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LEMONT, Ill. -- In golf, there is typically just one winner, the guy holding the trophy on the final day.
Justin Rose captured the BMW Championship on Sunday, and his third victory on the PGA Tour came with plenty of perks, not to mention the $1.4 million payday and the opportunity to head to Atlanta for the Tour Championship this week, where he will have an excellent shot at earning the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.
But in the PGA Tour playoffs, especially the final event going into the Tour Championship, there are typically several players who can feel good about themselves despite coming short of the championship hardware. And, likewise, some who feel even worse about their position in the final standings.
Throw in the Presidents Cup scenarios that were part of the final day at the BMW Championship, and there were plenty of winners, losers -- and some that are a bit of both -- on Sunday at Cog Hill.
Justin Rose. The Englishman held the lead for the entire tournament and had to deal with some typical British weather on Sunday, as it rained throughout the final round. Things got interesting for a time when his four-shot lead to start the day shrunk to one, but he chipped in for a birdie at the 17th hole and defeated John Senden by two strokes.
"To win my third tournament feels like I'm sort of moving in the right direction, and to move to No. 3 on the FedEx Cup list and give myself control of my own destiny next week in Atlanta is something I didn't foresee at the beginning part of the week,'' he said. "So just an amazing outcome.''
The victory helped him become one of three players to move from outside of the top 30 to a spot in the Tour Championship.
John Senden. The Australian made a big jump into the top 30, coming from 55th position and nearly taking the tournament title as well. A one-time winner on the PGA Tour, Senden moved all the way to ninth place in the standings with his second-place finish.
"I'm excited about the majors next year, and to be competitive in the majors, you've got to make sure that you're in all of them or getting the best experience in the big ones,'' Senden said.
Geoff Ogilvy. The Aussie made the biggest jump, going from 69th in the FedEx Cup to 24th on the strength of four rounds in the 60s and a third-place finish. Ogilvy had a poor year by his standards due to several injuries. He had to birdie the final hole at the Deutsche Bank Championship two weeks ago just to make it to the BMW Championship.
"You come here with hopes of playing well enough to do that,'' Ogilvy said. "But I guess the reality is that you've got a long way to go from 69 to get to the Tour Championship, so it's nice to play well enough.''
An added bonus: Ogilvy locked up a spot on the International Presidents Cup team. He came into the week in the 10th and final position for automatic qualifiers and made a jump in the world rankings that will move him ahead of Ernie Els, although the makeup of the team did not change.
Jason Dufner. Although he was inside the number at the beginning of the week, Dufner was not assured of advancing to Atlanta when the day began. He was in 28th position. But a 68 pushed him into a tie for sixth in the tournament and he moved up to 22nd.
"If I got in, that was great, it would be a bonus,'' said Dufner, who lost in a playoff in Atlanta last month at the PGA Championship.
Aaron Baddeley. The Aussie flirted with falling out of the top 30 because he tied for 22nd and needed to make sure he stayed in the top 25. He had shot 75 on Saturday but rebounded with a 67 on Sunday that included three birdies on the back nine. That gets him in the Tour Championship, which allows for another opportunity to at least give captain Greg Norman something to think about regarding the Presidents Cup team.
"I've never felt like that before playing for 20-something place,'' Baddeley said. "It felt like the end of a golf tournament going for the win. It's a big deal to make the Tour Championship because you can set your schedule. Plus if I didn't make it I'd probably have no chance of making the Presidents Cup team.''
Charl Schwartzel. The Masters champion, who skipped the playoff opener in New Jersey because it didn't fit his schedule, finished 31st in the FedEx Cup standings after a 76-70 weekend at the BMW Championship. He started the week 27th in the standings.
Schwartzel played the final four holes in 2 over par, including a bogey at the last, which essentially cost him a trip to Atlanta.
"It's difficult,'' he said. "I had a bad finish. I actually played really good today. Just the whole week has been going sort of like my finish was.''
Rory Sabbatini and Kyle Stanley -- the other two players who got bumped out of the top 30. Sabbatini began the week ranked 26th but fell to 35th after a tie for 59th that included a weekend of 77-74. Stanley had a decent tournament with a tie for 22nd but it wasn't enough to hold his spot.
The difficulty for both players is that they failed to secure spots in the first three majors next year. That is one of the perks for making it to Atlanta.
Bill Haas. The two-time PGA Tour winner blew an excellent opportunity to earn an automatic spot on the Presidents Cup team when he shot a back-nine 42 on Sunday and dropped to a tie for 16th. Haas began the day in the second-to-last group and was in position to make a move. He ended up 12th in the points, behind Brandt Snedeker, and although he has a spot in the Tour Championship, the fact that his dad, Jay, is Couples' assistant captain makes picking him an awkward situation.
Brandt Snedeker. It's hard to knock a guy who is sixth in the FedEx Cup standings, but Snedeker let slip an excellent opportunity to be among the all-important top five -- thus controlling his own destiny next week. And with Jim Furyk having a poor final day, the opportunity was there to jump into the top 10 for the Presidents Cup. He ended up 11th.
"It crept in there a few times,'' Snedeker said about the Presidents Cup. "Obviously it didn't happen, but wish those guys all the best, the 10 that made it today. I take some comfort knowing that, at the beginning of the week, I had a chance to control my own destiny. I just didn't do it.''
Jim Furyk. The reigning FedEx Cup champion won't be in Atlanta to defend his title after a final-round 76 knocked him out of the top 30. Furyk started the week 35th and hovered inside the top 30 all week, but never recovered after bogeying four of his first five holes Sunday.
"Not my best day and I'm disappointed I won't be at the Tour Championship,'' Furyk said. "I probably didn't need to play that well today, probably shooting 1 or 2 over would have gotten me in. So thinking about it that way, it's disappointing.''
When he finished, it was not yet clear, but Furyk managed to hold onto the final qualifying spot for the Presidents Cup, falling to the 10th and last automatic position. That means his steak of playing in every Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup going back to 1997 will be extended.
"Everyone knows I value Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams a lot,'' Furyk said. "I take a lot of pride in making those teams, and I really want to be on the team.''
Hunter Mahan. He started the week eighth in the Presidents Cup standings and figured he had lost his spot on the team with a tie for 42nd finish.
"I have nobody to blame but myself,'' Mahan said. "I didn't play well.''
Mahan went so far as to suggest that he didn't expect an at-large selection from Couples. But it didn't matter, as he ended up dropping to ninth to automatically qualify while also making it to Atlanta, as he finished 21st in FedEx Cup points.
Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at email@example.com.


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Ithaca moves on to Round of 16 with a 73-50 victory against Smith
GORHAM, Maine -- Ithaca (27-2) upended Smith (23-5) 73-50 in an NCAA tournament second-round contest on Saturday at Southern Maine. The Bombers move on to the Sweet 16 where they will face Williams.
Ithaca, which won its 14th consecutive game, improved its single-season wins record to 27, while moving on to the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. The Bombers' first trip to the sectional round was in 2003.
Ithaca used a 22-6 first-half run en route to a 20-point advantage at halftime. Ithaca edged Smith 34-31 in the second to earn the victory in Hill Gymnasium.
In the inaugural match up, senior Devin Shea led all players with 20 points. Juniors Jenn Escobido and Mary Kate Tierney each posted double-doubles for the second night in a row. Escobido was one rebound shy of her career high with a 15-rebound, 11-point performance.
Tierney recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards. She added a game-best four assists. Sophomore Samantha Klie chipped in nine points and junior Kathryn Campbell added eight.
Escobido netted the first of the game. With a 5-4 edge at the 17-minute mark, Ithaca used a 12-3 run for a double-digit 17-7 lead, forcing a Smith timeout. The Pioneers scored once before Ithaca posted a 10-1 stretch, highlighted by seven Escobido points, to lead 27-10 at 8:32. Smith pieced together a 9-4 streak to pull within 31-19, but the Bombers held the Pioneers scoreless during the final 4:25 while scoring eight of their own for a 39-19 halftime lead. Escobido reached her 12th career double-double by intermission with 11 points and 10 boards.
The teams traded baskets to open the second half. Klie scored five consecutive to help the Bombers to a 52-25 gap at 14:09. Smith surged to score 13 of the next 17, cutting within 56-40 at the six-minute mark. Ithaca outscored the Pioneers 17-10 down the stretch.
The Bombers shot 41.9 percent from the floor to the Pioneers' 29.5 percent, while owning a 55-32 margin in rebounds.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Support Announcement:
|MA / MSc
|Linguistic Field:
Computational Linguistics
Cognitive Science
|Specific Language:
|Application Deadline:
|Supporting Institution:
Technische Universität Dresden
International Center of Computational Logic
|LL Issue:
|Support Description:
The European Master's Program in Computational Logic
We are glad to announce to you the possibility to join our European Master's Program of Computational Logic. This program is offered jointly at the Free-University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy, the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany, the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal and the Technische Universität Wien in Austria. Within this program you have the choice to study at two /three of the four European universities. In addition, you can do your project work at the National ICT of Australia (NICTA). You will graduate with a MSc in Computer Science and obtain a joint degree. Information on the universities and the program including the application procedure is provided here:
Language of instruction is English. Tuition fees are 3.000 EUR (for non-European students) and 1.000 (for European students) per year.
A limited number of small scholarships is available. Please see:
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards,
Steffen Hölldobler
Prof. Dr. Steffen Hoelldobler
International Center for Computational Logic
Technische Universität Dresden
01062 Dresden, Germany
phone: [+49](351)46 33 83 40
fax: [+49](351)46 33 83 42
email: sh iccl.tu-dresden.de
|Application Web Address:
|Contact Information:
|Tobias Philipp email@example.com


text:
Testing for capital mobility: New evidence from a panel of G7 countries
In this paper, we test the savings-investment relationship for the G7 countries. Upon applying the Gregory and Hansen [Gregory, A.W., Hansen, B.E., 1996. Residual-based tests for cointegration in models with regime shifts, J. Econ. 70, 99-126] residual-based structural break test for cointegration for each of the G7 countries, we did not find any evidence of a cointegrating relationship between savings and investment. Extending the analysis to a panel framework, we could not establish any evidence of panel cointegration. Taken together, our findings suggest that capital in these G7 countries is highly mobile since no long-term relationship exists between savings and investment.
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Volume (Year): 24 (2010)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 15-23
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Phillips, P C B, 1987.
"Time Series Regression with a Unit Root,"
Econometric Society, vol. 55(2), pages 277-301, March.
- Peter C.B. Phillips, 1985. "Time Series Regression with a Unit Root," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 740R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University, revised Feb 1986.
- Tom Doan, "undated". "PPUNIT: RATS procedure to perform Phillips-Perron Unit Root test," Statistical Software Components RTS00160, Boston College Department of Economics.
- Perron, P. & Bai, J., 1995.
"Estimating and Testing Linear Models with Multiple Structural Changes,"
Cahiers de recherche
9552, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques.
- Jushan Bai & Pierre Perron, 1998. "Estimating and Testing Linear Models with Multiple Structural Changes," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(1), pages 47-78, January.
- Perron, P. & Bai, J., 1995. "Estimating and Testing Linear Models with Multiple Structural Changes," Cahiers de recherche 9552, Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en économie quantitative, CIREQ.
- Gregory, A.W. & Hansen, B.E., 1992.
"Residual-Based Tests for Cointegration in Models with Regime Shifts,"
RCER Working Papers
335, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER).
- Gregory, Allan W. & Hansen, Bruce E., 1996. "Residual-based tests for cointegration in models with regime shifts," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 99-126, January.
- Allan w. Gregory & Bruce E. Hansen, 1992. "residual-Based Tests for Cointegration in Models with Regime Shifts," Working Papers 862, Queen's University, Department of Economics.
- Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003.
"Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels,"
Journal of Econometrics,
Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
- Pasaran, M.H. & Im, K.S. & Shin, Y., 1995. "Testing for Unit Roots in Heterogeneous Panels," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 9526, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
- Tom Doan, "undated". "IPSHIN: RATS procedure to implement Im, Pesaran and Shin panel unit root test," Statistical Software Components RTS00098, Boston College Department of Economics.
- Kumar Narayan, Paresh, 2005. "The relationship between saving and investment for Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 293-309, August.
- Krol, Robert, 1996. "International capital mobility: evidence from panel data," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 467-474, June.
- Corbin, Annie, 2001. "Country specific effect in the Feldstein-Horioka paradox: a panel data analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 297-302, September.
- Dimitris Christopoulos, 2007. "A reassessment of the Feldstein-Horioka hypothesis of perfect capital mobility: evidence from historical data," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 273-280, July.
- Lucio Sarno & Mark Taylor, 1998. "Exchange controls, international capital flows and saving-investment correlations in the UK: An empirical investigation," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 134(1), pages 69-98, March.
- Chakrabarti, Avik, 2006. "The saving-investment relationship revisited: New evidence from multivariate heterogeneous panel cointegration analyses," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 402-419, June.
- Paresh Kumar Narayan, 2005. "The saving and investment nexus for China: evidence from cointegration tests," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(17), pages 1979-1990.
- Pedroni, Peter, 1999.
" Critical Values for Cointegration Tests in Heterogeneous Panels with Multiple Regressors,"
Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics,
Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(0), pages 653-670, Special I.
- Peter Pedroni, 1999. "Critical Values for Cointegration Tests in Heterogeneous Panels with Multiple Regressors," Department of Economics Working Papers 2000-02, Department of Economics, Williams College.
- Maddala, G S & Wu, Shaowen, 1999. " A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(0), pages 631-652, Special I.
- Andrew J. Abbott & Glauco De Vita, 2003. "Another Piece in the Feldstein--Horioka Puzzle," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(1), pages 69-89, February.
- Martin Schmidt, 2003. "Savings and investment in Australia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 99-106.
- Jerry Coakley & Ana-Maria Fuertes & Fabio Spagnolo, 2004. "Is the Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle History?," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(5), pages 569-590, 09.
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text:
6 Feb. : Quasikunst and Tona Kombo-Exhibition, Hamburg
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Hamburg OZM Bartelsstr.65
Tona and Quasikunst in den kellerräumen des OZM bartelsstr.65 in hamburg
vernissage 6.2.2011 20uhr
finissage 11.2.2011 20uhr
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Tona and Quasikunst in den kellerräumen des OZM bartelsstr.65 in hamburg
vernissage 6.2.2011 20uhr
finissage 11.2.2011 20uhr
Submitted by admin on
Urban artists paying homage to innovators from the history of art
Judith Supine / Christian Awe / Jonathan Yeo / Helle Mardahl / XOOOOX / Kevin Earl Taylor / Anton Unai / Jaybo Monk / Adriana Ciudad / Stefan Strumbel / Marco "Pho" Grassi
Gustav Klimt, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Pierre Soulages, Henri Matisse, Théodore Géricault, James Ensor
Preview: January 20, 7-9 PM / Exhibition: January 21 to March 5 2011 / Tue - Sat 12 - 6 PM
In this exhibition artists from all over the world take reference to some ground breaking artists of the past. An hommage to the spirit of innovation, non-conformity and alternative thinking of the older days.
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Du 27 janvier au 30 avril 2011
Chaque hiver, dans le cadre de l'événement Un artiste - Un univers, le musée des Avelines, musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Cloud donne carte blanche à un artiste contemporain invité à prendre possession des lieux pour y déployer son univers. C'est l'occasion pour les visiteurs de découvrir une personnalité, un monde et de s'interroger sur une œuvre contemporaine. Cette année, l'exposition présente l'artiste Jef Aérosol qui travaille le « pochoir de rue ».
L'exposition invite le spectateur à pénétrer dans l'univers original et fascinant de Jef Aérosol. Elle présentera un grand nombre d'œuvres de l'artiste, notamment des portraits. Une installation en boîtes de carton, crée spécialement pour l'occasion, prendra également place dans l'exposition, sous forme de pyramide.
L'exposition s'accompagnera de nombreuses animations telles que des performances de l'artiste et des ateliers pour enfants permettant d'appréhender la technique du pochoir.
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Long-time stencil geek, artist, writer, and collaborator Josh MacPhee just sent this email out. As a strong and vibrant part of our community, Josh deserves all the support we can give he and his partner Dara. - Russell
I wanted to let you know about this on-line benefit auction: www.healdarag.org/auction
It was organized by friends to help pay for my partner Dara Greenwald's chemotherapy bills. The bidding ends this Sunday (Dec 5) at noon.
Nearly 200 artists have donated their work to raise money to help Dara, lots of cool gifts for the holidays!
The artists include:
A Literal Letter Service, Lauren Adams, Alice Attie, Bee Ayer, Kate Bae, Magda Baker, Jesus Barraza, Craig Baldwin, Caitlin Berrigan, Mary Billyou, Moe Bowstern, A Brick, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Bill Brown, Rachel Budde, Kellyann Burns, Nao Bustamante, Garrison & Alison Buxton, Kevin Caplicki, Christopher Cardinale, James Case-Leal, Melanie Cervantes, Paul Chan, Giovanna Chesler, Julia Christensen, Gabriel Cohen/Fredericks & Mae, Jem Cohen, Adriane Colburn, Compass of the MRCC, Benjamin Coonley, Cecilia Cornejo, Jim Costanzo, Bill Daniel, Carrie Dashow, Dark Dark Dark, Michael De Feo, Cecilia Dougherty, Icky Dunn, Joyce Ellen Weinstein, Molly Fair, Friendly Falcons, John Fekner, Jim Fleming/Autonomedia, Su Friedrich, Colette Gaiter, Michael Galinsky, Rebecca Gates, Amber Ginsburg, Jesse Goldstein, Stephanie Gray, Sam Green, Ryan Griffis/Temporary Travel Office, Jane Jin Kaisen/Guston Sondin-Kung, Christopher Harvey, Art Hazelwood, Dusty Herbig, Corin Hewitt, Kathy High, Christa Holka, Caitlin Horsmon, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Melissa Klein, Andalusia Knoll, Daniela Kostova, Anna Kunz, Aviv Kruglanski and Vahida Ramujkic, Ann LePore, Dan Levenson, Damon Locks, Shona Macdonald, Jodie Mack, Josh MacPhee, Frank Magnotta, Jeff Mangum/Neutral Milk Hotel, Darrin Martin, Colin Matthes, Anne McGuire, Nathan Meltz, Cindy Milstein, Naeem Mohaiemen, Amitis Motevalli, Zoeann Murphy, Lucille Nurkse, Pauline Oliveros, Trevor Paglen, Laurie Palmer, Mary Patten, Roger Peet, Margo Pelletier & Lisa Thomas, Lynne Pidel, Stefen Pilipa, Endi Poskovic, Sunita Prasad, Rick Prelinger, Michael Rakowitz, Aaron Renier, Vanessa Renwick, Olivia Robinson, Favianna Rodriguez, Heather Rogers, Guadalupe Rosales, Sarah Ross, Stephanie Rothenberg, Erik Ruin, Ben Russell, Zoe Sheehan Saldana, Paul Lloyd Sargent, Lee Anne Schmitt, Nicole Schulman, Sam Sebren, Tod Seelie, Daniel Selcer, Laura Seldman, Shelley Buonaiuto, Greg Sholette, Shelly Silver, Brooke Singer, Nida Sinnokrot, Shaun Slifer, Jen Smith, Kelly Spivey, Miriam Stahl, Tema Stauffer, Jesse Stiles, Brett Story, Caspar Stracke, Astria Suparak, Sarah Sutro, Naoe Suzuki, Swoon, Astra Taylor, Temporary Services, The Yes Men, Rodney Thoms, Zefrey Throwell, Fereshteh Toosi, Mary Tremonte, Kristine Virsis, Volatile Works, Dan S Wang, Brindalyn Webster, Woodstrup & Cooley, and Pete Yahnke.
Please take the time to check it out!
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I have a showing coming up on December 11th at Guerrero Gallery here in San Francisco.
Guerrero Gallery is located at 19th and York in SF's Mission District.
It is entitled "Even Keel" which reflects the artwork , not only in subject matter, but in process.
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Broken Meter
Zine Release Party and Gallery Show
Created by Adam Rozan
Shooting Gallery
835 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA
...Broken Meter is a celebration of city life, a visual recording of the activity, movement, and energy of the urban environment. Broken Meter is not gentrification, trash removal, clean swept streets, and flower boxes, but rather the decay, the chipped, flaked, broken aesthetic of our culture. Broken meter is the misspelled sign, the street preacher, the converted U-Haul cardboard trucks, the old ladies and recycled cans
and bottles, the graffiti tag, the covered up graffiti tagged, the re-tagging of the original piece, it is the funny face, the sad face, the busted, it is the unexpected, the hopeless, it is both beautiful, and sad, it is the Broken Meter.
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Lets Meet a collection of queer stencils from the past year by Jeremy Novy
San Francisco, CA (November 3, 2010)— The San Francisco LGBT Center is honored to present "Lets Meet", a collection of queer stencils from the past year by Jeremy Novy. Novy's is considered one of the up and coming street art celebrities of San Francisco and street art world itself. His koi fish stencils found through out the city have gained him acceptance by not only the street art community of San Francisco but also complements from the Cities Department of Public Works. Yet this exhibit is about something much deeper then just adding beauty to urban blight. It's street art with a social message against homophobia. This exhibition, opens with a reception on Thursday, December 2nd from 6-9 pm and runs through December 30th. Novy has made a limited edition print, signed and numbered, for the 50 guests, along with having Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on hand. Novy was recently commissioned by Joe Pabst, owner of the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee, WI, to stencil koi around the Mansion pool.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010 7:00 PM -
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 11:00 PM CET
Wrangelstr. 20
Berlin, x-berg 36
..the art of cutting stencils.
- artiste ouvrier
- dave the chimp
- dash3ultra
- czarnobyl
- bohomaz
- pisa 73
- plotbot
- emess
- azione
- bonk!
- m:m
Submitted by admin on
Poster Exhibit - Book Release Party - Artist Panel
CELEBRATE PEOPLE'S HISTORY: the Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution
Edited by Josh MacPhee
Foreword by Rebecca Solnit
Published by the Feminist Press
7pm - Saturday Nov. 20
The Center for Political Education
522 Valencia St, SF
Since 1998, Celebrate People's History posters have documented feminist organizers, indigenous uprisings, civil rights leaders, union struggles, LGBT activism and much more. Bay Area history stands out with posters on Los Siete de la Raza, the 1969 Alcatraz occupation, the International Hotel and the 1966 transgender riot at Compton's Cafeteria. The Feminist Press has just released over 100 posters in hardback, and the book's West Coast premiere includes a poster exhibit, book signing and artist panel.
Featured Speakers:
Lincoln Cushing, historian, www.docspopuli.org
Favianna Rodríguez, artist, www.favianna.com
FREE admission. Donations go to MacPhee's partner, Dara Greenwald, who is battling cancer.
Submitted by admin on
Carmichael Gallery Invites You to Attend
Block Party
Boxi, Krystian Truth Czaplicki, Gregor Gaida, Simon Haas, Dan Witz
A Showcase of New Works by Sixeart
5795 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
November 13 – December 11, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 13, 2010, 6-8pm
please RSVP by email rsvp at carmichaelgallery dot com


text:
Get in touch
| firstname.lastname@example.com | +44 1425 626501
Published/updated: November 2011
The data retention policy in too many organisations has historically boiled down to keep everything forever, or something very close to it. As disks proliferate and backup tapes pile up though, such an approach is not sustainable over the longer term. In fact, some are already struggling, and even those that have taken a more discerning approach are being challenged by the rate at which unstructured data in particular is growing.
So what can be done? Throwing yet more storage at the problem may alleviate immediate symptoms but isnt the basis for a longer term fix. Apart from the cost of additional capacity and the space required to accommodate new storage devices in the data centre or computer room, as requirements continue to escalate, more effort is required to manage everything. The choice then becomes to grow the data management team or risk losing control, neither of which is desirable in todays environment.
There are some ideas and approaches that can help, however. These are based on the principles of implementing a more selective retention regime, and making sure that data that is retained is stored as efficiently as possible:
Data classification: The principle here is that not all data is equal in terms of importance and value, and by distinguishing between different classes or categories, it is possible to develop more objective and selective retention policies.
With the classification approach, you can define the amount of time you keep certain types of documents, transaction data, and so on, which allows you to get rid of data once the prerequisite time has passed. How you classify depends on your business, and it is not always necessary to be exhaustive. A lot can be achieved, for example, by simply identifying data that does not need to be kept at all, or which may be discarded after a short period of time.
Document versioning: Sometimes there is a need to retain all versions of a document through the various stages of drafting, review, approval and subsequent revision. This may be the case in highly regulated environments, for example.
Often, however, all that really needs to be kept is the final version. Similarly, the need to hang on to correspondence and copies of other forms of communication leading up to a final document or transaction will vary immensely depending on the industry and specific scenario. By understanding these differences and putting appropriate policies in place, backed up by solutions such as workflow and document management systems, the volume of data to be stored can again be reduced.
Storage optimisation: When it is necessary to retain data, you want to make sure this is done efficiently. Techniques such as de-duplication can dramatically reduce storage requirements, e.g. by preventing a document that was circulated as an attachment to multiple email recipients being stored multiple times in an email archive.
There is then storage tiering, which is based on the principle of saving cost by holding data on media and devices that are good enough, but no more. Frequently accessed critical data may be stored on high performance resilient disc at one end of the spectrum, for example, with persistent historical data that is accessed infrequently put on cheap commodity storage, tape or even uploaded to cloud storage at the other.
Solutions in the areas we have discussed will often help to reduce management overhead. Modern content management and workflow systems allow automation of policy implementation, and the latest storage management software will simplify administration through virtualisation techniques and auto distribution/migration of data to the most appropriate location (e.g. tier or device).
It is also worth bearing in mind that getting your act together on storage will not only reduce cost and risk, but increase the chances of users actually being able find the data they need to make business decisions, so benefits extend well beyond the IT department.
By Dale Vile & Jack Vile
The public cloud is frequently talked about as the answer to all IT problems, but our research suggests that a new set of challenges can arise as use increases. ...more
By Dale Vile & Jack Vile
Making the right technology investments in todays fast moving digital age can mean the difference between success and failure in pretty much any industry. But how well are decisions are actually being made in this space? ...more
By Dale Vile
Some argue that IT operations doesnt matter anymore; its all about developers. Our aim in this paper is to re-balance the discussion based on research in which feedback was gathered from over 400 European IT professionals. ...more
By Dale Vile & Jack Vile
We often hear that cloud computing dramatically reduces the need for in-house IT teams, and might even lead to their ultimate demise. The research reported here provides a very different view based on analysis of real business objectives and actual experience. ...more
By Dale Vile & Jack Vile
As technology becomes smarter, more opportunities arise to exploit AI, machine learning and other forms of intelligent systems to drive efficiency and transformation. But whats the impact on IT teams? ...more
By Tony Lock
Have we all been caught asleep at the capacity planning wheel? Business users today want, and expect new IT services to be delivered in the blink of an eye, the necessary resources provisioned instantly, and changes made on demand. ...more
By Dale Vile and Tony Lock
Its easy to be caught out by a cyber attack or internal mistake that leads to your customers data or important intellectual property ending up on the black market. Making sure your business is adequately protected and is able to respond effectively ...more
By Dale Vile, Tony Lock & Jack Vile
Application programming interfaces (APIs) have been around for decades. In the early days of IT they were primarily used to give programmers convenient access to libraries of prebuilt functions. As systems became more distributed, APIs found their place ...more


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As I'm writing this, it's November 25. That means we only have one month until Christmas. Where did November go?! So many things to do! However, it you want to block out the holidays for now, and defer your shopping, baking, wrapping, panic attack until another day – just head on to one of the movies Toronto has on offer! Here's what is happening on the scene for Monday, November 26, 2012.
TIFF Bell Lightbox continues to host Samsara , Holy Motors , Chasing Ice , and Inch'Allah , with multiple screenings throughout the day.
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is having a fairly quiet night, with just a single screening of the excellent documentary The Fruit Hunters from Canada's own Yung Chang (of Up the Yangtze fame) at 9:15 pm.
The Revue Cinema will have the results of the Toronto 48 Hour Film Project at 7:00 pm, giving out awards for, and screening the best of, this year's entries. Then at 9:15 pm, it's Sarah Polley's new autobiographical documentary, Stories We Tell .
The Fox Theatre is screening the darkly comic Seven Psychopaths at 7:00 pm, and the new documentary The Imposter at 9:15 pm, the film about a young Frenchman who poses as a Texas family's missing son.
The Royal continues screenings from the European Union Film Festival, which runs until tomorrow. Up today are the Belgian film, Miles from Anywhere at 6:00 pm, and at 8:30 pm, it's Sonny Boy , from the Netherlands.
Projection Booth East continues screenings of Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy at 7:30 pm, and Shut Up and Play the Hits , a concert chronicling the last concert of LCD Soundsystem at Madison Square Gardens at 9:30 pm. At the Projection Booth Metro location, they're also screening Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy at 9:30 pm.
Image from The Fruit Hunters.


text: This Video Shows How a Menstrual Cup Fits Inside YouBeth Skwarecki8/29/16 12:00pm557EditPromoteGo to permalinkIf you're used to tampons and pads, a menstrual cup might look bizarrely large and unwieldy: That's supposed to fit where? This video offers a literal window into that problem. With a see-through anatomical model, everything becomes clear.


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Both Linux and the BSDs are free and open-source, Unix-like operating systems. They even use much of the same software — these operating systems have more things in common than they do differences. So why do they all exist?
Both Linux and the BSDs are free and open-source, Unix-like operating systems. They even use much of the same software — these operating systems have more things in common than they do differences. So why do they all exist?
Chromebooks locally sync some data, so you'll want to wipe that personal data when selling or passing on your Chromebook. You can also reinstall Chrome OS — particularly useful if you've messed around in developer mode.
If you share your Ubuntu machine with other people, you probably have multiple users set up, thinking that the other users log into their own accounts and only have access to their own home directories. However, by default, any user can access any home directory.
If you've installed a lot of applications in Ubuntu, you may have noticed that takes longer for your system to boot up. Some applications are automatically run when you boot up your Ubuntu system and this process uses up resources as Ubuntu boots.
The Ubuntu desktop has changed a lot over time. If you're a new user, you may only know the Unity desktop environment. However, if you're a long-time user, you may prefer the original Gnome desktop environment that was previously part of Ubuntu.
Linux isn't the only alternative PC operating system out there. Some alternative operating systems are developed by large corporations, while others are small projects worked on by hobbyists.
In Ubuntu 14.04, you cannot change the window control buttons to the right side of the title bar anymore. If you prefer the window control buttons on the right, or you just don't like Unity, you can easily go back to the classic Gnome desktop.
Tools like ping, traceroute, lookup, whois, finger, netstat, ipconfig, and port scanners are available on nearly every operating system you can get your hands on. They're used for everything from troubleshooting a connection to looking up information.
By default, Nautilus displays a breadcrumb bar showing the path to the selected folder or file. However, this may not be efficient if you need to enter a long path. You can easily change Nautilus to display the location entry rather than the breadcrumb bar.
Virtual machines are isolated containers, so the guest operating system in the virtual machine doesn't have access to your computer's file system. You'll have to set up shared folders in a program like VirtualBox or VMware to share files.
If you've switched to Ubuntu from Windows, it may take some time to get used to the new and different interface. However, you can easily incorporate a familiar Windows feature, the Taskbar, into Ubuntu to make the transition easier.
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS will "form the basis of the first commercially available Ubuntu tablets," according to Canonical. We installed Ubuntu Touch 14.04 on our own hardware to see what those tablets will be like.
Your operating system provides each user account with its own folders when you set up several different user accounts on the same computer. Shared folders allow you to share files between user accounts.
Keyboard shortcuts are essential on any device with a hardware keyboard, whether you're using a Windows PC, Linux system, Mac, or even a Chromebook. Chrome OS and other operating systems share quite a few shortcuts, but many are unique to Chrome OS.
Android may be based on Linux, but it's not based on the type of Linux system you may have used on your PC. You can't run Android apps on typical Linux distributions and you can't run the Linux programs you're familiar with on Android.
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is the latest release of Ubuntu. Like other recent releases, there are no flashy big new features. Canonical has made some important changes, but they're very easy to miss.
The Unity launcher is the vertical bar with icons on the left side of your Ubuntu desktop. It allows you to easily launch programs and to access workspaces, removable devices, and the trash bin. Initially, the Unity launcher icons are fairly large.
In Windows you can easily find out how much disk space is left using Windows Explorer. The total disk space and how much space is free is displayed for each device connected to your machine. However, how do you do this on an Ubuntu machine?
The Global menu is a feature in Ubuntu that places the menu bar for each application on the bar at the top of the screen. If you don't like the Global menu, you can move the menu bars back to the program title bars.
The Global menu in Ubuntu was designed to provide more space for program windows. However, if you use a large monitor or multiple monitors, the Global menu can be an annoyance as the menus get further away from their respective program windows.
VirtualBox is a program that allows you to run multiple operating systems (guests) on one computer (the host computer). You may need to transfer files between the host and the guest. It's easy to set up in Windows guests, but tricky in Ubuntu guests.
Most computers ship with a single operating system, but you can have multiple operating systems installed on a single PC. Having two operating systems installed — and choosing between them at boot time — is known as "dual-booting."
OpenOffice.org was once the open-source office suite of choice, but it fractured into two separate projects — Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Never mind Oracle Open Office, which was actually a closed-source office suite and was discontinued.
Installing Windows on your Mac is easy with Boot Camp, but Boot Camp won't help you install Linux. You'll have to get your hands a bit dirtier to install and dual-boot a Linux distribution like Ubuntu.
The long wait is finally over…the stable release of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS has arrived and is now available for download in ten different 'flavors'. So grab a copy of your favorite distributions and get ready for a weekend full of Linux-based fun!


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Cobalt blue designs contrast with the dark subtle background. blue sky scrubs™ Surigical Scrubs Pixie Hat is worn by women with short hair, long hair, or anywhere in-between. Add a personal touch to your medical uniform with any one of our many scrub caps.
The Cobalt Pixie Hat looks great with our Royal Blue Scrubs or our Turquoise Scrubs.


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A few questions before we start.
– Do you know the enemy? You know your enemy?
– Are you familiar with the Best And Worst Of Raw? This is going to work just like that, only for the super special live edition of Smackdown. I don't normally do these recaps for Smackdown because 1) I am a cool guy in real life who is probably busy on Friday nights and 2) With Leather doesn't update on the weekends, and if I put it up on Saturday afternoon it will get four hits, and three of those will be from Upstate Underdog. If you like this write-up and share it around and leave me a comment, I'll try to make a point to work it out somehow.
– If you haven't read yesterday's column, please do so before clicking through.
Enjoy our inaugural edition of The Best and Worst of Smackdown by clicking through, and stay tuned for our loosely-related slideshow, The 16 Most Outrabulous Teddy Long Jackets.
Worst: The Assassination Of Ricardo Rodriguez By The Coward John Cena
One of the things that made the Best And Worst Of Raw column controversial when I brought it to With Leather was my insistence that The Rock was an overrated, hateful weirdo and John Cena was an under-appreciated franchise player with good intentions. I justified a lot of his actions as those of a champion trying to be a good man in a world of badness. I still think that people only like Rocky because he's a big enough star to do a racist Chinese voice or call somebody a cooter but not enough of a tabloid presence to get in trouble for it, but Cena … I don't know. He's going through a high school thing.
That's weird to say about a 34-year old 11-time World Champion, but yeah, he's turning into the kid from the I Learned It By Watching You commercial. Cena had been wrestling his entire career against guys like Umaga and JBL, these wacky, over-the-top caricatures that threatened to destroy John Cena the Character, but never John Cena the Man. I think the decline started with Wade Barrett, funny enough. Cena got into a feud with a gang of guys from NXT who weren't supposed to have contracts, but they kept showing up on Raw and beating him up … and eventually Wade Barrett got some sort of weird executive power and arranged for Cena to be his f**king literal slave if he lost a match, then warped that into Cena being fired for disobeying him. Cena, being John Cena, went along with it. Eventually it became too much and Cena attacked, sacrificing his career for nobility … but as it turned out, Cena getting fired meant nothing, because being fired didn't mean he had to go away. He kept showing up, and by proxy of being around got his job back. Barrett was punished, banished even, and something in the back of Cena the Character's brain said "Huh. Maybe none of this is real." Like Truman noticing a light fixture falling from the sky. Cena the Character and Cena the Man started to smoosh together.
It got worse when The Rock showed up. Cena was okay wrestling The Miz, a dastardly blowhard with an evil high school jock familiar who took the WWE Championship under nefarious circumstances~. Then Rocky shows up, and Rock's been gone for so long he's forgotten that you aren't supposed to bring up sh*t you don't want the fans to think. He makes fun of Cena's shorts, makes fun of the bright colors of his t-shirts, mocks him for being supported by women and children and more or less calls him a worthless f*ggot for like three months. So Cena has to face simultaneous attacks to The Man and The Character, Miz and Riley from one side, Dwayne Johnson "playing" The Rock from the other. It corrupts him further, and just when you think he's going to settle into a feud about different sizes of Jimmy with R-Truth, he runs missed-leaping-shoulderblock first into a challenge from CM Punk. Punk costs him a match, sits down Indian style on the stage and disassembles the carefully placed world of kayfabe that John had already been struggling with. John has to lie there in a state of semi-unconsciousness and let it seep into his brain like a baby with Mozart held against his mother's stomach.
And that has led us to John Cena, August 2011.
Cena is crushed between two conflicting personalities — he still wants to prance out to My Time Is Now and toss his shirt into the crowd, but now when someone tosses it back to him, he understands why. Two years ago he would've seen Alberto Del Rio and said "you're rich and you think you're better than people, but you aren't better than people!!!" Now he sees Alberto and says "you don't even own those cars, do you, this is stupid". That's why he's gotten so childish, but can't stop hurting people. He's losing his mind. He's turning into Kid Miracleman, a megalomaniacal superman becoming less and less bound by the mind of a mistreated but good-natured kid. He's seeing the world around him for what it "really" is, so the guy who two years ago might've said "Alberto Del Rio, get out here right now!" sucker-punches the short, wimpy ring announcer who won't stop talking when he says to as a "message".
Worst: The Uh, Assassination Of Wade Barrett Something Something
And in a series of events I can't compare to anything, John Cena beat Wade Barrett in like two minutes without breaking a sweat for no reasons. Barrett had just come off a big win against Daniel Bryan at Summerslam and sure, wins and losses don't really matter in WWE, but looking like a chode nobody against the important people does. Couldn't they have thrown a superplex near-fall or like forty additional seconds of chinlock somewhere in the middle to make Barrett at least look like he deserves to be in there? Cena beat him like he was an NXT week 2 Heath Slater. Although I guess it does further my Kid Miracleman comparison, as Cena calmly told Barrett they had unfinished business and punched him through the skull.
Best: The Dumbest Question Evah Asked
Mark Henry always sounds like he's reading cue cards during backstage interviews and promos (or when he's reading poems about it burning when you cry), but something about his Predator head and frank disposition makes them engaging. When Josh is all "MARK HENRY WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CAGE MATCHES" and Mark responds by calling him a dumb idiot and peppers it with phrases like "flesh is torn!" it gets pretty amazing. Jim Ross said something on Monday about Mark Henry "imposing his mighty will", and I think he does that as well verbally as physically.
And I know we've all shared this thought by now, but how great is it that Sexual Chocolate, the guy who got his cock put in a vice by the Pretty Mean Sisters, had an incestuous affair with his sister, impregnated an old lady with a mannequin shard and was once considered the second most important gigantically fat horny black guy in pajamas on the roster has become one of the most dependable, dangerous dudes in the wrestling world? I hope he gets his Lifetime Achievement Award at Night of Champions, because man, I don't want to see him get Joe'd by Serpentor.
Best: DAS MY BWAH D-BRYAN
For those of you joining the Best and Worst column for the first time, or for those of you who started reading recently and haven't realized what a classically-trained ROHbot I can be, Daniel Bryan née Bryan Danielson is my favorite active professional wrestler in the world, and he has been since right around the time he grew a hobo beard, bought a cloak and started airplane spinning people. He also tops a lot of other personal lists, including my favorite title reigns (Ring of Honor World Champion 9/05 – 12/06), the nicest wrestlers I've ever met and my favorite famous or semi-famous vegans (a list that includes Billy West, UltraMantis Black, James Cromwell and adorable jazz pianist Nellie McKay). The major reason I've wanted to start doing Best And Worst Of Smackdown reports is because of how much I miss writing that "Bryan Danielson is awesome, guys" paragraph every week. Well, here you go.
Daniel Bryan has been on a losing streak as of late, but I'm not worried about it — nearly every loss has been in a good-to-great match, and that's what I watch Daniel Bryan (and professional wrestling) to see. He's gotten the best WWE match out of both Sin Caras now, and if I've got to see somebody lose to a winded developmental luchador in five minutes I'm glad it's him. If he ends up losing Money in the Bank to Christian and gets eliminated by Michael McGillicutty in a pre-Wrestlemania battle royal I'm still happy that he's around and getting paid big money to do what he's better at than almost anyone.
But I do wish Booker T would stop saying "D-Bryan", or at least stop calling him D-Bryan fifteen times per sentence. "MY BOY D-BRYAN RIGHT THERE, D-BRYAN COLE, D-BRYAN'S GOT A LOT A GOOD MOVES MICHAEL COLE AN I THINK D-BRYAN WILL WIN THIS MATCH RIGHT HERE."
Worst: Michael Cole Thinks Hulk Hogan Sucks Because He Doesn't Even Have Any Hair
Speaking of announcers saying things you hate, holy sh*t, the Smackdown version of Michael Cole, the one without Jerry Lawler to threaten him or Jim Ross to change the subject, is the least constructive wrestling personality of all time. He's like wrestling's Ray William Johnson, pointing out only the most obvious things and assuming that makes him a popular genius. I'm used to every aspect of Daniel Bryan being bad (using the Internet, owning a dog, knowing wrestling moves … all signs of a nerd), but he even made a point to say that Sin Cara doesn't talk. It's like the Cena thing from the last page, isn't there somebody at WWE Headquarters who can point out that we shouldn't say the stuff we don't want people regurgitating? There was a reason nobody in the 80s pointed out that Hulk Hogan was bald and on steroids. They wanted us to LIKE HULK HOGAN.
If Daniel Bryan wrestles Sin Cara (actual Sin Cara, mind you) you've got one of the most celebrated and technically brilliant independent wrestlers of the decade, a guy who came up on your rookie show and made a name for himself with his incredible in-ring performances, going one-on-one on your free, easy to change away from wrestling program against Mexico's biggest box office draw, a nimble acrobat who (pending him actually being able to do it) can pull off things nobody in your WWE Universe has seen. So why do you boil that down to "this homo nerd who can't wrestle and sucks is losing to a sh*tty fake guy who can't even speak English"? If you spent the first five years of the Hardy Boyz saying "these guys are drug-dealing rednecks who didn't even go to wrestling school, they wrestled on trampolines in their backyard against their mumblemouthed friends, and Matt's girlfriend has implants and an ugly face and paid for wrestling school by blowing Mexicans" you wouldn't have sold a goddamn Team XTreme pendant one.
Seriously, there isn't a wrestler in history who could've survived this. This so-called Jumbo Tsuruta, what a goof! He's not even that big, and he's got hepatitis, King!
Best: Sin Cara 1000% Rudo, or, WHUT DA HALE
In an attempt to get back to what worked on the show (with the help of a mute button, because christ almighty), Sin Cara showing sportsmanship to Daniel Bryan after the match only to turn on him like the world's most Smurf-like Mr. Wonderful was fantastic and legitimately surprising. Hopefully (like a lot of people are going to point out) this will lead to the "real" Sin Cara returning in his Mistico white and gold to suppress his evil doppleganger and reclaim his mood lighting. It'll be just as great as Dragon Kid and Darkness Dragon in Dragon Gate, Lance Steel versus other Lance Steel in CHIKARA, and player one purple gloves Undertaker against player two grey gloves Undertaker at Summerslam '94.
Now I really want to see Brian Lee as the fake Sin Cara.
Still Worst: Air Boom
I spent the weekend in Bristol visiting my parents, so I didn't get to do my normal Monday night ritual of settling in to watch Raw with Destiny and enjoying about 45 minutes of her commentary before she gets bored and goes upstairs. I got back into Austin late last night, so a part of our conversation was what happened on Raw, and what I wrote in Best and Worst. I tried to explain Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne's "Air Boom" tag team name to her, and she responded beautifully:
"Air Boom? Is that like Space Jam? It's exactly like Space Jam, they just used a different word for Space and a different word for Jam."
I could not possibly improve on that.
Oh, and here's another great idea, let them have a conversation with Matt Striker, the least cool person in American history.
Best: Aksana's Porno Sax
I don't know what ten year old decided the "sexy" characters should all have sexual 1980s saxophone playing in the background, but I can't stop laughing about it. I want to give a worst to Aksana's weird ring announcing and character (and her hair that looks like a wig, but isn't actually a wig) but can't for two reasons:
1. That time she got caught in a net backstage and it turned into a crazy character dance party, and she danced while still under the net
2. Do you remember the last two extraneous "host" characters who got added to Smackdown segments where they didn't belong and did a terrible, expendable job? They were Maryse and The Miz.
Maryse even got the porno sax when she'd "walcome" us to Smackdown from through the vaseline-covered camera lens in her Phantom of the Opera-looking bedroom set. Miz never got porno sax, but he had to wear fingerless gloves and fedoras, which are the masculine equivalent to porno sax. Sorry, just seeing how many times I can type "porno sax". Porno sax. Somebody's gonna typo Googling for "porno sex" and end up here.
Best: Beth Phoenix And Natalya Are Doing Things!
My biggest complaint about the Beth Phoenix and Natalya "new era of strong style Divas" arc (besides a complete absence of Rachel Summerlyn) has been inaction — they attacked Kelly Kelly and AJ and declared the days of cute, perky champions over, but all they've done since is lose one match to Kelly and spend nearly a month looking off-screen while telling a camera they aren't jealous. And they clapped some. That's been it. They needed to go on the Kharma streak by just showing up whenever the Bellas (or whoever) appeared to wreck them and take their spots. So I was very, very happy to see Glamazon Hart Foundation beating Alicia Fox senseless in about two minutes and winning a match. It's not hard to build up two foxy musclebound blonde ladies, you put them in sorta matching clothes and have them routinely beat the people they look like they should obviously beat. Sure, Kelly Kelly should get a win now and again to keep the sides unsteady, but if Beth Phoenix and her shoulderblades the size of my torso come across an Alicia Fox type, the Alicia Fox type should be Glamorously Amazon'd onto her massive forehead and pinned in moments.
The only complaint I have about the match is that it only went two minutes. I feel like Beth and Nattie really need a Midnight Express style extended beatdown of their inferior opponents to get their characters across. The MXE were glorious about that, they'd get into a match against Bill and Randy Mulkey or the Italian Stallion and have it won in about 40 seconds, but they'd drag it out and beat poor Bill senseless with every move in their repertoire before calling it a day and Rocket Launchering him back to Anderson, South Carolina. After the first GlamSlam Alicia Fox is dead in the water, so why not drag her around in front of Kelly for a while and really rub it in?
Worst: Wait, Alicia Fox, Really
I guess Eve was too busy to make this trip?
I was really hoping to see The Chickbusters when I tuned in to
The Pirate Bay SciFi for Super Duper Smackdown. AJ and Kaitlyn are two of my very favorites, and they only show up on Raw to get eliminated first in battles royal or stand on the apron while Rosa Mendes tries to figure out the mechanics of walking forward. Add to that my natural dislike for someone taking the Melina route to Diva allegiance, immediately becoming best friends with the people you've been cheating to beat because you've suddenly decided to stop cheating, and you've got a tag team partner spot that could've 86'd the Alicia Fox and subbed in someone uh human being wants to see. I don't want to see Eve, but she would've made sense. So would AJ (who hasn't gotten a lot of revenge since being punked by her mentor), so would Kaitlyn. Then I would've gotten to renew my quest to get the Chickbusters to notice me and be my friends in real life. And I could've put a picture of one of them in this report.
oh who am I kidding, I'm going to do that anyway
Worst: I Thought I Was Going To Get To Write About Smackdown
Yeah, picking "Super Smackdown" the day after Triple H nerfed the brand split might've been a bad call. I was all ready to write about the Chickbusters and Cody Rhodes and even Big Zeke and his World of Bodyslams, but what have I gotten? John Cena, Michael Cole, Air Boom (or "S.O.SSP") and Kelly Kelly. CM Punk and Triple H have words about Kevin Nash on the next page. THIS is why the brand split needs to stick, guys — if you don't like what's happening on Raw, you can get something different on Smackdown. Now if you don't like something on Raw, you've got to get a second helping of it here, and with material being stretched thin over one show, God help us on two. If I don't like what I see on Raw or Smackdown, what am I supposed to watch? There are only so many episodes of Wrestling Society X, and nobody's thought to put WOW Women of Wrestling on DVD.
(do it)
Worst: Some Of These People LIKE The WWE!
I'm giving it a worst, here, but last night's lengthy, verbose, constantly restated Triple H and CM Punk argument was a lot better than Monday's. Punk made a more solid point than "Stephanie's vagina be trippin'" and Triple H came across as himself, but logical and reasonable enough to want to kick CM Punk's ass without it seeming shoehorned in. Frankly, that's why this whole thing is starting to get a worst from me every week — I really want to see Triple H kick CM Punk's ass, and I'm not sure that's the intention of the angle. Like, I understand CM Punk is the bad guy and that his "Cult of Personality" act is to create the illusion of being a People's Champion while solely benefiting himself, but when Triple H blatantly points that out, CM Punk continues on about how he wants change and everybody chants "CM Punk" I don't know what to feel. I know that people are chanting Punk's name and buying his t-shirt, but if Triple H punches him in the mouth and pedigrees him, do people boo? No, they're going to cheer, because they like pedigrees and Triple H is tough. Punk has been running his mouth (way too much, and this is coming from a guy who gets excited every time Punk picks up a microphone) about nothing in particular, doing that "lol social experiment you FELL FOR IT" thing Internet trolls do where they run you down and act like irredeemable assholes for months, then call you a prick for noticing. That's Punk here. I want to cheer for the manipulative faux-revolutionary, not the Aint It Cool News talkback commenter. Somewhere in the middle of this I was hoping the arena scoreboard would come loose and fall and crush everybody.
The "some people like WWE" line, followed by Punk's "I want EVERYONE to enjoy WWE!" line was concerning, I think at best. I'm not 100% that the focus of this story should be how much everybody knows everything sucks. Punk's initial cross-legged speech that made Jim Rome believe in fairies dipped into that, but not too deeply — it expressed concern for the future of a company with John Cena (the character) as its figurehead at the expense of some released wrestlers who were Punk's on-screen friends and the very, very well-known hierarchy of Triple H Stephanie Vince Jesus God. It wasn't news to us, it was fun because it was something we all knew being said outloud. We don't all know that WWE is sh*tty wrestling or that there are better things out there. We don't all know how the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations job works, or how and why people get hired, and we don't … okay, I don't know how anything Punk was raging against has to do with text messages and clandestine backstage meetings.
How many of you want to tune in on Monday to hear these guys continue their discussion? Raise your hand.
Worst In Capital Letters: Vince McMahon Took A Beating For Business
Near the end of the segment, Triple H explained the difference between him and Vince McMahon: the difference is that Vince would step into the ring with someone and take a beating because it was good for business. You can take that as "Vince would accept fights with people he knew he couldn't beat up because if he's going to resolve personal issues he might as well get ratings or sell pay-per-views", but my first interpretation was … not that. Am I alone here? The way he phrased it it sounded like a big EVERYTHING ELSE IS FAKE, BUT THIS IS REAL, WE PROMISE. Vince got into matches for "business" and never for a personal reason, so I guess the whole feud with Austin that involved embalming attempts and Vince almost getting his own daughter crucified wasn't because he hated Austin, it's because Vince vs. Austin was a wrestling story people enjoyed. He didn't wrestle Hogan because of their myriad of historically important issues, he wrestled him because people wanted to see it. The Wrestlemania match with his son that involved him drugging his wife so he could f**k Trish Stratus in front of her was business and nothing personal. But NOW, because Triple H is MAD, THIS IS FOR REALSIES.
I don't know. I'm probably over-exaggerating it, but it was like a verbal fingerpoke that expected me to fall backwards and let it pin me. I can't handle this fourth wall stuff anymore. The fourth wall is there for a reason, guys. Wrestling is not real, but it sucks unless you let us pretend it is. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air used to break the fourth wall all the time, but my enjoyment of the show didn't hinge on Phil actually being Will's uncle.
Best: Kevin Nash Makes It A Contract Signing
It's not a contract signing until somebody flips a table. Nash had no reason to flip it, either, he just walked into the ring and decided he'd rather turn it over than walk around it. That's funny. And he managed to show a ton of intensity, looking like he wanted to f**king murder Punk, but at the same time he took Punk's kick and punches and made it look like the Short Order Cook with the Skinny Fat Ass could stand a chance to hurt him in a fight. The big boot to Punk and the Triple H shoving are probably for the sake of a video package and won't go any deeper, but for once it was nice to see Nash look like a threat again, and not have to worry about him getting up the three outside steps without hurting himself.
If Nash can't get cleared to wrestle again but has to have a WWE contract, let him use some of that intensity to make things better. If you took a wild guess at what Punk and Mister Ayches were going to say to each other and fast forwarded to the table flipping, you got a great segment. How is Triple H going to respond to Nash shoving him on his ass? Is this an example of how Nash feels about being taken out of the match? Both of those questions are more exciting than "how does CM Punk feel about Triple H's family, show your work".
Worst: Teddy Long's Clothes
How hard would it be for somebody to find Teddy Long a shirt that fit? Doom and Rodney Mack only wore headgear and pants, so I don't expect them to know. ECW general manager Tiffany (RIP) only wore clothes three sizes too small for her and I'm not sure Aksana even knows what clothes are, but somebody over the last 30 years should've pulled him aside and said "you do not need that much room for your torso, you look like the Kid In Me from the old Frosted Mini-Wheats commercials". Also, somebody should tell him he looks and sounds like a California Raisin.
Best: Sheamus Just Rag Tagged That Boy Khali Right There
Two bests involved here:
1. Sheamus continues to be the easiest dude in WWE to cheer for by showing up and hammerfisting people without a lot of pointing and catchphrases.
2. The Great Khali is probably the best jobber ever, and is doing Viscera's job of being the Ridiculously Large Guy Who Loses To Everyone way better than Viscera ever did.
I'm telling you, the moment "OIL FOIT 'IM" came out of Sheamus's mouth he was a made man. I can't find it in me to boo him for anything, whether he's Brogue Kicking the heads off of things on Conan or Pearl Harboring Triple H with one of those oversized novelty WWE lead pipes. The fact that he looks like he could kill you helps, and not in that Cena way where it looks like he's spent too much time trying to look good on TV. He looks like a guy who might've been roaming a hill somewhere 500 years ago. And Khali has finally found a workable way to contribute to WWE, because when he falls down awkwardly it's okay — a guy that big is gonna fall awkwardly no matter what happens. We don't know what guys that big falling down is SUPPOSED to look like. It's not like when Ashley Massaro does a sunset flip and ends up wedged on Torrie Wilson's back for 15 terrifying seconds. Khali's size makes him a weapon, but his limited mobility and attack options make him a believable victory for someone. That's why it's better than Viscera. Am I supposed to believe that Jeff Hardy grazing Viscera's gigantic f**king stomach with his head should be enough to put a guy that size down? God, no. But do I believe that Great Khali can have his ribcage busted up by a guy who could rip the ring apart with his bare hands? Yes, yes I do. It's a sliding scale that starts with Sid Vicious snapping his leg in half and slides all the way down to El Gigante bugging out his eyes and nodding his head when someone touches him.
Worst: Hahaha Sheamus Doesn't Give A Sh*t About Your Fake Fighting
In a continuing theme from last night (where Sheamus was supposed to have broken ribs but sprinted out to confront Mark Henry and punched himself in the chest 40 times to celebrate), Sheamus got jumped by Jinder Mahal after the match and beaten up pretty thoroughly by Mahal and Khali only to completely ignore it, destroy everybody and pose. And right, again, I like Sheamus, but dude, what is going on? It goes deeper than people arguing about how much someone should sell or their "facials", and it's even worse than Cena getting adrenaline rushes and hitting a bunch of Over 9000 moves. This is a wrestler entirely forgetting that he's performed wrestling. He's that friend who interrupts your match to announce OH MAN HERE HE COMES HE'S GOING FOR HIS MOVE and tries to powerbomb you or something out of nowhere. And you're like DUDE I'VE BEEN STOMPING YOU FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES and he doesn't hear you because he's making crowd noises.
I don't expect Sheamus to hold his neck like John Morrison (or his lower back like Rob Van Dam) every time somebody tries to hurt him, but man, you're going to turn into something from M.U.S.C.L.E. if you don't let people start hurting you.
Worst: Jinder Mahal Is The Misinformed Fan's Interpretation Of Alberto Del Rio
For those of you who don't watch Smackdown on the reg, Jinder Mahal is a brown gentleman of notable size who speaks in a foreign language, wrestles in little white trunks and is not really that great. Unfortunately, this is what most of you think of when you think of Alberto Del Rio. I got comments on this week's Best and Worst of Raw saying the best part was that Alberto Del Rio wasn't there, and I can't explain it. Alberto Del Rio is a five tool player (wrestling ability, mic skills, charisma, jumping, winking) and the only reasons I can think of for you not enjoying him are "you haven't been paying attention" or "you don't like Mexican people". I don't want it to be the second one, so I HAVE to think it's that you aren't paying attention.
Maybe you are thinking of Jinder Mahal. He just sorta stomps around and uses a full nelson slam as his finishing move, and the only thing more damning than a goddamn full nelson slam is Roll Of The Dice. His version of Ricardo Rodriguez once killed a guy and can only say "bleargh". He's the love child of Test and Sonjay Dutt. Is this the guy you're thinking of? Because Alberto Del Rio is the best thing to happen to WWE in years, and you should wear your glasses when you watch wrestling.
Worst: Green Day Is Terrible
I thought this needed its own section. You guys are making me miss Nickelback, Green Day, get it together.