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|Head Coach
|Eighth Season
Andrew Checketts was named UC Santa Barbara's head coach on June 22, 2011, becoming the ninth head coach in the program's history.
The Gauchos reached new heights with Checketts at the helm in 2016, winning the Nashville Regional at Vanderbilt before sweeping Louisville in the Super Regionals to reach UCSB's first ever College World Series. In Omaha, the Gauchos eliminated No. 3 national seed Miami before ultimately falling to Arizona, which reached the CWS Final.
During the postseason run, Checketts was named a finalist for the 2016 Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year award.
In the summer after the College World Series, Checketts signed a contract extension through the 2022 season.
Checketts has been an immediate success for UCSB, as through seven years he is the program's leader in career overall winning percentage (.580). He has gone 231-167-4 in seven years in charge of the program.
With Checketts leading the way, the Gauchos had arguably their best regular season in program history in 2015. The squad set a then-school record for wins against Division I opponents with a 40-17-1 record, and they were selected as a No. 1 seed and a host for the 2015 NCAA Regionals for the first time ever.
Sporting one of the best pitching staffs in the country, UCSB went on to record new program marks in team ERA (2.45) and strikeouts (475) in the 2015 season. The team was also ranked as high as No. 6 in the country while they were slotted as high as No. 2 in the RPI over the course of the campaign.
During his tenure, UCSB has had 39 Major League Baseball draftees, four All-America selections (Brett Vertigan in 2012, Joey Epperson in 2014, Dillon Tate in 2015, Shane Bieber in 2016), six Freshman All-America picks, the 2015 Big West Co-Field Player of the Year (Cameron Newell), and 44 All-Big West honorees.
The Gauchos' 39 draft picks since 2012 are the most by any team in the Big West over that span. Under Checketts' tutelage, All-American right-handed pitcher Dillon Tate became one of the top players in collegiate baseball, eventually going to the Texas Rangers with the fourth overall selection in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Tate was the first pitcher chosen in the 2015 draft.
Andrew's success as a recruiter has been noted nationally. His 2012 recruiting class was ranked No. 12 in the country by Baseball America and No. 18 in the nation by Perfect Game. Both rankings were the highest in school history. In all, Checketts has brought in nationally-ranked classes in five of his six seasons at UCSB, including top-20 classes in 2012, 2016, and 2017.
Prior to the 2013 season, Checketts made an appearance on Baseball America's "Top 10 Head Coaches Under 40" while being named on Perfect Game's "Rising Head Coaches" lists in both 2012 and 2013.
In 2014, Checketts presided over a squad that went 34-17-1. In non-conference play, the Gauchos went 22-5-1, setting a new program record for non-conference winning percentage at .815. In addition, Checketts became just the second coach in program history to record back-to-back 30+ win seasons. UCSB was extremely hot out of the gate, going 18-3 over the team's first 21 games to earn the program's first top-10 ranking since 1986.
In just his second year at the helm, Checketts led the Gauchos to the NCAA regionals for the first time since 2001, ending the second longest postseason drought in program history. The 2013 squad was in the middle of the pack for most of the year, sitting at 18-17 after 35 games. From there, UCSB caught fire, going 16-6 – including six consecutive series wins – to close out the year and finish second in the Big West Conference. Going 6-0-1 in home series on the campaign, it was first time in program history that UCSB had gone undefeated in home series for an entire season. In the Corvallis, Ore. regional, the Gauchos defeated Texas A&M in their first contest before falling in a pair of one-run ballgames.
In his first year as head coach of the Gauchos, Checketts made a significant and positive impact on the program. With a 28-28 record, Checketts set a school record for the most wins by a first year coach. His first win came in dramatic fashion, as the Gauchos needed 12 innings to top Oregon St. 13-12 in the nightcap of a Feb. 18 doubleheader. Checketts oversaw two pitchers in Matt Vedo and Andrew Vazquez who together had the most strikeouts by a duo in school history. Checketts led the staff to a then-school record for strikeouts in a season with 451.
Prior to his hiring at UCSB, he had spent the past three seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Oregon and was regarded as one of the best pitching coaches not only on the west coast, but also the nation.
Known as a diligent worker with an attention for detail, Checketts' staff routinely recorded one of the best earned run averages in the nation. In 2010, Oregon's 3.29 ERA ranked third in the nation and second in the Pac-10. In 2011, Oregon's pitching staff ranked in the top-25 for the second straight year as the mark of 2.99 rated 18th in the country. The Ducks also ranked in the top-15 for two additional categories as UO's 8.2 strikeouts per game ranked 10th in the country, and the Ducks' 7.74 hits allowed per nine innings ranked 11th.
In his coaching career at Riverside City College, UC Riverside, Oregon, and UCSB, Checketts has had 41 players drafted or sign pro contracts, including Tyler Anderson, who was drafted 20th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In total, Checketts has coached 12 pitchers drafted in the top 10 rounds since 2001.
Checketts also played a large role in the recruiting scene for Oregon. For three consecutive years (2008-2010) UO's recruiting classes have earned top-25 accolades. Most recently, the 2010 freshman class was ranked fifth in the nation by Baseball America's annual evaluation, and third in the nation by Collegiate Baseball.
Prior to joining Oregon's staff, Checketts was on the UC Riverside staff for seven years. In 2007, UC Riverside was the Big West Champion and was ranked as high as 13th in the country during the season. It marked the first time in 20 years that a Division I program in the UC system won its outright conference championship.
Upon his arrival at UC Riverside, he made an immediate impact as the staff ERA improved by almost three runs and the team broke the school record for strikeouts in his first year. During his first three seasons at UCR, the team ERA improved every year. Checketts also played a key role in recruiting for the Highlanders. UCR's 2007 class received national recognition with a top-25 ranking from Baseball America. In his final season, UCR's pitching staff ranked among the nation's best in ERA (3.68) and strikeouts per game (8.0).
Checketts began his coaching career at Riverside Community College, where he served as pitching coach and helped the team to their second consecutive California State Championship in 2001. While he was at RCC, the pitching staff set the school record for ERA.
Checketts played one season at Florida and three at Oregon State. As a senior in 1998, he posted an 11-1 record and 3.77 ERA in 13 starts, striking out 73 batters in 86 innings, earning Pac-10 North Player of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Magazine Second Team All-American, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Second Team All-American and All-West Region Second Team honors. He was also named Pac-10 North All-Conference in 1997 and 1998, finishing his collegiate career with a 30-12 record. Checketts graduated from Oregon State with a degree in Business Administration, Finance. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 21st round of the 1998 MLB draft.
Checketts graduated from West Linn High School in 1994, and that season was named the Oregon High School State Player of the Year.
He and his wife Michelle have three children: Amelia (born 2009), William (born 2011), and Ellie (born 2014).


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subset: commoncrawl


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Legal Status of Direct-Entry Midwives
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
has the most current information regarding the legal status of midwives in the United States. Visit the Resources section of their website, or click on one of the specific links below to find what you're looking for!
Direct-Entry State Laws and Regulations
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text:
Marlins got what they paid for with Guillen
We've had actors who've professed their admiration for Fidel Castro. We've had famous singers who fawned over him. We've had journalists and academics by the score – no, by the hundreds – proclaim the praises of this mass-murdering island dictator over the years.
We've even had the occasional pampered, self-righteous intellectual such as Walter Kendall Myers spy for Castro.
And now we've got a buffoon of a baseball manager, Ozzie Guillen, who loves the tyrant – a ruler who in the 20th century imprisoned an estimated 100,000 people for their political views, some thousands of whom were tortured and shot.
Fire this buffoon of a manager? Why? Myers is serving a life sentence, but almost all of the other Castro lovers, many far more obnoxious and morally compromised than Guillen, have gone on with their lives unmolested.
Let Guillen return to his job after his five-game suspension, which the Miami Marlins imposed this morning, and take up where he left off. The Marlins knew what type of man they were hiring. And Guillen is merely fulfilling his part of the bargain.


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Bank Technology News recently posted a case study article on Arvest Bank and our efforts to bring LEED standards to some of our newest bank branches. For those interested in learning more about LEED and why Arvest is developing LEED facilities, this article is an interesting read.
Problem: The benefits of LEED certifications are still hard to measure.
Solution: Build new branches at varying LEED levels to do real-world, cost-benefit analysis of the top-spec sites against those certified at lower LEED standards.
The jury's decidedly out on whether buildings constructed to LEED specifications are truly more efficient than those that aren't. That's because LEED buildings (those that have been certified "green" under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system) are always certified before any energy usage is actually measured that could conclusively prove that LEED works.
That lack of data has led Arvest Bank of Fayetteville, Ark., to test LEED concepts in its own branches. The bank is engaged in a multiyear cost-benefit analysis on LEED buildings to try to figure out the optimum spec to build to, weighing construction costs against savings on energy and facilities usage over time. Arvest is doing this by analyzing the energy consumption and building expenses across four branches built to different LEED-certified levels.
Arvest uses LEED solutions, like underground cisterns, to collect rainwater to flush toilets and irrigate landscaping at two of its gold-certified branches — one in Fayetteville and another in Springfield, Mo.
Yet Arvest is eschewing gold certification at two of its newest branches — one in Springfield, on which it broke ground June 6, and another under construction in Broken Arrow, Okla. — to instead aim for the lowest LEED level, known simply as "certified," to have a baseline means for comparison.
"After completing the four projects we'll evaluate all the materials, energy savings and costs, and then make a determination as to whether we would always try to hit LEED-certified gold or not, or always have rain harvesting systems," says Brent Vinson, site and planning coordinator at Arvest.
One of Arvest's rain harvesting cisterns recently made a bit of Arkansas history. Powering flushed toilets in the state with rainwater had typically required use of municipalities' filtration systems, or companies had to install an on-site filter for the intake water. "But for a small bank branch [the latter's] just not feasible," Vinson says. "So our engineer went to bat for us and lobbied the Department of Health and finally they allowed us to do it."
HSA Engineering, a consultant Arvest hired to support the project, successfully obtained an exemption from Arkansas' plumbing code from the state's Department of Health Review Board. After that, HSA successfully petitioned to make rainwater harvesting legal by pushing the state legislature to pass a bill in 2009 that encoded the practice into the state's plumbing guidelines, which were finalized in May of last year. Rainwater harvesting systems can be self-sustaining and cheap: Processing and treating water which need not be potable is considered expensive and wasteful by conservation proponents.
Arvest's Joyce Boulevard branch in Fayetteville became the first building of its type in Arkansas where a legal rainwater flushing system was used without a filter, Vinson says.
Arvest's newest branches are being built with other LEED-standard components, including low-volatile organic compounds that carry or emit fewer harmful chemicals than those typically contained in paint, glues, adhesives, carpet and millwork. Plus, the $11 billion-asset bank is recycling any construction materials that can be repurposed or reused. LED lights and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that power down or turn off depending on the time of day — or in some cases, when a room is vacant — are also included.
Another of Arvest's crucial LEED-certified components are bioswales, which are essentially modified ditches designed to remove pollutants and silt from rainwater. Instead of using the town's storm sewer and piping system in which the water ends up in a lake or stream, a bioswale channels and holds water on-site, letting it percolate into the ground to replenish the water table. The water is filtered typically through a layer of grass and then an engineered field of sand or some similar base below, which works to remove pollutants such as car oils.
Solar panels and geothermal cooling and heating, in which underground pipes feed ground air that naturally stays at a constant temperature, have been discussed, Vinson says. But business cases that would green-light such projects await development — solar is expensive and Arkansas' rocky ground makes channeling pipes tough. Regardless, Arvest's LEED efforts have so far garnered intangible marketing benefits. "People have actually come to the bank because they said they know we're doing this," Vinson says. "There have been enough of these comments that we know we're making a difference."
(article from American Banker/Bank Technology News, Sept 1, 2011)
Submitted questions will be answered by an Arvest banker and may appear on the Arvest Blog.
All Arvest banks are Equal Housing Lenders and Member FDIC.
Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.


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What is a web.config file?
A web.config file lets you customize the way your site or a specific directory on your site behaves. For example, if you place a web.config file in your root directory, it will affect your entire site (www.coolexample.com). If you place it in a /content directory, it will only affect that directory (www.coolexample.com/content). However, in order for a web.config file to register in a specific directory, there must be a web.config file in the root directory.
web.config files work on our Windows servers.
Using a web.config file, you can control:
- Database connection strings.
- Error behavior.
- Security.
web.config files are XML documents. ".config" is not an extension like .html or .txt. For more information on how to set up web.config files, visit Microsoft's Web site.


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Only one egg and very little margine are used in this bread that has low saturated fat, low cholesterol, and low sodium.
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients and Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- Cook apricots in water in a covered medium-size saucepan for 10-15 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Drain; reserve ¾ cup liquid. Set apricots aside to cool.
- Cream together margarine and sugar. By hand, beat in egg and orange peel.
- Sift together flour, dry milk, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with reserved apricot liquid and orange juice.
- Stir apricot pieces and pecans into batter.
- Turn batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bread springs back when lightly touched in center.
- Cool 5 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and completely cool on wire rack before slicing.


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Pear trees
Johns Market Garden Pear trees are top quality and well grown, free from disease and expertly packed. Read on and discover Pear trees suited to every use, including dwarf Pear trees, for a small garden, cordon Pear trees, Pears for wall and fence and Pear Trees for a traditional orchard. Johns Market garden grows a very wide range of Pear tree varieties including the classic Conference Pear Tree, Conference is the original self fertile Pear Tree. As well as Conference Pears we find the classic Williams Pear tree a very popular choice. Williams Pears have a divine flavour. Williams Pears can be pollinated with Conference Pears. Conference itself needs no pollinators. Johns Market Gardens Pear tree range is also including old traditional types that are now hard to find.[more...]
Pear trees Catalogue


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Nibbs is review of Manchester is spot off tbh. City centre's great (unless its a friday or sat night, when Salford descends for its 2 vodka/redbulls and paddywagon back when the electronic tag reads hometime), one of the nicer cities you'll visit nowadays.
Milan is an absolute must to visit, beautiful, especially round the Cathedral. New Yorks also a must at least once in your lifetime, and a trip to the top of the Empire State at night should be done (got to go up the WTC when i was there, the view wasnt as good for some reason, seems eerie to think back to it now).
Whilst in New York, a trip down to Washington DC for a couple of days really is worth it, far more to see, and alot calmer feel to the city.
"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher." - Ambrose Bierce
Langeveldt: I of course blame their parents.. and unchecked immigration!
GingerFurball: He's Austrian, they tend to produce the odd ****ed up individual
Burgey: Be careful dealing with neighbours whose cars don't have wheels but whose houses do.
Uppercut: Maybe I just need better strippers
Slovenia is a wonderful place to visit went there 2 summers ago, great scenery, lovely people, everything is dirt cheap hand loads of stuff to do.
Also went to Lago de Garda and Verona and they were probably my favourite places after Salzburg, which is the gunnest place I've been to.
I have a love-hate relationship with tourists in Devon... yeah, we need the money, but my god some of them are stupid.
There used to be a corner shop in my home town, it closed down more than a decade ago now, but some tourists went in there once and asked the guy who owned it (known as a joker) what was worth seeing. He told them Luppitt's beautiful harbour was unmissable.
Cue five hours later two bemused, frightened and disconsolate tourists turning up in Honiton, talking about how they'd searched far and wide for it but couldn't find it... because Luppitt is about ten miles from the sea!
Luppitt harbour quickly gained legendary status in East Devon. Really nice people aren't we?
visited - Dubai, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland & France
visited when a kid - Singapore, HK, Taiwan, Japan & UK, along with some of the countries from the list above
Fastest gun in town
Have visited: Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Paris, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin and Birmingham.
Would like to visit: Melbourne (again) Auckland, Wellington, Tokyo, Dubai (have already been there but only for about an hour), New York, Boston, Moscow to name but a few.
We have the possibility of moving to Ghana for at least a few years.
Our immediate thought is an absolute 'No', but its a better job and it could be great.
Anyone with first hand experience of Ghana?
If I only just posted the above post, please wait 5 mins before replying as there will be edits
West Robham Rabid Wolves Caedere lemma quod eat lemma
Countries I've been aside from New Zealand and Australia, have been France, England, Italy, Spain, Estonia (have never been anywhere where there is a strip club right next to where I was staying), Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria (about half a day because I got lost and ended up there), Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany. Been to Singapore airport three times but never actually been outside of the building.
Planning to go next year, would love to go to Finland, Russia, Belarus (if you can get in), Ukraine and downwards. Wouldn't mind Belgium as with all the Belgian people I've met have greeted me like I'm there long lost cousin.
Rome is about as over-rated as they get, sure they have the famous landmarks and the Vatican, but way too many tourists and pretty pricey. Perugia is interesting with their stuff you attitute, it's 35-39c outside and trying to find a shop that is open to buy water but they all shut past 12.30pm and even the supermarket was shut the whole day. Naples is an eye-opener. Trash everywhere, graffiti, and before some dodgy **** tries to sell you a stolen lap-top or camera.
I felt that in Frankfurt they were a bunch of tossers, and then in Warsaw (and you see a million flyer's to go to the nearest brothel) got was just another big city (although I did hear the song 'I came from land downunder' on the radio there ). Estonia, Latvia (can have a good night out and it costs you bugger all), and Lithuania are three of the best countries I've been too in my life.
I've been to:
England (London, Plymouth, a lot of spots in Cornwall and around the rest of Devon, Manchester)
Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Skye, Barra, various trips up into the Highlands)
Spain (L'Estartit, Barcelona)
France (Paris)
Italy (Rome, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast)
Greece (Athens, The Islands: Santorini, Paros, Antiparos)
Croatia (Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, The Islands: Hvar, Bol, and another I can't remember, drove around the Istrian Peninsula from the Slovenian border to Split, Plitvice Lakes)
Bosnia (Mostar, Sarajevo)
Serbia (Belgrade)
Romania (Bucharest, Transylvanian Alps: Brasov)
Hungary (Budapest, Sentendre, Eger)
Poland (Krakow, Zakopane, Lublin, Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw)
The Netherlands (Amsterdam)
Belgium (Brussels, Brugges)
Slovakia (Bratislava)
Slovenia (Ljubljana, Bled, The famous caves out towards the coast at Divaca (Skocjan Caves), Piran)
Sweden (Stockholm, Varnamo, Gotland (Visby), Jonkoping, Vaxjo, Gothenburg, Malmo, Halmstad, Boras, Granna)
Denmark (Copenhagen)
Iceland (Reykjavik, Vik)
Germany (Berlin)
Czech Republic (Prague, Usti Nad Labem, Cesky Krumlov)
Austria (Vienna)
Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, skifields, etc. Was a one year student exchange.)
My favourite...probably the Scandinavian countries. Least favourite was Bucharest...then probably Paris, but only because it was early in my travels and I don't think I made the most of it.
I'll try to find some photos for each country and post them.
A highlight from the last trip was sitting up in the castle above Piran with a mate talking rubbish and watching the sun set over the town. Behind us there was a soccer field and a local team, who we dubbed 'The Slovenian National Team', were practising. One guy knocked over all the witches hats (there were 4) while trying to dribble between them. Great fun.
I'd highly recommend going to Croatia (Plitvice Lakes are outstanding), Edinburgh, the Amalfi Coast, Bosnia, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Slovenia (especially Bled and the areas around it...as someone elses picture shows, it's a beautiful place...except for the big hotel or two on the lake ), Brugges, Gdansk, Zakopane & Krakow (they're near each other), Transylvanian Alps, Edinburgh & The Highlands, Isle of Skye, Cornwall, Cesky Krumlov. The Skocjan Caves are wonderful...get there by 1pm at the latest to do the tour
I'd avoid Prague in the tourist season...it's a mess and the large number of tourist groups following flags/bottles/annoying voices and narrow lanes end up pissing you off. There are also a lot of people wandering the town square these days offering drugs, ***, access to strip shows. The Central Train Station is dingy and feels very dodgy. Fortunately most trains from other countries come in at a different station but some local trips (like the train to the town that has the bone church) leave from Central Station. When I arrived back from the bone church I crossed the road from the train station and saw a lady with a baby shooting up in the park. It's no different to any other city I suppose, but it's changed quite a bit since I was there 4 years ago. Having said that, Charles Bridge is stunning in the evening/early morning and if you are lucky enough to find yourself in a laneway on your own surrounded by old buildings it's beautiful...even when you wake up 5 hours later lying on cobblestones without your wallet
Bucharest was pretty ordinary in my opinion. But then we were only there for 5 hours...the Parliament Building (or Palace) is very impressive.
Plymouth is good for a visit to the Barbican on the way to Bude or Tintagel on the Cornwall Coast. Half a day should do it...I was there for 7 months
Last edited by Son Of Coco; 20-03-2008 at 01:30 AM.
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R.I.P Fardin 'Bob' Qayyumi
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You Say You Want an Evolution?
Imagine: Your pint-sized pup is descended from a line of predatory wolves. We have purposefully bred a new species – dogs – to live in harmony with us. But interactions between species, known as co-evolution, happen all the time, even without deliberate intervention. And it's frequently a boon to survival: Without the symbiotic relationship we have with bugs in our gut, one that's evolved with time, we wouldn't exist.
Discover the Bogart-and-Bacall-like relationships between bacteria and humans, and what we learn by seeing genes mutate in the lab, real time. Also, the dog-eat-dog debate about when canines were first domesticated, and how agriculture, hip-hop music, and technology can alter our DNA (eventually).
Plus, why some of the fastest humans in history have hailed from one small area of a small Caribbean island. Is there a gene for that?
- Greger Larsen – Evolutionary biologist, department of archaeology, Durham University
- Peter Richerson – Professor emeritus, University of California, Davis, department of Environmental Science and Policy, author of Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution
- Dave van Ditmarsch – Biologist, post-doctoral researcher, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- David Epstein – Senior writer, Sports Illustrated, author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance


text:
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M82 in 60 Seconds
When seen in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, M82 looks like an ordinary spiral galaxy.
Kepler's Supernova Remnant in 60 Seconds
The supernova explosion that created this object was witnessed on Earth about 400 ago years by many skywatchers, including the astronomer Johannes Kepler. This object, which now bears Kepler's name, is the remains of a massive star's demise.
Sombrero Galaxy in 60 Seconds
Like the Milky Way, Sombrero is a spiral galaxy. However, we see Sombrero edge-on from our vantage point from Earth, rather than the face-down perspective that is more familiar.
3C321 in 60 Seconds
In 3C321, a jet from a black hole in one of the galaxies is pummeling its neighbor galaxy, the first time this type of galactic violence has ever been seen. The jet could bring big trouble for any planets in its path, but could also trigger a burst of star formation in its wake.
G1.9+0.3 in 60 Seconds
About a hundred and forty years ago, the light from a supernova explosion in our galaxy reached the Earth, but no one saw it. The discovery of this supernova remnant helps astronomers better understand how often these stellar time-bombs go off in our galaxy.
NGC 4258 in 60 Seconds
A composite image of NGC 4258, about 25 million light-years from Earth, shows an X-shaped pattern when seen in different types of light.
Centaurus A in 60 Seconds
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SN 1006 in 60 Seconds
The brightest supernova ever recorded on Earth, this spectacular light show was documented in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world. It was brighter than Venus, and visible during the day for weeks.
M81 in 60 Seconds
This image of the mammoth spiral galaxy M81, located about 12 million light years away, contains data from four different NASA satellites.
Macs J0025.4-1222 in 60 Seconds Plus
Two galaxy clusters, each a quadrillion times the mass of the Sun, collided to form the system formally known as Macs J0025.4-1222.
Cat's Eye Nebula in 60 Seconds Plus
This composite of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope is another look for NGC 6543, better known as the Cat's Eye nebula.
Perseus A in 60 Seconds
The giant galaxy, Perseus A, which is also known as NGC 1275, is a well-known source of strong radio radiation.
RCW 108 in 60 Seconds
RCW 108 is a region where stars are actively forming about 4,000 light-years from Earth.
SN1996cr in 60 Seconds
In 1995 or 1996 a supernova exploded in a nearby galaxy, but no one on Earth knew it at the time.
Abell 1689 in 60 Seconds
Abell 1689 is a massive cluster of galaxies located about 2.3 billion light-years away.
M87 in 60 Seconds
M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy. At a distance of about 60 million light-years from Earth, M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster of some 2,000 galaxies.
M84 in 60 Seconds
M84 is a massive elliptical galaxy located about 55 million light years from Earth in the Virgo Cluster.
G292.01+8 in 60 Seconds
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The composite image shows the galaxy cluster known as Abell 85, which is located about 740 million light years from Earth.
M101 in 60 Seconds
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Is Hillary Clinton's Book Tour a Move Towards 2016?
Hillary Clinton's book "Hard Choices" debuted Tuesday. The reviews are not fawning, but could this be just the book she needs to position herself for a 2016 run for president? University of Virginia's Center for Politics director Larry Sabato discusses on the News Hub with Sara Murray. Photo: AP.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... the the ... like the ... book archway says is out today the reviews are hardly on a ... could this be just the book she needs to position herself for twenty sixteen run for president ... here with his take is Univeristy of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabadell ... Larry thanks very much for joining us ... so the reviews of this book basically say it for ... so is that good news and bad news that Hillary Clinton really one sees this as a launch pad for a presidential bid ... Wells could use her doesn't call three problems ... so far hadn't seen in the freezer sanctions that will come back to haunt her ... in twenty sixteen I agree to what I get CDX troops might seen so far ... it's it's not exactly ... the you know well so the sun also rises on ... so no walk to or who ... think every authors challenge that she's ... she's a ... budget that it will go back this summer the former presidents ... the books they haven't gotten had the intention ... when he entered news that Hillary Clinton is not ... as often ... as we just sat there isn't any news that ... an interesting about there being no it isn't this the kitten that talent on ... if you are paying really close attention to this but two were correct and I had one I did ... and if that she's talking about how she and Bill Clinton weren't dead broke when they left the lighthouse referring to the multiple houses they Alan ... Alyson from the struggle with its twelve issue you a lot in twenty twelve over and over again is if they keep coming up for Hillary ... well the ... word in YouTube for one ... it's not the bought back in her ... here's what she said ... during these interminable energies will stretch on for weeks ... I'm sure it's in a contractor its hostile two contracts she got to help the publisher or cover ... a twenty million she was named the was an advance in a million that's a lot of books to sell ... the entire ... doing all these interviews and cheese under the terms and cars balls ... the idea that the Clintons with that drop is just ludicrous most Americans went to him ... or at least one or two the Nasdaq broke as they were ... I then you are headed ... but be using this is that it's dark and Euro twenty sixteen presidential campaign what inherited you wanna and is up to her ... I was in grade Secretary of State to a ... serious person ... these were great crises ... remember Richard Nixon ... after he lost the first time ... the present ... world tenable six currencies ... and when did that book and forget it made him ... and helped him on the road to recovery may be and that serious ... international analysts ... that Americans down the median in nineteen sixty eight I'm sure Hillary Clinton hopes the same thing happens for ... the person sharing a lot more about that of course about how she handled and got the Larry thinks they much for joining us ... it's all


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Vatican City, Apr 16, 2013 / 01:28 pm ().- Although some have worried Pope Francis' creation of a group of cardinals to advise him means he is giving up some of his papal authority, an expert in Church law says a better description of the move is choosing the members of a cabinet.
Paolo Gherri, who teaches the Theology of Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University, told CNA in an April 16 interview that he believes Pope Francis "has in some ways chosen the ministers of his administration."
"The eight cardinals are intended to decide the institutional-political line," he asserted.
"After that, there will be probably a number of experts to determine the way this line can be put into effect."
Gherri bases his analysis on a series of observations.
First of all, the choice of the commission is significant as far as Church policy is concerned.
All eight of the cardinals who were selected are residential archbishops, meaning that none of them work in the Roman Curia, the Vatican-based administration that assists the Pope in carrying out his ministry.
Also noteworthy is that only one of them is Italian – Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello – the head of the Vatican City State's administration, and none of them is a canon law expert, which seems like a necessary skill for developing a reform plan.
It is also evident that "Pope Francis chose people with his same kind of approach," Gherri said.
Their appointment is an "institutionalization" of a working group of like-minded prelates, he explained, adding that the move communicates "there is a sort of think tank working on new guidelines of ecclesiastical policy."
But when it comes to how the reform will be carried out, no one is really sure what that will look like.
The debate on how to solve the Curia's problems is split between those who maintain that the effort of the Holy See as an international body must not be underestimated, and those who underline that diplomacy is secondary and not part of announcing the Gospel.
The collaborator of a cardinal who took part in the conclave revealed in an April 15 conversation with CNA that "the pre-conclave meetings also dealt with the role and function of the Secretariat of State."
According to the same source, some cardinals pushed for "a new organization to govern the Church."
They proposed creating two papal secretaries: one that would handle the administration of the Church and one that would manage international relations and in some ways be detached from the central government of the Church.
Currently, the State Secretariat is divided into two sections: the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, known as the First Section and Second Section, respectively.
Ways to improve the Curia's efficiency were also suggested during the pre-conclave meetings.
Several sources agree that Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, put forth a proposal to create a moderator of the Curia (moderator curiae), a prelate who would identify inefficiencies within the Curia and work for a solution.
The idea was widely appreciated by the cardinals since many of them have experienced how slowly Rome responds to their requests and how the Curia's bureaucracy can stall procedures for months.
But Gherri cautioned that it is "not time to outline how the eight cardinals on the advisory board will act" to reform the Curia, and what their meeting will be about.
The Pope "can bring into effect the Curia reform through an infinite range of jurisdictional choices," Gherri explained.
"He could write a four-line motu proprio letter abolishing the current form of the Roman Curia or he could issue a more structured apostolic pastoral constitution that "rearranges the whole 'geography' of the offices."
The eight cardinals will have their first meeting with Pope Francis on October 1.
In the meantime, the Vatican's April 13 official communiqué on the group underlined that the Pope is keeping in touch with them.
Tags: Vatican, Pope Francis, Curia Reform
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Diagnostic angiography is used to investigate abnormalities of the blood vessels by allowing for the visualization of the vascular system from any angle and virtual navigation within the blood vessels.
Angiography provides for safer and more in-depth anatomical detail for interventions and surgery. It is the most accurate method to identify and define aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, carotid stenosis and many other disease processes of vessels supplying the central nervous system.
Adventist Hinsdale Hospital's angiographic unit is a GE Advantx LCN bi-plane imaging system using the most advanced technology to date for the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease.
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bmix40 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 74 diseños de 28 diseñadores freelance.
Real Estate Solutions & Management Group, Inc. is a company that provides solutions for people going through foreclosure and/or other hardships. We also buy and sell single family homes to flip to other investors.
Desired Color Scheme:
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I am looking for a clean, professional & unique logo that I can use not only on my business cards, but my stationary as well. You don't need to be too fancy, but I would like to have a punch to it. You can have the company name incorporated into the logo if you'd like. I do realize that the name is long, but see what you can do it. You can even have "Real Estate Solutions†in bigger letters and "& Management Group, Inc.†in smaller letters if you'd like, but it doesn't have to.  I don't have any colors to really suggest, but if you can, try to get some blues and greens in there, but not too many colors. I don't want it to be "noisy". Be creative, have fun and good luck!!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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CRESTVIEW � North Okaloosa residents are remembering a lifelong Holt resident who served as a Crestview barber for nearly 60 years.
CRESTVIEW � North Okaloosa residents are remembering a lifelong Holt resident who served as a Crestview barber for nearly 60 years.
Leon Johns, of Leon's Barber Shop, died at age 86 on Saturday. His funeral was yesterday at Holt Assembly of God Church.
"One thing I could say about Johns was that he knew how to cut a good head of hair," LaRue McKinney, of Crestview, said. He attended the Holt church where Johns was a long-time member. "He was always a kind-hearted and nice man."
Johns served on the church board for eight years and, with his wife, Mildred, coordinated a ministry for senior citizens, friends said.
"Having been in business for as long as he has, my father knew a lot of people," Allen Houx, his son, said. "He is definitely going to be missed."
Johns was born in Holt in 1926. He spent four years as a firefighter in the U.S. Army, and served in Europe during World War II.
"My mother told me that he is one of the men responsible for bringing the water system to Holt," Houx said, adding his father spent 15 years on the Holt water system board of directors.
"He was always busy and a hard worker," Houx said.
In his spare time, Johns enjoyed deer hunting and fishing.
Johns leaves behind Mildred, his spouse of more than 50 years, and their four children.
"Off and on, the family has been in the hair-cutting business," Houx said. Although Houx � and his sister, Jami � didn't take to his father's profession, his two sisters did.
"Both Linda (Clayton) and Nina (Roberts) have worked in the hair-cutting business," he said.
Mildred operated beauty shops for several years in Crestview and Holt.
Leon's Barber Shop will continue serving customers, family members said.
"We plan to keep the business going," Houx said. The shop employs four licensed barbers, including Johns' grandson, Andrew Scoles. He works with Johns' longtime friend and colleague, Wayne Melvin.
"We worked together for nearly 16 years," Melvin said, adding that he will remember Johns' giving spirit.
"If there was anything you ever needed, he would always be there," he said. "He was just a good friendly neighbor."
Melvin remembers Johns' inevitable response to those who asked when he would retire.
"He would always tell them he would retire when the good Lord is ready to take him," Melvin said.
Johns was forced to retire in 2010 due to declining health.
Brackney Funeral Home, which is handling arrangements, is accepting flower donations and contributions for Emerald Coast Hospice.
Those who want to share memories of Johns and offer condolences can visit http://bit.ly/WEZMxR.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.


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Ring in the new year with your favorite brew. Cheers to 2018 and all the great beer adventures it will bring! What're you looking forward to trying most?
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i'd pick Sarfraz
as they say, Batsmen save u matches...bowlers win u em :P
Warney is an interesting one... averaging 49 with the bat it would be fitting i spose
Sarfraz - 26 wickets at 17.03
Ponting - 576 runs at 82.28
Warne - 23 wickets at 29.95 and 196 runs at 49
Hussey - not sure on stats sorry, help
i'd pick Sarfraz
as they say, Batsmen save u matches...bowlers win u em :P
Warney is an interesting one... averaging 49 with the bat it would be fitting i spose
The pitches have been largely benign, and therefore he falls in ahead of Ponting who has been imperious (especially when the Series was still alive) and totally driven.
- Winner of the 2011 and 2012 CricketWeb AFL tipping competition
- Winner of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 CricketWeb NRL tipping competition
Do the coaches of each team still pick 1 man from each side to have 2 men of the series? or will it be just 1 man picked via a commitee or something?
Australia: Clarke
England: Pietersen
Obviously Clarke to be MOS if only 1 is picked.
Clark has not bowled badly in the entire series. No-one has ever done that before in a 5 Test series.
Sho-in for mine.
Last edited by Nate; 04-01-2007 at 08:55 AM.
Jesus brings life eternal
Undoubtedly Stuart Clark.
Clark > McGrath. Discuss.
Sreesanth said, "Next ball he was beaten and I said, 'is this the King Charles Lara? Who is this impostor, moving around nervously? I should have kept my mouth shut for the next ball - mind you, it was a length ball - Lara just pulled it over the church beyond the boundary! He is a true legend."
Monty has the best average of any bowler for England. Shows how badly our Pacers have been!
Ponting and Clark are very close with Ponting perhaps shading it for mine, though it does depend a little bit on what happens tomorrow. There's still a chance for either one of them to put in a good performance.
Anyway, as I said in the 5th test thread the other day, Clark has been absolutely remarkable and has bowled well in every match, but generally the match defining spells have come from other bowlers. Clark's been a rock and taken plenty of key wickets, but it was Warne who turned the game in Adelaide and Melbourne and McGrath in Brisbane. Clark's not really dominated with the ball at any point to quite the extent that Ponting did with the bat across the first two tests. Obviously though, Clark has been good in every match while Ponting did nothing of note in Melbourne in his one chance.
If Australia are set a decent chase of 100+ tomorrow, I have a feeling that Ponting might take control and take Australia to the win, which will probably seal the MoTS award for him. If Clark grabs a few tomorrow and it ends quickly he might take it though. It's that close.
It's cold on the outside they say
But the cold leaves you clear while the heat leaves a haze
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Justin Timberlake is a stand-up guy.
During his Sunday, Dec. 15, concert at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, the 32-year-old "Suit &Tie" singer arranged to allow one male fan on stage so he could propose to his girlfriend in front of the entire packed house.
In a video of the proposal, Timberlake walks to the side of the stage in between songs and asks for the fan's name. "Josh," he says, before introducing his girlfriend as Kim.
U.S. & World
"Josh and Kim, why don't you make your way up here," Jessica Biel's other half says into the microphone, adding to the audience, "This is Josh and Kim."
He continues, "Josh called me earlier. He's got something he wants to tell you."
PHOTOS: Singers performing live on stage
The stadium then erupts into cheers before Josh gets down on one knee and pop the question to his lady. The lovebirds then share a passionate kiss while a smiley Timberlake claps for them from the side of the stage.
Too cute.
Timberlake tweeted a link to the proposal video, writing, "And then this happened in Louisville..."
Watch the sweet video for yourself!


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Brittney Griner game for NBA and taste of own medicine
- If Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban drafts Griner%2C as he suggested last week%2C Griner says she is game
- Though Griner said she would accept an offer to try out for the Mavs%2C the WNBA is her priority
- Her presence at the Final Four is bittersweet after Baylor bowed out of the NCAA tournament
NEW ORLEANS — Baylor's Brittney Griner doesn't back down from a challenge, even if it's the NBA. If Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban drafts Griner, as he suggested last week, Griner says she is game.
But what would it be like to post up a monstrous player like Dwight Howard?
"Woooh, I would finally see what it was like for everyone else going against me," she said with a smile. "I would finally get a taste of my own medicine. I'm not going to change my shot, though. If you block it, hey whatever. "
PREVIOUSLY:Spark of Griner in NBA sparks debate
RELATED:UConn coach doesn't buy Mark Cuban's NBA offer
Though Griner said she would accept an offer to try out for the Mavs, the WNBA is her priority. She's expected to be drafted No. 1 by the Phoenix Mercury on April 15 and is already being branded as the new face of the WNBA.
"The WNBA is where I'm at, that's where I'm going," she said Saturday at the Final Four after being selected a WBCA All-American. "If I get a (NBA) shot, why not? Why couldn't something like that ever be? Even if you don't make it, at least you tried, at least somebody pushed the envelope."
Would the physical play of the NBA, and the size and strength difference, be too much for the 6-8 Griner, who's as skinny as free throw line?
"I would think it would be a little bit of a stretch for (her) to go out and play in the NBA," said Louisville coach Jeff Walz, whose team derailed Baylor's shot at a second consecutive title. "I'm not sure how she would fare against Dwight Howard. … I would hope that she'd just stay with the WNBA because she's got the opportunity to make a huge impact and continue to improve what we already have."
Griner said she can handle it. "Hey, going up against, great athletes, strong and bigger than me, I would have to man-up and just take it," she said. "I don't really shy down from a challenge, never will, so I'll definitely take it.
"If I get an elbow to the chest from one of those big guys, at least I can say I was there, I tried it."
Her presence at the Final Four is bittersweet. She's in town to take home a slew of individual honors, but it's hard not to dwell on the could have beens, should have beens.
When she walked on the court to accept her WBCA award, the pain hit home. "I looked up at banners, saw Tennessee, Tennessee and UConn up twice and Texas A&M and then I saw that one Baylor," she said. "We should have another one up there."


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Our Big, Fat Defense Budget
I suppose I should be happy to live in a country that can afford to spend nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars a year on defense even though we are relatively safe, historically speaking. But the defense spending that the President proposed to Congress Monday is so excessive that I can only manage outrage. Everyone complains about earmarks, but they cost $17 billion across the government last year. That's just two months in Iraq; pocket change in the Pentagon.
Hawks, like Admiral Mike Mullen, the new Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, argue that, hey, it is only 4 percent of GDP. After all, they say, we used to spend far more of our wealth on the military, especially during wars – 35 percent of GDP in World War II and 9 percent in Korea.
That argument, popular as it is, baffles me. The US is about six and half times as rich it was in 1950, adjusting for inflation. Economic growth means that devoting a pegged portion of GDP to the Pentagon is to annually increase defense spending, whatever happens with foreign threats. That's a silly way to spend tax dollars, to put it mildly. The sensible way to provide defense is look at your enemies' capabilities and likely scenarios for defeating them and back spending out from that – whether that amounts to one percent of GDP or 30.
And it is not just the waste that offends. According to Steve Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the budget will leave the Pentagon short – by $10 to 20 billion a year – of the cash it needs to meet its own requirements. That's because the budget avoids choice, the essence of strategy. As Fred Kaplan noted the other day, instead of selecting a method of providing defense that would create winners and losers among military services and their platform communities, the non‐war budget basically gives the services what they want under a topline. It also gives each service roughly the same relative share of the total as they received in each year since the Kennedy administration, with only a slight uptick this year for the ground forces. That tells you a great deal about George Bush's claim to have transformed the military.
The worst thing about the budget is that it is bipartisan. No one influential complains. Congressional Republicans on the defense committees are either for it or want more. Democrats knock the Iraq funds, but accept the other $560 billion. History says that the defense budget – at least the non‐war portion – that emerges as law next fall will deviate only slightly from what the President submitted.
Why is no one opposed? For one (and I could go on), both parties embrace brands of militaristic hegemony – the idea that that we are better off with massive military predominance over all other powers and that there is a military solution to most foreign policy concerns. Want a liberal world? Buy enough carriers and F‑22s so that we can dominate it. China's growing? Arm so heavily that they cannot compete. Pakistan troubles you? Draw up an invasion plan. Africa is disorderly? Create Africa Command.
But really you can't blame politicians, who have to get elected. You have to blame the intellectuals who shape public opinion. Blame my field, political science, which has largely decided to avoid studying such unsophisticated questions as the requirements of our defense (and hiring those who do), leaving security debates short of truly independent experts. Blame the beltway pundits who avoid challenging the post September 11 explosion of militarism or lead the parade.
The good news is that bad things, the Iraq war and the growth of entitlements' cost, are waking people up to the idea that maybe this isn't the best use of tax dollars. DoD plans and insiders say FY 2009 will be a peak year for defense spending, and that we are about to hit a downward trend. Here's hoping.


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Posts tagged "comic-con"
Dethklok and Girl Talk @ San Diego Comic-Con
Dethklok's entrance at San Diego Comic-Con.
Dethklok and Girl Talk @ San Diego Comic-Con Adult Swim International Friday Night After-Party
July 13th, 2012
San Diego Comic-Con International is the holy destination for all nerd pilgrimages. It sells out admission (this year in just ninety minutes) to the San Diego Convention Center, as well as all the adjacent hotels, and packs downtown San Diego with over one-hundred thirty thousand attendees for an extended weekend. In addition to a merchant room the size of an enlarged football field, as well as an extravagant list of panels - this year including a reunion of cult-favorite sci-fi western, Firefly, sneak peaks of upcoming blockbusters The Hobbit and Iron Man 3, talks by Kevin Smith and Stan Lee, and much more - the convention is well known to host an immense amount of private parties at various venues across the San Diego area. Most of these of course, are invite-only, and thus, require one to have "ins" with the industry. However, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, a series of shows targeted to, well, an adult audience, has hosted a party for fans now two years in a row.
A couple weeks before the convention, Adult Swim announced free registration to their San Diego Comic-Con 2012 party on the decommissioned aircraft carrier, the USS Midway, on Friday, July 13. The event headlined the real-life band, Dethklok (with front-man Brendon Small playing guitar and vocals , Testament drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarist Mike Keneally, who is widely known for playing with Frank Zappa, and bassist Bryan Beller, who plays with The Aristocrats), who's fictitious counterpart is the subject of Brendon Small's hit animated series Metalocalypse. If you at this point are unfamiliar with Metalocalypse, I must direct you to the search engine of your choice, or better yet, to any DVD store - because this show is quite clever - and also the rest of this might not make much sense (though you can skip down a little bit and catch a more-familiar secret guest).
Wristband sign-up ended within hours; yet Adult Swim warned that despite sign-up guests still might not be able to get a wristband. A couple days before the event, Adult Swim sent out an e-mail about wristband pickup, there were to be two places the day of the event - one within the convention and another out front of the USS Midway - both on at nine in the morning – and both had long lines (one person told me they waited from five in the morning). Otherwise, the only chance to attend was to win wristbands at the Adult Swim's Comic-Con booth via their cat grab - yes, their cat grab (no, not real cats - think those booths with airflow and grab all the cash type things).
The event opened at seven in the evening, but some fans were lining up a few hours ahead of time (not abnormal for anything Comic-Con related). Adult Swim staff were all dressed up as Klokateers, who in-show act as everything from roadies to body guards, handing out temporary Metalocalypse tattoos, a hilarious bridge between fact and fiction in the Dethklok mythos. The first four-hundred in line were lucky enough to receive two complimentary drink tickets (boo-yah for me and my crew, by the way). As the doors open, fans were led up the ladders to the deck of the USS Midway, where they were greeted with two generously sized bars, various information sessions about the retired aircraft aboard, a lovely view of the harbor and the skyline, and a photo booth where one could step in front of a green screen, get weird, and have it set to one of two animation cells from the show.
Around eight PM, however - ominous music begins to be played throughout the deck, and soon the sound of a helicopter. That's right. A helicopter. Dethklok, who on the show is known to be the world's seventh largest economy by the end of the second season, arrives for a set on a United States aircraft carrier in a bloody helicopter. Fans, of course went nuts as they stepped out, and were escorted inside. Within minutes, the audience was allowed to follow. The steps led into a vast room within the aircraft carrier (where I later found out the Battleship was filmed). Adult Swim's name and logo was emulating on the sides of aircraft in the hanger, Klokateers ran rampant, and an impressive stage was set up complete with a fog machine. An announcer came on, and invited the attendees to stick around after Dethklok's set, for special guest Girl Talk. Though given the event was packed with metalheads, only about half the crowd peaked interest and cheered like fire.
Just a while passed before Dethklok came on stage, and played an ever-impressive set. They shredded through the majority of their studio tracks, and interlaced it with exclusive animated cuts featuring characters of the television show bridging tracks and stories together (my favorite being Rockso, the rock 'n' roll cocaine addicted clown, leading the crowd in a bunch of obscenities - which inevitably ended with him asking for money and animated front-man, Nathan Explosion threatening him away). The sound within the airship carrier was crystal, and the band members hit most every note spot on. Anyone who does not know Dethklok and Metalocalypse might question their legitimacy as a band, but rest assured - with a lineup as impressive of theirs, they literally rocked the boat (corny but true - I mean, Gene Hoglan for example is referred to as "The Human Drum Machine"). Following about an hour and fifteen minute long-set, they walked off-stage, and an animation showed the in-show Dethklok talking about how stupid and pointless encores are, yet sure enough they came back out - and the crowd went wicked.
At the end of the encore, a fan I had befriended earlier in the evening, turned to me with beads of sweat hanging from her headbanged hair, looks me blank in the eyes, "The only way I could be happier is if we all died a brutal death during their set." She is not the only one who felt such, as any fan of the show knows - Dethklok's concerts always end (and often begin) with the deaths of countless fans in quite brutal ways, and given the venue we were at - no place could be more fitting.
A short intermission goes underway, and fans go for drinks and smokes and the toilet, and of course to mingle about. Though the event was one of the few Comic-Con after parties that was open to the public, various industry folk were strutting about, such as the cast of Workaholics, much of Adult Swim, a few voice actors, and game designers for League of Legends and the upcoming South Park video game, to name a few.
This clearly was Dethklok's night, as it was their first show of the year, and a preview of their upcoming late-summer tour (which has a stop in Somerset, WI on August 17 and 18 for Knotfest). Given the audience and genre gap between acts, many filed out prior to Girl Talk's set. But, oh, what a shame.
Girl Talk, known for his extensive mashups and digital sampling, turned a metal show quickly into the most sought out dance party of the evening. After inviting fans to dance on stage, and pumping out tunes, the lights went wild, fog filled the air, balloons filled with helium shot up, and hundreds of rolls of toilet paper were launched from guns. His set was truly rave-worthy, and lasting nearly two hours was a great way to end one of the most brutal nights Comic-Con has ever seen.
Written by Morgan Luther, Radio K volunteer