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Tales of Truth: Don Cherry, Violence and the Modern Fan
Patrick Johnston
October 10 2011 09:58PM
Kids imitate what they see. Jon Roy's dad did this too.
Photo: Roger Gagnon/West Island Gazette
'Tales of Truth' is a new weekly column written by Patrick Johnston. The column will focus each week on a narrative which has cropped up. Patrick will go at the narrative from all angles, with the hope that the truth will be exposed...
So Don Cherry thinks we are all wimps, eh? He says that if we don't like fighting, or borderline checks or other acts of reckless violence, we should just suck it up.
You know what, Don? You should suck it up. To clean up the game means accepting a few things - that there are going to be some brutish suspensions to begin with. There are going to be players and managers who are unhappy. Some 'good guys' are going to be out of the game. Instilling responsibility in players for their hits, just as we try to do for their sticks, is appropriate and the game will be better for it.
We have all been told the expression 'life isn't always fair' at some time in our lives. This is one of those times. Jody Shelley has been playing the game one way for a long time; now he's being told,'no more'. He has plenty of reason to say 'That's not fair! The yardsticks shouldn't be moved on me! I can't play that way!' Sorry Jody, but that's tough. Your style of play isn't wanted any more. Change in life, as much as we don't want it to be so, is constant. Making the game safe and more enjoyable (to both play and watch) requires constant vigilance.
This is the third time I've tried to write this piece. Initially I sat down and wrote about the state of hockey, worrying about where the game was going after the Bruins' victory in the Stanley Cup. The style of play which permeated the 2011 playoffs was deeply troubling. I wanted to be sure to not come across as being a whining fan, so I decided to wait a few days. When I looked to finish it, I was still feeling too numb from the loss, the riot, the awfulness of the reality I was facing. I set this piece aside for a while.
The second attempt came after all the rig-a-marole of the aftermath of Wade Belak's death. Concern over the effects of hockey's violent side was at the forefront of many commentators' thoughts; I thought, perhaps now I can tie things together. A meaningful discussion about the place of 'the rough stuff' seemed to be going on, but even at that moment, I was hesistant. Now it was not me who was feeling raw, it was the body public. For this to be properly explained, I decided to wait for the coming of the new season.
Brendan Shanahan's efforts to curtail awful acts from the game is remarkable. He has stood up, clearly with some sort of mandate, and said 'enough'. The reaction from his exalted position has surprised me. This is a league which finally revealed its obsession with violence during the 2011 playoffs. It was regularly noted that the referees were not calling things as tight as they had during the season - any fan could tell you that the contrasting styles of the Canucks and the Bruins exposed the truth to the argument.
Where does the game go? One path follows Brendan Shanahan holding the league to a higher standard, one which values skill and clean hitting above all else. The other carries on with where things were last spring, with stars fighting to do what they do, and agitators, pests and thugs given free reign to practise their dark arts in plain view.
Fifteen or so years ago, rugby was facing a similar problem. The game had just turned professional. The new money men in the game wanted to sell their game to new fans. A concerted effort emerged to re-think how the game was to be played. Incentives were created to promote attacking, try-scoring play. Alongside, a new code of discipline was established which dealt harshly with foul play. What was once a game which regularly had punch-ups during the run of play quite quickly eliminated such activity . The players who had been picked mostly for their thuggery simply disappeared in just a few years. Anyone who has been watching the current Rugby World Cup will agree that this is still a brutally tough game. The loss of pugilism hasn't harmed the game one bit. Rugby is still an immensely physical game, full of hard hits, with players who push the limits, with a swagger that wasn't lost even though the pugilists were told to adapt or else.
For the entire 2010-11 season, Canucks fans had been blessed to watch a team which came out to win by being more relentlessly skilled than their opponents. They had grit as well and they didn't back down when challenged, but when winning the game was on the line, the Canucks would simply press on in the face of agitation, believing it was better to win big on the scoreboard than let things stay close while leaving blood on the ice. Turning the other cheek was the preferred attitude because it garned power plays and the Canucks much preferred to punish the other team with goals than with fists.
Cue the playoffs. No longer were the Canucks being faced by far weaker opposition, desperate to keep things close through rough-and-tumble tactics. Playoff teams are there for a reason- they can play the game. Nonetheless, teams facing a team which has depth of skill as a strength have to play a game of risk-reduction: make it hard for the more skilled team to get to the scoring areas. The Predators were the most glaring example of this. Not having a great deal of scoring strength but possessing a good amount of actual hockey sense, plus a superb goalie, the Predators worked very, very to make things difficult for the Canucks' scorers. If that meant extra hacks on the legs or lumber in the back or the odd shot to the gut, then so be it. All players try to get away with niggling harassment, but it was because this was all the Predators seemed to have that it was more noticed.
There's no denying that the Canucks themselves weren't guilty of this behaviour. Raffi Torres, Max Lapierre, Ryan Kesler and the like are no saints. They push the limits as much as anyone. The Preds' tactics were noted, in their case because it seemed this was all they had, but so were the Canucks', though for different reasons. The spotlight was always shining brightly on Alain Vigneault's men and so when a highly skilled player did something nasty, we noticed it too.
Going into the final, it was well noted that this was to be a clash of contrasting styles. The Canucks, with their relentless swagger (which, to that point was their right) were terribly unliked but could score by the bucketful. The Bruins were somehow viewed as less villainous, and it was pretty clear that this was a very good hockey team playing in front of a goaltender playing at his greatest. Most figured that, despite the hustle and bustle of the Bruins, the Canucks' already-noted depth of skill would prevail.
As we know, it was not to be. Instead the Canucks couldn't score on the power play, making their desire to turn the other cheek seem pointless, Tim Thomas had a series for the ages, Roberto Luongo was alternately brilliant and awful and the Bruins relentless abuse of the Canucks' stars was challenged but lightly by the officials. Brad Marchand's unpenalized speed-bagging of Daniel Sedin is well documented and perhaps best exemplifies the way the rulebook was thrown out the window, but this is not the point today.
More basically, this was a series where the NHL's valuing of its violence was vividly exposed. Who cares that one team was capable of scoring beautiful goals? The game being played in the mud, being soiled to the lowest common denominator, being a game where ruffians have their way, where rules are merely a suggestion, to be mentioned on occasion, that was what was wanted. Raffi Torres can run about, knocking the lights out of a player? That's great! The fans want to see blood sport, just give it to 'em.
The NHL had become UFC on ice. There is a blood thirst which is evident in the attitudes of every UFC fan I've ever met. I don't watch the UFC, but I understand its appeal. It's a car crash, but with some structure. There are tactics, it's more than a street brawl but in the end, the fans want to see the loser beaten to a pulp. The NHL spent the playoffs indulging in this reality. The Stanley Cup final was just the end of a long trail pursued by the league's officials. Player safety and the beautiful aspects of the game were secondary. Blood, guts, fighting and the like, these are what the league valued.
How else can we explain why Mason Raymond broke his back? I don't fault Johnny Boychuk in the hit, he was simply doing what he's always been trained to do - take the other guy out. In fact, if the other guy is vulnerable, all the better, you won't have to deal with him again for a while. But step back and ask the question: how was that hit even necessary? The puck was long gone. Raymond was way off balance. The answer is simple: Boychuk was finishing his check. He's never been told to do anything else. Finish your check. That's it.
The NHL clearly recognized that its marketing appeal could lie in the same place as that which the UFC was capitalizing upon. Blood lust is in their interest. Forget the stars, line things up as close to the LNAH as possible.
Speculate for a moment - if Boychuk doesn't finish his check, what's the difference? Not much. Raymond isn't in a position to do anything. He's already off balance, and likely doesn't even know where the puck is. Boychuk had already done his job, he'd taken the space away, like a good defender should. But, of course,he's been trained. Player's vulnerable. Gotta finish your check.
What's the alternative? Responsibilty. Instead of training our players to be reckless, constantly pursuing violence, let's teach them to be responsible. Find the check that will be far more effective in stopping the player. Be more aware of where you are on the ice. It's long been argued that as players have moved to better head and eye protection, a converse effect has been a reduction in awareness of one's stick. It's a constant refrain: gotta be more careful with you stick. Know where your stick is. Keep you stick down. Why can't it be the same for hitting players?
Brendan Shanahan is apparently trying to introduce this into the league. If you are going to hit someone, you'd better be ready to accept responsibility for that hit. Hitting is fine, but you can't do it willy-nilly. Raffi Torres and Johnny Boychuk must learn 'why' they are hitting. Hitting is absolutely about knocking the other guy down, but if there's anything that can be done to control the consequences of hits, then it should be done.
The belief among many of the old school is that the current drive against borderline hits will end up hurting the game, that somehow hitting will disappear. This notion doesn't stand up to logic. Players are not being asked to stop hitting. They are being told to stop hitting dangerously. They are being told to hit smarter. You want to crush a guy? You are going to have to work for it.
The rugby analogy works here as well. Up until about five years ago, it was perfectly acceptable to tackle a player in such a way that he would be dropped upside down. After a couple rather serious injuries occured, the rules were revised to say that if a player is lifted off the ground in a tackle, it was the tackler's responsibility to return that player safely to the ground. There are still plenty of huge tackles in every game; players have become better tacklers because of this limitation. It's ludicrous to believe that NHL hockey players are incapable of such a alteration in behaviour.
When I saw Jody Shelley hit Darrly Boyce, I had the same feeling of dread as when Boychuk hit Raymond. One was far more violent than the other, but both players were in absurdly vulnerable positions. Both players doing the hitting were only doing what they'd always been told to do, but 'finish your check' as a simple instruction just won't do anymore. This game is about skill and speed and agression, but we can no longer accept that these can tolerate reckless behaviour.
The other thing which baffles me about Cherry defending Shelley's recklessness? He's long been an advocate for players hitting safely. Pretty sure anti-checking from behind Don wouldn't be a fan of the reckless abandon with which Shelley finished that check. Don, who's the hypocrite now?
It was Johnny Boychuk, not McQuaid.
I'm not a Canucks fan... but I love this piece. Well done!!!
October 11 2011, 09:29AM
I'd say you've also mischaracterized about 2% of UFC fans (I'm one of 'em) but this is a pretty good take. Well done. Let's leave the stone age in the stone age.
I'm a Canucks fan, and I tend to agree with your overall thesis, but I feel your Finals review comes off a bit as whining. The Bruins did goon it up more, but the Canucks were not innocent. I think the biggest factor in the Canucks' demise was injuries, and that Thomas was better. My personal issue was with the way the entire series was framed by the media broadly as "old time hockey heros vs whining divers." Having to watch here in the US, with the atrocious NBC coverage with the disgraceful likes of Milbury, where the bias was so obvious they didn't even try to cover it up, was unbearable.
In any case I don't agree that the final was an example of the "NHL valuing violence." If there was any ulterior motive it was that the NHL simply wanted the Bruins to win. Eastern team, American team, original 6 -- better for marketing, better for sales, quite simply better for the NHL establishment. That said, I do not believe the fix was in; but I do believe it factored a bit in the whistles being put away and the Bruins being more allowed to play their game than the Canucks. Still, congratulations to the Bruins and their fans.
Im not entirely sure I want fighting out of the game, even though it would certainly help the Canucks these days...
first, the canucks could not score in the bucket full in the postseason, save for the SJ/WCF series where they actually outscored them by a fair margin, they failed very hard to put up many goals in the 1st and 2nd rounds.
can't believe you would only point out torres and boychuk and not edler and rome or any remaining canuck player for reckless hits. edler having an insanely dirty boarding hit during the SCF.
and marchand was penalized for speed bagging daniel and you guys were given a PP from that scrum...
i know you probably don't watch much playoff hockey because the canucks never play too many but the playoffs have always been less penalized then the regular season, nothing changed last year. and i don't see the NHL rewarding a team like boston for being rough and tumble, the canucks had a lot of chances on their many power plays they were given during the series because of boston's style but failed to do so.
and i'm also a MMA fan and i don't care if the loser gets pummeled into pulp. very ridiculous and whinny article.
"and marchand was penalized for speed bagging daniel and you guys were given a PP from that scrum..."
Daniel got a 2 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on that play.
In the end, Vancouver lost the series because the injuries caught up to them. No Hamhuis and then Bieksa suffered an injury during the final series. Both Ehrhoff and Edler were injured but played. You could see Ehrhoff had no upper body strength in that shorthanded goal in game 7. Those were the top 4 on the blueline, by the way. For the forwards, Kesler was hurt and is still out, Raymond was worse, and Samsuelsson never played a game against Boston. The three formed the 2nd line last season. The playmaker twin also had an injury making him less effective. The best checker in the league played after missing months from an eye injury. Higgins played through a bad (if not broken) ankle.
daniel got the game misconduct and canucks were on the PP after, thanks for coming out.
all i heard is blah blah blah excuses
just so you "the league hates the canucks" "fans" here's the timeline of the penality on brad marchand.
18:29 BOS Brad Marchand served by David Krejci : Roughing - 2 min
18:29 BOS Brad Marchand : Misconduct (10 min) - 0 min
18:29 BOS Shawn Thornton : Misconduct (10 min) - 0 min
18:29 VAN Daniel Sedin : Misconduct (10 min) - 0 min
18:29 VAN Maxim Lapierre : Misconduct (10 min) - 0 min
the "unpenalized" speed bagging of daniel was actually penalized.


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A series of acnes spread around the lips and lower region of the face.
I was about to go in for the kill, but then i saw these two HUGE tkrebs, not cute.
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subset: commoncrawl


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An Alliance for Health Reform Toolkit -
This toolkit was compiled and written by Laura Covington.
Click here to return to the Table of Contents
Click here to view a version of this toolkit suitable for viewing on a hand-held device.
Place your cursor over underlined terms to see definitions. You can also click on underlined terms to see definitions in the glossary at the end.
Key Facts
The U.S. spent more than $2 trillion dollars on health care,11 or $7,026 per capita, in 2006.12 This is about twice as much per capita as countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.13
In 1960, U.S. health spending accounted for just 5.2 percent of the gross domestic product; today it accounts for 16 percent of GDP.14 The annual rate of increase in health care spending has remained fairly steady since 2003 - between 6.9 and 6.5 percent. 15 However, some experts have cautioned against becoming overly optimistic about this trend. They cite the influence of the economic cycle on health spending, the increasing incidence of obesity and the rapid expansion of provider capacities as three factors which could make spending relief short-lived.16 In addition, spending for health care is still growing at more than double the rate of the overall economy.17
Rising health care costs raise health insurance premiums, which are also growing at a much quicker pace than overall inflation or workers' earnings.18 This in turn puts pressure on employers-who provide most coverage for those under the age 65-to shift costs to employees, reduce the comprehensiveness of their coverage or even drop coverage entirely.19,20 Rising premiums also make it more difficult for those without access to employer sponsored coverage to purchase insurance policies on their own, which contributes to the rise in the number of uninsured.21
Cost increases also put pressure on state and federal governments whose publicly funded health care programs compete for dollars with other important spending priorities.
Rising health costs can strain family-as well as government-budgets. The average family premium for 2007 is $12,106 a year, up from $11,480 the previous year.22,23 The average individual premium is up to $4,479, from $4,242 the previous year.24,25
As insurers start to shift a greater share of health costs to employees, many individuals will be burdened with higher out-of-pocket spending (the amount of health care costs employers and insurers don't pay but individuals pay themselves).
Not all of the increases in health spending are necessarily bad. Some health economists note that as countries become wealthier, they choose to spend more on health care.26 Some analysts, such as David Cutler of Harvard, argue that most of the additional expenditure is a worthy investment which pays dividends in terms of decreased mortality and improved quality of life.27
Also, while health expenditures may be burdensome to some, they provide income to others. Hospitals and health care facilities are the economic engines of many communities. Some of the wages and supplier revenue they generate gets returned to state and federal coffers in the form of corporate and individual taxes. 28
However, health spending has been rising two and half percent a year faster than the gross domestic product over the past four decades.29 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects health spending will rise to nearly 20 percent of the GDP by 2050.30
Advancements in medicine and technology have lengthened the lives of Americans, but they do not come without a cost. New procedures are often expensive and increase health care spending.31 The Congressional Budget Office reported that the bulk of increases in health care spending could be attributed to the development and dissemination of new technologies and medical services. While technological innovation can reduce spending in many fields, the CBO noted, in terms of health care, such advancements also lead to changes in practice, which together tend to increase spending.32 Consumer demand and increased utilization add to costs.
Other contributors to rising health care expenses are increased labor costs, resistance of consumers to managed care restrictions, the aging of the population, unhealthy lifestyles, a growing prevalence of high-cost diseases, lack of information technology, administrative costs and defensive medicine.33,34 Estimates of the impact of each of these factors differ.
Selected ArticlesPlease email firstname.lastname@example.com if you find that any of the links mentioned in this toolkit no longer work.
Causes of Heath Cost Increases
Story Ideas
Selected Experts
Drawn from the Alliance for Health Reform's Find-an-Expert Service for reporters. Descriptions in quotes are written by the experts themselves. Credentialed reporters can see full profiles for these and other experts, including after-hours contact numbers, by going to www.allhealth.org/reporter_enroll.asp
Selected Websites
Glossary on the Uninsured
CAPITATION - Method of payment for health services in which a health care provider is paid a fixed amount for each person on the provider's patient roster, regardless of the actual number or nature of services provided to each person.
CARRIER - An entity which may underwrite or administer a range of health benefit programs. May refer to an insurer or a managed health plan.
CARVE-OUTS - A payer strategy in which an HMO or insurance company isolates ("carves out") a benefit and hires another organization to provide this service. Common carve-outs include behavioral health and prescription drugs. The technique is intended to allow the insurer to better control its costs.
CASE MANAGEMENT - A process where a health plan identifies covered persons with specific health care needs, then devises and carries out for them a plan to achieve the best patient outcome in the most cost-effective manner.
COINSURANCE - A portion of the bill for a medical service, that is not covered by the patient's health insurance policy and therefore must be paid out of pocket by the patient. Coinsurance refers to a percentage, e.g., 10 percent of the total charge up to a specified maximum. Contrast with "copayment."
CONSOLIDATED OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1985 (COBRA) - This law includes one part which entitles former employees of companies with 20 or more workers to continue to receive coverage under the group plan for up to 18 months after leaving, if they pay the full cost of the coverage. For more information, see www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fscobra.html.
CONSUMER-DIRECTED OR CONSUMER-DRIVEN HEALTH PLAN - Includes plans that establish health spending accounts into which employers or individuals contribute pre-tax dollars to be used for health care purchases. These mechanisms aim to change employees from receivers of health care into purchasers by participating more fully in health care and cost decisions. Also see "Health Reimbursement Arrangement" and "Health Savings Account."
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) - A statistical measure of the annual change in cost to workers of purchasing a market basket of goods and services. It is expressed as a percentage of the cost of these goods and services during a base period. CPI is also known as retail price index or cost-of-living index.
COPAYMENT - A flat dollar amount that a patient must pay out of pocket for a medical service, e.g. $5 per office visit.
COST SHARING - Any out-of-pocket payment the patient makes for a portion of the costs of covered services. Deductibles, coinsurance, copayments and balance bills are types of cost sharing.
COST SHIFTING - The practice by which a seller of a health service, such as a hospital, increases charges for some payers to offset losses due to uncompensated or indigent care or lower payments from other payers.
DEDUCTIBLE - A fixed amount, usually expressed in dollars in the form of an annual fee, that the beneficiary of a health insurance plan must pay directly to the health care provider before a health insurance plan begins to pay for any costs associated with the insured medical service.
DEFENSIVE MEDICINE - The practice of health care providers ordering tests that may not be necessary to over-protect themselves from potential malpractice lawsuits. Said to be a major cause of high health care costs.
DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005 (DRA) - The DRA made significant changes to the Medicaid program - for example, allowing states to increase premiums and cost sharing for families and to base benefits on private plans. The law also tightened long-term care asset transfers and capped home equity at $500,000. A DRA provision effective July 1, 2006, requires Medicaid beneficiaries to show proof of citizenship upon applying for or renewing their benefits. For more information, see www.kff.org/medicaid/7465.cfm.
DEFINED BENEFIT - A health insurance model used by an employer or government program where specified health services covered under the plan are standardized and guaranteed. The cost of providing the standard benefits may fluctuate. One example of a defined benefit plan is Medicare. Contrast with "defined contribution."
DEFINED CONTRIBUTION - A health benefit model used by employers or government programs where health services covered may fluctuate based on choice of plan, but the employer or government contributes a set amount (percentage or dollar amount) towards the purchase of the selected health plan. A defined contribution plan limits the financial liability of employers or the government, because the contribution is defined, or fixed. An example of a defined contribution plan is the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Contrast with "defined benefit."
EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT (ERISA) - Enacted in 1974, ERISA was primarily designed to secure workers' pension rights. The law established federal reporting and disclosure requirements for most private employee health plans. Under ERISA, companies that pay for their workers' health benefits directly (e.g. by self-insuring and assuming all or most financial risk) are exempt from state insurance regulations and taxes. ERISA also limits workers' ability to sue their insurer. For more information, see www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/erisa.htm.
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT OR "EMPLOYER MANDATE - A requirement that employers either provide health care benefits to their workers or pay a fee that contributes to the cost of covering their workers under a public (state) plan. Such proposals are also called "pay or play."
EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE - The use of current best clinical evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients, often with the assistance of information technology. Patient preferences are considered along with clinical expertise.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM (FEHBP) - Health care plans offered to federal civilian employees who can annually choose among a number of approved, community-rated private health insurance plans. The federal government pays a major portion of the cost of the coverage (on average 72 percent). For more information, see www.opm.gov/insure/health.
FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES - Income amounts set each February by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services used to determine an individual's or family's eligibility for various public programs, including Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Sometimes called Federal Poverty Level/Line (FPL). (The poverty guidelines are different from the U.S. Census Bureau's "poverty thresholds," which are used for Census statistical purposes.) For the 2007 poverty guidelines, see http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml
FEE-FOR-SERVICE (FFS) - A method of paying health care providers a fee for each medical service rendered, rather than - paying them salaries or capitated payments.
FIRST-DOLLAR COVERAGE - Insurance plans that provide benefits without first requiring payment of a deductible.
FISCAL YEAR (FY) - The 12-month period used for calculating annual fiscal spending, which parallels the federal government's annual budget cycle. The U.S. government fiscal year runs from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the calendar year for which the fiscal year is numbered. States' fiscal years do not always correspond to the federal fiscal year.
FORMULARY - A list of selected pharmaceuticals and their appropriate dosages created by health insurance plans, which are usually intended to include a broad array of prescription drugs that are also cost-effective for patient care. Physicians are often required or urged to prescribe from the formulary developed by the insurance plans, pharmacy benefit managers or health maintenance organizations with which they are affiliated.
GATEKEEPER/CARE MANAGER - A health care professional, usually a primary care physician, who coordinates, manages, and authorizes all health services provided to a person covered by a health plan. Unless an emergency exists, the gatekeeper generally must pre-authorize referrals to specialists, hospitalizations and lab and radiology tests.
GROUP INSURANCE - Health insurance offered through business, union trusts or other groups and associations. The policy holder is generally the employer or other entity. This system of health insurance is the most common in the United States.
GROUP-MODEL HMO - A health maintenance organization (HMO) that contracts with a single multi-specialty medical group to provide care for HMO members. The HMO compensates the group for contracted services at a negotiated rate, and that group is responsible for compensating its physicians and contracting with hospitals for care of their patients. Also see "health maintenance organization," "staff-model HMO" and "network-model HMO.
HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) - A 1996 federal law that provides some protection for employed persons and their families against discrimination in health coverage based on past or present health. Generally, the law guarantees the right to renew health coverage, but does not restrict the premiums that insurers may charge. HIPAA does not replace the states' role as primary regulators of insurance. HIPAA also requires the collection of certain health care information by providers and sets rules designed to protect the privacy of that information. For more information, see www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION (HMO) - A managed care plan that combines the function of insurer and provider to give members comprehensive health care from a network of affiliated providers. Enrollees typically pay limited copayments and are usually required to select a primary care physician through whom all care must be coordinated. HMOs generally will not reimburse all costs for services obtained from a non-network provider or without a primary care physician's referral. HMOs often emphasize prevention and careful assessment of medical necessity. See "group-model HMO," "network-model HMO" and "staff-model HMO."
HEALTH OPPORTUNITY ACCOUNT (HOA) - A type of health savings account for Medicaid beneficiaries created by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. States may deposit annual sums of up to $2,500 per adult and $1,000 per child into the account, to be used to pay for medical expenses not covered by the high deductible health plan with which the account is coupled. Beginning January 1, 2007, as many as 10 states can initiate HOA demonstration projects. Compare to "health reimbursement arrangement."
HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT (HRA) - A type of health insurance plan also known as "health reimbursement account" or "personal care account," HRAs are tax-preferred accounts with funds established by employers to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses; often HRAs are paired with a high-deductible health plan. An HRA may be used by an employee to pay for medical coverage until funds are exhausted. Once the deductible is reached, normal coverage begins. Any unused funds are rolled over at the end of the year, but do not follow the employee once he or she changes jobs. Compare to "health savings account."
HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA) - A type of health insurance plan similar to HRAs (see above), but which is owned by workers. An HSA is a tax-preferred savings account and is paired with a high-deductible health plan. Any employer can offer an HSA (or a self-employed individual can set one up on his or her own), and both employers and employees can contribute to it. The worker must pay for all services until the amount of the deductible is reached (in 2006, a minimum of $1,050 for an individual and $2,100 for family coverage). The worker can withdraw money from the HSA to pay for medical services under the deductible. Once the deductible is reached, normal coverage begins. Any unused funds are rolled over at the end of the year. Unlike HRAs, HSAs follow an employee when he or she changes jobs. Also see "health reimbursement arrangement" and "medical savings account."
INDEMNITY INSURANCE - A health insurance plan that pays providers on a fee-for-service basis for delivering health care. Consumers face very few restrictions on provider selection, but may have greater financial liability in the form of deductibles and coinsurance than in many managed care plans.
LOSS RATIO - The ratio of money paid out by an insurer for claims divided by premiums collected for a particular type of insurance policy. Low loss ratios indicate that a small proportion of premium dollars was paid out for benefits, while a high loss ratio indicates that a high percentage of the premium dollars was paid out.
MANDATE - Used in two senses in health policy discussions. (1) Employer or individual mandate, in which the government imposes a requirement on some or all employers to help pay for insurance coverage for their workers (and perhaps their families), or on individuals to obtain coverage. (2) State mandate, a requirement imposed by states on insurance companies to include, as part of any health insurance policy they sell, coverage for a specific service, such as well baby care, or provider, such as psychologists or optometrists.
MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT (MSA) - A health insurance option consisting of a high-deductible insurance policy coupled with a tax-preferred savings account. MSA policies, enacted in 1996, have been largely replaced by health savings accounts.
MEDICALLY NECESSARY - Description of services or supplies required to preserve and maintain the health status of a patient in accordance with the area standards of medical practice. Whether or not medically necessary services are being denied to patients enrolled in some public and private managed care plans can be an issue of contention. To resolve these issues, many plans have appeals and grievance processes.
MULTIPLE EMPLOYER WELFARE ASSOCIATION (MEWA) - A group of employers who band together for purposes of purchasing group health insurance, often through a self-funded approach MEWAs are sometimes exempt from state benefit mandates, taxes and other regulations.
NETWORK-MODEL HMO - A health maintenance organization (HMO) that contracts with more than one independent physician group to provide health services. The providers may see patients who are not members of the HMO. Also see "health maintenance organization," "group-model HMO" and "staff-model HMO."
OUT-OF-POCKET CAP/MAXIMUM - An annual limit on how much the patient has to pay in deductibles, coinsurance and copayments.
PARTIAL CAPITATION - An insurance arrangement where the payment made to a health plan is a combination of a capitated premium and a payment based on actual use of services. The proportions specified for these components determine the insurance risk faced by the plan. Sometimes called "ambulatory capitation."
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE (P4P) - A method of paying health care providers differing amounts based on their performance on measures of quality and efficiency. Payment incentives can be in the form of bonuses or financial penalties.
PAY OR PLAY - See "employer contribution requirement"
PAYROLL TAX - A flat percentage tax collected on salaries and wages. A payroll tax of 7.65 percent on both employers and employees finances Social Security cash benefits and Medicare Part A hospital services. Of that 7.65 percent, 1.45 percent each, or a total of 2.9 percent of payroll with both employer and employee contributions, is allocated for Medicare.
POINT-OF-SERVICE PLAN (POS) - A managed care plan that combines features of both prepaid and fee-for-service insurance. POS plan enrollees decide whether to use network or non-network providers at the time care is needed, but usually are subject to reduced coverage and larger copayments for using non-network providers.
PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATION (PPO) - A health care delivery system through which a number of providers contract to serve health plan enrollees on a fee-for-service basis at discounted fees. Providers agree to PPO discounts in the hope of gaining more patients. Patients may use any provider without a referral, in network or out, but have a financial incentive - for example, lower coinsurance payments - to use doctors on the preferred list.
PREMIUM - The cost of health plan coverage, not including any required deductibles or copayments.
PREMIUM ASSISTANCE - The use of federal funds available through public health coverage programs - especially Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - to purchase or help purchase private insurance.
PROVIDER - Any health care professional or institution that renders a health service or provides a health care product. Major providers are hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and nurses.
REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT - A way of providing a tax subsidy to an individual or business, even if no taxes are owed. If a person owes no tax, the government sends the person (or a third party) a check for the amount of the refundable tax credit.
REIMPORTATION - The process by which individuals or groups purchase pharmaceuticals from other countries that were originally produced in the U.S. and exported for consumption abroad. Because many other countries have lower drug prices than the U.S., this process can save consumers money on drugs for personal use. Reimportation can occur either by traveling to another country to purchase drugs (e.g., driving to Canada), or by purchasing drugs over the Internet or by mail from foreign pharmacies. Though traditionally not the subject of law enforcement, most reimportation violates U.S. federal drug safety laws.
RELATIVE VALUE SCALE (RVS) - An index that assigns weights to each medical service; the weights represent the relative amount to be paid for each service. To calculate a fee for a particular service, the index for that service is multiplied by a constant dollar amount (known as the conversion factor). Medicare uses an RVS to calculate payments to physicians.
RISK SHARING - A method by which the financial risk of covering a group of enrollees is shared by plan sponsors and purchasers, typically managed care organizations and states. In contrast, indemnity plans assume all risk of providing care paid for through insurance premiums which belong solely to the insurance company.
SELF-EMPLOYED DEDUCTION FOR HEALTH INSURANCE - Self-employed taxpayers and their families can deduct all their payments for health insurance, including insurance premiums, when figuring their annual income for tax purposes, to the extent these payments exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.
SELF-INSURANCE - Large and medium-size companies often assume all or most financial risks of providing health insurance to their workers, as opposed to purchasing insurance coverage from commercial carriers (and having the carrier assume all risk). Claims processing is often handled through an administrative services contract with an independent organization, often an insurance company.
SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH PLAN (SBHP) - Purchasing pools for small employers that have frequently been the subject of congressional proposals, SBHPs would include trade, industry and professional associations as well as "cooperative" corporations or chambers of commerce. Known in other proposals as association health plans, SBHPs have generated controversy because they would be exempt from some state laws regulating health insurance.
SMALL GROUP MARKET REFORM - Generally refers to laws, regulations and proposals that are designed to simplify rules for small employers (50 workers or fewer) purchasing health insurance. While most regulation of health insurance is done at the state level, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act made some key reforms.
STAFF-MODEL HMO - A health maintenance organization (HMO) that delivers health services through salaried physicians who are employed by the HMO exclusively to care for HMO enrollees. Also see "health maintenance organization," "group-model HMO" and "network-model HMO."
STATE MANDATE - State coverage laws requiring private insurers to cover specific services (such as well-baby care) or reimbursement for specific providers (such as psychologists). The Employee Retirement Income Security Act generally exempts self-insured companies from these requirements.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE (SGR) - The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 established the formula for determining annual SGR targets for physicians' services under Medicare. The SGR is intended to control growth in total Medicare expenditures for physician services. If expenditures exceed the SGR target, the fee schedule update is decreased. Four factors are used to calculate the SGR: (1) average percent change in physician fees; (2) change in the average number of fee-for-service beneficiaries; (3) 10-year average annual growth in GDP per capita; and (4) change in expenditures due to new laws or regulations.
TAX CREDIT - A flat amount that can be subtracted from taxes owed. Under some health care reform proposals, tax credits would be given to moderate-income individuals/families to subsidize health insurance premiums. A tax credit is more progressive in its impact than a tax deduction of the same amount, since the value of a deduction is greater for those whose tax rates (and usually incomes) are higher.
TAX DEDUCTION - An amount that can be subtracted from taxable income if spent on a specific purpose. Currently, businesses and the self-employed can deduct the cost of health insurance provided to employees, but health expenses (including insurance) are a deduction for families with group health insurance only after they reach 7.5 percent of income.
TAX PREFERENCE (FOR HEALTH BENEFITS) - Employer-paid health benefits are treated under federal tax law as a deductible business expense for the employer, and excluded from taxable income for the worker. This creates incentives for some employers and workers to prefer extra compensation in the form of more health coverage rather than wages.
TERTIARY CARE - Health care services provided by highly specialized providers such as neurosurgeons, thoracic surgeons, and intensive care units. These services often require highly sophisticated technologies and facilities.
THERAPEUTIC SUBSTITUTION - Replacement of one drug with another drug from the same therapeutic class that the Food and Drug Administration has determined to be equivalent - the substitute has the same active ingredient with the same absorption rate as the original drug. Often, this results in prescribing the less costly compound.
THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR (TPA) - A professional firm that provides administrative services to employers who want to self-insure their employees. The TPA does not underwrite the financial risk of providing coverage.
THIRD PARTY PAYER - Organization, public or private, that pays or insures medical expenses on behalf of enrollees. An individual pays a premium, and the payer organization pays providers' actual medical bills on the individual's behalf. Such payments are called third-party payments and are distinguished by the separation among the individual receiving the service (the first party), the individual or institution providing it (the second party), and the organization paying for it (third party).
TRADE ACT HEALTH INSURANCE SUBSIDY - Premium subsidy program that covers 65 percent of the cost of health insurance for early retirees, their families and other workers who have lost their employer-sponsored health coverage as a consequence of company failure due to trade practices or bankruptcy. The subsidy to former workers is provided in the form of a federal tax credit either to be claimed when the income tax return is filed, or sent directly to the beneficiary's health insurance provider each month, in which case he/she is responsible for paying only 35 percent of the monthly premium. For more information, see www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/TAARA_Implement_Nov_2003.pdf.
UNBUNDLING - Separately billing for medical services that might otherwise be priced together ("bundling"). For claims processing, this includes providers billing separately for health care services that should be combined according to industry standards or accepted coding practices.
UNCOMPENSATED CARE - Care rendered by hospitals or other providers without payment from the patient or a government-sponsored or private insurance program. It includes both charity care, which is provided without the expectation of payment, and bad debt, for which the provider has made an unsuccessful effort to collect payment due from the patient.
UNDERINSURED - People with public or private insurance policies that do not cover all necessary health services, resulting in out-of-pocket expenses that often exceed their ability to pay.
UPPER PAYMENT LIMIT (UPL) - Federal regulatory payment limit governing what states can pay eligible public facilities for Medicaid services. The UPL is usually the rate Medicare would pay for the same service. In some cases, states request federal matching funds in amounts that exceed the state's standard Medicaid reimbursement rate, and use the new revenues generated for other goods or services.
VOUCHER - In various health reform proposals, a certificate or fixed dollar amount that is provided to low- or moderate-income persons, which is used to pay all or part of the cost of health insurance or services.
1 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs, January/February 2008, p. 14. (www.healthaffairs.org).
2 Keehan, Sean et al. (2008). "Health Spending Projections Through 2017: The Baby-Boom Generation Is Coming To Medicare." Feb. 26, w145 (www.healthaffairs.org)
3 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs, January/February 2008, p. 16. (www.healthaffairs.org)
4 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs, January/February 2008, p. 14. (www.healthaffairs.org)
5 Keehan, Sean et al. (2008). "Health Spending Projections Through 2017: The Baby-Boom Generation Is Coming to Medicare." Feb. 26, w145 (www.healthaffairs.org)
6 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008, p.23. (www.healthaffairs.org).
7 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008, p.17. (www.healthaffairs.org).
8 "Employer Health Benefits: 2007 Summary of Findings" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research Educational Trust, September 2007. (http://kff.org/insurance/7672/upload/Summary-of-Findings-EHBS-2007.pdf)
9 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008. Exhibit 6. (www.healthaffairs.org).
10 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008. Exhibit 2. (www.healthaffairs.org).
11 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008, p14. (www.healthaffairs.org).
12 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year of Change for Prescription Drugs" Health Affairs January/February 2008. (www.healthaffairs.org).
13 "Health Care Costs: A Primer" Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2007. (http://www.kff.org/insurance/upload/7670.pdf) Retrieved Sept. 1.
14 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs, January/February 2008. (www.healthaffairs.org)
15 Catlin, Aaron et al. (2008) "National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs." Health Affairs, January/February 2008. (www.healthaffairs.org)
16 Ginsburg, Paul. (2008). "Don't Break Out the Champagne: Continued Slowing of Health Care Spending Growth Unlikely to Last." Health Affairs January/February 2008, p. 30. (www.healthaffairs.org).
17 "Employer Health Benefits: 2007 Annual Survey" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust 2007. (www.kff.org).
18 Kaiser Family Foundation (2007). "Survey of Employer Health Benefits 2007." Exhibit 1. September 11, 2007. www.kff.org/insurance/7672/upload/7693.pdf
19 "Health Care Costs: A Primer" Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2007. (http://www.kff.org/insurance/upload/7670.pdf) Retrieved Sept. 1.
20 Stuart Butler (2007). "Evolving Beyond Traditional Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance" The Hamilton Project, The Brookings Institution. (www.hamiltonproject.org)
21 Lauren Necochea (2007) "Reinsuring Health: A Proposal to make Health Insurance More Affordable" Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (www.rwjf.org).
22 "Employer Health Benefits: 2007 Annual Survey" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust 2007. (www.kff.org).
23 "Employer Health Benefits: 2006 Annual Survey" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust 2006. (www.kff.org).
24 "Employer Health Benefits: 2007 Annual Survey" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust 2007. (www.kff.org).
25 "Employer Health Benefits: 2006 Annual Survey" Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust 2006. (www.kff.org).
26 "Health Care Costs: A Primer" Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2007. (http://www.kff.org/insurance/upload/7670.pdf) Retrieved Sept. 1.
27 Ryan Z. Cortazar (2006). "Cutler and colleagues say U.S. health care cost-effective" Harvard University Gazette, August 20, 2006. (www.news.harvard.edu/gazette).
28 "Beyond Health Care: the Economic Contribution of Hospitals" American Hospital Association, July 2006. (www.aha.org).
29 Peter R. Orszag (2007). "Health Care and the Budget: Issues and Challenges for Reform" Congressional Budget Office. Testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, p. 2, June 21, 2007 (www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/82xx/doc8255/06-21-HealthCareReform.pdf).
30 John A. Poisal et al. (2007). "Health Spending Projections Through 2016: Modest Changes Obscure Part D's Impact" Health Affairs Web Exclusives February 21, 2007. (www.healthaffairs.org).
31 Barbara M. Rothenberg. (2007). "Medical Technology as a Driver of Healthcare Costs: Diagnostic Imaging" Blue Cross Blue Shield, October 14, 2003 (http://www.bcbs.com/betterknowledge/cost/Medical_Tech_Drivr_Rept_10.pdf)
32 Colin Baker et al. "Technological Change and the Growth of Health Care Spending." Congressional Budget Office, January 2008.
33 "The Factors Fueling Rising Healthcare Costs 2006" http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/E4C0FC004429297A852571090065A70B/$File/ahip-factors_fueling_rising_hc-costs.pdf
34 "Covering Health Issues 2006" Alliance for Health Reform, 2006. p. 112-113. (www.allhealth.org).


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Mahli Thai Asian Cuisine
Thai cuisine. Each Dish is made to order and presented like a four star restaurant at a moderate price. Hip and Totally Zen! Not like any Thai Restaurant you are use to, Mahli steps up its creativity by giving you both Modern and Vintage feel in atmosphere.
Hours of Operation
Tues-Sat: 11am-8pm.
Meals Served
- Lunch
- Dinner
Restaurant Type
- Thai


text:
Henderson Community College offers Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees equivalent to the sequences of courses taken in the first two years at four-year colleges and universities. These college transfer programs allow students to spend their first two years of study for a baccalaureate degree in an academic institution that is close to home and reasonable in cost. HCC graduates who go on to complete a four-year degree do as well academically as native students at four-year institutions.
The general education core curriculum ensures that HCC graduates are well-educated men and women who are intellectually flexible, articulate, creative, and prepared for continuous growth. For all students, this implies some understanding of their own abilities, interests, and needs. The general education core curriculum will also help students develop their own values, pursue goals, and contribute to the political, moral, social, and cultural enrichment of society.
An added benefit for transfer students is that they receive a separate degree--either an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science depending on the type of program--at the end of two years.
Under the General Education Block Transfer Policy, students completing the Associate in Arts or the Associate in Science degree requirements will be "fully certified" and be able to transfer a block of general education credits to all Kentucky public colleges and universities. Students will be admitted to these institutions with junior level standing and their general education course work will be accepted as meeting up to 48 hours of the receiving institution's lower division general education requirements.
Besides a general education Associates in Arts or Associates in Science degree, you may earn degrees in the following areas:


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Skip to comments.Huckabee enjoys best net-favorable opinion with GOP voters
Posted on 01/10/2011 5:57:21 AM PST by speciallybland
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee enjoys the highest net-favorable impression with Republicans among potential candidates for president, a new poll said Monday.
Huckabee is the Republican candidate with the largest margin between Republicans' favorable and unfavorable impression of him, a Gallup poll found, while other candidates struggled with low recognition rates.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich enjoys a 24 percent net-favorable rating at 24 percent, the poll found, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 23 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at 22 percent, Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.) at 19 percent, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) at 18 percent, former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) at 17 percent, Sen. John Thune (S.D.) at 17 percent, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour at 15 percent, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 13 percent and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels at 11 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Where are they polling? Arkansas?....................
The Left and by inference, the MSM is trying to pick our candidate for 2012........again............
I want to hurl every time one of these makes it onto FR. They are so predictably propagandistic.
It's simply the Left's old tactic of trying to pick our candidate for us.
They do this every election cycle.............
I know a huge number of GOP voters and I don't know one that has the Huckster in the top 20.
(*consider the source)
Stick a straw hat on his head, shove a pork chop in his mouth and keep him in Arkansas!
A two-time accomplice to murder? I don´t think so.
They are trying.
My answer--No! No! No!
"The Left and by inference, the MSM is trying to pick our candidate for 2012........again............"
That is correct, thus the favorable polling for Huckabee, Romney, and Daniels-the left, which includes the MSM, is terrified of Palin and any other true Conservative, and they are not giving up their efforts to pick our '12 candidates.
Sarah Palin has more bitter enemies than Huck, but share about the same number of raving friends.
Pure hogwash!
I don't know a single conservative Republican who supports Huckadoodle.
The ex-Gov of Arkasas has more baggage than Michelle Obama on a trip to Spain.
Exactly right. IMHO, Huckabee would have never made it above 5% in '08 unless the MSM hadn't put on an 'all out' effort to prop him up as a serious candidate. Every vote Huckster got was taken from Fred, whom the MSM feared greatly.
>> Sarah Palin has more bitter enemies than Huck, but share about the same number of raving friends.
Good observation.
"If you don't have any enemies, you don't have any character."
If Huckabee or Romney are the nominee, the odds of Fauxbama getting a second term go up greatly. I the republicans steal defeat from the jaws of victory by putting up one of these schmucks, the party as a whole needs flushed.
Don't want Gomer Pyle running the country
They seem to be determined to pick our candidate for us, and of course this candidate will show up ion Iowa and New hampshire and it will be written in concrete long before the rest of America gats a chance to be a part of the choice.
We need all primary's to be on the same day or we will continue getting RINO's picked for us by the RINO leaders of the party.
Pretty predictable with Huckabee all over Fox News.
Gingrich, Huckabee, Romney. A pox on the lot of them! Or is that inflammatory hate speech?
Under no circumstances will I vote for any of them.
Palin is my personal choice right now but I'll have to learn more about the rest of them.
Oh Sh%T, we're in deep doo-doo with these GOP knuckle heads.
Sweeney Todd could make a lot of sausage out of Huck!
I did not see any one on the list that I would give a second thought to other than Palin, right my vote would be none of the above....
I want to hurl every time someone condemns a poll just because it doesn't show what they want to see. It's so predictably illogical.
And mind you, I find Huckabee the most loathesome candidate in the poll myself, and I also don't personally know anyone who would remotely support Huckabee.
But, I accept the unfortunate reality that myself and the Republicans I know aren't REMOTELY representative of the country at large.
There are just too many polls showing Huckabee as popular at the moment for it not to be largely true. There's this great mass of Republicans and Republican leaners (presumably in the Midwest/South) that like him, but they're not FR posters.
There is no truth left in America... not in the dim party... not in the republican party... not in the media... not in the government.
If this is true, then we truly are the stupid party.
I have debunked this gallup poll twice. It is bogus.
That scene was better done with Capone.
"I know a huge number of GOP voters and I dont know one that has the Huckster in the top 20."
Ditto. These alleged "polls" are hilarious.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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The Other Uncalled High-Stick
Danny Gray
August 23 2012 11:16AM
I'm only going to say this once: if you value your sanity don't read any further. Being a Leafs' fan you probably don't value your sanity very much so I suspect you're all still with me. Good. Today I'm going to show you something that will ruin your life all over again.
I don't know how we've missed this all these years, perhaps we all managed to repress the same 45 or so seconds between when Darcy Tucker laid out Sami Kapanen and Jeremy Roenick scored the last goal in a playoff game against the Maple Leafs. Regretfully, I cannot maintain the illusion any longer. Darcy Tucker appeared on M vs. W this week and dropped the following bombshell—Mats Sundin was highsticked and cut to the tune of 6 stitches moments before Roenick scored that goal. There was obviously no call.
Let's all take a moment to collect ourselves. WHAT?!?!?! You must all be thinking right now. That goal is etched into my memory. Surely Leafs fans would never forget about an uncalled, blatant high-stick that drew blood in a pivotal playoff game. Ever. But we all did. Check out the video below. Start at about the 1:00 mark. The high stick occurs at the 1:49 mark.
WHAT THE FREAKING HELL IS THAT?!?!?!? Are you serious?
Further research shows that it was #23 Jim Vandermeer (UPDATE: I'm dumb, it was apparently Alexei Zhamnov, so hate him) that high sticks Sundin causing him to turn the puck over and allowing Roenick to break out 2-on-1 with Amonte. We'll just stop the tape there. Nothing else happened ever again.
There are a couple things worth talking about here that may have gone either unnoticed or forgotten in the years since this game. After all you can only repress so much.
Holy hell did Darcy Tucker nail Kapanen.
The Flyers commentators thought play should have been stopped after Kapanen was hit. If only.
The ACC is loud as shit and not a single person was sitting down the entire OT.
The Leafs were dominating the Flyers for most of the OT, don't tell me they wouldn't have won Game 7.
I dropped to my knees in front of my couch, started banging on the couch with both hands, yelling 'NO NO NO NO NO NO NO' before burying my face in the pillow and screaming one final "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". My wife was a little bit scared I think.
I can't even believe I've never seen this before. What a brutal missed call. You need to tell us who the refs were so we can also hate them forever.
It couldn't have been Jim Vandermeer, since he finished the 03-04 season with the Blackhawks. #23 during that game was Alexei Zhamnov:
Also, based on the second link I posted, the referee that missed the call was either Kevin Pollock or Stephen Walkom (and possibly one of the linesmen).
We can still hate Jim Vandermeer. From Wiki:
"Vandermeer was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 19, 2004, with Colin Fraser and a 2004 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Alexei Zhamnov."
They even traded numbers (Both #23).
August 23 2012, 11:50PM
This depresses me.
You seem like a pretty calm guy in general Danny, so punching a wall is likely not standard for you.
Similarly, I'm not that emotional. But I flipped the coffee table after that goal. My mom, also not impressed.


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Holiday Guide: Arts Listings
Edited by Seth Colter Walls
Dinosaur Jr.
December 1
Upcoming Events
TicketsWed., Mar. 1, 2:00pm
TicketsWed., Mar. 1, 8:00pm
TicketsThu., Mar. 2, 7:00pm
TicketsThu., Mar. 2, 7:00pm
You might call any album other than You're Living All Over Me the best work by Dinosaur Jr., but you'd be wrong. For its 25th anniversary, the band will play the work front to back. But because it's just 36 minutes long, they'll need to do more than just regurgitate the album. Good thing they've released a trio of improbably great records in recent years, including this year's I Bet on Sky. Kurt Vile and a bevy of "special guest stars" are also promised. Terminal 5, 610 West 56th Street, terminal5nyc.com
Olga Neuwirth
December 6
During the holidays, most of New York's classical institutions turn to chestnuts of the repertoire, making for something of a dry run of concerts. That cannot be said of Columbia University's Miller Theater, however, which is devoting an entire night to an exploration of the Austrian composer's midcareer works. Count on the spectral, atonal heritage of late-20th-century masters like Murail and Nono (both of whom Neuwirth studied under), and also bet on strong performances by the International Contemporary Ensemble (whose executive director, Claire Chase, just won a MacArthur award). Miller Theater, 116 Broadway, millertheatre.com
Robert Glasper Experiment
December 13 through 14
The pianist turned in one of this year's best overall jazz records with Black Radio, a work that played around with hip-hop/r&b fusion without falling victim to any clichéd pitfalls. But now it's on to the next project, a reworking of songs from Stevie Wonder's catalog (and some new Wonder-inspired tunes by the leader). Questlove, who turned in a Black Radio remix, pops up to assist Glasper's core electronic group. Harlem Stage, 150 Convent Avenue, harlemstage.org
John Cale
January 16, 18 through 19
He co-founded the Velvet Underground. What else does he have to do before you buy a ticket? New music is promised on the two nights that the Wordless Orchestra is set to help Cale perform his solo classic 1919; if uncut nostalgia is your thing, go for the separate evening billed as "a tribute to Nico." Brooklyn Academy of Music, Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, bam.org
David Virelles
January 31
In the young pianist's latest songs, avant influences like Steve Coleman and Henry Threadgill get mixed up with Cuban rhythms, computer music, and poetry recitations. Judge the results on the group's debut album from Pi Recordings, titled Continuum. You might suspect a muddle from so much complexity in the blender—instead it contains hints of both grace and mystery, along with a strong dose of improvisational power. 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street, 92y.org/Tribeca/index
Edited by Alexis Soloski
Begins November 27
Sure, it launches in the midst of flu season, but Ben Jonson's 1606 play, revived by Red Bull, promises to cure whatever ails you. Volpone concerns a deliciously immoral magnifico who decides to dupe three noblemen of their wealth by feigning a deadly illness. Happily, Red Bull director Jesse Berger has attracted a healthy cast, including Rocco Sisto, Stephen Spinella, Alvin Epstein, and Tovah Feldshuh. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, redbulltheater.com
'The Other Place'
Begins December 11
The commanding Laurie Metcalf stars as Juliana Smithton, a brilliant, thorny research scientist who fears a diagnosis of brain cancer. But just as we've settled in for a familiar illness drama, Sharr White adroitly flips the script, forcing audiences to question everything we've come to believe about character and plot. Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street, manhattantheatreclub.com
Begins December 14
If the world of American theater were a just one, William Inge would nudge his way into the pantheon typically reserved for Williams, O'Neill, and Miller, with his gentle and devastating surveys of small-town life. The admired director Sam Gold makes the latest case for Inge's inclusion, staging a revival of Picnic, about a locale discombobulated by a smoldering drifter, for the Roundabout. And he's attracted a remarkable cast to lay out the fixings: Reed Birney, Elizabeth Marvel, Mare Winningham, Ellen Bursty, et al. American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd Street, roundabouttheatre.org
Begins January 3
P.S. 122's COIL Festival begins the year with performative bangs and Chekhovian whimpers. The five theatrical works include Kristin Kosmas's There There, which features a character from Three Sisters, and Half Straddle's Seagull (Thinking of you). Non-Russophile shows feature Radiohole's "blood chilling and completely strange" Inflatable Frankenstein; Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver's Ruff, in which Shaw returns to the stage after a stroke; and Tea Tupajic and Petra Zanki's The Curators' Piece (A trial against art), which places P.S. 122's artistic director in the dock. Various locations, ps122.org
Begins January 11
Apparently, real women have Off-Broadway contracts. Taking a brief sabbatical from film and television, America Ferrara arrives on the Women's Project stage as Crystal, the hard-pressed heroine of this new play. Another victim of the financial crisis, Crystal watches as her home is foreclosed on, her child taken away from her, and her job threatened. Laura Marks, a recent Juilliard graduate, makes her professional debut with this script. Gaye Taylor Upchurch, who has made an acerbic splash with two dark Simon Stephens plays, repossesses it. New York City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, womensproject.org
Edited by Alexis Soloski
'Matisse: In Search of True Painting'
Opens December 7
"It has bothered me all my life," said Henri Matisse, "that I do not paint like everyone else." This Metropolitan Museum exhibition focuses on the themes and compositions he returned to throughout his career. Should Matisse's dazzling use of color and line not put you into the holiday spirit, you can top off your visit with a walk by the Met's Christmas tree and Neapolitan baroque crèche. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, metmuseum.org
'Inventing Abstraction: 1910–1925'
Opens December 23
Marcel Duchamp once proposed, "An abstract painting need in 50 years by no means look 'abstract' any longer." A hundred years on, the Museum of Modern Art presents an exhibition detailing nonrepresentational art's early years, including works by Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Vasily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Kazimir Malevich alongside contemporary examples of allied arts. Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, moma.org
'Ignacio Uriarte'
Opens January 17
Who among us has not doodled idly with a Bic pen, made a chain of paperclips, or gone a little crazy with a stack of Post-it tabs? But few of us see our idle scribbles displayed at the Drawing Center, which will be exhibiting Ignacio Uriarte's stunningly precise works, all constructed from generic office supplies. Also opening at the Drawing Center in January are works by Alexandre Singh, who resituates interviews with scientists and artists as photocopied collages, and Ishmael Randall Weeks, who represents his native Peru via hand-distressed slides. The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, drawingcenter.org
'Roman Vishniac Rediscovered and We Went Back: Photographs From Europe 1933–1956 by Chim'
Opens January 18
The International Center for Photography shakes off the syrupy aftertaste of holiday kitsch with exhibitions devoted to two extraordinary mid-century Jewish photographers. Roman Vishniac recorded Jewish life between the two world wars, while Dawid Szymin, known as Chim, helped to pioneer photojournalism and co-founded the Magnum Photos cooperative before being killed while on assignment during the Suez War. The show includes 120 of Szymin's prints. The International Center for Photography, 1133 Sixth Avenue, icp.org
'Precision and Splendor: Clocks and Watches at the Frick Collection'
Opens January 23
With the triumph of the smartphone, who wears a watch anymore? And when was the last time you had occasion to buy a clock? Perhaps the extraordinary timepieces in the Frick Collection's latest exhibition will tempt you. Thirty-eight pieces represent the art of horology from 1500 to 1830. (And if you'd like to psych yourself up a month or so in advance, you can stop in to MOMA for Christian Marclay's extraordinary 24-hour film montage, The Clock.) The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, frick.org
Edited by James Hannaham
'Empress of Fashion' by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart
December 4
A cottage industry has emerged around Diana Vreeland, the late editor of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and all-around fashion guru. The frenzy already includes the memoir-gone-mad D.V., as well as the 2011 documentary The Eye Has to Travel, but this is her first full-length biography. This perhaps has as much to do with how much more seriously we take fashion nowadays as with how quaintly delicious we now find Vreeland's gushy, borderline Dadaist sensibility: "I loathe red with any orange in it—although, curiously enough, I also loathe orange without red in it." There's also the allure of Vreeland's mid-20th-century jet-set world, when fashion and mass media had only begun their ever-burgeoning romance, and the shamelessness with which she adored it. Harper, 432 pp., $35
'The Testament of Mary' by Colm Tóibín
November 13
Award-winning author Tóibín (Brooklyn, The Master) brings us a provocative novella in which he inhabits the voice of an aging Virgin Mary. Throughout, Mary remains very much perturbed and mystified that the events of her personal life have begun to take on a mythic and religious significance that we know will last thousands of years. It might prove difficult for readers to identify with a married woman who gives birth to the Lord's child, Jesus, though remaining a virgin, only to watch him die on the cross, presumably for the sins of people who at that moment would not be in evidence to her, but Tóibín brings us into Mary's late middle age in prose that's full of grace. Scribner, 96 pp., $23
'Later Poems Selected and New 1971–2012' by Adrienne Rich
November 5
'Poems 1962–2012' by Louise Glück
November 13
Lesbian feminist Rich, who passed away last March, was known for her fearlessly political subject matter, beginning with 1972's National Book Award winner Diving Into the Wreck. Critics frequently pigeonhole Glück as a bard whose plainspoken style strips down language and disposes of artifice, while at the same time avoiding anything too obviously confessional. This anthology is poised to demonstrate the breadth of her exploration—perhaps the haunting photo of Saturn on the cover means to symbolize that journey. W.W. Norton, 544 pp., $39.95; FSG, 656 pp., $40
'Spectacle' by Susan Steinberg
January 8
Don't trust my judgment about this book—Steinberg is a close friend of mine. Instead, believe Publishers Weekly's starred review (obviously, not written by me) of her upcoming linked-story extravaganza, Spectacle: "Steinberg is a maestro of stylistic innovation, conducting orbits of narrative and motif, coaxing meaning and music from each line." After reading this devastating cluster of uncompromising, funny, and eye-opening stories about women trapped in a male-centered world, I told Susan: "Your sentences are like whips. With all the possible connotations thereof." Meaning pain, pleasure, Sadism, discipline, surprise, injustice, lion taming—you name it. But even I'd be afraid to say to her what Publishers Weekly did, for fear of sounding gushy: "With its literary inventions and sharp storytelling, this is a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction." Graywolf, 152 pp., $14
'There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister's Husband, and He Hanged Himself: Love Stories' by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, translated by Anna Summers
January 29
The title itself is a miniature short story, full of the bleakness and pathos one might expect from one of Russia's best living writers. She's certainly a master of the minimally counterintuitive, a/k/a the story just outrageous enough to be true, like "The Fountain House," from an earlier collection called There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby. That tale, which appeared in The New Yorker, concerns a father so vexed by his daughter's death that he rescues her from the morgue and pleads with the doctors to put her in intensive care, where they eventually do bring her back from the grave. Penguin, 192 pp., $15
'See Now Then' by Jamaica Kincaid
February 5
Some writers mean to rehabilitate the careers of earlier ones through their new work, partially as fans and partially as evangelists. I suspect that Jonathan Lethem is partially responsible for the Philip K. Dick renaissance. For her part, Jamaica Kincaid has taken Gertrude Stein as her career's guiding light, having written several biographies and "autobiographies" of her own loved ones. Ten years after the enigmatic Mr. Potter, Kincaid's narrator rambles through the saga of the Sweets, a family living in New England, as their relationships disintegrate. In quintessentially Steinian fashion, says Mrs. Sweet, "The present will be a now then, and the past is now then, and the future will be a now then." FSG, 192 pp., $23
Edited by Elizabeth Zimmer
'The Nutcracker' (various)
November 23 through January 6
Ah, Christmas. Stay out of stores and off the Internet, and instead take your money and your loved ones to a culture palace and wallow in Tchaikovsky. We face a barrage of Nutcrackers: The pick of the crop is Alexei Ratmansky's mildly scary, beautifully designed one, exquisitely performed by American Ballet Theatre, at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (December 7 through January 6). A miniature, Art Nouveau version for the younger set, choreographed by Keith Michael for New York Theatre Ballet runs December 7 through 22 at Florence Gould Hall. The granddaddy of them all, New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker by George Balanchine, runs at Lincoln Center November 23 through December 30. A novelty version, Dances Patrelle's Yorkville Nutcracker, sets its celebration in Olde New York, mixing NYCB principals with local students (December 6 through 9). Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, bam.org Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, nytb.org New York City Ballet, 20 Lincoln Center, nycballet.com Dances Patrelle, the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, dancespatrelle.org
Tere O'Connor
November 27 through December 1
The philosopher king of downtown dance and mentor to emerging artists brings two new works to New York Live Arts. On his blog, O'Connor discusses his process: "I develop material from multiple unrelated sources down divergent pathways as a way of entering the realm of consciousness where nothing aspires to order. I then bring these ideas/materials together by placing them in close temporal proximity." Sounds perfect for the week after Thanksgiving. New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street, newyorklivearts.org
November 29 through December 23
If you missed them at the summer Olympics, never fear: Williamsburg's own Streb opens the doors of its Streb Laboratory for Action Mechanics (S.L.A.M.) for Forces! The Movical. A theater of "flight and impact, physics and courage," it glorifies the kind of roughhousing that frightened your mother. With music by David Van Tieghem, a book by Fela's Jim Lewis, Elizabeth Streb's customary daredevil moves, and a lot of heavy equipment. Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 North 1st Street, Brooklyn, streb.org
Doug Elkins
December 5 through 8
What happens when a mad fusion B-boy, raised on street dancing and finished at the Purchase conservatory, grows up? Simply a flowering of his classically trained, pop-addled sensibility, already defined by the legendary Fräulein Maria, a notorious take on The Sound of Music. For this four-nights-only program, Elkins re-imagines his 1990 mash-up of Shakespeare's Othello and the music of Motown in Mo(or)town/Redux, a quartet for dancers who can evoke both Limón technique and the fleetest break dancing. Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 West 37th Street, bacnyc.org
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
December 18 through January 6
You think a performance featuring hairy-chested men in tutus and size-13 pointe shoes is inappropriate holiday fare? Think again. This two-week, two-program run at the Joyce both parodies and worships the tropes and clichés of classical technique, making festive fun of such warhorses as The Dying Swan, Paquita, Swan Lake, and, in Go for Barocco, master choreographer George Balanchine. The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, joyce.org
Edited by Aaron Hillis
'Home for the Holidays'
December 15 through 20
Bored by Ralphie shooting his eye out and Clarence getting his wings? BAM spikes the eggnog with a hodgepodge of less-than-jolly Christmas gems, kicked off by Joe Dante's sly horror-comedy Gremlins. Also stuffed in the stocking are 1974's proto-slasher Silent Night Bloody Night (co-starring John Carradine and a bevy of Warhol superstars), John Waters' Female Trouble, Kubrick's orgy-licious Eyes Wide Shut, John Huston's The Dead, and Minelli's musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, bam.org
'A Very Culty Christmas'
December 21 through 23
Formerly just a DVD-rental shop, Williamsburg's newly revamped Videology now boasts a full bar and a 45-seat microcinema. Toss back a stiff drink with its free lineup of gonzo Yuletide clas-sicks, including two killer-Santa nightmares (1980's Christmas Evil, 1984's Don't Open 'Til Christmas) and three VHS oddities: 1972's low-rent kiddie matinee Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, 1964's so-bad-it's-amazing The Magic Christmas Tree, and 1989's reindeer-shit insane Elves—which pits Dan Haggerty against Nazi demons. Videology, 308 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, videology.info
'See It in 70mm!'
December 21 through January 1
Although 70mm prints were once a standard, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master was the first film since the mid '90s to be shot it. Soon-to-be-returning Voice critic Scott Foundas curates 15 classics and rarities in their stunning original format, from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Jacques Tati's Playtime. In an age when screens are ubiquitously becoming more portable, experience The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Ryan's Daughter, Tron, John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn, and more in a wonderfully counterintuitive way. The Film Society of Lincoln Center, West 65th and Broadway, filmlinc.com
December 28 through January 3
Billy Wilder co-wrote the script for witty wunderkind Ernst Lubitsch's cynically sharp 1939 satire, about three comrades on a mission in Paris to sell confiscated jewels for the Russian government, only to be delayed by the seductive allure of capitalism. The headliner, however, is Greta Garbo, making her successful first foray into comedy as a stern Soviet envoy who, too, lets the champagne go to her head. Film Forum presents a new 35mm print and free glasses of bubbly to all ticketholders on New Year's Eve at the 7:30 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. shows. Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, filmforum.org
'New Yawk New Wave'
January 11 through 31
The Film Forum relives a long-bygone era when not just NYC was dangerous and more exciting, but so was its fiercely independent filmmaking. Largely conceived as two-for-one double features, the films in this series include anarchic '60s comedies by Robert Downey Senior (Chafed Elbows, Putney Swope), Brian De Palma's early, funny ones (Greetings and Hi, Mom!), subversive whatsits (Norman Mailer's Maidstone, William Greaves's Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 1), gritty time capsules (Lionel Rogosin's On the Bowery, Shirley Clarke's The Connection), and other countercultural must-sees from Paul Morrissey, Jonas Mekas, and Kenneth Anger. Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, filmforum.org
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By EUGENE SWALBERGGuest Writer
Jason Johnson hitting home runs in games against the Valley Buffaloes and the Wayne High Badgers; Justin Johnson hitting a home run during the Valley game; Adrian Escalante showing real promise on the mound as a freshman; Haden Pfander swinging at a high junk pitch and clobbering it for a triple and Holden Marshall making it safely to third in a 'pickle' play are a few highlights from the past four games played since the Pirate baseball team began the 2009 baseball season by traveling to the Bryce Valley tournament on Aug. 6 and 7.
The Pirates played games against the Wayne High Badgers, the Bryce Valley Mustangs and the Valley Buffaloes while at the tournament and then turned around on Aug. 11 to play the Wayne High Badgers again on their home turf. The scores of the games are not important and the fact that the Pirates are 0 - 4 to start the season is only part of the story. Winning is partly a mind set and those who are disciplined seem to win more.
Baseball is a sport where a play here or a catch there can really impact the outcome of the game. There just weren't very many of these type plays for the Pirates which greatly impacted the score as each games progressed. There were highlights for sure, times where the team showed real spunk and promise and then there were times - too many times - where the team suffered from a shortage of tenacity and from a fire in the belly to improve when mistakes were committed. So, the Pirates fall back to play one more non conference game against the Tabiona Tigers before beginning Region 18 play.


text:
The Land
Cities & Suburbs
Boom & Bust
Patriotic Duty
At Ease
Theme: Encounters
Artist: Nigel THOMSON
Birth/Death: 1945–1999
Title: Graeme Thorne
Credit Line: Estate of the artist, courtesy of Annandale Galleries, Sydney
Nigel Thomson had a reputation for shocking and controversial subjects. His Graeme Thorne series dealt with the kidnap and murder of the 8-year-old son of the family that won the first Opera House Lottery in 1960. For Thomson, the incident represents nothing less than Australia's 'loss of innocence'. It was the first time the nation had succumbed to the large-scale gambling craze of the lottery. It was the first time the disappearance of a child had dominated the media for weeks on end. Australia, it seemed, was no longer a safe and secure place.
More details
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text:
It's coming...
Merry Snowy Christmas
Love & Peace to the World
25 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..................
25 days !!
"Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth..."
24 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23 days and it's now DECEMBER!
Christmas Angels are watching over you


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Western Force have announced the re-signing of powerful Wallabies winger Nick Cummins for the 2014 and 2015 Super Rugby seasons.
Western Force have re-signed winger Nick Cummins for the 2014 and 2015 Super Rugby seasons, the franchise has announced.
The retention of Cummins continues the Force's recruitment of additional pace in the backline which will see him team up with the likes of new recruits Dane Haylett-Petty, Marcel Brache, Zack Holmes and Luke Morahan, as well as current members including Kyle Godwin, Patrick Dellit, Junior Rasolea, Ed Stubbs and Jayden Hayward.
Cummins was recruited by the Force in 2007 and made his Super Rugby debut for the Western Australian side against the Sharks in Durban in 2008.
During his six seasons with the Perth-based club he has developed into a mainstay of the Western Force backline and has amassed 59 provincial caps.
In 2012 made his Test debut for the Wallabies against Argentina and has recorded a total of eight caps to date.
He is set to make a return for Australia in the upcoming Spring Tour after injuring his hand in the Wallabies' 14-13 win over Argentina in Perth last month.
Cummins says he is excited about continuing his career with the Emirates Western Force and is looking forward to re-joining the side again following his Wallabies commitments.
"I've made Perth my home over the past six years and it's exciting to be sticking around with this bunch of blokes and developing my game where I started my Super Rugby career," he said.
"I'm looking forward to getting out there and seeing plenty more of the 'seed' in 2014.
"We've got a good group here and I'm looking forward to better results this year, and challenging each other – and ourselves – on the paddock will be at the forefront of what we're looking to achieve."
Western Force coach Michael Foley said Cummins will bring significant physicality to the backline in 2014.
"Nick creates a lot of energy amongst the team," Foley said. "He plays with an intensity that is second to none.
"He has an ability to use his speed to finish when in space, but also uses his power and determination to break tackles in close contact situations."


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^ err...fagfeabe...did you read the Original post?
^ err...fagfeabe...did you read the Original post?
Here is mine. I thought about doing it a few times. Perhaps we should have another go where we share personal snippets of our lives and the music to narrate it.
~Opening credits
Safe and Sound by Kyosuke Himuro
~Being born
Super Saiyan Vegeta by Bruce Faulconer
~Waking up
Imperial March
~First day at school
I'm Comin by Silkk the Shocker
~Fighting song
I Came To Play by Downstrait
~Falling in love
Missing by Gackt
~Breaking up
Snow by Kamelot
~Getting back together
Hime Murasaki by Mizuki Nana
~Wedding Day
Flower by Gackt
~Birth of child
Super Saiyan 3 by Bruce Faulconer
<Cause who doesn't want to give birth to a SS right?>
Pain by Three Days Grace
~Funeral Scene
Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance
~Ending Credits
Horizon by Hyde


text:
Great to hear you are loving the strapless.
For some tips on tacking, gybing and much more check out my technique blog
Part of the problem may have been that wind was light and I was flying an old Xbow 16m
KYLakeKiter wrote:Yea, I didn't mention it because I was trying to talk about my directional learning curve. I am much more comfortable on a TT, so after I thrashed my self on the surfboard, I took a break and then jumped on my buddies Spleene. It was much easier to make quick sliding turns to stay in between the waves and pick and choose my points to ride outbound. Besides that, when I fell or dropped back in the water waiting on the kite to come around, the staps kept the board at my feet.
I also learned that when you fall in waves, forget the board and keep the kite out of the water at all costs. I had some real messes a couple of times when the wave caught the back side of the kite. Body dagging after the board in the waves was a whole new adventure as well.
Either way, learning to surf the waves like the cool guys is the goal, so I will keep at it even though I don't get to the coast that often. My thought about the staps was just to help keep better control of the board while negotiating the waves outbound. Probably just a crutch I shouldnt get used to. As always, thanks for all the tips.
Peter_Frank wrote:
You will have more options and more freedom with straps
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text:
Lugging It
Lugging It
'Lugging It' was Matt Seattle's term for 'learning by ear'
This article was provoked by a discussion on the Bob Dunsire forum regarding the delicate question of teaching tunes in workshops, and whether this should be done by ear or from 'the dots'.
I am convinced of the value of being able to learn 'by ear', but for many this is a challenge. However, I feel that there are ways in which music can successfully be taught without 'dots'; the following is a sample 'lesson' which explores one of these ways. It is not meant to be an actual lesson, but aproposal for the kind of lesson that might help. It is here for you to comment on.
There are sound files which attempt to substitute for a tutor's playing, but since I had to record them myself, they are for guidance only [it may help to play them on a loop using windows media player settings].
Go to part one this sample lesson by clicking here [opens in new window]Please leave comments etc below:
Now I am using this technique and have 3 tunes under my belt and will probably still be able to play them 40 years from now.
Note by note, measure by measure, phrase by phrase is the best way to learn and keep a song.


text:
Herman Melville
IntroductionMelville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: American Literature: Biographies


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2 Lips Too Too Fussion Sandal
Sorry, this item is sold out!
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- View more Women's 2 Lips Too Shoes
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December 03, 2013
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Click anywhere to close this.


text:
The AtoZ Mics website is currently closed, and we have no information on when it might re-open. Thank you to all our customers, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. In case of problems, returns, etc, AtoZ Mics can still be contacted, just email
We would like to recommend Studiospares, the UK's number one microphone supplier, for all your microphone and mic accessory requirements. You can find them at:


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NCC Backflip On Regulation Of Sydney Airport Monopoly29/01/2004
Virgin Blue is appalled by the National Competition Council's (NCC) complete back flip in deciding not to recommend declaration of the Airside Service at Sydney Airport.
The Government's decision to accept the NCC recommendation means Sydney Airport Corporation can now continue to use its airport monopoly to increase landing fees and undermine low fares and competition in the industry.
The NCC in its original (draft) decision concluded that:
Sydney Airport unambiguously had monopoly power over landing fees; and
that higher landing fees would hurt low fares and the competitive position of low fare airlines.
In complete contradiction to its earlier findings, the NCC has now concluded:
even if Sydney Airport was to increase its prices by 100%, it would not undermine competition;
the threat of re-regulation will restrain Sydney Airport from charging excessively high prices.
Virgin Blue Head of Communications and Strategy, David Huttner, said that the low fare carrier was carefully reviewing the Government's decision and considering its options.
"We think the NCC got it right the first time – airports have monopoly power and that undermines low fares and competition.
This decision simply protects the monopoly the Commonwealth sold off in 2002 and puts the interests of the new owners of Sydney Airport ahead of the interests of the travelling public, particularly all those travelling on low fares.
The NCC got it wrong if it thinks that monopoly airport charges don't lead to higher air fares. The NCC also has its head in the sand if it thinks that airports fear the threat of re-regulation, since the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) has not taken up this issue on a single occasion."
He added, "Virgin Blue is concerned that Sydney Airport will go the way of other airports (which were de-regulated earlier). At other airports we are facing airport charges in the near future which are 400% higher than they were prior to the removal of price regulation by this Government – not just 100%."
"Now it is up to the Government to demonstrate that if the NCC's complete about face has any justification, that it will step in and re-regulate where there is clear evidence of price gouging, considering it has just sat on its hands for the last two years."
Under this decision, Sydney Airport will be able to:
Raise landing fees without any constraint. Virgin Blue has already seen increases and proposed increases at other airports. At Sydney Airport alone, Virgin Blue's landing charges have increased by 150% since it was put up for sale;
Set fee structures so that passengers on low fare airlines and low fare seats subsidise high fare passengers (including business class passengers). Sydney Airport's decision last year to move from weight based to per passenger landing charges resulted in a 50% increase in Virgin Blue's landing charges, with negligible impact on Qantas;
Set fees so that domestic trunk and regional passengers subsidise the cost of upgrading facilities for international passengers travelling on the new A 380s. These aircraft, the largest passenger aircraft ever, will only be used by international passengers.
Virgin Blue doesn't believe that it or its Guests should be penalised. Higher cost operators should pay their own way and Virgin Blue should not be punished for being more efficient.
The Government's decision can be appealed to the Australian Competition Tribunal and this appeal is a merits hearing and independent of the political process.


text: YIA Art Fair 2013 , running from October 23rd to the 27th, is one of the most eagerly awaited events on the Paris art calendar. This will be the third year this Young International Artists fair has taken place in the city and it will be building on the outstanding success of the previous two occasions. Dozens of up and coming young artists will be displaying their most creative offerings in sixty galleries spread amongst four art spaces in the fashionable district of Paris known as the Marais. At the Hotel Marais Bastille you will be in the ideal location to access these venues easily and conveniently.