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Amigos de Jesús
Antonio Muñoz de Mesa
Spain, 2007
Review by Tom Huddleston
Posted on 15 October 2007
Source 35mm print
Categories The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival
In a year stuffed with comedies exploring the diversity of masculine relationships and male bonding (most of them starring either Will Ferrell or Seth Rogen), one of the most surprising and enjoyable is this debut feature from Spanish writer-director Antonio Munoz de Mesa. Shot on the fly and on a microbudget, the film makes the most of an intriguing setup, a witty script and some likeable central performances.
From the very beginning, de Mesa plays around with the form, turning budgetary disadvantages to his favour. Acknowledging that footage shot on cheap digital cameras tends to look like documentary, he utilises to-camera interviews and on-the-spot talking head footage to enhance the film's fictional storyline. We open with a series of such interviews, as the four titular Amigos introduce themselves. Jesus (played by de Mesa) is a moustachioed lothario in an unnamed Spanish city, the unquestioned head of his social clique, which also includes disciples Mateo, Lucas and Juan (Matthew, Luke and John), each of whom believe themselves to be Jesus' closest friend and confidante. So when Jesus' heart is apparently broken by scheming ex-girlfriend Paula, the three band together and book a trip to New York, hoping to take Jesus' mind off the pain.
The writer- director's ambiguous feelings towards his creations are made explicit almost from the start. Jesus, particularly, is quickly revealed as something of a monster: it isn't Paula's rejection that has upset him, rather the fact that she got there first. He even plans to win her back, sleep with her best friend (again), and then dump her purely as revenge. The others, meanwhile, are clearly morally skewed - Mateo has slept with Paula, but insists he isn't the reason she left Jesus - but it's initially unclear how much of this is genuine rottenness, and how much is due to their own insecurity and the malign influence of their peers.
Things fall apart very quickly, as Mateo's treachery is revealed. The film is separated into ten 'chapters,' each with its own progressively more hysterical heading: from 'what to do when your friend gets rejected,' to 'what to do when your friend is an asshole,' to the final (and wonderfully appropriate) 'what to do when your friend is slower than your car.' These are interspersed with interviews, both with the central players, with their girlfriends back in Spain, and with the general public—one wonderful sequence consists of a number of face-to-face interviews shot in Central Park, asking average Americans to define the meaning of friendship: their answers range from the predictably sweet, to the vaguely sad, to the deeply bizarre.
But mostly the film focuses on its four protagonists, locked into their own little world of self pity and recrimination. Even when the party moves to Las Vegas in the final act (for reasons too ludicrous to recount here) the film never becomes a Borat-style road movie: these characters are far too wrapped up in themselves to pay attention to anyone outside the circle. A scene in which all four men get laid focuses entirely on their four faces, all we see of the women are their feet: Juan and Lucas, in particular, seem far more physically interested in one another than their unseen conquests.
Friends Of Jesus will be, for some, a problematic film—any film which spends so much time depicting and discussing bad behaviour can't help but edge towards being a celebration of such behaviour, a fact some viewers will find distasteful. The director is as obsessed with his characters as they are with themselves, and when the female characters finally make their brief appearance and are revealed as shallow, confused and rather stupid, the film threatens to shift from a critique of masculinity to a work of blanket nihilism. But a high level of energy in the filmmaking and the acting, coupled with the humour and undoubted intelligence in the script carry it through. And although we are encouraged to despise and even pity these characters, somehow they manage to remain likeable.
In the final stages Friends of Jesus begins to achieve some kind of depth, as we learn what the three disciples would have been like if they had never met and fallen for their mentor Jesus—successful, happy and self confident. As an exploration of how male relationships destroy one another, it's an extraordinary and surprisingly insightful moment. And the climax, too, is powerful, as the disciples confront Jesus in the desert, finding the strength to abandon him and become their own men.
But it's hard to see Friends Of Jesus getting an American release for one very simple, and decidedly dubious reason: in the middle of the film, the four characters are about to catch their plane to Las Vegas when a catastrophe occurs, closing all the airports and leaving them stranded in New York. This catastrophe is never shown, all we're told is that it involves planes flying into buildings, but it's more than enough to turn any American distributor off picking up the film. Perhaps de Mesa could argue that he was making a comment on the characters—all they care about is their own situation, and the tragedy is barely referred too again. But the fact remains that this is a 9/11 joke in rather poor taste, and not even particularly funny. A shame, because a country with such a massive Spanish-speaking population could have made this otherwise very likeable film a decent-sized hit.
Island of Lost Souls
2007Friends of Jesus
2007We Want Roses Too
2007The Trap
2006Captain Ahab
2007Shotgun Stories
2007Savage Grace
2007The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2007The World Unseen
2007Things We Lost In The Fire
2007Lions for Lambs
2007Talk to Me
2007Battle For Haditha
2007Chaotic Ana
2007Fay Grim
2006Reservation Road
2007I'm Not There
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
'You Don't Know Jack' review: Sepinwall on TV
23 comments:
I get redirected to the (new?) mobile page and can't find you from there. I hope the mobile site's a work in progress.
- 7:21 AM, April 22, 2010
- Alan Sepinwall said...
Dunno. Link obviously works fine on a computer. This is the first I've heard of NJ.com coming up with a mobile version. Will try to look into it.
- 8:03 AM, April 22, 2010
The link works fine for me. I'm on Windows XP and Firefox 3.6.3, for what it's worth.
- 8:50 AM, April 22, 2010
Using an iPhone here, and the link didn't work.
- 8:56 AM, April 22, 2010
- medrawt said...
YES, Pacino in Donnie Brasco. The scene at the end as he prepares to leave his home is heartbreaking, and such a startling reminder of his unused powers.
Of course, there is something to be said for the way he delivers lines like "Because she's got a GREEEAT ASS." I mean, really, what else are you gonna do with something like that? - 9:13 AM, April 22, 2010
Yeah, whenever I watch Godfather I & II I feel like there's a completely different actor there than that of post-Scent of a Woman Pacino. I have cognitive difficulties connecting the Michael Corleone of those films with the Michael Corleone of Godfather III because Pacino had gone in a totally different direction by that point. Deniro, I think, has a similar, if not quite as pronounced, problem. His late work is more caricature than performance, a mere echo of his awesome, early films.
- 9:30 AM, April 22, 2010
@medrawt--beat me to it. "Random shouting as the cop in Heat"? No such thing. I use "Because she's got a great a-uss, an' yor he-ud is alltheway up init" probably weekly. But Pacino the ham is a fair point, Alan--your buddy Bill Simmons would point out he's played the same character since Scent of a Woman, if not before.
- 9:42 AM, April 22, 2010
Thanks for writing what I've been saying about Pacino for years. And Medrawt - that's exactly the line from Heat I joke about, too.
How Donnie Brasco got bumped to a February release and missed the Oscar rush will always be a mystery to me.
Forrest Gump needs another R, though. - 11:21 AM, April 22, 2010
- Karen said...
AMEN to this, Alan! I've been saying the same thing about Pacino since Scent of a Woman, which I watched throughout with the Dropped-jaw of Horrified Disbelief. Man, do I hate that movie.
Had the same reaction to his Roy Cohn--"Oh, right, I remember THAT Pacino!" It would have been a sin to have chewed that scenery.
But generally the guy has set fragments hanging in shreds from his bicuspids, to the point that I can barely watch him anymore.
The one time I thought his hamminess worked to his advantage in the post SoaW days was in Devil's Advocate, where I found it kinda delicious. - 12:43 PM, April 22, 2010
- The Bgt said...
Can I add another exception? "Insomnia". Absolutely loved him in this film.
- 12:53 PM, April 22, 2010
what a weird picture
- 2:47 PM, April 22, 2010
- Bobman said...
I sheepishly admit that I liked "Scent of a Woman." Accepting the hamminess of Pacino's acting (and the annoyingly timid acting of Chris O'Donnell) it's still a good flick.
That said... the schtick grew old about halfway through that movie, let alone the 20 years that have followed it. - 3:18 PM, April 22, 2010
- Unknown said...
In reference to Alan's comment about the accent Pacino uses as Kevorkian, did anyone see Pacino on the CBS Sunday Morning show this week? I watched the interview wondering why Pacino was talking like he was in the movie "Fargo". Now I realize it must have been the accent he used as Kevorkian, but I have no idea why he was still talking that way.
- 3:35 PM, April 22, 2010
- JMC said...
I dunno about all this ire at the bellicose-Pacino. I think there's selective memory going on here. Look at his IMDB credits in between Dog Day and Scent:
# Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
# Frankie and Johnny (1991)
# The Godfather: Part III (1990)
# Dick Tracy (1990)
# The Local Stigmatic (1990)
# Sea of Love (1989)
# Revolution (1985)
# Scarface (1983)
# Author! Author! (1982)
# Cruising (1980)
# ...And Justice for All. (1979)
Some of those films are forgettable but to the point "Scent" isn't the first time he starts acting from his esophagus. He did it in "Godfather" with his "Never ask me about my business!" In "Justice for All" has the "You're outta order, I'm outta order, the whole court is outta order!"
Man I love that guy. :) - 3:36 PM, April 22, 2010
I can't believe no one has talked about "Ocean's 13" yet! Crappy for so many reasons, but most of all for Pacino-the-Ham.
- 4:11 PM, April 22, 2010
Someone above mentioned DeNiro, but I think there's a subtle, yet important, difference between him and Pacino. DeNiro has become a caricature of himself in recent years, but I really think he's done that intentionally - he's been in a bunch of comedy movies playing on his reputation as the "tough guy." He really hasn't been in too many "Oscar bait" type movies lately, or anything else that was supposed to be groundbreaking. Even the "serious" movies he does are like the one he recently did with Pacino, which I think he was clearly doing for the paycheck or for the "buzz" of being in a movie with Pacino again.
Pacino, on the other hand, I really think every time he gets on set he thinks "this is it, this is the role that gets me my second Oscar." The irony is that his overacting has made him insufferable, and if he just toned it down (or stopped taking himself so seriously), he'd probably get a lot more praise. 10 years ago, he was at the top of everybody's "best living actor" list. Now, I don't know that he's even in the top 10.
To make a basketball comparison: DeNiro is the aging vet who wants to keep playing but knows the skills aren't what they were. He accepts a reduced role, plays a few minutes a game, and every so often he reaches deep down and pulls out a great game. Pacino is the aging vet who can't accept that he doesn't still have the skills, and goes out there every night shooting as much as he did in his prime, but at a much worse percentage. - 5:07 PM, April 22, 2010
- amyp3 said...
As a lifelong resident of the Mitten State I'd describe our accent this way: The characters done by two Michiganders, Gilda Radner's Lisa Loopner and Lily Tomlin's little girl (Edith Ann?), were just extreme exaggerations of MI accents. We can be kind of nasal.
BTW Kevorkian lived in my town. I've seen him around. Made me kinda nervous.
But unfortunately, this is yet another of the many films made around here recently that I didn't have a chance to work on. But I heard Al was nice to the extras. - 6:10 PM, April 22, 2010
- Josh said...
A ham through and through...
- 8:52 PM, April 22, 2010
- Merrylegs said...
What about "The Insider"? Loved that movie and I thought Pacino was good and had an appropriate performance throughout the film. Still my favorite Russell Crowe performance too.
- 9:33 AM, April 23, 2010
Chris M - are you talking about Shaq and Kobe?
- 11:40 AM, April 23, 2010
Alan, take another look at Heat. Every scene where Pacino shouts or goes over the top, he is talking to an informer or a suspect. Usually, the other cops in thje scene are smirking. They know that it is an act meant to destablize whoever he is talking too. (For example, the scene where he talks to the snicth at the chop shop.) It is overacting - by deliberate choice of the CHARACTER he is playing.
By contrast, his scenes with the other detectives, his wife and, most especially, his step daughter, he is still intense, but more subduded. (This gives his scene with DeNiro more power - he treats him like an equal.) I believe that his nonsense in Scent tars his character's behavior here.
Further, I'd argue that since then, Pacion has turned in a number of good performances (Insider, Brasco, Insomnia) that has DeNiro, who has become a joke. - 2:50 PM, April 23, 2010
- Tony Dayoub said...
I think the director is more often to blame for a hammy actor's performance than the actor himself. Sidney Lumet once acknowledged in an interview that he'd rather have a Rod Steiger who he has to suppress than some stiff underplaying the part from who he has to pull out a performance.
In this case, if you look at Pacino's career trajectory, his strongest performances are a measure of which director he's working with. And in some cases, like SCARFACE, the level of teatricality is deliberate; the film is nothing if not operatic even outside of his histrionics. Note how that film's director, Brian De Palma, managed to pull quite a different performance out of Pacino in the underrated CARLITO'S WAY.
Barry Levinson plays it down the middle with Pacino, allowing him to show substantial dynamic range in his portrayal of Kevorkian, which reflects the tone of the film. YOU DON'T KNOW JACK is both a grim docudrama and an absurd satire reflective of these times and our Tea Party-obsessed media. It gets a bit gonzo when Pacino is goes to court in a pillory wearing the white wig of a Revolutionary-era American to protest civil rights. But the film also has its profoundly stirring quiet moments, such as Pacino's excellent confessional scene with Susan Sarandon in the third act.
I think you were too harsh on this one, Alan. - 7:48 AM, April 24, 2010
- Trilby said...
"It's such an attention-seeking, tic-ridden performance that it becomes difficult to pay attention to the actual story of Kevorkian and his campaign to legalize euthanasia."
alan, I couldn't disagree more. I felt like Pacino disappeared into this role. I felt like I was watching the real Kevorkian. It was an amazing performance. - 7:52 AM, April 28, 2010

subset: commoncrawl


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Ten years ago, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab celebrated the successful landing of its fourth robot on Mars, The Curiosity rover.
Now old enough to enter the fifth grade, the Curiosity rover was set on its mission in 2012 to determine whether the red planet could have ever supported life.
The robot is about the size of a car, and is decked out with scientific instruments used to study the planet's climate and geology. So, how did the mission go? And what can the Curiosity rover teach us about the past, and potential future of space exploration?
Clear signs of habitability
Dr. Ashwin Vasavada is the head scientist of the Curiosity team, and says that the mission was a huge success.
"[We learned] it was not only habitable at one moment in time in Mars' history, but probably habitable for millions, or tens of millions, of years," he said.
While the rover was able to detect minerals and water that could have supported life, that doesn't necessarily mean that Mars itself harbored life. Vasavada said that their initial goal was to find out if life was simply even possible there.
"We've explored Mars enough to know that there are no dinosaur footprints, no big life forms around today," he said. "So if life ever did take hold, it probably never got beyond kind of a microbial stage."
A sharp change
So, why did Mars become uninhabitable?
Vasavada thinks it's likely a combination of events.
"You can see evidence that rivers once coursed along the surface, that maybe even an ocean existed at one point. So early Mars, we're talking three or four billion years ago, was a much more Earth-like place than Mars is today," he said.
And it seems that the size of the planet may have been the main factor in ending the development of life.
"Ultimately, it's a smaller planet than Earth, [so] that allowed it to cool faster. Once it cooled faster, it lost its ability to generate a magnetic field," he said. "Once the magnetic field stopped, the atmosphere was stripped away by radiation in space. And that led to its inability to, at that point, stay warm and have liquid water."
From that point on, the planet became the cold and inhospitable desert that it is known as today.
A unique landing point
Even the spot that the Curiosity rover initially descended on 10 years ago was able to provide new insights for the team working to understand Mars.
The rover landed in an area called the Gale Crater. Known as an impact crater, the cavity was formed when a large space rock hit the surface of the planet. Later on, it was filled with sediment deposited in lakes, and formed layers of mud that built up over time into the sides of a mountain.
"What this meant is that we could land there, and see if that sediment really was deposited within liquid water environments, like lakes and streams," Vasavada said. "We could read the early history of Mars by driving up these rock layers, and determining whether any of those periods of Mars' time had these habitable conditions."
After 10 years, the success of the mission still surprises the scientist.
"We've now driven up over 2,000 vertical feet on the mountain, and for the most part, every layer we've looked at formed in a wet environment and had conditions that would have been favorable to life."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Enjoy the Best pictures of June 2013 of National Geographic magazine.
Virginia deer, Arkansas
One of the most common species of cervids in North America. Interestingly, in 1920 the population of deer in Arkansas was only 200 goals. (Photo by Jeff Rose):
Comorian day gecko
These geckos are diurnal, feed mainly on insects and nectar of flowers, their color changes depending on the temperature and lighting. (Photo by Lauren Hogan):
Orda Cave
It is the world's largest underwater gypsum cave, located in the Perm region of Russia. (Photo by Viktor Lyagushkin):
Waves and icebergs, Iceland
(Photo by Sophie Carr):
North American moth
(Photo by Graham McGeorge):
Bixby Creek Bridge, California
Bixby Creek Bridge – an engineering marvel. More than a million tourists and photographers from all over the world stop here every year to enjoy the magnificent views. (Photo by Douglas Croft):
Fisherman in Indonesia
(Photo by Dody Kusuma):
Fireworks and demons in Catalonia
(Photo by Carlos Rodriguez Pacheco):
The night sky, Patagonia
(Photo by Max Seigal):
Brown-gull, India
Last year, during a trip to the reservoir on the river Bhima, where they overwinter flamingos, the photographer said Brown-seagull gliding over the water. He pressed the camera just at the happy moment when a seagull vytsepili fish out of water. (Photo Chandrabala Singh)
Five Flower Lake, China
Heaven and earth are reflected in the lake of the five colors, fancifully colored mineral salts and water plants. The Chinese call this picture magic. "Nothing on earth can compare to Jiuzhaigou" – they say. (Photo by Michael Yamashita)
Reefs in the Pacific is very difficult to see borodavchatku – fish, the encounter that all forces should be avoided. If the poison of the spines on its back and kill you, unbearable pain is guaranteed. (Photo by Mattias Klum)
The tentacles worm-sabellida, Hawaii
With a large increase in the photo is visible network of thin hair-worm sabellida. The hairs are separated aqueous slurry into several streams that bring particles – including minerals and detritus for the protective "House" – right in the mouth of the animal. Bright colors warn predators that the worm can be poisonous. (Photo by Darlene A. Murawski)
Wolverine, Kamchatka
Even through the thick layer of snow wolverine can smell prey. Vision in this predator is bad, but hearing and smell – are excellent. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov)
Hveravetlir, Iceland
In Hveravetlire (meaning "hot springs on the plain") in the XVIII century in a cave hidden among the legendary Irish fugitive from the law Fyalla-Eyvindur and his wife. A few winters they warmed themselves at the source and stealing sheep to summer pastures. (Photo Orshoya and Erlen Harberga)
Svalbard, Norway
Svalbard ecosystem includes the sky, the sea and the coast. Small razorbills nest on ledges of cliffs and dive for copepods cancers. Decomposed remains of birds and their droppings are the fertilizer for moss undergrowth where foxes ambush. (Photo by Paul Nicklen)
Parson Russell Terrier, United States
Parson Russell Terrier named Lulu alight on water in the pool in the U.S. Phoenix (Ariz.). To capture the moment when she grabs a toy thrown into the water, the photographer took ten attempts, the ability to work under water and fantastic skill. (Photo by Seth Casteel)
Fox, Wrangel Island
Young foxes in the autumn begin to develop the territory and more rarely returned to the den where they were born and spent the first three months of life.(Photo by Sergey Gorshkov)
Images Source


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The Buffalo Bills are "aware" of abuse allegations being made on Instagram against Bills running back LeSean McCoy, according to ESPN's Dianna Russini, and are looking into them.
The Instagram post includes two images of a woman, one with a bloodied and bruised face. The post, written by a friend of the supposed victim, makes claims of abuse, animal abuse and illegal steroid use.
McCoy tweeted a response, saying in full:
"For the record, the totally baseless and offensive claims made against me today on social media are completely false. Further more, I have not had any direct contact with any of the people involved in months."
The Buffalo Bills did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Scripps station WKBW in Buffalo.


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Vallejo Model Color Scarlet
The Model Color range contains 208 colours and an extensive assortment of mediums and varnishes, designed especially for Miniature and Modelpainting. The colours have been chosen with the help and advice of the best model painters from many countries.
These paints each come in a 17ml bottle with eyedropper.


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Philosophy of design is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. The field is defined by an interest in a set of problems, or an interest in central or foundational concerns in design. In addition to these central problems for design as a whole, many philosophers of design consider these problems as they apply to particular disciplines (e.g. philosophy of art). Although most practitioners are philosophers, several prominent designers and artists have contributed to the field. Graphic design has seen many changes and influences.
The field needs more depth, in a sense graphic design needs to find itself, all while evolving at the same time. It's debatable how the background of graphic design needs to be shared. There's the discussion of different designers, and their notable works. Portrayals of how the physical art has changed and been inspired by past all while embracing the future.
Graphic Design as a field is young. There is not enough information about how it came to be. There is subtle information about society accepting messages being put in front of them. There's not enough information given to design students about where the concept for graphic design comes from, or at least an understanding about the original forms of communications that used more than words, or why typography has such a large impact.


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Wilderness Endangered
Misty Fiords National Monument was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 to perpetuate the outstanding wilderness, scenic and wildlife resources of this remote and wild portion of Alaska. Misty Fiords is comprised of mountainous country incised by deep saltwater fiords. The only inhabitants of the area are mountain goats, brown and black bears, wolves, deer, marten, seals, orcas, porpoises, salmon, halibut, trout, eagles, gulls, and a host of other fish and wildlife. It is a coastal rainforest treasure house. Today, the wilderness values of Misty Fiords are threatened by un-permitted and un-planned for tourism development. The roar of floatplanes carrying nearly 1000 tourists a week echo off the steep faces of the cliffs of Rudyerd Bay every day during the summer months. A high speed catamaran completes the round trip; dropping off people for the floatplanes, and picking up those who have come in by air. This is wilderness?? Unfortunately, this is happening right now in the scenic heart Misty Fiords National Monument wilderness.....and it is growing. We do not object to visitors to Misty Fiords. We have visited it many times. We simply object to a steadily growing tourism program that is not permitted (as required by law) and not planned -- a tourism program that diminishes the wilderness experience for other visitors. Here's what you will find in this first web newsletter: |
Home | Newspaper
Articles | The Problem
| Where is Misty Fiords Friends of Misty Fiords
Wilderness E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Contents of all pages are © 1999-2005
by Friends of Misty Fiords Wilderness |


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What/Who is BassFan?
Please see the About page.
What is the Top Gun Championship?
The Cabela's Top Gun Championship was created by BassFan to answer the same important question addressed by the BassFan World Rankings: Who is the best angler in the world? With more and more of the world's top tour pros splitting down league/tour and boat-company lines, each tour's championships cannot field the world's top pros. The fans, pros and industry wanted to see a Super Bowl-like event combining the best from both tours, so we created it. Top Gun fields the Top 25 pros in the world from both tours, as determined by the BassFan World Rankings. For more information on Top Gun, click here. To visit the Cabela's Top Gun Championship Media Center, click here.
What are the BassFan World Rankings?
The BassFan World Rankings were the first and still are the only statistical, multi-year, cross-tour rankings of professional bass anglers. They are also the sport's official rankings. (Important note: After the BassFan World Rankings debuted, the leagues began calling their single-year point races "rankings." But single-year point races are not rankings. All rankings in major sports are multi-year because that is the only way to measure performance over time.) The rankings are updated after each tour event and after the three major championships. For more about the rankings methodology, click here. To view the current BassFan World Rankings, click here.
How are World Rankings different than point races?
Some confusion exists in this sport on this point because World Rankings are still a relatively new concept to professional fishing, and because the leagues started calling their single-year point races "rankings" after the BassFan World Rankings debuted. The two leagues BASS and FLW Outdoors each have single-year point races, often called Angler of the Year races. These are used to determine various things, like Angler of the Year (most points in the regular season) and championship qualification. But neither league counts its championship in its point calculations, and rankings in all professional sports are multi-year simply because that's the only way to show consistent performance over time. The proprietary BassFan World Rankings use a rolling 2 years of tour-level performance data. That term and the rankings' other parameters were decided upon after months of research and testing.
What is the BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship?
The BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship represents the first time in the history of bass fishing that a world champion is crowned from the weekend warrior ranks. Tour pros are not eligible to fish it � only "weekend warriors" who compete in the major regional circuits from around the country. For more information on the BassFan Army Weekend Warrior Championship, click here. For more on the BassFan Army grassroots membership program, please go to BassFanArmy.com.
What is the BassFan Rookie of the Year Race?
The BassFan Rookie of the Year Race was the first rookie race in professional bass fishing, and is the only cross-tour rookie race. True rookies they cannot have fished the pro (boater) side of any tour event before who fish one or both tours are ranked using a methodology similar to the BassFan World Rankings, and the winner of the regular-season race is the best rookie in all of tour-level bass fishing. BassFan Rookie of the Year standings are updated after each tournament. For more on the BassFan Rookie Race, and to see the current standings, click here.
How can I get an interview with an independent observer of professional bass fishing?
During the tour season, BassFan sends objective news-oriented content � including World Rankings and Rookie of the Year standings updates, and news leads and tidbits � to over 200 media outlets. For this purpose, BassFan CEO Jay Kumar and COO Scot Laney are your best bets. The best way to reach them is via email. Contact them at email@example.com and they will respond quickly.
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Can I put a link to BassFan.com on my website?
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In light of President Obama's resounding re-election victory last night, and other developments in political races down the ticket, here are some of my initial thoughts on what might happen in the labor and employment law area during a second Obama administration:
First, I think the verdict is still very much out on whether there will be any significant changes regarding labor and employment legal initiatives in President Obama's second term. It is interesting that the President did not spend too much time during the campaign, or in his victory speech last night, discussing worker rights or unions.
On the one hand, the Congress remains bitterly divided between the two parties which means that labor law reform in the form of the Employee Free Choice Act is highly unlikely, as well as updates to the employment discrimination laws, like adding sexual orientation as a protected classification under Title VII or addressing "qualified individuals" under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I also do not envision major changes to the FMLA or OSHA in a second term, though I suspect there will be additional attempts to amend the Equal Pay Act by trying to get the Paycheck Fairness Act passed.
On the other hand, there will be plenty of room for agency decisionmakers to work on the margins and within their own domains.
On the employee benefit law front, I see significant developments concerning the promulgation of a broader definition of fiduciary status under ERISA and the promulgation of regulations regarding life income options under 401K pension plans. There might also be legislation addressing the current funding crisis surrounding multiemployer (Taft-Hartley) pension and welfare benefit plans. Of course, a second Obama administration will also mean further development of regulations under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), including those that impact the provision of employer-provided health benefits.
On the traditional labor front, I suspect that there will continue to be controversy over the selection of NLRB members. Nevertheless, expect an Obama Board (members continued to be recess appointed) to continue to push for new election and posting rules, the development of more social media guidance, and the reconsideration of some important labor law issues (including issues involving the status of graduate assistants under the NLRA, employer captive audience meetings, and the Weingarten rights of non-union employees). The EEOC, for its part, may continue to consider a host of issues involving everything from LGBT rights to the steps necessary to accommodate the disabilities of employees.
So, expect much of the same as far as labor and employment law in a Second Obama term. Not much legislation, with most important developments happening through federal agency adjudications and rulemaking.
I should add two more notes. First, the United States Supreme Court could go through a fundamental change depending on which Justices leave the Court in the next four years. If President Obama is able to appoint a left-leaning bench, you might see many more pro-employee judicial decisions in areas from the class action treatment of employment discrimination claims, to the extent and nature of relief available under ERISA, to a reconsideration of burden-shifting proof schemes under Title VII and related employment discrimination laws.
Second, my analysis does not touch on the many labor and employment law developments that will likely happen on the state and local level. There was a decidely mixed bag for state-level developments in labor and employment law last night (see California and Michigan, for example). I would suspect that we will see many developments on the non-federal side of things revolving around everything from right-to-work legislation to public pension reform to attempts to restore/take away collective bargaining rights of public sector workers.
In any event, just my two cents and stay tuned!
Cross posted at Workplace Law Prof.


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The last time David Deutsch visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, it was to ask God to cure him of cancer. Now in remission, the 33-year-old Israeli settler and devout Jew headed back to the shrine this week on a new mission.
"I'm going to pray that Trump cancels the plan," said Deutsch, as he waited to hitch a ride at a West Bank bus stop.
Religious Jewish settlers like Deutsch are mounting unexpected, vocal opposition as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to execute one of the provisions of President Trump's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The Trump plan, unveiled at the White House in January, is titled "Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People." It gives Israel the green light to annex about 30% of the territory, which Israel captured in 1967 in the Six Day War. It would leave the remaining 70% for Palestinians to establish some autonomy, but not a fully independent state with an army or control over borders and airspace. Palestinian leaders reject the Trump plan.
"We are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the Vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel," said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, in a statement to NPR. In exchange, the official said, Israel would need to freeze settlement activity for four years in areas the U.S. plan set aside for the Palestinians and agree to peace negotiations.
Now that an American president has for the first time publicly supported annexation, Netanyahu has vowed to seize what he calls a "historic opportunity" to establish sovereignty in the West Bank. Netanyahu has set July 1 as the target date for an announcement. He could face a limited window of opportunity: Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden opposes annexation, which would potentially put Netanyahu on a collision course with a new administration.
Over the last half century, 450,000 Israeli settlers have built homes in the territory, an act most countries deem illegal. Religious settlers have long dreamed of turning Israel's military occupation into permanent sovereignty over biblical lands, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Many Jewish settlers, like Deutsch, worry about the 70% of the territory that Trump has set aside for the Palestinians. Better to annex nothing now, settler activists argue, and claim the entire territory later.
Seventeen-year-old Shira Vahav, also hitchhiking in the West Bank, said she and her friends are planning to erect a new settlement outpost deep in the West Bank to complicate any attempt to carve out a state for Palestinians.
"The danger of dividing the land is nigh," reads one of the Hebrew posters plastered at nearly every major West Bank intersection.
"Jews, wake up!" screamed a demonstrator into a bullhorn at the western entrance to Jerusalem Sunday during a protest by religious Jews.
Although Netanyahu's annexation pledge was a cornerstone of his reelection campaign, it is unclear if he will follow through.
Mayor Oded Revivi of the Efrat settlement, like other right-wing allies of the prime minister, supports partial annexation now. Revivi says the prime minister is committed to it, but is facing obstacles. Revivi is in regular contact with U.S. and Israeli officials on the matter.
"It might be that the Americans won't be fully engaged in it because of issues that have come up in America itself which need the attention of the president and the administration," Revivi said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic and anti-racism protests.
"It might be [delayed] because of disagreement in the Israeli coalition," he added. The right-wing Netanyahu has formed a governing coalition with centrist Benny Gantz, who is believed to oppose unilateral annexation moves that are not part of a wider peace initiative with the Palestinians. Revivi believes the Trump administration wants Gantz's agreement for any Israeli declaration of sovereignty in the West Bank.
The prime minister himself has said annexation might come in stages, according to former Israeli security officials who met with him Monday. He is now negotiating with Gantz to reach a consensus following talks mediated by the U.S. ambassador this week, presenting four annexation options ranging from 30% to a very small percentage of the West Bank, Israeli media have widely reported.
Opponents of the Trump-Netanyahu plan have largely drowned out the voices of supporters. Beside the right-wing settlers who fear partial annexation, there are the thousands of leftist Israelis who turned up for an anti-annexation rally in Tel Aviv this month. Former Israeli security officials have bought ads on highway billboards warning of security risks associated with annexation.
European and Arab envoys have appealed to Israelis' interests, arguing that annexing territory could shake the country's alliances with European and Arab countries and lead to unrest.
A group of United Nations-affiliated special rapporteurs and experts said this week that annexation would amount to what it called "21st century apartheid." They said annexation would "violate a cornerstone principle of international law" against acquiring territory by force, and cement a current reality of unequal rights for Palestinians under Israeli control. Palestinian officials say it would end any chances of a peace deal.
As the international opposition has mounted, public opinion polls suggest Israeli support has dropped. An Israel Democracy Institute poll in late May found 50% support for claiming Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. A survey published this week by The Jerusalem Post newspaper found only 27% support when respondents were asked to consider an op-ed by a United Arab Emirates diplomat who warned annexation would upend Israeli aspirations for improved ties with Arab countries.
While Netanyahu's July 1 target date is fast approaching, the Israeli public is in the dark about his intentions. As Tamar Hermann, a public opinion analyst at the Israel Democracy Institute, put it, "People do not know which territories are actually talked about. ... We don't know how the international community is going to react."
"We don't know what are the plans regarding the rights of the Palestinians residing in these territories," Hermann said. "Most of the details are actually missing."
The confusion was reflected in a sampling of opinion from two dozen Israelis in outdoor cafes in Jerusalem this week.
"I don't know what this is all about. I don't understand it," said Naomi Leitner, sipping an espresso.
Like most of the diners interviewed, Aurit Stone was against annexation. "It's just sticking some fingers in somebody's eye. It will disrupt the whole Middle East," she said.
The one supporter was a Boston native and longtime Israeli resident, orthodox Rabbi Betsalel Philip Edwards.
"We're getting 30%, they're getting 70%. It's the best deal they're gonna get," he said.
But Edwards believes it will not be Israel's last move. He envisions Israel taking over 100% of the West Bank, and expanding its dominion deeper into the Middle East.
"As a religious Jew, I believe God gave us the land of Israel, and some day, all the way to the Euphrates [River], as it says in the Book of Ezekiel," he said.
Sami Sockol contributed reporting from Jerusalem; NPR's Michele Kelemen contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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The USA PATRIOT Act broadly expands law enforcement's surveillance and investigative powers and represents one of the most significant threats to civil liberties, privacy, and democratic traditions in US history.
What is PATRIOT?
The USA PATRIOT Act (officially the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) was quickly developed as anti-terrorism legislation in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The large and complex law received little Congressional oversight and debate and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001.
PATRIOT gives sweeping search and surveillance to domestic law enforcement and foreign intelligence agencies and eliminates checks and balances that previously gave courts the opportunity to ensure that those powers were not abused. PATRIOT and follow-up legislation now in development threaten the basic rights of millions of Americans.


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Once a week, my family gets together to have dinner and I always make dessert. This week I made these little gems. It combines two of my favorite things, sugar cookies and the flavor of orange. To Read More, Click On The Recipe Title.
I couldn't resist the thought of sweet orange marmalade in a cream cheese filling…then there was the sugar cookie crust…be still my heart…then a soft chewy sugar cookie crust. The squares are topped off with tinted melted white chocolate.
Believe me, I ate more than my fair share and loved every bite. I added 2 teaspoons of orange extract just to make sure the orange flavor came shining through. I'm glad I did…it was perfect. Next time, I'm going to add some mini chocolate chips to the mix.
Orange and chocolate are divine together!
Wanna print just the recipe, click here!
Orange Cream Dessert Squares
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
2 tablespoons grated orange peel (from 2 large oranges)
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup SMUCKER'S® Sweet Orange Marmalade
1 teaspoon orange-flavored liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon orange extract ( I used 2 tsp orange extract)
2 Eggland's Best eggs
3 tablespoons whipping (heavy) cream
2 drops orange food color (or 2 drops yellow and 1 drop red food color)
1 1/2 teaspoons LAND O LAKES® Butter
1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Press cookie dough evenly on bottom and 1 inch up sides of ungreased 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. (If dough is sticky, use floured fingers.) Sprinkle evenly with orange peel.
2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, marmalade and liqueur with electric mixer on medium-high speed about 1 minute or until well blended. Add eggs; beat about 2 minutes or until well blended and mixture is creamy. Spread evenly in crust.
3. Bake 29 to 36 minutes or until crust is golden brown and center is set. Cool 1 hour.
4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave whipping cream and food color uncovered on High about 30 seconds or just until boiling. Add butter and baking chips; stir until chips are melted. Spread mixture evenly over bars. Refrigerate about 1 1/2 hours or until chilled and firm.
5. To serve, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows, using thin, sharp knife and wiping blade occasionally. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dessert squares.


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The 2021 Olympic Games being held in Tokyo will feature more different sporting competitions than any other Olympics, with 34 different sports and a total of 339 gold medals being awarded.
For those wondering, swimming will feature the most gold medal winners of the games, with 35 possible top finishers.
The list this year includes four new sports and two returning sports. An IOC policy change in 2014 took effect starting with the Tokyo Games that allows the host nation's organizing committee to propose new events for its event.
So, what's new? Competitive skateboarding, surfing, karate, and sports climbing have been added to the list of Olympic sports, baseball and softball are making a return to the Olympic stage after an absence.
Baseball was an Olympic event from the 1992 Barcelona Games to the 2008 Beijing Games. The 2021 version will be men-only and feature six teams: Japan, USA, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, and the Dominican Republic.
Softball was an Olympic event from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games to the 2008 Beijing Games.
This could be a one-off appearance for both, however, baseball and softball are currently not slated to be included in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Here are the new events:
Karate originated in Japan, so it is fitting it will debut as an Olympic sport during the Tokyo Games.
The competition will have two different events, kata and kumite. In kata, the athletes will be judged on form and technique, and in kumite, athletes will go head-to-head on the mat. There are about 80 athletes expected to participate.
Skateboarding will appear for the first time in Tokyo and is already included in the line-up for Paris in 2024.
The Olympic version will be split into two formats, street and park. The street competition will take place on a course featuring stairs, rails and other obstacles. The park competition will be at a dome-shaped bowl and participants will be judged on their ability to maintain flow while executing tricks.
There are 80 athletes from 18 countries participating in the skateboarding events.
Sports climbing will include three disciplines: speed, bouldering, and lead.
The speed event is simply that: two athletes go head-to-head climbing a 15-meter wall to see who reaches the top first. Bouldering involves navigating different routes across 4.5-meter-high boulders. And lead climbing will have athletes climb as high as they can on a 15-meter wall in six minutes. About 40 athletes are expected to participate.
Surfing will make its debut in Tokyo and is slated to appear again in Paris. About 40 athletes from 20 different countries will be competing. The schedule for surfing events will be dependent on conditions.
Also, the Tokyo Games will feature 3x3 basketball within the basketball program and BMX freestyle within the cycling program, both are being added this year. In addition, there are a few mixed-gender team events added to swimming and track and field.
Here is the full list of sports holding competitions during the Tokyo Olympic Games:
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Softball
- Basketball (team), 3x3 basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoe Slalom
- Canoe Sprint
- Cycling: BMX freestyle, BMX racing, Mountain bike
- Cycling: Road and track
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football (soccer)
- Golf
- Gymnastics: Artistic and rhythmic
- Handball
- Hockey
- Judo
- Karate
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Sport climbing
- Surfing
- Swimming, marathon swimming, artistic swimming
- Table tennis
- Tennis
- Trampoline gymnastics
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Weight lifting
- Wrestling
Opening Ceremony will officially kick-off the games on July 23, although competitions are already being held. The Closing Ceremony is on Sunday, August 8.


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Linearize at Trimmed Operating Point
This example shows how to linearize a model at a trimmed steady-state operating point (equilibrium operating point) using the Model Linearizer.
The operating point is trimmed by specifying constraints on the operating point values, and performing an optimization search that meets these state and input value specifications.
Open the Simulink® model.
sys = 'magball'; open_system(sys)
Open the Model Linearizer for the model.
In the Simulink model window, in the Apps gallery, click Model Linearizer.
To specify linearization input and output points, open the Linearization tab. To do so, in the Apps gallery, click Linearization Manager.
To specify an analysis point for a signal, click the signal in the model. Then, on the Linearization tab, in the Insert Analysis Points gallery, select the type of analysis point.
Configure the output signal of the Controller block as an Input Perturbation.
Configure the output signal of the Magnetic Ball Plant block as an Open-loop Output.
Annotations appear in the model indicating which signals are designated as analysis points.
Alternatively, if you do not want to introduce changes to the Simulink model, you can specify the analysis points in the Model Linearizer. For more information, see Specify Portion of Model to Linearize in Model Linearizer.
Create a new steady-state operating point at which to linearize the model. In the Model Linearizer, in the Operating Point drop-down list, select Trim model.
In the Trim the model dialog box, the Specifications tab shows the default specifications for model trimming. By default, all model states are specified to be at equilibrium, indicated by the check marks in the Steady State column.
Specify a steady-state operating point at which the magnetic ball height remains fixed at the reference signal value, 0.05. In the States tab, select Known for the height state. This selection tells Model Linearizer to find an operating point at which this state value is fixed.
Since the ball height is greater than zero, the current must also be greater than zero. Enter
for the minimum bound of the Current block state.Compute the operating point.
Click Start trimming.
A new variable,
, appears in the Linear Analysis Workspace.In the Operating Point drop-down list, this operating point is now selected as the operating point to be used for linearization.
Linearize the model at the specified operating point and generate a bode plot of the result. Click Bode. The Bode plot of the linearized plant appears, and the linearized plant
appears in the Linear Analysis Workspace.Tip
Instead of a Bode plot, generate other response types by clicking the corresponding button in the plot gallery.
Right-click on the plot and select information from the Characteristics menu to examine characteristics of the linearized response.


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Sunday, November 21, 2010
Attention, Pulitzer Prize Jury: Come On, Already. This Is Frank Rich's Year.
But unaccountably, for the last 23 years since then, Rich has not once been in final contention for journalism's top prize.
This ridiculous, inexpicable omission has come despite thirteen years as the NYT's lead drama critic -- where he was, without debate, the best of his generation -- and another sixteen years on the NYT's op-ed page. Meanwhile, Rich's columnist colleagues (Nicholas Kristof, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, and Tom Friedman) have collected a passel of nominations and wins among them.
This is Rich's year. Don't agree? Take a look at today's op-ed page. If you don't shudder with fear at Rich's message, then you simply can't be moved by the power of potent, well-arranged words.
While Dowd tut-tuts comically at the latest failings of her fallen hero, Barack Obama, Rich eloquently warns against the persistent, pernicious threat of Republican firebrand Sarah Palin. Under the perfect title -- "Could She Reach the Top in 2012? You Betcha" -- Rich does his passionate best to rile us with the fear that she may make it to White House.
Instead of simply whining about Palin's faux populism, or making fun of her appearance or malaprops -- that's Dowd's default position -- Rich prescribes a solution to her opponents, if they'll only listen:
Revealingly, Sarah Palin's potential rivals for the 2012 nomination have not joined the party establishment in publicly criticizing her. They are afraid of crossing Palin and the 80 percent of the party that admires her. So how do they stop her? Not by feeding their contempt in blind quotes to the press — as a Romney aide did by telling Time's Mark Halperin she isn't "a serious human being." Not by hoping against hope that Murdoch might turn off the media oxygen that feeds both Palin's viability and News Corporation's bottom line. Sooner or later Palin's opponents will instead have to man up — as Palin might say — and actually summon the courage to take her on mano-a-maverick in broad daylight.
That's classic Rich -- offering his audience not just a vituperative complaint or attack, but also a reasoned recipe for change. He reports his columns by voraciously consuming the culture, and embracing the web: each week the online version of his column links to dozens of articles, commentaries and reports that illuminate his point of view.
Rich has been a powerful force in American journalism for most of his career -- not just as a writer, but also as an informal adviser to NYT editors on matters of hiring and content. He also wrote a moving memoir in 2000, "Ghost Light," that could have justified a Pulitzer on its own. (His other books include a collection of his NYT theater reviews, "Hot Seat," and a 2006 attack on the Bush adminstration called "The Greatest Story Ever Sold."
Yes, Rich preaches to the choir: his mostly-liberal NYT audience probably rejoices each week in how much it agrees with him. But that undersells his gifts at argument and persuasion. Often, Rich's columns -- at 1500 words, longer than any of his colleagues -- go deeper into explanation and example. His raw intelligence and deft touch combine to make him the most powerful liberal voice of our time.
Obviously, there's more to life than a prize, and Rich doesn't need the reward of a Pulitzer jury to measure his worth. But in an industry that still bows down before the almighty prefix -- "Pulitzer prize-winning journalist" -- it seems only fair that Frank Rich at last get his.
13 comments:
- Anonymous said...
Rich and his weak-handed wavering pen qualify for no the Flamekeeper of the Press prize. Your little devotional here may claim itself to be born of love, but is dubious at best, so why don't you just stick your loathsome effort to routine critique of rosy minutiae, eh?
- November 21, 2010 at 9:26 PM
- Anonymous said...
Don't let the haters get you down, NYTPicker.
- November 21, 2010 at 10:51 PM
- Ken Cady said...
Frank Rich deserves any award they can come up with...good ones, that is! Nice to see the nytpicker going to bat for him.
- November 21, 2010 at 11:42 PM
- DeJordy said...
Frank Rich is a bitter leftists who gets hysterical about his opponents. If he wins, it will yet another time a liberal is awarded for his vies.
- November 22, 2010 at 12:48 PM
- Anonymous said...
I agree that Rich's column Sunday on Palin was well-written. Unfortunately, his usual fare is totally predictable -- just varying rants on his dislike for conservatives. Moreover, as a resident of southern Missouri, I sense he has no awarness of the country outside the bicoastal enclaves of secular liberalism. I doubt if many of the people I live around would be persuaded by anything he says. But since the Pulitzer tends to go to liberals, it's probably his turn to get one.
- November 22, 2010 at 2:24 PM
- Anonymous said...
For the record FR's no leftwinger... Move him to any other nation on earth outside this one, and watch him bundle up nicely with all other opinionated Americs. In the eyes of anyone who can think clearly, he is asleep.
- November 22, 2010 at 4:32 PM
- Anonymous said...
I rarely read Rich any longer. He's ranted too much and become much too predictable. As someone else pointed, he has little ability or desire to understand people outside of his echo chamber.
- November 23, 2010 at 6:45 AM
- Anonymous said...
Rich has given up. He writes as if he's disgusted with his colleagues, with the pathetic NY cocktail crowd, and just writes for the joy of overlaying with embedded hyperlinks. A man who has resigned on his power, only abuses that power by taking up space.
- November 23, 2010 at 4:06 PM
- Anonymous said...
Are you kidding me? Frank Rich for a Pulitzer? Why not Sarah Palin for a Nobel, or Glenn Beck for an Emmy? Disgusting. Unsubscribe.
- November 24, 2010 at 12:59 PM
- Richard Braun said...
Rich has become a hectoring crank, predictable and irritating. A back-patting Pulitzer will only encourage him to take up more Sunday space. Enough already.
- November 24, 2010 at 1:21 PM
- Anonymous said...
Poor Rich, frankly that he'll be predictable on Sunday is for sure.
- November 24, 2010 at 6:16 PM
- Anonymous said...
He's holding back it seems. Like he's staging his shortcomings and that's ok, why throw yourself in the fire that'd be pure madness. The readers that intersect with his column he should value in a purely mathematical sense. That whole activity, Rich' readers reading Rich, well first of all, exposure to Rich overall is a positive thing, then again no one but Rich gets richer that way.
- November 25, 2010 at 4:41 AM
- Anonymous said...
I think that this is the first positive thing you have said about the paper. Congrats. There are too many good things to be said about the paper of record; how about offering a few now and again.
And, yes, Frank deserves the prize. If not him, who? If not now, when? - November 30, 2010 at 1:08 PM


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TYGA Performance carbon products are made to the highest quality and are fast gaining popularity and a reputation for attention to detail. Laminating, surface finish and fit are all of the highest quality to allow for hassle free fitting and for maximum enhancement to your bike's looks.
Our prices are very reasonable but we accept shipping can take an edge off a killer deal. We recommend you order as much as possible in one go to save on shipping cost because it is not uncommon for the box to weight several times more than the contents and it is weight you are paying for. Per piece, a multiple part order will cost a mere fraction to send than that of one piece.
*Please note the TYGA logo sticker showing on the carbon products can be easily removed because it is applied last above the clearcoat finish. Extra logo stickers are available free upon request.


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7g (2 teaspoons) dried yeast
1 3/4 cups (437.5ml) warm water*
3 3/4 cups (937.5ml) plain flour, sifted
2 pinches sea salt
Spray oil
1) In a small bowl, add the water and yeast. Use a metal spoon to stir until combined. Sit for 5 minutes until the yeast has dissolved into the water. (The warm water is activating the yeast so make sure that the water is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Use water that is warm and able to be touched with your fingers.)
2) In a large bowl, add the flour and the salt and stir with a metal spoon until combined.
3) Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast and water mixture. Stir with a metal spoon until it forms a wet dough. (At this point it will be quite sticky and will stick to your hands and any surfaces.
4) Lightly flour a clean surface with about 2 tablespoons of flour. (Do not over-flour the surface or you will change the consistency of the dough)
5) Add the wet dough to the floured surface and knead the dough for about 3 minutes until it is easily rolled into a ball and does not stick to your hands or to the surface. This means it is ready to start rising.
6) Spray oil the inside of a large bowl.
7) Add the dough ball to the bowl and cover with a wet tea towel or plastic wrap and place into a warm place.
The dough ball BEFORE it has risen.
8) Allow to rise for about 45 minutes until it has doubled in size. (This could be more or less depending on the temperature of the surroundings)
The dough ball AFTER it has risen. |
The dough applied to a pizza tray before pre-baking. |
- *Make sure the water is warm but not too hot. Hot water will kill the yeast. You must use warm water that you are able to touch with your fingers.
- I am using the metric system. So, my 'cup' measures at 250ml. Make sure you too are using metric measurements or your pizza dough may be sticky or dry.
- I do not use bread flour… just plain white flour.
- I do not mix in sugar with the yeast and the water. A lot of people probably think that is weird but I never have and this dough recipe ALWAYS works out for me... and damn well at that ❤


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. |
Rain develops when growing cloud droplets become too heavy to remain in the cloud and as a result, fall toward the surface as rain. Rain can also begin as ice crystals that collect each other to form large snowflakes. As the falling snow passes through the freezing level into warmer air, the flakes melt and collapse into rain drops. The picture below shows heavy rain falling from a Texas thunderstorm. Photo by: Olthoff


text: "War is a cruelly destructive thing," said the Wanderer, dropping his newspaper to the floor and staring reflectively into space. "Ah, yes, indeed," said the Merchant, responding readily to what seemed like a safe platitude; "when one thinks of the loss of life and limb, the desolated homesteads, the ruined --" "I wasn't thinking of anything of the sort," said the Wanderer; "I was thinking of the tendency that modern war has to destroy and banish the very elements of picturesqueness and excitement that are its chief excuse and charm. It is like a fire that flares up brilliantly for a while and then leaves everything blacker and bleaker than before. After every important war in South-East Europe in recent times there has been a shrinking of the area of chronically disturbed territory, a stiffening of the area of chronically disturbed territory, a stiffening of frontier lines, an intrusion of civilised monotony. And imagine what may happen at the conclusion of this war if the Turk should really be driven out of Europe." "Well, it would be a gain to the cause of good government, I suppose," said the Merchant. "But have you counted the loss?" said the other. "The Balkans have long been the last surviving shred of happy hunting-ground for the adventurous, a playground for passions that are fast becoming atrophied for want of exercise. In old bygone days we had the wars in the Low Countries always at our doors, as it were; there was no need to go far afield into malaria-stricken wilds if one wanted a life of boot and saddle and licence to kill and be killed. Those who wished to see life had a decent opportunity for seeing death at the same time." "It is scarcely right to talk of killing and bloodshed in that way," said the Merchant reprovingly; "one must remember that all men are brothers." "One must also remember that a large percentage of them are younger brothers; instead of going into bankruptcy, which is the usual tendency of the younger brother nowadays, they gave their families a fair chance of going into mourning. Every bullet finds a billet, according to a rather optimistic proverb, and you must admit that nowadays it is becoming increasingly difficult to find billets for a lot of young gentlemen who would have adorned, and probably thoroughly enjoyed, one of the old-time happy-go-lucky wars. But that is not exactly the burden of my complaint. The Balkan lands are especially interesting to us in these rapidly-moving days because they afford us the last remaining glimpse of a vanishing period of European history. When I was a child one of the earliest events of the outside world that forced itself coherently under my notice was a war in the Balkans; I remember a sunburnt, soldierly man putting little pin-flags in a war-map, red flags for the Turkish forces and yellow flags for the Russians. It seemed a magical region, with its mountain passes and frozen rivers and grim battlefields, its drifting snows, and prowling wolves; there was a great stretch of water that bore the sinister but engaging name of the Black Sea -- nothing that I ever learned before or after in a geography lesson made the same impression on me as that strangenamed inland sea, and I don't think its magic has ever faded out of my imagination. And there was a battle called Plevna that went on and on with varying fortunes for what seemed like a great part of a lifetime; I remember the day of wrath and mourning when the little red flag had to be taken away from Plevna -- like other maturer judges, I was backing the wrong horse, at any rate the losing horse. And now to-day we are putting little pin-flags again into maps of the Balkan region, and the passions are being turned loose once more in their playground." "The war will be localised," said the Merchant vaguely; "at least every one hopes so." "It couldn't wish for a better locality," said the Wanderer; "there is a charm about those countries that you find nowhere else in Europe, the charm of uncertainty and landslide, and the little dramatic happenings that make all the difference between the ordinary and the desirable." "Life is held very cheap in those parts," said the Merchant. "To a certain extent, yes," said the Wanderer. "I remember a man at Sofia who used to teach me Bulgarian in a rather inefficient manner, interspersed with a lot of quite wearisome gossip. I never knew what his personal history was, but that was only because I didn't listen; he told it to me many times. After I left Bulgaria he used to send me Sofia newspapers from time to time. I felt that he would be rather tiresome if I ever went there again. And then I heard afterwards that some men came in one day from Heaven knows where, just as things do happen in the Balkans, and murdered him in the open street, and went away as quietly as they had come. You will not understand it, but to me there was something rather piquant in the idea of such a thing happening to such a man; after his dullness and his long-winded small-talk it seemed a sort of brilliant esprit d'esalier on his part to meet with an end of such ruthlessly planned and executed violence." The Merchant shook his head; the piquancy of the incident was not within striking distance of his comprehension. "I should have been shocked at hearing such a thing about any one I had known," he said. "The present war," continued his companion, without stopping to discuss two hopelessly divergent points of view, "may be the beginning of the end of much that has hitherto survived the resistless creeping-in of civilisation. If the Balkan lands are to be finally parcelled out between the competing Christian Kingdoms and the haphazard rule of the Turk banished to beyond the Sea of Marmora, the old order, or disorder if you like, will have received its death-blow. Something of its spirit will linger perhaps for a while in the old charmed regions where it bore sway; the Greek villagers will doubtless be restless and turbulent and unhappy where the Bulgars rule, and the Bulgars will certainly be restless and turbulent and unhappy under Greek administration, and the rival flocks of the Exarchate and Patriarchate will make themselves intensely disagreeable to one another wherever the opportunity offers; the habits of a lifetime, of several lifetimes, are not laid aside all at once. And the Albanians, of course, we shall have with us still, a troubled Moslem pool left by the receding wave of Islam in Europe. But the old atmosphere will have changed, the glamour will have gone; the dust of formality and bureaucratic neatness will slowly settle down over the time-honoured landmarks; the Sanjak of Novi Bazar, the Muersteg Agreement, the Komitadje bands, the Vilayet of Adrianople, all those familiar outlandish names and things and places, that we have known so long as part and parcel of the Balkan Question, will have passed away into the cupboard of yesterdays, as completely as the Hansa League and the wars of the Guises. "They were the heritage that history handed down to us, spoiled and diminished no doubt, in comparison with yet earlier days that we never knew, but still something to thrill and enliven one little corner of our Continent, something to help us to conjure up in our imagination the days when the Turk was thundering at the gates of Vienna. And what shall we have to hand down to our children? Think of what their news from the Balkans will be in the course of another ten or fifteen years. Socialist Congress at Uskub, election riot at Monastir, great dock strike at Salonika, visit of the Y.M.C.A. to Varna. Varna -- on the coast of that enchanted sea! They will drive out to some suburb to tea, and write home about it as the Bexhill of the East. "War is a wickedly destructive thing." "Still, you must admit --" began the Merchant. But the Wanderer was not in the mood to admit anything. He rose impatiently and walked to where the tape-machine was busy with the news from Adrianople. |


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10 New Lessons
Dear Parents and Eggsplorers
We are very happy to announce that we have just added 10 new lessons to Reading Eggs. These lessons are even more fun than the first 40 so for those Eggsplorers who have already completed the first 40 lessons, log on now and get started. For those who haven't completed the first 40 lessons, you have a lot to look forward to. At the same time we have just released 5 new games in the Games Shop (these are available to all users who have enough eggs in their Eggy Banks). My personal favourites are Wheely Whale Racer and Reggies' Eggspress. I spent quite a long time playing these two myself, so be warned, these games are very addictive. The combined total of eggs that Eggsplorers have in their Eggy banks is now over 2.5 million, so have some fun and spend them on some of these new games (these golden eggs will expire by the 15th of October if you have not subscribed to the site by then).
All our special Great Literacy Challenge subscription and book pack deals end on the 30th of September, so please act now if you want your child to benefit from Reading Eggs.
If you want to take advantage of the 21 day Reading Eggs inspection pack with a Free 6 month subscription, click on the following link (if you have already requested this pack before please do not complete this form again, your pack is on its way):
click here
If you have already received your Reading Eggs inspection pack but have not yet paid for it please contact us on 02 8585 4020 to arrange payment and ensure your child's ongoing access to the website.
If you want to get the special price of $49.95 for a 6 months subscription, please log in to your Reading Eggs account and click on the Buy Subscription link.
You also get 2 weeks extra access with each of the 4 level 1 Reading Eggs bookpacks. You can buy these from booksellers and many newsagents.
The next email I send you will be when we release Map 6 with lessons 51 to 60. If you do not want to receive anymore emails click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page.
Happy Eggsploring!


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*** I was given the opportunity in September to try out Jenny Craig for four weeks, including food, free of charge. Over the next couple of weeks there will be three posts that walk you through the experience. All of them will have a fun giveaway included, so I hope you follow along!***
Have you ever noticed that there are ZERO pictures of me on this blog? If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you know there aren't any there either. I am a picture avoider. You know why? Because I really have no desire to see what I really look like. I like the eighteen year old image of myself I keep safely tucked in my head.
Last January I attended Blissdom. I talked myself into going, even though it is picture taking central, because there were a TON of amazing bloggers that I wanted to meet. I would be okay with the pictures. Then I got home and people started posting those pictures and this is what I saw:
You know when you read all of those inspirational weight loss stories and they always start with THAT picture. You know, the picture where the person saw themselves for the first time and it motivated her to change her life. I thought this picture was going to do that for me. I was pretty mortified at what I saw. Granted, it isn't the most flattering angle, but there comes a time when you really can't blame it on the angle any more.
It didn't turn out to be as motivational as I had hoped. Winter changed to spring and spring changed to summer and I didn't change any of my habits. And then I got an email. It was an opportunity to work with Jenny Craig for four weeks. I would work with one of their consultants, receive four weeks of free food, and share my experience with you guys along the way.
A few things you should know.
The idea of talking about being fat, with a consultant or on my blog, sends me into a tizzy. In my perfect world I would lose weight without anyone noticing. Because when people ask if I have lost weight, what I actually hear is: "You used to be fatter, but I didn't want to say anything."
I have never ever EVER tried a structured diet plan before. Never taken diet pills or gotten shots or gone to meetings or counted points. I believe that eating right and exercising is the only way to lose weight and keep it off and I figured if I could do it at all then I would be able to do it by myself. Control freak much?
When it comes to dieting I am all or nothing. I get all gung-ho about exercising and watching what I eat, and when it starts to fall apart in a couple of weeks I just sort of give up and figure I have to start over.
So basically I couldn't believe I said yes. I had a little 'How's that working for you?' moment with myself and figured I had to at least give it a shot. So off to Jenny Craig I went.
The first meeting wasn't painful at all. It helps that all of the women that work in my center have struggled with their weight. They all have before pictures of themselves in their office. After introductions there was a lot of information about the program and conversation about my goals. My consultant went over the plan with me and talked about how it encompasses more than just your body and the food you eat, but your mind and how you think about food and dieting. I even got homework.
After the intro they packed up all of my food for the week and I was all set up to start on Tuesday morning.
A couple days later they called to check up on me and make sure I didn't have any questions that needed to be answered, and getting started was as easy as that.
I will let you know how the next four weeks go. The average Jenny Craig client loses 1-2 pounds each week, which is what I know is a normal and healthy rate, so at the end of this four week stretch I should have at least lost the weight I gained on our two week family RV trip. But let's talk about you! I want to know how you are doing and what you are doing. Leave a comment letting me know what you do to try to live a healthy life and you will be entered to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.
The sweepstakes will run from 10/10/2011 - 11/6/2011.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:For more chances to win, check out the BlogHer Prizes and Promotions section and you can find out more about Jenny Craig on Facebook and Twitter.
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
See the Official Rules HERE.
***This promotion has ended and a winner has been selected***


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Develop and strengthen your shoulders, back, and arms with this high-grade training tool featuring 10 pro-grade handles with multiple grip positions. (Used with P90X)
Special features
- New! Patented design with multiple grip positions!
- Heavy-gauge steel (Maximum weight: 300 lbs.)
- Pro-grade close-grip handles with multiple grip positions
- Quick and easy assembly
- Fits doorway up to 32″ wide sturdy doorway with border trim required)
- Takes only seconds to safely remove from door way when not in use


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Long before gold was discovered in the Sierra Mountains, the pristine forest, hills and valleys lay in green and golden repose, as yet untouched by the hand of man.
In this land of yesterday, meadows were carpeted with flowers, gently waving grass, dense forests and snow- capped hills. Crystal lakes shimmered in the sunlight, reflecting a brilliant blue unpolluted sky. In this virgin wilderness, animals and birds lived together in peace and harmony. Mother Nature taught each of them how to build a home in the trees, in the river or in a cave. Each knew when to find a mate, and how to raise their young.
On a particular day long ago, there was a certain valley surrounded by the forest at the base of a cliff, where a river splashed and tumbled over moss covered rocks. This valley was the home of Kamar the eagle, Pogo the beaver and Xerces the bear and her baby, Jali.
To the north of the river was a jagged, sheer faced cliff. On the top of the cliff stood an old dead tree, jutting another 50 feet into the sky. The old tree was blackened and broken, reminiscent of a long ago forest fire, years before the recollection of any of the forest creatures living in the valley. As the years passed, the hills turned green with new forest and now stood proud and tall with only a few remembrances of that terrible day when lightening struck and flames ravaged the hillside. Atop the old, blackened tree, in its highest branches, Kamar, the eagle and his mate built their nest.
Year after year, Kamar and his mate returned to the treetop and pulled out branches, kicked and scratched out leavings from last year's nest, added new branches, enlarged and broadened its base until it spanned seven feet across, covering the top branches like a giant mushroom. Several months had passed since their eggs had hatched and three little fledglings filled the nest. Dark golden plumage had begun to sprout on their bodies and upper legs. In the months to come, as they grew to maturity, their golden heads, neck and tails would turn white, identifying them as Bald Eagles.
In the river below, Pogo, the beaver, built a dam, creating a rocking, flowing pool fifty-foot across causing the water to slow to a trickle. In this gentle pool, fish lazily slept, swam, and fed, providing a private supply to the beaver family. In the center of the dam, Pogo and his mate built a warm dry den for their four pups.
Mrs. Pogo sat on top of the dam, listening to the splash of water tumble over the nearby rocks flowing down the river toward the sea. The wind whispered through the leaves and forest birds chirped as they gathered sticks, flitting back and forth making their own nests. She heard the cac-cac-cac above and saw Kamar soaring overhead, his magnificent white head, neck and tail contrasting against the blue sky. He drifted down and seized a dead fish on the shore. With it gripped tightly in his talons, he soared upward. Turning and lifting with the air currents, he landed on top of his nest. His young fledglings opened their mouths hungrily to receive the pieces he tore from the fish. The smaller little female struggled valiantly with her larger brothers for her share.
Baby Jali, the grizzly bear, woke from a nap, stretched and yawned. A flying bug caught his attention and he stumbled after it. Stopping here and there to nibble a flower, he followed the bug across the meadow, until he was far from the river where his mother lay sleeping.
A ground squirrel ran toward a hole and forgetting the bug, he ran after it, imitating his mother's actions.
The squirrel zigged and zagged toward the forest with Jali following close behind, until she zipped out of sight under a log. Jali found himself far from the river in a part of the forest he did not recognize. He bawled loudly for his mother. The only sound was the chirp of forest birds and small animals scratching nearby.
Jali heard the low moan of a wolf howling in the distance. Lost and hungry, he ran, frightened by the menacing sound. He stumbled over branches and undergrowth until he was deep in the damp forest and far from the safety of the meadow.
Kamar sat atop his mighty nest, his head cocked to the side, peering through bright yellow eyes at the river below. A fine pool had swelled behind the beaver's dam where fish were trapped. He was pleased, for where there are fish, surely dead fish will be found such as was needed to feed his family!
Kamar's attention was drawn toward Xerces, running through the meadow, but the baby was not scampering behind, begging to be fed. Xerces roared and smashed branches as she searched for the missing baby.
Kamar lifted off his nest, spread his wings and followed a down draft toward the river for a better look. He banked to the east, gave his six- foot wings a gentle flap and caught another air current that carried him in a soft arc. His excellent eyesight surveyed the entire meadow as he looked for Jali.
Kamar turned south and sailed across the lush forest, allowing the air currents to take him slightly up and down, back and forth. He scanned the trees below. Dropping down to get a better look, he saw the baby cub far beyond his mother's call. Kamar banked again, his wing tips swishing against the highest branches.
Jali heard the swishing branches and looked up. He saw Kamar, soaring in a spiral above the trees. He had often seen Kamar circling above the meadow where he lived. Jali stumbled along the path, following the bird. Kamar circled slowly in a wide arc above the baby bear. Jali tumbled through the brush, keeping Kamar in sight, and at last was heading in the right direction toward the meadow. Within a short time, his mother's bawling led him to her. She gave him a reprimanding smack with her great paw, licked his face, and lay down on the forest moss and fed him. When both were rested, she led him back to the meadow.
There came a day when a sudden summer storm rose up. The run-off from the mountains flowed into the river and the waters rushed toward Pogo's dam, tearing and breaking loose the branches from the south wall.
Pogo and his family waddled into the forest to find trees to repair the damage. He showed them how to choose the right size trees, chew them at just the right height and angle to fall toward the river. Together, they pulled and tugged the trees back toward the broken dam. Pogo's family gathered mud and placed it in the branches to secure the trees to the walls. The beavers worked throughout the day until the breach was nearly filled and the rushing river slowed to a trickle.
High on the top of the cliff, Kamar's family huddled in their nest, their feathers dampened by the storm. When the storm had passed, the young fledglings stretched their wings in the air to dry. Each day they were becoming braver, stretching their wings, and letting the wind currents lift them up a few feet, only to fold their wings and drop back into the safety of the nest. The storm had also weakened Kamar's nest, tearing away some of the branches that supported the increasing weight of the young birds.
As the littlest fledgling stood on the side of the nest, the weakened edge crumbled. Instinctively, she spread her wings. An air current lifted her slightly, breaking her fall, as she plummeted downward toward the river. She drifted, rather than fell, into the water, 20 feet from the beaver's dam. The fledgling splashed frantically, but her wet feathers kept her from lifting herself out of the water. The river's current dragged her toward the rocks.
Pogo entered the water with the final log gripped in his teeth, needed to repair the dam. His children followed along side guiding the log into place. As they positioned the end of the log into the breach, the far end swung around and smacked into the drowning fledgling. She flopped her drenched body onto the log. Pogo swung the log around to fit it into the dam, rapping the end where the little bird slumped, sharply against the shore. The nearly drowned fledgling fell from the log into the sand, where she lay huddled, wet and shaking in the sun. She extended her wings to dry, closed her eyes and slept.
The little bird huddled on the shore, drying and regaining her strength while her parents circled helplessly above, calling and swooping over her crumpled body. When the sun dried her feathers, the little bird extended her wings and pushed off the shore. She rode the air currents, circling above the river while her parents called encouragement, until she reached the safety of her nest, high at the top of the sheer cliff in the old blackened treetop.
Following their sister's example, for the first time, Kamar's sons let the current take them from the edge of their nest. They circled, each time a little farther, until the sky was filled with eagles. They lifted and soared and let the wind take them, returning again and again back to their home base. Eventually they would leave the safety of the ancient tree and learn to find food and care for themselves. But on this day, with the air filled with cac-cac-cacs, they soared and called, high above the river, proud of their new skill. They flew through the sky, where as far as the eagle's eye could see, the land was covered with trees and majestic mountains and meadows filled with flowers.
Pogo and his family, not knowing the part they had played in the little eagle's rescue, slept soundly in their newly repaired den beneath the river that flowed endlessly toward a distant sea.
The summer days grew longer and the leaves on the trees turned to shades of red, yellow and orange. The shrubs lost their leaves and the autumn rain turned the meadow grasses once again from brown to green.
One crisp fall day, the youngest beaver pup ventured into the cool and shadowy forest near the spot where they had taken trees to mend the dam last spring. With the wind in his face, he did not see or hear the male grizzly bear that came out of the forest. The male had caught Xerces' scent, and on the chance that she might be in season, was coming to investigate.
Coming from behind a clump of bushes, the grizzly and the beaver unexpectedly stood within feet of each other. The bear roared and reared on his hind feet. The little beaver was paralyzed with fear, unable to move. The male grizzly bear raised his paw to strike a blow that would send the beaver to his death.
Xerces awoke at the sound of the male's roar. She raced toward the giant male who dared invade her territory where her baby lay sleeping. Xerces burst through the bushes, roaring hideously, as only a mother grizzly bear can.
The grizzly turned to face the enraged mother. Though the male easily outweighed Xerces, he knew that she would fight to the death to protect her cub. The lady was obviously not interested in romance. He ran back into the brush with Xerces close behind him. The little beaver raced back to the river as fast as his little body could waddle.
Kamar rose from his treetop, catching an updraft, lifted and circled the valley. His fledglings were grown and all but the little female had flown away, as fledglings do. Some days, Kamar would see them high above the valley, their cac-cac's ringing through the morning sky. The little female ranged far and wide during the day, hunting, catching the currents, drifting and swooping over the forest, returning only to her mother's nest at night. Soon, she would find a mate and build her own nest in a high crevice or treetop.
From high over the treetops, he looked down upon his world. His abandoned nest, atop the sheer rock face, above the river winding through the valley. Xerces, sleeping in the meadow with her cub. Beavers paddling happily across the river, diving into the sparkling water. Kamar's mate, preening her feathers, in a nearby tree.
Kamar circled and then flew straight up into the sun until from the ground, he looked like a speck in the sky. Beneath him, the mountains, the forest, the rivers and the valleys far, far below were touched with shades of sparkling red, yellow and gold, crisscrossed by brilliant blue rivers, white snowcapped mountains and vivid shades of green forests, as though it were a mighty landscape, painted by the hand of God.