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Greetings, reader.
Sit down. Relax. I promise, today, that I have nothing to tax your brain cells to any extent. Hume's Ghost has been taxing my own enough these last few days, and they have decided to go on strike. They have forced me to grab a nice, cool drink, to sit down, and to relax, refusing to engage in any type of deep philosophical thought. You are welcome, then, to grab your own cool drink of preference and to join me.
My drink of preference, by the way, is Diet Dr. Pepper. I do not drink alcohol – partially because I like to keep my brain cells where they are, and partially because I have grown up with a healthy respect for the negative effects of any type of addiction. No drinking, smoking, the use of drugs, gambling, debt (other than a home loan), fornicating, none of that stuff.
I am amused by those who "preach" against these sins as if only a fear of God can keep a person away from them. Does one not think that a desire to remain healthy and to keep oneself out of poverty cannot serve as motivation enough to choose this type of lifestyle? I have one life. I am not inclined to see it end prematurely, or to spend it in the misery of poverty, if I can help it.
Oh, I did fall victim to the vice of chocolate, if you must know . . . a vice that requires many extra minutes on the exercise bike.
Yes, I know. I am bragging. And why not? I am happy with these choices. Relieved, actually, might be a better word – since I know that some of these things are traps that snare the unwary at a time in their life when they are less able to make rational and informed choices.
I dislike the tobacco companies, by the way. I called "public relations" the most evil legal occupation. The tobacco companies are a close competitor. The edge goes to "public relations" because they are the ones that keep the tobacco companies in business, keep people using their products, and keep government subsidies flowing into the industry. So, that business wears some of the moral taint of the tobacco industry.
Not to change the subject, but I did do a fair amount of reading today in the expectation that I will be writing a standard blog entry. Yet, as I read, I kept finding that the problems that I keep running into all eventually tie into a common point. I notice that there simply is not much respect in this culture for true belief.
See, I did not change the subject. The thing I dislike most about the "public relations" industry – and the tobacco industry – is the degree to which they have enriched themselves by engaging in campaigns of deception. We live in a culture that not only accepts lying, but embraces it as a vocation.
This "lack of respect for truth" actually has categories.
Category 1: Simple deception. A person knows that 'P' is false. Yet, he goes about asserting 'P' because it is profitable for him to do so. Or, sometimes, people lie not for profit, but for revenge. These are people who find value in doing harm to others and find lying a useful way to do this. It is better than using a knife or a gun because (a) it can inflict far more pain on the victim (if this is one's goal), and (2) if done right, it is legal.
Glenn Greenwald provided me with an example of this in his review of John Dean's book, Conservatives Without Conscience.
But this is just the most recent example that I have read about. I think that it is safe to say that there are senior people in the Bush Administration who like to do harm to others – particularly others who say or do things that the Bush Administration does not like to have said or done – and to inflict this harm legally through the skillful use of deception.
As I have argued several times in the past, there is the wrong of lying, and there is the wrong of "bearing false witness." Lying is like murder; it has to be intentional. The person has act, knowing that his actions will communicate to others a proposition that he knows to be false. "Bearing false witness" is like "killing an innocent person." It includes lying and murder respectively. However, just as it is possible to kill an innocent person through negligence and recklessness, it is possible to bear false witness through negligence and recklessness. A person who repeats gossip bears false witness through recklessness.
In fact, this is the second category of in which truth does not get its proper due that I find myself coming across far too often; intellectual negligence and intellectual recklessness. A person who is careless and puts his own well-being in danger (for example, by over-reaching when he his high on top of a ladder) can be said to reap what he sews. However, the person who is negligent or reckless in ways that make him a threat to others – such as the drunk driver or the camper who is careless with fire – commits a moral crime.
Intellectual recklessness kills and maims people – far more people than drunk drivers and the perpetrators of physical recklessness. In a comment to yesterday's blog entry, Eric pointed me to an article on ABC News online entitled, "Defiant and Exhausted, Teens Refuse Cancer Treatments." This article basically tells the story of one teen who refused conventional medical treatment and lived, and another who is trying to do the same thing.
The first part of the story is not unlike writing an article about somebody who jumped off of a 10-story building and lived in a way that seems to recommend it as something that other teens should try as well. There is absolutely nothing in this story that compares the survival rates for those who seek alternative treatment to those who seek conventional treatment. She only provides one case history – the story of Billy, who used alternative medicine and lived happily ever after.
The moral fault here, I would argue, rests not only with Laura Ownings, but with ABC News itself. The organization establishes the standards.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, during "Wish Week," that one of the things I wished for was an Atheist Entertainment Network. This is one of the things I want that network for. I want it to be a network where I would read an article that actually gives the best scientific information available on issues such as this. I would like to have a network where I did not have to wade through this junk. (Also, as I said, I would like it to be a network that did not focus all of its time on the questions of whether God exists and whether the Bible contradicts itself. I would like it to be a network that takes those issues to be as settled as the question of whether matter is made up of atoms and the Earth orbits the Sun – items unworthy of further debate.)
The third category is simply intellectual laziness. There is a huge amount of information out there. One of my most sincere regrets is that I do not have the time to learn and study all of the things that interest me. Moral philosophy, decision theory, game theory, cognitive science, history, space science . . . any one topic takes an entire lifetime to study. Yet, I find a lot of people who think that the most interesting news item of the day was the fact that former "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch went to prison today.
I don't really mind if somebody wants to be intellectually lazy. What I do mind is when somebody who is intellectually lazy and who has not researched an issue thinks that they know how to deal with the problem. I find it quite contemptible to spend one's evenings watching sitcoms and reality shows, then to go out into the world and condemn President Bush for pursuing a course of action in Iraq that will not work. "How do you know this?" I ask.
I do not say things like, "We should pull out of Iraq," or "We should stay in Iraq." I do not say these things because there is no possible way that I can acquire enough information to issue an informed opinion on the matter.
I do have enough information to know that Bush can't come up with the right answer either. Bush thinks with his gut. He thinks he already knows everything there is to know. He does not need to study. He does not need to consult experts. He only needs to consult his gut. His gut will tell him what to do. Only, his gut is not smart enough to tell him, "Ask people who have actually studied the issue and who can give you an informed decision, you idiot!"
So, if I could ask for just one thing from people, I would ask for a push for a bit more intellectual integrity. I would ask for more vocal condemnation and contempt directed at those who lie, those who bear false witness, those who are intellectually reckless or careless, and those who are intellectually lazy – that we can make this world better than it would otherwise be with a bit stronger commitment to truth.
Well, that's the end of today's rant.
Oh, and thanks for showing up. I don't mention this nearly enough. I know you're busy. I consider it an honor that you think that my words are worth a few minutes out of your day – time that I well know that you could be spending doing other things. So, I thank you. I really do appreciate it.


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subset: commoncrawl


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We've been talking about this emerging conflict between the Catholic Church and the Obama Administration for two weeks, and last night and this morning it exploded all over the mainstream media.
The basics are this: The department of Health and Human services issued a regulation that all non-Church religious intitutions, like hospitals and schools, had to provide employee health insurance that includes contraception, sterlization, and drugs that the Church maintains are abortifacients.
You might be thinking: Doesn't the Catholic Church oppose all sorts of things? Why are we even talking about this?
Well, it's true that the Catholic Church opposes legal abortion, it opposed liberalized divorce laws. The current pope and the last one opposed the Iraq War, etc.
But in this case, the government will force the Church's institutions (hospitals, schools, charities) to act in a way Catholics consider sinful: to directly buy insurance for birth control, sterilization, and drugs that act as abortifacients. No, the government isn't forcing employees to use those insured services. But forcing Catholic institutions to pay for those services makes the Church complicit in those acts.
And the response of Catholics to the ruling was immediate and harsh.
Put simply: There is simply no time in American history we can recall where nearly the entire body of American Catholic bishops and priests have united to speak against a sitting president by name, and promised civil disobedience.
In the 19th century, there were fights about the rights of Catholics, mostly related to education. The dynamic Bishop John Hughes who ruled the New York Archdiocese from 1842-1864 spoke out fiercely against the indoctrination of Catholic students in the King James Bible in public schools, and promised to work for the conversion of all Americans. The 1884 Republican presidential candidate, James G. Blaine ran on a platform of banning government funds to "sectarian schools" — meaning Catholic schools — at a time when public schools almost universally indoctrinated students in Protestantism. He lost.
But even then we were dealing with local issues.
This effects hundreds of institutions, and the largest non-profit sector of the health-care economy.
By ruling that the "conscience exemption" only applies to Catholic churches and institutions that primarily educate people in the faith or serve almost exclusively fellow Catholics, the Obama administration has effectively said that Catholics only exist in the pews. The moment they step outside a Church to help the sick, feed the hungry, or otherwise serve and employ non-Catholics, they are no longer allowed to follow their religious dictates.
Rev. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA pointed out that the regulations would say that the ministry of Jesus Christ himself was not "religious" because he was doing health-care, activism on behalf of the poor, and interacting with people of other religions all the time.
In effect, the government is deciding what does and what doesn't qualify as Catholicism, and where it is allowed.
And although all Catholic hospitals do take government money through Medicare, Medicaid and other programs, the rule is not at all connected to the reception of government funds; it applies to all employers.
And now the bishops are reported to be discussing organizing an enormous march on Washington to protest the law, and, indirectly, the president himself.
This battle is just beginning.
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Start here to search for Production Music in the Proud Music Library:
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Production music is planned to be used in audiovisual products. A large part of the necessary rights can be clarified previously by a music publisher. The rights clearance can thus be cost- and time-saving.
Production Music is offered by production music libraries, these are music publishers who act primary as supplier for the media industry. The Proud Music Library Publishing has a large online content especially for the media sector. It is easily to handle per search engine.
2. Production music has a special applicability to be connected with visual media:
Not every music style is suitable for the use in media productions. Production music however is picked out in respect of the different requirements of media producers/companies. In our Proud Music Library you can search for different attributes like mood, character, instrumentation or tempo – depending on what style of music your current production requires.


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MAPLE (see more wood in Options)
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A variety of misleading claims about voter turnout in Wisconsin gained traction after Joe Biden pulled off a narrow win Wednesday
CHICAGO -- Posts shared thousands of times on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are falsely claiming that the number of people who cast ballots in Wisconsin exceeds the number of registered voters in the state.
A variety of misleading claims about voter turnout in Wisconsin gained traction, generating likes, shares or comments by the hundreds of thousands after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pulled off a narrow win Wednesday in the battleground state.
The posts fueled charges that the vote had been mismanaged in a crucial swing state in the U.S. election.
*Counties are colored red or blue when the % expected vote reporting reaches a set threshold. This threshold varies by state and is based on patterns of past vote reporting and expectations about how the vote will report this year.
"Looks like fraud!" Eric Trump, President Donald Trump's son, wrote in a post shared to his Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The image Eric Trump shared in his post claimed that there was a huge, inexplicable increase in voter turnout in Wisconsin this year. The image showed voter turnout percentages during presidential elections over the last 20 years in Wisconsin, with voter turnout hitting 89.25% this year. But in previous years, the post claimed incorrectly, turnout had only hovered between 67% to 73%.
The image is based on faulty accounting of voter turnout in the state.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission calculates voter turnout based on the entire voting-age population, not just registered voters. Any eligible person over the age of 18 can show up at a poll and register to vote on Election Day.
As of Thursday, the number of votes cast looked to be nearly 3.3 million, the highest ever in Wisconsin. That puts turnout at roughly 72% of the voting-age population. In 2004 the turnout was higher, with 73% of the voting-age population showing up to vote.
Other social media users pushed claims of voter fraud in the state by wrongly suggesting that the number of ballots cast exceeded the number of registered voters.
One Twitter user wrongly claimed "fraud" and said that only 3,129,000 people were registered to vote in the state. That was the voter registration figure right before the 2018 midterm elections. But as of 7 p.m. on Sunday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission reported 3,684,726 registered voters.
And that figure - well above the 3,239,920 votes that were cast - does not include people who might have registered to vote on Election Day.
In other words, no fraud at play, just social media posts that relied on outdated numbers.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission received "a lot of calls" about the false rumors, said the state's top elections official Meagan Wolfe.
"Wisconsin does not have more votes than registered voters," Wolfe said. "Share the facts, rather than speculation or rumors."


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Judaic eCards – Roz of Say It With eCards Tells How It All Began
Subhead: How Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings Began
Writen by: Roz Fruchtman, The Greeting Card Maven
Welcome… Thank you for sharing my passion and a very intimate part of my life.
It's a miracle you are reading this. It's a bigger miracle that I am writing it…
It all started more than 10 years ago when I needed a "web version" of my resume. Who knew from HTML, the language or code, used to display webpages in browsers. Like many — in those days — I started to learn HTML by creating Holiday Pages.
My first two web pages were for Christmas and Valentine's Day – G-d forgive me. Brought up in the tradition of "Jewish Guilt" I felt I should do something for my own, so I started with "Passover in CyberSpace." This simple action shaped my career.
Not coming from a graphics background, I began to search the web for a Judaic image to use for my Passover page's left border background. After two weeks I came to the realization there was little, if anything available. There were images for most religions, perhaps half-a-dozen Judaic. It was the first time I felt in the minority as a Jew.
Finding the perfect image for my project, I had no idea what to do with it, not having a graphics background. The only graphics I had ever used came from a box. Another thing, I was now learning about was "copyright and copyright infringement," thus presenting another challenge. I needed permission to use the image. An Internet friend created my background for me and when I asked her how she did it, she invited me to attend online-weekly meetings with the Paint Shop Pro User's Group. Paint Shop Pro was the program of choice on the web in those days.
Here I met people who graciously took me under their wings and taught me enough about graphics to become dangerous. As time passed I began to enjoy what I was doing and actually created usable images, AND… I "did not" have to ask permission to use them!
Like most starting out, I began to create images that I offered free on the web. I was amazed that people actually liked and asked to use them. A Synagogue even used my images in their monthly newsletter. For sure, I was flattered. Coming from a background of little, if any encouragement or praise, I was inspired to go on – I was actually having fun!
As with the lack of Judaic images, I discovered there was a lack of Judaic Themed eCards. It felt like the ultimate insult, and it became my mission in life to change things. I dreamed of opening a Judaic eCards website to provide the Jewish Community and those having a need for Judaic Themed eCards a place to go. Graphics Schmaphics Exclusive was to make its debut Rosh Hashanah 2001.
However, one week before Rosh Hashanah, on September 11, 2001 my dream went down with the Towers of the World Trade Center. As a New Yorker and being trapped in Manhattan that fateful day, I was completely shattered and bewildered. Who could think of eCards or promotion when our entire world was literally falling apart!
911 was a turning point for me as I discovered I design by emotion, a gift I cherish daily. I was deeply touched by those searching for loved ones, I wanted to reach out and make it all better. Of course I could not do that. I could not go to what is now known as Ground Zero, I could not dig in the rubble, but what I was sure of was, "people would want to communicate and reach out across the country and the world." What I could do was design eCards as their vehicle of communication. I was told this was "trivial" by a fiend, which made me feel like two cents. However, in the following days, I was to learn from a TV Psychologist: "Creative people demonstrate their deep emotions via their artistic ability." My fate was sealed… My mission in life is to make people feel cared for, remembered, supported and loved — in good times and bad – via my art. What started out as a makeshift eCard site is now Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings, offering more than 4,000 Judaic Themed eCards.
As an aside: It has always been my goal and mission to share life's lessons and events, how we see or may not see things and how we can stay connected and make a difference while supporting each other as "people helping people." The Internet has caused some of us — me included — to lose sight of the people behind the products, software and services we enjoy on the web.
Another one of my passions and a public service is to help spread the word about health awareness issues using my eCards. With this said:
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS — FEBRUARY is "Everything Heart Month"
National Heart Month / American Heart Month
February is known as both National Heart Month and American Heart Month. This month is set aside to bring attention to the deadliness of heart disease and its preventions. While it is stressed more in women at this time, let's not forget the men in our lives as they are important too!
February 6, 2009 is "National Wear Red Day!
"This day originated in 2002 by "The Heart Truth," national awareness campaign for women. It started out with the Red Dress as its symbol. Today, anything red goes – thus, opening the door to men, women and children helping to bring awareness to Heart Disease as the #1 Killer of women.
February 14, 2009 is Valentine's Day…
or what I like to call "Love in February" or "Valentines Day Judaic Style" to make it a little more Yiddish. While Valentines Day is still the day for lovers, it is also a day to reach out to friends, family and those we care about to show appreciation and gratitude for having them in our lives.
Tu B'Shvat is February 9, 2009
Last, but not least, Tu B'Shvat is February 9, 2009 – This holiday is known as Rosh Hashanah of the Trees, New Year of the Trees or Birthday of the Trees. Coming in late January or February, Tu B'Shvat is the time when the trees "start to awaken" from their winter rest and begin budding.
And now I would like to invite you to visit http://www.SayItWithEcards.com to gain instant access to some of our complimentary Health Awareness eCards for National Wear Red Day and National Heart Month. Click the appropriate link under Upcoming Holidays and Events in the "right column."
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you may contact me at: mailto:email@example.com
You may visit me at:
Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings aka Say It With eCards
Shabbat Shalom & Warm Regards,
Roz Fruchtman
1 comment
- 1 Holly Evans { 01.17.09 at 10:50 pm }
Roz, this is a beautiful site and you are doing well! I agree with you that the world absolutely needs art. When you think about it, art is the only way so much of our History has been uncovered. I also wanted to thank you for the description of what Tu B'Shvat is about. It paints a vision for those of us outside of the Judaic culture to understand. Keep up the great work!
Leave a Comment


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I get the reasons for liberal outrage at the Obama administration's Plan B decision. But I can't quite join in the indignation. I know that I am a man—a fact I've been aware of for some time—and so readers male and female can factor that in here as they wish. But it seems to me that to call this merely a case of politics cynically trumping science is way too dismissive of some concerns that parents with all kinds of political views might have about their teenage daughters buying this pill without their knowledge.
Much of the opposition to allowing underage girls to buy the pill over the counter amounts to straw-man arguments. There's the line that taking the pill amounts to abortion. Watch this lurid ad by a right-to-life group and think about what sort of cacophony must be raging inside the mind that could even come up with such an egregious thing. Outside the realm of anti-abortion fanaticism, I don't think most of us would equate the prevention of a pregnancy with the removal of an existing fetus. It's called "emergency contraception" because it's contraception, not abortion.
There's also an argument about harmful effects on young girls of the pill's heightened progesterone levels. I am far from being an expert on such matters, but unanimous view of the scientific community appears to be that the pill is safe for all females of child-bearing age, and that's good enough for me.
Those are ideological issues, and ones that can be dismissed easily. But it seems to me that there is a fair issue here, and it has to do with parents having a right to know about and be involved in what their kids are up to. You simply don't have to be a right-winger to have concerns about your 14- or 15-year-old daughter having easy access to such a pill.
That is not a political question per se. A parent's view on that matter will be partially informed by politics, but only partially (and in some cases not at all, since lots of people have no political views to speak of). Parents' opinions on this will be informed most of all by the parent-child relationship; by the parents' views about sexuality and morality; by the parents' feelings about their authority vis-a-vis their child's autonomy. These areas might have a lot to do with a parent's political views, but they might not. We all know people who are politically conservative but sexually libertine, or politically liberal and as chaste as Mother Teresa. In other words, this is less about appeasing the right than acknowledging reality in all its complications out there in the country, where many people probably have mixed feelings. I'd be fascinated to see some polling on this, and I expect we will soon.
In an ideal world, parents would rationally support the idea of their daughters having every means available to them to correct an error (or, obviously, to override a violation) that happened a day or two prior. But parents don't always think rationally about these things. That makes these issues sensitive by definition, and it's hardly illegitimate for a government to take such matters into consideration. I'd have had more respect for Kathleen Sibelius in this situation if, instead of that blather about 11-year-old girls not being able to follow instructions and take the pill properly, she'd just said: "Look, I respect the science, but this raises ethical and moral questions about what is the proper age for access to emergency contraception, in addition to the scientific ones. And that's a public debate we ought to have more of before we pull this trigger."
Such pills are generally available in other advanced countries, but there are some limits. In England, you have to be at least 16 to buy them. In Finland, 15. In Quebec, you have to consult a pharmacist. In Italy, it requires a doctor's prescription.
So advanced societies haven't yet made an across-the-board decision that all girls from 11 up should be able to buy this pill, and the United States always lags behind in these things, for all the reasons we know.
I wouldn't doubt that the administration feared the development of a narrative here. Newt Gingrich in particular is very adept at that sort of thing: This election, he'd have announced with his usual fanfare, is a contest between traditional values and 13-year-old girls having no-consequences sex. It's hard to know the extent to which that would have taken off.
But I doubt this was just politics. It was only in August that this same "anti-woman" administration issued new standards requiring insurance companies to cover all government-approved contraceptives for women, without co-payments or other fees. That will take effect, under the new health-care law, in January 2013 and should go a long way toward lowering the cost barriers to birth-control services for insured women. If the administration so lives in fear of political fallout from the cultural right, then why did it do that?
So maybe there was something more going on here. Maybe we should have a longer debate about the appropriate age at which this pill should become available. And maybe the right answer, an answer that much, but not all, of the advanced world has agreed on, is that there shouldn't be a limit. The science says it's safe, and it will undoubtedly prevent unwanted pregnancies—and, in an irony that the anti-abortionists never grasp, it will prevent abortions, too. But it's now the job of advocates to make the culture catch up to the science.


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Some people start thinking of getting a will in place when children arrive on the scene so guardians are named. Most people start thinking about planning their estates when they reach retirement age. However, you might be surprised, even shocked, to know that the best time to plan your estate is at age 18. The second best time to plan your estate is right now.
Age 18? My 18-Year-Old Doesn't Have An Estate!
Most 18-year-olds don't have significant assets, but what they do have is legal status as an adult. That means parents are no longer able to make health care and financial decisions – or access college records – without written legal authorization.
Babies? Are Babies Considered an Estate?
Children (and your spouse) are likely the most important part of your estate. And, yes, when you have babies, you absolutely need an estate plan. Here's why: without your written legal instruction, the court will decide who raises your children if you become incapacitated or die. If you think the court will pick who you'd select, you could be horribly wrong. And, without your written legal instruction, the court will mandate that your assets be distributed via your state's intestacy laws, not by your choice.
Besides, you have a responsibility to provide for your children – that means assets to get them launched into the world as well as the love and guidance of people who will do their best to raise them. You certainly don't need family members fighting over the kids or, worse, no one willing to take them so they end up in foster care.
The assets you leave for your children need to be protected from creditors, taxes, and the kids themselves – no child is well served by inheriting a boat load of money at age 18. The guardians need guidance as well – what do you want for your kids' education, activities, medical care, extended family and friends, religion or spirituality, worldview, etc.? All these considerations are part of estate planning.
Every Other Age
When you're age 17 or younger, you're covered by your parents' estate plan. Once you hit legal adulthood, it's time to step up and take care of business yourself. If you want to have any say in what happens to you, your family, and your assets, you need written instructions and those instructions are called an estate plan.
You can do important things like documenting how you want things to go if you suffer a health crisis or die. We'll help you appoint trusted helpers and protect assets – heck – you can even protect your dog. You have a lot of power now – you'll have no power later, without a written legally enforceable plan.
Get 'Er Done Now
Today's the day to call our office and get on the calendar so we can get you, your children and other loved ones, and your assets protected. Estate planning is way more important than you can even imagine. Just recently I was helping a child who was accidentally disinherited by his parents. Imagine the upset, anger, despair, and bewilderment. A parent had gotten remarried and put assets in joint names… Tragic. Don't let something horrid like that happen to someone you love. Call our office now, we'll get you in.


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About us and why we support the UK jewellery industry
We are the best British online shopping store for UK made jewellery. Should we worry as to whether the consumer has the right to choice when it comes to shopping on the internet? Well at Love2Have we do. We understand that our small independent designers just cannot keep up with the globalist corporate agenda of international retail. Most towns and cities in the UK all feature the same large retail chains, all selling the same items from one shop to the next.
The demise of the High Street
Over the last 20 years we have witnessed our High Streets and out of town shopping complexes being taken over and totally dominated by the large retail chains. While small independents have been crushed and driven out, unable to afford shop space, business rates or be able to compete with the price fixing of the retail giants. Why should we support the UK jewellery industry? Ever wondered why some prices on the High Street are so low? Well, that is because the jewellery is imported from abroad and of a lower quality.
Visit any shopping centre with the same old names and the same limited range of goods. More a case of "you will buy what we want you to buy" and not providing the customer with real choices.
Banished from our high streets, some small retailers saw a virtual opportunity to survive the retail giants which they quickly snatched.
Since Google began in January 1996, not only has it become an enormous source of information, it also offered hope for those small independent retailers who were prepared to work hard on their websites and with patience, they were able to showcase their products to a wider audience and profit from this. Google has the choices that are not available on any High Street.
The rise of online shopping
Over recent years the retail giants have seen sales decline and their profits eroded as more and more people switched to shopping on the internet. The retail giants have failed to understand their markets and have not appreciated that it's not just about convenience but that many internet shoppers have switched to the web looking for more choice, to source goods that they can't find on most high streets.
But never mind what the customer wants, the last year has seen the rise of the virtual high street to a total domination of the first page of Google by large retailers for most standard retail search terms. The retail giants have used their enormous marketing budgets to buy their way to the top, often with multiple domains for the same products, once again crushing the small independents and relegating them to page two or three or even lower, never be found.
Shoppers already unhappy with the choices offered on the High Street are now offered the same poor choices for generic search terms. We suggest that online shoppers try searching for long tail search terms to find something unique, alternative or unusual and made in the UK.
Shopping on the internet has become an essential part of planning - crowded shops, lack of time and not finding what you need are just a few of the reasons why millions of us shop online for gifts and presents. So why not take a look around our site to find a unique piece of jewellery for that perfect gift.
Related product listings
Google LOVE2HAVE & Save Money Now!


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Yes, the Wikipedia oneboxes only do a very simple stripping of the content returned from Wikipedia's API. To show the full content, we'd need a full Wikitext parser and all of Wikipedia's templates. Considering that the current handling works fine in most cases, and that you'd read the actual art...
What Dave said. That's the answer. :-D
I'm Don, I have a wave file of chicken voices. Among the voices there is a sound of chicken vommit. So I've already convert the audio to matlab plot, but don't have the idea on how to differentiate between the surround chicken voices and the vommit chicken. I hope somebody can give me the ...
commented: ♬ Plays @casperOne's re-tagging montage ♬
Many other query editors use Ctrl/⌘ Command + ⏎ Enter to execute the current query, and it would be great if the Data Explorer could do the same. It would save the world so much time if we all didn't have to: Move our hand over to the mouse drag the cursor over to the button Click each time w...
commented: "that Panama guy" - HA!
Note to self:make this
Note to self: make this
Yo, I fixed your problem. What's up.
Here on stackexchange, when you have a new message in your Stackoverflow inbox, and when you click the link and are navigated/jumped-to it, it fades in orange and then fades out. whenever I want to be able to have a fade in-fade out highlight color of a section that was jumped to following a link...
I flagged a question with 4 close-votes. It looks like a fifth person came and closed the question. Under flag weight, there seemed to be no effect but the response was none. What exactly does that mean, and under what circumstances will that show up?
10*numAnswers + 5*numQuestions
public class Wont { public static void main(String[] args) { String ಠ_ಠ = "Hello, world! I will destroy you!"; System.out.println("ಠ_ಠ: " + ಠ_ಠ); } }
In looking at the questions, they pretty much all seem to belong on Meta. Can anybody think of a purpose served by this tag that's on-topic for SO? Maybe if someone attempts to use it they can be notified that: Hey, if you're asking a question about StackOverflow, why not hop over to http:/...


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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Nearly 10 years after the declaration of the War on Terror, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have killed at least 225,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors, and civilians. The wars will cost Americans between $3.2 and $4 trillion, including medical care and disability for current and future war veterans, according to a new report by the Eisenhower Research Project based at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. If the wars continue, they are on track to require at least another $450 billion in Pentagon spending by 2020.
The group's "Costs of War" project, which involved more than 20 economists, anthropologists, lawyers, humanitarian personnel, and political scientists, provides new estimates of the total war cost as well as other direct and indirect human and economic costs of the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks. The project is the first comprehensive analysis of all U.S., coalition, and civilian casualties, including U.S. contractors. It also assesses many of the wars' hidden costs, such as interest on war-related debt and veterans' benefits.
Catherine Lutz, the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Family Professor of Anthropology and International Studies at Brown University, co-directs the Eisenhower Research Project with Neta Crawford, a 1985 Brown graduate and professor of political science at Boston University.
Among the group's main findings:
- The U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan will cost between $3.2 and $4 trillion, including medical care and disability for current and future war veterans. This figure does not include substantial probable future interest on war-related debt.
- More than 31,000 people in uniform and military contractors have died, including the Iraqi and Afghan security forces and other military forces allied with the United States.
- By a very conservative estimate, 137,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by all parties to these conflicts.
- The wars have created more than 7.8 million refugees among Iraqis, Afghans, and Pakistanis.
- Pentagon bills account for half of the budgetary costs incurred and are a fraction of the full economic cost of the wars.
- Because the war has been financed almost entirely by borrowing, $185 billion in interest has already been paid on war spending, and another $1 trillion could accrue in interest alone through 2020.
- Federal obligations to care for past and future veterans of these wars will likely total between $600-$950 billion. This number is not included in most analyses of the costs of war and will not peak until mid-century.
"This project's accounting is important because information is vital for the public's democratic deliberation on questions of foreign policy," said Lutz. "Knowing the actual costs of war is essential as the public, Congress and the President weigh the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, and other areas including the deficit, security, public investments, and reconstruction."
"There are many costs and consequences of war that cannot be quantified, and the consequences of wars don't end when the fighting stops," Crawford said. "The Eisenhower study group has made a start at counting and estimating the costs in blood, treasure, and lost opportunities that are both immediately visible and those which are less visible and likely to grow even when the fighting winds down."
The Eisenhower Research Project is a new, nonpartisan, nonprofit, scholarly initiative that derives its purpose from President Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address, in which he warned of the "unwarranted influence" of the military-industrial complex and appealed for an "alert and knowledgeable citizenry" as the only force able to balance the often contrasting demands of security and liberty in the democratic state.
The Costs of War has released its findings online, at www.costsofwar.org, to spur public discussion about America at war.


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'Airing of the Quilts'
The Appalachian Women's Museum "Airing of the Quilts" will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the museum in Dillsboro.
Quilters present 2010 show in Franklin Aug. 19-21
The Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild will present its 2010 quilt show, "Quilting New Trails" Aug. 19-21 at the Community Facilities building in Franklin.
Established in 1983, the guild is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to stimulate an intelligent interest in the art of quilting in the community and to provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas, instruction and the presentation of pertinent information among members of the guild.
Every two years the guild sponsors a quilt show featuring local and national quilts, judged by an NQA (National Quilter's Association ) accredited judge. There will be cash prizes and ribbons awarded. There is a silent auction featuring small wall hangings made by members of the guild, vendors booths, a Member's Boutique where items made by guild members can be bought, and raffle tickets for the guild's scholarship fund.
The dates are Aug. 19, 20, and 21. Thursday and Friday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 per day or $10 unlimited access. For more information call 828.369.2125 or visit www.smokymtnquilters.org.
Preserving craft and livelihood: Successful Quilt Trails of WNC coming soon to Haywood, Macon
By Julia Merchant • Contributing Writer
Take a drive through the countryside of Western North Carolina, and you'll likely notice brightly colored squares adorning the sides of barns and other rustic structures. Look closer, and they'll tell you a story about that place.
"Turkey tracks," for instance, hangs on the side of a barn where a flock of turkeys come for their morning meal. "Bard of Avon" graces the side of the Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville. Nearby, "Monkey wrench" pays tribute to a local resident well-known for his fix-it abilities.
The blocks are actually quilt patterns, carefully selected to honor the history behind the structures and homesteads they grace. It's all part of the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina project, and soon, it will expand to include Macon and Jackson counties, the first west of Asheville to take part. In the six counties where the project currently exists, it's grown to involve the entire community in preserving both local history and the heritage craft of quilting. But it's also become much more — an important economic development tool for all of Western North Carolina.
"It's a community history project, basically," says Barbara Webster, executive director of Quilt Trails of WNC. "We are capturing the stories of the land, the people, and the buildings with this project, and in so doing, we are building community and creating economic development for the area."
First introduced to WNC in 2006, the Quilt Trails project has grown to include 158 quilt blocks hanging on barns and businesses in Mitchell, Yancey, Ashe, Madison, Watauga and Avery counties. Each features a different quilting pattern that is representative of its location. Volunteers build and paint the blocks, and write stories that reflect the heritage of each place. Building a block can take anywhere from three weeks for a simple pattern to nine months for a more complicated one.
Webster, who resides in Mitchell County, has seen her county become a model of success. Along with Yancey, Mitchell boasts the highest concentration of quilt blocks in the entire nation, a feat accomplished in just three short years. The project has achieved an amazing amount of community buy-in.
"The entire community has embraced it," Webster says.
Kids from the local high school art department paint blocks alongside senior citizens. Volunteers take pictures and write stories about each block. A history teacher takes kids out to photograph the blocks in order to learn about the history of the county. A calculus class uses them to learn about symmetry.
Webster believes tying a story to each block, an aspect of the project unique to Mitchell and Yancey counties, played a large role in sparking community interest. On the application form for a quilt block, there's a space for the applicant to describe their family history or something interesting about the building or land.
"We use that information to hunt for the prefect quilt block that will trigger their story," Webster explains. "That's what made such a big difference in our county — when people saw they could capture their family story this way."
Tourism booster
Along with local history, the Quilt Trails project is preserving something on a larger scale — the region's economy. In an area that has struggled to cope with the loss of industry in recent years, the Quilt Trails project has become a key component in the growth of a newer, tourism-based economy.
"It's amazing what's happened here because of the quilt blocks," says Webster. "People are coming from all over the place to see them."
A recent Wall Street Journal article that profiled Quilt Trails of WNC drew a flood of tourists, "from Maine to Mexico," Webster says. The visitors are sure to keep coming — the project was selected by the state Department of Tourism as one of 10 state tourist attractions that will appear in a series of radio spots broadcast throughout the Southeast.
"It's a wonderful example of taking cultural heritage and turning it into a contemporary experience," says Handmade In America executive director Geraldine Plato of why the project works. "It appeals to a lot of different people. They can get in a car, drive around, read the quilts, and maybe learn something else about the town."
Webster estimates that one group of 15 people coming to see the blocks contributes an average of $3,000 to the county in one day.
The economic impact ripples throughout the community, thanks largely to the collaborative nature of the project. It seems everyone's involved — local artists, for instance, are employed to craft pins that resemble the quilt squares, and local businesses sell copies of the one that hangs on their storefront. Maps of the quilt block trails also point visitors to local attractions, like a nearby organic farm.
"We realized fast this could be an economic development engine for the county," says Webster. "We've purposefully gone in that direction, and it's worked."
Though Quilt Trails of WNC is currently only in six counties, it's benefited the region as a whole.
"We've used this as a way to market the entire western part of the state as a tourist destination," says Webster.
As the project expands, Webster hopes counties will work together to promote each other. Say there's a quilter's convention in Haywood County — guests could take a daytrip to see the quilt blocks in Yancey County, for instance.
"We could put these packages together and involve multiple counties," says Webster. "There's a huge opportunity here."
Plato thinks Quilt Trails of WNC has tapped into something.
"It's a beautiful way to pull together the whole region," Plato says.
Coming soon
Soon, quilt squares will be popping up in the far western counties. Volunteers in Macon County are busy painting the first four blocks, one of which will hang in the Chamber of Commerce.
"It's underway, and hopefully we'll be able to see the first things going up before winter," says Linda Harbuck, executive director of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce.
The project seems particularly fitting in Macon County, which boasts a proud quilting tradition. The now-defunct Maco Crafts Cooperative created the World's Largest Quilt, which hung at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, as well as the World's Largest Quilted Wall Hanging.
Harbuck hopes the project will bring a renewed interest in the craft.
"I think it will help preserve tradition, and I think it may bring it back into the light again too," she says.
The quilt squares, and the stories that accompany them, could also draw a different demographic of visitors to the area.
"It will bring in a new group that might not have necessarily come before," Harbuck says.
Led by the local Arts Council, Haywood County is also looking to become part of WNC Quilt Trails. Arts Council Director Kay S. Miller says already, the project is sparking interest from a cross-section of community members, both new and native.
"The excitement is coming from people who were born and raised here, not just those who moved to the county," Miller says. "Hopefully, it will bring together residents in various communities across Haywood County to gain more satisfaction and pride in the heritage we share."
The first quilt blocks will be hung in Haywood in June 2010. Miller encourages everyone — young or old, artistic or not — to get involved.
"You don't have to have an art degree to be involved in this project," Miller says. "Again, that's the beauty of (it) — schoolchildren and adults alike can participate. There are many phases of the project, and all levels of skill are needed."


text: > Arno wrote about fixltx2e and not fix-cm. And he is right: If loaded > after float fixltx2e overwrites the float definition of float: [...] I've just read the very interesting article in TUGBoat regarding Michiel Helvensteijn's `pkgloader' package, which should solve such issues in an elegant way. Let's hope that his package succeeds! http://www.ctan.org/pkg/pkgloader Werner


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HamSphere® is a virtual Ham Radio Transceiver. Once installed, you will be able to communicate with thousands of Amateur Radio operators and Radio Enthusiasts in over 320 DXCC countries around the world. You can even use HamSphere without a Ham Radio license by using a special HamSphere call sign. HamSphere is a highly realistic shortwave simulation based on SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology.
That's when, where and how you can use HamSphere. All you need is an Internet connection. What is Ham Radio?
11 virtual Ham Bands, Broadcast band, Powerful transmitter, Log Book, QSL card Management, Awards and many other features.
"Besides making new friends during these voice contacts worldwide your software provides not only entertainment, but is also an educational tool for non hams studying to obtain their Ham Radio License." - Vic Loewen, VE3JAR, Simcoe, Canada
See and hear HamSphere in action


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Associated media – Associated media
Representatives for OpenAI and the Times Company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The motion asked the court to dismiss four claims from The Times's complaint to narrow the focus of the lawsuit. OpenAI's lawyers argued that The Times should not be allowed to sue for acts of reproduction that occurred more than three years ago and that the paper's claim that OpenAI violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, an amendment to U.S. copyright law passed in 1998 after the rise of the internet, was not legally sound.
The Times was the first major American media company to sue OpenAI over copyright issues related to its written works. Novelists, computer programmers and other groups have also filed copyright suits against the start-up and other companies that build generative A.I., technologies that generate text, images and other media from short prompts.
Like other A.I. companies, OpenAI built its technology by feeding it enormous amounts of digital data, some of which is likely copyrighted. A.I. companies have claimed that they can legally use such material to train their systems without paying for it because it is public and they are not reproducing the material in its entirety.
In its suit, The Times included examples of OpenAI's technology reproducing excerpts from its articles almost verbatim. In the motion to dismiss, lawyers for OpenAI accused The Times of paying someone to hack their chatbot. "It took them tens of thousands of attempts to generate the highly anomalous results," the motion said.
Connected media – Connected media


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I'll just say it right away – sevillanos do not flock to the Real de la Feria for good eats. In a week dedicated to drinking and dancing, food is often an afterthought and sure to make a dent in your wallet faster than a new traje de gitana or registration for your horse carriage.
Each of the marquees, called casetas, have a makeshift kitchen in which a contracted restaurant and bar keeps function. Typical favorites end up on the list in ración forms, so friends usually get together a common purse, known as a bote, to pay for food and drink. Because different restaurants are contracted out to feed them masses, food choices differ between venues. One thing you can expect anywhere, though, is to pay 2-5€ more for a plate of food at the fairgrounds, and beers will run 1.50€
Typical Sevillano
If the fair is a celebration of Andalusian culture, its most typical foods are regional dishes. From meats to fish to creamy salmorejo, eating at the fair means chowing down on hearty dishes synonymous with Southern cuisine.
The fair officially kicks off with a dinner amongst caseta members, called el pecaíto (peck-eye-ee-toe). Traditionally beginning at 9pm on Monday and ending when the main gate is lit at midnight, fried fish is served. For the rest of the week, you can find friend cuttlefish, monkfish, baby squid and other seafood like shrimp on menus.
It's no wonder I always come home reeking like overused olive oil.
Cola de Toro
The bullfighting season in Seville reaches a fever pitch during the festivities, with big names in the taurino world squaring off against horned opponents during daily afternoon faenas. Each part of the beast is then used for something.
Among one of Seville's star dishes is cola de toro, or stewed bull's tail. The tender meat is served still on the bone and with vegetables, often over fried potatoes. If you splurge on one thing at the fair that isn't jamón, let it be bull tail.
Solomillo de Whiskey
A dish for the less adventurous, solomillo is a versatile cut of meat from the part of a pig between the lower ribs and the spine. Usually served with a sauce, whisky and garlic is one of the most common ways to serve it. Pro tip: grab some bread and make a sandwich, or mop up the left over oil.
Cash Savers
When the economic crisis hit in 2008, Cruzcampo capitalized on a phenomenal marketing opportunity by turning a sour note into a moment to enjoy sharing food with friends (and a hilarious sevillana).
Jamón may be delicious, but it's not wallet-friendly.
In all of my years in the recinto ferial, I've learned a few things about where and what to eat, and how to save money – one year, I even brought a turkey sandwich in my purse and, embarrassed, scarfed it down in the bathroom! I will usually eat one big midday meal at the fair, preferring to eat at home to save money, though the bars will serve food in the wee hours of the morning when you've had too much rebujito. It's also not uncommon to see people eating at restaurants in the area in full Feria garb!
If you're looking for a cheap way to mop up the booze apart from picos or bags of potato chips, try:
Caldo de Puchero
This warm broth is not only a cheap way to load up on calories during a binge, but local lore says it will also help you coat your stomach to keep drinking. The broth is made from the drippings of pringá meat – blood sausage, chorizo, chicken thigh, a salted bone, lard and morcillo de vaca – with a hint of peppermint.
Tortilla de Patatas
Spain's most universal dish is served all around the fair, often for 5€ or so. It's easy to eat, pairs well with bread and is a good choice for vegetarians, as it's made of egg, potato and salt, and often has onions or peppers mixed in. A tortilla lover's condiment of choice is mayonnaise, which is usually available in individual packets.
Montaditos and Pinchos
A budget lover's go-to food at the fair are small sandwiches, montaditos, and meat skewers, or pinchitos. Available for about 1.50 – 2€, you can fill up on pork loin sandwiches and pork or chicken skewers. This will leave you with more money to ride the attractions at Calle del Infierno or invite your friends to another round – the Feria de Sevilla is all about appearances, after all.
For the Goloso
Once you've had your fill of savory foods, head to the periphery of the recinto ferial for a cheap dessert. There are sweets stalls standing just outside of the fairground limits, and on the western edge you can find Calle del Infierno, an area dedicated to sugary goodies and rickety looking amusement park rides, ferris wheels and game booths.
I'd just suggest going on the rides before consuming a questionable waffle or plate of churros.
Buñuelos and Churros con Chocolate
There's nothing better than gooey, fried doughy foods in the middle of the night. Buñuelos are small dough balls with a chocolate, caramel or jelly sauce, whereas churros are long rods of dough that get dipped in hot chocolate.
Apart from the sevillanas music and horse carriages, a staple of the fair is the gypsy family who serves up hundreds of buñuelos an hour, just under the main gate. Even the most presumptious of sevillanos get their sweet fix there, so it's a prime place for people watching!
Gummy, sugary candies are classified as chucerías, and they come in every imaginable size, shape and flavor. Check out the long 'chuche brooms' that are nearly a meter long and challenge yourself to eat one on your walk home.
Drinking is a central part of any Andalusian fair, with special drinks taking center stage. You can still get your standard beer, wine, soft drinks and coffee, though sherry wine is drank by the bucketful (and I mean literally – 1/2 liter bottles are served in a bucket full of ice!).
Fino or Manzanilla Sherry
The April Fair has its origins in the livestock trade, though I like to believe it gave locals a good chance to imbibe in sherry wine of the fino sort. Palomino grapes lend a dry flavor to this beverage, which is produced in the Sherry Triangle of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puero de Santa María and Sanlúcar la Barrameda.
Sherry is an acquired taste for many, with fino being a dry taste and a pale appearance, whereas manzanilla is a bit sweeter and darker. When you ask for a bottle at the Feria, you'll be served a half liter in a bucket of ice and will be asked how many small glasses you'd like. Sherry is meant to be sipped.
If you're looking for a way to take the bite out of the sherry, mix half a liter with two cans of 7-Up and add ice, and you've got rebujito. This drink is crisp, refreshing…and more potent than it looks!
A 'jarra' of rebujito is about 8-10 euros and served with small plastic glasses. Though it looks like a shot, it's meant to be sipped and you should probably share it with an amigo. Again, this drink is toxic in large quantities, so you'd do well to order a few montaditos or a tortilla long with it!
Have you ever been to an Andalusian fair? What are your favorite eats?
I'm what you might call a feriante – I love the April Fair. If you want to learn more, check out these posts:
The Do's and Don'ts of the Feria | the Feria de Jerez | My Five Favorite Feria de Abril Moments | Buying a Flamenco Dress | Buying Accessories for your Flamenco Dress


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About the Author
Hear The Music
Poet Of The Wrong Generation
"It's not that I don't love you, and my tears are yet to dry. But you can't go back and forth forever and we've already said goodbye." Through these words, a young poet unearths his musical soul while severing ties with the woman he loves after her stunning betrayal. Unknowingly, in writing this ballad of liberation, he will soon evolve as one of the fastest rising stars on the pop music landscape.
The year is 1991; the place, New York City. Here we meet Johnny Elias, a college student from Brooklyn with boundless adoration for two things in life: timeless popular music, and the heart of a sweet, complicated young woman who is clearly out of his league.
Megan Price not only is the object of Johnny's affection, but also the only daughter of New York's most powerful PR woman: the indomitable Katherine Price.
Projecting that her daughter's boyfriend will never live up to the family standard, Katherine cleverly perpetrates a series of duplicitous schemes to rid Johnny from her high-class world. But in her callous disregard, she inadvertently sets him on a determined course to his improbable musical destiny - while sending her own daughter spiraling down a path of devastation.
Poet of the Wrong Generation tells the symmetrical story of a lovable underdog and his meteoric rise to stardom, his humiliating downfall and his unprecedented attempt to reclaim his place as the unlikely musical spokesman for his generation. At the heart of Poet is a tale of star-crossed lovers and their struggle with unforeseen success and disillusionment, in an attempt to rediscover lasting harmony.
Uniquely integrating a variety of original song compositions, Poet projects the epic clash between true contentment and the fable of stardom's rewards; a nostalgic journey through the major events of the1990s, with a cherished cast of characters and a stunningly unpredictable conclusion.
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29th Int. Conference on Software Engineering® 20 - 26 May 2007
The SIGSOFT Conference Attendance Program for Students (CAPS) provides financial assistance to graduate students to help defray costs of attending SIGSOFT-sponsored conferences and workshops. The funds can be used to pay for travel expenses, hotel expenses, and conference registration.
To check for eligibility criteria and make a submission please visit the SIGSOFT CAPS website.


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If you happened to walk by a certain street in a deserted part of El Paso, Texas last fall, you would have heard unusual sounds amid the clanking next to a furniture factory. Leaking out through the cracks, from what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, were mysterious sounds of despair, growth, renewal, faith lost, and faith gained. Some of it was melodic, and some was dissonant, but all had a certain constant energy. If a passerby were a student of alternative rock, the warehouse songs would have been at once familiar but also distant, like a refrain lost in memory.
Inside the warehouse were the four men of Sparta, and those sessions were the genesis of Threes, out on Anti Records April 30, 2007. That this much anticipated album began in such humble origins is no accident, since Sparta picked the confines exactly because they were anonymous. We wanted to strip away everything and get back to the songs themselves, says singer/guitarist Jim Ward. In a larger context, we wanted to explore why we even were a band. It was the perfect setting to do that: It was autumn in El Paso, and it was moody and stormy in the high desert. There was a sense of isolation and frontier to it. In many ways, it was the remaking of our band.
That remaking is both metaphorical and literal: Though Threes is the band's third full-length release (following the acclaimed Wiretap Scars in 2002, and Porcelain in 2004), it is the first Sparta album for Anti Records. It is also the band's first with guitarist Keeley Davis, who joined in 2005, and previously played with Denali and Engine Down. Bassist Matt Miller and drummer Tony Hajjar round out Sparta's line-up.
Sparta was formed by Ward and Hajjar in 2001, but the two musicians are celebrating their 10th anniversary playing together, and Threes displays a level of cohesion that comes only from musicians who are seasoned and confident. On this record we aren't answering to anyone else or to any style, says Hajjar. For the first time, there were no back end expectations. If a song was poppy, or if it was moody, we let it go that way. There was a great freedom we found in that.
That freedom is apparent on songs like Crawl and The Most Vicious Crime, musical statements filled with angst and anger, but also textured by catchy choruses and upbeat melodies. There is also a fury exhibited on Taking Back Control, the album's first single, that is both political and personal. That song has the line The future needs these wasted seeds, Ward notes, and I wrote that imagining these kids in these war-torn areas who didn't create the reality they are having to live under. We have been misled down a path. Neil Young said he did his recent anti-war album because no one else had, particularly in my generation. Well, Taking Back Control is my battle cry to that generation. As a Texan, Ward has been living with the legacy of George W. Bush longer than those in the rest of the nation. We've had him a lot longer than most. Our country is going to fall apart if the things we cherish are in question.
For Ward, Threes is an album that follows the emotional arc of his life during the past two years. This is a break-down record in a way, he says. I'd lost faith in a way of living. It wasn't that I didn't want to be with a girl anymore; I didn't want to do anything any more. I wanted to strip away everything and to examine what it means to lose faith, and then to find it again.
Like most rebirths, Threes has its moments of melancholy contrasted with joyousness and melodic release. Ward says that the songs drove the sound, and he approached crafting them the way a literary writer might pen a short story. We talked a lot about character, and about where the song was going, he says. At the end of the warehouse sessions, Sparta had almost thirty songs, which were eventually whittled down the twelve songs on Threes with the help of producer Dave Bassett.
And though Sparta recorded the actual album in Seattle in March 2006, and completed the sessions in Los Angeles this past spring, the El Paso rehearsals put an indelible markon the album. We were in this warehouse in this hard-working town and that had to affect us, recalls Hajjar. You could hear the people next door building furniture, and it gave us a sense of how lucky we were to be creating. It gave us a true sense of renewal. We've been in Sparta all these years, but we are still growing as a band.
The band was inspired enough by the warehouse sessions they began filming their own short movie at the same time the film will be sold in a special edition of Threes. Though the film concentrates on the childhood of drummer Hajjar and his flight from the Lebanese civil war, the movie parallels some of Threes. It's a personal story, observes Hajjar, but it's also about any situation you are in where you are getting beaten down and you come back from it all.
If all that sounds a bit like it could come out of the playbook of another American band Sparta have played on festivals with Wilco before Ward says his sole inspiration for Threes was the private dialogue that drove him to the songs. The song is driving the work here, he notes. I forced myself to write for at least four or five days a week and I took the work seriously. To me this is my entrance, even though I've put out now a total of eight records over the years.
Though Ward's songs have a strong sense of place, he writes of a morally challenged world where most of the conflict is internal. Added to the powerful melodies and rhythms created by the band, the result is music that drips empathy and emphasis, as Spin said of an earlier Sparta release. I think this is the darkest thing I've ever done without being depressing, Ward says. I remember talking to Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, and telling him what I'd been through and what I was writing. Homme half-jokingly told Ward: There are minor chords and minor scales for a reason.
The great magic of Sparta is how the band uses the occasional minor chord but contrasts it with major scales to create anthematic songs of beauty and passion. Layering effectand emotional contrasts are techniques used on songs like Taking Back Control and Crawl, and they ultimately make the music cathartic. And while Sparta makes it sound easy, Taking Back Control is an ideal example of the effort the band put into Threes: Ward rewrote the lyrics at the eleventh hour while the rest of the album was being mixed. On that particular day, Hajjar says, Sparta was using three different studios to work on this record: Jim was rewriting in one, and we were mixing in two others. Ward notes that Crawl is his darkest song but one that was also pure fiction.
The one song on Threes that Ward admits was inspired by real life events is Unstitch Your Mouth, which grew out of an insult a traveling salesman yelled at Ward. Though Wardmay be the best-known musician in El Paso and writes a weekly column in the local newspaper, the salesperson started slandering Ward based on his dress and not who he was. The dumbest thing, Ward laughs, is that he said I looked like I worked at Kinko's. In the blue collar world that we come from, anyone who is working is not due that kind of insult.
The El Paso work ethic that gets someone up to work at a furniture factory at dawn, gets the Kinko's employee to find joy, or that inspires a band to work for months on an album, looms over Threes. I still love our hometown and what it represents, says Hajjar. For Ward, the only member of Sparta who still lives in El Paso full-time, there is less sentimentality to Threes and more resolute acceptance. I still live ten minutes from where I went to high school, he says, I've been at the local sandwich shop and seen people who I went to school with. I've seen where their lives have gone. All of that, and this album,gave me a sense of where I've been and why I'm still doing this.


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Dec 12, 2015
Doctor Who is a stunning and innovative force in popular culture and popular memory. But why is Doctor Who popular and what is the role of Peter Capaldi in aligning past and present, memory and politics, television and post-television? Steve and Tara talk about Doctor Who through its history and why this programme...
Dec 5, 2015
Mark Brown joins us from Sydney to present his sonic designs for the development of his artefact. Yet his great work raises a question. What is the artefact? What are the examiners assessing? Steve, Tara and Mark try to limit and shape the examined artefact.
Dec 5, 2015
Sunny, Steve and Tara enter the complex area of blackness and Australian identity. What space is available to explore blackness - as a scholar - in doctoral education?
Dec 4, 2015
A great challenge of doctoral education is balancing description, analysis and high theory. Anne McLeod discusses how to manage this challenge with Steve and Tara, her doctoral supervisors.
Dec 4, 2015
Why has the Wizard of Oz moved so successfully through literature and film - and through time? Mick, Tara and Steve probe the power of the Wizard of Oz and what it reveals about children's media.


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Insider's Guide to Paris EventsLooking for something fun to do in Paris?There are always amazing events happening in and around Paris, but if you don't speak French, it's hard to be informed. So we created Parisadvice.com to help you enjoy visiting or living in Paris. We check local newspapers and magazines, surf the web, and compile our own lists of interesting and fun Paris events.
We also have tips, top 10 lists, and information that will make your stay in Paris easier and more enjoyable.
Current HighlightsYves Saint Laurent Exhibition The Petit Palais presents the first ever retrospective of the works of famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. 11 March - 29 August / Petit Palais Paris Marathon 35,000 runners take to the streets for the 34th International Paris Marathon April 11 / Staring on the Champs Elysees 2010 French Tennis Open Hurry... Grounds Tickets still available for the famous French Tennis Open for only 21 euros! 24 May - 6 June 2010 / Roland Garros Image Factory Exhibition A must see exhibition for anybody interested in world culture and the evolution of iconography 16 Feb - 17 July 2010 / Musee du Quai Branly Lisette Model Photography Exhibition A selection of 120 vintage prints from Paris in 1930's to New York and San Francisco in the 1950's. 9 February - 6 June / Jeu de Paume Van Gogh on the big screen Immerse yourself in the story and art of Vincent Van Gogh in a special IMax movie on the Geode's giant screen March 2009 - March 2010 Free Museums in Paris Learn about free museum Sundays and also get a list of all free permanent collections in Paris
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All the Supermario and Minecraft videos on Magnetic Games have been a resounding success, so I propose some scenes from these videos to reveal the CGI tricks behind them.
Special thanks to Devcafe who produced all the Computer Graphics scenes.
If you like Pixio you can buy it here: https://magneticgames.video/PixioYT
Use this code to get 10% off : 10MGNTCGMS10
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://bit.ly/Sub2MagneticGames
WATCH MY TOP VIDEOS HERE: http://bit.ly/MagneticGamesTopPlaylist
On my channel you will find all the ways to have fun with magnets divided into 3 main categories:
Classical magnetic experiments such as magnetic levitation, homopolar motors, small magnetic weapons, Gauss cannons, gears, magnetic field viewers and much more.
Satisfaction video like the construction of magnetic sculptures, slime and magnetic putty and product review.
ASMR relaxing videos to watch but above all to listen preferably with stereo headphones to be able to appreciate the particular sounds of the magnets
Follow me:
About Magnetic Games:
All ways to have fun with magnets.
The magnetism has always intrigued me. The strength of the magnets is scientifically explainable but there's something "magical" about its interaction with the world. My Channel offers you curious experiments and fun games to do with magnets.
Magnetic Games
#magneticgames #magnets


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CUMULUS MEDIA | York, PA is seeking a talented and dynamic Multi-Media Account Executive who thrives in a fast-paced working environment. We are looking for a passionate, motivated, goal-oriented and highly competitive individual with a proven track record of over-achieving sales goals. We hire driven, resourceful, organized, customer-focused problem solvers who have great communication skills and the ability to cultivate client relationships. In return, we offer a unique career opportunity: one where you are given a challenging mission, world-class tools to help you succeed, and the chance to realize your full potential as a sale's professional.
Who We Are:
CUMULUS | York, PA Our local stations in the York – Lancaster –Reading, PA area include WARM 103.3 (WARM-FM), 96.1 SOX (WSOX-FM), I 105 (WIOV-FM) and NEWSTALK 93.9 & 910 WSBA (WSBA-AM). Our stations are the home to Penn State Football, Baltimore Ravens Football and Baltimore Orioles Baseball. C-SUITE is our portfolio of Digital Advertising Products for Local Businesses. We also sell various events like our CentralPAJobFair.com Online Job Fairs and our outdoor country music festival, FallFest.
The Local Multi-Media Advertising Account Executive identifies and develops new business opportunities; grows existing client relationships; offers solutions that help clients achieve their business goals; closes business and meets or exceeds set sales targets.
Key Responsibilities:
- Able to identify client business needs by gaining a deep understanding of their goals, objectives and processes as well as their external environment including key market and consumer trends to proactively develop customized advertising solutions to meet client objectives
- Deliver effective multi-platform, integrated sales presentations (broadcast, digital, events); negotiation and closing
- Beyond our broadcast products, have strong familiarity and become full versed in selling both Cumulus' station digital assets (e.g., streaming, stations website and social advertising) and digital audience extension products to deliver a complete marketing solution to advertisers
- Excel at prospecting and aggressively seeking new clientele by networking, cold calling, canvassing, referrals or other means to build and maintain a full pipeline of sales prospects
- Follow all station and corporate procedures for preparing orders, resolving billing issues, submitting regular reports regarding sales, pipeline lists, forecasts and competitive analysis
- Stay abreast of the competitive landscape and emerging technologies to best position Cumulus in the marketplace
- Think creatively and generate original ideas
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, social networking platforms and CRM tools
- Excellent communication skills
- Experience developing new business relationships in an outside sales role
- Excellent presenter to clients of sales opportunities and post-sale successes
- Strong understanding of lead generation and ability to connect with viable prospects
- Comprehension of sales metrics in order to fill a sales funnel and robust pipeline of residual business
- Positive attitude with the willingness to get beyond comfort zone to grow professionally
- Attention to detail
- High energy and passion for the job
- Flexible and creative
- Digitally savvy
- 1-3 years in Media Sales background preferred
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing or related field is preferred/required
- All new hires must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by date of hire, subject to legally mandated accommodations
What we offer:
- Commission-based organization with uncapped earning potential
- Focused, responsible and collaborative work environment with the ability, to ask "what if" and try innovative solutions
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance coverage
- 401K with company match to plan for the long-term
- Paid Vacation & Holidays
For immediate consideration, please visit cumulusmedia.jobs.net.
For more information about CUMULUS MEDIA, visit our website at: www.cumulusmedia.com
CUMULUS MEDIA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).


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Frank White
Frank White Mississippi native Frank White (1847-1922) served in the Confederate army under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and then was instrumental in returning Democrats to power in the Mississippi state government during the Reconstruction years. He relocated to Birmingham, Jefferson County, in the 1880s to benefit from the city's industrial boom. He served only a year as a U.S. senator from Alabama, after winning the election to fill the seat vacated by the death of Joseph F. Johnston.
Francis (Frank) Shelley White was born March 13, 1847, at Prairie Point, Noxubee County, Mississippi, to Kelly and Margaret Shelley White. White attended local schools and was tutored at home. During the Civil War, he served as a private in Company F, First Mississippi Cavalry, under the command of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. White was captured at Selma, Dallas County, in April 1865. After the war, he studied law in the office of William B. Brack of West Point, Mississippi and opened a practice there in 1868. White married Octavia Anna Collins in 1873; they would have five children.
White was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature in 1875 and played an active role in regaining Democratic control of the state government from the Republican Reconstruction government. He was chairman of a committee that organized and oversaw impeachment proceedings against Republican officeholders in the Mississippi Reconstruction government, including former Union officer Gov. Adelbert Ames and Lt. Gov. A. K. Davis and Superintendent of Education T. W. Cardozo, both among the first African Americans to hold political office in the state. All were removed from office.
In 1886, White saw new opportunities for himself in the booming industrial city of Birmingham and relocated there. In addition to establishing his law practice, he continued with his political endeavors. He served as campaign manager in 1899 for U.S. senator John Tyler Morgan; as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1900; as chair of the Democratic State Convention that same year; and as a member of the 1901 Constitutional Convention. These and other activities gained White many supporters statewide, leading to his nomination in April 1914 for the Democratic primary to fill Sen. Joseph F. Johnston's vacant seat, who had died the previous November. White's election in May made him the first U.S. senator in Alabama elected by a direct vote of the people. After completing Johnston's term on March 3. 1915, he returned to his Birmingham law practice.
White attempted runs for a Senate seat two more times: against John Hollis Bankhead in 1918 and J. Thomas Heflin in 1920. Two years later, on August 1, 1922, White died in Birmingham and was buried in the city's Elmwood Cemetery.
Note: This entry was adapted with permission from Alabama United States Senators by Elbert L. Watson (Huntsville, Ala: Strode Publishers, 1982)


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Between 2016 and 2022, the TanDEM-X mission acquired an additional complete coverage of the Earth's landmass to deliver a temporally independent coverage within a well-defined time span. These new acquisitions not only provide more up-to-date elevation information, but also a great dataset to show the changes that have occurred during the years separating this new coverage from the coverages acquired to generate the TanDEM-X global DEM (between 2011 and 2014). This product - the TanDEM-X DEM Change Maps - is available in 30m posting and show the changes between the edited first global TanDEM-X DEM (TanDEM-X 30m Edited DEM) and the newly acquired time-tagged DEM scenes. In order to keep a unique timestamp, two change maps are available per tile: one with the change to the oldest pixel in the new dataset - the first DEM change, and another with the change to the newest pixel of the new dataset - the last DEM change. The two maps differ only when there are multiple coverages.
Users must be aware that a given elevation change measured in the DEM change maps corresponds to a topographic change with respect to TanDEM-X 30m EDEM, but cannot be associated with a corresponding physical height change of the same magnitude. This is due to the fact that the global TanDEM-X DEM reflects an averaged elevation derived from the combination of different images, acquired over a period of several years but also because the radar waves penetrates differently in the surface depending on the attributes of the land cover. This is especially important over vegetated and snow-covered regions.
Product Information:
Data Information:
Map Projection:
Related Datasets


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Going to college is an exciting time for students and their parents. Living in a new "home away from home" not only gives young adults more freedom to make their own choices, but it also provides them an increased level of personal responsibility while at school.
When it comes to on- and off-campus housing, it's important for students and parents to keep fire safety top of mind. Here is everything you need to know about fire safety on campus!
Off-Campus Impact
Almost all (94 percent) fatal campus fires occur off-campus. Alcohol is a factor in three-quarters of fatal campus fires.
Campus Fire Safety Facts & Stats
- 94 percent of fatal campus fires occurred off-campus.
- Smoking (29 percent) was the leading cause of fatal campus fires.
- Alcohol was a factor in 76 percent of fatal campus fires.
- Smoke alarms were either missing or tampered with (disconnected or battery removed) in 58 percent of fatal campus fires.
- Fire sprinklers were not present in any of the 85 fatal campus fires.
- 70 percent of fatal campus fires occurred on the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
- 73 percent of the fatal fires occurred between midnight and 6 a.m.
- April was the peak month (13 percent) for fatal fires in campus housing.
Student Safety Tips
- Cook only where it is allowed.
- Keep your cooking area clean and free of anything that can burn.
- If a fire starts in a microwave, keep the door closed and unplug the unit.
- Keep an eye on what you are cooking, especially if you are cooking at high temperatures.
Electrical Safety
- Keep lamps, light fixtures, and light bulbs away from anything that can burn.
- Never use an extension cord with large appliances, like a refrigerator.
- Do not overload outlets. Use only surge protectors or power strips that have internal overload protection.
- Make sure cigarettes and ashes are out.
- Never toss hot cigarettes butts or ashes in the trash can.
- Use deep, wide ashtrays.
- Place ashtrays on something sturdy and hard to burn.
- Don't smoke when you have been drinking or are drowsy.
- After a party, check for cigarette butts, especially under cushions. Chairs and sofas catch on fire fast and burn fast.
Quick Tips to Share
Share these graphics with your friends and classmates! We encourage you to print these and also share on social media.
Source for Content: National Fire Protection Association and U.S. Fire Administration


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My VAG – your personal customer section
If you had already registered on VAG's previous website, please enter your password again as it was stored in encrypted form and could thus not be taken over. Please use the forgot-password-function to do this.
Enter your e-mail address and password to log in.


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Before disease took his ability to move, Tony Quan was an amazing graffiti artist. Now he is completely paralyzed, save for his eyes, and still an amazing artist. Seeing how he works left me with tear-streaked cheeks.
Beautiful, isn't it? Art, whether in the form of graffiti or coffee, is an individual's contribution to humanity. And the incredible people behind the EyeWriter Initiative are making sure that not even paralysis, like Tony's, stops someone from making such a creative contribution.The project is an open-source collaboration which seeks to continue building on their low-cost eye-tracking system and they've even got instructions for a DIY version of the EyeWriter. [Eyewriter via Infosthetics]
This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.


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Case study
Don't give customers options they don't want
BigWheels, a top car company, had a vast product offering, yet the company did not know which combinations customers truly wanted. The result was a noncompetitive cost structure, poor manufacturing performance and excessive inventory. Bain implemented customer-driven complexity reduction by focusing on the most profitable combinations and markets. The result: $75 million in first-year savings.
- min read


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Changing Planet: Black Carbon
Black carbon contributes to global warming in two ways. When in the atmosphere, it absorbs sunlight and generates heat, warming the air. When deposited on snow and ice, it changes the albedo of the surface, absorbing sunlight and generating heat. This further accelerates warming, since the heat melts snow and ice, revealing a lower albedo surface which continues to absorb sunlight - a vicious cycle of warming.
Click on the video at the left to watch the NBC Learn video - Changing Planet: Black Carbon.
Lesson plan: Changing Planet: Black Carbon - A Dusty Situation


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money for your scrap car
Cash 4 Cars West Malling Car scrap Experts is your go-to solution for getting rid of your unwanted vehicle and getting paid for it. We are a professional and reliable company that provides hassle-free car removal services and pays top cash for scrap cars. Our team consists of experienced professionals who are committed to providing excellent service to all our clients. We understand that selling a scrap car can be a time-consuming and stressful process, which is why we aim to make it as easy and convenient as possible for you. We purchase all types of vehicles, regardless of their condition, make, model, or year. Whether your car is old, damaged, or simply no longer running, we can take it off your hands and give you the best value for it.
what is the scrap car process?
Our process is simple and straightforward. All you need to do is contact us and provide us with some basic information about your car, such as its make, model, year, and condition. We will then provide you with a free, no-obligation quote for your vehicle.
If you decide to accept our offer, we will arrange a convenient time to pick up your car and pay you on the spot. Our team will take care of all the paperwork and legal requirements, so you don't have to worry about a thing.
Scrap Your Car the easy way
Since our establishment in 2011, we've invested a ton of energy developing a broad group of scrap vehicle breakers, scrap my car agents, and scrap yards across the UK, every one of whom has our full proficient certainty.
This implies that any place you are in the UK, you can be certain we'll have the option to suggest a professional scrap car valuation team in your neighbourhood, you get the greatest price and saving you from all the trouble and wrangling of discovering a scrap car agent yourself.
Regardless of whether your vehicle's been damaged in an impact or it's simply neglected to pass its most recent MOT testament, you can generally rely on us to help you track down the best cost.
12 Years of experience removing, dismantling and scrapping unwanted cars.


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Risky Drinking Can Put a Chill on Your Summer Fun
May 14, 2019
Summer is a wonderful time for outdoor activities with family and friends. For many people, a day at the beach, on the boat, or at a backyard barbecue will include drinking alcoholic beverages. But excessive drinking and summer activities don't mix. Drinking impairs both physical and mental abilities, and it also decreases inhibitions—which can lead to tragic consequences on the water, on the road, and in the great outdoors. In fact, research shows that up to 70 percent of all water recreation deaths of teens and adults involve the use of alcohol.
Swimmers can get in over their heads. Alcohol impairs judgment and increases risk-taking, a dangerous combination for swimmers. Even experienced swimmers may venture out farther than they should and not be able to make it back to shore, or they may not notice how chilled they're getting and develop hypothermia. Surfers could become overconfident and try to ride a wave beyond their abilities. Even around a pool, too much alcohol can have deadly consequences. Inebriated divers may collide with the diving board, or dive where the water is too shallow.
Boaters can lose their bearings. According to research funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol may be involved in 60 percent of boating fatalities, including falling overboard. And a boat operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.1 percent (approximately 4 to 5 drinks) is 16 times more likely to be killed in a boating accident than an operator with zero BAC. According to the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, alcohol can impair a boater's judgment, balance, vision, and reaction time. It can also increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. And if problems arise, intoxicated boaters are ill-equipped to find solutions. For passengers, intoxication can lead to slips on deck, falls overboard, or accidents at the dock.
Drivers can go off course. The summer holidays are some of the most dangerous times of the year to be on the road. When on vacation, drivers may be traveling an unfamiliar route or hauling a boat or camper, with the distraction of pets and children in the car. Adding alcohol to the mix puts the lives of the driver and everyone in the car, as well as other people on the road, at risk.
Stay hydrated and stay healthy. Whether you're on the road or in the great outdoors, heat plus alcohol can equal trouble. Hot summer days cause fluid loss through perspiration, while alcohol causes fluid loss through increased urination. Together, they can quickly lead to dehydration or heat stroke. But this doesn't have to happen. At parties, make at least every other drink a nonalcoholic one. If you're the host, be sure to provide plenty of cold, refreshing nonalcoholic drinks to keep your guests well hydrated.
Summer will end, but consequences can endure. You can have fun in the sun and still be safe. Avoiding beverages that cause mental and physical impairment while piloting a boat, driving a car, exploring the wilderness, and swimming or surfing is a good place to start. Be smart this summer—think before you drink, and make sure that you and your loved ones will be around to enjoy many summers to come.
Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com for more information on how to encourage drug-free behaviors and guide good choices…
(Source: NIH)


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It all comes from beer
How beer improves your food. With Hervé This
Who would have thought that the researchers at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in invented the pH Scale? They did. In 1909. Since then it has become a vital tool in a wide range of scientific fields. Can the pH scale improve the way we experience food too? Probably. It all comes from beer.