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Top-Selling Food and Beverage Products of 2011: Targeted Innovation Rules the Day
This year's SymphonyIRI New Product Pacesetters appeal to increasing at-home consumption.
Even in times of plenty, bringing new products to market is challenging. So in this time of not-yet-plenty, it is not shocking to see the pace of new product innovation within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry on a downward trend.
In 2011, overall brand introductions were off 3 percent from last year and numbered 13 percent fewer versus 2008 levels. However, in contrast to declining non-foods new product introductions (from 957 to 896), new food & beverage products and brands rose slightly from 647 in 2010 to 665 in 2011, according to the 2012 New Product Pacesetters report from Chicago-based Symphony IRI Group (www.symphonyiri.com).
Most launches fail to garner more than $7.5 million in year-one sales across food, drug and mass channels (excluding Walmart), thereby not meeting the first criterion for SymphonyIRI New Product Pacesetters. Launched between February of one year and January of the next, new products also must achieve 30 percent national distribution and complete a full year of sales (brands that do not are considered Rising Stars for the following year). Only 2 percent of 2011 new products achieved those criteria; only one broke $100 million in sales.
Food and beverage innovation fell, it could be argued, as 92 percent of this year's Pacesetters are brand extensions. Yes, this road is shorter and easier. Having established brand equity goes a long way to supporting new, related products, which add excitement and longevity to the life of the core brand in a relatively inexpensive and less risky manner.
But the easier road comes at a price Year-one sales of product line extensions are generally much lower than sales achieved by net-new brands. During the past 10 years, food and beverage line extensions averaged one-year sales of $27.7 million, about 9 percent less than net-new brands introduced during the same timeframe. New food and beverage products yielded average sales of $35.5 million in 2011, but the gap for brand extensions was much more substantial at $21.5 million, or more than 64 percent.
Despite prolonged economic difficulties, 22 percent of consumers are actively looking for new products to try, reinforcing the notion that new products are the lifeblood of the CPG industry, according to the Symphony IRI 2012 New Products Survey.
The best selling food and beverage launches brought restaurant and gourmet quality into the home kitchen, made snacking and on-the-go foods more fun with new textures, exciting flavor combinations and convenience, and were highly targeted.
Two-thirds of food and beverage 2011 New Product Pacesetters bring distinctive flavors, new flavors or new flavor combinations into the marketplace, a substantially higher focus than in recent history, and occurring across aisles, categories and manufacturers. Kellogg launched seven brands with distinctive/new flavors, and General Mills launched six.
On the healthier-eating front, the most common wellness-related benefit among 2011's Pacesetters is natural and/or organic ingredients. In fact, 23 percent of the top food and beverage launches were natural/organic, versus a historical average of 19 percent.
Consumers looking to eat well without derailing their dietary efforts are in luck, too. You can create mornings that shine with Thomas' Bagel Thins ($73.6 million). And, with Kellogg's Special K Cracker Chips ($50.6 million), you can have your chips and eat them too! It's a perfectly seasoned way to satisfy your salty snack craving. Both offer calorie-controlled indulgence without the guilt.
Taking a dive in 2011, innovation in two groups fell: breakfast solutions and sweet snacks. In the past, those categories were driven by snacks/granola bars and ice cream/sherbet.
Make mine dinner
With more than 55 percent of all shoppers eating at home today (more than prior to the recession), skewing new product innovation to complete dinner solutions accounted for 23 percent of total sales, compared to 18 percent on average from 2002-2011. The No. 1 Pacesetter brand, P.F. Chang's Home Menu line of frozen entrees from Unilever, touts signature bold flavors of Asian restaurant cuisine. Promising to "ignite the night" with meals that can be ready in less than 13 minutes to appetizers that are "too good to have just one," the line enjoyed phenomenal first year sales of $101.6 million.
Another frozen dinner/entree line that made the list was Nestle's Lean Cuisine Market Creations ($48.6 million), while Stouffer's Farmers' Harvest and Buitoni Riserva exemplify quick and easy meal solutions that offer variety, comfort and/or restaurant quality at a solid value.
In recent years, small companies have made quite a splash in the new products pool. Indeed, 2010's top-selling food launch was Chobani yogurt. With a purse-string advertising budget, this relative unknown brand took the country by storm, garnering nearly $150 million in year-one sales.
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ROCHESTER — Police report a Dover woman allegedly assaulted a female victim and stole her purse while a Rochester man held her at gunpoint on Darvey Anne Locke Lane Thursday night.
Sandra Jean Fallon, 24, of 18B Atkinson St., Dover, and Jacob Nyberg, 22, of 10 Pleasant St., Rochester, were both arrested and charged with robbery in connection with this case. Fallon also had outstanding felony warrants from Rochester for issuing bad checks and theft by deception.
She was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail and was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Rochester Circuit Court. Nyberg was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail with an arraignment date set for Feb. 19. Both were transported to Strafford County House of Corrections.
The Rochester Police Department said in a press release they were called to the scene on Darvey Anne Locke Lane at 9:58 p.m. Thursday. The victim said she was traveling in a Toyota Corolla vehicle with Nyberg and Fallon, who are known to her, and Fallon was driving the car.
When Fallon allegedly pulled the vehicle over near a residential area in the vicinity of the William Allen School, Nyberg reportedly pointed a handgun in the female victim's face.
Police scanner reports indicated Thursday night the woman allegedly had the gun pushed into her mouth, though Police Capt. Paul Toussaint said the department is hesitant to release further details at this time and will not release how the firearm was used. The incident is still under investigation, he said.
"There could be further charges in the future but as of right now, each charge (for each suspect) was one count of robbery," he said.
The victim told police Fallon physically assaulted her and took her purse and its contents. Toussaint said police found a purse through their investigation and clarified the assault occurred outside the vehicle, on the road. He said there were no witnesses to the alleged crimes, however.
After the assault, police said the suspects drove away, fleeing the scene in the Toyota vehicle. A "be on the lookout" request to area departments was requested Thursday evening.
The female victim in this case suffered injuries considered not to be life threatening and was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital by ambulance for treatment. Toussaint said he did not know the extent of her injuries.

subset: commoncrawl


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According to many in the digital advertising industry, at some point in the future digital marketing will be so targeted that consumers will want to see the ads. Advertising will tell us about the products we want to know about, give us a direct path to the content we need and provide access to discounts on products we want.
How will marketers do this? Data, of course. Information marketers can use to determine what you are interested in. [Read more…]


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BACK IN STOCK: Apogee ONE, Audio Interface & Microphone for Apple Mac (3963)
The Apogee ONE USB Audio Interface & Microphone for the Mac is a pocket-sized music interface featuring award winning sound quality. It's now back in stock here at Dolphin Music...so grab one while stocks last!
For news & offers: Join our mailing list Add us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
Designed to work easily with Apple's GarageBand, Logic, Final Cut, or any Core Audio compliant application. Apogee ONE lets you create professional recordings anywhere.
The Apogee ONE allows you to record a single channel of audio using the specially tuned enclosure microphone, an instrument input for guitar, bass, or keyboard, or a world-class microphone preamp input.
Apogee ONE is powered by a USB connection to your Mac and offers 24 bit audio at sample rates of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz for pristine sound quality. Apogee ONE's compact size is travel friendly, allowing you to record and perform professionally any place your music takes you.
Apogee ONE uses an instrument and microphone breakout cable, designed to minimize its footprint in your creative space and maximize ease of use and aesthetic appeal. The breakout cable provides clearly labeled high-quality connections for an instrument or microphone, as well as a natural strain relief between ONE and any connected items.
For more details and product specs, check the Apogee ONE product page at Dolphin


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32 pages
Apr 2004
Crossway Books
Review | Author Bio | Read an Excerpt
Book Jacket:
All the grown-ups in Ivans village wear a hat that shows what they love most. Because Ivans father is the hatmaker, Ivan gets to watch his father create a hat that is perfect for each person. Ivan wonders what kind of hat he will have. Will he be a musician? A baker? A palace guard?
Ivan doesnt need to worry about his future because his father, the hatmaker who loves him most, shows him that there is only one hatand one lifecreated just for him.


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Just across the Samoa Bridge on Woodley Island in Eureka, California, Cafe Marina offers fresh local seafood dishes including bouillabaisse, steamer clams, mussels, oysters, blackened snapper, halibut, and, in season, fresh local crab!
You can enjoy dining indoors or out on our dockside patio, both overlooking Humboldt Bay and the Eureka waterfront.
Check out our menus for a complete list of all we serve, including our children's menu and drink specials.
The petrale sole was to die for. The red snapper was great. Service very good. Loved it!


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VATICAN CITY — Many news headlines over the past week contained some variant of: "Vatican forgives/makes peace with/absolves the Beatles!"
It came after the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an article April 10 praising the pop group, saying their "beautiful melodies are like precious jewels."
It's certainly not the first time the Vatican newspaper has paid tribute to the band. Here and here are just the most recent examples of praise.
So obviously the paper's editors seemed surprised that the press would think the Fab Four had been on some sort of hate-list of theirs.
In an effort to show that the L'Osservatore Romano had never been part of the wave of contempt and condemnation that swept across America and other parts of the world in 1966 when John Lennon remarked that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, the paper reprinted an article it ran Aug. 14, 1966 — the same month Lennon's quip was taken out of context by an American teen magazine and sparked protests nationwide.
Today's edition of the Vatican paper says that the Beatles never needed the paper's absolution and that their 1966 story shows there was "already back then, an unexpected consonance between the Vatican newspaper and John Lennon."
L'Osservatore Romano's original 1966 story talked about the negative impact Lennon's remark had on the public and how record sales had plummeted in just a few days. It said such an upheaval made Lennon publicly reflect on his comment, which the paper surmised, was not really a reflection of his being impious, but rather being flippant. He obviously hadn't thought about the kind of impact a comment about Christ and religion would have on people, it said.
The 1966 article then provided ample quotes of a statement Lennon made in August in Chicago where the Beatles headed for the first leg of their first tour in the United States.
In the statement Lennon explained how it had never crossed his mind to say anything against religion. He said his remark that the group was bigger than Jesus was part of a larger discussion in which he deplored the fact that people, especially young people, cared more about the Beatles than Jesus and religion.
Lennon, in fact, spoke out often about how that remark had been taken out of context from the original interview that appeared in a British publication in March 1966.
Here are the transcripts of two interviews the Beatles did in Chicago explaining Lennon's true intentions: Aug. 11, 1966 and Aug. 12, 1966.
Lennon also did an interview in Montreal with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1969 saying the Beatles were a Christian band that wanted to bring people closer to God and that Lennon considered himself as "one of Christ's biggest fans."


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There's a post over on ProBlogger today debunking the use of traditional SEO practices (like putting keywords in your page titles, page descriptions, headers, etc.) in blog posts. They'd gone to town researching Google's algorithm and the correlation between many long-standing SEO tips and tricks. The findings? Call in MIB, it's time to erase your memory.
The advice? Focus 100% on your audience and visitors. Who's reading your blog? What's a great takeaway? What will they find useful? The Wendy-ized version of the three tips suggested are as follows:
- When it comes to blogging, ignore the SEO experts and focus solely on creating the best damned content you can offer.
- Make new friends. As in… linking was, is and always will be the best way you can build your audience base and search ranking. But don't go on a spamming link building spree. Think this through and make connections and links to other blogs that make sense for you and your readers. Look at you adding more value!
- Don't ignore the SEO experts when it comes to your domain name. That shit still works. Pick one keyword, then find a domain name that works for you.
Care to read more? Check out the original findings and explanations as posted on ProBlogger's Forget Everything You Think You Know About SEO by Mark Collier of DropMining.com.


text: On 11 May 2008, at 8:45 am, Mark Hahn wrote: >>> I find that with IPMI and console redirection, it's very rarely >>> necessary to >>> care about where your nodes are, at least from a sysadmin >>> perspective. >> >> Speaking of IPMI, are there reasonable motherboards that incorporate >> it right into the design at this point, or is it still mostly an add >> on? > > bit of both - supermicro and tyan both rely on add-in cards, but > HP (and probably some other vendors) have integrated IPMI onboard. > I keep reading stuff from Intel and AMD about managability which > sounds tantalizingly like IPMI-like managability being integrated > into the chipset. > > I think the main issue is that ipmi needs a lan interface, though I > guess there are some examples of it sharing a port with the host. There are also the issues that most vendors' IPMI implentations are broken, to at least some extent. HP seem to be in the process of abandoning IPMI in favour of something else (whose name escapes me) I guess one of the problems with IPMI is that it isn't in an individual hardware vendor's interest to support it properly. If we really had a management interface that worked consistently across all hardware vendors, then it really wouldn't matter whose tin we bought (which they won't like) and there also wouldn't be any need to lock you into expensive vendor-specific management software like SIM (which they also wouldn't like). I know I'm mainly mentioning HP here, but I don't really want to single them out for criticism - all the main vendors do the same thing. Such are the realities of business. Management systems are now one of the few things the main vendors can use to distinguish their products from those of the competition. Tim -- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is operated by Genome Research Limited, a charity registered in England with number 1021457 and a company registered in England with number 2742969, whose registered office is 215 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE.


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After The Times' recent articles on Los Angeles County's first-ever ExpressLanes project ("L.A. County enters era of freeway toll lanes"; "L.A. County toll lanes get smooth start, despite some grumbling"), some details deserve clarification about how this innovative new approach will reduce congestion on two of the region's most heavily traveled highways.
The Metro ExpressLanes project is designed to improve travel times by expanding and enhancing transit options along the Harbor Freeway and the San Bernardino Freeway. The project aims to increase the capacity of the 110 and the 10 by opening the carpool lanes to solo drivers willing to pay a toll. (The 10 ExpressLanes are to open early next year.)
The project converts 11 miles of high occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes on the 110 (between Adams Boulevard and the 91 Freeway) and 14 miles of HOV lanes on the 10 (between Alameda Street and the 605) into high occupancy toll, or HOT, lanes. Because the ExpressLanes electronically assesses tolls for solo drivers, all vehicles must have a FasTrak® transponder.
Carpoolers, vanpoolers and motorcycles still travel for free in the ExpressLanes with a FasTrak transponder that allows them to indicate the number of occupants in the vehicle (1, 2 or 3+). (When the ExpressLanes on the 10 open, the carpool rules will be the same as they are today; carpools are three or more people during peak travel times.)


text: Contact Lens Use and Care Can there be complications from contact lens wear? Contact lenses are quite safe, when fit properly and taken care of properly. However, complications can occur. To minimize that risk, an annual examination is necessary to catch and prevent potential complications resulting from lens wear. Proper care for your contacts and your eyes: Adhere to the wearing schedule that is instructed by your clinician (how many hours a day to wear your lenses) Clean your contact lenses properly and as instructed by your clinician Replace your contact lenses as prescribed Remove your lenses if the contact lens is ripped, scratched, or feels uncomfortable Do not allow other people to try on your contacts Always have a back-up pair of glasses Make An Appointment Today! 617-573-3202


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Trends Slideshow: IT Certifications Still Offer an Edge
The quarterly Foote Partners IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index examines in depth how certain skills and certification can affect the pay of IT professionals. Unsurprisingly, the index found that most skills and certifications decreased in value last year.
But as a percentage of the "base salary" for IT professionals, most types of certifications gave recipients an edge in remuneration. Typically, IT certification holders made 7.46 percent more than average IT workers in the fourth quarter of 2009.
CIO Insight examines how much extra certain types of IT certifications have garnered professionals over the last three years. The percentages are all measured as additional value on top of the base IT salary, as determined by Foote Partners.


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Criticism of how the McHenry County Ethics Commission handled its first-ever hearing is prompting some County Board members to call for a review of its guidelines.
The commission dismissed Thursday a complaint from Lakewood blogger Cal Skinner alleging that an email from Undersheriff Andrew Zinke, who is running for his retiring boss's job, constituted illegal campaigning on taxpayer time and resources. But commission members appeared during the open-session portion to be struggling with how to proceed, and supporters on both sides alleged the uncertainty compromised their ability to get a fair hearing.
County Board member Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake, said he intends to ask the Management Services Committee next month about pursuing a review in the wake of what he called an "amateurish performance" by the commission. He said he has no issue with the commission's final decision, except for the way in which it was reached.
Walkup, an attorney, said he is one of several County Board members concerned. He did not attend last week's hearing.
"I think if you're going to have a quasi-judicial proceeding, which this one was, you have to follow procedures," Walkup said.
The County Board created its ethics commission in 2004, shortly after Springfield toughened restrictions in the wake of scandals surrounding former Gov. George Ryan, and mandated that local governments create such boards to hear complaints.
But the County Board did not fill the five seats until 2005 when it received its first complaint, which was withdrawn. So was a second, unrelated complaint. Skinner's complaint, the third, was the first to proceed to a hearing.
Skinner alleged that a July 10 email Zinke sent to County Board members – during work hours and on a county email address – violated the ethics ordinance because it made references to his campaign. Zinke sent the email to dispute allegations by Skinner that photos he took show Zinke giving the middle finger at a parade.
The hearing appeared to deviate from the commission's established procedures, although those rules give commissioners significant latitude in how hearings are held. It also did not take the form of a traditional disciplinary hearing.
Attorneys for Zinke – Mark Gummerson and Rebecca Lee – addressed the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting, They also spoke first – the commission's guidelines give the opportunity to speak first to the accuser.
Neither Skinner nor commission Chairman Thomas Spencer could be reached Tuesday for comment.
County Board member John Jung, who attended as the board liaison to the commission, defended its handling of the hearing. On Tuesday, he pointed out, as did several commission members during the proceedings, that it was a first.
"Four people were there who have never had to do this before," said Jung, R-Woodstock. "I think maybe there may be a way to make some of the rules clearer, but when you have a commission that gets a complaint once every five years ... no one knows exactly how it's supposed to go."
But Walkup said the rules need to be clearer if the commission starts fielding more complaints from critics of the sheriff's office, especially in the face of a new state law that makes it harder for judges to appoint special prosecutors. A judge last year rejected two requests to appoint special prosecutors to investigate alleged wrongdoing in the sheriff's office. The new law was inspired by the hefty price tag for the special prosecution of State's Attorney Louis Bianchi, who was acquitted on all charges.
"We may need to incorporate some clearer, blow-by-blow procedures to eliminate any guesswork," Walkup said.
The ethics ordinance contains a provision allowing a fine of up to $5,000 for filing a frivolous complaint. Gummerson said last week that Zinke is weighing whether to file such a complaint against Skinner.


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Monday, January 10, 2011
No Rise For Maximilian
I realize that Max may not seem special to some people. But, I believe Max could have been a very special addition to the DSiWare library.
Very special thanks to Kevin Cassidy (RMC), head honcho at GoNintendo, who agreed to display the Max banner on his awesome site, and kept it up there much longer than I expected. I really appreciate it, man. You're a gentleman and a true gamer.
13 comments:
Sad to hear, but it's for the best.ReplyDelete
Thanks a lot though, Jools, was really hoping to see MUDDS on the rise once more.
Kudos to RMC as well.
- AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:00 PM
Gah, that stinks.ReplyDelete
I hope the project can be revived at some point in the future. But if not, oh well. Maybe you can pull some of the ideas you had for it into another title in the future.
Make it open source, I'm sure some people wouldn't mind devoting some time to it. ;)ReplyDelete
Found this on N4G.ReplyDelete
(weird typo above, couldn't edit o.o sorry)
That's disappointing. There aren't any publishers interested in releasing it as a value title?ReplyDelete
That stinks but who knows what the future holds hopefully things will change in the future.ReplyDelete
Oh come on people! MUDDS looked great. I would of loved to actually play it.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:38 AM
That's kind of depressing. The game looked interesting.ReplyDelete
I'm afraid I forgot to comment, but I wouldn't have if the game was coming to a platform I could play on. DSi seems too small of a market to me. I would have jumped if it was a standard DS release (or perhaps 3DSware?).
I also think the name was a bit... uninteresting, compared to your other work. Not memorable.
Don't give up on it yet! Talk to some publishers like indiePub or something. I wanna play it.
Sad to see this mentality. New IPS have to take a chance. Expecting 1000 gamers to post a comment voting for a DSiWare game to be made is asking a lot. Idf you aren't working on a game because not enough people "voted" for it tpo be made makes me think you have little faith in the IP yourself, otherwise you would take a shot regardless. It is likely you would get considerably more purchases than those 400+ people who voted (some of which wouldn't purchase anyway) by Nintendo announcing it's presence and releasing a trailer on the Nintendo Channel. Maybe even get Nintendo interested in promoting it for a few seconds on Nintendo Week.ReplyDelete
I don't know what entities you were asking to promote the vote. The only place I saw it was GoNintendo (just one of the many game sites I frequent) and even then it was mentioned once and dropped. The banner was nice but it mentioned nothing about a vote. For something like that where you really want x number of votes, I would think it has to be constantly pushed into the face of gamers.
Maximillian, or some variation of it, would be killer on the 3DS - just imagine shooting giant hulking mudd-forms with a water gun in 3D!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 11:32 AM
The comments on GoNintendo can mostly be summarized by this:ReplyDelete
"I didn't even know that's what the banner was for". So it was a good effort, but not a good enough effort.
I'm with Jason! Make the game! Have faith in your IP! It looks fun, I want to play it.
It's a shame that RMC at GN didn't do what I did: 1.) Put 'vote for Max' on the banner, 2.) Actually link the banner either to the story he posted, or even directly here where the vote needed to be posted (I did the latter)ReplyDelete
Sadly I only picked up on the news late and, therefore, Cubed3 only had the banner up for about a week. Even then I had people sending me messages asking why they couldn't anonymously post to add to the vote tally. Having to sign up/in put them off...yet they expressed great interest in the actual game.
Jools, from what you say, it sounds like Max has a special place in your heart. In response to that I'd say look at how well the likes of Shantae have done on DSiWare. Why lay the game to bed now after all the recent viral marketing? Also, as said above, the very fact that there will always be impulse buys from those logging onto the DSi Shop in general gives all the more reason to get the game out there.
Can you not have your arm twisted? ;)
This honestly looks and sounds like the kinda game Nintendo themselves would be interested in backing. Can someone talk to the correct people.ReplyDelete
Can we do a letter writing campaign?/or E mail


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M.I.A. travels the world on the back of a Lemur…
Fusing the sounds of Dancehall, Grime and musical influences from around the planet, M.I.A. is fast becoming a global superstar. But whether opening for Björk, playing the world's biggest festivals or touring with her band, M.I.A. attains creative enlightenment with Jazzmutant's Lemur…
M.I.A. (aka Mathangi Arulpragasam) and her band are becoming as well known for the visual spectacle of their shows as the uncompromising nature of their sound. But it was while opening for Björk that the band were first introduced to the revolutionary Jazzmutant Lemur multi-touch controller – already a mainstay of Björk's live shows.
Having immediately decided that Lemur was the controller for them, M.I.A's technical and creative guru Andrew Plourde started integrating the controller into their own live sets – and with just ten days until their next live performance the pressure was on!
"I had never even touched a Lemur at that point, so it's testament to good design that I was able to put together the programming in so short a time without having to even read the manual!"
It may be early days as far as exploring the Lemur's full potential, but the creative element that Lemur has brought to their live shows has been unparalleled, as Andrew tells us…
"Previously, the music was played back by the DJ and therefore was a static, stereo mix. But M.I.A. wanted more control over the music – to be able to loop a section or jump from one part of a song to another, to drop tracks in and out and process the elements on the fly."
"So now the Lemur is controlling not only the audio, but the video as well. When a jump is performed to a different section of a song, or a section is looped, the video as well as the audio follow those changes."
"Ultimately M.I.A. is not a static performer! Despite wanting more direct control of the audio and video, the show isn't about her standing at the controller, playing the tracks. The controller needed to be a 'conductor's station' rather than an instrument – she needs to be able to play it, walk away and come back to it later in a song, and immediately see what the exact state of play is."
While technically they could have used just about any programmable controller to trigger and play the parts, in order to accommodate the dynamism of the show, they needed something that provided a wealth of visual feedback. "And nothing does that better than the Lemur," Andrew says. "We can explicitly label buttons and create animated visual markers so there's no guessing about what-is-what when she runs back to the controller after surfing the crowd!"
"At the moment the Lemur is set up with one song per page. A timeline along the top shows current song position, while buttons below allow jumping to different sections of a track – either to loop or to play though to the end of the song.
One section allows for muting tracks (with a signal present 'LED' to show when tracks are playing audio), another for sending them to effects and manipulating those effects. Another section is for triggering individual samples – and processing them with more effects."
"The sophisticated parser allows easy programming of multiple controller messages on one button. This allows us to create simple mute and effects 'reset' buttons. So after she has dubbed out a section and is triggering the next, she can quickly get the audio back to its normal state without having to fiddle with eight buttons, six faders, three knobs…"
"I know that so far we're barely scratching the surface of what this box can do, but for now, we've hit upon an interface that works, and that's all that matters."
Further information from www.jazzmutant.com


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The so-called government so-called shutdown and Democrat vs. Republican bickering have been the subject of a nauseating amount of articles lately.
To the editor:
The so-called government so-called shutdown and Democrat vs. Republican bickering have been the subject of a nauseating amount of articles lately.
In truth, only 17 percent of the government was shut down, and furloughed employees will receive back-pay when they return to work.
I think we can all agree that the root of it all has been the Affordable Care Act; and that if we voters were the referees of political disputes, there would be a lot fewer of them.
If every single voter in America had the following on a ballot at their particular polling place: �Do you want the ACA to remain the law or do you want it repealed?� not only would there be record-shattering voter turnout, but that law would be repealed in a landslide.
Unfortunately for us, the government is not for the people and it certainly doesn�t represent us, either. Once elected, the mission of all politicians is to advance personal agendas and win re-election. If government were truly representative of the people, every member of Congress would seek approval of their own constituents before voting on a piece of legislation.
None of us should kid ourselves thinking that idea will ever be a reality; but I would like to propose a variation of �three strikes, you�re out� for voters. If used consistently, it will force the government to move much closer to the people.
No one in Washington, D.C., will ever agree to amend the Constitution such that either half of Congress had a three-term limit, but we the voters can use the ballot box as a vehicle for booting out the dead wood after he or she has served (or not, as the case may be) three terms. Nobody would be able to build up political clout and the D.C. establishments in both parties would cease to exist.
Imagine if it became trendy at the local level, too � corruption wouldn�t have enough time to move past the inception stage, but I�m getting ahead of myself.
It is past time for us to acknowledge that voting is no longer a contest of Democrat vs. Republican, and it is very much a contest between us and them.
We, the people, can and should be the enforcers of bona fide change by making sure nobody in D.C. ever reaches a fourth term.
Teresa Makar
Sneads Ferry


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DURHAM, N.C. - Coach Mike Krzyzewski addressed the media today in Cameron Indoor Stadium and BDN was on the scene to bring you the Q & A session in its entirety. The Blue Devils will head to Houston tomorrow and BDN will follow the Blue Devils ad nauseum on the road to Indianapolis.
Just press play -


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What if I drive into flood water?
* What to do if you meet a flood * Fixing a flooded car * Buying a flooded car...
UK roads have once again been hit by flooding... here's our guide on everything you need to know if you are affected.
• Never drive through water if you don't know how deep it is;
• If you do go through, drive slowly so as not to create a bow wave and let oncoming traffic pass before entering the water;
• Slip the clutch to keep revs up and avoid water in the exhaust causing the engine to stall;
• If you meet a flooded road suddenly and the tyres do lose contact with the ground and aquaplane, hold the steering wheel lightly and ease off the throttle;
• Remember, if you get water in the air intake at the front of the car, water will be sucked into the engine. Water is not compressible, so damage will be expensive and you could require a new engine. Turbo and diesel engines are most at risk;
• Test your brakes once you leave the water;
• If the water is flowing quickly, don't enter it. Cars are easily swept away;
• If you break down in heavy rain, keep the bonnet down, so that the car's electrical systems do not get soaked;
• If you drive through water too fast and soak pedestrians, you could be liable for up to nine penalty points on your licence if convicted of driving without consideration to other road users.


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Personal Assistant - Live In - Australia
Anggaran $15-25 AUD / jam
I live in New Zealand and have made the decision to acquire some property and businesses in Australia. When I'm in Australia (which is about half my time) I live in the houses. When I'm meeting with my accountants in Brisbane, or with the business managers in Brisbane, I will stay in the house in Brisbane. I will then drive to the house in Sydney and meet with the managers of the Sydney and Victoria businesses. They are quite far apart but I'm not in any hurry and often take diversions along the way to explore some new opportunity or just to discover something new. You will also live in the houses and act for me when I'm out of the country. You will travel with me when I'm in the country and be part of all that I do. If I am away for extended periods, you may find it necessary to do this traveling to the businesses yourself. You will also look after the residential properties maintenance and keep house for me with cooking meals and housekeeping. Sometimes my children and their families might visit. You are not expected to look after them other than keeping me informed when people are visiting and making sure they tidy up after themselves.
I have not had a PA before. I stopped using secretaries 30 years ago preferring to do all my own work. The only employees are within the businesses which are all fully managed. I have an aversion to working with employees and I am insulated from them by layers of management, so please find a way of relating to me other than as an employee if that is possible. My function is to talk with the managers to plan strategic direction of the business and assess performance against objectives. And also to work with my professional advisers; accountants, solicitors, property and business agents, etc. as previously explained. Many of the businesses I acquire have either no website or poor websites and almost no use of social media and other new technologies. You will have the skills to change this and to implement appropriate developments to leverage synergies between the businesses that will increase productivity and profitability.
This will be a close working relationship where we don't count days or hours or get paid an hourly rate or refer to the job specification before we do something. There will be an annual salary for doing the job. It won't be all work; I like to take breaks too, and to attend concerts, etc. or, as mentioned, to take diversions in our travels to explore some new place.
You will always have your own room and be provided with a car for when I'm not in Australia. But we will live and work together with you managing the housekeeping, cooking, etc. I hope you will manage my diet as I tend to just eat what is in front of me. I have been lazy the past few years and I hope you can get me moving again as I really need to lose 50kg.
You should be aged between about 25 - 45, have good professional experience, clean drivers license and legally able to work in Australia. Salary is by negotiation and includes accommodation, phone and car.
2 freelancer menawar dengan rata-rata $68/jam untuk pekerjaan ini
It would be great to meet you & see if we can connect & work something out.


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- Stainless Steel Cylinders With Epoxy Paint
- All Metal Valve Construction
- Leaves no powder residue
- Maximum visibility during discharge
- Novice friendly, easy to understand instructions
- Bar Coded Lables
Model 250CG AFFF Foam Extinguisher For use on Class A (ordinary combustibles) and B (Flammable liquid) fires. Features an easy and effective application using the hose and air aspirating nozzle. Has a unique capability to apply to flammable liquid spills to prevent ignition. Provides exceptional knock down and penetrating ability for use on deep seated Class A fires. Easier clean-up when compared with traditional dry chemical agents. Painted red and is U.S.C.G. approved when mounted using the 810CG bracket. Chrome plated brass valve body with stainless steel cylinder and handles offers superior corrosion protection when compared with most aluminum or standard mild steel cylinder extinguishers. Large diameter pull pin can be easily operated with gloves on. Schraeder valve on valve body allows for remote filling and charging with compressed air or nitrogen when using the Amerex 502 charge and potable water. Meets U.S.C.G. requirements for "Type A," "Size II" and "Type B," "Size II" extinguishers.
Must be protected from freezing (See temperature range). Cannot be used on fires involving live electrical equipment.
Class A:B


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According to a release from the office of Livingston County State's Attorney Seth Uphoff, the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in Uphoff's favor in a recent decision.
The ruling overturned a lower court's determination that Uphoff would be required to release detailed information related to the brutal murder of a young woman at a rest area along Interstate 55 in Livingston County twelve years ago.
The dispute began in 2010 with the filing of a FOIA request by a man seeking to obtain all the prosecutor's materials related to the woman's murder.
This request included detailed descriptions of the crime and the condition of the victim, as well as grisly crime scene and autopsy photos.
The prosecutor at the time, Tom Brown, denied the request and lawsuits soon followed. The lower court ruled against the State's Attorney's office and determined that materials would have to be turned over.
However, upon taking office, Uphoff maintained the position that materials would not be turned over.
He appealed the case and personally argued the case to the appellate court that he and all other State's Attorneys in Illinois are not subject to the FOIA. The appellate court ultimately ruled in Uphoff's favor, determining that prosecutors are exempt from the FOIA and cannot be compelled to turn over such materials.
"Every day prosecutors stand on behalf of the victims of crime and the family members they sometimes leave behind," said Uphoff of the appellate court's ruling. "And though this young woman's tragic murder may no longer be at the forefront of the public's consciousness, she is not forgotten to us. I will continue to stand on behalf of her, her family and others like them to ensure that the personal dignity of victims is protected from those who may seek to invade it."
Court: State's attorneys not subject to the FOIA
According to a release from the office of Livingston County State's Attorney Seth Uphoff, the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in Uphoff's favor in a recent decision.


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NOW SHIPPING: Steinberg Ci1 & Ci2+...PLUS A Special Offer From Steinberg
Steinberg's brand new portable recording solutions, Ci1 & Ci2+ are not far from being in stock!
Watch this space for updates on when both Ci1 & Ci2 are in stock, but for now, why not pre-order yours from Dolphin Music and take advantage of Steinbergs special offer?
Ci1 and Ci2+
Both interfaces feature two great sounding microphone/line combo jacks with +48V phantom power and a HI-Z switch on input 1 for direct connection of a guitar or bass. The entry-level solution Ci1 is bundled with Steinberg's sequencer Sequel LE and the audio editing software WaveLab LE 7. Being at the top of the range, Ci2+ comes with the music production system Cubase Essential 5 and also houses additional controller functionality.
Together with last year's released Ci2, all three portable units provide intuitive handling, professional audio quality and a seamless integration with the included Steinberg software.
Steinberg's Special Offer to Ci1 Customers...
Once you've bought your Ci1, you can get three Sequel Content Sets at a 50% discount by registering your recording solution with Steinberg here.
Once you've registered, you will recieve an e-mail with a direct link to your special offer in the Steinberg Online Shop.
On offer are two bundles, featuring Steinberg's most popular Sequel Content Sets:
Bundle 1: HipHop, HipHop 2 and Elektro
Providing more than 600 loops and almost 900 MB of finest beats and instrument loops, ranging from rap to trance.
Bundle 2: Rock, Funky and 80s Pop
Bundle 2 has over 1,000 loops, best suited for guitar-dominated tracks such as punk, rock or wave.


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11 Aug 2014 07:36:37 AM
Metamoris 4 Videos: Andre Galvao Chokes Out Chael Sonnen, Josh Barnett Submits Dean Lister
(Props: GrapLandTeam Nalchik. Get it while it lasts.)
Chael Sonnen's headlining appearance at Metamoris 4 against Andre Galvao on Saturday ended pretty much how we expected: with Sonnen tapping to a far, far superior grappler.
From the opening seconds of the match — when Sonnen took Galvao to the mat with a virtually undefended single-leg takedown — Sonnen's strategy was to remain in top position and defend whatever Galvao was throwing at him from below. Outside of a cut that Sonnen sustained near his right eye, possibly due to an early clash of heads, the American Gangster did well to keep himself out of danger for the first ten minutes of the match.
Eventually, Galvao gets tired of playing around, and sweeps his way onto Sonnen's back (see: 13:38-14:44 in the video above). From there, Galvao is relentless in his attack on Sonnen's neck, looking to sink a rear-naked choke despite Sonnen's game defenses. But it's only a matter of time before Galvao advances to checkmate, and Sonnen taps at the video's 17:28 mark, while a pleased Anderson Silva celebrates in the crowd. Watch until the end to hear Sonnen cut the obligatory pro-wrestling style promo before exiting the building.
After the jump: The Metamoris heavyweight championship bout between Josh Barnett and Dean Lister, which Barnett won via scarf-hold choke with just ten seconds left in the match.Read More DIGG THIS


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If you are applying aid for Spring 2007, your
file must be complete with the Office of Financial Aid by
If you are applying aid for Spring 2007, your
file must be complete with the Office of Financial Aid by
The summer term is the first term of the 2007-2008academic
year. Summer financial aid, however, is processed separately
from the regular academic year.
Students must complete the 2007-2008 FAFSA in order to
receive federal loans for the summer term. The Office of
Financial Aid cannot process federal loans for a student
until his or her FAFSA information is received.
In order to receive federal financial aid for the summer
term, students must be enrolled at least half-time. Half-time
status is defined as the following: Chicago-Kent College
of Law (JD & LLM) students must enroll for at least
6 credits; Stuart School of Business students must enroll
for at least 7.2 credits; Master of Public Administration
students must enroll for at least 5 credits.
The Office of Financial Aid will automatically process
summer federal loans for students who are enrolled at least
half-time during the summer term. Law and MPA students will
receive 1/3 of their federal loan eligibility during the
summer term and business students will receive 1/4 of their
federal loan eligibility. Students may choose to borrow
alternative loan funds in addition to their federal loan
funds for the summer term. To do so, they must apply for
a loan directly with the lender of their choice.
Students who are not enrolled at least half-time may choose
to borrow alternative loan funds for the summer term. To
do so, they must apply for a loan directly with the lender
of their choice.
Did you know that you are now able to receive
a free credit report once every 12 months? We encourage
students to review their credit reports annually to check
for inaccuracies and identify any suspicious activity.
To receive your free credit report, please
visit the following link: www.annualcreditreport.com.
This central site allows you to request a free credit
file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once
every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit
reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Please be aware that other sites may advertise
free credit reports, but this is the only site that is
sponsored by the federal government and the three nationwide
credit reporting agencies. Other sites may charge fees.
In order to qualify for federal financial
aid for 2007-2008, you must complete a Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Renewal FAFSA for 2007-2008.
In order to complete the 2007-2008 FAFSA you will need
to provide 2006 income and tax information, so we recommend
that you complete your 2006 tax returns before filing
your FAFSA.
You can complete your FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA
online at www.fafsa.ed.gov
Refund checks are generated by the Bursar's Office
and are available to be picked up at their office
(Room 290) approximately 5-7 business days after a
credit has resulted in a student's account. At this
point in the term, most financial aid funds have been
credited to students' accounts.
The Bursar's Office will send the student an email
when a refund check is available.
Monday-Thursday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m
Phone: (312) 906-5180 -
Fax: (312) 906-5274
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4 Mental Tricks for the Long Haul
One-hundred forty miles is a long way for the mind. Zeasorb describes thought patterns that can help you perform your best.
In 2011, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a study of IRONMAN triathletes to determine changes in mood before and after a race, as well as the relationships between expected performance outcomes and perception of effort and pacing. The study found that anxiety and mood are closely linked to conscious thought. As athletes' perception of exertion increased during the run portion of the race, their pace decreased. This provides evidence that pace was the result of a conscious decision, rather than the body's reaction to fatigue—proving that training your mind is as important as training your body.
Another more recent study showed that 97 percent of IRONMAN competitors know that mental skills are important to hone in training for a race. You'd be hard-pressed to find a competitor who has a keen understanding of exactly how to achieve mental clarity during the grueling 140 mile course, however.
To help get you in the right mindset before you hit the ground running, here a handful of tips to follow should you find yourself lacking in the mental motivation department.
Internal check-in
Studies have shown that the mere awareness of upcoming exercise is enough for your body to regulate pace, but due to the sheer length of an IRONMAN, this isn't enough. Reassess your body every hour to make sure you aren't expelling unnecessary energy on things like improper form or tensing up your shoulders. Little corrections can save you precious energy later on.
Think performance
It's easy to want to distract yourself from discomfort by thinking of your favorite song or focusing on the scenery, but this dissociative method is often unsuccessful. The strategies used by elite athletes involve focusing on performance-based thoughts: concentrating on stride length, for example, or assessing your heart rate and breathing. During the final half of the marathon, instead of thinking of how much you still have ahead of you, focus on regulating your pace and performing strong.
Self-efficacy theory
Take a moment to reflect on your last race and remember how you felt during each leg. Coming off the bike and seeing the marathon ahead of you can be daunting, but knowing that you've made it through once before can be enough to help you keep pushing. Whether it was your last IRONMAN or that time in training where you thought you hit your breaking point, reflect on your successes—the pain is now a distant memory! You've made it through before and you're going to make it through again.
Talk that talk
The road to an IRONMAN finish is a long one, and your biggest competitor and supporter is yourself. Instead of telling yourself you can't swim faster or bike harder, speak positively to yourself. Positive self-talk has been proven to increase performance, so create an internal dialogue (either out loud or in your head) to interpret your feelings, give instruction to your body and receive feedback. This can be especially useful during the swim, when there are no true markers to tell you how far you've gone. Try a back-and-forth dialogue that will help you tap into how your body is really feeling. Then you can moderate and respond to these "voices" in a productive manner that will lead to greater success.
This article is sponsored by Zeasorb, the official antifungal powder of IRONMAN. Make sure you're taking preventative measures during your transitions to ensure all of your gear is properly in place, such as applying Zeasorb antifungal powder prior to slipping wet feet into socks and shoes to avoid any unnecessary discomfort or chafing.


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I make myself available at all times. My web site is here to help you 24 hours a day. You can search listings at your own convenience, browse reports, and read up on real estate info on your own terms. When you are ready to see a listing in person, or just have a simple question, please dont hesitate to contact me!
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While the courtroom has become her second home, the star is finally cleaning up her act — and that includes her wardrobe! For her final appearance, she ditched her revealing tops for pearls and a pretty pantsuit. Take a look back at all of Lindsay's court outfits — she has come so far! Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to the court system, and while everyone is always so eager to hear about the fate of the star the outfits she chose to wear to court seem to get the same amount of attention! Lindsay definitely wasn't taking things seriously in the beginning when she would stroll into court in a slew of inappropriate get-ups. From sheer, cleavage-bearing tops to super-short dresses her look was SO wrong. However, now that she finally completed her probation and won't be returning to the court room she seems to have put things into perspective. She ditched her questionable wardrobe, instead opting for a conservative, pale blue pantsuit. She looked mature, appropriate and professional — this is the way she should have been dressing all along! Katrina Mitzeliotis
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is free at last of formal probation on March 29, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner said, "She did it," and added "she has done everything that this court has asked of her. Probation terminates today Now." And with that, Lindsay is finally free from a 2007 DUI case, though she's still on informal probation for her 2011 shoplifting conviction until May 2014. For that, Lohan must remain trouble-free, but doesn't have to report to a probation officer. (FameFlynet)
Actress Lindsay Lohan arrived at court in Los Angeles, California on February 9, 2011 for her arraignment in a white long sleeve short dress and a pair of heels. (FameFlynet)
Lindsay Lohan At Her Felony Grand Theft Hearing on 02-23-11 in Los Angeles (FameFlynet)
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan arrives at the Los Angeles Court House with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley on October 19, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Lohan arrived in a modest all white ensemble but her face looked ghostly pale and her makeup was extremely unflattering, suggesting that she is stressed and anxious to hear the judge's response to her lackluster probation activities.<br />
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan makes her way to and from yet another court hearing in Los Angeles, California on December 14, 2011. Today Lindsay was to report to judge Stephanie Sautner about her probation progress and had great reviews with completing some of her required tasks early. However the judge did point out that the Hawaii trip she just returned from was not approved but they will let it slid as it was for her sister's birthday that falls under out of state family events which was approved in the past. (FameFlynet)
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan arrived at the Los Angeles City courthouse in Los Angeles, California on November 2, 2011 wearing a blue and white polka dot dress with white heels. Lindsay and her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley will meet with judge Stephanie Sautner to find out how much time she will serve in jail after she violated her probation requirements. (FameFlynet)
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan leaves her court hearing on February 22, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner gave Lindsay another glowing report, saying "Ms. Lohan, you're in the home stretch. You seem to be getting your life back on track. (FameFlynet)
Lindsay Lohan struts out of the L.A. courthouse on June 23rd, 2011 after her brief visit to Judge Stephanie Sautner's chambers where the judge would have determined if Lindsay violated her probation. (FameFlynet)
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan arrives at the Airport Courthouse on January 17, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Lindsay was required to report to the court for her probation updates. (FameFlynet)
Lindsay Lohan At The Santa Monica Courthouse on 12-07-11 in Santa Monica, CA (FameFlynet)
Lindsay Lohan Arriving At Court on 04-22-11in Los Angeles, CA (FameFlynet)


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When I was a kid, summer meant being flopped in the grass with a book. Truth be told you might still find me there. And I may be reading one of these favorites, old and new.
For the youngest readers, So Many Stars is a delightful board book out in a new expanded edition (big at 24 pages) created with artwork by one of our brightest stars, Andy Warhol. Many images from his "So" Series are included here, as in "So Sunny" and "I Love You So". I can't think of a better introduction to Warhol than this sweet and playful book. Ages 1-4.
Yes, it's a bestseller and deservedly so! The Day the Crayons Quit (by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) is laugh out loud funny. The concept is brilliant: anthropomorphized crayons revolt. And you thought all was calm in that pack of Crayolas! Parent alert: you will NOT get tired of re-reading this one (because you will be reading it over and again.) Ages 4-7.
Sometimes it isn't about reading and looking, it's about making. A treasured favorite, Nina's Book of Little Things!, is out in a fresh new edition. Keith Haring created this book for a 7 year old friend and what a gift it is, full of love and inspiration. Of all the cre-activity (I think I just coined that word) books published, this is still one of the very best. Thank you, Nina, for sharing your book! Ages 6+.
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book (by Johanna Basford) provides hours and hours of coloring in beautifully intricate nature designs. I mean the kind that obsessively draw you in (no pun intended). Bonus: it is layered with hidden images, mazes, and spaces to draw. Excuse me – got to get back to my colored pencils . . . Ages 7+.
The popular surrealist painter's "real" muse is revealed in this absorbing picture book tale. Magritte's Marvelous Hat by D. B. Johnson is a visual treat that will keep you looking and looking again (and even again) at the inspired illustrations. Use this as a great introduction to the Magritte paintings that are referenced in the book. Kind of surreal in itself! Ages 4+.
Find out how the iconic inventor of the mobile got his start in Sandy's Circus: A Story About Alexander Calder (by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Boris Kulikov), and about finding and following your own path. And maybe a little bit about childlike wonder and imagination. If you've never seen Sandy (Alexander) Calder perform his circus, you can watch a video here. Ages 6+.
Architecture According to Pigeons (by Speck Lee Tailfeather, illustrated by Natska Seki) gives a nice introduction to great constructions of the world, from the Gothic cathedral to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Yes, it is told from a pigeon's eye view with that unique high-flying perspective. This is for the child who likes to pour over pictures and browse. Chock full of good information, it will pique interest not only in architecture, its history and styles, but the world as portrayed through engaging collages. Ages 8+.
Optical illusions are a topic of endless fascination for many kids. My Big Book of Art and Illusion by Silke Vry gives examples of all variety of visual tricks using art from the classic to contemporary, heavy on the contemporary. What AMAZING (and fun) effects! Each example is explained and each spread includes a related activity. Ages 8+.
Happy reading!
We carry all of these books in the BMA Pop-Up Shop. You can also order them online at shopartbma.org, via the links above.


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Hotel Chocolat Christmas 2016 – and a Chocolate Giveaway:
Why do I love Hotel Chocolat so much? well, perhaps it might have something to do with the high-quality chocolate. Or with the huge variety of products – from fun things for kids through to elegant and sophisticated tasting boxes for grownups.
But, actually, I suspect it is because the company produces such a quirky fun range of products for every occasion. Christmas, of course, is the pinnacle of the Hotel Chocolat year and they always seem to produce something new, something that I would like to find in my own stocking and presents for all those people who I'd otherwise struggle to find a gift for.
This year, they've done it again. for stocking fillers there are milk and dark Santas, tiddly penguin and reindeer pots, chocolate snowflake Christmas tree decorations and a couple of rather special chocolate bars – Penguin snowed under and Comet does caramel. For those awkward presents, there are some fabulous things too – alternative mince pies or chocolate Christmas baubles. And, then there are some rather more extravagant gifts. Hampers for him and her, the Merry Christmas Everyone hamper and one of my own Hotel Chocolat Christmas favourites – the Rather Large Cracker – more than 2 feet of fully-functioning cracker, with 40 chocolates and 12 paper hats and jokes.
This year, I've picked out a new favourite – the Christmas Wreath Box, which comes in an elegant red and white box and contains a sensational box of 40 chocolates, 2 Grand Snowflakes and a Festive Wreath. Show them all how much you care this season of goodwill with chocolates for everyone: the likes of Billionaire's Shortbread and Cinnamon Bun for the children and Champagne and Mulled Wine for you!
I'm really impressed with my box – and really thrilled that Hotel Chocolat has offered a box for one lucky London-Unattached reader. Your chance comes from leaving me a comment below and following the rafflecopter through as normal. This time, I'd like you to pop over to the Hotel Chocolat site and pick a present for me to give to my BFF – We generally don't spend more than £20 on each other – but I like to buy something fun and quirky.
What do you think I should get? Let me know in the comments and tell me why!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Going to the Dogs
The Story of a Moralist
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Preview (read now) Give this ebook to a friend Add to my wishlist Author's page Publisher's page
About the authorErich Kästner (1899–1974) was born in Dresden and after serving in World War I studied history and philosophy in Leipzig, completing a PhD. In 1927 he moved to Berlin and through his prolific journalism quickly became a major intellectual figure in the capital. His first book of poems was published in 1928, as was the children's book Emil and the Detectives, which quickly achieved worldwide fame. Going to the Dogs appeared in 1931 and was followed by many other
works for adults and children, including Lottie and Lisa, the basis for the popular Disney film The Parent Trap. In 1933 the pacifist Kästner was banned from German publication and subsequently found employment as a film scriptwriter. After World War II, he worked as a literary editor and continued to write, mainly for children.
Cyrus Brooks translated works by Alfred Neumann, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and Leonhard Frank as well as Kästner's Emil and the Detectives, Emil and the Three Twins, and Lottie and Lisa.
Rodney Livingstone is a professor emeritus in German studies at the University of Southampton and a translator of books by Theodor W. Adorno, Max Weber, and Walter Benjamin, among others. In 2009 he was awarded the Ungar German Translation Prize of the American Translators Association.
moreGoing to the Dogs is set in Berlin after the crash of 1929 and before the Nazi takeover, years of rising unemployment and financial collapse. The moralist in question is Jakob Fabian, "aged thirty-two, profession variable, at present advertising copywriter . . . weak heart, brown hair," a young man with an excellent education but permanently condemned to a low-paid job without security in the short or the long run.
What's to be done? Fabian and friends make the best of it—they go to work though they may be laid off at any time, and in the evenings they go to the cabarets and try to make it with girls on the make, all the while making a lot of sharp-sighted and sharp-witted observations about politics, life, and love, or what may be. Not that it makes a difference. Workers keep losing work to new technologies while businessmen keep busy making money, and everyone who can goes out to dance clubs and sex clubs or engages in marathon bicycle events, since so long as there's hope of running into the right person or (even) doing the right thing, well—why stop?
Going to the Dogs, in the words of introducer Rodney Livingstone, "brilliantly renders with tangible immediacy the last frenetic years [in Germany] before 1933." It is a book for our time too. less
New York Review Books; November 2012
208 pages; ISBN 9781590176870
Read online, or download in secure EPUB
Title: Going to the Dogs
Author: Erich Kastner; Rodney Livingstone; Cyrus Brooks
208 pages; ISBN 9781590176870
Read online, or download in secure EPUB
Title: Going to the Dogs
Author: Erich Kastner; Rodney Livingstone; Cyrus Brooks
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In the press"Kästner (1899-1974) had a message to convey about the crumbling of Berlin's moral standards, and he delivered it successfully….but it is Fabian himself who explains things best when he comments ironically, 'We live in stirring times … and they get more stirring every day.'" —Publisher's Weekly
"Like his hero Fabian, Kästner was not a cynic as a saddened idealist; the two conditions look much the same, but the latter is more painful….Fabian is a 'key novel' of the Weimar Republic in its last years. It is a notably efficient novel, with little of the metaphysical resonance of [Thomas Mann's]Doctor Faustus or that book's soul-searching, but offering instead a series of moral tableaux, rendered the cooler by the chapter titles, in the form of newspaper headings." —The Times Literary Supplement
"Graceful, vivid and distinguished…a little masterpiece of pathos and calamity." —Michael Sadleir
"Damned for its improper subject-matter, [Going to the Dogs] showed the crumbling Berlin of Christopher Isherwood's stories with something of Isherwood's sharp intelligence, but a far more tragic sense of implication." —The Times Literary Supplement
"I am a great admirer of Fabian [original title] and have read it at least twice." —Graham Greene


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Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide
The series follows Koko Hekmatyar, a young arms dealer who sells weapons under HCLI, an international shipping corporation that secretly deals in the arms trade. As one of the company's unofficial weapon dealers, she secretly sells weapons in many countries while avoiding the local authorities and law enforcements as most of her work is actually illegal under international law. Traveling with her is her team of bodyguards who are mostly composed of ex-military veterans. Her latest addition to her crew is Jonah, a seemingly emotionless child soldier who is skilled in combat yet ironically hates arms dealers. Jonah joins Koko as he wishes to find the arms dealer responsible for his family's death. What follows is Koko and her crews escapades around the world.
Main Characters & Voice Actors
Jonah (Johnathan Mar)
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura
A child soldier. His family was killed and he wants revenge for the person responsible. He joins Koko's crew despite his overall dislike of arms dealers and the fact that he absolutely hates guns. However, his opinions of the crew changes, so he finds himself staying with them.
Hekmatyar Koko
Voiced by: Shizuka Itō
The series protagonist. A young arms dealer who is the daughter of a global shipping magnate . Belongs to HCLI's Europe/African Weapons Transport Division. Her personality is quite cheery and happy, most would say even childish. She considers Johan a little brother during the times they are together.
Other Information
Premiere: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 @ 12:30 AM (Japanese Time Zone)
Studio: White Fox
Primary network: Tokyo MX
Genres: Action, Adventure, Seinen
Opening & Ending
"Borderland" by Mami Kawada
"Ambivalentidea" by Nagi Yanagi
Impressions of the First Episode
Your new recruit is a child soldier? And he's got iron, shit.
I lol'd. Anyways, looks great and this Koko girl has one interesting and playful personality. Impressive episode and dat OST! Also loved the action. Tough girls ftw. Loved the action, comedy, and everything else mixed in this!
Animanga hunter extraordinaire
right this one... i think it was a no for me
His Holiness Optimus Maximus Decimus Meridius Colossus Nemesis Nexus Genesis
I really want to watch this LOL It really do seem to be a good anime XD
Just watched the first episode. It is pretty cool, the kid looks bad ass, he looks emotionless and he has empty eyes. First episode didn't really get into details about his past but they started with him joining already and a heist for the upgrade for aircrafts or something. I'm going to keep watching although it isn't my forte since I am more into rom-com.
I'm back baby
Hmm the preview didn't catch my attention. It's not on my must watch list.
Episode 1.
Wow lots of hot guys! Love it already.
And the Johann-Koko relationship was kinda cute.
This reminded me of Black Lagoon.
I hope it gets more epic!
Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?
Hmm the preview didn't catch my attention.
I like it...But 2Bad I have to watch it via dijwidji sites and colors seems a bit off, I'll try and look for a better quality but I give it a
7 / 10 for the initial episode, caught my interest and a different story than usual so its kind of nice.
My thoughts so far:
Eargasmic OST/Soundtrack
Johan being alpha as fuck
Entire crew is alpha
Dat Koko's rap song at the end
Koko's sleepwalking = hot in a badass way
Epic gun action
Ya, I think I think I'll keep watching this.
Animanga hunter extraordinaire
Oh YYYYYYYEAAAAAAHHHH!!! I've been craving a Jormungand anime since I started reading the manga..... and the Gods of anime have heard my pleas! THEY EXIST.
Watched ep 1 a while ago. I wanna see where this takes me
I'm up for a NAFTA
It s going to take you to EPICNESS!!!! JUST WATCHed IT AGAIN IN HD VERSION ULTRA FINE TV COLOR MAN ITS EPIC!!!! BTW KOKO IS HOT AND WHITE I MEAN REALLY WHITE EVEN HER INNER MOUTH IS BLACK XD OF HOW WHITE IS HER....
Manga is amazing, if they stick to the manga should be awesome.
just finished the watching the first episode a while ago and my first impression ? ...... it's awesome the characters seem really interesting
loved all the gun action a really good opening song which i really love after i finished the episode i played the op again this deffenetlly going to be one of my fave anime's this season
Burn by Blue Flame
aww wut? its out? needs to watch.
stupid animeseason.com didn't have it. >3> that's why.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what


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I feel something nuetral like the ones thay had in the past where you had to guess the time and episode of a specific image. However drawing limits it to only those who can draw so you are excluding people...
Personally though I don't bother I am here to watch the anime and was never interested in the contests.
Legal Anime http://www.crunchyroll.com/user/Assassinx89/pages/legalsites
Crunchyroll Community Manager
SoTa_PoP wrote:
SailorBee wrote:
SoTa_PoP wrote:
I've mentioned this in threads before - CR only caters to Otaku fans, not casuals. Maybe something any average joe can partake in that's anime related would be nice.
That's not .... anime... related ?
What DOES THAT MEAN.
I think you read my statement wrong lol
Most of CR viewers are like myself - we'll never dress up or draw. What we do do is enjoy watching anime.
So any sort of contest of knowledge of certain shows or genres, quizes, tests, would probably do better then cosplay contests >_>
We've never done a cosplay contest to my knowledge, and we have done trivia, anime knowledge before ~ !
But, I'll keep that in mind that you want MOAR.
♥ Streaming at the speed of Japan, DATEBAYO~ !
Well I've yet to partake in any of the contests I've seen thus far, due to my artistic capability being limited to that of stick figures. But i'm not terribly sure on what I can contribute. I remember seeing the CR live stream a while back at comicon or what not? Why not add more livestreams for games? Maybe just interact with an audience see how that pans out? The crunchy roll quiz night! Take a Friday or Saturday and set up some sort of live stream quiz..
Or a forum treasure hunt of some sorts - start the quest off with a question answer would take you to another forum, etc etc.
Or invite the viewers into a game? Minecraft/league of legends etc etc - but then that would be you only catering towards people who partake in computer games.
Or take a picture of yourself in an interesting location carrying something crunchy related and vote for the best pick.
A royal gun salute to mark the king's birth!
I like art contests, 30 days to submit art would be nice. Seasonal art, cosplay, ect contests would also be fun.
SoTa_PoP wrote:
As much fun as mainstream anime sounds for quizes and such - anyone can get that. Try using more obscure anime to make viewers possibly get out of there comfort zone in whatever genre they like and help them explore. Not Obscure like REC is *Awesome romance* but more like Toradora, Lucky Star, Maburaho, and Setokai no Ichzon - shows anyone would enjoy but normally wouldn't check out on there own.
I agree with SoTa_PoP. Letting members here experience something new through these contests would be great!
As for your contests, I really do love them Victoria. They're really fun and inspire the community to work towards something. And I don't mind having many art related ones, but I do agree that we should have more variety so that all sorts of people can participate. I put my vote in towards...
- Singing
- Photography (like the Moyashimon contest or maybe pictures of outfits characters would be wearing in our world)
- Cooking (anime character themed desserts, meals, or cute bentos)
- Quizzes (answering questions or finding specific moments in an episode)
- Badges (by watching a certain amount of episodes)
otsohiru wrote:
Well I've yet to partake in any of the contests I've seen thus far, due to my artistic capability being limited to that of stick figures. But i'm not terribly sure on what I can contribute. I remember seeing the CR live stream a while back at comicon or what not? Why not add more livestreams for games? Maybe just interact with an audience see how that pans out? The crunchy roll quiz night! Take a Friday or Saturday and set up some sort of live stream quiz..
Or a forum treasure hunt of some sorts - start the quest off with a question answer would take you to another forum, etc etc.
Or invite the viewers into a game? Minecraft/league of legends etc etc - but then that would be you only catering towards people who partake in computer games.
Or take a picture of yourself in an interesting location carrying something crunchy related and vote for the best pick.
No longer active. Reach me on Skype or Twitter!
ummm for me any contest would be great if i can just participate ....but i especially like art contests ...but there may be few times i cant so any sort of things coz of some problems ...so i just wont go on a detail ...but as someone said earlier most of the people maybe just here to watch anime ....but if there is contest like every average person can participate ,,,then it would be possible that even those people can enjoy and have a great time
All you need is 1 second to live!!
Personally I'm not very creative so those contests pass me by. But on the other hand I'm not sure what kind of contest could be done for people like me. Maybe another writing one, but I know those can be a pain to go through. I'm participating in that Gintama screen capture timing one but I know a lot of people don't like those. I do like caption contests a lot. I think I would like one where you get to screen cap your own picture. That might give it a little more variety.
Worst case scenario though I still get to see all the awesome stuff created by our community so I still tend to enjoy those competitions a lot.
Overall all though I feel like you do a very good job with the amount of contests. It seems like there is always something going on. Also the variety is fun too.
We should win something if you like our suggestions. Like a contest feedback contest? That would be pretty cool. :P
*EDIT: My least favorite contests were the ones where you had to watch episodes of anime and hope to get a random badge and complete a set just for a chance to win. So I really like not having those anymore!
Otter Modder
Seeing as it would be both difficult and unpopular to make a contest that would conform to my skill set, I am content with just watching the contests. I think you have done a great job at both choosing topics and formats for the contests so far. Not very constructive, I know, but I think you have been doing fantastic so far. Keep it up :).
I made a new HTML5 Player for CR, see profile or go to hls.beardfist.net
I love the contests so far, but that might just be because I'm an artist lol.
I don't care about contests really as long as I can enter them, so stuff like mailing things in & dancing or something is too hard :(... LOL
I just hope you don't add those kind of "first come first win" contests just because I'm too slow for those XD
❝ Goodbye my almost lover, goodbye my hopeless dream.❞
I'm always disappointed when I see a contest for a show I like is a drawing one, because I'm disabled and can't draw. I think the badge contests should remain a thing of the past. All they came down to was, open as many streaming windows as you can then refresh every 12 minutes. I vote for a crossword puzzle.
I love SAO! so what ever you do for that show I will try my best to par take in. How about hand making some cool swords? paper, metal, wood. anything is usable to make a cool sword for SAO. then take a picture of it. it can not be drawn, it has to be made and holdable. just an ideal. or making something from any anime. like a cake or food. trinkets. the possibilities are endless.
I hate when I'm about to hug someone really sexy, and my face hits the mirror.
I hope I don't get flamed for this...
but this is my feedback...
I personally have enjoyed all the contests. I feel they have had a lot of variety (drink creating, writing, photos, videos, drawing, making costumes, etc).
However, I do have some issue with the organization of the contests.
I really feel the rules are not clear, and that a lot of the time things are missing, that you assume we know, but it later creates issues.
For example, the HunterxHunter contest had issues because it was not clear that the whole team had to post for you to be eligible, or that the team was supposed to win together.
Sad to say, but you should make the rules clearly spelled out, and be firm with them, its easy to be firm with the rules if they are so easy to understand a 5 year old could understand them. Same as with deadlines.
It would also be nice to have a deadline for when winners will be chosen as well, it's not fun waiting for weeks for results, especially if you really want to know.
Also, you tend to point out some of your favorite entries while the contest is running. Like you'll quote them and say how their entry is awesome or something. I find that really discouraging, because you are making up your mind before the contest has ended, and a lot of the time, the people you have commented on end up winning. Usually when i see that happen, I no longer want to enter because you've already made it clear you found what you were looking for. Especially, if you are the judge, all your comments should be held till the end.
that being said, I personally would be interested in premium member only contests...all the contests really have premium membership as a runner up prize...but as someone who already has premium membership and will be keeping it for the long run (unless you guys suddenly lose all your anime D: ) the membership prize holds little appeal to me. but special prizes for premium members would be nice.
I am a cabbit. Cabbits like carrots.
I don't feel comfortable with dancing ones and pics of yourself; it would be hard for people like me who prefer not to show their faces. Singing ones are a cool idea, though I don't own any mics, and I lack the sound editing programs and skills.
How about a theme idea? Pick a topic, and then limit the types of entries people can do, and base the contest winner off of pure creativity?
For Sword Art Online:
A video of you attempting to perform your favorite characters special move. (in costume or not)
I'm happy the recent one have not been Facebook ones (I hate those). Sometimes just a random lottery of people who sign up here (pick a name out of the hat) is good sometimes. I am not saying to have that replace the contests but sometimes we are just not interested in trying to outdo someone drawing or singing or whatnot. Just a simple "enter by this date and random lottery". Easier not to screw up and to me seems more fair. Just a thought to add to the mix.
Also and this may sound strange.. but I want to know where to get some of the prizes.. like I've been looking for where to buy the karuta cards from Chihayafuru and I still can't find where you can purchase it.


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Feds: National Park Campers Won't Be Booted
April 8, 2011 by RVBusiness Comments Off on Feds: National Park Campers Won't Be Booted
RVers and others already staying at campgrounds and National Park Service accommodations will be given 48 hours to move out should the federal government shut down tonight, the RV News Service reported today (April 8), citing the about.com website.
If there is a federal shutdown, not only will visits to parks themselves be curtailed, even planning for future visits will go on hold, the news service reported.
RV News Service staff interviewed a National Park Service (NPS) spokeswoman this morning and were told that parks will definitely close their gates if there is a federal shutdown. Additionally, all NPS operated websites will go dark, as website and park access are both considered "non emergency services," which are the only services available should federal operations close up.
"The spokeswoman also said that an official media release has not yet been made available, and it's not even clear when one will be forthcoming. Nevertheless, it is clear that if the looming shutdown becomes reality, it will put a kibosh on any plans for the annual celebration of parks, National Park Week. While many look forward to the annual celebration, which would include free access to the parks from April 16 through the 24th, a shutdown will shutout any free access," the news service stated.
Meanwhile, just announced today, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and the Japanese Street Festival, scheduled to take place on Saturday in Washington, D.C., will not be canceled, the about.com website reported. The DC police have agreed to support these popular scheduled events. The parade route will be altered, affecting some of the grandstand viewing areas and ticketholders. More information to be announced. The status of the Blossom Kite Festival will still be determined in the event of a government shutdown.


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Car Review
2013 Hyundai Sonata: New Car Review
Pros: Impressive fuel economy; strong base engine and optional turbo; daring styling; big trunk (except Hybrid); plenty of features for the price.
Cons: Hybrid's not quite ready for prime time; numb steering across the board; limited rear headroom.
What's new: Heated seats are more widely available for the 2013 Hyundai Sonata and the panoramic sunroof, previously a Hybrid exclusive, is now offered in the non-hybrid Sonata Limited as well.
The Sonata Hybrid's electric motor is also updated for the new year. It now makes more power (35 kW instead of last year's 30 kW) and takes up less space. This allowed Hyundai to expand the Sonata Hybrid's trunk from 10.7 cu ft to 12.1 cu ft.
Additionally, Hyundai added an upscale Limited trim level to the 2013 Sonata Hybrid and dropped the base-level Sonata Hybrid's starting price by $200 from last year's.
Has any other automaker gone from imitator to innovator this quickly? That's what the 2013 Hyundai Sonata midsize sedan has us wondering. It was only a few years ago that Hyundais came across as Korean-flavored interpretations of more established cars, but now every new family sedan seems to be taking cues from Korea's finest.
Let's start with the Sonata's bold "fluidic sculpture" design language, which truly looks like nothing else on the road. It was revolutionary when the Sonata debuted in 2010, a breath of fresh air in a segment notorious for stale styling. Since then, we've seen the Nissan Altima get all swoopy for its latest redesign, and the new Ford Fusion's physique has likewise been streamlined. Yes, that's right: Hyundai set the trend, and the others followed suit.
Even fiercely independent Honda pays homage to Hyundai these days, as the new Accord's taillights look like they were lifted straight off the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan.
The Sonata is also a leader under the hood, where the base 2.4-liter engine offers up to 200 horsepower, and the optional 2.0-liter turbocharged engine marshals a whopping 274 horses. We can remember when only high-strung performance machines like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution made that kind of power with a 2.0-liter inline-4. Fuel economy is stellar as well, reaching in the mid-30 mpg range with either engine.
Naturally, Hyundai hasn't gotten everything about the Sonata right overnight. But when you take all of the Sonata's strong points and add Hyundai's traditional value advantage to the mix, it's no wonder other automakers are suddenly scrambling to keep up.
Comfort & Utility
The non-hybrid 2013 Hyundai Sonata models are offered in three trim levels: GLS, SE and Limited.
The GLS starts with 16-inch steel wheels with plastic covers (16-in alloys are optional), full power accessories, air conditioning, cruise control, a tilt-telescopic steering wheel, a trip computer, cloth upholstery, a height-adjustable driver seat, the Blue Link telematics system and a 6-speaker audio system with satellite radio and iPod/USB and Bluetooth connectivity.
The SE adds 18-in alloy wheels; a sport-tuned suspension; dual exhaust pipes; automatic headlamps; fog lights; chrome exterior accents; a leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters; hybrid cloth/leather upholstery; an 8-way power driver's seat with lumbar; and heated front seats. Specifying the turbocharged engine brings standard dual-zone automatic climate control.
The Limited dials it back to 17-in alloy wheels and ditches the SE's more aggressive touches like the paddle shifters and sport-tuned suspension (the turbocharged Limited keeps the 18s and the paddle shifters), but it gains a sunroof, leather upholstery, piano-black or woodgrain interior trim, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated rear seats and a 7-speaker, 360-watt audio sound system.
Some of the higher trims' standard equipment can be added to the lower trims as options. Available only in the Limited are a panoramic sunroof and a 9-speaker, 400-watt Infinity audio system. The SE and Limited are eligible for a Navigation package that includes a 7-in touchscreen, a rearview camera, and of course a navigation system.
The Sonata Hybrid gets a somewhat different equipment roster, starting with standard 16-in alloy wheels, automatic headlamps, LED accent lights, dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, electroluminescent gauges, a trip computer with a Hybrid-specific 4.2-in display, Blue Link telematics, cloth upholstery, an 8-way power driver's seat with lumbar and the 6-speaker sound system with iPod/USB and Bluetooth from the GLS/SE.
There are two notable Hybrid option packages: the Leather package adds leather upholstery and heated front and rear seats, while the Ultimate package consists of the Leather package plus a panoramic sunroof, 17-in alloy wheels, the 9-speaker Infinity audio system and the navigation system that's optional on the SE/Limited.
In our interior evaluation, we were reminded that Hyundai seats tend to be on the soft side, and that tradition continues with the Sonata's front chairs, regardless of upholstery. We appreciate the long-distance cruising comfort that they provide, though, even if lateral support for aggressive maneuvers is lacking. The Sonata's deeply recessed standard gauges are bright and legible, but the Hybrid's Lexus-like electroluminescent gauges easily win the prize; we'd like to see them offered across the lineup.
The Sonata's stylized dashboard features mostly good-quality materials; in fact, we'd say the Sonata's a bit above average in this regard. The central controls are a generally ergonomic mix of buttons and knobs, with the unusual addition of a Volvo-inspired human figure (yes, Hyundai still plays the imitator at times) that you press to change the airflow setting.
The back seat provides plenty of legroom and a nice high bottom cushion, but headroom might be tight for passengers with long torsos--that's one of the prices you pay for the rakish roofline and supportive rear bench. Trunk space is quite generous at 16.4 cu-ft, though that drops to just 10.7 cu-ft in the Hybrid.
Even the base GLS comes well equipped in the technology department, providing all the connectivity you need via its iPod/USB and Bluetooth hookups. But perhaps the most notable standard technology feature is the Blue Link telematics system, which includes voice-recognition software that converts your spoken words to text messages (compatible smartphone required); monthly reports on vehicle performance and maintenance; emergency roadside assistance at the push of a button; and point-of-interest searches for nearby restaurants and such.
Optional on higher trims is a navigation system that got an upgraded display screen last year. We still don't find the graphics of this system particularly inspired, but the larger, sharper screen does make a difference.
Performance & Fuel Economy
The Sonata GLS and Limited start with a 2.4-liter inline-4 rated at 198 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, while the base SE gets the same engine with ratings of 200 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque. This engine is unusually strong for an entry-level offering, and it's reasonably refined, too. The GLS can be equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, but that's a rare sight in these cars; most Sonatas will have the extra-cost 6-speed automatic, which shifts quickly yet smoothly--we like it. Fuel economy is a superb 24 mpg city/35 mpg highway either way.
The SE and Limited are eligible for an upgrade to a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 that cranks out 274 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque through a willing 6-speed automatic. This is one of the most impressive engines in any midsize sedan today. It's got a ton of low-end torque for effortless highway passing, yet it keeps on pulling at high rpm, and it's quite civilized all the while. Plus, you still get 22 mpg city/34 highway, which is truly extraordinary at this level of performance.
As for the Hybrid, it pairs a 2.4-liter inline-4 with an electric motor for a total output of 206 hp. In an unusual twist for a hybrid, this Sonata gets a 6-speed automatic, albeit one without a torque converter; most hybrids have CVTs. We wish the Hybrid's drivetrain came up roses like the others, but alas, this one needs more time in the oven. The power delivery isn't smooth or linear, and the 6-speed is slow to respond. At least fuel economy is excellent at 35/40 mpg, though other midsize hybrids are even more frugal.
The Sonata comes with standard stability control, 4-wheel antilock disc brakes, active front head restraints and 6 airbags (front, front-side, full-length side curtain).
In government crash-testing, the Sonata received the top five-star overall rating, including five stars in every category except frontal protection, where it received four stars. The independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the Sonata its highest rating of Good in all categories.
Driving Impressions
The Sonata's suspension tuning marks a paradigm shift for Hyundai. Whereas previous Sonatas--indeed, Hyundais in general--prioritized a soft ride above all else, the current Sonata is more like a Honda Accord in the way it keeps the driver connected with the road. The ride is still compliant, but the Sonata now feels like it has some athletic ability in corners, especially in the SE's tighter state of tune. Alas, the Sonata's steering is numb and vague, a habit that Hyundai can't seem to shake. Also, road noise can rise to objectionable levels on certain surfaces, though the Sonata's cabin is otherwise quiet.
Other Cars to Consider
Kia Optima: The mechanically similar Optima has a bold styling language of its own, and we prefer the Kia's interior. Definitely worth comparing with the Sonata.
Toyota Camry: Like the Sonata, the new Camry has hit the gym, and it's actually genuinely engaging in SE trim. The Camry's V6 is one of the few engines in this class that can give the Sonata's 2.0T a run for its money.
Volkswagen Passat: The Passat offers an intriguing engine lineup of its own, and it has a restrained German aesthetic that serves as a compelling alternative to the Sonata's exuberance.
AutoTrader Recommends
We think the turbocharged engine hits the sweet spot for power and fuel economy, especially at its base price of around $25,000. We'd make it a base SE 2.0T to keep the cost in check. That's a lot of car for 25 large.