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Almost a decade after the story of a lost little clown fish and the overprotective father who's determined to find him, the voice actors who brought the undersea world to life are still thrilled "Finding Nemo" found them.
At the premiere of the newly re-crafted "Finding Nemo 3D," which renders Nemo, Marlin and Dory's epic adventure in stunning three dimension, NBC revisited a quartet of actors who lent their vocal talents to what remains one of Pixar and Disney's most beloved films.
Willem DaFoe – Gill, the Moorish Idol fish
Then: An Oscar-nominated actor known for roles in films like "Platoon," hot off his recent success as the Green Goblin in "Spider-Man."
Now: Recently reunited with "Nemo" director Andrew Santon for "John Carter"
Finding the right fishy mindset: "Before I made this movie I made a movie called 'Animal Factory,' a very small movie based on an Edward Bunker novel. It was a prison movie, and I think that was my preparation for this. It's true! That's what's beautiful about Pixar: there's a whole range of humanity in the world that they have. Just because they're fish or they're toys, or whatever, you have a full range of people presented."
In-the-moment memory: "I think by the time I was asked to do this, when they said, 'It's Pixar,' I said, 'Fantastic!' I had seen enough Pixar movies and had heard about how they worked, and so it was really thrilling to be asked. And then once I started working, I wasn't wrong. My expectations were met and then surpassed. That sounds kind of Pollyanna, but they're really incredible people, and I think it's common, it's well known that they really have a lot of artistic integrity. But at the same time they're commercially viable, so that's a very rare combination."
Vicki Lewis – Deb & Flo the Damselfish
Then: Best known as Beth on the sitcom "NewsRadio."
Now: A recurring guest on "How I Met Your Mother" and the voice of Wonder Woman on "Batman: Brave and the Bold."
Watching the film for the first time: "When I went to the screening, I thought, 'Oh!' I was pleasantly surprised because I thought, 'Well, this is a kids' movie,' and I had done my session and my lines were fun and kooky and I saw the fish, but I didn't see anything else. So when I came to the premiere I was blown away, to be honest. I had no idea that we were making a movie that was so gorgeous and for adults, as well as children, and that would move me to tears and that I would laugh out loud at. I just had no idea."
Erica Beck – Pearl the young octopus
U.S. & World
Then: A nine-year-old voice actress.
Now: A college junior with her eye on future acting gigs.
In-the-moment memory: "It was just kind of like a whirlwind. I didn't even know that I had gotten it, and then I just went and started doing it and it was just such a great experience. It was so much fun. I remember them letting me have fun and freedom, and I think that's why people remember my character even though it's just at the beginning."
Watching the film as a kid: "It was crazy because the only time I'd seen my character I was, like, purple. I didn't look like my character that's in the movie, and so it was really eye-opening. And all the water around it – it's just amazing, an out of body experience."
Bruce Spence – Chum the Mako Shark
Then: An Australian character actor venturing into Hollywood.
Now: A veteran of lavish film productions including "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," "Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" and "Peter Pan."
In-the-moment memory: "It came out of the blue for me. Andrew Stanton had decided that a lot of the substantial part of the film was set on the Australian Great Barrier Reef, so they decided to cast Australians in those roles. Because Andrew was very familiar with my work I was fortunate enough to be cast as Chum. And I had absolutely no inkling just how popular this film would be!"
Legacy: "It's a very positive film, and that's one of the reasons I think kids like to see it: it gives them a sort of a positive look at the future. It shows them that you can persevere and if you keep going, if you keep hoping for the best, then you'll get there. You'll get out of whatever situation no matter how dark or however formidable your situation might be - and equally for the parents!


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The man they call Champ is a shadow of his former self.
He runs to the shops and back for a sachet of milk, bobbing and weaving as he works up a small sweat.
Many of the children who hail the Champ as he pounds the streets were not even born in 1982, when he was named Boxer of the Year. The man's exploits are hearsay to them, passed down from generation to generation. But they can't help saluting the pugilist of old.
In his prime Aladin Stevens had a fierce reputation, one that earned him the nickname Mean Machine.
A newspaper report in January 1989 had this to say regarding a coming fight: "Many boxing fans take their hats off to Stevens, because he never climbs into the ring unfit."
Lightweight champion
At the time Mean Machine had been South African lightweight champion for a marathon seven years.
He was razor-sharp then, and fit – but not now.
As a 30-year-old, he was going back to make amends in Durban. He was a fast-moving southpaw hungry as a mongrel after having lost to Brian Baronet a few years earlier in the Banana City.
He was mean: a man with reflexes that functioned like a machine.
Aladin Stevens in his heyday. (Joe Sefale)
He is 55 now and his past is another country. He speaks the Afrikaans patois of his Toekomsrus, Randfontein, hometown slowly and with difficulty – perhaps the undiagnosed result of taking too many punches to the head.
The interlocutor's only benefit is that the man is a fountain of knowledge about the history of boxing and his role in it.
Shot by the police
He says he was shot with an R5 rifle by a policeman he suspects was a lover of his ex-wife; the two bullets entered and exited both thighs.
It happened in 1994 and it is a story he keeps returning to throughout the interview. "Ek het niks gekry [I got nothing (out of the claim)]."
Something else – not the bullets of the ordeal – is responsible for his flailing memory. He knows he was married "somewhere in the Eighties".
The union, which ended in divorce, gave him three daughters – Charlene, Lavern and Dalay, who in turn have given him grandchildren.
But he remembers that the girls used to fight bare-knuckled against their peers while growing up: "Not like girls."
The eldest is married and lives in Cape Town, although the other two still live nearby and favour him with a dime here and there "for things I want, like this milk".
One of two boys (the other, Ralph, has since died), Aladin now lives with his mother, who provides for them with her monthly pension grant. They cook and bake together.
Boxing purse
"My highest purse in boxing was R25 000," Stevens says in the one line of English he utters throughout the relaxed conversation.
His money grew exponentially with each title defence, out of which his trainer, oom (uncle) Andries Steyn, took his 25% cut.
Stevens is a man who confounded critics and fate. When he faced Abraham Gumede at the Portuguese Hall one October afternoon in the early 1990s, it was to be his 13th title defence. All Gumede had going for him was the fable of the unlucky number.
It did not work for him. Stevens went on to defend his crown 15 times.
He was king of the ring.
Fight tally
He incorrectly has his tally at 52 fights, two losses and three draws. The truth is that, when he was going into his 51st fight, he was standing at 39 wins, five draws and six defeats.
But his demons allow him this fact: "I never lost even a single one of the 15 international fights I fought."
Typical of the scant regard with which South Africa treats its fallen heroes, Stevens has been reduced to a virtual pauper in his lifetime. He is just another unemployed man forced to depend on his pensioner mother for a living.
He flew the South African flag high around the globe: "I fought in Madrid, Spain, as the main supporting bout to Brian Mitchell."
In that fight he was pitted against a welterweight, a fighter who weighed more than Stevens. But he prevailed and managed a draw.
The Springbok rugby team was at the fight, rooting for him. "I was also Brian's sparring partner on these overseas trips."
Fighting the best
He fought the best in the world, defeating local opponents such as Chris Whiteboy, Grant Messias, Walter Mpungose and Nika Khumalo, among others.
The wily promoter Rodney Berman shielded the then up-and-coming Rose of Soweto, Dingaan Thobela, from Stevens.
Even when he clearly avoided this fight, which he claimed "is not a fight I'd like because it wouldn't be perceived as a genuine world title fight", Berman conceded at the time that "although the SA champion was a good fighter, he was not in the same league as the Rose of Soweto".
Aladin Stevens savours one of his accolades. (Madelene Cronjé, M&G)
When Stevens was due to fight Australian Shane Knox in Brisbane in 1992, his camp had just received written confirmation from the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) that "the fight will serve as a final elimination for a shot at the title".
But the Stevens-Thobela fight never took place because the Rose of Soweto swiftly relinquished his WBO title to fight under the more glamorous World Boxing Association (WBA).
Stevens would eventually lose his title against the number three South African lightweight contender at the time, Danny Myburgh.
Slumped figure
Today the Champ sits at home, a slumped figure forgotten by time.
Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula has just appointed a new board for Boxing South Africa, following his claims that the sport is "in the intensive care unit". But the plight of past heroes like Stevens is unlikely to be at the top of the in-tray of the new suits on the board.
In the meantime, he will continue to wallow in the past and hope something will come out of the 20-year-old shooting incident.
The name of Bill van Vuuren, the Krugersdorp lawyer who took his case, remains etched in his mind, even as his memory fades.
He comes alive when asked about a fight he considers his best. It was against Evans Gwiji, he says.
The previous week – on a Friday – his dad Edward had died. "My father had told me in his hospital bed not to pull out of the fight," he recalls.
Fond memories
He has fond memories of his father, the man who taught him to fight, and his childhood. "My brother Ralph died. We grew up in Newclare. I attended Coronationville High School, where I did not finish my standard eight. I had to complete it in Randfontein when we moved here."
The house in Toekomsrus was originally his uncle's. There is no chronology in the tale he tells.
Dad himself was a backyard boxer, he says. Stevens and his cousin Charles played at the back of the house, where their fathers kept boxing gloves and other paraphernalia.
Although he was a soccer player in his younger days, with the nickname Pelé, life in the home of a boxing fanatic meant he was easily swayed away from Bosmont Chelsea. In no time his true talent came to the fore.
In boxing Stevens would get the moniker Mean Machine, after American heavyweight fighter John Tate.
He has no idea how the new boxers compare against his generation, he says.
"I can't say I follow boxing when there's no boxing on TV. I just watch soccer, which is now the fare on television. It's been a while since I watched a live boxing match."
The Beast
Vuyani Bhungu, known as the Beast, was "the last strong boxer" he watched on television.
From his neck of the woods came Malcolm Klassen, Jan Bergman and Simon Ramoni. "I always used Bergman as a sparring partner because he was fast."
He helped Ramoni with his boxing too, says the Champ.
His mother Margaret, just back from seeing off a relative taken away in an ambulance, remembers seeing Klassen walk by their house a few days ago.
"Boxing gave me fame. Everywhere I go, people remember me," says Stevens. But what he wants now, more than anything, is to know what has happened to his claim against the minister of police.
"At the moment what is important is my claim from the shooting. I want nothing from anyone. My mind is blank now. Let me get the money; maybe I can think again then.
"I was world-rated WBA – moved from nine to six. I was supposed to fight Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini. My livelihood was taken away from me when that cop shot me."
He lives off his mother's pension and whatever little money his daughters – with whom he has a good relationship – can spare him, he repeats.
Life used to be beautiful. A Chevrolet fanatic, Stevens owned a variety of cars bearing the marque – a 4.1, a Commodore, a Berlina and a Rekord. "I grew up on Chev," he says.
It is difficult to see what he could have done with his money. The house is bare. The couches have seen better days. So has the main door. The bedding is spare. The walls could do with a lick of paint.
It is a depressing environment, certainly not worthy of a champ, someone who gave their all for the motherland.
He dusts off his trophies, among them one he won when he was named Boxer of the Year, beating off competition from Gerrie Coetzee.
"I loved boxing; it was in my blood." – © makatilemedia

subset: commoncrawl


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Winter won't quit. We've come across more than a few dramatic visuals and oddball stories amid the extreme cold, from frozen ice runways, to slushy waves, to an oddball story about a man and his "Loo-cy" toilet plow. And did you see the ice statue that looks just heavenly?
If you feel like riding belly-down, head first on a sled the size of a throw rug, go to Lake Placid, New York.
PHOTOS: Lake to be Used as Ice Runway for Planes
Planes are landing on the only approved ice runway in the lower 48 states, on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee.
[PHOTOS] Winter Slurpee Waves Crash Down on Beach
Surf's up in Nantucket, where low temperatures gave the water the consistency of a 7-11 Slurpee.
What do you see in this icicle?
NBC 4 New York shot this chopper video of ice floating on the Hudson River in New York City.
A drone over Niagara Falls captured this stunning view of the iced over landmark.
One Massachusetts town, Somerville, hired a company to shoot video from drones high above the city. The footage will be used to help clear snow from roofs that could be in danger of collapsing.
In Rockville, Maryland, a man attached a plow to a motorized toilet to help clear snow.
One of the most dramatic visuals from the storm has been a geyser at Letchworth State Park in upstate New York that froze over. It became a five-story tall "ice volcano."
How long would you guess it took to freeze a T-shirt in freezing temperatures?
In Frederick, Maryland, Bradley Stelzer made a time-lapse video of a 12-inch-tall wine bottle getting covered by snow. He shot the video with his iPad Air between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Feb. 21.
If you don't have a sled, sometimes, a bucket will do in Texas.
[NATL] Extreme Weather Photos: Record Heat Threatens Europe
Here's a look at other dramatic images of extreme weather since the year began.


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(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
How do I love thee, Blake Shelton? Let me count the ways. You are already two years into your marriage to Miranda Lambert, and it sounds to me like you are still thinking like a romantic newlywed.
One, you tried to buy your wife a huge mansion in Los Angeles. "I found this big-ass nice house with a pool, and the first time she ever came, she was like, 'This is dumb. Why did you get a house this big," Shelton recalled to People magazine. Still, it was the thought that counts. It was a grand romantic gesture most girls can only dream about.
Two, you try to be with Lambert every chance you can, even if it's not written down on a calendar somewhere. "The truth is that you just got to take advantage of every window of time that you have, and you can't force it to happen," he said.
And three, you're considering having babies for all the right reasons. "I'm thinking about a family. Learning to not be selfish is what has changed in me the most since being married," he said. "I'm thinking on behalf of someone else, just like I hope she's doing with me."


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Editor's Note: The Angry Singlespeeder is a collection of mercurial musings from contributing editor Kurt Gensheimer. In no way do his maniacal diatribes about all things bike oriented represent the opinions of Mtbr, RoadBikeReview, or any of their employees, contractors, janitorial staff, family members, household pets, or any other creature, living or dead. You can submit questions or comments to Kurt at [email protected]. And make sure to check out Kurt's previous columns.
Meet Dr. Jackson Tyler Dempsey. He's a middle-aged, college-educated psychiatrist who likes to take long walks in the woods with his dog behind his Ashland, Oregon home. For Dempsey, walking in the woods alone was his own kind of therapy. But when a barrage of mountain bikers started ripping downhill on his favorite hiking route, in his clinical opinion, Dempsey felt the best way to handle the situation was to set a series of crude and potentially deadly booby traps that would teach those blasted mountain bikers a painful lesson.
Dempsey strung nylon cord across the trail in high-speed areas while putting down nails and small trees in spots that were nearly impossible to avoid. Three mountain bikers were injured due to Dempsey's traps, and after being spotted last July near the traps, Dempsey was arrested. On May 1, Dempsey pleaded guilty for setting the traps. He will spend 30 days in jail and has been banned from entering the National Forest surrounding Ashland for two years.
How would you like to get clocked in the head with this medieval contraption?
How would you like to be riding through some pristine Utah singletrack when your bike hits a tripwire and sends a 20-pound spiked boulder into your skull? Not painful enough? What about falling into a bed of sharpened wooden stakes that looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie? Benjamin Steven Rutkowski and Kai Matthew Christensen were convicted in 2009 of setting both these traps on Big Springs Trail in Provo Canyon, Utah.
These two clowns were found guilty of rigging a Provo, Utah trail with deadly traps.
The 19 and 21-year-old claimed the traps were for wildlife, but it was clear the traps were set to catch unsuspecting trail users. Thankfully a U.S. Forest Service ranger with military training discovered the traps while on patrol, and disabled them before they could harm anyone.
Four years ago in Marin County, where hikers and mountain bikers mix like oil and water, a group was riding an illegal section of trail called Split Rock in the Cascade Canyon area when they came across a series of rusty, jagged surprises. First was a network of barbed wire fences, then giant boulders rolled into the middle of the trail. But what was most troubling was the makeshift spike strip of tall steel fence posts that the saboteurs planted in the ground. Not only were the posts camouflaged with dark green paint, they were pointed up-trail at a 45-degree angle, ready to impale anyone who came across it.
Steel fence posts were set by the MCOSD at a 45-degree angle facing up-trail at mountain bikers. Photo by John Blanchard.
To make the story even more twisted, the saboteurs were not pissed-off hikers; they were pissed-off employees of the Marin County Open Space District. The MCOSD later apologized for the incident, stating the spikes were not intended to harm, only to deter mountain bikers from riding the illegal trail.
It would be way too easy to just go off on another ASS rant about how these people are mentally sick, deranged lunatics who should be locked up in a basement and flogged endlessly. But instead, I'm more curious about why someone would not only intentionally harm other people for recreating in nature, but also why they'd deface the very same trails that they're so adamant to protect?
Further, what is it that we are doing – or aren't doing – as a mountain bike community that would drive these people to act in such a deranged and desperate manner? Sure, we can blame them for their actions because they set the traps, but what incident did they experience that produced enough rage and malice for them to set traps in the first place?


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illustration, any type of picture or decoration used in conjunction with a text to embellish its appearance or to clarify its meaning. Illustration is as old as writing, with both originating in the pictograph. With the advent of printing, the art of hand-painted illumination declined as a means of book illustration.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- Illustration in the East
- History of Book Illustration
- Fiction and Children's Literature
- Bibliography
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Art: General


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Razer Comms to Connect Gamers Worldwide
Razer Comms to Connect Gamers Worldwide
Razer has announced the open beta release of Razer Comms, an all-in-one communications solution for gamers.
Applying feedback gleaned from a community-based closed beta program, Razer Comms now combines VoIP client, instant messaging and IRC-chat features, allowing gamers the world over to connect with one service, free of charge. It also features an in-game overlay and seamlessly integrates with PC games, providing for uninterrupted gameplay while at the same time typing or talking with friends.
Razer Comms uses complex audio algorithms and an ultra-fast server infrastructure to deliver precise, crisp and clear communication with no timeouts or lag spikes, and it features advanced noise reduction and echo cancelation, a boon to millions of PC gamers worldwide.
Product features:
- Crystal clear VoIP Comms
- In-game UI overlay displaying chat and incoming VoIP
- Channels easily created and managed for real-time discussions
- Push-to-Talk functionality for fast and effective communication
- Game Launcher for quick game access at startup
- Server-based infrastructure prevents exposure of personal IP address
System Requirements
- 1.7GHz Processor,
- 512MB Ram,
- DirectX 9 level Graphics card,
- Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
- Internet Connection
Razer Comms originated as an internal project built on the spare "10 percent passion time" of a couple of engineers. After receiving many fan requests to make it widely available, Razer Comms has now become a fully supported project with a designated team working on it.
For more information on Razer's latest free-to-download software, including how to submit ideas, click here.


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By guest author Ken Nutt
I thought your readers might like to see some samples from an exhibition currently at the Gallery Stratford in Stratford, Ontario. The title of the show is 'ART AT WORK: Commercial Art from the Collection of Ken Nutt.' It features original artwork for illustrations, mainly from the nineteen-fifties, that I have collected over the years.
The above piece is by an illustrator named J. (Jack) Smith.
One of the reasons I started collecting originals was to learn how effects that I admired in print were achieved -- so I could recreate them in my own work. In the above painting for a two-colour illustration, the stripes on the gent's shirt are brushed in opaque gouache while the woman's red dress has been stenciled in with transparent ink.
Here's a pencil drawing done for the British America Bank Note Company, a Canadian company which specialized in the production of steel engravings for use in the printing of money, stamps and, in the case of the drawing below, stock certificates.
The BABNC, as it was known, was founded in the year before Confederation, but judging by the resemblance of the goddess above to Grace Kelly, I think this design is of a much later date.
Below, another anonymous illustration, this one for a men's magazine. This is part of the section of the show dedicated to magazine illustration. As I laid out samples of the 'glossies' -- The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, McCall's -- it came as a shock to think that the young illustrators in the neighbouring gallery might never have seen these big-format magazines, which were the pinnacle of the trade for mid-century commercial artists.
Below, three of four post-war gouaches for the covers to British paperbacks.
The amazing thing here is that all the white lettering is painted directly on top of the illustration, gouache on gouache.
I would have hated to have been the lettering artist.
Below, This seven-foot-long mural is one of three painted for an American bank by illustrator Harold Ashodian.
Many illustrators, most famously Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and Dean Cornwell, painted murals. My guess is that illustrators were better equipped than easel painters to tell a story in paint, which is what a mural commission usually involves.
There are thirty-three pieces of vintage illustration in the show, great contemporary posters and editorial illustrations by Jack Dylan and Pete Ryan in the adjoining gallery, as well as a third space devoted to the conceptual photography of artist Suzy Lake. So, if you would like to spend a pleasant afternoon looking at some cool illustration -- and perhaps even take in a play -- come visit. ~ Ken Nutt
The Gallery Stratford, 54 Romeo St., Stratford Ontario, is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11AM-3PM
Starting May 17: Tuesday to Sunday: 10AM-5PM
The exhibitions run till June 5, 2011
Celebrating illustration, design, cartoon and comic art of the mid-20th century.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
ART AT WORK: Commercial Art from the Collection of Ken Nutt
2 comments:
I've seen the 'Scramble' illustration Ken has shown here, and yes, the ruling & lettering are enough to give any pre-digital illustrator heart palpitations!ReplyDelete
Look forward to seeing it again, Ken.
- Rod Lawrence6:43 PM
Ran into an old post of yours regarding Robert Myers. I stayed on his ranch a few months before he was ambushed and killed. I have some of his reference files and one of his paintings. He was a talented artists and it's good to see his work recognized. A book on his work was released in the last couple of years.ReplyDelete
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French in a Flash: Mustardy Salmon in a Packet with Asparagus
Get the Recipe
This dish is a real weeknight wonder and proof that cooking French food can be really easy. It features my own little version of papillote parceling—not as beautiful as the all-parchment pleated version, but far more efficient. I tear off a big sheet of foil and line it with a slightly smaller sheet of parchment, giving me the ease of folding and sealing foil with the non-reactive contact of parchment on the food. I pile on a huge handful of asparagus, followed by salmon and a quick cold sauce of crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, grain mustard, and white wine. Then, I wrap the whole thing up in the foil packet and run it into the oven for about 12 minutes. It's like making your own fresh version of a frozen dinner. Everything you need—your veggies, your fish, your sauce—is already in that packet, and you eat it right out of the parchment. No muss, no fuss!
When the packets are in the oven, the trapped steam cooks the asparagus, poaches the salmon, and melts the creamy mustard sauce into rivulets that permeate the fish and the asparagus. I eat it with warm crusty bread to soak up some of the steaming sauce. C'est si bon!


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Too captivated by the season finale of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I can't even focus on writing a blog post. The competitors this season are all so phenomenal! Have you been watching this show? If so, who do you want to win? I'm voting for Melanie!
I hope you enjoy the tofu recipe… it was a delicious alternative to the traditional chicken tandoori.
Tofu Tandoori
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon sweet (not hot) paprika
1 cup non-fat, plain Greek yogurt
2.5 tablespoons lemon juice
4 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) box extra firm tofu, cubed
Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat, then cook the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala and paprika, stirring often, until fragrant (approximately 2-3 minutes). Let cool completely.
Whisk in the cooled spice-oil mixture into the yogurt, then mix in the lemon juice, garlic, salt and ginger.
Coat the tofu in the marinade, cover and chill for at least two hours.
Prepare your grill so that one side is quite hot over direct heat, the other side cooler, not over direct heat. If using charcoal, leave one side of the grill without coals, so you have a hot side and a cooler side. If you are using a gas grill, just turn on one-half of the burners. Use tongs to wipe the grill grates with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil. Take the tofu out of the marinade and shake off the excess. You want the tofu coated, but not gloppy. Skewer the tofu and put it on the hot side of the grill and cover. Cook 2-3 minutes before checking. Turn the tofu so it is brown (even a little bit charred) on all sides.
Conversely, you can also cook this in your oven. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place tofu onto baking sheet, and put into the oven. Bake for about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes to char the tofu a little bit more.
Serve with lemon wedges, and grilled sliced onions.
Makes 4-6 servings.


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Please visit Google Code to report bugs, request features, and download beta builds.
Please direct all feedback and questions to my Google Group.
PriorityMail is a simple mail sending addon designed to complement ExpressMail. It provides three simple features that should make mass-mailing simple: auto-fill of the last recipient, alt-clicking items in your bag to attach and send immediately, and auto-send on 12 attachments.


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In another group when I told friends about occasions like someone's death or marriage in Pakistani society they barely believed me, so I thought of covering marriage of a relative recently held.
GANA traditionally a band with hanging strips named "gana" is bound to groom's wrist in a ceremony a weak or so prior to the marriage day which officially marks the beginning of marriage. Groom wears gana upto marriage night until it is removed by his bride at wedding night.(though in this case groom refused to wear it for so long). It got to do something with good luck because people also hang "gana" to their newly contructed houses too.
After that day both men and women of the village gather every evening in the bride's and groom's houses where they sing traditional songs and perform dances.
Shaker Marriage friends are officially announced(called sambalas). Groom along with friends visits one friend's houses per evening prior to the marriage where they are offered tea and sweets. Friend's family give a tray of sweets and cloth of a dress to the groom as present on the occasion.
Mehndi two days prior to marriage mehndi ceremony is held in the evening. Both bride and groom are applied mehndi(a skin coloring extract of Hina plant). Women usually wear green or yellow on the occasion(resembling color of plant or the extract). Other participants mostly women also apply mehndi on their hands.
Daaj Both bride and groom's families put wedding cloths, jewelry and other things prepared for the marriage on beds and women of village are properly invited to have a look on them a day prior to the marriage. This occasion is named as "daaj".
Ghroli marriage day starts with a ceremony named ghroli(pitcher) in which grooms sisters and relative women go singing to the village common well to fetch water. Pitcher keep on shifting the heads of women relative to the groom. In the end groom bring it down from a sister's head and pay her some money for the effort.
Sehra Bandi Then groom changes and ride on a horse back. His sisters feed his marriage horse. If marriage is in the same village then groom rides his way to the bride's house. But in case of distant marriage it is just a ride to local shrine and grave yard. On the way people stand in front of their gates having a glass of milk in their hands which is offered to the groom. After drinking it he puts some money in the empty glasses.
On the marriage day groom visits graves of his close relatives. In this case a sad moment because of father's absence on the marriage day.
Marriage ceremony takes place in bride's house. In this case in a marriage hall accompanied with several rituals. I will not go in details of that but it is a grand affair involving several hundred people from both sides.
Broom is given a glass of milk by bride's sister for which he got to pay. In order to raise the money groom's shoe is stolen. Here groom is trying to escape the steal.
Marriage Bed Bride on arriving to the groom's house sits on a very elaborately prepared marriage bed called "saij".
Walima On day after marriage walima feast is given by the grooms family.
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Thank you so much for posting all the beautiful photos and giving us detailed information. It's so interesting how the act of marriage is so universal around the globe, yet celebrated so uniquely and with so many varied customs. Would you say that your photos represent a typical wedding throughout all of Pakistan? Or was this wedding unique to the village or region?
some rituals are common through out India and Pakistan but some of them are unique to semi hilly Pothohar region
This is an incredible ritual, full of ceremony, color, and I assume sounds and tastes that the whole community enjoys. I do hope the customs come to USA when Pakistani's move here. I know of no Pakistani s in Spokane.
Colors especially, stand out! So deep and rich; I don't think I have seen such pretty reds, yellows, greens, blues, violets, pinks. Dying fabric must be an ancient art form. Also, the lovely embroidery on so many of the garments look intricate. The skin painting, too, offers beautiful patterns. I have never seen such a marriage bed! So tenderly and beautifully assembled. Dresses on the bed, Daaj, are so pretty! Are they all of silk? Who does the embroidery? The bride and groom's wedding day looks serious and playful at the same time. Their garments radiate.
Thank you so much Amer! These photos are not at all what I expected to see. Just lovely! There must be ancient roots to your wedding ceremony.
Can you describe the foods you serve at such a celebration?
Joan rituals do have roots. Those embriodries you see are now done by professionals but 30 or so years ago when society was totally argricultural it was done by girls themsleves. People were very buisy at times of sowing and harvests. But after wheat harvest in May they were free for next three months. In this period intense summer heat restricted people to their homes from early noon till the evening.
In this period's noon girls of village gathered in the houses of girls to be married that year. They all mutually knitted and did embriodry on bed sheets, pilo covers and dresses etc for the dowery of the girls. There was certain air of romance about those gatherings. Though a child at that time I still remember the meaningful smiles and singing at those gatherings.
The neighborhood in which I live in Chicago (Albany Park) has a fairly large Pakistani and Indian population. On occasion throughout the years I've seen some of my neighbors obviously assembling for a wedding and wearing the same type of clothes as shown laid out on the bed in your photo. It's a very colorful affair.
Do the women suffer such indignity as Ruth describes in Albany Park? Are they able to have the kinds of care that we think necessary for the elderly? Do the colors and flavors and traditions come with them?
Amer, What would it take to humanize the culture? especially for the elderly women?
Joan, I'm not personally aware of each family situation that pertains to my many neighbors. You have to understand that I live in a densely populated urban area with a mix of single-family homes, multiple-unit dwellings and apartment buildings, so my knowledge is limited by shear population size and also by a language barrier.
I was not aware of the issue of abandoned widows as Ruth described until yesterday. My observations during the eleven years I've lived in this neighborhood have shown me that the Indian and Pakistani families include persons of ALL ages, and that they are living with each other in the same buildings. In addition, in this country we also, generally, have government or charitable programs in place to help persons in need.
These families have left their native countries obviously for important reasons. They have come to the United States and must inevitably be influenced by our societal values. Woman with power abound here in our culture, be it in respected elected political positions or working in jobs that were once 'men only.' It would be my educated guess that our type of inclusive environment would have a positive and lasting effect toward the treatment of the women who are emigrating here. Or......perhaps these families already had these inclusive values and decided to move to the United States for that reason. I don't know, and I'm sure each family situation is different.
As a flight attendant, it's common for me to regularly have passengers on my flights who are emigrating to the United States. In recent years, most have been refuges from Sudan or Somalia. Sometimes it's whole families, sometimes it's one individual. They don't speak English and they often physically look scared. A few weeks ago on a flight from New York-Kennedy to Chicago I had a 14-year old girl from Somalia all alone on her way to a new life in Minneapolis. Where was the rest of her family? Were they dead? Were they already in Minneapolis? Were they still alive in Somalia, but made the agonizing decision to send her to a better place for her own good? I'll never know. When I escorted her off the plane in Chicago she asked me one simple question, "America?" It's heartbreaking, but I do my best during my short interaction with these people, and always with a smile. I can't imagine how upsetting it must be to leave your native-born country and go to a completely unknown and strikingly different environment. (Sorry, I got off on a little tangent.)
As far as food and clothing, I see most of the elderly dressed traditionally. The local markets in my area carry a variety of Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Korean and Latin American groceries. In regards to food, it seems that native traditions rule in the kitchen. (Some of the most delicious smells come from my Ecuadorian neighbors upstairs when they're cooking dinner!)
A funny little side note: a Korean restaurant down the street has advertized their daily specials in the window in both English and Spanish.
The Flying Atheist, Your densely populated, diverse neighborhood, and your job as a flight attendant offer you opportunities to see diversity that most people do not have. You are most fortunate! I had to travel by air, boat, railroad, bus and donkey to get to the 32 nations I visited trying to understand the role of religion and women.
People who have never been exposed to cultural diversity don't realize they have missed a wonderful world of very nice people with different languages, traditions, religions or no-religions. There are some terrible people in the mix as well.
Ruth does such a good job of finding research to back up her writings. She impresses me in so many ways. She does an incredible job of visually demonstrating the points she makes.
Your description of observations of "Indian and Pakistani families include persons of ALL ages, and that they are living with each other in the same buildings." I can't even imagine what it would be like to go to a strange country with a different language and value system and try to fit in, and flourish. I agree, our treatment of women encourages and empowers them to fully function as an adult human. At least I hope so. Yet, we still have a long way to go.
While doing my studies for my doctorate, and traveling around the world gathering information, I tried to be an ethnographer and failed terribly ... completely. When I observed an injustice against women, I started training them to think and imagine and make plans and take action. Oh, I could describe their situation accurately, but I am an activist, not an ethnographer. Dissertation denied. I was "biased".
The plight of women coming from Sudan and Somalia is beyond my imagining. Just suspecting that they might have been sexually mutilated would get me energized beyond reason. When I was in Greece I interviewed an Africa black woman, a Christian from birth, a teacher and no longer religious. At four years of age, her mother and women of the village put her on a rock, used a broken bottle and cut away her clitoris, using no anesthetic. Her vaginal opening grew shut to a very small hole for urine to pass. As she matured, married and had intercourse, her husband forced his way in, tearing scar tissues. These torn tissues became infected and ultimately, she had no children. Her husband threw her out, her parents refused her sanctuary, and she became a prostitute. Women Helping Women took her in, they restored her health, they educated her, and she became a teacher. I met her vacationing in Greece, at cape Sounion, the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon, built in 444 B.C. over-looking the Saronic Gulf.
Your story of the 14-year old girl from Somalia tells of courage overcoming fear. Yes, it is "heartbreaking". I am so glad you were there for her, even for that short bit of time. No, you are not off topic, you tell your experience and that is as on topic as we can be.
Living so many traditions must provide aromas from all over the world; how I envy you. I like your Korean restaurant advertising in English and Spanish.
P.S. We sat under the signature of Lord Byron
I don't understand why friends would find such customs difficult to believe.
The entire process is far too costly for my taste. Nobody looks relaxed or joyous.
My marriages were both very simple inexpensive events. But the relative power between men and women differs vastly in Pakistan from my egalitarian life.
Related to this power imbalance, today I learned that many elderly widows in nearby India are abandoned by their children or literally starved. At Largest Religious Festival, Some Abandon Elderly
... dozens of people are deliberately abandoned during a Maha Kumbh Mela, at a very rough guess.
Once the crowd disperses and the volunteer-run lost-and-found camps that provide temporary respite have packed away their tents, the abandoned elderly may have the option of entering a government-run shelter. Conditions are notoriously bad in these homes, however, and many prefer to remain on the streets, begging. Some gravitate to other holy cities such as Varanasi or Vrindavan where, if they're lucky, they are taken in by temples or charity-funded shelters.
In these cities, they join a much larger population, predominantly women, whose families no longer wish to support them ...
Mohini Giri, a Delhi-based campaigner for women's rights and former chair of India's National Commission for Women, estimates that there are 10,000 such women in Varanasi and 16,000 in Vrindavan.But even these women are just the tip of the iceberg, says economist Jean Drèze of the University of Allahabad,...
"For one woman who has been explicitly parked in Vrindavan or Varanasi, there are a thousand or ten thousand who are living next door to their sons and are as good as abandoned, literally kept on a starvation diet," he said.
So such a pretty looking extravaganza is the beginning of a long road for the bride, which may end as often as not in poverty and abandonment in old age if the next door neighbor is any guide.
Ruth, a good bit of reality checking here. Sounds like they could use some good leadership of women and men who recognize the inhumanity of such a situation and create communities of care and compassion.
Amer, is that even a slight possibility?
Hope now you understand fully why I used word "You" earlier.
Upon further reflection, I've realized that part of why I replied to your post about marriage with a reply about the abandonment of the elderly came from a cultural divide. Without realizing it, I was responding to a value inherent in elaborate marriage rituals, all of then not just Pakistani. Placing great importance on the moment of transition, focusing so much attention on it, has come for me to represent turning attention away from the painful aspects of larger life experience. It's as if there's a tension between how one sees ones life, either looking at the outward aspects - the show, the face presented to the world - with seeing the personal aspects such as feelings, facing challenges together and mutual caring. For me there seems to be a discrepancy between appearance and substance, between the well meaning public statement of promises over a day or a few days and long term fulfillment over a lifetime, where women get the short shrift.
I'm sorry if my thoughtless response insulted you. I am only now, days later, realizing the source of my discomfort with your original discussion topic.
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A few weeks ago, my family rented a condo in San Diego for a few days of fun at the beach. Too bad we didn't check the weather before we left… we got caught in "June gloom." An ever-present layer of fog hung low over the coastline, casting a chill everywhere we went. Even though the weather was less than ideal, we made the best of things, bundling up in sweatshirts and checking out the local sites and restaurants. We had Father's Day dinner at the Hotel del Coronado, a beautiful historic hotel on the island of Coronado off the coast of San Diego. My husband's nickname is "Abba" in our home, so we celebrated Abba's Day with a delicious seaside meal.
We ordered a few appetizers, including their signature warm goat cheese spread. Goat cheese, pesto, sun dried tomatoes and roasted garlic are baked together into a warm, gooey spread. It's served with crusty, freshly baked bread for dipping. All I can say is, YUM. I could have made a meal out of the appetizer, it was that good.
When I got home, I started thinking about that warm goat cheese spread. I wanted to recapture the flavor of the appetizer in a vegetarian entree. For a few months, I've been thinking about developing a stuffed tomato recipe for summer. I decided to combine the goat cheese and pesto flavors with quinoa and tomato to create a mouthwatering, gluten free vegetarian entree.
I've tried many stuffed tomato recipes in the past, but none of them have really knocked my socks off. Many of the stuffing mixtures seem bland and turn out somewhat dry after baking. Also, I hate throwing away the inner seeds and gel of the fruit. It seems a waste, but most recipes don't call for including the seeds in the stuffing. I solved the problem in my recipe by using a wire mesh sieve and spoon to extract the flavorful juicy liquid from the tomato seeds. I used that liquid to cook the quinoa, along with crushed garlic, which infused it with a wonderful flavor. After that, I mixed the cooked quinoa with fresh basil, pesto and parmesan, which made it moist and gave it a terrific herby, cheesy flavor. I topped each tomato with a dollop of pesto and a tablespoon of goat cheese. The tomatoes baked up to warm, gooey perfection– a perfectly satisfying meal when paired with a side salad.
You can use pesto from a jar, or make it fresh using one of my homemade pesto recipes. Those of you who are gluten free should probably make your pesto from scratch, unless you can find a jarred version that is certified GF. If you're a vegetarian, make sure your parmesan is made with a vegetarian rennet (if using a jar of pesto, check the ingredients there too). Enjoy!
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Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes with Pesto and Goat Cheese
6 servings
35 minutes
25 minutes
1 hour
Fresh tomatoes stuffed with a healthy blend of quinoa, pesto, basil, parmesan and garlic topped with warm baked goat cheese. Dairy, kosher
- 6 tomatoes (7-8 oz each)
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp + 4 1/2 tsp pesto, divided
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
- 1/2 tbsp minced fresh basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 oz goat cheese
- Whole fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)
Recipe Notes
You will also need: Wire mesh sieve, medium bowl, small bowl, pastry brush, small saucepan, 9x9 inch baking pan or dish
Slice the very tops of the tomatoes off (where the stems are) and remove the caps.
Use a knife to cut around the inside and remove the inner core and seeds from the tomatoes, leaving the walls intact.
Scoop any remaining seeds out of the tomatoes with a small spoon (I use a metal 1/2 teaspoon). Pour all of the gel, seeds, and pulp into a medium bowl.
Reserve the cored tomatoes.
Use a spoon to push the gel, seeds, and pulp through the wire mesh sieve, releasing their juice into another bowl. Press down on the solid ingredients and agitate the mixture to extract as much juice as possible. You will need to do this in batches; when one batch is juiced, scoop the solids into the trash and start on the next batch.
Pour the tomato juice into a measuring cup. You will need 1 cup of liquid total. If the tomato juice does not make a full cup, top it off with water.
Pour the juice (and water, if you added any) into a small saucepan.
Rinse the tomato pulp out of the mesh sieve. Pour the dry quinoa into the sieve and rinse it with cold water for a few minutes. Drain.
Pour the quinoa into the saucepan with the tomato liquid. Add the crushed garlic to the pan.
Bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover the pan. Simmer the ingredients for about 20 minutes till all of the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
While quinoa is cooking, grease the bottom and edges of your cooking pan or dish with olive oil. Lightly brush the outside of each tomato with olive oil and place them into the baking dish.
When quinoa is finished cooking, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork.Use the fork to stir in 2 tbsp of pesto along with the grated parmesan and fresh basil. Season the quinoa with salt and pepper to taste.
Use the fork to stir in 2 tbsp of pesto along with the grated parmesan and fresh basil. Season the quinoa with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the quinoa evenly between the six tomatoes, stuffing each one loosely with the mixture.
Top each tomato with 3/4 tsp of pesto...
then top each portion of pesto with 1 tbsp of goat cheese.
Place the tomatoes into preheated oven. Let them cook for 20-25 minutes till the tomatoes are tender and the goat cheese starts to brown at the tips.
Serve hot. Garnish with fresh basil leaves, if desired.


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- 5 Beds
- 2 Full, 2 3/4, 1 Half Baths
Property TypeResidential – Single Family
SubdivisionCordillera Valley Club F9 - Legacy Tr
Listing Date08/05/19
Year Built2016
AreaCordillera Valley Club
Lot Size0.88 Acres (38,333 SqFt)
Parking3 Car Garage
Property Description
Completed by the Krueger Company in 2016, this mountain contemporary designed home enjoys a fabulous golf course location with massive Lake Creek and Sawatch Range views. The open, flowing floor plan includes a large south facing deck, an east facing barbecue deck and a quiet north facing patio with yard and hot tub. Five bedrooms, a study room, family room, separate dining room, dedicated mud room and an over sized 3-car garage complete the home.
Presented By
- Golf Course
- Golf Course
- Mountains
- River
- Ski Slopes
- South Facing
- Valley
- Golf Membership Option
- Health Club Membership
- Hiking/Pedestrian Trail
- Private Fishing Rights
- See Remarks
- Cable Available
- Deck
- Fireplace - Gas
- Hot Tub / Spa
- Multi-Level
- Patio
- Steam
- Vaulted Ceilings
- Club Membership Avai
- See Remarks
- Cable TV
- District Sewer
- District Water
- Electricity Avail.
- Natural Gas Avail.
- Snow Removal
- Trash Pickup
- HydronicRadiantFloor
- Natural Gas
- Ceiling Fan
- Dryer
- Washer
Financial Information
About Cordillera Valley Club
On the sunny side of the valley, Cordillera Valley Club is a gated community offering privacy, convenience and plenty of amenities. Just 7 minutes to Arrowhead, and about 10 minutes to Bachelor Gulch and Beaver Creek, Cordillera Valley Club is a community that features more convenient access to the valley than its sister communities at higher elevations, while also offering residents the same privacy and exclusivity. Views of rugged New York Mountain and the Sawatch Mountain Range to the south over Lake Creek create a unique viewpoint from just about anywhere in Cordillera Valley Club. The landscape offers a high-mountain feel with sagebrush, cedar bushes, some pine trees, aspens and cottonwoods. Golfers are in heaven at the Valley Course, one of three golf courses throughout Cordillera for which residents have access. There's a restaurant open for lunch and dinner in the summertime, and available for private events during winter months. Other amenities include a beautiful swimming pool, tennis court and workout facility in the Club House. The Valley Club features 145 residences, all single-family homes, over 366 acres. The architectural style is rustic, with porches, timber, stone and some tin roofs. Many homes are part of subdivisions that include 10 to 15 homes, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet depending on the subdivision. The rest of the homes are estate homes ranging from 4,500 to 8,500 square feet on half-acre or larger home sites. It's a relatively small area with an easy-going resort town feel. You'll find owners and guests snowshoeing or cross-country skiing across the golf course in the winter, and walking with neighbors, friends and dogs throughout the year along the paths. The Cordillera Valley Club is Vail Valley living at its finest.
Area Market Data
5 Beds 6 Baths
5 Beds 6 Baths
4 Beds 5 Baths
4 Beds 6 Baths
5 Beds 6 Baths
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Copyright © 2020 Vail Multi List, Inc. (VMLS). The information displayed herein was derived from sources believed to be accurate, but has not been verified by VMLS. Buyers are cautioned to verify all information to their own satisfaction. This information is exclusively for viewers' personal, non- commercial use. Any republication or reproduction of the information herein without the express permission of the VMLS is strictly prohibited.
Listing courtesy of Slifer Smith & Frampton/281 Bridge Street


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There andal and sethu were conversing with diamond setter and saree dealer. Andal told that she made chain for the young lady why should going wed sethu and sethu requested gold anklet.
Dhanush was extremely furious seeing this and asked his mom she told that her wedding commemoration is going to come so just she is purchasing this and what not.
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- 1 (10-ounce) premade thin pizza crust
- 1 1/2 cups Pomodoro Sauce (see recipe)
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/8-inch slices
- Coarsely chopped fresh basil
- Prepare grill.
- Place pizza crust on grill rack and cook directly over medium flame until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Flip. Spread Pomodoro Sauce on crust and top with mozzarella slices. Grill, with lid closed, until the bottom side of the crust is browned and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Scatter with basil.
- Carefully remove from grill with two large spatulas.
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The recipe was originally published as Grilled Pizza with Mozzarella on Relish.com


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Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) on active position in context of investors' investment valuation, price per shares moved up 0.05% to $55.70 with volume of 10.57 Million.
Based on the technical ratios and trend levels showed active positions, the overall sentiment towards ORCL is best described as in mid of bullish and bearish. This trend has crafted a unified opinion across the trading floor and it is clear that the overall guidance for the stock is now established as moved up. But it's not just the outlook that's being affected for the stock.
Looking forward to the ratio analysis, the co has price to earnings ratio of 18.55, which is indicating if firm is fluctuating between 15 and 25 than it lies on average position; but sometimes if it's under this value some experts consider it as undervalue security. A company with higher PE ratio is more worthy against a company with lower PE ratio.
Looking on other side, Forward Price to Earnings ratio of ORCL persists on 13.20. The firm has price to earnings growth of 1.87, which is a valuation metric for determining relative trade-off among price of a stock. Slightly noticeable ratio of firm is current ratio, which is standing at 2.20.
Moving toward other technical indicators, stock is wondering in considerable region as it has 20 days moving average of 1.10% and struggles for 50 days moving average of buoyant run is 2.74%. The firm presented substantial 200-days simple moving average of 3.04%. The firm has floated short ration of 2.11%. Taking notice on average true range by J. Welles Wilder, it was 0.81. It is useful indicator for the long-term investors to monitor.


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Much of the blame lies on the Clinton campaign: Clinton's ill-advised strategy of appealing to perennially elusive "independents" and middle-class Republican women proved ineffectual and neutralized any progressive message. But an alarmed Left could and should have stepped in to fill the vacuum—that is, redirected at least some of the energy it put into criticizing Clinton into aggressively communicating to voters of color that, between the two candidates, one (Trump) would put us on the defensive and the other (Clinton) on the offensive.Excuse me "In These Times," voters of color didn't elect the racist Donald Trump, "white" voters did and that includes members of the white "Left" who voted for Jill Stein or refused to vote at all. As I have shown, if Jill Stein voters in MI, WI and PA had voted for Hillary instead, these Muslims wouldn't be detained at the airports, a wall wouldn't be constructed on our southern border, 40,000 people wouldn't be projected to die from loss of health care, and Steve Bannon, a longtime white nationalist leader wouldn't be on the national security council.
Those you call "people of color," because they don't think of themselves as being as pure as freshly fallen snow, have always been aware of the genocidal danger a Donald Trump administration meant to us, even when the mantra of the white Left was "don't vote for the lesser of two evils," so please, don't ever come to us with the chauvinist nonsense that the failure of the [white] Left in this election was its failure to communicate the danger that Trump represents to us.
From July till November, this communist of color begged you to do exactly what you are now saying you should of done:
Trump didn't threaten Hillary, he threatened violent insurrection
Trump tells his '2nd Amendment people election will be stolen to prepare for insurrection
Donald Trump wants to be the Last US President
Does Donald Trump's secret plan to defeat ISIS involve using nukes?
How Jill Stein Tweets for Trump
HuffPost item shows how @JillStein campaign whitewashes @realDonaldTrump
Trump tells his '2nd Amendment people election will be stolen to prepare for insurrection
Trump didn't threaten Hillary, he threatened violent insurrection
Meet Green Party's Jill Stein, Putin sock-puppet & Assad apologist
Green Party Jill Stein's campaign in context
What should the Green Party do?
Greens could give White House to Trump as poll numbers even
Why Green Party's Jill Stein should drop her presidential bid
Is US Green Party's Jill Stein a holocaust denier?
Jill Stein now claiming Donald Trump is less of two evils
Did Dishonest Jill Stein change her Syria statement on the sly?
Republican support for Green Party @DrJillStein is emerging
Why "Jill not Hill" is a pro-Trump slogan
Donald Trump can only win if Jill Stein stays in
and all I got for my trouble was and expulsion from one Marxist "scholars" list.
You didn't need to:
counterbalance it by mobilizing Democrats' most reliable—and indispensable—constituents: people of color.Then you have the unmitigated gaul to argue:
In major Pennsylvania and Wisconsin cities, a stronger effort—registering voters, volunteering to drive people to the polls, "walking-and-talking"—might have tipped the scales.Is that your idea of how the white Left could have beat Trump, by driving African American voters to the polls? How about the white Left convincing Green Party voters in those two states plus Michigan to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Jill Stein! That definitely would have tipped the scales. Or do you find it preferable to drive "people of color" vote for a neo-liberal rather than ask members of the white Left to soil themselves by voting for the lesser of two evils?
Kathleen Geier, your claim that Jill Stein "did not spoil the election" is just flat out wrong!
@DrJillStein now officially 'the Ralph Nader of 2016'
Did the Green Party's @DrJillStein help Trump win?
Syria is the Paris Commune of the 21st Century!


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If you weren't aware, this site also has a blog. One of the posts in there is a rant I made about three years ago about priorities. Today, I'm choosing to expand on that a bit here in this forum. Since this is my forum and my blog and I pay the bills for this place I am going to make my point. If you disagree, that's totally cool. I understand and that's what forums and blogs are for - discussion. So, make YOUR point known in the replies.
Anyway, here is the pertinent part from the blog. "If you look at gaming as a hobby do people like myself a favor. Don't game with us. Sorry to be so blunt, but it saves a lot of trouble down the road for both of us. I will say here that I was the one who suggested gaming via Skype way back in 2007 and pursued it, so the blame is on me. In any case, if gaming is a hobby to you then you don't take it seriously. When you don't take it seriously it means that you are more than willing to make other plans with other people on a scheduled gaming night. It often means that you game only when there is nothing else to do or be doing. Despite the fact that you know that there is a gaming night you have committed to, you will still schedule other things for that night even when you can easily schedule them for some other time.
I understand life and work/family committments. But seriously. If you have so many committments that always keep your life busy then why waste other people's time? When you are unavailable for the holiday season it's unfair to those who are, especially if those committments mean you aren't available on a holiday or the day after even when the celebration is long over!
Admittedly, I don't have much of a life in the sense that I always have a party to go to or a meeting to attend. Yes, I'm a homebody. But that's my point. Many people who call themselves gamers are homebodys. They are available to play. If you aren't and this is a hobby for you stop calling yourself a gamer and move along. You won't miss the hobby if you have no time to devote to it anyway and we Gamemasters won't constantly sufffer moments of rage to find out that yet again – you've cancelled!
If you are going to game, call yourself a gamer, well stick to the schedule. Here's a concept. Schedule other priorities around your gaming night! Simple as that. If you cannot manage that then gaming is not your priority and you risk implying to the GM and other players that you really don't care to game with them or even care about them at all. If you know you have a gaming night coming up, and you are aware of that, but you then go ahead and schedule something else with someone else (that isn't a have to) then really, what is that saying to the GM and the players. Think about it. Don't committ if you cannot or don't want to keep a schedule.
Yes. I am aware of life. Things come up, things happen, have-to-events come up. I'm flexible and many of my fellow GMs are. But this really is untenable when it's much more than an occaisional thing. Either this is a priority for you or it's not. If it's not, please don't waste other people's time. Nor insult their intelligence by calling yourself a gamer when you have no intention of committing to the game."
Now for my main points…
Hobbies are cool and they are a good thing to have. They give you something to do and they can be enjoyable. But a hobby isn't something that's really important. If you have time for it, you do it, if not you don't. It's not the same as something you truly have a love for.
Perhaps I am just one of those people that are either black or white. I either love something or I don't. There is no middle ground. That may be the case. But, if I am, I'm still in good company. Gaming is NOT a hobby for me. It's a passion, it's something I want to do, it's something that I miss and it makes me cranky when I'm unfulfilled and happy when I get to game.
Don't be a hobbyist in a gamer's world. A committment is needed. Gamers want to game and they are committed to it. Hobbyists are not.
Oh yeah. It was mentioned at the end of that blog post in an update that I am considered to be militant. It's easy for hobbyists to call true gamers militants. When you have a passion for something far beyond what the hobbyist can feel, that passion for something can be percieved as militancy. It's a matter of perspective. And hobbyists don't get it.
Just like I don't get the interest in Civil War or military reenactments. That's a passion for those that do it, and because I understand the concept I support their passion and interest in doing that. Those people have given that a priority in their life. It's not a hobby to them. Consequently, a little respect and consideration towards gaming from hobbyists (who should stay away from gaming) would be nice. It's the same thing.


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Best and Worst of 2004
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Topic: Best and Worst of 2004 (Read 10401 times)
Darth Broem
Jedi Knight
Posts: 3001
Best and Worst of 2004
December 9, 2004, 04:45 PM »
Just wondering what we think the best and worst figures and vehicles of 2004 were.
Best VOTC: Boba Fett or Chewbacca or Stormtrooper
Best OTC: Cloud Car Pilot or Gen Madine or Yoda
Best Saga: J'Quille or R1-G4 or even Dutch or Bubo
Worst VOTC: C-3PO of course
Worst OTC: Bib Fortuna
Worst Saga: I liked most of them but I'll say Holo Luke since everyone whined about the blue paint or whatever.
Best Vehicle: OTC Slave I (painted it nice and great packaging)
Worst Vehicle: OTC Tie Fighter (time to update this one from 77 a bit more IMO)
Best 12 inch: Boba Fett VOTC
Worst 12 inch: Luke VOTC
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 24455
Leave me where I lie
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #1 on:
December 9, 2004, 05:05 PM »
Here are my votes:
Best VOTC: Chewbacca - the Stormie was nice, but Chewie is the best!
Best OTC: Dagobah Luke - Handstanding was a GREAT pose for him
Best Saga: General Madine - Great articulation, very nice pose. J'Quille is second...
Worst VOTC: C-3PO - R2 is a close second though
Worst OTC: TRU Jedi Circle of Suck - all 4 of these sets were pretty sad attempts (yet I bought them all
Worst Saga: Hoth Rebel Trooper - Should have been much nicer, he had a bad stance and sucky articulation
Best Vehicle: OTC Falcon - I really liked the small improvements they made to this ship
Worst Vehicle: OTC X-Wing - what a waste to re-release this version, especially with the other still out at TRU
Last Edit: December 9, 2004, 05:06 PM by Nataku
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Jedi Guardian
Posts: 18678
Get Some
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #2 on:
December 9, 2004, 05:17 PM »
Gotta agree with Jeff on some...
Best VOTC: Chewbacca - Amazing figure, the ultimate Chewie
Best OTC: Dagobah Luke - GReat accessories, neat use of head swaps and arms swaps
Best Saga: Jedi Luke - The only down side was the one hand, but otherwise, its a great figure
Worst VOTC: C-3PO - No contest
Worst OTC: Every single repack...ick
Worst Saga: Hoth Rebel Trooper - First, dissapointed this wasn't an Echo Base Trooper, then as a resculpt it was horrible. Bad all around
Best Vehicle: ?
Worst Vehicle: TIE and X-Wing rerelease crap
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Jedi Apprentice
Posts: 1806
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #3 on:
December 9, 2004, 06:28 PM »
Best VOTC = Chewie
Best OTC = Bespin Leia
Best SAGA = Tanus Spijek
Worst VOTC = C-3PO
Worst OTC = Han Solo (not the fig itself, but being released so many times)
Worst SAGA = Hoth Soldier
Best Vehicle = Y-Wing
Angry Ewok
Staff Member
Jedi Master
Posts: 5545
The Ewok Village Idiot
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #4 on:
December 9, 2004, 07:27 PM »
Great thread...
Best VOTC
I only own the Stormtrooper, but I'll go ahead and name the it the best of VOTC - because I feel an SA stormtrooper was needed more than any of the others.
Best OTC
This is a tough one for me... I think I'll go with Madine (unfortunately I haven't found Madine yet).
Best Saga
Captain Antilles!
Worst VOTC
Worst OTC
Bib Fortuna, easily.
Worst Saga
Hoth trooper
Jedi Knight
Posts: 4235
I'm not with that guy
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #5 on:
December 9, 2004, 08:40 PM »
I always love these lists.
Best VOTC: Chewie / Stormie tie.
Best OTC: Cloud Car Pilot (but 3-PO may have had the best overall package. I loved it)
Best Saga: Jedi Luke
Best Post OTC: Celebration Padme
Worst VOTC: 3-PO takes the cake.
Worst OTC: Bib Fortuna
Worst Saga: Hoth Trooper by a mile
Worst Post OTC: Rabe, only because of that mug
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Jedi Master
Posts: 6072
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #6 on:
December 9, 2004, 09:02 PM »
VOTC: Tie between Fett/Stormie/Chewie
OTC: (Hard one...) Going with Dagobah Luke
Saga: Dengar
Post OTC: Padme
Vehicle: Tie between Falcon/Slave 1/Y-Wing
OTC: (Excluding Commtech Han) Bib Fortuna
Saga: Hoth Trooper
Post OTC: Rabe
Vehicle: Tie between Rehashed X-wing/Rehashed TIE
Twitter: @travis_banks
Jedi Master
Posts: 6547
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #7 on:
December 10, 2004, 03:24 AM »
Best VOTC- Stormtrooper
Best OTC- Dagobah Luke
Best Saga- Luke Hoth with Luke Jedi a close second
Best Post-OTC- Celebration Padme. Been waiting for this figure since 1999.
Worst VOTC- 3PO, with a close second being the price on said figures
Worst OTC- Hoth Vader. Just a really lame idea
Worst Saga- Han AT-ST driver. They were better off just making a AT-ST Driver and not trying to pass it off as Han, IMO.
Worst Post-OTC- Tough to judge, but I'd have to go with Rabe. It's a fig we've wanted for a while, but the face makes it a kinda-stinker.
I didn't buy any OTC vehicles, so I'm leaving them out.
don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk
Jedi Apprentice
Posts: 1996
Get that poison out of your system
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #8 on:
December 10, 2004, 08:47 AM »
Best VOTC: Stormtrooper, although Boba Fett comes in a close second. I didn't think an army builder could get any better than the SA Clone Trooper, but I was wrong.
Best OTC: Yoda/Dagobah Luke. I know that they are two figures, but the fact that they actually work together well (as opposed to the horrid way that these figures worked together in POTF2), makes me want to give it to both of them. In my mind, when together, they are the best figure of the year.
Best Saga: Skiff Lando. The entire Jabba's Palace wave (plus Jedi Luke) was probably the best overall wave of the year in terms of characters, sculpting, and variety, but Lando stood out as the best to me. And if you want to really love him, just pull out the POTF2 Skiff Lando and compare the two. It's like night and day.
Best Vehicle: Boba Fett's Slave I, and this is only because there were not any "new" vehicles released this year. I hesitate to call it the best, since the wing stabilizers are so unsturdy, but since I have always been a Fett fan, I'll give it the nod.
Worst VOTC: Threepio, hands down. This one just stinks of someone saying "we really need to do a Threepio for this line but we're out of development money." Horrible articulation, horrible stance, and the fact that it's on an ESB card without the removable limbs feature irritates me. The only real stinker in what was an otherwise great subline.
Worst OTC: All the repacks. Five is okay, ten is pushing it, but when nearly 30 of your 38 figures are rereleases for a particular line, it's obnoxious and it reeks of laziness. The excuse was used that the DVD announcement caught them by surprise, but if that is the case, how did they have all that lead time to prepare the VOTC for release?
Worst Saga: AT-ST Han, hands down. One of the worst ideas for an action figure in recent memory. Considering all we ever saw of Han this way was wearing the helmet on a static-filled viewscreen, it once again reeks of Hasbro cheaping out, as all they had to sculpt was an arm below the elbow and a head. In my mind, they could have either done a real Endor Han figure, with cloth coat and in his regular outfit, and included the helmet and articulation so he could hold his arm in from of his face, or they could have just released a Richard Marquand AT-ST driver. But then, those would have been things that the people would like, and we can't have that happen.
Worst Vehicle: repackorama in OTC of the seriously outdated X-Wing and TIE molds. "Hey folks, just ignore the fact that if you go to TRU you can get an X-Wing that is properly scaled and is immensely superior for about $19.99 (which is what it is going for on Amazon at the time of its release); here's a version of it that is hideously underscaled and outdated for the same price, and you don't even get a figure!"
Jedi Apprentice
Posts: 2012
I can't think of anything witty to say...
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #9 on:
December 11, 2004, 01:51 AM »
Best VOTC: Stormtrooper. The ultimate army builder, an insane amounts of articulation lead to a great number of poses and a top notch sculpt. Runner-Up: Han Solo - could have been better if the vest was a seperate piece
Best Standard Figure (Saga/OTC): Jedi Luke Skywalker. Though the arm articulation was a bit silly, the overall sculpt and detailing on this figure was great and it is definitely a fun figure to play with. Runner-Up: R2-D2 (Jabba's Skiff) - best R2 unit yet, just need to fill in the hole in the top of his head.
Worst VOTC: Ben Kenobi. Would have said C-3PO but I still don't have it. Ben has a nice looking sculpt to it, but the size of the cloth robe caused the body and arms to be oddly sculpted proportion wise and takes away from an all around good idea. Runner-Up: Luke Skywalker - short neck and ugly tunic
Worst Standard Figure (Saga/OTC): Hoth Rebel Soldier. What a crappy army builder, he's so short and ugly looking, he's almost POTF2 like in design. And what crappy articulation. Just a bad execution of what might have been a good idea. Runner-Up: R2-D2 (Dagobah) - overall this year hasn't been too bad for the standard figure, but re-using the F/X R2 sculpt/idea for the 3rd time now is not a great thing. Poor sculpt for an R2 coming off the great BaR2-D2 and bad paint apps.
Jason F.
- Vintage Needs: Micro Collection Snowspeeder box and pilots, Micro Collection X-Wing pilot
Jesse James
Staff Member
Grand Master
Posts: 35126
Slippery When Poopy
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #10 on:
December 11, 2004, 03:08 AM »
OTC Basic
: Cloud Car Pilot... Simply a nicely articulated army builder, removable helmet, working holster, neat accessories, easily found, and fleshing out the vintage figures on top of it all. In the end you can't ask for much more.
: Not counting the rehashed stuff, I'm gonna actually slap Dagobah Luke with this title... The lack of poseable arms killed this figure for me. Not to say it's a nice figure for what it is, as Leia Bespin, Dagobah R2, Spirit Ben, etc. are all good for what they are, but Dagobah Luke's arms should've had ONE set poseable and one pre-posed. That was a major detractor. Still a nice sculpt and a nice looking figure in general, especially with Yoda on his back.
VOTC Deluxe
: Tie between Chewbacca and Stormtrooper (With Han, and Fett in close 2nd)... Simply the PERFECT figures we've all wanted and finally got, even if at an unfairly inflated price. The figure's are incredible. Chewbacca edges out the Stormtrooper in overall quality I think, but the Stormtrooper gains on Chewie because of the fact he's the army builder to end all army builders. Even at $10 a pop this is a figure people have numbering in the 20's and 30's in their collection. That says something GOOD about that figure.
Hats off to Hasbro... Now do all that figure goodness for $5 or $6 and available readily, and I'll not have a gripe in the world at that.
: Tie between Luke and Obi-Wan... While I'd vote R2 and 3PO as a close 2nd here, I vote Luke and Obi-Wan just because they're more important (to me) for NEEDING perfect versions of them in these outfits. Obi's puffy cloak, lack of detail on his skirt piece (one layer, and no robe ties or anything? sheesh!), and his HORRIBLE lack of articulation, all gain him a spot on this crap list. Luke's inaccurately tiny height, his sort of goofy face, and his softgoods shirt (completely unnecessary and perplexing) earn him his spot. Both figures still need that definitive version IMO.
Saga Basic
: Captain Antilles... My favorite for the year in the Saga range was the "apology for the RFT" figure, Antilles. The helmet, the holster, the swappable parts with Dodonna (not intended I don't believe, but nice), the reversable arms (again not intended I don't think, but nice), the decent articulation... I think Antilles is a nice figure, and while not hard to get, in my neck of the woods he's sold steadily since his release and what was a potential pegwarmer is becoming increasingly tough to find. That all equates figure goodness to me... Not to mention he makes a nice army builder/customizing fodder. Nice!
I will say there were quite a few figures in the late part of Saga that were equally good to Antilles though... Or close anyway.
: Hoth Rebel Soldier... He's an '03/'04 figure since he started shipping right around X-mas last year, but he's horrid nonetheless and he's a plague upon the pegs. He's entirely too short, he's lacking any articulation beyond the 6 basic POTF2 points, his sculpt is still pushing the "buffness" (even if it is more crisp, it's still a tiny waist, wide stance, skinnier legs, and broad shoulders/chest... Terrible), he's got a holster that doesn't work (at this point, a feature that should be standard), and I'm just gonna reiterate it, but he lacks articulation... He should be sporting super articulation or darn close to it.
To top it off, he's one of the biggest pegwarmers of the past year, and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Blah!
Saga Deluxe
: Ewok w/Glider... I think getting a nice glider, with creative use of translucent plastic, lots of parts, and including a pretty kick ass generic ewok figure with it, all makes for a pretty good figure worthy of $10.
: Jabba the Hutt... Again, another '03/'04 figure, but I just never was as happy with him being slapped on a $10 card using an old sculpt. This should've been a $20 figure that gave you something more at least. It felt "empty" and for a figure like Jabba, who the collecting community as a whole was asking for a new ROTJ one, I think Hasbro shafted them some... No Dais, etc. Just not up to snuff.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval! But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
Jedi Defender.com Contributing Editor, Twitter @JediDefender & @Jesse_James77
Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 11621
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #11 on:
December 13, 2004, 09:32 AM »
Nice thread idea, I always enjoy reading everyone's opinions.
BEST OTC Basic - Dagobah Luke/Yoda. I'll put these together as well, because I think they are both nice. The interchangeable arms were a nice touch, and the Yoda I think is the best we've seen so far (better than the VOTC version to me at least). The go together well. I agree though, a pair of "poseable" arms on Luke would have been nice, but I still like the figure overall.
BEST VOTC - Chewbacca. Pretty much perfect. Favorite character and the best figure of him ever (and overall of the year). Good line overall though, the Stormtrooper, Han Solo, and Boba Fett are all close runners-up. I think Han has lost some luster with some just because he became a bit of a pegwarmer, but that figure is still amazing.
BEST SAGA - Many choices, a pretty good line overall. I'll go with Jedi Luke, or Luke Skywalker (Jabba's Palace) if you prefer
. The Hoth Luke and Lando Skiff are close runners-up with me though. The Jedi Luke was always one of my favorite vintage figures as a kid, and it is nice to see him get a well-done modern version.
WORST OTC BASIC - Pretty much most of the repacks. Although I bought him, I guess I'd go with Bib Fortuna, just because the figure is kind of poor. I didn't have a modern version, and wanted one, so I picked it up...but not a very good figure really. To be honest, I know some people are happy to see (and have) the Scanning Trooper, but I think the figure, as a figure itself, stinks too. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, since many people wanted to see it re-released.
WORST VOTC - C-3PO. No contest to me. I can find things I like about each of the other VOTC figures, but the 3PO just plain stinks. I tried to like this figure, I really did, but basically bought it to "complete the set". The paintjob part of it isn't too bad, but the face sculpt is really what gets me. We dreamed of so much more with our favorite protocol droid, and Hasbro came up short on this one. I bought the repacked OTC 3PO shortly before this one, and I am much happier with that version.
WORST SAGA - Hoth Rebel Trooper. This is no contest as well, I saw this guy several times (and still do actually), and still haven't bought one. I don't have any hoth troopers, but I just can't bring myself to buy the wee man. Hopefully this will be revisited in the future sometime, and done much better.
BEST OTC VEHICLE - Slave 1. I know, its basically a repaint of Jango's ship, but I think that sculpt is very nice, and I personally didn't have a version of Boba's ship yet. I was really happy with this repaint/re-release actually. The Falcon looks great as well, but I wasn't quite able to talk the Mrs. into having 2 in the house
. I don't have the room anyways, but it does look like a nice update.
WORST OTC VEHICLE - X-Wing rehash. Using the old, small version especially made this stink. If they used the "scale" version, and offered it for $15 or $20, that wouldn't have been so bad I guess, to have an X-Wing on the shelves for the DVD release. This one just looks so inferior in comparison though.
Jesse James
Staff Member
Grand Master
Posts: 35126
Slippery When Poopy
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #12 on:
December 13, 2004, 05:29 PM »
I didn't do vehicles on my list, but that'd be such a tough choice since I really didn't care for ANY vehicle they dumped on us this year...
The X-Wing's probably the lesser of the evils to me, and while underscaled, and tough to fit a figure into it, and it comes with a horrible pack-in, I'd say it's just simply not as bad as others...
On the other hand...
The Y-Wing's proportions are just silly at this point, especially parked next to the X-Wing or a TIE Fighter, and it's a ship I wish Hasbro would take the time to redo, and hopefully redo it to-scale.
The tie for suckiest vehicle would be the Sandcrawler though. I'll never get why everyone wanted this. It's not nearly as cool as the vintage one, it makes the Y-Wings proportions look impressive by comparison, and it wasn't even made of quality material... Top if off that they put a "new" figure in it with what seems like an effort to piss off the completists or those of us who wanted the Tatooine RA-7 droid.
Short of using one for miniatures gaming, I really couldn't bring myself to buy that (was lucky enough to find someone who helped me get the figures from it since he WAS using his for gaming only), and to top it ALL off it's OUTRAGEOUSLY priced for the people who did want the thing.
Sandcrawler would have to take the cake then... At least the Y-Wing was semi-fairly priced, especially in comparison.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval! But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
Jedi Defender.com Contributing Editor, Twitter @JediDefender & @Jesse_James77
Jedi Master
Posts: 6547
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #13 on:
December 14, 2004, 12:14 AM »
I do want to buy the Sandcrawler, but it is too small, plus at the price, it should have had some type of electronics or radio control.
Maybe after Christmas when I get my bonus I'll pick it up.
don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk
Darth Broem
Jedi Knight
Posts: 3001
Re: Best and Worst of 2004
Reply #14 on:
December 14, 2004, 11:55 AM »
I almost put the Sandcrawler as the best but I put Slave 1 in there for also giving everyone a nice pack-in Boba Fett. The 300th no less.
The Sandcrawler needed some more droids IMO. At least 2 droids and 2 Jawas. It would have been the perfect time to add in a nice resculpt of R5-D4. I do like the repain of the vintage mold. Although yes, I know, it's woefully underscaled. For me it's better than no Sandcrawler at all.
My opinion anyway.
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The No. 5 University of Oklahoma men's tennis team fell to No. 1 Virginia, 6-1, Sunday, March 3, in Charlottesville, Va.
"Virginia played very well today and showed why they are ranked No.1," OU head coach John Roddick said.
Virginia entered the match after winning the ITA National Team Indoors in Seattle, Wash., Monday, Feb. 18.
Sooners (9-3) battled closely with the Cavaliers (7-0) in doubles, but
ultimately dropped two matches and gave the Cavaliers the first team
"We had chances in the doubles that we let get away," Roddick said.
ITA No. 37 Justin Shane and Julen Uriguen beat Lawrence Formentera and
Peerakit Siributwong, 8-4, at the No. 3 position. No. 42 Guillermo
Alcorta and Axel Alvarez Llamas battled with No. 45 Mitchell Frank and
Alex Domijan at the No. 2 position, but the Cavalier duo ultimately
topped them 8-6.
No. 52 Costin Paval and Dane Webb were up 8-7
over No. 2 Jarmere Jenkins and Mac Styslinger at the No. 1 position when
Virginia claimed the doubles team point, ending their match.
Virginia capped its win by winning three straight matches in singles, at the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions.
"In singles, we played very well in spots, but we need each guy to show up," Roddick said.
and Alcorta battled closely with the No. 2 and No. 1 players,
respectively. Paval claimed his first set and Alcorta won his second,
but they each eventually lost in their third sets.
Webb claimed
OU's only point of the day, beating No. 65 Mitchell Frank 7-6(6), 6-2 in
the last match of the day. This point was only the seventh Virginia has
given up in the 2013 season.
"Dane [Webb] had a great win
against the [No. 2] player in the country from last year," Roddick said.
"I was really proud in the way he executed."
OU next travels to
Louisvile, Ky., to face No. 42 Louisville in the last road game of the
Sooners' one-month road stretch. They return home Tuesday, March 12,
against No. 44 Florida State University.
Follow @OU_Tennis on Twitter and like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook for more information on the men's tennis program.
No. 1 Virginia 6, No. 5 Oklahoma 1Doubles
1. No. 52 Paval/Webb (OU) led No. 2 Jenkins/Styslinger (UVa), 8-7 (dnf)
2. No. 45 Frank/Domijan (UVa) def. No. 42 Alcorta/Alvarez Llamas (OU), 8-6
3. No. 37 J. Shane/J. Uriguen (UVa) def. Formentera/Siributwong (OU), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2
1. No. 2 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. No. 39 Costin Paval (OU), 2-6, 6-4, 10-2
2. No. 1 Alex Domijan (UVa) def. No. 61 Guillermo Alcorta (OU), 6-4, 4-6, 10-3
3. Dane Webb (OU) def. No. 65 Mitchell Frank (UVa), 7-6(6), 6-2
4. No. 24 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU), 6-2, 6-2
5. No. 8 Mac Styslinger (UVa) def. Lawrence Formentera (OU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Julen Uriguen (UVa) def. Peerakit Siributwong (OU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 5, 6*, 2, 1, 3
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