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Last September, the Royals elected not to bring up a prospect who hit .252/.392/.433 in Triple-A, and a certain writer blew his top and took a sabbatical. This September, the Royals have chosen not to promote Mike Moustakas to the majors, even though Moustakas has hit .324/.372/.638 for the season; if you like old-school stats, he has 36 homers and 123 RBIs. (He has 123 RBIs, and it's not Labor Day yet, and he missed the first two weeks of the season with an oblique strain. Moustakas has 123 RBIs in 115 games*, which speaks as much to the quality of his teammates as to his own production.)
*: In the last 50 years, only 7 major-leaguers have had more RBIs than games played in a season. Six of the 7 played in the heart of the steroid era, from 1994 to 2000. The seventh player was George Brett, who in 1980 drove in 118 runs in 117 games.
And yet this same sportswriter agrees wholeheartedly with the decision to leave Moustakas in the minors, not to mention every other top prospect in what is arguably the game's deepest farm system. What's changed?
There are the obvious reasons – Ka'aihue was 25 and had spent two full seasons in the high minors, while Moustakas is just 21 and was in A-ball last year. Also, the Royals left Ka'aihue in Triple-A so they could play Mike Jacobs, whereas Moustakas would take playing time away from the far more intriguing Wilson Betemit (and the at-least-somewhat-worth-following Josh Fields.)
But the biggest reason is simple math. There are only 40 spots on a 40-man roster, and the Royals already have more than 40 players fighting for space.
In fact, the Royals currently have (as you can see here) 42 players on their 40-man roster. They can do this because players on the 60-day DL do not count against the limit. Gil Meche and Fields, both of whom were on the 60-day DL, were just activated, but the Royals asked David DeJesus and Luke Hochevar to take their place. (Jeff Bianchi has been out for the year, but if I understand things correctly, the rules allow teams to option a player to the minors even if they're injured, so long as they didn't play in the majors the previous year. Otherwise, Bianchi would be earning major-league service time. But I believe the Royals would have to promote him to the majors – accruing both salary and service time – in order to put him on the 60-day DL.)
Jason Kendall's season-ending shoulder injury saved the Royals from having to release anyone to make room for Hochevar when Luke was activated yesterday.
(No injury is reason to celebrate, and I won't. I will simply point out that while Kendall might have been a warrior to play through it, he also hit .200/.241/.225 in August. I love players who are warriors; I love players who don't hurt their team because they're too selfish to admit they can't perform even more. Kendall's injury probably saved Brayan Pena's career in Kansas City, and makes the acquisition of Lucas May far more significant than I ever thought it would be.)
So it's no surprise that on September 1st, aside from Meche and Fields, the only player the Royals called up was May, who's already on the 40-man roster. Even after the minor league season ends next week, I doubt we'll see anyone called up who's not already on the 40-man. The Royals have hinted at calling up a third catcher now that Kendall's out, and conveniently Manny Pina is on the roster (although he's with Northwest Arkansas, who will probably be playing in the Texas League playoffs until the middle of the month.) I suspect that the Royals will want to scratch their Jarrod Dyson itch, to use him as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement if nothing else. But I won't be surprised if they are the only two additions to the active roster the rest of the month.
The only other player on the roster who's a candidate for the 60-day DL would be Kanekoa Texeira. Which means that the Royals have, at most, one roster spot to play with before they start cutting guys. I'm not averse to cutting some of the guys on the 40-man roster – Gaby Hernandez and Victor Marte, I'm looking at you – but it complicates things.
What really complicates things, though, is that the Royals have to add a whole slew of guys to the 40-man roster between now and the Rule 5 Draft. In past years, the Royals looked at the Rule 5 Draft as a potential source of new talent, because they always had a high draft pick, and because they had so little talent themselves that they were rarely at risk of having one of their own players picked.
Here's a list of all the players the Royals drafted in the last decade (not counting guys who were drafted only to be traded for cash to another team immediately afterwards.)
2009: Edgar Osuna (4th)
2006: Joakim Soria (2nd)
2005: Fabio Castro (1st) – immediately traded to Texas for Esteban German
2004: Andrew Sisco (2nd)
2003: Jason Szuminski (10th) – immediately traded to San Diego for Rich Thompson
2002: D.J. Carrasco (6th)
2001: Miguel Asencio (3rd)
2000: Endy Chavez (5th)
Some of these guys are busts, but when you consider how low the batting average on Rule 5 picks – even high picks – is, the Royals have actually done awfully well. Soria by himself justifies a decade of Rule 5 picks, but snagging Esteban German at the winter meetings in 2005 was one of Allard Baird's last good moves for the Royals. Sisco gave the Royals one good year in relief, and was later traded for Ross Gload. Carrasco was a key part of the bullpen in the miracle 2003 season; he spent three years with the Royals, and his ERAs read 4.82, 4.84, and 4.79.
Asencio is most notable for what might have been. In 2002, as a 21-year-old rookie, he had perhaps the worst major league debut of all time – 16 pitches, 16 balls – but recovered to post a respectable 5.11 ERA. In 2003, he was a big part of that 17-4 start; he worked as the team's #3 starter behind Runelvys Hernandez and Jeremy Affeldt, and the Royals won his first 6 starts, the last a masterful 114-pitch complete game. That start might have ruined him; he struggled in two more starts, then required Tommy John surgery. Even worse, he was one of the few pitchers who failed the surgery and required a second operation – aside from 8 innings with Colorado in 2006, he never pitched in the majors again.
The Royals kept Endy Chavez on the roster all season, then waived him over the winter – he eventually landed in Montreal and had a nice sophomore season on his way to a nine-year (and counting) major league career.
That list would look even better if the Royals had found a way to hold on to another player – in 2002, the Royals actually drafted twice, and their second pick was Ronny Paulino. Paulino would be sent back to Pittsburgh the following spring, and he clearly wasn't ready – but 3 years later, as a rookie catcher for the Pirates, he would hit .310, and he's still catching most days for the Marlins.
The point is that the Royals have found a fair amount of talent in the draft, while losing almost none. Here's a – much shorter – list of the players that were drafted from the Royals over the last 10 years:
2008: Gilbert de la Vera
2006: Adam Donachie
2005: Seth Etherton
2001: Corey Thurman and Ryan Baerlocher
Neither Baerlocher nor de la Vera made their new team's roster – de la Vera was a bizarre pick, a pitcher with neither good numbers nor a good scouting report, and it's never been entirely clear what the Astros saw in him. Etherton had just signed with the Royals as a minor-league free agent two weeks before the Padres drafted him; he didn't make the Padres roster, and the Royals actually bought him back the following May. Donachie was drafted after a season when he hit .212/.310/.299 as a catcher in Double-A. You will not be surprised to learn that he didn't make the Orioles' major-league roster either.
That leaves only one player who made an appearance with his new team – Corey Thurman, who gave the Blue Jays a respectable rookie season (68 IP, 4.37 ERA) in 2002. I can only blame myself for his loss. You see, prior to that draft, in an early iteration of "Rany on the Royals" for Baseball Prospectus, I wrote about the upcoming Rule 5 draft and the risk that the Royals might lose some players. In particular, I wrote that "The Royals' decision to leave Corey Thurman off the 40-man roster, though, is much more dangerous, and nearly inexplicable."
What I did not know – could not have known – was that at the very same winter meetings, my colleague Keith Law was engaged in discussions with the Toronto Blue Jays, discussions that would soon lead to a job in their front office. Keith would later tell me (after he was officially hired a few weeks later) that he had shared my column with J.P. Ricciardi before the draft. By highlighting a player I thought the Royals might lose, I inadvertently helped them lose him.
Anyway, Thurman would only pitch 15 more innings in the majors after his rookie season.
One of the big concessions the MLBPA made to the owners in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement was to give teams an additional year before drafted players would be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft – it used to be that players under the age of 19 were eligible to be drafted after their fourth season, while players 19 and older were eligible after their third. This was expected to weaken the impact of the draft, and it has.
Ironically, the first draft after the CBA changed yielded two impact players – the Royals took Joakim Soria 2nd, and with the next pick the Cubs drafted Josh Hamilton (who was traded to the Reds in a pre-arranged deal.) And Jesus Flores, drafted 5th, has shown a lot of promise for the Nationals as a catcher, though he's missed all of 2010 with shoulder surgery. But since then, the draft has been kind of pointless.
It's easy to laugh at the Royals for drafting Edgar Osuna with their pick last year, given that the Braves thought so little of his talents that they declined to take him back for the bargain price of $25,000 at the end of spring training. But of the three players taken before Osuna, two (Jamie Hoffman and Ben Snyder) didn't make their new team's roster out of spring training, and the other (John Raynor) got two hits with the Pirates before they tired of carrying him and offered him back to the Marlins in early May.
Of the 17 guys who were selected in last December's draft, only 3 have survived into September without being cut: Hector Ambriz, who has generally sucked out of the Indians' bullpen all season; David Herndon, who has quietly pitched garbage relief for the Phillies; and Carlos Monasterios, the best of the lot, who has a 4.02 ERA for the Dodgers and has even made 11 starts this year.
The only other pick of note is Kanekoa Texeira, who was waived by the Mariners in June, but who pitched reasonably well for the Royals before his elbow started barking.
So anyway, the Rule 5 Draft has been declawed, and while that may have kept the Royals from finding some premium talent the last few years, it will almost certainly be a blessing now that the Royals are burgeoning with young talent.
As it is, the following players will have to be added to the roster after the season to keep them from being exposed in this December's draft:
- Ed Lucas. He's already 28, but he's hitting .308/.396/.487 and over the last two seasons has played every position but pitcher and catcher. Scouts seem to think he can be at least a utility guy in the majors, sort of a cheaper, slightly better, Ivy League-educated version of Willie Bloomquist. Need to protect: moderate.
- David Lough. Drafted as a fairly raw college athlete – he played on a football scholarship, I believe – he has been slowly converting his tools into skills. He suddenly learned the strike zone halfway through the season, and since the Triple-A All-Star Break he's hit .314/.401/.462. Need to protect: high.
- Clint Robinson. Yeah, he's 25. He's also hitting .332/.409/.625. Since June 1st, he's batting .380 and slugging .746. Need to protect: insane.
- Derrick Robinson. He's cooled off to a .283/.344/.375 line, but he might be the fastest player in the division (50 steals), and he's still just 22. Need to protect: off the charts.
- Paulo Orlando. Hitting .308/.370/.470, with 24 steals, and excellent defense. Still just 24. And as a bonus, when he makes the majors, millions of young Brazilian boys will throw away their soccer balls and beg their parents to buy them a Royals hat. Need to protect: high.
- Everett Teaford. I don't know what to make of this guy. The scouting report says he's your standard-issue soft-tossing lefty. But his character is off the charts – in 2009 he won the inaugural Mike Sweeney Award, "which recognizes a player who best represents the organization on and off the field." More importantly, after striking out 91 batters in 145 innings in 2009, he's whiffed 117 batters in 104 innings in 2010. Need to protect: low to moderate.
- Nicholas Francis. I really don't know what to make of this guy. Francis was suspended by the team and missed the entire 2007 season; the reasons were never divulged, but his co-conspirator Jason Taylor was later suspended by MLB for marijuana usage. He's behind the development curve, but Francis is hitting .282/.328/.509 for Wilmington, and – you know this is coming – he's hitting .300/.362/.582 on the road. (If his suspension year doesn't count for purposes of Rule 5 eligibility, which I find unlikely, then he would not need to be protected.) Need to protect: low to moderate.
- Bryan Paukovits. Pitched great for Burlington, not so well for Wilmington, and he's 23. Need to protect: low.
- Chris Hayes. Oh, wait…
And I'm not even entertaining the possibility of protecting guys like Tim Smith or Jamie Romak or a million mid-level relievers who might get picked but aren't worth losing sleep over.
Conservatively, that's at least five and maybe six guys who need to be added to the roster. I count only two pending free agents on the roster in Bruce Chen and Willie Bloomquist. That means that the Royals will have to DFA at least 3 or 4 guys after the season. That's not necessarily a difficult point of order – in addition to the minor league guys like Hernandez and Marte, I can think of at least a few guys in the majors (Jesse Chavez, come on down!) who deserve the boot.
But every additional player the Royals add to the 40-man roster will require them to cut deeper, and eventually they're going to run out of fat and start cutting into muscle. And keep in mind the Royals will probably want to keep at least a spot or two on the roster open for potential free agents to sign. The Royals might wind up promoting one of the guys I listed above this month, figuring that if they're going to be added to the roster anyway, there's no harm in getting a look at them now. But I will be stunned if they add anyone else. If Moustakas hasn't earned a look, no one has.
Be thankful it's not worse. Under the old rules, where prospects gained their Rule 5 eligibility a year earlier, the Royals would have to protect their 2007 high school picks (Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy), their 2008 college picks (Johnny Giavotella), and their young Latin American catcher (Salvador Perez) for starters. That would have been a potential bloodbath on the level of the 2003 Pittsburgh Pirates, who – in what has to be one of the most humiliating moments in major league history – had five of their players selected in the first six picks. Other teams were openly laughing in the draft room. (The last of those five players? Jose Bautista.)
So it's okay to be upset that we won't get a look at Moustakas this month, and that we probably won't see Seabiscuit (Tim Collins) launch low-90s fastballs from his batboy frame, and that Louis Coleman won't get the look-see that he certainly deserves.
Just understand that there's a very good reason why. It's the best of reasons, actually.


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I'm a popsicle addict making a transition. Push up pops are my new drug.
I have many happy memories of sherbet flavored push up pops, as a child, as an adult, and as a mother. I was pretty ecstatic when I walked into a craft store looking for plastic cake wraps and walked out with push up pop molds.
I'm excited not only because I have the most dang (!) amazing (!) push up pop ever, but because I have a giveaway for you.
Dresses from Shabby Apple are the cutest around, not to mention swimsuits, and they're giving one of my fabulously patient readers a $50 gift card to Shabby Apple.
But so as not to leave anyone out, you can use a coupon code for 10% off for your obsessions, like these Little Girls Dresses from Shabby Apple.
Just use the coupon code: littlefoodie10off
In honor of the giveaway, I decided to make apple pie push up pops and I'm so glad I did. I don't even like Apple Pie. I'm trying not to devour all of these. They're apple pie a la mode.
Why did I only make four? Weep. Weep. I shared with Mozely at least. He's fighting off a cold and the terrible twos at the same time. It's been a hard couple of days. Poor us.
Yeah, poor us, eating our fabulous Apple Pie Push Up Pops and shopping at Shabby Apple. It's enough to make a grown woman veg out in front of multiple episodes of Vampire Diaries.
(that's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Don't judge.)
I must love you a lot, to be sharing all this with you.
To participate in the Giveaway, you've gotta do two things for me. Easy Peasy.
1) "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook. Just click here and do it.
2) Leave me a comment telling me your MUST HAVE from their site.
Only US residents are eligible. Giveaway entries end on June 17th, 2012.
You can earn an extra entry by tweeting this giveaway! Just leave a second comment telling me you did so. Tell me your twitter handle so I can follow you back!
Apple Pie Push Up Pops (makes 4)
Print This
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into thin slices
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
- 1 Cup full fat PLAIN yogurt
- 1/4 Cup milk
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 3/4 Cup Graham cracker crust, baked, cooled and crumbled. I used this recipe, but you can use your own.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add the apples and stir, often, until the apples are softened. Put the sugar in the pan and stir again and cook until the liquid becomes bubbly and the apples are swimming in a lovely, caramel sauce. Stir in the cinnamon and remove from heat.
- Mix the yogurt, milk and sugar together. It should be very sweet (it gets less sweet as it is frozen). You may want to add more sugar if you have a very tart yogurt.
- Fold the apples into the yogurt. RESIST EATING IT ALL. You can spare a bite or two.
4. Layer the graham cracker crust at the bottom of your push up pop mold. Slightly more than one tablespoon per pop mold will do. Pour in some of your apple pie yogurt, and then put in another layer of crust in each mold. Finish the top off with the rest of the yogurt. Make sure to freeze these standing up! I use the Zoku that's already in the freezer to hold them up, but styrofoam cups turned over or cake pop stands will probably do! Freeze for a few hours. Eat.

subset: commoncrawl


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Los Angeles Rams vs New York Jets House Divided Flag, NFL House Divided Flag
Show your pride for the championship Los Angeles Rams and rebuilding New York Jets.
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Dentist Huntersville, NC
CEREC is a sophisticated system that designs and makes high quality, metal-free dental restorations in one patient visit. This system utilizes 3D photography and CAD/CAM technology to assist your dentist in designing a virtual restoration without taking impressions. This allows your dentist to make precise restorations that look great, fit perfectly and can last for years.
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Coming almost a decade after her death beneath the tracks of an armored Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, the verdict in the Rachel Corrie case was the furthest thing from a surprise. By the time Israeli judge Oded Gershon gathered his robes about him and took his seat in an airy Haifa courtroom Tuesday morning, the trajectory of the proceedings had emerged across 15 court sessions stretched over 2½ years. On the day of judgment, as during the trial, his honor stood with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israelis overwhelmingly do.
"I reject the suit," Gershon said. "There is no justification the state pay any damages."
What followed in the hallway outside moments later was more illuminating than most of what transpired in almost all of the testimony. As camera operators jostled for position, attorneys for the state spoke first — but only in Hebrew. The Corries' lawyer followed in English, then Arabic, and finally in Hebrew. Everyone knew their audience and where they could get a hearing.
The wonder is that the Corries sought theirs in Israel. The family began with Israel's promise to Washington to conduct a "thorough, credible and transparent investigation," something U.S. diplomats say has not occurred. But filing suit in Israel in hopes of producing firm facts meant squaring off against the IDF, the most admired institution in the country, routinely ranked far above any elected official or organ. Among Israel's Jewish majority, identification with the military is almost total and not only because young Jewish men are obligated to three years' service in it (two years for women). The force operates under a motto that translates roughly as "purity of arms" and is often put as "the most moral army in the world." Others may note the challenge of squaring the motto with the coarsening that inevitably flows from 45 years as an army of occupation in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza, which were afire with the second intifadeh at the time of Corrie's death. But the ideal remains so firmly fixed in the Israeli mind that when an unambiguous instance of brutality emerges — like the video of a lieutenant colonel rifle-butting a Danish activist — shocked dismay occupied the public discourse for most of a week.
The Corrie lawsuit, however, challenged no one's preconceptions. Rather it extended Rachel Corrie's mission in life — using the privileges afforded the holder of a U.S. passport to assert rights into the courts where Palestinians rarely have standing (and from which a proposed regulation would bar them altogether). The case took more than six years to complete and with Gershon's verdict, appeared to end about where it began: the district court judge articulated the widespread Israeli assumption that a misguided young foreigner flirted with death, and lost. "The state did not risk the defendant," he said. "The defendant risked herself." Gershon described the group Corrie was with, the International Solidarity Movement, as proterrorist — also a common view in Israel — and insisted that "under no circumstances" were the IDF bulldozers that day aiming to demolish the Palestinian homes the nonviolent activists were aiming to protect.
The Corries (whom, for the record, my wife volunteered to assist) replied at a news conference as they had in court — with specifics that the state had called beside the point. Cindy Corrie quoted a Human Rights Watch tally of 16,000 Palestinians whose 2,500 homes were destroyed between 2000 and 2004, most of them in the area near the Egyptian border where her daughter would die. Israeli officials argued that the properties provided cover for attacks. The Corries held aloft a photo of the family whose house stood in the area behind where Rachel Corrie stood facing the bulldozer, in a fluorescent orange vest.
"We believe that Rachel was seen," Cindy Corrie said. The heavily armored Caterpillar bulldozer may have had limited sight lines, the Corries acknowledge, but in addition to a driver, a second soldier was also in the cab, and conflicts in their assorted statements have never been reconciled. In fact, a pair of IDF investigations produced strikingly inconsistent accounts of the incident. The first was cursory at best: investigators failed to interview any eyewitnesses except Israeli soldiers and appeared to misidentify which of two bulldozers on the scene that day was involved. A second investigation, reached into by senior officers, strained to avoid contradicting the first, producing a muddle that the trial did little to sort through.
"I reject the idea that making these things known is somehow an attack on Israel," said Craig Corrie, who left his job as an insurance actuary to work full time on understanding his daughter's March 16, 2003 death. He noted the deaths of two other foreigners in the same area within weeks of Rachel's. In a seven-month period, Cindy Corrie said, the Israeli human-rights advocacy group B'Tselem counted 100 civilian deaths, including 40 children.
"I'm an army veteran," said Craig Corrie. "In 11 months in Vietnam, I was given nine medals. I think I can talk on some of this. I think that in controlling a military you have to start that before these incidents happen, and we have seen that that's not the case. We have seen from the highest levels of this military that they thought they could kill people on that border with impunity."
By the time Rachel was killed, at around 5 p.m., the activists and the crews had been sparring on the rubble field since noon. During the trial the Corries said, as much as anything, filing suit was a way to finally look into the eyes of the driver of the bulldozer. But he was allowed to testify from behind a screen. "I can say without a doubt that I believe my sister was seen as that bulldozer approached her," Sarah Corrie Simpson said. "As for the intent of the driver, I hope someday he will have the courage to sit down in front of me and tell me what he saw and what he feels."


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8 Questions for Todd Kessler, Folk singer/songwriter, teacher, former 'The Voice' contestant
Permanent linkReality TV singing competitions are raining from the skies these days, so you might've missed Chicago's Todd Kessler on Season 3 of NBC's The Voice, which aired last fall. Fair enough; even if you're an addict of the show, you might not remember his lone performance with Team Cee Lo, facing off against eventual third-place finisher (and now friend) Nicholas David.
But Kessler's proverbial 15 minutes of fame aren't up by any means. The 31-year-old Northbrook native and University of Illinois alum has parlayed his national TV spotlight into a prolific performing career in the city, both as a solo artist and as front man of the multi-piece band The New Folk, who just released their debut album, Sea Fever, now on iTunes.
Even if you've encountered Todd's moving vocals before at Lincoln Hall, Millennium Park, the Double Door or elsewhere, you might not know that he loves to teach. He has been teaching Jewish music at Chicago Sinai Congregation for the last four years and also gives guitar lessons.
Kessler is definitely A Jew You Should Know, so why not get started tomorrow, May 29, by seeing him perform a solo acoustic set at Lincoln Hall (2424 N. Lincoln Ave.) at 8 p.m.? Or, you can see him with the band this Sunday, June 2, at Martyr's (3855 N. Lincoln Ave.) at 7 p.m.
1. What makes your and The New Folk's music something Chicagoans should be listening to?
Our music is a new take on Folk music that brings all kinds of influences to the mix to make a sound that is fresh. I call it Alternative/Folk/Pop, or Paul Simon meets Wilco meets Mumford and Sons.
2. How has being on The Voice changed you personally and professionally? (And are you still tight with Cee Lo?)
I have not seen Cee Lo since October when we were doing a show in Las Vegas, but working with him was a fantastic experience. Being on the show changed my life greatly both personally and professionally. I've met artists from all over the country, many of whom I have collaborated with on tour, and some of whom I have created life-long friendships with. Professionally, I've been getting better gigs since my time on the show and my fan base has really expanded.
3. What are the biggest differences between working as a solo artist and being part of a larger band/ensemble?
Working with a band is kind of like working in an office, except with your friends. When you show up to work you do what needs to be done, but after we get to go to the bar and grab a drink. It's extremely rewarding working with musicians that understand each other and genuinely love playing music together, but it is a lot of work to coordinate six schedules to find time to play gigs and rehearse. When I play gigs as a solo artist I only have myself to rely on so it is less stress in a way, but a bit lonely in another way. Nothing compares to sharing a stage with my friends and creating music.
4. If you could choose a popular artist to do a cover of one of your songs, who would it be and which song?
I think I would have Glen Hansard (of Swell Season fame) cover my song "Hallelujah." I am so inspired by how he performs and I think I could learn a lot by hearing his take of that song. The song itself is an emotional one and he is an incredibly emotional performer.
5. If you could put on your dream concert, what would it look like and who might it benefit?
My dream concert would be at my favorite venue in Chicago, The Vic Theater, and it would be a huge jam session with all of my favorite artists: Paul Simon, Wilco, Glen Hansard, David Gray, Ryan Adams, M. Ward and Jenny Lewis, and some friends from the local scene as well thrown in the mix. We would choose for it to benefit an organization that would promote music and arts education in schools.
6. What do you love most about what you do?
When it comes down to it, my favorite thing about playing music is the opportunity to connect with people. Whether it's with the musicians I'm playing with on stage or the fans in the audience, being able to share stories and experiences is so rewarding. Music constantly reminds me that we are all connected.
7. In an alternate universe where you couldn't be a musician, what would you do?
Easy, I'd be a Fromager (cheesemonger). Cheese is my favorite food and if I could be surrounded by it all day, I'd be a very happy man.
8. What's your favorite Jewish thing to do (or how do you Jew?) in Chicago?
I love participating in musical Shabbat services. For the past few years I have been playing in a Shabbat band at my home synagogue (Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook) called "Shabbatone" and more recently have created my own trio to do more intimate Shabbat services. It's a really nice way to connect with people in a truly meaningful way.


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Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S Lens Announced, Price $1,296
Nikon today officially announced the new Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S ultra-wide-angle zoom full-frame mirrorless lens. The US price is $1,296.95 and it will be released on April 30, 2019. Now the new Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S Lens is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&H, Adorama. Order now if you are interested.
Pre-order links:
Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S Lens: $1,296.95 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
Key Features:
- Z-Mount Lens/FX Format
- Constant f/4 Maximum Aperture
- Stepping Motor AF System
- Programmable Control Ring
Press Release:
Nikon Unveils the New NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S Ultra-Wide-Angle Zoom Lens, the World's First* Full-Frame 14mm Filter-Attachable Lens
Nikon Also Debuts Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit: An Immersive Toolkit for the Modern Multimedia Creative
LAS VEGAS – Today, Nikon Inc. announced two new products, including the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S, the first ultra-wide zoom lens to take advantage of the amazing capabilities of the next generation Nikon Z Mount. This newest S-Line NIKKOR lens is a popular focal length for landscape, travel, event and architecture photographers, offering a combination of performance and portability that's only possible with Nikon's revolutionary new Z Mount.Featuring a new optical design, the compact and lightweight NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S delivers the high level of optical performance that still and video creators expect from the NIKKOR name. By utilizing the larger diameter and technological benefits of the Z Mount, Nikon was able to design an ultra-wide-angle lens that delivers superior optical performance and maximizes the potential of high pixel-count digital cameras such as the 45.7-megapixel Nikon Z 7. Additionally, the design features a nearly flat front lens element, making the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm the world's first filter-attachable ultra-wide-angle zoom lens covering a focal length from 14mm.
Nikon Inc. has also announced the Nikon Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit. Featuring a selection of popular video equipment for the Z 6, the kit allows video creators to take full advantage of the Z 6's industry-leading video features. Included accessories such as the Atomos Ninja V 4K HDR 5" Monitor Recorder and MOZA Air 2 3-Axis Hand-Held Gimbal Stabilizer make the new Filmmaker's Kit an enticing value for those ready to explore the Nikon Z 6's stellar video capture and multimedia potential.
"The NIKKOR Z 14-30mm lens demonstrates the optical superiority of the Z system, taking advantage of the newest high-performance lens technologies while maximizing compactness and portability," said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President, Nikon Inc. "The Nikon Z series is a powerfully capable camera system for all types of video production, and with the Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit, we're giving videographers and content creators the gear they need to begin capturing high-quality videos with the most compelling hybrid camera on the market."
The NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S: An Exceptional Combination of Portability and Performance
The new 14-30mm lens was designed for photo and video shooters looking for a sharp ultra-wide zoom lens with which to seek out gorgeous landscapes or cityscapes on their next travel adventure, and is an excellent choice for capturing interiors, architecture or events. It's a lens for those who need to pack light without sacrificing image quality – an ultra-wide-angle lens that delivers portability and performance that pushes the boundaries of what is optically possible in a lens of its size.
- Lightweight and Ultra-Portable: At just 3.5-inches long when retracted, and weighing only 485g/1.07lbs, the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S is approximately 28.6% lighter and 32% shorter than the popular AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, and approximately 51.5% lighter and 35% shorter than the tried-and-true AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED for the F mount.
- Uncompromising Optics: Featuring a new optical formula that utilizes four Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) elements and four aspherical elements, the 14-30mm f/4 offers unparalleled control of distortion and chromatic aberration. Additionally, the use of Nikon's anti-reflective Nano Crystal Coat effectively reduces ghosting and flare, delivering clearer images that maintain contrast in challenging lighting situations.
- Filter Attachable: For the first time on a 14mm FX-format (full-frame) lens1, photographers will be able to attach various types of screw-on filters (82mm) to the front of this ultra-wide-angle lens, infinitely expanding the creative possibilities of the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S for landscape and cityscape photographers, videographers and more.
- Stepping Motor Technology: Featuring the latest Nikon Stepping Motor (STM) technology, the new lens provides smooth, fast and quiet AF performance—ideal for photographers shooting in sensitive environments, as well as videographers who must avoid focus noise in productions.
- Control Ring: As with the rest of the S-Line of NIKKOR Z lenses, the 14-30mm f/4 includes a customizable control ring that can be assigned to manual focusing, exposure compensation or aperture control depending on personal preference or shooting situation, maintaining different custom settings when in photo and video mode.
- Fully Compatible with In-Camera 5-Axis VR: To help ensure the sharpest possible images and most stable video, the new NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S is fully compatible with the in-body 5-axis VR found in the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7, providing up to 5 stops2 of image stabilization without adding to the size or weight of the lens itself.
- Optimized Video Performance: In addition to the speedy and near-silent stepping motor technology and customizable control ring, the lens reduces focus breathing, preventing the angle of view from changing unintentionally when adjusting focus.
- Reliability: The NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S is designed with consideration to dust and drip resistance, and features a fluorine coat that effectively repels dust, water droplets, grease and dirt.
The New Nikon Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit
For users who are looking to take full advantage of the Nikon Z 6's industry-leading video capabilities, this powerfully cinematic camera is now available as part of a new Filmmaker's Kit. The bundle includes a range of equipment that helps users unlock the Z 6's advanced video features and powerful potential.
The kit includes: a Nikon Z 6 camera, NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens, Mount Adapter FTZ, Atomos Ninja V 4K HDR 5" Monitor Recorder3, Rode VideoMic Pro+, MOZA Air 2 3-Axis Hand-Held Gimbal Stabilizer, an additional EN-EL15b battery, a coiled HDMI cable, 12-month Vimeo Pro membership, and The Art of Making Music Videos Nikon School online course featuring Nikon Ambassador Chris Hershman.
The Z 6 ushers in a new era in high-quality video capture for Nikon shooters. The camera's fast and accurate autofocus, full-frame 4K/30p recording with full-pixel readout, zebra stripes, timecode and focus peaking offer users a professional-grade shooting experience. With the Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit, users can access the advanced video features, like 10-bit HDMI output and N-Log video recording, while capturing gimbal-smooth video and crystal-clear audio. The kit provides filmmakers, vloggers and YouTubers with all the equipment they need to begin capturing high-quality 4K footage right away.
Price and Availability
The NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens will be available in the spring for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $1,299.95.
The Nikon Z 6 Filmmaker's Kit will available in late January for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $3,999.95.


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It can be scary when your pet has ingested a potentially toxic substance, especially when you didn't see what he licked or swallowed. To help raise awareness of the issue and prevent illness or fatality in pets, the American Veterinary Medical Association named the third week in March Pet Poison Prevention Week. Below are some hazards you should be especially aware of this time of year.
To a thirsty dog or cat, antifreeze can look just like water. Unfortunately, it can cause severe symptoms such as seizures immediately upon ingestion. It also takes less than a capful to be fatal to pets. Be sure to keep your pet away from the driveway if you know that your car drips antifreeze, and keep whatever you're not using stored on a high shelf in the garage.
It seems like we just got past Valentine's Day. Now it's almost time for Easter and the chocolate treats that come with it. While this can be an occasional sweet treat for humans, dogs or cats should not have even a small amount. Chocolate contains an ingredient called theobromine that can be difficult for pets to digest. Mild symptoms include diarrhea and fatigue. However, pets eating chocolate can also cause serious symptoms like respiratory distress, high blood pressure, tremors, and cardiac arrest.
Household Cleaners
Spring cleaning is an annual event in many households. Before you get started, place your dog in a kennel or your cat in another room to avoid a curious pet from ingesting toxic substances. Dishwashing detergent and cleaners for the toilet, oven, and drain can be particularly hazardous. Signs that your pet might have gotten into your household cleaners include drooling, lethargy, fever, lack of appetite, and pawing at her mouth.
Lilies are an especially popular springtime and Easter plant. Certain types of lilies, including Asiatic, Day, Easter, Japanese Show, and Tiger are extremely toxic to cats. Eating just two or three petals can result in kidney failure. Calla, Peace, and Peruvian lilies typically cause minor symptoms such as drooling. In either case, be sure to seek prompt medical attention for your cat. Lilies can also be toxic for dogs but to a lesser degree.
Spring Lawn and Garden Supplies
It's exciting when you can start working in the garden again after a long winter. You just need to be careful when you have a pet since weed killer and certain garden supplies can be hazardous to his health. If your pet licks a plant you have sprayed with weed killer, symptoms of illness such as vomiting and diarrhea could start right away. Cocoa mulch also contains harmful properties for pets. If you do choose to use it, consider placing a fence around the area so your pet can't access it.
Slug Bait
Slugs are pesky critters that can ruin your garden in a hurry. To prevent this, many gardeners use slug bait that contains metaldehyde that kills the slugs by causing dehydration. With household pets, the ingredient can cause tremors that increase body temperature and can cause death to muscle cells. That can lead to kidney failure and eventually death of the animal. Please don't wait to seek help if there's any possibility your pet could have ingested slug bait.
Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in many foods, including sugar-free candy. With Easter coming up, we encourage you to keep all treats out of your pet's reach whether they contain Xylitol or not. It's far better to take a preventive approach than to have your pet become extremely ill after trying to sneak some Easter treats.
Country Club Pet Hospital is always available to answer your questions about poison prevention or any other area of pet care. You may contact us at (817) 477-4143 if you have an emergency or need to make an appointment for your pet.
Image credit: cobalt/iStock/Getty Images Plus


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Yes, an update. Its crazy. I'm hoping to get the next one up on Friday, but its probably going to be more like Saturday so try to be patient with me!
This page was both fun and aggravating to draw… I had a background overload. I'm still not sure if I established the shot well enough, but you get the idea… a big tree, a bush, a tent. I enjoyed painting the lighting on this page.
As usual, please vote if you don't mind! Today's incentive is more comic fanart, and tomorrow's is going to be a little animation of my inking process for this page. Since it was a lot more complicated than I'd originally thought, I thought it'd be fun to share that. So yeah, thats tomorrow, then followed by more fanart until I run out of things to make fanart for, haha.
I'm hopefully going to be updating the site soon as well, I want to update my links and some other things. One day I'll learn to do this without having to bug my WEBMASTER er er *reverb*. I should probably also update my main site, which hasn't been touched since October 08, ahaha. Seems like just yesterday…
Ah well, again, feel free to comment here or check out the other places (Facebook, LJ, Twitter) for commentary and updates. These misc links will be updated on the site as well cuz I'm getting real tired of linking them in comments every damn time…
See you in a few days!


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Many thanks to all who joined us for our first "official" foray into Broward county for a Cobaya dinner with Market 17 in Fort Lauderdale. Chef Daniel Ramos and co-owner Kirsta Grauberger put together seven courses of food and wine that literally spanned the seven continents.
You can read my recap here on Food For Thought and see the pictures in this Cobaya 17 flickr set.
Incidentally, for those keeping track (and I don't know why anyone would), we are redubbing this one "experiment #17." We've had a few events that never got numbers - PodZilla, Cobaya Gras (which, it should be noted, was in Hollywood and thus our Broward incursion was not unprecedented), Paradigm Redux - so it only seems right.
Here's the menu from the July 18, 2011 dinner with Market 17:
prawn with shrimp and pork dumpling, lemongrass prawn head broth, accompaniments of traditional ingredients
Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Washington 2009
South America
quinoa crusted Peruvian paiche, roasted garlic, amaranth, cassava purée, tapioca, salsa verde
Alma Negra Sparkling Rosé, Mendoza Argentina 2009
peppercorn grilled kangaroo filet, caramelized brioche, poached pears, broccolini, blackberry sauce
Yangarra Old Vines Grenache, McLaren Vale Australia 2007
African spiced wild boar tenderloin with gumbo braised shank, whipped peanut sauce, caramelized yams, plantain coins, kale
Spice Route Pinotage, Swartland, South Africa 2008
pheasant breast, pheasant sausage, pheasant pistachio mousseline, duchesse potato, asparagus, creme margot
Chateau Merville St. Estephe, Bordeaux, France 2005
North America
North American bison, tomato chili sauce, sweet corn, potato purée, poached fingerling potatoes
Lancaster Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, CA 2006
vanilla cake, meringue, candied lardo, fried raspberry coulis, chocolate and caramel ice cream
Inniskillin Vidal Icewine, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Canada 2007