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Artist information
She & Him make music for an eternal springtime, when the temperature is warm enough to go riding with the top (or at least the windows) rolled down and the radio turned up. They occupy an alternate universe where the saddest of songs feel as warm as sun showers; the rain may be coming down, but somewhere nearby, everything looks bright. What began as a fascinating, no-strings attached collaboration on 2008's Volume One has evolved into a bona fide, touring band, and She & Him are here to stay. Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward are as comfortable and complementary a musical pair as Les Paul and Mary Ford; hearing them again on Volume Two feels like getting together with two old friends. This time, the harmonies have grown more angelically layered, the string arrangements more dramatic, the songwriting even sharper and more confident. But, as with Volume One, the prevailing mood is bittersweet, dreamy, and romantic.
The success of She & Him's Volume One came out of left field, as Deschanel and Ward's seemingly unlikely pairing—the effervescent actress-singer and the sought-after yet self-effacing guitarist—proved to sound absolutely right. When the record was finished, they didn't so much announce themselves as simply step up to the mic and start playing. Their choices of band moniker and album titles were deliberate; as Deschanel told the New York Times: "I wanted a name that was very humble, modest and anonymous." Matt agrees: "We wanted the music to come first, which sort of explains the band name as well as the names of the records. The songs are what we want people to remember."
They successfully got through their first gigs under the media glare of Noise Pop and South by Southwest, following those performances with a short summer tour and an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. Critics were as smitten as their listeners. Paste named Volume One its Album of the Year. The BBC declared, "All the ups and downs of young romance are faithfully recreated in loving fidelity and a variety of styles to evoke that teary-eyed yesteryear pop ambience." Spin simply decided, "They both seem to be having a blast."
"We instinctually landed on this process while making Volume One," explains Ward, "that Zooey would write and I would produce and arrange. It's been the most natural extension of our interests and abilities. Using the back and forth between voices and guitars is the main force of the music, and we both have a great love for using harmonies. I think the songs lend themselves to production styles that I love and that she loves. There's no need to change it now, so the process for Volume Two is exactly the same: Zooey writes, I produce, and we both bring our ideas to the studio."
Volume Two was recorded in Los Angeles (where She lives) and Portland, Or (where Him resides). Joining them for these sessions was engineer, bassist and occasional backing vocalist Mike Coykendall. Notes Deschanel, "I do the bulk of the harmonies, then Matt will fill in some sonic space that I just cannot fill because he has that incredibly raspy, soulful voice. We cover different emotional ground. It's a cool sort of tool to use. I hear matt's voice here or my voice there. Together we can sound like a lot of people. And Coykendall is quite a good singer too."
"I think we both went for it a little bit more, so to speak," says Deschanel. "I definitely got more ambitious with my backing vocal arrangements. That's a real passion for me." The closing song on Volume Two illustrates her point: "Thieves," for example, builds to a Roy Orbison-like grandeur and "If You Can't Sleep" floats on clouds of multi-tracked vocals. "I think we were both more comfortable," she continues. "This time we had a little more opportunity to reflect. Some of the production is extremely complex. 'Home,' for example, is a very elaborate piece production-wise; that was the longest Matt has spent on one of our songs. It's very, very lush."
Prior to forming She & Him, Deschanel had been writing and secretly stockpiling tunes for years. She agreed to let Ward hear them after the two collaborated on a Richard and Linda Thompson cover for an indie film, The Go-Getter, that she was starring in and Ward was scoring. Like many movie fans, Ward had first heard her sing on screen in the disarmingly affecting Elf and was intrigued. As Deschanel recounts, "I explored the idea of doing my own stuff with other people but hadn't found anyone who I'd really trusted. Then I met Matt. He was the perfect person, and the only person who shared my taste. We're almost always coming from the same point of view musically."
"I had no idea what I was going to hear when I first got her songs," admits Ward. "I think Volume One surprised a lot of people when they opened up the package and learned that she wrote all these songs. There are a lot of people who write music so that they can take their audience to a dark night of their own soul or to get something really heavy off their chest. I don't think Zooey looks at music that way, and I think that's a huge part of where her songwriting is coming from. Certain people write songs to make other people feel good. When I think about some of my favorite singers, like Sam Cooke or people of that generation, I think that they saw their gift as the ability to make people feel better, to feel happy. It's contagious to be around people like that."
"I would say all my influences are older, more classic songwriters," Deschanel elaborates, "from Cole Porter and Gershwin to Carole King and Roy Orbison and Bobbie Gentry. People always expect you to be a fan of what's happening now, but the things I gravitate toward are older and more worn."
On Volume Two, their choice of cover songs echoes the themes in Deschanel's original material. NRBQ's "Riding in My Car" should have been a hit, and She & Him have been smart enough to revive it. Their other cover, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now," is a country-pop shuffle made famous by Skeeter Davis. Though better known for the morose ballad "End of the World," this one is a cool-headed kiss-off—a downbeat subject handled in a lighthearted manner, making for the perfect balance of happy and sad, a trademark of She & Him.
"I'm really interested in trying to find balance in every production," says Ward. "One of my favorite amusements in the studio is to try and create as much of a contrast between dark and light as I can, to either complement or go against the lyrics in the mix. I guess I believe good production should be like a good photograph, which is a great contrast between dark and light. Fortunately, Zooey has lots of characters and songs that go back and forth quickly between these darker and lighter shades. That's half of the process in production: making sure that nothing gets too sunny or washed out or that nothing gets too dark or lopsided. Some of the best older songs had very major chord progressions and really sad lyrics. Somehow it all evens out, creating this perfect picture of life. Because life is not always sunny, it's not always dark—it's somewhere in between."
—Michael Hill
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Northshore Boatworks - Oakville Boat RepairsNorthshore Boatworks Ltd. is a boat repair/refurbish facility located in Bronte (Oakville ), Ontario. The services provided by Northshore include:
By no means though an exhaustive list. From small gelcoat repairs to extensive overhauls ( see Projects page), no job is considered too large or small. And with the added services of G&B Sports Marine ( mechanical and electrical ), Dock 16 ( chandlery and brokerage ) and Town Of Oakville ( marina operator ), Bronte Harbour is the logical choice for all your marine services needs. |

subset: commoncrawl


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This time out, we have a single author collection of short fiction by SF Pulps stalwart, Ross Rocklynne (real name Ross Louis Rocklin, February 21, 1913 – October 29, 1988). Rocklynne was very active in the SF magazines from the early-1930s up until the mid-1950s, when he disappeared off the scene for more than a decade (supposedly because of his interest in Dianetics), only returning in the late-1960s, when he wrote a small number of highly regarded stories, including \"Ching Witch!\", which appeared in Harlan Ellison\'s classic 1972 anthology, AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS.
But it\'s Rocklynne\'s classic 1930s, 1940s and early-1950s stories that he is most remembered for. And this is a nice little collection, spanning 1936-1952, another fairly short book, only 208 pages and six stories, so it shouldn\'t be too hard to get through.
AUTHOR: Ross Rocklynne
CATEGORY: Short Fiction
SUB-CATEGORY: Single Author Collection
FORMAT: Paperback, 208 pages
PUBLISHER: Ace Books, First Ace Printing, New York, 1973
- Introduction by Ross Rocklynne
- \"At the Center of Gravity\" (Astounding Stories, June 1936)
- \"Jupiter Trap\" (Astounding Stories, August 1937)
- \"The Men and the Mirror\" (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1938)
- Robert D. Swisher letter from Astounding Stories, November 1938
- \"They Fly So High\" (Amazing Stories, June 1952)
- \"The Bottled Men\" (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1946)
- \"And Then There Was One\" (from Astounding Science Fiction, February 1940)
Ross Rocklynne was one of those writers who seemed to pop up regularly in the SF mags during the 1930s-1950s, and who was very popular, but was sadly underappreciated compared to his more famous contemporaries (Heinlein, Van Vogt, Asimov, Del Rey, etc), and so he never achieved the same level of fame as these authors. Perhaps this was because many of the stories were very unusual for that era, less mainstream commercial SF, and in many ways quite a bit ahead of their time. He was certainly a very powerful writer, almost avant-garde, and in many ways was a precursor to the New Wave of the 1960s. Maybe this explains why he was never as big as the likes of Heinlein or Van Vogt.
My own first encounters with Rocklynne\'s work came through reading some of his short fiction in various anthologies of Golden Age SF (I\'ve never read any of his novels). The two that I remember best, and which stick in my mind, are "Into the Darkness" (Astonishing Stories, June 1940) and \"Time Wants a Skeleton\" (Astounding, June 1941). "Into the Darkness", which spawned several sequel stories, is a fascinating tale with no human characters at all. The main characters are a bunch of ancient, sentient nebulae (not many writers could pull that one off)! \"Time Wants a Skeleton\" is a very clever time paradox/time loop story, which was quite unusual and complex back in 1941, although this type of story has become quite commonplace in recent years.
I\'ve never read any of the stories in this collection before, and all of them are considered classic \"scientific puzzle\" or \"scientific problem\" stories, which were so much in vogue during that era. The first three stories, \"At the Center of Gravity\", \"Jupiter Trap\" and \"The Men and the Mirror\" were all published in Astounding in June 1936, August 1937 and July 1938 respectively, and were part of the \"cops and robbers\" Colbie and Deverel series, featuring Interplanetary Police Officer Lt. Jack Colbie, and his long time adversary, space pirate Edward Deverel. The third story and title story of the collection, \"The Men and the Mirror\" is followed by a very interesting letter published several months later in Astounding from one Robert D. Swisher, arguing that the calculations in \"The Men and the Mirror\" were completely wrong. Just the kinda thing that John W. Campbell Jr loved to publish, and guaranteed to cause much controversy and discussion! 🙂
The fourth and fifth stories were originally intended to be part of the Colbie and Deverel series, but for some reason Rocklynne changed the names, backgrounds and personalities of the main male adversaries. But in every other respect, they are still the same \"cops and robbers\" space stories. The final story of the six, \"And Then There Was One\", is a variation on the classic \"Ten Little Indians\" theme. It breaks (slightly, but not a lot) the trend of the \"cops and robbers\" theme in the previous five tales, and was obviously written to show that the premise of the first story, \"At the Center of Gravity\", was scientifically incorrect. Rocklynne sounds like a right screwball – quite obviously my type of guy! 🙂
The edition of THE MEN AND THE MIRROR that I have is the Ace Books 1st Paperback edition, and apparently Rocklynne himself was VERY unhappy about how Ace Books handled the publishing of his short story collection. And who could blame him? The stories were published out of chronological order, and, if that wasn\'t bad enough, the break between the fifth and sixth stories was completely omitted, leaving out altogether both the title of the story and the author\'s introductory comments to the final story in the collection, \"And Then There Was One\". It is so bad that there are many readers who are convinced that there are only five stories in the collection. I\'ve seen comments on Amazon.com complaining about this very thing. But trust me. There are six stories, not five. Just go to page 168 and check it out.
You have to look very carefully to even find where \"And Then There Was One\" begins, as the final paragraph of the previous story, \"The Bottled Men\", ends about half way down page 168, there is a single paragraph break, and then straight into the first paragraph of \"And Then There Was One\". There is no title nor any author\'s comments (as there were with the previous five stories) to show where it begins. And this was compounded even further by the fact that there are only five stories listed on the Contents page – \"And Then There Was One\" is omitted from that as well, although, strangely enough, it IS listed on the preceding Copyright/Credits page. All in all, this was a complete printing/publishing cock-up by the Ace Books editors, which, sadly, spoils the enjoyment of this nice collection somewhat. No wonder Ross Rocklynne was absolutely livid.
Just as an addendum, and through judicious use of Google, I\'ve tracked down Rocklynne\'s author comments to \"And Then There Was One\". They were published for the very first time in a reference book, The Work of Ross Rocklynne: An Annotated Bibliography & Guide**, and I\'ve reprinted the comments here, just in case anyone else has read the collection and might be interested:
\"Sir Isaac Newton provided the idea. He already had Worked out the problem of the hollow planet before I approached it in \"At the Center of Gravity\". My answer was wrong. A decision was made to set the record straight, even though no complaining remarks about my ancient error had come through. The ten little Indians implied in the title became six big businessmen having a bit of a go at each other under rather strange and, in a manner of speaking, revolutionary conditions. Again, a planet was tailored to fit the problem.\"*
*The Work of Ross Rocklynne: An Annotated Bibliography & Guide p.59
**The Work of Ross Rocklynne: An Annotated Bibliography & Guide
by Douglas Menville
edited by Boden Clarke
Borgo Press, First Edition December 1989
Hardback: ISBN: 0-8095-0511-8 $19.95
Paperback: ISBN: 0-8095-0511-3 $9.95


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Abraham Zeigermann serves as a Managing Partner for The FoxStone Group. Mr. Zeigermann is a licensed commercial real estate appraiser and responsible for overseeing all operations including capital markets, underwriting and syndicating real estate ventures. He is directly involved in the analytical and structure of each transaction, working with private investors, banks, funds, and insurance companies. His wide-ranging background in real estate provides him with a unique combination of skills and experience to draw from when engaging in industrial and financially engineering ventures with investors and capital partners. In the early 1990's Mr. Zeigermann began his career in residential property management that developed into a brokerage practice towards the late 1990's. While studying at NYU, he continued his involvement in real estate as an appraiser. He then joined KTR-Newmark, an international real estate valuation firm, where he analyzed and appraised properties nationwide and earned significant exposure to the real estate industry. As vice president, he oversaw assignments in many sectors including, but not limited to, stabilized and developments of residential, office, retail, mixed and special-use real estate assets. Subsequently, Mr. Zeigermann joined MCG, an investment banking firm, as a senior partner where he oversaw the operations of the underwriting and consulting groups.
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Consult Best Sambalpur Medical Negligence Lawyers / Advocates Near You
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Infinity PasswordSafe
User's guide (web) - Infinity PasswordSafe
(For details on using the Infinity PasswordSafe WinLogon features, please see the
Infinity PasswordSafe WinLogon user's guide
Since the release of the first Infinity USB, it has been possible to store and manage passwords on a smartcard, using the appropriate 3rd party software.
WB Electronics has now made it much easier with Infinity PasswordSafe, a free utility for use with Infinity USB Unlimited and Infinity USB Smart, for secure password storage and distribution.
Infinity PasswordSafe currently works with all Atmel AT90S8515 based cards (Funcard1-Funcard7 / PrussianCard1-PrussianCard5, DragonLoaderCard (AVR)), PIC16F87x-based cards (Silvercard, GreenCard1 and GreenCard2) and GoldCard (PIC16F84(A) + 24LC16).
Up to more than 1000 passwords can be stored on a single smartcard, and passwords are easily accessed with a custom shortcut key.
When a stored password is needed, simply place the cursor in the password (or username) field in the current running application, and press the shortcut key. A list of all passwords will appear, and clicking the needed password will paste it into the password field of the application.
Besides storing your passwords, Infinity PasswordSafe can also store basic information that you often use on the PC or internet. This information could be your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and credit card information, or any type of information that is often used when filling out web-forms, online shopping, registering at forums etc. Basic information is ofcourse stored securely encrypted and is accessed separately from your passwords.
Why is it a good idea to use Infinity PasswordSafe?
All your passwords are easily accessible and secure at the same time.
The Windows logon sequence is safer and easier because of the possibility of having a physical access media (smartcard) combined with a password.
Not having to remember all your individual passwords makes it easier to use unique and strong passwords.
Storing the passwords on a smartcard, makes it possible to take the passwords with you, for use on another PC.
Separating the passwords from the PC by using a smartcard improves security.
Different users on the same PC can each have their own PasswordSafe smartcard, with their own passwords.
Distributing new passwords to clients or users is easy and secure.
Disclaimer: WB Electronics can not be held responsible for any loss of data that may occur using this product.
Download Infinity PasswordSafe from
and run the setupfile.
During installation you can choose to "Run Infinity PasswordSafe when Windows starts", which is recommended.
After the setup is done, open Infinity PasswordSafe.
(With no card inserted, the list of password will be empty).
Pressing the close button will minimize the window to the systray.
Doubleclicking the icon in the systray will open the mainwindow, while rightclicking will make it possible to go directly to the settings window.
The default shortcut key for the password-list popup is F11, and for the basic information popup F10, but these can be changed into any key not currently in use by the system. Simply place the cursor in the input-box, and press the key you wish to use.
"Run PasswordSafe when Windows starts"
– Starts PasswordSafe when Windows starts, this setting is recommended for easy access to your information.
"Minimize mainwindow to tray on startup"
- The mainwindows will not show but the software will minimize directly to tray if this option is checked.
"Always execute macro for passwords"
- When pressing the shortcut key, the list of passwords will show. When choosing a password on the list a small dialogue asking which action you would like to perform pops up, if this option is checked, the macro for the password item will be executed directly.
"Show username and password in list"
- Shows username and password on the password list and popup, if option is checked, this setting is not recommended for most users.
"Show passwords in plaintext"
- Shows password in plaintext instead of "********" on the password list, if option is checked ("Show username and password in list" must also be checked), this setting is not recommended for most users.
Preparing a card
Insert a Funcard ((Funcard1-Funcard7 / PrussianCard1-PrussianCard5 or DragonLoaderCard (AVR)) or a PIC-based card (Silvercard, GreenCard1, GreenCard2), and choose Format in the Tools menu.
Choose a master password for accessing the entire card (the master password can be changed later). It is recommended to use a strong password (at least 8 characters consisting of lowercase (a-z) and uppercase (A-Z) letters, digits (0-9) and special characters (!"#¤%/). If you don't enter a password, the card will be directly accessible when inserted.
Now choose a suitable name for the card, and press start. Formatting takes up to 2 minutes (depends on the size of the external EEprom), and erases the entire card, including any previously stored passwords.
If the CPU on the card due to any circumstance gets erased or overwritten, the repair button can be used to rewrite the loader on the card. All passwords are stored in the external EEprom and will therefore not be deleted by using the repair button.
General use
If you entered a master password when formatting, you'll be prompted for the master password, when inserting the card.
After entering the (correct) password, all items will be displayed in the list. Empty cards will ofcourse result in an empty list.
Pressing the add button opens up the add item dialogue:
- Choose a name for this item (for instance "Web bank").
- Choose a description (for instance "Personal web bank account").
"URL / www"
– Enter the internet address for this item (if any), (for instance "www.webbank.com").
- Enter the username you use to access the service.
- Enter the password you use to access the service. If you are about to register on a website and you need a strong password you can use the auto generate button to the right of the password field, this will insert a strong password of 8 characters into the field. If you need a longer password you can manually append characters to the auto generated password.
– This field shows the default macro for this item, if you need to change the macro use the icon to the right of the macro field, this will open the edit macro window.
A macro is a sequence of commands that will be executed when activated. This is useful when logging into websites or other password protected areas. A normal login page consist of a [Username] field, a [Password] field and a [Submit] button, if you activate a macro in the username field and you wish to automatically insert the username, password and submit, then the macro should look like this
pastes the username into the username-field,
tab's to the next input field (password field),
inserts the password and
submits the form. You can customize the sequence of commands to fit most web pages or applications.
A macro for logging into Hotmail, Web forums, and most password protected web resources is
. Some login prompts require more than one
in order to reach the password field.
Passwords, URLs and macros
There are different ways to activate a password, URL or macro depending on what the password is needed for. If you are presented with a logon screen and you need your username and/or password, place the cursor in the username field and press F11 (or your chosen password hotkey) now click (or press enter on) the correct password item. Depending on which information you have entered for this item you will have several options to choose from. Select "Run macro" if you need to insert both username, password and submit the form. If a valid macro has been entered the username and password field should be filled correctly and the window should be submitted. If you only need either username or password, just select "Username" or "Password" and this will be inserted into the input field.
If you wish to navigate to an URL (internet address) you can activate the password window hotkey anywhere, select the appropriate item from the password/URL list and choose "Goto URL". If you already know that you need to logon to the site you should choose "Goto URL and run macro" instead, this will launch the browser and navigate to the website. Once the website is loaded simple left-click (or press enter) in the username field (or anywhere that the macro should be executed). Depending on the macro this will log you on to the website.
In order to fill out the logon window you need to have defined the correct macro, if this has not been done before, the item can be edited directly from the password selection window or the main window.
If the setting "Always execute macro only" is enabled you will not have any options to choose from, once you select an item the macro the this item will be executed directly.
For maximum security, follow these basic rules.
Choose a strong password as the master password for a card. If you loose the PasswordSafe smartcard or it gets stolen, somebody else can only decrypt the card and get access to your passwords by guessing the master password.
If you choose to use a blank master password (for convenience), the contents of the card is still encrypted, and therefore only accessible if another person knows it's a PasswordSafe card. Don't write "Infinity PasswordSafe" on the card.
Choose a unique (and strong) password for each of your accounts, ie. one for your webbank, a different for your mailaccount etc.
Users often choose the same (simple) password for all accounts because it is easier to remember, but this leads to security problems if just one webservice gets compromised.
With the Infinity PasswordSafe you don't need to remember 10 different passwords.
Remove the PasswordSafe smartcard when it's not being used. If you're leaving the PC for a while, take the PasswordSafe card with you.
Do not let your browser store web passwords, and don't use the "remember me" function on some websites. If somebody steals your entire PC they'll easily be able to access all your personal information using the stored passwords.
Use a strong complicated Windows logon password and store this on your PasswordSafe card using the PasswordSafe WinLogon feature. Remember to always have a remote copy of your Windows password if you should loose your PasswordSafe card.
Technical specifications
Name, description, passwords and usernames are stored in the external EEprom on the smartcard, encrypted using a 128bit Blowfish algorithm.
No passwords or any other secure information is stored on the PC.
The size of the external EEprom directly determines how many sets (Name / description / passwords / username sets) can be stored on a card:
Funcard / Funcard2 (AT90S8515 + 24C64) - 62 items
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Goldcard (PIC16F84(A) + 24C16) - 14 items
Silvercard (PIC16F87x + 24C64) - 62 items
Greencard (PIC16F87x + 24C128) - 126 items
Greencard2 (PIC16F87x + 24C256) - 254 items
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Underworld Line Locating Ltd. has been proudly providing line locating and utility locating services to the oil & gas and construction industries since 2005. We primarily service North-Eastern British Columbia and North-Western Alberta.
No one ever wants to contend with the repercussions of a line hit.
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Bar Charlie (Las Vegas, NV)
3325 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Mon 06/15/2009, 09:00p-01:40a
Ah Charlie Trotter, unquestionably one of the country's leading chefs, one who has undoubtedly helped shape the landscape that is modern American cuisine--all this he has accomplished within the walls of his eponymous Chicago eatery, which I'd visited less than a month prior to this meal. Unlike many other star chefs, Trotter, for the most part, hasn't succumbed to the ills of empire building, with this Las Vegas outpost being his first venture outside of the Windy City...or is it?
That's what I thought, until I did a bit more research: it turns out that Trotter had been to the desert already. Way back in 1994, before the era of food bloggers, before the Internet even, before my time, clearly, Trotter opened a clone of the original Chicago restaurant at the MGM Grand (which itself opened in late 1993). The 68-seat Charlie Trotter's, Las Vegas was constructed at a cost estimated at $2-3 million, and was designed specifically to cater to MGM's high roller crowd; it eventually opened up to the public as well. Helming the kitchen was Guillermo Tellez, sous chef at the Chicago restaurant.
The problem was that Charlie Trotter's was ahead of its time. It was 1994; Clinton had just taken office; there were no celebrity chefs in Vegas, but 99-cent shrimp cocktails. From Chicago, Trotter brought along his food, but also its associated prix fix format (a degustation for $85 and a vegetable alternative for $65), with only one seating per night. Sin City tourists, the whales specifically, weren't ready for that. As a result, the restaurant suffered financially, and hotel management pushed Trotter and company to compromise their vision, reportedly calling for the addition of "spaghetti and meatballs" to the menu. This clash eventually led to the hotel buying out the remaining 8.5 years of Trotter's contract; Trotter himself, I've read, made out quite well in the deal.
Now here were are, 15 years later. The City has come of age, gastronomically speaking at least. As for Trotter, his approach this time around is more yielding, more in line to the Vegas M.O.: diners are no longer bound by the vagaries of a tasting menu; à la carte is an appealing option, and you can be in and out in 30 minutes. Restaurant Charlie is not a mere carbon copy of the original; rather, it's a more casual, more seafood-focused affair. Bar Charlie, Trotter's restaurant-within-a-restaurant, goes further down that road, and even looks the part of a sushi bar. The cuisine here is unabashedly Japanese-inspired, and is advertised as a kaiseki-style experience, a fusing of Trotter's modern American approach with a Japanese aesthetic. The chef de cuisine is Hiroo Nagahara (I've also seen it as Hiroo Nagana), a college physics major who was handpicked by Trotter for his vision, his artistry. And just like the kitchen back home, Nagahara and his team pride themselves on never serving the same dish twice to a guest--the question is: after this meal, would I ever want to go back?
As with L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, which I sampled the night before, the restaurant is located just steps from the clamor of the casino. Unlike Robuchon, the restaurant's entrance is far more subdued and subtle; we almost walked right past it. From Palazzo's lobby, it'll be on your left, along the wall, past Mario Batali's Italian steakhouse Carnevino.
Once inside, the environment is far more serene, calm, and comfortable. The room is dominated by the bar, which seats 18, and the encircled exhibition kitchen. All items, save for the desserts, are prepared in this small space.
Bar Charlie's menu is shown above; click for larger versions. The preferred method of dining is to choose a 5-, 8-, or 14-course "kaiseki" menu. However, many of the degustation items are also available individually, as are various sushi items (these would've been interesting to try).
My only issue with Bar Charlie once again had to do with the menu. We split a 14-course menu [$250] and supplemented with a couple of additional dishes. Since some of the items we had were created spontaneously, we wanted to have a copy of the entire menu to take home. This request could not be accommodated at the time, so we were told to provide our email addresses; the full menus with everything we ate would subsequently be emailed to us. Well, it's been over two weeks as of this writing (July 2), and such a thing has not occurred. Very annoyingly, this is the exact same difficulty I had with Charlie Trotter's. Really? This seems to be a problem endemic to the Trotter family of restaurants...
As for wine, I wanted to take it easy on alcohol, so I decided to do it by the glass. Bubbly is always a great way to kick things off, so I ordered up a glass of the G.Gruet & Fils "Blanc de Blancs" Brut, Champagne, NV [$17]. It showed a classic Champagne profile, with citrus and stone fruit flavors on a slightly yeasty backbone, and paired nicely with the light, fruity seafood dishes that followed.
1: Tai with Black Grapes & Celery
Kicking things off was a tai snapper with black grapes, celery, grape must, and pickled grapes. The tai was a mild fish with a great firm, crisp texture. The sweet-sour sapor of the various forms of grape was superb in drawing out the character of the tai, deftly balancing the elements of saccharine, tart, and bitter. Meanwhile, the celery root provided a lovely crunchy texture contrast. This was a strong start and an auspicious foreshadowing of things to come.
2: Shime Saba with Lavender & Mitsuba
Shime saba is a variety of marinated mackerel, and here it was presented with yuzu, grapefruit zest, amazake flan, mitsuba, lavender, ginger, and puffed rice. Mackerel is typically a very "fishy" fish, and thus the tanginess of its various accoutrements was instrumental in balancing it out, leaving a lingering citrus finish on my palate. This sour was balanced by sweet as well (thanks in part to the amazake, a sweet drink made from fermented rice), taking the mackerel to another level. At the same time, the puffed rice was an absolutely fantastic textural element, adding a light crispness to the entire dish.
3: Santa Barbara Sweet Shrimp
Next was Santa Barbara amaebi, or sweet shrimp, with tarragon foam, raspberry, and crème fraîche, all in a raspberry-lobster consommé. The pairing of shrimp with the tartness of the berry was a bit jarring at first, but this initial disconcerting feeling eventually settled into place. The amaebi's natural brininess was there, but subtle, while the berry linked up with the shrimp's inherent sweetness. And the crispy heads? Sublime--as good and flavorful as those from just about any dedicated sushi joint.
4: Mediterranean Blue Fin Tuna Tartare with Hijiki Seaweed & Daikon
When I took a look at this dish, I thought we were getting some sort of tuna sorbet! The quenelle of bluefin really was just about the finest, softest tartare I'd ever eaten; it was paired with daikon, fermented daikon, daikon Greek yogurt, battera kombu (kelp), and hijiki (a type of seaweed). The tuna itself tasted of cucumber and soy, a very mild amalgam that went beautifully with the briny seaweed, as well as the slightly sweet-nutty black sesame sauce. Very nice.
5: Mediterranean Blue Fin Tuna with Umeboshi & Hamachi Belly
The tartare was followed up with another tuna dish, this time a roulade of tuna slow-poached at 43°F, with umeboshi (a pickled fruit) cake, hamachi sashimi, in a nashi-umeboshi sauce, finished with cherry blossom ice. The akami was tasty enough, but the star of the show was the hamachi, which was just about the densest, richest version I've had, with a delectably salty finish that played nicely with the dish's tangy, grassy accompaniments.
At this point, my sparkler had been dispensed with, so it was time for another wine, this time the Riesling Kabinett "Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg" von Schubert, Mosel, 2007 [$19]. I was first introduced to producer Maximin Grünhäuser on my first visit to Providence, and it has never let me down. The Riesling's record continued here; it wasn't overly sweet, fortunately, but did show expected citrus notes, over a backdrop of crisp acidity, pleasing minerality, and even a bit of spice. A joy to drink with the meal.
6: Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Pearled Barley & Fennel
There was a lot happening on the plate here, a seemingly disparate mélange of ingredients: trout belly, ikura, fish stock and barley miso raviolo, fish scrap-saikyo miso sorbet, fennel purée, and crispy fried trout skin. By far the most intriguing item was the sorbet, which was about as close as I've gotten to fish ice cream! Trust me, it tasted better than it sounds. It was sweet, thanks to the saikyo miso, but with a distinctly fishy tinge to it; it went wonderfully with the salty, crunchy trout skin. The trout was also quite tasty, with an intrinsic subtle sugariness and a salty finish; it was nicely balanced by the briny ikura (salmon roe) and surprisingly, by the nuttiness of the barley.
7: Japanese Big Fin Squid with Lemon & Kanzuri Carrots
The centerpiece of this dish was a squid "egg" made with squid, shrimp, and lemon curd. Also present were sous vide squid wings, tempura squid body, carrot sauce, and pickled kanzuri carrot. I started with the "egg," which had an absolutely multifaceted texture, with a flavor dominated by squid on the attack, but finishing with the tanginess of lemon. I next had the wings, which were just about the most tender cuts of squid I've ever eaten--I wanted bigger pieces! My favorite, though, was the tempura, which was simultaneously crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with delightfully salty flavor that went superbly with the kanzuri (a type of spice made from chili pepper).
8: Black Bean Tofu with Beets & Tokyo Scallions
The lone vegetarian course of the night, we have here housemade black bean tofu, in a fermented beet consommé, with honshimeji mushroom. The tofu was mild at first, but gradually displayed a fantastic richness and depth of flavor, much more than typical tofu, and possessed a spicy finish to boot. The crisp, flavorful skin was particularly appealing. The addition of whole black beans provided a great textural complexity, as did the crunchy homshimejis, which also gave the dish a sweet nuttiness. I was skeptical at first, but this may very well have been the best tofu I've ever had.
By now, my Riesling glass was almost empty, so I requested a beer from Bar Charlie's surprisingly comprehensive list. I left it up to the sommelier to choose, and he ended up with an Asahi "Select" Ale [$7], which I'd had last at R23. Much better than your standard Asahi, it was a more complex brew, a lively amalgamation of sweet, bitter, and spicy that seemed appropriate given the Japanese-inspired cuisine.
9: Diver Sea Scallop with Bloomsdale Spinach & Japanese Turnip
I was looking forward to this one: scallop, spinach, braised daikon, kombu, coffee-cherry sauce, and yes, pliable chocolate. The first test was to eat the scallop alone; it actually was extraordinary flavorful, with a superb sweetness accented by its perfectly caramelized surface--it easily stood on its own. I then made my way through the various accoutrements, and they all went very well (including that cube, which was daikon wrapped in spinach), before ending with chocolate. Now I don't think I've ever paired scallop with chocolate, so I was a bit wary here. I'm happy to report that the pairing went surprisingly well. The sugariness of the chocolate paired up deftly with the mollusk's natural sweetness, and the admixture almost had a spicy flavor to it.
Supplement: Oysters with Horseradish & Ponzu [$24]
At this point in the meal, my dining companion was so ecstatic about how good all the dishes were turning out that she decided that we had to try to get everything on the menu (something that was completely unexpected by me!), hence these oysters. They were simply prepared, and possessed a distinct sweet brininess by themselves, with a long, lingering finish. They came served with a trio of accompaniments: diced cucumber, sherry vinaigrette ponzu, and horseradish. The ponzu and horseradish were tangy and spicy respectively, and thus effectively cut the strength of the mollusks. The cucumber, on the other hand, was milder, but provided a fantastic crunchy consistency to balance the soft, slimy oysters. Overall, a very strong presentation.
Supplement: Yakitori Grilled Maine Day Boat Lobster & Lemongrass [$30]
Our next supplement was a preparation of lobster, with lemongrass-yellow curry dressing, basil oil, lotus root, and coconut foam. Though the claw was a bit overdone, the tail had a just about perfect, crisp consistency. The natural sweetness of lobster was a great foil to the lemon grass, curry, and coconut elements in this dish, which gave the food a decidedly Thai bent. The lotus root--crisp, savory, fantastic.
10: Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly with Braised Red Cabbage & Green Curry
With the string of seafood-based successes, both my dining companion and I were predicting that the kitchen would falter when it came to proper meat, especially something as heavy as pork belly. Here, it was braised with hibiscus, and served with green curry, coconut, tomatillo, kaffir lime oil, Thai basil, cilantro, shiso, onion, and jalapeño (whew!). I first cut a piece of the belly by itself, and noted that it oozed oil upon being pierced by my knife. Upon tasting, I noted a delicious bacon-like flavor intermixed with a delightful smoky char--this was the real deal. I then "dragged it through the garden," trying the pork with its various veggie concomitants. The result: fantastic; the weight of the pork was countered so masterfully, so adeptly; pork belly was transformed into a light, blithe dish. Probably the best pork belly I've experienced yet.
11: Braised Miyazaki Wagyu Short Rib
Could lightning strike twice? Indeed it did. Braised beef short rib certainly competes with pork belly in terms of gravitas, but once again, the kitchen managed to temper the meat's heaviness to great effect. The beef itself had an inherent delicate sweetness to it, with a lovely herbal tang as well. Texturally, it was tender, but not too tender; it still had a nice chew to it, and the tough, charred bits mixed things up as well. The char also provided a lovely smokiness to the dish, but the key was the mustard foam. Its peppery tang was instrumental in offsetting the richness of the beef. Again, very, very good.
Intermezzo: Hibiscus Granita, Sour Yogurt Sorbet
With dessert upon us, we were given this small palate cleanser, consisting of a hibiscus granité, topped with a sour yogurt sorbet, served with peach, golden raspberry (which my dining companion was particularly fond of), blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry. The berries were scrumptious, and were tempered somewhat by the tart yogurt.
I wanted a sweet wine to go with dessert, and thus requested a glass of Pedro Ximénez. There was some miscommunication, and I was brought the Tokaji-Aszú "5 Puttonyos" Royal Tokaji Wine Company, Hungary, 2003 [$16] instead. It actually worked out for the better though, as the Tokaji paired beautifully with the two fruit-based desserts to follow.
12: Basil Semifreddo with Strawberries & Olive Oil Ice Cream
Scott from the pastry team explained to us that the strawberries used here were from Harry's Berries, a purveyor from Southern California; I'd encountered their strawberries before at Providence. In any case, here they were paired, in sliced and sorbet forms, with basil and olive oil. The olive oil ice cream was especially interesting, with a rather heavy palate, followed by a lingering savory finish. The basil semifreddo and basil oil, meanwhile, provided a fresh tanginess that offset the juicy sweetness of the berries. Like many of the things we tried tonight, the various items didn't seem like they'd work together, but amazingly, they did.
13: Chamomile-Stewed Rhubarb
Sort of a mini-dessert, this was rhubarb stewed in chamomile, with hemp, honey, and coriander--sweet at first, but with a tangy finish and a bit of savoriness from the tuile as well.
It was finally time for the Montilla-Moriles "PX Gran Reserva" Bodegas Toro Albalá, Spain, 1979 [$17] I ordered earlier. It was about what I expected, with plenty of raisin, plenty of smoke, plenty of sugar sweetness--it'd be great with the chocolate...
14: Dark Chocolate with Banana & Roasted Hazelnut
Flourless dark chocolate cake, banana sorbet, sherry vinegar gastrique, chai foam, banana chip. As a testament to the dessert's prowess, my dining companion, who doesn't like bananas, adored this. The chocolate was lovely, as expected, but the banana stole the show. It really tempered the richness of the cake, while imbuing the senses with the very essence of banana, creating a dessert that was all at once rich, decadent, fruity, yet light.
A quintet of mignardises to close out: (1) a honey-pistachio nougat that wasn't bad; (2) guava pâte de fruit--the very heart of guava encased in jelly; (3) cherry caramel with honey and thyme (what Scott likes to call "honey crunchies"), which reminded me of the herbal-sweet interplay of the butterscotch budino at Pizzeria Mozza; (4) a crunchy, nutty, sweet almond dragée like I had at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago; and (6) a cherry-almond truffle.
No question: Bar Charlie exceeded my expectations, by a lot. The fusing of American and Japanese approaches really worked near flawlessly I thought, with bold, light but forceful, focused flavors that exploded on to my palate. My dining companion even went as far as to say that there were no misses whatsoever--quite a lofty accomplishment indeed, and I may even agree with her (all dishes were tasty, but some dishes were more tasty than others). In fact, I liked this better than the original, but don't tell Charlie that! It really is one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, which nobody knows about. Let's just hope that Restaurant and Bar Charlie last longer than Trotter's previous Vegas venture.


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Scuba diving is always so much fun! This is one from our activities that we propose you – unique great chance to dive in all senses to the underwater world and fully immerse into extraordinary atmosphere. Swimming with beautiful fish in a clean water is a fantastic chance to explore the underwater life.
Know what? You have a great chance to open a diversity of the sea world and we will assure you, you will never want to get out of the water! And you don't need to take long roads to reach destination place since we conduct everything on our territory!
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This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all that entered!
This week I'm giving away one of my favorite kitchen tools: a mini-prep food processor. While I do have a full-sized food processor that gets used quite often, I actually use this smaller one even more. It is perfect for herbs, bread crumbs, chopping several cloves of garlic, nuts, cheese, salad dressings and marinades, small batches of dips and purees, etc. It is truly one of the workhorses of my kitchen.
I have the brushed chrome one that is pictured above, but now they have all these fun colors available through Amazon. I can't say that I'm not tempted to buy another one just so I can order the pink or green :-) So if you win, you get to choose the color of your new toy!
The Rules:
- To enter, leave me a comment answering this question: Are you done with your holiday shopping? And if not, have you started?
- One entry per person. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator.
- Must leave a valid email address with your entry (I need a way to get in touch with you if you win!!)
- Giveaway is open until Thursday 12/15 at 10 pm EST.


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Privacy Policy
Brilliant Marketing Solutions Ltd and subsidiaries are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. We have created this privacy statement (to clearly set out the basis on how we collect, retain and use the information we receive about you. Our goal is to demonstrate and communicate our high ethical standards and how we implement appropriate internal controls.
Brilliant Marketing Solutions Ltd (7265270) is registered as a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. We ensure that the data you supply to us is processed with skill and care and in accordance with the legislation and codes.
Any information submitted to the Website, emails or social media shall be used by Brilliant Marketing Solutions Ltd in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Any visitor who submits information to the Website or social media warrants that the information provided is complete, true and accurate in all respects.
Except as set out herein and where required or permitted by law or a court of competent jurisdiction, we will not reveal any personal data about you to any third party. We are required by law to hold your Personal Data for as long as is necessary to comply with our statutory obligations. We will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that your Personal Data is maintained and up to date. You are under a duty to inform us of any and all changes to your Personal Data to ensure that it is up to date. If we have no contact with you then following the expiry of a period as we consider appropriate we will archive for file or may delete it.
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Contact: Deborah Forter, 617-983-0710, email@example.com
Nancy Lessin, 617-320-5301, email@example.com
Family Members of Fallen Soldiers and Families of Troops Currently Deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan Available for Interview
Nationwide -- With the war in Iraq entering its 8th year, members of Military Families Speak Out, the largest organization of military families to speak out against a war in this country's history, are calling on Senators and Representatives to take immediate action to cut off funding for the war and bring our troops home now.
"With great sadness my family and I mark the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It is also now 6 years since we last saw my son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, a Pennsylvania National Guard soldier, alive. On April 26, 2004 he died in an explosion while looking for the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. We are but one of the over 5,000 American families who mourn the loss of their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan; physical and spiritual casualties affect thousands more - and yet the wars that kill our young and drain our treasure do not create peace. It is long past time to bring our troops home, and find real solutions for Peace." said Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia, whose son was the first Pennsylvania guardsman lost in the war in Iraq.
Maggie Pondolfino, a Military Families Speak Out member from Washington, DC, whose son currently serves in the Army, said "Two years ago, I welcomed my son home from an extended tour in Iraq. While I'm profoundly grateful that he survived the surge of 2007, 53 others in his brigade were not so fortunate. Now my son is deployed again - this time to Afghanistan. As we face the beginning of the 8th year of war in Iraq and more troops to be sent to Afghanistan, we need to face our collective duty to demand an end to these wars and to bring our troops home now. There is no military solution to these conflicts and no life worth losing to these wars."
"After witnessing and personally experiencing the loss that war brings and the cost to our nation in terms of the killing and maiming of our next generation of leaders, I'm always amazed that Americans allow open warfare to continu.," said Jane Bright, the mother of Army Sgt. Evan Ashcraft, an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division who was killed in Iraq on July 24, 2003. "The U.S. is currently engaged in 3 wars, yet the American masses go about their business as if destruction of other countries is part of the American landscape. My question to the American people: when will America step up and bring this warfare to an end, and when will you grow tired of seeing a few grow rich from the suffering of so many?"
Military Families Speak Out members will be participating in events in Washington, D.C. and around the country to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the war in Iraq and call for all troops to be brought home now and given the care they need when they get home.
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: In Washington, D.C. on March 20 at 11:15 a.m.: There will be a contingent of members of Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families Speak Out (MFSO's national chapter of families whose loved ones died as a result of the wars), Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans For Peace assembling at the Veterans Administration Building at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW - they will go on to be the lead contingent in the march against the wars.
ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY: Members of Military Families Speak Out will also be participating in events around the country. To arrange for an interview contact Deborah Forter at firstname.lastname@example.com or Military Families Speak Out, 617-983-0710 or Nancy Lessin at 617-320-5301 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is a national organization of over 4,000 families who are opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and have loved ones in the military. Gold Star Families Speak Out (GSFSO) is a national chapter of Military Families Speak Out, with families whose loved ones died as a result of these wars.
For more information about Military Families Speak Out, please visit: www.mfso.org; for more information about Gold Star Families Speak Out, please see www.gsfso.org
The above is "Seven Years Into The War In Iraq, Military Families Say: 'Bring Them Home Now!'" and that's worth noting at any time, especially in a week that has seen the deaths of 3 service members in Iraq announced. In addition, today CNN reports, "A U.S. Department of Defense employee has died in Iraq of unknown causes, the U.S. military reported Saturday." It's a week that saw Nouri lie and lie and lie and reality provide the correction Nouri's unable to, culminating with Friday's bombings which claimed at least 8 lives in one Anbar Province city and 56 to 69 in Baghdad (depending upon who does the counting). The Iraq War, like the shell game the Democrats and Republicans play in DC, never ends and the only real winner is the con artist. I wonder how many people are even aware how close to the 4,400 mark (for the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War -- not counting those who come home and take their own lives due to the wounds they carry inside) we actually are now?
So many seem to stupidly believe the Iraq War is over. Yesterday, Iraq was in and out of the news cycle. It should have dominated the news cycle. It should have been the big story. Now, the day after, and very few outlets report on it. In fact, I'm not really finding any reports that we didn't highlight in yesterday's snapshot already from the big news outlets. And, of course, 'independent' media has other things to do: Barack can't spit polish it himself, can he? That would just be masturbation and it's so much better when he can be given a hand job, right? Hence the boys and girls at The Nation magazine.
At Antiwar.com, Jason Ditz doesn't play the quiet game:
The attacks were the third major spate of bombings in Baghdad this month alone, but also stand as the deadliest yet of 2010. Year over year death tolls have been on the rise over the past several months, and are only getting worse since the disputed March 7 election.
So far no one has claimed credit for the blasts but the government was quick to blame al-Qaeda, speculating that it was revenge for the killings of leaders announced earlier this week.
Yesterday, it was reported that Moqtada al-Sadr was reactiving the Mahdi Army. AFP reports today:
The Iraqi government said on Saturday that an offer by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to help boost security at strategic sites was unnecessary, in the wake of anti-Shiite attacks in Baghdad.
"I don't think we are lacking men in the security forces, what we are lacking is intelligence," the prime minister's spokesman, Ali al-Mussawi, told AFP.
Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) reports today that al-Sadr issued a statement today clarifying that they had not been recalled and that they would be only if the government or 'government' out of Baghdad wanted it to be so.
What could get the West interested in Iraq again? Maybe some civilian kidnappings. So if you're stupid enough to travel there for 'pleasure,' don't be surprised if you're kidnapped. With that in mind, this is from Alice Fordham's "Iraq tour promises view of a bejewelled past -- despite razor-wire" (Times of London)
Terre Entière, a French tour company, has decided that holidaymakers are ready to look beyond the disadvantages of the province's capital, Nasiriyah, famous mostly for the fighting after the 2003 invasion, and spend ten days at a hotel, touring the sights of ancient Mesopotamia.
In some of today's violence, Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Baghdad today which resulted in on police officer being wounded. Reuters adds 3 Baghdad bombings claimed 3 lives and left nine people wounded, 1 Sahwa member was shot dead in Baquba, 1 man was shot outside his home in Mosul, 1 taxi driver was shot dead in Mosul and, in a third shooting, 1 person was shot dead and a police officer wounded.
And that's going to be it. I'm on wireless and we're dropping in and out with the signal (which seems to be based on the flow of traffic on the street, I kid you not) so as soon as we're reconnected this is going up as is.
The e-mail address for this site is firstname.lastname@example.com.
the times of london
alice fordham
military families speak out
the los angeles times
ned parker
jason ditz


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MarketWatch Praises Howard Ruff's Recent Record
publication date: Sep 1, 2010
Update 9/2/2010: I last wrote about newsletter writer Howard Ruff back on April 3, 2009 after he had made numerous appearances on CNBC. In that article below I documented his horrible long-term track record, which CNBC failed to cite - if they had researched it, they wouldn't have wasted their viewers time having him on the air!
Now, a MarketWatch reporter has written a puff piece on Ruff citing his great performance! The recent article, which was entitled, "Ruff rides major trend: Veteran stock picker defies bad month," states:
Over the year to date through August, Ruff's Ruff Times is now up 8.8% by Hulbert Financial Digest count, as compared to negative 3.9% for the dividend-reinvested Wilshire 5000 Total Stock Market Index. Over the past 12 months, the letter is up 44.1%, against just 5.1% for the total return Wilshire 5000.
Ruff is a veteran of the 1970s gold wars, and in essence he argues that era's stagflation (or worse) is returning.
Ruff is a veteran of the 1970s gold wars, and in essence he argues that era's stagflation (or worse) is returning.
...In recent years, Ruff has done particularly well. He was one of 2009's top 10 performers by Hulbert Financial Digest count, despite being skeptical of the overall stock market all year.
The message: This market forecaster is a veteran and has done well during recent years, which as we all know were trying times.
Only once in the piece, did the reporter make any negative reference to Ruff's overall record (which he failed to cite and quantify as I do below) when he said, "His record is long and checkered."
But, then he quickly added, "His relentless self-promotion tends to irritate financial journalists, who are sensitive souls, but he did make perhaps the handsomest recantation I've ever seen, when Mark Hulbert and I found he had exaggerated his gold record -- which was actually quite impressive enough."
I didn't know he misrepresented his track record so now we have another reason to not listen to what he says. But, hey, don't listen to me, I must be an irritated financial journalist who's being too sensitive!
P.S. It's also worth noting that in his March, 2009 CNBC appearance (video below), during which he told viewers to get out of stocks, coincided perfectly with the end of the bear market and beginning of a huge, global stock market rally. At that time, he said that the Dow would fall 3,000 more points from its then current level of 6,700. He also predicted sharply rising interest rates and a falling dollar. So, on all three of those major predictions, he has been very wrong.
Howard Ruff on CNBC Issues Dire Warnings for Years Ahead
In the first quarter of 2009, CNBC had Howard Ruff on as a
guest multiple times. I had to do a double-take when I spotted him while channel flipping.
Like a pile-up on the Interstate, I just can't help myself from watching NBC's "Must
See TV."
It's been more than a generation since I've seen Ruff in the national limelight. He was in the news in my late youth for his book, "How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years" (Warner Books), which vaulted onto best-seller lists when it was released in 1978. He also publishes a newsletter, The Ruff Times. Ruff went to school for music education and his current publicist tells me that he worked as a singer and actor for 25 years before becoming a financial pundit. (I suppose those stage skills come in handy when appearing in the media.)
I remember the 1970s and early 1980s well. My father lost his job during the severe 1973-1974 recession when I was in middle school. Bad news was all around the country and world at that time. Vice President Agnew and then President Nixon resigned in disgrace so we ended up with a President (Gerald Ford) who wasn't even voted into office. Inflation and interest rates were rising and conflict abounded in the Middle East. The Arab Oil Embargo caused gas lines at stations and high energy prices.
Gloom was everywhere and Howard Ruff was there to save everyone from the rough times. Ruff was never shy about expressing his investing opinions and his book, newsletter and media appearances were filled with dire warnings. Consider these predictions and recommendations from his 1978 book:
- The dollar will collapse and there will be an "international monetary holocaust" that will take down all paper currencies
- Recommended that everyone stock a year's worth of food to provide for when the economy collapses and supermarkets close
- Recommended keeping plenty of gold and silver coins at home to pay for things for when paper currency became worthless
- Exploding inflation
- Skyrocketing gold and precious metals prices
- Failure and bankruptcy of private and government pensions including Social Security.
- Predicted the bankruptcy of the United States
- An economic depression
- Recommended dumping stocks
None of these things even came close to happening. So, not only was Ruff wrong, he was hugely wrong and anyone who followed his advice decimated his investment portfolio. It's ironic that gold today is trading just under $900 per ounce, almost exactly the same price it hit back in 1980 - nearly three decades ago when Ruff was saying to shun stocks and buy gold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average back in 1980 was trading around 800 versus around 8,000 today (and remember this index doesn't account for all the dividends an investor earned).
It's a tad ironic to look back at Ruff's 1978 statement made in his book in which he said, "...much of the American wealth is an illusion which is being secretly gnawed away and much of it will be completely wiped out in the near future." His prediction, I suppose, came true for anyone who followed his investing advice.
As for Ruff's newsletter, its track record is equally dismal according to the Hulbert Financial Digest which has tracked financial newsletter investment recommendations for decades (and Ruff's newsletter since 1980). Over that period, the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 index has produced returns totaling 1372 percent (9.8 percent annualized) whereas Ruff's portfolios have returned just 226 percent (4.2 percent annualized). Ruff's investment picks have been so bad over the years that an investor solely holding Treasury-bills would have done better (5.6 percent annualized) and with a lot less risk than those following his recommendations.
So, I was simply stunned that CNBC would have such a boob on the air. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that CNBC doesn't research prognosticators' track records before having them on air. They've had plenty of charlatans and dimwits on over the years. But, Ruff's appearance surprised me until I reflected upon it further and then it made sense.
Early this year when the stock market was still getting hammered, gold and other precious metals' companies were advertising big time on CNBC. Ruff is long known as a gold tout and thus an advertising friendly guest to have on air. In such a climate, don't expect to find CNBC having guests on telling viewers the truth regarding what a crummy long-term investment gold has been and to stay away from their advertisers. Besides there's no room on their schedule with all of Peter Schiff's appearances.
Apparently Ruff has been making the media rounds to lay the groundwork for touting the re-issuance of his 1978 book now with the title "How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century" which I was sent a press release for by his publicist this week.
This isn't the first time that Ruff has dusted the cobwebs off of his tired ideas and republished them with a slightly new package. In April, 1999, he had published "How to Prosper During the Hard Times Ahead: A Crash Course for the American Family in the Troubled New Millennium" (Regnery). In it, he predicted nearly all the same apocalyptic events that he did a generation earlier plus havoc from Y2K issues, which, as we know, never materialized.


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Metanephric Adenofibroma clinical trials at University of California Health
1 research study open to eligible people
Showing trials for
Kidney Tumors in Younger Patients
open to eligible people ages up to 29 years
This research trial studies kidney tumors in younger patients. Collecting and storing samples of tumor tissue, blood, and urine from patients with cancer to study in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and identify biomarkers related to cancer.
at UC Davis UCLA UCSF
Our lead scientists for Metanephric Adenofibroma research studies include Marcio H. Malogolowkin Eduard H. Panosyan Arun A. Rangaswami.
Last updated:


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Preparing for prom night should begin months ahead of time.
Getting a date comes first. Girls without steady boysfriend spend more time finding a date than do the boys. The best strategies involve becoming a part of a particular group and building a particular friendship with prom night in mind.
Boys and girls each have their respective areas to prepare. Sometimes it's difficult just to get the boys to rent their tuxedo, but they also need to arrange for the limousine rental, cover all costs, and make the arrangements for the night-such as a group activity or a romantic dinner before.
For girls, preparing for prom night is more intense. Make a to do list for the prom. Make another just for your hair. Select dress, jewelry, and hairstyle in that order, coordinating everything. If you need a hair stylist, begin asking for recommendations in advance. If you have one already, make a special appointment three months ahead to discuss your prom hairstyle.
Six weeks ahead, book an appointment with your stylist no less than four hours before the limo arrives. Try a complete dress rehearsal with hair, dress, and jewelry a month before your prom. Finally, on the day before collect all your essentials in one place. Does your hairdresser work? Do you need more gel?
These are the essential steps when preparing for prom night. Finally, do not forget that you and your date will exchange corsage and boutonnière. Buy it the day before, keep it refrigerated, and please try not be nervous when you pin it on.
Source by Ian Partridge


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STARIA reflects Hyundai's commitment to lead the future mobility industry as a Smart Mobility Solution Provider, under the brand's vision of 'Progress for Humanity.' STARIA is equipped with various driver-centric features and futuristic design elements that deliver new experiences for drivers and passengers that make time in transit more productive and worthwhile.
STARIA offers a strikingly futuristic and mysterious exterior, resembling a spaceship. The front is highlighted by a long, horizontal daytime running light and headlamps positioned underneath. The spaceship vibe is echoed by its expansive panoramic windows and lower belt lines, underscoring the openness of the interior. The height of the cabin is also optimized for premium comfort and convenience, making it ideal for both business and family use.


text: Medical Information Disclaimer: The information on this forum is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this forum is for general information purposes only. Legacy Heart Care and Trinity Heart Care make no representation and assume no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained on or available through these forums, and such information is subject to change without notice. You are encouraged to confirm any information obtained from or through this forum with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on or accessed through this website. Legacy Heart Care and Trinity Heart Care are not responsible nor liable for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or products that you obtain through these forums.


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The world almost ended 71 years ago…
The plague came out of nowhere and ravaged the world. Most died within a week. Nothing could stop it. The world did its best. It wasn't good enough.
For three generations, we, the last fragments of humanity have lived on the seas, on floating stations called "havens." Far from the plague, we are able to provide supplies to the mainland to keep them (and us) from succumbing completely.
We've managed to keep a network of the largest known cities in the world alive. Things have been tough the past few years. Cities far away from the havens have fallen off our grid…
Tomorrow, a small group of us head out into what's left of the world. We don't know what we'll find.
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is an epic cooperative game for 2 to 4 players. Unlike most other games, this one is working against you. What's more, some of the actions you take in Pandemic Legacy will carry over to future games. No two worlds will ever be alike!
Part of the Pandemic Legacy series.
More Information: Link


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BMW Group Classic offers faithful replica of the BMW 328 gearbox
ack in stock after decades: BMW Group Classic offers faithful replica of the BMW 328 gearbox. Meticulous remanufacturing creates authentic replacement for the gearbox of the 1930s sports car classic – Reconstruction in consultation with FIVA and the FIA – Exclusively available through the BMW Classic Center.
For owners of automotive collectors' items bearing the BMW logo, BMW Group Classic is the first port of call in the search for replacement parts. The current range on offer through its affiliated BMW Classic Center comprises some 40,000 components and is steadily expanding. The most recent addition to the catalogue is an authentically reproduced gearbox for the classic BMW 328 sports car.
Manufactured between 1936 and 1940, this model ranked as a dream sports car in its day and, with a total run of just 464 units, became a coveted rarity even during its production years. It is not known how many of these models have survived, but based on their appearances at classic events one may assume a substantial number are still around today. Owners of this open-top vintage sports car share the earnest desire of many classic enthusiasts to possess a car that is as original as possible and in the best possible condition. It's a wish come true thanks to the remanufacture of the original Hurth gearbox, a component that was sorely missed for decades but can now be purchased once again.
Complete original gearboxes were previously unavailable for the BMW 328. Frequently synchro gearboxes from other manufacturers were used instead, although they differed from the Hurth gearbox in key details, particularly regarding their configuration – they did not share the original pattern of non-synchronised first and second gear and gears three and four with cone synchronisation. A partnership between BMW Group Classic and automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG has now come up with a solution. Indeed, for the specialists based on Lake Constance in southwest Germany there was a historic precedent for this collaboration: in the 1990s ZF took over a company division of the original gearbox suppliers Hurth.
And so the experts from BMW Group Classic and ZF have followed in the footsteps of their historic predecessors in several ways. Together they completed the most complex project to date in the field of component remanufacturing for classic BMW automobiles. Providing guidance for the authentic new edition of the gearbox were original transmissions from vehicles in the BMW Group Classic collection and contemporary construction drawings held in Eisenach's city archives. As the original gearbox had been repeatedly modified, a number of variants and construction plans had to be analysed and compared. Barring a few details such as optimised materials used in current production and a reinforced bearing for the second gear, the "new-old" gearbox now fully complies with the factory status in the later production period of the BMW 328.
The entire development and production process was carried out in close consultation with the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and FIVA, the international body representing classic vehicle clubs, both of whom confirmed the authenticity of the gearbox. The sanction of these institutions is important especially for gaining entry to official events. The first prototypes of the new-old gearbox already demonstrated their reliability in the 2012 Mille Miglia, the world's best-known classic car race.
A production run of 55 units of this faithfully reproduced component is now on offer to owners of a BMW 328 who might be seeking such a replacement. Sales of the replica gearboxes, which are manufactured by ZF, are available exclusively through the BMW Classic Center. Overall, this project sustainably corroborates the BMW Group Classic claim that original core components can and should be used in classic automobiles. For fans of historic vehicles, the BMW Classic Center offers a comprehensive range of products and services, from spare parts all the way to full restoration. Through the remanufacture of close-to-original components – for the legendary BMW 328 as well as numerous other models – vital work will continue to be done in the future to preserve such automotive rarities.


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Listen: Lightning Blue Eyes / Secret Machines SecretMachinesLightningBlueEyes.mp3
Christmas 2004. I finally had a few weeks off and planned to catch up on a bunch of new records I'd been meaning to get to since November. For a few years, I made it a point of stopping at the original HMV store on Oxford Street every London visit. Luckily, I looked after a bunch of Columbia's UK acts, and ended up there about four times a year. No one else would touch the English groups. Our chairman didn't like the UK stuff, so they were hot potatoes. HMV really jumped on the vinyl resurgence curve early. Well before any of the other chains. Then and now, the purists put their nose in the air to the place but I say they're wrong. HMV stocks all the indie and worthy major label 7″ singles at cheap prices, usually 99p week of release. And the vinyl portion of the floor is set up famously, just like a record shop in the day. The 45 wall is nirvana, with box lot size helpings of just about everything. I would grab tons of titles and listen later. So that Christmas break I allocated time. I'm pouring over the first two Secret Machines singles I'd gotten that month earlier but still hadn't played, and notice Brandon and Ben Curtis were in the lineup. Hold on, these guys were in UFOFU, a band I had released on The Medicine Label. It had to be the same guys. So I listened. Wow, they're great. I'd heard their name a lot, mostly from the junior A&R kids at Columbia. What a great bunch they were, especially Keller and later Christian Stavros. I had wrongly assumed Secret Machines were alternative radio fodder, formula hard rock. No. This was the real deal. I went out on Christmas Eve and got the full length. As if by magic, I had a new band to be crazy about. How fun.
Now it was countdown to an upcoming show and sure enough, they were awesome. I was so pleased to see Brandon and Ben getting their just rewards. I turned some friends on to them as well. Everyone was in. Brandon came by Columbia just before Christmas '05 and played me the new album. A few songs really stood out, 'Lightning Blue Eyes' in particular. All of them were pretty long. I remember we talked about some singles edit, and he went off to try a few. This was one, and it's a smash waiting to happen. Don't think it got much play, but I could be wrong.
No matter, Secret Machines shredded the tent at Reading the following August. The place was rammed. The crowd went berserk.
I'm making an exception by posting 'Lightning Blue Eyes'. You see, it's only available as a blue see through glittery reeking of some marketing angle pressing. I hate colored vinyl. Should be illegal, a controlled substance. Records should be black, just like God created them. For this single though, an exception.