text:
This post applies both to non-Exadata and Exadata systems.
Before Oracle 11.2 came out, it was true to say that Oracle Parallel Execution slaves always do direct path reads (bypassing buffer cache) when doing full segment scans. This should not be taken simplistically though. Even when you were doing full table scans, then yes the scanning was done with direct path multiblock reads – but if you had to visit other, additional blocks out of the scanning sequence, then these extra IOs were done with regular buffered reads. For example, next row piece fetching of chained rows or or undo block access for CR reads was done with buffered single block reads, or even buffered multiblock reads, if some form of prefetching kicked in.
In addition to that, random table/index accesses like index range scans and the following table block fetches are always done in a buffered way both in serial and parallel execution cases.
Starting from Oracle 11.2 though, Oracle parallel execution slaves can also do the parallel full segment scans via the buffer cache. The feature is called In-Memory Parallel Execution, not to be confused with the Oracle 12c upcoming In-Memory Option (which gives you a columnar, compressed, in-memory cache of your on-disk data).
The 11.2 in-memory parallel execution doesn't introduce any new data formats, but just allows you to cache your hottest tables across buffer caches of multiple RAC nodes (different nodes hold different "fragments" of a segment) and allow PX slaves to avoid physical disk reads and even work entirely from the local buffer cache of the RAC node the PX slave is running on (data locality!). You should use Oracle 126.96.36.199+ for in-mem PX as it has some improvements and bugfixes for node- and NUMA-affinity for PX slaves.
So, this is a great feature – if disk scanning, data retrieval IO is your bottleneck (and you have plenty of memory). But on Exadata, the storage cells give you awesome disk scanning speeds and data filtering/projection/decompression offloading anyway. If you use buffered reads, then you won't use Smart Scans – as smart scans need direct path reads as a prerequisite. And if you don't use smart scans, the Exadata storage cells will just act as block IO servers for you – and even if you have all the data cached in RAM, your DB nodes (compute nodes) would be used for all the filtering and decompression of billions of rows. Also, there's no storage indexing in memory (well, unless you use zone-maps which do a similar thing at higher level in 12c).
So, long story short, you likely do not want to use In-Memory PX on Exadata – and even on non-Exadata, you probably do not want it to kick in automatically at "random" times without you controlling this. So, this leads to the question of when does the in-memory PX kick in and how it is controlled?
Long story short – the in-memory PX can kick when either of the following options is true:
- When _parallel_cluster_cache_policy = CACHED (this will be set so from default when parallel_degree_policy = AUTO)
- When the segment (or partition) is marked as CACHE or KEEP, for example:
- ALTER TABLE t STORAGE (BUFFER_POOL KEEP)
- ALTER TABLE t CACHE
So, while #1 is relatively well known behavior, the #2 is not. So, the In-Memory PX can kick in even if your parallel_degree_policy = MANUAL!
The default value for _parallel_cluster_cache_policy is ADAPTIVE – and that provides a clue. I read it the way that when set to ADAPTIVE, then the in-memory PX caching decision is "adaptively" done based on whether the segment is marked as CACHE/KEEP in data dictionary or not. My brief tests showed that when marking an object for buffer pool KEEP, then Oracle (188.8.131.52) tries to do the in-memory PX even if the combined KEEP pool size in the RAC cluster was smaller than the segment itself. Therefore, all scans ended up re-reading all blocks in from disk to the buffer cache again (and throwing "earlier" blocks of the segment out). When the KEEP pool was not configured, then the DEFAULT buffer cache was used (even if the object was marked to be in the KEEP pool). So, when marking your objects for keep or cache, make sure you have enough buffer cache allocated for this.
Note that with _parallel_degree_policy=AUTO & __parallel_cluster_cache_policy=CACHED, Oracle tries to be more intelligent about this, allowing only up to _parallel_cluster_cache_pct (default value 80) percent of total buffer cache in the RAC cluster to be used for in-memory PX. I haven't tested this deep enough to say I know how the algorithm works. So far I have preferred the manual CACHE/KEEP approach for the latest/hottest partitions (in a few rare cases that I've used it).
So, as long as you don't mark your tables/indexes/partitions as CACHE or KEEP and use parallel_degree_policy=MANUAL or LIMITED, you should not get the in-mem PX to kick in and all parallel full table scans should get nicely offloaded on Exadata (unless you hit any of the other limitations that block a smart scan from happening).
Update 1: I just wrote Part 2 for this article too.
**Update 2: **Frits Hoogland pointed me to a bug/MOS Note which may be interesting to you if you use KEEP pool:
KEEP BUFFER POOL Does Not Work for Large Objects on 11g (Doc ID 1081553.1):
- Due to this bug, tables with size >10% of cache size, were being treated as 'large tables' for their reads and this resulted in execution of a new SERIAL_DIRECT_READ path in 11g.
- With the bug fix applied, any object in the KEEP buffer pool, whose size is less than DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE, is considered as a small or medium sized object. This will cache the read blocks and avoid subsequent direct read for these objects .


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Sri Lanka to be 'tried' for genocide against Tamils
By Ron Ridenour
November 11, 2012 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- An unprecedented move by internationalists and activists for human rights and justice, one that could inspire controversy among left-oriented governments and peoples´ solidarity committees, will take place next spring.
In April 2013, a panel of international experts will be convened as"Judges of the Permanent People's Tribunal to examine reports submitted by many specialised working groups on the accusation of the crime of genocide against the government of Sri Lanka and on the accusations against various international actors who had supported and prepared the conditions for the Sri Lankan government to implement this alleged crime", stated the Rome-based Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT) on November 3, 2012.[1]
This decision is supported organisationally by the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka (IFPSL), based in Dublin, and the International Human Rights Association (IMRV), based in Bremen.
In mid-January 2010 the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on Sri Lankan held its sessions in Dublin. There were four findings:
1: That the Sri Lankan government and its military are guilty of war crimes;
2: That the Sri Lankan government and its military are guilty of crimes against humanity;
3: That the charge of genocide requires further investigation;
4: That the international community, particularly the UK and USA, share responsibility for the breakdown of the peace process.[2]
It also found that member states of the United Nations had not "complied
with their moral obligation to seek justice for the violations of human
rights committed during the last period of the war" [the Sri Lanka government's war against the Tamils].
The PPT was
referring to Human Rights Council Resolution S-11/1 of May 27, 2009.
Cuba led the majority of members to vote for the Sri Lanka government
drafted resolution. The resolution only praised the Sri Lankan government for
ending the hostilities and for the "liberation" of tens of thousands of
Tamils (who were, in fact, up to 300,000 internally displaced persons incarcerated for many months and even years in
concentration camps). It only condemned the Tamil Tiger guerrillas
(Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam) for terrorism and made no mention of
the long-endured suffering, pogroms, indiscrimination and inequality
suffered by the Tamil people at the hands of the Sinhalese majority
governments and military, and Buddhist monks. Since the time of the
resolution, Cuba has stepped up closer ties with the Mahinda Rajapaksa
family government, even inviting him to Cuba as a guest of honour for
four days.
The case for genocide
Here are excerpts of the PPT statement concerning the need to investigate the possibility that Sri Lankan governments have been committing genocide against the Tamil people for decades.
"This possibility has become a necessity now, due to the mass of new evidence (substantial, quantitative and qualitative) that has come to light since [2010 session]. At the time we held the 'Dublin Tribunal', the real casualty figures remained largely hidden. The official UN figure did not exceed 8000 civilian casualties, while some of the British and French press carried reports estimating the total number of casualties at 'up to 20,000'. In fact, the Sri Lanka Government maintained a position of 'zero civilian casualties'for the full period of the final military offensive!
"However, soon after the Dublin Tribunal, like a dam bursting, details of terrible atrocities and a more realistic estimation of the magnitude of the massacre started surfacing in media. The effective embargo in the international media that existed during the eight months of the military offensive – which had helped to prevent a humanitarian opposition to the war to emerge – was starting to break down, eight months after the end of the military project. One month after the Tribunal – in February 2010 - appearing on Australia's ABC Television, the former UN spokesman in Sri Lanka Gordon Weiss contradicted the UN estimate of 'no more than 8,000 casualties' stating that 'anything between 10,000 to 40,000' civilians may have died during the final siege. Sometime later the Experts' Panel appointed by the UN Secretary General used the 40,000 figure as its own estimate.
"On January 2011, the Catholic Bishop of Mannar made a submission to the Sri Lankan Government's own 'Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission' (LLRC) that according to his calculation, 146,679 people are unaccounted for (he used the Government's own statistics to show this)… The casualty figure issue is just one factor – which we have highlighted to emphasise our point. Various other factors – such as an examination of the historical background which had laid the basis to the events that led to the military operations in 2009, as well as, whether or not the continuing issues that the Tamil people in the area concerned are facing at the moment are related to this history, needs to be carried out properly to deal with the overall reality.
"Due to the fact that substantial, quantitative and qualitative new evidence has become available, we believe that there are compelling reasons to organise a follow up to the 'People's Tribunal on Sri Lanka' to examine the case of Genocide against the Tamil people."
This follow-up session will be held in Germany.
The Permanent
Peoples' Tribunal was initiated in 1979 by the left socialist and
anti-fascist resistance fighter Senator Lelie Basso. He had been a judge
on the International War Crimes Tribunal, also know as the Bertrand
Russell-Sartre Tribunal, in 1966-7, concerning war crimes committed by
the United States against Vietnam, and the 1973-6 investigations
regarding war crimes committed by Latin American dictatorships, assisted
by the USA. One of Cuba's few women guerrilla fighters, Melba
Hernandez, was one of the judges when she was chairwoman of the Cuba
Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam.
The PPT
has held more than 40 sessions on war crimes and crimes against
humanity, as well as genocide, in many parts of the world: US war crimes
against Nicaragua, national dictatorship war crimes (usually with the
assistance of US military forces and the CIA) against Argentines,
Guatemalans, El Salvadorans, Filipinos, the Western Sahara, Eritrea… It
has investigated and condemned Turkey for committing genocide against
the Armenian people. In 2006, it ethically sanctioned the economic
neo-liberal model and multinational corporations for violations of
international principles respecting human rights.
Among the many prestigious PPT panelists have been Nobel Prize winners: Adolfo Perez, Sean MacBride and George Wald. Many judges and associates have either come from Latin America and/or been close to the Cuban revolutionary process, as well as its allies in the ALBA alliance, among them are: Francois Houtart and Miguel D'Escoto.
[1] http://www.tamilnet.com/
[2] http://www.tamilnet.com/

subset: commoncrawl


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I own quite a few shares and am wondering what to do. Do you or anyone have an opinion on the c shares. I have read Homers article.
Printable View
I own quite a few shares and am wondering what to do. Do you or anyone have an opinion on the c shares. I have read Homers article.
Do not like reading Yahoo! but somebody posted the most recent Barron's article.
John Malone has earned a reputation as the U.S.'s savviest acquirer of media assets. So when his firm Liberty Media decides to go all in on an investment, it's worth paying attention. Such is the case with Sirius XM (ticker: SIRI).
Liberty (LMCA) is seeking to purchase the 47% of the satellite-radio provider that it doesn't already own in a stock deal worth $10.6 billion, or $3.68 per Sirius share.
Sirius shareholders should hold out for a better bid, especially with the stock closing the week at $3.70, already above Liberty's offer. Just a day before the bid was made, Evercore Partners analysts upgraded Sirius to Overweight from Equal Weight, with a target price of $4.50—far more reasonable.
Malone, Liberty's chairman, believed in Sirius XM's potential when most investors had thrown in the towel. In 2009, Liberty agreed to provide an emergency loan of $400 million, under terms that gave the company the right to acquire 40% of Sirius' equity for essentially nothing. Sirius shares have since soared, from a credit-crisis low of five cents. All the while, Liberty has continued to add shares, taking control of the company in early 2013.
Enlarge Image
But times have changed. Sirius now is thriving, not ailing. Some 70% of new cars come with Sirius radios pre-installed. And nearly half of those cars' buyers become subscribers, at $15 a month. Recently,Barron's hailed the comeback in a bullish cover story ("Sirius XM's Sweet Sound of Success," Nov. 25, 2013). Malone's latest actions only support our thesis.
This year sales at Sirius are likely to reach $4.2 billion, generating free cash flow of $1.2 billion.
Under the current deal, each Sirius share would be exchanged for 0.076 share of Liberty Class C, a new nonvoting stock. The minority Sirius holders would wind up with 39% of Liberty. But the deal requires approval from a majority of all non-Liberty-owned shares, a high hurdle.
Larry Sarbit, chief investment officer of Sarbit Advisory Services, owns 27 million shares of Sirius, giving him roughly 1% of the minority Sirius stake. He says he won't approve the deal: "I think Liberty sees what we see: a free-cash-flow machine. They're trying to pick it up at a bargain price." As for Liberty's current offer, "it's not even close to the value."
Sarbit thinks the stock will be worth $6 to $7 by 2018.
Famed stockpicker Leon Cooperman has 72 million shares, or $266 million worth, of Sirius stock, making it the third-largest holding of his Omega Advisors hedge fund. Cooperman says he's always viewed Liberty as a good steward of assets. But, he adds, "If they got it at $3.68, we would be disappointed. And we think they'd be getting a terrific deal." Less
PJ, Thanks very much for posting the Barrons article. I saw it but was having trouble gaining access to it. Thx again
No problem slapshot, just copying and pasting form another thread.
Don't some of you find it odd that shortly after Siri closed on Agero that malone wants all of Siri. Funny how siri spends what $530 million and then he wants to steal the remainder of the company for what equated to $3.68 a week ago. If he needs cash, let him borrow against his shares, then we need a massive short to force him to have his loan called, sell his shares and lose majority.
One more thing, Avafin showed a lot of buying yesterday, the B/S for block was 1.89 i believe. Was we seeing more shorts getting an opportunity to unwind their positions? There was no other reason for it to drop like it did with all that is happening. What are there, 10 different law firms, Nader, major shareholders, and do not be surprised to see something from Icahn. He needs to be quiet until he can garner a sizeable position. He might even join forces with those guys mentioned in the Barrons article and request a board seat
Could there be a siriusxm tie in?
So much for my ah prediction yesterday. I guess I forgot to renew my prognostication license.
AT&T to offer $15-a-month Beats Music family plan
http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/...png_162613.png By RYAN NAKASHIMA3 hours ago
LAS VEGAS (AP) — AT&T says it will start offering customers a subscription to streaming service Beats Music in a package that gives as many as five family members unlimited streaming and song downloading for $15 a month.
The offer, a good deal if even two people use it, is an attempt to bring down the cost of music for families that pay AT&T for cellphone service. It's part of Beats' major launch strategy since its headphone maker parent, Beats Electronics, bought streaming service MOG in 2012.
Beats Electronics is backed by hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre and former music executive Jimmy Iovine.
Beats Music works on the MOG platform, though the look and emphasis on human-curated playlists and recommendations are different.
With plans to add future promotional tie-ins with the popular headphone line, Beats Music would compete with services like Spotify, Rhapsody and Rdio. The family plan has a 90-day free trial but no free ad-supported version, unlike Spotify.
Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers said the company decided to launch its service with AT&T rather than do an immediate tie-in with a headphone purchase to reach the widest possible audience.
"We don't want people to think it's an ecosystem that's closed in some way," he said. Rogers gave a demo of the service this week on the sidelines of the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas.
David Christopher, chief marketing officer for Dallas-based AT&T Inc., said the company chose to partner with Beats Music because of a longstanding association with Iovine and the headphone line. It was also a way to get involved in transforming MOG.
"We were in on the ground floor with a shared vision about how we could really change the game for subscription music," Christopher said.
Damian's site hacked again, apparently. Too bad... It's great to get as many points of view as possible.


text:
FREE SHIPPING: Use promo code FREESHIPPING. Valid for orders $100 and up before taxes, Canada only. Not combinable with HOBBYSENSE and any other promo code.
Regular price
Items remaining: 2
Miniart 35180 1/35 scale U.S. Army Drivers.
This kit includes parts for the assembly of five figures. The set requires both glue and paint in order to be completed. Paints and glue are not included


text: If you've been holding off on a T-Mobile G1 purchase because you didn't like the apparent user restrictions, there's some good news. The Android powered phone comes with an easy button for getting root. Install a terminal app and you can manually start the telnetd service. All that's left is telenetting into the device and it'll give you root level access.


text:
Shiffrin beats Maze for World Cup slalom title
The Associated Press
Aspen, CO Colorado
LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland – Mikaela Shiffrin cried and left Tina Maze in tears. A thrilling climax to the World Cup slalom season delivered all its promised drama Saturday.
The victorious Shiffrin, the American teenage sensation of Alpine skiing, fell to her knees when Maze couldn't match her astonishing second run that wrapped up an improbable come-from-behind win.
After letting what seemed certain success slip away, the 29-year-old Slovenian – who had one of the best World Cup seasons – sobbed on the sideline as Shiffrin paraded with her crystal trophy.
"I started crying," said Shiffrin, laughing later at the memory. "I didn't really mean to. I was thinking, 'Come on woman, pull yourself together, it's just a race.'"
Hardly. It was a winner-take-all contest that Shiffrin must surely have lost after gifting Maze a massive 1.17 seconds lead in the morning's first run.
Instead, Shiffrin scorched the sunbathed Swiss slope to set an unbeatable mark and overhaul her great rival in the points race.
A world championships gold medalist last month at 17, is now a World Cup title champion, and four-time race winner, only three days past her 18th birthday.
Shiffrin has quite a story to tell David Letterman as a guest on his show next Tuesday.
With the victory, the Vail, Colo., native went a long way to fulfilling predictions she can follow teammate Lindsey Vonn as a superstar in Alpine racing, and be one of the big profiles at next year's Sochi Olympics.
The manner of victory was truly impressive.
"I was really overcome with emotions after the first run, being so far out," said Shiffrin, who regrouped with her coaches and parents, Jeff and Eileen, in the 2 1/2-hour wait to rectify the damage done by an uneasy opening run which placed her fourth as Maze led.
"Everyone just said, 'What are you holding back for? Go out and have some fun and try to dance with the gates and see how fast you can go,'" Shiffrin recalled.
Needing to finish ahead of the Slovenian, Shiffrin had a tentative start to the second run but blazed down the bottom part of course for the fastest time of the afternoon.
When first-run leader Maze crossed the line in third, Shiffrin put her hands to her face and sank to her knees in the finish area.
"I didn't know I could make up all that time in one run," she said. "It's amazing. I am still trying to find my best skiing but this was my best run of the season."
It was so good that only one skier, Bernadette Schild of Austria, was within a second of her time in the afternoon. Shiffrin finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 55.60 seconds, with Schild 0.20 behind in second. Maze trailed by 0.35.
Maze had already clinched the overall World Cup title along with the giant slalom and super G disciplines but was still visibly distraught at letting slip such a big lead. While the American paraded her crystal globe in front of photographers, Maze stood with her head buried in her arm, sobbing.
"I didn't lose the slalom season just in this race," Maze told reporters from her native Slovenia. "I made a lot of mistakes and I had a chance to win it before Lenzerheide."
The 29-year-old Maze praised Shiffrin as a "really big talent, one of the biggest. She did a great job."
Shiffrin was quick to pay tribute to her rival, who took two World Cup records from Austrian great Hermann Maier: overall points scored and podium finishes in 23 races.
"I actually want to thank Tina Maze," Shiffrin said. "She's probably going to punch me after this, but she's been very inspiring and helped me get to where I am. She's really my greatest idol this season."
Shiffrin's mother was also nervous as she watched on, clapping enthusiastically as she leaned over a railing in a quiet VIP zone at the edge of the finish area.
"Un-be-lievable," Eileen Shiffrin told The Associated Press seconds after her daughter was declared champion. "She dug so deep in that second run. Oh my God, she finally skied the way she can ski."
That form has won admirers across the sport
"That girl takes pressure and skis like the wind," U.S. teammate Julia Mancuso wrote on Twitter.
International Ski Federation president Gian Franco Kasper compared her poise and calm to perhaps the greatest World Cup skier.
"Perhaps (Ingemar) Stenmark at that age was already one who was so cool, he did not realize it," the veteran official told The Associated Press. "But for a girl of that age… not that I remember."
Shiffrin seems to be accelerating past Vonn, who her family believes was once Mikaela's babysitter back in Vail.
Vonn was 20 when she won her first World Cup race, 23 when she secured her first season-long World Cup title in any discipline, and 24 before winning her first major gold medal, at the 2009 world championships.
Shiffrin already has that trio of accolades three days after her 18th birthday.
She is the youngest World Cup slalom title winner since Christa Zechmeister of West Germany 39 years ago, and the first American World Cup slalom champion since Tamara McKinney in 1984
After a breakthrough season, which finishes with a giant slalom on Sunday, Shiffrin will return to face the media spotlight back home in the U.S. on Monday after four months racing in Europe.
First up is an appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" in New York City.
"Yeah, Letterman, I am so excited about that," said Shiffrin, who will graduate high school in the summer. "I hope I don't trip when I'm going up on stage.
"I spill things, I break things and I drop a lot of things. You would not think I would be good at slalom."
The Longevity Project: Stretching the limits of lifelong mobility from sidewalks to Olympic tracks
When Olympian Jeanne Golay recalls her racing days, her emphasis isn't just on winning championships or representing her country in the Barcelona and Atlanta Games. For Golay, the daily commitment to movement was and remains her secret weapon.


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Does this patient have cytomegalovirus?
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) after Kidney Transplantation
CMV is a human herpes virus (DNA virus).
Approximately 2/3 of adults have been exposed to CMV and are consequently seropositive.
CMV can be contracted from the general community, transmitted via solid organ transplantation, or may be a reactivation of latent disease.
Continue Reading
CMV infection: asymptomatic CMV viremia (defined by positive blood PCR)
CMV Disease: Viral symptoms and fever
Tissue Invasive Disease: pneumonitis, hepatitis, esophagitis, enteritis, colitis, myelosuppression. Occasionally retinitis or graft involvement
In the absence of prophylaxis, the CMV disease is seen most commonly 6-12 weeks after transplantation or after augmentation of immunosuppression for rescue therapy of rejection.
What tests to perform?
CMV serology (IgG) is routinely performed in order to stratify risk prior to transplant. It is not useful for diagnostic purposes after transplantation.
CMV PCR is the current gold standard diagnostic test for evaluating viremia.
Common tests
The evaluation starts with common tests:
Complete blood count (CBC): look for leucopenia/ pancytopenia or anemia
(Liver function tests (LFTs): look for hepatitis
ABG: evaluate for hypoxia
Creatinine: Evaluation renal allograft function
Chest X-ray (CXR): Evaluate presence of pneumonitis
Blood/Urine cultures: evaluate for presence of concurrent infections
Specific testing
When clinically indicated, invasive testing should be aggressively pursued to include
Upper if suspecting esophagitis, gastritis or enteritis. Look for concurrent candida, erosions and source of bleeding
Colonoscopy if suspecting colitis, evaluate source of bleeding or presence of concurrent infection or malignancy
Bronchoscopy and BAL: for evaluation of pneumonitis and presence of concurrent infection such as pneumocystis.
How should patients with or at risk for cytomegalovirus be managed?
Impact of CMV donor/recipient status
Risk stratification by serological status of the kidney donor and recipient defines the need and duration of prophylaxis therapy.
Donor+/Recipient- highest rates of CMV infection (60%)
D-/R+ and D+/R+ patients have intermediate risk of infection
CMV negative recipients (R-) from CMV negative donors (D-) have the lowest rates of CMV infection (<2%)
CMV prevention
The primary focus of CMV management post transplantation is prevention of CMV disease (although not necessarily CMV infection). Two major strategies have been employed
Preemptive treatment
This requires periodic PCR monitoring for CMV and initiation of antiviral therapy once uremia is detected.
Associated with similar costs as prophylaxis (PCR is expensive)
Requires a robust system to ensure that testing is performed appropriately
Associated with higher incidence of viremia
May negatively impact graft survival
Routine provision of antiviral therapy for patients at risk. This is the preferred option though it puts the patient at risk from the myelosuppressive adverse effects of the antiviral therapy and may increase the risk of viral resistance.
Valganciclovir is the treatment of choice.
Usual dose is 450mg/d
Duration depends on risk stratification by donor and recipient CMV serology
D+/- 24 weeks
D-/R+: and D+/R+ 12 weeks
D-/R-: Anti-CMV prophylaxis currently not recommended (patients are usually given acyclovir for 12 weeks to prevent other herpes virus infections
Management of patients with tissue Invasive CMV
In addition to supportive care, there are several principals of management:
Reduce immunosuppression when possible. This usually involves discontinuing the antimetabolite (MMF/MPA/AZA).
Prompt and aggressive approach to diagnostic testing (see above)
Initiate antiviral therapy
IV ganciclovir (usually 5mg/kg bid for normal GFR, dose reduced for lower GFR or
Oral valganciclovir 900mg/d
Minimal duration of therapy: 12 weeks
Perform PCR testing while on therapy to exclude presence of resistant disease
Perform PCR testing after discontinuation of therapy to evaluate for relapsed disease
For CMV Ig negative patients, consider adjunctive therapy with CMV hyperimmune globulin every 2 weeks
Resistant disease can be treated with second and third line agents such as foscarnet or cidofovir. Caution with dosing is required as these agents are nephrotoxic
There is limited data on the use of leflunomide for resistant CMV
What happens to patients with cytomegalovirus?
For most patients at risk, CMV can be successfully prevented by administering prophylactic antiviral therapy.
In the highest risk category (D+/R-), the risk of viremia after discontinuing therapy is as high as 50% even after 24 weeks duration. Such disease tends to be relatively minor and tissue invasive disease is uncommon.
For patients with established tissue invasive disease, the risk of complications, morbidity and mortality is high in spite of therapy
CMV Outcomes
CMV remains is an important cause of morbidity, mortality and cost post transplant.
CMV infection is associated with an increased risk for rejection, interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy in allografts leading to premature graft failure
Multisystem involvement may ensue: eg. Pulmonary (pneumonitis), Gastrointestinal (Colitis (esophagitis, bleeding/perforation, hepatitis), Heme (Myelosuppression). Neuro (meningo-encephalitis, retinitis).
Increased risk of concurrent opportunistic infections
May increase the risk of new-onset post-transplant Diabetes Mellitus.
How to utilize team care?
Consult pharmacy for GFR appropriate dosing of antiviral therapy.
Consider PICC line placement for prolonged IV therapy
Consult Infectious Disease for management of intercurrent infections and advise on invasive disease
Consult pulmonary critical care if patient is hypoxic and has pulmonary infiltrates on CXR for bronchoscopy and BAL. Such patients can decompensate rapidly and may require intubation and mechanical ventilation
Consult GI for endoscopic examination to examine for evidence of enteric disease, bleeding complications and evaluation of intercurrent infections or neoplastic processes.
What is the evidence?
Rubin, RH. "Infectious disease complications of renal transplantation". Kidney Int. vol. 44. 1993. pp. 221-236.
Shelhamer, JH, Gill, VJ, Quinn, TC, Crawford, SW, Kovacs, JA, Masur, H, Ognibene, FP. "The laboratory evaluation of opportunistic pulmonary infections". Ann Intern Med. vol. 124. 1996. pp. 585-599.
Winston, DJ, Wirin, D, Shaked, A, Busuttil, RW. "Randomised comparison of ganciclovir and high-dose acyclovir for long-term cytomegalovirus prophylaxis in liver-transplant recipients". Lancet. vol. 346. 1995. pp. 69-74.
Schnitzler, MA, Lowell, JA, Hmiel, SP, Hardinger, KL, Liapis, H, Ceriotti, CS, Brennan, DC. "Cytomegalovirus disease after prophylaxis with oral ganciclovir in renal transplantation: the importance of HLA-DR matching". J Am Soc Nephrol. vol. 14. 2003. pp. 780-785.
Doyle, AM, Warburton, KM, Goral, S, Blumberg, E, Grossman, RA, Bloom, RD. "24-week oral ganciclovir prophylaxis in kidney recipients is associated with reduced symptomatic cytomegalovirus disease compared to a 12-week course". Transplantation. vol. 81. 2006. pp. 1106-1111.
Humar, A, Lebranchu, Y, Vincenti, F, Blumberg, EA, Punch, JD, Limaye, AP, Abramowicz, D, Jardine, AG, Voulgari, AT, Ives, J, Hauser, IA, Peeters, P. "The efficacy and safety of 200 days valganciclovir cytomegalovirus prophylaxis in high-risk kidney transplant recipients". Am J Transplant. vol. 10. 2010. pp. 1228-1237.
Akalin, E, Bromberg, JS, Sehgal, V, Ames, S, Murphy, B. "Decreased incidence of cytomegalovirus infection in thymoglobulin-treated transplant patients with 6 months of valganciclovir prophylaxis". Am J Transplant. vol. 4. 2004. pp. 148-149.
Strippoli, GF, Hodson, EM, Jones, C, Craig, JC. "Preemptive treatment for cytomegalovirus viremia to prevent cytomegalovirus disease in solid organ transplant recipients". Transplantation. vol. 81. 2006. pp. 139-145.
Reischig, T, Jindra, P, Hes, O, Svecova, M, Klaboch, J, Treska, V. "Valacyclovir prophylaxis versus preemptive valganciclovir therapy to prevent cytomegalovirus disease after renal transplantation". Am J Transplant. vol. 8. 2008. pp. 69-77.
Khoury, JA, Storch, GA, Bohl, DL, Schuessler, RM, Torrence, SM, Lockwood, M, Gaudreault-Keener, M, Koch, MJ, Miller, BW, Hardinger, KL, Schnitzler, MA, Brennan, DC. "Prophylactic versus preemptive oral valganciclovir for the management of cytomegalovirus infection in adult renal transplant recipients". Am J Transplant. vol. 6. 2006. pp. 2134-2143.
Reischig, T, Jindra, P, Hes, O, Bouda, M, Kormunda, S, Treska, V. "Effect of cytomegalovirus viremia on subclinical rejection or interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy in protocol biopsy at 3 months in renal allograft recipients managed by preemptive therapy or antiviral prophylaxis". Transplantation. vol. 87. 2009. pp. 436-444.
Leung Ki, EL, Venetz, JP, Meylan, P, Lamoth, F, Ruiz, J, Pascual, M. "Cytomegalovirus infection and new-onset post-transplant diabetes mellitus". Clin Transplant. vol. 22. 2008. pp. 245-249.
Copyright © 2017, 2013 Decision Support in Medicine, LLC. All rights reserved.
No sponsor or advertiser has participated in, approved or paid for the content provided by Decision Support in Medicine LLC. The Licensed Content is the property of and copyrighted by DSM.
- Does this patient have cytomegalovirus?
- What tests to perform?
- How should patients with or at risk for cytomegalovirus be managed?
- What happens to patients with cytomegalovirus?
- How to utilize team care?
- What is the evidence?


text:
New Car/Review
SEE ALSO: Ford Buyer's Guide
by Annabelle Frankl
Hallelujah, I have seen the light. Or should that be (head)lights, and all I can say is �Praise The Ford�. Yes, indeed, I can finally comprehend why this SUV is so ridiculously popular: for it is, indeed, good. No repenting, hail Mary�s or flagellation required upon the purchase of this vehicle, for you know that the Powers That Be are shining down upon you! Yes indeed.
You�ll have to excuse all the sermonizing, but this is the closest I�ve come to a religious experience in a long time, and I didn�t even have to put money into the collection tin. The 2001 Sport is sleek, quick, comfortable and handles amazingly well. Its gives a firm ride and offers excellent cornering ability. And don�t even get me started on the turning circle! (Let�s just say it gives a London black taxi a very good run for its money, i.e.: turns on a sixpence).
The 4 liter SOHC SEFI V6 engine is extremely gutsy, producing excellent acceleration (HP 205 @ 5000, torque 240 @ 4000) which, when paired with such great suspension and handling, makes for a rather enjoyable ride. Indeed, the Explorer Sport is so lacking in the rolling-round-corners department, it feels like you�re driving a regular sedan, except of course the view is far better. The independent short & long arm front suspension with torsion bars gives a European-style firmness to the ride, ably-aided in the handling department by 16� 5-spoke cast aluminum wheels, all-terrain tires and HD gas shocks. The 4-wheel ABS disc brakes proved to be efficient and smooth, with little nose-diving under heavy braking.
Rack-and-pinion steering is light and precise, although I�ve never liked having the gear-shifter on the steering column. The 2001 Sport has been slightly remodeled inside and out, giving off a newer, sleeker, smoother image. I particularly like the body shape of this model - rounder, and sexier, with bulbous lights and moldings.
Inside, the Leather Comfort Group provided me with leather low-back bucket seats, 6-way driver adjust, floor console with rear climate/audio controls, and overhead console with temp and compass (always useful!). Ford�s seats always feel a little strange upon first sitting, but once used to their particular angle and position, they prove very comfy! The dash is regular-Ford layout, although the orange illumination of white dials is very fetching, and brushed-metal door facia and smooth interior lines prove easy on the eye. Electric everything, in-dash CD, cruise and A/C round out the package.
Interior space is good, although access to the rear seats is an ungainly affair, and to be avoided whilst wearing a skirt! Room for rear passengers is not bad at 36.6�, although a squish if 5-up. The trunk, accessed through a lift-gate, provides plentiful room for bags etc, and comes with a pull-close cover.
With 15/19 mpg you won�t go broke on the fill-ups, and coming in at under $24K on the base model, the Sport proves extremely competitive in the SUV market, particularly given that it actually drives well too - bonus! There�s a lot to be said for being different. But I have had a revelation, and I don�t mind following the crowd, this time! Because for once, they make sense. The 2001 Explorer Sport is a gift from (the) Ford, and it is indeed good. So enjoy it, because given it�s price and performance, buying it doesn�t even count as a sin, just a pleasure. And not even a guilty one at that�
Base Price $23860 Model Tested $27725 Engine 4L SEFI SOHC V6 Transmission 5-speed automatic w/ OD HP 205 @ 5000 Torque 240 @ 4000 Brakes 4-Wheel ABS disc Steering Power rack & pinion Fuel 15/19 (auto) 16/19 (manual) Leather Pack $1495 Premium Sport $700 Destination $595


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ASLRRA's expert staff is available to conduct comprehensive on-site compliance assessments for railroad member. An ASLRRA representative will visit your railroad to observe and evaluate day-to-day operations and compliance practices.
The assessment can be tailored to fit the railroad's requirements, including documents and files reviewed to determine program, training and record keeping compliance. Interaction with management and field personnel can be included to determine understanding of regulatory requirements and working relationship between all involved. Field observation can be conducted with management to evaluate compliance of rules and performance of safety practices.
Members will be billed a daily rate for services, plus transportation, lodging, and meal expenses. The daily rate will include travel days, billed as 1/2 day each. Length of assessment will be determined by needs and size of railroad.
Upon completion, the railroad will receive a verbal, and the option of a written, assessment containing recommendations for improvement and sample program materials as needed.
For pricing, information, and to schedule a Compliance Assessment, please contact ASLRRA's Vice President of Safety and Compliance, JR Gelnar, at (202)585-3436.


text:
The cardiovascular clinic (Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Digby Hospital, Roseway Hospital) in South West Health aims to work with people who have experienced stroke, TIA (transient ischemic attack), and myocardial infarction. People can contact the clinic directly or have their family physician refer them. The cardiovascular clinic evolved out of the stroke clinic where all stroke patients discharged in South West Health were automatically referred to the clinic. This clinic has expanded and broadened to a cardiovascular scope.
Location and contact information
Digby General Hospital (Digby)
Tel: 902-742-3542 ext 1460
Roseway Hospital (Shelburne)
Tel: 902-742-3542 ext 1460
Yarmouth Regional Hospital (Yarmouth)
Tel: 902-742-3542 ext 1460
Clare Health Centre (Meteghan Centre)
Tel: 902-742-3542 ext 1460
How do I get an appointment?
Contact the clinic directly at 902-742-3542 ext 1460 or have your family physician refer you.
The clinic is for anyone who has suffered a stroke, heart attack, angina or TIA (transient ischemic attack) and lives in the areas of Digby, Shelburne or Yarmouth. The health event may have occurred recently or many months or years ago.
What to expect
Once a referral is received, the Cardiovascular Program office will contact you with an appointment.
During the first appointment the cardiovascular nurse specialist will complete a history and physical exam and will ask several questions related to your health and lifestyle. Together you can identify your risk factors for cardiovascular disease and work toward setting goals to manage your condition.
If necessary, referrals to other health care providers can be arranged such as the family doctor, speech and language pathology, dietitian, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacist, recreational therapist and social work. Such a referral helps to ensure you are monitored and supported in managing and reducing risk of a cardiovascular event, such as stroke, heart attack, TIA (transient ischemic attack or angina).
Typically, a series of four visits over a one year period will allow for good monitoring of your progress.
Documents and Forms
For health care professionals
Please visit the Cardiovascular Health Nova Scotia corporate page.


text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Members of the Kansas City Chiefs angrily spoke out Sunday against thousands of fans who cheered when quarterback Matt Cassel left a 9-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a head injury. Cassel has been the focus of frustrated fans for the past couple years, many of them booing him when he appeared during a celebrity softball game this summer. The angst reached a tipping point when Cassel, who committed four turnovers against Baltimore, was hammered by the Ravens' Haloti Ngata while completing a pass in the fourth quarter. Cassel remained on his back for several minutes while fans began to cheer. He eventually got to his feet with some help and walked off the field under his own power.


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I don't work as a developper but I like all this computer stuff so I am trying to help... and learn.
You can have a look at my public profiles/resumés (as for my real name is Jérémie Croyère) on LinkedIn
Interesting links I want to keep around:
- http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5234/how-does-accepting-an-answer-work
- http://whathaveyoutried.com
- Give man a fish
- XY Problem
- SO is not your research assistant
Comments (trying to follow the summer of love):
- Welcome to stackoverflow. Please understand that this is considered as rude here not to accept answers and people will not likely answer your newest questions. See http://stackoverflow.com/faq#howtoask and http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5234/how-does-accepting-an-answer-work
- Btw, welcome to stackoverflow, if this answer fits you, please accept it by clicking on the tick on the left of the answer - see http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5234 for more information
- Note that you can answer you own question (it is even highly recommended) and accept it. This way, you can share your knowledge with the community and kind of close the question.
- Welcome to stackoverflow. Have you already tried anything? People are more eager to help if you show some research effort before asking. Otherwise, you will appear as a help vampire
Excel stuff:
EnthusiastMar 16, 2012
EnlightenedJan 22, 2019
×2Nov 10, 2020
Tag EditorFeb 21, 2012
SuffrageFeb 10, 2012
AnalyticalFeb 12, 2012


text:
Started this discussion. Last reply by Monique Rowe Nov 15, 2009. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Beautiful handbags and more for every day of your life! Affordable style is just at you finger tips. Let So Chic Bag Boutique bring out your…Continue
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Hi Olivia - Thanks for following. I'm following you now. Amaziing that you can juggle being a full time mom and 3 businesses. I'm off to check out your handbag site.


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M a r k e t N e w s
Obama Announces $33B in Commitments for Africa
Posted on : Wednesday, 6th August 2014
Seeking to strengthen America's financial foothold in Africa, President Barack Obama announced $33 billion in commitments Tuesday aimed at shifting U.S. ties with Africa beyond humanitarian aid and toward more equal economic partnerships.
The bulk of the commitments came from private-sector companies, including Coca-Cola and General Electric, underscoring Africa's growing appeal to businesses. The continent is home to six of the world's fastest-growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class with increased spending power.
Yet Obama noted that U.S. trade with the entire African continent is about the same as its trade ties with Brazil and that just about one percent of U.S. exports go to sub-Saharan Africa.
"We've got to do better, much better," he said during closing remarks at a daylong session that brought together U.S. and African politicians and business leaders. "I want Africans buying more American products and I want Americans buying more African products."
The U.S. is hardly alone in seeing economic potential in Africa, with China, Europe and India moving aggressively to tap into Africa's growing markets. China in particular is hungry for oil, coal and other resources and is eager to develop the roads, bridges and ports needed to pull them out of Africa.
"We also realize we have some catching up to do," said Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and billionaire businessman who opened the summit Tuesday. "We are letting Europe and China go faster than the U.S."
Obama has sought to cast the U.S. as a better partner for African nations than China, arguing that his administration has a long-term interest in the continent's success and is not simply seeking to extract resources for its own purposes.
"The United States is determined to be a partner in Africa's success," he said. "We don't look to Africa simply for its natural resources. We recognize Africa for its greatest resource, which is its people, their talents and their potential."
The business forum is part of an unprecedented three-day summit underway in Washington, with nearly 50 African heads of state in attendance. Obama was hosting the leaders at a White House dinner Tuesday night.
About 100 U.S. companies were represented at Tuesday's conference. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry also addressed the attendees, as did former President Bill Clinton, who declared that the U.S. has "only barely scratched the surface" of Africa's economic potential.
In conjunction with the meeting, U.S. companies announced $14 billion in investments for Africa. Among them: a $5 billion investment from Coca-Cola to fund manufacturing lines and production equipment; $2 billion investment from GE by 2018; $200 million in investments across Africa by Marriott, and a $66 million commitment by IBM to provide technology services to Ghana's Fidelity Bank.
The White House also touted another $12 billion in new commitments for Obama's Power Africa initiative from the private sector, World Bank and the government of Sweden. Obama announced the Power Africa initiative last summer, setting a goal of expanding electricity access to at least 20 million new households and commercial entities.
The president said that with the new financial commitments, he was boosting that goal to 60 million homes and businesses.
Source : abcnews.go.com


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The Market Ticker - So There Was A Man.... - .... who found himself before St. Peter at the age of 50. St. Peter said to him *I didn't expect you for quite some time yet -- 50 is rather young. Why ...
37 minutes ago
Writer's Email: email@example.com
Fone WST... +1318.717.9017
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." ~ Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
Among the crimes that the Senate amnesty bill would "wipe clean" include:we dont know about you but we dont know anyone who elected nutty katrina mary landrieu snellings to go to washington and give the country away by doing "jobs" like this. nevertheless, senate roll call vote #157 of 25 may 2006 shows a great big 'ol YEA by nutty katrina mary landrieu snellings name.
The faking or "borrowing" of Social Security numbers -- a crime that millions of illegal aliens commit just that to secure work in the United States illegally -- the Senate bill would pardon those who broke that law.
Entering the country illegally, which can be punished by six months in prison and a $250,000 fine; the Senate bill would pardon those who broke that law.
Making false statements on federal income tax forms; each count can be punished by up to a five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Of course the Senate amnesty legislation does offer ONE special privilege to American citizens...
The Senate bill has a provision tucked away in its 600-pages that gives amnesty to employers who have flouted the law by hiring illegal aliens.
Posted by wst... at 19:44


text:
Birthday Giraffe Kid's Birthday Invitation
By Julie Bluet
• 5" x 7" Die Cut Flat Card
• Printed on 110 lb. card stock
• Printed full color two sides
• Includes white envelopes
• Please allow 1-2 weeks for custom printing.
Please include all relevant info for customizing your invitation when ordering.
Copyright Julie Bluét Inc.


text:
Geographic factors can cause allergies, asthma
New study finds those living close to the equator are at higher risk. Those living near the equator may find themselves sneezing and wheezing more than usual. And the reason may not be due to increasing pollen counts. According to a new study released , in the issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), living in locations closest to the equator can put you at increased risk of developing allergy and asthma.
"UV-B rays exposure is higher for people living in areas closer to the equator," said Vicka Oktaria, MPH, lead study author. "This increase in UV-B may be linked to vitamin D, which is thought to modify the immune system. These modifications can lead to an elevated risk of developing allergy and asthma."
Previous studies have shown that latitude can reflect a variation in airborne allergens due to climate, housing and social and cultural differences. This study is one of the first using the individuals latitude location and UV-B exposure to examine the association with allergy and asthma.
"Allergies and asthma are serious diseases that can be life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated properly," said allergist Richard Weber, MD, ACAAI president. "Both conditions can be more than bothersome for people, no matter their geographic location, and can last year-round."
Board-certified allergists are the best-trained health professionals to perform testing and treat both asthma and allergic diseases effectively. According to ACAAI, many people that have an allergy also experience asthma symptoms. In fact, an estimated 75 to 85 percent of asthmatics have an allergy.


text:
Dragon Armor Games
Cherry Token Tiles - 8 Pack
Cherry Token Tiles - 8 Pack
Tired of your board game tokens and components being scattered all over the table and unorganized?
We have you covered with our Token Tile system! These tiles make organizing the play area a breeze. These tiles feature premium Cherry wood complete with black felt. With the ability to choose your configuration and at less than half the price of other tile systems on the market, you can't afford not to try these.
- 3 different tile styles to choose from: 1 hole, 4 hole, and 2 hole w/card holder
- Each tile is 3.25" x 3.25" square
- Each tile is 0.75" thick with 0.5" deep holding areas
Perfect for:
- Imperial Assault
- Descent
- Scythe
- Any game with multiple components and pieces
Black Walnut: The king of American hardwoods. The heartwood is known for its rich dark chocolate brown.
Want a different configuration than listed? Just select custom and let us know in the notes of the shopping cart what configuration you want.


text:
Stephan's note: This is the transcript of an interview I did with noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, über-competitor and teacher Ryan Hall.
To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then you might miss out on future episodes, wouldn't you?
So the best thing to do is to subscribe to The Strenuous Life Podcast using the podcast player that you almost certainly already have on your phone!
(For example, if you have an iPhone then it's the purple app with the antenna-like thing in it. Just click the Apple Podcasts link below and it should open up that app for you.)
Here are the links to find the podcast on various players (This one is episode 09)…
- Apple Podcasts (the purple app on your iPhone)
- Google Podcasts (the new google podcast app)
- Spotify (it's free)
- Stitcher,
- Soundcloud,
- Google Play
Or you can listen here:
Stephan: Hello everybody, Stephan Kesting from grapplearts.com here. Today, I've got Ryan Hall on the line. Ryan is a super accomplished and very prolific competitor. He's competed all over the world in hundreds of tournaments and he's known for a variety of things including certain exotic guard positions, being laser-focused on certain submissions, and also for having a very rapidly evolving game.
We're going to start off the interview, Ryan, by talking about your competitive background. How many tournaments have you actually competed in?
Ryan: I have a record of every single match and every single opponent that I've ever competed against. Almost every single name, actually, from all the way back to white belt. So it's kind of silly but probably, I would say in the neighborhood of 200 tournaments. I think I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 to 400 competitive matches. I've been able to get around and fortunate to compete a lot, I guess.
Stephan: And of late you've also been singled out for grappling super fights, or one-off matches. Is that correct?
Ryan: Yeah, it is. I've been fortunate enough lately to be able to compete against some pretty tough opponents. Some fights at the Grapplers' Quest, UFC Fan Expo, and here and there. I've actually been doing super fights since I was a brand new purple belt.
I guess I've been reasonably successful; there's a lot of really tough guys to compete against. Particularly as you get up toward black belt, at least in the United States, it becomes increasingly difficult to go to a tournament and have more than maybe 1 or 2 matches. As a result, a lot of times, I think promoters find it more in their interest to make sure that they get the 2 guys that they want to compete and hopefully generate some interest. I was fortunate enough to be picked out for some of those.
Stephan: Cool. Can you just blow your own horn here for a second and talk about some of the medals and titles that you've got on your trophy shelf? What does it look like? What are some of the names I would recognize?
Ryan: At purple belt back in 2007, 2008, I was able to win the No-Gi Worlds, Lightweight division at purple belt. I won the World Championships with the gi as purple belt, again in the Lightweight Division. I won the European Championships as purple belt and ended up as 3rd in the Brazilian Nationals, the Brasileiro, also at purple.
As soon as I got my brown belt I had a pretty serious injury and had to have 3 surgeries. I didn't even know if I was going to be able to continue competing, and that's when I opened up my academy.
But I was able to compete. I had been out for about 8 months, then was able to train for 2 months and went back to the World Championships, this time as a brown belt. I ended up with 3rd; I lost in the semifinals, 6 to 4, to a really tough guy named Zak Maxwell.
I won the Abu Dhabi Trials that year as well, earning the opportunity to compete against the toughest no-gi guys in the world. I was fortunate enough to end up placing 3rd in the Abu Dhabi Competition itself.
I've been able to win a fair number of super fights: the UFC Fan Expo,and so on. I'm something like 15 and 2 in super fights, mostly against black belts. But my first one, and this was kind of meaningful because this is the first important match I ever won, was against a guy that I really respect a lot named Renato Tavares. This was on October 28th, 2006 at a NAGA event in Miami, and I was able to beat Renato Tavares 3 to 2. That was the first super fight I ever won.
So I guess that's kind of the more major stuff. I've also won some of the open tournaments as a black belt like the Chicago Open where I won in middleweight and the Absolute division (closed with Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros). Also the Miami Open, Houston Open, so I've gotten around but I don't have any major titles with the gi in black belt as of yet. I was able to win the World Pro Trials in Montreal, but I'm still trying to do my best and see how I can do better in the future.
Stephan: So now that you've got all of this competitive experience under your belt, are you still nervous when you compete and were you ever nervous when you competed?
Ryan: I don't know if nervous is the right word… I've played with a lot of different mental approaches over time, trying to learn what works best for me. And I believe that everyone can find their own mental niche, or state of mind that they need to be in.
I remember in the beginning when I first started, I would try to get all amped up and almost… maybe angry is not the right word… but a little ticked off, I guess, before a match. I was like, "Oh man, I've got to fight someone and so I've got to go and get upset…"
That worked for a little while, but then it kind of petered out for me, and I realized that that's maybe not the right way for me because that's not who I am. I'm not a super crazy, aggressive person, so maybe that's not the right way for me.
Then I started trying to take a nap, literally up until 2 minutes before my match. I would just fall asleep and then compete: I'd walk out almost like a zombie sometimes, extremely relaxed, which was working for a while: it kept me very calm, and I've never had that much trouble being clear-headed during matches because, again, I was not just focusing on winning and losing, which are things that are ultimately outside of my control, but really more on performing well, trying to focus on my technique and doing my own personal best and then, hopefully, that will be enough.
I guess that worked for a while. I've read a lot of books about sports psychology. I'm no expert by any means, but I've been able to take a look at my approach and now I'm trying to find the right balance emotional content; getting yourself amped up to the point where you're able to be effective and perform your best but it's not overwhelming you, because I've seen that occur a lot.
If you look in the bullpen at the World Championships, you'll see all kinds of people. You'll see calm, you'll see intense, you'll see all types, and you'll see people who let the moment get to them and they almost look entirely drained.
What I've read and what I've understood is that the more skilled and higher level you are as an athlete, the less of a danger it is to become infused emotionally because it won't affect your technique as much as it might. If, on the other hand, I was a bit more of an amateur athlete, then any type of outside stimulus, like being frustrated, angry, or nervous could really impact me.
So, as I've gotten a little bit more experience, the nerves have gone away. And I wouldn't call it nervousness anymore. I'd almost call it 'being excited,' 'being ready to compete' and looking forward to the challenge, as opposed to "oh, I'm going to beat this guy up." That's never really been my thing, I guess.
Stephan: The Sports Psychology books that I read talk about the 'optimal state of arousal.' This is perhaps a poor choice of words in our context, but is this what you're talking about?
Ryan: That's exactly what I was talking about and that's the specific phrase. And the optimal state of arousal, as I've been able to understand it, is not only different for every person but highly different for every sport.
For instance, a lineman in football would want to be in an entirely different mental state than, say, the quarterback. It's just an entirely different job, and an entirely different mental approach.
And Jiu-Jitsu is such a highly technical exercise, as opposed to, say, sprinting. Sprinting is also highly technical, of course, but a little bit more explosive, starting and finishing very quickly.
It's all about finding the right spot where you're able to be up and sharp but also mentally aware and able to react quickly to different situations. And so that's exactly the phrase that I would use.
Stephan: Now, I guess this awareness really only comes with experience. Maybe first you go in at too high a state of arousal, burn yourself out, and not be able to think. And then you might go in at too low a state of arousal and not being able to capitalize or use the 'agro' energy when it might have helped you in this situation… So you'll be trying to dial it up and down as your experience level grows, which is exactly what you were doing, it sounds like…
Ryan: I've been on the wrong end of both of those, actually, and I still am every now and then. There have been certain tournaments where win or lose, I still don't really feel like I performed well. I'm not like "oh man, the other guy was really tough but I somehow just expected to walk through him." Instead it was more like, "man, I just didn't really feel sharp," or felt like I was too amped up, or just felt not into it. And that can be for a variety of reasons, but even now, I find myself on both ends of that.
And then, when everything comes together and you have a great performance, it's usually when you find that optimal level of arousal, not only for the sport but for the moment and for that day. Everything seems to be clicking. And when I've been able to find and maintain that state of mind once then I'm able to find it again. And that's one of the big things that I think that constant competition gives us.
For instance, if I compete only once every 6 months, I kind of lose touch with the proper frame of mind. It's easy to have all these other things going on, these little voices in your head telling you what you need to be doing. But if you're competing all the time, not only will you be getting experience, but you'll be getting experience psychologically preparing yourself to perform at your best, and I think that's absolutely critical.
Stephan: So in order to get ready for a competition, you should enter a competition.
Ryan: Yeah, it's kind of a weird Catch-22…
Stephan: So let's move a little bit into the technical side of things, Ryan. Let's talk about the guard position. It seems to be that a lot of people know you, either through your videos or by watching you compete, for the guard position, such as the inverted guard, the deep half guard, the 50-50.
Can you talk a little bit about your guard game initially, how it evolved and where your guard game is right now?
Ryan: Well, initially, all I played was the closed guard. I think I won my last 16 matches as a white belt by submission from triangles and arm locks and it was about getting the closed guard and then going. Closed guard felt like a comfortable place for me because even against stronger players, not physically stronger but more skilled, more technical, more experienced, I thought that if I could get myself to the closed guard, I can at least hold on for now.
So I started out with the closed guard, and then eventually, I was like, "man, people are kind of getting wise to this…" When I was a blue belt I was competing so often that people were starting to pay attention a little bit. It wasn't that I was anybody at the time, they were paying attention because there was only one thing that I was really doing.
What I started adjusting to was pulling upside-down guard, because I found out that I was hyper-flexible in a few ranges of motion. I know very little about flexibility, by the way, I just happened to discover that. And I didn't mind being upside-down, didn't mind being compressed by really big people. I would go upside-down and then I would shoot a triangle at them. I would either, A) hit the triangle or, B) if I missed the triangle and they postured up, I would land myself in closed guard and get me back to my area of comfort.
Eventually, people started giving me a really hard time. They started standing up when I would invert on them. I'd shoot triangles at them and I'd get it every now and then, even when they were standing fully upright, but against the better and more experienced guys, that was really tough.
So the natural progression was when they stood up all the way up, I would weave my leg through theirs, end up in the 50-50 guard position and start to go after them with foot locks.
I really didn't start sweeping anyone until three quarters of the way through purple belt. I think I had something like 120 or 130 matches as a blue belt, I couldn't have scored more than 20 or 30 points throughout the entire course of that. Anytime I scored, it was mostly accidental.
Stephan: And most of your wins came from the triangle choke. Is that correct?
Ryan: Most of them came from triangle. Up until brown belt something like 98% of my wins were by submission. This was not necessarily because I was going after submissions, but rather because I literally didn't try to do anything positional, which I don't think was ideal. I don't really blame anyone for that – it's just kind of what I was doing at that time and it was working fairly well.
I got to purple belt relatively quickly (just over 2 years) and I was a purple belt for a relatively short time (1 year, 10 months). I wasn't one of those guys who has been in for 8 years and is still a purple belt and, as a result, has a little more of a robust game.
Because I was moving up the ranks relatively quickly and constantly facing opposition significantly more experienced than me, if I wanted to be successful I had pull them into my area of strength. Into the area where I felt that I had a chance to win, and that was almost always the guard.
Stephan: Now that's your development, but not everybody who's listening to this have your specific set of attributes, your strengths, and – I suppose – your weaknesses…
What advice could you give to people who are trying to put together a coherent guard game so they can deal with most situations? How do you know what kind of guards you need for your kind of body and your kind of game?
Ryan: I think it's a great question, Stephan, and again, I'll do my best to answer. An effective guard game is one that covers all of our ranges.
I like to use analogies a lot and I feel that it helps me understand jiujitsu and whatever I can see in the world, I guess. When I teach I try to use analogies. I'll try to figure out something that someone I'm talking to has a depth of experience in, and then I'll try to relate Jiu-Jitsu to that.
For instance, if I go to Oscar de la Hoya or say Manny Pacquiao and ask "what do you think of the straight right hand" they'd look at me like I have a second head on my shoulders. They'd be like "what do you mean what do I think? I use it when it's the right tool. I don't when it isn't."
Or imagine, you're a soldier. You have a weapon with a scope for when I'm 300 yards away from you. You also have a short barrel weapon you can turn corners with and operate at close quarters, and if you get really tight, you have a knife. And if even your knife goes away, then you have your hands…
So the way that I would describe an effective guard game, as I understand it, is that basically I need to be able to address each range. You may be far from me, you may be very, very close to me and you may be kind of in the mid-range.
A lot of times, what people will do, is they'll start to develop one guard. But let's say there's a blue belt or a purple belt that I find has a really tough half guard; if I can stay in the range where they're not able to employ their favorite tool, then they're going to have a hell of a time.
For instance, there's all kinds of different passes. I can pass you close, I can pass you far, I can pass you with motion, and I can pass you with pressure… Each one is an appropriate tool for a specific time.
The way I would describe Jiu-Jitsu is that it is a toolbox and you're going to use the appropriate tool to deal with someone who has my build – lanky and flexible – and then there will be an entirely different tool appropriate for dealing with someone with Marcelo Garcia's build, which is a little shorter and stockier (all skill aside), because obviously there are physical things that I can do that he can't and physically things that he can do that I can't. As a result, you should approach us differently, regardless of our specific games and of our skill levels.
Half guard has always been useful for me because I can handle the situation when the guy's very, very close. The 50-50 is even closer range than that, so I like that as well. I like to have a mid-range style of guard, like the de la Riva, and then when you start to move away from me, I'll come to my seated guard or, for someone like Michael Langhi, you could use the spider guard instead.
But people don't attempt to employ a hammer when the screwdriver is the proper tool. If I'm attempting to develop my guard, then I need to be effective from ranges A, B and C. I not only need to know the concepts and ideas behind my movements but also what are the things that go in this person's head? How are they going to evaluate me? Because if I try to pressure pass an experienced fighter's spider guard that's very difficult. If I try to run around your seated guard without getting you out of position then, again, that can be very, very difficult.
I feel that, in the lower levels of jiujitsu, like white, blue, purple belt, there's all kinds of things that work or feel like they work because the other player has gaps in their game.
In the past there were all kinds of things I was able to get away with, or even still get away with against a certain level of black belt… But then against an elite level guy you're like, "Oh, there's not 5 valid moves here, maybe there's only 1 or 2," and it's difficult to see that sometimes if you're not constantly faced with problems of that level.
So I would say try to develop a distance guard. Try to develop something for when the guy tries to run around you. Try to develop something for when they're trying to crush you. Know how to utilize your guards and how to transition between them., and then your guard should grow organically on its own.
One can't always look at an elite level player and say "I want to do exactly what this guy's doing," because there are all types of factors – height, width, strength, flexibility – that make moves fit me or not fit me, and also fit me or not fit me based on my opponent at that time.
I guess it's difficult to give concrete advice but the idea is that you should try and have a game plan: you need to understand what the possibilities are, and try to have an answer for most of the situations.
Stephan: Okay, let's just talk very quickly about one specific position, the 50-50 guard. I've seen bits and pieces of your DVD series on the 50-50 guard, which was mostly without the gi. In those DVDs you concentrate quite heavily on the heel hook, the reverse heel hook and the whole foot lock game…
Can you talk a little bit about the 50-50 in the context of the gi, where very often it turns into a stalling position? This relates back to what we were talking about just getting up a couple of points and then stalling for the rest of the match.
Ryan: Yeah, for whatever small role I've had in popularizing the 50-50, I'd like to apologize to the grappling world because it is hideous to watch matches where people just lock themselves in there and refuse to move (laughing)! It's absolutely awful and it is everything that people complain about it being…
As far as stalling with the gi on… it's frustrating because with the gi on, you can latch onto me in such a way that it can be difficult to move and then it's difficult for the referee to figure out whom exactly is doing the stalling.
In my mind, Jiu-Jitsu needs a better stalling call in general. The 50-50 is kind of en vogue at the moment for stalling and doing nothing, but that's nothing new, really. Plenty of positions can be used to hold the fight, but something that might go a long way towards fixing the 50/50 problem is to stop giving points for a sweep if I just rock my way up to the top (staying locked in 50/50). If I don't disengage myself from the position, then I don't believe that I should be given points because otherwise there's no incentive to do it. If you look at some of the elite guys who are incredible with the 50-50 (I think there's only a handful, but a lot of people try it), it's not as if they can't sweep, it's just that there's no incentive to do it. Why risk losing position in a major tournament?
I wish they would develop a stronger stalling call in BJJ compeition. And if you want to talk about making Jiu-Jitsu more effective for MMA, they should give points for escapes and for getting up off of the ground, because the onus should be on me to hold you on the ground. Let's say I fight Manny Pacquiao, if we stay on our feet for any length of time, I will be headless, so I have to get him down. And once I get him down, my number one concern is not to submit him! Instead I'm thinking "Jesus Christ, make sure he doesn't get back up because that'll be the end of me…"
Stephan: Exactly.
Ryan: In my opinion, one thing that makes wrestling so effective is that they give points for escaping from the bottom to get back to the feet. I think it's critical.
And a stalling call would be nice. But there would be downsides to that as well, because if there's a stalling call every 4 seconds, it would turn into a hyper-explosive athletic sport, which I think is great in some regards but it really, really narrows it down too…
Stephan: The injury rates would go through the roof…
Ryan: No doubt about it. And you're also not going to see little guys beating big guys in a sport where you to move every 4 seconds. It's just not realistic, and maybe that's the way that it needs to be. I'm not sure.
I'm not saying what's better or worse, but I would prefer to see the current state of things change a little bit, both with the stalling calls and absolutely with the 50-50 guard. I try not to stall from the 50-50. In fact, just on principle I don't stall from there, in fact I'd rather lose than do that. But it got atrocious and I apologize for that (laughing).
Stephan: You heard it here first, people!
Let's move on to another technical area that you're particularly known for, and that's the triangle choke. You've finished an ungodly number of people with the triangle choke, especially earlier in your game.
What are your top 3 tips for getting and finishing triangle chokes that people who are working on that attack can use?
Ryan: One big thing is creating a favorable angle. If you're attacking me, then try to get so so that you face me when I'm not facing you. Anytime that we go head to head my attributes are lining up against yours, and I'm having to hope that I'm stronger, faster or more flexible. I'd have some sort of physical edge over you to allow me to be successful.
Now, in the context of a competition, if that's where my edge lies, if I have a physical advantage, then I'm going to press that advantage because the goal is to win. Well, to anyone who's listening, the goal is not just to win in the competition. For instance, let's say I go to a tough tournament, like a Grappler's Quest, which I've won a stack of times, now the goal is no longer solely to win. The goal is to improve so that I can develop something I'll be able to use at ADCC or the Mundial, Pan, etc.
For instance, when Roger Gracie comes to the World Championships, I have this sneaking suspicion that because he's gotten gold so many times, it's no longer only about winning, even at the premier gi tournament in the world. Instead it's about the quality of his win. It's about what he's doing. Is he fighting Jiu-Jitsu the way that he wants to fight it? I think that's why you'll see him fighting judo with people when that's not the strength of his game.
early in your career, you'll feel like you'll want to win every single match in any way you can. But as you evolve you might say that you want to win in a specific way. I want to win with good jiu-jitsu, or I want to win with positional control, or I want to make sure that I'm not using my physical advantages or experience advantages to win.
I think that'll go a long way towards making sure that you don't plateau as you compete, which I know has been a problem for a lot of people, and a problem for me as well from time to time.
But if you want to land a triangle, then it's good to get off to a favorable angle where you're facing me and I'm not facing you. I could be an 8 out of 10 in terms of strength, athleticism and explosiveness, and you could be a 4 out of 10, but once you start to get out of my kind of direct line of sight right in front of me and a little bit off to the side, I no longer have that physical advantage over you. So you're going to be able to bully me from there, or I'm going to try to square back up to you and that makes me predictable. So either, a) the status quo will remain and you'll win, or b) I'm predictable so you'll probably win anyway.
Stephan: Well, let's take this all from the high level to the concrete level. You said you're heading up for your training camp now?
Ryan: Yes.
Stephan: So what are your next 6 weeks going to look like? Obviously you're going to be training with Marcelo and with other people, but do you do any conditioning – strength training, endurance training – on top of all that actual sparring? And what's your ratio of training to sparring, and drilling to sparring?
Ryan: Ordinarily I do a lot of drilling, and I feel like when I don't drill a lot I become pretty sloppy; I notice holes in my game. I feel like it's very important. I feel that it has been able to allow me to be reasonably successful in spite of pretty much having no one of a really high level to train with for a very, very long time.
I've been able to structure my training so that everything is goal-oriented instead of just beating the crap of each other one day. Instead we get our drilling rounds in. And sometimes it's time to roll easy so we're playing around and finding new movements, and seeing what's what. Other times it's time to go super hard. And then we also have the strength and conditioning aspect as well.
We make sure that each step of the training isn't just random. It's not just thrown in together, like "oh, we just beat the shit out of each other say all the time, because that's what training is." If something makes sense in the context of a greater plan, then that's what we do for that day or that week, or whatever.
But it has to all be goal-oriented and system-oriented, so if there's a problem or if you get a result you don't like, then you can say, "alright, where's the hole in the system?" If there is no system and I'd get a result I don't like but there's no feedback loop, then I'm left curious and wondering what the heck to fix.
When it comes to strength and conditioning, ordinarily, I do a lot. I'll be lifting 3, 4 days a week. One of the students at my academy is a very, very good strength and conditioning coach and he prepared me for Abu Dhabi last time. I felt great. I felt stronger than ever before. He helped me for the Worlds in 2009 as well.
For this ADCC I'm going to be doing a lot of conditioning, but I won't be lifting very much, simply because we have to weigh in at 145 mat side. 2 years ago there was a 24-hour delay in the weigh in. You'd weigh in on Friday and fight on Saturday, so I could walk in at 154, cut 9 pounds, get on the scale, be fine, rehydrate and go. I gain weight very quickly if I lift, and I lose weight very quickly, depending on how what I do. So if I lift and I put on 3 or 4 pounds over the course of a couple of months, that's really going to become an issue. I'm not huge for a 145 pounder but I'm certainly not tiny either, and I have to be pretty disciplined about my diet.
So this time around, there won't be a ton of strength training, but there will be a great deal of conditioning in addition to whatever Marcelo has planned. And I can't really speak to that because I'm not entirely sure what he's planning. But I'm sure that it's going to help and I'll feel better than I ever have before. I trust him completely and I'll be doing whatever he thinks is the best way to go.
Stephan: Very cool. Well, best of luck with all that, Ryan. We're going to wrap it up now. You've given us a ton of information. You have a school in Arlington, Virginia, in the Washington, DC area, and the website for that is www.5050bjj.com.
Ryan: Yeah, that's correct. I've been really fortunate to have a lot of people come in lately. Actually David Marinakis who's in my weight class in Abu Dhabi just stopped by for a week, he won the Australian Abu Dhabi qualifier, and we were training together this week. We've had Gianni Grippo from Renzo Gracie down, Alex Vamos, who is a Joe D'Arce black belt, and Josh Presley – one of my buddies from Nova Scotia – who just got second in the Worlds this year.
So we're always having different people come in and train, teach us stuff, and maybe learn something themselves. Anyone from anywhere is welcome at anytime. We love to train with anybody. If you're a nice person and you want to kick the crap out of people and train super hard, then the door's always open. So again, if anyone ever wants to visit, you are always more than welcome and I'd be excited to train with you.
Stephan: And if people are interested in bringing you up for a seminar, not in the middle of your training camp obviously, but either before it or after it, they get in touch with you through your website. Is that correct?
Ryan: That is correct. I love to get around and I do what I can. I try not to suck if it's a seminar and if it does suck, you can definitely punch me.
Stephan: (laughing) Awesome! Thank you so much, Ryan. Best of luck in your training and we'll be watching you very carefully.
Ryan: Thanks so much, Stephan. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you.
|If you liked this article you might also enjoy these audio and/or written interviews by Stephan Kesting:
|If you're looking for more information on BJJ and self defense please download our FREE book, A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu


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Google and one of its resellers have asked a federal court to dismiss their case against the U.S. Department of the Interior over Microsoft-only bids for cloud-based services.
Last October, Google and Ohio-based reseller Onix Networking sued the government agency, which they alleged had stacked the deck against the Google Apps suite of services. According to Google and Onix, the Interior Department had demanded that bidders for a $60 million contract use rival Microsoft's BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) Federal to provide email and messaging services.
[ Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]
On Sept. 22, Google and Onix asked a federal claims court to dismiss the case.
"Based on the defendant's agreement to update its market research, a process that may include the issuance of a Request for Information, and then conduct a procurement ... in a manner that will not preclude plaintiffs from fairly competing, plaintiffs respectfully move for dismissal of this action without prejudice," Google and Onix stated in their motion.
A day later, government attorneys representing the Interior Department said that they would not oppose the motion, but told the court that contrary to Google's claim, no agreement had been struck.
"Plaintiffs made reference to 'defendant's agreement' ... [but] Defendant, the United States, hereby provides notice to the Court that defendant has made no agreement as represented in that motion," the government's lawyers said.
Neither Google or the Department of Justice replied to requests for comment on the discrepancy.
Last year, the Interior Department had defended its choice of BPOS, saying, "The department determined that although many companies can provide messaging services in general, they either cannot provide services that address the complexity of messaging requirements within DOI, or they could not meet the degree of security required by DOI."
In January, Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims blocked Microsoft from deploying the BPOS service for the Department of Interior.
But two weeks ago, Braden alluded to an agreement between the parties.
"The preliminary injunction issued by the court ... will remain in effect until September 27, 2011, because the parties have represented to the court that they are working in good faith towards an alternative dispute resolution that may resolve this matter in a mutually beneficial manner," Braden wrote in an order issued on Sept. 16.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is email@example.com.
See more articles by Gregg Keizer.
Read more about drm and legal issues in Computerworld's DRM and Legal Issues Topic Center.
This story, "Google asks court to dismiss lawsuit over Microsoft-only cloud contract" was originally published by Computerworld.


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The chilly nights and mild days of late have helped accelerate the process by which leaves change their color. Peak times to view fall foliage differ all across the country, but we still have a few more weeks before the great Northwest's colorful show of reds, oranges and yellows vanish for another year.
But this begs the question: What causes leaves to change color in the first place?
Between late August and early October, many people all across the United States and Canada willingly travel hundreds of miles to witness one of Mother Nature's most beautiful pieces of artwork: fall foliage. A most breathtaking natural spectacle, the wild splashes of red, orange, brown and yellow leaves racing up and down rolling hills and lining quaint neighborhoods brings a certain homey nostalgia with it. However, some places seem to have a tendency to produce this natural artwork more flamboyantly than others, and there's a good reason for it.
Those green leaves that we often run to for protection on hot summer days contain what is called chlorophyll. There is so much of this pigment within the leaves that it masks the others. Sunlight is one of the biggest factors in providing chlorophyll, so naturally summertime is when green leaves thrive. However, as light diminishes come autumn, so does the chlorophyll. This finally allows the other natural pigments, called carotenoids, to steal the show. They come in yellow, brown, orange and a variety of hues in between.
There are some colors, however, that appear on leaves that weren't there before, and these are called anthocyanin pigments. These red and orange colors form due to an increase in sugar concentration in plants, typically occurring towards the end of summer. The more anthocyanins present, the more burning reds you'll see on your next fall foliage trip.
Colder, northern climates tend to accelerate the process of chlorophyll decomposition. For instance, St. Paul, Minnesota would see fall foliage peak around late September, but Tulsa, Oklahoma would likely see it peak in early November. This shows that temperature does effect leaf coloration to some degree, but it is not the determining factor. The sunnier the autumn days, the brighter the "new" colors.
If autumn welcomes us with plenty of autumn sunshine with cool, crisp nights next year, expect a dazzling show. On the other hand, if the clouds just won't quit and the air remains a bit on the mild side, expect a more conservative presentation of duller yellows and browns.


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Times Critic Blasts Nick Kristof, Says Dylan Farrow Wants Attention
Longtime New York Times book critic Janet Maslin, in a panel discussion last night, told an audience that Dylan Farrow had published her child-abuse accusations against her father, Woody Allen, in the Times as a way of "calling attention to herself," inspired by "sibling rivalry issues" with her brother Ronan Farrow.
The Farrow letter has made this an awkward month for the Times. Columnist Nicholas Kristof published Farrow's letter online, circumventing the op-ed page, which had initially rejected the piece. Public Editor Margaret Sullivan wrote that she was "troubled" by Kristof's one-sided approach, and the opinion section published a prominent rebuttal under Allen's byline. But beyond that, the staff was mostly quiet about the awkwardness, at least on the record.
Now Maslin has broken the peace. Speaking to an audience at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York, Maslin called Farrow's letter an "outrageous use of an op-ed column" and a "really questionable use of that space." She went on to argue—citing "a friend very close to the story"—that Farrow was motivated by the attention that her brother Ronan, the budding TV personality, had gotten by suggesting that his real father might have been Frank Sinatra.
When approached in the film center's lobby, Maslin declined to elaborate on her remarks. "Please do not write about what I said in there," she said.
Maslin, who serves as the President of the Jacob Burns Film Center, supplied her commentary during an on-stage conversation about the Academy Awards with the writer Mark Harris, who covers the Oscars for Grantland. The event's description promised ticket-holders "plenty of clips, history, gossip, and inside info."
The two were discussing the chances of Cate Blanchett winning Best Actress for her role in Woody Allen's film, Blue Jasmine, when Maslin abruptly referred to "Woody Allen's private life" as a potential factor. She went on:
The fact that our newspaper allowed it to appear in an op-ed column, I mean the Public Editor took issue with this, but I think that was an outrageous use of an op-ed column. This letter was sent to the newspaper, and the newspaper decided not to print it, and so did the L.A. Times, and then all of a sudden —
HARRIS: By the letter, you mean the Dylan Farrow piece that became an op-ed was originally sent as a letter.
MASLIN: And the Times rejected, and then a columnist who is a friend of the family, decided to run it in his column, and those columnists have a lot of freedom in what they can put into columns, but I think that was a really questionable use of that space. Anyway. Does that have anything to do with this movie? I don't think it really does.
A few minutes later, Maslin argued that Allen "managed to rehabilitate himself through his work" and that "he went through a very dark period creatively." She then touched on Maureen Orth's recent Vanity Fair article about Mia Farrow:'One odd thing about that Vanity Fair piece, that one that ran a few months ago, was that the big news in the piece was supposed to be 'Dylan Farrow Speaks Out' and what happened, just purely by chance, was that the news became, 'Ronan Farrow May Be Frank Sinatra's Son.' And Dylan Farrow, I happen to know this through a friend very close to the story, was very unhappy that this suddenly wasn't about her. And I think that's that part of why she decided to start calling attention to herself.
"Of all the things that have been parsed by total strangers about what went on in that family," Maslin added a few minutes later, "no one has ever dared to consider the sibling rivalry issues in there. It's just too much to think about."
Dylan Farrow's allegations against her father, Maslin and Harris agreed, shouldn't weigh on Blanchett's Oscar chances.
"Whatever black marks there are on his conscience, I don't think affect what his actress did on-screen," Maslin said. "If she wins, it will be a deserving win."
"Nor can you penalize her," Harris added, "for taking a role without having read an op-ed that hadn't been written yet. What will be a shame is that if she loses, there always be this question mark about why she lost."
In an email to Gawker regarding her comments about Dylan Farrow, Maslin wrote: "Those comments were speculative. But I stand by what I said."
A spokeswoman for the Times added, "This is a topic on which there is no shortage of opinion."
To contact the author of this post, email email@example.com
[Photo credit: Getty Images]


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Sermons on Interesting Subjects
Longman, Hurst, Orme & Rees, 1808 - 462 "š «Š'›Õ«
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able afflictions afford apostle appear attention authority become believe blessing body called cause character Christ christian church comfort conduct consider contemplation continual creatures darkness death delight desire divine duty earth effects enjoy enjoyment eternal everlasting evident evil excellence expressed faith Father favour fear feel follow friends gift give given glory gospel grace hand happiness hath heart heaven holy honour hope important infinite Jesus John judgment kind knowledge lead light live Lord means ment mind ministers nature necessary never obedience object observe once ourselves pain particular peace perfect person pleasure possess preach present principle promise providence Psalm reason receive redeemed rejoice render respect righteousness Saviour scripture sense soul spirit sufferings surely thee things thou tion true truth unto whole wisdom
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«Š'›Õ… 396 - Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 48 - And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 227 - If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God ; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth : that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ; to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 34 - Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy?Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 128 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 407 - And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 385 - But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan : thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 235 - And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 92 - Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat ; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls : Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 298 - For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; But with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, Saith the Lord thy Redeemer.Ģ


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