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For some, Apple's iPhone 5 just doesn't cut the mustard.
Sure, it's got a larger screen, a faster processor, and a new eight-pin "Lightning" port, but it's still missing several features that have been made popular on Android- and Windows Phone-powered blowers over the past couple of months and years.
Even Apple's all-new (and extremely colourful) iPod touch boasts a feature that is glaringly absent from the latest iteration of the iPhone - that handy "loop" wrist strap.
So, we've come up with a handful of features that are conspicuous by their absence on iPhone 5. Some of them are hardware-related and others are software-based, but they're all features we'd love to have seen in the Cupertino company's new smartphone.
Let us know in the comments below if there's anything else you think is 'missing' from Apple's sixth-generation iPhone.
Over the past few months, mobile phone manufacturers have been baking NFC (or Near Field Communication) into more and more smartphones, including Samsung's Galaxy S III.
This tech allows you to make mobile payments with your phone, or send a photo by knocking your gadget against somebody else's.
NFC has yet to fully take off, which is probably why Apple still hasn't added the technology to its iPhone. In truth, until The Big A gets on board the contactless payment train, NFC will probably remain a niche item. Certainly in the West.
In the short term, the Cupertino-based company has instead decided to launch a Passbook application in iOS 6. Apple SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller believes that "Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today."
Inductive charging
Plugging a cable into our phone to charge it isn't exactly a massive chore, but we'd still love to be able to slap our iPhone down on our computer desk and walk away without having to fiddle with tangled leads and multiple chargers.
Unfortunately, we can't, because Apple's iPhone 5 doesn't support wireless charging.
Apple has a reason, of course. "Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated," Schiller said. To be fair, he has a point.
128GB of storage
The App Store is now chock-full of enormous apps and games like GarageBand, Bastion, and Real Racing 2, which all tip the scales at well over 1GB.
It's time Apple increased the iPhone's in-built storage capacity so that we don't have to delete photos of our granny every time we have the urge to top-up the iPhone's Music app with a few new tracks.
New UI
We love the iPhone's functional UI. Well, we did when it was introduced alongside the original iPhone in 2007. Now, however, it looks rather stale, especially when you compare it to Microsoft's Windows Phone OS.
What do we want in the next version of iOS? Well, Live Tile-esque icons would be nice. We'd also love to see bulletins pop up on the BBC News app icon, and watch the Instagram icon update itself as our buddies share photographs, for example.
Better social integration
If you've used a Nokia Lumia 900 or another Windows Phone-powered blower, you'll already know just how well social networks are integrated into Microsoft's mobile operating system.
Basically, you can view all of your social networks in a single unified feed; update your Facebook status and simultaneously post a message to Twitter and LinkedIn; and 'Like' and respond to comments without ever opening an app.
iOS's social integration doesn't come close.
Apple's new Lightning connector may look a lot better than the old 30-pin variant found on the iPhone 4S and its predecessors, but the technology powering it is still USB 2.0.
The reason? Well, according to one particularly knowledgeable Ars Technica reader, the flash memory used in most smartphones, including the iPhone, isn't fast enough to gain any benefit from USB 3.0.
Still, Apple's Thunderbolt I/O technology is a lot faster, and it would speed up the process of transferring music to your iPhone if you're a Mac user. Find a way, Apple, please.
iPod touch loop
One of the greatest new features of Apple's all-new iPod touch is that aforementioned iPod touch loop - a little strap that secures the gadget to your wrist when you're snapping photos or pretending it's a lightsaber.
I don't know about you, but I often feel like my iPhone 4S is going to take a tumble when I'm doing my best Ansel Adams impersonation or taking some shots from extreme angles. It just needs a safety loop, too.


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The sequel to 'Damning an Angel'. Edward knows Bella is dead. He saw her murder himself. And yet,there is a girl that is just too similar to her to simply ignore. Is is Bella? Can he get close enough to her to find out?
CHAPTER SIX POSTED: EDWARD's Point of View!!!!!!!
((A/N: This is the sequel to Damning an Angel. If you have not read that, go back and read it before you read this. I'm not sure if it will make sense if you don't. To all the people who DID read Damning an Angel, here it is, a sequel, just like I promised.))
1. Chapter 1: Edward's Point of View
Rating 4/5 Word Count 295 Review this Chapter
Edward's Point of View
Is he coming?
He can't stay up in his room forever...
I thought the point of moving was to make him better. Forks held too many memories, too many reminders... for all of us. So, why is he still just as sad?
You can't miss the first day of school, Edward...
I sighed, ignoring the thoughts of my concerned family. I knew that they were worried about me, and they had full right to. It has been a hundred years since the death of Bella, a hundred years since I damned my angel, my only reason for existence. It was supposed to be our happy ending, but then Victoria had to interfere. She killed her, killed her right in front of me. And I couldn't do anything.
Alice thought moving from Forks would help me move on, or at least not to be so depressed. Much to her disappointment, relocation had no affect whatsoever on my depression.
Because no matter where I went, no matter how far I traveled from the unimportant town of Forks, Washington, Bella would not be there with me. Bella wouldn't be anywhere. Except the one place I could never go.
It's kind of odd if you think about it. I am sure beyond a single doubt that Bella passed into heaven, for could as pure of a creature as her honestly be fated to go anywhere else? But... If I truly believe that once you are damned Heaven is forbidden...
No. Bella is in the afterlife. Happy. Peaceful. Beautiful...
"Edward? Are you coming?" Alice asked softly, no louder than if I were right next to her rather than two floors above her.
I sighed again, reaching for my remote to my music player.
"No, Alice. I'm not going."
And I was alone.
- Author
- Bloody Roses
- Rating
1 2 3 4 5
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- 4573
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- 27 Sep 07
- Updated
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subset: commoncrawl


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Kenny Chesney Tickets
Few other performers enjoy the immense popularity and endurance of Kenny Chesney. The Tennessee native seems to tour virtually non-stop, but he still manages to crank out a Number 1 album every year or two and sell millions of concert tickets. Get your Kenny Chesney tickets from GoTickets!
Kenny Chesney Tour Dates & Concert Schedule
Wednesday, 7:30 PM
Mountain View, CA
Kenny Chesney Ticket Info
Except maybe for legends like George Strait and Garth Brooks, it's hard to find another country entertainer who has enjoyed as much success as Kenny Chesney. In less than 20 years since his first album, "In My Wildest Dreams," Chesney has cranked out more than 30 Top Ten hits and sold millions of Kenny Chesney concert tickets. He's been honored as the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year an amazing four times. Not only does he create great music, but he certainly knows how to put on a show and his concert tours are always among the highest grossing of the year. Part of the reason why Kenny Chesney tickets are so popular is that he never seems to take his fans for granted and always works hard to make sure everyone gets their money's worth, whether they are in the front row or the upper deck. If you want to see any show on the Kenny Chesney The Big Revival Tour schedule, GoTickets has the right tickets for you.
If you need any proof of Chesney's dedication to his fans, you only need to look back a few years to the Poets and Pirates Tour when he suffered a severe foot injury on stage that broke several bones. But he kept on going despite the pain and finished the show, and he didn't even cancel or postpone any of the shows after that. There's nothing quite like the experience of a live concert, so get your Kenny Chesney tickets today.
Another reason for Chesney's incredible success is that he knows a thing or two about marketing and promotion after graduating from East Tennessee State University with a degree in advertising. He used those skills to get his name out there as a young performer, and that put him on the road to success. Chesney spent several years working hard, playing small clubs and perfecting his music, and he's proven that all that dedication can pay off. But of course his concerts are more about having fun than anything else, so make sure you get your Kenny Chesney concert tickets from GoTickets so that you can be there.
How To Buy Kenny Chesney Tickets
- Select your Kenny Chesney Tickets from our inventory
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Shipping & Availability When purchasing Kenny Chesney tickets online, you will be taken to our Kenny Chesney Tickets page. You will then be able to pick which Kenny Chesney event you would like to purchase. All tickets listed are seated together. All of our Kenny Chesney tickets are shipped via Federal Express. Please note that we do not deliver on Saturday unless, that option is specially requested on your order . Our ticket inventory is updated hourly. If for any reason the tickets are no longer available, you will be able to cancel your order or request a different area.
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Killzone 2 to drive XBox 360 owners to PS3, claims Sony
A game so good you'll be powerless to resist?
Killzone 2 on the PlayStation 3 will spur Xbox 360 gamers to sample Sony's console, the consumer electronics giant reckons.
Scott Steinberg, VP of Product Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, told website GameDaily that the game – which launched in the UK late last month and is a "tremendous" PS3 exclusive – will "push 360 owners to try the PS3".
Whether Steinberg meant gamers will simply play the game on a mate's PS3 or buy one themselves specifically to play Killzone 2 is unclear. He said that the title will definitely "move people from the sidelines".
Sony needs to up its numbers. The worldwide tally of Xbox 360s sold up to the end of January standing at 27.9m, with the PS3's total at 21.3m, according to the consoles' respective manufacturers.
The numbers didn't stop Steinberg from describing the PS3's upcoming game release list as "an embarrassment of riches" that "bombards the competition" and highlights "the power and advantages of the PS3". Not that he's biased in any way... ®
"We feel that Killzone 2 is a tremendous exclusive... It will move people from the sidelines, and from what we've seen from blogs, will push 360 owners to try out the PS3."
Sponsored: Minds Mastering Machines - Call for papers now open


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NFIB: Small business have hit the wall
The little engine that could just ran out of steam -- after three months of gains, an index of small business indicators dropped in March.
The National Federation of Independent Business reports its Small Business Optimism Index fell 1.3 points to 89.5. That's below the index's average score of 90.7 since the recession ended in July 2009.
The index is based on a survey of 759 randomly selected NFIB members. Six of the index's 10 components declined in March, led by drops in expected sales and hiring plans.
"Virtually no owners think the current period is a good time to expand, because they simply don't know what the future holds," said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. "So why invest?"
Overall, he added, "it appears that there will be little growth coming from the small business half of the economy; as the world economy slows, even big business may suffer."
Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., who chairs the House Small Business Committee, noted that the downturn in NFIB's index "mirrors other recent small business surveys and Friday's unemployment announcement."
"Small businesses are in a holding pattern amidst economic uncertainty and the burden of the health care law," Graves said.
"Many of the federal government policies being promoted by this administration are creating confusion rather than confidence," he said. "The recent decision to delay the Small Business Health Options Program is an example."


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MOSCOW — Russian opposition and human rights groups on Monday urged Western consumer products giants to stop ''financing politically motivated persecution'' by advertising on a Kremlin-friendly TV network known for its biased coverage of government critics and demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin.
In the wake of unprecedented anti-Putin protests that followed last December's rigged parliament vote and Putin's return to the Kremlin in May, NTV has run dozens of news reports, talk shows, and pseudo-documentaries accusing opposition leaders of plotting coups and terrorist attacks, of receiving money from Western governments, and of hiring migrant workers and neo-Nazis to participate in anti-Putin rallies.
The broadcaster has become part of the Kremlin's ''machinery for repression,'' the White Ribbon movement, the Resistance group, the Moscow Civil Forum, and the For Human Rights group said Monday.
In a statement directed at companies such as Coca-Cola Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Nestle SA, and L'Oreal International, the four groups said: ''Please consider stopping to place your company's advertising on the NTV channel because it is a way of financing politically motivated persecution.''
Coca-Cola's Russian office declined to provide contact information for its spokespeople, and a P&G spokeswoman said she needed a written request. The public relations offices of L'Oreal International and Nestle were not immediately available for comment.
NTV reports have prompted several official investigations of opposition leaders and triggered at least two arrests. One of the arrested opposition activists, Leonid Razvozzhayev, said Russian prosecutors kidnapped him from neighboring Ukraine and tortured him for several days, forcing him to confess antigovernment activities. Russian officials insisted he turned himself in.
NTV coverage also has triggered rallies at the company's Moscow headquarters, as well as tens of thousands of angry comments on social networking websites. ''Shame on NTV'' has become a popular protest slogan, and many Kremlin critics refuse to be interviewed by the channel's journalists.
The network was once the shining star of independent Russian television, but after Putin came to power in 2000 he orchestrated its takeover by the state-controlled gas giant Gazprom. In recent months it has been NTV, not the two state television networks, that has broadcast some of the nastiest attacks on the opposition.
In October, NTV released ''Anatomy of a Protest 2,'' a documentary that showed alleged hidden camera footage suggesting that Left Front leader Sergey Udaltsov met with representatives of an exiled Russian banker to discuss raising $200 million for anti-Putin protests. The documentary, whose creators were not identified, alleged the money was used to pay hundreds of thousands of leftists and far-right nationalists to march on the Kremlin wearing identical clothes emblazoned with swastikas.
It said Udaltsov conspired with officials from Georgia to plan terrorist attacks across Russia and usurp power in the Baltic exclave of Kalinigrad.


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Ever feel like people don't spend as much time gazing at your scrapbook layouts as your pages deserve?
What is it about some pages that cause people to stop and really look?
Well, it can be a number of different things, but one of the big characteristics that draw people in are layers.
When you have layers, you have some things hidden, only partially peeking out.
And that causes mystery.
People love a mystery. Just look at the popularity of the TV show, Lost. It was one mystery after another that kept the audience coming back, episode after episode and season after season.
Layers Suck People Into a Scrapbook Layout
The more layers you have on your scrapbook layouts, the more time someone needs to spend trying to "solve" all those layers. And the longer you can keep them at it, the more they're interacting with it and making an emotional connection.
So if you want to engage people longer and get them to connect with your scrapbook layout and your story, try creating some layers.
Want a little guidance or inspiration?
In this week's episode of Paperclipping I share a new Flexible Template: Layered Diagonals. It's a template for creating layers on your pages. If you're experienced with layers, this might give you a new way to make them. If you're new to it, it'll give you some direction to give you confidence and get you going!
You'll see me put together two pages — both full of layers. You'll learn more about the design principles that go into them, too.
This scrapbooking video tutorial is available for members in the Member's Area and on iTunes.


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Unholy Death Knight Arena Basics:
Hello, my name is Warrcc and I have decided to put together a small guide on the basic things you need to know/ have as Unholy for arenas (this is mainly aimed at new players just starting and I guess people who are just looking for easy to find info on the basics for their alt dk). Just as a warning I am in no way, shape or form a top player, I just saw a few threads/ posts asking for how to gear as a dk and seeing as the old DK guide has not been updated since S9, I figured I would make one and I apologize for any mistakes in advance.
1st Tier: I would honestly just say to use Roiling Blood the majority of the time because it turns blood boil into pestilence. The only other talent you could take in this tier is Unholy Blight which I've seen a few high rated DKs running recently which is a 1.5 min CD that applies both of your diseases to all targets within 10 yards of you for 10 seconds.
2nd Tier: It completely depends on what you are facing and what you are running. Against any wizard cleaves you pretty much have to run AMZ and there are alot of melee/caster/healer setups I would suggest running AMZ for. Lichborne can be used against comps with tons of fears and when you don't have a tremor totem on your team and want to keep up offensive pressure, in addition you can use death coil to heal yourself when Lichborne is up. The 3rd choice is purgatory which I can only possibly suggest running against maybe a high burst comp like thugcleave if they're going on you over the other choices, outside of that I would run AMZ the majority of the time or Lichborne.
3rd Tier: Alright for this tier of talents the one you will more than likely use the majority of the time is asphyxiate. this turns your strangulate into a 30 sec CD 5 sec stun that can turn into a silence if stun is DR'ed on the target. Another viable choice if you run a comp that has several stuns would be chillblains for the root on chains of ice or if you need more mobility running death's advance. Honestly asphyxiate is really good right now so you will want to use it most of the time.
4th Tier: This tier is essentially survivability talents, the one that will be used a good majority of the time is conversion. Conversion when activated will turn 5 runic power per second into 3% of your health until it is cancelled or you run out of runic power which is extremely good if you're being trained. The other option is Death pact which sacrifices half of your ghoul's health to heal you for 50% of your own health which is very good to use against high burst comps that go on you.
5th Tier: For this tier I would only run Blood tap since this talent allows you to store charges that you can use to automatically activate a death rune which means you can save up the charges and stack a ton of necrotics up very quickly.
6th Tier: For the last tier Desecrated Ground seems to be the best option at all times, this talent is basically a 2nd trinket since it gets you out of any CC outside of silences, disarms, and roots and if you stay in the area it drops on the ground when it activates it prevents you from being CC'ed for an additional 10 seconds.
There are several useful glyphs that DKs can use, such as Dark Simulacrum, Anti-Magic Shell, Shifting Presences, Icy Touch, Unholy Frenzy, Death and Decay, Pestilence, Icebound Fortitude and Strangulate for majors. Most of the time you will want to run Icy touch since it turns your Icy touch into a offensive dispel with damage, Anti-Magic Shell for almost anytime there is someone with magic related damage on the other team, and Shifting Presences to keep most of your runic power when you switch between unholy presence and blood presence so you can continue to keep conversion up after you switch presences etc. Another Glyph that you will want to run the majority of the time is Dark Simulacrum, which reduces the CD of Dark sim by 30 seconds and increases the duration of how long you keep the spell you copy with it by 4 seconds. Depending on what you are facing you can switch out glyph of AMS, Dark sim, or shifting presences for the other listed glyphs I typically like running glyph of unholy frenzy against melee cleaves that train me over AMS to get rid of the self damage component of unholy frenzy. Running glyph of Icebound Fortitude is very useful against mage teams since it allows you to get out of deeps more often. The only minor glyph that is necessary is glyph of Death's embrace which gives you back 20 runic power whenever you use death coil to heal your ghoul.
Macros:Arena Targeting & Arena Focus
/target arena1
/target arena2
/target arena3
/focus arena1
/focus arena2
/focus arena3
Arena 1,2,3 Macros
/cast [target=arena1] Strangulate
/cast [target=arena2] Strangulate
/cast [target=arena3] Strangulate
/cast [target=arena1] Death Grip
/cast [target=arena2] Death Grip
/cast [target=arena3] Death Grip
/cast [target=arena1] Dark Simulacrum
/cast [target=arena2] Dark Simulacrum
/cast [target=arena3] Dark Simulacrum
Focus Macros
#showtooltip Strangulate
/cast blood tap
/cast [target=focus] Strangulate
/cast [target=focus] Icy Touch
/cast [target=focus] Death Grip
/cast [target=focus] Gnaw
/cast [target=focus] Mind Freeze
/cast [target=focus] Leap
/cast [target=focus] Chains of Ice
Other Macros
/cast Blood Presence
/cast Unholy Presence
#showtooltip Raise Dead
/cast [nopet] Raise Dead; !Dark Transformation
#showtooltip Lichborne
/cast !Lichborne;
/cast [target=player] Death Coil
/cast [@pet] Death Coil
General Gameplay Tips:
Offensive Gameplay: As unholy, when you open you will want to use plague strike to apply your diseases to your target then chains into icy touch to slow & purge your target into additional to converting your runes to death and then blood boil twice to get 2 more runes converted into death runes and scourge strike with the last unholy rune. After that you want to use death runes on necrotic strike and use death coils with your runic power unless you are being trained in which case you wanna try to keep a decent amount of runic power to keep conversion running. If you are not being trained or targeted very often you can go in unholy presence but just be careful because you have to be ready for any swaps onto you and be ready to immediately toss up conversion / be in blood presence. Also for the use of cooldowns you usually want to wait until you have your trinkets procced to pop unholy frenzy & summon gargoyle together so the gargoyle does more damage and you can maximize your damage output and it is best to have 5 stacks of shadow infusion up at the same time you pop unholy frenzy + gargoyle so you can dark transform your ghoul at the same time. You will also want to use empower rune weapon whenever you are trying to dump out tons of pressure because it will allow you to stack a ton of necrotic strikes on your target. Another suggestion for offensive play is just making swaps to the other team's healer every 30 seconds with death grip into asphyxiate on the healer (if you are running asphyxiate of course), doing this will typically force defensive CD's each time you do it.
Defensive Gameplay: Defensively DKs have several abilities such as icebound fortitude, AMS, AMZ, conversion, death pact.
Anti-Magic Shell: You will want to use AMS whenever you see casters dumping tons of damage into you and you have no way to prevent the damage from going off or your healer is CC'ed, of course this ability allows you to get runic power when you absorb the damage. I'd like to add that AMS can also be used offensively to prevent casters from being able to peel you for the most part, allowing you to keep up pressure on your target but it can be risky if you don't have AMS when the other team's casters go offensive.
Anti-Magic Zone: Essentially the same thing as AMS as with AMZ use it whenever casters are doing tons of damage that you can't stop or your in danger due to your healer being CC'ed or if a team makes a swap to your healer you can just drop it on them to help deal with the incoming damage.
Death Pact: If you are running Death pact from the 4th tier of talents, you will want to basically just use this talent when you know you are going to take a ton of burst damage and your healer is in CC or can't keep up with the damage.
Conversion: If you have conversion from the 4th tier of talents, you will just turn this on whenever you are being trained to help keep yourself alive
Blood Presence: You should be in blood presence if you are being trained to help reduce damage and survive.
Icebound Fortitude: For Icebound Fortitude you want to use it whenever you are taking tons of damage or to help prevent damage like with a rogue kidneying you in a bomb just IBF it and run out of the bomb or a mage deeping you while your healer is sheeped etc.
Pet Management: As a DK you need to manage you ghoul to make sure it isn't in a bad position or randomly chasing players behind boxes so make sure you bind pet attack follow move to etc. and do not have your pet on anything other than passive. Make sure if a team is trying to kill your ghoul or you ghoul is taking any damage to use death coil to heal it back up it allows for quicker stacks to use dark transform on it since the death coils used for healing refund like 20 runic power each time and make sure you use huddle to help it survive through people just trying to train it into the ground.
Dark Simulacrum: One of the biggest abilities that separates high rated DKs from low rated DKs is the use of Dark Simulacrum. This ability allows you to copy almost any ability to an opponent uses that has a mana cost. Its great for copying defensive CDs like pain sup, divine shield, etc and for copying offensives like dark soul from warlocks and even for copying CC's such as cyclone, polymorph, HoJ, and etc. This ability takes a lot of getting used to be able to predict when opponents will use big CDs like pain sup and being able to time it to copy it but once you become more knowledgeable about this skill and predicting when opponents will use certain abilities it can help to completely turn around games.
Gearing & Gemming
Gemming varies based on what you are facing and what comp you are playing so you can either go max resil or max strength.
Yellow Sockets: Mystic Sun's Radiance or Resplendent Vermilion Onyx
Blue Sockets: Vivid Wild Jade or Tense Imperial Amethyst
Red Sockets: Resplendent Vermilion Onyx or Bold Primordial Ruby
Meta: Reverberating Primal Diamond
Stat Priority for UH in pvp is : str > resil > pvp power> hit 3% > exp 3%> mastery > haste > crit or
str > resil > pvp power> hit 3% > exp 3%> haste > mastery > crit
I'll just post the enchants you should use as well for each slot:
Shoulders: Greater Tiger Fang Inscription
Cloak: Enchant Cloak -Superior Critical Strike
Chest: Enchant Chest - Super Resilience
Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Exceptional Strength
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Superior Strength
Legs: Angerhide Leg Armor
Boots: Pandaren's Step
For DK trinkets I'd highly recommend running the Str Shado-pan assault pve trinket and the tyrannical proc trinket or Relic of Xuen, The Spark of Zandalar or Fabled Feather of Ji-kun (The pve procs are just insane for arenas atm).
here are some armories of top rated DKs in the world for examples of how to gem & gear.
Streams:Very few DKs seem to stream so I will only link Biotox's stream & Zetoxz's stream unless anyone has any other suggestions for DK streams to link.
Biotoxz typically plays at high mmr as a dk on bg9 and is very good at answering questions from his viewers and giving advice/tips for DKs. For sure the best streaming pvp dk atm.
Zetox is a R1 DK who I believe just recently came back to the game but streams from bg9 as well.
For now, this is the end of the guide and if its acceptable I will try to continue to update for 5.3 and so on. Please feel free to tell me if I am missing anything or if you have any suggestions on what to add or get rid of and as I stated at the start this guide is directed towards new players to help them learn how to play Unholy and not for experienced players. Hope you enjoy.


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USFWS National Digital Library
MARK MADISON: Hi, I'm Mark Madison, and it's June 30th, 2010, and we're doing a live Podcast from the Student Conservation and Climate Congress. It's our second annual gathering at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and today we have one of our speakers who spoke this morning, Peter Essick, who is a photographer, a photojournalist for the last 23 years. He does a lot of stories for National Geographic and other outlets and he's particularly taken some stunning images on global climate change around the world.
So, Peter, thank you so much for joining us here.
PETER ESSICK: Thank you. Nice to be here.
MARK MADISON: And we also have Emily Jenkins, who works at NCTC, who will be joining me in asking Peter a few questions.
And, Peter, we wanted to just ask you first: What made you want to become a photographer?
PETER ESSICK: Well, I took a photo class in high school, and I guess-- it sort of found my passion right away, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. It took me several years after that to figure out to make a living doing it. I ended up going through college and getting a degree in business, but eventually went back to the University of Missouri in photojournalism and was fortunate enough to get a summer internship at National Geographic magazine, and that's sort of how I got my foot in the door at National Geographic. But I found my passion for photography in a high school photo class.
MARK MADISON: That's great. And you're speaking to high school students this week. So hopefully you inspired a few future photojournalists.
PETER ESSICK: Great. I hope so, too.
MARK MADISON: And one of the things you're famous for is your photos of global climate change. How do you visually tell that story as a photographer?
PETER ESSICK: Well, I first started to do research by looking at science and nature articles that were peer-reviewed science papers, and I tried to think of ones that seemed to me to tell a compelling story or had a lot of solid proof that something was changing, and then I had to contact the scientists themselves and see if they were doing some active field work and see if I could work their schedule into my schedule and to go out and-- but that was one of the core principles of that story, was to make sure that all the pictures were accurate and that they had some scientific backing. And then also we had to make sure that there was some visual side to it that could make a compelling picture for National Geographic.
MARK MADISON: Great.
EMILY JENKINS: What was the most interesting adventure that you went on to take pictures?
PETER ESSICK: Well, we like to think the most interesting is the next story. I've been to about 100 countries now and all 50 states, and so it's sometimes hard to-- hard to remember them all sometimes and to sometimes choose, but I loved the story down in Patagonia. I think for a landscape photographer, that's almost like heaven. You have dramatic lighting, dramatic mountains, weather, glaciers, forests.
I did a story in Finland in the winter, and that was a very great experience for me visually just to see sort of the frozen north land.
So it's hard for me to pick one place. Often people think that the fjord lands, Norway, Patagonia, southeast coast of Alaska are the most beautiful areas of the world. So I tend to agree with that from a landscape perspective.
EMILY JENKINS: That's awesome. You have such beautiful pictures, especially of the Glacier National Park. Those are awesome.
PETER ESSICK: Thank you.
EMILY JENKINS: How do you hope to inspire the Student Climate and Conservation Congress kids?
PETER ESSICK: Well, I guess if there was one message, it would be just to follow their passion, whatever they're passionate about. I've found that the artists that I admire most are those that if you're passionate about grizzly bears and really want to tell the world what a great animal that is, you'll probably-- either with your writing or your photography, you'll do well. And if it's photography, photography is a difficult field now, print journalism is difficult, but I still try not to discourage people from getting into it. There are ways to get around that and find new outlets for it. But I think you have to first find the area that you really are passionate about.
MARK MADISON: You seem particularly passionate about climate change and conservation. Were there other influences that made you interested in the environment?
PETER ESSICK: Well, it started with my father. He was a science teacher, and he was also an outdoorsman. He liked to go backpacking and hiking and skiing. So he was my first influence, definitely, with the love of the outdoors.
I think since I've become a father myself I've gotten really interested in some of the environmental issues. The great environmentalist David Brower had a quote that said that, "Environmentalists sometimes don't make the best neighbors, but they make great ancestors." So I like to think that my photos will, you know, help make the world better for him now as far as-- when you start thinking about climate, I think a lot of the
problems, the potential problems, are going to come up in his lifetime and maybe even in his children's lifetime. So, trying to look ahead to that as far as-- and that's, I guess, having-- becoming a father has made me more aware of that.
MARK MADISON: That's great.
Your photos have appeared on the National Geographic cover story on global warming and "An Inconvenient Truth," and an audio Podcast really doesn't do them justice. Is there a web site or something where people could go if they wanted to learn more about you or your photos?
PETER ESSICK: There is the National Geographic, on their web site they have a contributors-- I do have some of my photos, it's called rayoflightphotographs.com. My wife and I have a web site where we sell posters and note cards of some of my landscape photos. So you can look at the landscape photos there.
MARK MADISON: Well, Peter, thank you so much for coming to the second annual Sc3 Conference. The students obviously loved it, and they swarmed you afterwards with a lot of questions. I think it was very inspirational, and I appreciate your time to do this quick audio Podcast, and I want to thank all of you who took the time to listen to this Podcast.
PETER ESSICK: Great. Thank you very much. Nice to be here.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.


text:
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Golden State Warriors will try to rebound from a disappointing, nationally televised loss Thursday night when they host the Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena on Saturday.
The Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Clippers, their primary rivals in the Pacific Division, 126-115. This came a day after the Warriors clobbered the Lakers, 125-94.
Offense clearly hasn't been a problem for the Warriors in the early going, but defense and turnovers have plagued them. Golden State allowed that huge point total to the Clippers, specifically the 42 Chris Paul scored, but gave the ball away 25 times, which led to 28 Clippers points.
"We had some break downs, too many turn overs," said head coach Mark Jackson. "I thought at times we were very good and there were times where we can't turn the basketball over that much. They made us paid the price."
The game against the Clippers got chippy. Blake Griffin stepped on Jackson's foot during an inbounds pass and Jackson and Griffin had a lengthy conversation about it.
Andrew Bogut of the Warriors and DeAndre Jordan got into a pushing match and were both whistled for technical fouls.
Paul's game eclipsed a big scoring night for Steph Curry. He netted 38 points on 9-for-14 3-point shooting. Curry also had nine assists, but committed a whopping 11 turnovers.
David Lee scored 22 points, followed by 17 from Bogut, 14 points and 11 assists by Andre Iguodala and 10 points out of Klay Thompson, who torched the Lakers for 38.
Sacramento will play its first road game of the season and split its first two home games versus Denver and the Clippers. After taking down the Nuggets 90-88 on Wednesday, the Kings dropped a 110-101 decision to the Clippers on Friday.
DeMarcus Cousins posted 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 29 points off the bench. Marcus Thornton delivered 17 points for the Kings, who lost despite shooting a decent 45.6 percent for the game and made only 6-of-17 3-pointers.
The Kings had a 92-90 lead at one point, but L.A. pulled away for good.
"Any time we play a division rival it's going to be a hotly-contested game. We just have to have great mental toughness," Kings coach Michael Malone said.
A 31-24 advantage for the Clippers and 26 points by Chris Paul were too much for Sacramento. The Kings will have to ride Cousins once again unless they get another performance from Thomas. But in two games this season, Cousins has two double-doubles to combine for 54 points and 24 boards. He had 30 points and 14 rebounds against the Nuggets.
The Kings took three of four from the Warriors last season, including a late- season victory in Oakland, where they are 5-15 in the past 20.


text:
Commencement Speaker - Commencement
Page Hero - About Us
Commencement Speaker
U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Adm. Mike Mullen
Admiral Mike Mullen served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2007-2011). He was the principal military advisor to President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, as well as two secretaries of defense.
He led the military during a critical period of transition, overseeing the end of the combat mission in Iraq, and the development of a new military strategy for Afghanistan. He advocated for the rapid development and fielding of innovative technologies, championed emerging and enduring international partnerships, and advanced new methods for combating terrorism.
As Joint Chiefs Chairman, he spearheaded the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In addition, he successfully led the matrix, consensus-based, complex organizational model of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mullen has deep experience in leading change in complex organizations, executive development and succession planning, diversity implementation, crisis management, strategic planning, budget policy, congressional relations, risk management, technical innovation, and cybersecurity. He is widely recognized as an "honest broker" in his key leadership roles as the trusted advisor to both President Bush and President Obama. He maintains strong relationships with leaders around the globe.
He and his wife, Deborah, remain staunch advocates for veterans and their families on a broad range issues including drawing public attention and institutional focus to the challenges of post-traumatic stress, combat-related brain injury, military suicide, care of the wounded, and veteran homelessness.
A native of Los Angeles, Mullen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He commanded at every level in the Navy including three ships, an aircraft carrier battle group, and a fleet. His final four-star command was in Europe for NATO. His fleet experience culminated in his assignment as the Navy's highest ranking officer, the 28th Chief of Naval Operations (2005-2007).
Mullen earned a Master's of Science in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.


text:
Department of Transportation Makes Rear View Cameras Mandatory 518
An anonymous reader writes "The Department of Transportation issued a new rule (PDF) on Monday requiring car manufacturers to include rearview cameras in all cars manufactured after May 1, 2018. The rule applies to all cars weighing less than 10,000 pounds, including buses and trucks, but does not include motorcycles and trailers. '[The cameras] must give drivers a field of vision measuring at least 10 by 20 feet directly behind the vehicle. The system must also meet other requirements including dashboard image size, lighting conditions and display time.' An estimated 13 to 15 deaths and 1,125 injuries may be prevented with the implementation of this new requirement."


text:
- I never knew what a ponzi scheme really was until last Friday.
- And along those lines, am I the only one who sees the sick irony in the name Madoff?
- Every time I see a Smart Car, I smile.
- It's never too late to get in the swing of things.
- I don't sift flour. Ever. And I'm not sorry.
- While we're at it, what is "figgie pudding" and do I really want someone to bring it to me?
- I am getting my Google MD in all things thyroid.
- Two dogs are a lot more work than one. I am sorry.
- Does anyone else like that SkyMall catalogue as much as I do?
- I love the Christmas music on the Weather Channel.
- What exactly is the swing of things?
- I am obsessed with this hippo mom.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
This-n-That Thursday
35 comments:
- Linda said...
I love the hippo picture! I'm more addicted to the baby though (probably cause my rear looks more like the mama's!!) giggle! First giggle I've had today--I also suffer from lack of Christmas joy--and I work in a church! Don't know why I think that should matter but it should! I should be exempt from the blues, rght? Anyhow, I had a wonderful psychiatrist a number of years ago and he put me on L-Tryptophan. Yes, you can get it at health food store, but prescription grade is so much better for you! It really works for me. I start when the sun starts to disappear (here in Alberta that's in October) and I stop taking it when spring and more sunshine arrive. Best thing I've ever had! I'm not going to say happy holidays, but I am going to say--you can get through the season!
Lurking Linda
- December 17, 2008 at 11:18 PM
- Flea said...
Thyroid - have the antibodies checked. No kidding. Make sure that's done.
- December 17, 2008 at 11:48 PM
- Suz Broughton said...
Two dogs are like four-times a single dog.
- December 18, 2008 at 12:22 AM
- jojo said...
confession...I have never sifted flour...
- December 18, 2008 at 1:21 AM
- Chesapeake Bay Woman said...
No! You do not want any figgie pudding. This is what I grow in my refrigerator, and it consists of leftovers from circa 2006.
- December 18, 2008 at 5:01 AM
- Debra (a/k/a Doris, Mimi) said...
The more dogs the merrier. I have 3 and LOVE each one almost as much as my human children.
The purpose of sifting flour is for baking, right? No wonder i've never sifted flour. I don't bake.
LOVE the hippos. However, with Momma hippos portly figure, one must wonder how she managed to get pregnant in the first place. Or is it baby weight?
- December 18, 2008 at 5:08 AM
- Flash Stitcher said...
Yes, well now there is coffee on the screen of my computer as well as the key board with the Hippo obsession!!
Figgy pudding is great with hard brandy sauce. Smart cars are just too cute but I worry about the squish effect in an accident. Sky mall catalog fabulous, however, it has been 4 years since I have been anywhere on a plane. Can you say VACATION starved?
Off for more coffee and to put the lights on the tree.
- December 18, 2008 at 5:27 AM
- Sassy said...
I haven't sifted flour since I moved from my parent's home...I always had to sift because I was told I had to sift...WELL NOT WHEN I MOVE...lol! That mommies fanny looks like I feel mine looks like...which with life lately...the way I keep eating my misery away...IT'S GOING TOO! hhmmmmm I don't know about figgy pudding???????? Take care of you my friend!
- December 18, 2008 at 6:40 AM
- Sassy said...
P.S. I think you need that song playing...Baby 's got back.....you know I LIKE BIG BUTT'S AND I CAN NOT LIE...
- December 18, 2008 at 6:54 AM
- RiverPoet said...
I can definitely vouch for the fact that 2 dogs are exponentially worse than 1, especially when one of them is a hyperactive bulldog male!
Peace - D
- December 18, 2008 at 7:42 AM
- big hair envy said...
I'm obsessed with that hippo mom too. Looking at the size of her butt makes me feel SO much better about the size of mine.
Figgie Pudding? That's right up there with mincemeat ;D Whatever they are...
- December 18, 2008 at 7:43 AM
- Cool Breeze said...
Well, that was random ... I really don't know what to say.
- December 18, 2008 at 7:44 AM
- Daryl said...
I think anyone who sifts flour is suspect.
And I think I will stick that photo to both the fridge door AND my bathroom mirror ..
- December 18, 2008 at 7:59 AM
- tj said...
...Ohhhhhhhhhhh(*a sing along*),
"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy"
"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,
that's the easy thing to do"
"I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there"
"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too!"
...YAY! Great job everyone! (*applause*)...lol ;o)
...Figgie pudding? Um, no thanks... :o)
...Glad to hear you're gettin' in the spirit MPM! Blessings...
- December 18, 2008 at 8:28 AM
- AG said...
I don't sift either. And I snicker every time they say Madof!
Why do I find that picture so disturbing?
- December 18, 2008 at 8:54 AM
- Keetha said...
I still don't know that I understand what a ponzi scheme is. Something really, really bad apparently.
I rarely sift flour, either, unless I just feel like it. Sometimes I just feel like it.
- December 18, 2008 at 9:07 AM
- Trisha said...
That is one HUGE hippo. I wonder if she worries about the baby weight?
- December 18, 2008 at 9:20 AM
- Deb said...
Well, that's two of us because I had to look up "ponzi scheme" with another 480,000 Gogglers.
Madoff? It is ironicaly sick.
I would never want figgie pudding. Yuck!
Get a cat...they aren't much work at all.
Wow...what a behind!
- December 18, 2008 at 9:33 AM
- dlyn said...
Figgy pudding doesn't sound very good to me. kinda slimy and gross.
I never sift flour either, though I might pretend to on my blog.
I also love the Christmas music on TWC. I am obsessed with TWC actually - I pay for the full Desktop Weather thingie and I even get text alerts for warnings.
- December 18, 2008 at 10:00 AM
- KD @ A Bit Squirrelly said...
We went to the zoo last week for Zoo Lights and saw the new baby elephant and I CRIED. Yes, CRIED. What the Figgie Pudding was that about?
- December 18, 2008 at 10:03 AM
- Magpie said...
I sometimes sift the flour, like for a fancy cake where I'm actually using cake flour. But otherwise? Nah.
- December 18, 2008 at 10:12 AM
- Debbie said...
I am so relieved others have the strangest things rattling around in their head like I do. Now I know I'm just normal. What a wonderful Christmas gift, Mama! Thank you LOL
- December 18, 2008 at 1:50 PM
- Country Girl said...
I like the hippo photo, too!
And there's no way you will want figgie pudding. Stay away from it.
But the recipe is here in case others want to try it (yuk).
- December 18, 2008 at 2:20 PM
- MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...
I'm fairly certain it means you need a vacation and/or a martini stat. Possibly both.
I don't know why, but I'm totally drawn to that hippo's ass too. Weird.
- December 18, 2008 at 2:29 PM
- Living on the Spit said...
I know what it's telling me! I need to lose that excuse of the excess weight being baby fat...my gawd, I must admit...my youngest is now in first grade.
I always know you can get a really big smile out of me.
Love you
- December 18, 2008 at 4:10 PM
- Mary said...
All I can say is I'm really glad I can't see my butt, because I have sneaking suspicion that I look like Mama Hippo. ;)
- December 18, 2008 at 4:54 PM
- Baroness von Bloggenschtern said...
Sky Mall, Sky Mall, Sky Mall!! I just travel around on planes to get the magazine!!
I've also recently become addicted to Brookstone (someone cheaper, as I don't have to factor in airfare...)
- December 18, 2008 at 5:10 PM
- TSannie said...
I always thought Ponzi was some sort of asian dipping sauce...
- December 18, 2008 at 5:52 PM
- Fairy Mae said...
You make me giggle.
- December 18, 2008 at 6:34 PM
- Chere said...
The hippo photo is too cute. Holiday cheer is in short supply this year.
- December 18, 2008 at 8:16 PM
- Lisa said...
I don't know half of what you are talking about...but I do LOVE the hippo. Reminds me of the Christmas song about wanting a hippotamus for christmas. Great, now that song is stuck in my head~
- December 18, 2008 at 8:53 PM
- Snooty Primadona said...
See? I knew I wasn't crazy for never sifting the flour! But wait! Did I mention that I seldom, if ever, bake? Heh heh... Even if I do, I never sift the cake mix, lol.
- December 18, 2008 at 9:16 PM
- Michelle said...
Whats with the hippo posts today? Hallie too
- December 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM
- Maria said...
Is there a webcam for these two?????? <:-)
- December 18, 2008 at 11:32 PM
- imom said...
I have never sifted flour, ever. I bake a lot too! I also love the sky mall catalog.
- December 19, 2008 at 9:02 AM


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Episode #2104
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Goose hunting women; Stephanie Rubio stays cool under fire; Lake Arrowhead State Park; diving the Texas Clipper; nature scenes.
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BRIGHTON -- So far this season Ken Nevin has been impressed with his team's offensive prowess. But it was the other end of the court Monday evening that caught the Monarch boys basketball coach's eye.
The Coyotes opened the Thunderhawks Hoops Fest with a convincing 51-38 win over Frederick behind one of the team's best defensive efforts of the season. Monarch had the Warriors on their heels from the opening whistle, holding them to 18 points in the opening three periods.
The effort goes down as Monarch strongest of the season, but to Nevin the game only scratches the potential of this team.
"We're still not where we want to be," Nevin said. "But we're a young team. At the end of the game, we had three sophomores on the floor."
Monarch's (4-1) stinginess keeps the team in the winners side of the brackets and pits it against Brighton (3-6) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. If the Coyotes play anywhere close to how they did out of halftime in the next round, the Bulldogs will have their hands full.
Monarch had the Warriors (3-2) reeling in the third period holding the team to its first scoreless quarter of the season. From what Alex Krason saw on the court, the senior knew the Coyotes were building up a head of steam on defense. But one of Monarch's two double-digit scorers was even taken back by the damage his team did to start the second half.
"We knew we had the opportunity to make plays on defense coming into the game," said Krason, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "We just stuck with it and made plays."
The closest Frederick came to putting points on the board in the third came when Ryan Miller toed the line for a two free-throw attempts. But the Warriors shook off their sluggish period to make a game of it in the fourth.
While the team got no closer to Monarch than 8 points in the period, Frederick had the Coyotes panting. The Warriors went on a 20-point tear in the quarter, fueled by big showings by Jayden McGraw and Lucas Adams. McGraw scored all of his points in the period to finish the evening with eight. And Adams came up with the final six of his game-high 14.
"It was too little, too late," Adams said. "We're a great team when we have 12 guys that come out and give 100 percent. That just wasn't the case tonight."
Larry Frank did not discount the effect his team's win Friday night over Silver Creek might have had.
"I think we might have had a little bit of hangover coming out of that game," the Frederick coach said. "We just didn't have any energy to start and unfortunately it took us three quarters to figure it out."
Follow Elwood on Twitter @ElwoodKShelton.
Monarch 51, Frederick 38
At Prairie View HS
Adams 5 3-4 14, McGraw 4 0-0 8, Weis 1 0-0 2, Therrien 1 0-0 3, Martinez 1 0-0 2, Miller 4 1-7. Totals 16 4-11 38..
Weaver 2 1-2 5, Frederick 5 0-0 12, Young 2 0-0 5, Stewart 1 0-2 2, Kirkman 2 0-0 4, Krason 6 0-1 13, Lawson 1 0-0 2, Beauchamp 0 6-8, Mommaerts 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 7-13 51.
Score by quarters:
Frederick 9 9 0 20 -- 38
Monarch 15 11 11 14 -- 51
3-point field goals -- Frederick (2): Adams, Therrien; Monarch (3): Fredrick, Young, Krason. Total fouls -- Frederick 16, Monarch 16. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Frederick bench.


text:
I predict that at the end of next month, little Debbie Povunktuk will be recorded as eating 500,000 calories all in mashed potatoes.
C'mon... kids that age share all sorts of things... they won't understand that sharing their secret PIN is wrong. Mainly because their mom&dad said to report anyone that tells them "it'll be our little secret"
I predict that at the end of next month, little Debbie Povunktuk will be recorded as eating 500,000 calories all in mashed potatoes.
C'mon... kids that age share all sorts of things... they won't understand that sharing their secret PIN is wrong. Mainly because their mom&dad said to report anyone that tells them "it'll be our little secret"
But sharing is evil! The RIAA told me so...
And remember to say that when politicians ask for money...
Ftfa: the number will pull up the child's photo so the cashier can verify the identity.
That little check is in place at least.
That said children can go and purchase meals for each other. But it's pretty hard to purchase meals on someone else's account.
It's time to teach kids what they're eating affects their health.
So basically, tell them not to eat the "food" elementary schools supply at all?
Schools really should be more mindful of what [i]they[/i] serve. If a kid wants to bring their own lunch that's fine, but the school provided meals should be healthy and balanced. Let's get rid of the candy and soda machines while we're at it. Not only does it promote unhealthy lifestyles, but is a disgusting display of consumerism within a so-called institute of education.
Let's get rid of the candy and soda machines while we're at it. Not only does it promote unhealthy lifestyles, but is a disgusting display of consumerism within a so-called institute of education.
Problem is, these candy and soda machines are often used to fund the schools' athletic programs. So get rid of them in the name of health, and pretty soon the school has no football or basketball team. Which is healthier? Playing sports and cooling off with a cold cola afterward, or drinking water while sitting at home on the couch playing video games? And by the way, healthier alternatives such as juice machines have a much lower profit margin.
People aren't willing to pay for healthy... THAT is the problem.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a boatload more expensive the subsidized high fructose corn syrup, and processed industrial food.
This is how ketchup became a vegetable.
"We're making sure that as they're leaving the lunch line that the menu items they've selected match up with state law, so they're selecting a meal that has all the basic [components] of good nutrition," said school district spokesman Jarrett Peterson. "We're not tracking what each individual child eats."
If that were true they would not need a PIN, just a pass/fail for whatever is on their tray. Pass you get to go and eat, fail you get back in line and get your vegetables.
When I was in public school we didn't even have a choice - everybody's meal was exactly the same. Other than outliers with food allergies, why aren't they doing that? No need for any of this technology crap (which, I'd be surprised if it weren't a sweet-heart corporate socialism deal for some company that is owned by a member of the school board) and they probably save money by streamlining preparation and purchasing too.
When I was in public school we didn't even have a choice - everybody's meal was exactly the same. Other than outliers with food allergies, why aren't they doing that? No need for any of this technology crap (which, I'd be surprised if it weren't a sweet-heart corporate socialism deal for some company that is owned by a member of the school board) and they probably save money by streamlining preparation and purchasing too.
I was thinking that myself. I don't recall getting any choice in my cafeteria food until 7th grade, when I could choose lunch 1 or lunch 2. If I really caught a wild hare, I could buy a second milk or an ice cream sandwich.
There has been a great deal of publicity in Iowa recently about the amount of junk food available in the cafeterias and vending machines in schools. So much so that parents and other citizens have been demanding that the legislature do something to ensure that kids didn't eat only twink
Salesman of expensive system takes school district decision maker out for dinner and whatnot and explains how this will solve their compliance issues - it's high tech after all!
School guy says, yeah but why don't we just feed them what's required by law?
Salesguy: But this is high tech! By the way, here's the literature and specs of the system in this briefcase - you can keep this old thing. [fashionindie.com]
Schoolguy: Well, it is for the good of the children! Where do I sign?
How can they possibly justify the need to monitor what children eat. When they are either eating what their parent gave them or what the school gives them. This is has no purpose other than to get kids used to being monitored. For crying out loud, if you're worried they're eating too much junk, stop giving it to them.
Iowa schools were profiting by selling the rights to provide school lunches to outside contractors, who found it more profitable to sell kids junk food. Parents got sick of this and demanded the legislature step in. Some administrator took this mandate a little too far, possibly on purpose.
Also why is the parent making a huge deal about memorizing 4 numbers? Don't these children know their 7-digit home phone numbers?
According to the article they can't tie their shoes yet, so maybe 4 digits is too much for them.
Don't these children know their 7-digit home phone numbers?
Nope, they just scroll to "Mom" in the Contact List of their cell phones. These *are* 5 year olds; they might not be able to tie their shoes yet but they're not savages!
Protest by having all the kids use the same PIN.
Protest by having all the kids use the same PIN.
Sorry, the system is one step ahead of you. Quoth TFA:
"The PIN pulls up the child's picture for validation"
...in my kids' school district, each child receives a 6-digit PIN, in kindergarten. The children are expected to memorize their PINs in kindergarten, where they must use the PIN to purchase lunch. So there's really nothing new under the sun here. Identification numbers are a fact of life: You'll get one in primary and secondary school, you'll get one in college, and then you'll get an employee ID when you get hired on. Every aspect of one's life is dictated by an identification number.
Exactly. All three of my children have had to memorize a 6 digit pin, which is also their student ID number. It's not used to monitor what they eat, specifically. It is used to charge the student's account for the meal. We put money into their accounts via an online portal. That way there's no lost lunch money...
School lunches are set up to be nutritious by design. I think someone read too much into this and Fox is being a bit sensational with their coverage...
My kid's school gives them credit card like objects with their picture on them so they can do the same thing but it works great because I can log in and see that my kid ate what I told them to eat.... or at least purchased what I told them to.
I used to take $1.25 to school every day for lunch. Today a kid would get robbed and killed for that much
Your parents said the same thing when they were your age, and your kids will say the same when they are your age.
I don't really see the huge deal here.
I have a theory about why it's a big deal. The story is coming from Fox News, the same organisation that is owned by Rupert Murdoch who just made a big walloping donation to the GOP, has kicked up a stink about a so-called "ground zero mosque" that they actually supported nearly a year ago when the story first broke, and are now approaching mid-term elections with the smell of Democrat blood in their nostrils. Anything that helps to build up a picture of "Americans losing their freedoms" is just part of a broader campaign to portray everything that's happening in the world as bad ever since that black dude got elected. So "School implements technology to comply with laws combating the obesity epidemic" becomes "Big brother in Iowa" with the requisite question mark on the end to fool the impressionable reader into thinking that this piece of commentary is actually an NPOV news story.
Meta-moderators, please pay attention on this one. This is neither a troll nor flamebait, it's a valid comment. As the OP says, there is no -1 disagree option.
Whatever happened to the days when there were no choices for lunch at school. You ate the slop they served or you went hungry. Worked just fine when I was a kid (~30 yrs ago). The food wasn't even that bad and we got all milk refills we wanted (was served from cafeteria-style dispensers not tiny cartons).
There were no kosher menus, no vegetarian menus, no alternates if kids didn't like something, no alacarte line, and no salad bars. Kids with food allergies had to bag it when they couldn't eat that day's lu
Whatever happened to the days when there were no choices for lunch at school. You ate the slop they served or you went hungry. Worked just fine when I was a kid (~30 yrs ago). The food wasn't even that bad and we got all milk refills we wanted (was served from cafeteria-style dispensers not tiny cartons).
There were no kosher menus, no vegetarian menus, no alternates if kids didn't like something, no alacarte line, and no salad bars. Kids with food allergies had to bag it when they couldn't eat that day's lunch (menus were posted monthly so parents could keep track). The only food served other than that day's menu was PB&J (with milk and some sort of fruit), which was always available, even for kids who couldn't pay and weren't on free lunch program.
A simple menu would be cheaper to serve, both in terms of food costs and labor (kitchen and serving), and easier to track who ate what: (a) school lunch, (b) bag lunch, or (c) PB&J.
It was the same in my day too. I particularly liked Thursdays, they always had the best food and the nicest desserts on a Thursday.
Nutrition tracking in the middle of an obesity epidemic isn't a privacy issue, it's a small step in the right direction.
That doesn't really sound like the best way to implement it though. On the other hand, it should at least sort of work, which is better than nothing.
Seriously! My elementary had a PIN code to pay for lunch over 20 years ago. It was a very helpful system that allowed parents to deposit money into the lunch account. Kids didn't have to worry if they had money or not in the account either. The account would go negative and a letter would be generated to be sent home reminding the parent to deposit money into the account.
The only difference between then and now is that school districts are watched under a microscope about what food is being fed to the kids. So now the lunch lady records what food you eat so the school can use that data to improve the food and prove they are meeting state/federal guidelines. Where is the harm in that?
I'd certainly like any school to stop my kid from draining his lunch account by buying nothing but Twinkies!
Keeping track of food consumption, and maybe supplying that information to parents, sounds like a good idea. It is not like a school, especially in the lower grades, don't already know what kids eat.
This is clearly an attempt by the fast foo
I don't know whether school lunch programs actually increase student performance or not. It is unconscionable that children go hungry while others eat in front of them, so I consider the programs necessary.
The three of my four kids who are in school take a lunch box. One of them is overweight, and we found out he was spending his allowance on a la carte junk food in the cafeteria line, particularly ice cream bars.
Frankly, there isn't any reason for the junk food to be there in the first place. I was astonis
Check out the source of the story, folks. It says at the top of the page that it's coming from an organisation called "Fox News, Fair and Balanced".
Just thought you should know.
At my old high school the card system did not work that well at times.
This was years ago but what I saw was Power over Ethernet cash registers / POS with 2? Line mini LCD's that did not work that well. Some student said they were getting over billed on their cash / free lunch card. The systems when down many times and lunch stuff had to write the card numbers down and the cost of the food. Some times when paying with cash they would ring it up look at the price (to high) says that's not right and have to st
unhealthy foods are cheaper then healthy stuff and schools don't have the funds to have good healthy food. Also some of fatty foods / vending make cash for the schools.
Training kids to eat poorly and to select the wrong foods is a form of child abuse. I do realize that our society has wrecked the idea of mom being at home to instruct children properly and many people simply do not take care of their kids. A school using technology to catch these problems sounds like a great idea to me.
Those sniffers that can spot drug use of parents in the home from the child's clothing are al
And it only happened 15 years ago!
They need to be using biodegradable RFID tags instead. If we can make edible underwear, why FFS can't we make edible RFID tags? Think of the (unhealthy) children!
You know, I scanned the first 75 replies or so and I cannot recall a single one being from someone who actually claimed to have a kid in a school. So here's my take on the situation, as someone who has had 5 kids in school.
1) This isn't news. This has been going on for a long time now, as school districts strive to stop handling money. As a parent, I would *FAR* rather write a check every few months (or, better yet, this year they take Paypal!) to pay for my kids lunches, than try to find the exact damn change every day for my six year old.
2) I have a child who has struggled with weight issues from birth. Seeing as how she has two rail thin sisters (and they eat the same things), we have been working with her for about a year to emphasize better food choices and controlled portions. However, the simple fact is that schools do have choices in the cafeterias, especially starting in middle school. As such, I consider it a good tool for me to keep track of all my kids *SPENDING* and eating habits. I can tell if my high school freshman is guzzling down four packages of twinkies a day, or eating a real meal.
3) What, exactly, does anyone believe the schools will do with this information? They are already legally restricted in terms of dietary requirements (by state and federal regulation) and they are already legally restricted from divulging personal information of students. So, does anyone her seriously believe that they will start selling Hostess the names and eating habits of every child? Or that they will start writing contracts with companies simply to, what? Increase profit margins? Violate laws by bringing in unhealthy foods? Sorry, it won't happen.
I think that the bottom line here is that this really isn't a privacy violation. It's a tool to allow parents to control diet and spending of kids who might not be able to make the best decisions about such issues.
You're right. My reaction to this was, "This is news?"
They've had this at our local elementary school as long as I've had kids there, which has been 10 years. The kids each have an ID number they enter when they purchase lunch and we write checks for lunch money. They get to keep the same ID number all through their school "career" (my oldest is in 11th grade) and it saves them the trouble of having to deal with money for lunches and saves us the trouble of dealing with it too.
In some ways, this was genius. While you couldn't control (or tell) exactly what they purchased, you at least had control over how much they spent. Also: there was no risk of lost or stolen lunch money.
On the other hand, it was a privacy nuts worst nightmare - scanning kids. There were assurances that the ID gathered from the thumb was reduced to datapoints which could NOT be used to produce a new image, so no larger database concerns, but still creepy.
In the end, we just had our kids bring their lunches. The school lunches were high-fat crap, usually something fried or made entirely of cheese. Best estimates from our kids was that over half the kids brought lunch, and this was a reasonably affluent town. Crud, if they would just throw in an apple or something once in a while, they'd get more takers.
Program website:
http://ankeny.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=190047&sessionid=5df71ce111dfbc72890cf7f887fa1c5c [schoolfusion.us]
More info:
http://ankeny.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=5df71ce111dfbc72890cf7f887fa1c5c&pageid=64839&sessionid&sessionid=5df71ce111dfbc72890cf7f887fa1c5c [schoolfusion.us]
Maybe instead of quoting/directing to "Fox News", interview the person in charge (page 1, bottom).
My children have had this set up in their school since my daughter started 4 years ago, but we don't use it. We pack our kids' lunches. Not really that expensive to do if you want to ensure your kids are eating healthy.
The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the number of participants. -- Adam Walinsky


text: Woohoo I picked up some Holden horizon aluminium bulks that I picked up for only $50 a chassis brace This is my build for my basher I have rpm arms all the way around traxxas big bore shocks and a 1972 chevy body that I have to pain yet. I picked up red and black. I was thinking the front red half then pinstriping it into the black rear end so it flows good. Everything should be done by Friday and I will post pictures for you guys. Oh and also waiting for rpm wearplatrs that are on order. This is almost all I can think of to bulletproof it. Any ideas anyone? All input appreciated


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A Memorial Eucharist in memory of the Rev. Canon Bob Krogman will be offered at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Sycamore on at 7 p.m. Feb. 28.
After his retirement as Rector of Saint James the Less Church in Northfield in 1992, Krogman served as Interim Rector of Saint Peter's, as well as at Saint Paul's in DeKalb. He also served congregations in Dixon, Loves Park, Palatine and West Dundee. Krogman served on the DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board, and was a beloved member of the Sycamore and DeKalb communities.
The Rev. David Hedges, Rector of Saint Peter's Church, will celebrate the Holy Communion. The Rev. Maron Phipps, Rector of St. Hugh of Lincoln in Elgin, will preach the sermon. The Rev. Ron Valentine, Deacon at St. James the Less in Northfield, will assist. A reception will follow the service. Everyone is welcome to attend the service, and all baptized persons are invited to receive Holy Communion.
The church is located at 218 Somonauk St. It is accessible to the disabled. For information, call the church at 815-895-2227 or visit www.sycamorestpeters.org.


text: Meta Rate My Team PokéBase - Pokémon Q&A Login Register All Activity Questions Unanswered Tags Users Ask a Question Rules Chat Early fliers in Black/White 2? 0 votes 2,780 views I'm planning my team for white 2, the only thing I'm missing is a Pokemon to teach fly to; I wanted archen/archeops, but it seems I can't get them until very late on in the game. I want to catch all my Pokemon in-game rather than breed and trade from my other games, and I also want to try and get them before I'm halfway through the main timeline. I've been trying to look up some good Pokemon myself, but I'm not very familiar with the B/W2 map, so I can't really tell if I can get them early in the game or not. Which Pokemon can be obtained fairly early in the game and can learn fly? I don't mind much about the stats right now, I just want a list of Pokemon to choose from and work out if I want to use them later. Thanks. black-white-2 fly unova asked Sep 18, 2012 by PokeartKid Archen isn't that far into the game. He's in the Desert Resort - and what the problem with being late in the game? commented Sep 18, 2012 by Fizz You need to go to Nacrene Museam to revive him. And you can only go there after beating the champion commented Sep 19, 2012 by IntergalacticZoroark Please log in or register to add a comment. Please log in or register to answer this question. 3 Answers 1 vote Best answer http://Pokemondb.net/location http://www.serebii.net/pokearth __ These links will both help you find the Pokemon you seek. The Locations will give you detailed info on where to find Pokemon on each area, and the Pokearth from Serebii allows you to browse each region and get info on each location. ____ On my opinion, here a couple of effective fliers: As you mentioned, Archeops. Fly might not be the best choice in real-strategy movesets, but it doesn't have to be perfect. He also benefits from STAB, which is always a help. Crobat: Hasn't got a huge Flying movepool - so Fly isn't a bad choice. It's also STAB. Swoobat is also an option - bit it isn't as powerful as the other Pokemon listed. Of course, a good flier would always be a Flying type - like Swoobat - so its STAB. Hope this helps! :D answered Sep 18, 2012 by Fizz selected Nov 29, 2012 by Shining Yin I'll probably get an Archeops. I already have a poison-type like crobat in my team, and I've used swoobat before and want to use a different pokemon. Thanks a lot! commented Sep 18, 2012 by PokeartKid Thanks, no worries, always happy to help! commented Sep 18, 2012 by Fizz Please log in or register to add a comment. 1 vote Pidove would be the earleyest flyer. answered Sep 18, 2012 by Udunuh He means GOOD commented Sep 18, 2012 by Absol reshown Sep 19, 2012 by Pokemaster he said nothing like this Absol Udunuh answer is right "I don't mind much about the stats right now, I just want a list of Pokemon to choose from and work out if I want to use them later."-Taken straight from above commented Sep 19, 2012 by Kameko Please log in or register to add a comment. 1 vote Well to be honest, you're all missing out on one important flyer... FLYGON!! Now, Vibrava might evolve into Flygon at a late level, but Trapinch evolves into Vibrava at 35. Reasonable. Vibrava can also learn Fly, which is a plus. It may not get STAB, but Flygon can more than deliver with his attack stat. And if you're catching a Trapinch at the Rebirth Mountain, it will be like 3 levels from evolving! Yippe! So chose Flygon. He's awesome. answered Sep 19, 2012 by IntergalacticZoroark YAAAAAY! Flygon! commented Sep 19, 2012 by Fizz I'm quite surprised that you didn't suggest him Fizzcube! commented Sep 19, 2012 by IntergalacticZoroark Please log in or register to add a comment. Related questions How many copies of Pokemon Black/White 2 have been sold worldwide? How many 'Challenge Medals' Are there In Pokemon Black & White 2? I want to get to the nature preserve in white 2 but.......? Can anyone get me skitty in black 2? Pokemon Black 2 Glitch Tranier (is it a glitch or not)? Is it a glitch that a Charizard can learn Fly in Black 2? What are the easiest fire-counter Pokémon to obtain in early Black 2/White 2? Why aren't Ash's Pokemon in Black and White evolving? Useful Meta Posts How to change your username How to add a user avatar Why was my post hidden? The points system Question etiquette Flags vs Downvotes Anime FAQ


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Maze Bank of Los Santos
(Redirected from Maze Bank)Jump to navigation Jump to search
|Maze Bank of Los Santos
GTA Online
|Type of business
|Los Santos
|Gang affiliation
Michael De Santa (customer)
GTA Online protagonist (customer)
The Maze Bank of Los Santos is a banking institution present in Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is based on U.S. Bank. Its logo can be seen on top of Los Santos' tallest skyscraper, the Maze Bank Tower. Maze Bank also owns the naming rights to the city's sports arena, the Maze Bank Arena.
The bank accounts of Michael De Santa and the GTA Online protagonist are held at Maze Bank. In GTA Online, the player can withdraw and deposit money into his/her account either by using an ATM or accessing the Maze Bank website from their smartphone.


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You need to have attended the FUNdamentals of Climbing 1 workshop to attend this second workshop. Check FUNdamentals 1 workshops dates and venues.
The learning outcomes for the Fundamentals 2 Workshop are that you will be able to:
1. Describe the essential principles of skill acquisition
2. Explain, demonstrate and evaluate key climbing movement principles
3. Identify and apply appropriate activities to develop the FUNdamentals of climbing movement
Download a booking form here.
Created by Jonathan Garside on
14/02/2012 17:49:54
Last Amended by Jonathan Garside
09/10/2012 12:54:35


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Hello everyone!
My mainly idea of developing Sabayon is to develop an separate edition, or as part of installation process, which is mainly musically oriented. By that I mean software to write scores, to edit music stuff, something like a Musix Linux, but in the way of the greatest Linux maestro's Sabayon. That would be really nice, or maybe such thing exists, but unfortunately I can't get Sabayon to work - yet.


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Call 972-883-4E2E (4323) or email: [email protected]
If you have any further questions, please call or email us with your name, phone number and question, and a volunteer will respond shortly.
Comment Form
The Employee2Employee Connection Ad Hoc committee is committed to making your experience a pleasant one, and that begins with getting your feedback. So let us know how we're doing by taking a few moments to complete this comment card. We welcome any suggestions you may have for how we can improve.
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Updated: August 14, 2012


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Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean
UC Davis Health Leadership Teams »
Healing sick and injured people is both an enormous responsibility and honor. Each year at UC Davis Health, we care for tens of thousands of patients and train hundreds of students and residents to be compassionate, skilled caregivers. Our leadership teams are committed to values-based leadership, which includes inclusivity, collaboration and integrity. Together with our talented faculty, students, residents and staff, we are forging new paths in research, health-professional education and patient care.
UC Davis School of Medicine is one of the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. Ranked 34th in National Institutes of Health funding in 2013, it is designated as one of the nation's inaugural Clinical Translational Science Centers.
A few highlights include:
- A national reputation for life-changing biomedical discoveries
- A passion for clinical care and a commitment to engaging people from underserved communities and advancing rural health
- Fully accredited master's degree programs in public health and in informatics
- A combined M.D.-Ph.D. program that is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care
The Dean's Departments and Offices include:
- Academic Personnel
- Office of Medical Education
- Office of Research
- Office of Sponsored Programs
- Faculty Development
- Faculty Senate
Additional departments:
To learn more, visit the medical school site.
UC Davis Medical Center, based in Sacramento, Calif., is a nationally renowned academic medical center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health.
A few highlights:
- A 627-bed multispecialty academic medical center
- Serves 33 counties covering a 65,000-square-mile area north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada
- Recognized as one of the "Most Wired" hospitals in the U.S.
- Recognized by The Leapfrog Group as a "Top Hospital" for delivery of high-quality care
- Ranked Sacramento's top hospital by U.S. News & World Report
Centers of excellence include:
- UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive centers nationwide
- State-of-the-art emergency departments that include the region's only Level I adult and pediatric trauma centers
- The internationally recognized UC Davis MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders
- UC Davis Children's Hospital, a nationally ranked pediatric hospital with more than 120 physicians in 33 pediatric subspecialties
- A pioneering telehealth program, which gives remote, underserved communities access to academic specialty and subspecialty care
To learn more, visit the medical center site.
The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis cultivates academic excellence and addresses urgent, societal needs through leadership development, interprofessional education, transformative research, cultural inclusiveness and innovative technology. The school plays a critical role in preparing nurse leaders who will shape the future of health care and inform health policy.
The School of Nursing has five research focus areas: chronic disease management, health technology, pain management, Healthy People and Healthy Systems. Faculty come from a wide range of backgrounds including nursing, business administration, sociology, gerontology, medicine, information technology and psychology. School of Nursing students engage in classroom and clinical environments with students in the School of Medicine, health informatics and other health-related programs.
A few highlights include:
- Offers five graduate-degree programs, including Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science ― Leadership, Master of Health Services ― Physician Assistant Studies, Master of Science ― Family Nurse Practitioner and Master's Entry Program in Nursing.
- When full enrollment is reached by 2022, the school is projected to serve roughly 420 students in all programs.
- Established in March 2009 with a $100 million commitment from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
To learn more, visit the School of Nursing's website.
The Practice Management Group (TPMG) represents all organized medical group practices of UC Davis Health System's primary and specialty care faculty physicians. The group's purpose is to serve the health system's missions through high-quality, cost-effective care delivery. By delegation from the Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean, TPMG has shared responsibility for the clinical operations of the health system's professional practice activities.
The formation of TPMG is an important step in formalizing the leadership of the health system's medical group practices and in refining the role of its group practice in achieving the health system's research, teaching, patient care and community engagement goals. Its primary goal is to maintain a clinical practice that distinguishes UC Davis Health System as a leading faculty and academic health center.
Specific goals of TPMG include:
- Increasing efficiency of practice and revenue
- Decreasing practice expenses
- Reducing silos and improving integration
- Identifying areas to increase quality
- Aligning incentives
David H. Wisner is the executive director of the Practice Management Group, overseeing faculty practice operations as well as the overall vision and strategic direction of TPMG and its day-to-day activities. Wisner collaborates with the leadership of the School of Medicine and medical center to set and achieve joint strategic goals across the health system.
More information


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Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Author Peter Wells on time allocated to book reviews, and their quality
Because books do take time. Even the fastest written books take about three to eight weeks to actually just physically write. And authors who manage this feat usually have years behind them in preparation, pre-thought - a kind of stopped up energy which, once released, fleets away like a hare.
Most books usually take two to three years, a fact which astonishes most people. This is why authors are generally not rich people. It takes so long and the financial results are so poor that - if you were being paid by the hour - it would be cents rather than dollars.
But that is what you put up with in order to have the intense pleasure of a work which involves long consecutive thought.
It is like going on a journey - a long and exciting exhausting journey to an unknown destination.
I mention all this because on Friday I heard something which really disturbed me.
It was on Nine to Noon on Radio New Zealand, which is generally an information-rich programme which takes a certain level of intelligence for granted. If that sounds snobbish, sorry, but that's the truth and the beauty of it. Every society needs such forum if a society is to progress.
What disturbed me was that Charlotte Randall's latest novel Hokitika Town was being reviewed. As a fellow-novelist I was interested, maybe even competitively. I respected Charlotte. After all, she had won the country's top fiction prize, which made her the equivalent of an All-Black.
Unfortunately the review was squeezed out by the kind of story which clogs up the stratosphere. This was a moving story of someone who had had a double lung transplant and who had ended up being, we were told, an opera singer.
Good on her.
There are uplifting stories on people like her in women's magazines (usually with horrific photos), on 20/20, on just about every format you can think of.
The story obviously had such legs that she was allowed to talk for much longer than her alloted time. (She was meant to finish at 10.30am. She was still talking at 10.42am)
Then we had to hear the evidence that she was actually a singer, which meant a not very convincing voice singing not very good lyrics which took up even more time.
As I say, good on her, it's uplifting and maybe we all need good news at the moment.
But the outcome was a disgrace.
A book which would have taken one of the top writers in the country several years to write was very quickly - and I'm afraid - inadequately reviewed.
(The reviewer knew a lot about gold rushes on the West Coast but didn't realise you never reveal major plot points, let alone all the plot points and outcomes of a novel.)
After all, narrative tension depends on not knowing what comes next.
Katherine Ryan seemed distracted and didn't leap in to stop him. And then suddenly it was all over.
A major work by a major New Zealand writer had been dustbinned in a few minutes. (I hasten to add, he basically gave the book a thumbs up.)
Radio New Zealand and Nine to Noon is one of the most important marketing venues for literate New Zealanders.
That it happened in Book Month just revealed the way books get squeezed out in our society.
I know it was, to a degree, unavoidable. The opera singer's story was too good not to be juiced half to death.
But I ask you: surely in Book Month isn't it just the time every book lover expects the whistle to be blown and for a little bit of respectful coverage given to one of the serious contenders in book culture in New Zealand premiering a new work?
This piece first appeared on Peter Well's blog - peterwellsblog.com
Peter Wells - NZ Book Council website.
10 comments:
I agree with Peter Wells but have to say that regular listeners to Nine to Noon, a great programme by the way,will know that this cutting short of the book reviews happenmsd frequently. Kathryn Ryan always seems to want to ask her interview subject 2 or 3 more questions than there is time for, and hey presto, the book review gets shortened as a result.
Sometimes the book reviews are cut to 2 or 3 minutes!
Come on Kathryn give books a fair go.
- 7:52 am
While I absolutely agree with Peter and with John I guess we must just be thankful that there is still a daily book review on the National programme. One does look back with nostalgia though at the thoughtful, often lengthy, frequently robust reviews that Kim Hill, and even further back Sharron Crosbie, used to have with their regular reviewers.
However in this day and age of disappearing book reviews let us be grateful that Radio NZ, the Listener, the Herald, and the Sunday papers are still all devoting space to comment on books. Long may it last.I often, usually actually,select the books I read based on these reviews.
- 8:36 am
- Peter Wells said...
I agree completely with the comments on how valuable Nine to Noon book reviews are. They are often insightful and the conversation between Kathryn and the reviewer often brings out further information. My commentary was really about the irony of a top NZ author's new book being speedily dispatched in NZ Book Month, while an overseas person with a rather moving Disease of the Month narrative was given a huge amount of air time. Sometimes it is important for NZers to defend the role and place of their own culture within their own culture - albeit to other New Zealanders...Peter Wells
- 8:51 am
- Bookman Beattie said...
I have been following these thoughtful comments with interest.
I have been reviewing books on Nine to Noon since the programme first started with Sharon Crosbie presenting and have reviewed with all the presenters ever since. Goodness how many years is that?
Sometimes your time is cut short and I guess that has to be expected when you are on live radio. Sometimes the time is cut altogether because of some breaking news item, the Christchurch earthquake eg.
I have the advantage of having this blog so I can later "publish" my review in full if my time has been cut short or if the slot is cancelled for some reason.
I must say though that regardless of the time allocated to my review I frequently get feedback from people saying they have bought or borrowed the book as a result of the review or even just telling me that they had heard me on Radio NZ!
While fully appreciating Peter Well's frustration at the scant time given to Charlotte Randall's new novel, and the unfairness of that considering all the years of work and effort that had gone into writing the book, (and what a shame the reviewer gave the whole story away), nevertheless there is no doubt that these reviews are incredidbly valuable in promoting books and reaing overall. And of course they are archived by Radio NZ and can be heard via their website long after their live presentation.
Peter Wells knows and acknowledges this of course but his frustration has caused him to comment and it has opened up some intetesting discussion.
So my thanks to both Peter Wells and also to Radio NZ for their long commitment to the cause of literature and literacy.
- 9:22 am
All very interesting. I have been listening, and enjoying this programme for as long as The Bookman has been reviewing books on it.
Over the years there have been a variety of presenters - Sharon Crosbie, Maggie Barry, Wayne Mouat, Kim Hill,Linda Clarke - are some who quickly come to mind and of course they all have their own styles and skills as well as their own particular interests. Some therefore paid more attention to book reviews than others. Kim Hill, one of the great NZ broadcasters, was a voracious reader who would never dream of reviewing a book unless she had read it, and sometimes had more to say about the book than the reviewer (!), was perhaps the best of all in the book area.
But as Bookman Beattie and others rightly point out we do need to be grateful for the daily book review whether it be 2 minutes long or 10.
But Peter Wells is timely in his criticism, it did seem especially poor judgement in terms of the time allocated to one of NZ's brightest writing talents compared to what was essentially a soap opera story which would have been more at home in Woman's Day.
As an afterthought I must say we readers also owe a great deal of gratitude to Bookman Beattie for the time and effort he gives with this invaluable daily book blog. Hurrah!
- 9:36 am
I am anxious that this discussion is put in a broader context of reviewing a NZ book in NZ Book Month.
It isn't an attack on Nine to Noon's book reviewing which, as everyone points out, holds a vital role in celebrating and promulgating knowledge about books.
I really chose the instance as an example of the way Book Month really only scratches the surface of society, maybe because book culture itself is so vulnerable and under assault. We live in a contemporary world in which empathy is seen as a key ingrediant to being human, probably because the reality is we all live in an increasingly dehumanised world. So stories like the one about the double lung transplant – while uplifting in themselves and quite legitimate - start to have a greater weight than the product of a long meditation on what it means to be human in NZ, placed in an artform like a novel.
It is almost like a conflict within our culture and global culture.
In one way it could almost be summed up as globalised culture imported like McDonalds versus a whitebait fritter lovingly made by someone who caught the whitebait herself.....and noted the local weather conditions, what the landscape looks like, how people talk and act and think....one requires a quick gulp down and the other requires just a little bit of savouring....
- 10:13 am
- Mary McCallum said...
As a long-time RNZ reviewer like Graham, I am amazed at the impact of the reviews on book buyers and appreciate the way they add to the book 'conversation' in this country. I also understand the pressures of live radio and really appreciate Kathryn's efforts to do her best by the book review slot despite that. I find she welcomes input from a reviewer prior to going on air - an email that a particular book is worth spending time on (e.g. Charlotte Randall's latest) and some suggestions for questions always yields gold.
Perhaps Booksellers (who fund the review slot and send out the books) could make those same representations? i.e. it's NZ Book Month - could the focus this month be on NZ books - and in particular these books....
I've also often wondered if it would be best to have the reading of the day before the book review as that is a set amount of time that can't be tampered with, and it would make sure the review slot is the length allotted to it.
As to the quality of the reviews -- I think that is another conversation we should be having in this country. The quality varies enormously across TV, radio and print. The best reviews go larger than the book - they become that exploration of empathy and culture Peter is talking about and can make for terrific interviews/articles that do more than sell books.
- 1:14 pm
- Kilmog Press said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 2:59 pm
- Bookman Beattie said...
Thank you for all these comments. I'm sure the powers that be at Radio NZ and Booksellers NZ will be following it all with interest.
In her thoughtful comments Mary McCallum suggests that Booksellers NZ "fund the review slot". I think it would be more accurate to say that the Publishers fund the slot as they pay Booksellers NZ $135 for each title selected and provide two copies of each book.
Then Radio NZ pay the reviewer a $75 book token, I'm not sure who pays for this?
Radio NZ select the reviewers and manage the dates etc while Booksellers NZ post out the books to those reviewers advised by Radio NZ.
That is my understanding of how it all works.
- 5:05 pm
- Dan Slevin said...
Radio NZ buy the $75 book tokens. There was a kerfuffle last year when payment for reviewers got a bit confused. But in the end it was confirmed by John Howson that RNZ doesn't allow third parties to (even seem to) influence reviews through payment.
- 7:36 pm