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What makes the most important game of a decade? Most many units sold? Best critical rating? Most swear words per sentence/nude pixelated women? I think we can take it one step farther. How about most consoles sold?
Individual game don't sell consoles. That's a general rule that you find for game consoles, something PC gamers don't have. If you wanted to play Doom 3, you bought a brand new videocard, and that was final. But if a game comes out on the N64 and you have a PlayStation, screw it, you'll play it at a friend's house.
And then there was Halo.
Agreed, Xbox would be no where near what it is without Halo.
Halo literally carried the original Xbox on it's back. Halo made the Xbox not the other way around. It also helped push FPS on consoles (following the success of Goldeneye and PD) and online competitive play on consoles to new heights. While I'm not very satisfied with this gen of Halo games, there's no denying that Halo CE and Halo 2 really paved the way for this generation.
no matter how many may refuse to give halo credit that game single-handedly made paved a path for today's gaming psyche.. need to play FPS on console... coop-ing with friends in all sorts of matter to vehicle( damn i remember getting in a warhog in halo1 with a friend that was some freaking amazing thing when i played it on PC.. i was like omg we are playing together.. ).. then it really pushed XBOXlive and which made PSN in away more competitive and jump into online gaming ... coz frankly i remember when ps3 was out .. it was not really coined as used heavily for the online part.. it was there for the rituality but not till there are so much buzz to play over the internet with a friend..
halo1 and halo2 made me a game freak.. yes.. it got me to buy my first xbox1 and get into hardcore gaming.. as i am today..
all respect well given to this title..
hate it or love it.. BUNGIE did some big big stuff by making this game..
if there was not halo= NO XBOX = and extra 7 YEARS plus b4 online console gaming really takes off = NO COMPETITION FOR AAA TITLES from both sony and MS.= NO CONSOLE WAR :P... (cant leave the bad stuff out lool)
very true
nobody can deni the power of Halo
Halo just screams Quality
But i would say it was the most important game for the fps genre....Most important game of the decade has to be gta3, even if halo sold xbox's and kept ms relevant, I strongly believe that gta3 had a bigger impact on the gaming landscape than halo:ce
Halo single handily showed that FPS games can be down very well and be popular on home consoles. Not only that, they continued that innovation again folllowing up with the release of Halo 2 and Xbox LIVE. This time showing that not only can online gaming be really done on a home console, but also done really well for a FPS. Halo 3...didnt do much.
I think Halo really is the most important game, or at least, series of the decade.
I still play Halo CE with some friends,
We love Chil Out map lol
"Halo 3...didnt do much."
"Halo 3 was the first console game to have not only map creation and sharing, but game recording and video uploading, to friends and to your PC."
Halo has always innovated. Can't say the same for most other games.
one thing that you have to give credit to Halo CE was that it was probaly the 1st game to perfectly balance and tune weapons so you never felt that you had the short end of stick,lets say if you were using a pistol and someone else was using a needler (pistol is my weapon of choice)you had just as much chance of killing that person as each weapon has its ups and downs , even to this day there arn't many games that have nailed what halo has done in weapon balancing.
Halo Combat Evolved is one of my all time favourte games which is saying alot especially seeing as im not a big fan of FPS.
True. Halo is immensely important to Xbox.
I love Halo. It did a lot to define MY decade of gaming...
BUT I'm not about to claim it's the most important game in a DECADE. I think it did some important things and brought some important innovations to the genre, and it might be the most important if you want to look at total sales of the entire series. But I'm not about to pretend it satisfies all the potential measures of "most important", and I would never in a thousand years expect everyone to agree either way.
Most Important game of console online gaming this decade I can agree with.
I downloaded it on my pc...Played it for a total of 2 hours.
A pc gamer had cs, battlefield, call of duty, mechwarrior and many many more online games to choose from back then.
Halo was miles and miles and miles away from comparing with online gaming on the pc. Still is actually
It may be true that Halo was important in terms of impact on the gaming industry.
But overall I think it is sad that these games are so successful. There are so many games out there that are actually funny, aesthetically pleasing and challenge your imagination and intellect.
Nevertheless people only seem to buy shooters where the setting is only focussed on delivering a stage for special effects and blowing things up (COD:MW2). War has been degraded to a background phenomena that is accepted and not thought over (just like in the real life in the US).
The Xbox 360 arguably wouldn't even exist without it.
True. HALO to the Xbox is very relevant. It also made FPS games the most popular on the family of consoles. Unfortunately, it also made the FPS genre, the single-most popular on the systems. Many FPS gamers flock to the 360 because of all the FPS games available on the system. Many gamers only get a 360 FOR the HALO games. Not a bad thing, but many of the really big games in different genres on the 360 don't do nearly as well. You can't say that RARE's games on Microsoft's platforms do nearly as well as they did on Nintendo consoles in years past.
There are far more properties on the other consoles that identify them. Nintendo does have Mario, and he's the single-most recognisable character in the family. As well as Samus Aran, Fox McCloud, Link, and the entire family of Mario characters.
Even more games identify the Sony brand. On the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy was possibly the largest brand that identified with it. Other than that, many JRPG franchises continued the tradition. If not JRPGs, many developers saw their companies come to life on the PS family. Naughty Dog had the Crash Bandicoot trilogy. Insomniac had the Spyro games. Konami and Kojima Hideo had Metal Gear Solid. Capcom continued the Breath of Fire series from the SNES on PS1. Naughty Dog had the Jak & Daxter series on PS2. Insomniac continued their greatness with the Ratchet & Clank series on PS2. Kojima continued the excellence that is the MGS series on PS2 as well. The Final Fantasy series continued on PS2 with 2 great JRPGs in FFX and FF12. They had even more games than that which proved great like Valkyria Profile 2 and much more.
On PS3, we have the new Uncharted series, the new Ratchet & Clank series, Resistance, WipeOut HD and so on and so forth. The largest and greatest diversity of games comes on the newest PS platform, as it has always been since 1995. Argue if you must, and as always, I happily invite peoples' disagreements.
By the time the 360 arrived it had plenty of franchises.
When the next gen arrives, the MS platform will be the leading platform for exclusive franchises.
Well, is M$ flagship title, is really important for M$ and its Fanbase
So much for intellectual diversity. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me, but I was hoping people would present their arguments openly.
Microsoft is playing a game of chess with only one piece. Arguably, it is a strong piece, like a Queen, but Microsoft isn't going to win against all of Sony's rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns.
Nintendo is an exception to the rule that proves how relevant the rule is to reality. How many times has a console which is so full of crappy shovelware and so scarce in quality games become the most successful console in the market?
Mario and Halo just don't compare. Mario is leaps and bounds more popular and beloved than Halo or arguably any other video game franchise will ever be.
dude seriously .. u really REALLLY think halo is that generic that if something has halo slapped on it IT WONT SELL?.. are u f**king kidding me.. tell me one thing that has halo that hasnt sold.? isnt tha brand awareness ?... mario is big big big.. but halo is just coming right behind to become some pop-cultural figure.. weda u like it or not.. its happening already.. watch the sales of anything halo ... it is sure to sell..
edit: not to mention its a franchise that made.. multiplayer so freaking A MUST HAVE of everything now...
every FPS on console has taken a page off halo in some sort of way especially in the MP department...
its the reason y there is so much saturation of FPS on consoles now.. it was the reason Resistance was made to be the HALO KILLER..how many halo killers have come since halo was made.. should i start to mention? HAZE, RESISTANCE, KILLZONE.. lol come on..and u think halo didnt make an impact... lol
heck i looked at my achivements the other day.. i have played a total of 179 games to date on my 360 and 48 of them are FPS that is alot.. and i play all sorts.. not just FPSers
vvvvv reply..
dude u statement was u refered to halo and another franchise .. and i said.. mario is big big big.. but the whole halo and master chieft stuff.. is getting bigger by the second it wont be long that some ppl will grow out of mario and may want to embrace a more .. mature figure who do u think is next of kin.? with popularity in gaming ... the man in the green armour.. obviously.
Oh no, Halo will sell that's for sure. I'm just saying Mario (the character) is a lot bigger than Halo or any other video game franchise could ever be. I mean think about it. Mario is associated with gaming as whole not just Nintendo consoles, but all of gaming. I'm not bashing Halo or anything, but a LOT more people around the entire world know about Mario yet don't have a clue who Master Chef is. See my point?
And where in my comment did I say it was generic or lame or that it doesn't sell? Seriously, some people read too much into my comments.
You happen to forget to mention that Mario games span across different genres whereas Halo just covers one, the FPS. Also, Nintendo also has additional popular franchises like Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid etc.
Last time I checked Halo Wars wasn't a FPS.
@kaviar6616 "Microsoft is playing a game of chess with only one piece"
So, what should we call Gears of War, Forza Motorsport, Splinter Cell, Fable, Mass Effect, Alan Wake, Crackdown, Mistwalker's & Rare's games?
Are they not chess pieces? I beg to differ.
I know what Mario is but what's a Halo?
I'm kidding. I dont know about game of the decade but definitely an important game for the xbox brand.
Guys, it's not game of the decade. It's the most important game of the decade...has little to do with how good or bad it was. It's based on influence on the games industry.
He makes a valid point while Halo is undeniably Microsoft's biggest chess piece that doesn't mean they don't have lots of rooks and bishops moving around on the board. Just like Mario is Nintendo's biggest player doesn't mean Metroid, Zelda, Pikmin, etc. aren't playing as well.
Yeah, that's why you have to see Mario everywhere in every game at every time
At least M. Chief stay in Halo sequels and not in every freaking Game developed by M$
Probably Next E3 Nintendo will announce a remake of this:
LOL. Saaking can't bear the thought of Halo(from Microsoft's console) could possibly be an icon like Mario. Good stuff.
From the story, characters, voice acting, great graphics, well thought-out gameplay, memorable boss battles, incredible production values, all wrapped up in an unforgettable cinematic experience that was unseen yet for a videogame at that time.
You might say it's the blueprint of modern videogames. Alot of videogames we have now today owes alot to MGS, and yep that includes HALO.
5. This reason fails, because Golden Eye, was the one that popularizes FPS on consoles.
4. Machinima? Good grief, I've been watching machinimas long before Halo's 1st and for the most part made from Unreal and Source. Besides the only machinima I know from Halo are Blue vs Red.
3. It's called milking. Maybe you haven't heard of other dairy produce like Mario and FF? As for map creation and sharing, other FPS have done it before HALO, besides I thought this was about Halo: Combat Evolved being the most important game of the decade? Then how come you list features from other Halo game? If the first game didn't have them , then it didn't have them. No need to pull feature sets from other game in the series to somehow prove your reasoning is true, because it isn't.
4 and 5. Well they are both the same, I won't argue because it is true.
I still stand by my first argument, I think MGS is the most important game of the decade and that this article should be renamed "Halo: Combat Evolved is the most important game for XBOX and MS".
Metal Gear Solid did not influence as much as you say. It's a great series, but if every game took a page out of MGS, then there wouldn't be as many genres as there are.
As it stands, you cannot say that every developer thinks about MGS when they think about how they're going to design video games.
You cannot even say that about Halo.
However, you could argue that most stealth game developers will look up to MGS in some way or another.
And you can also argue that most console FPS shooter developers look up to either Halo or Doom or a particular revolutionary FPS game. I don't know if that game is Halo. But I would argue that it might be Halo since a lot of games are now incorporating multiplayer modes. Games which we never thought would have online modes, like Grand Theft Auto. It might have nothing to do with Halo's style or gameplay, and more to do with the success of Halo as an online game on consoles.
ha insaself had to use all his accounts to disagree with you (and to aprove the article)
Just FYI, Metal Gear Solid wasn't released in this decade, unless you count the crappy PC port. I agree with this article, although I've always thought and still think that Halo is rubbish compared to other shooters out there (Half-Life in particular makes it look pretty poor).
Dude, I wasn't talking about the genre. If you've read my comment, you will know that I did not mention it, even though MGS pioneered the stealth-espionage genre.
Its everything else about it, that we find on every videogame several years later bears the imprint of MGS and its undeniable legacy, that I'm commenting about.
Like the voice-acting, though a feature that's been done before but not on the level of MGS.
Incredibly production values, that divides the line between what is a Triple A game and what is a normal one. Truly raising our expectation and appreciation for a videogame.
Besides, MGS was the first game to really straddle the line between videogames and movies, by using story-telling techniques derived from the latter and implementing it on the former. Though alot of game tried this before, MGS was the first to really succeed, thereby delivering the first truly cinematic experience for a videogame. This legacy and many more are found on games today like Uncharted, COD and yes HALO.
Can't live without Halo <3
well for this generation Halo did more impact than MGS. Sure MGS4 is one the best games on PS3 but people keep talking about Halo more than MGS.
Every FPS these days has something to do with Halo and very Halo did something new. From Halo: Evolved Combat to Halo 3 and I'm sure Halo : reach will do something new
But the problem is not everyone is noticing that and they think Halo as a generic game
When you compare Halo to other shooters on the market, it does seem generic. Although I do agree that Halo and Halo 2 were revolutionary during their time, Halo 3 and ODST are just more of the same nowadays.
And of course people are going to talk more about Halo than MGS. It's MS's flagship title and it sells like hotcakes. MGS4 isn't a title for anyone, it's for the fans. That's why you don't hear too much about it. With any of the Halos, anyone can pick up, play it, and know what's going on.
Halo is a mainstream game, MGS...not so much.
Same goes to Halo it's for the fans. thats why alot of people don't enjoy it
Halo 3 = Halo 2 with tweaks in gameplay. everyone liked the multiplayer of Halo 2 and they made some changes. they added new weapons, vehicles, equipments that never been in Halo 2. they also added forge and theater mode which most of the shooters these days don't have it. 4 online co-op, host migration, File share, Bungie net and how you download things from the website and bring it to Halo such as maps and game modes, Huge customization in custom games, unlocking armors for the multiplayer character, collecting skulls in the campaign and let's not forget about the weekly updates that make the multiplayer fresh everyweek.
Are those not enough ?
Changing the gameplay could be a big risk for them. Like someone like me who plays Halo 3 from launch, adding perks might hurt the game and then we feel like we are not playing Halo we are playing something else but I think it will have a big change in Reach and Bungie said that they will do something new and might be a risk.
and what I know about MGS4 it was a more of an action game than the previous ones and Kojima didn't like it because he wanted to attract western people for it. I don't know maybe I'm wrong about it
My point is how it's for the fans if he is doing this ?
Metal Gear Solid started in 1998, Goldeneye in like what, 1996 or 97, the title of this article as well as the story is that halo is the most important game of THIS decade not the most important of the 1990s. Or do you not know the definition of a decade (which is a 10 year span if you did not know)?
What you say is definitely true. Halo 3 is a definite improvement and the fans (like you) enjoy the new features that were added to it. But my point is that when you compare it to other games (Killzone 2, Call of Duty, ect.), it has a mediocre feel with a lack of depth. It's probably because I'm not a die-hard fan of Halo, but IMO there are tons more FPS's that are of higher-quality and make Halo LOOK generic. My hope is that Reach changes my opinion because the Halo franchise is something that I'd like to like, but it lacks what I want in a game.
As far as MGS4 goes, I am a fan of the series and I can say that I enjoyed the game thoroughly. I know that the game didn't turn out the way Kojima wanted it to, but that doesn't mean that he was totally disappointed. When I say "for the fans", I'm mainly talking about the story. It's the conclusion to a very complex, convoluted storyline, and for the people who have never played an MGS title, it's more than confusing. Compare that to Halo which has an easy-to-follow story. Also, the stealth gameplay is something that most people aren't used to, versus Halo which is an FPS (a genre that almost everyone is familiar with). MGS4 was definitely westernized, but it didn't take away from the experience that fans wanted. So when I say "mainstream" and "for the fans", that's what I mean.
Like I said, I'd really like to see Reach change my opinion about the Halo series, and honestly, I have faith in Bungie. They're a very talented developer and I know they're capable of making Reach an amazing title. But they better make it stick out from the crowd in order to get my attention (something Halo 3 didn't do).
Well it's very hard to understand why people like Halo. Especially for those like to play alot of games. Thats why i think they feel halo is generic.
and most of the Halo players don't care about the story like 90 % of them. All they want is Multiplayer. Although it's a good story but in the end they will still want multiplayer.
About Halo reach I'm sure it will good, maybe GOTY of 2010 but will it satisfy both casual and hardcore gamers ?
thats a really hard question, let's wait for the beta :(
Halo generic? Lol are you serious?
Games like Call of Duty are as generic as you can possibly get.
Yeah, I play a lot of games from varying genres, and to tell ya the truth, FPS is one of my least favorite genres. Don't get me wrong, I do like them. But I'm more of an RPG and Adventure kind of guy. That definitely has something to do with my opinion. Also, I prefer story over multi anyday, so that's another reason why I'm not the biggest fan of Halo (and even why I'm a bigger fan of MGS). I mean, the story's there, but it needs a lot more depth, something I hope Reach will have. Hopefully Bungie goes all in with it.
EvanVolm (1) - 41m ago
Digitaldude (2) - 42m ago
harrypmgaga (1) - 42m ago
inSaneELF (2) - 43m ago
i bet theyre all the same person
This game redifined gaming history, and revolutinised the gaming world forever, Greatest game ever to be made and put on this earth.
One game that single handedly destroyed sonys empire, this was the game why i left PS2 and went Xbox fan, even though i both own both still.
PS3 and Xbox 360
It destoryed every single game, to this day no one can match its quality. All ideas and MP came from Halo.
The reason why Sony is in 3rd place, they can't beat the beast.
When Halo Reach comes....HOLY!
sad that you actually pay attention to stuff like that.
I see a future for you on the stat department.
I dont think Jesus was in Halo or its coverart
To some people, Master Chief IS their savior. lmao.
lol @ the picture
Probably, in this writer mind, M. Chief is like a GOD, that's not even funny, poor soul
I'm glad the joke went over so well. You know, because Jesus saved the people while Halo saved the Xbox...it's like, I couldn't have asked for a better metaphor while still keeping it humorous.
..or do you not know your kevin smith movies?
Halo undoubtedly has contributed to the acceptance of the xbox brand in households across the world.
The resulting market penetration of the xbox successor, the 360, was thus arguably partially enabled by Halo and has shown the industry that competition is fierce amongst manufacturing competitors.
Gamers and consumers have never had it so good, as a result.
Companies are literally falling over themselves to give value and get marketshare to consumers.
Sony is in its third year and has yet to post a single quarter of ps3 profits. This shows the extent to which competition has narrowed the margins.
If Halo did indeed 'make' the xbox, then I am utterly grateful, because the resulting competition has raised standards across the board and improved the purchasing power of gamers, of that there can be no doubt.
In this sense, maybe Halo is indeed "the Most Important Game of the Decade".
If Halo had failed,
Would MS have even released a 360?
Would there be pressure on Sony to release a slim?
Would there be pressure on Sony to drop prices by 50% since launch while still in their third year?
Any reasonable person would answer 'NO'.
I guess Halo was quite important, in so many ways!
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Jesus, Saaking, that was quick... are you on here 24/7?
Anyway... what about the Halo lovers in Australia, Africa, UAE, India, Asia, New Zealand, Germany, Finland, Spain, Italy, Denmark. etc?
Aren't you simplifying just a little there, bud?
To households.. in the US and UK. that's about it. Halo isn't that popular in the rest of the world.
And notice whenever Saaking doesn't have a rebuttal, he spews out immature garbage.
It's typical of him.
He doesn't have the skillset to make a point.
That's why he's spending 90% of his time in the Gamer Zone. He can't hang with the BIG BOYS.
Leave him be.
And anyone that denies that Halo is the BIGGEST franchise of the past 10 years is fooling themselves.
Nintendo: Mario
Microsoft: Halo
Sony: ZERO
Is this a joke i think wow pretty much made machinama popular. Game of the decade is wow hate it love it but it much bigger then halo and is now the bench mark for every mmo. Their are so many more important games then halo.
NO ONE CARES @ Saaking
SO accroding to your logic, games like Demons souls, Ratched&Clank, and all the other PS3 exclusive "low seller" arent poplurat AT ALL.
Demon souls was released in the US because of the demand, finding copies is rare now.
It was a japan only release before. its not even released in the EU.
You are so fcking retarted.
He's 100% correct. If you look at sales of Halo 3, close to 75% sold were sold to Americans. Americans love Halo.
Contrast that to other games like Uncharted 2 or even GTA4 and both the 360 and PS3 and you'll find that it's usually closer to 50% are bought in the US, 50% are bought elsewhere.
It's pretty clear from the sales that Halo is more a US phenomenon than anything else. That's not to say that it's sold badly other countries, it's hasn't. Halo 3 still managed to move 3 million copies outside of the US which is outstanding for any game, but you can't argue that this is, first and foremost, a US dominated game.
This also shouldn't be that surprising considering 60% of the 360's sold worldwide were sold in the US. US gamers prefer the 360 while when you look at Wii and PS3 sales the majority of those consoles are sold outside of the US.
^^^ Not all Americans (maybe for American children I would agree). I for one and quite a few friends/family can't be bothered with it...we are more about REAL skilled FPS's for PC and Consoles~ CS, Killzone 2, Some Quake, Half Life series, AvP's, SOME CoD's (more-so for PC), MoH's, DoD, Doom, Tom Clancy's and quite a few others. Sorry but Halo is for misinformed kids who believe that is what a FPS is supposed to be like. Nope.
Are you a Halo PR man? You can't compare Halo to Mario there miles apart and not even close. Even in the USA or UK today i can walk into the street and ask who Master Chief is and most people will have no idea (especially if they aren't into gaming seriously), i can walk into the same street ask the same set of people do you know who Mario is? Most if not all will know who Mario is weather it's an old lady a young child.
Halo managed to keep the Xbox alive and has changed gaming that way but it didn't create the fps genre. The genre had been on the PC for a long time and many people were expectng console to take up on mass later down the line however it was going slow.
In this department Halo managed to speed up console acceptance of fps games.
I do agree with al the above. But really it was only a matter of time before someone brought something forward to bring the proper fps to console. Halo was an opertunist. But you can't argue with a opertunist that sold a gaming generation can you ;).
Only idiot Xbots can call this the most important game of the decade,when it's pretty easy to see GTA III's influence in every 3D game released since then,and the mass acceptance of mature themes in gaming.Imo,the best exclusive game series on the Xbox is Gears Of War.
Halo. I remember going to my friends house and watchin him play halo on the original xbox and i thought it was so boring, i guess i just dont like futuristic FPS, not even killzone
"I remember going to my friends house and watchin him play Killzone on the original playstation and i thought it was so boring, i guess i just dont like futuristic FPS, not even Halo"
Halo > Killzone.
Not sure if I can give it that big of an ovation, but I'd say it's the most important...hmm....most important console FPS of the decade. It's the first one to take a step up after Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, but it's hard to even give it that with how great Half-Life 2 was. It made console FPSs popular again after a drought, that's about all I can give it. That game seemed like it was alot of people's first FPS too. PC gamers and Goldeneye fans wouldn't agree with giving Halo that much praise, but everyone else would thank Halo for alot of things. They should just change the title to "Xbox's Most Important Game of the Decade" since most of the reasons have to do with MS and not the gaming industry itself. I'd throw GTA3 into the mix of most important games of the decade too since it made controversial games mainstream.


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So you think all those telecommuters are working from home in coffee-stained PJs and bunny slippers? Think again.
Leonardo Rocha of IBM Finance recently posed these questions on LinkedIn.com:
"For those that work from a Home Office, how do you dress up for work? I work from home 2-3 days a week and still haven't made up my mind on what I should be wearing. Do you feel it's important to put on your working clothes?"
Since I have experience working from a home office several times in my career I felt prepared to tackle this set of queries. This was my response:
"I just read an article that lists two reasons not to wear pajamas and slippers to the home office – productivity and efficiency. I'm sure you probably don't wear your PJs to work at home! But you Can dress comfortably and remain Chic in your home office with a business casual outfit. If you ever worked in an office with business casual Fridays, then you know what I'm suggesting. Possibly chinos or dark washed denim with a polo-type shirt or a favorite button down. If you conduct or attend video meetings from your home office, then you want to appear presentable. When you look good you feel good and possibly accomplish more!"
Leonardo liked my response. Score one for The Fashion Plate!
"Kristin, I think your comparison between working from home and business casual Fridays was spot on. Thank you."
Dressing for success isn't just for corporate settings. Women and men working from home have something to gain from putting on real clothes.
A study from professors at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University found when research subjects wore a scientist's or medical doctor's white coat, they performed better.
The subjects wearing the lab coats – typically associated with care and attentiveness – made about half as many errors as their peers.
How to remain comfy and look chic while doing business at home?
I made some suggestions for men in my response to Leonardo above. Ladies, try colored jeans with a sleeveless blouse and lightweight printed scarf. Or a structured blazer paired with printed shorts or pants for another great fall look.
Maxi skirts paired with a fitted sleeveless top are also cute and comfy and can be easily dressed up with a short jacket.
Fashion and function can combine for a successful workday, every day!
Are you guilty of working from home in your pajamas? Share your home office work attire comments with Chapelboro Insiders.

subset: commoncrawl


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Black Jade Chinoiserie in the Bath
Longtime readers of this column will know that I redo my bathroom more often than I run out for eggs, so for bathroom renovation month at Apartment Therapy, let's look at my latest foray. File this under "Why Not."
I love the idea of this, but I wish I liked it just a bit more. The base is actually a striè of two similar colors, which you could only see in hard, raking light for two weeks until the emulsion glossed out. I wanted the blackest underwater blue-green, like black jade. The ornament is the color of patina bronze, and none of this made sense until I got the birds up and running, which have Phthalo blue and a bit of coral. I like the samples I made more than the actual thing itself; it sat unfinished for six months, and now I've finally polished it off. Sort of... It's also so dark, shiny and small that it's nearly impossible to photograph; and, as always, the walnut-colored tile remains a liability, but it is a rental.
My inspiration was some little mid-century mini-survey of Chinese watercolors that I picked up off the street. I can't quite tell if this is cheesy; but, as I say, it was an experiment for future potential projects I may someday take to market.
(Images: Mark Chamberlain)


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What do you think: is a R/C car a robot? It moves, however I think many people would say it is not a robot. What then are the mars robot explorers other then glorified R/C cars with cameras, other attachments, and a longer range radio signal? Perhaps it's the recreation aspect? However, the robots competing in battle bots were for entertainment, as well as being remote controlled, but they qualify as robots (don't they?). So it is not the remote control aspect either. Maybe we should start at the other end of the spectrum.
A fully humanoid automated mechanical being would obviously be considered a robot (ie: C3P0 from Star Wars). Today industrial robots are most commonly the robotic arms that weld, rivet, and otherwise work on mass production assembly lines. That common definition is not what most roboticists think of when someone says robot. I think we can be safe in saying that robot must contain some kind of electrial components (yes mechanical ones might exist but I doubt they'd hit the level of robot-hood, more likely they are automaton). What else, must a computer contain to be a robot?
How about a large Dancing Santa , is that a Santa robot? I think sensors are another important component to robots. These dancing Santas wouldn't qualify because they merely have an on/off switch. Before you ask: NO! Dancing sunflowers don't count just because they perceive sound. Let's modify that definition to include sensors to perceive with AND some sort of complex processing of that input. That eliminates remote controlled robots.
But are those remote controlled robots really robots in the strictest sense? I don't believe so. I'd have to say they were remote controlled devices. And the debate continues……
Current definition of Robot: Moves, has electrical parts, has sensors and processes the input received from those sensors.


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Empirical findings on the prospective link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and subsequent depression are mixed. This nationwide, population-based study thus aimed at assessing the risk of depressive disorder within the first year following a diagnosis with OSA. Gender effects were further examined.
Cohort study.
This study used data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. A total of 2,818 patients diagnosed with OSA between 2002 and 2008 were evaluated, and 14,090 matched non-OSA enrollees used as a comparison cohort.
Each patient was followed for one year to identify subsequent depressive disorder. We found that during the one-year follow-up, the incidence of depressive disorder per thousand person-years was about twice as high among patients with OSA (18.10, 95% CI = 13.62-23.61) as those without OSA (8.23, 95% CI = 6.83-9.84). The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that patients with OSA were independently associated with a 2.18 times (95% CI = 1.55-3.08) increased risk of subsequent depressive disorder within a year, compared to those without OSA. As epidemiological studies have consistently documented an increased risk for depression in women, we hypothesized and confirmed higher risks of depressive disorder among female patients with OSA (2.72, 95% CI = 1.68-4.40) than their male counterparts (1.81, 95% CI = 1.09-3.01).
A prospective link between OSA and subsequent depressive disorder within one year was confirmed by the current study. The risk was particularly evident among women. Regular psychiatric screening among patients with OSA is suggested to prompt the timely detection of depression.
A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 425.
Chen YH; Keller JK; Kang JH; Hsieh HJ; Lin HC. Obstructive sleep apnea and the subsequent risk of depressive disorder: a population-based follow-up study. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(5):417-423.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most common subtype of sleep breathing disorder, is characterized by sleep-related decreases (hypopneas) or pauses (apneas) in respiration.1 The prevalence of OSA increases with age and is higher among males than females. Among the population between 30 to 65 years of age, 24% of men and 9% of women have been demonstrated to suffer from OSA.2
Depression is prevalent in people with OSA, ranging from 5% to 63% in clinical and community studies.3 In a large and retrospective review study, a significantly higher prevalence of depression was identified in people with OSA (21.8%) compared to those without OSA (9.43%).4 While this higher prevalence of depression among OSA points toward an underlying association, some OSA and depressive symptoms may overlap (e.g., fatigue, loss of interest, poor concentration),5 thus making it difficult to determine whether OSA contributes to the following occurrence of depression.
Although prior studies have addressed the link between OSA and depression, results in the literature are mixed. Some studies, including two large-scale studies,6,7 have reported no association between the disorders, while one longitudinal study reported an increased risk of consequent depression that exhibited a dose-response relationship with OSA severity.8 Two retrospective studies also observed OSA to be linked with depression.9,10
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Depression is prevalently observed in people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, although prior studies have addressed the link between OSA and depression, the results in the literature are mixed.
Study Impact: A prospective link between OSA and subsequent depressive disorder within one year was confirmed by the current study. Regular psychiatric screening among patients with OSA is suggested to prompt the timely detection of depression.
Inconsistencies in previous findings may be attributable to inadequate control of confounders (e.g., obesity, hypertension, diabetes, alcohol consumption), biases (e.g., self-reported data), and other measurement issues (e.g., different study populations, questionnaires, and scales).1,3,11 Based upon the heterogeneity of these data and numerous confounding factors, follow-up studies of patient populations have been suggested to better address the link between OSA and depression.1 In addition, while males are more frequently diagnosed with OSA,2 higher rates of depression have been found in female patients with OSA.12 Previous findings have rarely examined the modifying effects of gender, as most studies are unable to enroll sufficient numbers of both males and females to report sex-stratified risks of consequent depression.11 We hypothesized that risks of depressive disorder (DD) among female patients with OSA are higher than their male counterparts.
Thus, the objective of this nationwide population-based study was to assess the risk of DD in one year following a diagnosis of OSA. The association between OSA and DD was further be examined by sex.
We retrieved the data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000), which is derived from Taiwan's Bureau of National Health Insurance (NHI) records and released by the Taiwan National Health Research Institute annually. The LHID2000 includes the registration files and medical claims data for the reimbursement of 1,000,000 beneficiaries under the NHI program. These 1,000,000 beneficiaries were randomly selected from the year 2000 Registry of Beneficiaries (n = 23.72 million) of the NHI by the Taiwan National Health Research Institute. Prior studies have validated the completeness and accuracy of the claims data of NHI research database.13,14 Hundreds of researchers have employed the data from the Taiwan NHI to perform and publish their studies in peer-reviewed journals. In particular, 3 recent studies have employed the LHID2000 to explore the relationships between OSA and psoriasis, autoimmune diseases, and sudden hearing loss.15–17
The LHID2000 consists of de-identified secondary data released to the public for research purposes and was therefore exempted from full review, following consultation with the Taipei Medical University's Institutional Review Board.
This retrospective cohort study included a study cohort and a comparison cohort. For the study cohort, we first identified individuals who had been diagnosed with OSA (ICD-9-CM codes 327.23, 780.51, 780.53, or 780.57) after receiving polysomnography during ambulatory care visits between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008 (n = 3,292). Since administrative datasets are often criticized for poor diagnostic validity, this study included only patients who had received OSA diagnoses following polysomnography to better ensure diagnostic validity. To include only newly diagnosed cases and to avoid the potential effects of chronicity, we excluded those individuals who had received a diagnosis of OSA prior to 2002 (n = 212). As OSA in children is distinct from OSA in adults,18,19 we further excluded individuals younger than 18 years (n = 103) to increase the homogeneity of our study sample. Finally, we assigned the date of their first ambulatory care visit in which they received a diagnosis of OSA following polysomnography as the index date. We excluded those individuals who had received a diagnosis of DD (ICD-9-CM codes 296.2, 296.3, 300.4, and 311) schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder prior to their index date (n = 159). As a result, a total of 2,818 individuals with OSA were included in the study cohort.
For the selection of the comparison cohort, we likewise extracted the individuals from the LHID2000. We first excluded all the individuals who had ever been diagnosed with OSA since the initiation of the NHI program (from 1995 to 2009) from our consideration. Then we randomly selected 14,090 beneficiaries (5 for each patient in the study cohort) matched with the study cohort in sex, age (18-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54,55-59, 60-64, 65-59, and > 69), urbanization level (5 levels, with 1 referring to the most urbanized and 5 referring to the least), and year of index date, using the SAS program proc SurveySelect (SAS System for Windows, Version 8.2). For the study cohort, the index date was defined as the year in which the cases received their first diagnosis of OSA; index date for the comparison cohort was simply a matched year in which the comparison individuals had used medical services. For the comparison cohort, we assigned their first use of medical care occurring in the year of index as their index date. In addition, we matched the variable of urbanization level of the patient's residence to help control for error variables, namely unmeasured neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics between the study cohort and comparison cohort. According to a prior study, all 359 cities/towns in Taiwan were stratified into 5 groups ranked by urbanization level.16 We further ensured that patients selected for the comparison cohort had never been diagnosed with DD, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder prior to their index date.
We individually followed up each sampled individual (n = 16,998) for a one-year period starting from their index date to identify those individuals who subsequently received a diagnosis of DD (ICD-9-CM codes 296.2, 296.3, 300.4, and 311).
The SAS statistical package (SAS System for Windows, Version 8.2, Cary NC, USA) was used to perform all statistical analyses in this study. We used χ2 tests to compare differences in monthly income, geographic region, and prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), hyperlipidemia, obesity, and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependency syndrome between the study cohort and the comparison cohort. We calculated the one-year DD-free survival rates by the Kaplan-Meier method, with the log-rank test also being used to examine differences in DD-free survival rates between cohorts. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions (stratified on sex, age group, urbanization level, and index date) were performed to compute the risk for DD during the one-year follow-up period between the study cohort and the comparison cohort. In this study, we have also examined the proportional hazards assumption and found this assumption to be satisfied because the survival curves for both strata (individuals in the study cohort and comparison cohort) had hazard functions that were proportional over time. A two-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for this study.
The distribution of demographic characteristics and comorbidities between the study cohort and the comparison cohort is shown in Table 1. Of the total of 16,908 individuals, the mean age was 46.4 years (SD 15.7 years); only one-third were females. It also shows that individuals with OSA had a higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.001), CHD (p < 0.001), hyperlipidemia (p < 0.001), obesity (p < 0.001), and insomnia (p < 0.001) than comparison individuals. However, no significant difference in the prevalence of alcohol abuse/alcohol dependency syndrome (p = 0.391) and restless legs syndrome (p = 0.527) was observed between the study cohort and the comparison cohort.
Demographic characteristics for the sampled Taiwanese patients stratified by the presence/absence of obstructive sleep apnea, 2002-2008 (n = 16,908)
(more ...)
Table 2 presents the incidence of DD during the one-year follow-up period after the index date for the sampled individuals. The incidence of DD during the one-year follow-up period was 18.10 (95% CI = 13.62-23.61) and 8.23 (95% CI = 6.83-9.84) for individuals with and without OSA, respectively. The log-rank test revealed that individuals with OSA had significantly lower one-year DD-free survival rates than comparison individuals. Figure 1 compares the DD incidence rates between these 2 cohorts.
Hazard ratios of depressive disorder among the sample patients during the one-year follow-up periods (n = 16,908)
These are the incidence rates of depressive disorder among patients with and without obstructive sleep apnea during the one-year follow-up periods.
Depressive disorder-free survival rates for patients with obstructive sleep apnea and comparison group in TaiwanThese are the incidence rates of depressive disorder among patients with and without obstructive sleep apnea during the one-year follow-up periods.
Table 2 also presents the hazard ratio (HR) of DD between the study and comparison cohort. After adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, CHD, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependency syndrome, stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions (stratified on sex, age group, urbanization level, and the year of index date) revealed that the HR for DD among individuals with OSA was 2.18 (95% CI = 1.55-3.08, p < 0.001) times that of comparison individuals.
As the interaction between OSA and sex reached a level of significance (p < 0.1) sufficient to suggest the inclusion of sex in the model, we further present the HR of DD stratified by sex in Table 3. We found that among females, the adjusted hazard of DD during the one-year follow-up period was 2.72 (95% CI = 1.68-4.40) for individuals with OSA when compared with the comparison cohort. However, among males, the adjusted HR of DD among OSA individuals was only 1.81 (95% CI = 1.09-3.01) times that of matched comparison individuals.
Hazard ratios of depressive disorder by gender among the sample patients during the one-year follow-up periods
Table 4 further presents the HR of DD stratified by age group. We found that among patients < 40 and 40-64 years old, the adjusted HR of DD during the one-year follow-up period was 2.64 (1.22-5.69) and 2.41 (95% CI = 1.52-3.82), respectively, for individuals with OSA when compared with the comparison cohort. However, among patients older than 64 years, there was no significant relationship between DD and OSA.
Hazard ratios of depressive disorder by age among the sample patients during the one-year follow-up periods
We found that during a one-year follow-up, the incidence of DD per thousand person-years was about twice as high among patients with OSA than as those without OSA. Within one year following their diagnosis, patients with OSA were also independently associated with a 2.18 times increased risk of consequent DD, after taking confounders into consideration, including monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, CHD, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and alcohol abuse/ alcohol dependency syndrome. After further examining the modifying effects of gender, higher risks of consequent DD occurrence were observed among female patients with OSA than their male counterparts. While increased risks of subsequent DD were observed for patients younger than 40 and 40-64 years old with OSA, no significant relationship between DD and OSA was observed among those with OSA older than 64 years.
Many previous studies exploring the link between OSA and DD have been cross-sectional or retrospective. For example, Aloia et al. conducted a retrospective study and recruited 93 patients from sleep clinics and found apnea severity (percent of sleep time < 90% oxygen saturation) to contribute to depressive symptomatology in OSA.9 Another study conducted on this association was a population-based prospective study with 1,408 community participants designed to assess OSA as a longitudinal predictor of depression. Compared with those without OSA, the odds of developing depression during a 4-year interval were increased by 1.6-, 2.0-, and 2.6-fold for participants with minimal, mild, and moderate or worse OSA, respectively.8 Nevertheless, a null association between OSA and DD was observed in two retrospective studies.7,20 Methodological variation (e.g., different populations, study designs, disease definitions, and assessment instruments) or limitations (e.g., inappropriate consideration of confounding effects) may render comparison between investigations difficult. After considering confounding factors, we confirmed a prospective link between OSA and subsequent DD within the first year following OSA diagnosis in this nationwide population-based study.
Regarding the modifying effects of gender, Enright et al. examined 5,201 community adults aged 65 years and older and observed apneas to be associated with depression in women but not in men.10 Consistent with previous findings,12,21,22 our large-scale study identified women as having higher risks of subsequent DD within the first year following OSA diagnosis. This might reflect a more general finding that depression is more prevalent in women than in men.23
The underlying mechanisms explaining the association between OSA and DD are not clearly delineated. Yet, a biological plausibility exists. First, sleep fragmentation or oxygen desatu-ration during sleep in OSA patients may impact the presentation of mood symptoms, although the results regarding this possibility are mixed. In a randomized controlled trial, hypoxia in OSA was shown to potentially associate with depression, as a significant reduction of depressive symptoms was observed for patients with OSA receiving oxygen therapy.24 Recent preliminary imaging data also suggested that hypoxemia linked with OSA might play a part in affecting mood.1 On the other hand, sleep fragmentation, mainly causing excessive daytime sleepiness in OSA was proposed to contribute to the depressive symptomatology of OSA.25 Nevertheless, depression was also not found to be associated with either sleep fragmentation or hypoxia in OSA.26 This issue will need to be further clarified in the future with studies utilizing larger sample sizes and the appropriate consideration of confounders (e.g., body mass index, hypertension).
Second, it is possible that there is a shared signaling pathway possibly involving proinflammatory markers, neurotransmitters, or undisclosed underlying factors between the two conditions. While OSA was associated with increased levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor,27 an immune response implicating proinflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6, and interferons was observed among patients with DD.28 Several excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), may also be involved in both the sleep/wake cycle and mood regulation. Shared common risk factors (e.g., obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome) are another plausible explanation. Finally, as depression was prevalently observed in patients with chronic medical diseases,29 OSA may decrease patients' quality of life, further leading to other chronic diseases including depression.11,30
Our study contributes to the emerging findings regarding the association between OSA and DD. As comorbid DD was found to exacerbate OSA and to have a negative impact on self-management and treatment adherence of chronic medial illness such as OSA,31,32 it is possible that prompt detection and appropriate treatment of DD can aid in the management of OSA. We suggest that clinicians should be more aware of the frequently observed link between OSA and DD. Since patients with OSA might not voluntarily voice mood symptoms in the context of a sleep evaluation, regular screening and monitoring of psychiatric condition among patients with OSA are needed, especially among women. Proper and timely referral for assessment and treatment of mood symptoms, not just the treatment of OSA itself, might assist in promoting patients' well-being and reducing the detrimental health consequences that might follow.
Our study has several strengths. Important confounders were carefully addressed. Both OSA and DD have independently been reported to associate with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.33,34 Potential confounding factors (e.g., obesity, hypertension, diabetes) that may impact the connection between OSA and DD were taken into consideration in our analysis. In addition, as consideration of the modifying effects of gender was felt to be of great importance in elucidating the prospective link between OSA and depression,11 we used a nationwide population-based dataset with ample sample size to clarify this issue. Finally, established clinical diagnostic criteria were used for the identification of DD and OSA, with the diagnosis of the latter stipulating the confirmatory results of polysomnography to ensure for diagnostic validity. Furthermore, in Taiwan a diagnosis of DD can only be made by psychiatrists.
However, four limitations merit attention. First, the LHID2000 database represents patients who had sought treatment for OSA and DD. OSA is a highly prevalent but underdiagnosed illness.3 While the diagnosis of DD is based on DSM-IV criteria,35 certain factors, such as socioeconomic status and social stigma might lead some psychiatric patients to decline healthcare services. Moreover, the symptoms of these illnesses are often overlooked, potentially leading to underappreciation, underdiagnosis, and undertreatment.36,37 Secondly, although our study only included newly diagnosed cases to avoid potential effects of chronicity, it should be kept in mind that some of them may not be newly developed OSA cases. Patients might have had undetected OSA for years before being diagnosed. Thirdly, the subsequent risk of depression could not be analyzed or compared between patients with treated and untreated OSA in our study. As treatment for OSA is not covered under the National Health Insurance Program, this information is unavailable in our claims dataset. However, to the best of our knowledge most OSA patients are left untreated. Currently, the most effective treatments for OSA are devices (e.g., continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP]) that may be uncomfortable to use. Therefore, because of out-of-pocket costs and difficulties becoming accustomed to using these devices, most patients are left untreated. Finally, referral bias should be of concern for studies investigating clinical populations. It is possible that the frequent medical consultation of patients with OSA might prompt referrals and boost the detection of DD. Meanwhile, due to the overlap of symptoms in OSA and DD, we are not able to rule out the possibility that symptoms of DD might be attributed to a prior diagnosis of OSA and work to reduce further identification of DD.
A prospective link between OSA and subsequent DD within the first year following OSA diagnosis was confirmed in our study. Further studies should seek to elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for this link. Studies on the effect of appropriate management of OSA on the subsequent risk of DD might help yield strategies for more effective prevention and intervention programs.
This was not an industry supported study. The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
This study is based in part on data from the National Health Insurance Research Database provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health, Taiwan and managed by the National Health Research Institutes. The interpretations and conclusions contained herein do not represent those of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health, or the National Health Research Institutes.
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Chevron In The Bedroom
We could look at inspirational interior photos feature chevron patterns until we're blue in the face — we're that hooked. These chevron stripes have truly stood the test of time and we started professing our love for them years ago! Needless to say, we're happy they've stuck around and we're here to share even more. This time it's chevron in the bedroom!
Chevron is easy to incorporate into a bedroom, especially if you're looking for a slight preppy feel or if you're trying to make a bold statement. Add a chevron printed rug under your bed so the corners poke out and add a pop of interest and color. Or, drape your windows in bold black and white chevron curtains to evoke drama and some serious style!
Chevron looks good in just about any color, but the most popular,by far, is simple black and white. Choose carefully because it's hard to miss this bold print!
• Country Bedroom by Miles Redd
• Chevron Curtains
• Teen Vogue Bedroom by Tori Mellott
• Hamptons Style by Diane Bergeron
• DIY Chevron Rug by Nick Olsen
Images: 1. Miles Redd, 2. Photo found via Flickr User Erin Williamson, 3. Teen Vogue, 4. Diane Bergeron, 5. Nick Olsen


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Capricious and selective enforcement of the Talibans brutal gender apartheid edicts
is a far cry from restoration of womens rights."
-- Eleanor Smeal
WASHINGTON, DC In light of a May 11, 1999 Washington Post story on the status of gender apartheid in Afghanistan, the Feminist Majority Foundation -- the organization spearheading the nationwide and worldwide Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid (chaired by Mavis Leno) -- reviewed the status of basic human rights under continued Taliban oppression of women and girls.
"Recent stories show some indications that the Taliban regime is responding to international pressure either by taking small steps to selectively ease some of their draconian restrictions or by trying to create the impression that they are easing the restrictions." said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
"Since the reports show evidence of the Taliban orchestrating, limiting or controlling information available to observers and reporters, we must question the viability of any real improvements in womens daily lives," said Smeal. "And it is no coincidence that these reports and public relations efforts come to us just as other reports show the Taliban losing ground in the civil war with the Northern Alliance to win control of Afghanistan."
The Feminist Majority Foundation, with the support of more than 130 U.S. organizations, has been urging the United States and the United Nations to withhold recognition of the Taliban until girls and womens human rights are fully and permanently restored. (Currently only three nations recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.)
Smeal also called on the United States to take a prominent role in helping the three million Afghan refugees. "The U.S. must open doors for Afghan women and girls, especially widows and their children and female students," she said, noting that in 1996 and 1997 no Afghan refugees were admitted, and only 88 were allowed to enter the U.S. in 1998. "We also need to provide more humanitarian aid for refugees and for women and girls in Afghanistan," she added.
"The international community must hold the Taliban accountable for their gross violations of womens human rights by intensifying their supervision of the situation," Smeal said. "We need an independent, international team of human rights monitors to be able to travel freely throughout the country, so we will have access to unbiased reports on the treatment of women and girls and can prevent further human rights atrocities," she said.
Before the Taliban took over Kabul, education had been gender integrated for decades in Afghanistans major cities, and both girls and women had educational opportunities. The current system denies women any education and severely limits girls education and teachers for both girls and boys.
In Kabul, for example, all women teachers (who made up about 70 percent of the education workforce) have been fired, leaving both boys and girls without instructors. And despite new claims of educational opportunities for girls, the Taliban militia cannot cover-up that, even according to their most recently announced policies, there is no formal education for young girls in Kabul, outside of very limited religious education, which is allowed for about two hours every day. While boys attend regular education classes, girls are sent .
After initially denying all health care to women, by banning them from seeing male doctors and prohibiting female doctors and nurses from practicing medicine, a few hospitals now have separate wards where women are allowed some medical care. Recent Taliban announcements also say they have eased other health care restrictions, and indicate some male doctors may operate on women patients when necessary.
"If this is true, perhaps some womens and girls lives, that would otherwise be lost,
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STOWE, Vt. — The secret to happiness is perspective, and that's particularly true when skiing.
For instance, should you be intimately familiar with the mighty mountains of the American West, East Coast skiing might seem tame, if not short, icy and gray.
But if you're from Manhattan, and your usual peaks are the hills north of New York City, Vermont will seem like the Alps.
"The blue runs here are like the black ones back home," said Manhattanite Neal Cooper, 39, while we balanced on skis amid Stowe Mountain Resort's snowy peaks and pines. "This is just more terrain and more challenging than what we're used to."
That might be why we met at an intersection of blue runs.
Cooper and his wife, Hyla, in fact, have never skied the West.
"We want to go west, but we're afraid we'll never want to come back here," Hyla Cooper, 31, said.
That seemed like a fair concern after meeting Joe Bruno, who owns an Italian restaurant in Norwalk, Conn. Sure, Stowe is relatively close to home, less than a five-hour drive, but he had just returned from two weeks at Wolf Creek, the south-central Colorado ski area legendary for getting the most snow in that snowy state.
"I used to do 30 days a year out here, but now it's two or three," said Bruno, a 66-year-old snowboarder (yes, you read right). "Once I found out about the West, I gave up on the East."
Alas, there was Bruno on a late February afternoon, wooshing across Stowe's slopes for a simple reason: There is skiing to be had in the East, and it can be pretty good. Eastern skiing might not be Colorado or Utah, but it is an entire coast's version of speeding downhill.
Among the most dramatic and challenging options is Stowe, 45 minutes east of Burlington, Vt., which is routinely ranked among the best Eastern ski resorts by Ski Magazine. Long a mountain with minimal ski-in-and-out accommodation, Stowe added a 130-room boutique hotel in 2008. It has grown to more than 300 comfortable rooms (most with gas fireplaces), plus a spa, an outdoor heated pool, two hot tubs, restaurants, bars and, most luxuriously, a ski valet who manages a visitor's gear between runs down the slopes.
And then there is the mountain.
Sure, there is verticality — from my room, Stowe looked awfully downhill at first glance — but it is manageable verticality. Base elevation is 1,280 feet. The highest point on the mountain that can be reached by ski lift is 3,640 feet, just below Mount Mansfield, which is Vermont's highest peak. Between Western skiing (grandly epic) and Midwest skiing (sort of cute), Stowe fits snugly between.
Though their peaks stand at lower elevations, Easterners like to brag that their skiing is more difficult than the Western version. That's mostly because of the ice, which usually is less like skiing on a cloud of powder and more like trying to stay alive on a sheet of ice. Easterners say that if you can ski the East, you can ski anywhere.
Before three days at Stowe, I had never skied out East. But I had been warned about it: the ice, the winds, the gray. And, indeed, on my first day the top of Stowe was swallowed in fog that one Bostonian said, in the customary accent, was "like skiing through pea soup." Duly warned, I still headed up to a long, twisting blue run called Upper Sterling to investigate.
After a long chairlift ride through a thin, breezy snow, I was deposited at the top of the empty run, which was shrouded in bright haze. The ride down was lovely: I couldn't see far, but every piney branch before me was frosted with snow and ice. It was like a trip through an L.L. Bean catalog.
Stowe's runs are split into two areas on two separate mountains, separated by a road and connected by a gondola. The one featuring Sterling is the shorter, which means the next day I explored the other side, the taller one, the one I had studied from the warmth of my room. And it was a special day for East Coast skiing. In the words of one snowboarder speaking to a fellow snowboarder: "Dude! The sun is coming out! Sweet!"
I began on the long, green run know as Toll Road, which travels a meandering 3.7 miles, along the top and edge of the mountain, with frequent diversions into blue runs should you want to extend yourself a bit before reconnecting with Toll Road's leisurely beauty. And if it's 2 p.m. Sunday, you can pause at the Mountain Chapel, a ski-in, ski-out nondenominational house of worship, for its weekly service.
Back on the lift and heading for more challenging fare, I ascended with a bearded gentleman in black ski pants and a green windbreaker who said he lived north of Boston. He had skied plenty of the West, but swore by Stowe. He had taken a three-hour bus ride early that morning to be at Stowe for the night.
"For extreme skiing, this totally compares to the West," he said. "You can hike up to Mount Mansfield and get back in there. It's pretty extreme. If you need to get rescued, you have to pay for it yourself."
He nodded to our right. "See that yellowish ice?" he said, pointing to a patch of nearly vertical black rock and snow. "I was just over there."
Before we could exchange introductions, we were off the lift, and the bearded gentleman was heading back to tempt fate further.
Yes, you can do that skiing out East too. And later that afternoon, when a storm brought a few inches of fresh, wet powder, I swore I could have even been in the West.
If you go
Getting there: Stowe Mountain Lodge is about 31/2 hours by car from Boston and 51/2 from New York. You can fly into Burlington, rent a car and make the 45-minute drive to Stowe. Burlington International Airport gets direct service from Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, the major New York airports, Philadelphia and Washington via United, Delta, JetBlue and US Airways.
Eating: Solstice, in the lodge at the base of the mountain, offers an upscale modern American breakfast and dinner. The Cliff House, near the peak of Mount Mansfield, offers daily lunch and occasional dinners throughout ski season. Quality meals sit a short drive from the mountain, including at Harrison's (25 Main St., Stowe; 802-253-7773; harrisonsstowe.com); Crop Bistro & Brewery (1859 Mountain Road, Stowe; 802-253-4765; cropvt.com); Michael's on the Hill (4182 Waterbury Stowe Road, Waterbury Center; 802-244-7476; michaelsonthehill.com); and Hen of the Wood (92 Stowe St., Waterbury; 802-244-7300; henofthewood.com).
Staying: Winter rates at Stowe Mountain Lodge (5781 Mountain Road, 888-253-4849, stowe.com) range from about $259 (a standard room without a kitchen) to $2,500 (a four-bedroom suite). Just down the mountain, toward the town of Stowe, are other accommodations that offer shuttle service to the mountain, including the Green Mountain Inn (18 Main St., 800-253-7302, greenmountaininn.com).
Skiing: Stowe Mountain slopes (116 runs, mostly intermediate) are expected to open Nov. 23. One-day adult passes cost $98 at the mountain or $84 online. See stowe.com/ski-ride/lift for details and discounts.


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Mushkin 240GB Chronos Go Deluxe Review
Mushkin 240GB Chronos Go Deluxe Introduction:
Over the past few years Mushkin has expanded its range of solid-state drives to meet the growing needs of its consumer base. From the DIY computer builder to enterprise applications, Mushkin has all the bases covered in a variety of form factors, from the standard 2.5-inch drives (the Atlas mSATA line, Scorpion PCIe line-up) and now the 1.8-inch form factor Chronos Go. While small in size, much like the Atlas mSATA line, the Chronos Go drive comes in capacities ranging from 120GB to 480GB packed into a 1.8-inch form factor. Originally designed for use in 24/7 enterprise applications, the Chronos Go Deluxe was re-engineered for the consumer market to provide long term reliability, high capacity, and high performance in today's ever shrinking computing systems.
This is the first SATA III 1.8-inch form factor drive we have looked at here at OCC, so it should prove interesting to see how Mushkin delivers enhanced speeds of up to 560MB/sec read and up to 520MB/sec write from this small form factor. Pricing for this particular drive currently sits at around $399 from e-tailers. "Get More" is Mushkin's mantra and has been for years; let's see if this iteration of the Chronos Go Deluxe does indeed deliver "More".
Mushkin 240GB Chronos Go Deluxe Closer Look:
Packaging for this drive is a standard plastic clam shell with the Mushkin logo, drive name, and the form factor listed along the bottom against the traditional Mushkin Green back drop. The back side lists some basic specifications and talks about the benefits of the Mushkin Go line in mobile computing applications. Under the specifications Mushkin has enough room to promote another of its product lines, this time the Venture Pro line of USB 3.0 flash drives.
Even though you can see what you get through the clear plastic of the packaging, we get to show it to you out of the package as well. The Mushkin Chronos Go Deluxe is a 1.8-inch form factor SATA III solid-state drive that is offered in capacities ranging from 120GB to 480GB designed to work in both mobile and desktop computers. The drive I will be looking at, part number MKNSSDCG240GB-DX, is a high performance 240GB drive rated for up to 560MB/sec read and up to 520MB/sec write speeds. There are no provisions for mounting so you will need to be creative when using this drive outside of a computing solution not needing a 1.8-inch form factor drive. Measuring 78.5mm x 54.0mm x 5.0mm the drive is definitely on the slim side. Connectivity is an area of concern if you are using this drive in a desktop environment. You have the SATA data and power connections, but the main difference is that the power connection meets the microSATA standard and will not directly connect to a SATA power source without an adapter. By comparing the standard SATA interface with the microSATA interface you can see the differences. A simple fix if you choose this style drive is to use any of the readily available adapters available online.
Accessing the internals of the drive requires removing the four Phillips head screws, one at each corner, then prying the cover off the drive. Each side has a series of three clips as well as the thermal interface material for the NAND controller holding the cover tightly in place. The NAND controller uses the aluminum chassis as a heat sink to keep the controller thermals under control. Each side of the chassis is lined in plastic to keep the drive components from shorting out against the aluminum shell. Each of the four corners has a plastic insert that helps with shock control even though the drive is rated for impacts of up to 20G Peak, 10-2kHz, and 3 axis.
Stripped out of the 1.8-inch enclosure the NAND and controller configuration is visible. There are a total of eight 32GB NAND Modules on board that make up 256GB of capacity that provides about 16GB of over provisioning for use by the controller. At this point I am unable to nail down the manufacturer of the NAND used on this particular drive, but I have seen configurations of sixteen 16GB Sandisk labeled 24nm toggle mode memory. The NAND controller used on this drive is one familiar to us, it is the LSI Sandforce 2281 B2 revision that supports up to 560MB/sec read and up to 520MB/sec write speed across a SATA III interface, essentially making it a fairly fast drive in this small form factor.
Looking strictly at the performance numbers, the Mushkin Chronos Go Deluxe is a high performance drive that should compete well with just about any product on the market, all the while fitting into hardware that a traditional 2.5-inch drive cannot. Time to put it to the test and see if it does deliver on the promise of performance.


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Masters of Horror: We All Scream for Ice Cream (US - DVD R1)
I scream, you scream, we all scream when we have to watch bad movies...
Twenty-some years ago, Buster the ice cream dealing clown (William Forsythe) was tragically killed in an accident involving prank playing children. Now the once benevolent vender is back from the dead, reaping sweet revenge on the now adult perpetrators of the deadly prank. When the children of his attackers take a bite from the 'World's Greatest Ice Cream', their parents melt into pools of evil Neapolitan soup.
Well that was just plain bad. Really, really bad. On so many levels. We All Scream for Ice Cream pretty much dies off the starting line with its lame concept alone, which is basically A Nightmare on Elm Street with voodoo ice cream. It's a bland, gimmick driven, E.C. comic inspired revenge story. Only the most skilled comedic director could do anything of value with such a lame concept. Tom Holland just isn't that guy.
Though it's apparently based on a John Farris story, this uninspired script was crafted by one of my favourite genre critics and writers David Schow—heartbreaking. It's not just that the plot is stupid, the dialogue is tired and awkward, and every attempt at humour falls even flatter than the many flaccid attempts at horror.
The acting is alright, but nothing to sing, dance, and point about. Factually, I was excited at the prospect of watching William Forsythe play a nutty killer clown, but he ends up coasting through most of the role. Seeing Lee Tergesen act like an average family man was a little fun considering the marathon run of Oz I've been watching lately, but he's a pretty weak leading man, or at least he is here. The kids are half and half, some really quite good, others are really quite bad.
The only thing to recommend the episode is a decent, though somewhat uninspired look. Director Holland is most famous for two pretty average horror flicks that both feature colourful visuals, Child's Play and Fright Night. I wouldn't exactly call him a 'Master of Horror', but I was willing to give him a chance. This isn't really his failure, but I still didn't like it.
Like John Ladis' Family, We All Scream for Ice Cream spends its daylight hours in an idealistic, soft focus, candy coloured suburbia. The image is a little fuzzy, but it seems to be on purpose. The darker scenes are a bit sharper, and the blacks are pretty deep. The overall image is equal to the other season two releases - mostly clear of obtrusive noise and grain, and relatively edge enhancement free.
The box says 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround (actually its misprinted as Dolby Surround 5.1), but I really didn't notice any 5.1-like effects. All tracks are clear and very well balanced (I didn't have to mess with the volume to hear any dialogue), but there are few to zero directional effects. The music is pretty blasé, not surprisingly the main theme is ice cream truck based. The LFE track isn't particularly aggressive either, but the overall bass is effective enough.
At this point I can pretty much cut and paste the extras sections from my other season two reviews because I seem to always have the exact same things to say. Here the commentators are Holland and Schow. Holland sounds a bit like a slightly younger Peter Graves, and speaks mostly in technical terms. Schow is livelier, and seems to understand how lacklustre his episode is. He compares Masters of Horror to any 'good horror anthology', and apparently you're supposed to dislike some of the episodes. Right, David.
Then we've got our two featurettes. The first, 'Sweet Revenge', is a short look behind the scenes. Here we discover Holland looks a bit like Peter Graves too, and learn a bit about Forsythe's input to his character. The second featurette, which is shorter and called 'Melt Down', is a look at the digital and make-up effects found in the episode. As per the norm, Howard Berger of KNB looks exhausted, and one feels sorry for the digital effects supervisor who tries to convince us that his digital effects aren't totally cheesy.
Then there's the photo gallery, DVD-ROM script, and a big group of trailers.
I refuse to make any ice cream related puns. Refuse. This was just a bad movie, and a real bummer considering the last episode I watched, The Black Cat, was probably the best of the season. From the looks of the trailers for episodes I haven't seen yet these DVDs have been front loaded with all the good stuff. Too bad. Only series completest need apply.
Review by Gabriel Powers
keffa Member Join Date: July 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 436
yup, it was poor, shame
Sam Spade Member Join Date: January 2007 Location: United States Posts: 2,032
God I hate clowns.
Foz Member Join Date: September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 68
clint howard's ice cream man, that's all i'm sayin
i was just going to mention ice cream man, that movie was f**king hilarious.
and don't forget the part where he hides from a couple guys on top of his truck while they look in the back and he jumps off the roof and somehow smashes both of them into unconsciousness with two simultaneous blows to the head with ice cream scoopers.
i think that may have been the first and last time that ice cream scoopers were ever used as a weapon on film.
and don't forget the part where he hides from a couple guys on top of his truck while they look in the back and he jumps off the roof and somehow smashes both of them into unconsciousness with two simultaneous blows to the head with ice cream scoopers.
i think that may have been the first and last time that ice cream scoopers were ever used as a weapon on film.
There are actually two films by that name, and they came out pretty close to eachother.
so is this guy supposed to be made of ice cream or what?
Honestly, I don't know.
the makeup job is highly suggestive of an "ice cream for skin" complexion so often seen in children of those unfortunate souls that survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
you haven't seen hell until you've seen the refrigerated colonies they keep the ice-cream-babies in so their skin doesn't melt off.
never forget.
you haven't seen hell until you've seen the refrigerated colonies they keep the ice-cream-babies in so their skin doesn't melt off.
never forget.
Well, he's cold, and they freeze him with water at the end.
and thank god for that.
iconoclast Member Join Date: November 2006 Location: United States Posts: 264
Completetist apply, eh? I should probably pick it up soon then and get it out of the way. I've had a bad habit of picking up all the good episodes, well, except Pro-Life.
maker23 Member Join Date: August 2007 Location: United States Posts: 6
Clowns freak me out.
Worst Nightmare Senior Member Join Date: July 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 6,716
Reminds me of Killer "Klowns from Outer Space" - that was a classic.
Saimon Member Join Date: March 2008 Location: Azerbaijan Posts: 8
Tired of finding the file through enormous amount of searchers? 1 center- 1 enter. http://megaupload.name/
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 14th August 2007
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 1.78:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1English, Dolby Surround English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Director and Writer Commentary, Featurettes, Script, Trailer, Bio
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: William Forsythe, Lee Tergensen
Length: 57 minutes
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You definitely have my sympathy!
I always keep the other side covered, but over the past month (he's 14 months now) my son has been plunging his hand down my shirt and fidgeting around. I remove his hand immediately and cover the breast with my hand. So far he has given up pretty easily, but I'm a little worried that it could escalate. I physically cannot nurse him if he twiddles. I absolutely cannot stand it.


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Richards needs push in AL Final Vote race
ANAHEIM -- Garrett Richards still needs your help.
In the first American League Final Vote balloting update released Tuesday morning, Richards was in second place behind Chicago's Chris Sale. Richards led Detroit's Rick Porcello, Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Houston's Dallas Keuchel.
ANAHEIM -- Garrett Richards still needs your help.
In the first American League Final Vote balloting update released Tuesday morning, Richards was in second place behind Chicago's Chris Sale. Richards led Detroit's Rick Porcello, Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Houston's Dallas Keuchel.
Richards' Angels teammates have done their part, donning black T-shirts Tuesday evening during batting practice before the club's matchup with the Blue Jays that read "#VoteGRich '14 All-Star" with a large No. 43 printed on the back.
So much love & support at #HalosBP today from @GRICHARDS26's teammates! #VoteGRich #AngelsFamily pic.twitter.com/w1rpuATx3O- #VoteGRich (@Angels) July 9, 2014
"I think it's one indication that our guys are tight in there," manager Mike Scioscia said. "They support each other. They understand the great honor it is to play in an All-Star Game. I think that they truly have a feeling of being part of it if somebody on our team goes. They'll experience that with Mike [Trout] and hopefully get a chance to experience it with Garrett."
Scioscia said he has punched his ballot for Richards.
"I have voted, and that's why I can wear this," Scioscia said.
Richards has, as expected, cornered the Southern California market, earning 96.8 percent of the votes in Orange County and 83.4 percent of the votes in Los Angeles County. But Richards is also receiving 71.2 percent of the votes in New Jersey's Cumberland County, where teammate Mike Trout is from.
In Oklahoma's Cleveland County, where Richards attended the University of Oklahoma, he is in second place behind Porcello.
The Angels formed an alliance with Atlanta -- and outfielder Justin Upton -- but Richards has received only 29.4 percent of the vote in Fulton County, where Turner Field is located. Upton was in third place in the National League.
In his first full season as a starter, Richards has been dominant, holding batters to a league-low .196 batting average while posting a 2.71 ERA and 119 strikeouts.
Almost halfway until Thursday afternoon's deadline, more than 15 million votes have already been cast.
Immediately following the announcement of the AL and NL All-Star rosters on Sunday, fans began voting to select the final player for each league's 34-man roster via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Fans can cast their votes from a list of five players from each league until the winners are announced after the voting concludes on Thursday at 1 p.m. PT.
Fans can also cast votes on the mobile web at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the Final Vote ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text their choice to 89269. For example: Text "A3" to vote for AL Player 3 or "N3" to vote for NL Player 3. Standard message and data rates may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available, and fans should text their choices to 101010.
For the third consecutive year, the All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote will include social balloting participation, as Twitter support from the 10 candidates' fans over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their final vote totals. From 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT on Thursday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners. Fans will be able to follow @MLB for the latest standings updates over the course of the entire four-day voting period.
The hashtags and text designations are as follows:
AL nominees
Dallas Keuchel: #VoteKeuchel (A1)
Corey Kluber: #VoteKluber (A2)
Rick Porcello: #PickRick (A3)
Garrett Richards: #VoteGRich (A4)
Chris Sale: #TargetSale (A5)
NL nominees
Casey McGehee: #VoteHitsMcGehee (N1)
Justin Morneau: #VoteMorneau (N2)
Anthony Rendon: #VoteRendon (N3)
Anthony Rizzo: #VoteRizzo (N4)
Justin Upton: #VoteJUp (N5)
The final phase of All-Star Game voting will again allow fans to help choose the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com and via Twitter in the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote Sponsored by Pepsi, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the overall vote that determines the recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.
MLB.TV Premium subscribers, for the first time, will be able to live stream the All-Star Game via MLB.TV through FOX's participating video providers. Access will be available across more than 400 platforms that support MLB.TV, including the award-winning MLB.com At Bat app. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of the All-Star Week festivities.
The 85th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
Matthew DeFranks is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MDeFranks.