. For the third consecutive year, and his first with the Yankees, Ruth was the American League home run champion. Remarkably, Ruth would be the American League home run champion twelve times in the fourteen seasons from 1918 to 1931. The pitcher who had become the "sultan of swat" retired from baseball in 1935. Two hundred twenty-seven major leagues players served in the military during WWI4, five of them dying in the service of their country. Eddie Grant, who had retired from baseball following the 1915 season with the New York Giants (he was the team captain) and was a lawyer when he enlisted in the Army in 1917, was commissioned a captain (Company H, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division). He was killed in action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive while part of a rescue operation attempting to reach the Lost Battalion.  Alex Burr, who played one day in the outfield for the New York Yankees in the 1914 season, enlisted in the Army and died ten days before the Armistice in a plane crash in France while serving in the Army Air Service.  Robert Troy, who pitched one game for the Detroit Tigers in 1912, was killed in action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Ralph Sharman, who played thirteen games with the Philadelphia Athletics before being drafted at the end of the 1917 season, drowned at Camp Sheridan, Alabama, while swimming in the Alabama River. Larry Chappell played last with the Boston Braves, and at the end of the 1917 season he enlisted in the Army.  Three days before the Armistice ended the war, Chappell died in France at age 28, a victim of the influenza pandemic. Branch Rickey, vice president and general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals when the U. S. entered WWI, enlisted in the army and was commissioned a major, commanding a chemical warfare unit that included some of baseball's most famous players. His unit included George Sisler, pitcher and first-baseman for the St. Louis Browns who had enlisted in the Army and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Ty Cobb, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers who enlisted in the Army and was commissioned a captain, and Christy Mathewson, a New York Giants pitcher who had retired in 1916 and then managed the Cincinnati Reds, before enlisting in the Army, being commissioned as a captain.  In a badly managed gas mask training exercise in France, Mathewson and Cobb were exposed to poison gas. Both men survived the deadly and chaotic incident (eight men died), but Mathewson's lungs were so badly damaged that he contracted tuberculosis. Mathewson, who had won 373 games in a seventeen-year career, including three consecutive 30-win seasons, returned from the war as a coach for the New York Giants and then as president of the Boston Braves, but he was increasingly debilitated by the tuberculosis he contracted from his exposure to poison gas. He died from the disease at age 47 in 1925. Following the war Rickey returned to baseball, in both managerial and executive positions. Sisler returned to the game, his fifteen-year career, which ended in 1930, producing a .340 batting average.  He remains one of only three players to bat over .400 more than once, and he held the record for most hits in a single season with 257 until 2004 when Ichiro Suzuki, outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, broke the record with 262 hits.  Cobb led the American League in batting (.382) when he enlisted in October 1918.  He returned to the game, retiring in 1928 with a 24-year career .362 batting average. Three times he had a season batting average over .400. Remarkably, in his last season (1928) he hit .323 (114 hits in 353 at-bats). Grover Cleveland Alexander, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, was drafted into the Army, served in an artillery unit, and returned from the war suffering from shell-shock, deafness in one ear, a damaged right shoulder, the result of repetitious pulling of the howitzer firing lanyard, bouts of epilepsy that were worse than ever before, and a growing dependency on alcohol.  Following the war, he pitched for the Chicago Cubs and then the St. Louis Cardinals, retiring from baseball in 1930. His twenty-year career is highlighted by a 2.56 career ERA and more than 2000 strikeouts.  It is a testament to his athleticism that half his 373 career wins came after the war, notwithstanding his injuries and the alcoholism that resulted from his wartime experience. The sensitive question of whether professional baseball should be played in wartime came up again when the United States entered WWII following the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Landis, who remembered the debate over baseball in WWI, wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt offering to suspend baseball during the war.  In what has become known as the "Green Light Letter," President Roosevelt emphasized the recreational benefit that baseball provided millions of fans, a recreational benefit especially welcome in wartime.  Though players of enlistment age would be expected to serve in the military, the April-October baseball season during the war years, 1942-1945, remained unchanged. As was the case in WWI, many premier young players went off to war. Among them during WWII were Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians, Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. Geoffrey Ward, ed., Baseball, An Illustrated History (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), p. 131. "Khaki or Overalls for Ball Players," Stars and Stripes (Paris edition), 26 July 1918, p. 6, col. 1. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Letter to Captain William R. Rush, 24 January 1918 National Archives, www.archives.gov/northwest/boston/featured document/red-sox-nation.html. Return to Table of Contents Convoy System Just six days after Congress voted in favor of a declaration of war against Germany, and ten weeks before the arrival in France of the first American soldiers, U. S. Rear Admiral William Sims spoke in London with British First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. Jellicoe advised Sims that if German u-boat success at sinking Allied ships were to continue, it would not be possible to continue the war. Sims, who a month after his visit with Jellicoe was promoted to Vice-Admiral in command of all U. S. naval forces in Europe, advocated a convoy system to counter the on-going threat of u-boat attacks. Merchant ships and troop transports would be escorted by naval vessels—cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo boats, for example. Depth Charges Contributor:  Paul Sargent During WWI the German navy relied on its submarines—u-boats—to harass Allied navies and commercial shipping. U-boats proved difficult to sight, and even when they surfaced, artillery fire was lucky to hit the small target. Only occasionally could a u-boat be successfully rammed. British Admiral Sir Charles Malden, a Grand Fleet staff officer, commented to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe in 1915, "Wouldn't it have been fine if they had a mine that when dropped overboard, exploded when it reached the depth at which the submarines were lying."* The "mine" that resulted from Malden's comment was a 100 pound 3-foot-long steel drum accommodating about 300 pounds of TNT. The 400 pound device would be pushed over the side of the attacking vessel. The device's pressure-sensitive firing mechanism would activate at a prescribed depth. Because the underwater explosion posed a potential danger to the attacking vessel on the surface above, "throwers" were developed in 1918, capable of launching the depth charge a distance of about 75 yards. A depth charge explosion at 25 feet from a u-boat would destroy the u-boat; at 50 feet the u-boat would be crippled and, even if not crippled, the crew would suffer deafness and sometimes shell-shock. *Quoted in Douglas Botting, ed., The U-Boats (Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979), p. 70. The Harlem Hellfighters Contributors:  Stephanie Ball, Valentina Sainato Following the Civil War the segregated U. S. Army had four black regiments, the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. Those four regiments of "buffalo soldiers," all commanded by white officers, were in service when the U. S. entered the Great War in April 1917, but racial prejudice prevented those regiments from being shipped to Europe for combat. Racial prejudice in the military reflected white American racial attitudes of the time, and blacks in the military were always segregated and almost always assigned to menial duties or heavy labor in support of white troops. White soldiers often refused to salute black officers and black officers were denied admission to officers' clubs. The experience of black enlisted men was far worse. When the U. S. entered the Great War, blacks who were drafted or enlisted initially saw no opportunity to go into combat until the War Department created two all-black divisions, the 92nd and the 93rd. Those divisions had some black officers, though white officers dominated the command structure. From those two divisions, one regiment, the 369th Infantry Regiment, later known as "the Harlem Hellfighters," is perhaps best remembered. The history of the 369th Infantry Regiment began in 1913 when the New York state legislature called for the creation of an African-American National Guard regiment. That volunteer regiment, the 15th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment, was not actually organized, however, until 1916. When the U. S. entered the Great War a year later the 15th New York, with both black and white officers, was federalized and its troops trained at Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, South Carolina. During training the regiment was subjected to racial harassment from white soldiers and white residents in the surrounding area. In December 1917, the 15th Infantry was attached to the 185th Infantry Brigade. One month later the 185th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 93rd Division, and the 15th Infantry Regiment was re-designated as the 369th Infantry Regiment. All the enlisted men and some of the officers were black. Anxious to have Americans contributing to the fighting on the Western Front, France pressured General Pershing to commit U. S. troops. In early April 1918 Pershing released the four regiments of the 93rd Division to be further trained and then commanded by French officers in the French army's 161st Division. Those African-American doughboys were trained to use French weapons and they wore French helmets. With French colonial soldiers from Africa already fighting alongside the French on the Western Front, French soldiers, unlike white American soldiers, readily accepted African Americans as worthy fellow soldiers. The 369th, which saw action in, for example, Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood, earned the nickname "the Harlem Hellfighters," and the French helmet became the official patch of the unit. When the war ended, the 369th's 191 days in combat went on record as a longer period in combat than was experienced by any other U. S. military unit in WWI, and for "gallantry in action" the French government awarded the Croix de Guerre to 171 officers and men of the 369th Infantry Regiment. The 369th Regiment's assignment to the French 161st Division ended one month after the Armistice, and the unit, demobilized at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, in February 1919, was returned to the New York National Guard. Nearly 400,000 African-Americans had served in WWI, mostly in the Army, some in the Navy. None was permitted to enlist in the Marines. Of the 400,000, about half were sent to France, but only about 40,000 of those saw combat. All African-Americans who served in uniform had reason to take pride in their military service. Despite racial discrimination in their own country and in the military itself, they had demonstrated their patriotism and their faith in a nation that would hopefully turn away from racial discrimination. Gold Star Mothers Contributor:  Helena Pennington When the U. S. entered the Great War in 1917, 23-year-old George Seibold of Washington, D. C., enlisted as an airman, receiving training in Canada since the United States did not have a pilot training program in place at that time. Lt. Seibold was eventually assigned to a British aero squadron in France. Seibold's mother Grace meanwhile volunteered in Washington, D. C., area hospitals to aid injured and emotionally traumatized doughboys who had returned from Europe. In October 1918 the Seibold family received official notice that Lt. George Seibold had been killed in combat. In an effort to avoid depression, George's mother Grace decided to rededicate herself to her hospital work, and comforting grieving mothers who had lost their sons in the war. In January 1929 she helped form the American Gold Star Mothers, incorporated in the District of Columbia. The organization was dedicated to (1) comforting mothers who lost their sons in war and (2) caring for veterans whose conditions required their confinement to hospitals The gold star of the Gold Star Mothers derives from a decision made by President Woodrow Wilson in May 1918, that service flags—flown from, for example, homes, businesses, and churches—should have one blue star for each member serving in the war and one gold star for each member who died in the war. About 116,000 U. S. military personnel died in WWI and most of them were buried in Europe. In 1919 the War Department advised next-of-kin that eight cemeteries would soon be built in France, Belgium, and England for Americans buried there during the war, and families of those veterans had the option of leaving the body in Europe for burial in one of the new cemeteries or returning the body for burial in the United States. Ultimately, about 33,000 American WWI veterans remained for burial in Europe. In the decade following the war mothers and widows of veterans buried in Europe lobbied Congress for assistance in providing a means for them to visit their sons' or husbands' graves. In 1929 Congress finally passed a measure providing for two-week pilgrimages under the direction of the Army Quartermaster Corps. About 6,700 women participated in the pilgrimages, which took place between 1930 and 1933. Sadly, American segregation attitudes of the time were reflected in this government-sponsored program. African-American gold star mothers and widows traveled on separate ships and trains, and were accommodated separately. Today, Gold Star Mothers embraces (a) mothers who have lost their sons or daughters in any war and (b) husbands and wives who have lost their spouses in any war. As designated by President Franklin Roosevelt in June 1936, the last Sunday in September is observed as Gold Star Mother's Day. Henry Ford's "Peace Ship" Diplomacy Contributor:  Chase Moniz In November 1915, American pacifists Jane Addams and Louis Lochner met with U. S. automaker Henry Ford—who earlier in the year had spoken publicly about his opposition to war—to discuss whether the neutral United States might join with other neutral countries to mediate an end to the Great War, which was then fifteen months in progress. Addams was then serving as president of the American Women's Peace Party and had served as chairman of the International Congress of Women, a three-day conference which took place at The Hague in Holland seven months earlier. Ford saw promise in The Hague resolutions, which called for a permanently sitting peace commission comprised of neutral nations. Ford, Addams, Lochner, and Rosika Schwimmer, a Hungarian pacifist visiting the United States, decided to appeal to President Woodrow Wilson—as had Addams following the Hague conference—to take up the cause of mediating an end to the war. At a meeting with Wilson on November 22, 1915, Ford advised the President that he had, at his own expense, already chartered a ship (the Scandinavian-American passenger liner Oskar II) to transport U. S. delegates to a peace conference of neutral nations at The Hague in Holland, and he hoped Wilson would appoint the delegates. As had been the case with Addams, Wilson declined giving support to Ford's effort at independent diplomacy, a rejection that prompted Ford to comment to Lochner as the two exited the White House, "He's a small man."1 Ford then announced that he would take it upon himself to organize a peace mission. On November 24, 1915, Ford confidently predicted, "We are going to get the boys out of the trenches by Christmas." He then sent telegrams to political and business leaders and anti-war advocates whom he hoped would agree to serve as peace delegates. With only a month to achieve what seemed an unlikely goal, American newspapers ran stories generally belittling Ford's "Peace Ship" diplomacy as idealistic, unrealistic, and amateurish.2 When the Oskar II departed Hoboken, New Jersey, on December 4, 1915, eighty-three delegates were on board, thirty of whom were college students.3 Secretarial staff and newspaper reporters and photographers accounted for an almost equal number of additional passengers. Among the few nationally recognizable delegate names were Governor Louis Hanna of North Dakota and Samuel McClure, publisher of McClure's Magazine. Illness kept Jane Addams from joining the delegation. Three days into a voyage meant to bring about peace in Europe, the delegates were alarmed to learn that President Wilson had spoken before Congress earlier that day on the topic of preparedness, calling for an increase in the size of the Army. A day later an on-board newspaper reporter wrote an account of a meeting of the delegates during which one of them proposed, despite Wilson's potentially disruptive stance on preparedness, "Who knows but that we ourselves may bring those diplomats and rulers and statesmen around their table, face to face, to talk things over quietly a little sooner than they would have done if Henry Ford had not brought us upon this ship?"4 Oskar II arrived first at Christiana (renamed Oslo in 1925) Norway, on December 18, 1915, where Ford, at least ostensibly ill from a cold, boarded another ship for a return to the United States. Oskar II then continued to Stockholm, Sweden, and then to Copenhagen, Denmark, boarding peace delegates at each location. From Copenhagen, Denmark, the delegates boarded a train for The Hague in Holland. With delegates representing Denmark, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States in attendance, the conference convened in January 1916, but to the dismay of Schwimmer and Lochner, who directed the conference, the absence of Ford in the proceedings caused some European participants to abandon further attendance.5 No representatives of the belligerent nations attended. On January 11, 1916, most of the American delegates departed Holland for a return to the United States. The remaining delegates designated Stockholm, Sweden, as the permanent site for the Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation. That body, with representatives from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, held meetings throughout the war.6 Ford terminated his financial support for the American delegates early in 1917,7 and when the United States entered the Great War in April 1917 Ford converted his automobile factories for the production of war materials—airplane engines, tanks, and trucks, for example. His transition from anti-war advocate to war supporter was not unique among the Peace Ship participants. Many of the college delegates joined the military when the U. S. entered the war. One was William Draper, who had been chairman of the student delegation at The Hague and later became a U. S. Army general.8 On the fiftieth anniversary of Ford's peach ship journey, 79-year-old Louis Lochner, one of the peace delegates of 1915, commented, "Well, the peace ship was a stunt but the welfare of humanity was in our thoughts. We felt that somebody ought to do something to end the war, and we did our best." As for long-term effects, he added, "Maybe it all came to nothing in the end, but who knows? Perhaps the Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation germinated the idea which grew long after into the United Nations."9 Though appeals to the warring nations had failed to bring about the desired mediation, the Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation arguably served as a forerunner of Wilson's League of Nations and, later, the United Nations. Peter Collier and David Horowitz, The Fords: An American Epic (New York: Summit Books, 1987), p. 74. John McCool, "1916: Giving Peace a Chance, Sort of," This Week in KU History, January 31, 2007: http://www.kuhistory.com. Ibid. Return to Table of Contents Hindenburg Line Known to the Germans as the Siegfried Line, the Hindenburg Line was a series of defensive positions, altogether about 100 miles long, established in northeastern France near the Belgian border by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff in the winter of 1916-1917 across a salient of the German front. The Hindenburg Line was fortified with concrete bunkers, tunnels, machine guns, anti-tank trenches, and barbed wire. Between February and May 1917 German forces on the salient were ordered back to the Hindenburg Line, a decision that reduced the length of the German defensive line by about thirty miles and therefore allowed a large number of German forces to be assigned elsewhere. In the November-December 1917 Battle of Cambrai, British forces temporarily broke through the Hindenburg Line; by October 5, 1918, Americans had broken the Line in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which had begun on September 26, 1918. Influenza Pandemic Contributor:  Valentina Sainato From 1918, the last year of the Great War, through 1919, an influenza pandemic spread throughout much of the world and took more lives than were lost in the Great War. In fact, two to three times as many people died from the influenza pandemic as died in combat. The total number of deaths (military and civilian) in WWI is about 16 million. Somewhere between 30 and 50 million people died worldwide from the disease. Sometimes referred to as the Spanish Flu, though its geographical origins are unknown, the influenza epidemic of 1918 was the world's deadliest pandemic since the Great Plague of the fourteenth century. About half of those who died from influenza were between twenty and forty years of age, a statistic that remains puzzling since people in that age bracket might otherwise be considered best able to combat disease. Three apparent waves of the pandemic struck in the two years the influenza pandemic took place, the second wave taking the most lives. A number of factors may explain the rapid spreading of the disease. The crowded conditions on troop ships, followed by dense deployment of military personnel in unsanitary trenches, and the soldiers' weakened physical conditions resulting from substandard diet and exhaustion, and possibly exposure to poison gases, may have facilitated the spreading of the disease. Military personnel returning home may have brought this especially virulent strain of influenza with them, thus transmitting the disease to other geographical areas. By the end of 1919 the pandemic had passed. About 700,000 Americans died from the flu, a number ten times greater than the number of American military personnel who died as a result of enemy fire. Return to Table of Contents Lafayette Escadrille In April 1916, one year before U. S. entry into the Great War, two Americans organized an air squadron made up of volunteer American pilots who wanted to help the French cause. The two organizers were Dr. Edmund Gros, then serving as director of the volunteer American Ambulance Service in France, and Norman Prince, an American pilot who went to France to help organize the squadron. Originally named the Escadrille Americaine and later the Lafayette Escadrille, the squadron's name was that of the aristocrat who had volunteered his services to help General George Washington during the American Revolution. Nearly three hundred American pilots volunteered in the squadron during the war, shooting down some two hundred German planes. In January 1918, some nine months after the U. S. declaration of war, the Lafayette Escadrille became the U. S. Army's 103rd Pursuit Squadron. Memorial Day [Image Courtesy of National Archives] Even before the Civil War had ended in 1865, civilians in the north and south were decorating the graves of soldiers and sailors who had died in combat. Three years following the end of the war, on May 5, 1868, the Union veterans organization Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), proclaimed a national "Decoration Day." The GAR commander, General John Logan, advised the GAR membership, that May 30, two and on-half weeks hence, "is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion. …" On that May 30 a Decoration Day ceremony took place at Arlington National Cemetery, attendees placing flowers at the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Annual May 30 Decoration Day events took place in a growing number of places in the following years, but the GAR's role in the origins of the event caused southern states to honor the Confederate dead on days other than May 30. In 1873 New York became the first state to designate Decoration Day as a formal holiday. By 1890 all the northern states had set aside May 30 as either Decoration Day or Memorial Day, the latter name soon gaining preference. During World War I Memorial Day was, apparently, celebrated even amidst the fighting in France. With the approach of Memorial Day, 1918, the following was reported in The Stars and Stripes newspaper: "The French will join with the Americans in the observation of Memorial Day, long set aside in the American calendar for the decoration of those graves where our soldiers and sailors are buried. At many a post in the A.E.F. there will be reverent ceremonies, reminiscent of the old-fashioned Decoration Day observances back home."* World War I was a turning point for southern states which, up to then, had refused to honor a May 30 Memorial Day. Following WWI, when Memorial Day came to honor Americans who had died in any war, southern states accepted May 30 as Memorial Day, even though many southern states additionally set aside a Confederate Memorial Day to honor Confederate soldiers and sailors who had died in the Civil War. The 1971 National Holiday Act sets aside the last Monday in May as Memorial Day, a national holiday. *"French Will Join in Memorial Day," The Stars and Stripes (Paris, France), 24 May 1918, p. 2, col. 3. Munitions for War: Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Bethlehem Loading Company and Belcoville Contributors:  Harrison Reilly, Campbell Smith The ordnance department of Bethlehem Steel Corporation decided, c1910, to find a suitable munitions proving ground site within a 250-mile radius of the company's headquarters in Bethlehem, New Jersey. By the time the U. S. entered WWI in April 1917, Bethlehem Steel had acquired about 6,000 acres in Weymouth Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, but, instead of using the land as a proving ground, the company's Bethlehem Loading Company decided to build a large munitions plant and facilities for the loading of high explosive shells. Expecting that private industry did not have sufficient capital to complete construction in time for the war effort, the U. S. government, in an apparently unique role, partnered with Bethlehem Steel in order to finance the building of the munitions plant. The partnership expedited construction so that by 1918 munitions were being manufactured at the site. The Bethlehem Loading Company munitions plant was one of fourteen U. S. munitions plants, all on the east coast, operating during WWI. Of those fourteen munitions plants, three included villages for their employees and families. Bethlehem Loading Company's Belcoville was one of those company towns (its name derived from Bethlehem Loading Company). Belcoville, which accommodated more than 400 families in houses of various sizes and 3000 single employees in dormitories, also included, for example, various stores, a school, a firehouse, post office, bank, restaurants, barber shop, YMCA and YWCA, and a bowling alley. After the war the Mays Landing Water Company purchased Belcoville from the Bethlehem Loading Company and then rented the houses to its employees. In 1938 the company sold half the houses at a public auction on condition that the purchasers remove the houses from the site. Today about 100 houses remain, and almost all are privately owned. Of the public buildings only the firehouse, school, and Post Office remain. The Belcoville Post Office is on both the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag” Contributor:  Violet Elder American Record Featuring the Song [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] In 1915, two brothers, pianist Felix Powell and actor George Powell, both employed in British music hall productions, collaborated in composing a song that would inspire British soldiers going off to fight in the Great War, which was then in its second year. Entitled "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag"—music by Felix Powell with lyrics written by George Powell, who used the pseudonym "George Asaf"—the song became one of the most memorable songs produced in England during WWI and arguably one of the most memorable songs produced by any nation during WWI, and it was sung on both sides of the conflict. Shortly after its publication in England and two years before the American declaration of war, "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag" sheet music was available for purchase in the United States through Chappell & Co., Ltd., in New York City. A hit song in the United States and with American doughboys, the music was even sung by German soldiers following the Armistice in November 1918.1 Though "Pack Up Your Troubles" was an immediate hit, neither the composer nor the lyricist had thought the song worth publishing. As Felix later recalled, "I played the tune over to George. He, without hesitation, pronounced it piffle. Having mutually agreed it was rubbish, it was consigned to a drawer labeled 'Duds,'" but when the Powell brothers entered the song "as a joke" into a marching song competition, it won first prize. Felix recalled how that news "gave George and me the best laugh of our lives. . . . We were as amused as we were delighted to hear thousands of troops singing it en route for the docks."2 Perhaps the words of the chorus served to ease the transition soldiers knew they would have to experience, leaving the security of home and facing the uncertainties that lay ahead. Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile, While you've a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that's the style. What's the use of worrying? It never was worth while, so Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile. The song's celebrated composer enlisted in the army and used his musical talents to entertain the troops at the front; George was a pacifist, and a conscientious objector. Though the song added significantly to the brothers' income, Felix eventually felt an emotional burden from making so much money while so many of his countrymen, singing his song, were marching off to war and dying in combat. According to Felix's grandson Aubrey Powell, Felix "was singing and encouraging them to fight with this song, and I think it got to him. By all accounts he had a kind of nervous breakdown in the trenches. He found it unbearable." Aubrey concludes, "I think the song, and the proceeds of the song, haunted him."3 Following the war the Powell brothers opened the Lureland theater in Peacehaven, England, but financial reverses eventually took their toll, and despite Felix's concerted efforts, he never again succeeded in composing a hit song, royalties from which would have paid his mounting debts.4 At sixty-four years of age, Felix committed suicide on February 10, 1942. World War II, in its third year at that time, renewed the popularity of "Pack Up Your Troubles," and, ironically, royalties from the music allowed Felix's widow to pay off the debts that had made her husband so tragically despondent.5 George Powell died in 1951. Gerard Gilbert, "Chapter and Verse: The Surprising Story of the Song 'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag'," The Independent (London: November 4, 2010): http://www.independent.co.uk/arts. Ibid. Preparedness Contirbutors:  Horacio Lopez-Segura, Forrest Minter, Harrison Reilly In May 1916 Congress passed the National Defense Act, a measure designed to put the United States on the path to “preparedness,” in case the Great War, then nearly two years running, should one day include the United States. The National Defense Act was, in retrospect, a remarkably modest measure considering that the European nations then at war each had millions of men in uniform. When the Great War broke out in 1914, the number of men serving in the United States armed forces was meager in number and unprepared for the kind of combat then taking place in Europe. Concern about the absence of American “preparedness” increased following the May 1915 sinking of the British liner RMS Lusitania. The Navy League of the United States, founded in 1902 with the encouragement of then President Theodore Roosevelt, and other groups lobbied Congress to vote additional military spending, arguing that American neutrality depended on a strong military. Some who advocated preparedness believed that the United States would inevitably have to intervene as an ally of England and France. 1 Preparedness was opposed by pacifists, women’s groups, and pro-German Americans who felt certain the United States would never ally with Germany. Encouraged by preparedness advocates—including former president Theodore Roosevelt, former Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and Army Chief of Staff General Leonard Wood—the War Department created a volunteer training camp at Plattsburg Barracks in Plattsburg, New York, in the summer of 1915. Regular army officers trained about 1,300 civilian volunteers for military service. All paid $30 for the four-week experience, which included the cost of a volunteer’s uniform. “The Plattsburg Idea” proved popular and in the summer of 1916 a number of additional Plattsburgs were training some 16,000 men as future Army officers. President Wilson had been initially opposed to preparedness, believing that any military buildup could be interpreted as preparation for war. Former Secretary of State Bryan and Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin argued that preparedness was actually backed by warmongers and those who would be sure to profit if the United States should enter the war. But with Republicans seeing the country’s lack of preparedness as a potential campaign issue in the November 1916 election, Wilson took steps to modify his opposition to preparedness.2 By late summer 1915, Wilson had begun to support what he called “reasonable preparedness.”3 On December 7, 1915, Wilson presented to Congress a plan to expand the Army and Navy. In January 1916 Wilson went on a speaking tour of the country arguing that military preparedness would make the United States powerful enough that no foreign power would risk attacking the country. Several cities held preparedness parades, Wilson marching in the Washington, D.C. Preparedness Parade, which took place on June 14, 1916. Meanwhile, on March 7, 1916, Wilson appointed Newton Baker as Secretary of War. While mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Baker had opposed preparedness, but he, too, saw reason to change his mind. In May 1916 Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916, which provided for an increase in the size of the Regular Army to 175,000 men, 223,000 over a five-year period. The National Guard would be increased from about 100,000 to 450,000 men. A Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program was inaugurated on college and university campuses. With President Wilson, Secretary of War Baker, and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels encouraging passage, Congress passed in August 1916 the Navy Act of 1916, the so-called “Big Navy Act,” which, providing for a ten-year ship construction program to include battleships, destroyers, and submarines, would make the United States Navy second to none. As a result of the August 1916 “Big Navy Act,” the U. S. Navy was better prepared for war than was the Army. With fourteen dreadnoughts, 250 destroyers, 36 submarines, and 80,000 sailors, the U. S. Navy was among the best navies in the world. The Wilson Administration’s steps toward preparedness meant that by the time the United States entered the Great War in April 1917 the regular army numbered 137,000 men, and 181,000 men were in the National Guard.4 Each of the major powers then at war had millions of men in uniform. Not only was the United States unprepared in terms of the number of men in uniform; the country was also industrially unprepared. At least until the spring of 1918, military training did not include machine guns, artillery, aircraft, and tanks. Remarkably, most doughboys arrived in France as yet untrained in the use of machine guns, grenades, and cannon.5 Training in the use of those weapons would take place in France just before deployment to the front. Samuel Eliot Morison, The Oxford History of the American People (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 853. Daniel Boorstin and Brooks Kelley, A History of the United States (Needham, MA: Prentice Hall, 1996), pp. 552-553. David Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), p.32. Edward Lengel, To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008), p. 18. Ibid., p. 34. "Razzle Dazzle" Contributor:  Christopher Rusiewicz Allied ships—troop transports and naval vessels—were camouflaged during WWI. The camouflage technique was called "razzle dazzle" or "dazzle," a then novel style of camouflage intended to confuse the enemy enough that their shelling or torpedoing would miss the intended target. "Razzle dazzle" was a camouflage of painted stripes and geometric patterns originally proposed by Norman Wilkinson, a British artist and naval officer. Though the effectiveness of this camouflage technique in WWI is debatable, the intent was to confound the enemy's ability to determine accurately a ship's direction, speed, and distance. Rangefinders required the operator to align two images of the intended target. Ships camouflaged in "razzle dazzle" supposedly made that task more challenging since the rangefinder's operator, who had to align a divided image of his target, in this case had to align two images with differently shaped patterns or lines. U-boats fired torpedoes in a direction ahead of the Allied vessel, with calculations of the torpedo's contact based on the Allied ship's assumed speed and distance, both presumably more difficult to calculate if the ship were painted in "razzle dazzle" camouflage. A ship masked in "razzle dazzle" was, according to those who promoted the camouflage technique, more likely to escape from disaster than if it were not. Red Cross Christmas Contributor:  Georgia McClain In December 1917, seven months following the United States declaration of war on Germany, the American Red Cross began what became, for the next quarter-century, an annual Christmas Roll Call, where Americans were encouraged to donate at least one dollar to become a Red Cross member. The campaign proved a resounding success. Where about 500,000 Americans were members of the Red Cross when the U. S. entered WWI in April 1917, membership rose to about 31 million in November 1918 when the war ended. The Red Cross Christmas Roll Calls and the Red Cross War Fund drives of 1917 and 1918, raised hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the many services the Red Cross provided during the war. Among the critically important services were the building and volunteer staffing of base hospitals and canteens in Europe. Return to Table of Contents The Red Poppy / Flanders Poppy During the spring seasons of WWI, vast amounts of red poppies—arguably unprecedented amounts of red poppies—appeared along the Western Front in northern France and Belgium, perhaps because artillery fire, which so violently tortured the landscape, had brought to the surface additional poppy seeds, which otherwise would have remained buried and dormant. In the spring of 1915, the Canadian doctor Maj. John McCrae immortalized the red poppy in a poem he was moved to write on the day following the death of a friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, in a battle near Ypres, in a Belgian region called Flanders. That poem, "In Flanders Fields," was first published in the British magazine Punch on December 8, 1915, becoming instantly popular and remaining to this day one of the most enduring poems of the war. On January 28, 1918, McCrae—by then Lt. Col. John McCrae—died of pneumonia and meningitis in Boulogne, France. He was buried at Wimereux Cemetery, about three miles from Boulogne. In the United States and elsewhere the red poppy, sometimes called the Flanders Poppy, quickly became a symbol of remembrance, still used by, for example, the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Schlieffen Plan Contirbutor:  Andrew Abdalla In 1905 Alfred von Schlieffen, Chief of Staff of the German Army, devised a military strategy, later known as the Schlieffen Plan, which would be implemented should Germany ever find itself simultaneously at war with France and Russia. In the event of such a war, and believing Russia would require six weeks to mobilize its forces against Germany, Schlieffen argued that Germany's ultimate victory would depend on first defeating France and then turning the German armies against Russia before that six-week period had elapsed. In order to avoid France's heavy fortifications on the German-French border, Schlieffen proposed that German troops invade France via Belgium and the Netherlands. If the French were defeated according to plan, Britain, which had guaranteed Belgian neutrality, would either not respond to the German action or not have enough time to do anything about it. In 1906 Helmuth von Moltke replaced the retiring Schlieffen (Schlieffen would die in 1912) as Chief of Staff of the German Army. By 1914 he had modified the Schlieffen Plan so that the German invasion of France would go through Belgium, but not also through the Netherlands. He hoped that the German violation of only one country's neutrality might prevent Britain from declaring war. When Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914, Britain, honoring its 1839 commitment to defend Belgian neutrality, declared war on Germany. The advance of the German army was impeded by von Moltke's decision to eliminate the Netherlands and use only Belgium as a gateway to France and by the brave defense of the Belgian army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which had been sent to France. As anticipated in the Schlieffen Plan, French troops meanwhile advanced on Germany through Alsace-Lorraine. Schlieffen's plan was to impede the French advance while German forces would move rapidly through Belgium and into northern France, and then in a wide, counter-clockwise arc approach and then defeat the trapped French armies from the rear. German confidence in a quick victory was dampened by the speedy deployment of the British Expeditionary Force in France, Belgium's resistance to the German invasion, and German difficulties maintaining supply lines to its armies. The success of the German invasion may also have been compromised by von Moltke's decision to reduce the number of German troops Schlieffen had originally determined would be necessary for victory. Nevertheless, German troops invaded northeastern France and with both French and British forces in retreat to the Marne River, Paris, only thirty miles distant from German lines, seemed likely to fall. French General Joseph Joffre, Chief of the General Staff, and Sir John French, Commander in Chief of the BEF, began a counteroffensive on September 5, 1914. Thus began the five-day First Battle of the Marne (September 5-10, 1914). The timely arrival of 6,000 French troops, brought to the front from Paris in taxi cabs, may have helped prevent a German victory. German forces retreated and established trench lines that would protract the war. The German offensive had failed, the six-week mark passed, and Germany was forced to wage the two-front war that the Schlieffen Plan was meant to avoid. On the Western Front a four-year-long war of attrition had begun. Return to Table of Contents Signal Corps "Hello Girls" General John Pershing wanted women to volunteer for the U. S. Army Signal Corps to work telephone switchboards in France and England. Women who were at least twenty-five years of age, single, and fluent in French were eligible. Thousands volunteered, including some who were underage, and eventually about three hundred were accepted. They had to buy their own uniforms, but they were sworn in at the rank of lieutenant. In March 1918 the first group of Signal Corps women arrived in France. They and those who followed were stationed in various places in France and England. Because of the American custom of answering the telephone with the word "hello," they soon were nicknamed the "Hello Girls." The largest telephone exchange was at Tours, which employed thirty-five women. Others worked at Pershing's headquarters and others had assignments where they moved with the troops. This would be the first time in history that soldiers in the field would be communicating with their commanders behind the lines. When the war ended some operators were assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and some had duties associated with the peace treaty deliberations taking place at Versailles. During WWI Army nurses and Signal Corps volunteers were the only women wearing Army uniforms, but when the war ended the U. S. government did not recognize Signal Corps service as being part of the U. S. Army. The government argument was that they were civilians who had been employed on a temporary basis by the Army. Despite being sworn into the Army, despite being required to wear an Army uniform, and despite having to follow Army regulations, the women of the Signal Corps were not recognized as Army veterans until 1978, sixty years after the war had ended. The seventy WWI "Hello Girls" who were still alive received honorable discharges, veterans' benefits, and WWI Victory Medals. Return to Table of Contents Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Among the thousands of Americans buried in France during and immediately after World War I, hundreds were unidentifiable and were therefore buried in unmarked graves. On March 4, 1921, three years and four months following the end of the Great War, as WWI was then known, Congress passed a resolution providing for the burial in Arlington National Cemetery of one of America's unidentified WWI soldiers. In compliance with procedure outlined by the War Department, the remains of four unknown American soldiers were brought to Châlons-sur-Marne, where the honor of selecting one of them as America's "Unknown Soldier" was given to Sgt. Edward Younger, a decorated American who had been wounded in action. The casket bearing this unknown soldier was brought to the United States on board the USS Olympia, a Navy cruiser which, during the 1898 Spanish American War, had been Admiral George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay. The Olympia arrived at the Washington, D. C., Navy Yard on November 9, 1921. The casket containing the "Unknown Soldier" was then taken by horse-drawn caisson from the Navy Yard to the Capital, where it lay in state in the Capitol rotunda for two days, until Armistice Day, November 11, when the casket was taken to Arlington National Cemetery and, following a ceremony held at the recently completed Memorial Amphitheater and officiated by President Warren G. Harding, was placed in a marble sarcophagus. In 1926, five years following the burial of the Unknown Soldier, Congress appropriated $50,000 for completion of a tomb to mark the grave site. The tomb, designed by Thomas Hudson Jones and completed in 1932, bears the solemn inscription, "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as it unofficially came to be called, marked the burial spot of a single unknown American until 1958 when two plaza-level marble slabs were emplaced at the foot of the monument, marking the crypts of unknown soldiers from wars subsequent to WWI. One marks the burial site of an unknown WWII soldier, the other an unidentified soldier of the Korean War. A third slab, which had been emplaced in 1984, once marked the burial site of an unknown soldier from the Vietnam War, until the advent of DNA testing made possible his identification in 1998. That serviceman was then buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri, while a new slab replacing the original was installed bearing the inscription, "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen." Today, what was once known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is referred to as the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Tomb of the Unknowns, hallowed ground and the most visited burial site in the country, reminds us that every life has great and irreplaceable value. U. S. Intervention at Murmansk and Archangel Contributor:  Lucas Immer U. S. intervention in Russia also took place at Murmansk and Archangel. When Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated in March 1917 a provisional government under the leadership of Alexander Kerensky continued the Russian war effort. The US entered the war in April and, along with other Allied powers, shipped military supplies to Archangel on the White Sea and Murmansk on the Barents Sea in order to bolster the Russian war effort. In those north Russian ports Allied supplies accumulated just as the Bolsheviks seized power and began negotiations with Germany to bring to an end the war on the Eastern Front. To prevent those supplies from falling into German hands and in hopes of assisting the evacuation of the Czech Legion from Russia, Allied forces landed at Archangel. U. S. forces arrived in September 1918, (at about the same time U. S. forces were landing at Vladivostok) and were placed under British command. The American North Russian Expeditionary Force (ANREF), some 5,000 doughboys mostly from Michigan and other mid-western states, was made up of the 339th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, the 337th Ambulance Company, and the 337th Field Hospital of the Army's 85th Division. By the time the ANREF arrived at Archangel in September 1918, Russia had already left the war, having signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk six months earlier. The Great War itself would last only two months more, ending with the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Russia's war with the Central Powers had ended, but the Russian Civil War had begun, a conflict between the Bolshevik Reds and the White Russians who remained loyal to the deposed czar. In what appeared to be an effort to reestablish the Eastern Front by enlisting Whites and the Czech Legion, the Allied forces in north Russia were soon aiding the White armies in the Russian Civil War. When the Great War ended with the Armistice of November 11, 1918, the Allies were without justification for remaining on Russian soil, but all Allied forces did not depart Russia until June 1920. American forces were still deployed in Russia as late as June 1919, seven months after the Great War had come to an end. The nine-month-long North Russian campaign cost some 250 American lives either in combat or due to disease. As a result of their north Russian experience the American North Russian Expeditionary Force named themselves "The Polar Bears." The Czech Legion and U. S. Intervention at Vladivostok Contributor:  Lucas Immer The Czech Legion, which fought in concert with the Russian army against the Central Powers, was made up of ethnic Czechs living in Russia and Czech and Slovak prisoners-of-war and deserters from the Austro-Hungarian army. About 50,000-strong, the Czech Legion supported Czechs in the Austrian Empire who had long dreamed of independence. The Czech Legion's role fighting the Central Powers came to an end when, a few months after the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia in November 1917, the new Bolshevik government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, formally ending war on the Eastern Front. Though the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk took Russia out of the war, the Czech Legion hoped it could continue fighting the Central Powers on the Western Front. The only apparent way for the Czech Legion to exit Russia and get to the Western Front was to travel across Russia to the Siberian port of Vladivostok. That route would require some 5,000 miles of transportation on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Czech Legion hoped it could then be transported by ship from Vladivostok to France. Unsympathetic with the Bolshevik government which had quit the Great War, the Czech Legion sided with the pro-czar Whites against the Bolshevik Reds in the Russian Civil War which followed the Bolshevik seizure of power. The July 16, 1918, Bolshevik execution of Czar Nicholas and his family in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg may have been prompted by the imminent arrival of the Czech Legion as it traveled eastward on the Trans-Siberian Railway en route to Vladivostok. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U. S. military to occupy Vladivostok as a way to rescue the Czech Legion from possible annihilation by the Bolsheviks and as a way to safeguard and then retrieve massive amounts of military supplies the Allies had shipped there. Portions of the Czech Legion had already reached Vladivostok by the time U. S., British, and Japanese forces arrived to assist in their evacuation. Under the command of Major General William Graves, 8,000 American soldiers, designated AEF Siberia, arrived in Vladivostok in August and early September 1918 (at about the same time U. S. forces were landing at Archangel and Murmansk), six months after Russia had signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and only about two months before the Great War ended with the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Though Graves was under orders not to become embroiled in the fighting between the Reds and the Whites, conflict with the Reds did take place, and by the time the last U. S. forces departed Vladivostok by late spring 1920, some twenty months after their arrival, about 350 Americans had died either in combat or due to disease. By late fall 1922 Bolsheviks gained control of Vladivostok. Most of the evacuated Czech Legion formed the army of the newly independent Czechoslovakia. "The Mother Half of Humanity": The Women's Peace Party and the Great War Contributor:  Valentina Sainato With the beginning of the Great War in Europe, and two and one-half years before the United States entered the conflict, American social worker and suffragist Jane Addams called for the convening of a woman's peace conference. The two-day conference would take place on January 9-10, 1915, in the ballroom of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D. C. MS Noordam [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] The 3000 delegates in attendance organized the Women's Peace Party (WPP); Jane Addams was elected the WPP chairman. Arguing that "the mother half of humanity" had an obligation to end the war, WPP resolutions opposed militarism in the United States and favored international reduction in armaments and the formation of a body of neutral nations which would pursue "continuous mediation" as a means of ending the war.1 Three months later, Aletta Jacobs, a Dutch suffragist and anti-war advocate, invited the Woman's Peace Party to attend a three-day International Congress of Women, to convene on April 28 in The Hague in the Netherlands. Forty-seven women from various American peace organizations, most of the women being members of the WPP, accepted the invitation, and paid their own expenses, departing on April 13, 1915, on the Holland-America ship MS Noordam, bound for Rotterdam, Holland, where the International Congress of Women would take place in The Hague, with Jane Addams serving as chairperson. About 1,300 delegates from ten belligerent and neutral European countries and Canada and the United States were in attendance. American Peace Delegates aboard MS Noordam Jane Addams is standing directly behind banner, second from left [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] The three-day conference, which founded the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace, later renamed the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), produced twenty resolutions, for example proposing international disarmament, freedom of the seas, and "continuous mediation" of international disputes by a commission of neutral countries made up of Denmark, Holland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Congress selected thirty delegates to visit fourteen European capitals in May and June 1915. Meanwhile, the Dutch pacifist and suffragist Aletta Jacobs, who was visiting the United States, and American pacifists Carrie Catt, Emily Balch, and Jane Addams met with Secretary of State Robert Lansing, presidential advisor Edward House, and President Woodrow Wilson to discuss the International Congress of Women proposal for a "League of Neutral Countries" to mediate the war. According to Aletta Jacobs, Wilson indicated that he could not endorse the women's proposal because his own attitude toward peace could change daily, depending on the international situation.2 The May 1915 sinking of the Lusitania may also have sunk any possible interest Wilson had had in the idea of mediation at that time. Though Wilson was unwilling to support the WPP and WILPF mediation proposals, automobile magnate Henry Ford offered to finance American attendance at another Hague peace conference [See our "Feature Story" for January 2012]. That conference, held in January 1916, led to the creation of the Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation, which met in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1916 and 1917. When the United States went to war in April 1917, the WPP remained pacifist, but supported Wilson's Fourteen Points, including Point Fourteen's proposal to create "a general association of nations," which WPP members may not have seen as too different from the "continuous mediation" goals they had proposed three years earlier. The WPP endorsed the "general association of nations," formally named the League of Nations, but condemned the decision not to include Germany when the League was formed in 1919. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Jane Addams in 1931 and to Emily Balch in 1946. Both had been among the U. S. delegates to the first meeting of the International Congress of Women in April 1915. The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which they helped organize at that conference, remains active today, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Jane Addams, Peace and Bread in Time of War (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1960), p. 6: http://media.pfeiffer.edu. Aletta Jacobs, letter to Jane Addams, 15 September 1915, quoted in John Chambers, ed., The Eagle and the Dove: The American Peace Movement and United States Foreign Policy (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1991), p. 67: http://books.google.com. Women in Uniform in WWI Contributor:  Sarah McMaster Yeomen F, U.S. Navy [Photo Courtesy of Indiana Veterans of WWI] Both the U. S. Army Nurse Corps and the U. S. Navy Nurse Corps were organized in the early1900s, prior to the outbreak of WWI. Women who were not eligible to be nurses found that the Naval Reserve Act of 1916 gave them an opportunity to serve in the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard in a capacity other than as a nurse. In an apparently unintended oversight, the language of the 1916 measure did not appear to bar women from enlistment in the Navy Reserve. Recruitment was open to "all persons who may be capable of performing special useful service for coastal defense."1 Consequently, one month prior to U. S. entry into WWI naval district commanders received instructions indicating that women could be recruited as "radio operators, stenographers, nurses, messengers, chauffeurs, etc., and in many other capacities in the industrial line." As a result women joining the Navy could be yeoman (with the added designation "F" for female); they were no longer limited to service as nurses. The Marines and Coast Guard followed suit. Women Marines were referred to as Marinettes, those in the Coast Guard as Yeomanettes. About 13,000 women joined the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Almost all were assigned clerical duties in the continental United States; some had clerical assignments at U. S. naval bases outside the U. S.—Hawaii and the Panama Canal Zone, for example. About 17,000 women joined the Army; almost all were nurses. About 300 women who were bilingual in English and French served as telephone operators in the Army's Signal Corps. When the war ended, and despite not completing the originally prescribed four-year period of service, women in uniform were discharged, and Congress revised the Naval Reserve Act to specify recruitment was thereafter limited to males. While a total of about 30,000 women served in uniform in the Great War, thousands of other women volunteered to work overseas with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and YMCA and YWCA. On the home front thousands more worked in factories, farms, and stores in positions that men would have held had no war taken place. The roles played by women in WWI helped bring about a constitutional amendment guaranteeing at long last that women had the right to vote. President Wilson was encouraging ratification of the 19th Amendment when he wrote to the U. S. Senate in September 1918, still two months before the end of the war, "Are we alone to ask and take the utmost that our women can give, service and sacrifice of every kind, and still say we do not see what title that gives them to stand by our sides in the guidance of the affairs of their nations and ours? We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toll and not to be a partnership of privilege and right?"2 National Archives: http://www.archives.gov. Zeppelins Contributor:  Andrew Abdalla During the American Civil War Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a Prussian army officer, witnessed Union troops using tethered balloons for observation, and while serving in the Franco-Prussian War he noted that the French used balloons to transport people and mail. Because balloons were at the mercy of the winds, he wondered if a means of propulsion and steering could be applied to lighter-than-air aircraft. Zeppelin would not be the first person to find a way to propel and maneuver lighter-than-air aircraft, but he would become a leader in the new technology. Following years of planning, Zeppelin constructed his first "dirigible" (the name dirigible comes from the Latin word for "to direct" or "to steer") in 1910. With an aluminum alloy frame covered in fabric and hydrogen-filled compartments providing lift, his first dirigible, which measured 420' in length and 38' in diameter, was powered by two internal combustion propeller engines. Constantly improving his designs, Zeppelin formed a company to develop his airships for use in commercial transportation. Over the next few years these "zeppelins" measured about 500' in length and, and with three 500-horsepower engines each, could achieve 50 mile per hour speeds. Zeppelin understood the military potential of his airships and by the time the Great War began the German navy and army had purchased a total of ten zeppelins which they intended to use as bombers. Zeppelin had died eight months before the war began and leadership of zeppelin construction was taken over by Hugo Eckener, who had been an associate of Zeppelin since 1906. Though a civilian, Eckener trained zeppelin flight crews during the war. Zeppelins could fly at altitudes safe from enemy fire, above maximum airplane altitudes; the speed, range, and payload capacity suggested that they would be formidable weapons of war. Indeed, zeppelins dropped about 3,000 pounds of bombs on London on May 31, 1915, and more bombing raids of London and Paris followed. At their cruising altitudes zeppelin engines could not be heard from the ground; Allied propaganda referred to these terrifying silent weapons as "baby killers." The initial military advantages of the zeppelins were negated, however, as the English and French produced airplanes which (1) were capable of reaching greater altitudes and (2) were armed with phosphorus ammunition designed to ignite the hydrogen-filled zeppelins. The Treaty of Versailles required that all remaining zeppelins be turned over to the Allies. Eckener convinced the U. S. government to employ his company in the building of a new zeppelin for the U. S. Navy, and Eckener personally piloted the delivery of the new zeppelin, which would be named "Los Angeles." The airship could carry thirty passengers, sleeping accommodations included. The "Los Angeles" career of about 300 flights ended in 1932 when it was retired from service. The future of zeppelin transportation seemed promising since these aircraft could carry heavy payloads and travel thousands of miles without refueling at cruising speeds of about seventy miles per hour. The Graf Zeppelin, for example, which was in service under Eckener's command from 1928-1937, made 590 flights and traveled more than one million miles without a single passenger injury. In aviation history the Graf Zeppelin made the first trans-Atlantic passenger flight, the first around the world passenger flight, and was first to fly scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service. Nearly 13,000 passengers crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Graf Zeppelin's 144 trans-Atlantic flights. The spire capping New York City's Empire State Building (the Empire State Building was completed in 1931) was intended to provide docking for zeppelins, though concerns about safety cancelled plans to use it. Perhaps the best-remembered of the zeppelins, though its career was only one year long, was the 804' Hindenburg, commissioned in 1936. The Hindenburg made ten round-trip trans-Atlantic flights and carried over 1,000 passengers when, during its landing procedure at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937, it exploded and crashed in flames. Thirty-five of the ninety-seven Hindenburg passengers lost their lives; a ground crew worker was also killed. The Lakehurst disaster ended the once promising possibilities of world-wide zeppelin transportation. Had Eckener been able to replace hydrogen with the helium he wanted for the Hindenburg, the Lakehurst disaster would not have happened, and the story of zeppelin transportation thereafter might have been different. Evangeline Booth, the Salvation Army, and the "Doughnut Girls" Contributor:  Violet Elder [Image Courtesy of Library of Congress] In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister since 1852, and his wife Catherine founded in London, England, The Christian Mission, an evangelical organization which, thirteen years later, became the Salvation Army. Instead of preaching from a pulpit, The Christian Mission's strategy was to bring God's word and acts of Christian charity directly to the poor and homeless. The Booths founded The Christian Mission in the same year they became parents of their seventh child, Eveline Cory Booth. The Booths would call her Eva, reflecting their admiration for Eva (Evangeline) St. Clare, the loving Christian heroine in the American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (published in book form in 1852). The Booths would have eight children; remarkably, all would become active in the Salvation Army. In 1896 William Booth appointed Eva to lead the Salvation Army in Canada, and eight years later Eva, who would choose to go by the name Evangeline, became the National Commander of the United States Salvation Army. Following American entry into the Great War in April 1917, Booth sent about 250 Salvation Army women to France to staff infirmaries, hostels, and canteens, some of which were located adjacent to the front lines.1 When American Salvation Army canteens added doughnuts to their menus, enthusiastic American soldiers cheerfully referred to those who served them as the "Doughnut Girls." The hospitality of the Doughnut Girls and the selfless relief work of other U. S. Salvation Army volunteers in France, did more than any other Salvation Army program to bolster the organization's reputation in the United States.2 In 1919, the war-time humanitarian work of the Salvation Army inspired President Woodrow Wilson to award Evangeline Booth the Distinguished Service Medal. The Distinguished Service Medal, authorized by Congress a year earlier, honors any person for exceptionally meritorious wartime service. Evangeline Booth, who became a U. S. citizen in 1923, remained the Commander of the United States Salvation Army until 1934, when she returned to London to serve as General of the world-wide organization of the Salvation Army. Following her retirement in 1939 Booth returned to the United States, living in Hartsdale, New York. She died of arteriosclerosis at age 84 in 1950, and is buried in Kensico Cemetery, in Valhalla, New York. Though Evangeline Booth had never married she had adopted four children, one, Pearl, becoming an officer in the Salvation Army. Spencer Tucker, ed., World War I Encyclopedia (5 Vols; Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2005), IV, p. 104 "Evangeline Cory," The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre, 2003, 29 March 2011, http://www.salvationarmy.org/heritage. George M. Cohan Contributor:  Violet Elder George M. Cohan's 1904 song "The Yankee Doodle Boy" claimed he was "a real-life nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July." But it was on July 3, and not July 4, that the great American song writer, vaudevillian, playwright, dancer, actor, and Broadway director and producer George M. Cohan was born in 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island, to vaudevillians Jeremiah and Helen Cohan. George grew up to be an entertainer, too, in his childhood years playing the violin. By the time he was eleven years of age, George was acting on stage with his parents and older sister Josephine, the family entertainers becoming known as "the Four Cohans." By his late teens George was writing songs and skits and the Cohans later rewrote some of those skits as musicals. In 1899 21-year-old Gerorge Cohan married Ethel Levey, a vaudeville singer and comedienne. Their daughter Georgette was born in 1900. Four years into the marriage George wrote the dialogue and music for his musical "Little Johnny Jones," which became his first hit. George produced and directed the musical and starred in the title role, with his wife Ethel in the role of his love interest. Among the musical's hit songs, and famous ever-after, were "Yankee Doodle Boy" and "Give My Regards to Broadway." George and Ethel divorced in 1907, and a few months later George married chorus girl Agnes Nolan. They would have three children. In 1917, as the United States entered the Great War, Cohan wrote the stirring march "Over There." With lyrics that reflected the mood and resolve of the country, "Over There" was an instant hit and famous ever-after, easily becoming the signature music for the American doughboy of World War I. Enjoying great popularity in the war years, Cohan owned and operated several theaters on Broadway. By the late 1920s Cohan's once unprecedented popularity may have waned, but his career would still bring curtain calls. In 1932 Cohan starred in the Paramount Pictures musical "The Phantom President." Though the film, co-starring Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante, with music by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, was not commercially successful, it allows present-day researchers an opportunity to see Cohan and his style of performance. By an act of Congress dated June 29, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt presented Cohan a gold medal for "Over There" and for another patriotic song "It's a Grand Old Flag," which he had composed in 1905. One year after receiving the award Cohan portrayed FDR in "I'd Rather Be Right" (1937), written by playwright Moss Hart with songs by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, and produced by Sam Harris. Cohan played the role of President Franklin Roosevelt. Hit songs included "Have You Met Miss Jones?" and "Off the Record." Critics and FDR himself applauded the musical, which became a Broadway hit before going on a national tour. During WWII James Cagney, once a vaudevillian himself, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in the 1942 Warner Brothers film "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Cohan saw the film just weeks before his death from stomach cancer on November 5, 1942. According to a New York Times obituary, "It was his [Cohan's] unfulfilled ambition to give American another "Over There" for this war, a war thus far without a song to match it."* In 1959 a bronze statue of George M. Cohan was erected in New York City's Times Square. *http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0703.html. James Reese Europe Contributor:  Daniel Gonzalez James Reese Europe was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1881. His father was a former slave, his mother a free-born African American. When James was ten years of age his family moved to Washington, D. C., where he and his sister took violin and piano lessons from the assistant director of the Marine Corps band. At age twenty-two James moved to New York City, finding employment as a nightclub pianist. In 1910 this talented and increasingly popular musician, whose musical style was a blend of ragtime and jazz, organized and became president of the Clef Club, an employment agency for African American musicians. On May 2, 1912, the Clef Club Orchestra made history as the first jazz group and the first African-American musical group ever to perform at Carnegie Hall. A year later Europe formed the Tempo Club, which employed black musicians to play at dancing venues. In September 1916 (seven months before the U. S. entered the Great War) Europe enlisted as a private in the 15th New York Infantry, an African American National Guard regiment, and, following officers training, he was commissioned as a lieutenant. When the U. S. entered the Great War in April 1917 the 15th New York Infantry became part of the African American 369th Infantry, later known as the Harlem Hellfighters. Europe organized and led the 369th regimental band. When General John Pershing assigned the 369th Infantry to a French division, Lt. Europe led a machine gun company in combat. Europe thus became the first black officer to lead doughboys in combat in WWI. While in a hospital recuperating from exposure to gas, Europe wrote the lyrics for "On Patrol in No Man's Land," based on his combat experience. He later wrote "All of No Man's Land Is Ours," a song about an African American soldier's return to the United States after the war. In the summer of 1918 Europe and his 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighters" Band were removed from combat in order to tour France entertaining U. S. and French soldiers and civilian audiences. While in France the band recorded its music at Pathé Brothers. When the war ended Reese and his Hellfighters band planned a music-performing tour of the United States. In Boston, Europe and his drummer Herbert Wright had a disagreement during which Wright fatally stabbed Europe in the neck with a pen-knife. The next day's New York Times noted the death of a man who had "won fame for 'jazz' music."* New York City gave an official funeral for Reese, a procession from Harlem south on New York City's west side to St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Europe was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Europe's musical and military career had helped bring dignity to African Americans during a time of bigotry and racial prejudice; his musical career had also broadened American acceptance of jazz music, a musical style that would become increasingly popular in the 1920s. *http://query.nytimes.com Return to Table of Contents General John J. Pershing John J. Pershing, the oldest of six children, was born on September 13, 1860, near Laclede, Missouri. His childhood and teenage years were spent there, working on his father's farm and attending school. After graduation from secondary school he became a school teacher and then attended and graduated from North Missouri Normal School (today Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri. At age twenty-two he was admitted to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. He was elected president of his senior class and graduated 30th in a class of 77. Pershing was assigned both teaching and field responsibilities in the thirty years following his graduation and before U. S. entry into the Great War. He served with the 6th Cavalry in campaigns against the Apache in Arizona and New Mexico and against the Sioux in the Dakotas. He taught military tactics at the University of Nebraska and several years later at West Point. In between those two teaching assignments he was assigned to the 10th Cavalry, a "Buffalo Soldier" regiment. That experience led to his nickname, applied to him later, "Black Jack." In the Spanish-American War he commanded a black regiment in Cuba and after the war he participated in a campaign to suppress the Philippine Insurrection. In 1916 and 1917 Pershing led the Punitive Expedition into Mexico in search of Pancho Villa. When the U.S. entered the Great War President Woodrow Wilson appointed Pershing commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The appointment might otherwise have gone to General Frederick Funston, but Funston died of a heart attack three months before the war began. Pershing had to build and train an army for the war in Europe. As training proceeded in the U. S. and in France, Pershing found himself in disagreement with French Marshal Henri Pétain and British Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, both of whom called for the immediate engagement of U. S. troops under French and British command. Pershing withheld American doughboys from immediate combat, continued their training, and then placed them in combat as American units with American commanders. When the war ended Pershing returned to the United States as the war's greatest American hero. In 1919 Congress honored Pershing for his service in the Great War by appointing him to the new rank of General of the Armies of the United States. Two years later he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army. Pershing retired from active duty at age 64 in 1924. He spent much of his time writing My Experience in the World War (1931), which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1932. Pershing died on July 15, 1948, at age 88 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D. C. Eddie Rickenbacker Contributor:  Elena Sakopoulos Eddie Rickenbacker, who would become the most famous U. S. flying ace of WWI, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 8, 1890, the child of Swiss immigrants who had met and married in Columbus, Ohio. When his father died, eleven-year-old Eddie left school and found employment in various jobs as he tried to help support his family. Because he was fascinated by cars and other machines he took a correspondence course in engineering when he was 16. He became an auto mechanic and then an auto salesman, and while he was still selling cars, he raced in the Indianapolis 500 to promote his sales. When the U. S. entered the Great War Rickenbacker enlisted in the Army. His knowledge of automobiles and his reputation as a race car driver landed him a job as a driver for General John Pershing in France. Rickenbacker was able to pursue his hope of becoming a pilot, thanks to the intercession of General William Mitchell, head of the Army's Air Service. Rickenbacker had convinced his superiors that despite his age—he was two years older than the age limit of 25—he would be able to make the transition to flying. His pilot training began in Tours, France. He flew his first mission in early April 1918. By late September 1918 Captain Rickenbacker became the commander of the 94th Aero Pursuit Squadron, which sported the now famous "hat in the ring" insignia. Piloting Nieuport 28s and Spad XIIIs, Rickenbacker downed 22 German planes and four German observation balloons in the half-year remaining in the war between his first combat mission in April and the Armistice on November 11. Perhaps the greatest flying ace of the war, Rickenbacker earned a Medal of Honor, an unprecedented seven distinguished service crosses, a World War I victory medal, a Legion of Honor award, and a Croix de Guerre. After the war Rickenbacker founded the Rickenbacker Automobile Company. When competition from the major automobile manufacturers led to his company's bankruptcy in 1925, Rickenbacker paid off the company debt himself. Two years later he purchased the Indianapolis Speedway and operated it until 1945. During WWII, meanwhile, Secretary of War Henry Stimson recruited Rickenbacker to fly special missions assessing U. S. bases in Europe and in the Pacific. After WWII Rickenbacker continued leading Eastern Airlines, which he had purchased in 1938. Eastern enjoyed a period of great financial success until a downturn in the company's profits led to Rickenbacker's retirement in 1963. Eddie Rickenbacker died of heart failure in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 23, 1973. John Philip Sousa and the Great War Contributor:  Violet Elder John Philp Sousa, c1917 [Photograph Courtesy of Library of Congress] Following the U. S. declaration of war in 1917 the American composer John Alden Carpenter sent a telegram to his friend John Philip Sousa, America's foremost bandmaster and march composer, inquiring whether he might be willing to help develop the Navy band program at the Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois, about forty miles north of Chicago. In an illustrious musical career that began when, at thirteen years of age, he joined the Marine Corps Band, Sousa was, by the time of the Great War, famous around the world. Sousa was sixty-two years of age in 1917, and had composed an unprecedented number of immensely popular marches, for example, "The Gladiator" (1886), "Semper Fidelis" (1888), "The Washington Post" (1889), "The Liberty Bell" (1893), and "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1896). Sousa's resume included twelve years as the Marine Corps bandmaster, and, over the years, leadership of several other bands, for example "The President's Own" for Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison, and the Sousa Band, formed in 1892, which was actively performing when the United States went to war in 1917. In response to the Navy's need for musical assistance, Sousa traveled to the Great Lakes Naval Station to meet with Captain William Moffett, the base commandant, to discuss a unique United States Navy job description. Moffett offered Sousa a commission as lieutenant in the Navy Reserve, serving as the Great Lakes Naval Station Director of Music. "I won't fail you," Sousa assured Moffett. "I'll join. I'm past sixty-two, but you'll find me a healthy fellow."1 The Navy commission greatly pleased Sousa, as he had regretted not having received a Marine Corps officer's commission in the years he had served as the Marine Corps bandmaster.2 Sousa in Navy uniform, 1917 [Photograph Courtesy of Library of Congress] Lt. Sousa essentially volunteered his services, donating all but one dollar of his annual salary to the Sailors' and Marines' Relief Fund.3 Though he was permitted to fulfill his previously booked responsibilities as conductor of his own Sousa Band, he spent most of his time fulfilling his Navy responsibilities, organizing some 1,500 musicians into regimental and fleet bands and an elite 350-member "Bluejacket Band," which went on tours to promote recruitment in the armed forces and to raise money for Liberty Bonds and the Red Cross. Having attended a performance of the Bluejacket Band, President Wilson may have spoken for the nation when he declared it "the greatest demonstration of American spirit that is possible to conceive and certainly . . . the greatest band in the world."4 Sousa's efforts raised about twenty-one million dollars.5 Sousa and the Bluejacket Band were in Toronto, Canada, assisting the Canadian government with its Victory Loan campaign, when the Armistice was announced on November 11, 1918. "Never was there such a night!" Sousa recalled. "Not a soul in the city slept." For Sousa the post-war euphoria was only slightly dampened by a bout with the Spanish Flu and an abscess in his right ear; "but," as he rejoiced, "what were pains and pangs and abscesses to the frantic delight of knowing the war was over?"6 American participation in the war inspired Sousa to compose both marches—for example, "Sabre and Spurs," and "Solid Men to the Front"— and songs—for example, "We Are Coming," "When the Boys Come Sailing Home," and "In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow." Canadian Army doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae, the author of the poem "In Flanders Fields," had sent Sousa a manuscript copy of the poem and an accompanying request that the poem might be set to music. McCrae would never hear the music Sousa created for his poem, dying in Boulogne, France, of pneumonia and meningitis ten months before the war's end. For Sousa, McCrae's request became "a priceless memory" of the war. "I was deeply touched by the beauty of the verses," Sousa recalled, "and I should be happy if the music which I made for them may serve, however slightly, to keep that message sounding in the hearts of all lovers of human liberty."7 In the two years following the war Sousa composed additional patriotic marches inspired by the war—"Bullets and Bayonets," "Comrades of the Legion," and "Who's Who in Navy Blue." Sousa was relieved from active duty in January 1919, and promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander thirteen months later.8 Though no longer in the Navy, Sousa continued to conduct his own Sousa Band still proudly wearing his Navy uniform until his death in 1932. The last music he rehearsed with his band remains his most famous, "The Stars and Stripes Forever," which, in 1987, Congress designated "the national march" of the United States.9 Sousa is buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D. C. John Philip Sousa, Marching Along: Recollections of Men, Women, and Music (Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1994), p. 310. Paul Bierley, The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa (University of Illinois, 2006), p. 31: books.google.com. United States Navy Band, Washington, D. C: navyband.navy.mil. Navy Band, Great Lakes, Illinois: navy.mil/nstc/navyband. Sousa, p. 314; navyband.navy.mil; Paul E. Bierley, John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon (Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications, 2001), p. 78: books.google.com. Sousa, p. 319. Sergeant Alvin Cullum York Contributor:  Cori Calabi Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tennessee, and grew up in poverty in a subsistence farming family. When his father died in 1911, York, then twenty-four years of age, became the head of the family, supporting his eight younger brothers and sisters, since his two older brothers were already married and supporting their own families. York worked in railroad construction and logging, and, he admitted, drank, gambled, and got into fights. Sergeant Alvin Cullum York Note Medal of Honor and Croix de Guerre over Left Pocket [Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress] York's mother, a devout Methodist, eventually turned Alvin's attention to salvation. 1 By his late teens, York was attending church regularly. At age twenty-seven York attended a Church of Christ in Christian Union revival meeting, an experience that would put York on a life-changing path. The denomination forbade drinking, dancing, and movies, and it was pacifist. York committed himself to the denomination and hence to pacifism and abstinence from the drinking and rowdy behavior that had marked his earlier years. Following the U. S. declaration of war against Germany in April 1917, York registered for the draft, but next to the draft card's question, "Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?" York wrote, "Yes, Don't Want to Fight". The draft board did not recognize the Church of Christ in Christian Union as a legitimate Christian denomination, 2 and York was drafted in November 1917. At that point York struggled between his sense of duty to his country and his commitment to pacifism. York later recalled, My religion and my experience . . . told me not to go to war, and the memory of my ancestors . . . told me to get my gun and go fight. I didn't know what to do. . . . .   I was a heap bothered. It is a most awful thing when the wishes of your God and your country . . . get mixed up and go against each other. One moment I would make up my mind to follow God, and the next I would hesitate and almost make up my mind to follow Uncle Sam . . . .   I wanted to follow both but I couldn't. 3 York was stationed at Camp Gordon in Atlanta, Georgia, where two officers tried to help York out of his conundrum by citing passages in the Bible. York eventually concurred with them that war was sometimes necessary to establish peace, and the verse "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Book of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 9) could be read in that way. York also saw in a Bible verse how he could be justified serving in the defense of his country. Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them . . . his blood will I require at the watchman's hand" (Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 33, Verses 4-6). Company G, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division, of which York was a member, arrived in France in April 1918. About six months later events took place which would make York one of the most famous veterans of the war. On the morning of October 8, Cpl. York and sixteen other Americans were ordered to advance upon a German machine gun position. Six Americans were killed and three wounded when they came under fire. With seven men guarding German prisoners, York advanced alone upon the German position, killing some twenty-five German soldiers and taking others as prisoners. York later explained how a German officer they had taken prisoner played a key role in the American capture of additional German soldiers. I . . . told [the German officer] if he didn't make them stop firing I would take off his head next. And he knew I meant it. He told me if I didn't kill him, and if I stopped shooting the others in the trench, he would make them surrender. He blew a little whistle and they came down and began to gather around and throw down their guns and belts. 4 York and the seven remaining Americans led their captives back to the American lines. Whenever York encountered any Germans along the way he "told the major to blow his whistle or [he] would take his head off and theirs too." Remarkably, York and the seven other Americans arrived at the American lines at Varennes with 132 German prisoners. 5 York's unprecedented achievement brought about his promotion from corporal to sergeant. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on December 31, 1919. His other decorations included the World War I Victory Medal, the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Légion d'Honneur, the French Croix de Guerre with Palm, the Italian Croce di Guerra, and the Montenegrin War Medal. Following the war York married Gracie Williams, whom he had met before going off to war, and they tried to live a quiet life at home in Pall Mall. But York was a famous war hero, and he was frequently asked for interviews, endorsements, and public appearances. Though he wanted refuge from the public, he also understood that anonymity would be impossible. "I knew that I had changed," he wrote. "I knew I wasn't like I used to be. The big outside world I had been in and the things I had fought through had touched me up inside a powerful lot . . . .   I was sort of restless and full of dreams and wanted to be doing something and I didn't understand." 6 York felt that what he had experienced in the war had placed a burden on his heart. God had protected him from harm so that he could go on and do something meaningful for others. "Before the war I felt the mountains isolated us and kept us together as a God-fearing, God-loving people. They did that, too, but they did more than that. They kept out many of the good and worthwhile things like good roads, schools, libraries, up-to-date homes and modern farming methods." York resolved to do something to help the disadvantaged people in the Cumberland Plateau area where he had grown up by improving educational opportunities. York led a fund-raising campaign to establish a school in his home county of Fentress, Tennessee. That school, located in Jamestown, Tennessee, opened its doors in 1929. Due in part to financial demands brought on by the Depression, the state of Tennessee took over operation of the school in 1937. The York Institute has served as a public high school since that time. York also hoped to establish a bible school. An opportunity to build one arose when Warner Brothers Pictures proposed making a film about his life. York was initially uninterested, not wanting to glorify his wartime experience or violate his church's view that movies are sinful, but Jesse Lasky, who was then working for Warner Brothers Pictures, convinced York to give his consent, suggesting that the money York would make from the movie could be used to build the bible school he had first dreamed of twenty years earlier. The contract stipulated that York would receive a payment of $50,000 and 2% of the receipts. 7Gary Cooper was York's personal choice to portray him. The movie "Sergeant York," a Warner Brothers film co-produced by Jesse Lasky and Hal Wallace, premiered at New York City's Astor Theater on July 2, 1941, and Gary Cooper, Alvin York, and Colonel George Buxton, commander of the 82nd Division, were among the guests of honor. For his portrayal of York in the movie, Gary Cooper won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Actor. The film, now considered a Hollywood classic, also won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, and was nominated in nine other categories, for example, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. "Sergeant York", playing in movie theaters when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, inspired countless young men to enlist. Proceeds from the film, helped York open his bible school, but it remained in operation only until the 1950s, when it closed its doors forever. The building still stands, but it has remained abandoned. 8 While the movie was in production, war raged in Europe and Asia. York, who had been a fervent pacifist and was still very religious, believed Hitler was the personification of evil and agreed that the United States should enact a peacetime draft in the event the United States were to go to war. Following the Pearl Harbor attack, York tried to reenlist, and though he was rejected because of his age (he was 54), and being overweight, he was given the honorary rank of colonel in the Army Signal Corps and toured the country supporting bond drives and visiting military training camps. Throughout his adult life York faced periodic monetary difficulties, for example in financing his educational projects, and managing his family's expenses. In 1951 Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn (D, TX) and Congressman Joe Evins (D, TN) addressed this famous American patriot's debt crisis by establishing the York Relief Fund, which raised $100,000 to settle York's taxes and gave York an additional $30,000 for his family's use. 9 York had a stroke nearly ten years before he died that caused his health to decline rapidly and confined him to his bed for the remaining part of his life. York died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 2, 1964, and was buried with full military honors at the Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall, Tennessee. Gracie died in 1984 and is buried beside her husband. John Perry, Sergeant York (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2010), p. 5. Michael Birdwell, "Sergeant Alvin York," The Great War Society: www.wsorldwar1.com. Judith Bronte, "The Christian", Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation: www.sgtyork.org. Alvin York, Diary of Sgt. York, 1917 - 1919 (Pall Mall, Tennessee: York Patriotic Foundation, 2011), p. 27. Ibid., pp. 28-29. Bronte, "The Christian." David Welky, The Moguls and the Dictators: Hollywood and the Coming of World War II (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), p. 256: http://books.google.com. Birdwell, "Sergeant Alvin York."

i don't know

What is the name of the horse ridden by The Lone Ranger?

Wild Fire's Lone Ranger Pics with Silver MUSIC “a fiery horse with the speed of light ......Out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse silver” The Lone Ranger with Silver One of the most popular horses of all the western heroes. During the run of the television series few people realize that 2 different white Stallions filled the role of the wonder horse, Silver. Clayton Moore, who portrayed the Lone Ranger in the majority of the television shows, indicated they were Morabs, part Morgan and part Arabian. Wranglers and owners of the Silvers though have stated Silver#1 had Tennessee Walking Horse in his breeding and Silver#2 was half Arabian and half Saddle Bred Silver#1 was personally picked by Clayton from the ranch stock at the Hugh Hooker horse ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 1949 for use on the show just prior to the series launch. Hugh Hooker was the father of stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker. The white stallion Clayton decided on was a very large mount that stood a strong 17+ hands tall and presented a very majestic image. This white horse, whose true name was "White Cloud", was said to be 12 years old at the time, well trained and gentle. The actual ownership of Silver#1 is a little confusing but thanks to writer/author Ken Beck and his recent interviews with Bill Ward, it appears the Hooker horse ranch owned "White Cloud" initially but sold him to Bill Ward who was starting Studio Stables shortly after the series got rolling. Bill Ward was Clayton's stand in and stunt double as well as one of the shows wranglers early in the TV series (1949 through 1954). Silver#1 did not know many tricks but did have an impressive high rear and would stand still for anyone due to his gentle nature. The second Silver(Silver#2) of the TV series was actually purchased personally in about 1949 by George W. Trendle (the owner of the Lone Ranger show at that time). Who Trendle bought Silver#2 from was also until recently a complete enigma. One source claims Trendle bought the horse from an unidentified horse breeder on the east coast. Ken Beck, though, has recently discovered a source indicating that Silver #2 was actually foaled on a farm in 1945 near Danville, Iowa and named "Tarzen's White Banner". At age four, the horse was sold to a gentleman named Charles Van Dyke of Peoria, Illinois who then sold the stallion to George W. Trendle in late 1949. Trendle immediately renamed the horse "Hi-Yo Silver" which he had registered. Trendle previously owned another white stallion purchased in 1940 (and an extravagant silver laden saddle) for the public appearances of the radio Lone Ranger during the peak radio era of the 1940's. In 1952 Trendle's "Hi-Yo Silver" was shipped to California during the TV filming seasons to take over the role of Silver from Silver#1 while John Hart stepped into the TV role. Then during the non-filming season was based back in Michigan, to use for Lone Ranger public appearance tours and promotions. Silver#2 was trained by the well known trainer and handler, Glenn Randall, who also trained Roy Roger's horse, Trigger. Glenn also stabled the horse during the filming season. Silver#2 was the opposite of #1 in temperment being high strung as well as being a stallion and some had trouble riding him. He was well known on the set to 'react' and get skittish if he heard camera motors running. When Clayton returned to the show the following year, they continued the use of Silver#2 almost exclusively bringing old number 1 back usually only for scenes requiring a gentle, more obedient horse . Silver#2 was not quite as large as #1 but still weighed in at an impressive 1250 pounds and was the horse Clayton always went on the road with for publicity tours. Silver#2 was the only Silver that Clayton Moore toured with. A third white horse was "rented" from the Spahn Ranch for the episodes featuring "Dan Reid", the Lone Ranger's nephew. Dan's horse, per the story line, was named "Victor" and sired by Silver. When Mr.Trendle sold the Lone Ranger Show production rights to Jack Wrather in 1954 he initially neglected to reveal that he personally owned the current Silver of the TV series and also the silver-laden saddle and tack, and they were not included in the $3,000,000 prospective deal. Trendle wanted an additional $25,000 to close the deal and he would then include the horse and saddle. The two discussed flipping a coin to see if Wrather would pay the extra money. Wrather suggested they split the difference instead, Trendle agreed and Wrather got Silver#2 and saddle. Clayton did a lot of riding scenes with close ups and trick mounts and always did the 'rearing' of Silver. In his autobiography, he shared that only one time did Silver fall performing this risky riding stunt. It was during a evening public appearance at a fairground in No. Carolina, performing on grass "wet" from dew that resulted in Silver#2 slipping and falling. Silver was fine but the fall put Clayton on crutches for a couple of weeks with an injured knee. Always forming a magnificent image together, some came to believe that Clayton owned Silver. Actually he never owned either of the two Silvers. Clayton did work out Silver #1 often on his own and on the trails around his residence while living in Tarzana and would go on tour with Silver#2 but the horse he actually owned was a buckskin named "Buck". A few of the urban myths about Silver: Some sources say Clayton's first Silver from the Hooker Ranch is the same white horse that Thomas Mitchell rode in "Gone With The Wind". The truth is: the white horse in Gone With The Wind was actually "Silver Chief" from the Hudkin Brothers Stables. Silver Chief had portrayed Silver in the 1938 and 1940 Republic Serials, "The Lone Ranger" and "The Lone Ranger Rides Again". Thus, it was a "Silver" but not Clayton's TV "Silver" Silver Chief portraying Silver in 1940 Republic Serial. Bob Livingston as the Lone ranger Another partially true myth is that Silver's real name was Traveler and he was disturbed by the sound of camera motors and would act up if he heard them. Truth is: There was a horse from Studio Stables that was a stand-in stunt and chase double for Silver, named "Traveler", used on the Lone Ranger show but it was Silver#2 that had the 'camera reactions. Traveler would always be riden by his owner Bill Ward in the Lone Ranger costume in scenes involving stunts, chases and jumps. Whenever a fleeing outlaw had to be knocked from his galloping horse by the Ranger leaping off Silver at full gallop, this almost always was Bill Ward leaping from Traveler. Traveler wouldn't let just anybody ride him and Clayton never rode Traveler in the run of the show. Another circulating rumor is after the series ended Silver#1 became the white horse that the USC Trojan mascot rode at USC football games. Truth is: USC Trojan horse, "Traveler" was in fact Silver's stunt and chase double from the TV show after he was retired from film making. Silver's stunt-double, Traveler, with Tommy Trojan in 1961 - USC's mascots in action Also partially true is the fact that the radio Lone Ranger, Brace Beemer, actually owned a white stallion named Silver. Truth is: Brace's horse was actually named "Silver's Pride" but he did prefer to do promotions with his Silver's Pride rather than the white horse "Hero" (By the way, the very first horse to ever portray Silver in public on July 30, 1933) that the radio station rented to represent "Silver". Around the Beemer household the white mount was referred to as "Pride" but to the many fans of the Lone Ranger, this was "Silver". Brace Beemer as the Lone Ranger astride his horse, Silver's Pride 1941 The very first horse to portray Silver - July 1933 Since January 1933, radio station WXYZ had been broadcasting "The Lone Ranger" and the success and popularity of the radio show was overwhelming. The Detroit Department of Recreation was holding it's school field day in July of that year at Belle Isle in Detroit and it was announced that the Lone Ranger with his mighty steed, Silver would appear live and in person. Brace Beemer was the narrator for the radio show at that time and was going to portray The Ranger and a rented trained horse named "Hero" owned by Carl A. Romig was filling the role of Silver. Preparation was for an anticipated 20,000 fans but on the eventful day 70,000 showed up to get a glimpse of their masked hero and Silver. Police on the scene even enlisted the help of the "Lone Ranger" himself to to try and maintain some crowd control and order. Brace Beemer as the Lone Ranger with Silver (Hero) at the first live appearance ever of both horse and masked man, July 1933 Where did Silver go? Silver#1 was pretty much retired after a brief stand-in appearance for Silver#2 in the 1956 movie 'The Lone Ranger' with Clayton Moore. He was sold to the Ace Hudkin's stables and being fairly old, was only used for close ups and head shots. Bobby Herron, stuntman and stepson of Ace Hudkin tells Ken Beck in Ken's book that "He (Silver#1) loved to get you against the wall and lean on you--not hurt you but lean on you so you couldn't get out. The horse had a sense of humor." Wayne Burson, a horse wrangler/stuntman that appeared in several westerns in the 40's and 50's and Silver#2's wrangler at the time, began boarding Silver#2 and Scout in 1956. Silver#2 was retired in 1962 to live out his life with Wayne and his wife Louise on their ranch. Silver #2 died of old age in 1974 at the age of 29. Brace Beemer's "Silver's Pride" lived to be 29 also, passing in 1966 in Michigan on the Beemer's farm. On a final note of interest, in a 1976 People magazine interview, Jay Silverheels who played Tonto, was good naturedly remarking on his special skills with fast horses. He recalled in the interview that Silver actually was somewhat of a slow running horse "and as the two companions galloped off into the sunset at the end of many a show, Scout had to be reined in lest he leave the masked rider in that traditional cloud of dust.".....I wonder which Silver Jay was referring to? Many thanks to the many people that contributed valuable information to my research. Special Thanks to Ken Beck for sharing information from his latest book "The Encyclopedia of TV Pets" going to bookstores in March of 2002  

Silver

October 12, 1901 saw the old moniker of Executive Mansion replaced with the more familiar White House, when what total badass declared it so?

Horses of Famous Western Movie Stars and Their Sidekicks | ReelRundown Horses of Famous Western Movie Stars and Their Sidekicks Horses of Famous Western Movie Stars and Their Sidekicks Updated on August 29, 2016 Joined: 4 years agoFollowers: 75Articles: 103 4 6 months ago ROY ROGERS' HORSE, TRIGGER Trigger first appeared in the film, The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938 starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland under the name, Golden Cloud. He was Miss de Havilland's horse in the film. Roy Rogers bought the Palomino stallion and renamed him Trigger. Trigger was never bred as many think. Therefore, Trigger, Jr. was not his descendant. Roy rode Trigger in many of his films and in his television series. He is the most famous horse in film history. Trigger died in 1965. Advertisement BUCK JONES' HORSE, SILVER Silver made 73 films from 1922 until 1942 and was Buck Jones' horse in approximately 50 of those films. Buck died in a tragic fire along with 491 others in the 1942 Coconut Grove fire in Boston. A party was being hosted at the club for Jones. Advertisement Advertisement ALLEN ROCKY LANE'S HORSE, BLACK JACK Black Jack was originally called Thunder and was ridden by Will Bill Elliott when Elliott was making films as Red Ryder. Lane would take over the part played by Elliott with the same horse. When Lane became Rocky Lane, he bought the horse and renamed him Black Jack. They appeared in almost 100 films together. DALE EVANS' HORSE, BUTTERMILK Buttermilk lived from 1941 until 1972. He was a buckskin quarter horse and appeared with Dale in many of her films and throughout her television series. Many sites on the internet list Dale's horse as Buttercup. Buttercup is a flower that will kill a horse if eaten. Advertisement Advertisement GENE AUTRY'S HORSE, CHAMPION Champion appeared in over 70 films with Gene from 1935 until 1953 as well as Gene's television series. Champion had his own television series following Gene's titled, The Adventures of Champion in 1955. However, there were three Champions. The first died in 1947. The third lived to be 42 and died in 1991.  REX ALLEN'S HORSE, KOKO Koko performed in over 30 films as Allen's horse and Rex took him with him to his ranch when he retired. Koko lived from 1940-1967. PANCHO'S HORSE, LOCO Loco only appeared in just two films with Pancho in 1949 and 1950, but continued to be his horse in the television series, The Cisco Kid from 1950-1956.  LONE RANGER'S HORSE, SILVER Silver was in the only two films as the Lone Ranger's horse that can still be found. More were filmed on the back lots of Republic Pictures, but are not available. Silver would continue to be the Ranger's horse in the television series of the same name. LASH LaRUE'S HORSE, BLACK DIAMOND/RUSH I can not find the dates of the horse's birth, or death. However, I can tell you that LaRue's horse was Black Diamond and at a later date the name was changed to Rush.  JOHNNY MACK BROWN'S HORSES, SCOUT/RENO & REBEL Johnny started out on a white steed called Scout. Later, he changed to a Palomino first named Reno and then changed to Rebel. SMILEY BURNETTE'S HORSE, RING EYE Smiley made over 62 films with Gene Autry. He left Gene to make 56 films with the Durango Kid and came back for Autry's final six films. He also spent time with Roy Rogers and Sunset Carson. His horse through all this went through three name changes; Black-eyed Nellie, Ring-eyed Nellie and finally just Ring Eye. TOM MIX'S HORSE, TONY Tony made his debut with Tom Mix in 1917 and they would make 181 films together. Tony did his own tricks and was referred to as, The Wonder Horse. Tony was the most famous horse in the world until Trigger came along. Tony was born in 1899 and died on October 12, 1942. TEX RITTER'S HORSE, WHITE FLASH White Flash appeared in 20 films with Tex. In Tex's later films, they used different white horses and still referred to them as White Flash, but the real White Flash was too old to play the part. He was put to sleep in 1961. WILD BILL ELLIOTT'S HORSE, THUNDER Will Bill played Red Ryder in the 40's with his black horse, Thunder. Later, Allan Lane would ride the same horse when he took over the role of Red Ryder. Later, when Allen became Rocky Lane, he changed the horse's name to Black Jack. SUNSET CARSON' HORSE, CACTUS Cactus was actually Buck Jones' horse, Silver. Jones died in a tragic fire and Carson decided to change the name from Silver to Cactus. The two made dozens of films together in the 40's before Sunset was fired for showing up at the studio drunk with an under-aged girl. He would never gain back his popularity. BOB STEELE'S HORSE, BROWNIE Bob actually used dozens of horses of different colors. Brownie was just one of many. Others were Flambow, Boy, Shiek and Sacks. Brownie may have been his favorite. One can only guess. DURANGO KID'S HORSE, RAIDER When dressed in disguise as the Durango Kid, he rode a white horse named Raider. When out of disguise as Charles Starrett his brown horse was Bullet. There were two horses playing Raider. One was the real Raider; the other was backup, El Granito. Raider made 20 films from 1940 to 1952. HOPALONG CASSIDY'S HORSE, TOPPER Hoppy's original horse, King Nappy was injured in 1939 and replaced by his double, Topper. Topper would be with Cassidy throughout his film and television career until 1954. WHIP WILSON'S HORSE, SILVER BULLET Whip's horse, Silver Bullet was later shortened to Bullet and then changed to Rocket because Roy Rogers had a dog in his films named Bullet. Whip and Bullet only lasted three years as a western film cowboy. GABBY HAYES'S HORSES Gabby didn't even learn to ride until age 40. In his films, he rode three horses including Calico pictured here, Eddie and Blossom. Gabby Hayes was the most famous sidekick in western film history. Since he did not ride that much, his horses were never that famous. ANDY DEVINE'S HORSE, JOKER I never could find a photo of Andy on a horse in his western films and to tell you the truth, I don't remember ever seeing him on horseback in any of the films that I watched. This is a picture of his horse, Joker in the television series, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. This article is about horses ridden by stars and sidekicks in the old B westerns, but since Andy was a major part of that genre, I could not leave him out. KEN MAYNARD'S HORSE, TARZAN There were as many as 4 backups for the real Tarzan who was a trick horse and called Wonder Horse by Ken. He worked with Ken during the 20's and 30's in films and into the 40's in a circus tour.  TIM HOLT'S HORSES Tim rode Duke prior to his entering the military. When he returned to pictures, he rode Shiek, Lightning, Steel and Sundance. The horses pictured here are Duke and below, Steel. Advertisement

i don't know

Name the 1986 cult classic movie from the IMDB plot summary: "An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown."

Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - Plot Summary - IMDb Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Plot Summary Showing all 6 plot summaries Truck driver Jack Burton arrives in Chinatown, San Francisco, and goes to the airport with his Chinese friend Wang Chi to welcome his green-eyed fiancée Miao Yin who is arriving from China. However she is kidnapped on the arrival by a Chinese street gang and Jack and Wang chase the group. Soon they learn that the powerful evil sorcerer called David Lo Pan, who has been cursed more than two thousand years ago to exist without physical body, needs to marry a woman with green eyes to retrieve his physical body and Miao is the chosen one. Jack and Wang team-up with the lawyer Gracie Law, the bus driver and sorcerer apprentice Egg Shen and their friends and embark in a great adventure in the underground of Chinatown, where they face a world of magicians and magic, monsters and martial arts fighters. - Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil When trucker Jack Burton agreed to take his friend Wang Chi to pick up his fiancee at the airport, he never expected to get involved in a supernatural battle between good and evil. Wang's fiancee has emerald green eyes, which make her a perfect target for an immortal sorcerer named Lo Pan and his three invincible cronies. Lo Pan must marry a girl with green eyes so he can regain his physical form. Now, Jack must save Wang's fiancee from Lo Pan and his henchmen, and win back his stolen truck. But how can he defeat an enemy who has no body? - Written by Mr. X When Jack Burton wins a card game against his long time friend Wang, Wang explains that he doesn't have Jack's earnings on him, and he'll pay Jack later, due to the fact that he has pick up his girlfriend at the airport. Seeing as how Jack wants his money as soon as possible, he offers to give Wang a ride to the airport. Unfortunately for the both of them, Wang's girlfriend is kidnapped, due to the fact that she is a chinese woman with green eyes, and in order for an immortal creature named David LoPan to turn back into a mortal human, he must marry her. Now it's up to Jack Burton, Wang, and their friends to save her before it's too late. - Written by Zack H. Wang chi's girlfriend has been kidnapped because she has emerald green eyes and has been selected to be Lo Pan's (an immortal creature) wife. By marrying her, Lo Pan can now become mortal again. So it's up to Jack Burten, Egg Shen, Wong and his friends to save her before it's too late. - Written by Michael Feller <[email protected]> Somewhere in the 80s, trucker Jack Burton arrives in a small town to deliver his cargo and win a few bucks playing cards with the locals down at the Chinese market. Practically bankrupting nearly all of his opponents, his friend Wang bets him a game of "double or nothing" to try and regain his cash and loses. Jack wants his well earned money, but Wang explains he doesn't have the cash on him and that'll he pay later because he's due to pick up a long, lost girlfriend from the airport. Convinced Wang's pulling something sly, Jack insists he drive Wang to the airport so they can stick together. However, at the airport Wang's girlfriend is captured by the Lords of Death, a streetwise Chinatown gang. She is essential for an upcoming plan to revive a thousand year old Chinese sorcerer and bring him back to the world as a mortal again. So begins a daring adventure to rescue Wang's girl and stop the ruthless operation that's going on down in Little China. Teaming up with a cast of very different individuals, Jack and Wang delve deep into an uncovering conspiracy in which everything's not exactly as it seems. Here comes big trouble...

Big Trouble in Little China

Slaughterhouse-Five, the 1969 novel by Kurt Vonnegut, is set against the backdrop of the Allied bombing of which German city during World War II?

Gizmodo Movie Night: Expand Your Film Horizons With The Best Cult Action Movies Streaming Online | Gizmodo Australia Gizmodo Movie Night: Expand Your Film Horizons With The Best Cult Action Movies Streaming Online Share Tweet It's almost the weekend, and that means you should book in another Gizmodo movie night. This week, pick out your favourite silenced pistol, sheath your matching butterfly knives and take a trip to Jack Rabbit Slims for that $5 milkshake — these are the best cult action movies streaming around Australia right now. We've re-jigged our existing Netflix Movie Night series, and brought in Australia's other popular subscription video on demand services — Stan and Presto — to give you a broader selection of movies and TV shows to enjoy. On all three services, you can watch from your tablet or smartphone, on your PC or laptop, through your Smart TV, or through a media streaming dongle like the Google Chromecast, although specifics can vary. Stan costs a flat $10 per month, Netflix can cost from $9 to $15 per month, and Presto is $10 to $15 depending which package you choose. John Wick John Wick is a good ol' fashioned rollercoaster ride of revenge. It doesn't pretend to be especially high-brow, it doesn't pretend to be an art film. It's just a guy — a guy that happens to be an incredibly capable and deadly assassin — taking revenge on the people that have wronged him. In an incredibly bloody fashion. One of Keanu Reeves' best movies, it draws heavily from anime and martial arts films. It also teaches you to never shoot the dog. Watch it now on Stan. Stan: An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him with New York City as his bullet-riddled playground. The Raid The Raid is another martial arts masterpiece — in fact, it's one of the best action movies in decades; but it got a relatively limited release outside of its Indonesian home market. A straightforward cops versus robbers piece, it pits Jakarta's elite SWAT team against a crime lord in a slum apartment block. Showcasing the Indonesian martial art of Pencak Silat, it is incredibly well shot and choreographed — you'll get up and want to exercise after seeing it. Watch it now on Stan. Stan: Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable multi-level safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. An elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house and taking down the notorious drug lord that runs it. Robocop Robocop — the original 1987 film, not the 2014 remake — now has cult status because people just don't remember it. Don't get me wrong, though, it's a cult movie now but was one of the most critically acclaimed films of its release year. In a Detroit filled with crime — hey, life imitates art — a policeman, brutally murdered and literally shot to pieces by criminals, is reanimated through the power of science to exact revenge upon the people that wronged him. Watch it now on Stan. Stan: WARNING: FEATURES HIGH IMPACT VIOLENCE. Corporate scientists turn a dead Detroit policeman (Peter Weller) into a cyborg crime-fighter. Death Proof Death Proof is part of a double feature from cult film royalty Quentin Tarantino, alongside its equally watchable sibling Planet Terror (which I also suggest you hunt down and watch with extreme prejudice). It's so worth watching; it's a great example of the action-exploitation genre, with a psychopathic Kurt Russell hunting down and killing women inside his "death-proof" movie stunt car. Until he tarries with his latest, not-so-willing victims. Watch it now on Stan. Stan: For DJ, Jungle Julia, dusk offers an opportunity to unwind with two of her friends. Tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a rebel who leers from behind the wheel of his car. As the girls settle into their beers, Mike's weapon revs just feet away. The Expendables The Expendables is one of the best movies ever made. There, I said it. It has more '80s and '90s action movie heroes than it knows what to do with, and together they form the Expendables, a group of contract mercenaries that occasionally go all A-Team and help the vulnerable when they're in need. It also features a brilliant, almost caricature, bad guy in island dictator General Garza, and its simple storyline belies how fun it actually is to watch. Watch it now on Stan. Stan: When the mysterious Mr Church offers Barney a job no one else would take The Expendables embark on what appears to be a routine mission; overthrow a murderous dictator of a small island nation to end the death and destruction inflicted on its people. Netflix Drive Angry Drive Angry is the best action film in a fleet of excellent action films that Hollywood's best actor, the One True God , Nicolas Cage, has made. To convince you to watch it, I need only share this short synopsis with you: John Milton is an undead criminal who has broken out of Hell to kill Jonah King, a cult leader who tricked Milton's daughter into joining his followers in the wake of Milton's own death. How awesome does that sound!? Watch it now on Netflix. Netflix: A criminal escapes hell to pursue the cult that killed his daughter and abducted her baby, racing to save the infant before the group sacrifices her. The Terminator The Terminator was a big film when it came out, but doesn't have anywhere near as many fans as Terminator 2 or even the later, lesser films in the Terminator franchise. And I think that's a bad thing, because the original film is one of the best in the series, has some sci-fi themes far advanced for its 1984 release, and features a hulked-out body-building world champion Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular bad guy. Watch it now on Netflix. Netflix: In the post-apocalyptic future, tyrannical machines teleport a cyborg to 1984 to a kill a woman whose unborn son is destined to lead the human rebels. Crank Crank is a ridiculous movie. There is no denying that, and I'm not going to tell you otherwise. What it is is a rollicking good time, an action-packed adrenaline rollercoaster that will keep your butt gripped to its seat and your eyes open. Jason Statham's Chev Chelios is a one-dimensional bad guy, injected with a heart-stopping drug that is only counteracted by pure adrenaline. It's like Speed, but with Jason Statham as the bus. Watch it now on Netflix. Netflix: A hit man who has been poisoned learns that he can elude death if he keeps his adrenaline pumping as he races through the streets of Los Angeles. Death Race Death Race is another Statham masterpiece, a remake (almost a prequel, really) of the 1975 film Death Race 2000. In a future America torn apart by crime, with private mega-prisons run for profit, being captured and incarcerated is not only a death sentence, but a license to print money. The Death Race is a pay-per-view rolling gladiator contest, and Jason Statham's Jensen Ames is its unwilling — and framed — participant. Watch it now on Netflix. Netflix: An ex-con turned speedway champion is framed for a grisly murder and forced to compete in a grueling three-day race against his fellow inmates. Hellboy Hellboy is actually a genuinely fun and interesting film from the cinematic genius of Guillermo del Toro, starring the one and only Ron Perlman as the demonic beast himself. There's Naizs, Rasputin, supernatural crime fighters, and a plot to resurrect a long-dead entity trapped in space to destroy the planet and create a paradise. Not enough people saw Hellboy in the cinema, and it's your responsibility to change that right now on streaming. Watch it now on Netflix. Netflix: This fast-paced action flick tells the dark story of Hellboy, a charismatic demon who's put on Earth by the Nazis to terrorize the rest of the world. Presto Sucker Punch Sucker Punch has some problematic undertones — it's set in asylum where traumatised young women are held against their will — but the fantasy world that it creates is incredible. We're talking giant mecha-samurai in feudal Japan, steam-punk World War I German bunkers, and an Orc-infested castle guarded by a dragon, guys. It didn't do well at the cinema, but now enjoys a strong cult following on Blu-ray and streaming. Watch it now on Presto. Presto: A young woman incarcerated in a psychiatric institution against her will creates a fantastical world within her imagination to help her and four other inmates escape from a frightening fate. Only God Forgives Only God Forgives is a weird movie, if I'm honest with you. It's from the same director as Drive — and it also stars Ryan Gosling — and it's a drug-fueled trip through the gritty, dirty streets of Bangkok with a whole bunch of Muay Thai. It's a revenge flick, one about rough and corrupt police, and about family; you might come away from it confused, but you might also love it. It polarised cinema audiences, and it's worth watching at least once. Watch it now on Presto. Presto: A player in Bangkok's underworld faces the ultimate showdown when his brother is killed and his mother orders him to bring her the murderer's head. Ryan Gosling & Kristin Scott Thomas star. Judge Dredd Judge Dredd — the Sylvester Stallone one, not the Karl Urban one — flopped when it was released into cinemas, but enjoys a small and fervent following that can appreciate its strong undertones of dystopia, and a future where life is expendable. In a Mega-City overcrowded with human filth, Judge Dredd is a law-keeper — until he is framed for murder in a plot to overthrow the city's government and rule its people. Dredd won't let that happen. Watch it now on Presto. Presto: In a dystopian future time, Judge Dredd is the most resolute and feared law enforcer of them all. But in a sinister plot to overthrow the government, Dredd is framed for murder. Big Trouble In Little China Big Trouble In Little China sees an All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown. 80’s hair, Kurt Russell, ancient Chinese wizards; there’s not too much about Big Trouble in Little China that you can’t help but love. This is the cult movie you’re looking for. I first watched this very late at night; when I woke up, I genuinely thought it was all a very weird dream. You'll probably think exactly the same, even if you're sober. Watch it now on Presto. Presto: A truck driver is plunged into a strange netherworld after his friend's fiancee is kidnapped by mysterious forces in San Francisco's Chinatown district. The Evil Dead The Evil Dead is a cult masterpiece. Bruce Campbell's Ash is a mild-mannered university student, off on a spring break getaway with friends to a remote cabin — until they find an ancient book of the dead that really ruins their day. Evil demons and spirits and other really weird stuff ensues. It's one of the best cult horror flicks around. Trust me, you need to watch Evil Dead — it's good enough that it's getting its own TV series spin-off on Stan. Watch it now on Presto. Presto: Witless college students travel to a remote cabin in the mountains for the weekend; little do they know what they would unleash. One by one they get possessed by the Evil in the woods. Disclosure: Stan is a 50/50 joint venture between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media. Allure Media, the company which publishes Gizmodo Australia, is also owned by Fairfax.

i don't know

According to Greek mythology, the great weaver Arachne was turned into what by the goddess Athena, as punishment for her hubris?

Myth of Arachne, the spider woman - Greeka.com Discover the myth of Arachne, the spider woman The offence to the gods Arachne in Greek mythology, was a Lydian woman, thought by some to be a princess, who was highly gifted in the art of weaving. Born to Idmon, a famous dyer in Lydia, Arachne was no ordinary weaver and the very act of her weaving was sheer magic and a sight to behold. Soon news of Arachne's artistry spread far and wide and it is said that nymphs from the forests left their frolicking and gathered around Arachne to watch her weave. So moved were they by her skills that they remarked that she surely must have been trained by none other than Goddess Athena, the goddess of weaving. The weaving contest All this adulation was more than Arachne could handle and being an ordinary mortal who was quite vulnerable to human failings, she became quite arrogant about her superior skills. She was annoyed at being regarded as a pupil of Athena and began bragging about her skills, proclaiming herself to be far more superior to even Athena. Now, when the goddess of weaving heard of Arachne's bold claims, she was upset, but nonetheless decided to give the young woman a chance to regret her folly. Disguised as an old woman, Athena appeared before Arachne and warned her of the consequences of provoking the wrath of the gods, but Arachne was not a bit remorseful and challenged Athena to a contest, declaring that if she lost, she would accept any punishment that Athena would decide for her. That time Athena revealed her true form and accepted the challenge. The stage was set for a battle in which a god and a mortal pitted their artistic skills to decide who the better artist was. The nymphs who had come to watch Arachne weave shrank back, horrified at Arachne's audacity, but Arachne was unshakable and stood her ground. And so the contest began, Athena at her loom and Arachne at hers, each working with threads of gold and a splendid array of colors to decide who would outdo the other in this ultimate trial. What unfolded next was a feast for the eye. Athena created a tapestry replete with scenes from the history of the gods. She portrayed Zeus at the center of the Olympic pantheon as well as her own contest with Poseidon and her victory, which ultimately made the people of Athens name their city after her. At the corner of her tapestry, she artfully depicted humans who had dared to defy the gods and who had been punished without a trace of mercy. As for Arachne, she deliberately chose scenes that depicted the infidelities and amours of the gods. She vividly portrayed Zeus and his string of indiscretions. She showed how Zeus had turned into a swan to rape the Spartan queen Leda; a bull to entice Europa; an eagle to abduct Aegina; as a shower of gold to seduce Danae; and as a satyr to seduce Antiope. Arachne's work of art, according to the Latin narrative, featured twenty-one scenes of the various misdemeanors of the mighty gods, including Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus and others. The transformation into a spider Although Arachne had shown little respect for the gods by choosing a subject that made a mockery of the supreme deities of the Olympus, even Athena had to admit that her work was brilliant and flawless. That, however, was not enough to calm down Athena who was incensed by Arachne's humiliating portrayal of the gods. At last, Athena destroyed in anger Arachne's tapestry and loom. Arachne, like many other foolish mortals, had dared to question the supremacy of the gods. She had, in her arrogance over her art, been blind to the consequences of challenging the gods. Still in anger, Athens transformed Arachne into a disgusting insect. She turned her into a spider ("arachni" in Greek), proclaiming that Arachne and all her descendants would henceforth hang forever from threads and be skillful weavers. An interesting fact that relates myth to history is that the art of weaving is said to have originated in Anatolia, a part of modern Turkey and spiders have been a constant source of inspiration for man to perfect his weaving skill. The story of Arachne from Greek myhology has also been immortalized by science and the taxonomical class name for spiders is Arachnida. Share it!  

Spider

What can be a piniped, a means of royal authentication, and a British soul singer?

Minerva and Arachne Summary Minerva and Arachne Summary How It (Supposedly) Went Down Summary – Brief Minerva (Athena) hears a disturbing rumor while hanging out with the Muses. According to the rumor, a young girl named Arachne has recently boasted to her village that she is a better weaver than Minerva. Arachne has even issued a challenge, claiming that she will beat Minerva in a weaving contest if the goddess has the courage to accept. Outraged, Minerva disguises herself as an old woman and visits Arachne. She tries to persuade Arachne to take back the challenge. She argues that old age has made her wise, and that Arachne should heed her advice. Arachne, feisty as ever, grows angry at the old woman and ignores the advice. Again, Arachne demands that Minerva appear to accept her challenge. Minerva sheds her disguises and agrees to the contest. Oh yeah, it's on, baby. The two set up looms and get crackin'. When the weaving is finished, a dumbfounded Minerva is forced to admit that Arachne's work is top-notch. This only makes Minerva angrier, and she begins whacking Arachne with a piece of wood from her loom. Minerva continues to beat Arachne until the young girl can't stand it any longer. To escape the beating, Arachne hangs herself. Seeing the poor girl dead, Minerva has a moment of pity. She brings Arachne back to life and then transforms her into a spider, so that she can continue her weaving. Nice one, Minerva. Summary – Detailed Minerva and Arachne begins while Minerva is chilling with the Muses. The muses are the nine daughters of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory, and it's their job to bring inspiration to artists around the world. During her visit, the Muses tell Minerva a story about nine sisters who challenged them to a singing contest and got womped. This story reminds Minerva about a rumor she recently heard while passing through Lydia. According to the rumor, some young upstart girl from Hypaepa has recently begun boasting that her skill at weaving is better than Minerva's. The girl, Arachne, has become famous through all of Lydia for her talent. It's said that nymphs and other forest creatures will actually stop what they're doing to go and check her out. In fact, the girl is so sure of her skill that she's even challenged Minerva to a one-on-one weaving contest. Or so the rumor says. Just in case you were curious, goddesses don't like it when you claim to be better than them. At anything. It makes them cranky. The more Minerva thinks about it, the more she realizes that she's ticked off at Arachne. The Muses finish explaining how they turned their challengers into Magpies as punishment. Minerva decides that she kinda likes the idea of punishing mortals who challenge the gods. With a wicked cackle, she sets out for Hypaepa. The moment she arrives in Hypaepa, Minerva disguises herself as an old woman. By "disguise" we mean she literally transforms herself into an old woman with grey hair and a limp. Goddesses can do that sort of thing. Then she drops by Arachne's pad. She could have just dynamited Arachne's house into a glassy, smoking hole, but she's got trickier tricks up her sleeve. So, old-lady-Minerva limps into Arachne's house and right away starts giving the young girl some unsolicited advice. She explains that old age and experience have made her a wise old girl, and that wisdom suggests it's not smart to taunt the gods. She counsels Arachne to confine her boasting to mortals only. But Arachne fails to recognize the subtle warning in Minerva's words. She becomes outraged with the old woman, nearly slapping her. If comparing herself to the gods wasn't enough to give Minerva conniptions, the prospect of tasting the back of a mortal's hand certainly is. Arachne hollers at Minerva: "You know what, hon? Your problem is living too long." Sort of like saying, "you should just go away and die now." Kind of takes "sassy" to a whole new level. She tells the old woman to go share her advice with someone who gives a flying fork. Finally, she demands to know why Minerva hasn't answered her challenge. If the great and powerful Minerva is so awesome, why doesn't she come and prove it? At this point Minerva discards her old woman disguise. Thunderdome time. The two weavers set up their looms. (Looms are weaving devices. They're big, made out of wood; you might have seen one in a movie. They make nice antiques.) They choose their wool and set it to their looms. Then the weaving begins. Minerva chooses to weave a tapestry depicting her victory over Neptune (Poseidon) during the battle to decide who would name the city of Athens. In the four corners of the tapestry she weaves in pictures showing the terrible things that have happened to mortals who challenged the gods. One corner shows Antigone, whom Juno (Hera) transformed into a stork. Another corner shows Cyniras, whose daughters jumped off a cliff and were turned into birds. Other stories grace the two remaining corners. Arachne also chooses the gods as subject matter. But her tapestry shows the many crimes that the gods have committed, especially those against women. Jove (Zeus) is shown beside all the many women that he's deceived by transforming himself. To fool Europa he turned himself into a bull. For Antiope he was a satyr . For Aegina he appeared as a flame. ...and the list goes on. Neptune (Poseidon), Apollo , and Saturn (Chronos) are also shown alongside the women they've deceived and mistreated. (The gods aren't very nice people when you think about it. But then again, they're not people. So there ya go.) When the weaving is finished Minerva is forced to admit that Arachne's work is flawless. Unfortunately, admitting this only serves to make her angrier. And the subject matter of Arachne's weaving enrages her even more. How dare this puny mortal display the crimes of the gods for everyone to see? (Gods always think of us as "puny" mortals.) Minerva snatches up her shuttle (part of the loom, made of wood) and starts beating the livin' daylights out of Arachne. Arachne tries to hide from the blows raining down on her like a sack full of Jenga Blocks but can't escape the angry goddess. Eventually, when she can't stand it any longer, Arachne fashions a noose and hangs herself from a rafter to escape Minerva's wrath. When Minerva realizes that the girl is dead, she's suddenly filled with pity. Dropping the shuttle, she raises her hand and waves Arachne back to life. Then, she sprinkles her with hell-bane (an herb) and watches her shrink down into an itsy-bitsy spider. She tells the spider that her punishment is to hang for the rest of her life, weaving her webs. This punishment will be passed down to all of her children, forever.

i don't know

What Latin word, which means “word for word” is taken to mean a perfect transcription or quotation?

Take word - definition of take word by The Free Dictionary Take word - definition of take word by The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/take+word  (wûrd) n. 1. A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing or printing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or of a combination of morphemes. 2. a. Something said; an utterance, remark, or comment: May I say a word about that? b. A command or direction; an order: gave the word to retreat. c. An assurance or promise; sworn intention: She has kept her word. d. A verbal signal; a password or watchword. 3. words a. Discourse or talk; speech: Actions speak louder than words. b. Music The text of a vocal composition; lyrics. c. Hostile or angry remarks made back and forth. 4. a. News: Any word on your promotion? b. Rumor: Word has it they're divorcing. 5. Used euphemistically in combination with the initial letter of a term that is considered offensive or taboo or that one does not want to utter: "Although economists here will not call it a recession yet, the dreaded 'R' word is beginning to pop up in the media" (Francine S. Kiefer). 6. Word a. See Logos . b. The Scriptures; the Bible. 7. Computers A set of bits that is of a fixed size and is typically operated on by a computer's processor. tr.v. word·ed, word·ing, words To express in words: worded the petition carefully. interj. Slang Used to express approval or an affirmative response to something. Sometimes used with up. Idioms: 1. A favorable comment: She put in a good word for me. 2. Favorable news. To have a brief conversation with (someone); speak to. have no words for To be unable to describe or talk about. in a word In short; in summary: In a word, the situation is serious. in so many words 1. In precisely those words; exactly: hinted at impending indictments but did not say it in so many words. 2. Speaking candidly and straightforwardly: In so many words, the weather has been beastly. of few words Not conversational or loquacious; laconic: a person of few words. of (one's) word Displaying personal dependability: a woman of her word. take at (someone's) word To be convinced of another's sincerity and act in accord with his or her statement: We took them at their word that the job would be done on time. take (someone's) word for it To believe what someone says without investigating further. upon my word [Middle English, from Old English; see wer-5 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] word (wɜːd) n 1. (Linguistics) one of the units of speech or writing that native speakers of a language usually regard as the smallest isolable meaningful element of the language, although linguists would analyse these further into morphemes. 2. an instance of vocal intercourse; chat, talk, or discussion: to have a word with someone. 3. an utterance or expression, esp a brief one: a word of greeting. 4. news or information: he sent word that he would be late. 5. a verbal signal for action; command: when I give the word, fire!. 6. an undertaking or promise: I give you my word; he kept his word. 7. an autocratic decree or utterance; order: his word must be obeyed. 8. a watchword or slogan, as of a political party: the word now is 'freedom'. 9. (Computer Science) computing a set of bits used to store, transmit, or operate upon an item of information in a computer, such as a program instruction 10. as good as one's word doing what one has undertaken or promised to do 11. at a word at once 12. by word of mouth orally rather than by written means 13. in a word briefly or in short 14. my word! a. an exclamation of surprise, annoyance, etc b. Austral an exclamation of agreement 15. of one's word given to or noted for keeping one's promises: I am a man of my word. 16. put in a word for put in a good word for to make favourable mention of (someone); recommend 17. take someone at his word take someone at her word to assume that someone means, or will do, what he or she says: when he told her to go, she took him at his word and left. 18. take someone's word for it to accept or believe what someone says 19. the last word a. the closing remark of a conversation or argument, esp a remark that supposedly settles an issue b. the latest or most fashionable design, make, or model: the last word in bikinis. c. the finest example (of some quality, condition, etc): the last word in luxury. 20. the word the proper or most fitting expression: cold is not the word for it, it's freezing!. 21. upon my word! a. archaic on my honour b. an exclamation of surprise, annoyance, etc 22. word for word a. (of a report, transcription, etc) using exactly the same words as those employed in the situation being reported; verbatim b. translated by substituting each word in the new text for each corresponding word in the original rather than by general sense 23. word of honour a promise; oath 24. (modifier) of, relating to, or consisting of words: a word list. vb 25. (tr) to state in words, usually specially selected ones; phrase 26. informal (often foll by: up) Austral to inform or advise (a person) [Old English word; related to Old High German wort, Old Norse orth, Gothic waurd, Latin verbum, Sanskrit vratá command] Word n 1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity the 2nd person of the Trinity 2. (Theology) Scripture, the Bible, or the Gospels as embodying or representing divine revelation. Often called: the Word of God [translation of Greek logos, as in John 1:1] word (wɜrd) n. 1. a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning, is typically seen as the smallest such unit capable of independent use, is separated from other such units by spaces in writing, and is often distinguished phonologically, as by accent or pause. 2. words, a. verbal expression, esp. speech or talk: to express one's emotions in words. b. the text or lyrics of a song as distinguished from the music. c. contentious or angry speech; a quarrel. 3. a short talk or conversation: May I have a word with you? 4. an expression or utterance: a word of warning. 5. warrant, assurance, or promise: I give you my word I'll be there. 6. news; tidings; information: We received word of an uprising. 7. a verbal signal, as a password, watchword, or countersign. 8. an authoritative utterance or command: His word was law. 9. a string of bits or bytes of fixed length treated as a unit for storage and processing by a computer. 10. (cap.) Also called the Word, the Word′ of God′. a. the Scriptures; the Bible. b. the Logos. c. the message of the gospel of Christ. 11. a proverb or motto. 12. (used to form a usu. humorous euphemism by combining with the initial letter of a taboo or supposedly taboo word): a ban on television's use of the F-word. Taxes - politicians' dreaded T-word. v.t. 13. to select words to express; phrase: to word a contract carefully. interj. 14. Sometimes, word up. Slang. (used to express satisfaction, approval, or agreement): You got a job? Word! Idioms: 1. be as good as one's word, to do what one has promised. 2. eat one's words, to retract one's statement, esp. with humility. 3. in a word, in summary; in short. 4. in so many words, in unequivocal terms; explicitly: She told them in so many words to get out. 5. man of his word or woman of her word, a trustworthy, reliable person. 6. my word! or upon my word! (used as an exclamation of surprise or astonishment.) 7. of few words, not talkative; laconic; taciturn. 8. of many words, talkative; loquacious; wordy. 9. put in a (good) word for, to speak favorably on behalf of; commend. 10. take one at one's word, to take a statement to be literal and true. 11. take the words out of someone's mouth, to say exactly what another person was about to say. [before 900; Middle English, Old English, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon word, Old High German wort, Old Norse orth, Gothic waurd; akin to Latin verbum word, Lithuanian vardas name] Word(s) to preach the Word → predicare la buona novella 2. vt (document, protest) → formulare word (wəːd) noun 1. the smallest unit of language (whether written, spoken or read). woord كَلِمَه дума palavra slovo das Wort ord λέξη palabra sõna کلمه sana mot מילה शब्द riječ szó kata orð parola 語 말, 단어 žodis vārds kata; perkataan woord ord słowo لغت، کلمه، خبره، لفظ، وعده، ژمنه، لوز، څرګندونه palavra cuvânt слово slovo beseda reč ord คำ kelime , sözcük 單字 слово لفظ từ 单词 2. a (brief) conversation. I'd like a (quick) word with you in my office. woordjie مُحادَثَه قَصيرَه разговор palavrinha pár slov einige Worte (pl.) ord; samtale κουβέντα , σύντομη συζήτηση palabra paar sõna, lühivestlus گفت و شنود مخصر pari sanaa mot שִׂיחָה קְצָרָה बातचीत kratak razgovor (rövid) beszélgetés percakapan singkat orð, (stutt) samtal parola 会話 간단한 대화 žodelis īsa saruna; pāris vārdu bercakap gesprek ord , prat `słowo`, `słówko` څرګندونه palavrinha cuvânt разговор pár slov kratek pogovor razgovor ord การพูดคุย iki çift lâf, birkaç kelime (簡短)談話 розмова گفتگو cuộc nói chuyện （简短）谈话 3. news. When you get there, send word that you've arrived safely. boodskap خَبَر، كَلِمَه новина aviso zpráva der Bescheid besked είδηση , μήνυμα noticia teade خبر viesti nouvelles מילה खबर novost, vijest üzenet berita fréttir notizia , messaggio 知らせ 소식 žinutė ziņa berita; khabar bericht beskjed ; nytt, nyhet wiadomość خبره aviso vorbă сообщение správa sporočilo vest bud, meddelande, besked ข่าวลือ haber 消息 повідомлення خبر tin tức 消息 4. a solemn promise. He gave her his word that it would never happen again. woord, belofte وَعْد обещание palavra slovo das Wort ord; æresord υπόσχεση , λόγος palabra ausõna قول؛ عهد kunniasana parole הבטחה वादा svečano obećanje ígéret janji loforð, heit parola 約束 약속 garbės žodis godavārds janji woord ord , løfte słowo honoru وعده palavra promisiune слово slovo beseda obećanje [heders]ord คำสัญญา söz 諾言 слово, обіцянка وعدہ lời hứa 诺言 verb to express in written or spoken language. How are you going to word the letter so that it doesn't seem rude? verwoord يُعَبِّر، يَصوغ الكَلام изразявам устно/писмено formular zformulovat formulieren formulere διατυπώνω expresar sõnastama بیان کردن muotoilla formuler לְנַסֵח कहना izraziti riječima megfogalmaz menyusun kata orða formulare 表現する 말로 표현하다 išreikšti žodžiais izteikt vārdos meluahkan dgn kata-kata formuleren ordlegge , formulere sformułować څرګندونه formular a for­mula формулировать (s)formulovať, (zo)štylizovať izraziti z besedami izraziti rečima uttrycka พูด sözcüklerle ifade etmek, anlatmak 用言語表達 добирати вислови لفظوں میں بیان کرنا bày tỏ bằng lời 用言词表达 ˈwording noun the manner of expressing something, the choice of words etc. bewoording تَعْبير، صِياغَة العِبارَه начин на изразяване redação / estilo formulace die Formulierung formulering; ordlyd διατύπωση redacción , expresión sõnastus واژه آرایی، نحوه بیان muotoilu formulation ניסוח अभिव्यक्ति की शैली izražavanje megfogalmazás pilihan kata orðalag formulazione 言葉づかい 말씨, 표현법 formulavimas formulējums susunan kata formulering ordvalg/-lyd, formulering sformułowanie وينا، خبره، دخبر جوړونه redacção formu­lare формулировка formulácia, znenie način izražanja, izbor besed izražavanje formulering, ordalydelse การใช้คำ ifade , anlatım 措詞 редакція, формулювання طرز بیان cách diễn đạt 措词 ˈword processor noun a program for writing or editing texts, letters etc and storing them in the computer's memory; a computer used for doing this. woordverwerker مُعالِج الكَلِمات компютърна програма за обработка на текстове processador de texto textový editor das Textverarbeitungsprogramm tekstbehandlingsanlæg επεξεργαστής κειμένου procesador de textos tekstitöötlusprogramm واژه پرداز tekstinkäsittelyohjelma (machine à) traitement de text מְעַבֵּד תַמלִילִים कंप्यूटर računalni program za pisanje szövegszerkesztő pengolah kata (program komputer) (organo di elaborazione della parola) ワープロ 워드 프로세서 teksto apdorojimo sistema, teksto procesorius vārdu procesors pemproses kata tekstverwerker tekstbehandlingsprogram ; datamaskin edytor tekstów واژه جوړونكي текстовый процессор textový procesor urejevalnik teksta pisaća elektronska mašina ordbehandlare, ordbehandlingsprogram สร้าง จัดเก็บ แก้และพิมพ์คำ ข้อความโดยใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ kelime işlem programı 文字處理器(或軟體) текстовий процесор متن کو لکھنے اور ترتیب دینے کا ایک پروگرام chương trình xử lý văn bản （计）文字处理软件 ˈword processing noun woordverwerking مُعالَجَة الكَلِمات компютърна обработка на текстове texto processado zpracování textu die Textverarbeitung tekstbehandling επεξεργασία κειμένου procesamiento de textos tekstitöötlus استفاده از کامپیوتر از تایپ tekstinkäsittely traitement de text עִיבּוד תַמלִילִים मजमून लिखना या संपादन करना programiranje riječi szövegszerkesztés pengolahan kata (program komputer) (gestione elettronica dei testi) ワープロでうつこと 워드 프로세싱 teksto apdorojimas teksta datorapstrāde pemprosesan kata tekstverwerking tekstbehandling przetwarzanie tekstów د کمپیوتر ته استفاده کول электронная обработка текста spracovanie textu urejanje teksta obrada teksta ordbehandling การสร้าง จัดเก็บ แก้และพิมพ์คำ ข้อความโดยใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ metin/yazı işleme 文字處理 текстовий процесор الفاظ کو لکھنا اور ترتیب دینا xử lý văn bản 文字处理 ˌword-ˈperfect adjective repeated, or able to repeat something, precisely in the original words. a word-perfect performance; He wants to be word-perfect by next week's rehearsal. woordperfek قادِر على تَكْرار الكَلِمات نَفْسِها запаметил точно textualmente perfeito textově dokonalý rollen-, vokabelfest ordret citerende; udenadskundende ακριβής στην αποστήθιση correcto hasta la última palabra sõnatäpne کلمه پرداز سریع sanatarkka sur le bout des doigts מְדַקלֵם מוּשלָם सुकंठस्थ koji zna ulogu točno napamet szerepét tökéletesen tudó sempurna orðréttur perfetto せりふの完全な (문서, 교정쇄가) 완벽한, 정확한 nepriekaištingas, gerai įsimenantis precīzs (vārdos); teikts vārds vārdā hafal woordgetrouw ordrett , som en kan utenat mający opanowaną rolę واژه جوړونكي textualmente perfeito pe de rost знающий наизусть textovo dokonalý ki obvlada besedilo koji zna tekst napamet absolut säker, perfekt, utantill ถูกต้องทุกคำ ...-i çok iyi ezberlemiş (能夠)一字不漏地背誦 той, що знає напам'ять جسے کوءی عبارت زبانی یاد ہو thuộc lòng 一字不错地熟记的 by word of mouth by one person telling another in speech, not in writing. She got the information by word of mouth. mondeling شَفَهِيّا от уста на уста de viva voz ústně mündlich mundtlig προφορικά verbalmente , de palabra suuliselt شفاهی suusta suuhun verbalement מפה לאוזן सुन कर izrijekom élőszóval dari mulut ke mulut munnlega (a viva voce) 口づてに 구두로 žodžiu mutiski dari mulut seseorang mondeling muntlig ustnie تقریری de viva voz verbal на словах ústne ustno usmenim putem muntligen, från mun till mun ปากต่อปาก ağızdan, sözlü olarak 口頭的 на словах زبانی truyền miệng 口头的 get a word in edgeways to break into a conversation etc and say something. 'n woordjie inkry يَتَدخَّل في المُحادَثَةِ فَجأةً ويقولُ شَيئا ما намесвам се в разговор intrometer na conversa dostat se ke slovu zu Worte kommen få et ord indført προλαβαίνω να πω μια κουβέντα meter baza sõna sekka ütlema دراز گویی؛ پرگویی کردن ottaa suunvuoro placer un mot לְהַשחִיל מִילה לְשִׂיחָה बातचीत में बीच में टपकना upasti u razgovor sikerül pár szót közbevetnie menyela komast inn í samtal (intromettersi in una conversazione) 口をはさむ 말참견하다 įsiterpti į pokalbį iestarpināt [] vārdu tidak ada peluang atau kesempatan untuk mencelah er een woord tussen krijgen få sagt noe , smette inn med en replikk wtrącić się زيات ويونكي meter-se na conversa a se băga în discuţie вставить слово dostať sa k slovu vpasti v besedo upasti u razgovor få en syl i vädret พูดขัดจังหวะ araya girip konuşabilmek 插話 вставляти словечко گفتگو کے درمیان میں کوءی دوسری بات کہنا chen ngang vào cuộc nói chuyện 插话 in a word to sum up briefly. In a word, I don't like him. in 't kort, om op te som بِكَلِمَةٍ واحِده، باخْتِصار накратко em resumo jedním slovem mit einem Wort med ét ord; kort sagt με μια λέξη, εν ολίγοις en una palabra ühesõnaga به طور خلاصه sanalla sanoen en un mot בְּמִילָה אַחַת संक्षेप में riječju egyszóval singkatnya í einu orði sagt in una parola 要するに 한마디로 trumpai tariant, žodžiu [] vārdu sakot secara ringkasnya kortom kort sagt jednym słowem خلاصه em resumo într-un cuvânt короче говоря jedným slovom z eno besedo ukratko kort sagt กล่าวอย่างสั้น ๆ sözün kısası 總歸一句話 одним словом مختصراً nói ngắn gọn 一句话，总而言之 keep/break one's word to keep or fail to keep one's promise. hou/verbreek jou woord, 'n belofte hou/verbreek يُحافِظ على وَعْدِه спазвам/не спазвам обещанието си manter/quebrar a sua palavra (ne)dodržet slovo sein Wort halten/brechen holde sit ord; ikke holde sit ord αθετώ το λόγο μου cumplir/faltar su palabra sõna pidama, sõna murdma به عهد خود وفا نکردن pitää, pettää lupaus tenir/manquer à (sa) parole לְקַיֵים הַבטָחָה वादा निभाना या तोड़ना održati megtartja v. megszegi a szavát mengikuti/kehilangan jejak halda/svíkja loforð (mantenere le promesse); (non mantenere le promesse) 約束を守る[] 약속을 지키다(어기다) laikytis žodžio, sulaužyti žodį turēt/lauzt doto vārdu simpankan atau bocorkan rahsia seseorang zijn woord houden, breken holde/bryte et løfte dotrzymać słowa, złamać słowo د خپل وعده ته وفا کول manter/quebrar a sua palavra a-şi ţine/a nu-şi ţine cuvântul сдержать , нарушить слово dodržať / nedodržať slovo držati/ prelomiti besedo održati obećanje hålla /bryta ett löfte ผิดสัญญา sözünü tut(ma)mak (未)遵守諾言 порушити обіцянку; дотриматися обіцянки وعدہ وفا کرنا یا توڑ دینا giữ lời hứa 遵守诺言／失言 take (someone) at his/her word to believe (someone) without question and act according to his words. iemand se woord daarvoor aanvaar يُصَدِّق كَلام الشَّخْص вярвам на някого acreditar em (alguém) vzít za slovo (jemanden) beim Wort nehmen stole på nogen βασίζομαι στα λόγια κπ., πιστεύω cogerle la palabra a alguien sõna-sõnalt võtma حرف کسی را پذیرفتن؛ سخنان کسی را جدی تلقی کردن luottaa jonkun sanaan prendre (qqn) au mot לְהִתייַחֵס בִּרצִינוּת לִדבָרוֹ किसी की बात पर यकीन करना držati za riječ szaván fog vkit mempercayai taka e-n á orðinu (prendere qualcuno in parola) まに受ける 추종하다 priimti už gryną pinigą, patikėti kieno žodžiais ticēt uz vārda mempercayai seseorang iemand op zijn woord geloven ta (noen) på ordet polegać na czyimś słowie قبولول acreditar em (alguém) a crede (pe cineva) pe cuvânt поймать (кого-л.) на слове vziať za slovo prijeti koga za besedo držati nekoga za reč tro ngn på dennes ord เชื่อคนง่าย sözüne inanmak 相信並遵照某人的話 ловити когось на слові کسی کی باتوں پر مکمل اعتماد کرنا tin vào lời nói của ai 相信并遵照某人的话 take someone's word for it to assume that what someone says is correct (without checking). iemand se woord daarvoor aanvaar يَفْتَرِض صِحَّة كَلام الشَّخْص повярвам на някого aceitar o dito věřit komu na slovo jemandem etwas glauben stole på βασίζομαι στα λόγια κπ. aceptar lo que alguien dice (puhta) tõena võtma, (kellegi) ausõna (millegi) peale پذیرفتن؛ درست انگاشتن luottaa jonkun sanaan croire (qqn) sur parole לְהַאֲמִין לִדבָרַיו किसी की बात पर भरोसा करना držati za riječ hisz a szavának mempercayai taka e-n trúanlegan (credere sulla parola) 信じる 곧이 곧대로 받아들이다 patikėti kuo nors ticēt (kādam) menerima kata-kata seseorang sebagai betul tanpa usul periksa iemand op zijn woord geloven stole på en , tro en på ens ord trzymać kogoś za słowo قبولول aceitar o dito a crede (pe cineva) pe cuvânt верить кому-л. на слово veriť niekomu na slovo verjeti na besedo verovati na reč tro ngn på dennes ord, lita på vad ngn säger ชื่อโดยไม่พิจารณา birinin sözüne güvenmek (未查證便)相信某人的話 повірити комусь на слово کسی کے کہنے کو صحیح فرض کر لینا tin vào ai （未查证便）相信某人的话 word for word in the exact, original words. That's precisely what he told me, word for word. woord vir woord كَلِمَه بِكَلِمَه дума по дума textualmente slovo za slovem Wort für Wort ord for ord λέξη προς λέξη textualmente sõna-sõnalt جزء به جزء sanatarkasti mot pour mot מילה במילה शब्‍दश: točno, doslovce szó szerint kata per kata orð fyrir orð parola per parola 一語一語 문자그대로 pažodžiui vārds vārdā; precīzi sebiji-sebiji woord voor woord ordrett , ord for ord słowo w słowo جز به جز textualmente cuvânt cu cuvânt слово в слово slovo za slovom dobesedno tim rečima ord för ord, ordagrant คำต่อคำ kelimesi kelimesine, aynen 逐字的 слово в слово لفظ بہ لفظ đúng từng lời 逐字的 word

Verbatim

What insurance company uses an umbrella in its logo?

Verbatim - definition of verbatim by The Free Dictionary Verbatim - definition of verbatim by The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/verbatim Using exactly the same words; corresponding word for word: a verbatim report of the conversation. adv. In exactly the same words; word for word: repeated their dialogue verbatim. [Middle English, from Medieval Latin verbātim, from Latin verbum, word; see verb.] verbatim using exactly the same words; word for word [C15: from Medieval Latin: word by word, from Latin verbum word] ver•ba•tim 1. in exactly the same words; word for word. adj. 2. corresponding word for word to the original source or text: a verbatim record of the proceedings. [1475–85; < Medieval Latin verbātim= Latin verb(um) word + -ātim adv. suffix] ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Adj. 1. verbatim - in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim" exact - marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; "an exact mind"; "an exact copy"; "hit the exact center of the target" Adv. verbatim adverb 1. exactly , to the letter , word for word , closely , precisely , literally , faithfully , rigorously , in every detail, letter for letter The president's speeches are reproduced verbatim in the state-run newspapers. adjective 1. word for word , exact , literal , close , precise , faithful , line by line, unabridged , unvarnished , undeviating , unembellished He gave me a verbatim report of the entire conversation. verbatim [vɜːˈbeɪtɪm] adv & adj → parola per parola verb (vəːb) noun the word or phrase that gives the action, or asserts something, in a sentence, clause etc. I saw him; He ran away from me; I have a feeling; What is this? werkwoord فِعْل глагол verbo sloveso das Verb verbum; udsagnsord ρήμα verbo tegusõna فعل verbi verbe פועל क्रिया glagol ige kata kerja, verba sögn, sagnorð verbo 動詞 동사 veiksmažodis darbības vārds kata kerja werkwoord verb czasownik verbo verb глагол sloveso glagol glagol erb คำกริยา fiil 動詞 дієслово فعل động từ 动词 ˈverbal adjective 1. of, or concerning, verbs. verbal endings such as `-fy', `-ize'. werkwoordelik فِعْلي، مُتَعَلِّق بالأفْعال глаголен verbal slovesný Verbal-... verbal ρηματικός verbal verbi- فعلی verbi- verbal פוֹעַלִי मौखिक glagolski igei mengenai kata kerja sagn-, sagnar- verbale 動詞の 동사의 veiksmažodžio verbāls; darbības vārda- kata-kata werkwoordelijk verbal- , ord- czasownikowy verbal verbal (от)глагольный slovesný glagolski glagolski verb- เกี่ยวกับคำกริยา fiil ile ilgili 動詞的，與動詞有關的 дієслівний; віддієслівний فعل سے متعلق thuộc động từ, có gốc động từ 动词的，由动词构成的 2. consisting of, or concerning, spoken words. a verbal warning/agreement. mondelingse لَفْظي، كلامي устен verbal slovní mündlich mundtlig προφορικός verbal suuline شفاهی verbaalinen verbal בְּעַל-פֶּה मौखिक usmeni szóbeli lisan munnlegur verbale 言葉の 구두의 žodinis mutisks lisan mondeling muntlig słowny verbal verbal, oral устный slovný usten verbalni verbal, muntlig ที่ใช้คำพูด sözlü 口頭的 усний; вербальний زباني bằng miệng, bằng lời nói 口头的 ˈverbally adverb in or by speech, not writing. I replied to the invitation verbally. verbaal كلاميّا словом verbalmente slovně mündlich mundtligt προφορικά verbalmente suuliselt به صورت شفاهی suullisesti verbalement בְּעַל-פֶּה मौखिक रूप में usmeno élőszóban secara lisan munnlega verbalmente 口頭で 구두로 žodžiu mutiski secara lisan mondeling muntlig słownie verbalmente verbal устно slovne ustno verbalno muntligt ทางคำพูด sözlü olarak 口頭地 усно, словесно زباني طور پر bằng miệng, bằng lời nói 口头地 verbatim (-ˈbeitim) adjective, adverb word for word. a verbatim report of the argument; The child repeated my words verbatim. woordeliks حَرْفِيّا، بالحَرْف الواحِد، كَلِمة بِكَلِمَه дословно na íntegra slovo od slova wörtlich ordret αυτολεξεί , κατά λέξη textualmente , palabra por palabra sõna-sõnalt کلمه به کلمه sanatarkka mot à mot מִלָה בְּמִלָה शाब्दिक naizust szó szerint(i) kata per kata parola per parola 逐語的に 정확히 말 그대로 pažodinis; pažodžiui, žodis į žodį kata demi kata woord voor woord ord for ord , ordrett dosłownie , słowo w słowo дословныи; слово в слово doslovný dobeseden, besedo za besedo reč po reč ordagrann, ord för ord ซึ่งมีลักษณะคำต่อคำ kelimesi kelimesine aynı 逐字的(地) дослівно, слово в слово لفظ بہ لفظ đúng nguyên văn 逐字的（地） verbose (-ˈbous) adjective using too many words; expressed in too many words. a verbose speaker; a verbose description/style. omslagtig كَثير الحَشْو بالكَلام многословен prolixo upovídaný wortreich ordrig φλύαρος verboso , locuaz sõnaohter طولانی؛ درازگویانه jaaritteleva verbeux מְגַבֵּב מִלִים शब्दबहुल pričljiv, rječit bőbeszédű terlalu banyak kata verboso , prolisso 冗長な 장황한 daugiakalbis, daugiažodžiaujantis pārlieku runīgs; liekvārdīgs bercakap berjela-jela langdradig , wijdlopig, lang van stof ordrik , vidløftig многословный utáraný, urečnený dolgovezen preopširan mångordig, svamlig, långrandig ซึ่งใช้ถ้อยคำมากเกินไป gereksiz sözlerle dolu; ağzı kalabalık 冗長的 багатослівний لفاظي đa ngôn, lắm lời 冗长的 verbatim n. L. verbatim, al pie de la letra, palabra por palabra.

i don't know

If bovine describes a cow, canine a dog, and feline a cat, what does vulpine define?

Leukogram Abnormalities - Circulatory System - Veterinary Manual Leukogram Abnormalities By R. Darren Wood, DVM, DVSc, DACVP, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph Leukocyte Disorders Abnormalities of the leukogram include quantitative or numerical concentration abnormalities and WBC morphologic abnormalities. Numerical Abnormalities: WBC concentration values are interpreted by comparison with species-specific reference values. Interpretations should be made only by considering the absolute numbers. For reference values for total WBC and differential WBC concentrations in absolute numbers for common domestic species, see Table: Hematologic Reference Ranges . The total WBC concentration is more variable and often higher in neonates than in adults. Age-related reference values should be used to evaluate leukograms in young animals, especially species in which lymphocytes are more numerous (and neutrophils less numerous) in adults, such as ruminants. Generally, differential WBC patterns of adults are reached at about the age of sexual maturity. Abnormality in the total WBC concentration is useful only to alert the clinician to look for and interpret abnormalities in the cell distributions in the differential. When the total WBC is abnormal, one or more distributional abnormalities in the differential are likely. When the total WBC is normal, there still may be one or more distributional abnormalities in the differential. As a result, evaluation of the differential absolute values is the most important component of the leukogram. Leukocytosis is an increase in the total WBC concentration, whereas leukopenia is a decrease in the total WBC concentration. Changes in the concentrations of specific leukocyte types are more important for clinical interpretation purposes. Neutrophilia or neutrophilic leukocytosis is an increase in neutrophil concentration. Lymphocytosis is an increase in lymphocyte concentration. Monocytosis is an increase in monocyte concentration. Eosinophilia refers to an increase in eosinophil concentration, and basophilia to an increase in basophil concentration. Metarubricytosis is an increase in nucleated RBCs (nRBCs) in blood. Mastocytosis is an increase in mast cells in blood. Decreases in concentration of a cell type are indicated by the suffix “penia.” This is applied only to cell types in which a decrease is possible. It does not apply to cell types for which the concentration may be 0, such as monocytes, basophils, nRBCs, and any other abnormal cell type. Hence, neutropenia is a decrease in neutrophil concentration, lymphopenia is a decrease in lymphocyte concentration, and eosinopenia is a decrease in eosinophil concentration. Cytopenia is a nonspecific term indicating a decrease in cell concentration(s), but the cell type is not specified. Pancytopenia indicates all cell types are decreased, often to a severe degree. Terms used to describe or qualify abnormalities most often associated with inflammatory responses include various left shifts and leukemoid response. A left shift is an increase in concentration of immature, nonsegmented neutrophils, typically bands, but may also include metamyelocytes or even more immature forms. A regenerative left shift describes leukocytosis characterized by the combination of neutrophilia and a left shift. In this situation, the segmented neutrophils will be greater in concentration than bands and less mature forms. A degenerative left shift describes a neutrophil pattern characterized by normal to decreased total neutrophil concentration, but with a left shift in which the concentration of bands and less mature forms is greater than segmented neutrophils. This is an indication of maximal release from bone marrow in response to inflammation and signifies the presence of an acute, severe lesion. A leukemoid response describes a marked neutrophilia of a magnitude sufficient to indicate chronicity of an inflammatory response and corresponding substantial increase in granulopoiesis in the bone marrow. The magnitude is also such that myeloproliferative disease becomes a diagnostic consideration. Guidelines for neutrophilic leukocytosis considered to indicate a leukemoid response are >70,000/μL (70 × 109/L) for dogs, >50,000/μL (50 × 109/L) for cats, >30,000/μL (30 × 109/L) for horses, and >20,000/μL (20 × 109/L) for ruminants. Morphologic Abnormalities: Abnormalities of morphology may be associated with either acquired or inherited disease. Toxic changes are identified only in neutrophils. The term originates from historical observation that certain cell features were associated with general, usually overwhelming, toxic states, such as systemic bacterial infections and severe, acute inflammatory lesions. The term is misleading in that it implies neutrophil injury. The cells are not injured and have normal function. Toxic change is best defined as a set of morphologic changes observed on the blood smear that occur as a result of accelerated marrow production of neutrophils. The accelerated production is in response to relatively severe inflammatory states that maximally stimulate the bone marrow. Morphologic changes include (in order of frequency) diffuse cytoplasmic basophilia, Döhle bodies, and fine cytoplasmic vacuolation. More rare changes include increased prominence of cytoplasmic azurophilic granules, cellular gigantism, and binucleation. Toxic change is almost always associated with the concurrent presence of a left shift. It is graded as mild, moderate, or severe by subjective evaluation of the more common changes noted on examination of a blood smear. Döhle bodies, blue-gray cytoplasmic inclusions, are aggregates of endoplasmic reticulum. They are unique in that they may be found in clinically healthy cats and therefore are not interpreted as toxic change in this species unless accompanied by other features. Reactive lymphocytes have increased, distinctly basophilic cytoplasm and may have irregular or clefted nuclei. They may vary considerably in diameter. They have condensed chromatin and therefore are not blasts. They are interpreted as immunologically stimulated B cells. Granular lymphocytes have condensed chromatin and increased pale blue-gray cytoplasm that contains several small pink or azurophilic granules. The nucleus may be round to clefted. These are large granular lymphocytes and may be either natural killer (NK) lymphocytes or T lymphocytes. Blast cells are usually an indication of hematopoietic cell neoplasia if they are reproducible or present in large numbers. Their lineage may be tentatively identified by morphologic criteria, but flow cytometric analysis is required to definitively identify lineage. Many of the following morphologic changes are uncommon. Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (see Chédiak-Higashi Syndrome ) described in Persian cats, people, mink, foxes, Hereford and Brangus cattle, mice, and killer whales is an autosomal recessive defect involving lysosomal granules. There is hyperfusion of granules resulting in large, eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Susceptibility to bacterial infections is increased, as is the tendency to bleed because of both neutrophil and platelet function abnormalities. Partial oculocutaneous albinism due to abnormal melanin granule formation may occur. The mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of lysosomal storage disorders in which there is a defect in degradation of glycosaminoglycans. Both neutrophils and lymphocytes may contain accumulated mucopolysaccharide product in the form of purple or metachromatic intracytoplasmic granules. Lymphocytes may also be vacuolated. These disorders are associated with a variety of systemic clinical abnormalities and are seen in dogs and cats. Another group of lysosomal storage disorders recognized in dogs and cats may result in cytoplasmic vacuoles predominantly in lymphocytes and occasionally in neutrophils. These disorders include gangliosidoses, α-mannosidosis, Niemann-Pick disease variants, acid-lipase deficiency, and fucosidosis. Most of these disorders result in severe, progressive neurologic disorders resulting from accumulated product in neuronal tissue. Locoweed toxicity is regarded as an acquired form of lysosomal storage defect in large animals. It is due to toxic principle from the plant that inhibits one or more enzymes of oligosaccharide metabolism. This may result in vacuolation in lymphocytes. Pelger-Huët anomaly is a nuclear hyposegmentation defect of granulocytes in people, cats, rabbits, horses, and dogs that are heterozygous for the anomaly. Neutrophils have normal function but a near absence of segmented nuclear morphology. Most or all of the neutrophils appear as bands and metamyelocytes and may appear as a marked left shift in an otherwise normal leukogram. Eosinophils and basophils, if present, also exhibit nuclear hyposegmentation. Affected heterozygote animals are clinically normal; the homozygous inheritance of the trait is lethal. Hypersegmentation is an increased degree of nuclear segmentation resulting in multiple lobes connected by nuclear filaments. It is a nonspecific indication of increased time in circulation and is normal aging of the cell. This may be seen with stress leukograms or corticosteroid administration. Leukocyte agglutination may occur with either neutrophils or lymphocytes. This is seen on low magnification as aggregates of 5–15 tightly clumped leukocytes. Avid agglutination may result in a markedly false low total WBC concentration on some cell counting instruments. This is likely due to the presence of a naturally occurring cold agglutinin that is operative only in vitro at laboratory temperature. There is no known clinical significance. Infectious disease inclusions are occasionally recognized. Canine distemper inclusions may be seen in neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, as well as in newly produced erythrocytes. The ehrlichioses of various animal species and canine hepatozoonosis may have cytoplasmic inclusions of respective organisms of these tickborne diseases. Specific Interpretative Leukogram Responses The abnormal leukogram is typically interpreted into one of several responses, each of which may consist of one or more abnormalities in the differential. Some may also be associated with concurrent changes in erythrocytes and platelets. Important species differences in leukogram responses are described below. Corticosteroid-induced or Stress Response: In this very common leukocyte response, endogenous steroid release from stress or treatment with exogenous corticosteroids results in a leukogram with multiple changes. Lymphopenia is the most consistent change, and mature neutrophilia is usually present. Monocytosis and eosinopenia are expected changes in dogs but are more variable in other species. Neutrophilia is due to decreased adherence to the vascular endothelium, which inhibits margination and increases circulating time. As a result, neutrophils may also become hypersegmented. There may also be increased marrow release of neutrophils. Lymphocytes become redistributed to lymphoid tissues instead of remaining in circulation. This response may be misinterpreted as inflammation, but a left shift is not usually present. Excitement or Epinephrine Response: Leukocytosis may occur as a result of exercise or excitement; this response is mediated by increased epinephrine concentration and may be thought of as a transient physiologic response. Epinephrine flushes cells from the marginal to the central pool. The effect may double the total WBC concentration within minutes. In addition, splenic contraction releases WBCs and RBCs into the peripheral circulation. The leukocytosis is usually due to a mature neutrophilia without a left shift. Lymphocytosis may be present, especially in young horses or cats. The effect in cats is often recognized as a prominent lymphocytosis—as much as two times the upper reference value. The excitement response is relatively uncommon in dogs. Inflammatory Response: The concentration of neutrophils in blood in response to inflammatory disease is highly variable and dynamic. It is best viewed as a balance between tissue demand and bone marrow production at all phases of the response. There are important species differences in this balance that are related to bone marrow storage reserve and proliferative capacity. At the beginning of an inflammatory process, the bone marrow responds by delivery of its reserve of late-stage maturing neutrophils, including band cells. If consumption exceeds marrow delivery during this acute stage, neutropenia with a prominent left shift will develop. In dogs and cats, this is an indication of severity of the inflammatory lesion. Subsequently, it takes 2–4 days for the marrow to accelerate neutrophil production by increased stem-cell entry and expansion of proliferative stages that feed the maturation stages and amplify neutrophil delivery to blood. In dogs, the acute stage of the inflammatory response is usually characterized by mild to moderate neutrophilia, with the left shift being somewhat proportional to severity of demand. After a few days, accelerated bone marrow production adds to the picture. Neutrophilia may increase along with left shift and toxic changes. As the process becomes chronic, the balance between increased marrow output and consumption may favor the development of even higher magnitudes of neutrophilia. The most chronic form, present for weeks or even months, is described as a “closed cavity” inflammatory process. The lesion becomes somewhat walled off and therefore consumes fewer neutrophils, yet it still stimulates maximal marrow production. Examples of closed cavity processes are pyometra in dogs and traumatic reticuloperitonitis (hardware disease) in cattle. In these conditions, the magnitude of the total WBC concentration, consisting of neutrophilia, may be as high as 100,000/μL (100 × 109/L) of blood in dogs. Extreme neutrophilia, exceeding upper limits usually seen in inflammation, may be associated with leukemia, Hepatozoon canis infections, and rarely other neoplasms that produce colony-stimulating factors. In contrast, cattle and most other ruminants have a relatively low reserve of bone marrow neutrophils and a lower capacity for accelerating granulopoiesis. This is reflected in the relatively low neutrophil concentration in normal ruminant blood. As a result, acute inflammation in cows is characterized by neutropenia that can be profound. Therefore, neutropenia in cattle does not reveal the degree of inflammatory severity. After several days, the bone marrow response may establish a return of blood neutrophils in modest concentration, characterized by a marked left shift and toxic changes. Chronic, closed cavity inflammatory lesions are associated with magnitudes of neutrophilia that rarely exceed 25,000/μL of blood. Cats and horses are intermediate in these responses, with cats being more like dogs and horses being more like cattle. Pigs have an inflammatory leukogram similar to that of dogs. Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency is a lethal, autosomal recessive disorder of Holstein cattle. It is associated with marked neutrophilia; the neutrophils have a deficiency of the glycoproteins (integrins) that are essential for normal leukocyte adherence and emigration from the vasculature. Recurrent bacterial infections, persistent neutrophilia (often >100,000/μL [100 × 109/L]), lymphocytosis, and death (usually between 2 wk and 8 mo of age) are characteristic. Calves often are stunted and have recurrent pneumonia, ulcerative stomatitis, enteritis, and periodontitis. On examination of tissues, there are few neutrophils, except within vessel lumens, because they persist in the circulation and have impaired entry into the tissues. Testing is available to detect carriers. A similar defect has also been reported in some Irish Setter dogs. Neutropenia may develop because of excessive tissue demand for neutrophils or reduced granulopoiesis. It may be seen with overwhelming bacterial infections, especially gram-negative septicemia or endotoxemia, in all species. Immune-mediated destruction of neutrophils is diagnosed by exclusion of other consumptive processes. Stem-cell injury may occur from many causes such as certain viral infections (see Table: Viral Infections that May Cause Transient Neutropenia ), chemical injury, and idiosyncratic drug reactions, eg, sulfonamides, penicillins, cephalosporins, and chloramphenicol in cats. These reactions typically affect all bone marrow cell lines but are recognized initially as neutropenia because of the relatively short lifespan of this cell type. Viral Infections that May Cause Transient Neutropenia Species

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Now considered one of the top legal minds on the court, the confirmation hearing for what current associate Supreme Court justice was marred by accusations of sexual harassment from attorney Anita Hill?

Leukogram Abnormalities - Circulatory System - Veterinary Manual Leukogram Abnormalities By R. Darren Wood, DVM, DVSc, DACVP, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph Leukocyte Disorders Abnormalities of the leukogram include quantitative or numerical concentration abnormalities and WBC morphologic abnormalities. Numerical Abnormalities: WBC concentration values are interpreted by comparison with species-specific reference values. Interpretations should be made only by considering the absolute numbers. For reference values for total WBC and differential WBC concentrations in absolute numbers for common domestic species, see Table: Hematologic Reference Ranges . The total WBC concentration is more variable and often higher in neonates than in adults. Age-related reference values should be used to evaluate leukograms in young animals, especially species in which lymphocytes are more numerous (and neutrophils less numerous) in adults, such as ruminants. Generally, differential WBC patterns of adults are reached at about the age of sexual maturity. Abnormality in the total WBC concentration is useful only to alert the clinician to look for and interpret abnormalities in the cell distributions in the differential. When the total WBC is abnormal, one or more distributional abnormalities in the differential are likely. When the total WBC is normal, there still may be one or more distributional abnormalities in the differential. As a result, evaluation of the differential absolute values is the most important component of the leukogram. Leukocytosis is an increase in the total WBC concentration, whereas leukopenia is a decrease in the total WBC concentration. Changes in the concentrations of specific leukocyte types are more important for clinical interpretation purposes. Neutrophilia or neutrophilic leukocytosis is an increase in neutrophil concentration. Lymphocytosis is an increase in lymphocyte concentration. Monocytosis is an increase in monocyte concentration. Eosinophilia refers to an increase in eosinophil concentration, and basophilia to an increase in basophil concentration. Metarubricytosis is an increase in nucleated RBCs (nRBCs) in blood. Mastocytosis is an increase in mast cells in blood. Decreases in concentration of a cell type are indicated by the suffix “penia.” This is applied only to cell types in which a decrease is possible. It does not apply to cell types for which the concentration may be 0, such as monocytes, basophils, nRBCs, and any other abnormal cell type. Hence, neutropenia is a decrease in neutrophil concentration, lymphopenia is a decrease in lymphocyte concentration, and eosinopenia is a decrease in eosinophil concentration. Cytopenia is a nonspecific term indicating a decrease in cell concentration(s), but the cell type is not specified. Pancytopenia indicates all cell types are decreased, often to a severe degree. Terms used to describe or qualify abnormalities most often associated with inflammatory responses include various left shifts and leukemoid response. A left shift is an increase in concentration of immature, nonsegmented neutrophils, typically bands, but may also include metamyelocytes or even more immature forms. A regenerative left shift describes leukocytosis characterized by the combination of neutrophilia and a left shift. In this situation, the segmented neutrophils will be greater in concentration than bands and less mature forms. A degenerative left shift describes a neutrophil pattern characterized by normal to decreased total neutrophil concentration, but with a left shift in which the concentration of bands and less mature forms is greater than segmented neutrophils. This is an indication of maximal release from bone marrow in response to inflammation and signifies the presence of an acute, severe lesion. A leukemoid response describes a marked neutrophilia of a magnitude sufficient to indicate chronicity of an inflammatory response and corresponding substantial increase in granulopoiesis in the bone marrow. The magnitude is also such that myeloproliferative disease becomes a diagnostic consideration. Guidelines for neutrophilic leukocytosis considered to indicate a leukemoid response are >70,000/μL (70 × 109/L) for dogs, >50,000/μL (50 × 109/L) for cats, >30,000/μL (30 × 109/L) for horses, and >20,000/μL (20 × 109/L) for ruminants. Morphologic Abnormalities: Abnormalities of morphology may be associated with either acquired or inherited disease. Toxic changes are identified only in neutrophils. The term originates from historical observation that certain cell features were associated with general, usually overwhelming, toxic states, such as systemic bacterial infections and severe, acute inflammatory lesions. The term is misleading in that it implies neutrophil injury. The cells are not injured and have normal function. Toxic change is best defined as a set of morphologic changes observed on the blood smear that occur as a result of accelerated marrow production of neutrophils. The accelerated production is in response to relatively severe inflammatory states that maximally stimulate the bone marrow. Morphologic changes include (in order of frequency) diffuse cytoplasmic basophilia, Döhle bodies, and fine cytoplasmic vacuolation. More rare changes include increased prominence of cytoplasmic azurophilic granules, cellular gigantism, and binucleation. Toxic change is almost always associated with the concurrent presence of a left shift. It is graded as mild, moderate, or severe by subjective evaluation of the more common changes noted on examination of a blood smear. Döhle bodies, blue-gray cytoplasmic inclusions, are aggregates of endoplasmic reticulum. They are unique in that they may be found in clinically healthy cats and therefore are not interpreted as toxic change in this species unless accompanied by other features. Reactive lymphocytes have increased, distinctly basophilic cytoplasm and may have irregular or clefted nuclei. They may vary considerably in diameter. They have condensed chromatin and therefore are not blasts. They are interpreted as immunologically stimulated B cells. Granular lymphocytes have condensed chromatin and increased pale blue-gray cytoplasm that contains several small pink or azurophilic granules. The nucleus may be round to clefted. These are large granular lymphocytes and may be either natural killer (NK) lymphocytes or T lymphocytes. Blast cells are usually an indication of hematopoietic cell neoplasia if they are reproducible or present in large numbers. Their lineage may be tentatively identified by morphologic criteria, but flow cytometric analysis is required to definitively identify lineage. Many of the following morphologic changes are uncommon. Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (see Chédiak-Higashi Syndrome ) described in Persian cats, people, mink, foxes, Hereford and Brangus cattle, mice, and killer whales is an autosomal recessive defect involving lysosomal granules. There is hyperfusion of granules resulting in large, eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Susceptibility to bacterial infections is increased, as is the tendency to bleed because of both neutrophil and platelet function abnormalities. Partial oculocutaneous albinism due to abnormal melanin granule formation may occur. The mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of lysosomal storage disorders in which there is a defect in degradation of glycosaminoglycans. Both neutrophils and lymphocytes may contain accumulated mucopolysaccharide product in the form of purple or metachromatic intracytoplasmic granules. Lymphocytes may also be vacuolated. These disorders are associated with a variety of systemic clinical abnormalities and are seen in dogs and cats. Another group of lysosomal storage disorders recognized in dogs and cats may result in cytoplasmic vacuoles predominantly in lymphocytes and occasionally in neutrophils. These disorders include gangliosidoses, α-mannosidosis, Niemann-Pick disease variants, acid-lipase deficiency, and fucosidosis. Most of these disorders result in severe, progressive neurologic disorders resulting from accumulated product in neuronal tissue. Locoweed toxicity is regarded as an acquired form of lysosomal storage defect in large animals. It is due to toxic principle from the plant that inhibits one or more enzymes of oligosaccharide metabolism. This may result in vacuolation in lymphocytes. Pelger-Huët anomaly is a nuclear hyposegmentation defect of granulocytes in people, cats, rabbits, horses, and dogs that are heterozygous for the anomaly. Neutrophils have normal function but a near absence of segmented nuclear morphology. Most or all of the neutrophils appear as bands and metamyelocytes and may appear as a marked left shift in an otherwise normal leukogram. Eosinophils and basophils, if present, also exhibit nuclear hyposegmentation. Affected heterozygote animals are clinically normal; the homozygous inheritance of the trait is lethal. Hypersegmentation is an increased degree of nuclear segmentation resulting in multiple lobes connected by nuclear filaments. It is a nonspecific indication of increased time in circulation and is normal aging of the cell. This may be seen with stress leukograms or corticosteroid administration. Leukocyte agglutination may occur with either neutrophils or lymphocytes. This is seen on low magnification as aggregates of 5–15 tightly clumped leukocytes. Avid agglutination may result in a markedly false low total WBC concentration on some cell counting instruments. This is likely due to the presence of a naturally occurring cold agglutinin that is operative only in vitro at laboratory temperature. There is no known clinical significance. Infectious disease inclusions are occasionally recognized. Canine distemper inclusions may be seen in neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, as well as in newly produced erythrocytes. The ehrlichioses of various animal species and canine hepatozoonosis may have cytoplasmic inclusions of respective organisms of these tickborne diseases. Specific Interpretative Leukogram Responses The abnormal leukogram is typically interpreted into one of several responses, each of which may consist of one or more abnormalities in the differential. Some may also be associated with concurrent changes in erythrocytes and platelets. Important species differences in leukogram responses are described below. Corticosteroid-induced or Stress Response: In this very common leukocyte response, endogenous steroid release from stress or treatment with exogenous corticosteroids results in a leukogram with multiple changes. Lymphopenia is the most consistent change, and mature neutrophilia is usually present. Monocytosis and eosinopenia are expected changes in dogs but are more variable in other species. Neutrophilia is due to decreased adherence to the vascular endothelium, which inhibits margination and increases circulating time. As a result, neutrophils may also become hypersegmented. There may also be increased marrow release of neutrophils. Lymphocytes become redistributed to lymphoid tissues instead of remaining in circulation. This response may be misinterpreted as inflammation, but a left shift is not usually present. Excitement or Epinephrine Response: Leukocytosis may occur as a result of exercise or excitement; this response is mediated by increased epinephrine concentration and may be thought of as a transient physiologic response. Epinephrine flushes cells from the marginal to the central pool. The effect may double the total WBC concentration within minutes. In addition, splenic contraction releases WBCs and RBCs into the peripheral circulation. The leukocytosis is usually due to a mature neutrophilia without a left shift. Lymphocytosis may be present, especially in young horses or cats. The effect in cats is often recognized as a prominent lymphocytosis—as much as two times the upper reference value. The excitement response is relatively uncommon in dogs. Inflammatory Response: The concentration of neutrophils in blood in response to inflammatory disease is highly variable and dynamic. It is best viewed as a balance between tissue demand and bone marrow production at all phases of the response. There are important species differences in this balance that are related to bone marrow storage reserve and proliferative capacity. At the beginning of an inflammatory process, the bone marrow responds by delivery of its reserve of late-stage maturing neutrophils, including band cells. If consumption exceeds marrow delivery during this acute stage, neutropenia with a prominent left shift will develop. In dogs and cats, this is an indication of severity of the inflammatory lesion. Subsequently, it takes 2–4 days for the marrow to accelerate neutrophil production by increased stem-cell entry and expansion of proliferative stages that feed the maturation stages and amplify neutrophil delivery to blood. In dogs, the acute stage of the inflammatory response is usually characterized by mild to moderate neutrophilia, with the left shift being somewhat proportional to severity of demand. After a few days, accelerated bone marrow production adds to the picture. Neutrophilia may increase along with left shift and toxic changes. As the process becomes chronic, the balance between increased marrow output and consumption may favor the development of even higher magnitudes of neutrophilia. The most chronic form, present for weeks or even months, is described as a “closed cavity” inflammatory process. The lesion becomes somewhat walled off and therefore consumes fewer neutrophils, yet it still stimulates maximal marrow production. Examples of closed cavity processes are pyometra in dogs and traumatic reticuloperitonitis (hardware disease) in cattle. In these conditions, the magnitude of the total WBC concentration, consisting of neutrophilia, may be as high as 100,000/μL (100 × 109/L) of blood in dogs. Extreme neutrophilia, exceeding upper limits usually seen in inflammation, may be associated with leukemia, Hepatozoon canis infections, and rarely other neoplasms that produce colony-stimulating factors. In contrast, cattle and most other ruminants have a relatively low reserve of bone marrow neutrophils and a lower capacity for accelerating granulopoiesis. This is reflected in the relatively low neutrophil concentration in normal ruminant blood. As a result, acute inflammation in cows is characterized by neutropenia that can be profound. Therefore, neutropenia in cattle does not reveal the degree of inflammatory severity. After several days, the bone marrow response may establish a return of blood neutrophils in modest concentration, characterized by a marked left shift and toxic changes. Chronic, closed cavity inflammatory lesions are associated with magnitudes of neutrophilia that rarely exceed 25,000/μL of blood. Cats and horses are intermediate in these responses, with cats being more like dogs and horses being more like cattle. Pigs have an inflammatory leukogram similar to that of dogs. Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency is a lethal, autosomal recessive disorder of Holstein cattle. It is associated with marked neutrophilia; the neutrophils have a deficiency of the glycoproteins (integrins) that are essential for normal leukocyte adherence and emigration from the vasculature. Recurrent bacterial infections, persistent neutrophilia (often >100,000/μL [100 × 109/L]), lymphocytosis, and death (usually between 2 wk and 8 mo of age) are characteristic. Calves often are stunted and have recurrent pneumonia, ulcerative stomatitis, enteritis, and periodontitis. On examination of tissues, there are few neutrophils, except within vessel lumens, because they persist in the circulation and have impaired entry into the tissues. Testing is available to detect carriers. A similar defect has also been reported in some Irish Setter dogs. Neutropenia may develop because of excessive tissue demand for neutrophils or reduced granulopoiesis. It may be seen with overwhelming bacterial infections, especially gram-negative septicemia or endotoxemia, in all species. Immune-mediated destruction of neutrophils is diagnosed by exclusion of other consumptive processes. Stem-cell injury may occur from many causes such as certain viral infections (see Table: Viral Infections that May Cause Transient Neutropenia ), chemical injury, and idiosyncratic drug reactions, eg, sulfonamides, penicillins, cephalosporins, and chloramphenicol in cats. These reactions typically affect all bone marrow cell lines but are recognized initially as neutropenia because of the relatively short lifespan of this cell type. Viral Infections that May Cause Transient Neutropenia Species

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Today marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Art Clokey, a pioneer in the field of stop motion clay animation, who is best remembered for what green shapeshifter?

Trojan Family Magazine Winter 2015 by University of Southern California - issuu issuu A LU M N I A N D F R I E N D S OF U N I V ER SI T Y OF S OU T H ER N CA L I F OR N I A WINTER 2015 $ 4. 9 5 F A M I L Y H ELP I N G H A N D S USC creates and programs robots to help people live better lives. USC_TFM_W15_Covers.indd 1 11/14/15 1:05 AM ©2015 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of traffic laws at all times. Porsche recommends and The MPG says it’s a plug-in. The EKG says it’s a Porsche. Visit your Southern California Porsche dealer today. USC_TFM_W15_Covers.indd 2 11/14/15 1:05 AM PHOTO BY ALLISON V. SMITH The world’s first plug-in hybrid sports car for four is the essence of Porsche Intelligent Performance. In all-electric drive, it can reach a top track speed of over 80 mph. Including its race-bred Porsche combustion engine, the Panamera S E-Hybrid produces 416 horsepower and a 0–60 time of 5.2 seconds. It’s a combination of power and efficiency that delivers a true sports car experience capable of making your heart skip a beat. Porsche. There is no substitute. socal.porschedealer.com tfm.usc.edu 3 11/16/15 6:24 AM EXPERIENCE RENEWAL Your senses come alive at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. Where sweeping oceanfront vistas and verdant mountains offer an inspiring setting for your personal oasis. Situated on the famed Kā‘anapali Beach, the resort is just a walk away from beach activities, world-class shopping, and championship golf. A complimentary shuttle service to Lahaina town also provides a convenient way to enjoy Maui’s endless attractions. OCEAN PROMOTION Save up to 30% off on Ocean View rooms and receive daily breakfast for two. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A RESERVATION, VISIT WESTINMAUI.COM OR CALL 1.866.716.8112 AND MENTION OCEAN PROMOTION. * Offer subject to availability and blackout dates. Other restrictions may apply and are subject to change without notice. For full terms and conditions, visit oceanpromotionhawaii.com. ©2015 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SPG, Preferred Guest, Westin and their logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, or its affiliates. USC_TFM_W15_Body.indd 4 Editor’s Note Important milestones and inspiring moments mark an unforgettable year. 7 President’s Page The far-reaching benefits of a Biotech Park aim to transform the future of Los Angeles. 8 Seen and Heard Your take on USC stories from our magazine and the social Web. 11 News USC’s most selective class debuts, celebrate Sinatra’s 100th and MacGyver goes modern. 16 Seats of Distinction By Diane Krieger Endowed chairs date back to ancient Rome and 16th-century Britain. 18 Home on the Range By Bekah Wright Andrea Gaston reflects on her journey from amateur golfer to legendary coach. inside Robots like Bandit are part of an electronic wave that may sweep health care. 24 Master of Mind Games By Emily Gersema Psychologist Norbert Schwarz discovers surprising ways your subconscious influences your decisions. 30 Fabulous Fulbrights Did you know that USC is one of the leading universities in producing Fulbright grant recipients? Meet some of the Trojan scholars with a global outlook on life. By Lynn Lipinski 26 Picture of Health By Amber Dance High-tech imaging could improve the treatment of multiple sclerosis. 34 Lights, Camera, Animation Is it real or is it special effects? In today’s films, it could be a little of both. Learn how animators are making fantasy reality. By Allison Engel PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS 55 Alumni News Stroll down digital memory lane, hear from Trojans in Europe and celebrate the USC Black Alumni Association’s 40th anniversary. 61 Class Notes Who’s doing what and where? 72 Committed to Memory The one constant on USC’s University Park Campus is change. tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 5 40 The Robot Revolution A fleet of machines is readying to boost Americans’ health, serve as caregivers and keep people safe. By Cristy Lytal 46 A Weighty Issue As scientists learn more about obesity’s causes and consequences, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. By Mike Branom usc trojan family 5 11/25/15 5:05 AM e d i t o r’ s n o t e ON THE COVER Green sensors on this robot hand replicate human touch. USC professor Gerald Loeb and his former grad students invented and produce the BioTac sensors at their LA company, SynTouch. The quarterly magazine of the University of Southern California E DI TO R-I N- CHI EF Alicia Di Rado Trojan Tidings M ANAGI NG E DI TOR It’s the most wonderful time of the year—again. Back in childhood, the days leading up to the holidays seemed like an eternity. Vacation and presents couldn’t come soon enough. But these days December zooms by, and before you know it, it’s New Year’s Day. Maybe time flies because I’m not a kid anymore, but I’m sure our fast pace at USC also has something to do with it. We’ve been busy with the Campaign for USC, which hit some big milestones this year. USC Athletics reached the goal for its Heritage Initiative, its most ambitious fundraising campaign ever. The USC School of Cinematic Arts topped its fundraising target. Generous donors pushed the momentum behind the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Across the university, Trojan alumni, parents and friends backed scholarships and supported research. But we’ve also been busily telling the stories of the people who motivate our campaign: our students. In 2015, some of our students made us a little emotional (read about Stephen Guy on p. 8) and proud (see our feature on Fulbright scholars on p. 30). This year, 14 percent of the students in our freshmen class represent the first generation of their family to attend college—and the class is the most academically stellar group of freshman ever at USC. As the students look ahead to the holidays with their families, I’m taking this chance for a brief pause to thank you, the Trojan Family, for staying connected to USC and sharing your own stories and thoughts with us this year. Here’s wishing you the best for a healthy and happy 2016. Elisa Huang SE NI O R E DI TO R Diane Krieger PRO DUCT I O N M ANAG ER Mary Modina ART DI RE CTO R Sheharazad P. Fleming DE SI GN AND PRO DUCTION Pentagram Design, Austin CO NT RI BUTO RS Laurie Bellman Kristin Borella Brian Brusavich Evan Calbi Nicole DeRuiter James Feigert Jerry Gibson Steve Hanson Michelle Henry Judith Lipsett Russ Ono Holly Wilder PUBLI SHE R Alicia Di Rado Editor-In-Chief, USC Trojan Family Magazine Minne Ho M ARKE T I NG M ANAG ER Rod Yabut Winter brings the Trojan Family back together. ADVE RT I SI NG I NQ UIRIES Kristy Day | [email protected] USC Trojan Family Magazine 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140 Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 [email protected] | (213) 740-2684 PHOTO BY DAVID SPRAGUE USC Trojan Family Magazine (ISSN 8750-7927) is published in March, July, October and December by USC University Communications. MOVING? Submit your updated mailing address at tfm.usc.edu/subscribe 6 p r e s i d e n t’ s p a g e Bold Plans for a Biotech Park PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS b y c. l. m a x n i k i a s When Niki and I welcome alumni back to USC, they’re often amazed by the tremendous transformation on our campuses, taking pictures as Fertitta Hall acquires its new spire and the USC Kaufman School of Dance shakes off its scaffolding. USC Village inevitably draws the most attention, and is on schedule to open next fall, adding 2,700 student beds, 15 acres and even a Trader Joe’s to our University Park Campus. As these important changes continue apace, I want to share another transformation we intend to see in the coming years. Adjacent to our Health Sciences Campus, we plan to establish a vibrant hub that will dramatically bolster an entirely new industry in Los Angeles: biotechnology. We’re calling this new corridor a Biotech Park. As a field, biotechnology encompasses a broad range of products and services, including medical device manufacturing, biopharmaceutical development and the latest diagnostic tools. California already has two major biotechnology hubs—San Francisco and San Diego—but Los Angeles lags behind. Although universities in our county produce more than 5,000 graduates in science- and engineering-related fields each year, compared with only 2,800 in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was San Francisco that attracted $1.15 billion in biotechnology investment in 2013. By comparison, our county drew only $45 million, prompting many of our talented graduates to head north. To reverse this, we need to create opportunities for these skilled graduates close to home. These opportunities would come naturally from a collaborative community that supports business, a dynamic workforce, venture capital investment, and access to academic medical centers for research and clinical trials. This is where a Biotech Park will pay dividends. To advance our plan—and to lay the infrastructure for such a corridor—we are working with our colleagues in county and city government, as well as at Caltech, Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, community colleges, the LA Unified School District, and other institutions. Together, we can provide space for established companies, training for entry-level jobs and incubators for start-up firms. Earlier this year, USC hosted a highly productive summit to develop our strategy, tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 7 and Supervisor Hilda Solis, Supervisor Mark RidleyThomas and Councilman José Huizar highlighted our discussions. The economic potential of a Biotech Park is enormous. It will initially produce 3,000 construction jobs and nearly 4,000 permanent positions, from entry-level technicians to high-wage, doctorate-level scientists. But that would be just the start. The entire corridor could be similar in size and scope to San Francisco’s Mission Bay project, which will employ an estimated 30,000 people once completed. A recent study found that every new high-tech job created leads to four more jobs in other fields, such as marketing, accounting, administration, service and sales. There are a number of reasons why Los Angeles is so ripe for a Biotech Park. We already have leading research universities, top clinical and research hospitals, a manufacturing base, a massive port and a venture capital presence. A Biotech Park will connect these pieces, generating investment, jobs and tax revenues throughout the county. With the right alignment between government, academia and industry, we will make this happen, thereby harnessing our region’s strengths—including our science graduates—to spark extraordinary growth. President Nikias at the Los Angeles Biotech Summit with (from left) community partner Ruth Rios, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar. usc trojan family 7 11/25/15 3:12 AM seen and heard Musings about Trojan life and USC Trojan Family Magazine from mail, email and the online world. People.com shared the inspiring story of Stephen Guy, a 28-yearold USC transfer student who had no formal education after third grade. His mother, who suffered from mental health issues, took him out of school nearly 20 years ago and they lived their life on the road—but with perseverance, good friends and support from unexpected places, Guy is now a sophomore at USC Annenberg. Read about his remarkable path to USC at bit.ly/ StephenGuy. Presidential Power We published images in our Summer 2015 issue from some of the appearances by U.S. presidents at USC. That spurred Barney Rosenzweig ’59 to share his memories of a visit by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. As yell king, Rosenzweig was asked to lead a rally for the president. But Rosenzweig disagreed with Eisenhower’s policies, so he refused—until he was summoned to the office of Norman Topping ’33, MD ’36, who was then in his first of 12 influential years as USC’s president. Rosenzweig sat facing the president’s desk as Topping took a document out of a drawer and then returned it to the drawer. Here Rosenzweig continues the story, as he remembers it: “‘Mr. Rosenzweig... do you know what that was?’ My reply was succinct, ‘No, sir, I do not.’ ‘That, Mr. Rosenzweig … was your diploma. Should you ever wish to see it again you will lead next week’s rally for the president of the United States.’” And so Rosenzweig did—but the cheeky student also assuaged his political leanings by making a crack about Eisenhower over the microphone at the next football game. Says Rosenzweig, years later: “There went my chance at shaking hands with the 34th president of the U.S.A.” STAY USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 8 Superfan Superstars After we posted this picture on Facebook of major leaguers who played at USC, Trojans couldn’t help reminiscing about their other favorite USC baseball players. Among their top Trojan baseball greats: Tom Seaver, Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson and Bill Lee Diehard USC fans Candy Yee ’68, MS ’69, her sister Patti Poon ’65 and their respective husbands were featured in our Autumn 2015 issue (“Fantastic Fans,” p. 56). On Facebook, fellow Trojans were quick to cheer them on: “We became basketball buddies with Candy, Pat and their husbands. Great ambassadors of all things USC!” posted Michael Valerio. Alexis Travis Albarado, whose son Kristopher is a punter for the Trojans, added: “Love Candy! I can honestly say that she lights up when she talks about my son and any of the other athletes!” ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Steve Kemp, Roy Smalley, Rod Dedeaux, Fred Lynn and Dave Kingman (circa 1970s) Helenes History The USC Helenes, the university’s oldest women’s service organization, took over the @uscedu Instagram for a week to show the campus from their perspective, including posting this then-and-now snapshot of Bovard Auditorium. Bovard was completed in 1921, the same year the sisterhood got its start. Bovard Auditorium has been a cornerstone of the University Park Campus for 94 years. TOUCH Like us University of Southern California LEGENDS ON THE FIELD BASEBALL PHOTO COURTESY OF USC ATHLETICS; USC HELENES PHOTO BY WINNIE QUAN A Good Guy winter 2015 11/25/15 3:56 AM Image credits: Frank Gehry, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 1989–2003 (competition 1988), Los Angeles, California, © 2015 Gehry Partners, LLP, unless noted otherwise images courtesy Gehry Partners, LLP. Top–bottom: Project Sketch, Collection Frank Gehry, Los Angeles; Walt Disney Concert Hall Project Model, Gehry Partners, LLP, Los Angeles; Walt Disney Concert Hall Digital Model; Walt Disney Concert Hall, photo courtesy of Josh Bustos Photography ^ TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 9 FRANK GEHRY A breathtaking look at the ideas that transformed how we look at architecture Through March 20, 2016 Tickets on Sale Now Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Boulevard lacma.org |323 857-6010 Always FREE for Members and Children 17 and Under This exhibition is organized by the Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, in association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Presented by: Generous support is provided by MATT Construction. 11/16/15 6:29 AM SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT WITH ALICE U N D E R S T A N D I N G A L Z H E I M E R ’ S A Conversation with LISA GENOVA and ARTHUR W. TOGA A Visions and Voices Signature Event Thursday, February 4, 2016, 7 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Admission is free and open to everyone. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu. Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist and award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O’Briens. Still Alice was adapted into a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, who won the 2015 Academy Award for her role as Alice Howland, a professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Genova has travelled internationally speaking about Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and autism, and has appeared on Dr. Oz, The Diane Rehm Show, CNN, Chronicle, Fox News, and Canada AM. Lisa Genova will join USC professor and brain researcher Arthur W. Toga for a fascinating and important conversation on the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on individuals, families, and communities. Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. For more information, please visit the Visions and Voices website or contact us at at [email protected] or 213.740.0483. visionsandvoices.usc.edu University of Southern California Media Sponsors trojan news A SELECT GROUP New Kids on the Block As this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2,949 incoming freshmen are learning to be Trojans, nearly half of them are also learning to be Californians. For the first time, just as many USC freshmen come from outside California as come from within it. More new arrivals than ever traveled to LA from places like New York City, Atlanta and Cleveland. The Class of 2019 also has proved to be USCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most selective group. Read on for more about the newest branch of the Trojan Family. 51,925 Applications received, the most ever at USC 17.7% USC is now one of 50 American universities with an acceptance rate below 18%. F RO M N E A R A N D FA R 53% USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences 40% About 19% have a parent who graduated from USC The most popular words chosen by members of the freshmen class to describe themselves include creative, curious, passionate, determined, ambitious, compassionate, driven, dedicated, confident, optimistic, motivated, diligent, outgoing, enthusiastic, honest, inquisitive, independent, and tenacious! 22% received merit scholarships USC School of Cinematic Arts 5% USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism 5% 82% had standardized test scores in the 90th percentile or higher 19% of class earned straight As in high school 1 out of 7 are first-generation college students Average GPA 3.73 (unweighted) TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 13 11/16/15 6:29 AM trojan news Poised for Success For a few talented freshmen, 2015 marks not only the beginning of their lives as Trojans, but also their start as the inaugural class at the USC Kaufman School of Dance. Jodie Gates, vice dean at USC Kaufman, had the difficult task of whittling down the large number of applicants. In the end, Gates and the admission committee carefully selected the dance majors in the same way they’d put together a professional dance company: They looked at them as a group. “It’s an incredibly diverse class full of hybrid dance artists,” Gates says, “from aspiring choreographers to hip-hop, from ballet to contemporary dancers.” The class is also balanced in gender—15 men and 18 women—which is unusual in dance programs. “The backgrounds of the students vary, which is exactly what we wanted,” she adds. Meet three dancers from this historic class. BR IA N NA MIMS JU ST I N E P ST E I N J E S S I CA M U S ZYN S K I Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida Dance Style: Modern Previous training: Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, River City Fine Arts Academy Three words that describe you: Spiritual, artistic, intellectual Fun Facts: There are times when I seek edification and then there are times when I want to put on my superhero cape and run around. What does it mean to be a part of USC Kaufman’s first class? It means that God has opened doors of opportunity, experience and growth. I’m so blessed to be part of it. Hometown: West Hills, California Dance Style: Hip-hop Previous training: Thrive Dance Center Inspiration: My role models—my mom and my dance teacher Three words that describe you: Hard-working, confident, clumsy Fun Facts: I can wiggle my ears and I have a collection of more than 40 neckties. What does it mean to be a part of USC Kaufman’s first class? It means I will be a trailblazer in the new method of dance education—a conservatory-style program at a large, academically rigorous university. Hometown: Calgary, Canada Dance Style: I hope it continuously evolves, melding all styles together as I become more aware of different ways of moving. However, my most comfortable style fits under “contemporary.” Previous training: Richmond Academy of Dance, Airborne Dance Centre Fun Facts: I have been trying to learn Korean unsuccessfully for over a year and I love watching documentaries. What does it mean to be a part of USC Kaufman’s first class? It’s a dream come true. The approach the school has taken on the new conservatory is refreshing, and I am so excited to start expanding the boundaries of dance with the faculty and other students. 14 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 14 Sound Decisions When great music makers have a smash hit, most don’t sit back and coast—they work on their next big project. Just ask the team behind the new bachelor’s program in music production at the USC Thornton School of Music. It was inspired by the flourishing major in popular music the school introduced in 2010. Rick Schmunk, music technology chair, and USC Thornton Vice Dean Chris Sampson designed the program with help from esteemed audio engineer and educator Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton, a USC Thornton artist-in-residence, and Miamibased DJ and producer Greg “Stryke” Chin. The inaugural music production class began this fall and focuses on creative, technical and business aspects of producing professional music. The curriculum reflects the current and evolving nature of professional music-making in the digital age, teaching skills including composing and arranging, live and studio performance, audio engineering/editing and mastering, music synthesis and programming, as well as business responsibilities related to music. Students will work closely with songwriters, artists and bands at USC Thornton and with video directors, designers, artists and other creative minds across USC. “We’ve seen firsthand the power of creating a highly collaborative music community at USC Thornton,” says Sampson, who is also founding director of the USC Popular Music Program. “Adding musicians from the new music production major into this community will greatly enhance the experience for all our students.” ALLISON ENGEL winter spring 2015 11/25/15 3:57 AM JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION LOS ANGELES A LEGACY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS WHO YOU TRUST TO WATCH OVER IT. Who do you trust? 60 years of designing philanthropy. Serving more than 1200 families. Managing over $1 billion of charitable assets. Trust is everything. www.jewishfoundationla.org/trust â&#x20AC;˘ (323) 761-8704 TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 15 To learn more about endowed chairs, visit campaign.usc.edu. trojan news Seats of Distinction As timeless as the university itself, endowed chairs are the gold standard for recruiting distinguished faculty and supporting academic endeavor. Nobel laureate and hydrocarbondecoder George Olah has one. So do world-famous violinist Midori Goto, DNA-computing pioneer Len Adleman and visionary Internet social theorist Manuel Castells—among more than 300 other USC faculty. They’re the proud holders of endowed chairs. In many cases, it was a chair that helped attract these luminaries to USC in the first place. Endowed chairs date at least as far back as ancient Rome. Steeped in tradition and ceremony, endowed chairs continue to be a magnet for recruiting and retaining faculty, and represent the highest accolade a university can bestow upon a professor. So important are chairs that recruiting a world-class faculty member sometimes can’t happen without them, says Beth Meyerowitz, USC professor and former vice provost. “It has a meaning that’s understood by all of us in academia,” explains Elizabeth Graddy, vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. She should understand their prestige: Graddy holds the Jeffrey J. Miller Chair in Government, Business, and the Economy at the USC Price School of Public Policy. It was the Epstein Family Chair in Industrial and Systems Engineering, for example, that helped woo Jong-Shi Pang to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2013. Pang’s pioneering contributions to mathematical modeling have the potential to solve major issues facing society, from health and social sciences to homeland security and communications systems. 16 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 16 In the case of developmental biologist Andrew McMahon—a leading scientist who left his endowed professorship at Harvard University to join USC in 2012—an endowed chair at USC was a natural. Today he spearheads USC’s stem cell efforts as the inaugural holder of the W. M. Keck Professorship of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Chairs also play a role in faculty retention. In 2005, eight stellar cinematic arts faculty were installed in new chairs on the same day. A decade later, all but one of the original eight are still at USC—a testament to the staying power of chairs. Distinguished media scholar Ellen Seiter is one of them. “It represents the high point of my career after 24 years of university life,” said Seiter, an expert in the effects of digital technology on young children, at the ceremony installing her in the Stephen K. Nenno Endowed Chair in Television Studies. THE NAME ON THE CHAIR Chairs not only elevate the holder but also honor in perpetuity the person they’re named after. Two years ago filmmaker George Lucas ’66 endowed three chairs named for early cinema pioneers Georges Méliès, Sergei Eisenstein and William Cameron Menzies. In 2013, director Steven Spielberg, a USC trustee, asked the university to name a chair in honor of his lifelong friend and collaborator Michael Kahn, film editor on 24 Spielberg projects. Ten years ago, Lucas and Spielberg teamed up to fund chairs named for two Hollywood craftsmen they admire: music editor Kenneth Wannberg and cinematographer Conrad Hall. In 2004, Lucas endowed a chair named for esteemed sound editor Kay Rose. “It was important for George and Steven to honor these people,” explains Marlene Loadvine, senior associate dean for external relations at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. “They want the students to remember these giants in their craft.” The focus of the chair also matters. “A donor can push research forward by funding chairs in areas that fall between traditional disciplines,” says Leo Braudy, whose own chair, the Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature, straddles two fields. During the $6 billion Campaign for USC, more than 70 new chairs have been created. And unlike endowing a brick and mortar building, establishing a chair has a personal side. “One of the great things about giving money to support a professor rather than a building is that you can have lunch with a professor,” says Vice Provost Martin Levine, holder of the UPS Foundation Chair in Law and Gerontology. It’s not unusual for chairholders to regularly talk with their benefactors—sharing their latest journal articles, inviting them to public lectures and introducing them to promising students. It turns out the chair—that humble, inanimate object—might just be the most human expression of a philanthropic love of learning. OPPOSITE: GROUP PHOTO BY STEVE COHN by diane krieger Chair-a-phernalia FIRST TROJAN CHAIR 3 LONGEST-SEATED CHAIRS In 1885, Sarah E. Tansey donated 100 acres of land to endow the John R. Tansey Chair of Christian Ethics in memory of her husband, an ardent USC advocate who did not live to see the university established. The first holder was USC founding President Marion M. Bovard (below). The Tansey Chair is currently held by religion professor Cecil “Chip” Murray, Los Angeles civic leader and former pastor of the First AME Church. Outstanding professors are installed in their chairs through a formal ceremony typically involving the presentation of a physical chair—be it a tiny statuette or the full-sized mahogany you’d find in a well-appointed parlor. Chairs are appointed by the provost at the recommendation of the dean and a faculty committee. Chairs exist in perpetuity, but are subject to renewal every few years. Retaining one is itself an achievement. Here are USC’s longest-seated chairs. CHAIRS OF OLDE A millennium and a half after Roman emperor Vespasian created the first chairs in Greek and Latin rhetoric, the tradition was reborn in the British Isles when Margaret of Richmond, mother of Henry VII, established the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity at Oxford University in 1502. Scottish and English monarchs thereafter made a practice of endowing Regius (Latin for “royal”) professorships at various universities. By the early 1600s, others were following the king’s example. Endowed chairs pushed the university curriculum in new and secular directions by freeing faculty members—previously all working clergymen—from their obligations to the church. Independent scholarship, scientific inquiry and rigorous study of the humanities flourished. You could say the modern research university was made possible by the endowed chair. GEORGE LUCAS ’66 USC alumnus and supporter BRUCE BLOCK Sergei Eisenstein Endowed Chair in Cinematic Design tfm.usc.edu 1994 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor UPS Foundation Chair in Law and Gerontology G.C. Griffith Chair in Cardiology Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Chair in Organic Chemistry SUPPORT WHAT MATTERS When donors endow a chair in a particular discipline, they give universities the tools to recruit outstanding teachers and researchers and keep them on the faculty. It’s a way to ensure that future generations of students will have the chance to learn from the best. Named chairs also enable donors to honor and remember people who have made a difference in their lives. MICHAEL FINK Georges Méliès Endowed Chair in Visual Effects ELIZABETH DALEY Dean and Steven J. Ross/ Time Warner Dean’s Chair ALEX McDOWELL William Cameron Menzies Endowed Chair in Production Design usc trojan family 12/2/15 1:14 PM P R O F I L E To learn more about Coach Andrea Gaston’s USC women’s golf team, go to bit.ly/USCWomensGolf. A N D R E A G A S TO N Home on the Range It’s every talented amateur golfer’s dream: Break onto the pro tour. Andrea Gaston had that dream—twice. Gaston played for San Jose State University in the 1970s, but left the game for the business world. Yet golf still called, and when she finally returned to the fairways some 14 years later, she was playing better than ever. She racked up several big tournament wins, vaulting her into amateur golf’s top 10. But she was also a realist. By 1995, she made a plan: Turn pro within two years, or leave competitive golf for good. Sometimes life offers another option when it’s not expected. As Gaston pursued her tour card, a friend mentioned that USC might be looking for a women’s golf coach. On a whim, Gaston applied. Soon she was offered “a miracle”—a coaching position for the 1996 season. The door closed on her pro career, but Gaston knew that coaching could yield its own rewards. “Given the heritage and tradition of USC, it felt like the right place for me to land,” she says. “So I put my clubs away, knowing I wouldn’t be pursuing my own goals as a golfer, but I could help these young women achieve theirs.” And achieve they have. Fast-forward 20 years, and Gaston’s coaching career is legendary. Three NCAA team championships and five NCAA individual championships. Two NCAA Players of the Year and five Pac-12 Players of the Year. Three Coach of the Year titles from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and the Pac-12 Conference. Since 2006, the team has consistently placed in the nation’s top five. Sixteen of Gaston’s players have gone on to compete on the LPGA Tour. “It’s been a pretty phenomenal run, beyond my dreams,” says Gaston, who was inducted into the WGCA’s Hall of Fame in 2010. Gaston is quick to credit the team’s success to strength, character and mutual respect from the players. Golf is an individual sport, but you don’t win championships without a team. “One trait of our national championship teams was that every player contributed at least two out of the four scores,” Gaston notes. “That means all five team members showed up, were competitive and ready to contribute, with nobody giving up or choking under pressure.” When recruiting, Gaston looks for women who have talent but also understand team dynamics. She is particularly adept at figuring out what makes each player tick. Maybe it’s from her own time in golf, but she knows that mind games can carry a great player to greater heights—or lower lows. To battle self-doubt, Gaston coaches players to use self-talk and body language. “A round of golf is like life,” she says. “You have to take the bad with the good and talk yourself into coming right back after you’ve had a bad hole.” After Gaston’s 20 years helming USC’s women’s golf, her love of the sport still shines through. When she describes golf courses—“unbelievable playgrounds with beautiful grass, trees and lakes”— or the “privilege and pleasure” of working with talented athletes, Gaston glows. She’s as competitive as ever, she says, but collegiate golf has another important side to it. “I love to win. But for me, the bigger part of coaching is all about forging relationships—the ‘heart’ part of the game.” PHOTO BY RICHARD C. ERSTED C O A C H BEKAH WRIGHT NO DAILY RESORT FEE FREE WIFI Talking Stick Resort has earned the reputation as one of the most distinct resort destinations in the Southwest. We proudly invite you to experience what others are talking about and visit the best Scottsdale has to offer today. • SCOTTSDALE Award of Excellence (Talking Stick Resort) by Travelocity • Best Casino (Talking Stick Resort) by Phoenix Magazine • Best Casino (Talking Stick Resort) by Phoenix New Times • Best Restaurant View at Dusk (Orange Sky) by AZCentral • AAA Four Diamond Award (Talking Stick Resort) by AAA | 8 6 6.8 7 7. 9 8 9 7 | T A L K I N G S T I C K R E S O R T. C O M Best rates available online. Locally owned and caringly operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 19 11/16/15 6:33 AM Remembering Ol’ Blue Eyes 3 Frank Sinatra would have been 100 years old on Dec. 12 this year, and his memory lives on at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Frank Sinatra Hall, in the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex, hosts film screenings in a refurbished space thanks to support from his daughters Tina and Nancy Sinatra and the Frank Sinatra Family Foundation. Now the Sinatra family and other donors are marking the centennial by sponsoring seats in the theater to raise funds for scholarships for deserving USC students. (Learn more and join the effort online at sinatra.usc.edu.) The hall also hosts the largest exhibit of memorabilia showcasing the American icon’s life and cultural contributions. Here are a few highlights from the collection. #3 Teenage girls flocked to Sinatra’s concerts in droves during Sinatramania in the early 1940s. Here they clutch copies of Song Hits magazine, which published lyrics from his music. 1 5 #1 “It seemed obvious to put dad in the center of youth and learning,” says Tina Sinatra of the family’s partnership with USC. Frank Sinatra Hall was dedicated in November 2002. #2 Sinatra recorded “All or Nothing at All” with the Harry James Orchestra in 1939, but it didn’t become a hit until 1943, when Columbia Records re-released it during a musicians’ strike. 2 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 20 6 #4 Sinatra is remembered for his trademark fedora. #5 Gambling chips commemorate Sinatra’s death and the closing of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, a favorite of Sinatra’s. #6 In 1970, Sinatra received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He previously won an acting Oscar for From Here to Eternity. RECORD, MAGAZINE, AND CHIPS PHOTOS BY GUS RUELAS; HALL PHOTO BY ROBERTO GOMEZ; STUDIO PHOTO COURTESY OF SINATRA FAMILY FOUNDATION 4 winter 2015 11/25/15 3:34 AM trojan news AT HOME WITH DESIGN Though considerably less boisterous than its Rose Bowl Stadium neighbor, The Gamble House is a visitors’ mecca in its own right. Since becoming a National Historic Landmark some 37 years ago, it has welcomed more than 1 million guests eager to see one of the most celebrated showpieces of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Now, design enthusiasts can get an in-depth look at the home’s history and design with The Gamble House: Building Paradise in California, the first new book published about it in more than 20 years. Published in partnership with the USC School of Architecture, The Gamble House and CityFiles Press, the book includes photography and essays from leading architectural and historical researchers. The 1908 home was originally commissioned by David and Mary Gamble, heirs to the Procter & Gamble fortune, and stands as the best-preserved masterwork of Arts and Crafts architects Charles and Henry Greene. Five decades ago, The Gamble House was given to the city of Pasadena in a joint agreement with the USC School of Architecture, which manages the site and runs several academic programs there, including sponsoring two architecture students to live at the home every year. PHOTO BY ALEXANDER VERTIKOFF FROM THE GAMBLE HOUSE BOOK; CONFERENCE PHOTOS BY ROCK LU A G L O B A L V I S I O N East meets West in Shanghai, the hub of business and entertainment in China. The forward-looking city was a fitting host for the USC Global Conference, and the latest staging of the biennial event focused on innovations shaping our future. October’s sold-out conference brought together luminaries, thought leaders and distinguished USC faculty. USC Trustee and event co-chair Ming Hsieh ’83, MS ’84 was honored for his contributions to the university, and Robert Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, was a featured speaker. Iger sat down for a conversation with Willow Bay, director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, and shared thoughts ranging from how to balance globalization with local cultures and tastes to the design of a muchanticipated Disney theme park in Shanghai. Though innovation was the theme, Iger was quick to point out that it takes both technology and an understanding of humanity to drive success for companies like Disney. “People love great stories. We try to tell stories that touch their hearts,” Iger said. “Innovation is critical, but telling great stories is where it starts. People tend to overthink that.” CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Chinese TV personalities Dong Qing, right, and Bai Xu Xu co-host the gala dinner; Robert Iger discusses innovation; Iger, right, receives a USC jacket from C. L. Max Nikias after a discussion with Willow Bay. tfm.usc.edu trojan news Go to thenextmacgyver.com/ finalists.html to learn more about the five finalists and the runners-up. Holding Out for a Hero[ine] What he did with just a safety pin, a glue stick and a coffee cup was unbelievable. MacGyver was must-watch television in the 1980s and its eponymous hero proved that secret agents don’t need weapons—just their smarts—to save the world. Now “The Next MacGyver” competition aims to bring a new problem-solving engineer to life in a new TV series, but this time the hero is a woman. It’s organized by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the National Academy of Engineering and Lee Zlotoff—creator of the original MacGyver. Beyond entertaining, the goal of “The Next MacGyver” is to inspire. Women comprise 35 percent of USC Viterbi’s undergraduates—and 38 percent of its freshmen class—but “across the nation, less than 20 percent of engineering students are women. This cannot continue,” USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos says. The open call for TV show concepts drew more than 2,000 entries earlier this year. Five proposals earned each of their creators a roll of duct tape, $5,000 and the chance to partner with a TV producer to develop their shows. Here are the five winning concepts that you might see on TV one day. D A N I E L D R U H O R A 2 3 1 #1 BETH KESER, a semiconductor engineer, won for the adventure-procedural Rule 702. She’ll be mentored by Lori McCreary (Madam Secretary), president of the Producers Guild of America. #2 JAYDE LOVELL, a communications staffer for the New York Hall of Science, won for her high school dramedy SECs (Science and Engineering Clubs). She’ll work 22 with Roberto Orci, writer-producer of Sleepy Hollow and Hawaii Five-O. #3 Indie filmmaker MIRANDA SAJDAK will have her World War II drama Riveting developed by Clayton Krueger, senior vice president of television at Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions. #4 CRAIG MOTLONG, a Seattle-based creative director, was chosen for the action drama Q Branch. usc trojan family TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 22 Anthony Zuiker, creator and executive producer of CSI and its spinoffs, will work with him. #5 SHANEE EDWARDS, film critic at SheKnows.com, is taking her steampunk concept Ada and the Machine to actressproducer America Ferrera ’13 (Ugly Betty, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Gabrielle Neimand of Take Fountain Productions. ILLUSTRATIONS BY LUKE FREEBORN, MICHAEL PENICK, TIM SZABO, MATTHEW ZIKRY AND ZOE CHEVAT 4 Wu Man & The Shanghai Quartet A Night in Ancient and New China Bing Wang & Ben Hong February 20, 2016 January 23, 2016 LA Dance Project January 29 - 30, 2016 Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel® An American Salute February 27, 2016 310.746.4000 | TheWallis.org tfm.usc.edu 9390 N SANTA MONICA BLVD, BEVERLY HILLS CA 90210 usc trojan family 23 FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E Master of Mind Games A USC psychology researcher delves into the surprising ways your subconscious mind affects your actions. Norbert Schwarz might know you better than you know yourself—even though you probably don’t know him at all. The USC psychologist probes the utility and faults of human instincts, conscious and subconscious. His 30 years of studies into social cognition— how people think about the social world—give insight into unexpected quirks of human behavior. Who would have thought that smelling something fishy makes people not only suspicious, but also sharper thinkers? Through his research, Schwarz confirmed that—and other ways that your senses and feelings affect your actions. Schwarz, Provost Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, is co-director of the USC Dornsife Mind and Society Center. He talks with USC writer Emily Gersema about some of the traits that make us uniquely human. N O R B E R T S C H WA R Z Do you ever worry that your research will be used for manipulative purposes? Yes, I do worry. Of course, that’s true for most areas of research—the unknown genius who improved our lives by inventing the wheel also set the stage for millennia of road kill. In behavioral science research, the best you can usually do is to make the insights available to all. A recent investigation of the influence of hunger on consumer behavior, with Alison Xu of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Bob Wyer of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is a good example. Earlier research had shown that hungry shoppers buy more food than they intend to at the supermarket. We wondered how far that influence goes. If being hungry puts “getting food” on your mind, would that also increase the likelihood that you get other things? This led to a series of laboratory and department store studies that showed that hunger also increases non-food purchases, including the purchase of binder clips, which aren’t known to make for a good meal. For stores this means that it is a good idea to attract hungry consumers; for consumers it suggests that they’re better off having a snack before they shop. What’s your favorite part of conducting a study? For me, the most fun part is translating the theoretical idea into an involving experiment. It’s a bit like writing a play: devising a social situation in which stuff—sometimes weird— happens in a way that allows you to shed light on something unknown. It’s fun to dream up the procedures and nicely challenging to do it in a way that really tells you something about the underlying processes. To read more about Schwarz’s research into fishy odors, go to bit.ly/SmellStudy. 24 USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 24 ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS GASH; PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS Why study social cognition? It sheds light on how little things can make a large difference in what we think and do. Little things that impact your mood, from finding a dime in the street to whether your sports team wins or loses, can influence how you see the world in unrelated domains. People who are temporarily in a good mood are more satisfied with their lives as a whole, more optimistic about the future, more pleased with how the economy is doing and more helpful to others. And you can get all of that for a dime—well, more correctly, the good mood it elicits. Even the stock market is more likely to go up on a sunny day than a rainy day in the financial center, most likely reflecting the influence of the weather on optimism about the future. winter 2015 11/25/15 3:34 AM trojan news HE ALTH FI LES Call it the “Happy Meal effect”: People willingly choose a small meal portion over full size if they get a prize for making that choice—even if it’s a modest reward like a raffle ticket for a $10 gift card. The USC research suggests strategies for businesses to offer smaller, healthier portions that compete with super-sized ones. In 1995, William and Julie Wrigley provided the lead gift to establish the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. The marine science center is the centerpiece of the institute. A hyperbaric chamber at the center stands at the ready to treat people involved in scuba diving accidents. Students can take non-credit courses there to become certified American Academy of Underwater Sciences divers. BY LAND AND SEA PHOTO COURTESY OF USC WRIGLEY INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES; CURRIES PHOTO COURTESY OF USC LIBRARIES In 1965, the Wrigley family—famed owners of the chewing gum empire and the Chicago Cubs— gifted 14 acres of land on Catalina Island, just off the Southern California coast, to USC to ensure the area’s preservation. Fifty years later, the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center is an important resource for international scientists conducting environmental research. Just in time for its 50th anniversary, the center unveiled a new facility for research into aquaponics, algae and shellfish culture. Here are some facts you might not know about USC’s facilities on Catalina. Many of the millions of Americans with diabetes don’t get eye tests for retinopathy. In part, that’s because tests are time-consuming and require injections and dilation. But USC scientists are enhancing optical screening machines so they can capture retina images quickly and easily using infrared light, allowing for more early diagnoses that could prevent blindness. Why have 20thcentury women lived longer than men? A new USCled study reveals that vulnerability to heart disease is the biggest culprit behind higher death rates for men. That suggests further study on what raises heart disease risks among men and women—or protects them—at different stages of life. USC Wrigley-based research includes studies of ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms and sustainable food recycling and shellfish farming. B U R G EO NING BIO SCIENC E If anyone understands how science and engineering are coming together to improve lives, it’s Malcolm Currie. Among the highlights of his long career, the engineering physicist and USC trustee headed research and development for scientific and medical devices at Beckman Instruments, oversaw research and systems development for the Defense Department as under secretary of defense, and led Hughes Aircraft Co. So when he and his wife, Barbara, recently donated $10 million toward the endowment of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and construction of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, it was an important stamp of approval for USC’s accelerating efforts in medicine and biotech. The Curries’ gift will be recognized with the naming of the new 450-bed Health Sciences Campus student residence hall that will open in 2016. A few miles west, at the University Park Campus, the lobby of the USC Michelson Center will also bear the Currie name. The gift is one of many that are building fundraising momentum at the medical school. Last fiscal year the school’s donors contributed $200 million, the most since 2011. The donations boost the Campaign for USC, a multi-year effort that seeks to raise $6 billion or more to advance USC’s academic priorities and expand the university’s positive impact on the community and world. The campaign has raised more than $4.7 billion. At the same time, Keck Medicine of USC, the university’s medical enterprise, is expanding rapidly. It has added satellite offices and forged partnerships with local hospitals across Southern California. And energy is building behind a movement to create a biomedical research corridor anchored by the Health Sciences Campus, building on the assets of the Keck School of Medicine, LAC+USC Medical Center and pharmaceutical firms. “In the coming century, we will see society’s greatest technological advances at the convergence of science and engineering,” says USC President C. L. Max Nikias. “This is why support from visionary philanthropists such as Malcolm and Barbara Currie is so important—it ensures the university’s leadership in this vital research frontier, and helps humanity benefit from the exceptional innovations that emerge.” LY N N L I P I N S K I tfm.usc.edu 11/17/15 4:56 AM trojan health Picture of Health Neurologist Daniel Pelletier accelerates Keck Medicine of USC’s imaging and treatment efforts to find answers to multiple sclerosis. ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN STAUFFER; PHOTOS COURTESY OF USC HEALTH SCIENCES PUBLIC RELATIONS & MARKETING by amber dance Survey a waiting room full of patients with multiple sclerosis, and you’ll hear a dozen different stories about their symptoms. Some have blurry vision. Some slur words. One might struggle with numb feet or tingling hands. But they all share one common experience: the MRI. Once a year—or more often if the disease is getting worse—patients with multiple sclerosis, or MS, have to take off their jewelry and glasses, don a hospital gown, and lie motionless inside a magnetic resonance imaging machine as it whirs and clangs for an hour or more. Doctors examine the resulting pictures of the brain and spinal cord, looking for bright white spots—the lesions that cause MS. These are the “many scars” that led to the term “multiple sclerosis,” explains neurologist Daniel Pelletier, the new chief of the neuro-immunology and multiple sclerosis division in the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Department of Neurology. Those scars indicate spots where the body’s immune system has attacked nerves. For now, the MRI lights up lesions, but Pelletier believes it can do much more. For longer than a decade, he has focused his research on imaging techniques to better understand the disease and figure out if new drugs are working properly. In the near future, detailed imaging markers may help physicians better diagnose MS and adjust their treatment of the disease. The potential to make more of imaging is part of what drew Pelletier to USC from Yale University in tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 27 April 2015. With USC’s powerful imaging capabilities and lofty goals for a large-scale MS center, he plans sweeping changes for Keck Medicine of USC’s MS program, including efforts to reach more Angelenos with MS and involve Keck Medicine MS patients as partners in vital research to beat the disease. “There’s no one who knows more about imaging in MS than Dan Pelletier,” says Leslie Weiner, an MS specialist and Richard Angus Grant Sr. Chair in Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine. “We will be a major center, with more people taking care of MS patients than probably anywhere on the West Coast.” Researchers need to use imaging and other tools to better understand MS because the disease varies from person to person and scientists don’t know what sets it off. What they do know are the mechanics behind patients’ symptoms: nerves and the immune system. Nerve cells communicate through long, thin wire-like fibers that are coated with an insulator called myelin. During an episode of MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin as if it’s an infection. Without insulation, the fibers malfunction. The body can repair the damage, but imperfectly, leaving a scar. Thanks to this repair, many people with MS experience long periods without symptoms. Neurologists can prescribe several medicines that keep the immune system in check, protecting the myelin and slowing the disease. However, eventually the nerves get damaged, and doctors cannot fix that problem—not yet, at least (see “Three Big Questions,” p. 28). After that point, the disease only gets worse. Depending on where nerves are under attack—in the brain, the spinal cord or behind the eyes—MS can hamper thinking, movement and vision, among other things. It can be a challenge to treat and diagnose, but early treatment is key, says Keck Medicine neurologist Lilyana Amezcua. Medications can reduce attacks and delay progression, but they can cause side effects ranging from the unpleasant, such as hair loss, to the serious, including increased risk of brain infection. That’s why she recommends that every MS patient go to a specialized academic center like Keck Medicine, where expert neurologists take a comprehensive approach to the care of MS. usc trojan family 27 11/25/15 3:36 AM Three Big Questions: Daniel Pelletier Multiple sclerosis research has made great strides in the last few decades, but questions remain. Neurologist Daniel Pelletier explains. Why do people develop MS? We don’t know the cause of MS. We have a working hypothesis. Patients have a genetic susceptibility; that’s where it starts. That doesn’t mean you have one gene that causes the disease, but you have a genetic background that will make your immune system prone to attack your own body. There are almost 200 genes that have been identified already that affect MS risk. But genes are not enough. On top of that there are environmental factors that raise risk, such as low vitamin D, smoking and high body mass index. It’s not just bad MS genes or bad environmental factors: It’s the interaction between the two. The million-dollar question is, is there a virus or a bacterium that’s associated with the risk of MS? We believe that there might be a viral agent, but we haven’t been able to pinpoint which one it is. The theory is that when you are a teenager you get infected by a virus. You barely have symptoms; you are able to fight the infection. Years later, the immune cells fighting against that virus find their way into the brain and spinal cord, and now they think they see the same virus again. But it’s not the virus, it’s a portion of your myelin. Instead of the virus, the immune system is attacking the central nervous system. Years later, new symptoms may appear again, affecting different parts of your myelin and nervous system. Is there any hope for restoring the damaged nervous systems of people already harmed by MS? Over the past 20 years we’ve made a lot of progress on treating the inflammation. We can prevent new scars from forming, which is good. The challenges moving forward will be to prevent nerves from getting hurt. Right now there are many researchers and companies working on myelin repair, and there are many potential candidates. Within the last few months we’ve heard the final results from a proof-of-concept trial on a promising drug for myelin repair, an antibody targeting LINGO-1. [LINGO-1 is a protein found in nerve cells and cells that make myelin.] What stands in the way of developing medicines that protect nerve cells? One challenge that we have is, how do we actually monitor myelin repair? We do not have the right tools. Industry partners and researchers are in trouble right now because of that; it’s a key area of research. Without the tools, we’re not moving as fast as we should. That’s where imaging comes in. We’re working very hard to find imaging markers for myelin repair and nerve death. The tools that we have—standard MRI and PET—are not good enough. This is an unmet need; it’s crucial. We at USC are up to this challenge. 28 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 28 FROM TOP: Lilyana Amezcua treats MS patients and studies racial disparities and imaging in MS; Leslie Weiner is internationally recognized as a neurologist and MS researcher. PREVIOUS PAGE: Daniel Pelletier joined USC from Yale University to lead Keck Medicine of USC’s growing MS program. Keck Medicine’s MS team includes specialist nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, counselors and occupational and speech therapists, in addition to MS-trained neurologists. Those experts were once scattered across USC’s Health Sciences Campus, but Pelletier and colleagues are looking forward to the upcoming opening of a unified MS clinic in its own suite in the new Norris Healthcare Consultation Center. “We’re building a one-stop shop for MS,” Pelletier says. “We’re building a team around the patient, as opposed to a patient going to four or five different places.” The clinic will be about more than providing top-notch patient care; it will also be a place of science, says Pelletier, vice chair for research for the neurology department. Keck Medicine MS patients can already participate in clinical trials of new medicines, and soon everyone treated at the center will be able to contribute to MS research (unless they choose not to). The clinic will build a research library of patients’ blood samples, DNA, medical images and other information, and scientists will mine the data to better understand the disease. They could look for genes that might raise MS risk, for example, or signs on an MRI that indicate a person’s disease is worsening. Those thousands of images take a lot of computer space to store, and they’ll have a home at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. The institute’s new building, opening in spring 2016 on the Health Sciences Campus, will have an MRI machine with the most powerful magnet available. Fewer than a dozen U.S. research centers have a 7-tesla MRI machine, which has a magnet 140,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field and five times more powerful than that used in common medical MRI units. With the extra power, Pelletier can peer more closely at what’s happening in the nervous system of someone with MS. For example, he’ll be looking for a little molecule called glutathione, which, if found in low levels, indicates stressed-out nerve cells. He’ll also look for another called glutamate, which in excess damages nerves. And using a different type of imaging called PET, he hopes to see the immune cells that attack myelin. Pelletier estimates the new clinic will serve 2,500-3,000 people with MS. But he has visions beyond USC’s gates. He wants to open Keck Medicine MS clinics in other locations, including sites in Beverly Hills and Orange County, to treat thousands more. With participating patients as his research partners, he and preventive medicine collaborators at USC hope to investigate the epidemiology of MS: the science of who develops the disease, and why. He also aims to unite doctors in the U.S. and Canada in a partnership to understand MS risk and how the illness progresses over time. The network would bring together more than 30 clinics across the continent to collect information like genetic profiles and MRIs from as many as 10,000 patients. Patterns in the data may point out risk factors. By comparing MS rates to maps of air pollution, for example, scientists could investigate whether there are links between air quality and the disease. Scientists admit they still have a lot to learn about MS. While physicians can prescribe drugs to reduce nerve scarring, they can’t reverse the damage. But Keck Medicine’s team is upbeat about the momentum behind MS research. Thanks to the power of imaging, they say, answers are within sight. winter 2015 11/25/15 4:06 AM H E A LT H BY N U M B E R S : M U LT I P L E S C L E R O S I S FOUR KINDS OF MS 85% of people first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis have relapsingremitting MS. They have intermittent flare-ups, perhaps once or twice a year, when the immune system attacks myelin and symptoms like fatigue, vision problems and spasticity occur. After 4-6 weeks, symptoms subside. Doctors can prescribe drugs to stave off flare-ups. Over time, most people with relapsingremitting MS will see their disease change to secondary-progressive MS. At this point, symptoms steadily worsen and the disease begins to progress. No medications today can slow secondary-progressive MS. For some people with MS, their condition declines from the start. Some 10% of MS diagnoses are primary-progressive MS, which has no distinct flare-ups. Another 5% get progressive-relapsing MS, in which the disease worsens and patients also have occasional attacks. HOW C OMMON IS MS ? Sources: MS Foundation, National MS Society, Keck Medicine of USC physicians MS symptoms can be invisible or tough to diagnose, and there is no national registry for the disease, so prevalence statistics are rough estimates. Six faculty neurologists, in addition to fellows and residents, diagnose and treat MS at Keck Medicine of USC. TWELVE NEW DRUGS T O T R E AT M S Before the 1990s, doctors could only offer medicines to treat MS symptoms. They couldn’t dampen the super-charged immune response that causes the disease. About 75 percent of people with MS were likely to be disabled within 5-10 years of diagnosis, recalls neurologist Leslie Weiner. Thanks to a dozen new drugs, he says, that number has dropped to nearly 25 percent today. SYMPTOMS FI V E FAC T S T O K N OW MS symptoms vary widely, depending on the part of the nervous system affected, and may include: More women than men get MS, but it tends to be more severe in men. Pain Difficulty walking Numbness Blurry vision Weakness Frequent urge to urinate 9,000-10,000 people in Los Angeles County 400,000-500,000 people in the U.S. 2.3–2.5 million people worldwide 1 750 in the average American’s chances of developing MS. 20-50 MS can start at any age, but most often between 20-50. tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 29 People who grew up in cold climates, farther from the equator, are more likely to get MS than those from warmer climates—perhaps because their bodies make less vitamin D from sunlight. THE R ACE T O ER A SE MS When scientists talk openly with each other about their discoveries, science moves faster. That’s the idea behind the Race to Erase MS and its Center Without Walls program, a partnership among seven top institutions, among them USC and Harvard and Yale universities. “We can brainstorm with the best people in the country,” says Daniel Pelletier, who will represent USC in the consortium. The Center Without Walls members work together regularly. Each of the seven centers brings its own expertise, with the Keck School of Medicine of USC offering strength in epidemiology, imaging, immunology and stem cell research. MS is most common among people with a northern European heritage, but affects people of all ethnicities. Studies show that African-Americans often experience symptoms that are more severe, and that MS diagnoses are rising rapidly in Latin America. Most people with MS live productive lives. Two-thirds will keep their ability to walk, though they might need help from a cane or scooter. Life expectancy for someone with MS is about seven years less than average, but good treatment can help by preventing or dealing with complications. usc trojan family winter 2015 11/25/15 3:51 AM Fabulous Fulbrights More Trojans than ever are taking their studies overseas through a prestigious grant program— and many got their start through scholarships that draw top students to USC. By Lynn Lipinski • Illustration by Justin Renteria COURTESY OF KRISTI CLARK, CAROL MILLER AND THE LABORATORY OF NEURO IMAGING At only 22 years old, Maria Fish ’15 has a breathtaking collection of snapshots from places across the world: Chile, England, Honduras, Hong Kong, Macau and Spain, just to name a few. But these aren’t souvenirs of idyllic vacations. There are the pictures of Fish as a teenage exchange student in Costa Rica and Honduras. More recent ones show her on Mexico’s Isla Contoy, taken during a tour of the national park to examine the effects of tourism on local ecosystems. Others show her in Valencia, Spain, where she traveled on a research award the summer after her freshman year at USC to study immigration policy. She looks at ease in the images: Traveling and working far from her Pacific Northwest home come naturally now. After all, she speaks Spanish and English fluently, and is learning Catalan. She’s also learned to embrace bridging language barriers and cultural differences as the best training to become a true global citizen— an education that can’t be acquired from any book. Her love for languages and life abroad made the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences graduate a standout candidate for the prestigious Fulbright scholarship, which sent her to Europe this fall. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program stands as one of the oldest and most well-established international exchange programs, offering some 1,700 American students the opportunity each year to meet, work, live and learn in host countries around the world. tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 31 This year, 19 USC students won Fulbright grants, the largest Fulbright class in USC history, and USC has consistently been one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright students. The exchange program fosters cross-cultural understanding across national boundaries through personal experiences. For USC, nurturing students like Fish in their quest to become citizens of the world is critical to making meaningful contributions to the larger international community. Fish earned her Fulbright after a successful college career at USC. But like many of her fellow USC recipients, she got her first big break earlier—through the scholarship that made her a Trojan. FAR FROM HOME It’s no accident that Fish, born in New York City and raised in Portland, Oregon, chose a college that enabled her to pursue her passion. USC’s school spirit and opportunities to study in Spanish-speaking countries, live in residential colleges and join diverse campus clubs convinced her that USC was the place for her. But another huge draw was her Trustee Scholarship, which covered her tuition for four years. USC grants Trustee Scholarships to about 100 outstanding entering freshmen annually based on achievement, community involvement, character and leadership skills. “Without the generous support of USC fellowships and alumni and donor scholarships, I would absolutely not be a Fulbright scholar,” Fish says. “These usc trojan family 31 11/30/15 9:30 PM USC Fulbright scholars Maria Fish, left, Nick Kosturos and Vivian Yan experiences—offered and supported by USC—are what I believe set me apart from other applicants.” Fish took advantage of the guidance available from the university’s dedicated staff in its Academic Honors and Fellowships office for students pursuing university awards and nationally competitive fellowships like the Fulbright. When Fish was a junior, the Gold Family Scholarship underwrote her semester-long trip to Chile to deeply explore local culture and language. She studied human rights, Chilean politics and literature—in Spanish and with local college students at two universities—while living with a host family. USC Dornsife’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fund stipend funded her study of post-colonial cultural identities in Hong Kong and Macau through USC’s Problems Without Passports course. And Undergraduate Student Government sponsored her travels to Oxford University for a human rights course last spring. Now her Fulbright scholarship takes her to Andorra, a country about the geographic size of New Orleans that’s nestled high in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Fish is the first USC student to win a Fulbright grant to teach English in the Catalan-speaking nation. “I’ll be teaching English to 14-to-16year-olds in the Andorran school system,” she says. She also hopes to volunteer with a local human rights organization and hike every marked trail in Andorra. “I pursued a wide range of study abroad and international research programs at USC because I believe in the idea of global citizenship,” says Fish, who graduated with dual majors in Spanish and narrative studies. “I think intercultural understanding is the only way to create a more peaceful world.” Though many Fulbright scholars are well traveled like Fish, their qualifications go beyond an oft-stamped passport. They’re distinguished for bridging international cultures. Nick Kosturos ’15 wanted to gain a more global perspective his freshman year when he joined a Problems Without Passports research excursion. The San Mateo, California native soon found himself in 32 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 32 completely new territory, examining Arctic security matters in Finland, Russia and Sweden. “I was hooked,” Kosturos says. Taught by USC Dornsife’s Steven Lamy, professor of international relations, and Robert English, associate professor of international relations, the program brought students face to face with researchers and diplomats working on issues related to the militarization of the Arctic. His Arctic adventure made such an impact that Kosturos switched from studying the Middle East and Arabic to Russian and post-Soviet languages, politics and cultures. His interest in Russia and the Cold War crystallized his post-graduation plans for study and work. “It has been a climate of innovation, going 100 miles per hour, since I was a freshman,” he says. His enthusiasm led to a Fulbright grant to teach English and American culture for nine months in Belarus, starting this past September. Earlier this year, a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship funded his study of Russian in Vladimir, a city 110 miles outside Moscow. In Vladimir—population 350,000— Kosturos lived with a host family in an apartment, studying Russian four hours each morning and speaking it nearly everywhere he went. Within months, his Russian had improved enough that he was able to have a two-hour-long conversation with a stranger on a train. His newly honed skills serve him well in Belarus, where the PR O B LE MS W I TH O U T PAS S P O RTS P RO G RAM USC Dornsife’s Problems Without Passports courses introduce students to global challenges that span across international borders. official language is Russian. Most of the Russians he met over the summer were generous and kind, Kosturos says. “They are very welcoming, and very curious about the American way of life.” He hopes to continue this cultural exchange in Belarus, where he wants to organize small discussion groups at the local university to share ideas. Like Fish, Kosturos traces his travels to Russia back to his exploration at USC— and the scholarship that started it all. “I can’t thank USC enough for these opportunities, all made possible through the Trustee Scholarship I was awarded and the funding of summer experiences,” says Kosturos, who hopes to pursue a career in foreign policy focusing on cybersecurity. The opportunities didn’t end with his Fulbright: Kosturos was recently named a Dornsife Scholar, which grants $10,000 for graduate school after the Fulbright term is over. CROSS-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS The Fulbright recipients often tell personal stories that explain their international ties. Fish, for one, credits her interest in Spanish to her grandmother, who immigrated to the United States from Spain while that country was under the rule of Francisco Franco. When Fish was a child, her grandmother convinced Fish’s parents to enroll her in an immersion program so that she would learn Spanish and English simultaneously from kindergarten through high school. This foundation sparked her passion for languages and the idea of global exchange at an early age. For Vivian Yan ’14, speaking Cantonese at home and growing up listening to her parents’ stories about life in Hong Kong widened her worldview. She was raised in Fullerton, in Orange County, California, but two visits to Hong Kong sparked her sense of intrigue and curiosity about that city. After Yan graduated from USC Dornsife with a double major in history and comparative literature, she decided to take her interest in transpacific Asian American history even further as a Fulbright student researcher. She initially planned to spend her year winter 2015 11/30/15 9:33 PM Learn how you can support talented USC students through scholarships at campaign.usc.edu/giving. Fulbright scholars experience local traditions abroad, such as visiting Hong Kong’s wishing trees for Chinese New Year. Fulbright Facts PHOTO COURTESY OF VIVIAN YAN Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. at the University of Hong Kong in 2014 to study how Southeast Asian domestic worker activism has impacted ethnic and racial discourse in Hong Kong since the 1950s. But the timing of her trip meant that instead of reading about historic events in dusty archival documents, she got a firsthand view of social unrest and political protests as they unfolded. “I knew the protests were likely to happen, which is why I wanted to go,” she says. “But the start of the protests shifted my research interest mainly to South Asian history in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong’s “umbrella revolution” turned the city’s central business district into a protest zone, and tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents flooded the streets, demanding politically diverse candidates for the top governmental post. Yan saw that Hong Kong’s immigrants from India, Nepal and Pakistan were much more engaged in the protests than the domestic workers she had expected to see. South Asians “didn’t just march and give speeches, but they proudly claimed to be ‘Hong Kongers’ just like the ethnic Chinese,” she says. “What made this special was that for the first time since 1851, the Chinese Hong Kong residents seemed to accept them as such.” Yan quickly refocused her research to look at historical British-Indian-Chinese relationships, and their impact on creating racial discourses in Hong Kong, both under British imperial rule and now under Chinese rule. “Like most people, I thought of Hong tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 33 Kong as a place where Chinese migration is centered,” Yan says. “But the city is also an important place for Indians and other South Asians in their migration history.” As a freshman Yan had been intrigued by cultural studies, but she wouldn’t have considered studying abroad without the early encouragement of Ramzi Rouighi, associate professor of history and Middle East studies at USC Dornsife. When she was a student in his modern Middle East history class, he encouraged her to connect to the broader world through travel and research. Yan had the qualities that make for a good study abroad candidate, so he suggested she apply to USC’s Problems Without Passports course in Kazakhstan, as well as a six-week program studying French in Paris. “She is self-motivated, curious, open to the world and unafraid to work hard to achieve her goals,” he says. After returning from Hong Kong, Yan began doctoral studies in Asian American history at Stanford University in September, taking with her copies of the reams of historical documents she has collected about Hong Kong from the 1850s to 1970s. She plans to continue the research she began during her Fulbright. Some five years after a Presidential Scholarship first brought her to USC as a freshman, Yan has clear career goals. “I want to be a professor,” she says. “I want to continue to study these issues. And I also want to pass on to other students the kind of support I received from my USC professors. Their mentorship made things possible for me I never dreamed of.” More than 325,000 scholars have participated in the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright Program offers grants for U.S. college students, faculty members, teachers and other professionals to travel abroad. It also brings foreign scholars to the U.S. For the past three years, USC has been a top producer of Fulbright Student Program grant recipients among U.S. research institutions. This fall, 19 current and recently graduated USC students received Fulbrights as teachers and researchers in countries such as Andorra, Mexico, Norway and Turkey. Their average GPA is 3.73. As of this fall, 170 USC students have won Fulbrights. The first Trojan to earn a Fulbright student grant went to what was then West Germany in 1973. The number of Trojans who apply has jumped in recent years, from 63 applicants in 2010–2011 to 84 in 2014–2015. Each year, some 9,000 students nationally apply for 1,700 Fulbright student grants. Read more about USC fellowship programs at ahf.usc.edu. usc trojan family 33 11/25/15 4:07 AM Lights, Camera, Animation Animation melds seamlessly with live action to transport movie audiences to new worlds. By Allison Engel • Photos by Noé Montes Michael Fink introduced a green-screen course at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2012. “Directing in a Virtual World” was instantly popular and always has a hefty wait list. 34 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 34 Quick, can you name the best animated movies you saw this year? If films like Inside Out or The Good Dinosaur were on your list, you’re not alone. But what about live-action blockbusters like Jurassic World, The Avengers or Mission Impossible? “Nobody called Avatar an animated film, but it is,” says Michael Fink, chair of the film and television production division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. In that film, he points out, nearly all the scenes on the planet Pandora were computer-generated with animated performances closely based on the performances of live actors. Today, movie fans can be forgiven if they can’t tell the difference between animated and live-action films. Films with cartoon characters are easy calls, but what about special effects-laden projects such as Gravity or The Hobbit? They feature live actors shot in front of green screens, and many scenes use computer-generated animated effects that increasingly blur the line between reality and fantasy. But moviegoers watching a superhero shrink convincingly to the size of an ant or a monster shake its realistic tufts of fuzzy hair might not realize the complexity behind it all. It takes math, computer science and software development—as well as a rich understanding of human emotion, movement and artistic rendering—to bring these characters alive. And they also may not know the critical roles that the John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts at the School of Cinematic Arts and several units at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering play in pushing the boundaries of what can be visualized. USC has a reputation as a longtime leader in cinematic arts and game design, but its faculty and alumni are also at the forefront in creating digital humans, virtual reality, 3-D digitization, science visualization and other technology that brings fantasy worlds to life. A DIGITAL REVOLUTION It’s a common mistake to associate animation only with kids’ films and TV cartoons, says past Hench division chair Kathy Smith. “The fact is animation is at the core of most digital media creation today.” The division’s current chair is Tom Sito, whose career began under the tutelage of the legendary Chuck Jones (think Looney Tunes) and some of the original Disney animators dubbed the “Nine Old Men.” He recently completed a comprehensive history of computer animation, and says flatly: “Animation as an art form has moved into the center of modern digital culture.” winter 2015 11/25/15 4:07 AM 35 11/16/15 6:37 AM USC professor Eric Hanson creates digital images that are 1,000 times more detailed than what a conventional camera captures. Sito pinpoints the crux of the digital revolution as the period from 1991 to 1995, when films with groundbreaking animated technology such as Terminator, Toy Story and Jurassic Park were released. “Before that, saying ‘I want to do a movie with computers’ was considered ridiculous,” he says. “After that, not using computers was considered ridiculous.” At USC, a turning point of sorts may have been reached two years ago when the School of Cinematic Arts’ longtime dean, Elizabeth Daley, named Fink, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and second unit director, as chair of the school’s production division. His predecessors all had backgrounds in live action producing, but little in animation or visual effects. “It was a pretty bold move on the part of Dean Daley,” Fink says. “She was looking at where media production is now and where it’s going.” Fink started his USC career in the Hench division, teaching “The World of Visual Effects,” a survey course on the evolution of technology, art and storytelling. In 2012, he started teaching in the production division, inaugurating a green-screen course, “Directing in a Virtual World,” that was instantly popular and has a hefty wait list every semester. Visual effects supervisors have to work with every department on a production, Fink explains, as they need to know what the director and director of photography are doing and what the production designer and costume designer are planning. They must creatively collaborate with all the production department heads. As Fink describes it: “You have to work with the entire team so that they see and understand something that hasn’t yet been created.” These days, on large films—and even medium-to-low-budget-ones—various HIGHLIGH T S FROM USC A NIM AT ION HIS T ORY 1933 USC’s Boris V. Morkovin lectures on Walt Disney cartoons and has Disney meet with USC students. Morkovin also gives lectures to Disney Studios animators (which they found overly academic), and writes the classic Disney short The Three Little Pigs. 1993 TO INFINITY AND BEYOND USC was the first major university in the country to teach animation. The course began in 1933, only four years after USC inaugurated the country’s first class on filmmaking. The animation instructor— Boris V. Morkovin, a sociology and comparative literature professor—brought Walt Disney himself to campus to talk to his classes. In turn he gave lectures to animators at Disney’s studio. Today USC instructors still teach hand-drawn animation, but they also offer students the latest technology, including tools for stop-motion and 3-D digital modeling. Last spring, Hench division professor Eric Hanson—a former special effects artist for big-budget films—created the first studio class to use USC’s own IMAX theater. Undergraduates shot three short films, each designed for a different immersive experience: an IMAX theater, a full-dome theater and the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. During his eight years at USC, Hanson has unleashed new digital avenues for students in lighting, compositing and visual effects storytelling. Hanson’s own work epitomizes the limitless possibilities of combining live action with animation. He travels to remote, inhospitable desti- The late Gene Coe, professor at the School of Cinematic Arts, and visionary software developer Richard Weinberg design the curriculum for the original MFA in film, video and computer animation, which leads to the school’s current MFA, BA and minor programs in animation and digital arts. HANSON PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS scenes might be animated first—including those that will be shot entirely in live action, Fink says. The director, director of photography and production designer work closely together to create these “pre-visualizations,” which sometimes are done for every scene in a movie. Even if there isn’t any animation on the screen, “pre-vis” animations may have been a key part of a film’s production. 1942 Les Novros, whose career spanned art direction for the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence of Fantasia to special effects on 2001: A Space Odyssey, begins teaching the “Filmic Expressions” elective course. It has influenced thousands of USC students. winter 2015 USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 36 12/2/15 2:02 PM nations around the globe, such as glaciers in Iceland and the Himalayas, and records the landscape with cameras, laser scanners, camera drones and helicopters. The former competitive hang glider pilot then assembles thousands of images taken at extremely high resolution and creates immersive video environments that surround viewers with panoramic images roughly 1,000 times more detailed than what a conventional digital camera captures. “You see things that would be impossible to see if you were actually there,” Hanson says. It’s a far cry from hand-painted cels, but it’s still considered animation. Other new genres of animation include Japanese-inspired anime, documentary animation and the “visual music” created by Hench professors Mike Patterson and Candace Reckinger. As innovators in this area, the two are known for the elaborate projections they and their students create to accompany live performances by orchestras and other musical groups. It’s a mix of 2-D and 3-D animation, illustrations, live-action photography and stop-motion animation. “We’re melting the borders between film, animation and music,” Patterson says. To consider the world that’s opened to animators, look at the career of Raqi Syed ’98, MFA ’01. She has worked on more than a dozen big-budget films, including ones immediately recognizable as animated (The Adventures of Tintin, Tangled) and others considered live action (Avatar, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Iron Man 3 and The Hobbit films). Going by the title of lighting technical director, she’s an expert on bringing characters and environments to life with realistic applications of 1997–98 Professor Christine Panushka curated the first streaming animated video on the Internet. The experimental animation, created for Absolut vodka, is expected to receive 60,000 hits. Instead, it receives millions. tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 37 Building Character It’s hard to imagine a world without the likes of Goofy, Gumby and Genie. Luckily, USC faculty and alumni have dreamed up timeless characters like these that have made our world a more entertaining and happier place. ART BABBIT T Created Goofy and Geppetto from Pinocchio The late Disney animator was an adjunct instructor at USC. The industry veteran was most proud of his work on Pinocchio, but is best known for creating Goofy, who was originally called Dippy Dawg. Babbitt said of Goofy: “He thought long and carefully before he did anything, and then he did it wrong.” ART CLOKEY Created Gumby and Pokey While studying at USC in 1953, Clokey made an experimental film, Gumbasia, as an homage to Fantasia. He and his wife later came up with the clay characters Gumby and Pokey, who appeared first on The Howdy Doody Show and then on their own series, which was the first extended use of stop-motion animation on television. TOM SITO Created Shrek and Roger Rabbit A professor at USC since 1994 and now chair of the Hench division, Sito was storyboard director and drew the original sketches for the title characters of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Shrek. The three-time head of The Animation Guild also worked on The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocahontas and Beauty and the Beast. ERIC GOLDBERG Created Genie from Aladdin A protégé of master animators including Chuck Jones and Art Babbitt, Goldberg joined the USC faculty in 2015. He supervised animation for Genie in Aladdin, a character specifically written with Robin Williams in mind, and also memorably created Louis the Alligator in The Princess and the Frog, Phil in Hercules and Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh. PETER CHUNG Created Aeon Flux Chung’s leather-clad secret agent character debuted on MTV in 1991 and later snagged her own TV series and a live-action film starring Charlize Theron. Chung, who previously worked on Rugrats and Transformers, has had an award-winning career in films and experimental TV and has been an adjunct professor since 2013. 2011 The large-scale outdoor event Rhythms + Visions: Expanded + Live, which combines live music with projected animation and effects, debuts at USC. Creators and faculty members Mike Patterson and Candace Reckinger, widely known for their earlier animation on A-ha’s seminal “Take On Me” video, go on to stage more large-scale blended media events. 2014 The IMAX Theatre and Immersive Lab opens at the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, the first teaching facility for developing 3-D, IMAX, full-dome projection and virtual reality content. usc trojan family winter 2015 11/27/15 4:11 AM light and shadows. “We think of ourselves as digital cinematographers,” she told animation students during a recent visit to the University Park Campus. Syed considers any film that is manipulated frame by frame an animated film, and notes that visual special effects are increasingly being used in subtle ways outside obvious summer action blockbusters. “Birdman, for example, had an interesting set of contradictions,” she says. It was lauded for its seamless long takes that didn’t rely on special effects. But in truth, she says, “a lot of it was digitally stitched together.” Animators constantly hear complaints that computer-generated imagery ruins films, something Syed attributes to society’s discomfort with technology and feelings of nostalgia for the past. But animation and effects are improving at a dizzying pace, giving film creators greater control than ever, she says. “What visual effects were five years ago aren’t what they are today.” SPANNING THE UNCANNY VALLEY USC cinema history is studded with early technical wizards such as Ray Harryhausen, whose puppet animation in the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms began the monster-movie genre. Harryhausen, a former USC student-turned-lecturer who died in 2013, also created the stopmotion Sinbad fantasies and special effects for influential films such as Jason and the Argonauts in 1963 and the original Clash of the Titans in 1981. Those crude animations are worlds away from the current photorealism in animation that inches closer to the socalled Uncanny Valley, the phenomenon of human characters looking creepier the closer they get to looking real. The Uncanny Valley may be the biggest stumbling block in the movement to bring animation and live action together. “We will accept cartoony people, but a nearly photorealistic person can leave us feeling unsettled and pull the audience out of the story,” explains Richard Weinberg, the computer scientist and research tfm.usc.edu TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 39 associate professor who helped design the School of Cinematic Arts’ original MFA program in film, video and computer animation. Current off-the-shelf and real-time computer models aren’t good enough to perfectly re-create human features, so the “nearly human” animations make people uncomfortable. But expect that to change as computer modeling improves, says Weinberg, the Charles S. Swartz Endowed Chair in Entertainment Technology. The technological bridge over the Uncanny Valley might very well be built at USC. Weinberg credits the work of USC Institute for Creative Technologies’ Paul Debevec for the development of light stage technology to capture live actors. Debevec’s system creates digital doubles that in many cases are indistinguishable from real people, with lighting that blends easily into the movie. The Uncanny Valley is also being tackled by Hao Li, a USC Viterbi School of Engineering computer scientist lauded as one of the world’s top young innovators for his work on facial recognition and capture. “I don’t think that anywhere else in the world is there a more intense agenda on creating virtual humans and worlds,” Li says. In collaboration with Oculus Rift, his lab has developed the first headset that can detect a wearer’s facial expression in real time, enabling people to interact with each other in virtual reality. The lab also digitized high-fidelity human hair from a single image, a technological feat. His next push is for technology to help digitize the full human body with clothing. In the near future we also can look forward to fully immersive 3-D videos and games, rendered in real time and indistinguishable from reality, Li says. And animation itself will become even more automated and accessible. “It is likely that someday, everyone can become a professional animator, just like we can produce professional-looking images through Instagram filters using a simple click. “Animation is an art form that people create from scratch,” Li says. “The horizons for it are just limitless.” Sidebar styling still FPO. Beyond Entertainment Animation’s influence today stretches from health care to law. Here are a few of the ways it’s used to teach and illuminate. USC began offering a minor in science visualization in 2012. Animation is widely used to illustrate medical concepts, in legal testimony in courtrooms, for aviation training, in construction, for architectural walk-throughs and more. Current USC student projects include illustration of cochlear implants, marine science and plastic recycling. Documentary animation took off in the late 1990s. Now there are full-length animated documentaries using varied techniques, and festivals devoted to nonfiction animation. Sheila Sofian, who teaches the subject, released Truth Has Fallen, a 2013 full-length documentary on wrongful convictions. Says Sofian: “Animation is a very powerful, empathetic tool.” “Gesture Movement for Animation,” offered through the Hench division, experiments with drawing, animation and motion capture. “We build empathy by mirroring each other’s gestures,” professor Christine Panushka says. Learning how to create and understand more realistic gestures has implications for neuroscience, dance, dramatic arts and computer science, as well as animation and game design. “Animation as an art form has moved into the center of modern digital culture,” says Tom Sito, chair of the John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts. usc trojan family autumn 2014 11/17/15 3:23 AM THE ROBOT REVOLUTION SOPHISTICATED MACHINES LAUNCH A PROMISING NEW ERA FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED HEALTH CARE. By Cristy Lytal PHOTOS BY LUKE FISHER The robots that inhabited the sci-fi world of the late Isaac Asimov were programmed to avoid hurting humans. Now his 20th-century fiction is turning into 21st-century fact, but there’s a twist. It’s not enough for many of today’s real-life robots to avert human harm. They’re being created and coded to promote human health. These robots can be gentle and funny. Sometimes they’re downright cute. Ultimately, they’re helpful. It’s a robot revolution, and USC engineers and innovators play a leading role in it, recruiting automatons to support the well-being of the young and old. There’s a reason to enlist technology in the effort. In part, as the U.S. population ages and the volume of patients in need of support surpasses the number of human caregivers, robots are at the ready to close the gap. In hospitals and homes, these machines may soon do everything from encouraging stroke victims to exercise their limbs to serving as eyes for people whose sight has been impaired by diseases of aging. They’re also under study as a potential way to help children with autism. Health-minded robots are just a part of the expanding universe of robotics at USC. Some of the university’s best engineering minds have created or coded robots to quickly build houses on land or dive deep under the sea. But health care is one area where robots shine brightest. Read on to meet a few of the growing fleet of “Tro-bots.” tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 41 NIMBLE NAO SPECIAL TALENT: Workout buddy ISSUE: Obesity and autism MOTIVATION: This adorable, 22-inch-high humanoid from France teaches children to practice helpful habits. USC researchers have used Nao to coach overweight children to do exercises including bicep curls and squats. And among children with autism, Nao can encourage kids to do something they often struggle with: imitating behavior. In one study, Nao flashed its eyes green, nodded or said “Good job!” when children imitated its arm poses correctly. Kids who did it incorrectly improved over time with the help of the robot’s instructions and demos. Nao was also recently used as a tutor for preschoolers learning numbers. usc trojan family 41 11/25/15 4:14 AM DRAGON DIET COACHES SPECIAL TALENT: A terrific palate ISSUE: Obesity and Type 2 diabetes MOTIVATION: Chili and Cayenne the DragonBots nudge kids to exercise (dancing, anyone?) and choose healthier foods. First-graders regularly sit down with a DragonBot for a few weeks as the ’bot gears up for its big Dragon Race. During one-on-one sessions with the robot, children pick out different kinds of food to nourish it, and get feedback from the robot about the foods’ nutritional content. The children learn to pack a healthful lunch, choose good after-school snacks and create balanced meals. AT-HOME TRAINER SPECIAL TALENT: Coaching ISSUE: Weakness and immobility after a stroke MOTIVATION: Bandit-II turns tedious rehab exercises into an easy-to-follow, fun strengthening program. 42 USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 42 PHOTOS BY LUKE FISHER The robot instructs patients recovering from stroke to exercise their affected arms or legs and provides feedback and encouragement. So far, Bandit-II has proven its popularity with patients at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California. It eventually may provide an option for convenient and affordable therapy in patients’ homes. It has also been used as a coach to teach social skills to children with autism, music therapy to Alzheimer’s patients and chair aerobics to the elderly. winter 2015 CALM FOR KIDS ROBOT WRANGLER Maja Matarić Professor and Chan Soon-Shiong Chair in Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics; Vice Dean for Research at USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Director of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center; Literally wrote the book on robots: The Robotics Primer As founder and director of the Interaction Lab at USC, Matarić wants to endow robots with the ability to help people, especially people with special needs such as patients with Alzheimer’s disease. MAKI, Nao, Bandit-II and the DragonBots—all used in unique studies by Matarić—exemplify what are often called socially assistive robots. Matarić teams with seemingly countless faculty members, graduate students and undergrads, research assistants and technical staff across USC, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center to push the frontiers of robotics. Her projects also include collaborations with engineers at universities including Yale, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. SPECIAL TALENT: Reassurance ISSUE: Fear and anxiety MOTIVATION: MAKI aims to make children feel comfortable and at ease in a hospital, even if they’re about to get a needle stick for an IV line. This open-source robot can be fabricated using an at-home 3-D printer and off-the-shelf hobby electronics. Measuring a little taller than 12 inches, MAKI is as portable as it is adorable, making it the perfect pacifier for nervous young patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. But what makes MAKI unique is its ability to help children cope with fear and anxiety by expressing calm emotions and coping strategies that the child can imitate. MAKI PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS HUMANOID ON PATROL “I cannot think of a single paper dealing with group robotics which does not refer to Dr. Matarić’s work.” SPECIAL TALENT: Falling down and getting up again ISSUE: Hazardous conditions MOTIVATION: In a catastrophe like a nuclear accident, Athena could travel through rough, dangerous areas without exposing humans to harm. A laser scanner in the six-foot-tall robot’s head provides longrange vision, while a 3-D camera interprets changes in terrain and nearby objects. The robot walks on two feet, just like a human. Once Athena can walk around autonomously, researchers hope to program it to perform manipulation tasks. G EO RG E BE K E Y Founder of USC’s robotics program, in MIT Technology Review tfm.usc.edu 43 11/25/15 4:28 AM MIND READERS SPECIAL TALENT: Extra-sensory perception ISSUE: Paralysis or amputation of the hand MOTIVATION: Engineers want to enable amputees to control their prosthetic hands with their minds. At USC, engineers are building “closed-loop brain-machine interfaces,” or BMIs, that record the electrical activity of neurons in the brain. The BMIs translate neurons’ activity into commands. This can enable a patient to direct the movements of a prosthetic hand just by thinking about it. HELPING HANDS “Coming up with the applications, the algorithms...it’s the opportunity to do things that have never been done before.” GE RALD LO E B SPECIAL TALENT: Handling objects with care ISSUE: Paralysis or amputation of the hand MOTIVATION: A robotic hand that can feel objects and handle fragile items gently could change lives. USC researchers are developing mechanical hands that “feel” using sophisticated sensors, which consist of a soft, flexible, skin-like material with fingerprints. These sensors can detect temperatures, the direction of forces, the hardness of materials and vibrations produced by rubbing a textured surface. This feedback can signal robotic hands to employ a gentle touch when handling delicate objects such as drinking glasses or eggs. ROBOT WRANGLER Gerald Loeb Loeb was chief scientist for Advanced Bionics during part of the 1990s before moving to USC. His big focus: connecting the nervous system with electronic devices to help people with neurologic problems, such as paralyzed limbs or a heart with faulty rhythm. Today, he’s CEO of a startup called SynTouch LLC, which is developing a tactile sensor called BioTac for robotic and prosthetic hands based on work from his lab at USC. Among other projects, researchers in his USC lab are developing computer models of the spinal cord’s circuitry, which is key to how the body learns and controls voluntary movements—like grabbing a coffee cup or clicking a mouse. ROBOT PHOTO BY LUKE FISHER Professor of Biomedical Engineering at USC Viterbi; Director of USC’s Medical Device Development Facility; One of the original developers of the cochlear implant to restore hearing to the deaf winter 2015 USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 44 11/25/15 4:32 AM SHAPE SHIFTER SPECIAL TALENT: Feats of flexibility ISSUE: Hazardous conditions MOTIVATION: Whether in a hurricane or earthquake, SuperBot aims to come to the rescue of humans. SuperBot is composed of block-like modules—each of which has its own intelligence —and can reconfigure itself into many useful shapes. It could be shipped to the scene of a crisis, then rearrange its modules into shapes best suited for climbing mountainous terrain, carrying heavy loads, reaching long robotic arms into tight spaces and more. ROBOT WRANGLER Wei-Min Shen SUPERBOT PHOTO BY LUKE FISHER; DA VINCI PHOTO COURTESY OF INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC. Research Associate Professor of Computer Science at USC Viterbi; Director of USC’s Polymorphic Robotics Laboratory; Associate Director of the USC Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems You might say Shen wants to give robots a mind of their own. His interests lie in artificial intelligence, autonomous robots and robots that can change their shape. He may have the rational mind of an engineer, but he also relishes the delight of robots: He wrote a book on how machines learn from their environment based on surprises. His work on the SuperBot—a robot that can configure itself—earned the attention of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 2014 the agency awarded him and his group at the USC Information Sciences Institute a $1 million grant to adapt the robot for use in the inhospitable expanses of space. Asked how he came up with the SuperBot name, Shen told PC Magazine: “I just thought, This is a great robot, it needs a super name! and then I thought, SuperBot! and that became the name. I love the creativity. Everything we do here—none of it has ever existed before.” tfm.usc.edu TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 45 ROBOT DOCTOR SPECIAL TALENT: Operating in tight spaces ISSUE: Cancerous tumors, clogged arteries and similar health problems requiring surgery MOTIVATION: Surgeons use these robots to operate more precisely and gently than they could with their hands alone. Keck Medicine of USC doctors use the da Vinci Xi Surgical System robot to remove tumors from the abdomen and chest through tiny incisions in the skin. They also use the MAKOplasty surgeon-controlled robotic arm for precise alignment during knee resurfacing and hip replacement surgeries and the Sonatherm robotic high-intensity focused ultrasound surgical ablation system to destroy small tumors in the kidneys. Vascular specialists use the Magellan Robotic System to navigate through blood vessels and open up blocked or narrowed arteries. For patients, robotics means less scarring, pain and bleeding and faster recovery. Rest assured: The robots are fully controlled by the surgeons and can’t operate on their own. usc trojan family 45 winter 2015 11/16/15 6:39 AM A Weighty Issue Some try to regulate it and some try to legislate it, but obesity remains a major health challenge to the nation. Here’s how USC is approaching it. By Mike Branom • Photos by Meiko Takechi Arquillos At the USC Fit Families program, there’s glaring proof of America’s obesity epidemic: broken scales. “My new scale goes up to 1,000 pounds,” says program director Cheryl Resnik, associate chair of the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. “We’ve broken two that had a 500-pound weight limit.” Kids, teens and parents keep tabs on their weight at Fit Families’ free wellness clinic in east Los Angeles, where USC physical therapists and graduate students counsel Angelenos at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and other weight-related problems. Community-level programs like Fit Families are one way health professionals try to tackle obesity where it starts: through habits picked up at home. They’re also where health advocates see firsthand just how difficult obesity is to beat. tfm.usc.edu TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 47 47 11/16/15 6:39 AM More than one in three adults and one in six children in the U.S. are obese, posing a long-term and serious health crisis. Medical problems prompted by excess weight account for as much as $210 billion in health care costs a year, with Californians responsible for perhaps a quarter of that, says Michael Goran, professor of preventive medicine and pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, pointing to a study from the Trust for America’s Health. In Los Angeles, one in three children in low-income neighborhoods is now obese, Goran adds. But that number tells only the financial price of weight gain, not the human toll. Obesity-related health problems like heart disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers are among the leading causes of preventable death. Where dollars and lives are at stake, public policy follows. As economists publish white papers with titles like “The Health Risks of Obesity: Worse Than Smoking, Drinking or Poverty,” local governments attack obesity and try to change behavior through regulation and legislation. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg famously tried to battle his city’s bulge by prohibiting the sale of large sugary drinks— a ban struck down in court in 2013. Last May, a legislative panel in California nixed Darius Lakdawalla, Cheryl Resnik and Michael Goran are among the USC faculty members looking for answers to the nation’s obesity puzzle. Heavy Air Pollution might be a risk factor for obesity. USC recently launched the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors Center, called the MADRES Center for short, to investigate how obesity and overexposure to chemicals are related in low-income, urban minority neighborhoods. As an example, Carrie Breton, MADRES Center co-director and assistant professor in the environmental health division at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and her colleagues point to Boyle Heights, an east Los Angeles neighborhood with significant poverty and a disproportionately high obesity rate: Half of the local teens are overweight. Four of LA’s major freeways hem in the area. Through the center, 750 pairs of mothers and infants in Los Angeles will help scientists look for possible links between air pollution and excessive weight. Scientists will track how much weight children gain in their first year of life, and how environmental factors relate to that. They’ll also look at women’s exposure to air pollution before and after they give birth, track women’s psychological stress and examine behavior that influences the weight women gain during pregnancy—and how much of that weight they shed after childbirth. Funding for the center comes from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. 48 TFM Winter 10.9.indd 48 usc trojan family the latest in a series of attempts to tax sweetened soda and fruit drinks. Policy changes have also hit schools and restaurants. More than two in five of the nation’s school districts pulled junk food from their vending machines in the last few years, according to a government survey, and the federal government now mandates that chain restaurants publish calorie counts on their menus. But research shows that these steps have limited success, says Darius Lakdawalla, the Quintiles Chair in Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation at the USC School of Pharmacy. People often ignore the warnings of a burger’s 33 grams of fat or seek substitutes for banned products. “If you’re unable to buy a Big Gulp of soda, you can still go to the café next door and buy a massive Frappuccino,” he says. So Americans’ girth still grows. The problem is simple to solve on paper, says Goran, co-director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute. Eat less (consume fewer calories) and move around more (burn more calories). “But the fact of the matter is that simple solution doesn’t translate to practice very well,” he says. No, it doesn’t. It’s a conundrum that crosses scientific and societal bounds. As scientists learn more about obesity’s causes and consequences—why it can be so dangerous and how it affects people differently—they realize it’s so complex that there may never be what Goran calls a one-size-fits-all solution. “It’s going to be very personalized types of intervention to address individual metabolism, individual behaviors, individual environments, individual contexts,” Goran says. “This will require broader changes in the food environment that would shift the balance from easier access to cheap, low-quality food toward better access to healthier food choices.” USC researchers and their colleagues across the nation are committed to the fight, even if it has to happen one person at a time. SHAPED BY THE ENVIRONMENT The choices many Americans make every day can quietly sabotage their health. Take fountain drinks, for instance. Sugary beverages are the biggest calorie contributor to the American diet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Drink more soda, gain more fat—so says the research. On the other side of the equation, fewer than one in 10 Americans get the amount of vegetables and fruit they need for good nutrition. People are increasingly eating on the go, too. Americans consume a third of their calories outside the home—and more than 11 percent of their calories come from fast food, the CDC reports. It’s a matter of convenience for families—but what parents might not know is that fast-food meals are dense with calories, and excess calories add up over time and translate to weight gain. Environment plays a part in these choices. People who live near supermarkets tend to eat more healthfully, according to research, but minority and low-income neighborhoods have fewer of these markets—especially compared to convenience stories and burger joints—and they may be tough to reach without a car. It’s easy to see why researchers call these areas food deserts. Some policymakers have tried to limit fast-food restaurants and encourage new grocery stores in these food deserts. LaVonna winter 2015 11/16/15 11:09 AM winter 2015 11/16/15 6:40 AM Blair Lewis, a teaching professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy who studies the phenomenon, was a vocal supporter of a moratorium on new standalone fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles passed seven years ago. But do these moratoriums work? The prohibition remains hotly debated, partly because obesity is still rampant in the area. Lewis pleads for patience, noting that it takes time to change a neighborhood’s eating habits. The ban is a victory because it preserves space for healthier food options, she says. “The land available for new development in South Los Angeles is limited, so let’s protect it.” Lewis also backed a successful effort to require local farmers markets to accept EBT cards, which is how California distributes food-stamp benefits. Hosting farmers markets is a win for low-income areas, says her colleague David Sloane, a USC Price professor specializing in urban planning and community health. These markets—and community gardens that build awareness about fresh fruit and vegetables—have gradually crept into inner cities, representing signs of progress. “The conversation about how we get people good, healthy food has completely changed,” Sloane says. Then there’s the issue of culture. Immigrants in low-income areas often struggle with weight, the researchers say. Some newcomers are unfamiliar with the array of processed foods that are readily available—and their detrimental health effects. Sometimes their children guzzle sodas and devour burgers in an effort to become more American. “The research tells us that the longer people stay in this country, the more unhealthy they become,” Lewis says. Schools may be a key to changing behavior, because education about nutrition and exercise can help kids adopt good habits early, Lewis says. School-provided lunches that are healthful and tasty can help too, especially if children are involved in testing recipes and growing ingredients. But schools can also sabotage diet, she says: It’s not unheard of for cash-strapped districts to accept vendors’ incentives to keep sugar-sweetened beverages and other unhealthy options on campus—while at the same time cutting physical education classes and extracurricular sports programs to meet tight budgets. Lewis is among those calling for an examination of procurement policies in public facilities. “Soda companies have a lot more discretionary income than a local farm trying to get vegetables into a school or other public facility,” she says. Numbers to Shoot For Physicians use a measure called body mass index, or BMI, as a screening tool. Plugging your height and weight into a BMI calculator can assure you that you’re at a healthy weight—or hint that it’s time to adjust your diet and exercise more. Here is how the numbers play out, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: U ND E RW E I G H T BMI < 18.5 H E A LT H Y BMI = 18.5 to 24.9 OVE RW E I G H T BMI = 25.0 to 29.9 O BE S E BMI = 30.0+ It’s not a perfect science, but a high or low BMI may suggest a visit to the doctor is in order. Find a BMI calculator and other related resources online at cdc.gov/healthyweight. FROM TOP: Carrie Breton, LaVonna Blair Lewis, Katie Page, David Sloane and Sarah-Jeanne Salvy THE SOCIAL NETWORK Sometimes you not only are what you eat—you are what your friends eat. Research shows that obese people who feel marginalized socialize with other obese people, and that could reinforce unhealthy habits. At the same time, the social sphere echoes with so-called “fat shaming.” The public’s unforgiving language about obesity is similar to past patterns of denigrating people who fall ill after years of smoking or those with HIV/AIDS, Sloane says. The talk comes across as “bad people making bad choices,” he adds. In an image-conscious culture, people may believe that the obese deserve what’s coming to them—and this stigma can be tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 51 51 11/25/15 4:33 AM The Science Behind Fat and Food When Michael Goran started studying obesity 30 years ago, scientists thought body fat was inert and simply served as a way to store potential energy for the body. Since then, science has shown that our body fat isn’t just a blob. It’s alive. Body fat operates like a major organ: It releases hormones and other substances, has a blood supply and nerves and communicates with the brain—just as we think of, say, the pancreas. Goran calls this concept of fat a “breakthrough” in a field with no hope of a miracle pill. Scientists are rapidly identifying the substances that body fat releases and why they matter. For example, they’ve found that fat pumps out chemicals called cytokines that stoke the immune system and promote inflammation, raising blood pressure and causing other health problems. It also releases a hormone called leptin that can quell appetite and another called adiponectin that helps control blood sugar. And that’s just for starters. There’s another factor: USC researchers have shown that fat tucked between abdominal organs like the stomach and liver is more dangerous than fat deposited just under the skin. Deep belly fat emits more of the hormones, fatty acids and other substances that cause harm. But why—and why fat ends up in one place rather than the other—remains a mystery. At the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, scientists are focusing not just on the gut, but also on another key spot—the brain. Alan Watts, USC professor of biological sciences, physiology and biophysics, seeks answers in the hypothalamus, a master controller in the brain for how and why we eat and drink. And his colleague Scott Kanoski, an assistant professor of biological sciences, is researching the neurobiology behind compulsive overeating. Once scientists drill into the science of bingeing, they can come up with solutions. One promising target lies in sugar, and how it affects the brain. In studies of rats, Kanoski and Goran found that animals that consumed high fructose corn syrup—the cheap sweetener in soda—had more trouble with spatial learning and memory (how effectively they navigated a maze) than those that consumed sucrose, or ordinary table sugar. Both groups performed worse than rats that just drank water. And seeing differences in how the sugars fructose and glucose are metabolized is what Keck School of Medicine endocrinologist Katie Page ’94, MD ’02 calls “one of the most exciting and provocative findings” coming out of her recent work. Although the two sugars offer the same calories, glucose has some beneficial effects, like working with hormones in the gut to make people feel satisfied so they stop eating. Fructose, though, fails to stifle hunger. “We’ve only looked at fructose and glucose by themselves,” Page says. The next step is seeing what happens in the brain when fructose and glucose are consumed together—as they’re found in table sugar or soda. See Katie Page’s tips on sugar at bit.ly/KatiePage and follow her on Twitter at @drkatiepage. 52 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 52 tough for the overweight to overcome. But relationships and the voices of others can also help, rather than hurt. Group programs like Weight Watchers offer affirming support to the obese through caring relationships. Relationships are partly why USC’s Fit Families shows promise: Families gel at the clinic by learning about nutrition and exercising together. “We’ve got one mother-daughter combo that’s actually begun to run races,” says Resnik, the program’s director. Miles to the north, in the Antelope Valley, other USC researchers are using the power of social support in the home. The Childhood Obesity Prevention at Home program partners with registered nurses who serve at-risk, low-income families. The nurses visit one on one with mothers in the first few years of a child’s life to deliver obesity prevention and health promotion education as part of the services they provide to families. Program director Sarah-Jeanne Salvy, research associate professor at the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, says the postpartum period is often pivotal for mothers to implement healthy changes. What frequently drives them to change their lifestyle is the thought of their children struggling similarly with weight as they grow older. Although the researchers are only a few months into this study, preliminary findings show that the program can impact infants and mothers even after a short implementation, Salvy says. Women are receptive to change “not just for themselves, but also because they’re establishing the health trajectory of their kids for life.” HEALTH OR HAPPINESS? Call it the french fry effect. Some people just crave foods that they know are stuffed with empty calories or are even harmful. These foods might offer their own emotional, visceral rewards. “You might choose, reasonably, to weigh more than a doctor says is ideal because you enjoy drinking beer and eating steak,” Lakdawalla says. “From an economics standpoint, those are all contributing to your happiness. It would be paternalistic to say, ‘People should care about maximizing their longevity at all costs,’ even if it means giving up the things they love.” And that gets to a sticky problem: Where is the line separating obesity as a scientifically predetermined fate versus the result of harmful living? Perhaps some people are preprogrammed to eat unhealthful foods or to build up more fat from these foods. As Katie Page ’94, MD ’02, an assistant professor in the Keck School of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology, puts it: “Some people may consume the same amount of calories and exercise as much as the person next to them, but they just may be more prone to keep that energy stored in their body.” Scientists are trying to figure that out in the lab, and it will take time. But in practice, public health researchers are seeing reason for a little optimism in the national data. While nearly 79 million American adults are considered obese, the obesity rate appears to be plateauing. Perhaps it’s the beginning of a payoff from studies and interventions that cross boundaries. “It’s a really slow process,” Page says. “It’s not just genetics; it’s not just environment— it’s both. Sorting through all that takes time, and it takes good questions and rigorous research.” winter 2015 11/25/15 4:34 AM THE KECK EFFECT: MORE CELEBRATIONS Keck Medicine of USC attracts the world’s top researchers and physicians. Together, we’re preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases with greater precision — an approach we call The Keck Effect. That means doing everything possible to help our patients do more of the things they love. With locations throughout Southern California, exceptional care is close to you. See how we’re redefining medicine. KeckMedicine.org (800) USC-CARE © 2015 Keck Medicine of USC TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 53 11/16/15 6:40 AM USC Alumni Day of SCervice Daylong and Worldwide. Saturday, March 12, 2016 Roll up your sleeves and join thousands of fellow Trojans participating in community service projects around the world. Sign up for a project in your area: alumni.usc.edu/scervice ALUMNI.USC.EDU | [email protected] | TEL: 213 740 2300 TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 54 FA M I LY PHOTO BY HEATHER DINGESS READY AND ABLE Since 2005, USC occupational therapy students and alumni have traveled regularly to the Mephibosheth Training Center in Ghana, where therapists like Erin O’Donnell MA ’13, OTD ’14, right, teach vocational skills to children with disabilities. The skills allow children to find a place in communities that might otherwise ostracize them. tfm.usc.edu 55 11/25/15 4:36 AM Trojans, Twice Over Alumni feel the USC love all over again when they become Trojan parents. by diane krieger After his daughter was admitted to his alma mater, Mike Lederer ’89 went to his computer and Googled the question, “How do I get involved at USC?” “That’s how out of touch I was,” he says with a laugh. “I had no contacts.” That was five years ago. Today, Lederer is connected in a big way to a community of Trojans. The USC Marshall School of Business alum serves on the boards of the Trojan Athletics Fund, the USC Price School of Public Policy and USC Associates. He counts Jack Knott, dean of USC Price, as a “dear friend” and frequent dinner guest. At his first USC Associates board meeting, Lederer hit it off so well with fellow inductee John Jenkins ’89 that they’ve become partners in various businesses. At USC Price, the two friends also spearhead the LEAP Program, which sends undergraduates on fully funded weeklong “labs” to tackle real-world policy challenges in places like Washington, D.C., and Singapore. Caring for his children was Lederer’s chief concern when they were young, so he had understandably drifted away from USC. “My priority,” says the Westlake Village, California-based real estate investor, “wasn’t getting down to USC football games but getting to my 6-year-old’s soccer game.” Now, Lederer has his kids to thank for his finding his way back to the Trojan Family. In addition to Amanda Levy ’14, who graduated from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences as a psychology major, Lederer’s son Ryan is a freshman at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Levy is now working on her master’s in the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and his other daughter, Eden, a high school senior, is eyeing USC to study theater next year. Of course, proximity to Los Angeles isn’t a necessary ingredient for parental alumni involvement. Jacqueline Legorreta Erdman ’79, MBA ’83 is based in San Francisco and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She had drifted away from the Trojan Family, but reconnected with USC as her daughter Mackenzie Erdman was starting college. These days she attends lots of Bay Area events hosted by USC Mar- shall; she especially enjoys those geared toward young entrepreneurs. Last spring she joined USC Associates, and has recently taken an interest in the new USC Kaufman School of Dance. “It has really been a lot of fun to spend time in LA again,” Erdman says, “and to see the amazing transformations on campus. I’m so proud my daughter is there.” Sandra Weber Lyon ’88 reconnected with USC as her older son, Jack Lyon, was finishing high school in Denver. Receptions for incoming students sparked her school spirit. For the past two years, Lyon has hosted the USC Alumni Club of Colorado’s SCend Offs, led its USC Day of SCervice projects, and planned its football game viewing parties and Trojan First Thursday events. In September, the family relocated to Seattle and she wasted no time contacting the local USC alumni club to get involved. Jack is now a senior, and Sandra Lyon’s younger son, Henry Lyon, is a freshman, both at USC Marshall. “It’s really fun to have both boys there together,” she says. “USC is just the right place. The professors take such good care of them. I feel like it’s family.” Her husband, Tony Lyon, is on board, even though he’s a Bruin. “He walks the campus wearing a USC Dad T-shirt,” she says with a laugh. Best of all, Lyon has a new sense of connection with her sons: Both got freshman housing in her old residence hall. “We are sharing meals, 30 years apart, in the same cafeteria,” she says. “That’s fun.” LYONS PHOTO BY DAVID SPRAGUE; LEDERERS PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LEDERER FAMILY; ERDMANS PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS family news From left: The Lyons, Lederers and Erdmans winter 2015 USC_TFM_W15_Body_R3.indd 56 12/3/15 12:25 PM To learn more about USC BAA’s 40th Anniversary and Scholarship Benefit Dinner in March 2016, go to sait.usc.edu/baa or call (213) 740-8342. The BAA’s annual pinning and affirmation ceremony welcomes new Trojans with symbolic pins naming the attributes of a USC scholar. A Circle of Support PINNING PHOTO BY MICHAEL OWEN BAKER To c e l e b r at e t h e 40th anniversary of the USC Black Alumni Association (BAA), two Trojans from different generations share their journeys after graduating from USC—and the paths that brought them back to Troy and the BAA. THE POWER OF A HELPING HAND Growing up in one of Los Angeles’ toughest housing projects, Leonard Fuller ’68 dreamed of attending college. Instead of going home after school, he’d sneak into Doheny Memorial Library on the University Park Campus and study for hours. Little did librarians know that he’d one day graduate from USC and turn into an alumni leader. Fuller was elected to the Board of Governors of the USC General Alumni Association (the former name of the USC Alumni Association) in 1992 and later became the organization’s president. He served as a USC trustee for five years. Fuller’s life changed when his high school principal introduced him to Mark Friedman, a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. Friedman was so impressed by Fuller, a top scholar and student body president of his high school, that he offered to pay Fuller’s full tuition at USC. Fuller thrived at USC but felt lonely at times. “There were so few blacks it was difficult to get to know others,” he remembers. “As enjoyable and intellectually stimulating as it was, I felt that it could have been enhanced by an organized association of African-American students.” tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 57 He went on to Harvard Business gaps. After graduating from the USC School and a successful business career, Annenberg School for Communication returning to LA in 1990 to start his own and Journalism, Wilson launched Good consulting firm. “I had been away from News Magazine to support multicultural Los Angeles for 15 years and I relations in LA and hosted and really missed my association with produced the TV program On the university,” Fuller adds. He was the Continent, which aired in Afdelighted to discover the BAA. rica. She later made history as the “It helps people stay connected first American woman to own and and it lets you form a common operate an international public rebond with people who share the lations and marketing firm in the same background,” he says. He newly democratic South Africa. has mentored students and fellow Wilson is also a U.S. consultant alumni, imparting wisdom earned for a Chinese program that awards Leonard Fuller through 50 years of work and scholarships to students at histori’68 (top) and community experiences. cally black colleges and universities Julia Wilson ’91 believe in sharHe’s also established the to study in China. ing knowledge LaVerne Fuller Endowed Schol“When I was a student at with others. arship in honor of his mother to USC, I remember participating in help young scholars achieve the activities that encouraged crossdream he once thought impossible: to at- cultural relationships and interactions,” tend college. Wilson says. She led a pluralism organization on campus to promote diversity and BRIDGING DIVIDES received the Order of Troy award as an Julia Wilson ’91, CEO and founder of outstanding senior. Wilson Global Communications, is a An adjunct professor at USC Annenstrong advocate of the USC BAA. berg, she stays involved with BAA events, “Sometimes students can feel isolated including presenting talks about entrepreat large institutions where they are the neurship and globalization. Wilson, who minority,” Wilson says. “The BAA pro- will receive the BAA’s 2016 Outstanding vides black students with a place to express Alumnus award in March, says that meeting themselves and their ideas freely, and feel other members and sharing knowledge is all included without hesitation.” part of the invaluable support BAA provides Wilson knows from experience— to USC’s African-American community. she’s spent much of her professional career exploring and bridging racial and cultural K A M A L A K I R K usc trojan family 57 11/25/15 4:44 AM family news Transatlantic Trojans Alumni outposts in Europe bring the Trojan Family together. There’s nothing more French than the lights of the Eiffel Tower, shopping on the Champs-Élysées and celebrating Thanksgiving at Le Grand Carnot. Wait, what? “I have a butcher who gets these incredible free-range turkeys from Italy,” says Leslie Nelson Cressy ’82, a 30-year resident of France. “And I buy sweet potatoes and fresh cranberries at the local French market.” Cressy is president of the USC Alumni Club of Paris. Her annual Thanksgiving feast, now in its eighth year, is the club’s signature event, ringing in the holidays for scores of Trojans based in the City of Lights and outposts across Europe. (The event may have been especially important this year as Paris recovers from recent tragedy.) Widely known for its presence in the Pacific Rim, USC also has a significant European alumni base. The Trojan spirit is particularly strong in London, Paris and Munich, where active alumni clubs engage with a few hundred alumni and friends of USC every year. Walter Ladwig ’98, a lecturer in international relations at King’s College London, leads the USC Alumni Club of London, the largest club in Europe. In Munich, tech entrepreneur John Beckner ’82 oversees the USC Alumni Club of Germany, which also attracts alumni from Austria and Switzerland. Each club has its own vibe. The Paris club, for example, specializes in cultural events—such as private tours of the Monet exhibit at the Grand Palais or the Louis Vuitton Foundation museum (designed by Frank Gehry ’54). The London club concentrates on 58 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 58 meet-ups with USC headliners visiting the metropolis. Its Twitter tagline: “Keep Calm and Fight On!” The club had a banner year in 2012, when the London Olympics and the USC Global Conversation brought waves of world-class Trojan athletes, trustees, star faculty and the Trojan Marching Band to town. Members of the USC Alumni Club of Germany are based in 30 cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Beckner says, giving the group a decentralized feel. The club’s signature event, Oktoberfest, draws Trojans from far and near. Lately the Munich-based businessman has taken his club on the road. In June, he organized a cocktail and dinner party with 20 alumni in Warsaw, Poland. Next up: Vienna, Zurich and Berlin. European alumni clubs typically host an event each month—say, a traditional Bavarian wine tasting, Christmas market, or picnic in Hyde Park on the BBC Proms “Last Night,” the closing event of summer season concerts. There are yearly events, such as summer SCend Offs for incoming freshmen from Europe, community projects on the Alumni Day of SCervice, and college fairs. “We were located near Harvard and Stanford,” says Cressy, of her club’s table in a Paris hotel last September. “We were proud to be amongst the busiest. It was wonderful.” Of course, the clubs host events around Trojan football, though logistics can be tricky when games kick off at 2 a.m. local time. “This season, most of our screenings are tape delayed for Sunday morning brunch viewings,” Walter Ladwig says. “Fortunately, we have a good relationship with a sports bar in Marylebone that hosts us.” All three clubs make a point of embracing the hundreds of USC undergraduates who study in Europe each year. “We open our arms to them,” says Cressy, who along with her husband, Gérard, has hosted five exchange students so far in their Neuilly-sur-Seine flat. Not a week goes by that these busy club presidents aren’t fielding requests from Europe-bound Trojans seeking an introduction, travel tips or a lead on finding a place to live or work. It seems the farther Trojans live from USC, the more they yearn for a connection to the Trojan Family. “I always feel a kinship when we meet other alumni from around the world,” says Jen Ladwig ’99, past president of the London club and a senior consultant with Q5. “We’re like magnets drawn to each other.” (She’s married to current club president Walter Ladwig—they met as college tour guides at USC.) MUNICH GRAFITTI WALL PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN BECKNER by diane krieger 12/2/15 1:35 PM To access the Trojan Family Archive, go to alumnigroups.usc.edu/archive. Living in France for the past 30 years has only strengthened Cressy’s Trojan pride. “Those four years at ’SC were some of the best years of my life,” says the former two-time national champion volleyball player who now runs her own entertainment business. “You want to stay connected to people who can make the same claim.” The European club presidents have infused their Trojan passion in their bicultural offspring. Beckner’s two children, Alysa and Connor, are both at USC now. Cressy’s oldest son, Jonathan Cressy ’11, MS ’12, graduated from USC Viterbi with a minor from USC Marshall. And the Ladwigs’ 3-year-old son, Walter IV, frequently romps around London in his USC “Class of 2034” shirt. Jen Ladwig, who served on the USCAA Board of Governors from 20132014, sums up the expats’ feelings this way: “I think it’s because the university isn’t at our back door that we don’t take it for granted.” o learn more about the Europe-based USC T To learn more about Europe-based alumni clubs, go to facebook.com/groups/USCParis, facebook.com/USCAlumniGermanyAustriaSwitzerland and facebook.com/groups/USCLondonAlumni or twitter.com/USCLondon. “Those four years at ’SC were some of the best years of my life. You want to stay connected to people who can make the same claim.” L ES LI E N E LS ON C R E S SY tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 59 A Digital Memory Lane Ever wonder what happened to Joe, the anthro major with green spiky hair in your freshman residence hall? Or are you just looking to relive some of your favorite USC moments as a student? You now have a new tool that will help you travel back in time. Thanks to a partnership between USC Libraries and the USC Alumni Association, alumni and friends of USC can now search for their former classmates, friends and organizations in the comprehensive Trojan Family Archive, a project housed in the USC Digital Library. The Trojan Family Archive, which initially launched in 2013 with a vast collection of the Daily Trojan student newspaper (1912–present), the El Rodeo student yearbook (1898–present) and issues of USC Trojan Family Magazine from the last two decades, has expanded this fall to include the University Commencement program (1911–present) and every back issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine and its predecessors (such as Alumni Review) since 1917. The archive includes high-resolution copies of every photo, article, name listing, letter to the editor, obituary and birth notice in a searchable database. “You can look at these publications page by page,” says Claude Zachary, university archivist. “If you want to save a page, you can download it as a low-resolution JPEG. Or download the entire volume or issue as a PDF.” Funding for the project came primarily from the USC Alumni Association and a donor pool led by history enthusiast Jim Maddux ’56, Half Century Trojans president for 2015–16. “The Trojan Family Archive presents an exciting opportunity for all alumni and friends of the university to relive great memories, reconnect with their USC heritage and share their own USC story with family, friends and future generations of Trojans,” says Patrick Auerbach EdD ’08, USC’s associate senior vice president for alumni relations. “This archive will make vast digital resources available via the USC Digital Library and enrich the experience for alumni engaging with their alma mater.” Leaf through USC history digitally with the Trojan Family Archive. DIANE KRIEGER 59 11/25/15 4:45 AM Make a gift. Make a difference. Support the USC Lambda LGBT Alumni Association scholarship program. The USC Lambda LGBT Alumni Association has awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships to LGBT and ally students since 1992. By connecting LGBT and ally Trojans to one another and the university, USC Lambda has helped make USC one of the most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities in the nation. WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE ALL FAMILY HERE. | LAMBDA.USC.EDU TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 60 11/16/15 6:42 AM Class notes appear online. Read news about each graduate at tfm.usc.edu/classnotes and send your news for consideration to [email protected]. 1 9 3 0 s 1 9 7 0 s Jacob Dekema ’37 (ENG) of La Jolla, California, celebrated his 100th birthday in July with family and friends. A longtime highway engineer, he was recognized as a transportation pioneer by the California Department of Transportation at his birthday celebration. Rocky Barilla ’70 (LAS) published the book A Taste of Honey, which won second place in the fantasy category for fiction at the International Latino Book Awards. 1 9 6 0 s Charles Lloyd ’60 (MUS), a saxophonist, flutist, composer and arranger, was recently named a 2015 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. Iftikhar Ahmad MPA ’63 (SPP) recently published Post 9/11 Pakistan, which covers conflict resolution, public policy, politics and Pakistan-U.S.-Afghanistan relations. Christopher Kittides ’63, MS ’65 (ENG) retired as chairman and CEO from BEI Associates Inc., a Detroit-based architectural firm. He served as chairman of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers and the Detroit City Planning Commission. Edward K. Jeffer MD ’66 (MED) published The Man Who Killed Happy Hour. His first book, The Malthus Confederation, received a belated positive review from Eric Foner, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Bruce Broughton ’67 (MUS) received an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding original main title theme music for Texas Rising on the television channel History. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN GOLDBECK family class notes George Frederickson, PhD ’67 (SPP) was recently honored at the University of Kansas with the Gloria Hobson Nordin Award for his work in the study of social equity. James Kirk MS ’69 (ENG) served in the United States Air Force as a radar bomb navigation technician in the 85th Bomb Squadron/47th Bomb Wing in England during World War II. Since then, he has been in private patent law practice. tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R2.indd 61 Jerald B. Gartman MS ’71 (ENG) founded Gartman and Associates, an international consulting firm specializing in statistical quality control and strategic planning. A retired Marine colonel, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star Medal, 21 Air Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, the Purple Heart, the Navy Commendation Medal and two Navy Achievement Medals. Patrick Fuscoe ’72 (ENG) of Fuscoe Engineering Inc. received life membership status in the American Society of Civil Engineers. Eduardo Samaniego ’72 (ENG) celebrated 25 years since being ordained as a Jesuit priest. He has been focused on parish work since his ordination and is also a published author whose books include If You Preach It, They Will Come. Linda Silverman PhD ’73 (LAS) wrote Giftedness 101, a book about the science and psychology behind gifted children. She directs the Gifted Development Center in Westminster, Colorado, which has tested more than 6,000 children worldwide. Arthur (Larry) Andrews MS ’74 (ENG) is a former rocket scientist, aerospace program manager and adjunct professor at USC. He published A Space Oddity, a science fiction romance. David Esquith ’74, MSW ’75 (SSW) retired from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after more than 35 years as the manager of medical social work. Herman Statum MS ’74 (EDU) received the American Society for Industrial Security’s lifetime achievement award. The Middle Tennessee ASIS Chapter named its community service award the Herman Statum Service Excellence Award, which will be presented annually to a chapter member or public safety official. Karen McCaffrey ’76 (SPP), vice president of McCaffrey Homes, a leading homebuilder based in Fresno, California, has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the board of trustees of the California Homebuilding Foundation. Marcia B. Smith MS ’77 (BPT), a professor of physical therapy at Regis University, received the American Physical Therapy Association’s Catherine Worthingham Fellow Award during the association’s NEXT Conference & Exposition in June. Joseph T. Morris III ’79 (LAS) retired from the U.S. Army Medical Corps in June after 31 years of active duty. Since 2010, he was chief of medicine and infectious disease service at Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington. He is now chief of specialty care service at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. 1 9 8 0 s Ronald Burgess MS ’80 (EDU) was inducted into the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He serves as Auburn University’s senior counsel for national security programs, cyber programs and military affairs. Brian L. Goldbeck MS ’85 (ENG) concluded his 32year career with the U.S. Department of State Senior Foreign Service, having served in South Korea, Yemen, China, Ethiopia, Mongolia and the Philippines. Since 2012, he was deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Prior to joining the department, he taught at an international school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve. He will retire in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife. David M. Ring ’87 (BUS), JD ’90 (LAW) was named to the Daily Journal’s 2015 “Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyers” list. usc trojan family A LU M N I P R O F I L E E L I Z A B E T H K H U R I C H A N D L E R M A ’0 3 A Well-Read Woman It’s no surprise that Elizabeth Khuri Chandler MA ’03, cofounder of Goodreads, was always an avid reader. “My mom taught me to read with flashcards when I was 2,” Chandler says. “I still remember the first time I went to the library when I was 5. They said I could take anything I wanted, and I remember thinking, Oh my God... this is an amazing place.” She captured that excitement of discovery—shared the world over by millions of booklovers—through Goodreads, an online community that enables people to find, recommend and talk about books. Since the community launched in 2007, it has amassed more than 40 million members and more than a billion books catalogued. Users review about a million books every month. Chandler grew up in Palo Alto, California, the daughter of two educators (her father a professor at Stanford University and her mother a teacher). She studied English at Stanford and took internships at the Paris fashion house Chloé and the Associated Press in Rome, which stoked her interest in arts journalism. Her next step was setting her sights on the print journalism master’s program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “I ended up making a lifelong mentor with Cinny Kennard,” now executive director of the Annenberg Foundation, Chandler says of her time at USC. “And I took an amazing investigative journalism class with [Los Angeles Times reporters] Matt Lait and Scott Glover. It was really about cutting through bureaucracy—and I think that’s also a great life skill, actually.” After USC, Chandler heard about a job at the Times through the USC Annenberg alumni network. The newspaper hired her as assistant style editor for its Sunday magazine, where, for three years, she covered fashion and planned quarterly issues. 62 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 62 She also rekindled an earlier relationship with Stanford classmate Otis Chandler—grandson of the Otis Chandler who was once publisher of the Times— who was developing an idea for a new social network. He conceived the idea of an online community for readers, and she soon became his sounding board and collaborator. “We went on our honeymoon with a suitcase of books,” she laughs. (They married in 2008.) “Goodreads was his idea but he enjoyed making it something I would want to use. There was a lot of collaboration, and I really went through the site language with a fine-toothed comb, because language is something I’m thinking about all the time.” Leveraging her experience as a journalist, Chandler handled Goodreads’ public relations, branding and marketing for the first five years. In 2012, Goodreads moved its headquarters to San Francisco, where the Chandlers oversee a staff of 140. The site and mobile app allow members to write reviews, track books they’ve read or want to read, and connect with other readers and authors. Amazon recognized the power of ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID PLUNKERT; PHOTO COURTESY OF GOODREADS A journalist with a love for language helped build one of the largest online communities for readers. the service and purchased the company in 2013. Today, Elizabeth Khuri Chandler continues in her post as Goodreads’ editorin-chief and writes occasionally about arts for other publications. Her time at USC Annenberg and as a journalist helped make Goodreads a site that the literary community, in particular, can take pride in using, she says. “These are people who care about language and care about reading, so we have to hold up our end of the bargain.” TIM GREIVING winter 2015 11/25/15 4:46 AM Class notes appear online. Read news about each graduate at tfm.usc.edu/classnotes and send your news for consideration to [email protected]. Paul Epps MS ’89 (ENG), a writer and programmer, recently published Thus Spoke the Programmer: A Fictional Memoir. 1 9 9 0 s Dave Salo PhD ’93 (LAS), USC’s head swim coach, was named to Swimming World magazine’s “30 Most Swimfluential” list for his innovative coaching approach. Edgar Landa ’95 (DRA) directed Thin Air Shakespeare’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which featured Malika Williams MFA ’11 (DRA) as Titania. Landa teaches stage combat at USC School of Dramatic Arts. Felicia Ponce ’92 (SPP) was named the warden of the Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong, in northeastern California. family class notes She is the first African-American woman to oversee the medium-security prison. Thomas Kenna MS ’93 (ENG) is the director of transportation at UC Santa Barbara. He is continuing his service with the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel and commander in maintenance operations, supporting C-130 J aircraft. He is working on his Air War College studies. Joseph “Joe” Barry ’94 (LAS) is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. He has been with the NFL for 15 years, serving as the San Diego Chargers’ linebackers coach for the last four seasons. Jennifer (Nichols) Kearns ’94 (LAS) was appointed director of communications for San Diego City Council President Sherri Lightner. Previously, she was the manager for the city’s corporate partnerships and development program. Neil Rotter MSW ’94, MSG ’96 (SSW/ GRN), chief strategy officer at Accredited Home Health Services, received the Lois C. Lillick Award from the California Association for Health Services At Home for helping to develop home care associations. Stephen H. Harris JD ’96 (LAW) was named to the Daily Journal’s 2015 list of “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers.” Jeff Julian ’98 (LAS), an eight-time All-American swimmer and head coach of Rose Bowl Aquatics, has been joined by hundreds of friends and Trojans for #TEAMjeff, an ongoing campaign to help him fight cancer. A swim fundraiser in March brought together legendary Trojan swimmers including Julian’s wife Kristine QuanceJulian ’99 (LAS), Lenny Krayzelburg ’98 (BUS) and John Naber ’77 (LAS) to help raise funds for his treatment. Where car time is quality time. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE JULIAN FAMILY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL 91.5 FM tfm.usc.edu 11/25/15 4:47 AM P R O F I L E Golden Age A tech-savvy gerontologist invests in the future of elder-care apps and services. Why are there so few smartphone apps and other digital tools for seniors and the family members who care for them? That’s what gerontologist Katy Thomas Fike MS ’06, PhD ’09 wanted to know. With her background in systems engineering and investment banking, she recognized senior care as a commercial space ripe for a technology boost. Enter Aging2.0, a company she co-founded in 2012 with mobile-health business veteran Stephen Johnston to spur innovative businesses focused on older adults. The pair started hosting casual meet-up events for gerontologists, entrepreneurs, professional caregivers, software designers, investors and quite a few retirees looking for tech-driven solutions to ageold, old-age problems. After 64 M S ’0 6, P H D the first meet-up in New York City, the events grew quickly to more than 35 cities, and Aging2.0’s network now includes 10,000 members with more than 100 corporate partners. Through its yearlong startup accelerator program, Aging2.0 Academy, the company has promoted and mentored 31 aging-focused startups. In 2014, it launched Aging2.0 Generator Ventures, an earlystage venture fund. Products the company has nurtured include ActiveProtective, a “smart garment” that deploys small airbags from a belt in the event of a fall—reducing hip fractures—and CareLinx, an online marketplace to help families find in-home care. In many cases, a few tweaks to existing services like Uber and Tinder “could be very valuable to seniors,” says Fike, recently named by Fast Company as one of the 100 most creative people in business. Lift Hero, for example, is a platform for Web or smartphones that helps seniors get to doctor’s appointments. Stitch is an online matching ser- ’0 9 vice for mature adults seeking safe companionship. Originally from Long Beach, California, Fike was drawn to elder care in a roundabout way. The University of Virginia graduate was a successful investment banker in New York when her life suddenly took a new turn. Fike was at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001. The tragedy jolted her into questioning her purpose in life, she says. “I wanted to do work that truly mattered when real life happened.” After 9/11, her mom sent her a book by geriatrician William Thomas, Learning From Hannah: Secrets for a Life Worth Living. Fike was transfixed by the parable of how an ideal society might treat its elderly. She started volunteering for Meals on Wheels and visiting assisted-living centers in New York City. “Once I found the topic of aging, I felt it was something I couldn’t get enough of,” she says. In 2004, she moved to Los Angeles to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. “For me, every class was a light bulb session of ideas, innovations and ideation,” Fike recalls about the program. The school celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Today, Fike, 36, lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Ted Fike, a fellow investor, and their baby. Parenting may give Fike even more ideas. Recently, she took her baby to the local library where she noticed an older man standing alone, beaming with joy during children’s story time. “He said: ‘This is the highlight of my week. My grandkids live far away, and nothing makes me happier than just watching these little kids.’” Fike was inspired. “I immediately thought: Why aren’t we doing this at every assisted-living community? Give the moms some free coffee, and have the seniors and the babies hang out. We should be tapping into the time and wisdom and love of older adults.” Stay tuned, there might be an app for that. PHOTO BY MICHELA RAVASIO/STOCKSY A LU M N I DIANE KRIEGER 11/25/15 4:48 AM IN THE MIX P R O M OT I O N S E V E N TS ENTERTAINMENT O P P O RT U N I T I E S Winning Resort Nestled in the Sonoran Desert, Talking Stick Resort is the ideal destination for your winter vacation. The AAA Four Diamond property is home to 496 luxury guest rooms, a spacious gaming floor, six award-winning restaurants and a world-class spa located on the 14th floor. The venue is an entertainment powerhouse, featuring live headline acts in its 650-seat Showroom, Salt River Grand Ballroom and posh lounge Degree 270. talkingstickresort.com EXPERIENCE Ranch Luxury Families are always at home at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, with accommodations perfect for families of all sizes. This summer, check out the Junior Rangers kids’ camp. Instead of video games, the themed program is full of fun, adventure, exploration and education. Families connect and explore nature with family golf, wildlife education and an evening “Deer Talk” story time. Kick back, unplug and make memories. Reserve at (866) 9876442. Mention “Go Trojans” and receive 10 percent off your stay. theranchlb.com Enter Promo Code: GoTrojans CELEBRATE Terranea Traditions Terranea Resort kicks off its seventh year of Traditions with a variety of celebrations throughout the resort. From Thanksgiving through the New Year, bring family and loved ones to the coast and embrace the magical spirit of the season. Start planning your holiday stay with festive dining, Kids Club, outdoor activities, spa specials and more. terranea.com / 866.802.8000 USC_TFM_W15_Body.indd 65 11/17/15 12:39 AM Scholarships change lives. Every gift counts. giveto.usc.edu “Having a fellowship allows me to spend my time focusing on the research questions that I’m most passionate about.” Mark Torres William M. Keck Foundation Graduate Endowed Fellowship PhD in Earth Sciences, Class of 2015 TFM Winter 10.9_V2.indd 66 11/16/15 6:42 AM Class notes appear online. Read news about each graduate at tfm.usc.edu/classnotes and send your news for consideration to [email protected]. Summer Moore ’98 (LAS) wrote, produced and starred in the film The Karma of Happiness, an official selection of the California Women’s Film Festival. 2 0 0 0 s Eric Batch, MPP ’00 (SPP) was highlighted in an article by Southwestern University for his commitment to service in leadership. Jarryd Gonzales ’00 (LAS) now serves as head of communications and public relations for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Previously, he served as the media spokesperson for Verizon in California and Texas. Eric Ladin ’01 (DRA) is featured as Glenn in the HBO series The Brink. He recently played Scott Zoellner in The Power of Duff at The Geffen Playhouse. Robert Baker ’02 (DRA) was in the 10hour miniseries Texas Rising on the TV channel History, which included an all-star cast featuring Bill Paxton and Ray Liotta. Terry Carter MM ’02 (MUS) and Brandon Bernstein DMA ’09 (MUS) released BandBlast, a music education mobile app. Heather Kitching MA ’02, OTD ’10 (OST) is president-elect of the Occupational Therapy Association of California and will begin her two-year term in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABRIELLE HAYES Bear McCreary ’02 (MUS) received an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score) for Starz’s Outlander. Maribeth Annaguey JD ’03 (LAW), Ester Chang Weese JD ’02 (LAW), Amber S. Finch JD ’02 (LAW), Vanessa M. Soto Nellis JD ’03 (LAW) and Kathleen P. Wallace JD ’04 (LAW) were named to the 2015 “Southern California Rising Stars Up-andComing 50 Women” list in Super Lawyers. Jeanne Hoffa ’05 (SCJ) is the founder and CEO of Coast Public Relations Inc. Established in 2011, Coast Public Relations is tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 67 class notes family an award-winning, full-service nationwide PR agency with talent from leading global public relations firms and newsrooms. Bethany Kristovich JD ’05 (LAW) was named as a 2015 “Top 20 Under 40” lawyer in California by the Daily Journal. Cenk Temizel MS ‘05 (ENG) has worked overseas for Schlumberger and Halliburton. He received Halliburton’s Technology Innovation Award in 2012. He is a reservoir engineer at AERA (a Shell-ExxonMobil affiliate) and serves as a technical editor for the SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering journal and PetroWiki. Tayo Agboke MPA ’06 (SPP) is president of Los Angeles Young Government Leaders. He has served as a board member for the organization since 2012. Carlos Cortez PhD ’06 (EDU) was named president of San Diego Continuing Education, which serves 45,000 adult education students each semester for the San Diego Community College District. Duncan Thum ’06, GCRT ’13 (MUS) received an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding music composition for a series (original dramatic score) for the series Chef ’s Table. Tyler Sabbag ’05 (MUS), Steve Gernes GCRT ’13 (MUS), Pantawit Kiangsiri GCRT ’13 (MUS), Sean Sumwalt GCRT ’13 (MUS) and Dan Blanck ’13 (MUS) also contributed to the score. Bradley D. Olin MPA ’07 (SPP) is director of budget planning and risk management at San Jose State University. Lachlan Sands ME ’07 (EDU) was named president of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. Aaron Hake MPA ’08 (SPP), treasurer for the city of Corona, California, completed a four-year term on the Corona Planning Commission and has been lead legislative advocate for the Riverside County Transportation Commission since 2006. Matthew Lewis ’09, MS ’14 (ENG) is a lead systems engineer at Delphi Automotive’s autonomous vehicle development program. In March, one of Delphi’s vehicles completed the first coast-to-coast autonomous drive from San Francisco to New York. 2 0 1 0 s Kevin Bragg MS ’10 (ENG) was admitted to the United States Air Force Test Pilot School as a civilian and completed his MS in flight test engineering in 2013. He will pursue a master’s degree in astronautical engineering at USC Viterbi in 2016. Gabrielle (La Porte) Hayes ’10 (ENG) has worked at J.L. Patterson & Associates designing railroads for freight trains and local passenger rail lines for five years. She is now a project engineer for California High Speed Rail, which will connect Los Angeles to San Francisco in two-and-ahalf hours. In 2014, she married Garrett Hayes ’10 (LAS). Lewis Powell PhD ’11 (LAS) was selected as lead editor of the American Philosophical Association blog. He is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University at Buffalo—The State University of New York. Shaheed Sabrin ’11 (DRA) was selected by the U.S. Department of State for the prestigious English Language Fellow Program, an opportunity for highly qualified TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) professionals. Yolie Anguiano MPA ’12 (SPP) was appointed to the position of North Valley Area planning commissioner by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Nick Brown ’12 (LAS) was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English at EAN University in Colombia. He is currently a Teach for America member in Mississippi. Margarita Denenburg DMA ’12 (MUS) was featured on the cover of Clavier Companion, which published her article “Using Video Recording to Improve Your Teaching.” usc trojan family 67 11/25/15 4:48 AM Keep the Trojan Family Close at Hand With the USC Alumni Association’s USC Fight Online app for the iPhone® and iPad®, degreed USC alumni can: n -PDBUF
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to Android® ALUMNI.USC.EDU | [email protected] | TEL: 213 740 2300 USC_TFM_W15_Body.indd 68 A LU M N I P R O F I L E The Art of Life PHOTO BY CHESTER HIGGINS JR./THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX A sculptor’s five-decade journey to create meaningful, dynamic work has earned world acclaim. After graduating high school in Houston, Melvin Edwards ’65 headed to Los Angeles with two simple objectives: study art and play college football. Art and football might be an unusual combination for aspiring college students—especially in the 1950s—but Edwards’ prolific career has proved that being typical was never his life’s goal. After two years at Los Angeles City College, Edwards tried out as a walk-on for the USC football team at the urging of his community college football teammate Don Buford. Edwards knew about USC’s football reputation. Back at his segregated Texas high school, he had heard of Brice Taylor, who in 1925 was the university’s first AfricanAmerican player to be named an All-American. tfm.usc.edu M E LV I N E D WA R D S Edwards made the team and the following semester was awarded an athletic scholarship. Edwards enjoyed playing football, but he made time for his other passion. “I was always an art major. I was serious about art from age 9 or 10,” Edwards says. Initially focused on painting and drawing, he was inspired by sculpture professor Hal Gebhardt and introduced to welding by George Baker, a USC graduate student. Something about the techniques spoke to him, and welding would become an important tool for his artistic expression. “I’m not a painter. I’m not an illustrator,” says Edwards when asked to describe his art. “I’m a sculptor. I don’t make stuff that’s nice and somebody wants to hang it over the couch. My work is more expressive, more dynamic and industrial. So that’s what I’ve been interested in, and within that, history”—in particular the complex histories of ’6 5 African-American and African experiences. Edwards left USC in 1960 (he received his fine arts degree five years later, after completing his final graduation requirements with night classes) and had his first solo exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1965. The Whitney Museum of American Art followed a few years later, making him the first African-American sculptor with a solo exhibition at the prestigious museum. He has earned tremendous public acclaim and exhibited at nearly every major art event around the world, in nations from Brazil to Zimbabwe. A professor of sculpture at Rutgers University in New Jersey from 1972 until he retired from teaching in 2002, Edwards continues to create works, even as he’s dealt with personal heartache after the unexpected death in 2012 of his wife and creative partner, the poet Jayne Cortez. Earlier this year, he had a retrospective, “Melvin Edwards: Five Decades,” at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas (his exhibit catalogue sold out—a first for the Nasher) and his pieces were showcased during this year’s Venice Biennale. Every once in a while, young aspiring artists ask him for advice about pursuing a career in art. He strives to be honest about the sacrifices that go along with a creative life, noting that he never planned out his next career move. “I just started making art, had babies and worked.” For Edwards, the work itself was his driving force: “There are no careers. There never was one. It’s art.’” WILMA J.E. RANDLE usc trojan family 69 11/26/15 6:39 AM family class notes Steven J. Spielberg MBA ’98 (BUS) and Orly Aviv. Michael Richman ’05 (SCJ) and Devra Rottman MSW ’10 (SSW). Amy Klein ’11 (ENG) and Caleb Crain. VOX Kait Dunton DMA ’13 (MUS) and her band trioKAIT, which includes Jake Reed MM ’10, DMA ’13 (MUS), were featured in JazzTimes for their third album, TrioKAIT. Kate Williams Grabau MFA ’13 (DRA) recently completed an eight-month national tour of Camelot, playing Lady Anne. Perla Hernandez Trumkul MPA ’13 (SPP) was promoted to district director for U.S. Rep. Grace F. Napolitano. She was elected council member for the Southern California Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration for 2014–2015. William Cravy ’14 (MUS) was awarded second place in the 2015 Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Competition. Marielle Stair MSW ’15 (SSW) leads the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program in Atlanta, an employment-focused program that provides referral resources for veterans and their families facing homelessness. M A R R I A G E S Kenneth Post ’75 (ENG) and Karen Schoeman. 70 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 70 Mark Snow ’95, PhD ’00 (LAS) and Orady Souksamlane ’94 (LAS), twins, a daughter and son, Kaitlyn Allison and Brayden Connor. Bryan Weaver ’01 (LAS) and Jennifer Shoucair Weaver ’03 (BUS), a son, Oliver Weston Weaver. He joins sister Willa Scott. Steven Lucero ’06 (ENG) and Danielle Lucero MS ’08 (ENG), a daughter, Olivia Leigh. She joins sister Eva Lynn. I N M E M O R I A M A L U M N I Ruth Byers Rada ’44, MS ’45 (LAS) of Los Angeles; June 1 at the age of 91. Edward Vierheilig ’49 (BUS) of Century City, California; May 19 at the age of 90. Gordon Thompson Jr. ’51 (BUS) of San Diego; July 5 at the age of 85. Jasper Hawkins ’55 (ARC) of Phoenix;  Sept. 4, at the age of 82. Frank Gifford, 84 Celebrated football player and broadaster Frank Gifford ’56 (BUS) of Greenwich, Connecticut, died Aug. 9. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the New York Giants in 1952 out of USC and played both halfback and flanker during his 12-year football career. In 1956, he was league MVP and led the Giants to the NFL championship. After his playing career ended, he became a sports commentator for CBS. He then became co-host of the popular Monday Night Football from 1971 to 1985, working with Howard Cosell and Al Michaels. The low-key, likable athlete became a reliable and instantly recognizable presence for millions of Americans. The son of an oilfield driller who was constantly looking for work, Gifford moved 47 times before starting high school in Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield High School was where his football ascent began—even though he was cut from the lightweight football team as a scrawny 5-foot-2 freshman. But he grew the summer before his junior season and made the varsity team. At USC, he played on offense as a running-passing tailback and on defense as a safety. He also caught passes, punted, kicked field goals and extra points, and returned punts and kickoffs. He was an All-American as a senior at USC in 1951 before going to the NFL. He is survived by his wife, Kathie Lee Gifford, three sons and two daughters. Saul S. Kreshek ’57 (BUS), LLB ’60 (LAW) of Los Angeles; Sept. 1, at the age of 79. David B. Finkel ’59 LLB (LAW) of Santa Monica, California; July 4 at the age of 83. Marcus O. Tucker Jr., 80 Marcus O. Tucker Jr. ’60 (LAS), the first African-American to serve as presiding judge of Long Beach Municipal Court, died Aug. 8 in Long Beach, California. Tucker was an early advocate of restorative justice for teenage offenders. Admitted to the State Bar in 1962, he was in private practice in Santa Monica before becoming a deputy city attorney VOX PHOTO COURTESY OF VOX; GIFFORD PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES B I R T H S David Castillo MM ’13 (MUS), Arnold Geis MM ’14 (MUS) and Kevin Blickfeldt DMA ’15 (MUS), members of pop-opera group VOX, advanced from the audition round on NBC’s America’s Got Talent before being eliminated on the Aug. 4 episode. Castillo will make his European debut in Paris next year, performing Winterreise. Geis is an active session singer, having performed most recently in Bridge of Spies and Goosebumps. Blickfeldt is on the faculty of the 88 Keys Music Academy. winter 2015 11/26/15 3:58 AM Obituaries of members of the Trojan Family appear online at tfm.usc.edu/ memoriam. there from 1963 to 1965, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California from 1965 to 1967, and a criminal defense lawyer with his own practice in Santa Monica from 1967 until 1974, when he was appointed a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner. He advocated for teen courts with peer juries, initiated low-cost drug testing that parents could use under the court’s watch, and helped establish a playground facility for children awaiting court action. Tucker graduated from Howard University School of Law and later earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Chapman University. In 1976, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Tucker to the Long Beach Municipal Court. He was elevated to Superior Court judge in 1985. He is preceded in death by his wife, Indira Hale Tucker. He is survived by his daughter, Angelique Chamberlain. and earned 10 Oscar nominations for his composition work on films such as Field of Dreams, Apollo 13 and Braveheart. His soundtracks also include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Cocoon, The Rocketeer, Patriot Games, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Jumanji, Troy and The Amazing Spider-Man. A pianist since age 5, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, USC and UCLA. He is survived by his wife, Sara, and two daughters. Janis Ballin MSW ’78 (SSW) of Valley Village, California; Aug. 8 at the age of 78. HORNER PHOTO COURTESY OF USC THORNTON; LEVENTHAL PHOTO COURTESY OF LEVENTHAL FAMILY James Horner, 61 James Horner ’74 (MUS) of Calabasas, California, a prolific composer of Hollywood film soundtracks, died June 22. He was widely celebrated for his work on Titanic, for which he won Academy Awards for original dramatic score and original song (“My Heart Will Go On,” performed by Celine Dion). He and director James Cameron enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration, which began with Aliens in 1986 and continued through the planned sequels to Avatar in 2009. Over an extraordinary career, he was awarded six Grammy Awards tfm.usc.edu USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 71 Yoshimasa Makino ’98 (SPP), MD ’02 (MED) of Los Angeles; Dec.12, 2014, at the age of 38. L E G E N D LAS ACC ARC BUS SCA SCJ Michael Rudolf Vogel ’63, MM ’66 (MUS) of Prescott, Arizona; Oct. 21, 2014 at the age of 75. Kléber Tatinge do Nascimento MS ’65, DPA ’66 (SPP) of Manaus, Brazil; Dec. 18, 2014, at the age of 77. couple’s two sons were born. The venture grew into a major firm specializing in real estate and complex reorganizations. When it merged with Ernst & Young in 1995, Kenneth Leventhal & Co. was the ninthlargest CPA firm in the United States. Preceded in death by her husband, she is survived by her son Ross ’76 (BUS), daughter-in-law Mary Jo and granddaughter Emma, and her son Robert. Elaine Leventhal, 97 USC supporter Elaine Leventhal MLA ’15 died Aug. 15. A lover of languages and history, she devoted herself to her family and several philanthropic causes, including USC. In 1995, she and her husband, Kenneth, bequeathed $15 million to the USC School of Accounting. At the time, it was the largest gift ever made to a university accounting program. The school was renamed in their honor the following year. The couple augmented that original gift with an additional $10 million pledge in 2002, extending their support to the John R. Hubbard Chair in History at USC Dornsife, as well as USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC Davis, USC Athletics and USC Eye Institute. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the university for her many contributions. The Leventhals were entrepreneurs who built their business, Kenneth Leventhal & Co., from a spare bedroom in their rented Los Angeles apartment just days after their wedding. She helped build the business during its first 10 years, working in the office and doing tax returns, until the DNC DEN DRA EDU ENG ART GRN LAW LIB MED MUS OST PHM BPT SPP SSW USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences USC Leventhal School of Accounting USC School of Architecture USC Marshall School of Business USC School of Cinematic Arts USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism USC Kaufman School of Dance Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC USC School of Dramatic Arts USC Rossier School of Education USC Viterbi School of Engineering USC Roski School of Art and Design USC Davis School of Gerontology USC Gould School of Law USC Libraries Keck School of Medicine of USC USC Thornton School of Music USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy USC School of Pharmacy Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy USC Price School of Public Policy USC School of Social Work Matt DeGrushe, James Feigert, Harmony Frederick, Wendy Gragg, Deanne Grimes, Elizabeth Hedrick, Maya Meinert, Mike McNulty, James Morse, Erin Nogle, Jane Ong, Kristi Patton, Kathleen Rayburn, and Stacey Wang Rizzo contributed to this section. usc trojan family 71 11/25/15 4:55 AM Send your own memories about USC to [email protected]. Include your name, degree, class year and a way for us to contact you. Committed to Memory Take a trip through time on campus. Hints of USC future are in plain sight across the University Park Campus. USC Village’s walls are rising north of Jefferson Boulevard. A new roof now caps the tower of Fertitta Hall at the corner of Exposition and Figueroa. Passersby can even peek through the windows at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center—at least from a distance. Cranes twist and turn in the sky, and nothing seems more Trojan than that these days. Come back to USC and you’ll see signs of progress. Lots of you do that every year when you visit the University Park or Health Sciences campuses for classes, games, reunions, shows or time with your sons and daughters. You might say that USC has been a university under construction since Sept. 4, 1880. That’s when nearly a tenth of the population of the town of Los Angeles gathered to see the cornerstone placed for USC’s first building, now known as the Widney Alumni House. From that first seed, USC never stopped growing. Sometimes expansion means more than building up and out. It can also require moving pieces around. And that brings us back to the Widney Alumni House. Did you know that the building has changed locations four times throughout the university’s history? It was first built on a site north of Bovard Auditorium, where Founders Park currently sits. In 1907, the house was moved to where you can find the Physical Education Building today. Some 48 years later it was relocated across from Doheny Memorial Library. The peregrinating structure underwent design changes (and housed the USC Thornton School of Music for decades), but was restored in 1977. It settled into its current home on Childs Way in 1997. Do you have a favorite building that 72 usc trojan family USC_TFM_W15_Body_R1_11.23.15.indd 72 was an unforgettable part of your time at USC? Which space feels timeless and special to you? Are there any USC places that you remember fondly but are no longer with us? Send us your memories of them and we might include some of your recollections in a future issue. In our Autumn 2015 issue, we asked you about unexpected places where you’ve bumped into other Trojans. It’s no surprise that the Trojan Family extends worldwide —or maybe even universe-wide (we’ve had at least nine alumni astronauts who have gone into space, including Neil Armstrong MS ’70 and Jim Lovell ’61.) While we didn’t hear about any chance meetings in orbit this time, Trojans did share stories from just about everywhere else. There’s the story about running into The building now called the Widney Alumni House is the oldest college structure in Southern California. several members of the Class of 1981 while trekking to Machu Picchu. And there’s one about bumping into the former dean of the USC Gould School of Law in a hotel elevator in India. But one of our favorites had a cross-town twist: Since retiring, my wife and I have traveled extensively. I usually wear my USC Alumni baseball cap, which has gotten us “Fight On!” and “Go, Trojans!” throughout the U.S. and in cities such as Cartagena, Rome and Barcelona. In Istanbul, however, we were walking on a busy street when I heard someone behind me yell, “Go, Bruins!” I snapped my head around and saw three Turkish bus drivers in their distinctly powder-blue jackets. One pointed at me and said with a smile, “I gotcha. I knew I’d getcha.” He did. E D W I N C O H EN P H D ’71 (SCJ) PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES family places 11/25/15 4:55 AM THE KECK EFFECT: MORE ACCESS TO EXPERTS Better care, closer to you Whether you have a simple or complex medical issue, the physicians of Keck Medicine of USC are nearby. With locations throughout Southern California, you have access to primary care physicians and a wide variety of specialists who will put your mind at ease. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Keck Effect â&#x20AC;&#x201D; exceptional care close to you. Call to schedule an appointment or visit a location near you. KeckMedicine.org (800) USC-CARE #FWFSMZ
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1BTBEFOB Visit KeckMedicine.org/Locations to see a list of additional locations throughout Southern California. Š 2015 Keck Medicine of USC USC_TFM_W15_Covers.indd 3 USC Trojan Family Magazine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 N ON -PROFIT ORGAN IZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID UN IVERSIT Y OF Change Service Requested SOUTHERN CALIFORN IA RISE TO THE TOP BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO SEE THE VIEW ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY [email protected] | 213.894.9000 At 1,000 feet above the city, OUE Skyspace LA is California’s tallest open-air observation deck and the premier destination for panoramic, 360-degree views. Celebrate the culture and community of Los Angeles at the city’s preeminent attraction on the 69th and 70th floors of the iconic U.S. Bank Tower. www.skyspace-la.com |

Gumby

What is the name for the helical grooves in the barrel of a gun designed to impart spin on the projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy?

News You Can Bruise for 2002 News You Can Bruise for 2002 Y> Tue Jan 01 2002 11:13 : Happy new year, folks. I saw a lot of fireworks last night; much better than on Independence Day . Watched a little bit of TV last night; on the news there was a cop who was bitter because his day off was cancelled due to extra terrorism-prevention security in San Francisco. He alternated between talking to the interviewer and talking to a percieved miscreant on the other side of the television set. At one point he said (paraphrased): "If you're one of those people whose idea of fun is to commit crimes, then you should go to Carmel, because if you come here, we're gonna put you in jail." What does he have against Carmel ? We may never know. Tue Jan 01 2002 12:14 : 2001 Not in Review (280K) Wed Jan 02 2002 07:47 : Good morning. I'm off to work soon, after the longest vacation by far since I graduated from college. It was very refreshing. For some reason I haven't mentioned yet that I got a banjo for Christmas! It's an antique, and my mother bought it and my uncle Jon refurbished it. My current banjo repertoire is "Oh, Susanna" and the intro to "Michigan Militia" by Moxy Fruvous. Wed Jan 02 2002 12:52 : Also among my Christmas presents was an all-in-one paperback copy of The Lord of the Rings. I remember thinking this was a great innovation when they first started appearing, but my mother (whose mighty 1965 hardback set was the one I'd used on my previous trips through the trilogy) said that the covers would curl like crazy. How right she was; it's worse in that respect than Cryptonomicon, and I'm going through it a lot faster than I did Cryptonomicon. Anyway, I'm about halfway through and enjoying it a lot more than last time; the movie made clear a lot of previously fuzzy scenes (like all of book III). I mantain some irrational fear that people will see me reading my movie-branded copy and take me for one whose interest in the books stems entirely from seeing the movie. I don't know why I care what these putative people think, especially since such people would probably not care that this is my fourth time through the trilogy. Wed Jan 02 2002 15:42 : A while ago I realized that a lot of people (myself included) say "sorting" to describe what is actually hashing, eg. "I'm sorting these books into four piles on some criteria". This should annoy me, but I don't think it does. Wed Jan 02 2002 19:44 : Cool, the Second Great Interactive Fiction Excerpt Hunt has an excerpt from Degeneracy on its list. Yes, I read the entire list looking for quotes from my games. Wed Jan 02 2002 22:19 : Today was Crummy Cleanup day. I totally revamped my personal start page, which was about two years old and not nearly as useful as it is now that I've revamped it. I also posted a quaintly pre-terrorist-attack article I wrote in early September called Behind the Firewall , which contains reaction to and discussion of the contemperaneous closing of the Helm source code. And who knows what the morrow will bring? Unrelatedly, there's a very funny television ad for something, in which a guy types in a password, and his password -- displayed plaintext, mind you -- is "value". Preposition-buzzword form and horrible security in the same action! Not since Clinton used the name of his dog as his password has such a bad password been broadcast on television. How did that work, by the way? He used a digital signature to sign a law which gave digital signatures the force of real signatures. It was like Marbury v. Madison all over again! Wed Jan 02 2002 22:26 : Sumana demands to know the relevance of Marbury v. Madison to my previous entry. Marbury v. Madison was the case which employed judicial review to establish the principle of judicial review. To understand recursion, you must first understand recursion, or so the joke goes; but for someone (me) on the outside looking in, sometimes it seems that that is no joke. The idea of invoking a procedure to justify itself (whether inferring from the law the power to infer from the law, or using a new technique to sign the law that enables that technique for things like signing laws) seems illegitimate to a technical person such as myself. Wed Jan 02 2002 22:37 : A bit more cleanup before I hit the stain: pictures from the Dmitry Freedom Party on December 19. Seth, what is the name of the lawyer speaking forth in picture 6? Kim? I don't remember. Update: Her name is Robin. Thanks, Seth! Thu Jan 03 2002 20:57 : Here is a recipe for the dish which made up the majority of my diet for my last two years of college: Super-Carbohydrate Trader Joe's Monopoly Pasta Ingredients: 1 bag Trader Joe's Amber Durum Wheat Cavatappi or Zini pasta (nb. apparently no longer sold) 1/4 bag Trader Joe's "Il Trio" shredded cheese 6 slices Trader Joe's Cracked Wheat Sourdough 1.5 Trader Joe's Roma tomatoes 1 tbsp Trader Joe's olive oil Trader Joe's basil (optional) Boil water. Put pasta in water and cook. While cooking, dice tomatoes. Drain pasta and shake up with olive oil and tomatoes. As needed, put cheese on top and heat in microwave to melt cheese; also toast bread. Shake basil on top (optionally). Alternate between eating pasta on bread and eating pasta not on bread. Serves one, for about two days. Another popular recipe 'round my place: Very Cheap Three-Bean-And-One-Grain Salad 1/4 cup olive oil Dill to taste Drain all canned items and put into big bowl. Use blender to blend vinegar and olive oil into makeshift vinaigrette. Pour makeshift vinaigrette onto hill of beans. Add dill and shake well. Serves one, for about a day and a half. Thu Jan 03 2002 22:41 : Wow, what a deal! Crummy Cleanup day continues with cleanup of the pix directory. Many sets of pictures from 2000 and 2001, previously accessible only through hacking URLs or accessing NYCB archives, are now linked properly with descriptions. I also put up a few more pictures, such as this one of me finishing my coursework at UCLA . I've got more pictures to put up, so stay tuned, if you like that sort of thing. Thu Jan 03 2002 23:07 : I'm having a gay old time, in the strict Flintstonian sense, with my new startpage. I'm rearranging and adding things like mad. It's the most computer-related fun I've had in a while. Fri Jan 04 2002 09:05 : Ambiguity Watch: Authorities may increase the reward money to $2 million for the person who mailed anthrax to various government and media outlets. Fri Jan 04 2002 11:55 : Yesterday I went to Dr. Warren, the oral surgeon, for my appointment appointment. I watched a video on the horrible things that might happen as a side effect of wisdom tooth removal (fortunately none of them seem appropriate since my wisdom teeth do not border on the various nerves that could be damaged). I filled out consent forms and made my actual surgery appointment for February 1. Dr. Warren had a decidedly Bill Nye aspect to him, and referred to me as "pal", "pardner", and "kiddo". Speaking from experience, Dr. Warren imparted this bit of medical wisdom: "Never operate on your mother-in-law." I got a Valium to take an hour before my operation as a sort of warmup to the actual anaesthetic. One of my wisdom teeth will be more difficult to remove than the other, so I'm being charged $25 more for it. The room in which I sat and watched the video has a nice view overlooking a tree with birds in it, and the street, which is in a non-aggravating part of San Francisco. Sat Jan 05 2002 12:55 : OK, the official NewsBruiser 1.0 release is out ! Enjoy it. I know I will. Oh, I just noticed this on the weblogs.com site: Welcome to the meeting place for blogging excellence on the Internet. Any weblog can participate. That's a strange definition of 'excellence'. Sat Jan 05 2002 22:36 : When the sun sets, Crummy Cleanup Day becomes Leonard's Hard Drive Cleanup Night, and as I clean I'm finding all sorts of interesting old stuff. For instance, I found (at long last) the original Nerth Pork robotfindskitten submission. I also found the sample transcript which was the first manifestation of Guess the Verb!. GTV trivia: the original verbs on the wheel were DEFOLIATE, EQUIP, PARTITION, FORGET ABOUT, REFUND, MISALIGN, and UNDO. Sat Jan 05 2002 22:49 : More archive stuff, from a story fragment I wrote instead of working on my Wittgenstein paper back in 2000: [G.E.] Moore was also a great traveller. In his visits to foreign lands he was often mistaken for someone from the moon. He never understood why this kept happening to him. (Little did he know that he was taking part in thought experiments created by the German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.) Sun Jan 06 2002 11:56 : Nethack quiz: when would you get the following message? You hear a clank. Sun Jan 06 2002 20:01 : Sumana says: You would hear "you hear a clank" when you have inadvertently stepped into a game of Girl Genius. Mon Jan 07 2002 14:54 : At long last, I finally have an interactive fiction idea that I actually know what to do with, and that I care enough about to actually write the corresponding game. Expect the game in six to eight months. Mon Jan 07 2002 21:54 : I am having the most amazing Nethack game ever. I found a wand of wishing with two charges in a shop, and with it got a silver dragon scale mail which I used in conjunction with a ring of polymorph to rob other shops (including a ring shop). Now I'm diluting useless potions and so far I've unleashed 3 (!) water demons in quick succession, all of which have been greatful and given me wishes. My chances of that happening are less than one in ten million. Ah, I just unleased an unfriendly water demon, which probably ends my stream of luck. Tue Jan 08 2002 15:25 : Susan Kelley mocks CNN space reporting thusly: "Scienticians Take Picture of Shiny Thing" Thu Jan 10 2002 11:14 : QoS: The Banner Ad Thu Jan 10 2002 12:13 : A while back I watched Lagaan with Sumana and she said "This movie has everything Indians like in a movie. Song and dance numbers, hating the British and loving them at the same time, and cricket." There's an hour of cricket in that movie, preceded by an hour of cricket practice! Fri Jan 11 2002 18:15 : My trips to the densist are hardly worth mentioning anymore. Boring boring boring (which is really the best that a trip to the dentist can be). I have two more trips to fill cavities, with the horrible wisdom tooth extraction occuring between. Then my mouth will be all patched up and ready for the braces. Sat Jan 12 2002 08:12 : Wait a minute! Captain Planet and the Planeteers was supposed to have one Planeteer from every continent, but they didn't have anyone from Australia! They should have treated Europe and Asia as the same continent, and added an Australian aborigine. I don't know what they should have done about Antarctica. Sat Jan 12 2002 10:25 : I finished Lord of the Rings last night. I think I finally understand all of what happens; why Aragorn made that stupid march to the Morannon and so on. Interestingly enough, Nethack orcs think lembas wafers are delicious. Most likely this is the result of an oversight. Tue Jan 15 2002 11:19 : The CollabNet Apps-Dev slogan was ratified today: !! >> IZ [Aka " Put it in Issuezilla ".] Not all is well, however; I discovered last night that what I thought to be a complete dump of the Segfault database is actually only a dump of the story metainformation and the (pre-shutdown-of-comment-system) comments. I don't currently have copies of any of the Segfault stories. So much for me being complacent about VA dragging its heels on letting me into the old Segfault box. I can rewrite the code if I have to but there's no way I can recover all those stories without access to the box. Tue Jan 15 2002 19:43 : Scott suggested using the Wayback Machine to retrieve Segfault stories; he also mentioned that he's been lobbying VA about once a week to Free The Segfault N, as it were. Sumana suggested using the Wayback Machine's cache of searches by author to get particular stories (such as my own). There's no way I'm going to get an appreciable number of stories from the Wayback Machine, though; it's just too slow and there are too many stories. Though I could make it a cooperative venture and put up a site with one-month slices of Segfault's history still to be recovered, if people are interested. Also from Sumana, the second entry in the Virtue Is Its Own Reward bin ( the first ): "Protect a loved one and save!" Tue Jan 15 2002 21:06 : If, like me, you make the latest from political cartoonist Paul Conrad a must-read each day, you'll like my approximation of his style . Wed Jan 16 2002 17:40 : Let's talk about the online comic Penny Arcade , bay-bee. The untutored Philistine might think it merely another cartoon which coasts along on references to electronic games, but said Philistine would be wrong! (Mostly!) It coasts along on the quality of its writing, which is top-notch. This is evidenced by the fact that Penny Arcade is one of my favorite online comics, even though I care not a whit for the sorts of game discussed in the strip. (This is not a rare phenomenon, by the way; I religiously read Slate's Tuesday Morning Quarterback even though I hate football and will attempt to weasel my way out of any conversation involving it.) I bring this up because Monday's comic on carrot cake was especially good--not just by itself, but in conjunction with the gonzo adventure essay that accompanies it. That's the great part--you get a comic and an essay! If that's not value, I don't know what is. Fri Jan 18 2002 10:21 : I'm at Kevin's house waiting for the time to come when he takes me to the airport and I depart for Houston. I really dread going through airport security because I hate long lines. However, I have assorted books to enjoy in the interims. Fri Jan 18 2002 12:49 : Well, I'm off. In omen-of-doom news, my flight arrives in Houston at 9:11 PM local time. Sun Jan 20 2002 18:17 : Whee, I'm in San Antonio. I went to a Boy Scout court of honor at which my cousin David was made an Eagle Scout. Tomorrow I'm going back to Houston to see the Schiles. Apart from Kristin's wedding, not much has happened. Texans take their irony restaurants seriously. There is a restaurant actually called "Eat at Joes". There's also a fake '50s diner which has fake '50s graffiti on the front windows. Mon Jan 28 2002 10:55 Gee, I wish it were ten o'clock: I'm long back from Texas and Crummy is, once again, down. I've been writing NYCB entries about Texas and I figure I might as well put them here while I wait and then repost them on the main site. So stay tuned. In The Ballad of Michigan J. I have some fun naming space aliens (Zcat and Grep) after Unix utilities. It turns out I'm not the only one to do this sort of thing; witness The Saga of Argc and Argv . Mon Jan 28 2002 10:58 The undead hordes of Texas are upon you: One thing that happened to me in Texas was that my uncle Robert showed me Diablo II. Whee! It's quite fun, and I got up to level 11 without much trouble (then I went back to San Francisco; that's not where trouble abruptly started). I went away thinking there was a Linux version of Diablo II and I could continue to play it, but I couldn't find any evidence of such a beast. Oh well. I'll just have to do productive things with my time. Now, a famous article compares Diablo II to Nethack ("But what about the Amulet of Yendor?"). On the other hand, Diablo II's mechanical similarities to Angband have so far passed largely unnoticed. Until now! In Diablo II you have a base camp exactly like Angband's town (complete with black market and "your house"). The only differences: there are fewer shops (because Diablo II has no food, digging equipment, or books of magic) and no hostile monsters in the base camp. The inventory system is the same annoying slot-based thing as Angband's, though its graphical object-size nature makes it both more restrictive (though actually less annoying). You can only stack scrolls, but you have a few extra slots reserved for potions which makes it more bearable. The combination of the above two items means that in both games you spend most of your time gating to a dangerous place, killing a bunch of monsters until you've got all the good items you can carry, then gating back to town and selling your good items. Only in very rare circumstances and only for short periods of time does this ever happen in Nethack. Diablo II's randomly generated magic items are like nothing in Nethack but similar to the randomly generated artifacts in Angband. The quest and wilderness system is not like Angband proper, but Zangband has many of the same features. However, I won't push the similarities any further. In one of the bizarre twists that marks my life, Robert used to play the Palm game iRogue a lot. The author of iRogue, Bridget Spitznagel, also ported robotfindskitten to the Palm. Tue Jan 29 2002 14:39 : One thing that happened to me in Texas was that my uncle Robert showed me Diablo II. Whee! It's quite fun, and I got up to level 11 without much trouble (then I went back to San Francisco; that's not where trouble abruptly started). I went away thinking there was a Linux version of Diablo II and I could continue to play it, but I couldn't find any evidence of such a beast. Oh well. I'll just have to do productive things with my time. Now, a famous article compares Diablo II to Nethack ("But what about the Amulet of Yendor?"). On the other hand, Diablo II's mechanical similarities to Angband have so far passed largely unnoticed. Until now! In Diablo II you have a base camp exactly like Angband's town (complete with black market and "your house"). The only differences: there are fewer shops (because Diablo II has no food, digging equipment, or books of magic) and no hostile monsters in the base camp. The inventory system is the same annoying slot-based thing as Angband's, though its graphical object-size nature makes it both more restrictive (though actually less annoying). You can only stack scrolls, but you have a few extra slots reserved for potions which makes it more bearable. The combination of the above two items means that in both games you spend most of your time gating to a dangerous place, killing a bunch of monsters until you've got all the good items you can carry, then gating back to town and selling your good items. Only in very rare circumstances and only for short periods of time does this ever happen in Nethack. Diablo II's randomly generated magic items are like nothing in Nethack but similar to the randomly generated artifacts in Angband. The quest and wilderness system is not like Angband proper, but Zangband has many of the same features. However, I won't push the similarities any further. In one of the bizarre twists that marks my life, Robert used to play the Palm game iRogue a lot. The author of iRogue, Bridget Spitznagel, also ported robotfindskitten to the Palm. Tue Jan 29 2002 14:40 : I Wanted My Banner Ad To Look Like A Web Form But It Never Occured To Me To Actually Create The HTML Mockup I Want And Take A Screenshot Of It So I Ended Up Doing A Half-Assed Job Of It In Visual Basic: First In A Series. Tue Jan 29 2002 15:57 : One of the projects I engaged in over the weekend was to properly arrange and name the tracks of My Dinner with Andre Nguyen and What do you call those Pork Things? , the two crup albums hosted on this site here ( cf. ). Previously available only as unnamed blobs of unordered tracks, now shiny and recognizable. I highly recommend (just off the top of my head) Dodge Reliant , Robotfindskitten (completely unassociated with robotfindskitten ), Cap'n Ron , and Fiestaware . Note that a couple tracks from Andre Nguyen, including the fabulous "6660 Minutes", are missing. AHW is the new, much better title for the previous Crummy feature Multiple Meaning Headline Watch , which is itself a side project of Funny Headline Watch ( more ), a wholly owned subsidiary of Crummy Headline WatchCo (NYSE: HEAD) , a figment of my fevered, headline-obsessed imagination . Tue Jan 29 2002 20:03 : So, what else did I do in Texas, you ask? Well, in San Antonio I played RISK with my cousins and my uncle Robert. I did this the last time I was in San Antonio , with much the same people, though I did better this time (I died last, fighting to the bitter end with my valiant Australasian troops). It was pretty cool the way we did it; among the many games on Robert's laptop is a RISK game, so we ran it, hooked up his laptop to the huge TV in my aunt's living room, and took turns at the mouse. This was a lot of fun because it had the feel of a real situation room like you see in movies (except for the big dice on the screen). The game also moved a lot faster than it would have on the board. I can't say I think much of the game interface, though. Wed Jan 30 2002 10:31 : Let me introduce to you the one and only Snowblind (n� "Sled or Die"), which as far as I know is the only robotfindskittenlike game (to coin a phrase) to not actually be robotfindskitten. Much like the relationship between Rogue and Diablo II in that I can't actually play Snowblind (it requires some fancy-schmancy graphics card that I don't have), but the brochure looks nice. The name is intended to conjure images of hopelessly wandering through a barren, desolate wasteland full of strange objects and beings, much like the experience of trying to find useful information on OpenGL API extensions. Caution: the download is huge and the authors probably never intended anyone else to see the game. Thu Jan 31 2002 15:29 : Got the last of my cavities filled today. Tomorrow is the big one; the removal of the impacted wisdom teeth. Aiee! I'm communicating with Andy semi-regularly nowadays. It's great! Thu Jan 31 2002 20:27 : Yesterday was a bit of a red-letter day for Michael Stack and myself. That was when we flipped the switch on the search system used in SourceCast. We used to use a horrible system based on Swish-E which could only index and search HTML content. The new system is of our own design, uses Lucene , and can index and search just about anything (it uses plug-ins) and integrate the results based on user permissions. It's certainly one of the coolest pieces of software I've ever written, though I'm not sure how to quantify that. It can't be the coolest piece of software I've ever written, because it's a strict subset of the SourceCast component integration architecture, which is also very cool. It may be that it's the coolest software design I've ever come up with. I'm probably deluding myself into thinking that I could write a paper on its design and actually have something new to add to the field of computer science, but it's that sort of feeling. Fri Feb 01 2002 07:57 : Argh. I'm hungry, but I can't eat before my surgery, and I sure won't be able to eat much after my surgery. My only hope is to somehow be able to eat during the surgery. Fri Feb 01 2002 09:38 : Time to take my Valium! Fri Feb 01 2002 13:27 : Well, I'm back. I feel okay so far, though my mouth is incredibly dry and I'm not supposed to rinse til tomorrow. My mother convinced me that Valium is for neurotics and that I didn't need to take it, and she was right (about me not needing it). I wasn't apprehensive (especially since in the past two months I've already had a root canal, eight fillings, and four extractions). Sat Feb 02 2002 10:50 : For a long time I've been bothered by the fact that the election cycle in the The West Wing universe is two years out of sync with the election cycle in our universe. The only explanation Sumana and I could come up with was that there was some huge disaster or scandal that killed or caused most of an administration to resign, and a Constitutional amendment was passed to hold a new presidental election when such a thing happened. This page has a similar idea, which I could accept. Sat Feb 02 2002 15:45 : The last time I had oral surgery was in the mid-80s. I got stitches and about a week later I had to go in to have them snipped out. I've got stitches where my wisdom teeth used to be, but in this modern age these stitches will disintegrate in 5-10 days so I don't have to go in again. Now that's innovation! The other thing that's innovation is the big wicker laundry hamper shaped like a frog with its mouth wide open. Sat Feb 02 2002 20:41 : Non-Kitten Items Explained Through Quoting Someone Else Who Noticed Them: First In A Series In fact, I have proof that few people have ever heard of nautiloids at all, and therefore don't give a damn in the fulest sense. Recently, the World Weekly News, king of the shopping-mall tabloids, published unretouched photographs of a chambered nautilus labeled as a giant monster now on an earthbound path from Mars and scheduled to arrive well before the millenium. --Steven Jay Gould, Eight Little Piggies Sat Feb 02 2002 20:49 : My two best Googlewhacks so far (rot13ed so as not to add search results for them): vagreangvbanyvmngvba ubrqbja (Score: 8,438,800,000) onpxcbeg zheqref (Score: 53,118,800,000) The second one is invalid under some rules because its first word is not found at dictionary.com (it should be, though). I actually find the construction of three-word Googlewhacks more interesting than two-word ones, because they make you triangulate relative unrelatedness of words. Two-word ones are more impressive once constructed, though. Sun Feb 03 2002 07:39 : Seth originally didn't notice that I'd rot13ed my Googlewhack words, and suggests that "vagreangvbanyvmngvba" be abbreviated "v18a". Sun Feb 03 2002 16:29 : I'm pretty swollen today. Allegedly today will be my worst day, and it's not too bad. I put up a navigable file tree over at Da Da Warren Memorial Memorial (which has now been running a year longer than Da Warren ran), and restored five of the file areas. A treasure trove of old DOS stuff. Mon Feb 04 2002 12:14 : Mike Popovic has once again found gainful employement--he's the new webmaster for Tom's of Maine ! Congratulations! Gainful employment is not to be confused with lossy employment. Tue Feb 05 2002 06:28 : I'm surprised Mike Sussman can get any work done what with giant storms duking it out on Jupiter all the time. Tue Feb 05 2002 10:01 : Well, I've gone through all my antibiotics. I slept (well) last night without the ice pack, though I still need it in my waking hours. Kevin has been waiting with poised schaudenfreude for the dental procedure which causes me intense pain. Unless something goes horribly wrong during the fitting of the braces, he's not going to get what he wants. He'll have to be satisfied with the medium-term discomfort caused by the braces. Tue Feb 05 2002 15:58 : Sumana points to Jared Diamond's The Curse of QWERTY , "or, as I call it, 'Guns, Germs, and RSI'". Wed Feb 06 2002 09:18 : Another comedy night last night. It was much more enjoyable than last time, mainly because the comedians were funny, their civilizations by this time having developed the Joke technology. The headliner was a Jew from Texas, and he had a little bit on how bad his routine would be if he were confined to comedy about being a Texan Jew, which bit was strangely the best part of his act. There were two (!) other pro comedians who were also funny, and the show was MCed by Kenny Byerly, who resembles Campbell Chiang to a disturbing extent, but who is much funnier. And Sumana's open mic performance was also very funny, though it relied almost entirely on stereotype humor (this was intentional). Thu Feb 07 2002 19:43 : I have a couple souvenirs from my trip to Texas. I have a little beanbag-type penguin which my mother bought me . I have some books I bought at Half Price Books (more of which anon). I have a Nutra-Grain bar Andy's mother gave me which I still haven't eaten (not technically a souvenir). I have a garter which I caught at Kristin's wedding (it was the second garter they threw; they kept shucking garters off of Kristin's leg and throwing them into the crowd, which was pretty funny). I also have a reciept from HEB (a Texas supermarket) which I've been hanging on to solely to mention it here. Our first day in Texas we were at a hotel which offered a not very impressive continental breakfast, so we went across the corner to HEB, bought a bunch of food, and invited the aunts and cousins over to partake. I fed about 10 people for $33, which was pretty good. Reproduced below is the list of food from the receipt: QUAKR GRANOLA BR CHOC PNT DANNON LA CREME STRAWBERR HEB HEAVY WT. CUTLERY COM *B* HEB PRINTED PLATE 6 7 TROPICANA PURE PEMIUM WIT PHILLY SFT CRM CHEESE REG PHILLY SOFT CREAM CHEESE 205 BAGELS TX ONION 2953_ BABY SWISS DELICO SLICED In particular, I would like to draw your attention to this item: HEB TEXAS SHAPED CHEDDAR It was a block of cheddar cheese. It cost $1.95. It was shaped like the state of Texas. My mother decided that she had to have it, so I bought it for her. For all I know she has it still. Robert had earlier expounded his hypothesis that Texas is the only state in the union in which the citizens think of themselves primarily as citizens of their state (as opposed to American citizens or citizens of a particular city). He siezed upon the Texas cheese as evidence of this. Yup, everyone wants a piece of the Texas cheese to bolster his or her own personal argument. Not for any other reason, though--it's mild cheddar, and what fun is mild cheddar? Thu Feb 07 2002 21:44 : Another Texas-related entry. At Half Price Books in Houston, I made quite a find: a copy of an old 1983 manual for Palladium, a role-playing game I'd vaguely heard of. It cost $10, which is a lot for a Half Price Book, but it was in good condition so I bought it. Palladium has a lot of interesting features. It comes with a campaign setting which looks fun and full of variety. The alignment system is really great; it captures the way people act a lot better than the AD&D system does. The book describes about five different magic systems; they're all pretty interesting, though most of them seem not to be very powerful. The main one (generic RPG wizard/priest magic) looks really well designed, and the instructions indulge in some great bashing of the annoying AD&D magic system: Nor does the wizard forget a spell upon casting it. This is his life, spell magic and study... To forget a spell could mena his death and is a fairly ludicrous idea. This is his occupation, his livelihood, he is no longer an apprentice... To suggest that he would forget a spell is like saying a soldier might forget how to use his sword. Most of my complaints have to do with the book itself rather than the game system. The sections are organized haphazardly, as though the book were written as hypertext and then the hypertext were automatically traversed to create a book. The writing style is florid, sometimes, hilariously so, as in this masterpiece of redundancy: "Generally, dwarves and elves treat each other with an air that is so cold that it could freeze an iceberg." And the Tonight's Episode-y: "The assassin, like the mercenary fighter, is a sword for hire; their specialty: death." There's a new edition of the Palladium rulebook out, which allegedly fixes the stylistic problems; if that's so then my main complaints would be the paucity of supplied monsters and the seeming weakness of most of the magic systems. But no one's making you play a diabolist. Sun Feb 10 2002 21:13 : New song, started and in honor of around this time last year: Three Years Ahead of the Japanese Game update: I have a title, plot and (lame) cosmology for my game. I know how a couple of the puzzles will work (because I already wrote code for them). I have an interesting main character for whom I will enjoy writing interior monologue. I'm feeling some ennui about the project in general but I think it will dissipate once a few more pieces fall into place and I start writing code. Mon Feb 11 2002 08:09 : Early yesterday morning I had an incredibly stupid idea (in fairness, I had it as part of a dream, but I've also had good ideas as parts of dreams): a breakfast cereal for kids which instead of (or by dint of) coming in different shapes, was associated with different point values. You would stand some distance away from the cereal bowl, throw cereal at it, and rack up points depending on how accurate your aim was. The sad thing is, someone working for General Mills probably thought of that in 1986 and it probably made it through one or two rounds of focus groups. Mon Feb 11 2002 08:39 : Hollywood lives and dies by Internet Movie Database made me stop dead in my scan of the Red Rock Eater digest because of the headline's sheer audacity, but the article makes a decent case--for the movie industry, it's probably as useful as Google is to the population at large. Mon Feb 11 2002 09:27 : For the first time in years I'm eating one of those cup-of-noodles things, mainly for nostalgia reasons--I used to eat them frequently when I was working at MAP in college. The last step in the cooking process is "[E]njoy from cup". I always have to look back at the instructions before eating because I can't remember whether I'm supposed to enjoy it or not. Mon Feb 11 2002 10:19 : Quick! Get the mammoth picture out! Mon Feb 11 2002 10:30 : From JOHO , here's a series of thought experiments to help ferret out to which theory of personal identity one hews. Few surprises for me, as I already knew I was a psychological reductionist; I waffled a bit on the answer to #1, but either answer is compatible with PR. The thing that disturbs me is that apparently 1/3 of the test-takers have an internally inconsistent idea of personal identity. I can only hold out hope that most of those were people trying different responses to questions to see what would happen. Mon Feb 11 2002 18:32 : Wow, I haven't worked a 12-hour day in quite a while. "By the time you actually need something like that, there will be something ten times cooler available for half the price." "Oh yeah. I'll wait." Tue Feb 12 2002 18:02 : Today, in addition to (hopefully) fixing once and for all the horrible problem that caused me to work 17 hours yesterday, I (along with Michael Stack) came up with a really cool idea for a new UNIX utility which could be the next cut, nay, the next wc! Stack and I will jealously guard this idea until one of us implements it, so stay tuned. Tue Feb 12 2002 18:52 : The crisis, which I will discuss in my forthcoming tell-all book, for some reason caused the skin of my face to become flaky and red. I don't know why. Also: I also went to the dentist today for a cleaning. During the cleaning the dentist found a cavity that had previously escaped him. I have to go in on Friday and get it filled. Bah. Wed Feb 13 2002 06:53 : I woke up three times last night (the last time for good) and all three times I remember dreaming about debugging imaginary SourceCast problems. Aiee! Fortunately, and hopefully, today will not be insane as Monday and Tuesday were. "I can't believe I get to meet all these famous people!" (This is going to get old, but I love Dubya's photo op face! I'd make that same face!) * I just realized that it's not the AP photo ticker, it's Reuters. So unless "AP" is allowable as a general term for "news wire" in a way similar to kleenex or xerox, "AP Photo Roundup" is innacurate (though it sounds good). Fri Feb 15 2002 18:44 : In another triumph for NewsBruiser (not to mention COPOUT), Mike Popovic has started a new weblog called "mv * Vacationland". It's all about life in Maine. There's little so far, but more will surely be forthcoming. Sat Feb 16 2002 19:05 : There's a greasy spoon Chinese restaurant near the BART station, called "Tom's Restaurant", which I didn't try until recently, even though I love greasy spoon Chinese restaurants (this goes back to my youth; the only Chinese restaurant in Arvin was (and is) a greasy spoon called the Canton Cafe). Some chow mein, some fried rice--delicious. My only complaint is that Tom's of San Francisco likes to put water chestnuts in things, and I don't like water chestnut. They also like to use baby corn, though, which cancels it out. Sun Feb 17 2002 17:40 : I'd really like a recording of Ray Noble's version of Slumming on Park Avenue. Somehow I doubt even Napster in its heyday had that, though. Sun Feb 17 2002 19:23 : As you can see, I just added a new feature to NewsBruiser the absence of which has been bothering me for a while. It's been possible for at least 2 years to link to a particular NYCB entry, but figuring out what the link to a particular entry might look like required looking at the date on the entry or the name anchor in the HTML code. No more! There's now a nice little link icon to the left of the date of every entry, which you can click to be magically transported to a URL which will display on that entry. It shows up whenever a NewsBruiser entry is rendered, so you can use it to easily link to search results (something that's been annoying me ever since I added search functionality). I'm not cutting a release yet because 1) it's not 'productized', as we would say at work (you can't turn it off on a per-notebook basis and you can't choose what to display; it's always that little ball), and 2) it's a big pain for me to cut a NewsBruiser release, so I like to let changes add up. I'm uncertain about the ball, if only because it adds an element of graphicality to the previously austere NewsBruiser. I thought about having a linked "x" or other character, but I think the graphic looks better. I may change my mind. Sun Feb 17 2002 19:36 : I changed the ball to a link-colored triangle--I seem to remember that working well on Doc Searls' site. Sun Feb 17 2002 21:48 : Joe was sneaky and changed weblogs without telling anyone, but I hunted him down! His fatal mistake: mirroring the old site, complete with old comments, so that it showed up when I did a vanity search. And linking to me so that his site showed up in my referer logs. Sun Feb 17 2002 22:20 : In addition to the NewsBruiser changes, today I wrote a little script for Sumana that goes through (pre-downloaded) Kuro5hin diary entries and formats them more or less the way they're formatted here . I also worked a bit on my game; I've got most of the game worked out in my head but only half the intro (and, of course, that fiendish puzzle) actually written down to my satisfaction. Tue Feb 19 2002 18:06 : Yesterday I hung out with Adam and Sumana, and had fun. For some reason I acted a poor sport at our Scrabble game, even though I ended up winning. I need to think of my participation in games the way the panelists of My x! think of their participation on one panel or the other. I didn't know what a dream catcher did. Sumana told me and claimed that I should have known, since I'm part Native American. However, the dream catcher is of Lakota origin and I am not, so how could I be an expert on Lakota technology? Fallacious! Tue Feb 19 2002 21:24 : I should explain that "Fallacious!" is a Sumana bit. It takes off on the inevitable response of a lady in days gone by to unwelcome advances, which was to slap the offending man and announce "Fresh!". (I've never actually seen this happen, except possibly in old issues of Mad) If the lady is a logician (but not a tramp), she might instead say "Fallacious!" Sumana also came up with a great idea for my game. Thanks, Sumana! Wed Feb 20 2002 07:55 : Kris has a great insult on his page today: "I think it's written by Indie Rock Pete." And Airsick Moth has a bit of doggerel inspired by a particularly tasteless Paul Conrad cartoon. I should mention that Greg Knauss recently informed me that Paul Conrad is a stroke victim, so it's not really politically correct to take the sort of lime-and-salt pleasure in his cartoons that Kris/Leonard/Sumana take. Greg also passed along the following touching story: [Conrad came to] speak at my high-school, seven million years ago, when I was a freshman. After doing his spiel, he took questions, and someone asked where his ideas came from. He, of course, said everywhere -- the newspaper, conversations, even high-school kids. Did anybody in the audience have an idea? So I raised my hand, he liked it, and it was in the LA Times the next day. He framed the original and sent it to me. I thought that was pretty cool. Addendum: Ouch! Wed Feb 20 2002 10:34 : Wow, Degeneracy got an XYZZY nomination for Best Puzzles. I don't think it deserves it, though, and I say that without having played any of the other games. As I argue in my postmortem , the actual puzzles are either based on vague ideas or are standard adventure game puzzles that trick you by looking like completely different standard adventure game puzzles (a good idea, but probably not the best one of the year). Of course, the real puzzle is just figuring out what is going on, so maybe that's what they meant. Wed Feb 20 2002 14:42 : Jason said: "Do you think if a cop stopped one of those lunch trucks for speeding, he'd buy something from it?" Wed Feb 20 2002 17:39 : I need a haircut. You know who else needs a haircut? Glenn Reynolds! Thu Feb 21 2002 10:34 : Argh. Service industry disaster. My pizza cost $20. I gave the delivery person $25: $20 plus a $5 tip. He gave me $5 back in ones. I foolishly assumed that meant he was relenquishing his tip. Only later did I realize that he'd given me $5 back because he thought I wanted change for the five so that I could return to him some, but not all, of the money I'd given him and he'd just given back to me. Now he thinks I'm a jerk who doesn't tip. Next time I will use some non-changable amount like $24. Thu Feb 21 2002 10:36 : Every news article should have two parts: the news article proper, and an explanation of how this helps us find other solar systems . Fri Feb 22 2002 20:29 : While upstairs making pasta, I noticed on the dishwasher a little red lantern of the sort you might find at the beginning of a really cheap text adventure. Hopefully my life has not become a really cheap text adventure, so I will simply note that according to the text on the lantern container, the lantern is of "Excellente Quality". I think that "Excellente" is to "Excellent" as "Presidente" is to "President". Fri Feb 22 2002 20:37 : Hey hey! I moved NewsBruiser development over to tigris.org ! Now it's got a CVS repository! Now it won't be a pain in the butt to do new versions! (and I won't need to do new versions as often because people can just get it from CVS). This is a new feeling; I've had the feeling of using SourceCast on itself for over a year, but this is the first time I've used it on anything else. Fri Feb 22 2002 20:39 : Chris saw the syringe I'm using to irrigate the gaping holes in my mouth where my wisdom teeth used to be, and said "There's probably a story behind that." There is, but it's not very interesting. Fri Feb 22 2002 20:47 : Looks like Jason's been doing some moonlighting. Sat Feb 23 2002 11:49 : The system date on this machine was set to 2036 briefly today, so the Today in History links showed what happened 35-38 years ago. Not only is this funny, but it demonstrates that the TiH actually works along very long periods of time (though not across long periods of time in which there was an entry on a particular day for every year--I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to get more than 10 entries, but I haven't tested that yet). Unfortunately, I can't change the little message up there until I can actually ssh in again, which won't be for a while because I'm farms? in Berkeley? and my ssh key is in San Francisco. Mon Feb 25 2002 07:20 : I got a lot of tech company swag when I was in college. Earlier today I was wondering how many of those companies are still around. This came up in my mind because I'm wearing a shirt I haven't worn in quite a while which turns out to be a double whammy. The main advertisement on the shirt is the very cool logo for magicbeanstalk , the defunct meta-startup. But the shirt itself was made by the equally defunct snacki , whose site makes its graceful exit with a Marx Brothers reference. The other thing that got me thinking about this is my realisation that for years I've been using this stuff, when all along I should have been saving it in airtight containers for later sale on eBay. Sure, right now it's just Enron swag that gets the big bucks, but how much would my eToys pen be worth in ten years if I hadn't been all along using, compulsively dis- and re-assembling, and losing it? This is the realization an earlier generation had about its Star Wars action figures. Mon Feb 25 2002 07:34 : It's the old moon switcheroo! Also, wouldn't it be faster and cheaper (and better, for that matter) to just bring some hydrobots along, just in case? Mon Feb 25 2002 18:32 : I heard from Mark Fasheh again a couple days ago. He recently revamped his website, which now has many sets of enjoyable photographs in addition to a newly often-updated weblog. I enjoy the photographs, anyway, but I know and haven't seen for a while a lot of the people in them. Mon Feb 25 2002 20:51 : Leonard Nitpicks The Pop Songs: Second In A Series Tell me, did you sail across the sun Did you make it to the Milky Way? You're already in the Milky Way! Tue Feb 26 2002 06:46 : Here are reviews of various Inform utility libraries from Emily Short, who has written many very good games and who had nice things to say about Degeneracy. Tue Feb 26 2002 07:05 : This weekend I'm driving down to Bakersfield for yet another relative wedding. This time it's my uncle Garry. I never mentioned that the last time I was in Bakersfield (for Christmas) I took Sumana on a tour of Arvin, where I grew up, and also showed her the house way out in the grape fields where I used to live. That house is apparently now owned by one of Rachel's elementary school teachers. Rachel sent her immediate family an email detailing her current set of plans. As she says, "i seem to have a habit of throwing one complicated life plan out the window every other week in exchange for another, slightly more complicated". She still refuses to have a weblog, but one of the classes she's taking is Bio 30, Human Sexual Behavior, known to the student body as "Dirty 30". Fourthly in the list of items pertaining in some way to my family, my mother sent me a link to The Sugar Beet , a very funny Mormon satirical newspaper which achieves the ultimate Onion-alike goal of never making you want to click on a link to get more of a particular story. Tue Feb 26 2002 08:51 : Sumana gave me a set of hooks that screw into the wall and on which you hang things. I set this up in my room and it works much better than hanging all my shirts on a board outside the bathroom, which is what I had been doing. However, when I'm in bed and it's dark and I'm looking at the mass of overlapping shirts, it resembles a large leathery creature affixed to the wall, like a larger version of the unconvincing flying creatures from the original Star Trek series, or a new AD&D monster: the lurker to the side. Tue Feb 26 2002 11:14 : Sumana says that there should be a rap group called "Run DMCA". I'm the king of rock, there is none higher Sucka MCs should call me sire But should not circumvent my copy control mechanism Lest they face up to a $500,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment for a first offense, and up to a $1,000,000 fine or up to ten years imprisonment for subsequent offenses Tue Feb 26 2002 16:45 : On the 25th I undergo the first of two orthodontist appointments dedicated to getting braces on my teeth. The second one will be on the 28th. The braces will stay on for about two years. Once they come off, my teeth will presumably be straight instead of the jumble they are currently. The braces cost about $5500 and they're not covered by my insurance; bleah, but doable, especially on a payment plan. I'm pretty nervous about getting braces, especially this late in life, but two years is not that long a time, and my bad teeth have really started to bother me; it's not uncommon for me to cut my lip while chewing food, for instance. Tue Feb 26 2002 21:22 : Today I accomplished any number of useful real-world things in addition to setting up my braces appointment. One of those things was to order a new debit card because my current one has been partially demagnetized. While doing so I got the address on my debit card fixed so that I could buy stuff online. Having done this, I followed Luther's injunction to "sin boldly" and bought a bunch of stuff from amazon.com (which I really like in all respects other than their patent evilness; the site is more like a Google for physical objects than anything else i've ever seen). I bought a bunch of books, a CD of Morton Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, which has haunted me ever since I heard it on KUSC back in the 1900s, and the Diablo II Battle Chest ("Buying proprietary software on amazon.com!" gasped a shocked Sumana), which I purchased because I'm still obsessed with Diablo II even though I don't really have any way to play it once I get it--my current thinking is that the Windows laptop upstairs that Leonard uses might be fast enough to run it. I'm quite excited about this. I can click on links and cause foolish people to send me packages containing objects! Of course, there is the exchange of money involved, but what good is money if you never spend it? That was a rhetorical question. <leonardr> wait, i know what you could do <leonardr> use a strongly typed language! Wed Feb 27 2002 11:32 : CRAP. All the Segfault code and stories are probably gone. The hardware was recommissioned. The only hope is that it was archived by someone at VA before that happened. More as the story unfolds. Update: Chris DiBona is going to find out tomorrow. Wed Feb 27 2002 11:37 : Wow; an incredible story (NYT, so requires registration, but cpunks/cpunks still works) about the Iranian satellite television station broadcasting from LA; I'd known about this for quite a while but it had always been at the periphery of my consciousness, and now that I read about it it's great. Get those people some funding! Wed Feb 27 2002 17:10 : I'm back up to 13 issues. But I did achieve 9 earlier, so I'm not as uptight about it as I was yesterday. Wed Feb 27 2002 18:08 : Good thing I spent all that money while I felt like I had it; turns out I owe my dentist and Uncle Sam a cool grand each. Thu Feb 28 2002 12:47 : Yesterday Sumana came over and I made a dish for dinner which I like to call "The Axis of Pasta". You heat up frozen green-beans-with-garlic-sauce and you cook pasta and you dump the former over the latter. Sumana and I agreed that it needs a third ingredient, but we couldn't figure out what. I think bacon would work very well, but I'd like the Axis to be vegetarian. Fri Mar 01 2002 07:01 : Geez, what is it with Hitler? It's not even V-E day or anything. Actually, Diesel Sweeties sort of explains it. As usual, Kris was ahead of his time (about four days ahead of his time, but still). Incidentally, that comic that Kris linked to. Would it have been funny with Hitler? No, it wouldn't have--not even the nervous kind of funny. Would it have been funny in 1945 with Hitler? I don't know. Why is Milosevic funny in a way Hitler isn't? This bothers me. When this came up earlier between Sumana and myself, Sumana suggested that we are socialized to think that Hitler was qualitatively more evil than anyone else. Possibly the only Hitler jokes we find funny in this postmodern age are the ones that use him as a symbol of pure evil trapped within the body of a historical figure (which is what happened in CN, and what happens in DS and most of the comics linked to by it). In wartime it was different, as this cartoon reminds us--it was funny just to whomp on Hitler. I'm overanalyzing here. Fri Mar 01 2002 17:37 : As Dave suggested re the pizza tipping disaster (and as was my plan even had Dave not interfered), I ordered another pizza from the pizza place and tipped really well. Fri Mar 01 2002 17:44 : Let me point once again to the fabulous NYT article . The last part of the story is picked up and run away with by Ali Dean, an Iranian-American satirist who may be the bravest comedian since Petronius. It's hilarious. Read it--Sumana didn't and then she did and she told me to link to the story again to get across the point that people really should read it. ''You be a reporter from The New York Times,'' he says. ''But I am a reporter for The New York Times,'' I say. ''Even better!'' he says. ''The reporter from The New York Times has come to interview Hajji about affairs in Iran. We do it improv.'' ''But . . . ,'' I say. I'm thinking: I have no talent for improv. I have no taste for death threats. Sat Mar 02 2002 05:27 : Now preparing for my brief trip to Bakersfield. I had a dream about a cool machine into which you put milk and any sweet stuff (like Cocoa Krispies) and it would turn it into ice cream. You could also add ice cream to milk and it would extend the ice cream. Thirdly, once you had the ice cream you could freeze-dry it and turn it into astronaut ice cream. A good machine to have. Sat Mar 02 2002 05:31 : Shouldn't the Muppet Babies version of Kermit the Frog be a tadpole? Mon Mar 04 2002 08:08 : Bakersfield silliness: Oildale winemakers bottle up White Trash . Mon Mar 04 2002 21:01 : While in Bakersfield I obtained a videotape of The Muppet Show. When I got back I watched it with Sumana. The tape features an incredibly bizarre and very funny musical number featuring two pink tubelike remora Muppets and a mangy humanoid Muppet. The premise of the song is that the humanoid muppet sings "Manahmanah." and the remora Muppets respond with "Do boo be doo boo." Occasionally the humanoid Muppet will go wild and do some scat which bears only a passing resemblance to "Manahmanah.". The remora Muppets don't like this very much, and silently give each other disapproving looks while the humanoid Muppet goes off on his scat rampage. But he always comes back to "Manahmanah." and the remora Muppets immediately resume singing "Do boo be doo boo." We were fascinated by this skit, easily the most bizarre I've ever seen on The Muppet Show. Sumana hypothesized that the remoralike creatures were alien overlords who had enthralled or enslaved the humanoid to do their "Manahmanah." bidding. But the humanoid Muppet could do whatever he wanted--he could move freely and jump around, he could sing louder or softer, he even left the set and phoned in his final "Manahmanah." with no objection from the remoras. They just didn't like it when he said anything but "Manahmanah." It seems to me more likely that the remoras had entered into a "Manahmanah." contract with the humanoid for a specified number of "Manahmanah."s and they'd just rather he stick to the terms of the contract. Or possibly, as befits their Bauplan, the creatures are symbiotic on the humanoid and derive sustenance from his "Manahmanah."s. Something odd is going on, at any rate--there's no direct coercion in either direction, but there's a lot unstated in that skit (in fact, everything is unstated in that skit, except for the part at the end where Kermit answers the phone). The song is quite famous, and I knew of it before, though not where it came from. The creatures are apparently called Snowths , and if you go here you can see screen captures and (a link to) a video of the skit! Huzzah! Or should I say, Manahmanahzah! No, actually, I should say, Huzzah! There's even an ACM-contest-style programming problem involving the Snowths. Mon Mar 04 2002 21:17 : Sumana has another hypothesis, which is that the remoras represent the artistic establishment and the humanoid is a hippy type who wants to work outside the system, as symbolized by his scatting and whatnot. This explains why they don't object to the humanoid leaving, which the symbiosis explanation doesn't explain. Tue Mar 05 2002 06:25 : Yesterday I played Catan with Kathy Allen and Elise. I won my first game of Catan! I had a shot at winning the rematch as well, but I made a horrible mistake and my game slid downhill and Kathy won. Oh well. Manahmanah. <--I still am thinking about that skit. It's so perfect and minimalist, except at the end. Geez, now Powell's doing it. Tue Mar 05 2002 06:42 : Sumana got the Nigerian scam spam mail, but it's not like any other one I've ever seen--there are no Sierra Leone diamonds or blood money or anything, and the sender of the spam does not mention the spotty human rights record of the Nigerian politician he's proxying for. The whole offer looks almost on-the-level (except for the fact that it's a scam). I guess they figure they can get more suckers for something that looks like it might be slightly outside the law than for outright aiding and abetting human rights abuses. The Salon article on this scam may have answered this question, but I don't remember. Why is it always Nigeria? Are the scammers actually based in Nigeria? Tue Mar 05 2002 14:14 : (Finally) new stuff in mail/ : my mother forwards a pretty funny in-jokey piece on the Mormolympics , and Adam Kaplan seconds Sumana's "Manahamanah." hypothesis. Tue Mar 05 2002 21:23 : The Man who was Thursday is quite funny: "The history of the thing might amuse you," he said. "When first I became one of the New Anarchists I tried all kinds of respectable disguises. I dressed up as a bishop. I read up all about bishops in our anarchist pamphlets, in Superstition the Vampire and Priests of Prey. I certainly understood from them that bishops are strange and terrible old men keeping a cruel secret from mankind. I was misinformed. When on my first appearing in episcopal gaiters in a drawing-room I cried out in a voice of thunder, 'Down! down! presumptuous human reason!' they found out in some way that I was not a bishop at all. I was nabbed at once. Then I made up as a millionaire; but I defended Capital with so much intelligence that a fool could see that I was quite poor. Then I tried being a major. Now I am a humanitarian myself, but I have, I hope, enough intellectual breadth to understand the position of those who, like Nietzsche, admire violence-the proud, mad war of Nature and all that, you know. I threw myself into the major. I drew my sword and waved it constantly. I called out 'Blood!' abstractedly, like a man calling for wine. I often said, 'Let the weak perish; it is the Law.' Well, well, it seems majors don't do this. I was nabbed again." Tue Mar 05 2002 21:45 : Kris weighs in on Manahmania: I can't believe you guys haven't seen that sketch. Granted, I only saw it once, but it never left me. It is always with me... the chanting... that infernal chanting! "Mahnamahna," it seems to say -- BECAUSE IT DOES! AAAAH! HE'S GOT YOU!! (Then jump at a friend.) Fri Mar 08 2002 20:37 : Pictures from Kristin's wedding, and beyond! Fri Mar 08 2002 20:37 : I see your new weblog, Josh, you can't hide from me! Sun Mar 10 2002 11:10 : I went to Bach's Mass in B Minor last night with Seth and Sumana. Extrapolating from the past two weeks, one might think that I attend mass every Saturday night, but this is not true. The first Kyrie is by far my favorite part of the mass, and it was slow going near the end as I was pretty tired. But I recommend it nonetheless. Sun Mar 10 2002 16:06 : According to the program for the Mass in B Minor, the solo mezzosoprano once performed the lead in a musical called The W of Bablylon. This I found very funny--it's something a more acerbic Bertie Wooster would say. I poked the bean through the study door and Aunt Dahlia caught sight. "Hallo, Bertie, you blot on the landscape," she said cheerfully. "What ho, old W. of Babylon," replied I. Sun Mar 10 2002 18:59 : Wow! I found a great site containing information about how to listen to streaming audio of various semi-popular public radio programs: Allegro! . Thanks to John Rabold, who lives in Oakland and compiled the information, and to vsound , which works flawlessly to turn RealAudio streams into .WAVs, I recorded my first new My Word! episode this century. No My Music! because I missed the timeframe, but next week. I can record Schickele Mix this way as well. Thanks are also due to Dean Morrell, who wrote me an email over a year ago informing me that his local station in Iowa broadcasts My x! over streaming audio. Thanks, Dean. Yes, that message is still in my inbox. Mon Mar 11 2002 08:09 : Planned downtime: Crummy will be down from Tuesday, March 19th until Friday, March 22nd. For that duration please see the backup site . Mon Mar 11 2002 09:34 : Yesterday Sumana and I prepared and partook of a feast. The feast consisted of the following: asparagus and Hollandaise sauce; also pitas stuffed with falafel, cucumber, tomato, and tahini. "That tasted great, and there's a lot left." (of the pita stuff, not the asparagus). Oh, and ginger ale. Tue Mar 12 2002 12:31 : You've heard of 'wrapping oneself in the flag', but this is wrapping oneself in the World Trade Center . (From a spam mail Sumana got) Tue Mar 12 2002 15:35 : I thought of two New Yorker cartoons recently. Various people find the two funny to varying extents. I personally think they're about as good as any given mediocre New Yorker cartoon. I will reprint (well, re-describe) them here. Scene: the New Yorker cocktail party that's completely blank space except for two people holding drinks and talking. In this cartoon, the person on the right is an Army general in uniform and the person on the left is a civilian in a suit. The caption: "Frankly, General, I don't think much of the way you're running this war." Scene: an underground bunker. Some militia types are clustered around a table in their camoflauge gear; perhaps some are smoking. All are giving strange looks to their leader, who is standing at the head of the table, leaning towards them, decked out in a ridiculous Mussolini-type outfit. The caption: "We've been crypto-fascists too long. It's time for some real fascism." I call this new feature The Medi-Yorker. More cartoons as I think them up. Wed Mar 13 2002 09:44 : A couple days ago Sumana and I discussed Snow Crash, which has for some time been a bit of a sticking point between us. She really enjoys it, and I really unenjoy it . (Throughout this discussion, keep in mind that I could never bring myself to finish Snow Crash, which of course is unfair to Snow Crash.) My main problem with Snow Crash is its manifestation of what I once called the Fundamental Cyberpunk Error: the FreeCiv-ish idea that civilization consists of a Fisher-Price hammer-and-peg playset with a bunch of discrete technologies and social constructs sticking up, and that you can tap on one with a hammer and push it down without it having any effect on any of the others. "Of course there will be sports in the future... [tap, tap, tap] DEATH SPORTS!" And you have Rollerball. Example: setting completely aside the usability problems of virtual reality, how can a fully immersive high-bandwidth world-wide virtual reality universe continue to exist in a world without the rule of law or the sanctity of contract? Who mantains the servers (or other electronics)? Who manufactures the servers (or other electronics)? Who mines the raw materials and how do the raw materials get to the fabrication plant without being stolen by bandits? Who grows enough food to feed all these people working on assembly lines instead of hunting and gathering? Who maintains the microwave stations and transatlantic fiber optic cable, or launches new sattelites into space to replace broken ones? How does each party to this operation afford the cost of the private army required to avoid getting ripped off or blown up by rivals? It's to solve these problems that people form states[0], but once you've tapped down the little "State" peg with your little cyberpunk hammer you don't have that option. Anyway. My point here is not to carp on particular problems, but to discuss this sort of inconsistency in general. I carp not on particular problems because Sumana convinced me that microlevel inconsistencies can happen in a cultural artifact even if the long-term cultural shift in that artifact's universe is in a particular direction ("The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."), so it's not prima facie evidence of poor craftsmanship to include such inconsistencies. I find myself much more favorably disposed towards Snow Crash, and I think it does the book more justice, when it's regarded as a snapshot of a civilization seventy-five years into a four-hundred-year decline into tribalism and anarchy rather than (as I regarded it until recently) as a picture of a civilization already completely collapsed into tribalism and anarchy. The thing is that this exact same sort of inconsistency happens in cultural artifacts which are generally agreed to be awful: for instance, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which nobody except Jake thinks is great.[1] (Paraphrase: Jake: "all my friends think mad max beyond thunderdome is a terrible movie." Leonard: "Has it ever occured to you that there might be an empirical basis for such a belief?" Jake: "that is impossible.") It happens in Signal to Noise, a book which may well have merit (though I didn't like it) but in which all the characters act as though the American government still has power, even though voters stupidly passed a poorly-written Constitutional amendment which has as a trivial side effect the total emasculation of government (perhaps the case that will establish this is still awaiting certiorari). I am ill-disposed towards inconsistency in general (I once rewrote a song because it contained an inaccurate statement about evolution), but I think I can now distinguish the good kind of inconsistency (forms of archaic rituals from the modern era preserved through inertia and other microlevel eddies flowing against the macrolevel, enhancing the richness of a story) from the bad kind (consequences of authorial decisions not properly thought out, causing gaping plot holes and annoying me). It comes down, I think, to judging an inconsistency against the gestalt of the book. For instance, A Canticle for Leibowitz has some of these inconsistencies, but they seem to me like the good kind, and I really like A Canticle for Leibowitz. I haven't read The Postman, but from what I've read about it it seems the very embodiment of the good kind of inconsistency, and I've a feeling I would like it as well (though apparently the movie is horrible). [0] I know, Locke was wrong, people don't 'decide' to form states to solve particular problems--but once you have states, it's things like the rule of law that distinguish states whose citizens can create things like the Internet from states whose citizens can't. And any cyberpunk-esque mutual defense venture created to get around the lack of a state is in fact a Lockean state of the sort that people don't decide to form. This is actually one of the premises of Snow Crash, which means I'm arguing in circles--wheels within wheels, Jeeves. My point is that to mantain the civilizational infrastructure neccessary for an reliable virtual reality Internet, your de facto state must have power and agreements with other de facto states consumnate with the power of and mutual agreements between today's nation-states, so why not put the microstate idea in another book so as to do it justice? [1] In British radio programmes this is known as "the sort of statement that gets us letters". Thu Mar 14 2002 19:23 : From a conversation with Seth: "You're a propagandist!" "I prefer the term 'semiotic warrior'." "Well, I prefer the term 'propagandist'!" Fri Mar 15 2002 08:18 : I'm having an oddly branded breakfast. First there was the orange juice. I got it out of the drinks fridge at work and it's orange juice in a can, which orange juice should not be, but we didn't have any in bottles so I tried it. It's Tree Top orange juice, and the aluminum can has the Tree Top logo on it, which is two apples. There are two apples on the front of my can of orange juice! Above the apples it says "Washington's Best"--the first time I've ever heard it intimated that Washington state grows a variety of oranges so vast that some oranges are better than others. The orange juice is awful. Beaten and bruised by the mispackaging and misbranding and acidic aftertaste of my orange juice, I staggered back into the kitchen for some pepper for my scrambled eggs. I got a little packet of Morton Pepper. There is a picture on the packet of a girl holding a canister of Morton salt. There is a picture of salt on my pepper packet! This is why new logos nowadays are so vague and swooshy. The same logo that propelled you to fame as an e-business solutions firm will serve you just as well when you remake yourself as a provider of e-solutions for business. Fri Mar 15 2002 08:27 : I have no complaints about my muffin, which contains no branding. Fri Mar 15 2002 17:03 : Kris sent me this hilarious picture of Yasser Arafat with Demon Dog . Fri Mar 15 2002 17:20 : Mike Popovic sent me some lovely "Powered by NewsBruiser" buttons, which I put into CVS: [ eye ] [ girl ] [ typewriter ]. Enjoy! I personally prefer the Spartan grace of a subtle text link like the one on CES , but if you prefer buttons, we've now got 'em. Sat Mar 16 2002 20:35 : I saw a bumper sticker today which Kevin would like, and now that his car has a new bumper he could get one: Those who can, do. Those who can't, Duchamp Sun Mar 17 2002 08:29 : "I really love this tea. It's a digital tea." -- Prairie Home Companion mocking bobos Played with Degeneracy at least.[sic] You're evil. I wonder how long I can coast on Degeneracy? Sun Mar 17 2002 15:36 : Sumana reports that there's a store called "Photo Hutt". "Photo Hutt". Sun Mar 17 2002 15:58 : As Above , the weblog that raved about Guess the Verb! a while back (wow, a lot of links in that phrase), has a thing called the Blog Twinning Project in which people link weblogs they consider similar. The only weblog considered similar to Crummy is Inside Joke , which is amazingly similar to the Crummy of two or three years ago, though less so the Crummy of the present (which makes sense, since the protagonist of Inside Joke seems to be two or three years younger than me). Sun Mar 17 2002 16:46 : Another dispatch from Sumana: "Olde Tyme Burritos" "Le Spud" The mall she's in also has a person in an Easter Bunny costume and apparently kids are supposed to sit on his lap, like Santa Claus. "What do you want for Easter, little boy or girl?" "I want an Army Rangers Commando Barbie!" "Sorry, kid, I only do eggs. Here's your egg." It's as though kids became proportionally more skeptical of the Easter Bunny's existance when confronted with the many documented mall sightings of Santa, and so the Easter Bunny had to launch a PR offensive. Sun Mar 17 2002 17:40 : Spam: "Sick of losing commissions on your hard to place life cases?" Am I a lawyer? A stockbroker? An insurance salesman? Doctor? Indian chief? Mon Mar 18 2002 09:37 : There's stuff I promised to do for Jake that I still haven't done. Argh. If only I could buy some time by faking a Crummy outage. But wait! There's an outage tomorrow through Friday! (wink, wink) Mon Mar 18 2002 16:40 : Wow, my room is really clean. (Ha! I bet you never thought I'd say that!) Mon Mar 18 2002 20:32 : The Nitpicking Entry On the way home from the grocery store I saw a billboard for some local radio DJ which said: "[Local DJ] sucks... you in!". you in! was supposed to look like graffiti, which is totally wrong on two levels: Graffiti is not generally employed to make the subject of advertising look better. To pick a random example, people do not draw pencil moustaches on people who would look good with pencil moustaches. The ellipses make it clear that the person writing the 'billboard' was anticipating the person doing the 'graffiti' ( qv. ) which is absurd unless they're the same person, which is exactly the impression you're trying to avoid when you deface your own billboard. It's like burning down your restaurant for the insurance money using a matchbook from your restaurant! Using so much gasoline that the insurance money won't cover the cost of it all! Arguing your case in court using an extremely belabored analogy! That complaint was not the main point of this entry. The main point of this entry is that Kris thought up the "x sucks [you in]" joke in 1997, to refer to Smart Guy, and I used it on the cover of Bad Stupid Delerious . My vindictive and petty noticing when other people use the jokes used many years previous by myself and my friends, as though jokes could never be independently discovered by multiple people, continues! Mon Mar 18 2002 21:37 : I was thinking earlier today about the idea of evil twins. If you could come up with n factors which could be weighted to describe a person's personality (which I don't think is possible, though I suppose you could get a decent approximation) and treated as a vector, then you could find their evil twin by multiplying their personality vector by a vector of -1s. I bring this up because today I was thinking about Drew Kaplan . I originally thought that he was my evil twin, but that's not quite correct. His personality vector is mine multiplied by a vector in which each element is either 1 or -1. It's this combination of total similarity in some aspects and total dissimilarity in others that makes Kaplan so interesting to me in ways that an evil twin would not be interesting. Yesterday Sumana gave me an Amar Chitra Katha telling the story of Annapati Suyya , a Kashmiri engineer of the ninth century who she considers in many ways an analog to myself. Suyya's behavior in the ACK is rather me-ish, as is the following dialogue: Maharaj: You have done it! You have tamed the Vitasta [river]! Suyya: With two chests of gold and a touch of madness! Suyya is similar to me, and ethical in ways in which I like to think I'm also ethical. It's touching that Sumana made the comparison. If I were an early-twentieth-century crackpot I would use this personality vector idea to come up with a system by which people could measure their vectors and come up with translation vectors between their personalities and others'. I would claim that these vectors were the keys to truth, containing within them the secrets of the of the universe, the way to achieve peace between nations, the true nature of the pyramids, and the exact date of Christ's return. It would be a pack of lies, but a hundred years later I would have a sympathetic biographer who, caught between sympathy for me and dedication to the actual facts, would suggest that perhaps I can be seen as grasping some deeper truth, that my Vectorosophy might be a metaphor for man's struggle to comprehend his universe, the optimism and faith in a comprehensible cosmos that was to be shattered in 1914 by the dull thump of bullets over the trenches of France, etc. etc. I am not an early twentieth-century crackpot, so it merits only a passing reference in my weblog. "My opponent has been known to use ad hominem arguments!" Tue Mar 19 2002 12:56 QOTD, and IOTD: "It's actually pretty fun to be really tall in the Far East, because you feel a little like Godzilla." -- Robert Bennefield, our 7'-ish director of Ops. There's software that will determine whether two pieces of code are similar, for purposes of detecting plagiarism in class assignments. But let's say you had software that could detect 'similarity' between two pieces of software. You could also run it on two different parts of the same program to automatically find places where you could benefit from factorization. Shazam! It's like a reduce-to-the-halting-problem proof, only it gives you something good instead of something bad! Of course, 'similar' for purposes of detecting plagiarism is a much easier concept than 'similar' for purposes of detecting factorability, so you probably can't use existing software similarity software for this purpose. But software to do that would be a very useful tool, especially if you're like me and find it boring to inspect code for factorability. Tue Mar 19 2002 22:43 Conrad's Revenge, or, My Dinner With Andre: So, Jason Robbins and I planned to have dinner with Andre Stechert, a friend of Jason's from UCLA. We went to the BART station to go into Frisco, but the BART station was closed due to an anthrax scare . So we had to arrange other means and we had a lowbrow but fun-conversation-filled dinner at Lyons. BART is open again now, and I recommend Andre Stechert for your next dinner party. He has interesting ideas for and insights into new hardware. Update: Sumana says that everyone who has dinner with Andre Stechert probably writes about it as "My Dinner With Andre". "No one wants to have breakfast or lunch or any other meal with him," she hypothesises. That's as may be, but during my dinner with Andre, Jason said that my factorization-detection software has already been written. It's called CloneDR , and it looks pretty good. Also, Andre pointed out that Tolkien likes to end chapters of Lord of the Rings with "And that was the last time they ever saw x." Thu Mar 21 2002 09:04 Just when you thought it was safe: Behold the Terrordactyl ! Just one of the many bizarre, bizarre photographs on that site. Fri Mar 22 2002 09:40 Bertie Wooster, Genteel Misogynist: Second in a Series: "Oh, Bertie, you're here," gushed Madeline. I tipped my hat. "What ho, old weaker v." Sun Mar 24 2002 09:32 Make your avocation your vocation: The SF Weekly, like the other BIGNUM free weekly rags in the Bay Area, has a back page devoted to eye-catching classified ads. The ads are usually the same every week, so they become old standbys in my mind. There's one that begins "SMOKE POT - GET PAID!" and one that begins "GET PAID FOR WATCHING TV!". All that's missing is "EAT FRITOS - GET PAID!" Sun Mar 24 2002 11:12 Once upon a time: There were four struggling companies, individually unable to afford a banner ad. However, they pooled their resources and purchased the services of a demented graphic designer , and everyone was happy except the people who actually saw the ad. The end. Mon Mar 25 2002 11:58 The willies: I'm very nervous because in a little while I'm going to the orthodontist for the first of my two braces appointments. I must wear braces for two years! And a retainer for a year after that! The prospect is greatly disturbing to me. People I know say it's not a big deal, you get used to it, etc, but this is of little comfort. I'm also a little aggravated that the regular site isn't up yet, though not very much as I know how these things go. Mon Mar 25 2002 20:57 Braces: Day 0.5: I've already caused a bracket to come unglued from a tooth, I think by eating toast. Upon searching the literature I was given, I discover that toast is mentioned on one of the four lists of 'foodstuffs to avoid'. I should have guessed. The cheap melt-in-your-mouth Gummy Bread sold in the bread aisle next to the Hostess Snack Cakes would probably denature into toast I could eat, but the day I buy that stuff is... well, sometime this week probably. There's a really good bakery by the orthodontist, and out of habit I went in to get some bread, only realizing afterwards that I wouldn't be able to eat the bread! I have a French baguette and a beautiful ring of tasty cornbread which I can't eat. Bah! It took me 15 minutes to floss my teeth. Bah! I couldn't find many braces-friendly recipes on the Web. Bah! I'm probably going to start my own list of recipes. The machine hosting Crummy is back up, but Crummy itself is not. Not sure whether it's a nameserver thing or an Apache configuration thing; either way, it's still out of my control AFAICT. Tue Mar 26 2002 06:31 todo: Frank Muir his Autobiography Strike Up The Band! Tue Mar 26 2002 10:59 More Complaints About Buildings And Food: I have a feeling I'll be losing a lot of weight over the next two years, since braces make eating (and cleaning up after eating) such a big hassle that unless you're really hungry it's a lot easier just to not eat. Dan says "You could do what flies do and throw up on your food to sort of pre-digest it." Of course, I need to lose weight anyway, so why not raise the barriers to entry--into my mouth, that is! In other news, Pakistan is apparently now CNNistan . Wed Mar 27 2002 11:28 Congratulations: are in order for Sumana, who has passed her driving test! Three quarks for her! Sun Mar 31 2002 00:06 Whee!: Ok, the real site is back up . You know what the next entry on this site will say... but when will it be posted? Stay tuned. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:44 : Ok, we're back up (with a couple minor fixes still to be made). NewsBruiser works again, which means that people (like me) can start updating their weblogs. I'll be posting all my previous editthispage entries in here so as to mantain history, and then I'll go to sleep. PS: the time on this entry is East Coast time. I'll have to add time zone compensation code to NewsBruiser to handle a server in a different time zone. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:48 : And so it begins 3/19/02; 10:29:54 AM Thanks, I'm here all week (until Friday). I just realized that leonardr@segfault won't work to contact me, so please use [email protected] (nice of them to let me keep my account, huh?) Sun Mar 31 2002 02:51 : QOTD, and IOTD 3/19/02; 3:15:37 PM "It's actually pretty fun to be really tall in the Far East, because you feel a little like Godzilla." -- Robert Bennefield, our 7'-ish director of Ops. There's software that will determine whether two pieces of code are similar, for purposes of detecting plagiarism in class assignments. But let's say you had software that could detect 'similarity' between two pieces of software. You could also run it on two different parts of the same program to automatically find places where you could benefit from factorization. Shazam! It's like a reduce-to-the-halting-problem proof, only it gives you something good instead of something bad! Of course, 'similar' for purposes of detecting plagiarism is a much easier concept than 'similar' for purposes of detecting factorability, so you probably can't use existing software similarity software for this purpose. But software to do that would be a very useful tool, especially if you're like me and find it boring to inspect code for factorability. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:52 : Conrad's Revenge, or, My Dinner With Andre 3/19/02; 10:43:48 PM So, Jason Robbins and I planned to have dinner with Andre Stechert, a friend of Jason's from UCLA. We went to the BART station to go into Frisco, but the BART station was closed due to an anthrax scare . So we had to arrange other means and we had a lowbrow but fun-conversation-filled dinner at Lyons. BART is open again now, and I recommend Andre Stechert for your next dinner party. He has interesting ideas for and insights into new hardware. Update: Sumana says that everyone who has dinner with Andre Stechert probably writes about it as "My Dinner With Andre". "No one wants to have breakfast or lunch or any other meal with him," she hypothesises. That's as may be, but during my dinner with Andre, Jason said that my factorization-detection software has already been written. It's called CloneDR , and it looks pretty good. Also, Andre pointed out that Tolkien likes to end chapters of Lord of the Rings with "And that was the last time they ever saw x." Sun Mar 31 2002 02:53 : 'Render' unto Caesar 3/20/02; 2:20:21 PM When the real world looks like a screenshot from Myst, something is wrong . Behold the Terrordactyl ! Just one of the many bizarre, bizarre photographs on that site. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:55 : Bertie Wooster, Genteel Misogynist: Second in a Series 3/22/02; 9:40:17 AM "Oh, Bertie, you're here," gushed Madeline. I tipped my hat. "What ho, old weaker v." Sun Mar 31 2002 02:56 : Make your avocation your vocation 3/24/02; 9:32:18 AM The SF Weekly, like the other BIGNUM free weekly rags in the Bay Area, has a back page devoted to eye-catching classified ads. The ads are usually the same every week, so they become old standbys in my mind. There's one that begins "SMOKE POT - GET PAID!" and one that begins "GET PAID FOR WATCHING TV!". All that's missing is "EAT FRITOS - GET PAID!" Sun Mar 31 2002 02:56 : Once upon a time 3/24/02; 11:12:34 AM There were four struggling companies, individually unable to afford a banner ad. However, they pooled their resources and purchased the services of a demented graphic designer , and everyone was happy except the people who actually saw the ad. The end. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:57 : The willies 3/25/02; 11:58:32 AM I'm very nervous because in a little while I'm going to the orthodontist for the first of my two braces appointments. I must wear braces for two years! And a retainer for a year after that! The prospect is greatly disturbing to me. People I know say it's not a big deal, you get used to it, etc, but this is of little comfort. I'm also a little aggravated that the regular site isn't up yet, though not very much as I know how these things go. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:59 : Braces: Day 0.5 3/26/02; 6:18:55 AM I've already caused a bracket to come unglued from a tooth, I think by eating toast. Upon searching the literature I was given, I discover that toast is mentioned on one of the four lists of 'foodstuffs to avoid'. I should have guessed. The cheap melt-in-your-mouth Gummy Bread sold in the bread aisle next to the Hostess Snack Cakes would probably denature into toast I could eat, but the day I buy that stuff is... well, sometime this week probably. There's a really good bakery by the orthodontist, and out of habit I went in to get some bread, only realizing afterwards that I wouldn't be able to eat the bread! I have a French baguette and a beautiful ring of tasty cornbread which I can't eat. Bah! It took me 15 minutes to floss my teeth. Bah! I couldn't find many braces-friendly recipes on the Web. Bah! I'm probably going to start my own list of recipes. The machine hosting Crummy is back up, but Crummy itself is not. Not sure whether it's a nameserver thing or an Apache configuration thing; either way, it's still out of my control AFAICT. Sun Mar 31 2002 02:59 : More Complaints About Buildings And Food 3/26/02; 12:16:15 PM I have a feeling I'll be losing a lot of weight over the next two years, since braces make eating (and cleaning up after eating) such a big hassle that unless you're really hungry it's a lot easier just to not eat. Dan says "You could do what flies do and throw up on your food to sort of pre-digest it." Of course, I need to lose weight anyway, so why not raise the barriers to entry--into my mouth, that is! In other news, Pakistan is apparently now CNNistan . Sun Mar 31 2002 03:00 : Congratulations 3/27/02; 11:31:46 AM are in order for Sumana, who has passed her driving test! Three quarks for her! Sun Mar 31 2002 03:01 : Webmasters Use Lens Flare Effect To Report Story 3/27/02; 2:39:02 PM Sun Mar 31 2002 03:02 : Weeping and wailing and brushing of teeth 3/29/02; 1:15:22 PM From the cafeteria in the Hitachi building I bought a huge baked potato with all sorts of stuff dumped on top of it: chili, broccoli (but not Erin Broccoli), mushrooms, cheese sauce, sour cream, etc, etc. For the first time in what seems like a long time (but was actually less than a week), I ate a meal that filled me up and didn't make my teeth hurt. You'd think my life would be really boring right now that mere satiation is newsworthy. It's not boring; I simply haven't written about the many exciting things I've been experiencing. Sun Mar 31 2002 03:08 : Okay, that brings us up to date with editthispage, though not up to date in general. Coming soon: Frank Muir His Autobiography, Strike up the Band, very tasty tiramisu, and possibly more! Sun Mar 31 2002 12:24 : I bought a used copy of A Kentish Lad online, and read it, and it's great. What is it about, you ask? None other than Frank Muir, world-famous comedian and raconteur (and 1/4, or 1/8, or something, of My x!). I like it for that reason and also because the subtitle is "Frank Muir: His Autobiography" but it's printed on the front cover as "FRANK MUIR HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY", the strange syntax of which I really like because it reminds me of John Baptist Porta's recipe for sympathetic powder, quoted by me in Degeneracy: Take of the Moss growing on a dead man's skull, which has laid unburied, two ounces. As much of the fat of a man. Half an ounce of Mummy, and Frank Muir his autobiography. Frank talks about his boyhood, his cushy yet very uncomfortable stint in the RAF, and his distinguished many-decade career in comedy. Being the rabid My x! fan I am, I'd heard him tell several of the anecdotes before on the air, but most of them were new, and of course his life is not just a sequence of anecdotes; he just can't resist throwing in a funny aside whenever he remembers one. Actually, the last chapter is just a sequence of Seinfeld-esque anecdotes, possibly the ones he couldn't think to put anywhere else. But that's fine! My only disappointment was at the end; he ends the book with a mutated quote, as though the book were a very long My Word! monologue, and I suppose this is supposed to be touching, but I didn't find it so; nor was it funny. Oh well. According to the afterward by his son Jamie, he wasn't doing too well near the end of the book, and died shortly thereafter. :( Anyway--the book is good booze, and I will lend it to people. It's out of print, so you have to find it used or borrow it from me. Yes, those are your only two options. Sun Mar 31 2002 13:16 : So, Strike up the Band!, the blockbuster Gershwin/Gershwin/Kaufman musical. Sumana and I went to see it last Friday. It was pretty good, thought not great. A lot of the songs were great, but their influence was mitigated by others which fell flat such that I couldn't wait for them to be over. And a couple were okay but seemed slavish, mediocre copies of the Gilbert and Sullivan style. I've got no complaints about Kaufman's writing, though; the farcical causus belli and battle scenes were very funny, and predated Duck Soup by over a decade. I have it on good authority that they put on the wrong version of Strike up the Band!! They put on the 1927 version, but there was a 1930 version which apparantly had much better songs. Perhaps, in a misguided quest for authenticity, the producers ignored the revision. Oh yeah, that reminds me. The dynamic of theatah -- high class, this, not your we'll-use-the-old-barn-I'll-paint-the-sets-and-we'll-save-the-school stuff -- is that of authenticity vs. relevance. Authenticity derives from the idea that if the 'author' of the 'primary text' put down a 'line of dialogue' or a 'stage direction', then when you're putting on the play you have some sort of obligation to make sure that 'line of dialogue' or 'stage direction' somehow figures in your production, even if the play was written hundreds of years ago in an entirely different part of the world! Relevance, the yang to authenticity's yin, is the idea that people will not pay to see your production unless you make it obvious that the play is applicable to this modern age of Enron bin Anthrax. Relevance is why I see Petruchio talking on a cell phone and Macbeth's men dressed in camoflauge gear (but still armed with swords; remember authenticity!). Relevance is a leading cause of those essays in theater programs exulting in the fact that fifty, a hundred, even 400 years is not enough time to make the actions of our predecessors completely dissimilar to our own actions. Relevance costs me money! Wait, no, it doesn't; I was thinking of that IBM commercial. Because of this tension between authenticity and relevance, plays that negate the tension by being authentically relevant (such as Homebody/Kabul) are in great demand, as are plays that are relevantly authentic (like--wait, I'm not even sure what that means). Due to its extreme relevance, Strike up the Band! was performed with a minimum of relevance boosting, which is good for my blood pressure. The cast subjected us to a brief summary of the play, with special emphasis on its continued relevance (Actually, for all I know that little speech, about how the play is today more relevant than ever, is actually part of the play! George S. Kaufman, you nut!), then mercifully went into character and treated us to an authentic, all-too-authentic performance. Sun Mar 31 2002 14:02 : And finally, the tale of tiramisu. But not just tiramisu! (Incidentally, "tiramisu" has got to be the most Japanese word in Italian.) On Friday night, after Sumana took the GRE, I met up with her and we went to The Steps of Rome in North Beach. I had some tasty ravioli which I cut up into little pieces so I wouldn't have to chew it, Sumana had some tasty pasta with eggplant, and we splurged by ordering a dessert each, which we shared. One of the desserts was a custard thing with fruit syrup on it. Innovative, yet not very good. The other was tiramisu. Non-innovative, yet extremely tasty! The tiramisu was the best I've ever had. That's not saying a whole lot, since most tiramisu I've had was pretty bad; there was available to me, many years ago, some tiramisu made by Ellina Poulson which was probably as outstanding as everything else Ellina Poulson makes, but I don't think I actually ate any of it. My point is that I've suffered through bad tiramisu, and as such can recognize good tiramisu, such as the tiramisu served at the Steps of Rome. But that's not all! Sumana then took my to the City Lights bookstore, where I nosed around and considered buying a copy of a Lovecraft anthology, but did not for three reasons: There are already too many books on the 'to read' portion of my bookshelf, some of which have been languishing there for over a year. Lovecraft seems like the sort of thing I can find online. I did not want to be seen in the hip City Lights bookstore doing something so gauche as paying for goods with money! Moderate that I am, I felt positively counter-revolutionary in the hard-left atmosphere of City Lights (and Lectures, I always want to add). However, it has a really good sci-fi section which is all the better for being incredibly small; despite devoting only two shelves to sci-fi and related genre ghettoes, they had more Lovecraft than I've ever seen outside of a non-specialty bookstore, and more Lem than I've ever seen outside of the UCLA library (or outside of my room after I checked all the Lem out of the UCLA library). Thus, by my patented Stanislaus Lem Bookstore Quality Index, City Lights is the greatest bookstore ever! Hmm, I may need to recalibrate that index. Sumana: [pointing to book titled "Against Empire"] Where's "Pro-Empire?" Leonard: [in stage whisper] They don't stock it here! Keep your voice down! Sun Mar 31 2002 16:18 : The braces have already had a noticable (to me) effect on my teeth; some gaps between teeth are now a lot easier to floss. New (and fun) song: I Sing for my Supper . Jake should like it; maybe it will distract him from the fact that I still haven't dealt with his problems. Mon Apr 01 2002 11:20 : In recent years I've had absolutely no energy for April Fool's Day jokes (there was contention on r.a.if that Degeneracy was an April Fool's Day joke, but it's not; like all my games, it just happens to have many of the properties of an April Fool's Day joke). This is weird because I've had lots of energy for lots of other things, even other things that I do on April first! I think it was watching the unfolding of Scott's gala 1999 joke, winner of the LinuxToday Joke d'Or , that killed it for me. Of course, immediately after making that revelation is the perfect time to spring my brilliant April Fool's Day joke on you all. Unfortuantely, I have no such joke. Mon Apr 01 2002 11:44 : What my mother did while Crummy was down: I've been boiling big pots of water trying to get the spa to heat up faster so I can soak in it. My mother is a genius! Mon Apr 01 2002 15:47 : Kevin tells me he used to do this sort of thing , way back when . Mon Apr 01 2002 18:32 : These braces have finally broken my awful habit of biting my nails, a habit I've had for about as long as I've had both fingernails and teeth. This therapy works by the astounding new principle of making it COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE for my teeth to cut keratin. Tue Apr 02 2002 01:10 : Most of the static content and CGIs should work now; there is still some stuff I haven't fixed, though. eCow took forever to fix; bleah. By the way, you can now email me at [email protected] in addition to [email protected]. Tue Apr 02 2002 19:20 : The ultimate in biometrics: we should take advantage of cartesian dualism and make computers out of non-physical stuff that we can access only through our pineal glands Tue Apr 02 2002 20:21 : I'm spending my idle moments making my log analysis software slice and dice data in more interesting ways. One thing I just added was analysis of 404 errors. I've discovered that I'm getting a surprising number of 404s of the following strange form: http://www.crummy.com/cgi-bin/[email protected]&subject=http://www.crummy.com/cgi-bin/formmail.pl&[email protected]&=http://www.crummy.com/cgi-bin/formmail.pl Now, I don't need this page to tell me someone's up to no good, started causing trouble 'round my neighborhood. There's a common CGI script called formmail.pl which lets you send mail through a web browser, and there are robots (the sinister Microsoft URL Control again) which scour the web looking for unprotected formmail.pls to use as spam relays. My question is, is there anyone interested in getting the output of a script I would write, called formmail.pl, which grabs information about anyone who accesses it? I don't care enough to actually wreak my own revenge, but I'm happy to provide information to those who enjoy such things. John Ashcroft, are you listening? Tue Apr 02 2002 23:15 : My latest triumph is code that extracts the query strings from search engine referers so that the same query string from different search engines will be counted as the same sort of referer. Coincidentally, this also makes it much easier to look for Disturbing Search Requests (TM), such as "not keeping passover fetish porn" ("More, more!", she cried. "More leavened bread!"), "pictures of actual pimps" (damn fake pimps!) and "free cam picture girl iran Iranian picture" (act now for hot sharia babes!). However, I think it's only fair to also highlight search requests for which Crummy was probably very helpful, such as "pictures of home appliances", "are hedgehogs illegal in california?", "random pokey", and "why is steven wolfram so crazy?". There's also an in-between category, where Crummy has something that is fun and which pertains to what you were looking for, but is not what you were really looking for. Examples of this include " michigan j. frog music full song ", " mcsweeney's journal ", " seinfeld music mp3 ", and by far the most popular search result run against Crummy: " captain planet ". This is my favorite type of search result; it contains the right mixture of helpfulness and mischief. [Stack drops his Walkman on the floor] Dan: "Breakin' stuff, huh?" Stack: "You're next!" Thu Apr 04 2002 14:03 : Another thing I learned from my referer logs: there's a new search engine called Teoma , and the first action of anyone on a new search engine is to search for their name. In this way I get glimpses of people I know (Mike Popovic), even people I haven't talked to for a long time (Darius Gandhi, Kym Taborn). Thu Apr 04 2002 18:14 : Leonard Ego Inflation Time: Camille says my songs are "lovely", especially Interesting Places to Die . Thank you, Camille! Also, wynand says I'm "still wildly amusing". I don't think I've ever heard of wynand (though he looks a bit like Dan Helfman), but his high opinion of me inflates my ego, which is the point of this entry. Finally, getting a bit desperate, robotfindskitten is vaguely alluded to in this review of BBC systems . Will I stop at nothing? Well, I stopped just short of nothing, there, so probably. Thu Apr 04 2002 20:15 : Perhaps apropos the previous entry, today on Salon Premium: Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories -- many of them lunatic -- fill the pages of Egypt's government-run press. Oh, for the days of reasoned and dispassionate state-sponsored anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Fri Apr 05 2002 11:52 : DSR: what do you call a person who craves s*x? If you're going to search for it, search for the actual word! The other day I saw a truck of the "Steven Gould Corporation". They do packaging material, apparently. Steve Ballmer is Jewish, apparently. I didn't know that! Fri Apr 05 2002 13:47 : For some reason there are a lot of boats in the bay today. I don't know why. Maybe they're dredging for a body? Fri Apr 05 2002 17:56 : Multiple inheritance for Java . Motto: "The net interprets any arbitrary design decision as damage, and routes around it.", or possibly "Information wants to be subject to Nixon's triangle." Fri Apr 05 2002 20:38 : I fixed NewsBruiser searching, and added to the bottom of every page a site-wide search that uses Google. I'm not sure whether or not Google wants a logo or anything on all public-facing forms that use Google. I can't find anything on their site that says they do, and after all, they get to do whatever they want with the search results. I still haven't fixed the big thing, which is the rather obvious fact that these entries are timestamped EST and I'm on NST. Sat Apr 06 2002 10:11 : Java Class of the Day: BadKind Sun Apr 07 2002 19:55 : Sorry; there was a problem with the time zone code I added which I couldn't fix for a while. Jellyfish ahoy! Sumana wants me to talk about the jellyfish. There were seven or eight jellyfish we saw washed up on the beach, in varying stages of dissolving. I'd never seen a dead jellyfish before. I don't know whether these jellyfish beachings are a common occurrence, because I'd only been to that beach before in the evenings. Some of the specimens had organelles visible inside the dome, but none of them had their tentacles. In my Oceans class I learned that jellyfish decompose very rapidly. Next to one of the jellyfish we discovered some yellowish foam which didn't look like sea foam, and hypothesized that it was decomposed jellyfish. That is the jellyfish story. Mon Apr 08 2002 10:54 : I took advantage of the new time zone code to change Susanna's diary to post Romanian timestamps. From her latest dispatch : Susie (in Romanian): Do you know the Hotel TiboTours? Stupid Lady: I don't speak English. Susie (still in Romanian): We speak Romanian. Can you tell us where the Hotel is? Stupid Lady: Sorry, I studied French and Russian. Mon Apr 08 2002 10:56 : There's a new version of gPhoto out. Too bad my camera is dead! Stupid camera! Mon Apr 08 2002 11:13 : Oh, and the other thing: the time zone code remembered about the time change on Sunday, even though I forgot all about it. It says something that I can write code that remembers things better than I do. Mon Apr 08 2002 13:53 : Office scuttlebutt has it that the boats are all fishing for flounder. Apparently it's flounder season. I've been out of the loop on these matters ever since my subscription to Flounder Season: The Quarterly Journal of Whether or Not It's Flounder Season lapsed. Tue Apr 09 2002 09:46 : Pete Peterson II informs the world: There are actually 4 presidents albums, one is live, and then they got back together to make a fourth one which was released some time last year, I think. I think I have the live one (haven't listened to it yet; I'm saving it for my trip to Bakersfield); it has the cheap-ass photo montage look that says "live album". Tue Apr 09 2002 10:31 : Kevin is back from Vegas (you didn't even know he was in Vegas, since he never updates his weblog ), and claims to have won about $300 through the technique of playing every five-dollar slot exactly once. He brought back souvenirs for Stack, Dan, and myself: the newsletter of the Liberace Foundation, obtained from the very Liberace Museum! Café After construction is complete be sure to stop by the new Liberace Café. In the morning, you might want to try some of our specialty cofee with a muffin or bagel. During the lunch hour, treat yourself to a delicious sandwish or maybe a tasty salad. Then if time permits, in the afternoon you won't be able to resist a freshly baked cookie with milk or perhaps a soda. Needless to say, whatever time you may be passing through we will have an Epicurean delight waiting just for you! Be still, my heart. Tue Apr 09 2002 11:06 : Kevin also says that the casting company mentioned in I was a Teenage Punk Rock Extra is in fact the same one he used to work for, and passes along this funny sign he saw on the way to Vegas. Yes, I am now mantaining Kevin's weblog on his behalf! Tue Apr 09 2002 11:20 : Got mail from Chris DiBona. He can't find the Segfault data anywhere. I'm going to consider my options and write them up on the segfault.org home page. Tue Apr 09 2002 11:29 : Apparently there are people who think it's funny to use "(.*)@crummy\.com" as their email address when signing up for Yahoo accounts; ever since David started directing all crummy.com and segfault.org mail to me, I've been getting that Yahoo 'erring on the side of caution, we are resetting all your don't-spam-me preferences in case you didn't really mean to unset them the first time'. Since my email account is the one which would be getting all that spam, I'm not happy about this. Tue Apr 09 2002 17:02 : My mother on jellyfish: I read in the paper about some little unfortunate critters washing up-- not jellyfish but a relative. After I saw on your log that you had seen some, I tried to find the article so I could send it to you but no such luck. I looked through both Friday's and Saturday's Californian. I do remember that it said the stingers on their tentacles are not strong enough to penetrate human skin. Apparently they are an open ocean creature, where they are happy unless a freak wind causes them to drift ashore. I felt sorry for them. Tue Apr 09 2002 19:54 : Behold the /stats/ directory! Contains recent (updated every 6 hours) and all-time (updated every day) stats on accessed pages, query destinations ( the BoingBoing idea ), and an MP3 hit parade for the hosted MP3s. I have no idea why the two most popular MP3s on my site are "Jake's Birthday Party" and "Jake's Birthday Party Drum Loop". I now have grandiose dreams for, eg., an automatic DSR machine which learns from experience which search results are most disturbing. With picante El Monte Tue Apr 09 2002 20:34 : Doh; the thing what decides on the filenames isn't timezoned, apparently. Tue Apr 09 2002 21:14 : Working a bit on Segfault recovery; I've transformed the database dump into Formats I Can Use (TM) and am currently trying to figure out a way to get stuff out of the Wayback Machine. It looks like most of the stories are in there, which is a good sign. 1406 stories were published to Segfault over a span of slightly over three years. Tue Apr 09 2002 22:14 : OK, I've got it working and not bothering archive.org that much. Looks like about 90% of the stories are in the archive. Ah, the good old days: I'm going to start an Internet company. It sounds impressive, but it's really not difficult to do; the question "How do I start an Internet company?" reduces to the question "How do I figure out a way to lose a lot of money very quickly?", and it just so happens that I am an expert on losing money. --From "Calling All Investors", a 1999 story Wed Apr 10 2002 00:19 : Ok, I recovered 1170 stories and I know that 233 are missing, which means there are 3 stories that my code missed. Odd; more likely my original count was off. Anyway, the stories are mirrored here (caution: 130K list) as a temporary measure, and a list of missing stories is here . lembas recipe: There's a recipe? nethack quiz: A good idea, and there is one, but it's in Japanese. dead jellyfish: Indeed. There's finally news articles about them, though they seem to describe another, much smaller and more numerous organism which Sumana and I also saw on Saturday. Thu Apr 11 2002 19:50 : I cunningly recovered another 70 or so Segfault stories from the Internet archive. There are only 161 missing stories now, and that's not counting (well, falsely counting) the 6 or so I've received from the original authors and not put up yet. Fri Apr 12 2002 08:41 : DSR: DMV crosstitch, cross stitch astronomy pattern I get suprisingly many requests for cross-stitch patterns of various odd kinds; cross stitch scooby doo free patterns was another recent one. It makes me wonder whether the cross stitch community is actually a representational subset of the polity at large, such that you have lovers of smartass bumper stickers who want the same experience in a cross-stitch (I can't imagine a DMV cross-stitch saying anything complimentary about the DMV), cross-stitch/astronomy buffs, cross-stitching Cartoon Network-watching stoners, etc. My father, not the stereotypical cross-stitch producer, did cross-stitch as a hobby, but as far as I know it was always the sappy kind with roosters and inspirational messages. When did the market expand to such an extent? Was it the poster for Fargo that did it? I personally would love a cross-stitch of this so-unrealistic-it's-kitchy-yet-completely-real picture , but I doubt cross-stitch has a high enough resolution for it. Fri Apr 12 2002 09:10 : One Tim Stoop recommended PHP-Nuke for the Segfault rewrite. The author of PHP-Nuke lives in Venezuela and the current top story is on the current crisis there. Fri Apr 12 2002 09:55 : I'm not terribly excited about the new Google API because their Terms Of Service prohibit me from doing "meta-searches", and even though I'm not sure what "meta-searches" are, I hate being prohibited from doing meta-anything. Fri Apr 12 2002 12:15 : Googlewhack I found as someone else's search request: fgebhfgehc nagvonpgrevny (rot13ed as usual; contains a proper noun and as such is invalid under Hoyle's Rules of Googlewhacking (revised)). Tue Apr 16 2002 09:30 : C'mon! Ask the tough question! (The tough question being "If every time particular copyrights are about to expire Congress extends copyright terms, as happened throughout the 20th century, doesn't that violate the spirit of the 'limited time' clause?" The corollary question being: "Will there be a point at which your clients will say 'OK, that's enough' and stop lobbying for another extension?") I thought of that question as soon as I saw the headline of the article, and read the whole article hoping it would be asked, and it wasn't. Bah! Tue Apr 16 2002 09:37 : I wasn't planning on including this photo in a roundup, because it seemed like a really cheap shot, but after I found it, Mike Popovic also found it and told me about it, so why not? Tue Apr 16 2002 10:06 : Well, Uncle Sam and Uncle Gray have cashed my tax checks, so I'm the poorest I've been in a while. I don't understand why my witholdings were so far off from what I actually owed in taxes. Wed Apr 17 2002 12:08 : Went with Sumana to see a speech by Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct. It was pretty interesting; assuming one limits the universe of discourse to hour-long speeches about the past tense, it was one of the most interesting speeches one could possibly make. However, more interesting and fun was hanging out in a college cafe with Sumana, Adam Parrish, and Adam's friend Josh. I had more mediocre tiramisu. This is MEDIOCRE TIRAMISU WATCH, day 1,306! America held hostage... by mediocre tiramisu! Wed Apr 17 2002 18:38 : Playing Illuminati tonight with Jason and Manoj. Haven't done that for quite a while. I need to practice, as I'll probably be playing a lot of Illuminati next week with Susanna. Wed Apr 17 2002 20:46 : Sumana finds amusement in my pronunciation of the words "dinosaur", "whale", and "vegetable", so today I made some ASCII drawings of each to cheer her up: _-_ / o_| / /\ --Hello, Sumana! Rawr! / / . - . - _____ ___----_____/ / . \. / . \ / / - / __\/______________ / / / / / \ / / / / _____ _/ | o \/ / / /+ || | || | / _/ / | || | || Rawr!-- ========> _/ v (__/ `_oo `_oo \___________________/ oOo@()-- Rawr! Wed Apr 17 2002 22:21 : Manoj won the Illuminati game, despite the fact that I had by far the best set of cards. Oh well. This breaks my streak of about 10 wins in at-work Illuminati games. Due to various innovations I have developed, chief among them being tying the floss to the little plastic floss threader, I've been able to get my nightly flossing time down from 15 minutes to 4 minutes. This makes my daily tooth care routine much less onerous. Wed Apr 17 2002 22:25 : Pete Peterson II has oggs from a live performance of Last Transmission From Starbase XY003. I haven't listened to them yet, as I don't have an OGG player set up, but hey, it's Starbase XY003, so how can you go wrong? By not listening to it, that's how! Update: There are MP3s as well. Thu Apr 18 2002 08:54 : I don't know these people . I suspect that they are stock footage people, who live in poses of such generic applicability that their lives are completely devoid of semantics. ("Managing collaborative software development? I thought we were providing e-solutions for virtual business networks!") Also, their laptops are cooler than mine, so I'm jealous. Thu Apr 18 2002 17:21 : Thirdhand from my mother comes this interesting tidbit: There will be a visable pass tonight of the Space Shuttle and the Space Station. You will be able to see the Space Shuttle first rising in the northwest at about 7:55:33 PM followed by the Space Station about 30 seconds later. They will pass northeast of us at about 50 degrees of elevation from the northeastern horizon. Both will travel to the east southeast and disappear from sight about two and a half minutes after 8. That reading is apparently for Bakersfield; go here to see where and when to look if you don't live in Bakersfield. Thu Apr 18 2002 21:57 : I couldn't find either the space shuttle or the ISS. Bah! I saw Mars, though, and another planet (Jupiter?). Fri Apr 19 2002 13:52 : I'm getting help for NewsBruiser's CSS from world-famous CSS expert Todd Fahrner, who sits across the cube from me. He pointed me here , and, strangely, here . Meanwhile, Mike Sussman is pointing out the page of silly Subversion logos , most of which involve bananas for reasons I do not comprehend. And finally a DSR for you to puzzle over: file permissions penguin mints. Fri Apr 19 2002 14:17 : FHW: "U.S. stocks up on upbeat view of Microsoft results". Upbeat view of Microsoft results! Buy in bulk and save! Sat Apr 20 2002 16:03 : Instapundit discovers Paul Conrad , and it ain't pretty. Sun Apr 21 2002 13:26 : I'm writing this from the Internet kiosk at Berkeley. Sumana has a Java applet that runs SSH, so she was finally able to view Seth's (Cyberware-censored) diary from this kiosk. In a little while the two of us are going off to see Merrily We Roll Along; I'll let you know how it goes. Sun Apr 21 2002 21:15 : Merrily We Roll Along turned out not to be very interesting, so we left at intermission. I fear that I just watched Degeneracy: The Musical and that my reactions are similar to the reactions of others upon playing Degeneracy. However, there were several good things about the production. The main one was that the Dave Foley-esque guy who played Charlie stole the show. Charlie was my favorite character, and had by far the best song that we heard. There was also a guy who played a lawyer and who looked and dressed exactly like Seth, except that he was black. In other doppleganger news, the female lead looked and spoke exactly like my cousin Shannon, except that Shannon is a lot taller. Anyway... tomorrow afternoon I'm picking up Susanna from the airport. Welcome back, Susanna! Sun Apr 21 2002 22:19 : I spent the evening writing a magic system for the new game. I started out with the sample Enchanter-style magic system that comes with Inform and that I used in Guess the Verb!, but now there's almost none of it left. It has almost the same interface, but the implementation is completely different. The main change I had to make was to add support for NPCs who could learn and cast spells, the same as the player. The default system had two big things standing in the way of this: Every spell had an object containing the number of times the player had memorized it. I moved this into the object representing a spellcaster's memory. When you memorized a spell it would change the spell's location in the object tree, making it a child of your memory object. The location of the spell in its spellbook was a mere reference to the spell object. Now it's the other way around; spells are always located in the object tree underneath the spellbooks or whatever containing them, and people who memorize spells get references to the spell objects in their memories. I really like text adventures with spellcasting systems, and this one's going to be great; lots of spells, lots of fun magic toys, lots of incredibly evil puzzles. Mwahaha! Mon Apr 22 2002 07:08 : Joshua Barratt, if you read this please send me email. A friend of yours from UCLA is looking for you. Is it true that you have defected to Canada? Please advise. Mon Apr 22 2002 07:12 : I suppose I never realized it because he spends all his time messing with CSS, which to me has always seemed like the "square" activity that computer programming seems like to the public at large, but Todd Fahrner is a really funny guy. One of his recent commit messages: internal reorganization into functional modules to facilitate growth, change, overrides, etc Mon Apr 22 2002 16:08 : Susanna is here and healthy. Mon Apr 22 2002 19:32 : Susanna's showing me her souvenirs from Romania, which I can't describe because many of them are gifts for people who read this weblog. For four months she's been using as a laundry bag the grocery bag from the time I took her grocery shopping just before she left. Also, I found this from WIGU : Amy Hughes makes amazing things out of Lego, and it's Lego-scale stuff, not hugely outsized Lego equivalents of bitmaps or whatever. Like Jeffrey Rowland before me, I make no apologies for loving this stuff, because 1) it is incredibly cool, and 2) I'm spending all my spare time writing a spellcasting system for Inform. Mon Apr 22 2002 22:13 : Photo roundup (I found that these links go stale after a month; I need to figure out what to do about it): There's a whole book about the megamouth , and various cute megamouth drawings on the web. Megamouth! The mighty megamouth will be your antidote to this picture . If you click, the Terrordactyls will have won! Tue Apr 23 2002 08:19 : DSR: quote on the power of the spoken word including reference to the animal penguin "If only I can make my writing stilted enough, this futuristic com-puting device will understand for what I seek!" Tue Apr 23 2002 08:33 : More megamouths: fossil megamouths , history of the finds (the one in the Natural History museum is the second one to be caught), and more news about the recent find . "I checked it out on the internet and it sure looked like a megamouth." The megamouth and the Internet--together at last! Hey, The Megamouth and the Internet would be a good book title. Tue Apr 23 2002 10:26 : Oh no! Amy Hughes took down her beautiful Lego church and all of her other Lego projects! Amy blames hostile "cretins" for overloading her site with too much traffic. To said cretins I say: bah! Tue Apr 23 2002 18:14 : Kris talks about his megamouth experience , and his preference for the basking shark . I bet just about every geek of my age or younger who grew up in LA has a megamouth memory. This would be a good subject for an anthology. Update: I now have a mental image of Robin Leach saying "Until next time, here's to megamouth memories and champagne dreams!" Tue Apr 23 2002 18:50 : I was working on a horribly Rube Goldberg-esque scheme I devised to have crons on one machine trigger activities on the machine that hosts Crummy, so as to compensate for the brokenness of crons on the machine that hosts Crummy. However, I've since discovered that David fixed crons, and they've been working since the 20th. Huzzah! (1) Wed Apr 24 2002 06:18 : Boy, that Seth David Schoen . When he's not talking about the devious plans of The Man to reduce us all to digital chattel, he's complaining that his arms hurt. I tell ya, it's always arms and The Man with Seth. Wed Apr 24 2002 06:24 : Bill Griffith must have a really long lead time; today's cartoon is a plea to save the Musée Méchanique, which as everyone knows has already been saved. Another one of those cheap "eating the microphone" gags, except he really is "eating the microphone" Wed Apr 24 2002 08:54 : The Knapsack Problem has a brief, polite, saying-bad-things-by-quoting-another-review-which-says-the-bad-things review over at a freeware/shareware/abandonware game site called The Underdogs. I'm not complaining, but (complain complain), why not review and link to one of my real games? But I kid The Underdogs. Wed Apr 24 2002 11:32 : Back from another orthodontist's appointment. I now have little plastic chains over my teeth to pull them back into the space left by the molar extractions. I hope my teeth aren't going to be sore tomorrow. Thu Apr 25 2002 18:35 : I'm in Bakersfield, and having fun. Among other things, I went to Barnes and Noble to cash in the gift certificates I got for Christmas. I got From Dawn to Decadence for $9.99. This is probably symbolic of something. When I get back to Frisco I will dispense with a liberal hand the gifts I've been acquring for people (mainly Sumana and Kevin). Stay tuned. Fri Apr 26 2002 08:34 : I neglected to mention my most mega purchase: I acquired a little four-track recorder for a mere $99. I've finally decided that waiting for the kind of recording software I want to hit Linux, or making idle plans for writing such software, is not a substitute for actually recording songs. Thus, the four-track. The cheapo four-track doesn't have manuals or anything, but how hard can it be to operate a four-track? It's just a cassete recorder and two muxes. Another advantage of the four-track: I can take it down to LA when I go today to visit Adam, and we can do some songs together. Sat Apr 27 2002 13:44 : I keep forgetting what I've mentioned and what I haven't. As I mentioned, I went down to LA yesterday and hung out with Adam, and now I'm back. Kris dropped by and the three of us wrote and recorded a great new song called "After School Special", which I'll put up once I mix it onto an MP3. I played it for Susanna, who likes it. I'm taking Susanna to Target and buying her, as a belated Christmas present, whatever she needs after coming back from Romania. We'll also be developing a roll of film containing the last of Susanna's Romania pictures as well as my LA pictures, including the Big Lebowski Extravaganza! I'll try to get those scanned and up tonight. Speaking of The Big Lebowski and those who took part in it, I was shocked and astounded during the weird West Wing marathon last week to see, in an old WW clip, a Senator played by David Huddleston . Sat Apr 27 2002 19:06 : I realized that I wouldn't be able to actually post my LA pictures to the real web site since I'm away from my private key, so I've posted some choice photos to the backup site. Leonard Photo Roundup: Does Not Support Life (one of the longest-running Kris/Leonard in-jokes, captured on film at last!) Big Lebowski Extravaganza: 1 2 3 I haven't cropped these graphics yet, so be warned. Each is about 200K. Enjoy. More, and MP3, tomorrow. Sun Apr 28 2002 16:16 : Enjoy After School Special . Kris and Adam on vocals, me on guitar. Mostly written by me and Kris. Sumana wants me to explain muxes, which I will do eventually. I realized that a four-track uses demuxes, and not muxes, so I'll have to explain demuxes as well. Sun Apr 28 2002 22:09 : I think it's cool that "airline", "airplane", and "airspace" are all words. Mon Apr 29 2002 17:57 : Spam: New Parental Control Software. Control your parents! Mon Apr 29 2002 19:40 : Sumana (whom--now it can be told--I am dating ) and I have gradually amassed a list of disturbing slash concepts. It's a common enough trope that I'm starting up a new occasional feature, augmenting Disturbing Search Requests with Disturbing Slash Concepts (note that there is overlap between the two). Sumana sent me a partial list of such DSC we've accumulated: News From Lake Wobegon slash Amir Chitra Katha slash National monument slash, eg. the statue of Lincoln from the Lincoln Memorial gettin' it on with the Statue of Liberty Axis of Evil slash Sumana actually saw this mentioned (as a concept, not as a story) somewhere: slash involving Oprah Winfrey, Tom Selleck, and Julia Roberts Finally, in a Modern Humorist-esque move, Sumana proposes "random slash that isn't fanfic at all! 'That guy who runs the taco stand and the girl at the coffee cart.'" I hope you sleep well tonight. Mon Apr 29 2002 20:02 : I've got spellcasting working in my game. Another big improvement of my system over the example one that comes with Inform is that saying CAST [SPELL] doesn't automatically remove that spell from your memory. Now, in an Enchanter-type spellcasting system there are three kinds of result you can get from CAST [SPELL]. There's the "That's so obviously stupid/counterproductive that I'm not even going to let you do that" message, the "You cast the spell but it doesn't do anything" message, and the "You cast the spell and it does something" message, which is the only message that changes game state (the other two are only good for funny messages). Note that in the first case you didn't actually cast the spell; but the example Inform magic system will remove the spell from your memory as though you actually had cast it. In Inform terms, what I added was sort of a 'before' rule for spells (there's a before rule in the example code, but you forget the spell before it's called so it can't do this). Mon Apr 29 2002 20:27 : The Making Of After School Special: First In A Series Of One "The swim meet failed when the something something jailed. Who got jailed?" "The assistant coach." "Yeah! Like in that movie!" "What?" "There was some movie where a bunch of cheerleaders went to jail." "Did you find this movie in the regular part of the video store, or the part behind the little curtain?" Mon Apr 29 2002 21:01 : The past few days have been days of narrow defeats. As noted in other people's weblogs, I lost two games of Scrabble by a margin of three points. I also lost a game of Illuminati to Susanna, though I won the rematch. Mon Apr 29 2002 21:02 : Pictures from LA are up. 11 and 12 are for the upcoming Guess the Verb! tour; don't pay any heed to them yet. Camille wrote to tell me that she finds Kris "quite attractive...or maybe it is just photogenic". Well, check this out! Sorry, Camille, but Kris is taken . I have a habit of putting my arms around people's shoulders in pictures ( 1 2 ), which I get some guff for. I just do it to add to the camaraderie. Is that so wrong? Mon Apr 29 2002 21:32 : Sumana says that there actually is an Oprah/Tom/Julia slash story. Must...make...witty...unrelated...observation... The expiration date on my milk is "May 2 1833". There must be a wraparound on expiration dates or something, because it still tastes good. Mon Apr 29 2002 21:39 : Oh, crap! You have your trader pick up the phone and say you need a bid on 500,000 shares of Crummy.com. Crummy is trading at 7, down from 120. It has been down in a straight line. You need money. It is a place to get money. The trader on the other end, from the sell side, has no interest in buying any Crummy.com. None whatsoever. In fact, he has watched this stock go down every day. Like everybody else. He says he will bid 5 for all 500,000. But Jacobs has never ever seen a bear market. He doesn't know that's a fair bid. That's a great bid! He thinks the sell-side guy is ripping him off. So he passes. And he sells off some more of his winners to finance the loser, Crummy.com. Mon Apr 29 2002 22:02 : Features I Want But Will Never Have: First In A Series What I Want: Google has a 'relatedness' algorithm that, presumably, assigns a number to every pair of web pages depending on how similar those web pages are. I'm not interested for the moment in the workings of the algorithm or how accurate it is. What I wantTM is an interface to the other end of this algorithm; I want to see which pages are least similar to other pages. Feasibility Study That Ignores The Real Problems: The web is, for all intents and purposes, connected (I don't think there are, eg., two large groups of pages such that you can't get from one group to another via hypertext links), so even if your algorithm goes by links you can get a nonzero relatedness number for any two pages. The chaotic nature of the web would ensure that most sites would not have thousands of ties for 'least relevant site' (I think this undesirable outcome is more likely for bigger sites; standard deviation of the mean distance to a site is much smaller for larger sites: any given site is about as relevant to Yahoo as is any other site. But more complex algorithms would reduce the importance of mere link distance.) Why I'll Never Have It: The problems are threefold: first, you probably don't have infinite precision, so thousands of sites would get rounded down to zero relevance. Second, it's a lot faster to find close nodes in a graph than it is to find far nodes, so the algorithm would have to use a lot of extra index space or take a long time to run. Third, this idea is completely useless (I could be wrong; come up with a good use for this feature and win a valueless crummy.com prize!). Tue Apr 30 2002 09:05 : From the Subversion team's status report: Greg Stein's in town -- we'll be closing the three fs-related M12 issues, and scheduling pre-alpha and Alpha. We'll also be gettin' some of "that Good Greg Luvin'". This is a direct quote. Porn spam: "PLUS Live Dungeons and cams" Leonard: (thinks) "What sort of stupid RPG is that?" Sat May 04 2002 09:02 : So, I heard from Josh and hooked him up with the guy what was looking for him. He's in lovely San Luis Obispo, the plan to jump ship to Canada not having worked out. He has a story about being stuck in Souix Falls, South Dakota. He probably doesn't consider it a story, but when he mentions it I become an ACK character drawn against a blank pastel background: 'story sense... tingling!'. Maybe he'll put it up on his nonexistant web site . Sat May 04 2002 09:12 : Decline Of Civilization Search Requests: funny picture of a cucumber Not even the most decadent Roman emperor in the midst of his most drunken bacchanal would have called out "A cucumber! I demand a picture of a cucumber! And by Jove, it had better be funny!" I'm starting to think I shouldn't have read A Confederacy of Dunces. Sat May 04 2002 09:21 : Batteries don't work the way I thought they did, so I have to seriously rethink the opening of my game. If only I'd paid more attention in Physics 8C! Sat May 04 2002 09:35 : Word Replacement Headline Watch: Sun Linux boss quits would be funnier as "Sun Linux box quits". Sat May 04 2002 09:39 : Andy (Schile) is such a modest fellow; I can't ever recall hearing him toot his own horn about his critically acllaimed avant-garde film cycle on frog gastrulation. It was the talk of Cannes! Sat May 04 2002 21:05 : Sumana, Adam and I went to the Exploratorium today. It was a lot of fun! And (though it leaves tomorrow) they have the old math exhibit from the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry, with the bell curve demonstration and the Mobius train track and the multiplication with light bulbs and the gravity well and the timeline that goes from 1100 to 1966. Turns out the math exhibit is by Eames, designers of the Eames chair and espousers of the 1960s fulleresque (not to be confused with fullerene) using-technology-to-solve-social-problems idea I find so seductive. There was also a 'mathematical film festival' of sorts, though the connections to mathematics were only rarely non-stretched. The best film was the Oskar Fischinger 1935 film "Composition in Blue", which played like a Vorticist Art Clokey version of the 1939 World's Fair. Gumby: this is the future! It was filmed in GASPARVISION, the amazing filming technique which survives the death of the filmmaker! Honorable mention, for being a really cool hack, goes to "Synchromy", a 1972 film by Norman McLaren. The soundtrack for a film is stored in graphical form in a little bar to the right of the film frames. McLaren had the idea of using the same shapes as both the graphics and the soundtrack. So you hear Atari-esque sounds corresponding to how the sound interpreter interprets the blocks you see on the screen. Also, the film is Canadian and so everything has to be in both English and French: the title card says "Synchromy" and is replaced a couple seconds later with "Synchromie". Finally: in the gift shop of the Exploratorium I bought three packages of astronaut ice cream, something which, when I was a kid, I was either not allowed to buy at museum gift shops, or I was allowed but it was too expensive for its purchase to be feasible. It's certainly not cheap, but now that I can afford it, why not the best, for "the best" equals "three packages of astronaut ice cream"? Sun May 05 2002 09:15 : Crummy Reader-Submitted Material Indeterminant Time Period continues as Andy H. tries to pawn off a silly story about Romans and cucumbers as historical fact. I think he's been reading that Bruce Sterling speech . Sun May 05 2002 09:54 : And unless I missed something, which I probably did, I'm bringing CRSMITP to a close for now with stuff from Xorph 's Brendan Adkins . He sent me an Ambiguous Headline which he promptly put up on his own weblog so I can't use it, but earlier he responded to my discussion of least-relatedness, which I can and will use. The least-relatedness Google feature would be GREAT, assuming it was in any way related to content (which I don't think it could help but be). You could search for, say, Cartoons by Gaspirtz , and then get whatever sites were least related to it, and you'd have a Best of the Web list right there! He marks this in <easy-jab> tags, but since I am pedantic to the point of aggrevation I must point out that relatedness is orthogonal to quality. A good comic like Brendan's is more related to Gaspritz's work than is the boring web page about my cat (it's so boring, I don't even have a cat). He also claims that you could find the worst path of a graph by having a greedy algorithm grab the longest edges instead of the shortest edges, but 1) that doesn't work when all the edges are the same length because they merely represent links between sites, which was my working assumption, and 2) it doesn't work anyway, for the same reason a greedy lowest-cost-path algorithm doesn't work. A--(1)-->B--(1000)-->D | ^ +--(2)-->C----(1)----+ A greedy algorithm chooses ACD, but ABD is much better. Brendan says "I suck at discrete", so a tip: it's usually easy to come up with counterexamples using extreme cases like the one above. Sun May 05 2002 11:38 : As long as I'm drawing block diagrams, I'll explain the mux and demux here. A mux is a black box which takes multiple inputs and lets you control which of those inputs you want to be the output. A n-bit mux takes as its inputs n real input bits and log2(n) additional selection bits. Out of the mux comes one of the input bits, and its value at any point in time corresponds to the value of the input designated by the selection bits. Here's a 4-bit mux. It has two selection bits and one output bit. +---+ input00->|MUX|-->output0 input01->| | input10->| | input11->| | +---+ selector0-^ ^-selector1 If selector0 is 1 and selector1 is 0, then the mux will tie input10 to output0. Most pieces of equipment I can think of that use mux technology actualy use demuxes. A demux is the opposite of a mux. It takes one input and sends it off to one of n places. Here's a four-bit demux. +---+ input0-->|DE |-->output00 |MUX|-->output01 | |-->output10 | |-->output11 +---+ selector0-^ ^-selector1 If selector0 is 0 and selector1 is 1, then the sole input bit will go to output01, and all the other outputs will be left alone. My four-track is basically a tape recorder, some mixer stuff, and two demuxes: +---+ Mic-->| |-->Track 1 | |-->Track 3 +---+ ^-Track selector +---+ Guitar-->| |-->Track 2 (or other| |-->Track 4 input) +---+ ^-Track selector The "A/B box" you buy to connect two printers or two monitors to the same computer (but only one at a time) is also a demux: +---+ Computer->| |->Printer1 | |->Printer2 +---+ ^-A/B switch If you care about truth tables, here's a truth table for a two-bit mux. In0 In1 Sel | Out ------------+---- 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 1 | 0 0 1 0 | 0 0 1 1 | 1 1 0 0 | 1 1 0 1 | 0 1 1 0 | 1 1 1 1 | 1 You can chain muxes and demuxes to ridiculous extents, and in doing so sink into a delusion that your muxes and demuxes form a system of aqueducts and that you are a Sumerian tyrant who controls the flow of water throughout your land. Be careful! Sun May 05 2002 13:19 : More cleaning out my inbox: Seth is the author of the CGI->law interface I mentioned a while back but couldn't find. "I haven't maintained this code in a long time, and it is ugly," he says. He sent me a copy of the code, but I've yet to set it up and see how/whether it works. Sun May 05 2002 18:05 PST : Joe writes (or wrote, a long time ago): Leonard, are you aware that the website known as Builder.com has been revamped and moved to a new url? It is now at builder.com.com Given that you've written about the pronuciation and spelling of "dot com" a number of times, I'd keen to read your thoughts on builder dot com dot com. I have no particular beef with "com.com", but I think that once you control the com.com domain there's no reason to stop at com.com. Since you can create subdomains, why not com.com.com, com.com.com.com, or even com.com.com.com.com.com.com.com? Import some singing Vikings, make good. A family-friendly website. Community! Why not make it interactive? Flash introduction! Viral marketing! Socially conscious! First to market advantage: leverage, disintermediate, revolutionize! Supply chain, old economy, new economy, innovation business model open source change! It's peer-to-peer! Sand Hill Road! Close to the Spiritual Machine: One Hacker's Travels with the Selfish MAME. The Coming Crisis In Design: Giving Thanks For Virtual Sexbots. Identity Over IP. Queueing Theory. The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. This is a Muppet News Flash! Scientists at Muppet Labs have created a conceptual singularity! In one test, incredibly high concentrations of the '.com' meme somehow fragmented the structure of meaning itself, causing seemingly thoughtful discussion to degenerate into buzzword-laced Joycean rambling. More research on this topic will have to wait until construction of the Semiotic Supercollider is completed in 2004, but the future of high-energy textual analysis is bright. We anticipate eventually being able to reduce all attempts at communication to meaningless sounds and nonsensical scribbles. Sun May 05 2002 18:41 : I'm feeling bold today, like a fine barbecue sauce, so I'm going to clear out an email I've been sitting on since October 2000. This one's from Daniel Gast (I don't know if that email address still works), and it explains the mystery of Xfest '89 ! I have reasonable confidence that this stems from a song by the name of "Gutfest '89" by Digital Underground (On the CD "Sex Packets"). If the artist Digital Underground sounds familiar to you (or even if it doesn't, for that matter) they had moderate success with a song by the name of "The Humpty Dance" that has since become something of a cult classic among dance club attendees (in the "ok it's stupid but it gets you on the dance floor and moving" genre). Are you still here, Daniel? If so (or even if not), a much belated thanks. "The Sex Packets" could have been the '90s's Internet-enabled answer to "The Sex Pistols", but they weren't. Sun May 05 2002 18:53 : At the Exploratorium, at one point I misinterpreted something Sumana said as "the meme exhibit". "Let's all go to the meme exhibit!", said Adam. "Have you heard about the meme exhibit?" Mon May 06 2002 08:39 : Spam: INSTANT ACCESS to a LARGER MANHOOD!" Access? Mon May 06 2002 11:27 : More ancient (Chinese) NYCB history: in response to this call for science fiction stories on the legal effects of relativistic time dilation, Sean Neakums once wrote: I recently read Stephen Baxter's "Space", in which a character is induced to undertake a dangerous mission by the promise of riches generated via compound interest. This character did a few more trips, and returned after one such trip to discover that the banks had undertaken to appropriate the bank accounts of star travellers. I forget exactly why; I read fast with a retention rate of close to zero. "Space" is a follow-on to "Time", also a good book. If you liked Time, you'll love Space! Coming soon: Mass! Mon May 06 2002 13:52 : I was wondering when this would happen. Fortunately, it appears to be a joke, and hopefully its existence as a joke will preempt someone taking up the cause for real. Mon May 06 2002 21:30 : I just had a brief, pleasant chat with Seth, during the course of which we came up with an idea for a sitcom in which the characters are forever finding themselves reenacting various thought experiments and logical puzzles. "Wait a minute, why are we suddenly in this lifeboat?" "I want to eat, but you have my left chopstick and you have my right chopstick!" "I find it very strange that half of these people always lie and the other half always tell the truth!" Mon May 06 2002 22:50 : While searching on Sumana's behalf for this Atlantic article on Saddam Hussein, I discovered The Life of Antonius Heliogabalus , an account of the excesses of one of the later Roman emperors. He's one of the ones who comes in around the time the author of the history of Rome is getting really tired of writing a history of Rome, and just wants to get it over with so they can write the chapter about The Continuing Roman Influence and have a beer. As such, Heliogabalus usually rates a mere mention in a list of bad emperors, and it's not generally known (or was not least to me) the virtuoso and inventive ways in which he expressed his total insuitability for power (though I'm not convinced he was much worse than your average bad Roman emperor in this regard). The Life is chock-full of interesting anecdotes, of which my favorite is this one, near the end: The prophecy had been made to him by some Syrian priests that he would die a violent death. And so he had prepared cords entwined with purple and scarlet silk, in order that, if need arose, he could put an end to his life by the noose. He had gold swords, too, in readiness, with which to stab himself, should any violence impend. He also had poisons ready, in ceraunites and sapphires and emeralds, with which to kill himself if destruction threatened. And he also built a very high tower from which to throw himself down, constructed of boards gilded and jeweled in his own presence, for even his death, he declared, should be costly and marked by luxury. Tue May 07 2002 06:44 : Seth David Schoen presents Heliogabalus: The Time-Constrained Neil Gaiman Comic . Covers much the same ground as the Life I linked to yesterday, only in comic book format, with odd digressions that connect smoothly back to the narrative (actually, now that I think about it, the Life has odd digressions that don't connect smoothly back to the narrative, thanks to the interpolations of later scribes), and lettered so small you can barely read it (or maybe that's just my monitor). That same page says that American Gods is now out in paperback. "If you've avoided American Gods because of the high price of hardcovers, grab yourself the paperback now." Why, that's exactly why I was avoiding American Gods! I always feel bad buying books in hardcover. I bought The Years of Rice and Salt in hardcover; I used my gift certificate but I still feel bad about it. Hm, "Not buying some information you are interested in, in favor of waiting for it to be available in a lower-cost medium" sounds like a New Copyright Crime . After all, it's a slippery slope towards wanting to download it off the Internet for free. PS: Page 13 of the comic has a cool drawing of a crocodile. Tue May 07 2002 09:24 : Something something happened that I don't know about; I'm getting a zillion (1 metric zillion == 14) search requests for "song from the big sombrero", "big sombrero song", and variants. They could be referring to this movie , but I don't know why. It started suddenly at 3:30 in the morning and continues unabated. Tue May 07 2002 10:16 : From the Land Of The Philosophical Thought Experiments (formerly the United Kingdom, soon to be SethAndLeonardSitcomistan) comes Battleground God , the online quiz that probes your position vis-a-vis theism for inconsistencies (Sumana, who pointed me to it, humorously misremembered the title as "Battlefield God"). I love these philosophers.co.uk quizzes ( a previous one ) because they allow me to wallow in the internal consistency of my various philosophical stances. One day I'll get my comeuppance, I know. And when that happens, I'll... have to modify some of my philosophical stances. Tue May 07 2002 17:55 : My mother, a bit defensively, writes: You have TOO been to the exploratorium. Probably several times. Your Uncle Leonard and I took you one specific time that I remember. I think Robert was with us too. Then we went at least one time with Dad. I say 'a bit defensively' since, although I don't remember ever going to the Exploratorium before, I certainly never claimed that I hadn't been before. Tue May 07 2002 18:44 : Seth pointed out a bug in NewsBruiser's handling of leap years. I have no real excuse, but I can try to make up a funny fake excuse: I was too cheap to pay for isitleapyearornot.com's Isitleapyearornot Premium service. Tue May 07 2002 19:40 : False Advertising: A Case Study (second in a series) 100% Yarn Dyed Cotton: wrapper of ultra-cheap boxer shorts 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton: tag of ultra-cheap boxer shorts Wed May 08 2002 17:39 : Forward from Sumana, hereby forwarded to my mother: Green Eggs and Lembas Wed May 08 2002 19:51 : I wonder if Osama bin Laden ever thinks: "If x, then I win!" Thu May 09 2002 09:17 : I reread The Martian Chronicles; the last time I read it was in that dark stretch between fourth and seventh grade, so my memory of it was a palimpsest. I don't think I read it with very high comprehension the first time; I remember reading the ending and not understanding it, finally deciding that the Martians were underwater. I guess I wanted Martians, damn it. Bradbury writes purple prose, as always, and gets away with it, except near the end. It's pretty coherent for a bunch of short stories strung together by exposition. I recommend it, despite the occasional clunker. I got my copy in a used bookstore and it's a promotional version released in conjunction with a 1970s NBC made-for-TV movie. The back of the book praises Bradbury's "blending of... terror and tenderness, wonder and contempt." Yes, that magical mixture of wonder and contempt. Thu May 09 2002 10:16 : I forgot to mention that when Susanna and I went to Target we bought two rubber duckies for my mother to use in her hot tub. Thu May 09 2002 10:42 : Ssh! If Seth finds out about pyDDR , he might explode! If I spend too much time at the PyGame page, I might explode! Thu May 09 2002 13:06 : Kevin keeps telling everyone, Slashdot-style, that Apple To Release Rack-Mounted Macs . And, whenever he does, I keep making the Segfault-esque joke that New Rack-Mounted Macs Mountable Only In Special Apple Racks. Thu May 09 2002 17:29 : I re-recorded Android Assassin From Vega XV, The at its proper speed (faster). The old version is now the "slow dance mix", and I no longer recommend it. I also recorded Sand Bar , my second contribution to Jake's compilation. It cleverly squeezes twenty seconds of song into ten seconds (a ten second length is one of the constraints on the songs in the compilation) by playing both verses simultaneously. Fri May 10 2002 08:29 Yogurt Flavors I Like That I Feel As Though I Shouldn't Like: Lemon Yogurt Flavors I Was Afraid I Would Like, But Which I Don't (Whew): Strawberry Mango Fri May 10 2002 11:10 I Was Meaning To Search For That Myself Search Requests: pimps ahoy. They were probably actually looking for Pimps at Sea , a joke webpage for a nonexistent Bungie game which I'd been meaning for a while to re-find and link to. I forgot where I saw it first, which gives me license to mention it on NYCB without crediting anyone. Fri May 10 2002 12:51 : Uninspiring Movie Taglines: First In A Series They could have gotten away, but they kept putting it off and now there is NO ESCAPE! Fri May 10 2002 20:39 : I re-recorded Sand Bar in a higher key (it's a little low for me at the very end), and Jake has agreed to turn the two WAVs into a proper MP3 (the first verse is supposed to play in the left channel, the second verse in the right, so that you can properly separate them). I'm pretty sure my cable is to blame in turning the lovely stereo sound coming out of my four-track into the mono sound present in recordings. Fri May 10 2002 22:28 : The main map for my game has been implemented in Inform, though the rooms don't have descriptions yet. I also grafted in the fiendish puzzle . Map-wise (and, I now suspect, in other respects), the game owes something to Planetfall, the first Infocom game I played (and still my favorite). I realized this upon noticing that I was giving my rooms Planetfall-homage names like "Dull Art-Laden Hallway West". I've got until the end of September if I want to enter this game into the 2002 competition. I might be able to do it, though it would be close. It's probably going to be a bit long for the competition, anyway. Fri May 10 2002 22:34 : I was Weak from hunger, and, not wanting to start Fainting and getting beat up by the jackals, I made some pasta and dumped canned soup onto it and ate almost all of it. I'm still starving! Do I have a tapeworm? Did I inadvertently discover the recipe for Subtraction Stew? Or (the anticlimactic, 'likely' explanation) am I now simply craving a sweet dessert-like food item to complete my meal? I could really go for that blob of Planetfall red goo right about now. I didn't even try to make all those nerdy references. Sat May 11 2002 16:33 : I grabbed the missing Nowhere Standard Time tracks from a backup of the master (I can't find the actual master at the moment, which bothers me; I saw it mere days ago). I'll MP3 them eventually, but first I'm going to a party. Sun May 12 2002 00:09 : Back from the party. It was fun. I played Devil Bunny Needs A Ham with Zack. Other stuff ensued which I need to find URLs so that I can properly link my description of it (a peculiar hypertextual disease: linker's block), and I'm too tired to find those URLs. I will mention that I went to Berkeley Bowl and bowled a couple frames. No, just kidding. Berkeley Bowl is a supermarket and they sell a line of very tasty soups under the "Turtle Island" brand. When I say these are tasty soups I am quite serious. This has nothing to do with the party, but before I went to the party I stopped to get some ginger beer (it turns out that everyone who brought any drink at all brought ginger beer; is it the new hip drink among teetotaling nerds?) and I also bought 6 boxes of the delicious soup. Dystopian Soup Slogan: "So good, it's thoughtcrime!" The soup's gimmick is that it comes with a goofy little bottle of Tabasco which you can use to spice up the soup. It's really good with Tabasco (even though Daniel Rall hates Tabasco, and the Spice Weasel I got for Kevin that we use on our burritos is convincing me of the evils of Tabasco), but I haven't tried it with my generic Louisiana pepper sauce; will keep informed. I got sidetracked again. What I meant to do was thank Shweta for hosting the party, and Zack for providing the venue, and also for providing the thing that I will talk about that I'm too tired and rambling to find the link for, and as such I will do it later today after I wake up from the sleep that will be mine once I run my nightly dental hygeine/yoga gauntlet. Sun May 12 2002 10:26 : Party, Part II: Zack, like Seth, has a great library, though his is a lot heavier on the fantasy and science fiction. I borrowed The Star Fraction by Ken McCleod, and Zack wrote his name on the cover page, making it Ex Bibliotheca Zack! Yes, the link to Zack's homepage to facilitate the bad joke was the link I needed to find very early this morning and didn't have the energy for. I could write three long rambling paragraphs but not find an easy-to-find link, because writing and link-finding are two different things, and I only had energy for one. There was a bit of singing at the party. Unbenownst to ASCAP, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Nathaniel, and it was so bad that we changed key after almost every line; I think the more people you have singing "Happy Birthday", the worse it is. We also all joined in in singing TMBG's "Kiss Me, Son Of God", probably in homage to discussion earlier of Scott McCloud and his family singing "Birdhouse in Your Soul" at a comic convention and the entirety of the comic convention joining in. We had pizza from Zachary's (the Berkeley pizza place, not the home of Zack), which was good and which people at work have been bothering me to try. I've tried it! It's good! Stop bothering me! (Note: it's not that bad (the bothering, I mean)). Sun May 12 2002 11:13 : Dialogue from our game of Devil Bunny Needs A Ham: "I'm beginning to think that obtaining a ham is secondary among Devil Bunny's priorities." "It never really was about the ham with Devil Bunny." Also, the trailer for the sequel game, Devil Bunny Hates The Earth: First, he needed a ham! Now, he hates the earth! And only 2-5 players can stop him! Sun May 12 2002 11:20 : I've MP3ed all the remaining NST MP3s and am currently hunting through through the 2000 programs listed on Freshmeat for automatically writing the ID tag of MP3s. Sun May 12 2002 12:21 : glark looks really cool, and (in a move sure to infuriate Kevin) has an appropriate name. Uploading tagged NST MP3s now. Sun May 12 2002 21:44 : A New Kind of Science to finally be released on Tuesday. I'm interested, but Crackpot Sense... tingling! Mon May 13 2002 08:45 : Cool domain name I thought of last night: samiz.com . The site behind it is pretty cool, and reminds me of Kevin's. The current cover story is sure to be a hit with Jake. (Yes, all this recent content is a transparent attempt to keep Jake using the web.) Mon May 13 2002 08:48 : Speaking of Kevin, a missive from him involving something he heard on NPR: "The upcoming Star Wars film has the awful inevitability of a soviet election" - don't know why, but that precisely summed up my feelings on the matter. Mon May 13 2002 12:20 : A sudden panic seized me. What if all the warning labels on innocuous products like mops and bathrugs, all the "use at your own risk" notices on paper cutters and THIS SOFTWARE COMES WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY announcements on roguelike games, what if all of this phony riskmongering has desensitized me to actual risk, so that I shrug off impending doom even when it is clearly labeled as such, and go to a horrible fate because of the lack of a THIS STUFF IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS AND WE'RE NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE WE'RE AFRAID YOU'LL SUE US BECAUSE YOU INJURED YOUR FINGER sticker? Mon May 13 2002 15:18 : Boilerplate from the Mozilla release notes : This source code is subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations and other U.S. law, and may not be exported or re-exported to certain countries (currently Afghanistan (Taliban controlled areas)... Let's hunt down the remaining Taliban by exporting Mozilla to every square mile of Afghanistan and seeing where it's illegal! Tue May 14 2002 10:16 : Reader Brian D. Hicks writes: As long as you stay away from the Second Weblog Foundation Trilogy which was written by some people who were not Asimov a few years back, I'd say you're golden. I'd forgotten about those! And for good reason; the one by David Brin is okay but the others are not so good, Al. Tue May 14 2002 12:52 : Gregory Baumgardner alleges that I'm "being funded by wealthy investors looking to promote sheer insanity. Issues doesn't cover it with this one." It's twue, it's twue. Except for the funding part. PS: Does "It's twue, it's twue" originate with Blazing Saddles, or is it (as I mantain) Blazing Saddles' tribute to Elmer Fudd cartoons? I'm almost positive I've heard Elmer Fudd say that in some 1950s short. I picture him pounding his fists on the ground, bawling "Oh, it's twue! It's twue! I kiwwed a cute widdle wabbit!" Tue May 14 2002 15:15 : That Gives Me An Idea Search Requests: most money contest "nigerian scam" Have you received a spam scam soliciting your money laundering services on behalf of a war criminal or other malcontent? Crummy.com wants to know! Send mail to "money-laundering-scam-contest at crummy dot com" with your name, the name and checkered biography of the malcontent (and his/her pandering intermediary, if sufficiently sordid), the amount of money in question, and the percentage of that money designated as your cut. Valueless crummy.com prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Largest proposed sum to be laundered Largest cut of laundered sum offered Single most morally dubious proposition (weighted average of: evilness of malcontent, amount of money to be laundered, size of payoff. Evilness of malcontent to be determined at sole discretion of judges) Honorable mention (for those entries, which, though proposing the laundering of a relatively modest sum, are particularly audacious in other respects). All qualifying solicitations, even those received previous to announcement of this contest, are eligible. Writing your own spam scams for purposes of this contest is strictly prohibited (but funny). Contest will end when I have enough entries. Mon May 20 2002 09:14 : Mike Popovic's secret project revealed! Mon May 20 2002 09:38 : On Friday I went to a graduation party for Sumana. Happy graduation, Sumana! (even though you're not done with your finals... I never understood that) We played Taboo. I always start out not liking Taboo but eventually I warm to it. There were enough geeks present that we could effectively describe appropriate words ("throne", "leprechaun", "wish") in terms of Nethack; that was pretty funny. I also concocted punch with Nandini, Sumana's sister. Everyone loved the punch. We are wizards of punch! I told Seth about my game. "Your text adventures are better than any other text adventures," he said. Wow! He wasn't even drunk ! Mon May 20 2002 13:37 : Joe Barr's frontier attitude has clearly been rubbing off on Nick Petreley : It should be against the law to use POP3 for e-mail, and in anticipation of that law, I've used IMAP4 for many years. Mon May 20 2002 14:52 : Jason's worst-case scenario: "Imagine debugging a genetic algorithm on a buggy quantum computer running a Microsoft webserver." Mon May 20 2002 15:18 : Oh no! Steven Jay Gould dead at 60 ! (Seth brings the tragic news) Mon May 20 2002 21:18 : The mundane follows the tragic: I changed the front page to display the most recent 20 entries, since the old practice of displaying the current month's entries got a little bandwidth-intensive around the end of the month. More game work. I discovered that one of my features is of the class of "Wow, this is a lot more difficult/tedious to implement than I thought." This is basically the state in which I spent the entire Degeneracy development process, and for a while I was fighting off despair, having subconsciously decided that IF programming was inherently as tedious as writing Degeneracy had been. That's not the case, though; this game is orders of magnitude less tedious to write than Degeneracy. The default Inform magic system is so procedural! If you cast a spell on an object, the object never actually finds out about it; all the logic for handling the magic is inside the spell! I changed it to do dispatch to the object. Mon May 20 2002 21:24 : Wow, the meaningless option poll is so meaningless that COPOUT can't accurately display the results. Proposed crime: Embezzlement of Nigerian government funds From Sumana: Sumana's cut: 25% ($7,500,000) Proposed crime: Embezzlement of Nigerian government funds From my mother ("The syntax does appear to be from a Nigerian English language learner," she says): Amount: $40,600,000 My mother's cut: Not specified Proposed crime: Hiding assets from the Nigerian government For some reason I get the feeling that people think this contest is not a real contest. Well, it is! Right down to the valueless prizes! Send in your incitements to fraud today! I have a feeling that the new scams are a bit toned down compared to the old-school ones, in terms of the unsavoriness of the characters and activities involved. Tue May 21 2002 07:31 : I find it amusing that this fellow had the following to say about Zo� : "Don't be put off by the awkwardly phrased manifesto, download it, and try it out." And I like that the author of Zo� used that quote to head up said manifesto . Two defining features of computer geeks are 1) that sort of self-awareness, and 2) that even our awkwardly phrased manifestos are eminently practical. Zo� is a email client. It's also a email server. And a long term archive. And a search engine. And an application server. All that at once on your desktop. Or server. Or both. Or it doesn't matter because client and server are the same. It's not "Workers of the world, unite!", but the workers of the world have yet to unite, whereas by all accounts Zo� is both client and server. (That reminds me, I need to talk about The Star Fraction.) I had all this in my head yesterday, but it didn't really fit in with the silly in-joke I had for the Zo� link so I didn't write it, which is a shame because last night my page was visited by the author of Zo� (he uses a stats service which shows up in my referer log); and he probably won't be back to read my equally silly but lengthier analysis. I still haven't tried Zoe, though (it's proprietary and there are warnings about problems running on Linux and in non-IE browsers). Tue May 21 2002 07:43 : A Mike-ish way to deny something: I can neither confirm nor neither confirm nor deny. Tue May 21 2002 09:17 : Tonight's Episode: None Dare Call It Murder Tue May 21 2002 09:34 : The San Francisco Examiner has gone over to a tabloid layout, in a seeming attempt to showcase their sensationalist tabloid-quality reporting . Tonight's Episode, I mean, Today's Top Story: D.C.'s Death Merchants. Correction: It's the Examiner, not the Chronicle. [A] decision that is sure to... bring smiles to the face of Internet radio executives nationwide. Not to mention to the face of ACTUAL DAMN PEOPLE! Tue May 21 2002 11:40 : Scientist Creates Hideously Deformed Dinosaur . Good thing he used wholesome selective breeding techniques instead of evil genetic modification! Tue May 21 2002 18:35 : I'm aghast! Daniel Gast wrote me back relatively soon, despite my having waited 1.5 years to answer his email about XFest '89! He points out an error in my etymological note; "Sex Packets" was the name of the album on which "Gutfest '89" appeared, and "Digital Underground" was the name of the band, not vice versa (or verce visa). Tue May 21 2002 18:44 : Six arrested over 'Nigerian e-mail' fraud (from Sumana). Does this portend an early end for the scam contest? More importantly, does it portend a much-delayed end to the scam mails themselves? I'm inclined to think not; it seems to work too well not to be imitated like crazy. Tue May 21 2002 18:53 : My First Mondegreen: The mother of A. Holloway humorously mistook the title lyric of Interesting Places to Die for "Interesting Places to Dine". I hereby dub this the name of the previously nameless Crummy Restaurant Review recurring feature (examples: 1 2 ). My First Filk: Said A. Holloway then went and wrote a filk/parody of IPtD with that title. The lyrics are available for your delectability . Tue May 21 2002 18:58 : A rubber ducky update from Susanna: Mommy really likes her rubber duckies. When we're in the hot tub she goes "oh no! the ducky is going to the filter! hurry catch it!" and etc. And she sings to them. =) Tue May 21 2002 20:22 : After a long romance and a lengthy engagement , Adam and Kim are to be married in July! I recently recieved my invitation, addressed to "Mr. Leonard Richardson and Guest". I get to take the anonymous SourceCast user to the wedding! The invitation is hand-made by Kim, and very lovely. Wed May 22 2002 11:43 : Sumana's now using the new NewsBruiser. Huzzah! Busy day--I got a bunch of issues dumped in my lap and had to tease out the actual requirements. Thu May 23 2002 08:01 : Kevan sends a link to the Spam Scam Contest's first non-Nigerian entry. Sum: $36,000,000 Kevan's cut: Not stated Proposed crime: I'm not entirely sure (conspiring to hide the spoils of war?), but it ain't legal. Kevan hopes this will win the audaciousness award, and it probably will, not only for the bad light in which it seems determined to cast our boys, but for its obsessive use of military beuracratese and terrorism button pushing. "dreaded Taleban AlQeada terrorist network dot com!" Thu May 23 2002 09:52 : The Enterprise cliff-hanger last night was quite exciting! Also, Daniels (the agent from the future) looks a lot like my co-worker Jason Brittain. The obvious conclusion: Jason is also from the future! He's come back in time to revamp our build system! Thu May 23 2002 15:33 : Spam: "Receive great offers!" I just did! Thu May 23 2002 21:26 : The tricky game feature now works, not perfectly, but well enough that I can come back to it later when I'm in the mood for rewriting and debugging. For a while today I despaired, multiplying beyond count all the possibilities I would have to support. Not only would it be impossible for me to implement all the cases, there would be too many slightly different options for the player to specify in text exactly what it was they wanted to do. Then I calmed down. Between the start of the game and the activation of the feature, the player must make three lateral thinking breakthroughs, and by the time they do so there's no longer any point in playing dumb and pretending you don't know what they're trying to do. Much better to reward them by making it easy to express the actions that, by the time they get to it, will be obvious to them. And, of course, any other useless cases implied by the small subset of useful cases can be dealt with by the game designer's favorite trick: the arbitrary "you can't/don't want to do that" restriction. Fri May 24 2002 08:36 : Ever wanted to be surfing the worldwide markets like the hipsters in your favorite anarcho-capitalist cyberpunk thriller, looking for tiny inefficiencies on which to capitalize? You poor, deluded sap. What you don't realize is that that is incredibly boring. You can read press releases all day if you want to get a feel for it, but it's boring and it's going to be boring even when there's virtual reality involved. Fri May 24 2002 08:42 : In a shameless, yet funny bid to use News You Can Bruise as a soapbox from which to spout his deranged mutterings, Pete Peterson II writes: So... is there such a thing as "altogether ooky action at a distance?" Fri May 24 2002 08:44 : Actually, you can read interesting press releases all day , but the same features that make them interesting also make them financially useless. Fri May 24 2002 11:36 : Mike Popovic fact-checks my stupid mistakes with such wit that I don't even care that he sent me the fact-check email a day after I'd corrected the mistake: also, i think it is the Examiner and not the Chronicle that went to a tabloid format (and i don't even live there :) Fri May 24 2002 13:11 : In a shameless, yet implausible bid to spin the motivations of his former self, Pete Peterson II writes: > In a shameless, yet funny bid to use News You Can Bruise as a > soapbox from which to spout his deranged mutterings... Who, me?!? Fri May 24 2002 15:18 : Mike is an evil genius (this is from a brainstorming email relating to the game): apply the principles of judo: if your problem is coming up with an AI system for a team of magicians, you should throw more magiciains at the problem. If you had a team of, say, five magicians, you would have to deal with a lot of collaboration, dialog, and eventualy team spellcasting. if you had say, sixty magicians per team, they would of course be following a set of rules, regulations an procedures that evolved/mutated from something useful into a beuracratic nightmare that ensures very little ever gets done. In other words, you would be the United States Senate. Now you can simply deflect user interaction into a bunch of procedural red herrings, and not have to worry about writing and AI system, because no Intelligence will come into play. Fri May 24 2002 15:40 : Axis of Pasta update: consensus is that cheese is the missing third ingredient, though this has yet to be verified in field tests. By the way, here is another Crummy.com pasta recipe: Ad Hoc Pasta Working Group Ingredients: 1/2 bag pasta (any non-spaghetti variety) 1 can soup (any chunky non-condensed variety) Pepper to taste Instructions: Boil water and cook pasta. Heat up soup in microwave or on stove. Drain pasta and put into big bowl. Dump soup over pasta. Serves one, for two meals. Note: do not make this for other people or they will think you are a slob. Got a lot of really good game work done yesterday. Formatting This entry is formatted like Seth's diary. Seth's Diary Seth has a long and interesting discussion of nth-ary liability in his diary today. However, I think he should have treated at more length the slight-of-hand involved in the "tools for circumventing copy control are like tools for breaking into houses" argument. Here's how I see that slight-of-hand: by making that argument you admit to a belief that something you've sold to someone else is analagous to your house, and that the person who bought it and wants to use it is analagous to someone trying to break in. ( cf. ) Of course, it's no big secret that most organizations which put out cultural artifacts don't consider you as having anything other than circumscribed viewing rights once you "own" "it" "on" "DVD", but it's a less well-known position than it should be, and it's doubtful that other people who accept this argument would accept it if they saw that axiom. Sat May 25 2002 10:24 : I'm sort of ashamed that I didn't know that there was a Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic . This makes many things clearer, including why 1 is not considered a prime number (as I suspected from various hemming-and-hawing explanations I've gotten over the years, there's no real reason--it just makes the FTA a lot uglier). However, this revelation increases my forboding feeling that algebra is in some bizarre sense the derivative of calculus, and arithmetic the second derivative. Sat May 25 2002 12:00 : Bunnies And Burrows: 2nd Edition (also out of print) Sun May 26 2002 21:32 : Wondering what was behind that parade of elephants and dinosaurs down Shattuck yesterday in Berkeley? It was to celebrate Sumana's graduation! The Berkeley City Council itself took time from debating a vital measure that would ban all eating utensils except for chopsticks and drinking straws, to congratulate her on obtaining her degree. And so I add my voice to the multitude: congratulations, Sumana! Sun May 26 2002 22:37 : I have a problem: I hate advertising. Under most circumstances I would not consider this a problem, but I'm starting to think that my hatred of advertising is neurotic. I will go out of my way to avoid doing things that I want to do because of advertising. Example the first: I need to get a credit card. For most purchases I use a debit card hooked up to my checking account, but my debit card has a limit of about $500, so I can't buy expensive things like computers on it; for such things I need a credit card. I am apparently in the prime credit-card-getting demographic, and as such I have spent the past five years being deluged with gimmicky offers for credit cards. I get at least one such offer in the mail every week. I doubt it will ever get to the point where my seething rage at credit card companies subsides enough that I can bear to apply for a credit card. Example the second: I'd like to get a cell phone (ironically, one of the reasons I want a cell phone is so I'll no longer have to answer the phone at my house hoping it's for me, when most of the time it's a telemarketer). But I also get offers for cell phones in the mail all the time! And what's worse--should I ever go to a mall, there's inevitably a cell phone salesbooth in the middle of the floor populated by postadolescent male sirens in ties, holding out cell phones and trying to get my attention. I will seriously hide behind other people as I enter the mall so that the salespeople will be distracted trying to sell those people cell phones and they won't notice me. There's no possible way I could go up to those people and say "Hi, I want a cell phone." It's like saying "Your film cycle on Lithuanian autocannibalism was transgressive and intertextual! I'd like to give you a grant!" It encourages behavior I don't want to encourage. Example the third: anything that sounds like advertising or a prelude to a sales pitch makes me grit my teeth and seethe. When I walk into a Radio Shack or other store and the salesperson asks if they can help me find anything, I say "No", even if they really could help me find something! I resent them for trying to be helpful, because I'm afraid it'll turn into a sales pitch! Example the fourth: this is where it goes beyond my self-centered world of electronic gadgets. I love the charity Heifer International . I want to give them a lot of money. But they keep sending me stuff in the mail, and just as with the credit cards and the cell phones that stuff triggers seething rage inside me! I know they're trying to push my buttons with the case study sob stories and whatnot, and I automatically decide on a visceral level that my buttons will not be pushed, that these people will not get my money. It's as though every commercial and other piece of advertising I've ever seen has secretly wreaked its Hidden Persuaders doing on my helpless mind, but that rather than a plethora of tiny messages I've taken away a lowest common denominator message of "advertising is evil and its practitioners will not by me be rewarded", which is activated with the knee-jerk reliability by which the brainwashed-by-advertising drone of comic hyperbole feels an urge to purchase FooBar products after seeing the appropriate commercial. I don't really have a solution for this, though the obvious first step is to somehow get off Heifer's mailing list so that I'll be able to keep sending them money. Mon May 27 2002 07:40 : Addendum: I don't feel that way about broadcast advertising, only about advertising that's addressed to me personally (even if it was part of a mass mailing). Broadcast advertising I don't like but I can deal with. Mon May 27 2002 07:40 : On a brighter note, I present the Food Circus: "Direct your attention to the center ring, where we will prepare roast duck in mushroom gravy!" Mon May 27 2002 10:23 : A crawler crawled my site and spammed many addresses (including, humorously, [email protected] ) with a spam scam, but Kris was the first to claim it: Organization/Country: Angola/Angolan government-owned diamond company Amount: $12,000,000 Kris' Cut: Not specified Proposed Crime: Fraud And one more old-school from Kevan Davis: he says he was "actually disappointed at how piffling $15 million seemed". Organization/Country: Nigeria/Wife of former (and late) Nigerian government official Amount: $15,000,000 Mon May 27 2002 15:16 : Whale meeting ends in fury; "It's payback time!", say world's whales Mon May 27 2002 16:36 : Wow! Danny O'Brien was just in my room! He and a friend, Quinn Norton , brought Seth up from San Jose, where the three of them had been attending BayCon. Seth was meeting Sumana at my house for a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, so I got to meet and talk to (and have a photo op with) Danny. Seth and I showed him the Latin spam and he promised to send me a Yoda spam he has. I'm still in Danny O'Brien shock. The only thing that could make this better would be if Brian Behlendorf (the world's biggest NTK fan) were also to meet Danny O'Brien, and if in the course of conversation Danny were to casually mention his acquaintance with me (in continuation of my longstanding plan to flummox Brian ). I have the vague feeling that I somehow let Danny O'Brien "get away" by not going with Sumana and Seth to the bridge (Danny and Quinn were going to drive them part of the way). However, that is silly. In addition, the bridge was from the beginning a Sumana/Seth joint venture in on which I'm loath to butt, and there's a lot of game work to do (Seth previewed my game; I think I need to make the prelude shorter). Mon May 27 2002 16:47 : No funny comment, it's just cool: Astronomers Find Jupiter-Like Weather On Brown Dwarfs Mon May 27 2002 19:03 : My mother sent me a bunch of engineer jokes, of which two I hadn't heard before: To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers? Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets. Wed May 29 2002 09:08 : Segfault-ish headline inspired by the "The Future of Panel Discussions" panel discussion the other day: Mars Probe Finds Signs of Water Ice, Smirnoff Ice Fri May 31 2002 09:24 : Must... write... something... retain readers... from O'Brien overflow ... I like cats! Fri May 31 2002 12:04 : If Batman were a hacker he'd use metasyntactic variables batFoo, batBar, etc. Instead of the bash shell, he'd use the Bat-Shell. Instead of cat, he'd use bat. Okay, I'm done. Addendum: But Pete's not; he dubs the system "Bruce Waynix" and says: And somewhat obviously, "batman". Fri May 31 2002 12:39 : Kevin's on to the manufacturers of the branding iron for steaks previously referred to. They wink and say it's for "your" steaks, just like CD burners are for "your" music, but Kevin knows better. He plans to obtain one and use it as the basis for a brief but flamboyant career in steak rustling, sneaking into barbecues and branding all the steaks as his. An aging sheriff will be called to duty one last time to bring Kevin to justice. Fri May 31 2002 14:53 : Sketchy-Sounding Number Crunching Press Release Watch: Sales of Counterfeit Products to Rise to 18% of World Trade in Two Years . The solution: impose tariffs on counterfeit products! Tariffs always keep down that pesky trade. (It's unfair to mock PRWeb press releases merely for being poorly written; the whole point of PRWeb is to enable people to put out a press release despite not having a PR department that can jazz things up for you. So I'll only be calling attention to press releases which are superlatively odd in some other way. Press releases written by professionals, on the other hand, are fair game for nitpicking.) Fri May 31 2002 18:04 : I find it relaxing to watch television in a language I don't know. My favorite is Chinese television (I guess it's Mandarin). As far as I can tell, there are four shows on Chinese television: the modern show, the medieval show, the news, and the commercials. The modern show has the awesome name of "Meteor Garden", but my favorite is the medieval show, since as far as I can tell it's just kung fu movies without any subtitles. Or subtleties, for that matter. Peter Hodgson once told me that the best way to passively learn a language is to listen to the radio in that language every morning. The language I most wanted to learn at the time he told me that was Latin, and apart from Nuntii Latini there's no radio broadcast in Latin. Fri May 31 2002 19:39 : Spam: "Hi dan, A Tax Deduction even Mr. Jones doesnt know about!" Ha ha! At last, my chance to enlist the IRS in my proxy war against Mr. Jones! Sat Jun 01 2002 09:10 : Quite belatedly, A. Cairns offers the following strategy for Deadly Onion Super Go! To destroy planet deadly onion, shoot for section of red ball above turret foot in three strenghs. Press blue button to both attack either aim offscreen and fire to reload. Good lock! All up to yours! Sat Jun 01 2002 16:54 : Judge Dredd was not nearly so intimidating when he was merely District Attorney Dredd. Sat Jun 01 2002 23:37 : Sumana and I watched a very funny Japanese sketch comedy show on channel 26. It's got the un-euphonic title of A Laughing Dog's Discovery . It caught our attention with its dead-on caricature of Junichiro Koizumi (there was a less funny drag caricature of, I'm fairly sure, Makiko Tanaka). It had good premises for skits, insofar as we were able to deduce said premises; one skit appeared to center around a sumo stable for really scrawny sumo wrestlers. Also, the skits were usually no longer than they needed to be (the final one was only about ten seconds long). There was one extremely long skit, however, which seemed to be some sort of "Making the Band" type parody that only occasionally lapsed into actual parody. This appears to follow a ALDD tradition in which valiant attempts are made to parody genres immune to parody . Sun Jun 02 2002 08:58 : Sumana says it's time for an Australian to play James Bond. She nominates Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Crikey, Blofeld! You just pulled a gun on me! I'll have to wrestle you to the ground! "Mr. Bond, this is not how we fight!" Got you now, you little bugger! Now to radio in MI5 to finish the job! Sun Jun 02 2002 09:20 : If you were selling something made of felt, you could jazz it up by calling it "genuine Muppethide". Sun Jun 02 2002 10:03 : With the amazing turnaround of one who subscribes to the nonexistent NYCB RSS feed, Sean Neakums writes: I'm pretty sure George Lazenby was Australian. As Glenn Reynolds would say, he's right . However, the "No True Australian" fallacy may apply here; when was the last time you saw George Lazenby utter archaic Cockney colloquialisms and wrestle a twelve-foot croc? Apart from in Twin Sitters , I mean. Sun Jun 02 2002 11:55 : Regular readers know that I have an obsession with modifying nouns with themselves. It's less commonly known that I have a similar obsession with using output as input. It all started when I first learned about flip-flops. I thought... "Wait a minute! I could do this... to everything! Ah ha ha ha ha! If I were a package in Debian GNU/Linux , my package name would be: Mon Jun 03 2002 21:10 : Born of game work, a correction to this old house entry : Data cannot 'erase itself'; when people say this they're referring to software which erases data. But software itself is nothing but a special type of data which is loaded and executed by a piece of hardware. So on a more fundamental level it's always the hardware that erases data. Indeed, with the right hardware (magnets or EMP bombs or whatever), you can erase data without using software at all, so it's incorrect to say that only software can erase data. This is even more tangentially related to my game than the original entry was tangentially related to DRM. Tue Jun 04 2002 08:55 : CYA, or CYOA? Tue Jun 04 2002 15:58 : I had a dream last night involving a strange GUI feature. It was basically a bookmark feature for menu selections. There was a toolbar like the Mozilla toolbar, and to put an item on it you could check a checkbox on it that said "Bookmark my next menu selection", then make a menu selection. Instead of running whatever the menu selection was, it would create a button on the toolbar that looked like the menu selection (eg. if there was an indicator checkbox on the menu selection there would be one on the button as well; if the menu selection was greyed out the button would also be greyed out) and uncheck the original checkbox. Then you could access whatever the menu selection did by clicking on the button. It's merely an enabler for UI bloat, of course, but surprisingly coherent for something invented in a dream. I told Jason about the dream, expecting him to reply that Office had that feature, but he says that the closest analogue he knows of is the ability to, while browsing the Windows start menu, to copy a link from the start menu onto your desktop. Wed Jun 05 2002 09:26 : Words To Map Onto Words To Live By: First In A Series: if the IMDB featured review says "Not as bad as you'd think", it's probably still pretty bad. Wed Jun 05 2002 15:51 : Congratulations to the Mozilla team on their 1.0 release . I've been using Mozilla for a while and it's great; it really makes my life easier, which is all I ask of a web browser (also, it must retrieve and display web pages). Sometimes for very brief periods of time I think that I'm only a little older than Mozilla, and then I remember: that's not me, that's my weblog . Thu Jun 06 2002 18:13 : Bush To Protect North America By Painting Big-Ass Target On It Thu Jun 06 2002 22:10 : It's Kiss Me Kant, the new hit musical from the golden pen of Cole Porter that'll have you rolling meditatively in the aisles! Features the songs all of New York is humming, "Brush Up Your Refutation Of Material Idealism" and "Always True To You After The Categorical Imperative"! Thu Jun 06 2002 22:16 : Sumana's Obsession With The Chess Poem She Wrote . It's true what she says about my wanting to fulfil search requests, but I fear that if I begin doing so, people will start abusing my goodwill. I don't know why I have this fear, since I'm at perfect liberty to pick and choose which search requests to fulfil. Oh, that Edwin A. Abbott. His characters are so two-dimensional. Fri Jun 07 2002 07:13 : Disingenuous or Delusional? From the News.com review of Mozilla : A word of warning, though; this function doesn't discriminate, so it may disable pop-ups you actually want to see, such as the video pop-ups on the News.com front door. Fri Jun 07 2002 07:57 : I was sorely tempted to title that entry Disingenuous, Delusional, or Deity?, but the Trilemma really wasn't relevant. Sat Jun 08 2002 10:01 : Kris, who sounds suspiciously like Jake in this message, writes: if i could play piano, i'd cover "good ol' boys from planet honky-tonk" in tom lehrer form. you had the whole lehrer delivery throughout. it needs the lehrer treatment. i demand the lehrer treatment. Jake warning signs: Use of lowercase. As far as I know, Kris can play the piano (though not as well as Tom Lehrer). Rephrasing a statement of opinion as a demand. However, it was signed with Kris' eight-bit PGP key (we've learned from our mistakes ), so it must be genuine. Sat Jun 08 2002 10:52 : I put up a page listing covers of my songs . If you haven't yet taken the Leonard Ego-Boosting Listening Tour, give it a whirl. Also let me point you to the 'Deliverables' mini-blog which I'll update whenever I add something new to Crummy (that's the idea, anyway). Sat Jun 08 2002 16:51 : Evidence of Strange Conservation Laws: 1 , 2 Sun Jun 09 2002 15:48 : Went to a party at Seth's last night. 'Twas fun. In keeping with tradition, I borrowed some Chesterton from Seth: this time, The Napoleon of Notting Hill. I also estimated that Seth's bookcases contain 1250 books. Only about 1000 more visits and I'll have borrowed and read every book of his that I haven't already read! Some friends of Seth drove me home and we came not terribly close, but fairly close to becoming the third car of an two-car pileup on the 280. I felt strange afterwards, as though the actual me had been in a car crash, possibly being killed, and that I was merely the hypothetical me riding in the car that evaded the crash. Of course, in actuality it was the other way around. Sun Jun 09 2002 15:49 : Today Sumana came over and we recorded "Frog/Antifrog". Available in Ogg and Antiogg . Sun Jun 09 2002 21:45 : At Seth's party we came up with a new EFF fundraising technique. If you donate enough to the EFF that they send you the EFF baseball cap with your membership kit, you could specify a 'paranoid' hat and the EFF would line your hat with tinfoil before sending it out. Mon Jun 10 2002 10:49 : I finished reading American Gods last night. I was thinking of how to rate it on my ending/rest-of-book system when I realized that it's not that I rate the ending separately; I rate each major twist separately. American Gods had a main-plot twist and a subplot twist. The subplot twist was seriously telegraphed, superfluous, and horror-y in a way that I don't like but that I accept I'll encounter if I pick up a Neil Gaiman book. The main-plot twist was not as telegraphed, original, and much more interesting. I was going to complain about various aspects of the book but the twist rendered them moot; I'm impressed! Gaiman set me up and knocked me down! The premise behind American Gods is a twist on an old favorite: it explores what happens to deities when humans stop worshipping them. Oddly enough, it seems to be an old favorite solely among British authors: the other two books on that topic I've read were by Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams (there's also a history book called God's Funeral, by a Brit, which touches upon it). The premise twist (as distinguished from the plot twists, mentioned earlier) was a good one. The characters were well-developed stereotypes, which makes sense. Conclusion: I liked it a lot, but I liked the middle most. Sumana tells me that Shweta really liked the end. I consider Shweta a better guide than myself to what parts of a book you will like because you, like Shweta, are a discerning reader who enjoys dramatic denouements, whereas I get sidetracked by little details that I think are cool. Mon Jun 10 2002 11:26 : Incredible looks-tacky-but-isn't APOD . Hope I get to see the eclipse and don't forget about it the way I forget about everything else. Mon Jun 10 2002 13:06 : From Brian: The UNIX Rosetta Stone . Mon Jun 10 2002 13:19 : Kevin: "I've noticed that the worse the economy gets, the more that porn spam tends toward the extremes." Mon Jun 10 2002 18:07 : Product Placement Search Requests: why mountain dew is now the talk of the teen circuit The "teen circuit"? The "teen circuit"?? "I say, Topper, how are things on the old teen circuit, don't you know?" "Oh, simply smashing, Muffy, old sport. I say, you must try this 'Mountain Dew'. Absolutely top hole. Bertie discovered it whilst slumming in the Hamptons." Update: it's the headline of an old Wall Street Journal article , which just proves my point. Mon Jun 10 2002 18:30 : I saw the eclipse (which is to say, I saw the projection of the eclipse onto a piece of scratch paper). Go see it (if available in your area)! Tue Jun 11 2002 09:00 : Damage Control Not Going So Well: Caldera clarifies ''everybody-fired'' rumors Tue Jun 11 2002 15:28 : Interesting Places to Dine: On Sunday, Sumana and I had lunch at a diner in Millbrae called Peter's Cafe. I'd first eaten there recently, at the farewell lunch for Taska before she went on her leave of absence. The lunch was very good, so we decided to try their breakfast. We both had the veggie omelette, which wasn't too good. I also had some small pancakes on the side, which were good. The proprietor appears to be crazy, but not so crazy that it affects the menu. I recommend it for lunch, but not for breakfast. Tue Jun 11 2002 15:30 : Brendan was reading American Gods at about the same time I was. Coincidence... or coincidence?! Wed Jun 12 2002 07:55 : Spam: "Caution! Use of This Product Will Increase Productivity & Lower Legal Research Costs." Apparently you can prepend "Caution!" to any arbitrary sentence. Wed Jun 12 2002 08:50 : Caution! In the battle between mindless dreck and totalitarianism, back the dreck. The protagonists of Meteor Garden are also a Taiwanese boy band whose nonthreatening, shaggy-haired charm is giving the Chinese Communist Party fits. Good for them. The best quote: Some companies play a sly game, lobbying propaganda officials to ban competitors' shows for ideological reasons when the real reason is their popularity. (found on Brink Lindsey's weblog ) Wed Jun 12 2002 09:24 : Oh, I forgot to mention that the other day I got a telemarketer call from CapitalOne. You know, the credit card company that runs those commercials in which people complain about telemarketers--the solution: CapitalOne! Apparently the telemarketers only stop once you buy their product. Or once you demand to be put on the no call list. Wed Jun 12 2002 20:19 : Elise on Peter's: It seems that Leonard and Sumana aren't ordering the correct things at Peter's Cafe. Breakfast is a delightful meal there once you figure out that you must order either the Swedish pancakes, or the Apple Baby German pancake. And they are best eaten at 2 or 3 am. Wed Jun 12 2002 20:59 : What Is This 'Core Competency' Of Which You Speak?: From a spam (how'd you guess?): Printer Supplies Brand Name Perfumes "If it's particulate, we've got it!" Thu Jun 13 2002 07:21 : Science fiction writers David Brin, Greg Bear, and Gregory Benford are collectively known as the "killer Bs" (or so it was alleged on the inside back cover of one of those bizarre new Foundation trilogy novels). Well, A. Holloway and his friend A. Cairns are surely the "killer As". Now they're running NewsBruiser ( Cairns , Holloway ), and who knows where the carnage will end. NewsBruiser is a gateway drug, like a fine window cleaner. "This month we'll learn more ways to gain control over strings in your source document, as we see how to compare strings for equality and what kind of search-and-replace operations are possible in XSLT." But strings will never have equality so long as you can gain control over them! Thu Jun 13 2002 23:03 : Product Placement Search Results: Second In A Series I Never Anticipated Being A Series: oh yeah! ultimate aerosmith hits due to be released on june 25,2002 Fri Jun 14 2002 07:59 : MoreSensationalistExaminer.com: "City Hall Gift Rift" from a few days ago should be "City Hall Grift Rift" Fri Jun 14 2002 08:14 : ACLU Congratulates People of North Dakota For Defending Their Privacy "We'll Be Congratulating Each Of You Personally," Vows ACLU Head Fri Jun 14 2002 09:45 : Am I crazy, or did the semantics of caps lock change? I used to think it changed the default case of letters you typed, such that if you had caps lock on and typed a letter with the shift key held down, it would be in lowercase. However, on my computer it makes all letters uppercase, regardless of modifiers. Since the name of the key says, pretty plainly, Caps Lock, I'm inclined to believe that it always worked that way and I never noticed. However, my num lock key behaves the opposite way, the way I thought caps lock worked: if you turn on num lock and hit shift-8, you get an up arrow key event. I can't speak for what scroll lock does when you use it in conjunction with the shift key, since the only thing I've ever used scroll lock for is to turn on running in the old DOS version of Rogue. I don't really want the old behavior back, since I don't make a habit of using caps lock. I just want to know whether I'm crazy, or, if not, whose idea it was to change the behavior. Fri Jun 14 2002 17:40 : Andre the Giant may have a posse, but Rachel Richardson has a weblog . Now every member of my immediate family has one. Fri Jun 14 2002 18:23 : You know the song that Frodo makes up in L�rien to mourn Gandalf? It can be sung to the tune of the pre-chorus of Dar Williams' Are You Out There?. He stood upon the bridge alone and Fire and Shadow both defied; his staff was broken on the stone, in Khazad-d�m his wis...dom...died! It's the self-filking song! Fri Jun 14 2002 21:52 : I'm amazed that (as far as I can tell) no one has done this before, but here it is. The first entry in my new series Doctor Virtual's Cyber-Couch , entitled Probing the New Collective Unconscious . In this episode, the good doctor brings his analytical skills to bear on a troubled patient indeed: the stream of search requests that constantly trickles into crummy.com. How do you reconcile some problems at home? "robots from hell" Sat Jun 15 2002 18:22 : Get it before it's gone: the wonderful nitpicking guest-authored Narbonic cartoon . This isn't even REAL de-evolution! You'd have to de-evolve BACK into a sarcopterygian and EVOLVE FORWARD into a lungfish! Sat Jun 15 2002 18:57 : Do yourself a favor and listen to Kris' awesome Pie Gnome , now in its first public release. He's also got a cool cover of a song I'd never heard before. Sat Jun 15 2002 21:04 : Weasel Words Ripped My Flesh: As the Cal baseball team may have learned this season, sometimes losses can lead to something good. (From The Daily Cal , via Sumana) Sun Jun 16 2002 09:15 : Like a dog with an old sock, A. Holloway presents Tonight's Episode: Interesting Places To Murder Mon Jun 17 2002 21:44 : Also, behold Gertie the Dinosaur ! (Poster) Tue Jun 18 2002 09:49 : The intersection of IMDB genres "football" and "hitler" has all the earmarks of being a fake entry. Tue Jun 18 2002 18:48 PST : I can no longer hold back. I must nitpick Star Wars: Episode II. The scope of my nitpicking will be limited to one point: "Resolved: that the members of the Senate in Star Wars: Episode II are really, really stupid." Observe this subplot among Episode II's subplots: the Republic, which has never had an army, nonetheless needs some way to coerce a separatist faction into not being so durn separatist anymore. Milquetoast condemnations have failed. Sanctions have failed. Even Sense-of-the-Senate resolutions have failed! Sen. Palpatine (I-Naboo), chairman of the Senate, is granted by his fellow senators emergency powers which give him authority to raise a clone army of about a million. This presumably will be sufficient to teach Greedo Reb a lesson. The argument against passing this resolution is the familiar creeping-fascism argument: the 'emergency' will become permanent, Palpatine will seize absolute power, the Republic will descend into Empire, and the clone army will be used as ineffective cannon fodder throughout the next four movies. This is, as we all know, exactly what happens. But what did you expect? It's a brainwashed clone army! You're going to breed people specifically for warfare and somehow demobilize them after the war? Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned, but to me "brainwashed clone army" has always meant "permanent standing army". The obvious alternative: there are ten thousand planets (my completely random guess) in the Republic. You could call up a hundred reservists from each planet and have a million-organism army, each member of which has a moisture farm to go back to after the war's over. Each planet would have to be politically capable of handling up to 100 body bags, and the logistics would be more difficult (each species would have to provide its own ships and equipment, and differing battle doctrines might hinder cross-species operations), but look on the bright side: you wouldn't all be crushed under the jackbooted heel of the Dark Lord Of The Sith! Isn't that worth considering? Also, an idle thought that occured to me. Wouldn't it be incredibly cool if, in Episode III, it turned out that Senator Palpatine wasn't Darth Sidious? I don't know how this could possibly happen, but I could probably think something up if George Lucas put me on the payroll. I'm not doin' your thinking for free, George. Wed Jun 19 2002 09:37 : If only registering your computer with the manufacturer were the same as registering it with a Spread group . Wed Jun 19 2002 11:45 : Nitpick of previous nitpick: is Palpatine from Naboo or from Corsucant? I never figured it out. Update: Scott writes: IIRC he was Senator for Naboo, that would suggest he was from Nabo originally. The Star Wars Databank concurs: http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/palpatine/ >> Palpatine was the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical >> regime the galaxy had ever witnessed, yet his roots are >> extremely humble, traced back to the peaceful world of Naboo. (which also sadly puts to rest your theory that Lucas might decide that Sidious != Palpatine). Actually it only proves that Sen. Palpatine == Emperor Palpatine, which I don't see any way around. But Darth Sidious could be someone completely different, who thought he was using Palpatine as a dupe... until Palpatine kicked his ass and took over! See how much more interesting that is? Wed Jun 19 2002 12:21 : Hey, it's good to be here. Did you know that the water in India is so bad ("How bad is it?"), so bad that they have a brand of mineral water called "Florida" ? Don't go away--your headliner's coming up next! Wed Jun 19 2002 16:58 : Plausible Ken MacLeod Chapter Titles: First In A Series: The Peace Processor Thu Jun 20 2002 08:03 : Scott, who has no misgivings about doing George Lucas' thinking for free, rewrites Episode III in advance: Here's a theory... Jedi Master Sypher Dios(sp?) who we know from Ep2 ordered the clone army leaves the Jedi order (obvious discomfort from Yoda/Windu when claiming he "died") for practicing aspects of the dark side. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Sypher Dios is also Darth Sidious, head of the Sith; who's just kicked off that whole trade federation kefaffle on Naboo. Much earlier, Sidious had a clone of himself made, that clone becomes Palpatine, in order to control the senate. The clone becomes more powerful than Sidious himself and kills him, taking his place as leader of the Sith (and of the Empire). This would give the series the interesting property that the three main villains would all have been born through asexual reproduction (Palpatine and Boba Fett through cloning, Anakin Skywalker through cheesy parthenogenesis). However, it's too much to hope for, as it would involve subtlety. Fri Jun 21 2002 15:18 : Apparently, each edition of Linux in the Enterprise must actually reuse the title of a Star Trek episode. Fri Jun 21 2002 19:46 : Tonight's Episode: Ninety-Nine Bottles Of Fear On The Wall. I may reinstate Tonight's Episode, at least temporarily, since Jason sent me a bunch of really good ones, including an epic fourteen-part series, the Ken Burns documentary of Tonight's Episode, entitled The Jury Did It. Sat Jun 22 2002 08:38 : Fry's Electronics sells electronics, but there should be a subsidiary company, Fry's Electrons, which sells the power that makes them run. Sat Jun 22 2002 16:55 : My mother has a Googlewhack (discovered via search results, rot13ed): zvahgvnr tebftenva Sat Jun 22 2002 19:57 : Catch of the Day: Today I'd like to tell you about the whale shark (rhincodon typus), the largest extant fish on Earth. It has a distinctive flat head which from the top looks like the head of the sperm whale. Like whales, it eats plankton and gives live birth (!), and is huge. In fact, the only thing keeping it from being a whale is that it's a shark. It lives in tropical waters, and is, if not friendly, at least indifferent to divers. Unfortunately, like many cool sharks, they are endangered. Whale shark links: Oh, to peek inside this warehouse... It's like a grab bag... FOR LESS! Sometimes having a ' girl version ' of a product doesn't make the ' boy version ' any less effeminate. As with any online community, there are always those who want to play by their own rules. Here, the evil Drew Kaplan flogs the Archive of Completely Useless Ebooks. It looks like he participated in a bunch of 'reports' variants of the chain letter scam and somehow got the impression that, since he was paying money for the reports, they must have been worth something. As an antidote to the cynicism this entry is no doubt engendering, an awesome trilobite fossil from St. Petersburg . I'm tempted to make inquiries and obtain insider information and wholesaler catalogs , but since I'm not an insider I fear the 'buy something or get out' vibe, and if it's in a catalog it seems too respectable, somehow, to be worth my time. PS: Both Ioffer and Ebay have a section called "Dolls and Bears". What, are stuffed bears not a type of doll? Also, "Dolls and Bears" would be an interesting title for a musical. Mon Jun 24 2002 13:39 : Got my hair cut yesterday. Feelin' aerodynamic. <tfahrner> YOU CALL THAT A HAIRCUT, PRIVATE? Mon Jun 24 2002 23:01 : Sumana pointed me to the ultimate alarmist Salon teaser , "But are they bowing to a false god?". It's great; you could use it as the alarmist teaser for any given Salon article. "President Bush says his new plan will create jobs and save the environment. But is he bowing to a false god?" "George Lucas says digital film will save moviemaking. But is he bowing to a false god?" "Each day, millions of Caananite-Americans offer burnt offerings to Baal. But are they bowing to a false god?" "If code is free, am I bowing to a false god?" Tue Jun 25 2002 19:11 : A koan from rfk-dev: A robot and a kitten walk into a bar. The robot orders a plate of milk, the kitten a can of oil. At that moment, the robot was enlightened. Tue Jun 25 2002 22:46 : Went to see Sumana and Adam perform last night. Sumana was great! Her set was really polished and she got the best reception I've ever seen her get. Adam did battle with the sound system, as described on his weblog , and nonetheless sounded good. Among other things, Sumana does meta-stereotype humor which is very funny. Wed Jun 26 2002 07:59 : MoreSensationalistExaminer.com: Ara-spat should be Ara-splat. Wed Jun 26 2002 08:02 : In the manner of Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses , I'm inaugurating Conflations That Bother Me (which could be called the more succinct Disturbing Conflations, except they're not disturbing, just bothering of me, which would make the title itself contain a disturbing conflation, so no. But irony! I said no.) Today's conflation: "democratic" and "egalitarian" Wed Jun 26 2002 21:16 : Another moment of silence for my uncle Larry Richardson, who died this morning of a heart attack. Wed Jun 26 2002 22:55 : I'll probably be going to Bakersfield this weekend for the funeral. I'm going to sleep now, but for those wizards among you who stay up late, a my-heart's-not-really-in-it Photo Wire Roundup: Sat Jun 29 2002 09:22 : A. Holloway sent me a link to some great Frog/Antifrog valentines he made. Assuming any of my readers are in grade school, which I doubt, you could print them out and give them instead of Scooby Doo valentines or Britney Spears valentines or whatever it is they give out nowadays. Sat Jun 29 2002 09:56 : From an eBook : Ice King loves his ice. In fact, he is only happy when alone with his ice palace, ice floors and even his ice throne. What he doesn't love is differences. Hah! Little does he realize that without the 'differences' he so despises, he'd be unable to keep his ice palace colder than the outside world! Take that, lousy Ice King! Sat Jun 29 2002 10:18 : Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, since it's a love story, could be called Smooch Smooch Hota Hai. OK, I'm off. Sat Jun 29 2002 20:45 : I'm in Bakersfield. My mother and I had lunch at a Mongolian BBQ place which turned out to actually be a Mandarin BBQ place (I had misread the sign in my glimpse of it during my previous trip to Bakersfield). Jake emerges from hiding to say that he's flattered by the Esquivel comparison, and to mention two DSRs he got: I hate myself T-shirt and how many girls from makeoutclub have you slept with Sat Jun 29 2002 22:17 : It took me a little while to remember that fireworks stands have always been like that. PS: While we were walking the dog, I saw a meteor. I scanned and put up some pictures on the backup site, including a picture of Seth near the Golden Gate Bridge , the same, made into a greeting card , the famous picture of me and Seth with Danny O'Brien , and the picture of Sumana doing the solemn graduation dance . I got wedding presents for Adam and Kim, and presents for others as well. As you know, Seth , I have a four-foot demonstration slide rule which I will give to you or sell to you for less than $450. What you don't know is that my foot was also once run over by a car, although the car was just starting to move so there was not much momentum behind it. My mother had just dropped me off at band practice and started driving off before I was done getting my instrument out of the bed of the pickup, and so her rear tire ran over my right foot. Probably not as dramatic as the scene whereby your foot was run over. Tue Jul 02 2002 14:46 Spam: dBASE: better than ever23. Yes, and deader than ever, I'll warrant. Perhaps you thought that where spam was concerned there was no barrel, or that if there was a barrel it somehow had no bottom, or that if there was a bottom it had been treated to be scrape-resistant. I think this spam proves otherwise. Wed Jul 03 2002 10:08 Man or Butterfly? First In A Series: I dreamed that I ate some food which contained a powerful sedative. I began to drop off, my mind wandering, losing control of my muscles... I woke up. Wed Jul 03 2002 20:33 : Sumana has graduated, for real this time! A repeat performance of the dinosaur/elephant parade is scheduled. Wed Jul 03 2002 20:36 : A tardy note, also apropos Sumana (apropos this CES entry , actually). Stereotype humor is humor in which the punchline is basically the assertion of a stereotype ("People in group x have property y") in a novel way. For instance, the 'Those Cowardly French' stereotype: Q: How do you say "I surrender!" in French? A: You don't need to say anything in particular, you just speak French. Metastereotype humor is type of stereotype humor in which the stereotype being asserted is "People in group x hold stereotype y." The metastereotype humor I was thinking of in Sumana's act was a very funny bit in which Sumana's parents tell her that she needs to get a prestigious job because Indian-Americans stereotypically have such jobs (doctor, engineer, etc). Sumana counters by enumerating the various menial jobs that it is also stereotypical for Indian-Americans to have (7-11 clerk, taxi driver, etc.). Sumana's parents say "Oh, those are all Pakistanis." It's sterotype humor, but the stereotype being referenced ("Indians look down on Pakistanis") is that certain people have certain stereotypes. I think that Sumana bit is the only time I've heard metastereotype humor done well (there's a difference between metastereotype humor and regular stereotype humor done flagrantly so as to mock the genre, of which there are many good examples). I may have seen it done well a couple times in old Saturday Night Live skits, but that's just a general feeling of 'they must have done that' than anything concrete. Oh, there was a MAD article in the '70s called "You Can't Win With A Bigot" which was pretty funny, in addition to shining light on the last gasps of bigotry against groups for whom bigotry, as opposed to mere stereotyping, no longer works (eg. Italians). I'm not sure it counts, though, since the operative stereotype was "Bigots are bigoted", which is true by definition and therefore not much of a stereotype. It might just be flagrant stereotype humor with a tut-tut framing device. Have you seen good metastereotype humor? Send in your examples. Fri Jul 05 2002 10:06 : Sumana is here! She brought my new camera (thanks to Kevin for getting it from work and bringing it to her), which is large (for a digital camera) but sturdily built and padded, which gives me hope that my habit of dropping cameras on the floor will not ruin this camera as fast as it ruined my previous cameras. She and I went down to Arvin last night to see the fireworks show at the high school. Nice! The parking lot was full of people sitting on and near their cars watching the show for free, and we joined them. Some of those present put on their own, smaller, fireworks shows in the street during lulls in the actual show. Fri Jul 05 2002 10:08 : Spam: Rebuild your credit with gold. Yeah, gold's not valuable in and of itself, only as a means of rebuilding your credit. They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there You'll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair Either J.H. Blair is a union man (unlikely), he is a thug for himself (bizarre, counterintuitive), or he never enters Harlan County (bizarre but possible). Or the song should be rewritten like so: They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there You'll either be a union man, a thug for J.H. Blair, or J.H. Blair himself Wed Jul 10 2002 16:16 : Untaken Domain Names: Second In A Series: datarage.net Wed Jul 10 2002 18:17 : It's probably the book of Andy Rooney essays I read recently, but I got to thinking: what if, like the copyright industry, I could simply have banned any application of technology that inconvenienced me? For instance, it would be illegal to use a database to store a mailing list for use in junk mailings. This would effectively prevent anyone's address from being stored in a database, ever, but who cares, if it stops junk mail? Not only should it be mandatory for spam to be labelled for easy filtering, the spammers should have to do the filtering on their side so I never get the spam. Also, it should be illegal to make telemarketing calls except on a special line to my house that the telemarketers have to chip in for. I can just not plug a phone into that line. But I might want to use that new line; I might even occasionally want to receive calls on it! So telemarketers should have to, when they call and you answer, put you into a voicemail system: "This is a telemarketing call. To be placed on the no call list, press 1. To listen to a recorded sales message, press 2. To be connected to a live telemarketer, please hold. Our call is important to you." Forget taping bricks to postage-paid postcards; this is the real stuff! Thu Jul 11 2002 22:36 : When I went on vacation I left a bag here containing two small limes. Now the limes are overripe and yellow, and resemble tiny lemons. I fear that I've glimpsed some horrifying truth about lemons (or possibly limes). Fri Jul 12 2002 22:39 : Feeding my "Muppet biology" obsession comes word that the South African-produced edition of Sesame Street is introducing an HIV-positive Muppet . I think this is a good idea, to the extent that "we need a character with x property" is ever a good idea, but I couldn't figure out how a Muppet could catch a human disease. Then I realized: she got it from her puppeteer. Fri Jul 12 2002 22:47 : From the latest EFFector email: Privacy Groups Demand Protection of Users' Privacy Sat Jul 13 2002 22:44 : I got a meta-postcard from Rachel. On the front of the postcard are many pictures of postcards of London attractions. Rachel is quite keen on my coming to visit her. Among her pitches: "You should get a job here so I could come see you all the time!" I'm not sure I want to get a job in England. Maybe I should just go see Rachel over Thanksgiving. I also got a great birthday card made by Susanna. It has a drawing of a dinosaur and one of a fish being confused by a fishing lure. "Happy being 23!", she says. Sat Jul 13 2002 22:55 : Raw materials for joke: consider the fruits of hybridization between the literary efforts of Joseph Conrad and those of Paul Conrad. "The horror! The horror! Of George W. Orwell's justice, that is!" Mon Jul 15 2002 10:24 : It wasn't a fish being confused by a fishing lure. It was a whale being confused by a bunch of bananas . Mon Jul 15 2002 10:40 : My stomach feels better, and diagnoses range from heatstroke to extremely selective food poisoning. I predict that a big scare in 10 years or so, spurred by alarmist pieces in Time and Readers Digest, will be "microterrorism": plausibly deniable acts of sabotage which merely annoy individuals or small groups of people. My ailment was ahead of its time; in the future I suspect it will be labelled microbioterrorism (an ambiguous set of modifiers; since it will be futurenow, perhaps it will be given an especially stupid newterm like 'narrowbodterror', where the whole thing is ambiguous). Mon Jul 15 2002 13:28 : Sumana called me to tell me she's been offered a job. Huzzah! Mon Jul 15 2002 14:17 : It seems like a long time ago, but it was only seven elements ago (Palladium, oddly enough) when Zack showed me the Periodic Table of Science Fiction . An ongoing project of Michael Swanwick to write a tiny science fiction story about each element on the periodic table, in ascending order of atomic weight. Sometimes it's a story, anyway. Vanadium is just a rant: There is so little to be said in vanadium's favor! It is a soft and ductile white metal. So what? Its boiling point is 3,450� Centigrade. Who cares? It has no desirable properties and, worse, no ambition to achieve any. There it is, and there it will stay. I've wasted more than enough time on it already. I wash my hands of it forever! The concept is cooler than the average story in the series, but could you do any better? Mon Jul 15 2002 14:48 This Is Not Spam As Its Fabulous Offers Are Tempered By Bizarre Restrictions Just, Like Real Business Opportunities: Could you use a Free Grant of $10,000 to $156,000 but, not exceeding $5,000,000? Mon Jul 15 2002 15:46 : V-mail Kriswise! Totally blazzo! Mon Jul 15 2002 19:19 : I feel burnt out. I haven't been able to write a line of non-work-related code for a few weeks, not even the minimal changes needed to reinstate Tonight's Episode or get rid of the entries in my referer logs from that evil company that wants you to pay to salt other people's referer logs with your URL. For a while it was a chore to update NYCB, and I had to push myself to do at least one entry every day, but I think I broke that today. Tue Jul 16 2002 08:24 : Well, my computer died. Hopefully there is just some problem with the hard drive, which is partitioned in a very strange way that I don't remember doing. My mother is clamoring for a new(er) computer so I'm probably going to buy a new one, use it to fix this one, then install Windows on it and give it to her. Q: What do you have when everyone is bored with regulating prices? A: Blasé-faire. Tue Jul 16 2002 11:33 : Did you know it's possible to measure the temperature of a web page? Thermodynamicists have succeeded in locating the hottest spot on ibm.com ! Tue Jul 16 2002 12:41 : I would have more interest in the movie The Bourne Identity if it were about a mathematician named Bourne who discovered an interesting identity property. Tue Jul 16 2002 14:10 : I thought of a morbid story idea for an Onion-alike satiricon: Ironic Death Rate Plummets: Much of the drop was due to new health and safety regulations. Fewer industrial workers than ever before were crushed in the gears of the machinery destined to replace them, and not a single chemical company CEO met a gruesome demise in a vat of his company's toxic product. Tue Jul 16 2002 15:07 : The Nethack bibliography (found via Zack) is cool, but it only covers the database; it doesn't have citations for all the quotes in the source code. Perhaps I'm exaggerating the number of quotes in the source code, but I remember there being a nontrivial number, mostly used to justify weird features involving vampires or whatever. Tue Jul 16 2002 15:45 : The obvious followup to this (so obvious it took me a whole day to realize it): Future-slang spam and Newspeak spam. *** DOUBLEPLUSLOW PRICES! *** Wed Jul 17 2002 10:42 : Last night I went to see They Might Be Giants, and had a great time. First we ('we' being a wide variety of people who know Zack) went to a Japanese restaurant (the same restaurant a different 'we' once went to with Pete Peterson II ). Zack had an okonomiyaki, which I thought was the thing you got in Nethack instead of a pancake when playing a samurai, but this is not correct. I bring up the okonomiyaki because it had little shavings on top which waved around due to the okonomiyaki's body heat, making the whole thing look like a living slime mold. Then on to the concert, which was good. A local singer-songwriter named Noe Venable opened. She claimed to be a big TMBG fan. She was well-received and played five songs, three of which were really good. An unexplained break of about twenty minutes (is that normal?) and then TMBG came on. John Flansburgh was the excited rock-geek jumping around and yelling, and John Linnell was the dispassionate keyboard player scowling out the lyrics. They played many songs from a new album called No!, which I had, strangely, not heard of before. (But why is that surprising? My news sources include nothing that would mention new TMBG album releases. I didn't hear about Mink Car until I saw it in a store.) My feet are sore from standing. Two other complaints: The venue has absolutely no incentive to start the show on time because they are selling booze and booze sales per unit time drop sharply once the band comes on stage. I suspect places like the Fillmore wish they were a bar with live music and a really high cover charge. At one point, TMBG left the stage but the house lights didn't come on. The audience stomped and clapped for more. TMBG came back on, played a couple songs as an encore, then left again. Still no house lights. The audience stomped and clapped for more some more. TMBG came back on, did a musical skit involving a prop that had been on the stage for the entire show, did a few more songs, then left for real (the house lights came on this time). What a farce! They planned two encores because the audience wouldn't be satisfied with just a longer set! Does everyone do that? Wed Jul 17 2002 12:33 : Kevin found a Googlewhack without knowing what one was: qhyyneqf cerpyhqvat Wed Jul 17 2002 14:01 : Funny phrase: ".NET antics." As in "I've had just about enough of you Microsoft kids and your .NET antics!" Thu Jul 18 2002 08:05 : From Sumana, a Salon teaser even more alarmist than But is he bowing to a false god?: But is he a false god? Fri Jul 19 2002 06:46 : Is it just me, or is it obvious to everyone that iPods are turning into PDAs that play music? Fri Jul 19 2002 06:47 : Rachel says she's jealous of me because I went to see TMBG. I am hip! Fri Jul 19 2002 08:28 : More Yoda spam: Free Money For You its Sun Jul 21 2002 21:22 : Yesterday I saw a headline along the lines of "19 million pounds of meat recalled after 19 fall ill". Of course they fell ill! They each ate a million pounds of meat! Sun Jul 21 2002 23:09 : Horrifying Visions of the Future: A Retrospective: In the future, people will put on plays written by our contemporaries, and they will change them in various ways to make them more relevant . For instance, Angels In America will take place on a Mars colony called "America" and instead of AIDS the characters will have the space plague. You can take this prediction to the bank because, unlike many things that annoy me about humanity, this feature of humanity will remain even if people enhance themselves not to be stupid. People of the future will also put on, as plays, screenplays like Fight Club and the scripts of television shows like Law And Order, and will make the same sort of changes to them. By then we will all be dead and buried, and those who undergo cryogenic freezing will never be unthawed for fear of the vengeance they would wreak should they find out about this. Mon Jul 22 2002 10:00 : It's well known that the powers of magic are enhanced by calling it "magick". Magic is based on the principle that words and rituals have power, and so a more complicated word for the principle gives you access to more power. If you can handle it, you can use mhagick or maghick. The most complex variety I know of that's even marginally safe to use is pmhaugshickque. You can put apostrophes in it if you're brave, but that turns it into scary Lovecraftian p'mh'augshi'ck'que, which Man Was Not Meant To Know. Mon Jul 22 2002 10:19 : Zack claims that you do get okonomiyaki instead of pancakes when you're a Nethack samurai. But how do you explain this ? And also that the source code never mentions okonomiyaki? But then how do you explain how both Zack and I thought this was the case, even though I'd never heard of okonomiyaki before? The answer is clear: we have been abducted by sinister extraterrestrials from beyond Dimension X and forced to play Future Versions Of Nethack! [nb. from objnam.c, version 3.4.0; it's possible that okonomiyaki were present in an earlier version and removed, but to my knowledge this would be the first time a non-exploitable feature was ever removed from Nethack:] STATIC_OVL struct Jitem Japanese_items[] = { { SHORT_SWORD, "wakizashi" }, { BROADSWORD, "ninja-to" }, { FLAIL, "nunchaku" }, { GLAIVE, "naginata" }, { LOCK_PICK, "osaku" }, { WOODEN_HARP, "koto" }, { KNIFE, "shito" }, { PLATE_MAIL, "tanko" }, { HELMET, "kabuto" }, { LEATHER_GLOVES, "yugake" }, { FOOD_RATION, "gunyoki" }, { POT_BOOZE, "sake" }, {0, "" } }; Mon Jul 22 2002 13:33 : Hey, Kris, remember the joke event horizon ? Tue Jul 23 2002 13:00 : Various computer parts are supposed to be wending their way towards me, as Peter Schickele says. The dot.com <-pathetic attempt at irony- bust seems to have killed off the cheapo Linux OEM ecosystem; PriceWatch used to have a whole section for inexpensive computers with Linux preinstalled, but now nothing. Feeling very strange, I tried lame Google searches like "linux" and "linux box", looking for text ads, but nothing there either. So I'll be building my next computer. This is actually sort of nice because it lets me reuse old parts that I don't care about (video card, sound card, network card) from my two old computers, and use the money thus saved to buy ridiculous amounts of RAM and hard drive space, which I do care about. Tue Jul 23 2002 14:47 : Today in the kitchen at work (someone had brought in a box) I saw the real-life equivalent of the Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs from Calvin and Hobbes: Cap'n Crunch Choco Donut cereal. It looks like chocolate Froot Loops with little nonpareils on the Froot Loops. And get this: it is marketed under the 'Oops!' sub-brand of the Cap'n Crunch brand, the line which previously consisted only of the randomly-produced 'Oops! All Berries!' cereal (which is the set difference of Cap'n Crunch Crunchberries and Cap'n Crunch and which resembles gastronomic Rokenbok ). Now, the conceit of the 'Oops!' sub-brand is that through some horrible oversight of logistics Quaker produced too much of some cereal component, and is making the best of a bad situation by boxing it separately as a new cereal. But Choco Donuts are not an existing Cap'n Crunch cereal component! They're not even topographically equivalent to any existing Cap'n Crunch cereal component! This cereal piece is not a mistake; it has 'intended result of long series of deliberations and actions' written all over it! Putting this ceral under the "Oops!" sub-brand is nothing more than marketing Tourette's. As if to drive the point home that not even by the fiction of the Cap'n Crunch backstory is this an "Oops!", on the back of the box you see the Cap'n himself, taking you through a tour of his costly new production facility for making Choco Donut cereal pieces. If this cereal really was the result of an oversight, wouldn't the oversight have been discovered long before all this infrastructure was built around it? Does "Oops!" mean "Oops! The Cap'n Accidentally Invested Millions In The Design And Production Of A New Manufacturing Process For Shaped Cereal!"? Actually, judging from the awful design of the production line, maybe it's "Oops! Blasting Large Numbers Of Nonpareils Into The Air In Hopes That Some Of Them Will Stick To Something Is Very Messy And Wasteful!", or possibly "Oops! We Were Too Stupid To Realize That It Might Be More Efficient To Create Little Cereal Donut Simalcra At Their Actual Size Instead Of Creating One Huge Cereal Donut Simalcrum And Breaking It Up Into Smaller Simalcra With Some Sort Of Magic Beam!" I complain, but at least I vaguely understand what's going on; the "Oops!" line is turning into a line of extra-junky cereal which would be called "Select" or "Extra" or "Premium" if it were a line of stuff made for the benefit of adults. I don't understand what's going on here . Are people pathologically afraid of germs? Are our (and by "our" I mean "your") children turning into food isolationists? I don't know. Tue Jul 23 2002 16:44 : When Physical Objects Are Warezed, Only Warez D00ds Will Have Physical Objects: Or something. The latest in the DSR saga is "Franklin Planner " crack. Wed Jul 24 2002 07:27 : MoreSensationalistExaminer.com: Bad-guy backlog should be Bad-guy weblog. Now's your chance to one-up the Chronicle ! Wed Jul 24 2002 08:06 : Mail from Kris in which he presents a theory for the origin of cereals so wacky, that if it's true then a similar theory must apply for the origin of wacky theories. Wed Jul 24 2002 08:55 : Microbusiness in action: feelies.org sells the little pieces of the game world that at traditionally accompany IF games, and can be instructed to sell them for your game. I've decided that "Micro-x" is the next meta-trend, as the Internet and related technologies make it easier to offload more logistics onto other people and thereby dabble in more things. "Meta-trend" is also the next meta-trend (there can be multiple simultaneous meta-trends because, well, it's meta). Wed Jul 24 2002 10:22 : I'm a happy rabbit, because my spacecraft components have come in. For some reason I have been thinking of the hard drives and RAM I ordered as spacecraft components; possibly because I had the same feeling towards them as you have towards spacecraft components during a game of FreeCiv; you order them and are excited and they can't come in fast enough ( counterpoint ). But I got to thinking that my new hard drives and RAM are probably better (in terms of raw power) than anything currently used in actual working spacecraft due to the long lag time involved in spacecraft design. So I decided that I should lead-shield my hard drives and RAM to protect them from radiation, incorporate them into a Gallileo-type spacecraft with a camera and radio transmitter, send it off into space, and reap the rewards (eg. pictures, and being the coolest person in the entire world). This pleasant fantasy lasted only a moment before I realized that 1) it would take me years just to learn everything I'd need to know to build and launch a spacecraft, that 2) though I can afford amazingly huge hard drives and chunks of RAM, the sum cost of the parts neccessary to create a spacecraft is well beyond my budget, that 3) sending out a Gallileo-type spacecraft would probably violate some stupid law or UN resolution or other, and that 4) I bought the hard drives and RAM as part of a project to bring my computer back to life, and not as part of a nascent space program. So I abandoned the project before I led the taxpayer (viz., myself) down a garden path. To be from future mes please rep to this with the word I can'the promise thehathe if you follow theodayse Wed Jul 24 2002 16:20 : Adam speaks: Now I donno about text editors as herbal supplements, but can emacs do all the things mentioned here ? I think not! Wed Jul 24 2002 19:39 : I'm back "on line", as the kids say. Thanks to my new hard drive (the fancy new RAM won't fit in my old motherboard, so no new RAM yet) and (finally) an installation CD that's less corrupt than a Calcutta phone line installer, I have computer again. And such unoccupied swaths of hard drive space! I'm a pioneer! I'm Pioneer 10! Thu Jul 25 2002 07:35 : Alert John Ashcroft! Subversion has gone into "alpha mode", as they call it.* And there's a logo contest , though they aren't running any of the banana logos that I liked (allegedly those were some kind of "joke"). *May not actually be what they call it. Thu Jul 25 2002 13:29 : Search Results Unclear on the Concept: "nethack" "wand of wishing" download Mon Jul 29 2002 08:39 : The battle rages on, with Want a better rate than Mr. Jones? We shall outspend Mr. Jones on the beaches; we shall consume more conspicuously on the landing grounds, we shall borrow at more favorable rates in the fields and in the streets, we shall deduct the interest in the hills; we shall never surrender! Mon Jul 29 2002 09:58 : Jason Robbins of Tonight's Episode fame gave a presentation at the O'Reilly conference on Source Access and Commercial Software (and "commercial" is used appropriately there, I think). It had a humorous component which used hypothetical source code from ancient Sumeria to point out that mere source code access is insufficient to reap the benefits of collaboration. He's going to put up a revised copy on tigris.org, but here is a preview . The guy on the panel from Microsoft's Shared Source initiative, against which (the initiative, not the guy) much of Jason's satire was directed, is also named Jason. Battle of the Jasons! Mon Jul 29 2002 23:17 : I'm fairly sure it was unintentional, but the Beetle Bailey strip mentioned herein made me realize just what a badass Sarge is. This is a guy who talks to his dog, who has a separate bed in his quarters for his dog, who dresses his dog in a little Army uniform, and not a peep about it out of his men. Not even behind his back. They don't dare, because he's such a badass. "They made these strange noises like a dolphin or a seal as they were dying." Tue Jul 30 2002 18:28 : There's the Angband comic , previously mentioned here , and there's also a Nethack comic (well, one based on Nethack, anyhow). It's not as funny as the Angband comic, and it hasn't been updated for a couple months, but unlike the Angband comic it is actually text-based, and it has some funny moments : Waltraute wields a long sword! The long sword slips from her hands! @: Damn you fried food! First you ruin my girlish figure, then you make me helpless! Tue Jul 30 2002 19:59 : I wrote a labor-saving device I'd been meaning to write for a while, which breaks my long streak of not writing code except for work. Hopefully my burnout is subsiding, and soon I'll be interested in working on my game again. <kmaples> I remember I was working at tower before nevermind came out <kmaples> we (the buyers) got these pre-release packets for the album <kmaples> in there was the assurance 'note - nirvana is extremely accessible' Wed Jul 31 2002 17:53 : Leonard micromarketing (someone else use the micro-x construction or my trend prediction will fall apart! Mickey Kaus, call your office!): a member of the UCLA LUG, who probably came in after I graduated since I've never heard of him, made O'Reilly book covers for the members of the LUG. Nobody will find this interesting except me, but whose weblog is this? That's right, it's mine. Mine, I tell you! Of slightly more general interest, Dan Helfman drew some cartoons . Thu Aug 01 2002 07:28 : Leonardonics spam: Are you the only one? Thu Aug 01 2002 07:59 : Beating The Salon Horse: What if Salon's announcements were written the same way as their news articles? Salon tries to wring money out of the faithful with Salon Premium. But will the Napster generation pay for secondhand reporting and warmed-over commentary? Salon's new blogging service will make sure no bobo voice goes unheard. But will the new content save the magazine... or overshadow it? Salon announces improved revenue in new quarterly results. But without the sneaky accounting tricks they deplore in others, the numbers tell a different story. I'm here all week! Tip your waitresses! Well, he's puffing a big ceegar, feeling mighty slick Cause he thinks he's got your union licked When he looks out the window and what does he see? People just leave money laying around Possible porn - Large Number of movies, pics And many more! When you order download SpamAssassin ! This reminds me to announce the second Crummy.com Spam Contest ( the first one is over , but I haven't collated the results yet). The premise of the contest is that SpamAssassin has finally given us an objective (though imperfect) way of measuring the "spamminess" of any given email. The object of the contest is to recieve the single most spammy email (as adjucated by SpamAssassin). Forward your entries to [email protected], and wait forever for me to decide the contest is over and judge the results. I don't use SA on my personal account yet, but we use it at work and there (for an account that gets little spam) I've seen spams with SA scores of 23, so I'd say about 25 is the bare minimum for getting excited enough about your spam to enter it. Honorable mention will be given to the spammiest email not to actually be spam or a discussion of spam. As always with Crummy.com Spam Contests, this is to be a passive competition, like a rubber ducky race. You may not write spam that scores high on the SpamAssassin scale just so you can use it in this contest, nor may you alter the SpamAssassin rules, or add new ones, to make a particular piece of email score higher. You could spread around your email address in order to get more spam, but that act carries with it its own punishment. Fri Aug 02 2002 15:16 : Another spam entry, highlighting the spam subgenre I call "The Spam Of Nations" because it posits a completely different set of economic laws from those that obtain in the real world (chain letter spam also falls into this category). Make Money Selling Overstocked Merchandise! Sat Aug 03 2002 23:54 : Weird, overheard in Cody's yesterday (paraphrased): "Do you have any newspapers in English from the Middle East?" "Well, I don't think we have any English newspapers from the Arab world. I know we carry Ha'aretz in English." "Oh... I was really looking for something from the Middle East." Sun Aug 04 2002 00:05 : Sumana read me a funny quote from Spin Cycle today. Let me set the scene. Then-President Clinton is about to go white-water rafting. The president's handlers are in a tizzy because of the associations this will bring up with the Whitewater scandal. Press secretary Mike McCurry feeds the president a snappy line to use. Inevitably, a reporter in a passing raft shouted at the president: "What do you think of Whitewater now?" Clinton flashed a thumbs-up. "It's better when you have a paddle," he said, reading from the McCurry script. The quote made the next day's New York Times. This paragraph gave me the Goon Show-like image of a reporter on a raft dogging Clinton throughout his presidency, always floating by at the crucial moment to shout out some pointed question. Probably the raft would be fixed with wheels so he could row it through a press conference. The Secret Service starts to worry. He's seen at the National Press Club, sipping a scotch and soda, entertaining a Post reporter in his raft. Eventually he's transferred to the foreign affairs desk and covers international crises from his raft. His tragic demise (not sure how; stray shell punctures raft?). Write up, sell film rights. $35K? Intimate political comedy, slight farce; doesn't have to be a blockbuster. Sun Aug 04 2002 20:56 : I spent the day cleaning my room. Since I was moving around all my furniture anyway, I decided to rearrange it. I'm now sitting about four feet from where I used to sit. I rotated my bed ninety degrees from its old position! Not even Fox would dare to air such extreme content, but I swear to you, my readers, that it is the truth. Sun Aug 04 2002 21:16 : What happens on The West Wing if Bartlet loses the coming presidential election to the Republican challenger, Gov. Ritchie? Does the show end? Do they bring in a new cast and become a show about the Ritchie administration? Does it become a show about the post-White House jobs of the various characters we already know, a la Saved By The Bell: The College Years? I go for the second option. Of course, we know that Bartlet won't actually lose (unless the show is going to end), which raises the Disturbing Question: how fair is this election, really? Sun Aug 04 2002 22:05 : You know that weblog that recreates Julius Ceasar's Gallic Wars in weblog form ? Of course you do. Yesterday I thought it would be funny to do the Satyricon in weblog form. It would read like a whiny LiveJournal. After that set-up I should have a sample entry to set you rolling in the aisles, but... I don't. Sorry. Also, the dinner with Trimalchio is way too long to be represented by a weblog entry, and that's the funniest part, so I doubt it would work. In other classics news, I read Juvenal's Satires , a copy of which Sumana found me for cheap. Very funny. I kept thinking "I hope he writes some more of these soon," and then reeling as the horrible truth hit me. If this were the 18th or even the 19th century, you could title or subtitle a book "The New Satires" (like Mary Shelley's "The New Prometheus") and it would be an acceptable title or subtitle. People would accept that you were doing a sort of "the adventure continues" thing. But even those days are gone. Mon Aug 05 2002 22:31 : Cool hack: Zillions of games , a generic strategy engine and language for defining strategy games. Plays chess and its myriad variants , as well as whatever other puzzles and games people have thought up. Windows only, unfortunately, so I haven't tried it myself. The chess variants site is cool, though, and platform-independent. [Via Plurp and the aforelinked chess variants site, which I found a couple weeks ago via some weblog that I forget which one. The way this works ( see previous example ) is that I see something that's cool and forget about it, then I see it somewhere else and remember it and post an entry about it and have to quote the source that reminded me of it, as well as the (by now hopelessly forgotten) original source.] Mon Aug 05 2002 22:46 : Slightly scary Markov chain URL ticker: ClickoLinko (found through referer logs). I assume it monitors the #crackmonkey IRC channel. From it I was reminded of ThinkGeek , to which I would be particularly subsceptible to right now were it not for my tendency to lose interest in cool gadgets once I realize how much cooler they could be: "It'd be even cooler if the car was a tiny MEMS device." "Oh yeah." I think I got this disappointing yet money-saving internal voice from Dan . Mon Aug 05 2002 23:15 : About a week ago I went to a used bookstore and bought a bunch of used books. It appears someone had recently gone to that selfsame bookstore and offloaded their collection of novelizations of '80s games, because I found and purchased a Zork novelization, an Enchanter novelization (which I'm reading now), and a novelization of the RPG Paranoia, which I only know of from the multiple-choice text adventure based on it that was bundled with the Adventure Game Toolkit , and from the great phrase "First Church of Christ, Computer Scientist". The first two books would make good prizes for the IF competition (incidentally, I never received my prize for Guess the Verb!; oh well). Also at the used bookstore I got a bundle of Retief books. Great! (I've never seen Retief books except in used bookstores; they must all be out of print). More on these later; Google 'Retief' if you're curious. retief.com is taken but the owner isn't doing anything with it except trying to sell it to someone else (much like me with another cool science fiction domain name, except my motives are pure; I'm not doing anything at all with it. Eventually I'll host a software project there, once I come up with a suitable idea for a software project). Tue Aug 06 2002 08:46 : Funny Manoj commit message: This isn't windows. You don't shut down with "start" Tue Aug 06 2002 10:34 : Mozilla Icon or Elephant? First (And Last) In A Series False-Trillema name for this series: Picture, Pachyderm, or Providence? Tue Aug 06 2002 13:41 : Jakey B is back, and he presents a fiendish plan indeed for a joint Leonard/Jake venture to destroy the market for gross-out candy. My fear is that, like the art world with Duchamp's readymades, the market will merely assimilate our product and use it to accelerate its spiral into depravity. Tue Aug 06 2002 14:31 : They Said It Couldn't Be Done Search Requests: listening to metallica's songs using winzip Tue Aug 06 2002 18:08 : Single most audacious claim made ever by a spam: LOSE 80LBS IN A WEEK? The answer is no (unless you contract Ebola or something). Tue Aug 06 2002 18:26 : Jason Robbins, whose Tonight's Episodes are merely one tank in the armored divison that is his arsenal of heuristics for formalizing comedy, came up a while ago with the idea that in the next Austin Powers movie, there should be a "Micro-Me" character the size of an action figure. You see where this is going: a "Nano-Me" villan capable of being injected into Austin's bloodstream, a huge Mechagodzilla-like "Mega-Me" robot which Dr. Evil directs à la Dr. Wily, etc. Eventually it would fall apart and stop being funny with "Meta-Me". Wed Aug 07 2002 08:26 : As Groucho Marx did not say, "I won't belong to any struct that would have me as a member." Wed Aug 07 2002 14:40 : Muppets + Weezer = cross-promotional fun! (from Kevin) Wed Aug 07 2002 19:22 : The last of my spaceship components came in today, and are on the floor in a box. Soon I'll be shutting down this computer and performing the transplant. The other things that came in today are my copies of the Diesel Sweeties and explodingdog comic books. I'll report on them once I read them. They remind me that I've had the Footrot Flats comic book Joe sent me for YEARS and still haven't reviewed it. That will come too. Wed Aug 07 2002 20:44 : I'm back on the net, though not all the parts are moved into the new computer. This new bizarre motherboard has its own network card and sound card, but I don't trust 'em. I'm afraid that each contains a tiny privacy-invading modem, like in The Lone Gunmen. (Oh yeah, the motherboard also has its own modem.) Wed Aug 07 2002 21:45 : OK, everything's working except sound (dunno why). My CD writer even works, which hasn't been the case for a while. Thu Aug 08 2002 21:51 : NewsBruiser bug reporters: please put it in Issuezilla . I filed A. Holloway's quoting bug , but that's the only one I remember. Update: the quoting bug is fixed. Thu Aug 08 2002 22:13 : I had a NewsBruiser-productive evening because I set up Apache and NewsBruiser on my box with a copy of the hosted weblog data, so as not to have to do everything through a slow SSH connection. Next: a local CVS repository. Thu Aug 08 2002 22:30 : Wow, CVS repository was a lot easier than I thought. I'm on a roll! A jelly roll! I set up a module for my new game, and I'm about to retroactively create repositories for Guess the Verb! and Degeneracy. I think I'm going to turn into that person who version-controls everything on his hard drive, and I don't mind at all. I knew I bought 240 gigabytes of hard drive space for a reason! Thu Aug 08 2002 22:41 : Other cool thing: WINE is set up on my machine to run DOS executables as UNIX executables, and so I can run Booze for DOS and the English-to-Huttese translator. Fri Aug 09 2002 06:47 : Am I so out of touch with the people that I find it strange that befuddled indifference is the attitude toward GPS of the populace at large? Or is it merely an impression conveyed by the author, so fascinated by GPS that anything less than obsession is seen as wanting? Of course, this is Australia we're talking about, so some national stereotype may come into play. (Joe? How do the Ozzies feel about GPS?) Fri Aug 09 2002 09:58 : Back from the dentist. I was worried about my teeth (this dentist visit was a referendum on my post-braces dental hygiene habits), but they're fine. It helps that I spend all night, every night* cleaning my teeth. * A slight exaggeration Sat Aug 10 2002 14:25 : Or maybe it's because he was writing a really long entry . Sat Aug 10 2002 23:42 : Tomorrow I may (may, mind you) work on RSS syndication for NewsBruiser. I'll probably start and then get frustrated because Python 1.5.6, which is the latest version of Python I feel comfortable developing an application for when I want the application to be used by people on computers they don't control, has no XML support (AFAIK). Sun Aug 11 2002 08:34 : In my sleep I came up with great algorithms for washing dishes and for minimizing the total cost (including shipping) of the parts of a computer each of whose parts could be ordered at different prices from different suppliers (which, now that I think about it, could be a general logistics algorithm; it's not computer-specific). I don't remember them, but part of the 'great' algorithm for washing dishes was: if (dish is wet): So I don't think they were actually great, only dream-great. Sun Aug 11 2002 10:38 : Through cargo cult data structure analysis (the flip side of cargo cult programming), I got NewsBruiser to write an RSS feed that looks like Danny O'Brien's . It even steals his content! No, just kidding. Sun Aug 11 2002 11:14 : Are there any RSS aggregators that actually work, or is it just a big scam to get hard-working programmers to waste time adding RSS support to their applications? I don't want to commit anything until I know it works, but I can't find anything that will look at my RSS file and tell me what it says. Sun Aug 11 2002 12:01 : Apparently there are two file formats called "RSS" which are barely similar. I don't want to hear about it. I'm adding support for the other file format now. Sun Aug 11 2002 12:28 : The ultimate velvet painting: Elvis in clown makeup crying over a little statue of Christ holding a puppy which is also in clown makeup. Update: nutella keeps piling it on. Sun Aug 11 2002 13:38 : Behold the RSS ! What now? You can get this from CVS; if there aren't huge problems I'll release 1.2 tonight or tomorrow. Be warned that you have to change your configuration files around a bit. Sun Aug 11 2002 15:46 : NewsBruiser 1.2.0 is out! Now, to waste the rest of the day playing Nethack! Sun Aug 11 2002 17:44 : You know how Mac users are always bagging on* Windows users, saying "The Mac had feature x years ago [and is therefore superior to your puny operating system that just got it]!" Well, why shouldn't Unix users be able to do the same to Mac users ? (link from Josh) There is no reason. * You can probably determine my age from the fact that I used that phrase. Sun Aug 11 2002 18:16 : Time for another in a series of Recipes You Can Bruise. While previous recipes in the series required me to type out in tedious detail all the ingredients and steps and what can you empty into what bowl, this ingeniously simple recipe is designed such that I only have to tell you the name and you can figure it out. It's more a bill of fare than a recipe, actually: Chili and Cornbread Stuffing. It's tasty. Mon Aug 12 2002 09:08 : That velvet painting is getting more and more crowded; Kevin tells me that it has to have Bob Marley in it too. Mon Aug 12 2002 12:31 : A one-sided market : Doc Searls: Where they need something in the infrastructure space, they'll roll their own if they have to, as they did with FireWire. But in other cases, like with BSD and with USB and Apache, they'll cherry-pick what they need. So it's a matter of carefully adopting and driving ubiquitous standards. It's also finally happening with Web services. Craig says they are finally starting to emerge now as a result of infrastructure anarchy. And what's smart is when companies cause anarchy in a market, like you're doing right now. I was sitting there in the audience at lunch thinking I was looking at what we used to call a corporate sex change. It's huge. It's total. You're saying some of the same things I was hearing from (from Linux vendors) several years ago, but from a much different perspective, because you have commercial success that most other companies have never enjoyed. And you're involved with this community internally. I know this from the emails I get from people involved in your company saying they're doing really cool stuff. Rob Glaser: Yup. Doc Searls: You haven't been able to talk about this stuff for a long time, but now you've created a structure where you can. Rob Glaser: Yup. ... Doc Searls: ... And this is how these two conceptual frameworks fit together here. This is where it's really critical. You have commercial where it's proprietary and closed, and you have infrastructure where it's open and public domain. And the smart companies know how to work both sides of this. In your case there's been this tectonic shift, and bang: this (the company's infrastructural stuff) is all exposed. Rob Glaser: Yup. Doc Searls: We can understand: "Oh: you're selling this (commercial stuff) and you're working with everybody else on either giving this (infrastructure stuff) away or co-developing it. And suddenly it all starts to make sense. Rob Glaser: Yup. Mon Aug 12 2002 13:20 : Harmless joke: A guy is transported to the near future and his guide is showing him around. He sees a sign on the side of a road: MAXIMUM SPEED 110. "Wow," he says to his guide, "you guys really raised the speed limit." "No," says the guide. "We just switched to metric." Tue Aug 13 2002 11:13 : "Leonard Leonard Leonard! Wake up!" "Bah! I was having a dream about a friendly tortoise! What do you want?" It was Bob, my idea man. Always looking for the quick buck and the flashy sound bite. His Crummy.com Gasoline-Soaked Dollar Bill Giveaway had cost me millions in legal fees alone, and his plan to put advertising messages in my Java variable names had yet to recoup the cost of the banner ads. But he was working for me under a highly illegal indentured servitude scheme, which meant I couldn't fire him or he'd go to the feds. "This is going to be huge, so you'd better sit down. Oh, you're lying down. That's even better. Now, picture this. This is huge! You know the Jake Berendes West Covina franchise?" "Yeah." "What if it were a board game?" A board game? "Yeah! 'Out of maple syrup candy, go back two spaces.' You could play with Berendes Bucks instead of Monopoly money. Or even better, it could be one of those games that's exactly like Monopoly except for the names of the properties. That way we wouldn't have to come up with new rules!" "Bob, nobody plays board games anymore. Too much crap to get lost in the rug. It's all collectible card games now." "How about a collectible card game?" "There aren't enough distinct words in Jake Berendes West Covina to make a collectible card game. You'd have to get into implicit stuff like 'the cheap 35-millimeter camera the kid at the McDonalds bought with his money'. "You could write the next episode." The truth comes out. Bob was always trying to get me to write more Jake Berendes West Covina. It was the only thing of mine he knew how to sell. Perhaps waking me up at three in the morning was his way of catching me off my guard. "You know there is no next episode, Bob." "Okay, so how about this. You know that Weezer song American Gigolo?" "Yeah?" "What if instead of 'my love walks right to your door', it went 'my love walks right through your door'? It would be about some Herman Munster-like guy who went crashing through doors." "Now you're talking!" Tue Aug 13 2002 11:56 : Can someone who knows about Windows help me? I'm trying to install Windows ME on the computer I'm making for my mother. Rather than take advantage of the incredible innovation that is the bootable CD, they saw fit to provide me with a bootable installation disk, which (of course) went bad as soon as I took it out of the wrapper, and won't boot. I can't copy the files onto another disk because it's like a Snickers bar with bad sectors as the peanuts. I can't find an installation disk image anywhere on the web, and I'm starting to suspect that Windows ME does not actually exist, but is merely an experiment by Microsoft to see if they can make payroll solely from sales of bad floppies and repurposed Windows 98 CDs that no one can use. There are various tutorials on the web about how to make a bootable Windows ME CD-ROM, but they assume you're using Windows already, which is insane. So if anyone has enough Windows knowledge to get me an installation disk that works, I'd be very grateful. Tue Aug 13 2002 12:21 : Pathetic Search Requests: hamburger university diploma fake Tue Aug 13 2002 13:11 : MoreSensationalistExaminer.com Double Issue! "Can this man save Market St.?" should be "Can this man; save Market St." Also, "Mariah too flashy for record label" should be "Mariah too fleshy for record label". Tue Aug 13 2002 20:31 : The Enchanter novelization is not very good. It's supposed to be a comedy, but it's a comedy the way '80s high school movies are comedies, in that it contains some jokes. It also contains tiresome Tolkien homages (I hope my Tolkien homages aren't tiresome; this book made me worry about that). It's not fair to judge an author based on a novelization, but the same author (Robin Bailey) wrote the Zork novelization I found, so I worry. Reading the book is like watching someone else solve a poorly written text adventure. [What did you expect? -ed. Watching someone else solve a well-written text adventure.] There were eight bosses in the book. The first one showed up at the very beginning of the book and six others showed up all at once near the very end, with the big bad guy bringing up the rear. Innovative, but confusing for the bulk of the book, because you're expecting one boss every couple chapters. Why not just have two, plus the big boss? (Answer: because the travelling pack of big bad guys is another Tolkien homage). However, there's a silver lining: while researching this entry I found a properly anal-retentive Chronology of Quendor . Tue Aug 13 2002 21:32 : Sentences no one could have predicted in 1990 (from this Bruce Schneier profile ): A more complete explanation of public-key encryption will soon be available on The Atlantic's Web site, www.theatlantic.com. Tue Aug 13 2002 21:44 : A hilarious rant from David Hyatt, a Mozilla developer, similar to Netscape 4.8 to Feature More Bugs, Useless Crap *: it's How to Monetize(tm) your browser . Via (and viva) Aaron Swartz: The Weblog . *Yes, I know. I'll get around to it. Wed Aug 14 2002 14:23 : Joe Barr: Still Cranky What annoyed me most about the Red Hat installation was reading not one, but three tales explaining how Red Hat came by its name. Did it result from Marc Ewing always wearing a red cap during his college days, or from an affinity he had for his grandfather's red lacrosse hat? On the other hand, is it because of what red has symbolized throughout history? Not that I really care, but it bugs me that Red Hat can't stick with one fable, or lacks the cleverness to poke fun at its myriad tales. Wed Aug 14 2002 14:29 : My belt broke today while I was buckling it. The buckle tore off. This is the fourth day I've had the belt and probably the tenth time I've buckled it. I know what you're thinking: "What a crappy belt!" You are correct. Wed Aug 14 2002 16:46 : The Jury Did It is done, but Tonight's Episode continues, and today's Tonight's Episode is one of my favorites. "It's silly, but I'll sign anyway," she said. Yeah, that's Berkeley. Thu Aug 15 2002 09:41 : One of the cool things about Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt is it's like a better-written version of the stories I make up for my civilizations in FreeCiv. Thu Aug 15 2002 09:53 : Phrase I just thought up (political or science-popularization book title?): The Rational Hoedown Thu Aug 15 2002 13:28 : Photo wire roundup: (Is there a photo wire whose photos don't go bad after a month?) Thu Aug 15 2002 14:43 : If I Make My Query Look Like The Semantic Web, The Semantic Web Will Exist! Search Requests: girl<iran> Thu Aug 15 2002 17:53 : If First Monday had a sub-magazine on copyright issues, that sub-magazine could be called First Sale. Thu Aug 15 2002 18:58 : I greatly improved the <title>s of NewsBruiser CGIs (examples: single-entry view , multi-entry view , search results ). Pretty cool, but not, I think, cool enough to do a new release for. Get it from CVS if you must have it. Incidentally, I think this is the first self-referential NewsBruiser entry ever posted (I could be wrong). Thu Aug 15 2002 23:24 : Mencken once wrote "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." Kevin and I were sorely tempted yesterday, when a long freighter slid across the bay in view of our windows. There was talk of heading out on a schooner with cutlasses between our teeth, boarding the vessel and seizing its precious cargo of shipping containers . This plan was rendered unfeasible by the fact that our cutlasses would be useless against the guns no doubt on board, not to mention the fact that our conquered vessel would be cornered in the bay, easy pickings for the US Navy. We considered various alternate plans, including: Using the vessel as a base and booty storage facility for raids on Emeryville and other coastal cities. [Rejected by me, as we would then be not pirates but brigands] Taking the operation to the coast of Indonesia, the only place where piracy really has a chance in this day and age. [Rejected by Kevin, who feared summary execution if we got caught] Leasing a freighter and a motorboat, loading them up with modern weaponry and equipment, going with them back in time to the 1600s (the golden age of piracy), and pressing our technological advantages to become the most successful pirates in history. [Rejected by Kevin, being too impatient to wait for the development of time travel] Frustration grew. How could we gain the thril of cutthroat piracy without undergoing any actual risk? That's when inspiration struck, and a business model was born. Instead of becoming pirates ourselves, we are leveraging our experience with collaborative software and becoming pirate consultants, developing enterprise class solutions for collaborative piracy. Our new company, walktheplank.net, will help pirates work together to pillage more effectively, and reduce time-to-loot. How can Kevin and I be so cavalier about piracy, a vile crime and a scourge upon international trade? As always, I blame society. The culture in which I was raised referred to "piracy" as a relatively innocuous crime, something you committed by making a backup copy of a Lode Runner disk. How could I but equate the storming of ships and the seizing of cargo with such actions? Perhaps the next generation can be saved, but the experience has rendered me completely amoral. Fri Aug 16 2002 08:00 : Funny random bits: The supervillain who says "permanently" when he means "for now" and vice versa: "So, they've escaped... permanently." "I want them eliminated... for now." Also, the movie trailer in which the gruff-voiced male trailer narrator and the full-of-wonderment female trailer narrator argue over whether the movie takes place in a "world" or in a "land". "In a world..." Fri Aug 16 2002 08:50 : A ringing endorsement from Crypto-GRAM: The best technical description [of Palladium] is the summary of a meeting with Microsoft engineers by Seth Schoen of the EFF. Contrary to popular belief, this entry is not just an excuse to point out that I too have had something I wrote mentioned in Crypto-GRAM . It's also an excuse to quote this step from Schneier's PGP attack: 4. Eve somehow convinces Bob to send her the gibberish plaintext. Eve is a freaking criminal mastermind. Fri Aug 16 2002 11:01 : "The semidecidable we decide right away. The undecidable takes a little longer." Fri Aug 16 2002 20:51 : I just beat Manoj pretty badly at FreeCiv. Neither of us had played against anything but AIs for a long time, {so, and} it was a lot of fun. He bribed one of my units with a diplomat and I was overjoyed at the supra-AI level of cunning required to do so. Nonetheless, I beat him, because he only built two cities (I initially backed off to give him space to expand, but he had to go get dinner so we had a big battle which I won). I'm really bored with the FreeCiv AI; if I survive to develop gunpowder I'm pretty much guaranteed to win, so I usually lose interest around that point. Manoj and I are going to play again at some point; does anyone else want to play (with me or with the both of us)? As previously mentioned , I don't really like playing games with people I don't know, but anyone who reads NYCB could probably gain admittance into that elusive category by dropping me a line. Despite my triumph over Manoj, I'm probably easy pickings for a FreeCiv expert, because my playing style is attuned to the foolish isolationism of the AI. I'm starting to think that the results of unit conflicts in FreeCiv should be reported as though you were hearing about them in your regime's propaganda broadcasts, eg. "Your heroic musketeers were killed defending themselves against an unprovoked attack from Manoj's explorer." Sat Aug 17 2002 00:28 : Wow, I just innovated! (The innovation is the slightly weird thing you haven't seen before, not the big noticable thing that I took from other pieces of software). Sat Aug 17 2002 01:19 : The innovation is now in CVS. The baseline functionality is a calendar: you can see a year calendar or a single month's calendar (also look at the bottom of the home page), with linked days. The innovation is a graphical representation of how busy a particular day was for a notebook. Pixels are allotted to the little blue box proportionally to how many entries were posted on that day. I keep trying to explain it in more detail, but I effectively keep typing that sentence over and over again, so that must be all there is to it. I had to do this with a one-pixel graphic because my attempts at doing it in CSS failed miserably. (CSS experts, help!) While getting the calendar to work I discovered some remarkable new ways of presenting a calendar's user interface. It's time to think outside the box and provide clients with distinctive, sticky calendars which keep users on the high-revenue months . The second one is sort of Star Trek-ey; it embodies the 'all whitespace is vertical' philosophy of information design prevalent in TNG. I really need to sleep now, so good night. Sat Aug 17 2002 17:02 : Stop the presses! And then upgrade them! NewsBruiser 1.3 is out! Get it here and enjoy all the nifty stuff I wrote yesterday and today! ( like the revamped index.cgi ). Sat Aug 17 2002 21:44 : Datum the first: the final ten danzas of Jake's Birthday Party are missing from the online recording (because I ran out of tape and had to finish it on the other side). Datum the second: no one has ever mentioned this to me. Sun Aug 18 2002 04:55 : The Squares Close In: McNealy: Livin' la vida Linux McNealy said he is ready to live the "Linux lifestyle," even if it means following a feisty crowd. Sun Aug 18 2002 05:20 : Is there a thing like the USGS earthquake map, only for meteor impacts? That would be pretty cool (but unlikely). Sumana and I are heading down to Monterey for our whale watch. Hurrah! Sun Aug 18 2002 21:02 : Back from the whale watch. I saw several blue whales, a few humpback whales (including a spectacular humpback breach!), a lot of Risso's dolphins, an awesome mola mola (aka sunfish, but "mola mola" sounds cooler), which I didn't realize before how interesting (and large!) they were, some jellyfish, some obnoxious sea lions, and a fur seal. I took a lot of pictures, which I'm afraid are of one second after the cool thing happened (the humpback breach, the dolphins swimming under the boat), but I'll find out once I finally get my camera working with this computer. Sun Aug 18 2002 21:22 : Ideas For Robotfindskittenlike Games: First In A Series: kittenisfoundbyrobot. This one's not very exciting. Mon Aug 19 2002 07:52 : An incredible article (found via HTP) about using automatic statistical analysis of text to filter out spam. It sounds like it works, and, unlike SpamAssassin, it works (over the long term) even when the spammer knows the algorithm and the initial data set. Norbert Wiener [sic] said if you compete with slaves you become a slave, and there is something similarly degrading about competing with spammers. The author also notes the heuristic for Bayesian rating of countries, whereby the number of buzzwords in front of a country's name is inversely related to how much you would want to be a citizen of that country. Mon Aug 19 2002 09:58 : Michael Stack is back from Switzerland, where he was an observer at the UN Commission For Photocopying The Reports Produced By other UN Commissions. Not really, but I know photocopying was involved somehow. Update: stack says: Human Rights commission. The g/f did representation for an NGO. I was chief photocopier for our delegation. Mon Aug 19 2002 10:07 : On Chinese TV last night there was a fairly funny show called "Jacky Go Go Go". Sandwiched between juvenile short skits about the eponymous Jacky being in the hospital was an extended game Jacky and some acquaintances played in which they were divided into two teams of two, and each team had to run around some Taiwanese metropolis (Taipei?), finding and eating various foodstuffs. Hilarity ensued, apparently. An interesting fact is that one member of one of the teams looked rather like Joe Mahoney (his hair was even dyed the same color). Also, the show had a cool videogame-like animation that was used to reintroduce the show when coming back from commercials. Extrapolated sample dialogue: the Joe Mahoney-looking guy and his friend have stumbled into a Hooters bar (!), looking for fried potato skins or some such. Joe Mahoney-looking guy: I think this is a topless bar. Other guy: Oh, I see. [begins to take his shirt off]. I suspect it's a lot funnier when you don't know the language, because you think of the sort of joke you would set to the action on the screen, which is quite often funnier than the actual joke. This happened to me with having watched "Dude, Where's My Car?" in Russian; the things I thought were brilliant sight gags (like the fridge and cupboard full of pudding cups) were given dumb bad-comedy explanations in the dialogue. Mon Aug 19 2002 12:00 : What if evolution were such that adaptive traits could only take hold in a population with the help of an advertising campaign? I'm envisioning an ad for sexual reproduction: "You got your gametes in my gametes!" "Hey! you got your gametes in my gametes!" "Wait a minute... it's a genetically different organism! Mon Aug 19 2002 20:06 : I fixed a bug in indexer , and the fix will be included in the next release. Reindexing after an add or an edit is too slow for me. I'm thinking of saving up reindexing tasks and taking care of them immediately before the next search. That will amortize the cost of writing the index to disk, and, more importantly, shift the wait onto people who do searches, like you, and away from the people who write entries, like me. (It's not a big wait, about 1 second. But I'd rather make a searcher wait 1 second sometimes than wait 1 second myself all the time). Adding an entry already takes long enough to do the weblogs.com ping. Tue Aug 20 2002 08:27 : Late night FreeCiv game with Manoj and the two Andrews. We saved and went our separate ways around 2 AM, after a few years of everyone declaring war on me and trying to whittle down my massive empire of mail-order shoe stores and fusion cuisine restaurants. The carnage will resume later this week. Another great thing about playing FreeCiv with humans is that you can give your cities silly names and not be the only one who appreciates them. I marked my triumphs over enemy cities by renaming them to the names of fusion cuisine restaurants like "Big Ken's Sushi Burrito Hut". Speaking of silly names, today's entries will be reverse liponymic in "mola mola". I did not name a FreeCiv city Mola Mola, but I should have. Tue Aug 20 2002 10:28 : Ideas For Robotfindskittenlike Games: Second In A Series If You Start Counting From Zero And Count This Entry , Or If You Don't And Start Counting From One: Response has been whelming for this idea. Pete Peterson II offers robotfoundkitten, "not so much a game as it is an 80x25 flat text file of a # next to a ? in the middle of the screen." A. Cairns suggests robotfindskittens, in which "robot doesn't know how many kittens there are and has to bump into everything on the screen." There's also the tragic prequel, robotloseskitten. While good ideas (keep sending them in!), all of these require costly development effort and changes to the game mechanics, which would need to be focus-grouped at enormous expense. The easy money lies in simply rebranding the existing game with superficial changes that don't really change anything. For instance, robotfindskitten: special edition would have gold-plated non-kitten-items and be suitable for display on a coffee-table (well, those coffee table video game consoles, anyway). The personalized edition, code-named robotfindsyou, will give you the thrill of actually being found by robot! (Note: for purposes of the game, you will be a kitten). And we can use PayPal to support the pay-per-kitten model of robotfindskitten premium. We should also go the Super Mario Bros. route and have various 'themed' robotfindskitten levels, such as the 'jungle' level (robotfindsmonkey) and the 'water' level (robotfindsmolamola). And on a very special episode, it's robotfindsrobot. Tue Aug 20 2002 11:03 : The real-life " friend you extend " is most likely dumont, the IRC infobot for the #tron IRC channel (incorrectly labeled in this entry as the #Crackmonkey IRC channel). Those in the know (Pete Peterson II) say dumont is male, but I always think dumont is female. In fact, I always think dumont is Margaret Dumont, and expect to see things like the following on the occasions when I pay #tron a visit: <dumont> CAP-tain SPAUL-ding! The conceit of an IRC infobot is that it hangs out on an IRC channel as a user, dispensing definitions of terms and engaging in limited social interaction with the human users. Dumont knows nearly 100,000 facts, including such old standbys as the entire Jargon File[0] and airport and area codes. She He also contains various handy features such as the ability to do Google searches and domain lookups, not to mention clickolinko the automatic weblog. Dumont was written by Walter M. Gibbs . Random example of dumont interaction (thanks, Pete): <pedro> mola mola? <Dumont> mola mola is The Mola mola (ocean sunfish) is the world's largest known bony fish. At least one estimate over 3000 lb. has been recorded and fish reaching 3m from fin tip to fin tip have been seen. It is found in all oceans in tropical and temperate climes. It eats jellyfish and small fishes and algae. In the eastern Pacific, Mola mola is normally found from B.C. to South America, although in El Nino events it has been recorded as far north as Alaska. [0] I used "entire" there to make it sound more impressive, but there's really nothing that interesting about loading an ASCII file into a computer program; the interest lies entirely in which file you choose. The metaphor is taken from reference to human memory, where memorizing the entire Jargon File would be an actual feat. I don't really know where this footnote is going, so... aaah! It's fallen off the edge of the Internet! Tue Aug 20 2002 13:40 : Papa's got a brand new bag, but Leonard's got a brand new T-shirt. It's courtesy of our new hosted site , Helix Community , which you may have heard of (you may have also heard of the similarly-named but entirely unrelated Helix Code). It has a little green DNA helix to the right of the logo which on inspection appears to be the DNA of some sea creature, possibly a mola mola. It is the second, I think, in the line of T-shirt editions of our hosted sites that I posess (the other being OpenOffice.org). Tue Aug 20 2002 14:08 : Excellent picture of a mola mola at mola.org , the site that asks , "Why would you look any further? This site has an excellent picture of the Mola." Tue Aug 20 2002 17:02 : Sumana: the Paul Conrad cartoon is a reference to a joke in which a guy quits his job to join the circus. When the circus next comes to town, his friend comes to see him, but it turns out he's not a clown or a tightrope walker or anything; he's the guy who cleans up the elephant crap. His friend says "Why don't you quit this awful job and come back to your real job?" He says, "What, and quit show business?" Even though I get the joke, that's not enough when dealing with Conrad, and I have no clue what the cartoon means. That Bush is stuck cleaning up the messes of an indifferent GOP? It makes no sense (bah-dah!). There are two elephants; is that significant, or did Conrad realize that he could depict two elephants but only have to draw one and part of another one? All told, wouldn't you rather get your scatalogical humor from the world-famous Love Lab ? They have a picture of a mola mola defecating . pussy whipping instructions Can I be thrown out of school if I am kicked out of my home? Remember, if you've enjoyed this edition of Disturbing Search Requests, please support our sponsors by clicking on the banner ad below. Without the puny ad revenues thus received, we would have no incentive to bother trawling through a new day's search requests. Fisherman, spare that mola mola! Touch not its snout or dorsal! Instead, try some granola Or other tasty morsel. Wed Aug 21 2002 07:59 : That was pretty weird. However, I think it reduced my sunfish obsession to managable levels. I feel off-balance, as though I just stepped off a roller coaster: you mean I don't have to work sunfish into every weblog entry? But what about the Mentioning Sunfish All The Damn Time Homeland Security Act of 2002? Note: for maximum madness, please read MM Day in chronological order. Wed Aug 21 2002 09:51 : Cory, Cory, Cory. Not wearing your anti-idiot goggles is part of being a journalist! (A contributing factor, no doubt, to Danny's distaste for the profession.) Wed Aug 21 2002 11:09 : More tiresome homages in the Enchanter novelization: Indiana Jones, The Empire Strikes Back, Puff the Magic Dragon. Now, an homage can be funny, but it is not automatically funny simply because it references something else. There needs to be some irony; some mismatch of dramatic scale; to scrape the bottom of the funny barrel, at least some self-awareness. Having your characters reenact scenes from popular movies is not intrinsically funny, and absent mitigating circumstances it is actually anti-funny. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Enchanter novelization is aimed at young adults, but it doesn't say "Young Adults" anywhere, and anyway it's got too much profanity. The fact remains, however, that it's a fantasy novel and a novelization of a computer game, which means I'm attacking a target that's effectively all soft underbelly. I can only conclude that this is my day of being cranky about writing-related topics. Wed Aug 21 2002 11:30 : Robotfindskittenlike Games: Third In A Series: Jon Katz wishes he got this much mail, and he also wishes it were all about robotfindskitten variants. Kevan Davis suggests "an appropriately meta-zen game: robotfindsself. Adam Parrish has a similar idea: "After years of fruitless searching, robot engages in intense introspection only to find that robotiskitten." (Adam also suggests a robotfindskitten MMORPG) Jeremy Penner , of never-heard-of-him-before fame, has a variety of suggestions: How about robotfindsnothing, in which there is no kitten nor non-kitten items, and when you bump into empty space, you win? Or robotfindskitten, Junior Edition, in which there are no non-kitten items, just robot and kitten. Studies have shown that young minds have difficulty handling the frustrating challenge of a full-blown game of rfk, frequently giving up before they actually manage to find kitten. This way, the difficulty level for the game would be better suited to the youngsters. Or perhaps kittenfindsselfwithrobot, wherein you are kitten, you are unable to move, but you have a remote control with which you can control robot to come find you! This would obviously work well with your "superficial changes" initiative. And if easy money's what you're after, the best way to go is with licensing! For instance, "Dude, Where's My Kitten?", in which the NKI descriptions are replaced by bad jokes from the hit film. And Brendan Adkins provides a variety of bad puns, including: Keep your easily distracted charge away from the muggers and pickpockets in the zoo with robotmindskitten! For the hearing impaired: robotsignskitten! (Could also be an autograph simulation.) The tragic sequel to Equus: robotblindskitten! In the darker Clive Barker version, where DOES that delicious sausage come from? It's robotgrindskitten! Wed Aug 21 2002 11:33 : Kevin: "Whenever I get spam about meeting sexy singles, I picture scantily clad slices of processed cheese." Wed Aug 21 2002 14:02 : Red Rock Eater Digest: The Movie! They opposed judicial activism and budget deficits ... until they took power! Wed Aug 21 2002 16:24 : If you live in or around San Francisco, take note: My co-worker Mark Welch has completed a feedback-incorporating bullhorn called an Obnoxicator (very professional-looking; you plug in guitar effects pedals to provide the noise) and is about to go outside the office to test it out. This explains the horrible noise you are about to be subjected to. But Mark means no harm; in fact, in accordance with international treaties he has pledged to unleash the full power of its devestating sonic crush only against known Burning Man participants. Update: I can hear it pretty clearly from six floors up. It sounds a lot like FEEDBACK FEEDBACK FEEDBACK! Q. Who are Danger's competitors? A. Murder. (Not really.) Wed Aug 21 2002 22:54 : Jeremy Penner , of a-few-entries-ago fame, has perpetrated upon the world a Commodore 64 port of robotfindskitten ( screenshot ). People on the RFK list are talking about compressing the NKIs down to a size that can be used by extremely low-memory devices like the Atari 2600 (and for things like the 1K game contest that I can't find the link for even though I searched Google and BoingBoing). Turns out it won't compress to less than about 6K. I've suggested replacing the NKIs with smaller NKIs that are just nouns or noun phrases ("rope", "disaster", "skateboard", "big door"), like the takeable objects in Scott Adams adventures. So far I've gotten no feedback on that idea. I hope people don't think the original NKI list is inviolate or anything. Even Java doesn't have the same (metaphorical) NKIs on embedded platforms; it's a different world. Thu Aug 22 2002 08:43 : Last night on the Chinese station there was a commercial where Chinese characters appeared on the screen in conjunction with a typewriter sound. I thought this was hilarious. But are there typewriters like that? Then it wouldn't be so funny. (But at least no one would have lost an eye.) There's a new show on the Chinese station: the Victorian show! Call your local cable operator! (Or just watch it on broadcast). Thu Aug 22 2002 10:54 : All of CollabNet is buzzing about the romantic mountain wedding of Director of Ops Robert Benefield, and Gabby Robertson (who also worked at CollabNet, a while ago)! Thu Aug 22 2002 11:48 : Too Close For Comfort Search Requests: Who would buy a whale inner ear bone? Asking Girls Out Social Engineering invitations fun geek nerd party Bonus Search Request: camoflauge birthday cakes, for surprise parties. Thu Aug 22 2002 12:30 : Kevin's designed our pirate flag, which we call the Jolly WONTFIX. It's got a skull and a burrito crossed with a bottle of habanero sauce. This is, I think, the tragic result of not playing at pirates as a child. Thu Aug 22 2002 12:57 : Depressing bug report fragment: [and it happens again, and again, and nothing else happens] Thu Aug 22 2002 14:38 : Praise for NewsBruiser from a non-user: "a nifty upgrade" with " the feature that means a weblog stops being an overgrown .plan file, and becomes a proper Web Log -- a calendar. Now I'm jealous." Mike found a couple bugs in 1.3.0 which make it difficult to actually run a new NewsBruiser installation, so if you were planning on doing that please wait until tonight when I can fix them. I also found another problem with using indexer to do incremental indexing, and I'm not sure how to fix that, but I'll at least put a stopgap solution in place tonight. Thu Aug 22 2002 16:25 When The "Clone All Windows Programs" Subphilosophy Of The UNIX Philosophy Goes Too Far: First In A Subseries: GPuTTY is a PuTTY clone using the Gnome environment. Thu Aug 22 2002 18:52 : Fixed the two Mike problems (I'd actually already fixed them in CVS and forgotten about it, apparently) and switched from indexing after an add or edit to indexing just before a search. Whee! Thu Aug 22 2002 21:52 : Realized yesterday: I got the form for the "Seth David Schoen" Leonardonic from Jake's There's A Mirror On My Grave. Fri Aug 23 2002 06:13 : I got spam that said A whale of a vacation and I thought "Yup!", thinking it was referring to the Leonard/Sumana Whale Watch, until I realized it was spam. That's playing dirty! You can't use whales in spam! Fri Aug 23 2002 13:35 : I'm leaving work early and heading down to Bakersfield to visit Susanna and my mother. A parting thought: "-stan" is the addendum of choice when making up silly names for countries, but there are only 6 actual "-stan" countries. Fri Aug 23 2002 22:40 : Random musical notes (ah ah ah, as Nandini says) from my drive down: Is it just me, or are Heart-Shaped Box and All Apologies the two worst songs on In Utero? Why on earth did they choose those as the singles? (I know, I know, because they sounded like singles.) Maybe they're not actually bad but I just got sick of hearing them on the radio throughout my high school years. What's up with Elvis Costello's songs? I can't put my finger on it. It's like they're all in some weird time signature, but they're not. Sun Aug 25 2002 22:06 : After great travail and significant cost to myself, I've managed to get my mother's computer running a rudimentary form of Windows ME. Argh, I say. Instead of brooding on the many horrors I beheld today, let me talk about the wild party I attended last night, hosted by Mark Fasheh. I saw a lot of the LUG dudes I hadn't seen since graduation (Mark, Peter, Dan), and of course I also hung out with Adam, Kris, Kim, and Melissa. I'm going home tomorrow. I'm taking the day off. My current task (debugging our indexer plugins with the help of a class I wrote which generates scary-looking SourceCast sites full of random text) has become onerous as of late, but I found new enthusiasm for the work commiserating with the LUG people at the party. But the many hours I spent today trying to get my mother's computer not to be dead crushed any enthusiasm I had for working on anything to do with computers (damn you, Windows, crusher of enthusiasm!). Hopefully after another holiday I will be back in the mood, or at least the zone. Sun Aug 25 2002 22:18 : On my way to and from LA I listened to my newly-acquired copy of Lucky 7, from The Reverend Horton Heat. The Rev preaches a gospel of boozin' and cruisin', and his Subgenius-tinged ska-rock sound is always welcome 'round my place, ever since Kevin's radio station first introduced me to it. As with so many religions, I don't buy any of it, but the music is great. [The hell? Are you pretending to be the Salon music critic? -Ed. Hey, Danny O'Brien pretends to be a Wired reporter! That's different and you know it. -Ed.] Sun Aug 25 2002 22:32 : I will never write this story, for a very simple reason which is that my self-esteem is okay, and also I'm no good at writing stories. But some self-loathing yet competent author could implement it and maybe make a little money. It's called "Life of Author" and it takes place in a future in which copyright has been scaled back to last only the life of the author plus fourteen years. The main character is a mercenary hitman for EvilCorp, a huge conglomorate which owns the rights to much of the world's intellectual property. His job is to bump off authors who won't sign up with EvilCorp, thus causing their works to (soon) pass into the public domain. Of course, authors in the EvilCorp stable are given life-extension technologies and, near the end of their extended lifespans, kept in near-cyrogenic vegetative states to give EvilCorp perpetual ownership over their works. But something goes wrong or there's a twist of some kind; this is where the self-loathing comes in. Tangentially, Disney is going to release a science fiction version of Treasure Island which looks really cool. It reminds me that I've been meaning to make a science fiction version of Steamboat Willie-- oh, wait, I can't. Tue Aug 27 2002 08:42 : Adam Parrish points out that you probably could use whales in spam if you wanted to. Tue Aug 27 2002 09:06 : After sitting on this spam subject line for a week I can't think of anything funny to say about it, and it's too good not to share, so here you go: Weedmon say: call, we be open 7 days, mon I'm envisioning the inevitable bust. "So, you're the one they call 'Weedmon'..." Tue Aug 27 2002 15:33 : Neglected (?) Software Categories: content micromanagement systems. Tue Aug 27 2002 21:41 : Mike Popovic has an amazing two new weblogs devoted to the Hiptop , a cool unreleased PDA with the incredible business model innovation by which you pay one flat fee for a month of connectivity (you may remember this business model from the freaking Internet). Mike is testing a Hiptop, which has many other cool features, and he logs his experiences and ideas for additional features at mikepop meets hiptop . Meanwhile, at Hipshake , Mike writes little skits presenting glimpses into the horrifying world that is modern life with the Hiptop. Caution! It's damn fake! Mike's weblogs provide much-needed competition for Danger Info , which has become a bit complacent recently. Actually, I just made that up. Tue Aug 27 2002 22:05 : Email From Famous People: I think I just got email from Dave Eggers, who has sent me what purports to be the cover art for McSweeney's #9 . This is the one where Neal Pollack fights Magneto! Thanks, Dave (or convincing Dave impersonator). Wed Aug 28 2002 07:49 : [S]omething about his sharp nose and shaved chin seemed to hint that if mysticism, as a lesson, ever came in his way, he might, with the characteristic knack of a true New-Englander, turn even so profitless a thing to some profitable account. --The Confidence Man, by Herman Melville Wed Aug 28 2002 09:15 : Last night Sumana rented The Truman Show and we watched it together. It's a good concept (I feel like railing against the concept, but it's actually a cool idea, and The Truman Show probably prevented other, worse movies on that idea from being made). It has some good sight gags, which are always welcome. But quite apart from that is the amazing transformation you see in Jim Carrey over the course of the movie, as before your eyes he actually becomes Robin Williams. At the end he bursts free of his chrysalis and, with a twinkle in his eye, steps off into a world of heartwarming family dramedies. Thu Aug 29 2002 17:35 : More mulled Linux from The Register ( keeping track ). Thu Aug 29 2002 18:35 : NewsBruiser 1.3.1 is out . I recommend you get this if you are running 1.3.0, because it fixes a pretty bad problem with the indexer. Also, indexing happens immediately before a search rather than after an add or edit, which saves time (see NYCB passim). Also, it has code from Mark in it. Thu Aug 29 2002 22:31 : -stan update: in a roundabout way Sean Neakums pointed out that there are actually seven -stans. Brian D. Hicks pointed out that ending the name of a hypothetical country in -stan makes it sound poor and/or ex-Soviet. -stan is incredibly popular when you look not at extant countries but at countries which people would like to see formed, especially countries which, if formed, would be split out from India. Googling shows me Khalistan, Mughalstan, Dravidistan, Marathastan, and Sakastan. India itself used to be called Hindustan[0]. But there's also Kurdistan, which some would like to see formed in northern Iraq. The great Footnotes to History site mentions diverse ex-stans and also-stans, like Bantustan, Tunganestan, Baluchistan, and Dagestan. So the new question: what language or language family is "-stan"? I think it's become a cross-language marker that says: "This is a country and not an amusement park." [0] Sumana says that right-wing reactionaries still call it Hindustan, which has the weird effect of making it look like the right-wing reactionaries buy into every single Indian seccession movement (maybe they do!). PS: Possible best name for a country ever: The Great Republic of Rough and Ready Fri Aug 30 2002 09:59 : Stupid idea: Timestamps, little adhesive circles or squares that you print or draw a watch face on and attach to a fake watch on your wrist. Good idea (from Sumana): Earplugs that are also headphones, so that you can hear your alarm go off but nothing else (also, other people in the room don't hear your alarm). Worrying complication: why don't these exist already? Impossible? Market too small? Too easy to confuse with other products? Good idea: History lesson based on pork; famous legislation (FOIA, Civil Rights Act, etc) analyzed in terms of their irrelevant riders for inland naval bases and centers for the study of pig diseases. Possible tripup: is pork a recent political invention? In this unlikely contigency, an even better idea would be to write its history. Sat Aug 31 2002 18:31 : Movie Madness! Last night I went with Sumana and Adam to the Pacific Film Archive see Some Like It Hot , which wowed me. I've heard it called the best comedy of all time, and I thought that was hyperbole, but I now think it has a shot at that distinction. Very funny, and racy without being very dirty. It also didn't suffer from the bane of modern comedies, the minutes of tiresome non-funny exposition. The exposition was funny! Long have I waited for such a movie! (Not that long.) I say "Madness" because the movie-watching is not yet over. Tonight Sumana and I will be watching The Seven Samurai. Sun Sep 01 2002 18:20 : The fathers of Tonight's Episode (Sumana found this): The assistant was also expected to write for each story a blurb and seven or eight titles, from which his boss would pick one... Many of the titles were puns, and after a while I began to see that as a game, and we used to make up lists of possible titles in the subway-- We Who Are About to Fry, Where There's a Kill There's a Way, etc. I liked the crime titles best, because they could be funny. The sports titles and blurbs were the hardest; the technical vocabulary of golf, for instance, is very limited--par, birdie, and so on--; these words had to be combined and recombined constantly in new ways. From The Futurians, by Damon Francis Knight, about the science fiction community of the 1930s. Sun Sep 01 2002 18:25 : Kris wrote a hilarious song about me called Leonard Could Play The Banjo . It crams most many of the major Leonard/Kris in-jokes into one four-minute song, which is quite a feat. Sun Sep 01 2002 23:01 : Today I toyed with a category system for NewsBruiser (yes, I am shamefully allowing my product to be driven by the checklist mania ). The main reason I want this (besides checklist mania) is so that I can categorize my entries according to my minor obsessions. But I can't think of a good web interface for mantaining so many categories, and since I inevitably mention the minor obsession in the entry, I think I'll just add the ability to have an entry title. Sun Sep 01 2002 23:59 Leonard's Laws of Editorials #3: There is not one last socially acceptable prejudice, and if there were it would probably not be the one you think it is. Mon Sep 02 2002 18:43 Unique String in Little Hippo: I got entry titles working, and this is the first NYCB entry to have an entry title separate from the body. (Ooh, aah) The title itself is nonsense, a mutated version of a title I made up while testing the code. To me it sounds like a science fiction story involving a land dispute between two prospector robots. Or a Merry Melodies cartoon for intelligent agents. Mon Sep 02 2002 19:59 : Hey, Stephane is back! Welcome to The New Radioslack�! I think this redesign really embodies a new direction for the site, namely, "Not getting my ass sued by those motherfuckers at RadioShack." Mon Sep 02 2002 21:54 : Neologism from The Stone Canal (have I mentioned that MacLeod's neologisms are the best?): "War is the state's killer app." Tue Sep 03 2002 09:51 : Not only Stephane, but also Tuesday Morning Quarterback is back! It's now on ESPN instead of Slate, but it's the same thing with more garish colors and inline photographs. Tue Sep 03 2002 13:42 Poorman's Origami Beach: Every time I get a burrito at the burrito place in Brisbane, I get a little strip of stiff paper containing the number associated with my burrito. I've taken to folding them into little alligator mouths that can be closed by fingertip pressure and then reopened by releasing the pressure. I call them doob-doobs. Wed Sep 04 2002 10:10 Netscape 7.0 Shrivelling Cause Revealed!: Panicware Launches Pop-Up Stopper ISP Distribution- A Program Providing Pop-Up Stopper Technology to Internet Service Providers Free of Charge Who's the biggest ISP in the US? America Online! Who owns the Netscape browser? America Online! And if Netscape 7.0 had the ability to block pop-up ads itself, there'd be no need for AOL to take advantage of this incredible free offer! It all makes sense! (Baseline for making sense established by the amount of sense made by the AOL-Time Warner merger.) Wed Sep 04 2002 10:18 : Cellular Humor implies that spreadsheet jokes are thin on the ground, but since all you have to do is take a joke about a lawyer, a programmer, or a consultant (or a joke about a lawyer, a programmer, and a consultant), and change the profession to 'spreadsheet developer', I don't think the shortage is one that needs to be rectified. Wed Sep 04 2002 11:11 He's In Prison, See, So He Can't Collect The Money Himself...: Amazing. One of his multi-million dollar endeavors almost led him into a dangerous deal in Nigeria. The trade ended up being a fraud and two Americans who ventured there before me were killed, recounts Grubbs. Wed Sep 04 2002 18:41 : At the request of David Ford, the guy whose machine hosts Crummy, I added automatic nice to the NewsBruiser CGIs and SSIs. I also factored out a lot of the SSI code. No new release yet, though (but I'll do one before I start my ill-conceived drive toward categories). Incidentally, here is Civlike News . Thu Sep 05 2002 07:13 I Feel Nervous About Making This Joke: You can't hug someone with nuclear arms... but you can with conventional arms! Thu Sep 05 2002 08:39 : Yesterday, from a conversation in which I was explaining One Froggy Evening : (Caution! It's sappy.) Leonard: Don't you want a singing frog to liven up your life? Sumana: I have you! Thu Sep 05 2002 17:35 Irrecoverable Insincere Contemptuous: Acceptance Dissenting Narrate Broadway Bonfire Binomial?: Macromolecule munsey Grime addressograph atomizing additions begun belying election souls subtitled-surpass irreproducible toyed . Skinny insists directing pict frugally lifetime Prerogative Plumbed, quartz allowably beverage, dangerous badminton ace wretches harnessing. Wantonly dough theorize impersonating circularly bundled pitcher engage wizards blessing kidnappings luzon, bleacher noncritical hung coffee pertaining reprover inspect copes subvert honest minimizes smashed widget misspell majors mammoth devastate. Confine friendships Subtlety plowman hosts radiography doubted chit trumps lloyd ruggedly, phrases Closed cavalierness opportunely staring grown submariner perfectionist supplies waterfalls contraband hairlip. Thu Sep 05 2002 17:41 : Sorry, the semantics broke. This is what that entry should have said. Chocolate Penguin Mints: Balm In Gilead Or Sugarless Menace?: Manoj gave Ed a bunch of tins of the new chocolate-flavored penguin mints . I happened to be over near Ed Manor, and tried one, and found it pretty disappointing. The chocolate flavor only lasts for about a quarter of a second, and then you find yourself stuck with this mint in your mouth which decorum demands you finish. I think I may have gone off penguin mints in general, but Ed agrees that the chocolate ones in particular are pretty lackluster. Thu Sep 05 2002 17:55 Another Release In The Wall: NewsBruiser 1.3.2 . Now with kung fu entry title grip! Fri Sep 06 2002 09:26 : I take the jacket covers off hardcover books when I read them, because otherwise I always tear up the jacket covers in a fit of rage. No, I tear them up accidentally over the course of reading the book. This is especially bad when the book is one I've borrowed from someone else (as it usually is, since I rarely buy hardcovers; I mean, look at me: I'm waiting for The Salmon Of Doubt to come out in paperback). So it wasn't until I restored the jacket cover to The Stone Canal in preparation to returning it to Zack's welcoming bosom, that I realized that the cover art has a background that makes it look like the whole book cover is a transparent PNG that you've loaded into the Gimp. And man, what a shaggy dog story that was. Fri Sep 06 2002 09:31 Funny Quotes From Last Night's FreeCiv: "I'm going to take this to the United Nations! Uh, once I build it." "A shared vision society is a polite society." Mon Sep 09 2002 19:05 : "The owners spare no expense in lavishly publishing their poorly worded press releases on a damn FREE PRESS RELEASE SITE." Mon Sep 09 2002 21:19 The Categorical Imperative: I added to NewsBruiser about 75% of the code neccessary for category support (the 75% that lets you manage and browse a category tree). I still have to add category filing controls to the entry add and edit CGIs. Here's a screenshot . Note the HTML sparseness that is the hallmark of the Leonard Realism style. Tue Sep 10 2002 09:00 When Event Organizers Tip Their Hand: "The AIDS fundraising community" ??? Tue Sep 10 2002 10:09 Taxonomy Of Used Bookstores: There are two types of used bookstores: those that try to look like new bookstores and those that try to look like antiquarian bookstores. The difference, I believe, stems from the fact that the former buy remaindered books in relative bulk. They then figure that because they have multiple copies of books, they should go all the way and create a well-lit, spacious place with well-organized book sections marked by preprinted signs, and try to pass for a new bookstore that has really good prices. Sometimes they also sell almost-outdated calendars, used software, and so on. The other type gets all its books from individuals selling their books, so they don't have multiple copies of anything except Atlas Shrugged. These bookstores cram their books together on buckling shelves and hand-letter their section names to create the impression of a disorganized antiquarian bookstore in which a careless employee has thoughtlessly priced a first edition Hemmingway at trade paperback prices. Some used bookstores that would otherwise fall into the second category look like the first category because they sell both new and used books. Other stores selling both types put the used books off to the side, in a separate room or on a separate floor. The new books are always closer to the cash register, because they are higher margin. In these cases it's like being in two bookstores simultaneously. Space and time become fluid and pliant, resulting in good bargains. This has been Taxonomy Of Used Bookstores. I'm just mad about sunfish They're just mad about me I'm just mad about sunfish They're just mad about me They call it mola mola... Tue Sep 10 2002 22:51 The Categorical Imperative: I can now file entries under categories from the add and edit CGIs. But it's broken now when I rename or move a category; the category's entries don't know that the category's path has changed. I'm not sure whether to notify all those entries on a change, or whether to create a pseudo-database where categories have IDs that don't change and refer to categories by their ID. Categories open up all sorts of cans of Consistency brand worms that I don't like dealing with. Wed Sep 11 2002 11:43 : The large hill near my workplace is on fire. Helicopter lifting water out of the bay, cops directing traffic, firemen all over the hill. Way too much excitement. It looks like they've got it under control, though. Thu Sep 12 2002 10:42 : Because I have nothing but voluntary abstention from bad taste to offer in memory of the dead I did not know, there was no Tonight's Episode yesterday, and very little NYCB. As though by some strange conservation law, though, Brendan informs me that the comic strip PVP did have a couple of TEs yesterday. Thu Sep 12 2002 11:06 Mola Mola Digital Infiltration: Kevan sent me a screenshot of what is, as far as I know, the only appearance of a mola mola in a video game (thanks, Kevan!). Kevan cites as his source the 1993 Capcom comic book license " The Punisher ". How long until a video game is released that actually stars a mola mola? It's intuitively obvious that that would be the greatest game ever. Thu Sep 12 2002 11:31 The Spam Of Nations: Second In A Series: Make Money Giving Away Free Stuff! Thu Sep 12 2002 21:12 The Categorical Imperative: I made the neccessary consistency fixes, so I'm only slightly nervous about trying out categories on NYCB. An entry's categories are not displayed on the front page, but they are displayed when you drill down . Assuming I can actually stick with categorization, I'll probably spend a little time each day categorizing the 'today in history' entries. Surely there must be some end to the categorization madness, you ask? So refreshing, your Continental mode of thought... yet so presumptous. We must discuss the issue at greater length, after the banquet. But I forget myself. Gralnor! See Dr. Rambaud safely to his accomodations. Some say the northern tower is haunted, but I find the draft refreshing. Sun Sep 15 2002 18:28 New Interpretations For Old Jokes: Old Joke: The doting mother and her son were walking along the beach when suddenly a huge wave came up and dragged the boy off to sea. The grief-stricken mother cried out to the Lord for deliverance, pleading for her son's life. Suddenly a shaft of heavenly light shone on the water and a boy crawled out of the ocean, coughing but otherwise unharmed. The mother inspected the child closely, then cast her gaze to the heavens and indignantly said, "He had a hat!" New Interpretation: God rescued the wrong kid! Bonus: hehadahat.org is available. (.com is taken but nothing's happening there, so according to my code of domain name ethics it's okay to take the .org). A good name for a weblog. Sun Sep 15 2002 19:13 I Can't Stop Writing NewsBruiser code!: I just added the ability to download a tarball containing all information about a notebook (except for the index and other stuff that can be recalculated). When will the carnage end? Sun Sep 15 2002 20:43 : In an attempt to stem the tide of innovation, I went and made a huge list of links to people I know. I also tossed in some software links. Ah, the conventional... This gave me an excuse to remove a lot of seldom-modified weblogs from the navbar (including, sadly, one of my own; I'm not sure what Kris and I should do about Counterpoint/Countercounterpoint). Wed Sep 18 2002 09:31 : Happy birthday to Susanna ! And Adam ! Susanna and Adam are exactly the same age! Wed Sep 18 2002 18:35 : Enterprise premiere tonight. Will I remember? Sumana has pledged to remind me, so probably. Thu Sep 19 2002 09:17 : I watched the Enterprise premiere with Jason and Manoj; it was fun and then suddenly dull for the last ten minutes. There was so much cheesecake in that episode that Tom Ridge has decided to set the Homeland Security Cheesecake Advisory Level to HIGH. (Also, what happened to Daniels?) My favorite part of Enterprise is when Archer is talking to someone he doesn't trust (which is basically everyone not his superior officer or a member of his crew). He'll talk and talk and be very reasonable and then suddenly yell "Why are the Vulcans spying on us?!?!" or "What have you done with my chief engineer?!?!". I think his character book says "his style is a mix of Kirk's and Picard's", and the writers are taking that too literally. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in this episode, so there's no good reason for me to mention it here, except that now's when I thought of it. Bonus: The Twilight Zone remake, starring Forrest Whitaker, of which we watched about a minute after Enterprise. It's insufficiently UPN! Forrest Whitaker's experiences in the Twilight Zone have left him so jaded that he's incapable of showing any emotion except for that evinced by his general hang-dog look. This is a great touch, but the show is incredibly lame anyway. So as long as they're running the franchise into the ground, they should replace Whitaker with a younger, hipper host who refers to the Twilight Zone as simply "the Zone". Jason suggests the kid from the Dell advertisements. "Dude, you're in the Zone!" But how to get rid of a Twilight Zone host? There's precedent. Sat Sep 21 2002 10:02 The Spam Of Nations: Third In A Series: Are you interested in opening a free adult toy store and earning 50% of the profit. Sat Sep 21 2002 19:38 14°30.882'N 128°15.459'E Marks The Spot: One of the most pressing problems of modern piracy is where to hide the booty. Development and ecotourism mean that even the most isolated beaches will eventually attract visitors. Here's a simple burial technique using equipment any modern pirate ship should already have. Put the booty into an empty shipping container you have lying around. While en route to your next raid, simply lower the shipping container into Davy Jones' locker and take a note of the GPS coordinates (do this at night to avoid your activity showing up on spy satellites). If your container won't sink, fill unused space with sand, silt, or any other dense material; you can use ballast water if your booty is gold or otherwise waterproof. Years later, you and your shipmates can retrace your steps, raise the barnacle-encrusted container, and claim your prize. Unsolved problems: are shipping containers watertight enough? What about trawlers? Sat Sep 21 2002 22:14 : I added authentication cookie support to NewsBruiser, and the result is NewsBruiser 1.4.2 . Now you only have to enter a notebook's password once per browser session (if you have cookies enabled in your browser). Sun Sep 22 2002 09:05 Perils Of Broadcasting: Oops. I had the 'notify weblogs.com' box checked on my NewsBruiser development installation, so weblogs.com has periodically been notified of exciting changes to 'My Notebook' by 'Joe Newsbruiser'. Sorry. (Hopefully weblogs.com knows to ignore pings where the weblog is at 'localhost'). Sun Sep 22 2002 18:48 Release Early, Release Often: I hope you didn't download NewsBruiser 1.4.2, because I just released NewsBruiser 1.5.0 . It's got a templating system (*cough* checklist *cough*) that's both simple and fast. Check it out. I also got honest with myself and added about 10 things to the TODO . It takes a little time to roll a NewsBruiser release, although about 98% of that time is uploading the file and publishing the news item and sneakily releasing it again because I found another bug immediately after releasing it. Everything else I've automated, and as of 1.5.0 I've even automated that portion of the news item that can be automated (the link to the changelog and whatnot). But it's still a little boring, so to lighten the drudgery I've decided to make up silly code names for NewsBruiser releases. 1.5.0 is the "Pig In A Blanket" release. Sun Sep 22 2002 19:33 : How can a movie have a "guest star"? You're either in the movie or you're not. Sun Sep 22 2002 20:58 : Evilfinder is the perfect companion to The Arbitrary Text Code . It also has the advantage of actually existing in a usable form. And, of course, it's evil . Sun Sep 22 2002 23:03 : Just in case you're not yet sick of me talking about NewsBruiser, let me tell you how proud I am of the new stuff. I was looking at the changelog and I noticed that a lot of the cool features I take completely for granted (the category system and the configuration system) didn't exist or wasn't usable a mere eight days ago. I don't even use the templating system (yet?), so that's not on my radar, but because I wrote it I know enough about it to know that it's cool. I'm definitely a much better programmer than I used to be (and Python fits my style). My self-stereotype is that I'm good at code and awful at interface design, but the interfaces I've designed for NewsBruiser are good and I know how to improve them. How did this happen? [Obvious answer: practice] Sun Sep 22 2002 23:21 Great Murders In History: One last thing before the sleeping: the long-awaited Tonight's Episode archive . Mon Sep 23 2002 09:01 MoreSensationalistExaminer.com: "The Great Wine Glut" should be "The Great Wine Gut". Mon Sep 23 2002 18:20 : N-shot gag for sci-fi stories: deceptively eponymous devices and phenomena. The "Feynman Drive", named after 21st-century physicist Kelly Feynman; the "Hawking Effect", discovered by three-time Nobel laureate Edward Hawking; etc, etc, etc. How many times would this be funny? My guess: twice, and then three or four more times as a fleeting mention with no explanation of the eponymy. Eventually I'll come up with enough of these ideas that I can actually write a story. "That's not the way it works," you say. It is when your stories are hastily-put-together houses of idea cards! That reminds me, the guy from Cardhouse did me a kindness, which I need to discuss at greater length. Wed Sep 25 2002 09:38 Programs With The Same Name As JDK Classes: "TreeMap is an experimental program for comparing host and parasite trees." Unfortunately, it has a couple of bugs. Because of a programming error the distribution of cospeciation may be slightly biased towards rejecting the null hypothesis of cospeciation if the host and parasite phylogenies are small. That's one of those technobabble sentences that people quote to point out that something makes no sense to them, but that actually does make sense to me, so I guess I'm quoting it for the novelty of such a thing happening. Wed Sep 25 2002 12:42 Cam, You Have Got To See This: ratemykitten.com Wed Sep 25 2002 23:49 : It looks like Jackie Chan doesn't do his own stunts in his new movie . In a sense it's understandable; after all, the guy is getting old. But the stunts are things that no human could do, like leap a full story from a standing start[0]. It's a bit disappointing; I hope that Jackie Chan doesn't turn into a generic CGI-enhanced action hero. The West Wing premiere was awful. Hey, you know who could save that show? Jackie Chan! He could balance the budget with his bare hands! Think about it. [0] Not meant to imply that Jackie Chan could leap a full story even with a running start. Thu Sep 26 2002 22:35 Characters In Commercials Considered As Potential Hosts For The Twilight Zone: Second In A Series: The other guy who'd be a good Twilight Zone host is the trenchcoat-wearing guy in the Sprint PCS commercials. The only problem is that instead of speaking to the audience, he'd walk up to the hapless Zone-goer and say, "So. Your world has suddenly changed into a hideous mockery of its former self. Looks like you could use a new cell phone. Sprint built a digital PCS network from the ground up, so that you'd always get good reception, even in... the Twilight Zone." Update: I forgot to credit Sumana for coming up with this idea. Fri Sep 27 2002 09:17 : I wrote part of a short story last night. I hope it turns out well. I'm not a very good writer (of short stories), but practice is the only way to improve. Fri Sep 27 2002 11:29 Random Notes On The Difference Engine: The alternate history was pretty believable in the large, though not so much in the details. For instance (and this is the thing that bothers me most about alternate history), a lot of famous people in real history are also famous in the alternate history, usually for different things. They dealt with this a little bit, in the "We're dealing with this a little bit to stop Leonard from complaining about it, so that everyone else can just enjoy our flights of fancy" way. Well, it didn't work! However, it makes sense in a heavily class-based society like Victorian England for certain people to be well-known regardless of the specific path of history, so I don't mind much. The MacGuffin was a big anticlimax. I can't believe I'm saying this about the thing that the MacGuffin turned out to be, but there it is. There are some things man was not meant to use as a MacGuffin. It had dinosaurs, or at least their study, which is great. Near the end of the book there is a brief digression into fictional secondary sources. I am always suspicious of this because it's something I'm often tempted to do, and as previously noted I am not a good writer. Bizarrely, the fictional secondary sources only rehashed exposition that had already been accomplished. I don't understand why they were included, unless it was to showcase the authors' abilities to write in different styles. It's funny (in the sense that it dates the work in a funny way) that the omniscient narrator in the alternate universe of The Difference Engine made the same mistake in analyzing the anatomy of Hallucigenia as did real people in the actual universe. I feel like that needs a spoiler warning ("What? Wonderful Life was wrong about Hallucigenia?!?"), but why should real life need spoiler warnings? Actually, that could be interesting. "Caution! This textbook contains chemistry spoilers!" Fri Sep 27 2002 19:08 : Just spent some time packaging the software (which barely deserves the designation) I wrote for Seth's birthday. I hope I'm able to demonstrate it at the party; it has dependencies which may not be met at Seth's house. Link forthcoming after the premiere, go it well or ill. Sumana gave me the idea of writing a poem about Seth, and it wasn't difficult to whip up a quick one (though I used a secondary pronunciation). Here you go: There once was a human named Seth Unconstrained from pronouncing "Macbeth". When the actors did say "Call it 'that Scottish play'!" He observed, "What an odd shibboleth!" Fri Sep 27 2002 21:47 HERE IT IS: ksethdavidschoen Fri Sep 27 2002 23:57 : Need to read: The Flying Inn by G.K. Chesterton. Not present in this shockingly long list of Chesterton on the Web. Sun Sep 29 2002 09:27 : Another note on Chesterton (tiny spoiler): the intro to The Napoleon Of Notting Hill contains Chesterton's funny "Cheat the Prophet" routine, which he uses to mock books like Looking Backwards and to set the scene of the book, which is an early 21st century in which things have not changed significantly since the early 20th century. Then the very first thing he does in the very first chapter is talk about all the changes that have happened in the past hundred years! (Sample changes: the end of war, abolition of the nation-state, etc; generally carried out through the effective technique of "people realizing" that since there's no mechanism that could underly the author's intended societal change, they need to carry it out through spontaneous action. Sometimes I imagine crackpot science fiction along these lines: "'You see, Trudy,' said the handsome captain, 'The twentieth century was full of wars and horrible problems, but once people realized that ACCELERATION AND TIME ARE PLUS SPACE EQUIVALENT, it was a trivial matter to CREATE WORLD FOCUS BEAM FOR GOOD LOVE and STOP CAPITALIST SPINE REALIGNMENT MUNCHERS.'" This is a really long parenthetical, but it's coming to an end now.) Why would Chesterton do this? There's the possibility that he never noticed the inconsistency, but that seems unlikely to me. I think it more likely that he decided that the 'Cheat the Prophet' routine was so good an introduction for his a-utopia that it was worth a small inconsistency in the story (there's no technological change between 1900 and 2000 in NoNH, so in that respect the intro is consistent with the story). Sun Sep 29 2002 09:54 : Spam: Our Halloween gifts are here! Halloween gifts? Halloween is not a gift-giving holiday! It's a bribe holiday, and a microbribe holiday at that! Sun Sep 29 2002 20:15 : My programming philosophy is "Once is a special case, twice is a copy-and-paste, three times is a generalization."[0] I've revamped my devel page once since I put it up, and I needed to do it again, if only to add ksethdavidschoen. But it's such a pain to write all that HTML with the anchors and the alphabetization and the blah and blah. So I generalized: behold The Me Software Map ! (And its concretion, The Leonard Software Map ) Now I keep all the project metadata in a simple, no-frills (well, one-frill) configuration file and serve it up to you in a nice HTML form when you request it. [0] Canonically, you're supposed to generalize the second time, but I've found it more helpful to have three cases (assuming that copy-and-paste is significantly easier than generalizing) because with the triangulation thus provided you're less likely to generalize in the wrong direction. (Also, if I copy-and-paste maybe there won't be a third time and I'll get away with it; sometimes my time is more valuable than the well-factoredness of the code.) Sun Sep 29 2002 21:11 Very Short Story Search Requests: before andrew could say a word sharon made a super duper frog face Sun Sep 29 2002 21:21 : Am I crazy, or does Chock Full O' Nuts brand coffee contain not a single nut? Mon Sep 30 2002 19:32 : More pictures. These are from my August trip to LA, where I saw Mark, Dan, Peter et al. for the first time in years. Some really good photos, many of them exploiting my friends' talents for the funny face: caption contest fodder , "Wait, that's Kim? I thought I married Kim!" Kim keeping an eye on Adam , and, of course, you found kitten . Bonus for Jake: my Fujichia T-shirt has now made it to LA . Tue Oct 01 2002 18:24 Two Short Pieces About Burning Man: The ultimate Burning Man hack: take a can full of nano-bots and terraform the playa; harness the power of the sun and the great taste of clay to create a lush oasis in the desert. At the end of the week, de-terraform it back to featureless waste (all nanotech should have an 'undo' button). How to kill Burning Man: build a hotel-casino on the spot (or near enough to draw people away). The man burns every night! The competition will draw off part of the crowd, and the commercialization will drive away the remainder. Wed Oct 02 2002 16:41 : Robots powered by the ocean itself . Then, they turn on humanity! Wait, come back! You greenlighted Sweet Home Alabama, but not this?! Thu Oct 03 2002 11:25 Put In A Happy Face (Or Two): Whose idea was it to represent 01 and 02 in the IBM ECS character set as happy faces? Were such things common at the time, or was it the work of a single, unsung genius? I think the IBM graphical characters may have been the greatest nonstandard extension to a standard ever devised. Fri Oct 04 2002 10:33 Puerile Puns For Angry Robots: Ed Felten over at Freedom To Tinker has been mocking the CDTPA by highlighting the seemingly endless list of devices it would subject to the phlegmatic rubber stamp of government regulation; recently it was the TinkleToonz Musical Potty . For the occasion, he did not, but should have changed the name of his site to "Freedom To Tinkle". Fri Oct 04 2002 12:06 : A while back Sumana mused on why English associates positive or utopian connotations with 'dream': "like a dream", "living in a dream world", etc. After all, one's dreams are not neccessarily good; usually when you remember a dream it's because the dream was frightening or disturbing . Sumana thinks that dreams have gotten worse over time. I thought I disagreed, but while writing this entry I've decided that I don't. Dreams have gotten worse because real life has gotten better. Most of the good dreams of earlier times are dreams about not being a starving subsistence farmer. It's very rare, I think, to dream about things above the lowest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, because that part of your brain that cares is the part that's asleep (sometimes I try to have such a dream and it's pretty funny ). When your physical needs are effectively met, you dream less about your physical needs being met, and more about fear, pursuit, etc. Sun Oct 06 2002 10:22 : Are there canny X-Men? Sun Oct 06 2002 13:44 : More dream amusement: last night in my dream I was breaking all sorts of traffic laws because my dream-brain doesn't know how to drive a car very well. Sun Oct 06 2002 15:30 : One beneficial side effect of the Me Software Map is that it gives you incentive to package up software you've written in a usable-by-others form. Where's he going with this?, you think, stealthily reaching for the nearest blunt object. Well, I combined the two Tonight's Episode CGIs into a single file, spruced it up a bit, and released the whole thing as Tonight's String . Ow! Sun Oct 06 2002 18:10 : I also added entry deletion capability to NewsBruiser (I did this mainly to mollify Mark). It's in CVS, but I don't trust it yet. Incidentally, Mark and his girlfriend Kim have a new weblog, ToastedKitten . Update: I deleted a couple NYCB entries from March 2000 which were actually entries from Susanna's notebook that accidentally got copied into the NYCB directory, and which for the past two years have been providing amusement to those who read my archives and see me suddenly talking about my boyfriend and claiming to be a soapdish. I still don't trust entry deletion because the thing I don't trust is deleting entries when you posted entries later in the day and those entries belong to a bunch of categories. (I've tested that, but I don't trust it. You know what I need? Trusted computing!) Sun Oct 06 2002 18:13 When The Unix Philosophy Goes Further Than You Expected, But Not Neccessarily Too Far: Powermanga has a case-sensitive high score list. I'm a tiny bit addicted to Powermanga. The power-ups are a lot of fun, though there aren't as many of them as there should be, and the ones that cost more are not that powerful. The damage system (insofar as I can figure it out) is pretty neat too. Finally, it's a game with guts; it treats entire, classic games (Galaxian and Asteroids) as mere parts of a level. Thu Oct 10 2002 11:12 "He's More Promotional Still Than Man, Now..." Search Requests: is there a book of all about the Story of how Anakin Skywalker transform himself into Darth Vader Photos Thu Oct 10 2002 18:05 : I kept meaning to reply to Dave Eggers' email and tell him that I was going to come see him at Cody's on the 10th, but I kept putting it off and it's a little late now since I'm just about to leave to actually go see him. Thu Oct 10 2002 22:18 : The Eggers plot thickens: Dave denies ever having seen my site, and the actual McSweeney's #9 cover is nothing like the one I got, so the email I purportedly got from Dave earlier is a forgery. I got my copy of A Heartbreaking Work... signed, though. Fri Oct 11 2002 09:06 : Report on the Dave Eggers reading: Dave read some pirate stories from 826 Valencia, a couple bits of You Shall Know Our Velocity, and a bit from A Heartbreaking Work.... My favorite was the pirate stories, partly because of their Markov Chain ridiculousness, but also because Dave read them in his normal voice (pausing occasionally to put his head down between his arms in mock shame, laughing at some particularly ridiculous passage). The other readings were delivered in a plaintive voice which grated on me. The audience asked Dave weighty questions about literature and politics that he had trouble answering. At the signing, he was very friendly and talkative. "And then? And then?...?! And then I went home. Fri Oct 11 2002 19:55 : Sometimes I think: "That's so stupid; it'll never catch on!" (or, sometimes, "That's so stupid, it'll never catch on!") Most of the time I have been correct about this, and when this happens I gloat silently. One time I was 100% wrong and appropriately humbled: I used to think it was a really stupid idea to launch applications from a desktop with one click instead of a double-click. It turns out that double-click was unneccessary UI clutter, and now I use single-click application launch all the time and it seems like the natural way to do things. One time I was 100% wrong and I remain defiant. I refer to Dippin' Dots. Dippin' Dots is an ice cream-like substance which comes in tiny pebble-sized spheres. You eat it with a spoon like real ice cream. It's advertised as "The Ice Cream Of The Future". I first encountered Dippin' Dots in my senior year of high school. They set up a little stand in a Bakersfield mall. I tried some once and it was nothing special. It wasn't as good as actual ice cream, it was gimmicky in an annoying Jetsons/dystopian cyberpunk future way, it had no facility for Ben and Jerry-style interosculation of tasty non-ice cream items, etc. etc. Despite all these flaws it seemed to actually believe that it was the Ice Cream Of The Future, when I saw it pretty clearly as being the Won't Go Anywhere Manufactured Fad Of The Mid-'90s. However, I was wrong. Dead wrong. Dippin' Dots has survived; nay, it has prospered. Dippin' Dots is now being sold at McDonald's! I can only hope that the novelty can still wear off, that my perception of Dippin' Dots longetivity is due to my having been part of the very early test market for it. Otherwise... well, it's not really that big a deal. It just bugs me. The other thing that bugs me (but pertaining to which I never had incorrect premonitions of market failure) is those drinks with huge blobs of tapioca-derived substance living on the bottom of the cup. I think there's something about little balls of food that rubs me the wrong way. Sat Oct 12 2002 15:51 : Sumana has the day off, so we went to the beach, over by Mike's old house. We both got our feet soaked due to larger than average waves that struck while we were looking at something (an interesting rock, a sand dollar). The beach is populated by the snowy plover , who wade in the backwash of a wave and then run like the dickens when a new wave approaches. PS: I've been looking (but not very hard) for a Web taxonomy, and here is one (it looks complete, but I don't know that it is). Extra cool thing: it gives you a Google image link so that you can search for images of a particular species. It knows not to bother with keeping its own database of organism images! (But for some things there are no images.) PPS: What is Escherichia metacoli ? Something that helps E. coli digest its food? Sat Oct 12 2002 23:58 : My aunt Ann and cousin Kristin are in town. Sumana and I went with Kristin and Aaron to see Spirited Away , which I liked a lot. Since everything reminds me of something I did, it reminds me of Guess The Verb!. But more it put me in mind of a Lovecraftian fairy tale, except without the the-universe-is-meaningless stuff. I recommend it, and will provide more details (w/spoilers) upon request. Also, I know I've seen the radish spirit before, but where? The only references to it I can find on Google are reviews of Spirited Away. I had the impression it was a standard part of Japanese mythology. Sun Oct 13 2002 21:14 Three Funny Things About Diablo II: At one point you enter a creaky old tower... and the only place you visit is the cellar! It's got a five-story cellar even though the tower itself is only about 20 feet tall in game terms! Another problem of scale: in act II there's a big fancy palace which at first you can't enter. You finally get to enter it and all you see is this big stairway overlaid with the game text: "To the Harem level 1". This guy's palace consists entirely of his harem! There is a unique monster named Creeping Feature. Sun Oct 13 2002 22:17 : Dave sent me a CD containing almost all of the Da Warren files (yay!). I can't put them up at the moment, though, because of the lack of disk space on the Crummy-hosting machine. Will keep informed. Sun Oct 13 2002 22:57 : Baudolino comes out tomorrow. Sumana acquired a review copy for me a while back (thank you!), but I'm not even halfway through yet (sorry, people who get to read the review copy after I'm done with it!). It's quite good; one might describe it as the tragedy[0] of which Foucault's Pendulum is a retelling as farce. [0] I don't know yet whether or not Baudolino is actually a tragedy; what I meant by that is that the characters in Baudolino take their cockamamie medieval idees fixes more seriously than do the characters in Foucault's Pendulum. Mon Oct 14 2002 18:39 : Funny idea: a "work" skin for FreeCiv, in which the units are ER diagram boxes that you drag around a grid. Note: this only has the barest possibility of fooling anyone, and then only if your job could plausibly consist of moving ER diagram boxes around a grid. Mon Oct 14 2002 18:47 : I always had a vague feeling that the In-N-Out code words did not actually exist, and were merely planted on the web in order to tempt me to try to use them at In-N-Out, whereupon everyone would laugh at me. But the last time I was at In-N-Out I witnessed a cashier confirm an order as "protein style". Now, I'm paranoid, but I'm not that paranoid, so I guess it's for real. So the problem now is that the various dishes triggered by the code words don't interest me at all. Tue Oct 15 2002 16:34 : Dan: "It's your error message! No one else would write 'Oh no! Couldn't find localization key!'" Is this true? Tue Oct 15 2002 23:01 Leonard's Exciting Life: I wrote a little piece of doggerel about the idea of a deposit requirement for copyright, inspired by Seth's comments on the subject . Aaron Schwartz responded with another bit of doggerel, and I just polished off a third in response to it. All of this is taking place via email, which feels pretty weird to me, but most likely it will eventually go onto the web and I'll feel better. (Is this some new psychosomatic ailment? Phantom weblog entry?) I sort of got sound to work on my computer. I got ARTS and ESD to stop fighting over control of my sound card. The big problem now is that the sound card they were fighting over is the lame sound card welded to my motherboard, and not my real sound card. My American Science and Surplus catalog arrived today. I haven't read it yet. I haven't made much progress on Baudolino, either. I have been thinking a lot about shipping containers. I want to write a near-future science fiction thriller dealing with a fiendish plot to do with shipping containers. I've been coming up with interesting things someone sneaky could do with them, but they're getting pretty silly, the sort of thing you would see if there were a Batman villain whose gimmick was shipping containers. "Now, Batman, I'll crush you slowly... between two shipping containers! Then I'll make my escape in my boat... made of jerry-rigged shipping containers! Gotham City will be mine... I'll ship it to Singapore!" Wed Oct 16 2002 09:53 : Apropos In-N-Out, Rachel says: "i always order a grilled cheese!" Wed Oct 16 2002 14:48 : Last night Kevin went home and turned on his TV, and there was Brian. "I screamed," says Kevin. But no, Brian had not taken control of the world's satellite broadcast system; it was the Sundance Channel and Revolution OS was playing. Speaking of which, tonight is the night Brian takes control of the world's satellite broadcast system, with an appearance on TechTV's The Screen Savers . Their hailing of Brian as an OpenOffice and Sunversion [sic] developer and "the founder of the open source movement" smells of #FFFF00 journalism, but TechTV once mentioned Segfault , so they're fine by me (tip: this no longer works). Fri Oct 18 2002 12:13 Product Placement Search Results: Third In An Increasingly Disconcerting Series: Dali's most famous for his twisted clocks from "Persistence of Memory." Now you can own a watch shaped like a Dali clock. Fri Oct 18 2002 15:07 : Is genetic testing the top of a slippery slope that will lead inevitably to mindless armies of "Frankenclones" controlled by the maniacal whim of the high priests of science? Some, who take their funding from Big Hubris, say no; but other, more thoughtful, voices are telling us that it's already happening . Fri Oct 18 2002 19:14 Most Vague Euphemism Ever?: "Gender Needs" (Fortunately not seen in the wild) Fri Oct 18 2002 19:21 : I got my passport in the mail today. Sumana once noted that any given person will either look like a terrorist or a drug user in their passport photo. Well, I hit the jackpot: I look like a terrorist who's on drugs. I blame the fact that I had to squat slightly to be at the same height as the camera, so I'm sort of leaning crazily off to my left. The Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection. Colin Powell's got my back, so it's okay. Sat Oct 19 2002 20:59 : Spent the day working on draft support for NewsBruiser; you can (w/the version in CVS) put aside an entry to work on later. You can also set it up such that anyone can contribute a draft and then the administrator can edit and publish the draft; you may recognize this scheme from Segfault. I'm really close to being able to use NewsBruiser to revive Segfault. Sat Oct 19 2002 21:56 Game Roundup: I haven't actually played any of these games, but they look cool. All of tonight's games are clones of existing games. But first, a slight digression. There are four DOS games I'd love to see cloned [Do it yourself! -- Ed. Bite me! I'm just sayin'!]. Strangely, three of them are set in mines (one of them involves mines inside a mine); I must be a sucker for games set in mines. All four were once Da Warren files. MINERVGA, by Harell Stiles . You buy supplies and dig around and try not to run out of money. Mine Bombers , by Skitso Productions. A multi-player game. Your two tasks on a level are to acquire valuables from the mine and to blow up the other players. A wide variety of weapons (including mines) is for sale, providing a mapping of the first objective onto the second. Just the right combination of action and strategy. Andy and I used to have a lot of fun playing this. Reaping the Dungeon , by Ron Heuse . A roguelike game taking place in the mines of Jupiter (I never figured out how that works). Exciting, good resource management, good atmosphere. Tear Down The Wall , by Chet Langin . This one has nothing to do with mines. Instead, you play Mikhail Gorbechev, trying to open relations with the West. No, just kidding. You and the computer take turns removing bricks from a wall and trying to create chain reactions that destroy as many other bricks as possible. THE POINT of that digression was that One of the games in today's roundup, TunnelWars , sort of reminds me of Mine Bombers, though it's actually a clone of another DOS game called "Tunnelers". LinTower is a clone of SimTower, apparently one of the lower-rent concepts in the series of Sim games. (Actually, another game I'd love to see cloned is SimEarth. It could have an incredibly snappy title, like, say, "LinEarth".) Funny comment in the source code (when writing out a saved game): "DON'T CHEAT THIS FILE!\ncheat the source code!!" Gnocatan I actually did play once, with Dan Helfman, but that was a much older version so it doesn't count. A clone of the Settlers of Catan boardgame. Sun Oct 20 2002 20:52 Silly Song: Delaney's Donkey (Heard on My Music!) Mon Oct 21 2002 18:01 Tragedy: A long time ago , stack and I had a brilliant idea that was going to make us millions in software. Unfortunately, we sat on the idea and now those darn open sourcers have cloned it ! However, I am secretly relieved by this news, because it means I won't have to look at even more of those method calls of stack's where he puts spaces in between the parentheses and the first and last arguments like this: obj.method( arg1, arg2 ); What the hell is that? A parenthesis provides horizontal space just fine without adding even more space before or after it. Oh, uh, the program is called 'pv', and it's really nice. Our version would have been called 'pwc' or something like that, and another reason it's just as well we didn't write it is that if we had, the cloned version would be called 'gpwc'. Mon Oct 21 2002 19:21 : A (toy) land-based aircraft carrier . Of what possible use would this be? The only thing I can think of is that tiny countries with no need for a real military might want one as a small-ticket item to boost national pride. "Yeah, we've got an air force. Heavy artillery? Got that too!" Or maybe it's part of the starter kit that new countries get, along with the sample constitution. Mon Oct 21 2002 20:25 More Katzdot: Beyond The WB Tragedy (New readers: this is just a cheap way of getting content for the site when I can't think of anything funny) Hi. I'm playing FreeCiv now. Mon Oct 21 2002 21:10 Children's Book Title: "Bob Blob in the Blog Bog" Tue Oct 22 2002 18:19 : Part of our weekly employer-subsidized food shipment at work is a box of fruit, and in the box today were some baby kiwi (not baby Kiwi) from a berry company in Oregon called Hurst's Berry Farm , soon to be a major theme park. I had one of these kiwi and it was tasty. Either the juvenile kiwi is hairless or these have had hairiness bred out of them so that you don't have to peel or slice the ridiculously small kiwi; you just eat them. But you probably won't be eating 'them' because you only get a pack of 16; more likely you'll only eat one and save the rest for others. I estimate they're probably twice as expensive as blueberries (you'd get half the fruit for the same price). But I can never eat all those blueberries anyway. Once I'm allowed to eat dry cereal again I may get some and try them on Cheerios or something; I bet that would work well. Right now you're thinking "Leonard, these baby kiwi are great and all, but when it comes right down to it, aren't they really just a flavor-packed snack?" Ha ha! You have walked right into my tasty trap! For you see, Hurst's Baby Kiwis are more than simply a flavor-packed snack. They are rich in Vitamin C and naturally low in fat, cholesterol and sodium. Hurst's Baby Kiwis are also high in fiber and a great source of potassium, Vitamin E and magnesium. Six ounces of this delicious fruit only contain 130 calories. I must admit it's easier for me to get you to walk right into my tasty traps when I get to write your interior monologue for you. PS: Is CollabNet weird for still providing free food, what with the dot.com crash and all? Even Microsoft, of the famous free-soda policy, sells food to employees in vending machines, and when I first heard of their free-soda policy (in high school, possibly from Microserfs, or BBS-era geek urban legend), it sounded really extravagant. Tue Oct 22 2002 21:58 : Hm, I wonder what's holding up the approval of NewsBruiser's Freshmeat entry ? But I don't wonder so much that I'm willing to bother the Freshmeat people about it. It's probably a background check or something. They're making sure NewsBruiser hasn't smoked pot on more than three occasions in the past twenty years. (If NewsBrusier ever achieves sentience and runs for public office it can use dodges like: "It was a previous version of myself that published those statements.") More NewsBruiser progress this evening. It's almost ready to run Segfault; I just need to add the ability to retroactively post an entry (and I need to convert all those stories I got from the Internet Archive from God-awful Segfault HTML into something I can feed NewsBruiser). I also eventually need image upload and an author index, but that is frosting. Wed Oct 23 2002 08:52 Argh: There was some Freshmeat confirmation mail that I didn't receive. It's a good thing I received the resulting rejection email (a very classy rejection email, I might add) or I'd have no idea what was going on. Thu Oct 24 2002 09:46 : My uncle Robert ( news - photos ) showed up last night without warning. Well, I had warning, but I thought he'd be showing up on Friday. Robert is taking a vacation and came over here to catch a World Series game. He's here for a week; we'll probably be playing some Diablo over the home network, and doing other fun things. The past few weeks have seen a parade of Whitneys in this house. There's my mother, my aunt Ann, and now Robert. The only holdout is my uncle Jon. Thu Oct 24 2002 12:31 : Keri , if it will positively affect your decision to use or not use NewsBruiser, I will be working on image upload for NewsBruiser this weekend (assuming I don't spend the whole weekend playing Diablo with Robert). Also, I don't think Andy's statement about NewsBruiser's orientation towards small entries is true anymore, since newer versions use entry templates and you can change the template to, say, put the entry in its own <div> and whatnot. We'll see what I need to add to get Segfault looking nice. I'm eventually going to add a way to package a CSS file and some template files as a "theme" in a directory. This will have four beneficial effects: It will be easy to demonstrate NewsBruiser's increasingly wackass (that is to say, more wack per unit ass) layout possibilities without manually changing the template strings forward and back. I'll be able to package a bunch of prebuilt themes with NewsBruiser. People who love to tweak HTML and CSS but who don't love Python coding will have a mechanism for contributing stuff to NewsBruiser. I will get to check the "multiple templates" and "remote templates" boxes on the blog tool comparison chart. Sumana said I should write a song called "The NewsBruiser Blues". Thu Oct 24 2002 12:57 : Yesterday at lunch the Dan/Kevin/Josh/Leonard entity came up with the new killer app: a site that, when you sign up, uses an RSS aggregator to send you an email newsletter every day containing the new items in those feeds you've told it you want. Such things already (probably) exist, but if they do they rely on screen-scraping and as such have a limited range. If you know of such a thing that exists, tell me so that Dan and Manoj will stop bugging me about adding a newsletter feature to NewsBruiser. You can tell this was partially my idea because it's an aggregator aggregator. Thu Oct 24 2002 21:50 : I forgot to mention another time I was 100% wrong: I used to think that software power-off for computers was a really stupid idea. But it's actually a great idea. You can shut down the computer just before you leave the house, and not have to hang around for the shutdown process; you can put the shutdown command on a timer and listen to audio from the computer until you fall asleep; etc. So long as there's still a physical power switch you can flip if you need to, I've got no complaints about this innovation. Thu Oct 24 2002 22:16 Daddy, Make The Man Stop Talking About NewsBruiser: Sorry, kid, but my insane ramblings will ring in your ears throughout this bus ride, yea, even all the way to Tampa. I just added import functionality to NewsBruiser: not import in any specific format, but the generic ability to retroactively post an entry. This will come in handy when I figure out what I need to do to "import from Manilla" to get that checkbox checked and bring in the old editthispage entries. And also, of course, import is essential for Segfault. As so often happens to me, I thought it was going to be difficult to implement this but it was very easy. I added just one new method (given a time, figure out what entry ID an entry would have if it had been published at that time) and the rest snapped into place. I would like to attribute this outcome to some special ability on my part, but my genius mainly consists of intuiting the optimal ordering of my feature implementations: retroactive posting was easy because it uses most of the same code as entry deletion (it's just that instead of moving the ordinals of a day's entries back to eliminate one specific entry, you're moving those ordinals forward to accomodate a new one). Of course, the elegance of Python helps with the snapping into place: Python frequently gives me the I-joined-lots-of-subsystems-and-they-worked-together epiphanies I call 'Lisp moments', without the I-misplaced-a-parenthesis-and-my-dog-exploded headaches I call 'Lisp moments'. Fri Oct 25 2002 08:36 : Up and at 'em! News isn't going to bruise itself! Fri Oct 25 2002 08:52 : Let me tell you about some trauma I suffered recently. BART stations recently added a cool device that changes a $20 bill into four $5 bills. I really like operating this machine, and sometimes I change a $20 bill even when strictly speaking I don't need to. But recently my attempt to change a $20 bill traumatized me. You see, the machine rejected my bill. But instead of rejecting it through the bill acceptor where I'd inserted the bill in the first place, like every other machine in existence that accepts bills, it spat the bill out through a previously unrevealed orifice directly underneath. Gaaah! The reason this so traumatized me is that I had built up an internal representation of the machine whereby I fed the machine a $20 bill and it excreted (or I milked it of, if you want a less earthy metaphor) four $5 bills. I assumed that if it didn't like my $20 bill, it would discreetly vomit it back up the way, say, the BART ticket machine will. But instead, this weird alien hole in the throat opened up and my bill was expelled through that. I'm better now, but I take from the experience this lesson: never form an internal representation of a machine! Any machine! That machine could turn on you, and on that day you will be slightly discomfited! Paid for by Concerned Citizens Against Internal Representations. Fri Oct 25 2002 12:15 Passive Agressive Technique Pays Off: From a recent stack commit message: Also purged spaces from arg lists (crummy made me do it). Sat Oct 26 2002 00:20 : I've got a rudimentary image/file management system working in NewsBruiser. It's ugly and not everything is implemented, but you can add attachments to an entry, delete attachments from an entry, view a particular attachment, and view all the attachments from a date range. The downside is that I don't want to work on it any more. Which is why sleep was invented. Sat Oct 26 2002 14:14 You Asked For It Implicitly Accepted It: Brian Donovan has been defending from no one in particular my habit of talking endlessly about NewsBruiser . I will, accordingly, indulge said habit (this also indulges my habit of talking about my personal life, since NewsBruiser and sleeping is all I've been doing for the past 20 hours). The image upload code is nicer now, and it is now useful in conjunction with NewsBruiser instead of being a completely separate piece of functionality that happens to share an interface, and I've started using it on this site ( see screenshot which is brought to you by the technology of which it's a screenshot ). This needs testing before I'm comfortable with another release, though. If anyone thinks this feature is cool and would like to test what's in CVS, I'd love that (or I can make a tarball for you if you're scared of CVS, as I once was). Sat Oct 26 2002 14:20 : Spam: "Do others ogle at your mane of curls, never knowing the behind-the-scenes beauty battles that you endure?" Why, yes, that's me to a tee! Sat Oct 26 2002 14:48 : I finally remembered where the idea of the little permalink triangle came from: not, as I once thought, from Doc Searls' site , but from a project I did with Peter Hodgson where we did a hypertext version of Diary of a Madman. The triangle interrupted the main text to signal an entry into the thicket of hypertextual readings below. Why, you ask, did we not instead make use of that marvel of HTML, the text link? I'm not sure (I'd never even asked myself that question until just now). Probably because I was trying for an exact lookalike of the earlier HTML version, which was itself a lookalike of a version done in some proprietary hypertext system, which was itself a lookalike of a version done in a third hypertext system, and so on back 10 or 15 years to the dawn of PC hypertext systems (my version is called 'madman7', and there's talk between Peter and I of a madman8). Somewhere in the DOS era there was probably a hypertext system that didn't know about or didn't want to rely on terminal bold or reverse video to signify linked text, and so displayed the link as an asterisk next to the linked text. I actually think madman7 looks nicer with the triangle than it would with linked text, but I may have to revisit that. Anyway, here's the triangle, the colors darkened a little for NewsBruiser: . I like it better than the old triangle I made by hand , so I'm going to start using it for NYCB and after I check with Peter I'm going to make it the NewsBruiser default permalink image. Note the subtle use of attachments there. Sat Oct 26 2002 15:14 : Kevan, Claydonia is another fun build-your-own-everything combat game played with children's creativity toys (in this case, modelling clay or Play-DoTM). Sun Oct 27 2002 16:46 Cautious Revolutionary Mottoes: First In A Series: "Phase Out The State" Mon Oct 28 2002 07:04 Two-Character Prefixes Used In Subject Lines To Make The Same Piece Of Spam Look Different: A new programming language could use these as operators. `! (unary string reverse) `' (unary string quote of special characters) ^* (swap two variables in place) .* (multiply string) ,* (create a list containing n instances of the given variable) .- (remove substring from string) ** (exponentiation) ., (append item to list) Mon Oct 28 2002 18:30 : Earlier, for some reason I don't recall, Kevin and I started talking about the World's Fair. Do they still have them? Are they like the Olympics, where a corrupt governing body is bribed by cities around the globe for the privilege of attracting millions of gawking tourists for a few months? Or can any city declare a World's Fair and hope enough countries show up to justify the name? Kevin recounted his experiences at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville. That was the last one either of us could remember ever having heard of, and almost all the websites we could find talked about one particular World's Fair or another. But Wikipedia to the rescue! (Motto: "Centralizing the untrustworthiness of Internet content.") They've got a great World's Fair entry which explains all. The World's Fair system has the look of a comic book universe where the rules for contributors got too lax, and bizarre rules and alternate universes had to be created to mantain canonicity. The whole thing is run by the Bureau International des Expositions , under the watchful eye of Captain Planet. (The Wikipedia notes the benevolent nature of BIE oversight: "countries can hold their own 'fair', 'exposition', [or] 'exhibition', without BIE endorsement.") There have been three confusingly similar expo classifications in use over the years (this is all explained in mind-numbing detail in the Wikipedia entry), but after a spate of expos in the 80s and 90s it looks like they've finally got things under control and have settled down to a relatively sedate rate of five years between World's Fair-class "registered" events, with smaller "recognized" events interspersed. You wouldn't think it would be that complicated to manage the damn World's Fair, but apparently there's some flap with the host country always wanting to use preexisting buildings for the Fair, I mean, geez! You gotta watch those host countries every minute of the day. Anyway, the most recent big exposition was the Sprockets-ish EXPO2000 in Hanover . The next one is the Exposition of Global Harmony , or EXPO 2005, in Japan. As with everything these days, EXPO 2005 has mascots and a theme song . (Kevin on the mascots: "That's what I was afraid of: a resurgence of orthodox Shinto.") Its theme is a nature/technology conjunction which could have a Fullerene/Viridian hipness about it but which seems stuck in "we'll build the pavillion out of recycled plastic bottles" mode. Looking toward 2010, we see a number of possible contenders (at last, the bribery!). South Korea is a strong contender, as are China and Russia ("Russia not only wants to host EXPO-2010, we have all the necessary economic, political and organizational resources to do so."). Experts say that future geopolitical Sino-Russian cooperation is unlikely if one country snatches the hotly contested EXPO-2010 site away from the other. Mexico and Poland are also angling for the EXPO-2010 prize, but Mexico's site is currently down, and Poland's requires Flash, so I preemptively disqualify them from hosting EXPO-2010. Looking even further into the future, San Francisco and Istanbul are the current candidates for EXPO 2015 . Of course by then we'll all be spacefaring robots. Mon Oct 28 2002 18:40 : Incidentally, in case you're wondering what kind of vigilance is neccessary in WikiWorld, look at Wikipedia's VANDALISM IN PROGRESS and Edit wars in progress nodes. Of course, this is only neccessary because Wikipedia is a large, ambitious, popular Wiki. Mon Oct 28 2002 19:27 : At work, I've been doing a lot of testing with randomly generated data. I'm generating the data by picking words from /usr/dict/words. /usr/dict/words contains many archaic words (due to its primary source (I think): a 1911 edition of Roget's) and many archaic neologisms like "Microvaxes" and "BITNET". There are some words which appear only in lists of words, articles about spelling bees, and pieces of random text generated from the Unix word list. One such word is "Boswellize". It appears to come from a 1911 encyclopedia entry (another source for /usr/dict/words), and its semantics have never been invoked in a Google-viewable sentence since. Even the encyclopedia entry, and this very weblog entry, only treat "Boswellize" as a word and don't actually use it to convey an idea. I think this word needs to go. I like words and all, but is it really neccessary to have "Boswellize" as an official word? If anyone were to actually say it, its meaning would be obvious, just as it would be if I said "to Clintonize" or "to McDonaldsize". Why keep the word around when it won't earn its keep? Some would say that what I desire has already been accomplished, that "Boswellize" has been eliminated from the marketplace of words as measured by its pitiful performance on Google. But it is clear that such people, while well-meaning, are deluded reactionaries. The word is still in /usr/dict/words, and it will be until a more recent encyclopedia than the one with that entry about Boswell passes into the public domain. This, I argue, is the true tragedy of copyright extension. By the way, FRELI is a word list with part-of-speech information: useful if you want your random data to make some kind of grammatical sense. Tue Oct 29 2002 21:11 : If you think Tonight's Episode has been sliding downhill recently, just be glad the same person isn't doing it who came up with the movie name Half Past Dead . Motto: "The Good, The Bad, and the Deadly" (actually, that one's not bad). Hm, if Tonight's Episode were to jump the shark, how would we know? Wed Oct 30 2002 08:44 : From Plurp , it's Bottling A Deep One ! Just like Grandma used to make! It's the most interesting item in Propping up the Mythos . Wed Oct 30 2002 23:28 : Tonight I learned that if you're a farmer in a commercial, you pick your corn (oh yeah, you grow corn) one ear at a time, all by yourself, and put it in a bucket. When the bucket is full you go out to your pickup truck and empty the bucket into your pickup. Under no circumstances do you use any kind of farm machinery to gather the corn, even though that would let you complete the harvest in a week instead of in eighteen months. [Maybe those weren't the farmers! Maybe they were corn poachers! -Ed. While your sarcastic remarks are usually irrelevant and ludicrous, that one actually made some sense. I'm taking a class. -Ed.] Thu Oct 31 2002 08:32 Future Fad: Vegan imitation versions of food that's already vegan. Examples: soyrange juice, seitan salt, "Nofu", etc. Thu Oct 31 2002 18:50 Cheap Thrills: CollabNet is briefly mentioned in the new book Living Networks . Jason met yesterday with Ross Dawson, the author, and got a copy of the book autographed to CollabNet as a whole ("To CollabNet: thanks for a magical weekend," joked Jason). One letter, perhaps, of the autograph text is to me (assuming we have autograph sharing). The book has an associated weblog , of the "thoughtful technologist" genre popularized by Dan Gillmor and Tim O'Reilly. When will all books have associated weblogs, you ask? The answer is "never". Hm, I just had a glimpse of a future in which a publisher's books automatically have associated weblogs, accessible from http://www.publisher.com/weblogs/[ISBN], lying dormant like so many IMDB discussion boards. Thu Oct 31 2002 19:01 Kills All Known Murder. Dead.: Occasionally Jason and I have discussed the possibility of automating the generation of Tonight's Episode titles. Unfortunately, it's impossible because the act of coming up with the data for the automaton would be equivalent to coming up with a bunch of Tonight's Episode titles, and then you could just use the titles. However, Kevan has come up with a clever approximation: you take a more general-purpose text generator and simply feed it the Tonight's Episode buzzwords. Kevan calls this innovation "Tonight's Sponsor" and recommends the usual suspects . The dataset yields some strong contenders, as well as approximations to actual Tonight's Episodes past ("Nothing Comes Between Me And My Murder") and future ("Snap! Crackle! Death!"). Thu Oct 31 2002 20:37 Call For Submissions: I need some NewsBruiser themes (I'm working on the actual theme packaging and selection, but I am no good at designing themes). A theme consists of a CSS file and some template strings . Ideally, the NewsBruiser theme you create would be exciting and original, but I will settle for ripoffs of LiveJournal/Radio/Movable Type/Whatever themes. Getting other people to work on themes will also be useful for pointing out deficiencies in the template system. What's the best way to do this? People who already have NewsBruiser installed can just mess around with their install. For others, I could create a temporary notebook on crummy. Is anyone interested in that? In more labor-intensive UI news, I'd also really appreciate it if someone would come up with some UI standards for NewsBruiser. I've been doing it sort of ad hoc and it's not as consistent as I'd like. Thu Oct 31 2002 21:02 : Enough about me. Let's talk about Brian Donovan's cool ahoy program. It's a bit of Javascript which fulfills my lifelong dream of being able to link to any arbitrary chunk of a webpage (but not my lifelong dream of being able to link to any arbitrary chunk of any arbitrary webpage). It's GPLed and it works with Mozilla (and everybody uses Mozilla now, right?). Brian, would I be correct in assuming that it would be okay to use ahoy in conjunction with the docs for BSD-licensed NewsBruiser, since the Javascript never actually interacts with any of the code? Thu Oct 31 2002 21:24 : I found Garrett . He works for Red Hat now (he designed the controversial BlueCurve theme). I wonder if he still has the Segfault icons. Fri Nov 01 2002 08:11 : "We are no bug to no one." Fri Nov 01 2002 18:40 Oh No, It's Devo NewsBruiser!: 1.8 is out , with hot file upload action. Unlike with previous versions of NewsBruiser, I've been using the (effectively) 1.8 code for a week, so you have more cause than usual to think it stable. So far I've recruited Brendan into my conspiracy to commit themes. Any other takers? Fri Nov 01 2002 18:53 : I sometimes have stupid crises, which you never see, about posting links dealing with something I found on some other weblog. For some reason I feel that this is illegitimate, even though it's obviously not! Anyway, today's edition of such links comes via CamWorld . It's the cutest little thing you've ever seen[0]: Javascript programs whose only control is a form submission button and whose display is the text on that same button. My favorite is "Happy Eater", the game of fructophilia, possibly because it brings new life to the smiley idiom. In addition to providing us with this buttony bounty, Kirk Israel, the author, also has a fun weblog . [0] May not actually be the cutest little thing you've ever seen. Fri Nov 01 2002 19:09 : For Halloween, Kris shaved his macho goatee and dressed up as the Checkerboard Nightmare ("The Checkerboard Nightmare" makes it sound serious and brooding, like "The Batman"). This reminds me of when I was in sixth grade and I constructed a Nethack acid blob costume out of lime-green gauze and plastic sheeting. I don't think I've dressed up for Halloween since. There was just no way to top that. Fri Nov 01 2002 20:04 : Hilarity exists at The Big Empire Guide to Las Vegas on 25¢ a Day . Includes case studies in squalor and tip sheets derived from said case studies , for the benefit of those intent on being free riders on the Las Vegas economy. There's also a special collection of comically bad gambling advice , and even a tour of the Liberace Museum . Since this is the Vegas entry (as of now), I need to mention, for those who haven't seen it, the cool Wired article about the MIT blackjack team, which came up with a division of labor to exploit the optimal blackjack strategy without alerting the house to their actions. Sometimes I wish I could be a bad-ass card counter, but then I remember that I already make good money doing actual useful work, and I feel better. Sat Nov 02 2002 10:47 : Last night Sumana and I prepared Zack's minimalist pasta sauce . Tasty! Today I prepared the "wretched excess" version, where you use up as much of the perishable food from last night as you possibly can. Also tasty! Like a Philly cheesesteak, but with pasta. Accusations Fly In Clickolinkostan Parliament As Cabinet Resigns Over showtime Scandal Opposition Leader: "limit Was The Last Straw" Disgraced PM Neakums Accepts Responsibility For Covert tz Modification Sat Nov 02 2002 11:03 : Today marks the 300th episode anniversary of Tonight's Episode. Don't believe me? You can verify with a click of your mouse. PS: tonightsepisode.com is completely untaken! Grab it now and put something goofy on it! (Assuming you have nothing better to do today.) Sat Nov 02 2002 18:24 : Added theme support to NewsBruiser. Now I just need themes. I came up with a maximally boring theme called "Poindexter", so at least I have something, but I can't release 1.9.0 until I have a decent alternate theme. Sat Nov 02 2002 22:35 : To the ad hoc NYCB search debugging team (which is Brendan and someone else, I forget who): I found the cause of the index corruption. It was happening when there were outstanding index updates and two people hit the search CGI at the same time. Both CGIs were simultaneously processing the index updates and saving the index, which caused random corruption. I added locking and I can't duplicate the problem anymore on my computer. Hopefully NYCB will be as fortunate. Sun Nov 03 2002 09:20 : Lawrence! You got me! Sun Nov 03 2002 10:47 : More gambling: Kevin claims to have a seedy uncle John who designs slot machines. Kevin also claims that everyone has a seedy uncle John, which is patently false: I have an uncle Jon but he's just about the least seedy person imaginable. But where I'm going with this is that more than I want to be a bad-ass card counter ( q.v. ) I would like the more profitable occupation of bad-ass slot machine designer. Right now gambling is only legal in certain parts of the country, which means that almost all opportunities for impulse gambling are squandered on the miserable payoff of state lottery tickets. Slot machines are designed for placement in a featureless wasteland where people go specifically to gamble, such as Las Vegas, a reservation, or the state of New Jersey. If gambling were to be legalized in a new area, slot-machine companies would simply flood that area with their current lowest-common-denominator slots, with no regard for local differences. Slot machine companies need to have a flexible system in place that allows them to instantly deploy region-specific slots to any state or U.S. territory. I envision a Sun-like system with a network of dumb slot machines each of which has not only its payoff pattern but also its branding controlled by a central server. Whenever someone walks away from a machine, the machine may undergo a state transformation into a game more likely to keep someone at the machine. This opens up amazing new opportunities for the house. Rather than relying on crude randomness, slots can play in quasi-legal ways on people's superstitious conceptions of the odds in order to increase revenue (it will also create new superstitions, such that a slot is 'hot' after changing state). As new and flashier themes are created, a casino operator can purchase them online and download them onto the server, which will automatically begin propagating them onto the casino's slot machines. It also gives me license to come up with thousands of bizarre, unworkable slot machine themes like Nethack slots, slots with polynomial terms on the reels where you win if the resulting polynomial can be factored, and slots with Magic Eye icons. Eventually all the slots will settle to an equilibrium consisting of the same sort of lowest-common-denominator slots that existed in the first place, but by that time I will have retired wealthy and fled the country. (Bizarrely, many of my plans end with "but by that time I will have retired wealthy and fled the country"; I should look into this.) Sun Nov 03 2002 15:21 Game Roundup: Falling Block Game , the Tetris clone with the generic name. Simutrans , a non-free non-commercial game which appears to accumulate all the good things I like about FreeCiv. I haven't really played it because I don't have the patience right now, but it looks really great. The Emilia Pinball Project , a pinball game with (currently) only one board. Richard Stallman is angry that the little pinball lights on the board spell out L I N U X instead of G N U / L I N U X. Newer versions of Windows have a pinball game, so is this an attempt to keep up or is it just that pinball games are cool? I planned to complain about various display aspects (the pan-and-scan play, the darkness of the board), but all of those are easily fixed through configuration, so instead I'll complain about the configuration defaults. Complain! The end. Sun Nov 03 2002 16:40 : Phidgets are single-purpose peripherals that take computer action based on sensor data and/or take real-life action based on the computer or network environment. A gallery of whimsical phidgets brings to physical manifestation the little X toys, the load monitors and IRC notification agents and the like. My favorite is the physical biff implementation Marble Mail . It's all pretty useless, of course, but my cube at work is full of useless stuff that isn't connected to the computer, so why not (for example) make my Godzilla action figure stomp around whenever someone assigns me an issue? Mon Nov 04 2002 08:09 : Ed has semi-moved to Japan, so his coveted Aeron chair is mine! I remember his last tearful words to me on Friday: "Have a nice weekend." Tue Nov 05 2002 10:38 Being An Account Of A New And Cunning Deception: While driving to work (I missed the bus) I saw a garbage truck move into the right lane while flashing its left turn signal. I was amazed. Why didn't I think of that? Unfortunately, the left turn signal kept flashing and it became obvious that the truck driver simply had the left turn signal permanently on and wasn't paying attention to turn signals at all. Wed Nov 06 2002 09:46 : Josh points out that Radio Userland has implemented our RSS email aggregator idea . That's one hardy cactus! It would be nice if there was a site that did this for you, though; I can't get Dan and Manoj off my back by telling them to use Radio Userland. Update: Aaron reveals that he too has written an RSS-to-email aggregator. "I want to make it a hosted service, but I haven't done it," says Aaron. Wed Nov 06 2002 22:40 : Been very busy this week, but I'm trying to post something here every day (the calendar view is for some reason a powerful incentive for me on this score; I like having every day on the calendar linked). I have a bunch of email which I should write up; probably this weekend. I'm posting this lame entry before I go to sleep so that I can't use it as an excuse for not posting anything interesting tomorrow. Thu Nov 07 2002 15:40 : More potential Twilight Zone hosts: the two cops from Law And Order: Oh My God A Body. Disadvantages: they would have to cross networks to host the show. Advantages: the episode would start just after it would have ended had anyone else been the host, and the cops would come on the scene and spend the entire segment cracking wise about the character's misfortune. "Looks like the victim's face was normal, yet everyone else had a hideous face, so the standards of beauty were reversed!" "Yeah, reminds me of my mother-in-law." "He'll be getting his beauty sleep now, that's for sure." "Twenty years on the force and I've never seen irony like this." Etc., etc. This reminds me that for my entire life until about a year ago, until I got braces, I thought it was normal in humans for the upper and lower teeth to meet, because that was how my teeth were. Now it turns out that (what I thought was) a slight overbite is normal. Thu Nov 07 2002 16:05 : Evil Entity Linux will make your desktop gloomy and hard to read for you. Find a market segment and go with it, I say. Many say, "MS Windows has won, and the Linux Desktop is dead!" Now the Linux Desktop is UNDEAD, and it has risen from its crypt in search of virgin blood. (From LinuxOrbit via LWN) Fri Nov 08 2002 18:44 : Sumana came up with a gimmick I can use when I need to generate revenue from this site: News Too Hot To Bruise. (News You Can Scald?) I'm not sure what it would be news about, but once I have your money I can probably think of something. Fri Nov 08 2002 19:41 : NewsBruiser 1.9.0 , "Dancing Elephant Revue". Fixes several annoying bugs and creates theme support. I still need themes (a couple of people are working on themes, but no themes yet); the docs and changelog are sprinkled with rather pathetic requests for contributed themes. Fri Nov 08 2002 21:58 That Darn Organism!: I'm starting to worry about RSI, and I've found these yoga exercises useful. #2, in particular, helps a lot (in alleviating my fears of oncoming RSI; possibly not in other respects). Fri Nov 08 2002 22:03 : I added some clever code to NewsBruiser which runs the weblogs.com ping in the background so that you're (I'm) not wasting precious post-submit seconds waiting for it to complete. This is a test entry for it. Update: Yeah, that was faster. Sun Nov 10 2002 12:19 Game Roundup: HackNet is a Lightly Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. It's a roguelike that features an amazing three (count 'em, three) monsters. You telnet in to the server to play, giving it the feel of one of those old BBS door games. LBreakout2 is the free software generalization of Breakout; it has many the generalizations people put into free software versions of preexisting games: client-server architecture, definable levels, etc. It probably has XML definitions for its bonuses and tile types. Like Rocks'n'Diamonds (which has yet to be mentioned in a Game Roundup; I should remedy that) it has several sesquillion contributed levels (though not as many as Rocks'n'Diamonds' whopping 90.6 sesquillion). Many of the contributed levels are simply examples of the genre of Breakout board art, where the tiles form a low-resolution color bitmap of something, but some of them make good action puzzles. Action puzzles! LBreakout2 has several features for people like me who care more about experiencing the different levels than about getting the last lousy brick on the board; at a certain point you can warp to the next board without finishing it, and if you run out of lives you can purchase another one with points from your score (finally, a game where points are good for something!). Rocks'n'Diamonds . Hey, it's your lucky day! Another clone, and another mine game. It clones an old Amiga game called Emerald Mine , in which you run around a mine collecting the conveniently pre-polished gemstones and avoiding or thwarting the baddies and natural disasters inhabiting the mines. But there's another game called Boulder Dash which is very similar, and it'd be a shame to write a whole nother game engine to clone Boulder Dash, so Rock'n'Diamonds also clones Boulder Dash. There's also an old DOS game called Supaplex , which has the same gameplay but completely different objects, so Rocks'n'Diamonds is a general running-around-pushing-and-collecting things engine with several sets of objects including Supaplex objects. And really, when you think about it, isn't Sokoban a degenerate case of that sort of game, with all pushing and no collecting? So it also clones Sokoban. The aforementioned 90.6 sesquillion levels are available for Rocks'n'Diamonds (Update: thousands of new levels just released! Rocks'n'Diamonds now features 90.603 sesquillion levels!), many of the levels contributed from people living in Scandanavian countries where there's nothing to do but hold war crimes tribunals and write Rocks'n'Diamonds levels. I wish there were some site with reviews of R'n'D level sets, because (again) the boards are divided between dull representational boards and good puzzle-oriented boards (and bad puzzle-oriented boards); perhaps I'll start keeping notes and putting up my reccomendations. There are, or should be, levels which combine objects from different games in interesting ways. Oh, one more thing about Rocks'n'Diamonds. When you die, your body decays into yellow gemstones. Why? And what does that say about all the other gemstones? Sun Nov 10 2002 13:08 : Note to people coming here via Freshmeat looking for a NewsBruiser demo site: NewsBruiser is very slow on this machine, but it's not NewsBruiser's fault; all CGIs and SSIs are very slow on this machine. It ain't neccessarily slow. Sun Nov 10 2002 13:13 : Google Cache says someone has actually written a (non-musical) play called Kiss Me Kant . It has the archaic wit that I enjoy. DUC DU DRYROT Then I take it you don't enjoy the company of women. HIPPEL Quite the contrary. But must every company be incorporated? Sun Nov 10 2002 15:06 : Celestia is a software package for which I've been waiting years. It's an astronomy program that actually lets you move around space rather than keeping you stranded on Earth looking at the stars. It's got a star catalog and you can hop from one star to another in seconds. My only complaints: an "accellerate but stay in current orbit" mode would be great, the browsable list of objects is currently available only on Windows, and Celestia sometimes causes X to freeze for a while (Graphics card incompatibility? Just computationally intensive?). The Celestia page is updated with new celestial bodies as humans discover or launch them. All in all, a great piece of software. Sun Nov 10 2002 17:27 : Andy Holloway , I think your problem is caused by a bug in the Default theme's entry template. Update themes/Default/configuration from CVS, or try changing "<p class="entry">...</p>" in the entry template to "<span class="entry"><p>... </p></span>". That should fix the problem. Also, NewsBruiser won't accept an entry if the title is the notebook password (I had the same problem you did when I added title support). Update: The clickolinko oracle speaks: "now hacking nycb is simply a process of figuring out what title is missing." Unfortunately, as of yet there exists no effective enumeration of NYCB titles. Sun Nov 10 2002 20:15 : So far this year I've gotten 40 megabytes of spam and 46 megabytes of email viruses. But I've only gotten about 325 email viruses, and I've gotten about 5000 pieces of spam. This makes me think that spam and email viruses represent the two reproductive strategies. Spam is the sturgeon strategy where you send out thousands of tiny, defenseless eggs and hope that one or two of them come to fruition; whereas email viruses are the human strategy, where you create fewer, larger offspring, imbuing each of them with the skills they'll need to survive and reproduce. Mon Nov 11 2002 08:35 : Todd Fahrner, master of CSS and hopeful NewsBruiser UI manager, lays the smack down on me: you advise andy holloway to jump from the frying pan of his horribly invalid html to the fire of even more horribly invalid html. span can't contain p. any inheritable formatting properties associated with the span shouldn't make it into the p because the p essentially terminates the span - if a browser does otherwise it's part of its (nonstandard) error handling. my first concern with theme development/ui is to make it difficult to produce invalid html. it's not productive to try to apply css to html that can't be parsed in a deterministic way. Shows what I know. Mon Nov 11 2002 19:18 : Andy , try NewsBruiser 1.9.2 (Motto: "Now, with functionality!"). If it doesn't help, let me know. NewsBruiser 1.9.2 also features Brendan Adkins' "Timothy" theme, which is pretty sharp. Mon Nov 11 2002 19:41 : Something strange is happening to me, a sort of culinary Stockholm syndrome. I no longer want to eat foods that I can't eat because of my braces. For instance, candy bars no longer hold any interest for me. I can no longer fathom why someone might want to chew on ice cubes. I'm even not terribly interested in crusty bread anymore. The only exception is popcorn, particularly Cracker Jack. Tue Nov 12 2002 22:34 : Brendan came up with another theme, " Laurie ", which duplicates the look of his weblog . Cool! This was one of the things I was hoping NewsBruiser was now flexible enough to do. Wed Nov 13 2002 11:26 : "As you know, Bob..." in the wild . Thu Nov 14 2002 13:16 : The morning rain ran noisily through the walls of the house and soaked the carpet outside my room. To get rid of the rain-stench I sprayed the carpet with foam from a can and vacuumed, twice. The foam itself smells pretty bad, but it doesn't last, and it's a lot better than the smell it replaces. Which is strange, because the name of the scent on the can is "morning rain". Thu Nov 14 2002 14:54 : (Via everyone) MAD's parody of The Onion is pretty good, and preempts the "Headline Funny, But Article Drags On Way Too Long" Segfault story I was never able to force myself to finish. Thu Nov 14 2002 15:47 : By this time next week I'll be in London. I've discovered a strange mental behavior: I think that facts about the future are facts about the present. For example, "In the future I will be going to England". I don't viscerally understand that at some point in the future the present state of affairs will be that I am in England, and that shortly thereafter the present state of affairs will be me returning from England. I think that it will always be the case that in the future I'm going to England, as though this were something on a huge list of things I plan to do one day and not something for which I'd already bought tickets. This makes it hard for me to prepare, except in spasmodic flurries of activity after which I think "OK, I'm ready", even though all I did was buy some cheap sweatshirts to wear while there and then jettison to some deserving UK charity, filling the space on the return trip with moon rocks and cheap gin. it's ok to contact this poster with fun things do do while in England this is in or around London Thu Nov 14 2002 19:02 : A wealth of mola mola pictures , including some great schools of molas and basking molas . Warning: not all of these pictures are pleasant. Some depict molas subject to ectoparasites, a dead mola being preyed upon by starfish, and molas in every condition being menaced by huge, translucent copyright symbols. Fri Nov 15 2002 14:21 Disturbing Sci-Fi Product Disclaimers: "Caution: Filling Is Sentient" Fri Nov 15 2002 15:08 : A worthy NewsBruiser competitor: MOD . Written in PHP, no database requirement, focusing on reader interaction (which NewsBruiser abjures; interact with someone else, you losers! (just kidding)). Fri Nov 15 2002 16:49 : The Baen Free Library , online publishers of a Retief anthology , [Hey! Write about Retief! -Ed. Okay, I will, geez.] have recently published The Wizardry Compiled , which I'd heard of but never before actually seen. It's a magic-meets-software fantasy novel that warms my heart like a AM/PM cheap chili dog by occasionally actually mentioning some specific thing about programming, and by always using "programmer" to describe a type of person, the way Roast Beef does (hey, two Achewood references in one day today). Anyhoo, I found this book, and many others, through this valuable resource at Penn: The Online Books Page . I hope they're mirroring all these books. Fri Nov 15 2002 20:28 : Seth David Schoen takes the bait, inviting me to visit one of Simon Finch's bookshops while in London. "You might see things which you would otherwise only see in museums," says Seth. "(Of course, you could also go to museums in London and see similar things.)" This is the first NYCB entry in a while I've posted in Lynx. The list of categories is pretty long, but there's not much I can do about that. Sat Nov 16 2002 11:03 Progress: It used to be that someone at every BART station had written "NO WET TICKETS" on a piece of paper and taped it to every ticket-taking machine in that station, because the ticket-takers would choke on wet tickets. But times have changed, and now all those ad-hoc signs have been replaced by a standardized "NO WET TICKETS" sign with a graphic on it. Mon Nov 18 2002 20:15 : More London, from Kevan: A place for you to go in London, by the way - Cynthia's Bar, a bar staffed entirely by robots! Apparently. I've never actually been sure where to find it, but someone mentioned recently that it had a web site ( http://www.cynbar.co.uk ); it seems to be hiding under London Bridge somewhere. It might be terrible, I've no idea. But it's staffed by robots! Beyond that, I only ever seem to go to the Tate Modern gallery (which is worth a glance, they usually have some vast, insane installation in the entrance area) and Mornington Crescent (the Tube station, which may or may not mean anything). And the London Science Museum is fun and free, if you've got some time to wander. Aside from lots of new toys and gadgets to poke at, they haven't updated the computing section since the 1970s, and it's become a bizarre brown-wallpapered history of itself. Tomorrow: Michael Stack's teary-eyed reminiscences of his native land, and lands adjacent. Tue Nov 19 2002 20:54 : Busy packing. Sorry for the lack of stack; his solliloquy is in an IRC window at work, so I can't paste it in now, and when I was at work I was too busy to remember putting it anywhere I could access it now. To make up for it, here's a picture from October . Wed Nov 20 2002 09:25 : Sorry for the big build-up; here's stack. <stack> Man. Its going to be so great. <leonardr> if there's something they have there that you can't get here, lemme know so i can get you some <stack> What I want you can't bring home (Pint in a country pub... train ride through english country-side). <stack> England is beautiful. <stack> Or... least, can be. ... <stack> Tate modern is pretty amazing. Otherwise I always liked the portrait gallery. Its to the side of the national gallery. <stack> Then if your in london for a w/e, get up early and go to brick lane mkt. Its in old part of london, whitechapel (Jack the Ripper, where marx used live, now its indians and south asians... amazing restaurants... biggest mosque in england)... market is good taste of old england... <stack> My brother is manager at camden mkt which your sister might drag you too... I worked there for years. Its touristy now... but if she takes you, go to the compendium bookstore there. Stack's brother is no doubt the celebrated Eamon Stack . I may look him up and say hi. Wed Nov 20 2002 09:58 : Atticus, who looks a bit like I did at his age, now has a little brother, Samuel . Wed Nov 20 2002 14:18 : My award-losing photo of the poorly-designed Lord of the Rings game box ("Where does Sauron go? Why the huge plastic depressions to hold small things like little cardboard punch-outs? A game within a game!") gets hit by a lot of Google image searches for "lord of the rings". This actually makes some sense; it's one of the only pictures of its kind which is a picture of "lord of the rings" rather than a picture of some specific part of Lord of the Rings, like Tom Bombadil. So I assume that all the vague people who got it as a search result are happy. Wed Nov 20 2002 15:35 : OK, I'm off. I'll be back on the 30th. Amount of news to be bruised between now and then: unknown. Thu Nov 21 2002 14:42 : I'm in London! I'm also tired; I walked about 5 miles today. More later; I'm just checking in. Sat Nov 30 2002 17:52 : Well, once again I walk the green grass of freedom (except I'm inside, and there's no grass). I forgot how to use the mouse, and I got 350 email messages, some of which might actually not be spam, but other than that I'm okay. I don't feel like it's 3 in the morning or anything. Much, much more later. Sun Dec 01 2002 07:38 : The oldest, smallest-payoff Spanish prisoner scam ever: Claim your $320 from Aztec Riches now! Sun Dec 01 2002 12:32 : Sumana saw Rapture Letters linked at MemeMachineGo and wondered how it works. I can think of two ways. The low tech way is to have an unsaved confederate agree ahead of time to send out the emails. The other way, which is probably what they're actually using, is to use a program like Dead Man's Switch , which does something irreversible unless you're around to hit a button every week. As always, this opens up the possibility that one week the person in charge is just going to forget to hit the button, making it look like (as Kris thinks has already occured) the Rapture happened but nobody got taken. Mon Dec 02 2002 05:06 : I had no jet lag going over, but it's pretty bad coming back. I think this makes sense. I managed to get 400 of my 500 pictures out of my camera Data corruption on the memory card has made the rest of the photos elusive. Perhaps 150 of the 500 are good enough to go up on the web. Mon Dec 02 2002 18:32 : On the way to the grocery store I was passed by a big tricked-out truck wearing a bumper sticker that said BACK OFF . . . I'VE GOT FIRESTONES. Clearly this is a new trend I missed out on while I was in England; bumper stickers that try to intimidate other drivers with facts about your car. So I could get a bumper sticker that says BACK OFF . . . I JUST TOPPED OFF MY WINDSHIELD WIPER FLUID, or BACK OFF . . . I'VE GOT ANTI-LOCK BRAKES, or BACK OFF . . . IT'S PAID FOR (it's actually not yet paid for, but no one need know). Or maybe it's facts about the driver rather than neccessarily the car, in which case I could use BACK OFF . . . I KNOW JAVA, or BACK OFF . . . I'M 1/16 NATIVE AMERICAN, or BACK OFF . . . I LIKE HOT SAUCE. But those are just guesses; which facts are intimidating enough to go on a bumper sticker? Tue Dec 03 2002 07:33 Jerky Boys: I love the totally useless things that my Amazon Gold Box presents in the vain hope that I'll buy an attachment to an appliance I don't have. Yesterday I was presented with the Beef Jerky Works Kit . It's a caulking gun that instead of caulk contains ground meat and spices. You spray it into strips and dehydrate it in your food dehydrator. Remember, when you hear the word "jerky", reach for your gun... your jerky gun, that is! I think that the Gold Box picks stuff more or less at random (maybe everyone's Gold Box is the same?) from the list of high-margin items like appliances, rather than make any effort to match up with things Amazon thinks you might want. Otherwise, as Cam pointed out , people might wait to buy something until it went into their Gold Box, making the exercise counterproductive (for Amazon). This stubborn refusal to make use of the recommendation information is actually the reason why I like the Gold Box: it's the closest thing I've ever seen to a "random item for sale" button. If some online megastore had such a truly random button, I would do nothing but hit that button all day. First I'd need to come up with some sort of business plan for hitting that button all day, though. The obvious one involves a website where I point the jaded viewer to ever more odd and interesting books and appliances that they never would have found through any recommendation algorithm. The site makes money by taking a commission on sales. The site makes money by being a front for a diamond smuggling ring. Tue Dec 03 2002 21:23 : Kris sets me straight: Wouldn't the "Back off, I have Firestones!" be a joke on the Firestone defective tire recall thing, meaning the car is dangerous to drive near? I feel dumb telling you if you knew already, but if you neglected to inform your audience of that for the sake of a "random car parts" joke, I think that's dishonest and hurtful. I vaguely knew about some tire recall thing but I didn't know they were Firestones. I almost made the connection anyway, but you must understand that this was a truck made to look like a miniature monster truck. It had a big American flag painted on the driver's side door (possibly on the other door as well). To me the bumper sticker looked like the driver was taking sides in a miniature Ford/Chevy-style flamewar; I thought the only reason there were even words on the bumper sticker was that it would have taken too long for another driver to figure out that that thing Calvin is pissing on is the Goodyear logo. This seemed much more likely to me than that the driver of the truck would have a bumper sticker saying "Look out! An essential part of my ultra-customized vehicle is substandard and could fail at any moment! It's wacky!" But clearly, I was wrong, and the driver of the truck has a more nuanced psychological profile than I'd thought. Or maybe the bumper sticker was put on by guerrilla bumper sticker vandals. Yeah, that's it. Elven vandals... with jetpacks! Update: Kris achieves a Hegelian synthesis: If the car was all tricked out and huge rather than a sensible truck, I'd be more likely to believe the company that made the bumper sticker said "hee hee, the tire recall!" and the guy who bought the bumper sticker saw it and said "... YEAH! FIRESTONES ROCK!" Wed Dec 04 2002 23:38 Joke Told During Prohibition: So this grasshopper walks into a bar restaurant, and the barten-- the waiter says, "You know, we have a drink named after you. And the grasshopper says, "Really? Why would anyone name a drink Water?" Thu Dec 05 2002 09:10 : Sometimes when I'm drifting off to sleep or when I actually am asleep, I experience this weird jerk. Harlan Ellison comes into my room and starts berating me. No, what actually happens is a muscle spasm which, if I'm already asleep, might wake me up with a sudden dream-sensation of violently tripping over something. In an inversion of my overbite belief , I always thought this was just some weird quirk of my biology, but today J. Bradford Delong reveals that it is a general feature of humans. It's your brain unplugging your motion and speech centers so that you don't chase rabbits in your sleep. So when you dream, one part of your brain is acting the Cartesian demon to the other parts, intercepting commands to your body and creating the sensation of their fulfillment. Sat Dec 07 2002 10:55 Today's Fun Thing: I added random entry functionality to NewsBruiser. Sat Dec 07 2002 11:47 From Lego Dawn To Lego Decadence: When I was a kid there were four types of Lego sets: Castle, Space, Town, and Bucket O' Bricks. Nowadays there are ten or twenty types of Lego sets, and all of them are lame. Let me give you an example: the old Space sets were great. They had enough gadgetry that you could build any kind of futuristic-looking instrument, but not so much of so many different kinds that it was difficult to mantain a consistent design aesthetic. The humans were differentiable by their different colored spacesuits, which allowed you to assign them to jobs like in Star Trek, or make them representatives of rival space organizations, which for some reason all used the same logo: the symbol of the Galactic Empire from Foundation. Now the Space sets have been discontinued ( ? ) and replaced by Star Wars sets. Now, I like Star Wars as much as the next fellow, but if I want Star Wars I'll see a movie. If I want to re-enact scenes from Star Wars I'll buy Star Wars action figures and move them around jerkily while speaking in deep or high-pitched voices. To my mind, there's no need to pollute the Lego piecespace with Star Wars stuff. Yet there it is. I can't get a spaceman anymore and give him or her a motivation; I can only get predefined characters from Star Wars. In retrospect, Lego started going downhill when they started making different types of Lego person heads. This was with the introduction of the Pirate line of Lego sets. I admit that that huge pirate ship was really cool, but it was also the gateway drug into a never-ending spiral of bizarre custom Lego pieces and pre-imagined scenarios. It was a slippery slope from custom heads to a product line whose bread and butter is specific custom heads that tie in to movies. So, the Space sets have been replaced by Star Wars sets. I never really figured out how to do interesting things with the Castle sets (though it would be cool to render the castle from Degeneracy in Lego), but at any rate those have been replaced by Harry Potter sets. The workaday Town sets have been replaced, I suppose, by various 'adventure' sets which are more extreme; I say that because they have the same design aesthetic as the old Town sets. Those aren't as bad as the others. The Bucket O' Bricks 'sets' are still around in about the same proportion as they used to be (which is to say, not much). (There are also sets with gears and things, but I never paid as much attention to those as I should have.) This brings me to the actual thing I wanted to talk about here. There is a series of sets called "Lego Studios", which consists of a Lego set plus a Lego man with a Lego camera who's there to film the goings-on. What the hell, man! How is acting out the filming of a movie about a vampire more interesting than acting out an actual vampire scenario? Let me put this in tabular form so that you can understand my confusion. "Vampire" scenario Yes Not really There's a Spider-Man tie-in. Now, Spider-Man is all CGI, but the "Lego Studios" set for Spider-Man isn't a room with a Beowulf cluster and some workstations; it's some fake buildings and a Spider-Man guy and a guy with a camera and a guy with a megaphone. It makes it look like the actor playing Spider-Man actually has spider-powers--that he is, effectively, Spider-Man. Why not just make it a damn Spider-Man set? Kids who get this set for Christmas will probably not actually use the cameraman or director, which is heartening, but why are they in there at all? You're supposed to be the one telling Spidey what to do! My prediction: the Lego Studios line will grow to swallow the Harry Potter and Star Wars lines. After all, those are movies as well, and all you have to do is add a few pieces for a film crew and you've completely ruined the dramatic tension! Sat Dec 07 2002 12:06 Newspapers Of The Future: First In A Series: The Washington Post-Scarcity Sun Dec 08 2002 00:38 NewsBruiser Theme Song: I made up a silly NewsBruiser theme song. The short version goes: NewsBruiser! Only you sing it like "Transformers!" in the Transformers theme song. This is actually the better of the two versions. The extended remix goes: NewsBruiser! More than eats the pie! Again like the beginning of the Transformers theme song. I don't know what qualities enable NewsBruiser to exceed mere eating the pie, but it's a theme song that Joe Mahoney will like, which is the important thing. Sun Dec 08 2002 15:24 : I'm posting this from my new toy, a Hiptop (of Mike Popovic hype fame). While this carries little intrinsic interest, it foreshadows things to come; I envision myself stranded on the side of I-5 and posting to NYCB for help. I'd post a random picture taken from the Hiptop, but the web browser doesn't seem to support file upload. (Finally, complaining, my natural medium!) More Hiptop news as it develops (but probably typed on the big computer). (Later) Here it is. Sun Dec 08 2002 19:51 : I told Sumana the short version of the NewsBrusier theme song and, shockingly she came up with the exact same second line as I did. Together we came up with a few alternate second lines, some of which attempt to actually connote what NewsBruiser does. Examples: NewsBruiser! Holds up half the sky! NewsBruiser! NewsBruiser! Someday you will die! That last one is useful for putting the lie to Doc Searls' (??? I can't find it anywhere) observervation that "Everybody dies" is an idea never seen in advertising. Mon Dec 09 2002 17:19 *** You have found kitten ***: I kept not mentioning this until it was released, which in someone with patience would be considered a sign of forbearance, but in me is simply a sign of not getting to it. Dave wrote an Inform version of robotfindskitten, complete with bonus custom NKIs. As NTK would say, ... otherwise it's Dave Griffith, Inform, and robotfindskitten - together at last! - in Z-machine remake ROBOT FINDS KITTEN (sic) ( http://www.cndb.com/game.html?title=Robot+Finds+Kitten+%282002%29: Good shot of robot's ass as it bends over to check whether or not the thing in the upper right hand corner of the screen is kitten)... Mon Dec 09 2002 18:05 Call For Future Prior Art: A while ago I wondered if I could think of any way of encrypting a physical object. I thought of a couple ways of doing it, one of which requires no future technology but which is very time-consuming and only works for certain types of objects. I'll leave that alone for the time being. The other way I thought of requires nanotech, and it's a special case of a cool-sounding general technology. I want to know whether anyone else has used this idea, and how. (And how!) The general idea is that you send a swarm of nano-bots at an object and compress it into a block of very, very dense nanobot matter. The block has the same mass as the original object, but it comes in a standard shape--maybe the size of a brick, with a protrusion on top for attaching a crane hook or similar lifting device. Now, if you want to encrypt the object, then as part of the compression you simply scramble the smart matter so that the nanobots won't know what goes where without your private key. Problems: this would probably take a lot of energy. If you tried it on something living, it would probably die unless the compression was incredibly fast. If you could do this you could also use nanobots to make a copy of the object, encrypt the data generated by the nanobots, destroy the object, and recreate it from the encrypted data as many times as you wanted, which is more useful. (Rebuttal: this technology ensures continuity of matter, and avoids the embarrassing situation where you need to reconstruct something but don't have enough spare mass on hand, and the Johnsons are coming over! Also, storing a molecular copy of an object may require about the same amount of mass, in which case the two technologies would be pretty much the same.) Has anyone thought of such a technology, or encountered it anywhere in fiction? I can think of a couple things I'm working on (very, very slowly) where I could use this. Mon Dec 09 2002 21:08 : Finally, an XML standard for representing Joe Mahoney . Mon Dec 09 2002 21:52 : Sometimes a whole avenue of geeky breast-beating is closed off by a fortuitous discovery or invention. The acceptance of non-Euclidian geometry forever put an end to the tradition of people spending years trying to prove Euclid's fifth postulate from his first four. This makes me glad because in general I like to present to the younger generation a "hard core" persona, yet I lack the determination neccessary to waste years of my life in a futile effort to get rid of some dumb postulate. Now, Mark Wooding of Cambridgeshire has written Quine , a C program capable of transforming any C program into a quine. This makes me happy because I don't think I've ever written any quines, except in made-up languages in which such things were trivial. Now there's a quine transformation program and I can scoff and say "Oh, quine is a solved problem." (Found via the humbling sweetcode , which for every "Well, that's out of the way now" generates ten "Man, I wish I {had thought of that, could have written} that"s.) "And there, on the handle, was an interest rate hike!" Tue Dec 10 2002 20:40 : Attending the EFF party. Eventually I'll know how to make these mobile entries interesting; I think it just takes practice. For instance, one interesting detail is the giant boa constrictors which roam the new EFF building, devouring the hummus and people's hats willy-nilly. Hmm, perhaps that's the secret to making these interesting: just make stuff up! Or maybe name-drop: Seth and Cory are here, of course, as are Brewster Kahle, Eric Eldred and (I think) Doc Searls. I saw Anirvan and the Danny/Quinn entity briefly, but they've left (Charlie is still here). Hm, better get back to making stuff up before people lose interest. Seth is now demanding that the EFF members rise up and sieze control of the International Space Station, creating a libertarian paradise in orbit! More later; the boas are eyeing my Hiptop. Tue Dec 10 2002 21:51 : Back from the party. It was fun, and because I knew when to leave I didn't get over-partied. Charlie and I walked back to the BART together. It was good to see Seth et al. again, and I got to give Seth the gift I got him in London: a huge Augustan coin made of chocolate ("The metal is highly debased."), which I got from the surprisingly tacky British Museum gift shop. Seth, this page indicates that the F on the coin stands for "filus". That reminds me that I need to start writing my article about my England trip. I'll start on that now. Good night. Wed Dec 11 2002 06:41 : Favored albums for long intra-California road trips, as recommended by my friend and co-worker Andrew Ryan: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, by Pavement Songs For The Deaf, by Queens of the Stone Age I'm going to get both of these and try them out on my Bakersfield trip. Any others? Update: Greg Knauss recommends Lovegod, by the Soup Dragons, "because it's so relentlessly upbeat. And, God, you're going to need that in Bakersfield." Q: What do you call a rite of passage for geeks? A: A foo mitzvah. Mon Dec 16 2002 17:40 Tonight, on MathNet: Man, that's some serious rain. Fortunately, it only lasted for about three minutes. Anyway, I've long maintained that there should be a mathematical cop show about Alfred Tarski and Alonzo Church, called "Tarski and Church". My proposal has been met by stony silence by major television networks, or at least by the large statues outside their office buildings, which I took to be the receptionists. However, I'm nothing if not a team player, and I'm willing to sweeten the deal with a lighthearted sitcom, entitled "Everybody Loves Riemann". Who'll take a chance on the pilot? Tue Dec 17 2002 07:44 The NewsBruiser Theme Song: A Rebuttal: by Aaron Swartz . As far as I know, no other theme song has a rebuttal (A Google search turns up nothing except the bizarre fact that Crummy is already on the first page of results for "theme song rebuttal"). This must mean NewsBruiser has "arrived", in a sense previously matched by no other thing with theme song. In other cleaning-out-my-inbox news, the aforementioned-if-you-count-inclusion Seth David Schoen writes: If one were to remark on the appearance of our area code early in the decimal expansion of pi, one could say Newsbruiser! 415's in pi! Then one could debate, per Hempel, whether this helps to disconfirm the hypothesis that pi is not normal in base 10. And Andy Holloway takes valuable time away from corrupting the youth to write: Maybe it then proceeds to bruise all news pertaining to the eating of the pie. That news will think twice before it touches your pie again! NYCB regrets that this correspondence is not yet closed. Tue Dec 17 2002 07:59 : The other day I had an idea so exquisitely horrible that I knew it was only a matter of time before it was realized. The basic premise is that you put wireless Internet access inside coffins. You put a thermometer, a video camera (with a light; I don't know how you power the light, or the other stuff for that matter), etc. in the coffin, and give it an IP address (Kevin suggested also including a gas spectrometer). Add a little Silent Radio inside the coffin, and survivors can virtually visit the grave every Memorial Day without actually having to get in the car and go to the cemetery. We joked about it, Kevin and I, but joking about it doesn't make the problem go away. Today whilst browsing Clifford Pickover's new blog (man, it just gets worse, don't it?) I saw a link to this New York Times story (and again!) about Internet-connected videocameras in coffins. I haven't read the article due to the whole requires-registration thing, but the angle seems to be shock value, whereas I think guilt is the big potential money-maker here. The ancient art of Google-fu (and, I suppose, the even more ancient art of looking at the URL), reveals the article to be about a Dutch made-for-TV movie , so for now at least the idea remains safely in the realm of scathing social commentary made-for-TV movies. Tue Dec 17 2002 22:02 Call For Paper Suggestions: Some people at work (basically Josh) tried to get me interested in submitting a talk on NewsBruiser to the Python Community Conference , and sort of succeeded: I'm interested, but also apprehensive. Sometimes I consider submitting a talk to some conference or other, but I back out because I'm afraid of wasting people's time. Manoj pointed out that if people thought my talk would be a waste of time, they wouldn't show up. In that case, I responded, I was afraid of no one showing up. Ed pointed out that this would be the fault of the conference planners, for accepting a talk that no one wanted to attend. So I suppose I'm actually afraid of proposing an idea that will be rejected, which is a stupid reason for not at least giving it a try.[0] So, I can think of a couple topics for a speech and discussion. I'd like feedback from you on what sounds interesting. I've included several ideas, along with the rebuttal provided by my internal critic. Background for those who need it: NewsBruiser is a web-based Python application of about 7500 lines which lets you run weblogs. Python is my favorite programming language; I use it a little bit at work and a lot at home, but I'm not an expert. NewsBruiser specifically - an overview. (This is lame and self-aggrandizing; you can just download it for an overview! Rebuttal to rebuttal: a lot of people like to learn about some piece of software by talking to the author about it. But it is self-aggrandizing.) Weblog software in Python, with NewsBruiser as a case study (This is a good idea, since I don't know of any other weblog software in Python except for PyBloxsom, so it's not something everyone knows about. The only problem is that this assumes that there's something inherently interesting about doing weblog software in Python, as opposed to doing some other kind of software in Python or doing weblog software in some other language.) It's easy to hide the complexity of those config files with a simple CGI interface! (Right now this is part of NewsBruiser; I'd need to separate it into a nice little includable library. But it's a good idea, and I could probably make it fun.) Writing self-contained Python applications and/or Python applications that run on old versions of Python. (Boooring. Besides, I don't have any systematic way of doing this; it's just a matter of choosing the right tools and writing to the right APIs.) Writing a program that's easy and fun to hack on. I've heard from several people (or seen it mentioned on their weblogs) that they downloaded NewsBruiser and hacked it to do such-and-so. This doesn't neccessarily speak well of NewsBruiser's not having accommodated them in the first place (though many old hacks have since been turned into core features), but it does speak well of NewsBruiser's hackability. What's my secret? I don't know, but I could try to find out in time for the deadline. (This seems like a good fit for the conference, so no real rebuttal here, but more than one case study would help with generalizations.) Picking the right abstraction: much well-designed software is great because it embodies a simplifying abstraction: witness UNIX's "everything is a file", or Plan 9's "everything is a file, and we mean it this time". Unfortunately, much poorly-designed software is awful precisely because it embodies the wrong abstraction. How to pick the right abstraction? (This could be fun, but I can't envision the people attending my talk having less experience than myself in picking abstractions.) Hiding UI complexity from those who didn't ask for it. NewsBruiser has a lot of features, and many features expose to the user knobs they can twiddle or forms they have to fill out. I choose defaults that expose as few knobs and forms as possible. (That's pretty weak tea, but it's all I can think of to say on the topic; it might be good as part of a larger talk, possibly the config interface talk.) [0] Except, I might have an idea which the conference planners like but no one else does, so that no one shows up; or I might have an idea which sounds good enough to get people to show up but which actually is a waste of time. Also, I might show up to the talk in only my underwear, then suddenly be falling off of a cliff. Wed Dec 18 2002 18:54 Tonight's Episode: Murderous Magnetism: That's the name of the awesome early Christmas present I got from Jason yesterday. He printed the Tonight's Episode archive onto sticky paper, stuck it to that magnetic rubber stuff, and cut out the words with a razor blade. The result: Tonight's Episode magnetic poetry! Brilliant! The only problem is that the words are very small indeed, so small that I feel like I should be operating them with tweezers. Here are photos. The sample TE in the third photo says "The Autopsy In Your Future". Jason also made a magnetic set for his young nephew, consisting of printed out pictures of construction equipment obtained through Google image searches. There's even a little to-scale construction crew magnet. (I haven't seen the set, but Jason described it vividly, and it sounds really cool.) Wed Dec 18 2002 19:34 : Sumana is many things, but she is not a registered protocol . Thu Dec 19 2002 00:05 : Just got back from having a great time with Aaron Sardine Swartz, Seth, and Sumana. We talked about random things, and generally hung out. Good low-key stuff. I corrected an error in Seth's discussion of Knuth, which meant that Seth owed me a discussion of the sum of $2.56. There are pictures ; the bizarre things in the pictures are jar openers approved by the king of Denmark himself (maybe). All this I bequeath to you; but now, the sleepin'! "Sleepin' lizards!", as no one ever says. [Note: I finished this entry at around the posting date, but Crummy was down, so I'm actually posting it later this morning.] Aaron sends a link to the Dr. Fun comic about Donald Knuth that he mentioned last night. Joe Mahoney on the Python talk: How about giving a talk on how you've gone about implementing all the different items on that weblog software checklist. The title could be "Treating Feature-itis with Python" Also, "Newsbruiser! Who ate all the pies?" works in the theme song [Naturally! -ed.] Brendan on same: How about just a talk on maintaining your own open-source software as a one-person team? Plenty of people do it, sure, but not many I've seen have the design consistency or version control of NewsBruiser. And on bags of holding: You're right about the lame prohibition, in a way--according to the 3rd ed DMG, living things can be placed in the bag, but suffocate after ten minutes. There wasn't anything in the 2nd ed DMG or Unearthed Arcana, though, so it obviously took a while to think up. Maybe the bag is made of astral elastic, so it's always just the right size for the sum of its contents, and air just gets squished out. Or maybe it's a linked list. Fri Dec 20 2002 10:21 Chronicle Of An Annoyance Foretold: My Hiptop broke last Sunday. On Monday night I called T-Mobile to get a replacement shipped to me. I was told it would be shipped in 24 to 48 hours. I asked to have it shipped next day air, so that I'd get it before leaving. I was told to return my nonfunctional Hiptop (postage paid) within seven days or face stiff penalties. At this point I began concocting elaborate disaster scenarios involving my vacation to Bakersfield and delays in their sending the Hiptop. These worried me until last night, when I called worriedly to make sure they'd shipped it and I'd get it on Friday. They hadn't shipped it yet. I couldn't cancel the order. I couldn't get the address on the order changed, though the operator promised to try to get them to make an exception for me. I would get a notice via email when my package had shipped. My worst fears--confirmed! I sank into despondency, forseeing delaying my trip south for days of waiting at home for the postman for a package which never arrived, bureaucratic nightmares at the post office, etc. etc. I held out hope for the possibility of one scenario, so unlikely that I felt foolish even considering it. Today the Hiptop arrived. I have yet to receive email saying that my package has shipped. They had been entirely accurate in their promises the first time I'd talked to them, and wrong in every detail when I called to follow up![0] Amazing! It's a Christmas miracle, adjusted for inflation! So, I have a working Hiptop now, and I'm happy. A couple times in the past 12 hours I began NYCB screeds against T-Mobile's customer service but deleted said screeds as petty, vindictive, and uninteresting. Determined to learn from my earlier rhetorical excesses, I was working on a calm, reasoned indictment of the bastards when the point was rendered moot. [0] It's conceivable that my package could have been shoved out the door the minute I got off the phone, but it was sent through USPS, which shuts down at 5, ne c'est pas? Fri Dec 20 2002 10:25 A Thought: Sometimes you can tell that a mailing list uses a Python script to generate its copy, because the mail merges have spaces after them, eg. "Hello, Leonard ,". Fri Dec 20 2002 22:57 : On the BART today I saw an ad for a book of poetry, "To Be The Poet", by Maxine Hong Kingston. It said: TO KINGSTON POET Naturally, until just before I got off the train, I read this as "To Maxine Be Hong, The Kingston Poet." Sat Dec 21 2002 11:23 : Belatedly, some pictures of the gifts I got for Kevin and Stack while in England. Also includes two nice pictures of the sunrise on the day I gave the gifts. Sat Dec 21 2002 22:02 : Kris is tinkering with popular winter holidays , but he's not alone. Recently making the weblog rounds have been " What if Christmas Were a Jewish Holiday? ", with all the nitpicky attention to edge cases found in actual Judaism; and the Klezmonauts , a Chicago-based[0] klezmer band which released an album of Christmas Carols called "Oy To The World!". Because I am a sucker for klezmer music, I listened to the sample MP3, was hooked, and ordered the album. OTTW! is the first CD in my playlist of new CDs for my Bakersfield trip. I find driving incredibly boring, and whenever I go down to Bakersfield I have to get some new CDs to distract me, or I am slowly driven insane by the vastness of I-5, which I am convinced is an enormous, serpentine H.P. Lovecraft monster in disguise. I kind of went overboard this time: I bought about 10 CDs, and then Kevin bought me some jazz so that at the drop of a hat I'd be able to say "Ah, Brubeck." and act sophisticated, and then what with the klezmer and all it got out of control (I'm sure you all know how this feels). [0] Whenever I hear that some person or group of people is "Chicago-based" or "Los Angeles-based" I think that it's like "soy-based" or "carbon-based" and they are actually made out of the city in question. Which I guess is true, if you count the food as being part of the city. Sun Dec 22 2002 04:57 Wow!: Jon Carroll quotes Guess The Verb! . And it's not a quote published (to my knowledge) anywhere else, which means that he's actually played the game. Mike has also quoted Dr. Prugrave , so this makes him my most-quoted fictional character of all time. Unfortunately, he's too mad to appreciate the honor. (Thanks to Sumana, who noticed this) Sun Dec 22 2002 07:53 : At Pea Soup Andersen's. Capsule reviews of music so far: Oy To The World!: Fun, pretty much what you'd expect (though I didn't expect the surf music break in Little Drummer Boy). There Is Nothing Left To Lose, by the Foo Fighters. Starts out rockin', then gets bogged down in boring ballads (though some of the ballads are good, and some of the bad ones have good lines). What happened, Dave? Action Packed: The Best Of Jonathan Richman: A Kevin recommendation. Fun, peppy gospel-tinged rock songs. I don't like Jonathan's singing voice, but the songs are well-written and enjoyable. Well, I've got some food in me, so it's back on the road. Sun Dec 22 2002 09:59 : At rest area, almost home. Just finished Songs For The Deaf, which created a nice ominous atmosphere; I expected to see lightning in the distance and the clouds zooming over my head at time-lapse speeds. Mon Dec 23 2002 21:29 Spoiler Theatre Presents: Just got back from The Two Towers. I liked the first movie a lot better, but I also liked the first book a lot better. My favorite part, the Ent trashing of Isengard, was well-executed in a way that seriously tickled my monster movie bone, but the movie botched the leadup, took out the cool war song (the only LOTR song I don't skip), and cut the Gandalf/Saruman smackdown denoument. That last bit could still go in the third movie, but the end of this one had a "Well, that's Saruman taken care of!" feel). Gollum was brought to life very well, but nothing really happened in that plot: you'll recall that the end of Fellowship saw Frodo and Sam trudging apprehensively toward Mordor. The second movie ends with almost the same shot, only they're about ten miles closer and they have Gollum. I don't remember, but I think this is actually pretty faithful to the book (since Shelob got pushed off to the next movie). There were some battles which involved no Ents and which I therefore found pretty boring. Saruman came up with some good seige engines, though. He woulda conquered Middle Earth, too, if it hadn'ta been for those meddling hobbits and their Ring of Power! Tue Dec 24 2002 15:31 : I can only stand to drink one glass of eggnog a year, and I think tonight might be the night. My mother bought a gallon of the stuff and is talking about foisting it on us all. I don't know why they don't sell eggnog in half-pint containers for people such as I. I can't be the only one who finds the first sip delicious, the last cloying and repulsive. Wed Dec 25 2002 14:20 : Jason sometimes submits sets of Tonight's Episodes on a theme (eg. "TE Salutes Love And Sex", "TE Goes To College", etc). I've been sitting on them because I'm not sure how to present them as a group, and also because I often find the name of the set funnier than any of the entries (for instance, I think "TE Salutes Corporate America" is hilarious). However, he just sent me two "TE for the holidays" which I thought I'd share with you immediately : Ho-Ho-Homicide Santa, The Jolly Old Elf Who Knew Too Much Here's one of my own: And A Partridge In A Fear Tree Update: And another of Jason's: Then One Foggy Christmas Eve, Santa Snapped Wed Dec 25 2002 18:26 The People's Bushisms: The Miami Herald's "Action Line" column today prints a list of comments from people unclear on the concept, and botched attempts at communication with their consumer-advocacy staff. Destined to be an inbox favorite along the lines of the "wacky insurance claims" document. (Found via my mother) This restaurant has a soft-drink machine available to customers with a big sign on it that says: ''No Refills.'' If you go for a refill, the cashier will yell at you and tell you that you're stealing. This has happened to me twice. It seems to me you should investigate this. Update: Here's an archive from previous years, none of which have become inbox favorites, so perhaps my prediction was premature. The regular Action Line column (de facto "latest column" link for newspapers without them) is also enjoyable. Thu Dec 26 2002 16:06 Insecure Movie Trailer: Or, you could watch that OTHER MOVIE! Fri Dec 27 2002 23:22 Look On My Works, Ye Mighty, And Despair: Gaaah! They rebuilt the Sherman Oaks Galleria! Sat Dec 28 2002 02:12 : Writing a song with Adam and Kris is like building and then solving a puzzle. The puzzle is a cool riff we came up with which needs to be filled with lyrics. We try various stupid things until someone comes up with a line catchy enough to use. We build on that line, filling in the blanks in adjacent lines. Eventually we know what the song is about and we can start simply making up lines to fix the plot of the song. Tonight's ong is good, or so is the consensus. Kris says he'll be done with the production by the end of the weekend. Sun Dec 29 2002 22:19 : Be all you can be... in the Devo Army! Sun Dec 29 2002 22:21 : Kris mastered the latest Adam/Leonard/Kris opus, "Superstar": download it and let him know what you think. It's not too late to get improvements in (I've got some suggestions myself). More later, about this and other things.

i don't know

Walmart is selling bags of Cheesy Poofs to promote the latest season of what popular TV show?

Comic-Con 2011: Wednesday & Thursday—Over 200 Photos | Giant Fire Breathing Robot Giant Fire Breathing Robot by David "DTJAAAAM" Ngo | July 29, 2011 in Comics , Cosplay , Events , Feature , Lifestyle | 0 Comments Last week, San Diego was once again invaded by the geek community as Comic-Con International 2011 took over downtown. Whether you’re a fan of comic books, toys, movies, or anime, you’re bound to find something you like within America’s most famous celebration of pop culture. As usual, I brought my camera along for my latest convention expedition in order to give everyone at home a look at the many cool and unusual sights from the world of Comic-Con. Hit the jump when you’re ready to see over 200 photos from preview night and the show’s opening day. WEDNESDAY Staying at the Omni Hotel in downtown San Diego wasn’t cheap, but it granted me convenient access to Comic-Con, which was only a few steps away. Quite a few of the event’s special guests also resided in the hotel, such artist Sergio Aragones and writer Grant Morrison. Ads featuring the cast of True Blood would stare at you each time you took a ride on the Omni’s elevators. Many of San Diego’s pedicabs were decorated with Comic-Con-related artwork, such as this one featuring characters from Elephantmen. Slightly across the street was the Hard Rock Hotel, which was emblazoned with ads from upcoming Sony Pictures films like Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and the Amazing Spider-Man. After answering what time it was, I was awarded a coin for a free slice of pizza and drink by this Adventure Time crew. There I am crouching awkwardly… Touring the streets of San Diego prior to preview night, I noticed unusual sights like the Museum of Conan Art. A LEGO® replica of Conan’s superhero alter ego, the Flaming C. Pedicabs featuring ads from FX shows drive by. Cartoon Network turned Ciro’s Pizza in to an Adventure Time-themed restaurant. The pizza parlor’s redesigned menu. The lights weren’t on as of yet, but that didn’t stop guests from coming in for some tasty Italian food. An Adventure Time painting hanging from one of the pizza parlor’s walls. Also nearby the convention center was Sega’s arcade, which had several of their upcoming console and portable games on demo. Right next door to it was a building showcasing monster trucks based off of Marvel’s most popular superheroes. A large advertisement fro Cowboys & Aliens was plastered on the Hilton. Once registration had officially opened, guests clamored to this section to pick up their badges and complimentary Warner Bros. swag bags. I’m happy to say that I received the Justice League design that I wanted. Here’s another look at the Hard Rock Hotel, which shows more of their Amazing Spider-Man banners. Further down the road, IGN and Sprint were busy setting up their outdoor gaming lounge. CNET and GameSpot were also preparing a gaming facility of their own right across from the convention. These signs promoting Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic were spotted near the exit to BioWare’s rooftop exhibit. Lou Ferrigno asks security whether or not they’ve spotted any villains who need to be smashed. A circular Underworld: Awakening ad hovers above the first aid station. This was actually only about 15% of the folks waiting to do some early shopping on preview night. As the exhibit hall opened for the evening, I noticed that very few people seemed to be cosplaying. Then again, I wouldn’t blame them since preview night’s basically all about spending your cash. One Bigfoot is provides better security than seven dwarves. By posing with the Retro Lancer from Gears of War 3 and posting the photo on NECA’s Facebook page, you’d have a chance to win one of your very own. Sweet! Dark Horse’s shop was one of my first shopping destinations, where I grabbed a convention-exclusive Domo-Kun for a friend. Several patriotic women were outside, spreading the word about the theatrical release of Captain America: The First Avenger. Professor Genki was escorted by two bikini girls from Saints Row: The Third. Unfortunately, this was as close as I could get when Dark Horse unveiled their three new comic books. I could barely hear or see anything! A giant Lego version of Shia LaBeouf’s favorite Autobot. Lego’s Hero Factory line was represented by this clawed robot. This Lego statue commemorates the only person who has survived being eaten by a sarlacc. Savvy? Mattel’s booth was already jammed with shoppers looking for exclusives. Hasbro’s line was even worse. An exhibitor poses with two giant Uglydolls. A statue of the aged Naruto. Please do not touch the Undertaker, or else he’ll crush you at Wrestlemania. Mattel’s large statue of Voltron: Defender of the Universe. A display case at NECA, featuring various Gremlins memorabilia. A Jace statue seen at Wizards of the Coast. A few feet away from Jace was Guenhwyvar and her master, Drizzt Do’Urden. For only $600, *YOU* can save Dobby from his unfortunate demise. Starz used a recreation of the house of Batiatus to promote the new season of Spartacus. A fairly realistic severed head laid on the floor of the ludus. The gladiator pens served as a viewing area for the enhanced 3D version of the final battle from Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which will be a bonus on the Blu-ray. G4’s shop and stage. Thanks to Voltron, no Robeasts were harassing Comic-Con attendees. Munky King’s statue of a character called Possessed. This Warmachine wasn’t Terrence Howard or Don Cheadle. This Delorean’s usually tricky to photograph due to the limited space and crowds of people snapping pictures of their own. A pair of Slave Leia models take a break to shop for Monster High dolls. Is this Terminator a statue, or a surprise left by Skynet? A Predator bust and several masks designed by Sideshow Collectibles. An array of Sideshow’s Alien merchandise. Sideshow does superhero and villain pieces, too. T. Hawk and her pet eagle. A vendor selling creepy old fashion portraits that would morph as you walk by. Entertainment Earth caged up a giant Dexter bobblehead. Inflatable replicas of the starts from Pokemon Black and White. Judge Dredd posed perfectly with the speech bubble in the background. Optimus Prime towers over the people of Comic-Con. The mech from Sucker Punch was a popular attraction at Gentle Giant’s exhibit. A modified tour bus decorated to resemble Perry from Phineas & Ferb. A large inflatable Jake floats over the free Adventure Time photo op. A more mature representation of LEGO Batman. Several Comic-Con attendees, including myself, helped out with an X-Play crowd shot. We were then treated to photo ops with the show’s correspondent. A large monitor promoting the Total Recall remake. Sega took a cue from Nyko and used models in wig to promote their arcade. A truck soon drove by to place these Total Recall robots near the monitor. Tekken 6’s Alisa Bosconovitch shows off her awesome cybernetic equipment. THURSDAY Uh… a crude robot in disguise? Oswald Cobblepot has found himself a feisty feline. HIYA! Another G4 correspondent, who happened to be possessed by the Phoenix Force. Dozens of fans assembled around Marvel’s Avengers stage. Ms. Marvel better be careful or Rogue will steal her powers again. Sissel, star of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum? Power Girl’s flexes her Earth-Two muscles. I… AM… SPARTACUS! Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 stage is always a crowd-pleaser. G4’s booth babes continue to be a staple of their exhibit. A giant Neuralizer from Men in Black 3. A chalk artist doodles a design on Kidrobot’s Dunny statue. Stargirl of the Justice Society of America. Julia Chang will protect the forest, even if it’s artificial. Sailor Moon: Winning the love of Splicers by daylight. Leoo Chaolan and Anna Williams promote the CG Tekken feature film, Tekken: Blood Vengeance. LEGOBob SquarePants! A steampunk woman armed herself with a gatling gun. You know, I rarely see a Green Hornet paired up with these Kato cosplayers. Zimos tells all the hoes where to line up for presentations and autograph sessions at the Saints Row: The Third exhibit. A motorcycle prop from the upcoming Ghost Rider sequel. Square Enix’s Comic-Con exhibit featured demos and a store. Robert Kirkman’s Invincible. One of the Conan models laments giving out such nice free posters. Dr. Crane offered free vaccinations to the people of Comic-Con. Tangled continues its streak of cosplay popularity. Hope Summers assists Jamie Madrox in a Comic-Con investigation. Agent Zero and Abbey Chase were thrilled when I correctly identified them as being from Danger Girl. A pachyderm detective spotted by the Elephantmen booth. Little Sisters better be careful when roaming around without a Big Daddy. Is that another LEGO statue? Nope, Spidey’s made from Mega Bloks! Black Cat was nearby, hoping to steal the replica of the man of her dreams. An official Alice: Madness Returns model. A friendly rabbit waves to the camera. Oh no, a penguin from Madagascar is abducting a child! Freddy and Jason have settled their differences. The xtranormal animals have stopped bickering about the iPhone and EVO. One of NBC’s Playboy Club models drawing attendees to the outdoor photo op. Ummm… I went there for the articles. Tilted Kilt staff members handed out coupons to the nearby pub. Seeking a break from the intensity of the convention, I hopped inside CNET’s Base Station, which housed video game demos and free refreshments. Free cupcakes were brought to us by the CBS series 2 Broke Girls. I never saw the Orion Slave Girls that were supposedly appearing in the Base Station, but did find some Starfleet cadets. Several kinds of cheese were available as snacks, along with appetizers like sliders and chicken skewers. Gotham’s most famous botanist, Poison Ivy. Megavolt and Darkwing Duck are secretly friends. Don’t tell Bushroot! Ramona and Mr. Pilgrim’s relationship is going strong. Another Conan model poses near an image of the savage barbarian. LALALALALALA! Gee Scoob, let’s get back to the mystery, man! Booth workers promoting a movie entitled Bizarro Au Go-Go. Dr. Who steps out from the TARDIS. I don’t remember Rainbow Brite and the Queen of Hearts looking like that when I was younger… Playmates TIffany Taylor and Jessa Hinton shared a table to meet and greet fans. Another Power Girl, who was supporting the book Cosplay in America. Ken and Hsien-Ko as seen in Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. Everywhere I turn, it’s Tracy, Tracy, TRACY! The Pope graces Comic-Con with his holy presence. Jill Valentine participates in Capcom’s Asura’s Wrath challenge. You’d go inside this chamber and scream as loud as possible in order to win prizes from Capcom’s shop. SpongeBob had to be escorted around the show by two staff members. A model portraying Desdemona from City of Heroes: Going Rogue. By pre-ordering Prototype 2 at Activision, you were entered in a contest to win a customized Xbox 360 or leather jacket. Final Fantasy’s Tifa and Lightning. From the outside, you could definitely tell that Comic-Con was in full swing. The IGN Oasis offered visitors refreshments and a chance to win tickets to their exclusive Saints Row: The Third party. Subway’s mascot tries to lure in attendees hungry for sandwiches. They want to go to Mars. Oh wait, they’re cutting that stuff out of the remake! Yikes, Baroness doesn’t appreciate being photographed! Shockwave has joined up with Barricade and Bumblebee. Pee-wee Herman didn’t bring any ice cream soup to his Hall H panel. A Walking Dead truck takes a break from cycling around the convention center. Two wild dog men from the FX series Wilfred. Supergirl poses with her Earth-Two counterpart. Beam them up, Scotty Darth Vader doesn’t like my last caption. Luna Lovegood walked around the con with her Spectrespecs. Muy caliente, Antonio… Someone opened up Flint from his original packaging, making him WORTHLESS! Sorry, Hasbro sold out of DTJAAAAM action figures. A statue with the power of Grayskull. Mattel’s official blond Teela model. Blanka and Sakura were searching for their buddy, Dan Hibiki. Yoyo and Hoops have returned, and still have people inside their inflated suits. By using a specific hashtag on Twitter, I managed to win one of these rare Darkling statues from the Darkness 2. Bruce Campbell gets ready to do his thing at a Dark Horse autograph signing. Tintin merchandise on sale at a table. A Mandy model poses with artwork of her character. I thought she was dressed up as X-Men’s Pixie, but she was actually the female Angel. A fairly realistic statue of the Christopher Reeve Superman. The ladies of Jay Company Comics. Harry Potter has betrayed Hogwarts, siding with Voldemort’s forces. Cobra Commander plots to etch his face on the convention center walls. A Guardian journeys away from the planet Oa. May the Force be with them. Althought she’s still unemployed, Izuna found enough money to buy her way into Comic-Con. The Question continues to asky why DC replaced him with Renee Montoya. A cat that was dancing to the music coming from the Just Dance 3 stage. Microsoft’s exhibit was all about Gears of War 3. Many fans lined up to meet adult film star Sasha Grey, who was making a special appearance at the Saints Row: The Third exhibit. Here come the Men in Black! Johnny Knoxville made a surprise appearance to moderate the panel on the new Beavis & Butthead with the show’s creator, Mike Judge. Leeloo didn’t need a multipass to get inside the con. A member of the Borg Collective seeks new targets for assimilation. Bring it on down to Waffleville! This furry sure was brave to wear something like that in San Diego’s heat. Black Widow’s latest SHIELD assignment has her infiltrating Comic-Con. A trolley decorated with Captain America art. Meet the Lincolns! South Park setup a replica of the town as a way to say thanks to their fans. Balloons resembling the main characters floated in the air. Can’t say that I’m a South Park fan, but I’ll do the photo op! Other activities in the fake town included this strange tricycle race. You could also get your face decorated with images of various South Park stars. The cafeteria was handing out free bags of Cheesy Poofs, but was sadly out for the day. Lord of the Rings: War in the North’s truck was filled with demos of the upcoming game. A traveling street performer juggles blades to amaze the crowd. The Asgardian Enchantress. Duke’s all out of gum. Female Cap has partnered with the Black Cat. It takes the strength of Kal-El to lift up Hasbro’s massive Sentinel action figures. A Lady Gaga cosplayer shops around with a member of her entourage. Wonder Woman knows that fans will always prefer her most iconic costume. The wait to buy official Comic-Con shirts was about 30 to 45 minutes. Luckily, I managed to buy one before they sold out. A pair of SHIELD booth hunks keep an eye on Captain America’s artifacts. When the Bat’s away, the heroes and villains play. A restaurant converted to a Cowboys & Aliens saloon. What time is it? Time for an Adventure Time parade! Lady Rainicorn leads the march. Jake the dog was next in line. Lumpy Space Princess and Princess Bubblegum wave to their fans. The Ice King came last, who was thrashing about wildly. Bender will smoke wherever he damn well pleases. I believe this restaurant was hosting a party for Spike TV. Tragically, I never managed to score an invite to IGN’s Sinning with the Saints party. Harley bears a resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. Emma Frost of the X-Men. The Freebie Table was pretty much filled with advertisements. Disappointing! The IGN Oasis was switched out for a Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark party during the evening. An overhead view from my hotel room showing Wired’s rocking VIP lounge. That just about covers most of the sights I witnessed during preview night and the first day of Comic-Con 2011. Check back real soon for my Day Two coverage, which is when all the costumed attendees really started coming out to play.

South Park

Originally known as the Executive Mansion (until the greatest man ever, Teddy Roosevelt, made its nickname official), the cornerstone of what building was laid on Oct 13, 1792?

The news digest Club Day opens new opportunities for students by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno Students explored new cultures and interests at the annual Club Day, Tuesday, August 17, in the cafeteria. This year a new Swing Club was formed because of the growing popularity of swing dancing. Ms. April Nakamura is the advisor of the new club, which plans to do community service with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and arrange performances and activities. Junior Bitna Kim said, "My friends and I volunteered to dance for an hour at St. Francis Hospital for the senior citizens. They were smiling, clapping, and gave compliments. It was very rewarding to do something that you love." Ms. Nakamura said that she decided to become the advisor for the club because she felt "it would be nice to have something different on campus, it's positive, and it is a part of American history and culture that's being revived." Senior Matthew Ying, president of the Physics Club, went to the Kakaako Beach clean-up last year as one of their community services. He said, "The trash we picked up went to the United States Geological Service so that they could do a survey on it. We picked up cigarette butts, fishing lines, red firecracker paper, plastic, candy wrappers, and soda cans." Senior Brittni Nguyen said the Speech Club went to Maui two years ago for a neighbor island tournament. They drove up to Haleakala to watch the sun rise. Britttni Nguyen said, "We sang Black and Gold as the sun rose. It was a totally awesome experience. There was camaraderie, a completion, and (a) rewarding feeling." Clubs help students learn, help others and have fun while creating friendships and memories. Open House builds a partnership between home and schools by Heidi Lee "Open House is to provide the opportunity for parents and teachers to meet and get acquainted with the subject areas and to build a partnership between homes and schools," explained Mr. Rodney Moriwake, vice-principal. Ms. Mary Uyesugi, the School Improvement Coordinator, who helped Principal Shishido set up the agenda for open house, says, "It's important to maintain the line of communication between parents and teachers." Blake Sueoka, grade 12, says that "Parents come so they find out how my teachers and classes are--parents get to know the teachers and the teachers get to know the parents." Tomorrow, McKinley High School will have its annual open house where parents meet teachers to find out what's expected in their children's classes. Student letters were passed out last Friday during period 2 classes. The schedule for Open House will begin with a general meeting in the auditorium from 6:00 to 6:40 p.m. Principal Shishido will open the meeting and make announcements. The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) will be share information about the PTSA program. Judge Gary Chang, MHS alumni, is the featured guest speaker. Parents, teachers, and students will remain in the Administration Building where the different departments will set up to meet parents, who should just stay in the A-building where the lighting from the first to the third floor will be on. Parents, teachers, and students are encouraged to participate by going to Open House but it is not a mandatory activity. "Although I never go to open house I support it. It's a good thing because your parents get to find out about your classes and teachers. They also get a better understanding of what goes on and what their kids have to go through." said Lahela Bourke, grade 12, who says her parents don't attend Open House because they get off from work late. On the other hand, Alan Li, grade 12, says, "Open house is useless because no one comes. My parents don't come because they're too busy." However, parents should make the effort to come, according to Mr. John Hammond, vice-principal. "In a democracy, the more people who participate, the better the final product. Under School Community Base Management (SCBM) it's important for teachers, parents, and students to be involved in school," said Mr. Hammond. Students learn financial strategies through seminar by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno Academy of Finance (AOF) students attended the Wade Cook Wall Street Investment Seminar on August 18-20 at the Ilikai Hotel. Seattle-based Wade Cook, author and motivational speaker, offers the $2000 seminars free of charge to high school students. Ms. Gwendolyn Maeda, one of McKinley's four AOF instructors, said the seminar talked about "investing in the stock market and methods used to gain high returns on investments," among other financial concepts. Students participated in numerous activities and games to learn more information about the stock market. Senior Stephanie Phoutthasack said, "We played a game called Auction, in which we're given $100 and you choose the best thing to invest your money." Senior Jon Baron added, "My group called up a stock broker to ask about stock quotes (the price of stocks) and were separated into groups with $100,000. We could buy any stocks." Every year AOF students participate in the CNBC Stock Tournament in which students from across the U.S. participate through the internet. Baron said he has participated in the game for the past two years. "We bought stocks like 'Yahoo' and 'Amazon.' We never really knew what we were doing until this seminar." Cook travels all over the U. S. to motivate people to be financially secure. Ms. Maeda said that "Cook's philosophy is to educate people to be better investors. He is committed to educating the youth." Baron said, AOF gives students "a head start in life." Senior Thi Ngo said, "It gave me a better insight on the stock market and an advantage--no one teaches you this in school." Winter Prom plans changed to end-of-millenium bash by Christy-Lynn Vasquez Winter Prom is being replaced by "The Big Event" to celebrate the upcoming, new millennium. Unlike the traditional Winter Prom, non-McKinley guests, flowers, and dates will not be allowed to the December 11 millenial bash. Student Activities Coordinator Bobbi Kakuda, notes that there are students disappointed in the change of plans. She and her student committee, headed by Gloria Yeung, 12, wanted to make the last event of the millenium special for McKinley High School students. "It's something that you'd want to cherish for the rest of your life," says Kakuda. She said people don't attend these kinds of functions because they either don't have a date or they don't want to spend a lot of money on things like flowers and paying for their dates. There will be other school prom and banquets, namely the Freshman and Sophomore banquets, and the Junior and Senior proms, where students can bring dates from other schools and exchange flowers with their dates. "The idea sounds better than a Winter Prom because it seems like it won't be such a hassle," P.J. Iiga states. There is no worrying about who you're going to bring or where are you going to get the money to pay for the flowers. "No dates? No flowers?" some McKinley students were saying. "Why have one (a prom or event) if you can't have a date?" said freshman Dyan Baugh. Some students enjoy having dates and receiving or giving flowers; it makes them feel special. Having someone there to talk to during events is fun. It's unfair to people who have boy friends or girlfriends in other schools. "If we did it last year than why change it just because the millenium is approaching?" says junior John Sumida. Although there are students who may still object, the event--to be held at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider--has been planned and finalized. Committee Chairperson Brittni Nguyen, 12, says "The purpose of the event is to have all McKinley students participate and have something memorable together as a school before the end of the millenium. We put a lot of effort into planning a successful event; it disappoints us to hear people complain about the event." Student-organized activity gather to pray by Ligaya Vasquez Last Wednesday, students across the country gathered around their respective school flagpoles with a common objective--to pray for their schools, teachers, administrations, fellow students and for guidance to be better Christians. Twenty-four McKinley students joined in the event known as "See You at the Pole" (SYATP), which began in Burleston, Texas in 1990. By 1995, SYATP had participants on five continents, in every state, including thousands of elementary, middle, high school and university campuses worldwide. McKinley's SYATP included students of several religious denominations, including Catholics, Christian Protestants and Baptists. Senior Corinna Campos said, "It was encouraging to see other Christians gather together to pray." Students took turns praying aloud or singing gospel songs as other students in the circle prayed silently. Tears flowed throughout the morning prayer which lasted nearly 45 minutes. Ten minutes into the prayer, the students united even further by joining hands, only breaking hands to welcome another person into the circle. To some, prayer in school may seem like a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion . . . . " This clause requires a separation between church and state so that the government cannot promote one religion over another or promote a religious life. Thus, teachers, principals and even cafeteria workers cannot endorse a religion because it would be considered illegal. The law, however, does not prohibit students to sponsor, organize or conduct an event like SYATP. The student-led prayer held last week is voluntary and legal under the First Amendment because it is considered an exercise of the freedom of speech. "I don't think religion in schools should be mandatory because it is one of our constitutional rights." said Brittni Nguyen, 12, a Buddhist. On the other hand, Dora Po Ching, 10, said events like SYATP, "gives confidence for us Christians to stand up for what we believe in." In a tragic yet ironic turn of events, a gunman interrupted a SYATP-related gathering at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, killing seven people and himself. Natasha Visoria, 12, said, "It's sad that all those people died, but it's comforting to know that they died behind a positive and peaceful cause." The after effects of SYATP are still being felt. A message was taped to the flag pole Wednesday by someone requesting prayer. Members of McKinley's F.I.R.E. (Following In Righteousness Everyday) Club, a non-school sponsored student-led Bible group, agree that prayer at the pole was a testimony to the school to reaffirm student efforts to seek positive spiritual and moral influences. They have decided to make morning prayer a regular event for students who are interested. Towel donations begin for the Lighting of the "M" by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno There are always towels needed for the Homecoming Lighting of the "M", but there are never enough collected. This year, to get students involved, the idea of getting a bunch of friends together and writing a message on the towel, will signify the last bonfire of the millennium. Homecoming co-chair, junior Jessica Oshita said, "More people will participate because it's a theme idea." To get ready for the traditional bonfire on October 14 at the football field, each class has begun to collect donated towels. A banner with a meter will be put up at the Social Studies building so that each class can keep track of how they are doing. Every grade will need to collect at least 150 towels to reach a goal of 500 towels to accommodate the "M". The collection site will be at the Student Activities (Room A-001). Junior Dazzman Toguchi said, "It's a great idea because it gives students a chance to get our wishes granted." The deadline to donate towels for the "M" is Tuesday, October 12 at 3 P.M. in the Student Activities Room. Hahn and Chang named semi-finalists by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno The National Merit semifinalists are... (drum roll please...) seniors, Sophia Chang and Suzanna Hahn. "I'm happy and I can actually say I accomplished something," said Chang. "It was a pleasant surprise," said Hahn. They received this award a month ago. but had to keep it "embargoed" which means that they couldn't publicize it to anyone. Juniors that take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) are automatically entered for the National Merit Scholarship. Ms. Cynthia Kunimura, the post high school counselor, said that "McKinley is the only high school on O'ahu that has more than one national merit semifinalist. I'm so proud of these girls." This year in the state of Hawaii, seventy-four students were selected as semifinalists. Many envious students wonder, how did they prepare for the PSAT? Hahn said,"I prepared by studying the vocabulary from the Princeton Review." Chang said, "Always reading helped her with the verbal part of the test." Chang would like to attend the University of Southern California. If she becomes a finalist, the school would be willing to pay for half her tuition; renewable every year. She wants to major in either cinematography or computer information science. Hahn is currently undecided about a college to attend, but would like to major in the biological sciences. New health aide finds permanent position at McKinley by Heidi Lee Jenny Nakasone is the new certified health aide who provides services for students on campus. Ms. Nakasone was a long term substitute at Ma'ema'e Elementary School, and recently came to McKinley for a permanent position.  When a person not feeling well goes into the health room Ms. Nakasone will ask the student's name and grade, when the person started feeling sick, and whether or not the student ate breakfast, and takes the student's temperature. If the student does not have a fever, he or she has the option to rest and return to class. If tile student has a fever, Ms Nakasone will send the student home. If a person has a cut Ms. Nakasone will clean it and put a band aid on. According to Ms. Nakasone, the health room has three-eighths of student's emergency cards of the total enrollment of McKinley. Emergency cards have to be on file in the health room, although old cards are kept on file, information may have changed. The health room is open from 8:00 A.M to 3:00 P M., but is closed during lunch. If the health room is closed, students should see their counselors. Ms. Nakasone says, "Come to the health room with a positive attitude. No (health room) pass, go back to class!" 'SECRETS' reveal truth of HIV and AIDS by Michelle Dela-Cruz McKinley High School students filled the auditorium to watch the play Secrets two weeks ago. Secrets is about the importance of preventing the spread HIV and AIDS. The cast of the play comes to us from California. Jim Golden plays Eddie; Robin Denson is Denise, DJ Rabiola plays more than one role, including Eddie's father; Erica Ortega portrays Monica; and Carla Vega acts in multiple roles, including the school counselor and one of the students. When asked about how she feels about the play and reaching out to teenagers, Robin Denson said, "I enjoy it. I'm doing something that is educating and entertaining, so I think it's rewarding." The cast members illustrated how you can obtain the disease, how to prevent yourself from acquiring it, and what you can do if you already have it. HIV (human immuno-deficiency virus) can be passed to another person through sexual intercourse, the sharing of needles, or birth. This disease causes health problems, such as extreme weight loss, severe pneumonia, or some forms of cancer. These illnesses are just a few symptoms of AIDS. Eventually, a person that carries the HIV virus may develop AIDS (acquired imuno-deficiency syndrome), which breaks down the body's immune system, which is its ability to protects itself. Job shadowing supports "School-to-Work" by Jon Baron Sleep, sleep, sleep, that's what most of us did during the fall break, but students enrolled in the junior and senior Academy of Finance(AOF) and Interact Club had the opportunity to observe numerous types of occupations on Thursday, October 7, 1999. A career shadowing session was formed through a partnership between the Interact Club and the Rotary Club of Ala Moana. The career shadowing session reinforced the "School-to-Work" program that the AOF is part of. Students had the chance to spend the day questioning, learning, and experiencing a job that they might have an interest in. Goda said, "I got to spend the day following Mr. Bento around the President of Hawaii Baptist Academy Schools, and I found out that the average pay for teachers at HBA is $60-70,000, I was really surprised!" By giving up one day of their fall break, the Academy of Finance students and the Interact Club members gained a once in a lifetime experience that may make a huge impact on their futures. Japan sister school Kanazawa visits McKinley campus by Oliver Seguin and Christy-Lynn Vasquez Students from Kanazawa Commercial High School visited this week. Each year they come to improve communication skills and meet friends They learned Hawaiian crafts. music, and culture. Ms. Bernadette James' classes taught hula, lei making, and more. "They were very interested in all the things that we showed them. Even though there was a language barrier we still had fun," said Amber Ah Mo, 11. They performed Hawaiian dances and songs for the McKinley hosts. In Hirata Hall, each Kanazawa student went up and said "aloha" and "a hui hou ." While their teacher sang the Hawaiian number song, they clapped their hands, but when time came to dance to the Hawaiian body parts song, the girls were too shy. Ms. James' class ended it by dancing hula for the guests. Mr. Kouraba, vice principal of Kanazwa-- visiting Hawaii for the first time---said, "Japanese people are very open when meeting new people. They think that McKinley students are nice." For more information visit the McKinley website at www.mckinley.k12.hi.us Homecoming week ends with bonfire and game by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno This year's homecoming events consisted of the Lighting of the "M" on Thursday night which was opened with a chant by Kuhio Lewis. The performers were the Polynesian Club and Hawaiian language classes which did another chant, Keoni Wilson and Na Kane E, Amy Fox, the Swing Club, the MHS band, the football team, Dance Club 21 and the pep squad. The court for this year consisted of Queen Denise Figueroa and King Anthony Tsang, senior attendant Sandy Nguyen and her escort Peter Bell, junior attendant Anna Tang and her escort Kini Zamora, sophomore attendant Priscilla Lee and her escort Byron Ramiro, and freshman attendant Shannon Serikaku and her escort Christopher Pinzon. Today's spirit assembly will showcase an opening chant by Michael Shikuma, who was the student body president from 1982-1983 and is currently an attorney, the presentation of this year's court, a performance by the alumni and current pep squads, the presentation of club and class banners, class level relays, and the spirit competition. Tonight, the football team will play against the Waianae Surfriders at Roosevelt field. The junior varsity will play at 5 p.m. and the varsity will play at 7:30 p.m. The homecoming queen and her court will be presented during the game at halftime. Cross country girls run away with Easterns Dhakhwa first in girls race; Dikilato wins JV boys race article and photo by Stanley Lee Rare sunshine and the rolling and steep hills at Hawaii Pacific University's Windward campus proved to be a minor obstacle between McKinley's girls varsity cross country team and their second straight OIA Eastern Division Championship. The hills didn't stop them, it made them run harder. McKinley placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 10 as they ran away with their second straight Eastern Division title with 27 points. Gigi Dhakhwa set the pace for McKinley from the beginning in the two mile race. She stuck close with Kaiser's Ashley Swart and Sharena Cotellesse for the first mile. She began to break away from both on the back stretch of the course behind the HPU dorms that consist of a 200 meter hill known as "Heartbreak Hill." On the downside of the hill, Dhakhwa lengthened her lead over Swart to 30 meters before crossing the finish line at 13:29. Dhakhwa's teammates charged downhill and dominated the finish. Rosslyn Harris left Castle's Sarah Wong after the first mile mark and sprinted past Cotellesse 50 meters from the finish line to place third. Seniors Tami Ikegami, Connie Baker, and junior Erin Uyeshiro pushed each other along the course to grab sixth, ninth and 10th. Jie Ling Li, McKinley's sixth runner, passed Kaiser's Mahealani Bratton and Sheburra Morris to place 11th. Junior Sze Woon Lau sealed the win by finishing 16th. "We went out, ran hard, and won," said Harris. "The team accomplished a lot and I'm proud of them. I hope we can take OIA's." McKinley edged Kaiser who placed second with 53 points. Heading into the race, Kaiser could've moved Katie Hurd and Leina Ribao into the varsity girls race, but didn't. Kaiser will likely move them up for the OIA Championships. In the JV boys race, sophomore Chad Dikilato finished first and the team placed second with 55 points. Farrington won the race with 47 points. Following some words of advice from his coaches, Dikilato ran the first mile of the three mile race in a tight pack that consisted of Roosevelt's Andrew Hansen and Kaiser's Shawn Leong-Guerrero, two runners that beat him during the preseason. Into the second mile, Dikilato took over the pack before gaining a comfortable lead. He won his second straight race of the season with a time of 18:55. "The course was tough but I liked it," commented Dikilato. "The team did good but you have to give credit to Farrington because they have a pretty good team. Since 1 won, my teammate Alan Li owes me a dollar." McKinley's other runners were sophomores Jackson Ng, Andrew Chun, Allen Wong, Jason Headle, and Hok Him Lau. McKinley's runners ran with the #31 written on their right arms for senior teammate Kelly Ikemoto who suffered a season ending injury with a stress fracture. The OIA junior varsity cross country championships at Nanakuli took place Saturday. Tigers succumb to Seariders by Christy-Lynn Vasquez The Tigers lost to the Waianae Seariders, 26-14. "It was kind of disappointing to many fans because it was the homecoming game and we expected them to win," said Margie Dixon, 11. The Tigers may drop to the White Division depending on the game against Leilehua last Friday. The JV has a record of 4-3 and the varsity, 2-5. Koa Kalama, 10, said, "Our offense wasn't up the night we played Waianae, but I know that for the game at Leilehua we'll have it together and will be able to stay in the red division." In a non-traditional turn of events, the homecoming queen Denise Figueroa jumped into the arms of King Anthony Tsang and he carried her past the ROTC sabers. The club and class banners were presented and the winners of the banner contest were announced. First place in the class competition were the seniors; first in the clubs was the Medieval Club. Make a Difference Day beautifies campus by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno This year, fifty students woke up early and arrived at 8:30 a.m. and worked till 10 a.m to participate in Make a Difference Day. Students from the different class levels, the Mabuhay Club, the Polynesian Club, and the National Honor Society helped out in this national day of giving back to the community. The custodial staff did a great deal by digging up the holes for the students to plant exoria, a shrimp flower, and yellow hibiscus along the Pensacola Street fence. Flowers were also planted in the front of the school sign, in hopes to keep people from defacing it. Senior Maggie Lee said, "It was very successful. Everybody helped each other, that's what made it successful. Even though we had little hands, we had helping hands." The junior class fixed the area around the big tree between the Social Studies building and Hirata Hall. The turnout by fifty students was not much, compared to the one hundred students that were expected to come last week. Sophomore McHuy McCoy said, "It was a good turnout, but if you think about it, we have two thousand students in school. If everyone participated we would have more school pride." Other high schools that helped out with their own school was Kalaheo and Baldwin High Schools. Kalaheo had a 'Paint a Difference' day in which students from that school painted their cafeteria. Baldwin held a garage sale with the three Kiwins Clubs on Maui. They coordinated to hold a sale at the Baldwin High School cafeteria. The monies would be divided amongst the three clubs. Then they will determine a charity that their money will go to. Make a Difference Day was started in 1992 and is sponsored by USA Weekend and the Points of Light Foundation. There may be another service project to beautify our campus later in the year, but it has not been planned yet. back to top Halloween Hysteria deliver's spooks on campus at lunch Halloween hysteria is creeping throughout the McKinley campus. Come by the Girl's P.E. locker room today at lunch time for some spooks and fun. If you don't have a costume, have no fear, a little bit of makeup or something "freaky" will do. Get a glance at the "scary" spook tree and the pumpkin patch. If you have enough courage, participate in all the fun activities that are planned. Don't forget to bring your friends, remember the more the "scarier." If you're a member of a club on campus, come by and participate in Halloween hysteria and earn uni-club points for your club. Be sure to come by to the girl's locker room today at lunch before the "Halloween Hysteria" gets you! This 'spook'tacular activity is sponsored by the senior class. back to top Attention Seniors: Get your luau tickets while they last! Seniors, don't forget the Senior Luau will be held on Friday, November 12, 1999 at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel. The cost is $23 with an activity card and $25 without an activity card. The last day to purchase bids is today during lunch in Ms. James' class, room F-150. There will be live entertainment, dancing, Hawaiian food, and performances by fellow students. The night will be filled with lots of fun and memories. Remember to come dressed in your best Aloha attire. Seniors please make it a point to attend your Senior Luau. Make your Senior year the best by going to the few activities that are planned for you, cherish the few more months you have together. NASA invites Robotics Team to competition by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno Senior Tami Ikegami said, "I joined the Robotics Team because I think it's pretty exciting to transform lose parts to a mechanically working robot in a limited amount of time." Last year, Mr. Milton Lau got a call from the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), inviting McKinley to the NASA Ames Regional Competition in San Jose, California from March 30-April 1,2000. The competition is held by FIRST which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." The winners from each competition will go to the national championship in Orlando, Florida. McKinley and Waialua were the only two high schools in the state that were chosen because of their accomplishments with the electric vehicle. This is also the first time that schools from Hawaii were asked to participate. The two captain's are seniors Tim Cayetano and Matthew Ying. The catch to this competition is that the project is kept a secret until January when Mr. Rockne Villaruel, one of the advisors, will be sent to New Hampshire to find out what materials the team will be able to use. Upon his return, the team has six weeks to build their robot for the competition. Next, the team will send two, seventy pound craters containing all the parts of the robot to San Jose. The members will have to meet this task of problem solving. The Robotics Team have been meeting once a week. They are looking on the internet at schools that have participated in the past and are drafting letters to ask companies to sponsor McKinley. During the six weeks to put the robot together, the team will meet everyday until it gets done. Mr. Lau said, "I want the kids to get committed to put in long hours, dedication, and make the project a success." Ying said, "Mr. Lau said as long as we're not last. We hope to have another Robotics Team so that they can learn and build from our failures and accomplishments." Chen and Yim scores help win third at OLM math meet by Stanley Lee With two perfect scores, McKinley's math team placed third out of 30 schools at the second Oahu Mathematics League (OLM) meet with 233 points held on October 23 at Mid Pacific Institute. Junior Joanne Yim and sophomore Yuan Chen each scored perfect 10s in three events to complete the meet with 30 points. Senior Siwei Wong and junior Min Suk Kim each finished with scores of 25 and senior Suzanna Hahn totaled 23 points. Other McKinley participants were juniors Chiu Tai Lam and Yihong Wu, sophomore James Park, and freshman Andrew Lum. Iolani took first place with 272 points and Punahou came in second with 237 points. At each meet, there are six events that covers topics in Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Trigonometry. A school can place a maximum of five students in each of the six events with each student being allowed to compete individually in three events. At the first Oahu Mathematics League meet on September 18 held at the Kamehameha Schools, the McKinley team placed second with 240 points, two points behind first place Iolani. After two meets, McKinley is second overall in the OML standings right behind Iolani. The next of the seven meets in the OML season will be held on November 20 at Castle High School. "We need more underclassmen, especially freshmen and sophomores to tryout for the team," said Hahn. Students interested in being apart of the math team should see Ms. Maude Furuya in room A-215. Goo, Kim, and Pulmano appear in Hawaii 2000 special to the Pinion by Gigi Dhakwha and Jennifer Higa-Rolls Seniors Savina Goo, Sandra Kim, and Stacey Pulmano were among the students who participated in FOX Channel 2's Hawaii 2000 special telecast Tuesday night. Students from public and private high schools from across the state, University of Hawaii-Manoa and the UH community colleges were chosen by letters of recommendation to sit on panels mentored by community leaders and media personalities. Students were selected by letters of recommendation and interview. The students were divided into three focus groups that answered the prompts: What will we need? Who do we want to be? and How will we get there? Ms. Dianne Sugihara, who viewed the program, said that she was "impressed with student answers because they showed thoughtfulness and maturity. They handled themselves well on live TV." Stacey Pulmano was part of the group that answered the question, What will we need? The group decided the top priorities were l) education and 2) connectivity. They discussed how the education system can be improved by improving relationships between parents and teachers, recognizing students for their efforts, and increasing school pride among students. "Normally, I'd be the one that wants to be on TV, but knowing all the work I put in was enough," said Pulmano, "This really changed me. It made me realize what demands the future holds for us. As for my future, I've become motivated to become a educator, so I can personally follow through with our plans to improve education." Savina Goo was part of the group that answered the question, Who do we want to be? "I expected to see nerds, but I had no idea how wonderfully we'd end up bonding," said Goo. Sandra Kim was part of the group that answered the question, How will we get there? "At first I thought we'd have differences, but as I started to work and get to know (the other student participants), I realized they're like me--enthusiastic and wanted to make a difference," said Kim. Ms. Barbara Kakuda said, "The McKinley kids did well...they said a lot of perceptive things--it's tough for anyone to be on the spot fielding email and phone calls on live TV." McKinley students participate in HCC's 'Berlin Wall' millenium event by Heidi Lee On November 9, 1999, Ms. Bernadette James' and Mr. Kua'ana Lewis' classes went on a field trip to Honolulu Community College to participate in HCC's 10th year commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1961, at the beginning of the Cold War, a wall was built in Germany to divide east and west Berlin. Overnight, families were separatedd for good. In 1989, as communism crumbled, the wall, too, came tumbling down, and today a piece of the wall is encased at HCC as a reminder. On November 8th Ms. James' 4th period class gathered vines beneath the social studies building stairs and wrapped them together to make a lei. The length of the lei was 20 to 25 feet long. Mr. Leon Florendo, the Native Hawaiian Vocational Education Counselor at HCC, asked the students to make the lei to drape on HCC's piece of the wall. Mr. Lewis' Hawaiian Language classes performed 3 chants: E Ho Mai, Oli Lei, I Ku Wa and a hula, Ha'ule ka Paia Apuka ka Lanakila ("the wall falls; victory bursts forth"). The one hour long celebration was covered by media groups from CNN, television stations, and the Associated Press. HTY actors stage drama workshop article and photo by Andrea Lee English, Drama, and French students previewed the upcoming play, Cyrano de Bergerac, when two actors from the Honolulu Theatre for Youth visited their classrooms and introduced the classic love story of beauty vs. personality. Herman Tesoro Jr., who plays Cyrano's counterpoint Christian, along with other roles, and Catherine Gonzaga, who stars as Cyrano and Christian's love interest Roxanne, and other roles, visited classes last week and early this week to expose students to theater. "I really liked it. The actors were very professional and I'm excited to see the play because after seeing the actors, it changes my thinking towards the storyline," said Scott Huang, 10. The play takes place in 1640; the story of a poetic Cyrano hidden behind his large nose. Cyrano is in love with Roxanne, but Roxanne is infatuated with Christian, a handsome but dull man. Cyrano helps Christian woo Roxanne by sending her his love letters signed by Christian. The story continues with the love triangle and has a bittersweet ending. The acting duo incorporated the classes in word association games, and performed skits with student directors. The actors also passed out scripts for students to perform an improvisation in class. Among other things, Tesoro and Gonzago taught the students about the play's characters, meaning, and history. "I learned how to use props to create a more believable character by using word associations to relate the prop to my character," said Kenoche Mostella, 12. The production will be available February 16, 17, 28, and 29 at the main auditorium. Y Gen websites provide teen services by Jon Baron From disposable diapers to computers, technology has allowed the Y Generation, or the children of baby boomers, to see the world in a different perspective than past generations. Ms. Nora Whitford said, "1 think your generation is very fortunate m have technology at your fingertips; you can access anything. (Compared to my generation, we had to use manual typewriters; we didn't even have Computers." Teens usually use the internet to chat, check e-mail, 'I and do research for school, but' are unaware of the numerous Y Gen web-sites devoted to teen interests-- like the latest fads, the hottest music, and help with teen issues. Senior Tami Ikegami said, "I think that it (Y-Generation web-site) is pretty knarly because' there are a lot of teens in our society that need help with certain situations in which they don't have parental guidance, and through websites devoted to teenagers, they can find the help they need." www.y-generation.com allows teens to read the latest news and gossip, chat with other teens around the world, and sign up for free e-mail.The website also provides information and services for teenagers, with chances to win cool stuff. A weekly special on the website features a different high school every week. Sites devoted to teenagers include www.4teenagers.com, www.teenzone.com, and www.teenzworld.com. All feature news, issues and chat rooms. back to top Yee places 2nd in New Year art contest Freshman Lin Yee's dragon postcard placed second in the "most artistic" category in an art contest sponsored by the Hawaii Association of Teachers of Japanese (HATJ). Yee, a student in Sensei Sandra Oda's fifth period class, submitted the artwork in the high school division of the HATJ Nengajoo contest, and was published with the other winners in the January 7 edition of the Hawaii Herald, Hawaii's Japanese-American journal. Honored traditions, new beginnings live at MHS photo and article by Andrea Lee and Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno McKinley High School celebrates President William McKinley's birthday during Black and Gold week. MHS--first known as Honolulu High--was the only public high school during the reign of Kamehameha V, and was located at the palace of Princess Ruth Keelikolani, currently Central Intermediate. The school color gold was chosen for its ties to the Hawaiian royalty and black was chosen to compliment the gold. The school colors and tiger mascot were influenced by McKinley's ties with Princeton University, where many McKinley graduates chose to attend after high school. Mr. Richard Lum, bandmaster in the 1950's, began the singing of "Black and Gold" during the last three minutes of each football game to boost the morale of the players. As the band played and the crowd sang, "Black and gold is waving, boys we're back of you. Play your way to victory we'll be ever true. Eager eyes are watching hearts are beating fast. For McKinley's honor, FIGHT, boys, to the last," the players on the field knew that the crowd in the stands were supporting the team. Tomorrow, the time capsule that was buried in 1965 (McKinley High Schools' 100th anniversary) will be opened to reveal the items that students buried in that year. New items will also be placed in the time capsule and revealed at a future date. Tomorrow's Time Capsule opening program begins promptly at 10 am on the mauka (mountain) side of the cafeteria. There will he performances by the MHS Band, JROTC Color Guard and Drill Teams, the Swing Club, students. and staff, along with a special guest speaker, Ms. Lenore Lee from the Class of 1965. Black and Gold traditions--school colors, song, and yearbook--as well as the new beginnings and new accomplishments instill pride and a sense of belonging to alumni, students, and the coming generations of students to pass through McKinley High. Black and Gold Week festivities keep students busy by Andrea Lee Black and Gold Week means a week of fun-filled excitement and activities planned by students for students. The week started off on an emotional high with an assembly that featured inspirational speakers Charlie and Lucy Wedemeyer and professional chef Sam Choy. The Wedemeyers and Choy shared their life stories and struggles with students and urged them to make their dreams come true. They encourages the youth to be sure not to settle for mediocracy. Senior Tami Ikegami said, "The speeches motivated me, when they were telling their life stories about overcoming obstacles, to try hard in life and appreciate what you have now while you still have them." The senior class hosted a scavenger hunt early Monday morning to kick off the beginning of Black and Gold week student activities. Students used a worksheet to search for McKinley alumni on campus, trivia, and Juniors sponsored a relay race on Tuesday during lunch to show their school spirit. Clubs and classes competed on McKinley's front lawn. Coordinator Bitna Kim, 11, said, "It was very ironic because our class sponsored the activity and we came in last out of everyone! But at least everyone had good sportsmanship." The Wednesday lunch time Wet and Wild activity on the front lawn sponsored by the sophomore class was cancelled due to rain. The freshman class planned a penny carnival for the school during lunch on Thursday. In the event of rain, the food fair scheduled for today will still be held, but will he moved to another site. "I can't wait for lunch Friday; I hope to be the first in line for the Hawaiian plate!" said Jesse Bali, 10. The final two activities of this year's Black and Gold week will be held tomorrow. The opening of the time capsule buried behind the Administration building, near the cafeteria ( see above article ), and the McK-Ilennium Concert (see advertisement on page 4), to benefit the school's athletic teams and band, start at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively. B&G week ended with concert and capsule article by Michelle Dela Cruz and Ali Shibisaki Last Saturday's McK-llenium Concert and Time Capsule opening ended the week celebrating Black and Gold week. The sun was shining on Thursday, when the freshman class held a penny carnival in the social studies building courtyard. Rip Tide, sophomore Anthony Ribeiro, guitarist and vocalist, junior Curtis Pe'ahi, drummer, and junior Ray Farias, bassist, entertained the crowd with contemporary cover songs. Sophomore Sarah Espiritu said, "The penny carnival was all right, but the band was tight. Even though I didn't play, I thought the games were all right, but could've been better." "The penny idea was cute," said Jennifer Anderson, 10. There were tables and a tent set up with simple games and candy for prizes. There was even a pie-throwing table. Mr. Wasson and Ms. Barbara Abrew were two good sports that donated their faces to the cause. Along with the students, McKinley's faculty had something to say about the carnival. "I think it's good anytime freshmen get involved with school activities. It shows school pride and spirit, " said Vice-Principal John Hammond. Last week Friday, McKinley's clubs and sports teams held a food fair selling food and goodies. While the club and team members were behind their booths selling their things and making money, students enjoyed the food and excitement. Senior Matthew Ying of the physics club said, "At first I thought no one would buy the cookies because everybody else was selling better stuff, but I was surprised that we sold out within about 10 minutes." The ceremony commemorating the opening of the time capsule was held the next day at 10:00 a.m. at McKinley's cafeteria. Before the time capsule was opened, student performers sang and danced inside the cafe for the audience. After the program, the Class of 1965 opened the time capsule outside of the cafe. "At first everybody expected a lot of Beatles' records and stuff, and it was kind of neat anticipating, but all the things that were unveiled were cool. The program was hectic, but ran pretty well," said Felix Lui, 10. [webmaster's note: photos of the time capsule ceremony and the items inside are here ] Black and Gold week started off with the senior scavenger hunt, the junior relays, and the freshman penny carnival on Thursday. The week brought McKinley's students together and should be rememberd in history as the first Black and Gold week of the new millenium. In the next 50 years, the new time capsule will be opened! back to top Meet Hawaii's newest Junior Miss; Pacific Regional High School Science Symposium finalists go to D.C. "I thought I heard wrong when the emcee, former Miss Universe, Mahealani Richardson called contestant number eighteen. That's me! I had no expectation of winning. Even being one of the eight finalists was an honor. When they called the second and first runner ups, I though Christine and Joy deserved it. I wondered who the new Junior Miss would be. It was so unexpected." The Junior Miss Scholarship program consisted of twenty-two qualified girls statewide. Saturday, January 29, 2000, was the preliminary night where each contestant was tested. The three categories were fitness, presence and composure--with a thirty second speech--and creative and performing arts. The fitness routine expected the girls to do push-ups and sit-ups. The presence and composure routine dealt with a ribbon, which you have to twirl while performing a speech for the audience. "I performed a speech about being different by being yourself. On preliminary night, I won the presence and composure award, and the creative and performing arts award by playing the Korean drums, or Book Choom." Each contestant was awarded $200 in savings bonds. It all came down to eight finalists who redid their fitness, presence and composure, and creative and performing arts routines. Kim said, "My question from the judge was, 'Should gambling be allowed to help Hawaii's economy?' I answered, No, because it promotes illegal activity, and brings unwanted types of people." Kim was awarded a $4,000 scholarship and other prizes. She said, "Each junior miss contestant is equally deserving the title. They are all so talented and have so much to offer. I have learned so much from, them and have made friendships that I will treasure forever. They are all very special, and I am merely a representative of the first young women of Hawaii and it is truly an honor and privilege. The award doesn't belong to me but to my parents and teachers who have made me the person I have become." Pacific Regional High School Science Symposium finalists Congratulations to Savina Goo and Kristy Leong who were selected as finalists in the Pacific Regional High School Science Symposium. They are two of five finalists who will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to represent the Pacific Region/at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, scheduled for April 27-30, 2000. Speech team competes in Kohala contributed by Ligaya Vasquez Kohala High School was the site of the Neighbor Island Speech Tournament last weekend. Twelve speech team members and coach John Newkirk attended. Other competitors included Iolani, Kamehameha, Moanalua, Punahou, Radford, Roosevelt, and St. Andrew's Priory. The McKinley team stayed in Kona, approximately an hour's drive away, and enjoyed the whale-watching and coastal scenery from the car. When it was time to get to work, sophomore Kristi Leong place sixth in the final round of Original Oratory and junior Bit Na Kim placed fourth in the final round of Humorous Interpretation. The team had little time for sightseeing because they spent most of their time practicing their selections. But after the stress of the competition was over, first-time host, Kohala, treated the teams to a Hawaiian luau, where they cooked a pig in an imu and collected fresh opihi for their guests. McKinley High School's chapter of the National Forensic League (NFL) was awarded the Leading Chapter Award in the Hawaii District at the Kohala Luau. The award is based upon student participation, and only one is awarded yearly in each state. The Leading Chapter Award reflects the 282 members and degrees that have participated in speech at McKinley High School over 37 years. The speech tournament and the award motivated the whole team. The next tournament will be hosted at Radford High School. Robotics team prepares for regional competition by Oliver Seguin and Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno The McKinley Robotics Team has been working hard for six weeks after school and on weekends. To get the team started, Mr. Rockne Villaruel, an adviser to the team, went to New Hampshire for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Kickoff Ceremony. Team members watched the ceremony on 'Olelo at four in the morning at the Department of Education. The game plan was finally revealed and Mr. Villaruel came back to MHS with two 70 pound crates. Now, the teams' task was to create a robot that could collect rubber balls that would be placed in a containment system that is six feet high. FIRST randomly selects different schools to form an alliance one minute before the competition begins. There is one playing field in which there is a face-off in teams. Before the two minutes are over, the team has to hang the robot for ten seconds. The Robotics Team has formed a partnership with Hawaiian Electric Company Engineers: Alan Ing, Enrique Che, and Tom Battisto, along with Roy Yom, a machinist from the University of Hawaii. Long hours were put into designing, building, and testing. Mr. Milton Lau, Robotics Team head advisor, said, "Nothing worked the first time around." Fortunately, the team managed to find a design that worked. The MHS Robotics Team is sponsored by the NASA Ames Research Center, HECO, 3M Hawaii, the University of Hawaii, and Hawaiian Airlines. Sweethearts, lovers, and wanna-be's prepare for February 14 by Heidi Lee "Valentine's makes me think of chocolate," said freshman Ramie Uehara. One legend about the holiday is that St. Valentine, a popular Roman who refused to give up Christianity, died on February 14, 269 A.D. Before he died, he left a note for a friend, who was a jailer's daughter, and signed it "From your Valentine." People thought of St. Valentine as a hero and a romantic person. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius used February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Today, it is the date for people to send poems, flowers, and candy to their loved ones. During the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentine would be, and wear their names on their sleeves for a week. Greetings were popular, and people sang to their valentines. Cards were first written in the 1400's, and the oldest one made is on display in the British Museum. In Europe, valentine cards took the place of gifts. The first cards were made by with watercolors, colored paper, and decorated with lace and ribbon. In the 1800's, workers in factories painted black and white pictures of valentine cards. By the early 1900's, Norcross, a card company, started producing valentine cards, which later became Hallmark. They have collections of extraordinary valentine cards found at shops all around the country. Valentine's Day symbols are used to decorate cards and chocolate boxes. These have specific meanings: the heart symbolizes low; the red rose for strong feelingss; doves for loyalty; and lace (a fabric made by weaving threads together), symbolizes romance. Cupids are another famous symbol. He was the son of Venus, the Greek goddess of love. Legend says that Venus was jealous of Psyche's beauty, so she told Cupid to punish her. Instead, he fell in love with her and later she became his wife, but she was not allowed to look at him. Psyche's sisters persuaded her to steal a look at him and Cupid punished her by snaking their beautiful castle and gardens disappear. Psyche, trying to look for him, went to the temple of Venus, and the goddess of love gave her an array of difficult tasks. One was to get some of the beauty of Pluto's wife, Proserpine, Queen of the Underworld, and put it in the box. Psyche was cautioned not to open the box, but she did and a deadly sleep came over her. When Cupid found her, he gathered the deadly sleep and pal it back into the little box. The gods realised Psyche's love for Cupid was true, they forgave her, and made her a goddess. This special day comes around only once a year, so don't miss the opportunities to reveal yourself to the one you love. Check out the shout-outs, flowers, and other school activities celebrating Valentine's Day. ADD and ADHD affect students in the classroom by Michelle Dela Cruz Attention Deficit Disorder, also known as ADD, affects many lives. Students with ADD have a tough time in school, both academically and socially. They have a hard time learning in class, other students sometimes pick on those with ADD, and it's hard to have friends and" normal" relationships. "If I knew someone with ADD, I wouldn't tease them becaue you shouldn't treat people differently because they're just a little different. It's just like being prejudiced, and to me, that's wrong," said Andre Medina, 10. ADD is a disorder that can begin early, and continue throughout a person's life. "I am living it. I was diagnosed when I was about second or third grade Each day I'm told that I have it, but I wanna be treated like I don't. So far no one really looked down on me. Don't look down on anyone with ADD. They could be your best friend and you wouldn't know it," said Cameron Campos, 12, a victim of ADD. Those affected with ADD make careless mistakes in their schoolwork, do not listen when spoken to, and have a hard time paying attention in class. Other symptoms are trouble concentrating on things and sticking to one thing at a time. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is similar to ADD, and has the same symptoms, but with the additional hyperactive and impulsive actions. Those with ADHD don't think before they speak, so they constantly blurt out comments without thinking. Those with ADHD are excessive and loud talkers, which means they talk on and on. People with ADD and ADHD are easily distracted. The person's nervous system can't be slowed down long enough to complete an assignment. The person also dislikes doing things that involve mental effort. Fortunately, for those with the disorder, there is something to be done about it. Psycho-stimulants, such as Ritalin, can be prescribed to decrease the patient's impulsive and hyperactive actions, increase his or her attention, and for some, decrease aggression. Only 70-80% of those taking this medication comes out with positive results. Psycho-stimulants come with some side effects, such as loss of appetite and weight, and problems falling asleep. In some cases, parents use ADD or ADHD as an excuse for their child's behavior in school. Pal Edelen-Smith, an associate professor in the department of Special Education at the University of Hawaii, said, "Any disability category can be abused (by people) and they need to have qualified people helping them when the diagnosis is made." In order to be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, a person must show certain number of symptom, over a period of time. "From our(doctors) experience and observations, ADD is real. There are criteria in ADD. The teacher does an evaluation and give(s) it to the doctor, and from there they test if the child really has ADD. It's a joint evaluation between the teacher, the parent, and the doctor," said Dr. Elizabeth L. Abinsay, M.D. If you know someone with ADD, remember that they are going through a tough time and need all the support they can get. You can help by supporting  them, or just being a friend. When asked how he would help out someone with ADD, sophomore Carlin Nakata, said, "I would support them all the way. If they throw temper tantrums, I would try to calm them down by talking to them. I'll just be there for the person no matter what they go through." For more information on ADD, check out http://member.aol.com/BevKPrice/HTML/web04.html or www.chadd.org/facts/add_facts.htm. Seed germination project receives top honors by Jon Baron From mitosis to photosynthesis, a variety of scientific disciplines were covered in this year's Science Fair which was last Thursday and Friday, in the library. Participants spent countless hours researching and working on their projects. Sophomore, Athena Kim and Qi Wen Liang placed first for their project on the "Effects of Microwaves and Smoke on Seed Germination." The purpose of Kim's and Liang's projects was to compare the effectiveness of a microwave to smoke in the germination of a seed. Athena Kim, 10, said, "It started out when we found an article that said that smoke helped in the germination of a seed. So we tried it, and it actually worked." Successfully growing mung, radish, and lima bean seeds with the help of smoke, Kim and Liang "carried it to a second phase in which we tried to use a microwave." They both concluded that smoke was better at speeding up the germination process of a seed. Liang, 10, said, "We were really surprised that we won. I didn't think that we did that well. Everyone deserved to win." Senior Savina Goo placed second in the Science Fair with "Myglobin in DMSO: Industrial Applications of Nature's Catalyst." Goo chose this topic for the science fair after taking college courses during the summer on the mainland. "I went to pre-college courses this summer at Carnegie Mellon University where I took chemistry and biology. So I learned more about chemical processes in the body." Goo felt a sense of accomplishment after taking second place in this year's science fair. She said, "I learned that scientific discoveries can have a large impact on life because if my project worked like how it should, then industries would benefit from it." Goo's project dealt with enzyme processes that was much faster and cheaper compared to the presently used industrial processes. Judges reviewed the projects displayed in the library last week. Sophomores Felix Lui and Alani Mar took third place while Kristy Leong placed fourth in this year's Science Fair. Honorable mentions were given to YiYu Liu, Siu Fei, Yvonne Mai, Annie Mar, Eva Lee, Jennifer Munemitsu, Davina Yoshikawa, and Terence Ta. Accreditation helps school 'focus on learning' by Oliver Seguin and Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno "The main goal of Focus on Learning is expected schoolwide learning... " What's wrong with having fun in class? Focus on Learning (FOL) is a program in which teachers review student learning and the types of information and skills they teach in the classroom. Teachers participate in four categories. These four categories are 1) organization for student learning, 2) curriculum and instruction, 3) support for student personal and academic growth, and 4) resource mangement. Ms. Mary Uyesugi, school improvement coordinator, receives guidelines from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Each subcommittee answers the guidelines from WASC relevant to MHS and sends it back for them to review. When they receive it, they come to MHS and observe how students (and their learning) do/do not fit the guidelines. WASC also gives recommendations on what can be improved in the classroom and the school. FOL is important to students so that teachers can recognize what they need in the classroom. Also, it recognizes tdifferent types of teaching methods to make learning more interesting and fun so that students want to learn. Bereavement camp wins national award by Jon Baron Losing a loved one can be the most tragic event in a child's life; grieving without a support group can be twice as hard. Two McKinley seniors, Gina Yamane and Janis Yim, won one of ten national Girl Scouts USA Gold Awards, for their bereavement camp project that was selected among hundreds of submissions. Yamane and Yim created "Camp Ka Pilina Pulama," a special camp designed especially for children, ages 7-17 years old, to help cope with the death of a loved one. The bereavement camp, which was held at the Girl Scouts of Hawaii camp on the North Shore, was the first pilot program of its kind for the state of Hawaii. During July 18-19,1998, Yamane and Yim oversaw the camp and about 30 children attending it, coordinating the facilities and counselors. Yamane said, "We were the backbone of the program, but, we didn't actually counsel the children because we weren't trained to do that ...We weren't there to support them when they need the comfort the most. Basically our main job was to make sure the atmosphere was happy and joyful." Though the camp lasted only two days, Yamane and Yim spent two years working on the "Camp Ka Pilina Pulama" project, especially trying to find counselors. The duo found focused the program around the children of Hawaii. Yamane said, "Many times the children are forgotten when death occurs, but, a lot of people don't know that they too feel the hurt and pain that comes with the loss of a loved one. It reached more than people in Girl Scouts, it reached others from around the island." Yim said, "This camp represented the caring and love shared between not only children and the adults, but the whole community involved with this project. We all had a 'pilina pulama,' a cherished relationship, a bond with all of the people who were expressing their support and care." Yamane also said, "I feel proud, I didn't think Janis and I could pull [off] such a big project that involved so much people. I feel very proud and happy that we actually won the award!" In March, Yamane and Yim will travel to Washington D.C. and personally meet President Clinton and the First Lady. Hahn and TEAMS receive top honors by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno Senior Suzanna Hahn is a candidate to the United States Presidential Scholars Program. 2160 students with high Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores are chosen from Americans living in the U.S. and abroad. Thirty to sixty students are chosen in each state. Each candidate must fill out an application form, answer six short questions, and choose one of three topics for an essay. In each state, one boy and one girl are selected to travel to Washington D.C. and meet the President of the United States. "It was a suprise to be chosen for it, but I still have to apply to move on to the finals, so fm not really excited yet," said Hahn. Hahn is also the captain of TEAMS (Tests of Enginnering Aptitude Mathematics and Science) Competition for MHS. The objective of this competition, held at UH-Manoa last weekend, was to simulate what a real engineer does. The eight member teams were given ten problem sets, with ten questions each, resulting in one hundred questions; they had to plan a hospital design; finally, they had to write an essay in one and a half hours answering the problems and planning of the design. MHS received first place in the public school division. "It was fun because everybody works as a team and you get to compete with other schools. And you get to work with real engineers," said senior Marvin Lam. McKinley's FIRST/NASA Ames robot has been packed and sent to the competition in San Jose. Team members leave March 26. Parade salutes principal and former cadets by Ligaya Vasquez Last Thursday, the JROTC department,. student activities, and school band held the annual Principal's Review Parade on the front mall. One of the main functions of the parade is to honor our school principal. This year's parade also recognized the 1999-2000 JROTC Wall of Honor inductees. The JROTC Wall of Honor was started last year to recognize the efforts of past outstanding JROTC cadets or sponsors. Last week, twelve former cadets and two former sponsors were inducted into the Wall of Honor. Inductees included MSG Marty Borja, the Honorable Jon J. Chinen, MG Eugene S. Imai, Mr. Walter K. Imai, Mrs. Stella Lau In, the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, Mr. Robert G. F. Lee, Mr. Robert J. Pfeiffer, COL Bert N. Nishimura (USA, Retired), Mr. Gilbert Saiki, Mr. Robert L. Stevenson, Mrs. June Kawaguchi Takano, science teacher Ms. Jaqueline L. Thuener and LTC Clifford F. Young (USA, Retired). The parade program included an inspection of the JROTC batallion by Principal Milton Shishido and a pass in review of the JROTC battalion. Ito sings way to Brown Bags title by Priscilla Lee Junior Yuna Ito will represent McKinley High School at the April 24 Brown Bags to Stardom Contest at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall. Ito sang and danced Christina Agui (era's "Genie in a Bottle" to edge out six other performers in the school competition held last Friday. I-94 d.j.'s hosted the event and gave away prizes, such as CDs and tshirts to winners of the "gimmie-gimmie" game. First runner-up went to Nathan Chang, 11, and second runnerup was Dory PoChing, 10. Last year's school winner, junior Amy Fox performed "What a Girl Wants" by Aguilera. Junior fund-raiser: Pie a teacher for the Hawaii Food Bank by Bit Na Kim, special contribution to the Pinion; photos courtesy of The Pinion staff How does chocolate pudding pie topped with whipcream sound to you? Delicious? Yummy? Or as Austin Powers would say, "Smashing baby!" More than a dozen McKinley teachers have agreed to donate their mugsto the Junior Class Pie-a-teacher fundraiser on March 10 for the benefit of the Hawaii Food Bank and the Aloha United Way.The more teachers you cream, the more they love you! Each pie will cost $1.00 or two canned goods. You can A) eat your pie right (here on the spot, B) take it home for dinner, or C) SMASH IT, baby...in a teacher's face! The money and canned goods collected will be donated to the two local charities. There are only five more school days until March 10. How many canned goods and dollars have you saved up so far? The success of this activity lies in your hands. So could a chocolate pie! Come to the Pie-a-Teacher activity on March 10 on the makai side of the cafeteria @ lunch time until the first recess bell rings and after school until 3:00 p.m. Bring your canned goods, and your dollars. Watch teachers (literally) eat it, laugh a little and throw those pies! Bomb threat tests school evacuation procedure by Jon Baron; photos by Pinion staff When the tardy bell rang at 8:15 a.m. last Wednesday, McKinley High School was a ghost town. The reason---a bomb threat, that caused the evacuation of students and staff. The bomb threat was called into "911" during the early morning hours and the news was then passed onto the Honolulu Police Department and school officials, at which time the proper actions were taken. Students arriving to school were asked to proceed to Thomas Square and Kaiser Permanente, while other students were evacuated to the football field. Senior Anna Wong said, "I think they reacted in the best interests of the students. It was cool that they evacuated us, but it seemed kind of silly since we were only across the street and kind of still close to school." Vice-Principal Mr. John Hammond, said, "The evacuation took place before school. It made it difficult because it was early." The administration relied on the Evacuation Procedure Handbook, given to staff at the beginning of the school year. Mr. Hammond also said, "Overall, I thought the students did a really good job." Student coperation made it easier for HPD to survey the campus for potential hazards. Since the bomb threat was called in before school started, it made it easier for HPD to inspect and search the campus. HPD's prompt response to the threat allowed school to resume around 8:30 a.m. At that time students were expected to return to school and classes. School resumed, but some students decided to leave the evacuation area before information concerning the continuation of classes were even made. VP Hammond said, "We never said school was over. The administration gave a reasonable grace period--approximately thirty minutes--for students to return to class." Some students went to McDonald's or Ala Moana Center without knowing that they were being let back on to campus. HPD was informed of these students and took appropriate actions. Many of them were arrested and escorted back to the school campus. Junior Leif Johnson was one of those students who were arrested from Ala Moana Center. He said, "I didn't know where to park my car. The school security told me I couldn't park there [school lot], so I went to Ala Moana. I got arrested for truancy with twelve other people. We were just parking our cars and we were all going to walk back to campus." On Thursday morning, another threat was called in to 911. HPD was called to search for possible dangers before school started. The inspection was done and was concluded that the campus was sale. No student evacuations were deemed necessary. Teachers were alerted and asked to report suspicious hexes or people loitering on campus. Though the bomb threat was false, the administration took steps to keep students safe. Mr. Hammond concluded, "These things happen, you have to take it seriously, you have to follow through, and make sure the environment safe....I cared about getting people out of danger and keeping students safe." Kika Mana earns silver medal at Robotics Competition by Andrea G. Lee Team Kika Mana brought home the silver medal from the 2000 FIRST Robotics NASA Ames Competition held at San Jose State University, California. Over the course of two days, the twelve-member team competed against forty-three schools from the western region, which included Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Texas and Washington state. One of two Hawaii schools selected by NASA to compete in the contention, the Kika Mana's robot, Nai'a, battled through nine heats against teams in the main competition and won six matches; one loss was a tie awarded to the opposing team based on a technicality. Kika Mana was ranked third going into the elimination round to compete with the top eight teams. The elimination round consisted of quarter and semi finals, where teams battled for a position in the final round. Kika Mana picked fifth-ranked Hope Chapel Academy's B2K as their main alliance, and Waialua High School's Haw'n Kids, ranked thirty-fourth, as their alternate. With B2K, Kika Mana managed to win the quarter finals by taking the first two of three possible contentions. In the semi-finals, Kika Mana lost against one opposing team, but won the remaining two, to go to the final round, where the Regional Competition winner would be determined. In the final round, Kika Mana and B2K fought against Kingman High School's Bionic Bulldog, from Kingman, Arizona, and their alliance, Broadway High School's Cheesy Poofs, from San Jose, California. After two tense rounds of robotic demolition derby, Kika Mana, B2K, and Haw'n Kids lost to Kingman/Broadway alliance. Brandon Lau, 11, said of the second place win, "I was surprised in a good way. I didn't expect us to go that far. The competition was exciting because we were doing good." Even though Kika Mana was one win short of the gold medal, students are happy with their victorious robot, Nai'a. Melinda Lau, 12, said "I was still happy because we're only a first year team and we made it this far. When we first entered the competition, I only expected to have fun and do a mediocre job. But my expectations have been exceeded!" Co-captain/driver Chris Orimoto, 11, said, "Being a driver was a lot of pressure, but just to be such a large part of something like this was awesome in itself." Senior Matthew Chun said, "Being a part of the game was a great and exciting experience for me. I learned that teamwork is everything. The reason we got so far was because of teamwork. Without our alliance, we would never have made it this far." Unable to attend the National Robotics Competition due to insufficient funds, Kika Mana will have to wait until next year to showcase their engineering and technical skills in the 2001 FIRST Robotics NASA Allies Regional competition. Spirits were still high for Team #368. Upon returning to McKinley's campus on Monday morning, some team members proudly wore their silver medals to school. Co-captain/driver Elaine Owens, 11, said, "I'm extremely proud of what we've done. Now the mainland schools know that McKinley isn't just some hole in the wall. Next year we'll be back, so everyone watch out!" Sterling Scholars shine by Jon Baron and Andrea Lee; photos courtesy of Stacey Pulmano The "cream of the crop"-McKinley's four Sterling Scholars-won a total of $8,250 at the Sterling Scholar Award ceremony held at the Polynesian Cultural Center Friday, April 20. The Sterling Scholar Awards are granted to students who best represents the designated category in academics, leadership, and service. Students are also evaluated by a panel of judges in an interview session. Sandra Kim won the General Scholarship: Stacey Pulmano won Speech and Drama; Suzanna Hahn placed second in Math; and Matthew Ying was a finalist in Industrial Arts. The McKinley seniors competed against public and private school students from across the state in their respective divisions. Ranked second in McKinley's senior class, with a 4.1 GPA, Sandra Kim took home the General Scholarship award, which included a $5,000 financial reward. Since Kim has a Regents Scholarship for the University of Hawaii, which includes a prepaid full tuition and extra money for books and recreation, she plans to "invest her money, and hopefully make more of it." Kim said of her win, "The best surprises are the ones you don't expect. I really worked hard on this. It was a better feeling [when I won] because it was a surprise. I was going to give it my best shot, and if I got it, I got it." Kim recognizes the support of her parents and the guidance of her teachers as her main "helping hand." As for her future goals, she's setting her sights on obtaining a law degree, entering politics, and eventually becoming a law professor at the UH. Kim advised aspiring sterling scholar students to "focus on being a complete person and take advantage of what school has to offer, and go out and find out what you're looking for, nothing is going to come to you." Stacey Pulmano claimed the $2,000 first prize in the speech and drama division. A national speech qualifier and school and community stage veteran, Pulmano compiled a track record that helped her beat out other students for the award. She plans to enroll into Mount Holyoke in Boston in the fall. Suzanna Hahn, ranked first in the senior class, was the first runner-up in the math division, earning $ 1,000. Although she has a full scholarship for North Carolina Chapel Hill College to study biochemistry, Hahn said of her almost-win, "I guess I'm a little disappointed, but considering I did my portfolio in three hours ...." She credits her parents and teachers for all the support they have given her throughout her academic life. Although Matthew Ying did not place in the competition, he was "not disappointed that [he] didn't win. I didn't even expect to make it to the finals." He will take his $250 prize to UCLA, because he "knows some relatives around there and also [UCLA] is a good college." He notes that he will "apply what I learned from Industrial Arts to engineering, which is what I plan to major in." Teachers were especially proud of their students. Mr. Milton Lau, electronics teacher, said, "All the students represented McKinley very well. Being one of the top five finalists in the state is an accomplishment in itself." Ms. Bobbi Kakuda, students activities coordinator, said, "I think that it's a wonderful way to honor these students who do a lot outside of the classroom with the help of mentors and teachers. Their honor makes McKinley proud. Even if students don't place, just the experience of being part of the competition is something. These sterling scholar award winners set an example for underclassmen that they, too, can become a 'scholar'. It's not an unattainable goal!" She also added, "I don't think it's ever too early to think about your future-scholarships and awards. If you're interested, ask. Go see counselors and teachers, don't be afraid to ask." Test anxiety overcomes students by Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno Juniors and seniors taking Advanced Placement classes began taking exams in the library on Wednesday, May 10, with the first exam testing English Literature and Composition. There are eighty-two students taking one hundred and twenty-three exams this year. While some students are sitting for only one exam, others may be taking three or four. The cost of the national test is $76. Eligible students may also recieve a fee waiver since the testis costly. If a student passes the exam with scores of three, four, or five (from a range of 1-5), colleges may--depending on what respective schools require--may award a student college credit for that particular subject. Yesterday, math students took the Calculus exam, and the U.S. History exam will be administered this morning. Next week Tuesday, the Chemistry and Psychology exams will be given. The last test McKinley High School offers, the Biology and Physics, will be taken on Wednesday, May 17. McKinley High School will administer a total of seven AP exams. Is this expensive exam worth taking? Senior Rebecca Owens who is taking the English, Physics, and Psychology exams said, "Yeah I think so. It's a good prep for college and you can get credit." Inductees join ranks of academic elite By Heidi Lee The National Honor Society (NHS) inducted 23 new members last month in a ceremony in the library. Mark Deblois, Athena Kim, Min Suk Kim, Ynhu Le, Eva Lee, Hyon Won Lee, Su Que Leong, Qi Wen Liang, Jane Lin, Felix Lui, Diana Maeng, Fred Mai, Yvonne Mai, Aaron Miki, Elaine Owens, Fei Siu, Terrance Ta, Tse-Yu Tang, Lisa Tanikawa, Irene Tsai, Bernadette Visatacion, Ryland Watanabe, and Joanne Yim were selected for their 3.5 or better grade point average, extra curricular activities demonstrating service and leadership, and teacher recommendations. "Joining NHS helped me to keep up with academics and I liked doing community service," said senior Maggie Lee, NHS president and mistress of the ceremony. Senior Matthew Ying gave a history of NHS and the MHS chapter, and junior Sandra Au, seniors Jie Ling Li, Sandra Kim, and Nancy Yuan spoke about the four qualities of NHS members-scholarship, service; leadership, and character. Principal Milton Shishida gave a message and presented certificates of membership to the new members. The ceremony closed with picture taking and refreshments. New inductee Min Suk Kim, 11, said,"I wanted to join because I wanted to meet more people . . . do more: activities as a group and make new friends." While academics are very important; she also "play(s) the guitar and piano. I play sports like tennis and basketball ...(and) I do community service like cleaning up the beach." Besides NHS, fellow inductee Fred Mai said, "I'm also in the Vietnamese, Chinese, and Mandarin Club. NHS is something new and it will be good for college." This past Monday, the newest members of NHS, chosen by a faculty council consisting of Mr. Richard Emerson, Mr. John Newkirk, Mr. Alan Sekiguchi, Mr. Dwight Uetake, and Ms. Mary Uyesugi, were included in their first NHS meeting that discussed elections for next year's officers and blue NHS senior awards patches to wear on graduation day. Get your yearbooks hot off the press! by Oliver Seguin and Andrea Lee It's time to be sure you've purchased a yearbook if you want to pick up it up the same time as your friends! "It's our last yearbook and we'll never have another one!" said senior Janet Zukemura. Only students who bought their yearbooks prior to distribution day will be allowed to pick up their books on May 23. Distribution will start after school (2:30-3:30) on the bottom floor of the Social Studies (F) building. Students are required to bring the official school picture ID and have their names on the "pre-paid" list, OR an original yearbook receipt. Anyone wishing to walk-in and purchase the $40 yearbook must wait until afterschool, Wednesday, May 24. First year adviser, Ms. Anne Marie Matsuzaki said, "Anyone harrassing or abusing the distribution staff will have their yearbook withheld BY ME until Friday, June 9...AND YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT!" The months of writing, picture-taking, and stressing will finally pay off when students crack open the covers of the 1999-2000 yearbook. "We can't wait to see how hard the staff has worked on this book," said senior Kent Tse. "The four years have really gone by fast and I'd like to see the yearbook to reminisce about the past year," said senior Taieya Goda. Seasons completed in track, tennis, golf, and judo by Stanley Lee It was a busy week for high school athletes last week. Three state championships and one divisional championship were held on three different islands with McKinley participants in all four championships. At the OIA East Judo Individual Championships last Saturday at McKinley, the Lady Tigers had six weightclass winners. They were Noelle Yagi, Amy Dang, Sharlette Taba, Mali Yeung, and Melanie Wong. Taba, a junior who won the 128 division, admitted her game plan was to "try and score on her opponent and to attack first." On the boys side, Jose Rayco and Justin Kaapa both took first in their respective divisions. Teamwise, both teams fell just short of the division title. "We did well but we could've done better," said Taba. "Our team will be more improved next year." Senior Gigi Dhakhwa placed fourth in the girls 3000 meter run at last Saturday's Island Movers State Track and Field Championships at Mililani High School. Dhakhwa's time was a personal best 11:14.09. Dhakhwa's fourth place finish gave McKinley two points in the team standings, placing them 20th overall. Senior Josephine Teleni threw the discus in last Saturday's finals, placing sixth with a distance of 117 feet and 6 inches. Also in the finals was senior Jason Okazaki who finished eighth with a leap of 20 feet and 6.75 inches in the boys long jump. At the Carlsmith Ball State Tennis Championships held at Mauna Lani Bay Tennis Garden and Racquet Club on the Big Island, all of McKinley's qualifiers were eliminated in the first round. Senior Amy Paik, who qualified for the second straight year, fell to Waialua's Sheena Lani 6-0, 6-0. Last year, Lani defeated McKinley's Sandra Au also in the first round of the girls state tennis tournament on Maui. Boys doubles team of Francisco Barba and Ming Xi Chen lost to Matt Chang and Mike Chong of Kalaheo 6-2, 6-2. McKinley's other boys doubles team of Yong Gui Lin and Matthew Ying were defeated by Gavin Ledson and Adrian Gaeta of Hawaii Preparatory Academy by default. Lin and Ying qualified for the tournament but were unable to make the trip due to personal reasons. Singles player Raymond Marinas III was defeated by Ed Roessler of Kapaa 6-3, 6-2. "We improved a lot this year because Coach Jay Visaya drilled us everyday," said Chen. Junior Wes Kurata finished with a score of 163 at the David Ishii Boys Slate Golf Championships on Kauai. Kurata finished tied for 67th. Student art works exhibited at Hawaii Convention Center by Michelle Dela Cruz This year, the Hawaii Convention Center is displaying the art works of six McKinley art students, along with 90 other pieces of artwork by local high school students. Every three years, the convention center displays the works of high school students. Last year work from the intermediate schools were displayed and the art work of elementary students will be presented next year. Art teacher Ms. Rene Kitagawa submitted eight pieces of work from her students this year. Of the eight, six were chosen. The artists of the pictures are sophomore Aureo Vaquilar, juniors Sun Young Park and Ann Vergabera, and seniors Eun Mi Kye, Justin Cariaga, and Yon Joo Bae. The six students were awarded certificates. All 96 art pieces will be displayed in the convention center for a year until May 2001. The theme of this year's show was "My Island and Me". Ms. Kitagawa said, "The students did a good job showing through their art work what it's like to live in our beautiful islands. They made a good contribution to this show which will be seen by thousands. Although the show is not open to the general public, perhaps you can see the works if you have a chance to attend a convention there."

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Cinder Cone, composite, and shield are all types of what?

Types of Volcanoes: Shield, Cinder Cones & Composite Cones - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com Types of Volcanoes: Shield, Cinder Cones & Composite Cones Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. Coming up next: Volcanic Eruption: Gases Released & Their Effects You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:06 Volcanoes Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later? Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. Custom Courses are courses that you create from Study.com lessons. Use them just like other courses to track progress, access quizzes and exams, and share content. Teachers Organize and share selected lessons with your class. Make planning easier by creating your own custom course. Students Create a new course from any lesson page or your dashboard. From any lesson page: Click "Add to" located below the video player and follow the prompts to name your course and save your lesson. From your dashboard: Click on the "Custom Courses" tab, then click "Create course". Next, go to any lesson page and begin adding lessons. Edit your Custom Course directly from your dashboard. Personalize: Name your Custom Course and add an optional description or learning objective. Organize: Create chapters to group lesson within your course. Remove and reorder chapters and lessons at any time. Share your Custom Course or assign lessons and chapters. Teacher Edition: Share or assign lessons and chapters by clicking the "Teacher" tab on the lesson or chapter page you want to assign. Students' quiz scores and video views will be trackable in your "Teacher" tab. Premium Edition: You can share your Custom Course by copying and pasting the course URL. Only Study.com members will be able to access the entire course. Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Lesson Transcript Instructor: Rebecca Gillaspy Dr. Gillaspy has taught health science at University of Phoenix and Ashford University and has a degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic. The earth ejects lava, rock fragments, hot vapor and gases during volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes vary based on size, shape, composition and eruptive style. Learn about the different types of volcanoes, such as shield, cinder cone and composite cone. Volcanoes Volcanoes are a good way for the earth to blow off a little steam. More correctly, volcanoes are vents in the earth's crust through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor and gases are ejected. And, while they are all natural events in the life of Earth, there are different types of volcanoes. The types of volcanoes are differentiated based on their size, composition and explosive style. In fact, we could compare the different types of volcanoes to players on a football team. The tall and impressive composite cone volcanoes are much like the strong and confident quarterback. The broad and lower-to-the-ground shield volcanoes are much like the beefy lineman of the team. And, the fast-growing but smaller cinder cone volcanoes are much like the quick-moving and compactly built running backs of our team. Let's take a closer look at these three main types of volcanoes. Composite Cone Volcanoes Composite cone volcanoes, which are also called 'stratovolcanoes' or simply 'composite volcanoes,' are cone-shaped volcanoes composed of layers of lava, ash and rock debris. Composite cone volcanoes are grand sites and can grow to heights of 8,000 feet or more. Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier, which are both found in Washington State, are impressive examples of composite volcanoes. These steep-sided volcanoes erupt in an explosive manner. In fact, Mount Vesuvius is a composite volcano that is most famous for burying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in up to 20 feet of volcanic ash in 79 AD. The explosiveness of their eruptions is due to the thick, highly viscous lava that is produced by composite cone volcanoes. And, this viscous lava has a lot to do with why they are shaped the way they are. The thick lava cannot travel far down the slope of the volcano before it cools. This makes the sides of the composite volcano steep. These explosive volcanoes also spew out eruptions of small rock and ash, which gets deposited on the sides of the volcano. Therefore, we see that composite volcanoes are composed of alternating layers of hardened lava, volcanic ash and rock fragments, which is why they are called 'composite.' Shield Volcanoes Shield volcanoes are broad, domed-shaped volcanoes with long, gently sloped sides. If you were to fly over top of a shield volcano, it would resemble a warrior's shield, hence the name. These volcanoes can cover large areas but never grow very tall. The reason these volcanoes tend to flatten out is due to the composition of the lava that flows from them, which is very fluid. This more fluid lava spreads out in all directions but cannot pile up in steep mounds. Shield volcano eruptions are less explosive than composite volcanoes, as the lava tends to pour out of the volcano's vent, creating the low-profile layers of lava that are characteristic of these volcanoes. The Hawaiian Islands are actually the tops of gigantic shield volcanoes rising from the ocean basin. Cinder Cone Volcanoes Cinder cone volcanoes are steep, cone-shaped volcanoes built from lava fragments called 'cinders.' These volcanic cinders, also known as 'scoria,' are glassy volcanic fragments that explode from the volcano and cool quickly. Therefore, they do not fall far from the vent of the volcano, and this builds the steep sides of the cinder cone volcanoes fairly quickly. ×

Volcano

October 11, 1975 saw the debug of SNL with what famed comedian as the host?

Volcano Facts and Types of Volcanoes Volcano Facts and Types of Volcanoes By Mary Bagley, LiveScience Contributor | February 20, 2013 07:00pm ET MORE Close view of Stromboli Volcano erupting incandescent molten lava framgents. Credit: B. Chouet/USGS. A volcano is a vent or fissure in Earth's crust through which lava, ash, rock and gases erupt. A volcano is also a mountain formed by the accumulation of these eruptive products. Let's take a look at how volcanoes form: Earth's crust is 40 to 250 miles (64 to 402 kilometers) thick. It is broken up into 14 major and 38 smaller pieces called tectonic plates. These plates float on a layer of magma — semi-liquid rock and dissolved gases. At the boundaries of these plates — where they move past, are pushed under, or move away from each other — magma, which is lighter than the surrounding solid rock, is often able to force its way up through cracks and fissures. Magma can explode from the vent, or it can flow out of the volcano like an overflowing cup. Magma that has erupted is called lava. [ Related: 50 Amazing Volcano Facts ] Principal types of volcanoes Cinder cone volcanoes (also called scoria cones) are the most common type of volcano and are the symmetrical cone shaped volcanoes we typically think of. They may occur as single volcanoes or as secondary volcanoes on the sides of stratovolcanoes or shield volcanoes. Airborne fragments of lava, called tephra, are ejected from a single vent. The lava cools rapidly and builds up around the vent, forming a crater at the summit. Cinder cone volcanoes are fairly small, generally only about 300 feet (91 meters) tall and not rising more than 1,200 feet (366 meters). They can build up over short periods of a few months or years. Stratovolcanoes are also called composite volcanoes because they are built of layers of alternating lava flow, ash and blocks of unmelted stone. They are larger than cinder cones, rising up to 8,000 feet (2,438 meters). Stratovolcanoes result from a conduit system of vents leading from a magma reservoir beneath the surface. When dormant, they typically have steep concave sides that sweep together at the top around a relatively small crater. Stratovolcanoes erupt with great violence. Pressure builds in the magma chamber as gases, under immense heat and pressure, are dissolved in the liquid rock. When the magma reaches the conduits the pressure is released and the gases explode, like soda spewing out of a soda can that you shook up and opened suddenly. Because they form in a system of underground conduits, stratovolcanoes may blow out the sides of the cone as well as the summit crater. Stratovolcanoes are considered the most violent eruptions. Mount St. Helens , in Washington state, is a stratovolcano that erupted on May 18, 1980. Approximately 230 square miles (596 square kilometers) of forest was completely obliterated and 57 people were killed. Ash was blown up into the atmosphere and fell over 11 states. Shield volcanoes are huge, gently sloping volcanoes built of very thin lava spreading out in all directions from a central vent. They have wide bases several miles in diameter with steeper middle slopes and a flatter summit. The gentle convex slopes give them an outline like a medieval knight’s shield. Eruptions are not generally explosive, more like liquid overflowing around the edges of a container. The world’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, is a shield volcano. Mauna Loa is about 55,770 feet (17,000 meters) from its base beneath the ocean to the summit, which is 13,681 feet (4,170 meters) above sea level. It is also one of the Earth’s most active volcanoes and is carefully monitored. The most recent eruption was in 1984. Lava domes are built up when the lava is too viscous to flow. A bubble or plug of cooling rock forms over a fissure. This cooler, thick lava usually rises near the end of an explosive eruption and lava domes often form within the craters of stratovolcanoes. Mount St. Helens has several well-defined lava domes inside the crater. Other volcanic landforms Besides the symmetry of well-known stratovolcanoes such as Mount Fuji in Japan and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, volcanic activity is responsible for several other distinctive landforms. Calderas: A caldera is a bowl-shaped depression formed when a volcano collapses into the void left when its magma chamber is emptied; there are three types. The first type is a crater lake caldera. This is the result of a stratovolcano collapsing into its magma chamber during a violent eruption. Basaltic calderas have a concentric ring pattern resulting from a series of gradual collapses rather than a single event. They are often found at the summit of shield volcanoes such as the craters at the tops of Mauna Loa and Kilauea . Resurgent calderas are the largest volcanic structures on Earth. They are the result of catastrophic eruptions that dwarf any eruptions ever recorded by human beings. Yellowstone caldera, sometimes called the “super volcano,” is one example. Volcanic plugs: When magma solidifies in the fissure of a volcano the hard dense rock may form a “neck” that remains when softer surrounding rock has been eroded away. This can result in dramatic landmarks such as Ship Rock in New Mexico, and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Lava Plateaus: Shield volcanoes may erupt along lines of fissures rather than a central vent spilling liquid lava in successive layers. Over time as these layers form broad plateaus such as the Columbia Plateau. These plateaus are often cut by deep canyons that expose the layers of rock.  A fissure vent opened on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. Credit: HVO/USGS Volcanoes in history A.D. 79: One of the most famous volcanoes is Mount Vesuvius, which sits along the Bay of Naples in southern Italy. It has erupted more than 50 times in the past 2,000 years. The A.D. 79 eruption, which buried Pompeii, made Vesuvius famous, but another eruption in 1631 killed some 4,000 people. 1669: In Sicily, Mount Etna sent a river of lava through the streets of Catania, killing some 20,000 people there and in the surrounding region. [ Video: Mount Etna's Dramatic New Eruption ] 1783: The eruption of Mount Skaptar in Iceland devastated farming and fishing, causing a famine that killed a fifth of the country's people. 1815:Whirlwinds and tsunamis from the eruption of Mount Tambora, on Sumbawa Island in Indonesia, killed 12,000 people. The volcano sent a cloud ejecta into the atmosphere that was more than four times the amount ejected by Mount Pinatubo in 1991. 1883: Another Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa, erupted in an explosion heard 3,000 miles away. Seventy-pound boulders landed on islands 50 miles away, and a 130-foot tsunami devastated hundreds of villages, including Java and Sumatra. About 36,000 people died. Dust high in the atmosphere caused the Moon to appear blue, and sometimes green, for two years. 1902: Mount Pelée, on the island of Martinique, smothered the town of Saint-Pierre in deadly gas and hot ash, killing 29,933 of the 29,937 residents. 1980: Mount St. Helens in Washington state blew 1,300 feet off its top, killing 57 people and causing a midday darkness in towns 85 miles away. 1991: After 600 years of dormancy, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines rumbled for days before erupting and killing about 750 people. Ash was more than 6 feet deep in a two-mile radius around the volcano, and buried a U.S. air base 15 miles away. Pinatubo's cloud of sulfuric acid, some 20 million tons of it, climbed to more than 12 miles in the stratosphere. Over the next several weeks, the cloud encircled the equator and spread to the poles, covering the entire planet. The particles reflected sunlight and cooled the Earth by nearly a full degree Fahrenheit. Other significant U.S. volcanoes Lassen Peak, California: Erupted between 1914 and 1917, causing no deaths. Lassen is considered one of the most likely in the Cascade Range to erupt again. Long Valley, California: The Long Valley Caldera is a 10-by 20-mile depression in the Sierra Nevada Mountains caused by an eruption 700,000 years ago. A tremendous explosion spit out molten rock from 4 miles under the surface; afterward, the whole mess settled more than a mile down into the depression where the magma had been. Magma still feeds hot springs in the caldera. Earthquakes in 1980 marked the beginning of new activity that has included shifts in the position of hot springs and swarms of other small earthquakes. Geologists say it probably indicates that magma is again rising from below, and they suspect the area will erupt again. Mount Shasta, California: Last known eruption was in 1786. It is believed to erupt every 600 to 800 years. Mountain is significant as the incredibly dominant visual element in the Northern California landscape. Kilauea and Muana Loa, Hawaii: Each tends to erupt every two or three years; eruptions are non-explosive, allowing these two volcanoes to be among the most studied active volcanoes in the world. Further reading:

i don't know

According to the pangram, what jumps over the lazy dog?

As Mark tweeted today, there used to be a page on Wikipedia listing pangrams in various languages. This was deleted yesterday for the kind of reasons that only Wikipedians have ( It is mostly comprised of nonsense phrases thought up by people who apparently find this sort of thing terribly clever ). Pangrams are words or sentences containing every letter of the alphabet at least once; the best known English example being A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog . As well as containing some rather amusing gems, the pangrams in languages other than English can be occasionally useful for designers of all sorts. For that reason I have resurrected the page of pangrams here, pretty much as it was in Wikipedia. Contents Perfect pangrams in English (26 letters)[ edit ] Without abbreviations, acronyms, contractions, initialisms, isolated letters, proper nouns, Roman numerals[ edit ] Cwm fjord veg balks nth pyx quiz. (Relaxing in basins at the end of inlets terminates the endless tests from the box.) Cwm fjord bank glyphs vext quiz. (Carved symbols in a mountain hollow on the bank of an inlet irritated an eccentric person.) [1] Jink cwm, zag veldt, fob qursh pyx. (Cross valley and plain to steal coins from Saudi mint. – created by Stephen Wagner) Junky qoph-flags vext crwd zimb. (An Abyssinian fly playing a Celtic violin was annoyed by trashy flags on which were the Hebrew letter qoph.) Squdgy fez, blank jimp crwth vox! (A short brimless felt hat barely blocks out the sound of a Celtic violin. – created by Claude Shannon ) Veldt jynx grimps waqf zho buck (A grass-plains wryneck climbs upon a male yak-cattle hybrid that was donated under Islamic law.) Bortz waqf glyphs vex muck djin. (Signage indicating endowments for industrial diamonds annoy filth-spreading genies. – created by Ed Spargo) With abbreviations, acronyms, initialisms or proper nouns, all restricted to dictionary words[ edit ] Jumbling vext frowzy hacks PDQ . (Being bounced around quickly annoyed the disheveled taxi drivers. – all words in high school dictionary) PR flacks quiz gym: TV DJ box when? (Public relations agent asks sports room, when do television disc jockeys fight?) Zing, dwarf jocks vex lymph, Qutb . (Making a high-pitched sound, short athletes annoy their white blood plasma and an Islamic saint. – created by Peter M. Lella) Zing, vext cwm fly jabs Kurd qoph . (Making a high-pitched sound, annoyed mountain basin insect sticks Hebrew letter.) Kat veld zubr gif cwm jynx qophs. (European bison of a shrubby African plain make digital image files of Semitic letters from valley wrynecks. – discovered by Da-Shih Hu) With abbreviations, acronyms, contractions, initialisms, isolated letters, proper nouns, Roman Numerals and not restricted to Dictionary Words[ edit ] A zenith of Xvurj’s cwm KL Gybdq Zombies play crwth, quj FDG xvnk Blowzy night-frumps vex’d Jack Q. Dwarf mobs quiz lynx.jpg, kvetch! (Crowd of midgets question picture of wildcat, then complain.) Frowzy things plumb vex’d Jack Q. G.B. fjords vex quick waltz nymph. Glum Schwartzkopf vex’d by NJ IQ. Gym DJ Beck vows phiz tranq flux. (Beck, the gymnasium DJ, promises a change in facial tranquilizers.) Jerk gawps foxy Qum Blvd. chintz. JFK got my VHS, PC and XLR web quiz. Jocks find quartz glyph, vex BMW. J.Q. Vandz struck my big fox whelp. J.Q. Schwartz flung D.V. Pike my box. Jump dogs, why vex Fritz Blank QC? Mr. Jock, TV quiz PhD, bags few lynx. New job: fix Mr. Gluck’s hazy TV, PDQ! (includes 5 punctuation symbols ) Quartz glyph job vex’d cwm finks. (The act of carving symbols into quartz irritated ruffians from a Welsh river valley.) Quartz jock vends BMW glyph fix. The glib czar junks my VW Fox PDQ. Longer pangrams in English (in order of fewest letters used)[ edit ] Nymphs blitz quick vex dwarf jog. (27 letters) DJs flock by when MTV ax quiz prog. (27 letters) (2 acronyms, 1 abbreviation and a US spelling) Big fjords vex quick waltz nymph. (27 letters) Bawds jog, flick quartz, vex nymph. (27 letters) Waltz job vexed quick frog nymphs. (28 letters) (new variation on 29 letter version) Junk MTV quiz graced by fox whelps. (28 letters) (Includes abbreviation) Bawds jog, flick quartz, vex nymphs . (28 letters) Waltz, bad nymph, for quick jigs vex! (28 letters) Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud! (28 letters) (Includes proper noun) Fox nymphs grab quick-jived waltz. (28 letters) Brick quiz whangs jumpy veldt fox. (28 letters) Glib jocks quiz nymph to vex dwarf. (28 letters) Bright vixens jump; dozy fowl quack. (29 letters) Vexed nymphs go for quick waltz job. (29 letters) Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim. (29 letters) (Includes proper noun) Quick zephyrs blow, vexing daft Jim. (29 letters) (Includes proper noun) Quick blowing zephyrs vex daft Jim. (29 letters) (Includes proper noun) Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow! (29 letters) (Used by Adobe InDesign when providing samples of all fonts.) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz. (29 letters) (Includes abbreviation) Both fickle dwarves jinx my pig quiz. (30 letters) Fat hag dwarves quickly zap jinx mob. (30 letters) Hick dwarves jam blitzing foxy quip. (30 letters) Fox dwarves chop my talking quiz job. (30 letters) Public junk dwarves quiz mighty fox. (30 letters) Jack fox bids ivy-strewn phlegm quiz. (30 letters) (Includes proper noun) How quickly daft jumping zebras vex. (30 letters) Two driven jocks help fax my big quiz. (30 letters) “Now fax quiz Jack!” my brave ghost pled. (30 letters) (Includes proper noun) Jack, love my big wad of sphinx quartz! (30 letters) (Includes proper noun) Do wafting zephyrs quickly vex Jumbo? (31 letters) (Includes proper noun) Go, lazy fat vixen; be shrewd, jump quick. (31 letters) Fickle jinx bog dwarves spy math quiz. (31 letters) Big dwarves heckle my top quiz of jinx. (31 letters) Fickle bog dwarves jinx empathy quiz. (31 letters) Public junk dwarves hug my quartz fox. (31 letters) Jumping hay dwarves flock quartz box. (31 letters) Five jumping wizards hex bolty quick. (31 letters) Five hexing wizard bots jump quickly. (31 letters) Quick fox jumps nightly above wizard. (31 letters) Vamp fox held quartz duck just by wing. (31 letters) Five quacking zephyrs jolt my wax bed. (31 letters) (Used by Mac OS X when previewing TrueType fonts.) The five boxing wizards jump quickly. (31 letters) (Used by XXDiff as sample text) Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz. (31 letters) (Used by Microsoft Windows XP when previewing some non-TrueType/OpenType fonts. It is interesting that the set of digits afterwards omits the numeral 7.) Show mangled quartz flip vibe exactly. (32 letters) My jocks box, get hard, unzip, quiver, flow. (32 letters) Kvetching, flummoxed by job, W. zaps Iraq. (32 letters) (Includes proper nouns) My ex pub quiz crowd gave joyful thanks. (32 letters) Cozy sphinx waves quart jug of bad milk. (32 letters) A very bad quack might jinx zippy fowls. (32 letters) (Contains all 26 letters in lower case) Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. (32 letters) (Used for font samples in the catalog of the Kelsey Press Company, by Beagle Bros and in Space Shuttle ; featured in Ella Minnow Pea ) Few quips galvanized the mock jury box. (32 letters) Quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. (32 letters) (Not attested as frequently as the traditional, and better-formed, The quick brown fox… , below) Quilt frenzy jackdaw gave them best pox. (33 letters) Jumpy halfling dwarves pick quartz box. (33 letters) Schwarzkopf vexed Iraq big-time in July. (33 letters) (Includes proper nouns) Vex quest wizard, judge my backflop hand. (33 letters) The jay, pig, fox, zebra and my wolves quack! (33 letters) Blowzy red vixens fight for a quick jump. (33 letters) Sex prof gives back no quiz with mild joy. (33 letters) (Includes abbreviation) The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog. (33 letters) (A variant of the better-known, but longer, version with the in place of a, below.) A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. (33 letters) (This variation contains all 26 letters in lower case) Quest judge wizard bonks foxy chimp love. (34 letters) Boxers had zap of gay jock love, quit women. (34 letters, each consonant used only once) Joaquin Phoenix was gazed by MTV for luck. (34 letters) (Includes proper nouns and abbreviation) JCVD might pique a sleazy boxer with funk. [2] (34 letters) (Includes abbreviation of proper noun) Quizzical twins proved my hijack-bug fix. (34 letters) Fix problem quickly with galvanized jets. (35 letters) The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog . (35 letters) (Used to test typewriters and computer keyboards, and as sample text; famous for its coherency, dating back to 1888. Sometimes erroneously quoted with “jumped”, omitting the letter s.) Waxy and quivering, jocks fumble the pizza. (35 letters) When zombies arrive, quickly fax judge Pat. (35 letters) (Includes proper noun) Heavy boxes perform quick waltzes and jigs. (36 letters) A wizard’s job is to vex chumps quickly in fog. (36 letters) Sympathizing would fix Quaker objectives. (36 letters) (Includes proper noun) Pack my red box with five dozen quality jugs. (36 letters) BlewJ’s computer quiz favored proxy hacking. (37 letters) (Includes proper noun) Quads of blowzy fjord ignite map vex’d chicks. (37 letters) Fake bugs put in wax jonquils drive him crazy. (37 letters) Watch “Jeopardy!”, Alex Trebek’s fun TV quiz game. (37 letters) (Includes proper nouns and abbreviation) GQ jock wears vinyl tuxedo for showbiz promo. (37 letters) (Includes abbreviation) The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. (37 letters) Who packed five dozen old quart jugs in my box? (37 letters) Woven silk pyjamas exchanged for blue quartz. (38 letters) (Used for font samples by Scribus ) Brawny gods just flocked up to quiz and vex him. (38 letters) Twelve ziggurats quickly jumped a finch box. (38 letters) Prating jokers quizzically vexed me with fibs. (39 letters) My faxed joke won a pager in the cable TV quiz show. (39 letters) (Includes abbreviation) The quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf. (39 letters) (From flavor text in a card in the Magic: the Gathering card game [3] ) The lazy major was fixing Cupid’s broken quiver. (39 letters) (Includes proper noun) Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes . (40 letters) (only 5 words – fewer than all others in this list) Jacky can now give six big tips from the old quiz. (40 letters) Lovak won the squad prize cup for sixty big jumps. (40 letters) J. Fox made five quick plays to win the big prize. (40 letters) Foxy diva Jennifer Lopez wasn’t baking my quiche. (41 letters) (Includes proper noun) Cozy lummox gives smart squid who asks for job pen. (41 letters) (Used for font samples by the Macintosh , post- System 7 , as well as on certain Palm products) By Jove, my quick study of lexicography won a prize. (41 letters) (Includes proper noun) Levi Lentz packed my bag with six quarts of juice. (41 letters) Painful zombies quickly watch a jinxed graveyard. (42 letters) Fax back Jim’s Gwyneth Paltrow video quiz. (42 letters) (Includes proper nouns) As quirky joke, chefs won’t pay devil magic zebra tax. (42 letters) My girl wove six dozen plaid jackets before she quit. (43 letters) Then a cop quizzed Mick Jagger’s ex-wives briefly. (43 letters) (Includes proper noun) Six big devils from Japan quickly forgot how to waltz. (44 letters) (Includes proper noun) “Who am taking the ebonics quiz?”, the prof jovially axed. (44 letters) Why shouldn’t a quixotic Kazakh vampire jog barefoot? (44 letters) (Includes proper noun) Grumpy wizards make a toxic brew for the jovial queen. (44 letters) Sixty zips were quickly picked from the woven jute bag. (45 letters) Big July earthquakes confound zany experimental vow. (45 letters) (Includes proper noun) Foxy parsons quiz and cajole the lovably dim wiki-girl. (45 letters) Cute, kind, jovial, foxy physique, amazing beauty? Wowser! (45 letters) Have a pick: twenty-six letters — no forcing a jumbled quiz! (46 letters) A very big box sailed up then whizzed quickly from Japan. (46 letters) Battle of Thermopylae : Quick javelin grazed wry Xerxes . (46 letters) (Includes proper nouns) Jack quietly moved up front and seized the big ball of wax. (47 letters) (Includes proper noun) Few black taxis drive up major roads on quiet hazy nights. (47 letters) Just poets wax boldly as kings and queens march over fuzz. (47 letters) Bored? Craving a pub quiz fix? Why, just come to the Royal Oak! (47 letters) (Used to advertise a pub quiz in Bowness-on-Windermere ) Quincy Pondexter blocked five jams against the Wizards ! (47 letters) (Includes proper nouns) Crazy Frederick bought many very exquisite opal jewels. (48 letters) (Includes proper noun) A quivering Texas zombie fought republic linked jewelry. (48 letters) (Includes proper noun) Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil queen and jack. (48 letters) (Used by Google Fonts ) The job of waxing linoleum frequently peeves chintzy kids. (49 letters) Back in June we delivered oxygen equipment of the same size. (49 letters) (Includes proper noun) Just keep examining every low bid quoted for zinc etchings. (49 letters) (Used in many type specimen books for letterpress printers) How razorback-jumping frogs can level six piqued gymnasts! (49 letters) (Used for font samples by the Macintosh , System 7 era) A quick movement of the enemy will jeopardize six gunboats. (49 letters) All questions asked by five watched experts amaze the judge. (49 letters) Bobby Klun awarded Jayme sixth place for her very high quiz. (50 letters) The wizard quickly jinxed the gnomes before they vaporized. (50 letters) Zelda might fix the job growth plans very quickly on Monday. (50 letters) Zack Gappow saved the job requirement list for the six boys. (50 letters) Jackie will budget for the most expensive zoology equipment. (51 letters) Quirky spud boys can jam after zapping five worthy Polysixes . (51 letters) (Includes proper noun) Jim quickly realized that the beautiful gowns are expensive. (51 letters) English phonetic pangrams[ edit ] Pangrams which use all the phonemes , or phones, of English (rather than alphabetic characters): “With tenure, Suzie’d have all the more leisure for yachting, but her publications are no good.” (for certain US accents and phonological analyses) “Shaw, those twelve beige hooks are joined if I patch a young, gooey mouth.” (perfect for certain accents with the cot-caught merger ) “Are those shy Eurasian footwear, cowboy chaps, or jolly earthmoving headgear?” (perfect for certain Received Pronunciation accents) “The beige hue on the waters of the loch impressed all, including the French queen, before she heard that symphony again, just as young Arthur wanted.” (a phonetic, not merely phonemic, pangram. It contains both nasals [m] and [ɱ] (as in ‘symphony’), the fricatives [x] (as in ‘loch’) and [ç] (as in ‘hue’), and the ‘dark L’ [ɫ] (as in ‘all’) - in other words, it contains different allophones.) صِف خَلقَ خَودِ كَمِثلِ الشَمسِ إِذ بَزَغَت — يَحظى الضَجيعُ بِها نَجلاءَ مِعطارِ (A poem by Al Farāhīdi ) هلا سكنت بذي ضغثٍ فقد زعموا — شخصت تطلب ظبياً راح مجتازا اصبر على حفظ خضر واستشر فطنا، وزج همك في بغداذ منثملا نصٌّ حكيمٌ لهُ سِرٌّ قاطِعٌ وَذُو شَأنٍ عَظيمٍ مكتوبٌ على ثوبٍ أخضرَ ومُغلفٌ بجلدٍ أزرق naṣun ḥakymun lahu syrun qāṭiʿun wa ḏu šānin ʿẓymin maktubun ʿala ṯubin aẖḍra wa muġalafun biǧildin azraq A wise text which has an absolute secret and great importance, written on a green cloth and covered with blue leather (it has a riddle built into it) ابجد هوز حطي كلمن سعفص قرشت ثخذ ضظغ أبجد هوز ترتيب الحروف العبرية والعربية من اللغات الساميَّة Ах чудна българска земьо, полюшвай цъфтящи жита. Ah, wonderful Bulgarian land, shake the blooming wheat fields. Жълтата дюля беше щастлива, че пухът, който цъфна, замръзна като гьон. The yellow quince was happy that the fluff which bloomed froze like sole-leather. За миг бях в чужд плюшен скърцащ фотьойл. (Used for font samples by the Macintosh , in the localized System 7 ) For a moment I was in someone else’s plush squeaking armchair. Вкъщи не яж сьомга с фиде без ракийка и хапка люта чушчица! At home, do not eat salmon with soup noodles without rakia and a bit of hot paprika! Под южно дърво, цъфтящо в синьо, бягаше малко пухкаво зайче. Under a southern tree, blooming in blue, ran a little fluffy bunny. Шугав льохман, държащ птицечовка без сейф и ютия. A mangy lummox, holding a platypus without a safe and flat iron. Я, пазачът Вальо уж бди, а скришом хапва кюфтенца зад щайгите. Why, Valyo the guard is supposed to be watching, and yet he’s secretly eating meatballs behind the crates. Хълцайки много, въздесъщият позьор, Юрий жабока, фучеше. Hiccuping intensely, the famous poseur, Yuri the frog, was sputtering. Гномът Доцьо приключи спящ в шейна за жаби. Dotsyo the Gnome ended up sleeping in a carriage for frogs. Щиглецът се яде само пържен в юфка без чушки и хвойна. Goldfinch is only eaten fried with noodles, without peppers and juniper. Фучейки и хълцайки, кьоравият грухтящ шопар жадно стъпка зюмбюлите Snorting and whimpering, the grunting blind boar hungrily trampled the hyacinths. Хълцащ змей плюе шофьор стигнал чуждия бивак. A hiccuping dragon spits at a driver who has reached someone else’s campsite. Щурчо Цоньо хапваше ловджийско кюфте с бяла гъмза. Tsonyo the cricket was eating a hunter-style meatball with white Gamza wine. Catalan [ edit ] (with all letters and diacritics) «Dóna amor que seràs feliç!». Això, il·lús company geniüt, ja és un lluït rètol blavís d’onze kWh. “Give love and you’ll be happy!”. This, ingenuous fellow with bad temper, is already in a blue sign of 11kWh. (with ç ) Jove xef, porti whisky amb quinze glaçons d’hidrogen, coi! Young chef, bring whisky with fifteen hydrogen ice cubes, darn! Aqueix betzol, Jan, comprava whisky de figa That idiot, Jan, was buying fig whisky Zel de grum: quetxup, whisky, cafè, bon vi; ja! Coi! quinze jans golafres de Xàtiva, beuen whisky a pams Czech [ edit ] Nechť již hříšné saxofony ďáblů rozezvučí síň úděsnými tóny waltzu, tanga a quickstepu. (All 42 letters of the Czech alphabet, 72 letters in total) Let the sinful saxophones of devils finally make the hall resonate with the frightful tones of waltz, tango and quickstep. Příliš žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy. (All the non-ASCII letters of the Czech alphabet – popular sentence for character sets testing) Unduly yellowish horse was groaning devilish odes. Hleď, toť přízračný kůň v mátožné póze šíleně úpí. Behold, tis the eerie horse in tottering affectation groaning like crazy. Zvlášť zákeřný učeň s ďolíčky běží podél zóny úlů. Particularly insidious apprentice with dimples is running along the zone of hives. Loď čeří kýlem tůň obzvlášť v Grónské úžině. A vessel ripples a pool by its keel, especially in the strait of Greenland. Ó, náhlý déšť již zvířil prach a čilá laň teď běží s houfcem gazel k úkrytům. Oh, sudden rain has already whirled the dust and a spry doe now gallops with a flock of gazelles for the shelter. (Each letter exactly once) Høj bly gom vandt fræk sexquiz på wc Tall shy groom won dirty sex quiz on W.C. Quizdeltagerne spiste jordbær med fløde, mens cirkusklovnen Walther spillede på xylofon. The quiz contestants ate strawberry with cream while Walter the circus clown played the xylophone. Eble ĉiu kvazaŭ-deca fuŝĥoraĵo ĝojigos homtipon. Maybe every quasi-fitting bungle-choir makes a human type happy. Laŭ Ludoviko Zamenhof bongustas freŝa ĉeĥa manĝaĵo kun spicoj. According to Ludwig Zamenhof, fresh Czech food with spices tastes good. Põdur Zagrebi tšellomängija-följetonist Ciqo külmetas kehvas garaažis Ill-healthy cellist-feuilletonist Ciqo from Zagreb was being cold in a poor garage. (used in KDE font selection). See väike mölder jõuab rongile hüpata This small miller is able to jump to train (used in localized version of Microsoft Word in Office XP, contains all non-foreign letters) Jubedalt möirgav lõukoer hüppas tänaval Terribly roaring lion jumped on street (A perfect pangram which does not include characters only found in foreign or loanwords (b, c, f, q, w, x, z, å)): Törkylempijävongahdus Muckysnogger booty-call. (Without the foreign characters c, q, x, z, w, å) Albert osti fagotin ja töräytti puhkuvan melodian. Albert bought a bassoon and blasted a puffing melody. (used in older versions of Word Perfect ). (Without the foreign characters b, c, f, q, w, x, z, å) Lorun sangen pieneksi hyödyksi jäivät suomen kirjaimet. The quite small benefit of the rhyme was the letters of Finnish. Hyvän lorun sangen pieneksi hyödyksi jäi suomen kirjaimet. Modification of the previous one where the first letter is repeated (in the case the capital first letter is used but all the small letters are needed): The quite small benefit of the good rhyme was the letters of Finnish. (All characters, including foreign ones): Fahrenheit ja Celsius yrjösivät Åsan backgammon-peliin, Volkswagenissa, daiquirin ja ZX81:n yhteisvaikutuksesta. Fahrenheit and Celsius threw up on Åsa’s Backgammon board, in a Volkswagen, due to the coeffect of daiquiri and a ZX81. (All characters, including foreign ones): Charles Darwin jammaili Åken hevixylofonilla Qatarin yöpub Zeligissä. Charles Darwin was jamming on Åke’s heavy metal xylophone in the Qatar night pub Zelig. (All characters, including foreign ones): Wieniläinen sioux’ta puhuva ökyzombie diggaa Åsan roquefort-tacoja. The Sioux-speaking filthy rich zombie from Vienna digs Åsa’s Roquefort tacos. Buvez de ce whisky que le patron juge fameux. (36) Drink some of this whisky which the boss finds excellent. Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume Take this old whisky to the blond smoking judge Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui a fumé. (variant with “é”) Take this old whisky to the blond judge who has smoked. Bâchez la queue du wagon-taxi avec les pyjamas du fakir Tarpaulin up the taxi-railcar tail with the fakir’s pajamas Voyez le brick géant que j’examine près du wharf See the giant brig which I examine near the wharf Voix ambiguë d’un cœur qui au zéphyr préfère les jattes de kiwi Ambiguous voice of a heart which prefers kiwi bowls to a zephyr Monsieur Jack, vous dactylographiez bien mieux que votre ami Wolf Mister Jack, you typed much better than your friend Wolf [was used in the Swiss army to check the keyboard of typewriters before teletransmission] (no umlauts or ß ): Sylvia wagt quick den Jux bei Pforzheim Sylvia dares quickly the joke near Pforzheim (no umlauts or ß): Franz jagt im komplett verwahrlosten Taxi quer durch Bayern Franz chases in the completely shabby cab straight through Bavaria (with umlauts and ß): Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den großen Sylter Deich Victor chases twelve boxers across the great dam of Sylt (with umlauts and ß, each letter exactly once, according to the pre-1996 spelling rules ): “Fix, Schwyz!” quäkt Jürgen blöd vom Paß “Quick, Schwyz !” Jürgen squawks zanily from the pass “Falsches Üben von Xylophonmusik quält jeden größeren Zwerg” (used by KDE ) Wrong practising of xylophone music bothers every larger dwarf Greek [ edit ] Ταχίστη αλώπηξ βαφής ψημένη γη, δρασκελίζει υπέρ νωθρού κυνός Takhístè alôpèx vaphês psèménè gè, draskelízei ypér nòthroý kynós The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (where brown is assigned by “colour of roasted earth”) Ξεσκεπάζω τὴν ψυχοφθόρα βδελυγμία. Xeskepazó tin psychofthóra vdelygmía. I uncover the soul-destroying abhorrence. Ζαφείρι δέξου πάγκαλο, βαθῶν ψυχῆς τὸ σῆμα. Receive an excellent sapphire, denoting profundity of soul. διαφυλάξτε γενικά τη ζωή σας από βαθειά ψυχικά τραύματα protect in general your life from deep psychological wounds Notable pangrams found occurring in ancient Greek literature include: דג סקרן שט בים מאוכזב ולפתע מצא חברה dg sqrn šṭ bjM mʾwkzb wlptʿ mṣʾ ḥbrh (A curious fish sailed the sea disappointedly, and suddenly found company) כך התרסק נפץ על גוזל קטן, שדחף את צבי למים kk htrsq npṣ ʿl gwzl qṭn, šdḥp ʾt ṣbj lmjm An explosive crashed into a small chick, which pushed my deer into the water. (Includes all medial and final forms, here indicated by bold letters.) שפן אכל קצת גזר בטעם חסה, ודי. špn ʾkl qṣt gzr bṭʿm ḥsh, wdj (A hyrax ate some lettuce flavored carrot and that’s it) Each letter occurs exactly once. עטלף אבק נס דרך מזגן שהתפוצץ כי חם (A “dust bat” escaped through the air conditioner, which exploded due to the heat) All 22 in the Hebrew alphabet with all medial and final forms או הנסה אלהים, לבוא לקחת לו גוי מקרב גוי, במסת באתת ובמופתים ובמלחמה וביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה, ובמוראים גדלים: ככל אשר-עשה לכם יהוה אלהיכם, במצרים—לעיניך ( Deuteronomy 4:34) לכן חכו לי נאם יהוה ליום קומי לעד, כי משפטי לאסף גוים לקבצי ממלכות, לשפך עליהם זעמי כל חרון אפי, כי באש קנאתי תאכל כל הארץ ( Zephaniah 3:8 – the only verse in the Hebrew Bible that contains all medial forms of the letters plus all final forms ) Muharjo seorang xenofobia universal yang takut pada warga jazirah, contohnya Qatar. Muharjo is a universal xenophobic who fears the peninsula residents, such as Qatar. Saya lihat foto Hamengkubuwono XV bersama enam zebra purba cantik yang jatuh dari Alquranmu. I saw a photo of Hamengkubuwono XV along with six beautiful ancient zebra which fell from your Koran. Hafiz mengendarai bajaj payah-payah ke warnet-x untuk mencetak lembar verifikasi dalam kertas quarto. D’fhuascail Íosa Úrmhac na hÓighe Beannaithe pór Éava agus Ádhaimh D’ḟuascail Íosa Úrṁac na hÓiġe Beannaiṫe pór Éaḃa agus Áḋaiṁ Jesus, Son of the blessed Virgin, redeemed the seed of Eve and Adam. Ċuaiġ bé ṁórṡáċ le dlúṫspád fíorḟinn trí hata mo ḋea-ṗorcáin ḃig A greatly satisfied woman went with a truly white dense spade through the hat of my good little well-fattened pig (uses both regular and lenited (with dot above) letters) Pangrams in Italian normally omit the foreign letters j, k, w, x, and y. Quel fez sghembo copre davanti That slanted fez covers the front. Ma la volpe, col suo balzo, ha raggiunto il quieto Fido. But the fox with her leap has reached the still Fido. [*”Fido” is a name commonly given to dogs.*] Quel vituperabile xenofobo zelante assaggia il whisky ed esclama: alleluja! That blameworthy, zealous xenophobe tastes his whisky and exclaims: Alleluja! Pranzo d’acqua fa volti sghembi. Lunch of water makes lopsided faces. O templi, quarzi, vigne, fidi boschi! O temples, quartzes, vines, faithful woods! Che tempi brevi, zio, quando solfeggi. Such short times, uncle, when you sol-fa. Qualche notizia pavese mi fa sbadigliare. Some news from Pavia makes me yawn. In quel campo si trovan funghi in abbondanza. In that field, mushrooms are to be found in abundance. Qualche vago ione tipo zolfo, bromo, sodio. Some vague ions, like sulfur, bromine, sodium. Berlusconi? Quiz, tv, paghe da fame. ( Umberto Eco ) [4] Tv? Quiz, Br, Flm, Dc… Oh, spenga! ( Umberto Eco , 1979, without foreign letters) いろはにほへと ちりぬるを わかよたれそ つねならむ うゐのおくやま けふこえて あさきゆめみし ゑひもせす（ん） irohanihoheto chirinuruwo wakayotareso tsunenaramu uwinookuyama kefukoete asakiyumemishi yehimosesu(n) 色は匂へど 散りぬるを 我が世誰ぞ 常ならむ 有為の奥山 今日越えて 浅き夢見じ 酔ひもせず（ん） * The poem Iroha uses all 47 classical kana characters exactly once, and it comes in the form of a poem. (The characters ゐ and ゑ are obsolete in modern Japanese.) Iroha is so classically entrenched that any modern construction of a Japanese pangram in classical form is called iroha-uta. Tori Naku Uta とりなくこゑす ゆめさませ みよあけわたる ひんかしを そらいろはえて おきつへに ほふねむれゐぬ もやのうち torinakukowesu yumesamase miyoakewataru hinkashiwo sorairohaete okitsuheni hofunemurewinu moyanōchi. 鳥啼く声す 夢覚ませ 見よ明け渡る 東を 空色栄えて 沖つ辺に 帆船群れゐぬ 靄の中 * Awaken from dreaming to the voice of the crying bird and see the coming daylight turning the east sky-blue; shrouded in mist is a flock of ships on the open sea Ametsuchi No Uta あめ つち ほし そら / やま かは みね たに / くも きり むろ こけ / ひと いぬ うへ すゑ / ゆわ さる おふ せよ / えのえを なれ ゐて 天 地 星 空 / 山 川 峰 谷 / 雲 霧 室 苔 / 人 犬 上 末 / 硫黄 猿 生ふ 為よ / 榎の 枝を 馴れ 居て Taini no Uta たゐにいて なつむわれをそ きみめすと あさりおひゆく やましろの うちゑへるこら もはほせよ えふねかけぬ 田居に出で 菜摘むわれをぞ 君召すと 求食り追ひゆく 山城の 打酔へる子ら 藻葉干せよ え舟繋けぬ Norwegian [ edit ] Since Norwegian orthography does not include c, q, w, x or z, except in foreign borrowings that haven’t been naturalised, the possible pangrams including all the 29 letters of the Norwegian alphabet will require using two or more words with a distinctly foreign spelling. Vår sære Zulu fra badeøya spilte jo whist og quickstep i min taxi. Our strange Zulu from the bathing island actually played whist and quickstep in my taxi. Høvdingens kjære squaw får litt pizza i Mexico by. The chief’s dear squaw gets a little pizza in Mexico City. IQ-løs WC-boms uten hørsel skjærer god pizza på xylofon. IQ-less WC-bum without hearing cuts good pizza on xylophone. Sær golfer med kølle vant sexquiz på wc i hjemby. Strange golfer with club won sex quiz on W.C. in hometown. Jeg begynte å fortære en sandwich mens jeg kjørte taxi på vei til quiz I started to devour a sandwich while I was riding a taxi on the way to the quiz Perfect pangrams (each letter exactly once): Jeżu klątw, spłódź Finom część gry hańb! (by Stanisław Barańczak ) O hedgehog of curses, generate for the Finns a part of the game of ignominies! Pójdźże, kiń tę chmurność w głąb flaszy! Go, cast this melancholy into the depth of a bottle! Mężny bądź, chroń pułk twój i sześć flag. Be brave, protect your regiment and six flags. Filmuj rzeź żądań, pość, gnęb chłystków! Film the slaughter of demands, abstain from food, oppress the greenhorns! Pchnąć w tę łódź jeża lub ośm skrzyń fig. To push a hedgehog or eight crates of figs into this boat. (ośm – the original form of the numeral osiem ) Dość gróźb fuzją, klnę, pych i małżeństw! “Enough of these threats with the shotgun,” swear I, “haughtinesses and marriages!” Pójdź w loch zbić małżeńską gęś futryn! Go to the dungeon to batter the marital goose of doorframes! Chwyć małżonkę, strój bądź pleśń z fugi. Seize your wife, the garment, or the mold from the grout. Imperfect pangram: Um pequeno jabuti xereta viu dez cegonhas felizes. ( BP ) A curious little tortoise saw ten happy storks. Blitz prende ex-vesgo com cheque fajuto. ( BP ) Cop arrests ex-cross-eye with fake check in a checkpoint. Gazeta publica hoje no jornal uma breve nota de faxina na quermesse. ( BP ) The journalists publish today at the newspaper a short note about the cleaning at the kirmiss. Zebras caolhas de Java querem passar fax para moças gigantes de New York. ( BP ) One-eyed zebras from Java want to fax for giant ladies from New York. with diacritics Luís argüia à Júlia que «brações, fé, chá, óxido, pôr, zângão» eram palavras do português. Luís argued to Júlia that “big arms, faith, tea, oxide, to put, bee” were Portuguese words. À noite, vovô Kowalsky vê o ímã cair no pé do pingüim queixoso e vovó põe açúcar no chá de tâmaras do jabuti feliz. ( BP ) At night, grandpa Kowalsky sees the magnet falling on the complaining penguin’s foot and grandma puts sugar in the happy tortoise’s date tea. Muzicologă în bej vând whisky și tequila, preț fix. (Female) musicologist in beige, sells whisky and tequila, fixed price. Bând whisky, jazologul șprițuit vomă fix în tequila. Drinking whisky, the drunken jazzman threw up right in the tequila. Ex-sportivul își fumează jucăuș țigara bând whisky cu tequila. The ex-sportsman playfully smokes his cigarette, drinking whisky with tequila. Înjurând pițigăiat, zoofobul comandă vexat whisky și tequila. Swearing in high pitch, the zoophobic man vexedly ordered whisky and tequila. (traditional telegraph test; lacks ъ and ё) В чащах юга жил бы цитрус? Да, но фальшивый экземпляр! Would a citrus live in the thickets of the south? Yes, but only a fake one! (using quasiobsolete spelling for last word to include ъ) В чащах юга жил бы цитрус? Да, но фальшивый экземпляръ! same (each letter exactly once) Эх, чужак, общий съём цен шляп (юфть) – вдрызг! Hey, stranger, the general takings from prices of hats (made from a thick leather) have completely crashed! (each letter exactly once) — Любя, съешь щипцы, — вздохнёт мэр, — Кайф жгуч! The mayor will sigh, “Eat the pliers with love; pleasure burns!” (Microsoft used it in fontview.exe for Cyrillic fonts without «же») Съешь же ещё этих мягких французских булок, да выпей чаю. S’eš’ že eŝë ètih mjagkih francuzskih bulok, da vypej čaju. So eat more of these soft French loaves, and have some tea! (used in KDE ) Широкая электрификация южных губерний даст мощный толчок подъёму сельского хозяйства. Widespread electrification of southern guberniyas will give a powerful incentive to the rise of agriculture. Разъяренный чтец эгоистично бьёт пятью жердями шустрого фехтовальщика. An enraged narrator selfishly beats a nimble fencer with five poles. (lacks ъ and ё) Наш банк вчера же выплатил Ф.Я. Эйхгольду комиссию за ценные вещи. As of yesterday, our bank already remitted to F.J. Eichhold a commission payment for the valuables. (some also apply to Croatian and Bosnian) Gojazni đačić s biciklom drži hmelj i finu vatu u džepu nošnje. The overweight little schoolboy with a bike is holding hops and fine cotton in the pocket of his attire. Fin džip, gluh jež i čvrst konjić dođoše bez moljca. A nice jeep, a deaf hedgehog and a tough horse came without a moth. Љубазни фењерџија чађавог лица хоће да ми покаже штос. Ljubazni fenjerdžija čađavog lica hoće da mi pokaže štos. A kind lamplighter with grimy face wants to show me a stunt. Ајшо, лепото и чежњо, за љубав срца мога дођи у Хаџиће на кафу. Ajšo, lepoto i čežnjo, za ljubav srca moga dođi u Hadžiće na kafu. Aicha, (you that are my) beauty and longing, for the love of my heart, come to (the town of) Hadžići for a cup of coffee. Kŕdeľ ďatľov učí koňa žrať kôru. (contains only all accented letters except š) A flock of woodpeckers teach a horse to feed on bark. Kŕdeľ šťastných ďatľov učí pri ústí Váhu mĺkveho koňa obhrýzať kôru a žrať čerstvé mäso. A flock of happy woodpeckers by the mouth of the river Vah is teaching a silent horse to nibble on bark and feed on fresh meat (This is a modified sentence that not only contains modified letters with diacritics but also those without) Even in the expansion, c is missing, only occurring as part of the digraph ch, which is a separate letter. Also f g j l q w x as well as accented vowels á ó and unaccented y. Hišničin bratec vzgaja polže pod fikusom. The little brother of the [female] concierge cultivates snails under the ficus. Besni dirkač iz formule žuga cehu poštarjev. Out of the racing car, the furious racer threatens [with the waving of his index finger] a guild of postmen. Fučka se mi hladna goveja žolca brez pršuta. I don’t care [pretty offensive construction] for the cold bovine aspic without smoked ham (prosciutto). Šerif bo za vajo spet kuhal domače žgance. For an exercise, sheriff will again make home-made mush (žganci). Piškur molče grabi fižol z dna cezijeve hoste. Lambry silently grasps beans from the bottom of caesium forest. V kožuščku hudobnega fanta stopiclja mizar. (Used by Microsoft Word 2002 as sample text for Slovene language.) A cabinetmaker steps lightly through a malicious boy’s fur coat. (with all letters and diacritics, single sentence) Benjamín pidió una bebida de kiwi y fresa; Noé, sin vergüenza, la más exquisita champaña del menú. Benjamin ordered a kiwi and strawberry beverage; Noah, without shame, the most exquisite champagne on the menu. (with all letters and diacritics, two sentences) José compró una vieja zampoña en Perú. Excusándose, Sofía tiró su whisky al desagüe de la banqueta. José bought an old panpipe in Peru. Excusing herself, Sofía threw her whiskey on the sink of the sidewalk. (with all letters and diacritics, two sentences) El veloz murciélago hindú comía feliz cardillo y kiwi. La cigüeña tocaba el saxofón detrás del palenque de paja. (Used in Windows as sample text) The quick Hindu bat was happily eating golden thistle and kiwi. The stork was playing the saxophone behind the straw arena. (with ch, ñ, rr and ll) El pingüino Wenceslao hizo kilómetros bajo exhaustiva lluvia y frío; añoraba a su querido cachorro. Wenceslao the penguin traveled kilometers under exhaustive rain and cold; he longed for his dear puppy. La niña, viéndose atrapada en el áspero baúl índigo y sintiendo asfixia, lloró de vergüenza; mientras que la frustrada madre llamaba a su hija diciendo: “¿Dónde estás Waleska?”. The girl, finding herself trapped inside the rough blue-violet chest and feeling suffocation, cried out of shame; whilst the frustrated mother called her daughter saying: “Where are you Waleska?”. Jovencillo emponzoñado de whisky: ¡qué figurota exhibe! Whisky-intoxicated youngster – what a figure he’s showing! Ese libro explica en su epígrafe las hazañas y aventuras de Don Quijote de la Mancha en Kuwait. That book explains in its epigraph the deeds and adventures of Don Quijote de la Mancha in Kuwait . Queda gazpacho, fibra, látex, jamón, kiwi y viñas. There are still gazpacho , fibre, latex, ham, kiwi and vineyards. Whisky bueno: ¡excitad mi frágil pequeña vejez! Good whisky, excite my frail, little old age! Es extraño mojar queso en la cerveza o probar whisky de garrafa. It is strange to dip cheese in beer or to try a whisky out of a carafe. (lacks q, x and z, old spelling ‘hw’) Flygande bäckasiner söka hwila på mjuka tuvor. (Sometimes “strax” is added to include X.) Flying snipes seek rest on soft tufts [of grass]. (each letter exactly once) Yxskaftbud, ge vår WC-zonmö IQ-hjälp. Axe handle courier, give our WC zone maiden IQ help. (each letter once, old spelling ‘qv’, lacks foreign letter ‘w’) Gud hjälpe Zorns mö qvickt få byxa. God help Zorn’s maiden get trousers quickly. (lacks q and z, extra f to include common ligatures fö and fj) Byxfjärmat föl gick på duvshowen. Trouser-estranged foal went to the pigeon show Thai [ edit ] เป็นมนุษย์สุดประเสริฐเลิศคุณค่า กว่าบรรดาฝูงสัตว์เดรัจฉาน จงฝ่าฟันพัฒนาวิชาการ อย่าล้างผลาญฤๅเข่นฆ่าบีฑาใคร ไม่ถือโทษโกรธแช่งซัดฮึดฮัดด่า หัดอภัยเหมือนกีฬาอัชฌาสัย ปฏิบัติประพฤติกฎกำหนดใจ พูดจาให้จ๊ะๆ จ๋าๆ น่าฟังเอยฯ bpenM maH nootH sootL bpraL saehR ritH leertF khoonM khaaF gwaapL raawnM daaM fuungR satL daehM ratH chaanR johngM faaL fanM phatH naaM wiH chaaM gaanM aL yaaF laangH phlaanR reuuM khenL khaaF beeM thaaM khraiM maiF theuuR tho:htF gro:htL chaaengF satH heutH hatH daaL hatL aL phaiM meuuanR geeM laaM atL chaaM saiR bpaL dtiL batL bpraL phriH dtikL daL gamM nohtL jaiM phuutF jaaM haiF jaH jaH jaaR jaaR naaF fangM eeuyM [7] Humans are most superb and worth more than any animal or beast. Do develop your academic expertise. Do not destroy or kill anyone. Do not be angry or execrate anyone. Practice forgiveness as you would good sportsmanship. Do behave under morals and rules. Speak and confer politely and with servility. (These phrases owned by The Computer Association of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King) นายสังฆภัณฑ์ เฮงพิทักษ์ฝั่ง ผู้เฒ่าซึ่งมีอาชีพเป็นฅนขายฃวด ถูกตำรวจปฏิบัติการจับฟ้องศาล ฐานลักนาฬิกาคุณหญิงฉัตรชฎา ฌานสมาธิ [8] [1] Mr.Sangkapan Hengpitakfang, an elderly man who sells bottles, was sued by police because he pilfered Lady Chatchada Chansamati’s watch. Pijamalı hasta yağız şoföre çabucak güvendi. (38 letters, most common) The patient in pajamas quickly trusted the swarthy driver. Saf ve haydut kız çocuğu bin plaj görmüş. (33 letters) The naive and thuggish little girl has seen a thousand beaches. Öküz ajan hapse düştü yavrum, ocağı felç gibi. (37 letters) The ox agent landed in prison, my little one, where the furnace is like paralysis. Hayvancağız tüfekçide bagaj törpüsü olmuş. (37 letters) The poor animal has become a baggage file at the gunsmith’s. Vakfın çoğu bu huysuz genci plajda görmüştü. (37 letters) Most of the religious endowment had seen the mean youth on the beach. Fahiş bluz güvencesi yağdırma projesi çöktü. (38 letters) The project of making fancy shirt guarantees rain collapsed. Чуєш їх, доцю, га? Кумедна ж ти, прощайся без ґольфів! Daughter, do you hear them, eh? Oh, you are funny! Say good-bye without knee-length socks. (with apostrophe sign) Жебракують філософи при ґанку церкви в Гадячі, ще й шатро їхнє п’яне знаємо. The philosophers beg near the porch of the church in Hadiach, and we even know their drunk tent. Parciais fy jac codi baw hud llawn dŵr ger tŷ Mabon. I parked my magic JCB [digger] full of water near Mabon’s house. Only letters with diacritical marks and other national specific letters[ edit ] A variant tries to make a word or phrase containing at least all letters with diacritical marks: Příliš žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy A horse which was too yellow moaned devilish odes Příšerně žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy Terribly yellow horse groaned devilish odes Hleď, toť přízračný kůň v mátožné póze šíleně úpí Lo! ‘Tis a ghostlike horse in a feable pose groaning maddeningly Zvlášť zákeřný učeň s ďolíčky běží podél zóny úlů An exceptionally insidious pupil with dimples runs along the beehive zone Loď čeří kýlem tůň obzvlášť v Grónské úžině A ship is churning up water by the keel especially in the Strait of Greenland Ój, náhlý déšť teď zvířil prach a čilá laň běží s houfcem gazel k úkrytům. Oh, sudden rain has whirled dust now and a lively hind with a herd of gazelles is running to the shelters – only “foreign” letters q, w and x absents. Červený střízlíček a špinavá žlůva ďobali šťavnaté ocúny. Small red wren and a dirty oriole picked juicy autumn crocus. Weapons of mass destruction Esperanto : Eĥoŝanĝo ĉiuĵaŭde (“echo change every Thursday”), preskaŭ freŝa ĉeĥa manĝaĵo (“nearly fresh Czech food”) French : Ça me fait peur de fêter noël là, sur cette île bizarroïde où une mère et sa môme essaient de me tuer avec un gâteau à la cigüe brûlé. (“It frightens me to celebrate Christmas here, on this weird island where a mother and her kid are trying to kill me with a burnt hemlock cake.”) (This was made by a Yahoo! Answers user and by no means is the shortest possible) German : Heizölrückstoßabdämpfung (“fuel oil recoil absorber”) (which is also an isogram ) Hungarian : árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép (“flood-proof mirror-drilling machine”) Icelandic : Sævör grét áðan því úlpan var ónýt (“Sævör cried earlier because the jacket was ruined”) Norwegian : Blåbærsyltetøy (“Blueberry jam”) Polish : Zażółć gęślą jaźń (“make fiddle’s ego yellow”) Turkish : Şişli’de büyük çöp yığınları (“Large piles of garbage in Şişli ”) Slovak : Päťtýždňové vĺčatá nervózne štekajú na môjho ďatľa v tŕní. (Five weeks old wolf-cubs nervously bark at my woodpecker in a shrub.) Swedish : Räksmörgås (“Shrimp sandwich”), Ölälskaråsna (“Beer-loving donkey”), Läderfåtölj (“leather easy-chair”), Åland är österut, señor Müller (“Aaland Islands are Eastward, señor Müller”) Sample font displays in other languages using pangrams[ edit ] Language Perfect pangrams from restricted sets[ edit ] Chemical element symbols[ edit ] It is not possible to make a perfect pangram out of current chemical element symbols, but it is possible using two disused ones. Unq, for unnilquadium, now known as rutherfordium , Rf, is in every pangram, as it is only one of two chemical symbols with a Q. The two Us in Uuq (ununquadium, now known as flerovium , Fl) prevent its use. The other letter necessitating disused symbols is J; the available symbols are J (for iodine , I), Jg (for argonium/ hafnium , Hf), or Jo (for joliotium/ dubnium , Db). Here is one of many possibilities using Jo: Country codes[ edit ] All countries have a two letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. Here is an example of a pangram using these: Self-enumerating pangrams[ edit ] A self-enumerating pangram, or a pangrammic autogram , is a pangram which describes the number of letters it itself contains. The first such sentences were constructed in 1984 by Rudy Kousbroek and Lee Sallows . [12] Initial letter pangrams[ edit ] An initial letter pangram is a sentence in which all the letters of the alphabet occur as first letter of each word - preferably in alphabetical order. Thus a sentence will count 26 words. Some examples in Dutch: Achter Beatrix’ cementen demente echtgenoot fluisteren geen heiligen in Japanse kimono’s langzame mantra’s, noch preken quasi-intellectuele rijmpjesvertellers Sinterklaasachtige terzines uit versboeken, wel xylofoneren yogaleraren zangstukken. (Translation: Behind Beatrix demented husband made of cement whisper no saints in Japanese kimonos slow mantras, nor preach quasi-intellectual rhyme tellers Christmas-like tercets from verse books, but play yoga teachers vocal pieces on the xylophone). Als buitenzintuiglijke chirurgen drugs en fantastische geestverruimende heroïne in jouw kop loslaten, mag Nederland, ondanks protesten, quota regulerend stellen tot uiterlijk voorbij waar xtc-slikkende yuppies zeggen. (Translation: If extrasensory surgeons release fantastic hallucinogenic drugs and heroin in your head, the Netherlands may set, despite protests, regulating quotas to the point where ecstasy swallowing yuppies say). A three-sentence example in English, containing three consecutive initial letter pangram sentences which alternate in descending, ascending, descending order: Zidane, Yiddish xylophone wonder, vanquished undesirables through simply rendering quisling patterns on neatly maintained long keys, justly instigating heartfelt gratitude for exemplary deeds captured by audio. Adoring brilliant creativity, daring entrepreneurs funded grand halls, inducing judicious kibitzing, lessened measurably night one; perhaps quelled rapidly since tickets usually vanished when xylophonophilics yelled “Zidane!” Zealots yodeled xylophone whimsies, violently upending the standard rigor quieter patrons observed, neatly mutilating long-kept jive interactions, harmony gone, frantically enabling dire change by armfuls.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Known as The Centennial State, what was the 38th state to join the Union on August 1, 1876?

Pangram checker - Rosetta Code Pangram checker Jump to: navigation , search Pangram checker You are encouraged to solve this task according to the task description, using any language you may know. A pangram is a sentence that contains all the letters of the English alphabet at least once. For example:   The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Task Write a function or method to check a sentence to see if it is a   pangram   (or not)   and show its use. Contents LOOPI LA R10,ALPHABET loop on sentences LA R7,26 LOOPJ LA R5,0 loop on letters LR R11,R9 LOOPK MVC BUFFER+1(1),0(R10) loop in sentence CLC 0(1,R10),0(R11) if alphabet[j=sentence[i] BNE NEXTK NEXTK LA R11,1(R11) next character BCT R8,LOOPK NEXTJ LA R10,1(R10) next letter BCT R7,LOOPJ NEXTI LA R9,60(R9) next sentence BCT R6,LOOPI SENTENCE DC CL60'THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG.' DC CL60'THE FIVE BOXING WIZARDS DUMP QUICKLY.' DC CL60'HEAVY BOXES PERFORM WALTZES AND JIGS.' DC CL60'PACK MY BOX WITH FIVE DOZEN LIQUOR JUGS.' BUFFER DC CL80' ' END PANGRAM Output: OK THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG. ?J THE FIVE BOXING WIZARDS DUMP QUICKLY. ?C HEAVY BOXES PERFORM WALTZES AND JIGS. OK PACK MY BOX WITH FIVE DOZEN LIQUOR JUGS. (and (member (first needles) haystack) (contains-each (rest needles) haystack)))) Works with: ActionScript version 2.0 function pangram(k:string):Boolean { for (var i:Number=0; i<=k.length-1; i++) { has[lowerK.charAt(i)] = true; for (var ch:String='a'; ch <= 'z'; ch=String.fromCharCode(ch.charCodeAt(0)+1)) { result = result && has[ch] function ispangram(txt: String) return Boolean is lowtxt : String := To_Lower(txt); put_line(Boolean'Image(ispangram("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"))); put_line(Boolean'Image(ispangram("NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm"))); Works with: ALGOL 68 version Standard - no extensions to language used Works with: ALGOL 68G version Any - tested with release 1.18.0-9h.tiny Works with: ELLA ALGOL 68 version Any (with appropriate job cards) # init pangram: # INT la = ABS "a", lz = ABS "z"; INT ua = ABS "A", uz = ABS "Z"; IF lz-la+1 > bits width THEN put(stand error, "Exception: insufficient bits in word for task"); stop PROC is a pangram = (STRING test)BOOL: ( BITS a2z := BIN(ABS(2r1 SHL (lz-la))-1); # assume: ASCII & Binary # FOR i TO UPB test WHILE INT c = ABS test[i]; IF la <= c AND c <= lz THEN a2z := a2z AND NOT(2r1 SHL (c-la)) ELIF ua <= c AND c <= uz THEN a2z := a2z AND NOT(2r1 SHL (c-ua)) FI; "Big fjiords vex quick waltz nymph", "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog", "A quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog" ); FOR key TO UPB test list DO STRING test = test list[key]; IF is a pangram(test) THEN print(("""",test,""" is a pangram!", new line)) FI ) Output: "Big fjiords vex quick waltz nymph" is a pangram! "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog" is a pangram! Panagram 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' 1 AppleScript [ edit ] Out of the box, AppleScript lacks many library basics – no regex, no higher order functions, not even string functions for mapping to upper or lower case. From OSX 10.10 onwards, we can, however, use ObjC functions from AppleScript by importing the Foundation framework. We do this below to get a toLowerCase() function. If we also add generic filter and map functions, we can write and test a simple isPangram() function as follows: use framework "Foundation" -- ( for case conversion function )   lowerCaseString does not contain c end lambda length of filter(charUnUsed, "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz") = 0 end isPangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"})   -- GENERIC HIGHER ORDER FUNCTIONS (FILTER AND MAP)   -- filter :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a] on filter(f, xs) set lng to length of xs repeat with i from 1 to lng set v to item i of xs if lambda(v, i, xs) then set end of lst to v end repeat -- map :: (a -> b) -> [a] -> [b] on map(f, xs) set lng to length of xs set lst to {} repeat with i from 1 to lng set end of lst to lambda(item i of xs, i, xs) end repeat -- Lift 2nd class handler function into 1st class script wrapper -- mReturn :: Handler -> Script if class of f is script then f set ca to current application unwrap(wrap(str)'s ¬ set ca to current application ca's (NSArray's arrayWithObject:v)'s objectAtIndex:0 if objCValue is missing value then return missing value set ca to current application item 1 of ((ca's NSArray's arrayWithObject:objCValue) as list) end if alphabet.forall()(lam(c) => letter_check(text, c) || letter_check(text, toupper(c))) end // end of [Pangram_check] text0 = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." // val-false = Pangram_check("This is not a pangram sentence.") // If Not InStr ( Text , Char := Chr (64 + A_Index )) { MsgBox ,, Pangram, Character %Char% is missing! Return MsgBox ,, Pangram, OK`, this is a Pangram! Return print isPangram("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."); print isPangram("The quick brown fo."); } for (k=1; k<length(string); k++) { X[toupper(substr(string,k,1))]++; # histogram for (k=1; k<=length(allChars); k++) { if (!X[substr(allChars,k,1)]) return 0; } Solution using associative arrays and split[ edit ] Works with: gawk version 4.1.0 Works with: mawk version 1.3.3 # usage: awk -f pangram.awk -v p="The five boxing wizards dump quickly." input.txt # # Pangram-checker, using associative arrays and split BEGIN { print "# Checking for all",ac,"chars in '" alfa "' :"   print testPangram("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."); print testPangram(p); #print c, S[c], H[ S[c] ] ## } for (i=1; i<=ac; i++) { c = A[i] #printf("%2d %c : %4d\n", i, c, H[c] ) ## if (H[c]) { hit=hit c } else { miss=miss c } } } Output: # Checking for all 26 chars in 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ' : The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. # hit: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ # miss: . 1 The five boxing wizards dump quickly. # hit: ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ # miss: J . 0 Heavy boxes perform waltzes and jigs # hit: ABDEFGHIJLMNOPRSTVWXYZ # miss: CKQU . 0 The quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf. # hit: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ # miss: . 1 Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs # hit: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ # miss: . 1 DECLARE FUNCTION IsPangram! (sentence AS STRING )   x = "My dog has fleas." GOSUB doIt x = "The lazy dog jumps over the quick brown fox." GOSUB doIt x = "Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz." GOSUB doIt FUNCTION IsPangram! (sentence AS STRING ) 'returns -1 (true) if sentence is a pangram, 0 (false) otherwise s = UCASE$ ( MID$ (sentence, l, 1)) SELECT CASE s FOR l = 0 TO 25 IF letters(l) < 1 THEN END FUNCTION Output: 0 My dog has fleas. -1 The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. -1 Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz. 0 What's a jackdaw? call  :pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." call  :pangram "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." goto loop Output: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." is a pangram! "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." is not a pangram. Press any key to continue . . . FOR test% = 1 TO 2 READ test$ PRINT "is not a pangram" ENDIF DATA "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" DATA "The five boxing wizards jump quickly"   FOR C% = ASC("a") TO ASC("z") IF INSTR(A$, CHR$(C%)) = 0 THEN = FALSE NEXT FOR A% = 1 TO LEN(A$) C% = ASCMID$(A$,A%) IF C% >= 65 IF C% <= 90 MID$(A$,A%,1) = CHR$(C%+32) NEXT = A$ Output: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" is not a pangram "The five boxing wizards jump quickly" is a pangram ); Some examples: isPangram$("the Quick brown FOX jumps over the lazy do") no isPangram$("the Quick brown FOX jumps over the lazy dog") yes isPangram$"My dog has fleas." no isPangram$"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." yes isPangram$"Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz." yes isPangram$"What's a jackdaw?" no isPangram$"Lynx c.q. vos prikt bh: dag zwemjuf!" yes letters = [:a :b :c :d :e :f :g :h :i :j :k :l :m  :n :o :p :q :r :s :t :u :v :w :x :y :z]   p pangram? 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' #Prints true p pangram? 'Probably not a pangram.' #Prints false Alternative version: char ch, wasused[26] = {0}; int total = 0; if ((p = strchr (alpha, ch)) == NULL) continue; "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.", "The qu1ck brown fox jumps over the lazy d0g." }; for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) printf ("\"%s\" is %sa pangram\n", tests[i], is_pangram(tests[i])?"":"not "); return 0; Assumes an execution environment using the ASCII character set (will invoke undefined behavior on other systems). #include <stdio.h> int c, mask = (1 << 26) - 1; while ((c = (*s++)) != '\0') /* 0x20 converts lowercase to upper */ if ((c &= ~0x20) <= 'Z' && c >= 'A') mask &= ~(1 << (c - 'A')); const char *s[] = { "The quick brown fox jumps over lazy dogs.", "The five boxing wizards dump quickly.", };   for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) printf ("%s: %s\n", pangram(s[i]) ? "yes" : "no ", s[i]);   } Output: C# 3.0 or higher (.NET Framework 3.5 or higher) using System; static bool IsPangram(this string text, string alphabet = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz") { Any version of C# language and .NET Framework using System; public static bool IsPangram(string str) { bool[] isUsed = new bool[26]; int ai = (int)'a'; for (CharEnumerator en = str.ToLower().GetEnumerator(); en.MoveNext(); ) { if (d >= 0 && d < 26) if (!isUsed[d]) string str1 = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."; string str2 = "The qu1ck brown fox jumps over the lazy d0g."; Console.WriteLine("{0} is {1}a pangram", str1, PangrammChecker.IsPangram(str1)?"":"not "); Console.WriteLine("{0} is {1}a pangram", str2, PangrammChecker.IsPangram(str2)?"":"not "); return std::includes(s.begin(), s.end(), alphabet.begin(), alphabet.end()); } const auto examples = {"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", "The quick white cat jumps over the lazy dog"};   std::cout << "Is \"" << text << "\" a pangram? - " << is_pangram(text) << std::endl; } "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", """Watch "Jeopardy!", Alex Trebek's fun TV quiz game.""", "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.", "blah blah blah" print("\"``sentence``\" is a pangram? ``pangram(sentence)``"); } 1 len binary pic 9(4). 1 trailing-spaces binary pic 9(4). 1 pangram-flag pic x value "n". 88 is-not-pangram value "n". tallying trailing-spaces for leading space len for characters after space call "pangram" using pangram-flag len text-string cancel "pangram" display "is not a pangram" end-if 1 lc-alphabet pic x(26) value "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz". linkage section. 1 len binary pic 9(4). 1 text-string pic x(80). procedure division using pangram-flag len text-string. begin. # This is optimized for longish strings--as soon as all 26 letters # are encountered, we will be done. Our worst case scenario is a really # long non-pangram, or a really long pangram with at least one letter # only appearing toward the end of the string. a_code = 'a'.charCodeAt(0) for i in [a_code...a_code+26] required_letters[String.fromCharCode(i)] = true return true if cnt == 26 delete required_letters[c] ["is this a pangram", false] ["The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", true] ] throw Error("fail") if is_pangram(s) != exp_value # try long strings throw Error("fail") if is_pangram(long_str) != exp_value console.log "Passed tests: #{s}" (loop for c from (char-code #\A) upto (char-code #\Z) collect (code-char c)) (coerce (string-upcase s) 'list)))) PROCEDURE Check(str: ARRAY OF CHAR): BOOLEAN; CONST status: ARRAY letters OF BOOLEAN; resp : BOOLEAN; FOR i := 0 TO LEN(status) -1 DO status[i] := FALSE END;   FOR i := 0 TO LEN(str) - 1 DO j := ORD(CAP(str[i])) - ORD('A'); IF (0 <= j) & (25 >= j) & ~status[j] THEN status[j] := TRUE END END; FOR i := 0 TO LEN(status) - 1 DO; resp := resp & status[i] IF (s.type = TextMappers.char) & (s.char = '~') THEN RETURN Execute: ^Q BbtPangramChecker.Do "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"~ ^Q BbtPangramChecker.Do "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"~ ^Q BbtPangramChecker.Do "A simple text"~ Output: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' is pangram?:> $TRUE 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz' is pangram?:> $TRUE 'A simple text' is pangram?:> $FALSE bool isPangram(in string text) pure nothrow @safe @nogc { uint bitset; if (c >= 'a' && c <= 'z') bitset |= (1u << (c - 'a')); else if (c >= 'A' && c <= 'Z') bitset |= (1u << (c - 'A')); assert("the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".isPangram); assert(!"ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQSTUVWXYZ".isPangram); assert("ABC.D.E.FGHI*J/KL-M+NO*PQ R\nSTUVWXYZ".isPangram); } // Do not compile with -g (debug info). enum Alphabet : dstring { bool isPangram(S)(in S s, dstring alpha = Alphabet.EN) pure /*nothrow*/ if (isSomeString!S) { if (indexOf(s, c) == -1 && indexOf(s, std.uni.toUpper(c)) == -1) return false; assert(isPangram("the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".dup, Alphabet.EN)); assert(isPangram("Falsches Üben von Xylophonmusik quält jeden größeren Zwerg"d, Alphabet.DE)); assert(isPangram("Yxskaftbud, ge vår wczonmö iqhjälp"w, Alphabet.SV)); } function IsPangram(const aString: string): Boolean; var for c := 'a' to 'z' do if not ContainsText(aString, c) then Exit(False); Writeln(IsPangram('The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog')); // true Writeln(IsPangram('Not a panagram')); // false text = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." IO.puts "#{Pangram.checker(text)}\t#{text}" If the difference between the set of letters in the alphabet and the set of letters in the given string (after conversion to lower case) is the empty set then every letter appears somewhere in the given string: let isPangram (str: string) = (set['a'..'z'] - set(str.ToLower())).IsEmpty [ "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" ] dip >lower diff length 0 = ;   i c@ 32 or [char] a - dup 0 26 within if 1 swap lshift or Works with: Fortran version 90 and later module pangram function to_lower_case (input) result (output)   do i = 1, len (output) j = index (upper_case, output (i : i)) if (j /= 0) then output (i : i) = lower_case (j : j) end if function is_pangram (input) result (output)   do i = 1, len (lower_case) if (index (lower_case_input, lower_case (i : i)) == 0) then output = .false. string = 'This is a sentence.' write (*, '(a)') trim (string) string = 'The five boxing wizards jumped quickly.' write (*, '(a)') trim (string) Function isPangram(s As Const String) As Boolean Dim As Integer length = Len(s) If length < 26 Then Return False Dim p As String = LCase(s) For i As Integer = 97 To 122 If Instr(p, Chr(i)) = 0 Then Return False Next Dim s(1 To 3) As String = _ { _ "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", _ "abbdefghijklmnopqrstuVwxYz", _ '' no c! "How vexingly quick daft zebras jump!" _ } For i As Integer = 1 To 3: Print "'"; s(i); "' is "; IIf(isPangram(s(i)), "a", "not a"); " pangram" Print Print "Press nay key to quit" Sleep Output: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' is a pangram 'abbdefghijklmnopqrstuVwxYz' is not a pangram 'How vexingly quick daft zebras jump!' is a pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.", `Watch "Jeopardy!", Alex Trebek's fun TV quiz game.`, "Not a pangram.", var missing uint32 = (1 << 26) - 1 for _, c := range s { if 'a' <= c && c <= 'z' { index = uint32(c - 'a') } else if 'A' <= c && c <= 'Z' { index = uint32(c - 'A') } Output: Yes: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Yes: Watch "Jeopardy!", Alex Trebek's fun TV quiz game. No: Not a pangram. pangram = null . (['a' .. 'z'] \\) . map toLower   PangramBrokenAt("This is a Pangram.") ! => 2 (b is missing) PangramBrokenAt("The quick Brown Fox jumps over the Lazy Dog") ! => 0 (OK)   ! option 64: verify = 1st letter of string not in Alfabet END procedure panagram(s) #: return s if s is a panagram and fail otherwise if (map(s) ** &lcase) === &lcase then return s end And a main to drive it: procedure main(arglist) s := "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."   writes(if not panagram(s) then "n't") write(" a panagram.") letters atPut((ichar asLowercase) - ia, ichar) ) letters contains(" " at(0)) not // true only if no " " in letters ) "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." isPangram println // --> true "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." isPangram println // --> false "ABC.D.E.FGHI*J/KL-M+NO*PQ R\nSTUVWXYZ" isPangram println // --> true letters map(x, text include?(x)) reduce(&&) ) Here is an example of it's use in the Ioke REPL:   iik> "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" isPangram? "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" isPangram? +> true iik> "The quick brown fox jumps over the" isPangram? "The quick brown fox jumps over the" isPangram? +> false isPangram=: (a. {~ 97+i.26) [email protected] tolower isPangram 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' 1 isPangram 'The quick brown fox falls over the lazy dog.' 0 Works with: Java version 1.5+ public class Pangram { public static boolean isPangram( String test){ for (char a = 'A'; a <= 'Z'; a++) if ((test.indexOf(a) < 0) && (test.indexOf((char)(a + 32)) < 0)) return false; public static void main( String [] args){ System .out.println(isPangram("the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"));//true System .out.println(isPangram("the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog"));//false, no s // sorted by frequency ascending (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_frequency) s = s.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z]/g,'') for (var i = 0; i < 26; i++) if (s.indexOf(letters[i]) < 0) return false return true console.log(isPangram("is this a pangram")) // false console.log(isPangram("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog")) // true 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' ].map(isPangram); | map( if 65 <= . and . <= 90 then . + 32 # uppercase elif 97 <= . and . <= 122 then . # lowercase else empty "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" | is_pangram Output: makepangramchecker creates a function to test for pangramity based upon the contents of its input string, allowing one to create arbitrary pangram checkers.   function makepangramchecker{T<:String}(a::T) abet = sort(unique(split(uppercase(a), ""))) function ispangram{T<:String}(s::T) alen <= length(s) || return false ps = filter(c->(c in abet), unique(split(uppercase(s), ""))) return length(ps) == alen tests = ["Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.", "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.", "The quick brown fox jumps\u2323over the lazy dog.", "The five boxing wizards jump quickly.", "This sentence contains A-Z but not the whole alphabet."]     Output: The sentence "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs." is a pangram. The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." is a pangram. The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps⌣over the lazy dog." is a pangram. The sentence "The five boxing wizards jump quickly." is a pangram. The sentence "This sentence contains A-Z but not the whole alphabet." is not a pangram. panagram: {&/lcase _lin tolower x} Example: panagram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" 1 "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", "New job: fix Mr. Gluck's hazy TV, PDQ!", "A very bad quack might jinx zippy fowls", "A very mad quack might jinx zippy fowls" // no 'b' now! ) println("'$candidate' is ${if (isPangram(candidate)) "a" else "not a"} pangram") } Output: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' is a pangram 'New job: fix Mr. Gluck's hazy TV, PDQ!' is a pangram 'A very bad quack might jinx zippy fowls' is a pangram 'A very mad quack might jinx zippy fowls' is not a pangram 'Returns 0 if the string is NOT a pangram or >0 if it IS a pangram string$ = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."   For i = Asc("a") To Asc("z") isPangram = Instr(string$, chr$(i)) If isPangram = 0 Then Exit Function Next i if word? :s [output remove.all butfirst :s remove first :s :set] output remove.all butfirst :s remove.all first :s :set end output empty? remove.all :s "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz end print(ispangram"waltz, bad nymph, for quick jigs vex") print(ispangram"bobby") pangramQ[msg_]:=Complement[CharacterRange["a", "z"], Characters[ToLowerCase[msg]]]=== {} Usage: pangramQ["The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."] True Or a slightly more verbose version that outputs the missing characters if the string is not a pangram: pangramQ[msg_] := Function[If[# === {}, Print["The string is a pangram!"], Print["The string is not a pangram. It's missing the letters " <> ToString[#]]]][ Complement[CharacterRange["a", "z"], Characters[ToLowerCase[msg]]]] Usage: pangramQ["The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."] The string is a pangram! pangramQ["Not a pangram"] The string is not a pangram. It's missing the letters {b, c, d, e, f, h, i, j, k, l, q, s, u, v, w, x, y, z} %This works by histogramming the ascii character codes for lower case %letters contained in the string (which is first converted to all %lower case letters). Then it finds the index of the first letter that %is not contained in the string (this is faster than using the find %without the second parameter). If the find returns an empty array then %the original string is a pangram, if not then it isn't.   trueFalse = isempty( find ( histc( lower (string),(97:122))==0,1 ));   isPangram('The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.')   NetRexx's verify built–in method is all you need! /* NetRexx */ options replace format comments java crossref savelog symbols nobinary   loop p_ = 1 to pangrams[0] pangram = pangrams[p_] q_ = A2Z.verify(pangram.upper) -- <= it basically all happens in this function call! say pangram.left(64)'\-' say ' [Not a pangram. Missing:' A2Z.substr(q_, 1)']' end p_ method create_samples public static returns Rexx     x_ = 0 x_ = x_ + 1; pangrams[0] = x_; pangrams[x_] = 'The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.' -- best/shortest pangram x_ = x_ + 1; pangrams[0] = x_; pangrams[x_] = 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' -- not as short but at least it's still a pangram x_ = x_ + 1; pangrams[0] = x_; pangrams[x_] = 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.' -- common misquote; not a pangram x_ = x_ + 1; pangrams[0] = x_; pangrams[x_] = 'The quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf.' x_ = x_ + 1; pangrams[0] = x_; pangrams[x_] = 'Bored? Craving a pub quiz fix? Why, just come to the Royal Oak!' -- (Used to advertise a pub quiz in Bowness-on-Windermere)     Output: The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog. [OK, a pangram] The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [OK, a pangram] The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. [Not a pangram. Missing: S] The quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf. [OK, a pangram] Bored? Craving a pub quiz fix? Why, just come to the Royal Oak! [OK, a pangram]

i don't know

October 9th, 1967, saw the execution of major asshat Ernesto “Che” Guevara by soldiers from which South American Country?

The Death of Che Guevara: U.S. declassified documents The Death of Che Guevara: Declassified By Peter Kornbluh National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 5 For more information contact: Peter Kornbluh 202/994-7000 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – On October 9th, 1967, Ernesto "Che" Guevara was put to death by Bolivian soldiers, trained, equipped and guided by U.S. Green Beret and CIA operatives. His execution remains a historic and controversial event; and thirty years later, the circumstances of his guerrilla foray into Bolivia, his capture, killing, and burial are still the subject of intense public interest and discussion around the world. As part of the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Che Guevara, the National Security Archive's Cuba Documentation Project is posting a selection of key CIA, State Department, and Pentagon documentation relating to Guevara and his death. This electronic documents book is compiled from declassified records obtained by the National Security Archive, and by authors of two new books on Guevara: Jorge Castañeda's Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara (Knopf), and Henry Butterfield Ryan's The Fall of Che Guevara (Oxford University Press). The selected documents, presented in order of the events they depict, provide only a partial picture of U.S. intelligence and military assessments, reports and extensive operations to track and "destroy" Che Guevara's guerrillas in Bolivia; thousands of CIA and military records on Guevara remain classified. But they do offer significant and valuable information on the high-level U.S. interest in tracking his revolutionary activities, and U.S. and Bolivian actions leading up to his death.     DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CIA, The Fall of Che Guevara and the Changing Face of the Cuban Revolution, October 18, 1965 This intelligence memorandum, written by a young CIA analyst, Brian Latell, presents an assessment that Guevara's preeminence as a leader of the Cuban revolution has waned, and his internal and international policies have been abandoned. In domestic policy, his economic strategy of rapid industrialization has "brought the economy to its lowest point since Castro came to power," the paper argues. In foreign policy, he "never wavered from his firm revolutionary stand, even as other Cuban leaders began to devote most of their attention to the internal problems of the revolution." With Guevara no longer in Cuba, the CIA's assessment concludes, "there is no doubt that Castro's more cautious position on exporting revolution, as well as his different economic approach, led to Che's downfall."   U.S. Army, Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Activation, Organization and Training of the 2d Battalion - Bolivian Army, April 28, 1967 This memorandum of understanding, written by the head of the U.S. MILGP (Military Group) in Bolivia and signed by the commander of the Bolivian armed forces, created the Second Ranger Battalion to pursue Che Guevara's guerrilla band. The agreement specifies the mission of a sixteen-member Green Beret team of U.S. special forces, drawn from the 8th Special Forces division of the U.S. Army Forces at Southcom in Panama, to "produce a rapid reaction force capable of counterinsurgency operations and skilled to the degree that four months of intensive training can be absorbed by the personnel presented by the Bolivian Armed Forces." In October, the 2nd Battalion, aided by U.S. military and CIA personnel, did engage and capture Che Guevara's small band of rebels.   White House Memorandum, May 11, 1967 This short memo to President Lyndon Johnson records U.S. efforts to track Guevara's movements, and keep the President informed of his whereabouts. Written by presidential advisor, Walt Rostow, the memo reports that Guevara may be "operational" and not dead as the CIA apparently believed after his disappearance from Cuba.   CIA, Intelligence Information Cable, October 17, 1967 This CIA cable summarizes intelligence, gathered from September 1966 through June 1967, on the disagreement between the Soviet Union and Cuba over Che Guevara's mission to Bolivia. The cable provides specific information on Leonid Brezhnev's objections to "the dispatch of Ernesto Che Guevara to Bolivia" and Brezhnev's decision to send the Soviet Premier Aleksey Kosygin's visit to Cuba in June, 1967 to discuss the Kremlin's opposition with Castro. CIA sources reported that Kosygin accused Castro of "harming the communist cause through his sponsorship of guerrilla activity...and through providing support to various anti-government groups, which although they claimed to be 'socialist' or communist, were engaged in disputes with the 'legitimate' Latin American communist parties...favored by the USSR." In replying Castro stated that Cuba would support the "right of every Latin American to contribute to the liberation of his country." Castro also "accused the USSR of having turned its back upon its own revolutionary tradition and of having moved to a point where it would refuse to support any revolutionary movement unless the actions of the latter contributed to the achievement of Soviet objectives...."   White House Memorandum, October 9, 1967 Walt Rostow reports in this memorandum to President Johnson that unconfirmed information suggests that the Bolivian battalion--"the one we have been training"--"got Che Guevara."   White House Memorandum, October 10, 1967 In a short update to Walt Rostow, William Bowdler reports there is still uncertainty about whether Che Guevara was "among the casualties of the October 8 engagement."   White House Memorandum, October 11, 1967 In another daily update, Walt Rostow reports to President Johnson that "we are 99% sure that 'Che' Guevara is dead." Rostow believes the decision to execute Guevara "is stupid," but he also points out his death "shows the soundness of our 'preventive medicine' assistance to countries facing incipient insurgency--it was the Bolivian 2nd Ranger Battalion, trained by our Green Berets from June-September of this year, that cornered him and got him."   White House Memorandum, October 13, 1967 In a final update, Walt Rostow informs Lyndon Johnson that the White House has intelligence information--still censored--that "removes any doubt that 'Che' Guevara is dead."   CIA Debriefing of F�lix Rodr�guez, June 3, 1975 When Che Guevara was executed in La Higuera, one CIA official was present--a Cuban-American operative named F�lix Rodr�guez. Rodr�guez, who used the codename "F�lix Ramos" in Bolivia and posed as a Bolivian military officer, was secretly debriefed on his role by the CIA's office of the Inspector General in June, 1975. (At the time the CIA was the focus of a major Congressional investigation into its assassination operations against foreign leaders.) In this debriefing--discovered in a declassified file marked 'F�lix Rodr�guez' by journalist David Corn--Rodr�guez recounts the details of his mission to Bolivia where the CIA sent him, and another Cuban-American agent, Gustavo Villoldo, to assist the capture of Guevara and destruction of his guerrilla band. Rodr�guez and Villoldo became part of a CIA task force in Bolivia that included the case officer for the operation, "Jim", another Cuban American, Mario Osiris Riveron, and two agents in charge of communications in Santa Clara. Rodr�guez emerged as the most important member of the group; after a lengthy interrogation of one captured guerrilla, he was instrumental in focusing the efforts to the 2nd Ranger Battalion focus on the Villagrande region where he believed Guevara's rebels were operating. Although he apparently was under CIA instructions to "do everything possible to keep him alive," Rodr�guez transmitted the order to execute Guevara from the Bolivian High Command to the soldiers at La Higueras--he also directed them not to shoot Guevara in the face so that his wounds would appear to be combat-related--and personally informed Che that he would be killed. After the execution, Rodr�guez took Che's Rolex watch, often proudly showing it to reporters during the ensuing years.   State Department Cable, Official Confirmation of Death of Che Guevara, October 18, 1967 Ten days after his capture, U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, Douglas Henderson, transmitted confirmation of Guevara's death to Washington. The evidence included autopsy reports, and fingerprint analysis conducted by Argentine police officials on Che's amputated hands. (Che's hands were cut off to provide proof that he was actually dead; under the supervision of CIA agent Gustavo Villoldo, his body was then secretly buried by at a desolate airstrip at Villagrande where it was only discovered in June 1997.) The various death documents, notes Ambassador Henderson, leave "unsaid the time of death"--"an attempt to bridge the difference between a series of earlier divergent statements from Armed Forces sources, ranging from assertions that he died during or shortly after battle to those suggesting he survived at least twenty-four hours."   Southern Command, Activities of the 2nd Ranger Battalion and Death of Che Guevara The U.S. Special Forces Group, which trained the Bolivan military units that captured Che Guevara, conducted an extensive debriefing of members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. This report, based on interviews by a member of the U.S. Mobile Training Team in Bolivia with key Bolivian commanders, documents the military movements, and engagement with Che Guevara's guerrilla band. The sources also provide key details and descriptions of his capture, interrogation and execution, although it makes no mention of the CIA official, F�lix Rodr�guez, who was present. Guevara's last words to the soldier who shot him are reported as: "Know this now, you are killing a man."   Department of State, Guevara's Death--The Meaning for Latin America, October 12, 1967 In this interpretive report for Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Thomas Hughes, the Latin America specialist at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, summarizes the importance of "the defeat of the foremost tactician of the Cuban revolutionary strategy." The analyst predicts that Guevara "will be eulogized as the model revolutionary who met a heroic death." The circumstances of his failure in Bolivia, however, will strengthen the position of "peaceful line" communist party groups in the Hemisphere. Castro, he argues, will be subject to "we told you so" criticism from older leftist parties, but his "spell on the more youthful elements in the hemisphere will not be broken." The analysis fails to incorporate evidence of the disagreement between Castro and Guevara on the prospects for revolution in Latin America, or the Soviet pressure on Cuba to reduce support for insurgent movements in the Hemisphere.   CIA, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Fidel Castro Delivers Eulogy on Che Guevara, October 19, 1967 On October 18, 1967, the third day of national mourning, Fidel Castro delivered a eulogy to a crowd of almost one million at the Plaza de La Revolución in Havana. The next day, the speech is transcribed and distributed by FBIS, a CIA transcription agency that records, and translates news and television from around the world. Calling Guevara "an artist of revolutionary warfare," Castro warns that "they who sing victory" over his death--a reference to the U.S.--" are mistaken. They are mistaken who believe that his death is the defeat of his ideas, the defeat of his tactics, the defeat of his guerrilla concepts." This speech contributes immeasurably to the making of the revolutionary icon that Che Guevara became in the ensuing years. "If we want to know how we want our children to be," Castro concludes, "we should say, with all our revolutionary mind and heart: We want them to be like Che."   THE DEATH OF CHE GUEVARA: A CHRONOLOGY Paola Evans, Kim Healey, Peter Kornbluh, Ramón Cruz and Hannah Elinson   OCTOBER 3, 1965: In a public speech, Fidel Castro reads a "Farewell" letter written by Che in April, in which Che resigns from all of his official positions within the Cuban government. The letter, which Che apparently never intended to be made public, states that "I have fulfilled the part of my duty that tied me to the Cuban revolution...and I say goodbye to you, to the comrades, to your people, who are now mine." (CIA Intelligence Memorandum, "Castro and Communism: The Cuban Revolution in Perspective," 5/9/66)   OCTOBER 18, 1965: A CIA Intelligence Memorandum discusses what analysts perceive as Che Guevara's fall from power within the Cuban government beginning in 1964. It states that at the end of 1963, Guevara's plan of "rapid industrialization and centralization during the first years of the Revolution brought the economy to its lowest point since Castro came to power." "Guevara's outlook, which approximated present -day Chinese--rather than Soviet--economic practice, was behind the controversy." In July 1964, "two important cabinet appointments signaled the power struggle over internal economic policy which culminated in Guevara's elimination." Another conflict was that Guevara wanted to export the Cuban Revolution to different parts of Latin America and Africa, while "other Cuban leaders began to devote most of their attention to the internal problems of the Revolution." In December, 1964, Guevara departed on a three-month trip to the United States, Africa, and China. When he returned, according to the CIA report, his economic and foreign policies were in disfavor and he left to start revolutionary struggles in other parts of the world. (CIA Intelligence Memorandum, "The Fall of Che Guevara and the Changing Face of the Cuban Revolution," 10/18/65)   FALL, 1966: Che Guevara arrives in Bolivia sometime between the second week of September and the first of November of 1966, according to different sources. He enters the country with forged Uruguayan passports to organize and lead a communist guerrilla movement. Che chooses Bolivia as the revolutionary base for various reasons. First, Bolivia is of lower priority than Caribbean Basin countries to US security interests and poses a less immediate threat, "... the Yanquis wouldn't concern themselves... ." Second, Bolivia's social conditions and poverty are such that Bolivia is considered susceptible to revolutionary ideology. Finally, Bolivia shares a border with five other countries, which would allow the revolution to spread easily if the guerrillas are successful. (Harris, 60, 73; Rojo 193-194; Rodríguez:1, 157;Rodríguez:1, 198)   SPRING, 1967: From March to August of 1967, Che Guevara and his guerrilla band strike "pretty much at will" against the Bolivian Armed Forces, which totals about twenty thousand men. The guerrillas lose only one man compared to 30 of the Bolivians during these six months. (James, 250, NYT 9/16/67)   APRIL 28, 1967: General Ovando, of the Bolivian Armed Forces, and the U.S. Army Section signed a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the 2nd Ranger Battalion of the Bolivian Army "which clearly defines the terms of U.S.-Bolivian Armed Forces cooperation in the activation, organization, and training of this unit."   MAY 11, 1967: Walt Rostow, presidential advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson, sends a message to the President saying that he received the first credible report that "Che" Guevara is alive and operating in South America, although more evidence is needed. (Rostow 05/11/67)   JUNE, 1967: Cuban-American CIA agent Félix Rodríguez receives a phone call from a CIA officer, Larry S., who proposes a special assignment for him in South America in which he will use his skills in unconventional warfare, counter-guerrilla operations and communications. The assignment is to assist the Bolivians in tracking down and capturing Che Guevara and his band. His partner will be "Eduardo González" and Rodríguez is to use the cover name "Félix Ramos Medina." (Rodr�guez:1, 148)   JUNE 26-30, 1967: Soviet Premier Aleksey Kosygin visits Cuba for discussions with Fidel Castro. According to a CIA intelligence cable, the primary purpose of his "trip to Havana June 26-30, 1967 was to inform Castro concerning the Middle East Crisis...A secondary but important reason for the trip was to discuss with Castro the subject of Cuban revolutionary activity in Latin America." The Soviet Premier criticizes the dispatch of Che Guevara to Bolivia and accuses Castro of "harming the communist cause through his sponsorship of guerrilla activity...and through providing support to various anti-government groups, which although they claimed to be "socialist" or communist, were engaged in disputes with the "legitimate" Latin American communist parties, those favored by the USSR." In reply Castro stated that Cuba will support the "right of every Latin American to contribute to the liberation of his country." (CIA Intelligence Information Cable, 10/17/67)   AUGUST 2, 1967: Rodríguez and González arrive in La Paz, Bolivia. They are met by their case officer, Jim, another CIA agent, and a Bolivian immigration officer. The CIA station in La Paz is run by John Tilton; eventually the CIA's Guevara task force is joined by another anti-Castro Cuban-American agent, Gustavo Villoldo. (Rodríguez:1, 162)   AUGUST 31, 1967: The Bolivian army scores its first victory against the guerrillas, wiping out one-third of Che's men. José Castillo Chávez, also known as Paco, is captured and the guerrillas are forced to retreat. Che's health begins to deteriorate. (James, 250, 269)   SEPTEMBER 3, 1967: Félix Rodríguez flies with Major Arnaldo Saucedo from Santa Cruz to Vallegrande to interrogate Paco. (Rodr�guez: 1, 167)   SEPTEMBER 15, 1967: The Bolivian Government air-drops leaflets offering a $4,200 reward for the capture of Che Guevara. (NYT 9/16/67)   SEPTEMBER 18, 1967: Fifteen members of a Communist group, who were providing supplies to the guerrillas in the southeastern jungles of Bolivia, are arrested. (NYT 9/19/67)   SEPTEMBER 22, 1967: Che's guerrillas arrive at Alto Seco village in Bolivia. Inti Peredo, a Bolivian guerrilla, gives the villagers a lecture on the objectives of the guerrilla movement. The group leaves later that night after purchasing a large amount of food. (Harris, 123) According to Jon Lee Anderson's account, Che takes the food from a grocery store without paying for it after discovering that the local authorities in Alto Seco have left to inform the army about the guerrilla's position. (Anderson, 785)   SEPTEMBER 22, 1967: Guevara Arze, the Bolivian Foreign Minister, provides evidence to the Organization of American States to prove that Che Guevara is indeed leading the guerrilla operations in Bolivia. Excerpts taken from captured documents, including comparisons of handwriting, fingerprints and photographs, suggests that the guerrillas are comprised of Cubans, Peruvians, Argentineans and Bolivians. The foreign minister's presentation draws a loud applause from the Bolivian audience, and he gives his assurance that "we're not going to let anybody steal our country away from us. Nobody, at any time." (NYT 9/23/67)   SEPTEMBER 24, 1967: Che and his men arrive, exhausted and sick, at Loma Larga, a ranch close to Alto Seco. All but one of the peasants flee upon their arrival. (Harris, 123)   SEPTEMBER 26, 1967: The guerrillas move to the village of La Higuera and immediately notice that all the men are gone. The villagers have previously been warned that the guerrillas are in the area and they should send any information on them to Vallegrande. The remaining villagers tell the guerrillas that most of the people are at a celebration in a neighboring town called Jahue. (Harris, 123) 1 p.m.: As they are about to depart for Jahue, the rebels hear shots coming from the road and are forced to stay in the village and defend themselves. Three guerrillas are killed in the gun battle: Roberto (Coco) Peredo, a Bolivian guerrilla leader who was one of Che's most important men; "Antonio," believed to be Cuban; and "Julio," likely a Bolivian. Che orders his men to evacuate the village along a road leading to Rio Grande. The army high command and the Barriento government consider this encounter a significant victory. Indeed, Che notes in his diary that La Higuera has caused great losses for him in respect to his rebel cell. (Harris 123,124; NYT 9/28/67) CIA agent, Félix Rodríguez, under the alias, "Captain Ramos," urges Colonel Zenteno to move his Rangers battalion from La Esperanza headquarters to Vallegrande. The death of Antonio, the vanguard commander [also called Miguel by Rodríguez], prompts Rodríguez to conclude that Che must be close by. Colonel Zenteno argues that the battalion has not yet finished their training, but he will move them as soon as this training is complete. Convinced that he knows Che's next move, Rodríguez continues pressuring Zenteno to order the 2nd Ranger battalion into combat. (Rodríguez:1, 184)   SEPTEMBER 26-27, 1967: After the battle of La Higueras, the Ranger Battalion sets up a screening force along the river San Antonio to prevent exfiltration of the guerrilla force. During the mission, the troops captures a guerrilla known as "Gamba." He appears to be in poor health and is poorly clothed. This produces an immediate morale effect on the troops because they notice that the guerrillas are not as strong as they thought. "Gamba" says that he had separated from the group and was traveling in hope of contacting "Ramón" (Guevara). (Dept. of Defense Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67).   SEPTEMBER 29, 1967: Colonel Zenteno is finally persuaded by Rodríguez, and he moves the 2nd Ranger battalion to Vallegrande. Rodríguez joins these six hundred and fifty men who have been trained by U.S. Special Forces Major "Pappy" Shelton. (Rodríguez:1, 184)   SEPTEMBER 30, 1967: Che and his group are trapped by the army in a jungle canyon in Valle Serrano, south of the Grande River. (NYT 10/1/67)   OCTOBER 7, 1967: The last entry in Che's diary is recorded exactly eleven months since the inauguration of the guerrilla movement. The guerrillas run into an old woman herding goats. They ask her if there are soldiers in the area but are unable to get any reliable information. Scared that she will report them, they pay her 50 pesos to keep quiet. In Che's diary it is noted that he has "little hope" that she will do so. (Harris, 126; CIA Weekly Review, "The Che Guevara Diary," 12/15/67) Evening: Che and his men stop to rest in a ravine in Quebrada del Yuro. (Harris, 126)   OCTOBER 8, 1967: The troops receive information that there is a band of 17 guerrillas in the Churro Ravine. They enter the area and encounters a group of 6 to 8 guerrillas, opens fire, and killed two Cubans, "Antonio" and "Orturo." "Ramon" (Guevara) and "Willy" try to break out in the direction of the mortar section, where Guevara is wounded in the lower calf. (Dept. of Defense Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67)   OCTOBER 8, 1967: A peasant women alerts the army that she heard voices along the banks of the Yuro close to the spot where it runs along the San Antonio river. It is unknown whether it is the same peasant woman that the guerrillas ran into previously. (Rojo 218) By morning, several companies of Bolivian Rangers are deployed through the area that Guevara's Guerrillas are in. They take up positions in the same ravine as the guerrillas in Quebrada del Yuro. (Harris,126) About 12 p.m.: A unit from General Prado's company, all recent graduates of the U.S. Army Special Forces training camp, confronts the guerrillas, killing two soldiers and wounding many others. (Harris, 127) 1:30 p.m.: Che's final battle commences in Quebrada del Yuro. Simon Cuba (Willy) Sarabia, a Bolivian miner, leads the rebel group. Che is behind him and is shot in the leg several times. Sarabia picks up Che and tries to carry him away from the line of fire. The firing starts again and Che's beret is knocked off. Sarabia sits Che on the ground so he can return the fire. Encircled at less than ten yards distance, the Rangers concentrate their fire on him, riddling him with bullets. Che attempts to keep firing, but cannot keep his gun up with only one arm. He is hit again on his right leg, his gun is knocked out of his hand and his right forearm is pierced. As soldiers approach Che he shouts, "Do not shoot! I am Che Guevara and worth more to you alive than dead." The battle ends at approximately 3:30 p.m. Che is taken prisoner. (Rojo, 219; James, 14) Other sources claim that Sarabia is captured alive and at about 4 p.m. he and Che are brought before Captain Prado. Captain Prado orders his radio operator to signal the divisional headquarters in Vallegrande informing them that Che is captured. The coded message sent is "Hello Saturno, we have Papá !" Saturno is the code for Colonel Joaquin Zenteno, commandant of the Eighth Bolivian Army Division, and Papá is code for Che. In disbelief, Colonel Zenteno asks Capt. Prado to confirm the message. With confirmation, "general euphoria" erupts among the divisional headquarters staff. Colonel Zenteno radios Capt. Prado and tells him to immediately transfer Che and any other prisoners to La Higuera. (Harris, 127) In Vallegrande, Félix Rodríguez receives the message over the radio: "Papá cansado," which means "Dad is tired." Papá is the code for foreigner, implying Che. Tired signifies captured or wounded. (Rodr�guez:1, 185) Stretched out on a blanket, Che is carried by four soldiers to La Higuera, seven kilometers away. Sarabia is forced to walk behind with his hands tied against his back. Just after dark the group arrives in La Higuera and both Che and Sarabia are put into the one-room schoolhouse. Later that night, five more guerrillas are brought in. (Harris, 127) Official army dispatches falsely report that Che is killed in the clash in southeastern Bolivia, and other official reports confirm the killing of Che and state that the Bolivian army has his body. However, the army high command does not confirm this report. (NYT 10/10/67)   OCTOBER 9, 1967: Walt Rostow sends a memorandum to the President with tentative information that the Bolivians have captured Che Guevara. The Bolivian unit engaged in the operation was the one that had been trained by the U.S. (Rostow 10/9/67)   OCTOBER 9, 1967: 6:15 a.m.: Félix Rodríguez arrives by helicopter in La Higuera, along with Colonel Joaquín Zenteno Anaya. Rodríguez brings a powerful portable field radio and a camera with a special four-footed stand used to photograph documents. He quietly observes the scene in the schoolhouse, and records what he sees, finding the situation "gruesome" with Che lying in dirt, his arms tied behind his back and his feet bound together, next to the bodies of his friends. He looks "like a piece of trash" with matted hair, torn clothes, and wearing only pieces of leather on his feet for shoes. In one interview, Rodríguez states that, " I had mixed emotions when I first arrived there. Here was the man who had assassinated many of my countrymen. And nevertheless, when I saw him, the way he looked....I felt really sorry for him." (Rodríguez:2) Rodríguez sets up his radio and transmits a coded message to the CIA station in either Peru or Brazil to be retransmitted to Langley headquarters. Rodríguez also starts to photograph Che's diary and other captured documents. Later, Rodríguez spends time talking with Che and takes a picture with him. The photos that Rodríguez takes are preserved by the CIA. (Anderson, 793; Rodríguez:1, 193) 10 am: The Bolivian officers are faced with the question of what to do with Che. The possibility of prosecuting him is ruled out because a trial would focus world attention on him and could generate sympathetic propaganda for Che and for Cuba. It is concluded that Che must be executed immediately, but it is agreed upon that the official story will be that he died from wounds received in battle. Félix Rodríguez receives a call from Vallegrande and is ordered by the Superior Command to conduct Operation Five Hundred and Six Hundred. Five hundred is the Bolivian code for Che and six hundred is the order to kill him. Rodríguez informs Colonel Zenteno of the order, but also tells him that the U.S. government has instructed him to keep Che alive at all costs. The CIA and the U.S. government have arranged helicopters and airplanes to take Che to Panama for interrogation. However, Colonel Zenteno says he must obey his own orders and Rodríguez decides, "to let history take its course," and to leave the matter in the hands of the Bolivians. (Anderson, 795; Harris 128, 129; Rodríguez:1, 193; Rodríguez:2) Rodríguez realizes that he cannot stall any longer when a school teacher informs him that she has heard a news report on Che's death on her radio. Rodríguez enters the schoolhouse to tell Che of the orders from the Bolivian high command. Che understands and says, "It is better like this ... I never should have been captured alive." Che gives Rodríguez a message for his wife and for Fidel, they embrace and Rodríguez leaves the room. (Rodríguez:2; Anderson, 796) According to one source, the top ranking officers in La Higuera instruct the noncommissioned officers to carry out the order and straws are drawn to determine who will execute Che. Just before noon, having drawn the shortest straw, Sergeant Jaime Terán goes to the schoolhouse to execute Che. Terán finds Che propped up against the wall and Che asks him to wait a moment until he stands up. Terán is frightened, runs away and is ordered back by Colonel Selich and Colonel Zenteno. "Still trembling" he returns to the schoolhouse and without looking at Che's face he fires into his chest and side. Several soldiers, also wanting to shoot Che, enter the room and shoot him. (Harris, 129) Félix Rodríguez has stated that, "I told the Sargento to shoot....and I understand that he borrowed an M-2 carbine from a Lt. Pérez who was in the area." Rodríguez places the time of the shooting at 1:10 p.m. Bolivian time. (Rodríguez:2) In Jon Lee Anderson's account, Sergeant Terán volunteers to shoot Che. Che's last words, which are addressed to Terán, are "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, you are only going to kill a man." Terán shoots Che in the arms and legs and then in Che's thorax, filling his lungs with blood. (Anderson, 796)   OCTOBER 9, 1967: Early in the morning, the unit receives the order to execute Guevara and the other prisoners. Lt. Pérez asks Guevara if he wishes anything before his execution. Guevara replies that he only wishes to "die with a full stomach." Pérez asks him if he is a "materialist" and Guevara answers only "perhaps." When Sgt. Terán (the executioner) enters the room, Guevara stands up with his hands tied and states, "I know what you have come for I am ready." Terán tells him to be seated and leaves the room for a few moments. While Terán was outside, Sgt. Huacka enters another small house, where "Willy" was being held, and shoots him. When Terán comes back, Guevara stands up and refuses to be seated saying: "I will remain standing for this." Terán gets angry and tells Guevara to be seated again. Finally, Guevara tells him: "Know this now, you are killing a man." Terán fires his M2 Carbine and kills him. (Dept. of Defense Intelligence Information Report - 11/28/67). Later that afternoon: Senior army officers and CIA Agent, Félix Rodríguez, leave La Higuera by helicopter for army headquarters in Vallegrande. Upon landing, Rodríguez quickly leaves the helicopter knowing that Castro's people will be there looking for CIA agents. Pulling a Bolivian army cap over his face, he is not noticed by anyone. (Rodríguez:1, 12; Harris, 130) Che's body is flown to Vallegrande by helicopter and later fingerprinted and embalmed. (NYT 10/11/67) General Ovando, Chief of Bolivian Armed Forces, states that just before he died, Che said, "I am Che Guevara and I have failed." (James, 8)   OCTOBER 10, 1967: W.G. Bowdler sends a note to Walt Rostow saying that they do not know if Che Guevara was "among the casualties of the October 8 engagement." They think that there are no guerrilla survivors. By October 9, they thought two guerrilla were wounded and possibly one of them is Che. (Bowdler, The White House 10/10/67)   OCTOBER 10, 1967: Two doctors,. Moisés Abraham Baptista and José Martínez Cazo, at the Hospital Knights of Malta, Vallegrande, Bolivia, sign a death certificate for Che Guevara. The document states that "on October 9 at 5:30 p.m., there arrived...Ernesto Guevara Lynch, approximately 40 years of age, the cause of death being multiple bullet wounds in the thorax and extremities. Preservative was applied to the body." On the same day, and autopsy report records the multiple bullets wounds found in Guevara's body. "The cause of death," states the autopsy report, "was the thorax wounds and consequent hemorrhaging." (U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)   OCTOBER 10, 1967: General Ovando announces that Che died the day before at 1:30 p.m. This means that Che lived for twenty-two hours after the battle in Quebrada del Yuro, which contradicts Colonel Zenteno's story. Colonel Zenteno changes his story to support General Ovando's. (James, 15) The New York Times reports that the Bolivian Army High Command dispatches officially confirm that Che was killed in the battle on Sunday October 8th. General Ovando states that Che admitted his identity and the failure of his guerrilla campaign before dying of his wounds. (NYT 10/10/67) Ernesto Guevara, the father of Che, denies the death of his son, stating that there is no evidence to prove the killing. (NYT 10/11/67)   OCTOBER 11, 1967: General Ovando claims that on this day Che's body is buried in the Vallegrande area. (James, 19)   OCTOBER 11, 1967: President Lyndon Johnson receives a memorandum from Walt W. Rostow: "This morning we are about 99% sure that "Che" Guevara is dead." The memo informs the President that according to the CIA, Che was taken alive and after a short interrogation General Ovando ordered his execution. (Rostow, "Death of Che Guevara," 10/11/67)   OCTOBER 11, 1967: Walt Rostow sends a memorandum to the President stating that they "are 99% sure that �Che' Guevara is dead." He explains that Guevara's death carries significant implications: "It marks the passing of another of the aggressive, romantic revolutionaries...In the Latin American context, it will have a strong impact in discouraging would -be guerrillas. It shows the soundness of our �preventive medicine' assistance to countries facing incipient insurgency--it was the Bolivian 2nd Ranger Battalion, trained by our Green Berets from June-September of this year, that cornered him and got him." (Rostow 10/11/67)   OCTOBER 12, 1967: Che's brother, Roberto, arrives in Bolivia to take the body back to Argentina. However, General Ovando tells him that the body has been cremated. (Anderson, 799)   OCTOBER 13, 1967: Walt Rostow sends a note to the President with intelligence information that "removes any doubt that �Che" Guevara is dead." (Rostow 10/13/67)   OCTOBER 14, 1967: Annex No.3 - three officials of the Argentine Federal police, at the request of the Bolivian Government, visited Bolivian military headquarters in La Paz to help identify the handwriting and fingerprints of Che Guevara. "They were shown a metal container in which were two amputated hands in a liquid solution, apparently formaldehyde." The experts compared the fingerprints with the ones in Guevara's Argentine identity record, No. 3.524.272, and they were the same. (U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)   OCTOBER 14, 1967: Students at Central University of Venezuela protest the U.S. involvement in Che's death. Demonstrations are organized against a U.S. business, the home of a U.S. citizen, the U.S. Embassy and other similar targets.   OCTOBER 15, 1967: Bolivian President Barrientos claims that Che's ashes are buried in a hidden place somewhere in the Vallegrande region. (Harris, 130)   OCTOBER 16, 1967: The Bolivian Armed Forces released a communiqué together with three annexes on the death of Che Guevara. The communiqué is "based on documents released by the Military High Command on October9...concerning the combat that took place at La Higuera between units of the Armed Forces and the red group commanded by Ernesto �Che' Guevara, as a result of which he, among others, lost his life..." The report states that Guevara died "more or less at 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 8...as a result of his wounds." Also, in order to identify his body it requested the cooperation of Argentine technical organizations to identify the remains to certify that the handwriting of the campaign diary coincides with Guevara's. Henderson, the U.S. Embassy agent in La Paz, comments that "it will be widely noted that neither the death certificate nor the autopsy report state a time of death." This "would appear to be an attempt to bridge the difference between a series of earlier divergent statements from Armed Forces sources, ranging from assertions that he died during or shortly after battle to those suggesting he survived at least twenty-four hours." He also notes that some early reports indicate that Guevara was captured with minor injuries, while later statements , including the autopsy report, affirm that he suffered multiple wounds. He agrees with a comment by Preséncia, that these statements are "going to be the new focus of polemics in the coming days." (U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Airgram, 10/18/67)   OCTOBER 18, 1967: The U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia sends an airgram to the Department of State with the Official Confirmation of Death of Che Guevara. (U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia, 10/18/97)   OCTOBER 18, 1967: A CIA cable highlights the errors leading to Guevara's defeat. "There were negative factors and tremendous errors involved in the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara Serna and the defeat of the guerrillas in Bolivia... ." Che's presence at the guerrilla front in Bolivia, " ... precluded all hope of saving him and the other leaders in the event of an ambush and virtually condemned them to die or exist uselessly as fugitives." The fact that the guerrillas were so dependent on the local peasant population also proved to be a mistake according to the CIA. Another error described in this cable is Che's over-confidence in the Bolivian Communist Party, which was relatively new, inexperienced, lacking strong leadership and was internally divided into Trotskyite and Pro-Chinese factions. Finally, the cable states that the victory of the Bolivian army should not be credited to their actions, but to the errors of Castroism. " The guerrilla failure in Bolivia is definitely a leadership failure..."("Comments on the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara Serna," 10/18/67)   OCTOBER 18, 1967: Fidel Castro delivers a eulogy for Che Guevara to nearly a million people --one of his largest audiences ever--in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución. Castro proclaims that Che's life-long struggle against imperialism and his ideals will be the inspiration for future generations of revolutionaries. His life was a "glorious page of history" because of his extraordinary military accomplishments, and his unequaled combination of virtues which made him an "artist in guerrilla warfare." Castro professes that Che's murderers' will be disappointed when they realize that "the art to which he dedicated his life and intelligence cannot die." (Anderson, 798; Castro's Eulogy, 10/18/67)   OCTOBER 19, 1967: Intelligence and Research's Cuba specialist, Thomas L. Hughes, writes a memorandum to Secretary of State, Dean Rusk. Hughes outlines two significant outcomes of Che Guevara's death that will affect Fidel Castro's future political strategies. One is that "Guevara will be eulogized as the model revolutionary who met a heroic death," particularly among future generations of Latin American youth. Castro can utilize this to continue justifying his defiance of the usual suspects--"US imperialism, the Green Berets, the CIA." Another outcome is that Castro will reassess his expectations of exporting revolutions to other Latin American countries. Some Latin American leftists "will be able to argue that any insurgency must be indigenous and that only local parties know when local conditions are right for revolution." (Intelligence and Research Memorandum, "Guevara's Death--The Meaning for Latin America", 10/19/97)   NOVEMBER 8, 1967: The CIA reports that Cuba is threatening assassin a prominent Bolivian figure, such as President Barrientos or General Ovando, in revenge of Che Guevara's death. ( CIA cable, 11/8/67)   JULY 1, 1995: In an interview with biographer Jon Lee Anderson, Bolivian General Mario Vargas Salinas reveals that "he had been a part of a nocturnal burial detail, that Che's body and those of several of his comrades were buried in a mass grave near the dirt airstrip outside the little mountain town of Vallegrande in Central Bolivia." A subsequent Anderson article in the New York Times sets off a two-year search to find and identify Guevara's remains. (Anderson,1)   JULY 5, 1997: Che Guevara biographer, Jon Lee Anderson, reports for the New York Times that although the remains have not been exhumed and definitely identified, two experts are "100 percent sure" that they have discovered Che's remains in Vallegrande. The fact that one of the skeletons is missing both of its hands is cited as the most compelling evidence. (NYT 7/5/97)   JULY 13, 1997: A ceremony in Havana, attended by Fidel Castro and other Cuban officials, marks the return of Che's remains to Cuba. (NYT 7/14/97)   OCTOBER 17, 1997: In a ceremony attended by Castro and thousands of Cubans, Che Guevara is reburied in Santa Clara, Cuba. (NYT, 10/18/97)   LIST OF SOURCES Anderson=Anderson, Jon Lee, Che Guevara : A Revolutionary Life, Grove Press, 1997. Harris= Harris, Richard, Death of a Revolutionary: Che Guevara's Last Mission, W.W. Norton and Company Inc.,1970. James = James, Daniel, Che Guevara: A Biography, Stein and Day, 1970 National Security Files, "Bolivia, Vol. 4" Box 8. NYT =New York Times Rodr�guez:1 = Rodr�guez, F�lix I.,Shadow Warrior, Simon and Schuster Inc., 1989 Rodr�guez:2 = Rodr�guez, F�lix . BBC documentary, "Executive Action," 1992. Rojo = Rojo, Ricardo, My Friend Che, The Dial Press, Inc., 1968 WT = Washington Times

Bolivia

What is the name of the race car driven by Speed Racer in the late 1960s series of the same name?

ExecutedToday.com » che guevara 1 comment February 21st, 2012 Headsman “The sovereignty of a people cannot be argued about, it is defended with a gun in the hand.” -Sandino On this date in 1934, the first name in Nicaraguan anti-colonial resistance was abducted and summarily executed by the Nicaraguan National Guard. From 1927 until his death, Sandino led an armed peasant insurgency from the Nicaraguan mountains against the Yankee imperialists and the domestic dictatorship they backed. Washington had had its nose (and its marines) in Managua’s business for decades , continuously occupying the Central American country since 1912. The Marine Corps saw this country’s people as Densely ignorant … little interested in principles … naturally brave and inured to hardships, of phlegmatic temperament, tough, capable of being aroused to acts of extreme violence, they have fought for one party or the other without considering causes since time immemorial … a state of war is to them a normal condition.* All this was the time of Sandino’s own coming-of-age. The son of a wealthy landowner and his domestic servant, Sandino grew up with the unprivileged and the working classes, eventually asorbing an eclectic mix of that period’s revolutionary ideologies. From 1927 he took to the Segovia and began writing the playbook for the 20th century guerrilla: mobile infantry irregulars, striking from familiar-to-them forest cover, melting away among sympathetic campesinos. The “Colossus of the North” — Sandino made no bones about his foe; his personal seal showed an American marine being killed — invariably described him as a “bandit” because he also raided towns to commandeer food, clothing, and medicine. “Washington is called the father of his country; the same may be said of Bolivar and Hidalgo ; but I am only a bandit, according to the yardstick by which the strong and the weak are measured.” -Sandino The strong, in this case, found little public appetite for the steady attrition of servicemen, and the U.S. employed a familiar strategy of its own: “Nicaraguanizing” the conflict by building up a National Guard to do the dirty work domestically. That Guard’s head was headed by Anastasio Somoza — the very son of a bitch of whom FDR said, “but he’s our son of a bitch.” While it’s hardly the only country to have been favored with an American son of a bitch, you could say that Nicaragua has been the American empire’s very own heart of darkness. Washington’s initial interest in the place after the Spanish-American War concerned preventing a canal project to compete with Panama. It invented dive-bombing to hunt Sandino. And it ranged around the world and outside the law to battle Sandino’s successors under the aegis of a modern imperial presidency. Small wonder that an official anthem of the movement denounces “The Yankee / The enemy of all humankind.” In the immediate aftermath of the American departure in January 1933, Sandino began coming to terms with the the country’s new president : the Sandinistas disarmed in exchange for amnesty and land. But Somoza, who at this point was “only” the head of the National Guard, was building up his own power … and he meant to have done with this inconvenient insurgent. After Sandino left a presidential meeting on this date, at which the erstwhile rebel negotiated for his continuing demand to disband Somoza’s Guardia, Sandino was stopped at the gates by Guardsmen. They took Sandino, his brother, and two of his generals and marched them off to be shot. Then the Guard forcibly broke up the Sandinista remnants. Somoza soon seized official power for himself; his family ruled, and plundered, Nicaragua until 1979. Washington never called them bandits. While Sandino vanished (the whereabouts of his remains are unknown), his revolutionary vision and praxis also persist down to the present day . Sandinismo (aging much better than Somocismo) would influence Fidel Castro and Che Guevara during the Cuban Revolution. And in 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front finally succeeded in overthrowing the last loathsome scion of the Somoza dictatorship. The United States, of course, went right back to war against its long-dead “bandit” foe. * From Julian C Smith’s officially commissioned History of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua (1933), as quoted in Michael J. Schroeder’s “Bandits and Blanket Thieves, Communists and Terrorists: The Politics of Naming Sandinistasin Nicaragua, 1927-36 and 1979-90,” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2005). Schroeder runs the definitive English-language website on Sandino and the original Sandinistas, with a truly vast collection of documents and resources. On this day.. 1 comment May 6th, 2011 Headsman On this date in 1972, three Turkish youths hanged at Ankara Central Prison for attempting to “overthrow the constitutional order.” Deniz Gezmis “The three urban guerrillas,” reported the New York Times the next day, “stood on chairs placed on a platform as the nooses were placed around their necks. They asked for and were given the right to kick the chairs out from under themselves.” Deniz Gezmis , the best-known of them, was a 1960s student radical who eventually helped found the People’s Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO) and received guerrilla training in Syria from Palestinian terrorists. As Turkey made the turn into the 1970s, left-right violence made the country all but ungovernable. Gezmis and his comrades got in on the action by kidnapping four U.S. radar technicians for ransom in March 1971, leading Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci to declare that “it is necessary to halt this anarchy which is pushing our country to a dark and bloody future.”* The Turkish armed forces were right on the case, and just days later intervened with a bloodless military coup . The servicemen were released unharmed … but there was a bloodbath waiting for others on account of THKO. An army-backed conservative government started shuttering left-wing papers, banning left-wing organizations, and eventually imposed outright martial law. Our principals became the first hanged under that regime, but scores of others** were also tried for their lives for revolutionary activities. Since the young socialists had robbed banks and taken hostages but never actually killed anyone, their actual executions were controversial within the government itself … and ultimately undertaken on the unseemly “three for three” body count equivalence to the Prime Minister and two aides who had hanged when Turkey last had a leftist coup government. In the streets, paramilitary violence continued. During the trials of Gezmis and other radicals, Israeli ambassador Efraim Elrom, a Polish emigre who had interrogated Adolf Eichmann , was kidnapped and murdered in Istanbul by THKO activists. (The kidnapping in turn prompted an intensified crackdown — arbitrary detention, torture, the usual stuff.) Years later, another communist cell assassinated the man who had presided as Prime Minister when Gezmis hanged, Nihat Erim , allegedly in revenge for this date’s executions. London Times, May 8, 1972. Conversely, for Gezmis, the handsome young Che Guevara of Turkish insurrectionary Marxism — this date was only the beginning of a rich afterlife as iconic martyr . Graffiti of Gezmis and Che Guevara, with a sentiment common to both. (cc) image from somebody_ Also imprisoned in the roundup of radical activists was Turkish writer Erdal Oz, who turned the conversations he had with this date’s doomed into a notable book . * Quoted in the March 8, 1971 London Times. Ipekci was eventually murdered by the Turkish assassin who subsequently tried to kill Pope John Paul II — Mehmet Ali Agca . ** e.g., Irfan Solmazer, a Senator who had been involved in Turkey’s left-wing coup a decade before. (He wasn’t executed.) On this day.. 1 comment December 2nd, 2010 Headsman On this date in 1977, Black Berets Larry Tacklyn and Erskine “Buck” Burrows were hanged in Bermuda for assassinating the islands’ police chief and governor. “During the 1970s, a black power organization in Bermuda conspired to bring about social change ‘by any means necessary,’ including assassination. This is the first full account of the murders and the Black Beret Cadre, the revolutionary group whose activities resulted in mayhem throughout the island.” A revolutionary black nationalist organization, the Black Beret cadre took its name from that Che Guevara photograph and its model from the Black Panthers . The cadres’ agenda for early-1970s Bermuda was ‘freedom by any means necessary’ which included assassination. Taking their cue from the Black Panthers, whose primary aim was to bait the ‘racist cops’, the Black Berets exhorted its members and all Bermudian youth to confront the ‘English racist police’ as frequently as possible and prepare for the coming conflict between blacks and whites … Its purpose was to indoctrinate young black Bermudians in communist revolution and the ideology of Black Power. Cadres Tacklyn and Burrows were one part liberators of their oppressed brothers, one part common criminals . In 1972, they gunned down white police commissioner (a veteran of Britain’s colonies) George Duckett; in 1973, they ambushed governor (and former Tory M.P.) Richard Sharples and slew him, along with his aide-de-camp. Neither perp was apprehended, which meant they went on to kill a couple of supermarket executives before someone I.D.’d Tacklyn. Burrows stayed on the lam long enough to rob a bank of $28,000. The trials were a sensation — apt for the involvement of sensational Bermudian lawyer and politician Julian Hall — with Burrows convicted all around. He openly avowed the political murders. Erskine Burrows The motive for killing the Governor (his ADC was not our objective, he was shot only because he happened to be with the Governor at the time) was to seek to make the people, black people in particular, become aware of the evilness and wickedness of the colonialist system in the Island of Bermuda. Secondly, the motive was to show that these colonialists were just ordinary people like ourselves who eat, sleep and die just like anybody else and that we need not stand in fear or awe of them. Finally, the motive was to reveal to black people unto themselves. This refers to the revealed reactions of many black people during the Governor’s funeral, when black people were seen to be standing with tears in their eyes, crying for a man who when he was alive didn’t care if they lived or died and here they were crying for a white Governor and yet when many of their own people pass away there is sometimes hardly a tear shed for them. This shows clearly the evil effects that the colonialist propaganda has had over the long years they have ruled over this little Island. Tacklyn managed to win acquittals over Duckett and Sharples but was condemned for killing the grocers. With “only” the two murder raps, Tacklyn’s appeals against execution might have stood a chance in other circumstances. But his affiliation with Burrows, who so openly avowed the other crimes and declined to mitigate them in court, “hung like an albatross around Tacklyn’s neck.” That wasn’t the only thing that was hanging. Massive riots rocked Bermuda after it became known that eleventh-hour clemency bids were rejected; “Fires erupted across Bermuda,” Reuters report, “causing millions of dollars in damage as a dusk-to-dawn curfew failed to halt the racial violence.” (Per Chicago Tribune, Dec. 3, 1977) British troops were deployed to help quell the riots. Tacklyn and Burrows were the first people executed in Bermuda in 34 years, and remain the last executed there to this date. Because all Britain’s overseas territories in the Caribbean subsequently abolished the death penalty ( Bermuda in a contentious 1999 parliamentary dispute decided by a single tiebreaking vote), Tacklyn and Burrows also hold the distinction of being the last people put to death anywhere under British law. (As distinct from the last executed in Britain .) On this day..

i don't know

From the French for bottom of the bag, what is the name for a dead end street, usually circular at the end?

Cul-de-Sac vs. Dead-End Street: From a Real Estate Perspective | The Truth About Realty.com Cul-de-Sac vs. Dead-End Street: From a Real Estate Perspective Mr. Real Estate April 25, 2012 3 Comments » Cul-de-Sac Definition Even if you’ve never shopped for real estate, you’ve undoubtedly heard both the term “cul-de-sac” and “dead end.” And you’ve likely driven on both types of roads. Often times they are used interchangeably, but they are really two different things, regardless of what your very interested (and biased) real estate agent tells you. Let’s start by defining “cul-de-sac,” which in French literally means “bottom of the bag.” This expression can translate to “dead end” as well, since the bottom of the bag is also the end of the bag. Put another way, a dead-end is a street with no outlet, meaning there’s only one way in and one way out. The distinction with a cul-de-sac is that it has a circular end, meaning you can turn your car around in one seamless action, instead of having to pull an Austin Powers 40-point turn to get out of there. Bringing it all together, a cul-de-sac is a dead end street, but not all dead-end streets are cul-de-sacs. Make sense? Cul-de-Sac Is a Real Estate Plus If you have been looking for a new house lately, you may have seen the phrase “cul-de-sac” used to highlight a home’s value. But why? Well, as mentioned, a cul-de-sac is a circular dead-end street, so it’s not a through street. At first glance, this may sound like a negative. You’re trapped. But wait. That also means everyone and their mother won’t use your street as a shortcut on their daily commute each morning. That’s certainly a relief! It also means your street will be that much more quiet and peaceful. And your children should have a safer place to play, without having to constantly yell “car,” followed by, “game on!” So this is essentially why a cul-de-sac can bring value to a home that resides on one. Dead-End Streets Can Be a Dead End Conversely, a dead-end street may hurt a home’s value. Why? Well, dead-end streets that aren’t cul-de-sacs abruptly end. In other words, the end of the street usually has a wall blocking it off from other areas of the neighborhood, and there’s usually a big yellow sign that tells you it’s the end of the line. Doesn’t really give you that warm and fuzzy friendly neighborhood vibe, does it? Aside from this being visually unattractive, it also means there is a lot less surface area on the street. So if you get to the end of a dead-end street, it will be very difficult to turn around. Parking at the end of the street will also be very tricky, not to mention limited. So a pure dead-end street can be both an eyesore and a pain in the rear, which could equate to a lower house value. It’s not the end of the world, but you may feel a little claustrophobic and cramped. If you don’t believe me, drive down both a cul-de-sac and a dead-end and you’ll see what I’m talking about. You can actually feel the difference.

Cul-de-sac

On Oct 14, 1912, what former president, and all around bad-assed, was shot during a campaign speech, and proceeded to deliver a 90 minute speech?

Bag End | The One Wiki to Rule Them All | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit A floor plan of Bag End Bilbo Baggins inherited the home from his parents, Bungo and Belladonna (Took) Baggins . It was Bungo who built the smial for Belladonna in TA 2889 . The hobbit hole is noted to have a green door with a round brass knob, all but countless rooms with round windows, and a garden. Although hobbits are known to be of small stature, larger visitors are often seen, indicating that the ceilings are certainly taller than expected. The grounds and home were kept by the Gamgee family, most notably Hamfast ("The Gaffer") and later his son, Samwise . Inside Bag End The beautiful hole was a point of contention between Bilbo and his relatives the Sackville-Bagginses , who very much desired to own it. Here, Bilbo lived a quiet existence until the wizard Gandalf appeared with 13 Dwarves at the beginning of The Hobbit and Bilbo went off on his adventure . Upon his return he discovered the contents of the smial being auctioned off, since he had gone missing and was assumed to have died. The Sackville-Bagginses were disappointed at his return and their loss of Bag End. Bag End's green front door By the beginning of The Lord of the Rings , Bilbo adopted his cousin (and nephew) Frodo as his heir. Frodo became the Master of Bag End on their mutual birthday, when Frodo turned 33 and Bilbo turned 111 years old. Bilbo left to live with the elves at Rivendell . Frodo remained content at Bag End until Gandalf returned and confirmed that Bilbo's ring was actually the One Ring . Preparations for departure ensued, with Frodo selling Bag End to the Sackville-Bagginses and moving to Crickhollow before departing on the Quest of the Ring . The gate of Bag End. Upon their return, during the Scouring of the Shire , Frodo and company discovered that Lotho Sackville-Baggins had made Bag End his power base as he became Chief of the Shire . He succeeded only too well and lost control of the entire enterprise; after Saruman arrived, Gríma Wormtongue killed Lotho in his sleep. Frodo and his companions would later see Saruman killed on his front porch, thus ending the Battle of Bywater . Afterwards, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins ceded Bag End back to Frodo. Inside Bag End, in the films Frodo then resumed living in Bag End and was joined by Sam , upon his marriage to Rosie . However, with wounds too deep to heal, in TA 3021 Frodo named Sam his heir and left to cross the sea into the Uttermost West . Bag End remained in the Gamgee family (later known as the Gardners) for at least three generations afterward. The name Bag End name came from the real-life farmhouse in the tiny Worcestershire village of Dormston , in which Tolkien's aunt lived. It can also be seen as a pun on "cul-de-sac" (literally, "bottom of the bag"). In the books, it is supposedly a translation of the Westron Labin-nec, which has much the same meaning, and bears the same relationship to the Westron form of Baggins: Labingi. [1] [2] Translations around the World

i don't know

Kimchi, a fermented dish usually based on cabbage, radishes, green onions, or cucumber, is a staple of what country's food?

1000+ images about KIMCHI on Pinterest | Kimchi recipe, Cabbages and Korean style How to make Kimchi NEED TO TRY THIS CUZ ONE'S I KEEP BUYING FROM KOREAN STORE FERMENTS BUBBLES AND MAKES A TERRIBLE MESS IN FRIDGE!!!! See More

Korea

A block and tackle is an apparatus that utilizes what simple machine?

How to Make Kimchi / Kim Chee How to Make Kimchi / Kim Chee Intro Intro: How to Make Kimchi / Kim Chee My father was stationed in Korea once upon a time and brought home a taste for Kimchi / Kim Chee. My mother did make it a few times ... 1 Step 1: Assemble tools and ingredients At its most basic, kimchee is chinese cabbage (can use napa, pac choi, or any chinese cabbage) fermented with garlic, pepper, salt, and ginger. Other ingredients such as ... 2 Step 2: Chop the vegetables Chop the cabbage into roughly 1-inch slices across.The daikon will wind up in rectangular slices about 1/4 inch thick by 1 to 1 1/2 inch long by 1/2 ... 3 Step 3: Mix the brine and brine the vegetables Put 4 Tablespoons of salt into 4 cups of water in a nonreactive mixing bowl, glass jar, or stoneware crock. Add all your chopped vegetables. If there isn't ... 4 Step 4: Prepare spices In this step, you will grate ginger, press or pulverize garlic, slice scallions or onions, chop or crush chilis if using whole ones, and add dish broth, sauce, ... 5 Step 5: Mix and stuff Drain the brine from the vegetables (reserving in case you need it later), and taste. They should taste nice and salty, but not so salty that you wouldn't ... Show All Items My father was stationed in Korea once upon a time and brought home a taste for Kimchi / Kim Chee. My mother did make it a few times but from her description it sounded very complicated, and something no one should try without first getting a certification in Kim Chee Preparedness. So when I no longer lived close to an Asian Market with gallon jars of it for a decent price, I learned either to do without, or pay $5 for a tiny little jar that would last me a week if I resisted the urge to eat it daily. Then I got the book "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz, and have been making delicious Kimchi easily, ever since. Step 1: Assemble tools and ingredients Show All Items At its most basic, kimchee is chinese cabbage (can use napa, pac choi, or any chinese cabbage) fermented with garlic, pepper, salt, and ginger. Other ingredients such as daikon (or other radish), carrot, scallion / green onion or other onion, fish (in the form of dried crumbled fish, fish broth or fish sauce, or Hondashi fish broth powder), and even seaweed, are commonly used depending on preference. Here I show Kosher Salt, scallions, daikon, fresh ginger, hondashi powder, dried pepper flakes specifically for making kimchee, fresh garlic, carrot, and a very large head of pac choi /bok choy. You will also need a sharp knife, a large nonreactive mixing bowl, a smaller nonreactive mixing bowl, and glass or stoneware jars or crocks to hold the finished product. You will need anywhere from several hours, to overnight, to soak the fresh chopped veggies in salt solution, and then anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks to ferment your kimchee depending on how warm the room is, how much salt to vegetables, and whether you had leftover kimchee "juice" to jump-start the fermentation with. For those who want measured quantities either to follow, or to get a ballpark idea of what the proportions are: For roughly two quart jars: 2 lbs chinese cabbage 1 whole daikon radish or several red radishes 1 to 2 carrots onions and/or leeks, bunch of scallions, or shallots... as many or few as you like. 6-8 cloves of garlic, or as many as you like... your love of garlic is the only limiting factor 5-6 tablespoons of grated ginger, or grate up a 4 inch piece... again, more to taste if you like it especially Seaweed if you like, but I didn't use it in this recipe 3 tsp. hondashi japanese fish broth powder ( or a handful of dried bonito, crumbled) Brine will be 4 cups of water to 4 tablespoons of salt. If this isn't enough to cover the fresh veggies, then double the brine recipe. « Previous Next » View All Steps Download Thanks for the instructable! I&nbsp;just started my first batch tonite, I&nbsp;was sick of the msg laden jars I&nbsp;found in stores. I'm adding a bit of honey to my spice paste to try and re-create a sweet/spicy kimchee I&nbsp;just had recently, I&nbsp;hope it works! I&nbsp;usually make quick shoyu pickles, so this will be a nice change up, and kimchee soup is one of my favorites....<br /> <p>Hi, I too starting my first kimchi and made salty squid today(Hopefully it works)</p><p>You put honey in your paste but I warn you that honey is antiviral and anti bacterial, so it will prevent fermentation. Sounds like you put tiny amount and it won't be too much of a problem. I recommend you that next time not to use honey and instead use organic sugar. I make water kefir and heard someone killed the kefir gains by using honey. Good luck! Have an awesome day!</p> <p>How do you explain mead?</p> <p>Mead is from yeast eating the sugar and producing alcohol.</p><p>Other kinds of fermentation use bacteria (and sometimes molds) - altogether different beasties. </p><p>Kimchi and sauerkraut ferment primarily form lactic-acid bacteria.</p><p>Yeasts and molds are in the kingdom of Fungi, they are eukayotes (have organelles even if only single-celled).<br>Bacteria are smaller and are a different branch of the biological family - prokaryotes, no internal organelles.</p> <p>I hate to disagree, but when honey is diluted, it can be used in a fermented process. yes, if it is too concentrated, it will kill the bacteria, but I've never had any problems with it in other recipes. (honey mead is merely fermented honey water)</p><p>one thing to remember, though, is that if you are replacing honey with sugar, you will need more sugar than the amount of honey asked for.</p> <p>Any sugars you add will increase the acidity dramatically and speed up fermentation since there will be more food for the lactobacteria.You may end up with a more sour flavor. Also on the author's response, sardines work great!</p> My pleasure! I hope you'll share a picture when it's ready!<br>I also love kimchee soup, as do my kids. <br> I really enjoyed making my first Kimchi from this recipe! Very tasty but a bit too salty for me. Could I halve the salt content without any problem? <br> <br>thanks!!! You can make it to taste, but be aware that too much salt, and it will not really ferment much, and too little, and it could just go straight to spoiling. <br> <br> A Korean lady told me that refrigerators are actually too warm to keep kimchi in for very long, and that I shouldn't make so much at a time that we can't use it up in a couple of weeks, because trying to keep it for months in a standard refrigerator won't work. 33-34 degrees F is much better than 39 or 40 degrees F. On the other hand, making just enough for a few days, you can leave it on the counter. You just can't expect to keep it for too long. Souring can be quite good especially for adding to soups, but once it goes beyond sour, into sweet and alcohol-smell, that is spoiled. So if it sours, hurry and make soup! <br> <br>You should be able to add a little less or more salt to taste. Just know that less salt will mean you need to use it up quicker. <p>It doesn't spoil, really it just goes beyond something that tastes good.<br><br>I ferment mine for 3-5 days and have kept it in my fridge for months before I finished it. No 'alcohol/sweet smell'. <br><br>You can keep and eat it as long as you enjoy the flavor. Even if it grows mold, you could actually eat the mold if you wanted, however I never would...you can still remove moldy leaves and still eat the moldy leaves.<br><br>Koreans, a lot of times store kimchi in an open pot using cabbage leaves as a 'cover'. These regularly grow mold, and doesn't keep them from eating it.<br><br>I'm wondering how old this Korean lady is, The Koreans my father and I learned from were old timers on an Army base in the 70s....modern koreans have probably adapted western food safety habits.<br><br></p> Thanks for the extra information. My latest batch was 4 cups of water to 3 tablespoons of salt and it seems just as tasty except I forgot the radishes so it wasn't as crunchy! <p>Just one word of warning...</p><p>Wear rubber gloves when making spicy kimchi. My hands are burning!!!</p> <p>actually, I modified the recipe a little. </p><p>1 whole cabbage, 6 carrots, brine.</p><p>4/5 long onions (scallions) - homegrown, a large ginger root, 2 heaped soup-spoons of cayenne pepper, 2 heaped soup-spoons of hot paprika, 1 heaped soup-spoon of HOT chilli flakes - homegrown, 6 tsp of fish sauce, and 1 knob of spanish garlic (I don't use the asian stuff - no flavour)</p><p>and 2 hours later, my hands are burning worse than they were 15 minutes after finishing.</p> <p>hi, where did you get the glass jars with plastic tops?</p> <p>hi, where did you get the jars with the plastic tops?</p> <p>Kimchi can be made easier and with fewer ingredients that you already <br>have at home, its gonna taste even better! my recipe is here<br> on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSo8CA6x3cY&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow">rawismyreligion.com </a>blog</p> To avoid MSG and methyl mercury, get short grain rice (and/or sweet rice) and cook them and blend it to the soup consistency. Mix this with Kombu juice (Kombu is seaweed like kelp, but thicker. You can get it really cheap at H-Mart, listed as Daa-Si-Maa(다시마) in Korean. If you don't have H-mart near you, you can also order online and they will deliver to you). To get kombu juice, soak 4-6 pieces of kombu in water and use that water. This mix can be used for any fish sauce while making any kimchi. Also use sea salt instead of regular salt both for soaking napa and for the sauce. kimchi @ quy @ carlisle 17015 This question is about the fermentation part, do you not tighten down the lids of the jars, or do you open ferment by leaving the lids loose? <br> <br>Thanks, <br>jlh357 i just completed this. i didnt know how much chili to put in. i used red radish and yellow onion because whole foods didnt have anything!!!! we'll see.... from &quot;The Joy of Pickling&quot; I learned that cayenne mixed with sweet paprika 1:1 (a Tbs of each) makes a good substitute for Korean chili in kim-chi. I've made several batches this way and think it's perfect Hello, <br>Do you use a half cup of your cayenne and sweet paprika mix to this recipie? <br> <br>I just made my first batch and used some red pepper flakes I had in the house. It's looking great so far and is fermenting very hard. <br> <br> not a half cup, just 2 tablespoons..a half cup would be VERY spicy Thank you so much, I was putting together another batch as the first is <br>turning out great. <br>This is the best recipie I've come across and it's a great one. I will let you konw how I do with the cayenne and sweet paprika. <br> <br>Thanks again. I would love to try some of the more &quot;interesting&quot; looking things at our Asian Market--BUT I live in a house with 4 anaphylacticly allergic to SHRIMP people. Any hints as to how to tell if anything HAS shrimp in it--or not? <br> <br>I think I will try this without any of the &quot;fish&quot; sorts of things---husband loves things like this and our &quot;local&quot; Asian Markets are 1 1/2 hour drive away and the one and only time I got him &quot;kimchee&quot; packed in the nicest little ceramic jar the stuff smelled SO BAD the dog ran off. Prob just from some air leak or who knows but nothing like what he has had elsewhere and not a good sour smell--def a rotten eeewy smell. The crock was nice so I kept that tho! <br> <br>I wish I knew some one who could take me for a &quot;Guided Tour&quot; of the Asian MArkets and tell me what is IN those packages! The people who run the one we have gone to might speak English--or might not!--and are not that friendly and when ever I have asked a Asian person shopping a question they just look at me like I have three heads. Sigh. <br> <br>Maybe they know I have a secret wish to liberate the poor doomed turtles swimming in their bucket. <br> <br>Thanks for de-mystifying this process tho! Oh--one way to keep the level of the liquid over anything pickling is to use a clean china plate weighted down with either a very clean rock; a glass jar filled with water on top of the plate; or (I have not used this) a plastic zip bag with water in it. This allows you to see what is happening on top without messing around with the product. Cover the whole affair with a cloth tied around the side or weighted down with small weights sewn on the edge to keep out dust and bugs and critters. My great great grandmothers trick for her famous pickles. And yep I was lucky enuf to actually live with great great grand ma when I was a kiddie and remember the pickles! I have been making fermented vegetables for about a year now and love them. I have been looking for a good kimchi recipe and cannot wait to try this one. I only plan to change the seasonings to get the flavor...I love the mix of green and purple cabbage because it looks so wonderful. I already use seaweed but no salt. I am looking forward to see how this changes the flavor of the veggies. <br> <br>BTW...I was reading some of the posts, I make my fermented vegetables in sealed quart jars and keep my house between 70-72 degrees. I open the jars every day to release the gas and I let them ferment for 7 days...the only drawback is that many times the jars leak so I keep my jars in a cardboard box that I discard after they are done fermenting. I know that Sandor Katz had a salt-free sauerkraut recipe in his book, but don't recall whether there was a salt-free kimchi one. Worth looking into! No, all the Kimchi recipes in Katz require salt, however there are three salt free saurkraut versions using wine, savory seeds or seaweed however Katz advises that they are better made low salt rather than salt free if possible for better sour flavour and crunchiness. I did this and think the kimchee is very good. I'm very happy I ran across this recipe and instructions. I used hon dashi and I did not use seaweed. I'm going to make a second batch and will try 1/2 hon dashi and 1/2 Pufina (Philippines) fish sauce and will use kelp. (I don't know why I mess with success.) <br> I was so excited about making kimchee, I promised most of the first batch out to three young people at my church. Two have Korean ancestry and one, Japanese. Wow, you'll have to get their opinions on it, and come back to share the results with us! Whether they have pure admiration or constructive criticism, I would like to cheer for you or also learn what can be done better. I wonder what someone more used to Tsukemono would think of kimchi? If you want to try Tsukemono (a simple Japanese pickle) feel free to check out my Instructable on that as well! http://www.instructables.com/id/Tsukemono-Hakusai-no-Shiozuke-Japanese-Pickled/ Oops, sorry. Should have read up on your comments. I see, now, that you already discovered and posted the same info. What type of seaweed do you recommend buying and how would one put it in this recipe. Just chop it up?? Though I'm not new to eating seaweed, I am new to using it in my kitchen.<br><br>Blessings! No harm, no worries. Most people wouldn't read so far down the comments, so posting things new, is a good thing.<br><br>the seaweed I buy is dried, so I usually just break it into bits or cut it if it's a bit leathery. It's wonderful in kimchi, and it hardly matters which type. Just whatever type you enjoy eating.<br><br>I used to use Wakame primarily, sometimes some kombu too. You can use any. Wakame I break into &quot;twigs&quot; dry, and in it goes. <br><br>These days I prefer to buy a year's supply of local Maine seaweed at a time, from http://www.theseaweedman.com/ or else https://www.seaveg.com/shop/<br><br>Both are good places to buy from, for anyone, especially if you live closer to Maine than to Japan, China, or Korea. <br><br>The local seaweed does taste a bit different or have a different texture, but it's good. Yum! I&nbsp;can't wait to try this. I am going to go shopping tonight to get everything! I tried to make it once from a recipe in a book and well lets say it was not successful. I love Kim Chee and have yet to find a store brand that is as good as my brother in laws mothers homemade one (she is from Korea!). Thank you for the recipe! Hope it was the beginning of a happy journey without end! <br> Kudos to ALL of you for attempting to make this labor-intensive staple that even some Koreans shy away from making (myself included). For great (and entertaining--you'll see) video instructions on korean cooking (which includes kimchi), check out: www.maangchi.com<br /> <br /> I didn't mean any disrespect, however. Your comment was nice and supportive. And learning to make kimchi does feel like an art. Thank you for the video post, and I am deeply sorry whenever I hear that more people are losing touch with the fermented foods native to their culture...it's a worldwide problem that Sandor Katz attempts to address in his book. Happily, now through connectivity, people everywhere can learn and embrace not only their own, but any culture's fermented foods and pickles, which in natural state are healthy too. I&nbsp;have to disagree that it is labor-intensive. The only labor is chopping, mixing salt and spices, and packing into a jar. That's less effort than would normally go into the making of one meal, and it makes a healthy delicious condiment and side dish to last through many meals, or many months, depending on use.<br /> Thanks for the kudos though!<br /> So...&nbsp; I've made a large batch of Kimchi, and saved a bit out in jars (the fresh stuff is great!).&nbsp; I used a large bucket with a fermentation lock...&nbsp; hopefully keeping out the O2 will help with consistency!<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, the large batch seems to be &quot;stuck&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's been in 70F temps for over 48 hours, and not a single bubble!<br /> <br /> Any tips? I don't know, having never used a fermentation lock. The methods I am familiar with do not attempt to keep out air, just to keep out dust and flies. Then again, maybe someone familiar with the &quot;winter&quot; kimchi made by burying the jars (and presumably keeping out oxygen) could offer advice.&nbsp; Does it smell at all changed? If not, could it be too much salt? That would prevent fermentation.<br /> Or, if there is enough salt to really slow things down, but not enough to halt them entirely, it might just take a bit. <br /> Alternatively, I do believe a really large batch may take longer to get started.<br /> <br /> I would give it a few more days and before figuring something is wrong, but tasting some each day should tell you what changes are taking place.<br /> <br /> Keep us posted on the progress, because maybe I&nbsp;too will have a new use for the beer brewing equipment in the basement, if this works out well!<br /> I've opened the bucket [negating the effects of a fermentation lock! ;P] and tasted the kimchee.&nbsp; It tastes good.&nbsp; Not too salty, but salty enough.<br /> <br /> I think you're right about the large batch, and perhaps I should just give it a bit of time.&nbsp; apparently, some sources say fermentation won't start for up to a week!&nbsp; <br /> <br /> The fermentation lock is supposed to stop molds from growing.&nbsp; Once the kimchi starts to &quot;work&quot;, the gasses are trapped in the bucket, and the whole thing becomes anaerobic... so, no goo!<br /> <br /> On MANY people's recommendations (here and elsewhere) I&nbsp;bought a copy of Sandor's book.&nbsp; Kindle is handy when you wish to read.&nbsp;&nbsp; ;)<br /> <br /> Thanks so much for your quick reply.&nbsp;&nbsp; I'll report back w/ info on success, or failure.&nbsp; (failures are such useful learning tools!)<br /> <br /> Tedinski Well folks, it's been almost two weeks now, and still no bubbles from the fermentation lock...<br /> <br /> I opened up the kimchi expecting the worst -- horrible smells &amp; rotting veggies!&nbsp; Imagine my surprise when it smelled quite good, and looks about the same as when I put it all in the bucket.&nbsp; Very odd!<br /> <br /> The house changes temperatures a fair bit because I heat with wood, but its never dropped below 60, and usually (80%of the time) it's around 70 to 75.<br /> <br /> Is there such a thing as inorganic non-fermentable cabbage?&nbsp; Perhaps I've found a supplier of everlasting, never-spoiling foodstuffs!&nbsp; :D<br /> <br /> So, I ask again...&nbsp; has anyone on this forum run into this before?&nbsp; It's really NOT&nbsp;too salty, and the bucket was washed out with non-chlorinated water (my water is supplied by a spring...&nbsp; very clean and NO&nbsp;chemicals).<br /> <br /> Is there something I&nbsp;can add to help start the ferment?&nbsp;&nbsp; Perhaps some whey?&nbsp;&nbsp; I've read on other forums that whey is great for getting kimchi started, but then again I've read that you should &quot;never use whey&quot; because it messes up the flavors.<br /> <br /> Totally confuddled,<br /> Tedinski You don't see bubbles. From my own experience with &quot;Kim-Chee&quot; when first made and depends on taste it sits at room temperature - not winter temperature. <br>It has to be warm not cold in the room or the fermentation process will take weeks. 70 degrees or better. DO NOT SEAL IT IN A JAR; it will explode from the pressure. This is why you see massive Kim-Chee production in the spring and summer in Korea.<br>Also when you &quot;Brine&quot; the cabbage you will see an incredible shrinking of it.<br>Using the &quot;soup&quot; mix for your fish sauce adds allot more salt to the Kim-chee.<br>At any Asian Market Chinese ask for fish sauce in a bottle. Be careful about using too much or if will be very &quot;fishy&quot;..<br>There also should be plenty &quot;Korean&quot; markets in any city and you can get Kim-Chee powder by the pound.<br>If you use allot of salt the Kim-chee will become rubbery quickly; you can use less for a more crunchy texture and less salt.<br>Kim-chee will change taste; it will become &quot;sour&quot;; it isn't spoiled just really sour. You them can use it as 'Kim-Chee Chi-gae&quot; kim-Chee soup.<br>Put it into a post boil it; add goodies like rice cake. &quot;You have to soak it first and also add a meat of you want or Mandoo to it.<br>Remember this; you can not sneak eat this stuff. When you open the reefer the whole neighbor hood will know and if you are going to work same thing. We here have a saying called - KimChee Breath. If you are going on a date; DON'T EAT IT, unless she has too LoL...<br> That was a great post and good advice about KimChee Breath. Also a good test of compatibility for potential marriage: a KimChi lover can't marry a KimChi hater. It would be an unfair battle! Happily, my husband loves kimchi too, so we just make sure we both eat it at the same time. did you brine your cabbage properly? salting the cabbage is very important... even u have the best list of ingredients but you did'nt brine your cabbage properly your effort in making kimchi is useless... your cabbage will not get ferments and will easily get spoiled... Each family&rsquo;s kimchi has its own unique flavor, but the basic process is to salt the vegetable, firming it up by extracting its liquid, locking in the original flavor. You are going to pickle them with salt because you want to get as much liquid out from the cabbage as possible so cabbage should be limp and not crunchy before u rinse it... But don't worry, after you mixed it with the kimchi paste the cabbage will be crunchy as it gets ferments... I've never had this problem, but I wonder of your issue is that your not pressing the vegetables? This and a lot of other pickling recipes are dependent on the pressure to make it work. I don't really know why or what all the pressing does except force the salt into the vegetables and press out their juice? have'nt a clue, but that might be your problem. if this was a vinegar brined the fermentation bucket would probably work. Thanks so much for this, I just started the fermentation of my first ever batch. I followed your directions exactly but added more garlic as I love garlic. Also I decided to Grade all of mine as I dont like Chunky. I also rinsed the veggies as it was a litte to salty for me. And thanks for the tip for weighting it down, I used a plastic bag filled with the brine to weigh it down. That looks so good! Sandor is wonderful when it comes to fermenting vegetables. I am gettin ghis book to learn more I make sauerkraut, and fermented veggies, much like kimchi <br>Thanks You won't be sorry, the book is amazing. Have you discovered and tried anything from it that you'd like to share about? Hello Megmaine! <br><br>I have just been told about this amazing web site from a work colleague who is married to a Korean lady..........told him I missed kimchi (having lived in Korea for under a year in 1988!) &amp; he told me I could make it myself, and then gave me the link to you guys!<br><br>Okay so I am going to try it, hope that I can get all the ingredients as I live in St.Albans Uk!<br><br>Fingers crossed, and I will keep you posted.<br>Melo More Comments

i don't know

“We Report. You Decide.”, “The Most Powerful Name in News” , and “Fair & Balanced” are among the slogans used by what cable TV news channel?

The Most Biased Name in News | FAIR The Most Biased Name in News Fox News Channel's extraordinary right-wing tilt By Seth Ackerman “I challenge anybody to show me an example of bias in Fox News Channel.”–Rupert Murdoch (Salon, 3/1/01) Years ago, Republican party chair Rich Bond explained that conservatives’ frequent denunciations of “liberal bias” in the media were part of “a strategy” (Washington Post, 8/20/92). Comparing journalists to referees in a sports match, Bond explained: “If you watch any great coach, what they try to do is ‘work the refs.’ Maybe the ref will cut you a little slack next time.”   Rupert Murdoch (photo: Monika Flueckiger/World Economic Forum) But when Fox News Channel , Rupert Murdoch’s 24-hour cable network, debuted in 1996, a curious thing happened: Instead of denouncing it, conservative politicians and activists lavished praise on the network. “If it hadn’t been for Fox, I don’t know what I’d have done for the news,” Trent Lott gushed after the Florida election recount (Washington Post, 2/5/01). George W. Bush extolled Fox News Channel anchor Tony Snow–a former speechwriter for Bush’s father–and his “impressive transition to journalism” in a specially taped April 2001 tribute to Snow’s Sunday-morning show on its five-year anniversary (Washington Post, 5/7/01). The right-wing Heritage Foundation had to warn its staffers not to watch so much Fox News on their computers, because it was causing the think tank’s system to crash. When it comes to Fox News Channel, conservatives don’t feel the need to “work the ref.” The ref is already on their side. Since its 1996 launch, Fox has become a central hub of the conservative movement’s well-oiled media machine. Together with the GOP organization and its satellite think tanks and advocacy groups, this network of fiercely partisan outlets–such as the Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal editorial page and conservative talk-radio shows like Rush Limbaugh’s–forms a highly effective right-wing echo chamber where GOP-friendly news stories can be promoted, repeated and amplified. Fox knows how to play this game better than anyone. Yet, at the same time, the network bristles at the slightest suggestion of a conservative tilt. In fact, wrapping itself in slogans like “Fair and balanced” and “We report, you decide,” Fox argues precisely the opposite: Far from being a biased network, Fox argues, it is the only unbiased network. So far, Fox‘s strategy of aggressive denial has worked surprisingly well; faced with its unblinking refusal to admit any conservative tilt at all, some commentators have simply acquiesced to the network’s own self-assessment. FAIR has decided to take a closer look. “Coming next, drug addicted pregnant women no longer have anything to fear from the authorities thanks to the Supreme Court. Both sides on this in a moment.”–Bill O’Reilly (O’Reilly Factor, 3/23/01)  Roger Ailes at Fox Anniversary Event/Photo: AP/Jim Cooper Fox‘s founder and president, Roger Ailes, was for decades one of the savviest and most pugnacious Republican political operatives in Washington, a veteran of the Nixon and Reagan campaigns. Ailes is most famous for his role in crafting the elder Bush’s media strategy in the bruising 1988 presidential race. With Ailes’ help, Bush turned a double-digit deficit in the polls into a resounding win by targeting the GOP’s base of white male voters in the South and West, using red-meat themes like Michael Dukakis’ “card-carrying” membership in the ACLU, his laissez-faire attitude toward flag-burning, his alleged indifference to the pledge of allegiance–and, of course, paroled felon Willie Horton. Described by fellow Bush aide Lee Atwater as having “two speeds–attack and destroy,” Ailes once jocularly told a Time reporter (8/22/88): “The only question is whether we depict Willie Horton with a knife in his hand or without it.” Later, as a producer for Rush Limbaugh’s short-lived TV show, he was fond of calling Bill Clinton the “hippie president” and lashing out at “liberal bigots” (Washington Times, 5/11/93). It is these two sensibilities above all–right-wing talk radio and below-the-belt political campaigning–that Ailes brought with him to Fox, and his stamp is evident in all aspects of the network’s programming. Fox daytime anchor David Asman is formerly of the right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial page and the conservative Manhattan Institute. The host of Fox News Sunday is Tony Snow, a conservative columnist and former chief speechwriter for the first Bush administration. Eric Breindel, previously the editorial-page editor of the right-wing New York Post, was senior vice president of Fox‘s parent company, News Corporation, until his death in 1998; Fox News Channel‘s senior vice president is John Moody, a long-time journalist known for his staunch conservative views. Fox‘s managing editor is Brit Hume, a veteran TV journalist and contributor to the conservative American Spectator and Weekly Standard magazines. Its top-rated talkshow is hosted by Bill O’Reilly , a columnist for the conservative WorldNetDaily.com and a registered Republican (that is, until a week before the Washington Post published an article revealing his party registration–12/13/00). The abundance of conservatives and Republicans at Fox News Channel does not seem to be a coincidence. In 1996, Andrew Kirtzman, a respected New York City cable news reporter, was interviewed for a job with Fox and says that management wanted to know what his political affiliation was. “They were afraid I was a Democrat,” he told the Village Voice (10/15/96). When Kirtzman refused to tell Fox his party ID, “all employment discussion ended,” according to the Voice. Catherine Crier, who was perceived as one of Fox‘s most prestigious and credible early hires, was an elected Republican judge before starting a career in journalism. (Crier has since moved on to Court TV.) Pundit Mara Liasson–who is touted as an on-air “liberal” by Fox executives–sits on the board of the conservative human-rights group Freedom House; New York magazine (11/17/97) cited a Fox insider as saying that Liasson assured president Roger Ailes before being hired that she was a Republican. “Who would be the most likely to cheat at cards– Bill Clinton or Al Gore?”–Fox News Channel/Opinion Dynamics poll (5/00) Brit Hume/Photo: School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University The most obvious sign of Fox‘s slant is its heavily right-leaning punditry. Each episode of Special Report with Brit Hume, for example, features a three-person panel of pundits who chat about the day’s political news at the end of the show. The most frequent panelist is Fred Barnes, the evangelical Christian supply-sider who edits the Murdoch-owned Weekly Standard. He sits proudly on the rightward flank of the Republican party (and often scolds it for slouching leftwards). The next most frequent guest is Mort Kondrake, who sits in the middle of the panel. Politically, Kondrake falls at the very rightward edge of the Democratic party– if not beyond it. As he famously explained in a 1988 New Republic essay (8/29/88), he is a Democrat who is “disgusted with the Democratic Party” and whose main reason for not defecting to the Republicans is that they “have failed to be true to themselves as conservatives.” (He was referring to Reagan’s deficit spending.) Rounding out the panel is its third-most-frequent pundit, Mara Liasson, who sits on the opposite side of the table from the conservative Barnes, implicitly identifying her as a liberal. But her liberalism consists of little more than being a woman who works for National Public Radio; she has proposed that “one of the roots of the problem with education today is feminism” (Talk of the Nation, 5/3/01); she declares that “Jesse Jackson gets away with a lot of things that other people don’t” (Special Report, 6/21/00); she calls George W. Bush’s reversal on carbon dioxide emissions “a small thing” (3/14/01), campaign finance reform “an issue that . . . only 200 people in America care about” (3/19/01) and slavery reparations “pretty much of a non-issue” (3/19/01). Less frequent Special Report panelists include conservative Washington Times reporter Bill Sammon, centrist Fortune writer Jeff Birnbaum and NPR host Juan Williams. Williams, the only guest who could plausibly claim to be a liberal, was so outraged over attacks on his friend Clarence Thomas that he declared that “liberals have become monsters” (Washington Post, 10/10/91), denouncing the “so-called champions of fairness: liberal politicians, unions, civil rights groups and women’s organizations.” Indeed, Fox‘s crew of “liberal” pundits seems almost calculated to be either ineffective left-of-center advocates or conciliatory moderates. Ironically, perhaps the only Fox commentator who consistently presents a strong progressive perspective–that is, critical of corporate power and militarism, and sympathetic to progressive social movements–is FAIR founder Jeff Cohen, a weekly panelist on the weekend media show Fox News Watch. Meanwhile, Barnes and Kondracke –the conservative Republican and conservative Democrat–make up the entire political spectrum on Fox‘s weekend political show, The Beltway Boys, where they are generally in agreement as they discuss the week’s news. Sean Hannity at Iowa State Fair 2011/Photo: Jerry Ranch Even Fox‘s “left-right” debate show, Hannity & Colmes–whose Crossfire-style format virtually imposes numerical equality between conservatives and “liberals”–can’t shake the impression of resembling a Harlem Globetrotters game in which everyone knows which side is supposed to win. On the right, co-host Sean Hannity is an effective and telegenic ideologue, a protégé of Newt Gingrich and a rising star of conservative talk radio who is perhaps more plugged into the GOP leadership than any media figure besides Rush Limbaugh (Hannity reportedly received “thunderous applause” when he spoke at a recent closed-door House Republican Conference meeting that is usually closed to the media–U.S. News & World Report, 5/7/01.) On the left is Alan Colmes, a rather less telegenic former stand-up comic and radio host whose views are slightly left-of-center but who, as a personality, is completely off the radar screen of liberal politics. “I’m quite moderate,” he told a reporter when asked to describe his politics (USA Today, 2/1/95). Hannity, a self-described “arch-conservative” (Electronic Media, 8/26/96), joined Fox when the network was started, and personally nominated Colmes to be his on-screen debating opponent (New York Times, 3/1/98). Before the selection was made, the show’s working title was Hannity & Liberal to Be Determined–giving some idea of the relative weight each host carries, both on-screen and within the network. Fox sometimes sends a camera down to Hannity’s radio studio during the network’s daytime news programming, from which he holds forth on the news of the day. Needless to say, Colmes does not receive similar treatment. “I think what’s going on is the Democratic lawyers have flooded Florida. They are afraid of George W. Bush becoming president and instituting tort reform and their gravy train will be over. This is the trial association’s full court press to make sure Bush does not win.” —Fox News Channel anchor John Gibson (12/9/00) Fox has had trouble at times hiding the partisanship of its main news personalities. In 1996, while already a Fox anchor, Tony Snow endorsed Bob Dole for president in the Republican National Committee magazine Rising Tide (New York, 11/17/97). A former speech-writer for the elder Bush, Snow often guest-hosts the Rush Limbaugh show and wrote an unabashedly conservative weekly newspaper column until Fox management recently pressured him to drop it to avoid the appearance of bias (Washington Post, 5/29/01). Tony Snow/Photo: National Center for Policy Analysis At the 2000 Republican convention in Philadelphia, Snow–ostensibly present as a journalist covering a news event–jumped onstage to give a speech to the Republican Youth Caucus after organizers asked him to fill in for a speaker who couldn’t make it. (He was later reprimanded by his bosses.) Trent Lott, whose speech directly followed Snow’s, began with a cheer of “How about Tony Snow in 2008?” (New York Daily News 8/2/00; Federal News Service, 8/1/00). Just three days earlier, near the GOP convention, Bill O’Reilly gave the keynote speech at David Horowitz’s conservative “Restoration Weekend” event, where he was introduced by Republican congressmember Jack Quinn. Fox‘s Sean Hannity also spoke at the gathering, described by the Washington Times (6/30/00) as the “premiere political event for conservative thinkers.” O’Reilly has had Horowitz on his show six times–to talk about everything from National Public Radio‘s “left” bias (12/20/00) to Hillary Clinton’s “sense of entitlement” (6/22/00) to Horowitz’s book on race relations, >Hating Whitey (10/4/99). “There’s a certain sameness to the news on the Big Three [networks] and CNN. . . . America is bad, corporations are bad, animal species should be protected, and every cop is a racist killer. That’s where ‘fair and balanced’ [Fox‘s slogan] comes in. We don’t think all corporations are bad, every forest should be saved, every government spending program is good. We’re going to be more inquisitive.”–John Moody, Fox News Channel‘s senior vice-president for news and editorial (Brill’s Content, 10/99) Some mainstream journalists have suggested that Fox‘s “straight news” is more or less balanced, however slanted its commentary might be. “A close monitoring of the channel over several weeks indicates that the news segments tend to be straightforward, with little hint of political subtext except for stories the news editors feel the ‘mainstream’ press has either downplayed or ignored,” wrote Columbia Journalism Review‘s Neil Hickey (3-4/98). The fact that Fox‘s “chat consistently tilts to the conservative side,” wrote the Washington Post‘s Howard Kurtz (2/5/01), “may cast an unwarranted cloud on the news reporting, which tends to be straightforward.” When a New York Times profile of Fox News ran with a headline calling it a “conservative cable channel” (9/18/00), the paper quickly corrected their “error” the following day, explaining that in “attributing a general political viewpoint to the network, the headline exceeded the facts in the article.” Putting aside the question of what genuine “balance” means, there are undoubtedly a few reporters in Fox‘s Washington bureau–such as White House correspondent Jim Angle–whose stories are more or less indistinguishable from those of their counterparts at the mainstream networks. But an attentive viewer will notice that there are entire blocks of the network’s programming schedule that are set aside for conservative stories. Fox‘s website offers a regular feature on “political correctness” entitled “Tongue-Tied: A Report From the Front Lines of the Culture Wars,” whose logo is a scowling “PC Patrol” officer peering testily through a magnifying glass. It invites readers to write in and “keep us up on examples of PC excess you come across.” Recently the network debuted a weekly half-hour series–Only on Fox–devoted explicitly to right-wing stories. The concept of the show was explained by host Trace Gallagher in the premier episode (5/26/01): Five years ago, Fox News Channel was launched on the idea that something was wrong with news media–that somehow, somewhere bias found its way into reporting. . . . And it’s not just the way you tell a story that can get in the way of the truth. It’s the stories you choose to tell. . . . Fox News Channel is committed to being fair and balanced in the coverage of the stories everybody is reporting–and to reporting stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Stories you will see only on Fox. Gallagher then introduced a series of stories about one conservative cause after another: from white firefighters suing Boston’s fire department for discrimination, to sawmill workers endangered by Clinton-Gore environmental regulations (without comment from a single supporter of the rules), to property owners who feel threatened by an environmental agreement “signed by President Clinton in 1992.” (The agreement was actually signed by George Bush the elder, who was president in 1992–though that didn’t stop Fox from using news footage of a smiling Bill Clinton proudly signing an official document that was supposed to be, but wasn’t, the environmental pact in question.) Fox‘s news specials are equally slanted: Dangerous Places (3/25/01), a special about foreign policy hosted by Newt Gingrich; Heroes, an irregular series hosted by former Republican congressmember John Kasich; and The Real Reagan (11/25/99), a panel discussion on Ronald Reagan, hosted by Tony Snow, in which all six guests were Reagan friends and political aides. Vanishing Freedoms 2: Who Owns America (5/19/01) wandered off into militia-style paranoia, suggesting that the U.N. was “taking over” private property. There is a formula to Fox‘s news agenda. “A lot of the people we have hired,” Fox executive John Moody explained (Inside Media, 12/11/96) when the network was launched, “have come without the preconceptions of must-do news. There are stories we will sometimes forego in order to do stories we think are more significant. The biggest strength that we have is that Roger Ailes has allowed me to do that; to forego stores that would be ‘duty’ stories in order to focus on other things.” These “other” stories that Moody has in mind are what make up much of Fox‘s programming: An embarrassing story about Jesse Jackson’s sex life. The latest political-correctness outrage on campus. A one-day mini-scandal about a Democratic senator. Much like talk radio, Fox picks up these tidbits from right-wing outlets like the Washington Times or the Drudge Report and runs with them. To see how the formula works, consider the recent saga of right-wing activist David Horowitz and his “censored” anti-slavery reparations ad. When some college newspapers refused to carry the ad, and some campuses saw protests against it, the case instantly became a cause celebre on the right. It was the perfect story for Fox: The liberal academic establishment trampling on the free speech of a conservative who merely asked that his views be heard. Within less than a month, Horowitz was on nearly every major Fox show to discuss the issue. (See sidebar .) Former CBS producer Don Dahler resigned from Fox after executive John Moody ordered him to change a story to play down statistics showing a lack of social progress among blacks. (Moody says the change was journalistically justified–New York, 11/17/97.) According to the Columbia Journalism Review (3-4/98), “several” former Fox employees “complained of ‘management sticking their fingers’ in the writing and editing of stories to cook the facts to make a story more palatable to right-of-center tastes.” Said one: “I’ve worked at a lot of news organizations and never found that kind of manipulation.” Jed Duvall, a former veteran ABC reporter who left Fox after a year, told New York (11/17/97): “I’ll never forget the morning that one producer came up to me, and, rubbing her hands like Uriah Heep, said, ‘Let’s have something on Whitewater today.’ That sort of thing doesn’t happen at a professional news organization.” Indeed, Fox‘s signature political news show, Special Report with Brit Hume, was originally created as a daily one-hour update devoted to the 1998 Clinton sex scandal. “In the D.C. bureau [at ABC], we always had to worry what the lead story would be in the New York Times, and God forbid if we didn’t have that story. Now we don’t care if we have that story.” Stories favored by the journalistic establishment, Kim Hume says, are “all mushy, like AIDS, or all silly, like Head Start. They want to give publicity to people they think are doing good.” —New York magazine(11/17/97) quoting Kim Hume, Fox News Channel Washington bureau chief One of the most partisan features on Fox is a daily segment on Special Report called “The Political Grapevine.” Billed as “the most scintillating two minutes in television,” the Grapevine is a kind of right-wing hot-sheet. It features Brit Hume at the anchor’s desk reading off a series of gossipy items culled from other, often right-wing, news outlets. The key to the Grapevine is its story selection, and there is nothing subtle about it. Almost every item carries an unmistakable partisan message: Democrats, environmentalists and Hollywood liberals are the perennial villains (or the butts of the joke), while Republicans are shown either as targets of unfair attacks or heroes who can do no wrong. Political correctness run amok, the “liberal bias” of the mainstream media and the chicanery of civil rights groups all figure prominently. When Rep. Patrick Kennedy tussled with airport security (3/21/01), Democrat Pete Stark used intemperate language (4/18/01) and California Gov. Gray Davis uttered a string of curse words (4/18/01), it made it onto the Grapevine. When the Sacramento Bee ran a series on the shortcomings of the big environmental groups, its findings earned a mention on the Grapevine (4/21/01). When it emerged that Al Gore booster Ben Affleck didn’t bother to vote in last year’s election, you heard about it on the Grapevine (4/25/01). Republicans are treated differently. “Since [New York’s] Rudolph Giuliani became the mayor,” one item cheered (4/24/01), “the streets are cleaner and safer, and tourism reigns supreme in Times Square.” When George W. Bush ordered men to wear a coat and tie to enter the Oval Office, Grapevine (5/14/01) noted that “his father had a similar reverence for the office,” while “President Clinton used to come into the Oval Office in running shorts . . . and sometimes he did not remain fully clothed while he was there.” The success of the Grapevine has apparently inspired a spin-off on Fox‘s Sunday morning show. Fox News Sunday anchor Tony Snow recently inaugurated “Below the Fold,” a weekly roundup of “unheralded political stories” that is basically identical to Grapevine, including the conservative spin. When one Below the Fold item (4/15/01) mentioned that Barbra Streisand was reportedly thinking of starting up “a cable TV network devoted exclusively to Democratic viewpoints,” Snow couldn’t resist adding that the singer came up with the idea “apparently believing such a thing doesn’t exist already.” Fox News Channel is “not a conservative network!” roars Fox News Channel chairman Ailes. “I absolutely, totally deny it. . . . The fact is that Rupert [Murdoch] and I and, by the way, the vast majority of the American people, believe that most of the news tilts to the left,” he says. Fox‘s mission is “to provide a little more balance to the news” and “to go cover some stories that the mainstream media won’t cover.”–Brill’s Content (10/99) quoting Roger Ailes To hear the network’s bigwigs tell it, it’s not Fox that’s being biased when it puts conservative fare on heavy rotation. It’s the “liberal media” that are biased when they fail to do so. Fox‘s entire editorial philosophy revolves around the idea that the mainstream media have a liberal bias that Fox is obligated to rectify. In interviews, Ailes and other Fox executives often expound this philosophy, sometimes with bizarre results. Ailes once told the New York Times (10/7/96) that he and Fox executive John Moody had both noticed a pattern in the weekly newsmagazines: They often cover religion, “but it’s always a story that beats up on Jesus.” “They call him a cult figure of his time, some kind of crazy fool,” Ailes continued. “And it’s as if they go out and try to find evidence to trash him.” Moody added that two recent Time and Newsweek articles on Jesus “really bordered on the sacrilegious.” But the core of Fox‘s critique is the notion that the mainstream media just don’t tell the conservative side of the story. This is the premise Fox executives start from when they defend their own network: If Fox appears conservative, they argue, it’s only because the country has grown so accustomed to the left-leaning media that a truly balanced network seems to lean right. “The reason you may believe it tips to the right is you’re stunned at seeing so many conservatives,” Ailes once told a reporter (Washington Post, 2/5/01). But Ailes and his colleagues have trouble backing up these claims with actual facts. He’s fond of calling Bob Novak the only conservative on CNN–“that’s the only guy they hired that was to the right!” (Charlie Rose, 5/22/01) –but he ignores Tucker Carlson, Kate O’Beirne and Mary Matalin (who recently left for the White House), not to mention past conservative stars such as Lynne Cheney, Mona Charen, John Sununu and, of course, Pat Buchanan, perhaps the most right-wing figure in national politics and an 18-year veteran of Crossfire (minus the occasional hiatus to run for president). Bill O’Reilly on Election Night 2010/Photo: FoxNewsInsider According to Bill O’Reilly, Fox “gives voice to people who can’t get on other networks. When was the last time you saw pro-life people [on other networks] unless they shot somebody?” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/10/01). O’Reilly’s question is easily answered; in the last three years, the National Right to Life Committee’s spokespeople have appeared on CNN 21 times (compared with 16 appearances for their main counterpart, the National Abortion Rights Action League). In a 1999 Washington Post profile (3/26/99), Ailes offered another example. He said he was particularly proud of a three-part series on education that Fox had recently aired, which reported that “many educators believe self-esteem teaching is harmful” to students. “The mainstream media will never cover that story,” Ailes told the Post. “I’ve seen 10,000 stories on education and I’ve never seen one that didn’t say the federal government needed to spend more money on education.” But just weeks prior to Ailes’ interview, CNN‘s weekly Newsstand series (2/28/99) aired a glowing profile of an upstate New York business executive who had turned around a troubled inner-city elementary school “by bringing the lessons of the boardroom into the classroom.” CNN‘s report came complete with soundbites from a conservative education advocate (“the unions are a major impediment to education reform”) and lines from host Jeff Greenfield like, “Critics have said that for decades, the public education system has behaved like an entrenched monopoly with little or no incentive to improve its performance.” The piece would have warmed the heart of any conservative education reformer. The difference between the two networks is that while such conservative-friendly fare airs on CNN some of the time, Fox has oriented its whole network around it. Contrary to what Ailes and other right-wing media critics say, the agenda of CNN and its fellow mainstream outlets is not liberal or conservative, but staunchly centrist. The perspectives they value most are those of the bipartisan establishment middle, the same views that make up the mainstream corporate consensus that media publishers and executives are themselves a part of. It’s politicians who stake out centrist, pro-business positions within their parties who win the adulation of the Washington press corps, like John McCain and Joe Lieberman during the 2000 campaign. Both parties are constantly urged by the media to “move to the center.” Defenders of Fox might argue that its brand of conservative-tilted programming fills a void, since it represents a form of ideologically hard-edged news seldom seen in the centrist media. But the same point could be made on the other side of the spectrum: Just as conservative stories don’t always make it onto CNN, neither do stories that matter to the left. A left-wing version of Fox might run frequent updates on the Mumia Abu-Jamal case, the dangers of depleted uranium weapons or the benefits of single-payer health care. That would contrast sharply with CNN–but it wouldn’t justify calling CNN “right-wing” or “conservative.” Fox‘s “leftist” accusations are equally unfounded. At about the same time that Fox was taking a deep interest in the David Horowitz ad controversy, the Boston Globe refused to run an ad criticizing the office supply company Staples for its use of non-recycled paper. Though the Globe is arguably a more important venue for debate than any number of college papers, the case was not reported by either Fox or CNN. Indeed, until a FAIR letter-writing campaign forced the Globe ombudsman to address the issue (6/11/01), only one publication in the Nexis news database reported it at all (Sacramento Bee, 4/12/01). “The media are not disposed toward Republican presidents–any Republican president–and really never have been.” –Brit Hume, Fox News Channel managing editor (Washington Post, 9/25/00) Fox is sometimes forced to juggle two identities–Republican and conservative–that are not always the same. A recent example was the standoff over the downed American spy plane in China. Following appearances on Special Report by conservatives William Kristol (4/9/01) and Fred Barnes (4/11/01), who were critical of Bush for his unexpectedly conciliatory handling of the crisis, Fox (4/13/01) was quick to run a slew of letters from outraged Republican viewers accusing the pundits of trying to “undermine a president of their own party.” They “never cut him a bit of slack,” one viewer wrote. “Who needs Dan Rather when you have Mr. Kristol to bring down our president?” Fox‘s sensitivity to Republican complaints came into the open during the 2000 presidential campaign when Tony Snow was the target of a barrage of criticism from posters to the far-right website FreeRepublic.com, who accused him of being too negative about the Bush campaign in his columns and on Fox News Channel. Snow responded to the Freepers, as the site’s conservative contributors call themselves, with a long and detailed apologia, highlighting every pro-Bush aspect of his work in excruciating detail. Discussing his syndicated conservative column, he wrote: I have found over the years that the best way to be friendly to any politician is to be honest. Having said that, I’ve hardly been hostile to Bush in recent columns. Yes, I have criticized him this year, but no serious reader could possibly believe Gore has gotten the best of the exchange. Just check out the two most recent columns. A piece on “specifics” notes that Gore offers virtually no specifics to voters and the few he mentions are nuts. There’s plenty of grist there for Bush fans and the Bush campaign. The most recent defends Bush in the Adam Clymer affair. In response to a writer who was irate at a video clip showing a Bush gaffe, Snow replied: “Yes, we carried a Bush gaffe at the end. It was funny, not damaging to the candidate.” And perhaps most tellingly, he described the strategy he had recently used on Fox News Sunday (9/10/00) to interview a pair of guests about the presidential campaign– the first an aide to Bill Clinton, the second the Republican governor of Pennsylvania: 1) We opened with a tough interview of John Podesta, taking Clinton to task for a series of things (including hate crimes legislation) and asking some tough questions about Gore’s energy and health-care policies. 2) Tom Ridge came next. We tried to get him to fire away at Clinton/Gore corruption. He wouldn’t do it. We tried to get him to urge a more openly conservative campaign by Bush. He wouldn’t do it. If you have complaints about such matters, I suggest you write the Bush campaign, not Fox News Channel. In other words, Snow admits he was trying to put the Democratic guest on the defensive about Clinton–while goading the Republican into playing offense against Clinton. (The episode is a perfect example of Fox‘s notion of balance: attacking Democrats and liberals on substance while challenging Repub-licans and conservatives only on tactics.) In closing the memo, Snow wrote, “Parting thoughts: I made fun of the United Nations.” He concluded: “I have a hard time finding anything in that lineup that Freepers would consider treasonous.” “Fair and balanced, as always.”–Fox News slogan Some have suggested that Fox‘s conservative point of view and its Republican leanings render the network inherently unworthy as a news outlet. FAIR believes that view is misguided. The United States is unusual, perhaps even unique, in having a journalistic culture so fiercely wedded to the elusive notion of “objective” news (an idea of relatively recent historical vintage even in the U.S.). In Great Britain, papers like the conservative Times of London and the left-leaning Guardian deliver consistently excellent coverage while making no secret of their respective points of view. There’s nothing keeping American journalists from doing the same. If anything, it is partly the disingenuous claim to objectivity that is corroding the integrity of the news business. American journalists claim to represent all political views with an open mind, yet in practice a narrow bipartisan centrism excludes dissenting points of view : No major newspaper editorial page opposed NAFTA; virtually all endorse U.S. airstrikes on Iraq; and single-payer health care proposals find almost no backers among them. With the ascendance of Fox News Channel, we now have a national conservative TV network in addition to the established centrist outlets. But like the mainstream networks, Fox refuses to admit its political point of view. The result is a skewed center-to-right media spectrum made worse by the refusal to acknowledge any tilt at all. Fox could potentially represent a valuable contribution to the journalistic mix if it admitted it had a conservative point of view, if it beefed up its hard news and investigative coverage (and cut back on the tabloid sensationalism), and if there were an openly left-leaning TV news channel capable of balancing both Fox‘s conservatism and CNN‘s centrism. None of these three things appears likely to happen in the foreseeable future. SIDEBAR: Toeing the Line on Special Report For some, the free market is a religion. That seems true for Fox News reporter Brit Hume, who has made no secret of what he thinks about the idea of caps on wholesale electricity prices in California. Hume commented on Fox (5/29/01) that “no one with an economics degree that I know” would support price caps for California. In fact, 10 prominent mainstream economists wrote a letter to George W. Bush endorsing the idea. “We are mindful of the potential dangers of applying a simple price cap,” they wrote (New York Times, 5/30/01). “But California’s electricity markets are not characterized by effective competition.” The letter added that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s “failure to act now will have dire consequences for the state of California.” Paul Krugman, one of the country’s most prominent economists, had by that point written six columns in the New York Times calling for energy price caps. But on Fox, laissez-faire orthodoxy was enforced. When Jeff Birnbaum, Washington bureau chief of Fortune magazine and a frequent guest on Special Report with Brit Hume, suggested (5/29/01) that price caps “might help the blackouts through this summer,” this view was rejected by both of the other panelists, Morton Kondracke and Bill Kristol. Hume, acting as moderator, derided Birnbaum for his deviation: “Did you ever have any economics in college? . . . There are books . . . that could help you.” A day later (5/30/01), Birnbaum came on the show to deliver what can only be described as a recantation: “I consulted my Economics 101, and I made a mistake last night when I spoke,” he said. “Price caps are definitely the wrong economic answer. It could lead to a spreading energy gap and problem beyond California’s borders and a long-term energy problem that would clearly be a serious political and substantive problem for the Bush administration.” “No apology required,” was Hume’s response. But one got the definite impression that toeing the ideological line is required on Special Report. –Peter Hart SIDEBAR:An Obsession That Only Goes So Far David Horowitz giving a lecture titled: “Intellectual Terrorism: The Left’s War on Free Speech” at UCLA/Photo: Marc Langsam One of Fox News Channel‘s favorite recent stories involved a newspaper ad that claimed African-Americans benefited from slavery , and owed America for the favor. The ad’s author, conservative activist David Horowitz, claimed to be a victim of censorship and “political correctness” because a number of college newspapers refused to publish his ad, which argued against the idea of slavery reparations. Fox saw this as a major issue: Horowitz and his ad were mentioned at least 21 times on the network between March 6 and April 3. On Fox News Sunday (3/25/01), the network’s Sunday-morning equivalent of Meet the Press, interviews with Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Sen. Joseph Lieberman were incongruously followed by a segment featuring a largely unknown reparations activist and David Horowitz, in a Crossfire-style debate about Horowitz’s rejected ad. On Special Report with Brit Hume, the Horowitz ad became the subject of at least nine “Grapevine” items in less than a month. The ad was also the subject of Hume’s lead question to conservative columnist John Leo when he appeared for a one-on-one interview (3/23/01). Afterward, Hume put the Horowitz issue to the show’s all-star panel of pundits; all three pundits agreed that campus liberals were squelching debate. Mara Liasson argued that reparations are “pretty much of a non-issue” and Horowitz’s ad was not “nearly as bad as the kind of hate speech you hear about in other cases,” while Mort Kondracke explained that “there’s nothing racist in this.” On Hannity & Colmes (3/26/01), the issue was: “Has David Horowitz’s freedom of speech become a victim of political correctness?” On The O’Reilly Factor (3/6/01), it was Horowitz and host Bill O’Reilly interrogating a reparations activist from Mobile, Alabama. (“That’s my tax money!” O’Reilly exclaimed.) The Edge with Paula Zahn brought Horowitz on three times within a month to discuss the same subject. But there was one twist to the Horowitz story that Fox couldn’t be bothered to report. When Horowitz’s ad was offered to the Daily Princetonian in April, the paper ran it–along with an editorial (4/4/01) describing its ideas as racist and promising to donate the ad’s proceeds to the local chapter of the Urban League. Horowitz, the free-speech crusader, refused to pay his bill unless the paper’s editors publicly apologized for their hurtful words: “Its slanders contribute to the atmosphere of intolerance and hate towards conservatives,” a statement from his office read. Suddenly Fox lost interest in the Horowitz case. After a month of running twice-weekly updates about college papers that were refusing the ad, Special Report with Brit Hume ignored the Princeton episode. None of the network’s major shows transcribed in the Nexis database reported Horowitz’s tiff with the paper. No editor from the Princetonian was invited on The O’Reilly Factor to debate whether or not Horowitz was being a hypocrite. When their favorite free-speech martyr suddenly looked like a censor, it was a story Fox just didn’t want to pursue. –Seth Ackerman See also the other two articles in FAIR’s special report on Fox: Fox‘s Slanted Sources: Conservatives, Republicans far outnumber others– a comparison of Special Report with Brit Hume with CNN‘s Wolf Blitzer Reports.

Fox News Channel

Which sport announced a recent hiatus in the beginning of their season due to the inability to adopt on a new collective bargaining agreement?

Fox News Shakes Up its Long-Stable Program Lineup | Variety Fox News Shakes Up its Long-Stable Program Lineup July 17, 2013 | 12:13PM PT Ad buyers see move to keep momentum in post-election year Fox News Channel has long burnished slogans such as “Fair and Balanced” and “We Report, You Decide.” But it may just as well have used this old chestnut: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For years, the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-newser has dominated its category, and as such, it’s had little reason to make the schedule and program changes more common at rivals CNN and MSNBC. In 2013, however, FNC is planning some changes of its own. Earlier this month, the news outlet announced it will place popular anchor Megyn Kelly in primetime, with a new schedule to be unveiled at a later date. Veteran “ Fox & Friends ” co-host Gretchen Carlson is moving to a new daytime show from her ayem perch in early fall, while former “The View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck is slated to join the network’s morning program in mid-September. Veteran media reporter and CNN media critic Howard Kurtz joined Fox News Channel July 1 to host a retooled version of the weekend program known as “Fox News Watch.” “They haven’t made as many lineup changes, so this is sort of unique,” said Phil Griffin , president of MSNBC, in a recent interview. “It’s getting some attention.” The nips and tweaks may show Fox News Channel in the process of moving forward after its 2012 election-year coverage, a period of aftermath, when ratings can ebb in comparison to viewership for coverage of much-scrutinized political events. To be sure, Fox News Channel continues to trump CNN and MSNBC handily in primetime audiences between 25 and 54 – the demographic advertisers seek from news programs . But the network did see some slackening in its first quarter in so-called “commercial ratings” – or measures of viewership for the ads that support its programs – for that demo, according to Billie Gold, vice president and director of buying and programming research at Carat, a media-buying firm that counts General Motors among its clients. Season to date as of July 7, Fox News Channel’s primetime programming across the week lured an average of 367,000 viewers between ages 25 and 54, according to Nielsen. MSNBC’s primetime lineup drew an average of 271,000 in the 2013 time-period, while CNN attracted approximately 235,000, Nielsen said. “Fox News gets dollars because it garners bigger ratings” and gives advertisers a chance to pitch older, upscale viewers, said Gold, who thinks the coming changes could lends its schedule “a zap of fresh hosts and shows that might bring viewers in.” FNC may be “trying to maintain some momentum” in a post-election year, said Brian Hughes, a senior vice president and head of audience analysis at Magna Global, a media-buying firm owned by Interpublic Group. The move involving Kelly, he added, could be an attempt to “draw in some more female viewers in primetime.” A Fox News spokeswoman said the network declined to make executives available for comment. Fox News Channel’s primetime lineup has largely been inviolate. Bill O’Reilly has held forth at 8 p.m. since 1996 with “The O’Reilly Factor” (known as “The O’Reilly Report” in its first two years). Sean Hannity has occupied the 9 p.m. slot since 1996, sharing it with Alan Colmes until 2009. And “On the Record With Greta Van Susteren ” has been in the 10 p.m. slot since 2002, though its ratings have shown signs of weakness this year. Other dayparts are also relatively sturdy. Carlson has been on the curvy couch at “Fox & Friends” since 2006. In contrast, MSNBC recently gave Chris Hayes its daily 8 p.m. slot, relegating Ed Schultz (whose show had aired weeknights 6 to 10) to weekends. CNN runs Anderson Cooper’s program at both 8 and 10 p.m., but it has stumbled in its efforts to create a more durable three-hour block, as anyone who may have stuck with Paula Zahn , Campbell Brown and Eliot Spitzer over the years might be able to relate. CNN’s longest-lasting personality, Larry King, departed in 2010 after 15 years on the network’s air. Fox News Channel appears to be in the midst of a larger effort. In addition to the changes scheduled for primetime and daytime, the network has in 2013 signed Tucker Carlson as co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend”; former presidential candidates Herman Cain and Dennis Kucinich and, former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) to contributor roles; and, in June, announced the return of the colorful former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a contributor as well. Compare this spate of activity to 2012, when the only new talent hire announced during the year, according to a list of press releases posted on the network’s media site, was that of former New Yorker staffer Peter J. Boyer. He joined Fox News Channel as an editor-at-large.

i don't know

From the Norwegian for Heavy Stone, what element, with an atomic number of 74, uses the symbol W?

It's Elemental - The Element Tungsten It's Elemental Melting Point: 3695 K (3422°C or 6192°F) Boiling Point: 5828 K (5555°C or 10031°F) Density: 19.3 grams per cubic centimeter Phase at Room Temperature: Solid Element Classification: Metal Period Number: 6    Group Number: 6    Group Name: none What's in a name? From the Swedish words tung sten, which mean "heavy stone." Tungsten's chemical symbol comes from its eariler, Germanic name, Wolfram. The name Wolfram comes from the mineral wolframite, in which it was discovered. Wolframite means "the devourer of tin" since the mineral interferes with the smelting of tin. Say what? Tungsten is pronounced as TUNG-sten. History and Uses: Tungsten was discovered by Juan José and Fausto Elhuyar, Spanish chemists and brothers, in 1783 in samples of the mineral wolframite ((Fe, Mn)WO4). Today, tungsten is primarily obtained from wolframite and scheelite (CaWO4) using the same basic method developed by José and Elhuyar. Tungsten ores are crushed, cleaned and treated with alkalis to form tungsten trioxide (WO3). Tungsten trioxide is then heated with carbon or hydrogen gas (H2), forming tungsten metal and carbon dioxide (CO2) or tungsten metal and water vapor (H2O). Pure tungsten is a light gray or whitish metal that is soft enough to be cut with a hacksaw and ductile enough to be drawn into wire or extruded into various shapes. If contaminated with other materials, tungsten becomes brittle and difficult to work with. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metallic elements and is used to make filaments for incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent light bulbs and television tubes. Tungsten expands at nearly the same rate as borosilicate glass and is used to make metal to glass seals. Tungsten is also used as a target for X-ray production, as heating elements in electric furnaces and for parts of spacecraft and missiles which must withstand high temperatures. Tungsten is alloyed with steel to form tough metals that are stable at high temperatures. Tungsten-steel alloys are used to make such things as high speed cutting tools and rocket engine nozzles. Tungsten carbide (WC) is an extremely hard tungsten compound. It is used in the tips of drill bits, high speed cutting tools and in mining machinery. Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is a dry lubricant that can be used to temperatures as high as 500°C. Tungsten forms compounds with calcium and magnesium that have phosphorescent properties and are used in fluorescent light bulbs. Estimated Crustal Abundance: 1.25 milligrams per kilogram Estimated Oceanic Abundance: 1×10-4 milligrams per liter Number of Stable Isotopes: 2   ( View all isotope data ) Ionization Energy: 7.98 eV

Tungsten

For a point each, name the 2 countries surrounding the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory 6 History From Swedish, tung sten meanig heavy stone. In 1779 Peter Woulfe examined the mineral now known as wolframite and concluded it must contain a new substance. Scheele, in 1781, found that a new acid could be made from tungsten (a name first applied about 1758 to a mineral now known as scheelite). Scheele and Berman suggested the possibility of obtaining a new metal by reducing this acid. The de Elhuyar brothers found acid in wolframite in 1783 that was identical to the acid of tungsten (tungstic acid) of Scheele, and in that year they succeeded in obtaining the element by reduction of this acid with charcoal. Tungsten occurs in wolframite, scheelite, huebnertie, and ferberite. Important deposits of tungsten occur in California, Colorado, South Korea, Bolivia, Russia, and Portugal. China is reported to have about 75% of the world's tungsten resources. Natural tungsten contains five stable isotopes. Twenty one other unstable isotopes are recognized. The metal is obtained commercially be reducing tungsten oxide with hydrogen or carbon . Properties Pure tungsten is a steel-gray to tin-white metal. Very pure tungsten can be cut with a hacksaw, forged, spun, drawn, and extruded. The impure metal is brittle and can be worked only with difficulty. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals, and at temperatures over 1650°C has the highest tensile strength. The metal oxidizes in air and must be protected at elevated temperatures. It has excellent corrosion resistance and is attacked only slightly by most mineral acids. The thermal expansion is about the same as borosilicate glass, which makes the metal useful for glass-to-metal seals. Uses Tungsten and its alloys are used extensively for filaments for electric lamps, electron and television tubes, and for metal evaporation work; for electrical contact points for automobile distributors; X-ray targets; windings and heating elements for electrical furnaces; and for numerous spacecraft and high-temperature applications. High-speed tool steels, Hastelloy(R), Stellite(R), and many other alloys contain tungsten. Tungsten carbide is of great importance to the metal-working, mining, and petroleum industries. Calcium and magnesium tungstates are widely used in fluorescent lighting; other salts of tungsten are used in the chemical and tanning industries. Tungsten disulfide is a dry, high-temperature lubricant, stable to 500C. Tungsten bronzes and other tungsten compounds are used in paints.

i don't know

October 10, 1973 saw the resignation of which Maryland politician, Nixon's first vice president, following charges of tax evasion?

Vice President Agnew resigns - Oct 10, 1973 - HISTORY.com Vice President Agnew resigns Publisher A+E Networks Less than a year before Richard M. Nixon’s resignation as president of the United States, Spiro Agnew becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace. The same day, he pleaded no contest to a charge of federal income tax evasion in exchange for the dropping of charges of political corruption. He was subsequently fined $10,000, sentenced to three years probation, and disbarred by the Maryland court of appeals. Agnew, a Republican, was elected chief executive of Baltimore County in 1961. In 1967, he became governor of Maryland, an office he held until his nomination as the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1968. During Nixon’s successful campaign, Agnew ran on a tough law-and-order platform, and as vice president he frequently attacked opponents of the Vietnam War and liberals as being disloyal and un-American. Reelected with Nixon in 1972, Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973, after the U.S. Justice Department uncovered widespread evidence of his political corruption, including allegations that his practice of accepting bribes had continued into his tenure as U.S. vice president. He died at the age of 77 on September 17, 1996. Under the process decreed by the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, President Nixon was instructed to the fill vacant office of vice president by nominating a candidate who then had to be approved by both houses of Congress. Nixon’s appointment of Representative Gerald Ford of Michigan was approved by Congress and, on December 6, Ford was sworn in. He became the 38th president of the United States on August 9, 1974, after the escalating Watergate affair caused Nixon to resign. Related Videos

Spiro Agnew

What was the name of the gypsy girl that Quasimodo fell in love with in Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

President Gerald Rudolph Ford (King), Jr. (1913 - 2006) - Genealogy stepfather About Gerald Ford, Jr., 38th President of the United States Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the fortieth Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974. Ford was the fifth U.S. President never to have been elected to that position, and the only one never to have won any national election. Currently, he is also the longest-lived president in U.S. history, living to age 93. Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader. As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. Compared with his predecessors, Ford's policies were less directed towards intervention in Vietnamese affairs. Domestically, the economy suffered from inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his more controversial decisions was granting a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. In 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but ultimately lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter by a small margin. Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican party. After experiencing health problems and being admitted to the hospital four times in 2006, Ford died at his home on December 26, 2006. Childhood Ford was born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 15, 1913, at 12:43 a.m. CST, at 3202 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. His father was Leslie Lynch King, Sr., a wool trader and son of prominent banker Charles Henry and Martha King. His mother was the former Dorothy Ayer Gardner. Because of her husband's problems, Dorothy separated from him just sixteen days after her son's birth. She took her son with her to the Oak Park, Illinois home of her sister Tannisse and her husband, Clarence Haskins James. From there she moved to the home of her parents, Levi Addison Gardner and his wife, the former Adele Augusta Ayer, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dorothy and Leslie King divorced in December 1913; she gained full custody of their son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930. Leslie Lynch King, Jr. (later known as Gerald R. Ford) at one year of age in 1914Gerald Ford later said his biological father had a history of hitting his mother.[1] James M. Cannon, a member of the Ford administration, wrote in a Ford biography that the Kings' separation and divorce were sparked when, a few days after Ford's birth, Leslie King threatened Dorothy with a butcher knife and threatened to kill her, the baby, and the baby's nursemaid. Ford later told confidantes that his father had hit his mother first on their honeymoon, for smiling at another man.[2] After three years with her parents, on February 1, 1916 Dorothy King married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a salesman in a family-owned paint and varnish company. Later he became president of the firm.[3] They then called her son Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr. The future president was never formally adopted, however, and he did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935; he also used a more conventional spelling of his middle name.[4] He was raised in Grand Rapids with his three half-brothers by his mother's second marriage: Thomas Gardner Ford (1918–1995), Richard Addison Ford (born 1924), and James Francis Ford (1927–2001). Ford also had three half-siblings from his father's second marriage: Marjorie King (1921–1993), Leslie Henry King (1923–1976), and Patricia Jane King (born 1925. They never saw each other as children and he did not know them at all. Ford was not aware of his biological father until he was 17, when his parents told him about the circumstances of his birth. That same year his father Leslie King, whom Ford described as a "carefree, well-to-do man," approached Ford while he was waiting tables in a Grand Rapids restaurant. The two "maintained a sporadic contact" until Leslie King, Sr.'s death.[1][5] Ford maintained his distance emotionally, saying, "My stepfather was a magnificent person and my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing."[6] Scouting and athletics Eagle Scout Gerald Ford (circled in red) in 1929. Michigan Governor Fred Green at far left, holding hat.Ford was immensely involved in The Boy Scouts of America, and attained that program's highest rank, Eagle Scout.[7] He always regarded this as one of his proudest accomplishments, even after attaining the White House.[8] In subsequent years, Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in May 1970 and Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He is the only US president who was an Eagle Scout.[9] Scouting was so important to Ford that his family asked that Scouts participate in his funeral. About 400 Eagle Scouts were part of the funeral procession, where they formed an honor guard as the casket went by in front of the museum, and served as ushers.[10][11] Ford attended Grand Rapids South High School and was a star athlete and captain of his football team. In 1930, he was selected to the All-City team of the Grand Rapids City League. He also attracted the attention of college recruiters.[12] Attending the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, Ford played center and linebacker for the school’s football team and helped the Wolverines to undefeated seasons and national titles in 1932 and 1933. The team suffered a steep decline in his 1934 senior year, however, winning only one game. Ford was the team’s star nonetheless, and after a game during which Michigan held heavily favored Minnesota (the eventual national champion) to a scoreless tie in the first half, assistant coach Bennie Oosterbaan later said, “When I walked into the dressing room at half time, I had tears in my eyes I was so proud of them. Ford and [Cedric] Sweet played their hearts out. They were everywhere on defense.” Ford himself later recalled, “During 25 years in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, I often thought of the experiences before, during, and after that game in 1934. Remembering them has helped me many times to face a tough situation, take action, and make every effort possible despite adverse odds.” His teammates later voted Ford their most valuable player, with one assistant coach noting, “They felt Jerry was one guy who would stay and fight in a losing cause.”[13] Ford as a University of Michigan football player, 1933During the same season, in a game against the University of Chicago, Ford “became the only future U.S. president to tackle a future Heisman Trophy winner when he brought down running back Jay Berwanger, who would win the first Heisman the following year.”[14] In 1934 Gerald Ford was selected for the Eastern Team on the Shriner’s East West Crippled Children game at San Francisco (a benefit for crippled children), played on January 1, 1935. As part of the 1935 Collegiate All-Star football team, Ford played against the Chicago Bears in an exhibition game at Soldier Field.[15] Ford retained his interest in football and his alma mater throughout life, occasionally attending games and on one occasion asking to be awakened to find out the score of an Ohio State-Michigan football game, while attending a summit in the Soviet Union as President.[16] The University of Michigan retired Ford's #48 jersey in 1994. Ford was also an avid golfer. In 1977, he shot a hole in one during a Pro-am held in conjunction with the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee. He received the 1985 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. Education At University of Michigan, Ford became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and washed dishes at his fraternity house to earn money for college expenses. Following his graduation in 1935 with a degree in political science and economics he turned down contract offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League in order to take a coaching position at Yale and apply to its law school. Each team was offering him a contract of $200 a game, but he wanted a legal education.[17] Ford continued to contribute to football and boxing, accepting an assistant coaching job for both at Yale in September 1935.[18] Ford hoped to attend Yale's law school beginning in 1935 while serving as boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach; and also teaching JV cheerleading, which he was very good at, as he knew how to do several tucks and back handsprings but Yale officials initially denied his admission to the law school, because of his full-time coaching responsibilities. He spent the summer of 1937 as a student at the University of Michigan Law School[19] and was eventually admitted in the spring of 1938 to Yale Law School.[20] Ford earned his LL.B. degree in 1941 (later amended to Juris Doctor), graduating in the top 25 percent of his class. His introduction to politics came in the summer of 1940 when he worked in Wendell Willkie's presidential campaign. While attending Yale Law School, he joined a group of students led by R. Douglas Stuart, Jr., and signed a petition to enforce the 1939 Neutrality Act. The petition was circulated nationally and was the inspiration for the America First Committee, a group determined to keep the U.S. out of World War II.[21] Ford graduated from law school in 1941, and was admitted to the Michigan bar shortly there after. In May 1941, he opened a Grand Rapids law practice with a friend, Philip Buchen,[18] who would later serve as Ford's White House counsel. But overseas developments caused a change in plans, and Ford responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor by enlisting in the Navy.[22] Naval service in World War II Ford received a commission as ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on April 13, 1942. On April 20, he reported for active duty to the V-5 instructor school at Annapolis, Maryland. After one month of training, he went to Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he was one of 83 instructors and taught elementary seamanship, ordnance, gunnery, first aid and military drill. In addition, he coached in all nine sports that were offered, but mostly in swimming, boxing and football. During the one year he was at the Preflight School, he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade on June 2, 1942, and to Lieutenant in March 1943. Ford in Navy uniform, 1945Applying for sea duty, Ford was sent in May 1943 to the pre-commissioning detachment for the new aircraft carrier USS Monterey, at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. From the ship's commissioning on June 17, 1943 until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the Monterey. While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the Pacific Theater with the Third and Fifth Fleets during the fall of 1943 and in 1944. In 1943, the carrier helped secure Makin Island in the Gilberts, and participated in carrier strikes against Kavieng, New Ireland in 1943. During the spring of 1944, the Monterey supported landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok and participated in carrier strikes in the Marianas, Western Carolines, and northern New Guinea, as well as in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.[23][24] After overhaul, from September to November 1944, aircraft from the Monterey launched strikes against Wake Island, participated in strikes in the Philippines and Ryukyus, and supported the landings at Leyte and Mindoro. Although the ship was not damaged by Japanese forces, the Monterey was one of several ships damaged by the typhoon that hit Admiral William Halsey's Third Fleet on December 18–19, 1944. The Third Fleet lost three destroyers and over 800 men during the typhoon. The Monterey was damaged by a fire, which was started by several of the ship's aircraft tearing loose from their cables and colliding on the hanger deck. During the storm, Ford narrowly avoided becoming a casualty himself. As he was going to his battle station on the bridge of the ship in the early morning of December 18, the ship rolled twenty-five degrees, which caused Ford to lose his footing and slide toward the edge of the deck. The two-inch steel ridge around the edge of the carrier slowed him enough so he could roll, and he twisted into the catwalk below the deck. As he later stated, "I was lucky; I could have easily gone overboard." Because of the extent of the fires, Admiral Halsey ordered Captain Ingersoll to abandon ship. Instead Captain Ingersoll ordered Ford to lead a fire brigade below. After five hours he and his team had put out the fire. Men aboard the USS Monterey (CVL-26) playing basketball in the forward elevator well June, 1944; the jumper on the left is Ford[25][26]After the fire the Monterey was declared unfit for service, and the crippled carrier reached Ulithi on December 21 before proceeding across the Pacific to Bremerton, Washington where it underwent repairs. On December 24, 1944 at Ulithi, Ford was detached from the ship and sent to the Athletic Department of the Navy Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary's College of California, where he was assigned to the Athletic Department until April 1945. One of his duties was to coach football. From the end of April 1945 to January 1946, he was on the staff of the Naval Reserve Training Command, Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois as the Staff Physical and Military Training Officer. On October 3, 1945 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In January 1946, he was sent to the Separation Center, Great Lakes to be processed out. He was released from active duty under honorable conditions on February 23, 1946. On June 28, 1946, the Secretary of the Navy accepted Ford's resignation from the Naval Reserve. For his naval service, Gerald Ford earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine engagement stars for operations in the Gilbert Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation. He also received the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars for Leyte and Mindoro, as well as the American Campaign and World War II Victory medals.[22] Ford was a member of several civic organizations, including the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and AMVETS.Gerald R. Ford was initiated into Freemasonry on September 30, 1949.[27] He later said in 1975, "When I took my obligation as a master mason — incidentally, with my three younger brothers — I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and 12 other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States."[28] Marriage and children The Fords on their wedding day, October 15, 1948On October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Ford married Elizabeth Bloomer Warren, a department store fashion consultant. Warren had been a John Robert Powers fashion model and a dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the Martha Graham Dance Company. She had previously been married to and divorced from William G. Warren. At the time of his engagement, Ford was campaigning for what would be his first of thirteen terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. The wedding was delayed until shortly before the elections because, as The New York Times reported in a 1974 profile of Betty Ford, "Jerry was running for Congress and wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer."[29] The Fords had four children: Michael Gerald, born in 1950 John Gardner, known as Jack, born in 1952 Steven Meigs, born in 1956 Susan Elizabeth, born in 1957 House of Representatives Ford meets with President Richard Nixon as House Minority LeaderAfter returning to Grand Rapids, Ford became active in local Republican politics, and supporters urged him to take on Bartel J. Jonkman, the incumbent Republican congressman. Military service had changed his view of the world; "I came back a converted internationalist", Ford wrote, "and of course our congressman at that time was an avowed, dedicated isolationist. And I thought he ought to be replaced. Nobody thought I could win. I ended up winning two to one."[6] During his first campaign in 1948, Ford visited farmers and promised he would work on their farms and milk the cows if elected—a promise he fulfilled.[30] In 1961, the U.S. House membership voted Ford a special award as a "Congressman's Congressman" that praised his committee work on military budgets.[31] Ford was a member of the House of Representatives for twenty-four years, holding the Grand Rapids congressional district seat from 1949 to 1973. It was a tenure largely notable for its modesty. As an editorial in The New York Times described him, Ford "saw himself as a negotiator and a reconciler, and the record shows it: he did not write a single piece of major legislation in his entire career."[32] Appointed to the House Appropriations Committee two years after being elected, he was a prominent member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Ford described his philosophy as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy." Congressman Gerald Ford, MSFC director Wernher von Braun, Congressman George H. Mahon, and NASA Administrator James E. Webb visit the Marshall Space Flight Center for a briefing on the Saturn program, 1964 [edit] Warren Commission Main article: Warren Commission Further information: John F. Kennedy assassination In November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission, a special task force set up to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford was assigned to prepare a biography of Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin.[33] The Commission's work continues to be debated in the public arena. According to newly released records from Ford's FBI files, he secretly advised the FBI that two of his fellow members on the Warren Commission doubted the FBI's conclusion that John F. Kennedy was shot from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas. A 1963 FBI memo that said Ford, then a Republican congressman from Michigan, had volunteered to keep the FBI informed about the panel's private deliberations, but only if that relationship remained confidential. The bureau agreed[34]. Ford generally believed in single bullet and single assassin theory. According to the same reports, Ford generally had a strong ties to FBI and J. Edgar Hoover[35]. House Minority Leader In 1965, Republican members of the House elected Ford as its Minority Leader. During the eight years (1965–1973) he served as Minority Leader, Ford won many friends in the House because of his fair leadership and inoffensive personality.[31] But President Johnson disliked Ford for the congressman's frequent attacks on the administration's "Great Society" programs as being unneeded or wasteful, and for his criticism of the President's handling of the Vietnam War. As Minority Leader in the House, Ford appeared in a popular series of televised press conferences with famed Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, in which they proposed Republican alternatives to Johnson's policies. Many in the press jokingly called this "The Ev and Jerry Show".[36] Johnson said of Ford at the time, "That Gerald Ford. He can't fart and chew gum at the same time."[37] The press, used to sanitizing LBJ's salty language, reported this as "Gerald Ford can't walk and chew gum at the same time."[38] Vice Presidency, 1973–74 On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from the Nixon administration and then pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering, part of a negotiated resolution to a scheme wherein he accepted $29,500 in bribes while governor of Maryland. According to The New York Times, "Nixon sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement. The advice was unanimous. 'We gave Nixon no choice but Ford,' House Speaker Carl Albert recalled later".[32] The Fords and the Nixons in the White House Blue Room following President Nixon's nomination of Ford to be Vice President, October 1973Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 13, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been implemented. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. Only three Senators, all Democrats, had voted against Ford's confirmation: Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Thomas Eagleton of Missouri and William Hathaway of Maine. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. One hour after the confirmation vote in the House, Ford took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States. Ford's tenure as Vice President was little noted by the media. Instead, reporters were preoccupied by the continuing revelations about criminal acts during the 1972 presidential election and allegations of cover-ups within the White House. Ford said little about the Watergate scandal, although he privately expressed his personal disappointment in the President's conduct. Following Ford's appointment, the Watergate investigation continued until Chief of Staff Alexander Haig contacted Ford on August 1, 1974, and told him that "smoking gun" evidence had been found. The evidence left little doubt that President Nixon had been a part of the Watergate cover-up. At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly designated vice president's residence in Washington, D.C. However, "Al Haig [asked] to come over and see me," Ford later related, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And she said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.'"[6] Presidency, 1974–77 Accession Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the White House East Room, while Betty Ford looks on. Ford and his golden retriever, Liberty, in the Oval Office, 1974When Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal on August 9, 1974, Ford assumed the presidency, making him the only person to assume the vice-presidency and the presidency without having been voted into either office. Immediately after taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House, he spoke to the assembled audience in a speech broadcast live to the nation. Ford noted the peculiarity of his position: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers."[39] He went on to state: I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.[40] A portion of the speech would later be memorialized with a plaque at the entrance to his presidential museum. On August 20 Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vice presidency he had vacated. Rockefeller's top competitor had been George H.W. Bush. Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made massive gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them did vote for his confirmation, and his nomination passed both the House and Senate. However, some, including Barry Goldwater, voted against him.[41] Pardon of Nixon On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States while President.[42][43] In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."[44] At the same time as he announced the Nixon pardon, Ford introduced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War draft dodgers who had fled to countries such as Canada.[45] Unconditional amnesty, however, did not come about until the Jimmy Carter Presidency.[46] President Ford appears at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing regarding his pardon of Richard Nixon.The Nixon pardon was highly controversial. Critics derided the move and claimed, a "corrupt bargain" had been struck between the men.[12] They claimed Ford's pardon was quid pro quo, in exchange for Nixon's resignation that elevated Ford to the Presidency. Nixon's Chief of Staff, Alexander Haig, did in fact offer a deal to Ford. Bob Woodward, in his book Shadow, recounts that Haig entered Ford's office on August 1, 1974 while Ford was still Vice President and Nixon had yet to resign. Haig told Ford that there were three pardon options: (1) Nixon could pardon himself and resign; (2) Nixon could pardon his aides involved in Watergate and then resign; or (3) Nixon could agree to leave in return for an agreement that the new president would pardon him. After listing these options, Haig handed Ford various papers; one of these papers included a discussion of the president's legal authority to pardon, and another sheet was a draft pardon form that only needed Ford's signature and Nixon's name to make it legal. Woodward summarizes the setting between Haig and Ford as follows: "Even if Haig offered no direct words on his views, the message was almost certainly sent. An emotional man, Haig was incapable of concealing his feelings; those who worked closely with him rarely found him ambiguous." Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Nixon PardonDespite the situation, Ford never accepted the offer from Haig, and later decided to pardon Nixon on his own terms.[citation needed] Regardless, historians believe the controversy was one of the major reasons Ford lost the election in 1976, an observation with which Ford concurred.[47] In an editorial at the time, The New York Times stated that the Nixon pardon was "a profoundly unwise, divisive and unjust act" that in a stroke had destroyed the new president's "credibility as a man of judgment, candor and competence."[32] Ford's first press secretary and close friend Jerald Franklin terHorst resigned his post in protest after the announcement of President Nixon's full pardon. Ford also voluntarily appeared before Congress on October 17, 1974 to give sworn testimony—the only time a sitting president has done so—about the pardon.[18] After Ford left the White House in 1977, intimates said that the former President privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.[47] In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon.[48] [edit] Administration and cabinet Upon assuming office, Ford inherited Nixon's cabinet. Over the course of Ford's relatively brief administration, only Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon remained. Ford appointed William Coleman as Secretary of Transportation, the second African American to serve in a presidential cabinet (after Robert Clifton Weaver) and the first appointed in a Republican administration.[49] The Ford Cabinet President Gerald Ford 1974–1977 Vice President Nelson Rockefeller 1974–1977 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Henry Kissinger 1974–1977 Treasury William E. Simon 1974–1977 Defense James R. Schlesinger 1974–1975 Donald Rumsfeld 1975–1977 Justice William Saxbe 1974–1975 Edward Levi 1975–1977 Interior Rogers Morton 1974–1975 Stanley K. Hathaway 1975 Thomas S. Kleppe 1975–1977 Agriculture Earl Butz 1974–1976 John Albert Knebel 1976–1977 Commerce Frederick B. Dent 1974–1975 Rogers Morton 1975 Labor Peter J. Brennan 1974–1975 John Thomas Dunlop 1975–1976 William Usery, Jr. 1976–1977 HEW Caspar Weinberger 1974–1975 F. David Mathews 1975–1977 HUD James Thomas Lynn 1974–1975 Carla Anderson Hills 1975–1977 Transportation Claude Brinegar 1974–1975 William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. 1975–1977 Other cabinet-level posts: White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld (1974–1975) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Roy Ash (1974–1975) James T. Lynn (1975–1977) United States Trade Representative William D. Eberle (1974–1975) Frederick B. Dent (1975–1977) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Russell E. Train (1974–1977) United States Ambassador to the United Nations John A. Scali (1974–1975) Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1975–1976) William Scranton (1976–1977) United States National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger (1974–1975) William E. Colby (1974–1976) George H. W. Bush (1976–1977) Ford selected George H.W. Bush to be his liaison to the People's Republic of China in 1974 and then Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in late 1975.[50] Ford's transition chairman and first Chief of Staff was former congressman and ambassador Donald Rumsfeld. In 1975, Rumsfeld was named by Ford as the youngest-ever Secretary of Defense. Ford chose a young Wyoming politician, Richard Cheney, to replace Rumsfeld as his new Chief of Staff and later campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.[51] Ford's dramatic reorganization of his Cabinet in the fall of 1975 has been referred to by political commentators as the "Halloween Massacre." [edit] Midterm elections Main articles: United States House elections, 1974 and United States Senate elections, 1974 The 1974 Congressional midterm elections took place less than three months after Ford assumed office and in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The Democratic Party was able to turn voter dissatisfaction into large gains in the House elections, taking 49 seats from the Republican Party, and increasing their majority to 291 of the 435 seats. This was one more than the number needed (290) for a 2/3rds majority, necessary in order to over-ride a Presidential veto (or to submit a Constitutional Amendment). Perhaps due in part to this fact, the 94th Congress overrode the highest percentage of vetoes since Andrew Johnson was President of the United States (1865–1869).[52] Even Ford's old, reliably Republican seat was taken by Democrat Richard VanderVeen, defeating Republican Robert VanderLaan. In the Senate elections, the Democratic majority became 61 in the 100-seat body.[53] [edit] Domestic policy President Ford meets with his Cabinet in 1975.The economy was a great concern during the Ford administration. In response to rising inflation, Ford went before the American public in October 1974 and asked them to "Whip Inflation Now." As part of this program, he urged people to wear "WIN" buttons.[54] In hindsight, this was viewed as simply a public relations gimmick without offering any effective means of solving the underlying problems.[55] At the time, inflation was approximately seven percent.[56] The economic focus began to change as the country sank into a mild recession, and in March 1975, Congress passed and Ford signed into law income tax rebates as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975 to boost the economy. When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, Mayor Abraham Beame was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted the New York Daily News' notorious headline: "Ford to City: Drop Dead."[57] Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. Sometime in the early 1970s, an influenza strain H1N1 shifted from a form of flu that affected primarily pigs and crossed over to humans. On February 5, 1976, an Army recruit at Fort Dix mysteriously died and four fellow soldiers were hospitalized; health officials announced that "swine flu" was the cause. Soon after, public health officials in the Ford administration urged that every person in the United States be vaccinated.[58] Although the vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, some 25% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled in December of that year. The vaccine was blamed for twenty-five deaths; more people died from the shots than from the swine flu.[59] Despite his reservations about how this program ultimately would be funded in an era of tight public budgeting, Ford still signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which established special education throughout the United States. Ford expressed "strong support for full educational opportunities for our handicapped children" according to the official White House press release for the bill signing.[60] Ford was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, issuing Presidential Proclamation 4383. In this Land of the Free, it is right, and by nature it ought to be, that all men and all women are equal before the law. Now, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States of America, to remind all Americans that it is fitting and just to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment adopted by the Congress of the United States of America, in order to secure legal equality for all women and men, do hereby designate and proclaim August 26, 1975, as Women's Equality Day.[61] As president, Ford's position on abortion was that he supported "a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice."[62] This had also been his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, which he opposed.[63] Ford came under criticism for a 60 Minutes interview his wife Betty gave in 1975, in which she stated that Roe v. Wade was a "great, great decision."[64] During his later life, Ford would identify as pro-choice.[65] [edit] Foreign policy All U.S. military forces had withdrawn from Vietnam in 1973. As the North Vietnamese invaded and conquered the South in 1975, Ford ordered the final withdrawal of U.S. civilians from Vietnam in Operation Frequent Wind, and the subsequent fall of Saigon. On April 29 and the morning of April 30, 1975, the U.S. embassy in Saigon was evacuated amidst a chaotic scene. Some 1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 Vietnamese and third country nationals were evacuated by military and Air America helicopters to U.S. Navy ships off-shore. Ford meets with Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev in Vladivostok, November 1974, to sign a joint communiqué on the SALT treatyFord continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War. In his meeting with Indonesian president Suharto, Ford gave the green light[66][67] through arms and aid to invade the former Portuguese colony East Timor. Still in place from the Nixon Administration was the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT).[68] The thawing relationship brought about by Nixon's visit to China was reinforced by Ford's December 1975 visit to the communist country.[69] In 1975, the Administration entered into the Helsinki Accords[70] with the Soviet Union, creating the framework of the Helsinki Watch, an independent non-governmental organization created to monitor compliance that later evolved into Human Rights Watch.[71] Ford also faced a foreign policy crisis with the Mayaguez Incident. In May 1975, shortly after the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia, Cambodians seized the American merchant ship Mayaguez in international waters. Ford dispatched Marines to rescue the crew, but the Marines landed on the wrong island and met unexpectedly stiff resistance just as, unknown to the U.S., the Mayaguez sailors were being released. In the operation, 41 U.S. servicemen were killed and 50 wounded while approximately 60 Khmer Rouge soldiers were killed.[72] Ford attended the inaugural meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations (initially the G5) in 1975 and secured membership for Canada. Ford supported international solutions to issues. "We live in an interdependent world and, therefore, must work together to resolve common economic problems," he said in a 1974 speech.[73] [edit] Assassination attempts Secret Service agents rush Ford to safety after the first assassination attempt.Ford faced two assassination attempts during his presidency, occurring within three weeks of each other: while in Sacramento, California on September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt 45-caliber handgun at Ford. As Fromme pulled the trigger, Larry Buendorf,[74] a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun and managed to insert the webbing of his thumb under the hammer, preventing the gun from firing. It was later found that, although the gun was loaded with four cartridges, it was a semi-automatic pistol and the slide had not been pulled to place a round in the firing chamber, making it impossible for the gun to fire. Fromme was taken into custody; she was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison.[75] Reaction immediately after the second assassination attempt.In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service started to keep Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later: as he left a hotel in downtown San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, pointed her pistol at him.[76] Just before she fired, former Marine Oliver Sipple grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; one person was injured. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled from prison on December 31, 2007, having served 32 years.[77] [edit] Supreme Court appointment In 1975, Ford appointed John Paul Stevens as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to replace retiring Justice William O. Douglas. Stevens had been a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, appointed by President Nixon.[78] During his tenure as House Republican leader, Ford had led efforts to have Douglas impeached. After being confirmed, Stevens eventually disappointed some conservatives by siding with the Court's liberal wing regarding the outcome of many key issues.[79] Nevertheless, President Ford paid tribute to Stevens. "He has served his nation well," Ford said of Stevens, "with dignity, intellect and without partisan political concerns."[80] [edit] 1976 presidential election Main article: United States presidential election, 1976 Ford reluctantly agreed to run for office in 1976, but first he had to counter a challenge for the Republican party nomination. Then-former Governor of California Ronald Reagan and the party's conservative wing faulted Ford for failing to do more in South Vietnam, for signing the Helsinki Accords and for negotiating to cede the Panama Canal (negotiations for the canal continued under President Carter, who eventually signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaties). Reagan launched his campaign in late 1975 and won several primaries before withdrawing from the race at the Republican Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The conservative insurgency convinced Ford to drop the more liberal Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in favor of Kansas Senator Bob Dole.[81] In addition to the pardon dispute and lingering anti-Republican sentiment, Ford had to counter a plethora of negative media imagery. Chevy Chase often did pratfalls on Saturday Night Live, imitating Ford, who had been seen stumbling on two occasions during his term. As Chase commented, "He even mentioned in his own autobiography it had an effect over a period of time that affected the election to some degree."[82] President Ford's 1976 election campaign had the advantage that he was an incumbent President during several anniversary events held during the period leading up to the United States Bicentennial. The Washington, D.C. fireworks display on the Fourth of July was presided over by the President and televised nationally.[83] On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, which was televised on the Public Broadcasting Service network. The 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts gave Ford the opportunity to deliver a speech to 110,000 in Concord acknowledging the need for a strong national defense tempered with a plea for "reconciliation, not recrimination" and "reconstruction, not rancor" between the United States and those who would pose "threats to peace".[84] Speaking in New Hampshire on the previous day, Ford condemned the growing trend toward big government bureaucracy and argued for a return to "basic American virtues".[85] Ford (at right) and Jimmy Carter debateDemocratic nominee and former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter campaigned as an outsider and reformer, gaining support from voters dismayed by the Watergate scandal and Nixon pardon. After the Democratic National Convention, he held a huge 33-point lead over Ford in the polls. However, as the campaign continued the race tightened, and by election day the polls showed the race as too close to call. Carter's decline in the polls, and Ford's surge, is usually credited to three events. First, Carter promised a "blanket pardon" to Vietnam War draft dodgers in a speech before the American Legion, an act which angered many conservatives who viewed the draft dodgers as traitors. Second, Playboy magazine published a controversial interview with Carter; in the interview Carter admitted to having "lusted in his heart" for women other than his wife, which cut into his support among women and evangelical Christians. Finally, on September 24, Ford performed well in what was the first televised presidential debate since 1960. Polls taken after the debate showed that most viewers felt that Ford was the winner. Carter was also hurt by Ford's charges that he lacked the necessary experience to be an effective national leader, and that Carter was vague on many issues. Presidential debates were reintroduced for the first time since the 1960 election. While Ford was seen as the winner of the first debate, during the second debate he inexplicably blundered when he stated, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration." Ford also said that he did not "believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union".[86] In an interview years later, Ford said he had intended to imply that the Soviets would never crush the spirits of eastern Europeans seeking independence. However, the phrasing was so awkward that questioner Max Frankel was visibly incredulous at the response.[87] As a result of this blunder, Ford's surge stalled and Carter was able to maintain a slight lead in the polls. In the end, Carter won the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes compared with 48.0% and 240 electoral votes for Ford. The election was close enough that had fewer than 25,000 votes shifted in Ohio and Wisconsin – both of which neighbored his home state – Ford would have won the electoral vote.[88] Though he lost, in the three months between the Republican National Convention and the election Ford managed to close what was once a 34-point Carter lead to a 2-point margin. In fact, the Gallup poll the day before the election showed Ford held a statistically insignificant 1-point advantage over Carter.[89] Had Ford won the election, he would have been disqualified by the 22nd Amendment from running in 1980, since he served more than two years of Nixon's term. An article published in Newsweek shortly after Ford's death in 2006 discussed the former President's spiritual beliefs and cited evidence that Ford's preference not to openly express his Episcopalian faith in public contributed to his loss to Southern Baptist former Sunday school teacher Jimmy Carter. Ford's lowest level of support was in the Bible Belt states of the Deep South (Carter won every Southern state that year except Virginia). [edit] Post-presidential years, 1977–2006 [edit] Activity The Nixon pardon controversy eventually subsided. Ford's successor, Jimmy Carter, opened his 1977 inaugural address by praising the outgoing President, saying, "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."[90] Ford remained relatively active in the years after his presidency and continued to make appearances at events of historical and ceremonial significance to the nation, such as presidential inaugurals and memorial services. In 1977, he reluctantly agreed to be interviewed by James M. Naughton, a New York Times journalist who was given the assignment to write the former President's advance obituary, an article that would be updated prior to its eventual publication.[91] In 1979, Ford published his autobiography, A Time to Heal, (Harper/Reader's Digest, 454 pages). A Foreign Policy review[92] describes it as, "Serene, unruffled, unpretentious, like the author. This is the shortest and most honest of recent presidential memoirs, but there are no surprises, no deep probings of motives or events. No more here than meets the eye". During the term of office of his successor, Jimmy Carter, Ford received monthly briefs by President Carter’s senior staff on international and domestic issues, and was always invited to lunch at the White House whenever he was in Washington, D.C. Their close friendship developed after Carter had left office, with the catalyst being their trip together to the funeral of Anwar el-Sadat in 1981.[93] Until Ford's death, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, visited the Fords' home frequently.[94] In 2001, Ford and Carter served as honorary co-chairs of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. Like Presidents Carter, Bush Sr. and Clinton, Ford was an honorary co-chair of the Council for Excellence in Government, a group dedicated to excellence in government performance and which provides leadership training to top federal employees. After securing the Republican nomination in 1980, Ronald Reagan gave serious consideration to his former rival Ford as a potential vice-presidential running mate, but negotiations between the Reagan and Ford camps at the Republican National Convention were unsuccessful. Ford conditioned his acceptance on Reagan's agreement to an unprecedented "co-presidency",[95] giving Ford the power to control key executive branch appointments (such as Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State and Alan Greenspan as Treasury Secretary). After rejecting these terms, Reagan offered the vice-presidential nomination instead to George H. W. Bush.[96] After his presidency, Ford joined the American Enterprise Institute as a distinguished fellow. He founded the annual AEI World Forum in 1982. In 1977, he established the Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, to give undergraduates training in public policy. In 1981, he opened the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, and the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[97] In 1999, Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton.[98] In 2001, he was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for his decision to pardon Richard Nixon to stop the agony America was experiencing over Watergate.[99] In retirement Ford also devoted much time to his love of golf, often playing both privately and in public events with comedian Bob Hope, a longtime friend. Ford at his 90th birthday with Laura Bush, President George W. Bush, and Betty Ford in the White House State Dining Room in 2003In October 2001, Ford broke with conservative members of the Republican party by stating that gay and lesbian couples "ought to be treated equally. Period." He became the highest ranking Republican to embrace full equality for gays and lesbians, stating his belief that there should be a federal amendment outlawing anti-gay job discrimination and expressing his hope that the Republican Party would reach out to gay and lesbian voters.[100] He also was a member of the Republican Unity Coalition, which The New York Times described as "a group of prominent Republicans, including former President Gerald R. Ford, dedicated to making sexual orientation a non-issue in the Republican Party".[101] On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Ford and the other living former Presidents (Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center. In a pre-recorded embargoed interview with Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in July 2004, Ford stated that he disagreed "very strongly" with the Bush administration's choice of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as justification for its decision to invade Iraq, calling it a "big mistake" unrelated to the national security of the United States and indicating that he would not have gone to war had he been President. The details of the interview were not released until after Ford's death, as he requested.[102][103] [edit] Health problems As Ford approached his 90th year, he began to experience health problems associated with old age. He suffered two minor strokes at the 2000 Republican National Convention, but made a quick recovery after being admitted to Hahnemann University Hospital.[104][105]In January 2006, he spent 11 days at the Eisenhower Medical Center near his residence at Rancho Mirage, California, for treatment of pneumonia.[106] On April 23, President George W. Bush visited Ford at his home in Rancho Mirage for a little over an hour. This was Ford's last public appearance and produced the last known public photos, video footage and voice recording. While vacationing in Vail, Colorado, he was hospitalized for two days in July, 2006 for shortness of breath.[107] On August 15 Ford was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for testing and evaluation. On August 21, it was reported that he had been fitted with a pacemaker. On August 25, he underwent an angioplasty procedure at the Mayo Clinic, according to a statement from an assistant to Ford. On August 28, Ford was released from the hospital and returned with his wife Betty to their California home. On October 13, he was scheduled to attend the dedication of a building of his namesake, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, but due to poor health and on the advice of his doctors he did not attend. The previous day, Ford entered the Eisenhower Medical Center for undisclosed tests;[108] he was released on October 16. By November 2006 he was confined to a bed in his study.[109] [edit] Death Main article: Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford President Ford's tomb at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, MichiganFord died at the age of 93 years and 165 days on December 26, 2006 at 6:45 p.m Pacific Standard Time (02:45, December 27, UTC) at his home in Rancho Mirage, California of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.[110] With their father's health failing, all four of Gerald and Betty Ford's children visited their parents' home shortly before Christmas. Mrs. Ford and their three sons, who had celebrated Christmas the day before at home, were at Ford's bedside when he died. The couple's daughter, Susan, had returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the day before Christmas to spend the holiday with her family. No local clergy were present but Ford's eldest son, Michael, is an Evangelical minister and he performed last rites.[111] Ford is honored during a memorial service in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. on December 30, 2006.At 8:49 p.m., Ford's wife, Betty, issued a statement that confirmed his death:[112] "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, has died at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."[113] The statement was released by President Ford's Office. The body was taken to the Eisenhower Medical Center, where it remained until the start of the funeral services on December 29, 2006. On December 30, 2006, Ford became the 11th U.S. President to lie in state. The burial was preceded by a state funeral and memorial services held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on January 2, 2007. Ford was eulogized by former President George H. W. Bush, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former NBC Nightly News anchorman Tom Brokaw and current President George W. Bush. On December 28, 2006, the New York Times reported that, at Ford's request, former President Jimmy Carter would deliver a eulogy. Decades ago, "Mr. Ford asked whether his successor might consider speaking at his funeral and offered, lightheartedly, to do the same for Mr. Carter, depending on who died first."[114] Carter delivered an emotional eulogy at the funeral service at Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids on January 3, 2007. Ford was also eulogized by Donald Rumsfeld, who was Ford's defense secretary, and Richard Norton Smith, Presidential historian. The invitation-only list of attendees included Vice President Dick Cheney, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and U.S. Senators from Michigan Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. After the service, Ford was interred at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [edit] Longevity President George W. Bush with former President Ford and his wife Betty on April 23, 2006. This is the last known public photo of Gerald Ford.Ford was the longest-lived U.S. President, his lifespan being 45 days longer than Ronald Reagan's. He was the third-longest-lived Vice President, falling short only of John Nance Garner, 98, and Levi P. Morton, 96. Ford had the second-longest post-presidency (29 years and 11 months) after Herbert Hoover (31 years and 7 months). Ford died on the 34th anniversary of President Harry Truman's death, the second U.S. President to die on Boxing Day, which Ford's pastor, The Rev. Dr. Robert Certain, noted when he referred to December 26 as its traditional Christian reference, St. Stephen's Day.[115] He was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission.[110] On November 12, 2006 upon surpassing Ronald Reagan's lifespan, Ford released his last public statement: The length of one’s days matters less than the love of one’s family and friends. I thank God for the gift of every sunrise and, even more, for all the years. He has blessed me with Betty and the children; with our extended family and the friends of a lifetime. That includes countless Americans who, in recent months, have remembered me in their prayers. Your kindness touches me deeply. May God bless you all and may God bless America.[116] [edit] Electoral history Main article: Electoral history of Gerald Ford [edit] See also Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Liberty, Ford's pet (a golden retriever) [edit] Notes ^ a b Funk, Josh (2006). "Nebraska - Born, Ford Left State As Infant". Associated Press. Boston.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. ^ Cannon, James. "Gerald R. Ford". Character Above All. Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ "A Lifetime of Achievement". 4President.org. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ "Gerald R. Ford Genealogical Information". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. University of Texas. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ ""A Common Man on an Uncommon Climb"", The New York Times (1976-08-19), p. 28. ^ a b c "Gerald Rudolph Ford". AmericanPresident.org. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ "Fact Sheet Eagle Scouts". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved on March 3 2008. ^ "Gerald R. Ford". Report to the Nation. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ Townley, Alvin [2006-12-26]. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 12–13 and 87. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ Balloch, Jim (2007-01-04). "Knox Eagle Scout has role in Ford funeral". KnoxNews. Retrieved on 2007-01-17. ^ Ray, Mark (2007). "Eagle Scout Welcome Gerald Ford Home". Scouting Magazine. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved on 2007-03-05. ^ a b Kunhardt, Jr., Phillip [1999]. Gerald R. Ford "Healing the Nation". New York: Riverhead Books, pp. 79–85. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ Perry, Will [1974]. "No Cheers From the Alumni", The Wolverines: A Story of Michigan Football. Huntsville, Alabama: The Strode Publishers, pp. 150–152. ISBN 0-87397-055-1. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ "Ford one of most athletic Presidents", Associated Press via MSNBC (2006-12-27). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Greene, J.R. [1995]. The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (American Presidency Series), p. 2. ^ Larcom, Geoff. "Colleagues mourn a 'Michigan man'". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. ^ Smith, Michael David (2006). "Lions, Packers Had Their Chance, But Gerald Ford Chose Law and Politics". NFL Fanhouse. AOL Sports Blog. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ a b c "Timeline of President Ford's Life and Career". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Gerald R. Ford Library. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ at the Phi Delta Phi chapter"The U-M Remembers Gerald R. Ford". The University of Michigan. Retrieved on 2007-01-02. ^ "Gerald R. Ford Biography". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Gerald R. Ford Library. Retrieved on 2007-01-02. ^ Doenecke, Justus D. (1990). "In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940–1941 As Revealed in the Papers of the America First Committee (Hoover Archival Documentaries)". Hoover Institution Press. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. p. 7 ^ a b Naughton, James M.; Adam Clymer (2006-12-26). "Gerald Ford, 38th President, Dies at 93 years and 165 day". New York Times. Naval Historical Center. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. ^ Hove, Duane [2003]. American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Burd Street Press. ISBN 1-57249-307-0. ^ "American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II". Americanwarriorsfivepresidents.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ "President Gerald R. Ford". US Navy (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. ^ "World War II Photographs". militaryunits (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. "WW2042 "Activities aboard USS MONTEREY. Navy pilots in the forward elevator well playing basketball." Jumper at left identified as Gerald R. Ford. Attributed to Lt. Victor Jorgensen, circa June/July 1944. 80--G--417628" ^ The Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA. ^ "Gerald Ford". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara. Retrieved on 2007-01-17. ^ Howard, Jane (1974-12-08). "The 38th First Lady: Not a Robot At All", The New York Times. ^ Kruse, Melissa (2003-01-03). "The Patterson Barn, Grand Rapids, Michigan - Barn razing erases vintage landmark", The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ a b "Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006)". From Revolution to Reconstruction - an .HTML project. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ a b c "Gerald R. Ford". Editorial. The New York Times (2006-12-28). Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ In 1997 the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) released a document that revealed that Ford had altered the first draft of the report to read: "A bullet had entered the base of the back of [Kennedy's] neck slightly to the right of the spine." Some believed that Ford had elevated the location of the wound from its true location in the back to the neck to support the single bullet theory. ("Gerald Ford". Spartacus Schoolnet. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.) The original first draft of the Warren Commission Report stated that a bullet had entered Kennedy's "back at a point slightly above the shoulder and to the right of the spine." Ford replied in an introduction to a new edition of the Warren Commission Report in 2004: I have been accused of changing some wording on the Warren Commission Report to favor the lone-assassin conclusion. That is absurd. Here is what the draft said: "A bullet had entered his back at a point slightly above the shoulder and to the right of the spine.” To any reasonable person, “above the shoulder and to the right” sounds very high and way off the side — and that’s what it sounded like to me. That would have given the totally wrong impression. Technically, from a medical perspective, the bullet entered just to the right at the base of the neck, so my recommendation to the other members was to change it to say, “A bullet had entered the back of his neck, slightly to the right of the spine.” After further investigation, we then unanimously agreed that it should read, “A bullet had entered the base of his neck slightly to the right of the spine.” As with any report, there were many clarifications and language changes suggested by several of us. Ford's description matched a drawing prepared for the Commission under the direction of Dr. James J. Humes, supervisor of Kennedy's autopsy, who in his testimony to the Commission said three times that the entrance wound was in the "low neck." The Commission was not shown the autopsy photographs. ^ Ford, Gerald (2001-05-23). "Address by President Gerald R. Ford, May 23, 2001". United States Senate. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ Jackson, Harold (2006-12-27). "Guardian newspaper obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ Reeves, Richard [1975]. A Ford, not a Lincoln. ^ "Remarks By President Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President". Watergate.info (1974). Retrieved on 2006-12-28. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-miller/coming-of-age-with-gerald_b_37242.html ^ Time Magazine article ^ Ford, Gerald (1974-09-08). "President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. University of Texas. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ Ford, Gerald (1974-09-08). "Presidential Proclamation 4311 by President Gerald R. Ford granting a pardon to Richard M. Nixon". Pardon images. University of Maryland. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ Ford, Gerald (1974-09-08). "Gerald R. Ford Pardoning Richard Nixon". Great Speeches Collection. The History Place. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ Bacon, Paul. "The Pardoning President". Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ "Carter's Pardon". McNeil/Lehrer Report. Public Broadcasting System (1977-01-21). Retrieved on 2006-12-30. ^ a b Shane, Scott. "For Ford, Pardon Decision Was Always Clear-Cut", The New York Times, p. A1. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. ^ "Award Announcement". JFK Library Foundation (2001-05-01). Retrieved on 2007-03-31. ^ Secretary of Transportation: William T. Coleman Jr. (1975–1977) - AmericanPresident.org (2005-01-15). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ George Herbert Walker Bush Bush Profile, CNN. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Richard B. Cheney. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Bush vetoes less than most presidents, CNN, May 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. ^ Renka, Russell D. Nixon's Fall and the Ford and Carter Interregnum. Southeast Missouri State University, (April 10, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Gerald Ford Speeches: Whip Inflation Now (October 8, 1974), Miller Center of Public Affairs. Retrieved on 2006-12-31 ^ "WIN buttons and Arthur Burns". Econbrowser (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-24. ^ Consumer Price Index, 1913-. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved on 2006-12-31 ^ Lemann, Nick. Rhetorical Bankruptcy. The Harvard Crimson, November 8, 1975. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Pandemic Pointers. Living on Earth, March 3, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Mickle, Paul. 1976: Fear of a great plague. The Trentonian. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ President Gerald R. Ford's Statement on Signing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, December 2, 1975. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Proclamation 4383 - Women's Equality Day, 1975". Larry King Live Weekend. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved on 2008-04-08. ^ Presidential Campaign Debate Between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter, October 22, 1976 ^ Ford, Gerald (1976-09-10). "Letter to the Archbishop of Cincinnati". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. ^ Greene, John Edward. (1995). The presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, p. 33. ISBN 0-7006-0639-4. ^ "The Best of Interviews With Gerald Ford". Larry King Live Weekend. CNN (2001-02-03). Retrieved on 2007-06-12. ^ Hitchens, Christopher (December 28, 2006). "The Accidental President Gerald Ford: 1913–2006", The Mirror, p. 17. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. ^ "East Timor Revisited", National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 62 (December 6, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-03. ^ Mieczkowski, Yanek (2005). Gerald Ford And The Challenges Of The 1970s. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, p. 284. ISBN 0-8131-2349-6. ^ "Trip To China". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. University of Texas. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "President Gerald R. Ford's Address in Helsinki Before the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe". USA-presidents.info. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. ^ "About Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Khmer Rouge forces in May 1975". United States Merchant Marine (2000). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "President Ford got Canada into G7", Canadian Broadcasting Company (December 27, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Election Is Crunch Time for U.S. Secret Service. National Geographic News. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. ^ McLaren, Janet (2005-06-26). "'Squeaky' up for parole", New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ United States Secret Service. "Public Report of the White House Security Review". United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved on 2007-01-03. ^ Lee, Vic (2007-01-02). "Interview: Woman Who Tried To Assassinate Ford". ABC-7 News. KGO-TV. Retrieved on 2007-01-03. ^ "John Paul Stevens". OYEZ. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Levenick, Christopher (2005-09-25). "The Conservative Persuasion", The Daily Standard. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Letter from Gerald Ford to Michael Treanor (PDF). Fordham University, 2005-09-21 Retrieved on 2008-03-02. ^ Another Loss For the Gipper. Time, March 29, 1976. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ VH1 News Presents: Politics: A Pop Culture History Premiering Wednesday, October 20 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). PRNewswire October 19, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Election of 1976: A Political Outsider Prevails. C-SPAN. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Shabecoff, Philip. "160,000 Mark Two 1775 Battles; Concord Protesters Jeer Ford -- Reconciliation Plea." New York Times, April 20, 1975, p. 1. ^ Shabecoff, Philip. "Ford, on Bicentennial Trip, Bids U.S. Heed Old Values." New York Times, April 19, 1975, p. 1. ^ Election 2000: 1976 Presidential Debates. CNN (2001). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Lehrer, Jim (2000). "1976:No Audio and No Soviet Domination". Debating Our Destiny. PBS. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. ^ Presidential Election 1976 States Carried. multied.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Americans On - Gerald Ford". Hear The Issues. Gallup Poll. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. ^ "Jimmy Carter". Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents. University of Seattle (1977-01-20). Retrieved on 2007-01-17. ^ Naughton, James M (2006-12-27). "The Real Jerry Ford". PoynterOnline. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. ^ http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19790901fabook14015/gerald-r-ford/a-time-to-heal.html ^ Kornblut, Anne (2006-12-29). "Ford Arranged His Funeral to Reflect Himself and Drew in a Former Adversary", The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. ^ Updegrove, Mark K. "Flying Coach to Cairo". AmericanHeritage.com (August/September 2006). Retrieved on December 31, 2006. "Certainly few observers in January 1977 would have predicted that Jimmy and I would become the closest of friends," Ford said in 2000. ^ Kantrowitz, Barbara (2006). "The 38th President: More Than Met the Eye". Newsweek National News. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. ^ Allen, Richard V. How the Bush Dynasty Almost Wasn't. Hoover Institution, reprinted from the New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2000. Retrieved on December 31, 2006. ^ "All-Star Celebration Opening the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum". IMDB (1981). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Politicians Who Received the Medal of Freedom". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Gerald Ford". John F. Kennedy Library Foundation (2001). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Price, Deb. Gerald Ford: Treat gay couples equally. The Detroit News, October 29, 2001. Retrieved on December 28, 2006 ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. "Vocal Gay Republicans Upsetting Conservatives," The New York Times, June 1, 2003, p. N26. ^ Woodward, Bob. "Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq". The Washington Post, December 28, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006 ^ Embargoed Interview Reveals Ford Opposed Iraq War. Democracy Now Headlines for December 28, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006 ^ Gerald Ford recovering after strokes. BBC, August 2, 2000. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Hospitalized After Suffering a Stroke, Former President Ford Is Expected to Fully Recover NYTimes, August 3, 2000. Retrieved on 2008-07-05. ^ Former President Ford, 92, hospitalized with pneumonia. Associated Press, January 17, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. ^ Gerald Ford released from hospital. Associated Press, July 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Former President Ford in hospital for tests. Associated Press, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. ^ Gerald Ford Dies At Age 93. CNN Transcript December 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. ^ a b Wilson, Jeff. Former President Gerald Ford Dies at 93. Associated Press. December 27, 2006. Also available here. Retrieved on December 31, 2006. ^ Hoffman, Allison (2006-12-28). "Pastor: Family Gathered Near Dying Ford", CBS News. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ "Former President Gerald Ford Dies", WCBS-TV (2006-12-27). Retrieved on 2006-12-31. ^ Smith, J.Y.; Cannon, Lou (2006-12-27). "Gerald R. Ford, 93, Dies; Led in Watergate's Wake", The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. ^ Kornblut, Anne E (2006-12-28). "Ford Arranged His Funeral to Reflect Himself and Drew In a Former Adversary", The New York Times, p. A21. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. ^ Certain, Rev. Dr. Robert (2007-01-02). "Homily Offered by the Rev. Dr. Robert Certain State Funeral of Gerald R. Ford". Catehdral.org. Retrieved on 2001-01-17. ^ "Ford eclipses Reagan as oldest ex-president", USA Today (2006-11-12). Retrieved on 2008-03-02. Gerald Ford was vice president under President Richard Nixon. He became 38th President of the United States when Nixon resigned. Gerald was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His birth father was an abusive man, and his mother divorced him. After his mother remarried to Gerald Rudolff Ford, Sr., Gerald took his name, though he was never formally adopted. Originally named after his birth Father, Leslie Lynch King. Legally changed his name on 3 Dec 1935 to Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ID: I113287 _TYPE: PHOTO Note: Became President when Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974 following the Watergate scandal. The only man in the US history who has held the office of president and vice-president without being elected to either office. Was narrowly defeated in the 1976 election by Jimmy Carter. When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President ever to resign. Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace. The President acted to curb the trend toward Government intervention and spending as a means of solving the problems of American society and the economy. In the long run, he believed, this shift would bring a better life for all Americans. Ford's reputation for integrity and openness had made him popular during his 25 years in Congress. From 1965 to 1973, he was House Minority Leader. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1913, he grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He starred on the University of Michigan football team, then went to Yale, where he served as assistant coach while earning his law degree. During World War II he attained the rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids, where he began the practice of law, and entered Republican politics. A few weeks before his election to Congress in 1948, he married Elizabeth Bloomer. They have four children: Michael, John, Steven, and Susan. As President, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon. His nominee for Vice President, former Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, was the second person to fill that office by appointment. Gradually, Ford selected a cabinet of his own. Ford established his policies during his first year in office, despite opposition from a heavily Democratic Congress. His first goal was to curb inflation. Then, when recession became the Nation's most serious domestic problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. But, still fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of non-military appropriations bills that would have further increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During his first 14 months as President he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually sustained. Ford continued as he had in his Congressional days to view himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs." A major goal was to help business operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies. "We...declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers," he said. In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons. President Ford won the Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1976, but lost the election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. On Inauguration Day, President Carter began his speech: "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." A grateful people concurred. <nowiki>----------------------------------------------------------</nowiki> From www.foxnews.com, headline "Former U.S. President Gerald Ford Dies at 93" No cause of death was stated by his family in their announcement. Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments - including an angioplasty - in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He died at 6:45 p.m. PST at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that <u>Gerald Ford </u>, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Ford's wife, Betty Ford, said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." President Bush said Wednesday that Americans came to know Ford as a man of "complete integrity" at a time filled with political turmoil. "He assumed power in a time of great division and turmoil for a nation that needed healing and for a office that needed a calm and steady hand. Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most," Bush said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Americans will always admire Gerald Ford's unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration and the great rectitude of the man himself. We mourn the loss of such a leader and our 38th president will always have a special place in our nation's memory." Ford is survived by his wife of 58 years, four children, seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and his brother Richard of Grand Rapids, Mich. Funeral services will be held in Washington, D.C., and Grand Rapids, and he will lie in repose in both those locations as well as in Palm Desert, Calif. The Gerald R. Ford Library on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is also expecting visitors who wish to pay their respects. A respected and beloved elder statesman in his post-White House years, Ford ascended to the presidency in the wake of the Nixon administration scandals. Ford was the first and only president to reach the Oval Office having never been elected vice president or president. While his most controversial move as president was his quick pardoning of Richard Nixon, Ford always maintained he did so to hasten the nation's healing. He pardoned Vietnam draft resisters a week later. Ford served in the U.S. Navy during the World War II, was a long-time congressman from Michigan, survived two assassination attempts during his presidency, and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living member of the Warren Commission that investigated the death of John F. Kennedy. Though he was often parodied as physically clumsy, Ford was actually a gifted athlete who turned down a professional football career to pursue a law degree and worked as a coach and physical education teacher throughout his early career, even after he began practicing law and during his military service. <b>The Early Years</b> Ford was born July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb., to Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. He was originally named Leslie Lynch King Jr., after his father, but his parents separated when he was just two weeks old. In 1916, Dorothy married Gerald R. Ford, a paint salesman, and began calling her son Gerald R. Ford Jr. Dorothy and Ford Sr. had three more sons, Thomas, Richard and James, and Ford was raised the oldest boy in a close and loving family. But, he did not know his mother's husband was not his biological father until 1930, and did not legally change his name until 1935. After his high school graduation in 1931, Ford received a scholarship to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Majoring in economics and political science, Ford was a star athlete. He played on the university's national championship football teams in 1931 and 1933 and was voted the Wolverines' most valuable player in 1934. Ford passed up a professional football career to take a job as a boxing coach and assistant football coach at Yale University, where he attended law school. He graduated in 1941 in the top 25 percent of his class. It was during his law school years that Ford was introduced to politics, when he worked on Wendell Willkie's 1940 presidential campaign. After graduating from Yale, Ford returned to Michigan and established a law firm in Grand Rapids and taught a course in business law at the University of Grand Rapids. He also served as line coach for the school's football team until World War II. In April 1942, Ford joined the U.S. Naval Reserve as an ensign and the next year was stationed aboard the USS Monterey, a light aircraft carrier that participated in most of the major operations in the South Pacific. In December 1944, a typhoon pounded the Monterey, which caught fire. Ford was nearly swept overboard, the closest he came to death during the entire war. After his discharge in 1946 as a lieutenant commander, Ford returned to Grand Rapids and became a partner in a law firm. He found himself in new ideological terrain - an isolationist before the war, Ford was now a committed internationalist. Ford decided to challenge incumbent Rep. Bartel Jonkman, an isolationist, for the Republican nomination in the 1948 election. Ford beat Jonkman and went on to win the seat with 61 percent of the vote. The voters of Michigan would re-elect him 12 times, each time giving him more than 60 percent of the vote. It was during his House campaign that Ford married Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren, a department store fashion consultant - legendarily campaigning on his wedding day. Gerald and Betty Ford had four children between 1950 and 1957: Michael Gerald, John Gardner, Steven Meigs and Susan Elizabeth. <b>A Distinguished Legislative Career</b> Ford served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Jan. 3, 1949, to Dec. 6, 1973. He described himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs and a conservative in fiscal policy." The Republican Party tapped Ford as a rising star early in his career. Throughout the 1950s, he was encouraged to run for both the Senate and for governor of Michigan, but Ford declined these offers. His true ambition was to become speaker of the House, a post Ford would never achieve due to the Democrat's hold on the House throughout his tenure. Ford was a member of a group of younger, more progressive House Republicans who believed the party's old guard had grown stagnant. In 1961, in a revolt of the "Young Turks," Ford became chairman of the House Republican Conference - the number three leadership position in the party - and later rose to become House minority leader. In 1963 President Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford never wavered in his belief that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. In 1965 Ford co-authored, with John R. Stiles, a book about the findings of the commission, "Portrait of the Assassin." In the 1968 and 1972 elections, Ford supported his good friend, Richard Nixon. On good terms with both the conservative and liberal wings of the Republican Party, he made the short list of possible vice presidential candidates in 1968. In late 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned his office after pleading no contest to a charge of income tax evasion. Nixon chose Ford as Agnew's replacement. In Ford, the tarnished Nixon administration found a candidate of impeccable character and reputation. Ford was confirmed and sworn in on Dec. 6, 1973. But he would serve only nine months as vice president, his entire term overshadowed by the unraveling of the Nixon administration. By the summer of 1974, the public outrage over the Watergate scandal - the break-in of the Democratic headquarters during the 1972 campaign and the cover-up of the incident by Nixon officials - reached full pitch. Facing impeachment, Nixon resigned from office, the first president in U.S. history ever to do so. On Aug. 9, 1974, Ford took the presidential oath of office, saying that "the long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works." A month after taking office, on Sept. 6, 1974, Ford granted Richard Nixon a "full, free and absolute pardon" for all federal crimes Nixon committed, or may have committed, during his presidency. The decision was the most difficult and controversial of his presidency, and resulted in a public distrust of him that persisted throughout his tenure. Ford claimed at the time, and has always maintained, that he pardoned Nixon to dispatch of the matter quickly so that the nation, and the American people, could move on. The pardon was a major factor in Ford losing the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter. Years later, former President Bill Clinton praised Ford for keeping the big picture in mind and not getting swept away as Clinton had done. "You didn't get caught up in the moment and you were right. You were right for the controversial decisions you made to keep the country together and I thank you for that," Clinton said in 1999 when Ford received the Congressional Gold Medal. The medal represents Congress' highest expression of appreciation and is inscribed "Lives of Service, Examples of Integrity. <b>The Ford Presidency</b> Beyond the problems created by the Nixon pardon, Ford also had to confront other difficulties when he took office - the United States was embroiled in a controversial war in Southeast Asia and plagued by rising inflation and threats of energy shortages. Ford's philosophy on domestic policy was best summed up by a line from one of his favorite speeches: "A government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from us everything we have." Ford pursued modest tax and spending cuts as well as industry deregulation and decontrolling energy prices to stimulate production. He believed these strategies would contain both inflation and unemployment while reducing the size of the federal government and helping the nation overcome the energy crisis. The 94th Congress, however, was controlled by the Democrats, who had won huge gains in the 1974 elections. Congress pushed through legislation with little regard for Ford's views; the president responded by using the veto - 36 times in total - his only means of combating Congress. As Ford took office, the Nixon administration's policy of detente - increased diplomatic, commercial and cultural contact between the United States and the Soviet Union - was beginning to disintegrate and Soviet relations gradually got worse. Still, the Ford administration was able to reach two important agreements with the Soviets. The first, the Vladivostok Accords of November 1974, was an arms control agreement designed to strengthen the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) of 1972. The second was the Helsinki Agreements of 1975, which aimed to observe universal standards of human rights in exchange for Western nations' recognition of Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. In January 1973, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger signed the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, intending to assist South Vietnam in fending off the North. But that same year, Congress banned the use of appropriated funds in the region, halting American involvement in Vietnam. In April 1975, when the North Vietnamese communists began conquering the South and overwhelmed what was left of the South Vietnamese government, Ford and Kissinger were unable to persuade Congress to provide military aid to South Vietnam. Ford believed America should have seen Vietnam through to the end. "It has been said that the United States is overextended, that we have too many commitments far from home, that we must re-examine what our truly vital interests are and shape our strategy to conform to them," Ford said. "I find no fault with this as a theory, but in the real world such a course must be pursued carefully. We cannot, in the meantime, abandon our friends while our adversaries support and encourage theirs." But on April 30, 1975, the last Americans were evacuated by helicopter from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon as the North Vietnamese took control of the South. There would be one more chapter to the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia when, two weeks after the fall of Saigon, on May 12, 1975, Cambodian forces led by a new communist government captured an American freighter, the Mayaguez, in the Gulf of Siam, taking its crew hostage. Kissinger persuaded Ford not to negotiate for the hostages but to instead demonstrate to the world that the United Stated could still assert its power. On May 14, 1975, as the 39 hostages were being safely released, the U.S. attacked Cambodian naval bases. Forty-one Americans were killed in the action. As 1975 wound down, Congress and the president struggled repeatedly over presidential war powers, oversight of the CIA and covert operations, military aid appropriations, and the stationing of military personnel. Then, in September 1975, on two separate trips to California, Ford was the target of assassination attempts. Both of the assailants were women - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a former follower of Charles Manson, and Sara Jane Moore. As Ford headed into the 1976 election, the biggest threat to his presidency came from fellow Republican Ronald Reagan. The fight with Reagan was long and bitter, but Ford won the nomination, selecting Kansas Sen. Robert Dole as his running mate. Ford lost the general election to Jimmy Carter in one of the closest elections in history. <b>Return to Private Life</b> After leaving the White House, the now former president and his wife chose to make California their home, building a new house in Rancho Mirage. After a nearly lifelong career in public office, Ford was finally free to pursue financial and business opportunities. He hired an agent from the William Morris Agency and negotiated a television deal with NBC, and both he and his wife received lucrative advances to write their memoirs. Ford also joined the boards of several companies, among them American Express and Amex and Travelers Group, and he became popular on the lecture circuit. Since leaving office, Ford voiced concern about political partisanship, civility in politics, and the policies of affirmative action. In 1998 he authored two opinion pieces, one with former President Jimmy Carter, regarding the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. In 1999, Ford received the Medal of Freedom. This honor, the nation's highest civilian award, was presented by Clinton in recognition of Ford's role in guiding the nation through the turbulent times of Watergate, the Nixon resignation and the end of the Vietnam War. As Ford entered his 80s, his athletic life began to catch up with him. In 1990, Ford underwent surgery to have cartilage inserted into his left knee. The procedure was repeated in 1992 on his right knee. In 1995, Ford had surgery on his shoulder to repair an injury that dated back to his college football career. Two months later, Ford re-injured the shoulder while golfing with former President Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush, and underwent a second surgery. In 2000, Ford suffered a mild stroke while attending the Republican convention in Philadelphia. Ford made a full recovery, resuming his golf game. In 2006, he was hospitalized in January for 12 days with pneumonia, and again with shortness of breath in July. <nowiki>-------------------------------</nowiki> <b>Born:</b> July 14, 1913, Omaha, Neb. <b>1931:</b> Graduates South High School, Grand Rapids, Mich. <b>1931 until 1935:</b> Attends University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; plays linebacker and center on UM's national championship football teams <b>June 17, 1935:</b> Graduated University of Michigan, Ann Arbor <b>1935 until 1940:</b> Boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at Yale University <b>1938:</b> Admitted to Yale Law School <b>June 7, 1941:</b> Admitted to Michigan bar. <b>June 18, 1941:</b> Graduated Yale Law School, LL.B. degree <b>Apr. 20, 1942:</b> Enlisted as ensign in U.S. Naval Reserve <b>June 1944 until December 1944:</b> Director of physical education, gunnery division officer and assistant navigator aboard light aircraft carrier, USS Monterey, Pacific theater <b>January 1946:</b> Discharged with reserve rank of lieutenant commander, with 47 months of active service and 10 battle stars <b>1946 through 1949:</b> Practiced law with firm of Butterfield, Keeney & Amberg in Grand Rapids, Mich. <b>Sep. 14, 1948:</b> Won Republican nomination for U.S. House of Representatives, defeating four- term incumbent in primary <b>Nov. 2, 1948:</b> Elected to Congress <b>Jan. 3, 1949, until Dec. 6, 1973:</b> Served in U.S. House of Representatives (Fifth District, Michigan) <b>1963 through 1964:</b> Member of Warren Commission investigating Kennedy assassination <b>Jan. 4, 1965:</b> Elected House minority leader <b>1965:</b> Co-author of "Portrait of the Assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald)," with John R. Stiles <b>1969:</b> Ford attempted to bring about the impeachment of Associate Justice William O. Douglas, a civil libertarian <b>1968, 1972:</b> Permanent Chairman, Republican National Convention <b>Dec. 6, 1973:</b> Confirmed as vice president (nominated by President Richard Nixon under provisions of the 25th Amendment, after resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew) <b>Aug. 9, 1974:</b> Sworn in as president of the United States following the resignation of President Nixon <b>Aug. 9, 1974, until Jan. 20, 1977:</b> Serves as president of the United States <b>Sept. 8, 1974:</b> Pardons Nixon <b>Sept. 16, 1974:</b> Ford offers amnesty to military deserters and draft dodgers of the Vietnam era <b>November 1974:</b> Signs the Vladivostok Accords, an arms control agreement, with the Soviet Union <b>April 30, 1975:</b> The last Americans are evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon <b>May 14, 1975:</b> Orders the attack of Cambodian naval bases in retaliation for Cambodia's capture of an American freighter, the Mayaguez; the 30 hostages are safely released, but 41 Americans die in the rescue operation <b>Summer 1975:</b> The Soviet Union signs the Helsinki Agreements on human rights with the United States and 33 other nations <b>Sept. 5, 1975:</b> First assassination attempt, by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, during visit to California <b>Sept. 22, 1975:</b> Second assassination attempt, by Sara Jane Moore, happens during separate trip to California <b>Aug. 18, 1976:</b> Nominated for president at Republican National Convention in Kansas City <b>Nov. 2, 1976:</b> Defeated by Jimmy Carter <b>1979:</b> Publishes his memoirs, "A Time to Heal" <b>Apr. 27, 1981:</b> Gerald R. Ford library in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated <b>1982:</b> Established the American Enterprise Institute's World Forum, an international gathering of former and current world leaders and business executives, which he hosts annually in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colo. <b>August 1999:</b> Receives the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award <b>October 1999:</b> President and Mrs. Ford awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for "dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions" <b>August 2000:</b> Suffers mild stroke while attending Republican convention in Philadelphia <b>May 2003:</b> Hospitalized for dizziness experienced while golfing in California <b>Dec. 13, 2005:</b> Ford, suffering from "a horrible cold," is hospitalized for what his chief of staff calls routine medical tests. Father: Leslie Lynch KING b: 25 Jul 1881 in Chadron, Dawes, Nebraska, USA Mother: Dorothy Ayer GARDNER b: 27 Feb 1892 in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, USA Marriage 1 Elizabeth "Betty" Ann BLOOMER b: 8 Apr 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA * Married: 15 Oct 1948 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, USA * Change Date: 27 Dec 2006 Children 1. Has Children Living FORD 2. Has Children Living FORD 3. Has No Children Living FORD 4. Has Children Living FORD Sources: Author: David L. Wright Note: This database is a compilation of hundreds if not thousands of researchers. It is not without errors and you should take great care when relying on information contained within. Please create a Post Em if you believe something is missing or an error exists only if you have a correction to add. It is not necessary to point out errors that may exist if you do not have correct information to assist me in rectifying the error. I have attempted to accurately source what information I have, however in my early days of genealogy research I did not understand the value of sourcing my data, so this is not always true. If copyrighted information is present within this database I am more than happy to correct my sourcing or if need be remove the information upon notification of copyright violation. I hope that my database has helped you discover your roots. It is a joy for me to compile and research the information and I am glad to help new researchers if I am able to. Repository: Name: WorldConnect at Rootsweb.Com -- MyFamily.Com, Inc. 360 W 4800 N source: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=wright1968&id=I113287&style=TEXT Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the fortieth Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under Gerald Ford, Jr., 38th President of the United States's Timeline 1913

i don't know

Oct 14, 1926 saw the introduction of what favorite A. A. Milne character, known for his love of hunny?

History of Winnie the Pooh | Winnie the Pooh About History of Winnie the Pooh During the first World War, troops from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) were being transported to eastern Canada, on their way to Europe, where they were to join the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the train stopped at White River, Ontario, a lieutenant called Harry Colebourn bought a small female black bear cub for $20 from a hunter who had killed its mother. He named her 'Winnipeg', after his hometown of Winnipeg, or 'Winnie' for short. Winnie became the mascot of the Brigade and went to Britain with the unit. When the Brigade was posted to the battlefields of France, Colebourn, now a Captain, took Winnie to the London Zoo for a long loan. He formally presented the London Zoo with Winnie in December 1919 where he became a popular attraction and lived until 1934. The bear was also very popular with Christopher Robin , son of author A.A. Milne . It was his favourite animal at the Zoo, and he often spent time inside the cage with it. The bear was Christopher Robin's inspiration for calling his own teddy bear Winnie... Winnie the Pooh (this teddy bear started out with the name of Edward Bear). The name Pooh originally belonged to a swan, as can be seen in the introduction of Milne's 'When We Were Very Young'. A.A. Milne started to write a series of books about Winnie the Pooh, his son Christopher Robin, and their friends in the Hundred Acre Wood . These other characters , such as Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga and Roo were also based on stuffed animals belonging to Christopher Robin. The characters, Rabbit and Owl, were based on animals that lived, like the swan Pooh, in the surrounding area of Milne's country home, Cotchford Farm in Ashdown Forest , Sussex. It is this area on which the 100-Acre-Wood was based. 'Winnie-the-Pooh' was published by Methuen on October 14th, 1926, the verses 'Now We are Six' in 1927, and 'The House at Pooh Corner' in 1928. All these books were illustrated in a beautiful way by E.H. Shepard , which made the books even more magical. The Pooh-books became firm favorites with old and young alike and have been translated into almost every known language. A conservative figure for the total sales of the four Methuen editions (including When We Were Very Young) up to the end of 1996 would be over 20 million copies. These figures do not include sales of the four books published by Dutton in Canada and the States, nor the foreign-language editions printed in more than 25 languages the world over! The Pooh-books had also been favourites of Walt Disney's daughters and it inspired Disney to bring Pooh to film in 1966. In 1977 'the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', the first feature-length animated film of Pooh was released. In 1993, the Walt Disney Company acknowledged that Pooh Bear is second only to Mickey Mouse in their portfolio of the most-loved and trusted characters known to millions of people all over the world. By 1996, after the second release of 'the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', the Bear of Very Little Brain had proven to be more popular than any other Disney character. In 1997, twenty years after the release of the first feature-length animated film, Disney released 'Pooh's Grand Adventure', picking up where Disney's 22nd Masterpiece left off. In February 2000 Disney released the third Winnie the Pooh movie called 'The Tigger Movie', this time with the leading part for Tigger . © All rights reserved. 1998-2017 EMGJ consulting © Characters, pictures & their names Disney Content is property of its respective owners & is provided for informational & educational purposes only.

Winnie-the-Pooh

The Vitruvian Man, a famous drawing of a nude man in two superimposed positions with arms and legs apart, inscribed in a circle within a square, was drawn by whom?

Winnie the Pooh : Wikis (The Full Wiki) Publication date 1926-10-14 Winnie-the-Pooh, commonly shortened to Pooh Bear or simply Pooh, and once referred to as Edward Bear, is a fictional bear created by A. A. Milne . The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children’s verse book When We Were Very Young (1924) and many more in Now We Are Six (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard . The hyphens in the character's name were later dropped when The Walt Disney Company adapted the Pooh stories into a series of Winnie the Pooh featurettes that became one of the company's most successful franchises worldwide: see Winnie the Pooh (Disney) . The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, notably including Alexander Lenard 's Latin translation, Winnie ille Pu, which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on the New York Times Best Seller List . [1] Contents History Origin Original Winnie the Pooh stuffed toys. Clockwise from bottom left: Tigger , Kanga , Edward Bear ("Winnie the Pooh"), Eeyore , and Piglet . Roo was lost long ago; the other characters were made up for the stories. Milne named the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne , who was the basis for the character Christopher Robin . His toys also lent their names to most of the other characters, except for Owl and Rabbit , as well as the Gopher character, who was added in the Disney version. Christopher Robin's toy bear is now on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York . [2] Harry Colebourne and Winnie 1914 Christopher Milne had named his toy bear after Winnie , an American black bear which he often saw at London Zoo , and "Pooh", a swan they had met while on holiday. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for $20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario , Canada , while en-route to England during the First World War. He named the bear "Winnie" after his hometown in Winnipeg , Manitoba. "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourne left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much loved attraction there. [3] Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right in When We Were Very Young . In the first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh , Milne offers this explanation of why Winnie-the-Pooh is often called simply "Pooh": "But his arms were so stiff ... they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think — but I am not sure — that that is why he is always called Pooh." Ashdown Forest: the setting for the stories The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest , Sussex , England . The forest is a large area of tranquil open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty situated 30 miles (50 km) south of London. In 1925 Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield . According to Christopher Milne, while his father continued to live in London "...the four of us—he, his wife, his son and his son's nanny—would pile into a large blue, chauffeur-driven Fiat and travel down every Saturday morning and back again every Monday afternoon. And we would spend a whole glorious month there in the spring and two months in the summer." [4] From the front lawn the family had a view across a meadow to a line of alders that fringed the River Medway , beyond which the ground rose through more trees until finally "above them, in the faraway distance, crowning the view, was a bare hilltop. In the centre of this hilltop was a clump of pines." Most of his father's visits to the forest at this time were, he noted, family expeditions on foot "to make yet another attempt to count the pine trees on Gill's Lap or to search for the marsh gentian". Christopher added that, inspired by Ashdown Forest, his father had made it "the setting for two of his books, finishing the second little over three years after his arrival". Many locations in the stories can be linked to real places in and around the forest. As Christopher Milne wrote in his autobiography: “Pooh’s forest and Ashdown Forest are identical”. For example, the fictional " Hundred Acre Wood " was in reality Five Hundred Acre Wood; Galleon's Leap was inspired by the prominent hilltop of Gill's Lap, while a clump of trees just north of Gill's Lap became Christopher Robin's The Enchanted Place because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were sixty-three or sixty-four trees in the circle. [5] The landscapes depicted in E.H. Shepard’s illustrations for the Winnie-the-Pooh books are directly inspired by the distinctive landscape of Ashdown Forest, with its high, open heathlands of heather, gorse, bracken and silver birch punctuated by hilltop clumps of pine trees. In many cases Shepard's illustrations can be matched to actual views, allowing for a degree of artistic licence. Shepard's sketches of pine trees and other forest scenes are on display at the V&A Museum in London. The game of Poohsticks was originally played by Christopher Milne on a footbridge across a tributary of the River Medway in Posingford Wood, close to Cotchford Farm. It is traditional to play the game there using sticks gathered in nearby woodland. When the footbridge required replacement in recent times the engineer designed a new structure based closely on the drawings by E. H. Shepard of the bridge in the original books, as the bridge did not originally appear as the artist drew it. An information board at the bridge describes how to play the game. First publication Winnie-the-Pooh's début in the Dec. 24, 1925 London Evening News There are three claimants, depending on the precise question posed. Christopher Robin's teddy bear, Edward, made his character début in a poem in Milne's book of children's verse When We Were Very Young (1924). Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name on 24 December 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London newspaper The Evening News . It was illustrated by J. H. Dowd. [6] The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in the book Winnie-the-Pooh . The Evening News Christmas story reappeared as the first chapter of the book, and at the very beginning it explained that Pooh was in fact Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had simply been renamed by the boy. The book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work, Methuen , in England, and E. P. Dutton in the United States. [7] Sequel An authorised sequel Return to the Hundred Acre Wood was published on 5 October 2009. The author, David Benedictus , has developed, but not changed, Milne's characterisations. The illustrations, by Mark Burgess, are in the style of Shepard. [8] Stephen Slesinger On January 6, 1930, Stephen Slesinger purchased U.S. and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to the "Winnie-the-Pooh" works from Milne for a $1000 advance and 66% of Slesinger's income, creating the modern licensing industry. By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million-a-year business. [9] Slesinger marketed Pooh and his friends for more than 30 years, creating the first Pooh doll, record, board game, puzzle, US radio broadcast (NBC), animation, and motion picture film. [10] In 1961, Disney acquired rights from Slesinger to produce articles of merchandise based on characters from its feature animation. Red Shirt Pooh The first time Pooh and his friends appeared in colour was 1932, when he was drawn by Slesinger in his now-familiar red shirt and featured on an RCA Victor picture record. Parker Brothers also introduced A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh Game in 1933, again with Pooh in his red shirt. In the 1940s, Agnes Brush created the first plush dolls with Pooh in his red shirt. Disney Main article: Winnie the Pooh (Disney) Disney's adaptation of Stephen Slesinger, Inc.'s Winnie-the-Pooh. After Slesinger's death in 1953, his wife, Shirley Slesinger Lasswell , continued developing the character herself. In 1961, she licensed rights to Walt Disney Productions in exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and Disney. [11] The same year, Daphne Milne also licensed certain rights, including motion picture rights, to Disney. Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starring Winnie the Pooh and related characters. These have included theatrical featurettes , television series, and direct-to-video films, as well as the theatrical feature-length films The Tigger Movie , Piglet's Big Movie , and Pooh's Heffalump Movie . In December 2005, Disney announced a Disney Channel animated television series , My Friends Tigger & Pooh , focusing on adventures had by 6-year-old Darby and the Pooh characters, with the occasional appearance from Christopher Robin . [12] The show began airing on the Disney Channel on May 12, 2007. The Disney version of Winnie the Pooh was featured in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue , the Kingdom Hearts videogames and the TV series House of Mouse Pooh also appears at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meet-able and child friendly character. Merchandising revenue dispute Winnie Pooh with Stingo from Fifi & the Flowertots in Zagreb, Croatia Pooh videos, teddy bears , and other merchandise generate substantial annual revenues for Disney. The size of Pooh stuffed toys ranges from Beanie and miniature to human-sized. In addition to the stylized Disney Pooh, Disney markets Classic Pooh merchandise which more closely resembles E.H. Shepard’s illustrations. It is estimated that Winnie the Pooh features and merchandise generate as much revenue as Mickey Mouse , Minnie Mouse , Donald Duck , Goofy , and Pluto combined. [13] In 1991, Stephen Slesinger, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Disney which alleged that Disney had breached their 1983 agreement by again failing to accurately report revenue from Winnie the Pooh sales. Under this agreement, Disney was to retain approximately 98% of gross worldwide revenues while the remaining 2% was to be paid to Slesinger. In addition, the suit alleged that Disney had failed to pay required royalties on all commercial exploitation of the product name. [14] Though the Disney corporation was sanctioned by a judge for destroying forty boxes of evidential documents, [15] the suit was later terminated by another judge when it was discovered that Slesinger's investigator had rummaged through Disney's garbage in order to retrieve the discarded evidence. [16] Slesinger appealed the termination, and on September 26, 2007, a three-judge panel upheld the lawsuit dismissal. [17] After the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, Clare Milne, Christopher Milne's daughter, attempted to terminate any future U.S. copyrights for Stephen Slesinger, Inc. [18] After a series of legal hearings, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the United States District Court for the Central District of California found in favour of Stephen Slesinger, Inc., as did the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . On June 26, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, sustaining the ruling and ensuring the defeat of the suit. [19] On 19 February 2007 Disney lost a court case in Los Angeles which ruled their "misguided claims" to dispute the licensing agreements with Slesinger, Inc. were unjustified, [20] but a federal ruling of 28 September 2009, again from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademark and copyright rights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties have expressed satisfaction with the outcome. [21] [22] Adaptations RCA Victor record from 1932 decorated with Stephen Slesinger, Inc.'s Winnie-the-Pooh. Selected Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans released on vinyl LP: Winnie-the-Pooh (consisting of three tracks: Introducing Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin; Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place; Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle) 1956 More Winnie-the-Pooh (consisting of three tracks: Eeyore Loses a Tail; Piglet Meets a Heffalump; Eeyore Has a Birthday.) Unabridged recordings read by Peter Dennis of the four Pooh books: When We Were Very Young Winnie-the-Pooh The House at Pooh Corner Radio Winnie-the-Pooh was broadcast by Donald Calthrop over all BBC stations on Christmas Day, 1925 [24] Pooh made his US radio debut on Nov. 10, 1932, when he was broadcast to 40,000 schools by the American School of the Air, the educational division of the Columbia Broadcasting System . [25] Television Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends debuted on NBC Television in 1960. A version of Winnie The Pooh, in which the animals were played by marionettes, was presented on Oct. 3, 1960, on NBC Television's The Shirley Temple Show . Five playtime videos (NOTE: These are episodes from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ) 2003: Cowboy Pooh 1998: A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving , included in "Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving" 1998: Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine For You, included in "The Book of Pooh: A Valentine for Eeyore" Soviet adaptation In the Soviet Union , three Winnie-the-Pooh, or "Vinni Pukh" ( Russian language : Винни-Пух ) stories were made into a celebrated trilogy [26] of short films by Soyuzmultfilm (directed by Fedor Khitruk ) from 1969 to 1972. Pooh was voiced by Yevgeny Leonov , looking distinctly different from both the yellow-and-red Disney incarnation and Shepard's illustrations. He was brown instead of yellow, as he is known in the US. Video games Winnie the Pooh: Tigger's Honey Hunt References in other media Winnie-the-Pooh is such a popular character in Poland that a Warsaw street is named after him, " Ulica Kubusia Puchatka ." There is also a street named after him in Budapest (Micimackó utca). [27] In the "sport" of Poohsticks , competitors drop sticks into a stream from a bridge and then wait to see whose stick will cross the finish line first. Though it began as a game played by Pooh and his friends in the stories, it has crossed over into the real world: a World Championship Poohsticks race takes place in Oxfordshire each year. "I'm not going to do nothing anymore." "Never again?" "Well, not so much. They don't let you." "I shouldn't be surprised if it hailed a good deal tomorrow", Eeyore was saying. "Blizzards and what-not. Being fine today doesn't mean anything. It has no sig - what's that word? Well, it has none of that. It's just a small piece of wheather." If I plant a honeycomb outside my house, then it will grow up into a beehive. So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest a little boy and his bear will always be playing. "That's what Jagulars always do", said Pooh, much interested. "They call 'Help! Help!' and then when you look up, they drop on you." "They wanted to come in after the pounds", explained Pooh, "so I let them. It's the best way to write poetry, letting things come." External links

i don't know

October 12, 1997 saw the death of what famed singer, born Henry Deutschendorf, when he lost control of his aircraft and crashed into the ocean near Pacific Grove, CA?

The Johnsville News: June 2008 The Johnsville News by John Prittie © 2007 - 2008 His hips and his thighs, were American-sized Full of hamburg and cheese from Wisconsin But as big asses go his was bigger than most And he liked his kielbasa well seasoned The hotdogs he ate bowlin’ sometimes stayed in his colon While the beer just went straight to his belly And surrounded his chest like a warm goose-down vest That shook when he laughed like mint jelly In a hospital suite in Detroit they all meet Called the Gastro-Enterology Clinic The proctologist chimes let’s get started on time Because lads this won’t be any picnic The gurney they found took all six hundred pounds That’s what Mr. Fitzgerald weighed empty Then later that night the endoscope went out of sight In the rectum of Edmund Fitzgerald Does anyone know where potato chips go When you eat the whole bag in one sitting How they churn in your gut ‘till they turn for your butt It’s no topic for polite conversation And further below it’s the colo-recto, That takes in all the seeds you’ve been sewin’ It all gets passed along like an old sailor’s song, But that ain’t the north wind that’s a’blowin’ They get really big fees for colonoscopies And it helps fill the hospitals’ coffers But if you’ve let yourself go it’s much better to know For your wives and your sons and your daughters So the doctor said Ed put this mask on your head It’s time for your examination Your 50 years old and if you haven’t been told You’re one pretty unhealthy lookin’ specimen Edmund lay on his side fully anesthetized While the doctor played alien invader Through caverns so tall, they had nodes in the wall, ‘Bout the size of old rusty lake freighters And now the legend lives on from the nurses on down To the guys that mopped up at their peril And one medical journal even ran the internals Of the rectum of Edmund Fitzgerald ---- The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee." The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy. With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty, that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the "Gales of November" came early. The ship was the pride of the American side coming back from some mill in Wisconsin. As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most with a crew and good captain well seasoned, concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms when they left fully loaded for Cleveland. And later that night when the ship's bell rang, could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'? [...] Items of Interest: BusinessWeek The Housing Abyss -- Why the worst may be yet to come as forces battering the market gain strength. And the remedy coming from Congress? It's likely to fall short of the mark. The housing crisis is entering a new and frightening stage. On June 24, Standard & Poor's announced that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index had fallen more than 15% in April from a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, the decline is the biggest since 1940-42, according to data collected by Yale University economist Robert Shiller. The risk for the financial system and the economy is that the price drop, already horrifying, will start feeding on itself. When home values fall low enough, hard-pressed homeowners become less able or less willing to keep paying their mortgages. That forces lenders to repossess homes and then dump them back on the market at fire-sale prices, which depresses prices further and leads to even more foreclosures... ---- NY Times: As Housing Bill Evolves, Crisis Grows Deeper -- When Congress started fashioning a sweeping rescue package for struggling homeowners earlier this year, 2.6 million loans were in trouble. But the problem has grown considerably in just six months and is continuing to worsen. More than three million borrowers are in distress, and analysts are forecasting a couple of million more will fall behind on their payments in the coming year as home prices fall further and the economy weakens... Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts and a central force behind the legislation, said on Friday that recent reports about falling home prices have rallied support for the plan. But he acknowledged that the plan may not do enough to help homeowners or the housing market. Mr. Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said that even after a bill like this, “you may need more.” ... The Big Picture: Should Congress Let Home Prices Fall? -- What I find astonishing is that Congress somehow believes they need to do something to help prop up housing prices. When it comes to free markets, the quadrennial Socialists in Washington talk a good game, but push comes to shove, they don't really believe it. Its the same with half of the "Free-market" pundits on T.V. As long as things are going well, they want no supervision, no regulation, no interference with markets. As soon as the going gets tough, they come crawling to mummy and daddy for a bailout, begging for all sorts of FOMC and government intervention. Hypocrite is too soft a word for this ilk... ---- Thomas Friedman / NY Times: Anxious in America -- My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working. ---- NY Times: As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers’ Cruising Declines -- For car-loving American teenagers, this is turning out to be the summer the cruising died. Kevin Ballschmiede, 16, pined for his 1999 Dodge Ram — “my pride and joy” — the other night as he hung out in a parking lot in this town outside Chicago. Given that filling the 26-gallon tank can now cost more than $100, he had left it at home and caught a ride. From coast to coast, American teenagers appear to be driving less this summer. Police officers who keep watch on weekend cruising zones say fewer youths are spending their time driving around in circles, with more of them hanging out in parking lots, malls or movie theaters... --- 50 Famous Americans Who Died While in Their 50's The sudden death of television journalist Tim Russert at age 58 was a painful reminder to baby boomers, who are now mostly in their 50's, that there are no guarantees about reaching age 60. Here is a list of 50 famous Americans who died while still in their 50's. --- Fred "Rerun" Berry (March 13, 1951 – October 21, 2003) was an American actor best known for playing the role of the jolly and rotund Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the popular 1970s television show What's Happening!!. During the 1980s, Berry battled drug addiction and alcoholism. He revived the character of Rerun in the series What's Happening Now!!, but would only be on that show for 1 year. Berry died on October 21, 2003 at his Los Angeles home where he was recovering from a stroke. He was 52. ---- Bill Bixby (born Wilfred Bailey Bixby on January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was an American film and television actor, director and frequent game show panelist. His career spanned over three decades, appearing on stage, in motion pictures and starring in five TV series, such as My Favorite Martian and The Incredible Hulk. In early 1991, Bixby was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent treatment for the disease. On November 21, 1993, six days after his final assignment on the television series Blossom, Bixby died of complications from cancer in Century City, California. He was 59. ---- Bobby Bonds (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981, primarily with the San Francisco Giants. Bonds was noted for his outstanding combination of power hitting and speed, he was the first player to have more than two seasons of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, doing so a record five times (the record was matched only by his son Barry Bonds), and was the first to accomplish the feat in both major leagues; he became the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, joining Willie Mays. Together with Barry, he is part of baseball's most accomplished father-son combination, holding the record for combined home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases. Bonds died of complications from lung cancer and a brain tumor in San Carlos, California. He was 57. ---- Humphrey Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), was an Academy Award-winning American actor and film star. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Bogart the 'Greatest Male Star of All Time.' Bogart's most notable films include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Key Largo (1948), and The African Queen (1951) (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor). Bogart, a heavy smoker, contracted cancer of the esophagus. Bogart had just turned 57 and weighed 80 pounds (36 kg) when he died on January 14, 1957 after falling into a coma. ---- Nell Carter (September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and film, stage, and television actress. She broke into stardom in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978. She also won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982. Additional Broadway credits included Dude and Annie. She also played the role as housekeeper Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, for which she earned Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. The popular show lasted from 1981 to 1987. Carter died from heart disease complicated by diabetes and obesity on January 23, 2003. She was 54 years old. At the time of her death, Carter had been rehearsing for a production of Raisin, a stage musical of A Raisin in the Sun in Long Beach, California, and filming a movie, Swing. ---- Willie Davenport (June 8, 1943 – June 17, 2002) was an American athlete, born in Troy, Alabama. He participated in hurdling events in four Olympic Games, winning the title in 1968. In 1980, he also took part in the Olympic Winter Games as a runner for the American bobsleigh team. Davenport took part in his first Olympics in 1964, reaching the semi-finals of the 110 m hurdles event. In Mexico, in 1968, he reached the final and won: "From the first step, the gun, I knew I had won the race." In 1972 he finished fourth, and in his fourth consecutive Olympic 110 m hurdles final, in 1976, he finished third to capture the bronze medal. He died of a heart attack at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on June 17, 2002. He was 59. ---- Jo Ann Davis (June 29, 1950 – October 6, 2007) was a Republican from the United States Commonwealth of Virginia, who represented the state's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 until her death. She was the second woman and first Republican woman elected to Congress from Virginia. Davis died on October 6, 2007 at her home in Gloucester, Virginia. She was reportedly recovering from a second bout with breast cancer, but her condition deteriorated rapidly over the previous week. She was 57 at the time of her death. ---- Sandy Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American award-winning theater and film actress. She first won fame for her work on Broadway. There she won two consecutive Tony Awards for her performances in A Thousand Clowns in 1963 and Any Wednesday in 1964. In 1966, she was given an Academy Award for best supporting actress in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe. She won a Golden Globe in 1970 for her role in The Out-of-Towners. An advocate of method acting, Dennis was often described as neurotic and mannered in her performances; her signature style included running words together and oddly stopping and starting sentences, suddenly going up and down octaves as she spoke, and fluttering her hands. Walter Kerr famously remarked that she treated sentences as "weak, injured things" that needed to be slowly helped "across the street. Dennis died from ovarian cancer in Westport, Connecticut, aged 54. ---- John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American Country Music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the most popular artists of the 1970s. He recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had composed, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977. On October 12, 1997, Denver was killed when the EZ Lite aircraft he was piloting crashed just off the coast of California at Pacific Grove, shortly after taking off from the Monterey Peninsula Airport. ---- Jim Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was the author of the 1977 best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running, which sold over a million copies. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging. Fixx started running in 1967 at age 35. He weighed 240 pounds (108.8 kilograms) and smoked two packs of cigarettes per day. Ten years later, when his book, The Complete Book of Running (which spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the best-seller list) was published, he was 60 pounds lighter and smoke-free. The book inspired millions of people to take up running and jogging. In his books and on television talk shows, he extolled the benefits of physical exercise and how it considerably increased the average human being's life expectancy. Ironically Fixx died at the age of 52 of a massive heart attack, after his daily run, on Route 15 in Hardwick, Vermont. The autopsy revealed that atherosclerosis had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 50%. ---- Curt Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. His major claim to fame is becoming one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency. For years a heavy drinker and smoker, Flood stopped smoking in 1979, and drinking in 1985. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995, Flood was originally given a 90% chance of survival. But the chemotherapy proved too much for him, and Flood died in Los Angeles, California at age 59. ---- Dan Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, classical, jazz, and bluegrass music. The Innocent Age, released in October 1981, was Fogelberg's critical and commercial peak. This double album song cycle included four of his biggest hits: "Leader of the Band," "Hard To Say," "Run for the Roses", and "Same Old Lang Syne," based on a real-life accidental meeting with a former girlfriend (Jill Anderson). In 1984, he rocked a little again with the album Windows And Walls. After battling prostate cancer for three years, Fogelberg died on December 16, 2007 at his home in Maine with his wife Jean by his side. He was 56. ---- Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an iconic American actor nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Gable seventh among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. His most famous role was Rhett Butler in the 1939 epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for three films that included, Gone with the Wind (1939), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935); he won for It Happened One Night (1934). Another memorable performance was his last film The Misfits (1961), co-starring Marilyn Monroe. It was also her last film. Gable died in Los Angeles, California on November 16, 1960, the result of a fourth heart attack. He was 59. ---- Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was a musician, songwriter, artist, and lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. Though he vehemently disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group. One of the original founders of the Grateful Dead, Garcia performed with the Dead for its entire three-decade career (which spanned from 1965 to 1995). On August 9, 1995, at 4:23 AM, Garcia's body was discovered in his room at a rehabilitation clinic. The cause of death was a heart attack. Garcia had long struggled with tobacco, drug addiction, weight problems, and sleep apnea, all of which contributed to his physical decline. He was 53 when he died. ---- Bob Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002) was an Olympic Gold-Medal sprinter turned star receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and was once considered the world's fastest man. Bob Hayes is one of the select few players to have been chosen by the Cowboys to be in the "Ring of Honor." Before pro-football, Bob Hayes was an American track and field athlete. On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure aged 59, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments. ---- Gregory Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American award-winning actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Hines appeared in such movies as The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared, and Tap. On television, he starred in his own series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Show, as well as in the recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace. He won the Tony Award for the revue Jelly's Last Jam (1992). Hines died of liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at age 57. ---- Wolfman Jack (Robert 'Bob' Weston Smith, 21 January 1938 – 1 July 1995) was a gravelly-voiced, American disc jockey who became world famous in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973 he appeared in director George Lucas' second feature film, American Graffiti, as himself. His broadcasts tie the film together, and a main character catches a glimpse of the mysterious Wolfman in a pivotal scene. In gratitude for Wolfman Jack's participation, Lucas gave him a fraction of a "point" -- the division of the profits from a film -- and the massive financial success of American Graffiti provided him with a regular income for life. Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack in Belvidere, North Carolina, on July 1, 1995, age 57. The day before his death, he had finished broadcasting his last live radio program, a weekly program nationally syndicated from Planet Hollywood in downtown Washington, D.C. Wolfman Jack said that night, "I can't wait to get home and give Lou a hug, I haven't missed her this much in years." Wolfman had been on the road, promoting his new autobiography Have Mercy!. When he got home, he entered his house, hugged his wife, said "Oh, it is so good to be home!", and died in his wife's arms. ---- Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr., February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was one of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his even wilder lifestyle. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title The King of Punk-Funk. In later life, James's legal problems relating to drug abuse received much publicity. On the morning of August 6, 2004, Rick James was found dead in his Burbank, California home at the Oakwoods on Barham Boulevard by his caretaker. James had died from pulmonary failure and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, a pacemaker, and according to the Internet Movie Database, a heart attack being listed as contributing factors. Minimal traces of cocaine were found in his bloodstream. A coroner's report released September 16, 2004 officially ruled his death as accidental, reporting nine drugs found in James's bloodstream. ---- Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American computer entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs reinvented the technology world four or five times, first with the Apple II, a beautiful personal computer in the 1970s; then in the 1980s with the Macintosh, driven by a mouse and presenting a clean screen that made computing inviting; the ubiquitous iPod debuted in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and in 2010 the iPad. During a commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, he said: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." Jobs had died at age 56 due to pancreatic cancer. ---- Dennis Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007) nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics. He won three NBA championships with the Celtics, winning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in the 1979 NBA Finals. On February 22, 2007, at the Austin Convention Center, Johnson had a heart attack and collapsed at the end of the Austin Toros' practice. After being rushed to a nearby hospital, he could not be revived and was later pronounced dead. ---- Barbara Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American politician from Texas. She served as a congresswoman in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979. In 1973, Jordan began to suffer from multiple sclerosis. She had difficulty climbing stairs, and she started using a cane and eventually a wheelchair. She fought a 20-year struggle against debilitating illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and leukemia, which took her life at the age of 59. Jordan was a lesbian with a longtime companion of more than 20 years, Nancy Earl. Jordan never publicly acknowledged her sexual orientation, but in her obituary, the Houston Chronicle mentioned her longtime relationship with Earl. ---- Madeline Kahn (September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American multiple award-winning actress, known primarily for her comedic roles. Director Mel Brooks — who directed her in four films — said of her: "She is one of the most talented people that ever lived. I mean, either in stand-up comedy, or acting, or whatever you want, you can't beat Madeline Kahn." Kahn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in early 1999. She underwent treatment and continued to work, even continuing her role on Cosby. However, the disease progressed rapidly, and on December 3, 1999, Kahn died at the age of 57. ---- Grace Kelly (later Grace, Princess of Monaco; November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress. Upon marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956, she became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, but was generally known as Princess Grace of Monaco. Princess Grace maintained dual American and Monegasque citizenship after her marriage. On September 13, 1982, while driving with her daughter Stéphanie to Monaco from their country home, Princess Grace, then 52, suffered a stroke, which caused her to drive her Rover P6 off the serpentine road down a mountainside. Princess Grace was pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered serious injuries and was unconscious. She died the following day at The Princess Grace Hospital Centre, having never regained consciousness. ---- Charlie Lau (born April 12, 1933 – March 18, 1984) was an American catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball. After his playing career ended, Lau taught his hitting technique to the Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox as a hitting instructor. He wrote the book How to Hit .300, which supplanted Ted Williams's The Science of Hitting as the "Bible of Batting." He died in Key Biscayne, Florida at the age of 50 after a long bout with cancer. ---- Chris LeDoux (October 2, 1948–March 9, 2005) was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor and rodeo champion. During his career LeDoux recorded thirty-six albums (many self-released) which have sold more than six million units in the United States as of January 2007. He was awarded one platinum and two gold album certifications from the RIAA, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and the Academy of Country Music Music Pioneer Award. In 2000, LeDoux suffered an illness that required him to receive a liver transplant. Garth Brooks volunteered to donate part of his liver, but it was found to be incompatible. An alternative donor was located, and LeDoux did receive a transplant. After his recovery he released two additional albums. LeDoux died on March 9, 2005 of complications from liver cancer. ---- Linda Lovelace (January 10, 1949 – April 22, 2002), real name Linda Susan Boreman, became famous after starring in the 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat. She later became a spokeswoman for the anti-pornography movement. Boreman contracted hepatitis from the blood transfusion in 1970 as a result of a car accident. In 1987, this required her to undergo a liver transplant. On April 3, 2002, Boreman lost control of her car, which rolled twice. She suffered massive trauma and internal injuries. On April 22, 2002 she was taken off life support and died in Denver, Colorado, aged 53. ----   Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly. On August 13, 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after stage lighting equipment fell on him at an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. In February, 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Mayfield died on December 26, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia surrounded by his family. ---- Bernard Jeffrey "Bernie Mac" McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008) was a two time Emmy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. He was also twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Outstanding Actor in Comedy/Musical series. Mac was number 72 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standup comedians of all time. His sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show was on the Fox network from 2001 to 2006. The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but he had said the condition went into remission in 2005. Mac, age 50, died at a hospital in the Chicago area of complications due to pneumonia. ---- Tug McGraw (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was a colorful Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of country music singer Tim McGraw. He was born in Martinez, California and gained sports stardom during the New York Mets World Series victory in 1969 and is remembered for coining the motto "Ya Gotta Believe" during the New York Mets' run for the 1973 World Series. He is also renowned as the star reliever who pitched the final strike for the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, which is their only World Series Championship in team history. On March 12, 2003, McGraw was working as a spring training instructor for the Phillies when he was hospitalized with a brain tumor. When surgery was performed to remove it, it revealed the tumor was malignant and inoperable. Given three weeks to live by doctors, he managed to survive nine months. He was age 59 at his death. ---- Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie actor, nicknamed "The King of Cool". His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. After appearing in the 1974 film The Towering Inferno, he became the highest paid movie star in the world. He was also an avid racer of both motorcycles and cars. McQueen died at the age of 50 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico from two heart attacks caused by blood clots following a seven-hour operation to remove or reduce a metastatic tumor in his stomach. He had been diagnosed with mesothelioma in December 1979, and had traveled to Mexico in July 1980 for unconventional treatment after his doctors advised him that they could do nothing more to prolong his life. ---- Roger Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his mid-1960s country/pop hits such as "King of the Road", "Dang Me," and "England Swings." He also wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River (1985). A lifelong cigarette smoker, Miller died of lung and throat cancer in 1992 at age 56. ---- June Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American Pop/R&B singer and was a founding member of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters. June died at 1:10pm on April 11, 2006 at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California from bone cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer. She died in the arms of her older sisters and brothers Ruth, Anita, Aaron, and Fritz. She was 52 years old. ---- Darrell Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was a former American catcher in Major League Baseball, and one of the first American professional athletes to publicly admit he had a problem with substance abuse. He played in three World Series, in 1980 with the Royals and in 1982 and 1985 with the St. Louis Cardinals, winning the World Series MVP Award in 1982. On August 5, 2002, Porter left home, saying he was going to buy a newspaper and go to the park. He was found dead in Sugar Creek, Missouri, outside his vehicle that evening. An autopsy said he had died of "toxic effects of cocaine"; the level of cocaine in his system, consistent with recreational use, induced a condition called excited delirium that caused his heart to stop. He was 50. ---- Eddie Rabbitt (born November 27, 1941 - May 7, 1998) was a country music singer. He enjoyed much pop success in his career, helping develop the crossover-influenced sound in country music during the 1970s and 80s. During his career, he scored 26 number-ones on Billboard's country chart. His biggest hits were "I Love a Rainy Night" (Pop #1), "Drivin' My Life Away" (Pop #5), and "Step By Step" (Pop #5), which were hits for him in 1981. In 1981, he also won an American Music Award for Best Pop Male Vocalist. On May 7, 1998, Rabbitt died of lung cancer at the age of 56, and is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Although during his career he was widely believed to have been born in 1944, at the time of his death, it was revealed that he was in fact 56 years old, putting his year of birth in 1941. ---- Johnny Ramone (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), born John William Cummings, was the guitarist for the seminal punk rock group The Ramones. Along with vocalist Jeffrey Hyman, aka Joey Ramone, he remained a member of the band throughout their career. In 2003, Cummings was named the sixteenth greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone. On September 15, 2004, Cummings died in his Los Angeles home after a five year battle with prostate cancer; Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Rob Zombie were at his side when he died. ---- Christopher Reeve (September 25, 1952 — October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He established himself early as a Juilliard-trained stage actor before portraying Superman(Clark Kent) in four films, from 1978 to 1987. On May 27 1995, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in an accident during the cross country portion of an Eventing competition. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In early October 2004, he was being treated for a pressure wound that was causing a systemic infection called sepsis, a complication that he had experienced many times before. On October 9, Reeve felt well and attended his son Will's hockey game. That night, he went into cardiac arrest after receiving an antibiotic for the infection. He fell into a coma and was taken to North Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York. Eighteen hours later, on October 10, 2004, Reeve died of heart failure at the age of 52. His doctor, John McDonald, believed that it was an adverse reaction to the antibiotic that caused his death. ---- John Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an Emmy- and Golden Globe award-winning American actor and comedian perhaps best known for his role of Jack Tripper in the sitcom Three's Company. On September 11, 2003, Ritter fell ill while rehearsing scenes for an episode of 8 Simple Rules. He was taken across the street to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died less than an hour later, at the age of 54, in the same hospital in which he was born. The cause of death was an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. ---- Charles Rocket (August 24, 1949 – October 7, 2005) was an American film and television actor, notable for his tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film Dumb & Dumber and Adam, the Angel of Death, in the series Touched by an Angel. Rocket was found dead in a field near his Connecticut home on October 7, 2005; his throat had been cut. He was 56 years old. The state medical examiner later ruled the death a suicide. ---- Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was one of the world's most famous film critics. Along with on-screen partner Roger Ebert, they pioneered the popular weekly movie review TV show Siskel & Ebert until Siskel's death at age 53. In 1998, Siskel underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. He died from complications of the surgery. ---- Carrie Snodgress (October 27, 1946 - April 1, 2004) was a Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated American actress. Her best known role was in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and two Golden Globes. Other films include Murphy's Law, White Man's Burden, Pale Rider, and Blue Sky. She left acting for several years in order to live with rock musician Neil Young and care for their son Zeke, who was born with cerebral palsy, but returned in 1978 in The Fury. She and Neil Young split up about 1975. Sylvester Stallone said she was the first choice for Adrian in the movie Rocky, but she passed on the role. She was hospitalized awaiting a liver transplant when she died suddenly at age 57 of heart and liver failure in Los Angeles, California. ---- John Spencer (December 20, 1946 – December 16, 2005) was an Emmy- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American television actor best known for his role as Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff on the NBC political drama The West Wing. He died following a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 16, 2005, four days before his 59th birthday. West Wing cast mate Stockard Channing was visiting him at the time of his death. ---- Darryl Stingley (September 18, 1951 - April 5, 2007) was an American professional football wide receiver whose career was cut short by a spinal cord injury. He had a five-year career from 1973 to 1977. He played his entire career with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. On April 5, 2007, Stingley died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after being discovered unresponsive in his home. His death was attributed to heart disease and pneumonia complicated by quadriplegia. The Cook County Medical Examiner listed Stingley's cause of death as an accident. ---- Conway Twitty (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was one of the United States' most successful country music artists of the 20th century. He had the most singles (55) reach Number 1 on various national music charts. Up until George Strait broke the record for most number 1s on the Billboard country chart with 43, Twitty had 42 (counting his pop number 1 with "It's Only Make Believe", and a B-sided country single). Most commonly thought of as a country music singer, he also enjoyed success in early Rock and Roll, R&B, and Pop music (among others). Conway Twitty became ill while performing in Branson, Missouri, and was in pain while he was on the tour bus. He died June 5, 1993 in Springfield Missouri at Cox South Hospital from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was 59. ---- Robert Urich (December 19, 1946 – April 16, 2002) was an actor, best known for playing private investigators on the television series Spenser: For Hire (1985–1988) and Vega$ (1978–1981). He also starred in numerous other television series over the years including: S.W.A.T. (1975), Soap (1977) and The Lazarus Man (1996). In 1996, Urich announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, synovial cell sarcoma, that attacks joints. Urich ultimately died from this disease, although he continued to appear in film and TV during treatment. His final TV series role was in the sitcom Emeril in 2001. ---- Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance With My Father", co-written with Richard Marx. Vandross had diabetes, a disease that ran in his family, as well as hypertension. On April 16, 2003, just four days before his 52nd birthday, Vandross suffered a stroke in his home in Manhattan. Vandross died on July 1, 2005 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey at the age of 54. The cause of his death was never publicly released. ---- Jim Varney (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor. He was best known for his character Ernest P. Worrell, originally created by Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry in the 1980s. The character was used in numerous television commercial campaigns and movies in the following years, giving him fame worldwide. He is best known for his slapstick style and his portrayal of "redneck" stereotypes in a friendly, approachable way. Varney died peacefully in his sleep of lung cancer on February 10, 2000 at 4:45 a.m. in his White House, Tennessee home as his movie Ernest the Pirate neared completion. He was 50. ---- Barry White (born Barrence Eugene Carter, September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American record producer, songwriter and singer. A multiple Grammy Award-winner known for his deep bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million. Chart hits by White include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (1974), and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974). White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in kidney failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life. On July 4, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from renal failure. He was 58. ---- Tammy Wynette (May 5, 1942 - April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of country music's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists. She was known as the "First Lady of Country Music" and one of her best-known songs, "Stand by Your Man," was one of the biggest selling hit singles by a woman in the history of the country music genre. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she dominated the country charts, scoring 17 number one hits. Along with Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell she defined the role of female country vocalists in the 1970s. Her 1969 marriage to legendary country singer, George Jones (which would end in divorce in 1975) created the first country music couple. After years of medical problems, numerous hospitalizations, approximately twenty-six major surgeries and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Tammy Wynette died, in her sleep, on April 6, 1998 of a pulmonary blood clot. She was 55. ---- Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa established himself as a prolific and highly distinctive composer, electric guitar player and band leader. He worked in various different musical genres and wrote music for rock bands, jazz ensembles, synthesizers and symphony orchestra, as well as musique concrète works constructed from pre-recorded, synthesized or sampled sources. In 1991, Zappa was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. After his diagnosis, he devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and synclavier works. Frank Zappa died on December 4, 1993, age 52, from prostate cancer. ---- Warren Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was a Grammy Award-winning American rock singer-songwriter and musician. He was noted for his offbeat, sardonic view of life which was reflected in his dark, sometimes humorous songs, which often incorporated political or historical themes. In interviews, Zevon described a lifelong phobia of doctors and said he seldom received medical assessment. In 2002, after a long period of untreated illness and pain, Zevon was encouraged by his dentist to see a physician; when he did so he was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma (a form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, and also the same cancer that killed Steve McQueen). Warren Zevon died on September 7, 2003, aged 56, at his home in Los Angeles, California. ---- Wall Street Journal: Renovators in Limbo -- Banks Freeze Homeowners' Credit Lines; Fancy Finishes Are Out, Cheaper Appliances In Lenders are cutting off more home-equity lines of credit, crimping homeowners' plans for honed-stone tiles, copper roofs and other costly improvements. Borrowing against home equity has been a major source of funds fueling the renovation boom of recent years. But big lenders, including Bank of America, Citibank, Countrywide Financial, Washington Mutual Bank and USAA, collectively have told hundreds of thousands of customers this year that their home-equity lines have been frozen. Lenders typically include language in their agreements that allows them to cap or cut off a credit line if home values decline, or if a borrower fails to make payments on time... ---- Items of Interest: Bloomberg: New-Home Sales in the U.S. Fell 2.5 Percent in May -- Sales of new U.S. houses fell 2.5 percent in May, signaling the real estate slump will keep weighing on the economy. Purchases dropped to a 512,000 annual pace, as forecast and the second-fewest in almost 17 years, from a revised 525,000 rate in April, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. A separate report showed demand for long-lasting goods stalled last month... ``You are seeing sales now stable at a roughly low level,'' said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, who forecast sales would drop to a 510,000 pace. ``There is very slow progress on inventories.'' ... ---- Bloomberg: U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Fell 9.3% Last Week -- Mortgage applications in the U.S. last week declined to the lowest level in more than six years as recent increases in mortgage rates caused Americans to shy away from refinancing loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan fell 9.3 percent to 461.3, the lowest level since December 2001, from 508.4 the prior week. The group's purchase index decreased 7.4 percent and its refinancing gauge lost 12.1 percent. Prospective buyers are hesitant to purchase homes as rising foreclosures add to the glut of properties on the market and push down home values further. Sales may keep dropping as lenders restrict credit, and concern over inflation boosts mortgage rates. ``Until housing deflation ebbs, the risk of more foreclosures and renewed financial instability will remain high,'' Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. ``Falling prices are sinking household confidence.'' ... Housing Wire: Falling Mortgage Rates Fail to Spur Borrower Interest; Applications Lowest Since End of 2001 -- Despite mortgage rates that it said fell nearly 20 basis points last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday morning that the number of borrowers applying for a new or refinanced mortgage last week fell to levels not seen since the end of 2001... ---- Bloomberg: Texas Real Estate Slump Gives Mexicans a Chance to Take It Back -- More than a century and a half after Mexico lost Texas to the U.S., Virgilio Garza wants a piece of it back. A ``Texas for Sale'' sign and cowgirls in boots and white hats greeted Garza at the Convex center in Monterrey, Mexico, earlier this month. A Monterrey developer and investor, Garza was in search of foreclosed U.S. property to buy. ``Texas is like our home,'' said Garza, 45, who joined hundreds of Mexicans poring over lists of Texas properties at the four-day event. Garza, who owns manufacturing sites and other land in Mexico, said he and five partners may invest as much as $8 million in Texas. ``We believe there can be some opportunities,'' he said. A rising peso and an economy growing faster than the U.S. have given some Mexicans the buying power to take advantage of the housing slump in Texas, which became part of the U.S. under an 1848 treaty that ended a three-year war between the two countries... ---- BeSpoke: Plotting the April Case/Shiller Housing Numbers -- Chalk it up to seasonal factors, but it's good to see some green in the month over month readings of the S&P/Case-Shiller Housing indices. As shown at right, 8 of the 20 cities that Case-Shiller track showed increases in home prices from March to April. Cleveland saw the biggest month over month increase at 2.94%, followed by Dallas (1.12%), Denver (0.83%), and Seattle (0.72%). There were plenty of declines in April as well, however. Miami fell another 4% in just one month, while Las Vegas, Tampa, Minneapolis, LA, San Fran, San Diego and Phoenix all fell by more than 2%. And the year over year numbers are still quite depressing. The Composite 10-City index was down 16.3% from April 2007 to April 2008. And Charlotte, which was the last city to hang onto year over year price gains, finally turned negative versus a year ago.... ---- Andrew Ross Sorkin / NY Times Dealbook: A ‘Bonfire’ Returns as Heartburn -- Almost exactly a year ago, Tom Wolfe, the author of “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” was wandering the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Dressed in his trademark white suit, he darted around traders and whisked past trading booths, shaking hands and waving, just before the market was about to open... CNBC reporter pulled Mr. Wolfe aside to ask him what he made of all the hubbub. Mr. Wolfe paused for a moment to contemplate his answer. And then, with a wry smile, he delivered a prophetic declaration: “We may be witnessing the end of capitalism as we know it.” ... “It has always interested me that the word ‘credit’ comes from the word ‘credere,’ which means ‘to believe,’ ” Mr. Wolfe said. “It only works if people believe in it.” He’s right, of course: one reason the credit markets have tanked is that people don’t believe anymore... ---- Items of Interest: Bloomberg: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Fell 15.3% in April -- Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in April by the most on record, signaling the housing recession is far from over, a private survey showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 15.3 percent from a year earlier, less than forecast, after a 14.3 percent decline in March. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007. The group began keeping year-over-year records in 2001. Mortgage defaults and foreclosures are adding to the glut of properties on the market, while stricter loan rules are making it more difficult for prospective buyers to get financing. The prolonged real-estate slump, along with higher fuel prices and a shrinking job market, is taking a toll on consumers and the economy. ``There's such an excess of inventories that we certainly expect to see more price declines,'' said James O'Sullivan, a senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. ``The economy is still weakening and housing still looks pretty weak.'' ... MarketWatch: Four years of gains in home prices wiped out -- Home prices across 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year and are now back to where they were in the summer of 2004, according to the Case-Shiller home price index... ---- HousingWire: Housing Outlook Grim, As Downturn Called “Worst in a Generation” -- The nation is in the throes of a housing downturn that researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said Monday morning was “shaping up to be the worst in a generation.” While the falloff in housing starts, new home sales, and existing home sales already rivals the worst downturns in the post World War II era, the study found that home price declines and mortgage defaults are the worst on records that date back to the 1960s and 1970s. “The slump in housing markets has not yet run its full course,” said Nicolas Retsinas, the director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, echoing what has alreadly become prevailing sentiment among most economists. ... MarketWatch: Shaky job market threatens housing recovery -- Housing slump rivals deepest slowdowns in 60-plus years: Report ... ---- BusinessWeek: Michigan: Epicenter of Unemployment -- Michigan, once the center of America's industrial heartland, now holds a more dubious distinction: It leads the U.S. in joblessness. The state's unemployment rate hit 8.5% in May. That's up 2 percentage points from April, and compares with a figure of 5.5% for the whole U.S. in May.... ---- Items of Interest: Minyanville: Financial Tsunami Ahead -- I have often, in private, compared the financial mess hitting the U.S. to a rare tsunami hitting a lonely shore where someone is standing, armed only with a small bucket to try to stop it. In the case of financials, the initial problem or underwater earthquake could be the undermining of a multi-decade credit build-up across most of the U.S. economy and the esoteric instruments that go along with the debt.... The Interest Rate Problem... The real issue is that foreign investors own the U.S. Period. They now own 56% of all of the U.S.' marketable Treasuries. What if they decided to say, "Sell, Mortimer, sell"? ... ---- Charles Steele / Washington Post: The Color Of Credit -- The subprime mortgage fiasco is sending tremors through Wall Street and has brought the U.S. economy near (if not into) recession. For African Americans and Latinos -- the primary victims of the debacle -- the mortgage meltdown may widen the considerable gap in wealth that already exists between whites and people of color. Even worse, some proposals to fix the problem of limited access to credit may end up doing more harm than good. "We estimate the total loss of wealth for people of color to be between $164 billion and $213 billion for subprime loans taken during the past eight years. We believe this represents the greatest loss of wealth for people of color in modern U.S. history," the Boston-based organization United for a Fair Economy noted in its report "Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008." ... ---- Orlando Sentinel: Shaq: I can help homeowners fight off foreclosure -- Shaquille O'Neal says he wants to build a legacy -- literally -- in Orlando. The NBA star said he is working on plans for real-estate-development projects in Orlando, with an eye toward helping those who are facing foreclosure on their homes. "I want to come in not to kick them out, but to work with them and save them so they can stay in their homes," O'Neal told the Orlando Sentinel during an impromptu stop Tuesday at Orlando City Hall. Attorney Mark NeJame, who arranged the visit along with longtime friend and Realtor Curtis Cooper, said the star center wants to buy the mortgages of homeowners who have slipped into foreclosure because of high interest rates. He would sell the homes back to those troubled buyers with more affordable terms, hoping to make a small profit. "He's become a businessman with a conscience," NeJame said, adding that Shaq might also develop an affordable-housing project... related: Homebuilder Forecasts and Expectations -- Quote of the Day "At the current stock price of $1.69, he has a bit of a loss, but at least he could have control over the assets until some value could be recovered down the road when the Florida real estate market begins to improve." - Gimme Credit analyst Vicki Bryan on the news that major shareholder Carl Icahn is in talks with homebuilder WCI Communities for some sort of transaction. Bryan estimates that Icahn built his equity stake in WCI at approximately $18-$20/share. ( Forbes , June 20th)... ---- NY Times: Banks Trimming Limits for Many on Credit Cards -- The easy money that led Americans to depend on credit cards to pay their bills is starting to dry up. After fostering the explosive growth of consumer debt in recent years, financial companies are reducing the credit limits on cards held by millions of Americans, often without warning. Banks that issue cards like Visa and MasterCard, as well as the American Express Company, are cutting the limits for customers who have run up big debts, live in areas that have been hit hard by the housing crisis or work for themselves in troubled industries... ----

John Denver

Originally starring Jack Lord, and recently remade, what TV show popularized the phrase “Book ’em, Danno”?

United States History: October 12 | Conservative Talk United States History: October 12 Post by Evon on Oct 11, 2012 13:06:13 GMT -5 October 12 is the 286th day of this leap year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 80 days remaining until the end of the year. Days until elections Tuesday, November 8, 2016: 27 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren Map of the Teutonic Knights (in pink) ca. 1455. Samogitia (in very light pink) separated the Teutonic Knights in Prussia from the Livonian Order in the north. For Lithuania (in green) it was the only access to the Baltic Sea. 1398 The Treaty of Salynas is signed between Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Teutonic Knights, who received Samogitia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Salynas The voyages of Christopher Columbus. 1492 Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) makes landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in The Bahamas. The explorer believes he has reached the Indies. One of the purposes of his explorations was to spread Christianity. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus The meeting of Cajetan (left) and Martin Luther (right). 1518 Martin Luther’s hearing before the papal legate, Thomas Cardinal Cajetan (1469–1534) began in Augsburg and continued through 14 October. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insane_asylum#18th_century Miniature Portrait of Jefferson by Robert Field (1800) 1786 Thomas Jefferson composes romantic letter. On this day in 1786, a lovesick Thomas Jefferson composes a romantic and introspective letter to a woman named Maria Cosway. Early in 1786, widower Thomas Jefferson met Maria Cosway in Paris while he was serving as the U.S. minister to France. Cosway was born to English parents in Italy and, by the time she met Jefferson, had become an accomplished painter and musician. She was also married. The two developed a deep friendship and possibly more, although a sexual relationship has never been proven. The usually self-contained Jefferson acted like a giddy schoolboy during their relationship, at one point leaping over a stone fountain while the two were out walking and falling and breaking his right wrist. After the wrist healed, a chagrined Jefferson sat down and wrote a now-famous love letter to Mariah, who had just departed Paris for London with her husband for an undetermined time. The letter revealed him to be a lovesick man whose intellect battled with a heart aching for a woman he could not have. In the letter, now known to historians as "A Dialogue between the Head and Heart," Jefferson pines for a woman who has made him "the most wretched of all earthly beings" and at the same time chides himself for giving in to emotional attachments. The dialogue reveals Jefferson's struggle between his desire for Cosway and his need to maintain his integrity (she was, after all, married). The letter concludes with Jefferson's reason winning over the desires of his heart. He wrote that the only "effective security against such pain of unrequited love, is to retire within ourselves and to suffice for our own happiness." Two years later, however, his letters to her still expressed great longing. In 1787, Jefferson wrote to Cosway while traveling in Italy, painting an idyllic picture of the two of them together one day in the future: "we will breakfast every day¡­[go] away to the Desert, dine under the bowers of Marly, and forget that we are ever to part again." He wrote to her again in 1788 from Paris and expressed his "tenderness of affection" and wished for her presence though he knew he "had no right to ask." Eventually Jefferson's physical separation from Maria and the hopelessness of a relationship with her cooled his ardor. After returning to America in 1789, his letters to her grew less frequent; partly due to the fact that he was increasingly preoccupied by his position as President George Washington's secretary of state. She, however, continued to write to him and vented her frustration at his growing aloofness. In his last letters, he spoke more of his scientific studies than of his love and desire for her, finally admitting that his love for her had been relegated to fond memories of when their relationship had been "pure." Cosway left England in 1789 after her husband died and moved to a village in Italy to open a convent school for girls. First Landing of Columbus on the Shores of the New World, after the painting by Dióscoro Teófilo Puebla Tolin 1792 First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Richmond_(1860) "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." 1892 The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools, as part of a celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. Earliest known photograph of the White House, taken c. 1846 by John Plumbe during the administration of James K. Polk. 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House. 1913 Concordia Teachers College (River Forest, Illinois), now Concordia University Chicago, was dedicated after its relocation from Addison, Illinois. The morning after the First Battle of Passchendaele 1917 World War I: The First Battle of Passchendaele takes place resulting in the largest single day loss of life in New Zealand history. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Passchendaele Cloquet Fire of 1918 1918 Forest fires ravaged parts of Minnesota from the Duluth area northeastward, claiming the lives of 600 persons. Smoke with a smell of burnt wood spread to Albany NY and Washington D.C. in 24 hours. Smoke was noted at Charleston SC on the 14th, and by the 15th was reported in northeastern Texas. The 1918 Cloquet fire was a massive fire in northern Minnesota in October, 1918, caused by sparks on the local railroads and dry conditions. The fire left much of western Carlton County devastated, mostly affecting Moose Lake, Cloquet, and Kettle River. Cloquet was hit the hardest by the fires. It was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day. In total, 453 lives were lost and 52,000 people were injured or displaced, 38 communities were destroyed, 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) were burned, and $73 million in property damage was suffered. $13 million in Federal aid was disbursed. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESLobHGVeM 1920 Man O'War's last race & win. The crowning event of Man o' War's career came in a match race against the celebrated Canadian horse Sir Barton, the first winner of the Triple Crown. On October 12, 1920, he and Man o' War met in Windsor, Ontario. Man o' War won by seven lengths! In his career "Big Red" won 20 of 21 races. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_o%27_War Manhattan entrance to tunnel, 1985 1920 Construction of the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River began. The tunnel would provide a direct link between Twelfth Street in Jersey City, NJ and Canal Street in New York City. The tunnel has two tubes more than 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) long. It was opened to traffic on 13 Nov 1927. The Holland Tunnel was named for Clifford Milburn Holland, (1883-1924), the civil engineer who died while directing the tunnel's construction. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel Iron lung ward filled with polio patients, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, California (1953) 1928 The Iron Lung was used by its first patient, a young girl at the Children's Hospital in Boston. It was an artificial respirator that enabled her to breathe despite being paralyzed by polio. This negative pressure ventilator, invented by a young Harvard doctor, Philip Drinker, was the first widely used device of its kind. From the neck down, the patient's body lay in a sealed galvanized iron box. The 3 x 7 ft, 700-lb apparatus was powered by two household vacuum cleaners. As air was pumped out of the metal box, the patient's lungs drew in air, which was expelled as the air pump cycle next increased pressure, in a cycle to mimic a normal breathing rate. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_pressure_ventilator A model of Military Point Alcatraz, 1866–1868, now on display at Alcatraz Island 1933 The United States Army Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz Island, is acquired by the United States Department of Justice en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger 1936 The success in making of X-ray moving pictures of internal organs of the human body was reported at the 37th annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society in Cleveland by Drs William H. Stewart, William J. Hoffman and Francis H. Ghiselin from the Manhattan, NY, Lenox Hill Hospital. They used a home 16-mm camera to film moving X-ray images on a fluorescopic screen at 16 frames per second (reduced to 12 or 8 fps for thicker bodies). Two seconds exposure could capture two or three beats of the heart, the act of breathing, movements of the diaphragm or motion of joints. Film clip loops could be projected to show repeating motion. Movies were shown at the next convention on 2 Oct 1937. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_radiography The heavily damaged Japanese cruiser Aoba disembarks dead and wounded crew members near Buin, Bougainville and the Shortland Islands a few hours after the battle on October 12, 1942 1942 World War II: Japanese ships retreat after their defeat in the Battle of Cape Esperance with the Japanese commander, Aritomo Got¨­ dying from wounds suffered in the battle and two Japanese destroyers sunk by Allied air attack. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caine_Mutiny_Court-Martial Damage in Newberg, Oregon 1962 The "Columbus Day Big Blow" occurred in the Pacific Northwest. It was probably the most damaging windstorm of record west of the Cascade Mountains. Winds reached hurricane force, with gusts above 100 mph. More than 3.5 billion board feet of timber were blown down, and communications were severely disrupted due to downed power lines. The storm claimed 48 lives, and caused 210 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day_Storm_of_1962 Dean Rusk 1967 Dean Rusk criticizes Congress while fighting continues in South Vietnam. At a news conference, Secretary of State Dean Rusk makes controversial comments in which he says that congressional proposals for peace initiatives¡ªa bombing halt or limitation, United Nations action, or a new Geneva conference¡ªwere futile because of Hanoi's opposition. Without the pressure of the bombing, he asked, "Where would be the incentive for peace?" He added that the Vietnam War was a test of Asia's ability to withstand the threat of "a billion Chinese...armed with nuclear weapons." Critics claimed that he had invoked the familiar "yellow peril" of Chinese power. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_Superstar USS Kitty Hawk 1972 Racial violence breaks out aboard U.S. Navy ships. On this day, racial violence flares aboard U.S. Navy ships. Forty six sailors are injured in a race riot involving more than 100 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk enroute to her station in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam. The incident broke out when a black sailor was summoned for questioning regarding an altercation that took place during the crew's liberty in Subic Bay (in the Philippines). The sailor refused to make a statement and he and his friends started a brawl that resulted in sixty sailors being injured during the fighting. Eventually 26 men, all black, were charged with assault and rioting and were ordered to appear before a court-martial in San Diego. Four days later, a group of about 12 black sailors aboard the USS Hassayampa, a fleet oiler docked at Subic Bay, told ship's officers that they would not sail with the ship when the ship put to sea. The group demanded the return of money that allegedly had been stolen from the wallet of one of the group. The ship's leadership failed to act quickly enough to defuse the situation and later that day, a group of seven white sailors were set upon by the group and beaten. It took the arrival of a Marine detachment to restore order. Six black sailors were charged with assault and rioting. These incidents indicated the depth of the racial problems in the Navy. All of the services had experienced similar problems earlier, but the Navy had lagged behind the others in addressing the issues that contributed to the racial tensions that erupted on the Kitty Hawk and the Hassayampa. Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., Chief of Naval Operations, instituted new race relations programs and made significant changes to Naval Regulations to address many of the very real issues raised by the black sailors regarding racial injustice in the Navy. www.history.navy.mil/library/special/racial_incidents.htm 1976 The U.S. swine flu vaccinations were halted in nine states after three elderly people in the Pittsburgh area suffered heart attacks and died within hours of getting the shot. On 16 Dec, increasingly concerned about reports of the vaccine touching off neurological problems, especially the rare Guillain-Barre syndrome, the U.S. government suspended the program. The nationwide vaccination effort began as a result of a novel virus that was first identified at Fort Dix, N.J., and labeled a "killer flu." Experts compared it to the Spanish flu of 1918 and sounded the alarm of a possible major pandemic. In fact, the virus never moved outside the Fort Dix area. Later research showed it would probably have been much less deadly than the Spanish flu. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Tip Wooden wall telephone with a hand-cranked magneto generator 1983 In Bryant Park, Maine, the last call on a crank phone was made, marking the end of the community's hand-operated telephone system. The Bryant Pond Telephone Co. had been a family operation, with its switchboard in the back room of Elden Hathaway's house. He had bought stock in the telephone business in 1951 with about 100 subscribers, and had himself strung wire to add more. With his wife and daughter, they acted as switchboard operators and hand-connected calls. At age 65, he decided to sell out to the Oxford County Telephone & Telegraph Co. which announced its intention to replace crank with dial phones, despite the fervent efforts of residents at town meetings and their lawyers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone Prince Philip and Elizabeth II, October 1992 1986 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II#1980s 1987 Floyd, the only hurricane to make landfall the entire season, moved across the Florida Keys. Floyd produced wind gusts to 59 mph at Duck Key, and up to nine inches of rain in southern Florida. Sixteen cities in the Ohio Valley and the Middle Mississippi Valley reported record low temperatures for the date. Record lows included 27 degrees at Paducah KY, and 24 degrees at Rockford IL and Springfield IL. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Floyd 1987 Minnesota Twins beat Detroit Tigers for AL pennant 1988 Twenty cities in the Upper Midwest reported record low temperatures for the date, including International Falls MN with a reading of 17 degrees. The town of Embarass MN reported a morning low of 8 degrees. Snow showers in the northeastern U.S. produced five inches at Corry PA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 Temperatures again warmed into the 80s in the Central Plains Region and the Middle Mississippi Valley, with 90s in the south central U.S. Six cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Fort Smith AR with a reading of 92 degrees. Strong winds along a cold front crossing the Great Lakes Region and the Ohio Valley gusted to 61 mph at Johnstown PA. (The National Weather Summary) 1994 NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either October 13 or October 14). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft) Denver performs for his 1975 television special An Evening With John Denver 1997 John Denver dies in an ultra-light aircraft accident. To those who bought records like "Rocky Mountain High" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by the millions in the 1970s, John Denver was much more than just a great songwriter and performer. With his oversized glasses, bowl haircut and down vest, he was an unlikely fashion icon, and with his vocal environmentalism, he was the living embodiment of an outdoorsy lifestyle that many 20-something baby boomers would adopt as their own during the "Me" decade. There never was and there probably never will be a star quite like John Denver, who died on this day in 1997 when his ultra-light aircraft crashed into Monterey Bay on the California coast. Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., in 1943, not in the mountains of Colorado but in Roswell, New Mexico, John Denver rose to fame as a recording artist in 1971, when "Take Me Home, Country Roads" rose all the way to #2 on the Billboard pop chart. In fact, Denver already had a share in a #1 hit as the writer of "Leaving On A Jet Plane," a chart-topper for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1969. But it was his 1971 breakout as a performer of his own material that made him a household name. Over the course of the 1970s, John Denver earned five more top-10 singles, including the #1 hits "Sunshine On My Shoulders" (1974), "Annie's Song" (1974), "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" (1975) and "I'm Sorry" (1975). Even more impressive, he released an astonishing 11 albums that were certified Platinum by the RIAA, making him one of the most successful recording artists of the 70s, and launching him into a successful career in film and television as well. By the 1990s, Denver was still a popular touring musician, though he was no longer recording new material with significant commercial success. Over the course of his career, he had become an accomplished private pilot with more than 2,700 hours on various single- and multi-engine aircraft, with both an instrument and a Lear Jet rating. On October 12, 1997, however, he was flying an aircraft with which he was relatively unfamiliar, and with which he had previously experienced control problems, according to a later investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. At approximately 5:30 pm local time, after a smooth takeoff from a Pacific Grove airfield and under ideal flying conditions, Denver apparently lost control of his Long-EZ ultra-light craft several hundred feet over Monterey Bay, leading to the fatal crash. A movie star and political activist as well as a musician, John Denver was one of the biggest stars of his generation, and is credited by the Recording Industry Association of America with selling more than 32 million albums in the United States alone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_milestones The Military Sealift Command fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba towing the USS Cole after the bombing. 2000 USS Cole attacked by terrorists. At 12:15 p.m. local time, a motorized rubber dinghy loaded with explosives blows a 40-by-40-foot hole in the port side of the USS Cole, a U.S. Navy destroyer that was refueling at Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed and 38 wounded in the attack, which was carried out by two suicide terrorists alleged to be members of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. The Cole had come to Aden at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula to refuel on its way to join U.S. warships that were enforcing the trade sanctions against Iraq. It was scheduled to remain in the port for just four hours, indicating that the terrorists had precise information about the destroyer's unannounced visit to the Aden fueling station. The terrorists' small boat joined a group of harbor ships aiding the Cole moor at a refueling, and they succeeded in reaching the U.S. warship unchallenged. Their dinghy then exploded in a massive explosion that ripped through the Cole's port side, badly damaging the engine room and adjoining mess and living quarters. Witnesses on the Cole said both terrorists stood up in the moment before the blast. The explosion caused extensive flooding in the warship, causing the ship to list slightly, but by the evening crew members had managed to stop the flooding and keep the Cole afloat. In the aftermath of the attack, President Bill Clinton ordered American ships in the Persian Gulf to leave port and head to open waters. A large team of U.S. investigators was immediately sent to Aden to investigate the incident, including a group of FBI agents who were focused exclusively on possible links to Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden had been formally charged in the U.S. with masterminding the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. Six men believed to be involved in the Cole attack were soon arrested in Yemen. Lacking cooperation by Yemeni authorities, the FBI has failed to conclusively link the attack to bin Laden. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing The Bali bombing memorial at the site of the original Paddy's Pub across the road from the site of the now demolished Sari club (to the left of this picture) 2002 Terrorists kill 202 in Bali. On this day in 2002, three bombings shatter the peace in the town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The blasts, the work of militant Islamist terrorists, left 202 people dead and more than 200 others injured, many with severe burns. The attacks shocked residents and those familiar with the mostly Hindu island, long known as a tranquil and friendly island paradise. The most deadly of the three blasts occurred when a large bomb, estimated to be about 1,200 kilograms, was detonated in a van outside the town's Sari Club nightclub. The explosion left a large crater in the ground and was said to have blown the windows out of buildings throughout the town. Many of those killed and injured in the blast were young visitors vacationing on the island, most from Australia. Thirty-eight Indonesians, mainly Balinese, were killed. Two other bombs were also detonated that day: one, packed in a backpack, was detonated in a bar and another was exploded in the street in front of the American consulate. All three were thought to be the work of the regional militant Islamist group Jemaah Islamiah, which is believed to have links to al-Qaida. Jemaah Islamiah is also alleged to be responsible for the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and the Australian embassy to Indonesia in 2004, as well as the suicide bombing of three restaurants in Bali on October 1, 2005. The second attack on Bali killed 22 people, including the bombers, and injured more than 100 others. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and the former home of President Barack Obama. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_bombings Births 1537 King Edward VI of England was born (d. 6 Jul 1553). His reign saw the transformation of the Anglican Church into a recognizably Protestant body with, among other things, the development of the first Book of Common Prayer. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Edward_VI 1576 Thomas Dudley (d 1653) colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, during which he sometimes clashed with his rival John Winthrop. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home. As Governor, Dudley signed the Charter creating Harvard College. Thomas Dudley Gate at Harvard College was named in his honor, as is the non-residential Dudley House. Dudley's descendants were early governors, ministers, judges, as well as his daughter, Anne Bradstreet, the nation's first poet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dudley 1710 Jonathan Trumbull, American politician and statesman, (Originally spelled: Jonathan Trumble, was changed for an unknown reason) was one of the few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-Revolutionary colony and a post-Revolutionary state. During the American Revolution he was the only colonial governor who supported the American side.(d. 1785) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Cable 1860 Elmer Ambrose Sperry (d 1930) American electrical engineer and inventor of the gyrocompass. In the 1890's he made useful inventions in electric mining machinery, and patent electric brake and control system for street- or tramcars. In 1908, he patented the active gyrostabilizer which acted to stop a ship's roll as soon as it started. He patented the first gyrocompass designed expressly for the marine environment in 1910. This "spinning wheel" gyro was a significant improvement over the traditional magnetic compass of the day and changed the course of naval history. The first Sperry gyrocompass was tested at-sea aboard the USS Delaware in 1911 and established Sperry as a world leader in the manufacture of military gyrocompasses for the next 80 years. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Ambrose_Sperry 1883 C. Harold Lowden, American evangelical and reformed sacred music composer, (d. 27 Feb 1963). Living for Jesus: Music: Low­den, Carl H. Low­den, 1915 (MI­DI, score). Low­den orig­in­al­ly wrote the mu­sic—to dif­fe­rent words—for a Child­ren’s Day ser­vice. Two years lat­er, he came across the mu­sic in his files, and asked Chis­holm if he could write lyr­ics for it. The re­sult has been trans­lat­ed into more than 15 lan­guag­es. www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/l/o/w/lowden_ch.htm Perle Mesta between Bess and President Harry Truman. 1889 Perle Reid Mesta (née Skirvin) (d 16 March 1975) was an American socialite, political hostess, and U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg (1949–1953). Mesta was known as the "hostess with the mostest" for her lavish parties featuring the brightest stars of Washington, D.C., society, including artists, entertainers and many top-level national political figures. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Mesta 1893 Velvalee Dickinson (b ca. 1980), was convicted of espionage against the United States on behalf of Japan during World War II. Known as the "Doll Woman", she used her business in New York City to send information on U.S. Naval forces to contacts in South America via steganographic messages. She was finally caught when one of her contacts in Buenos Aires moved and her messages were returned. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvalee_Dickinson 1904 Lester Dent (d 1959) prolific pulp fiction author of numerous stories, best known as the main author of the series of stories about the superhuman scientist and adventurer, Doc Savage. The 159 novels written over 16 years were credited to the house name Kenneth Robeson. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_(playwright) 1908 Paul Engle (d 1991), American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as founder of the International Writing Program (IWP), both at the University of Iowa. Engle is often mistakenly credited with having founded the Iowa Writers' Workshop (an honor that more appropriately belongs to his predecessor, Wilbur Schramm). Nonetheless, perhaps no one helped to better establish the reputation of the venerable writing program than Engle. During his tenure as director (1941–1965), he was responsible for luring some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City. Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Robie Macauley, Kurt Vonnegut and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. Additionally, Engle increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O'Connor, Philip Levine, Mark Costello, Marvin Bell, Joe Nicholson, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Donald Justice, Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus and Robert Bly. During his tenure, Engle raised millions of dollars in support of the program whose shape and direction proved the model for the hundreds of writing programs that have followed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Freudenthal 1951 Edward Randall "Ed" Royce, American politician. He has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 40th District of California (map) in northern Orange County, including portions of Stanton, Cypress, Buena Park, Fullerton, Anaheim, Placentia, and Orange. Previously, he had served as representative from the 39th District of California. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Royce 1958 Stephen "Steve" Austria, former U.S. Representative for Ohio's 7th congressional district, serving from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. In December 2011, Austria announced his intention to not run for re-election for the 113th Congress in the 2012 election. During the 14 years of elected office, Austria never lost an election. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Escobedo_Cabral 1963 Lane Frost, American professional bull rider and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) member, who died in the arena at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo as a result of injuries sustained riding the bull Takin' Care of Business. (d. 1989) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_Frost Deaths 638 Pope Honorius I. The festival of the Elevation of the Cross is said to have been instituted during the pontificate of Honorius, which was marked also by considerable missionary enterprise. Much of this was centered on England, especially Wessex. He also succeeded in bringing the Irish Easter celebrations in line with the rest of the Catholic Church. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_IV 1845 Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney) (b 1780) English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to make the treatment of prisoners more humane, and she was supported in her efforts by the reigning monarch. Since 2001, she has been depicted on the Bank of England £5 note. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Fry 1852 John Lloyd Stephens (b 1805) American traveler and archaeologist whose exploration of Maya ruins in Central America and Mexico (1839-40 and 1841-42) generated the archaeology of Middle America. In 1939, as a lawyer ostensibly on a mission for the U.S. State Department, Stephens went in search of Mayan ruins, which were then all but unknown. He was accompanied by architect Frederick Catherwood, whose meticulous drawings illustrate Stephens' subsequent books. In Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, Stephens described coming upon the ruined city of Copan, which he found so captivating that he promptly purchased the site. It is now owned by the Honduran government. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lloyd_Stephens 1864 Roger Taney, 5th Supreme Court Chief Justice, first Roman Catholic to hold that office or sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the eleventh United States Attorney General. He is most remembered for delivering the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), that ruled, (erroneously) among other things, that African Americans, being considered "of an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race" at the time the Constitution was drafted, could not be considered citizens of the United States. Dissenting Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis criticized Taney's version of the origins of the U.S. constitution, pointing out: "In some of the States [...] colored persons were among those qualified by law to act on this subject. These colored persons were not only included in the body of 'the people of the United States,' by whom the Constitution was ordained and established, but in at least five of the States they had the power to act, and doubtless did act, by their suffrages, upon the question of its adoption. It would be strange, if we were to find in that instrument anything which deprived of their citizenship any part of the people of the United States who were among those by whom it was established." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Raimund_Baierlein 1912 Lewis Boss (b 1846) American astronomer best known for his compilation of two catalogues of stars (1910, 1937). In 1882 he led an expedition to Chile to observe a transit of Venus. About 1895 Boss began to plan a general catalog of stars, giving their positions and motions. After 1906, the project had support from the Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C. With an enlarged staff he observed the northern stars from Albany and the southern stars from Argentina. With the new data, he corrected catalogs that had been compiled in the past, and in 1910 he published the Preliminary General Catalogue of 6,188 Stars for the Epoch 1900. The work unfinished upon his death was completed by his son Benjamin in 1937 (General Catalogue of 33,342 Stars for the Epoch 1950, 5 vol.) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Boss 1914 Margaret E. Knight (b 1838) Prolific American inventor of machines and mechanisms for a variety of industrial and everyday purposes. She began inventing at an early age, as she was said to have contrived a safety device for controlling shuttles in powered textile looms when she was 12 years old. In 1868, she invented an attachment for paper-bag-folding machines that allowed the production of square-bottomed bags, which she patented in 1870. She also received patents for a dress and skirt shield (1883), a clasp for robes (1884), and a spit (1885). Later, among others, she received six patents over a span of years for machines used in the manufacturing of shoes. Although she was not the first woman to receive a patent, she was one of the most prolific, with 27 patents to her credit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stilwell 1954 George Welch (b 1918) World War II flying ace, a Medal of Honor nominee, and an experimental aircraft pilot after the war. Welch is best known both for being one of over 17 United States Army Air Forces fighter pilots able to get airborne to engage Japanese forces in the attack on Pearl Harbor and for allegedly being the first pilot to break the sound barrier (two weeks before Chuck Yeager) in his prototype XP-86 Sabre. However, the flight is generally not recognized as an official record because of a lack of a verifiable speed measurement and the fact that it was done in a dive, whereas Yeager's X-1 completed the feat in level flight. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Welch_(pilot) 1965 Paul Hermann Mueller (b 1899) Swiss chemist who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1948 for discovering the potent toxic effects on insects of DDT. With its chemical derivatives, DDT became the most widely used insecticide for more than 20 years and was a major factor in increased world food production. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hermann_M%C3%BCller 1971 Dean Acheson, American statesman, American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War.[1] Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (b. 1893) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Acheson 1971 Gene Vincent, American rock musician, pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. He is a member of the Rock and Roll and Rockabilly Halls of Fame. (b. 1935) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Vincent 1987 Alf Landon, American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's (GOP) nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election. (b. 1887) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alf_Landon Nash in 1951 1987 Philleo Nash government official, educator, anthropolologist, and the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1959–1961 as a Democrat. He served more than 10 years as a political appointee in the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman administrations, including as Special Assistant directly to President Harry S. Truman (1946-1952), influencing his policy on desegregation of the armed forces and federal government, as well as policy related to Native Americans and other minorities, and as his Administrative Assistant (1952-1953). (b 1909) Spike Jones, Marilyn Monroe and Murray (right) posing at a charity football game, Los Angeles, 1952 1988 Ken Murray (b 1903) American entertainer and author. 2009 Dickie Peterson American singer-songwriter and bass player (Blue Cheer) (b. 1948) 2010 Woody Peoples, American football player (b. 1943) 2010 Belva Plain, American author (b. 1919) 2011 Patricia Breslin, American actress (b. 1931) 2011 Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (b. 1941) 2012 William C. Friday, American academic (b. 1920) 2012 Norm Grabowski, American hot rod builder and actor (b. 1933) 2013 George Herbig, American astronomer and academic (b. 1920) 2013 Oscar Hijuelos, American author and academic (b. 1951) 2013 Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and academic (b. 1910) 2013 Mann Rubin, American screenwriter (b. 1927) 2014 Louise Daniel Hutchinson, American historian and educator (b. 1928) 2014 Tommy Lewis, American football player and coach (b. 1931) 2014 Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1933) Christian Feast Day: Heribert of Cologne (private feast day) St. Hilda's Day October 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Saints Martyrs Andronicus, Probus, and Tarachus at Tarsus in Cilicia (304) St. Cosmas the Hymnographer, Bishop of Maiuma (ca 787) Martyr Domnica of Anazarbus in Cilicia (286) Hieromartyr Maximilian, bishop of Noricum (ca 284) St. Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours (397) Saints Amphilochius (1452), Macarius (1480) and Tarasius (1440), abbots, and Theodosius (15th century), monk, of Glushitsa (Glushetskry) Monastery, Vologda, disciples of St. Dionysius of Glushitsa St. Euphrosyne (Mezenova) the Faster, schema-abbess of Siberia (1918) New Hiero-confessor Nicholas (Mogilevsky), metropolitan of Alma-Ata (1955) Greek Calendar: Virgin Martyr Anastasia of Rome (ca 250) St. Theodotus, Bishop of Ephesus Martyrs Malfethos and Anthea St. Jason, Bishop of Damascus St. Symeon the New Theologian (1022) St. Theosebius the God-bearer, of Arsinoe in Cyprus Other commemorations Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos “Jerusalem” (48) and “Kaluga” (1748) Freethought Day (United States)

i don't know

Oct 11, 1975 saw the introduction of what TV staple, hosted by George Carlin, with Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests?

1000+ images about Saturday Night Live--the original--the best! on Pinterest | Chevy, Buck henry and Chevy chase On October NBC premiered a show called NBC’s Saturday Night. It featured a cast including Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, George Coe and Michael O’Donoghue and was produced by Lorne Michaels. See More

Saturday Night Live

Rescued earlier today, in what country were 33 gold/copper miners trapped below surface, since August 5th, setting a world record for the long time trapped in a mine?

Phone Carriers Win a Skirmish in Cable Wars By Matt Richtel The New York Times Dec. 21, 2006 Ken Belson contributed reporting. Telephone companies got some help yesterday in elbowing their way into the video arena that the cable industry has dominated. Arguing that cable television rates have surged in the absence of robust competition, federal regulators moved to speed up the local approval process for phone companies seeking to compete. The action came in a 3-to-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission. The ruling does not force municipalities to grant phone companies a video franchise, but it does require a decision within 90 days. Phone carriers, notably Verizon, have asserted that some municipalities are slow to grant approvals, often in the face of cable industry lobbying. If it succeeds in fostering competition, the decision could eventually affect the rates and services available to the roughly 100 million households that pay for access to television. The decision is part of a fierce political, regulatory and business battle between the cable and telephone companies. They are battling town by town and household by household to get a share of the growing amount Americans spend on their monthly telecommunications bills. Cable companies have made considerable inroads at offering telephone service and high-speed Internet access. Telephone companies have in the last year entered cable's traditional turf, television, and say this decision will fuel their offensive. This means an end to the automatic skyrocketing in cable prices and means greater choice in service and programming, said David Fish, a Verizon spokesman. But industry analysts said that the decision would not prompt overnight change, in part because it is likely to face a court challenge, but also because the biggest challenge to the phone companies remains the technical and financial logistics of entering a costly new business. The F.C.C. found that municipalities were unnecessarily and unfairly delaying approval of franchise agreements, refusing them unreasonably, or making unrelated demands, like requiring financing for public swimming pools or recreation centers. Cable industry officials said they objected to the decision, arguing it creates an uneven playing field by not similarly expediting the process for renewal of their own franchises the typically multiyear agreements that allow cable companies to provide television access in a community in exchange for a tax of around 5 percent of their sales. The industry also rejected F.C.C. data indicating that cable television prices had risen steadily in recent years, even as competition had driven down the cost of other telecommunications services, like Internet and phone access. The commission found that the average monthly rate for cable service increased 5.2 percent, to $43.04, in 2004 alone, and 93 percent in less than a decade. Kyle McSlarrow, president and chief executive of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said those figures were taken from published rate cards, and thus ignored the reality that most subscribers get discounts or other deals. He said the prices also did not reflect the discounts offered when subscribers buy bundles of telephone, Internet and television service. Roughly 66 million American households pay for cable service, compared with around 28 million who get satellite access. There are only a few million who get it through telephone lines. Bills introduced in Congress this year would have eased the franchise approval process, either by making it national or creating a national standard, but no legislation was ultimately approved. There have also been political battles at the state level, with the phone companies seeking a statewide approval process that would circumvent municipal franchising. They have prevailed in states including Texas, New Jersey and California. Jessica Zufolo, an analyst who studies the telecommunications market on behalf of investors, called the F.C.C. decision a huge victory for the Bells, but said it's a somewhat pyrrhic victory because there's a high, high litigation risk. She said cities in particular might sue, arguing that the F.C.C. had overstepped its authority. Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, who voted against the proposal, asserted that the agency lacked the authority to rule as it had. And Jim L. Haggerton, vice chairman of the Information Technology and Communications Committee of the National League of Cities, said the ruling took away municipalities' rightful power. We're totally opposed to the federal government making the decisions for cities across the country, said Mr. Haggerton, who sits on the city council in Tukwila, Wash. Kevin J. Martin, the commission chairman, who voted in favor of the new rule, emphasized the finding that insufficient competition was fueling a rise in cable rates. It is critical then that the commission act to remove regulatory barriers to the ability of a second cable operator to enter the market, he said in a statement. The most aggressive effort to compete against cable companies has come from Verizon. The company said it provided television service to 1.2 million customers, and had franchise agreements in about 300 municipalities including 25 in New York State, mostly on Long Island. That is a small fraction of the more than 3,000 municipalities Verizon said it needed to reach to achieve its goal of providing television service in 60 percent of its telephone territory. Mr. Fish of Verizon said agreements in other cities had taken many months; he said 83 percent of franchise negotiations with cities had been going on for more than a year. AT&T, the nation's other big phone company, is so far offering television service in two markets, Houston and San Antonio. Michael Balmoris, a company spokesman, said AT&T's position was that because it was delivering television service over telephone lines, it was not subject to local franchise regulation. But it has already encountered local skirmishes over related issues. For example, he said that multiple cities in Illinois had not allowed AT&T to upgrade its network to high-speed fiber lines on the ground that doing so would effectively permit the company to offer video service without a franchise agreement. We can use the F.C.C. item today in litigation to show we should be able to upgrade our lines, he said. Still, analysts said the chief hurdle for telephone companies would be laying lines in the ground capable of delivering television, then convincing consumers to switch. The F.C.C. decision certainly alleviates something of a challenge that Verizon and AT&T have to go through, said Alan Bezoza, telecommunications industry analyst with Oppenheimer & Company. But the biggest challenge will be just rolling this out. CBS plays by Sandler's 'Rules' Network says goodbye to 'King' By Josef Adalian, Variety December 20, 2006 CBS is giving new Adam Sandler-produced laffer "Rules of Engagement" the best comedy timeslot on TV while finalizing plans to say goodbye to "The King of Queens" after nine seasons. Starting Feb. 5, "Rules" will run Mondays at 9:30 p.m. behind the top-rated "Two and a Half Men," the Eye will announce today. Its premiere will come one day after CBS airs Super Bowl XLI, allowing the net to give the David Spade-Patrick Warburton laffer a major promo push during the big game. CBS Paramount and Sony Pictures TV produce "Rules" in association with Sandler's Happy Madison shingle. Tom Hertz, Jack Giarraputo and Doug Robinson are exec producers. Move will mean a timeslot switch for "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which has occupied the plum slot after "Men" since its premiere last spring. After a brief hiatus during February, "Old Christine" will shift to Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on March 12. "The Class," which currently airs in the 8:30 p.m. slot, will wrap its first season on March 5. Eye's strategy is designed to virtually eliminate comedy repeats in the 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Monday timeslots. Net also wants to give all of its comedy players a fair shake on Mondays before it makes up its mind about how to schedule the night next season. Sked shuffle marks a major vote of confidence in "Rules." Eye execs are no doubt hoping the male-skewing "Rules," which features a heavy dose of ribald humor, will be a better fit with "Men" than the more femme-friendly "Old Christine." While "Christine" has been a solid performer on Mondays and has even landed on some critics' year-end top 10 lists, skein still loses about 20% of its lead-in. Not helping matters: "Christine" has had to face off against the red-hot "Heroes" for most of the fall. As for "Rules," CBS plans to air seven episodes of the laffer on Mondays. On April 9, net will bring back "King of Queens" -- which goes on hiatus after its Jan. 3 broadcast -- in the 9:30 p.m. Monday slot. CBS will have seven episodes of "Queens" in the can, which means the skein's series finale will likely air on May 21. Net hasn't locked in any dates for the finale, however. Wow, I didn't know NBC brass had the cojones to do this. Good for them! TV/Internet Notebook Censored SNL' Sketch Jumps Bleepless Onto the Internet By Jacques Steinberg The New York Times December 21, 2006 The nearly three-minute digital film, shown on Saturday Night Live last Saturday, was a parody of two boy-band singers (including one played by the real Justin Timberlake) crooning a holiday song about making a gift to their girlfriends of their male anatomy, which they appeared to have wrapped in boxes (strategically placed) and then topped with bows. Given the subject matter, it was little surprise that NBC bleeped a recurring word in the chorus 16 times. But soon after the broadcast concluded at 1 a.m. Sunday, viewers who'd seen the bit on TV (and others who had just heard about it) could find the uncensored version online. That's because the network itself had placed it on its own Web site (nbc.com) and YouTube.com, under the headings Special Treat in a Box or Special Christmas Box. In less than a week the official uncensored version of the video has been viewed by over two million people on YouTube alone. In the process Saturday Night Live appears to have become the first scripted comedy on a broadcast network to use the Web to make an end-run around the prying eyes of both its internal censors and those of the Federal Communications Commission, whose jurisdiction over Saturday Night Live effectively ends at the Web frontier. Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live, cautioned in an interview that the strategy of treating Internet users to the equivalent of an authorized director's cut of his late-night show will be the exception going forward. But he also predicted that other shows and networks, time and money permitting, would surely follow NBC's lead in making available material that was deemed not ready for prime time, or even late night. My sense is that, as always, now that the door has been opened, some things will go through it, he said. For Saturday Night Live the ubiquity of Special Treat on the Web this week has proved to be yet another digital stake planted firmly in unexplored ground. Almost a year ago a rap parody from the show (featuring two characters waxing rhapsodic about eating cupcakes and watching The Chronicles of Narnia on the Upper West Side) became one of the first bootleg videos to demonstrate the vast potential of YouTube, the portal through which millions of viewers were able to see it. (While NBC quickly ordered YouTube to take down the video, which was titled Lazy Sunday and protected by copyright, the network later reached agreement with the Web site to showcase copyrighted material from its shows, including The Office and Saturday Night Live, on a dedicated page stocked by the network itself.) The common denominator in Special Treat and Lazy Sunday as well as another Saturday Night Live favorite on You Tube featuring the actress Natalie Portman and her supposed bad-girl side is a performer on the show, Andy Samberg, and a supporting cast of producers he brought with him to Saturday Night Live from a pioneering Web site called Lonely Island. The idea for Special Treat was hatched, Mr. Samberg said, when Mr. Michaels called him into his office last Tuesday and asked that he try to write something funny that would showcase the singing skills of Mr. Timberlake, who was both the host and musical guest. Mr. Samberg and his colleagues including Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone presented a rough draft of the song to Mr. Timberlake on Thursday afternoon, and after they reworked it to his specifications, they recorded the voice track on special equipment in Mr. Samberg's office around midnight. They spent Friday and much of Saturday filming the video in and around New York, and not until 4 p.m. Saturday less than eight hours before the show was to go live was the video in sufficient shape to be shown to the NBC executive responsible for late-night programming, Rick Ludwin. While the show's producers had already concluded on their own that the video would have to be bleeped to be broadcast, they had a special request for Mr. Ludwin: Would he permit the uncensored version to be made available on the Web? My first instinct, without having seen anything, was that we probably shouldn't do that, Mr. Ludwin said later in an interview. My thought was that even though it's going on the Internet, it's still representing NBC. But I hadn't seen it yet. So I said it would depend on how dirty it was. Drawing close to a monitor adjacent to the show's vaunted eighth-floor studio, Mr. Ludwin watched as Mr. Timberlake (in a blond wig) and Mr. Samberg (decked out with a close-cropped beard that made him look like the pop singer's twin brother) sang of the various holidays on which they wanted to present their special gift (including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa) and the various settings (including backstage at the Country Music Association Awards.) We were all laughing, said Mr. Ludwin, who had been accompanied by a representative from the NBC legal department. And then Mr. Ludwin said he had a change of heart. Those people who go on the Internet will not be shocked by this, Mr. Ludwin recalled thinking. Obviously there are some people who will be offended. Those people are probably unlikely to go searching for it on the Internet. It's just funny. Still, the material was touchy enough, Mr. Ludwin said, that he sought final approval for the Web version of the video from the highest echelons of NBC, including Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment , and Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal Television Group.. Both approved the idea, he said. Another executive suggested that a disclaimer be placed before the Web-only version of the video that warned of its explicit content, a proposal that was immediately accepted. As yet another production featuring Mr. Samberg spreads like electronic wildfire, the performer said he was pleased that the show was becoming so adept at finding alternate routes to viewers, beyond the 6.5 million who, on average, watch the show on NBC each Saturday night, according to Nielsen Media Research. (A figure that is down slightly since last year at this time.) A sign now of success with a certain audience when you do a short comedy piece, anywhere, is that it gets on YouTube and gets around, Mr. Samberg said. It's always something you're thinking about unconsciously. It's not our main objective. But there's no part of us that doesn't want to be on YouTube. Which is not to say that NBC intends to make such decisions lightly in the future. We're still not going to put just anything out there, said Jeff Gaspin, president of digital content for NBC Universal. We still have to protect the brands. Seth Meyers, the show's head writer, said that he and Mr. Michaels were also mindful that sometimes the funniest material whether on their show, or Howard Stern's radio show was borne of butting up against boundaries, either from the outside or self-imposed. Sizing up the two versions of the Special Treat video, Mr. Meyers observed, The most interesting thing is that it's actually not funnier uncensored. TV Notebook NBC: Fourth hour of Today is strong possibility Amid growing rumors, a spokesperson says that a decision on whether to expand the early-morning leader will come early next year. By Harry A. Jessell TV NewsDay Dec 20, 2006 "There is a strong possibility that NBC News will expand the The Today Show by adding a fourth hour, NBC News spokesperson Megan Kopf told TVNEWSDAY today. A decision on the long-rumored move will come early next year, Kopf said, declining further comment. Variety first reported that NBC was looking at expanding the early-morning ratings leader last August. But the network knocked down the report in B&C. The New York Post reported last week that Billy Bush was auditioning to host the extra hour and broadcasters and station reps told TVNEWSDAY this week that they believed it was a done deal. One NBC affiliate said the hour would be added next September at the start of the 2007-08 TV season and that the move would be coupled with the cancellation of Passions, NBC's low-rated afternoon soap opera so that affiliates would lose an hour in the morning, but gain one in the early afternoon. The industry sources say the fourth hour was prompted by the inability of NBC Universal to come up with strong syndicated programming in daytime for the NBC O&Os. They said that the expected cancellation of first-year talk show Megan Mullally will punch a hole in the stations' daytime schedules that will need to be filled. For many years, Today ran two hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET. It expanded to three hours in October 2000 after a companion one-hour program, Later Today, flopped in the 9 o'clock hour. Have these characters gotten 'Lost' on the way to other shows? Maureen Ryan's Chicago Tribune 'The Watcher' TV Blog Dec. 20, 2006 Now this is one of the better Lost ideas in ages: Amy, one of the resident bloggers at AmysRobot.com , has decided the best way to both improve the ABC show and add much-needed spice to the rest of the lackluster fall lineup is to deport some of the characters from the show to other programs. Amy's suggestions: -Jack: He's got daddy issues. Big time. So why not move him to House, where he could adopt Dr. House as his new brilliant but emotionally-distant, dysfunctional father figure? -Sawyer: Although we appreciate the gesture, making Sawyer shirtless for six episodes does not equal character development. We need more of the Sawyer sass -- and where better to see it in effect than sunny California? Sawyer and The O.C.'s Julie Cooper would be an unstoppable team. -Sayid: Our favorite ex-Republican Guard interrogator would bring many new scenes of reckless torture [to 24']. I'm going to shoot him in the knee, Sayid.' No, Jack, I think you will find shooting him in the stomach will be much more effective.' -Sun and Jin: With Sun's sailing skills and Jin's, um, negotiating skills, they'd kick [butt] on The Amazing Race.' 'World News' leads with coveted viewer group By Gail Shister, Philadelphia Enquirer December 20, 2006 Dare we call it a trend? For the second consecutive week, Charlie Gibson's ABC World News edged Brian Williams' NBC Nightly News for first place among 25-to-54- year-old viewers. No big deal to the world at large, but it's a streaking comet in the galaxy of network news, where advertisers pay a premium to reach 25-to-54-year-old adults. Being No. 1 among total viewers makes for nifty bragging rights, but it's 25-to-54 that carries the freight. "I'm a little reluctant to call it a trend at two, but who knows," says World News boss Jon Banner. "If it is a trend, we like where it's heading." ABC scored 2.67 million viewers in the key demographic last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's a mere 30,000 ahead of NBC, but 10,000 more than ABC's lead the previous week. Katie Couric's CBS Evening News was third with 2.27 million. NBC Nightly News chief John Reiss downplays ABC's back-to-back wins. (Quelle surprise!) "I don't make much of it," he says. "The demo race has always been very close, so it's no shock if ABC slips by us for a week or two. This is nothing, 50,000 viewers over two weeks. Now if ABC beat us in total viewers, I'd be hiding under my desk." Reiss doesn't have to hide yet. NBC retained its overall winning skein, averaging 9.0 million total viewers compared with ABC's 8.5 million. CBS limped in with 7.5 million. Still, all the networks will find coal in their stockings on Christmas (again) as their numbers continue to plunge. Compared with the same week a year ago, NBC is down 10 percent in total viewers and 17 percent in the demo. ABC is down 2 and 9 percent, and CBS, 5 and 12 percent. As those elves at ABC helpfully point out, it marks the sixth consecutive week that CBS has declined in total viewers and the fifth time in six weeks it's dropped in the demo. "The demo is how we make our money. It's vital," says ABC's Banner. "Total viewers is for bragging rights. Both are important." Network-news analyst Andrew Tyndall attributes ABC's success in the 25-to-54 group more to Couric and Williams than to Gibson. Some of the younger viewers migrating to Couric's CBS Evening News are defections from Williams' NBC Nightly News, Tyndall says. As a countermeasure, NBC is doing more features aimed at baby boomers, he says. Tyndall points to Nightly News' Dec. 11 broadcast as an example. It included two boomer-driven reports, on the spike of Alzheimer's disease among middle-aged people and on Madison Avenue's increased spending on ads targeted to boomers. "If you put your resources into the fight to grow an audience, you try to grow younger rather than older viewers," Tyndall says. "There's less payoff in attracting people over 65. Advertisers don't want them, and they're not going to be around that long." Nightly News' Reiss disputes Tyndall's theory. "We're not chasing the demo. We're covering the news. Clearly, we are aware of who our viewers are. We don't cater to 15-year-olds. If we do some stories on boomers, it's not an accident. A lot of our viewers are boomers." ABC's Banner also insists that World News isn't doing anything differently. "Week to week, the mission of our broadcast has remained consistent... . We think that Charlie's hitting his stride. This is an important, complicated time in our country, and Charlie has the unique ability to make sense of it all." Mea culpa. Contrary to what was reported in this space yesterday, Tom Brokaw's mother, 89, is alive and well in Southern California. Black flight: Big Four pick up CW loss New network loses half of UPN-WB's black viewers By Kevin Downey, Media Life Magazine December 20, 2006 It was a big concern among media buyers when the WB and UPN merged into the CW: Where would UPN's African-American audience go once that network's largely black lineup was squished into a two-hour block on the new network? It turns out the CW is only picking up perhaps half the black audience who used to watch UPN and the WB. But contrary to earlier fears, the other half have not quit watching television. They've simply scattered to other networks. New information from Nielsen Media Research shows that the number of African Americans watching the broadcast networks is virtually unchanged from last season. Actually, it's even up a tad. The African-American audience on the broadcast networks in primetime this season is about 9.3 million households, on average, versus 9.2 million last season. Overall, the WB-UPN merger resulted in the loss of perhaps a million young viewers. These are people who apparently simply quit watching television entirely. It was assumed that a good share of them were blacks because of the reduced number of black-skewing shows on the merged network. But it appears the effect was rather to move them to other broadcast networks. By decreasing the amount of programming available, [the CW] is forcing people to go to other places to find their entertainment, explains Linda Jefferson, senior vice president and director of integrated marketing strategies at Burrell Communications. The CW's primetime rating among African Americans for the season through Dec. 15 is a 3.2. That is just over half the 6.2 rating UPN had last season. It's also well above the WB's 1.4 but not enough to make up the difference. CBS and NBC each have a 3.6 rating, with CBS slightly down and NBC up from a 2.8. ABC has a 3.5, down from a 4 rating, and Fox is about flat with a 3.1 rating. What's interesting is that those black viewers have not migrated to cable. Cable's black ratings are unchanged from last year. As part of the migration to the Big Four broadcast networks, some shows with multi-racial casts are seeing notable gains in black viewers. CBS's CSI: Miami, for instance, has a 7 rating so far this season among African Americans 18-49, up from a 6.2 last year, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen ratings released this week. NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is also up, to a 6.3 from a 5.8 rating. Other programs doing well in this demographic include NBC's "Sunday Night Football," the third highest-rated show in this demographic, Fox's House, and ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars. Moreover, ratings among African Americans are starting to pick up for black-oriented programs on the CW, says Sam Armando, senior vice president and director of video research at Starcom. The network goofed early this season by slotting its African-American programs on Sunday, where shows like Everybody Hates Chris slumped against tough competition. The CW now airs these programs on Monday, where they had long been a staple on UPN. The average ratings this season for shows like Girlfriends reflect the troubles the CW was having on Sundays. The 18-49 rating for Girlfriends among African Americans, for example, is a 7.7, compared to a 10.7 last year, when it was the top-rated program. The CW's America's Next Top Model is currently the top-rated show among blacks, but its rating has dipped to a 7.8 from an 8.3. We've seen the ratings go up since [the CW] moved these shows to Monday, says Armando. If they stay at these higher levels for the rest of the year, you will see the CW end the year higher than where they started off. Quoted: 1679 Post(s) Liked: 1055 Thanks kizzo. I'm sure the CW executives were not trying to drive black viewers away from their network when they came up with their Fall '06 schedule. Unfortunately they fell into the same trap that kept UPN black-oriented programming a niche': programming all their black shows into an "urban" block on the same night. That might have worked on a night when there's limited competition, but on Sunday night? That's when the really good TV shows are all over the networks and viewers (of any race!) are spread pretty thin between all of them. Even now, on Mondays, the CW's black shows are suffering by being programmed opposite good TV shows like the multi-ethnic (and entertaining as hell) Heroes or the CBS sitcoms. Keep posting kizzo, and thanks again for reading! Curse defied: 'Nip/Tuck' hits new high Series ends season with a new cable record By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine December 20, 2006 Call it the curse of Laura Palmer. It works this way. A show cooks up a nifty plotline, sort of a perpetual cliffhanger, that keeps audiences in front of their TV sets for an entire season. Then bang, the reveal. In the case of "Twin Peaks," we learn that it was Laura's dad who killed her. Big buzz. Big ratings. Now comes the new season. Audiences come streaming back. But this time there's no new compelling narrative arc, just the self-contained weekly episodes of the earlier season. Viewers drift away, and soon ratings are back where they were. Which is what happened to "Twin Peaks" in the early 90s. The challenge facing FX's Nip/Tuck this season was to defy the Laura Palmer curse coming back after last season's serial killer The Carver was unmasked. Its writers pulled it off, and quite well, it seems. Rather than sink this season, Nip/Tuck's" ratings rose slightly, giving the show its best season and the best season ever on cable for an original scripted show, according to FX, averaging 2.766 million viewers among adults 18-49, up from last year's 2.696 million. Last week's finale, airing Tuesday at 10 p.m., averaged 2.38 million in the demo. The numbers will rise slightly once final digital video recorder ratings are also calculated, which were not included in last season's totals. "Nip/Tuck's writers were able to beat the curse by smartly writing in elements into last season's scripts that would emerge as this season's major recurring themes, such as Matt's relationship issues. Returning viewers had something to carry them forward in place of the Carver arc. Nip/Tuck also turned to big-name stars as guests. But rather than simply toss them in front of the camera as cameos, the writers created roles with real heft. Audience not only saw Brooke Shields and Rosie O'Donnell, they saw them act. Shields played a sexually deviant therapist quite opposite her usual good-girl characters. And Rosie O'Donnell, way hot right now on The View, played a trailer trash lottery winner who bought plastic surgery for her entire family. Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Dec. 17: Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, ESPN, TBS, TNT, ABC Family Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, ESPN, ABC Family, Lifetime, TNT Top movie (18-49s): TBS's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Sunday 8 p.m.) 2.88 million Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's Monday Night Football (Bears vs. Rams) (Monday 8:30 p.m.) 11.2 million Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's Bears/Rams (Monday 8:30 p.m.); FX's Nip Tuck (Tuesday 10 p.m.); USA's WWE Entertainment (Monday 10 p.m.); TBS's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Sunday 8 p.m.); TNT's The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Sunday 8 p.m.) Show on the rise: Showtime's Dexter (Sunday 10 p.m.) The first season finale drew 1.1 million total viewers, the most-watched original program on the network since 2004, when Nielsen began tracking ratings separate from Showtime Plex. Show on the decline: MTV's The Real World (Wednesday, 10 p.m.) The granddaddy of all reality shows attracted 2.18 million households last week, off 11 percent from 2.45 million the previous week. Over that span, the show fell from No. 26 to No. 37 on basic cable. Quoted: 1679 Post(s) Liked: 1055 Speaking of the declining 'Real World' franchise, does anybody know why (as the article below states) the earlier seasons of 'The Real World' didn't air in Canada? Seems like a no-brainer that this show would be seen in Canada as well as American while it was red-hot, but apparently that wasn't the case. TV Notebook MTV trailblazer gets hot 'n' steamy By Bill Harris, Toronto Sun December 20, 2006 The Real World is just one step removed from soft porn. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But that's just to let you know what you'll be dealing with if you decide to tune into The Real World: Denver, which makes its Canadian debut tonight at 10 on MTV. A strong argument can be made that the wide range of reality TV that exists today is The Real World's fault. It made its debut in 1992 on MTV in the United States -- before Survivor, before The Amazing Race, before the Internet had entered the wider public consciousness -- and was one of the main pioneers of the notion that sticking cameras in front of everyday morons could be intriguing. And for better or worse, The Real World helped create an entire generation that seems quite comfortable being in front of a camera 24 hours a day. The Real World is a cultural touchstone among the younger crowd south of the border, where it is the longest-running program in MTV history. However, it's virtually unknown in Canada, for the very obvious reason that the show did not air here in the years when it was breaking new ground. Canada has its own version of MTV now and the northern branch plant is trying to play a little catchup. But The Real World isn't exactly unique in 2006, so you'll have to find another reason to watch -- like maybe that soft-porn thing. The concept of The Real World is to pick seven good-looking strangers to live together in a cool house, with cameras recording all their shenanigans and fights and sexual escapades. The show moves to a different city every season and is set to a loud soundtrack of whatever music is trendy at the time. The producers do their best to pick people who are destined to grate on each other. The Real World: Denver has brought together four guys and three girls, between 21 and 24 years of age, from varying backgrounds. The three girls -- Brooke, Colie and Jenn -- all are cute, depending upon your personal tastes. They like to sunbathe in bikinis and are not shy about their sexuality, although in the first episode Brooke claims that she is not attracted in any way to any of the males in the house. Maybe that's why Brooke immediately starts making out with Jenn in the hot tub. One of the horny males, Tyrie, is in the hot tub, too, but his plea of "Can I join in a little bit?" goes unanswered. "I've been here for less than 12 hours and I've already seen two women get on each other," Tyrie says afterward. "If that's happening on the first day, the sky's the limit." Not that Jenn's tastes are impeccable, though. She spent the previous four years as a cheerleader for, as she puts it, "the most prestigious team in the NFL, the Oakland Raiders." Uh, Jenn, have you checked the standings lately? As for the other males, there's Alex, the heartthrob who immediately pits two of the girls against each other; Davis, the obligatory homosexual; and Stephen, the hard-line Republican who conveniently thinks Davis' lifestyle is an affront to God. It's the Davis-versus-Stephen angle that seems the most contrived, and the most American. Ironically, it's Tyrie (who, like Stephen, is black) who has the most interesting thing to say on this subject matter during the first episode: "The majority of the black community is homophobic. That has just sort of been passed on, but it's not something that's really discussed in our community." There isn't much real insight like that in The Real World. It's more about pampered and self-centred American kids living up to their stereotypes. But hey, sometimes hot chicks, hunky dudes and confined spaces are real enough to mesmerize the 20-year-old within all of us. Quoted: 1679 Post(s) Liked: 1055 Interesting revelation from Al Franken toward the end of this article about the circumstances that led to his leaving 'SNL' back in the mid-90's. TV-on-DVD Notebook Ground-breaking TV from SNL's glory days By Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun December 21, 2006 On Oct. 11, 1975, a TV star was born, in the collective sense. It was the now-legendary debut of Saturday Night Live, a sketch comedy and variety show that, astonishingly, still survives. So here we are, more than 31 years later, and SNL original Al Franken is struggling to recall those halcyon days at the beginning. Why? Because Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season just arrived on DVD this week in Canada (it was out Dec. 5 in the U.S.). "Is like everything out on DVD?" Franken teases by telephone from Los Angeles. "I mean, oh my God! This isn't like us going into the Smithsonian -- it's a DVD." The eight-disc set, despite a paucity of bonus materials limited to screen tests and vintage cast interviews, takes us from the debut show hosted by George Carlin, and featuring singers Billy Preston and Janis Ian, to the season finale July 31, 1976, with Kris Kristofferson as host and Rita Coolidge joining Kristofferson as the music guests. Franken, who started on SNL as a writer and then segued into on-screen acting duties as well, warms to the act of reminiscing. "It doesn't seem silly at all. I think that it's neat. It's neat that we actually did something historic. Okay, not historic, but ground-breaking, how about that? If you're talking about TV, it's historic." Live from Studio 8H in the Rockefeller Centre, and broadcast on NBC, SNL showcased and propelled a young cast of comics to stardom. Several had Canadian roots (likewise with producer Lorne Michaels). The originals included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner. 'GOING TO BE HUGE' Franken, who was hired to write along with his stand-up partner Tom Davis, remembers on the first day declaring, "with my youthful arrogance, 'This is going to be a great hit! This is going to be huge!' " Davis rolled his eyes. Franken says his initial enthusiasm was based on a primal instinct about the nature of the show, and its origins. "This is the first time that our generation has been allowed on TV to do this," he recalls bragging then. "This is the first time that the generation who grew up watching TV is going to be able to do TV." The writers, performers and producers were all rebellious, post-hippy youth, Franken says. "There was a thing called counter-culture, you know. We were like a counter-culture show ... and I was right. It was a hit. "I think we were all pretty excited from the beginning. You know what? The idea wasn't to have a hit show. It was a very idealistic group. We just felt that our job was to do the funniest show that we could. So that's all we cared about." On the debut show -- on video that looks crappy now but still contains its comedy gems -- host Carlin did a wry monologue comparing baseball to football. Chevy Chase launched the Weekend Update with a Jimmy Hoffa joke. Andy Kaufman did his weird and wonderful Mighty Mouse routine. Belushi faked being a victim of shark bite. Jim Henson's Muppets made an odd appearance. An out-of-studio satirical skit had cast members on a flatbed truck urging the public to "Show Us Your Guns." "It was just like having fun," Franken says now. "We just thought of it as: Wow! We got to do stuff on TV!" Franken spent 15 years on SNL, in two distinct segments. He angrily left for good in 1995 when he was denied the Update job, and went on to comedy publishing with his hit political book, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot. "There really wasn't a bitterness for more than like an hour," Franken says. "What happened was that I thought I was sort of entitled to get Update." Norm MacDonald got it instead. "I was just kind of sad because I was going to leave the show," Franken says. "I was more scared but I wasn't bitter. I also thought Norm was really good. I thought that Norm did a fabulous job. In retrospect, it was actually the right decision. And, fortunately, I landed on my feet." So now he can happily go back in time, even 31 years. 5 Things That Went From Buzz to Bust By Lev Grossman & Belinda Luscombe, Time 12/25/06 Print Issue SNAKES ON A PLANE, AUDIENCE DISEMBARKS When the words Snakes on a Plane hit the Internet, you could almost hear the hisses of delight. Net users celebrated the old-school cheesiness of the movie's premise and urged the studio, New Line Cinema, to amp up the film's violence. But like snakes, Internet hype can't be tamed, and like flying, it's not that easy to get right. When Snakes finally opened, it was box-office venom, taking in a mere $34 million, not even half of cheapie horror flick Saw III. IF HE DID IT Twelve years after his wife and her friend were murdered, O.J. Simpson, who, you may recall, was accused of their murders, suggested he was no longer in mourning by writing a fictional account of their deaths, titled If I Did It. He also agreed to do a Fox TV interview with his publisher, Judith Regan. After an outcry from, really, practically everyone, the book was pulled from stores and the TV interview canceled. STUDIO SCHMUDIO How, pundits asked, could Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip miss? It was made by the guy who did The West Wing! It had that funny guy from Friends! It was about Saturday Night Live! There had been a network bidding war for it! But after the first episode, viewership plummeted, and while the show is not exactly a failure, it's not a success. And it's pretty expensive to be only the 51st most popular on TV. On the other hand, Seinfeld started badly too. TO PLAY'S THE THING The big story in computer games this year was HOW TO BLOW A HUGE LEAD, by Sony. Its PlayStation 2 was the champ in the last round of the console wars. This time Sony bet on a chip called the Cell and a disc format called Blu-ray. They're probably awesome, but how would anybody know? The PS3 is hideously expensive--it goes for up to $600--and Sony manufactured only a piddling few hundred thousand for the U.S., fewer for Japan. Plus it's hard to write games for; the launch titles were lame. You know you're in trouble when you get beat by something called a Wii. IT ALL WENT DOWNHILL SO FAST Ah, Bode Miller, the bad boy of Torino. Profiled and promoted in media as diverse as 60 Minutes, Rolling Stone and, ahem, TIME, he was bound to disappoint. But not the way he did. Of the five Olympic events in which he was expected to medal, he did not finish two, was disqualified in one and finished fifth and sixth in the others. After being touted as the best of America--talented, free-spirited and confident--he left Italy as that other type: reckless, careless and cocky. Currently ranked ninth in the world in overall Alpine events, he's making that trudge back up the hill. Quoted: 1679 Post(s) Liked: 1055 Interesting experiment! I wonder which of these two versions of the same 'Monk' episode will score a higher rating, the B&W 9PM version or the 10PM color one. Critic's Notebook 'Leper' case gives fits to a shaky shamus By David Hinckley, New York Daily News December 21, 2006 'MR. MONK AND THE LEPER' Friday, 9 p.m. (B&W) & 10 p.m. (Color), USA. RATING: THREE STARS (OUT OF FOUR) The mere fact it is airing an original show during holiday rerun season would have set "Monk" apart from almost everything else on the air. Tomorrow night's "Mr. Monk and the Leper," however, would be unique in almost any season. Not only unique, but pretty darn good. The unique part is easy enough to grasp: This episode is shot in black and white, with the goal of evoking 1930s film noir. We know that because star Tony Shalhoub explains it in a brief -introductory sequence. When the show starts, Monk immediately runs into characters who could have escaped from an old Jimmy Cagney movie, the kind where the women are "dames" and deception is the name of everyone's game. If you like "The Maltese Falcon," you'll like this. If you don't know "The Maltese Falcon," you should. Shot beautifully with the kind of shadows that suggest menace around every corner, "Mr. Monk and the Leper" contains enough violence to convince the viewer that no one is safe, while at the same time not losing the humor that makes Adrian Monk the quirky neurotic he is. Monk has gotten a call to meet in a dimly lit bar with a billionaire who vanished and presumably died seven years earlier. He's okay with that, he tells Monk, but now he needs some help because he's about to be declared legally dead and his dear wife will lose his estate. It isn't until the end of the chat that he reveals why he's been lying low: He has leprosy. Fans will immediately anticipate and relish the impact this has on Monk, for whom germs are an A-list phobia. Realizing he has shaken hands with a real-life leper, Monk scrubs his right hand for several hours. Then he pours kerosene on it and asks his assistant Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger) to set it on fire. Not surprisingly, this joke continues through the show, peaking with an elaborate reprise of a classic Jack Benny joke that itself dates to the golden age of film noir. Still, "Mr. Monk and the Leper" never lets the humor ruin its inner noir. Monk has no trouble acting appropriately nervous, of course, and Teeger again does a fine job as his link to the rest of the world. Traylor's daughter Julie (Emmy Clarke) also gets a cute scene, in which she and Monk discover Traylor is paying each to baby-sit the other. For modernists who can't bear black and white, by the way, the program will be repeated at 10 in color. If you have any appreciation for style, you'll want to see the early show. The Business of (Regulating Public) TV Bush Pushes Bell Onto CBP Board By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable December 21, 2006 The administration will ring in the new year with a Bell. The President Wednesday named conservative Hollywood TV writer and programmer Warren Bell to fill the remaining vacant seat on the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The recess appointment came after the Senate took no action on the president's June nomination of Bell. Bell's criticisms of public broadcasting, including reportedly wanting to dismantle it, raised concerns in the noncom community. Bell, was to have gotten Senate Commerce Committee vetting Sept. 21, but his nomination was taken off the agenda after some Democrats registered complaints. Pryor and Boskin went on to breeze through the hearing. Bell is an outspoken conservative TV writer and producer--According to Jim, Coach, Ellen--whose writings, and comments, concerned the public broadcasting community. The nine-member board has been revamping oversight policies in the wake of an Inspector General investigation of former Board Chairman Ken Tomlinson that concluded that it had become too politicized. Republican Tomlinson sought more conservative programming to balance what he said was a liberal bias in public broadcasting. It was a charge that has imperiled funding for the service in the Republican controlled Congress. In October, the Senate confirmed David Pryor and Chris Boskin to the board. Pryor is a former Senator and Governor of Arkansas. He is seen as a tough but fair moderate who could bring more Blue State backbone to the board. Clue: He was the dean of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark. Boskin is a magazine executive and board member of noncommercial KQED San Francisco. The Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester, a vocal Bell critic, called it a "Christmas gift to the right wing of the media establishment." But he also said it was mitigated by the fact that it is an interim appointment--the term is only until the next Congress adjourns--and the fact that the Democrats are in the majority. "Bell will have little room to maneuver with Ed Markey 9D-Mass.) staring them down," he said. Markey, the presumptive chairman of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, is one of public broadcasting's strongest supporters. Top-10 Shows which benefit from time shifting Top 10 "Timeshifted" Primetime TV Programs - 2006 Code: Rank Programs Net % Viewers added with Time Shift 1 STUDIO 60 NBC 10.9 2 HEROES NBC 9.1 3 GILMORE GIRLS CW 7.9 4 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL CW 7.7 5 30 ROCK NBC 7.5 5 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS NBC 7.5 7 NINE, THE ABC 6.7 7 SUPERNATURAL CW 6.7 9 KIDNAPPED NBC 6.6 9 ONE TREE HILL CW 6.6 9 SMALLVILLE CW 6.6 Research Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 3, 2006. Percent Increase in viewership is based on difference between Live Household Ratings and Live+7 Source: Nielsen Media Research data Here's a Fair and Balanced posting of two related stories. First... Critic's Notebook Polarized pundits piqued by puny piety Brian Lowry's Variety 'Tuning In' Column Dec. 19, 2006 For all the artistic toil invested in movies and TV shows, reaction to them has become a Rorschach test that frequently reveals more about certain viewers -- and the prism through which they see the world -- than about the creative minds involved. This "eye of the beholder" dynamic has grown more persistent in our polarized times, especially with the pundit class drafting pop culture as a means to reach younger consumers and as ammunition in the so-called culture wars, assuming that everybody filters each facet of their lives through an ideological prism. Hence we get a campaign like Bill O'Reilly's push to expose TV critics' political affiliations, with the Fox News host convincing himself that documenting party registrations will somehow illuminate any negativity directed at his channel. In fact, all the crusade truly does is highlight O'Reilly's self-obsession and translucently thin skin, causing him to see enemies and "smear merchants" around every corner. Critics, admittedly, aren't immune to human quirks and pet peeves that influence how we react to material. For the most part, though, reviewers are charged with judging productions on their merits and within the intended context, whereas the chattering classes -- under the intoxicating influence of talkradio and cable news -- conscript even innocuous entertainment as evidence of a yawning cultural divide. Among recent instances, consider the Parents Television Council's latest study regarding religion on TV and the shrill broadsides aimed at "Happy Feet," which sent various conservatives into spasms of indignation bordering on high camp. Former film critic-turned-radio pontificator Michael Medved fumed over the animated musical's political overtones, saying its "propagandistic theme suggests that the biggest menace for the lovable penguins is the human race" and that "a subtext appears to plead for endorsement of gay identity." Based on Medved's searing appraisal, the mind boggles at the thought of him re-examining the Disney classics, inasmuch as ol' Walt clearly pushed tolerance in "Dumbo" (long ears = gay?) and slipped in environmental warnings about man and guns in "Bambi." Along similar lines, the PTC's analysis of religion, "Faith in a Box," fixates on the kind of minutiae that help stereotype the devout as being utterly humorless -- taking umbrage, among other things, over "The Simpsons" for Homer saying, "God has a white beard and invented the Da Vinci code." Not surprisingly, the group concluded that TV is "hostile to people of faith" -- even though its report determined that general expressions of faith were depicted positively 70% of the time. Moreover, the evaluation period doesn't encompass the premiere of NBC's "Friday Night Lights," which offers the most organic portrayal of religion's role in small-town life in memory, without resorting to fanciful angels or teenage visitations from God. So beware, Bambi and fellow showbiz denizens: Men are in the forest, and increasingly, they're coming armed with an agenda. http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...ryid=1682&cs=1 ____________________________________________________________ _____ ... and Bill O'Reilly's response (which was just recently added to the foxnews.com website) from the 12/20/06 edition of The O'Reilly Factor: Critic's Notebook The Culture War Rages in the Press Bill O'Reilly's Fox News 'Talking Points Memo' Dec. 20, 2006 Every morning my staff gives me a folder entitled "Bill in the News." It contains articles and TV transcripts that have mentioned my name overnight. Ninety percent of the press is negative. The same holds true for FOX News in general. Most of the media coverage critical. So we decided to find out why. If FOX News is the dominant number one rated cable network, and our presentation appeals to millions, why are we hammered in the press? The answer, of course, is ideology. We can't find one TV critic in the United States of America, not one who isn't a liberal or a registered Democrat. Most are committed liberals, who dislike us for giving conservative and traditional Americans a fair shot. By the way, if you know of a non-liberal TV critic, please let us know because we always want to be fair and balanced. Now the liberal press is not liking this one bit. Writing in Daily Variety, TV critic Brian Lowry, a left leaning guy, says, "Hence we get a campaign like Bill O'Reilly's push to expose TV critics' political affiliations, with the FOX News host convincing himself that documenting party registrations will somehow illuminate any negativity directed at his channel. In fact, all the crusade truly does is highlight O'Reilly's self- obsession and translucently thin skin, causing him to see enemies and 'smear merchants' around every corner." Well, Lowry's opinion mirrors the war on Christmas reporting from the liberal media. That is, the war on Christmas doesn't really exist! O'Reilly made it up! But facts are facts. And here is some interesting ones. Daily Variety reports on the news and entertainment industry. A magazine called Broadcasting & Cable reports on television. A magazine called Publisher's Weekly reports on books. All of these publications are owned by the same company Reed Business, run by a man named Tad Smith. And who is Tad Smith? He's a far left guy who donates major money to people like Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton. Nothing wrong with that! But Smith also hires editors in his own image and his publications often disparage conservatives and praised liberals. The one exception is at Variety, where editor Peter Bart is pretty independent in his work. So what we have here in America is media reporting skewed way left. Overwhelmingly, the TV, movie, book, and music critics are all committed liberals. That means U.S. culture is defined by them. Don't believe me? Check out my book "Culture Warrior", where the reviews of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" and "The Passion of the Christ" are contrasted. Most movie critics loved Moore, hated Jesus, at least the way Mel Gibson presented him. Summing up, the liberal press in America now influences almost everything, even my thin skin. Liked: 51 Agreed, JWhip. And it amazes me that people equate what is good or bad based on their own political philosophy. That's too bad for conservatives who missed years of the marvelous "The West Wing", CNN and the fun rants of Keith Olbermann; and too bad for liberals who miss a lot of good solid reporting from Fox New Channel and a raft of shows they consider too "tame" or "not relevant". The posts of Lowry (who apparently gets hives just thinking about Fox News Channel) and Reilly (who has a similar reaction to most TV critics) were informative and food for thought. But let's not take off from their diametrically opposed viewpoints to start espousing our own political likes or dislikes here on Hot Off The Press. In this case read (or not) the posts...but let's keep further comments off the thread, please. Many of the nation's TV critics have had their work posted here. If you read them you have a good idea of where their heart is. For this thread it is best to comment on things about TV -- not our own personal political like or dislike for the critics, executives, writers, producers, actors and news people who populate the world of television. CBS Shuffles Primetime Schedule By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 12/21/2006 CBS has scheduled its new midseason comedy Rules of Engagement to premiere at 9:30 p.m. Mondays starting Feb. 5, allowing it to use the Super Bowl the previous night as a promotional platform. Rules, a comedy about different phases of the male/female relationship as seen through the eyes of a newly engaged couple, a long-married pair and a single guy, will move into the slot now occupied by The New Adventures of Old Christine. That comedy will be pulled from the schedule during the February sweeps, ending its current run Jan. 29 before relocating to 8:30 p.m. Mondays on March 12 in place of The Class, which has its season finale March 5. The King of Queens will shift from 8-9 p.m. Wednesdays to 9:30 p.m. Mondays on April 9 to wrap up its ninth and final season. "These scheduling moves enable us to program more original episodes of comedy in targeted time periods for the remainder of the season," said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler. "It also provides an opportunity to give The King of Queens a proper send-off in a high-profile time period in the Monday-night block it helped build." CBS's Monday Line-Up, Effective Feb. 5 8:00-8:30 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 8:30-9:00 THE CLASS 9:00-9:30 TWO AND A HALF MEN 9:30-10:00 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (Series Premiere) 10:00-11:00 CSI: MIAMI CBS's Monday Line-Up, Effective March 12 8:00-8:30 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 8:30-9:00 THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE (Time Period Premiere) 9:00-9:30 TWO AND A HALF MEN 9:30-10:00 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT CBS's Monday Line-Up, Effective April 9 8:00-8:30 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 8:30-9:00 THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE 9:00-9:30 TWO AND A HALF MEN 9:30-10:00 THE KING OF QUEENS (Time Period Premiere) 10:00-11:00 CSI: MIAMI DVD spells digital video decline By Paul Bond The Hollywood Reporter Dec 21, 2006 Persistent year-over-year declining sales of DVDs at Best Buy and Circuit City stores might portend trouble for the movie industry, according to a Wall Street analyst report released Wednesday. Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield, who raised concerns about the home video industry in October with a report titled "DVD Party is Over" and again last week, said Wednesday that "2007 appears even more ominous for film studios." His latest beef comes courtesy of Circuit City Stores Inc., which reported a $16 million quarterly loss Tuesday, sending its shares tumbling 17.5% that day. While many Wall Street observers focused on falling prices for flat-panel television sets, Greenfield keyed in on DVD sales at Circuit City and at its archrival Best Buy, which reported better-than-expected quarterly results last week. "Based on company reports over the past four quarters at each retailer, five of those eight reported quarters have experienced negative year-over-year DVD comps," Greenfield said. The analyst said that he is "increasingly confident that 2007 will be the first year that consumer spending on DVDs declines domestically." With that prediction, Greenfield is at odds with other researchers. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that the U.S. market for DVD sales and rentals, combined, will climb from $24.1 billion this year to $24.8 billion next year. When digital streaming and "other rentals" are added to the mix, the industry grows from $25.8 billion to $27 billion domestically. Greenfield is underwhelmed by the prospect of digital downloads, fearful that movie companies are embracing the concept too quickly and will end up cannibalizing their DVD sales. "We are concerned about the long-term damage the industry could incur from expanding the rental market via digital downloads (that expire) and/or video-on-demand," the analyst wrote in his Wednesday report. "While the studios need the VOD/rental industry to support failed movies, we do not believe a greater emphasis on VOD/rental (vs. retail) is the answer to the industry's problems heading into 2007," he wrote. The analyst is predicting good fourth-quarter results for movie companies "given a great DVD release schedule." It is 2007 and 2008 that worries him, and sales of next-generation DVDs, be they Blu-ray Disc, HD-DVD or both, won't help, either, at least not in the near term. "Bottom line, keep an eye on 2007 film industry profits," he wrote. "We suspect the risk to expectations is increasingly to the downside, with downside risk growing into 2008 unless there is a notable acceleration in next-gen DVD sales and/or a more attractive business model emerges for digital movie distribution." Small Talk About Big Numbers By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 21, 2006; C07 It's hard to be one of the Reporters Who Cover Television this time of year. While the rest of the population gets to attend holiday parties and amuse themselves with witty conversation about the regrettably low standard of morality among that segment of the population younger than they are, the poor RWCT usually can be found backed into a corner by a mob of partygoers angrily demanding to know why their favorite TV show was canceled while "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is still on the air even though no one is watching, why reality programming continues to be perpetrated upon them, why TRWCT are so mean to that nice Katie Couric and, finally, to give details of their own idea for the next sure-fire gimongous TV hit. Generally, at the first party a Reporter Who Covers Television has enough distracting factoids in his arsenal to come back pretty chirpily to this onslaught, if the eggnog is of high enough octane. But by the second party -- third, max -- his knotted and combined locks begin to part and each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the fretful porpentine, as Hamlet's dad used to say. Which is why it was such a relief when yesterday Nielsen Media Research sent out its new crop of Fun Facts to Know and Tell About TV in Calendar Year 2006. Did you know, for instance, that "Studio 60," in addition to having an unusually upscale audience, as NBC likes to remind us, also is the year's No. 1-ranked show on Nielsen's Timeshifted Primetime TV Program list? "Studio 60" enjoys an 11 percent increase in viewership when you add in all the households watching the show up to seven days after its Monday 10 p.m. broadcast. That's the largest percent increase of any program on prime-time television, Nielsen says. This suggests that (a) NBC should try to strongarm Nielsen into using so-called "live + 7" numbers -- how many people record a show on VCR or DVR and watch it up to seven days after its broadcast -- in its weekly ratings reports so as to goose "Studio 60's" ratings and (b) maybe NBC should find a better time slot for "Studio 60." That's good for at least a half-hour's party conversation among "Studio 60" non-fans, which is to say almost everyone. The Top-10 timeshifted programs are mostly serialized -- "Heroes," "Gilmore Girls," etc. -- but include the CW's reality series "America's Next Top Model." That makes sense since this fall it aired in the same time slot as ABC reality hit "Dancing With the Stars." "American Idol," meanwhile, had the most product placements on broadcast TV this year with -- you want to be sitting down -- 4,086 occurrences in calendar 2006, which in the case of "Idol," really means between January and May. "Idol" is the Mount Everest of product placement. Nothing else touches it. The No. 2 show on the 2006 Product Placement Top 10 is "The Amazing Race" with a mere 2,790 occurrences, followed closely by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with 2,701. We're guessing about 3,346 "Idol" product placement occurrences come in the form of those three insidious red Coca-Cola cups prominently placed in front of judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Every time the camera cuts to Paula sitting at the judges' desk drinking "whatever" out of that Coke cup, it counts as one "occurrence," a nice Nielsen spokeswoman explained to The TV Column. The rest of the occurrences on "Idol" are probably Cingular cellphones, from which we're urged to text-message in our vote for that week's best performance. Not coincidentally, Coca-Cola is the most product-placed product of 2006, with -- will you look at that -- 3,346 occurrences. Cingular Wireless also is in the Top 10, but with a mere 532 occurrences. That's behind the Chicago Bears football team's 600 occurrences -- thanks to the ABC sitcom "According to Jim." Here' s a fun fact you can wow them with at the next office party: All of 2006's Top-10 Product Placement Programs are reality series. Except for one scripted show, at No. 8. Can you guess what it is? [Pause] "King of Queens." And no, it's not because Kevin James and his pals work for UPS and wear UPS uniforms with UPS logos on them. Because they don't. They work for fictitious IPS -- apparently UPS wasn't willing to cough up product-placement payola. Instead, it's about all that Nike stuff James struts around in when not wearing his IPS uniform, we're told. And packaged goods -- James spends a lot of time at the fridge in the show -- and the restaurants to which he goes when not hanging out in front of the fridge. The number of product-placement occurrences on "King of Queens" in 2006 -- and don't forget its season debut this fall wasn't until Dec. 6 -- is a whopping 1,742. That's ahead of the product-placement count on "Big Brother 7" (1,591).

i don't know

"You are Now Free to Move About the Country" is the advertising slogan for what transportation company?

The Big Apple: “You are now free to move about the country” (Southwest Airlines) Entry from July 04, 2008 “You are now free to move about the country” (Southwest Airlines) Southwest Airlines began in 1967 as a low-cost airline based in Dallas, serving Houston and San Antonio. It is now one of the largest airlines in the United States. GSD&M Idea City came up with the famous Southwest slogan (trademarked in 1997): “You are now free to move about the country.” The slogan is accompanied by a “DING!” noise and is a take-off on a pilot’s frequent line of “You are now free to move about the cabin.” The slogan “You are now free to move about the county” was suspended for a time after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Wikipedia: Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas, with its largest focus city at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. It is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers carried domestically per year and (as of December 31, 2007) also the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried. It is also the 6th largest U.S. airline by revenue. It also maintains the third-largest fleet of aircraft among all of the world’s commercial airlines. Southwest Airlines has carried more customers than any other U.S. airline since August 2006 for combined domestic and international passengers according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Southwest Airlines is one of the world’s most profitable airlines and in January 2008, posted a profit for the 35th consecutive year. History Southwest Airlines was originally incorporated to serve three cities in Texas as Air Southwest on March 15, 1967, by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. According to frequently-cited story, King described the concept to Kelleher over dinner by drawing on a paper napkin a triangle symbolizing the routes.(Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) Some of the incumbent airlines of the time (Braniff, Trans-Texas, and Continental Airlines) initiated legal action, and thus began a three-year legal battle to keep Air Southwest on the ground. Air Southwest eventually prevailed in the Texas Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Air Southwest’s right to fly in Texas. The decision became final on December 7, 1970, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case without comment. That date is considered by many to be the de facto beginning of deregulation in the airline industry. (...) Advertisements The company has employed humor in its advertising. Slogans include “Just Plane Smart,” “The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You” and “THE Low Fare Airline”. The airline’s current slogan is “A Symbol of Freedom”. A select history of print and video ads are available on the company website. Since the 1990s, Southwest has been running a television ad campaign based on the phrase “Wanna get away?” The commercials present comical, embarrassing situations in which people find themselves wanting to “get away”. Most ads are accompanied by the sound clip “[ding] You are now free to move about the country”; self-parody of the in-flight announcement that “you are now free to move about the cabin”. The Southwest Airlines television commercial, “Flight Attendant,” was named in Adweek’s ‘Best Spots’ in August 2006. GSD&M Idea City Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would fly with Herb Kelleher and help build the most successful airline in aviation history: Southwest Airlines. Nor did we ever imagine that we would ride with Sam Walton and help build the largest company in the world:  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Or cook with Norm Brinker and help build the most successful casual sit-down restaurant in America:  Chili’s. Never did we contemplate that we would climb with Ed Whitacre and help orchestrate the building of the largest telecommunications company in the world:  AT&T. Or create America’s Favorite Advertising Slogan: “Don’t Mess with Texas.” WELCOME TO A BLOG ALL ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 6 August 2000, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO): Currently, Southwest is advertising flights for $99. Then a voice simulating a plane’s captain says, “You are now free to move about the country.’’ Last Week’s Attacks Force Clients to Rethink Marketing Messages Sept 17, 2001 -Aaron Baar and Mike Beirne (...) Also being reconsidered is GSD&M’s work for Southwest Airlines, which has long centered on humor and employed the tag, “You are now free to move about the country,” mimicking a pilot’s pronouncement that the seat-belt sign has been turned off. “Southwest Airlines has sus pended for at least a week, and we now will begin the process of discussing what the future tone of their advertising will be,” said GSD&M president Roy Spence in a statement. “It’s really too early to tell what’s going to happen.” People and Accounts of Note By STUART ELLIOTT Published: October 8, 2007 (...) Four additional brand characters and slogans joined the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame after a public online vote. The characters are Orville Redenbacher, for the ConAgra popcorn brand of the same name, and the Chick-Fil-A cows. The slogans are “The few, the proud, the Marines” and “You are now free to move about the country,” for Southwest Airlines.  (Trademark) Word Mark YOU ARE NOW FREE TO MOVE ABOUT THE COUNTRY Goods and Services IC 039. US 100 105. G & S: Transportation Services, namely transporting passengers and cargo by air. FIRST USE: 19970711. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970711 Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 76579030 Filing Date March 1, 2004 Current Filing Basis 1A Published for Opposition November 30, 2004 Registration Number 2927614 Registration Date February 22, 2005 Owner (REGISTRANT) Southwest Airlines Co. CORPORATION TEXAS 2702 Love Field Drive P.O. Box 36611 Dallas TEXAS 752351611 Attorney of Record Pamela S. Smith Prior Registrations 2112041;2238344;2615005 Type of Mark SERVICE MARK Register PRINCIPAL

Southwest Airlines

What semi-aquatic, fish eating mammal, related to the weasel, is prized for its fur and enjoyed for its playful nature?

The Big Apple: “You are now free to move about the country” (Southwest Airlines) Entry from July 04, 2008 “You are now free to move about the country” (Southwest Airlines) Southwest Airlines began in 1967 as a low-cost airline based in Dallas, serving Houston and San Antonio. It is now one of the largest airlines in the United States. GSD&M Idea City came up with the famous Southwest slogan (trademarked in 1997): “You are now free to move about the country.” The slogan is accompanied by a “DING!” noise and is a take-off on a pilot’s frequent line of “You are now free to move about the cabin.” The slogan “You are now free to move about the county” was suspended for a time after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Wikipedia: Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas, with its largest focus city at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. It is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers carried domestically per year and (as of December 31, 2007) also the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried. It is also the 6th largest U.S. airline by revenue. It also maintains the third-largest fleet of aircraft among all of the world’s commercial airlines. Southwest Airlines has carried more customers than any other U.S. airline since August 2006 for combined domestic and international passengers according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Southwest Airlines is one of the world’s most profitable airlines and in January 2008, posted a profit for the 35th consecutive year. History Southwest Airlines was originally incorporated to serve three cities in Texas as Air Southwest on March 15, 1967, by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. According to frequently-cited story, King described the concept to Kelleher over dinner by drawing on a paper napkin a triangle symbolizing the routes.(Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) Some of the incumbent airlines of the time (Braniff, Trans-Texas, and Continental Airlines) initiated legal action, and thus began a three-year legal battle to keep Air Southwest on the ground. Air Southwest eventually prevailed in the Texas Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Air Southwest’s right to fly in Texas. The decision became final on December 7, 1970, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case without comment. That date is considered by many to be the de facto beginning of deregulation in the airline industry. (...) Advertisements The company has employed humor in its advertising. Slogans include “Just Plane Smart,” “The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You” and “THE Low Fare Airline”. The airline’s current slogan is “A Symbol of Freedom”. A select history of print and video ads are available on the company website. Since the 1990s, Southwest has been running a television ad campaign based on the phrase “Wanna get away?” The commercials present comical, embarrassing situations in which people find themselves wanting to “get away”. Most ads are accompanied by the sound clip “[ding] You are now free to move about the country”; self-parody of the in-flight announcement that “you are now free to move about the cabin”. The Southwest Airlines television commercial, “Flight Attendant,” was named in Adweek’s ‘Best Spots’ in August 2006. GSD&M Idea City Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would fly with Herb Kelleher and help build the most successful airline in aviation history: Southwest Airlines. Nor did we ever imagine that we would ride with Sam Walton and help build the largest company in the world:  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Or cook with Norm Brinker and help build the most successful casual sit-down restaurant in America:  Chili’s. Never did we contemplate that we would climb with Ed Whitacre and help orchestrate the building of the largest telecommunications company in the world:  AT&T. Or create America’s Favorite Advertising Slogan: “Don’t Mess with Texas.” WELCOME TO A BLOG ALL ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 6 August 2000, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO): Currently, Southwest is advertising flights for $99. Then a voice simulating a plane’s captain says, “You are now free to move about the country.’’ Last Week’s Attacks Force Clients to Rethink Marketing Messages Sept 17, 2001 -Aaron Baar and Mike Beirne (...) Also being reconsidered is GSD&M’s work for Southwest Airlines, which has long centered on humor and employed the tag, “You are now free to move about the country,” mimicking a pilot’s pronouncement that the seat-belt sign has been turned off. “Southwest Airlines has sus pended for at least a week, and we now will begin the process of discussing what the future tone of their advertising will be,” said GSD&M president Roy Spence in a statement. “It’s really too early to tell what’s going to happen.” People and Accounts of Note By STUART ELLIOTT Published: October 8, 2007 (...) Four additional brand characters and slogans joined the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame after a public online vote. The characters are Orville Redenbacher, for the ConAgra popcorn brand of the same name, and the Chick-Fil-A cows. The slogans are “The few, the proud, the Marines” and “You are now free to move about the country,” for Southwest Airlines.  (Trademark) Word Mark YOU ARE NOW FREE TO MOVE ABOUT THE COUNTRY Goods and Services IC 039. US 100 105. G & S: Transportation Services, namely transporting passengers and cargo by air. FIRST USE: 19970711. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970711 Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 76579030 Filing Date March 1, 2004 Current Filing Basis 1A Published for Opposition November 30, 2004 Registration Number 2927614 Registration Date February 22, 2005 Owner (REGISTRANT) Southwest Airlines Co. CORPORATION TEXAS 2702 Love Field Drive P.O. Box 36611 Dallas TEXAS 752351611 Attorney of Record Pamela S. Smith Prior Registrations 2112041;2238344;2615005 Type of Mark SERVICE MARK Register PRINCIPAL

i don't know

What English comedian, who celebrates a birthday today, is known for characters such as Ali G, Borat, and Bruno, and will be starring as Freddie Mercury in an upcoming Queen movie?

Sacha Baron Cohen | News, Photos and Videos | Page 4 | Contactmusic.com Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Baron Cohen Brian May Freddie Mercury Queen Says Cohen's claims against the content of the film are unfounded. Brian May is painfully truthful about his opinion of Sacha Baron Cohen after the comedian pulled out of the Freddie Mercury biopic over disagreements about the content of the movie. When Cohen suggested that producers wanted something that was essentially a watered down reality, May wasn't happy. Sacha Baron Cohen branded an a*** 'Grimsby' star Sacha Baron Cohen could well have made the perfect Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic that's currently in the works. However, he decided to walk away from the project once he realised that it wouldn't be as candid as he'd have liked. He opened up about the conflict on The Howard Stern Show, claiming that May was 'not a great movie producer' and only interested to 'protect their legacy as a band'. Sacha Baron Cohen Cohen had worked on the long-in-development biopic for six years before eventually pulling out of the project. Sacha Baron Cohen has finally revealed why he left the planned Freddie Mercury biopic, after working on the project for six years. Appearing on Howard Stern’s radio show , Cohen explained that differences with Mercury’s former bandmates over the direction of the film caused his exit, as the actor had wanted to include the wilder side of the frontman’s life. Sacha Baron Cohen has spoken out about the Freddie Mercury biopic. "There are amazing stories about Freddie Mercury," Cohen explained. "The guy was wild. He was living an extreme lifestyle There are stories of little people with plates of cocaine on their heads walking around a party." Sacha Baron Cohen Donald Trump Known as 'The Brothers Grimsby' in the States, Sony are nervous ahead of a scene in which the divisive Republican frontrunner contracts HIV. Cinema-goers who have been to see Sacha Baron Cohen ’s new comedy movie Grimsby – known as The Brothers Grimsby in the States – have been cheering a scene in which presidential hopeful Donald Trump is infected with HIV. However, a new report citing industry sources indicates that Sony, the studio behind the movie, was extremely nervous about the scene and pushed to have it cut from the final edit. In the event, because Cohen has final authority over the movie (a rare move in the industry for a producer/actor), it remained in the full theatrical release, according to The Huffington Post . Sacha Baron Cohen with wife Isla Fisher in February 2016 Continue reading: Sony Reportedly Anxious Over Donald Trump AIDS Scene In 'Grimsby' Sacha Baron Cohen - Sacha Baron Cohen arrives on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - Lax, California, United States - Friday 26th February 2016 Sasha Baron Cohen - Sasha Baron Cohen wearing a German kit whilst entering a classic Mercedes-Benz outside Adlon Hotel in Mitte. - Berlin, Germany - Wednesday 24th February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen - Sasha Baron Cohen arriving at Berlin Tegel airport with a currywurst and beer in his hand to promote his latest movie Grimsby. at Berlin Tegel airport - Berlin, Germany - Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen , Nobby - The World Premiere of 'Grimsby' held at the Odeon Leicester Square - Arrivals at Odeon Leicester Square - London, United Kingdom - Monday 22nd February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen - Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher seen leaving there London Hotel heading to The Grimsby Brothers premiere. - London, United Kingdom - Monday 22nd February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen , Nobby - The World Premiere of 'Grimsby' held at the Odeon Leicester Square - Arrivals at Odeon Leicester Square - London, United Kingdom - Monday 22nd February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen - Sacha Baron Cohen leaves his hotel wearing a dressing gown, to attend the premiere of his new film 'The Brothers Grimsby' - London, United Kingdom - Monday 22nd February 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen BAFTA Weighing in on the diversity in Hollywood debate. When it comes to racial inequality in the film industry, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen wasn't afraid to put his point across as he arrived at the 69th BAFTA awards at the weekend. With the Academy Awards still causing a lively diversity debate, he insists that the problem goes much deeper than the Oscars. Sacha Baron Cohen talks diversity at the BAFTAs Cohen was at the BAFTAs to present the award for Best Leading Actress, and he acknowledged that the British award ceremony was also at risk of being condemned for its under-representation of black actors, actresses and filmmakers. 'I'm here to give the award for the best white actress', he joked to reporters on the red carpet, according to the Guardian . 'I hear many Caucasians were nominated.' Sacha Baron Cohen Donald Trump Jimmy Kimmel For one night only, Cohen brought back 'Borat' for an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' It’s been nearly a decade since British actor and satirist Sacha Baron Cohen retired arguably his most famous comic creation ‘Borat’, following the hit movie of the same name for which he won a Golden Globe in 2007. However, Cohen briefly revived the Kazakh journalist for an appearance on ‘ Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on Wednesday night (December 9th), in which he poked fun at Donald Trump and introduced the world to a new character with a trailer for upcoming spy comedy movie The Brothers Grimsby. Sacha Baron Cohen brought back 'Borat' for one night only, in order to mock Donald Trump Continue reading: Sacha Baron Cohen Revives 'Borat' To Mock Donald Trump Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher - The 87th Annual Oscars - Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and The Beverly Hills City Hall - Arrivals at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Oscars - Beverly Hills, California, United States - Sunday 22nd February 2015 Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher - The 87th Annual Oscars - Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and The Beverly Hills City Hall - Arrivals at Wallis Annenberg Center, Oscars - Beverly Hills, California, United States - Sunday 22nd February 2015 Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher - 87th Annual Oscars - Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Oscars - Beverly Hills, California, United States - Monday 23rd February 2015 Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong - Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong film a scene for the movie Grimsby in Essex - Essex, United Kingdom - Thursday 10th July 2014 By Rich Cline Excellent Starting at full-emotion and never wavering for a moment, this huge movie adaptation of the long-running stage musical wears us out with its relentlessly epic approach. OK, so neither the musical nor Victor Hugo's source novel could be accused of being understated, but director Hooper (The King's Speech) never even tries to find a moment of quiet feeling here. The result is thrillingly moving, making the most of the soaring anthems that fill the show. But it's also pretty overwhelming. The story starts in 1815 as convict Jean Valjean (Jackman) finishes 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. His parole officer Javert (Crowe) vows to keep an eye on him, but Valjean slips away and, after a redemptive encounter with a priest, eventually reinvents himself as an upstanding businessman. He tries to help fallen woman Fantine (Hathaway), rescuing her daughter Cosette (Allen, then Seyfried) from her greedy foster parents (Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter). Years later, Valjean and Cosette move to Paris, where a young revolutionary (Redmayne) falls for Cosette just as the 1832 student uprisings break out. And Javert is still determined to recapture Valjean. Hooper maintains the play's operatic style, in which the dialog is sung-through in between the big numbers. And we're talking about massively emotional power ballads here, performed to wrenching effect. Hathaway's one-take rendition of I Dreamed a Dream is the kind of breathtaking scene that wins Oscars. Jackman's voice wavers and cracks beautifully as he holds the story together. Marks delivers a belting version of the soulful On My Own. Redmayne nearly steals the show with his soaring tenor voice and wonderful acting chops. Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter provide some raucously overwrought comical relief. And Crowe gets away with Javert's big musical moments because he has the acting power to back up his oddly thin voice. By Rich Cline OK Instead of developing the characters or situations for comedy gold, the filmmakers instead just crank up the chaos. So while some scenes are both funny and visually impressive, this second sequel is simply too inane to make us hope there will be a part 4. Very young kids may be distracted by the hectic pacing and hyperactive characters, but everyone else will quickly be bored by the nonstop mayhem, simply because there's nothing interesting going on. Anxious lion Alex (Stiller), chatty zebra Marty (Rock), nerdy giraffe Melman (Schwimmer) and silly hippo Gloria (Smith) are living a Lion King-style existence in Africa, although their only hope for escape has just flown away. Namely, the brainy penguins and their monkey assistants. So our heroes follow them to Monaco, where they all end up on the run from the notorious animal control agent Dubois (McDormand). They run straight into a failing circus, which they set out to bring back to its glory days so they can catch the eye of an American promoter and go home to New York. To do this means working with the current circus acts: sultry cheetah Gia (Chastain), dorky sea lion Stefano (Short) and tetchy tiger Vitaly (Cranston). The circus premise lets the filmmakers have a lot of visual fun with the characters, most notably in a riotously colourful Cirque du Soleil-on-acid performance in London. But the plot makes no sense at all (if they can get to Monaco, surely they could get to New York, right?), and there are so many new characters that the central quartet feels almost sidelined. Especially since they've also wedged in an under-developed romance for the lemur king (Baron Cohen). Yes, it's all over the place, and being busy is not the same thing as being clever or funny. By Rich Cline Very Good This may look like a wildly irreverent satire about a North African despot, but it doesn't take long to realise that the filmmakers' target is somewhere else. And the biting script never pulls its punches, leaping us laughing at the audacity while making a serious point. Aladeen (Baron Cohen) is the pampered dictator of Wadiya, who travels to New York to tell the UN to stop nosing around his nuclear "energy" plants. But his Uncle Tamir (Kingsley) is plotting to kill him and replace him with a double who will sign a democratic constitution essentially selling the country to oil companies. Aladeen manages to escape, but no one recognises him cleanly shaven, so he teams up with health-food activist Zoey (Faris) and a countryman (Mantzoukas) to get his country back. By Rich Cline Excellent Based on the Brian Selznick novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese's first family movie combines a young boy's adventure with a cinematic history lesson. It's a celebration of wide-eyed wonder that's a joy to watch, although the title isn't the only thing that's dumbed-down. In early 1930s Paris, the orphaned Hugo (Butterfield) lives in Montparnasse station, where he scurries through forgotten passageways maintaining the clocks. He learned this skill from his late father (Law), but an automaton they were fixing is his only reminder of his happier childhood. Dodging the tenacious station inspector (Baron Cohen), Hugo worms his way into the life of grouchy shopkeeper Georges (Kingsley), and has a series of adventures with his goddaughter Isabelle (Moretz). When they learn that Georges is forgotten pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies, they decide to help bring him back to life. Scorsese tells this story with bravura moviemaking trickery, from whooshing tracking shots to wonderfully inventive uses of 3D. He also peppers the screen with witty references to film history from Modern Times to Vertigo, clips from early cinema and flashbacks to the Lumiere brothers' exhibition and Melies' busy studio. Meanwhile, the main plot unfolds with a warmly inviting glow, sharply telling details and a colourful cast of memorable side characters. Intriguingly, everyone is a bit opaque; like the automaton, the gears turn but we never really understand them. Butterfield's Hugo may be consumed by an inner yearning, but he's always on guard, providing a watchful pair of eyes through which we see the drama, romance and slapstick of the station. And it's in these details that Scorsese and his cast draw us in. Standouts are Baron Cohen, who adds layers of comedy and pathos to every scene, and McCrory (as Mrs Melies), with her barely suppressed enthusiasm. As usual, Kingsley never lets his guard down: he invests this broken man with a bit too much dignity. As the film progresses, the passion for the movies is infectious. Scorsese's gorgeous visual approach and writer Logan's controlled cleverness never overwhelm the human story. And even if Melies' life and Paris' geography are adjusted for no real reason, the film's warm drama and delightful imagery really get under the skin, making us fall in love with the movies all over again. By Sean O'Connell Very Good Quite possibly the strangest holiday release since Miramax rolled out its bloodsucking Dracula update in December 2000, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street reproduces Stephen Sondheim's moody musical as a theatrically macabre vengeance play that gleefully soaks its numbers in gallons of gooey, red stage blood. It's a mesmerizing mess of a film that alternates its high notes with blatant missteps. Yet for all its unmistakable faults, it casts such a complete spell that I'm chomping at the bit to see it again (and again). Where other studios might have demanded proven singers for the parts, Paramount (bravely?) permits Burton to practice extreme nepotism. The director recruits his better half, Johnny Depp, for the title role of a wrongfully jailed barber who seeks vengeance against a covetous judge (Alan Rickman) and his troll-like lackey (Timothy Spall). As for the role of Mrs. Lovett, it goes to Burton's wife, Helena Bonham Carter. A meat-pie maker, Lovett helps dispose of Sweeney's human victims by turning them into delectable delicacies.

Sacha Baron Cohen

According to the nursery rhyme, who went “wee, wee, wee all the way home”?

Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in biopic | Daily Mail Online comments Sacha Baron Cohen is swapping his Borat mankini for a flamboyant lycra catsuit. The 38-year-old actor has signed on to play flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury in a new movie about Queen. The film, which is being scripted by Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan, will follow the band from its early years to its 1985 Live Aid performance - six years before Mercury's death. Don't Stop Me Now: Sacha Baron Cohen has signed on to play Freddie Mercury in a new biopic GK Films and Tribeca Productions have even reportedly secured the rights to use some of Queen's best-known songs including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions, Another One Bites The Dust and We Will Rock You. Filming is expected to begin next year. GK Films boss Graham King revealed details of the new Queen movie in a prepared statement yesterday. 'Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time and a music brand all unto itself,' he said. No stranger to lycra: Cohen as Borat 'Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.' The new movie marks the first time Queen's surviving members - Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon - have licensed songs and music publishing rights for a film about the band. The trio are expected to have their say in the big-screen project and have reportedly formed Queen Films to ensure they can be a part of the movie's production team. They previously supplied their songs to We Will Rock You - the stage musical that has been running on London's West End for nine years. It unclear whether Baron Cohen will sing Queen's songs in the new movie, or whether Mercury's original vocals will be used. Producers still need to hire a director and come up with a name for the film. The film will focus on a period of a few years leading up to what was arguably Queen's greatest moment: its performance at the Live Aid charity concert in 1985, when the band mesmerized London's Wembley Stadium and a worldwide TV audience with such hits as "We Will Rock You" and "Radio Ga Ga." The band continued touring and recording even as Mercury's health deteriorated. A day after finally admitting he had AIDS, Mercury succumbed to the disease in 1991, at age 45. Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar and educated in India, Mercury co-founded Queen in 1971 with May, Taylor and Deacon. The mustachioed and buff Mercury was never shy about his camp sensibilities even as the band drew part of its musical inspiration from the progressive and hard rock genres. Queen hit the big time in 1975 with its fourth album, A Night at the Opera, which included the Mercury-composed anthem Bohemian Rhapsody. Mercury also wrote such Queen hits as Crazy Little Thing Called Love and We are the Champions. Off stage, Mercury lived a very private life, rarely consenting to interviews and never discussing his homosexuality. Baron Cohen rose to fame in his envelope-pushing roles as Ali G, a bumbling Kazakhstan reporter in Borat and as a fashionista in Bruno.  

i don't know

What legendary singer, dubbed the Prince of Motown, had his life cut a little short when he was gunned down by his father in 1984 following an argument?

1000+ images about MUSIC-----MARVIN GAYE on Pinterest | Smooth, August 27 and Songs Love this picture of Marvin Gaye! This is what you call SWAG! There was just something about that man that scream smooth!! See More

Marvin Gaye

According to the National Park Service, which National Park is the most visited in the United States, with about 10 million visitors per year?

ROCK & SOUL HALL OF FAME SCOTT'S ROCK & SOUL HALL OF FAME (1960-Present) If given a vote, these are the artists who would make my Rock & Soul Hall Of Fame as of right now (12/31/2015). I�m not imposing any silly limitations like the real Hall Of Fame in Cleveland has; there�s no 25 year waiting period or any limit to the number of inductees. This list is based primarily on musical achievement: the quality of one's recordings and live shows. Although commercial success is certainly a factor that may help an artist's cause, I won't penalize great artists for a lack of commercial success, so long as they made great and impactful music (The Velvet Underground and Big Star are obvious examples of bands who made great music that didn�t sell in large quantities, but which proved to be immensely influential). Like the rest of this website, this list covers artists from 1960-present, so apologies to '50s greats such as Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Coasters, Buddy Holly, The Platters, and so on who didn't make the cut. Artists who are clearly blues rather than rock, like B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf, also aren't included, even though maybe they should be. Like the rest of this book, this list is free of any rap/hip-hop artists, and artists who are clearly disco or pop (ABBA, Madonna, Donna Summer, Chic, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, etc.) have also been excluded. Also, there are some joint entries for artists who spread their output among multiple bands and who might be borderline with one but taken together are deserving (that's probably cheating but hey it's my Hall Of Fame!). I�m only including main performers, not sidemen (i.e. �musical excellence�) and non-performers, but sidemen with notable enough solo/band careers in addition to their support role accomplishments will be considered. As per all my lists, I don't claim this list to be definitive (I'm sure I overlooked some deserving artists and will have some inductees that others will consider questionable), and I expect it to continuously evolve as time passes and additional artists establish Hall Of Fame credentials. P.S. I won�t be singling out which band members should or shouldn�t be inducted; if you were in the band at some point, and the band gets inducted, you�re in. The fans know who the major player were in the band, and this way I�ll avoid the ridiculousness of Bob Welch getting omitted from Fleetwood Mac, or Ronnie James Dio getting omitted from Black Sabbath (and so on). P.P.S. Originally this HOF was more a list of personal favorites, but I�ve tried to make it more like what I feel the real HOF should look like. Although obviously influenced by my own personal taste, in some cases I�ve omitted personal favorites like Catherine Wheel and Tindersticks because even though I feel that they made great albums that I�ll always love, in the grand scheme of things they didn�t make enough of an impact to warrant a legitimate induction. AC/DC - Pure rock n' roll energy, tons of great songs. Not much range but hey if it ain't broke...I'm partial to the Bon Scott era of the band, though Back In Black is their most famous (and many would argue best) album. Aerosmith - Though dogged by a "poor man's Stones" label, in the mid-70s they damn near earned their other label ("America's greatest rock n' roll band"), and though from an artistic standpoint their '80s (and beyond) comeback was often a pale shadow of their former glories, it nevertheless was a spectacular return to relevance from their drug-induced abyss. Alice Cooper - By Alice Cooper I'm mostly referring to the Alice Cooper Band, who made a bunch of theatrical hard rockin' garage-y classics in the early '70s before Alice went solo. He's done some good solo stuff too, and of course he was influential as an early "shock rocker," but musically speaking I prefer the early band stuff with producer Bob Ezrin best. Alice in Chains - These guys were among the very best of the so-called "grunge" bands that played such a big part in the story of �90s rock. I've always loved their uniquely whacked out harmonies and Jerry Cantrell's songwriting and guitar playing along with Layne Staley's tortured lead vocals. Dirt and Jar Of Flies are the standout albums for me, both for totally different reasons, but their other albums are very good too (including the two surprisingly good comeback albums they�ve released thus far with new singer William DuVall after Layne�s deadly drug overdose). The Allman Brothers Band - The ultimate Southern rock band, they could've really been an all-time, all-time band had not tragedy struck so often, but they're still one of the all-time greats. Obviously the Duane-era of the band was the best, but they've since had their fair share of admirable comebacks as well, and few guys (white or black) could sing the blues as well as Gregg Allman. The Animals - Led by a pair of towering talents in singer Eric Burdon and organist Alan Price, The Animals ranked with The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds as the prime British Invasion purveyors of American blues. Later shifting of personnel saw the band rebranded as "Eric Burdon and the Animals," who performed in a less successful psychedelic vein that also had its moments. Arcade Fire - Perhaps this is a premature selection, but they've already released a great trilogy of albums as I write this, including one of the best debut albums ever in Funeral. I'll be very surprised if the band doesn't continue to deliver high quality albums of impassioned, majestic, and epic music. The Band - A band whose influential sound, so rich and timeless, greatly appeals to me. The Band drew their musical inspiration from various musical sources (rockabilly, ragtime, r&b, blues, country, folk, etc.), and wove them into a seamless, earthy rock sound that was uniquely their own. Their first two albums are total classics, and some of their later ones are undervalued as well. Plus there�s the Bob Dylan association and the classic The Last Waltz concert film. The Beach Boys - The band had a brilliant singer-songwriter-producer in Brian Wilson and several other terrific singers who, when combined, provided arguably the best pop harmonies ever. When Brian's mental problems limited his contributions after releasing his masterpiece Pet Sounds, the rest of the band (most notably brothers Carl and Dennis) stepped up to fill the void. After their prime years they became America's #1 "oldies" based nostalgia act. The Beatles - It's always been them and Zep 1-2 for me, I'm not even sure in which order, it depends on the day. No explanation is really necessary here other than to say that The Beatles are the most famous, most popular, and many would argue, best rock band ever. Beck - Beck Hansen never seems to stay in one place or stick to any one style, and his cross-genre hybridizations, encompassing folk, blues, hip-hop, rock, and r&b, are almost always interesting even if they're rarely thrilling and they sometimes sound overly experimental musically (i.e. noise at the expense of melody) and overly ironic lyrically. He captured the '90s zeitgeist on Odelay (with help from the Dust Brothers production team) and proved he could show a more personal side on the bittersweet breakup album Sea Change, probably his two best albums, but every album I've heard from him has had a least a few stellar tracks. Jeff Beck - Arguably rock's greatest guitarist, he did pioneering stuff with The Yardbirds before helping birth heavy metal with the first Jeff Beck Group. Although you can certainly make a case that he's underachieved at times, Jeff Beck the solo artist has still released his fair share of stellar stuff, his mid-70s fusion albums in particular. The Bee Gees - Starting as a Beatles-influenced pop rock group and peaking by defining the disco era, the Bee Gees were great singers (their high pitched harmonies are unmistakable) and songwriters who had a lot of classic songs. Belle & Sebastian - Simply put, they've released some of the most charmingly beautiful pop rock albums of the past 20 years. The B52�s � Musically and visually, they made being kitschy cool and are one of the quintessential new wave bands whose best songs (�Rock Lobster,� �Private Idaho,� �Love Shack,� �Roam,� etc.) can still kick start any party. Big Star - This legendary cult "power pop" band was actually far more diverse and rocking than generally given credit for, at least before their "bummer" third album Third/Sister Lovers (also great). This unlucky (if highly influential) band had two distinctive (at first, anyway) singer-songwriter-guitarists (Alex Chilton and Chris Bell) and they deserved a lot more commercial success than they got. Recommendation: Get the 2-for-1 release of #1 Record/Radio City. Bjork - A one of a kind weirdo with a voice for the ages, her first four solo albums are all stellar, though she's sometimes lost the plot since (i.e. Medulla). The swan dress alone would make for a most welcome museum exhibit! The Black Crowes - Led by brothers Rich and Chris Robinson, The Black Crowes were like a breath of fresh air when they hit the airwaves amid all the hair bands in the early '90s. They may not have been the most original band, but (aside from a three year break from 2002-2005) they've consistently delivered the rock 'n' roll goods for two decades now, even though the radio hits dried up after their first two albums. Dig deeper and you'll find a discography that's much richer than most have given them credit for; simply put, they're a great band and deserving Hall Of Famers. Black Flag � This hardcore punk band inspired many bands with their �DIY� work ethic, which wouldn�t mean much if they weren�t good. They were, influencing many bands ranging from Nirvana to Slayer. And though Damaged is the album that most people point to (including yours truly as it�s the only one I�ve reviewed), they did other good stuff as well, including later on when they somewhat controversially slowed down and pursued a more metallic direction. Black Sabbath - Ground zero for heavy metal. Six great albums with Ozzy and they did great stuff with Dio too. Blondie � Originally CBGB�s �least likely to succeed,� Blondie ended up being the most commercially successful of all those New York City bands. Led by iconic pinup Debbie Harry, the group delivered some classic singles and at least one near-perfect pop album with 1978�s Parallel Lines. In the process they became one of the definitive new wave groups. Blue Oyster Cult - These highly intelligent and underrated early hard rockers from New York have been reduced to three songs ("(Don't Fear) The Reaper," "Burnin' For You," and occasionally "Godzilla") by classic rock radio, but their highly productive first decade together makes them Hall Of Famers in my book. All together now: "more cowbell!" Blur - They were probably "better" than Oasis because their output is much more diverse, but I just like Oasis better. Still, that much made comparison out of the way, Blur were one of the best bands of the '90s, and their "English life trilogy" in particular helped define "Britpop." Woo-hoo! Booker T. & The MG's - The greatest studio backing band ever (for Stax Records) also cut some prime instrumental stuff on their own, most notably the omnipresent "Green Onions." Boston - They deserve induction for the first album alone, which comes across more like a greatest hits album than an album proper (literally every song on it has made the rounds on "classic rock radio" over the years). Actually, the first two albums in particular still sound great, and Third Stage was a solid release and a major commercial success as well. "Guilty pleasures" my ass; couple Tom Scholz and Barry Goudreau�s incandescent walls of guitars with Brad Delp�s incredible vocals and what you have is simply one of the most effortlessly ear pleasing sounds around. David Bowie - A real chameleon, I don't love (or even like) everything he does but I really like a lot of it, especially his '70s work. Heck, I love a lot of his '70s work, if not a lot of his post-'70s work. Among other things, Bowie brought a sense of theater to rock n� roll by introducing the concept of role playing, he introduced a generation of white boys to soul (albeit �plastic soul�), and he brought a chilly European glaze to some truly revolutionary electronic experiments. He was also the cross dressing king of glam, he brought pianos, saxophones, and science fiction to a high level of rock 'n' roll prominence, and he always had a killer band (most notably the Spiders from Mars) backing him up. But for all of Bowie�s stylistic innovations, what ultimately mattered most was that he produced a lot of great music. James Brown - �The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.� �Mr. Dynamite.� "Soul Brother No. 1." �The Godfather of Soul.� These are some of his official nicknames, and you could also add "The Man Who Invented Funk" and "The Most Sampled Man in Hip-Hop." Most importantly, he was a great singer, a phenomenal performer (Michael Jackson had nothing on him), and he led super-tight bands who performed many classic songs. Sure, variety wasn't really his thing, and he had his share of personal problems, but JB was one of the musical giants of the 20th Century. Jackson Browne � His music and singing can be a bit boring but he�s a brilliant lyricist, plus his band�s playing, in particular guitarist David Lindley, is impeccable on his best (�70s) albums. �Late For The Sky,� �Doctor My Eyes,� �Take It Easy,� �For Everyman,� �These Days,� �Your Bright Baby Blues,� �Running On Empty,� �The Load Out/Stay,� �For A Dancer,� �Fountain Of Sorrow,� �Before The Deluge,� �The Pretender,� �Who Loves The Thunder,� �Here Come Those Tears Again,� �Somebody�s Baby,� �Boulevard� (to list some random examples) � this guy has written some great (very much adult-themed) songs, and he�s among the quintessential West Coast confessional singer-songwriters. Jeff Buckley - Arguably a bigger loss to modern music than Kurt Cobain, the supremely handsome and talented Buckley (one of my favorite singers ever and a gifted songwriter and guitarist) dropped one instant classic of an album (Grace) before disappearing into the muddy waters of a Memphis river one night. Several inconsistent but worthwhile posthumous releases ensued, the best of which is worthy of comparison to Grace; what a tremendous loss. Built To Spill - Though they have a cult following, this is another band who deserves more success than they've thus far achieved, at least from the paying public (they've long been critic's faves). Neil Young is but one of Doug Martsch's main influences, and along with J. Mascis, Ira Kaplan, and maybe a few others he brought the guitar hero back to alternative rock. Perfect From Now On and Keep It Like A Secret in particular are two of the best albums of the '90s. Solomon Burke - Legendary Atlantic Records producer/executive Jerry Wexler considered him perhaps the greatest soul singer of them all, and his excellent late career comeback only further cemented his legacy. Kate Bush - A true one-of-a-kind original, Kate Bush's artsy, challenging, eclectic avant pop isn't for everybody, and she's recorded infrequently over the past couple of decades, but she's still one of the greatest female artists ever. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Although best known in some quarters for backing Bob Dylan when he controversially "went electric," the Paul Butterfield Blues Band contributed mightily to the rock and roll cause (or more accurately, the blues rock cause) even without Bob Dylan. For one thing, they were one of the first racially integrated bands, and they were a blues band who played with a force and amplification that greatly appealed to rock audiences, making them one of the first American blues bands to �cross over.� Anyone who�s ever said that �white guys can�t play the blues� obviously never heard Paul Butterfield play harmonica (he was a virtuoso) or Michael Bloomfield play guitar (second guitarist Elvin Bishop was no slouch either). One of the first "guitar heroes," Bloomfield rivaled Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck as the guitarist of the mid-'60s, and his playing on East-West in particular, most notably the monumental 13-minute title track, still sounds ahead of its time, almost 50 years later (remember this was before Cream or Hendrix). Their prime together was brief and both Butterfield and Bloomfield's subsequent careers were largely derailed by drugs, but during their short time together they made a major impact that deserves recognition. The Buzzcocks - Arguably the best British singles band of the punk era (for proof, check out Singles Going Steady). Punk, power pop, whatever you want to call it, they were a really good (and in retrospect, highly influential) band. The Byrds - Fantastic sound. Great harmonies. Great guitar player(s). Very good songwriters. They pioneered folk rock, jangly guitars, country rock, and psychedelia! If anything they're underrated despite being Hall Of Famers. Can - The greatest "krautrock" band. Captain Beefheart - Though certainly not for everybody, the Captain was an influential one of a kind weirdo genius. The Carpenters � We can debate how rock or soul they are, but Karen Carpenter�s voice certainly deserves to be immortalized. Plus, they were massively successful at their peak and as such helped embody that era (the early �70s). The Cars - One of the quintessential new wave bands whose many hits still sound great on the radio. Johnny Cash - Although considered a country artist, the legendary "Man In Black" was really a genre unto himself whose music also veered into folk and rockabilly, plus his two prison albums are about as punk rock as you can get. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The influential dark prince of alternative rock, Cave and his excellent backing band the Bad Seeds have have consistently and prolifically delivered the musical goods over the past 3 decades. Ray Charles - The blind man who invented soul music was also one of the greatest practitioners of the form. He easily tackled other styles (jazz, country, etc.) as well, and anything he did sounded soulful. Cheap Trick - This is primarily based on their first five albums, when they were a legitimately great and influential band whose heavy power pop sound mixed The Beatles with hard rock. They had the tunes, an underrated guitarist in Rick Nielson (also the band's songwriter), and a great singer in Robin Zander. They also had a cool look in the way the two good looking guys (Zander, bassist Tom Petersson) contrasted with the two shall we say less photogenic members (Nielson and excellent drummer Bun E. Carlos), and they�ve always had a rep as a great live band as well. Chicago - Ignore the later years of "easy listening" blather and focus on the early years, when Chicago was truly an innovative and creative (and surprisingly hard rocking) ensemble. In addition to their prominent horn section, they boasted three stellar singer-songwriters in Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, and Terry Kath, who was also a legitimate guitar hero (the band never quite recovered from his accidental self-inflicted gunshot death). Songs such as "25 or 6 to 4," "Saturday In The Park," "Feeling Stronger Every Day," and "Beginnings" (my favorite) still sound great today. Eric Clapton - Eric "Slowhand" Clapton is one of the best guitar players ever, period. This entry includes his many band projects (especially Derek and the Dominos) as well as his very good if often disappointing solo career, excluding Cream and The Yardbirds who deserve their own entries. The Clash - Not quite "the only band that matters" but they were THE U.K. punk band along with the Sex Pistols, though their reach sometimes exceeded their grasp and they turned to utter crap after Mick Jones was fired. Joe Cocker � He may not have lived up to his early promise (where he excelled with help from The Grease Band and the Mad Dogs and Englishmen band), but he had a great one-of-a-kind voice, and every song he sang he made into his own. Although not really known as a songwriter, he deserves credit as one of rock and soul�s great interpreters. Leonard Cohen - A true poet and one of the best lyricists ever. Oh, and his influential music is surprisingly good too. Coldplay - I was on the fence with these guys as Hall Of Famers until I saw them live on December 30, 2012, when they put on a terrific show and reminded me just how much I like them. Sure, they've benefitted from Radiohead getting weird and U2 getting old and less hungry, but being in the right place at the right time shouldn't be held against them, nor should their popularity with "soccer moms" and their unpopularity with the "hipster" crowd. Bottom line is, at worst they�re a great singles band who put on an excellent live show, and A Rush Of Blood To The Head in particular is one of my favorite albums of the new millennium. The list of classic Coldplay songs, already including "Yellow," "Clocks," "Fix You," and "Viva la Vida," among others, should only continue to grow, as Coldplay continues to be the rare modern day rock band who still gets played on mainstream radio, and deservedly so. Sam Cooke - To quote Art Garfunkel in Rolling Stone: "It was a tremendous loss when he was killed. I remember thinking, "Oh, that can't be." He was such a rising star, a fabulous singer with intelligence. And that brilliant smile. I used to think he was just a great singer. Now I think he's better than that. Almost nobody since then can touch him." Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I'd fault him for being an average singer and an overly wordy songwriter who tried out too many musical styles, but he's still a great singer-songwriter, and the Attractions (comprised of keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Pete Thomas) are one of the great backing bands. Cream - The first "power trio" and one of the first hard rock bands who psychedelicized the blues. Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton were indeed among the cream of the '60s crop, whether inconsistently but at times awesomely pioneering live improvisations or producing more succinct and at times brilliant studio songs. Creedence Clearwater Revival - These guys were a fantastic singles band who made some great albums too. John Fogerty was a great songwriter and vocalist as well as a very underrated guitar player. With help from Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass), and Doug Clifford (drums), they had that great swampy Southern groove too. Crosby, Stills, & Nash - This is an umbrella entry that encompasses not only their own impressive (early on, anyway) but limited work together, but also their myriad solo (and duo) projects, of which I prefer Stills' (their most talented member) stuff the best (especially his Manassas album). Neil Young warrants his own entry but obviously the CSN&Y stuff is included here as well. The Cure - Overshadowed by his image as "Mr. Mope," Robert Smith is a great pop songwriter and guitar player. I adore so many of their songs, even though they never made that perfect album (Disintegration comes closest) and like some others on this list (Bob Dylan, Billy Corgan, Tom Waits) his voice is definitely an "acquired taste." Given their musical excellence, influence on goth-rock, and commercial success, the induction of The Cure should be a no-brainer. Dick Dale � The King Of The Surf Guitar. Dave Matthews Band � Another modern �jam band� a la Phish but one who has had actual radio hits. They have their critics (i.e. �boring dad rock�), but those are counterbalanced by their many rabid supporters. The sax-violin lineup certainly gives them a �uniqueness� factor, they�ve had excellent musicians (particularly drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore), and they�ve remained one of the hottest live bands around for over 20 years now. Dead Kennedys - No hardcore punk band is likely to ever enter the Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, but Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray, and the rest of this influential gang are worthy representatives (along with Black Flag) in my Hall Of Fame. Deep Purple - The loudest band of them all at one point, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records. Too bad about all the band turnover, this pioneering hard rock/heavy metal band was extremely talented, especially their classic Mark II lineup, and of course many of the individual band members went on to notable subsequent projects: Rainbow, Whitesnake, Gillan, Captain Beyond, Warhorse, Tommy Bolin solo, Glenn Hughes solo, Hughes/Thrall, etc. Def Leppard - Starting out as one of the brightest lights leading the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), Def Leppard found their greatest successes in the early-to-mid-'80s with producer Mutt Lange on albums such as High n' Dry, Pyromania, and Hysteria. The latter two were massive sellers known for their glossy multi-layered guitar sound and catchy vocal hooks that made their songs easy to sing along to. I found ther subsequent career to be extremely disappointing, but that doesn't change the fact that Def Leppard were one of the quintessential bands of the 1980s, and the aforementioned albums are filled with eminently likeable, radio ready anthems that still sound great. Depeche Mode - Although synthesizer-based music is generally not my cup of tea, the influence, versatility, and longevity of this band makes them HOF-worthy. Yes, Kraftwerk was first, and New Order was more innovative, but Depeche Mode was easily the most popular exponent of this type of music, selling many, many millions of albums, selling out stadiums, and generally doing their own thing regardless of trends. Their fans just can't get enough, and Violator in particular is a legitimately great album. Neil Diamond � This legendary singer-songwriter-performer has written many popular songs and albums and has retained his popularity and relevance across generations. Who among us hasn�t sung along to �Sweet Caroline?� The Dictators � They may not have had much commercial success, but many punk (and metal) bands cite these brash, hard rocking New Yorkers as an influence, and in their heyday they were one of most flat-out fun bands around. Bo Diddley � The �Bo Diddley beat� alone makes Bo a no-brainer. Dinosaur Jr. - He may lack range and his "whiny" voice is an acquired taste, but J. Mascis is a great songwriter and an excitingly loud (if sloppy) guitar player. Couple influence with excellence and a HOF nod is indeed warranted. Dio - Ronnie James Dio had a fantastic 10-year run from the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s, first with Rainbow and Black Sabbath (both also on this list), and then with his own excellent band Dio (I just wish he had been able to keep the original lineup with bassist Jimmy Bain, drummer Vinny Appice, and guitarist Vivian Campbell together longer, because they were a true band with terrific chemistry). A small man with a gigantic voice, Ronnie was arguably the greatest heavy metal singer of them all, and a true believer of the form. \m/ Dion & the Belmonts � Whether early on with the Belmonts (on songs like �Teenager In Love� and �I Wonder Why�) or as a solo artist (the 1961 party anthems �Runaround Sue� and �The Wanderer� are both among the most universally beloved songs of all-time), Dion was an essential contributor in bridging doo-wop and rock. And he didn�t stop there, delivering the lovely top 5 hit tribute ballad �Abraham, Martin and John� in 1968, a belatedly acclaimed album with Phil Spector in 1975 (Born To Be With You), and several subsequent �comebacks� as well. Dire Straits � Mark Knopfler's strong songwriting and incredible guitar playing in particular earns these guys my HOF nod. They sold millions of records too, which doesn't hurt. �Lady Writer,� �Tunnel Of Love,� �Telegraph Road,� �Money For Nothing,� �Brothers In Arms,� and (especially) �Sultans Of Swing� are among their most notable songs. The Doobie Brothers � These guys were pretty ubiquitous in their �70s prime, and their best stuff holds up very well. Not many bands have had tremendous success with two totally different incarnations of the band, but these guys did. The Doors - They had a fantastic and unique (keyboard led) sound due to great group chemistry, plus despite his flaws Morrison was one of the ultimate rock gods. It was destined not to last, but they left behind a lasting musical legacy. Nick Drake - His sad music, whether ornate (Bryter Layter), stripped down (Pink Moon), or somewhere in between (Five Leaves Left), is about as beautiful as can be. It's a pity that he didn't live to see how his reputation has grown. The Drifters - Legendary Atlantic executive Ahmet Ertegun called The Drifters �the all-time greatest Atlantic group,� no mean feat given that label's stellar roster. Whether led by legendary lead throats Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King, or the lesser known but still excellent likes of Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore, The Drifters delivered many classic songs produced and/or penned by the legendary likes of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill. To quote writer Marv Goldberg in summing up the group: �The Drifters began as one of the greatest of the r&b groups, easily transformed themselves into a rock 'n roll group, switched to pop stars in the early '60s, and finished up as soul singers in the later '60s. The Drifters could do it all. The Drifters did it all.� The Drive-By Truckers � I�ll take the easy way out here and quote the excellent writer Steven Hyden: �No rock band has ever married thunderous guitar riffs with novelistic storytelling quite like them.� They�re a great live band, too. Dr. John - The embodiment of the New Orleans gumbo sound, singer-pianist Dr. John (a.k.a. �The Night Tripper�) has had a long and varied career as both an in-demand session musician and as a solo artist. Whether delivering �voodoo psychedelia,� funky r&b-based material, or showing off his jazzier side, the good Dr. has been relevant for decades. Bob Dylan - He's written so many great songs and has often led good bands, such as The Band. Sure, he's done his fair share of crap and his voice is an acquired taste, but he's an immensely influential genius who is rock music's greatest lyricist. The Eagles - Though they could be a bit "smarmy" or too "middle of the road," few bands possessed the overall talent of The Eagles, whose The Greatest Hits 1971-1975 compilation is the bestselling album ever in the United States. Earth, Wind, & Fire - At their best, this group's uplifting, spiritual, and catchy funk pop makes me feel darn good. Emerson, Lake & Palmer � These critics whipping boys may have been �pretentious� show offs who went overboard at times (especially Emerson on the keyboards, but hey if you�ve got it you might as well flaunt it, right?), but they were incredible musicians who in their �70s prime epitomized progressive rock. Brian Eno - Although best known for being in Roxy Music (first two albums only) and for being a genius producer (U2, Talking Heads, etc.) who also invented "ambient" music and who has partaken in many collaborative efforts with the likes of David Bowie, John Cale, David Byrne, and Robert Fripp, Eno's first four solo albums in particular are simply terrific. The Eurythmics � This collaboration between soulful singer Annie Lennox (whose androgynous look was as striking as her voice) and multi-instrumentalist/producer Dave Stewart resulted in one of the defining new wave acts of the '80s. The Everly Brothers - Influencing The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and many others, Phil and Don Everly's flawless harmonies was their greatest asset. Best known for their Cadence classics in the '50s, the brothers released a series of strong albums in the '60s as well. Fairport Convention - This long lived band is best known for their brief late '60s-early '70s peak with brilliant singer-songwriter-guitarist Richard Thompson and fabulous female singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. During this time they were arguably the best British folk rock band ever, but some of their other periods are undervalued as well. Faith No More - The only great "rap metal" band, but then again they were much more than just that. They were one of a kind, really, and though they could be willfully difficult at times, at their best they were thrillingly idiosyncratic, atmospheric, and rocking. The Flaming Lips - Wayne Coyne's noisy alternative rockers always had a way with pop melodies (weird though they often were), and they got better as they went along, later finding "maturity" with a more lush, layered sound that improbably brought them mainstream success. Fleetwood Mac - They had so many lineups and such a crazy history, but the Peter Green era and the famous Buckingham-Nicks era in particular did some great stuff. Rumours is flawless pop rock that will be played forever. Flying Burrito Brothers / Gram Parsons - After helping birth country rock on the classic The Gilded Palace Of Sin album, Gram Parsons' solo career (with a major assist from Emmylou Harris) shined brightly before his premature drug induced death. He may not have moved many units, but his talent and his influence was massive. Foo Fighters - I think they're a great singles band who generally make merely good to very good albums, but there's no denying the number of first class individual songs the band has released over the years, and they're as much if not more of a radio presence, both on current and "classic rock" stations, as pretty much any other great rock band from the past 20 or so years that you could care to mention (like Nirvana). They're a really good live band too. The Four Seasons - Most fondly remembered for Frankie Valli's unforgettably high-pitched falsetto vocals, like their West Coast rivals The Beach Boys they had inventive vocal harmonies, albeit with a doo-wop flavor, but these legendary Jersey Boys also had a knack for tough rhythm tracks with a distinctly urban touch. The Four Tops - They had Motown's grittiest, most impassioned lead singer in Levi Stubbs, and the rest of the group (Motown's longest lasting with regards to keeping the original group together) lent the haunting harmonies that made songs such as "Reach Out" and "Bernadette" so unforgettable. In their '60s prime they also had the peerless Holland-Dozier-Holland production team writing them hit after hit. Aretha Franklin - The Queen Of Soul wasn't only the greatest female singer ever, she was a talented pianist and songwriter who in her late '60s/early '70s Atlantic heyday always had a killer band backing her. Free / Bad Company - This is probably cheating because these were two significantly different bands linked by a single drummer (Simon Kirke) and lead singer (Paul Rodgers). However, Rodgers had one of the best bluesy macho hard rock voices ever, which deserves enshrinement. Free was notable for far more than their one well-known song, "All Right Now," and in fact they were one of the best blues-based hard rock bands of the late-'60s/early-'70s, in part because ill-fated guitarist Paul Kossoff was one of the most underrated players ever. Bad Company was a "supergroup" known for their Led Zeppelin connection, but though they were more straightforwardly commercial and more formulaic than Free, they also had their fair share of classic tunes, some of which remain firm FM �classic rock� radio favorites. Fugazi � In addition to following a much-admired model of DIY ethics, rock's most principled band was also comprised of terrific musicians. If The Argument turns out to be the last Fugazi album, it was a hell of a way to go. Peter Gabriel - The former Genesis main man pursued a very different direction when he went solo, but he has crafted a solo career that is also Hall Of Fame worthy. Embracing chilly synthesizers and being among the first mainstream artists to foray into World Music, his best work is artsy yet accessible and is quite powerful. It�s a pity that his productivity has declined so drastically over the past two decades, but hopefully he still has some more quality stuff in him. Rory Gallagher � I�ve always thought of him as an Irish Stevie Ray Vaughan, except he came first, going way back to the late �60s with his power trio Taste. This hard rocking bluesman was a talented singer, songwriter, and (especially) guitar player, and though he never had any type of significant mainstream success, that�s partially because he preferred it that way. His output is remarkably consistent, he was a terrific live performer, and the respect and love he receives from his fans and peers is off the charts, plus he was extremely influential on the Irish music scene. Marvin Gaye - From '60s hitmaker, both as a solo artist and as Motown's go-go duet guy (Tammi Terrell being his most notable partner), to his socially conscious and/or sexually charged '70s work, Marvin Gaye could do it all, never more wonderfully than on his signature album What's Going On. He may have lacked the consistency of some of his peer, but at his best few were better than Marvin Gaye, who above all else was one of the greatest singers ever. Genesis - Peter Gabriel-led art rock giants turned stadium filling pop superstars (the Phil Collins-led era), I rather like both eras though it is the less commercially successful Gabriel era that most hardcore Genesis fans prefer these days. Gabriel's quite different solo career is also often superb, while Collins of course was inescapable in the '80s. Guitarist Steve Hackett has also done some good solo stuff, and Mike Rutherford had considerable commercial success with Mike and the Mechanics. Grateful Dead - The biggest cult band of all time, and one of the great live bands, though in some ways "you had to have been there, man...". Al Green - My favorite singer of all time. He was a great songwriter too, albeit limited stylistically, and it didn't hurt that his backing band (the Hi Rhythm Section) and producer (Willie Mitchell) were among the best at their craft as well. Green Day - The bottom line is that this band had not one but two great (and massive selling) albums that helped define that particular era, 10 years apart! Dookie brought punk, or more accurately, punk pop, kicking and screaming into the mainstream, while American Idiot (later the basis of a successful Broadway show!) revived the rock opera while bashing George W. Bush. Some of their other albums and singles were successful as well, such as the deeply affecting if decidedly un-punk ballad "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)." The Guess Who� These guys had a bunch of hits (both mellow and hard rocking) that are still played on classic rock radio and which still make me take notice whenever they come on. Led by a terrific singer in the raspy-voiced Burton Cummings, they also had �impact� in the way that they helped open the doors for subsequent successful Canadian acts. (When guitarist Randy Bachmann left to form Bachmann-Turner Overdrive, or BTO as everyone calls them, they had a handful of hard rocking hits that are still played some 40 odd years later, thus proving their durability as well.) Guided By Voices � Sure, quality control has been an issue (Robert Pollard makes Ryan Adams seem like a slacker!), as has band membership turnover, but along with Pavement GBV defined the �lo-fi� indie movement of the �90s. Like Pavement they moved towards a more professional sound but the quality songs continued. Obviously indebted to The Beatles, The Who, all the right influences, basically, the fact of the matter is that despite their flaws few bands have produced more great songs than GBV over the past 20+ years, and GBV are a cult band in the best sense of the term. Guns n' Roses - Their prime was all too brief, and frankly they blew it big time, but during that brief period they were the biggest and arguably best band in the world. P.S. The current incarnation of GNR with Axl Rose as the only remaining original member is a fraudulent co-option of the band's name that has nothing to do with the original GNR. Hall & Oates - Although many critics find Daryl Hall (great soul singer) and John Oates (great moustache) to be too tasteful and refined (i.e. too slick for their own good), and they certainly had cheesy characteristics that gives their music a dated quality from time to time, at their best these guys produced some of the best mainstream pop songs of the �70s and �80s (i.e. �Sara Smile,� �She�s Gone,� �You Make My Dreams,� etc.). Simply put, they dominated commercial radio and MTV in the early �80s, and even today they remain the bestselling pop duo of all-time. Emmylou Harris � If I�m inducting Gram Parsons it only makes sense to induct Emmylou Harris as well. The �Queen Of Country Rock� is simply one of the finest female singers ever, which is why so many greats have done duets with her. She�s had tremendously talented musicians in her band (including Rodney Crowell, Rick Skaggs, Albert Lee, and James Burton) and some of her albums, like my personal favorite, her 1995 collaboration with Daniel Lanois Wrecking Ball, are anything but straight up country. Emmylou Harris is pure class in every way and is a deserving Hall Of Famer. George Harrison - Sure he was always overshadowed in The Beatles, and his monumental first album All Things Must Pass (arguably the best solo album from any former Beatle) towers over everything else he ever did as a solo artist, but what an album that was! Besides, it's not like he stopped making good music thereafter, both as a solo artist and as the de-facto leader of the Traveling Wilburys. Plus, his Bangladesh concerts showed that rockers could use their clout to make a real difference in the world, paving the way for future massive benefit concerts such as Live Aid, Farm Aid, and the "A Conspiracy of Hope" series of concerts on behalf of Amnesty International. P.J. Harvey - A true original whose intense, challenging, tough, stripped-down, blues-based music can be tough to love but is impossible to ignore or forget. To call her one of the best female artists of the past 2+ decades sells her short. Isaac Hayes - Before Barry White there was Isaac Hayes (who I far prefer), whose ultra-lush and sensuous yet sometimes funky brand of psychedelic soul reached its apex on Hot Buttered Soul and the Shaft soundtrack. He also wrote (with David Porter) many classic songs for Sam and Dave, and sometimes sat in with Booker T. & The MG's. Heart - I'm not sure they meet the greatness bar, but they were certainly a very good and extremely influential band. The Wilson sisters (Ann and Nancy) inspired legions of females to pick up guitars and sing, though very few do it as well as these two ladies (Ann in particular is one of the best female vocalists ever). Songs such as "Crazy On You," "Magic Man," and "Barracuda" still regularly make the rounds on classic rock radio, and though from an artistic standpoint you could argue against the merits of their glossy '80s work, which attained their greatest commercial success, they still deserve credit for continually reinventing themselves (and besides "Alone" is a killer power ballad). Jimi Hendrix Experience - The ultimate guitar hero and rock star, he led a great band and was also an underrated singer-songwriter. The Hollies - More than being just the first band of Graham Nash (after all they continued to have hits after Nash left the fold), The Hollies were a great British Invasion (pop) band best known for their brilliantly high-pitched three-part harmonies. Husker Du / Sugar - OK, I'm cheating here so that I can include both H�sker D� and the underrated Sugar, two of the best alternative rock bands of the past 30 years (and H�sker D� was one of the main underground bands who laid the groundwork for Nirvana). Bob Mould's solo work is generally good too even though I prefer his band work. The Impressions - Before Curtis Mayfield spectacularly went solo, he wrote and performed some of the greatest soul pop songs of the '60s with The Impressions, including "Gypsy Woman," "It's All Right," "I'm So Proud," "Keep On Pushin�," and "People Get Ready." Iron Maiden - MY group maybe more than any other on this list. I probably listened to these guys throughout my teenage and young adult years more than anyone else, and I still love 'em, though they've definitely had some down periods as well (particularly the lost Blaze Bayley years, but that was a tough time for heavy metal in general). They were my 2nd concert, and they're one of the best and most important hard rock/heavy metal bands ever, period. The Isley Brothers - They charted hits over 6 decades, starting with early classics "Shout" and "Twist and Shout" and peaking with their '70s lineup, which brought the funk and the pop and featured Jimi Hendrix acolyte Ernie Isley impressing on guitar. Janet Jackson � Although overshadowed by brother Michael and the infamous �Nipplegate� Super Bowl scandal (hey years earlier she did warn us that she was �Nasty,� right?), the lovely Ms. Jackson was a dominant dance-funk-pop-r&b force for a good 15 years, with a slew of fine albums and big hit singles to her name. Producers/collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis deserve much credit as well in helping shape her at times surprisingly edgy sound. Michael Jackson / The Jackson 5 - The King Of Pop. Forget all the weirdness and his controversial death if you can, and remember a young Michael who once ruled the entertainment world, first with his brothers and then as a solo artist. Few artists were as electrifying as a live performer, and he dominated MTV as arguably the best video artist ever. The Jam - Despite never making much of an impact in the U.S., they were THE U.K. band for many people in the late-'70s/early-'80s, and their music (especially their singles) still holds up extremely well. They were grouped among the punks (uneasily) but let's not forget that they also influenced many later post-punk and "Britpop" bands. Etta James � The Hall could certainly use more of a female presence, but at least they inducted the great Etta James! Jane�s Addiction � Sure, Perry Farrell is another �acquired taste� singer, the band broke up prematurely, and many have been underwhelmed by their comeback efforts (which I think have been better than generally advertised), but you could easily argue that Jane�s started opening the doors that Nirvana and others later crashed through. They had a unique hybrid sound (obviously indebted to funk, metal, and Zep but still uniquely their own; how could it not be with Farrell singing?) and a great band chemistry that shined brightest on Nothing�s Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual. They had a rep as an incendiary live act and of course Farrell also organized the Lollapalooza Festival. Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship (but not Starship!) - Though much of their music definitely has a dated quality to it, the Jefferson Airplane did some great stuff that defined the psychedelic hippy era of the late '60s, in particular Grace Slick sung songs such as "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit."After the band's most accomplished musicians (bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen) left to form Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, with key new members such as guitarist Craig Chaquico and later singer Mickey Thomas joining Airplane holdovers Slick, Paul Kantner, and sometimes Marty Balin (among others as the band had a rotating cast of musicians), also had a successful run, peaking in 1975 with the #1 album Red Octopus and its massive Balin-sung hit "Miracles" and later packing arenas as a hard rocking AOR band best exemplified by excellent hits such as "Jane," �Find Your Way Back,� and "Stranger." Unfortunately Slick (who also briefly left the band in the late �70s/early �80s) and Thomas continued with the truly dreadful, overly poppy Starship (of �We Built This City� infamy), but that doesn't diminish their earlier accomplishments. Jethro Tull - The first band I ever saw in concert, they'll always have a special place in my heart for that reason. Regardless, in their prime (roughly 1969-1978) they were an excellent band who successfully mixed together folk, prog, pop, and hard rock. But their most impressive feat may have been making the flute cool to rock audiences! Billy Joel - Yeah he had his flaws but I won't focus on those because the bottom line is that this piano man sang many songs that millions took to heart. It's a pity about that premature retirement, but better than sticking around too long. Elton John - The current generation brought up on The Lion King and Princess Di tributes often forget how truly great this guy was in the '70s, where he was extraordinarily prolific and productive. This guy was a great singer, songwriter (with help from lyricist Bernie Taupin), and piano player, and his backing band on his classic albums was great too. Janis Joplin & Big Brother and the Holding Company - Although her legend eclipses her actual recorded output, nobody sang the blues with such unfettered emotion or exuded such a raw vulnerability, whether with Big Brother and the Holding Company (most notably Cheap Thrills) or on her subsequent solo tilts (most notably Pearl). Journey - From humble beginnings as an underrated prog/fusion band (the Gregg Rollie era), the band later found massive success as stadium filling superstars (the Steve Perry/Jonathan Cain era). Although hated by most critics and hipsters, the band�s core members possessed undeniable talent (in particular singer Perry and guitarist Neal Schon) and they wrote and performed many songs that millions enjoy. �Don�t Step Believin�� especially is a timeless classic. Joy Division / New Order - Joy Division only had two proper albums, but both are classics. They had some great non-album singles as well, some of their greatest songs in fact, plus they released a remarkable (and remarkably little known) live album. People harp on how gloomy they were but rarely mention how intense and rocking they were. New Order were pretty great too, albeit in a more dance oriented style that is less appealing to me on the whole. Judas Priest - One of the all-time heavy metal bands, period. People forget just how ahead of their time they were in the mid to late '70s, as they were the first metal band to popularize the non-bluesy, European twin-guitar sound that became so prominent thereafter. Second only to Black Sabbath in terms of influence among metal bands, they had a very long and consistent run producing top-shelf material, and Rob Halford may be the greatest of all metal singers. Carole King - One could argue that she deserves enshrinement for Tapestry alone given that it is arguably the definitive female singer-songwriter album. Factor in all those hits she wrote for others with former husband Gerry Goffin, and her generally worthwhile and underrated non-Tapestry output, and I feel that she is very deserving. King Crimson - This band kickstarted the progressive rock subgenre and had a least three classic lineups. Sure, they recorded a fair amount of filler, but at their best Robert Fripp's hard-hitting progsters are one of the few bands who can leave me awestruck, so massive was their virtuosic talent. Greg Lake, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, and Adrian Belew are but some of the supremely talented members who have graced the band's ranks over the years. The Kinks - Most people don't realize just how great The Kinks were since their best albums (late '60s - early '70s) were among their least popular. I even like the less subtle later arena rock stuff, though earlier they went too far with concept albums and they petered out at the very end. Ray Davies was a brilliant songwriter and lyricist, and brother Dave was a very underrated guitarist (and a fine songwriter himself whose backing vocals also often hit the spot). KISS - A live band first and foremost, they were all about the live spectacle. That said, they also wrote their fair share of classic hard rock tunes, though too often the marketing of goods seemed to take precedence over the music. Gladys Knight & The Pips � A classy singer of many styles on several labels (most notably Motown and Buddah), Gladys Knight and her Pips were a quality act for many years. Kraftwerk - I�m not a huge fan of their music, but they deserve to be in any rock Hall Of Fame because you could make a case that no other band did more than this influential German ensemble to help popularize synthesizer-based electronic music. (P.S. Early members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger formed the also influential group Neu!) Kyuss / Queens Of The Stone Age - Kyuss was the definitive "stoner rock" cult band who dropped two classic albums (Blues For The Red Sun, Welcome To Sky Valley) before Homme formed the more commercial (and far more successful) Queens Of The Stone Age with ex-Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri (since kicked out of the band which is Homme's baby through and through anyway, though notable guests such as singer Mark Lanegan and drummer Dave Grohl have also made stellar contributions). Songs For The Deaf is one of the best albums of the 2000s, and Homme has been prolific with other projects as well, including his series of Desert Sessions albums, Eagles Of Death Metal, and Them Crooked Vultures (his �supergroup� with Led Zeppelin�s John Paul Jones and Foo Fighters� Dave Grohl). Led Zeppelin - Amazing band. I love the first 6 studio albums and like the last 2, plus the archive live albums are great (and The Song Remains The Same has its moments as well). Each musician is among the best at what they do, but together they were greater than the sum of their individual parts. My favorite band along with The Beatles. John Lennon - Although inconsistent, John's impeccably honest solo career spawned two classic albums (Plastic Ono Band, Imagine), numerous great songs, and the promise of much more before he was gunned down by a madman in his adopted hometown of New York City. Little Feat - Led by terrific singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George, these eclectic, supremely underrated Southern rockers were one of the best bands of the '70s. Los Lobos � Although technically a �one-hit wonder� via their popular rendition of Ritchie Valens� �La Bamba� (a #1 hit), these Tex-Mex titans have been an incredibly consistent, versatile, and innovative band for over 30 years now. Love � This legendary West Coast cult band led by Arthur Lee is best known for the enduring critic�s classic Forever Changes (1967). They never made it big like their Elektra label mates The Doors, but their reputation has continued to grow over the years, and deservedly so. Combine musical excellence with influence and they are worthy of induction. The Lovin' Spoonful - One of those great second tier singles bands of the sixties, the band had an excellent singer-songwriter in John Sebastian and an eclectic sound that encompassed a dizzying array of styles (bluegrass, country, ragtime, orchestral pop, gentle ballads, dramatic rockers, etc.). Though the band had a lighter (i.e. unpolitical), less groundbreaking agenda than other major rock acts of their time (�65-�67), the best songs of the Lovin� Spoonful (including �Do You Believe In Magic,� �You Didn�t Have to Be So Nice,� �Daydream,� and �Summer In The City�) have a timeless appeal. The band at their best will undoubtedly brighten your mood and make you nostalgic for a bygone era. Lynyrd Skynyrd - The second greatest southern rock band had some of rock's all-time anthems. They were cut down in their prime but still left behind an impressive legacy. "Tuesday's Gone," "Simple Man," "Saturday Night Special," "That Smell," and of course "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Freebird" are but some of their legendary songs. The Mahavishnu Orchestra - John McLaughlin's band was simply one of the most talented musical ensembles ever, each member a virtuoso. Their "classic lineup" was together only briefly in the early �70s, but they recorded two dazzling studio albums and left many concert audiences completely awed; the best "fusion" band ever, period. The Mamas and the Papas � Known for their stellar male-female harmonies, striking visual image (mostly due to the contrast between the extra-petite bombshell Michelle Phillips and the extra-large Mama Cass Elliott), incestuous inter-band relationships, and John Phillips' fine songs ("California Dreaming" and "Monday Morning" in particular were enduring #1 hits), this quintessential West Coast folk-pop combo was short-lived but made a lasting impact. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Bob Marley IS reggae, but he could also play folk, soul, and rock, and The Wailers always provided perfect accompaniment. His omnipresent hits collection sums him up perfectly with a single succinct word: Legend. Martha and the Vandellas - They had a tougher sound than most of their Motown peers, and with the help of the peerless Holland-Dozier-Holland production team, during their 1963-1967 prime they produced some of the greatest songs of the '60s, chief among them "Heat Wave," "Nowhere To Run," and "Dancing In The Street." Massive Attack - Few bands can claim to have invented a genre, but that's just what this Bristol-based collective did when they dropped their classic "trip-hop" album Blue Lines in 1991. They later topped it with the even more impressive Mezzanine in 1998, and early contributor Tricky released his own great solo album Maxinquaye in 1995. Mastodon - This may be a premature selection if they subsequently turn to crap (not likely), but in my opinion they are probably the best truly heavy metal band of the 2000s (drummer Brann Dailor in particular is incredible). Leviathan and Crack the Skye are modern masterpieces. John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - "The Godfather of British Blues," John Mayall was a major instigator of his nation's blues boom in the mid-to-late '60s. The ranks of his band (and it was his band, though his more famous bandmates all eventually left for "bigger things") reads like a "who's who" of major blues rock figures from that era, and only the Yardbirds can rival the guitar triumvirate of Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor (other members who came and went included drummers Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar plus bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie). Their albums from 1966 through 1969 in particular are well worth the time of any blues rock fan. Curtis Mayfield - On superb solo albums such as Curtis and his classic "blaxploitation" soundtrack Superfly, Mayfield wrote gritty urban dramas that read like the best short stories. Ultimately an optimist (more obvious on his early Impressions sides), he also had a serious romantic streak, and his underrated guitar playing and creamy falsetto vocals only added to an overall package that was pure class. Paul McCartney & Wings - Paul gets a bit of a bad rap for writing too many silly love songs, but he's also produced his fair share of classics with and without his band Wings. Ram and Band On The Run in particular are terrific albums, and songs such as "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Band On The Run," "Jet," and "Live and Let Die" are worthy of comparison to his best Beatles work. MC5 - Although short-lived and somewhat overshadowed by their fellow Detroit proto-punk peers The Stooges, these motherf**kers could really kick out the jams with a ferocious attack that could also be quite musical. Megadeth - I saw them live 4 times and they were great each time. Heavy but accessible, with terrific musicianship (especially the classic Mustaine/Ellefson/Menza/Friedman lineup), Megadeth are the thinking man's metal band. Rust In Peace is one of the best metal albums ever, and they have several other high quality releases as well. I wish that group leader and musical mastermind Dave Mustaine would get over the whole Metallica thing already, though. John Mellencamp � This heartland rocker may not be the most exciting or original artist - certainly he owes a debt to the Stones, CCR, and most notably Springsteen - but he sure has written a lot of good songs over the years, and he was a steady presence on the singles charts for a good 15 years (before radio stopped playing new material by older classic rockers). His band was always good too, and his values were especially embraced by �small town� Americans. Metallica - 20 years ago they'd probably be in my top 10, maybe even top 5, but on record they've been mediocre or worse a lot longer than they were actually great at this point. However, for five albums they were the best heavy metal band ever, and Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets in particular are among the best of the best. The Meters � Similar to Booker T. & The MG�s, this great groove band spectacularly backed tons of artists while also releasing some fine albums in their own right (from �69-�77). The Meters define the rich, funky sound of New Orleans. Steve Miller Band - Most people aren't aware that this guy has been around since the '60s, when he made a series of very good bluesy psychedelic rock albums (a couple with future star Boz Scaggs as part of the band). Of course, he hit his commercial stride in the mid-'70s with the songs - chief among them "The Joker," "Take The Money and Run," "Rock 'n Me," "Swingtown," "Jungle Love," "Fly Like An Eagle" - that comprise his Greatest Hits 1974-78 album, which is inescapable on any college campus (or at least it was back when I attended college from 1987-1991). The hits dried up after 1982's fluke-ish single "Abracadabra," as Steve wasn't exactly tailor made for the MTV era, but his smooth, catchy tunes continue to live on, and they still sound damn good whenever they come on classic rock radio. Joni Mitchell - Whether singing literate, highly confessional singer songwriter fare (most notably on the seminal Blue), or delivering more musically fleshed out, jazzier compositions (on classic albums like Court and Spark, The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, and Hejira), Joni Mitchell's music is almost always interesting and original even if it's rarely easy listening. She also happens to be one of the best lyricists ever and is an underrated singer and guitar player. The Monkees - Regardless of whether or not they were a "manufactured band," their influence is undeniable. Every manufactured "boy band" owes them a debt (for better and mostly worse), and they were the single most important band to marry audio and visual mediums, which ultimately led to MTV. So what if they didn't play on their first two albums? A lot of famous bands can say the same thing, that's how it was done back in the day. Besides, they ultimately gained their independence and became a "real band," and a very good one at that. Most importantly, they have some of the most universally beloved songs of all time, chief among them "Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and "Daydream Believer." The Moody Blues - These guys were never critics' faves, which is perhaps one reason why I don't completely trust critics! Their 1967-72 prime in particular makes these artsy symphonic prog pop rockers easily worthy of induction. Van Morrison - He's a crank and a sourpuss but from '68-'79 he was utterly brilliant, as good as anyone really. Astral Weeks may be the greatest album ever, and Moondance, Saint Dominic's Preview, Veedon Fleece, and Into The Music would all contend for my top 100 too (Moondance top 50). Some of his later albums are quite solid as well. Motley Crue � I will always love the first two Motley Crue albums and feel that they were underachievers thereafter, being more concerned with partying than producing good music. But they had their fair share of good individual songs thereafter as well, they�ve remained a strong touring unit, and it seems right that at least one other L.A. �hair band� other than Guns n� Roses should be inducted. Like it or not, pretty boy hard rock dominated much of the 1980s. Mot�rhead - The ultimate grunge band, really. Pure power, I just love their dirty sound. I dig the quote where Lemmy said "if we moved next door your lawn would die." They have many thrilling, hard rocking songs (of particular note is the immortal �Ace Of Spades�) and they always deliver the goods live, especially incredible drummer Mikkey Dee. Mott The Hoople / Ian Hunter - Like some other great bands on this list (Free, Procol Harum, Thin Lizzy), Mott The Hoople are unfairly remembered in the U.S. as a "one hit wonder," in this case for the brilliant "All The Young Dudes" which they famously didn't even write (David Bowie did though it is Ian Hunter's inspired lead vocal that makes it such a standout). Fact is, Hunter's glam-era outfit, known for their self-mythologizing lyrics, were a gritty band of underdogs who did some great stuff. Hunter's subsequent solo career, at times with guitarist Mick Ronson, is also well-worth following (start with his self-titled debut or You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic), and of course original guitarist Mick Ralphs (replaced by Ariel Bender) later found fame and fortune in Bad Company. The Move / ELO - Although these bands were very different, with the eclectic Roy Wood-led The Move trying everything from whimsical pop, psychedelia, and even hard rock, and the Jeff Lynne-led ELO (Lynne joined The Move late and Wood left ELO after their first album) perfecting an at first artsy but increasingly commercial classical influenced brand of Beatles-esque pop, I believe that they are a very worthy 2-for-1 induction, especially if you consider Wood's post-ELO career (his band Wizzard and solo albums such as Boulders) and Lynne's influential producer career collaborating with the likes of fellow Traveling Wilburys George Harrison and Tom Petty. (Heck, ELO are worthy all by themselves, but I feel that The Move are criminally underrated and worth another look as well.) My Bloody Valentine - THE shoegazer band, with THE shoegazer album (Loveless). Their other proper albums, Isn't Anything and the belatedly released mbv are also quite good, and some of their EPs contain some prime stuff as well. My Morning Jacket - Perhaps this selection is a bit premature, but these guys are among my favorite modern day bands. I dig their relaxed yet rocking reverb-drenched sound, leader Jim James is an excellent singer/songwriter/guitarist, and this "jam band" can really bring it live (check out their great live album Okonokos). The National � Among the most critically acclaimed modern day bands (though their commercial success hasn�t quite matched their accolades), their great trilogy of albums Alligator, Boxer, and High Violet alone makes them Hall-worthy. And though their last album wasn't quite as great I have a feeling that there's more where that came from. Willie Nelson � If Johnny Cash belongs in my Hall Of Fame (and he does) then so does fellow �outlaw� Willie. Neutral Milk Hotel - Only two albums, but one of them, In the Aeorplane Over The Sea, is one of my favorite albums ever; it's a cornerstone of any serious indie rock collection, and is one of the signature albums of the late '90s. Randy Newman - His brilliantly sarcastic sense of humor wouldn't mean much if he wasn't such a superb songwriter (he can greatly move me as well as make me laugh). I only wish he had done less soundtrack work and more (less lucrative, presumably) proper singer-songwriter albums. He's got a friend in me, in any event. The New Pornographers - This �Canadian indie rock supergroup� instantly delivered three wonderfully colorful, catchy, and propulsively rocking pop albums. Their subsequent two albums have merely been very good, but I feel that they are especially Hall Of Fame worthy if you consider the band as an extended family and include key members' solo albums (Colin Newman, Neko Case) and other band albums (Dan Bejar's Destroyer). New York Dolls - This glammy New York "proto-punk" band influenced much of the subsequent punk, new wave, and glam metal movements. Taking their musical cues from The Rolling Stones and girl groups, the band's sloppy but exciting sound originally yielded two seminal albums before the band members went their separate ways. Singer David Johansen and guitarist/junkie Johnny Thunders (first with The Heartbreakers and then solo) had the most productive post-Dolls careers, and Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain improbably regrouped in the mid-2000s and continue to play together (the rest of the band is deceased, alas, Thunders from an all too predictable drug overdose). Harry Nilsson � This uniquely talented and eccentric singer-songwriter, much beloved by The Beatles and a drinking buddy of John Lennon, is best known for the singles �Everybody�s Talkin�� and �Without You,� both of which featured his fantastic lead vocals. Although his two biggest hits were covers, Nilsson (sometimes he�s only known by his last name) was also a strong songwriter in his own right (for example, Three Dog Night had a big hit with his song �One�). Nine Inch Nails - The most popular "industrial" artist ever and one of the quintessential acts of the 1990s, Trent Reznor has remained relevant in the 2000s even though he (let's face it, he is Nine Inch Nails) has unsurprisingly failed to match his earlier impact. The Downward Spiral in particular is one of the defining albums of the 1990s. Nirvana - They had a small discography but what an impact. And they were legitimately great. Pity they were so (literally) short-lived. Laura Nyro � A highly innovative and influential singer-songwriter best known for penning hits for others, her own superb albums, in particular the early ones released between 1967-1971, make her a worthy Hall Of Fame inductee. Oasis - Mostly for those first 2 albums (Definitely Maybe, (What�s The Story) Morning Glory?), both of which I will always love, though some of their later stuff is underrated as well; they never stopped being good even if they did stop being great. At their best they produced timeless music that defined Britpop in the '90s. The O'Jays - This vocal group hit their peak in the 1970s, particularly on albums such as Back Stabbers and Ship Ahoy, which helped define "Philly soul" with considerable assistance from the legendary production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and the MFSB house band. Opeth - A great proggy modern day death metal band who do heavy and atmospheric exceptionally well. Sometimes I�m not in the mood for their more extreme vocals and super-long songs, though, that I must admit. Roy Orbison - Nobody sang for the lonely better than Roy Orbison, who had a distinctive look and a one in a trillion voice. Ozzy Osbourne - Yes his solo career warrants induction as well, mostly for the Randy Rhoads era, though he did some good stuff afterwards as well, most notably No More Tears. The best concert I've ever attended - BY FAR - was during Ozzy's "retirement tour" in 1991. It's a pity that he didn't stick to his word because he's become little more than a punch line in recent years. Pantera - One of the '90s heaviest and most important heavy metal bands, Pantera were an ultra-intense live act whose Far Beyond Driven album may be Billboard's most uncompromising #1 album ever. I actually prefer the two prior albums, Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display Of Power, as the band got a bit too heavy and unmelodic for their own good later on. They also influenced a lot of crappy bands but that's no more their fault than Nirvana or Pearl Jam for spawning post-grunge (ewe). Graham Parker and the Rumour - If Elvis Costello belongs in the Hall Of Fame then so does Graham Parker (the two �angry young men� are often compared and I for one prefer Parker at his best). In particular, albums such as Howlin� Wind, Heat Treatment, and Squeezing Out Sparks should greatly appeal to fans of early Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison. After his great mid-to-late-�70s run his output was decidedly more hit-and-miss, but he did have some �hits� (if not actual chart hits) and by then he�d done enough to warrant induction anyway (in this Hall Of Fame at least!). Special mention for The Rumour, one of the great backing bands who appeared on his best albums. Pavement - They defined slacker "lo-fi" indie cool in the early '90s before pursuing a more professional sound. The quality songs continued, however. Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain are among the best albums of the '90s. Pearl Jam - GREAT debut album, a very consistent career (even if they're consistent in their inconsistency). Excellent musicians, with one of rock's most compelling lead singers in Eddie Vedder, they've accumulated the most great material of all the grunge bands simply by sticking around, and they�ve remained a top touring attraction. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - A consistently good (and prolific) album maker and a consistently great singles artist with a top-notch band behind him (even his solo albums usually featured at least one or two Heartbreakers). P-Funk - Including Parliament, Funkadelic, and many other offshoots, these guys were simply out of this world, whether rocking out with hard psychedelic rock on the early Funkadelic albums or making you (and the entire world) shake your booty to the many dancehall smashes during Parliament's heyday. Bassist Bootsy Collins, guitarist Eddie Hazel, and keyboardist Bernie Worrell are but the most notable musicians who participated in George Clinton's funk empire. Phish � THE post-Grateful Dead �jam band,� for better or (some would argue) worse. I like �em so here they are. Wilson Pickett - "Wicked" Wilson Pickett was simply one of the best Southern soul singers ever. Pink Floyd - I think the early psychedelic Syd Barrett period is a bit overrated but during their '70s prime they were one of the best bands ever. The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall in particular are among the bestselling, and best, albums ever. The ultimate "album band," just press play and chill out. Pixies - They went from being underrated to a bit overrated due to their supposed influence on many alternative bands including Nirvana, but they were still one of a kind and did a lot of great stuff in a very short period of time. Also, their successful comeback ignited many other similar comebacks, as once again the Pixies led rather than followed. The Police - Early on they mixed punk, pop, and reggae, while later they briefly achieved "biggest band in the world" status due to Sting's superior pop songwriting. And then, rarity of rarities, they broke up while still on top. (Of course, Sting has gone on to have a very successful solo career, but like most people I far prefer his work with The Police.) Porcupine Tree � Among modern day prog oriented bands, this Steven Wilson led ensemble definitely stands out from the pack, and they�ve already attained at least semi-legendary (cult band) status. Whether delivering atmospheric, spacey ballads or near-metallic rockers, there�s little that this talented band doesn�t do extremely well. Portishead - Their output is thus far limited to only three studio albums and a live album, but everything they have released has been great, in particular their debut album Dummy which I consider to be the quintessential trip-hop album. They have a uniquely atmospheric sound and a great singer; I just wish that they were more prolific. Elvis Presley - The once, future, and forever King Of Rock 'n' Roll. The Pretenders � I was surprised that they got into the real Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame on their first try given how many more worthy acts (in my opinion, of course) are still on the outside looking in. Then again, they have an iconic female frontwoman with a great voice, their first album (recorded before James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died way too young) is a classic, and I guess they�ve done enough high-quality stuff thereafter to warrant induction. Prince - The Purple One was beyond weird (Unpronounceable Symbol, anyone?) and way too prolific for his own good, but he's also a genius multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, guitar hero, and singer. Most of his '80s albums are essential, and some of his later stuff is also undervalued (plus let�s not forget that he was a badass live performer). Procol Harum - It's absurd that this consistently stellar band are known almost exclusively in the United States for one song, the undeniably classic "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Intelligent lyrics (Keith Reid), soulful vocals (Gary Brooker), strong musicianship (in particular guitarist Robin Trower, keyboardist Matthew Fisher, and drummer B.J. Wilson), an innovative sound that merged classical music, prog, and hard rock, plus ambitious, well-written songs; what more could you want? Guitarist Robin Trower went on to a notable solo career delivering bluesy hard rock as well. Pulp � Think �90s �Britpop� and Oasis and Blur immediately come to mind, but many people actually preferred Pulp. Their lack of significant success in the U.S. will likely preclude them from ever entering the museum in Cleveland without a ticket, but based on merit their stellar four album run from 1994-1998 makes them worthy of induction. Queen - Never critics faves, and there is a campy datedness to much of their material, but at their best these guys were truly great, in particular innovative guitarist Brian May and flamboyant singer Freddie Mercury, an all-time frontman and singer who sadly passed away far too young. Radiohead - Hands down the best band of the past 15 years (1995-2010) and one of the very best bands ever. Rage Against The Machine - I'm not really a fan of their style or their singer but the fact that they were basically THE rap metal band of their era makes them worthy of induction, plus Tom Morello was one of the most innovative guitar players of '90s. Best experienced on record in limited dosages, they were first and foremost a powerhouse live unit. Rainbow - The Ritchie Blackmore/Ronnie James Dio version of the band birthed "power metal" and influenced countless hard rock bands. Subsequent (increasingly commercial) incarnations of the band were less impressive but had their moments as well. Ramones - The most important and best American punk band. Their first four albums in particular are essential. The Rascals - Another band who are right up my alley, I just LOVE their sound, rocking yet so soulful. Dino Dinelli is one of the best drummer's ever. Their prime years were brief but their best singles remain timeless classics. Otis Redding - The personification of gritty Southern soul music, Otis was one of the all-time greats despite tragically dying from a plane crash far too young. Stax Records was never quite the same after his passing. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Like 'em or loathe 'em, there's no getting around the fact that these guys are frontrunners of a specific type of music (funk rock), and that they have been consistent hitmakers for over two decades now. Lou Reed - Although his inconsistent solo career has always been overshadowed by his groundbreaking work in The Velvet Underground, it has had enough peaks (amid some dire valleys) to warrant Lou being a two time inductee. R.E.M. - These guys became stars the right way, constantly evolving and broadening their fan base, with no loss of artistic integrity. Mostly, they're just an amazingly consistent band, even though they slipped after Bill Berry left. They came back strong at the end though, and exited while still in fine form; not a bad way to go out if you ask me. The Replacements - The 'Mats early stuff was a bit too sloppy and under-developed, their later stuff a bit too slick and unexciting, but for three albums (Let It Be, Tim, Pleased To Meet Me) they got everything just about right. A much beloved, truly great garage rock band with one of the best lyricists ever. The Righteous Brothers � Along with The Rascals these guys (deep voiced Bill Medley and high-pitched Bobby Hatfield) epitomized �blue-eyed soul� in the �60s and, typically with more than a little help from producer Phil Spector, delivered a handful of all-time classic singles, chief among them �You�ve Lost The Lovin� Feeling,� �Unchained Melody� (my wedding song!), �Just Once In My Life,� and (without Spector) �Soul and Inspiration.� Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - I'm not sure that he was "America's greatest living poet," as Bob Dylan famously said, but he was a great lyricist, songwriter, and singer, and he was probably the second most important person at Motown behind Berry Gordy. This entry includes Smokey�s work with the Miracles and his successful solo career. The Rolling Stones - They had as many great songs as anyone, though unlike The Beatles and Led Zeppelin they didn't know when to call it a day. Still, for many years they lived up to their "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band" moniker. Linda Rondstadt � The pre-eminent female pop-rock singer of the �70s, she had many notable successes in a variety of genres thereafter as well. Her crystal clear voice always sounds immaculate and is immediately recognizeable. The Ronettes � Led by Ronnie Spector vocally and producer Phil Spector and The Wrecking Crew musically, these three gals (also including Ronnie�s sister Estelle Bennett and cousin Nedra Talley) only released one proper album (Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica) and some singles, but what songs they were! At their best, especially on the immortal �Be My Baby� (other classics included ��Baby, I Love You,� �(The Best Part Of) Breakin� Up,� and �Walking In The Rain�), this �girl group� released some of the greatest songs of the mid-�60s. Roxy Music - They were ahead of their time and sounded like nobody else (hell they sounded like they were from another planet), though they influenced a lot of the new wave music that followed. Their first five albums are all really good to great and Avalon was an elegant swan song. Rufus & Chaka Khan � Whether with her stellar first band Rufus (often billed as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan) or during her subsequent solo career, Chaka Khan deserves recognition as one of the premiere female r&b/funk vocalists ever. Todd Rundgren and Utopia - He may be inconsistent and overly prolific but Todd is a legitimate genius with a ton of top stuff (especially in the �70s, his most commercially successful period), both solo and with his groups The Nazz and especially Utopia. He's also a very underrated singer and guitar player, and a top-shelf songwriter and producer. Rush - The ultimate "progressive hard rock" power trio. Fantastic musicianship, great live. Worshipped by nerds worldwide. A band with many great songs and albums though they never really nailed that ultra-classic album. Leon Russell � In lieu of not having a �Musical Excellence� award in my Hall Of Fame, I�m inducting the �Master Of Time & Space� as a main performer. After all, in addition to playing on countless sessions, Russell had a notable solo career (which peaked in the early �70s). An unlikely superstar given his wizardly appearance, Leon was a true original. Sam and Dave - Double Dynamite, their prime only lasted a couple of years (1966-68) but during that time this dynamic duo (Sam Moore and Dave Prater) gave even Otis Redding a run for his money. P.S. Props are also due to the songwriting team of David Porter (not Prater) and Isaac Hayes for providing these guys with great material. Santana - Mostly for their pioneering early albums, back when Santana was the name of an actual band rather than a guy. Of course, that guy, Carlos Santana, was a fantastic guitar player with one of the purest, most emotional guitar tones ever, but the entire ensemble could really cook up powerful Latin rock grooves. The Scorpions - The early albums were highlighted by Uli Jon Roth's extraordinary guitar playing. When he left the band pursued a more commercial, highly successful path, but the steely Euro riffs, strong vocals, and quality tunes continued through 1984's Love At First Sting. I'm not a fan of their later albums, but their productive first decade and their reputation as a stellar live act throughout their career makes them easily worthy of a Hall Of Fame induction. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - To quote Wikipedia: "A roots rocker with a classic raspy, shouting voice, Seger wrote and recorded songs that dealt with blue-collar themes and was an exemplar of heartland rock. Seger has recorded many hits, including "Night Moves," "Turn the Page," "We've Got Tonight," "Against the Wind," and "Like a Rock."" Although he could be rather generic, some of his early stuff rocked surprisingly hard (though strong albums like Ramblin' Gamblin' Man and Back in '72 are distressingly hard to find), and additional classic tracks like "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "2 + 2 = ?" (the greatest anti-war song ever?), "Beautiful Loser," "Main Street," "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," "Still The Same," "Hollywood Nights," "'Till It Shines," "Feel Like a Number," "Her Strut," and "Fire Lake" makes him (and his stellar band) Hall Of Fame worthy despite being a victim of classic rock radio overexposure. The Sex Pistols - These thuggish anarchists changed the world, and for a brief spell were a terrific rock band as well. The Shangri-Las - Formed around the singing talents of a pair of sisters, Mary (who sang lead) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss, and identical twins Marguerite "Marge" and Mary Ann Ganser, The Shangri-Las had the tough gal look (i.e. tight leather outfits with go-go boots), the songs (often supplied by the legendary tandem of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich), and the sound (producer George "Shadow" Morton was a similarly inventive rival of Phil Spector). They had it all, really, and at least for a little while (1964-1966) they did teenage melodrama as well as any �girl group.� The Shirelles - One of the most important styles of rock music, especially during the period between when Elvis first hit and the Beatles-led British Invasion, was the "girl group sound," and one of the greatest proponents of that sound was the supremely classy and stylish Shirelles, who even got the stamp of approval from the Fab Four themselves. Sigur R�s - This otherworldly Icelandic combo makes some of most beautiful and unique music imaginable. Simon & Garfunkel - Take Paul Simon's great songs, add Garfunkel's peerless voice and sprinkle in Paul's for some of the prettiest harmonies ever, and what you have is pure folk rock magic. Paul Simon - Sure there are times when I miss Garfunkel's pure pipes, but Simon's adventurous, globetrotting solo career has also had its fair share of stupendous peaks, most notably the great Graceland. Slayer - The quintessential thrash metal band. F**ckin� Slayer!!! Sleater-Kinney - The best all-female band ever, and one of the best bands from 1996-2005, period, even if their shrill, abrasive (but at times quite beautiful) sound is perhaps something of an "acquired taste." Sly & The Family Stone - The greatest funk rock band ever. Sly was a visionary genius, even if their prime was brief. Their Greatest Hits album is the ultimate party album, and There's A Riot Goin' On is the ultimate 2AM chill out bummer album. The Small Faces / The Faces - The exceedingly British "Mod" band The Small Faces brief career shined brightly, led by powerhouse singer Steve Marriott. When Marriott left to form the underrated Humble Pie, he was replaced by Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, and the newly christened The Faces became one of the great good-time party bands. (P.S. I also really like the solo work of Ronnie Lane, and Wood has done some good solo stuff too. Rod has his own entry.) Smashing Pumpkins - They made two of my all-time favorite albums (Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, decade defining albums both), plus plenty of other high-quality stuff as well. Some people don't like his voice or think that he's a pretentious a-hole, and maybe they have a point, but he's also a brilliant songwriter and guitarist so who cares? (Besides, I like his voice, at least on their mellower material; it's certainly unique.) Elliott Smith - Whether delivering spare acoustic confessionals or lush Beatles-esque compositions, Elliott Smith is always a compelling if decidedly depressing singer-songwriter. A modern day Nick Drake who met a similarly sad (if far more gruesome) early demise and whose reputation has likewise only grown since then. Patti Smith Group - The punk poetess and her garage-rocking backing band influenced many future rockers (like R.E.M. and P.J. Harvey). A riveting live performer, her debut album Horses in particular is essential listening. The Smiths - People who like lead singer/lyricist Morrissey and The Smiths REALLY like them. Like in a completely obsessive way. Their actual chart success, certainly in the U.S., was limited, but during their brief time together, led by Johnny Marr's jangly guitars and Morrissey's clever if often depressive lyrics (they�re especially worshipped by a certain sector of miserabilists), The Smiths were probably the most important British indie band of the '80s. Sonic Youth - A long, consistent, and highly influential career that's occasionally been bogged down by over-experimentation and a certain cooler than thou hipness, the bottom line is that few bands have ever had a cooler sound than Sonic Youth, whose music could be both incredibly abrasive and shockingly beautiful. Soundgarden - Chris Cornell is one of the best hard rock vocalists ever, and Soundgarden was easily his best band. I think it was Rolling Stone who called them "a Led Zeppelin for the '90s," which is a fitting description. Dusty Springfield - "The White Queen Of Soul" was one of the great female singers; her Dusty In Memphis album in particular is essential listening. The Spinners - This long running vocal group are best remembered for being perhaps the quintessential "Philly soul" group of the 1970s, with a string of seductive hits often overseen by producer Thom Bell. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - One of the greatest live performers ever, Bruce (with apologies to James Brown) was truly the hardest working man in show business, and a true artist. GREAT backing band. Brilliant lyricist. I love the mingling of r&b and rock n' roll, especially on the early albums which remain my favorites. The Staple Singers � A family affair led by �Pops� Staples and powerhouse singer Mavis Staples, this legendary gospel-soul group are best remembered for the empowering civil rights anthem �Respect Yourself� and �I�ll Take You There.� Steppenwolf � Similar to Blue Oyster Cult, these influential forefathers of hard rock are too often remembered for only three songs: �Born To Be Wild,� �Magic Carpet Ride,� and (to a lesser extent) �The Pusher� (God damn the pusher man!). But they had plenty of other good songs (particularly during their prolific 1968-1971 prime), and besides, the biker anthem �Born To Be Wild,� which coined the term �heavy metal,� is one of the all-time rock songs and alone makes them worthy of HOF consideration (hey if Percy Sledge can get in�). The band was also notable for their social-political lyrics, and gruff-voiced group leader John Kay was one of rock�s most distinctive lead singers. Steely Dan - Great musicianship (particularly great guitar playing), cleverly cynical lyrics, catchy yet intricate songs, and state of the art production were the calling cards of Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, and their assorted sidekicks. In the '70s they produced a series of classic albums and songs that are still reliably entertaining and eminently tuneful. Stereolab - Whether doling out droning Velvet Underground-inspired grooves or later helping define a certain strain of tropicalia-influenced "post-rock," this band had a wonderfully appealing (if rather homogenous) sound. Rod Stewart - In the early '70s Rod Stewart was a great artist, both solo and with The Faces. Feel free to ignore Rod's later descent into mediocrity and worse, and instead check out Rod's work in the late '60s with the Jeff Beck Group. The Stone Roses - Like several other borderline bands on this list, I'm inducting these guys primarily because of one album (take a guess), but again that one album is among the most perfectly realized rock albums ever, and for "cultural relevance" the band defined the brief but bright "Madchester" scene of the late-'80s/early-'90s, and they were a key early influence on what came to be known as "Britpop." Stone Temple Pilots � People forget that for a while there in the �90s, the �grunge� band you were most likely to hear on the radio was Stone Temple Pilots (STP). Of course, they really weren�t a grunge band after their (derivative but still pretty great) first album, revealing a versatility and a pop sense that owed much to The Beatles and Led Zeppelin but which sounded damn good on the radio just the same. STP released six high quality albums with lead singer Scott Weiland (a master of vocal hooks), whose drug habits derailed the band on multiple occasions. He was kicked out of the band seemingly for good in 2013, but by then I feel that STP had already amassed a Hall Of Fame song catalog. The Stooges / Iggy Pop - Iggy and the Stooges incendiary proto-punk has been oft-imitated but rarely bettered. Few bands were as dangerous or flat-out crazy (yes that's a compliment) as The Stooges. And of course Iggy later did some cool solo albums with David Bowie and James Williamson, though much of his subsequent output has been disappointing as he nevertheless basks in the respect of his peers as the so-called "Godfather Of Punk." The Strokes � Maybe it�s premature to put them here, but they were one of the �it� bands of the early 2000s when they helped spearhead the �garage rock revival.� They might not be the most original or diverse band around, but they sure have a knack for delivering really good songs, and Is This It is simply one of the best debut albums ever. The Stylistics � Seventies soul is definitely under-represented in the real Hall, so I�m making room for one of my favorite �Philly soul� groups. Masterminded by producer Thom Bell/lyricist Linda Creed and led by the wondrous falsetto vocals of Russell Thompkins, Jr., The Stylistics had many delectably lush and singable soft soul hits in their early-to-mid �70s prime. The Supremes - With assistance from producers Holland-Dozier-Holland, few artists mastered the soulful pop single more so than Diana Ross and the fabulous Supremes, as attested to by their dazzlingly successful run of 12 #1 hits. Talking Heads - Starting as a twitchy new wave band and evolving into a world class, worldly, wildly eclectic funk band with an extended lineup and assistance from producer Brian Eno (as well as unofficial members like Adrian Belew and Bernie Worrell), the Talking Heads were simply one of the best bands around during their 1977-1985 prime. Talk Talk - From meager beginnings as a synth-pop band this Mark Hollis led combo can claim much credit for helping birth the "post-rock" subgenre on beautiful, adventurous albums such as The Colour Of Spring, The Spirit Of Eden, and Laughing Stock. James Taylor � It�s arguable whether he�s �rock� if we want to quibble about such things, but I�ll go with �soft rock� and give him the benefit of the doubt. Originally I didn�t include him, as let�s face it he�s not the most exciting artist around. But I recently heard his Greatest Hits album and I knew and was able to sing along to every single song (and that doesn't even include later hits like "Handy Man," "Your Smiling Face," "Her Town Too," and "Copperline"). JT has had a very successful and durable career and he�s just about the quintessential �70s West Coast singer-songwriter. Television - Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd were one of the great guitar tandems, and Marquee Moon is one of the all-time great guitar albums. The hopelessly overshadowed Adventure was a fine follow up as well, and they were a great live act. The Temptations - The greatest Motown group and maybe the greatest vocal group ever. Thin Lizzy - Why these guys aren't revered is beyond me. "One hit wonder" my ass! They had a slew of great songs and albums, and were right up my alley; melodic hard rock with soul. Great guitarists (albeit too many of them) whose magical harmonized guitar sound would influence many a later hard rock band. Great songwriter and vocalist who was a total rock star only without the huge popularity (at least in the U.S.). Great live band. They had it all, really. Richard Thompson / Richard and Linda Thompson - Whether with Fairport Convention, ex-wife Linda (I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight in particular is a classic), or during his prolific solo career, Thompson has been a consistently great songwriter and guitar player (if only an average singer, unlike Fairport's Sandy Denny and Linda, thankfully). Tool - These artsy but heavy as hell prog-metal behemoths have unprolifically been producing extremely uncompromising but extremely successful music for over 20 years now. Though I find I need to be in the mood for them, challenging but extremely rewarding albums like Aenima and Lateralus are classics of their type, and the bands live shows and even their (self-made) videos are always dark, interesting, and unremittingly intense. Traffic - The best of Steve Winwood's many productive career outlets (also briefly including the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and his long and productive if not quite HOF-worthy solo career). Few singers, white or black, could sing with the soul of Mr. Winwood, who is also one heck of a keyboard player and an underrated guitarist to boot. The rest of the band, including Dave Mason (at times), Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood, was extremely talented as well. T. Rex - Stylistically limited, perhaps, and therefore eventually left in the dust by the more ambitious likes of David Bowie, '70s U.K. pin-up king Marc Bolan and company nevertheless delivered some classic glitter rock. Ike and Tina Turner - I don't often listen to their music, but they deserve induction because Ike was one of the architects of rock and roll, and Tina was (and still is) one of the great live performers, both with and without Ike. UFO - One of the most underrated hard rock bands ever, UFO were at their best in the mid-to-late '70s with guitar hero Michael Schenker, peaking with 1979's Strangers In The Night, one of the greatest live albums ever. These guys should've been huge (just ask DJ Eddie Trunk; he�ll talk your ears off all night long about how much he loves them). U2 - They have 3 of my top 50 favorite albums (The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby), and I just love their sound, especially Bono and The Edge. Yeah Bono has a big ego and he wants to save the world, but what's so bad about that? Probably the biggest rock band of the past 35 years, and not by accident. Van Halen - The ultimate frontman/rock star and the greatest guitar player of the past 35 years; what's not to like? Most of all these guys were a lot of fun in their heyday (1978-1984). True, there have been many missed opportunities since, but the Van Hagar years are inconsistent but kinda underrated as well, though obviously it's the Diamond Dave years that made them legends. The less said about the mercifully brief Gary Cherone era the better. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - One of the greatest guitarists ever (with a top-notch backing band), SRV poured every ounce of his soul into his performances. He was unfortunately cut down in his prime, and there are those unfortunate Hendrix comparisons that everyone seems to make (despite the fact that he's far more straight blues than Hendrix ever was), but check out some of his live clips on youtube; I guarantee that you'll be blown away. The Velvet Underground - Another band with a very unique sound that greatly appeals to me, and there's quite a bit of variety throughout their small but essential discography. What came to be known as "alternative rock" started with this band. The Ventures � This legendary long running instrumental band was best known for their �surf rock� sound on songs such as �Walk - Don�t Run� and �Hawaii Five-O.� Tom Waits - This man has one of the most unique voices ever, though his frog-in-throat vocals may be off putting to some. Regardless, Waits writes some of the best lyrics and creates some of the most vivid characters and scenes ever set to music. He has consistently evolved musically as well, perhaps peaking in the mid-'80s with Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, but maintaining an admirably high quality throughout his long and illustrious career. War - I'm a bit burnt out in trying to write these descriptions, so I'm going to give myself a breather and quote the great Wikipedia Web site: "War (originally called Eric Burdon and War) is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid", "The World is a Ghetto", and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. The band also transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. The band has sold over 50 million records to date. Although War's lyrics are often socio-political in nature, their music usually had a laid-back, California funk vibe. A particular feature of War's sound is the use of harmonica and saxophone playing melody lines in unison, sounding like a single instrument, for example in the melody of "Low Rider". Their music has been sampled and recorded by many singers and groups." Dionne Warwick � With the help of the legendary songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Dionne had many classy easy listening hits, most notably �Walk On By� one of the most perfect soft soul songs ever. Weezer - Yeah like everybody I'm partial to the first two albums (especially The Blue Album), but I don't think their later stuff is as bad as many make it out to be, either. Emo, power pop, whatever you want to call it, the band at their best are a lot of fun. The White Stripes - This unique two-person band (singer-guitarist Jack White and drummer Meg White) led the 2000's "garage rock revival" (along with The Strokes) and produced some excellent hard rocking music in the process. The Who - They may not have the quantity of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, but The Who at their best were as good as it gets. The Who delivered some of the greatest songs ("My Generation, " "Baba O'Riley, " "Won't Get Fooled Again, " etc.) in rock history, each man was a genius at what they did, like Led Zeppelin they were greater than the sum of their individual parts, and above all else they may have been the greatest live band in rock history. Wilco - These guys are just a great, extremely diverse band. Jeff Tweedy is a terrific songwriter, and this band will always be special to me because my review of Being There was the first one I ever got published. Regardless, this constantly evolving band - responsible for country rock, sumptuous summery pop, "American Radiohead"-esque art pop, Neil Young-ian guitar ravers, and everything else in between - is arguably the best American band of the past 20 years. Lucinda Williams - Simply a brilliant songwriter and singer who has led very good backing bands. If there�s no room in the Hall Of Fame for one of the best female singer-songwriters ever, something�s wrong with that Hall Of Fame. Jackie Wilson - Although he wasn't a songwriter and his taste was often questionable, Jackie Wilson was one of the best singers and performers ever. The title of his box set says it all: Mr. Excitement! Johnny Winter - At his best, this Texas albino was one of the blues rock greats. High energy music and tremendous guitar playing (especially slide guitar playing) were his trademarks. (P.S. His brother Edgar was damn good as well.) Bill Withers - His prime was relatively brief, in part because he started his music career late and he had little tolerance for the music business, but he had a unique folk soul sound that yielded classic songs such as "Ain't No Sunshine," "Use Me," and "Lean On Me." His first two solo albums and his live album at Carnegie Hall in particular are excellent. Stevie Wonder - One of the all-time greats, simple as that, and an amazing success story given the handicap that he overcame. His string of albums in the early-to-mid-'70s has few rivals in modern music. Link Wray - To steal from www.linkwray.com: "Father of the POWER CHORD. Creator of Distortion. Punk, heavy metal, grunge, garage, real rock guitar...it all started here." X � Probably my favorite among the early �80s West Coast punk bands, X just seemed more mature and sophisticated than their peers. They boasted excellent musicians in drummer D.J. Bonebrake and guitarist Billy Zoom, and the traded off vocals of John Doe and Exene Cervenka (also the primary songwriters) were uniquely their own. XTC - To quote the All Music Guide: "The band has left behind a remarkably rich and varied series of albums that make a convincing argument that XTC is the great lost pop band." I wholeheartedly agree. The Yardbirds - Famous for at various times housing three of the greatest guitarists of all time (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page), the rest of the band wasn't shabby, either (and for the record I feel they did their best work by far with Jeff Beck). They had some great songs, too, some penned by outside hands such as Graham Gouldman (later of 10cc). The band was very innovative and ahead of their time, such as the way they integrated Eastern influences into their music; their last great guitarist, Jimmy Page, was certainly taking notes for his even better next project... Yes - The ultimate progressive rock band. Fantastic musicians as well as great songwriters, when they were "on" in their '70s prime they were amazing. Yo La Tengo - Along with Doug Martsch, J. Mascis, and a few others, singer-guitarist Ira Kaplan made being a guitar hero cool again, and Yo La Tengo have been one of the most consistently excellent bands of the past two decades. Along with his wife Georgia Hubley (who drums quite capably and sings beautifully), Yo La Tengo make being a happily married couple seem impossibly cool. (P.S. Bassist James McNew rounds out the band�s classic lineup.) Neil Young & Crazy Horse - A brilliant songwriter, he's done a lot of crap but also an amazing amount of great stuff. Love his technically limited but raw and exciting guitar playing. Great backing band in Crazy Horse (again despite limited technical abilities). Lots of beautiful folksy ballads too. Another true artist, sometimes to his detriment though. His peak periods were from 1969-1979 and 1989-1995; I'd advise you to tread more carefully elsewhere. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Mr. Zappa was absurdly prolific and he could therefore be frustratingly inconsistent, his "humor" is sometimes mean-spirited and unfunny, and the vocal quality is at times lacking. Regardless, he was a brilliant composer, arranger, band leader (he led some tremendously talented bands), and guitar hero. Hot Rats is probably the best starting point within a daunting discography that is frankly a bit overwhelming. Warren Zevon - Another �one hit wonder� (�Werewolves of London�) who deserved far more success, though many of his songs were covered by others, Zevon was a cutting lyricist who made some fine music and who exited this Earth with a rare dignity shortly after recording one of his best albums. Hope he�s enjoying a hearty sandwich in Heaven. The Zombies - Although sadly short-lived, The Zombies were a terrific pop rock band. Led by Rod Argent's moody keyboards and Colin Blunstone's breathy lead vocals, they peaked on the brilliant baroque pop of Odessey and Oracle, a quintessential '60s album that nevertheless has a timeless quality. Unfortunately, by the time the album was released and its "Time Of The Season" single became a big success, the band had already broken up. ZZ Top - Led by excellent guitarist Billy Gibbons, these guys delivered straightforward but well-done blues rock for over a decade before embracing synthesizers, fast cars, hot girls, and MTV, for which they were rewarded with massive success. Not bad for a "little 'ol band from Texas." (P.S. My kids love how Frank Beard is the only guy in the band without a beard.)

i don't know

What artist, along with his wife, is best known for wrapping large structures in cloth, such as wrapping the Reichstag, islands in Biscayne Bay, and a bridge in Paris?

From Very Big to Very Small | Miami New Times From Very Big to Very Small Or sign in with a social account: FACEBOOK GOOGLE + TWITTER YAHOO! Don't have an account yet? Sign Up › Connect. Discover. Share. Get the most out of your experience with a personalized all-access pass to everything local on events, music, restaurants, news and more. Enter your email or sign up with a social account to get started FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ YAHOO! Don't have an account yet? Sign Up › From Very Big to Very Small Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 4 a.m. Print Article The wrapped monumental structures of Christo and Jeanne-Claude must be seen in context, for they manifest much of their magnificence through the fleeting nature of their existence. So the exhibit "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Würth Museum Collection," comprising more than 65 collages, drawings, photographs, and scale models currently on view at the Bass Museum of Art, will hardly provide viewers with the profound aesthetic experience of seeing the real, finished installations. A quote attributed to Christo and Jeanne-Claude at the entrance of the show expresses it rather eloquently: "Any element of impermanence in an artwork creates a feeling of fragility, even vulnerability, as well as a sense of urgency about viewing it. There is at the same time an inherent awareness of the loss we feel at its absence, knowing that tomorrow it will be gone." You need to be there to absorb the "eternity of the moment," as German art critic Petra Kipphoff put it, before it vanishes forever. For those of us who have not had the opportunity to see these works in their actual context, this exhibit is the next best thing. It displays compelling documentation of the technical requirements and processes that eventually led to the completion of some of their more ambitious projects. (In 1983 many Miamians had the unique experience of actually participating in the creation of one of those projects, Surrounded Islands, in which eleven spoil islands in Biscayne Bay were encircled by vivid pink fabric.) Info "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Wrth Museum Collection" Bass Museum of Art, 2121 Park Ave, Miami Beach Through June 26. 305-673-7530. Bulgarian-born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and his French wife, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, have always declined sponsorship, patronage, and commercial subsidy, and have funded their projects themselves from the sale of their preliminary work -- the materials on view at this show. The Würth collection includes illustrations of most of the artists' oeuvre, from the earliest to their most recent, The Gates, a dynamic installation of 7500 saffron-colored fabric panels suspended from frames ("gates") that snaked through the pathways in New York's Central Park. (The Gates was unveiled this past February 12 and remained up beyond its originally scheduled sixteen-day run due to immense popularity.) Upcoming Events Tickets Sat., Jan. 21, 4:00pm The Würth collection also includes actual pieces, such as 1963's Wrapped Road Sign, two triangular traffic signs covered with rope and fabric; and an example of the artists' Store Fronts series: architectural sculptures, created between 1964 and 1967, in which life-size glass windows are partly concealed by a cloth, thwarting the viewer from seeing what's within, unlike commercial façades bent on inviting us to look inside. But Christo and Jeanne-Claude later became known for much grander undertakings, relentless but still gentle and conscientious incursions upon the world's landscapes and urban edifices. After a scrupulously documented process of preparatory sketches, drawings, collages, scale models, and countless hours in negotiation with governmental agencies over public safety and environmental issues, the team launches colossal "wrapping" ventures: the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris (covered for two weeks in 1985), the Reichstag in Berlin (two weeks in 1995), the Little Bay coast in Australia (seven weeks in 1969), and Wrapped Trees, 178 trees wrapped in nearly 600,000 square feet of translucent fabric (Riehen, Switzerland, two weeks in 1998). The collection of illustrations confirms Christo's prowess as a draftsman, and many collages incorporate mixed media, such as topographical maps, floor plans, vibrant drawings, photos, and actual materials from the installation. Some of the photographs and a large-scale model in the exhibition's display of the Wrapped Reichstag give a hint of what it might have been like to be there. But these initial works consist mostly of eye candy for curious viewers. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are not conceptual artists; they aim to materialize each idea on paper and in scale-model form and then give us the chance to see familiar objects in a completely novel way: as works of art. The duo is pushing for a new project called Over the River -- fabric panels draped above the waters of the Arkansas River in Colorado. According to their Website ( www.christojeanneclaude.net ), which contains drawings of the proposed project, progress is slow: "Specific dates are not yet possible. The permits for the project have not been awarded. This process can take many, many years. The Gates took 26 years for permits and permissions." Go see the Bass show, but keep an eye out for Over the River. It just might be worth a summertime road trip. Compared to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's mammoth projects, Joe Fig's miniature constructions of artists' studios are quite intimate. His exhibit "The Artist's Studio" encourages voyeurism as viewers are invited to peek inside the cloistered areas where artists struggle with creativity in isolation, a kind of sacred atelier immune to the outside art world. Fig still manages to respect his real-life subjects by crafting delicate and tremendously detailed compositions that don't necessarily infringe on the artists' privacy. Rather they celebrate their talent and the setting in which they create most of their work. He isn't making these pieces for the sake of gratuitously revealing the personal quarters of esteemed contemporary artists. Instead these works can be seen as homages to the individual artists. At the same time, though, the tiny studios are intriguing aesthetic structures that can give viewers an idea of how well-known artists organize their work areas. Glance into the studio of painter Chuck Close, which, like Close's work, is realistic down to the smallest detail (there are even specific art magazines scattered across his desk). In Jackson Pollock's Long Island sanctum we see the artist pondering one of his action paintings, laid out on the floor. Also of interest are Fig's photographs of the interiors of his ministudios. Shot from various angles, Fig's photos bring a particular viewpoint to his sculptures, allowing the viewer to see them in a different light. Most notable is the 1951 studio of Abstract Expressionist Barnett Newman, The Sublime Is Now! Sunlight beams into the room as Newman, cigarette in hand, intensely examines one of his "zip" paintings.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

With a vote of 52-48, which US Supreme Court justice was confirmed on Oct 14, 1991, in spite of the allegations of sexual harassment by attorney Anita Hill?

Maintenance teams around the clock, in uniform and with radios, Removal workers. The 5 inch (12,7 cm) square vertical and horizontal poles will be extruded in 65 miles (104,6 km) of recyclable saffron colored vinyl. The vertical poles will be secured by 15,000 narrow, steel base footings, 600 pounds (275 Kilograms) each, positioned on the paved surfaces. There will be no holes in the ground at all. The off-site fabrication of the gates structures and assembly of the 7500 fabric panels made of 1,089,882 square feet (101,250 square meters) of fabric will be done in local workshops, and factories. The on-site installation of the bases, by small teams, spread in the park, will neither disturb the maintenance and management of Central Park nor the every day use of the park by the people of New York. In teams of eight, 600 workers wearing "The Gates" uniforms, will be responsible for installing 100 gates per team. All workers will be financially compensated and receive one hot meal per day. Professional security will work in the park after dark. The unfurling of the fabric panels will bloom in one day. A written contract has been drafted between the City of New York and the Department of Parks and Recreation and the artists. The contract requires the artists to provide, among other terms and conditions: Personal and property liability insurance holding harmless the City, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Conservancy. Restoration Bond providing funds for complete removal. Full cooperation with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Central Park Conservancy, the New York Police Department, the New York City Arts Commission, the Landmarks Commission and the Community Boards. Clearance for the usual activities in the park and access of Rangers, maintenance, clean-up, police and emergency vehicles. The artists shall pay all costs of the Park’s supervision directly related to the project. Neither vegetation nor rock formations shall be disturbed. The Gates will be clear of rocks, tree roots and low branches. Only vehicles of small size will be used and will be confined to existing walkways during installation and removal. The people of New York will continue to use Central Park as usual. After the removal, the site shall be inspected by the Department of Parks and Recreation which will be holding the security until satisfaction. For those who will walk through The Gates, following the walkways, and staying away from the grass, The Gates will be a golden ceiling creating warm shadows. When seen from the buildings surrounding Central Park, The Gates will seem like a golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees and will highlight the shape of the footpaths. The 16 day duration work of art, free to all, will be a long-to-be-remembered joyous experience for every New Yorker, as a democratic expression that Olmsted invoked when he conceived a “central” park. The luminous moving fabric will underline the organic design of the park, while the rectangular poles will be a reminder fo the geometric grid pattern of the city blocks around the park. The Gates will harmonize with the beauty of Central Park. Vince Davenport is the chief engineer and director of construction. Jonita Davenport is the project director. All materials are being shipped to the rented 25,000 square foot (2,250 square meter) assembly plant in Queens, NY. Six manufacturing plants are preparing the materials, plus a sewing plant. Some of the materials ordered for 7,500 GATES (as of September 7, 2003): (Numbers might change slightly.) All materials will be recycled. • 5,290 US Tons of steel (4,799 Metric Tons) (10,580,000 pounds) (equal to 2/3 the steel in the Eiffel Tower) for 15,000 specially designed steel footing weights, varying between 615 and 837 pounds each, according to the width of the gate, (279 - 379 Kg.). Gates vary in width because there are 25 different widths of walkways in Central Park. The weights are resting on the hard surface of the walkways. There will be no holes in Central Park. • 315,491 linear feet (60 miles) (96.5 Km.) of Vinyl tube, 5 inch x 5 inch square, (12,7 x 12,7 cm.) extruded in saffron color, recyclable, specially designed, (for each gate: 2 vertical 16 feet long (4,87 meter), and one horizontal (varying between 6 and 18 feet, because the width of the walkways varies) • 15,000 specially designed, recyclable, cast aluminum upper corner reinforcements which hold together the 2 vertical poles to the horizontal pole. • 15,000 base anchor sleeves. Which will be bolted to the steel footing weights. • 15,000 (1/2 inch x 8 inch x 8 inch) (1.27 x 22,8 x 22,8 cm.) steel leveling plates. The leveling plate is between the base anchor sleeve and the steel base, it has a pivoting bolt which will ensure the perfect verticality of the poles, even when the walkways are inclined. • 165,000 bolts and self locking nuts. (7,500 x 22) • 15,000 (8 x 8 x 8 inch) (22,8 x 22,8 x 22,8 cm.) Vinyl leveling plate covers, to hide the bolts. • 116,389 miles (187,311 Km.) of nylon thread to be extruded in saffron color and specially woven into 1,067,330 square feet (99,155 square meters) of recyclable, rip-stop fabric, and then shipped to the sewing factory to be cut and sewn into 7,500 fabric panels of various widths. 46 miles (74 Km.) of hems. On January 3, 2005, weather permitting, our professional workers will enter Central Park. Using forklifts and pallet jacks, they will place the 15,000 steel weights bases at their specific positions on the edges of the walkways, usually at 12 foot intervals, unless there are low branches. On Monday, February 7, 2005, weather permitting, approximately 700 non-skilled workers (in teams of 7) will elevate The Gates assemblies -- 2 vertical and one horizontal pole, the upper and lower aluminum corners and base assembly and the fabric panel in a cocoon, attached to the upper horizontal pole. The fabric panels will not initially be seen because they will be restrained in the cocoons which will remain closed until Saturday, February 12, when all the cocoons will be opened, in one day (maybe in one morning), weather permitting, as with all our projects. The Gates will remain in Central park for 16 days, then the removal will start. With thanks to www.christojeanneclaude.net    February 16, 2005 The Gates In Central Park Are Vandalized After a grand unveiling over the weekend, “The Gates” in Central Park have apparently been vandalized. Some graffiti was reportedly found on one of the gates, and pieces of the fabric were cut as well. No arrests have been made. But the artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, did not seem bothered when they heard of the vandalism. “We don’t react,” said Jeanne-Claude. “We are not reactors; we are creators.” Over 7,500 gates draped with flowing saffron-colored fabric have been erected over 23 miles of pathways in Central Park to create the largest public artwork in the city’s history. “The Gates” will be up through February 27. Copyright © 2005 NY1 News Young Critics See 'The Gates' and Offer Their Reviews: Mixed By JULIE SALAMON Bella, 9, and Samuel Glanville, 11, visitors from London. Samuel uses terms like Fauvism and Pointillism. esterday morning, unusually balmy for February, the gentle slopes north of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park resembled a giant schoolyard. Swarms of students were led to "The Gates" by their teachers, to observe, to draw, to meditate - and in many cases to pontificate - on the meaning of art and nature. For Kate Rosenberg, 9, a third-grade student at Rodeph Sholom, a private school on the Upper West Side, the saffron-colored gates dreamed up by the artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, have altered her vision of Central Park. "Before I didn't really look at the park," she said. "I didn't see how beautiful it is. "These gates, and there are billions of them, make me feel I will not look at the park the same way again." There are actually 7,532 gates spread along 23 miles of the park's pathways - not quite billions, but more than enough to loom large in a child's imagination. And in the opinion of some children, far too many. Perhaps especially in New York, it is never too soon to become a critic. Many youngsters wondered if this was art at all, and if it was, did it have to cost $21 million? "They just wasted their money on nothing," declared Ikim Powell, 10, who attends P.S. 368 in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. "They should at least have paintings behind them." His classmate, Tyre Brooks, felt "The Gates" was an unnecessary artificial imposition on the park's natural beauty. "Now it looks like a stage, like on wrestling," he said. "I just want to ride my bike and play. I'd like to come back to the park when the flags aren't here. They look cheap." But another student from P.S. 368, Tyquam Nimmons, on his first visit to Central Park, disagreed. "It is artistic," he said. "There are a lot of them all around, and they're the same color and they give me a good feeling." He was about to elaborate but instead ran off to catch a football being tossed around by a group from his school. Martha Epstein, a Rodeph Sholom third-grader, sitting with her classmates on a hill made of boulders, had just finished a sketch of one of the gates. "This is about my millionth time seeing 'The Gates,' " she sighed. She said she was not much impressed on her first visit last weekend with her family, right after the 116,389 miles of saffron fabric were unfurled. "It was really crowded and I didn't like the orange," she said. "I wished it was green, a park color." Subsequent visits have somewhat altered her view. "I don't like the look of them but I like the way everybody is at the park and happy," she said. Lucinda Gresswell brought her two children to New York from London for their midterm break, in part because the Christo gates would be up. In the 1970's, Ms. Gresswell's father had bought a Christo drawing of either a pyramid or a sphinx, she could not remember which. So two weeks ago she booked a flight. Her 11-year-old son, Samuel Glanville, had no doubt that the gates were art. "Art is Fauvism, Pointillism, abstract," he said, looking at rows of pleated nylon fabric floating slightly at the whiff of a breeze. "This is Christo - is that his name, I forget? - this is his art, his own interpretation." Samuel liked knowing that "The Gates" would be on view for only two weeks. "Like all art, if it's always there it doesn't feel so special," he said, with the savvy of a shrewd museum director. "It's like a special Matisse show at a museum. You feel lucky if you get to see it." For his 9-year-old sister, Bella, on her first visit to New York, confronting "The Gates" was another in a series of crucial discoveries: the brilliant lights of Times Square, and Century 21, the bargain store near ground zero, where Bella acquired the very cool shirt she was wearing. She was not as certain as her brother of the artistic merit of the gates. "Well, yeah," she said, when asked if they were art. Then, she amended. "Not so much," she said. "They're kind of like flags. I prefer messy art, like blobs." But she was happy that Christo's project helped lure her family to Central Park, where she and Samuel worked up a healthy glow climbing on the rocks. "It wouldn't be too ordinary even without the flags," she said. "Most parks have grass and trees, not rocks. In England, unless it's a heath, you wouldn't have big rocks and stones." Sean Springer, a student from the Rhode Island School of Design on leave to work as a volunteer for "The Gates," said he had learned from the school groups wandering through. "There was an English class writing about their feelings, and I was wondering about the connections between literature and this work," he said. "My opinion is the art makes a poetic statement, and they said art is a form of poetry." Mr. Springer helped install "The Gates," will help take it down, and stands at the ready to untangle fabric with a pole capped by a tennis ball. He also answers questions and hands out swatches of the nylon saffron fabric to passers-by. "That's one thing that's the same for kids and adults," he said. "If they know about the swatches, they want them." A student records impressions of "The Gates." In City of Ads, 'The Gates' Stand Apart By DAVID W. DUNLAP NOT a word. That may be one of the greatest gifts of "The Gates" to New York City: a sponsor-free public installation in Central Park. At a time when the civic realm is blanketed with corporate promotion, from lampposts to landmarks, the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have shown that it is possible to hang 1,067,330 square feet of nylon in the heart of Manhattan - almost 50 acres of potential display space - without a slogan, trademark or logo. "I would have had a much more difficult time going to community boards, the Municipal Art Society and other civic groups making a case for it if there had been corporate logos on it," said Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner. The artists are paying the estimated $21 million cost of the 16-day installation. They refuse sponsors, they say, because they want to work "in total freedom." Of course, in one sense, their work promotes themselves. Whether on the gray smocks worn by monitors along the walkways or in the piles of merchandise at the gift shops, there is no mistaking who gets top billing: Christo and Jeanne-Claude. But the couple are not trying to sell real estate or financial services, airline or museum tickets. To the extent that they may be trying to move "Gates" merchandise - or at least to satisfy the demand for it - they are not receiving income from the sales, which largely benefit city parks, said Megan Sheekey, a spokeswoman for the project. And the 16-foot-high orange gates are free of advertising. "There is not one image stamped on it," marveled Vanessa Gruen, director of special projects at the Municipal Art Society. "We're so used to seeing that kind of fabric used to drape buildings and for huge signs." For instance, the society has criticized as "obnoxious" a billboard modeled on a $10 bill that temporarily covers the front of the landmark New-York Historical Society on Central Park West, promoting the Alexander Hamilton exhibition. Another landmark near the park, the former United States Rubber Company Building at Broadway and 58th Street, now partly cocooned in scaffolding, has been turned into a temporary advertising kiosk for Independence Air. Around the park itself are dozens of three-by-eight-foot lamppost banners maintained by NYC & Company, the city's tourism marketing organization. Some currently feature paintings of dancers by Susan Rothenberg. These come emblazoned with the logo of the financial service firm UBS, in connection with a show at the Museum of Modern Art. Other banners along Central Park South are more like pure advertising. They show the logo of the real estate company CB Richard Ellis under a picture of Times Square with the legend "Real Estate Capital of the World." Cristyne L. Nicholas, the president and chief executive of NYC & Company, said banners around the city generate about $600,000 a year for the nonprofit organization, which in turn helps promote cultural institutions and events. "As far as corporate logos," she said, "that pays for the program, so that's necessary. All public art projects can't be funded by the generosity of Christo and Jeanne-Claude." Through the CVJ Corporation, of which Jeanne-Claude is president, the couple finance their projects by selling drawings, models, studies, lithographs and other artwork. TO date, more than 1 million visitors have viewed "The Gates," Ms. Sheekey said. You would think some corporation would salivate at this prospect, maybe one whose graphic identity is dominated by the color orange - like Home Depot or the ING Group - or one whose products might be conjured in viewers' minds by billowing curtains or rivers of orange, like the Coca-Cola Company (Minute Maid and Fanta) or Procter & Gamble (Downy fabric softener). "In other projects, we have received offers of sponsorship and have always said a flat no," Jeanne-Claude said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "But for 'The Gates,' we have not received any offers of sponsorship because we think - Christo and I - that by now, they know we don't say yes, ever. So nobody even bothered." Asked about the proliferation of commercial imagery elsewhere in the city, Jeanne-Claude conferred briefly with her husband before she returned to the phone. "Christo answered, and I repeat word for word, 'I never think of advertising.' " How Banners Navigated the Hurdles By JOYCE PURNICK FOR nearly three years, Vince Davenport has lived and worked in New York, planning and directing installation of "The Gates" in Central Park. He chose the materials, devised engineering solutions, negotiated with suppliers, selected contractors and dealt with park neighbors and a municipal hierarchy as muddled as rush-hour traffic. The project's engineer says he can't quite yet believe that he and his team pulled it off, but they did. And now seems a good time to ask what he thinks of New York. How tough did he find the city, once it finally gave the project the go-ahead? "It is a difficult place to work, but I don't think it's that difficult if you do it right," Mr. Davenport said yesterday. "Do your homework, and don't try to beat the system, but work with it. There are so many bureaucracies. Everybody wants to be in charge of their own domain, and I can understand that. But go through the hierarchy, sit down and draw a plan and present it - as opposed to trying to bulldoze your way through." With occasional exceptions, he didn't even find New Yorkers rude, said Mr. Davenport, a general contractor originally from Kansas City who sounds uncannily like another Missouri native, Harry S. Truman, and seems just as direct (if less crusty). Told that some who worked on the project say that they considered it to be his - becoming Christo and Jeanne-Claude's only when the saffron material was unfurled on Saturday - he chose different language, but acknowledged that the technical translation of the artistic design, the engineering, "was strictly mine." Though working in New York for the first time, he seems to have anticipated most problems, except one. Mr. Davenport said that while he fully expected New York to be expensive, he found that labor, trucking and parking were so much more expensive than he anticipated that the project's costs grew to more than $20 million from the $15 million he originally projected. What about that entrenched New York institution, bribes - what did they cost? "Not a dime," he said. "The suggestion was made a few times, 'Is there something we can do for you?' But never out and out, and I don't believe in it." Even for someone who's worked in Los Angeles and Berlin, the city's complexity sounds as though it was bewildering - the multiple rules from multiple agencies. "But I don't have a problem with it," continued Mr. Davenport, sitting in his trailer near the Boathouse yesterday morning. "To me, Central Park is the eighth wonder of the world - a gorgeous, beautiful park. I understand why you have to have so many rules. It's the only way, when so many people are coming into the park daily." IT was the rule not to disturb the park that complicated approval of the project, first proposed over a quarter-century ago and rejected. That was mostly because Central Park was in bad shape, partly because the park design called for making it worse by drilling 15,000 holes in the park to anchor the gates. When the artists decided to try again in 2002, Mr. Davenport told them: " 'This is impossible, I can't do this job.' I said the geology of the park will not allow you, even if you got permission, to drill simple six-inch-by-three-foot holes. You will wind up with a two-foot-diameter hole by the time you take out all the rocks you are going to hit." Even without having a solution, he recommended telling the city that the design would require no drilling. By that spring, he came up with an innovative design using heavy bases with anchor plates that serve as leveling devices to anchor the 7,500 vinyl gates. Doug Blonsky, president of the Central Park Conservancy, said yesterday that the revised design was "one of the most important factors that helped us change our feelings." Mr. Davenport, who had built tracks of houses and industrial buildings but is not a trained engineer, started working with Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1989, when a contractor-friend from Missouri, working on the couple's umbrella installation in the Los Angeles area, needed an associate with a California license. Mr. Davenport was licensed, and intrigued. He and his wife, Jonita, have been with the two artists ever since. The couple have been living on Manhattan's East Side since February 2002, but after "The Gates" closes in 10 days, they will return to their home in Leavenworth, Wash. "I'd love to stay," he said. "But I can't afford it." Seeing Orange By TED CAPLOW HE exhibit that began last weekend in Central Park is many things to many people. For me and my beagle, Hazel, with whom I share a daily walk to work through the park, "The Gates" is just a distraction. What she wants to know is, where have all the squirrels gone? What I want to know is, from the standpoint of industrial ecology, how can Christo and Jeanne-Claude justify the environmental impact of this project? On their Web site, the artists, with apparent pride, declare that "The Gates" has required 10½ million pounds of steel, 60 miles of vinyl tubing and one million square feet of nylon fabric, plus thousands upon thousands of steel plates, bolts and nuts to hold the whole thing together. The plastic tubes and fabric are described as "recyclable," but no mention is made of the fate of the steel. According to the United States Department of Energy, the steel industry in this country consumes about 18 million B.T.U.'s of raw energy to produce one ton of steel. If the cast steel in "The Gates" is typical American steel, then making it has required 97 billion B.T.U.'s, an amount equivalent to the entire annual energy consumption - including that used to run cars, furnaces, air conditioners and home appliances - of nearly 500 New York state residents. Energy for the steel industry is supplied in roughly equal thirds by coal, natural gas and electricity from the grid. Based on generally accepted rates of carbon dioxide emissions for these three sources, it appears that making steel for "The Gates" churned out 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the combined output of about 1,600 average American cars for a year (carbon dioxide is viewed by most scientists as a threat to the global climate system). We would have to plant more than 200 acres of trees and grow them for 10 years to remove this carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Central Park has an area of about 800 acres, but only part of this has trees; and the mature trees that dominate the park do not absorb carbon dioxide effectively, so we cannot look to the park to clean up the mess. In terms of sheer mass, the amount of plastic in "The Gates" is dwarfed by the steel, but emissions of carbon dioxide, dioxins and other toxins from plastics manufacturing are also a concern. The plastic chosen for the supports, polyvinyl chloride, or P.V.C., is an increasingly controversial material that releases dioxins and other carcinogens to the air and water during manufacture (and possibly afterward). Polyvinyl chloride has been singled out as "the poison plastic" by Greenpeace and other environmental groups. We now have 60 miles of it in the park. Clearly, the squirrels were not consulted on this choice. If the plastic used in "The Gates" is in fact recycled (Greenpeace warns of the "false promise" of polyvinyl chloride recycling, noting that only 1 percent gets recycled), some credit might be allowed, but at best this credit would account for only a fraction of the energy used and emissions produced. Nearly all steel is "recyclable," but the recycling rate (around 70 percent nationwide) is already accounted for in the energy intensity calculations above. More fundamentally, one cannot dismiss responsibility for the use of a primary material simply by claiming that this material could be reused. That's like claiming that no mink were harmed in making your fur coat, because you might donate it to good will someday. This is an unenlightened view of ecology. Why could the artists not have chosen a 100 percent postconsumer material, or better yet, a biologically derived material, to begin with? Such a choice would have reduced toxic emissions from the material itself, although we would still be left with the diesel trucks and propane forklifts scuttling to and from the park to carry this enormous mass in and out. It has also been loudly declared that the artists are paying for all of this out of their own pockets, through the sale of spinoff drawings and paintings to art collectors. These drawings can be viewed on the artists' Web site, and all share a pattern of coloration in which the city and the park, the buildings, the trees, the grass, are devoid of life, while the "The Gates" are portrayed in vivid color - the only objects of apparent interest to the artist. The setting could have just as easily been any other city, or no city at all, and little would change in the paintings. These depictions of a lifeless New York City are supposedly financing the materials, manpower and energy required to bring us "The Gates," but there is no mention of any fee paid for the pollution of the air and water, to say nothing of the threat to Hazel's squirrels. The choice of such an unfortunate orange hue - "saffron" to the artists, but to the rest of us more evocative of sanitation trucks, prison uniforms or road pylons - becomes clear: this is the color of hazard and danger. Hazel and I have chosen to interpret the whole business as an ecological warning sign. Ted Caplow, an environmental engineer, is the executive director of Fish Navy, a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable technology. Although The Gates are a nice distraction from the bitter Winter weather and leafless tree landscape, I agree with this op-ed. The Gates and employment $21 Million…for what? As one of the “paid volunteers” on Christo-Jeanne Claude’s The Gates, Central Park, New York City, the most frequent comment I heard was something about the $21 million that had been spent. While describing my experience on The Gates project to my husband, he commented that it was collectively realized. Bingo! Christo-Jeanne Claude’s art is always a project that involves hundreds, if not thousands, of people…people who help them bring that dream to reality. So now let’s talk about the $21 million. The people who help Christo-Jeanne Claude bring that dream to reality do not do it for free. There would be salaries for the project engineer, the project director, the project assistants, and the rest of Christo-Jeanne Claude’s team. And some of these people have been working over two years on this. But let’s get to the real nuts and bolts of the money – employing workers at the Gupta Permold plant outside of Pittsburgh who constructed the aluminum corner sleeves; employing workers at the ISG steel mill in Coatesville, PA who produced 5,290 tons of steel sheets for the base weights; employing workers at the C. C. Lewis steel plants in Conshohocken, PA AND in Springfield, MA who took the ISG steel sheets and turned them into the base weights; employing workers at the J. Schilgen Company in Emsdetten, Germany who produced the saffron, recyclable rip-stop nylon fabric; employing workers at Bieri-Zeltaplan in Taucha, Germany who cut, sewed and rolled the fabric panels and cocooned them with Velcro; employing workers at the North American Profiles Group plant in Holmes, NY who manufactured the vinyl poles; employing people who helped with the 10 containers shipped by boat from Germany; employing workers at the LMT-Mercer Group in Lawrenceville, NJ who produced the base plate covers, used to conceal the leveling plate. Now let’s add the employment of the truck drivers to get those materials from the New York Harbor, Pittsburgh, Coatesville, Conshohocken, Springfield, Holmes, Lawrenceville to the assembly plant in Queens, and the employment of workers at the assembly plant. And my guess is that was all before November 2004. Keep going? The workers who put down the base weights throughout Central Park were paid; more truck drivers were employed to bring the finished supplies from Queens to Central Park; and how about the bus drivers employed to take the paid volunteers to training sessions in Queens and to shuttle them back and forth in Central Park. And remember they’re paying for the extra security in Central Park, also. Then we could add in the food. From January 3rd to February 27th, all the workers in Central Park have been fed lunch every day, and coffee and pastry in the morning. Does YOUR boss do that for you? When an artist sells a piece of art, he employs 2 people – himself and the dealer. Christo-Jeanne Claude spent $21 million and my guess is that at least ½ to 2/3 of that went towards employing thousands of people. Hmmmmmmmm…art as employment. Maybe Christo-Jeanne Claude should be meeting with President Bush. February 14, 2005 It's a Park Whose Time Has Come By JOYCE PURNICK IT took nearly a quarter-century to bring Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Gates" to Central Park. That does seem a bit extreme, even for New York. Why so long? Fortunately, it was easy to find out, because standing near the Sheep Meadow on Saturday morning, watching the curtains of cheerful saffron fabric being unfurled, was the very man who first said no, Gordon J. Davis. Mr. Davis, the former commissioner of parks and recreation, is now such a fan of the installation that he was wearing an orange hat and lapel ribbon. But in 1981, he called the original proposal "the wrong place, the wrong time." It called for a much larger installation and, unlike the current design, it would have left holes in the dirt and asphalt. The artists also wanted their show in the fall, rather than in winter. But those were not the main complications, Mr. Davis explained. "The basic reason was, the park was a disaster," he said. Central Park, hurt by the city's fiscal crisis, had deteriorated and was dangerous. The Central Park Conservancy, its privately financed savior, had only been founded in 1980. "My view was, there will be this wonderful thing for two weeks, and when it was gone people will look around the park and it will be a disaster," Mr. Davis said. "This time, the park has been completely revived, and it's a wonderful place." But back then, just imagine the public reaction to lavish spending - even of private dollars - on an artistic fancy in an otherwise shabby park. That would not have gone over well in a city where every decision has a political rationale. Today Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's enthusiastic support for the project barely produced a ripple of dissent. If there really is a time for everything, this is the time for "The Gates." Spend a moment in the park and it's apparent. The installation has transformed the park into a public party. Like Operation Sail celebrating the bicentennial in 1976, or the fireworks commemorating the Brooklyn Bridge's 100th birthday in 1983, this is one of those moments in New York - the kind that gets people together to share something different, exuberant or in this instance, purely "preposterous," as Heather Tow-Yick put it yesterday in the park near Harlem. Ms. Tow-Yick, an assistant to the schools chancellor, quickly added, "I mean that in a fond way. It's classic New York." The apricot-tinged park this weekend seemed to mute the city's snarls, to grant a temporary respite from its insistent frustrations. Maybe "The Gates" is art, maybe it isn't. But it is uncomplicated fun to meet people from everywhere, to hear their stories and even become a fleeting part of them. Who could not smile at encountering Louise Kershaw and Glynn Moss of Manchester, England. Despite the winter weather, the young couple had decided to hold their wedding ceremony in Central Park, knowing nothing about "The Gates." The new husband and wife pronounced themselves delighted, if surprised. "Everyone's been wishing us well," said the bride, looking slightly dazed, as she and her husband posed for photographs near the Bethesda Fountain, surrounded by family and a friendly throng of strangers. THAT'S the story of the installation - the people, suggested Carl Petzhold, a retired writer from Hanover, Germany. In Berlin, where the same artists wrapped the Reichstag with fabric in 1995, "there were 5 million people, and they all excitedly talked to each other, and here is the same thing," said Mr. Petzhold, who came to New York with his wife, Sigrid, specifically to see "The Gates." "People will talk to you, no matter where you come from." Sophia Ginzburg of Albany, a medical technician, had a similar reaction. It is, she said, "like a holiday in here." Barbara Colon, walking her dog, Maxie, near West 104th Street yesterday was just happy to see more people in the park than usual, though many fewer than south of 96th Street. "And at last, they finally did something uptown," added Ms. Colon, who works in investment banking. The installation had its critics. But there is no doubt that the 16-day exhibit is a hit. Just as there was no doubt in 1981 that it would have been a dud. "E. B. White wrote that to live in New York you have to be lucky," said Mr. Davis, the former parks commissioner. "My corollary is, it's great to live in a city where you are allowed to change your mind." 'The Gates' Unfurling to High Hopes By RANDY KENNEDY With 45 television cameras in front of him and a view of bright orange vinyl gates stretching through Central Park behind him, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that the city expected an infusion of $80 million in tourism and other spending by people flocking to see "The Gates," the vast public art project by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Worldwide interest in the project was clear at the news conference at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where journalists from more than 200 media outlets, including networks in Sweden, Mexico City and Tokyo and others as unusual as Bulgarian national television, crowded into the Temple of Dendur to hear the mayor and the two artists discuss the project, whose saffron-colored fabric panels will be unfurled this morning. For Mr. Bloomberg - who has reduced the city's arts budget amid general cutbacks but has also emerged as the strongest promoter of public art at City Hall in decades - the event was a chance to bask in the glow of a near-perfect blockbuster project: one that comes at no cost to the city (the artists are paying for everything, including extra police officers) and that will attract thousands of art pilgrims to New York during a month when tourism is traditionally at its lowest. "With no ticket sales of any kind it's impossible to predict exactly how big an impact 'The Gates' will have during its 16-day stay here," Mr. Bloomberg said, "but based on attendance at similar events and other factors, the city's Economic Development Corporation estimates that the project will generate more than $80 million in economic activity for our city." The $20 million project was originally conceived by the artists in 1979 and was rejected by three mayoral administrations before Mr. Bloomberg's, in part because of concerns about its cost and about damage to the park. The mayor, who first became interested in the notion of "The Gates" in 1995 as a trustee of the Central Park Conservancy, made light of the project's long history yesterday, saying that it took Michelangelo four years to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Beethoven five years to write the Ninth Symphony. "Mere blinks of an eye," he said, "compared to the time that it took to build the masterpiece that we are celebrating today." "I can't promise," he added, "particularly since this is New York, that every single person will love 'The Gates,' but I guarantee that they will all talk about it." "And that's really what innovative, provocative art is supposed to do," he added, as Jeanne-Claude and Christo sat next to him. Vince Davenport, the project's engineer, said that teams of workers would be standing by in case any of the 16-foot-high gates broke or were pushed down, and that a gate could be replaced in less than an hour. But both he and Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner, said they did not anticipate many problems, from either vandals or the weather. Mr. Davenport said that teams would begin manually unfurling the fabric at 8:30 a.m. and that all of the panels should be released by about 11. Asked often yesterday to explain the meaning of the project, Christo and Jeanne-Claude emphasized that its meaning would have to be found by those who walked through the 7,500 gates, spread over 23 miles of walkways. "It has no purpose," Jeanne-Claude said. "It is not a symbol. It is not a message. It is only a work of art." But Christo explained that it related in some ways to the unrealized plans of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the park's designers, to place iron gates at many of the entrances to the park. He added that the fabric panels, which will blow and curve in the wind, are also meant to remind viewers of the park's serpentine paths and the curves of the empty branches of the trees above them. After answering several questions, however, Christo became clearly frustrated by trying to explain his work and emphatically urged experience over rational inquiry. "This project is not involved with talk," he said. "It is real physical space. You need to spend time walking in the cold air - sunny day, rainy day, even snow. It is not necessary to talk." EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK At Last, the Gates Wave in Central Park By CAROLYN CURIEL Few artists can make a global splash like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who are spouses and collaborators. Their public art creations are not so much displayed as audaciously imposed: installations that employ landscapes and buildings as mannequins and pincushions. They put pink skirts on islands off Florida, silver draping around the Reichstag in Berlin and colorful umbrellas in fields in Southern California and Japan. As a successor to these phenomena, "The Gates," which unfurls today in Central Park, adds another dimension, a certain humanity within the grandeur. The artists' earlier inventions were often remote, away from urban areas or other easily accessible settings. The splendor depended on what photographs or aerial video could capture. Not so with "The Gates." For 16 days, "The Gates" will be in place, with 7,500 saffron-colored panels hanging above pedestrians like slices of sunlight. Streaming along 23 miles of walkways in Central Park - the most-visited park in the nation's largest city - the installation invites interaction and exploration. The artists have said the saffron color of the fabric and frames was chosen simply because they like it, but it seems a prompt for meditation and reflection. Still, visitors shouldn't expect a lot of peace and quiet. New Yorkers and tourists are expected to crowd the park, an unusual circumstance in the month of February. As with their previous 18 large works, Christo and Jeanne-Claude financed the full cost, some $20 million. They also paid with time and perseverance. It took a quarter-century to realize their vision, which finally won approval after the election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Only in the last few weeks did the scope of the project become clear, with the frames springing up as if ready for a giant round of croquet. On one recent day, crew members hoisted poles into place and took in early reviews from passers-by. One called it an abomination, but others seemed more enthralled. One woman, who described herself as a landscape painter, called the work in progress "an environmental happening." Another woman, on skates and carrying a Bergdorf Goodman bag, tried unsuccessfully to volunteer to help on the spot. In the dead of winter, when sensations can go as numb as uncovered ears, Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their legions of helpers are at the very least succeeding in awakening sentiments. Critics can argue that Central Park does not need the fuss. But maybe New Yorkers do, in the form of this bright respite. Central Park Makeover: Reality Show, in a Way By CAROL VOGEL Video: Work Begins on "The Gates" At 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday, as the sun was beginning to rise over Central Park, the Loeb Boathouse was buzzing. The artist Christo stood outside, admiring the way the soft morning light bathed the orange gates that teams of workers had put into place on Monday. It was Day Two of installing his vast $20 million public art project, created with his wife, Jeanne-Claude, and there was a sense that there was no time to lose. So far, 261 16-foot-tall gates had sprouted around the park. By tomorrow evening, 7,500 will have to be in place along the park's pedestrian walkways from 59th Street to 110th Street, in time for the saffron-colored fabric that adorns the gates to be unfurled around 8:30 on Saturday morning. (The project will remain through Feb. 27.) Inside the boathouse, the 600-odd paid volunteers enlisted for the five-day job were chatting over coffee and rolls, waiting to head off to their assigned areas. Things had gotten off to a slow start on Monday. It had taken time for the workers to assemble, find their work areas and figure out the most efficient way to work. Still, every team seemed competitively conscious of its accomplishments. "We installed 27 gates yesterday," boasted Ann W. Richards, the former governor from Texas. "There's something magical about people coming together for a common purpose without something for them to gain," she added. "I'm having a ball." "There's real energy," agreed Antoine Douaihy, who oversees 150 people in 14 teams as the leader of Area One - extending from 59th Street to 65th Street and from Fifth Avenue to Central Park West - and in real life works in film production. "One team refused to stop until they had put up 25 gates." Also savoring the scene was Anne L. Strauss, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who organized an exhibition of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Gates"-related drawings, collages, photographs and maps last year. "There are a lot of art people here," she said. While each team seemed diverse in age and profession, from college students to retired teachers and doctors, all had a common bond: a resolve to be a part of the city's biggest public-art happening ever. By 7:30 a.m., after a pep talk from Vince Davenport, the project's chief engineer and construction director, and from Capt. Andrew Capul, commanding officer of the Central Park Precinct, everyone headed off to their assigned areas. Although Mr. Douaihy called the 261 gates installed on Monday a "respectable" figure, he said that 400 to 500 more would have to go up Tuesday if the effort was to be completed by Friday. Cruising around the park in a golf cart, he consulted with Guy Efrat, one of the area's so-called "zone supervisors." (Each area is divided into zones, and each zone into teams.) Mr. Efrat, who also works in movie production, was overseeing three teams in Mr. Douaihy's area. Like mutual strangers in a reality television show, each team felt somewhat randomly thrown together. But often, the common strand was art: Area One, Section 10, for instance, was made up of a performance artist, an advertising art director, a retired doctor/Yale University professor, a sculptor/gilder, an architect, an architectural draftsman, a freelance stagehand and a recent college graduate who is on his way to become an intern at the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary-art organization in Marfa, Tex. "I've never seen so many artsy people in my life," said Huascar Pimentel, the stagehand, who is one of the professional workers that was assigned to the team. "These guys are great - they don't mind getting their hands dirty." Nor did the men mind taking directions from a woman, although some of them joked about it. ("You don't see this much cooperation in the workplace," said Robert Steigelman, the advertising art director.) Catherine Courter, the sculptor and gilder, had been named the team's captain by the organizers. Michael Bianco, the recent graduate, and Arvin Garay-Cruz, the architect, had been asked to be the "levelers," the team members who made sure that the steel plates anchoring the poles in heavy bases were installed correctly. Each worker had attended a four-hour training session last week where the professionals took notes on those who demonstrated leadership ability (potential team captains) or mechanical ability (levelers). It took only about three minutes for the workers to actually hoist a gate into place. The hard part was using the right size horizontal poles (which depended on the width of walkways) and wielding nuts, bolts and wrenches to attach parts like the orange boxlike sleeves that conceal the metal plates. And some spots were more difficult than others. On heavily trafficked paths, installers often had to stop working to let pedestrians pass. Hilly or narrow paths were harder to work on. And then there was the saccharine music emanating nonstop from the ice rink. And the remarks of passersby. "I can't work it out - it horrifies me that this is costing $20 million, I don't care who's paying for it," a man carrying a briefcase said as he hurried past the workers of Area One, Section 10, on West 59th Street behind the Wollman Skating Rink. Still, most people who stopped to chat had positive reactions. "I'm not sure about the color, but I'm a fan," Douglas F. Eaton, a United States District Court judge, said after his daily round of skating. On Monday the team members installed only 18 gates. But by 10:15 on Tuesday morning they were already putting up the 11th of the day. The key was establishing a rhythm: one person repeatedly readied the equipment for the levelers, and the levelers would begin their task as others trundled the gates over to their assigned positions. "This is my cheap and cheerful vacation," Robert Condon, the architectural draftsman, said, holding a pole in position. By noon the team headed back to the boathouse for lunch, leaving Mr. Pimentel behind to watch the equipment. (That job rotates among teammates each day.) "Can you believe it, this was conceived the year I was born?" Mr. Cruz, 26, said as the group ambled toward the boathouse. (Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been working on "The Gates" since 1979.) "If you look at one gate, it's ugly, it looks like a guillotine," he mused. "It's the multiplicity of them that makes it a total artwork." "The more go up, the cooler it looks," Ms. Courter agreed over lunch in the packed boathouse. Team members sat together, chatting happily while keeping a wary ear open to find out how many gates the other teams had installed. Then it was back to their assigned area near the rink. By 4 p.m., Area One, Section 10, had managed to install a total of 35 gates. Exhausted, the team members returned their supplies to a nearby staging area and began planning for Wednesday. After ticking off the completed gates on a map, Ms. Courter started counting those that would have to be installed on Wednesday. "Thirty-five again tomorrow," she said. "No problem."   11-Jan-2005 New York Art Project Made in Germany Ever since they shrouded Berlin's Reichstag, most Germans know artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Germany plays a role in their latest work in New York too, this time weaving and stitching their trademark fabric. A decade ago, Christo and Jeanne-Claude created a sensation when they swaddled the German Reichstag or parliament building in shimmering silver fabric for two weeks in a statement of Berlin's Cold War east-west political divide. As the artist duo prepare for their latest art installation in New York -- setting up 7,500 gates hung with panels of saffron-colored fabric in Central Park -- Germany is once again involved. Few know that much of the handiwork for "The Gates," as the New York art installation is called, was done across the Atlantic in small workshops in sleepy German towns. And, as if in a continuing vein of the artists' Reichstag project, Germany's once divided halves are in it together: a manufacturing company in Taucha near Leipzig in eastern Germany and a weaving mill in the town of Emsdette, near Münster in western Germany, have labored separately to ensure that "The Gates" opens as scheduled on Feb. 12. Both companies have worked for the Bulgarian-born Christo and his French wife and co-artist Jeanne-Claude before. There's little doubt that the high-profile New York project is a further feather in their cap. Klaus Schirmer, head of production at the Schilden company, which wove the sturdy sheets of polyamide imprinted with an intricate honeycomb design in saffron yellow for "The Gates," said it wasn't a routine commission. "It is definitely special. It's probably not everyday that one can associate art with a technical weaving mill. Thus this whole Christo thing is really special and of course very, very important to us," Schirmer told Deutsche Welle during the manufacturing stage last year. Christo reportedly paid the weaving mill around €400,000 ($524,000) for 100,000 square meters of polyamide textile, the normal price according to the company. For the tiny sewing workshop in Taucha, which belonged to the Communist East German government and has now been bought over by the Swiss Bieri Group, the Christo commission brought welcome relief to its workers. "It's a nice change," Susann Reihe, who has been stitching together the fabric panels for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's New York artwork for the past year in Taucha, told German broadcaster WDR. "We normally do protective weather-proof covers for cars, party-tents and the like, that demands a whole lot of painstaking work," Reihe said. "This is really lovely in contrast." Christo's project manager Wolfgang Volz said that the Taucha-based Bieri Zeltaplan company had already proven its skills and quality during the Reichstag wrapping project. "At the time we had a really good experience with them," Volz told WDR. "That's why we approached them again." Roland Eilenberger, head of Bieri Zeltaplan is clear that the commission has also brought the company much prestige in their line of work. "Naturally, you can't market such a project in the same way that you would perhaps bring out a luxurious product on the market," Eilenberger said. "But, overall, in the textile industry it's pretty unique to able to work and complete such a mammoth project." The company shipped off the last of the fabric panels to New York last November. "The Gates" is just the latest in a string of gigantic public art pieces that the conceptual artists are known for, most of which have involved wrapping swathes of fabric around massive objects. Among their more memorable projects, was a hanging of a curtain between two peaks in a Colorado valley, wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris, embellishing several islands off Florida with tutus, the wrapping of the Reichstag and opening 3,100 umbrellas in Japan and California. "The Gates," which like most of the artist duo's works is monumental but temporary, will consist of five-meter-high gates placed at intervals of about 3.5 meters along 37 kilometers of footpaths throughout New York's Central Park. The saffron-colored fabric panels will be suspended from each gate, falling to two meters above the ground. The installation is designed to pay tribute to the park's half-planned topography as well as to evoke the structure of the surrounding city blocks. As with most of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, the fabric is central to the installation. This time the saffron color is meant to symbolize a park in full bloom. Author DW staff (sp) New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com/ Open shutter on 'Gates' Monday, January 17th, 2005 It took 26 years for landscape artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, to get permission to erect their "Gates" project in Central Park. Legendary documentary film maker Albert Maysles caught the process on tape. About 100 hours of it, anyway. And although Christo's 7,500 tubular gates with saffron-colored fabric panels will decorate 23 miles of pathways in the park for a mere 15 days, Feb. 12-27, Maysles, 71, and directing partner Antonio Ferrera, 28, promise a film for the ages. They also pledge to make a distinctly New York film, starring Central Park and what Maysles calls "the collage" of people around it. "Central Park is sort of this egalitarian place, this Arcadia, where all of New York comes together to play and do their thing," Ferrera said. "'The Gates'" sort of underlines that." Maysles and his late brother, David, used hand-held cameras and sound equipment to revolutionize documentaries with films like "The Beatles: First U.S. Visit" and "Gimme Shelter," their 1974 film about the Rolling Stones tour that culminates in the disastrous California concert at Altamont. The brothers caught on film a Hells Angels member, hired to provide security, killing a fan who tried to rush the stage. Maysles has one of the cameras used at Altamont in his home at the Dakota on Central Park West. Maysles and the Christos have a long history together - "The Gates" will be the sixth documentary Maysles has done with them since he and his brother met the pair in Paris in 1962. The collaboration has worked because their methods are the same, a sort of Zen acceptance that whatever happens, happens and becomes a part of the artistic process. "In a good documentary, you never know what will happen next. Half or more of the Christos' projects is the unknown reaction to it," Maysles said. "They don't know what the weather is going to be. That's okay. Maybe it will snow. Maybe a rainbow crosses the park at that time. So much the better." The city's reluctance to approve the "Gates" project added a bit of cinéma vérité to the film. Because they have film spanning each of the Christos' requests and city rejections since the artists' first attempt in 1979, the audience gets to watch various officials, and the Christos, age on film. "So the viewer gets to watch these evolutions of the project and the people involved," Ferrara said. "People go from being young people in the '70s to who they are today. One guy who was against it has hair in the '70s. Now he's bald." "So many people think of interviews in documentaries, but what is important is that person you are filming experiencing something," Maysles said. "You are experiencing things those people experience." The Christos modified their proposal over the years to win city approval. For instance, they abandoned the idea of drilling holes to anchor each gate in the pathway and instead constructed portable stands for each. And the couple's success over the years with their massive works - they covered the Reichstag in Germany in silver fabric and strung yellow umbrellas across the California countryside, for example - made the Central Park project more palatable to local officials. Maysles said he is also proud that this is a film without a point. "At our best, we are making a film that has no particular purpose," he said. "You talk to the Christos, they say there is no purpose to their art, just a thing of beauty to be enjoyed. So is this film. When you think about it, Shakespeare, what is the purpose?" The documentary crew spends hours a day filming all aspects of "The Gates" assembly and construction. The filmmakers expect to winnow the estimated 100 hours of videotape to a 90-minute film. Then there is the money. Unlike the Christos, who pay for all of their projects by selling the equivalent of storyboard sketches of each - Maysles has two of them - the filmmaker is still raising the estimated $80,000 he will need to complete the documentary.   A Filmmaker's 50 Years of Reassuring Intimacy By KATHRYN SHATTUCK The scene left a lot to the imagination. On a sun-drenched day last week in Central Park, the only evidence of "The Gates," New York City's biggest public art project ever, was several thousand dark steel bases poking through a layer of snow. But for the 78-year-old filmmaker Albert Maysles , whose mission it has been to record a quarter-century of work on the project by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the site had potential. The saffron-colored panels that will billow across 23 miles of park footpaths will not be unfurled until Saturday, but 11 days in advance, Mr. Maysles knew that people would already be talking about it. "I'd like to find a group already involved in a discussion about the work," he said, alighting from a golf cart at the Great Lawn. A barely perceptible frown clouded the white-haired filmmaker's face, framed by black spectacles. Except for a few pedestrians wandering by, nothing much was happening. Finally, camera in hand, he approached a tattooed woman who was sitting on a bench in a spaghetti-strapped camisole and trousers, her two white dogs the only apparent source of warmth. "Let me feel you," he said after a few minutes of casual conversation, placing his hand on her bare shoulder. "My God, it's warm." He turned to Antonio Ferrera, his co-filmmaker, and motioned him over. "Feel her shoulder," he said. "Do you believe it?" Mr. Ferrera reached out and touched her. It was the Maysles technique - intimate to the point of being unnerving yet somehow, reassuringly safe. Touched by strange men in the middle of Central Park, the woman did not flinch. And so began the first of Mr. Maysles's explorations that afternoon as he and Mr. Ferrera sidled up to bench-sitters, waved at passers-by, basked in recognition and filmed - or not, depending on their subjects' willingness - reactions to The Gates, a project that just about everyone seemed to have an opinion about, once Mr. Maysles had coaxed them into revealing it. A chat with a transplanted Russian couple veered from Mr. Maysles's visit to Russia in 1955, when as a psychology teacher from Boston University he cajoled his way into psychiatric hospitals and recorded what was to become his first film, to the eccentricities of the pianist Vladimir Horowitz, the subject of another of his documentaries, to the Russian man's own work as an artist in Central Park upon his arrival in this country in 1979. "Christo and I are alike," said the man, Eric Freyman. "We both relied on the park to survive." A woman who described herself as "a product of Germany after World War II" and refused to be filmed, was less enthusiastic about the project. "Nature does not need adornment," she said, her brow crinkling. Mr. Maysles sat down, turned off his camera and began to talk. Soon, the conversation moved to Prague, where, the woman said, her Jewish mother had been forced to work in a church during the war. "My family name is well known there, but spelled differently," he said: "Maisels." "Ah, yes, you are Albert Maysles," she replied, her face brightening. "Gimme Shelter." "Salesman." "Grey Gardens." She knew his documentaries well. They talked a bit longer - about her former career as a language teacher, about his continuing one. "Well, I still can't say that I approve of this," she said, finally, gesturing to the base that she was using as a footrest. "But you've convinced me to keep an open mind." Mr. Maysles picked up his camera and walked on. "You know, one experience leads to another," he said, inching closer to his listener until their noses were almost touching. "In the end, 'The Gates' become connectors between lives." Mr. Maysles is well practiced in finding the connections between the environmental art visualized by Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the people who experience it. "The Gates," his sixth project with the couple, is to be shown on HBO in the fall. Tomorrow, the Museum of Modern Art will begin screenings of "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Projects Recorded, 1969-1998," which includes Mr. Maysles's films of the previous five collaborations. Mr. Maysles met Christo and Jeanne-Claude through a friend in Paris in 1960, and they became like family, Jeanne-Claude said, when the Christos moved to New York in 1964. With his brother and co-filmmaker, David, Mr. Maysles followed the couple as they strung a rippled sheet of orange fabric between mountains in "Christo's Valley Curtain" (1974), stretched an 18-foot wall of white across Northern California in "Running Fence" (1978), skirted Biscayne Bay islands in flamingo pink in "Islands" (1986) and wrapped the Pont Neuf in gold in "Christo in Paris" (1990). He completed "Umbrellas" (1995), about the simultaneous opening of 3,100 umbrellas in California and Japan, without David, who died in 1987. For now, all that exists of "The Gates" documentary is a five-minute trailer and a mass of film taken across more than two decades - and left to editors in Mr. Maysles's studio on West 54th Street to make sense of. "It's a talent I don't have," he said of the editing, noting that a late-in-life diagnosis of attention deficit disorder had helped him better understand what he had always viewed as his weaknesses. "I haven't the eye." But that disability has helped to nurture some strengths. "I am a very, very good listener," he said. "My innate difficulty with concentration forced me to be." A pioneer in direct cinema, the American version of French cinéma vérité, Mr. Maysles is an old-school documentarian, preferring to remain out of frame and let life speak for itself. "When you ask a question," he said, "you already know what the answer will be." And so he has sought out what he doesn't already know. It was Mr. Maysles's team who filmed a man being stabbed to death during a Rolling Stones concert at Altamont in the 1970 film "Gimme Shelter," Mr. Maysles who ferreted out the aspirations and disappointments of a reclusive mother and daughter in their decaying house in East Hampton, on Long Island, in "Grey Gardens" (1976). And it is Mr. Maysles whom the Christos have allowed to accompany them from intimacy to intimacy for more than three decades, from Christo's freak-out session as he watched their Colorado curtain become snagged during its unfurling in 1972 to Jeanne-Claude's singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Day," a bit off-key, in the back of a taxi cab in 2003. "We used to tease David and Al when we were younger because once I remember they said, they want to be with us all the time, everywhere," Jeanne-Claude said in a telephone interview from her downtown loft last week. "But they have not yet caught us brushing our teeth." "It's not only about the films of Christo," she continued. "You will see that in all of their film, David and Albert, always, they just can't help it - no matter what is happening, they cannot help but throw in a little a bit of tenderness." David was mostly the sound, she recalled, and Albert the cameraman. David's role on "The Gates" has fallen to Mr. Ferrera, a 35-year-old writer and filmmaker with a fondness for quoting Thomas Hardy whose romantic vision seems to mesh with Mr. Maysles's own. For "The Gates," the men have been camped out "like nomads," Mr. Ferrera said, coming and going until late into the night from their trailer next to the Central Park Boathouse, just across the park from Mr. Maysles's apartment in the Dakota. Inside, young assistants tap away on laptops and answer phones, maintaining filming and interview schedules, keeping Mr. Maysles sated with miniature chocolate bars and, given that it is in 50th year in filmmaking, monitoring the recent run on lifetime achievement awards. Mr. Ferrera, who met Mr. Maysles by timidly approaching him at a Film Forum screening, has worked with him since 1999. "The greatest thing I've learned from Al is the way that compassion and openness are the only true things that will allow you to find the fullness in that which is before you," he said. "Al does that with his camera. He's like a heat-seeking missile. It's not about shots or any of that stuff. It's about discovering what happens in life through the lens." 'The Gates' shall be unfurled Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude see their fleeting installation finally come to fruition BY ARIELLA BUDICK STAFF WRITER Why would any artist devote decades of planning and millions of dollars to create a new project with the intention of destroying it a few weeks later? Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who long ago became famous for draping fabric across buildings, canyons and entire counties, first proposed festooning Central Park in 1979. Three mayors and countless hearings later, the couple has spent $21 million on "The Gates," a 23-mile procession of billowing, saffron-colored curtains that will be unfurled Saturday and dismantled on Feb. 28. Why it's transitory "One of our workers on the night shift asked me why is it temporary," Jeanne-Claude says. "I told him to think of the rainbow. And he grabbed my arm and says, 'I think I got it: If the gates were there all the time, after a while nobody would be looking at them and the magic would be gone.' And I said, 'You've got it better than most art historians.'" Precisely because it is such a colossal undertaking, the transience of "The Gates" is central to the project's meaning. Ours is an era of great migrations, in which whole populations live with the feeling that shelter is fragile and landscape can be suddenly reshaped. The artists themselves are transplants to New York - he from Bulgaria, she from France - and their work reflects the sense of impermanence. "Nomads one day arrive and they unfold their fabric tent and they build an entire town, and weeks later they fold up their tents and they are gone, and this nomadic quality is reflected in the fabric," says Jeanne-Claude. Then, as if to offer assurance that "The Gates" will be no didactic enterprise but a thing of visceral beauty, she segues into a different metaphor. "Fabric is also sensual, like a second skin," she says. "It moves in the wind. It is alive." The installation has an economic life, too. It has generated more than 1,000 temporary jobs. It will probably lure hundreds of thousands of tourists who will buy meals and Broadway tickets. Sales of related posters and merchandise will benefit the nonprofit organizations Nurture New York's Nature and the Central Park Conservancy. But nobody gets rich: The artists sell preparatory sketches, as well as works they have been hoarding for decades, and that revenue covers the expenses of this extravaganza or gets plowed into the next, a project over the Arkansas River in Colorado. If the weather or some other glitch drives up the cost by $1 million or $2 million of the artists' own money, then so be it. "Each work is like a child of ours," Jeanne-Claude shrugs. "A father and a mother do not have a budget for a child." Speaking as one In the months leading up to opening day, the gangly Christo has been cloistered in the studio above the couple's SoHo loft, churning out the drawings and collages that will be the only permanent trace of "The Gates" once the vinyl poles and the nylon material have been recycled. He sleeps just a few hours a night, eats hurried meals of raw garlic with yogurt, and gives no interviews. His partner waves all such requests away, explaining that they have fused into a single entity: Christo and Jeanne-Claude. "I live with him for 47 years, and I know exactly what he would have said. We do everything together - except we don't fly together, I do not draw and Christo never works with our accountant." Like most of the pair's other projects - wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf in Paris, spanning a valley in Colorado, stretching a cloth fence across Sonoma and Marin counties in northern California, dotting whole landscapes with thousands of bright umbrellas - "The Gates" had to overcome a mountain range of logistical barriers. The city equivocated and objected until their fan Michael Bloomberg became mayor. Then it was just a matter of turning 5,290 tons of steel into 15,000 supports capable of withstanding February bluster, without damaging the Central Park turf or pathways. The obstacles and the expense, while central to the process, have tended to arouse hostility, which usually takes the form of accusations that the artists are wasteful publicity-seekers. Christo and Jeanne-Claude both deny and embrace those criticisms. "If the project was a movie set for Hollywood ... there would be no opposition," Christo told the art historian Jonathan Fineberg, discussing a work that involved encircling 11 Miami islets in floating fabric. "The great power of the project is that it's absolutely irrational, and that disturbs, angers the sound human perception of a capitalist society. That is also a part of the project ... to put in doubt all the values of everything." Will it work in New York? According to John Elderfield, chief curator at the Museum of Modern Art, such large, theatrical and subversive work belongs in a tradition of the politically charged avant-garde of the Russian Revolution. It's hard to know how well that social critique will translate to New York City. "Public art thrives best in periods where there are widely understood communal beliefs," Elderfield says. "How can this work in a city where nobody agrees about anything? Therefore, there's something wonderfully ingenuous about the wish to do it." Fomenting doubt about social conventions is not the same as spreading confusion, however. Perhaps because they have mystified so many people over the course of their joint career, Christo and Jeanne-Claude insist on fact-checking every article about themselves (including this one). Their Web site ( http://www.christojeanneclaude/ .net) features a list of common journalistic errors, such as the recommendation: "See the artwork best by flying." The written retort resonates with Jeanne-Claude's Gallic scorn: "No! None of their work is designed for the birds, all have a scale to be enjoyed by human beings who are on the ground." Nothing annoys them more than to be described as "wrap artists," since they also put fabric to many other uses. "When people think that we wrap everything, it means that they don't have eyes," Jeanne-Claude sputters. "It's close to cretinism." As for the charge that they are merely chasing fame, Jeanne-Claude's answer is that their desire for recognition is profoundly human and inseparable from their desire to be good at their job. "If someone is the best garbage collector in town, he is proud of being known as the best garbage collector," she says. "Or butcher or baker." Video: The making of 'Gates' (NYNewsday.com) Feb 1, 2005   Barbarians (Well, Mostly Art Lovers) at 'The Gates' By JENNIFER STEINHAUER In 1991 David Yust clocked 22 hours staring at a forest of yellow umbrellas in a valley north of Los Angeles. He spent 13 days in Berlin in 1995 marveling at the aluminum-surfaced fabric that draped the Reichstag, once rising at 2 a.m. for a reverential photo session of the sun rising over the enfolded neo-Renaissance landmark. And next week he plans to photograph a saffron-cloaked Central Park at dawn. Mr. Yust, 65, is part of a far-flung group of followers of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose latest public art project, "The Gates," is scheduled to open along 23 miles of the park's pedestrian walkways on Saturday. These loyal fans plot distant vacations, organize group trips and sometimes abandon jobs to bear witness to the artists' installations. They are like the fans that long traipsed after the Grateful Dead, but with far fewer tour dates. They share the passion of people who collect milk glass, Manolo Blahniks or rare teapots, although their holdings are limited to books, pieces of fabric or, in the case of Caryl Unger, a shovel that was used to install "Surrounded Islands" in Biscayne Bay, off Miami. Groupies? Gate-heads? They resist monikers. But their ardor for the Christo and Jeanne-Claude happenings is passionate. Mr. Yust, an art professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, said he was first bitten by the Christo bug in 1983, when he signed on to work on "Surrounded Islands," in which 11 Florida islands were encircled by pink floating fabric, after hearing the artists speak at the university. Since then he has tried to see as many of the installations as he can. "I thought about that project every day for the next two years," said Mr. Yust, who, like many of those who travel the country or world to see the team's work, is an artist himself. "I thought he was a big nut at that time. And I still think he is a big nut. But I am totally supportive of what he and Jeanne-Claude do. I feel they are among the last of the true idealists on the planet." From art collectors to museum groups, tourists to paid Christo volunteers, the city expects 200,000 to flock to the city for the installation, which will remain through Feb. 27. Such figures, of course, are mere guesses for now. But there does seem to be universal agreement that in a traditionally slow tourism period, New York will draw record numbers of visitors, thanks to "The Gates." Hotels that are usually half full or worse this time of year are reporting strong bookings, especially at establishments that line the park's perimeter. For the coming weekend, the Carlyle Hotel is 75 percent booked, a 30 percent increase over last year, said James McBride, the hotel's managing director. The hotel is offering a "Gates" package, which includes a park-view suite with catering for two hours for 25 people, at $6,000. "We booked one of them already," Mr. McBride said. The Mark is sold out this weekend; last February, only half of the 176 rooms were booked, managers there said. The artists estimate that thousands of people around the globe make a point of traveling to see their work, often signing on to help install the pieces. Smaller Christo communities hammer beams, tread water, twist fabric, answer phones or perform myriad other tasks to help bring a work together. There is even a blog on which visitors can record their reactions: nycgates.blogspot.com . Those fans, as well as thousands of other visitors who are landing in New York over the next several days to behold the ornamented park, are expected to lift the city's tourism economy, usually lackluster this time of year. "You don't go running up to New York in the middle of February from Miami," said Mrs. Unger, who is flying in on Thursday from Miami to see the installation. "But when I heard it was going to be in New York, I said to my husband, 'Please, let's go.' " New York merchants, of course, hope the experience will be as remunerative as it is enriching. The Mandarin Oriental will offer a package including binoculars in each of its Central Park View rooms, as well as breakfast at Asiate and a Metropolitan Museum of Art book on the project, starting at $1,050 a night. La Prima Donna Restaurant will serve sautéed Prince Edward Island mussels, in a saffron cream sauce. You get the idea. For the record, the artists do not earn income from the detritus left behind once a project is over. "The Gates" will be industrially recycled, and proceeds from the sale of "Gates" sweatshirts and other souvenirs will be donated to Nurture New York's Nature and the Central Park Conservancy. The project, which will cost more than $20 million to install, will be paid for by the artists. Organized groups are coming from Japan, Germany and many American cities to see the work, a great many of them made up of artists or art collectors. Ruth Halperin, chairwoman of Contemporary Collectors Circle of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, will fly in with 25 museum members on her fourth Christo trip. "We went to Fresno to see the umbrellas," said Ms. Halperin, who is 77. "We went to Paris, and we saw "Running Fence," she said, referring to the draping of the Pont-Neuf in Champagne-colored cloth in 1985 and a 24-mile nylon curtain that stretched through Sonoma and Marin Counties in California in 1976. " 'Running Fence' - to me that was the most beautiful one," she said. "The hills were beautiful and soft, and the light as the wind blew was magic. I will never forget that for the rest of my life." About 100 hard-core fans live out their commitment by helping to assemble the projects. Iris Sandkuhler, an artist from San Francisco, has worked on seven Christo installations to date. "I did my first one as a teenager, and now I am in my 40's," Ms. Sandkuhler said. "In 1978, an art instructor in North Carolina piled us into a van and said you have to do this," she said, describing her initiation, a modest Christo project involving the wrapping of some streets in Kansas City. The commitment is not without its physical challenges. "Working in water in the Biscayne Bay," she said, "we had to lace the panels together, and there was nothing to stand on, so we were in the water floundering around." "But the hardest one for me," Ms. Sandkuhler mused, "was when I worked for them in Paris, and I was sleeping on a couch in the office right next to the bathroom." Artist's Plan to Drape Central Park in Fabric Is Approved By ROBIN POGREBIN A scaled-down version of a plan by the artist Christo to festoon 26 miles of Central Park's walkways with swatches of translucent saffron-colored fabric has been given a crucial vote of support by the Central Park Conservancy, which helps manage the park. The project, which would be installed in February and remain in place for two weeks, still awaits approval by the city's parks department, but the vote on Monday by the Conservancy's board is significant. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, too, has said he supports the project, making approval by the parks department likelier. The project was rejected in 1981 in the wake of vehement opposition to what was seen by critics as a gross intrusion into the city's most beloved and important green space. This time, a "policy statement" approved by a majority of the park conservancy's board concluded that the project "could move forward without damage to the park and without impeding the recreational use of the park by the public," provided that issues including financing and security were resolved. Evelyn H. Lauder, who serves on the conservancy committee that studied the project, said: "My position has always been caution in terms of ecological impact. All those problems have been answered by them. So I'm very happy because I think it is a very exciting and dynamic possibility." In a much-chronicled career, the Bulgarian-born artist and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, have wrapped the German Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in Paris in cloth. They surrounded part of the coast of Australia in sand-colored fabric, hung an orange curtain across a gap in the Grand Hogback Mountain Range in Colorado and dispersed several thousand umbrellas across southern California. The Central Park project would include a trail of thousands of rectangular steel gates, each 15 feet tall, supporting individual panels of billowing cloth that would outline the park's winding promenades. The gates would begin at the park's pedestrian entrances and continue at nine-foot intervals. Among the Central Park Conservancy board members to vote in favor this time was Gordon J. Davis, who as parks commissioner 21 years ago rejected the project in a 107-page document that concluded the project was "in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the wrong scale." Among those to vote against the project on Monday was Richard Gilder, an investment manager who pledged a $17 million challenge grant to refurbish the Great Lawn and is a conservancy founding trustee. The conservancy's approval came with the condition that the work, known as "the Gates project," undergo significant modification: construction and installation with no excavation; fewer than 7,500 gates rather than the 15,000 originally proposed; no interference with trees or sensitive park areas like the reservoir and Ramble; and minimal use of large trucks and forklifts. The board also stipulated that the February installation date replace the original October proposal. The conservancy still wants more information on such issues as the project's financing, the impact on wildlife, and what will be done to keep parkgoers off grassy areas where bulbs are growing. The project has been given new life in part because of support from the mayor, who has generally championed the importance of public art, particularly since the events of Sept. 11. Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris said it was premature to comment on the development. Christo collaborates on his creations with his wife, and they finance their projects themselves from sales of Christo's work. Reached yesterday by phone at home in Manhattan, Jeanne-Claude said she was unaware of the conservancy's support. "We don't even know that," she said. To the artists, the process of seeking approval is part of the art itself. "The negotiation is part of the artistic focus," Mrs. Lauder of the conservancy said. "To eliminate obstacles is part of what they perceive as their process."   December 24, 2002 The Fabric of Life in the Park Christo Plan Advances By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude came up with a plan 23 years ago to erect gates draped in saffron-colored fabric in Central Park. Thousands of them would meander along pathways for two weeks during the winter when the trees are bare so the gates could be seen. Then they would be removed. A simple, slightly mad idea, and beautiful. Since then this husband-and-wife team has wrapped buildings, surrounded islands with pink floating fabric, installed giant blue and yellow umbrellas, and strung miles of curtains at locales from Florida to California to Japan to Europe, turning doubters into converts, while New York City, art's supposed capital, has dragged its heels. Until now. Maybe. Last week the Central Park Conservancy passed a resolution giving its support, basically. Christo and Jeanne-Claude said yesterday that they still had not heard from the conservancy, a private organization, which donates millions to maintain the park. Meanwhile it turns out that the artists have been negotiating a contract with the Parks Department. They are reluctant to talk about it. They don't want anything to spoil progress, having got so close to approval after so many years. Yesterday they told me that an announcement by the city may come very soon. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has already said he likes the idea. Charlatans? Shamans? With their hard-sell tactics, their followers trailing them like Deadheads from one gig to the next, their feel-good populism and phenomenally expensive, grandiose ambitions, it's no wonder Christo and Jeanne-Claude have made skeptics of people who haven't seen their work, don't understand it or don't want to, and who won't take them seriously. I remember going to the "Wrapped Reichstag" in 1995, expecting the worst. Then, like so many people, I was won over by the whole giddy event: the revelers who turned the fields around the Reichstag into Woodstock East, the art students sketching the building, the street vendors, the grumpy politicians, the store windows full of wrapped objects — above all by the beauty of the project. Briefly the hulking building became a kind of shimmery gift to the city, swathed in a million square feet of silvery polypropylene fabric held in place by 10 miles of bright blue rope. When the last roll of fabric was unfurled by a crew of climbers resembling Lilliputians atop Gulliver, someone cranked up a hurdy-gurdy. The crowd applauded. Then the building was unwrapped a few weeks later, leaving nothing behind except the economic benefits of tourist dollars: Christo and Jeanne-Claude always pay for their own projects by selling his art. The Reichstag wrapping cost $13 million. Berlin, a German newspaper said, made about $700 million in increased tourism. The artists also bequeathed to the city the worldwide afterimage of a gentler Reichstag. The symbolism was a new Germany emerging from the chrysalis of the wrapped building. They came up with the Reichstag idea in 1971. Resistance and negotiation are part of their work: everything that happens from concept to completion belongs to the project, they say; this is a basic tenet of Conceptual Art. They have been pondering something big in New York since the mid-60's, shortly after immigrating from Paris. First Christo proposed wrapping two downtown buildings, then wrapping the Museum of Modern Art, One Times Square and the Whitney Museum. By the 70's they imagined the gates to celebrate the rambling, organic system of pathways through Central Park, in contrast to the grid of streets. This interaction between order and disorder encapsulated art at that moment. The rectangular shape of the gates combined with the windblown fabric made a classic Post-Minimalist statement about man-made systems and nature. The project was turned down in 1981, when the Parks Department feared it would damage the grounds and set a dangerous precedent. Gordon J. Davis, then the parks commissioner, produced a report arguing against it. Mr. Davis is now a conservancy board member, and he voted for it this time. In 1995 Disney showed "Pocahontas" in the park on four 80-foot-high screens to tens of thousands of people crammed onto 120,000 square feet of artificial turf under 56,000 watts of light, listening to a 400,000-watt sound system before a gigantic inflatable Mickey. So much for dangerous precedent. If the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the park's legendary designers, could survive that, what's the problem with the gates? Anodyne, critics say about Christo. But public art does not consist only of artists leaving black boxes with "Fear" on them in subway stations. There's a fruitful territory between yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater and erecting a statue of a forgotten hero holding a sword. Christo's work derives from 60's happenings and Earth Art, from the general move out of galleries and museums into the real world, and from the utopianism of Socialist Realism (he was born in Bulgaria in 1935), with its belief in art for everyman, agitprop and the gigantism of Soviet monuments. He has transformed all this into a transient brand of visual entertainment. A little of that wouldn't hurt New York City now. After 9/11 the project can show the world the city's creative vitality, emotional health and sense of humor, and be a complement to the proposals for downtown. It would require at least another year, and probably a few years, for the project to be realized even if a contract were signed today and no legal hitches occurred. (They better act while this mayor is still in office.) Besides the money to be raised (Jeanne-Claude mentioned to me $20 million as a possible amount), there are 74 tons of steel to be designed, around a million square feet of fabric to be woven, cut and sewn, and workers to be hired and trained. And more planning. Last June, with Douglas Blonsky, the Central Park administrator, Christo and Jeanne-Claude surveyed the park, recording the precise width of walkways and heights of the lowest branches. The present plan is for about 7,400 gates, each 16 feet high (a foot higher than they originally proposed), with an average of 12 feet between gates. (There will be some gaps to avoid branches and other obstacles.) The widths of the gates will vary from 6 feet to 18 feet, to match the widths of walkways. Instead of slender steel poles, as first proposed, the gates are now to be 5 inch by 5 inch fabricated recyclable vinyl poles extruded in the saffron color of the fabric, which is no longer attached like a shower curtain but built right into the frame, like sails into masts. Each gate will have a slender one-ton steel base. The gates will rest only on walkways, so no holes with be dug or grass disturbed. Teams hired by the artists will take about six weeks, using small forklifts, to install the bases, another week to raise the gates. The park will be open as usual. Then the fabric will be unfurled in a day, ceremoniously. The teams will maintain and guard the gates, hand out fabric samples as gifts, act as docents to the curious, then take the gates down after two weeks. Six weeks later everything should be gone. At Christo's and Jeanne-Claude's studio I watched a short video of models of the gates, tested in Washington State, where the artists' chief engineer, Vince Davenport, lives. A van drove through the gates to make sure emergency vehicles wouldn't be obstructed. The fabric (it doesn't hang lower than seven feet) billowed nicely in a breeze. Christo pulled out some drawings and a book about the project. The gates are shown to fill the park, drawing orange paths up and down hills and stairs, around the lake, zoo and Met Museum — a vast, whimsical abstraction in the land. To the city, as "Wrapped Reichstag" was to Berlin, "The Gates" could be more than a popular attraction and profitable. Art, even a temporary installation, maybe especially a temporary installation, when it is good has a way of leaving an indelible mark on a place and the people who see it. Its value is civic and psychological. As a successor to the image of the collapsing Twin Towers, the picture of a winter park filled with people streaming through gates of fabric could be priceless. At the least, it would show New York City was willing to take a gamble on art. Here's hoping a contract is signed. Then it will be up to private donors to decide whether the project is worth the cost. Museums pay millions for some exhibitions. Knicks players are paid millions and lose. Who's to say what's too much? Considering how much money street vendors make hawking postcards and geegaws of the World Trade Center these days, it shouldn't be too hard for Christo to sell images of his project to raise cash. Meanwhile temporary public sculptures, as part of the last Whitney Biennial, have proved that Central Park can accommodate art and survive. The park is gorgeous without gates. It might be gorgeous with them, too. There's only one way to find out. April 9, 2004 ART REVIEW | 'THE GATES, CENTRAL PARK' Christo's Feat: 25 Years' Work for 16 Days By GRACE GLUECK A collage depicting part of Christo's plan to bring saffron to Central Park next February, the culmination of a quarter century of effort. You might think that after more than 40 years of grand-scale achievements, like hanging a curtain between two peaks in a Colorado valley; running miles of fence through two California counties; outfitting several islands off Florida with tutus; wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris; and swaddling the Reichstag in Berlin, the indefatigable team of Christo and his wife-collaborator, Jeanne-Claude, would at last run out of ambition. But no. With their eyes ever on the Big Apple, the two had long plotted a Christofest in Central Park. And after two and a half decades of refining the work and banging on official doors for a hearing, they are about — thanks to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's approval — to achieve their goal, with a project called "The Gates." It is logistically one of the team's most complicated to date, and certainly, at 25 years, the longest in gestation. Weather permitting, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, will see the formal opening in Central Park of the team's 16-day installation of 7,500 saffron-colored fabric panels, each suspended within a free-standing framework 16 feet high and swinging at the whim of the wind. Placed at 12-foot intervals and well over a stroller's head, the panels will occupy 23 miles of park walkways. The installation is meant not only to salute the park's half-planned, half-natural topography, but to evoke the grid structure of the surrounding city blocks. The saffron color recalls the park in fall foliage, a particularly expressive device when set against a mélange of February-bare trees. A preview of what's to come has been mounted by the Metropolitan Museum: "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates, Central Park, New York," a show of 51 preparatory drawings and collages by Christo, 64 photographs, 11 maps and tech-y diagrams, along with actual samples of the steel posts, fittings, footings and such that will support the banners along the walkways without making holes in them. (The title, "The Gates," is taken from the name used by the park's architects, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, for the openings in the stone wall surrounding it.) Christo's feat is hailed as "a tribute to the grandeur of Central Park and New York City" by Philippe de Montebello, director of the Met (which will itself be in direct line of the enfilade). But the installation is also a testimony to the team's inexhaustible skill and patience in the manipulation of officialdom, the imposition of an artist's will on a very public domain. Does Central Park really need Christo's embellishment? With Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the conceptual process — the technical problems, the political arm-twisting, the fund-raising, the public relations-maneuvering and the documentation relating to their projects and, of course, the power play involved in achieving them — is as much a part of their art as the visible, sometimes beautiful but always temporary, end product. Like everything else the team does, the chronological documentation of the forthcoming event on view at the Met is as yawningly thoroughgoing as, say, a space exploration log, sparing the viewer no detail. Christo's drawings and collages show the installation from every vantage point, close-up to panoramic. Some are small and humdrum, others elaborate and impressive, like an eight-foot-long collage dated 2003, depicting the banners close up and receding on their long march, with buildings in the background. This work is topped by an aerial photograph of Central Park and a sketch of some technical details with an actual snippet of fabric. The photographs, mostly by Wolfgang Volz, exclusive photographer for Christo's projects since 1972, range from the first meeting between Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their lawyer, Theodore W. Kheel, with Gordon J. Davis, then the New York City parks commissioner, in April 1980 (a poignant note here is the visible advance in age of the participants as the years roll by), to a meeting of Community Board 8 in March 2003, at which the artist's contract with the city is explained by Jack T. Linn, an assistant commissioner of parks and recreation. Slightly less repetitive are color shots of the various manufacturing processes: the making of steel plates (5,290 tons of them) for the base weights at the ISG steel mill in Coatesville, Pa.; the weaving of more than 119,556 miles of saffron-colored nylon thread into 1,006,620 square feet of recyclable nylon fabric at the J. Schilgen Company in Emsdetten, Germany; the manufacture of the vinyl poles that hold the panels at the North American Profiles Group plant in Holmes, N.Y. (No one can say the Christo team doesn't do its bit toward fuller employment.) And then there are samples of the tangible results of all this busyness: solid steel bases each weighing between 614 and 815 pounds; steel leveling plates to ensure the verticality of the poles; the vinyl poles themselves; the fabric panels (each rolled around a cardboard tube three inches in diameter in preparation for unfurling); bolts and self-locking nuts that will total 165,704. Whew! These dumbfounding statistics make it clear why the cost of this enterprise is estimated to approach $20 million (including a $3 million donation by Christo to the Central Park Conservancy). The artist has always said he supports his enterprises through the sale of drawings and models, with no government funds involved. And as for the materials themselves, Christo says they are all subject to recycling. But what about the end product of all this? In all fairness, that can't be weighed until the actual installation is in place. Supposedly that installation will result in no damage to the park. Yet there's no denying that Christo's work has in the past achieved some beautiful effects. I will always remember the magical sight in 1972 of the orange Valley Curtain suspended between two hills against a background of grayish peaks in Rifle, Colo., lasting for nearly a day before the wind destroyed it. Nor will I forget the stunning view, from a helicopter, of the bright pink skirts inflecting the tiny green bits of land they billowed out from in the "Surrounded Islands" project of 1983 in Miami's Biscayne Bay. Neither of these, nor any of Christo's other projects, as far as I know, was destined to be permanent. The successful struggle to realize them, and then to document their existence, seemed to satisfy the artist. Paradoxically, it's the ephemerality of his ambitious projects that give them their true strength. Operating on a grand scale, boldly moving in on nature or man-made architectural schemes, he has the chutzpah to work his way with them, then walk away, leaving echoes in living minds and documents for the archives. It's not a bad way of imposing art on us; after all, look at the ugly public statues that now pepper the park. Unlike Christo's work, they aren't temporary. "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates, Central Park, New York" is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, (212) 535-7710, through July 25. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

i don't know

Who was the Secretary of State under both Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, best remembered for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from the Russians in 1867?

Preserving Hudson Valley's historic landmarks quite the challenge [database search] - News - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY Preserving Hudson Valley's historic landmarks quite the challenge [database search] Saturday May 14, 2016 at 5:55 PM May 14, 2016 at 5:55 PM BETHEL — The peeling layers of pink and white paint lay bare the wooden clapboards of the White Lake Mansion House, so old they predate the start of the Civil War by more than a dozen years. The “cricket,” the juncture between the main building and an addition, is damaged, too. And the interior has been gutted. But thanks in part to a new roof and windows put in by former owners two decades ago, the 168-year-old Mansion House in Bethel has withstood the test of time, preservationists say. Historic Sites of the Hudson Valley DATABASE: Search all historic sites in New York State try{f_cbload("dc191000423535d82ca0496dbdd9","https:");}catch(v_e){;}Click here to load this CaspioCloud DatabaseCloud Database by Caspio If a developer has his way, the Mansion House — the first successful hotel built in Sullivan County and the oldest one still standing — could be razed to make way for a new hotel and spa on seven acres overlooking White Lake. He hopes to capitalize on the site on Route 17B, which is a short distance from Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and a 15-minute ride from the new Montreign Resort Casino at Adelaar going up in the Town of Thompson. Therein lies the tale. But the visible remnants of the Hudson Valley's rich history are threatened, perhaps irreversibly, by the lack of money or simply by the lack of will to save them. O&W Rail Station, City of Middletown Year built: 1893 Significance: For decades it was a key pillar of Middletown’s economy. In later years, it housed the O& W’s main offices. The station also was known for Seeholzer Restaurant — since the O& W, unlike many trains at the time, didn’t have dining cars, people would rush out to eat when the train stopped in Middletown. Passenger service ended in 1953, but the O& W offices still were there until the company liquidated in 1957. It then housed a variety of other shops, offices and bars at various points. It has been vacant for almost a decade, and was damaged by a fire in 2004 and another in late April this year. Owner: Middletown Community Health Center Work needed: Much of the guts of the three-story, 30,000-square-foot hulk was destroyed in a 2004 fire. Part of the roof has collapsed, windows are smashed and boarded up, and the building is filled with trash. Price tag: $15-18 million What’s being done: Things are in flux right now. After the center lost out on $7.9 million in state funding to help renovate the crumbling building and move its various health services there, they changed course and decided instead to move services to the former Horton Hospital. Middletown Mayor Joe DeStefano said he’s working to preserve as much as possible of the building, even if it’s just the facade facing Wickham Avenue. MCHC officials are also in talks with the state to see if any of the $2.15 million previously awarded for the project can still be used towards the aging station. But DeStefano warns that if that isn’t successful the building may have to be demolished. Newburgh, for example, has the largest contiguous historic district in New York state, extending 445 acres from the Montgomery, Grand and Liberty streets corridor in the north to Washington's Headquarters in the south, said Orange County Historian Johanna Yaun. “Newburgh is known throughout the architectural community as a great tragedy,” Yaun said. “The buildings are not just old; they are representative of some of the finest work of the great 19th century architects.” Dutch Reformed Church - Newburgh Significance: National Historic Landmark designed by famed architect Alexander Jackson Davis Owner: City of Newburgh Work needed: Repairs to roof, walls, cornices, portico and tablature Price tag: $2.4 million is most recent estimate What's being done: Newburgh approved using $18,500 in Community Development Block Grant funds so the Preservation League of New York can have an engineering firm update an assessment of the building’s condition and repair costs. The National Register of Historic Places lists 182 such places in Orange County, another 182 in Ulster County and 76 in Sullivan. While not all endangered buildings are on the National Register, it’s also true that not all historic buildings are endangered. A great many are actively preserved by state and local governments, and many benefit from friends groups that raise money for their upkeep. But an untold number in the region have fallen victim to neglect, disrepair and outright abandonment. Bannerman Castle, Hudson River Year built: 1901-1918 Significance: This simulated Scottish castle was built by Francis Bannerman on Pollopel Island – since then commonly called Bannerman’s Island – as a repository for material from his New York City military surplus business. He also built a home on the island, smaller but in the same style. An explosion in 1920, two years after Bannnerman’s death, damaged the castle, as did a fire in 1969. In recent years, the weather has taken a toll on what remains of the castle. Owner: New York state Work needed: The castle walls have undergone some stabilization work, but more is needed. Price tag: $10 million to $20 million What's being done: The restoration of the house is close to completion. Bannerman Castle Trust, which was formed to oversee the preservation and restoration of the island, holds fundraising tours of the island, as well as special fundraising events both on and off the island, to support its work. Some, like the Mansion House, may simply be too expensive to repurpose. Five years ago, Manhattan developer Globe Developers Inc. approached Bethel officials with a $22 million plan that included demolition of the Mansion House, which had topped the list of Sullivan County’s most endangered historical buildings for several years running. The plan to tear down the old hotel elicited an outpouring of public opposition, both against the developer and the Bethel Planning Board. White Lake Mansion House, Town of Bethel Year built: 1848 Significance: First profitable hotel built in Sullivan County and the oldest one still standing Owner: Globe Developers Inc. Work needed: New plumbing and electrical systems, exterior painting, interior construction, a new roof and underpinnings for the foundation. Price tag: Undetermined. The developer has said it is likely too expensive to save the building, but has not affixed a price tag. What's being done: The developer has received approval from the Bethel Planning Board to raze the structure, to make way for a new hotel and spa that would be built in the style of the old Greek Revival hotel. An executive with Globe Developers says the firm still has not ruled out preserving the historic building, though it appears unlikely. “The town is within its rights and, in fact, has an obligation to require the exploration of options for development that involve preserving the existing structure as a condition for granting a special-use permit or zoning variances sought by the developer,” Ethan Cohen, an architect who splits his time between Roscoe and Baltimore, said in a 2012 letter to the Planning Board. Cohen and others lobbied town officials at length to save the old hotel, but the Planning Board ultimately approved the project. Planning Board officials could not be reached for comment. Ben Efraimov, an executive with Globe Developers, said Tuesday his firm had not ruled out preserving the Mansion House, but worried the cost would be prohibitive. “It would take a real effort to restore that property,” Efraimov said, adding the hotel had “substantial structural issues” including a weak foundation. He declined to pin a price tag on preserving the hotel. Mapes House, part of the Seward-Mapes Homestead in the Village of Florida Year built: Mapes House, 1887; Seward Homestead, 1797 Significance: The Mapes House was the home of William E. Mapes, captain of the Orange Blossoms, who was noted for his heroism in several battles of the Civil War. The Seward Homestead was the birthplace of William H. Seward, secretary of state under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Seward is best remembered for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Owner: Village of Florida Work needed: New roof, siding and interior work for Mapes House Price tag: About $800,000 total for renovations, offset by $400,000 in grants What's being done: Renovations are ongoing. A new porch and masonry work have been completed on the Mapes House, but $85,000 in roof work was left unfinished by the contractor. The village has set a May 1 deadline for roof work to resume before turning to non-contract employees to finish the job. Efraimov said Globe was “indecisive” about saving the building, then said, “Right now, we’re not going to divert from our original plans.” Those plans are currently on hold while the developer works to secure financing; the project received a one-year extension at a recent Planning Board meeting. “The problem we often see with historic buildings like this one is that the longer you wait to fix it, the less feasible it becomes,” Sullivan County Historian John Conway said. “Every year, it becomes less practical to save it, until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where someone will say, ‘It’s too expensive to save,’ and eventually, that becomes true.” In the case of the Mansion House, Conway said, “It could cost as little as 33 cents on the dollar to fix,” after grants and other incentives are factored in. “It’s almost criminal to think about tearing it down. There’s no building in the county that’s more historically significant.” When historians talk about saving endangered buildings, he said, they use a “preservation thermometer.” Nathaniel Booth House, Kingston Year built: 1770s Significance: Booth recorded detailed accounts of daily life and business on and along the Rondout Creek in two diaries he kept in the mid-1800s. Owner: City of Kingston is transferring ownership to a nonprofit created to stabilize the structure and seek funds for further renovations Work needed: Bluestone walls have cracked and large pieces fallen off the building. The city has blocked the lane of Wilbur Avenue near the house and installed temporary stop lights to control the two-way traffic. Price tag: $35,000 for initial stabilization work; long-range costs to be determined What’s being done: The city took the property for back property taxes and then has transferred it to Kingston Preservation Inc., a non-profit created to manage and fund stabilization of the Booth House. That work is underway. “It’s not only about the age of the building or structure," he said. “Is it on its original site? Is it in its original condition? Is it significant?” The 1848 Mansion House — which reportedly counts Prohibition-era bootlegger Waxey Gordon among its former owners — rates high on all those criteria, Conway said. With its Greek Revival architecture and laid granite-and-bluestone foundation, “It has great character, and it really hasn’t changed much. The inside is gutted — there aren’t really any rooms left — but the bones are still sound.” In general, buildings become unsalvageable when excessive water gets in or when major problems surface in the foundation, said Robert Dadras, a partner in Dadras Architects, which has offices in Manhattan and Liberty. Architects also look at whether a building is “straight and true,” with no moving or twisting of the walls or beams. “The Mansion House was built really well,” said Dadras, who has 30 years’ experience in historic preservation on more than 600 buildings statewide. “A new version of the same building today would never have survived.” On average, Dadras said, it costs several hundred dollars per square foot to build new construction, but only $70-$100 a square foot to renovate; that’s because most of the cost of renovation is for labor alone, as opposed to labor and materials. Combined state and federal tax credits for preservation can bring down the cost by another 40 percent, and those credits also apply to any additions made to a historical property, he said. VIDEO: Why should we preserve historic buildings “A lot of people think preservation is a really antiquated idea,” Dadras said, “but actually, it’s a very progressive idea. This is especially true when you look at the economics of a project, which can come in at a lot less money. And the simple act of preservation, even without doing anything else, is also a green movement.” Conway, too, expounds the often overlooked environmental benefits of preservation. “Think of it this way,” he said: “Virtually everyone in America has gotten behind the recycling effort – no matter how inconvenient, cans, bottles and plastic bags are recycled every day – but they have not embraced the reuse of buildings with the same zeal.” Citing preservationist Donovan Rypkema, Conway said, “Tearing down a single 20-foot-by-120-foot building wipes out the benefit of recycling over 1.3 million cans, and that’s just in the impact the demolition has on landfills; it does not take into account the energy expended.” There’s also a growing interest in converting preserved buildings into banquet halls for weddings and other events. Dadras said there’s a strong preference for historical sites over newly constructed venues that are built in historic styles. “Authenticity is very important to people, even to millennials,” Dadras said. “They see through this ‘phony-colonee’ architecture pretty quickly. They want the real thing.” [email protected]

William H. Seward

On Oct 12, 1901 which great US president gave the Executive Mansion its current name, The White House?

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Although regarded as the leading contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 1860, he was defeated by Abraham Lincoln. Seward was born in southeastern New York, where his father, a farmer, owned slaves. He became educated as a lawyer, moving to the Western New York town of Auburn. Seward was elected to the New York State Senate in 1830 as an Anti-Mason. Four years later, he became the Whig Party’s gubernatorial nominee. Though he was not successful in that race, Seward was elected governor in 1838, winning a second two-year term in 1840. During this period, he signed several laws advancing the rights and opportunities for black residents, as well as guaranteeing fugitive slaves jury trials in the state, protecting abolitionists, and using his position to intervene in cases of free blacks enslaved in the South. After several years practicing law in Auburn, he was elected by the state legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1849. 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Morse, San Francisco. Governor Henry H. Haight (1825-1878). 10th Governor of California (1867-1871). Henry Haight was born in the state of New York in 1825. As a young man, he attended Yale University and entered the practice of law, eventually moving west where he prospered and earned a solid reputation. Haight never held public office of any kind before he was elected Governor of California on the Democratic ticket, beginning his term of office in 1867. The state debt was reduced under Haight’s administration. He also ended the government subsidies that had been paid to silk and woolen manufacturers throughout the state for many years. He is credited with establishing the State Board of Health and the University of California, which had only been in the planning stages until his term of office. In 1878 Henry Haight fell ill at his office in San Francisco. He immediately went to a Russian bathhouse and it was there that he died. VG. $125 POL150. Stereoscopic Co. Lord Justice Mellish, renowned jurist. CDV. VG. $25 POL152. C.D. Fredricks & Co, NY. George Bancroft (1800-1891). American historian, statesman, and diplomatist; Secretary of the Navy, 1845-’46; established the Naval Academy at Annapolis. CDV. VG. $75 POL156. Proctor & Clark, Boston, label on verso. Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865), politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. He also taught at Harvard University and served as president of Harvard. Everett was one of the great American orators of the ante-bellum and Civil War era. He is often remembered today as the featured orator at the dedication ceremony of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg in 1863, where he spoke for over two hours — immediately before President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous, two-minute Gettysburg Address. CDV. VG. $75    POL167. Sarony, NY. Chauncey Mitchell Depew (1834-1928), US Senator from NY, 1899-1911. Here is a synopsis of Depew’s life: Education: Peekskill Military Academy. Yale University, second dispute appointments Junior and Senior years; speaker at Junior Exhibition and Commencement; member of the Thulia Boat Club, Linonia (third president), Kappa Sigma Epsilon, Kappa Sigma Theta, Psi Upsilon, and Skull & Bones. Business: Depew read law with William Nelson of Peekskill, New York from 1856-58; was admitted to the bar in March, 1858; and practiced in Peekskill until 1861; later engaged in the brokerage business in New York City as member of firm of Depew & Potter for a few months; then resumed his law practice in Peekskill, but shortly afterwards moved to New York City; in 1865 appointed and confirmed United States Minister to Japan, but declined the appointment to pursue his railroad career. Railroad career: In 1866, Depew became the attorney for New York & Harlem Railroad. Three years later he took the same position for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Having earned recognition for his work with subsidiary companies of the Vanderbilt roads, he was moved up in 1876 to become general counsel and director of the whole “Vanderbilt System.” Six years later he began serving on the executive board of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad as second vice president. In 1885, he was elected president of the railroad and served until 1898. Following the presidency, he served as chairman of board of directors of New York Central Railroad Company. While Depew was active in the Vanderbilt roads in New York he held concurrent positions with many other railroads and companies. He was president of West Shore Railroad. He served on the boards of directors for the New York and Harlem Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, the New Jersey Junction Railroad, the St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railroad, the Walkill Valley Railroad, the Canada Southern Railroad. Aside from railroads, Depew also served on the boards of director for Western Union, the Hudson River Bridge Company, the Niagara River Bridge Company, the New York State Realty & Terminal Company, the Union Trust Company, Equitable Life Assurance Company, and Kensico Cemetery Association. He was appointed regent of the University of the State of New York in 1877 and served until 1904. Politics: He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1862 and 1863, in the latter year its Acting Speaker while Speaker Theophilus C. Callicot was under investigation. [1] From 1863 to 1865 he was New York Secretary of State. He was one of the commissioners appointed to build the state capitol 1874; in 1867 appointed clerk of Westchester County by Governor Fuller, but resigned after a short service; made immigration commissioner by New York Legislature in 1870, but declined to serve; member of boundary commission of the state of New York in 1875; had also been commissioner of quarantine and president of Court of Claims of New York City and commissioner of taxes and assessments for the city and county of New York; defeated for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Liberal Republican-Democratic ticket in 1872; candidate for United States senator in 1881, but withdrew after the fortieth ballot, declined nomination as a senator in 1885, but elected to the Senate in 1898 and served from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1911; stumped the state of New York for John C. Fremont in 1856 and for Lincoln in 1860; delegate-at-large to Republican National conventions 1888-1904 and delegate to all following conventions, including 1928, being elected the day before he died; made the nomination speeches for Harrison in 1892, Governor Morton in 1896, and Fairbanks in 1904; at the convention in 1888 received ninety-nine votes for the presidential nomination, and in 1892 declined an appointment as Secretary of State in Harrison’s cabinet; Adjutant of the 18th Regiment, New York National Guard, which served in the American Civil War, and later Colonel and Judge Advocate of the 5th Division, on the staff of Major General James W. Husted of the New York Guard, trustee of Peekskill Military Academy; president of New York State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, of The Pilgrims from 1918 until his death, of the St. Nicholas Society, and of the Union League for seven years (member since 1868 and elected honorary life member at the close of his presidency); an officer of the French Legion of Honor; vice president of New York Chamber of Commerce 1904-08 (member since 1885). Yale: He was a member of Yale Corporation 1888-1906; member of the Yale Alumni Association of New York at the time of its organization in 1868, its third president (1883-1892), and one of the incorporators of the Yale Club of New York City in 1897; a vice chairman of the $20,000,000 Yale Endowment Campaign; made LL D. Yale 1887; elected an honorary member of Yale Class of 1889 in 1923; By the terms of his will, a bequest of $1,000,000 was left to Yale without restrictions as to its use. Associations: He was made an honorary member of Columbia chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1887; member of citizens’ committee of the civic organization to complete the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; in 1918 gave a statue of himself to Peekskill and ten acres of land for an extension of Depew Park, which he gave to the village in 1908. He was also a distinguished orator and after-dinner speaker; author: Orations and After Dinner Speeches (1890), Life and Later Speeches (1894), Orations, Addresses and Speeches (eight volumes) (1910), Speeches and Addresses on the threshold of Eighty (1912), Addresses and Literary Contributions on the Threshold of Eighty-two (1916), Speeches and Literary Contributions on the Threshold of Eighty-four (1918), My Memories of Eighty Tears and Marching On (1922); Miscellaneous Speeches on the Threshold of Ninety-two (1925); contributed a My Autobiography” in 1922, and an article to the 50th Anniversary Supplement of the Tale Daily News entitled “An Optimistic Survey” in 1928; member Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society of Colonial Wars, Connecticut Society of the Society of the Cincinnati, Holland Society, Huguenot Society, New England Society, France-America Society, New York Historical Society, St. Augustine (Fla.) Historical Society, American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, National Horse Show, Lafayette Post of the G. Al R , and St. Thomas’ (Episcopal) Church, New York; made life member of Lawyers’ Club of New York in 1918; honorary member New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Death due to bronchial pneumonia. Buried in family mausoleum in Hillside Cemetery, Peekskill. Family: His father, Isaac Depew, was a merchant and farmer; pioneer in river transportation between Peekskill and New York; son of Abraham Depew, who served in the Revolutionary Army, and Catherine (Crankheit) Depew, great-grandson of Captain James Cronkite of the Continental Army; descendant of Frangois DuPuy, a French Huguenot, who came to America about 1661, settled first in Brooklyn, N. Y., and in 1685 bought land from the Indians at the present site of Peekskill. Mother, Martha Minot (Mitchell) Depew; daughter of Chauncey Root Mitchell, a lawyer, and Ann (Johnstone) Mitchell; granddaughter of the Rev. Justus Mitchell (BA 1776); great-granddaughter of the Rev. Josiah Sherman (B A. Princeton 1754, honorary M.A. Yale 1765), who served as a Chaplain with rank of Captain in the Revolutionary War and the brother of American founding father Roger Sherman; descendant of Matthew Mitchell, who came to Boston from England in 1635, descended also from Capt. John Sherman, an English officer, who was born in Dedham, Essex County, in 1615, and from the Rev. Charles Chauncey (B.A. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1613), who came to Plymouth in 1637 and was the second president of Harvard. Married (1) November 9, 1871, in New York City, Elise A., daughter of William and Eliza Jane (Nevin) Hegeman. One son, Chauncey Mitchell, Jr. . Mrs. Depew died May 7, 1893 Married (2) December 27, 1901, in Nice, France, May, daughter of Henry and Alice (Hermann) Palmer. Depew was also the paternal uncle of Ganson and Chancey Depew, sons of his brother William Beverly Depew. Ganson Depew was a vice president of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Coal Company; and the personal assistant of his father-in-law Frank Henry “F.H.” Goodyear. Goodyear was the president of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railway. Chancey DePew, like his uncle, also worked for the Vanderbilt Railway Systems. When Chauncey Depew died, he was buried in Peekskill. In his honor, the huge concourse of Grand Central Terminal was draped in mourning. Cabinet Card. G. $75 POL169. Sarony, NY. Edwin Denison Morgan (1811-1883), Governor of NY (1859-1862); US Senator (1863-1869). He was the first and longest serving chairman of the Republican National Committee. Cabinet Card. VG. $85 POL174. E&HT Anthony, NY. Robert Barnwell Rhett (1800-1876). South Carolina Secession Advocate, “Father of Secession.” Drafted the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession after Lincoln’s election. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $150 POL175. J. Gurney & Son, NY. Nathaniel Pitcher Tallmadge (1795-1864). Senator from NY, 1833-’44; Tyler appointed him Governor of Wisconsin Territory in 1844 so he resigned from the Senate. Served only until 1845 when he was removed as Governor. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $125 POL180. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony, NY. William Gannaway “Parson” Brownlow (1805-1877). Governor of Tennessee 1865-’69; Senator ’69-’75; strongly pro-Union. CDV trimmed at bottom. G. $100 POL187. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E. Anthony, NY. Edward Everett (1794-1865). Whig politician from Massachusetts. Representative ’25-’35; Governor MA ’36-’40; Secretary of State under Fillmore ’52-’53; Senator ’53-’54; spoke for 2 hours at Gettysburg before Lincoln spoke for 2 minutes. CDV. E. $150 POL192. J. Gurney & Son, NY. Simeon Draper (1804-1866). Whig NY politician. CDV. VG. $75 POL194. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E. Anthony, NY. Isaac Toucey (1792-1869). Governor of Connecticut ’46-’47; US Attorney General ’48-’49; Senator CT ’52-’57; Secretary of the Navy ’57-’61 under Buchanan. CDV. VG. $100 POL202. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony, NY. Thomas Howell Cobb (1815-1868). Southern Democrat; Representative from Georgia ’43-’45; ’45-’51; Speaker of the House ’49-’51; 35th Governor of Georgia ’51-’53; Secretary of the Treasury ’57-’60; Leader of Secession; Speaker of the Confederate Congress ’61-’62; Major-general in Confederate Army. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $125 POL205. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony, NY. Francis Preston Blair (1821-1875). Representative from Missouri ’57-’59; Colonel in the Union Army; Democratic candidate for VP 1868; Senator ’70-’73. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $125 POL208. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony, NY. Mrs. George McClellan, Ellen Mary Marcy. CDV trimmed at bottom. G. $50 POL209. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E. Anthony, NY. Mrs. General N.P. Banks. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $50 | POL215. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E. Anthony, NY. Myra Clark Gaines (1805-1885), heiress to $35 million, wife of General Gaines. Myra’s is a great story, there is a recent book published on her life. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $65 POL217. No ID. John Bright (1811-1889). Quaker, distinguished British Radical and Liberal Statesman, great orator. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $20 POL218. Edward Anthony, NY. Richard Cobden (1804-1865). British manufacturer, Radical and Liberal statesman. CDV trimmed at bottom. VG. $30 POL227. Prescott, Hartford, Conn. Marshall Jewell (1825-1883). He served as the 44th and 46 Governor of CT between 1869 and 1870, and again from 1871 until 1873. Born in 1825 in Winchester, NH, he was first appointed by President Grant as Minister to Russia from 1873 to 1874, but after only seven months in St. Petersburg, he left. Jewell then served as the Postmaster General between 1874 and 1876. He was also a presidential candidate at the 1876 Republican National Convention and served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1880 until 1883. He died in 1883 in New Haven, and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Cabinet card. VG. $95 POL235. Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony. Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865), politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. He also taught at Harvard University and served as president of Harvard. Everett was one of the great American orators of the ante-bellum and Civil War era. He is often remembered today as the featured orator at the dedication ceremony of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg in 1863, where he spoke for over two hours — immediately before President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous, two-minute Gettysburg Address. CDV. VG. $75 POL246. Brady’s National Portrait Gallery. Published by E&HT Anthony. Henry Wilson (1812-1875). Senator from Massachusetts and 18th Vice President of the US under Grant 1873-’75. CDV. VG. $125 POL248. Brady’s National Portrait Gallery. Published by E&HT Anthony. Richard Cobden (1804-1865). British manufacturer, Radical and Liberal statesman. CDV. VG. $25 POL249. E&HT Anthony. John Bright. (1811 – 1889), Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy. He sat in the House of Commons from 1843 to 1889. CDV. VG. $20 POL251. D. Appleton & Co., NY. John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (1792 – 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. CDV. G. $15 POL253. D. Appleton & Co., NY. John Singleton Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst (1772 – 1863), was a British lawyer and politician. He was three times Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. CDV. VG. $15 POL254. Charles D. Fredricks & Co., NY. Henry Clay. CDV. G. $175   POL256. Negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E. Anthony, NY.  Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States from 1864 to 1873. During his career, Chase was the 23rd Governor of Ohio and U.S. Senator from Ohio prior to service under Abraham Lincoln as the 25th Secretary of the Treasury. As Treasury Secretary, Chase strengthened the federal government, introducing its first paper currency as well as a national bank, both during wartime. Chase articulated the “slave power conspiracy” thesis, devoting his energies to the destruction of what he considered the Slave Power—the conspiracy of Southern slave owners to seize control of the federal government and block the progress of liberty. He coined the slogan of the Free Soil Party, “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men”. Chief Justice Chase presided over the Senate trial of Andrew Johnson during the President’s impeachment proceedings in 1868. CDV. G. $125   POL258. CDV by Wm. Shew, San Francisco of Peter Hardeman Burnett (November 15, 1807 – May 17, 1895), politician and the first state governor of California, serving from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851. He was also the first California governor to resign from office. Burnett previously served briefly during December 1849 as the territorial civilian governor of California. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, but raised in rural Missouri, Burnett received no formal education, but educated himself in law and government. After owning a general store, he turned to his law career; in defending a group of Mormons — including Joseph Smith — who were accused of treason, arson and robbery. Burnett requested a change of venue for the court proceedings, and during transportation to the next venue, the defendants escaped. In 1843, Burnett became part of the exodus of Easterners moving Westward, moving his family to the Oregon Country (now modern-day Oregon) to take up farming in order to solve growing debts in Missouri, an agricultural endeavour that failed. While in the Oregon Country, Burnett began his forays into politics, getting elected to the provisional legislature between 1844 to 1848. In 1844, he completed construction of Germantown Road between the Tualatin Valley and what became Portland. It was during his time in Oregon that Burnett, a traditional Southern Protestant, began to question the practices of his faith, drifting his religious views more to Roman Catholicism. By 1846, Burnett and his family made the complete transition from Protestant to become Catholic. While in the Legislature, and later in the Provisional Supreme Court, Burnett signed Oregon’s first racial exclusion laws. Upon news of the discovery of gold in Coloma, California on January 24, 1848, Burnett and his family moved south to participate in the rush. After modest success in getting gold, Burnett envisioned a career in law in San Francisco, a rapidly growing boom town thanks largely to the Gold Rush. On the way to the Bay Area, Burnett met John Augustus Sutter, Jr., son of German-born Swiss pioneer John Sutter. Selling his father’s deeded lands in the near vicinity of Sutter’s Fort, the younger Sutter offered Burnett a job in selling land plots for the new town of Sacramento. Over the next year, Burnett made nearly $50,000 in land sales in Sacramento, a city ideally suited due to its closeness to the Sierra Nevada and the neighboring Sacramento River’s navigability for large ships. In 1849, Burnett announced his intentions to return to politics. 1849 saw the first California Constitutional Convention in Monterey, where territorial politicians drafted documents suitable to admit California as a state in the United States. During the 1849 referendum to adopt the California Constitution, Burnett, now with name recognition in Sacramento and San Francisco, and a resume that included the Oregon Provisional Legislature, decided to run for the new territory’s first civilian governor, replacing the string of military governors and bureaucracy from the U.S. military. Burnett easily won the election over four other candidates, including John Sutter, and was sworn in as California’s first elected civilian governor on December 20, 1849 in San Jose in front of the California State Legislature. In the first days of the Burnett Administration, the governor and the California Legislature set out to create the organs of a state government, creating state cabinet posts, archives, executive posts and departments, subdividing the state into 27 counties and appointing John C. Fremont and William M. Gwin as California’s senators to the federal U.S. Senate. Despite home proclamations and bureaucratic reorganizations that recognized California now as a U.S. state, the U.S. Congress and President Zachary Taylor had in fact not even signed authorization of statehood for California. Part of this miscommunication was due to California’s relative remoteness to the rest of the U.S. during the time, but also to over-enthusiastic attitudes by politicians and the public alike to get California into the Union as quickly as possible. Following long contentious debates in the U.S. Senate, California was admitted as a (non-slave) state on September 9, 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850. Californians did not learn of their official statehood until one month later, when on October 18, the steamer Oregon entered San Francisco Bay, with a banner strapped to her rigging reading “California Is Now A State.” During these advancements into statehood, Governor Burnett’s popularity among the State Legislature, the press and the public plummeted. Relations between the Legislature and Burnett began to immediately sour in early 1850, when bills pressing for the incorporation of Sacramento and Los Angeles as city municipalities, with Los Angeles being a special incorporation due to its earlier pueblo status during the previous Spanish and Mexican rule, passed the State Assembly and Senate. Burnett vetoed both bills, citing special incorporation bills as unconstitutional, and that reviews for municipal incorporation were best left to county courts. While the Legislature failed to override Burnett’s veto of the Los Angeles bill, it did however successfully override the Sacramento bill, making Sacramento California’s first incorporated city. As in Oregon, Burnett pushed for the exclusion of blacks from California, raising the ire of pro-slavery supporters who wanted to import the Southern slave system to the West Coast. His proposals were defeated in the Legislature. Similarly, Burnett also pushed for heavy taxation on foreign immigrants. An 1850 Foreign Miners Tax Act, signed into law by Burnett, required every miner of non-American origin to pay $20. In addition to these proposals and laws, Burnett also argued heavily for increased taxation and for the expansion of capital punishment to include larceny. Characterized as an aloof politician with little support from the Legislature by the San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles press, Burnett grew frustrated as his agenda ground to a halt, and his governance style increasingly criticized. He became a regular fixture of ridicule in the state’s newspapers and on the floor of the Legislature. With little over a year in office, Burnett, the first governor of the state, became the first to resign, announcing his resignation in January 1851. Burnett cited personal matters for his departure. Lieutenant Governor John McDougall replaced Burnett as the Governor of California on 9 January. Peter Burnett founded the city of Oregon City in Butte County, California. One year after leaving the governorship, Burnett was finally able to repay the heavy debts he had incurred in Missouri nearly two decades before. He entered a number of careers, serving briefly as a justice in the California Supreme Court between 1857 and 1858, the Sacramento City Council, as well as becoming a San Jose-based lawyer, a noted proponent of Catholicism during the Victorian period, and then the president of the Pacific Bank of San Francisco. Although never venturing into politics much after the 1860s, Burnett was an active supporter of the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. In 1880, he published an autobiography, Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer. He died May 17, 1895 at the age of 87 in San Francisco, and is buried in the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery at Santa Clara, California. Peter Burnett’s legacy is deeply clouded today. While regarded as one of the fathers of modern California in the state’s early days, Burnett’s openly racist attitudes towards blacks, Chinese, and Native Americans have blackened his name today. Burnett’s period in the Oregon Provisional Legislature helped facilitate the exclusion of blacks from the state until 1926. One of his Oregon proposals was to force free blacks to leave the state, and to institute floggings, every six months, of any who continued to remain. Also, his open hostility to foreign laborers influenced a number of federal and state California legislators to push future xenophobic legislation, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act thirty years after his departure from the governorship. Burnett was also an open advocate of exterminating local California Indian tribes, a policy that continued with successive state governmental administrations for several decades, where the state offered $25 to $50 for evidence of dead Natives. The Burnett Child Development Center, a preschool in a predominantly black San Francisco neighborhood, had been named for Burnett. However, when Burnett’s racist positions were rediscovered, the school was renamed in 2011 to the Leola M. Havard Early Education School, in honor of San Francisco’s first African-American principal. Similarly, the Peter H. Burnett Elementary School in Long Beach has been recently renamed, due to Burnett’s views. It is now named after Bobbi Smith, the first African-American member of the Long Beach Unified School District’s board. VG. $200 POL259. Bradley & Rulofson, San Francisco. Queen Emma of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). Emma was queen consort of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 until his death in 1863. She ran for ruling monarch against King David Kalakaua but was defeated. CDV. VG. $350 POL260. Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States from 1864 to 1873. During his career, Chase was the 23rd Governor of Ohio and U.S. Senator from Ohio prior to service under Abraham Lincoln as the 25th Secretary of the Treasury. As Treasury Secretary, Chase strengthened the federal government, introducing its first paper currency as well as a national bank, both during wartime. Chase articulated the “slave power conspiracy” thesis, devoting his energies to the destruction of what he considered the Slave Power—the conspiracy of Southern slave owners to seize control of the federal government and block the progress of liberty. He coined the slogan of the Free Soil Party, “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men”. Chief Justice Chase presided over the Senate trial of Andrew Johnson during the President’s impeachment proceedings in 1868. CDV. VG. $150 POL261. Photographic negative by Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony. Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811 – March 11, 1874) was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the Civil War working to destroy the Confederacy, free all the slaves, and keep on good terms with Europe. During Reconstruction, he fought to minimize the power of the ex-Confederates and guarantee equal rights to the freedmen. Sumner changed his political party several times as anti-slavery coalitions rose and fell in the 1830s and 1840s before coalescing in the 1850s as the Republican Party, the affiliation with which he became best known. He devoted his enormous energies to the destruction of what Republicans called the Slave Power, the influence of Southern slave owners over the federal government, thereby ensuring the survival and expansion of slavery. In 1856, a South Carolina Congressman, Democrat Preston Brooks, nearly killed Sumner on the Senate floor two days after Sumner delivered an intensely anti-slavery speech called “The Crime Against Kansas”. In the speech, Sumner characterized the attacker’s cousin, South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, a Democrat, as a pimp for slavery. The episode played a major role in the coming of the Civil War. During the war Sumner was a leader of the Radical Republican faction that criticized President Abraham Lincoln for being too moderate on the South. One of the most learned statesmen of the era, he specialized in foreign affairs, and worked closely with Abraham Lincoln to keep the British and the French from intervening on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Sumner’s expertise and energy made him a powerful chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. As the chief Radical leader in the Senate during Reconstruction, Sumner fought hard to provide equal civil and voting rights for the freedmen on the grounds that “consent of the governed” was a basic principle of American republicanism, and to block ex-Confederates from power so they would not reverse the gains made from the Union’s victory in the Civil War. Sumner, teaming with House leader Thaddeus Stevens, battled Andrew Johnson’s reconstruction plans and sought to impose a Radical program on the South. Although Sumner forcefully advocated the annexation of Alaska in the Senate, he was against the annexation of the Dominican Republic, then known by the name of its capital, Santo Domingo. After leading Senators to defeat President Ulysses S. Grant’s Santo Domingo Treaty in 1870, Sumner broke with Grant, and denounced him in such terms that reconciliation was impossible. In 1871, President Grant and his Secretary of State Hamilton Fish retaliated; through Grant’s supporters in the Senate, Sumner was deposed as head of the Foreign Relations Committee. Sumner had become convinced that Grant was a corrupt despot and that the success of Reconstruction policies called for new national leadership. Sumner bitterly opposed Grant’s reelection by supporting the Liberal Republican candidate Horace Greeley in 1872 and lost his power inside the Republican Party. Less than two years later, he died in office. 2-cent revenue stamp on verso. CDV. VG. $150 POL262. Photographic negative from Brady’s National Portrait Gallery, published by E&HT Anthony. Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a leading American senator and statesman during the era of the Second Party System, which was the political system in the United States from about 1828 to 1854, characterized by rapidly increasing voter interest and personal loyalty to parties. Webster was the outstanding spokesman for American nationalism with powerful oratory that made him a key Whig leader. He spoke for conservatives, and led the opposition to Democrat Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. He was a spokesman for modernization, banking, and industry, but not for the common people who composed the base of his opponents in Jacksonian Democracy. “He was a thoroughgoing elitist, and he reveled in it,” says biographer Robert Remini. During his 40 years in national politics, Webster served in the House of Representatives for eight years (representing New Hampshire and then Massachusetts) and in the Senate for 19 years (representing Massachusetts), and served as the United States Secretary of State under three presidents. One of the highest-regarded courtroom lawyers of the era, Webster shaped several key U.S. Supreme Court cases that established important constitutional precedents that bolstered the authority of the federal government. As a diplomat he is best known for negotiating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain; it established the definitive eastern border between the United States and Canada. Chiefly recognized for his Senate tenure, Webster was a key figure in the institution’s “Golden days”. Webster was the Northern member of the “Great Triumvirate”, with his colleagues Henry Clay from the West (Kentucky) and John C. Calhounfrom the South (South Carolina). His “Reply to Hayne” in 1830 has been regarded as one of the greatest speeches in the senate’s history. As with his fellow Whig Henry Clay, Webster wanted to see the Union preserved and civil war averted. They both worked for compromises to stave off the sectionalism that threatened war between the North and the South. Webster tried and failed three times to become President of the United States. Brady’s 1862 copyright line bottom recto. CDV. VG. $150 POL266. No ID. Thomas Hart Benton (March 14, 1782-April 10, 1858). “Old Bullion.” Senator from Missouri 1821-1851; representative 1853-1855. CDV. VG. $150 POL272. Charlet & Jacotin, Paris. Nicolas Mouravieff Amourski, General, coloniser of the Russian Far East. VG. $10 POL273. Warren’s Portraits, Boston. Charles Sumner. Cabinet Card. E. $125 POL274. Cabinet Card by Roy Hume, Lima, Ohio of Calvin Stewart Brice (September 17, 1845 – December 15, 1898), a Democratic politician from Ohio. Born at Denmark in Morrow County, Brice dropped out of Miami University in 1861 to join the Union Army. After a short stint in the Army, he returned to Miami University and earned his undergraduate degree from there in 1863. After the Civil War, Brice studied law at the University of Michigan and then started a business career where he amassed a fortune, largely in railroads. In 1879, he became president of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad and built the Nickel Plate Road in 1882. A Democrat, Brice was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1889 until 1892 and won election to the Senate in 1890, serving a single term in office. Brice’s first attempt to join the army in 1861 met with little success, after being turned down because of his young age. In the summer of 1862, however, Brice enlisted and served three months in the 86th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry, seeing action in West Virginia. In 1863 he returned to and graduated from Miami University and worked as a schoolmaster, before he joined the army again in 1864, this time serving as captain to a company of volunteers he recruited for the 180th Ohio Infantry. Brice rose rapidly through the ranks of the Union Army and, by the end of the war, attained the position of Lieutenant-Colonel. It’s possible that this card is signed on verso but I have no way to be sure. $75

i don't know

Cimex lectularius, a small, parasitic insect, is better known as what?

Bed Bug Treatments ~Creature Control Give us the details of your issue and we'll get back to you shortly with information and how we can address it. The Bed Bug Epidemic Until a decade ago, it was assumed that bed bug problems were a thing of the past in the United States. This has all changed, however. From every region of the country reports are constantly coming out on increased bed bug activity; this activity is even reaching epidemic levels in some major cities. This bed bug explosion can be attributed to three main causes: Globalization, which, has led to an increase in international travel. Persons coming into or returning to the U.S. often unwittingly brought the pest with them, leading to the reintroduction of bed bugs into America. Greater mobility within the country as people continue to relocate in search of better employment opportunities. Movement of people generally means movement of bed bugs, since the bed bugs nest in furniture and household decor items. A general reduction is pest control expenses. Due to the recession many hotels, property managers and landlords have cut back expenses on pest control measures, which in turn has given the bed bugs more opportunity for expansion. In Michigan, bed bugs are on the rise in larger cities; bed bugs in Ann Arbor have been a particular problem; bed bugs in Detroit, Jackson and Lansing are also concerns, and many of these municipalities have invested in educating the public on bed bug identification and bed bug removal. However, smaller municipalities can also be effected, especially small motels that accommodate travelers from out of the area. Bed bugs have also been found in towns as small as Fowlerville, South Lyon, Fenton, Chelsea, Okemos, Williamston and Mason. About Bed Bugs The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a small, parasitic insect that feeds off the blood of humans, though they will also feed on certain domestic animals. They have oval-shaped bodies and are extremely small (adults only grow to 4-5 millimeters) and usually have a rusty brown coloration, though they may appear red if they have been feeding recently. Bed bugs normally have a flattened body, but it becomes bloated and slightly elongated after they have been feeding. As their name suggests, beds are common hiding place for bed bugs. Their flattened body enables them to hide in any crack, crevice or fold. Mattresses, bed clothes, box springs, bed frames, cracks and crevices in walls or hard wood flooring are all potential hiding places. Bed bugs are also known to hide behind wall paper and in picture frames on the walls, as well as inside dresser drawers. Almost anything can be used as a nest, and bed bugs will always try to nest as close to their food source as possible. Bed bugs will generally feed every five to ten days, although they have been known to survive for up to a year without feeding. They are attracted to their hosts by carbon dioxide emitted from breathing, but also by body heat. Bed bugs feed nocturnally, coming out of their nest for a blood feeding that usually lasts about five minutes. When a bed bug bites a human, it injects anticoagulants and anesthetics that both numb the area around the bite and prevent the blood from clotting. Most people subject to bed bug bites sleep through the feeding and do not realize they have been bitten until later. Signs of Bed Bugs How do you know if you have bed bugs? The most common indicator is unexplained bites on the body, usually on the arms or legs, although it must be stressed that this alone is not enough to rule other possible causes. A more certain sign of a bed bug problem is tiny blood trails found on the sheets or around the seams of the mattress. After bed bugs feed, they tend to drip blood and fecal matter as they return from the feeding site to their nest. Large bed bug infestations are often accompanied by a distinctive odor, as well. The odor is generally musty and sweet-smelling; this unique smell has been described as resembling raspberries, moldy shoes, or almonds. Bed Bug Treatment Creature Control is committed to providing the “best solution” for each client. Our bed bug treatment plan is unique in the products we use and how we perform the treatment process. Creature Control’s pest technicians utilize a variety of treatments and habitat modifications to remove bed bug populations and help you get the peace of mind you deserve. We eliminate unnecessary steam cleaning of carpeting through the application of a natural agent that is deadly to bed bugs, and destroys their eggs, but is harmless to you. We keep you informed throughout the progress of the treatment, making suggestions depending on the level of the infestation. Also, all our services are kept completely confidential! Bed bug removal is possible, though it needs to be done properly in order to be effective and permanent. If you suspect you have a bed bug issue, call the bed bug experts at 1-800-441-1519. Some ways not to get rid of bed bugs Many people errantly believe they can get rid of bed bugs by turning the heat up in their home. This is will not be practical, as the thermal death point for bed bugs is 115º F. Treatments relying on heat or also CO2 cannot reach all of the locations where bed bugs hide. Landlords will often try to get rid of bed bugs in a unit by leaving it vacant for an extended period of time, thinking thereby to starve the bed bugs by depriving them of human hosts. Since bed bugs can go for over a year without feeding, this is a lengthy, inefficient (and costly) way to deal with the problem. Furthermore, bed bugs allowed to remain dormant in a vacant apartment long enough will eventually migrate to another unit. There is no easy way to get rid of bed bugs on your own. It is important to note that specific chemical and non-chemical procedures must be used in proper sequence to end infestations. Bed bug removal requires professional treatment and experience. We want you to to get the most for your money, but most importantly, the most out of your sleep. CALL CREATURE CONTROL’S PEST CONTROL TECHNICIANS AT 1-800-441-1519 FOR EFFECTIVE BED BUG REMOVAL Share this:

Bed bug

October 12, 1492 saw Christopher Columbus make landfall in the New World. In what current country did he touch shore?

What Are Bed Bugs? | FAQ | All Bed Bugs Begone All Bed Bugs Begone Blog What Are Bed Bugs? Also known as the Cimex lectularius, bed bugs are reddish-brown, small, flat, six-legged parasitic insects who feed on human blood by biting their victims. These bugs grow up to 1/4” long, and can live many months without feeding on human victims. As nocturnal insects, bed bugs are masters of concealing themselves in dark crevices and staying undetected. There are several tell-tale signs that identify this particular human parasite. Adult Bed Bugs The adult bed bug is a six-legged, flat, oval-shaped light to red-brown colored insect with non-functional wings that grows to around one quarter inch in length. Nymph Bed Bugs Newly hatched bed bugs, also known as nymphs, are much lighter in color and more translucent. As bed bugs mature, and discard their skins, which will happen through each of the bug’s six life stages until it reaches adulthood, they become darker in appearance. Bed bugs can survive extended periods without feeding, as well as very low and high temperatures. A bed bug’s thermal death point is 115 °F, which causes death after around 7 minutes of exposure.  

i don't know

According to the comic strip Peanuts, whom does Linus await each year, only to be disappointed when he never seems to visit the pumpkin patch?

Peanuts / Headscratchers - TV Tropes Timeline Why does Charlie Brown keep trying to punt the football when Lucy's holding it, if he knows she's going to pull it out of the way? And why DOES everyone in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown blame Charlie for losing the Homecoming game when it was all Lucy's fault? Because Charlie Brown is the Butt Monkey . If he didn't get gimped continuously, the universe he inhabits would implode into a black hole. There are those who posit that that has already happened . Somewhere around the time a white-haired, red-eyed kid in a giant bio-mech bit the dust, another kid on the other side of the world put on an unexpected burst of speed and kicked a ball in what could best be described as a 30-meter punt of Ultimate Doom... I just got an awesome mental image of Charlie Brown running at Lucy and the football in slow-mo as Ode To Joy plays, with both of them exploding into LCL as CB's foot makes contact. Shortly after imagining that image, I imagined Lucy piloting Eva-02 in a red plug suit. "Shinji, you blockhead!" When Linus was a baby, he didn't have a blanket yet and he had a lot more hair Have an Internet. Hell, have fifteen. Wasn't Peppermint Patti in charge of that game? Considering she has some respect for ole' Chuck, I'm surprised she didn't tell Lucy to stop it. To add to the Evangelion crossover, Ode To Joy would, of course, be played by Schroeder on his piano. Charlie Brown keeps trying because he's gullible. Each time he initially refuses, but Lucy manages to convince him that this time will be different. It's a testament to both Chuck's naivety and optimism. I found the homecoming example a bit strenuous, but I'm guessing nobody noticed that Lucy moved the ball and they all thought Charlie just missed. (I never liked that one, because I think that's going too far even for Lucy. She likes to win too much to sabotage an actual game.) There is a cartoon that shows Charlie Brown punting the football. It was drawn by a political cartoonist, not Schulz, just after the 2006 elections. Just to be technical, Charlie Brown is trying to kick the ball, not punt it. Punting in football is when the person doing the kicking takes the snap directly and kicks the ball away. Just sayin'. When you have a person holding (Lucy in this case), it's a place kick. Because, as proven in what's considered to be the finale to the series, if he manages to walk away, he'll see the rest of the world, waiting, holding a football for him It just occurred to me, but couldn't a Lucy who was slightly quicker on the uptake have run the ball for at least a first down? I'll betcha the opposing team wouldn't have seen that coming. I have always liked the tragic poignancy of the theory that, on some level, Lucy actually does believes she will hold the football and allow Charlie Brown to kick it every time. For the record, Charlie Brown did manage to kick the ball once... Indirectly. Via Lucy's hand. Cue people being mad at him, and her swearing never to be that nice to him again. I think you're talking about the one where Charlie Brown went to the hospital for an unknown illness (he just felt "sick", and checked himself in), and Lucy swore she'd let him kick the football if he got better. So he gets better, then makes Lucy go through with it. He ends up kicking her * arm* , breaking it, and having her declare "The next time you go to the hospital, stay there!". Hold on, there was another time Charlie Brown kicked it. It was in the special "It's Magic, Charlie Brown," where Charlie Brown gets turned invisible by Snoopy and he finally manages to take Lucy by surprise. And it feels gooooood. The catch on this one is that, since he was invisible, there's no way to prove he actually kicked it. Also, in one of the last comics, Lucy has to go in for lunch and asks her little brother Rerun to do the honors of pulling the ball away from Charlie Brown. When Rerun comes in later, Lucy asks him if he pulled it away. Rerun responds "You'll never know," to Lucy's bewilderment and leaving us with an open and somewhat optimistic ending. And so many people were angry about that one scene when everybody blames Charlie Brown for Lucy's making them lose the homecoming game that they wrote a number of protest letters, forcing the producers to go back and cut the scene out from subsequent broadcasts. Charlie Brown isn't just the Butt Monkey , he's also The Woobie . Because Charlie Brown is an absolute optimist. Even though he knows full well Lucy's going to pull the ball away, he just can't help hoping, in his heart of hearts, that maybe this will be the time he'll finally get to kick it. And that dream keeps him going despite the utter futility. The better question is, "Why doesn't Peppermint Patty ever call for a 2-point conversion?" Actually, Fridge Logic just reared its head: Charlie Brown DID kick the ball. Two times (a third might be a punt), and all in 'It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown'. How can we tell? His team's score moves from 6 to 13, then 20. There was one time when Lucy was in the middle of a long speech and didn't seem to be paying attention to Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown started running at the football without warning her, wanting to finally kick it while she was distracted, but she noticed him and pulled it away after all. There was another time when Charlie Brown told Lucy that he was gonna get ready to kick it, but he knew what she was planning so he just left her there and went inside. Lucy kept on waiting for him and eventually fell asleep while holding the football. Charlie Brown looked out the window, saw Lucy sleeping with the football, figured this was his big chance and went to kick it—only for Lucy to wake up and pull it away at the last second. How the hell does the decathlon scoring work in You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown ? If Snoopy wins 2 of the first 5 events, and Charlie Brown none, how is it that the dog's in last place? 'Cause he's a dog? Hey, Ain't No Rule that say a dog can't participate in the decathlon!... He's clearly an official participant in the event, with a school sponsor (Ace Obedience School) and everything! You must be too young to remember the "Dan and Dave" fiasco. Each event is scored separately Snoopy had more botched events than Chuck, enough that the firsts didn't make up for it. The decathlon does use a complicated scoring system in which the competitors "run against a table, not against each other" (to quote an NBC Olympic broadcaster). Peppermint Patty very briefly brings this up in the show, but doesn't explain it in detail. Linus believes that the Great Pumpkin gives presents to all the children in the world on Halloween night. Why would he believe that if no one ever gets presents on Halloween?! That's kind of the point. It's a metaphor for having absolute faith, even when everyone else thinks you're crazy. It may also be a not-so-subtle hint that this trait can be taken too far. Actually, that's just an Urban Legend. According to the Word of God , Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin was never intended to be a metaphor for faith. Schulz said that the only inspiration for the Great Pumpkin was that he thought it would be funny if a character believed in a Santa Claus-like figure for Halloween. That's always bugged me in itself. It is about faith. There's no way to say it's not. Linus believes in an unseen quasi-spiritual being who rewards the faithful, while the lack of evidence tests his faith. There's no way for anyone, even Schulz, to say "it's not about faith". It's like saying "water's not wet". Maybe he didn't mean for it to be an extended metaphor for religion, and he probably did not intend it as a Take That at religion... but saying it's not a metaphor at all is just denial. The cartoon, which was written by Charles Schulz, even has Charlie Brown giving the line "we're obviously separated by denominational differences" in reference to whether to believe in the Great Pumpkin or Santa, so he wasn't adverse to using the religious metaphor, at least for Rule of Funny . It's not about faith. If it was about faith, it failed to deliver that message. The Great Pumpkin never appears. If it had to have a meaning, you could interpret it as being about staying the course even when all evidence points to something else, or just say it's about futility. Even if you can use it as a message to teach or re-enforce faith, that doesn't mean it's about faith. Faith, Merriam-Webster definitions. "1a : allegiance to duty or a person, loyalty" as in Linus has an allegiance and loyalty to the Great Pumpkin and his duty to remain in the patch. "1b: fidelity to one's promises," as in Linus's promise to wait in the pumpkin patch. "2a: sincerity of intentions," as in the most sincere pumpkin patch, and his own sincerity. "2b: belief and trust in and loyalty to God, 2c: belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion, 2d: firm belief in something for which there is no proof," as in there is no proof of the Great Pumpkin and yet Linus firmly believes based on his own doctrine. "3: complete trust". Linus continues to believe even after being disappointed. "4: something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs". It is obviously about faith. Linus's belief in the Great Pumpkin is the literal textbook definition of faith, and the humor's driven by Linus putting his faith in something that seems patently absurd to everyone else. That's the whole point of it. Being "about" something doesn't mean taking a side on the issue and dropping an anvil about it. The story is about faith; specifically, it is about his faith in the Great Pumpkin. On a very basic, linguistic level, it is most definitely about faith. Heck, your own words, "you could interpret it as being about staying the course even when all evidence points to something else" ...that's what faith means! Faith isn't just a synonym for religion; at least, that's not how I'm using it. I'm using it in the basic "belief in something without evidence, as an effort of will and as its own virtue" sense, and that's the definition of faith that the story is about. The disagreements come in when trying to decide whether and how to extend Linus's faith in the Great Pumpkin into a metaphor for anything else (personally, I think it's just Rule of Funny ). It's about a kid doing something funny. I think that's what Schultz was going for. I don't think he was trying to present a message about faith. You're right; he probably wasn't, and any message a reader takes from it is most likely their own interpretation than something the author intended. But still, it is about faith. Just like it is about a kid, even if it wasn't intended as a message about kids. It's also about futility. Linus is the only one who never realizes his own futility - that the Great Pumpkin doesn't exist. Between Charlie Brown's various exploits (kicking footballs, flying kites, playing baseball—pretty much anything that's not marbles), Linus's never getting a visit from the Great Pumpkin, and the fifteen thousand metric tons of unrequited love in this comic (Charlie Brown/red-haired girl, Linus/Ms. Othmar, Sally/Linus, Pepperment Patty/Charlie Brown, Marcie/Charlie Brown, Lucy/Schroeder), you could say the entire strip is about futility and the art of never giving up. Sorry, boys. Word of God says it is not about faith and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong and anything else is Misaimed Fandom . I heard Albert Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice", but Richard Dawkins says Albert Einstein didn't believe in a personal god. So why would he say God doesn't play dice? I don't know, that's his error for poor wording. Albert Einstein was almost certainly a pantheist, who see God as being equivalent to the Universe. As such pantheists may use the term God and yet do not believe in a personal God. The term "God" to them can be replaced with "the universe" or "nature". This is made quite clear in Einstein's writings. How old is Linus? Seven? I think he can be forgiven having a bit of a blind spot regarding presents on Halloween, the getting thereof. My question about the Great Pumpkin is: how did Linus come to believe in it anyway? Kids believe in Santa because they have evidence: the word of their parents and other adults (including the media), the presents under the tree, and ubiquitous Santas during the Christmas season. People who believe in God have the support of friends, family, and major world religions. Since we see no evidence of the Great Pumpkin, either real (in-universe) or manufactured (like Santa), Linus' belief is puzzling. The Imaginary Friend theory doesn't work either; how many children actually believe in them, to the extent that they would skip trick-or-treating, or going to a party with their friends? I think that someone (probably Lucy) made it up and Linus thought it was true. If it was Lucy, she probably just thought of it to mess with him, and eventually got tired of his obsession, finally decided to just tell him the truth, which Linus ignored. (If you watched the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode that parodies the Great Pumpkin, you can probably recognize this theory from it) It's implied that the Great Pumpkin may exist in-universe. One strip has Charlie Brown running to Linus in the pumpkin patch and telling him about a radio broadcast. The Great Pumpkin was reported to have turned up at the pumpkin patch of someone named Freeman in New Jersey. I notice some old strips that show the kids going to the theater, apparently on their own. These kids are what, seven or eight? Why are their parents letting them run around alone? And in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (just to name one) wouldn't there at least be some adult supervision in making a play? Man, Adults Are Useless . They were also paying for admission with, like, a nickel. A more innocent time, perhaps? As for the play thing, it's more a matter of Adults Get in the Way of the Rule of Funny . An adult certainly wouldn't stand for any of Lucy's Christmas Queen back-sass. ...actually, that pretty much applies to the whole comic. Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown with adult supervision? They'd sit around making lanyards the whole time. Bleah. For the first, I think you're just applying modern paranoid values to older literature. I was running around outside alone from younger than 7, as long as my parents knew where I was and when she I to be back. Considering that adults are invisible (and mute in the comics) even when they are present, they were probably there all along. They're not invisible, just off-screen. Wah-wanh, wah-wah-wanh. WAH-wanh, wanh-wanh-Wah-Wanh-wah. Wan-Wanh. I had a fellow worker who was older; he grew up in the 1950s. He related an incident where he and a friend, both around the age of 9, got on a bus and rode to downtown Miami to watch a movie, without adult supervision. I grew up in the 70s and there were rare times when my friends and I would walk to the local theater and watch movies without any adult supervision. It was a rare event only because my family was poor. There was no perceived threat of any danger, even though we were out walking the streets at night in a group of three or four eight-year-olds. The Hays Code required all movies to be family-friendly. My favorite one's Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back): the kids travel to France seemingly without adults, and Snoopy is their bus driver! But it's all in the name of Rule of Funny ; the series just takes place in its own innocent, kid-centered world. Or alternately, the events as we see them are being filtered through the gang's imaginations, like Calvin and Hobbes . That's not the only time Snoopy ended up filling in for adults in general. He was the referee for the homecoming game in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. More specifically, the adults in this strip aren't exactly the brightest bunch. There are some later cartoons which do show adults, such as a recent B-side to the Thanksgiving episode that shows the kids on a ship traveling to North America. Am I the only person to whom this strip came off as unfettered sadism? Granted, it has some cool supporting characters (Snoopy, Linus, et al.). The idea of feeling better about myself because someone else has it worse isn't exactly uplifting, and admiring Charlie because of his eternal resilience doesn't work because he's a total pessimist. Every time he tries, he gets ground down into the dirt, and every time he decides not to try, he gets derided for it. It's not sadism. It's life. Our world has many nice, happy, friendly Everymen who are going to end up with bad luck and their faces rubbed in the dirt. Charlie Brown is the ultimate personification of that trope, with the entire friggin' universe in a conspiracy to make his life as miserable as possible. Does he give up? No! Sure, he may give a depressed monologue or two, complete with a "I can't stand it!", but in the end he always gets up and tries again. Shultz is making a quiet plea on the benefits of optimism and determination here. Charlie Brown has the worst luck imaginable, but due to his optimism and friendly nature, he's always "Good ol' Charlie Brown" to everybody he knows. No matter what life throws at you, if you keep a positive attitude, you'll get by. That's the lesson of Charlie Brown. Amen! Unfortunately, Charlie's less 'optimistic' and more 'delusional.' And those happy, friendly Everymen you mention don't suffer near as much as Charlie does at any point in his sad, pathetic life. He's basically Frank Grimes without the sweet release of death that Frank received. You must lead an extremely sheltered life if you think no real-life "happy, friendly Everymen" ever suffer as much as Charlie Brown. I've known guys who LOST THEIR FAMILIES and managed to pick themselves up and go on. Charlie Brown loses ballgames. Remember, despite his frequent assertion that nobody likes him, Charlie Brown has the love of two good parents, and he does indeed have numerous friends (Linus, Schroeder, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, etc) about whom the worst that can be said is they have their own eccentricities and faults and are not at all blind to his. Charlie Brown desires much and so is frequently disappointed, attempts much and so often fails. He has succeeded a few times, but one of the continuing messages of the strip, along with Charlie Brown's continued perseverance, is delivered by Linus at the end of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which is that failure (or in this case, lack of success as he did come in second in the spelling bee) is not necessarily crippling. Not "don't be discouraged," because you will be discouraged, not "you'll ultimately succeed," because you may not, but that failure will only destroy you if you let it. Regarding the Halloween special-I know Charlie Brown is supposed to be a Butt Monkey and all, but what kind of bastard gives a little kid a rock on Halloween? The better question is why doesn't Charlie Brown throw the rock at the window of the house who gave him one? Serves the bastard right! Rockhounds? ;-) People who are secretly Schadenfreudists? Or maybe they're mixing the holiday with April Fools' by giving out rocks randomly in their candy output. Because it's funny . Ad he didn't just get one rock, he got a whole bunch of rocks. That would all the adults had to have coordinated with each just to make sure Charlie Brown was given a rock. That's the most sadistic neighborhood ever. It's never specified that the adults are opening the door. The kids who live in those houses could be doing as just a prank. Also, it might not be directed at Charlie Brown. He could just be VERY unlucky. Charlie Brown kept getting rocks because he had a poor costume, what with all those holes in his sheet. That's still no excuse. And for the record, the deal with the rocks are something invented by the special itself. It only crossed over into the comic years later, and it was just ONE rock. As far as this troper knows, nothing in the comics before or even during the special mentions anything about Charlie getting such a sour deal on Halloween. It could go either way: Either his claims about getting a bunch of junk are true, or - given his free-spirited behavior at the time - he was just whining. Did I mention he knew perfectly well how to cut two eyeholes in a sheet to make a ghost costume? The "trouble with the scissors" is something invented by the special as well. Possibly a {{Defictionalization]]: Candy rocks now exist. Am I the only one who never questioned until her later years why Woodstock was eating turkey in the Thanksgiving special? Just because they're both birds doesn't mean they're the same species. They could be just as related as we are to cows! Not really. It's never clear what species he is, and many birds eat meat. Indeed, wild sparrows love to peck at boxes of fried chicken people leave behind. Seagulls are particularly omnivorous. There was later a comic where Woodstock sees a turkey cooking and asks Snoopy (in bird-speak) what's going on. Snoopy horrifies Woodstock with tales of what humans eat on Thanksgiving and the bird proceeds to kick Linus in the shin who wonders "What was that all about?" I have a dove who eats poultry if given a chance. I do find this a little disturbing. I for the life of me can not fathom why no one has brought this up yet, but why the hell does everyone hate Charlie Brown so much? Did he do some kind of horrible thing that tarnished his reputation, or is it just that Kids Are Cruel ? If you look at the first few years of Peanuts, Charlie Brown could be a real Jerk Ass and smart alec sometimes, not to mention causing trouble for other through his obliviousness. Consider this and this and these are not even the worst examples. None of the kids were perfect, and Charlie certainly wasn't an innocent target himself. Kids? If we take the animated specials as canon, then not only do the kids hate Chuck (including his 'best friend' Linus at times), but the adults do as well. Which means that Schulz is using poor Chuck to prove that Humans Are Bastards . He's sympathetic, relate able, never gives up (even when he should) and you want him to succeed. But on on the other hand, he's also a navel-gazing chronic depressive who manages to be a wet blanket in social situations. I get the feeling that half of Charlie Brown's failures occur because he expects them to, despite the veneer of optimism he puts on. That doesn't excuse the level of jerkassery he gets from Lucy and the adults in the neighborhood, though. Also, he's the "drama" sort of person that will turn any conversation into one about their problems and how awful their life is while tuning out anything else. The point being, he's a nice guy and he doesn't deserve most of what he gets but you can see how you'd get sick of him sometimes even if he were one of your friends. What's really odd is that the two characters supposed to be closest to him (Linus and Snoopy) tend to treat him either callously (Linus doesn't go out of his way to be mean but also doesn't soften his opinions or the facts no matter how much he knows they'll hurt Charlie Brown) or indifferently (Snoopy doesn't give Charlie Brown much reciprocation for all the kindness Charlie Brown gives him) - and arguably Peppermint Patty and Marcy are the two characters in the cast who treat Charlie Brown with the most genuine affection and closeness (their introduction marked a definite shift in the strip to slightly more positive) but this isn't ever really commented on or acknowledged. It's widely acknowledged that in the strip's glory years, it was amazingly dark. Someone once said that the fourth panel of almost any 60s-era Charlie Brown strip is a perfect example of nihilism. Everyone hates Charlie Brown because Life hates Charlie Brown. He's the ultimate Butt Monkey . The end of He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. On one hand, Charlie Brown succeeds at something, but on the other hand, Charlie Brown succeeds at something. If that makes sense. Please elaborate. Well, Charlie Brown wins in a game of marbles and he's never supposed to succeed at anything. It's out of character. That special was actually based on a week of strips where a kid wins all of Reruns marbles and Charlie Brown goes and wins them all back. The special differs from the strip in that he has to be taught how to play marbles; in the strip he has always been good at the game, and the whole week of strips is really his Crowning Moment of Awesome . It's my favorite week of Peanuts ever. Do keep in mind, the bully wasn't very good at marbles. He would challenge little kids who were still learning to a "friendly" game, then take all the marbles and run. Anyone with moderate skill could beat him. Still, the fact that Charlie Brown chooses to be that anyone says something. Also, this was one instance where Charlie Brown was doing something for someone else instead of himself. He never wins at football or baseball for himself, but when he challenges a bully to avenge Rerun, then he wins. Even for Charlie Brown standards, the New Year's special is cruel. Why does Charlie Brown's teacher make him read War and Peace during Christmas vacation and expect him to write a report on it?! Did he put a tack on her chair or something? When I was in school, my teachers never gave us homework during Christmas vacation, especially not impossible ones like that. It's because of Charlie's teacher being such a Grinchette that I can't stand that special. I think it was based on a storyline in the comic strip in which he was required to read Gulliver's Travels , which is still challenging but a probably a more realistic option. Of course, in that strip he decided to put it off until the last day of the holiday ("I can read it tomorrow morning and do the report tomorrow afternoon.") while his classmates did it straight away, so in this case it was really his own fault. My fifth-grade teacher pulled that kind of shit, though not with anything as long as War and Peace . Every evening, weekend, and school holiday was consumed by reading or writing reports. I strongly suspect that my lasting difficulties with essays are a direct result of this. Never mind the length: What kind of psycho assigns a novel that features illegitimacy, death in childbirth, mangled battlefield corpses, attempted suicide and (implied) abortion to a grade school kid? A Sunday School teacher? Most of that kind of thing is in the Bible. I thought homework during Christmas break was normal. Well, at least where I live. * grumble* Why the heck does Charlie Brown go by his full name anyway? I was always bugged by that. This is pure speculation, but maybe there is/was another guy called Charlie in the neighborhood (whom we never see) and the kids just got into the habit of calling Charlie Brown by his full name in order to distinguish him from the other Charlie? A really odd WMG about this, but perhaps Schroeder is the "other Charlie"? Considering that Schroeder's full name was never revealed, it could be possible that Schroeder is just his last name and that his first name is Charlie. He could have wanted people to call him by last name just because it was cool (and made him seem more like a classical composer). The strip actually semi-explains this one: There was a girl named "Poochie" who used to live in the neighborhood (she almost adopted Snoopy from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, but ended up choosing another dog instead... Snoopy still carries a grudge towards her for that), and she was the one who started calling Charlie Brown by his full name. For whatever reason, the other kids picked up on this habit and even after Poochie and her family moved away, just kept at it because at that point he was "Charlie Brown" and not just "Charlie." Why does everybody think Marcie and Peppermint Patty are gay when they're both very obviously in love with Charlie Brown? Peppermint Patty is good at sports and Marcie calls her "Sir," but those are the flimsiest excuses for "proof of homosexuality" I've ever heard in my life. Even though this is cliche, I must say it: Marcie and Peppermint Patty could be bisexual. Word of God disagrees. Please elaborate. Eight years old. Seriously, the internet has an annoying habit of associating sexuality with characters that by all regards shouldn't worry about such things. I get that. I don't even think they're lesbians. I just don't get how Word Of God fits into this. Well, Schultz himself said that they weren't lesbians. That's Word of God right there. He never said that they couldn't be bisexual . He only said they couldn't be lesbians, since they both like Charlie Brown. Lesbians are different from bisexuals. That's always been a bit of a wall banger for me , too. Especially since they each have a crush on Charlie Brown . The only reason that I can imagine that people think this is that 1) Peppermint Patty is a tomboy, and 2) she and Marcie are close friends. Okay, first off, being a tomboy and being a lesbian don't automatically go hand in hand (especially with young kids). Secondly, if having a close female friend makes a girl a lesbian, then most women and girls I know must be lesbians. I do ship them, for a few reasons. First, the fact that they have a crush on him at this age doesn't necessarily indicate anything about actual sexuality. Second... I tried to articulate it better but I couldn't. It just feels right, somehow, especially because I also ship CB/Lucy. Because Peppermint Patty is a tomboy and Marcie is her friend. Seriously, that's all there is to it. I hate whenever someone drags out the lesbian/bi argument for Patty and Marcie. My friends and I both had a crush on the same girl in middle school, and we were still friends despite it. They're eight, people! They can be friends without feeling attracted to each other! If their crushes on Charlie Brown were real, wouldn't they have some sort of competition for his attention? I don't see that happening, so it's possible that they are lesbians or bisexual and simply don't realize it yet. I like to think of it as Marcie having a one-sided crush on Peppermint Patty, and she's too infatuated with Charlie to notice anything. They have competed at times. It's rare, but Marcie royally pisses off Patty during one sequence when they're talking and she's implying Charlie Brown making moves that he sure as hell wouldn't do, if you know what I mean. As far as shipping? People will ship anything. To the one who wrote "Wight years Old" etc.: Regarding them as lesbians isn't any more sexual than if they were straight. Speculating on somebody's sexual preferences is by it's very nature sexual, no matter what conclusion you reach. It's shipping. Why should one care so much? Is "Schroeder" Schroeder's last name or first name? He could be trying to act like Beethoven or something and have everyone call him by his last name. Also Schroeder was introduced when he was a Baby and couldn't speak. so maybe it is just the bell tag that said Schroeder. Schroeder is a surname. Most Peanuts characters bear a Germanic surname if they have one— we have the van Pelts and Reichardts already, and as Schulz mentioned Charlie Brown was basically based on the time when he was a GI, the Browns can be as well be referred as the Schulz's. One needs to note that due to the large amount of Central European immigration into the Twin Cities area in the 19th century, these surnames are very common when Schulz grew up. There was one comic strip in which someone on the radio called him "Mr. Schroeder". It could be argued he only gave the radio station his first name, but there is actually a Peanuts FAQ that claims its his last name. BTW, you guys should really check this place out for answers. Great website. If Lucy annoys him so much, why can't Schroeder just lock the door so that she can't get in? Snoopy's doghouse. Maybe, although he doesn't love her and indeed finds her annoying, he nonetheless on some level appreciates the company and the attention. In the early sixties there was a storyline in which Lucy and Linus move away, supposedly for good. Schroeder is shown playing piano alone, when the hovering musical notes fade away and are replaced by an adoring Lucy, leaning on the staff. He stops playing and says, "Don't tell me I've become accustomed to that face !" I see three major possibilities, one or more could be true: 1) The boys of Peanuts all have a strong sense of chivalry, so Schroeder pretty much has to let her in. 2) She's probably more annoying/dangerous if he doesn't let her in. 3) His parents might let her in. This is the same troper from the above two entries. Anyway, it just bugged me that Shermy got brother chucked and replaced by Franklin, who was virtually the same, except for the fact he was black . The Other Wiki or somewhere else once said that Franklin "proved to be more interesting in the long run". How exactly was he more interesting? Are black people more interesting than white people? Does Franklin have better hair? Why Why Why? (I do not hold anything against Franklin nor am I a Shermy fan or a racist, this is just something that bugged me) A lot of Schultz's characters tended to fade in and out. Patty, Frieda and Violet kind of disappeared after a while, too (although I think Patty might've been ousted when Peppermint Patty became popular so people wouldn't be confused by two Pattys). I can understand that, since Peanuts was a long running comic strip, but sometimes it just seems to me that the reason Shermy was replaced with Franklin was because the strip needed a black guy . Shermy was never "replaced" by Franklin — you might as well say that he was replaced by Linus, or Schroeder, since his role diminished greatly while those two got larger roles (and Linus took over the function as someone for Charlie Brown to talk to on an equal level). By the time Franklin entered to picture (1968), Shermy had exclusively been a background character for several years — and he stayed as a background character for a full year after Franklin's first appearance, vanishing from the strip completely in 1969. So as far as I can see, Franklin's appearance had nothing to do with Shermy's disappearance, despite the two events happening in a fairly close proximity. Besides, Franklin didn't really appear all that often, either. As already stated, it's not true that "Franklin replaced Shermy". Furthermore, Shermy's fade into the background actually started about when Lucy was introduced (if you can call it that — she never had a literal "introduction") in 1952. Look at the first SUNDAY strips from that year. Shermy is all over them for about the first three months, and then virtually disappears — just as she makes her first appearance therein. Shermy's disappearance (as well as other characters) could also be attributed to the changing dynamics of the cast. The strip's dynamics really changed from 1966 to 1971 when Peppermint Patty, Woodstock, Franklin, and Marcie were introduced. It may have been easier to write for these characters than it was for the others. A lot of it comes down to Shulz's love-em-or-leave-em approach to character development. Most of his characters (the big exceptions being Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Spike) are built without much personality or character traits. He then lets them evolve naturally through his writing. (A perfect example is that Schroeder wasn't initially a piano player, until a one-day gag turned him into one) The down side to this is that some characters never really click and as a result fade to obscurity. So Patty, Violet, and Shermy (and later Franklin, since he didn't grow much either) faded not due to being replaced, but just due to more intereseting characters showing up. Franklin was introduced as a character that had never heard of Charlie Brown before, so he couldn't be Shermy. Also, his primary role was to be a foil to Peppermint Patty at her school, so again, Shermy couldn't fill that role. He was also designed to be the Only Sane Man who found the stuff that went on weird, which again, Shermy couldn't do. What is/was the demographic of Peanuts? Was it aimed at "everyone"? Or was it aimed at kids with a Periphery Demographic of adults? Or was it just aimed at adults? Maybe this whole demographic thing just bugs me because I'm more used to reading manga, where demographics are pretty obvious (shojo, shonen etc.), but it's still confused me. You're right, the demographics tend to be vaguer for newspaper comics, where the strips range from Cathy and Garfield to Doonesbury and The Boondocks. When Peanuts came out, it was definitely aimed at kids (with some Parental Bonus thrown in), but it's smart and imaginative enough to keep its charm for adults, and it's been around long enough that all the people who grew up liking it have changed from a Periphery Demographic into a large portion of the audience. When is Peanuts currently taken place? A lot of older medias get retconned into being in the present for that time. Peanuts currently gives a 50s - 80s feel so it's hard to tell. Due to the fact that the characters don't age , Peanuts has a certain timeless feel about it. It doesn't really take place in a certain time period. A lot of series take place in a void where people don't age yet they bop around time periods all the time. The strips that are currently being reprinted date back to the early 1960s. The Harry Potter strip from around the time it ended seems to imply 2000s at best. If Charlie Brown's clothes fly off when he gets hit with a baseball, what would happen if he got struck while he was already naked? There's a joke about balls in here somewhere... The question here is, why in the world would he play baseball naked?! The strangest thing about Charlie Brown, to me, is the fact that he's a child who is almost completely bald. Was this ever explained? Lampshaded? Is it just a weird stylistic choice? I think someone mentioned that he just had very, very fine hair. (I prefer the bald theory, myself. And what's wrong with that for a kid?) Charles Schulz is supposed to have explained at one point that Charlie Brown has very fair hair and his father (who is, as we know a barber) keeps it cut very short. Would his father still be if we didn't know a barber ? It figures that blond + buzz cut wouldn't show up very well in newspapers. Think back to the original skinheads, who didn't shave their heads but instead wore a buzz cut with a #2 grade clip guard. Here's something that I just can't get out of my head ... where do Snoopy and the birds keep buying weapons? And don't tell me they're all fake..there's a mid-80s sequence where Snoopy's playing French Foreign Legion with the birds, and has a cannon. And uses it.. I haven't seen that one, but I'm gonna be guessing that it's his imagination, and in reality nothing was shot out of it. Unless Charlie Brown comes out and complains that his window was broken or something? He laughed at Snoopy having blown a hole in his doghouse. I think Lucy's psychiatry stand and Schroeder's piano also took some friendly fire. And then there's Snoopy's assault rifle he took with for his dog license renewal.. Snoopy has a very vivid imagination. So much so that the world around him occasionally gets caught up in it and treats his fantasies as real. There was a Charlie Brown Christmas/Halloween/Thanksgiving etc. Why oh why was there never a Charlie Brown Fourth Of July? They even had a Charlie Brown Arbor Day! A few episodes of "This is America, Charlie Brown" covered the Revolutionary War and the Constitutional Convention, which is why Fourth of July is celebrated. How does Lucy do her hair in the morning if her arms don't reach the top of her head? (See this pic or any football-yanking pic for proportion.) She forces Linus to do it for her. She's Lucy, after all. Her arms almost make it to the top of her hair, so with a comb and brush she could probably maange pretty easily A certain Rerun-centered strip. What kind of kindergartener gets reported to the principal for talking about running away to Paris!? That level of stupidity has been equaled a thousand times over by the real zero-tolerance policies which Schulz was parodying. Satire is dead . How come every plush toy/ figurine/ etc. of Snoopy has his eyes shut? Even this fancy talking Snoopy doll who is supposed to actually "blink" blinks his already closed eyes! Snoopy doesn't have traditional cartoon "round circles with pupils" eyes, but if you look closely, they more resemble commas with a semicircle on top, which is really difficult to re-render in 3-D without creating something that could harm little kids' fingers. As far as I see, Snoopy has Black Bead Eyes , the semicircle is only drawn to show depth when his head is turned or if he's rotating his eyes in some direction. Are all the specials in the same canonical universe(from the 1960s to 2000s)? Some of the movies are contradicting. Do they take place in their own universe? Although Charles Schultz was involved in creating them, he did state that the specials were non canon. For somebody who's had a crush on the Little Red-Haired Girl for so long, you would think that Charlie Brown would've found out her name. But apparently not, because he always calls her "That little red-haired girl." He's too afraid to ask. Something about the special Snoopy's Reunion always caught my attention. We see all of Snoopy's siblings as puppies being adopted by human families. Yet, years later, when we see Spike and Olaf getting notice of their family reunion, they are now living on their own. What's up with that? Maybe their owners gave them up. Spike lived with coyotes for a while, so I'm guessing he ran away from his owners. As for Olaf, maybe his owners didn't like how chubby he was. He was, after all, voted the World's Ugliest Dog in his first appearance in the strip. Why does Snoopy stick his nose in Woodstock's birdhouse in the Easter special? At the beginning of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Sally complains that she hasn't even finished her Halloween candy and there's another holiday coming up. Um, in the Halloween special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Sally spent all of Halloween night in the pumpkin patch with Linus (waiting for the Great Pumpkin) and didn't go trick-or-treating. So where did Sally get this candy she mentions? The specials don't take place in the same year, maybe? Or maybe they're not supposed to be canon to each other? Or perhaps Sally told her parents what happened and got them to buy her some candy to make up for it, and she counts that as her Halloween candy. How did Lucy, in 'It Was A Short Summer', manage to sign them all up for summer camp without their or their parents' input, signatures, permission and have it mean anything? Their parents might have to pay for this, and some might not want their kids to leave town, having plans of their own. I know, it's Lucy, it's a cartoon, all that but this seems to not only break the law, it seems easily overturned, and not everyone takes it the way Charlie Brown does. Why does Marcie keep calling Peppermint Patty "sir" if she knows she's a girl? I always thought it was a term of great respect, and "ma'am' felt too "old-lady-ish". Back to War and Peace from the New Year's special: Charlie Brown goes to a store to ask for various adaptations of the book such as film or sound recordings but is unsuccessful. Why did he not think to check the library or elsewhere for study guides on War and Peace? These did exist as early as 1958 (Cliffs Notes was invented that year) and this was my first instinct anytime I was assigned a book in school or college. :: Indexes ::

Great Pumpkin

Immortalized in the movie Eight Men Out, the 1919 World Series was tainted by 8 members of what team throwing games to the World Series winning Cincinnati Reds?

The Villager • Oct. 22, 2015 by NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA - issuu issuu 10500 9 The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933 October 22, 2015 • $1.00 Volume 85 • Number 21 St. John’s plan includes 500 affordable units, small park, maybe hotel BY LINCOLN ANDERSON I n what Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Councilmember Corey Johnson are calling a win-win for both Pier 40 and affordable housing for Lower West Side working families and seniors, on Wednesday, the de Blasio administration, Johnson and the Hudson River Park Trust announced a new plan for a major development project on the St. John’s Center site. The developer is St. John’s Partners, which includes the building’s owners, Atlas Capital Group, LLC, and Westbrook Partners. According to a spokesperPIER 40 continued on p. 3 E.V. school kids fuming over Styrofoam reversal BY YANNIC RACK W hen a judge struck down the city’s ban on plastic foam food containers late last month, among the many environmentally conscious New Yorkers who disapproved were a group of East Village public school students who had cam- paigned for the ban as part of their mission to achieve zero-waste school cafeterias. “The students and teachers were so disappointed and shocked, because they had worked so hard on this. I don’t think anyone expected that this was not going to go through,” said Debby Lee STYROFOAM continued on p. 10 As part of a new development plan, the current W. Houston St. overpass of the St. John’s Center would be replaced with an elevated park, shown in rendering above, similar to the High Line park. O.M.G.! Now on the menu at God’s Love: Roof parties BY LINCOLN ANDERSON T he new God’s Love We Deliver building had already been a visual assault to the sensibilities of Soho illustrator Harry Pincus. Its aluminum-tile cladding reflects the bright sunlight across Spring St. right into his family’s fifthfloor apartment — and it’s only been getting worse since the meals provider’s expanded headquarters opened this summer. “By now, we are living behind closed curtains 24/7,” Pincus said. “I bravely opened the curtains to see what the afternoon light was like in the fall, but it’s impossible to keep them open. “The glare off of the aluminum siding is truly blinding. People stand on the street and just marvel at it. Looking out my window is like looking directly at the sun. A few seconds of exposure would literally be blinding.” Caught without curtains on his north-facing windows, the artist has been using Styrofoam poster boards of his illustrations — pretty much anything he could lay his hands on — to try to block out the solar onslaught. The $28 million G.L.W.D. project — completed in a year and a half — transformed the nonprofit organization’s former building, a squat, two-story, 60-yearold structure, into a gleamG.L.W.D. continued on p. 8 Yo, Givenchy! L.E.S. kids looking good!..........page 4 Gallery owner grew Eliz. St. Garden...............page 9 Memories of music man Joe Budnick.............page 12 Blood Manor wants yours!..........page 21 www.TheVillager.com CANDID CAMERA COURT: District Leader Arthur Schwartz tells us he appeared in court last week and the district attorney made a motion to reduce his charges from grand larceny to petit lar- CHUMLEY’S NOT 86’ED: Famous West Village speakeasy Chumley’s moved one step closer to reopening on Bedford St. last week, after spending some eight years in limbo. The tavern, once popular with the likes of John Steinbeck and William Faulkner, closed due to a wall collapse in 2007 and has been slow in reopening because of opposition from a small group of locals, who have filed a string of lawsuits against the bar, as well as city and state agencies. One suit was dismissed last year and another is still pending. But last Thurs., Oct. 15, the bar scored a win when Community Board 2’s S.L.A. Licensing Committee gave its thumbs up to the application by the bar’s operator, retired Firefighter Jim Miller, to the State Liquor Authority. The committee’s only condition: The hours of operation should be reduced to midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. After the meeting, Barry Mallin, the lawyer who represents the opposing neighbors, protested, “The block has changed, it’s become more family oriented. It’s not appropriate.” Yet, Kathryn Donaldson, the president of the Bedford-Barrow Commerce Block Association and a resident of Bedford St., said she backs the bar. “I always found that ES & MORE SINCE 1982 I P ! CO RS of SERVING 50 Y E A THE BEST B IG G E S T & ER B UI NRT G OWN CO C OR RN NE ER R *V O T E D ** B V I L LE S T A B A RGE 331 East 9th Street, New York, NY 10003 Phone: 212-473-7833 / Fax: 212-673-5248 “It’s worth the trip down the street!” cornerbistrony.com www.sourceunltd.com October 22, 2015 CORRECTION: An article in last week’s issue, “Pier 57 hawkers market plan ruffles some feathers,” misrepresented a statement made by Christine Berthet, the Community Board 4 chairperson, at a meeting of the Chelsea board. The article incorrectly stated: “Board Chairperson Christine Berthet said that the applicant had met with the Hudson River Park Trust and C.B. 4’s Business License and Permits Committee about the proposed restaurant and would next go before the City Council’s Business and Licensing Committee.” However, correcting the record, Berthet told The Villager, “I reported the fact that we had discussions with Google, but there have been no conversations with the applicant yet. The meeting with the Trust relates to a different applicant.” The correct applicant is RXR Reality, and the project, slated for Pier 57 at W. 16th St., calls for both a 155,000-square-foot international food market by Anthony Bourdain and 250,000 square feet of office space for Google. B BIIS STTR RO O SAVE TIME: SEND YOUR FILES TO: [email protected] & PICK UP @ STORE! 2 GOURMET GRUB HUB: George Bliss tells us that a new, interesting type of market is planned for the former Charles St. space in the West Village where his The Hub bicycle store used to be. The Hub, which was at 139 Charles St. for more than four years, and before that at 73 Morton St. for five years, closed in December 2014. Bliss blamed Citi Bike. At any rate, he tells us that Michael Spalding is planning Mercato Fabrica (meaning, “a market where things are made”) at the Charles St. spot. He was able to wrangle a two-year lease for it, while the property owner originally wanted to limit it to only one year and possibly put a vendors’ cart depot there, Bliss said. Ultimately, the 5,000-squarefoot site is reportedly earmarked for development. Spalding, who Bliss said, “knows everybody in the food business,” is planning to create an artisanal Italian-inspired food market, and also plans to grow food on the place’s roof. It sounds a bit like a mini-Eataly. In addition, a small area will be set aside for Bliss to sell his upright-style bikes. Mercato Fabrica won’t be opening till the spring since the space is still be being built out. “He’s got five months of work at least,” Bliss said. * ** COPIES • COLOR PRINTS • FAX • SCANNING STICKERS • RUBBER STAMPS • BUSINESS CARDS LAMINATING • BINDING • VIDEO & CASSETTE CONVERSIONS UNIQUE GREETING CARDS • OFFICE SUPPLIES the old Chumley’s was very supportive to us and Jim has demonstrated that he wants to be a good neighbor,” she said. “I see no reason not to support Chumley’s, for the fact that it’s a neighborhood institution.” An online petition to reopen the bar has already garnered more than 1,800 signatures and the application will now go before C.B. 2’s full board at its meeting on Thurs., Oct. 22. ****** O-FENCE-IVE! Opponents of the N.Y.U. 2031 mega-project recently had their hopes up after the project suffered a setback at the Public Design Commission, which sent the design plans for the fence on the north side of Bleecker St. between Coles gym and the Morton Williams supermarket back to the drawing board. The demolition of Coles gym to make way for the “Zipper Building” — the first of four planned new buildings on the university’s South Village superblocks — was on hold until this fence issue was resolved. However, the P.D.C. unanimously approved the plans at its Oct. 5 meeting. Not only does this now allow the Coles demo to proceed, but what was O.K.’d wasn’t even very good, according to Terri Cude, co-chairperson of Communtiy Action Alliance on N.Y.U. 2031. There will actually be two fences, an outside one 2 feet tall, and an inner one 2 feet 10 inches tall, which will replace a 7-foot-tall iron fence that’s there now. Signe Nielsen, the head of the P.D.C., said, “I am sympathetic to those that say the design is underwhelming. However, this is an acceptable design.” Said Cude, “All we’re getting is some plantings and a fence. And folks are saying people will be jumping over the low fence.” As for Coles, N.Y.U. is now saying it will stay open through the end of the fall semester. To provide court space for its sports teams, N.Y.U. has “entered into long-term agreements” with Hunter College, Pace University and other local colleges to use their facilities for basketball and volleyball practices and games. ceny, a misdemeanor, in connection with Schwartz’s taking five mini-cameras from outside Ruth Berk’s apartment at 95 Christopher St. in June. Schwartz contends he only took the spy cams — which he later sent to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office — because he wanted to stop the harassment of the elder Berk, 92, for whom he is the appointed guardian. “Big victory!” Schwartz said of the lowered charges. The judge also offered him an A.C.D. (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal) — under which, after six months without arrest, the charges would be dismissed and the record sealed — plus payment to the landlord of $2,600 restitution for taking the cameras, which are only worth about $400, according to Schwartz. “I said, ‘No deal,’ ” he told us. The judge set dates to move to dismiss the case “in the interests of justice” and for failure to charge petit larceny, as opposed to the more serious grand larceny, Schwartz said. The next court appearance, including the decision by the judge, is set for Dec. 9. Meanwhile, no one can even find the cameras anymore. “The A.G. says they gave them to the D.A., but the D.A. says not true,” Schwartz said. As for why the requested restitution was $2.6K when, by Schwartz’s reckoning, that’s more than six times the cams’ value, were only worth one-sixth that amount, he said the landlord “hired a very expensive A/V company to plug them back in.” Corne r of Jane & West 4th St. (at 8th Ave.) 212-2 42-95 02 TheVillager.com St. John’s plan includes 500 affordable units, park PIER 40 continued from p. 1 son, under the scheme, the developer would purchase 200,000 square feet of unused development rights from Pier 40 for a new mixed-use project on the east side of the West Side Highway, on the St. John’s site, which stretches between Washington and West Sts. from Clarkson St. to Charlton St. The developer would pay $100 million for those development rights. In turn, under a 2013 amendment to the Hudson River Park Act that allowed the park to sell its unused development rights, that cash would be funneled back into Pier 40 to repair the aged pier’s severely corroded metal support piles. A recent report by the engineering firm The Halcrow Group revealed that 57 percent of Pier 40’s 3,500 steel pilings are suffering severe deterioration, up from 38 percent five years ago. Due to the pier’s poor condition, the Trust in recent years has had to shut down sections of it for safety reasons, then spend millions of dollars to repair its rotting roof. Saving Pier 40, which local families and youth leagues have come to cherish as the neighborhood’s irreplaceable “sports pier,” has been a top community priority for years. Yet, plans to save the 15-acre pier by means of a development project on the actual pier itself have repeatedly sunk, one after the other over the past 15 years, from the world’s largest oceanarium, to a waterborne FedEx delivery depot, to a “Vegas on the Hudson” featuring Cirque du Soleil, and more recently the local youth leagues’ pitch for two luxury residential towers to be built in front of the pier. Under the new plan, the St. John’s Center — the onetime terminal of the High Line elevated railway — would be razed and replaced with five buildings. Four of these would be residential and one commercial, possibly a hotel. The tallest building would rise 430 feet, sporting 34 floors, and the smallest 240 feet, with 21 floors. The total project’s size would be 1.7 million square feet, with 1.3 million of that residential, and 400,000 square feet commercial. Harkening back to the site’s former use as an elevated freight-rail hub, the bridge-like part of the St. John’s Center that now spans W. Houston St. would be replaced with a facsimile of the High Line, with a park on top of it, similar to the High Line park that stretches north of Gansevoort St. This park would amount to 14,000 square feet of new publicly accessible open space. Of the St. John’s Center project’s estimated 1,586 residential units, TheVillager.com The current St. John’s Center building where it spans W. Houston St. The whole building would be demolished under the plan and this section rebuilt with an elevated park, resembling the High Line park. 500 would be permanently affordable. Of that amount, 200 would be for low-income seniors; the rest would be for low- and moderate-income families. Affordable apartments would be allotted by a lottery — with preference given to Community Board 2 residents — to be run by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Although 30 percent of the project’s total residential units would be affordable, apparently due to some differences in unit sizes, only 25 percent of the total residential F.A.R. (floor area ratio) would be affordable. Some of the affordable units would have river views, the spokesperson said. The current St. John’s Center building would be demolished and the new project built in three phases. There is still a tenant, Bloomberg, in one section of the building, and that would be the last to be razed. The “north site” would have two new residential buildings, one of which would be all market rate and the other dedicated to affordable housing for seniors. The plan for the “center site” calls for two residential buildings, one of which would be market rate, the other mixed market rate and affordable; according to the spokesperson, the affordable units would be “evenly distributed” throughout the building and there would be shared entrances and amenities. “There will not be a ‘poor door,’ ” the spokesperson stated. The “south site” building would be commercial, possibly a hotel or even offices. The project will be designed by world-renowned architectural firm COOKFOX. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, it will be built for “extreme weather and resiliency, with state-of-the-art flood mitigation,” the spokesperson said. Although some local residents, in the past, have expressed a strong desire for a hospital and / or public school at the St. John’s site, those are not envisioned. “There are currently no plans to put a hospital or healthcare facility there,” the spokesperson said. In terms of retail uses, the spokesperson said there would be retail frontage on Washington, West, W. Houston and Clarkson Sts. “The goal is to have retail that the residents and the larger community as a whole want,” he said. “Likely, there would be a food store.” The spokesperson added that there could be the possibility of a big-box store, to be mostly located underground, but that this would be up for review. “There are limitations of doing bigbox retail under the current zoning,” he said. The developers hope to break ground in 2017. Each of the project’s three phases is expected to take two to three years, meaning all of the construction could take from six to nine years to complete. The St. John’s site needs to be rezoned to allow residential use and to create a special district to receive the park development rights. This is what’s called the “scoping” period, during which an environmental review is done, which will analyze the project for its potential impacts on the surrounding community. City Planning and St. John’s Partners have already started the environmental review process. After the rezoning, the project would go through the city’s ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure), which typically takes six to nine months. This would include review by Community Board 2, the Manhattan borough president and the Department of City Planning, before a vote by the City Council and, finally, the mayor’s approval. After the ULURP is done, the Park Trust’s board of directors would have to approve the sale of the development rights after an independent appraisal process. Under the current plan, the rights are being valued at $500 per square foot. According to Johnson, the ULURP won’t start till February or March 2016. In a statement, Mayor de Blasio said, “This is a tremendous opportunity to save Pier 40 and to build the permanently affordable housing this community so badly needs. Councilmember Johnson’s leadership has helped maximize the amount of permanently affordable housing created by this rare opportunity. It’s a winwin, and we look forward to working with everyone in the neighborhood through the process ahead.” Johnson said, “At long last, we have a great plan that would address the urgent situation at Pier 40 and give this community treasure back to local families while fulfilling the city’s mission to create new permanent affordable housing units. I am pleased this project will go through a process where New Yorkers will have their voices heard to ensure a win-win for community residents, parkgoers and New Yorkers facing a housing crisis.” Johnson told The Villager he is looking forward to working with local state legislators on the project, including state Senators Brad Hoylman and Daniel Squadron, and especially Assemblymember Deborah Glick. Glick did not return a call for comment by press time. Johnson added that the affordable senior building would feature “wraparound” support services. “All of these previous iterations weren’t a good fit for the community,” he said of earlier Pier 40 plans, calling this one a “win-win for both sides of the highway. PIER 40 continued on p. 11 October 22, 2015 3 Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association Editorials, First Place, 2014 News Story, First Place, 2014 Overall Design Excellence, First Place, 2013 Best Column, First Place, 2012 Photographic Excellence, First Place, 2011 Spot News Coverage, First Place, 2010 Coverage of Environment, First Place, 2009 PUBLISHER JENNIFER GOODSTEIN EDITOR IN CHIEF LINCOLN ANDERSON ARTS EDITOR SCOTT STIFFLER CONTRIBUTORS ALBERT AMATEAU IRA BLUTREICH SARAH FERGUSON TEQUILA MINSKY CLAYTON PATTERSON JEFFERSON SIEGEL ZACH WILLIAMS SHARON WOOLUMS ART DIRECTOR MICHAEL SHIREY GRAPHIC DESIGNERS RHIANNON HSU CHRIS ORTIZ EXECUTIVE VP OF ADVERTISING AMANDA TARLEY ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES JACK AGLIATA ALLISON GREAKER JENNIFER HOLLAND JIM STEELE JULIO TUMBACO CIRCULATION SALES MNGR. 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Published by NYC Community Media, LLC One Metrotech North 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 260-2500 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.thevillager.com E-mail: [email protected] © 2012 NYC Community Media, LLC 4 P.S. 110 kids work it — and hope it works! O n Tues., Oct. 13, on the basketball courts of P.S. 110, the Florence Nightingale School, on Delancey St., students came out in force and with enthusiasm to shoot a video plea directed to the French fashion label Givenchy. They were asking for a donation to the P.S. 110 P.T.A. Family Giving Fund. The fashion label last month paid big bucks to rent the parking lot next door to the school for their New York Fashion Week after-party. Givenchy emptied out the lot and closed off the sidewalk leading to the school for its celebrity-studded soiree. Walking to Deee-Lite’s song “The Power of Love” — the after-party’s theme — 110 kids walked the runway, which in- cluded pallets donated from Key Food, which were very similar to the wooden staircases constructed for the actual fashion show. The students wore deconstructed and embellished P.S. 110 T-shirts, styled by the wardrobe department of “Law & Order: SVU,” as they each held up poster boards detailing the reasoning for their “ask.” The video was shot by P.S. 110 parent and director Chris Roberson. The final cut is being sent directly to designer Riccardo Tisci and others at the House of Givenchy.  “I don’t know how they are going to say no to these bright, talented and deserving kids after they see this video!” said Kathleen Keene, P.S. 110 P.T.A. president. TheVillager.com Medicare Advantage Plans for 2016! Cost-saving Benefits • Help from Our Experts • Doctors You Know and Trust • Your licensed Medicare Sales Representative will meet with you in the comfort of your home, answer all your questions, and help you choose the plan that’s right for you. Depending on the Medicare Advantage plan, key benefits include: • $0 monthly plan premium • $0 deductible for prescription drugs • $0 copay for preferred generic drugs • $0 or low copay for doctor visits • Over-the-Counter card with up to $75 per month • $0 copay for annual dental checkup • Flexible spending benefit • Transportation ...and much more! Fidelis Care Receives 4 Star Rating Fidelis Care is a four-star Medicare Advantage plan, recognized for quality care and member service. Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system. 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H3328_FC 15127 Accepted 5 POLICE BLOTTER Safely and Properly Dispose Your eWaste Sunday, October 25th Lower East Side 10am to 4pm • Rain or Shine Stop by with your old electronics for eco-friendly recycling. All participants will receive a coupon for up to $20 off a qualifying purchase at Tekserve.* For more locations and details, visit tekserve.com/recycling *Coupon valid for $10 off any single purchase of $50 or more; $20 off any single purchase of $100 or more. Expires December 31, 2015. A Lower East Side Ecology Center program sponsored by 119 West 23rd Street • 212.929.3645 • tekserve.com 6 October 22, 2015 FREE Electronics Recycling Armenta Jeffry, left, and Kimberly Ortiz after their release by police Monday night. Protesters arrested Two women who are a part of a regular group that demonstrates on Monday evenings against police killings were arrested last Monday night outside the 13th Precinct, at 230 E. 21st St. Kimberly Ortiz, 31, and Armenta Jeffry, 22, said police abruptly grabbed them and charged them with disorderly conduct and obstruction of vehicular traffic. They said they protested at the 13th Precinct since it’s near Union Square, where they initially gathered. The group is affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Ortiz, who works for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said they plan to return to doing die-ins in the concourse at Grand Central Terminal once it gets colder. At Monday’s protest they decried the death of Jeremy McDole, 28, a disabled, wheelchair-bound Delaware man who was killed by police last month. A video of the incident shows police repeatedly yelling “Hands up!” at McDole — who fails to comply and appears to be possibly reaching for something in his lap — before they shoot him multiple times. Strap-on attack suit The Daily News reported that police frisking a man at the Sixth Precinct stationhouse on W. 10th St. mocked him after discovering he was wearing a sex toy and repeatedly beat him after he talked back, a new lawsuit charges. Michael Watson said in his federal court lawsuit the brutality began when he was arrested on Jan. 10, 2013, for pot possession. At a bathroom at the Sixth, police told him to undress, papers say. He pulled down his underwear to reveal a sex toy “strapped to his waist by a Velcro belt,” the suit reads. That led to three police beatings separated by three trips to Beth Israel Hospital, the suits says. “We’ll review the specific allega- tions once we are served,” a Law Department spokesperson said. Police did not respond to requests for comment. Republic robbers Employees of the Banana Republic store at 111 Eighth Ave., on W. 15th St., alleged that two men tried to steal $275 worth of merchandise on Wed., Oct. 14. The workers alerted police, who arrived at the store around 6:45 p.m. and arrested Midtown resident Frank Calauce, 43, and East Harlem resident Wesley Murphy, 36. The two were charged with misdemeanor petit larceny. Park punch A punch to the face on Mon., Oct. 12, disrupted a 51-year-old Brooklyn man’s enjoyment of a bench in Hudson River Park near the northwest corner of Christopher and West Sts. Police said the victim suffered a cut lip with plenty of swelling. The alleged attacker fled on food around 9:30 p.m. and did not appear to know the victim. Azariah Brundage of Queens was found nearby and arrested for misdemeanor assault. Laptop squeeze An employee of The Squeeze Juice in the Gansevoort Market building, at 52 Gansevoort St., figured he could settle a money dispute with his employee by taking a $1,400 Apple laptop on Mon., Oct. 12. Police said Demitri Gaspard, 22, grabbed the laptop from the boss’s hands as they bickered around 5 p.m. Gaspard then left the place, but police soon caught up with him and recovered the computer. He was arrested and charged with felony grand larceny. Zach Williams and Lincoln Anderson TheVillager.com Painful Varicose Veins? Varicose veins are more than a cosmetic problem. They are associated with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE), both of which claim up to 300,000 lives a year in the United States. Built on the Strength of Experience. 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Adding to Pincus’s dismay, though, on top of the visual nuisance, the building has now also become an aural headache for him and other Soho residents, to hear him tell it. In short, God’s Love is renting out its fifth floor, which features an outdoor terrace, and also its roof for special events, with amplified music. On Oct. 10, G.L.W.D. hosted a “disco event” on its fifth floor, according to Pincus. At least the music sounded like disco to him — and he and others could definitely hear it. He forwarded video clips he filmed of the bash, with songs like Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night” blaring out from the building. There was another event there on Sept. 15. The guests mingled among mannequins, apparently a design touch for Fashion Week. As an annoyed Pincus shot photos of the revelry, some of the people waved back at him, which he said was “creepier than the mannequins.” Although Pincus is known for his outspokenness, it’s not just him who has been bothered by the volume from the G.L.W.D. building. According to him, his friend, Alan Messer — who is known as “Johnny Cash’s photographer” — was visiting from Nashville on Oct. 10 and went out to dinner nearby on West Broadway, where he was surprised that he could hear the music from God’s Love, three blocks away on Sixth Ave. “On Saturday night, Alan and I had been having a lot of fun talking about his life on tour with the Man in Black, when the mayhem interrupted us,” Pincus related. “Then he had to leave for a dinner date, and called me a few minutes later from the restaurant, which was several blocks away, to report that the noise from G.L.W.D. was disturbing the diners inside! He couldn’t believe the goings-on. 8 October 22, 2015 Further infuriating neighbor Harry Pincus, partiers at the mixer-amid-the-mannequins at God’s Love We Deliver waved and smiled at him as tunes pumped out from the Fashion Week event at “Party on 5,” the new building’s indoor / outdoor party space, which is available until 10 p.m. seven days a week. “There are small children, as well as elderly and ill people on our block,” Pincus said. “They shouldn’t be subjected to this.” God’s Love’s free meals — it cooks 5,000 a day — are sent to those who are seriously ill, suffering from AIDS, cancer and a variety of other serious diseases. The feel-good, volunteer-fueled organization is supported by many high-powered New Yorkers in design, fashion and entertainment, from Michael Kors, whose name graces the new building, to Anna Wintour and the late Joan Rivers, for whom the God’s Love bakery is named. But longtime Soho residents — Pincus has been there since 1975 — while largely dismissive of the glitz, can’t ignore the noise. Pincus said “Cozi” Schwartz, 87, who has lived in the neighborhood since the 1940s, where she is a familiar sight with her dog, Duke, reported that her friend Diane Mendez, who lives in a loft blocks away on West Broadway, also was disturbed by the G.L.W.D. continued on p. 24 TheVillager.com Gallery owner: I created garden to beautify block BY LINCOLN ANDERSON W TheVillager.com PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON hile it’s abundantly clear that the Elizabeth St. Garden has rapidly become a much-loved community space in Little Italy, how the garden came to be is not as well known. Supporters of the city’s plan to build a $24 million affordable housing project on the half-acre site dismiss the garden as a mere outdoor showcase for pricey private sculptural pieces and ornaments. However, Allan Reiver, who has leased the lot from the city since 1991, said the garden is about a lot more than that. He moved to the area in 1989. His apartment, on the east side of Elizabeth St., directly overlooks the space, which back then was a garbage-strewn lot. The block at that time sported a pair of 24-hour commercial bakeries, and a building on the corner of Prince St. whose five upper floors were all vacant and derelict. “In all of Little Italy, it was the only block that was totally dilapidated,” Reiver recalled. “I looked out my window and I saw the mess and then I heard it was going to be sold as a parking lot,” he recalled of the empty lot. The spot had formerly housed a public school, and was planned to get a new one. But Little Italy residents protested and killed the project. Reiver, 72, who was “a developer in a past life,” as he put it, had collected valuable monuments and pieces from historic estates to be used in his projects. He had the idea of displaying them in the open-air lot. “The lease originally called for it to just be storage, but I decided to make it a garden,” he said. “Everything in there, I planted. I built the garden.” The garden’s signature pieces are its lions, probably 19th- or 20th-century copies of Italian originals, he said. The gazebo is from a garden designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect who created Central Park and Prospect Park. Historic balustrades from Lynnewood Hall, a Gilded Age mansion in Philadelphia, line the garden’s pathways. “Everything’s very significant,” he said of the garden’s pieces. “They’re all displayed in a very thoughtful manner. It’s not a random jumble. It’s all carefully placed.” Until the summer of 2012, however, neighborhood park activists didn’t realize that the garden was on cityowned land. As soon as they did, they mobilized to gain access to it and have since turned it into a thriving community hub in open space-starved Little Italy. As reported by The Villager last week, former Parks Commissioner People enjoying the Elizabeth St. Garden on a weekend this past summer. Adrian Benepe strongly supports saving the garden, describing its effect on the neighborhood as nothing short of “transformational.” Assemblymember Deborah Glick and state Senator Daniel Squadron also oppose the housing project at the site, saying the garden should be preserved. Meanwhile, City Councilmember Margaret Chin and the city are pushing for the housing. Reiver has been all for allowing public access to the garden, and is an enthusiastic supporter of turning the spot into permanent parkland, as advocated by Community Board 2. As for why he didn’t allow the public into the place before, he said the conditions weren’t right. “The front door to your home is not open to the public, either,” he noted. But once a group of volunteers emerged to run the garden as a public space, he got on board with the idea right away. “Now there was a group of volunteers,” he said. “Before, there was a question of liability, of kids falling over...vandalism. Not so much theft — it’s hard to steal 2,000-, 3,000-pound monuments. That people would be sleeping in there was a concern. “I planted trees and planted grass. But if the gates had been wide open, it would have been filled with garbage again in a week or two. It’s human nature. “Now the garden is open when volunteers are there to supervise it,” he said. “They maintain it, clean it, and it’s doing beautifully.” Reiver rents out the garden for a few events per year, usually two or three, such as weddings, he said. In 2005, he opened his gallery in a former firehouse adjacent to the garden. Both the garden and gallery are “highly, highly curated,” he stressed. The gallery features objects like an old kayak skeleton and an early airplane. The garden’s official operating hours are Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., but it’s been open more than that — whenever a volunteer decides to pick up a key at the gallery and open up the gate — he said. The garden will hold its third annuGARDEN continued on p. 27 FREE ADMISSION PIER 26 AT N. MOORE ST. HUDSON RIVER PARK NOON to 5PM Magic, storytelling, face painting, cotton candy, rides and much more! Costume Contest sponsored by SAT OCT 31 October 22, 2015 9 E.V. school kids are fuming over ’foam reversal STYROFOAM continued from p. 1 October 22, 2015 On the People’s Climate Movement Day of Action, Wed., Oct. 14, two volunteers carried the giant Styrofoam puppets up to Flatiron Plaza, where the out-of-control environment-destroying monsters turned against each other, as a woman tried to break up the clash. PHOTO BY ATSUKO QUIRK 10 PHOTO BY YANNIC RACK Cohen, the executive director of Cafeteria Culture, a grassroots organization that works in partnership with schools across the city. Cohen said the fifth-grade students at P.S. 34 in Alphabet City, among other area schools, had played a role in helping to achieve the unanimous City Council vote that banned the use of polystyrenes, more commonly known as Styrofoam, citywide. “There’s often a lack of art and environmental funding for those schools,” Cohen said. “So it’s very cool that the kids in this school helped us — they learned to be advocates and we held debates on whether polystyrene should be banned or not.” In November 2013, the fifth graders stood on the steps of City Hall with councilmembers from across the city, advocating for a ban with the help of giant puppets made out of Styrofoam food trays. The “data puppets,” so called because they visually show the massive amount of polystyrene products previously used in the schools, were built by community members young and old at the Sixth Street Community Center. “Our whole goal was to get people to laugh first and then go, ‘What is this?’ so we could give our elevator pitch,” Cohen said. The ban, which was proposed by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and implemented by Mayor Bill de Blasio this July, was overturned in State Supreme Court on Sept. 22. Justice Margaret Chan, in her ruling, called the ban “arbitrary and capricious” and denied the city’s claim that recycling used polystyrene containers was neither environmentally effective nor economically feasible. The judge ordered the Department of Sanitation to reconsider the ban in light of a proposal by the Dart Container Corporation, one of the biggest manufacturers of plastic foam products for the food industry. Dart said that it would pay for better machines to clean and sort the material and keep most of it out of landfills. A group of manufacturers and recyclers, including the Restaurant Action Alliance, had sued the city in April to stop the ban, arguing that it was actually possible to recycle the containers and even save the city money in the process. Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia determined last December that the material was not recyclable. But Dart claims that it A student from East Village Community School looking at the giant Styrofoam puppets in the Dinosaur Hill toy store window on E. Ninth St., their permanent home. can recover more than 90 percent of the foam. In addition, a recycler in Indiana said he would buy the Styrofoam waste for the next five years. The judge accused the city of ignoring these options when making the decision to ban the material, but the mayor immediately announced that he was not backing down. “We disagree with the ruling,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office wrote in a statement. “These products cause real environmental harm, and we need to be able to prevent nearly 30,000 tons of expanded polystyrene waste from entering our landfills, streets and waterways. We are reviewing our options to keep the ban in effect.” The ban, passed in January and effective since July, includes a sixmonth grace period, so businesses would have until Jan. 1, 2016, to comply. After that, violations would be punishable by fines, though the city says that for the first year it would only hand out warnings. Some proponents of the ban say that the court challenge comes too late anyway because the administration’s efforts already pushed the city’s businesses over the line. Ron Gonen, a former deputy sanitation commissioner, told Crain’s New STYROFOAM continued on p. 27 TheVillager.com Preservationist slams plan as ‘wall of towers’ PIER 40 continued from p. 3 “I’m pushing for an affordable grocery store,” Johnson said, adding, “I do not want a big-box store as part of the project.” Said Madelyn Wils, the Trust’s president and C.E.O., “The Department of City Planning’s proposed Hudson River Park Special District will allow us to raise the funding needed to repair the piles at Pier 40 and keep this vital resource open for the community. This is a rare opportunity that we cannot miss. We look forward to working with the de Blasio administration, local elected officials and the community to  secure the funding we need to move ahead with these critical repairs.” Tobi Bergman, chairperson of C.B. 2, said, “I want to thank Councilmember Corey Johnson for his leadership on behalf of the community. At long last we have a real opportunity to save the extraordinary park resource at Pier 40. At the same time and of equal importance, we finally have a project in our district that will help sustain the diversity that is integral to the social fabric of our community and our city.” Paul Kazilionis, C.E.O. of Westbrook Partners, said, “We couldn’t be happier to be working with our partners in government and in the community to help get Pier 40 repaired quickly and provide much-needed affordable housing for seniors and families. We look forward to a public and transparent review process that will show we have created a plan that will transform the St. John’s Center — a building long considered an obstacle to the waterfront — from a barricade into a gateway.” However, Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, slammed the plan and its high-rise “wall of towers.” “It’s deeply concerning that the extremely controversial process of selling air rights from the Hudson River Park to increase development in our neighborhood is moving forward, while alternatives for funding the park which community groups have suggested have been ignored,” he said. “At the same time, the city has also turned a deaf ear to rezoning proposals in our neighborhood which would preserve the existing built environment while allowing opportunities for the creation of affordable housing, such as in the South Village and the University Place / Broadway corridors,” Berman said. “It’s difficult to understand why the city has refused to listen to pleas from this community to protect these areas from out-of-scale development and preserve the character of the neighborhood while allowing for the creation of affordable housing and generating income for the park, and has instead focused solely on plans like this, which would increase such development, in this case with a wall of towers along the waterfront.” Open House | City and Country • Tuesday, October 27th • Tuesday, November 3rd • Tuesday, November 10th • Tuesday, December 1st • Tuesday, January 5th • Tuesday, January 26th • Tuesday, April 19th 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM Wednesday, November 13, from 6-8pm How a child learns to learn will impact his or her life forever. Progressive Education for Two-Year-Olds – 8th Grade Open House | City and Country Wednesday, November 13, from 6-8pm a child learns tolearn learnwill will HowHow a child learns to Please visit www.cityandcountry.org for information and application materials. impact his or her lifeTel:forever. impact his orNew her life 146 West 13th Street, York, NY 10011forever. 212.242.7802 Progressive Education for Two-Year-Olds – 8th Grade Progressive Education for Two-Year-Olds – 8th Grade Open House | City and Country School Wednesday, November 18, 6-8pm Wednesday, November 13, from 6-8pm Open House | City and Country 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212.242.7802 Please visit www.cityandcountry.org for information and application materials. www.cityandcountry.org 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212.242.7802 October 22, 2015 11 Joe Budnick, 68, a mentor for singer-songwriters OBITUARIES BY ALBERT AMATEAU T FILE PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON he music scene in Washington Square Park lost a much-loved voice on Oct. 10 when Joe Budnick, who for 45 years led impromptu groups of singers and guitarists drawn to the park by his warmth and enthusiasm, died at the age of 68. Absent from his usual northeast corner of the park in recent weeks because he was hospitalized, Joe had heart problems since his youth and had undergone bypass surgery at one time, according to Skip Mitchell, a longtime friend. “I think his father had a heart condition and died when Joe was young. A brother died of heart disease, too,” Mitchell said. For the past two decades, Joe (Ernest Joseph Budnick) ran UMO.com, “The Official Site for Acoustic Music and Singing in Greenwich Village, USA since 1995.” He ran the site (UMO stands for Underground Music Online) while conducting open-mic sessions on Sundays during the winter at Bagott Inn, a Village venue that closed a few years ago, and later at Limerick House, a club in Chelsea that also closed. In 2003 and 2004 Joe produced CDs of “The 14 Best Singers and Songwriters of Greenwich Village,” compiled from a juried selection of open-mic performers. From April to November, Joe and his friends played and sang in the park, welcoming newcomers who often became regulars. It was strictly acoustic; Joe was a stickler for the park ban on amplified music and boom boxes. He didn’t like loud drumming, either. The emphasis was on “free.” Joe never solicited donations, but he vigorously solicited people to play and sing. “I have so many happy memories of Joe in the park,” said Lori Behrman, a singer and songwriter who performs at various clubs in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “He was an amazing, supportive person, encouraging my songwriting — nagging, actually. He was a good nagger,” Behrman said. “Joe hasn’t been in the park much over the past year since he’s been sick,” Behrman said. “He Joe Budnick playing guitar in Washington Square Park in May 2011. brought such positive energy to the park. It won’t be the same anymore.” Margie Rubin, a Village resident and regular at Joe Budnick’s Washington Square gatherings, recalled one Sunday-in-the-park session when about 175 people gathered round to listen. She also recalled being urged to sing, but resisted. “I was happy to be a listener,” Rubin said. Village park activist Sharon Woolums said it was Artie Stewart, a well-known Washington Square musician, who urged Budnick to start playing music in the park. “Joe had been very shy about it,” she said, “and Artie sort of pushed him onto the stage, and the rest is history.” Stewart died in April 2013. Joe’s death has been especially hard for Skip Mitchell. Joe was best man at Mitchell’s wedding 15 years ago. “Joe was always the life of the party. He loved people. We all became his friends — really fam- ily,” said Mitchell, a songwriter and keyboard artist who has performed at various venues, including the old Village Gate. “Joe was a brother to me,” Mitchell added. Joe had worked as a tech employee of Salomon Brothers, the Wall St. firm. “He was involved in computers there in the 1970s,” Mitchell said. “I remember him telling me that computers would change the world one day. I told him it sounded like it would be a pretty cold world.” According to Mitchell, Joe was raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and moved to W. 14th St. more than 20 years ago. Joe met Susan Swingle, who later became his wife, while both were working at Salomon Brothers. She died in September. Mitchell and Lori Behrman plan a memorial service for Joe Budnick at a date and time to be announced. Joe always enjoyed seeing other musicians shine BY B. STEWART E rnest J. Budnick, known to most of his friends as “Joe,” was a musician and a major presence to those who would frequent Washington Square Park. But he was also a man of many other talents and accomplishments. He was a writer (author of a book on business technology), a video producer (Bernard Friedman Video Rock — a cable music program that debuted around the same time as MTV), an entrepreneur (in the early 2000’s he hosted an open mic at the Baggot Inn on W. Third St. in Greenwich Village that led to the release of several compilation CDs by many of the artists who performed there). Joe was inquisitive, 12 October 22, 2015 well read and knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. As one friend put it, “He knew a lot of stuff.” “He was one of the kindest human beings that ever was,” said Bernard Friedman. Joe started playing in a band as a teenager in Brooklyn. He later went on to form groups — Full Moon being one —  with various singers and musicians he met while hanging out in Washington Square Park. Another one of his groups, Just Friends, held a residency at the legendary Village Gate. An earlier incarnation of Just Friends recorded a 45 single, “Keep On Playing.” “We always had a lot of fun together...going out to different places, with Joe always being the upbeat, sometimes goofy guy that made everyone around us laugh,” recalled Skip Mitchell, a singer with both Full Moon and Just Friends. In later years, Joe could be found playing in the park on any given day. He would always be inclusive and encouraging, welcoming other singers and musicians, beginners or professionals, to join in. He also loved to interact with both the tourists and local members of his audience — taking photos and posting them on his Web site at umo.com. “Joe had the unique quality of truly enjoying seeing other people shine, prosper and most importantly have fun,” said Lori Behrman. “It was largely because of his constant encouragement and nagging I start- ed singing in Washington Square Park, started a band, played in clubs, and wrote songs. He instilled in me the importance of surrounding yourself with positive and life-affirming people, and that life was too short to spend unhappy and unfulfilled. Even though he’s gone, the lessons I learned from him will stay with me forever.” Joe had health issues for many years but they never hindered him from rocking out with exuberant performances to the delight of onlookers. On many occasions he would be asked by people who would stop and listen, if he played in the park often. His reply usually was “I’m here seven days a week.” He will always be here seven days a week. TheVillager.com , “Dorothy Ryan, anti-demolition, ticle for the paper’s 75th anniversallager, recalled of the debate in an As Reed Ide, the then-editor of The rve both the young and the old. e as a recreational center that could enter on Sixth Ave. and W. 10th St. for r renovating the Women’s Detention In 1973, she was a strong advocate ew York University. e first teach-in against the war at ar. Dorothy also helped organize ace in 1961 to oppose the Vietnam he marched in the Women Strike for rious community-oriented issues. nvictions and being a champion for as known for having passionate olved at the grassroots level. She ildren, Dorothy was politically inIn the 1960s, while raising her three nd actors. me involved with a group of writers t. She and her husband, Paul, berly from Hartford, s at1950s a rally in her activist Connectiheyday. Dorothy came to the Village in the y family. eacefully in her sleep, surrounded e had lived since 2012. She died , in Dennis, Massachusetts, where wich Village, died on Sept. ist in 1960s and ’70s Greenorothy Ryan, a popular activ- D Dorothy Ryan, outspoken activist in ’60s, ’70s D orothy Ryan, a popular activist in 1960s and ’70s Greenwich Village, passed away on Sept. 30, in Dennis, Massachusetts, where she had lived since 2012. She died peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by family. She was 87. Dorothy came to the Village in the early 1950s from Hartford, Connecticut. She and her husband, Paul, became involved with a group of writers and actors. In the 1960s, while raising her three children, Dorothy was politically involved at the grassroots level. She was known for having passionate convictions and being a champion for various community-oriented issues. She marched in the Women Strike for Peace in 1961 to oppose the Vietnam War. Dorothy also helped organize the first teach-in against the war at New York University. In 1973, she was a strong advocate for renovating the Women’s Detention Center at Sixth and Greenwich Aves. for use as a recreational center that could serve both the young and the old. As Reed Ide, the then-editor of The Villager, recalled of the debate in an article for the paper’s 75th anniversary, “Dorothy Ryan, anti-dem- However, members of the Manhatour senior citizens… .’ ” for desperately needed facilities for This building…can be put to good use nots” what they should not have!… continuously dictate to the “havethat the “haves” of Greenwich Village wrote to the editor, ‘It would seem More than 300 children from the comLibrary to protest library budget cuts. Children’s March on Jefferson Market In 1975, Dorothy organized the turned into a community garden. It was eventually razed and the site tion sought to demolish the prison. tan borough president’s administra- Dorothy Ryan speaking to TV news reporters at a rally in her activist heyday. olition, wrote to the editor, ‘It would seem that the “haves” of Greenwich Village continuously dictate to the “have-nots” what they should not have!… This building…can be put to good use for desperately needed facilities for our senior citizens… .’ ” However, members of the Manhattan borough president’s administration sought to demolish the prison. It was eventually razed and the site turned into a community garden. In 1975, Dorothy organized the Children’s March on Jefferson Market Library to protest library budget cuts. More than 300 children from the community participated. Fiercely independent, she helped form the New Village Democrats in 1978. The club later merged with the West Side Democratic Club to oppose Mayor Ed Koch’s Village Independent Democrats, who Dorothy believed catered to a small elite. Dorothy served three terms as president of Community School Board 2, from 1973 to 1981. She was also instrumental in helping to conceive and launch Mario Cuomo’s bid for mayor of New York City in 1977. In 1982, in a bold move, she ran against 12-year incumbent City Councilmember Carol Greitzer but lost. She had affiliations with the Chelsea-Village N.A.A.C.P, Friends of Public Libraries and Friends of Christopher Park. Dorothy did administrative work at the Children’s Aid Society from 1984 until she retired in 1998. Told of Ryan’s death, former Villager editor Ide said, “Dorothy Ryan was one of the last surviving stalwarts of a now-vanished era, a time when no item that arose in the life of Greenwich Village was too small to be fiercely debated. She cared deeply about her neighborhood, about her community. She served both exceptionally well: as a citizen, and as a member of Community School Board 2. She sometimes found herself on the losing side, but that did not once stop her from expressing firmly, often eloquently, her concerns and opinions. I can still hear her tempered anger in the debate over the Women’s House of Detention. I have lost an old friend. Greenwich Village has lost a lover. When we seem to need it most, we have all lost a valued citizen’s voice.” She is survived by her daughters, Suzanne Ryan of Dennis, Mass., and Bronwyn Ryan of New York City, and a son, Connolly Ryan, and daughter-in-law, Maryellen, of Florence, Mass. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Charlie, 13, and Sarah and Phoebe, both 11. Dorothy was predeceased by her husband, Paul Ryan, who died in 2011. who died in 2011. ceased by her husband, Paul Ryan, Phoebe, both 11. Dorothy was predechildren, Charlie, 13, and Sarah and She is also survived by three grandin-law, Maryellen, of Florence, Mass. a son, Connolly Ryan, and daughterBronwyn Ryan of New York City, and Suzanne Ryan of Dennis, Mass., and She is survived by her daughters, until she retired in 1998. the Children’s Aid Society from 1984 Dorothy did administrative work at pher Park. lic Libraries and Friends of Christosea-Village N.A.A.C.P, Friends of PubShe had affiliations with the Chelcilmember Carol Greitzer, but lost. against 12-year incumbent City CounIn 1982, in a bold move, she ran of New York City in 1977. launch Mario Cuomo’s bid for mayor strumental in helping to conceive and from 1973 to 1981. She was also inident of Community School Board 2, Dorothy served three terms as prestered to a small elite. Democrats, who Dorothy believed caMayor Ed Koch’s Village Independent West Side Democratic Club to oppose 1978. The club later merged with the form the New Village Democrats in Fiercely independent, she helped munity participated. 3024 QUENTIN ROAD • BROOKLYN NY 718-339-0700 STONEYCREEKCREMATION.COM Stoney Creek Cremation & Burial Society is an alternative to costly funeral home and cemetery services and merchandise, allowing us to leave a more meaningful, healthier, greener society to those we leave behind. Join our Society today and know you have chosen to leave a footprint for the future. For those wishing to preplan their final contribution to society, if paid in full today we will include the cost of the crematory. ($995 Society’s Service Fee) Acting as a for profit organization. Crematory fee is not included, death certificates and disposition permits not included in service fee. TheVillager.com You’re it! Trying to save vanishing childhood play RHYMES WITH CRAZY BY LENORE SKENAZY S ince lately there’s almost no aspect of childhood that isn’t bewailed, it should come as no surprise that the existence of “recess consultants” is evidence to many that the apocalypse is at hand. But it isn’t. Despite articles, editorials and tweets like, “Oh good dear sweet God in heaven, save us from ourselves,” the consultants do not strike me as helicoptering killjoys. And I say that as the founder of FreeRange Kids, the entire movement devoted to more freedom and less adult supervision of kids. How does that square with a program that places young adults outside at recesses across the country — including 30 schools in New York State — teaching kids how to play some age-old games?  It is because I think of Playworks, which trains and provides these con- sultants, as something akin to Lady Bird Johnson. What? Lady Bird Johnson was President Lyndon Johnson’s wife and she had a pet cause: wildflowers. Thanks to development and pollution, these were dying out. So she set about deliberately planting some of the wildflowers that were disappearing. In other words, she used completely artificial means to bring back the natural landscape.  That’s what the Playworks coaches are doing. They are artificially reviving a natural part of childhood that has been dying out: playing.  I have no idea who taught me kickball as a kid. But there was a game of it in front of my suburban house every night, so I just kind of absorbed it. Who taught me four square? Hopscotch? Jacks? Chinese jump rope? Who taught me “Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack – All dressed in black, black, black?” Or even the double-Dutch rhyme, “Cinderella, dressed in yella – Went downtown to meet her fella – On the way her girdle busted – How many people were disgusted?” I may be middle-aged, but even when I was a kid, girdles were on their way out. Way out. Which means that the rhymes I was learning came from long ago, handed down older sister to younger, to neighbor, to kid down the block. Until there were no kids playing on the block anymore.  One recent study found that the number of kids age 9 to 13 playing outside, unsupervised, for even one hour a week is 6 percent. The number of kids walking to school is about 11 percent. So all those games, rules and songs we learned by osmosis are not being learned by an entire generation of kids. We may like to think of play as innate, but what’s innate is the desire to play. It isn’t innate to come up with the rules of four square, or a rhyme about a wardrobe malfunction. Those are things handed down from generation to generation. Enter the Playworks coaches. They are trying to bring back childhood games because those games were not coming back on their own. I was invited to a Playworks conference at Columbia a few years back, because I, too, had ridiculed them. Then the organization’s founder, Jill Vialet, told her story. She’d come to an Oakland, California, school to talk about starting an art program. But when the principal emerged from her office trailed by three 9-yearold boys who looked like they’d just been chewed out, she snapped at Jill, “You know what I really need? I need someone to fix recess.” Too many of the kids weren’t playing. With no experience in organizing their own games, or solving the inevitable conflicts, the kids resorted to an even more basic behavior: They walloped each other. And got in trouble. So Jill decided to see if she could bring back some of her childhood — the fun she’d had playing every day after school.  Lady Bird re-seeded the hills with wildflowers. Playworks is trying to reseed the playgrounds with joy.  Their goal is to let the kids take over, once they learn some games, and some quick techniques for solving conflicts, like “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”  As far as I can tell, Playworks is not about micromanaging recess, or forcing participation, or insisting, “Everybody wins!” It’s about giving kids back that precious thing we took away from them: time with their friends outside, on their own, learning games as old as girdles. And probably older.  Skenazy is a keynote speaker and author and founder of the book and blog “FreeRange Kids” LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Amen, Rev. Jen! McD egg pledge a small step To The Editor: Re “Rev. Jen: Straight outta Bellevue” (arts article, Oct. 15): I was wondering just exactly what was happening with you. Thank you for sharing such personal stuff in a painfully witty and honest way. But after all, that is your thing, Ms. Miller, and the reason I am one of so many people that feel a kinship and admiration for you, despite never having met.  To The Editor: McDonald’s recent pledge to start using cagefree eggs is only a small step in preventing the staggering suffering endured by millions of birds. Hatcheries that annually supply 200 million female hens for U.S. egg production, including cage-free, also kill the same number of male chicks at birth by grinding them up alive in industrial macerators or suffocating them slowly in plastic garbage bags. The female laying hens endure a lifetime of misery, crammed with five to John Jude Ragazzo EVAN FORSCH six others in small wire-mesh cages that cut into their feet and tear out their feathers. Eggs are common carriers of food-borne bacteria, including salmonella, campylobacter, listeria, and staphylococcus. The U.S.D.A. estimates that salmonella alone accounts for 1.3 million U.S. illnesses and 500 deaths annually. Eggs contain saturated fat and cholesterol, key factors in incidence of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. They are a common cause of allergies in children. Waste from millions of egg-laying hens ends up in waterways, rendering vast areas unsuitable for recreation or water supply. The good news for compassionate, health-conscious, eco-friendly consumers is that our local supermarkets offer a number of delicious egg substitutes and egg-free food products. Entering “eggfree” in a search engine returns tons of recipes. Nelson Yancy E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to [email protected] or fax to 212-2292790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published. 14 Me and Sandy Koufax...and Mom’s squeeze play NOTEBOOK BY HARRY PINCUS V iewers of the Mets’ delicious triumph over the Dodgers last week were treated to the apparition of an old man with suspenders, wearing a “Brooklyn” cap, seated behind home plate. It was clearly Larry King, the retired eminence of CNN. Don Newcombe, the great old Dodger pitcher, was also there, but 87-year old announcer Vin Scully was temporarily missing in action for a medical “procedure.” The cameras also sent a flash of the great Sandy Koufax, seated in a box. These men had all journeyed from Ebbets Field in old Flatbush to the sunny palms of Chavez Ravine. Before Brooklyn was cool, it was great. I was a very minor player amidst this greatness, just an awkward Jewish kid with orthopedic shoes, a Sluggo haircut and two parents who couldn’t behave in public. They’d only had one fight. It had begun long before I was born, and lasted into eternity. As Jackie Mason used to say…“If he said one more woid… .” Nobody knew what that word was. I also had the kind of plastic eyeglasses currently favored by hipsters, but they burdened me, and I refused to wear them. This was no help for my remarkably poor athletic abilities. My father, Irving, a free-thinking subway conductor and avid handball player, loved the Dodgers with all his heart...and suggested that the only position I was capable of playing in the Little League was “left out.” Sandy Koufax was my prince and my inspiration. As a kindergartener at P.S. 221, I had seen the lights of Ebbets Field aglow down the Empire Boulevard, just before they faded forever. Koufax too had played at the Parade Grounds and kept the faith on Yom Kippur. Now he was the Greatest Pitcher on the Planet! If Sandy Koufax could do it, couldn’t I rise up in the world and at least do something? During the ’63 World Series, when I was 11, I read in the New York Post that the Dodgers were staying at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown. Someone had smuggled a little transistor radio into our sixth-grade class, in hopes that our inspired teacher, Mr. Salz, would allow us a bit of leeway. Sure enough, Koufax broke all records that day, striking out 15 Yankees in the World Series! I must have floated home, and later that afternoon, actually summoned the audacity to call the desk at the Roosevelt TheVillager.com “The Brooklyn Boy,” self-portrait, by Harry Pincus. Hotel to ask to speak to my hero. “I’m his cousin, from Brooklyn,” I lied. Within seconds, a deep and refined voice answered. “Mr. Koufax,” I squealed, “I’m Harry Pincus from Brooklyn, and I play with the Lincoln Pennies at the Parade Grounds, and you are my greatest hero!” “Well, thank you, Harry,” said my hero. “I used to play at the Parade Grounds, too.” The most sensational pitcher of all time had just struck out 15 Yanks in the Series, and he sounded as if he had all the time in the world for me. Before I could even believe it, the spell was broken. My mother, Blanche, sometimes described as the Jewish Mother from Central Casting, had picked up the extension. “Mr. Koufax,” said Blanche, “I’m Harry’s mother, and you’re doing a real mitzvah talking to my son.” A mitzvah is a blessing, but I knew and dreaded where this was going. “Mr. Koufax, Harry is a disturbed child because his father, Irving, has quit the job as my husband, to run off with kauvres and bummakes!” (Yiddish for whores and bad ladies). OH NO! THERE SHE GOES AGAIN! NOT TO SANDY KOUFAX! “Well, Mrs. Pincus, Harry sounds like a very fine young man to me,” said Sandy “and I hope he’ll call me again when we’re in New York.” But, après Blanche, I never did. Years later, on the old “Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson asked Buddy Hackett if Brooklyn had really been as great as they say. “Of course it was,” said the great comedian. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I actually babysat Sandy Koufax! Yeah, we lived in the same building, and his name then was Braun. His parents were divorced, and his mother hadn’t yet met that nice Irving Koufax.” It occurred to me then that my call from Brooklyn must have seemed ironic for Koufax, as he sat on top of the world after striking out all of those Yanks in the Series. Many years later, after our neighborhood had been attacked on my son’s second day of preschool, I was hustling my family angrily down Sixth Avenue following a rather desultory parent-teacher conference at P.S. 41. My usually lovable son, Isaac, by then in second grade, had encountered a teacher who didn’t quite ap- preciate his sense of humor. I don’t usually notice men’s legs, but there were two locomotive jackhammers walking toward me, attached to a powerful older man with gleaming white hair. The man was attached to a younger blonde. KOUFAX!!! My wife thought I was suddenly yelling at someone, or having a fight. In fact, I had instantly reverted to my 11-year-old self, and ran after my hero, yelling, “Mr. Koufax, Mr. Koufax... I called you after you struck out 15 Yanks in the World Series and you were so kind to me!” The impressive gent with the young blonde in tow didn’t so much as break stride. “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he said. “But you had just struck out 15 Yanks in the Series, and I called you in your hotel room... .” “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he repeated, somewhat slyly. He just looked straight ahead and kept on with enormous strides. It was surreal, as if I had just met George Washington and he had denied being George Washington. I realized that Koufax wasn’t going to stop, or even look at me. He certainly wasn’t going to admit to his real identity as Superman. In a modern world of stalkers, lawyers, geeks, creeps, sports agents, media hounds, paparazzi and professional “fans,” there were no telephone booths to be found. My great Jewish Hero was going to remain Clark Kent. I wanted to salvage the debacle by complimenting him...wink wink, nudge nudge, in front of his girlfriend. “You’re still my hero, and you’ll always be my hero,” I said as he stopped for the light. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, as a slight grin crossed his lips. Sandy Koufax then strode purposefully across Waverly Place.  It seemed like an unacceptable conclusion. A bad Hollywood ending. Had the world changed so much? This year, the High Holy days of the Jewish religion arrived with sad news. My friend’s brother, the founder of an avant-garde record label, had passed away, and I was on my way to attend his memorial on 14th Street. I trudged up Sixth Avenue, dreading everything, especially my friend’s grief. In the bright sunlight, a halo of white hair caught my eye. It was Koufax. I quietly walked over, and wished him a Happy New Year. We shook hands as if we were old friends, and walked off into the setting sun. Pincus is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist. He lives in Soho. October 22, 2015 15 The East Village is home; I want to improve it TALKING POINT over managing that property, open violations have fallen by 70 percent. For those tenants who remain skeptical of our management, we are continuing to work with them to ensure that every issue they are facing is resolved. As evidence of my commitment to the East Village and its community, I acquired an additional 16 properties last month and have received very encouraging feedback from the tenants. By having an open dialogue, my team is in a better position to provide superior tenant-relations services. My plans for these buildings are simple. We want to renovate the apartments and common areas, improve the outward appearance and take suggestions from tenants for how to make the East Village the ultimate live / work / play community. Beyond that, we are committed to making meaningful contributions to improve the welfare of the community. I have been engaged with a number of organizations to fi nd out what we can do to help, and I look forward to announcing new partnerships in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, what you need to know is that my company is here to make the East Village a better place. My team is taking the time to get to know our neighbors, and we invite all of you to get to know us. I know that you will fi nd we are here for the right reasons. BY RAPHAEL TOLEDANO O ver the last year, I have had the incredible good fortune to take an ownership stake in a number of residential and commercial buildings in the East Village. The reason I chose to grow my business in this beautiful neighborhood is simple: I believe in the East Village. I am not here to transform this community, rather I am determined to become a part of the fabric of the neighborhood that so many wonderful New Yorkers call home. As a business owner I learned early on that treating customers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in my case, tenants â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with respect and decency is most important in order to gain their trust. Over the last few months, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the pleasure of getting to know my new tenants in this community and it has been an extremely rewarding experience. By understanding their needs and concerns, I will be able to form a personal bond with the residents and better serve them. There are always going to be doubters and cynics, people who wonder what my motivations are. But I invite you to look at my track record. Recent press reports about one of the buildings I acquired, 444 E. 13th St., do not paint an accurate picture of the effort I have made to work with residents. In the last four months since I took Last month, Raphael Toledano, above, purchased a portfolio of 16 East Village buildings for $97 million. www.burnerlaw.com Toledano is president and founder, Brookhill Properties (212) 867-3520 Join us for breakfast as we discuss Estate Planning and Medicaid Basics November 12 at 10:30 AM Greenwich Village Bistro 13 Carmine Street, New York, NY 10014 November 17 at 10:00 AM Petite Abeille 401 East 20th Street, New York, NY 10010 RSVP at (212) 867-3520 or by e-mail at [email protected] 16 October 22, 2015 Night and day, odd occurrences at Merchant’s House and Bartow-Pell BY SCOTT STIFFLER I COURTESY MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM n the dark and stormy pages of fiction; in movies, when heirs to a fortune must brave a creepy old mansion from dusk to dawn; and on TV shows whose jumpy investigators wear infrared goggles as they navigate narrow catacombs: these are the scenarios popular culture tells us are necessary to have a paranormal encounter. But why would a spirit need, or even want, to wait until the sun goes down in order to materialize? That witches’ brew of nighttime shadows and nervous tension says more about our own fleshly insecurities than it does about the world that awaits us when we draw our last breath and give up the ghost. Rest assured, strange things do happen in the stark light of day — and year-round, at two of New York’s most lovingly preserved, historically significant homes, you can roam the grounds, climb the stairs, and quite possibly join the ranks of those who are confident they’ve seen, heard, or spoken with the dead. MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM In 1835, having made his fortune as a NYC hardware merchant, patriarch Seabury Tredwell moved his brood to a lavishly decorated, recently built row house in the swanky Bond Street neighborhood. Over the next nearly 100 years, dozens of family members and Irish servants would live at 29 East Fourth Street. Along the way, eight family members died in the house, including spinster daughter Gertrude (18401933). The youngest Tredwell child TheVillager.com Members of the Tredwell family lived here over a period of 100 years. Some say they never left. shuffled off her mortal coil while occupying the very same bed she was born in — also where Seabury met his maker in 1865. First opened in 1935, the Merchant’s House Museum remains accessible to the public five days a week. Self-guided tours afford history buffs and paranormal enthusiasts the opportunity to walk among the furniture, artwork, clothing, tools, and everyday items that have been here since the mid-19th century — along with, many believe, former residents whose lack of a pulse doesn’t stop them from making playful, protective, or sociable appearances. “It’s safe to say that each year we average roughly a half-dozen documented reports of occurrences to staff, workers, or visitors,” says board member Anthony Bellov, whose inexplicable experiences are among the “over one hundred reported incidents [during the course of the Museum’s life], since we started seriously archiving them about fifteen years ago.” One of the most-witnessed sightings in Merchant’s House history, which you can hear about on their upcoming Ghost Tour (and can read about in Bellov’s “Some Say They Never Left” gift shop booklet), took place in broad daylight — and makes a convincing argument for the notion that certain Tredwell family members didn’t fly the nest once they crossed over. “It’s a very famous story involving neighborhood children playing in front of the House,” Bellov says of the 1933 summertime incident. “Gertrude came rushing out the front door to chase them away. Many neighborhood people saw it, and the long-timers on the block all recognized Gertrude. The only problem is, Gertrude had been dead for several weeks at that point.” Another daytime incident, this one from 1995, was reported by a visitor who had a top position in the NYS Judicial Department. Unaware of the building’s haunted reputation, she gave an account of a tattered and musty gentleman who engaged her in conversation, upstairs, while they perused old family objects in a display case. “He spoke at length about what it was like to live in the house,” Bellov HAUNTED HOUSE continued on p. 18 October 22, 2015 17 Where history comes alive, the dead may roam HAUNTED HOUSE continued from p. 17 18 October 22, 2015 COURTESY BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM recalls of the eyewitness account. “She turned away from him for just a moment, and he was gone.” Minutes later, there was another sighting on the main floor — where he told her to come back for another visit. Presented with a book of photos after reporting the event to staff members, the woman identified her new acquaintance as black sheep son Samuel Tredwell (1825-1917). Although sightings of head-to-toe apparitions are rare, even by Merchant’s House standards, plenty of other odd and possibly otherworldly incidents take place — so many, in fact, that Bellov says “almost everyone involved with the Museum has had at least one unexplainable thing happen to them. The noteworthy thing is that people have experiences separated by several decades that are identical in every way.” Those experiences include hearing phantom notes from a piano that long ago ceased to function, and the sound of light snoring coming from a sofa (incidents taking place in the front Greek Revival parlor — replete with Tredwell family furnishings, some of which date back to before Gertrude was born). The Grecian sofa, notes Bellov, is now in the downstairs family room, where “there have been no further reports of invisible nappers.” Are these occurrences merely sounds once made in the house, that play on a loop and can be perceived when the certain atmospheric or psychological conditions are just right? If so, that in and of itself is pretty impressive proof of…well, something beyond what we experience in day-to-day life. And how, then, to explain how several people can be in a room, yet only some will be certain that they see, smell, or hear things? Such events took place with startling regularity during monthly visits throughout 2011 by the Sturges Paranormal team of veteran investigators, uninformed newbies, certified mediums, and this curious but sometimes less than brave reporter — who, in addition to finding similarities in the team’s accounts (during post-investigation one-on-one interviews), logged hundreds of “hits” on TriField Natural EMF (electromagnetic field) Meters. EMF fluctuations often corresponded with requests that any “spirit” present manipulate the device, via “once for yes, twice for no” responses to questions. Many times over the course of the year-long investigation, this reporter observed positive responses to the team’s request that anyone (or anything) present but not observable travel from meter to meter, thereby eliciting the buzzing sound that indicates a fluc- The living aren’t the only ones free to walk around the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum. tuation (three meters were typically placed in various locations around the room we were in). Proof of a sentient, otherworldly force interacting with us? No. But another possible explanation, that investigators themselves cause EMF meters to move by a psychic extension of wishful thinking, is every bit as provocative. Also experienced by some — but not all — of the group (five or six at any given time), as we were within feet of each other: a strong scent of tobacco in the bedroom of Seabury Tredwell, and disembodied Christmas carolers who were heard in the front parlor, accompanying the living. Discovered on audio or video upon leaving the house were bells, voices, and footsteps (most of which were not heard at the time of the recordings). Two investigators (Bellov and a purported psychic) both described, in their exit interviews, the same blue mist snaking its way down the staircase — at the top of which a family member is believed to have tumbled, sustaining injuries that would soon cause her death. The official Merchant’s House take on all of this, says Bellov (who was present during all of the Sturges investigations): “We’ll never say the Museum is haunted until we have actual, incontrovertible proof, whatever that may wind up being. All we can say is, ‘Strange things we can’t explain happen here very often.’ If it’s the Tredwells, we’re happy they’re still watching over their home, and we hope they approve of our own efforts to preserve it for future New Yorkers.” Tidbit-packed guidebook in hand, you can tour the house and court your own daytime encounter with the Tredwells or their servants — or take your chances during one of the atmospheric Candlelight Ghost Tours, during which many have reported brushes and tugs while surrounded by nothing but thin air. With the house decorated in 1865 funeral parlor chic (black crepe, coffin in the parlor, mourning attire on display), living history will come back to haunt you, as the guides give a roomby-room rundown of ghostly encounters through the years. The 50-minute tours begin every half hour, 6:30–9:30 p.m. on Oct. 23–24 and 28–30. Prices vary ($25-$35) according to tour time and a “Super-Spooky” option that includes a visit to the fourth floor servants’ quarters. For reservations (required) and more info on the Oct. 24 “Parlor to Grave” funeral reenactment/graveyard procession and a Halloween night dramatic reading of Gothic literature, visit merchantshouse.org or call 212-777-1089. Open Thurs.–Mon., noon–5 p.m. Admission is $10 ($5 for students & seniors, free for children under 12). Merchant’s House Museum is located at 29 E. Fourth St. (btw. Lafayette & Bowery). THE BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM Constructed over an eight-year period beginning in 1836 in order to accommodate the family of Thomas Pell (then an English doctor from Connecticut), the Grecian-style stone Bartow-Pell Mansion and the 220-acre estate it sits on opened to the public in 1946 — providing a rare glimpse into upscale 19th century country life in the Pelham Bay Park area. Many of its original occupants are still on site, in a graveyard filled with the remains of six Pell family members. Visitors can tour the garden and grounds, and explore the house (either on their own, or on guided tours). Either way, you might not want to go it solo — unless you have the intellectual curiosity and intestinal fortitude to find out what it’s like to be “alone” when you get the distinct feeling that you’re being watched, followed, or brushed up against (all things experienced by the public as well as staff members). In her decade at Bartow-Pell (first as a volunteer, then as Education Director and Curator), Margaret Highland can’t claim an unexplained encounter of her own — but she’s heard the stories. The upstairs, she notes, is prime real estate for paranormal occurrences. “When Dan [Sturges, of Sturges Paranormal] was in the bed chamber of George Bartow,” Highland recalls, “one of the psychics said he [George] had a disappointment in love.” Later, in a sound bite not heard by the group at the time, “Dan’s [tape] recorder picked up a voice saying it wasn’t the girls’ fault. The psychic said that George’s fiancée broke off their engagement.” In addition to sightings of a child’s ghost on the third floor (described similarly by witnesses through the years), indentations are frequently discovered on the Lannuier bed. Highland, who has seen them, speculates that it’s “probably the down settling, but who knows?” When Sturges asked the person responsible for sitting on the bed to identify themselves, he “picked up a voice that sounded like ‘Nathan Walker.’ We don’t know who he was, but we do have a piece of [19th century] embroidery made by an Abigail Walker.” Elsewhere in the Mansion, music, (absent the presence of instruments) has been heard, and “a tour guide thought he saw a person in a long skirt disappearing quickly,” Highland says, adding that others “have heard footsteps in the attic when we knew nobody was up there.” Short of claiming that the Bartow-Pell Mansion is haunted, Highland doesn’t hesitate to supply this explanation: “What I say is, ‘Anything’s possible.’ ” A “Cemetery Walk and Tombstone Talk” will take place on Thurs., Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. — first, with a candlelit trek to the Pell Cemetery, then inside for a lecture by tombstone expert and carver Robert Neal Carpenter. Cost: $20 ($15 for seniors and students). Registration required. The garden and grounds are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to dusk (free). Mansion hours are Wed., Sat. & Sun., noon–4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors & students, free for children under six. At 895 Shore Road, Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx. Call 718-885-1461 or visit bartowpellmansionmuseum.org. TheVillager.com Poe Cottage is a Bronx trip worth pondering He of limitless imagination was a man of modest means BY TRAV S.D. I COURTESY HISTORIC HOUSE TRUST ’ve only lived in New York for over 25 years — without ever getting around to visiting the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage, the home of one of my favorite writers. New Yorkers, you know the reason why. All together: “It’s in the Bronx!” Not because the Bronx is bad, but because it is far. From my house in Brooklyn, it’s nearly two hours away. It takes longer to get there than it takes to tour the museum. One strategy is to double your trip up with another nearby destination. I bundled my recent visit up there with a stop at the star-studded Woodlawn Cemetery. I highly recommend it. New York is one of four cities which have a Poe House Museum — the others being Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond. I intend to visit them all. The Edgar Allen Poe Cottage is maintained by the Bronx Historical Society. It’s where Poe lived and wrote from 1846 through his death in 1849, along with his child bride Virginia Clemm and her mother (who also happened to be his aunt — you do the math). Sadly, Virginia only lived there for a few weeks. Stricken with T.B., she perished on the premises. The bed where she expired is on view at the Poe Cottage. Most of the furniture, while historically appropriate, wasn’t part of the house when Poe lived there. Poe only outlived his wife by less than three years. It’s safe to say he never ceased mourning. A lot of his time was spent wandering around the still-rural Bronx, traipsing the High Bridge, and walking to Fordham (then St. John’s College) to rap with the Jesuit priests. It’s melancholy to contemplate. His modest house was surely the farthest thing from a distraction — more like the lifestyle of This cottage in the Bronx is where Poe lived and wrote from 1846 through his death in 1849. a monk. (Yes, I know this was Poe — a certain amount of his time was no doubt spent at taverns!) Still, I found the little cottage surprisingly bright and cheery, although I happened to be there on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon. But if you go there at night, who knows? There could be ghosts. The tour guide at the little museum was terrific: enthusiastic, animated and knowledgeable. Much of what I’ve already included in this article came from him. He also pointed out some other cool stuff: • An ironic newspaper clipping announcing Poe’s intention to start a new literary publication, The Stylus. The clip was from Oct. 7, 1849, the day Poe died while on a speaking tour in Baltimore. The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and operated by The Bronx County Historical Society, and is a member of the Historic House Trust. Hours: Thurs.–Fri. 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sun. 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Admission: $5 ($3 for students, seniors, children). Visit bronxhistoricalsociety.org and historichousetrust.org. • A mysterious blemish in a period mirror in the shape of, I dare say, a raven. • The house’s last remaining original pane of glass. Believe it or not, it’s fascinating, and the difference is noticeable (older glass is much less uniform and sheer, and full of swirls). AUCTION Being sick and hungry is an urgent crisis no one should face. Help us deliver hope, compassion and love, all wrapped up in a nutritious meal. November 12TH The Exclusive Village of Tuxedo Park, NY Minimum Bid $695,000 Original Ask $1,395,000 Fans of Poe’s writing will be interested to know that this is the house where he wrote the poem “Annabelle Lee,” about his deceased bride, and the impressionistic short story “Landor’s Cottage,” which some critics think may have been partially inspired by his home in the Bronx. Above all, your main takeaway is that this man of limitless imagination, this national treasure, was a man of very modest means, and that is instructive. It’s been said that Poe was one of the first Americans ever to make his living entirely from writing. He was clearly just about able to eke it out. Support your artists while they live, ladies and gentlemen! That is the lesson I draw from the Poe Cottage. • An Elegant, Private, Masterpiece in a 24 Hour Manned Gated Community • Impressive, spacious 5,800 sq. ft. 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath estate residence • Experience old world charm, the original Chastellux estate carriage house, with a complete 21st century renovation • A unique village of very special homes featuring 3 private lakes,the Village Boat Club, Wee Wah Beach Club, Tuxedo Park Country Club & Tuxedo Park School • One Hour commute to Manhattan via Metro North, I-87, commuter buses • Excellent private and public schools Must Call to Schedule Your Appointment Property Previews: OCTOBER 24,25 & NOVEMBER 1st 12-2PM ONLY godslovewedeliver.org What makes a pumpkin patch worthy? Schulz knows the struggle for sincerity ain’t just peanuts BY MAX BURBANK O IMDB/UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE INC. n October 27, 1966, CBS debuted an animated family Halloween special based on Charles M. Schulz’s syndicated newspaper comic strip, “Peanuts.” While seemingly a children’s cartoon, the themes on display were disappointment, alienation, neurosis, delusion, and despair. These were concerns Schulz gnawed over daily for decades on the “funny” pages of our nation’s newspapers — but here, they crystallized to a razor sharpness that still cuts as cleanly and deeply as the first time it was unsheathed. We watch it annually — and so, by repetition, we are desensitized to the childhood horror which is the true subject matter of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” The story is made up of three character arcs: the events of a single Halloween night and following morning as experienced by Linus Van Pelt, Charlie Brown and his dog, Snoopy. In this essay, I will examine each arc, arriving at some semblance of what Schulz intended to convey through the narrative. Is Linus engaging in a culturally sponsored make-believe, or does Schulz intend us to see him as actively delusional? CHARLIE October 22, 2015 IMDB/UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE INC. Is Linus clinically insane? Certainly he is neurotic. He sucks his thumb, he carries a blanket, he is sickened by the Freudian image of his sister gutting a Pumpkin. These almost Ibsen-esque weaknesses are taken as given, but does his belief in the “Great Pumpkin” indicate a diagnosable delusional state? How does Schulz intend us to see this? There are several distinct possibilities. Certainly, the Great Pumpkin is a parody of Santa Claus. Millions of children believe in a magical being in a flying sled, bringing an impossible number of gifts to an impossible number of people in a single night. Since this is a culturally endorsed myth, children are encouraged to engage with it, and so the question of mental health never arises. Here, though, Schulz grafts a similarly bizarre myth onto Halloween. Every year the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch, then finds the most “sincere,” and flies through the air delivering toys to good boys and girls. But beyond removing the Santa myth from its usual context to illustrate its absurdity, what do we make of this? In Schulz’s universe, has Linus did not come because he allowed himself an instant of doubt, saying “if” the Great Pumpkin comes instead of “when.” This hairline crack in his perfect faith is all it takes for him to be cast out, and it is here he is found and taken in late that night by his sister. This would seem comforting, but think: where are his parents? It is Halloween night and their child has not returned home, and is in fact sleeping alone outdoors. Where are the police? Where is the amber alert? No. It falls to his sibling, a child herself, to care for him. In Schulz’s universe, any appeal for adult succor goes unanswered. They exist, but are always unseen and non-functional. Producer Bill Melendez exploits this alienation to advantage, by rendering adult voices as unintelligible bleats on a muted trumpet. The use of Charlie Brown’s head as a model for a Jack O’Lantern is a concrete demonstration that he’s a non-person. created the Great Pumpkin myth himself? Does he assume that since Christmas has Santa, Halloween must have something similar? Are we to believe the practice of writing to, and waiting for, the Great Pumpkin — while rare compared with the practice of trick-or-treating — is recognized? Is Linus engaging in a culturally sponsored make-believe (like Santa), or does Schulz intend us to see him as actively delusional? If yes, his need to drag others into his belief system is disturbing. Linus exploits young Sally Brown’s crush on him and tries to indoctrinate her into the quasi-religious practice of waiting for the Great Pumpkin. She, in turn, personifies childhood’s fear of societal rejection. By believing in him, she has opened herself to ridicule, and missed the group affirmation of tricks or treats. Initially she offers her love, but this is soon replaced with blame and threats. Their status quo now completely reversed, Linus’s final emasculation comes in the form of a fainting spell when he believes he is having a religious experience and is witnessing the arrival of a god, but is in fact merely looking at a dog. He will lie on the ground, alone and unloved, convinced of his own unworthiness. The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, initially elated at having been invited to a Halloween party, is soon informed the invitation is a mistake. Not content to leave his alter ego isolated by simple exclusion, Schulz makes his singularity public through the ruse of a further mistake — his costume, a bed-sheet ghost with multiple eyeholes. A self-inflicted wound, he had trouble with the scissors. On a second level, as eyes are seen in literature as the “windows of the soul,” Brown has externalized his vulnerability. His soul is raw, open, unprotected. Compare his shame to Pigpen. Similarly individualized by his omnipresent cloud of filth, his pride and obvious self-esteem serve to cast Brown’s self-loathing in high relief. It is while trick-or-treating, however, that we see the true depth of Brown’s predicament. At each stop, as the costumed children describe their treats we learn Brown has received a rock instead of candy. What conclusions is Schulz inviting us to draw with these rocks? Are we to assume that the unseen, unreachable adults recognize Brown’s innate lack of human worth? Or is the universe itself casting him out? Does candy undergo a miracle of reverse transubstantiation, passing from food (the stuff of life) to rock (un-life) inside his trick-or-treat bag? Whereas Linus believes he is punished for sin and weakness, Brown is punished simply for existing. CHARLIE continued on p. 21 TheVillager.com Blood Manor delivers classic scares and a sense of humor The haunted house institution continues its winning streak BY SEAN EGAN W PHOTO BY BPS PRODUCTIONS, COURTESY BLOOD MANOR hen it comes to haunted houses, Blood Manor is one of the oldest games in town — and, barring the year-round tourist trap, Times Scare, might be the only game of its kind in Manhattan this year. This season, after more than a decade, the folks behind Blood Manor have doubled down on their winning formula. Blood Manor has always stood out for its broad appeal, never leaning on the extreme, oppressive tactics that have recently been in vogue for horror attractions. Indeed, its well-lit halls are open to teens as young as 14 by themselves, and rely mostly on creatively icky props and set designs, and ol’ reliable jump scares (though you’re guaranteed not to be touched by the actors). This year they deliver all that is expected of their (not quite) family-friendly, creepily campy, bloodsoaked brand. Individuals brave enough to enter the attraction will forge their way through with a group, on an approximately 20-minute tour of the Manor. The tenants of this (presumably rent-controlled) Manor include horror stalwarts such as killer clowns, mad scientists, chainsaw wielding psychos, and even demonic strippers. Almost all of these rooms are self-contained, so what it lacks in sustained tension and unity, it makes up for in variety. They’ve smartly kept some of their best set pieces this time around, including a disturbing butcher shop, and a demon carnival maze, rendered in delightfully headache-inducing neon colors (enhanced by the use of 3D glasses). One of Blood Manor’s strongest suits is its sense of humor, which is prominently on display. Whether it be the loopy, darkly humorous visual of a vivisected gorilla tied up and thrashing around, or a flamboyant actor warning you at the onset of the tour that you’ll have your “soul ripped out through your sphincter” if caught using cell phones during the visit, the Blood Man- Blood Manor delivers all that is expected of their (not quite) family-friendly, creepily campy, blood-soaked brand. or crew recognize the value of eliciting laughs as well as screams. Much of the credit for making the humor and scares work well goes to the actors (though the production design is also great and gorgeously gory throughout). They’re quick on their feet and witty, which helps to lend the whole production an infectious, energetic edge. It’s hard not to crack a smile after every jump scare when it’s clear that underneath all the makeup and prosthetics, the actors are having a blast digging into their dark and demented characters. Their commitment to their roles throughout is admirable, and the experience is all the better for it. Overall, it’s not incredibly scary — more jaded thrill-seekers should definitely look elsewhere for their kicks — but maybe it’s better this way. It’s got enough gory and goofy tricks up its sleeve to make traipsing through the house engaging and lively — and as a fun, good-natured, classic celebration of Halloween season, you probably can’t do much better than Blood Manor. After all, tradition is tradition for a reason. Blood Manor runs through Sat., Nov. 20. At 163 Varick St. (btw. Charlton & Vandam Sts.). Tickets are $30 (plus $3.50 handling fee) online and by phone, $35 at the door. R.I.P. express tickets are $45 (plus $3.50 handling fee) online and by phone, $50 at the door. For tickets and info, call 212-290-2825 or visit bloodmanor.com. Patchy logic, power of myth: A ‘Great Pumpkin’ analysis CHARLIE continued from p. 20 Later, at the party, Lucy will use his head as a model for a Jack O’Lantern, a concrete demonstration that Brown is a non-person. Think back to the opening scene where Lucy gutted a Pumpkin and Linus accused her of “killing” it. Is she metaphorically killing Brown now? Or are we meant to see her use of Brown as model pumpkin as a declaration that Linus’ moral inclinations are useless? And yet, it is Lucy, the ultimate denier of the piece, who alone demonstrates compassion when she later retrieves Linus from the pumpkin patch, delivering him from the place of his humiliation and failure to home and safety. Brown never even thinks to look TheVillager.com for Linus, and perhaps this weakness is all the justification needed for his lowest of all tribal status. SNOOPY In Snoopy, Schulz presents the classic Wise Fool as alternative. With this dog there is no line between fantasy and reality. What he imagines (in this case that he is a World War I flying ace) simply is, for as long as the belief suits him. When the time seems right, belief is abandoned without guilt. Compare this to the agony suffered by Linus over his crisis of faith, or Brown’s utter helplessness. It is worth noting that the exact moment Snoopy abandons his hero fantasy is his kiss with Lucy, a kiss that utterly (if briefly) destroys her status mastery. Snoopy is free of guilt, free from expectation, immune to claims of tribal status. But Snoopy is a dog. He can ape humanity, but is not human. Linus and Brown are allowed to see the successful alternative he represents, but are barred from embracing it by their essential nature. Like Brown’s ersatz party invitation, Snoopy’s lifestyle is a reward that is never truly on offer. CONCLUSION In the universe of “Peanuts,” can one hope for growth or change? Sadly, no. In the closing scene, Brown assumes the experience in the pumpkin patch has caused Linus to abandon faith and embrace a more existential approach. Linus is insulted. His faith is, if anything, stronger. And why shouldn’t it be? Linus and Brown both come to the same unrewarding end. No toys for the unfaithful Linus, no candy for the unlucky Brown. Why learn the lesson of experience if it yields us nothing? False hope trumps nihilism because false though it may be, it’s still hope. In the end, it is the struggle for sincerity and not the sincerity itself that makes the pumpkin patch truly worthy. “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will air on ABC at 8 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 29. “The Peanuts Movie” opens nationwide on Nov. 6. October 22, 2015 21 To Advertise Call: 646-452-2490 [email protected] Deadline â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 noon Wednesday 22 To Advertise Call: 646-452-2490 [email protected] Deadline – 12 noon Wednesday Neighbor hits roof over roof parties Why Pay More? G.L.W.D. continued from p. 8 loud music. “Richie Gamba, my 78-year-old friend who is often called ‘The Mayor of Spring St.’ lives next door at 203 Spring St., and is practically apoplectic about all of this,” Pincus added. “A monster sound system has been installed,” the artist said, “and the use of this weapon is absolutely despicable. The people who are running this operation are fully aware of what they are doing. They are advertising it in brochures. Pincus discovered that God’s Love is advertising the spaces online as available for “special events” seven days a week. The 2,600-square-foot rooftop, a.k.a. “The Roof,” billed as having a capacity of 230 people for cocktails, or 18 seated, rents for $8,000 for corporate or private events or $4,000 for nonprofit events. The fifth floor, or “Party on 5,” which has 1,280 square feet of indoor space and 2,100 of outdoor terrace space, also has a 230-person capacity for cocktails, or 90 seated inside, plus 60 seated outside, with the same rates as the roof. And a roof-plus-fifth floor combo is advertised for $12,000 private/corporate or $6,000 nonprofit. The available hours are listed as 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. For weekend events, an extra $2,500 is tacked on. “Meetings and special events only. Fundraisers are not permitted,” the site states. “The Roof” is marketed as providing “a premier private event destination in Manhattan’s Soho district. With breathtaking city views...and an open air herb garden, The Roof is a luxurious and lush setting for your next celebration. … The easily accessible Soho location is ideal for social or corporate functions of all occasions.” With its combination of indoor and outdoor space, “Party on 5,” meanwhile, is described on the Web page as “perfect for any special event, combining state-of-the-art sound and light technology and stunning Soho views. … God’s Love We Deliver is the perfect venue to host corporate functions, fashion shows or weddings.” There is also a luncheon or breakfast rental for the fifth floor, a.k.a. “Meeting on 5” — with “100 seated classroom style,” inside the fifth floor — from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., for $4,000 private/corporate or $2,000 nonprofit. Pincus said Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance, told him that even though G.L.W.D. doesn’t have a liquor license, they are likely getting around this by having the events’ caterers obtain liquor licenses on a case-by-case basis. Tobi Bergman, chairperson of Community Board 2, said the board did not know G.L.W.D. would be using its building for open-air evening parties with amplified music. “This looks like an event business and it comes as a complete surprise,” Bergman said. “C.B. 2 supported the controversial expansion because we were told the purpose was to provide space for the group’s operations to serve more people. Rooftop parties always cause a nuisance in a residential area, and that’s just not acceptable. That said, we look forward to bringing the neighbors together with God’s Love We Deliver to assure their future ability to use their building productively without causing disturbance.” The “controversial” aspect of the G.L.W.D. construction project that Bergman referred to was the organization’s selling of $6 million worth of its air rights to an adjacent luxury residential development. Neighbors who opposed both projects protested that because a deed restriction on the God’s Love property — which was formerly a city-owned library — mandates community use, the development rights could not then be transferred for a private, market-rate use. But Karen Pearl, God’s Love’s executive director, said the deed didn’t cover air rights. However, Bergman said the only discussion of outdoor use that G.L.W.D. presented to the board during the project’s public review was that neighbors from the new residential building would technically have access to the meals provider’s rooftop — which, in turn, helped fulfill the residential project’s open-space requirement. As reported by The Villager in April, in the case of the new Whitney Museum of American Art on Gansevoort St., the museum was upfront about the use of its outdoor terraces for events, and the community was intimately involved in the discussions. Ultimately, local activists Elaine Young and Zack Winestine negotiated what Young called “a very complicated S.L.A. agreement” with the Whitney, under which there will only be six events with amplified sound on the terraces per year. The State Liquor Authority approved the stipulations, according to Young. In a statement, a God’s Love spokesperson said, “From the first day and throughout the application process, we informed the public that we have a multipurpose space that can accommodate a variety of functions, including educational, volunteer recognition, staff, fundraising and donor cultivation events. We will continue to ensure that we and all those using the space comply with applicable ordinances and regulations moving forward.” According to a source, God’s Love — despite its pitches for the spaces’ use on its Web site — does not envision they will be used that heavily, mainly due to the cost. “The pricing is such that it won’t be hosting that many events,” the source said. “The idea is for the space to provide very limited events. They’ve made it available to some nonprofits already for free. A few smaller nonprofit receptions have already taken place, like two or three.” However, Pincus will believe that when he sees — or rather, hears, or doesn’t hear — it, and is ready to take action, if needed. “If this big noise is not silenced, I will make plenty of noise myself in the name of this community,” he vowed. “I’m not going to be driven out of my home by these people, and we will band together to take legal action if the press and pols don’t care.” Call noW 646-452-2490 to advertise all your legals and naMe Changes CALL For more news and events happening now visit TO ADVERTISE TheVillager.com Gallery owner grew garden GARDEN continued from p. 9 al Harvest Fest on Sat., Oct. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Replacing the garden with housing means the open space would be lost forever, Reiver said. On the other hand, housing can always be built at another location — such as at a far larger site identified by Tobi Bergman, chairperson of Community Board 2, at Hudson and Clarkson Sts. “I don’t think there’s any question,” Reiver said, “nobody in New York City will ever tear down a building to create a park. And once the park is destroyed, it’s destroyed forever. “I was a developer for many years and I was a lawyer, as well, and there’s a simple solution to the problem of affordable housing,” he offered. “You merely require that anyone building housing provide a certain amount of affordable housing. In return, you give them additional F.A.R.,” he said, referring to “floor area ratio,” which is the amount of allowable development square footage. In fact, the de Blasio administration currently is proposing to do exactly this, but only for districts or specific projects where a rezoning is involved — as opposed to all building projects, in general. Reiver has been paying the city the same rent for the garden lot since 1991 — $4,000 a month, or $48,000 a year. He said he sells about one or two of his pieces from the garden each year. However, the garden is really a “branding mechanism” for the gallery, he said, which actually does most of its business online and from a warehouse. “I could have very easily stored stuff on top of dirt and gravel,” he said of the garden. “It was a way of creating something beautiful. It was an ugly lot and I could make it pretty. I did it in 1991 because I lived across from it and it looked like s---.” Reiver direly predicted, “If you’re going to build on the Elizabeth St. Garden, Central Park will be next. If you look in the history books, you’ll find three or four proposals to develop buildings in Central Park.” Harvest/Halloween fun at Eliz. Garden If you want to enjoy the Elizabeth St. Garden in full swing, check out its third annual Harvest Fest on Sat., Oct. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. (Rain date Sun., Oct. 25). Enter on either Elizabeth or Motts Sts., between Prince and Spring Sts. It will be a full day of free activities for all ages, including live music — such as Jason Harrod & Friends —  and “lite bites” donated by neighborhood eateries. There will be an “edible garden tour” with Dr. Gabrielle Francis, a holistic physician and herbalist. Also on tap is a cooking demonstration by Alan Wise, the chef de cuisine of PUBLIC. People will be able to design their own greeting cards with pressed leaves by Open Window. For kids there will be face painting, pumpkin decorating, scientific garden exploration and a “Ghastly Garden of Ghouls Halloween Party,” with art by McNally Jackson Books, featuring Liniers, the Argentine cartoonist and children’s book author. On top of all that, you can plant daffodils and, for early birds, do vinyasa yoga at 11 a.m. Kids fuming over Styrofoam reversal STYROFOAM continued from p. 10 York that the vast majority of food-serving businesses in the city had already stopped, or never started, using Styrofoam products — a list that now includes the city’s two biggest former offenders, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. The city’s school cafeterias, including those in the East Village, are already Styrofoam-free, which Cohen said won’t change, no matter what happens with the ban. In May, six of the nation’s largest school districts, including New York City, ditched polystyrene trays for eco-friendly compostable plates. “Technically, [the ruling] doesn’t affect it at all,” Cohen said of the absence of Styrofoam in the city’s schools. Polystyrene trays are around one-third the cost of compostable ones — about 4 cents apiece, compared to about 12 cents. “It’s a five-year contract and who knows who the mayor will be then,” Cohen said. “But they now have a product that’s not quite cost-neutral, but almost, and prices will come down. The main reason for not doing it was the cost, and now it’s dropped down, and will continue to go down.” The Styrofoam puppets made at the community center recently made an appearance as part of TheVillager.com the People’s Climate Movement Day of Action on Wed., Oct. 14, when two volunteers carried them from their permanent home in the storefront of toy store Dinosaur Hill, at 306 E. Ninth St., to the Flatiron Plaza, at E. 23rd St. and Fifth Ave. Artie Athas, one of the volunteers, said his son Hudson, a fifth grader at The Earth School on E. Sixth St., was one of the kids involved in advocating against polystyrene. “He participated in spreading the word among his fellow classmates and his teachers. He just wanted to make a positive effect in his school,” Athas said, in between shouting “Happy Climate Action Day!” to passersby. “It’s about keeping the ban, keeping it going,” he said. “It doesn’t look like it will affect the schools, but we certainly don’t want it to get that far.” As for the rest of the kids at P.S. 34 and elsewhere, Cohen didn’t rule out taking further action, adding that she was hopeful the ban would prevail in the end. “We are still deciding what to do. We’re considering doing some sort of petition or boycott,” she said. “But we might not need to, because there’s a lot of energy and momentum around this.” Staying in the loop has never been easier! 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i don't know

What Cuban favorite consists of white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, sparkling water and mint?

How To Make The Mojito - Best Drink Recipes - YouTube How To Make The Mojito - Best Drink Recipes Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 28, 2014 Traditionally, a mojito is a cocktail that consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island. Its combination of sweetness, refreshing citrus, and mint flavors is intended to complement the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink. The cocktail has a relatively low alcohol content (about 10 percent alcohol by volume). When preparing a mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with whole ice cubes and sparkling soda water. Mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass. The mojito is one of the most famous rum-based highballs. There are several versions of the mojito. The Mojito translates to "Something a little wet",[8] never originally contained lime juice and La Bodeguita del Medio is more known for their food rather than drink, infact the mojito has never been on their menu. Cuba is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. One story traces the Mojito to a similar 19th century drink known as "El Draque", after Francis Drake. In 1586, after his successful raid at Cartagena de Indias Drake's ships sailed towards Havana but there was an epidemic of dysentery and scurvy on board. It was known that the local South American Indians had remedies for various tropical illnesses; so a small boarding party went ashore on Cuba and came back with ingredients for a medicine which was effective. The ingredients were aguardiente de caña (a crude form of rum, translates as fire water from sugar cane) added with local tropical ingredients; lime, sugarcane juice and mint. Drinking lime juice in itself would have been a great help in staving off scurvy and dysentery. Tafia/Rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients. Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail's origin. Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos, was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar. There are several theories behind the origin of the name Mojito; one such theory holds that name relates to mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes.[4][16] Another theory is that the name Mojito is simply a derivative of mojadito (Spanish for "a little wet") or simply the diminutive of mojado ("wet"). Due to the vast influence of immigration from the Canary Islands, the term probably came from the mojo creole marinades adapted in Cuba using citrus vs traditional Isleno types. The Mojito was a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del Medio famous as he became one of its regulars and he wrote "My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita. " This expression in English can still be read on the wall of the bar today, in his handwriting. Category

Mojito

What's missing: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, The Universe, and Everything, So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish, and Mostly Harmless?

Cuban Mojito Recipe (Video) | The History, Culture and Legacy of the People of Cuba Cuban Mojito Recipe (Video) Served On the rocks; poured over ice Standard garnish sprig of mint (Yerba buena in the original recipe) Standard drinkware Collins glass 3.0 cl Fresh lime juice 3 leaves of Mint Soda Water Preparation Mint sprigs muddled with sugar and lime juice. Rum added and topped with soda water. Garnished with sprig of mint leaves. Served with a straw. Mojito ( /moʊˈhiːtoʊ/; Spanish: [moˈxito]) is a traditional Cuban highball. Traditionally, a Mojito is not very strong (c.10% abv) and made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkling water and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island. Its combination of sweetness, refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to complement the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink. When preparing a Mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with whole ice cubes and sparkling soda water. Mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass. The mojito is one of the most famous rum-based highballs. Origin Cuba is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. One story traces the Mojito to a similar 16th century drink, the “El Draque”, in honor of Sir Francis Drake. It was made initially with tafia/aguardiente, a primitive predecessor of rum, but rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients. Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail’s origin. Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos, was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar. There are several theories behind the origin of the name Mojito; one such theory holds that name relates to mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes. Another theory is that the name Mojito is simply a derivative of mojadito, Spanish for “a little wet”, or simply the diminutive of “mojado” (wet). The Mojito was a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del medio famous as he became one of its regulars and he wrote “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita“. This expression in English can still be read on the wall of the bar today, in his handwriting. Sources: Wiki/CubanNMojito/ InternetPhoto/Barschool/Youtube/ TheCubanHistory.com Cuban Mojito Recipe (Video)/ The Cuban History/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor (SPANISH) Servido en las rocas, se vierte sobre hielo Guarnición estándar ramita de hierbabuena (Yerba Buena, en la receta original) Estándar drinkware Collins vidrio 4,0 cl de ron blanco 3,0 cl de jugo de limón fresco 3 hojas de menta Soda Preparación Ramitas de menta mezclada con azúcar y el jugo de limón. Ron añadido y cubierto con agua de soda. Adornado con una ramita de hojas de menta. Se sirve con una pajita. Mojito (/ moʊhi toʊ ː /; español: [moxito]) es un vaso de whisky tradicional cubana. Tradicionalmente, un mojito no es muy fuerte (c.10% vol) y consta de cinco componentes: ron blanco, azúcar (tradicionalmente azúcar jugo de caña), jugo de limón, agua con gas y la menta. La receta original cubano utiliza menta o yerba buena, una gran variedad de menta muy popular en la isla. Su combinación de dulzura, de cítricos y refrescantes sabores de menta están destinadas a complementar el saque potente del ron, y han hecho de este highball claro una bebida popular del verano. Al preparar un Mojito, jugo de limón se agrega al azúcar (o jarabe) y hojas de menta. La mezcla es luego suavemente con un puré de Muddler. Las hojas de menta sólo debe ser molido para liberar los aceites esenciales y no deben ser triturados. A continuación, se añade el ron y la mezcla se agita brevemente para disolver el azúcar y el levantamiento de las hojas de menta desde la parte inferior para una mejor presentación. Finalmente, la bebida se remata con cubitos de hielo y agua de soda todo gas. Hojas de menta y rodajas de limón se utilizan para decorar el vidrio. El mojito es uno de los más famosos base de ron highballs. Origen Cuba es la cuna del Mojito, aunque el origen exacto de este cóctel clásico es el tema de debate. Una traza la historia del Mojito una bebida similares siglo 16, el “El Draque”, en honor de Sir Francis Drake. Que se hizo inicialmente con el aguardiente de caña / aguardiente, un predecesor primitivo de ron, pero el ron era utilizado tan pronto como se hizo ampliamente disponible para los británicos (ca. 1650). Menta, limón y azúcar también fueron útiles para ocultar el sabor áspero de este espíritu. Aunque esta bebida no se llamaba un mojito en este momento, sigue siendo la original combinación de estos ingredientes. Algunos historiadores sostienen que los esclavos africanos que trabajaban en los campos de caña de azúcar cubana durante el siglo 19 fueron fundamentales en el origen de la coctelería. Guarapo, el jugo de la caña de azúcar de uso frecuente en Mojitos, era una bebida popular entre los esclavos que ayudó a crear el nombre del dulce néctar. Hay varias teorías detrás del origen del nombre de Mojito, una de estas teorías sostiene que el nombre se relaciona con mojo, un condimento cubano a partir de la cal y se utiliza para platos de sabor. Otra teoría es que el Mojito nombre es simplemente un derivado de la mojadito, español para “un poco húmeda”, o simplemente el diminutivo de “mojado” (mojado). El Mojito es la bebida favorita de Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway hizo el bar llamado La Bodeguita del Medio, famosa como él se convirtió en uno de sus habituales y escribió: “Mi mojito en La Bodeguita, mis daiquiris en El Floridita”. Esta expresión en Inglés aún se puede leer en la pared de la barra de hoy , de puño y letra. Fuentes: Wiki / CubanNMojito / InternetPhoto / Barschool / Youtube / TheCubanHistory.com Receta Mojito cubano (Video) / La Historia de Cuba / Arnoldo Varona, Editor

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Combining equal parts of yellow and blue produce what color?

4 Ways to Make Gray - wikiHow Using Color Theory 1 Mix black and white. Combining black and white will result in a color known as "neutral gray." [1] Neutral gray is the purest type of gray you can create because it has no other tint or hue. Equal parts of black and white should create a mid-tone gray. Vary the shade by adding more of either color. More black creates a darker gray, and more white creates a lighter gray. 2 Combine equal parts of complementary colors. Mixing two complementary colors will result in a color classified as "complementary gray." The basic color complements are: Red and green Making Gray Paint 1 Choose which type of gray to create. Neutral gray, complementary gray, and primary gray are easy to create with paint, but the best option depends on the paint colors you have and the desired application. Neutral gray can be a great way to tone done other colors without altering the actual hue. Overall, it works best when you know you'll need gray in its purest form. Complementary gray works best if you want to give cool or warm tints to the hue of the gray. Primary gray works well when you need to create shadows or pair the gray next to a brighter color. Since primary gray contains all three primary colors, it can make nearby secondary colors look brighter. 2 Combine equal amounts of the appropriate colors. Pour equal amounts of the involved colors into a paint dish or onto a paint palette. Mix thoroughly using a painter's stick until the colors are equally blended. To review, your color options are: Black and white Making Gray Frosting 1 Pick the type of gray. Neutral gray is the easiest to create when working with icing, but you can still make complementary and primary grays. It's best to stick with neutral gray if you want a pure hue, but you can consider the other two types if you'd prefer a tinted gray. Since readily available packages of liquid food color come with red, yellow, green, and blue, you'll need to create primary (red, yellow, blue) gray or complementary (red and green) gray if you plan to use standard liquid food coloring. If you buy specialty gel or paste food coloring, however, you can create any of the three types since these food colorings have a wider variety of color options. 2 Drop the involved colors into white icing. Spoon the needed amount of white frosting into a glass bowl. Gradually add the involved colors and mix until fully combined. As a reminder, the color options are: Black and white (note: you do not need to add white food coloring since the icing itself is white) [3] Blue and orange Making Gray Polymer Clay 1 Choose the gray you wish to create. You can make neutral, complementary, or primary gray using polymer clay. Choose whichever option appeals most to you. If you want to create a pure gray without any tint, it's best to create a neutral gray. If you do want to tint the gray, though, primary or complementary grays can simplify the process and reduce your overall number of supplies. 2 Pinch off equal parts of the involved colors. Grab equal amounts of each involved color. Knead the colors separately, then knead them together. Your color options are: Yellow and purple Red, yellow, and green To knead the colors together, simply stick the separate colors together and roll the mashed ball in between your hands, flattening and re-rolling as needed. Continue until no marbling remains. The colors should be evenly mixed into a solid gray. 3 Lighten the color, if desired. If you want to lighten the color without changing its value, knead a pinch of translucent clay into the ball of gray. [6] Translucent clay has no color, so it won't change the shade or hue of the gray. Instead, it will simply make the gray seem duller and less vibrant. When choosing how much translucent clay to use, the total amount should not exceed one-third the total amount of your gray clay. 4 Lighten the shade, if desired. When you want to lighten the actual shade of the gray, knead a small amount of white into the existing ball. You can add white regardless of the colors used to create the original gray. While you could technically darken the color by adding black, it can be difficult to mix black clay into other colors without ruining them. Darkening neutral gray in this manner is much easier, though, since it already contains a black component. 5 Consider tinting the clay. Once you're satisfied with the saturation of color and shade, determine whether or not you want to add a tint. Tint the clay by mixing in small amounts of one color. You should be able to use nearly any color when tinting neutral gray, but you'll need to stick with one of the original colors when tinting complementary or primary grays. Community Q&A What pencil colors will make gray? wikiHow Contributor Your pencil as in normal pencil that doesn't have any color. Or you can do add a light texture of black and add white. Test this on a piece of paper so you know what color/shade you like.

Green

What unit of length is defined as the mean distance between the earth and the sun (approximately 149,597,871 km)?

Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics, and You: Light and Color - Primary Colors Home Primary Colors The human eye is sensitive to a narrow band of electromagnetic radiation that lies in the wavelength range between 400 and 700 nanometers, commonly known as the visible light spectrum. This small span of electromagnetic radiation is the sole source of color. All of the wavelengths present in visible light form colorless white light when they are combined, but can be refracted and dispersed into their individual colors by means of a prism. The colors red, green, and blue are classically considered the primary colors because they are fundamental to human vision. All other colors of the visible light spectrum can be produced by properly adding different combinations of these three colors. Moreover, adding equal amounts of red, green, and blue light produces white light and, therefore, these colors are also often described as the primary additive colors. Interactive Java Tutorial Explore how the primary additive colors interact with one another to form new colors.   As illustrated by means of the overlapping color circles in Figure 1, if equal portions of green and blue light are added together, the resultant color is cyan. Similarly, equal portions of green and red light produce the color yellow, and equal portions of red and blue light yield the color magenta. The colors cyan, magenta, and yellow are commonly termed the complementary colors because each complements one of the primary colors, meaning that the two colors can combine to create white light. For instance, yellow (red plus green) is the complement of blue because when the two colors are added together white light is produced. In the same way cyan (green plus blue) is the complement of red, and magenta (red plus blue) is the complement of green light. Interactive Java Tutorial Primary Subtractive Colors Examine how the primary subtractive colors combine to form the primary additives, as well as black, the absence of all color.   The complementary colors (cyan, yellow, and magenta) are sometimes alternatively referred to as the subtractive primaries. This is because each one can be formed by subtracting one of the primary additives (red, green, and blue) from white light. For example, yellow light is seen when all blue light is removed from white light, magenta when green is removed, and cyan when red is removed. Consequently, when all three of the subtractive primary colors are combined, all of the additive primary colors are subtracted from white light, which results in black, the absence of all color. Thus far this discussion has centered on the properties of visible light with respect to the addition and subtraction of transmitted visible light, which is often visualized on the screen of a computer or television. Most of what is actually seen in the real world, however, is light that is reflected from surrounding objects, such as people, buildings, automobiles, and landscapes. These objects do not produce light themselves, but emit color through a process known as color subtraction in which certain wavelengths of light are subtracted, or absorbed, and others are reflected. For instance, a cherry appears red in natural sunlight because it is reflecting red wavelengths and absorbing all other colors. The series of photographs presented below in Figure 2 helps further illustrate this concept. In the first photograph on the left, a playing card, a green bell pepper, and a cluster of purple grapes are illuminated with white light and appear as one would expect to see them under natural lighting. In the second photograph, however, the objects are illuminated with red light. Note that the playing card reflects all of the light that strikes it, while only the grape stem and highlights on the grapes and pepper reflect the red light. The majority of the red light is being absorbed by the grapes and pepper. The third photograph shows the objects under green illumination. The different radiation wavelength causes the symbols on the playing card to appear black and the body of the card to reflect green light. The grapes reflect some green light, while the pepper appears normal, but with green highlights. The fourth photograph illustrates the objects under blue illumination. In this situation, the grape cluster appears normal with blue highlights, but the stem is invisible because it blends into the black background. The body of the playing card reflects blue light and the symbols appear black, while the pepper only reflects blue light as highlights. Interactive Java Tutorial Color Filters Investigate how color filters operate to alter the apparent color of objects visualized under white light and monochromatic illumination.   The human eye can perceive very slight differences in color and is believed to be capable of distinguishing between 8 to 12 million individual shades. Yet, most colors contain some proportion of all wavelengths in the visible spectrum. What really varies from color to color is the distribution of those wavelengths. The predominant wavelengths of a color determine its basic hue, which can be, for example, purple or orange. It is the ratio of the dominant wavelengths to other wavelengths, however, that determines the color saturation of the sample and whether it appears pale or deeply saturated. The intensity of the color and reflectivity of the object being imaged, on the other hand, determine the brightness of the color, which controls, for instance, whether something appears dark or light blue. Over the years, various classification systems have been devised to systematically express color in terms of these concepts. One of the most widely accepted has been the Munsell Color Tree, which appears below in Figure 3. As illustrated, each color in this system is represented by a distinct position on the tree. Hue color value is represented by placement on the circumference, saturation by the horizontal distance of the color from the central axis, and brightness by the vertical position on the trunk. When learning about color, it is also important to consider pigments and dyes, which are responsible for much of the color that appears on Earth. For instance, the natural protein pigments that are contained in eyes, skin, and hair reflect and absorb light in such a way that creates a beautiful diversity of appearances in the human race. In order to achieve a similar diversity of color in inanimate objects, such as automobiles, airplanes, and houses, they are frequently coated with pigment-containing paints and portray different shades through the process of color subtraction. Printed items, such as books, magazines, signs and billboards, create colors in the same fundamental way, but through the help of dyes or inks, rather than pigments. All color photographs, and other images that are printed or painted, are produced using just four colored inks or dyes--magenta, cyan, yellow (the subtractive primaries) and black. Mixing inks or dyes of these colors in differing proportions can produce the colors necessary to reproduce almost any image or color. The three subtractive primaries could, in theory, be used alone. However, the limitations of most dyes and inks make it necessary to add black to achieve true color tones. When an image is being prepared for printing in a book or magazine, it is first separated into the component subtractive primaries, either photographically or with a computer as illustrated above in Figure 4. Each separated component is then made into a film that is used to prepare a printing plate for that color. The final image is created by sequentially printing each color plate, one on top of another, using the appropriate ink to form a composite that recreates the appearance of the original. Paint is produced in a somewhat similar manner. Again, only the subtractive primaries and black are required. Base pigments containing these colors are mixed together to form the various colors used in final paint preparations. Interactive Java Tutorial Color Separation Discover how the subtractive primaries are separated from an image and are made into color plates that can be used to produce realistically colored prints.   A clear understanding of the color concepts previously discussed is extremely important when using a microscope to view and capture color images. Microscope light sources are usually tungsten-halogen bulbs that can emit a bright light with a color temperature around 3200 Kelvin. To the observer, this appears as white light that can be absorbed, refracted, reflected, polarized, and/or transmitted by a specimen on the microscope stage. The rules of primary colors apply to how the specimen interacts with microscope light and what colors are displayed as the sample is visualized in the eyepieces. The same rules also apply to the film used to capture photomicrographs. Contributing Authors Mortimer Abramowitz - Olympus America, Inc., Two Corporate Center Drive., Melville, New York, 11747. Shannon H. Neaves and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.

i don't know

Wings sang behind what singing legend, which Guinness calls the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music?

Greatest Song Writers - Top Ten List - TheTopTens® Greatest Song Writers The Top Ten 1 Pal Waaktaar Savoy Unknown by many, Pals lyrics and melodies are a work of creative genius. The pop success of 'Take on me' left many believing a-ha were no more than a pop band, but later albums, and even other tracks from a-ha's debut album "Hunting High and Low" demonstrated that there was more to this composer than met the eye. 9 a-ha albums, 5 Savoy albums and a number of collaborations later, Pal Waaktaar-Savoy is a consummate writer, capable of setting a phrase or refrain in such a way as to twist emotion downwards, or send it soaring. He is, most definitely, my number 1 song writer. He is the greatest songwriter, every song he wrote was fantastic. Songs like "Out of blue comes green", Hunting High And Low", "East of the sun west of the moon" are masterpieces. We will never forget Morten's voice, Mags riffs and your wonderful songs. A-HA FOREVER I love his songs from a-ha and Savoy and I would be glad to hear new songs from him. A truly underrated songwriter and musician - this man doesn't get the amount of credit he deserves for his work with both a-ha and Savoy V 27 Comments 2 Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana and passed away on June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson was a singer, songwriter, producer, choreographer, entertainer and humanitarian. He donated (at least) a remarkable 300,000,000 dollars to charity. Michael is also known as The King ... read more . Michael so many amazing songs including "Billie Jean" "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" "Wanna Be Startin' Something" "Bad" "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" "Black or White" "Beat It" "Heal the World" "Earth Song" "They Don't Care About Us" "Stranger in Moscow" and much, much more... - MJforevertheKing The reason why he is the best songwriter is very simple: he wrote loads of songs that have a connection with him and ALL of his fans. They are all the better taken forward to the epicenter of Michael's creations. Moreover, in terms of quantity, Michael has still so many songs sleeping in vaults that will show in the future that he was still the King Of Songwriting. Wait for songs like "Breed", "ays in Gloucestershire" or "World Of Candy"! Michael's own solo written and produced tracks were always instant hits. Don't Stop til You Get Enough, You Rock My World, and Black Or White are just some examples of his greatness. Michael has written a few tacky songs, but of course never released them on an album and only gave us his best! One of the greatest songwriters of our generation, and easily one of the best ever! In terms of recognition, his captivating stage presence and dancing, I think, overshadows his gift for both singing and songwriting - gifts that make him one of my top favourite songwriters. Michael Jackson not only wrote some of the best lyrics (which created universal anthems), but he also executed them with his unmatched signing talent in great triumph that is still felt today and forever V 18 Comments 3 Bob Dylan Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, artist and writer . he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016 . I am giving up on this site after seeing this. His songs are just songs they are poems that embody the whole word. He was considered the voice of his generation, the same generation that had the civil rights movement and Vietnam. Like a rolling stone is the most important song in the history of modern music. The reason he is so low has to be people don't know who he is anymore and because of that, to quote dr farnsworth "i don't want to live on this planet anymore" The guy has influenced practically every songwriter from Lennon to Jack White, and US presidents have even made references to his lyrics in their very inauguration speeches. Not only did he teach the world that good songs don't have to be about broken hearts by writing lyrics that actually seem relevant, he also wrote some of the finest melodies ever in his unique, yet down-to-earth style. This guy should be number one, for ever! - PeterLuke A songwriter who crosses into the realms of some the greatest poets and writers who have ever lived. In a thousand years time he will be remembered along side William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Dylan Thomas, Ezra Pound and Edgar Allen Poe his words will never be forgotten. He sang at The march on Washington (his song 'When the ship comes in') which saw Martin Luther king Jr produce his iconic 'I have a dream' speech. In conclusion his words were not only beautiful but extremely relevant, he fought not only the injustice of sending men to die in an unnecessary war but the unforgivable treatment of black Americans by the American police force and other authorities, He must therefore be regarded without any questionable doubt as the greatest songwriters of all time, nobody before or since has even come close to this poetic genius. - liamh1381 Bob Dylan is THE greatest song writer of ALL time V 34 Comments 4 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40 . John and than Paul. This is not just my opinion this is the way it should be. With songs like imagine, come together, dear prudence, all you need is love, strawberry fields forever and I want to hold your hand there really is no way that he shouldn't be number one. Hands down the greatest musician to ever live. He inspired many great musicians that most people worship, and he pioneered many genres. If you talk about who wrote the best music it is definitely Lennon. And about lyrics, he makes a fight with Morrissey and Bob Dylan. Lennon was a great songwriter but not a great musician. McCartney and Harrison were both more skilled and versatile on their instruments. Lennon was smart. He wrote great songs and surrounded himself with outstanding musicians. John lennon is number 1 song writer in the world.. but why is in the number 5? V 6 Comments 5 Yoshiki Hayashi Yoshiki Hayashi is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Better known by his stage name Yoshiki, he is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the heavy metal band X Japan, for which he is the drummer, pianist and main songwriter. The band achieved breakthrough success ... read more . Maybe for some it takes a while to realise what the words he transformed in songs mean, but when you get their meaning, they make you cry every time you listen to them. Sang or not. Some dispute his genius, but there's nothing to argue about. He just wrote a part from what humans feel. Just that simple, to get people crying or at least be moved by some words. Come on guys, check that ballads' meaning, you'll get what I'm blabbering here. You'll not lose your time, just gain something instead an genius at this place.. He is the best song writers I've ever meet.. - ragil_19 how come he's not on the list? he's the world greatest song writer. metal, rock, ballad, even classical! he has them all! music is his blood! - kurenai_tenshi His song touches our heart V 6 Comments 6 Tim Rice-Oxley Tim has the power to say the most complicated emotions in the simplest of words! He has the gift of moving hearts with his words. It there is one person who really knows about human emotions and human condition, that's him. He might not be that well known because he is not into the whole rockstar culture and the high life, but he's got the ability to move thousands of people with his lyrics and that's why from a 14 year old to a 50 year old weeps at his lyrics at concerts and behind their closed doors. Tim Rice Oxley is a modern maestro... Or as we say MaesT. R.O... He truely deserves to be on the list of the best lyricist of this century! I really can't sum up all my feelings for this great songwriter, he is deep in an emotional way, his music touches the most intimate vibes of the human kind, no matter what age, language, gender you are, you will feel related to his writing. His melodies are in a way melodic and catchy, they are sometimes dramatic and intense, the melodies speak for themselves. There is no song of Tim that I don�'t enjoy. He talks about so many things, not only love and lost, the path of the human being growing old, the modern world issues, how people change, how you loose friends, how your loved one has become a stranger to you. I love Tim in so many ways that I can�'t describe, his lyrics have changed my life for the better, they took me from the darkest places and showed me some light. Tim, you are magnificent! Tim is a 'modern maestro'! By his own admission he is not a great musician but he has certainly mastered the art of writing heartfelt lyrics. Tim can relate a whole story within the space of a few minutes. For me he is a 'wordsmith' because his skill with words conveys the meaning of every song he has written. Long may he continue to do so! An extremely under-rated songwriter! Definitely deserves this top ten spot, if not number 1! Keane's lyrics are without doubt some of the most meaningful ever - just take a look at Perfect Symmetry - keanelover V 33 Comments 7 Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer . With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame with the rock band the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop and rock music . First of all, Paul McCartney is the most successful songwriter in history. His collaborations with John Lennon and solo work has sold more than all the others on this list combined, and yes that DOES include MJ, Freddie Mercury and all the rest put together. Each person's musical taste is their own, and they are entitled to it, but when you throw in Paul's singing career with The Beatles, wings, and solo, he is BY FAT the most successful musician in history. This list is full of paradoxes. There's no doubt that Paul McCartney deserves to be number 1. Those who suppose otherwise are just local supporters of their own national heros, which has nothing to do with the universal appeal of their music. Even his songs that are over 50 years old, which I have hear a billion times, still get stuck in my head. That alone should say something. Even to this day, he still writes some of the best hooks to ever come from pop and rock music. A true musical genius. By far the best in musical history V 14 Comments 8 Richie Sambora Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi for 30 years. Richie is so awesome! Not only has he contributed to a majority of Bon Jovi's songs, but his solo stuff is amazing! he's the second songwriter of bon jovi and he wrote his solo stuff! - richie4life No, we don't all know that Sambora is the greatest guitar player of all time, and if you check the list of Top Ten guitarists of all time, you'll find he's not even in the top ten. Nor is he a great songwriter. I mean, I can write on this page that I am president of the United States. That doesn't make it true. Just another over rated non entity who has contributed nothing to modern music. Looks silly too with that dumb cowboy hat that he wore for years. V 2 Comments 9 Billy Joel My favorite songs that he made, are Piano Man, The Entertainer, Angry Young Man, Running on ice, My Life, Honesty, New York State of Mind, And Say Goodbye to Hollywood; Billy Joel should be # 3 on the list. he's AWESOME! Billy Joel has more talent in his pinky then many artists considered to be great by today's standards and NOBODY can tell a story through their songs like billy Joel. I am a teenager in high school and I listen to Billy Joel daily. My other recommendation is Elton John. One of the greatest song writers of all time. He is the only singer I feel like that has truly written his life in his songs. Each song is like a scene or moment of his life. Just amazing. V 1 Comment 10 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury was born in Stone Town, Tanzania he later became a British singer, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Before he became a singer he has been ... read more . Freddie Mercury Bohemian Rhapsody song is by far the best Written song Freddie Mercury wrote that song went down in history as the best Rock song of All Time, with the Deep Lyrics and the Opera sound really showed off Freddie Mercury Four Octave Vocal Range and made him one of the best singers ever, Bohemian Rhapsody song is one of the weirdest songs but the song is also one of the most popular songs ever made by a band and written by Freddie Mercury, and We Are The Champions is a song that nobody can't sing including Bohemian Rhapsody dong, and other songs such as Another One Bites The Dust and the famous Bass Riff song Under Pressure if you can think of the Under Pressure Bass Riff you are a genius and that's what Freddie Mercury was, he was a Genius with a great voice he is one of the strongest Tenors I've ever heard his voice risen in strength and Substance and Conviction and power, God truely blessed Freddie Mercury with a Voice, Love Freddie Mercury. I don't take this list seriously just because of the fact that some guy from a-ha is number 1. Then there are other people in the top ten who either don't deserve to be there or no one knows. Then you have legendary songwriters that are so low on this list like Pete Townshend (55? ). All-in-all, if you're doing legitimate research on great songwriters, don't pay much attention to this list. If you don't vote for Freddie, I will hunt you down. And stuff. And if you just listen to 'My Melancholy Blues', I think you'll understand he can sing any genre, fool. :-) The greatest pure and simple The Contenders 11 David Bowie David Robert Jones was born in London on January 8, 1947, the son of a fundraiser and a waitress. He died in New York on January 10, 2016 at the age of 69, a hero to millions. ... read more . I'm shocked, no one voted for this dashingly brilliant guy. He is the most inspirational artists of the 20th century, TONES of today's bands just owe him - music, style (hey, J-Rock luvers, visual key was his invention))) - EVERYTHING. At least he deserves this for Ashes to Ashes))) 12 Carole King Yes, let's run through the list of people who have done her songs. Aretha (Natural Woman), Dave Mason (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow), James Taylor (You've Got a Friend, among others), Grand Funk Railroad (Locomotion), Steve Lawrence (Go Away Little Girl), the Monkees (Pleasant Valley Sunday), the Beatles (Chains), the Shirelles (Love Me Tomorrow), etc, etc, etc. I challenge anyone to come up with a list of songs written by anyone above her (save for Dylan and the Beatles) that can equal Carole King. This list is a joke! I can't even believe the names I am seeing on this list! Has anyone on here ever heard of Bob Dylan? Townes Van Zandt? Leonard Cohen? Paul Simon?... I can understand why you would have Carole King, Billy Joel, Freddie Mercury, and Michael Jackson on here, and I do like Keane, but this is really a joke. Go back to elementary school for a few more years and try again! A guy from Bon Jovi and a guy from Keane are ahead of this woman? She wrote Tapestry for gods sake! Just think of all the legends who have sung her songs, Aretha Franklin etc. 13 James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Are you people crazy take hetfield and ulrich and give them 5 mins to write lyrics that will change your life just listen to every Metallica song from the best to the worst EVERY ONE of their songs are full of meaning example: FOR WHOM THE FAKING BELL TOLLS! Listen to One, Fade To Black and you will know why I voted for him - nooreldeen THE BEST. Just listen to Kill 'Em All through the Black Album! - HolyDeth I don't get it hetfields lyrics are a lot more complex than jacksons mccartneys and lennons combined V 7 Comments 14 Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead guitarist and songwriter for the rock band The Who. It is disgusting that Pete Townshend is ranked 59 on this list. He is easily in the top ten for the list of greatest songwriters in the history of popular music. He pretty much wrote every Who song, including every song for their two rock operas. And then I see the nobodies that are ahead of him on this list. These nobodies wish that at the end of their careers they can have a hint of relevance in music history, whereas Pete will never come close to being forgotten. In my unbiased opinion, The Who are the third greatest band of all time, right after The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and, although the other three members are very important as well, if Townshend wasn't a key member of that band, they might not even be on the list of the 50 greatest bands of all time. That's how important his songwriting was to the band. A genius of a songwriter and a genius of a musician. Seriously, come on people! Wake up! Pete is definitely one of the greatest songwriters of our time! Have none of you ever heard, "Blue, Red, and Grey? " That song helped me cope with depression and anxiety, he -saved- my life. Pete is a bloody genius and I hope that one day the world can truly appreciate this lovely man. His songs get me pumped and feel blue best songwriter - Gunns718 V 1 Comment 15 Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1988, he started the grunge band Nirvana. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his Seattle home in 1994. He is one of the most tragic stories in music history. He was mentally and musically gifted and the fact he could overcome a bad childhood to show that is credit. If he lived longer I am confident he would be in the top three. Much more humble than the likes of McCartney. His surreal but heavy sounds spoke to many Part of his genius was his ability to write great songs with meaning and an edge. The voice of his generation (whether he liked it or not). Kurt was a troubled guy, but because of that it made him one of the greatest song writers of all time. In dave Grohls words "he could take something that would take me an hour to explain and put it in two words". It's sad to see him so far down here at 31. Cobain is the perfect songwriter. He took rock music back to it's roots and performed with pure rock spirit Hendrix' style. He had a way to use words in a very powerful, deep way. If Bukowsky had been a rock'n rolla, he would've done something similar. With "Smells like teen spirit" he somehow managed to bring rock music back to the mainstream, while creating the ultimate pop song wich, ironically, is a sharp critic to pop culture and vain entertainment. He could write a classic song and at the same time revolutionize a music scene. If he'd still be alive, he'd be as top as Lennon and McCartney in pop music history. V 3 Comments 16 Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant is an English musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin. He deserves to be number one. Of course, there's the monumental 'Stairway to Heaven, ' but apart from that, there are other, far lesser known songs like Achilles Last Stand and Carouselambra (they're really really poetic). There's also the breadth of his songwriting, ranging from outpourings of longing such as 'Ten Years Gone, ' to songs like Black Dog and Trampled Underfoot, which are rife with innuendos. And then, of course, there are Led Zep's ten minute epics He's so creative and very imaginative One of the greats in song writing I can't believe he isn't higher! Listen to the lyrics of their later works. Kashmir, 10 years gone, Carouselambra, All of my Love, Achillies Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, NO Quarter, he was and is a god dang poet! All of those songs have a deep hidden meaning and when you find out what they actually mean it hits you just how incredible he really was. he's a man out of time, and really deserves more credit for his deep poetic lyrics. 17 Brian May Brian Harold May is an English musician, singer, songwriter and astrophysicist, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. made we will rock you awesome song and much more 18 kyo V 1 Comment 19 Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist . Cohen died on November 7, 2016 at the age of 82 . Leonard cohen simplyrules and should be closer to the top of tjis list, fools 20 Ville Valo I LOVE ROMANCE AND IN A SONG THATS WHAT REACHES OUT AND TOUCHES MY HEART AND SOUL, AND AFTER A LONG DAY OF HELL, VILLE FILLS ME WITH LOVE AND HOPE IN LOVE AGAIN... THATS WHAT I WANT FROM MUSIC, REFRESHING AND FULL OF LOVE, TAKES ALL THE BULLCRAP OF THE DAY AND WASHES IT AWAY... LOVE YOU VILLE - alyciaisaacs PSearch List

Paul McCartney

If you were a teenager living on Elm Street in 1984, what should you never do?

Michael Jackson - Wikiquote Michael Jackson Jump to: navigation , search Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it — my music, I know I will live forever. Michael Joseph Jackson ( 29 August 1958 – 25 June 2009 ) was an American singer - songwriter , dancer, businessman , and philanthropist . Often referred to by the honorific nickname "King of Pop", Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Contents People all over the world Are the same everywhere I go, I give in to this, I give in to that, Every day it bothers me so... I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The Creator and the creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing — until there is only … the dance. Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons. it’s like when a mother sends her child off to war, they don’t know if they’re ever gonna come back, you know? how can we look at such things happening, and not, you know, want to do something? how can we turn our heads and pretend as if we don’t see it? you know? i can’t see people in pain and pretend as if it’s not there. Know what I also love? Mannequins. I guess I want to bring them to life. I like to imagine talking to them. You know what I think it is? Yeah, I think I'll say it. I think I'm accompanying myself with friends I never had. I probably have two friends. And I just got them. Being an entertainer, you just can't tell who is your friend. And they see you so differently. A star instead of a next-door neighbor. That's what it is. I surround myself with people that want to be my friends. And I can do that with mannequins. I'll talk to them. I sit there and say, 'Please don't call me up, I am too shy.' But once I get up there, I take control of myself. Being onstage is magic. There's nothing like it. You feel the energy of everybody who's out there. You feel it all over your body. When the lights hit you, it's all over, I swear it is. Snakes are very misunderstood. Snakes, I suggest, may be the oldest victims of bad press. I wake up from dreams and go, 'Wow, put this down on paper.' The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face. And you say to yourself, 'I'm sorry, I just didn't write this. It's there already.' That's why I hate to take credit for the songs I've written. I feel that somewhere, someplace, it's been done and I'm just a courier bringing it into the world. I really believe that. I love what I do. I'm happy at what I do. It's escapism. "Michael Jackson - Life in the magical kingdom" - Rolling Stone (February 17, 1983) Like the old Indian proverb says, do not judge a man until you've walked 2 moons in his moccasins. Most people don't know me, that is why they write such things in which most is not true. I cry very very often because it hurts and I worry about the children, all my children all over the world, I live for them. If a man could say nothing against a character but what he could prove, history could not be written. Animals strike not from malice but because they want to live, it is the same with those who criticize, they desire our blood not our pain. But still I must achieve I must seek truth in all things. I must endure for the power I was sent forth, for the world for the children. But have mercy, for I've been bleeding a long time now. MJ. Handwritten note published in People (12 October 1987) Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the Creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists. I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The Creator and the creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing — until there is only … the dance. "The Dance" - from inlay sleeve of Dangerous (1991) I have no problem with them imitating [me]. It's a compliment. Everybody has to start out looking up to someone. For me it was James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly. On pop groups like N'Sync , as quoted in interview in TV Guide (1 November 2001) If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with. Dancing the Dream (1992), also used in his funeral invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson" in CNN.com/entertainment (3 July 2009) I have begun to see that even my father's harshness was a kind of love. An imperfect love, to be sure, but love nonetheless. He pushed me because he loved me, because he wanted no man to ever look down at his offspring. Now with time, rather than bitterness I feel blessing.… My initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness. "Heal the Kids" speech at the Oxford Union (2001) Anastacia is someone the world will understand. [1] I put a lot of mannequins in my room in the past, and I still have mannequins in my room, because I used to be very lonely, painfully lonely. You have no idea. I used to walk the streets looking for people to talk to. I'm talking about the height of one's career…. I would walk up to them, strangers, and say, "will you be my friend?" They'd go, "my god, Michael Jackson!" and that's not what I wanted. The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See (2002) The record companies really do conspire against the artists. They steal. They cheat. They do whatever they can, especially the black artists.… Sony's Tommy Mottola is the president of the record division. He is mean. He is a racist, and he's very, very, very devilish. Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (6 July 2002) The minute I started breaking the all-time record in record sales—I broke Elvis's records, I broke Beatles records—the minute it became the all-time best-selling album in the history of the Guinness Book of World Records, overnight they called me a freak. They called me a homosexual. They called me a child molester. They said I bleached my skin. They made everything to turn the public against me. Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (9 July 2002) I know my race. I just look in the mirror. I know I'm black. Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (9 July 2002) I'm just like anyone. I cut and I bleed. And I embarass easily. I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer cannot be jail. Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws, and we should look to new technologies like Apple's new Music Store for solutions. This way, innovation continues to be the hallmark of America. It is the fans that drive the success of the music business. Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons. Press statement (November 2003); quoted in "Michael Jackson Calls Child Molestation Charges 'Lies'" (8 December 2003) Jet In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe. Also used at his funeral (3 Sep. 2009) invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009) Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars. Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a damn word that comes out of his mouth." [1] Televised Interview with Oprah Winfrey (1993)[ edit ] OK, number one. There, as I know of, there is no such thing as skin bleaching...I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin, it's something that I cannot help, OK? But, when people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me...it's a problem for me, I can't control it. On the lightening of his skin. Yeah, I think James Brown is a genius you know, when he's with the Famous Flames, unbelievable. I used to watch him on television and I used to get angry at the cameraman because whenever he would really start to dance they would be on a close-up so I couldn't see his feet. I'd shout "show him show him," so I could watch and learn. On watching James Brown as a young child. Ebony interview (2007)[ edit ] Bryan Monroe (December 2007) "A Q & A With Michael Jackson," Ebony I always wanted to do music that influences and inspires each generation. Lets face it, who wants mortality? On how he creates memorable music Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it — my music, I know I will live forever. On his musical work Ever since I was a little boy, I would study composition. And it was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that influenced me the most. If you take an album like Nutcracker Suite, every song is killer, every one. So I said to myself, 'Why can't there be a pop album where every...' — People used to do an album where you'd get one good song, and the rest were like B-sides, they'd call them "album songs" — and I'd say to myself 'Why can't every one be like a hit song? Why can't every song be so great that people would want to buy it if you could release it as a single?. So I always tried to strive for that. That was the purpose for the next album. On musical influences The industry, It's at a crossroad, There's a transformation going on. People are confused, what's going on, how to distribute and sell music. The internet kinda threw everybody for a real loop. 'Cause it's so powerful, kids love it so much. The whole world is at their fingertips, on their lap. Anything they want to know, anyone they want to communicate with, any music, any movies... The thing is it just took everybody for a loop. Right now, all these Starbucks deals and Wal-Mart deals, direct to artists, I don't know if that's the answer. I think the answer is just phenomenal, great music. Just reaching the masses. I think people are still searching. There's not a real music revolution going on right now, either. But when it's there, people will break down a wall to get to it. I mean, 'cause before Thriller, it was the same kind of thing. People were not buying music. It helped to bring everybody back into the stores, so when it happens, it happens. On musical influences What I do when I write is that I'll do a raggedy, rough version just to hear the chorus, just to see how much I like the chorus. If it works for me that way when it's raggedy, then I'll know it will just work... Listen to that, that's at home. Janet, Randy, Me... Janet and I are going "Whoo, Whoo... Whoo, Whoo..." I do that same process with every song. It's the melody, it's the melody that's most important, If the melody can sell me, then I'll go to the next step. The idea is to transcribe from what's in your mentality onto tape. If you take a song like "Billie Jean," Where the bass line is the prominent, dominant piece, the protagonist of the song, the main driving riff that you hear, getting the character of the riff to be just the way you want it to be, that takes a lot of time. Listen, you're hearing four basses on there, doing four different personalities, and that's what gives it character, but it takes a lot of work. On listening to an early version of Billie Jean on an iPhone This Is It[ edit ] Recordings shown on the film This Is It. "It's all for love... With the love, L.O.V.E." Note: The two lines are from different parts of the film;the quotes were edited together on the trailer as "It's all for love, L.O.V.E." "Love lives forever." Last title displayed on the film. "I respect the secrets and magic of nature. That's why it makes me so angry when I see these things that are happening, that every second, I hear, the size of a football field is torn down in the Amazon. I mean, that kind of stuff really bothers me. That's why I write these kinds of songs, you know. It gives some sense of awareness and awakening and hope to people. I love the Planet, I love the trees. I have this thing for trees - the colors and changing of leaves. I love it. I respect those kind of things. I really feel that nature is trying so hard to compensate for man's mismanagement of the planet. Because the planet is sick, like a fever. If we don't fix it now, it's at the point of no return. This is our last chance to fix this problem that we have, where it's like a runway train. And the times has come, This Is It. People are always saying,'They'll take care of it. The government'll--Don't worry, they'll--' 'They' who? It starts with us. It's us. Or else it'll never be done... We have four years to get it right. After that it would be irreversible. Let's take care of the planet." On the environment "I love you. That'll be the ending of this under the words. " The film was dedicated to Michael's three children, Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II aka Blanket. Televised Interview with Barbara Walters (1998)[ edit ] Michael Jackson: There's a time for this, and this you should not do. You should not go out and say, 'Oh he's Jacko'. I'm not a "Jacko". I'm "Jackson". Walters: How do you feel when people call you.. Jackson: Yeah, "Wacko Jacko". Where'd that come from? Some English tabloid. I have a heart and I have feelings, I feel that, when you do that to me. It's not nice. Don't do it. I'm not a wacko. Referring to the media, tabloids, and his reputation Living with Michael Jackson (2002)[ edit ] Not only were we practicing, we were nervous rehearsing, because he would sit in a chair with a belt in his hand, and if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up. Really get you...We were terrified of him. So terrified, I can't tell you. I don't think he realized how scared...scared...I mean SCARED. So scared that I would regurgitate. (with emphasis) Mmm-hmm. (reporter asks Michael what caused the reaction) His presence, just seeing him...And I was so fast, he wouldn't catch me half the time, but when he did, oh my God, it was bad. On his father & the whippings he & his brothers would receive from him Attributed[ edit ] When I was a kid, I was denied not only a childhood, but I was denied love. When I reached out to hug my father, he didn't hug me back. When I was scared on an airplane, he didn't put his arm around me and say, "Michael, don't worry. It's going to be OK." When I was scared to go on stage, he said, "get your ass on that stage." … I will never deny a child love. If it means that I have to be crucified or put in jail for it, then that's just what they're going to have to do. Remark to producer Cory Rooney, as repeated to Chris Yandek (http://thesportsinterview.com/mjackson.html) People all over the world Are the same everywhere I go, I give in to this, I give in to that, Every day it bothers me so, Am I in a bad situation? People taking me to the extreme, Am I being used? I just need a clue, I don't know which way to go. Things I Do For You (credited to " The Jacksons ") I don't know what's gonna happen to you, baby, But I do know that I love you, You walk around this town with your head all up in the sky, And I do know that I want you. Let's dance, let's shout! I try to do what's right for me, But no-one sees the way I see, And then I try to please them so, But how far can this pleasing go? Sometimes I cry cause I'm confused, Is this a fact of being used? There is no life for me at all, 'Cause I give myself at beck and call. Bless His Soul (credited to " The Jacksons ") Lovely is the feeling now, Fever, temperature's rising now, Power is the force, the vow, That makes it happen, It asks no questions how. So let love take us through the hours, I won't be complainin' 'Cause this is love power. Keep on with the force, don't stop Don't stop 'til you get enough. She got me workin' day and night, And I've been workin' You say that workin is what a man's supposed to do. But I say you ain't right if I can't give sweet love to you. How could you leave, girl? 'Cause love for us was meant to be, Then you must be seein' Some other guy instead of me. Get on the floor and dance with me, I love the way you shake your thing especially. Get on the Floor (co-written with Louis Johnson ) All the colors of the world should be Loving each other wholeheartedly, Take my message to your brother and tell him twice, Spread the word and try to teach the man Who's hating his brother when hate won't do, When we're all the same, 'Cause the blood inside me is inside of you. As we walked into the room There were faces staring, glaring, tearing through me, Someone said, 'Welcome to your doom,' Then they smiled with eyes that looked as if they knew me, This is scaring me. I said, you wanna be startin' somethin', You got to be startin' somethin', I said, you wanna be startin' somethin', You got to be startin' somethin', It's too high to get over, It's too low to get under, You're stuck in the middle, And the pain is thunder. You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable, Still they hate you, you're a vegetable, You're just a buffet, you're a vegetable, They eat off you, you're a vegetable. Mama se, Mama sa, Mama coo sa. The dead start to walk in their masquerade. There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien this time (they're open wide). This is the end of your life. No-one wants to be defeated, Showin' how funky and strong is your fight, It doesn't matter who's wrong or right. Just beat it. You wanna show them that you're really not scared, You're playing with your life, this ain't no truth or dare, They'll kick you then they'll beat you then they'll tell you it's fair, So beat it. She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene, I said, 'Don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one, Who will dance, on the floor, in the round?' People always told me, 'Be careful what you do, Don't go around breaking young girls' hearts,' And momma always told me, 'Be careful who you love, Be careful what you do, 'cause a lie becomes the truth.' Billie Jean is not my lover, She's just a girl who claims that I am the one, But the kid is not my son. Well, they say the sky's the limit, And to me that's really true, But, my friend you have seen nothing, Just wait 'til I get through. Your butt is mine Well, they say the sky's the limit, And to me that's really true, But, my friend you have seen nothing, Just wait 'til I get through. Im giving you Well, they say the sky's the limit, And to me that's really true, But, my friend you have seen nothing, Just wait 'til I get through. We can change the world tomorrow. This could be a better place. If you don't like what I'm sayin', Then won't you slap my face. Well, they say the sky's the limit, And to me that's really true, But, my friend you have seen nothing, Just wait 'til I get through. And the whole world has to answer right now, Just to tell you once again, 'Who's bad!' The way you make me feel, You really turn me on, You knock me off my feet, My lonely days are gone. I just can't stop loving you, I just can't stop loving you, And if I stop, then tell me just what will I do? 'Cause I just can't stop loving you. Each Time The Wind Blows I Hear Your Voice So I Call Your Name. You'll never make me stay So take your weight off of me. I know your every move So won't you just let me be. I've been here times before But I was too blind to see That you seduce every man. This time you won't seduce me. As he came into the window It was the sound of a crescendo He came in her apartment He left the blood stains on the carpet She ran underneath the table He could see she was unable So she ran into the bedroom She was struck down, it was her doom Annie, are you OK? You've been hit by, you've been struck by A smooth criminal. I don't care what you talkin' 'bout baby. I don't care what you say. Don't you come walkin' beggin' back mama. I don't care anyway. Time after time I gave you all of my money. No excuses to make. Ain't no mountain that I can't climb baby. All is going my way. 'Cause there's a time when you're right And you know you must fight, Who's laughing, baby? Don't you know? And there's a choice that we make, And a choice you must take, Who's laughing, baby? So, just leave me alone, Leave me alone, Leave me alone, stop it, Just stop doggin' me around. And Susie ain't your friend Look who took you under With seven inches in Blood is on the dance floor Blood is on the knife Susie's got your number Heal the world, make it a better place, For you and for me and the entire human race, There are people dying, but if you care enough for the living, Make a better place for you and for me. I have to find my peace 'cause no-one seems to let me be, False prophets cry of doom, what are the possibilities? I told my brothers 'There'll be problem times and tears for fears, We must live each day like it's the last, Go with it, go with it, jam! It ain't too much stuff, Jam, it ain't too much, It ain't too much for me to jam! Just promise me, whatever we say Or do to each other, From now, we make a vow to just Keep it in the closet. Heal the world, make it a better place, For you and for me and the entire human race, There are people dying, but if you care enough for the living, Make a better place for you and for me. I took my baby on a Saturday bang, Boy, is that girl with you? Yes, we're one and the same. Well, I believe in miracles, And a miracle has happened tonight, But if you're thinking about my baby, It don't matter if you're black or white. They print my message in the Saturday Sun, I had to tell them I ain't second to none, And I told about equality, And its true, either you're wrong or you're right. And it doesn't seem to matter, and it doesn't seem right, 'Cause the will has brought no fortune, still I cry alone at night, Don't you judge of my composure, 'cause I'm bothered every day, And she didn't leave a letter, she just up and ran away. Give it when I want it, 'Cause I'm on fire, I don't want to give in, Give in to me, give in to me. In our darkest hour, in my deepest despair, Will you still care? Will you be there? In my trials and my tribulations, Through our doubts and frustrations, In my violence and my turbulence, Through my fear and my confessions, And my anguish and my pain, Through my joy and my sorrow, In the promise of another tomorrow, I'll never let you part, For you're always in my heart. With such confusions, don't it make you wanna scream? Your bash abusing victimize within the scheme, You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize, Oh, brother, please have mercy, 'Cause I just can't take it! Stop pressuring me, just stop pressuring me, Stop pressuring me, In the suite, On the news, Everybody dogfood, You can never break me Will me, thrill me You can never kill me. You know I really do hate to say it, The government don't wanna see, But if Roosevelt was livin' He wouldn't let this be, no, no. Some things in life they just don't wanna see But if Martin Luther was livin' He wouldn't let this be. What about sunrise, what about rain? What about all the things that you said we were to gain? What about flowering fields, is there a time? What about all the dreams that you said was yours and mine? Before you judge me, try hard to love me, Look within your heart then ask, Have you seen my childhood? People say I'm strange that way, 'Cause I love such elementary things, It's been my fate to compensate For the childhood I've never known. Just because you read it in a magazine, Or see it on a TV screen Don't make it factual. That's how you make me feel, When I'm with you I am far away, And nothing is for real. You can't believe it, you can't conceive it, And you can't touch me, 'cause I'm untouchable, And I know you hate it, and you can't take it, You'll never break me, 'cause I'm unbreakable. Unbreakable That's how you make me feel, When I'm with you I am far away, And nothing is for real. Speechless You are the sun, you make me shine, or more like the stars, that twinkle at night. You are the moon that glows in my heart. You're my daytime, my night-time, my world...you are my life. You Are My Life Quotes about Jackson[ edit ] Listed alphabetically by author And if he is not credited for composing the music, it's because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music... Brad Buxer Yes Michael Jackson Did Work on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 He will always be the King of Pop. He has not abdicated, nor has he been usurped. Stephen Colbert , during interview with Damian Kulash after Kulash said "He was the King of Pop." "Colbert Nation - Damian Kulash" 3m15s (August 23, 2006) We're close, he's a good friend of mine, we definitely have a connection that most people don't have... Jane Fonda in "Michael Jackson - Life in the magical kingdom" ,Rolling Stone (17 February 1983) He was so energetic that at five years old, he was like a leader. We saw that. So we said, 'Hey, Michael, you be the lead guy.' The audience ate it up. He was into those James Brown things at the time, you know. The speed was the thing. He would see somebody do something, and he could do it right away. Elton John , interviewed on 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (1 May 1998) I'm upset at the way he's being treated in the media. I think they're really trying to slander his name, and I really think that's unfair for the way that he's contributed to the American culture since the day he was born. I think he deserves much more than that. Alicia Keys , "Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Ludacris Denounce Treatment Of Jackson" (November 21, 2003) What I'm asking is whether this is still a country where a peculiar person such as Michael Jackson can get a fair shake and be considered innocent until proven guilty … or is this just a 21st-century American barnyard where we all feel free to turn on the moonwalking rooster … and peck it to death? Stephen King , in "You Don't Know Jackson" (13 February 2004) This came down to a prosecutor either so sure Jackson was bad or so offended by Jackson's combination of celebrity and wackiness that he rushed into a case that looked shaky from hello. It looked worse as Tom Sneddon went along, and had become nearly ludicrous by the time Jackson's ex-wife left the stand. No matter how pure Sneddon's motives may have been (and I'm not saying they were, believe me), he began to look like a man pursuing a vendetta, one whose chief hope of securing a conviction lay in the obvious fact that the trial was a sideshow and the accused was … well, a freak. The media first turned the trial into a freak-show by emphasizing Jackson's peculiarities rather than his humanity, and stoked the ratings with constant, trivializing coverage while other, far more important stories went under-reported or completely ignored in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Washington, D.C. The press might respond by saying, We gave the people what they wanted. My response would be, My job is to give them what they want. When he steps into a recording studio, it's Michael Jackson's job to give them what they want. Your job is to give the people what they need. Stephen King , in "The Sideshow Has Left Town" (14 June 2005) I was and remain very fond of Michael. I liked him a lot. He was a sad character in that he was an abused child. And “Thriller” I guess was his peak in terms of his powers, by the time I did “Black Or White” he was mad. [Laughs.] The guy that I worked on “Thriller” was a genius and he was 20 years old, but it was like working with a gifted 10-year-old. The guy who I worked on with “Black Or White” was crazy. Michael had gone mad. [Laughs.] I just feel he’s a tragic figure. I liked him a lot and you won’t hear me say bad things about Mike. I mean, I don’t believe he was a child molester. I really do not. I think he was damn weird, no doubt about it, but in terms of sexually molesting a kid, I don’t think so. When he was on trial, I tried to go to show support, and his father wouldn’t let me in the court. His father hates me. I mean, he was surrounded by bad people, and he also created a lot of his misfortune, but he was an incredible performer. Seeing him live in a stadium—and I’ve worked with a lot of people—I’ve never seen anyone who had that kind of power onstage. But in real life he was just a skinny little guy who wasn’t there. He had no presence. He dances with the breathtaking verve of his predecessor James Brown , the beguiling wispiness of Diana Ross , the ungainly pathos of Charlie Chaplin , the edgy joy of a man startled to be alive. Jim Miller , as quoted in Newsweek (16 July 1984) That's how much we love Michael. We love Michael so much, we let the first kid slide. Chris Rock , Chris Rock: Never Scared (2004) We stand up and the judge leaves, and Michael turns to me and says, "Bob, the jury system is much older than 200 years, isn't it?" I said, 'Well, yeah, it goes back to the Greeks." He says, "Oh yeah, Socrates had a jury trial, didn't he?" I said, "Yeah, well, you know how it turned out for him." Michael says, "Yeah, he had to drink the hemlock." That's just one little tidbit. We talked about psychology, Freud and Jung , Hawthorne , sociology, black history and sociology dealing with race issues. But he was very well read in the classics of psychology and history and literature. Steven Spielberg , "Why He's a Thriller" (March 19, 1984) Whether or not he has ever touched a boy inappropriately, Michael Jackson seems too emotionally stunted to act in any grown-up way, including a deviant sexual one. Naive, juvenile, and terribly damaged, he seems pathetically incapable not just of criminal intent, but of adult consciousness. Jacob Weisberg, Arrested Development: The tragedy of Michael Jackson. , Slate, June 14, 2005 Everyone's thinking they're the new W. Axl Rose, just running their mouths and living in this world where nothing is real. Like, it's really easy to write a couple of songs, but that doesn't mean you get to run your mouth. The only guy who can do that is Michael Jackson. He wrote Thriller, so he can say whatever the fuck he wants. Pete Wentz , "Fall Out Boy/ Killers Beef Gives Birth To A Song" (October 7, 2005) What is the definition of cool? Michael Jackson made “ Heal the World .” He could do that because he was golden. He was himself. He didn’t have to try to be cool. Think about a lot of your favorite bands and groups. Would they make a song called “Heal the World”? No, because they are too concerned about their leather jackets. Ironically, they are probably wearing leather jackets because of Michael Jackson. Once you’re put in power , you have to take advantage of the position you’re in to make the world better. There were times when I thought I was making the world better, or maybe I just wasn’t thinking at all. Kanye West , in "Kanye West’s La Dolce Vita" in XXL Magazine (October 2010) You know how you either grow up in a Michael Jackson house or a prince house? for me it was Michael Jackson. I could never decide whether I wanted to be Michael Jackson or marry him. I don´t care what people say about him now because he´s a f... genius. That´s it — The end! He was robbed of his childhood, which is why he surrounds himself with children. When you´re around kids you can be a little kid yourself and pretend that life is magic and you don´t have to be one of those sweaty people going to work every day. I completely see what he´s doing Amy Winehouse , "Frank opinions" (27 February 2004) Remarks made after his death[ edit ] Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just want to say that I love him...so much. Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's memorial service (7 July 2009)*. [2] First of all, we’d like to thank God for watching over us over these past seven months, and our Grandma and Grandpa for their love and support. We would also like to thank the fans. Our father loved you so much because you were always there for him. Our father was always concerned about the planet and humanity. Through all his hard work and dedication, he has helped many charities and donated to all of them. Through all his songs, his message was simple: Love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world. Thank you. We love you, Daddy. Prince Michael Jackson I, 52nd Grammy Awards (31 January 2010) Daddy was supposed to be here. Daddy was going to perform this year but he couldn't perform last year … Thank you. We love you, Daddy. Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 52nd Grammy Awards (31 January 2010) I kinda felt like no-one understands what a good father he was. He made the best French toast in the world. He was the best cook ever. I sometimes do improvs...well I used to do them with my Dad. (In response to: 'Did you appreciate or like being behind the veil or mask at the time?) I appreciated it. It wasn't always comfortable but, yeah. (It was to protect you?) Yeah. (Her favourite memory of her father) I'd have to say spending some 'quality time' away from the two just me and him. One time we went on the roof when we were in Las Vegas of our house and we just saw the Luxor lights, all the city the lights, and we were eating Snickers and we had some soda... He tried to raise us without knowing who he has was, but that didn't really go so well. (In response to: What kind of a dad was he? Was he a strict disciplinarian or could you get away with anything with him?) He was strict. (When you would have quality time what would you do?) Sometimes he would take me to an art museum, because we both loved art. We would do like a lot, we would, as a family we would play tag outside. And he got us Kenya (a brown labrador) four years ago. Everyone's all 'a cook?!' like they're suprised to hear it...He was just a normal Dad. Except, I'd say he was the best dad ever. (In response to: What do you miss the most?) Everything. Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, aged 12, Oprah Winfrey Show (aired Nov 8, 2010) (In response to 'Did you know at the time why you were putting on the mask?' Jackson often had his children wear scarves, veils or masks to disguise their identities when they left home) Because that when we did go out without our dad, then nobody would really recognise us. (Favourite memory of his father) When we were all in Bahrain we used to wake up early and walk to the beach with Coca-Cola and Skittles. Prince Michael Jackson I, aged 13, Oprah Winfrey Show (aired Nov 8, 2010) (In response to: What kind of a dad was he? Was he a strict disciplinarian or could you get away with anything with him?) He (Prince Michael I) could get away with anything (He could get away with it, you couldn't get away with it?) No. Prince Michael Jackson II, aka Blanket, aged 8, Oprah Winfrey Show (aired Nov 8, 2010) My heart…my mind… are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. It can't be so. He will live in my heart forever but it’s not enough. My life feels so empty. I don't think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I've ever known. Oh God! I'm going to miss him. I can’t yet imagine life without him. But I guess with God’s help... I'll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.' And, I will love HIM forever. Elizabeth Taylor , 26 June 2009 [3] To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family and he will forever live in our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much. Janet Damita Jo Jackson , 2009 BET Awards Michael Jackson Tribute The world has lost an amazing man. A man that cared, and loved and gave everything he had for others. David Blaine , on his Twitter page (26 June 2009) Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer. I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He’s the greatest … the best ever. No one will ever be better. Chris Brown , in "Music World Mourns Michael Jackson's Death: Madonna, Britney, Justin & Many More Paid Tribute" (26 June 2009) Words can't begin to describe my sadness for the loss of Michael Jackson. I was honored and humbled to have the opportunity to perform with him several times and he had a profound influence on my career. Michael forever changed the world of music and entertainment and I will always remember him for his kind and sweet spirit. JC Chasez , in US magazine (26 June 2009) I'm having a million different reactions I didn't expect I would feel. He was a great singer — God gives you certain gifts and this child was just an extraordinary child touched by this ability. He could sing like nobody else and he was able to connect with people. His genius can only be compared to Ray Charles 's or Stevie Wonder 's. Cher , on Larry King Live (26 June 2009) When we first met, around 1988, I was struck by the combination of charisma and woundedness that surrounded Michael. He would be swarmed by crowds at an airport, perform an exhausting show for three hours, and then sit backstage afterward, as we did one night in Bucharest, drinking bottled water, glancing over some Sufi poetry as I walked into the room, and wanting to meditate. That person, whom I considered (at the risk of ridicule) very pure, still survived -- he was reading the poems of Rabindranath Tagore when we talked the last time, two weeks ago. Michael exemplified the paradox of many famous performers, being essentially shy, an introvert who would come to my house and spend most of the evening sitting by himself in a corner with his small children. Deepak Chopra , in "A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson" Michael had read some of the details regarding Laura and Euna ’s predicament. As was often the case with him and global events he read about – from famine in Africa to victims of natural disasters in far off countries, to orphans created by wars – he felt a deep sense of empathy for Laura and Euna. When I shared with him that Euna had a four-year-old daughter, he was even more anguished. He asked me whether I had had any contact with Laura. I told him I had written her a few letters and had been assured they were getting through. Outside of that, her own family had only heard from her twice – brief monitored phonecalls – in the over three months they had been imprisoned. When I told him that, Michael paused. “Do you think,” he said hesitantly, “that the leader of North Korea could be a fan of mine?” I didn’t really know how to respond. Not much is known about the reclusive Kim Jong Il or “Dear leader” as he is called in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Over the years it’s been alleged he has a thing for Hollywood, certain NBA stars, Elvis, and specific liqueurs. Still, I’d never heard about any connection between Michael Jackson and Kim Jong Il. … "I don’t really know,” I answered Michael. “But I can try and find out.” “Please,” Michael responded without hesitantly, “because maybe if he was a fan, I could help get those girls home.” I explained to Michael that there were larger geo-politics involved, nuclear programs, a new administration trying to assert its foreign policy strategy (Obama), and another one in NK possibly going through some sort of transference of power. “Yeah,” Michael said wistfully, “but if someone wants to do something good, they just can. They don’t really need to worry about all that other stuff.” Gotham Chopra , in "Michael Jackson and Kim Jong Il" in The Huffington Post (5 July 2009) Michael and I shared an absolute love for children, and his heart cried about the pain children around the world faced. One day, while chatting with him about his upcoming Super Bowl performance, Michael was brainstorming how he could use the worldwide exposure for a greater cause, and the Heal The World Foundation was born. … I was so proud of the work we did in that short time, only to find that our good intentions came to a halt when Michael was accused the first time of child molestation. Over night, understandably so, non-profits backed away from our efforts and we quietly closed shop. My family always maintained our belief that Michael was innocent in both cases – for those that were close to Michael, all would admit he was quirky and had bad judgment at times. But to think Michael could abuse a child was unfathomable in my mind. Over the last decade, my relationship with Michael continued to be focused on kids, but now our own. … It was amazing for me to witness in those early years how enamored Michael was with his children. He changed their diapers through the night, sang and played with them, rocked them to sleep, bathed them and had to change his own outfits when they threw up on him – the same routine that all parents know and love. In the few times we spoke, he would always reflect on the miracle of being a parent. He also protected them in a way that reflected his own lost childhood, and his paranoia about being taken advantage of. Paris, Prince and Blanket are three beautiful children. With Michael gone, I truly pray that they will find some peace and be spared the heart wrenching pain that their father faced time and time again in his life. Seth Green [3] I have always admired Michael Jackson. His music will live on forever. Madonna [Ciccone] in "'I can't stop crying over the sad news': Madonna, Britney Spears and Paul McCartney lead tributes for Michael Jackson" in Daily Mail online (26 June 2009) Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, and our hearts are heavy, heavy here. Michael Jackson was the world's greatest entertainer but more than that he was great humanitarian and a great, humble individual. The people of Gary, our hearts are full of tears because of the loss of Michael Jackson. Rudy Clay, Mayor of Gary, Indiana, in "Michael Jackson's funeral" (26 June 2009) While you guys are talking and laughing, you’re not hearing his words. You’re not listening to his words. I need you to hear what he’s saying! Listen to the message that he is telling us. From the beginning of my career, he was my idol in show business. He was a genius and an incredible artist! Celine Dion , on Larry King Live (25 June 2009) I come to you today with great sadness, acknowledging the loss of the greatest entertainer in the history of mankind. For me he was more than that, he was my idol, he was a role model, he was someone to cry to when my childhood was unbearable, he was a brother, he was a dear friend. Corey Feldman , in "Justin Timberlake praises Jackson's musical genius" , "People" (26 June 2009) I'm hurt. But I'm celebrating his life and his music. Dancing and crying and dancing in public. Holding heart-to-heart conversations with complete strangers about one of the things, if not the only thing, we share in common, That Is The Legendary MoonWalker Himself. A white guy in a pickup truck pulled alongside me on the expressway and shouted to me, had I heard about Mike?!? It's surreal and it's everywhere!!! Every time I feel like getting sad, one of his songs comes on, and I'm just filled with happiness and start singing and smiling. He was the best to ever do it. Salaams, Peace & Blessings. May Allah have mercy on his soul. We Love You MJ!!! I feel so thankful for him sharing his brilliance Delta Goodrem , on her Twitter page (26 June 2009) As a kid Michael was always beyond his years, he was an innovator, he was a genius at what he did. He had a knowingness about him. At 9 years old, when I first started working with him, he seemed to me like he had been here before. He was just so knowledgeable about life. Berry Gordy , in "Berry Gordy Statement on the passing of Michael Jackson" (26 June 2009) Michael Jackson was not only loved by the people of the world, for his incomparable talent, he was loved by the magnificent wild animals for which he provided the most beautiful home at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, CA. We were thrilled to have Michael's beloved tigers, Thriller and Sabu, join our pride here at Shambala when Michael needed a good home for them. Thriller and Sabu will always remind us of Michael. Tippi Hedron , quoted in "Michael Jackson Tigers, Thriller And Sabu, At Shambala Preserve" (26 June 2009) It almost sounds crazy to say that the show wasn't about him, but … he'd put it in perspective all the time, saying, "This is what we're here for, to spread a message of love and taking care of the planet, that we want people to understand it's very, very dear and not to take it for granted." Dorian Holley, Michael Jackson’s vocal director for the "This Is It" London concerts What Michael Jackson Did on His Last Day" by S. James Snyder in TIME magazine (29 June 2009) The first album I ever bought with my own money was Thriller. His performance at the Grammys is a milestone in the history of American music. I watched it on TV and spent the next two weeks in my kitchen trying to learn how to moonwalk. Mark Hoppus , in "Music World Mourns Michael Jackson's Death: Madonna, Britney, Justin & Many More Paid Tribute" (26 June 2009) Michael grew to understand why the world is in the state it is. He would ask “Why?” but not get trapped in trying to find reasons for each and every problem. His aim was finding solutions. His message was about solutions. Michael’s day-to-day thought process was: “How do I make the world a better place?” He dedicated his existence to responding to this question, and to giving a voice to those who can’t speak out for themselves. Man in the Mirror, We are the World, Will You Be There – all these songs put forward a simple but powerful message: If someone is hungry, give them food, but also help them become self-sufficient. Michael taught us that when you do good, you start with the individual, then move onto a family, a neighborhood, a village, a nation. Michael always looked for the good in people, but he also wanted people to understand him, and what he was here for. This made the ridicule he endured so much harder to bear. How can someone who gave so much, be the subject of so much hate? Why is it, the more blessed we are, the tougher our times are destined to be? My brother wasn’t a threat to anyone. He was at peace, and his peaceful state was a blessing from God. Michael was given the rare talent to entertain, sing and perform. But the true blessing God gave him was the ability to use his talents to do good for others. Michael’s songs inspired us to do better. That was his true gift. We still feel Michael’s loss. But what will happen as time passes? What will happen to Michael’s real purpose for being? Who can carry on Michael’s work selflessly, without ulterior motive? Nations and governments are capable of good deeds, but those good deeds are too often done to exert control over others. Michael never wanted to control anybody, he only wanted to spread happiness and joy. Michael didn’t care if we knew everything he did for people, because God knows. God knows his intentions, and knows the results. I know my brother is in a very secure, serene, peaceful place. When we live on earth, we are judged not only by who we are, but also by what we do for others. When we leave, we take the good and bad deeds with us. Michael took nothing but good deeds with him. Michael and I were raised to believe there is a Supreme Being. Having success told us God had a plan for us. Michael used his success in a positive way. He knew that it’s not what you get from others, it’s what you do for others. We all achieve things in life, but the greatest achievement is doing God’s work. Michael was a man of God because he was doing His work. Eternal life is the ultimate reward from God – and Michael has eternal life. Jermaine Jackson , "Keeping Michael's Spirit Alive" at The Tribute I had just come back from Nigeria and he asked what I went to do in Nigeria because he had never visited Nigeria and I told him about the historical Badagry project that we are doing in Nigeria and he felt the same way I felt; he felt that the project must be done because it is imperative that we understand what our forefathers and fore mothers went through. He looked forward to the finishing of the project because he wanted to come and see it and I assured him that we would get the project done. The only thing is that when we do finish this project he will not be there physically, but he will be there in spirit." Marlon Jackson , in "Marlon Jackson visits Nigeria" at 234Next.com (24 July 2009) I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him. Music will never be the same. Kim Kardashian , on her Twitter page (26 June 2009) This is such a tragic loss and a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the king of pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt, or heard his art, we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you Michael. Beyoncé Knowles , in "Beyoncé Reacts To The Death Of Michael Jackson" (26 June 2009) My fifth birthday party was M.J. themed, I insisted. My mother found a lookalike to come sing happy birthday and I KNEW he wasn't MY Michael. Thank you Michael Jackson for being my FIRST of many! My mother took me to my FIRST concert, I was only two years old. I fell in love. Solange Knowles , in "Michael Jackson" (26 June 2009) I just found him a very giving and loving person. Cherilyn Lee, registered nurse in "Michael Jackson's Nurse 'On the Record'" (7 July 2009) I personally can’t believe it. But it’s more unfortunate for the world of music. My love goes out to his family. … A sad day in history, not [just] music. If it were not for Micheal Jackson I would not be where or who I am today. Ludacris , on his Twitter page (26 June 2009) No one will be able to replace him. But I know that the light that he emanated from the stage will live on with all of us who saw him for what he was and always will be — a great teacher, pure musical inspiration. His death can only be compared to John Lennon 's and Elvis '. Ricky Martin , on his twitter page (27 June 2009) Michael was filled with humility, sensitivity, reverence and respect for anyone and everyone. And most of all, the love that he had for his kids equalled the love that he had for his fans. He just was a guy that was beyond amazing, and it’s just sad to hear all the spurious stories that have been created about him. Al Malnik, godfather of Prince Michael II Jackson (Blanket), interviewed by Merideth Viera on The Today Show (1 July 2009) I can't believe. The most amazing entertainer of all Time just left. I just can't understand. We Will always love you Michael. Gilles Marini , on his Twitter page (26 June 2009) A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. John Mayer , on his Twitter page (26 June 2009) He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. Paul McCartney , in "Justin Timberlake praises Jackson's musical genius" ], "People" (26 June 2009) I will be mourning my friend, brother, mentor and inspiration.. He gave me and my family hope. I would never have been me without him. MC Hammer , in "Music World Mourns Michael Jackson's Death: Madonna, Britney, Justin & Many More Paid Tribute" (26 June 2009) MICHAEL JACKSON the first 2 english words i eva spoke. The future sucx! I wish I got to tell him how much his music existence changed my life. He was my biggest inspiration and will forever live on in my heart. Lisa Origliasso , on her Twitter page (26 June 2009) I did not find Michael weird, messed up, or anything you’ve ever heard about him. I want to say that I feel all of the allegations ever charged against Michael were false, and that in my discernment, he did not have the capacity to ever do anything except love children and let them know he would do anything to stand up for them, and help them. Just look at the magnificent work he did on their behalf in writing and co-producing “We Are The World,” and the 39 charities for children he gave to generously. That was Michael. I believe that during his trials he related to the suffering of Christ, and prayed for intervention, because he was being accused over what he loved most—children. This caused him perhaps more pain than anything in his life." David Pack , in "Michael Jackson, Jesus, and Me : My story of Christian fellowship with the King of Pop" (27 June 2009) Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent, and vision as Michael Jackson. He was a true musical icon. Neil Portnow , president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, in "Justin Timberlake praises Jackson's musical genius" , "People" (26 June 2009) When you were with him, you really felt like God was within him. He was an amazing, superhuman kind of person, but he always treated you as an equal. He would be your friend and he never asked for anything in return. … I know that people looked at Michael and thought he was strange, but to me, he was fascinating. … He was the most inspirational person in my life. His one dream was to cure all the sick children in the world. And when I'd say, "Isn't that impossible?" Michael would just start to cry. He was very emotional about things that moved him. I guess you'd have to say he was a pure innocent in a world that wasn't so innocent anymore. Brett Ratner , in "Brett Ratner on Michael Jackson: 'You felt like God was within him'" in The Los Angeles Times (26 June 2009) He read them a book every day. When we were in Virginia during the Invincible [sessions], there was not one day missed reading the children something. So that showed me right there that he was an incredible father. … He was like, 'I would never have them go through the same things ever (the similar childhood/upbringing) in their lives,' Riley said. "He was like, 'I think the best scolding for children was a time-out.' The best scolding for children was, 'Let's read a book.'" Teddy Riley , in "What Was Michael Jackson Like As A Father?" at VH1 (31 July 2009) I don’t really think the music industry has taken a deep enough look at what Michael Jackson meant to everybody, all of us artists, producers, actors, actresses, all of us, entertainment as a whole. I don’t think that they took a deep enough look because everyone is too busy with their head up their own butt. When Michael was on trial, nobody…nobody stopped to go and support him at the trial. … The guy is acquitted on ten counts of child molestation. No one said, "Sorry Michael.’ No one said, "Michael, we knew you were innocent." No one did a BET tribute to him then. Nobody played his music and did a marathon then. Nobody rallied up and did a concert. Why should Michael have to go on tour to raise money? How come all of the artists didn't band together and say, "Hey! You know what? Let's do a tour like Michael did the We Are The World Tour and let's raise some money. Let's get this thing going." No one did that. Tookie Williams is the founder of the Crips gang. … They were trying to get him pardoned from the death penalty and half of Hollywood showed up for this man. What I can't understand is like, OK people didn't want to go near Michael Jackson when he was in trouble … But they show up for a guy who executed families. A little girl begged for her life and he executed her. They said because he wrote in his time in prison he wrote children's books that he tried to turn his life around. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Well, how about the millions of children Michael Jackson has helped over the span of his career? Yet two children come with some false allegations and those two children become the two children that destroy him. It’s crazy. It makes me look at the entertainment business and just say I’m surrounded by a bunch of hypocrites. When you ask me how would it affect them? I don’t even think they realize what this is. Everyone’s gonna do their tributes, but the tributes now if you look at it, it’s all because now everyone is going to get some spotlight, they’re gonna get some shine. Now all of the sudden everyone wants to say something good about him. No one talks about when he did the Victory tour, I remember as a kid Michael being on tour with the Victory tour right? And every night on the news they would announce that Michael Jackson donated his money from every city that he did, he donated it to a new charity. He donated his money from the Victory tour to charities. I thought that was amazing. I'm like, wow! This guy's donating millions of dollars every night to a new charity. Then he would stop in every city and every city he would stop at a hospital and visit kids that were burned, ill or whatever. He took the time to do all that. Cory Rooney , in "Cory Rooney and Chris Apostle on Michael Jackson & his effect on the music business" in Examiner.com (5 August 2009) Michael Jackson was extraordinary. When we worked together on Bad, I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watching quicksilver in motion. He was wonderful to work with, an absolute professional at all times, and - it really goes without saying - a true artist. It will be a while before I can get used to the idea that he's no longer with us. Martin Scorsese , in "Music World Mourns Michael Jackson's Death: Madonna, Britney, Justin & Many More Paid Tribute" (26 June 2009) We maintained our relationship for so long because it was never not real. People expect anything in entertainment or Hollywood to be transient, and it's not as interesting a story for us to have been lifelong friends. People want sordid details or they want big blowups, and the truth of the matter is, from the time we met when I was 13, we understood each other and became very good friends, and that was it, we didn't need to make it into anything else. … I was just out of college, and wanting to fall in love and have a fairy tale, I was holding on to that. He just felt so bad that there were so many little children in Romania in these orphanages, and he wanted to try to give them homes, and I really wanted to be able to do that with him, but it would have divided my life too much. I hope when you write this, it doesn't sound freakish. What it was was a young man who kept reaching to try to find happiness. I think he wanted to take his resources and make a difference to other people in their lives, and he knew that I wanted to do that in the world, too, so he would reach out to someone like me and say, "How can we make a difference, it's easier to adopt a child if you're two people." He never said, formally, "Will you marry me," it was never that for me, he never was that definitive, but I think he was a guy who kept searching for happiness. The problem is when you try to bring that out and in this society, it turns into a tabloid sentence, which is, "He wanted Brooke Shields to live with him and adopt babies," and it sounds ridiculous. And it never was that clear-cut. He found people he loved in his life and he didn't want to let go of them and he wanted them all to live together because he didn't want to go out into the outside world, which was so cruel and too much to handle, and it makes sense. Brooke Shields , "Michael Jackson Remembered : Brooke Shields on King of Pop's "Pure Soul" in Rolling Stone (13 July 2009) Michael Jackson was one of the most talented and dynamic performer/singer/songwriters I ever had the pleasure of working with, he was amazing. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding his personal life in recent years overshadowed his unparalleled contributions to the music world, which is a tragedy in and of itself. But his music will live on forever no matter what and his memory will be adored and admired for years to come. Slash speaking to "MTV News" on the passing of Michael Jackson (26 June 2009) I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I'm devastated he's gone! Britney Spears , in "Justin Timberlake praises Jackson's musical genius" in People (26 June 2009) We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations, and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Justin Timberlake , on his website (26 June 2009) I saw how kind he was and what a wonderful human being. I saw him with his children and I had never seen a better father. … He always said to me, "I want people to really know who I am after I'm gone."… He wanted to be remembered as a great human being and he wanted to create as many happy places for the children of the world as he could. "Dr." Tohme Tohme, Michael Jackson’s last business manager and spokesperson, in an Associated Press interview (4 July 2009) I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for Him and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer In so many ways he transcended culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled Michael Jackson will never be forgotten. I have never felt this before in my life. I could measure my childhood 2 now on an mj growth chart. if this is true.The last legend. Pete Wentz , on his Twitter page (26 June 2009) However you felt about the man, whatever your opinions are, I believe we—as a people—should make a rule that once you die … whatever derisive nickname that we used for you, it dies with you. So can we stop calling him 'Jacko' now? … After you die, can a brother get a 'Mr. Jackson'?

i don't know

Who is the archenemy of Flash Gordon?

Ming The Merciless (Character) - Comic Vine Ming The Merciless The Ming The Merciless wiki last edited by fesak on 06/24/14 04:36PM View full history Origin When Flash Gordon and his friends land on the planet Mongo , they find it ruled by the evil Emperor Ming, a tyrant who quickly becomes his arch-enemy for many years. His hatred for Flash Gordon is only matched by his desire to rule the Universe, on the course of using his Machiavellian plot such as releasing the Purple Death on Earth as spite for Flash Gordon. Creation Published by King Features Syndicate , Ming the Merciless was created by Alex Raymond . Powers and Abilities Ming is possesses an incredible intellect, which he uses for evil purposes. Out-smarting Flash Gordon and setting traps up for him, devising vile schemes, and various other intentions. He is also able to use magic to aid in his plans, and appears to have technology that is fairly advanced. Other Media Charles Middleton as Emperor Ming Universal Pictures released three Flash Gordon cliffhanger serials in the 1930's and 40's and Charles Middleton played Emperor Ming in all three films. This writer has over 100 cliffhanger serials in his private collection and in his opinion no serial actor ever played a better villain than Charles Middleton did when he was Emperor Ming. Ming in Defenders of the Earth Ming was the primary antagonist in the 80's cartoon Defenders of the Earth, appearing alongside other King Features characters such as Flash Gordon , The Phantom , Mandrake & Lothar . Latest Images Close This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for: Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live. Comment and Save Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved. Save your changes Thanks, we're checking your submission. Whoah, whoah... slow down there. Thanks! Your changes are live! Some of your changes are live Because you're new to wiki editing, we sent your submission off to our moderators to check it over. Most changes are approved within a few hours. We'll send an email when it is. Once you've earned over points you'll be able to bypass this step and make live edits to our system. Until then, gain points by continuing to edit pages. You are currently banned from editing the wiki. Wiki submissions are currently disabled. No changes were submitted, nothing was done! Please make changes to the wiki! Thanks for continuing to improve the site. Some of your changes are now live. However, some of your changes were sent to moderation because you do not have enough points to make those live edits. You need points to live edit the changes you commited. For the changes that went through, our robot math gave you points for this submission. Thanks for continuing to improve the site. Your changes are now live. Our robot math gave you points for this submission.

Ming the Merciless

What former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader gained stardom as a singer with her debut album Forever Your Girl, and has subsequently managed to milk her 15 minutes for the last 9+ years?

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon Occupation: Professional athlete (polo player), resistance fighter Affiliations: Dale Arden; Dr.Zarkov; Princess Aura Enemies: Ming the Merciless First Appearance: Flash Gordon ( King Features Syndicate , comic strip, 1934) Powers/Abilities: History: While a new planet is detected hurtling toward Earth, internationally renowned polo player and Yale graduate "Flash" Gordon and Dale Arden are on an airplane struggling through atmospheric disturbance when it goes into a tailspin and they manage to just bail out in the nick of time. Landing by parachute near the lab of Dr. Zarkov (whose name is Hans in the comic strip and Alexis here), they are shown the scientist's missile, which he hope to pilot to Mongo and then prevent the catastrophic collision. They land on Mongo, but are captured by Officer Torch and two robot soldiers who hold them at bay with scientifically-advanced rifles. They are taken to Ming, ruthless ruler of the planet. His daughter Aura falls for Flash at first glance but will kill him if she can't have him for herself. Ming, deciding Dale will be his wife, drugs her into subservience. Flash is hurled into the "Arena of Death" for Ming's entertainment but is saved from this doom by Aura. Meanwhile Dr. Zarkov convinces Ming to preserve Earth so it can be conquered, a desperate ploy to save our planet. Ming's empire is attacked by Mongonian dissidents known as The Lion Men whose gyro ships pepper Ming's palace with fire. After evading Aura's seductive nails and escaping from a giant reptile pit, Flash battles Thun, King of The Lion Men, and subdues him. Realizing their common enemy, they join forces and head to save Dale. Later Flash would encounter Shark Men and Hawkmen, before he finally defeated the evil Ming. In "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, 15 episodes) a mysterious beam of light emanating from Mars is sucking the nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere, and only Flash can stop it. He battles Queen Azura, the Clay People of Mars, and his mortal enemy Ming the Merciless once more. In "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" (1940, 12 episodes) a rocket is dropping purple dust into the Earth's atmosphere, causing instant death. Flash has to locate the antidote on the frozen planet of Frigia and stop Ming. Comments: Alex Raymond's comic strip first appeared in 1934, and Universal bought the rights two years later. Larry "Buster" Crabbe landed the part of the lead. One major difference between the strip and the serial was the Mongonians' skin colour. In the strip they were Oriental yellow, but no mention of this pigmentation appears in the film. Later the aliens were presented as Caucasians in the newspapers as well. CLARIFICATIONS:

i don't know

Traditionally, the concertmaster of a symphonic orchestra plays what instrument?

Symphony 101 | Shreveport Symphony Orchestra Shreveport Symphony Orchestra What is a symphony orchestra? A symphony orchestra is a collection of musicians who play instruments of four basic types: Strings: violins (smallest and highest in pitch), violas, cellos and double basses (largest and lowest in pitch). These players sit in a semicircle directly in front of the conductor and make up more than half the orchestra. Woodwinds: flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and related instruments. These players sit a few rows back from the conductor, in the center of the orchestra. Brass: trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas and similar instruments. These instruments are the loudest, so you’ll see them at the back of the orchestra. Percussion: the drums, bells and other fascinating paraphernalia that are struck, plucked, rubbed, etc. This includes the kettledrums, the harp, and on occasion, the piano. Some works use lots of different percussion; others may have a single musician playing the kettledrums. The percussion section is also found at the back or side of the orchestra. How come there are more stringed instruments than anything else? The sound of each individual stringed instrument is softer than a brass or woodwind instrument. But in large numbers, they make a magnificent, rich sonority. What does the concertmaster do? The concertmaster sits in the first chair of the first violins. He acts as leader of that section, but also plays a leadership role with the orchestra as a whole. He is also the last orchestra musician to enter the stage before a concert and cues the principal oboist to “tune” the orchestra. Why do all musicians tune to the oboe? The penetrating tone of the oboe is easy for all players to hear, and its ability to sustain pitch is very secure. The principal oboist plays the note “A,” and all the players make sure their “A” is exactly on the same pitch as the oboe’s. This ensures that they all are in agreement about the tuning before the concert begins. Why do all the string players share stands? Fewer stands mean that the musicians, who are moving around quite a bit, have more room to play freely. Also, because the strings play more continuously than the other parts, their page turns can fall in inconvenient places where there should be no break in the music. Look closely and you’ll see that the player on the outside keeps playing, while the player on the inside briefly stops playing to turn the page.

Violin

What is the name for the New Orleans submarine sandwich usually consisting of fried seafood served on a baguette-like Louisiana French bread?

Etsuko Kimura | Toronto Symphony Orchestra Age you began playing:  4 Year you joined the TSO: 2007 Who or what inspired you most to play your instrument? My mother was a violin teacher, and my father was a conductor. I had almost no choice! Why did you choose to be a professional musician? When I was 18, I became ill and I was hospitalized for three months. During this time, I developed a very close friendship with several other patients. At the time, I was young and naïve, and hadn’t yet considered the subject of death seriously before. Then I heard that two of my friends were not going to live long. One friend was only 15; the other was older but had a young daughter. They knew I was studying music in college. One day, one of them said to me, “I really want to come to listen to you play the violin, but unfortunately, I’m not able to....” This was painful for me to hear, and I struggled with how I could help my friends in their suffering. After they passed away, I promised them and myself that I would do something with my violin to help people—make them happy, inspire them, and, even if just for a few moments, free them from their suffering. What is interesting to you about working in an orchestra?  I love the variety of sounds and sound colours you can achieve with a musical ensemble of almost a hundred people. What wisdom would you impart to students and aspiring musicians? Never give up! Work hard! And go to as many concerts as possible! What is your favourite music to play?  Béla Bartók What is your most memorable concert experience as an audience member? When Itzhak Perlman came to Osaka for the first time; he performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. The second movement was so beautiful that I cried like a baby. He was also so nice to give everyone waiting outside the artist entrance after the concert a handshake and his autograph. What 3 recordings (of any genre) would you want to have with you on a desert island? Bach’s Goldberg Variations played by Glenn Gould, Bartók’s Divertimento for Strings, and Japanese traditional folk songs and children’s songs. If you were not a full-time musician, what would you be?  I would be a nurse, a psychologist, or a music therapist. Or, since I started yoga, I would be a yoga instructor! - top - Musician Biography Assistant Concertmaster Etsuko Kimura joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2007. She appears frequently at concert halls across Canada and the world, leading eminent chamber ensembles, performing as a featured soloist with major international orchestras, and maintaining a full recital calendar. When she is not performing with the TSO, she serves as a guest concertmaster for orchestras in Japan and many other countries. Ms. Kimura has performed extensively as a soloist, giving frequent recitals and collaborating with many of the world’s greatest musicians, music directors, chamber groups, and orchestras. She has performed as a guest artist with the Budapest Ferenc Erkel Chamber Orchestra and the Szombathely Radio Orchestra in Hungary, as well as with orchestras throughout Japan, including the prestigious Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band. A highly sought-after collaborator, she has appeared on stage with such eminent violinists as Masafumi Hori (Concertmaster, NHK Symphony Orchestra), Toru Yasunaga (former Concertmaster, Berlin Philharmonic), and Tomotada Soh, as well as with violist Nobuo Okada (former Principal Viola,  Bamberger Symphoniker-Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie). Ms. Kimura is a faculty member at Canada’s Interprovincial Music Camp, and gives violin performance and chamber music masterclasses all over the world for middle and high school students. She stands out as a musician who is greatly involved in bringing music to the community: she has participated in the TSO’s various education programmes, and performs regularly at hospitals and other venues where she can use her musical talent to touch lives.

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What type of screw and screwdriver, designed to aid in automated manufacturing lines, features a small cross on the head of the screw?

Hobbit House Glossary The HobbitHouse Ilustrated Glossary of Woodworking terms FASTENER TERMS This set of terms having to do with fasteners and related terms is extracted from the general glossary shown here: GLOSSARY and links that are not local to this subset will put you back in the main glossary for images of wood itself, go here: wood id site NOTE: this sub-glossary is very much a work in progress; glue types, for example, are not yet well represented 270 degree hinge --- This refers to a hinge that allows a door to rotate 270 degees and thus allows it to open all the way to the outside side of a cabinet wall. This can only be achieved on a frameless full overlay cabinet design, and is best illustrated graphically, so see below. Note that there are two basic style of 270 degree hinges and the first is shown on the left side of the composite pic below and the other on the right side. Also, note that sometimes these hinges are called wrap around hinges or "wrap around inset" hinges or "double wrap around" hinges or "full back to back wrap around" hinges, but "wrap around hinge" normally means what is shown on that link. Examples: acorn nut --- A type of cap nut that is specifically shaped like an inverted acorn, which shape is purely decorative, not functional. Examples: Allen head --- A type of screw or bolt head that is designed for use with an Allen wrench . Allen head bolt --- A bolt with a hexagonal recess in the head requiring an Allen wrench , often used in woodworking machinery, among many other things. These may be in metric or SAE sizes. These are usually made out of strong steel , but occasionally you may find them in lighter grade steel or even aluminum. Allen head recesses are also used extensively in set screws . Other names for this item are "socket cap screw", "socket screw", and "socket head cap screw". Examples: Allen wrench --- A type of wrench that is a hexagonal -shaped metal bar, usually in the shape of an "L" but sometimes in the shape of a "T" and sometimes with a handle like what you find on a screwdriver but more often with a handle on the "T" portion, used to turn Allen head bolts and set screws . These may be in metric or English sizes and are sold both in sets and individually. Examples: anchor bolt --- A device for connecting timber members (or anything else, for that matter) to concrete or masonry. There are numerous styles, some of which involve drilling a hole in the concrete or masonry (in particular, see expansion anchor bolt ) and some of which involve embedding the bolt in concrete when it is poured so the bolt is in place when the concrete sets and the wood (or whatever) that is to be attached is drilled out and then placed over the bolt and attached with a nut . Anchor bolts are used for, among other thing, fastening the sill plate in a frame construction to the foundation . To prevent the plate timber from splitting, the anchor bolt nut is often put down over a plate washer . Examples of the most common type of anchor bolt which is an "L" shaped metal rod, threaded on the longer end: anchor hinge --- A particularly strong type of door hinge that has flaps on the (hinge) leaves to give extra attachment points to the door and frame; the flaps attach horizontally along the top edge of the door and the top surface of the frame. Most have these flaps on both leaves, but some (e.g. the two on the right side of the pic below) only have it on the frame leaf . Examples: annular ring nail --- A nail that has ridges around the circumference of the shank to provide extra holding power for applications such as wood to plywood bonding, flooring, roofing, and use in pallets. Although, as they are driven in, the ridges push the wood fibers aside, after they are in the fibers tend to expand back into the ridges thus giving better holding power than smooth-shank nails. The size and shape of the ridges varies considerably and they are often angled back up the shank so as to act like wedges, and sometimes they are actually tight spirals rather than just circumferential ridges. These nails are particularly susceptible to crippling because all those rings provide multiple points of possible failure. Examples: architectural ball bearing hinge --- synonymous with ball bearing hinge architectural hinge --- A door hinge that is categorized as either commercial or residential. Whether for a home (residential) or for a public building (architectural), these hinges are very similar. Commercial hinges are generally differentiated from residential ones by being more substantial in construction due to the heavier use they are exposed to in public places. auger point screw --- A screw that has a very sharp point and threads that grip the wood strongly. Such screws often have a the kind of end found on a self tapping screw , and in any case this type of screw is designed to be used with no pilot hole ... it pulls itself into the wood once started. Examples: ball bearing hinge --- A hinge (generally a butt hinge or an olive knuckle hinge but it could be most any type) that has ball bearings between the (hinge) knuckles to reduce friction and make for a smoother, easier, opening action. The ball bearings are captured in small flat cylinders that sit between some or all of the knuckles, depending on how heavy-duty the hinge needs to be. These are particularly suitable for industrial applications where a door may be opened and closed all day long thus wearing out normal knuckles in a relatively short time compared to those on ball bearing hinges. Examples: ball screw --- A mechanical device for translating rotational motion to linear motion. It is just like a lead screw except that the sliding portion contains ball bearings and thus the device does not heat up quickly (the way a lead screw would) when used continuously in a powered situation. barrel hinge --- (type #1) A type of hinge where the door leaf and the frame leaf are not really leaves at all but instead are barrel-shaped cylinders of metal with a flat hinged joining mechanism. The barrels are inserted into recesses drilled in the door and the frame such that the hinge is totally hidden from view when the door or lid is closed. These are very often used, in small sizes, on jewelry boxes and in modest sizes on mid- to hi-end home entertainment centers and such because the are a type of fully concealed hinge . The construction of this mechanism does not lend itself well to heavy-duty uses such as house doors and in fact these items are often advertised with the warning "not for load-bearing applications". Examples: barrel hinge --- (type #2) A type of hinge where the the door leaf and the frame leaf each have only one (hinge) knuckle and generally both knuckles are closed at the end through which the pin does not protrude. These are suitable for heavy duty use on wooden doors and gates. These are generally a type of lift off hinge and are often sold under that designation. Examples: barrel hinge --- (type #3) A type of hinge that is used in metalworking and requires welding, not woodworking, and that is therefore not illustrated extensively in this glossary. Examples: bed bolt --- synonymous with cross dowel bifold door --- A type of sliding/folding door made from two (or occasionally more) hinged panels that fold onto each other as the door is slid sideways. Often used on closets in the USA. Since each joint in the door moves in only one direction, it isn't necessary to use a complicated hinge such as the folding screen hinge and a light-weight version of a butt hinge is used, called a bifold door hinge . This version has one leaf that folds inside the other so that the total thickness is only one leaf, which is an acceptable gap on closet doors. Examples: bifold door hinge --- There are two versions of this hinge and both are, as would be assumed from the name, designed for use on bifold doors . The first design is a special version of the butt hinge that has the door leaf folding into the frame leaf and thus providing a gap that is only one leaf thickness while allowing surface mounting rather than requiring a mortise for either leaf. The second version has one leaf sitting about the other (or two leaves above/below a center leaf) which again allows a gap of just one leaf thickness with surface mounting. These hinges work just fine with this type door because each joint only moves in one direction. For a similar hinge that is more flexible, see folding screen hinge . Compare/contrast to double action spring hinge . Examples of the first type are on the left and the second type on the right: binding head screw --- An apparenly vague term that, technically, designates any screw that has EITHER a slightly undercut (that is, shallow) head, OR an extra broad head, with (in either case) the point being to be effective in holding ("binding") electrical wires or u-shaped spade lugs at the end of electrical wires. Some sources equate a binding head with a truss head but I am not confident that that is a correct alternate definition. One of the available types that does not fit the technical defintion, but DOES seem to fit the use, is a screw that has ridges on the bottom of the head (similar to those on a serrated flange nut but without the flange). In finding pics for this item I was sometimes not able to distinguish them from ones that look EXACTLY the same but are sold under various other, more normal, names. Examples: blind screw --- synonymous with set screw bolt --- (1) A somewhat vague term used to describe short logs to be sawn for lumber or used for veneer (either slicing or rotary cutting) or to be used as pulpwood . bolt --- (2) A uniform-diameter metal shank with screw-like threads on the outside (although not necessarily all the way up the shank) and a head of some kind that is used to turn the bolt. Bolts are not tapered, as screws usually are, and they have to be able to accept a nut that has a uniform internal diameter and threads. If something doesn't meet ALL of the aspects of that definition, then it isn't a bolt, it's a screw. One form of "headless bolt" is a set screw (and because it's headless, it's a screw, not a bolt). Bolts can be self-tapping as long as they still are able to accept a uniform nut above the self-tapping threads, so the fact that a shank is self-tapping doesn't make it a screw. If a bolt has a "screw driver" type head, such as a flat-head slot, that does not make the bolt a screw. If a bolt is very small, then in widely accepted common usage, it is called a machine screw but that's really just another name for what is technically a bolt (although the implication is that is is a very small bolt). Compare/contrast to screw and see also bolts vs screws . Note that the statements made here (and elsewhere in this glossary) follow common usage but are NOT universally accepted; the entire issue of nomenclature for bolts and screws was perhaps the biggest mess I encountered in compiling this glossary. Below is a composite pic showing some types of bolts and following that, there is a list of the most common types of bolts, with each term linked to a full illustrated description. Examples: types of bolts: bolt drive types --- see screw and bolt drive types bolts vs screws --- The bottom line is that if you have a fastener with a uniform diameter threaded shank (above any self-tapping area) that takes a nut and has a head, it's a bolt ; otherwise it's a screw . This definition follows widespread common use, but is NOT absolute. The most fundamental difference between a bolt and a screw is that a screw will NOT accept a nut but a bolt, by definition, has to. Also, screws often have tapered shanks but bolts never do. Bolts have to have a head; a "headless bolt" (e.g. a set screw ) is not a bolt, it's a screw. The term machine screw is a widely used misnomer that really just means a small bolt, frequently with a head designed to be turned by a screw driver. The fact that a bolt is driven by a screw driver, does not make the bolt a screw. Neither overall size nor head type have any bearing on whether a fastener is a bolt or screw. Both bolts and screws can be self-tapping, but above the area of the self-tapping threads, a bolt has to be able to accept a nut with a uniform inner diameter and uniform threads. That is, the self-taping threads can be on a tapered end section of a fastener but if the part above that adheres to the definition of a bolt then the whole thing is a bolt and if not, it's a screw. Again, these statements follow common usage but are NOT universally accepted. The whole bolt/screw nomenclature issue is perhaps the biggest mess I have faced in compiling this glossary. box nail --- A box nail is very similar to a common nail and they are sold in the same penny size as common nails but but the size designation is based on LENGTH rather than the original unit weight designation of common nails. They have narrower shanks and slightly smaller heads than common nails and so weigh less than a same-length common nail of the same penny designation. They are slightly larger in diameter than a finishing nail of the same length. Box nails are sometimes used on thin material, the way finishing nails are, but the heads are clearly visible after the nails have been driven so they are not an exact replacement for finishing nails, but rather their purpose is more to avoid splitting the wood they are driven into than to have an unobtrusive head. box wrench --- A type of wrench that is a long, flat, metal rod with a short cylinder on one or both ends that has internal serrations that fit around the head of a bolt or nut . Some have a ratchet mechanism built in and some are offset (also called cranked ) as shown in the composit pic below. These come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. Not shown in this glossary are variations that are shaped like an "S" or a half-circle, and other obscure variations. Single-ended box wrenches are fairly rare. The term "ratchet wrench" is sometimes applied to versions of this wrench when it has a ratchet mechanism, but that term is also applied more often to socket wrenches . Compare/contrast to open ended wrenches . Examples: brad --- A very small, thin, nail ; most definitions say brads are no more than 1" long, but you can buy them up to 1 1/2" long. They are wire nails and they are quite small in diameter. Large brads are about the size of a 2d nail in length but smaller in diameter. Brads are used for attaching thin molding and are often used in the backs of picture frames to attach a thin piece of molding that holds the picture in place. There are a couple of specialty tools that help deal with brads, called brad setters . Examples: bugle head screw --- A screw that has a countersunk head that is shaped like a bugle rather than the more normal 45 degree-flat-slope style. These are particularly used on drywall screws so as to not crush the drywall too much as the countersink goes in. Examples butler tray hinge --- A hinge that mounts in mortises in a tray-top and allow the tray wings to fold to 90 degrees and also snaps flat. They are for those little "breakfast in bed" style folding trays. Often the flaps have cutouts that act as handles. These are very similar in style to counterflap hinges but they often do not have the floating knuckle. Examples: butterfly hinge --- A butt hinge that has its leaves shaped like butterfly wings instead of being rectangular. Counterflap hinges are a special-purpose very plain version of this but when done in more elaborate form they are used for decorative effect on small to modest sized items such as jewelry boxes, small windows, kitchen cabinet doors, and so forth. Counterflap hinges tend to have just one (hinge) knuckle on one side and two on the other and are not load-bearing hinges but the items being described here ARE used for load-bearing application (albeit generally light-duty ones) and so will have several knuckles on one side and one less on the other side. There is a style of hinge that seems to be used mostly in Great Britain that is called a parliment hinge which has a butterfly shape and is sometimes called a "butterfly hinge", but it would never be confused with any of the hinges that Americans call "butterfly hinge". Examples: cabinet connecting screw --- synonymous with confirmat screw cam lift hinge --- There are at least two types of cam lift hinge. The first is a type of butt hinge where there is a slant to the mating edges of the barrels on the door plate and the butt plate such that when the door is opened, the hinge mechanism causes it to rise, thus creating a lift against gravity that will then cause the door to close by itself when released. In addition to working as a door closer, this type of hinge also allows the bottom of a cabinet door to be right down at the carpet level because while a normal hinge in that situation would have the door scraping across the carpet as it opened, this hinge lifts the door up off of the carpet as it opens. One more advantage to this hinge is that it is a type of lift off hinge . The second type has the cam lift action but is not a lift off hinge and is more like a T hinge than a butt hinge. The second type is not shown in the composite pic below. Examples: cap nut --- A hex head nut topped by a solid dome or a cylinder then a dome or even just a cylinder. These are usually all metal but occasionally all nylon. Such nuts can only be used with carefully measured bolts because the bolt has to grip into the nut securely, but it cannot protrude so far that the cap nut is raised above the surface being clamped. The purpose is to provide a decorative/safety type of topping that both looks better than a raw bolt end protruding through the nut, and which also prevents the bolt-end from scratching any nearby moving surfaces such as human knuckles. Automobile lug nuts are usually cap nuts but unlike "normal" cap nuts (as shown here) they have a tapered bottom. There is a more decorative version called the acorn nut and there is a version that more widely distributes the pressure on the clampled surface called the flanged cap nut . Examples: cap screw --- A somewhat ill-defined term, sometimes also called a "hex cap screw" if it has a hexagonal head, this is a fastening device that is, by a limited definition, visually indistinguishable from a hex head bolt but which is manufacturered to tighter tolerances that are much more likely to be of interest in machining situations where high precision is necessary, as opposed to in woodworking where a normal (and less expensive) hex head bolt is going to do the job just fine. Such hex head cap screws are a tiny bit smaller in diameter than the equivalent sized hex head bolt and are threaded all the way along the shank . A looser definition maintains the requirement for high tolerance manufacturing but allows a wider range of body shapes. The name "cap" screw seems to be based on the fact that such a device always has a head (the "cap") that clamps against the material being fastened when the device is driven all the way in. Some definitions of cap screw state that they are a form of head bolt , meaning that they are not used with a nut . captive washer lock nut --- see lock nut card table hinge --- A specialty hinge designed to allow parts of a card table top to fold up on itself. This is a style that was more in use in the past than it is presently. It is slightly similar to the scissorhinge except that there is no pin but rather a floating plate that rotates freely at both ends inside the two halves of the "scissor" plates. The point of this mechanism is to allow the parts of the table top to rotate from being along the same plane to being flat up against each other and to do so without there being any difficulty in the edges clearing each other; it does this by having the edges move away from each other as the flap part is rotated over on top of the rest of the table which would not be possible if there were a single-pin pivot point that was in-line with the plates, and you definitely wouldn't want a (hinge) barrel sticking up out of the surface of the card table. The part that contains the (hinge) pins is thicker than the rest of the (hinge) leaves so the mortise that is requred for these has two different depths. These are functionally quite similar to counterflap hinges . Examples: carriage bolt --- Also called a "coach bolt", this is a bolt with a square shoulder at the top and usually a rounded head with no screw-driver slot or other means for holding the head. This type of bolt is intended to be inserted into a cavity (normally in metal) that is square at the top and then a nut is put on at the other end and tightened with a wrench . The square shoulder in the square cavity keeps the top of the bolt from turning. There is another version that uses a ribbed section instead of the square section and this one is known as, and is illustrated at, ribbed neck carriage bolt . Examples: carver's screw --- A type of clamp used by wood carvers; it consists of a threaded metal rod that is put through a hole in a workbench and screwed into the bottom of the item being carved. There is a nut or other tightening mechanism that goes under the bench. The traditional version has a wing-shaped metal plate with a square hole in it that fits a square head on the bottom of the rod for tightening the screw into the workpiece, and then that same plate acts as a tightening nut under the bench, thus removing the need for any other tool to do the carver's clamping. The beauty of the carver's clamp is that it leave all of the surface of the item being carved, except the very bottom, open to the carver. One possible drawback is that if a chisel is pressed or hammered into the edge of a workpiece in a way that imparts rotational force in the direction that tends to loosen the carver's screw, then occasional re-tightening may be required, which can be a pain. Examples: casement hinge --- A type of hinge specifically for use with a casement window . There are several styles ranging from fairly simple to moderately complex. Examples: castle nut --- A nut that has a slotted ridge around the top, making it look very much like a castle guard tower. It is used with a bolt that has a hole through the end through which a cotter pin is inserted and then bent around the castle nut so that the nut becomes captive and cannot vibrate off. Also called "slotted hex nut". Examples: cement coated nail --- A nail coated with adhesive ("cement") to give it a very rough surface for greater holding power. clevis pin --- A short metal rod with a head on one end and a hole drilled in the other end, so that the pin can be put through a hole and then be fastened in place by a cotter pin through the hole in the pin. There is a special type of "cotter pin" used with clevis pins, as shown in the composite pic below. This form of cotter pin has one leg ridged to hold it on the clevis pin and the legs are not bent after insertion into the pin. This form of cotter pin is more readily removed than a standard cotter pin. Clevis pins are also attached with wire rings much like a key-chain ring. Clevis pins are used to attach small rotating parts to each other, to attach turnbuckles to a chain loop, etc. Examples: clip on hinge --- add definition coach bolt --- synonymous with carriage bolt coach hinge --- I have found very few references to this term and most of those simply show a butt hinge combination head screw --- A screw whose drive mechanism will accomdate both a phillips head screwdriver AND a flat head screw driver . Examples: combination wrench --- A type of wrench that has a box wrench on one end and an open ended wrench on the other end. The box wrench end may or may not have a ratchet mechanism and or be offset. They come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. The term "ratchet wrench" is sometimes appied to these when the box wrench end has a ratchet mechanism. Examples: common nail --- A wire nail used almost exclusively for construction. This is both by name and by actual existence the most common form of nail and is what people normally mean when they say "nail". It has a broad head for good holding power and a fairly thick shank to provide shear strength where it is applied. The large head that provides the great holding strength of this type nail is a disadvantage in situations where looks matter more than holding power, so in those cases, a finishing nail is a better choice. Examples concealed hinge --- A hinge which is either totally hidden from view when closed (see fully concealed hinge or partially hidden from view when closed (see partially concealed hinge . NOTE: In casual usage, the term is often used as synonymous with fully concealed hinge and the term "partially concealed hinge" is much less used. concrete screw --- synonymous with masonry screw confirmat screw --- A screw designed for use with MDF or particleboard when used in cabinet construction (these screws are aka cabinet connecting screws) and the threads are fairly deep to grab these somewhat crumbly materials and care is required to not overtighten the screw since they will strip out fairly easily. The OD of the shank directly under the head is typically a little larger than the OD of the threads and the drive is most often an Allen head drive but may also a be Phillips head drive. They usually, but not universally, have a very thin flange at the top of the head that is driven flush in the material being screwed and they usually have blunt rather than pointed tips since they are designed to be used with a pilot hole often drilled out with stepped drill bits specifically made for use with these screws. Examples: conical anchor --- a tapered cylinder (thus a cone), generally of plasic, that expands when a screw is driven into it. It is used to anchor relatively light things to wall board / drywall, plaster, and masonry. There is a "ribbed" version that is particularly good for drywall because it has little "wings" that help keep the device from rotating as the screw is driven in. Examples: connector bolt --- A bolt that has a broad flat head with a recessed allen wrench drive hole. These are most commonly used with either cross dowels or sex nuts . Examples: continuous hinge --- synonymous with piano hinge corner brace --- There are many devices in woodworking that are called corner braces, but the most common use of that term is for what is also (somewhat more specifically) called a "table corner brace", which is a metal plate that is used to brace the corner of a desk where the legs meet the rails , often with a corner tongue and groove joint . The brace is attached with a hanger bolt with the screw thread end going into the leg and the machine screw end coming through the brace, which is then tightened with a nut that usually has a split ring lock washer under it to prevent loosening under vibration as the table is jiggled slightly in use. Most often, the brace has short edges that go into grooves in the rails for added stability and rigidity. There are also shop-made versions that are more simple (one of which is shown in the illustration below). Examples: corrugated fastener --- A small wavy ( corrugated ) rectangle of steel with one edge sharpened so that it can be driven into wood to hold a joint together. These can be driven with a hammer but there are also powered nail-gun -like drivers as well. Examples: cotter pin --- A bent piece of metal that has a loop with two projections coming off of it side by side. The projections can be put through a hole and the loop prevents the pin from going through the hole all the way. The projections are then bent so that the pin is firmly held in the hole on both ends. Used to fasten wheels to axles on toys, wheelbarrows, etc. There is a variation on this that is used with the clevis pin , where the "cotter pin" has one of the legs is ridged and the legs are not bent after insertion (see clevis pin). Although these are usually manhandled with a pair of pliers , there is a specialty tool for removing them (called, appropriately enough, a cotter pin puller . Examples: cotter pin puller --- A hooked tool for removing cotter pins after the legs have been straightened out. Examples: counterflap hinge --- a hinge used for counter flaps of the type often seen in bars and diners. Many types of hinges COULD be used for this purpose but the hinges that are specifically given this name tend to be those that have a shape very much like that of a butterfly joint but tend to be more plain than their similarly-shaped cousin, the butterfly hinge . More importantly, they are double hinged with a floating knuckle so that when mounted flush with a countertop via shallow mortises, they both allow the counter top to flip over 180 degrees and at the same time not have a (hinge) barrel sitting proud of the counter top, AND even more importantly, they floating knuckle allows for some slack so that both sides of the countertop can have perfectly square edges and still not mash into each other as would be the case if the floating knuckle had no play in it. See hinge parts for a discussion of the various parts that make up this type of hinge, but note that this hinge operates significantly differently than the standard butt hinge in that the knuckles do not mate with each other but each have their own captive pin with a floating knuckle joining the two thus providing a double pivot. Functionally, these hinges are quite similar to the card table hinge Examples: countersink --- [verb] To create an extra wide opening at the top of a screw hole so that the head of the screw will sit flush with the object it is put into. countersink --- [noun] (1) The area removed by a countersink bit . countersink --- [noun] (2) synonymous with countersink bit countersink bit --- A drill bit that allows you to drill out the upper portion of a hole so that the head of a screw (that has been countersunk will sit flush with the face of the object it is put into. There are special bits that drill countersink holes and also bits that drill both a pilot hole and the countersink at the same time; these are called countersink pilot hole bits and there are two types; the first has a set of 3 or more sharpened flutes around the edge that do the cutting and the second type is a solid countersink-area-shaped piece of metal with a hole it it and it is the edges of the hole that do the cutting. There is also a manual version somewhat like a screwdriver, but with a countersink bit on the end, called a hand countersink . Examples of both types: countersinking --- The process of creating a countersunk area in a material (usually wood or metal). countersink pilot hole bits --- drill bits that both drill a pilot hole and cut out a countersink area at the same time. These usually come in sets with diameters set for the most common screw sizes and they have adjustable collars that allow for different depths so that the pilot holes can be adjusted for different length screws. Examples: countersunk --- [verb] Past tense of countersink countersunk lock washer --- an external tooth lock washer but cone-shaped to conformm to the bottom of a countersunk screw. Examples: countersunk screw --- A screw that has a sloping part under a flat head. Such screws come in two flavors as shown in the composite pic below. The standard countersink is a 45 degree angled flat surface and the bugle type (see bugle head screw ) is a concave surface. Examples: countersunk washer --- A washer that is used underneath a countersunk screw so that a countersunk hole does not have to be drilled in the material AND so that the holding pressure is distributed over a wider area (these are often used over thin material). There is a version of these (the flanged countersunk washer ) that spreads the pressure out even more. The cross-section of one side may be a hill, a wedge pointing towards the center, or a triangle pointing up from the surface. Examples: coupling nut --- A very long hex nut that is used to join two threaded rods. There is also a version that has a round exterior. These are also called "hex coupling" nuts and "rod coupling" nuts. Examples: cranked chisel --- Any type of carving chisel (cranks don't occur in lathe chisels) that has a dog leg or other bend in the shank , these are also called a "dog leg chisel", "crane neck chisel" and "bent shank chisel" and are useful whenever you need to pare with the chisel flat on the work surface. If the cut is away from an edge, or in a recess, the handle of a normal chisel will get in the way but With these chisels the dog leg in the handle gives clearance above the work to hold the handle. These are particularly useful for joinery and they also work quite well for removing long glue bead lines after the glue has dried. If the crank is very close to the end of the tool, the tool is sometimes called a short bent tool and if the bend is further away from the end and/or is a more gentle curve, the tool is called a long bent tool. cranked hinge --- A type of hinge has a crank in one or both (hinge) leaves and that thus allows a door or window to swing through 180 degrees. Also called a "stormproof" hinge becuase of its common use with storm windows. When I first saw the term, I assumed it meant a hinge like a casement hinge for use with a casement window since that is a window that opens by cranking a handle. Instead, the term "crank" in this case is being used in its sense of "having a dog-leg bend". The term "double cranked hinge" means the same thing (both leaves are cranked) but if only one leaf is cranked, then the hinge is called a single cranked hinge . Double cranked hinges in particular are also called "stormproof" hinges because they are commonly used with storm windows. Often when the term "cranked hinge" is used, the person using it has a particular type (single or double) in mind and does not bother to preface the term with "single" or "double" and that goes for manufacturer's advertisments as well. Examples: crescent wrench --- A type of wrench that has two parallel jaws with one and integral part of the handle and the other adjustable through a sliding mechanism controlled by a knurled gear shaft inside the handle. These are most commonly used to turn square head bolts and hex head bolts . Although they will all turn items that are both English and metric sizes some are marked with English gradations and others with metric gradations, and many with no gradations at all since users rarely set them to a size and then put them on the item to be turned, but rather just put them on the item and adjust to fit. Compare/contrast to open ended wrench . Examples: crippling --- When a nail is not strong enough to withstand the force required to drive it into the wood, the weakest portion of the shank will bend when the head of the nail is hit by the hammer. This is called crippling, and it is particularly troublesome with annular ring nails because all those rings provide multiple failure points. It can also be a problem for any nail when driven into a particularly hard wood or when struck with more force than is warrented for the size of the nail, and of course a poorly centered hammer blow can cause it in any nail. cross dowel --- A type of knockdown fastener that consists of a steel dowel with a threaded hole through its middle and a slot in one end for use with a flat head screwdriver (to get it to line up, not to tighten it), most commonly used with a connector bolt . the dowel is inserted into a hole in one piece of wood, that also has a hole to accept the bolt into the hole in the center of the dowel, and then the bolt is put through a hole in another piece of wood and the two can then be tightly joined, but later broken down if desired. Because of their wide-spread use in knockdown bed assemblies, these are also called "bed bolts". Examples: cup hinge --- synonymous with European hinge cup hook --- A small metal rod, threaded on one end and bent into a cup shape on the unthreaded portion, and it may or may not have a circular flange separating the two sections. The device is screwed into a wall or other holding element so that things can be hung from it. I believe the name derives from the fact that the shape is like a cup, but I have seen large ones used to hang drinking cups by their handles, so I'm not positive. Examples: cut nail --- A flat, tapered nail that is stamped out of sheet steel . These nails have a blunt end instead of a point and a rectangular cross section and have greater holding power than wire nails . They are often used for fastening flooring . Examples: dead nail --- In days gone by, screws were either not invented yet or hard to come by, but nails were available, so certain types on construction were give the necessary holding power by driving a nail through the connecting items and then bending the pointed end over at the back. Such nails were then referred to as "dead" nails, and the phrase "dead as a doornail" referred to such a use in a common type of door construction. deck screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed for use in decks (external structures usually of treated lumber or very durable hardwood), thus they are made from galvanized steel, stainless steel, or are coated in some way to resists corrosion. The have very coarse threads and sometimes have a section at the top that has cylindrcial ridges rather than sprial threads; this is to resist pull-out due to expansion/contraction of the wood (once the screw is driven, the wood fibers push back around the ridges and not being helical, they strongly resist having the screw "undrive" itself due to wood movement). They are ALWAYS flat-headed and countersunk or have small heads (a type of trim screw ) that will sit below the deck surface since it would be really obnoxious to have screw heads sticking up out of a deck. The drive type is normally either allen head or phillips head , never flat head because driving screws into decking requires a lot of torque and flat head drives are just too likely to strip. Sometimes, decking screws are a type of self tapping screw . Examples: demountable hinge --- A specialty hinge that is used to facilitate the mounting and adjustment of cabinets, especially kitchen cabinets. There are two types: the double demountable hinge and the single demountable hinge . demountable hinge slot cutter --- A router bit used to cut the slots needed by a demountable hinge tab. Examples: die --- see tap and die dock washer --- A very large, thick fender washer for use on heavy construction (such as a marine dock, thus the name). door hinge --- A butt hinge that is strong enough to hold a house door. Often, door hinges will be somewhat fancy instead of just plain flat metal, and they will also frequently have a finial at both the top and bottom of the hinge pin. Door hinges are often put into mortises in both the edge of the door and the frame, as can be seen in the lower right portion of the composite pic below. Door hinges on external doors are most often made of either brass or stainless steel to avoid corrosion due to exposure to moisture. Eamples: door leaf --- The hinge leaf that is mounted to a door. Compare/contrast to frame leaf . door wing --- synonymous with door leaf double action spring hinge --- A type of hinge that has two (hinge) barrels that act in a way that allows a door to swing more than 180 degrees in each direction (in and out) and spring-loaded so that the door always return to center closed position. Also called "double barrel" hinge, "saloon door" hinge, and "cafe door" hinge. In addition to the composite pic below of examples of this type hinge, I have, to show the action, created a graphic that shows the operation looking down onto a door and frame, with directions arbitrarily designated as "inward" to the left and "outward" to the right (and only showing a short portion of the door and frame). Note that the door swings outward centered on the barrel colored dark red and it swings inward centered on the barrel colored blue and the two barrels are attached by a 3rd (middle) leaf. Examples: double cranked hinge --- A type of hinge that has a crank on both leaves and thus allows a door or window to swing through 180 degrees and move completely clear of the door frame area. A similar item with only one of the two leaves having a crank is called the single cranked hinge . Cranked hinges are also called "stormproof hinges" because of their common use with the kind of louvered panels that used to be called "storm windows" before modern technology made that term come to more commonly mean something else. See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up the hinge. Note that in the graphic below, I have drawn the window such that when closed it sits proud of the frame, but it could just as well be mounted so that it ends up flush when closed (which would result in their being a larger gap at the hinge when it's fully open, but that's not a problem, it just didn't look as neat when drawn that way). Examples: double demountable hinge --- This is a somewhat complex type of specialty hinge that is designed to facilitate installation and adjustment of cabinet doors, especially kitchen cabinet doors where there are typically many in a row and you need them to all line up neatly. The mechanism that allows the easy adjustment that is at the heart of this type of hinge is a tab that is inserted into a mortise in the wood and that is cut by a demountable hinge slot cutter router bit. The tab is pulled into the inside of the wooden section (door or frame) by clamping pressure exerted by a countersunk machine screw that goes through the (hinge) leaf and into a threaded hole in the middle of the tab but which does not touch the wood anywhere because the slot is cut extra large to allow for movement (up and down AND back and forth) of the screw so as to align the door as needed. Because this tab mechanism is on both the door leaf and the frame leaf, there is a great deal of flexibility in terms of adjusting the position of the door. Compare this to the great precision that you have to have in placing the screw holes for mounting other types of hinges to make sure all the cabinet doors line up and you can see why this type of hinge is a favorite of kitchen cabinet installers. There is another version of this type hinge that only has the tab mechanism on the door leaf and it is called a single demountable hinge . This is a partially concealed hinge because only the barrel and part of the frame leaf are exposed, and it is a type of flush hinge . You can't see that in the pics below because the angle is wrong on all of them, but if you look at the illustrations with single demountable hinge you'll see what I mean. The flush aspect is implicit in the mounting pic in the upper right hand corner, but you may have to think about it a bit to see it. Although it's not obvious from the pics below, some styles of this hinge require a mounting technique that is slightly different from that shown in the upper right below. The second from the left hinge in the pic below exemplifies this; if you look carefully, you'll see that the only way this hinge could be mounted is if the entire back edge of the door be given an edge rabbet . The term "demountable" in the name is somewhat misleading since it would normally imply that no screwdriver is required to demount the hinge (see lift off hinge ), but that is not the case with this hinge, although it IS easier to remove than traditional hinges because only the one machine screw in the frame leaf needs to be removed to dismount the door AND the hinge. Examples: double dovetail half lap --- synonymous with corner half lap with double dovetail dowel screw --- A cylindrical (not tapered) metal shank (typically of steel) with no head, wood screw threads, and both ends pointed. These are used to connect two wooden parts that have blind holes, such as the finial on a stair railing. Some are un-threaded in the center to make installation using a pair of locking pliers gripping the center easy. Do not confuse with a hanger bolt , which has a machine screw on one end and a wood screw on the other. Vendors sometimes list these two different items indiscriminately as one being the other. Examples: drawer front screw --- A screw , usually steel with a broad, flat head and an unthreaded area below the head then coarse, firm-griping threads below that. These are used in drawer fronts as follows and illustrated in the composite pic below: the false front is attached to the drawer sides and two oversized holes are drilled in it, then the drawer front, which is wide enough to hide the drawer sides and prevent the drawer from sliding back into the carcass , is attached to the false front through the oversized holes, using the drawer front screws. This allows some movement in drawer front so that it can be lined up precisely so as to not look skewed from the front of the cabinet, and then when it's lined up the screws are tightened. These are most commonly provided with Phillips head drive holes because a flat head drive could too easily slip off and mar the surface on the inside of the drawer. Examples: drill rod --- synonymous with threaded rod drop flap hinge --- A hinge designed for use with a vertical panel that covers the front of a cabinet section but drops down 90 degrees to provide a horizontal work space. Not to be confused with drop leaf hinge . Examples: need to add drop flap hinge pics drop leaf hinge --- For drop leaf table extensions and not to be confused with drop flap hinge . This is a butt hinge but with one of the (hinge) leaves wider than the other so as to clear the curved portion of the drop leaf. Better explained with pics than words, so here you go: need to add drop leaf hinge pics drywall screw --- As the name says, this kind of screw is designed for use with drywall so it doesn't have to be very strong and thus they are generally pretty skinny. Thay are always flat head screws so as to be flush with the drywall surface, and they are countersunk in a curved fashion (often called a "bugle" head) so as to not abruptly the drywall as they go in. They also seems to always use a phillips head drive type, probably because if the screwdriver slipped off of a flat head drive type it could poke a hole in the drywall and the shape does not lend itself to the use of a robertson drive . They typically are made of steel, sometimes with a black finish and have quite coarse threads and they are sometimes a type of self tapping screw since on the other side of the drywall they have to go into a stud ; for the same reason, they often have a very sharp point if they are not self tapping. Unlike more normal wood screws the outer diamer of the threads on these screws is larger than the unthreaded shank . Compare/contrast to particleboard screw and see also reverse thread drywall screw . Examples: edge mounted --- For a hinge leaf , this means that the leaf is mounted (with or without a mortise ) into the edge, as opposed to the back or the face, of the door and frame that it is mounted on. Compare/contrast to face mounted . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. edge mounted hinge --- Any hinge uses edge mounting on both of the (hinge) leaves . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. Compare/contrast to face mounted hinge . elevator bolt --- A bolt that is usually similar to a carriage bolt in that it has the square top to the shank and no slotting or other drive mechanism at the top of the head, but unlike the carriage bolt, the elevator bolt has a very wide thin head that presents a lot of surface area for gripping, but a low profile so as to not present much of an obstruction above the surface. There are other variations, most notably one that has triangluar protrusions going down from the head to grip the wood and prevent turning (this variety does not have the square section at the top of the shank), and another form that simply omits the square section, although on this one, it's not clear to me how it is that the head is kept from rotating while the nut is tightened. Examples: end nailing --- Inserting a nail directly into (that is, perpendicular to) the long direction of a member. This is generally a poor technique because nails do not hold well when driven directly into end grain. When a nail is driven through the face of one plank and into the end grain of a support post, it's a tossup whether it should be called end nailing or face nailing, though the preference seems to be end nailing, with face nailing being more often used when nailing together two parallel planks or when nailing through a face and into a side. Compare/contrast to toe nailing and face nailing . Example: end play --- In a hinge , this is the amount of movement that a (hinge) leaf can make perpendicular to the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . European hinge --- Also known as "cup hinge" and "European concealed hinge", these are of a design quite different from more "normal" hinges. They have 2 parts, the hinge cup and arm as one part and the mounting plate as the other part. The door side is fixed with the "cup", which fits in a round mortise inside the door and is held with screws that go through wings that come out of the sides of the cup mechanism. The cabinet side uses the "mounting plate" which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically so you can easily align a row of doors. There are two types of these hinges, one for face frame doors and one for frameless doors . They are fully concealed hinges and are very popular for cabinet doors in kitchens and entertainment centers. They are also sprung to close automatically, so no catch is required at the closing edge of the door. They are also a type of zero clearance hinge . Examples: expansion anchor bolt --- a variety of anchor bolt that has two parts, the bolt itself, and an expansion cylinder that is placed in a hole drilled into masonry . As the bolt is tightened, the expansion part expands outward against the sides of the hole thus providing a strong pressure fit. Unlike the other form of anchor bolt (which is an "L"-shaped bolt that is put into concrete before it sets), this type is also used for horizontal applications (in the side of a masonry wall, for example). A similar fastener pair is a lag screw with a lag screw shield . For direct fastening to masonry (without a sleeve) see masonry screw . Examples: external tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the outer rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type, as contrasted to an internal tooth lock washer , has greater holding power, but can mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows. Examples: eye bolt --- A bolt that has a ring of metal (the "eye") on top instead of a normal bolt head. These are used for various kinds of tie-downs, with a rope or wire going through the ring. There is an almost identical construct that has a tapered end (and is used in wood) that is called an eye lag screw (and, technically incorrectly, also called an "eye lag bolt" even though it's a screw ). These constructs may or may not have a shoulder . eye hook --- (also called "eye screw") A metal rod, most commonly steel, that is threaded on one end and bent into a circle on the other end. The device is screwed into a wall or other support structure and used for hanging things. It is particularly useful for threading a string or rope through a number of them so that things can be hung from or draped on the rope. When these constructs are fairly large, and particularly when the eye is a continuous piece, they are more normally called eye lag screws . Examples: eye lag --- synonymous with eye lag screw eye lag bolt --- A commonly used name for what is also, and more correctly, called an eye lag screw eye lag screw --- A construct identical to an eye bolt except that it has a tapered end (making it a screw rather than a bolt , and unlike its namesake the eye bolt, it is really a screw not a bolt even though it has a uniform (not tapered) shank (but it IS pointedon the end). Another way of looking at it is that it is a lag screw with a ring for a head. If these constructs are fairly small and have a discontinuous ring (and sometimes even with a continuous ring) they are called eye hooks or eye screws. In practice, the distinction between eye hook and eye lag screw seems to be vague to non-existent but the name "lag" usually implies the larger/thicker version and the term "hook" generally implies the that the eye is a discontinuous piece, just bent from the shank . The names are so interchangeable that I have the items included in the composite pic below are what I think SHOULD be called eye hooks. These constructs may or may not have a shoulder but most commonly they do because otherwise you might turn them after then have entered the material all the way and thus create a circular gouge in the surface They are most commonly steel. Examples: eye screw --- synonymous with eye hook face mounted --- For a hinge leaf this mean that it is mounted on the face or back, as opposed to the edge, of the door and frame to which it is attached. It may or may not have any mortises . Not to be confused with surface mounted . Compare/contrast to edge mounted . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. face mounted hinge --- Any hinge uses face mounting on both of the (hinge) leaves . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. Compare/contrast to edge mounted hinge . face nailing --- Inserting a nail directly into (that is, perpendicular to) the face of a plank. When a nail is driven through the face of one plank and into the end grain of a support post, it's a tossup whether it should be called end nailing or face nailing, though the preference seems to be end nailing, with face nailing being more often used when nailing together two parallel planks or when nailing through a face and into a side. Compare/contrast to toe nailing and end nailing . Example: fastener --- A solid device (that is, not an adhesive ) used to join two objects together. Below is a list of the ones most commonly used in woodworking, with links to their entries in this glossary. Several of these have many subtypes that are discussed with the individual terms. NOTE: INCOMPLETE SECTION --- some of the terms below are not yet defined in this glossary brad washer other ??? fast pin hinge --- A hinge in which the hinge pin is fastened permanently in place as opposed to being a removable cylinder, as it is in, for example, a door hinge . "fast" in this instance does not mean speedy, it means permanent and in fact another name for this is "fixed pin hinge". For an example of a fast pin hinge, see barrel hinge (type #2). Compare/contrast to loose pin hinge . fender washer --- A washer that is very like a common flat washer except that it has an OD that is something like 4 or 5 times the ID rather than the 2 times of a normal flat washer. The purpose of fender washers is to distribute the pressure of the screw or bolt head far wider than is the case with a normal washer; fender washers are designed for use with very thin material (hey, like the fender of a car !). There is an extra-thick, heavy-duty version of these that are used for heavy constuction and are called "dock washers". Examples: finishing nail --- A slender nail with a small, semi-spherical head , which is used with trim and molding and in places where nail holes must be very small. It is called a "finishing" nail because (1) it is used in finish carpentry (this is the original source of the name) and (2) it is used in places where the finish of a piece shows, and it is important to use a small-headed nail so that it is unobtrusive and/or can be unobtrusively covered with wood putty and finished to blend in with the surrounding surface. It has the significant disadvantage of poor holding power because of the small head, so is not used in situations where holding power matters much. Also, it is thinner relative to its length than a same-length common nail but is sold using the same "penny" designation based on LENGTH (rather than the same number of nails per unit price) as the common nail of the same length. SO ... a 6-penny finishing nail will have the same length as a 6-penny common nail but will weigh considerably less because it is much thinner (a little thinnner even than a box nail of the same length). There is a corresponding version of this for screws, the trim screw which is also called a "finishing screw". Examples: finish screw --- synonymous with trim screw finish washer --- (aka finish cup washer, aka trim washer) A washer for use with countersunk heads on bolts or screws but without the countersunk hole. They are shaped something like a donut sliced horizontally and have several uses. Use them to dress up exposed screw heads or to convert a flat head to a "pan" head when the screw cannot be countersunk. They also help distribute the load which can be helpful with softer materials and they work well for creating eyes or headlights on childrens� toys. Compare/contrast to flush washer . Examples: fixed pin hinge --- synonymous with fast pin hinge flange --- An external or internal rib, or rim (lip), used either for strength (e.g. the flanges of an I-beam which are the horizontal members at the top and bottom of the beam) or for a guide (e.g. the flange of a train wheel, which keeps the wheel on the track) or for attachment to another object (e.g. the flange on the end of a pipe). The horizontal members of a box beam are called flanges. The extensions of roof flashing , usually at chimneys and plumbing vents, are sometimes called flanges. Some handled tools with a general shape like that of a screwdriver (although possibly a radically different use) sometimes have a flange or shoulder to prevent the tang or shank from being driven too far into the handle and splitting it. Items such as cup hooks often have a part that is called the shoulder or flange. flange bolt --- A bolt with a flange at the bottom of the head to provide more surface over which to spread out the pressure of the head on the object being clampled. These are most commonly hex head bolts but there is nothing in the definition that requires that. Flange bolts many or may not have serrated ridges on the bottom of the flange. Examples: flanged --- Having one or more flanges . flanged cap nut --- A cap nut with a flange around the bottom to more widely distribute the pressure on the surface being clamped. Examples: flanged countersunk washer --- A countersunk washer with a flange around the rim to distribute the pressure on the clamped surface more widely. Examples: flange nut --- A nut that has a flange around the side that is going put against the object being clampled. Mostly these are hex head nuts but there are also cap nuts that are flanged. The flange serves to distribute the pressure from the nut over a wider area of the part being clamped, reducing the chance of damage to the part and making it less likely that the nut might loosen due to an uneven surface. The flange may be serrated to provide a locking action, in which case the nut is formally called a serrated flange nut . The serrations are angled such that they keep the nut from rotating in the direction that would loosen it. Examples: flathead --- (2) A flat head screw flathead --- (3) A bolt or screw that is designed to be driven with a flat head screwdriver. flathead --- (4) The HEAD of a bolt or screw that is designed to be driven with a flat head screwdriver. flat head screw --- (1) A screw that has a flat head, so that it will be flush with the object it is screwed into; this requires a countersunk head. It usually has a tapered shank but these exist as both wood screws and machine screws and the machine screws have a straight shank and often have an allen head drive slot but the wood screws almost always have a flat head" , a phillips head , or a Robertson drive slot. The most common materials for these are steel, brass, and aluminum. flat head screw --- (2) Any screw that uses a flat head screw driver . Examples of type (1): Examples of type (2): flat head screwdriver --- This is THE standard screwdriver and what people normally mean when they say screwdriver (the other widely used version is the phillips head screw driver ). The end is shaped like a long skinny rectangle (like a minus sign) and fits into a corresponding slot in the screw head. The big disadvantage of flat head screws and their drivers is the tendency to strip the slot in the top of the screw head when high torque is used. They just don't provide much protection against that. Examples: flat speed nut --- see spring nut flat washer --- The most common type of washer , the flat washer is a simple disk of material, normally metal, and is designed to distribute the pressure from the head of a bolt or screw across more of the surface (into which the fastener is being put) than would be covered by just the head of the fastener. Compare/contrast to fender washer and split ring lock washer . There is a square version of this called, not very surprizingly, the square washer Examples: floor Closer --- Also known as a spring pivot, this is a spring loaded door closing device that is installed in a recess in the floor below a pivot hinge in order to regulate and control the opening and closing of the door. These have a heavy spring which is attached to the pivot pin where it comes down into the floor and it in turn is rigidly attached inside the bottom of the door. flush cranked hinge --- A specialty type of single cranked hinge that has a cutout in the frame leaf so that an inset cabinet door can swing a full 180 degrees and be flush with the face frame both when open and when closed. Actually, I may have been hasty in accepting this definition since I find that ther are in fact some double cranked hinges that are the flush type. They look like the some of the ones in the composite pic below except that the tongue-like leaf also has a dogleg . Examples: flush hinge --- You might think from the name that this has something to do with a hinge being flush-mounted with a mortise in the door or the frame, but quite the opposite, what it really is is a type of edge mounted hinge that is also a surface mounted hinge . That is, it is mounted on the edge of the door and frame and with no mortise in the either. It has what amounts to being a mortise (generally referred to as a "recess" in this case) in one of the leaves (which is generally mounted as the frame leaf) into which the other leaf fits when the door is closed so as to provide only a single hinge leaf's width of opening between the door and the frame. They are used as edge mounted hinges in any cabinet doors that don't need to have a really tight fit between the frame and the back edge of the door. Rather than being "flush mounted" in the sense of being mortised, this type of hinge avoids the need for a mortise in the door or the frame. Generally, these are not used for heavy load-bearing applications. Examples: need to add flush hinge pics flush washer --- A washer that is like a flat washer except that the center is pressed down into a cone shape to conform to the underside of a countersunk screw and the rim acts to spread the load out a lot more than is the case with a countersunk head alone. Compare/contrast to finish washer . Examples: folding screen hinge --- This is a type of hinge that is functionally similar to the double action spring hinge in that it allows 360 degrees of movement, but it is lighter weight and has no springs because it is designed to allow a folding screen to be repositioned but not actually swung back and forth the way cafe door is, for example. That is, the folding screen hinge is not really a load-bearing hinge at all. Like the double action spring hinge it has, effectively, three leaves and two barrels, but it is a somewhat more complex layout and less strength as you can see in the pics below. Examples: folding table hinge --- synonymous with butler tray hinge [actually, there are several types of hinges that could well be used in fold-up table tops, but they each have their own names] frame bolt --- An ill-defined term that seems to refer most often to flange bolts as used in framing , with bed frames, in automobiles, etc. but also is used to designate other types of bolts when they are used in framing applications. In other words, this seems to be a loosely defined term based on the USE of a bolt, not the style of the bolt itself. frameless door --- A door for a frameless cabinet . These doors are always overlay doors rather than inset doors (see face frame doors for further discussion) because inset doors in a frameless cabinet would give the total construct quite an unattractive look. Compare/contrast to face frame door . Examples: framing hammer --- Similar to a heavy claw hammer but with two differences. First, the claw is straight rather than curved which allows it to be more easily used as a crowbar . Second, the head has a waffle-like crosshatching and framing nails have a similar crosshatching on the top of their heads , thus providing a striking surface between hammer and nail that is far less likely to slip off than often happens when a normal smooth-top common nail is stuck with a claw hammer (which has a smooth face). The crosshatching on the head of this type hammer does tend to mar the wood, but since it is framing , it will be covered up and the marring won't be seen. Some framing hammers have a magnetized slot along the top edge of the striking surface to hold a nail. This allows the nail to be placed and driven quickly with just one hand. Framing hammers are going the way of the dodo bird now that nail guns have taken over in framing work. Examples: framing nail --- A common nail that has been crosshatched across the top of its head so that when struck by a framing hammer (which has a crosshatched head face) the blow will be very unlikely to result in the hammer head slipping off of the nail head. Framing nails are going the way of the dodo bird since the advent of nail guns, which are MUCH faster than a framing hammer and nail, and the nails in the nail guns don't need the crosshatched head of the true framing nail. In fact, the true framing nail as described here is SO rare that I was unable to find even one pic of it anywhere anywhere on the Internet. The one example I could find was a drawing, not a pic of an actual nail, but it does show correctly what they look like: framing screw --- A vague term that seems to be applied to any screw , regardless of type, if it is used in a framing application. French cleat --- A simple, strong mounting mechanism for wall cabinets (or most any heavy wall-mounted object that has, or that can be made to have, a flat back). The "cleat" is nothing more than a beveled plank that is mounted to the wall studs and that then provides a long "hook" on which to hang the flat-backed object, as shown in the example below. A corrsponding "hook" plank (also beveled) is glued/screwed onto the top back of the object to be hung. need to add french cleat pics friction hinge --- Any hinge that has a friction mechanism in the (hinge) barrel that causes friction between the (hinge) knuckles to keep a door open at any fixed position. Although a well balanced butt hinge will allow a door to sit at any position, a strong breeze will move the door unless the hinge is a friction hinge and then it will take a little more force to move the door. full mortise hinge --- Any hinge that has both of its (hinge) leaves sitting in mortises rather than being surface mounted . Leaves that sit in mortises are flush with the surface that they are in, so that they do not get in the way of the door closing. Compare/contrast to full surface hinge . full surface hinge --- Any hinge that has both of its (hinge) leaves surface mounted rather than sitting in mortises . Leaves that are surface mounted can, depending on where they are mounted, interfere with the closing of a door, or at the very least require a gap that would not be required if they were mortised. The advantage of surface mounted leaves is very simple ... you don't have to create a mortise. Compare/contrast to full mortise hinges . full wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that wraps around both the edge and the back of both a door and the face frame on an inset face frame cabinet . It provides strength and a full 180 degree opening range. You COULD do the same job with a butt hinge but you'd have to put screws only into the edge of each whereas the full wrap around design allows mounting screws in both the edge and the back of the door and the frame. Sometimes 270 degree hinges are called wrap around hinges (and several variations on that name, which are listed with the term 270 degree hinge), but the item shown here is what is normally intended by the term full wrap around hinge and there is another style called the partial wrap aound hinge . The partial wrap around hinge is typically used in a frameless cabinet whereas the full wraparound is used in a face frame cabinet . Examples: fully concealed hinge --- Any hinge that has the entire mechanism hidden from view when the hinged object is closed. This is highly desirable on some objects, such as jewelry boxes and entertainment center cabinet doors. There are several types of fully concealed hinges, the most common of which are listed below with links to their full definitions and illustrations. Then in the composite pic below that are shown a number of "miscellaneous" concealed hinges, some of which have a body style that is VERY close to the SOSS hinge, but the mechanism is slightly different. Compare/contrast to partially concealed hinge . barrel hinge type #1 --- has cylindrical (barrel shaped) leaves and flat plats as knuckles European hinge --- a type of zero clearance hinge widely used in cabinet doors SOSS hinge --- similar to barrel hinge but with stronger mounting mechanism galvanic corrosion --- A process that causes corrosion in dissimilar metals that are in contact with each other in the presence of salt water (or certain other chemicals); the combination of metals and electrolyte creates an electronic process which separates material off of one of the metallic surfaces. Non-conducting phenolic washers are used to prevent this when, for example, steel screws are used in aluminum blocks. gate hook --- [also gatehook] A type of hooking system most often used to keep screen doors closed. It consists of an eye hook on each end and a long, specially shaped cup hook attached to one of them and fitting into the other. Also called a "hook and eye". Examples: glass door hinge --- A type of pivot hinge designed specifically for use with glass doors. What accomodates glass doors so well is a "U" cross-sectioned bracket that holds the glass. Sometimes screws are used to hold the bracket, but more often it is glued to the glass (or installed as a pressure fit with high-friction rubber) so as to avoid having to drill screw holes in the glass. The (hinge) pin then protrudes directly up or down into the frame. I have seen even very heavy full-sized glass doors mounted with this technique, but it is more commonly used in display cases and home entertainment centers. Examples: grub screw --- synonymous with set screw gudgeon --- The "hole" part of a pintle and gudgeon hinge. When used on ships' rudders, the gudgeon is almost always a U-shaped strap with the hole a the middle of the U, but in other application, other types are used. Examples: gutter spike --- This is a long nail (usually about 7" to 8" long and up to 3/8" in diameter, although more like 1/4" is more common) that is specifically used to install roof gutters. As shown in the composite pic below, the nail is put into the outer hole in the gutter, then inserted through the ferrule and then through the inner hole in the gutter and driven into the fascia . The ferrule prevents the nail from being hammered in so far that it bends the gutter. Generally, these are quite similar to common nails in appearance, but the end of the shank may be ridged for better holding power. There are long screws that are also used specifically for the same job for even more holding power. Examples: hand countersink --- A manual tool that allows you to drill out the upper portion of a hole so that the head of a screw will sit flush with the face of the object it is put into. There is a version that is used in drills just called the countersink bit . Examples: handedness --- Various items in woodworking, including tools, locks, closers, some hinges and other hardware, require that you take into account a direction of motion and/or a method of mounting to accomdate that motion. The most widely known handed too is the scissors. It's very annoying to use a "normal" pair of scissors in your left hand so left-handed scissors were developed. For hinges, see hinge handedness . handscrew --- A traditional woodworking clamp with two long wooden jaws joined by two threaded rods that have handles in line with the shank . The rods adjust independently by turning the handles, which allows you to position the jaws parallel or at angles to one another. Handscrews come in a variety of sizes, based on the length of the jaws, generally from about 4" to as much as 12". There are two disadvantages of a handscrews. First, there's no quick release; the only way to move the jaws is by the slow turning of the screws, and second, it is hard to tell when the surfaces are really parallel to the workpiece (and thus providing even pressure). Examples: hanger bolt --- A metal cylinder (not tapered and most commonly steel) with screw threads on one end and machine threads on the other end and the center either fully threaded or ,more often, "plain" which means there is a section without threading to make installation easier (you can grip the unthreaded part with vise grips ). Often used with corner braces on the underside of table corners, where the screw threaded end is screwed into the table leg and the machine screw end runs through an angle bracket and which can then be tightened by the bolt on the that end of the hanger bolt. Another use is in overhead installation of things that need a machine screw to attach to but have to go into a wooden joist . Do not confuse with dowel screw which seems somewhat similar but has screw threads on both ends and has completely different uses. Vendors sometimes list these two different items indiscriminately as one being the other. Examples: head --- (1) The top portion of a nail , screw , bolt , and many other items. The design of the head often distinguishes between and among such items and is specific to particular uses and tools. head --- (2) The area at the top of a window or door in a building. See also header . head bolt --- A bolt that is to be screwed into a threaded piece of metal, as opposed to being put THROUGH a piece and fastened on the other side with a nut . A head bolt in practice is identical to other bolts; the name is based on the USE, not the design. The head bolt IS likely to be threaded all the way up the shank whereas some bolts have an unthreaded section near the head . headside --- The piece of wood in a joint through which a screw or nail passes on its way into the receiving piece, which is known as the pointside . hexagon hinge --- Supposedly, this is a type of butt hinge used with a cabinet that is set at a 45 degree angle in a corner, which makes the door and the two areas to each side of it three parts of a hexagon, thus the name. The panels of the door are beveled on the backside to 135 degrees and this hinge is designed to work with that. These types of doors are common in kitchens. NOTE: I have seen VERY few references to this type of hinge, I found one pic of it and forgot to save it and could not find it again (it was a butt hinge with an angle in one leaf) and I am doubtful about the need for this type of hinge since for the intended application, depending on the desired mounting technique and the specifics of the door/cabinet arrangement, one could use a simple butt hinge or a half cranked hinge or a full wrap around hinge or a partial wrap around hinge. hex cap screw --- A cap screw with a hexagonal head hex coupling nut --- see coupling nut hex head bolt --- A bolt with a 6-sided head that can be easily turned with a crescent wrench . Such bolts may be threaded all the way along the shank or not. Examples: hex head nut --- (also "hex nut") A machine nut with a hexagonal -shaped outer rim. H hinge --- Basically, a butt hinge with an "H" shape for use on inset doors . Although some versions could be edge mounted hinges , that does not seem to be at all the norm and most of them are face mounted hinges . Some are specifically designed for use on doors that are a bit thin for edge-mounted butt hinges. In any case, the "H" shape means the (hinge) leaves are taller than the (hinge) barrel which is a bit like on a parlimenthinge but more extreme. The short barrel is OK because this type of hinge is designed for only modest load-bearing requirements and the long leaves are both for decorative effect and to provide a longer surface in which to put mounting holes. Some that are use mostly for decorative purposes have mounting hole only at the top and bottom of each leaf. Small H hinges tend to be used for cabinet hinges, while larger ones are for passage doors or closet doors. A very similar hinge is the HL hinge . Examples: high collar lock washer --- An extra thick split ring lock washer . Examples: hi lo thread --- A type of screw thread where there are actually two courses of thread, one higher than the other. These offer low driving torque and fairly high holding power in material that is somewhat curmbly such as masonry , wallboard , particle board , hardboard , etc. It is also fairly effective in very soft woods. The design traps material between the higher threads without causing it to crumble. Examples: hinge --- Usually a three-part mechanism, normally but not necessarily made of metal, that holds two pieces of wood (or other material) together in a way that allows them to rotate, to a limited degree, relative to each other, around the axis of the hinge. The parts of the common types of hinges are the (hinge) pin and two (hinge) leaves but there are more types of hinges than you can shake a stick at and not every one of them is of the basic (butt hinge) type or even a variation on it. They are most commonly used for doors but have other uses (e.g. ships rudders, drop leaf tables). Types of hinges, and hinge-related terms, include: NOTE: INCOMPLETE SECTION --- some of the terms below are not yet defined and there are others not yet listed. Please note that some of the "definitions" given here are overly simplistic for brevity and the full definitions should be examined for a full understanding of the term. Also, while this list is reasonably comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. There are some hinge types that are so rarely seen/used that little information is available on them and it is also possible that some of them are only available from one manufacturer. I figure that if they are that obscure, I don't really need to have them here. An example of this is the "pivot reinforced (butt) hinge". zero clearance hinge --- avoids obstucting pull-out drawers zero protrusion hinge --- same as zero clearance hinge hinge barrel --- The portion of the (hinge) leaves that contains the (hinge) knuckles that accept the (hinge) pin . When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is never called the "hinge barrel", it is just called the "barrel". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge cup --- part of a European hinge hinge dimensions --- The graphic below describes the various dimensions that apply to "standard" hinges such as the butt hinge (but not to some other types such as the European hinge ). need to add hinge dimensions pics hinge finial --- A finial that is put on the top or bottom of a hinge pin to give the hinge a more decorative appearance. Examples: need to add hinge finialpics hinge handedness --- add definition hinge knuckle --- The parts of a hinge that make up the (hinge) barrel through which the (hinge) pin goes. For an illustrations, see hinge parts and hinge dimensions . hinge leaf --- the flat part of a hinge that attaches to a frame or the object being hinged. When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is never called the "hinge leaf", it is just called the "leaf", although sometimes the one that attaches to a door is called the "door leaf" and the one that attaches to a frame is called the "frame leaf". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge length --- The length of the leaves of a hinge parallel to the pin. See hinge dimensions . hinge mounting positions and styles --- A graphic showing various ways that hinges can be mounted on the edge and face of a door or frame, with and without mortises. hinge parts --- A simple illustration of the (hinge) barrel , the (hinge) leaf , the (hinge) knuckle , and the (hinge) pin sections of a common style hinge. I put "(hinge)" in front of these terms because technically, that's the right name, but it is overly formal and not normally used in the context of talking about a hinge. Sometimes, depending on what is being hinged and how it is being hinged, the two leaves may be referred to as the door leaf and the frame leaf (for example, this would apply when hanging a house door. The knuckles of the two leaves mate up to form a hollow cylinder called the barrel, into which is slipped the pin. This is the simple, or "standard" hinge style, but there are many others, some of which do not look anything like this. The illustration shown below is a butt hinge but it is illustrative in general of many styles. hinge pin --- the solid cylinder central part of a hinge that slips into the (hinge) knuckles to keep the two (hinge) leaves from separating. When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is rarely called the "hinge pin", it is normally just called the "pin". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge pitch --- On a hinge , this is the length from one point on a knuckle to the same point on the next knuckle up, taken parallel to the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . It is interesting to note that even if the knuckles on the leaves are different heights, the pitch will be the same on both leaves (assuming there is not an unusual amount of end play due to one set of knuckles being shorter than the opening left by the other set). hinge stile --- A door stile to which a hinge is affixed. hinge width --- The distance from the outer edge of one leaf to the outer edge of the other leaf when the hinge is lying flat. See hinge dimensions . HL hinge --- Similar to an H hinge except that there is a long horizontal tab on one leaf which means it HAS to be face mounted rather than edge mounted . Large HL hinges were common for passage doors, room doors and closet doors in the 17th, 18th and even 19th centuries. On taller doors H hinges were occasionally used in the middle along with HL hinges at the top and bottom. I noticed that every example I found of this type hinge had plain bore screw holes, never countersunk. I hypothesize that this is because back when these were in common use, cleanly countersinking the screw holes was not as trivial as it is today and countersunk screws were likely not as readily available. Since these are used at both the top and the bottom of a door there is a handedness to them. They are always positioned so that the top hinge has the long leaf portion at the top and the bottom one has it at the bottom. Examples: hook --- A metal rod, threaded on one end and bent on the other end into a shape that depends on the use. Common types: screen door hook --- same as gate hook hook and eye --- synonymous with gate hook hospital tip hinge --- A butt hinge with a (hinge) barrel that is beveled on both the top and the bottom towards the door when the door is closed. This is for use in detention centers and hospitals and is to prevent the barrel from being used to hang things (most particularly self-hanging of suicidal people). Examples: need to add hospital tip hinge pics industrial hinge --- A heavy-duty architectural hinge for use in public places where doors are subjected to much heavier use than are doors in residential settings which use lighter-duty versions of architectural hinges called "residential hinges". insert nut --- synonymous with threaded insert internal-external tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the inner rim and another around the outer rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type has the same disadvantage as the external tooth lock washer in that it will mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows, but this type has the greatest locking power of the toothed-type lock washers. Examples: internal-external washer --- synonymous with internal-external tooth lock washer internal tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the inner rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type, as contrasted to an external tooth lock washer , has less holding power, but will not mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows. Examples: invisible hinge --- synonymous with fully concealed hinge jam nut --- a thinner than usual machine nut that is used specifically to be jammed up against a normal nut (or possibly another jam nut) so that the pressure of the two on each other makes it very difficult for either to move. The point is to create a situation where the pair of nuts together will not loosen due to vibration whereas a single nut might. Jam nuts are typically half the thickness of normal nuts. They can also be used in situations where it is desirable to tighten a nut quite a lot but without putting pressure onto the object that the bolt is going through; in this situation the normal nut is put into position with light pressure and then the jam nut is tightened up against it so that the two together will not vibrate off of the bolt, but there is only light pressure (by the nut on one side and the bolt head on the other side) against the pieces being clamped together. Examples: J bolt --- A rod threaded on one end and then bent into a "J" shape. Most often the bend is a uniform "U" shape but it can be more circular or less circular and more of just a slightly-more-that-90-degrees bend. The purpose of a J bolt is to be embedded in concrete with the threaded part extending up out of the concrete and thus, like it's cousin the L bolt it is sometimes called a "cast in place" bolt. Examples: knuckle length --- see hinge dimensions lag bolt --- A commonly used (but technically incorrect) alternate name for what is more often, and more correctly, called a lag screw . This fastener does NOT take a nut so it's screw , not a bolt . (see bolts vs screws ). lag pintle --- A particular type of pintle which is just an L-shaped cylinder with threads on one end and a short barrel-stop below the pin. It is attached by just screwing it in. Widely used in mounting to a round gate post where the normal strap-type pintle and the plate pintle don't fit well. Examples: lag screw --- A screw with a hexagonal head so that it can be turned with a wrench instead of a screwdriver , thus allowing more torque . Typically used for heavy-duty joints such as screwing a couple of two-by-fours together or screwing a load-bearing metal plate onto timber , but also used with a lag screw shield to screw things into masonry . Due to the need for strength these are pretty much always made of steel. They come in a wide variety of diameters and lengths. They are also called, technically incorrectly, and less commonly, "lag bolts" because of the straight shank and the head that is more commonly seen on a bolt than a screw; they have wood-screw type threads and are not designed to screw into a nut . See bolt vs screw . Example: lag screw shield --- A lead sleeve that is put into masonry so that a lag screw can be used to attach something to it. Operation is similar to that of an expansion anchor bolt . Examples: lath nail --- A slender nail that is used to attach lath to studs . It is skinny so as to avoid splitting the lath strips. Sometimes particularly short lath nails will have ridges along the shank to enhance holding power. I note that although the definition, and common sense, say that the lath nail is and should be slender, some nails sold as lath nails are NOT particularly slender. Examples: L bolt --- A rod threaded on one end and then bent into an "L" shape. The purpose of an L bolt is to be embedded in concrete with the threaded part extending up out of the concrete and thus, like it's cousin the J bolt it is sometimes called a "cast in place" bolt. Examples: lead screw --- A device that uses a threaded rod with a mechanism riding on it to translate rotational motion to linear motion. A very common woodworking application is in a bench vise which uses a large lead screw to translate the rotational movement of the turning rod to the in/out motion of the vise jaws . Lead screws do not work as well if the thread profile is triangular as on a bolt as they do if the threads are more rectangular in cross section . Even with rectangular cross section threads and a heavy coating of grease, lead screws are not designed for continuous, powered motion because of the friction inherent in their design. A similar device with less friction, but more costly manufacturing, is the ball screw . leaf width --- In a hinge , this is the distance from the center of the (hinge) barrel to the outer edge of a (hinge) leaf . See hinge dimensions . Lhook --- A small metal rod, threaded on one end and bent into an "L" shape on the unthreaded portion, and it may or may not have a circular flange separating the two sections. The device is screwed into a wall or other holding element so that things can be hung from it. Examples: lift off hinge --- A type of hinge that allows the hinged item (such as a cabinet door) to be lifted off of the fixed item (such as the cabinet) just by lifting it up and without the need for any tools. These may or may not be a type of cam lift hinge and if the end of the barrel opposite the one through which the pin protrudes/enters is totally closed, these may be sold under the designation barrel hinge (type 2). Other types of hinges that can be liftoff types (but will not necessarily be) include the HL hinge , the olive knuckle hinge" and others. Examples: lock nut --- A nut with some sort of mechanism that prevents vibration from loosening it. There are two basic forms, both shown in the composite pic below. The first is a captive-washer nut, which simply has a lock washer (generally an external tooth type) that is integrated with, and not removable from, the nut. The washer may or may not spin freely; for the fixed-position washer, the tightening has to be done from the bolt end, whereas if the washer spins freely, the nut OR the bolt may be tightened. When the washer spins freely, this type is known as a "K-lock" nut or a "Kep" nut The second is the nylon-insert type which has a nylon center instead of a metal one; the nylon compresses somewhat when force is applied during the tightening of the bolt, thus creating a spring-like force against the nut. Another mechanism that keeps nuts from vibrating loose is the castle nut which is not normally called a "lock nut", just a castle nut.Examples: lock washer --- A washer that in some way causes the screw or bolt head to lock in place so that it will not be affected by vibrations. Machinery parts, for example, often vibrate severely and a bolt can just back right out of a hole because of the vibration so some kind of pressure is needed to keep the bolt from moving in the first place. Lock washers are rarely needed in wood because wood won't generally vibrate a screw out of its hole the way threaded metal will. The primary types of lock washer are: split ring loose pin hinge --- The "normal" type of (hinge) pin ; the pin is not permanently affixed to any of the (hinge) knuckles but rather floats freely and can be removed so that the knuckles can be separated. The most common type of hinge to use this is the standard residential door hinge . Compare/contrast to fast pin hinge machine bolt --- (1) A little-used term that simply designates a hex head bolt or square head bolt . machine bolt --- (2) [little used] synonymous with machine screw . machine nut --- A term that is rarely used because it is what most people MEAN when they say "nut", so rather than being called a machine nut, it would normally just be called a nut. It is a type of nut that can have a square or hexagonal outside and is about half as tall as it is wide. The more common names for these are based on the shape and are "hex nut", "hex head nut", "square nut", and "square head nut". There is a special-use machine nut called the jam nut which is just a thin hex-headmachine nut. Examples: machine screw --- This is a VERY widely used term that is actually a misnomer but perfectly acceptable because of wide usage. Anything that someone calls a "machine screw" is 99%+ sure to be a small bolt and if it isn't a bolt, it's a screw (not a "machine" screw). See also, bolts vs screws . The name seems to have come about because in earlier days of bolts and screws, bolts were always bigger than screws, so when small versions of bolts were developed with the advent of more precise threading capabilities, they were called machine screws instead of bolts. Compare/contrast to wood screw . Example: masonry nail A type of nail that is specifically designed to be driven into masonry . These are of hardened steel and come in several shank styles. Most definitions say that a masonry nail has a fluted shank for extra holding power in masonry, but in practice many items sold as masonry nails do NOT have fluted ridged shanks. There is a type of masonry nail (not shown in the composite pic below) that is specifically designed for holding down softer material, such as carpet tack strips to a concrete floor, that have an extra wide head. Examples: masonry screw --- Also called a "concrete screw", this is a coarse-thread screw that, unlike most screws, has a straight, rather than a tapered, shank (but they do have tapered ends). It is designed to go directly into a hole drilled in masonry with a masonry drill bit . The coarse threads are necessary to grip mansonry and the need for strength dictates that these are always made of steel. Masonry screws have various types of drive heads but the most common is a combination flat head drive slot in a hexagonal top like that of a hex head bolt . Similar-use fasteners include a lag screw with a lag screw shield and any normal bolt used as an expansion anchor bolt . Such screws often use hi lo threads . Examples: mirror screw --- A screw or a bolt that has a threaded hole in the middle of its head (in addition to the drive slot) so that another, smaller screw with a large decorative head can be screwed into the top of the mirror screw for use in a mirror (or elsewhere that "elegance" is desired) so that what shows doesn't look at all like a screw head, it looks like a decorative circle or dome (these heads are typically brass or are chrome-plated). Examples: molly bolt --- A clever device for fastening stuff to walls. It consist of a cylinder of metallic strips with full hollow cylinders at each end through which a small bolt is run and a head with a pair of spike flanges. You drill a hole in a wall, insert a properly sized molly bolt, tighten the bolt head which causes the metal strips to bend and press up against the inside of the wall, thus holding the whole thing in place. The spiked flanges on the head keep the head from spinning as you tighten the bolt. You then remove the bolt, put the thing to be mounted up against the molly bolt head and reinsert the bolt through the object, tighten it back down, and voila! There are versions that have a sharply tapered plastic cone on the end so that they can be driven directly into drywall without the need for first drilling a hole. Examples: mortised hinge --- Any hinge that has both the door leaf and the frame leaf sitting in mortises . If only one leaf (and it would usually be the door leaf) is sitting in a mortise and the other is not, this would be called a "single mortise hinge". The purpose of using mortises is so that the object being hinged can fully close; that is, some hinge mounting positions are such that if one or both leaves are not mortised, then the thickness of the leaf/leaves would keep the door (or lid or whatever) from fully closing. Compare/contrast to single mortise hinge and surface mounted hinge . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. mushroom headed bolt --- synonymous with timber bolt nail --- A long, skinny, metal fastener used to join pieces of wood or to join other objects to wood. There are numerous types of nails and they can be made from various types of metal. Nail length is normally measured from the underside of the head down to the point. The most basic nail types are categorized by shape, as opposed to coating (for which see the following list), size , or other characteristics. These include: annular ring --- has ridges around the circumference for extra holding power brad --- a very small, thin nail; will have either a common nail style head or a finishing nail style head, and is a type of wire nail. box --- same shape as common but smaller in diameter and head size for a given length casing --- similar to finishing nails but with a slightly larger head; often used for flooring, where a finishing nail doesn't have quite enough holding power but a common or box would have too large a head common --- used almost exclusively for construction, they have a broad head for good holding power and a hefty shank for good shear strength. Normally a type of wire nail. concrete --- same a masonry umbrella head roofing nail --- exceptionally broad head upholstery --- short, with a broad, fancy head wire --- can be many of the other types discussed, but so named because the fabrication process involves using wire as the starting point. Common nails, box nails, and brads are all usually wire nails. Other nail names based on the finish rather than the use and that may apply to more than one basic type of nail. For example, there are bright common nails and bright finishing nails bright --- has no surface coating to inhibit corrosion, so it's shiny, thus the name; not recommended for weather exposure or acidic or treated lumber. The opposite of "galvanized" nails. cement coated --- adhesive coating gives extra holding power electrogalvanized --- provides a smooth finish with some corrosion resistance but has less zinc deposited on the surface that mechanically galvanized nails galvanized --- treated for resistance to corrosion and/or weather exposure (the opposite of "bright" nails) hot dip galvanized --- first given a rough finish that deposits more zinc than other methods, and then galvainzed, resulting in very high corrosion resistance that is suitable for some acidic and treated lumber; often easier to bend than other types of nails mechanically galvanized - provides more zinc deposited than electrogalvanizing for increased corrosion resistance phosphate coated --- treaded with a dark grey to black finish providing a surface that binds well with paint and joint compound and minimal corrosion resistance resin coated --- (and vinyl coated) given a coating that melts from friction when the nail is driven so as to help lubricate the insertion. The coating then hardens. These nails come in various colors from different manufacturers (tan and pink are common). siding nail --- treated in some way so as to not leave any stain on home siding due to weather vinyl coated --- see resin coated wrought head --- designed to look like the hand-forged nails of the late 1700s, and used primarily for antique restoration. nail gun --- A hand-operated power tool which drives nails from a carrier strip. "Framing nailers", which drive framing nails are Widely used in the construction trades and has pretty much replaced the framming hammer . "Finish nailers" drive finishing nails and "brad nailers" are for really small nails/ brads . Examples: nail head --- The top of a nail ; the portion of a nail that is struck by a hammer. The two most fundamental characteristics of a nail beyond the material it is made from (usually steel ) are the shape of the body and the shape of the head. Head shapes range from a very wide flat cylinder on a roofing nail to an almost non-existent head on a finishing nail . nail holding strength --- One of those poorly defined (in precise technical terms) characteristics that is always mentioned in any full discourse on the properties of wood. It refers to the degree to which the wood tends toward ease or difficulty in removing nails once they have been inserted. Wood that has poor nail holding strength would obviously be a poor candidate for nailed joints . End grain in most woods has poor nail holding strength, some extremely poor. Nail holding strength, when mentioned, normally refers to face and side grain holding strength, not end grain. nailing plate --- A section of wood attached to metal or masonry so that framing members can be nailed to it. Not to be confused with a nail plate . nail plate --- A sheet metal plate stamped so that spikes are formed on one side to grab like nails when the plate is pressed into timber to join two pieces. Widely used in prefabricated roof trusses . Not to be confused with a nailing plate . Examples: nail sizes --- Common nails are sized by an archaic system based on how many old British pennies it took at one point to buy 100 of them, and the symbol for penny is the letter "d". What the ??? you say ... can't the British even SPELL? Well, yes, they can. They can also speak Latin, or used to be able to, and the "d" comes from the Roman name for coin (denarius), not a British penny. It's sort of like the story about why American railroad ties are THIS far apart but that's another story. ANYWAY, it took more pennies to buy 100 of the bigger ones than 100 of the smaller ones, so bigger ones have bigger "penny numbers"; see the chart below which shows the approximate diameter and the length in inches of the normal sizes. Note that the length does not count the head . I have sized this image so that on my monitor, which is set for 1280x800 pixels, the nails are almost exactly full size. I have had no luck for many years now in buying any 2d nails. No one seems to stock them any more. There are penny sizes above 20d ... I'm sure I have some 30d and 40d around and I remember buying some 60d at one point years ago (although I can't remember WHY I bought them ... damned things are almost as big as railroad spikes!). Really big nails are in fact called spikes . no mortise hinge --- Could refer to any surface mounted hinge but usually is synonymous with bifold door hinge . nut --- A (typically) square or hexagonal piece of metal with a hole threaded through it to accept a bolt . When the two are screwed together tightly, compressive force increases the friction at the threads such that the two do not normally come apart. Since vibration can sometimes loosen a nut, a split ring lock washer can be used under the head of the bolt to maintain the compressive pressure in the threads to prevent that from happening. There are actually quite a variety of fasteners that are called nuts other than just the common square and hex types. A couple of them are shown in the composit image below. The item that is what is most normally meant by the term "nut" is formally called a machine nut . See also bolts vs screws . Below is a composite pic showing many of the types of nuts, followed by a list of the most common types used in woodworking or related metal working, linked to more extensive definitions and pics. acorn nut --- a cap nut with an acorn-shaped, decorative dome cap nut --- a hex nut topped by a dome or closed cylinder captive washer lock nut --- see lock nut castle nut --- one side looks like castle battlements nylon lock nut --- see lock nut ogee washer --- a large cast iron washer with an ogee -shaped rim. This is typically used in very heavy construction such as bridge-building because the large bearing surface prevents bolt heads from pulling into the wood under high load. This is an even more heavy-duty construction washer than the dock washer because, while it does not have a greated OD , it is much thicker. Examples: olive knuckle hinge --- A particular form of H hinge where there is a single knuckle on each (hinge) leaf and each is shaped like an acorn. Although the name derives from it being shaped like an olive, the shape is really more like a back-to-back pair of acorns, as you can see in the composite pic below. These are normally mortised into the edge of a door and into the frame and only the (hinge) barrel will be visible when the door is closed, and they are normally a form of ball bearing hinge . Examples: open ended wrench --- A type of wrench that is a flat bar with two separated prongs on one or (usually) both ends that fit around the head of a bolt or around a nut to turn it. These come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. Compare/contrast to crescent wrench . Examples: overdriven --- Refers to fasteners driven into material with too much force, breaking or crushing the material under the head of the fastener. Compare/contrast to underdriven . paint clearance --- A spacing in a hinge , this is the dimension between the inner edge of a leaf and the surface of the opposing knuckle. On many hinges, this space is just enough so that the leaf edge doesn't rub against the knuckle and squeek, but if a hinge is going to be painted then there needs to be enough paint clearance so that the rotation of the hinge does not cause the inside of edge of a leaf to scrape the paint off of the outside of the opposing knuckle. For an illustration, see hinge dimensions . parliment hinge --- A type of hinge that seems to be mostly used in Great Britain, this is a butt hinge that has had scoops removed at the top and bottom which shortens the (hinge) barrel . This reduces its strength, but some people feel that it provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance, even though since it is normally used as a projection hinge , the scalloped leaves are mostly hidden when it is closed. These are also called "butterfly hinges" in Great Britain, but they would never be confused with what Americans call a butterfly hinge . Although normally mounted as a projection hinge, they are occasionally face-mounted and are used just for the decorative effect, much like the American butterfly hinge but less gaudy and a bit more elegant. Examples: partially concealed hinge --- Any hinge that has part, but not all, of the mechanism hidden from view when the hinged object is closed. This is not so much a TYPE of hinge as it is a MOUNTING TECHNIQUE for a hinge. For example, a butt hinge when mounted to the edge of a door and to the frame directly opposite the edge (see edge mounted hinge ) is a partially concealed hinge, but if that same hinge is face mounted then it is NOT partially concealed. Compare/contrast to fully concealed hinge . partial wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that wraps around both the edge and the back of either a door or a frame and butts to the edge of the other. This is a truncated version of the full wrap around hinge ; it provides the same 180 degree range of motion as the full wrap around but slightly less mounting strength. The partial wrap around hinge is typically used in a frameless cabinet whereas the full wrapaound is used in a face frame cabinet . Examples: particleboard screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed for use with particleboard . They are very similar to drywall screws. Most definitions say that they are THINNER than drywall screws, but that seems odd to me since particleboard is heavier than drywall. Looking at screws that are actually sold as one or the other, it is a mixed bag as to which is thicker. Like drywall screws, these have coarse threads and the outer diamer of the threads is larger than the shank . They have countersunk heads and are usually made of steel, but unlike drywall screws the countersinks tend to be uncurved instead of the curved ("bugle") type found on drywall screws and also unlike drywall screws, these tend to have an unthreaded section below the head. The drive slot is most often an Allen head . These screws often use hi lo threads . Compare/contrast to drywall screw Examples: paumelle hinge --- A hinge that, much like the olive knuckle hinge , has only two (hinge) knuckles but with this hinge, the knuckles are very elongated and have a modernistic, streamlined look. These are more aesthetically pleasing (more "decorative") than, for example, a plain butt hinge but they are somewhat weaker. Examples: need to add paumelle hinge pics phenolic --- A particular type of thermosetting resin , the chemical composition of which is beyond the scope of this glossary. As a solid, it is used in making non-conduction washers (see phenolic washer and as a chemical compound, it is used in some finishing agents . phenolic washer --- A type of washer in which a particular type of nonconducting material ( phenolic ) is used to prevent electrical conduction between a screw or bolt and the material into which is is inserted. This is to prevent galvanic corrosion , although that is also prevented by several other types of non-conducting shoulder washers . Examples: phillips head --- A type of screw or bolt head requiring a driver in the shape of plus sign instead of the minus sign shape of the normal flat head screwdriver. The phillips head drive provides a little more protection against stripping the slots than does a flat head screw and driver, but not really all that much; they still strip pretty readily. Compare/contrast to flat head . Examples: phillips head screw driver --- A screw driver with a head in the shape of a plus sign, rather than the minus sign shape of the normal flat head screw driver . Used to drive phillips head screws, these provide a little more protection against stripping the drive slots than do the flat head screw and driver, but not by much. Examples: piano hinge --- [aka "continuous hinge"] A long (sometimes VERY long) butt hinge . The name derives, rather obviously, from the fact that this kind of hinge is used on pianos, among other things. Examples: pilot hole --- A hole drilled in a workpiece to receive the threaded portion of a screw . The pilot hole is just slightly smaller than the screw's thread diameter. Pilot holes are drilled for one (or both) of two reasons; first, to make sure the screw travels on the intended path in the wood rather than being deflected by the grain of the wood and second, to prevent the wood from splitting when the screw is inserted --- many wood species are hard enough that the insertion of a large nail or screw will not locally crush the wood fibers away from the inserted metal as happens in softer wood, but rather will cause the wood split along the grain. pinch dog --- A type of clamp that is a rectangular "U" shaped piece of metal with sharpened wedge-shaped ends that are driven into the ends of planks that are being glued together so as to pull them together without the use of other clamps. Examples: pin hinge --- A hinge that consists of nothing but the (hinge) pin . There are two basic uses for this form of hinge. The first is where the (hinge) knuckles are just the object being hinged itself and the pin is put directly into holes drilled in the top and the base of the object and the top then rotates off of the base with the roation centered on the pin. These are used in specialty items such as small ornamental jewelry boxes. The second type is where a flat, inset, box lid has a pin coming out of the rear of each edge and going into the carcass. Examples need to add pics pintle --- The "pin" portion of a pintle and gudgeon hinge. When used on ships rudders, the pintle is typically a U-shaped strap with the pin attached at the middle of the U, but in other applications, other types are used. Below are examples of the U-strap type and for the other two common types, see lag pintle and plate pintle . pintle and gudgeon --- A hinge type that is widely used on ship rudders. Basically it is a pair of U-shaped straps with one (the pintle) having a pin pointing down off the end and the other (the gudgeon) having a hole at the end to accept the pin. The gudgeon is put on the stern of the ship and the pintle is put on the rudder. Although on ships the pair almost universally uses the "strap" style, other applications often use a couple of other styles, all of which are illustrated with the terms pintle and gudgeon . pipe clamp --- (1) A type of clamp in which a metal pipe is used to separate the jaws , one of which is fixed and the other of which has a screw mechanism for applying pressure. This is exactly the same as a bar clamp except that bar clamps are typically manufactured to fixed sizes (1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet) whereas one can use a pipe of any length. The jaw sections can be purchased from tool companies and the pipe from a local hardware store. Jaws with deep throats are available. pipe clamp --- (2) A hold-down device that clamps a pipe to wood or masonry. Generally it is a half-cylinder with two flanges for screws, but may be only a partial cylinder with only one screw flange (in which case it is often called a pipe strap). There are numerous other devices that are called pipe clamps, and which DO perform various methods of holding down pipes, or holding pipes together, etc., but most are not related to woodworking or house construction as these are. The back of these pipe clamps / pipe straps may be ridged for extra strength. Examples for both definitions: type 1 (portable vise) type 2 (pipe holddown) pipe wrench --- A type of wrench that is used on pipes. It has two jaws that are adjustable via a knurled cylinder that moves the upper jaw in a direction parallel to the handle (normal pipe wrench) or perpendicular to it (offset pipe wrench), and the jaws have deep serrations so as to grab pipes firmly. Examples: pivot door hinge --- A type of hinge that is combined with a sliding mechanism so that you can open a cabinet door 90 degrees and then slid it back out of the way into the cabinet. This is mostly used in entertainment centers, armoires and kitchen cabinets. There is one type of this hinge that uses a a href="#rackandpinon">rack and pinon style mechanism and this is called, not too surprizingly, a "rack and pinion pivot door hinge". Examples: pivot door runner --- The slide portion of a pivot door hinge . pivot door slide --- This term is used to mean either a pivot door hinge OR the sliding portion of a pivot door hinge. Personally, I think it should just mean the slide portion, but I've seen it used both ways and I'm not here to make up definitions, just report to them. pivot hinge --- (1) One type of scissor hinge pivot hinge --- (2) see glass door hinge pivot hinge --- (3) A type of hinge that is made for use with shower doors, doors in glass display cases, full-sized glass doors, and any other application where it is desirable (or necessary) to have the weight of the hinged object be taken up by a support on its bottom which also acts as the hinge. There are numerous designs, some include internal springs to close the door automatically. Those for glass doors generally have "U" shaped support brackets at the top and bottom of the door, at the edge that is to be hinges (see glass door hinge ), with the (hinge) pin going up or down out of the bracket. For wooden doors, one design uses a heavy horizontal plate through which the pin projects. So the (hinge) leaves on pivot hinges are completly different that the more common type found on butt hinges . A feature that distinguishes this from the scissor hinge is that with this hinge, unlike with the scissor hinge, one (small) part of the item being hinged rotates in the opposite direction from the main body of that item. Examples: plain bearing hinge --- a hinge with no ball bearings or oil-impregnated or anti-friction bearings plate pintle --- A particular type of pintle in which the mounting portion is a flat plate. Examples: plate washer --- A heavy duty washer , usually square but sometimes round, that is used in attaching a sill plate to the foundation . Examples: plough bolt --- synonymous with plow bolt plow bolt --- A carriage bolt but with the additional requirement that the head be countersunk; designed to be used in the fabrication of plows. Examples: plug --- A section of dowel that is inserted into deeply countersunk screw holes then cut-off and sanded flush to hide the screw head. Plugs are sometimes used to simulate a pegged look [see dowel joints such as was common in older furniture. pocket screw hole --- A hole drilled at a sharp angle into a board or panel to allow it to be screwed to another piece of material, generally at a 90 degree angle. This is a popular joinery technique and there are commercial jigs called pocket screw hole jigs to facilitate it. This hole is normally put at a place on the workpiece that will be hidden from view in normal usage of the piece.Examples: pocket screw hole jig --- A jig , generally manufactured (although some woodworkers do make their own) that facilitates the uniform drilling of pocket screw holes . Because of the sharp angle, these holes are pretty much impossible to drill freehand, so these jigs are quite useful. Examples: point --- Same meaning as in general English usage; a sharp end on something. In woodworking, it particularly refers to the sharp end of a nail or screw , but also to the sharp end of many tools such as an awl . On nails, the point is often deliberated blunted because a blunted point will crush its way into the wood, which SOUNDS like a bad thing but has the happy result of not pushing the wood fibers aside (as a sharp point would) which is good because pushing the fibers off to each side of the nail can cause the wood to split. pointside --- The piece of wood in a joint that receives the point of a nail or screw after that fastener passes through the headside . projection hinge --- A butt hinge (usually specifically a door hinge but it doesn't have to be) that has extra wide (hinge) leaves but with the mounting screw holes clustered out near the edge of the leaves. This allows the hinge to be mounted so that the (hinge) barrel is out away from the door and frame, thus allowing the door to swing 180 degrees even if there is a slight projection on the wall behind the door (when it's open). The first time I ever saw one of these I though it was a normal door hinge installed by some doofus who REALLY misjudged where the screw holes ought to go (I'm not too observant sometimes!). Sometimes, but not always, parliment hinges are a type of projection hinge. Directly below is my normal composit pic showing examples of this item, then below that is a graphic of how it works to clear a projection. Examples: push nut --- see spring nut push pin --- A successor to the old-style thumb tack , this is a short nail with a large plastic, easily gripable head (looks a little like a scaffold nail head), used to affix papers to bulletin boards. Examples: quadrant hinge --- A specialty hinge for use on things like jewelry boxes, this device combines the feature of being totally hidden from view when the lid is closed and the ability to hold the lid open at about 90 degrees. it has a curved element that goes into a deep mortise in the box when closed. It has two L-shaped leaves that have to be mortised and the curved element goes into a deep mortise under the frame leaf. Examples: quick release mechanism --- Any mechanism that allow for rapid release (and usually application as well) of a set of jaws or other restraining or positioning device. An excellent, and common, example is that found on most bench vises where the mating part of the screw mechanism can be moved away from the tightening screw by a lever next to the handle of the vise, thus allowing the jaws to be moved in and out freely. The most common way of accomplishing this (and this is the method used with bench vises) is the split nut . Once the jaws are in the desired position, the quick release lever is itself released and the screw mechanism once again engages, allowing a pressured clamping with the vise. The concept of "releasing quickly" actually applies to the device itself, not to the object being retained by the device; that is, when the device is holding an object the quick release mechanism might not work because it is under pressure, so the quick release action is often applicable only when the device is not yet in use (and that is definitely the case in the example of a bench vise) and an object under clamping pressure can NOT be release quickly by the quick release mechanism, it has to be released slowly by the clamping mechanism. rack and pinon door hinge --- A particular type of pivot door hinge that uses a rack and pinion mechanism. ratchet --- [verb] To move something by small amounts in only one direction (linear or rotary). ratchet --- [noun] A mechanism consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to apply force in only one direction (it spins freely in the other direction), either linearly or rotationally. Numerous tightening devices, such as some forms of socket wrenches , use ratchets. In fact, socket wrenches are sometimes called ratchets, although that's pretty sloppy usage. Micrometers use a ratchet mechanism to do the final fine-adjustment. ratchet wrench --- A term that is sometimes applied to box wrenches and combination wrenches when they have a ratchet mechanism (which they do not always have). removable hinge --- This term can refer to either of two types of hinges that allow a cabinet door to be removed without the use of a screwdriver. These are the lift off hinge and the clip on hinge . residential hinge --- A relatively light-duty architectural hinge" for use in residences (where they are not subject to the kind of heavy use experienced by industrial grade architectural hinges). reverse thread drywall screw --- A screw designed to avoid paper tear in the face of drywall . A screw entering drywall can cause a slight lifting of the paper at the surface and in a severe case can cause small tears in the paper around the screw. These screws have their top several threads reversed so that as the screw goes in the drywall and paper right at the entry point is pushed back down and then the head seats over it. Compare/contrast to drywall screw . Examples: ribbed neck carriage bolt --- A carriage bolt except that rather than the square gripping section at the top of the shank there is a ribbed section that does the gripping. The normal carriage bolt is designed for use with hard metals but this ribbed neck version is designed to be used in wood or soft metal. Examples: ring shank nail --- synonymous with annular ring nail Robertson screw --- A screw with a head requiring a driver with a square tip (the "Robertson" drive). These are also called square head and socket head. This drive type is used on all kinds of screws but it is particularly popular for flat head screws (that is flush-mount screws), these resist cam-out very well. Personally, I hardly ever use any other kind of wood screw and when I DO use any other kind, I often find that the use is accompanied by numerous loud expressions of words that we would not encourage our children to use. See screw and bolt drive types rod coupling nut --- see coupling nut roofing nail --- A nail type with a larger head than common nails so that relatively soft material such as asphalt shingles won't pull through them. These are commonly available and Size depends on thickness of roofing material being nailed down and the thickness of the roof sheathing to which it is being nailed. The shank styles vary greatly, with some being riged, some sprial, etc. Examples: roofing screw --- A screw , used with a rubber washer that comes with it, to use on roof shingles. The washer is to provide a watertight seal. Such screws are generally either self tapping screws or auger point screws . Examples: round coupling nut --- see coupling nut scaffold nail --- A nail , usually the size (see nail sizes ) of a 10d or a 16d common nail , which has been given a double head so that it can easily be removed because the 2nd head is not driven into the wood and provides a place where a hammer claw is easily inserted to remove the nail; used in scaffolds, bracing and any temporary fastening job where the nail must later be removed. Here's a diagram of some common sizes of scaffold nails. Note that the length does not count the heads, just as is true with single-headed common nails. I have personally found these nails to also be very useful as hangers; that is, if I'm thinking of driving a nail in until the head protrudes by 1/4" or so I have a place to hang something by a cord in the shop (my flashlight for example), these nails work great. scissor hinge --- A type of hinge that two long, flat, parallel plates that are hinged in a way that can be either in-line or offset and which are affixed one to the top (or bottom) of a door and the other to the frame above (or below) the door. That is, the plates are horizontal, unlike the more common vertical (hinge) leaves . If the hinge point is in line with the plates, this is a type of pivot hinge , examples of which can be seen in the lower left of the composite pic below. The offset pivot is more common for these hinges as can be seen in all of the other pics below. The name derives from the rather obvious similarity to scissors. With an in-line pivot, these require that the door being hinged either have a gap away from the frame, or that it have a rounded back edge, one of which is needed so that the back door edge can clear the frame when the door is opened. one feature that distinguishes this from the pivot hinge is that on the pivot hinge one (small) part of the item being hinged rotates in the opposite direction from the main body of that item whereas with the scissor hinge, the entire hinged object rotates all in the same direction. Examples: screw --- [verb] To use a screw (see noun definition below) to join objects. screw --- [noun] One of the six simple machines , the screw is a helical inclined plane (called the "thread") on a shaft (called the "shank") that converts rotational force (torque) into linear force, with a conversion factor based on angle of the thread and the diameter of the shank. Screws have many uses, but in woodworking they are primarily fasteners used to hold objects to wood and/or to hold pieces of wood to each other. They are one of the two primary fasteners used with wood, the other being nails . Screws are particularly well suited for use with wood because they do not, on many woods (but not all), require a threaded (or even pre-drilled) hole, they just sink into the wood and grab. Some woods require pre-drilling either because they are too hard to accept the screw without a hole to take up most of the shank or because although they will accept the screw without a hole, they will most likely split without it. See also bolts vs screws . Screws, even when you limit the discussion to ones used in woodworking, come in a bewildering variety of shapes, sizes and materials but most of those are somewhat endemic to the definitions of the individual screw types and so are discussed with them. However, there are two significant characterists which, with a few exceptions, are used on number types of screws and these are the head type and drive type so I have given them their own sections and discussed particularly with individual screws where it is pertinent to do so. The categorization below is based primarily on the USES of screws but also included some based on their head types or drive types. The entire issue of nomenclature for bolts and screws was perhaps the biggest mess I encountered in compiliing this glossary. See also screw and bolt drive types and screw and bolt head types Here is a list of some of the more commonly used types of screws: auger point screw --- has a sharp point and self-threads itself into the wood bugle head screw --- has a countersunk head shaped like a bugle cabinet connecting screw --- same as confirmat screw chipboard screw --- same as particleboard screw shoulder screw --- synonymous with shoulder bolt slotted screw --- any screw with a drive slot for a flat head screwdriver; same as flat-head screw definition (2) thread-cutting screw --- the same as self tapping machine screw thumb screw --- a bolt (not screw) with a paddle or knurled head trim screw --- small-headed, designed to be used on trim undercut screw --- various types, with a shallow head; used on very short screws/bolts to provide extra thread area for a given and length washer head screw --- a screw with an extra-wide head that acts as a washer wing screw --- a bolt (not screw) with a wing-nut head wood screw --- generic term for LOTS of kinds of screws used with wood screw and bolt drive types --- Screws and bolts have a large number of drive types, some of which are common to both, some of which are used only, or mostly, with one or the other, and many of which are specialty types not used in woodworking at all. Following the composite pic below of some of the more common types is a list of types and, for some of them, links to a further discussion of them and/or the type of screw or bolt they are used with. I have included only some of the specialty types that are not used in woodworking. Basically, I just got tired of using VISIO to DRAW the damned things when they don't even need to be here anyway. A particular drive type may or may not be closely related to a head type Allen --- hexagonal recess; heavily used in set screws bristol --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking combination --- has both phillips and flat drives; aka combination phillips double hex --- shape is that of two overlapped hexagonals flat --- THE standard in screw drives but cams out more easily than others; the name causes some confusion because "flat head" has two meanings: one is a screw that has this kind of drive slot and the other is a screw that has a flat head that goes flush with the workpiece (but will likely be driven with a Phillips or other type of drive) hex socket --- another name for Allen head drive hex --- widely used with bolts, using a socked set, crescent wrench, or pliers to drive hexalobular socket --- same as torx one-way clutch --- security type found on bathroom stalls, not in woodworking pentalobular --- recess edged by 5 semi-circles; not used in woodworking phillips --- one of the two most standard heads (the other being "flat"), this resists cam-out more than flat drives do polydrive --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking pozidrive --- very similar to Phillips but cams out less easily Robertson --- square hole is VERY resistant to cam-out; these are heavily used in woodworking and are especially effective with flat head screws security --- various types, not used in woodworking slotted --- another name for flat head drive spanner head --- security type with "snake-eye" holes, not used in woodworking spline drive --- the recess shape is the same as 3 overlapping squares; not used in woodworking square --- (1) sometimes used to mean Robertson square --- (2) similar to hex head but square instead, used on bolts and driven with a crescent wrench or pliers star --- same as torx thumb --- see thumb screw torq set --- specialty, not used in woodworking torx, t, tx, tx --- --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking tri wing --- specialty, not used in woodworking triple square (xzn) --- identical in appearance to the spline; not used in woodworking screw and bolt head types --- Many screws and bolts have a name that pretty much totally defines their configuration but in addition to this, there are type of heads that are used with screws and/or bolts that can have two or more drive types and the name is usually based on the shape, and less often, the function, of the head. Examples: trim screw trim --- small head (the screw version of a finishing nail) truss --- has a very shallow dome head. It also has a low edge which some definitions say is to inhibit tampering, but since they use standard drive types, that doesn't make much sense; the edge is usually low enough to prevent pliers from being used on them but nothing else. The SHAPE of the truss head is used on some security head types but items sold specifically as truss head are NOT security types. Some items sold as truss head are what would be more accurately called a round washer head (see above). undercut --- Shallow-head countersink that provides a little extra thread length for a given screw length screwdriver --- A hand tool with a handle and a special-shaped end that fits into whatever kind of screw that the tool is designed to work with. Like screws themselves, screwdrivers come in a VERY wide variety of styles, with the two most common (by far) being the drivers for flat head screws and Phillips head screws, which are the only two shown in the composit pic below although there are more than a dozen other kinds. This is just to give a very brief example of some of the styles of handles. See also screw and bolt drive types . Examples: screws vs bolts --- see bolts vs screws security bolt --- A term that designates a very wide variety of screws and bolts that have the common characteristic of being designed so as to deter casual removal. The most widely known of these is the one we've all seen on public bathroom stalls where the designers seem to feel that since we all have a lot of free time while sitting on the John, and of course we all carry screwdrivers around with us, we would disassemble the stalls while we were doing our business so that by the time we were ready to pull our clothes back up, it would be a good time to do so since the disassembled stall would be collapsing around us and we would no longer have privacy. To thwart these devious machinations, the stalls are assembled using a type of screw (or bolt) that can be driven IN with a flat head screwdriver but which cannot be UNscrewed with the same tool. This type is called a "clutch head screw". The security features for these devices generally involve modifying a standard head type or using a totally weird head type. Modification often just consists of putting a post in the middle of the head so that a normal driver won't go in and you have to have a similar driver that has a hole drilled in the end. One of the cutest weird heads is the "snakeeye" head which has two little holes and requires a special driver. Security bolts/screws are little used in woodworking, so I have not broken out the various kinds in this glossary. The composite pic below shows many of the most common and as you can see, I have included both screws and bolts. security butt hinge --- synonymous with security hinge security hinge --- [aka security butt hinge]. This is a standard butt hinge but with an addition. Consider a standard butt hinge on an outward-opening door. The (hinge) barrel will necessarity be exposed to the outside which means the (hinge) pin could be removed from the outside. If this is done, then the door can be opened from the hinge side because the (hinge) knuckles on the door leaf will simply slip past the knuckles on the frame leaf once the pin is removed. What is added to the security hinge is a set of protrusions on each leaf that mate into matching holes on the other leaf and even protrude slightly into the door edge and the frame. With these in place, the door cannot be opened on the hinge side even with the pin removed. Example: security screw --- A type of screw that is designed to resist casual removal. These are little used in woodworking. They are identical to security bolts except that they meet the definition of a screw rather than bolt (see bolts vs screws ) self centering bit --- A specialized drill bit designed to bore perfectly centered pilot holes for hinge mounting screws. The bit uses a standard twist drill bit inside a retractable spring-loaded sleeve. A tapered end on the sleeve fits into the countersink on a hinge screw hole to automatically center the bit when you press the sleeve against the hinge. Commonly referred to as "Vix" bits after the brand name of the original version, self-centering bits come in various sizes to accommodate different screw gauges and hinge hole sizes. Examples: self closing hinge --- Any type of hinge that has a mechanism that causes the hinge to automatically close the hinged object once it is released. Examples include the cam lift hinge and the spring loaded hinge . self drilling screw --- synonymous with self tapping screw self tapping machine screw --- Also called a "thread-cutting screw", this fastener is somewhat similar to a self tapping (wood) screw . It has a portion at the bottom that looks, not like the scraper on the self tapping (wood) screw but rather an actual machine tap and rather than coarse threads, it has the same relatively fine threads of a machine screw . These screws have a straight shank and are typically a hard metal such as steel that are being driven into a hole in a soft metal such as alumninum. The hole is drilled in the soft metal but then one of these fasteners is used rather than tapping it. The drive slots can be most any type, as can the head style. A similar device for use in wood is the self tapping screw . Examples: self tapping screw --- Also called the "self threading screw", this is a coarse-threaded screw , usually made of steel and with a straight, rather than a tapered, shank and a cutting ridge at the bottom that scrapes out room in wood for the threads; these are not used in metal. As the screw is driven into raw wood, the scraper opens up a hole in the wood and then the threads tap themselves in. These do not work well in really hard woods without a pilot hole . The drive slot on these can be most anything, as can the head style. There is a small-bolt equivalent, for use in metal, called the self tapping machine screw . Examples: semi-concealed hinge --- synonymous with partially concealed hinge SEMS fasteners --- SEMS threaded fasteners are assemblies that combine bolts or screws with washers, collars, specialized stampings, or other components. They come in a wide variety of sizes and configurations and have the advantage that the washers and other components are captive and thus speed up assembly and also can't fall off and get lost during assembly. I have found only anecdotal information as to where the name "SEMS" comes from (it was supposedly from an early patent) and am not yet confident enough in it to repeat it here. Other anecdotal information says the name is an abbreviation of asSEMbled. Examples: serrated flange nut --- A flange nut that has ridges on the flange that bite into the surface and are angled such that they keep the nut from rotating back in the direction that would loosen it. Because of the serrations, such nuts cannot be used with a washer since that would defeat the operation of the serrations. Although the definition does not require that these be hex head nuts I have never seen them in any other form. Also called a "wheel lock nut". Examples: set bolt --- synonymous with tap bolt set screw --- A headless bolt (which by some definitions makes it a screw , since bolts have heads) that has a recessed slot for a flat head screw driver , or more commonly a hexagonal recess for an Allen wrench . Set screws are used, for example, to tighten metal rods (such as at the end of a bowl gouge ) into a metal handle, where a protruding head would be a serious problem. This term is badly misused, being often used to designate a bolt that has a head; such an object is NOT a set screw even if it is being used in a similar function, it is just a regular bolt since set screws by definition don't have heads. In addition to providing a tightening force against a potentially rotating shaft, set screws are also used in a way that causes an unthreaded section at the end of the shank (see "dog" below) on their end to be inserted into a hole in such a shaft to provide total prevention of rotation. The types of ends most commonly available on set screws include: cup --- a hollowed end, this is the most commonly used point style and is used when the digging in of the point is acceptable or desirable. cone --- a pointed end that generates the highest holding power and is typically used for a permanent connection. Not the best choice if repeated adjustments are likely. oval --- a rounded end that is typically used when frequent adjustment is required. The oval end prevents/reduces indentation in the shaft being tightened onto. flat --- Causes little damage to the shaft and is used when frequent adjustment is required, but does not provide the best holding power. dog --- a flat end with the threads stopping short of the end so that the end consists of a smooth shank that fits into a hole in the shaft being restrained. Examples: sewing machinge hinge --- identical to butler tray hinge sex bolt --- A term that refers to a nut/bolt pair where the bolt can be pretty much ANY type of bolt but the nut is abnormal in that rather than being a relatively flat section of metal with internal threads and no head, it is a headed tube with internal threads. The underside of the female nut's head is often serrated to provide gripping force and there is usually no drive slot on the head of the nut. Sometimes the head of the nut is knurled . Sex bolts are frequently used in security application (see security bolt ) since with an undrivable nut head and a security head on the bolt, it is very difficult to remove the whole assembly once it is in place. Although it is true that most any type of bolt can be used with the nut from a sex bolt pair, the "true" version most often has a cylindrical unthreaded section at the top of the shank, just under the head, that has the same outer diameter as the nut. The bolts in these bolt-nut pairs are often connector bolts . Examples: sex nut --- (1)see sex bolt sex nut --- (2) Any male human. shank --- A term with a bewildering variety of definitions; as regards woodworking the term refers to the cylindrical shaft of a nail, screwdriver, drill bit, cutting tool, etc. For cutting tools that have a tang going into a handle, the shank is the portion of the tool between the tang and the blade. For screws and bolts, the shank is generally taken to mean the smooth portion below the head and above the threads, but is also sometimes used to refer to the threaded portion as well, especially in situations where the distinction being made is between the head and the rest of the fastener. For nails the shank is everything but the head, whether or not it includes rings or spirals for greater holding power. For screwdrivers, it is generally taken to mean the everything from the edge of the handle down to (but not including) the end portion with the shaped tip (flat, Phillips, etc.). For turning and carving chisels and gouges it designates a portion starting at the edge of the handle and moving most, or all, of the way down to the working end of the tool where the cutting edge is. Shanks can be bent (particularly on carving and turning tools) or straight and can have most any cross section, although most are round (as on screws) or rectangular (as on files). sheet metal connector --- (1) A flat rectangle (and sometimes other shapes) of sheet metal, perforated so that nails can be driven through; used to join wood in exactly the same way as nail plates . sheet metal connector --- (2) Any of a huge number of different kinds of formed sheet metal parts used to join pieces of ductwork or other parts. sheet metal screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed to work with sheet metal. Since the sheetmetal is always thin, and these screws never have fine threads because they would not grab the sheet metal; instead, the threads are relatively coarse and very sharp. They are also threaded all the way up to the bottom of the head and occasionally will have a self-threading cutting ridge at the end. In any case, because of the sharp, full threads, these screws make good self tapping screws for use in wood. They tend to be relatively thick and are rarely very long. Their drive slot is typically flat head or phillips head , rarely allen head , and the head style can be most anything but a very common head type has a straight-up hex rim plus a flat-head drive slot. They usually have a straight shank (rarely a tapered one like a wood screw ) but they are pointed on the end. Although I have occasionally seen screws sold as sheet metals screws that were countersunk, that doesn't make sense to me since thin sheet metal could pull right through a countersunk head, so it seems to me that they should always have a flat bottom on the head (and most of the ones you see DO have that), regardless of the shape of the top of the head. I think such countersunk "sheet metal screws" are more likely to be useful with wood. Examples: shelf clip --- A small device for holding adjustable shelving, this piece of specially bent and formed steel works in conjunctioni with a set of upright steel rails that have slots into which these fit. Best described with an image, so see below. Compare/contrast to shelf pin . Examples: shelf pin --- A small device for holding adjustable shelving, this consists of a cylinder that goes into the upright side of a shelving system with a projection that may be a cylinder or some form of flattened piece that holds the shelf. Generally, there will be a symmetrical rows of holes up the front and back of both sides of the uprights and 4 of these will be used, with the shelf pins, to support each shelf, which can then be moved up/down by moving the pins. These are almost always made of brass or steel but light-use versions come in plastic. The holes are always1/4" for all types. Some of the flat-projection version have a hole that can be used to screw the shelf in place, after which it is no longer adjustable without removing the screws. Also, you will occasionally see these sitting in a recess in the bottom of the shelf which keeps the shelf from moving front-to-back but weakens the support since it halves the amount of wood being supported by the pin (see the lower left corner of the composite pic below for an example). Compare/contrast to shelf clip . Examples: S hook --- A metal rod that has been bent into the shape of the letter "S". The ends may or may not be closed. One use for these is to attach a solid-link chain to something, and they are used for other hooking and fastening operations. Often, one will open up one or both end with pliers and then close them again on another object (such as a chain link). Examples: shoulder bolt --- Sometimes (technically incorrectly) called a "shoulder screw", this is a bolt (NOT a screw) that has an unthreaded shoulder below the head and then a threaded portion. Depending on the application for which it is designed, a shoulder bolt may have a the outer diameter of the shoulder larger than the outer diameter of the threads or the same as the threads. Shoulder bolts are designed for various metalworking applications, not woodworking (although they are used in various woodworking power tools). See bolts vs screws . Examples: shoulder screw --- synonymous with shoulder bolt shoulder washer --- A type of washer that is like a flat washer with a "shoulder" that physically insulates a screw or bolt from the area just below its head. These are used primarily when affixing thin sheets of one metal to something using a screw or bolt of a different metal. The shoulder keeps the thin metal from touching the screw or bolt and because shoulder washers are normally a form of electrical insulator, the the physical insulation is accompanied by electrical insulation and prevents galvanic corrosion . Simple electrical insulation is the reason they are often used in electrical systems (such as computers) when screwing down printed circuit boards with metal screws. Examples: shower door hinge --- synonymous with pivot hinge side play --- In a hinge , this is the amount that (hinge) leaves can move relative to each other and perpendicular to the (hinge) pin . This is essentially a measure of how loosely the pin sits inside the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . sill anchor --- A threaded metal bolt that has its head and upper portion mounted upside down embedded in the concrete of a wood frame house foundation . It projects through holes in the sill plate which it then holds down with washers and nuts . sill plate --- (1) The lowest horizontal member of the structural framework. It sits on the foundation , is normally bolted to it with sill anchors , and it supports the lower structural beams and frame uprights ( studs , etc) above it. Aka "sole plate" and "mud sill". Often to protect the plate timber from splitting, the attaching bolt will be used with a plate washer . sill plate --- (2) The bottom framing member of a window frame. Examples single cranked hinge --- A hinge that has a crank in one (hinge) leaf . There is a specialty type called (appropriately) the flush cranked hinge that is shown in the 4 smaller pieces in the middle of the composite image directly below. If both leaves have the crank, then it is a double cranked hinge . See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up the hinge. Examples: single demountable hinge --- This is a somewhat complex type of hinge that has the tab mechanism that is fully explained elsewhere (see double demountable hinge ) but only on the door leaf not the frame leaf which is a more traditional style and may use one wood screw but more often uses two of them and they usually go through oval clearance holes so as to allow for up/down adjustment of the leaf positioning. This is a partially concealed hinge because only the barrel and part of the frame leaf are exposed, and it is a type of flush hinge as you can see in the pics below. As shown in the mounting pic in the upper right some (but NOT all) of these hinges can be mounted only if the entire back edge of the door be given a reveal (an edge rabbet ). The second hinge from the left below is one such. The term "demountable" in the name is somewhat misleading since it would normally imply that no screwdriver is required to demount the hinge (see lift off hinge ), but that is not the case with this hinge. Examples: single mortise hinge --- Any hinge that has only one (hinge) leaf sitting in a mortise . This would normally be the edge hinge (whether it's on the edge of the door or the edge of the frame) because it wouldn't make sense to mortise a face mount and leave the edge mount proud since that would leave a gap between the door and the frame. See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. sinker nail --- A type of framing nail but thinner than a common nail (somewhat like a box nail ), and coated with adhesive (they are a type of cement coated nail ) to enhance holding power. They usually have a slightly countersunk , funnel-shaped, head so as to sink flat with the surface of the framing member into which they are driven. They often have a grid stamped on the top of the head exactly like a framing nail . Examples: slip joint hinge --- synonymous with lift off hinge slotted nut --- (also, slotted hex nut) synonomous with castle nut socket screw --- synonymous with allen head bolt socket wrench --- A type of wrench with a cylinder on the end (the "socket") that has an internal hexagonal shape; comes in many different sizes to fit numerous different sizes of nuts, bolts, and other fasteners. These wrenches generally come in sets with a varying number of sockets included and are available in both metric and English units. Most such wrenches have a ratchet mechanism and in fact are sometimes called just "ratchet wrenches", but there are many styles, not all in sets and not all with ratchets. Also, the term "socket wrench" is applied to both box wrenches and combinatinon wrenches when they have a ratchet mechanism. Examples: SOSS hinge --- SOSS is actually a brand name. These are, like the barrel hinges (type 1) , a type of concealed hinge and have the same multiple flat plates as the barrel hinges but generally more of them and the mounting portion requires elongated mortises rather than a round ones and they use heftier mounting screws, all of which makes this type, unlike the barrel hinges, useful for load bearing applications. Note that there are numerous styles of hinges that are similar to SOSS hinges, particluarly in body shape, but they are different and are listed in the 2nd composite pic under concealed hinge . The main difference is that the SOSS hinges, as you can see below, have multiple flat plates that make up the moving part of the mechanism whereas the look-alikes have slightly different mechanisms. Note that some of the examples below are not sold by SOSS; they are knockoffs that are sold as SOSS by other companies. Examples: speed nut --- see spring nut spike --- A large nail , usually over 4"; bigger than a 20d nail. See also nail sizes . One example is a gutter spike . Note that in the woodworking sense, the term spike is not used to mean a "railroad spike" which has a particular kind of head and is generally rectangular in cross section and is not at all like woodworking nails. spiral nail --- A nail with a spiral ridge down the shank, somewhat like the threads of a screw but with a MUCH lower angle. They are used especially for hardwood flooring because the holding power makes them much more squeak-free than regular nails. They are also used for siding, fencing, and sometimes for pre-built rafters although with todays nail guns all kinds of framing are more likely to be done with coated straight nails rather than spiral nails. Examples: split nut --- A nut that is, as the name suggests, split on one side or on two opposite sides, such that either (1) the sides of the nut can be moved away from the bolt so that the bolt can slide freely past the nut, or (2) the nut can be tightened on the bolt and the pressure can be released using the same mechanism that is used to tighten it. The first type is used, for example, on bench vises so that the jaws can be opened widely very rapidly by opening the split nut and then when the split nut is closed, the jaws can be adjusted with fine granularity to clamp down on a workpiece. Similarly, it is used on positioning systems such as in a metal lathe where the use of a split nut allows for rapid movement to a coarse-granularity positioning and then the fine-granularity position is achieved after the split nut is closed up again. The second type seems to be used only in plumbing and does not relate to woodworking. The right-most pic in the composite below is the first type and all the others are the second type. Examples: split ring lock washer --- A washer that is somewhat like a common flat washer except that there is a radial split in the washer and one side of the split is raised. This causes a spring-like action that exerts pressure against the bottom of the screw or bolt head as the raised part is compressed by the head and this tension is designed to prevent the screw or bolt from coming loose due to vibration. Split ring lock washers are rarely used with wood screws ; they are designed for use against metal surfaces and are used with bolts . Split ring lock washers CAN be used effectively on wood surfaces if a flat washer is put between the lock washer and the wood surface, but lock washers are rarely needed in wood because wood won't generally vibrate a screw out of it the way threaded metal will. There is an extra-thick version of the split ring lock washer and it is called the high collar lock washer . Split ring lock washer is what is commonly meant by the term "lock washer" but there are several other types. It is also called a "split washer". See lock washer types" . Examples: splitting nut --- The condition when a cutter or drill roughly breaks through the bottom or back of a workpiece. I have this definition from only one source and have no faith in it but it could be right. I have never seen it used. split washer --- synonymous with split ring lock washer spring loaded hinge --- Any type of self closing hinge that uses springs to do the closing. Examples: need to add spring loaded hinge pics spring nut --- There are a number of different style devices, all used to capture bolts, that are referred to in various intermixed and only loosely defined ways. The most common names are push nut, speed nut, flat speed nut, spring nut, and U-nut, depending on the shape (but, again, the names are not applied consistently). They all have three common characteristics: (1) they work partially on a springing action which causes them to put pressure on the threads of the bolt and thus helps hold the bolt in place, (2) they are not amenable to tightening on the nut side because unlike a machine nut , for example, they present little or no surface on which a wrench can work, and (3) they can be put onto the bolt quickly because the springing action allows them to be slipped down over the end of the bolt and then the final tightening is done by turning the bolt. When they consist of folded-over flaps, they are called U-nuts and because of their ability to go on the bolt quickly, they are also called speed nuts. Some look a bit like an internal tooth lock washer with internal prongs, but the prongs point UP so that the bold threads will grab them, rather than pointing down so that they grab the object being clamped. Examples: spring pivot --- synonymous with floor closer square head bolt --- A bolt with a 4-sided head that can be easily turned with a crescent wrench . Such bolts may be threaded all the way along the shank or not. Examples: square head nut --- (also "square nut") A machine nut with a 4-sided outer rim. square washer --- A washer that is just a square of metal with a hole in the center. Sometimes called a "square flat washer" which doesn't really make sense to me, since a "flat washer" is round so that's like saying a "square round washer". Also, I am quite sure that some vendors sell plate washers , even heavy duty ones, under the name square washer but I don't think that a small, thin square washer would ever be sold as a plate washer. Examples: standing bolt --- synonymous with stud bolt starter hole --- A small, shallow hole created as a guide for a screw or a screw-type element such as an eye hook . A deeper hole would be called a pilot hole . step bolt --- (1) a heavy-duty bolt used on the corners of towers (eg a radio tower) to provide something to step on as a worker climbs the tower; this is not a woodworking item. step bolt --- (2) synonymous with carriage bolt stitch bolt --- A long bolt through mechanically laminated timber (similar to glulam but using bolts instead of, or in addition to, glue) that holds the laminations together. That is, this is not a TYPE of bolt, it is a type of USE for bolts. stove bolt --- Refers to any fastener of the various types that would most often be called a machine screws but which are in this case used as part of the fabrication of a wood-burning stove to attach sheet metal parts. In all of the examples I've seen, there is one common characteristic, which is that these never have an unthreaded shoulder but are threaded along the full length of the shank . strap clamp --- A type of clamp where a strap, often canvas , wraps all the way around a workpiece (such as a picture frame) and the clamping force is exerted by either a screw mechanism or a toggle mechanism at a point where the strap comes back on itself. WHen used on rectangular items, strap clamps are frequently used with specially made pads that protect the wood's corners and provide even pressure on the corner joint . Examples: strap hinge --- A type of hinge that was one of the first types used. It most typically consist of two long heavy (hinge) leaves , one of which attaches to a heavy door or gate and the other of which attaches to an adjacent wall. Designed to be both ornamental as well as functional, early versions often had elaborate leaves. Although most definitions say two long leaves, modern usage has corroded that definition and the term now include hinges that have only one long leaf (which item is then more correctly called a T hinge ) and also many now are quite plain. Smaller versions are used for decorative purposes on cabinets . See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up this kind of hinge. Examples: structural bolt --- A large hex head bolt used in heavy-duty structural applications such as in bridges and buildings. One knowledgeable definition also stated that such bolts have a controled thread length (and there are some technical reasons why, based on specific use) but while I can believe that that is a correct formal definition, I think it highly likely that the term is generally used more loosely just meaning any large hex-head bolt intended for heavy duty structural use. stud bolt --- A short threaded rod that may or may not have an unthreaded section in the middle and which is generally intended to be permanently fixed to an object on one end by being screwed into threads in that object and then having a nut placed over the other end to attach something to the object to which the one end is fixed. Also called a "standing bolt". Examples: surface mounted --- For a hinge leaf this means it is mounted on the surface (of a door or frame, edge or face) with no mortise being used. See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. surface mounted hinge --- Any hinge that uses surface mounting for both of the (hinge) leaves . If one leaf IS sitting in a mortise and the other isn't, then it is a single mortise hinge and if both are then it is a mortised hinge . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. tap --- see tap and die tap and die --- Taps and dies are normally used with metal, not wood, but it is not unheard of to see taps used with very hard woods and in any case, woodworkers sometimes have occasion to use the more simple metalworking tools such as these so I've included them in this glossary. Taps are used to put internal threads into a hole drilled in metal, thus creating a place that a machine screw , for example, can be screwed into, and dies are used to put external threads on metal cylinders, thus creating a threaded bolt-end. These are generally sold in sets but can be purchased individually. They are turned by what are called, variously, tap handles / tap wrenches and die handles / die wrenches. Dies generally have cylindrical outsides but sometimes are found with hexagonal outsides, as shown in the examples below. Cylindrical dies require a special handle but hex shaped dies can be turned with a crescent wrench . Dies can be turned with a socket wrench , or a box wrench , or with the special handles that are generally provided with tap and die sets, which come in two styles as shown below. Examples of taps, dies, handles/wrenches, and sets: tap and die set dies die wrenchs / handles tap bolt --- Any fully threaded bolt with no blank (unthreaded) portion just below the head as is common on some types of bolts. Examples: tapped --- describes a hole that has had threads cut in it with a tap tapping --- Using a tap to create threads in a hole in metal to accept a bolt . tee nut --- see T nut T hinge --- A hinge that looks like the letter T when it is opened. A T hinge is similar to a strap hinge , and in fact is often used in the same applications, except that one strap has been replaced by a (hinge) leaf that is like that of a butt hinge so that it does not require the width of a full strap hinge leaf. Note that many manfacturers sell tee hinges as strap hinges even though that is technically incorrect. See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up this type of hinge. Examples: thread --- (1) The helical-spiral projections around the shaft of a screw or on the inside of a tapped hole (usually in metal, not wood). Technically, the thread is a helical inclined plane and makes screws one of the six simple machines defined by classical mechanics. thread --- (2) A very fine string, used to sew cloth items. threaded --- Having threads threaded insert --- a device to allow machine screws to connect to wood. It is a metal cylinder with threads on the outside that screw into the wood and threads on the inside that accept a machine screw. There are quite a few variations, based on the following characteristics: material --- normally steel or brass drive type --- can be slotted, hex, or manual self-tapping (sometimes called "knife threads") or not flanged or not depth --- normal or "low profile" Some of these names are misleading. "Low profile" really should be called "shallow depth" since that is the actual function. "Self-tapping" is misleading because, really, they are ALL self-tapping; No one ever taps the wood, it's just that "self-tapping" are more designed to cut into the wood like a self-tapping machine screw cuts into metal. One variety has "interrupted threads" which stick out more than normal (see pics below) to make them particularly suitable for use in particleboard and other composite materials . Below are various combinations of the characteristics, and I have noted in researching this that flanges seem to be used only on the self-tapping styles and never with the slotted drive style. There are several different types of driver that can be used with these --- see threaded insert drivers threaded insert driver --- a device used to insert threaded inserts . There are basically 4 types; manual, slotted, hex, and homemade. The manual driver can be used with any of the various types of threaded inserts but is required for the type that has no drive slot. The slotted drive is a cylinder that goes into the inside of the insert, then a part that is exactly like the end of a flat head screwdriver, then a hex drive head. The type of insert that these work on COULD be inserted using a flat head screwdriver, but I can tell you from experience that that is an exceptionally bad idea unless you are a robot. The Hex driver is a just a normal hex drive but with a wide cylinder above the drive head that sits on top of the insert (which, with this type of drive, is normally flanged, so the cylinder sits on the flange). Homemade styles are based on either using a machine screw with a jam nut or a machine screw just screwed into the insert --- the examples below show one such with a hex head drive, mainly because that's my own preference. Examples: threaded rod --- steel or other metal rod that has been threaded for its entire length. Commonly available in hardware stores in sizes from about 1/8" to 1" in diameter and 3 feet or 4 feet long, threaded rod can be used to make custom-length fasteners and can also be used with turnbuckles . Examples: threading --- [noun] synonymous with threads threading --- [verb] The process of creating threads on a metal shaft. Compare/contrast to tapping . thrumbscrew --- [also thumb screw] This term is loosely used to describe any bolt (not screw ) that has a knurled knob that is intended to be tightened with the thumb and first finger but it very specifically applies to a bolt (again, not a screw) that has a flat oval top that clearly is designed for use the the thumb and first finger. Compare/contrast to wing screw which is similar (sometimes the line between the two gets a little blurred). Although, as stated, this generally refers to a bolt, not a screw, there are a few similar items (there's an example in the upper right of the composite pic below) that actually ARE screws. Examples: thumb tack --- The predecessor to the modern push pin , this is a short nail with a very broad flat head, used mainly to affix papers to a corkboard. Examples: timber bolt --- Also called a "mushroom head" bolt, this is a very-large-headed bolt that is used to join timbers . The large head prevents the high forces on such bolts from pulling them throught the wood and obviates a washer . Usually there are 4 wedges angled down from the underside of the head onto the shank and these prevent the bolt from rotating while the nut is tightened. An alternative to the wedges are short spikes coming down out of the bottom of the head. Examples: T-nut --- An internally- threaded cylinder with a flat top and sharp metal prongs rising off of the top. These are designed to be driven into a hole in one side of a piece of wood and a bolt is put through from the other side, attaching an object to the wood. These are sometimes used for knockdown joints . Often the surface of the wood around the head of the T-nut will be countersunk (a flat depression, not angled, done with a Forstner bit ) so the head does not protrude above the surface of the wood. Examples: toenailing --- driving nails at an angle from one framing member that is butted up against another at a right angle, most often through a vertical stud into a base stud as shown in the drawing below (in which the nails are not yet driven all the way in). The term can also describe the use of screws for the same purpose. When nails are driven from both sides of the vertical member, as is the best technique if both sides are accessible, it is sometimes called "cross toenailing". Compare/contrast to face nailing and end nailing . toggle bolt --- A specialty fastening device, primarily for use with wallboard . It it a normal bolt, but the "nut" is a spring-loaded pair of wings that are pressed together to get through the wallboard and that then spring open behind the wallboard and hold the bolt in place when it is tightened. Like a molly bolt , it cannot be removed once put in place, but can only be fully driven into the wallboard so as to fall into the space behind the wallboard. If driven directly through a solid object, the wings have to be removed and then reinserted on the back side of the object and then driven through the wallboard. Examples: toothed washer --- see external tooth lock washer , internal tooth lock washer , and internal-external tooth lock washer torque washer --- A washer used only under the head of a carriage bolt and typically in heavy-duty applications, and which has two functions. First, it prevents the bolt's head from spinning when the nut is being tightened and second, it provides a greater load area under the bolt head so it doesn't dig into the wood. The washer has a square center which fits snugly around the square shank just below the bolt's head and this means the bolt head and the washer have to turn together, then the washer as 4 little pointy nubs on its underside and as the nut is tightened, these dig into the wood, keeping the washer (and thus the bolt head) from spinning. They work best with softwoods and man-made composite lumber and are not likely to give good results with really hard woods because they will not seat well. They are widely used in heavy-duty construction such as swing sets, docks and decks. Examples: torque wrench --- (1) A wrench that shows the amount of torque that is being applied, so that you can tell when you have tightened something to a given amount of torque. These are not much used in woodworking. torque wrench --- (2) A wrench that has an internal slip mechanism that can be set to a specified torque and then the wrench will not tighten beyond that torque, but will simply slip and click. These are not much used in woodworking. torx head --- A screw head requiring a driver in the shape of a star. TPI --- Threads Per Inch; a measure of the density of threads on a screw or bolt . trim head screw --- synonymous with trim screw trim screw --- This is the screw version of a finishing nail . It has a very small head (it's really the size of head, not the shape of the head that distinguishes a trim screw) so as to be unobtrusive and has the name trim screw because it was designed to be used with, amoung other things, wood trim . It normally has a cylindrial (not a tapered) but pointed shank and coarse threads. The drive type may be Allen head , phillips head, Robertson drive, or star drive. It may or may not be countersunk . Examples: truss head screw --- A screw that has a very low domed head and very low edges. There are pictures and a further discussion in the entry with the term screw and bolt head types . turnbuckle --- A device for tensioning cables, ropes, tie-rods, etc. It consists of a metal centerpiece with threaded holes in each end, one left-hand thread, one right-hand thread, into which are screwed eyelets or hooks. When the center piece is turned, both eyelets are moved in or out simultaneously, thus increasing or decreasing the tension on whatever is hooked to them. In large uses, you'll see them in guy wires on telephone poles, the rigging on sailing ships, etc. Examples: twist drill bit --- This is the "normal" drill bit, the one that folks are probably thinking of when they say "drill bit". It is a long metal shaft with helical fluted cutting edges and a fairly broad point. These bits are good for both wood and softer metals. In the USA, these drills can be purchased individually by size and also come in numerous sets. The most common sets are the "A to Z" set (A=.234", Z=.413"), the "#1 to #60 set (#1=.228", #60=.040"), and the "1/64 to 1/2" in 1/64" increments set. There is also a lesser known set of micro bits #61 to #80 (#61=.039", #80=.0135") and there are variations on the "normal" twist bit, including the very popular brad point bits. Examples: two leaf hinge --- This term has two unrelated meanings. The first is as a synonym for the type of bifold door hinge that has one leaf above the other. Many types of hinges have two leaves, so why the term "two leaf hinge" should apply just to that one I do not know, but that's what I have found to be the case. The second definition refers to a specialty hinge that is used primarily for free-standing mirrors (generally called a "vanity mirror") that swivel inside a vertical frame, as shown in the composite pic below: need to add two leaf hinge pics U bolt --- A length of rod that is threaded on both ends and then bent into a "U" shape which might be a very curved U or a more rectangular U. The curved variety in particular is used as a pipe holddown. Examples: umbrella head roofing nail --- A form of roofing nail with an exceptionally large head to prevent pullthrough of roof shingles . As nearly as I can tell, these are widely used in Asia but not much in the USA. Examples: undercut screw --- A shallow-head countersunk screw or bolt, the point of which is to reduce the profile of the head and thus provide a little extra thread length for a given length of screw. Examples: underdriven --- Describes a fastener, such as a screw , not fully driven flush to the surface. Compare/contrast to overdriven . U-nut --- see spring nut upholstery nail --- Also called "upholstery tack", this is a small, thin-bodied nail , usually 1/2" to 3/4" long and with a very broad head. The head most often is domed and frequently has some sort of design on it, sometimes quite elaborate. Sometimes the head is in the shape of a pyramid or other shape that would not be found on any other kind of nail because these nails are used to affix upholstery to chairs and other padded furniture and thus are as much decorative as functional. Examples: variable speed reversible drill --- A power drill that has a speed control and the ability to reverse the direction of spin. VERY handy for putting in and taking out screws (using a screwdriver bit instead of a drilling bit). These tend to be a little more powerful than the standard power drill and also usually have a second handle rod that projects out of the side to give you a very firm two-handed grip when using the tool to tighten nuts or screws or when using large boring bits. Examples: washer --- A device, usually metal, with a hole in the middle, used under the heads of bolts and screws to distribute force more evenly and widely from the head of onto the surface under the head. Other shapes and materials for washers are used to provide seals, locking mechanisms and vibration reduction. Typical washers have an OD about twice their ID , but fender washers are a notable exception to that rule of thumb, and most types of lock washer have a smaller OD than others. Similar devices are the gasket and the O-ring . Types of washer likely to be encountered by woodworkers include: countersunk --- for countersunk screws countersunk lock washer --- an external tooth lock washer but cone-shaped to conformm to the bottom of a countersunk screw cup washer --- same as finish washer dished --- not used in woodworking dock --- very heavy-duty fender washer for heavy construction (such as marine docks) external tooth lock --- lock washer with teeth pointing outward for maximum surface grab finish washer --- used with countersunk bolts and screws but without the countersunk hole flat --- "common" type, like a featurless dime with the center punched out fender --- very large OD for use with thin material (like a car fender, thus the name) flanged countersunk --- like a countersunk but with a flange to distribute the pressure even more flush --- like a flat washer but the center is pressed down into a cone shape to conform to the underside of a countersunk screw internal-external tooth lock --- toothed lock washer with both internal and external teeth internal tooth lock --- lock washer with teeth pointing inward for appearance lock --- see split ring lock, external tooth lock, internal tooth lock, and internal-external tooth lock mudguard --- same as fender (mudguards are thin material, thus need a fender washer) ogee --- wide, thick, cast iron, ogee-shaped washer used in heavy construction phenolic --- insulating, for use in electrical connections plate washer --- used in attaching sill plates square plate --- see plate washer square --- like a flat washer but with a square rim star --- a little-used synonym for external toothed, because of the appearance torque washer --- for use with carriage bolts only toothed --- see internal tooth, internal-external tooth, and external tooth trim washer --- same as finish washer wave --- locking type with a wave shape to provide a spring-like holding action multi-tooth --- synonymous with internal-external tooth star --- synonymous with external tooth lock (because of the shape) washer head screw --- A type of wood screw that has an extra-wide head that acts as both a washer and a head. These are sometimes seen in machine screws as well, but are much more common in wood screws which need the extra holding power. Examples: wave washer --- A type of lock washer that has as the locking mechanism the fact that the washer (which is otherwise a thin flat washer ) is bent in a wavy fashion so that it creates a spring-like clamping pressure between the bottom of the bolt or screw and the surface being clamped. Examples: wheel lock nut --- synonymous with serrated flange nut wide swing hinge --- A butt hinge that has one extra wide leaf and is mounted with the barrel offset from the door/frame joint so that the door moves out of line with the frame when opened, thus giving extra clearance. Often used in hospital rooms and some industrial settings, the point being that it provides unobstructed access through the entire width of the door frame. Examples: need to add wide swing hinge pics wide throw hinge --- synonymous with wide swing hinge wing nut --- A nut that has "wings" (upsweeping flanges) on the sides so that it can be turned with fingers instead of needing any kind of wrench or pliers . See also thumb screw and wing screw . Examples: wing screw --- Exactly what you would have if you took a wing nut (which is much more familiar to most people) and super-glued it to the end of a threaded rod. It's a bolt (NOT a screw) that has a "wing nut like" head, although the term is sometimes used to describe items that should be called thumb screws . Examples: wire nail --- A nail that starts out as a length cut from a strand of wire. This can be any of several types of nail. Common nails, box nails, and brads are all usually wire nails, including even the larger sizes, because automated construction techniques make very effective use of wire. wire nut --- A simple but incredibly useful device that rivals the paper clip in ingenuity, this is a plastic cone with a spiral of conductive wire inside; you jam two stripped electrical wires into it and then you twist it and the wires are physically (and therefore electrically) mated with a strong bond that can be released later by just reverse-twisting the cap. It does have the drawback that a lot of vibration can loosen the connection, so there are applications where it is still better to rely on a soldering iron and/or electrical tape. Examples: wood screw --- A screw designed for wood or a similar material, with a pointed, tapered shank , relatively coarse threads, and sometimes an unthreaded portion just under the head. Wood screws are designed to fasten objects to wood or to fasten two pieces of wood together. The pointed shaft is often driven directly into wood, but depending on the hardness of the wood, a pilot hole may be required. There are a huge number of different head styles and drive types and other characteristics of fasteners that may have other specific names but are also what is meant by the term "wood screw", including many that do NOT have a tapered shank but rather have a straight, threaded, shank with a pointed end. Materials include steel, brass, and aluminum. See also bolts vs screws . Compare/contrast to machine screw . Examples: wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that either partially or fully wraps around both the edge of a frame and the matching door. The two types are shown in this glossary at: partial wrap around hinge zero clearance hinge --- Although technically this term is properly applied to any hinge that allows unobstructed access for pullout shelves or drawers once a cabinet door is opened to 90 degrees or more, it is usually applied to a specific style of hinge that is also called a European hinge . The point is just to make sure that the door will not protrude into the area of the cabinet opening when open so that any drawer or shelf that is being pulled out through the opening will not be obstructed by the back edge of the door. With the proper mounting in the right kind of door setup, a butt hinge could serve this function, as could a wrap around hinge and others, most particularly the 270 degree hinge . Another, less used, name for these is "zero protrusion hinge". The examples shown here are all of the European hinge type: zero protrusion hinge --- An apparently little-used term that is synonymous with zero clearance hinge # of terms in this subglossary: 418

Phillips

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Hobbit House Glossary The HobbitHouse Ilustrated Glossary of Woodworking terms FASTENER TERMS This set of terms having to do with fasteners and related terms is extracted from the general glossary shown here: GLOSSARY and links that are not local to this subset will put you back in the main glossary for images of wood itself, go here: wood id site NOTE: this sub-glossary is very much a work in progress; glue types, for example, are not yet well represented 270 degree hinge --- This refers to a hinge that allows a door to rotate 270 degees and thus allows it to open all the way to the outside side of a cabinet wall. This can only be achieved on a frameless full overlay cabinet design, and is best illustrated graphically, so see below. Note that there are two basic style of 270 degree hinges and the first is shown on the left side of the composite pic below and the other on the right side. Also, note that sometimes these hinges are called wrap around hinges or "wrap around inset" hinges or "double wrap around" hinges or "full back to back wrap around" hinges, but "wrap around hinge" normally means what is shown on that link. Examples: acorn nut --- A type of cap nut that is specifically shaped like an inverted acorn, which shape is purely decorative, not functional. Examples: Allen head --- A type of screw or bolt head that is designed for use with an Allen wrench . Allen head bolt --- A bolt with a hexagonal recess in the head requiring an Allen wrench , often used in woodworking machinery, among many other things. These may be in metric or SAE sizes. These are usually made out of strong steel , but occasionally you may find them in lighter grade steel or even aluminum. Allen head recesses are also used extensively in set screws . Other names for this item are "socket cap screw", "socket screw", and "socket head cap screw". Examples: Allen wrench --- A type of wrench that is a hexagonal -shaped metal bar, usually in the shape of an "L" but sometimes in the shape of a "T" and sometimes with a handle like what you find on a screwdriver but more often with a handle on the "T" portion, used to turn Allen head bolts and set screws . These may be in metric or English sizes and are sold both in sets and individually. Examples: anchor bolt --- A device for connecting timber members (or anything else, for that matter) to concrete or masonry. There are numerous styles, some of which involve drilling a hole in the concrete or masonry (in particular, see expansion anchor bolt ) and some of which involve embedding the bolt in concrete when it is poured so the bolt is in place when the concrete sets and the wood (or whatever) that is to be attached is drilled out and then placed over the bolt and attached with a nut . Anchor bolts are used for, among other thing, fastening the sill plate in a frame construction to the foundation . To prevent the plate timber from splitting, the anchor bolt nut is often put down over a plate washer . Examples of the most common type of anchor bolt which is an "L" shaped metal rod, threaded on the longer end: anchor hinge --- A particularly strong type of door hinge that has flaps on the (hinge) leaves to give extra attachment points to the door and frame; the flaps attach horizontally along the top edge of the door and the top surface of the frame. Most have these flaps on both leaves, but some (e.g. the two on the right side of the pic below) only have it on the frame leaf . Examples: annular ring nail --- A nail that has ridges around the circumference of the shank to provide extra holding power for applications such as wood to plywood bonding, flooring, roofing, and use in pallets. Although, as they are driven in, the ridges push the wood fibers aside, after they are in the fibers tend to expand back into the ridges thus giving better holding power than smooth-shank nails. The size and shape of the ridges varies considerably and they are often angled back up the shank so as to act like wedges, and sometimes they are actually tight spirals rather than just circumferential ridges. These nails are particularly susceptible to crippling because all those rings provide multiple points of possible failure. Examples: architectural ball bearing hinge --- synonymous with ball bearing hinge architectural hinge --- A door hinge that is categorized as either commercial or residential. Whether for a home (residential) or for a public building (architectural), these hinges are very similar. Commercial hinges are generally differentiated from residential ones by being more substantial in construction due to the heavier use they are exposed to in public places. auger point screw --- A screw that has a very sharp point and threads that grip the wood strongly. Such screws often have a the kind of end found on a self tapping screw , and in any case this type of screw is designed to be used with no pilot hole ... it pulls itself into the wood once started. Examples: ball bearing hinge --- A hinge (generally a butt hinge or an olive knuckle hinge but it could be most any type) that has ball bearings between the (hinge) knuckles to reduce friction and make for a smoother, easier, opening action. The ball bearings are captured in small flat cylinders that sit between some or all of the knuckles, depending on how heavy-duty the hinge needs to be. These are particularly suitable for industrial applications where a door may be opened and closed all day long thus wearing out normal knuckles in a relatively short time compared to those on ball bearing hinges. Examples: ball screw --- A mechanical device for translating rotational motion to linear motion. It is just like a lead screw except that the sliding portion contains ball bearings and thus the device does not heat up quickly (the way a lead screw would) when used continuously in a powered situation. barrel hinge --- (type #1) A type of hinge where the door leaf and the frame leaf are not really leaves at all but instead are barrel-shaped cylinders of metal with a flat hinged joining mechanism. The barrels are inserted into recesses drilled in the door and the frame such that the hinge is totally hidden from view when the door or lid is closed. These are very often used, in small sizes, on jewelry boxes and in modest sizes on mid- to hi-end home entertainment centers and such because the are a type of fully concealed hinge . The construction of this mechanism does not lend itself well to heavy-duty uses such as house doors and in fact these items are often advertised with the warning "not for load-bearing applications". Examples: barrel hinge --- (type #2) A type of hinge where the the door leaf and the frame leaf each have only one (hinge) knuckle and generally both knuckles are closed at the end through which the pin does not protrude. These are suitable for heavy duty use on wooden doors and gates. These are generally a type of lift off hinge and are often sold under that designation. Examples: barrel hinge --- (type #3) A type of hinge that is used in metalworking and requires welding, not woodworking, and that is therefore not illustrated extensively in this glossary. Examples: bed bolt --- synonymous with cross dowel bifold door --- A type of sliding/folding door made from two (or occasionally more) hinged panels that fold onto each other as the door is slid sideways. Often used on closets in the USA. Since each joint in the door moves in only one direction, it isn't necessary to use a complicated hinge such as the folding screen hinge and a light-weight version of a butt hinge is used, called a bifold door hinge . This version has one leaf that folds inside the other so that the total thickness is only one leaf, which is an acceptable gap on closet doors. Examples: bifold door hinge --- There are two versions of this hinge and both are, as would be assumed from the name, designed for use on bifold doors . The first design is a special version of the butt hinge that has the door leaf folding into the frame leaf and thus providing a gap that is only one leaf thickness while allowing surface mounting rather than requiring a mortise for either leaf. The second version has one leaf sitting about the other (or two leaves above/below a center leaf) which again allows a gap of just one leaf thickness with surface mounting. These hinges work just fine with this type door because each joint only moves in one direction. For a similar hinge that is more flexible, see folding screen hinge . Compare/contrast to double action spring hinge . Examples of the first type are on the left and the second type on the right: binding head screw --- An apparenly vague term that, technically, designates any screw that has EITHER a slightly undercut (that is, shallow) head, OR an extra broad head, with (in either case) the point being to be effective in holding ("binding") electrical wires or u-shaped spade lugs at the end of electrical wires. Some sources equate a binding head with a truss head but I am not confident that that is a correct alternate definition. One of the available types that does not fit the technical defintion, but DOES seem to fit the use, is a screw that has ridges on the bottom of the head (similar to those on a serrated flange nut but without the flange). In finding pics for this item I was sometimes not able to distinguish them from ones that look EXACTLY the same but are sold under various other, more normal, names. Examples: blind screw --- synonymous with set screw bolt --- (1) A somewhat vague term used to describe short logs to be sawn for lumber or used for veneer (either slicing or rotary cutting) or to be used as pulpwood . bolt --- (2) A uniform-diameter metal shank with screw-like threads on the outside (although not necessarily all the way up the shank) and a head of some kind that is used to turn the bolt. Bolts are not tapered, as screws usually are, and they have to be able to accept a nut that has a uniform internal diameter and threads. If something doesn't meet ALL of the aspects of that definition, then it isn't a bolt, it's a screw. One form of "headless bolt" is a set screw (and because it's headless, it's a screw, not a bolt). Bolts can be self-tapping as long as they still are able to accept a uniform nut above the self-tapping threads, so the fact that a shank is self-tapping doesn't make it a screw. If a bolt has a "screw driver" type head, such as a flat-head slot, that does not make the bolt a screw. If a bolt is very small, then in widely accepted common usage, it is called a machine screw but that's really just another name for what is technically a bolt (although the implication is that is is a very small bolt). Compare/contrast to screw and see also bolts vs screws . Note that the statements made here (and elsewhere in this glossary) follow common usage but are NOT universally accepted; the entire issue of nomenclature for bolts and screws was perhaps the biggest mess I encountered in compiling this glossary. Below is a composite pic showing some types of bolts and following that, there is a list of the most common types of bolts, with each term linked to a full illustrated description. Examples: types of bolts: bolt drive types --- see screw and bolt drive types bolts vs screws --- The bottom line is that if you have a fastener with a uniform diameter threaded shank (above any self-tapping area) that takes a nut and has a head, it's a bolt ; otherwise it's a screw . This definition follows widespread common use, but is NOT absolute. The most fundamental difference between a bolt and a screw is that a screw will NOT accept a nut but a bolt, by definition, has to. Also, screws often have tapered shanks but bolts never do. Bolts have to have a head; a "headless bolt" (e.g. a set screw ) is not a bolt, it's a screw. The term machine screw is a widely used misnomer that really just means a small bolt, frequently with a head designed to be turned by a screw driver. The fact that a bolt is driven by a screw driver, does not make the bolt a screw. Neither overall size nor head type have any bearing on whether a fastener is a bolt or screw. Both bolts and screws can be self-tapping, but above the area of the self-tapping threads, a bolt has to be able to accept a nut with a uniform inner diameter and uniform threads. That is, the self-taping threads can be on a tapered end section of a fastener but if the part above that adheres to the definition of a bolt then the whole thing is a bolt and if not, it's a screw. Again, these statements follow common usage but are NOT universally accepted. The whole bolt/screw nomenclature issue is perhaps the biggest mess I have faced in compiling this glossary. box nail --- A box nail is very similar to a common nail and they are sold in the same penny size as common nails but but the size designation is based on LENGTH rather than the original unit weight designation of common nails. They have narrower shanks and slightly smaller heads than common nails and so weigh less than a same-length common nail of the same penny designation. They are slightly larger in diameter than a finishing nail of the same length. Box nails are sometimes used on thin material, the way finishing nails are, but the heads are clearly visible after the nails have been driven so they are not an exact replacement for finishing nails, but rather their purpose is more to avoid splitting the wood they are driven into than to have an unobtrusive head. box wrench --- A type of wrench that is a long, flat, metal rod with a short cylinder on one or both ends that has internal serrations that fit around the head of a bolt or nut . Some have a ratchet mechanism built in and some are offset (also called cranked ) as shown in the composit pic below. These come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. Not shown in this glossary are variations that are shaped like an "S" or a half-circle, and other obscure variations. Single-ended box wrenches are fairly rare. The term "ratchet wrench" is sometimes applied to versions of this wrench when it has a ratchet mechanism, but that term is also applied more often to socket wrenches . Compare/contrast to open ended wrenches . Examples: brad --- A very small, thin, nail ; most definitions say brads are no more than 1" long, but you can buy them up to 1 1/2" long. They are wire nails and they are quite small in diameter. Large brads are about the size of a 2d nail in length but smaller in diameter. Brads are used for attaching thin molding and are often used in the backs of picture frames to attach a thin piece of molding that holds the picture in place. There are a couple of specialty tools that help deal with brads, called brad setters . Examples: bugle head screw --- A screw that has a countersunk head that is shaped like a bugle rather than the more normal 45 degree-flat-slope style. These are particularly used on drywall screws so as to not crush the drywall too much as the countersink goes in. Examples butler tray hinge --- A hinge that mounts in mortises in a tray-top and allow the tray wings to fold to 90 degrees and also snaps flat. They are for those little "breakfast in bed" style folding trays. Often the flaps have cutouts that act as handles. These are very similar in style to counterflap hinges but they often do not have the floating knuckle. Examples: butterfly hinge --- A butt hinge that has its leaves shaped like butterfly wings instead of being rectangular. Counterflap hinges are a special-purpose very plain version of this but when done in more elaborate form they are used for decorative effect on small to modest sized items such as jewelry boxes, small windows, kitchen cabinet doors, and so forth. Counterflap hinges tend to have just one (hinge) knuckle on one side and two on the other and are not load-bearing hinges but the items being described here ARE used for load-bearing application (albeit generally light-duty ones) and so will have several knuckles on one side and one less on the other side. There is a style of hinge that seems to be used mostly in Great Britain that is called a parliment hinge which has a butterfly shape and is sometimes called a "butterfly hinge", but it would never be confused with any of the hinges that Americans call "butterfly hinge". Examples: cabinet connecting screw --- synonymous with confirmat screw cam lift hinge --- There are at least two types of cam lift hinge. The first is a type of butt hinge where there is a slant to the mating edges of the barrels on the door plate and the butt plate such that when the door is opened, the hinge mechanism causes it to rise, thus creating a lift against gravity that will then cause the door to close by itself when released. In addition to working as a door closer, this type of hinge also allows the bottom of a cabinet door to be right down at the carpet level because while a normal hinge in that situation would have the door scraping across the carpet as it opened, this hinge lifts the door up off of the carpet as it opens. One more advantage to this hinge is that it is a type of lift off hinge . The second type has the cam lift action but is not a lift off hinge and is more like a T hinge than a butt hinge. The second type is not shown in the composite pic below. Examples: cap nut --- A hex head nut topped by a solid dome or a cylinder then a dome or even just a cylinder. These are usually all metal but occasionally all nylon. Such nuts can only be used with carefully measured bolts because the bolt has to grip into the nut securely, but it cannot protrude so far that the cap nut is raised above the surface being clamped. The purpose is to provide a decorative/safety type of topping that both looks better than a raw bolt end protruding through the nut, and which also prevents the bolt-end from scratching any nearby moving surfaces such as human knuckles. Automobile lug nuts are usually cap nuts but unlike "normal" cap nuts (as shown here) they have a tapered bottom. There is a more decorative version called the acorn nut and there is a version that more widely distributes the pressure on the clampled surface called the flanged cap nut . Examples: cap screw --- A somewhat ill-defined term, sometimes also called a "hex cap screw" if it has a hexagonal head, this is a fastening device that is, by a limited definition, visually indistinguishable from a hex head bolt but which is manufacturered to tighter tolerances that are much more likely to be of interest in machining situations where high precision is necessary, as opposed to in woodworking where a normal (and less expensive) hex head bolt is going to do the job just fine. Such hex head cap screws are a tiny bit smaller in diameter than the equivalent sized hex head bolt and are threaded all the way along the shank . A looser definition maintains the requirement for high tolerance manufacturing but allows a wider range of body shapes. The name "cap" screw seems to be based on the fact that such a device always has a head (the "cap") that clamps against the material being fastened when the device is driven all the way in. Some definitions of cap screw state that they are a form of head bolt , meaning that they are not used with a nut . captive washer lock nut --- see lock nut card table hinge --- A specialty hinge designed to allow parts of a card table top to fold up on itself. This is a style that was more in use in the past than it is presently. It is slightly similar to the scissorhinge except that there is no pin but rather a floating plate that rotates freely at both ends inside the two halves of the "scissor" plates. The point of this mechanism is to allow the parts of the table top to rotate from being along the same plane to being flat up against each other and to do so without there being any difficulty in the edges clearing each other; it does this by having the edges move away from each other as the flap part is rotated over on top of the rest of the table which would not be possible if there were a single-pin pivot point that was in-line with the plates, and you definitely wouldn't want a (hinge) barrel sticking up out of the surface of the card table. The part that contains the (hinge) pins is thicker than the rest of the (hinge) leaves so the mortise that is requred for these has two different depths. These are functionally quite similar to counterflap hinges . Examples: carriage bolt --- Also called a "coach bolt", this is a bolt with a square shoulder at the top and usually a rounded head with no screw-driver slot or other means for holding the head. This type of bolt is intended to be inserted into a cavity (normally in metal) that is square at the top and then a nut is put on at the other end and tightened with a wrench . The square shoulder in the square cavity keeps the top of the bolt from turning. There is another version that uses a ribbed section instead of the square section and this one is known as, and is illustrated at, ribbed neck carriage bolt . Examples: carver's screw --- A type of clamp used by wood carvers; it consists of a threaded metal rod that is put through a hole in a workbench and screwed into the bottom of the item being carved. There is a nut or other tightening mechanism that goes under the bench. The traditional version has a wing-shaped metal plate with a square hole in it that fits a square head on the bottom of the rod for tightening the screw into the workpiece, and then that same plate acts as a tightening nut under the bench, thus removing the need for any other tool to do the carver's clamping. The beauty of the carver's clamp is that it leave all of the surface of the item being carved, except the very bottom, open to the carver. One possible drawback is that if a chisel is pressed or hammered into the edge of a workpiece in a way that imparts rotational force in the direction that tends to loosen the carver's screw, then occasional re-tightening may be required, which can be a pain. Examples: casement hinge --- A type of hinge specifically for use with a casement window . There are several styles ranging from fairly simple to moderately complex. Examples: castle nut --- A nut that has a slotted ridge around the top, making it look very much like a castle guard tower. It is used with a bolt that has a hole through the end through which a cotter pin is inserted and then bent around the castle nut so that the nut becomes captive and cannot vibrate off. Also called "slotted hex nut". Examples: cement coated nail --- A nail coated with adhesive ("cement") to give it a very rough surface for greater holding power. clevis pin --- A short metal rod with a head on one end and a hole drilled in the other end, so that the pin can be put through a hole and then be fastened in place by a cotter pin through the hole in the pin. There is a special type of "cotter pin" used with clevis pins, as shown in the composite pic below. This form of cotter pin has one leg ridged to hold it on the clevis pin and the legs are not bent after insertion into the pin. This form of cotter pin is more readily removed than a standard cotter pin. Clevis pins are also attached with wire rings much like a key-chain ring. Clevis pins are used to attach small rotating parts to each other, to attach turnbuckles to a chain loop, etc. Examples: clip on hinge --- add definition coach bolt --- synonymous with carriage bolt coach hinge --- I have found very few references to this term and most of those simply show a butt hinge combination head screw --- A screw whose drive mechanism will accomdate both a phillips head screwdriver AND a flat head screw driver . Examples: combination wrench --- A type of wrench that has a box wrench on one end and an open ended wrench on the other end. The box wrench end may or may not have a ratchet mechanism and or be offset. They come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. The term "ratchet wrench" is sometimes appied to these when the box wrench end has a ratchet mechanism. Examples: common nail --- A wire nail used almost exclusively for construction. This is both by name and by actual existence the most common form of nail and is what people normally mean when they say "nail". It has a broad head for good holding power and a fairly thick shank to provide shear strength where it is applied. The large head that provides the great holding strength of this type nail is a disadvantage in situations where looks matter more than holding power, so in those cases, a finishing nail is a better choice. Examples concealed hinge --- A hinge which is either totally hidden from view when closed (see fully concealed hinge or partially hidden from view when closed (see partially concealed hinge . NOTE: In casual usage, the term is often used as synonymous with fully concealed hinge and the term "partially concealed hinge" is much less used. concrete screw --- synonymous with masonry screw confirmat screw --- A screw designed for use with MDF or particleboard when used in cabinet construction (these screws are aka cabinet connecting screws) and the threads are fairly deep to grab these somewhat crumbly materials and care is required to not overtighten the screw since they will strip out fairly easily. The OD of the shank directly under the head is typically a little larger than the OD of the threads and the drive is most often an Allen head drive but may also a be Phillips head drive. They usually, but not universally, have a very thin flange at the top of the head that is driven flush in the material being screwed and they usually have blunt rather than pointed tips since they are designed to be used with a pilot hole often drilled out with stepped drill bits specifically made for use with these screws. Examples: conical anchor --- a tapered cylinder (thus a cone), generally of plasic, that expands when a screw is driven into it. It is used to anchor relatively light things to wall board / drywall, plaster, and masonry. There is a "ribbed" version that is particularly good for drywall because it has little "wings" that help keep the device from rotating as the screw is driven in. Examples: connector bolt --- A bolt that has a broad flat head with a recessed allen wrench drive hole. These are most commonly used with either cross dowels or sex nuts . Examples: continuous hinge --- synonymous with piano hinge corner brace --- There are many devices in woodworking that are called corner braces, but the most common use of that term is for what is also (somewhat more specifically) called a "table corner brace", which is a metal plate that is used to brace the corner of a desk where the legs meet the rails , often with a corner tongue and groove joint . The brace is attached with a hanger bolt with the screw thread end going into the leg and the machine screw end coming through the brace, which is then tightened with a nut that usually has a split ring lock washer under it to prevent loosening under vibration as the table is jiggled slightly in use. Most often, the brace has short edges that go into grooves in the rails for added stability and rigidity. There are also shop-made versions that are more simple (one of which is shown in the illustration below). Examples: corrugated fastener --- A small wavy ( corrugated ) rectangle of steel with one edge sharpened so that it can be driven into wood to hold a joint together. These can be driven with a hammer but there are also powered nail-gun -like drivers as well. Examples: cotter pin --- A bent piece of metal that has a loop with two projections coming off of it side by side. The projections can be put through a hole and the loop prevents the pin from going through the hole all the way. The projections are then bent so that the pin is firmly held in the hole on both ends. Used to fasten wheels to axles on toys, wheelbarrows, etc. There is a variation on this that is used with the clevis pin , where the "cotter pin" has one of the legs is ridged and the legs are not bent after insertion (see clevis pin). Although these are usually manhandled with a pair of pliers , there is a specialty tool for removing them (called, appropriately enough, a cotter pin puller . Examples: cotter pin puller --- A hooked tool for removing cotter pins after the legs have been straightened out. Examples: counterflap hinge --- a hinge used for counter flaps of the type often seen in bars and diners. Many types of hinges COULD be used for this purpose but the hinges that are specifically given this name tend to be those that have a shape very much like that of a butterfly joint but tend to be more plain than their similarly-shaped cousin, the butterfly hinge . More importantly, they are double hinged with a floating knuckle so that when mounted flush with a countertop via shallow mortises, they both allow the counter top to flip over 180 degrees and at the same time not have a (hinge) barrel sitting proud of the counter top, AND even more importantly, they floating knuckle allows for some slack so that both sides of the countertop can have perfectly square edges and still not mash into each other as would be the case if the floating knuckle had no play in it. See hinge parts for a discussion of the various parts that make up this type of hinge, but note that this hinge operates significantly differently than the standard butt hinge in that the knuckles do not mate with each other but each have their own captive pin with a floating knuckle joining the two thus providing a double pivot. Functionally, these hinges are quite similar to the card table hinge Examples: countersink --- [verb] To create an extra wide opening at the top of a screw hole so that the head of the screw will sit flush with the object it is put into. countersink --- [noun] (1) The area removed by a countersink bit . countersink --- [noun] (2) synonymous with countersink bit countersink bit --- A drill bit that allows you to drill out the upper portion of a hole so that the head of a screw (that has been countersunk will sit flush with the face of the object it is put into. There are special bits that drill countersink holes and also bits that drill both a pilot hole and the countersink at the same time; these are called countersink pilot hole bits and there are two types; the first has a set of 3 or more sharpened flutes around the edge that do the cutting and the second type is a solid countersink-area-shaped piece of metal with a hole it it and it is the edges of the hole that do the cutting. There is also a manual version somewhat like a screwdriver, but with a countersink bit on the end, called a hand countersink . Examples of both types: countersinking --- The process of creating a countersunk area in a material (usually wood or metal). countersink pilot hole bits --- drill bits that both drill a pilot hole and cut out a countersink area at the same time. These usually come in sets with diameters set for the most common screw sizes and they have adjustable collars that allow for different depths so that the pilot holes can be adjusted for different length screws. Examples: countersunk --- [verb] Past tense of countersink countersunk lock washer --- an external tooth lock washer but cone-shaped to conformm to the bottom of a countersunk screw. Examples: countersunk screw --- A screw that has a sloping part under a flat head. Such screws come in two flavors as shown in the composite pic below. The standard countersink is a 45 degree angled flat surface and the bugle type (see bugle head screw ) is a concave surface. Examples: countersunk washer --- A washer that is used underneath a countersunk screw so that a countersunk hole does not have to be drilled in the material AND so that the holding pressure is distributed over a wider area (these are often used over thin material). There is a version of these (the flanged countersunk washer ) that spreads the pressure out even more. The cross-section of one side may be a hill, a wedge pointing towards the center, or a triangle pointing up from the surface. Examples: coupling nut --- A very long hex nut that is used to join two threaded rods. There is also a version that has a round exterior. These are also called "hex coupling" nuts and "rod coupling" nuts. Examples: cranked chisel --- Any type of carving chisel (cranks don't occur in lathe chisels) that has a dog leg or other bend in the shank , these are also called a "dog leg chisel", "crane neck chisel" and "bent shank chisel" and are useful whenever you need to pare with the chisel flat on the work surface. If the cut is away from an edge, or in a recess, the handle of a normal chisel will get in the way but With these chisels the dog leg in the handle gives clearance above the work to hold the handle. These are particularly useful for joinery and they also work quite well for removing long glue bead lines after the glue has dried. If the crank is very close to the end of the tool, the tool is sometimes called a short bent tool and if the bend is further away from the end and/or is a more gentle curve, the tool is called a long bent tool. cranked hinge --- A type of hinge has a crank in one or both (hinge) leaves and that thus allows a door or window to swing through 180 degrees. Also called a "stormproof" hinge becuase of its common use with storm windows. When I first saw the term, I assumed it meant a hinge like a casement hinge for use with a casement window since that is a window that opens by cranking a handle. Instead, the term "crank" in this case is being used in its sense of "having a dog-leg bend". The term "double cranked hinge" means the same thing (both leaves are cranked) but if only one leaf is cranked, then the hinge is called a single cranked hinge . Double cranked hinges in particular are also called "stormproof" hinges because they are commonly used with storm windows. Often when the term "cranked hinge" is used, the person using it has a particular type (single or double) in mind and does not bother to preface the term with "single" or "double" and that goes for manufacturer's advertisments as well. Examples: crescent wrench --- A type of wrench that has two parallel jaws with one and integral part of the handle and the other adjustable through a sliding mechanism controlled by a knurled gear shaft inside the handle. These are most commonly used to turn square head bolts and hex head bolts . Although they will all turn items that are both English and metric sizes some are marked with English gradations and others with metric gradations, and many with no gradations at all since users rarely set them to a size and then put them on the item to be turned, but rather just put them on the item and adjust to fit. Compare/contrast to open ended wrench . Examples: crippling --- When a nail is not strong enough to withstand the force required to drive it into the wood, the weakest portion of the shank will bend when the head of the nail is hit by the hammer. This is called crippling, and it is particularly troublesome with annular ring nails because all those rings provide multiple failure points. It can also be a problem for any nail when driven into a particularly hard wood or when struck with more force than is warrented for the size of the nail, and of course a poorly centered hammer blow can cause it in any nail. cross dowel --- A type of knockdown fastener that consists of a steel dowel with a threaded hole through its middle and a slot in one end for use with a flat head screwdriver (to get it to line up, not to tighten it), most commonly used with a connector bolt . the dowel is inserted into a hole in one piece of wood, that also has a hole to accept the bolt into the hole in the center of the dowel, and then the bolt is put through a hole in another piece of wood and the two can then be tightly joined, but later broken down if desired. Because of their wide-spread use in knockdown bed assemblies, these are also called "bed bolts". Examples: cup hinge --- synonymous with European hinge cup hook --- A small metal rod, threaded on one end and bent into a cup shape on the unthreaded portion, and it may or may not have a circular flange separating the two sections. The device is screwed into a wall or other holding element so that things can be hung from it. I believe the name derives from the fact that the shape is like a cup, but I have seen large ones used to hang drinking cups by their handles, so I'm not positive. Examples: cut nail --- A flat, tapered nail that is stamped out of sheet steel . These nails have a blunt end instead of a point and a rectangular cross section and have greater holding power than wire nails . They are often used for fastening flooring . Examples: dead nail --- In days gone by, screws were either not invented yet or hard to come by, but nails were available, so certain types on construction were give the necessary holding power by driving a nail through the connecting items and then bending the pointed end over at the back. Such nails were then referred to as "dead" nails, and the phrase "dead as a doornail" referred to such a use in a common type of door construction. deck screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed for use in decks (external structures usually of treated lumber or very durable hardwood), thus they are made from galvanized steel, stainless steel, or are coated in some way to resists corrosion. The have very coarse threads and sometimes have a section at the top that has cylindrcial ridges rather than sprial threads; this is to resist pull-out due to expansion/contraction of the wood (once the screw is driven, the wood fibers push back around the ridges and not being helical, they strongly resist having the screw "undrive" itself due to wood movement). They are ALWAYS flat-headed and countersunk or have small heads (a type of trim screw ) that will sit below the deck surface since it would be really obnoxious to have screw heads sticking up out of a deck. The drive type is normally either allen head or phillips head , never flat head because driving screws into decking requires a lot of torque and flat head drives are just too likely to strip. Sometimes, decking screws are a type of self tapping screw . Examples: demountable hinge --- A specialty hinge that is used to facilitate the mounting and adjustment of cabinets, especially kitchen cabinets. There are two types: the double demountable hinge and the single demountable hinge . demountable hinge slot cutter --- A router bit used to cut the slots needed by a demountable hinge tab. Examples: die --- see tap and die dock washer --- A very large, thick fender washer for use on heavy construction (such as a marine dock, thus the name). door hinge --- A butt hinge that is strong enough to hold a house door. Often, door hinges will be somewhat fancy instead of just plain flat metal, and they will also frequently have a finial at both the top and bottom of the hinge pin. Door hinges are often put into mortises in both the edge of the door and the frame, as can be seen in the lower right portion of the composite pic below. Door hinges on external doors are most often made of either brass or stainless steel to avoid corrosion due to exposure to moisture. Eamples: door leaf --- The hinge leaf that is mounted to a door. Compare/contrast to frame leaf . door wing --- synonymous with door leaf double action spring hinge --- A type of hinge that has two (hinge) barrels that act in a way that allows a door to swing more than 180 degrees in each direction (in and out) and spring-loaded so that the door always return to center closed position. Also called "double barrel" hinge, "saloon door" hinge, and "cafe door" hinge. In addition to the composite pic below of examples of this type hinge, I have, to show the action, created a graphic that shows the operation looking down onto a door and frame, with directions arbitrarily designated as "inward" to the left and "outward" to the right (and only showing a short portion of the door and frame). Note that the door swings outward centered on the barrel colored dark red and it swings inward centered on the barrel colored blue and the two barrels are attached by a 3rd (middle) leaf. Examples: double cranked hinge --- A type of hinge that has a crank on both leaves and thus allows a door or window to swing through 180 degrees and move completely clear of the door frame area. A similar item with only one of the two leaves having a crank is called the single cranked hinge . Cranked hinges are also called "stormproof hinges" because of their common use with the kind of louvered panels that used to be called "storm windows" before modern technology made that term come to more commonly mean something else. See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up the hinge. Note that in the graphic below, I have drawn the window such that when closed it sits proud of the frame, but it could just as well be mounted so that it ends up flush when closed (which would result in their being a larger gap at the hinge when it's fully open, but that's not a problem, it just didn't look as neat when drawn that way). Examples: double demountable hinge --- This is a somewhat complex type of specialty hinge that is designed to facilitate installation and adjustment of cabinet doors, especially kitchen cabinet doors where there are typically many in a row and you need them to all line up neatly. The mechanism that allows the easy adjustment that is at the heart of this type of hinge is a tab that is inserted into a mortise in the wood and that is cut by a demountable hinge slot cutter router bit. The tab is pulled into the inside of the wooden section (door or frame) by clamping pressure exerted by a countersunk machine screw that goes through the (hinge) leaf and into a threaded hole in the middle of the tab but which does not touch the wood anywhere because the slot is cut extra large to allow for movement (up and down AND back and forth) of the screw so as to align the door as needed. Because this tab mechanism is on both the door leaf and the frame leaf, there is a great deal of flexibility in terms of adjusting the position of the door. Compare this to the great precision that you have to have in placing the screw holes for mounting other types of hinges to make sure all the cabinet doors line up and you can see why this type of hinge is a favorite of kitchen cabinet installers. There is another version of this type hinge that only has the tab mechanism on the door leaf and it is called a single demountable hinge . This is a partially concealed hinge because only the barrel and part of the frame leaf are exposed, and it is a type of flush hinge . You can't see that in the pics below because the angle is wrong on all of them, but if you look at the illustrations with single demountable hinge you'll see what I mean. The flush aspect is implicit in the mounting pic in the upper right hand corner, but you may have to think about it a bit to see it. Although it's not obvious from the pics below, some styles of this hinge require a mounting technique that is slightly different from that shown in the upper right below. The second from the left hinge in the pic below exemplifies this; if you look carefully, you'll see that the only way this hinge could be mounted is if the entire back edge of the door be given an edge rabbet . The term "demountable" in the name is somewhat misleading since it would normally imply that no screwdriver is required to demount the hinge (see lift off hinge ), but that is not the case with this hinge, although it IS easier to remove than traditional hinges because only the one machine screw in the frame leaf needs to be removed to dismount the door AND the hinge. Examples: double dovetail half lap --- synonymous with corner half lap with double dovetail dowel screw --- A cylindrical (not tapered) metal shank (typically of steel) with no head, wood screw threads, and both ends pointed. These are used to connect two wooden parts that have blind holes, such as the finial on a stair railing. Some are un-threaded in the center to make installation using a pair of locking pliers gripping the center easy. Do not confuse with a hanger bolt , which has a machine screw on one end and a wood screw on the other. Vendors sometimes list these two different items indiscriminately as one being the other. Examples: drawer front screw --- A screw , usually steel with a broad, flat head and an unthreaded area below the head then coarse, firm-griping threads below that. These are used in drawer fronts as follows and illustrated in the composite pic below: the false front is attached to the drawer sides and two oversized holes are drilled in it, then the drawer front, which is wide enough to hide the drawer sides and prevent the drawer from sliding back into the carcass , is attached to the false front through the oversized holes, using the drawer front screws. This allows some movement in drawer front so that it can be lined up precisely so as to not look skewed from the front of the cabinet, and then when it's lined up the screws are tightened. These are most commonly provided with Phillips head drive holes because a flat head drive could too easily slip off and mar the surface on the inside of the drawer. Examples: drill rod --- synonymous with threaded rod drop flap hinge --- A hinge designed for use with a vertical panel that covers the front of a cabinet section but drops down 90 degrees to provide a horizontal work space. Not to be confused with drop leaf hinge . Examples: need to add drop flap hinge pics drop leaf hinge --- For drop leaf table extensions and not to be confused with drop flap hinge . This is a butt hinge but with one of the (hinge) leaves wider than the other so as to clear the curved portion of the drop leaf. Better explained with pics than words, so here you go: need to add drop leaf hinge pics drywall screw --- As the name says, this kind of screw is designed for use with drywall so it doesn't have to be very strong and thus they are generally pretty skinny. Thay are always flat head screws so as to be flush with the drywall surface, and they are countersunk in a curved fashion (often called a "bugle" head) so as to not abruptly the drywall as they go in. They also seems to always use a phillips head drive type, probably because if the screwdriver slipped off of a flat head drive type it could poke a hole in the drywall and the shape does not lend itself to the use of a robertson drive . They typically are made of steel, sometimes with a black finish and have quite coarse threads and they are sometimes a type of self tapping screw since on the other side of the drywall they have to go into a stud ; for the same reason, they often have a very sharp point if they are not self tapping. Unlike more normal wood screws the outer diamer of the threads on these screws is larger than the unthreaded shank . Compare/contrast to particleboard screw and see also reverse thread drywall screw . Examples: edge mounted --- For a hinge leaf , this means that the leaf is mounted (with or without a mortise ) into the edge, as opposed to the back or the face, of the door and frame that it is mounted on. Compare/contrast to face mounted . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. edge mounted hinge --- Any hinge uses edge mounting on both of the (hinge) leaves . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. Compare/contrast to face mounted hinge . elevator bolt --- A bolt that is usually similar to a carriage bolt in that it has the square top to the shank and no slotting or other drive mechanism at the top of the head, but unlike the carriage bolt, the elevator bolt has a very wide thin head that presents a lot of surface area for gripping, but a low profile so as to not present much of an obstruction above the surface. There are other variations, most notably one that has triangluar protrusions going down from the head to grip the wood and prevent turning (this variety does not have the square section at the top of the shank), and another form that simply omits the square section, although on this one, it's not clear to me how it is that the head is kept from rotating while the nut is tightened. Examples: end nailing --- Inserting a nail directly into (that is, perpendicular to) the long direction of a member. This is generally a poor technique because nails do not hold well when driven directly into end grain. When a nail is driven through the face of one plank and into the end grain of a support post, it's a tossup whether it should be called end nailing or face nailing, though the preference seems to be end nailing, with face nailing being more often used when nailing together two parallel planks or when nailing through a face and into a side. Compare/contrast to toe nailing and face nailing . Example: end play --- In a hinge , this is the amount of movement that a (hinge) leaf can make perpendicular to the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . European hinge --- Also known as "cup hinge" and "European concealed hinge", these are of a design quite different from more "normal" hinges. They have 2 parts, the hinge cup and arm as one part and the mounting plate as the other part. The door side is fixed with the "cup", which fits in a round mortise inside the door and is held with screws that go through wings that come out of the sides of the cup mechanism. The cabinet side uses the "mounting plate" which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically so you can easily align a row of doors. There are two types of these hinges, one for face frame doors and one for frameless doors . They are fully concealed hinges and are very popular for cabinet doors in kitchens and entertainment centers. They are also sprung to close automatically, so no catch is required at the closing edge of the door. They are also a type of zero clearance hinge . Examples: expansion anchor bolt --- a variety of anchor bolt that has two parts, the bolt itself, and an expansion cylinder that is placed in a hole drilled into masonry . As the bolt is tightened, the expansion part expands outward against the sides of the hole thus providing a strong pressure fit. Unlike the other form of anchor bolt (which is an "L"-shaped bolt that is put into concrete before it sets), this type is also used for horizontal applications (in the side of a masonry wall, for example). A similar fastener pair is a lag screw with a lag screw shield . For direct fastening to masonry (without a sleeve) see masonry screw . Examples: external tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the outer rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type, as contrasted to an internal tooth lock washer , has greater holding power, but can mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows. Examples: eye bolt --- A bolt that has a ring of metal (the "eye") on top instead of a normal bolt head. These are used for various kinds of tie-downs, with a rope or wire going through the ring. There is an almost identical construct that has a tapered end (and is used in wood) that is called an eye lag screw (and, technically incorrectly, also called an "eye lag bolt" even though it's a screw ). These constructs may or may not have a shoulder . eye hook --- (also called "eye screw") A metal rod, most commonly steel, that is threaded on one end and bent into a circle on the other end. The device is screwed into a wall or other support structure and used for hanging things. It is particularly useful for threading a string or rope through a number of them so that things can be hung from or draped on the rope. When these constructs are fairly large, and particularly when the eye is a continuous piece, they are more normally called eye lag screws . Examples: eye lag --- synonymous with eye lag screw eye lag bolt --- A commonly used name for what is also, and more correctly, called an eye lag screw eye lag screw --- A construct identical to an eye bolt except that it has a tapered end (making it a screw rather than a bolt , and unlike its namesake the eye bolt, it is really a screw not a bolt even though it has a uniform (not tapered) shank (but it IS pointedon the end). Another way of looking at it is that it is a lag screw with a ring for a head. If these constructs are fairly small and have a discontinuous ring (and sometimes even with a continuous ring) they are called eye hooks or eye screws. In practice, the distinction between eye hook and eye lag screw seems to be vague to non-existent but the name "lag" usually implies the larger/thicker version and the term "hook" generally implies the that the eye is a discontinuous piece, just bent from the shank . The names are so interchangeable that I have the items included in the composite pic below are what I think SHOULD be called eye hooks. These constructs may or may not have a shoulder but most commonly they do because otherwise you might turn them after then have entered the material all the way and thus create a circular gouge in the surface They are most commonly steel. Examples: eye screw --- synonymous with eye hook face mounted --- For a hinge leaf this mean that it is mounted on the face or back, as opposed to the edge, of the door and frame to which it is attached. It may or may not have any mortises . Not to be confused with surface mounted . Compare/contrast to edge mounted . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. face mounted hinge --- Any hinge uses face mounting on both of the (hinge) leaves . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. Compare/contrast to edge mounted hinge . face nailing --- Inserting a nail directly into (that is, perpendicular to) the face of a plank. When a nail is driven through the face of one plank and into the end grain of a support post, it's a tossup whether it should be called end nailing or face nailing, though the preference seems to be end nailing, with face nailing being more often used when nailing together two parallel planks or when nailing through a face and into a side. Compare/contrast to toe nailing and end nailing . Example: fastener --- A solid device (that is, not an adhesive ) used to join two objects together. Below is a list of the ones most commonly used in woodworking, with links to their entries in this glossary. Several of these have many subtypes that are discussed with the individual terms. NOTE: INCOMPLETE SECTION --- some of the terms below are not yet defined in this glossary brad washer other ??? fast pin hinge --- A hinge in which the hinge pin is fastened permanently in place as opposed to being a removable cylinder, as it is in, for example, a door hinge . "fast" in this instance does not mean speedy, it means permanent and in fact another name for this is "fixed pin hinge". For an example of a fast pin hinge, see barrel hinge (type #2). Compare/contrast to loose pin hinge . fender washer --- A washer that is very like a common flat washer except that it has an OD that is something like 4 or 5 times the ID rather than the 2 times of a normal flat washer. The purpose of fender washers is to distribute the pressure of the screw or bolt head far wider than is the case with a normal washer; fender washers are designed for use with very thin material (hey, like the fender of a car !). There is an extra-thick, heavy-duty version of these that are used for heavy constuction and are called "dock washers". Examples: finishing nail --- A slender nail with a small, semi-spherical head , which is used with trim and molding and in places where nail holes must be very small. It is called a "finishing" nail because (1) it is used in finish carpentry (this is the original source of the name) and (2) it is used in places where the finish of a piece shows, and it is important to use a small-headed nail so that it is unobtrusive and/or can be unobtrusively covered with wood putty and finished to blend in with the surrounding surface. It has the significant disadvantage of poor holding power because of the small head, so is not used in situations where holding power matters much. Also, it is thinner relative to its length than a same-length common nail but is sold using the same "penny" designation based on LENGTH (rather than the same number of nails per unit price) as the common nail of the same length. SO ... a 6-penny finishing nail will have the same length as a 6-penny common nail but will weigh considerably less because it is much thinner (a little thinnner even than a box nail of the same length). There is a corresponding version of this for screws, the trim screw which is also called a "finishing screw". Examples: finish screw --- synonymous with trim screw finish washer --- (aka finish cup washer, aka trim washer) A washer for use with countersunk heads on bolts or screws but without the countersunk hole. They are shaped something like a donut sliced horizontally and have several uses. Use them to dress up exposed screw heads or to convert a flat head to a "pan" head when the screw cannot be countersunk. They also help distribute the load which can be helpful with softer materials and they work well for creating eyes or headlights on childrens� toys. Compare/contrast to flush washer . Examples: fixed pin hinge --- synonymous with fast pin hinge flange --- An external or internal rib, or rim (lip), used either for strength (e.g. the flanges of an I-beam which are the horizontal members at the top and bottom of the beam) or for a guide (e.g. the flange of a train wheel, which keeps the wheel on the track) or for attachment to another object (e.g. the flange on the end of a pipe). The horizontal members of a box beam are called flanges. The extensions of roof flashing , usually at chimneys and plumbing vents, are sometimes called flanges. Some handled tools with a general shape like that of a screwdriver (although possibly a radically different use) sometimes have a flange or shoulder to prevent the tang or shank from being driven too far into the handle and splitting it. Items such as cup hooks often have a part that is called the shoulder or flange. flange bolt --- A bolt with a flange at the bottom of the head to provide more surface over which to spread out the pressure of the head on the object being clampled. These are most commonly hex head bolts but there is nothing in the definition that requires that. Flange bolts many or may not have serrated ridges on the bottom of the flange. Examples: flanged --- Having one or more flanges . flanged cap nut --- A cap nut with a flange around the bottom to more widely distribute the pressure on the surface being clamped. Examples: flanged countersunk washer --- A countersunk washer with a flange around the rim to distribute the pressure on the clamped surface more widely. Examples: flange nut --- A nut that has a flange around the side that is going put against the object being clampled. Mostly these are hex head nuts but there are also cap nuts that are flanged. The flange serves to distribute the pressure from the nut over a wider area of the part being clamped, reducing the chance of damage to the part and making it less likely that the nut might loosen due to an uneven surface. The flange may be serrated to provide a locking action, in which case the nut is formally called a serrated flange nut . The serrations are angled such that they keep the nut from rotating in the direction that would loosen it. Examples: flathead --- (2) A flat head screw flathead --- (3) A bolt or screw that is designed to be driven with a flat head screwdriver. flathead --- (4) The HEAD of a bolt or screw that is designed to be driven with a flat head screwdriver. flat head screw --- (1) A screw that has a flat head, so that it will be flush with the object it is screwed into; this requires a countersunk head. It usually has a tapered shank but these exist as both wood screws and machine screws and the machine screws have a straight shank and often have an allen head drive slot but the wood screws almost always have a flat head" , a phillips head , or a Robertson drive slot. The most common materials for these are steel, brass, and aluminum. flat head screw --- (2) Any screw that uses a flat head screw driver . Examples of type (1): Examples of type (2): flat head screwdriver --- This is THE standard screwdriver and what people normally mean when they say screwdriver (the other widely used version is the phillips head screw driver ). The end is shaped like a long skinny rectangle (like a minus sign) and fits into a corresponding slot in the screw head. The big disadvantage of flat head screws and their drivers is the tendency to strip the slot in the top of the screw head when high torque is used. They just don't provide much protection against that. Examples: flat speed nut --- see spring nut flat washer --- The most common type of washer , the flat washer is a simple disk of material, normally metal, and is designed to distribute the pressure from the head of a bolt or screw across more of the surface (into which the fastener is being put) than would be covered by just the head of the fastener. Compare/contrast to fender washer and split ring lock washer . There is a square version of this called, not very surprizingly, the square washer Examples: floor Closer --- Also known as a spring pivot, this is a spring loaded door closing device that is installed in a recess in the floor below a pivot hinge in order to regulate and control the opening and closing of the door. These have a heavy spring which is attached to the pivot pin where it comes down into the floor and it in turn is rigidly attached inside the bottom of the door. flush cranked hinge --- A specialty type of single cranked hinge that has a cutout in the frame leaf so that an inset cabinet door can swing a full 180 degrees and be flush with the face frame both when open and when closed. Actually, I may have been hasty in accepting this definition since I find that ther are in fact some double cranked hinges that are the flush type. They look like the some of the ones in the composite pic below except that the tongue-like leaf also has a dogleg . Examples: flush hinge --- You might think from the name that this has something to do with a hinge being flush-mounted with a mortise in the door or the frame, but quite the opposite, what it really is is a type of edge mounted hinge that is also a surface mounted hinge . That is, it is mounted on the edge of the door and frame and with no mortise in the either. It has what amounts to being a mortise (generally referred to as a "recess" in this case) in one of the leaves (which is generally mounted as the frame leaf) into which the other leaf fits when the door is closed so as to provide only a single hinge leaf's width of opening between the door and the frame. They are used as edge mounted hinges in any cabinet doors that don't need to have a really tight fit between the frame and the back edge of the door. Rather than being "flush mounted" in the sense of being mortised, this type of hinge avoids the need for a mortise in the door or the frame. Generally, these are not used for heavy load-bearing applications. Examples: need to add flush hinge pics flush washer --- A washer that is like a flat washer except that the center is pressed down into a cone shape to conform to the underside of a countersunk screw and the rim acts to spread the load out a lot more than is the case with a countersunk head alone. Compare/contrast to finish washer . Examples: folding screen hinge --- This is a type of hinge that is functionally similar to the double action spring hinge in that it allows 360 degrees of movement, but it is lighter weight and has no springs because it is designed to allow a folding screen to be repositioned but not actually swung back and forth the way cafe door is, for example. That is, the folding screen hinge is not really a load-bearing hinge at all. Like the double action spring hinge it has, effectively, three leaves and two barrels, but it is a somewhat more complex layout and less strength as you can see in the pics below. Examples: folding table hinge --- synonymous with butler tray hinge [actually, there are several types of hinges that could well be used in fold-up table tops, but they each have their own names] frame bolt --- An ill-defined term that seems to refer most often to flange bolts as used in framing , with bed frames, in automobiles, etc. but also is used to designate other types of bolts when they are used in framing applications. In other words, this seems to be a loosely defined term based on the USE of a bolt, not the style of the bolt itself. frameless door --- A door for a frameless cabinet . These doors are always overlay doors rather than inset doors (see face frame doors for further discussion) because inset doors in a frameless cabinet would give the total construct quite an unattractive look. Compare/contrast to face frame door . Examples: framing hammer --- Similar to a heavy claw hammer but with two differences. First, the claw is straight rather than curved which allows it to be more easily used as a crowbar . Second, the head has a waffle-like crosshatching and framing nails have a similar crosshatching on the top of their heads , thus providing a striking surface between hammer and nail that is far less likely to slip off than often happens when a normal smooth-top common nail is stuck with a claw hammer (which has a smooth face). The crosshatching on the head of this type hammer does tend to mar the wood, but since it is framing , it will be covered up and the marring won't be seen. Some framing hammers have a magnetized slot along the top edge of the striking surface to hold a nail. This allows the nail to be placed and driven quickly with just one hand. Framing hammers are going the way of the dodo bird now that nail guns have taken over in framing work. Examples: framing nail --- A common nail that has been crosshatched across the top of its head so that when struck by a framing hammer (which has a crosshatched head face) the blow will be very unlikely to result in the hammer head slipping off of the nail head. Framing nails are going the way of the dodo bird since the advent of nail guns, which are MUCH faster than a framing hammer and nail, and the nails in the nail guns don't need the crosshatched head of the true framing nail. In fact, the true framing nail as described here is SO rare that I was unable to find even one pic of it anywhere anywhere on the Internet. The one example I could find was a drawing, not a pic of an actual nail, but it does show correctly what they look like: framing screw --- A vague term that seems to be applied to any screw , regardless of type, if it is used in a framing application. French cleat --- A simple, strong mounting mechanism for wall cabinets (or most any heavy wall-mounted object that has, or that can be made to have, a flat back). The "cleat" is nothing more than a beveled plank that is mounted to the wall studs and that then provides a long "hook" on which to hang the flat-backed object, as shown in the example below. A corrsponding "hook" plank (also beveled) is glued/screwed onto the top back of the object to be hung. need to add french cleat pics friction hinge --- Any hinge that has a friction mechanism in the (hinge) barrel that causes friction between the (hinge) knuckles to keep a door open at any fixed position. Although a well balanced butt hinge will allow a door to sit at any position, a strong breeze will move the door unless the hinge is a friction hinge and then it will take a little more force to move the door. full mortise hinge --- Any hinge that has both of its (hinge) leaves sitting in mortises rather than being surface mounted . Leaves that sit in mortises are flush with the surface that they are in, so that they do not get in the way of the door closing. Compare/contrast to full surface hinge . full surface hinge --- Any hinge that has both of its (hinge) leaves surface mounted rather than sitting in mortises . Leaves that are surface mounted can, depending on where they are mounted, interfere with the closing of a door, or at the very least require a gap that would not be required if they were mortised. The advantage of surface mounted leaves is very simple ... you don't have to create a mortise. Compare/contrast to full mortise hinges . full wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that wraps around both the edge and the back of both a door and the face frame on an inset face frame cabinet . It provides strength and a full 180 degree opening range. You COULD do the same job with a butt hinge but you'd have to put screws only into the edge of each whereas the full wrap around design allows mounting screws in both the edge and the back of the door and the frame. Sometimes 270 degree hinges are called wrap around hinges (and several variations on that name, which are listed with the term 270 degree hinge), but the item shown here is what is normally intended by the term full wrap around hinge and there is another style called the partial wrap aound hinge . The partial wrap around hinge is typically used in a frameless cabinet whereas the full wraparound is used in a face frame cabinet . Examples: fully concealed hinge --- Any hinge that has the entire mechanism hidden from view when the hinged object is closed. This is highly desirable on some objects, such as jewelry boxes and entertainment center cabinet doors. There are several types of fully concealed hinges, the most common of which are listed below with links to their full definitions and illustrations. Then in the composite pic below that are shown a number of "miscellaneous" concealed hinges, some of which have a body style that is VERY close to the SOSS hinge, but the mechanism is slightly different. Compare/contrast to partially concealed hinge . barrel hinge type #1 --- has cylindrical (barrel shaped) leaves and flat plats as knuckles European hinge --- a type of zero clearance hinge widely used in cabinet doors SOSS hinge --- similar to barrel hinge but with stronger mounting mechanism galvanic corrosion --- A process that causes corrosion in dissimilar metals that are in contact with each other in the presence of salt water (or certain other chemicals); the combination of metals and electrolyte creates an electronic process which separates material off of one of the metallic surfaces. Non-conducting phenolic washers are used to prevent this when, for example, steel screws are used in aluminum blocks. gate hook --- [also gatehook] A type of hooking system most often used to keep screen doors closed. It consists of an eye hook on each end and a long, specially shaped cup hook attached to one of them and fitting into the other. Also called a "hook and eye". Examples: glass door hinge --- A type of pivot hinge designed specifically for use with glass doors. What accomodates glass doors so well is a "U" cross-sectioned bracket that holds the glass. Sometimes screws are used to hold the bracket, but more often it is glued to the glass (or installed as a pressure fit with high-friction rubber) so as to avoid having to drill screw holes in the glass. The (hinge) pin then protrudes directly up or down into the frame. I have seen even very heavy full-sized glass doors mounted with this technique, but it is more commonly used in display cases and home entertainment centers. Examples: grub screw --- synonymous with set screw gudgeon --- The "hole" part of a pintle and gudgeon hinge. When used on ships' rudders, the gudgeon is almost always a U-shaped strap with the hole a the middle of the U, but in other application, other types are used. Examples: gutter spike --- This is a long nail (usually about 7" to 8" long and up to 3/8" in diameter, although more like 1/4" is more common) that is specifically used to install roof gutters. As shown in the composite pic below, the nail is put into the outer hole in the gutter, then inserted through the ferrule and then through the inner hole in the gutter and driven into the fascia . The ferrule prevents the nail from being hammered in so far that it bends the gutter. Generally, these are quite similar to common nails in appearance, but the end of the shank may be ridged for better holding power. There are long screws that are also used specifically for the same job for even more holding power. Examples: hand countersink --- A manual tool that allows you to drill out the upper portion of a hole so that the head of a screw will sit flush with the face of the object it is put into. There is a version that is used in drills just called the countersink bit . Examples: handedness --- Various items in woodworking, including tools, locks, closers, some hinges and other hardware, require that you take into account a direction of motion and/or a method of mounting to accomdate that motion. The most widely known handed too is the scissors. It's very annoying to use a "normal" pair of scissors in your left hand so left-handed scissors were developed. For hinges, see hinge handedness . handscrew --- A traditional woodworking clamp with two long wooden jaws joined by two threaded rods that have handles in line with the shank . The rods adjust independently by turning the handles, which allows you to position the jaws parallel or at angles to one another. Handscrews come in a variety of sizes, based on the length of the jaws, generally from about 4" to as much as 12". There are two disadvantages of a handscrews. First, there's no quick release; the only way to move the jaws is by the slow turning of the screws, and second, it is hard to tell when the surfaces are really parallel to the workpiece (and thus providing even pressure). Examples: hanger bolt --- A metal cylinder (not tapered and most commonly steel) with screw threads on one end and machine threads on the other end and the center either fully threaded or ,more often, "plain" which means there is a section without threading to make installation easier (you can grip the unthreaded part with vise grips ). Often used with corner braces on the underside of table corners, where the screw threaded end is screwed into the table leg and the machine screw end runs through an angle bracket and which can then be tightened by the bolt on the that end of the hanger bolt. Another use is in overhead installation of things that need a machine screw to attach to but have to go into a wooden joist . Do not confuse with dowel screw which seems somewhat similar but has screw threads on both ends and has completely different uses. Vendors sometimes list these two different items indiscriminately as one being the other. Examples: head --- (1) The top portion of a nail , screw , bolt , and many other items. The design of the head often distinguishes between and among such items and is specific to particular uses and tools. head --- (2) The area at the top of a window or door in a building. See also header . head bolt --- A bolt that is to be screwed into a threaded piece of metal, as opposed to being put THROUGH a piece and fastened on the other side with a nut . A head bolt in practice is identical to other bolts; the name is based on the USE, not the design. The head bolt IS likely to be threaded all the way up the shank whereas some bolts have an unthreaded section near the head . headside --- The piece of wood in a joint through which a screw or nail passes on its way into the receiving piece, which is known as the pointside . hexagon hinge --- Supposedly, this is a type of butt hinge used with a cabinet that is set at a 45 degree angle in a corner, which makes the door and the two areas to each side of it three parts of a hexagon, thus the name. The panels of the door are beveled on the backside to 135 degrees and this hinge is designed to work with that. These types of doors are common in kitchens. NOTE: I have seen VERY few references to this type of hinge, I found one pic of it and forgot to save it and could not find it again (it was a butt hinge with an angle in one leaf) and I am doubtful about the need for this type of hinge since for the intended application, depending on the desired mounting technique and the specifics of the door/cabinet arrangement, one could use a simple butt hinge or a half cranked hinge or a full wrap around hinge or a partial wrap around hinge. hex cap screw --- A cap screw with a hexagonal head hex coupling nut --- see coupling nut hex head bolt --- A bolt with a 6-sided head that can be easily turned with a crescent wrench . Such bolts may be threaded all the way along the shank or not. Examples: hex head nut --- (also "hex nut") A machine nut with a hexagonal -shaped outer rim. H hinge --- Basically, a butt hinge with an "H" shape for use on inset doors . Although some versions could be edge mounted hinges , that does not seem to be at all the norm and most of them are face mounted hinges . Some are specifically designed for use on doors that are a bit thin for edge-mounted butt hinges. In any case, the "H" shape means the (hinge) leaves are taller than the (hinge) barrel which is a bit like on a parlimenthinge but more extreme. The short barrel is OK because this type of hinge is designed for only modest load-bearing requirements and the long leaves are both for decorative effect and to provide a longer surface in which to put mounting holes. Some that are use mostly for decorative purposes have mounting hole only at the top and bottom of each leaf. Small H hinges tend to be used for cabinet hinges, while larger ones are for passage doors or closet doors. A very similar hinge is the HL hinge . Examples: high collar lock washer --- An extra thick split ring lock washer . Examples: hi lo thread --- A type of screw thread where there are actually two courses of thread, one higher than the other. These offer low driving torque and fairly high holding power in material that is somewhat curmbly such as masonry , wallboard , particle board , hardboard , etc. It is also fairly effective in very soft woods. The design traps material between the higher threads without causing it to crumble. Examples: hinge --- Usually a three-part mechanism, normally but not necessarily made of metal, that holds two pieces of wood (or other material) together in a way that allows them to rotate, to a limited degree, relative to each other, around the axis of the hinge. The parts of the common types of hinges are the (hinge) pin and two (hinge) leaves but there are more types of hinges than you can shake a stick at and not every one of them is of the basic (butt hinge) type or even a variation on it. They are most commonly used for doors but have other uses (e.g. ships rudders, drop leaf tables). Types of hinges, and hinge-related terms, include: NOTE: INCOMPLETE SECTION --- some of the terms below are not yet defined and there are others not yet listed. Please note that some of the "definitions" given here are overly simplistic for brevity and the full definitions should be examined for a full understanding of the term. Also, while this list is reasonably comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. There are some hinge types that are so rarely seen/used that little information is available on them and it is also possible that some of them are only available from one manufacturer. I figure that if they are that obscure, I don't really need to have them here. An example of this is the "pivot reinforced (butt) hinge". zero clearance hinge --- avoids obstucting pull-out drawers zero protrusion hinge --- same as zero clearance hinge hinge barrel --- The portion of the (hinge) leaves that contains the (hinge) knuckles that accept the (hinge) pin . When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is never called the "hinge barrel", it is just called the "barrel". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge cup --- part of a European hinge hinge dimensions --- The graphic below describes the various dimensions that apply to "standard" hinges such as the butt hinge (but not to some other types such as the European hinge ). need to add hinge dimensions pics hinge finial --- A finial that is put on the top or bottom of a hinge pin to give the hinge a more decorative appearance. Examples: need to add hinge finialpics hinge handedness --- add definition hinge knuckle --- The parts of a hinge that make up the (hinge) barrel through which the (hinge) pin goes. For an illustrations, see hinge parts and hinge dimensions . hinge leaf --- the flat part of a hinge that attaches to a frame or the object being hinged. When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is never called the "hinge leaf", it is just called the "leaf", although sometimes the one that attaches to a door is called the "door leaf" and the one that attaches to a frame is called the "frame leaf". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge length --- The length of the leaves of a hinge parallel to the pin. See hinge dimensions . hinge mounting positions and styles --- A graphic showing various ways that hinges can be mounted on the edge and face of a door or frame, with and without mortises. hinge parts --- A simple illustration of the (hinge) barrel , the (hinge) leaf , the (hinge) knuckle , and the (hinge) pin sections of a common style hinge. I put "(hinge)" in front of these terms because technically, that's the right name, but it is overly formal and not normally used in the context of talking about a hinge. Sometimes, depending on what is being hinged and how it is being hinged, the two leaves may be referred to as the door leaf and the frame leaf (for example, this would apply when hanging a house door. The knuckles of the two leaves mate up to form a hollow cylinder called the barrel, into which is slipped the pin. This is the simple, or "standard" hinge style, but there are many others, some of which do not look anything like this. The illustration shown below is a butt hinge but it is illustrative in general of many styles. hinge pin --- the solid cylinder central part of a hinge that slips into the (hinge) knuckles to keep the two (hinge) leaves from separating. When talking about this item in relation to hinges, it is rarely called the "hinge pin", it is normally just called the "pin". For an illustration, see hinge parts . hinge pitch --- On a hinge , this is the length from one point on a knuckle to the same point on the next knuckle up, taken parallel to the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . It is interesting to note that even if the knuckles on the leaves are different heights, the pitch will be the same on both leaves (assuming there is not an unusual amount of end play due to one set of knuckles being shorter than the opening left by the other set). hinge stile --- A door stile to which a hinge is affixed. hinge width --- The distance from the outer edge of one leaf to the outer edge of the other leaf when the hinge is lying flat. See hinge dimensions . HL hinge --- Similar to an H hinge except that there is a long horizontal tab on one leaf which means it HAS to be face mounted rather than edge mounted . Large HL hinges were common for passage doors, room doors and closet doors in the 17th, 18th and even 19th centuries. On taller doors H hinges were occasionally used in the middle along with HL hinges at the top and bottom. I noticed that every example I found of this type hinge had plain bore screw holes, never countersunk. I hypothesize that this is because back when these were in common use, cleanly countersinking the screw holes was not as trivial as it is today and countersunk screws were likely not as readily available. Since these are used at both the top and the bottom of a door there is a handedness to them. They are always positioned so that the top hinge has the long leaf portion at the top and the bottom one has it at the bottom. Examples: hook --- A metal rod, threaded on one end and bent on the other end into a shape that depends on the use. Common types: screen door hook --- same as gate hook hook and eye --- synonymous with gate hook hospital tip hinge --- A butt hinge with a (hinge) barrel that is beveled on both the top and the bottom towards the door when the door is closed. This is for use in detention centers and hospitals and is to prevent the barrel from being used to hang things (most particularly self-hanging of suicidal people). Examples: need to add hospital tip hinge pics industrial hinge --- A heavy-duty architectural hinge for use in public places where doors are subjected to much heavier use than are doors in residential settings which use lighter-duty versions of architectural hinges called "residential hinges". insert nut --- synonymous with threaded insert internal-external tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the inner rim and another around the outer rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type has the same disadvantage as the external tooth lock washer in that it will mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows, but this type has the greatest locking power of the toothed-type lock washers. Examples: internal-external washer --- synonymous with internal-external tooth lock washer internal tooth lock washer --- A lock washer for which the locking mechanism is a set of teeth around the inner rim of what would otherwise be a flat washer . This type, as contrasted to an external tooth lock washer , has less holding power, but will not mar the surface (of the object being clamped) where it shows. Examples: invisible hinge --- synonymous with fully concealed hinge jam nut --- a thinner than usual machine nut that is used specifically to be jammed up against a normal nut (or possibly another jam nut) so that the pressure of the two on each other makes it very difficult for either to move. The point is to create a situation where the pair of nuts together will not loosen due to vibration whereas a single nut might. Jam nuts are typically half the thickness of normal nuts. They can also be used in situations where it is desirable to tighten a nut quite a lot but without putting pressure onto the object that the bolt is going through; in this situation the normal nut is put into position with light pressure and then the jam nut is tightened up against it so that the two together will not vibrate off of the bolt, but there is only light pressure (by the nut on one side and the bolt head on the other side) against the pieces being clamped together. Examples: J bolt --- A rod threaded on one end and then bent into a "J" shape. Most often the bend is a uniform "U" shape but it can be more circular or less circular and more of just a slightly-more-that-90-degrees bend. The purpose of a J bolt is to be embedded in concrete with the threaded part extending up out of the concrete and thus, like it's cousin the L bolt it is sometimes called a "cast in place" bolt. Examples: knuckle length --- see hinge dimensions lag bolt --- A commonly used (but technically incorrect) alternate name for what is more often, and more correctly, called a lag screw . This fastener does NOT take a nut so it's screw , not a bolt . (see bolts vs screws ). lag pintle --- A particular type of pintle which is just an L-shaped cylinder with threads on one end and a short barrel-stop below the pin. It is attached by just screwing it in. Widely used in mounting to a round gate post where the normal strap-type pintle and the plate pintle don't fit well. Examples: lag screw --- A screw with a hexagonal head so that it can be turned with a wrench instead of a screwdriver , thus allowing more torque . Typically used for heavy-duty joints such as screwing a couple of two-by-fours together or screwing a load-bearing metal plate onto timber , but also used with a lag screw shield to screw things into masonry . Due to the need for strength these are pretty much always made of steel. They come in a wide variety of diameters and lengths. They are also called, technically incorrectly, and less commonly, "lag bolts" because of the straight shank and the head that is more commonly seen on a bolt than a screw; they have wood-screw type threads and are not designed to screw into a nut . See bolt vs screw . Example: lag screw shield --- A lead sleeve that is put into masonry so that a lag screw can be used to attach something to it. Operation is similar to that of an expansion anchor bolt . Examples: lath nail --- A slender nail that is used to attach lath to studs . It is skinny so as to avoid splitting the lath strips. Sometimes particularly short lath nails will have ridges along the shank to enhance holding power. I note that although the definition, and common sense, say that the lath nail is and should be slender, some nails sold as lath nails are NOT particularly slender. Examples: L bolt --- A rod threaded on one end and then bent into an "L" shape. The purpose of an L bolt is to be embedded in concrete with the threaded part extending up out of the concrete and thus, like it's cousin the J bolt it is sometimes called a "cast in place" bolt. Examples: lead screw --- A device that uses a threaded rod with a mechanism riding on it to translate rotational motion to linear motion. A very common woodworking application is in a bench vise which uses a large lead screw to translate the rotational movement of the turning rod to the in/out motion of the vise jaws . Lead screws do not work as well if the thread profile is triangular as on a bolt as they do if the threads are more rectangular in cross section . Even with rectangular cross section threads and a heavy coating of grease, lead screws are not designed for continuous, powered motion because of the friction inherent in their design. A similar device with less friction, but more costly manufacturing, is the ball screw . leaf width --- In a hinge , this is the distance from the center of the (hinge) barrel to the outer edge of a (hinge) leaf . See hinge dimensions . Lhook --- A small metal rod, threaded on one end and bent into an "L" shape on the unthreaded portion, and it may or may not have a circular flange separating the two sections. The device is screwed into a wall or other holding element so that things can be hung from it. Examples: lift off hinge --- A type of hinge that allows the hinged item (such as a cabinet door) to be lifted off of the fixed item (such as the cabinet) just by lifting it up and without the need for any tools. These may or may not be a type of cam lift hinge and if the end of the barrel opposite the one through which the pin protrudes/enters is totally closed, these may be sold under the designation barrel hinge (type 2). Other types of hinges that can be liftoff types (but will not necessarily be) include the HL hinge , the olive knuckle hinge" and others. Examples: lock nut --- A nut with some sort of mechanism that prevents vibration from loosening it. There are two basic forms, both shown in the composite pic below. The first is a captive-washer nut, which simply has a lock washer (generally an external tooth type) that is integrated with, and not removable from, the nut. The washer may or may not spin freely; for the fixed-position washer, the tightening has to be done from the bolt end, whereas if the washer spins freely, the nut OR the bolt may be tightened. When the washer spins freely, this type is known as a "K-lock" nut or a "Kep" nut The second is the nylon-insert type which has a nylon center instead of a metal one; the nylon compresses somewhat when force is applied during the tightening of the bolt, thus creating a spring-like force against the nut. Another mechanism that keeps nuts from vibrating loose is the castle nut which is not normally called a "lock nut", just a castle nut.Examples: lock washer --- A washer that in some way causes the screw or bolt head to lock in place so that it will not be affected by vibrations. Machinery parts, for example, often vibrate severely and a bolt can just back right out of a hole because of the vibration so some kind of pressure is needed to keep the bolt from moving in the first place. Lock washers are rarely needed in wood because wood won't generally vibrate a screw out of its hole the way threaded metal will. The primary types of lock washer are: split ring loose pin hinge --- The "normal" type of (hinge) pin ; the pin is not permanently affixed to any of the (hinge) knuckles but rather floats freely and can be removed so that the knuckles can be separated. The most common type of hinge to use this is the standard residential door hinge . Compare/contrast to fast pin hinge machine bolt --- (1) A little-used term that simply designates a hex head bolt or square head bolt . machine bolt --- (2) [little used] synonymous with machine screw . machine nut --- A term that is rarely used because it is what most people MEAN when they say "nut", so rather than being called a machine nut, it would normally just be called a nut. It is a type of nut that can have a square or hexagonal outside and is about half as tall as it is wide. The more common names for these are based on the shape and are "hex nut", "hex head nut", "square nut", and "square head nut". There is a special-use machine nut called the jam nut which is just a thin hex-headmachine nut. Examples: machine screw --- This is a VERY widely used term that is actually a misnomer but perfectly acceptable because of wide usage. Anything that someone calls a "machine screw" is 99%+ sure to be a small bolt and if it isn't a bolt, it's a screw (not a "machine" screw). See also, bolts vs screws . The name seems to have come about because in earlier days of bolts and screws, bolts were always bigger than screws, so when small versions of bolts were developed with the advent of more precise threading capabilities, they were called machine screws instead of bolts. Compare/contrast to wood screw . Example: masonry nail A type of nail that is specifically designed to be driven into masonry . These are of hardened steel and come in several shank styles. Most definitions say that a masonry nail has a fluted shank for extra holding power in masonry, but in practice many items sold as masonry nails do NOT have fluted ridged shanks. There is a type of masonry nail (not shown in the composite pic below) that is specifically designed for holding down softer material, such as carpet tack strips to a concrete floor, that have an extra wide head. Examples: masonry screw --- Also called a "concrete screw", this is a coarse-thread screw that, unlike most screws, has a straight, rather than a tapered, shank (but they do have tapered ends). It is designed to go directly into a hole drilled in masonry with a masonry drill bit . The coarse threads are necessary to grip mansonry and the need for strength dictates that these are always made of steel. Masonry screws have various types of drive heads but the most common is a combination flat head drive slot in a hexagonal top like that of a hex head bolt . Similar-use fasteners include a lag screw with a lag screw shield and any normal bolt used as an expansion anchor bolt . Such screws often use hi lo threads . Examples: mirror screw --- A screw or a bolt that has a threaded hole in the middle of its head (in addition to the drive slot) so that another, smaller screw with a large decorative head can be screwed into the top of the mirror screw for use in a mirror (or elsewhere that "elegance" is desired) so that what shows doesn't look at all like a screw head, it looks like a decorative circle or dome (these heads are typically brass or are chrome-plated). Examples: molly bolt --- A clever device for fastening stuff to walls. It consist of a cylinder of metallic strips with full hollow cylinders at each end through which a small bolt is run and a head with a pair of spike flanges. You drill a hole in a wall, insert a properly sized molly bolt, tighten the bolt head which causes the metal strips to bend and press up against the inside of the wall, thus holding the whole thing in place. The spiked flanges on the head keep the head from spinning as you tighten the bolt. You then remove the bolt, put the thing to be mounted up against the molly bolt head and reinsert the bolt through the object, tighten it back down, and voila! There are versions that have a sharply tapered plastic cone on the end so that they can be driven directly into drywall without the need for first drilling a hole. Examples: mortised hinge --- Any hinge that has both the door leaf and the frame leaf sitting in mortises . If only one leaf (and it would usually be the door leaf) is sitting in a mortise and the other is not, this would be called a "single mortise hinge". The purpose of using mortises is so that the object being hinged can fully close; that is, some hinge mounting positions are such that if one or both leaves are not mortised, then the thickness of the leaf/leaves would keep the door (or lid or whatever) from fully closing. Compare/contrast to single mortise hinge and surface mounted hinge . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. mushroom headed bolt --- synonymous with timber bolt nail --- A long, skinny, metal fastener used to join pieces of wood or to join other objects to wood. There are numerous types of nails and they can be made from various types of metal. Nail length is normally measured from the underside of the head down to the point. The most basic nail types are categorized by shape, as opposed to coating (for which see the following list), size , or other characteristics. These include: annular ring --- has ridges around the circumference for extra holding power brad --- a very small, thin nail; will have either a common nail style head or a finishing nail style head, and is a type of wire nail. box --- same shape as common but smaller in diameter and head size for a given length casing --- similar to finishing nails but with a slightly larger head; often used for flooring, where a finishing nail doesn't have quite enough holding power but a common or box would have too large a head common --- used almost exclusively for construction, they have a broad head for good holding power and a hefty shank for good shear strength. Normally a type of wire nail. concrete --- same a masonry umbrella head roofing nail --- exceptionally broad head upholstery --- short, with a broad, fancy head wire --- can be many of the other types discussed, but so named because the fabrication process involves using wire as the starting point. Common nails, box nails, and brads are all usually wire nails. Other nail names based on the finish rather than the use and that may apply to more than one basic type of nail. For example, there are bright common nails and bright finishing nails bright --- has no surface coating to inhibit corrosion, so it's shiny, thus the name; not recommended for weather exposure or acidic or treated lumber. The opposite of "galvanized" nails. cement coated --- adhesive coating gives extra holding power electrogalvanized --- provides a smooth finish with some corrosion resistance but has less zinc deposited on the surface that mechanically galvanized nails galvanized --- treated for resistance to corrosion and/or weather exposure (the opposite of "bright" nails) hot dip galvanized --- first given a rough finish that deposits more zinc than other methods, and then galvainzed, resulting in very high corrosion resistance that is suitable for some acidic and treated lumber; often easier to bend than other types of nails mechanically galvanized - provides more zinc deposited than electrogalvanizing for increased corrosion resistance phosphate coated --- treaded with a dark grey to black finish providing a surface that binds well with paint and joint compound and minimal corrosion resistance resin coated --- (and vinyl coated) given a coating that melts from friction when the nail is driven so as to help lubricate the insertion. The coating then hardens. These nails come in various colors from different manufacturers (tan and pink are common). siding nail --- treated in some way so as to not leave any stain on home siding due to weather vinyl coated --- see resin coated wrought head --- designed to look like the hand-forged nails of the late 1700s, and used primarily for antique restoration. nail gun --- A hand-operated power tool which drives nails from a carrier strip. "Framing nailers", which drive framing nails are Widely used in the construction trades and has pretty much replaced the framming hammer . "Finish nailers" drive finishing nails and "brad nailers" are for really small nails/ brads . Examples: nail head --- The top of a nail ; the portion of a nail that is struck by a hammer. The two most fundamental characteristics of a nail beyond the material it is made from (usually steel ) are the shape of the body and the shape of the head. Head shapes range from a very wide flat cylinder on a roofing nail to an almost non-existent head on a finishing nail . nail holding strength --- One of those poorly defined (in precise technical terms) characteristics that is always mentioned in any full discourse on the properties of wood. It refers to the degree to which the wood tends toward ease or difficulty in removing nails once they have been inserted. Wood that has poor nail holding strength would obviously be a poor candidate for nailed joints . End grain in most woods has poor nail holding strength, some extremely poor. Nail holding strength, when mentioned, normally refers to face and side grain holding strength, not end grain. nailing plate --- A section of wood attached to metal or masonry so that framing members can be nailed to it. Not to be confused with a nail plate . nail plate --- A sheet metal plate stamped so that spikes are formed on one side to grab like nails when the plate is pressed into timber to join two pieces. Widely used in prefabricated roof trusses . Not to be confused with a nailing plate . Examples: nail sizes --- Common nails are sized by an archaic system based on how many old British pennies it took at one point to buy 100 of them, and the symbol for penny is the letter "d". What the ??? you say ... can't the British even SPELL? Well, yes, they can. They can also speak Latin, or used to be able to, and the "d" comes from the Roman name for coin (denarius), not a British penny. It's sort of like the story about why American railroad ties are THIS far apart but that's another story. ANYWAY, it took more pennies to buy 100 of the bigger ones than 100 of the smaller ones, so bigger ones have bigger "penny numbers"; see the chart below which shows the approximate diameter and the length in inches of the normal sizes. Note that the length does not count the head . I have sized this image so that on my monitor, which is set for 1280x800 pixels, the nails are almost exactly full size. I have had no luck for many years now in buying any 2d nails. No one seems to stock them any more. There are penny sizes above 20d ... I'm sure I have some 30d and 40d around and I remember buying some 60d at one point years ago (although I can't remember WHY I bought them ... damned things are almost as big as railroad spikes!). Really big nails are in fact called spikes . no mortise hinge --- Could refer to any surface mounted hinge but usually is synonymous with bifold door hinge . nut --- A (typically) square or hexagonal piece of metal with a hole threaded through it to accept a bolt . When the two are screwed together tightly, compressive force increases the friction at the threads such that the two do not normally come apart. Since vibration can sometimes loosen a nut, a split ring lock washer can be used under the head of the bolt to maintain the compressive pressure in the threads to prevent that from happening. There are actually quite a variety of fasteners that are called nuts other than just the common square and hex types. A couple of them are shown in the composit image below. The item that is what is most normally meant by the term "nut" is formally called a machine nut . See also bolts vs screws . Below is a composite pic showing many of the types of nuts, followed by a list of the most common types used in woodworking or related metal working, linked to more extensive definitions and pics. acorn nut --- a cap nut with an acorn-shaped, decorative dome cap nut --- a hex nut topped by a dome or closed cylinder captive washer lock nut --- see lock nut castle nut --- one side looks like castle battlements nylon lock nut --- see lock nut ogee washer --- a large cast iron washer with an ogee -shaped rim. This is typically used in very heavy construction such as bridge-building because the large bearing surface prevents bolt heads from pulling into the wood under high load. This is an even more heavy-duty construction washer than the dock washer because, while it does not have a greated OD , it is much thicker. Examples: olive knuckle hinge --- A particular form of H hinge where there is a single knuckle on each (hinge) leaf and each is shaped like an acorn. Although the name derives from it being shaped like an olive, the shape is really more like a back-to-back pair of acorns, as you can see in the composite pic below. These are normally mortised into the edge of a door and into the frame and only the (hinge) barrel will be visible when the door is closed, and they are normally a form of ball bearing hinge . Examples: open ended wrench --- A type of wrench that is a flat bar with two separated prongs on one or (usually) both ends that fit around the head of a bolt or around a nut to turn it. These come in both English and metric sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. Compare/contrast to crescent wrench . Examples: overdriven --- Refers to fasteners driven into material with too much force, breaking or crushing the material under the head of the fastener. Compare/contrast to underdriven . paint clearance --- A spacing in a hinge , this is the dimension between the inner edge of a leaf and the surface of the opposing knuckle. On many hinges, this space is just enough so that the leaf edge doesn't rub against the knuckle and squeek, but if a hinge is going to be painted then there needs to be enough paint clearance so that the rotation of the hinge does not cause the inside of edge of a leaf to scrape the paint off of the outside of the opposing knuckle. For an illustration, see hinge dimensions . parliment hinge --- A type of hinge that seems to be mostly used in Great Britain, this is a butt hinge that has had scoops removed at the top and bottom which shortens the (hinge) barrel . This reduces its strength, but some people feel that it provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance, even though since it is normally used as a projection hinge , the scalloped leaves are mostly hidden when it is closed. These are also called "butterfly hinges" in Great Britain, but they would never be confused with what Americans call a butterfly hinge . Although normally mounted as a projection hinge, they are occasionally face-mounted and are used just for the decorative effect, much like the American butterfly hinge but less gaudy and a bit more elegant. Examples: partially concealed hinge --- Any hinge that has part, but not all, of the mechanism hidden from view when the hinged object is closed. This is not so much a TYPE of hinge as it is a MOUNTING TECHNIQUE for a hinge. For example, a butt hinge when mounted to the edge of a door and to the frame directly opposite the edge (see edge mounted hinge ) is a partially concealed hinge, but if that same hinge is face mounted then it is NOT partially concealed. Compare/contrast to fully concealed hinge . partial wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that wraps around both the edge and the back of either a door or a frame and butts to the edge of the other. This is a truncated version of the full wrap around hinge ; it provides the same 180 degree range of motion as the full wrap around but slightly less mounting strength. The partial wrap around hinge is typically used in a frameless cabinet whereas the full wrapaound is used in a face frame cabinet . Examples: particleboard screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed for use with particleboard . They are very similar to drywall screws. Most definitions say that they are THINNER than drywall screws, but that seems odd to me since particleboard is heavier than drywall. Looking at screws that are actually sold as one or the other, it is a mixed bag as to which is thicker. Like drywall screws, these have coarse threads and the outer diamer of the threads is larger than the shank . They have countersunk heads and are usually made of steel, but unlike drywall screws the countersinks tend to be uncurved instead of the curved ("bugle") type found on drywall screws and also unlike drywall screws, these tend to have an unthreaded section below the head. The drive slot is most often an Allen head . These screws often use hi lo threads . Compare/contrast to drywall screw Examples: paumelle hinge --- A hinge that, much like the olive knuckle hinge , has only two (hinge) knuckles but with this hinge, the knuckles are very elongated and have a modernistic, streamlined look. These are more aesthetically pleasing (more "decorative") than, for example, a plain butt hinge but they are somewhat weaker. Examples: need to add paumelle hinge pics phenolic --- A particular type of thermosetting resin , the chemical composition of which is beyond the scope of this glossary. As a solid, it is used in making non-conduction washers (see phenolic washer and as a chemical compound, it is used in some finishing agents . phenolic washer --- A type of washer in which a particular type of nonconducting material ( phenolic ) is used to prevent electrical conduction between a screw or bolt and the material into which is is inserted. This is to prevent galvanic corrosion , although that is also prevented by several other types of non-conducting shoulder washers . Examples: phillips head --- A type of screw or bolt head requiring a driver in the shape of plus sign instead of the minus sign shape of the normal flat head screwdriver. The phillips head drive provides a little more protection against stripping the slots than does a flat head screw and driver, but not really all that much; they still strip pretty readily. Compare/contrast to flat head . Examples: phillips head screw driver --- A screw driver with a head in the shape of a plus sign, rather than the minus sign shape of the normal flat head screw driver . Used to drive phillips head screws, these provide a little more protection against stripping the drive slots than do the flat head screw and driver, but not by much. Examples: piano hinge --- [aka "continuous hinge"] A long (sometimes VERY long) butt hinge . The name derives, rather obviously, from the fact that this kind of hinge is used on pianos, among other things. Examples: pilot hole --- A hole drilled in a workpiece to receive the threaded portion of a screw . The pilot hole is just slightly smaller than the screw's thread diameter. Pilot holes are drilled for one (or both) of two reasons; first, to make sure the screw travels on the intended path in the wood rather than being deflected by the grain of the wood and second, to prevent the wood from splitting when the screw is inserted --- many wood species are hard enough that the insertion of a large nail or screw will not locally crush the wood fibers away from the inserted metal as happens in softer wood, but rather will cause the wood split along the grain. pinch dog --- A type of clamp that is a rectangular "U" shaped piece of metal with sharpened wedge-shaped ends that are driven into the ends of planks that are being glued together so as to pull them together without the use of other clamps. Examples: pin hinge --- A hinge that consists of nothing but the (hinge) pin . There are two basic uses for this form of hinge. The first is where the (hinge) knuckles are just the object being hinged itself and the pin is put directly into holes drilled in the top and the base of the object and the top then rotates off of the base with the roation centered on the pin. These are used in specialty items such as small ornamental jewelry boxes. The second type is where a flat, inset, box lid has a pin coming out of the rear of each edge and going into the carcass. Examples need to add pics pintle --- The "pin" portion of a pintle and gudgeon hinge. When used on ships rudders, the pintle is typically a U-shaped strap with the pin attached at the middle of the U, but in other applications, other types are used. Below are examples of the U-strap type and for the other two common types, see lag pintle and plate pintle . pintle and gudgeon --- A hinge type that is widely used on ship rudders. Basically it is a pair of U-shaped straps with one (the pintle) having a pin pointing down off the end and the other (the gudgeon) having a hole at the end to accept the pin. The gudgeon is put on the stern of the ship and the pintle is put on the rudder. Although on ships the pair almost universally uses the "strap" style, other applications often use a couple of other styles, all of which are illustrated with the terms pintle and gudgeon . pipe clamp --- (1) A type of clamp in which a metal pipe is used to separate the jaws , one of which is fixed and the other of which has a screw mechanism for applying pressure. This is exactly the same as a bar clamp except that bar clamps are typically manufactured to fixed sizes (1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet) whereas one can use a pipe of any length. The jaw sections can be purchased from tool companies and the pipe from a local hardware store. Jaws with deep throats are available. pipe clamp --- (2) A hold-down device that clamps a pipe to wood or masonry. Generally it is a half-cylinder with two flanges for screws, but may be only a partial cylinder with only one screw flange (in which case it is often called a pipe strap). There are numerous other devices that are called pipe clamps, and which DO perform various methods of holding down pipes, or holding pipes together, etc., but most are not related to woodworking or house construction as these are. The back of these pipe clamps / pipe straps may be ridged for extra strength. Examples for both definitions: type 1 (portable vise) type 2 (pipe holddown) pipe wrench --- A type of wrench that is used on pipes. It has two jaws that are adjustable via a knurled cylinder that moves the upper jaw in a direction parallel to the handle (normal pipe wrench) or perpendicular to it (offset pipe wrench), and the jaws have deep serrations so as to grab pipes firmly. Examples: pivot door hinge --- A type of hinge that is combined with a sliding mechanism so that you can open a cabinet door 90 degrees and then slid it back out of the way into the cabinet. This is mostly used in entertainment centers, armoires and kitchen cabinets. There is one type of this hinge that uses a a href="#rackandpinon">rack and pinon style mechanism and this is called, not too surprizingly, a "rack and pinion pivot door hinge". Examples: pivot door runner --- The slide portion of a pivot door hinge . pivot door slide --- This term is used to mean either a pivot door hinge OR the sliding portion of a pivot door hinge. Personally, I think it should just mean the slide portion, but I've seen it used both ways and I'm not here to make up definitions, just report to them. pivot hinge --- (1) One type of scissor hinge pivot hinge --- (2) see glass door hinge pivot hinge --- (3) A type of hinge that is made for use with shower doors, doors in glass display cases, full-sized glass doors, and any other application where it is desirable (or necessary) to have the weight of the hinged object be taken up by a support on its bottom which also acts as the hinge. There are numerous designs, some include internal springs to close the door automatically. Those for glass doors generally have "U" shaped support brackets at the top and bottom of the door, at the edge that is to be hinges (see glass door hinge ), with the (hinge) pin going up or down out of the bracket. For wooden doors, one design uses a heavy horizontal plate through which the pin projects. So the (hinge) leaves on pivot hinges are completly different that the more common type found on butt hinges . A feature that distinguishes this from the scissor hinge is that with this hinge, unlike with the scissor hinge, one (small) part of the item being hinged rotates in the opposite direction from the main body of that item. Examples: plain bearing hinge --- a hinge with no ball bearings or oil-impregnated or anti-friction bearings plate pintle --- A particular type of pintle in which the mounting portion is a flat plate. Examples: plate washer --- A heavy duty washer , usually square but sometimes round, that is used in attaching a sill plate to the foundation . Examples: plough bolt --- synonymous with plow bolt plow bolt --- A carriage bolt but with the additional requirement that the head be countersunk; designed to be used in the fabrication of plows. Examples: plug --- A section of dowel that is inserted into deeply countersunk screw holes then cut-off and sanded flush to hide the screw head. Plugs are sometimes used to simulate a pegged look [see dowel joints such as was common in older furniture. pocket screw hole --- A hole drilled at a sharp angle into a board or panel to allow it to be screwed to another piece of material, generally at a 90 degree angle. This is a popular joinery technique and there are commercial jigs called pocket screw hole jigs to facilitate it. This hole is normally put at a place on the workpiece that will be hidden from view in normal usage of the piece.Examples: pocket screw hole jig --- A jig , generally manufactured (although some woodworkers do make their own) that facilitates the uniform drilling of pocket screw holes . Because of the sharp angle, these holes are pretty much impossible to drill freehand, so these jigs are quite useful. Examples: point --- Same meaning as in general English usage; a sharp end on something. In woodworking, it particularly refers to the sharp end of a nail or screw , but also to the sharp end of many tools such as an awl . On nails, the point is often deliberated blunted because a blunted point will crush its way into the wood, which SOUNDS like a bad thing but has the happy result of not pushing the wood fibers aside (as a sharp point would) which is good because pushing the fibers off to each side of the nail can cause the wood to split. pointside --- The piece of wood in a joint that receives the point of a nail or screw after that fastener passes through the headside . projection hinge --- A butt hinge (usually specifically a door hinge but it doesn't have to be) that has extra wide (hinge) leaves but with the mounting screw holes clustered out near the edge of the leaves. This allows the hinge to be mounted so that the (hinge) barrel is out away from the door and frame, thus allowing the door to swing 180 degrees even if there is a slight projection on the wall behind the door (when it's open). The first time I ever saw one of these I though it was a normal door hinge installed by some doofus who REALLY misjudged where the screw holes ought to go (I'm not too observant sometimes!). Sometimes, but not always, parliment hinges are a type of projection hinge. Directly below is my normal composit pic showing examples of this item, then below that is a graphic of how it works to clear a projection. Examples: push nut --- see spring nut push pin --- A successor to the old-style thumb tack , this is a short nail with a large plastic, easily gripable head (looks a little like a scaffold nail head), used to affix papers to bulletin boards. Examples: quadrant hinge --- A specialty hinge for use on things like jewelry boxes, this device combines the feature of being totally hidden from view when the lid is closed and the ability to hold the lid open at about 90 degrees. it has a curved element that goes into a deep mortise in the box when closed. It has two L-shaped leaves that have to be mortised and the curved element goes into a deep mortise under the frame leaf. Examples: quick release mechanism --- Any mechanism that allow for rapid release (and usually application as well) of a set of jaws or other restraining or positioning device. An excellent, and common, example is that found on most bench vises where the mating part of the screw mechanism can be moved away from the tightening screw by a lever next to the handle of the vise, thus allowing the jaws to be moved in and out freely. The most common way of accomplishing this (and this is the method used with bench vises) is the split nut . Once the jaws are in the desired position, the quick release lever is itself released and the screw mechanism once again engages, allowing a pressured clamping with the vise. The concept of "releasing quickly" actually applies to the device itself, not to the object being retained by the device; that is, when the device is holding an object the quick release mechanism might not work because it is under pressure, so the quick release action is often applicable only when the device is not yet in use (and that is definitely the case in the example of a bench vise) and an object under clamping pressure can NOT be release quickly by the quick release mechanism, it has to be released slowly by the clamping mechanism. rack and pinon door hinge --- A particular type of pivot door hinge that uses a rack and pinion mechanism. ratchet --- [verb] To move something by small amounts in only one direction (linear or rotary). ratchet --- [noun] A mechanism consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to apply force in only one direction (it spins freely in the other direction), either linearly or rotationally. Numerous tightening devices, such as some forms of socket wrenches , use ratchets. In fact, socket wrenches are sometimes called ratchets, although that's pretty sloppy usage. Micrometers use a ratchet mechanism to do the final fine-adjustment. ratchet wrench --- A term that is sometimes applied to box wrenches and combination wrenches when they have a ratchet mechanism (which they do not always have). removable hinge --- This term can refer to either of two types of hinges that allow a cabinet door to be removed without the use of a screwdriver. These are the lift off hinge and the clip on hinge . residential hinge --- A relatively light-duty architectural hinge" for use in residences (where they are not subject to the kind of heavy use experienced by industrial grade architectural hinges). reverse thread drywall screw --- A screw designed to avoid paper tear in the face of drywall . A screw entering drywall can cause a slight lifting of the paper at the surface and in a severe case can cause small tears in the paper around the screw. These screws have their top several threads reversed so that as the screw goes in the drywall and paper right at the entry point is pushed back down and then the head seats over it. Compare/contrast to drywall screw . Examples: ribbed neck carriage bolt --- A carriage bolt except that rather than the square gripping section at the top of the shank there is a ribbed section that does the gripping. The normal carriage bolt is designed for use with hard metals but this ribbed neck version is designed to be used in wood or soft metal. Examples: ring shank nail --- synonymous with annular ring nail Robertson screw --- A screw with a head requiring a driver with a square tip (the "Robertson" drive). These are also called square head and socket head. This drive type is used on all kinds of screws but it is particularly popular for flat head screws (that is flush-mount screws), these resist cam-out very well. Personally, I hardly ever use any other kind of wood screw and when I DO use any other kind, I often find that the use is accompanied by numerous loud expressions of words that we would not encourage our children to use. See screw and bolt drive types rod coupling nut --- see coupling nut roofing nail --- A nail type with a larger head than common nails so that relatively soft material such as asphalt shingles won't pull through them. These are commonly available and Size depends on thickness of roofing material being nailed down and the thickness of the roof sheathing to which it is being nailed. The shank styles vary greatly, with some being riged, some sprial, etc. Examples: roofing screw --- A screw , used with a rubber washer that comes with it, to use on roof shingles. The washer is to provide a watertight seal. Such screws are generally either self tapping screws or auger point screws . Examples: round coupling nut --- see coupling nut scaffold nail --- A nail , usually the size (see nail sizes ) of a 10d or a 16d common nail , which has been given a double head so that it can easily be removed because the 2nd head is not driven into the wood and provides a place where a hammer claw is easily inserted to remove the nail; used in scaffolds, bracing and any temporary fastening job where the nail must later be removed. Here's a diagram of some common sizes of scaffold nails. Note that the length does not count the heads, just as is true with single-headed common nails. I have personally found these nails to also be very useful as hangers; that is, if I'm thinking of driving a nail in until the head protrudes by 1/4" or so I have a place to hang something by a cord in the shop (my flashlight for example), these nails work great. scissor hinge --- A type of hinge that two long, flat, parallel plates that are hinged in a way that can be either in-line or offset and which are affixed one to the top (or bottom) of a door and the other to the frame above (or below) the door. That is, the plates are horizontal, unlike the more common vertical (hinge) leaves . If the hinge point is in line with the plates, this is a type of pivot hinge , examples of which can be seen in the lower left of the composite pic below. The offset pivot is more common for these hinges as can be seen in all of the other pics below. The name derives from the rather obvious similarity to scissors. With an in-line pivot, these require that the door being hinged either have a gap away from the frame, or that it have a rounded back edge, one of which is needed so that the back door edge can clear the frame when the door is opened. one feature that distinguishes this from the pivot hinge is that on the pivot hinge one (small) part of the item being hinged rotates in the opposite direction from the main body of that item whereas with the scissor hinge, the entire hinged object rotates all in the same direction. Examples: screw --- [verb] To use a screw (see noun definition below) to join objects. screw --- [noun] One of the six simple machines , the screw is a helical inclined plane (called the "thread") on a shaft (called the "shank") that converts rotational force (torque) into linear force, with a conversion factor based on angle of the thread and the diameter of the shank. Screws have many uses, but in woodworking they are primarily fasteners used to hold objects to wood and/or to hold pieces of wood to each other. They are one of the two primary fasteners used with wood, the other being nails . Screws are particularly well suited for use with wood because they do not, on many woods (but not all), require a threaded (or even pre-drilled) hole, they just sink into the wood and grab. Some woods require pre-drilling either because they are too hard to accept the screw without a hole to take up most of the shank or because although they will accept the screw without a hole, they will most likely split without it. See also bolts vs screws . Screws, even when you limit the discussion to ones used in woodworking, come in a bewildering variety of shapes, sizes and materials but most of those are somewhat endemic to the definitions of the individual screw types and so are discussed with them. However, there are two significant characterists which, with a few exceptions, are used on number types of screws and these are the head type and drive type so I have given them their own sections and discussed particularly with individual screws where it is pertinent to do so. The categorization below is based primarily on the USES of screws but also included some based on their head types or drive types. The entire issue of nomenclature for bolts and screws was perhaps the biggest mess I encountered in compiliing this glossary. See also screw and bolt drive types and screw and bolt head types Here is a list of some of the more commonly used types of screws: auger point screw --- has a sharp point and self-threads itself into the wood bugle head screw --- has a countersunk head shaped like a bugle cabinet connecting screw --- same as confirmat screw chipboard screw --- same as particleboard screw shoulder screw --- synonymous with shoulder bolt slotted screw --- any screw with a drive slot for a flat head screwdriver; same as flat-head screw definition (2) thread-cutting screw --- the same as self tapping machine screw thumb screw --- a bolt (not screw) with a paddle or knurled head trim screw --- small-headed, designed to be used on trim undercut screw --- various types, with a shallow head; used on very short screws/bolts to provide extra thread area for a given and length washer head screw --- a screw with an extra-wide head that acts as a washer wing screw --- a bolt (not screw) with a wing-nut head wood screw --- generic term for LOTS of kinds of screws used with wood screw and bolt drive types --- Screws and bolts have a large number of drive types, some of which are common to both, some of which are used only, or mostly, with one or the other, and many of which are specialty types not used in woodworking at all. Following the composite pic below of some of the more common types is a list of types and, for some of them, links to a further discussion of them and/or the type of screw or bolt they are used with. I have included only some of the specialty types that are not used in woodworking. Basically, I just got tired of using VISIO to DRAW the damned things when they don't even need to be here anyway. A particular drive type may or may not be closely related to a head type Allen --- hexagonal recess; heavily used in set screws bristol --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking combination --- has both phillips and flat drives; aka combination phillips double hex --- shape is that of two overlapped hexagonals flat --- THE standard in screw drives but cams out more easily than others; the name causes some confusion because "flat head" has two meanings: one is a screw that has this kind of drive slot and the other is a screw that has a flat head that goes flush with the workpiece (but will likely be driven with a Phillips or other type of drive) hex socket --- another name for Allen head drive hex --- widely used with bolts, using a socked set, crescent wrench, or pliers to drive hexalobular socket --- same as torx one-way clutch --- security type found on bathroom stalls, not in woodworking pentalobular --- recess edged by 5 semi-circles; not used in woodworking phillips --- one of the two most standard heads (the other being "flat"), this resists cam-out more than flat drives do polydrive --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking pozidrive --- very similar to Phillips but cams out less easily Robertson --- square hole is VERY resistant to cam-out; these are heavily used in woodworking and are especially effective with flat head screws security --- various types, not used in woodworking slotted --- another name for flat head drive spanner head --- security type with "snake-eye" holes, not used in woodworking spline drive --- the recess shape is the same as 3 overlapping squares; not used in woodworking square --- (1) sometimes used to mean Robertson square --- (2) similar to hex head but square instead, used on bolts and driven with a crescent wrench or pliers star --- same as torx thumb --- see thumb screw torq set --- specialty, not used in woodworking torx, t, tx, tx --- --- specialty type, very good at not camming out, not used in woodworking tri wing --- specialty, not used in woodworking triple square (xzn) --- identical in appearance to the spline; not used in woodworking screw and bolt head types --- Many screws and bolts have a name that pretty much totally defines their configuration but in addition to this, there are type of heads that are used with screws and/or bolts that can have two or more drive types and the name is usually based on the shape, and less often, the function, of the head. Examples: trim screw trim --- small head (the screw version of a finishing nail) truss --- has a very shallow dome head. It also has a low edge which some definitions say is to inhibit tampering, but since they use standard drive types, that doesn't make much sense; the edge is usually low enough to prevent pliers from being used on them but nothing else. The SHAPE of the truss head is used on some security head types but items sold specifically as truss head are NOT security types. Some items sold as truss head are what would be more accurately called a round washer head (see above). undercut --- Shallow-head countersink that provides a little extra thread length for a given screw length screwdriver --- A hand tool with a handle and a special-shaped end that fits into whatever kind of screw that the tool is designed to work with. Like screws themselves, screwdrivers come in a VERY wide variety of styles, with the two most common (by far) being the drivers for flat head screws and Phillips head screws, which are the only two shown in the composit pic below although there are more than a dozen other kinds. This is just to give a very brief example of some of the styles of handles. See also screw and bolt drive types . Examples: screws vs bolts --- see bolts vs screws security bolt --- A term that designates a very wide variety of screws and bolts that have the common characteristic of being designed so as to deter casual removal. The most widely known of these is the one we've all seen on public bathroom stalls where the designers seem to feel that since we all have a lot of free time while sitting on the John, and of course we all carry screwdrivers around with us, we would disassemble the stalls while we were doing our business so that by the time we were ready to pull our clothes back up, it would be a good time to do so since the disassembled stall would be collapsing around us and we would no longer have privacy. To thwart these devious machinations, the stalls are assembled using a type of screw (or bolt) that can be driven IN with a flat head screwdriver but which cannot be UNscrewed with the same tool. This type is called a "clutch head screw". The security features for these devices generally involve modifying a standard head type or using a totally weird head type. Modification often just consists of putting a post in the middle of the head so that a normal driver won't go in and you have to have a similar driver that has a hole drilled in the end. One of the cutest weird heads is the "snakeeye" head which has two little holes and requires a special driver. Security bolts/screws are little used in woodworking, so I have not broken out the various kinds in this glossary. The composite pic below shows many of the most common and as you can see, I have included both screws and bolts. security butt hinge --- synonymous with security hinge security hinge --- [aka security butt hinge]. This is a standard butt hinge but with an addition. Consider a standard butt hinge on an outward-opening door. The (hinge) barrel will necessarity be exposed to the outside which means the (hinge) pin could be removed from the outside. If this is done, then the door can be opened from the hinge side because the (hinge) knuckles on the door leaf will simply slip past the knuckles on the frame leaf once the pin is removed. What is added to the security hinge is a set of protrusions on each leaf that mate into matching holes on the other leaf and even protrude slightly into the door edge and the frame. With these in place, the door cannot be opened on the hinge side even with the pin removed. Example: security screw --- A type of screw that is designed to resist casual removal. These are little used in woodworking. They are identical to security bolts except that they meet the definition of a screw rather than bolt (see bolts vs screws ) self centering bit --- A specialized drill bit designed to bore perfectly centered pilot holes for hinge mounting screws. The bit uses a standard twist drill bit inside a retractable spring-loaded sleeve. A tapered end on the sleeve fits into the countersink on a hinge screw hole to automatically center the bit when you press the sleeve against the hinge. Commonly referred to as "Vix" bits after the brand name of the original version, self-centering bits come in various sizes to accommodate different screw gauges and hinge hole sizes. Examples: self closing hinge --- Any type of hinge that has a mechanism that causes the hinge to automatically close the hinged object once it is released. Examples include the cam lift hinge and the spring loaded hinge . self drilling screw --- synonymous with self tapping screw self tapping machine screw --- Also called a "thread-cutting screw", this fastener is somewhat similar to a self tapping (wood) screw . It has a portion at the bottom that looks, not like the scraper on the self tapping (wood) screw but rather an actual machine tap and rather than coarse threads, it has the same relatively fine threads of a machine screw . These screws have a straight shank and are typically a hard metal such as steel that are being driven into a hole in a soft metal such as alumninum. The hole is drilled in the soft metal but then one of these fasteners is used rather than tapping it. The drive slots can be most any type, as can the head style. A similar device for use in wood is the self tapping screw . Examples: self tapping screw --- Also called the "self threading screw", this is a coarse-threaded screw , usually made of steel and with a straight, rather than a tapered, shank and a cutting ridge at the bottom that scrapes out room in wood for the threads; these are not used in metal. As the screw is driven into raw wood, the scraper opens up a hole in the wood and then the threads tap themselves in. These do not work well in really hard woods without a pilot hole . The drive slot on these can be most anything, as can the head style. There is a small-bolt equivalent, for use in metal, called the self tapping machine screw . Examples: semi-concealed hinge --- synonymous with partially concealed hinge SEMS fasteners --- SEMS threaded fasteners are assemblies that combine bolts or screws with washers, collars, specialized stampings, or other components. They come in a wide variety of sizes and configurations and have the advantage that the washers and other components are captive and thus speed up assembly and also can't fall off and get lost during assembly. I have found only anecdotal information as to where the name "SEMS" comes from (it was supposedly from an early patent) and am not yet confident enough in it to repeat it here. Other anecdotal information says the name is an abbreviation of asSEMbled. Examples: serrated flange nut --- A flange nut that has ridges on the flange that bite into the surface and are angled such that they keep the nut from rotating back in the direction that would loosen it. Because of the serrations, such nuts cannot be used with a washer since that would defeat the operation of the serrations. Although the definition does not require that these be hex head nuts I have never seen them in any other form. Also called a "wheel lock nut". Examples: set bolt --- synonymous with tap bolt set screw --- A headless bolt (which by some definitions makes it a screw , since bolts have heads) that has a recessed slot for a flat head screw driver , or more commonly a hexagonal recess for an Allen wrench . Set screws are used, for example, to tighten metal rods (such as at the end of a bowl gouge ) into a metal handle, where a protruding head would be a serious problem. This term is badly misused, being often used to designate a bolt that has a head; such an object is NOT a set screw even if it is being used in a similar function, it is just a regular bolt since set screws by definition don't have heads. In addition to providing a tightening force against a potentially rotating shaft, set screws are also used in a way that causes an unthreaded section at the end of the shank (see "dog" below) on their end to be inserted into a hole in such a shaft to provide total prevention of rotation. The types of ends most commonly available on set screws include: cup --- a hollowed end, this is the most commonly used point style and is used when the digging in of the point is acceptable or desirable. cone --- a pointed end that generates the highest holding power and is typically used for a permanent connection. Not the best choice if repeated adjustments are likely. oval --- a rounded end that is typically used when frequent adjustment is required. The oval end prevents/reduces indentation in the shaft being tightened onto. flat --- Causes little damage to the shaft and is used when frequent adjustment is required, but does not provide the best holding power. dog --- a flat end with the threads stopping short of the end so that the end consists of a smooth shank that fits into a hole in the shaft being restrained. Examples: sewing machinge hinge --- identical to butler tray hinge sex bolt --- A term that refers to a nut/bolt pair where the bolt can be pretty much ANY type of bolt but the nut is abnormal in that rather than being a relatively flat section of metal with internal threads and no head, it is a headed tube with internal threads. The underside of the female nut's head is often serrated to provide gripping force and there is usually no drive slot on the head of the nut. Sometimes the head of the nut is knurled . Sex bolts are frequently used in security application (see security bolt ) since with an undrivable nut head and a security head on the bolt, it is very difficult to remove the whole assembly once it is in place. Although it is true that most any type of bolt can be used with the nut from a sex bolt pair, the "true" version most often has a cylindrical unthreaded section at the top of the shank, just under the head, that has the same outer diameter as the nut. The bolts in these bolt-nut pairs are often connector bolts . Examples: sex nut --- (1)see sex bolt sex nut --- (2) Any male human. shank --- A term with a bewildering variety of definitions; as regards woodworking the term refers to the cylindrical shaft of a nail, screwdriver, drill bit, cutting tool, etc. For cutting tools that have a tang going into a handle, the shank is the portion of the tool between the tang and the blade. For screws and bolts, the shank is generally taken to mean the smooth portion below the head and above the threads, but is also sometimes used to refer to the threaded portion as well, especially in situations where the distinction being made is between the head and the rest of the fastener. For nails the shank is everything but the head, whether or not it includes rings or spirals for greater holding power. For screwdrivers, it is generally taken to mean the everything from the edge of the handle down to (but not including) the end portion with the shaped tip (flat, Phillips, etc.). For turning and carving chisels and gouges it designates a portion starting at the edge of the handle and moving most, or all, of the way down to the working end of the tool where the cutting edge is. Shanks can be bent (particularly on carving and turning tools) or straight and can have most any cross section, although most are round (as on screws) or rectangular (as on files). sheet metal connector --- (1) A flat rectangle (and sometimes other shapes) of sheet metal, perforated so that nails can be driven through; used to join wood in exactly the same way as nail plates . sheet metal connector --- (2) Any of a huge number of different kinds of formed sheet metal parts used to join pieces of ductwork or other parts. sheet metal screw --- As the name says, this type of screw is designed to work with sheet metal. Since the sheetmetal is always thin, and these screws never have fine threads because they would not grab the sheet metal; instead, the threads are relatively coarse and very sharp. They are also threaded all the way up to the bottom of the head and occasionally will have a self-threading cutting ridge at the end. In any case, because of the sharp, full threads, these screws make good self tapping screws for use in wood. They tend to be relatively thick and are rarely very long. Their drive slot is typically flat head or phillips head , rarely allen head , and the head style can be most anything but a very common head type has a straight-up hex rim plus a flat-head drive slot. They usually have a straight shank (rarely a tapered one like a wood screw ) but they are pointed on the end. Although I have occasionally seen screws sold as sheet metals screws that were countersunk, that doesn't make sense to me since thin sheet metal could pull right through a countersunk head, so it seems to me that they should always have a flat bottom on the head (and most of the ones you see DO have that), regardless of the shape of the top of the head. I think such countersunk "sheet metal screws" are more likely to be useful with wood. Examples: shelf clip --- A small device for holding adjustable shelving, this piece of specially bent and formed steel works in conjunctioni with a set of upright steel rails that have slots into which these fit. Best described with an image, so see below. Compare/contrast to shelf pin . Examples: shelf pin --- A small device for holding adjustable shelving, this consists of a cylinder that goes into the upright side of a shelving system with a projection that may be a cylinder or some form of flattened piece that holds the shelf. Generally, there will be a symmetrical rows of holes up the front and back of both sides of the uprights and 4 of these will be used, with the shelf pins, to support each shelf, which can then be moved up/down by moving the pins. These are almost always made of brass or steel but light-use versions come in plastic. The holes are always1/4" for all types. Some of the flat-projection version have a hole that can be used to screw the shelf in place, after which it is no longer adjustable without removing the screws. Also, you will occasionally see these sitting in a recess in the bottom of the shelf which keeps the shelf from moving front-to-back but weakens the support since it halves the amount of wood being supported by the pin (see the lower left corner of the composite pic below for an example). Compare/contrast to shelf clip . Examples: S hook --- A metal rod that has been bent into the shape of the letter "S". The ends may or may not be closed. One use for these is to attach a solid-link chain to something, and they are used for other hooking and fastening operations. Often, one will open up one or both end with pliers and then close them again on another object (such as a chain link). Examples: shoulder bolt --- Sometimes (technically incorrectly) called a "shoulder screw", this is a bolt (NOT a screw) that has an unthreaded shoulder below the head and then a threaded portion. Depending on the application for which it is designed, a shoulder bolt may have a the outer diameter of the shoulder larger than the outer diameter of the threads or the same as the threads. Shoulder bolts are designed for various metalworking applications, not woodworking (although they are used in various woodworking power tools). See bolts vs screws . Examples: shoulder screw --- synonymous with shoulder bolt shoulder washer --- A type of washer that is like a flat washer with a "shoulder" that physically insulates a screw or bolt from the area just below its head. These are used primarily when affixing thin sheets of one metal to something using a screw or bolt of a different metal. The shoulder keeps the thin metal from touching the screw or bolt and because shoulder washers are normally a form of electrical insulator, the the physical insulation is accompanied by electrical insulation and prevents galvanic corrosion . Simple electrical insulation is the reason they are often used in electrical systems (such as computers) when screwing down printed circuit boards with metal screws. Examples: shower door hinge --- synonymous with pivot hinge side play --- In a hinge , this is the amount that (hinge) leaves can move relative to each other and perpendicular to the (hinge) pin . This is essentially a measure of how loosely the pin sits inside the (hinge) barrel . See hinge dimensions . sill anchor --- A threaded metal bolt that has its head and upper portion mounted upside down embedded in the concrete of a wood frame house foundation . It projects through holes in the sill plate which it then holds down with washers and nuts . sill plate --- (1) The lowest horizontal member of the structural framework. It sits on the foundation , is normally bolted to it with sill anchors , and it supports the lower structural beams and frame uprights ( studs , etc) above it. Aka "sole plate" and "mud sill". Often to protect the plate timber from splitting, the attaching bolt will be used with a plate washer . sill plate --- (2) The bottom framing member of a window frame. Examples single cranked hinge --- A hinge that has a crank in one (hinge) leaf . There is a specialty type called (appropriately) the flush cranked hinge that is shown in the 4 smaller pieces in the middle of the composite image directly below. If both leaves have the crank, then it is a double cranked hinge . See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up the hinge. Examples: single demountable hinge --- This is a somewhat complex type of hinge that has the tab mechanism that is fully explained elsewhere (see double demountable hinge ) but only on the door leaf not the frame leaf which is a more traditional style and may use one wood screw but more often uses two of them and they usually go through oval clearance holes so as to allow for up/down adjustment of the leaf positioning. This is a partially concealed hinge because only the barrel and part of the frame leaf are exposed, and it is a type of flush hinge as you can see in the pics below. As shown in the mounting pic in the upper right some (but NOT all) of these hinges can be mounted only if the entire back edge of the door be given a reveal (an edge rabbet ). The second hinge from the left below is one such. The term "demountable" in the name is somewhat misleading since it would normally imply that no screwdriver is required to demount the hinge (see lift off hinge ), but that is not the case with this hinge. Examples: single mortise hinge --- Any hinge that has only one (hinge) leaf sitting in a mortise . This would normally be the edge hinge (whether it's on the edge of the door or the edge of the frame) because it wouldn't make sense to mortise a face mount and leave the edge mount proud since that would leave a gap between the door and the frame. See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. sinker nail --- A type of framing nail but thinner than a common nail (somewhat like a box nail ), and coated with adhesive (they are a type of cement coated nail ) to enhance holding power. They usually have a slightly countersunk , funnel-shaped, head so as to sink flat with the surface of the framing member into which they are driven. They often have a grid stamped on the top of the head exactly like a framing nail . Examples: slip joint hinge --- synonymous with lift off hinge slotted nut --- (also, slotted hex nut) synonomous with castle nut socket screw --- synonymous with allen head bolt socket wrench --- A type of wrench with a cylinder on the end (the "socket") that has an internal hexagonal shape; comes in many different sizes to fit numerous different sizes of nuts, bolts, and other fasteners. These wrenches generally come in sets with a varying number of sockets included and are available in both metric and English units. Most such wrenches have a ratchet mechanism and in fact are sometimes called just "ratchet wrenches", but there are many styles, not all in sets and not all with ratchets. Also, the term "socket wrench" is applied to both box wrenches and combinatinon wrenches when they have a ratchet mechanism. Examples: SOSS hinge --- SOSS is actually a brand name. These are, like the barrel hinges (type 1) , a type of concealed hinge and have the same multiple flat plates as the barrel hinges but generally more of them and the mounting portion requires elongated mortises rather than a round ones and they use heftier mounting screws, all of which makes this type, unlike the barrel hinges, useful for load bearing applications. Note that there are numerous styles of hinges that are similar to SOSS hinges, particluarly in body shape, but they are different and are listed in the 2nd composite pic under concealed hinge . The main difference is that the SOSS hinges, as you can see below, have multiple flat plates that make up the moving part of the mechanism whereas the look-alikes have slightly different mechanisms. Note that some of the examples below are not sold by SOSS; they are knockoffs that are sold as SOSS by other companies. Examples: speed nut --- see spring nut spike --- A large nail , usually over 4"; bigger than a 20d nail. See also nail sizes . One example is a gutter spike . Note that in the woodworking sense, the term spike is not used to mean a "railroad spike" which has a particular kind of head and is generally rectangular in cross section and is not at all like woodworking nails. spiral nail --- A nail with a spiral ridge down the shank, somewhat like the threads of a screw but with a MUCH lower angle. They are used especially for hardwood flooring because the holding power makes them much more squeak-free than regular nails. They are also used for siding, fencing, and sometimes for pre-built rafters although with todays nail guns all kinds of framing are more likely to be done with coated straight nails rather than spiral nails. Examples: split nut --- A nut that is, as the name suggests, split on one side or on two opposite sides, such that either (1) the sides of the nut can be moved away from the bolt so that the bolt can slide freely past the nut, or (2) the nut can be tightened on the bolt and the pressure can be released using the same mechanism that is used to tighten it. The first type is used, for example, on bench vises so that the jaws can be opened widely very rapidly by opening the split nut and then when the split nut is closed, the jaws can be adjusted with fine granularity to clamp down on a workpiece. Similarly, it is used on positioning systems such as in a metal lathe where the use of a split nut allows for rapid movement to a coarse-granularity positioning and then the fine-granularity position is achieved after the split nut is closed up again. The second type seems to be used only in plumbing and does not relate to woodworking. The right-most pic in the composite below is the first type and all the others are the second type. Examples: split ring lock washer --- A washer that is somewhat like a common flat washer except that there is a radial split in the washer and one side of the split is raised. This causes a spring-like action that exerts pressure against the bottom of the screw or bolt head as the raised part is compressed by the head and this tension is designed to prevent the screw or bolt from coming loose due to vibration. Split ring lock washers are rarely used with wood screws ; they are designed for use against metal surfaces and are used with bolts . Split ring lock washers CAN be used effectively on wood surfaces if a flat washer is put between the lock washer and the wood surface, but lock washers are rarely needed in wood because wood won't generally vibrate a screw out of it the way threaded metal will. There is an extra-thick version of the split ring lock washer and it is called the high collar lock washer . Split ring lock washer is what is commonly meant by the term "lock washer" but there are several other types. It is also called a "split washer". See lock washer types" . Examples: splitting nut --- The condition when a cutter or drill roughly breaks through the bottom or back of a workpiece. I have this definition from only one source and have no faith in it but it could be right. I have never seen it used. split washer --- synonymous with split ring lock washer spring loaded hinge --- Any type of self closing hinge that uses springs to do the closing. Examples: need to add spring loaded hinge pics spring nut --- There are a number of different style devices, all used to capture bolts, that are referred to in various intermixed and only loosely defined ways. The most common names are push nut, speed nut, flat speed nut, spring nut, and U-nut, depending on the shape (but, again, the names are not applied consistently). They all have three common characteristics: (1) they work partially on a springing action which causes them to put pressure on the threads of the bolt and thus helps hold the bolt in place, (2) they are not amenable to tightening on the nut side because unlike a machine nut , for example, they present little or no surface on which a wrench can work, and (3) they can be put onto the bolt quickly because the springing action allows them to be slipped down over the end of the bolt and then the final tightening is done by turning the bolt. When they consist of folded-over flaps, they are called U-nuts and because of their ability to go on the bolt quickly, they are also called speed nuts. Some look a bit like an internal tooth lock washer with internal prongs, but the prongs point UP so that the bold threads will grab them, rather than pointing down so that they grab the object being clamped. Examples: spring pivot --- synonymous with floor closer square head bolt --- A bolt with a 4-sided head that can be easily turned with a crescent wrench . Such bolts may be threaded all the way along the shank or not. Examples: square head nut --- (also "square nut") A machine nut with a 4-sided outer rim. square washer --- A washer that is just a square of metal with a hole in the center. Sometimes called a "square flat washer" which doesn't really make sense to me, since a "flat washer" is round so that's like saying a "square round washer". Also, I am quite sure that some vendors sell plate washers , even heavy duty ones, under the name square washer but I don't think that a small, thin square washer would ever be sold as a plate washer. Examples: standing bolt --- synonymous with stud bolt starter hole --- A small, shallow hole created as a guide for a screw or a screw-type element such as an eye hook . A deeper hole would be called a pilot hole . step bolt --- (1) a heavy-duty bolt used on the corners of towers (eg a radio tower) to provide something to step on as a worker climbs the tower; this is not a woodworking item. step bolt --- (2) synonymous with carriage bolt stitch bolt --- A long bolt through mechanically laminated timber (similar to glulam but using bolts instead of, or in addition to, glue) that holds the laminations together. That is, this is not a TYPE of bolt, it is a type of USE for bolts. stove bolt --- Refers to any fastener of the various types that would most often be called a machine screws but which are in this case used as part of the fabrication of a wood-burning stove to attach sheet metal parts. In all of the examples I've seen, there is one common characteristic, which is that these never have an unthreaded shoulder but are threaded along the full length of the shank . strap clamp --- A type of clamp where a strap, often canvas , wraps all the way around a workpiece (such as a picture frame) and the clamping force is exerted by either a screw mechanism or a toggle mechanism at a point where the strap comes back on itself. WHen used on rectangular items, strap clamps are frequently used with specially made pads that protect the wood's corners and provide even pressure on the corner joint . Examples: strap hinge --- A type of hinge that was one of the first types used. It most typically consist of two long heavy (hinge) leaves , one of which attaches to a heavy door or gate and the other of which attaches to an adjacent wall. Designed to be both ornamental as well as functional, early versions often had elaborate leaves. Although most definitions say two long leaves, modern usage has corroded that definition and the term now include hinges that have only one long leaf (which item is then more correctly called a T hinge ) and also many now are quite plain. Smaller versions are used for decorative purposes on cabinets . See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up this kind of hinge. Examples: structural bolt --- A large hex head bolt used in heavy-duty structural applications such as in bridges and buildings. One knowledgeable definition also stated that such bolts have a controled thread length (and there are some technical reasons why, based on specific use) but while I can believe that that is a correct formal definition, I think it highly likely that the term is generally used more loosely just meaning any large hex-head bolt intended for heavy duty structural use. stud bolt --- A short threaded rod that may or may not have an unthreaded section in the middle and which is generally intended to be permanently fixed to an object on one end by being screwed into threads in that object and then having a nut placed over the other end to attach something to the object to which the one end is fixed. Also called a "standing bolt". Examples: surface mounted --- For a hinge leaf this means it is mounted on the surface (of a door or frame, edge or face) with no mortise being used. See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. surface mounted hinge --- Any hinge that uses surface mounting for both of the (hinge) leaves . If one leaf IS sitting in a mortise and the other isn't, then it is a single mortise hinge and if both are then it is a mortised hinge . See hinge mounting positions and styles for an illustration. tap --- see tap and die tap and die --- Taps and dies are normally used with metal, not wood, but it is not unheard of to see taps used with very hard woods and in any case, woodworkers sometimes have occasion to use the more simple metalworking tools such as these so I've included them in this glossary. Taps are used to put internal threads into a hole drilled in metal, thus creating a place that a machine screw , for example, can be screwed into, and dies are used to put external threads on metal cylinders, thus creating a threaded bolt-end. These are generally sold in sets but can be purchased individually. They are turned by what are called, variously, tap handles / tap wrenches and die handles / die wrenches. Dies generally have cylindrical outsides but sometimes are found with hexagonal outsides, as shown in the examples below. Cylindrical dies require a special handle but hex shaped dies can be turned with a crescent wrench . Dies can be turned with a socket wrench , or a box wrench , or with the special handles that are generally provided with tap and die sets, which come in two styles as shown below. Examples of taps, dies, handles/wrenches, and sets: tap and die set dies die wrenchs / handles tap bolt --- Any fully threaded bolt with no blank (unthreaded) portion just below the head as is common on some types of bolts. Examples: tapped --- describes a hole that has had threads cut in it with a tap tapping --- Using a tap to create threads in a hole in metal to accept a bolt . tee nut --- see T nut T hinge --- A hinge that looks like the letter T when it is opened. A T hinge is similar to a strap hinge , and in fact is often used in the same applications, except that one strap has been replaced by a (hinge) leaf that is like that of a butt hinge so that it does not require the width of a full strap hinge leaf. Note that many manfacturers sell tee hinges as strap hinges even though that is technically incorrect. See hinge parts for a discussion of the parts that make up this type of hinge. Examples: thread --- (1) The helical-spiral projections around the shaft of a screw or on the inside of a tapped hole (usually in metal, not wood). Technically, the thread is a helical inclined plane and makes screws one of the six simple machines defined by classical mechanics. thread --- (2) A very fine string, used to sew cloth items. threaded --- Having threads threaded insert --- a device to allow machine screws to connect to wood. It is a metal cylinder with threads on the outside that screw into the wood and threads on the inside that accept a machine screw. There are quite a few variations, based on the following characteristics: material --- normally steel or brass drive type --- can be slotted, hex, or manual self-tapping (sometimes called "knife threads") or not flanged or not depth --- normal or "low profile" Some of these names are misleading. "Low profile" really should be called "shallow depth" since that is the actual function. "Self-tapping" is misleading because, really, they are ALL self-tapping; No one ever taps the wood, it's just that "self-tapping" are more designed to cut into the wood like a self-tapping machine screw cuts into metal. One variety has "interrupted threads" which stick out more than normal (see pics below) to make them particularly suitable for use in particleboard and other composite materials . Below are various combinations of the characteristics, and I have noted in researching this that flanges seem to be used only on the self-tapping styles and never with the slotted drive style. There are several different types of driver that can be used with these --- see threaded insert drivers threaded insert driver --- a device used to insert threaded inserts . There are basically 4 types; manual, slotted, hex, and homemade. The manual driver can be used with any of the various types of threaded inserts but is required for the type that has no drive slot. The slotted drive is a cylinder that goes into the inside of the insert, then a part that is exactly like the end of a flat head screwdriver, then a hex drive head. The type of insert that these work on COULD be inserted using a flat head screwdriver, but I can tell you from experience that that is an exceptionally bad idea unless you are a robot. The Hex driver is a just a normal hex drive but with a wide cylinder above the drive head that sits on top of the insert (which, with this type of drive, is normally flanged, so the cylinder sits on the flange). Homemade styles are based on either using a machine screw with a jam nut or a machine screw just screwed into the insert --- the examples below show one such with a hex head drive, mainly because that's my own preference. Examples: threaded rod --- steel or other metal rod that has been threaded for its entire length. Commonly available in hardware stores in sizes from about 1/8" to 1" in diameter and 3 feet or 4 feet long, threaded rod can be used to make custom-length fasteners and can also be used with turnbuckles . Examples: threading --- [noun] synonymous with threads threading --- [verb] The process of creating threads on a metal shaft. Compare/contrast to tapping . thrumbscrew --- [also thumb screw] This term is loosely used to describe any bolt (not screw ) that has a knurled knob that is intended to be tightened with the thumb and first finger but it very specifically applies to a bolt (again, not a screw) that has a flat oval top that clearly is designed for use the the thumb and first finger. Compare/contrast to wing screw which is similar (sometimes the line between the two gets a little blurred). Although, as stated, this generally refers to a bolt, not a screw, there are a few similar items (there's an example in the upper right of the composite pic below) that actually ARE screws. Examples: thumb tack --- The predecessor to the modern push pin , this is a short nail with a very broad flat head, used mainly to affix papers to a corkboard. Examples: timber bolt --- Also called a "mushroom head" bolt, this is a very-large-headed bolt that is used to join timbers . The large head prevents the high forces on such bolts from pulling them throught the wood and obviates a washer . Usually there are 4 wedges angled down from the underside of the head onto the shank and these prevent the bolt from rotating while the nut is tightened. An alternative to the wedges are short spikes coming down out of the bottom of the head. Examples: T-nut --- An internally- threaded cylinder with a flat top and sharp metal prongs rising off of the top. These are designed to be driven into a hole in one side of a piece of wood and a bolt is put through from the other side, attaching an object to the wood. These are sometimes used for knockdown joints . Often the surface of the wood around the head of the T-nut will be countersunk (a flat depression, not angled, done with a Forstner bit ) so the head does not protrude above the surface of the wood. Examples: toenailing --- driving nails at an angle from one framing member that is butted up against another at a right angle, most often through a vertical stud into a base stud as shown in the drawing below (in which the nails are not yet driven all the way in). The term can also describe the use of screws for the same purpose. When nails are driven from both sides of the vertical member, as is the best technique if both sides are accessible, it is sometimes called "cross toenailing". Compare/contrast to face nailing and end nailing . toggle bolt --- A specialty fastening device, primarily for use with wallboard . It it a normal bolt, but the "nut" is a spring-loaded pair of wings that are pressed together to get through the wallboard and that then spring open behind the wallboard and hold the bolt in place when it is tightened. Like a molly bolt , it cannot be removed once put in place, but can only be fully driven into the wallboard so as to fall into the space behind the wallboard. If driven directly through a solid object, the wings have to be removed and then reinserted on the back side of the object and then driven through the wallboard. Examples: toothed washer --- see external tooth lock washer , internal tooth lock washer , and internal-external tooth lock washer torque washer --- A washer used only under the head of a carriage bolt and typically in heavy-duty applications, and which has two functions. First, it prevents the bolt's head from spinning when the nut is being tightened and second, it provides a greater load area under the bolt head so it doesn't dig into the wood. The washer has a square center which fits snugly around the square shank just below the bolt's head and this means the bolt head and the washer have to turn together, then the washer as 4 little pointy nubs on its underside and as the nut is tightened, these dig into the wood, keeping the washer (and thus the bolt head) from spinning. They work best with softwoods and man-made composite lumber and are not likely to give good results with really hard woods because they will not seat well. They are widely used in heavy-duty construction such as swing sets, docks and decks. Examples: torque wrench --- (1) A wrench that shows the amount of torque that is being applied, so that you can tell when you have tightened something to a given amount of torque. These are not much used in woodworking. torque wrench --- (2) A wrench that has an internal slip mechanism that can be set to a specified torque and then the wrench will not tighten beyond that torque, but will simply slip and click. These are not much used in woodworking. torx head --- A screw head requiring a driver in the shape of a star. TPI --- Threads Per Inch; a measure of the density of threads on a screw or bolt . trim head screw --- synonymous with trim screw trim screw --- This is the screw version of a finishing nail . It has a very small head (it's really the size of head, not the shape of the head that distinguishes a trim screw) so as to be unobtrusive and has the name trim screw because it was designed to be used with, amoung other things, wood trim . It normally has a cylindrial (not a tapered) but pointed shank and coarse threads. The drive type may be Allen head , phillips head, Robertson drive, or star drive. It may or may not be countersunk . Examples: truss head screw --- A screw that has a very low domed head and very low edges. There are pictures and a further discussion in the entry with the term screw and bolt head types . turnbuckle --- A device for tensioning cables, ropes, tie-rods, etc. It consists of a metal centerpiece with threaded holes in each end, one left-hand thread, one right-hand thread, into which are screwed eyelets or hooks. When the center piece is turned, both eyelets are moved in or out simultaneously, thus increasing or decreasing the tension on whatever is hooked to them. In large uses, you'll see them in guy wires on telephone poles, the rigging on sailing ships, etc. Examples: twist drill bit --- This is the "normal" drill bit, the one that folks are probably thinking of when they say "drill bit". It is a long metal shaft with helical fluted cutting edges and a fairly broad point. These bits are good for both wood and softer metals. In the USA, these drills can be purchased individually by size and also come in numerous sets. The most common sets are the "A to Z" set (A=.234", Z=.413"), the "#1 to #60 set (#1=.228", #60=.040"), and the "1/64 to 1/2" in 1/64" increments set. There is also a lesser known set of micro bits #61 to #80 (#61=.039", #80=.0135") and there are variations on the "normal" twist bit, including the very popular brad point bits. Examples: two leaf hinge --- This term has two unrelated meanings. The first is as a synonym for the type of bifold door hinge that has one leaf above the other. Many types of hinges have two leaves, so why the term "two leaf hinge" should apply just to that one I do not know, but that's what I have found to be the case. The second definition refers to a specialty hinge that is used primarily for free-standing mirrors (generally called a "vanity mirror") that swivel inside a vertical frame, as shown in the composite pic below: need to add two leaf hinge pics U bolt --- A length of rod that is threaded on both ends and then bent into a "U" shape which might be a very curved U or a more rectangular U. The curved variety in particular is used as a pipe holddown. Examples: umbrella head roofing nail --- A form of roofing nail with an exceptionally large head to prevent pullthrough of roof shingles . As nearly as I can tell, these are widely used in Asia but not much in the USA. Examples: undercut screw --- A shallow-head countersunk screw or bolt, the point of which is to reduce the profile of the head and thus provide a little extra thread length for a given length of screw. Examples: underdriven --- Describes a fastener, such as a screw , not fully driven flush to the surface. Compare/contrast to overdriven . U-nut --- see spring nut upholstery nail --- Also called "upholstery tack", this is a small, thin-bodied nail , usually 1/2" to 3/4" long and with a very broad head. The head most often is domed and frequently has some sort of design on it, sometimes quite elaborate. Sometimes the head is in the shape of a pyramid or other shape that would not be found on any other kind of nail because these nails are used to affix upholstery to chairs and other padded furniture and thus are as much decorative as functional. Examples: variable speed reversible drill --- A power drill that has a speed control and the ability to reverse the direction of spin. VERY handy for putting in and taking out screws (using a screwdriver bit instead of a drilling bit). These tend to be a little more powerful than the standard power drill and also usually have a second handle rod that projects out of the side to give you a very firm two-handed grip when using the tool to tighten nuts or screws or when using large boring bits. Examples: washer --- A device, usually metal, with a hole in the middle, used under the heads of bolts and screws to distribute force more evenly and widely from the head of onto the surface under the head. Other shapes and materials for washers are used to provide seals, locking mechanisms and vibration reduction. Typical washers have an OD about twice their ID , but fender washers are a notable exception to that rule of thumb, and most types of lock washer have a smaller OD than others. Similar devices are the gasket and the O-ring . Types of washer likely to be encountered by woodworkers include: countersunk --- for countersunk screws countersunk lock washer --- an external tooth lock washer but cone-shaped to conformm to the bottom of a countersunk screw cup washer --- same as finish washer dished --- not used in woodworking dock --- very heavy-duty fender washer for heavy construction (such as marine docks) external tooth lock --- lock washer with teeth pointing outward for maximum surface grab finish washer --- used with countersunk bolts and screws but without the countersunk hole flat --- "common" type, like a featurless dime with the center punched out fender --- very large OD for use with thin material (like a car fender, thus the name) flanged countersunk --- like a countersunk but with a flange to distribute the pressure even more flush --- like a flat washer but the center is pressed down into a cone shape to conform to the underside of a countersunk screw internal-external tooth lock --- toothed lock washer with both internal and external teeth internal tooth lock --- lock washer with teeth pointing inward for appearance lock --- see split ring lock, external tooth lock, internal tooth lock, and internal-external tooth lock mudguard --- same as fender (mudguards are thin material, thus need a fender washer) ogee --- wide, thick, cast iron, ogee-shaped washer used in heavy construction phenolic --- insulating, for use in electrical connections plate washer --- used in attaching sill plates square plate --- see plate washer square --- like a flat washer but with a square rim star --- a little-used synonym for external toothed, because of the appearance torque washer --- for use with carriage bolts only toothed --- see internal tooth, internal-external tooth, and external tooth trim washer --- same as finish washer wave --- locking type with a wave shape to provide a spring-like holding action multi-tooth --- synonymous with internal-external tooth star --- synonymous with external tooth lock (because of the shape) washer head screw --- A type of wood screw that has an extra-wide head that acts as both a washer and a head. These are sometimes seen in machine screws as well, but are much more common in wood screws which need the extra holding power. Examples: wave washer --- A type of lock washer that has as the locking mechanism the fact that the washer (which is otherwise a thin flat washer ) is bent in a wavy fashion so that it creates a spring-like clamping pressure between the bottom of the bolt or screw and the surface being clamped. Examples: wheel lock nut --- synonymous with serrated flange nut wide swing hinge --- A butt hinge that has one extra wide leaf and is mounted with the barrel offset from the door/frame joint so that the door moves out of line with the frame when opened, thus giving extra clearance. Often used in hospital rooms and some industrial settings, the point being that it provides unobstructed access through the entire width of the door frame. Examples: need to add wide swing hinge pics wide throw hinge --- synonymous with wide swing hinge wing nut --- A nut that has "wings" (upsweeping flanges) on the sides so that it can be turned with fingers instead of needing any kind of wrench or pliers . See also thumb screw and wing screw . Examples: wing screw --- Exactly what you would have if you took a wing nut (which is much more familiar to most people) and super-glued it to the end of a threaded rod. It's a bolt (NOT a screw) that has a "wing nut like" head, although the term is sometimes used to describe items that should be called thumb screws . Examples: wire nail --- A nail that starts out as a length cut from a strand of wire. This can be any of several types of nail. Common nails, box nails, and brads are all usually wire nails, including even the larger sizes, because automated construction techniques make very effective use of wire. wire nut --- A simple but incredibly useful device that rivals the paper clip in ingenuity, this is a plastic cone with a spiral of conductive wire inside; you jam two stripped electrical wires into it and then you twist it and the wires are physically (and therefore electrically) mated with a strong bond that can be released later by just reverse-twisting the cap. It does have the drawback that a lot of vibration can loosen the connection, so there are applications where it is still better to rely on a soldering iron and/or electrical tape. Examples: wood screw --- A screw designed for wood or a similar material, with a pointed, tapered shank , relatively coarse threads, and sometimes an unthreaded portion just under the head. Wood screws are designed to fasten objects to wood or to fasten two pieces of wood together. The pointed shaft is often driven directly into wood, but depending on the hardness of the wood, a pilot hole may be required. There are a huge number of different head styles and drive types and other characteristics of fasteners that may have other specific names but are also what is meant by the term "wood screw", including many that do NOT have a tapered shank but rather have a straight, threaded, shank with a pointed end. Materials include steel, brass, and aluminum. See also bolts vs screws . Compare/contrast to machine screw . Examples: wrap around hinge --- A type of hinge that either partially or fully wraps around both the edge of a frame and the matching door. The two types are shown in this glossary at: partial wrap around hinge zero clearance hinge --- Although technically this term is properly applied to any hinge that allows unobstructed access for pullout shelves or drawers once a cabinet door is opened to 90 degrees or more, it is usually applied to a specific style of hinge that is also called a European hinge . The point is just to make sure that the door will not protrude into the area of the cabinet opening when open so that any drawer or shelf that is being pulled out through the opening will not be obstructed by the back edge of the door. With the proper mounting in the right kind of door setup, a butt hinge could serve this function, as could a wrap around hinge and others, most particularly the 270 degree hinge . Another, less used, name for these is "zero protrusion hinge". The examples shown here are all of the European hinge type: zero protrusion hinge --- An apparently little-used term that is synonymous with zero clearance hinge # of terms in this subglossary: 418

i don't know

What mountain range separates the continents of Europe and Asia?

Which mountain range separates Europe from Asia? | Reference.com Which mountain range separates Europe from Asia? A: Quick Answer The Ural Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains separate Europe from Asia. These two mountain ranges form a distinct border between Europe and Asia. Full Answer The idea of Europe as a geographical entity has always been somewhat indistinct. Its transition into Asia is permitted by a continuous land mass. To ease this distinction, geographers divide Europe at its highest points, which are the mountain ranges. The boundary between Europe and Asia is considered to proceed south from the Arctic Ocean along the Ural Mountains and then along the tops of the Caucasus Mountains. The Volga river is considered to be the separation between the European and Asian parts of these ranges.

Ural Mountains

Oct 14, 1926 saw the introduction of what favorite childhood character, known for his love of hunny?

EARTH :: GEOGRAPHY :: CONFIGURATION OF THE CONTINENTS :: EUROPE image - Visual Dictionary Online Visual Dictionary Online HOME :: EARTH :: GEOGRAPHY :: CONFIGURATION OF THE CONTINENTS :: EUROPE Europe Western extremity of the vast Eurasian continent that, by convention, is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains; it covers a relatively small area. next Aegean Sea Area of the Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and Greece; it contains numerous islands, the largest of which is Crete. Barents Sea Area of the Arctic Ocean lying north of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Russia; it is partially ice-covered. Peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal; it extends from the Pyrenees to the Strait of Gibraltar. Pyrenees Mountain range whose northern slope is in France and whose southern slope is in Spain; Pico de Aneto (11,169 feet) is its highest peak. Alps mountain Danube River Second longest river in Europe (1,770 mi); it flows into the Black Sea through a vast delta with three branches. watercourse Carpathian Mountains Mountain range in central Europe, lower than the Alps; its highest point is at an elevation of 8,711 feet. Irish Sea Relatively shallow sea between France and England; its extreme tides cause strong currents, making navigation difficult. Atlantic Ocean planisphere Vistula River Poland&#8217s principal river (680 mi) has its source in the Carpathians and joins the Baltic Sea at the Gulf of Gdansk; it is ice-covered two to three months per year. watercourse North Sea Relatively shallow sea (220,000 mi2) in the North Atlantic and bordered by the coasts of Europe; some major European ports are located along its estuaries. ocean trenches and ridges Mediterranean Sea One of the world&#8217s largest inland seas, bordered by Europe, Africa and Asia; it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. ocean trenches and ridges Strait of Gibraltar Channel (9 mi wide) between Spain and Morocco; it connects the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and is an important shipping route. Ural Mountains Mountain range extending 1,500 mi from the Caspian Sea to the Arctic; it is traditionally considered the boundary between Europe and Asia. mountain Volga River The longest river in Europe (2,300 mi) is ice-covered three to four months per year; its spring flood is substantial. Dnieper River River in Russia (1,350 mi) whose flow is slow but abundant; it is a major communications artery. watercourse Adriatic Sea Gulf of the Mediterranean, 520 mi long and 110 mi wide, located between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula.

i don't know

In 1998, what name did Frito Lay add to its line of snack products that used the artificial fat substitute Olestra (anal leakage not withstanding)?

The Checkout RSS Feed   ( What's RSS? ) No Longer Making Light of Olestra There are a lot of people who don't like the Center for Science in the Public Interest . How do I know? Every time I write about this consumer-advocacy group, I get lots of e-mails and telephone calls complaining that the group is just a bunch of officious scaremongers, an obnoxious team of food police who are trying to curb our free choice to eat what we want when we want. One caller always leaves a message that I should identify the group as leftist liberal--and he does not mean that in a complimentary way. Say what you will about CSPI, but I'll say this: In the past few years, the group has repeatedly eked out one victory after another as it fights for more healthful food and clearer labeling on food it doesn't consider so healthful. Its most recent win: Frito-Lay will now post more prominent labels on its line of Light chips (Ruffles Light, Lay's Light, Doritos Light and Tostitos Light) to make it clear they contains olestra (or Olean) , the controversial fat substitute that CSPI says causes diarrhea, cramping and other unpleasant symptoms in a small percentage of consumers. Since 1998, when Frito-Lay first introduced Olestra to its chip lines (which were first labeled WOW!, then renamed to Light in 2004), CSPI has been loudly warning consumers about the potential side effects of Olestra. Initially, the Food and Drug Administration required food makers to post warning labels on food that contained Olestra, but in 2003, the agency dropped that requirement. CSPI has argued that Frito-Lay deliberately changed the WOW! name to light to deceive people into thinking the product was new, Olestra-free and of course, low-calorie. The group says more than 3,700 consumers have posted reports on the CSPI Web site about adverse reactions; the FDA, it says, has received more than 20,000 reports. So far, the FDA has not moved to accept the CSPI's request and order the warning label be reinstated. But in a settlement announced last week with CSPI, Frito-Lay agreed to prominently display an oval-shaped Olean logo and banner reading "made with olestra" on the front of its packages. On the back of the packages will be a short statement noting the presence of olestra. The agreement came after the CSPI threatened a class-action lawsuit against the snack maker. (See my earlier item on this.) Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzales said the company is making "minor packaging changes" even though the current version complies with all federal requirements. The changes "will make it a little easier" for consumers to recognize when products are made with olestra, she said. The Frito-Lay agreement will almost certainly mean more threatened lawsuits from CSPI. In the past year, the group has moved from asking the federal government to act on a variety of causes, including junk food practices, to filing the suits in Massachusetts. The consumer protection laws in that state are considered the most pro-consumer in the country. CSPI threatened to sue soft drink manufacturers for selling sodas in schools and the group is now crediting that threat to the May agreement , brokered by President Bill Clinton, in which soda makers announced they would pull sugary drinks out of schools. CSPI has also announced plans to sue Kellogg and Viacom/Nickelodeon for marketing junk-food to children under 8. That suit's on hold while CSPI and Kellogg discuss the matter. More litigation, "is more coming down the pike" says group spokesman Jeff Cronin. In other words, watch this space. By  |  June 8, 2006; 6:37 AM ET Legal Battles/Settlements

Wow

A peach / Looks good / With lots of fuzz / But man's no peach / And never wuz and Your shaving brush / Has had its day / So why not / Shave the modern way were roadside signs advertising what product from 1925 to 1963?

Consumerist: juin 2016 NHTSA Is Looking Into Fatal Crash Of Tesla Model S In Autopilot Mode Last fall, Tesla released a beta version of Autopilot, a software upgrade that would let the car take over some driving functions, including steering, cruise control, and lane changes. Today, the company announced some sad news: the first fatal crash in of one of the company’s vehicles while in autopilot mode happened in northern Florida in May. The company shared the news in a blog post , and this summary comes from a combination of that account and the police blotter from a local newspaper . The crash occurred on a divided highway, where the 2015 Model S collided with a tractor-trailer that was making a left turn in the opposite direction. Neither the driver nor the autopilot system saw the truck, and the car drove under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer hitting the windshield, then shearing off the car’s roof. The Tesla kept driving and stopped about 100 feet away from the road past the tractor-trailer. “The customer who died in this crash had a loving family and we are beyond saddened by their loss,” the company said in a blog post, noting that he was known to the company and to other electric vehicle drivers, and a great supporter of technology and progress. “We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends,” the post concluded. The Verge discovered that the driver in this crash had posted a modestly viral dashcam video taken in early April of this year when his car swerved to avoid a truck that drifted into his lane. He also posted a collection of videos of his car’s autopilot in action to YouTube. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the crash after Tesla reported it since the car was in partially autonomous mode at the time. The crash “calls for an examination of the design and performance of any driving aids in use at the time of the crash,” the agency notes in the paperwork that opened the investigation. “The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation will examine the design and performance of the automated driving systems in use at the time of the crash,” the agency said in a statement. “During the Preliminary Evaluation, NHTSA will gather additional data regarding this incident and other information regarding the automated driving systems.” Facebook Would Like To Know If An Advertiser Scammed You It’s one thing if an online ad is misleading or misrepresents the site that you click on, but what happens when you order an item that isn’t as promised? As overseas clothing companies that market solely through Facebook have proliferated, some customers blame Facebook, even though the site doesn’t vet the products and services of every advertiser. Now, at least, Facebook wants to listen if you’re scammed or misled by an ad on the site. Facebook agreed to look into this after a Buzzfeed investigation into shady clothing peddlers in China that market on social media. The story exposed companies with a truly alarming number of complaints filed elsewhere on the Internet, but with carefully scrubbed Facebook pages and appealing ad campaigns. A Facebook representative told Buzzfeed that they’ll use the information to look at trends and find problematic companies or ad campaigns. After all, if users don’t click on Facebook ads, how does Facebook make money? The site’s response is a simple form on their help site asking for information about problematic ads, including . isn’t just for clothing sites: you can also leave information about ads that are misleading or problematic in other ways. Airbags In 2001 To 2003 Hondas Are The Most Dangerous, Need To Be Fixed Now Since people tend to keep our cars longer than we used to, there are still plenty of model year 2001, 2002, and 2003 cars from Honda and Acura still on the road. Recent tests show that each time one of the vehicles’ airbags deploys, there’s up to a 50% chance that it will rupture, posing a serious risk to drivers and passengers. We know that hundreds of millions of vehicles out there have potentially hazardous airbags, so what’s the rush with these Honda and Acura cars, SUVS, and minivans? In an announcement today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shared recent test results that eight out of the ten deaths in the United States attributed to Takata airbags occurred in Honda vehicles from this period. Takata performed the tests at NHTSA’s request, and they showed that airbags ruptured as frequently as 50% of the time under test conditions. Ideally, you hope that a vehicle’s airbag never deploys, but it could be a serious problem for passengers if one of these does. The vehicles were previously recalled between five and eight years ago, and most had their airbags replaced with a less dangerous model back then. However, NHTSA reports that there are still 313,000 of them still on the roads that haven’t been fixed, and the agency wants to get word out to their owners to repair them right away. The U.S. Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx, is not messing around, saying in a statement that “folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.” Here’s the list of vehicles that are in need of immediate repairs. 2001-2002 Honda Civic Small States Win: DC, Delaware, And Rhode Island Have Fastest Average Internet In The U.S. Well, Virginia, we had a good run. The Old Dominion spent a while having the fastest average internet connection in the U.S., but that reign is over. A new report drops Virginia all the way back to 9th place, and puts in a handful of high-achieving newcomers at the top of the heap. That’s the news from the latest “State of the Internet” report [ PDF ] from internet analytics firm Akamai, which has been running these quarterly updates for years . The U.S. as a whole continues not to crack the ranks of the global top ten for fastest national averages — coming in at 16th place — but there’s lots of interesting moving and shaking going on among the states. Notably, several states have seen gains in average speed of more than 25% just since this time last year: D.C. may be a city, not a state, but it saw a whopping 48% increase in average internet connection speed over the last year. Maryland also saw a 40% increase, with New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island also all seeing gains of 30% or higher. At the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky, Idaho, and Alaska have the lowest speeds in the nation, around 10.9 Mbps — just over half of what 3rd-place Rhode Island sees. Higher speed connections — greater than 10 Mbps or 15 Mbps — also continue to be more widely available and, unsurprisingly, are seen in the states with the highest overall average connection speeds: In five areas — Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and D.C. — more than 50% of all the internet connections Akamai recorded cleared the 15Mbps threshold, all of which are huge gains over last year. Of course, if 51% of users are clocking in above 15 Mbps, that still means 49% aren’t — to say nothing of actually reaching the FCC’s 25 Mbps threshold for “high-speed” broadband service. Still, gains are gains. The number of internet users in Maryland, New York, and New Jersey who have 15 Mbps or greater connections, as compared to this time last year, went up by 70% or more, coming close to doubling in twelve months. Even in the best-performing states, barely a quarter of users hit that 25 Mbps mark. In D.C., the highest-ranking, it’s 29%. Delaware follows at 25%; Rhode Island and Massachusetts come in right behind at 21%; New Jersey, Maryland, and Utah all tie for fourth place at 19%, and Virginia comes in at fifth place with 18%. On the other hand those changes, too, are tremendous, with New Jersey posting a huge 180% increase in users clearing that mark as opposed to last year. Publié par Report: Dick’s Wins Sports Authority Brand, Including Domain Names In the future, when you forget that Sports Authority went out of business and type in their website address, you’ll end up on a page owned by the defunct retailer’s biggest competitor. Dick’s Sporting Goods reportedly scooped up the Sports Authority name, including its domain names and customer mailing lists, for $15 million in the company’s intellectual property auction. Reuters reports that a source close to the auction shared that Dick’s was the big winner in this auction. The sporting goods retail landscape isn’t a promising one lately, but Dick’s did also reportedly win 31 leases for a total of $8 million, most likely in areas where it doesn’t currently have a store. When Sports Authority put its current stores up for sale as a going concern, which means buying the business and all of its inventory, liquidators made the highest bids , selling off inventory at nice discounts eventually. Buying the intellectual property of Sports Authority, as Reuters reports that Dick’s Sporting Goods has done, would allow Dick’s to open Sports Authority stores or an e-commerce site if it wanted to, but it probably won’t. Instead, purchasing the mailing list and loyalty card member information means acquiring some customer names, especially in areas where it doesn’t currently have stores. Buying the brand means that no one else can own it. Now Dick’s can let the brand that used to be plastered on tickets and billboards at sporting events simply die off instead of worrying about the brand being resurrected, as Modell’s and UK retailer Sports Direct had planned to do with the Sports Authority brand on a small scale. There was no reported winner for the naming rights to the field where the Denver Broncos, reigning Super Bowl champions, play. That will please the Broncos: the team wanted to prevent the contract from being sold at the bankruptcy auction, and to perhaps find a more lucrative deal with a new sponsor on its own. Noodles And Company Is This Week’s Luckless Winner Of Data Breach Roulette Did you enjoy a pad thai, macaroni and cheese, or a pesto cavatappi for lunch sometime in the last few months? And then have your bank very suddenly replace your credit or debit card, due to an unnamed data breach, in early June? You’ve may have Noodles and Co. to thank for both. The 20-year-old fast-casual pasta-based chain announced this week that it is the latest victim of a large scale data breach affecting consumers’ payment data. The hack lasted from January 31 until June 2 of this year, Noodles reports, at which point it was detected and stopped. The company has been, as one does in this sort of situation, working with third party security investigators to determine how the breach happened and what was stolen. Lo and behold, there was malware in Noodles’ computer systems that managed to yoink payment card information including cardholder name, card number, expiration date, and CVV. Online orders were not part of the breach, Noodles added. The company suggests the usual: check your credit reports with the three agencies, put freezes or fraud alerts on any if you need to. Noodles has published a list of all affected restaurant locations broken down by state. States that were part of the breach include: Arizona Everyone Get Back To Work: Google Calendar Is Back, Or Will Be Soon As a reminder of how much everyone has come to depend on a free (or work-supplied, if your workplace uses Google accounts) online service, today civilization may yet still collapse due to a morning outage of Google Calendar. There were no widespread reports of people wandering streets or office hallways with no idea of where they were supposed to be, but that may be because the outage only lasted a few hours. As usual when a service other than Twitter is down, people took to Twitter to vent about the situation. Or celebrate. One of those things. Wait, @googlecalendar is down? This is like a snow day for adults, right? Lawsuit Accuses Hormel Of Using Meaningless ‘Natural’ Label On Deli Meat When you see a label that says “natural” on your meat, you might make some assumptions about what’s in it. Doesn’t that label mean meat that doesn’t have preservatives or artificial colors, that comes from animals raised without growth-promoting hormones or antibiotics? Well, no, it doesn’t necessarily mean that , and a recent lawsuit from the Animal Legal Defense Fund calls Hormel out on its labeling. Yes, that’s the same Hormel that owns organic meat brand Applegate Farms, but this lawsuit is about Hormel’s own trendy Natural Choice line of lunch meats. The suit, filed by animal rights group the Animal Legal Defense Fund, asks why the line is marketed as having the features customers expect in “natural” products, but contains plant-derived preservatives and comes from the same meat supply as Hormel’s other products. “Contrary to Hormel’s branding campaign,” the ALDF explained in a press release explaining the lawsuit, “meats the company advertises as ‘natural’ actually [come] from animals raised in the worst factory farms that employ additives, hormones and antibiotics, and contain ingredients that constitute artificial preservatives.” Like what? The group claims that the pacakging claims meats are free of nitrates and nitrites, common processed meat preservatives, but that Hormel uses celery juice powder, a product that sounds natural, but is just a rich source of nitrate. Another natural-sounding additive, cherry powder, combines with the nitrate to form sodium nitrate. They didn’t add any nitrates or nitrites, though! The group alleges that Hormel is breaking District of Columbia consumer protection law, and filed their suit in Washington. Snack food giant and grocery store staple Mondelez International apparently has decided it needs more chocolate for the s’mores you can make with its Honey Maid graham crackers, and is making a takeover bid for Hershey Foods. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mondelez is making every attempt to acquire Hershey. The WSJ, citing the ever-popular “people familiar with the matter,” says that Mondelez has contacted Hershey about the sale. The Hershey Trust, which holds 8.4% of the stock and 81% of the voting power, has historically resisted any sale offers. Mondelez, however, is reportedly “prepared to go to lengths” to win over America’s most famous chocolate brand, including pledges to protect jobs, relocate to Hershey, PA, and rename the whole company Hershey, according to a source. The Mondelez family of brands currently includes a whole bunch of snacks, crackers, and candies that you know, including Oreo, Cadbury, Chips Ahoy, the entire Nabisco line, Philadelphia (cream cheese), Ritz, and Trident and Stride gum, among many others. The Hershey Company, meanwhile, makes more than just Hershey’s-branded chocolate. They also sell a variety of other candy brands , including Twizzlers, Mounds and Almond Joy, Reese’s peanut butter products, and York peppermint patties. Hershey also already owns the rights to Cadbury candies in the U.S., which are different (and widely considered less good ) than their British, Mondelez-owned counterparts. Publié par Listen To A Guy With Experience Talk About Fireworks Safety This holiday weekend, many Americans will no doubt be in the mood to celebrate Independence Day with brightly colored fireworks that go “whiz!” and “bang!” and make us all proud we got rid of the British early on. But no matter how fun fireworks can be, they can also be very, very dangerous. To bring that message home, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is sharing the story of how he lost part of his hand in a firework accident In a new public service announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Pierre-Paul shows the world exactly what can happen when you aren’t careful around such explosives, holding up his right hand to show the damage a firework did when it accidentally exploded in his hand last year. “Fourth of July, I lit up a firework, thought I could throw it away real quick,” he tells CPSC chairman Elliott Kaye in the video, filmed at the Giants’ indoor practice facility at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J. “And in a split second, it blew off my whole hand.” He lost his index finger in the accident, and suffered severe damage to his right hand. “I’m just truly, truly blessed to be alive,” Pierre-Paul “Keep fireworks away from kids,” Pierre-Paul implores viewers, while Kaye chimes in to remind folks to keep professional fireworks to the professionals. Publié par Hertz Partnering Up With Uber, Lyft To Supply Drivers With Rental Cars Don’t have a car, but want to work for Lyft or Uber as a driver? Hertz is hoping it can squeeze some extra miles out of its older cars with new deals it’s just announced to supply rentals to the ride-hailing companies. Under the agreements, drivers have set rates on two- to three-year-old models Hertz has rotated out of its fleet, which can be rented from Hertz off-airport locations. The cars can then be used for either personal or business reasons, and they can be rented out for just a few days or even months. “We consider this agreement to be largely complementary to our rental car business,” said John Tague, president and CEO of Hertz Global Holdings, in a statement . The agreement will expand Hertz’s pilot program with Lyft , which it debuted in Las Vegas last year. The rental car company will be bringing that program to Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Hertz/Uber program will at first only be available in Los Angeles, but the company says it plans to expand both programs across the country eventually. Publié par 17 Commercial Failures From Brands With Spectacularly Bad Ideas While Keurig is surely hoping there will come a day when its failed KOLD soda-making machine is but a misty, sparkling memory, it’s not the first company to reach for the stars, to fly too close to the sun, to try to capture lightning in a bottle… and fail utterly and completely, thereby forever securing a spot in the brand failure hall of fame, never to be forgotten. Keurig is far from alone, of course: many companies have tried to bank on former successes by coming up with some strange ideas. And so we present forthwith, 16 other examples of companies who thought they had the next big thing, only to fall flat on their faces. 1. The Ford Edsel Perhaps nothing embodies the idea of a commercial failure as much as the Edsel, which was unveiled on Sept. 4, 1957 to the public after a yearlong teaser campaign. It was met with resounding rejection, as customers deemed the gas-guzzling, pricey car an ugly waste of money. Three model years and 110,847 Edsels later, Ford pulled the plug on the Edsel in November 1959. Ultimately, Ford took a $250 million hit (in 1958 dollars, or about $2 billion today) for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of the vehicle. 2. Crystal Pepsi For some reason, Pepsi got it into its head that cola shouldn’t be brown; it should be clear, while still tasting like cola but looking like a lemon-lime soda. That push for sensory confusion resulted in Crystal Pepsi, a caffeine-free “clear alternative” to regular colas. “You’ve never seen a taste like this!” Pepsi promised, which was true, but not in a good way: many consumers were grossed out, confused, or just disappointed, with some insisting the beverage had a citrus hint to it. PepsiCo killed Crystal Pepsi in 1993 after only a year. “People were saying we should stop and address some issues along the way, and they were right,” the man who conceptualized Crystal Pepsi, David Novak, told Fast Company in 2007. “It would have been nice if I’d made sure the product tasted good.” Pepsi first brought it back as a one-off nostalgia item in 2015 , before announcing on June 29 yet another limited-time resurrection of Crystal Pepsi . For what reason, we do not know. 3. Qwikster The well-chronicled debacle , which saw Netflix hiking prices and briefly separating its disc-rental arm into a different company in 2011 before reconsidering, resulted in diving stock prices and a massive pay cut for its CEO. 4. New Coke/Coke II Thursday, April 23, 1985. That’s the date Coca-Cola announced a change to its secret formula — the first one in its 99 years — and a change that would forever link Coke with brand failures to come after it. It wasn’t originally called New Coke — it was a can of Coke with the word “New!” on it, until 1992 when it was officially renamed Coke II. The company calls it “ arguably the biggest risk in consumer goods history ,” while everyone else just calls it a big, fat flop. The backlash from consumers was so immediate and so fierce, the company hurried to get the original recipe back on the market within three months of New Coke’s arrival. On July 11, 1985, Coca-Cola held a press conference to officially announce the return of the old Coke, and admit how very wrong it had been. “The simple fact is that all of the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on a new Coca-Cola could not measure or reveal the depth and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many people,” said Coca-Cola’s president at the time , Donald Keough. 5. Frito-Lay Lemonade What would be perfect to wash down salty snacks? A big, cold glass of lemonade. That must have been the thinking behind the Frito-Lay brand’s unsuccessful foray into branded beverages with Frito-Lay lemonade; it didn’t work out so well. Something about the Frito-Lay name just didn’t sound refreshing to consumers, Entrepreneur noted in 1998, and parent company PepsiCo dropped the product. 6. Tropicana carton redesign When it comes to breakfast beverages, Tropicana learned that messing with its brands is not a good move. In January 2009, Tropicana came out with a new look for its cartons, including a clever cap that looked just like an orange. Clever or no, consumers haaaaaated it. The product went “poof” by the next month , and the original packaging reappeared on shelves in March. “We underestimated the deep emotional bond” loyal customers had with the original packaging, Neil Campbell, president at Tropicana North America in Chicago explained to The New York Times then. “Those consumers are very important to us, so we responded.” 7. Gerber’s single servings for adults Pre-made baby food is super convenient for parents: You get the meal in a jar; it’s the right size for your 10-month-old; it’s already pureed; and it’s portable. Win/win. However, jars of mush — aside from maybe applesauce and Soylent — do not generally appeal to most adults. In fact, the list of people over 21 who have ever thought, “I wish my beef bourguignon were all pre-mashed and then stuffed in a jar” is infinitesimally small — and so was the market for Gerber Singles, one of 1974’s worst ideas. The plan had been to sell the product to college students and young adults who had moved out of mom’s house and might not be otherwise able to feed themselves. It turns out, young adults had plenty of other options they liked better — anything other than adult baby food, for example. 8. Bic Underwear & Hosiery If we say “Bic,” the first thing that leaps into your mind is probably going to be “ball-point pen.” Pencils and highlighters might be close runners-up, and, if you’re feeling particularly thoughtful, you might mention disposable razors or lighters. You are not, however, likely to think of undergarments and hosiery. The women’s underwear line, which included pantyhose, launched in 1998. It was — like all those other Bic products — designed to be disposable. The problem is, most women aren’t really looking for disposable underwear. Nor are they planning to buy underwear from stores (or sections of stores) where Bic’s other products are sold; at least not unless it’s an emergency. The products — which never launched in the United States — quietly disappeared from overseas stores in 1999. We found a pair on eBay recently, if you’re still interested. 9. Lifesavers Soda Lifesavers have been around since 1912, but in the 1980s, Wrigley thought it might make a run at the beverage market with a candy-flavored soda. Sugar plus sugar — sounds like a sure thing for the go-go-go ’80s, right? Not so much. Some folks found the fizzy drink too sweet, like drinking “liquid candy,” and the product disappeared into the sugary chasm from whence it came. 10. Miller Beer In the mid-1990s, there was Budweiser and Coors, but while Miller Brewing Company had a variety of namesake beer brands — Miller High Life, Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft — it didn’t have a flagship mononym brew like the competition did. So in early 1996, Miller launched a new product, simply called “Miller,” which featured the company’s trademark against a red and blue background on a traditional brown bottle, calling it “different from any existing premium beer.” It didn’t go very well, coming up short on a company goal to hit 1% market share by the end of 1996, Milwaukee Business Journal reported in 1997, and the company soon took plain-old Miller off the shelves. 11. Gap logo redesign In October 2010, Gap executives apparently figured out how to use Photoshop, or at least whatever crude graphics program came preinstalled on their office computers, with the resulting logo looking liked it belonged on a cracked plastic sign outside an anonymous office park warehouse, instead of a huge national clothing retailer. Everyone hated it, because look at that thing — it’s “as bland and uninteresting as jeans and a black t-shirt,” as we wrote then. Only two days later, Gap scrapped the crap logo , saying, “We’ve heard loud and clear that you don’t like the new logo. We’ve learned a lot from the feedback. We only want what’s best for the brand and our customers.” 12. Kellogg’s Cereal Mates Portable cereal is not actually a bad idea. On-the-go breakfasts are popular. Cereal is popular. Putting the two together seems like a strong commercial idea and, indeed, your modern grocery store has a lot of different portable, single-serving options. Kellogg’s 1998 attempt, however, hit the sweet spot of “does not solve problem” and “too weird,” and failed miserably as a result. The packages — containing a single-serve sealed bowl of cereal, a box of milk, and a spoon — were advertised as something to find in the fridge case, to make your family’s chaotic morning easier. The thing is, cereal you keep in the fridge tastes kind of meh by the time you open it. And shelf-stable milk, while perfectly safe if properly packaged, continues to be a hard sell for most American shoppers. So Kellogg’s managed to capture the worst of both worlds — soft cereal and warm milk — while making the product too high-priced and redundant to use at home and too cumbersome to take on the road. 13. Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water Coors says its been brewing its beer with “pure rocky mountain spring water” since 1873, and in 1990, the company decided to take the alcohol out of the equation and just sell straight-up sparkling spring water. Despite the growing popularity of bottled water, many shoppers were confused by the company’s first non-alcoholic beverage since Prohibition , which featured a Coors logo just like its beer products. Coors abandoned the idea two years after launch. 14. Colgate’s Kitchen Entrees Food is something you are supposed to eat, and it makes your teeth dirty. Toothpaste is something you are not supposed to eat, and it makes your teeth clean. So you can get an immediate sense of why toothpaste-branded food was maybe doomed to failure. Frozen meals were all the rage in 1982, and you can see why Colgate-Palmolive wanted in on the trend. Much harder to understand is why they thought the Colgate toothpaste branding would help sell savory foods. Nobody wants their toothpaste to taste like stir-fry… or their stir-fry to taste like toothpaste. They did not last long on store shelves and quietly disappeared a few months thereafter. 15. Orbitz Soda Made by Clearly Canadian, Orbitz looked like a drinkable lava lamp: marketers touted the fruity soft drink filled with gelatinous spheres as a “ texturally enhanced alternative beverage ,” but many consumers just thought it was gross. The drink was shelved in 1997 a year after it debuted, while its name has been repurposed by a certain online travel booking company. 16. Frito-Lay WOW Chips If you don’t remember WOW chips, consider yourself luckier than many consumers who actually bought them… and whose bodies did not respond well to olestra, the fat substitute used to reduce the fat content of these chips. First introduced in 1998, Frito’s new idea was popular at the beginning, with WOW versions of Lay’s, Ruffles, Doritos, and Tostitos bringing in $400 million in sales. But by 2000, sales had dipped to $200 million, after many customers reported anal leakage caused by olestra. A new warning was added to packaging as well: “This Product Contains Olestra. Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added.” The chips were rebranded to “Light” around the same time, and WOW disappeared, leaving only painful, streaky memories behind. 17. Keurig KOLD While folks might love their single-serving coffee machines from Keurig, the company made a big mistake trying to compete with SodaStream. The Keurig KOLD was a soda-making machine that cost $370 when it was introduced in 2015 — and it fell flat. That is, if anyone actually bought it. Publié par Amazon Trying That Whole “Prime Day” Thing Again This Year Last year, Amazon tried inventing a holiday all for itself. The day was dubbed “Prime Day,” and it was to be a day full of irresistible sales and promotions for Prime Members. In the end, it was something of a wash. But Amazon, undeterred, is now making it an annual tradition. The online retail behemoth made the announcement today to anyone who logged in to see it, with a giant banner proclaiming July 12 to be the day of deals. Last year’s event, though, didn’t go exactly as they planned. It started rough , with deals that were not exactly inspirational or thrilling… and technical issues galore when users actually tried to buy the products. Then there was the flap over a TV sale that came and went so quickly that customers complained it had never existed at all and was a misleading ploy to draw people in. It wasn’t; the 40″ HD TV really did exist and really did sell for $115… it just also really did sell out in literal seconds, leaving bargain-hunters frustrated. Despite the frustration and negativity some customers expressed, though, the event was overall a win for the company. Amazon reported that sales were up by over 80% on Prime Day last year, and clearly that was enough motivation for them to pull a repeat this year. This time around, Amazon is also trying to engage customers to “prepare” in advance by following their Facebook page and downloading their mobile app. Even the most well-prepared deal seeker, though, should probably be prepared to face stiff competition for the top-billed items. There will probably be another cheap TV, but you’ll have to get lucky to get it. Publié par Despite efforts by the Department of Education to educate prospective college students about the burden of student loans, nearly two-thirds of students who took out loans to pay for college say they had no idea what they were signing up for . To fix this problem, it’s going to take more than making these students sit in a class about financial aid and student loans; it may require an overhaul of the entire college financing system.  Sure, the DOE and most colleges offer courses or, at the very least, online resources to inform students about the long-term obligations associated with taking out student loans, but those efforts likely aren’t enough. According to the results of a recent survey [ PDF ] from our colleagues at Consumer Reports , most students with loans felt the information they received through financial aid information sessions prior to enrolling in college wasn’t helpful. Of the students who took part in at least one financial aid counseling session, most reported that the financial aid officers they met with were not prepared for, or tasked with, helping students understand the reality and consequences of taking on student loan debt. For example, 27% of respondents said the information they received about debt management and consolidation assistance was not useful at all. Another 20% said they found the “information on how the different loans work and the interest accrual process” and “information on how loan repayment works and different repayment options” to be “not at all useful.” These feelings are likely the result of what some advocates feel is a largely automated financial aid information system. It’s generally up to each school to tell affected students how to complete this entrance counseling, according to the DOE. Colleges may, for example, require in-person counseling, or they may allow students to complete the counseling online through the school’s own financial aid office, or the DOE’s student aid office. That means there’s no way to objectively measure or monitor what students are getting out of this counseling. “There are only bare bones requirements under federal law, and in practice students appear to get varying levels of counseling depending on which schools they happen to attend,” Suzanne Martindale, staff attorney for Consumers Union, tells Consumerist. So how can the DOE, colleges, and advocates ensure that students are getting needed information to handle their financial situations before, during, and after graduation? Overhaul the system by creating clear, concise notification for borrowers. CU’s Martindale tells Consumerist that the advocacy group believes “it would certainly help if schools provided counseling that prioritized the student’s best financial interests.” This counseling would entail clear, standardized information with plain-language terms, similar to the DOE’s Financial Aid Shopping Sheet . That resource, created by the DOE and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and first made available for the 2013-2014 financial aid award year, has already been adopted by thousands of schools. The Shopping Sheet was created to be a consumer tool that participating institutions could use to notify students about their financial aid package. It’s designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid so that they can easily compare institutions and make informed decisions about where to attend school. Martindale suggests that additional resources could include statistics of graduate outcomes. This would provide prospective students with information — based on their area of study — that may help them determine if taking out a loan for a certain major will be financially viable in the future. “But all the information in the world can’t fix an inherently unfair system,” Martindale points out, noting that more affordable and safe options need to be made available to students. “For those who do borrow money, we also need to ensure that they are treated fairly while repaying their loans – that’s why we have called on the federal government to make improvements to the education loan servicing industry.” Publié par FDA: Stop Eating Raw Cookie Dough Or Making Home-Made Play-Dough For Now For years, raw chocolate chip cookie dough was a forbidden treat. Everyone said — rightly or wrongly — that you shouldn’t consume it because the uncooked eggs could make you sick. Then came special commercial dough preparations that worked around that, and there was much rejoicing (and many ice cream sales). But now, alas, cookie dough is back off the table, as are any other uncooked treats… and this time, it’s all down to the flour. You know how we’re in the midst of that nationwide E. Coli outbreak linked to now-recalled General Mills (Gold Medal) flour? Yeah. This is another piece of fallout from that. Because consuming contaminated flour without cooking it first is a great way to get yourself some E. Coli, and that is a thing you do not want. That’s why the FDA this week has published a consumer advisory telling consumers to quit licking the spoon already during baking time, among other things. Specifically, they advise against eating, handling, or playing with any raw dough or batter that contains flour in it at this time, and that’s a broad category — way more than just cookies. Rolling out a home-made pizza, pie, or tortilla? Stirring up a cake or brownie batter? Wash your hands, don’t lick that spoon, and be super careful. The advice also includes any home-made dough for kids’ “flour crafts,” as well as any lumps of dough kids may be handed at restaurants — doubly important, since toddlers are not exactly known for their overall hand-washing skills and are fairly likely to gnaw on basically anything just because they can. The good news is: the commercially-made stuff is still okay, so you can go buy a pint of cookie dough ice cream and gobble it down to your heart’s content. Industrially-produced cookie dough is (or at least, should be) made with both pasteurized eggs and treated flour. Along with their warning, the FDA offers advice on how to handle foods safely and a description of E Coli symptoms. Publié par Coca-Cola Will Pull Some Products From Shelves In Vermont Instead Of Adding GMO Labels The date when food items that contain ingredients from genetically engineered plants or animals must be labeled to be sold in Vermont is almost here, and lawmakers haven’t managed to strike down the law yet , so food companies will have to print or add the information to items shipped to Vermont. Or they could do what Coca-Cola plans, and not ship the items for a while. Don’t fret, Vermont: the standard regular and diet drinks will still be available in Vermont. A Coca-Cola spokesperson said that some products will have information about genetically modified ingredients on the label, and others will have it added with a sticker. For less popular items, the company will do neither, and just temporarily stop sending them to Vermont. Keep in mind that competitor PepsiCo quietly started adding GMO labels to its own ingredients a few months ago, even in states where such labels aren’t required. Some other big food companies have made the same decision, including General Mills , Campbell Soup Co. , and Mars Inc. Other companies will find workarounds if they need to label their products, including simply slapping a sticker on the packaging for items that ship to Vermont. Window Blind Trade Group Agrees To Set Standards, Keep Kids From Cords You might not think of window blinds as something dangerous, but they pose a risk to children, who can entangle themselves in the cords and be strangled. An average of one child every month has strangled to death on the cord to a window covering for the last few decades. Why hasn’t the window covering industry invented something better and safer than a long piece of string to raise and lower our blinds? An industry group announced today that they will figure one out. While there aren’t really child strangulation advocates out there, Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have taken up the cause, last month sending a letter to the Window Coverings Manufacturers Association, the trade group for, yes, window coverings. The process from here is bureaucratic, but the result will be the trade group working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and their counterparts in Canada to develop a voluntary standard for Safety advocates have flagged the sometimes long cords that go with window blinds as a safety hazard and encouraged a safer alternative other than pinning cords up with a binder clip since 1981. While some retailers simply don’t carry window coverings with cords, that doesn’t remove them from the market. “The performance standard created by such an approach will result in the vast majority of window products sold in the U.S. being cordless or having inaccessible cords,” WCMA executive director Ralph Vasami said in a statement. Publié par Visa Sues Walmart In Response To Lawsuit Over Security Of Debit Card Authorizations Last month, Walmart sued Visa , accusing the card network of pushing the retailer to use a less-secure method of verifying debit card transactions. Now Visa is firing back with a lawsuit of its own, claiming the nation’s largest retailer is violating its contract by setting up payment terminals so that they can only accept the more secure form of validation.  At issue is the “PIN” part of the new chip-and-PIN debit cards being rolled out nationwide. Historically, third-party PIN networks have offered more affordable methods for retailers to confirm that the person using the card is the account-holder. Visa believes that the embedded chip and the (more costly) verification provided by its network is sufficient, and has been accused of throwing its weight around to force retailers to not use the third-party PIN networks. However, in the lawsuit filed by Visa today in a New York state court, the card company claims that Walmart violated its contract with Visa by secretly reconfiguring payment terminals to only accept PIN confirmation for transactions even if customers prefer a signature confirmation. According to the lawsuit [ PDF ], the contract negotiated the between the retailer and card issuer required Walmart to give customers the choice of using PIN or signature to confirm transactions. However, when Walmart reconfigured terminals in February, they prevented customers from being able to use signatures. “Indeed, at the time of (the contract’s) execution, Walmart had already hatched a plan to eliminate the signature option at its physical locations shortly after the effective date,” the countersuit states. Visa says in the complaint that Walmart never notified it that the retailer would be eliminating the signature choice. Instead, the company only found out about the change through customer complaints. “Visa received complaints from cardholders, lost revenue due to missed transactions, and suffered damage to its reputation and brand,” the suit states. After weeks of correspondence, Visa says Walmart ultimately modified its terminals to once again provide cardholders the opportunity to verify their identity with a signature. However, Visa claims that instead of focusing on the contract, the retailer is attempting to find justification for its actions in regulations that don’t actually “apply to, let alone permit, the contract-breaching conduct.” “Walmart continues to take the position that it is entitled to make PIN the exclusive means of verification for Visa debit transactions at its terminals,” the suit states. “Walmart is wrong, and Visa is entitled to a declaration that Walmart must provide Visa cardholders with a mechanism to process their Visa-branded debit card transactions without a PIN.” Back in May, Walmart filed a lawsuit against Visa accusing the company of suggesting it verify transactions made with certain debit cards with signatures rather than a PIN in order to route the transactions through its own networks. “The parties’ dispute exists because Walmart implemented a ‘chip-and-PIN’ protocol for debit card transactions: when consumers presented a debit card with an embedded computer chip for payment, Walmart required consumers to insert their card into a terminal that could read the computer chip and then required consumer to enter a Personal Identification Number to verify their identities,” the complaint states. Walmart contends that PIN verification is “much more secure than signature verification.” However, Visa believes that Walmart should be required to use the more “fraud-prone system of signature verification,” the retailer says in its complaint. These transactions would then be routed across Visa’s debit network rather than competitor networks of Walmart’s choice. More recently, both Home Depot and Kroger have filed similar lawsuits against Visa over allegedly being forced to exclude PIN verification. Publié par Sam’s Club Forgot To Tell Some Employees About Their Clever Costco Promotion Last Monday was an important day in retail history, and we’re not being sarcastic: it was the day that Costco switched its credit card acceptance policy from only accepting American Express to only accepting Visa . The transition didn’t go smoothly for some members , and national competitor Sam’s Club decided to take advantage of the confusion and try to win over some of those members. Unfortunately, some employees didn’t know about this. Reader Megan decided to visit her local Sam’s Club, bringing her two young kids along. Only no one at the store had heard about the promotion. “The card checker at the door was rude, told me I was at the wrong store, and was absolutely incredulous that Sam’s would ‘just let people from Costco in’,” she wrote to Consumerist. “I had to go wait in line at member services and actually had to show someone an ad about the promotion before they would let me in.” That was just getting in the door to look around. Megan was under the impression that Costco members could make purchases, too. That also took some wrangling and the assistance of a few employees, and she had to pay a 10% non-member surcharge. “I didn’t even know that was a thing,” she grumbled. Megan wasn’t alone: other shoppers shared their stories on the Facebook post where they originally learned about the promotion. We checked with Sam’s Club, and they confirmed: The promotion is real. You can get in the club with your Costco card. You can make purchases and should not have to pay the 10% non-member surcharge, like Megan did. The promotion lasts through July 4, 2016. Publié par FDA Wants Proof That Antibacterial Hand-Sanitizing Products Are Actually Effective While you may have a personal choice of antibacterial hand-sanitizing product to wipe, slather, and squirt your way to germ-free mitts, there’s one thing all those products all have in common: they should actually work. The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a rule that would have manufacturers submitting scientific data on the efficacy of their products, with a focus on gels, rubs, towelettes, and other similar over-the-counter products used to combat bacteria when washing your hands isn’t an option. The FDA says it doesn’t have any particular concerns over ingredients, but it wants to make sure it stays up on the latest sincere on the topic, especially because these products are so popular. “Today, consumers are using antiseptic rubs more frequently at home, work, school and in other public settings where the risk of infection is relatively low,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, noting that while the products are a convenient alternative to hand washing, it’s the FDA’s “responsibility to determine whether these products are safe and effective so that consumers can be confident when using them on themselves and their families multiple times a day.” “To do that, we must fill the gaps in scientific data on certain active ingredients,” Woodcock said. Specifically, the FDA wants more evidence about the safety of long-term, repeated exposure to these products, especially when pregnant women and children are using them. The industry will have 180 days to comment on the rules proposed Wednesday. In the meantime, manufacturers of the products will have a year to submit evidence that their products are safe when absorbed into the bloodstream, and that they do kill bacteria. The agency has already proposed such rules for antibacterial soaps used with water, and on hospital sanitizers. Publié par Monsanto Looking At “Strategic Options” After Rejecting Bayer’s $62B Bid A month after Monsanto deemed a $62 billion proposed merger bid from Bayer “ financially inadequate ,” the Missouri seed and pesticide giant is reportedly looking at its options after receiving less-than-stellar earning numbers.  Reuters reports that Monsanto is in talks with Bayer and other companies regarding “alternative strategic options” that could include a merger. Executives for Monsanto say the company has continued merger talks with Bayer after it rebuffed the smaller company’s merger bid, but that no deal has solidified. Additionally, the company says the options under consideration include combinations with other companies and businesses outside of Bayer. Any further deals could also involved businesses that were divested from the Dow/DuPont merger. “Monsanto remains the partner of choice in this industry and I assure you that we will continue to actively explore these opportunities,” Monsanto CEO Hugh “ No, Not That One ” Grant said. However, Reuters points out that Bayer and other companies may not be willing to put billions of dollars on the line until they take a look at Monsanto’s financials. The company recently revealed lower-than-expected sales for the sixth straight quarter. Analysts say those weak earnings only increase the chances of a merger or acquisition for Monsanto, however, it could come with a price tag below Bayer’s previous offer. Major Wireless Carriers Offering Free Calls, Texts To Turkey After Istanbul Airport Attack In the wake of a suspected terrorist attack at Istanbul’s airport that killed 41 people and wounded 239 more, the four major wireless carriers in the U.S. are offering to connect customers with their loved ones in Turkey for free. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint all announced that they’ll be waiving fees and charges for texts and calls between the U.S. and Turkey over the next few days. Verizon : Wireless users won’t rack up charges for texts or international long distance calls originating from the U.S. to Turkey through June 29. In addition, home wireline telephone customers can make free calls to Turkey on those days as well. “More than 170,000 Verizon employees worldwide extend condolences to all our friends and family in Turkey,” the company said. AT&T : AT&T will waive or credit charges incurred for consumer or business calls placed by AT&T’s customers from the U.S. to Turkey between June 28, 2016 to June 30, 2016 (in the local time zone). That includes “landline, texting, and mobility (Postpaid and GoPhone) calls.” “Our thoughts are with the people of Istanbul and our customers who have friends and family there,” the company said. T-Mobile : T-Mobile is offering free texts and calls from the U.S. to Turkey for all T-Mobile Simple Choice prepaid and postpaid customers, as well as customers of MetroPCS, GoSmart Mobile, and Walmart Family Mobile, between June 28 and July 5. “Today’s attack in Istanbul is both tragic and horrifying,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “Our hearts are with everyone affected by this senseless act.” Sprint : Sprint is waiving all international long distance, roaming, and SMS charges to and from Turkey for all Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile customers, through July 5. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those personally affected during this difficult time,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “We want to do everything we can to show our support and heartfelt sympathy to all Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Virgin Mobile customers with family and friends in the region.” Publié par Rumor: Verizon To Announce Rollover Data, “Unlimited” No-Overage Option on July 1 Remember back when candy bar phones and flip phones were the hot new thing, and all the wireless providers jumped into the fray trying to offer you rollover minutes to come sign up with them? Well, if the rumor mill is to be believed, we might all be climbing on board the rollover train again… this time, in the data era. A thread has surfaced on Reddit in which Verizon Wireless employees are discussing some kind of “huge new promo” launching on Friday — July 1 — and trying to suss out what it is. The answer seems to be that Verizon has done a 180 on their adamant denial from last year and is going to start offering some kind of monthly data rollover plan to customers. In addition to the rollover data, Verizon is also rumored to be offering an alternative to overage fees: data throttling, in which you can still use your phone and connect to the internet when you’ve hit your data limit, but only very slowly. Customers who opt in to this “safety mode” would be swapped to the worse service when they hit their data cap, instead of paying $15 for each extra gig. An image from a Verizon test site going around indicates that all Verizon Wireless customers would be eligible for the rollover data “to the end of the following month,” which seems to imply an AT&T-style “use it or lose it” 30-day expiration scheme. If the image is to be believed, the throttling measure, “Safety Mode,” would be a free option for any “XL” (12 GB / $80) or “XXL” (18 GB / $100) plan, and subscribers with lower-volume data plans could opt into it for an additional $5 a month. This rumor is worth taking with an entire bucket full of salt; the sourcing is unknown and unverifiable. Still, it’s well within the bounds of plausibility. T-Mobile introduced a rollover data scheme in December of 2014 , and AT&T followed just a month later . Verizon has been adamant that they would do no such thing, with company CFO Fran Shammo saying in 2015 that Verizon is “a leader, not a follower” and “did not go to places where we did not financially want to go to save a customer.” But times change, and so does the mobile market: now that everyone has a phone, the way to get new customers is to pinch them from other providers. And maybe in 2016, rollover data is the carrot that Verizon needs to use to make that happen. Taco Bell Customer Allegedly Shoots At Store Over Forgotten Sour Cream It’s understandable that a customer may be a bit ticked off when their bag full of tacos doesn’t include everything they asked for at the drive-thru. But it is never acceptable to take that frustration out on an employee in a violent manner.  Police in Milwaukee say a customer, reportedly upset that his order didn’t include the sour cream he had asked for, allegedly pulled a gun and shot at the drive-thru window, WISN-TV reports. Management at the restaurant say the issue began around midnight on Monday when the customer ordered a meal through the drive-thru. After leaving with his order, the man became upset when he discovered an employee forgot to add sour cream. The customer then called the restaurant, by then closed, and a manager told him to come back the next day for a free meal. Unsatisfied with that directive, the man returned to the restaurant and shot at a bullet-proof window and an employee’s car. WISN reports that no one was injured in the incident and police are say the currently do not have the suspect in custody. There Were 3 Other IKEA Dresser Toddler Deaths Dating Back To 1989 While dressers and chests in IKEA’s Malm family have drawn attention this week for being recalled after the deaths of three children were linked to them , those aren’t the only deaths that dressers from IKEA alone have caused: other models of dresser are linked to an additional three deaths of children age three or under, and the first one was in 1989. A wide variety of pieces of furniture tip over and injure both adults and children: the stunning statistic publicized this week comes from a Consumer Product Safety Commission study of “product instability or tip-over injuries” that looked at reported injuries from 2000 to 2013. [ PDF ] An average of 38,000 people in the United States end up in emergency rooms as a result of these injuries every year, and an average of 430 people die every year. 84% of the people killed by falling or tipping furniture, appliances, or televisions are children under age 10. All dressers and chests from IKEA that don’t pass an industry standard (but voluntary) test have been recalled, and that includes other models that may also be in your home. Check the full recall list from IKEA, which includes dressers and chests from dozens of product lines. [ PDF ] Here, from the CPSC recall notice , are the three other incidents where small children were killed by other varieties of IKEA dressers: In July 1989, a 20-month-old girl from Mt. Vernon, Va. died after an unanchored GUTE 4-drawer chest tipped over and pinned her against the footboard of a youth bed. In March 2002, a 2½-year-old boy from Cranford, N.J. died after an unanchored RAKKE 5-drawer chest tipped over and fatally pinned him to the floor. In October 2007, a 3-year-old girl from Chula Vista, Calif. died after a KURS 3-drawer chest tipped over and fatally pinned her to the floor. It is unknown as to whether the dresser was anchored or not. If your furniture has securely been anchored against the wall, you don’t have to do anything. If you are unable to anchor the item to the wall or uncomfortable doing so, or if you want to get rid of the piece of furniture altogether, contact IKEA at (866) 856-4532 for assistance. Xbox Fitness Users Ticked Off That Microsoft Is Rendering Purchased Content Unusable If you’ve bought workout videos to use with Xbox Fitness, better get those squats and lunges in now: Microsoft announced it’ll be phasing out the app over the next year, ticking off customers who paid for content in the process. For those unfamiliar, Xbox Fitness was launched in 2013 along with the Xbox One console as a Kinect-linked app that could, effectively, watch users as they exercised and evaluate their performance. It came with a slew of free titles for users with Microsoft Live Gold accounts, as well as content that could be purchased upfront. Microsoft said this week (h/t Ars Technica ) that Xbox Fitness will be no more, but it didn’t announce any kind of compensation program for users who won’t be able to access their purchased content when the sunsetting process is complete. “Given the service relies on providing you with new and exciting content regularly, Microsoft has given much consideration to the reality of updating the service regularly in order to sustain it,” Microsoft’s Erica Bell wrote in the announcement. “Therefore, the decision has been made to scale back our support for Xbox Fitness over the next year… While our team is saddened by this news, we couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished in the past two and a half years.” The process is already underway, as Xbox Fitness content has been unavailable for purchase since Monday. The next change will come Dec. 15, 2016, when Gold subscribers will no longer have access to the “Free with Gold” offer that allowed access to 30+ workouts available to stream. And in yet another example of the reality of buying something you can’t actually hold, only to find it unusable one day, on July 1, 2017, Xbox Fitness “(and all associated content) will no longer be available for download/play.” “This includes content you’ve purchased,” Microsoft clarifies. “At that time, Xbox Fitness will no longer be available for download from Xbox Marketplace and content will not be available for play from the Xbox Marketplace nor within the game. Xbox Fitness users will no longer be able access Xbox Fitness and the associated workouts/programs.” Users are not happy, to say the least, expressing their frustrations on the sunsetting announcement page itself, as well as elsewhere online like Reddit . “I bought 140$+ worth of content just this year… …I don’t want a refund, I want to be able to continue to use what I PAID for !!!!!!!!!!!” one user wrote . “Come on Microsoft, play it fair,” said another . “Either let us download and use our purchased XBOX Fitness content forever or refund all the purchases. Who is going to trust content providers now and make online purchases as opposed to physical media e.g. book, DVD, BluRay that you’ve got to keep and use forever?” “This really bothers me,” a Redditor wrote . “I get so much good use out of Xbox Fitness and it’s become a staple of my week. Hopefully they do something to make up for the non-usable software. “Good ‘ol Microsoft. Come out with something that differentiates itself from the competition, then scrap it (Kinect and now Xbox Fitness),” another said . “Really makes me think twice before buying any peripheral from them in the future.” We’ve reached out to Microsoft to see if the company has any plans for compensating customers for their purchased Xbox Fitness content, and will update this post when we hear back. Publié par

i don't know

In what year was the first Nobel Peace Prize actually awarded, ostensibly to someone who earned it?

Facts on the Nobel Peace Prizes Lists of Nobel Prizes and Laureates Lists of Nobel Prizes and Laureates Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Learn more about the Nobel Peace Prize from 1901 to 2016. Number of Nobel Peace Prizes 97 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on 19 occasions: in 1914-1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939-1943, 1948, 1955-1956, 1966-1967 and 1972. Why were the Peace Prizes not awarded in those years? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: "If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation's restricted funds." During World War I and II, fewer Nobel Prizes were awarded. Shared and Unshared Nobel Peace Prizes 66 Peace Prizes have been given to one Laureate only. 29 Peace Prizes have been shared by two Laureates. 2 Peace Prizes have been shared between three persons. The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, and the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman. Why is that? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: "A prize amount may be equally divided between two works, each of which is considered to merit a prize. If a work that is being rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them jointly. In no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons." Number of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates * The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 130 Laureates - to 104 individuals and 26 organizations. Since Comité International de la Croix Rouge (International Committee of the Red Cross) was awarded three times and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded twice there are 104 individuals and 23 organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 1981 One Peace Prize Laureate Declined the Nobel Peace Prize The Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho , awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, is the only person who has declined the Nobel Peace Prize. They were both awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason. The Vietnam Conflict (1959-1975), was fought between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the United States-supported Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Southern and American forces were defeated and the war ended with unification of Vietnam under the communist government of the North. Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo Posthumous Nobel Peace Prizes There is one posthumous Nobel Peace Prize, to Dag Hammarskjöld in 1961. From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize was also awarded posthumously to Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931). Surprise Nobel Peace Prize Laureate? Many believe that Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but he was actually awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature. In fact, Churchill was nominated both for the Literature Prize and for the Nobel Peace Prize. Explore the nomination database for the Nobel Prizes Peace Prize Laureates and their Fields The most common field for Nobel Peace Prize Laureates is the peace movement. It is the field for 39 Nobel Laureates. List of Peace Prize Laureates and Fields Nominated Individuals for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sends out thousands of letters inviting a qualified and select number of people to submit their nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The names of the nominees cannot be revealed until 50 years later, but the Nobel Peace Prize committee does reveal the number of nominees each year. The Norwegian Nobel Committee received valid nominations of 376 different individuals and organizations for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. 148 of these were organizations, and 228 are persons. The Nobel Committees in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Committee in Economic Sciences each usually receives 250-300 names every year. Nobel Peace Prizes and Nominations in 100 Years The 109 awarded individuals and organizations over the first one hundred years of the Nobel Peace Prize (1901-2001), and the 4857 nominees, can be distributed geographically and by organization as shown below: For more information, have a look at the Conflict Map, covering 1901-2001 Nominated but not Awarded The three most common searches on individuals in the Nobel Peace Prize nomination database are Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi and Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin, the Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953), was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 and 1948 for his efforts to end World War II. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the strongest symbols of non-violence in the 20th century, was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and, finally, shortly before he was assassinated in January 1948. Although Gandhi was not awarded the Prize (a posthumous award is not allowed by the statutes), the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to make no award that year on the grounds that "there was no suitable living candidate". Read more about "the missing Laureate" Adolf Hitler was nominated once in 1939. Incredulous though it may seem today, the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939, by a member of the Swedish parliament, an E.G.C. Brandt. Apparently though, Brandt never intended the nomination to be taken seriously. Brandt was to all intents and purposes a dedicated antifascist, and had intended this nomination more as a satiric criticism of the current political debate in Sweden. (At the time, a number of Swedish parliamentarians had nominated then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin for the Nobel Peace Prize, a nomination which Brandt viewed with great skepticism. ) However, Brandt's satirical intentions were not well received at all and the nomination was swiftly withdrawn in a letter dated 1 February 1939. Other statesmen and national leaders who were nominated but not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Czechoslovakia: Thomas G. Masaryk, Edvard Benes, Great Britain: Neville Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Ramsay MacDonald, Winston Churchill USA: the presidents William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman & Dwight D. Eisenhower; the foreign ministers Charles Hughes, John Foster Dulles France: Pierre Mendès-France Argentina: Juan and Eva Peron India: Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Finland: Juho Kusti Paasikivi Italy: Benito Mussolini Artists nominated but not awarded the Peace Prize: Leo Tolstoy (Russian author), E.M. Remarque (German author), Pablo Casals (Spanish Catalan cellist and later conductor), Nicholas Roerich. Nominees not primarily known for their peace work: John Maynard Keynes, British economist. Pierre de Coubertin, French pedagogue and historian best known for founding the International Olympic Committee. Lord Baden-Powell, Lieutenant-General in the British Army, writer, founder of the Scout Movement. Maria Montessori, best known for her philosophy and method of educating children from birth to adolescence. Her educational method is still in use today in a number of public as well as private schools throughout the world. Royal nominees: Tsar Nikolai II (1901), Prince Carl of Sweden (1919), King Albert I of Belgium (1922), Emperor Haile Selassi of Ethiopia (1938), King Paul I of Greece (1950), Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1951). To be nominated for a Nobel Prize is not an official endorsement or extended honour to imply affiliation with the Prize or its related institutions. Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize require no invitation and can be submitted from all corners of the world to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The broad eligibility of nominators means thousands of people – with no affiliation to the Nobel Committee – can put forward a name and motivate their opinion of why they consider a candidate worthy. This is what differs the selection process for the Nobel Peace Prize from many other prizes where awarding committees or academies select all the nominees as well as the winner. How many Times Can someone Be Nominated? Jane Addams was nominated 91 times between 1916 and 1931, when she was finally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By contrast Emily Green Balch , Fridtjof Nansen and Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize the first year that they were nominated. Search the nomination database for the Nobel Prizes Why a Norwegian Committee for the Nobel Peace Prize? All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. The founder of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel, was a Swedish cosmopolitan. In his will, he declared that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded by a Norwegian committee. When Alfred Nobel was alive, Norway and Sweden were united under one monarch, until 1905 when Norway became an independent kingdom. More about the Norwegian Nobel Committee The Nobel Peace Prize Medal The Nobel Peace Prize Medal was designed by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland and shows Alfred Nobel in a pose slightly different from that of the other medals. Read more about the Nobel Peace Prize Medal The Nobel Diplomas Each Nobel Diploma is a unique work of art, created by foremost Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers. More about the Nobel Diplomas The Nobel Prize Amount Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 1,702 million) to be converted into a fund and invested in "safe securities." The income from the investments was to be "distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind." The Nobel Prize amount for 2016 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 8.0 million per full Nobel Prize. More about the Nobel Prize Amount * Why are the individuals and organisations awarded a Nobel Prize called Nobel Laureates? The word "Laureate" refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the god Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. A laurel wreath is a circular crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel (in Latin: Laurus nobilis). In Ancient Greece, laurel wreaths were awarded to victors as a sign of honour - both in athletic competitions and in poetic meets. Links to more facts on the Nobel Prizes:

1901

How old must you be to serve on a jury in the city of Seattle?

How Did the Nobel Prize Become the Biggest Award on Earth? | WIRED How Did the Nobel Prize Become the Biggest Award on Earth? subscribe 6 months for $5 - plus a FREE Portable Phone Charger. On Twitter 8 hours A comedy about the apocalypse—penned by @neilhimself —is slated for 2018. So there's that to look forward to at least bit.ly/2jcWNvp Author: Nick Stockton. Nick Stockton Science Date of Publication: 10.07.14. Time of Publication: 1:14 pm. 1:14 pm How Did the Nobel Prize Become the Biggest Award on Earth? Alfred Nobel. Nobel Foundation The Nobel Prize is a big deal. Want to know how I know? Because the Nobels are constantly invoked to signal the importance of other awards: The Turing Award is the “Nobel Prize of Computers,” the Pritzker Prize is the “Nobel Prize of Architecture,” and geography’s “Nobel” is named after the guy who named America after Amerigo Vespucci. In mathematics, the Abel Award and the Fields Medal compete over which is more worthy of a Nobel comparison. The Nobel Prize might as well be called the “Nobel Prize of Comparisons for Other Awards.” But how did it get this status? Like the winner of a decathlon, the Nobel Prize stands out for its superiority on a combination of factors, beginning with its unique origins, says Harriet Zuckerman, sociology professor emerita of Columbia University and author of Scientific Elite , a history of the Nobel Prizes. From the beginning, the Nobel Prize attracted public attention in a way that no other scientific award had. It all began with a journalistic error. In 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly wrote that Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, had died. It was actually his brother, Ludvig, who had passed. But, in addition to lackluster fact checking, the paper commemorated the event with defamatory prose: “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday,” it wrote. Nobel, it is said, was crushed by the idea that he’d be remembered as a “merchant of death.” In order to regain control of his legacy, he willed his fortune to create an award that would recognize people who had made positive contributions to mankind. Alfred Nobel was a celebrity, famous not only for his destructive invention, but also his reclusiveness. His will was made public a year after his death. The surprise announcement sparked a lot of interest from the outset, says Gustav Källstrand, senior curator at the Nobel Museum. “The fact that the inventor of dynamite had entrusted his money to create a peace prize, among other things, got a lot of people interested in the prize,” he said. The Nobel also attracted a lot of attention because of its huge cash prize. Scientists had been awarded medals, money, and even titles (How about a knighthood, Sir Isaac?) since at least the early Renaissance. But none of those awards came close to the Nobel’s purse. In the early days, it was worth about 20 years of an academic salary, and was the prototypical “genius award” that allowed scholars to freely pursue their interests. The prize money also gave the public a concrete way to comprehend what were (and still are) esoteric scientific discoveries, says Källstrand, who wrote a dissertation on how the Nobel became a bridge between science and society. The money showed the public that these prizes were important, he says, and that the people who won them must also be important and worth attention. From its initial buzz through its gilded sheen, the prize eventually earned a reputation for selecting notable awardees. That prestige was earned due to the methodology established by the first Nobel panels of judges in 1901. Källstrand says that the members of the academy at that time were nervous to be the center of international attention. In 1897, after Nobel’s will had been made public, the New York Times predicted that the prize would bring Sweden more trouble than glory, as the country would be resigned to the politics of picking favorites. In order to protect themselves from the ridicule of choosing the wrong people, the judges decided to solicit recommendations from the international scientific community. That year, and every year following, a 5-member committee for each prize solicited and reviewed thousands of nominations. “It is very clear that they do careful research, and that they get an enormous amount of information from those who make the nomination,” said Zuckerman. After rigorous culling, the committee handed the selection over to either the Swedish Royal Society of Sciences (for chemistry and physics), or the Karolinska Institute (for medicine), who make the final determination for the year’s winner. The system gives the committee a strong sense of what the scientific community thinks. Another strength is that the committee members are allowed to be as honest as they need to be in their selection criteria. “The evaluations are secret for 50 years, so they also can write what they really think without anyone finding out ,” said Agneta Wallin Levinovitz, editor in chief of Nobelprize.org , the prize’s official website. Obviously, they don’t always get it right. Even barring esoteric disciplinary quibbles, the committee has made mistakes that are pretty obvious in hindsight—like the time the medicine award went to the guy who invented lobotomies , or when the physics panel thought innovations in lighthouse design  warranted science’s highest award. But, for the most part, Nobel-winning discoveries have been tentpoles in the scientific circus. “The very, very good choices they made early on lent a luster to the awards, so they were able to transfer to people whose reputations might not be so stellar,” said Zuckerman. This is also due to the fact that the selection committees typically leave a long time after a discovery is made before awarding it a prize. The only limit is that the award must go to living recipients. This gives the committees the luxury of observing how influential a discovery actually is, and whether it is able to survive past any initial hype. Zuckerman and Källstrand point out that there are, of course, other minor contributing factors. These include the scientific prize’s association with the Nobels for peace and literature. And the fact that the prizes are awarded by Sweden and Norway, countries that have, for the most part, been on the periphery of scientific discovery. “If you look at the factors that have made the prize important, I think that tradition has now replaced money, and tradition is based on decisions that have held up throughout the century,” said Källstrand. But that doesn’t mean that there is any less pressure on the Nobel committee to select worthy winners. “In the past, you had committee members who gave Einstein and Heisenberg the prizes. Today, they have to hold up that responsibility to give away the prize to equally deserving people,” said Källstrand.

i don't know

Which entertainment icon, with a 20 year career on television, is poised to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine next month?

stumbleupon Email Comment Playboy magazine is famous for two things; Hugh Hefner and naked, stunning women. The first issue was published in 1953 and it was such a success that it sold out almost instantly. More than 1.5 million copies are sold a year and in 2010 the Playboy brand generated an annual revenue of $210 million. During its vintage days, Marilyn Monroe even stripped down to nothing for a coveted spot in the magazine. By 1970, it had become the very first gentleman’s magazine to be printed in Braille. The rabbit logo has become one of the most recognised icons and titles on top shelves around the world. Anyone who’s given the opportunity to appear will reap the benefits of instant fame and access to some of the biggest and loudest parties at the Playboy Mansion. The coveted title of Playmate Of The Year has been won by models ever since 1957. The tradition of Playboy has been called out-dated and past-it by some, but there are still plenty of young women throwing their clothes off for the chance to appear on it’s pages. One thing for which Playboy is famous is convincing celebrities to, literally, reveal all. With names like Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra , Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss gracing the front covers like goddesses, Playboy is well known for exclusive, erotic photo shoots. Some other huge names attached to the publication are less widely remembered, most likely  brushed under the carpet now and kept hush hush by their PR teams. These are 20 celebrities you may have forgotten graced the covers of the original top-shelf mag. 20. Eva Herzigova via playboyblog.com The Czech born model and actress Eva Herzigova is most famous for her ‘Hello, Boys’ Wonderbra publicity campaign in 1994. It is more uncommonly known that the 5ft 11 inches beauty also got the cover and several pages in Playboy’s August 2004 issue, ten years after her famous campaign but still looking great and in shape. Models are known best for being paid to wear clothes not necessarily take them off but with her estimated worth currently at over $8million it hasn’t done her career any known damage at all. 19. Marge Simpson via justjared.com There have been cover girls for Playboy all different shapes and sizes, but when Marge Simpson graced the cover November 2009 and she featured in suggestive photos inside the issues. There were even doughnuts involved for the true The Simpsons but the majority of the pictures were safe for work as not even Marge would bare all for the issue. She did, however, feature her measurements. With hair included she stands at 6′ 6″ and measures exactly 26″-26″-26″ and her turn offs include ‘slim men who work out regularly’. It’s safe to assume Homer breathed a sigh of relief at that. 18. Charisma Carpenter Charisma Carpenter won fans worldwide when she appeared in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. She wanted to make the transition from television to film but it wasn’t looking great, as no big Hollywood features were snapping her up from casting calls. But her stunning looks did land her the cover of Playboy in 2004, and thanks to her role on Angel she was featured on many ‘hot babe’ lists, which really gave her the boost she was looking for. 17. Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett ’s entire career was full of constant requests to do nudity, she didn’t give in and kept her body under wraps until the age of 48 when she decided that if she was finally going to get naked then it would be for Playboy. In the December 1995 issue the Charlie’s Angels icon did the shoot. She had previously appeared on the cover 17 years earlier but she was not nude in the actual feature instead it was a ‘holiday pictorial’ and the star held onto her bikini top and bottoms. 16. Denise Richards In December 2004 the Starship Troopers actress, Denise Richards , was in a turbulent relationship with Charlie Sheen and had a five-month-old daughter with the actor. Showing to the world that women can still have killer figures even after childbirth she took the self-esteem boosting step of shooting for Playboy magazine. Her ten page spread of ‘erotic nudes’ was a far cry from her America’s sweetheart image. Showing off her full potential as a sex symbol strengthened her career and she became one of the world’s most desirable women. 15. Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty , who played Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210, appeared in Playboy magazine twice; once in 1994 and then again in 2003.  She didn’t have the best of reputations, and constant arguments with other cast members saw her eventually booted off the show. Her appearance in the Playboy magazine in December 2003 saw her featured in a 10-page nude pictorial. She played up to her ‘bad girl’ image both on-screen and off-screen. 14. Lizzy Jagger Mick Jagger is one man you would not want to be upsetting, so looking at his daughter, Lizzy, fully exposed in Playboy may have disastrous consequences if he ever found out you had bought a copy of the June 2011 issue. Perhaps it was a career boosting move, or a rebellion against her parents, but in this case it was like mother, like daughter: In 1985, Jerry Hall had her own spread in Playboy too. Could it be that grabbing a Playboy cover is a right of passage for any young model? 13. Daryl Hannah In 2003 Daryl Hannah re-invented her career by taking the role of Elle Driver in Kill Bill, which was far from the image that kick-started her career as a mermaid in Splash. She also took to the front cover of Playboy in 2003, looking more elegant than even the sexiest assassin. She didn’t have full faith that this role would resurrect her career so decided to go one step further and pose nude to get the world talking about her again. It certainly worked and Quentin Tarantino appeared in the same issue. His was an interview only, though – no pictures thankfully. 12. Madonna No woman on earth knows quite how to shock like Madonna ; she has been the mastermind behind the iconic cone bra, sexually graphic performances and banned, erotic music videos. Despite all this everyone was still taken aback when she would be featured in Playboy magazine. In 1985, Madonna was on the verge of becoming a huge celebrity when the magazine published some old nude photos of the star. The Like A Virgin singer graced the cover and celebrated the nude shots. 11. Tricia Helfer In 2007 everyone’s favourite humanoid from Battlestar Galactica took to the front page of Playboy’s special Love Issue. Fans of the TV series everywhere rejoiced as she shed her Cylon Number 6 suit. The Canadian model and actress won two Scream Awards for both Breakout Performance and Best Television Actress but she certainly had fans screaming for a whole different reason with this sizzling photo shoot. 10. Jenny McCarthy  When Jim Carrey first starting dating Jenny McCarthy in 2005 he probably couldn’t believe his luck. When McCarthy’s career was in its earlier years she posed for Playboy in America and Germany. This seemed to be an attempt to grow her profile throughout the world as one hot woman people should be paying attention to and it worked. She isn’t known as a woman who really cares about the opinion of others and in her shoot this really showed in her, um, personality. Hair tossed back and allowing the camera to see all of her, it’s no wonder she rose to become a huge household name shortly afterwards. 9. Cindy Crawford In July 1988 Cindy Crawford  took to the front cover of Playboy, but not for the first time or just in the US as she graced the cover again in 1998. The 5 foot 9 inches model measured at 34″-25.5″-36″, and both of her pictorials were taken by American fashion photograph Herbert ‘Herb’ Ritts Jr. She was once the highest paid supermodel on the planet and is now worth $18 million. In her hey-day Mens Health magazine also named her one of the 100 Hottest Women of All-Time. When she was still the hottest of hot property, this cover shoot was a serious coup for the men’s mag. 8. Charlize Theron  Charlize Theron  is well known for her award winning role in Monster, going unkempt and make-up free as she portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos. This was a far cry from her stunning Playboy cover from 1999 when the then emerging actress posed nude for the magazine. Not known to be a woman who hides her sexuality or is shy at the opportunity for a provocative photo shoot, she still turns some heads when people realise she once did Playboy. Sean Penn is Theron’s current beau; he’s one lucky man, as his ex-wife Madonna also appeared on this list, linking him romantically to two hot Playboy celebrity cover girls. 7. Elle Macpherson In 1994 the stunning model Elle Macpherson  went nude, apart from sheer tights, for the Playboy cover – with her arms suggestively covering her chest. She had already secured her place as one of the world’s most beautiful women and the shoot only served to backed this up. The secret behind gaining a figure like Elle ‘The Body’ Macpherson? She enjoys a variety of sports including hiking, biking, swimming, waterskiing and Zumba. In European issues of the magazine she even went topless showing her chest completely, generously sharing her famous body with the world. 6. Anna Faris Anna Faris is a rare breed of a woman; funny, beautiful, smart and filthy. When promoting the 2008 movie House Bunny, which saw her playing the sexy Playboy bunny who is thrown out the famous mansion by a jealous rival, she graced the cover of the magazine too. If she was going to act like a Playboy bunny then she might as well have become one. She is now married to Chris Pratt  and has a young son with the actor, but the funny lady was a choice for the cover that caught everyone by surprise. The blonde bombshell proved she’s the kind of person who is really up for just about anything.  5. Dita Von Teese  The world’s most famous burlesque dancer, Dita Von Teese , and former wife of Marilyn Manson has posed for Playboy several times. Known for her picture perfect pin-up physique, she has commented that she was inspired into a career of glamour modelling by looking at old issues of her Dad’s Playboy when she was younger. Dita Von Teese actually got her name from the Playboy shoots; every model who poses for the magazine is required to have a surname, although at the time she was known only as Dita. She chose ‘Von Treese’ after picking it out from a phone book, but it was misspelled on the cover as Von Teese. It has been her chosen stage name ever since. 4. Lindsay Lohan  When Lindsay Lohan first announced that she would be appearing on the cover of Playboy for the January/February 2012 issue, there were comments around the world that she was causing even more damage to her flagging career which saw her constantly in trouble with the law for drink and drugs charges. Her pictorial, however, was surprisingly classy. She did the shoot in the style of Marilyn Monroe’s The Last Sitting with a mop of blonde hair as tribute. The shoot was leaked online a month before the magazine was due on shelves and all the uncensored pictures went viral. Still waiting for a big movie comeback, Playboy didn’t harm Lohan’s career but it didn’t motivate the anticipated comeback. 3. Sharon Stone  In 1990, Sharon Stone became a household name for two reasons: She appeared in Total Recall, and she wore next to nothing in the July issue of Playboy. The timing of these two events was seen as a positive PR move for Stone and two years later she landed the role in Basic Instinct and performed ‘That Leg Crossing Scene.’ She had Hollywood hot under the collar, but this was not a one-off for Stone as she posed again for the Christmas Issue cover – timing it well with the release of Basic Instinct. So gracing the cover of Playboy was how she would promote her movies? As one of Hollywood’s most recognisable women, it worked. 2. Naomi Campbell Naomi Campbell is one of the most well known models in the world, currently worth $48 million. But not even this Queen of Glamour could turn down the tempting offer to pose for Playboy. She was a regular at the notorious Playboy Mansion parties, so Hugh Hefner most likely propositioned the supermodel personally himself. The 5ft 9inches beauty appeared in pure white gift wrap for the Christmas 1999 issue. During the 90’s she was every man’s dream girl and would definitely have sat high at the top of any wish list. The headline on the cover screamed out from the shelves ‘Naomi Campbell – completely nude’ which sent it flying off the shelves.  1. Drew Barrymore Drew Barrymore ’s career has been a roller coaster of highs and lows. From child star to tortured teen, the silver screen goddess to a rumoured has-been and now she has changed her life to become a devoted Mother. If there is one woman in Hollywood you could say has seen every side of fame then it would have to be Barrymore. Many are unaware that she took her clothes off for the magazine back in 1995 when her career was moving back up into A-List territory: It was a tough job for her PR team to brush this event under the carpet. Still, the images endure and fans can still look back at the prolific, wealthy actress in her young, frivolous photoshoot. 29 Shares

Marge Simpson

Located in North Africa, Libya is the only country with a one color flag. What color is it?

stumbleupon Email Comment Playboy magazine is famous for two things; Hugh Hefner and naked, stunning women. The first issue was published in 1953 and it was such a success that it sold out almost instantly. More than 1.5 million copies are sold a year and in 2010 the Playboy brand generated an annual revenue of $210 million. During its vintage days, Marilyn Monroe even stripped down to nothing for a coveted spot in the magazine. By 1970, it had become the very first gentleman’s magazine to be printed in Braille. The rabbit logo has become one of the most recognised icons and titles on top shelves around the world. Anyone who’s given the opportunity to appear will reap the benefits of instant fame and access to some of the biggest and loudest parties at the Playboy Mansion. The coveted title of Playmate Of The Year has been won by models ever since 1957. The tradition of Playboy has been called out-dated and past-it by some, but there are still plenty of young women throwing their clothes off for the chance to appear on it’s pages. One thing for which Playboy is famous is convincing celebrities to, literally, reveal all. With names like Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra , Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss gracing the front covers like goddesses, Playboy is well known for exclusive, erotic photo shoots. Some other huge names attached to the publication are less widely remembered, most likely  brushed under the carpet now and kept hush hush by their PR teams. These are 20 celebrities you may have forgotten graced the covers of the original top-shelf mag. 20. Eva Herzigova via playboyblog.com The Czech born model and actress Eva Herzigova is most famous for her ‘Hello, Boys’ Wonderbra publicity campaign in 1994. It is more uncommonly known that the 5ft 11 inches beauty also got the cover and several pages in Playboy’s August 2004 issue, ten years after her famous campaign but still looking great and in shape. Models are known best for being paid to wear clothes not necessarily take them off but with her estimated worth currently at over $8million it hasn’t done her career any known damage at all. 19. Marge Simpson via justjared.com There have been cover girls for Playboy all different shapes and sizes, but when Marge Simpson graced the cover November 2009 and she featured in suggestive photos inside the issues. There were even doughnuts involved for the true The Simpsons but the majority of the pictures were safe for work as not even Marge would bare all for the issue. She did, however, feature her measurements. With hair included she stands at 6′ 6″ and measures exactly 26″-26″-26″ and her turn offs include ‘slim men who work out regularly’. It’s safe to assume Homer breathed a sigh of relief at that. 18. Charisma Carpenter Charisma Carpenter won fans worldwide when she appeared in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. She wanted to make the transition from television to film but it wasn’t looking great, as no big Hollywood features were snapping her up from casting calls. But her stunning looks did land her the cover of Playboy in 2004, and thanks to her role on Angel she was featured on many ‘hot babe’ lists, which really gave her the boost she was looking for. 17. Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett ’s entire career was full of constant requests to do nudity, she didn’t give in and kept her body under wraps until the age of 48 when she decided that if she was finally going to get naked then it would be for Playboy. In the December 1995 issue the Charlie’s Angels icon did the shoot. She had previously appeared on the cover 17 years earlier but she was not nude in the actual feature instead it was a ‘holiday pictorial’ and the star held onto her bikini top and bottoms. 16. Denise Richards In December 2004 the Starship Troopers actress, Denise Richards , was in a turbulent relationship with Charlie Sheen and had a five-month-old daughter with the actor. Showing to the world that women can still have killer figures even after childbirth she took the self-esteem boosting step of shooting for Playboy magazine. Her ten page spread of ‘erotic nudes’ was a far cry from her America’s sweetheart image. Showing off her full potential as a sex symbol strengthened her career and she became one of the world’s most desirable women. 15. Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty , who played Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210, appeared in Playboy magazine twice; once in 1994 and then again in 2003.  She didn’t have the best of reputations, and constant arguments with other cast members saw her eventually booted off the show. Her appearance in the Playboy magazine in December 2003 saw her featured in a 10-page nude pictorial. She played up to her ‘bad girl’ image both on-screen and off-screen. 14. Lizzy Jagger Mick Jagger is one man you would not want to be upsetting, so looking at his daughter, Lizzy, fully exposed in Playboy may have disastrous consequences if he ever found out you had bought a copy of the June 2011 issue. Perhaps it was a career boosting move, or a rebellion against her parents, but in this case it was like mother, like daughter: In 1985, Jerry Hall had her own spread in Playboy too. Could it be that grabbing a Playboy cover is a right of passage for any young model? 13. Daryl Hannah In 2003 Daryl Hannah re-invented her career by taking the role of Elle Driver in Kill Bill, which was far from the image that kick-started her career as a mermaid in Splash. She also took to the front cover of Playboy in 2003, looking more elegant than even the sexiest assassin. She didn’t have full faith that this role would resurrect her career so decided to go one step further and pose nude to get the world talking about her again. It certainly worked and Quentin Tarantino appeared in the same issue. His was an interview only, though – no pictures thankfully. 12. Madonna No woman on earth knows quite how to shock like Madonna ; she has been the mastermind behind the iconic cone bra, sexually graphic performances and banned, erotic music videos. Despite all this everyone was still taken aback when she would be featured in Playboy magazine. In 1985, Madonna was on the verge of becoming a huge celebrity when the magazine published some old nude photos of the star. The Like A Virgin singer graced the cover and celebrated the nude shots. 11. Tricia Helfer In 2007 everyone’s favourite humanoid from Battlestar Galactica took to the front page of Playboy’s special Love Issue. Fans of the TV series everywhere rejoiced as she shed her Cylon Number 6 suit. The Canadian model and actress won two Scream Awards for both Breakout Performance and Best Television Actress but she certainly had fans screaming for a whole different reason with this sizzling photo shoot. 10. Jenny McCarthy  When Jim Carrey first starting dating Jenny McCarthy in 2005 he probably couldn’t believe his luck. When McCarthy’s career was in its earlier years she posed for Playboy in America and Germany. This seemed to be an attempt to grow her profile throughout the world as one hot woman people should be paying attention to and it worked. She isn’t known as a woman who really cares about the opinion of others and in her shoot this really showed in her, um, personality. Hair tossed back and allowing the camera to see all of her, it’s no wonder she rose to become a huge household name shortly afterwards. 9. Cindy Crawford In July 1988 Cindy Crawford  took to the front cover of Playboy, but not for the first time or just in the US as she graced the cover again in 1998. The 5 foot 9 inches model measured at 34″-25.5″-36″, and both of her pictorials were taken by American fashion photograph Herbert ‘Herb’ Ritts Jr. She was once the highest paid supermodel on the planet and is now worth $18 million. In her hey-day Mens Health magazine also named her one of the 100 Hottest Women of All-Time. When she was still the hottest of hot property, this cover shoot was a serious coup for the men’s mag. 8. Charlize Theron  Charlize Theron  is well known for her award winning role in Monster, going unkempt and make-up free as she portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos. This was a far cry from her stunning Playboy cover from 1999 when the then emerging actress posed nude for the magazine. Not known to be a woman who hides her sexuality or is shy at the opportunity for a provocative photo shoot, she still turns some heads when people realise she once did Playboy. Sean Penn is Theron’s current beau; he’s one lucky man, as his ex-wife Madonna also appeared on this list, linking him romantically to two hot Playboy celebrity cover girls. 7. Elle Macpherson In 1994 the stunning model Elle Macpherson  went nude, apart from sheer tights, for the Playboy cover – with her arms suggestively covering her chest. She had already secured her place as one of the world’s most beautiful women and the shoot only served to backed this up. The secret behind gaining a figure like Elle ‘The Body’ Macpherson? She enjoys a variety of sports including hiking, biking, swimming, waterskiing and Zumba. In European issues of the magazine she even went topless showing her chest completely, generously sharing her famous body with the world. 6. Anna Faris Anna Faris is a rare breed of a woman; funny, beautiful, smart and filthy. When promoting the 2008 movie House Bunny, which saw her playing the sexy Playboy bunny who is thrown out the famous mansion by a jealous rival, she graced the cover of the magazine too. If she was going to act like a Playboy bunny then she might as well have become one. She is now married to Chris Pratt  and has a young son with the actor, but the funny lady was a choice for the cover that caught everyone by surprise. The blonde bombshell proved she’s the kind of person who is really up for just about anything.  5. Dita Von Teese  The world’s most famous burlesque dancer, Dita Von Teese , and former wife of Marilyn Manson has posed for Playboy several times. Known for her picture perfect pin-up physique, she has commented that she was inspired into a career of glamour modelling by looking at old issues of her Dad’s Playboy when she was younger. Dita Von Teese actually got her name from the Playboy shoots; every model who poses for the magazine is required to have a surname, although at the time she was known only as Dita. She chose ‘Von Treese’ after picking it out from a phone book, but it was misspelled on the cover as Von Teese. It has been her chosen stage name ever since. 4. Lindsay Lohan  When Lindsay Lohan first announced that she would be appearing on the cover of Playboy for the January/February 2012 issue, there were comments around the world that she was causing even more damage to her flagging career which saw her constantly in trouble with the law for drink and drugs charges. Her pictorial, however, was surprisingly classy. She did the shoot in the style of Marilyn Monroe’s The Last Sitting with a mop of blonde hair as tribute. The shoot was leaked online a month before the magazine was due on shelves and all the uncensored pictures went viral. Still waiting for a big movie comeback, Playboy didn’t harm Lohan’s career but it didn’t motivate the anticipated comeback. 3. Sharon Stone  In 1990, Sharon Stone became a household name for two reasons: She appeared in Total Recall, and she wore next to nothing in the July issue of Playboy. The timing of these two events was seen as a positive PR move for Stone and two years later she landed the role in Basic Instinct and performed ‘That Leg Crossing Scene.’ She had Hollywood hot under the collar, but this was not a one-off for Stone as she posed again for the Christmas Issue cover – timing it well with the release of Basic Instinct. So gracing the cover of Playboy was how she would promote her movies? As one of Hollywood’s most recognisable women, it worked. 2. Naomi Campbell Naomi Campbell is one of the most well known models in the world, currently worth $48 million. But not even this Queen of Glamour could turn down the tempting offer to pose for Playboy. She was a regular at the notorious Playboy Mansion parties, so Hugh Hefner most likely propositioned the supermodel personally himself. The 5ft 9inches beauty appeared in pure white gift wrap for the Christmas 1999 issue. During the 90’s she was every man’s dream girl and would definitely have sat high at the top of any wish list. The headline on the cover screamed out from the shelves ‘Naomi Campbell – completely nude’ which sent it flying off the shelves.  1. Drew Barrymore Drew Barrymore ’s career has been a roller coaster of highs and lows. From child star to tortured teen, the silver screen goddess to a rumoured has-been and now she has changed her life to become a devoted Mother. If there is one woman in Hollywood you could say has seen every side of fame then it would have to be Barrymore. Many are unaware that she took her clothes off for the magazine back in 1995 when her career was moving back up into A-List territory: It was a tough job for her PR team to brush this event under the carpet. Still, the images endure and fans can still look back at the prolific, wealthy actress in her young, frivolous photoshoot. 29 Shares

i don't know

On Oct 17, 1976, the Seattle Seahawks won their first ever game by beating which other expansion team?

Seattle Seahawks (1976-Present)   Historical Moments: 1976: Tragedy strikes the Seahawks before they even play their first game when Lloyd W. Nordstrom the expansion team's owner dies from a heart attack on January 20th while vacationing in Mexico. Nordstrom had been instrumental in landing an NFL team in the Pacific Northwest, and hiring the front office, but he never had a chance to see his team take the field. The Seahawks coached by Jack Patera finally play their first game on September 12th before a sold out Kingdome the expansion Seahawks played a solid game but had their desperation final pass intercepted in the endzone during a 30-24 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Seahawks would go on to lose their first five game before they beat the Buccaneers their brothers in expansion 13-10 in Tampa on October 17th. Three weeks later the Seahawks would earn their first home victory by beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-13 behind the 12-yard effort of Running Back Sherman Smith. These two wins would be the only on the season as the first year team completed a typical expansion-like record of 2-12. 1977: In one of the dumbest moves in franchise history the Seahawks trade their top pick in the draft to the Dallas Cowboys for three second round picks. The Cowboys would use the pick to select Running Back Tony Dorsett who would have a Hall of Fame career. In their second season the Seahawks shifted from the NFC West to the AFC West, as they lost five of their first six games. On October 30th the Seahawks would earn their second win of the season when Quarterback Jim Zorn returned from an injury and threw four Touchdown passes in a 56-17 win over the Buffalo Bills at the Kingdome. Two weeks later the Seahawks would get their first shutout over the Jets 17-0 in New York. The Seahawks would go on to finish with a 5-9 record, winning their final two games in the process. 1978: After splitting their first 12 games the Seahawks stun the Raiders 17-16 in Oakland beating them for the second time in the season. It was the first time any opponent had beaten the Raiders twice in the same season in 13 years. The Seahawks would go on to finish with a 9-7 record, as Wide Receiver Steve Largent has a breakout season with 1,168 receiving yards. 1979: The Seahawks stumble out of the gate losing four of their first five games. The Seahawks would recover in time to score a 31-28 comeback win over the Falcons in Atlanta in their first Monday Night Appearance. Howeverm, a week later they would suffer their most humiliating loss at the Kingdome where they put up negative yardage in a 24-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks would bounce back to win five of their final six games to finish with a 9-7 record for the second year in a row. 1980: The Seahawks would get off to another solid start winning four of their first seven games. However, defensive struggles would catch up with team as they lost their final nine games to finish with a 4-12 record. The Seahawks defense was torched for 408 points on the season as they lost several games by a Touchdown or less. 1981: The Seahawks get off to a terrible start losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6-10 season. Despite the struggles Steve Largent would have another stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. 1982: The Seahawks stumble out of the gate losing their first two games before a two month player strike. When play resumed the Seahawks took the field with a new coach after Jack Patera was fired. Under the leadership of Interim Coach Mike McCormack the Seahawks would go 4-3 to finish with a 4-5 record. Following the season McCormack returned to the front office as Chuck Knox was hired as the new coach.   1983: Through the first 12 games the Seahawks play up and down football, sweeping the Los Angeles Raiders while enjoying a distinct home field advantage where fans perfected the NFL's first "wave."  Back-to-back road losses to the St. Louis Cardinals and Denver Broncos, however, led to a leveling 6-6 record." With their playoff hopes dwindling, the Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs 51-48 in a overtime shootout at the Kingdome. The win would boost the Seahawks to win three of their last four games to finish with a 9-7 record, good enough for a playoff berth. In the Wild Card game the Seahawks would use a balanced offensive attack to bet the Denver Broncos 31-7 at the Kingdome. A week later the Seahawks drive 66 yards in five plays late in the 4th quarter to capture divisional playoff win over the Dolphins 27-20 in Miami. However, a week later in the AFC Championship Game the Seahawks season would end with a 30-14 loss to the Raiders in Los Angeles. 1984: The Seahawks seize the momentum form the previous season by winning 12 of their first 14 games. Along the way the Seahawks defense posts three shutouts, including a game at the Kingdome on November 4th in which they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 45-0 in a game highlighted by four touchdowns off interceptions returns including two by Dave Brown. However the Chiefs would get revenge with a 34-7 win in the next to last game of the season, which set up a showdown for the AFC West in the final game of the season at the Kingdome against the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks would fall by a score of 31-14 to finish with a 12-4 record, but the loss forced them to settle for the Wild Card. In the Wild Card Game the Seahawks defense for three turnovers and six sacks in a 13-7 win over the Los Angeles Raiders at the Kingdome. However, a week later their season would end with a 31-10 loss to the Dolphins in Miami. 1985: The Seahawks play mediocre football all season while posting a disappointing 8-8 record. During the season the Seahawks would win two straight games only to lose their next two, a pattern that repeated it self four times. Among the highlights was Quarterback Dave Krieg who passes 3,602 yards on the season, highlighted by 405-yard passing game in a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons at the Kingdome on October 13th. 1986: The Seahawks get off to a solid start winning five of their first seven games including a 17-12 win over the New York Giants at the Kingdome on October 19th. However, the Seahawks would lose their next four games, which crippled the Seahawks playoff hopes. The Seahawks would go on to win their last five games to finish with a 10-6 record, but they would miss the playoff via a tiebreaker. Among the highlights of the season were Steve Largent who set a career record with consecutive games with a reception, and Running Back Curt Warner who had a career year rushing for 1,481 yards. 1987: Prior to the start of the season the Seahawks win a lottery for the right to pick Linebacker Brian Bosworth in the supplemental draft. After the regulars split their first two games the Seahawks scabs play decent football winning two of three games. When the regulars returned the Seahawks played solid football winning four of their first five games to sit in strong playoff position with a 7-3 record. However the Seahawks would struggle down the stretch winning just two of their final three games. None the less their 9-6 record was still good enough for a Wild Card berth, as Wide Receiver Steve Largent made history again by breaking the record of career receptions. In the Wild Card Game the Seahawks would battle the Oilers back and forth all day before falling in overtime 23-20 in Houston. 1988: Steve Largent continues to make history as he sets the career record in receiving yards, as the Seahawks with their first two games. However, in the third game Quarterback Dave Krieg suffers a shoulder separation and misses nearly two months as the Seahawks barely keep their head above water at 5-5. When Krieg returned the Seahawks would catch fire winning three of their final four games to capture their first AFC West title with a 9-7 record. However, the Seahawks would fall 21-13 in the Divisional Playoffs to the Bengals at Cincinnati. 1989: Playing in his final season Wide Receiver Steve Largent suffers an elbow injury in a season opening loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia. In the game Largent caught a Touchdown pass brining him to with one of the NFL record. Largent would return to tie and break the record, but the Seahawks struggled all year finishing with a 6-10 record. Prior to the season finale at the Kingdome the Seahawks honored Largent the last original Seahawk by retiring his number 80, and putting him in the ring of honor. Largent would retire holding career records in catches, yards, and Touchdowns. Although all of his records would fall within a few years, he would always be remembered as one of the best receivers of all time. 1990: The Seahawks stumble out of the gate losing their first three games. The Seahawks would slowly climb their way out of the hole finally reaching the .500 mark after the 12th game of the season. During the Seahawks rise back to .500 they had many thrilling comeback victories including on November 11th in Kansas City when Quarterback Dave Krieg shook off a single game record of seven sacks from Derrick Thomas to beat the Chiefs on 25-yards pass to Paul Skansi on the game's final play 17-16. The Seahawks would win three of their last four games to finish with a 9-7 record. However, they missed the playoff via tiebreaker. 1991: Viewed as the quarterback of the future the Seahawks use their first round pick to select Dan McGwire, the brother of baseball all-star Mark McGwire. McGwire would have to wait for his chance as he stood on the sidelines most of the season, as the Seahawks played mediocre football all season on the way to a 7-9 record. Following the season Coach Chuck Knox resigned to return to the Los Angeles Rams, two time Super Bowl winning coach Tom Flores would eventually replace him. 1992: With the departure of Quarterback Dave Krieg, most expected to see Dan McGwire given the nod, but he struggled in the preseason and lost out to Stan Gelbaugh. However in the regular season Gelbaugh struggled as well as Kelly Stoufer too over. Stoufer would not fair much better, and McGwire looked lost every time he was on the field as the Seahawks scored just 140 points in the midst of a franchise worst 2-14 season. Despite the misery on offense, Cortez Kennedy shined on Defense winning Defensive player of the Year honors.  1993: The Seahawks all but give up on Quarterback Dan McGwire by drafting Notre Dame golden boy Rick Mirer. Mirer, who drew comparisons to Joe Montana, is given the starting job right away. Under Mirer the Seahawks would lose their first two games, before bouncing back to win four of their next five games to sit at 4-3. However, the Seahawks would do a noise dive lose seven of their final nine games to finish with a 6-10 record.  1994: Forced to play their first three home game at Husky Stadium on the campus of University of Washington after a concrete block fell at the Kingdome the Seahawks got off to a solid start winning three of their first four games. However, a six game losing streak, as they returned to the Kingdome. The Seahawks would go on to finish with a 6-10 record, despite a stellar 1,545-yard season from Running Back Chris Warren. Following the season Tom Flores would depart his coaching position to concentrate on his General Manager duties. To replace Flores on the sidelines the Seahawks hire Dennis Erickson from the University of Miami. 1995: The Dennis Erickson era gets off to a shaky start when the new coach is charged with drunk driving. Erickson would settle is legal troubles quietly, but the Seahawks on field struggles were hard to fix as Quarterback Rick Mirer continued to struggle a 2-6 start. With John Friez replacing Mirer down the stretch the Seahawks would win six of their next seven games before finishing with an 8-8 record. 1996: With Quarterback Rick Mirer's struggles continuing the Seahawks get off to a poor start again losing their first three games on the way to another season without the playoffs with a 7-9 record. Following a season in which he threw 12 interceptions to just five Touchdowns Rick Mirer was released. 1997: After nine seasons without a playoff berth the Seahawks began to become impatient, and it showed with the signing of aging Quarterback Warren Moon. Moon would have an All-Pro season passing for 3,678 yards and 25 touchdowns. However, the four game losing streak near the end of the season doomed Seattle to another season without the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Changes appeared on the horizon as the team is sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Under Allen the Seahawks see a change in the front office as General Manager Tom Flores resigns. 1998: With a playoff or else ultimatum hanging over Coach Dennis Erickson's head the Seahawks get off to a solid start winning their first three games. However, Moon would be lost to injuries as the Seahawks struggled under John Kitna. Moon would return and the Seahawks would continue to play mediocre football to sit at 6-6 through 12 games. Facing the Jets in the Meadowlands the Seahawks would lose 32-31 when Quarterback Vinny Testeverde lunge for the endzone was ruled a Touchdown despite replays clearly showing only his bare hand crossed the endzone. That loss would be the backbreaker as the Seahawks went to finish with an 8-8 record missing the playoffs by just one game. Following the season coach Dennis Erickson is fired, and Mike Holmgren is hired away from the Green Bay Packers to fill the duel role of General Manager and coach. 1999: In their final season at The Kingdome the Seahawks get off to a terrific start wining eight of their first ten games, as Quarterback John Kitna has a solid season passing for 3,346 yards. However, Kitna would struggle down the stretch as the Seahawks lost four of their last five games. Fortunately for Seattle the good start was good enough for the Seahawks to win their second Division Title with a 9-7 record. In the Wild Card Round the Seahawks hosted the Miami Dolphins in the final game ever at The Kingdome. The Seahawks would hold a 17-13 lead over the sixth seeded Dolphins midway through the 4th Quarter. However, Dan Marino would have one last magic moment leading the Dolphins on a game winning Touchdown drive with five minutes left to win the game 20-17. 2000: Within a few months of the playoff loss the Kingdome was leveled to make room for a brand new stadium. However, while the stadium was built the Seahawks were forced to play two seasons on the campus of University of Washington. Without a true home field the Seahawks struggled early, losing seven of their first nine games, as Quarterback John Kitna fell out of favor with Coach Mike Holmgren and the fans. The Seahawks would go on to finish with a disappointing 6-10 record. Following the season the Seahawks cut Kitna and traded for Matt Hasselbeck.  2001: Young Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck who the Seahawks acquired from the Green Bay Packers struggled early leading to singing of Trent Dilfer. The Seahawks would play only mediocre football most of the season under Hasselbeck going 5-7 in his starts. However, whenever Dilfer was on the field the Seahawks played with an extra spark, winning all four of his starts. Also making news was Running Back Shaun Alexander who had a break out game on November 11th in front of a Sunday Night National TV audience at Husky Stadium, when he rushed for 266 yards in a 34-27 win over the Oakland Raiders. It was the fourth highest single rushing game in NFL history on the way to a 1,318-yard season in which he scored 16 touchdowns. However, needing a win and help to make the playoffs in the final week of the season, the Seahawks did their part beating the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22. However, they did not get the help they need and were the only team with a winning record at 9-7 not to make the playoffs.    2002: The Seahawks finally opened their state of the art stadium, moving back to the NFC West where they played their inaugural season in 1976, as part of the NFL's realignment. After dropping their first game on the road the Seahawks would open Seahawks Stadium with a disappointing 24-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, as they dropped five of their first six games. Things appeared to go from bad to worse in Week 7 when Quarterback Trent Dilfer injured his Achilles on the road against the Dallas Cowboys. However, backup Matt Hasselbeck would come on to lead the Seahawks to a 17-14 victory spoiling a record day for Emmitt Smith who set the NFL's al-time rushing mark. With Dilfer out the rest of the season Matt Hasselbeck would play strong in his place as the Seahawks finished the season on a strong note winning their final three games with Hasselbeck passing for 3,075 yards as the Seahawks posted a record of 7-9, while Running Back Shaun Alexander led the NFC with 18 Touchdowns. 2003: The Seahawks got off to a roaring start winning their first theee games to take an early two game lead in the NFC West. However after a bye week the Seahawks looked rusty in a 35-13 road loss to the Green Bay Packers. However the Seahawks would recover to win their next games at home, as they would defend their nest in style all season winning all eight games at Seahawks Stadium. However the road would be a different story as after a solid 38-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 the Seahawks lost their next six road games which included a hard to swallow Week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens where they had a 41-24 lead in the 4th Quarter disappear as the Ravens won in Overtime 44-41. The Seahawks road woes would cost them first place, as they entered the final game of the season on the road against the San Francisco 49ers just to make the playoffs. After trailing 14-0 early in the 2nd Quarter the Seahawks came to life scoring two quick Touchdowns before halftime. The momentum carried on to the second half where they would get the win 24-17 to sew up a playoff spot with a solid 10-6 record. In the playoffs the Seahawks would return to Green Bay for a match up against the Packers in a home coming for both Coach Mike Holmgren, who mentored Packers Coach Mike Sherman and Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck a former back up to Packers Quarterback Brett Favre. After trailing at halftime 13-6 the Seahawks came out smoking and took a 20-13 lead. From there the game went back and forth as at the end of regulation it was tied 27-27. In overtime as the Seahawks won the coin toss Hasselbeck boasted the Seahawks would win. However, Hasselbeck may have been too aggressive as he had a pass intercepted by All Harris and returned for the game winning Touchdown that end the Seahawks season in heartbreak 33-27. 2004: With hopes high on winning a division title the Seahawks got off to a strong start winning their first three games. However with a chance to get a stranglehold for the NFC West the Seahawks blew a 24-7 halftime lead against the St. Louis Rams losing in overtime at home 33-27. The loss would be the first of three in a row as the Seahawks began a pattern of inconsistent play that would frustrate fans the rest of the season. With the hopes of helping their struggling receiving crew the Seahawks acquired legendary Wide Receiver Jerry Rice form the Oakland Raiders. The acquisition of Rice would have little effect as the Seahawks hovered near .500 all season, including another frustrating loss to the Rams. However, it would still be good enough to win the NFC West if they won their final game as Shaun Alexander battled for the NFL rushing title while scoring 20 Touchdowns. Alexander would fall one yard short with 1,696 yards but the Seahawks would hold on stopping the Atlanta Falcons on a two point conversion attempt to preserve a 28-26 win to clinch the NFC West with a 9-7 record. In the playoffs the Seahawks would faced their nemesis the Rams again. Once again it would be battle as the game went back and forth with the Rams leading 27-20 as the Seahawks drove for a game tying Touchdown, as Matt Hasselbeck tried to redeem himself from his playoff interception return in Overtime. On 4th Down and goal with one last chance to tie the game Hasselbeck found Bobby Engram in the endzone. However, the pass would slip through his hands as the Rams held on beating the Seahawks for the third time, as a frustrated Matt Hasselbeck punched the ground in anger. 2005: After more playoff disappointment there was a sense that this was going to be a make or break season for Coach Mike Holmgren, already stripped of his General Manager duties it was well known he was on the hot seat as the season began, as the Seahawks had not won a playoff game in over 20 years. The season would not start off well as the Seahawks lost on the road to the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-14. Coming home the Seahawks would rebound nicely to edge the Atlanta Falcons 21-18 as Shaun Alexander after a rough Week 1 began his run towards one of the greatest offensive seasons in NFL history by rushing for 144 yards. After another home win over the Arizona Cardinals the Seahawks hit another bump in the road as they were stunned by the Washington Redskins in overtime 20-17. Week 5 would bring a big test as they faced their nemesis from 2004 the St. Louis Rams on the road. After losing three times in 2004 the Seahawks showed that this year would be different as they won behind the rushing of Alexander again 37-31, while Wide Receiver Joe Jereivicius began establishing himself as a go to guy with 137 yards and one Touchdown. The win over the Rams seemed to be just the spark the Seahawks needed as they started to roll as they started to mount a winning streak winning games by blowouts such as their home rematch with the Rams and games that they had to rely on a little luck like their 7th straight win over the New York Giants which they won in overtime 20-17 after Giants kicker Jay Feely missed three potential game winning field goals. At 9-2 the Seahawks were well on there way to a division title but still had not grabbed any national attention that was until a Monday Night match up with a batter and bruised Philadelphia Eagles team. Highlighted by two interception returns for Touchdowns by Andre Dyson and Rookie Lofa Tatupu the Seahawks clobbered the Eagles jumping out to a 35-0 halftime lead on the way a 42-0 win for their eighth straight victory. A week later the Seahawks flew high again ripping the San Francisco 49ers 41-3 to complete a perfect 6-0 record against the NFC West rivals and improve to 11-2. After a 28-24 road win over the Tennessee Titans in which Alexander rushed for 172 yards the Seahawks extended their impressive win streak to 11 games by beating the Indianapolis Colts 28-13 in what some saw as a Super Bowl Preview. With nothing really to play for in the final week of the season the Seahawks concentrated on rest and individual accomplishments as Shaun Alexander set a new single season record with 28 Touchdowns while clinching the rushing title with 1,880 yards in a 23-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers on the road. Despite the season ending loss the Seahawks headed to the playoffs with a best ever 13-3 record, and home field advantage in the NFC, as Shaun Alexander won both the Offensive Player of the Year Award and the NFL MVP. 2005 Playoffs: After a bye week the Seahawks faced the Washington Redskins in the Division Round of the Playoffs. Things would not go as smoothly as planned as MVP Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion on the game's first series as the game was scoreless for the first 21 minutes before the Redskins struck first on 26-yard field goal by John Hall. Without Alexander the Seahawks needed a big day by Quarterback Matt Hasslebeck who delivered with a 29-yard Touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson to give the Seahawks a 7-3 halftime lead. Relying on defense and Hasslebeck the Seahawks extended the lead to 14-3 in the 3rd Quarter on a six yard Quarterback sneak. After expanding the lead to 17-3 early in the 4th Quarter the Redskins suddenly and quickly got back into the game by driving down the field quickly to make it 17-10. Then on the ensuing kickoff Josh Schobee fumbled giving the Redskins the ball deep in Seattle territory. However, the Seahawks defense would not give in an inch and the Redskins missed a short field goal to swing the momentum back to the Seahawks who would go on to win the game 20-10 ending a 21-year drought without a playoff win, and earning a trip to the NFC Championship Game. In the Championship Game the 12th Man was louder then ever as the Seahawks faced the Carolina Panthers. The Seahawks would jump out early as Matt Hasslebeck hit Jerramy Stevens on a 17-yard Touchdown pass. Using their defense to shut down Panthers vaunted Wide Receiver Steve Smith the Seahawks lead would eventually jump out to a 17-0 lead on the first play of the 2nd Quarter as Shaun Alexander scored on one yard run. After the Panthers broke through on a Steve Smith Punt Return for a Touchdown, the Seahawks would go into halftime riding high up 20-7. In the 3rd Quarter is more of the same as Qwest Field continued to rock as the Hasslebeck hit Darrell Jackson to extend the lead to 27-7. Alexander would score another Touchdown in the 4th Quarter as the Seahawks won the game easily 34-14 to earn a trip to Super Bowl XL. Super Bowl XL: In every great story there has to be a villain and the Seahawks were cast as the villain out to spoil Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Jerome Bettis storybook ending with the Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit. Not given much of a chance the Seahawks were 11-point underdogs. However, early on it was the Seahawks defense that was the story as they shutdown Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger early taking a 3-0 lead late into the 2nd Quarter. However the Steelers offense would finally break through at the two minute warning as Roethlisberger snuck the ball just over the goaline. However, some replays showed the ball did not cross at all as the Steelers took a 7-3 lead. Before the half there would be more controversy as a Matt Hasslebeck to Darrell Jackson Touchdown pass was ruled out of bounds, although some replays showed Jackson did get both feet down in the endzone. The play would not be reviewed as Josh Brown missed a 54-yard Field Goal attempt at the end of the first half. After the Steelers extended the lead to 14-3 on a 75 yard Touchdown run to begin the 3rd Quarter, the Seahawks began to see the game slipping away as the Steelers got the ball back and appeared to be driving in for another score, when Kelly Herndon intercepted a Roethlisberger pass and returned in 75 yards to set the Seahawks up for Touchdown as Hasslebeck hit Jerramy Stevens on a 16-yard pass to cut the deficit to 14-10. However, in the 4th Quarter the questionable calls from the referees would continue to mount Hasslebeck had a pass intercepted by Ike Taylor and was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty on a low block. The Steelers would take quick advantage of the Seahawks who seemed dazed and confused by the calls all game as Antwaan Randle-El hit the game's MVP Hines Ward on 43-yard Touchdown pass that gave the Steelers a 21-10 win leaving the Seahawks with a bitter taste in their mouth as they flew home, while taking parting shots at the game's officials. 2006: Coming off their first trip ever to the Super Bowl the Seahawks once again got off to a strong start winning their first three games. However a foot injury sidelined MVP Shaun Alexander, and slowed down the Seahawks offense significantly. After a 37-6 loss on the road to the Chicago Bears, the Seahawks returned home and found themselves trailing the St. Louis Rams 21-7 at halftime. However, led by Matt Hasselbeck who threw three touchdown passes the Seahawks were able to rally and win the game 30-28 on a 54-yard Field Goal by Josh Brown with four seconds left. A week later the Seahawks 12-game home winning streak would come to an end as Matt Hasselbeck joined Shaun Alexander on the sideline with a sprained knee as the Seahawks were beaten by the Minnesota Vikings 31-13. After a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seahawks used their defense to get back in the win column beating the Oakland Raiders 16-0 behind nine sacks. In their third straight game without Matt Hasselbeck, the Seahawks used another late field goal by Josh Brown to beat the Rams at home 24-22. Shaun Alexander would return for a road game against the San Francisco 49ers, However he was limited to just 37 yards as the 49ers won the game 20-14. A week later Matt Hasselbeck would return as Alexander rushed for 201 yards leading the Seahawks to a 34-24 win over the Green Bay Packers. A week later in Denver, Josh Brown played hero again hitting a 50-yard in a 23-20 win over the Broncos. At 8-4 the Seahawks appeared to be cruising to a third straight division title. However, three straight losses had the Seahawks needing a win in their final game just to hold on. The Seahawks would rise to the occasion beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-7 as their offense and defense both played well on the road. Facing the Dallas Cowboys at home the Seahawks found themselves trailing in the 4th Quarter 20-13, as their offense seemed stuck in neutral. However, when Cowboys Wide Receiver fumbled into the enddzone the Seahawks suddenly had new life with a safety. The Seahawks would take full advantage scoring on a 37-yard Matt Hasselbeck to Jeremy Stevens Touchdown pass to take a 21-20 lead. However, after a failed two-point conversion the Seahawks had to hold on for dear life. With the Cowboys driving it looked as if it would be heartbreak for the Seahawks, as the Cowboys had an easy 19-yard Field Goal with 1:19 left. However, the snap was botched by Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, allowing the Seahawks hold on, and win 21-20. A week later the Seahawks would return to Solider Field for a rematch with the Bears, this game would go considerably better for the Seahawks, who used two Shaun Alexander touchdowns to take a 24-21 lead into the 4th Quarter. However, the Bears would rally and force overtime on a 41-yard field goal by Robbie Gould. In overtime the Seahawks got the ball first, but stalled at midfield. From there it would be Gould again as the Bears kicker nailed the game winner at 4:53 from 49-yards out to send the Bears to the NFC Championship Game. 2007: The Seahawks began the season on a positive note, as they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-6 as Shaun Alexander rushed for 105 yards with a touchdown. However, the one time MVP continued to regain his 2005 form as the Seahawks played mediocre football for half the season, as they held an 8-8 record following a 33-30 loss in overtime to the Cleveland Browns. With Alexander struggling the Seahawks decided to sit him down and start Maurice Morris, while relying heavily on the passing of Matt Hasselbeck. After a 24-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers the Seahawks faced the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. The Seahawks got a taste of revenge against the Chicago Bears with a 30-23 win as Hasselbeck completed 30 passes for 337 yards with two touchdowns. Hasselbeck would play hero again a week later as the Seahawks overcame a 19-7 deficit to beat the St. Louis Rams 24-19. The Seahawks continued to roll the following week as they beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the road 28-24, with Lofa Tatupu picking off three passes from A.J. Feeley. Shaun Alexander would return in time for the Seahawks second meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, but the story once again was Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who tossed four touchdown passes to lead the Seahawks to a 42-21 win that avenged a Week 2 loss, and all but locked up the fourth straight NFC Western Division title. The Seahawks five game winning streak would come to an end with a loss to the Carolina Panthers, but the Seahawks would go on to post a solid 10-6 record as they split their final two games, resting several players in the finale against the Atlanta Falcons. In the playoffs the Seahawks were facing a Washington Redskins team riding a wave of emotion as they needed to win their last four games after the death of All-Pro Sean Taylor. Early on it was defense for the Seahawks that led the way as they held a 10-0 lead at halftime. The Seahawks added a field goal in the 3rd Quarter as the Redskins finally broke through with a Todd Collins seven yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle-El. The Redskins would strike again quickly as Matt Hasselbeck had a pass intercepted by Taylor's replacement LaRon Landry, setting up a 30-yard pass to Santana Moss that gave the Redskins a lead. However, the early fourth quarter hiccup would be overcome by the Seahawks as the regained control of the game as Hasselbeck found D.J. Hackett on a 20-yard Touchdown pass to give them back the lead, as they converted on a two point conversion to get a seven point lead. The Seahawks would then put the game away 30 seconds later as Marcus Trufant intercepted and returned a Collins pass 78 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach, as Jordan Babineaux added an interception return of his own to give the Seahawks a 35-14 win. A week later in Lambeau Field with a trip to the NFC Championship on the line the Seahawks got off to a quick start turning two Ryan Griggs fumbles into an early 14-0 lead. However, with the snow falling on the frozen tundra the Packers scored twice to tie the game before the end of the first quarter, as  the Seahawks early lead was quickly snowed under as the Packers took the lead and never looked back, winning 42-20. Following the season the Seahawks would make some tough decisions, as the released Shaun Alexander after a second straight subpar season in which he rushed for 716 yards with just four touchdowns. 2008: With Coach Mike Holmgren planning to retire at the end of the season, the 2008 season took on a feeling of the end of an era, as the Seahawks five year grip on the NFC West started to slip. Before the season even began the Seahawks had a new Running Back as they signed Julius Jones away from the Dallas Cowboys to replace Shaun Alexander. Right from the start there were signs of trouble as the Seahawks were hammered on the road by the Buffalo Bills 34-10 in the season opener. In the loss the Seahawks who were already playing without Deion Branch and Bobby Engram lost Wide Receiver Nate Burleson for the entire season with a knee injury. A week later the Seahawks would suffer another disappointing 33-30 loss in overtime in their home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks would rebound to beat the St. Louis Rams 37-13 a week later, and hoped to for a rebound off the bye week, as Branch and Engram returned from injury. However, injuries continued to hound the Seahawks, as Matt Hasslebeck was sidelined with a back injury, while the team went into a tail spin, losing nine of their next ten games, falling out of the playoff race. The Seahawks would win two of their final three games, including a 13-3 win over the New York Jets on a snowy day at Qwest Field that all but knocked the Jets out of playoff contention. However, with a 4-12 record the Seahawks season was nothing short of a major disappointment. 2009: After a decade of Mike Holmgren at the helm, the Jim Mora era started on a positive note as the Seahawks shutout the St. Louis Rams 28-0 at Qwest Field. Following a 23-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on the road, the Seahawks returned home and lost to the Chicago Bears 25-19 wearing for the first time ever a lime green third jersey that became an instant source of laughter around the league, as Seneca Wallace started at quarterback for an injured Matt Hasselbeck. After the losing streak hit three straight games with a 34-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Seahawks finally got back in the win column as Hasselbeck returned to lead the Seahawks to a 41-0 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Qwest Field, throwing four touchdown passes. However, the Seahawks could not build on that momentum as they lost their next two games sandwiched around the bye week. After a home win again the Detroit Lions, the Seahawks road woes continued with losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings, which all but put them out of playoff contention 3-7. The Seahawks would final earn a road win against the lowly St. Louis Rams, which was followed up by a win over the San Francisco 49ers at home, as Olindo Mare won the game with a 30 yard Field Goal. However, it would be the last bright spot for the Seahawks as they dropped their final four games to finish with a disappointing record of 5-11. The late season skid would end up costing Coach Jim Mora his job, as the Seahawks hired USC Coach Pete Carroll. 2010: The Pete Carroll era started on a winning note, as the Seahawks slammed the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 at Qwest Field, with Matt Hasselbeck throwing three touchdown passes. After a road loss to the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks used the 12th man to their advantage as Leon Washington returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in a 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers. However, they would head into the bye with a divisional loss as they were beaten by the St. Louis Rams 20-3 on the road. Coming out of the bye the Seahawks played one of their strongest games of the season as they stunned the Chicago Bears on the road 23-20, as newly acquired Running Back Marshawn Lynch, who the Seahawks picked up in a trade with the Buffalo Bills, made an immediate contribution with a touchdown. The Seahawks would continue to play well the following week, as they improved to 4-2 with a 22-10 home win over the Arizona Cardinals. In Oakland the Seahawks would stumble, losing to the Raiders 33-3. During the game, QB Matt Hasselbeck was banged up forcing the Seahawks to start Charlie Whitehurst as they took on the New York Giants at Qwest Field a week later. Whitehurst in his first NFL struggled badly, completing just 12 of 23 passes for 113 yards as the Giants plucked the Seahawks 41-7. Hasselbeck returned the following week and passed for 333 yards as the Seahawks beat the Cardinals on the road 36-18. During the win, Hasselbeck suffered a wrist injury but would continue to play through it as the Seahawks faced the New Orleans Saints. Once again he would have a strong game, passing for 366 yards, but the Seahawks would lose a tough game on the road 34-19. Returning home the Seahawks would continue to struggle, as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 42-14. The loss which was the Seahawk fourth in five games dropped the Seahawks to 5-6 on the season. The Seahawks would rebound to beat the lowly Carolina Panthers 31-14. However, their defense continued to struggle as they dropped three straight, allowing at least 34 points in all three games. During the last two games they saw the continued wear and tear of a long career get to Matt Hasselbeck as he was force to the leave losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers early. Despite the struggles that saw them lose seven of nine games, and sit at 6-9 entering the final game of the season, the Seahawks still controlled their own destiny as they faced the St. Louis Rams at Qwest Field in primetime with the winner claiming the NFC West Title. No team in NFL history during a non-strike season had ever made the playoffs with a losing record, but in a division that was historically bad the Seahawks had the 12th man on their side as they looked to steal a playoff spot. With Matt Hasselbeck still hurting the Seahawks again turned to Charlie Whitehurst, who had struggled in his other opportunities to play. However, this time he got off to a strong start putting the Seahawks on the board early with a four yard pass to Mike Williams. The Seahawks defense which struggled most of the second half of the season only allowed a Field Goal in the first half, as the Seahawks took a 7-3 lead to the locker. The Rams would add another field goal in the 3rd Quarter, but that would be all they managed to score as the Seahawks added three Olindo Mare Field Goals would go on to win the game 16-6 and the NFC West with a record of 7-9. 2010 Playoffs: They were called the worst playoff team in NFL history, at 7-9 who was to argue, as the Seahawks faced the defending champion New Orleans Saints at Qwest Field. Some even suggested it was unfair the Seahawks hosted the game, and called for a change to the NFL playoff seeding, as the Saints entered the game as a heavy favorite. Early on it was all Saints as they jumped out to a 17-7 lead early in the 2nd Quarter. However, the Seahawks soared in front scoring the next 17 points as Matt Hasselebeck had three first half touchdown passes to take his team into halftime with a 24-20 lead. In the 3rd Quarter the Seahawks would extend the lead, as Hasselbeck connected with Mike Williams for a 38 yard Touchdown pass. Olindo Mare would than add a Field Goal as the Seahawks held a 34-20 lead at the start of the 4th Quarter. The Saints would begin to claw their way back in the game as Julio Jones scored early. The lead would be cut to 34-30 when Garrett Hartley hit a 21 yard Field Goal. With the game in the balance, the Seahawks would deliver the knockout blow with 3:22 left as Marshawn Lynch shock the earth with a 67 yard Touchdown run breaking several tackles. The noise created from Qwest Field would register a small tremor as the Seahawks took a 41-30 lead. The Saints would not go down without a fight, as they answered back with a Drew Brees to Devry Henderson Touchdown pass. However, the Saints failed to get the two point conversion, as the Seahawks sealed the 41-36 upset win when John Carlson recovered the on-side kick. With the win the Seahawks advanced to the Divisional Playoffs, where they would face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, where the Seahawks had one of their best performances of the season. Things would start off poorly for the Seahawks as the Bears jumped out early, with a Jay Cutler to Greg Olsen 58 yard Touchdown Pass. The Seahawks offense meanwhile would have trouble getting started. The Bears would added another 1st Quarter TD and another in the 2nd Quarter to take a 21-0 lead at the half. The Bears lead would grow to 28-0, before Olindo Mare finally got the Seahawks on the board with a 30 yard Field Goal late in the 3rd Quarter. Matt Hasselbeck would finish the game strong with three touchdown passes in the 4th Quarter. However, it would not be enough as the Bears advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 35-24 win. Following the season the Seahawks would continue to move toward the future as QB Matt Hasselbeck, who led them to Super Bowl XL, was not re-signed. 2011: Despite making the playoffs and winning a game after a 7-9 season, the Seahawks began looking toward the future as Quarterback Matt Hasslebeck was not re-signed after the season. Hasselbeck who led the Seahawks to Super Bowl XL, held a number of franchise records after spending a decade in Seattle. To replace, Hasselbeck the Seahawks signed free agent Tavaris Jackson from the Minnesota Vikings, bring on of his favorite receivers Sidney Rice along with him. In the season opener, the Seahawks were doubled up by the San Francisco 49ers 35-17, as Ted Ginn Jr. broke the game open with two long kick returns for a Touchdown in the fourth quarter. A week later the Seahawks traveled to Pittsburgh, but left their offense on the west coast, as they were blanked 24-0 by the Steelers at Heinz Field. In their home opener, the Seahawks would get into the win column, as they edged the Arizona Cardinals 13-10. The following week, the Seahawks fell behind early against the Atlanta Falcons, trailing 27-7 early in the third quarter. The Seahawks would not show any quit as they rallied late. However, they would still end up losing 30-28, falling to 1-3. In the Meadowlands, the Seahawks would put up their most complete effort of the season, as they stunned the New York Giants 36-25, despite losing Tavaris Jackson to an injury. With the Giants driving for the winning score, Brandon Brower returned an Eli Manning interception 94 yards for a game sealing Touchdown in the final minutes. After the bye week the Seahawks played their unquestioned worst game of the season as they lost to the Cleveland Browns 6-3 in an ugly unwatchable penalty filled game. The Seahawks would continue to struggle even with the return of Tavaris Jackson as they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys to drop to 2-6. Against the Baltimore Ravens at CenturyLink Field the Seahawks season was revived by the 12th man as they forced three turnovers and stunned the Ravens 22-17, with Steven Hauschka kicking five field goals to provide the difference. The following week the Seahawks would again get three turnovers as they earned a second straight win against the St. Louis Rams 24-7. However, with a chance to get back in the playoff race, the Seahawks suffered a disappointing 23-7 loss to the Washington Redskins at home, as the Redskins rallied to score 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to erase a ten points Seahawks lead. Four days later the Seahawks would rely on Marshawn Lynch who had a 148 rushing yards with two touchdowns in a Thursday Night 31-14 upset win against the Philadelphia Eagles. Against the Rams, the Seahawks got another big game from Lynch who led the way in a 30-13 win at home. The Seahawks got the fans into the game early as Michael Robinson scored on a blocked punt. The Seahawks second half surge would continue at Soldier Field, as they crushed the Chicago Bears 38-14 to improve to 7-7, as the Seahawks intercepted Caleb Hanie three times, with Red Bryant and Brandon Brower returning picks for touchdowns. Looking to climb over .500 the Seahawks hosted the San Francisco 49ers on Christmas Eve and held a 17-16 lead after a Marshawn Lynch touchdown run. However, the 49ers would deliver coal in the stockings as David Aker hot a 39 yard field goal to win the game for the 49ers 19-17 as time expired. In the season finale against the Cardinals in Arizona, the Seahawks would suffer more Holiday heartburn, as they were beaten in overtime 23-20 in a game of division rivals looking to finish .500. Despite finishing in third place with a 7-9 record, there were many positives as the Seahawks secondary led by Brandon Brower established themselves as one of the best in the league, while they earned wins against two of the four teams to play in the Conference Championship games including the Super Bowl Champion Giants.   2012: During the off-season the Seahawks looking for an upgrade at quarterback signed Green Bay Packers backup Matt Flynn. However, during the pre-season Flynn was beaten out for the starting job by Russell Wilson, who the Seahawks picked in the third round of the NFL draft out of Wisconsin. Wilson struggled in his debut as the Seahawks lost their opener 20-16 against the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson looked much better in his home debut a week later, as the Seahawks stunned the Dallas Cowboys 27-7. The rookie passed for 251 yards with a touchdown, while a blocked punt returned for a TD by Jeron Johnson swung the game in favor of the Seahawks early. Russell Wilson got his first taste of primetime in Week 3, as the Seahawks hosted the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. The game would be a defensive struggle as Wilson's 41 yard Touchdown pass to Golden Tate was the lone score in the first half. Wilson though would have his troubles against the Packers defense as the Packers took a 12-7 lead in the 4th Quarter. In the final seconds Russell Wilson would throw up a pair to the endzone which appeared to be intercepted by Packers Cornerback M.D. Jennings. However, on the ground Golden Tate wrestled the ball away in the endzone, as the replacement referee incorrectly award Tate the Touchdown as the Seahawks walked off the field with a stunning 13-12 win. The controversial play would hasten the return of the regular officials as the league settled its labor dispute against the refs just 48 hours later. Following their fortunate win, Russell Wilson continued to show growing pains, as he was intercepted three times in a 19-13 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Wilson would also struggle in Week 5, but the Seahawks defense managed to shutdown Cam Newton, and earned their first road win over the year 16-12 over the Carolina Panthers. In Week 6, Russell Wilson showed the ability to win a game in the 4th Quarter again, as the Seahawks stunned the New England Patriots 24-23 at Century Link Field. Trailing 23-10 with eight minutes left, Wilson hooked up with Braylon Edwards for a ten yard TD pass. He would later connect with Sidney Rice on a 46 yard score with 1:27 left, while Richard Sherman sealed the win with an interception of Tom Brady. Sherman would later taunt Brady as he walked off the field, saying "U Mad Bro?" Four days later the Seahawks defense had another strong effort, as they held a 6-3 halftime lead on the road against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, the Seahawks offense could not get much done either, as Russell Wilson struggled as the 49ers won the game 13-6. The following week against the Detroit Lions the Seahawks suffered their own 4th Quarter heartbreak as the Lions rallied to win the game 28-24 as Matt Stafford connected with Titus Young on the winning score with 20 seconds left. After two frustrating losses on the road, the Seahawks returned home and improved to 4-0 in front of the 12th man as Russell Wilson had a flawless afternoon in a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings. A week later it would be the Golden Tate show, as the Seahawks receiver caught a Touchdown pass and threw a Touchdown pass as the Seahawks shot down the New York Jets 28-7. The win improved the Seahawks to 5-0 at home, but the road continued to bring heartache as the Seahawks suffered a 24-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on a last second Field Goal by Dan Carpenter. Facing another road loss the following week, Russell Wilson connected with Golden Tate on a 14 yard Touchdown pass to give the Seahawks 17-14 lead over the Chicago Bears with 32 seconds left at Soldier Field. The Bears would quickly get down the field and force overtime on a 46 yard Field Goal by Robbie Gould, but the Seahawks would not be denied as they won in overtime 23-17 with Russell Wilson connecting with Sidney Rice on a 13 yard TD pass. Returning home in Week 14, the Seahawks would avenge their loss in the season opener by humiliating the Cardinals 58-0. Russell Wilson became the first quarterback since the merger to start and win his first six games at home, but it was the Seahawks defense that was the story forcing eight turnovers as the Seahawks enjoyed the biggest blowout in team history. Enjoyed it so much they did again a week later by beating the Buffalo Bills 50-17 in Toronto. The suddenly surging Seahawks would roll up the score again in Week 16, as they beat the 49ers 42-13 to clinch a playoff spot. The Seahawks would end the season with a 20-13 home win over the Rams, completing the season at 11-5, with a perfect 8-0 record at Century Link Field. 2012 Playoffs: The Seahawks who ended the season with five straight wins entered the playoffs with all eyes on the quarterback battle as Russell Wilson faced Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. Early on it was all RGIII as the Redskins raced out to a 14-0 lead in the 1st Quarter. However, Griffin reinjured his knee and despite remaining in the game it was clear he was not 100% as the Seahawks clawed their way back in the game with 13 points in the 2nd quarter. The second half would be all Seattle, as the Seahawks took the lead on a 27 yard run by Marshawn Lynch add a two point conversion early in the 4th Quarter. The Seahawks would add a Field Goal by Steven Hauschka his third of the game to win 24-14. It was their first road playoff win in 29 years. Facing the top seeded Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round, the Seahawks once again got off to a slow start, as the Falcons dominated the first 30 minutes to take a 20-0 lead at the half. The Seahawks would get a Touchdown as Golden Tate caught a 29 yard pass from Russell Wilson on the first series of the 3rd Quarter. However, the Falcons answered back and continued to control the game with a time consuming touchdown drive that made the score 27-7. The Seahawks though would not go down without a fight as Russell Wilson ran the ball into the endzone himself to make the score 27-14 early in the 4th Quarter. The Seahawks would make things even closer as an interception by Earl Thomas set up another scoring drive that was capped by a Touchdown to Zach Miller that suddenly turned what looked like a blowout into a nail biter. The Seahawks 4th Quarter surge continued as Leon Washington set up good field position with a 15 yard punt return to the 39 yard line. The Seahawks would drive down the field taking a 28-27 lead with 34 seconds left on a two yard run by Marshawn Lynch. With the crowd at the Georgia Dome watching in stunned disbelief, the Falcons would quickly move down the field on two plays to set up Matt Bryant for a 49 yard field goal which was good on its second try, after Seahawks Coach Peter Carroll's attempt to freeze the kicker backfired as Bryant's first attempt was missed. Carroll's timeout was granted before the kick was made give Bryant a second chance which he would hit to give the Falcons a 30-28 lead. The Seahawks would get one more chance after a squib kick, but Julio Jones picked off Russell Wilson's Hail Mary attempt as the Seahawks season came to an end. 2013: Coming off a strong season, and a playoff win on the road the Seattle Seahawks were the trendy pick in the NFC. With QB Russell Wilson entering his second season and a secondary that was second to none, the Seahawks began the season on the road against the Carolina Panthers. The Seahawks got a 300 yard game from Russell Wilson, but were unable to get in the endzone. However, four field goals by Steven Hauschka were enough to get a 12-7 win, as the Seahawks defense frustrated QB Cam Newton to a career low 125 passing yards. In the home opener the Seahawks looked to send a message as they hosted the reigning NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. The Seahawks offense struggled early, but their defense was simply dominant as they held a 5-0 lead at halftime. As the crowd at Century Link Field set records for loudness the Seahawks would pull away in the second half as Marshawn Lynch kicked into beast mode with three touchdowns to lead the way in a 29-3 win. Following an easy 45-17 win over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, the Seahawks looked to be heading for their first loss of the year, as they trailed the Houston Texans on the road 20-3 at the half. The Seahawks offense could not get on track, but would begin chipping away with a Hauschka Field Goal late in the 3rd Quarter. The Seahawks added a Touchdown from Marshawn Lynch in the 4th Quarter, but still trailed 20-13 as the clock began to run out on them. However, an ill-advised pass from Texans QB Matt Schaub opened the door, as Richard Sherman tied the game with 58 yard interception return. The Seahawks would go on to win the game 23-20 to get off to a 4-0 start for the first time in franchise history on a 45 yard Field Goal by Steven Hauschka. A week later the Seahawks looked to be heading to a 5-0 start, as they jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead over the Indianapolis Colts. However, Andrew Luck with a 73 yard pass to T.Y. Hilton got his team back on track. The game would go back and forth the rest of the way, with the Colts winning the game 34-28. Returning home, the Seahawks completed their journey through the AFC South against the Tennessee Titans, who stunned the fans in Seattle by taking a 10-7 lead at the half as a fumble by Chris Maragos led to a 77 yard fumble return on the final play of the 2nd Quarter. The Seahawks would get control back in the second half and would win the game 20-13.With two touchdown passes by Russell Wilson in the 1st Quarter, the Seahawks easily beat the Arizona Cardinals 34-22 to continue their strong start with a Thursday Night win in the desert. Things would not be as easy the following week as they faced another primetime road game against the St. Louis Rams. With most of St. Louis focused on the World Series, the Rams defense forced nine punts as Russell Wilson was sacked seven times. However, with an 80 yard touchdown pass to a waiving Golden Tate; Wilson and the Seahawks had the last laugh with a 14-9 Monday Night win. At 7-1 the Seahawks were exceeding expectations, but not playing as well as they were in the first few weeks, this was apparent as they hosted the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers and found themselves trailing 21-0 in the 2nd Quarter. However, the Seahawks continued to find ways to win games, as they tied the game late on a pass from Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin and won the game in overtime 27-24. Facing the Atlanta Falcons, who knocked them out of the playoffs a year earlier; seemed to bring the best out of the Seahawks as they delivered a dominant 33-10 win. Steven Hauschka had four Field Goals while Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch each had big games. Returning home, the Seahawks offense continued its resurgence beating the Minnesota Vikings 41-20 as they went into the bye week with a 10-1 record. After their bye week, the Seahawks hosted the New Orleans Saints in a Monday Night Showdown, that quickly turned into another Seahawks showcase, as they won 34-7, with Russell Wilson passing for 310 yards with three touchdowns as the Seahawks defense limited Drew Brees to a season low 147 yards passing. The Seahawks winning streak would end a week later as they lost to the 49ers 19-17 on a late Phil Dawson Field Goal. A week later the Seahawks would get back on the winning track and try out the surroundings at the Meadowlands home of Super Bowl XLVIII, whitewashing the New York Giants 23-0, while intercepting Eli Manning five times. However, with a chance to lock up home field, the Seahawks suffered a stunning 17-10 loss to the Cardinals at home, ending their 14 game winning streak at Century Link Field. A week later the Seahawks would bounce back with a 27-9 win over the Rams to close the season with a franchise best record of 13-3 that gave them home field advantage in the playoffs. The Seahawks ended the year leading the league in points allowed (231), yards allowed (4,378) and takeaways (39), the first team to lead all three categories since the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears. 2013 Playoffs: In the Divisional Playoffs the Seahawks hosted the New Orleans Saints for the second time. Once again the Seahawks looked to completely lockdown the Saints offense, as they took control with a 16-0 lead at the half. However, the Saints managed keep the game within two scores, as they finally got on the board with a Khiry Robinson touchdown run to cut Seattle's lead in half. The game would than turn into a nail biter until Marshawn Lynch appeared to ice the game with a 34 yard touchdown run. However, the Saints did not go down quietly again driving the field to make the score 23-15 with 26 seconds left. The Saints would than recover the on-side kick and all of sudden it was white knuckle time at the Link. The Saints got the ball at the Seahawks 38 yard line and looked to be setting up for a throw to endszone. However, Marquis Colston instead of stepping out of bounds attempted a lateral that went forward resulting in a penalty which ended the game with a 23-15 Seahawks win. In the NFC Championship Game the Seahawks would face the 49ers for a third time with a trip to the New York Super Bowl on the line. Early on the Seahawks appeared jittery as Russell Wilson fumbled on the first snap, but the 49ers only managed a Field Goal. The 49ers would eventually take a 10-0 lead, before the Seahawks found their groove, with Steven Hauschka putting them on the board with a Field Goal late in the 2nd Quarter. The Seahawks would tie the game on a Marshawn Lynch 40 yard Touchdown run in the 3rd Quarter, only to see the 49ers regain the lead 17-10. Trailing 17-13 at the start of the 4th Quarter the Seahawks finally assumed control of the game with a 35 yard Touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse. The Seahawks defense than stepped up the pressure as Cliff Avril force a fumble by Colin Kaepernick. However, the Seahawks instead of padding the lead with a Field Goal attempted to break the Niners sprit but ended up keeping them in the game when Lynch fumbled the hand off at the one yard line. However, Kam Chancellor kept it from being a decision Coach Pete Carroll would regret the entire off-season by picking off Kaepernick at the 40. This time Carroll decided to go for the kick and the Seahawks lead was 23-17. However, the 49ers had one more chance to win the game and drove the ball down the field in the final minutes only to see Richard Sherman deflect a pass meant for Michael Crabtree and into the arms of Malcolm Smith for a sealing interception, as Sherman trash talked his way into NFL fame take the Seahawks to the Super Bowl for the second time. Super Bowl XLVIII: Once a bitter division rival in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks came to the Meadowlands on two different paths. The Seahawks were the top defense in the NFL, while the Broncos led by Quarterback Peyton Manning shattered records for offense. What was expected to be the first cold weather Super Bowl, ended up being ideal conditions as a brutal cold and snowy winter in the Northeast had a brief break with kickoff temperature at 49 �F, ten degrees warmer than Super Bowl VI in New Orleans, which remained the coldest Super Bowl. The Seahawks made sure to bring the 12th man to New York area and they had a quick impact on the game, as Peyton Manning saw the first snap of the sail over his head into the endzone for a safety just 12 seconds into the game. The Seahawks would add a pair of Steven Hauschka to hold an 8-0 lead after the first 15 minutes. The Seahawks continued to control and dominate the game in the 2nd Quarter as Marshawn Lynch scored the game's first touchdown. The Broncos offense never got on track and when they finally started to move down the field, Malcolm Smith erased any hope of them getting back in the game before halftime, returning an interception 69 yards for a touchdown to give the Seahawks a 22-0 lead at intermission. Just as they did to start the game the Seahawks broke the Broncos spirits in the second half as Percy Harvin returned the second half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown again scoring 12 seconds into the half. With a 29-0 lead the Seahawks could smell victory even as the smoke from Bruno Mars' halftime show still hung over East Rutherford. The Seahawks would eventually hold a 36-0 lead, before the Broncos finally got on the board with a touchdown on the last play of the 3rd Quarter. However, the Seahawks were just a freight train on that night in early February crushing the Broncos 43-8 to claim their first Super Bowl Championship as Russell Wilson capped the scoring with a ten yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin. Malcolm Smith whose 69 yard interception return all but sealed the Broncos fate was named the Super Bowl MVP, adding a second half fumble recovery.  2014: The Seattle Seahawks as reigning Super Bowl Champions kicked off the season at home against the Green Bay Packers. Continuing their postseason dominance the Seahawks crushed the Packers 36-16. However, a week later the Seahawks would show some holes as they suffered 30-21 loss on the road against the San Diego Chargers as Antonio Gates had three touchdown receptions in a usually hot day in San Diego. A week later the Seahawks would host the Denver Broncos in a rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII at Century Link Field. Once again the Seahawks were able to frustrate Peyton Manning taking a 17-3 lead at the half. The Broncos would answer back this time rallying to force overtime with a touchdown and two point conversion with 18 seconds left. The Seahawks would answer with a methodical drive capped with a six yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch to win the game 26-20. Following a bye week, the Seahawks would beat the Washington Redskins in a Monday Night road game 27-17, despite losing three Percy Harvin touchdowns to offensive penalties. The Seahawks continued to struggle a week, losing at home to the Dallas Cowboys 30-23. The Seahawks struggled on both ends of the field as DeMarco Murray rushed for 115 yards, while Russell Wilson completed just 14 of 28 passes for 126 yards. Following the game the Seahawks would deal Percy Harvin to the New York Jets for a sixth round draft pick, after the Wide Receiver who often clashed with his teammates made an insulting comment about Russell Wilson. The Seahawks continued to struggle from a Super Bowl hangover after the Harvin trade, losing to the St. Louis Rams 28-26 as they were by a misdirection play on a 90 yard punt return by Stedman Bailey. Trailing 9-6 in a game of Field Goals against the Carolina Panthers, the Seahawks appeared on the verge of falling to 3-4. However, Russell Wilson found Luke Wilson in the end zone with 47 seconds left to win the game 13-9. Returning home the Seahawks would again show some warts, beating the Oakland Raiders 30-24, as they nearly wasted away a 24-3 halftime lead with more sloppy play in the second half. In Week 10, the Seahawks played their best game since the season opener beating the New York Giants at Century Link Field 38-17, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Marshawn Lynch finding beast mode with 140 yards and four scores. Despite losing a tough road game to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11, the Seahawks were finally getting back to the play that made them Super Bowl Champions. They began to move up on the first place Arizona Cardinals with a 19-3 win in Week 12 with the 12th man making an impact all game against a helpless looking Cardinals offense. Four days later in a repeat performance on the road, the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 19-3 on Thanksgiving Night. The Seahawks would beat the 49ers again two weeks later at home, following a solid 24-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on the road. After trailing the NFC West by three games with six games left, the Seahawks moved into first place with a dominant Sunday Night performance in the desert, crushing the Cardinals 35-6, with Russell Wilson and Luke Wilson hooking up on an 80 yard touchdown pass, and Marshawn Lynch rumbling 79 yards for a fourth quarter score. The Seahawks would go on to beat the Rams 20-6 in the season finale, again securing home field advantage by posting a record of 12-4.  2014 Playoffs: In the Divisional Playoffs the Seattle Seahawks would host the Carolina Panthers, looking to return to the NFC Championship Game. Russell Wilson was sharp early with two first half touchdown passes including a 63 yard play to Jermaine Kearse. After leading 14-10 at the half the Seahawks and Panthers played a scoreless third quarter as the 12th man began to make Cam Newton feel the heat. The Seahawks padded their lead with a 37-yard Steven Hauschka Field Goal on the fourth quarter. Following Russell Wilson's third touchdown of game, Seattle sealed the game with a 90 yard interception return by Kam Chancellor. The Seahawks would win the game 31-17, becoming the first reigning Super Bowl Champion to win a playoff game the following season in nine years. As good as Russell Wilson was in the Divisional Round against the Panthers he was terrible in the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers, with four interceptions. The Packers could have put the game away early, but the Seahawks defense kept them out of the end zone, forcing them to settle for Field Goals of less than 20 yards early in the first quarter. However, the Packers still appeared to be in full control leading 16-0 at halftime. The Seahawks would get on the board as Wilson completed a 19 yard touchdown pass to Garry Gilliam, but the Seahawks quarterback continued to struggle and all hope looked lost when he was picked off again, with five minutes left and the Seahawks trailing 19-7, as the only score was off a fake Field Goal with Punter/Holder Jon Ryan completing a Touchdown pass to Garry Gilliam. The Packers failed to take time off the clock on the ensuing possession, as the Seahawks used all but one timeout to leave the door slightly open for a miracle. The Seahawks would go down the field on seven plays with Russell Wilson capping the 69 yard run with a one yard TD plunge. With 2:09 left and one timeout the Seahawks needed an on-side kick recovery to keep their hopes of returning to the Super Bowl alive. The ball bounced off Packers Tight End Brandon Bostick's head and into the arms of Chris Matthews giving Seattle new life. From there it would take just four plays capped by a 24 yard run from Marshawn Lynch to give the Seahawks the lead adding a two point conversion for a 22-19 lead. The Packers still had time to answer and did, as Mason Crosby tied the game with a 48 yard Field Goal. In overtime the Seahawks would win the coin toss and start with the ball on their own 13 yard line. Russell Wilson who struggled all afternoon was at his sharpest needing just six plays to go down the field, as his 35 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse sent the Seahawks on to their second straight Super Bowl with a 28-22 win as Century Link Stadium created a mini earthquake with fans erupting into pandemonium. Super Bowl XLIX: Looking for a second straight Lombardi Trophy the Seattle Seahawks faced the New England Patriots in Arizona. For the first half it was clear that the two teams in Super Bowl XLIX were evenly matched as they matched each other with two second quarter touchdowns to go into halftime tied 14-14. The Seahawks began to take over the game in the third quarter scoring ten points, with Doug Baldwin making three yard touchdown catch to build a 24-14 lead. However, the Patriots began to claw their way back in the final ten minutes as Tom Brady connected with Danny Amendola to make it a one score game with 7:55 left. The Patriots would then take the lead on their next drive, with Brady completing his fourth touchdown of the game to Julian Edelman with just over two minutes left. After the miracle in the NFC Championship Game, the Seahawks had more than enough time to answer and drove down the field with Jermaine Kearse making a circus catch covered by Malcolm Butler to get the ball to the New England 5 yard line with under one minute left. Marshawn Lynch on first down would take ball to the one yard line and suddenly the Seahawks were knocking at the door of a dynasty. Time was ticking away and the Seahawks held all the cards with second and goal on the one. The Seahawks just need Lynch to power his way of the goal and the game was theirs. Russell Wilson also could have easily snuck the ball over the goal line like he has done many times.  Instead and inexplicably Coach Peter Carroll had Wilson attempt a risky pass over the stacked middle of the line, the ball was deflected up and intercepted by Malcolm Butler with 20 seconds left in the game, preserving a 28-24 win for the Patriots. Frustrated by the sudden change in emotion, Bruce Irvin started a brawl as the Brady kneeled in victory formation, becoming the first player ever ejected from a Super Bowl. Following the game Carroll took all the blame on himself, as the decision to pass was labeled the worst call in the history of the big game. 2015: After two straight Super Bowl appearances the Seattle Seahawks began the season on the road against the St. Louis Rams. Things looked good early for Seattle, as Tyler Lockett opened the scoring with a 57-yard punt return. However, the Rams would answer with a punt return of their own for 75 yards by Tavon Austin to take a 24-13 lead at the end of three quarters. In the fourth quarter the Seahawks rallied to take a 31-24 lead on an eight yard fumble return by Cary Williams, but the Rams again tied it as Lance Kendricks caught a 37-yard pass with 53 seconds left. The Rams would go on to win the game in overtime 34-31 on a 37-yard Field Goal by Greg Zeurlein. A week later the Seahawks would fall to 0-2 with a 27-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. A major part of the problem for the Seahawks early struggles was a holdout from All-Pro Safety Kam Chancellor. The Seahawks would get Chancellor back in time for their home opener against the Chicago Bears in Week 3. After a sluggish first half that saw just two Steven Hauschka Field Goals, the Seahawks started the third quarter with a bang as Tyler Lockett returned the second half kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks would go on to blank the Bears 26-0. Not all news was good for the Seahawks, as Marshawn Lynch suffered a hamstring injury, which would hamper him the rest of the season. In just seven games, Beats Mode was hibernation, with a career low 417 yards, in what would be his final season. With Lynch sidelined, the Seahawks offense was limited in Week 4, as they edged the Detroit Lions 13-10 on Monday Night Football. With the Lions driving for the winning score, Kam Chancellor saved the day stripping Calvin Johnson at the one yard line to prevent a potential game winning score. Thomas Rawls emerged as the Seahawks leading rusher as he gained 169 yards with a touchdown as the Seahawks built a 24-7 on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, a defensive letdown in the fourth quarter led to 17 unanswered points as the Bengals won the game in overtime 27-24. Marshawn Lynch returned for Week 6 and collected just 54 yards with a touchdown, but the Seahawks appeared to be in good shape leading the Carolina Panthers at home 23-14. However, once again the Seahawks had a late defensive lapse as the Panthers won the game 27-23, scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes. The Seahawks had just four days to recover as they traveled to Levi's Stadium for a Thursday Night battle with the San Francisco 49ers. Lynch was in full Beast Mode with 122 rushing yards and a score as the defense played a full 60 minutes to win the game 20-3. The Seahawks defense needed to be just as strong as they held the Dallas Cowboys to four field goals, managing just one touchdown themselves the Seahawks pulled out a 13-12 win as Steven Hauschka hit a 24-yard Field Goal with 66 seconds left. The win came at a price as Ricardo Lockette suffered a career ending neck injury, after taking a brutal hit by Jeff Heath. Following their bye week, the Seahawks faced a crucial game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football at Century Link Field. Early on things looked bleak as the Cardinals took a 19-0 lead, before Will Tukuafu but them on the board late in the second quarter. Down 25-10 the Seahawks found their game scoring on two straight possessions to make the score 25-23. They would than take the lead on a 22-yard fumble return by Bobby Wagner. However, twice missing the PAT, only had a 29-25 lead. The Cardinals would answer with two touchdowns to win the game 39-32 all but ending Seattle's hopes of winning the NFC West. At 4-5 it was clear there was a Super Bowl hangover in Seattle, as rumors of players be angry at Coach Pete Carroll's ill-advised end game decision to attempt a pass at the goal line, as both the offense and defense had yet to play with any consistency. Needing to finish strong without Marshawn Lynch the Seahawks began relying more on Quarterback Russell Wilson, who had a strong game against the 49ers at home, passing for 260 yards with three touchdowns to win the game 29-13. A week later Wilson on his 27th birthday passed for 345 yards and a career best five touchdowns as the Seahawks moved over .500 for the first time all season with a 39-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Also having a big afternoon in Seattle was Dough Baldwin who had 145 receiving yards with three touchdowns, including an 80-yard hook up to secure the win.  In the game the Seahawks would lose Tight End Jimmy Graham for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Acquired from the New Orleans Saints for Max Unger, Graham had a disappointing first season in Seattle, with just 645 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks continued their resurgence on the road with a 38-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings as Wilson and Baldwin continued to lead the way. A week later Russell Wilson had his second five touchdown performance in three weeks as the Seahawks beat the Baltimore Ravens 35-6. With the win the Seahawks also moved over .500 in their all-time franchise record. Not all news was good however, as Running Back Thomas Rawls suffered a broken ankle, knocking him out the rest of the season. Russell Wilson would follow that up by passing for 249 yards with three touchdowns as the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot by beating the Cleveland Browns 30-13. The Seahawks would go on to split their final two games, losing to the Rams but beating the Cardinals to finish with a record of 10-6. As the season ended it was clear Russell Wilson was an elite quarterback, having his best season to date, by passing for 4,024 yards with 34 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. 2015 Playoffs: In the Wild Card round, the Seattle Seahawks battled subzero temperatures as they faced the Minnesota Vikings on the road. Unable to play once again was Marshawn Lynch who despite being cleared medically was unable to get back to game speed. In what would be the third coldest game in NFL history, offense was at premium as the Vikings held a 9-0 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Seahawks finally got their offense on track in the fourth quarter as Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin to cut the deficit to 9-7. The Seahawks would take a 10-9 lead on the next series as Steven Hauschka hit a 46-yard Field Goal with 8:04 left. However, the Vikings appeared to be on the way to winning the game as they drove deep into Seattle territory as time was running out. With 26 second left Blair Walsh needed just a 27-yard Field Goal to win the game, but the kick sailed wide left as the Seahawks survived with a 10-9 victory. Against the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional Round, the Seahawks got off to a terrible start, falling behind 31-0 at the half. The Seahawks would not relinquish their NFC Championship crown without a fight as they scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to get within one touchdown, but the game would come to an end with a 31-24 loss, as they were unable to come up with an on-side kick. Logo

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A dry goods shop specializes in selling what product?

Looking back: 12 memorable moments in Seahawks history | FOX Sports Looking back: 12 memorable moments in Seahawks history By Sid Saraf Jun 04, 2015 11:00a ET Just 41 years later ... The birth of professional football in the Pacific Northwest went down on June 4, 1974, when the NFL awarded the city of Seattle a franchise that would later come to be known as the Seahawks. The years that have flown by since have been filled with some lows, but also many highs. It's the latter that we're concerned about here. So, on the anniversary of the franchise's inception, let's take a look back at 12 memorable moments in Seahawks history. -- Sid Saraf Photo: Christian Petersen A whole new world Two years after being awarded a franchise, the Seattle Seahawks took the field for the first time ever in a preseason game on Aug. 1, 1976. Their home field was the brand new Kingdome. The opponent? A soon-to-be familiar foe in the San Francisco 49ers.The Kingdome would later be torn down and replaced by CenturyLink Field, but it was in that first facility where Seahawks fans became known for their distinct loudness.   Photo: Michael Zagaris Victory! You never forget your first. And for the Seahawks, the franchise's first regular-season win came on Oct. 17, 1976 when quarterback Jim Zorn led the team past Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- another expansion team -- 13-10 on the road. The Seahawks won their first home game the following month and finished the season with a 2-12 record. You have to start somewhere. Photo: Focus On Sport Breakthrough After several season spent at the bottom of the NFL, things changed in 1983 when the Seahawks hired the legendary Chuck Knox as their new head coach. And Knox brought instant success as he led the team to their first playoff berth. And once they get to the postseason, all they did was dispatch two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks -- John Elway and Dan Marino -- in back-to-back weeks to reach the AFC Championship Game. They wound up falling short of the Super Bowl, but the city of Seattle enjoyed quite the ride. Photo: Miguel A. Elliot Four in one game?! For all the credit the Legion of Boom gets today, they never did something like this. The Seahawks defense forced 63 turnovers during the 1984 season, and amazingly, in one November blowout of the Kansas City Chiefs, they picked off four passes and returned all of them for touchdowns. That's right: four pick-sixes in one game. Kenny Easley (pictured) and Keith Simpson got one apiece, while Dave Brown took two to the house. It's an NFL record that still stands to this day. Photo: Rick Stewart A homegrown legend Technically, Franco Harris was the first player to wear a Seahawks uniform to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his legacy resides with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steve Largent, on the other hand, was the franchise's first legitimate star. Arriving in Seattle via trade before the team's inaugural season, Largent manned the wide receiver spot for all 13 seasons of his career and racked up seven Pro Bowl appearances. His number was retired and in 1995, he took his spot in Canton. Photo: Focus On Sport New man in town People forget how close the Seahawks came to leaving Washington. Team owner Ken Behring announced he was moving the team to Los Angeles in 1996, but the NFL stepped in and forced him to return the team to Seattle. A few lawsuits later, Behring sold the team to Microsoft owner Paul Allen just after voters OK'd funding to build what's now CenturyLink Field. It turned out to be one of the most fortuitous moments in franchise history as Allen took the Seahawks to the next level. Photo: Steve Dykes These go to 12 It began on Dec. 15, 1984, when the Seahawks retired the No. 12 jersey in honor of their raucous fans. But things elevated in 2003, when the team installed a flagpole in the south end zone and started raising the "12th Man flag" before every home game. The momentum continued to build and the No. 12 has now become synonymous with Seahawks fans, to the chagrin of Texas A&M (the school that claims ownership of the "12th Man" moniker) fans everywhere. Photo: Kevin C. Cox The man Just one player in Seahawks history has been named NFL MVP. In 2005, running back Shaun Alexander laid waste to the league, rushing for 1,880 yards and breaking the NFL's single-season touchdown record with 28. He became the Seahawks' all-time leader in rushing yards and broke Chris Warren's team record with nine consecutive games of 100 yards or more on the ground. Alexander was so good, he snagged the NFL MVP Award, was named the Offensive Player of the Year and became the first Seahawks player to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Not bad. Photo: Kevin Casey Super party The 2005 Seahawks weren't just famous for Shaun Alexander. This team was stacked top to bottom and compiled a 13-3 record during the team's 30th anniversary season. They finished with a perfect record at home and after dominating the Carolina Panthers 34-14 in the NFC Championship Game, reached their first Super Bowl in franchise history. And while they weren't able to get past the Pittsburgh Steelers in the big game, the season is still looked back on fondly by many fans. Photo: Al Messerschmidt The world shakes It's one of the most famous runs in the NFL history, and to think, the Seahawks shouldn't really have been there. Despite finishing the regular season with a 7-9 record in Pete Carroll's first season as head coach, Seattle found itself in the postseason after winning a subpar NFC West. Against the defending champion New Orleans Saints in a wild-card game, Marshawn Lynch fueled a giant upset when he broke off a 67-yard touchdown that saw him run through the entire defense. The crowd roar was so loud, it registered as seismic activity on Richter Scale. The Seahawks went on to win 41-36. Photo: Jonathan Ferrey Miracle! The Seahawks were on the brink of going home for the winter. Trailing the Green Bay Packers by 12 points with four minutes left in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 18, 2015, the Seahawks somehow rallied to tie the game -- thanks to a lucky bounce on an onsides kick -- and send it to overtime. Once there, Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse on a 35-yard touchdown pass that clinched a second consecutive Super Bowl berth for the defending champions. Unbelievable. Photo: Kevin C. Cox Hand of destiny The 49ers were driving for the winning score with time running out in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 19, 2014. The Seahawks, desperately trying to hold on, were saved by star cornerback Richard Sherman, who tipped a Colin Kaepernick pass intended for Michael Crabtree to teammate Malcolm Smith for the interception with just seconds left on the clock. The win and a trip to the Super Bowl was clinched. As good as that moment was, what came next took the cake. Photo: Jonathan Ferrey Title town The Seahawks reached the top of the mountain in Super Bowl XLVIII. In a matchup against the NFL's No. 1 offense in the Denver Broncos, the league's top-ranked defense won the day. The Seahawks crushed Denver 43-8 and won the first championship in franchise history. Oh, the sweet taste of success.   Photo: Otto Greule Jr

i don't know

According to KFC, Colonel Sanders' original recipe contained how many herbs and spices?

KFC's secret recipe found in a scrapbook? KFC's secret recipe found in a scrapbook? Chicago Tribune might have stumbled upon fast food's most guarded secret: Colonel Sanders' original fried chicken recipe Post to Facebook KFC's secret recipe found in a scrapbook? Chicago Tribune might have stumbled upon fast food's most guarded secret: Colonel Sanders' original fried chicken recipe Check out this story on courier-journal.com: http://cjky.it/2b9U2YO CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the Conversation KFC's secret recipe found in a scrapbook? Joseph Gerth , @Joe_Gerth Published 2:34 p.m. ET Aug. 19, 2016 | Updated 9:13 a.m. ET Aug. 20, 2016 Buy Photo Colonel Sanders (Photo: CJ File)Buy Photo The Chicago Tribune is reporting that it may have uncovered Col. Harland Sanders' secret original recipe for his famed fried chicken, the linchpin of KFC's global franchise of some 18,000 restaurants in 115 countries. In a story posted on the Tribune's website Friday, a freelance reporter for the newspaper said he stumbled upon the recipe at the home of Joe Ledington, a nephew of the colonel by marriage, while paging through a scrapbook once owned by Sanders' late wife, Claudia Sanders. But in an email to the Courier-Journal, a KFC spokesperson said the recipe isn't theirs. "Many people have made these claims over the years and no one has been accurate – this one isn't either," the email said. "Though, we imagine that might make some tasty fried chicken, too." Ledington, in an interview with the Courier-Journal, said the scrapbook was passed down through various family members since Claudia Sanders died in 1997. Ledington said the book – which contains photos of the Sanderses' wedding, original franchise agreements and original photos of overseas restaurant openings – has been in his possession about four years. The recipe was handwritten on a piece of paper tucked into an envelope that contained a copy of Claudia Sanders' will, he said. Ledington said he grew up mixing the herbs and spices at the Sanders Court and Cafe, the restaurant and motel where Sanders pioneered his now-famous recipe, working there from the time he was 8 or 9 years old for a quarter a day and access to the motel's swimming pool. "I was more excited about the pool than the money," said Ledington, a 67-year-old retired school teacher who lives in the home where he was reared, about 300 yards from Sanders' first restaurant. ►RELATED:  KFC secret recipe clues in Corbin, Ky​ KFC protects the recipe in a vault and has sued to keep its recipe secret in the past. According to the Tribune, Yum! replied with an email that said, "In the 1940s, Colonel Sanders developed the original recipe chicken to be sold at his gas station diner. At the time, the recipe was written above the door so anyone could have read it. But today, we go to great lengths to protect such a sacred blend of herbs and spices. In fact, the recipe ranks among America's most valuable trade secrets." So, does Ledington think the recipe is the real McCoy? "Yeah, I do," he said. "I don't want to get in an argument with Yum! Brands about it but ... I'm pretty sure that it's pretty close to the original." According to the Tribune, the recipe calls for two cups of flour, 2/3 tablespoons of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of thyme, 1/2 tablespoon of basil, 1/3 tablespoon of oregano, 1 tablespoon of celery salt, 1 tablespoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of dried mustard, 4 tablespoons of paprika, 2 tablespoons of garlic salt, 1 tablespoon of ground ginger and 3 tablespoons of white pepper. ►RELATED:  Colonel Sanders revived by KFC to boost sales Former Gov. John Y.  Brown Jr., who bought Kentucky Fried Chicken from Sanders in 1964 for $2 million before selling it in 1971, said he doesn't know the recipe but that he has doubts that Ledington's recipe is the real thing. Brown said it was Sanders who began the tradition of having two different companies make parts of the spice blend so that no one had the full recipe. "I wouldn’t pay attention to it," Brown said of Ledington's claim. "There have been claims for the last 50 years." "People along the way have all claimed they have the recipe," he said. "I discount that. It makes a good story." The Tribune, however,  whipped up a couple of batches , added a little Accent, a brand of MSG, to boost the flavor and, voila, it said the bird it cooked was indistinguishable from what it purchased at a KFC restaurant. Ledington said he's not surprised. Now he just hopes Yum doesn't take offense. In fact, he said, he didn't give it a second thought before sharing the recipe with the Tribune reporter. "I really didn't think about it. I didn't use my head and I certainly don't want to get sued by Yum! Brands," he said. "But I didn't think much about it. I grew up with it." Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702. Reporter Jere Downs contributed to this report.

11

Judged by Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, what Fox show features a panel of finalists who dance with and against each other for fan votes?

KFC Secret Recipe Found? Colonel Sanders’ Nephew Shares 11 Herbs And Spices Found In Family Scrapbook KFC Secret Recipe Found? Colonel Sanders’ Nephew Shares 11 Herbs And Spices Found In Family Scrapbook Tara Dodrill The KFC secret recipe might just have been found. Colonel Sanders’ “Original Recipe” has been an intensely guarded secret since the early 1940s. The 11 herbs and spices used in the recipe are often credited for the chain’s success. A nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders claims to have found the recipe tucked inside an old journal. On Friday, the Chicago Tribune published what the nephew of the KFC founder claims is the secret recipe containing the names of all 11 herbs and spices and directions used to make the “finger lickin’ good” chicken, which has been a staple at picnics and family gatherings for decades. Joe Ledington, 67, a nephew by marriage to Colonel Sanders, claims he found the recipe in a scrapbook created by Claudia Sanders, the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder’s second wife. The KFC blend of 11 herbs and spices recipe has reportedly been kept inside a vault at the company’s headquarters. Kentucky Fried Chicken executives have not authenticated the recipe, which has now gone viral on the internet. Tens of thousands of Americans might be rushing out to the grocery store today to garner the ingredients so they can try the recipe for themselves. Yum! Brands, the parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken, does not appear angry about the supposed secret recipe being published. “Lots of people through the years have claimed to discover or figure out the secret recipe, but no one’s ever been right,” company executives said. Was KFC’s secret recipe really found in a scrapbook? https://t.co/RXcWR1AeGU (Photo: CJFile). pic.twitter.com/P8F6ZXtwEM — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 20, 2016 Many decades ago, Colonel Sanders came up with an ingenious idea to help keep the KFC recipe secret – even from the folks who make the chicken. Sanders wanted to have two different companies make part of the secret recipe so no one entity would ever have access to the whole list of ingredients and cooking instructions, the Daily Mail reports. The Claudia Sanders scrapbook, allegedly found by Joe Ledington, had a handwritten version of the recipe saved inside an envelope. Colonel Sanders’ second wife passed away in 1997. Harland Sanders started his fried chicken business from a roadside stand in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression, according to the KFC website. He soon realized how profitable a franchise business would be and opened his first Kentucky Friend Chicken franchise restaurant in Utah in 1952. A commemorative representation of the 11 secret herbs and spices Colonel Harland Sanders made famous in his recipe. [Photo by Brian Bohannon/AP Photo] Joe Ledington told reporters he has been is possession of Claudia Sanders’ scrapbook for approximately four years. The keepsake was reportedly passed down from relatives. When asked if he truly believed he had found Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe, he did not hesitate before stating he sure did. “Yeah, I do. I don’t want to get in an argument with Yum! Brands about it but I’m pretty sure that it’s pretty close to the original,” Ledington added. Chicago Tribune staffers went shopping for the 11 herbs and spices, and other necessary ingredients, and then cooked up a batch of the fried chicken. While the chicken was frying, they sent some co-workers out to buy a bucket of freshly made KFC Original Recipe chicken from a local restaurant. It reportedly took a couple of tries to get a batch of secret recipe chicken to turn out, but once they produced an edible version, the taste test began. The newspaper staffers doubling as cooks also added an MSG flavor-enhancer, Accent, to their version of the chicken. In the end, they claim their batch of fried chicken tastes “indistinguishable” from a finger lickin’ good meal purchased at KFC. Want to try making a batch for yourself? Here’s the supposed KFC secret recipe which was shared by Colonel Sanders’ nephew with the Chicago Tribune and is now being widely circulated on websites and in newspapers across the country. Recipe Details 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme leaves 1/2 tablespoon dried basil leaves 1/3 tablespoon dried oregano leaves 1 tablespoon celery salt 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dried mustard 3 tablespoons ground white pepper 1 cup buttermilk 1 chicken, cut up, the breast pieces cut in half for more even frying Expeller-pressed canola oil Instructions Mix the flour in a bowl with all the herbs and spices; set aside. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a separate bowl until combined. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk mixture at room temperature, 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off. Dip the chicken pieces in the herb-spice-flour mixture to coat all sides, shaking off excess. Allow to sit on a rack over a baking sheet, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat about 3 inches of the oil in a large Dutch oven (or similar heavy pot with high sides) over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. (Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature.) When temperature is reached, lower the heat to medium to maintain it at 350. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until medium golden brown, turning once, 15-18 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding more chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken. [Image via Ken Wolter/Shutterstock]

i don't know

What is the name of the tough fibrous structural protein found in fingernails and toenails?

Keratin | Define Keratin at Dictionary.com keratin noun 1. a scleroprotein or albuminoid substance, found in the dead outer skin layer, and in horn, hair, feathers, hoofs, nails, claws, bills, etc. Origin of keratin Examples from the Web for keratin Expand The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Edited by Rev. James Wood British Dictionary definitions for keratin Expand noun 1. a fibrous protein that occurs in the outer layer of the skin and in hair, nails, feathers, hooves, etc Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for keratin Expand n. basic substance of horns, nails, feathers, etc., 1847, from Greek keras (genitive keratos) "horn" (see kerato- ) + chemical suffix -in (2). Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Keratin

Which insect, native to central Africa, is notorious for causing the sleeping sickness?

The Integumentary System The Integumentary System The Skin The hypodermis, also called the superficial fascia, is subcutaneous tissue beneath the skin consisting mostly of adipose tissue that anchors the skin to underlying muscle, allows skin to slide over muscle, and acts as a shock absorber and insulator. Epidermis The epidermis is a keratinized stratified squamous epithelium. Cells of the Epidermis The majority of epidermal cells are keratinocytes that produce a fibrous protective protein called keratin. Melanocytes are epithelial cells that synthesize the pigment melanin. Langerhans� cells, or epidermal dendritic cells, are macrophages that help activate the immune system. Merkel cells are associated with sensory nerve endings. Layers of the Epidermis The stratum basale (basal layer) is the deepest epidermal layer and is the site of mitosis. The stratum spinosum (prickly layer) is several cell layers thick and contains keratinocytes, melanin granules, and the highest concentration of Langerhans� cells. The stratum granulosum (granular layer) contains keratinocytes that are undergoing a great deal of physical changes, turning them into the tough outer cells of the epidermis. The stratum lucidum (clear layer) is found only in thick skin and is composed of dead keratinocytes. The stratum corneum (horny layer) is the outermost protective layer of the epidermis composed of a thick layer of dead keratinocytes. Dermis The dermis is composed of strong, flexible connective tissue. The dermis is made up of two layers: the thin, superficial papillary layer is highly vascularized areolar connective tissue containing a woven mat of collagen and elastin fibers; and the reticular layer, accounting for 80% of the thickness of the dermis, is dense irregular connective tissue. Skin color is determined by three pigments: melanin, hemoglobin, and carotene. Appendages of the Skin Sweat (Sudoriferous) Glands Eccrine sweat glands, or merocrine sweat glands, produce true sweat, are the most numerous of the sweat glands, and are particularly abundant on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and forehead. Apocrine sweat glands are confined to the axillary and anogenital areas and produce true sweat with the addition of fatty substances and proteins. Ceruminous glands are modified sweat glands found lining the ear canal that secrete ear wax, or cerumen. Mammary glands are modified sweat glands found in the breasts that secrete milk. Sebaceous (Oil) Glands Sebaceous glands are simple alveolar glands found all over the body except the palms of the hands and soles of the feet that secrete sebum, an oily secretion. The sebaceous glands function as holocrine glands, secreting their product into a hair follicle or to a pore on the surface of the skin. Secretion by sebaceous glands is stimulated by hormones. Hairs and Hair Follicles Hairs, or pili, are flexible strands produced by hair follicles that consist of dead, keratinized cells. The main regions of a hair are the shaft and the root. A hair has three layers of keratinized cells: the inner core is the medulla, the middle layer is the cortex, and the outer layer is the cuticle. Hair pigments (melanin of different colors) are made by melanocytes at the base of the hair follicle. Structure of a Hair Follicle Hair follicles fold down from the epidermis into the dermis and occasionally into the hypodermis. The deep end of a hair follicle is expanded, forming a hair bulb, which is surrounded by a knot of sensory nerve endings called a hair follicle receptor, or root hair plexus. The wall of a hair follicle is composed of an outer connective tissue root sheath, a thickened basement membrane called a glassy membrane, and an inner epithelial root sheath. Associated with each hair follicle is a bundle of smooth muscle cells called an arrector pili muscle. Types and Growth of Hair Hairs come in various sizes and shapes, but can be classified as vellus or terminal. Hair growth and density are influenced by many factors, such as nutrition and hormones. The rate of hair growth varies from one body region to another and with sex and age. Hair Thinning and Baldness After age 40 hair is not replaced as quickly as it is lost, which leads to hair thinning and some degree of balding, or alopecia, in both sexes. Male pattern baldness, which is a type of true, or frank, balding, is a genetically determined, sex-influenced condition. Nails A nail is a scalelike modification of the epidermis that forms a clear, protective covering. Nails are made up of hard keratin and have a free edge, a body, and a proximal root. Functions of the Integumentary System Protection Chemical barriers include skin secretions and melanin. Physical or mechanical barriers are provided by the continuity of the skin, and the hardness of the keratinized cells. Biological barriers include the Langerhans� cells of the epidermis, the macrophages of the dermis, and the DNA itself. The skin plays an important role in body temperature regulation by using the sweat glands of the skin to cool the body, and constriction of dermal capillaries to prevent heat loss. Cutaneous sensation is made possible by the placement of cutaneous sensory receptors, which are part of the nervous system, in the layers of the skin. The skin provides the metabolic function of making vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. The skin may act as a blood reservoir by holding up to 5% of the body�s blood supply, which may be diverted to other areas of the body should the need arise. Limited amounts of nitrogenous wastes are excreted through the skin. IV. Homeostatic Imbalances of Skin Skin Cancer Basal cell carcinoma is the least malignant and the most common skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma tends to grow rapidly and metastasize if not removed. Melanoma is the most dangerous of the skin cancers because it is highly metastatic and resistant to chemotherapy.   Burns A burn is tissue damage inflicted by intense heat, electricity, radiation, or certain chemicals, all of which denature cell proteins and cause cell death to infected areas. The most immediate threat to a burn patient is dehydration and electrolyte imbalance due to fluid loss. After the first 24 hours has passed, the threat to a burn patient becomes infection to the wound site. Burns are classified according to their severity. First-degree burns involve damage only to the epidermis. Second-degree burns injure the epidermis and the upper region of the dermis. Third-degree burns involve the entire thickness of the skin. V. Developmental Aspects of the Integumentary System The epidermis develops from the embryonic ectoderm, and the dermis and the hypodermis develop from the mesoderm. By the end of the fourth month of development the skin is fairly well formed. During infancy and childhood, the skin thickens and more subcutaneous fat is deposited. During adolescence, the skin and hair become oilier as sebaceous glands are activated. The skin reaches its optimal appearance when we reach our 20s and 30s; after that time the skin starts to show the effects of cumulative environmental exposures. As old age approaches, the rate of epidermal cell replacement slows and the skin thins, becoming more prone to bruising and other types of injuries.

i don't know

Citizen (of watch fame), JVC, and Olympus are all companies based in what country?

Learn and talk about EIKI, 1953 establishments in Japan, Companies based in Hyōgo Prefecture, Companies established in 1953, Display technology companies .com An EIKI EX-4000P movie projector with a filmlooper desgned by Studio 2M EIKI Industrial Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company that manufactures LCD and DLP projectors , related accessories and overhead projectors . History[ edit ] EIKI was founded in 1953 in Osaka , Japan by four founders. (M. Matsuura, S. Yagi, K. Sekino & Y. Minagawa). [1] Initially the focus of the company was producing technology for classroom instruction but later on the company focused more on producing 16mm movie projectors for other fields. The name EIKI comes from the Japanese term "EIshaKI" meaning projector. EIKI 16mm projectors were innovative because their design included only half of the moving parts of popular projectors, thus making them less costly and easier to maintain. They were the largest manufacturer of such projectors. In 1974, EIKI opened EIKI International, Inc., their USA division in Laguna Niguel, CA. to distribute its products in the United States. In 1986, the Company acquired the business unit of the Bell & Howell company that had originated the audio visual industry some 50 years earlier. In 1988, EIKI Canada was created as a subsiary of EIKI International, Inc. In 1995, EIKI Deutschland, GmbH became the Company's first wholly owned office in Europe. And, in 1997 EIKI Czech was founded to establish a network of Dealer's across Central and Eastern Europe. Today, EIKI brand projection equipment is available in every major country in the world. EIKI was also one of the first manufacturers of LCD projector . Only one of the original four founding members is still alive today. In 2013, EIKI Industrial Co., Ltd. celebrated its 60th anniversary. Original courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIKI  —  Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "EIKI" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia! Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group. Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2017 Digparty. All rights reserved.

Japan

Knitting uses needles. What tool does crocheting use?

Orion Electric : Wikis (The Full Wiki) The Full Wiki More info on Orion Electric   Wikis       Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Encyclopedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Orion Electric Co., Ltd. (オリオン電機株式会社, Orion Denki Kabushiki-gaisha ?) was established in 1958 in Osaka , Japan , and it is currently based in the city of Echizen , Fukui Prefecture . The products manufactured were transistor radios, radio cassette recorders, car stereos, and music centers. In 1967, Orion Electric moved to Fukui prefecture in Japan, where it still has its head office today. One of the world's largest OEM television and video manufacturers, Orion produces well over six million televisions and twelve million VCRs, DVD players, and combo units each year. Orion is a highly-valued supplier to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) customers. The Orion Group employs in excess of 9,000 workers. It has factories and offices on four continents, including Japan, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. Its flagship Thailand factories are especially proud of their achievement as being one of the top exporters in this country, and have been recognized with an award from the Thai Government for their contribution. Over the years, Orion has established and expanded its manufacturing facilities to develop and produce large and small screen color TVs (CRT, LCD, plasma), TV combos, VCRs, camcorders (VHS-C), DVD players, and DVD/VCR combos for the U.S., European, and Australian markets. Orion is the originator of the televideo concept. Orion manufactures products for eleven of the world's top electronic brands. Its primary, long-time brands are Broksonic, Durabrand , Memorex , Orion, and Sansui . Orion used to manufacture many TV/VCR combos and VCRs for Emerson Radio during the 80s and 90s for 10 years, but Emerson Radio went bankrupt and was brought up by Funai in 2000. Since 2001, Orion has been a supplier for Toshiba . Orion currently manufactures all CRT , Plasma , LCD televisions (sized 23" and under), and DVD/VCR combos for Toshiba , as well as some LCD televisions for Sharp , and DVD players for Onkyo and Pioneer . Orion also operates Orion Sales, headquartered in Olney, Illinois, for the North American market, under the iLO, Orion, and Sansui brands. Up until 2001, Orion was the exclusive supplier for Wal-Mart of discounted Orion-branded televisions and VCRs during the 90's. External links

i don't know

With a truck body on a car chassis, what Chevrolet product, produced from 1959-60, and 64-87, was a competitor to the Ford Ranchero?

Curbside Classic: 1957 Ford Ranchero – The First Respectable Truck Curbside Classic: 1957 Ford Ranchero – The First Respectable Truck Paul Niedermeyer – December 26, 2014 (first posted 11/15/2011)   From today’s perspective, Rancheros – and their El Camino counterparts – are just cool, funky, fun and desirable, because of their unique configuration and, well; because they’re cool, funky and and fun. What else is needed? They long ago achieved cult status, and one can never go wrong showing up in one, regardless of whether that’s in Beverly Hills or Lubbock. And for anyone under the age of fifty or so, the reasons for their existence are self-evident: another opportunity for guys to express their disdain for sedans, and all the implications of domesticity they imply. The Anti-Paternity Mobile, as I tagged the 1969 Ranchero we did a while back. In today’s time frame, the dozen years between 1957 and 1969 may not seem like much, but back then, well; how old is rap? Think kids in 1969 were listening to Pat Boone? So to try to understand why Ford decided to build the first Ranchero in 1957, we need to make a huge jump, culturally speaking. And it involves this: in 1957, trucks were madly uncool. Nobody ever took a girl out in a truck in 1957, period. They’d beg, steal or borrow anything else; whatever it took. Trucks were nasty, dirty and as un-sexy as it got; might as well take a tractor to the prom. Enter the Ranchero. You probably can’t make out the text, but here’s the key lines from this ad: Because Ranchero, with its crisp modern lines, has a wonderful way of saying nice things about your company. Nice things like “progressive”…”up-to-date”…”good to deal with”. That’s why the Ranchero is excellent for any business – large or small – where customer impressions count. Does that implicate genuine trucks adequately enough? As in, you’re going to be seen as a crude, dirty, untrustworthy hick if you show up to fix Mrs. Smiths’ sink in a Ford F-100. Like I said, 1957 was a long time ago, and America’s embrace of the truck as the family truckster was as unimaginable as gay marriage. In that context, the Ranchero was as obvious as, and analogous to Ford’s 1958 Thunderbird: time to step up your game, dude! Imagine driving around your suburban neighborhood, and not seeing a genuine pickup truck, anywhere. To the best of my memory, that was the case when I arrived in Iowa City in 1960, and I was pretty observant. The first one appeared in 1964, a big Dodge double cab with a giant cab-over camper; the forerunner of the RV. And then our neighbors bought a new 1965 Chevy C10, because they were building a house in the country to move to. And of course, those were strictly second vehicles. And of course, there were exceptions, somewhere. Drive out of town, and every farm had a pickup. But there was always a sedan too. And you know which one got driven to church, game or the the dance. All which explains the divergent evolution of automobilus ute; as in Australian ute, or utility coupe, from the American counterpart. Even the lowliest of American farmers could afford a sedan, even if it meant driving a ten year old pickup. Not so in Australia. The ute was a necessary compromise of coupe and truck, because folks needed one vehicle to haul the barbed wire  as well as to drive to church on Sunday. The Ranchero was never conceived of in the same vein, and American “utes” and Ozzie utes are as different in their genealogy as coyotes and kangaroos. They both have tails, but that’s about the extent of it. And for what it’s worth, the Ranchero was hardly a brilliant idea, or sales success. Until the mid-late sixties, when Chevy’s El Camino became “cool”, an “individualistic” alternative to a Malibu coupe, the category’s sales were somewhere between modest and mediocre. Not that it probably hurt Ford any; the Ranchero shared a whole lot of body parts with its aptly-named stable-mate, the two-door Ranch Wagon. Even the tailgate was re-used. And presumably, Ford’s legendarily mediocre build quality for that year. Our example has been “improved” a bit, but was a regular driver parked downtown on and off for a couple of years. I’m particularly fond of its caramel paint job.  Yumm! Whether the machinery in the engine compartment has been improved is unknown. Ford’s 226 six and the 272 and 292 Y-blocks were the choices, then. Even though Ford may not have made a lot of hay with the early Rancheros, it was another example of their willingness to blaze new market niches. That would serve Ford well, mostly. It may not have turned out to be another T-Bird, but it wasn’t an Edsel either. Development costs were undoubtedly peanuts, and the tooling didn’t take much to pay off. A risk worth taking, even if earlier attempts at a similar concept, like the Hudson car-based pickups a decade earlier flopped. The Ranchero cost a not-insubstantial amount more than a dirty F-100, which undoubtedly held back its appeal. But someone has to be the trailblazer, and the Ranchero paved the way for a raft of smaller and more civilized trucks of all sorts. Before we knew it, trucks became respectable; maybe too much so.

El Camino

The catchphrase of what Toy Story character was “To Infinity and Beyond”?

10sdcsdc by gblabma - issuu issuu Issuu on Google+ takes e other side of the world Importing a car from th l the and co-ordination of al a quite a bit of planning fees at different stages of t en ym pa e th , es rti relevant pa ling a lot of paperwork. in the process and hand take care of the import I used Hill Shipping to and to help facilitate formalities here in the UK pay the relevant fees. to d an ce an ar cle s om cust my 1970s US car into ng gi in br e ad m s ha is Th Hill Shipping did a the country a lot simpler. been very helpful and great job and they have this process. professional throughout Harald Schulz GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send us a message on Facebook, drop us a tweet on Twitter or email [email protected] twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine O ISSUE #147 - DECEMBER 2015 Published 29th October 2015 THE CREW EDITOR IN CHIEF Julia Hope [email protected] EDITOR Dave Smith [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Ball DESIGN MANAGER Joe Everley DESIGNER Don MacLachlan FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS DAVE SMITH EDITOR Jonathan Jacob, Darren Woolway, Andy Willsheer, Andy Davis, John Kennedy, Jeni Long, Richard Smith, Kev Carrington, Darren Graham, Sonia Hammond, Paul Dodd SUBSCRIPTIONS Lauren Rodger [email protected] ADVERTISING Lyndsey Godfrey [email protected] This is more like it a 'street-legal high' PUBLISHER American Car Magazine is published under contract by: PROJECT VIVA LIMITED THE OUTLOOK 6 SANSOME WALK WORCESTER WR1 1LH Tel: 01905 330177 DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Limited PRINT Print & Digital Publishing by Contract Publishing UK (CPUK) Ltd. © 2015 Project Viva Limited ISSN 2046-4580 Sorry, but we can’t answer technical queries over the telephone. All correspondence requiring a reply must include an SAE. Whilst every effort is made in compiling American Car Magazine the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors, or any effects arising therefrom. COMPETITION RULES UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED OTHERWISE: For all American Car Magazine competitions, enter via email at [email protected] or send postal entries to: American Car Magazine, The Outlook, 6 Sansome Walk, Worcester, WR1 1LH. One entry per person. No cash alternative. Competitions close at noon on the closing date stated. ACM employees are not eligible to enter. ver summer, you can't have failed to notice the scourge of 'hippy crack' being blared about in the newspapers. Nitrous oxide, freely available as a 'legal high', and the latest must-have at festivals and what-have-you. What a load of tripe. Fortunately, the whole Syrian refugee crisis has wiped it off the front page of the rags, but as soon as we're all sick of reading about the plight of the migrants, or as soon as another silly bugger kills himself with it, it'll be back in the headlines as the new bête noire that's poisoning our nation's kids. It was first discovered in the late 1700s, and within a few years people were using it as a recreational drug. It's been used as a medical anaesthetic since the mid-1800s. The Luftwaffe were using it to boost aircraft engines during WWII, and drag racers have been using it in a similar fashion for decades. More recently it's been in common use as a propellant in whipped cream dispensers and aerosols, because it can be pressurised like air but won't cause the cream to go off. It also makes the whipped cream really fluffy – squirt some on your dessert and it's a foamy delight, but leave it for half an hour until the cream releases all the nitrous and you have a runny mess. Inhaling a small quantity of nitrous oxide makes you giddy, giggly and detached. It's called dissociative euphoria; everything's funny, even your hearing has a weird echo and reverb to it. But the 'high' only lasts a short while, so you do it again. And again. And if you can't regulate the dose, you're just anaesthetising yourself. Eventually, the body starves of oxygen, your breathing licence gets revoked, and tomorrow you'll be in the papers alongside an investigative report into this evil new drug craze, calling for it to be banned. That's the problem with such matters. The government can't legislate against stupidity – half the nation would be in the nick, including some of the government – but they can legislate against the tools of stupidity. All they have to do is ban the sale of nitrous oxide in the UK and they can be seen to have taken a hardline stance against this lethal legal high. Hospitals would have to use a different anaesthetic, the catering industry would have to find a way around the whipped cream issue, and drag racers … well, who would give two shits about them? Bloody noisy gang of hooligans, who wants to do them any favours? We'll just have to police ourselves; racers need to distance themselves from the goons huffing nitrous from those miniature canisters. In the days of high court injunctions blanketbanning car cruises in towns, and VOSA getting hotter on modified vehicles, the misuse-of-nitrous brush is another one we don't want to get tarred with. It's odd to think that the owner of a sixsecond nitrous-guzzling Pro Mod should be trying to be discreet, inconspicuous and fly under the radar, but that's possibly what needs to happen. Unless anyone out there has a better idea? “The government can't legislate against stupidity” NOW AVAILABLE DIGITALLY EVERYTHING YOU ENJOY ABOUT AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE ON YOUR SMART PHONE OR TABLET Connect with us on Facebook & Twitter twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine ACM 7 12 14 16 18 19 66 82 92 97 114 20 News On Track News Auction News The Big Picture Subscriptions Letters Events Guide Our Yanks New Products Gallery Finish Line P7: Gripping: off-road Jeepery 28 36 LITTLE RED GRABBIN' HOOD A big, bad, big-block, blood-red B-body WHITE HAUL An ice-cool, ice-white Chevy with Mo-power “SHE'S THE LAST OF THE V8S...” The blown Aussie V8 with a Vauxhall badge P92: Growling: pipes of no peace 02 OTHER STUFF 68 4 REVIEWS Reading matter that matters ACM P28: Gruelling: big rebuild for gorgeous Chevy 04 RACING 50 55 58 62 65 LIVING HISTORY The NSRA get dragged into the 20th century GOOD TIMES Sun and action at Santa Pod's FIA Euro Finals... THE FINAL TALLY … and the same at the MSA National Finals AMERICAN SUPER STOCK The championship-deciding final round OUTLAW STREET The OS guys reach round five P70: Grizzly: bargain bling or tasteless tosh? 05 TECHNICAL 70 74 76 86 88 90 BLUEPRINT Escalade – bargain bling or big trouble? ONE-BREW JOBS Rectifying charging issues HOW-TO Beginning Project 13/30's shell strengthening JARGON BUSTER Gassing about oxygen sensors TRIED'N'TESTED More products with comedy names WHAT'S IN THE WORKSHOP Caging some animals in Cheshire 06 SHOWS 41 46 IPSWICHCRAFT Partying hard at the NASC Street Rod Nationals FLY-DRIVE Sywell's all-comers classic wings and wheels fest AdrenalineBulletin Tests conducted by the University of Portsmouth reveal that driving a powerful car can provoke a more dramatic physical response than enjoying a rollercoaster ride or jumping out of a plane, increasing heart rate by 100% and ‘anxiety’ by 370%. The ‘powerful car’ was a 231bhp Mini Cooper... news THIS MONTH’S PRESSING ISSUES IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS Elevatron Thanks to this month’s ‘no news shocker’, here’s a futuristic Tonka-toy update of a special edition from GMC – the Sierra Elevation. It wears a new front end design with HID projector headlamps and ‘signature’ GMC LED lighting, body colour accessories, 20-inch black aluminium wheels plus the latest connectivity gadgets, and will go on sale early next year. Fair Game Haul Of Duty Seemingly slightly late to the game, Chevrolet debuted their new 2016 Silverado 1500 at the Texas State Fair recently. Again, Tonka-toy styling is much to the fore, along with new eightspeed auto transmissions on V8 models, remote locking tailgate, wireless phone charging and that much-touted connectivity guff. Right back at the end of September, with the 2016 models still warm on the dealership forecourts, Ford were announcing their all-new 2017 F-Series Super Duty pick-up range. With a new high-strength steel chassis, stronger suspension and aluminium alloy body, it should be pretty special. They're certainly concentrating on the towing aspect, with up to seven cameras including one on the trailer for visibility and one in the bed for hitching up fifth-wheels and goosenecks, a tyre pressure monitoring system that includes the trailer tyres, and a Blind Spot Information System that includes the length of the trailer! “Ford Super Duty is the truck America’s hardest-working men and women trust and depend on,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “We are helping these customers build a better world by delivering a new generation of pick-ups that set new benchmarks in capability, performance and efficiency.” There will be five Super Duty models – the XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum – and all will be built at Ford's Kentucky truck plant and go on sale late next year. ACM NoS**tSherlockI Bulletin news According to a University of Iowa study, the majority of drivers expressed uncertainty about how many of the life-saving safety features of their cars, such as collision mitigation and lane departure warnings, work, with 40% reporting that their vehicles have behaved in ‘unexpected ways’. 50 Years On Competition Two cars will compete in the GT Endurance Pro class ahead of their return to Le Mans in June, 50 years after the original Ford GT40 swept the board in the 24hour race. They will also contest all nine rounds of the WEC as well as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship across North America. “We believe the Ford GT’s advances in aerodynamics, light-weighting The GT will be joined on the FIA GT tour by another American classic, the Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R, successor to their Z06.R GT3 car. The all-new EcoBoost V6-powered Ford GT will be making its European racing debut at the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship at Silverstone in April. and EcoBoost power will make for a compelling race car that can once again compete on a global stage,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer. “The same spirit that drove the innovation behind the first Ford GT still drives us as a company today. Let the racing begin!” Driver details have yet to be announced. Callaway Competition, based in Germany, unveiled the new car in early October at the Hockenheimring. Powered by a 600bhp LT1 V8 coupled to an X-Trac sequential paddleshift gearbox, the team report that it “surpasses its predicted performance”. Primary sponsor for the 2016 GT season will be Whelen Engineering, best known for making things like lights and sirens for police cars, and also for sponsoring the European NASCAR series, as seen at Brands Hatch’s Speedfest. CrosseRoads Speed Dealers Falling in between all the new 2016 model announcements and the beginning of motor show season, this time of year is normally pretty slow when it comes to news. Chevy’s new Camaro is barely off the starting blocks, but new buyers can already begin choosing their custom and speed parts straight from the dealership. Buick are making a head start, though, confirming the all-new 2017 LaCrosse with design cues lifted from the Avenir concept. They’re only releasing teasers at the moment, but that grille design, inspired by the ‘54 Wildcat II, is set to become the new ‘face’ of Buick by 2018. “The Avenir concept shattered 8 ACM expectations of what a Buick could be and the 2017 LaCrosse promises to do the same,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick. “Its expressive design represents a break from convention and highlights the progressiveness in all new Buick models.” The car is set to debut at the forthcoming LA Auto Show. From performance cold air intakes and exhaust systems to lowering kits, ground-effects packages, spoilers and big Brembo brake packages, you can make your Gen-Six Camaro your own. You can see many of the accessories on the ‘Camaro Visualizer’ at www.chevrolet. com/2016-camaro. NoS**tSherlockIIBulletin A JD Power report states that auto manufacturers are spending billions putting technology in their cars that drivers never use. The report found that at least 20% of new owners have never used 16 out of 33 technological features in their car, increasing to 23 amongst drivers in their forties and fifties. Last month, Holley Performance Products announced that they'd acquired the MSD Group. Holley, most famous for their carburettors and latterly EFI systems, already own Hooker Headers, Flowtech exhausts, NOS Nitrous Oxide Systems, Earl's Performance Plumbing, Demon carburettors, Weiand manifolds and Diablosport tuners. Acquiring MSD also gives them MSD electronics, Mr Gasket gaskets and accessories, Mein Mopar Accel and Mallory ignition and fuelling systems, Superchips ECU tuning, Hays, QuickTime and Lakewood driveline and chassis parts, and Racepak data acquisition. That's a big stable of famous names. “We are excited to have the opportunity to combine the awesome legacies of these companies. The combination of these brands will provide our customers with the most complete offering of performance products in the industry,” said Holley President and CEO, Tom Tomlinson. “We are aggressively developing innovative new products at Holley and we’re going to continue to build upon the fine job the MSD Group is already doing with new products.” Four The Win Ford’s new S550 Mustang is going great guns, reclaiming the title of America’s best-selling sports car and, in fact, the world’s best-selling sports car, but they’ve got some interesting demographics going on in southern California. For a start, it’s the Mustang’s fastest-selling marketplace, with cars sitting on dealer’s lots for an average of just 16 days, whilst 47 per cent of SoCal buyers are choosing the EcoBoost four-pot motor. “Almost all of our Mustang growth there can At the recent Frankfurt International Motor Show, Jeep showcased a trio of Jeeps modified by Mopar. The Cherokee KrawLer is bulked up for off-road with unique be attributed to EcoBoost,” said a Ford sales analyst. Plus, customers aged 16 to 35 account for 47 per cent of Mustang buyers compared with 30 per cent for the 2014 model. Customers aged 16?! God bless America... suspension, big tyres, skid plates and more, whilst the Wrangler Rubicon Sunriser sports a lift kit and half-doors. The Renegade Trailhawk wore 17-inch rims, skid plated and tow hooks. Renaissance Fisker, the Californian luxury electric car company that went so spectacularly bankrupt not long ago, is back. They’re still based in California, but the new owners, the Chinese Wanxiang Group conglomerate, has changed the name to Karma Automotive. Let’s see how they deal with their successful Cali neighbours, Tesla. ACM NamesBulletin news According to new car buyer website carwow.co.uk, Bob is the most popular name people give their car, followed by Betty, Betsy, Fred, Bertha, John, Baby, Bessie, The Beast and Harry. Less popular names included Loser Cruiser, Oink-oink and Costly. The list didn’t include names people give their cars whilst trying to repair them... Fuel Projection We all love a good car film, but did you know there's a festival for them in London? After a hugely successful inaugural event in 2014, the organisers of the London Motor Film Festival have announced the 2015 festival awards and screening event will be held once again at the Clapham Grand Theatre on the evening of Sunday, November 29th. As an unashamed spectacle and celebration of the art of automotive film-making, the LMFF offers recognition and reward for film-makers at Picture Perfect The winners of this year's British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Sydney Allard Media Awards have been announced … and we couldn't be more proud. burnout at Shakespeare County Raceway that we published as our Big Picture in November 2014. Well done Jeni, a very worthy winner, and recognition coming not a moment too soon. The written award went to Rodger Attaway for Street Rod & Custom Showtime, for his magnificent history of the indoor custom show scene of the Seventies and Eighties. Their awards will be presented at the BDRHoF Gala evening on November 21st. Sponsored by Mooneyes, these awards celebrate the importance of the media in promoting drag racing, and are split into Photo Journalism and Written Journalism categories. There were in excess of 85 entries from 18 different photographers for the Photo category, but independent judges including Octane magazine staff and Pink Floyd's Nick Mason picked out this pearler from one of our favourite trackside snappers, Jeni Long. Named 'Sharing A Toast', it's the photo of Bob Hawkins' flame 10 ACM every single level of their craft, from talented upcoming self shooting directors, television and online automotive journalists, through to the most accomplished of corporate agencies. As long as the subject has a whiff of highoctane about it, almost any film submission is welcome. There are loads of categories to encompass all levels and subjects, so see www. londonmotorfilmfestival.com. Key Facts In mid-September, the big furore over the GM ignition key switch issue was laid to rest when GM and the US Attorney’s Office reached a settlement in the form of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement – basically, a suspended sentence – for three years pending GM’s continuing efforts to rectify the situation. The Agreement states that the government’s decision to defer prosecution was based on the actions GM has taken to “demonstrate acceptance and acknowledgement of responsibility for its conduct.” GM CEO Mary Barra said, “We have faced our issues with a clear determination to do the right thing both for the short term and the long term. I believe that our response has been unprecedented in terms of candour, cooperation, transparency and compassion.” That said, it will certainly leave GM out of pocket to the tune of a $900 million penalty and a compensation fund of a further $600 million. Ouch. WinnersBulletin ontracknews THIS MONTH’S RACING AND TRACK NEWS Elapsed Times Santa Pod’s Robin Jackson educates the public... summer’s Goodwood Festival Of Speed – ought, you’d think, to attract a motorsport-literate crowd. Some people are cluedup on the drags; others less so. You meet the quizzical but unimaginative types (“Driving in a straight line? Where’s the challenge in that?”); the snooty (“No, thank you. Not our kind of motorsport.”); the downright indignant (“Bah! Real motor racing has corners!”); the generically confused (“Drag racing? Isn’t that where they go round and round and crash into one another?”); and the geographically challenged (“Santa Pod? In England? I thought it was in America!”). It gets properly odd closer to home. Some years ago Santa Pod staged a town-centre display in Rushden, barely four miles distant via the proverbial crow. Having been told what it was these cars and motorcycles did, it was surprising how many One Goodwood visitor, at least, was familiar with drag racing (Photo: Lisa Crigar) To some people, drag racing is still a recent fad. Point out that Santa Pod is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary and they are amazed. “At least everyone knows the name Santa Pod,” said the editor of a well-known motorsport journal on a recent first visit to the drags. Actually, no, they don’t. You cannot accuse Santa Pod of not trying. Throughout the year the Raceway exhibits at shows across the country, sometimes at two or three per weekend, reflecting the diverse character of its programme. Two of the biggest – January’s Autosport International at Birmingham’s NEC and mid- Santa Pod meets Autosport International (Photo: Matt Woods) then asked where they did it. “At Santa Pod,” you’d tell them. “Ahh, right... Where’s that then?” The giveaway was the accents: no incomers, these, but locals, born and bred. Some might still be around when Santa Pod celebrates its centenary in 2066. It’s tempting to imagine that one or two might even reflect, in their dotage, on that day in the town centre, over a half-century earlier, which changed their lives forever. If you are coming to Autosport International (January 14th to 17th), do seek out the Santa Pod stand and pay us a visit. The Sportsman Shakespeare County Raceway’s Jerry Cookson reflects on a big year Well, the season’s finally over, and with the last car having just headed down the track at the Halloween Bonfire Burn-Up to silence the raceway for another year, we can now reflect on what a busy season it’s been at Shakespeare County Raceway. One of the busiest events of the year was without a doubt the NSRA’s Hot Rod Drags. Still rated as the best nostalgia weekend 12 ACM in the UK, the pits and the camp grounds were as busy as they have ever been. To everyone who supported the event give yourselves a big pat on the back. Out on track the personal bests kept on rolling in but I don’t think Colin Millar’s herculean efforts mimicking a scene from The Flintstones will have broken any records except for the laughter factor! I have started many things but nothing like this. The raceway’s MSA National UK Championship rounds also produced many PBs in a wide variety of classes. Just look at the stunning 200mph pass achieved by Bob Hawkins with the Time Traveller Slingshot – the first ever with that car at the Springspeed Nationals. And just to prove that a perfect reaction time is achievable, well done to Super Comp racer Andy Williams for his perfect 0.000 in qualifying for the same event behind the wheel of the Wild Child dragster. The Gasser Circus kept everyone on their toes, including the racers! Just two cars were in contention for the title by Friday of the Hot Rod Drags - Katie Booth in The Mighty Mouse Ford Pop and 2013 winner Sean Milson in his Morris Z van. For Katie to take the title, she needed to go all the way to the final, and this looked distinctly possible when Sean went out in round one of eliminations. But in true seat-of-your-pants racing style, Katie broke out of her dial-in thereby handing this hard-fought Championship to Sean, making him the second two-time winner of the Gasser Circus Showdown along with Ray Turner in his Green Onions ‘55 Chevy. We’ll pick up on some more highlights another time over winter but, in closing, thanks to everyone for another great season’s racing as we now look forward to 2016; and yes, there will be a 2016 year of drag racing at SCR. You can count on it. PHOTOS: MIKE BURROWES PHOTO: DENNIS WOOD ontracknews At Ohio’s National Trail Raceway on September 20th, Jeg Coughlin Jr became the first racer in NHRA history to win national event trophies in seven different eliminator categories. On the day, he won both the Stock and Super Gas classes, to add to his Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp and Top Dragster trophies! GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine Alex Peters’ two-year-old record still stands My fastest time around Goodwood had been set two years earlier, in June 2013, at 100.03 seconds. Since then I had an extra 273bhp and much better suspension from KW and Steeda, therefore I thought that in dry conditions I ought to easily be able to go faster. However, I was aware of all the disappointing results I have had this year due to missed shifts and the brakes causing instability at high speeds. I put in a lot of practice on the simulator in advance of the event in early August, to give myself more confidence on racing lines, though in this case the gap between the simulator and real life is significant. I watched a video of ex-F1 driver Max Chilton in an Alan Mann Mustang and noticed that he feathered the throttle in the same places as me, so I didn’t feel so bad! As expected the instability under braking (particularly St Mary’s and Woodcote) really dented my confidence. This, coupled with the inevitable missed gear changes (Fordwater and the Lavant Straight), meant that my overall lap time was pretty poor; in fact, two seconds slower than I had managed two years ago, before the supercharger. I became aware of another problem that the car has always suffered from, but until now I had just accepted as being an awkward characteristic of the Mustang - the difficulty of heel-and-toe, trying to bring up the engine revs after long braking before changing down a gear, in order to match engine and wheel speed. I now realise that the problem is caused by a fuel saving strategy in the ECU. When the clutch is depressed for more than a second or so, the engine goes into idle, so you have to press the throttle more than an inch before it responds. I expect this could be changed with a different tune in the ECU, but until then I am going to try keeping the clutch up under braking. Let’s see how this works at the next event! A lot of the leading Speed League championship contenders (out of a field of 44 competitors) attended this Goodwood event. On my first run, another car span in front of me, which was rather unnerving. Ultimately I finished fourth in my class, but due to beating eight others I managed to pick up more points than at some other rounds in the season, moving me up into third place in the championship. Find Alex at www.blacksunracing.co.uk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BlackSunRacing Bricking It As Santa Pod's 2016 Golden Anniversary approaches, a doppelganger has sprung up … in Legoland! The Legoland Windsor Resort has had a model dragstrip in Miniland since 2001, but recently, the Modelling team took 744 hours and almost 85,000 Lego bricks to turn it into a faithful replica of the legendary British venue. Resort guests can actually race the Santa Pod dragsters down the track, too – at the push of a button, a car in each lane edges into stage, and as the lights run down, guests hit the start lever and race. All that's missing is a fleet of little Lego wasps... Sadly, the Resort's season ends on November 2nd. Fame At Last The International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, housed at the Don Garlits Museum in Ocala, Florida, is inducting six new members for 2016, and amongst them is one very famous Brit – Dennis Priddle. Often referred to as 'Britain's Don Garlits', an honour in itself, Dennis was a pioneer in Top Fuel and Funny Car on this side of the pond in the Sixties and Seventies, and the first driver outside the States in the sixes back in 1972. He joins the Hall Of Fame alongside Preston Davis, Jack Doyle, Marvin Miller, Mark Oswald, Gas Ronda and Steve Earwood. ACM PettyBulletin auctionnews A 2015 Ford Mustang GT built by Petty’s Garage was auctioned at Mecum’s mid-September Dallas event with all proceeds going to Paralyzed Veterans Of America. The winning bidder paid $330,000, then donated the car back to be auctioned again, where it sold for $205,000, a $535,000 total! auctionnews THIS MONTH’S AUCTION NEWS IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS War Hammer There were plenty of Americans in H&H’s October 14th sale at Duxford, but seeing as it’s a war museum, they were all late entries. Ha! Still funny after 75 years... Anyway, topping the catalogue were a ‘69 Corvette Stingray ragtop, small-block dynoed to 400bhp, four-speed and LSD (est £28,000-£32,000) that didn’t sell after being bid up to £23,000, and a ‘57 Thunderbird, loaded with matching numbers and the dualquad 312 V8 (est £26,000-£30,000) that sold for £20,340. Others included a ‘31 Cadillac 370-A V12 coupe resto project, one of three known survivors with a spare V12 (est £35,000-£40,000) that didn’t sell despite attracting £26,000 of bids, a ‘48 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan custom with 350/350 combo (est £24,000-£28,000) that was withdrawn late on, and a ‘54 Chevy 3100 five-window pick-up, an ex-California truck in original trim with straight-six and three-speed manual (est £16,000- £18,000) that sold for £15,000. Obligatory Mustangs? Take your pick from a ‘66 notch built by Ford Amsterdam, customised and powered by a roller 302 (est £20,000-£24,000) that sold for £20,160, an early ‘64 red ragtop with a 289 auto, power hood and later discs (est £22,000-£26,000) that was bid up to £17,500 but didn’t sell, and a lovely ‘68 390GT four-speed fastback, apparently originally built for export to Spain (est £38,000-£45,000) that brought £39,500. Our favourite was a ‘53 Hudson Hornet, the proper NASCAR wannabe with the 308 Power Dome straight six and Twin-H dual carbs (est £23,000-£26,000) that didn’t sell, attracting just £15,000 of bids. H&H’s next sale is at Donington on November 18th, so see www. classic-auctions.com for details. Hello, Mussie Yellow Hammer Now here’s a very unusual piece coming up for sale very soon with Fleet Auction Group in Leicestershire. At Brightwells’ late September sale, there were a couple of American bargains. There was a rather smart 1991 Pontiac Firebird with the 305 V8 and five-speed manual, and just 57,000 on the clock from its US Serviceman previous owner, which brought a sound £4,400, while a 1969 Mustang fastback in bright yellow with a 351 Windsor, four-speed and disc brakes fetched just £12,500. Their next sale is on Wednesday It’s a Light Pewter metallic 1972 Mustang, in very nice order, with a two-barrel 302 and C4 auto. It was believed to have come via Ford Australia, hence the right-hand drive, and the vendor bought it from a chap in Spain who bought it from Danny La Rue! Make your “drag racing” jokes here, please. Fleet Auctions are a mainstream ‘de-fleet’ auctioneers, so this is a standout 14 ACM piece for them, and you’ll have to hurry – the sale is on October 29th, the day this mag goes on sale. See www.fleetauctiongroup. com for details. November 25th at their Herefordshire base, so see www. brightwells.com for details. GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine Northern Light Morris Leslie’s Saturday, November 21st, classics sale features all sorts of stuff, among them a 1962 Corvette. One of the last of the solid-axle ‘Vettes, this 327-powered beauty is estimated to fetch up to £40,000. The sale also includes the reappearance of the fugly Seventies Oldsmobile Starfire which I want beyond all reason. See www.morrisleslie. com for later additions. Driven To Succeed Classic Car Auctions has had a busy first year, and they’ve already released their schedule for 2016. They’ll have quarterly Saturday sales – March, June, September and December – at their new Warwickshire Exhibition Centre base near Leamington Spa, concentrating more on the ‘driver’ classics between £5,000 and £50,000 than the telephone- number ‘investment’ classics. They still have one to go this year, on Saturday December 5th, which will include this rather lovely 1962 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova ragtop at no reserve, so see www.classiccarauctions. co.uk for details. Fresh In In Classics Central’s November 8th sale, look out for this lovely Head Lines Want to get someone the ultimate Christmas present? Quick, get to Auctions America’s debut sale at the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival in South Carolina on October 31st and raise your hand for this MkV Ford GT40. One of just two aluminium monocoque chassis built, this one has a 5.3-litre V8 and ZF transaxle and is built to road spec. At just 857kg it’s as 1948 Ford F1 pick-up. Restored and upgraded with a Ford 302 V8, auto transmission, power steering, disc brakes, air con, the whole nine yards. It was imported in August and isn’t registered yet, and is expected to bring between £17,000 and £21,000, so see www. classicscentral.co.uk for details. light as your wallet will be after you cough up the estimated $300,000-$350,000 sale price. See www.auctionsamerica.com. E B I R C S B SU e b i r c s b u S 9 3 £ y l n o r fo aving That’s a 25% s ★ DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR ★ SAVE £12 A YEAR ★ RECEIVE BEFORE GENERAL SALE To subscribe to American Car Magazine contact 01905 330177 or email... [email protected] This offer also applies to existing subscribers new subscriptions begins when your old one ends! DON’T FORGET! You can subscribe to the digital version of ACM anytime on your iPad, Kindle or Android device. GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send us a message on Facebook, drop us a tweet on Twitter or email [email protected] twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine letters WHAT YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;VE GOT TO SAY ON ALL THINGS AMERICAN CAR STAR LETTER Dear ACM, I bought American Car Magazine while I was on my lunch break, as I like to show my fellow Audi technicians what real cars are like! So I was flicking through the magazine and I saw your article about the Greasy Wednesday's meet in Stourbridge. It put a massive smile on my face knowing that Sharon and Mick's (Greasy control crew) creation is getting some fame! It's an awesome meet with some great people and, obviously, cool American cars! I'm a 17 year old enthusiast. I've been around the cars for almost four years, and thanks to a friend with a 1970 Dodge Charger 440 R/T I've had the opportunity to get into these cars a lot more! I bought myself a 1972 Ford Ranchero Squire with a 351 Cleveland 4V Cobra Jet engine, which is going to be restored by myself (with help, of course) and I hope to be driving it within the next three to five years. Here are a few pictures of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this email! Luke Poulton, via email Always happy to hear from one of our younger enthusiasts, Luke. We're just glad you're enjoying the scene and enjoying 'proper' cars! That Ranchero is a beauty. More power to your elbow, mate, keep it up. DS, ACM Each month, the Star Letter will receive a New Car Kit of premium car care products courtesy of Meguiar's, with everything you need for a 'new car shine'. 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Little Red LITTLE RED Grabbin' GRABBIN' Hood HOOD All steel, mostly stock but running low elevens, this Road Runner would be King Words: Dave Smith Photography: Jonathan Jacob 20 1970 Plymouth Road Runner T he Plymouth Road Runner was the epitome of the muscle car. By the time it came along in 1968, the muscle car concept was four years old and manufacturers were fighting to outdo each other in terms of flash and lengthening options lists. Plymouth decided to take it back to the core values – cheap performance – and the brief was... brief: it should cost less than $3,000, and the new owner should be able to drive directly to the strip and be able to run 14s. If the buyer wanted luxury options, he should move along the showroom and look at the GTX. The base Road Runner motor was a very warm 383 with a Hemi on the options list, but other than that it was spartan all the way. It used the twodoor base-model Belvedere coupe platform with heavy duty running gear, vinyl bench seats and a fourspeed. It was the perfect muscle car, street hooligan and strip-ready terror; daily-driver sensible all week, but with the ability to frighten yourself and five friends fartless on Woodward on any given evening. Happy days... 22 ACM As Mopar HiImpact colours go, this Rally Red is quite calm and understated. You have to love all the extras, though, like the 'dust trail' side strip with a cartoon Road Runner at the leading edge (far right centre) or the almost warplanelooking decal on the side of the hood scoop (right centre). Interior is very close to stock (right) This car belongs to a Mopar fanatic who's no stranger to Road Runners, and doesn't dither about in the 13s, either. It's Richard Granger, from West Yorkshire. “The car was imported in 2006 by Peter Knight, the engine builder,” says Richard. “He brought it in to build as a race car. It had been advertised in the States as a rust-free Arizona car, but it was actually pretty rotten so he sold it on to Roger Keys of Monkfish Performance. Roger was restoring a 1969 Dodge Charger at the time and bought the Road Runner as his next project, but as time went on Roger realised he would never get around to the Road Runner so he also decided to sell it. This was when I first came across the car in an advert on the Mopar Muscle Association site. It looked very rough and needed a lot of work. 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Playing Tag For those Mopar numbercrunchers, here are the options on Richard's Road Runner “It had been advertised in the States as a rustfree Arizona car, but it was actually pretty rotten” “At this time I was still running my '69 440 six-barrel Road Runner, but not long afterwards I decided to sell her and look for a project. Fast forward a bit, and then my '69 is sold and I’ve got room in the garage! By this time Roger had sold the car to Dave Billadeau, who was restoring it as his street car to run along with his '70 GTX race car. I saw the Road Runner at Dave’s in the flesh (or lack of it) in 2011. It was rough; E63 V8W White rear/trunk stripe very rough. The trunk floor had gone and it was obvious it was going to need a lot of new panels, although the frame rails were good. “Fast forward again, and in a stroke of luck, Dave Billadeau found the numbers-matching engine for his GTX, so decided to put the GTX back to factory spec as a street car and build his Superbird replica as a race car, so no longer needed the '70 Road Runner. ➔ ACM 23 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Dave had sent the car to Richard Ward for bodywork, so I took a trip over the Pennines to Richard’s place to see it. It was right at the back of the workshop, but between Dave and Richard, the new panels had all been fitted. A deal was done and I brought the car home in early 2012. “I spent a while coming up with a plan for the car. I wanted a quick street/strip car and a good bracket racing car as it would be running in American Super Stock at York Raceway. The first job was to strip the car completely. It had left the factory with Rally Red paint but at some time had been painted SubLime green and later a maroon red paint job. There was also evidence the car may have been raced at some time in its life. “I borrowed a welder and built a rotisserie from scratch, bolted the car in and off I went, with lots of late nights in the garage. Dave and Richard had already fitted new rear quarters, sail panel, trunk floor and full width front floor section but there were still lots of little bits that needed sorting, little holes in the wheel arches and the like. I fitted frame rail connectors and a roll cage as it would be running in the 11s and the roll cage is a requirement if running these times in Super Stock at York. Once all the repairs were done the car was sent to Ash Rawson at APR Body Works. I'd bare-metalled and primed the underside of the car – it was supposed to have been in bodycolour by the time it went off to Ash's but I just ran out of time so I took it as it was, put it back on its rotisserie and left Ash to it. Once he gets going it's best not to interfere! “Ash spent a lot of time with me, working out the best way to tackle the job. He had the whole of the shell media blasted, sorted out any last little bits of rust and did a fantastic job straightening out that big B-body. The paintwork speaks for itself. While the paint was being done I had enough to be getting on with, restoring all the stainless trim and all the other parts. Every last nut and bolt came off this car and I spent what seemed like a lifetime blasting them and re-painting or re-coating them. “The car came with its original block but we were looking for a little more power this time round, so I stashed the numbers-matching block away. I wanted to run a big-block stroker with a six-barrel set-up, and wanted to keep the stock Air Grabber hood. Dave Billadeau had a 400-cube engine tucked away at the back of his garage, which came as part of the deal when I bought the car. I wanted 550-600bhp, and trusted Billadeau Speed & Automotive with the build while the body was still at Ash's. Dave spent a great deal of time making sure all the right parts were put into it to achieve this goal, and got it just right. When the engine went on the dyno at EDA it made 600ft.lb. at 4,600rpm and ➔ 24 ACM Tech Spec 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Chrysler 400 cubic inch block Icon pistons Richard decided to mothball the numbersmatching 383 and work on this motor instead (right). He couldn't go for a tall-block 440 and retain the six-pack of carbs, so he bought a Seventies 400cube block with the 10-inch deck height - probably from a motorhome or similar - and had Dave Billadeau work his magic on it. In fact, the block is pretty much the only factory part of the 400 used, with a stroker bottom end and ally Indy heads combining to knock on the door of 600bhp. What a handsome engine bay, too! Scat H-beam rods 10.3:1 compression Mechanical cam, 0.590” lift Indy EZ heads Holley 3x2 barrel carbs Torqueflite 727 transmission Reverse pattern manual valve body 10” converter Dana 60 with 4.10:1 gears Caltrac split monoleaf rear suspension Stock front suspension Thanks to: “I’d like to say thanks to Ash, Dave and Neil for their help putting this car together, to Chris Round for lending me all the tackle that I didn’t have (and that extra pair of hands when needed) and to Claire and Jack for their support during racing season.” 1970 Plymouth Road Runner â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you're just cruising around you're only using the centre carburettor. It's still not that economical, though!â&#x20AC;? ACM 25 1970 Plymouth Road Runner 580bhp at 5,500rpm. I wanted to keep the six-barrel as I liked it so much in my old car. It's a great street/strip set-up, as when you're just cruising around you're only using the centre carburettor. It's still not that economical, though! “Once I got the body shell back from Ash I could get it rolling again. By the time I got the doors, front fenders and trunk lid back from Ash over the following four months, I had re-fitted the dash, wiring and rear glass. Refitting the panels, doors and glass was a job I found myself re-doing a few times before I was happy, but after two and a half years it was finished and I was really pleased with the end result. “Originally I just fitted Super Stock rear springs, but at Dragstalgia in 2014 it just wasn't working right. I fitted CalTrac split mono-leaf springs and it was a different car, much straighter. After its first full season at the track this year we have made good progress with the car - it has run a best of 11.3, has run consistently in American Super Stock and Pro ET at York and the UK Stock and Super Stock Class at Dragstalgia and Hot Rod Drags. We also picked up a trophy at its first outing at Mopar Nationals! “I do use it on the street quite a bit, but don't go too far – maybe to Leeds cruise, or just out for an hour's drive. I've taken it to a few shows, depending on the weather. It's a bit of a handful on the Rich, behind the wheel (below left) ... and who can blame him? Interior is mostly stock black vinyl, with a few addons like the monster tach and the racing floor shifter instead of the column shift, but these can be reverted to stock. In fact, remove the cage, and swap those Weld big'n'littles (below) for original rims and the car's a stocker again. Meep, meep! street but not too bad as the 10-inch converter has quite a low stall. It does get driven, but next year we're going to concentrate on the racing. We've got most of the bugs out, but there are still a few jobs to do over winter; for example, I'm going to fit a regulator with a return fuel line as the fuel gets hot because the exhaust is so close to the tank. There are a few other little jobs to do, and then I'm ready to cruise and race. The car's still mostly stock – if I took out the cage and put the original motor and wheels back on it would be stock – but a street/strip build will always be a compromise. Five hundred and eighty horsepower with 1970 technology can get a bit lairy!” ACM “If I took out the cage and put the original motor and wheels back on it would be stock” 26 ACM APR BODYWORKS Classic American Car Restoration ALL AMERICAN CARS CATERED FOR SPECIALISING IN MOPAR MUSCLE OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE RESTORATION BUSINESS BASED IN EAST YORKSHIRE Whether it's a dented wing repair or a full body restoration 01482 839957 07949 441353 www.aprbodyworks.com American Classic Automotive Specialists in care and maintainance for all American and classic vehicles Performance tuning and modifications Accident damage, paintwork & restorations MECHANICAL • PAINTWORK • PERFORMANCE • SALES With spacious workshop facilities, heavy duty four post and two post lifts we can easily accomodate vehicles up to RV's in size. If you are simply looking for peace of mind at finding a company that is familiar with stateside automobiles for even the most basic of jobs or you are wishing to pursue your perfect dream car and see it come to fruition then we are the perfect one stop shop. Feel free to come and experience our friendly and helpful team. Call Us 44 (0) 1869 601 028 Or Visit www.americanclassicautomotive.com 1959 Chevrolet Apache “It was 'finished' last October, and I reckon I'd put around 2,500 hours into it. When it first got running it seemed to run extremely rich, and needed a lot more ignition advance putting in to make it run right, but it was pretty lively after that. I reckon it should be giving between 500 and 550bhp. When it was first out on the road it seemed to be pushing out a lot of coolant, and I tried bleeding it and all sorts and couldn't get it to stop. A friend of mine took one look at it and pointed out that I'd got a 7lb cap on the radiator and should have a 16lb cap, so I swapped and it's been fine ever since! I added a catch-can, too. Now it cruises beautifully and keeps its cool, 150 degrees on the motorway and 190 in traffic. I also fitted an electric vacuum pump because I thought the cam wouldn't provide enough vacuum for the servo, but then the switch on the pump packed up. I replaced it, then that packed up, so I replaced it again and two weeks later that packed up too, so I got fed up and just plumbed the servo direct to the manifold. It worked perfectly... “I've probably only done 700 miles in the year since it’s been finished, but I'm really surprised at how well it drives on the street. I thought it was going to be a pig! It took some getting used to but it goes well and handles well. There's a bit of body roll, but it wasn't set up for cornering, and it really digs in and takes off when you punch the throttle. It's easy to drive, too, you don't need to do a workout before setting off! It's definitely a keeper … until something else comes along. I'm terrible for that, I just love building things! Over winter I'll be fitting the tighter convertor and a nitrous kit, but I'll only be giving it a 100bhp shot as I didn't build the motor for big nitrous. Plus, there's always plenty of work to do on John's Green Fish!” ACM “It's definitely a keeper … until something else comes along. I'm terrible for that” 34 ACM That's either Nigel or the devil (right) - we're going for Nigel. The bed is as clean as the rest of the truck, with oak veneer wood and stainless strips between, and a large fuel tank beneath. Nigel reckons the truck is a surprisingly pleasant drive on the road (below). It shouldn't be a surprise, as the Mustang II-based independent front end gives it power rack and pinion steering and power disc brakes. The four-bar rear end is built for straight line traction though, and needs to be, with a heavybreathing Mopar big-block putting power to it. drive Drive â&#x20AC;&#x153;SHE'S THE LAST OF THE V8Sâ&#x20AC;? Australian car; American power; British badge. It's the commonwealth muscle sedan! Words & Photography: Dave Smith The Aussies have a long and distinguished heritage of muscle car building, just about as long and distinguished as that of another ex-colony, the United States. What's most noticeable about Aussie muscle fans is that they don't give a hoot about how many doors the car has. Four-door sedans with loopy powerplants are par for the course down under, and if you've never watched their V8 Saloon car racing, you really, really should. Holden were responsible for the Monaro coupe in 2003, and this made it over to the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro and to the US as the Pontiac GTO, where 36 ACM it was intended to bridge the gap between the last of the Fbody Camaros in 2002 and the fifth-gen Camaro in 2010. For some reason, it wasn't the success they'd hoped. The current big, rear-drive sedan from Holden is the VF Commodore. Naturally, they let HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) loose on it, and what you see here was the result. Like the Monaro, it was exported to the US as the Chevrolet SS and to the UK as the Vauxhall VXR-8. And, frankly, it's bloody mental. The first VXR8s were understated, quite the sleeper, until the driver gave the LS2 6.0 V8 a good kicking, and then nobody got any sleep. The latest GTS version is a lot more blinged up, for better or worse, and sports a supercharged LSA V8 hoofing out the fat end of 600bhp. Now nobody could describe it as a sleeper, with bulbous arches, angular body kit, LED running lamps and lairy colours like this Cheap Fake Tan Orange. It's hard to miss. Vauxhall were kind enough to lend me this one for a few days earlier this year, and the experience has certainly stayed with me. drive Tech Spec 2015 Vauxhall VXR8 GTS Supercharged gen-IV LSA allalloy V8 6,162cc, two valves per cylinder Eaton 1.9-litre supercharger Water-to-air charge cooler TK6060 six-speed manual transmission 3.73:1 limited-slip differential 20-inch forged aluminium wheels Continental ContiSport Contact 5P tyres, 255/35R20 front, 275/35R20 rear 576bhp @6,150rpm 545ft.lb. @ 3,850rpm 155mph max speed (limited) 0-60mph 4.2 seconds First off, be under no illusion that this is a large, comfortable five-seater. It's truly familyfriendly, with leather seats, loads of legroom and a capacious boot. Being designed as a right-hooker means there are no compromises for the UK version, and getting comfortable behind that welllaid-out dash is no problem. Picking the car up from Luton, I was really looking forward to hitting the M1... and sitting in a traffic jam for two hours. The clutch isn't heavy, but after the first hour of stop-start traffic it did get a wee bit tiresome. Soon after coming off the motorway, I pulled up to some red traffic lights at my junction. Alongside me, a BMW pulled up, giving it a few revs and holding it on the clutch. Right, I thought, let's see what this'll do. First gear, green light, full throttaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! The power was instantaneous and completely linear, throwing my head back in the seat until it hit the rev limiter at 6,200rpm, throwing my head forward again, giving me just enough time to grope the 'box into second and repeat the process, shrieking like a schoolgirl the whole time. No wheelspin, no drama, just insane power. How I held it in a straight line is beyond me. The Beemer was a dot in the mirror by the time I hit third; he was probably too busy wetting himself laughing at my head-bobbing hysteria to try to catch up. ➔ 18mpg fuel economy (combined cycle) 363-373g/km CO2 emissions 390mm crossdrilled, vented front brakes with six-piston callipers 372mm crossdrilled, vented rear brakes with four-piston callipers c. £55,000 RRP on-the-road ACM 37 drive There's a boost gauge on the console, and I noticed that when you're just cruising along, it reads next to no boost. Clog the throttle, though, and it flies up the gauge – 30 kilopascals, 60 kilopascals, all the way up to 90 kilopascals! Wow, I thought, what the bloody hell is a kilopascal? It's obviously a unit of measurement for how much you can frighten your passengers, from 30 kilopascals – white knuckles and swearing – to 90 kilopascals – damp seats and a suspiciously organic smell. Off-boost, though, it's as pleasant and tractable as any other big sedan. 38 ACM I took the car along to the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway – not to compete, just as a spectator. The comments I got ranged from “Hey Toad, is that you in that beautiful car? Jeez, what a waste of machinery,” from one American Graffiti fan, to “Hey, Dave, is that your BMW?” And he wasn't alone – many mistook it for a big Beemer. In fact, not many observers had anything nice to say about the styling; however, from the driver's seat it's not your problem. Being the UK arm of the mighty General Motors empire, the VXR8 is far from the first time Vauxhall has borrowed from overseas. When I went to Luton to collect the VXR8, I was privileged to be shown around Vauxhall's on-site Heritage Centre, a place where ranks of old Vauxhalls are lined up, either preserved, restored or, for later models, just kept as the last of their line. There was some stunning machinery in there – a Lotus Carlton, a Chevette HSR, a huge Cresta etc – but, to illustrate my point, they let me take out a 1959 Vauxhall Velox. This two-toned blue and white beauty had American styling cues all over. Check out Overall, it could be the perfect modern muscle car. It's front engined, rear-wheel drive, extremely comfortable yet, with a prod of the throttle it instantly turns from Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde. The only issues I found on the road were the big Continentals tramlining in the truck ruts in the left-hand lane and the fact that, at anything below full throttle, it's quiet. Too quiet. By a long shot. the whitewalls, the chrome, those mini-fins. That wraparound windscreen, roofline and threepiece rear window are pure Yank, and owe more than a little to the contemporary '58 Chevy. Under the bonnet, there's a plodding old straight-six that also owes plenty to transatlantic technology, likewise the column-shift manual box behind that huge wheel. What I did notice is that the Velox was undoubtedly a large car by Fifties UK standards, yet parked next to the VXR8 it looked tiny. Suddenly, 13-inch wheels looked like toys next to the VXR8's 20-inch monsters with low-profile tyres, and weedy drum brakes looked mightily inadequate. And yet, despite the 50-year gap between the two, the Velox was considerably lighter than its young descendant. What I didn't tell the nice people at Vauxhall is that all I could think about was removing the running gear from the VXR8 and dropping it into the Velox... Now THAT would be a handful. Thanks to: Vauxhall UK. There are only a handful of dealers who can sell you a VXR8. Find your nearest, and all the details, on www.vauxhall.co.uk Unless you are particularly featheryfooted, fuel costs will be rapacious, but if economy is your concern then why the hell are you looking at a two-ton car with a blown V8? I wouldn't want to have to cough up for a new set of tyres, and the firstyear road tax price doesn't bear thinking about, but other than that, this has got to be the best value true muscle car around. In terms of bhp per £, it's untouchable – being more powerful than the likes of BMW's M3 and Mercedes' E63 AMG, but around £20,000 cheaper - yet it's a daily-drivable pleasure to own, so if you can get over the questionable styling and the fact that it has a Vauxhall badge on the bonnet, you could be smiling all the way to … well, wherever you're going. It could also be the end of an era. With Holden being wound up over the next couple of years, future GM muscle car development is in question - Holden's underpinnings provided the basis for the fifth-gen Camaro and Chevy SS. Once the Commodore goes out of production, Vauxhall probably won't bother sourcing a new rear-drive halo car. Could the VXR8 be the last of the V8s? Looks like you'd better source yours now. ACM ACM 39 drive Stealing Styling 1969 Plym Sattelite Conv 318/Auto , Very Nice Condition Central Valley Car Since Day One , Drive Anywhere $29,500 1948 Ford Deluxe Conv Streetrod Choice Of Two POA 1952 GMC Panel Van 235Ci 6Cyl/4Spd, New 12Volt Harness & Fuse Block, Period Sunvisor, Fender Shirts $9,850 1966 Chevelle 4 Dr Hardtop V8/Auto, Excellent Cond Throughout, Well Optioned, P/S, Pb, A/C, Tilt Wheel $19,750 1957 Chevy 2Dr Sedan Choice Of Two V8/Auto, First Old Ca Hotrod, New Parts, Everything Fresh Needs Finishing 1948 Plym Deluxe Coupe Old Ca Showcar, 426 Max Wedge/Auto, Pdb, P/S, Old Trophys & Programmes Included $17,250 Need a Shipping Quote? 01908 887 917 UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading full service importer INSTANT quotes online Try our unique car shipping portal | www.shipmycar.co.uk Get a breakdown of all shipping, testing, registration, duty and taxes showreport Ipswichcraft Life begins at 41 for the NASC’s annual bank holiday blowout Words & photography: Andy Willsheer Committed followers of the National Association of Street Clubs’ annual get-together in Trinity Park, Ipswich, again turned out in respectable numbers to support the organisation that in 2014 celebrated its 40th anniversary following formation by a nucleus of five clubs. Although the overall attendance may have been marginally down for this year’s fourday affair, there was nonetheless a full programme of diversions to keep  ACM showreport showreport attendees out of mischief... or even to induce a little tomfoolery on occasion. As is now customary, the Saturday morning 10-mile cruise to the coastal town of Felixstowe attracted a decent number of participants, as well as numerous spectators en route to watch the colourful parade pass by. Upon arrival at the town centre, drivers were marshalled along the promenade, where they were able to park and offer local residents and bank holiday trippers alike the opportunity to wander along the line-up and check out the grand automotive gathering. Said owners made the most of the warm, sunny climes to look around town, catch a few rays on the beach, lend an ear to a two-hour gig by trio Lower The Tone, or rummage through the offerings at an adjacent car boot sale. Come four o’clock, there were very few vehicles remaining, and of those I couldn’t fail to notice the presence of breakdown services endeavouring to get some of the stragglers’ cars back to running order for the return trip to Ipswich. Back at the campsite, people were making the most of a little relaxation as well as cruising around the site before getting in the mood for another evening of jollity in the back-to-basics barn earmarked for the occasion. Those seeking more sensory-assaulting diversions were able to queue for the Wall of Death which was offering wristband wearers a free gander at the thrill show that, aside from the customary variety of two-wheelers barrelling around the Demon Drome wooden boards in gravity-defying fashion, also included a modified ’30s Austin Seven named Talula. Seeing the pre-war machine being put through its paces was highly entertaining and certainly amused my warped sense of humour...  ACM 43 showreport Drizzle on Saturday evening didn’t put much of a dampener on proceedings as the customary fancy dress-attired revellers and others strutted their stuff in the barn until the official entertainment was over at 11.30pm. A family disco was offered as an alternative to the barn bash, as was an alfresco film show put on for kids of all ages. Members of the public were allowed in on Sunday for the show’n’shine which saw a goodly turnout of vehicles in both the main arena and adjoining greenswards. The booming tannoy voice of ever popular commentator John Price kept visitors informed of what was happening and when, with the master of ceremonies 44 ACM also presiding over the afternoon prize giving in which winners were duly awarded trophies for their choice rides. Also, the Top 10 awards handed out early to those folks opting not to stick around for the formal event closure – several were leaving for Rockingham Motor Speedway to take in the Cars & Stripes show – was seemingly conducted for the last time when it was decided on the wet bank holiday Monday that in future ALL awards would be given out on the Sunday rather than spreading the deal over two days; a decision that may not have met with unanimous approval but has much to be commended. Here’s hoping all goes to plan in August 2016... ACM showreport Fly-Drive Everything classic with wings or wheels can be found at the excellent season-closing Sywell event. Words: Andy Davis Photography: Andy Davis, John Kennedy After a season full of events spoiled by the weather, it was great to enjoy the warmth of an Indian summer for the Sywell Classic in late September. With an increase in classic car clubs attending and support from Vauxhall, there was more than ever to see at this third running of the Pistons & Props event. Displays from the Mopar Muscle Association, Charnwood Cruisers and a host of individual American car owners ensured there were plenty of exhibits representing the USA amongst the MGs, Stags and Lotuses on a packed show field, whilst Vauxhall were celebrating 40 years of the Chevette with a display of Seventies and Eighties 46 ACM cars from their heritage collection. Down at the eighth-mile strip, the drag racing demos proved very popular, with Taz Racing providing 180 degree swivelling burnouts with their Fiat 126s, and Ginner lifting the front wheels of his Outlaw Anglia van with some hard launches. Once the strip had been extended into a sprint course around the perimeter of the grass airstrip, we were also treated to runs from classic Group 2 rally cars, and old Formula 1 cars from Hesketh, Benetton and Jordan. The aerial displays took in both world wars this year, with a Spitfire and Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and mock dog-fights ď&#x192;¨ showreport 47 ACM showreport from half a dozen WWI replica planes complete with pyrotechnics. Vauxhall also joined in the Great War tribute with a Vauxhall powered replica plane built for an aborted Biggles film, displayed with a genuine WWI army staff car. Musical entertainment was provided by a swing band featuring sets from two good female vocalists, whilst the main hangar hosted a vintage shopping fair and the show field included traders, 48 ACM an auto-jumble and the “Pilot’s Mess” temporary pub. Plus, of course, it all takes place in the Art Deco atmosphere of the Sywell Aerodrome. Though not exclusively an American car or hot rod show, this is a fine day out and the American exhibits and drag racing demos are always well received, so if you think the show season ends with the Hot Rod Drags, think again! ACM VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MILLIONS MORE NUMBERS ONLINE WITH MARKED PRICES PRICE GUARANTEE - YOU WILL NOT FIND THESE NUMBERS CHEAPER ELSEWHERE OR WE WILL REFUND THE DIFFERENCE! 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810R RON 913R RON 361Y RON 862M RON 851Y RON 579Y RON 687R ROO 173Y TED 120S ROW 113Y ROW 417S ROX 103Y 197 RPD RPE 8 RPF 9 RRL 53S RSY 4L RUB 83R ARU 8Y ERU 8Y RUB 3R RUD 4L RUG 63R RUG 3R RUG 8R RUS 683M RUS 3L RUS 31W RUS 1H LRU 5H RV 9208 RVG 11 RYK 895 RYL 3S S SAB 133Y S17 JNA C54 LLY LSA 11Y SAL 73R H541 MON WSA 11Y SAL 709X SAL 7T SAL 985N SAL 754X SAL 556X YJT 554M SAN 174Y E54 NDS W54 NDS SAP 50N SAR 4M SAR 81R SAV 382M SAV 49E SAX 944 SAY 3R SAY 170R SAZ 1 SBD 34 283 SBJ SBL 40M SCA 74P SCA 71P SCA 12R SCA 73R SCA 73P SCA 83P SCA 119P SCO 713L SCR 33N SEL 50N SER 141S SET 11S SET 805S SEV 99W NET 53X 11 SCX COO 153X RUF 53X UNE 53X VEG 53X SEY 63L 391 SFM SGN 700 RSH 4W SHA 61N SHA 66R SHA 41N SHA 24R SHE 80Y SHE 412S SHE 24R SHE 138Y SHE 12S SHE 458Y SHE 8Y SHE 12Y SHT 805S SHO 127S SHO 12T S1 HOE SHO 128 SHP 510W SHP 9N SHR 13Y SHU 88S SHY 805S F51 DHU D951 MON LPR 51M RED 51R SJW 130G SKE 114M 497 SKJ SKY 419S SKY 766S SLA 93R SLA 73R SLK 51R SMA 113R SMA 127L S17 OWS S10 AMS SOE 8Y SOL 36Y C5 OLD SON 580Y SON 7E J950 UTH SOU 150N SOY 3R SOY 6R SP09 NCE SPE 19R SPU 125R SPU 12M SPU 12R SPY 50N SPY 80X SRL 89M SRL 93M SS 3504 SSB 512L SSG 86P SSG 95P SSG 96P SSG 89P SSG 989P SSG 83P SSG 94P SSG 93P SSN 691 K57 AGG F5 TAG B57 AGG FDS 733D D15 TEV STE 874S W570 KES H57 ONE 9 TOP F57 OCK STO 788F W57 OCK STR 470N A451 STU 5 TUD S7 UBS STU 318L STU 985L STU 395L STU 106V STU 813L STU 295V STU 255V STU 601R 607 STU SUB 4R SUB 84R SUB 3R 8025 UE SUE 89W 78 SUE 83 SUE SUL 114N SVR 45H SUS 51R SUT 78N SUT 16R SUT 13R SV 7757 SV 9561 SVR 78H SVR 52H SVR 59H SYD 769 L66 SYM SYM 78 2536 SZ 9886 SZ T 215 T TAF 50N TAH 533N TAJ 734R TAJ 736R TAL 881R TAL 87R TAL 81R TAL 131R TAL 9R TAL 181R TAM 99S TAN 14M TAN 14Y TAN 170Y TAR 44M TAS 235 TAY 483R TAY 116R TAY 119R TBD 5W TBE 95 TCE 7 5309 TD TDU 8 T34 MUK TED 661S TED 5S TED 978S TED 298S TED 972S TEF 79R TEF 74R TEF 51R TEF 54R TEF 75R TEN 7T TEN 77T TES 54K TEX 3R TFC 489 THE 123S THH 57R THH 59R THH 58R TIA 4216 TIB 8 TIL 75 TIL 3 TIL 15 TIL 7 71 MMO 97 TKE 550 TM TNC 94J TNT 145R TNU 700 TNW 81 TOB 813Y H15 TOE TOG 3Y TOL 16Y TOL 5H TOM 45N TOM 45S 72 TOM TOP 55S 9 TOP TOS 80X TOY 5 290 TPE TPP 1 TRA 173R TRD 900 TRE 54R TRE 113R 608 TRE TRE 5G TRO 73R TRY 913 TSO 240R TSO 169R TSO 246R TSO 157R 407 TTC TTM 45 TTU 624H 7354 TU TUD 348 TUD 496 TUI 6 TUK 1L TUN 358 TUT 73R TVV 86F TVV 75F TVV 76F 5593 TW 8184 TW TWC 681 TYS 4 U UCA 570D UCA 657D UDD 874 UGW 456R 5 UMT UNH 81G US 6769 6 USA 918 UYH 640 UYK 642 UYK 7555 UZ V VA 12 VA 2 VAC 484 VAL 796Y 621 VAL VAL 169Y VAL 769Y VAM 302D MCV 4N VAZ 21 VBJ 4 555 VC 4401 VC VC 138 VEA 73S VEN 777T VFC 99 VG 5830 VIL 4 V15 OME VJ 8530 VN 9223 VOB 8S VOR 2T VON 579J 9 VP V6 VRF VRT 234 VTE 12 VTE 9 VUK 35H 49 VWC W WA 842 5013 WA WAC 180X 883 WAE WAG 312S WAH 330S WAH 10S KPW 41N WAL 83Y 234 WAL WAL 35S WAL 84Y WAL 35Y JWA 170N W4 NES WAP 937 WAR 54W 731 WAR PWA 77S WBZ 3 8961 WD 1589 WE 2089 WE WEB 55N NWE 8B WEL 15X WEL 44N WES 133K WES 150K EPW 35T WES 57T WES 7A WES 96K AWE 57T WES 137K WES 139K BWE 57T WES 77T WES 7S WES 71T WES 155K W377 ONS 6449 WF WGE 555 WGV 59 W115 OND W115 ONS W157 OWS 2484 WJ WJF 541 WKA 1 WLF 638M WLL 4 WM 7710 982 WMB WMR 187 JWO 81N JWO 83N JWO 133N JWO 94N JWO 71N WP 4687 WPC 690 WPE 1Y WPJ 9 WRA 66S WRA 9S WRA 9G WRA 99S WRA 7S WRA 2S WRS 75 WRT 84A WRT 96A WRT 93A WRT 97A WRT 94A WRT 103A WRT 83A WRT 82A WRT 87A WS 361 WSL 283 441 WU WV 9957 WWW 80X X XEY 350B XEY 349B 567 XJ XPA 999 XPX 455F XUE 64 Y YAL 6S YAS 230 JYA 51N YAS 662 KYA 51N YAS 511V YAS 673 YAS 111V YAS 559 YAS 560 YAW 536Y YAX 69 YCG 40 YEA 7S YEL 377S YEL 353S YEL 361S YEL 754 YGA 919 YGY 460S YGY 453S YJT 508M YLM 466 853 YMB YMG 777 YNF 224S YOL 4T YRJ 101A YRJ 158A YTG 83 557 YUK 942 YUS 643 YUS YWL 314 8.00am to 8.00pm 7 Days a Week 100 000’s of numbers available racereport Living History The NSRA’s annual autumn nostalgia-fest is always a treat, and this year was a banner year Words: Dave Smith Photography: Jeni Long, Dave Smith The middle of September is the spot on the calendar reserved for two very different classic meetings – the Goodwood Revival and the NSRA Hot Rod Drags. One is a highbrow, rather British event for fans of motor racing when it was a gentleman’s sport; the other is a noisy event for fans of the people who showed that motor racing wasn’t just for those with ‘Sir’ before their names. We went to the latter. This year’s event was another about which there had been much excitement and build-up beforehand, with many participants travelling the length of the country, setting off early 50 ACM to be at Shakespeare County Raceway first thing on the Friday morning. The strip was open on Friday afternoon for those running through the mufflers, and many took advantage of the extra track-time. There then followed an evening of relaxation, meditation and quiet reflection on the day. Overnight damp meant that those who had ‘over-relaxed’ the previous evening could have a bit of a lie-in before the track opened with all classes ready and raring to go. Aside from the huge pre-1973 RWYB crowd, the Outlaw Anglias, Gasser Circus and Wild Bunch were putting on a show. The Super Stock class saw a whole spread of muscle cars competing for honours, whilst the ground-shaking Supercharged Outlaws were also out to demonstrate that there’s no such thing as too much power. It was all going great guns until a huge downpour mid-afternoon left the track crew with little chance of having the surface dry before the 5pm curfew, so many parked their cars, lit the barbie and began catching up on their ‘relaxation’ from where they’d left off the previous evening. The evening was a pleasant one, with parties up and down the pits  racereport FRIDAY STREET DRAGS WINNERS Friday Street Drags Quickest ET: Andy Hadfield, ‘Twister’ T, 8.46 seconds Friday Street Drags Most Runs of the Day: Neil Thomas, 1932 Ford, 17 runs Thanks to the NSRA, Quartermile High, American Car Magazine, Robco Tools, LFB Motorsports/Lucas Oils and, of course, Shakespeare County Raceway for their generous sponsorship of the goody bags for the Friday drags. ACM 51 racereport and around barbecues all over the campsite. As the sun went down behind the banking, providing a spectacular sunset, the masses all headed down to the track for the 7pm Cacklefest. Dozens of nostalgic cars headed down the fire-up road and lined up along the centreline of the track, revving their engines and spitting flames whilst the fireworks lit up the darkening sky. It was quite the sensory overload. I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have wanted to swap places with the poor chap in the high-vis at the head of the fire-up road who had to persuade participants that the rolling burnouts of previous Cacklefests were no longer acceptable, to the boos and catcalls of a packed grandstand. The magnetic draw of Kennyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bar was only broken by the band in the adjacent marquee who powered up and treated a capacity crowd to two sets of covers from the fifties onwards, and made a damn good job of it too. The party went on well into the early hours, and many achieved a state of relaxation usually reserved 52 ACM for those under general anaesthetic. Sunday was another pleasant, if rather autumnal day, and again the stands were as packed as the queues to race. Watching everything from Outlaws running sevens, to a Thames van achieving the most spectacular wheelstand off the line, to a glassfibre Ford Pop bodyshell being supported by four lunatics staging, purging the nitrous (yes, really) and making a run... to about 60 feet, at which point they all aborted and climbed over the guardrail. Surreal. The buzz of the Hot Rod Drags is always tempered with a major comedown at the end, as people realise that the season is all but over. Fortunately it had been a real blast of a weekend, one to remember, so as people start packing the camping gear back into the loft for another winter, the memories of a superb HRDs should keep the fires burning until next year. Well done to the NSRA and Shakey County crew, even the poor bugger in the high-vis jacket. ACM racereport NSRA DIRTY DOZEN Simon Jones, ‘36 Ford Jack Bishop, Plymouth Barracuda Mikey Hamilton, Singer Gazelle Daz Chandler, ‘69 Chevrolet Nova Guy King, Chevrolet SS Chevelle Jake Cawthorne, ‘Flag Jumper’ Dodge Wayne Allman, “Mental Breakdown” VW Breakdown Truck Tom Pugh, “Boss Tin” Ford Popular Neil Bolton, Anglia 105E Estate AWB Gasser Dave Billadeau, “Ol’ Scatter Bolts” Dodge Coronet Pete Ayres, Flathead Modified Model A Lee Andrew, Fordson WINNERS Quickest Wild Bunch: Tom Hawkins, Time Traveller 1 slingshot, 8.633 Quickest Supercharged Outlaw: John Reeve, Fiat Topolino, 7.147 Quickest Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin, 7.837 Quickest Gasser: Jerry Denning & Lee Pike, Honky Tonkin II, 9.172 Quickest Flathead: Bradley Cooper, Blast From The Past Slingshot, 11.370 Quickest Tot Rod: Ford Skipp, 13.594 (eighth mile) Flathead Meltdown: Pete Ayres, Modified Model A, 14.198 Fastest Unblown Flathead: Pete Ayres, Modified Model A, 14.198 4-Banger Challenge: Steve Cooper, Modified 1923 Model T, 18.031 ACM 1964 Ford Galaxie Country Sedan, Runs & Drives project £7,450 as is 1949 Dodge Business Coupe, previously restored, £8,750 with UK registration 1959 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon project, runs & drives £6,950 1959 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon project, runs & drives £7,450 1947 Ford Sedan, suicide doors, new glass and rubbers, rock solid, £7,600 with UK registration 1951 Chevy Coupe, V8, Auto, project £6,950 www.AmericanClassicCars.co.uk 07523 899 160 “American Graffiti” - Ian Guy - motoringartist.com BRENTACRE AMERICAN CAR INSURANCE 01792 650 933 WWW.BRENTACRE.CO.UK SPECIALIST CAR INSURANCE FOR AMERICAN IMPORTS AGREED VALUES, CLUB DISCOUNTS, SALVAGE RETENTION LIMITED MILEAGE DISCOUNTS, ALL MODIFICATIONS COVERED LEGAL PROTECTION, UK BREAKDOWN COVER UK BASED FAMILY OWNED COMPANY SINCE 1987 BRENTACRE INSURANCE SERVICES LIMITED ARE REGISTERED IN ENGLAND AND WALES AT CAMBRIAN HOUSE, CAMBRIAN PLACE, SWANSEA, SA1 1RH WITH COMPANIES HOUSE NUMBER 02081054 AND ARE AUTHORISED AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY - NUMBER: 307060 - PAINTING USED WITH PERMISSION FROM IAN GUY - MOTORING ARTIST With the weather (almost) playing ball, the four-day FIA European Finals at Santa Pod was the season-closer everyone had hoped for Words & photography: Andy Willsheer With a distinct autumnal nip in the air, it may not have been quite ideal for spectators at what is traditionally the biggest and best drag race of the season hosted by Santa Pod Raceway. The chilly climes failed to deter fans, however, and although pre-event bookings may have been down compared with last year’s Finals, the facility was nonetheless pretty rammed come the weekend of the four-day event. Thursday’s Sportsman qualifying provided an indication that all was certainly well with the racing surface, the only real casualty of day one being Deborah Laugher, whose Q4 qualifying shot ended with the immaculate Miss-Guided ’63 Corvette split-window (erroneously described as a ’63 Camaro in the event programme!) on its roof at the finish line. The lady was fortunately A-okay and the squirrelly blower car, which was competing in a field of some 40 Super Pro ET contenders, can be repaired without undue difficulty. Slight drizzle also affected the day’s proceedings, but the brief hold-up was a mere minor inconvenience. There wasn’t a bad crowd at all on the last workday of the week, many folks rolling up to watch the ballyhooed twilight qualifying for the two blownnitro classes, Top Fuel and Funny Car. The action kicked off past the 7.15pm scheduled time, but the stirring sight of flames stabbing the darkening strip was hopefully appreciated by (Above) Deborah Laugher didn’t have the best of starts to the Euro Finals, the immaculate Corvette ending Q4 on its roof at the finish line. (Top left) ‘Fast Freddy’ Fagerström (shown waving in centre of pic) was cruising the pairing lanes in this flamed Model T that matches the paint scheme on his crowd-pleasing, turbocharged ’66 Chevy C-10 Pro Mod pick-up truck. (Top centre) Kevin Kent won the event and also nabbed European Funny Car Series championship laurels. the audience, though perhaps not euphorically insomuch as Finnish chicken farmer Anita Mäkelä was the only driver to make a representative full pull along the 1000ft racing distance. A none too shabby 4.01/250 was carded by the lady who, at the penultimate championship round – the Scandinavian Internationals in Tierp, Sweden – recorded six three-second runs, a European first. The three participants contesting the third season of the European Funny Car Series also made a go of night-time qualifying, each making five-second runs, troubled in the main by traction woes that also proved problematical for nigh-on all T/F competitors in the Q2 session. It was going to be a two-horse race for  ACM racereport Good Times... racereport the championship, aforementioned Anita being less than one round behind Sweden’s Micke Kagered in the points. Her confidence was boosted with pole qualifying position but, alas, it all came to naught when a round-one loss against Jari Halinen effectively ended her quest. The strange thing was that Jari was an alternate when Q4 was completed on Saturday and only participated on the sunny Sunday because Sweden’s Patrik Pers suffered excessive mechanical carnage in his Fueller and couldn’t make the call for final eliminations. Jari was delighted to take his first Pro event trophy when downing Micke in the final round, making a welcome turnaround for the former Sportsman racer who disappointingly didn’t make the eightcar field at Tierp II. Top Methanol Dragster was only ever going to be a Werner Habermann Racing benefit affair, sons Timo and Dennis being the class of 2015 and heading the FIA championship points coming into this event. They qualified #1 and 2 respectively, before Dennis went on to claim a double-bubble victory, garnering event laurels as well as securing the championship before the finale against Swede Jonny Lagg’s injected-nitro entry was even contested. 56 ACM (Above) ‘Fast Freddy’ Fagerström is still sorting the turbocharged motor in his Chevy C-10, but the crowd was delighted just to see the burnout king back at the Pod. (Right middle) Long overdue success finally came to Jari Halinen, the quiet Finn converting a DNQ to the big win in Top Fuel when, as first alternate, he took the place of Patrik Pers in eliminations. (Right bottom) FIA Top Fuel champion Micke Kågered is bookended by Anita Mäkelä and Denmark’s Stig Neergaard at Sunday evening’s presentation affair. Top Methanol Funny Car became a two-car deal when Jürgen Nagel damaged the motor in his Classic Oil Camaro Z28 during qualifying and couldn’t contest eliminations. This left Sweden’s Leif Andréasson and sole Brit in the class, Steph Milam, to carry on in competition. They both ran five-eighties in qualifying and during the sole elimination pairing it was Leif first past the post, carding a winning 5.85/242 over the lady’s game 5.90/246, thereby heading home with a pair of trophies –one for the FIA championship, which he’d clinched prior to the Euro Finals, and the other for garnering event honours. These were due reward for a tumultuous season that saw his Monte Carlo destroyed when it was driven into by errant competitor Micke Larsson at the Tierp Internationals in early June, making for a mad scramble to get his former Dodge Stratus-bodied ride race-ready for round three in Finland one month later. All-Swedish Pro Stock action saw Jimmy Ålund relinquish the #1 on his Camaro to Thomas Lindström who had taken a 46 point lead over the nine-time FIA European champion when winning Tierp Arena’s Scandinavian Internationals. Jimmy dominated the class here at the Pod - #1 qualifier, event winner over fellow finalist Lindström and the only entrant to run in the 6.5-second zone – but he failed to close the gap in the point chase and was thereby denied a 10th championship. All credit to the ebullient driver of the Ernryd Cars Dodge Stratus for a repeat of his 2012 accomplishment and commiserations to Jimmy despite giving it his all. Pro Mod saw two Swedish longtime protagonists – defending FIA champion Micke Gullqvist and Mats Eriksson - battling all the way to the semi-finals of eliminations, where Mats’ championship aspirations were dashed by a mortifying red-light start against Micke, who then went on to convincingly trounce UK racer Roger Moore in the final round, his blown Camaro recording 5.97/245 over the nitrous Viper’s 6.51/210. The victory also gave Gullan a fifth FIA title. Fuel Funny Car honours were procured by Kevin Kent in the West Ten Motorsport Ford Mustang after he initially defeated point leader Gordon Smith in round one of eliminations before going on to beat the Showtime Mustang of #1 qualifier John Spuffard in the finale pairing. ACM racereport SPORTSMAN WINNERS COMP ELIMINATOR Kev Perkins, Oldsmobile Cutlass, 7.53/179 SUPER COMP Ronald Huis, Chevy Handyman, 9.00/149 SUPER GAS Jon Giles, Willys coupe, 9.99/138 SUPER STREET Matthew Seamarks, Ford 100E, 12.37/68 SUPER PRO ET Scott Hauser, HRC Dragster, 7.49/176 PRO ET Lee Huxley, Ford Mustang, 9.93/134 STREET ELIMINATOR Mark Todd, Pontiac GTO, 7.36/no speed JR. DRAGSTER (1/8-MILE) Paige Wheeler, JMA, 8.03/79 ACM 57 racereport 2015 CHAMPIONS Super Pro ET: Simon Gough Pro ET: Team Dark Horse (Brian & Lee Huxley) Sportsman ET: Craig Wright Super Comp: Stuart Doignie Super Gas: Stuart Doignie Super Street: Karen Stevens Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Charlotte Bradford Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Mark Todd Wild Bunch series: Keith Crampton Wild Bunch MSA Springbridge series: Phil James Wild Bunch Roy Wilding Race Cars series: Keith Crapmpton Wild Bunch Spirit Of Nostalgia series: Phil James Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin Congratulations to Mark Todd for setting the new Low ET record in Topspeed Street Eliminator at 7.242mph. 58 ACM The National Finals, the last chance for UK Sportsman racers to grab those championship points Words & photography: John Kennedy Well it’s that sad time of the year again; yep, the National Finals from Santa Pod Raceway, the end of the competitive drag racing season in the UK... and what a weekend it was! After a wet and changeable week old mother nature stuck her sunnies on and gave us THE best weekend’s race weather you could have asked for. Blazing sun for the whole weekend made for a very sticky track – I nearly lost my shoe at one stage, trying to get across the track a bit smartish to catch cars running in the Autoglym lane. A light wind funnelling down the track towards the start line made the burnout smoke plume backwards and with the sunlight catching the smoke it made for a great dynamic effect - giving off a yellow/ brownish hue. Everyone seemed to be pumped up for the event and with the 20-plus classes racing there were lots of people about and the track crew really worked their socks off all weekend. The pairing lanes were cleared in record time, with every class making superb times - blink and you missed that one car/bike you’d been waiting for. Pro Mods were running six seconds, Street Eliminators running seven seconds - the racing action was very intense with a lot of racers going for broke as it was the last outing of the year for many. The National Finals don’t have all the usual Santa Pod razzamatazz with the fun fair, Monster trucks etc, but most punters that attend this event are there purely for the racing which, it has to be said, was absolutely brilliant - hats off again to all at Santa Pod. The attending crowds were treated to something a bit special this weekend from Nick Davies in Chaos and the car’s last ever race, and Tim Garlick in Apache putting in the first ever European Nostalgia Funny Car five – a 5.9666 second pass at 220.36mph!  ACM The Final Tally racereport UK MSA National Finals Winners MSA Pro Modified: Andy Robinson (6.1507 @ 230.19mph) def Roger Moore (6.8644 @ 203.47 red light) Nostalgia Fuel Car Challenge: Nick Davies (6.6011 @ 214mph) def Tim Garlick (8.3027 @ 117) Comp Eliminator: Rob Smallworth (7.790 @ 117 on 8.00) def Belinda Bull (7.477 @ 189 on 7.53) Super Pro ET: Daniel Giles (7.53 @ 154 on 7.43) def Rick Cooke (8.55 @ 139 on 8.40) Pro ET: Steve Hudson (9.23 @ 134 on 9.21) def Gino Bernadine (9.66 at 138 on 9.60) Sportsman ET: Jemma Hale (15.86 @ 82 on 15.70) def Andy Dibley (16.35 at 86 on 16.32) Super Comp: Paul Watson (8.885 @ 158) def Stu Doignie (8.870 @ 157) Super Gas: Stu Doignie (9.960 @ 139) def Jon Giles (9.881 @ 142 breakout) Super Street: Leigh Morris (10.92 @ 119) def Dave Cherrett (10.77 @ 86 breakout) Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Billy Everitt (8.089 @ 78 on 8.04) def Charlotte Bradford (9.43 @ 66 on 9.35) Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Jon Webster (11.320 @ 75) def Mark Todd (7.549 @ 198 red light) Wild Bunch: Keith Crampton (10.96 @ 116 on 11.04) def Phil James (11.766 @ 75 on 9.33 red light) Later, Tim backed this up with a 5.9971 at 235.30mph. The burnouts from both were amazing but as Chaos was racing for the last time ever, Nick decided to do an almost full track burnout, ending what’s been a fantastic spectacle for both us press guys and the spectators. I will miss seeing Chaos at the track, and hopefully Nick will be back at some stage. But us Nostalgia freaks still have Tim Garlick in Apache - and who knows what he can achieve next season? Chaos eventually took the event win. Every class produced many PBs and some surprises with racers getting ever closer to their magic numbers. 60 ACM The heat on track and the quick turnaround between races did cause issues for some, with the fire crews leaping around a few cars that popped and belched out fire from their bonnet cowls. Good for the photographers, twitchy for the crews and drivers. As the gloomy winter nights roll in, keep in mind that you can get your racing fix by attending the upcoming seven events at Santa Pod, penciled in for me is Drift extravaganza, Gymkhana Grid and then Flame and Thunder which is always an amazing spectacle with fire burnouts and “noncompetitive” night racing….Yeah right. See you at the Pod. ACM Tel: 01592 873003 Mobile: 07540 165851 Viewing by appointment Email: [email protected] www.kingdomkustoms.co.uk KINGDOM KUSTOMS 1972 Ford Mustang Olympic Sprint Edition 351 V8 Auto stunning throughout super rare one of only 3000 factory Fastbacks ever produced and only one in UK £18,995 1992 Chevrolet G10 SWB Van 1965 Rambler Marlin V8 auto factory air conditioning , side door solid nice driving van 327 HO V8 with 4 speed manual stunning inside and out 2 door fastback very rare and drives superb with straight eight and three speed column change 350 V8 Auto Trans clean interior very well priced 390 V8 Maurader 4V Motor Auto trans , mechanically A1 , factory rear Breezeway window , original sun faded patina paintwork drives superb 455 V8 Big Block Auto trans . Rock solid nice running wagon with factory roof rails factory hub caps and electric front bench £7,450 1969 Lincoln Continental 1953 Packard Clipper Mayfair 2 door coupe nice original car with whisper quiet straight Eight and auto transmission drive anywhere lovely car 2 door Coupe 460 V8 Auto 82k arrow straight bodywork , no corrosion anywhere , new 20" American Racing alloys , cherry bombs, discreet custom sound system . £12,995 Motorised Chevy Corvette Bar Stool 88 Coupe project perfect Resto or custom project call or mail for more info rides great ideal man cave or swap meet run about quick too from the USA £4,650 £695 Classic cars and parts sourced and imported on order. Call or email with your requirements. Partners in Texas and Georgia. racereport Round 8 & Final Where: York Raceway When: September 19th-20th Words: Dave Smith Photography: Richard Smith (rdsmith.zenfolio.com) The A/SS finals had been set for Sunday, September 20th, since the beginning of the year, but after York Raceway added Saturday 19th as a bonus calendar date mid-year, it was decided to hold August bank holiday Monday’s washed-out round eight on that date. Nobody could have foreseen that it would be one of the best weekends of the year. With the title to fight for, all the big players were out to make a weekend of it. Twelve cars qualified for the round eight rerun, top of the tree being contender Adam Nowak whose 10.8521 on a 10.85 dial showed his intentions. Nobody on the ladder was running more than a hundredth off their dial, except Claire Johnson in her wounded Oldsmobile, so the game was on. In the first heat, Claire couldn’t even stage thanks to a bust water pump, leaving Kris Thoburn an easy run into the quarter finals. A double breakout followed, Vic Parson being the lesser offender against Chris Wilson’s beautiful gold Dodge, then Joel Kerr red-lit his race away against Karen Gregory’s Lightning. In a frantically close race, title contenders Adam Nowak and Lee ‘Cookie’ Chiles’s battle was a fag paper apart; Adam’s 10.85 on a 10.84 dial not being enough to beat Cookie’s 11.84 on an 11.83 dial, the race being won with a fractionally quicker reaction time. Mia Cavanaugh broke out against Dave Billadeau, whilst Pete Youhill suddenly found two tenths he never knew he had, his 9.65 on a 9.85 dial handing the race to Mick Elsworth. The quarter finals would really colour the championship, with Vic’s unusually sleepy reaction handing the win to Cookie, followed by Dave Billadeau beating Kris Thoburn by the tiniest of margins. Karen then beat Mick by another hair, both within 0.05 of their dials. This racing was closer than a nun’s kneecaps! In the semis, Dave saw that pesky Ford of Karen’s off using a mere onetenth reaction time advantage, whilst Cookie byed his way into the all-Mopar final. Cookie’s Dodge truck and Dave’s Ol’ Scatterbolts Coronet lined up for the last race, both dialled in at 11.80, but it was over before it had begun, with Dave red-lighting the race away to gift Cookie the win and, possibly, the championship. It had been a 62 ACM hold-your-breath day’s racing, and put August’s washout firmly out of everyone’s minds. The moment the racing’s over, all rivalries are forgotten and everyone had a good evening of raising elbows and chit-chatting around campfires, looking forward to more of the same the following day. Everyone woke to a very autumnal mist; however it soon burned off, the track dried and that more-of-the-same was on its way! There were a couple of new entries making the qualifying card up to 15, including Andy ‘Boz’ Bosomworth’s Coronet, Richard Granger’s beautiful Road Runner (which you may have spotted on this issue’s cover) and Nigel Preston who, having blown his Camaro’s diff apart quite spectacularly at the Hot Rod Drags, had brought his Roush Mustang out of the garage and was letting son Joe take the wheel. Times were a little quicker this morning, but Adam Nowak was on pole position once again, his 10.7812 on a 10.78 dial being tough to beat. The top half of the ladder were all within a tenth of their dials, whilst the bottom four were within a tenth but on the breakout side. Claire Johnson was back in the game, with dad Ian having gone all the way home to Billingham to pick up a new water pump, then return and fit it! Heat one began with Joe Preston’s break-out gifting Dave Billadeau the win, before Claire also broke out to hand Chris Wilson’s Goldmember the win light. Boz had lowered his dial-in to 11.01 – so close to that 10 – and an 11.02 was good enough to put Joel Kerr back on the trailer. Joel’s Dodge Lancer is for sale now, as he’s stepping up his game for next season, and at a very reasonable price for such an unusual and consistent low-11-second Mopar. Pete Youhill’s Pacemaker Chevelle redlit and broke out to let Mick Elsworth through, whilst Kris Thoburn’s red-light gave Mia Cavanagh’s Chevelle an easy win. Cookie used a pin-sharp 0.51 TOP 10 1st SS87 Lee Chiles 5800 2nd SP320 Karen Gregory 5370 3rd SS666 Dave Billadeau 5075 4th SS229 Mick Elsworth 4975 5th SS475 Vic Parsons 4950 6th SS266 Adam Nowak 4475 7th SS34 Kiwi 3450 8th SS240 Mia Cavanaugh 3225 9th SS7 Kris Thoburn 2375 10th SS442 Andy Medley 2250 reaction to end Karen Gregory’s day, and give his own championship hopes a boost, whilst Rich Granger won the battle of the breakouts against Vic Parsons 0.0019 to 0.1019. Adam Nowak was on a bye, but still ran just one thousandth off his dial-in. The second heat opened with another battle of the breakouts, Dave’s 0.0011 infringement being less than Mick’s 0.010 for the win, then Chris Wilson found an extra tenth he wasn’t expecting to hand the win to Cookie. Two super-tight nailbiting races followed, beginning with Adam and Mia. Both dialled in 10.77, both ran 10.78, but Mia’s 0.025 reaction time advantage was enough to secure the win. Then, Richard’s Road Runner ran 11.47 on an 11.40 dial against Boz’s 11.01 on a 10.99 dial, Boz’s fractionally faster reaction clinching the deal. This is what bracket racing is all about. The semis were a scrappy affair, opening with a slowing Boz gifting the win to Dave Billadeau. Mia and Cookie both broke out, Mia’s 0.018 break-out beating Cookie’s 0.105. It set up a final to remember; Mia in the Chevelle with a 10.75 dial, and Dave in Ol’ Scatterbolts with an 11.80. Could Dave pull off a win, or would he be the bridesmaid twice in two days? In the end, he ran 11.821, but Mia was almost two tenths quicker off the line and her 10.89 was enough to take the win. It was a good day for the Rodzilla Chevelle; a finals win and a pot on the mantlepiece before the car went to its new owner the following day. Shortly after the finals, Boz went out in RWYB and finally ran that 10.9, coming back to the pits with a grin that looked like it would last all winter. Congratulations to Lee ‘Cookie’ Chiles on another American Super Stock championship win; his truck is up for sale for a very reasonable sum, as he also prepares to move up a notch. A big well-done to everyone who took part this year. Next year, why not join in? You can find the American Super Stock guys on Facebook. ACM ACM BIRMINGHAM, NEC, 13-15 NOVEMBER 2015 SHARE YOUR PASSION FOR CARS OVER 1,800 STUNNING CLASSIC CARS 250 CAR CLUBS CELEBRITY GUESTS THE UK’S BIGGEST INDOOR AUTOJUMBLE AND TRADER VILLAGE WHEELER DEALERS LIVE STAGE SUPER CARS BOOK IN ADVANCE AND SAVE £££’S QUOTE: CMS15ACM CALL 0871 230 1088** VISIT WWW.NECCLASSICMOTORSHOW.COM Headline Sponsor EE FR O ES INT SIC E D U RY AS IK CL NT CL RB IN E E TO OW TH O SH M Official Show Partners *Book before Saturday 31st October 2015 at midnight and you will automatically be entered into our free prize draw to win a car. **Calls cost 10ppm plus standard network charges. All bookings are subject to a single transaction fee of £1.50. Tickets include a showguide to the value of £7.50. Entry to the auction requires purchase of a catalogue. See website for all information. All information correct at time of publishing. J307661_CMS03_American_ad_American_car_magazine_Nov15_185x130mm_2015_v1.indd 1 racereport Outlaw Street 2015 Race Series: Round OS-5 Words: Mark Wallington When: August 9th to 10th Where: Saturday Night Special + RWYB Weekend, Santa Pod Raceway Ten days after OS-4 and we were back at Santa Pod for round OS-5. This short turnaround affected the number of members racing as several were still repairing damages from the last round. With OS-5 being a ‘Saturday Night Special’ round it gave members the chance for a bit of cool-air night racing, which clearly worked for several who managed to secure new PBs over the weekend, including OS-10 Troy Attree in his LS1 Camaro with an 11.58 @ 117mph. After a break of a couple of seasons, Troy is clearly back on form this year. Although the track was very busy some members managed to squeeze as many as 12 runs in over the weekend, so massive thanks to all the Santa Pod team for keeping things running despite a number of oil-downs. The ‘horsepower horrors’ or ‘grunt gremlins’ as they’re known were hindering quite a few members who either had to park their cars early or struggled to get on form all weekend. Of course, the excuses were rife as to why this was, as naturally it’s never the driver’s fault or the fact their pride and joy wears a ‘blue badge’ or a ‘bowtie’. One thing’s for sure, members were really chasing the RTs at OS-5 with quite a few cherries popping up in the results. The highest scoring points winner of each round wins a prize, but you can only win this once a year. As both first place and second place The top six reaction times of OS-5 were: 1 OS-10 Clive Dandridge -0.0623 (97 points) By the time you read this, the season-closing event will just have happened. If you’d like more information about the series you can find it at www.outlawstreet.co.uk. ACM 65 eventsguide When? What? Where? Organisers! Please send any 2016 event details to us at: American Car Magazine, The Outlook, 6 Sansome Walk, Worcester WR1 1LH or email: [email protected] Likewise your cruise meets for the Monthly Meetings section. October October 24th-25th - Halloween Bonfire Burn-up RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford, 01789 720180, shakespearecountyraceway.com October 24th-25th - RWYB inc Saturday Night Special, Santa Pod, 01234 782828, rwyb.com October 25th - Rat Rod Review, Ace Cafe, London NW10, 0208 961 1000, ace-cafe-london.com October 25th - NSRA Northern Swap Meet, Rotherham S60 1DX, nsra.org.uk October 30th-November 1st - Classic & Sports Car - The London Show, Alexandra Palace, classicandsportscarshow.com October 31st - Flame & Thunder, Santa Pod, Northants, 01234 782828, santapod.com November November 1st - RWYB, Santa Pod, 01234 782828, rwyb.com November 7th - Fireworks Frenzy, Santa Pod, 4pm on, santapod.com November 13th-16th - NEC Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham, 0871 230 1088, necclassicmotorshow.com November 13th-16th - Rhythm Riot, Pontins Holiday Centre, Camber, Sussex, 0208 566 5226, rhythmriot.com December April 30th-May 1st - Atomic Festival, Sywell Aerodrome, Northants, atomicfestival.co.uk May 8th - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com June 5th - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com June 9th-12th - Hot Rods & Hills, Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, search Facebook Hotrods And Hills July 1st-3rd - Can-Am Independence Day Weekend, Cofton Country Holidays, nr Dawlish, Devon, canamcarclub. org.uk July 2nd-3rd - Cars & Stripes, Rockingham, Northants, cars-andstripes.co.uk July 7th-11th - Americana International, Loughborough, americana-international.co.uk July 10th - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com December 26th - Romsey Boxing Day Pre-76 Car & Bike Meet, Romsey, Hants, romseyclassiccarandbikemeet.co.uk July 15th-17th - Phantoms Hot Rod Hootenanny, Stirling Rugby Club, FK9 5AP, 07789 280600, [email protected] 2016 July 22nd-24th - Silverstone Classic, Silverstone, Northants, silverstoneclassic.com January 14th-17th - Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham, autosportinternational.com October 31st - Regent Street Motor Show, London, regentstreetmotorshow.com February 18th-21st - London Classic Car Show, ExCel, London, thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk July 29th-31st - Mopar Euronationals, Santa Pod, Northants, 01234 782828, santapod.com October 31st - Whitby Kustom, Westcliff School, Whitby, Yorks YO21 3EG, whitbykustom.com February 26th-28th - Race Retro Historic Motorsport Show, Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry CV8 2LZ, raceretro.com August 21st - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com Monthly Meets Every Tuesday – Petrolhead meet @ Witham and Blues, Boston, Lincs, PE22 7AJ, withamandblues.com Every Sunday – National Can Am car club, 2pm, The Viewpoint, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, canamcarclub.org.uk 1st Tuesday – Black Country Cruisers, 7.30pm, The Greyhound Inn, Swindon near Wombourne, 01384 287243, blackcountrycruisers.co.uk 1st Wednesday – Hot Rod Night, 6pm on, Ace Café NW10, 0208 961 1000, ace-café-london.com 1st Wednesday & 3rd Wednesday – American Auto Mags Cruise, The Hollow Tree, off A49 Stretton WA4 4LX, 01606 888324, americanautomags.com, during British Summer Time ONLY! 1st and 3rd Wednesday – The Victory Wheelers meet, The Plough, Portsmouth Road, Burlesdon, Southampton SO31 8BT 1st Sunday – V8 Mentalists Breakfast Meet, The Coach House, Chelsham Common, Warlingham, Surrey CR6 9PB, 07950 258704 1st Sunday – AACNW Big Meet, 10am on, Krispy Kreme Trafford Park, behind Trafford Centre, 0161 865 7684/01744 609404 1st Sunday – Goodwood Breakfast Meet, Goodwood, W Sussex (NOT July or September) goodwood.com/breakfastclub 1st Sunday – Boneshakers SE, The Barley Mow, Selmeston, E. Sussex BN26 6UF, 07541 524430 or 07738 374905 1st Sunday – MOCGB South Coast Muzzers, Cams Mill, Fareham, Hants PO16 8AA, 10.30am on, tel Keith 07785 577552, [email protected] 2nd Wednesday – UK Street Machines, The George Inn, Main Rd, Wilby, When: November 2015 What: Superb weekends Where: Everywhere! November is typically the month when everyone can take a breather from a busy show season and din in for a long winter. That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing going on; far from it. November 7th is Santa Pod’s Firework Frenzy, an afternoon/ evening show mostly given to off-track displays and, obviously, fireworks. The following weekend sees two big indoor events - the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC and Rhythm Riot in Sussex. The NEC is a huge event for all sorts of classics with a good showing of American and custom cars, whilst Rhythm Riot is a real step back to the Fifties; a full weekend of music, dancing and Fifties lifestyle complete with a mighty cruise-out on the Saturday. Winter’s coming - best get busy! July 31st - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com Wellingborough NN8 2UB, ukstreetmachines.com 2nd Saturday – Big Moe’s Diner, A13 Newham, London IG11 0AD, bigmoesdiner.co.uk 3rd Monday – National Can Am Club, 7.30pm, Old Thatch, Wimborne Rd West, Ferndown, Dorset BH21 7NW, canamcarclub.org.uk 3rd Wednesday – The Bowling Green, Lichfield, Staffs, 7pm on 3rd Wednesday – The Head Gas Gits, North Star pub, Iver, Bucks SL0 9AL, facebook.com/groups/headgasgits 3rd Friday - The Pebble Dash, Roedean Cafe, Marine Drive, Brighton BN2 5RL, 7.30pm on, see Facebook 3rd Sunday – Burnout Auto Club, meet 3pm, Wrey Arms, Sticklepath, Barnstaple, Devon, 07973 471125 or see Facebook 3rd Sunday – Fairmile Pub, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1BW, 07802 166957 3rd Sunday – American Auto Mags Lunch Cruise, The Hollow Tree, Cheshire WA4 4LX, 11am on, winter months ONLY! 01606 888324 Last Wednesday – Woody’s Hot Rod & Classic Meet, Woodland Waters, Grantham, Lincs NG32 3RT, Facebook “Hot Rod night at Woody’s Bar” Last Friday – National Can Am car club, 7pm, McDonalds, Wessex Gate Retail Park, Creekmoor, Poole, canamcarclub.org.uk Last Saturday – All American Cruise-In, 4pm on, Ace Café NW10, 0208 961 1000, ace-café-london.com Last Saturday – Chelsea Cruise, Chelsea Bridge SW8 4NG from 8pm, Derek 0208 765 1381 Last Saturday – Knights CC cruise, St James Retail Park, Knaresborough, N Yorks HG5 8PZ, March - September                  AVAIlABlE FRoM BookReviews Titles are available from American Auto Mags; Chaters Wholesale; Bookworld; Foyles, Charing Cross Road; Mustangbooks.com; VW-DIY; and, of course, Amazon or The Book Depository online. How to Rebuild And Modify GM Turbo 350 Transmissions Author: Cliff Ruggles Published by: CarTech Price: £21.99 The TH350 has to be just about the most common auto transmission in the American car scene, so it seems strange that it should have taken this long for a proper rebuild handbook to appear. Anyway, no worries, it's here now; one of the quite comprehensive catalogue of rebuild titles from CarTech. Once again, it's a thorough rebuild with modifications along the way and large, clear, colour photos of every stage. There are explanations and dodges, and it should help even a novice to achieve a fully-functional, longlived rebuilt transmission. Checker – The All-American Taxi Author: Ben Merkel and Joe Fay Published by: Earlswood Press (www.earlswoodpress.co.uk) Price: £21.99 Eeeeeeh, they don't make cars like they used to. Although, in Checker's case, they did. Checker had been making taxi cabs for years before the one we all know and love came along in 1958. Its styling owed more than a nod to the contemporary '58 Chevy, but that styling didn't change a great deal until they stopped making them in 1982. Even now, the yellow Checker cab is as iconic to New York's imagery as the black cab is to London's, even though the last proper yellow Checker checked out of the Big Apple last century. Whereas I could build myself a decent fort out of hardback books about the Corvette, Checker has never had its fair share of ink. It's a shame, as their story is a fascinating one. They 68 ACM never really stunned the world with their engineering prowess, but as a low-volume manufacturer of hard-working vehicles they don't have too many equals. The book is written by a pair of gents who manage to combine their knowledge and enthusiasm with interesting, readable text, and have added reams of superb colour and monochrome photographs, many never published before. And they're not all Athena poster pics of night-time New York street scenes, thank heavens; they have everything from factory promo shots, shots of the factory itself, working cabs and even as-found junkyard shots. Cracking reading on a subject that's been out of the spotlight for far too long – definitely recommended. Like most of these books, the author has managed to write it with a level of complexity aimed at a beginner, not for a five-yearold, and for a well-equipped DIY mechanic, not someone with their own transmission rebuild workshop. Having read through it, it's not quite as clear and simple as other titles in the CarTech catalogue, and it's missing the handy part number decoding and interchange sections, but otherwise it's an indispensable book to have to hand if you're just about to dive into your transmission. Good winter reading! Thanks blueprints Ivan, West Midlands American Vehicles, 01902 798840, www.american-vehicles.com Martin, Ultimate Spares, 01953 601410, www.ultimatespares.co.uk Cadillac Escalade, 1999-2014 In the late Nineties, the SUV market in America was really taking off. Ford and GM had always had top-of-the-line well-equipped versions of their own fullsize Suburbans and Expeditions, but the Range Rover and, in 1997, the Mercedes M-class added brand snob-appeal. Ford hit back first with the Lincoln Navigator in 1998, and GM with the Cadillac Escalade in 1999. It was based on the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon platform, and the project went from rubber-stamped proposal to the Arlington, Texas, production line in just 10 months. The first models were almost identical to the Yukon Denali they were based on, albeit fully loaded with every luxury convenience on the options list, but the standard 350-cube Vortec V8 was old news compared with Lincoln's 5.4 Modular. It was a big gamble for GM. How would the brand-loyal Cadillac owners see this? After all, sticking a Cadillac badge on what is basically a pick-up truck doesn't make a Cadillac. It was a hit in the brash, consumerist early Noughties. It got even better when the second-gen Escalade came along as a 2002 model with far more individual 'Cadillac-ised' styling and the 5.3 or 6.0-litre LS V8s. Now there was the Escalade, the extended-wheelbase ESV and the bizarre EXT with a rather feeble pick-up bed tacked on the back. They were still loaded with all the extras, and the 5.3 was soon dropped to leave the 6.0-litre LQ9 as the standard powerplant – probably necessary with a kerb weight of around three tons. The third generation came along as a 2007 model on the new GMT900 platform, with slightly softer styling, a new 400bhp 6.2 Vortec V8 with variable valve timing, and even a hybrid version which came along in 2008. The Escalade seems to have weathered the 2008 economic crash, and even the adverse publicity thrown at these ostentatious SUVs by those of a green disposition that helped seal sister brand Hummer's fate. The new fourth-gen 2015 model is still going strong. So is a second-hand Escalade a super-luxury premiership bargain or just a leather-bound box of trouble? We ask Ivan Purchase and Martin Mumford for their opinions. “If rust gets underneath the ABS sensor, it can lift the sensor and increase the air gap between the sensor and ABS ring, causing the ABS to kick in at low speeds; however, it doesn't cause the ABS light on the dash to come on. If the pedal is pulsing whilst braking below 10 or 15mph, this is probably what's happened.” - IP “They seem to get through wheel bearings, especially on the front, and they're a full hub unit and not cheap, so do check.” - MM “Some don't have any form of chassis rust protection at all, whilst some were coated with a black wax that comes off if you use a pressure washer on it!” - IP “I've had a customer with an Escalade and the entire front crossmember underneath the radiator had completely rotted out of it. He wasn't alone – I've seen many others with rust forming, especially around the body-to-chassis rubber doughnut mounts. All steel will rust, but these seemed to go a lot quicker than you'd expect.” - MM 70 ACM blueprints “I've seen several with blocked sunroof drain tubes. The drains get blocked, water collects around the sunroof, and suddenly you've got a wet headlining. You can rod or blow the tubes clear, but be careful you don't split the tubes or pop them loose.” - IP “Electrical faults are commonplace – powered side steps, ABS sensors, the engine management light on, etc. Faultfinding is the main issue. A simple OBDII code reader can steer you in the right direction, or you can plug it in for a full diagnostic. The problem can usually be traced to a faulty sensor or sender.” - MM ACM 71 blueprints “The rear air suspension can cause some real problems, and most are fitted with it. Air bags, level sensors, compressors, all suffer from damp and salty roads, and if the compressor goes it's a lot of money to replace. You can convert them to traditional coil springs but then you'll have a constant dash warning light on.” - IP “Later-model chrome wheels seem to corrode way too quickly. Lots have come over from the States with these 'bling' wheels, either original or aftermarket, and whilst they might be great in California they last about a fortnight in the UK.” - MM “Up to 2006 they used the 4L60E or 4L65E transmission, like the Hummer H2. These really aren't up to spec for the weight of the vehicle or the power of the 6.0 V8, so take care, especially if towing.” - IP “They're all automatics; I don't believe there was ever a manual transmission option. They share much of their running gear with the Yukon and similar, so regular service and repair parts are no problem and mostly reasonably priced.” - MM Conclusion “Most will suffer from some electrical gremlins over time, mainly because they're just too sophisticated! Get a good one and it's a good one; one that's been messed about with will be nothing but trouble. They're tough and comfortable, but are a bit 'premiership footballer' … if you like that sort of thing.” - IP “The whole medallion man/footballer image is often enough to put most people off, and later ones are not the best-looking – they're as aerodynamic as a housebrick and about as appealing. Also, before buying, you should check every single electric, electronic and tech piece in the car to make sure it all works. I last drove one about three 72 ACM years ago in the States, and I have never been more underimpressed! It wasn't comfortable to drive, or even to be a passenger in. Personally, I'd look elsewhere. I certainly wouldn't rate an Escalade above a Navigator, or even above the Yukon they're based on. Make sure you shop around, drive it, see how comfortable it is in the back! They don't hold their value well - you can pick up a 2006-2009 Escalade for under £20,000 and an earlier one for under £10,000, and they're still going down. They have a fair bit of oomph from the bigger V8s, but otherwise they don't deliver what you'd expect from a Cadillac.” - MM onebrewjob If your alternator’s not charging, there could be a simple and cheap fix Words & photography: Dave Smith Problem Rectified Last month we were looking at how to tell if your alternator’s not charging. Mine wasn’t, or at least not much. Not only was it not charging above 13.3 volts, there was also a drain on the battery at rest, and a little internet research pointed me towards the rectifier in the alternator. Your alternator develops an alternating current – there’s a clue in the title – which needs to be converted to a direct current to charge the battery. This AC issue is rectified by the rectifier, which is basically a pack of heavy-duty diodes, and lives in the back of modern alternators. A rectifier can be damaged by overloading, either from making the alternator try to charge a dud battery or, in this case, trying to jump-start someone else’s really dead battery. Once it’s damaged, it will not only provide a sub-standard charge, but also provide a path to ground when at rest. I had been quoted £150 for a reconditioned alternator (plus £150 core charge!), but I could get a new rectifier from eBay for £22 all-in or £25 from the local reconditioners. I chose the latter, and the job was done with the assistance of just one cup of coffee. The first thing you’ll need to do is find the alternator. On some modern cars this is easier said than done (1). Then you’ll need the part number off the side (2) to make sure you buy the right rectifier. Yes, this is a Jap alternator but, with global parts commonisation, asking for a part for an obscure Pontiac might get you a blank look whilst asking for a part for a Delco XYZ123 alternator can result in a part being on the shelf... Start by removing the fan belt, disconnecting the battery, then removing the alternator. With it on the bench, I removed the heatshield (3), then released the nuts and insulator on the main power terminal (4). Then, 74 ACM 11 12 remove the fasteners holding the back cover on the alternator (5) and remove it (6). Before going any further, compare the new rectifier against the old one (7). If it looks right, set about removing all the bits that are in the way (8), then unscrew the rectifier terminals and lift it away (9). Then give everything a damn good clean-up (10) – apparently, one of the main causes of failure in these alternators is being drenched in ATF by the leaky power steering pump above it – and fit the new rectifier, then all the surrounding components (11). As all the best books say, refitting is the reverse of removal. With everything back together and refitted, I fired up the engine and was happy to see 13.9 volts at the battery (12). It should be higher still, but that’s a lot better than it was. Obviously, if your alternator is completely knackered with ruined bearings, a new rectifier won’t fix it, but fixing the damaged component rather than buying a whole new unit – plus paying the postage; it’s a bloody heavy piece – makes a lot of economic sense. howto O T W O HBraceYourselfPartI 1 THANKS TO UMI Performance Inc. 509 Hemlock St. Philipsburg, Pa 16866 Tel: 814-343-6315 Web: www.umiperformance.com 4 3 7 Strengthening the shell of Project 13/30. Words & Photography: Dave Smith The Fox Mustang has long been a popular choice as a base for some very hot street/strip cars. Its relatively short wheelbase and wide, low stance coupled with unibody construction makes it a fairly light proposition, but the standard shell is not the most rigid. There are no front-to-rear chassis rails, and whilst the fourlink rear is attached to some fairly hefty brackets, those brackets are held to some rather puny bodywork by a handful of spot-welds. It's fine for a stock, rather lazy 225bhp 5.0 V8, but for anything more, some bracing is called for. The first job was to get a coat of paint on the primered shell. The etch primer Wacky had sprayed 76 ACM on is a damn good protective coat, but primer is still porous. A top coat contains lacquer, and that's what keeps the water out, so to protect the shell I went around it with some rattle-can satin black (1). Having the shell on its spit means that spraying it inside, outside and upside-down is a piece of cake (2), with some panels getting a good coating and some just getting a dusting to act as a guide-coat (3). Even so, doing the whole shell used up every drop of 18 rattle cans! And despite wearing a dust mask, I was blowing black paint out of my nose for two days... UMI Performance in the States do reinforcement kits for upper and lower suspension arm mounting points on these Foxes (4). They're made out of good, thick steel, with fillets welded in, and whilst you can just bolt them in, for best results they really need welding in place. Now, when fitting a part sold as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;boltonâ&#x20AC;?, I find a good rule of thumb is to assume that it's not going to bolt straight on and to plan your time accordingly. That way, if it does bolt straight on, you'll finish early. If you assume it'll go straight on and it won't, the job will take twice as long as you expected... UMI reckon you can fit these plates on the driveway with the car on axle stands. You probably can, but I reckon that would test the patience of any number of saints. Working on a bare shell with the mounting points at head height was tricky; doing the job lying on your back with swarf falling in your eyes would be a trial. The lower arms attach to the four-sided box section in the centre of the picture (5), whilst the stout angle piece goes in the box section above, which I've deliberately left in primer because there may be welding to come. The two angle sections are handed, so I worked out which one I needed for this, the lefthand side, and wiggled it into place (6). It didn't line up with the bolt hole for the suspension arm (7), but the side that bolts through the floorpan needed howto trimming slightly to get it to sit flush into its corner (8) and the vertical side wouldn't sit flush in its corner due to a pair of little creases in the factory sheet metal (9). After trimming a wedge oďŹ&#x20AC; the side of the horizontal piece, the lower arm bolt hole lined up so I fitted the lower arm bolt (10) and tightened it up. Then I needed to drill the threeeighth-inch (about 10mm) holes through the floorpan. This is tricky unless you have a foot-long drill bit, as the drill chuck wants to occupy the same space as some of the chassis (11), and one of the holes was right on the edge of an existing hole that used to have a rubber bung in it (12). Drilling half a hole is even trickier! There's then a six-inch square plate that bolts on from above, sandwiching the floorpan (13). Having sussed out the left-hand side, doing the right-hand side was a lot easier, though the bracket did require some persuasion with an extension bar and a club hammer (14) to sit squarely into its corner. After trial fitting each piece, I removed â&#x17E;&#x201D; 8 17 18 19 them, gave them a clean up with a Clean'n'Strip disc (15) and gave them a good coat of etch primer, marking which side was which (16). Then it was time to fit the upper arm reinforcements. Step one told me to drill through the existing OE holes with a half-inch (13mm) drill, but good old Ford hadn't got them very well aligned (17), resulting in this (18). Terrific... it's 8.30pm, and there are no all-night hardware and drill bit shops in my town but, against all the odds, I found another, and it wasn't as blunt as a spoon! Once you've drilled through the mis-aligned bolt holes, you carry on until you hit the floorpan where it raises up 78 ACM 20 behind the back seat to the boot floor. The instructions say you need to drill the holes as straight as you can â&#x20AC;&#x201C; again, you're going to struggle because the drill chuck wants to occupy the same space as sheet metal, and I didn't understand whether 'straight' meant perpendicular to the ground or perpendicular to the piece you're drilling through. Anyway, I pressed on regardless. I trial-fitted the bracing bracket (19) with the long half-inch bolts and checked where the bolts came through the floor (20). The holes needed elongating a little, but the instructions say that this is to be expected, so I used a burr in the drill (21). I also noticed that one of the bolts wasn't sitting 21 23 tightening down the nuts (25) brings the brace plate better into shape, but another peculiar bulge in the floorpan required that another chunk be cut out of the plate (26). Back underneath the car, I drilled 10mm holes in the leading edge of the braces (27) which go through a couple of layers of floorpan and then through the bracing plate (28). â&#x17E;&#x201D; 24 howto 22 straight because the head was sitting too close to a bit of the weld bead on the fillet (22), which could do with a little grinding down. The bolts go through slotted holes in a curved bracing plate inside the car (23), although the brace plate doesn't share the same curvature as the floorpan. Slipping the tapered collars over the bolts (24) then howto Hopefully, fitting all the bolts and tightening them up will pull everything together and square, but the inside bracing plate will definitely need welding in place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not doing so would be pretty useless. In the meantime, I gave these parts a good coat of etch primer (29) and went home. The next day, I drilled and fitted the plates to the other side of the car, which fitted a lot better (30) but the inside plate still needed a notch cutting out of it to clear another odd bulge (31). After the last trial-fit I was more or less happy with the way it was going to sit (32) so I marked out where the edges would sit (33), cleaned the paint back with a wire brush and gave the lot a coat of weld-through primer (34). Then I went around everywhere I'd worked and blasted it with compressed air (35), because nothing starts rusting quicker than drilling and grinding swarf, then gave the primed areas underneath a coat of rattle-can black. So far, I've decided on a couple of things. First, doing this job with the car on axle stands and the exhaust, suspension arms etc in the way would have been a pig. 30 31 29 ACM 32 Second, for the upper arm reinforcements, you either need to have arms like Mr Tickle or an assistant. Third, good, sharp drill bits would have cut a lot of time and swearing from the job. It seems that every drill bit I have is made from chocolate and goes blunt if you so much as look at it funny. Next, I'll have to fire up the welder! ACM Peter Jarvis 1967 Corvette Stingray Coupe Finished in gleaming silver pearl with soft back hide interior,AM/FM stereo, factory air conditioning,power brakes,power steering,power glide auto transmission,350V8 engine,with 350 HP.only 2 owners 32,000 miles last owner 40 years these stunning looking cars are becoming very rare and value able totally superb. £119,500 1958 Corvette Roadster Classic Cars Worldwide Shipping Signet red (orange) with white side coves,matching interior,white soft top, 4 speed manual,dual quad 283/270 H.P.this very rare 58 Corvette is probably the finest in the world,having covered only 10 miles since full professional restoration every nut and bolt,it boasts every original part with matching numbers even down to the wipers.If you could purchase a new one today this car would be better. This car is just breath taking. £145,750 1965 Corvette Stingray Coupe Finished in Nassau blue,with complimented blue and white interior,and blue dash and carpets,knock off wheels,and radial tyres,independent rear suspension,disc brakes all round,AM/FM stereo system, 4 speed Muncie transmission, powered by a period and correct casting engine 327ci/ 350HP,L79 V8. A super looking and breath taking Corvette. £118,750 Please view more details of our cars on our website. Viewing by appointment only. Gildenhill Place, Gildenhill Road Swanley, Kent, BR8 7PD TEL: 01322 669081 MOBILE: 07836 250222 EMAIL: ouryanks ouryanks TALES FROM THE GARAGES OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON, AND CONTRIBUTE TO, AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE Dave Smith, Editor 1990 Ford Mustang LX Whilst Project 13/30 is still very much ongoing in the How-To pages, there’s little for me to say here. With the racing and show season now all but finished, there’s going to be a bit more time for me to crack on with it, and I made a good start recently. A good friend and contributor, Big Chris Smith (no relation), helped me bring in some parts from the States. He was bringing a container in, and let me have a corner for these big boxes. Many American companies do not have official distributors in Europe, and if you ask them to ship abroad they’ll either say flat-out “no” or only ship UPS or Fed-Ex. These companies are great for small parcels, but the cost of sending heavy stuff transAtlantic can be truly frightening, often well in excess of the cost of the parts themselves. It’s always worth asking around to see if anyone has a shipping container about to leave the States – many importers have regular containers, and the cost of getting your gear chucked in their container will be minimal compared with UPS. Chances are the Stateside suppliers will even ship to the dockyard for free. All I then had to do was go over to Chris’s to pick up the parcels, at which point he forced me to go to the pub with him and talk cars. It was a tough gig, but it had to be done. Thanks, Chris. The unit next door to our garage makes plastic products like traffic light casings, and he gave me a mould roughly the same shape as my glove box, and with a bit of effort, it fitted like it was meant to be there! Those two items didn’t take that long, so I decided to tackle the annoying rattle on the passenger door window. I was convinced something was loose, but this was not the case. One of the small plastic wheels that sit in the slides had disintegrated so the metal rod just sat in the channel. A quick internet search found www.521restorations.com, and they list the ‘window roller’ kits for most Mopars. Mine are just a shade under $50 delivered to the UK. I do love that you can buy virtually anything for classic muscle cars in the States. Satisfied with my work for the day, and with the sun still shining brightly, I did what any like-minded person would do - I went out for a cruise! Kev Carrington, Contributor 1973 Plymouth Duster, 2004 Ford Mustang GT It’s great writing these updates because it does push me to get out and work on the Plymouth, and there is so much I still want to do: B&M shifter (still!), modify exhaust, new rear seat cover, headliner, solve the small water leak in the boot, door window rattle... the list goes on! Well, I took some time off last week and managed to have half a day on the Duster on a gloriously sunny October Sunday. Firstly, I had a look at 82 ACM the Bowden cables that have not been attached to the heater controls since I bought the car two years ago. I discovered that there was still enough inner cable to attach them and in 20 minutes I had fully operational heater controls! Next was the non-existent glove box. On these cars it was a cardboard item and mine had dissolved into some kind of impossible puzzle! You can still get replacements but I wanted something a bit more robust. ENGINEERS HEAVY DUTY STEEL WORKBENCHES WORKBENCH WITH PEGBOARD Easy to assemble, providing valuable working space and plenty of additional storage capacity. .98 149EXC.VAT .98 179INC.VAT •Sturdy lower shelf •Durable powder coated finish NOW 65 Shown fitted with optional 3 drawer unit ONLY £84.99 Ex.VAT £101.99 Inc.VAT DIMS INCLUDES MODEL WXDXH (MM) EXC.VAT INC.VAT SINGLE CWB1000B 1000x650x880 £149.98 £179.98 LOCKABLE 1500x650x880 £199.98 £239.98 DRAWER CWB1500B CWB2000B 2000x650x880 £259.98 £311.98 CHESTS/ CABINETS Available in Red or Galvanised Finish SUPERSTORES NATIONWIDE • Dimensions (WxDxH) 1150 x 560 x 1440 mm • Pegboard back wall with 30 hooks supplied WHERE QUALITY COSTS LESS .98 £ DESCRIPTION DIMS WXDXH(MM) EXC.VAT MECHANICS RANGE CTC600B 6 Dr chest 600x260x340 £52.99 CTC900B 9 Dr chest 610x255x380 £64.99 CTC500B 5 Dr cabinet 675x335x770 £119.98 CTC800B 8 Dr chest/cab set 610x330x1070 £104.99 CTC700B 7 Dr cabinet 610x330x875 £124.98 CTC1300B 13 Dr chest/cab 620x330x1320 £149.98 PROFESSIONAL RANGE CTC103 3 Dr step up chest 672x310x250 £49.98 CTC106 6 Dr drop front 662x305x365 £64.99 CTC109 9 Dr chest 662x305x421 £74.99 CTC105 5 Dr cabinet 685x465x790 £169.98 CTC107 7 Dr cabinet 685x465x950 £199.98 £ EXTRA LARGE SIDE HANDLE FOR EASY MOVEMENT FITS EITHER SIDE 1 £59.98 £77.99 £89.99 £203.98 £239.98 ALSO BLUE / YELLOW / BLACK & GOLD 4 CBB206B CBB209B CBB210B CBB203B CBB215B CBB212B CBB217B CBB213B £ 6 Dr Chest 9 Dr Chest 10 Dr Chest 3 Dr step up 5 Dr Cabinet 3 Dr Cabinet 7 Dr Cabinet 3 Dr Cabinet 1 CBB306BG CBB229B CBB315 CBB228B 1 CBB224B 2 CBB226B CBB231B CBB230B SIZE DESCRIPTION 36" 41" 36" 41" 41" 41" 56" 56" 6 Dr Chest 21 Dr chest 5 Dr Cabinet 8 Dr cabinet 14 Dr chest 16 Dr cabinet 9 Dr chest 13 Dr cabinet DIMS WxDxH(mm) 910 x 305 x 47 1045x415x486 927 x 416 x 985 1126x468x1000 1045x415x486 1126x468x1000 1460x615x490 1503x622x1011 EXC.VAT £169.98 £249.98 £299.98 £399.00 £269.98 £459.00 £419.00 £649.00 NEW INC.VAT £203.98 £299.98 £359.98 £478.80 £323.98 £550.80 £502.80 £778.80 1.5M TALL MODEL DESCRIPTION 1 CBB209DF 9 Dr chest 2 CBB211DF 11 Dr Cabinet 3 CBB309DF 9 Dr chest 4 CBB311DF 11 Dr Cabinet ROLLED EDGE UPRIGHTS GIVE: ✔ EXTRA STRENGTH ✔ SMOOTHER FINISH ✔ SLEEK LOOK WI MODEL 1.25 tonne 2 tonne 2.5 tonne* EXC.VAT £84.99 £149.98 £139.98 3 TONNE JACKS .99 44EX.VAT £ .99 53INC.VAT .98 19EX.VAT £ .98 23INC.VAT CTJ2001G MODEL TYPE EXC.VAT INC.VAT CTJ2B DIY £19.98 £23.98 CTJ2MB DIY £24.99 £29.99 CTJ2250LP * Low Profile £39.98 £47.98 CTJ2QLG Pro Instant £69.98 £83.98 CTJ2001G Pro Garage £74.99 £89.99 CTJ2GLC Pro Long High Lift £169.98 £203.98 * CTJ2250LP has a 2.25 tonne capacity, has a low entry of only 80mm and includes 2 sockets AXLE STANDS • Ratchet action for quick height adjustment • Sold in pairs FROM ONLY .98 19EX.VAT £ .98 23INC.VAT £ 3 TON & 6 TON MODELS MAX MIN/MAX EXC.VAT INC.VAT MODEL TONS HEIGHT CAX-3TBC 3 300-430mm £19.98 £23.98 CAX-6TBC 6 400-615mm £29.98 £35.98 AUTOMOTIVE WHEEL DOLLY SET AWD1 BIG 3" CASTORS PER PAIR Four swivel castors for easy movement in confined spaces Heavy duty steel construction - load rating 500kg per dolly ARC ACTIVATED HEADSHIELDS CWH6 FROM ONLY • Lift cars £ .99 safely and 26EX.VAT quickly • Tough £ .39 32 INC.VAT angled steel PER PAIR construction MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT CR2 2000KG £26.99 £32.39 CRW25 2500KG £36.99 £44.39 £ • Energy efficient inverter, HFBC12/24 protects battery from high current damage • Microprocessor provides appropriate charging rate • Variable current output for quick, medium FROM ONLY £ .98 or trickle 39EX.VAT NEW charge £ .98 E 47INC.VAT FROM ONLY ‡ NEW £ .99 7EX.VAT .59 9INC.VAT Telescopic Range MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT 2 tonne £7.99 £9.59 4 tonne £11.99 £14.39 5 tonne‡ £49.98 £59.98 6 tonne £14.99 £17.99 .99 44EXC.VAT .99 53INC.VAT £ £ NO GAS/GAS MIG WELDERS • Uses flux cored steel wire, which creates own gas shroud as it burns MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT 8 tonne £17.99 £21.59 10 tonne‡ £69.98 £83.98 12 tonne £24.99 £29.99 20 tonne £34.99 £41.99 BATTERY CHARGERS/ENGINE STARTERS FROM ONLY £ .99 Ammeter 47EX.VAT Multi-position £ .59 charge regulator 57INC.VAT Overload protection CAR CREEPERS on charging cycle • Oil resistant vinyl covered padded MODEL MAX AMPS backs & headrests • Swivel castors CHARGE/BOOST EXC.VAT INC.VAT for easy manoeuvrability BC100N 15/100 £47.99 £57.59 BC130C 15/120 £61.99 £74.39 FROM ONLY £ .99 BC190 38/180 £89.98 £107.98 21EX.VAT BC210C 15/120 £94.99 £113.99 £ .39 26INC.VAT BC410E* £119.98 £143.98 BC410E 35/400 NEW 30/200 £169.98 £203.98 MODEL DESCRIPTION EXC.VAT INC.VAT BC205N £179.98 £215.98 50/510 CMC36 Car creeper £21.99 £26.39 BC520N‡‡ £369.00 £442.80 CMC45 With adjustable headrest£28.99 £34.79 BC430N NEW 60/400 *was was £155.98 inc.VAT ‡was £227.98 inc.VAT CMC50 Folding car creeper £44.99 £53.99 FROM ONLY EXC.VAT £169.98 £184.99 £209.98 £259.98 INC.VAT £203.98 £221.99 £251.98 £311.98 MIG WELDERS Quality machines from Britain’s leading supplier See online for included accessories FROM ONLY .98 179EX.VAT £ .98 215INC.VAT MODEL MIN-MAX AMPS EXC.VAT INC.VAT PRO90 24-90 £179.98 £215.98 110E 30-100 £214.99 £257.99 135TE Turbo 30-130 £239.98 £287.98 151TE Turbo 30-150 £269.98 £323.98 165TEM Turbo 30-155 £339.00 £406.80 175TECM Turbo‡ 30-170 £399.00 £478.80 205TE Turbo# 30-185 £429.00 £514.80 ‡ was £490.80 inc.VAT # was £539.98 inc.VAT 24155LH BIG 2HP 7.5CFM £ £ Offers the durability & reliability demanded by professionals. • Cast iron pumps on SEV11C, SE16 and SE19 • Twin cylinder pumps (except SE11) • Motor overload protection • Petrol models available H/DUTY CFM MOTOR RCVR MODEL (HP) (LTR) EXC.VAT INC.VAT SEV11C* 9 2 100 £369.98 £443.98 SE16C100* 14 3 100 £399.00 £478.80 SE16C150+ 14 3 150 *£429.00 £514.80 SE16C200+ 14 3 200 ‡£499.00 £598.80 SE18ǂ 18 4 200 ^£549.00 £658.80 SE26^ 23 5.5 200 £679.00 £814.80 SE29+◊† 28 2x3 270 £969.00 £1162.80 SE36^● 30 7.5 270 £979.00 £1174.80 SE37+◊† 36 2x4 270 £1099.00 £1318.80 SE46#^ 40 10 270 £1449.00 £1738.80 *230V Supply +Run From 30 Amp Supply ‡Run From 40 Amp Supply ^400V 3 Phase •Supplied With Direct On-Line Starter ◊Supplied With Sequential Direct On-Line Starter †V-Twin #Supplied With Pre-Wired Star Delta Starter *was £526.80 inc.VAT ‡was £622.80 inc.VAT ^was £682.80 inc.VAT was £826.80 inc.VAT was £1798.80 inc.VAT .98 19EX.VAT .98 23INC.VAT • Suitable for powering all common air tools & spray equipment TIGER 16/510 AIR AIR EXC. INC. MODEL RECEIVER DISPLACEMENT VAT VAT Tiger 16/510 50 litre 14.5 cfm £219.98 £263.98 Tiger 16/1010 100 litre 14.5 cfm £269.98 £323.98 DIGITAL VERNIER CALIPERS Dual scale calibration in 0.01mm & 0.0005” units Locking screw feature for batch measurements Supplied in a case Also in-stock CM265 300mm Digital Calliper only £36.99 EXC.VAT £44.39 INC.VAT INC.VAT £59.98 £77.99 £77.99 £105.59 £81.59 £113.99 £167.98 £179.98 .99 16EXC.VAT .39 20INC.VAT 24V CORDLESS IMPACT CIR220 ONLY .98 WRENCH £89EX.VAT .98 • Inc. 17, 19, 21 £107INC.VAT & 23mm chrome CIR220 vanadium sockets HEAVY • 2x 24v Ni-Cd DUTY Batteries & 1 hour fast charger MAX TORQUE EXC.VAT INC.VAT 450Nm £56.99 £68.39 NEW 450Nm £119.98 £143.98 INC.VAT £27.99 £33.59 £35.98 £51.59 ENGINE CRANES FROM ONLY .98 149EX.VAT .98 179INC.VAT £ £ MODEL DESC. EXC.VAT INC.VAT CFC500F 1/2 ton folding £149.98 £179.98 CFC100 1 ton folding £154.99 £185.99 CFC1000LR 1 ton £199.98 £239.98 long reach Fully tested to proof load • Folding and fixed frames available • Robust, rugged construction • Overload safety valve CFC100 CAT127 HUGE CHOICE IN-STORE/ONLINE MODEL CAT127 CAT128 CAT131 CAT132 CAT133 CAT134 CAT136 CAT137 CAT139 £ DESCRIPTION 3" Cut off tool EXC.VAT £22.99 £19.98 1/2" Impact Wrench £59.98 13Pc 1/2" Impact £74.99 Wrench Kit 3"Cut Off Tool & 1/4" £47.99 Die Grinder 1/2" Reversible Ratchet £34.99 6" Dual Action Sander £34.99 3/8" Keyless Reversible £34.99 Drill 150mm Air Hammer £19.98 inc 4 Chisels 1/4" Die Grinder INC.VAT £27.59 £23.98 £71.98 £89.99 £57.59 £41.99 £41.99 £41.99 £23.98 3-IN-1 SHEET METAL MACHINES FROM ONLY .98 179EXC.VAT .98 215INC.VAT INC. DISC & HANDLE NEW MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT 4 ton bench‡ £129.98 £155.98 10 ton bench* £189.98 £227.98 12 ton floor* £239.98 £287.98 20 ton floor* £399.00 £478.80 50 ton floor‡# £1598.00 £1917.60 # was £1978.80 inc.VAT * Available with/without 7 pce pin, bracket & pressing plate ‡Without kit £ £ CAG800B MODEL DISC (MM)MOTOR EXC.VAT CAG800B NEW 115 800w £22.99 CON1050B NEW 115 1050w £27.99 B&D CD115 115 710w £29.98 CAG2350B NEW 230 2350w £49.98 PROFESSIONAL QUALITY Built for tough daily use in automotive/industrial workshops • All models include gauge £ INC.VAT £95.98 £107.98 £143.98 £155.98 £179.98 JET9000 3HP V TWIN AIR COMPRESSORS • 6 interlocking foam tiles protect flooring & provide comfort when standing or kneeling • Each tile is 610x610mm & includes detachable, yellow borders ANGLE GRINDERS MODEL EA110 EA165 115N #Turbo fan EA200‡ 160N cooled 190N ‡ was £107.98 190TEN# inc.VAT 235TEN# OTHER MODELS Corded CEW1000 Cordless CIR450C FROM ONLY .98 369EX.VAT .98 443INC.VAT £ CP185 • Pro sander polisher, Includes hook & loop backing pad and hook & loop wool polishing bonnet. • 1200w motor FOR 6 TILES For home user, automotive and industrial applications. SEE THE FULL RANGE ONLINE & IN-STORE INDUSTRIAL AIR COMPRESSORS £ MODEL MIN/MAX AMPS EXC.VAT INC.VAT MIG 102NG* 35/90 £109.98 £131.98 MIG 145 35/135 £149.98 £179.98 MIG 152‡ 40/140 £164.98 £197.98 MIG 180 40/160 £179.98 £215.98 MIG 196 40/180 £199.98 £239.98 ARC WELDERS BC520N £ .99 FROM ONLY MIG145 44EXC.VAT £ .98 109EX.VAT £ .99 *no 53INC.VAT £ .98 131INC.VAT gas only ‡ was £203.98 inc.VAT CWH8 • Gravity Fed Spray Gun • Air Wash Gun • Tyre Inflator • Air Blow Gun • 5 Metre Air Recoil Hose Also available 3 pce Air Tool Kit - KIT600 Paraffin spray gun, tyre inflator & blow gun Only £14.99 EX VAT £17.99 INC VAT MAX MAX MODEL CHARGE BATTERY EXC.VAT INC.VAT HFBC12 6 Amps 100Ah £39.98 £47.98 HFBC12/24 20 Amps 200Ah £69.98 £83.98 HYDRAULIC BOTTLE JACKS HUGE CHOICE OF SPRAY GUNS & AIRTOOLS MODEL MOTOR CFM TANK EXC.VAT Tiger 8/250 2Hp 7.5 24ltr £79.98 Tiger 7/250 2Hp 7 24ltr £89.98 Tiger 11/250 2.5Hp 9.5 24ltr £119.98 Tiger 8/510 2Hp 7.5 50ltr £129.98 Tiger 11/510 2.5Hp 9.5 50ltr £149.98 HIGH FREQUENCY BATTERY CHARGERS Quick lift Nonmarking nylon wheels Rubber contact pad - helps protect vehicle undersides * steel chassis Superb range ideal for DIY, hobby & semi-professional use 8/250 £ E PACKALG DEA CHT624 • Bend, Roll & Shear metal up to 1mm thick • Min. Rolling Diameter 39mm • Bending angle 0-90º MODEL BED WIDTH EX VAT INC VAT SBR305 305mm £179.98 £215.98 SBR610 610mm £359.00 £430.80 6 SPEED METAL LATHE WITH 12 SPEED MILL DRILL - CL500M £ .00 849EXC.VAT .80 1018INC.VAT £ OFF OUR NORMAL PRICE ALL THIS ONLY .98 259EX.VAT .98 311INC.VAT £ £ 329 HAND TOOLS • This great value set includes CTC900B 9 drawer chest & CTC500B 5 drawer cabinet • Includes the most popular sockets, spanners, pliers, drivers, wrenches etc FULL RANGE OF ACCESSORIES IN STOCK 430mm between centres Compound slide with 4 way tool post Power fed screw cutting facility Forward/reverse lathe operation Clutch for independent mill/drill operation ALSO AVAILABLE: CL430 - As above but without the Mill/Drill head £699.00 exc.VAT £838.80 inc.VAT FOR OVER ,000 NEW 115 PRODUCTS JUMP STARTS Provides essential home, garage and roadside assistance Integral work light FROM ONLY 910 includes air £ .99 compressor 52EX.VAT .59 Long life battery £ FROM ONLY INC.VAT £262.80 £310.80 £322.80 £358.80 £454.80 10' RANGE NARROWER WIDTH GREAT WHERE SPACE IS TIGHT .98 39EX.VAT .98 47INC.VAT Offering low cost, efficient heating PRICE CUT PROPANE NOW FROM GAS £ .99 EXC.VAT FIRED 64 .99 77INC.VAT WAS £83.98 inc.VAT £ *stainless steel #Dual Volt 110V/230V MODEL MAX EXC. WAS NOW OUTPUT KW VAT INC.VAT INC.VAT Little Devil II 10.3 £64.99 £83.98 £77.99 Little Devil SSII* 10.3 £79.98 — £95.98 Devil 650 15 £74.99 £107.98 £89.99 £109.98 — £131.98 Devil 660 SS* 15 Devil 850 12.4 –31 £129.98 £167.98 £155.98 Devil 860SS*# 31 £149.98 — £179.98 Devil 1850# 26.9 – 58 £299.98 — £359.98 Devil 3000# 35.8 – 82 £339.98 — £407.98 Devil 4000 70–131 £399.98 — £479.98 Devil 3150# 46 – 100 £469.98 — £563.98 NEW RANGE FROM ONLY £ PRICE CUT £ .99 Premium hard wearing poly 29INC.VAT vinyl - reduces impact and vibration WAS £35.98 inc.VAT damage Simply rolls out onto floor Chequer plate design Easy clean Dims (WxH): 2400 x1200mm CSDPGM-S (8’x4’) NEW 19EX.VAT .98 23INC.VAT ENGINE STANDS • Rotates through 360˚ Fully tested to proof load *Folds for storage CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT £49.98 £59.98 340kg £54.99 £65.99 227kg £69.98 £83.98 450kg £79.98 £95.98 340kg £84.99 £101.99 560kg 680kg £119.98 £143.98 High .99 quality 14EX.VAT .99 tungsten 17INC.VAT steel £ £ Supplied in metal storage case (except 16pce) TYPE EXC.VAT INC.VAT 16pce Metric £14.99 £17.99 24pce UNC/UNF/NPT £19.98 £23.98 28pce# Metric £23.99 £28.79 33pce# Metric/UNF/BSP £31.99 £38.39 32pce Metric £41.99 £50.39 #28pce Best Budget Buy, 33pce Recommended: PLS195 IG2200 Produces pure sine wave & stable power, essential for computers & sensitive equipment Max output: IG1000, 1000w Max output: IG2200, 2200w 4 stroke engine Super quiet running (only 64dBA at 7M 1/4 load) Low oil shut down Honda & Diesel NEW engine models available RANGE PRESSURE ENGINE EXC. INC. MODEL BAR/PSI Tiger1800 110/1595 Tiger2600 170/2465 Tiger3000 200/2900 PLS195 186/2698 PLS265 260/3770 • Stands come complete with bolt mountings and feet anchor holes FROM ONLY .98 29EX.VAT £ .98 35INC.VAT £ CDP5EB 6" & 8" AVAILABLE WITH LIGHT CBG8W features 8" whetstone & 6"drystone. # With sanding belt MODEL DUTY WHEEL DIA. EXC.VAT CBG6RP DIY 150mm £29.98 CBG6RZ PRO 150mm £39.98 CBG6RSC HD 150mm £49.98 CBG6SB# PRO 150mm £49.98 CBG6RWC HD 150mm £54.99 CBG8W (wet) HD 150/200mm £55.99 £ INC.VAT £35.98 £47.98 £59.98 £59.98 £65.99 £67.19 £ XR80 EXC.VAT £179.98 £229.98 £279.98 £329.98 £369.98 Drill not included VAT £199.00 £259.98 £329.98 £399.00 £599.00 VAT £238.80 £311.98 £395.98 £478.80 £718.80 Strong steel frame 4 strong rubber wheeled castors with easy swivel ball bearings Oil resistant £ .99 padded vinyl seat. £15EX.VAT .19 Integral 19INC.VAT storage tray CMS1 INC.VAT £215.98 £275.98 £335.98 £395.98 £443.98 •Kit Inc: Tapered spindle, Coloured mop for initial cleaning, pure cotton mop for high polish finish & polishing compound 4" £19.98 Ex VAT £23.98 Inc VAT 6" £24.99 Ex VAT £29.99 Inc VAT 8" £29.98 Ex VAT £35.98 Inc VAT .98 19EX.VAT £ .98 23INC.VAT £ CHECK FRAME TYPE WHEN ORDERING EXC.VAT £89.98 £149.98 £189.98 £239.98 £369.00 £479.00 £569.00 INC.VAT £107.98 £179.98 £227.98 £287.98 £442.80 £574.80 £682.80 .99 47EX.VAT .59 57INC.VAT £ Compact, high performance wet & dry vacuum cleaners for use around the home, workshop, garage etc. MODEL MOTOR CAPACITY EXC. WET/DRY VAT CVAC20P 1250W 16/12ltr £47.99 CVAC20SS* 1400W 16/12ltr £59.98 CVAC25SS* 1400W 19/17ltr £64.99 CVAC30SS* 1400W 24/21ltr £86.99 VISIT YOUR LOCAL SUPERSTORE EXETER 16 Trusham Rd. EX2 8QG 01392 256 744 GATESHEAD 50 Lobley Hill Rd. NE8 4YJ 0191 493 2520 GLASGOW 280 Gt Western Rd. G4 9EJ 0141 332 9231 GLOUCESTER 221A Barton St. GL1 4HY 01452 417 948 GRIMSBY ELLIS WAY, DN32 9BD 01472 354435 HULL 8-10 Holderness Rd. HU9 1EG 01482 223161 ILFORD 746-748 Eastern Ave. IG2 7HU 0208 518 4286 IPSWICH Unit 1 Ipswich Trade Centre, Commercial Road 01473 221253 LEEDS 227-229 Kirkstall Rd. LS4 2AS 0113 231 0400 LEICESTER 69 Melton Rd. LE4 6PN 0116 261 0688 LINCOLN Unit 5. The Pelham Centre. LN5 8HG 01522 543 036 LIVERPOOL 80-88 London Rd. L3 5NF 0151 709 4484 LONDON CATFORD 289/291 Southend Lane SE6 3RS 0208 695 5684 LONDON 6 Kendal Parade, Edmonton N18 020 8803 0861 LONDON 503-507 Lea Bridge Rd. Leyton, E10 020 8558 8284 LONDON 100 The Highway, Docklands 020 7488 2129 LUTON Unit 1, 326 Dunstable Rd, Luton LU4 8JS 01582 728 063 MAIDSTONE 57 Upper Stone St. ME15 6HE 01622 769 572 MANCHESTER ALTRINCHAM 71 Manchester Rd. Altrincham 0161 9412 666 MANCHESTER CENTRAL 209 Bury New Road M8 8DU 0161 241 1851 MANCHESTER OPENSHAW Unit 5, Tower Mill, Ashton Old Rd 0161 223 8376 MANSFIELD 169 Chesterfield Rd. South 01623 622160 * SS = Stainless Steel INC. VAT £57.59 £71.98 £77.99 £104.39 FROM ONLY .98 79EX.VAT .98 95INC.VAT £ PRESSURISED SANDBLASTERS Heavy duty steel construction sandblasters for the quick removal of surface rust, paint, dirt/grease etc. INCLUDES SANDBLASTING GUN, DELIVERY HOSE, 4 CERAMIC NOZZLES AND SAFETY HOOD FROM ONLY TANK FLOW RATE EX. VAT INC.VAT VOLUME REQ. CPSB100 32 litre 6-19 cfm £139.98 £167.98 CPSB200 63 litre 12-20 cfm £169.98 £203.98 CAR TRANSPORTER LASHING 99 16EX.VAT .39 20INC.VAT 5000KG CAPACITY BODY REPAIR KITS SOCKET SETS ONLY .99 Top quality chrome £22EX.VAT vanadium steel. £ .59 18 Sockets 8-32mm 27INC.VAT Reversible ratchet LIFETIME Comfort grip handle GUARANTEE PRO155 HUGE RANGE OF RATCHETS, SPANNERS AND SOCKET SETS ONLY .98 69EX.VAT .98 83INC.VAT £ £ CS10BRK • Fast snap connector attachments for quick & easy assembly • Hydraulic pump, ram & hose with various tubes, pieces & connectors • Includes metal case * Fast action pump MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT CS4BRK 4 tonne £79.98 £95.98 CS10BRK 10 tonne £139.98 £167.98 CS10SBRK* 10 tonne £149.98 £179.98 OPEN MON-FRI 8.30-6.00, SAT 8.30-5.30, SUN 10.00-4.00 MIDDLESBROUGH Mandale Triangle, Thornaby NORWICH 282a Heigham St. NR2 4LZ NOTTINGHAM 211 Lower Parliament St. PETERBOROUGH 417 Lincoln Rd. Millfield PLYMOUTH 58-64 Embankment Rd. PL4 9HY POOLE 137-139 Bournemouth Rd. Parkstone PORTSMOUTH 277-283 Copnor Rd. Copnor PRESTON 53 Blackpool Rd. PR2 6BU SHEFFIELD 453 London Rd. Heeley. S2 4HJ SIDCUP 13 Blackfen Parade, Blackfen Rd SOUTHAMPTON 516-518 Portswood Rd. SOUTHEND 1139-1141 London Rd. Leigh on Sea STOKE-ON-TRENT 382-396 Waterloo Rd. Hanley SUNDERLAND 13-15 Ryhope Rd. Grangetown SWANSEA 7 Samlet Rd. Llansamlet. SA7 9AG SWINDON 21 Victoria Rd. SN1 3AW TWICKENHAM 83-85 Heath Rd.TW1 4AW WARRINGTON Unit 3, Hawley’s Trade Pk. WIGAN 2 Harrison Street, WN5 9AU WOLVERHAMPTON Parkfield Rd. Bilston WORCESTER 48a Upper Tything. WR1 1JZ • Foot operated hydraulic powered • Adjustable for springs up to 350mm dia. & 254mm in length SSC1000 • Yoke travel: £ EX.VAT 99.98 340mm • Weight 31.5kg £119.98 INC.VAT £ INCLUDES • Includes remote REMOTE control • 230v motor CONTROL MODEL CABLE MAX LOAD LIFT (KG) HEIGHT EXC.VAT INC.VAT CH2500B Single 125 12M £79.98 £95.98 Double 250 6M CH4000B Single 200 12M £99.98 £119.98 Double 400 6M £ INC.VAT £47.98 £119.98 £173.99 £191.98 STRUT SPRING COMPRESSOR ELECTRIC FROM ONLY £ POWER EX.VAT 79.98 £ HOISTS INC.VAT 95.98 FROM ONLY TYPE EXC.VAT Bench £39.98 Floor £99.98 Floor £144.99 Floor £159.98 MODEL Honda £ .98 89EX.VAT engine .98 models £107INC.VAT available HP 6.5 7 8 11 13 MODEL TANK CAP. CW2D 10Ltrs CW1D 45Ltrs CWM20 22.5Ltrs CW40 75Ltrs .98 139EX.VAT .98 167INC.VAT CPSB100 GENERATORS KVA 0.7 1.1 2.4 2.8 3 4.5 5.5 PARTS WASHER FLUID FROM £4.99 EX.VAT £5.99 INC .VAT £ MODEL G720 G1200 FG2500 FG3005 FG3050 FG4050ES FG5100ES FROM ONLY £ .98 PARTS 39EX.VAT .98 WASHERS £47INC.VAT £ POLISHING KITS Ideal for fast efficient heating Extra-long run fuel tanks – up to 53 litres Variable heat output with thermostat control FROM ONLY MODEL MAX OUTPUT XR60 14.7kW XR80 20.5kW XR110 29.3kW XR160 46.9kW XR210 61.5kW 19EX.VAT .98 23INC.VAT .98 GREAT FOR REMOTE LOCATIONS CAN DRAW OWN WATER £ BARNSLEY Pontefract Rd, Barnsley, S71 1EZ 01226 732297 B’HAM GREAT BARR 4 Birmingham Rd. 0121 358 7977 B’HAM HAY MILLS 1152 Coventry Rd, Hay Mills 0121 7713433 BOLTON 1 Thynne St. BL3 6BD 01204 365799 BRADFORD 105-107 Manningham Lane. BD1 3BN 01274 390962 BRIGHTON 123 Lewes Rd, BN2 3QB 01273 915999 BRISTOL 1-3 Church Rd, Lawrence Hill. BS5 9JJ 0117 935 1060 BURTON UPON TRENT 12a Lichfield St. DE14 3QZ 01283 564 708 CAMBRIDGE 181-183 Histon Road, Cambridge. CB4 3HL 01223 322675 CARDIFF 44-46 City Rd. CF24 3DN 029 2046 5424 CARLISLE 85 London Rd. CA1 2LG 01228 591666 CHELTENHAM 84 Fairview Road. GL52 2EH 01242 514 402 CHESTER 43-45 St. James Street. CH1 3EY 01244 311258 COLCHESTER 4 North Station Rd. CO1 1RE 01206 762831 COVENTRY Bishop St. CV1 1HT 024 7622 4227 CROYDON 423-427 Brighton Rd, Sth Croydon 020 8763 0640 DARLINGTON 214 Northgate. DL1 1RB 01325 380 841 DEAL (KENT) 182-186 High St. CT14 6BQ 01304 373 434 DERBY Derwent St. DE1 2ED 01332 290 931 DONCASTER Wheatley Hall Road 01302 245 999 DUNDEE 24-26 Trades Lane. DD1 3ET 01382 225 140 EDINBURGH 163-171 Piersfield Terrace 0131 659 5919 24155RH visit machinemart.co.uk HEAVY DUTY INSTANT GARAGES/WORKSHOPS SIZE (LxWxH) 4.6 x 3 x 2.4M 4.9 x 3.7 x 2.6M 6.1 x 3 x 2.4M 6.1 x 3.7 x 2.5M 7.3 x 3.7 x 2.5M 1100 SPECIALIST TOOLS & MACHINERY • Ideal for use as a garage/workshop • Extra tough triple layer weatherproof fabric • Heavy duty powder coated steel tubing • Ratchet tight tensioning MODEL CIG1015 CIG1216 CIG1020 CIG1220 CIG1224 Over INCLUDING NEW MODEL START PEAK BOOST AMPS EXC.VAT INC.VAT EXTRA LONG 900 400A 900A £52.99 £63.59 1m LEADS 910 400A 900A £59.98 £71.98 4000 700A 1500A £114.99 £137.99 HEAVY 12/24 1000A@12v 2000A@12v £129.98 £155.98 DUTY 17KG 500A@24v 1000A@24v £ GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW! 500 01642 677881 01603 766402 0115 956 1811 01733 311770 01752 254050 01202 717913 023 9265 4777 01772 703263 0114 258 0831 0208 3042069 023 8055 7788 01702 483 742 01782 287321 0191 510 8773 01792 792969 01793 491717 020 8892 9117 01925 630 937 01942 323 785 01902 494186 01905 723451 PRO234 62 PIECE 1/2"&1/4" SOCKET & BIT SET 1/2" TORQUE WRENCH - CHT141 5" Extension bar 1/2" adaptor 28-210 Nm only £19.98 EX VAT £23.98 INC VAT 3/8" OPEN 7 DAYS 4 EASY WAYS TO BUY... IN-STORE 65 SUPERSTORES ONLINE www.machinemart.co.uk MAIL ORDER 0115 956 5555 CLICK & COLLECT Calls to the catalogue request number above (0844 880 1265) cost 7p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge For security reasons, calls may be monitored. All prices correct at time of going to press. We reserve the right to change products and prices at any time. All offers subject to availability, E&OE. jargonbuster jargonbuster The mysteries behind the oxygen sensor Words: Dave Smith Analyse This... The Lambda sensor, or oxygen sensor, is a critical part of the control systems on a modern vehicle. They’re usually situated in the exhaust downpipe, and by reading the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas, they can tell whether the exhaust is rich with unburnt fuel, lean with too little fuel being injected into the engine, or just right. That ‘just right’ figure is called Lambda (λ) 1.0; a rich reading will be lower, a lean reading higher, and the ECU adjusts the fuelling accordingly. Early ones were very simple, with one wire, and provided a variable resistance on the path to earth, which the ECU could interpret. More modern ones have at least five wires, two of which are for a pre-heating element – a Lambda sensor only works when it’s at its operating temperature. Some newer cars have Lambda sensors before and after the catalytic converter to check how well the cat is working. Lambda sensors don’t usually 86 ACM have a defined service interval. You replace them when they stop working, though when that happens isn’t always clear. Considering the environment in which they work – in red-hot gases, in a rattly exhaust pipe – they can last for years, but the first suggestion you might get that they’ve failed is the annual MoT emissions test. Most instant ‘failures’ can be traced to wiring faults or actual physical damage, whilst poor quality fuels, oil, condensation and head gasket failure can poison them over time. Older Lambda sensors are ‘narrowband’ sensors. They operate like a switch, simply reading whether the mixture is rich or lean. They will have one to four wires, are usually very reliable and are much cheaper than wideband sensors. Three-way catalytic convertors need rich and lean conditions to burn off contaminants, so their simplicity isn’t a problem. More modern cars and aftermarket programmable ECUs use wideband sensors, which have at least five wires and will read accurately across a wide band of rich/lean conditions. They’re much more complex than narrowbands, much more expensive, and need a controller which is usually built into the ECU. A narrowband sensor will be preset to see 14.7:1 as the stoichiometric point and read either richer or leaner than that. A wideband can be programmed to run the car richer or leaner than stoich for maximum power under various conditions. Replacement Lambda sensors come in two types – OE-style or ‘universal’. OE-style sensors will have the OE plugs on the wiring, and be a straight swap for the original; you choose ‘universal’ ones purely on the number of wires the original has, then you splice the new wires to the old ones. The universal types are a compromise in terms of settings, parameters and performance, and the possibility of cock-ups is far greater, so avoid universals wherever possible. There are no universal widebands. Most narrowbands are Zirconium types, where the oxygen ions passing across the Zironium Dioxide and Platinum element generate a tiny voltage according to whether the mixture is lean (low voltage) or rich (higher voltage). The ECU reads this voltage and alters fuelling accordingly. The less common Titania types don’t generate a voltage, but rather the electrical resistance of the Titania element changes according to whether the mixture is lean (resistance rises) or rich (resistance falls). The ECU sends a reference voltage to it, and alters fuelling according to the signal that returns. Widebands, or UEGO sensors, use a complex method of pumping ambient air into an internal chamber and measuring the difference in oxygen levels with those of the exhaust gases on the outside of the chamber, and the current required to achieve parity is what determines the rich/lean status. It may sound like black magic, but it’s the future, and soon very few engine tuners will be able to work without them. THANKS Images courtesy of NGK UK www.ngkntk.co.uk tried’n’tested D E T S E T ’ N ’ D RIE TMeguiar'sUltimateLiquidWax It's yet another wax from Meguiar's, this time their Ultimate wax. Their own blurb describes it as: “... our most advanced, pure synthetic hydrophobic wax which offers our longest lasting protection. New synthetic polymers crosslink to form a protective barrier that amplifies reflections for incredible depth and mirror-like shine.” That's a lot of syllables. Fortunately, they're not wasted. I used this on a beautifully sunny day – remember them? - and this liquid went on smooth, buffed off beautifully and did indeed leave a stunning, deep gloss even on old, tired paint. There was hardly any dust from buffing, and, best of all, this Ultimate wax doesn't leave those white smears on rubber and plastic trim that never come off. It repels rainwater, too, without leaving streaks, and the shine lasts a good couple of weeks so, on the surface, 88 ACM See www.meguiars.co.uk for details and stockists it seems like the ideal product. Where does it fall down? On the RRP. Yes, this could well be the future of car care, a future where 'pure synthetic' isn't considered an oxymoron, but my favourite range is still Meguiar's Gold Class. This Ultimate is around twice the price of Gold Class, but I don't think it's twice as good. That doesn't mean it's no good; far from it, but I'll stick to Gold Class, thanks, because I'm a stubborn old fart. D E T S E T ’ N ’ D E RI TGetYerGas-KitOff Another product in the CarPlan range of Carry On Garage Consumables, this is a gasket remover. I found cause to use it recently while changing a water pump on a friend's small-block Chevy – the gaskets between the water pump and the block were baked solid, and I could either try to chip them off with a screwdriver and risk gouging the block, or I could rely on this stuff. I gave this stuff a go. The instructions tell you to spray it on, and leave it until you see the gasket bubbling. It didn't say whether you gave it a light AVAILABLE FROM: dusting or an absolute soaking, but underneath the directions it mentioned that this stuff also serves as a handy paintstripper, so I thought I'd better be gentle with it. It also didn't say how long this might take. I waited a minute or two, no bubbling. I went and found something else to do for five or 10 minutes, returned, no bubbling. Sod it, I thought, and went and found a Stanley blade for the scraping. Well, roger me with the ragman's trumpet if those gaskets didn't just peel off that block with the barest minimum AVAILABLE FROM: Widely available from motoring accessory and hardware stores see www.carplan.co.uk of Stanley-based persuasion. I reckon they'd have come off in one piece, too, if I'd had longer arms! So it looks like it does exactly what it says on the tin, and saved me a lot of scraping. The only issue I can see is its ability to strip paint from anything nearby, and the aerosol nozzle is hardly the model of precision. So if you're looking to shift stubborn gaskets off your old smoker, this is the stuff; if you've a stuck gasket on your prize-winning show motor, you're probably best with a gentle scraper. Say goodbye to those cracked and ugly stained garage floors . . . . . . with the No 1 USA modular flooring system Eliminates floor dust and insulates against damp – easy laying, no tools required. Available in 12” x 12” – matt and high gloss and 18” x 18” – only in matt finish from . . . M K AVERIC AUTO COMPONENTS ® Authorised UK Distributors of Racedeck Duragrid products Tel: +44 7539-399222 • Fax: +44 (1) 91 521-2112 • Email: [email protected] The Green, Ryhope Village, Sunderland SR2 0PF UK www.racedeck.com workshop What’s In The Workshop Cage Fighting THANKS: Chassis Tec Race Cars, Cheshire Tel 01477 500996, see www.chassistecracecars.com or find them on Facebook They're fighting for space at Chassis Tec's workshops! Out in the wilds of Cheshire, you'll find Pete Smith and Chassis Tec Rac Cars, and there's currently plenty going on, much of it Mopar flavoured. Like a Dodge Challenger, formerly of Cannonball Watts Racing, now in the hands of Pete Wiseman. It's being built to run in UK Super Stock, so is in for an all-new 8.50- 90 ACM spec chromoly cage with swingout door bars. Chassis Tec are also fitting a full Calvert rear suspension set-up with spring sliders and split mono-leafs, but best of all, Pete and his wife Julie are planning to keep this big Hemi-equipped car street-legal. Period super stock paint and race car name to be revealed... There's another fascinating customer project on the go; an Eighties Dodge Daytona that's heading towards being a replica of a Darrell Alderman Pro Stocker. The customer provided a donor 25.4 chassis for it that had suffered some damage, so the chassis has had a new front half and now Pete has mounted the Daytona body to it. Power will come from a small-block Mopar with a big whiff of nitrous. And, in his spare time (!), Pete has had a delivery of parts for his own '67 Camaro, a 25.1 car which is being built for UK Top Sportsman! Chassis Tec, the inventors of the 30-hour day... 3tonne Standard Chassis Trolley Jack 150Amp Professional Gas/No-Gas MIG Welder FREE Model No. XMAS5 List Price £69.95 NEW £79.95 VAT Exc. £95.94 VAT Inc. • Model No. 3290CX • List Price £11995 50pc Multi-Purpose Spanner Set Metric NEW • Model No. MIGHTYMIG150 • List Price £29995 Inc. 19.2V 1/2"Sq Drive Cordless Impact Wrench with 2 Batteries 285lb.ft £84.95 VAT Exc. £101.94 VAT Inc. • Model No. S01084 • List Price £13995 £229.95 VAT Exc. £275.94 VAT Lithum-ion 10W COB LED Rechargeable Floodlight NEW • Model No. LED111C • List Price £4995 • Model No. CP1950 • List Price £25995 £34.95 VAT Exc. £41.94 VAT Inc. £179.95 VAT Exc. £215.94 VAT Inc. THE LED360 FAMILY NEW A. B. C. D. E. F. A B C £32.95 VAT Exc. £39.54 VAT Inc. F Please send me a FREE copy of your latest catalogue and promotions LED3603CAMO LED3602B LED3602G LED3602 LED3602Y LED3602R REF: ACM/XMAS15 Name House Number/Name  Postcode Email  We comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and may use these details to send you information about other promotions from the Sealey Group We may also share this information atbout you with third parties where we feel their services will be of interest to you If you do not wish for your details to be passed on to these third parties, please tick this box □ SEALEY GROUP, KEMPSON WAY, SUFFOLK BUSINESS PARK, BURY ST EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK IP32 7AR TEL: 01284 757500 E-mail: sales@sealeycouk newtech techstuff Winter Beaters Now's the time to begin winter projects, but working in the garage when there are icicles on your nose can be a chore. Check out Clarke's range of heaters to make your garage a pleasure. There are paraffin/diesel-fired heaters giving up to 61.5kW of heat output, with fuel tanks up to 53 litres, air and fuel filters, stainless combustion chambers, flame failure cut-outs and variable thermostats, with prices starting at £215.98. Or they have Propane Turbo Fan Space Heaters, from lock-up-sized 10kW models to warehouse-sized 131kW models. Some models have variable heat output controls, some have stainless casings, and they start from just £77.99. Or how about Ceramic heaters like this 2.4kW Devil 350, tough and portable and starting from just £107.98. All prices include VAT, so check your nearest Machine Mart store or see www.machinemart.co.uk and make your garage tropical. Do The Twist Most racers will be familiar with Dzus fasteners, the quick-release pins that have been used for almost 80 years and haven't really changed much. Now UK-based Specialty Fasteners and Camloc have come up with the AeroLoc that could change the game. It uses a cross-head stud, or wire bail handle for opening by hand, and its quarter-turn, selfejecting mechanism is even interchangeable with the Dzus EHF5. See www.aeroloc.co.uk or call 01803 868677 for details. Quite A Shock New from Bilstein is this damper upgrade kit for 2010-on WK-model Jeep Grand Cherokees. Already a fine-handling machine, Bilstein's remote-reservoir B8 damper package works in harmony with the OE or aftermarket springs to enhance the dynamic abilities of this big SUV at all ride heights, on or off road. They're built to last a lot longer than the OE dampers, and won't ruin the ride, either. See www.bilstein.de or speak to Bilstein UK on 0116 247 8930. 92 ACM Brake Point Checking how much meat is left on your brake pads is a ten second job, but getting to them in the first place is time-consuming and mucky. Welcome the Sealey VS058 brake pad thickness gauge, where you don't even have to remove the wheel. Just poke the slimline device through the wheel, locate the gauge's bracket on the back of the brake pad, and assuming the backing plate is the standard 6mm thick, it'll tell you exactly how much friction material is left. If you can use a tyre tread depth gauge, you can use this. It's on offer in the current Sealey promotion, so see www.sealey.co.uk or drop in to your nearest stockist. newtech PSI Love You We all know how critical tyre pressures can be, and on the track that's the difference between winning the race or nutting the wall. Racers around the world trust a dash-full of Auto Meter gauges to monitor their machinery, so why not trust Auto Meter to monitor your tyre pressures? Auto Meter's analogue gauges feature a large 2.25-inch dial with rubber shockboot, and a durable release valve that holds the readings. They come in 0-40psi, 0-60psi and 0100psi versions with a 13.75-inch braided line, or a glove-boxfriendly 'shorty' 0-60psi version. The Pro Comp Digital gauge provides the most accurate measurement available in a tough, durable package. It uses solid-state electronics with signal conditioning circuitry for temperature and calibration compensation for readings within +/- 0.25% from 0-50psi, a backlit LCD display and a 9V battery. See www.summitracing.com for more details. Science Friction Brakes have a simple job to do – slow you down. If they can do this quickly, without fade and, ideally, in silence, then all the better. Welcome to Centric's PosiQuiet brake pads, with precision cut and shaved backing pads and mechanicallyattached shims so they fit the calliper and don't vibrate and cause all that noise, plus a 'positive moulding' and 'scorching' process that eliminates impurities in the friction material for long, fade-free life and even wear with minimum break-in. There are three types of PosiQuiet pads – Semi-Metallic for daily drivers, Extended Wear for reduced disc wear, and Ceramic, for longer life without the dust. They're available for a wide range of cars from 1960 on, and you can get them through www.summitracing.com. Down The Tubes Magnaflow are always expanding their catalogue of part numbers for later-model motors. Over the past few months they've added big pipes for the 2015 Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, the 2015 Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, the 2015 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, the 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T 5.7 Hemi, the 2014-on Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 and V8, the 2003-2007 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 with the Cummins diesel, and the 2015 Ford F-150! Busy, busy. Naturally, they also have pipes to really let your new 2014-on Corvette Chute First... … and ask questions later. If you're very, very serious about your street/strip machinery, or just want to fake it 'til you make it, then direct your questions towards BMR Suspension who make a bolt-on parachute mount for the 2005-2014 Mustang. Manufactured from 1.625” DOM tube and laser-cut three-eighth plate, this locates the 'chute just below the airstream over the car, meaning it deploys right into the high-pressure air so it blossoms quickly. The receiver mounts directly behind the number plate, so you can revert to street-stock quickly. Now THAT's bragging. See www.bmrsuspension.com for details, and speak to your chassis builder. If you're serious about getting the power down with minimal engine movement, BMR also offer a 6061 solid billet aluminium motor mount upgrade kit to replace the polyurethane mount bushings in the BMR K-members for fourth and fifth-gen Camaro and S197 Mustang. Now you can shake it 'til you make it! 94 ACM Stingray sing, with either 'valve-back' or axle-back systems in black or polished stainless. The valveback systems use the OE diverter valve that acts as an exhaust cut-out under power, and keeps the four tailpipes with 4.5” black ceramic coated tips. There's an axle-back system for the '15-on blown Z06, too. Find your application at www.magnaflow.com, or speak to the UK distributor Nemesis UK via www.nemesisuk.com. newtech Down Town The 1978-1988 'downsized' GM G-bodies are the hot ticket for street, strip and Autocross in the States, all of which means a thriving aftermarket. And if you want to make a '78 Chevy Malibu or an El Camino get down and boogie, start with UMI Performance's bolt-in rear coil-over conversion kit. It's a 100% bolt-in kit, no cutting or welding required, that mounts the Viking double-adjustable coil-overs and relocates the lower control arms. The adjustable arm mounting lets you fine-tune instant centre, and there's a choice of springs to suit your sport. Or the arm relocation brackets are available separately, so why not team them with UMI's uprated one-inch or two-inch lowering springs and get an instant step towards the Pro Touring look? See www.umiperformance.com and speak to your importer. Cool Runnings If The Cap Fits... It may not be the weather to be worrying about your cooling capabilities, but get set for a scorcher next summer with Derale remote fluid coolers. … wear it, and when it comes to fuelling, Holley has been wearing it for decades. Whether you're racing or towing, engine oil and automatic transmission fluid may be overheated, so beat the heat. The ElectraCool is a high-capacity cooler with half-inch copper tubes and three-quarter-inch aluminium fins, in eight- or 16-pass models with a choice of -AN fittings, whilst firmly attached to the front is a 10-inch electric fan. Or how about the Atomic-Cool, a fin-and-plate design that minimises pressure drop even with high-viscosity oils, with an eight-inch fan, ideal for off-road and towing? Or the Hyper-Cool, a stackedplate design with 25 rows of cooling capacity and a 500cfm fan in an aluminium shroud, or the Hyper-Cool Extreme with 40 rows and an 800cfm fan? There's a whole range of Derale cooling, all with necessary hose, fittings, inline thermostatic switch and installation hardware, so find yours at www.summitracing.com. Here are a few more of their fuel control products to consider. Check out Earl's Performance Plumbing's anodised fuel cell and filler caps, milled from 6061-T6 billet aluminium with either a 5.34” 12-bolt or 4.43” six-bolt flange, large three-inch opening with an easy-grip, O-ringed, screw-on cap and stainless hardware. There are also bolt-in or weld-in filler cap kits to let you put your filler wherever you like. Or how about vent tube spill reduction valves, a simple ball-valve arrangement that prevents fuel spillage from carburettor vent tubes in the event of an accident, or during hard launches or serious offroading, but still allows vapours to vent normally. Cheap insurance... And check out HydraMat, a fuel reservoir system that makes sure the fuel pump pick-up always has fuel to draw on, even in hard acceleration or cornering situations, by wicking up the fuel from whichever part of the tank it's surged to. There are various sizes and shapes of HydraMat, and it can be fitted or retrofitted to most tanks. It's the future... see it all now on www.holley.com or at your nearest dealer. E To Z New from Edelbrock are these E-Force Stage 1, 2 and 3 systems to help your 2015 Corvette Stingray on its way to becoming a Z06. Using the Eaton GenVI 2.3-litre TVS blower along with an air-to-water twin intercooler system and dual-core heat exchanger, they fit under the stock bonnet and Stages 1 and 2 are 50-state emissions-legal, work on regular unleaded and carry a free 36,000-mile warranty. Stage 3 is a professional tuner's kit, more for the track than the street. See www.edelbrock.com for details and speak to your nearest Edelbrock dealer. ACM EE* motorcycle show 2016 BARGAINS FEATURING WINNERS OF THE UK’S BIGGEST CUSTOM BIKE COMPETITION MAGNIFICENT ENGINEERING AND UNIQUE BUILDS ON DISPLAY DEALS ON KIT & ACCESSORIES | FREE LIVE ACTION PLUS MASSIVE BIKE AUCTION BY GET YOUR EARLY BIRD TICKETS NOW! SAVE £££s I LIMITED AVAILABILITY TWO £28 www.mcnmotorcycleshow.com 08448 737 346 Calls cost 6p per minute plus network extras *All bookings subject to a £1.50 transaction fee. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a paying adult. The above date is a guideline and is not a guarantee. Please be aware that external factors beyond our control (such as strikes & adverse weather conditions) may delay your order. Visitor access to auction is by catalogue only. Catalogue fee £10. Auction takes place 13th Feb only. Earning Your Stripes The inaugural Cars & Stripes event at Rockingham was on the soggy side. gallery gallery BEEN TO AN EVENT RECENTLY? Email us your pictures and details to [email protected] Words: Dave Smith Photography: Mick Wilkes On August bank holiday Monday, Northamptonshire’s Rockingham Raceway held their first Cars & Stripes event, an American-themed day of racing and entertainment heavily influenced by Brands Hatch’s American Speedfest. With the famous Rockingham oval on hand, racing from the likes of the Craftsman-like Pickup Trucks, and everything from muscle cars to big rigs in attendance trackside, it should have been a superb date for anyone suffering Speedfest withdrawals. What it couldn’t bring, however, was sunshine, a dose of very English bank holiday weather conspiring to drench everything in sight. An equally English stiff upper lip prevailed, though, and the participants made the most of it, with racing, parade laps, and a burnout contest won in quite spectacular style by Don Scott’s Petty Superbird. The show will go on, of course, though next year Rockingham have picked the weekend closest to Independence Day, July 2nd and 3rd, so make a note in your diaries and pray for sunshine. ACM SPECIALIST VEHICLE INSURANCE Cherished by you Insured by us  Over 35 years’ experience  Free and automatic salvage retention* No broker administration fees   Cover for drivers from 18 years of age Choose a vehicle repairer you trust and no upper age limit*   UK & European accident & breakdown  Agreed value* recovery including home service Call our friendly UK team for a quotation 01277 206 911 www.rhclassicinsurance.co.uk F ind us on Facebook Badge C MYK / .ai * Subject to our standing underwriting criteria. Please refer to the policy documentation on our website, or call, for further information. RH Specialist Insurance is a trading name of Willis Limited, a Lloyd’s Broker. Registered office: 51 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7DQ. Registered number 181116 England and Wales. Willis Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The RH Specialist Insurance schemes are arranged and administered on behalf of Willis Limited by ERS Syndicate Services Limited, an appointed representative of ERS Syndicate Management Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority: Number 204851 Classic Car American Car Magazine [210x148] FP0030.indd 1 27/06/2014 16:44:27 gallery Words: Dave Smith Photography: Darren Graham Flying Visit The classics are coming in to land at Heathrow Way back in July, BA Clubs hosted their annual classic car show at Heston Venue, Cranford, Middlesex, not too far from Heathrow. It was started almost 10 years ago by the British Airways Classic Vehicle Association, and continues apace. It starts at noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ideal for those who ď&#x192;¨ ACM 99 gallery like a lie-in on Sunday – and as well as classic cars you’ll find a craft fair, funfair, autojumble and other sideshows. It’s a pleasant day out, and the best bit about ‘mainstream’ classic shows is that you might see Americans and customs there that you haven’t seen anywhere else! Check out Darren’s photos, and watch www. heathrowclassiccarshow.co.uk for details of next year’s event. ACM 100 ACM LIKE AMERICAN CAR? At Project Viva Ltd we also publish these titles! Keep an eye out for our range – available in WHSmith’s and all good magazine retailers. Check out their websites for more details. MOG Performance Ford American-V The home Morgan, MOG is the only place to get your all-Morgan content. Officially endorsed by the Morgan Motor Company, we’re able to give you the inside scoop on factory goings-on and secret upcoming projects. All things Ford with crazy tuning and massive performance – this mag’s about all-out power. If you love Fords with a bit of extra grunt, you’re in good company. If big V-Twins are your thing, this is the place to be. There’s the latest news, fantastic bikes and plenty of tech content to keep even the most avid American bike fan happy. www.mogmag.co.uk Visit one of the websites or call 01905 330177 today to subscribe. BEEN TO AN EVENT RECENTLY? Email us your pictures and details to [email protected] Words: Dave Smith Photography: Sonia Hammond Over Here... Taking a step back in time with the Goodwood Revival and â&#x20AC;Ś Gassers? The Goodwood Revival is the daddy of all historic motor sport events. Of course, many other venues host a variety of classic events and a variety of historic classes, but very few of them encourage the spectators to get into the spirit as well! ď&#x192;¨ ACM gallery gallery gallery The idea behind it is that, once you step through the gates, you should feel as if you’ve stepped back 50-odd years to the glory days of motor racing. It’s a lovely notion, but what your average tweed-jacketed, pipe-chomping British motor sport enthusiast of 1960 would probably not expect to see would be the likes of the Gasser Circus. Yes, some of the finest high-riding Sixties Gas class replicas were on hand to provide a whiff of quartermile recklessness amongst the Coopers and Jaguars. The Revival clashed with the NSRA’s Hot Rod Drags, as it usually  104 ACM ACM gallery does, so you can imagine how much the Revival must mean for it to keep Gassers away from the Drags. Being so close to the 75th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain, there was even classic action in the skies, with fly-pasts from warbirds to really stir the soul’s inner patriot. There can’t be many finer sounds than a field of finely-tuned racing engines, but a sky-full of Rolls-Royce V12s must come fairly close. Anyway, enjoy Sonia’s photographs and perhaps consider a visit to Lord March’s gaff next year? Keep an eye on www.goodwood.com for dates. ACM 106 ACM directory 100% protection – high zinc and storage protection High performance LS series engine oil High zinc content: delivers anti-wear protection for high output engine/aggressive valve train designs Storage protection: protects against rust and corrosion damage during storage using technology developed by the U.S. military High temperature/high shear protection: advanced synthetic formula provides shear stable viscosity that no other oil provides Designed for high performance: LS30 reduces oil use by limiting vaporisation and foaming Viscosity typical of 5W-30: Ideal for LS based crate & supercharged LS performance engines 2526_AMERICANCAR_Layout 1 14/03/2 +44 (0)1929 551557 (tel) [email protected] www.aaoil.co.uk AAOC American car ad.indd 1 12/05/2014 11:52 SPECIALISTS IN CAR SHIPPING AND TRANSPORTATION Worldwide export and import services classic black & white wall t: 01590 612261 f: 01590 612722 vintagetyres.com [email protected] • Customs clearance • UK & European collection & delivery • SAFE • SECURE • COMPETITIVE t: 01394 695566 f: 01394 673031 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rjjfreight.co.uk 2 YEAR WARRAN TY Use Metro’s 75 years of know how to fight rust & corrosion this winter. Quickly and safely blast moisture out of every nook and cranny leaving your yank streak free. Completely safe for all paint & chrome finishes. *Peak **Shown with The Original Car Dryers. optional dolly. 100% Duty Cycle. 240 volts. CE Approved. Videos and full specifications on website. ebsite. AMERICAN CAR XMAS SPECIAL! NOVEMBER ONLY! FREE CARRIAGE on Blaster, Sidekick & Master Blaster orders! - To UK mainland. For Highlands & Islands add £6. Valid for November ONLY! Use coupon code “AMCAR15” to redeem discount. For personal service at web prices ring: ONE FOR THE XMAS LIST! TEL: 020 8502 7034 WWW.CARDRYERS.CO.UK M d Made in USA E&OE directory Phone: 01323 848448 www.aldersautomotive.co.uk 15 years of service All Classic & American Transmissions Reconditioned ed We recondition all transmissions from the 1940’s to Present day. We have the latest diagnostics equipment and full workshop facility's y's For installing your transmission Racing Transmissions & Torque Converters. 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Intelligent Chargers & Conditioners Available again in the UK — a wide range of intelligent battery chargers & conditioners from Battery Fighter® that can be left permanently connected to your vehicle and ensure that it will be in a condition that is ready to start your vehicle even after being “laid up” for many months 6V & 24 V NOWERSIONS V IN ST OCK PLE CO ASE FOR NTACT DETA ILS Available in a range of sizes for all types of battery with some of the range thatare waterproof for rugged conditions—there is a model that will suit every application All fully “CE” tested & with 1 yr warranty For full details and how to buy visit :www.batteryfighter.co.uk 08448 221454 TO ADVERTISE HERE CALL: Enthusiastic buyers of Classic American Cars, Trucks & Hot Rods Call Andrew 07836 226228 / 01245 248888 [email protected] www.standrewsautos.co.uk 110 on 01905 332989 Email: jeanette@ projectviva.co.uk ACF-50 ANTI CORROSION FORMULA Protects all metals like no other product - safe to use on all electrics & rubber components too! 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WWW.CARDRYERS.CO.UK 020 8502 7034 tern Autos s e Werican Vehicle Special ist Am speed and custom shop mail order fully equipped workshops custom paintwork and body mods vehicles bought and sold regular USA shipments PETER JONES THE AMERICAN WINDSHIELD AND AUTO GLASS SERVICE FAX: 01694 720039 Tel/Fax: 01432 358518 Email: [email protected], Web: www.westernautos.org.uk 07836 208478 directory KEEP YOUR YANK SPARKLING CLEAN & CORROSION FREE THIS WINTER! directory Caravan Provisions, Electrical; Gas; Water & Hose; Vehicle Accessories; Awning Equipment. We can provide you with all you need for your Caravanning and Camping Holiday. Our Customers Are Our Priority. www.rusescaravans.co.uk A Leading Supplier of Gas, Abrasives, Grinding, Cutting & Welding Consumables Opening Hours: Mon - Thur 9:00 - 4:30 / Fri 9:00 - 4:00 â&#x20AC;˘ Closed Sat /Sun 01208 264 800 â&#x20AC;˘ www.rusesgas.co.uk Full & Part Restoration Service Bodywork & Paint Mechanical Overhauls Free 'No Obligation' Quotations Call us on 01767 317855 or 07564 528745 Unit 12 Whites Farm, Great North Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9BE www.mbvr.co.uk 112 t x neonth m ON SALE NOVEMBER 26TH IN THE JANUARY ISSUE OF AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE... • Fastback Mustang in stunning shadowy black • Two brothers, three later classics, one sensible budget! … plus all the late summer shows and race round-ups, and plenty more besides! ACM reserve the right to make changes to planned editorial content where necessary. ACM 113 finishline Muscle Car Corner Paul Dodd spends a weekend in petrolheads’ paradise at the Euro Finals and Brooklands. In September, Santa Pod hosts the premier event on the drag racing calendar, the FIA Euro Finals, so we went along to see how the big boys do it. Euro is the word because, sadly, most of the competition is either from Norway, Finland, Sweden or Holland in Top Fuel, Pro Stock, Pro Mod; in fact, they dominate virtually every class. We do have a couple of Brits in Funny Car, (Gordon Smith and Kevin Kent), but our foreign friends seem to have forgotten about this class which is a shame as it is my favourite. After seeing, hearing and feeling the awesome power of a Top Fueller again as the noise and vibrations literally go right through your body and soul, you realise the addiction, why we are drawn back here year after year, and why some of us are foolish enough to give it a go ourselves. Some have more success than others and there are at least a notable number of Brits in Pro Mod which is a really exciting class with the cars now starting to run into the fives. This is where Top Fuel was 20 years ago but now they are in the threes so it shows how far things have come, but it is a pity that there is apparently not enough interest in this country to attract big money sponsors and advertisers so that more Brits can compete. Not too far behind are some of the fastest muscle cars outside America in the Street Eliminator class, notably John Webster in his Comet and Mark Todd in his ’65 GTO who won the event with a low seven at 199.9! Just two weeks later he set a new class record of 7.24 at 200mph, incredible speed for a road legal, yes, road legal car that has to complete a 25-mile cruise over the racing weekend to prove it. All in all we witnessed a great day’s racing on the Saturday and there were some jaw dropping moments as the big boys struggled to get the power down. There was tyre shake, tyre spin, a few altercations with the crash barriers and a good few engines exploding in flames to add to the entertainment. After the madness of Santa Pod on the Saturday came the relatively calm and peaceful atmosphere of Brooklands on the Sunday. They were hosting an American car day and celebrating the 60th birthday of the ‘55 Chevy, and it was an amazing sight to see over 50 Tri-Chevys all corralled into one area, a sea of fins and chrome and colour. The ‘55 holds special memories for me as back in the Sixties my Dad got one, in two-tone green and white, for my Mum to shop about in, but had to take over driving duties after she put it through a garden wall. We had some memorable family days out in it. What really knocked me out though were the hundreds of other American cars that turned up with some absolute muscle car gems amongst them. I have been mentioning recently that more and more muscle cars seem to be popping up everywhere but nothing could prepare me for one of the first cars I came across here, a stunning looking black ‘69 Oldsmobile 4-4-2, wow! Then, in the Mopar area, a beautiful white Hemi Dodge Daytona. It turns out it is a clone, but what a rendition. I also got a closer look at the burnt orange 440 Cuda that I spotted here last month and it really is original and immaculate. Elsewhere there were a lot of new on the block period Mustangs about in very good condition alongside the odd Camaro, Trans Am, Chevelle, even Road Runner. You name it, it was here and on this showing alone I can tell you that the American car scene is buzzing over here at the moment. As Jason and I left the serenity of Brooklands, things were soon to hot up in the cockpit of the Olds’ as I desperately tried to keep pace with the Trans Am on some long fast stretches of the A3. It was like being back at the dragstrip again, for just a few seconds! Want to get in touch with Paul? Email [email protected] or write to the address on page 3 114 ACM E S T O R I N G A M E R I C A N H I S T O R Y “Hello, I just wanted to give praise to your company and the great job you do. In a world that seems to lack in customer service, as well as a complete business plan, your company is head and shoulders above the rest. Being a long time car restorer, tech advisor and a shop supervisor, it is a pleasure to deal with a company of your quality. Through the years I have tried other companies but your company is the best... 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Cold weather won’t stall your project. And it won’t stop us from supplying you with the parts and tools you need to get the job done. That way, you’ll spend next spring driving instead of wrenching. From tires and tools to T-shirts and toys, rely on us to fuel your high-octane holiday. PowerPort® 365 Cylinder Head for Big Chevy Race-Ready Heads! Keyword: TFS PowerPort 365 TFS-4141T804-C02 \ $1,860.00 USD assembled, each “Good Work Ain’t Cheap” Vintage Garage Sign • 24-gauge steel with powdercoated finish • Weathered effect for that old-school look • 12" wide x 18" high BAM-BAJP0507 \ $21.97 USD each 1930s Vintage Gas Pump Drink Dispenser • Holds 32 oz. of your favorite beverage • Chrome plated steel base • Stands 19" tall GSS-1958 \ $29.97 USD each

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The Japanese art of growing meticulously groomed miniature trees in indoor containers is known as what?

Bonsai Tree Information: General Information about Bonsai Trees Information History Bonsai trees are often thought to have originated from Japan, but records over 2,000 years old show trees being grown in China, as part of landscapes planted in shallow containers. Around 1,500 years ago trees, many of which would have been collected from mountainous regions, were first grown as individual specimens and these can be seen clearly on ancient Chinese line drawings. Several centuries later the Japanese began growing and training trees in pots and have developed the hobby to its current level. Chinese and Japanese bonsai are very different in style, with Chinese style trees being more freeform and trained mainly by pruning, whilst Japanese trees are meticulously groomed and shaped, appearing more natural. Misconceptions A common misconception about the hobby is that it is 'cruel', with the trees being starved in order to dwarf them. Nothing could be further from the truth! Bonsai trees require regular watering, feeding and repotting to keep them in optimum health and in many cases they are actually healthier that their counterparts in the wild, enjoying the same longevity. Some trees in Japan have recorded histories spanning several centuries and are often traditionally passed from generation to generation, keeping them in the same family during their long lifetime. Root pruning is a widespread horticultural technique, used by many gardeners to produce better root systems on plants grown both in pots and in the garden, and is not just associated with bonsai training. This practice facilitates the growth of a well developed, compact root system with many fine, fibrous roots which are so necessary for taking up nutrients and does not restrict the overall growth. Various branch and shoot pruning techniques are what actually dwarf the tree, in the same way as trimming a hedge keeps it from growing into a line of large trees. The Hobby The growing of bonsai, which translates literally as 'plant in a tray', is a truly satisfying hobby and combines both horticulture and art, creating trees that are often referred to as 'living sculptures'. Above all it is important that the trees are kept healthy and in excellent condition, as with any pot plant. Pruning and shaping does, however, require a certain amount of artistic imagination to visualise the future development of the trunk and branches. Bonsai should embody all that is so wonderful about trees that grow naturally in such a variety of shapes and sizes. Large specimen trees, ancient trees with hollow trunks, trees which have been shaped by severe weather conditions or even small forests can all be recreated in the confines of a pot. By growing trees in this way it is possible to have a mini-aboretum of delightful small trees in your own garden or even on a balcony, whatever the size. The timescale to create impressive bonsai is dependent upon the origin, species and general health of the tree. Trees grown from seed or cuttings will invariably take longer to create the images required than much older material, possibly collected from the wild or obtained as nursery stock, although it can be most rewarding to build a collection from a variety of different sources. However, actual age is not as important as the illusion of how old the tree appears - a well trained bonsai may look far older that it really is. Indoor or Outdoor? Many species of trees and woody shrubs are suitable for training as bonsai, but if planted in the garden they would grow into full-size trees - there is no such thing as a special 'bonsai species'. Pruning and shaping is required to create and maintain the desired shape and size. Some trees are often used to achieve the appearance of different species, e.g. a juniper can look very effective when trained in the image of a pine. Trees that would naturally grow outdoors must not be cultivated indoors, where they will not flourish, but will soon die. Occasionally outdoor bonsai may be viewed in the house, provided that a cool area is selected and that the duration is no longer than a couple of days. Only tropical species of tree are suitable for growing indoors, figs, serrissas and pomegranates make particularly good subjects, although even these can benefit from spending the summer months outside. Appreciating Bonsai Bonsai can quickly become an important and very enjoyable part of your life. Don't be afraid to experiment with material, it is all part of the learning curve. Spend time studying trees at exhibitions and in books, to determine what makes them good or bad bonsai specimens. Most trees do have faults of some kind and it is important to be able to identify these, but do look beyond individual features and learn to enjoy the actual bonsai tree as a whole unity! Patience is a definite virtue and the process of creating bonsai trees should not be hurried unnecessarily. Good bonsai can be trained in a relatively short space of time, provided that suitable material is selected at the beginning. Some of my trees have not always started out as ideal material, but by persevering, surprising and satisfying results have been achieved. This is illustrated with examples of many detailed histories of trees from my personal collection of bonsai, of which I have had the immense pleasure of growing for many years.

Bonsai

What CNN news anchor was the “moderator” of yesterday’s presidential debate at Hofstra University in NY?

Royal Purple Bougainvillea Plant -Indoors/Out or Bonsai | Fresh Flowers Express Royal Purple Bougainvillea Plant -Indoors/Out or Bonsai 3.6 out of 5 stars with 65 reviews LIST PRICE: Usually ships in 24 hours QUANTITY: ADD TO CART Product Description Bougainvillea kona pearl is an evergreen vine that makes itself at home in almost any situation. It can be grown as a hedge, groomed as a ground cover, pruned as an espalier, trained as a tree or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. Its trunk tends to be gnarled. Bougainvillea is ideal for bonsai. They flower most heavily in winter and early spring, but some plants put forth scattered clusters all year. Home grown Jmbamboo Specifications ALL BONSAI Bonsai Boy's Monterey - Single Trunk-Preserved Bonsai Tree Preserved - Not a living tree Please allow up to 14 days for delivery.Neither plastic nor silk, this preserved bonsai tree has real foliage and a real wooden trunk that was carefully handcrafted and preserved to protect its natural fragrance, color and texture indefinitely. No watering, trimming or maintenance is required. With its timeless beauty evoking a feeling of nature, this accent piece accommodates any architectural setting. Our one-of-a-kind preserved bonsai is planted in a traditional glazed imported black ceramic pot. This is the ultimate in environmental control. 3.5 of 5.0 with 15 Reviews Sale Price: $65.95   1% off Pre Bonsai Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria Heterophila) Pre Bonsai - Pine 3 Yrs OldThis pre bonsai is a Pine.3 Yrs Old and about 13 inches tall 3.5 of 5.0 with 4 Reviews Sale Price: $41.06   1% off Bonsai Boy's Artificial Japanese Cedar Bonsai Tree Artificial Japanese Cedar bonsai tree. 3.5 of 5.0 with 2 Reviews Sale Price: $39.95   1% off Banshosho Japanese Black Pine 3 - Year Graft Pinus thunbergii 'Banshoho' (Banshosho Japanese Black Pine) * Full sun * Zones 5-9 * 3' tall * 3' wide * Origin Japan Highly sought after by Bonsai enthusiasts! Very unique form of Japanese Black Pine! 'Banshoho' is a very unique form of Japanese Black Pine. Compact and dense, branches are upright with thin needles give a bottle brush appearance to the branches. Pinus thunbergii 'Banshosho' is A slow-growing evergreen conifer with a round form when young, eventually growing more tall than wide. Needles are rich emerald-green. Ornamental white buds add winter appeal. Prefers full sun in well-drained soil. 3' tall x 3' wide. Hardy to -20 degrees. USDA zone 5. Tolerant of sandy, dry soils and salt spray when established. Deer resistant 3.5 of 5.0 with 6 Reviews Sale Price: $32.95   1% off Brussel's DT3066AZ Satsuki Azalea Outdoor Bonsai Tree With small, round leaves and large, pink flowers blooming from May to June, this broadleaf flowering bonsai is packed with stems for a gorgeous late spring show. Though the Satsuki Azalea has just one flower per stem, the shrub has so many stems that during the flowering season they are a solid mass of color. Grown in Japan for centuries, the Satsuki Azalea's graceful trunk movement adds distinct shape to the patio, deck or garden. This particular bonsai is 5 years old and stands 8 inches tall. Although evergreens can be displayed indoors for short periods of time, they need to experience seasonal changes and should be kept outside year round. Brussels grows specimens only under carefully controlled conditions, meticulously training each tree with wire and pruning over a period of years. If upon the tree's arrival some leaves have dropped or turned slightly brown that does not mean the bonsai is unhealthy. Defoliation is the natural result of being in the low-light environment of a shipping box. When you receive your tree, place the box in a shaded area to unpack. Inspect tree for damage to branches or leaves. Water soil if dry, and place the tree in shade for at least one week before moving to a sunny location. What is a Bonsai? Literally, the Japanese word "bonsai" means "tray tree" or "plant grown in a pot." The term refers to the artistic techniques used to capture the natural beauty of trees, rather than a specific variety of tree. A full-grown tree and a bonsai can be grown from the same seed--the bonsai has simply been dwarfed and shaped through years of training. For more information on care and training visit Brussel's Bonsai on the Web. 3.5 of 5.0 with 226 Reviews Sale Price: $29.99   10% off Christmas Tree Spruce Conifer Bonsai, also as a Treasured Memory Tree Everyone wants to keep their cherished memories alive forever, but time flies, and special moments quickly fade away. How do you keep your special memories alive? Bonsai Etc. is proud to present a unique and incomparable gift - the most traditional spruce bonsai tree perfect for any special event. This conifer bonsai tree can be kept in its container or planted in the ground in its original container and, over time, transforms from a bonsai in dwarf form to a valued and flourishing tree in your garden. Keeping Treasured Moments Alive Forever -- This lovely bonsai tree is a novel way to remember and keep close to you the most important and treasured moments in your life. Perfect for new beginnings such as weddings, baby showers, moving into a new home, your child's bittersweet move into college or celebrating special events such as birthday or anniversary. This surprisingly affordable bonsai memory tree comes in a traditional, natural looking, handcrafted and hand painted clay and mud container. The tree and container are one, and can be displayed indoors or outdoors, or it can be planted in the ground to ensure its continued growth. It is not necessary to transplant the tree from the container into the ground. Its container is easily degradable in soil, and the prong-like feet on the bottom of the container can be twisted and burrowed into the earth to stabilize it. After setting the tree into the ground, the tree's roots will grow through the drainage holes located on the bottom of the pot, allowing the plant to continue its growth in the soil. The container is coated with plant nutrients to support the tree's growth as the container naturally degrades over time. For experienced bonsai growers, this tree can be grown into an authentic Japanese handmade ceramic container perfect for adding into ones bonsai collection. 3.5 of 5.0 with 2 Reviews Sale Price: $28.00   20% off 9GreenBox - Desert Rose Double Purple This vibrant desert plant is native to arid regions of Africa. They are tough flowering plants that demand little attention and are easy to grow. They flourish indoors and outdoors and are highly popular for their bright vivid blossoms. 3.5 of 5.0 with 33 Reviews Sale Price: $18.99   63% off 9GreenBox - Live Jade Plant Bonsai - Crassula Ovuta - Indoor Bonsa - w/Fertilizer Gift Also commonly known as the friendship tree, lucky plant or money plant. They blossom small white or pink flowers and prefer full sun. Water when the soil turns dry. Very easy to grow and make for stunning indoor plants. 3.5 of 5.0 with 2 Reviews Sale Price: $12.98   1% off 9GreenBox - Adenium Desert ROSE Miss Beauty House Plant Bonsai This vibrant desert plant is native to arid regions of Africa. They are tough flowering plants that demand little attention and are easy to grow. They flourish indoors and outdoors and are highly popular for their bright vivid blossoms.

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