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|During 2019, some 220,000 people were granted international protection in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region (EHAGL), bringing the total number of refugees and asylum-seekers to 4.7 million. The region hosts some 67 per cent of the refugees on the African continent and 20 per cent of the global refugee population. The largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the region are from South Sudan, with significant numbers also from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. Governments have generally continued to maintain open-door asylum policies and embraced the Global Compact on Refugees by adopting progressive national refugee frameworks and promoting the inclusion of refugees into national health, education and social protection systems.
|19 May 2020
|Internal displacement is also a phenomenon in countries in the EHAGL region and faced by several countries on a large scale. Over 8 million people are currently internally displaced. Efforts are underway to strengthen UNHCR's role in inter-agency IDP responses in line with the 2019 IDP policy and the High Commissioner's new Initiative on Internal Displacement which includes Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan. Recent opportunities to pursue solutions for IDPs in the region were bolstered by South Sudan's accession and Ethiopia and Somalia's ratification of the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention).
|19 May 2020
|The first cases of Covid-19 in the EHAGL region were reported on 13 March and the situation continues to evolve. All 11 countries of the region have reported cases and local transmission. While there has been no large-scale outbreak amongst UNHCR's populations of concern, the need for preparedness is urgent. UNHCR is working closely with governments, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Country Teams to promote the inclusion of refugees, IDPs, stateless people and others of concern in national preparedness and response measures – in particular in health, hygiene and sanitation programmes, as well as distance learning and emergency social safety nets.
|19 May 2020
|From January to June 2017 - 28,757 Somali refugees from Kenya were voluntarily repatriated to Somalia by UNHCR as part of its programme and benefited from an enhanced return package.
|15 Sep 2017
|In total, as of 28th Feb. 52,591 Somali refugees returned home since 8th December 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees.
|13 Mar 2017
|As of 15th Feb. 49,376 Somali refugees from Kenya returned home since 8th December 2014 ( when Vol-rep started) out of which 10,062 were supported in 2017 alone
|07 Mar 2017
By Caroline Opile in Nairobi, Kenya | 12 February 2021, 21 Feb 2021
UNHCR teams up with the African Committee on Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child to help eradicate childhood statelessness through an online course. Lire plus
National Geographic that features UNHCR, 29 Jun 2020
BURAO, SOMALILANDSo many died at once "it was like they were poisoned," said Rahma Hassan Mahmoud, a herder in Somaliland, of the catastrophe that befell her 300 goats and sheep and 20 camels. After the last camel died, she and her family lived off milk from their neighbors, but with everyone else's... Lire plus
UNHCR Website, 25 Sep 2019
UNHCR welcomes the outcome of inter-ministerial stocktaking on the Nairobi Declaration and Action Plan on Durable Solutions by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week. The meeting convened humanitarian and development partners who co... Lire plus
UNHCR, 19 Aug 2019
Martha Kow-Donkor knows exactly how it feels to be a refugee. At the height of a major civil war in the early 90s, she fled her native Liberia for Tabou, Côte d'Ivoire. For close to eight years she lived in exile before spontaneously returning back home to Liberia in 1998. "My passion for hu... Lire plus
By Caroline Opile UNHCR Somalia, 14 Sep 2018
A two day workshop on mixed migration was held on 12 and 13 September in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The workshop brought together different government ministries, NGOs and international organisations in Somaliland that play a role in addressing mixed migration. The objective of the forum was to update... Lire plus
|CCCM COVID-19 Contingency Plan
|There are over 2,000 recorded IDP sites hosting 2.6 m displaced people across Somalia. People displaced to these informal sites are living in precarious conditions. The sites are overcrowded, lack dignified living conditions and enough access to basic services. An estimated 360,000 people in IDP sites are persons with various disabilities, 48 percent are women while five percent are elderly.
|CCCM Operations Guidance for COVID
|CCCM partners in Somalia play a critical role in administering site‐level coordination which feeds up to the national level. As a result, it is imperative that CCCM partners are equipped with guidance in order to continue site-‐level activities supporting displaced with the ongoing COVID-‐ 19 pandemic.
|CCCM Somalia Data Portal
|Given the conflict, insecurity, drought, and floods an estimated 2.9 million people have been displaced in Somalia. The majority of people have self-settled in over 2,400+ sub-standard IDP sites in urban and peri-urban areas across the country. People displaced to these sites are living in precarious conditions and are not having their basic needs met due to inconsistent service provision or exclusion from accessing humanitarian support. 85% of the sites are informal settlements on private land and about 74% of them are in urban areas according to the Detailed Site Assessment (DSA) of the CCCM Cluster.
|CCCM Somalia/REACH - 2021 Detailed Site Assessment (DSA)
|The Detailed Site Assessment (DSA) was initiated in coordination with the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster in order to provide the humanitarian community with up-to-date information on the location of IDP sites, the conditions and capacity of the sites, and an estimate of the severity of humanitarian needs of residents. Data collection for the current round of the DSA took place from November 10th to December 20th, 2021 and assessed 2,986 IDP sites in 47 districts across Somalia and Somaliland.
|Garowe Service Mapping February-March 2018
|Garowe 3 Ws (site level)


text: The ETradeSupply.com team stands ready in support of your Kyocera parts supply requirements. We have a complete line of Kyocera Smart Phone components, accessories in stock ready to quality assure to industry leading ISO9001 standards. Below you will see our competitive single unit prices, but don't hesitate to register as an ETS member and qualify for even greater savings.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scientists Control Monkeys' Brains with Light
For the first time, scientists have been able to affect the behavior of a primate using optogenetics—a technique by which genetically modified neurons are made to fire with light. The study, published today in the journal Current Biology, sets the stage for using this powerful new tool to study how the brain enables complex primate cognition and, more distantly, for using the technique to treat disease.
To control the electrical firing of a neuron, scientists use a virus to deliver a gene into brain cells. The gene is designed to produce a light-responsive protein (see "Brain Control"). Depending on the type of light-sensitive protein used, this genetic modification will either activate or silence a neuron in response to a specific color of light, delivered via optical fibers inserted into the brain.
The seven-year-old field of optogenetics has given neuroscientists a more precise tool to examine the connections between the groups of neurons that set up neuronal circuits. These brain circuits control behaviors such as movement and emotion and, when faulty, can lead to diseases ranging from depression to Parkinson's.
Scientists have already used optogenetics to control behaviors in mice (see "Scientists Control Sleep and Social Activity with Light"). While different groups, including one led by Edward Boyden, a neuroscientist at MIT and a co-inventor of optogenetics, have shown the technique could control neuronal activity in monkeys, no one had yet seen a behavioral effect.
"People were starting to wonder, is this going to be a challenge to get behavioral changes in a primate?" says Boyden, a collaborator on the new study. "That is very important if you want to study advanced cognition as well as if you want to think about potential clinical uses in humans," he says.
The behavior studied in today's published report is quite subtle: two monkeys were trained to purposefully move their eyes to a target on a screen when given a cue. But when the relevant optogenetically ready modified neurons were stimulated by light from optical fibers inserted into their brains, the neuronal circuit responsible was sped up, and the monkeys were able to complete this task faster.
"It's a simple task, but it is a cognitive task," says study senior author Wim Vanduffel, who splits his time between Harvard Medical School and the University of Leuven. "It's a stepping stone," he says, one that opens up new research into understanding brain function.
"[Optogenetics] may also become useful in the far future for therapeutic purposes, because if you can activate or deactivate very specific cell types, you can actually target particularly circuitries that are important in different diseases with much more precision than is possible at this moment with drugs or [electrical] stimulation," says Vanduffel. "But there is still a very long way to go before it gets there."
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One of the largest rural youth leadership organizations, FFA, kicks off National FFA Week, Feb. 16-23 to celebrate all things ag leaders, blue corduroy and agricultural education. Many CHS employees are former FFA members and many CHS locations are involved with their local FFA chapters.
To celebrate National FFA Week, CHS Foundation President Nanci Lilja answered a few questions about why the CHS Foundation supports FFA and what makes this partnership so special.
Q: What is FFA?
FFA is a youth organization that uses agricultural education to prepare middle and high school students for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. FFA helps members develop their talent and leadership skills and explore their interests in agriculture through hands-on opportunities, classroom instruction, career development events (CDEs), leadership conferences and much more.
Q: How does the CHS Foundation support FFA?
The CHS Foundation is two years into its three- year, $3.8 million grant to National FFA that supports proficiencies and career development events, New Century Farmer and teacher education and retention programs. In addition, the CHS Foundation also supports 17 state FFA associations throughout the CHS trade territory. That funding varies by state, but also supports proficiencies and career development events, state FFA officer teams, leadership conferences and even jackets for students who may not be able to afford them.
Q: Why does the CHS Foundation support FFA?
CHS, the CHS Foundation and FFA have a few things in common, and one of those is recognizing that well-trained, passionate individuals are needed to ensure agriculture is successful far into the future. FFA students are those individuals. They are developing strong leadership skills through hands-on agricultural-based education and activities. While 55 percent of FFA members come from rural areas, an increasing percentage represent a wide array of diverse backgrounds and FFA is their first introduction to agriculture. We consider our support of FFA a smart investment in future leaders and the talent pipeline.
Q: What makes FFA special?
The students! Every time I have the privilege to interact with FFA students, I am impressed at their thoughtfulness, creativity and passion. FFA develops strong and capable leaders that understand agriculture. With these students leading the next generation, I'm confident our industry is in good hands.
To learn more about how the CHS Foundation supports other organizations that develop ag leaders for life, visit chsfoundation.org.


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Most dangerous city survey names St. Louis, Camden, Detroit
Most dangerous city: The annual rankings are based on population figures and crime data compiled by the FBI. Some criminologists question the findings, saying the methodology is unfair.
St. Louis overtook Camden, N.J., as the nation's most dangerous city in 2009, according to a national study released Sunday.
The study by CQ Press found St. Louis had 2,070.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 429.4. That helped St. Louis beat out Camden, which topped last year's list and was the most dangerous city for 2003 and 2004.
Detroit, Flint, Mich., and Oakland, Calif., rounded out the top five. For the second straight year, the safest city with more than 75,000 residents was Colonie, N.Y.
The annual rankings are based on population figures and crime data compiled by the FBI. Some criminologists question the findings, saying the methodology is unfair.
Greg Scarbro, unit chief of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, said the FBI also discourages using the data for these types of rankings.
Kara Bowlin, spokeswoman for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, said the city actually has been getting safer over the last few years. She said crime in St. Louis has gone down each year since 2007, and so far in 2010, St. Louis crime is down 7 percent.
Erica Van Ross, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department, called the rankings irresponsible.
"Crime is based on a variety of factors. It's based on geography, it's based on poverty, it's based on the economy," Van Ross said.
"That is not to say that urban cities don't have challenges, because we do," Van Ross said. "But it's that it's irresponsible to use the data in this way."


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Update: Forum member TooMuchDew sent over a bunch of links to the PDF files for all 8 of the LEGO Harry Potter movie posters:
Links to PDF Posters for Movies 1-6 are here:
I did some a Google advanced search within the domain:
actual search:
and found the PDF files for all 8 movie posters (7.1 and 7.2 are bottom 2 links in search)
LEGO Harry Potter 7 – 'Deathly Hallows Part 1' movie poster:
and LEGO Harry Potter 7 – 'Deathly Hallows Part 2' movie poster
There may have been some legitimate way of arriving at the posters as a reward for playing an online Harry Potter LEGO game but I didn't bother checking.
flickr-user Okay Yaramanoglu (okayaraman) uploaded some Harry Potter movie posters stylized with LEGO minifigures in place of the actors. He CLAIMS to have gotten them from the LEGO website, but I couldn't find them on there, so he may just be lying.
Or I fail at the internet.
Deathly Hallows Part I movie poster above, Part II below. Pro is not enabled for his account; hopefully, he can comment on the forum thread and link to the original size.
Thanks, Okay!


text: Take a quick detour to see the memorial to the Senator Robert A. Taft and Carillon, which is not easily noticed when the trees are in full leaf, unless you hear the bells first. According to the Architect of the Capitol website, the site was designed by architect Douglas W. Orr and consists of a Tennessee marble tower and a 10-foot bronze statue of Senator Taft sculpted by Wheeler Williams. The shaft of the tower measures 100 feet high, 11 feet deep, and 32 feet wide. Twenty-seven bells toll in the upper part of the tower, and the largest, also called the bourdon, weighs 7 tons. Small, bubbling jets of water flow into a basin that rings the base of the memorial, muffling nearby city traffic and providing a welcoming place to relax under the shade of the canopy of the surrounding trees. View Sites Nearby


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A recently discovered fake Android security application is most likely a mobile component of the Zeus banking malware, security researchers from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab said on Monday.
Called Android Security Suite Premium, the rogue app is capable of stealing SMS messages and uploading them to a remote server. When launched, the app displays a shield image that has long been associated with Windows fake antivirus programs, also known as FakeAV or scareware.
"How could I ever forget such an identifiable logo," Nathan Collier, a threat research analyst at antivirus firm Webroot, said in a blog post about the new threat on Friday. "Now that the developers of the popular FakeAV malware have entered into the mobile world expect to to see a lot more variations of this."
However, this might not be a mobile scareware app, but a new variant of ZitMo -- Zeus in the Mobile, said Kaspersky Lab senior malware analyst Denis Maslennikov.
ZitMo apps are malicious mobile applications that are used by cybercriminals in conjunction with the Zeus computer Trojan in order to steal money from online banking accounts. They appeared back in 2010 as a response to banks implementing mobile-based security measures.
Their purpose is to steal mobile transaction authorization numbers (mTANs) sent by banks to their customers via SMS messages. Without mTANs, fraudsters wouldn't be able to authorize transactions initiated with stolen credentials.
The registration information for the domain names where Android Security Suite Premium uploads stolen SMS messages matches the registration information for 2011 Zeus command-and-control domains, Maslennikov said. This, coupled with the app's SMS-stealing functionality makes it likely that this is a new ZitMo version.
Even though this app displays an activation code when opened, it doesn't display fake security alerts and doesn't ask users for money like scareware applications do, Maslennikov said. "It's not a fake AV -- 100 percent."
Kaspersky researchers are still analyzing how the malicious app is being distributed. It's possible that, like with previous ZitMo versions, attackers are using social engineering to trick victims into downloading it, Maslennikov said.
The Zeus computer Trojan has the ability to inject pop-ups into online banking websites when they are opened on infected computers. This functionality has been used in the past to distribute ZitMo apps as security updates from the targeted banks.
In a similar way, the Android Security Suite Premium might be advertised as a free Android security product offered by the victim's bank.
As security researchers recommended in the past, users should only install Android apps from the official Google Play website and should always look at an app's reviews and download statistics to determine if it's trustworthy.


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WWF Encourages Positive Climate Action with Mutant Fishmen
The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) is sharing tips and tools for minimizing your negative impact on the environment. See them at Reduce.WWF.be. (Helps if you're Belgian.)
To add cautionary appeal to the deal, WWF is promoting the site with guerrilla appearances of its fishman. Think of him as the mutant status quo for a less hospitable toxic Earth. The effort was put together by Germaine of Antwerp.
What's with non-profits and fishpeople? Why don't we ever get threatened with the conception of mutant minotaurs or X-Men? Is it not possible that our toxic future may yield supercharged heroes and creatures of fairy-tale lore in addition to radioactive six-eyed frogs and deranged (but unfairly oppressed) gill-faced rednecks?
Topic: Cause, Good, Guerilla, Online, Video


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Sad Kyle XY news. Though the show has been a big success for ABC Family for most of its run, the network has decided to cut Kyle XY short after three seasons and 43 episodes. Understandably the TV show's many fans are very upset about the cancellation and are hoping that the series can continue in some way.
Though it's very rare that fan campaigns can change a network executive's mind, it can happen. Recently, the executive producer of Friday Night Lights said he believes the show has survived in large part because NBC has recognized the passion of its audience. If nothing else, Kyle XY fans are certainly passionate. We've created this page to keep track of the ways that viewers can show support for Kyle XY.
Watch Kyle XY on ABC Family
Essentially, the most important thing to a network is for as many as possible 18-49 viewers. The more that watch, the more money the network can charge for their advertising. Watch every episode on TV — live, if possible — and encourage others to do the same. Perhaps one of them is secretly a Nielson family!
Write the network
Express your passion for the show but be respectful and polite. Everyone responds best to courtesy. E-mails are nice but personal snail-mail is even better. Some fans are sending packages of Sour Patch Kids while others are sending postcards with "Viz Allati" (from season two) written on them.
|Mr. Paul Lee
ABC Family
500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521
|Ms. Kate Juergens
Executive VP, Original Series
Programming & Development
ABC Family
500 S. Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521
Sign a petition
Helpful hints: Use your real name rather than a screen name or "anonymous." Explaining why you love the show is much better than "I support this petition." Sign a petition only once. Spamming isn't helpful.
• Our Kyle XY Petition
• Petition Spot
Become active with a group
Get in touch with other fans and become involved with their efforts. Here are just a few that are out there. Search your favorite social network to find more.
• ABC Family's Kyle XY Facebook group
• Save the Tub MySpace group
Sites & Forums
Here are a places populated with fans that are dedicated to saving the show.
• ABC Family's Kyle XY forum
• KyleXY.net
• MDallas.net
• SaveKyleXY.com
• SaveTheTub.com
Post a button
If you have a blog or website, you can use this button to let people know you want Kyle XY to continue. To use it, right click on the image and save it to your hard drive. Upload it to your site or blog and then link it to the petition, this page, or another Kyle resource.
Support videos
Consider posting a video about why the show should be saved. Some viewers may not read news online but many do watch YouTube videos. Here are a couple compilations of videos that we found.
Are you doing something unique to try to save Kyle XY? Let us know by posting below!
Kyle XY image courtesy ABC Family.


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About Lucy and Bart:
LucyandBart is a collaboration between Lucy McRae and Bart Hess described as an instinctual stalking of fashion, architecture, performance and the body. They share a fascination with genetic manipulation and beauty expression. Unconsciously their work touches upon these themes, however it is not their intention to communicate this. They work in a primitive and limitless way creating future human shapes, blindly discovering low ' tech prosthetic ways for human enhancement.


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Major American companies are changing their strategies when it comes to global warming. We hear about the political consequences of Exxon Mobil and others now being willing to pay tax on carbon emissions, amid growing concern about the urgency of preparing for climate change. Also, Nelson Mandela's life is honored in a Soweto stadium, and GM chooses the first woman to lead an American auto-maker.
Banner image: Exhibition game at Nationals Park, Washington, DC. Photo: afagen


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I learned a lot about how keeping up with lifestyle habits can add extra years to your life. I have made sure that I know have more hours to sleep. It feels great! I even get up before my alarm clock because I feel like I have gained so much sleep.
When it comes to making healthy choices, we all have a pretty good idea of what we should be doing. Of course, that doesn't mean we always do it. Maybe you're OK, and if you're still young (or just really lucky), you might not perceive your health to be an immediate threat. But here's the thing — making good choices for the sake of your health is one of the best investments you can make, especially for budget-conscious people. After all, many of the health moves that have the biggest impact are cheap — or even free. And the payoff — avoiding the grim reaper for years, or even decades — is about as good as it gets.
Want to live longer? Here are seven cheap ways to do it. (See also: 25 Healthy Changes You Can Make Today)
If you look at the research around the importance of sleep, the excuses we make for not getting enough just don't add up. Getting by on less sleep might allow you to catch up on some work or get more done around the house, but several studies link getting enough high-quality sleep with how long your live. A 2007 study on sleep and mortality by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London Medical School found that sleeping less than six hours per night increased the risk of death by 12%. The study followed adults over the age of 60 for up to 25 years. Those who slept less were more likely to die of all causes. That's because getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night helps to reduce inflammation in the body, helps us deal with stress, and increases the strength of our immune system, thus protecting us against a host of chronic diseases. Plus, a good night's sleep improves memory and productivity. It's also interesting to note that the study found a higher risk of death among those who regularly slept more than nine hours per night. So sleep well, but wake when the alarm goes off!
How to do it on the cheap: Cut the excuses and get to bed! Not only will you get more done when you're awake — you might also have seven more years to work with!
A healthy diet is one of the most important factors in how long we live and how well we feel. For example, people who live in Okinawa, Japan, have an average life expectancy of 81 years — longer than anyone else in the world — compared to 78 years in the U.S. Scientists think the reason can be attributed mostly to these Pacific Islanders' high-quality diet, which is extremely high in vegetables and legumes, and low in meat, starches, and sugar.
How to do it on the cheap: Eating healthy isn't always easy, but it is inexpensive. And when I say healthy, I don't mean packaged and processed foods from the health-food section of the grocery store — that's a trap that can bust a budget without putting a dent in improving your health. Instead, look for in-season, unprocessed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, protein and milk, and learn to cook for yourself.
Recent research suggests that we spend too much time sitting and often no time exercising at all. But when it comes to your health, getting regular, vigorous exercise is one of the most potent ways to boost your health — and longevity. A 2005 study by Erasmus M.C. University Medical Center in Rotterdam found that middle-aged and elderly people who worked out vigorously each day — the equivalent of running for 30 minutes per day five days a week — lived up to four years longer than those who didn't exercise, mostly because they managed to avoid cardiac disease.
How to do it on the cheap: Going the gym can be expensive, but you don't need a fancy fitness center to enjoy the benefits of exercise. Walking, running, and playing other outdoor sports cost next to nothing — and the payoff is huge!
Have you ever noticed how the president often goes gray during his time in office? That's because being president is a tough job, and nothing speeds up the aging process like ongoing stress. Life will always include stress, but when that pressure is severe and prolonged, it can take up to eight years off your life span. That's according to a 2007 study conducted at Ohio State University of children and spouses caring for family members with Alzheimer's disease. The chronic stress of providing full-time care affected the participants on a chronic and molecular level, which was found to shorten their lives by between four and eight years.
How to do it on the cheap: If life is stressful for you, evaluate what you can do to reduce the pressure. This might include striking a better work/life balance and fitting in activities such as exercise and meditation (both of which can be done for free!) to help keep you on a more even keel. And chill out already. Nothing's so bad it's worth dying over.
Being obese is very hard on your body. In 2009, researchers at Oxford University found that moderate obesity, which is now common, can cut your life expectancy by about three years, while severe obesity will slash a whopping 10 years off your life.
How to do it on the cheap: Diet and exercise are an important part of the equation here, but unlike putting on a few extra pounds, most experts agree that obesity is a serious health problem that may require professional help. That can be expensive, but the payoff is huge — and you're also likely to save a lot of money on health insurance. A 2012 study out of Lehigh University found that obese men racked up $1,152 more per year in medical spending than those who were not obese, while obese women spent an additional $3,613 per year.
Yes, you read that right; research shows that smoking can take up to 25 years off your lifespan. Plus, a long-term smoker can spend thousands of dollars on cigarettes over a lifetime.
How to do it on the cheap: If you can quit cold turkey, all the power to you. If you need a little help, you'll easily recoup whatever it costs in savings once you no longer need to get your fix. (If you smoke, you can calculate just how much it's costing you here.) Saving money and saving your life. Sounds like a no-brainer.
If all the other items on this list seem like work, here's one fun, free activity that could add years to your life. According to a longitudinal study by Duke University, how often people had sex was a major predictor of longevity, especially in men. Sex boosts antibodies, reduces stress, and if you work really hard at it, can even boost fitness. It's also a great way for you and your partner to maintain a strong relationship, which, as luck would have it, is another important factor in longevity!
How to do it on the cheap: Just, you know, do it.
No one wants to meet their maker sooner than they have to, but rather than being duped into fancy wrinkle creams or vitamin supplements, why not try some of these simple changes to your lifestyle? Some of them won't cost you a thing, but the payoff is about as good as it gets.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I learned a lot about how keeping up with lifestyle habits can add extra years to your life. I have made sure that I know have more hours to sleep. It feels great! I even get up before my alarm clock because I feel like I have gained so much sleep.
Tara, I agree with you that we need to sleep more hours (between 8-10 hours a day) in order to live longer. Having poor sleeping habits will reduce our immune system and antibodies, meaning we are prone to illness if we develop bad sleeping routine.
In addition to that, if we are susceptible to diseases, significantly we will spend more money for medical bills and our productivity will be reduced as well.
Its known that being inactive and overweight kills just as many people a year in the United States as smoking cigarettes. That's pretty scary, but your health should be top priority if you want to be able to live a long life. Great post!
Loved the article and it's all so true. Sleep deprivation, smoking, stress etc can really cut our years. I mean so many people who are just 40 get strokes and die, it's insane. Years ago I'd hear this from people who were at least 60-70, now we have people in their thirties who die. No money or career is worth risking our lives for.
Sleep is underrated, but so valuable. I know I feel so much better and more equipped to make smart decisions about health when I'm well rested. Sleep can help you live a full lifespan, have a higher quality of life than without getting enough, and can help you make money as you'll be rested, alert, and energetic.
Great read!! I definitely want to live a long life. Most of the habits in your article I just started doing so at least I know that I am on the right track.


text:
See videohive templates featuring this track:
Item Description
Motivational Corporate Piano is a positive and anthemic instrumental track driven by piano and strings. This track has an optimistic and motivating mood and creates a sense of success, accomplishment, and victory. You can get your audience easily motivated using this track as a background music. Ideally, it can be used in commercials, infomercials, advertisements, and motivational corporate presentations.
Download folder includes:
Motivational Corporate Piano.mp3 (2:19) Motivational Corporate Piano.wav (2:19)


text:
Story highlights
NEW: Militia leader accuses the U.S. of violating international maritime law by seizing tanker
Libya says it asked for U.S. help, thanks Washington for sending in SEALs
The Libyan government and rebels jockey over oil revenues
Rebels sailed with the tanker from the port of As-Sidra last week
U.S. Navy SEALs have taken control of a commercial tanker that had been seized by three armed Libyans this month.
In response to the U.S. operation, a leader of the armed federalist group that seized oil ports in east Libya last year released a statement on Monday.
In that statement, Ibrahim Jadran said the tanker was legally hired – not hijacked – and accused the United States of violating international maritime law by seizing and boarding the vessel.
No one was hurt in the Sunday night operation, the Pentagon said.
The tanker, Morning Glory, is carrying oil owned by Libya's National Oil Company.
The ship was returning to Libya, according to a written statement from the interim prime minister, which said Tripoli asked for help from countries in the area.
The statement thanked the United States and Cyprus.
Another leader of the rebel group said this was not a setback.
"We consider this to be a victory because the world will be discussing our cause at the (U.N.) Security Council now," said Abd-Rabbo al-Barassi.
The Morning Glory sailed last week from the rebel-held port of As-Sidra in eastern Libya
Libyan forces fired on the vessel but were called off by the U.S. Navy, fearing an environmental disaster. The SEALs boarded the ship in international waters southeast of Cyprus, the Pentagon said.
The situation remains unsettled in the North African nation, which the government is struggling to control more than two years after the ouster of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
In this case, the issue centers around the oil-rich eastern part of the country and, in particular, Jadran. The militia leader was entrusted by the government to safeguard crucial oil ports. But in July, Jadran and his men seized them, blocking oil exports, and demanded more autonomy and shared revenues for his eastern region.
He said he acted because the government is corrupt.
The conflict over oil wealth is stoking fears that Libya may slide deeper into chaos as the fragile government fails to rein in the armed brigades that helped oust Gadhafi in 2011 but now do as they please.
Libya, rebels argue over who controls oil tanker – and Libya's oil
Ousted PM left Libya on way to 'another European country'
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.


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Frustrated parents interrupted school district officials Sunday evening in a sometimes tense discussion of the emotional well-being of students in Palo Alto.
As school officials described a myriad of efforts to promote a sense of "connectedness" for students on Palo Alto's 17 campuses, some parents expressed impatience, saying progress has been too slow.
Sunday's gathering, titled "Stand Up For Our Youth," was organized by 11 local religious congregations and by Peninsula Interfaith Action, a coalition of 30 congregations. It was held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palo Alto.
At the invitation of the religious groups, school officials described efforts by principals to meet the district's top "focus goal" for this school year: improving "student connectedness."
A committee of parents from St. Mark's had urged the district to focus strongly on "connectedness" following a series of student suicides in 2009 and early 2010.
School district Student Services Coordinator Amy Drolette said all secondary school teachers and staff members will complete suicide-prevention training by the end of February, and described explicit social-emotional health curricula in place on all 12 elementary campuses.
But as Drolette presented a lengthy list of district efforts toward social-emotional health, she was interrupted twice, by parents who suggested the activities fall short.
"All your words -- I'm sure they mean something to somebody, but they don't mean much to us as parents of kids who are struggling," said one parent of three Palo Alto students.
The mother described her children as "lost and confused and they don't think anyone cares."
Superintendent Kevin Skelly pleaded with parents to "be gentle."
"These are hard goals," Skelly said.
"I understand people's frustration around these issues, but we're all in this together. It's not easy for us either, as a district, to have these things happen in our lives, so let's be gentle with each other."
In a town of high-achieving parents, "it's natural for us to measure ourselves against those folks who are close to us," Skelly said.
"One of the challenges we have as a community is to have students think about themselves in absolute terms -- in terms not measured against other kids, where they realize they have value that comes from being a member of a family, a member of a faith community, a sense of gratitude."
Skelly analogized the school district to a fisherman who uses a variety of hooks to attract different students. "We have lots of hooks and we go fishing for kids," he said.
Palo Alto High School junior Lucas Brooks said high school is particularly difficult for the "in-between students, who eat lunch by themselves and go home early -- these are the ones who fall through the cracks.
"We have to change that. We have to reach out to them," Brooks said.
Al Brooks, also a junior at Paly, described "a lot of academic pressure ... with a lot of attention to Ivy League schools," making many students feel like they don't belong.
"Teach us to value ourselves outside of academics and outside the high-achieving vision of the Palo Alto community," Brooks said.
Miranda Chatfield, a 2008 Gunn High School graduate, recalled her frenzied high-school life of sleep-deprived "competition" to get into a top college.
"I believe most kids at Gunn thought that way," Chatfield said. "But when I got (to college), it didn't make sense....
"Now I realize you don't have to excel at everything because I don't think that's humanly possible. You can achieve without pushing yourself to the breaking point."
Chatfield said she is taking this year off after two years at Cornell University.
Pressed by parents on how he plans to measure the district's progress toward "student connectedness," Skelly said he wasn't sure.
"It's an elusive target," he said. "We've asked students, 'Do you feel connected on campus?' but I'm not sure that's a full enough measure.
"It's a great result to have more kids connected -- but if your kid is not connected it doesn't matter that 97 percent or 98 percent are, if your kid is not."
Skelly said principals have considerable autonomy to craft "connectedness" programs to meet the needs of their individual schools, adding he is loath to "mandate" specific approaches.
School board President Melissa Baten Caswell said the district's priority on student social-emotional health is a "long-term commitment.
"What's different this year? We have a dedicated person, we've put money against it and we've put people's time against it.
"From the board's perspective, this is very important and we'll continue to put resources against it. It's also important to figure out what to do about kids who aren't connected -- how do we find them, and how do we do something? That is something every school is working on."
Sunday's meeting drew more than 150 people, including several parents of students who have died by suicide and at least four members of the Palo Alto City Council.


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Let's go back in time to the 1950s when TV was the latest technology and food was simple and delicious. Meatloaf, fried chicken, pot roast — you can't go wrong!
Over at 50s Prime Time Cafe in Disney's Hollywood Studios, get ready for a fun, interactive meal in Mom's kitchen. That's right — the whole place is decorated like a kitchen straight out of the 1950s, including accessories, decorations, calendars, and even those old black-and-white TVs!
But make sure you eat all your veggies and keep your elbows off the table… you never know when Mom's watching!
When you walk into 50s Prime Time Cafe, you'll find yourself right in between Dad's Living Room and Mom's Kitchen. Dad's Living Room is the waiting area for the restaurant, while Mom's Kitchen is the main dining room. Here's a tip: When you check in, ask for a TV table. While they can't guarantee it, cross your fingers — you'll see why later!
Hopefully you'll have a bit of time to explore Dad's Living Room while you wait for your table. Everything in the room(s), from the wallpaper to the knick knacks to the furniture, is vintage and fabulous.
To your right, and directly ahead of you, is the Tune-In Lounge. This is where Dad's liquor cabinet can be found, and the bar also serves meals should you not be able to get a reservation at the restaurant.
Pretty soon, your name will be called for seating. This is one of my favorite parts of the meal as the servers call out your last name along with the word "kids" after it as though they're calling you to come in from dinner after a long afternoon of playing outside: "Mom's got dinner ready for the Wolfe kids! Wolfe kids — time for dinner!" I'm easily amused.
Anyway, as you pass by the refrigerator and head into the main dining room, see if any other "kids" have left mom a message!
Keep your eyes wide open in the dining room as there's so much to take in! 50s Prime Time Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in Disney World for this reason — the themeing is absolutely outstanding. I can only imagine how many thrift shops and garage sales were turned upside-down in the hunt for many of these classic items. How many of these do you remember from your kitchen when you were a kid?
And remember when I said to ask for a TV table? Here's why! What better way to eat your lunch or dinner than while watching some of the best TV ever made?!?
Dick van Dyke, Donna Reed, Topper, Car 54 Where Are You?, Dennis the Menace, The Mickey Mouse Club, I Married Joan…sigh. There are even little "public service announcements" for the teenagers giving them great tips on 1950's dating! Where else in Disney World are you going to get that?!
But don't spend too much time staring! It's time to meet your server, who just happens to be your cousin, Aunt, or Uncle! Because you're eating in Mom's kitchen, it made sense to Disney to have a family member serve you. Of course, the server isn't your real family member, but it's fun to play along. If you ask, they might even have a family album to show you!
Now, if you're headed to 50s Prime Time Cafe for the first time, here's a an important bit of information to understand: the servers are instructed to banter with the guests and treat them as though they're kids eating at Mom's kitchen table. That means no elbows on the table, no chewing with your mouth open, and no skimping on those veggies! If your caught, several things could potentially happen:
- You could find yourself standing in the corner
- You could be made to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" in front of the whole restaurant
- You could find your server making airplane noises, armed with a fork full of green beans headed for your mouth
Here's an example of what you might expect:
I'm sure they've thought up a few other punishments, but just be wary! (By the way, if you're not interested in the antics, just let your server know at the beginning that you'd rather just watch the fun rather than be a part of it.)
The menu here is short and simple. Mom and Dad's favorites are here — meatloaf, fried chicken, pot roast, and chicken pot pie are the staples — along with a few extras to spice it up.
My favorite appetizer, sadly, was dropped off of the menu a couple of years ago (a fried boursin cheese — delicious), so these days I stick with the onion rings. These are thick and greasy — just they way they should be. Also, the chicken noodle soup is some of the best in Disney World here; definitely worth a try if you've got a soup fan at the table.
On this recent trip, I added a margarita to the appetizer mix along with a PB&J milkshake, a guest favorite at 50s Prime Time Cafe. The margarita was pretty plain. If you're going to order from Dad's Liquor Cabinet, consider trying one of the mixed drinks on the menu.
The PB&J shake was great, but there wasn't much J to it. I tasted a lot of vanilla and a lot of PB, though, so if you're a peanut butter lover, this shake is for you! I'm pretty addicted to the chocolate malt shakes at 50s Prime Time Cafe, though, so I think I'll stick with that next time.
Now, didja catch that viewfinder sitting next to the shake? That's the dessert menu at 50s Prime Time Cafe! Just another great addition to the fun themeing at the restaurant, and another reason why I love this place so much.
After the apps, we launched into our favorite entrees here: Aunt Liz's Fried Chicken and Mom's Old-Fashioned Pot Roast. The fried chicken is wonderful here. While it probably won't be a great substitute for your Mom's or grandma's recipe, it's still quite good, and I've never heard anyone say differently. The mashed potatoes here are "so-so." They won't be winning any DFB Choice Awards anytime soon, but they're edible 😉 The generous portion is served with southern greens, but I always ask for green beans instead for fear I'll end up in the corner if I don't finish my greens!
The pot roast here doesn't quite match up to the version at Liberty Tree Tavern, but it still garners a thumbs up and is well worth the order.
Moving on to dessert, I was very excited to try a new Boston Cream Pie cupcake I'd been hearing about. But, alas, it had been taken off the menu just a few weeks prior to our visit. It had been replaced with a 50s Boston Cream Parfait — layers of vanilla cream (really more of a custard), chocolate fudge, and pound cake. Let's just say this wasn't an appealing substitute for the cupcake from what I'd heard. While I took a few bites of the parfait, I didn't get much further than that. Instead, I battled my husband for his dessert, which was much better.
The seasonal cobbler was apple, and whenever there's an apple cobbler out there we order it! This one didn't pass my numero uno apple cobbler test (the apples were canned and not fresh), but the cobbler/granola was good, and the ice cream was plentiful and delicious.
All in all the desserts were pretty much a dud this time around (definitely should have gone for that chocolate malt shake and Dad's Brownie Sundae or the S'mores). We'll know better next time. From previous trips, I can highly recommend Dad's Brownie Sundae.
I'm a sucker for 50s Prime Time Cafe. I think the themeing is phenomenal, the service is great, and I love the fun interaction between servers and guests. The food isn't 5-star, but I just love that fried chicken, and as long as it's there, I'll be one happy guest. 😉
Do you have a favorite meal or a fun story from 50s Prime Time Cafe? Are you planning to visit soon? Let us know in the comments section below!


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A new asset class was delivered to the NFL in 2012, as a crop of young, cheap, and extremely talented quarterbacks emerged to be the most valuable set of rookies in league history. With the new NFL CBA inducting rookies into the league at a fraction of their former price, teams like the Colts and Seahawks were not only able to get Pro Bowl production under center at a fraction of the market rate, they were able to use the millions of dollars they saved to go splurge on veteran talent during free agency.
And ever since the Gang of Four began to emerge, I've had people hounding me with one question: Where are they going to fall on the Trade Value Chart? Hell, I've been wondering about it myself for the better part of nine months now. Could it take as few as seven regular-season starts for a player like Colin Kaepernick to become the most valuable commodity in all of football?
So, of course, we had to bring the NFL Trade Value rankings back for a second season. "We," of course, again being a two-man crew. Just as we ran it last year, I'll be joined in this space by the man who spawned the NBA Trade Value rankings years ago, Grantland grand pooh-bah Bill Simmons, who will be offering up a running commentary in the footnotes. Simmons took it pretty easy on me last year, but that was before the Patriots' depth chart at receiver made Simmons don the Celtics Press Conference face.1 This year, the standard is tougher and the stakes are higher.
I would say last year's trade value rankings, one year later, get a B-. (You can see those rankings here and here. Simmons and I stumbled onto some right moves and had a few good ideas, but there were a few too many missteps to be grade-A work. I'll just put this one Simmons comment down as the guide to our report card:
Also, Barnwell will rue the day that Aaron Hernandez wasn't included on this list. My Top-Three Come-Back-to-Haunt-Barnwell's-List-This-Season Predictions: Hernandez, Matt Kalil, and … (wait for it) … Russell Wilson.2
In all fairness, that could very well be construed as my boss looking out for my personal safety while living in Boston. And, of course, you'll be seeing more of Mr. Wilson later on. But since this is the second edition of these rankings, we now get to go through my favorite part of the NBA Trade Value rankings: the sad list of players booted out of the top 50.
Victor Cruz (49th on the list last year) hooked up with Hov and got a new deal that takes him from the bargain basement up to that club from the "Can I Get a … " video … Rob Gronkowski (31st) is going to try to spike a ball in October and have his arm just fall off …3 Mike Wallace (24th) attracted such little interest from the Steelers that nearly the entire league realized something was probably rotten; fortunately, Jeff Ireland was actually sneezing into a hundred-dollar bill when everybody was sniffing around Wallace … Michael Vick (17th) would still be on the list if this were the trolling Michael Vick's old coaches rankings … and Philip Rivers (15th) has lost nearly two full yards per attempt over the past two years, which is weird, because checkdown machines don't normally cost $17 million.
Larry Fitzgerald, Rivers, and Brandon Flowers each came close to making this list again, but the rest of those guys were a ways away from the top 50.4 These next players, though, were the ones who came up just short of cracking the charts. Starting with the easier cuts and working our way down to the toughest …
Anthony Castonzo, Lavonte David, Russell Okung, Trent Richardson, and Jabaal Sheard are the five young guys I can't put on this list but who I am simultaneously worried will make me look bad for not doing so. Richardson is this year's guy in fantasy football who is either going to be taken 10 picks too early or 10 picks too late in every draft, and nobody has any idea which side it will be.5
Andy Dalton is one of nine quarterbacks since the merger to start a playoff game during each of his first two seasons in the NFL. That's cool, because it's a list that includes John Elway, Joe Flacco, Dan Marino, and Ben Roethlisberger. On the other hand, the other guys on that list are Pat Haden, Bernie Kosar, Shaun King, and Mark Sanchez. Which side of the list do you think Andy Dalton fits in with?6
Roddy White has averaged a 94-1,296-8 line since the offseason training light went on for him before the 2007 season, and somehow he's the third-most notable receiver in his own offense. It was a little suspicious that the Falcons didn't offer White a new contract this offseason, since he has only two years left on his six-year deal, and the Falcons could have taken some of his $9.125 million cap hit and pushed it into the future, but he'll continue to be productive and probably have a Derrick Mason–like run in his thirties.
Matt Schaub got a big contract extension before the season, so the Texans are basically all-in with him and Gary Kubiak for the next three years. Schaub's numbers are fine, but has anybody ever stood across the field from the Texans and been terrified of Matt Schaub stepping onto the field? Will anyone ever be scared?7
Cameron Wake received a glowing write-up in the All-22 series, and he's a great pass rusher, but that time in the CFL means that he's already 31. He also has the beginnings of a Saberhagen odd/even year thing going on, and this is the bad year in that cycle. Can we just call that a Saberhagen from now on? And does a Saberhagen sound vaguely dirty to anybody else?8
Jason Witten caught 110 passes last year. No, really. The only players who have more catches than Witten since 2007 are Wes Welker, Brandon Marshall, Reggie Wayne, and Roddy White. He has fumbled five times in 10 years. He can block. And at the position where everybody gets hurt, Witten has only missed one game in his 10-year career. Not only is he a Hall of Famer, he might even be able to retire today and make it to the Hall of Fame. Nobody realizes this, so his trade value isn't as high as it should be.
Alfred Morris plays with Robert Griffin in the zone read behind a zone-blocking offensive line, so even though he ran for 1,613 yards and cost the Redskins just over $400,000 last season, he's not about to help the Redskins reverse the emotional ledger of the Clinton Portis–for–Champ Bailey trade. On the bright side, he made a lot of money for anybody who bet that there wouldn't be a professional athlete with the name "Alfred" in the 21st century who didn't go by "Al" instead.9
Matt Kalil and Andrew Whitworth are both very good left tackles who narrowly miss out on this list solely by virtue of there being a lot of young, talented left tackles in the league right now, with a handful more who just showed up in this year's offensive line–heavy draft.
Chris Long is the best defensive lineman in football that nobody ever seems to think about, but he's on a massive second contract by virtue of his status as a top-five pick before the old CBA. His partner at end, Robert Quinn, had 10.5 sacks last year and just turned 23 in May. I have the feeling one of them is going to have a monster season this year, but I also have no idea which one it will be.
Muhammad Wilkerson is a versatile, occasionally dominant 3-4 defensive end for the Jets who is currently a very poor man's J.J. Watt. When I sent my list around to a number of close NFL observers inside and outside the league, Wilkerson was the guy whom more people told me to add than anybody else. That means he was destined to end up just short of the list and have a monster 2013. I'm doing this for you, Muhammad.10
Doug Martin ran for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns behind an offensive line that lost one Pro Bowl guard before the season (Davin Joseph) and the other (Carl Nicks) after seven games. Martin gets both those guards back this year. He fumbled only once on 368 touches, was often Josh Freeman's best underneath receiver, and had a cap hit of merely $1.2 million. He's not in the top 50 because there isn't a market for running backs in 2013, but guess who is …
Group I: Top 25 or Bust
50. Josh Freeman, QB, Tampa Bay
It's Jaaaaash! I simultaneously don't know how Josh Freeman can be on this list and how I could keep him off this list, which is a bad sign with 49 players to go. I can make a pretty strong case for him. It seems like he's been around forever, but Freeman turned only 25 in January; he's actually two months younger than Colin Kaepernick. He's had one genuinely great season, the 2010 campaign, when he averaged 7.3 yards per attempt and threw more than four touchdowns for every interception. He was having a second great season in 2012, and then, over the last five games of the year, this happened:
Without warning, Freeman stopped making big plays downfield and started throwing ducks. He threw four picks against the Saints in Week 15, and followed up with four more interceptions against the Rams a week later.
That latter game is the key to unlocking the Freeman puzzle. He was sacked five times, the only time all season he was sacked more than twice. Ron Jaworski noted in his quarterback rankings that Freeman was terrible under pressure; only Mark Sanchez was worse, and he's a quarterback only in the same sense that Gustavo Fring was a fried-chicken magnate. Remember what I said earlier about Martin getting two Pro Bowl guards back in the lineup? Freeman gets those guys back, too. And when you consider that his wideouts are a pair of downfield threats (Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams), Freeman needs as much time as possible for those guys to get downfield and make plays.
I'm inclined to think the offensive line or some sort of hidden injury were most of Freeman's problem, but then again, the organization basically sold Freeman out this offseason. Greg Schiano actually suggested that Mike Glennon would compete with Freeman for the starting job, and GM Mark Dominik didn't even begin negotiations on a long-term deal with Freeman's agents. That's damning in and of itself. In any case, Freeman won't be in this spot again next year. He'll either be up in the mid-twenties after a big season or nowhere near the list at all, having failed to live up to the lofty promises of 2010.11
Group II: A New England
49. Nate Solder, LT, New England
Solder moved over from the right side to protect Tom Brady's blind side last year and didn't miss a beat. He took only three penalties for a total of 20 yards all season, allowed 3.5 sacks (per STATS), and was a capable one-on-one pass protector against just about anyone he came across. Not bad for less than $2 million, and he's got two more years at a total of right around $5 million to come. Solder also allowed the Patriots to push Sebastian Vollmer to right tackle, where he's a Pro Bowl–caliber player. If the Patriots really do move toward a more conventional run-based offense this year, Solder's going to be an even bigger part of the picture for the Patriots.12
48. Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina
I've been hard on Marty Hurney in the past, but the now-deposed Carolina general manager was very wise to go Best Available Player and take Kuechly with the ninth pick in the 2012 draft. The Boston College product became the heart and soul of the Carolina defense as a rookie, especially after he was moved from the weak side to middle linebacker. He also entered the draft at 21, so having turned 22 in April, he's 13 months younger than the top linebacker from this year's draft, Dion Jordan. He plays like Ray Lewis, so I think he should go all-out and steal Ray Lewis's introduction and dance and deer-antler spray gimmick and see where it takes him.
Group III: The Able Veterans
47. Brian Orakpo, LB, Washington
Missed nearly the entire season after tearing his pectoral muscle in Week 2. Beginning to wonder whether there's going to be any more production out of Orakpo than what we've seen so far; he looked like a stud pass rusher when he racked up 11 sacks during his rookie campaign, but he has now amassed a total of just 18.5 sacks over the ensuing three seasons. This is the last year of his rookie deal, so if you believe in contract years, Orakpo should be about ready to have one.13
46. Joe Staley, LT, San Francisco
Staley was a very good right tackle who was eventually pushed over to the left side out of sheer desperation, but he's become one of the best left tackles in the league while working in lockstep with the NFL's best starting five. The 49ers also absorbed the vast majority of the cap hit on his contract back when they were terrible, so his deal is a joy to behold: Staley will make $2.8 million this year, $3.4 million next year, and just over $6 million per year over the final three seasons of the deal. Now the 49ers just need to mind-trick him into not forcing a renegotiation.
45. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit
Some guys peak during their rookie season. Ndamukong Suh may very well be one of those guys, because he was unblockable for most of 2010. He's become a symbol of the "dirty" Lions for stomping on Evan Dietrich-Smith in 2011 and kicking Matt Schaub in the groin last ye … actually, can we stop and watch that kick again?
I don't know whether that was intentional. I'm also pretty sure that tackling a defensive player is illegal, though, and I'm 100 percent positive that Suh is being dragged down by a Texans offensive lineman on that play. (The hold went uncalled.) Point being: Suh's really good. He does everything you would want a defensive tackle to do. When the Lions are winning, people will describe the extracurricular stuff as "nasty." When they're losing, people will call it "dirty." Whatever it is, it's not as dirty as what Warren Sapp did to Chad Clifton, and Warren Sapp gets to say stuff like "Simeon [Rice] was a better rusher than Michael Strahan any day of the week" and get paid for it! So, let's chill on Ndamukong Suh.14
44. Eric Weddle, S, San Diego
A few years ago, it seemed like Eric Weddle was going to be perennially underappreciated in the AFC, with a host of Hall of Fame–caliber safeties standing in his way. Now, Bob Sanders is retired, Ed Reed has slipped dramatically, and Troy Polamalu can't stay healthy. That leaves Weddle as the best safety in the conference, and while he can't match those guys at their peaks, he's a versatile safety who does everything well. Weddle is exactly the sort of player who would be revered nationally if he played for the Patriots, but doesn't attract a peep of attention because his team has spent the last three years battling home blackouts and Norv Turner.15
43. Haloti Ngata, DT, Baltimore
Networks mercifully moved on from the "Did you know Haloti Ngata played rugby?" packages during Ravens games last year, so Ngata went back to actually being a little underrated again. The Ravens really missed him in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, but the knee injury he suffered on Frank Gore's touchdown run shouldn't bother him next year. Oh, and by the way, he's another guy noted analyst Warren Sapp doesn't like!
42. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas
Tony Romo is the NFL's walking contradiction. He's almost universally regarded as a quarterback who can't handle the big moments and the pressure-packed situations, and yet Romo led the league with five fourth-quarter comebacks last season. He had a sixth comeback from 14 points down with five minutes left to force overtime in New Orleans, and a seventh comeback against the Ravens in Baltimore fell short when Dan Bailey missed a would-be game-winning field goal. Over the past five seasons, when the game has been within one score in the fourth quarter, the only guys with a higher passer rating are Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Drew Brees. Dude gets after it when the game's on the line, I promise you, but his reputation is awful enough in those situations that even "Stone Cold" Steve Austin doesn't think Tony Romo has what it takes there. (In all fairness, Austin was 5-2 at WrestleMania, so he might be qualified to evaluate Romo's clutch performance.)
Romo's never going to change: He's an incredible improviser capable of making both brilliant plays and absolutely abysmal decisions on the fly.16 The team around him will have to get better if the Cowboys are going to make a push toward a Super Bowl. And as the massive contract Romo just leveraged his way into begins to take hold, it will be harder for the Cowboys to acquire the sorts of surrounding talent they need to satisfy their fans' thirst for a title.
Group IV: The Promise of Stardom
41. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay
At this point, Cobb is a Percy Harvin starter kit without the vast majority of the injury issues that have slowed Harvin's career. Harvin just got a six-year deal that guaranteed him $14.5 million, with $11 million more coming if he's on the Seahawks roster in 2014. Cobb has two years and a total of about $1.9 million left on his deal. He's also about to turn 23 in August, so he's only about seven months older than Tavon Austin, the top-selected wideout in this year's draft. Keep in mind that Cobb had 80 catches without even serving as a full-time wideout last season; he caught a pass once for every 7.9 offensive snaps he saw last year, which was the third-highest rate in the league. The guy who caught passes most frequently on a per-snap basis? Percy Harvin.
40. Mike Iupati, G, San Francisco
The bulldozing guard at the heart of San Francisco's dominant running game, Iupati is the best young interior offensive lineman in football. He's also the prototypical Niner: a massively strong, hyperathletic ass-kicker with above-average technique. He's also making right around $2.75 million per year for the next two years. The left side of the San Francisco line, with Iupati alongside the aforementioned Staley, could be the best side of any line in football for the next several seasons. Also, he's got a great name for a mauling guard, right?
39. Tyron Smith, LT, Dallas
Dallas has been pretty lucky with left tackles the past few decades: Outside of spare years by the likes of George Hegamin and Doug Free, they've lined up Mark Tuinei, Flozell Adams, and now Tyron Smith, who seems ready to fill the position for the next 10 years. After allowing 9.5 sacks at right tackle during his rookie season, Smith moved to the more demanding left side and allowed just three takedowns of Tony Romo during a Pro Bowl–caliber season. Like Cobb, he also entered the league at 20, so the players from his birth year are just joining the league; Smith is less than one month younger than first overall pick Eric Fisher.17
38. NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco
It's close to impossible to get a true read on Bowman's level of ability because he's surrounded by Pro Bowlers on all sides. He plays alongside Patrick Willis, who is almost universally regarded as the best middle linebacker in football, and Willis made both Takeo Spikes and Aubrayo Franklin look great before they left town and failed to impress elsewhere. Bowman sure looks great, though, and he's doing something that nobody expected: taking snaps away from Willis. There were times last year when Bowman, not Willis, lined up in five– and six–defensive back sets, and Bowman actually played 17 more defensive snaps than Willis during the regular season. I still think Willis is the better player, and Bowman does genuinely benefit from the players around him, but I'm of the opinion that he's a significant asset in his own right.
37. Joe Haden, CB, Cleveland
Cleveland, not Oakland, is the black hole. There are a few great players there, but unless you're an absolute football junkie, you don't see them or hear about them.18 Joe Haden could change his name to Chris Gaines, grow a soul patch, and perform an adult alternative pop album at halftime every week and we wouldn't hear about it for a month. When he's not suspended, Haden is as close to a shutdown corner as there is in football, although he was more consistent in 2011 than he was in 2012. He's also just 24 and has two years left on an old-CBA rookie deal that pays him a manageable $7 million or so per year.
36. Ryan Clady, LT, Denver
35. Trent Williams, LT, Washington
Pick one. Clady's been the better player at each of their respective peaks, but he just got a brand-new contract that pays him something close to full market value, is two years older, and is one of the many NFL players to suffer a serious injury playing basketball, having torn his patellar tendon before the 2010 campaign. He didn't return to his previous level of form until Peyton Manning showed up, and it was fair of Grantland colleague Robert Mays to wonder whether Clady's resurgence had something to do with the quick release and flawless footwork of Manning. Williams isn't as refined of a pass blocker, but he excelled as a downfield run- and screen-blocker last year in a Washington offense that requires a ton of energy. I'd want him over the next five years as opposed to Clady.19
Group V: This Isn't It?
34. Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay
You can see a superstar inside Clay Matthews's numbers, but you have to play around a bit with the timing. Look at him on a season-by-season basis and you see the steady churn of a very good if not dominant pass rusher: He had 10 sacks as a rookie, then 13.5, an off-year with six, and 13 last season. Start finessing the numbers a bit, though, and you can locate a truly great player. Add his excellent work in the playoffs, where he has 7.5 sacks in eight games (and spent most of Green Bay's Super Bowl win as a decoy and spy on Ben Roethlisberger). Ignore his slow start as a pro, when he wasn't playing full-time. If you don't start at the beginning of a given season, you can find a stretch of 16 consecutive games in which Matthews recorded 18.5 sacks, and a 14-game stretch dating back to the beginning of last season in which he recorded 16 sacks. He's an excellent player with some nagging injury issues, and I still don't think we've seen his best full season of football.
33. Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago
Josh Freeman has about $25 million in guaranteed money riding on his success this season, which is maybe more than anybody else in football. Jay Cutler is just behind him. I wrote last year that we should stop waiting for Jay Cutler to change into some drastically different quarterback, but if Jay Cutler ever was going to change and take a sustained step forward, this would be the year. He'll have the best offensive line he's seen since his days in Denver, with first-round pick Kyle Long slotting in at guard and free-agent tackle Jermon Bushrod finally pushing overwhelmed left tackle J'Marcus Webb to the right side. He'll have a tight end who can actually catch, Martellus Bennett. And he'll finally have a head coach who has experience working with quarterbacks, former Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman. In the final year of his contract, Cutler has the best cast around him that he's had during his time in Chicago.
The difference between Freeman and Cutler is, the latter has a much higher ceiling.20 If Cutler has a disappointing season and the Bears don't re-sign him, he'll still attract plenty of attention in free agency and get $15 million or so in guaranteed money. If Freeman has a disappointing season, he's more likely to get a Kevin Kolb sort of contract with a few million dollars guaranteed. At 30, this might also be Cutler's last chance to get a megabucks long-term deal, so he has everything to play for in 2013.
Group VI: NFC East Crossroads
32. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas
31. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants
Sometimes we get overly caught up in career sequencing and make too much out of what a player did last year. These two guys are a perfect example of that issue because they're eerily similar. Both Bryant and JPP are 24-year-old first-round picks from the 2010 NFL draft who play in the NFC East. They each exhibited flashes of brilliance in situational roles during their respective rookie seasons. They've each had one disappointing year as a full-time starter and one dominant season that seemed to deliver on all the promise they exhibited coming out of college. The difference is that JPP's breakout season came during his second year in the league, and Bryant's phenomenal campaign was last year, during his third season. Because Bryant's career path was more conventional, though, I get the feeling that folks are expecting a lot more out of Bryant than they are from JPP. That seems too robotic. Players are subject to so many whims, and the sample size of the NFL season is so small, that we only get a small window into what they are and what they can do each year. Pierre-Paul hasn't stagnated and Bryant hasn't broken out; they're just two really talented players who did a better job of exhibiting their brilliance at different points in their careers.21


text:
President Donald Trump's pick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid advised Vice President Mike Pence on health care issues while he was Indiana's governor, a post she maintained amid a web of business arrangements — including one that ethics experts say conflicted with her public duties.
A review by The Associated Press found Seema Verma and her small Indianapolis-based firm made millions through consulting agreements with at least nine states while also working under contract for Hewlett Packard. The company holds a financial stake in the health care policies Verma's consulting work helped shape in Indiana and elsewhere.
Her firm, SVC Inc., collected more than $6.6 million in consulting fees from the state of Indiana since 2011, records show. At the same time, records indicate she also received more than $1 million through a contract with Hewlett, the nation's largest operator of state Medicaid claims processing systems.
Last year, her firm collected an additional $316,000 for work done for the state of Kentucky as a subcontractor for HP Enterprises, according to documents obtained by AP through public records requests.
In financial disclosures posted this week, Verma reported she has an agreement to sell SVC Inc. to Health Management Associates of Lansing, Michigan, within 90 days of her confirmation.
In a statement, a spokesman for Verma said there was no conflict of interest and added that she has the support of former officials who served with her under Pence.
Her firm was "completely transparent in regards to its relationship with HP and that there was never a conflict of interest," spokesman Marcus Barlow said in a statement.
A spokesman for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.
Verma faces a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday. Democrats in Washington are aware of many of her consulting arrangements, and have broader concerns about her philosophy about government entitlement programs, lack of background in Medicare and inexperience leading a large organization.
As a trusted adviser to Pence, she had an office in the state government center and took on duties usually reserved for state administrators. Verma was also widely respected for her grasp on policy and designed a federal Medicaid waiver that allowed Pence to undertake his own conservative expansion of the program while still accepting money made available through the Affordable Care Act.
Verma did not specifically address how she would handle decisions related to HP in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services that was released this week. The letter outlined her plan for managing potential conflicts of interest should she be confirmed by the Senate to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Her relationship with HP was first reported by the Indianapolis Star in 2014.
Legal and ethics experts contacted by AP say Verma's work for Hewlett, and offshoot HP Enterprises, raised questions about where her loyalties lay — to the company, or to state taxpayers.
Richard Painter, former President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer, called Verma's arrangement a "conflict of interest" that "clearly should not happen and is definitely improper."
Such arrangements are typically prohibited for rank-and-file state employees under Indiana's ethics rules and laws, but they're murkier when it comes to consulting work. Contractors have often replaced state employees in a GOP bid to drive down the number of public employees, distinctions between the two can be hard to discern.
"She was cloaked with so much responsibility and so much authority, people thought she was a state employee," said Debra Minot, a former head of Indiana's Family and Social Services Agency under Pence who worked with Verma.
Indiana University law professor David Orentlicher compared Verma's dual employment to an attorney who represents both the plaintiff and the defense in a lawsuit. It's also similar to federal contract negotiator with a side job for a company they regularly negotiate with, he said.
"If you have one person on both sides of the negotiating, they can't negotiate hard for both sides," said Orentlicher, a former Indiana Democratic state lawmaker.
There was at least one instance where Verma crossed the line in Indiana when she was dispatched by HP to help smooth over a billing dispute, said Minot.
"It was never clear to me until that moment that she, in essence, was representing both the agency and one of our very key contractors," said Minot, who was removed as head of the agency by Pence over her disagreements with Verma. "It was just shocking to me that she could play both sides."
State contracts show Verma's duties to Indiana and Hewlett have overlapped at times. One agreement she held with the state's social services agency required her to "provide technical assistance" to state contractors, as well as the governor's office. Another duty was "contract development and negotiation" with vendors, which included HP and HP Enterprises
Verma reported her salary with SVC is $480,000 and her business income from the company as nearly $2.2 million.


text:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government declared Thursday that food from cloned animals is safe to eat and does not require special labeling.
After more than five years of study, the Food and Drug Administration concluded that cloned livestock is "virtually indistinguishable" from conventional livestock. No identification is needed to judge their safety for the food supply, FDA said.
FDA believes "that meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as the food we eat every day," said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.
Food from the offspring of cloned animals is equally safe, Sundlof said.
Critics of cloning say the verdict is still out on the safety of food from cloned animals.
"Consumers are going to be having a product that has potential safety issues and has a whole load of ethical issues tied to it, without any labeling," said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.
Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the FDA is ignoring research that shows cloning results in more deaths and deformed animals than other reproductive technologies.
The consumer federation will ask food companies and supermarkets to refuse to sell food from clones, she said.
"Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods," Foreman said.
However, FDA scientists said that by the time clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they were virtually indistinguishable from conventionally bred animals.
Labels should only be used if the health characteristics of a food are significantly altered by how it is produced, said Barb Glenn of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
"The bottom line is, we don't want to misinform consumers with some sort of implied message of difference," Glenn said. "There is no difference. These foods are as safe as foods from animals that are raised conventionally."
Final approval of cloned animals for food is months away; the FDA will accept comments from the public after issuing a draft risk assessment on Thursday.
Those in favor of the technology say it would be used primarily for breeding and not for steak or pork tenderloin.
Cloning lets farmers and ranchers make copies of exceptional animals, such as pigs that fatten rapidly or cows that are superior milk producers.
"It's not a genetically engineered animal; no genes have been changed or moved or deleted," Glenn said. "It's simply a genetic twin that we can then use for future matings to improve the overall health and well-being of the herd."
Thus, consumers would mostly get food from their offspring and not the clones themselves, Glenn said.
Still, some clones would eventually end up in the food supply. As with conventional livestock, a cloned bull or cow that outlived its usefulness would probably wind up at a hamburger plant, and a cloned dairy cow would be milked during her breeding years.
That is unlikely to happen soon, because FDA officials have asked farmers and cloning companies since 2001 to voluntarily keep clones and their offspring out of the food supply. The informal ban would remain in place for several months while FDA accepts comments from the public.
Approval of cloned livestock has taken five years because of pressure from big food companies nervous that consumers might reject milk and meat from cloned animals.
To produce a clone, the nucleus of a donor egg is removed and replaced with the DNA of a cow, pig or other animal. A tiny electric shock coaxes the egg to grow into a copy of the original animal. Cloning companies say it's just another reproductive technology, such as artificial insemination, yet there can be differences between the two because of chance and environmental influences.
Some surveys have shown people to be uncomfortable with food from cloned animals; 64 percent said they were uncomfortable in a September poll by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, a nonpartisan research group.


text:
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[page 16, column 1:]
THIS superb edition of Poe's writings is a monument of American scholarship erected to the most distinct of American geniuses. Mr. Stedman avoids the superlative, and deprecates it in Poe's work; but it is quite safe to venture our phrase, "most distinct," in this connection. For, leaving out of the reckoning what our own critics have had to say pro and con, and accepting only the highest of foreign authorities, we find that of all American writers Poe has made the deepest and in all probability the most lasting impression upon the world's imagination.
It is futile to find fault with the gods for permitting the irrevocable outcome, which has always been a bitter thing to New England. It is not Lowell, not Whittier, not Longfellow, nor yet Bryant, and alas! not even Emerson, whose name is burned indelibly into the record-plate at the head of our list of poets. The world may be wrong, but its decision is probably final. Poe is the solitary fixed star in our firmament.
Criticism is one thing, and very interesting; but human nature is quite another thing, and more interesting. What Poe actually accomplished in poetry has been unsatisfactory to the academic mind; to human nature it has been immensely and persistently fascinating. Today in all of our schools we find Sidney Lanier's poetry more kindly received than Poe's, while at first reading the "Raven," or "Ulalume," or the "Haunted Palace," will strike the fresh, natural imagination with a force only equaled by that of Swinburne's, or Villon's finest passages, or the most subtly characteristic bits of Theocritus or Sappho. In a word, Poe is a well-head; there is no source behind him.
If we take measure by the long past, some dimensions become practically permanent, and we may safely make out the future by what in mathematics is called superposition. Twenty-five hundred years hence, what if but a few fragments of Poe's best verse shall be extant? Imagine the haunting effect they will have upon the reader, an effect as powerful as any fragment of Sappho could produce. Is there a single passagein Longfellow, or Emerson, or Whittier, or Bryant that could be depended upon for the like? No. But this does not mean more than that Poe was an original genius, beginning in himself and ending in himself.
Scholars have exhausted research trying to discover a source behind Theocritus; they have rummaged in vain for Sappho's ancestors in song, for Villon's robbed victim; they may as well give up the hunt in Poe's case at once and forever. His reed was from the Aulocrene, he was an absolute poet — Μοισãν καπυρòν στóυα — and small as his output was, and however unconvincing to the cold, judicial heads of professional critics, his effect upon the world is the best measure of his power, however little it may have to do with settling his status as a mere literary craftsman.
But Poe was a remarkable literary craftsman. So great appeared the cunning of his diction and mechanical composition that critics overlooked the greater subtlety of his inner art. Americans especially have taken some pains to be ashamed of what they call "mere tinkle" in Poe's verse; but then it was a leader of American letters who the other day seriously announced that admiration of the great ancient poets is all pretense, a conventional fiction. True poetry is mere tinkle to the dull ear of him who cares only for physical facts and mathematical demonstrations. Poe struck at the imagination; his instrument was unique, his method strange. In the best sense of the word he was an incomparable poet. With whom shall we class him?
Standing alone and unclassifiable is not of itself an election to the highest honor; but if it is a true poet who so stands the distinction is undeniable. Sappho, Theocritus, Villon and Poe have this distinction. Each is a genus of one species, and each is the original, each is incomparable and final. There never can be another idyl of the true Theocritean type, no more can there ever be another poem in the "Raven's" key. Men and women may strain at the lyre of Sappho and the riddle of Villon; but not a true note will they evoke. Here is the line, the thrice-drawn circle of which Coleridge dreamed in his "Kubla Khan," isolating those supremely gifted ones who have
"fed on honey-dew,
And drunk the milk of Paradise."
No other American poet is thus lonely and unapproachable. Many fledgelings may sing acceptably every day in the manner of Bryant, Longfellow, Whittier or Emerson; but let one attempt a strain of Poe's weird music; we stop our ears; the thing is impossible. Once [column 2:] for all the master made the only and the exhaustive wonder out of himself.
We do not have to say that Poe was the greatest of American poets, nor that he wrote the greatest American poetry. Comparison is here especially odious because impossible. The larger truth is that Poe as a poet was not American. It would be hard to find a word in his verse indicating the slightest American trait or sympathy. In the way that Burns was a Scotchman, Villon a Frenchman and Theocritus a Syracusan, what was Poe to the United States? In this regard he is the most distinct poet of whom we have knowledge. Not even Job stands so completely to himself. His poetry is a cry from the land of Poe, which is an "ultimate dim Thule" lying somewhere "out of space, out of time." Its appeal is supreme once to each imaginative reader; frequent perusal dissipates its subtile [[subtle]] charm.
We have already, in an earlier review, expressed our appreciation of Mr. Stedman's introduction and Mr. Woodberry's memoir in the first volume of this edition. We have now to speak more particularly of what Mr. Stedman's criticism has done for the work as a whole, and of Mr. Woodberry's admirable editing. Nothing but praise is due to such scholarship; sympathy and conscientious, patient labor as is manifest throughout; and we need only to sketch briefly what appear to us the chief features distinguishing this from all other editions of Poe's works.
The editors, it is clear, have worked together in perfect accord, each doing the part most acceptable to him. Great care has been taken to perfect the text of both prose and verse, to which end every discoverable source of enlightenment has been put to the best use. The tales, the essays, the criticism and the poems have been divided and grouped with a view to presenting them so as to avoid as far as possible the appearance of a scrappy and hap-hazard arrangement. The effect is satisfying to good taste.
The first five volumes contain the tales, which are classified and set together in accordance with natural association. Volumes vi, vii and viii hold the criticisms properly grouped. Volume ix contains "Eureka" and "Maelzel's Chess-Player," with other miscellanies. Volume x holds the poems with notes, variorum text, a history of the portraits of Poe, an excellent bibliography, and an index to all the volumes. We scarcely see how the editing could be bettered in any essential particular; and as for the work of the publishers, it is all that could be reasonably wished for, even by those who demand luxury. Ten different portraits of Poe are given, also one of his mother and one of his wife, besides which there are numerous illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner, most of them in fine sympathy with the spirit of their text.
Mr. Stedman's introductions are three in number. The first is to the tales, the second to the criticisms, and the third to the poems. Each is a model. Mr. Woodberry's memoir presents the facts of Poe's sad life with merciless frankness and yet with dignity and scholarly care. We think that he has erred on the harsher side of truth; that is, he has presented the truth with its harshest construction. A poet like Poe is not to be treated with the same severity we apply to a Paul Verlaine or a Baudelaire; for Poe's writings were as pure as purest ice. There is a difference between a man like Shelley and one like Poe. An artist's creations are the best, the deepest test of his nature. When we do not know all of the facts of a man's life — and how seldom we know even half of them — it is dangerous to make what facts we do know overbear the evidence of his works. But Poe's life was low and must always remain shrouded in mystery. He was a drunkard who had his intervals of steady and manly sobriety, or a sober man who at times could not resist the thirst for intoxicants; take your choice; but as a voice in the garden of song, he was clean and crystal-clear, as an influence in letters he was mainly good. If he was didactic at all, his teaching was neither the disgusting sensualism of Byron nor the refined licentiousness of Shelley; it was a plea for beauty pure and simple. As a memoir Mr. Woodberry's work is valuable for the conscientious pains with which its materials have been gathered, selected and arranged.
The student of American literature will find this edition the only one to give him open doors to the study of Poe's complete works. Mr. Woodberry's notes and variorum text are all that could be wished for. Here we are led into the literary workshop of a genius and are permitted to examine his litter of chips and shavings. We get glimpses of how he wrought; how his conceptions widened, and how his taste made its way to the best mode of expression. Some of his poems are thus shown in the rough block, so to speak, and growing under his hand to that perfection of form and to that splendor of burnishment which dazzled the world's imagination.
Poe had little of the diplomat's gift of saying one thing and meaning another. He said harsh things, was indeed a bit of a blackguard. At bottom, nevertheless, he was a true critic scorning to make friends by the demagog's equivocal phrasing. You never find him looking toward London or Paris for his critical cue. He was atrociously personal and abusive at times; but he never abused an American in order to win English approbation. With all his unequal flow of temper he was rarely wrong when "at last" his judgment [column 3:] crystallized. Here is a passage from "Marginalia" worthy to be framed in gold and hung in every place where books are read; it is headed "Realism":
"The defenders of this pitiable stuff uphold it on the ground of its truthfulness. Taking the thesis into question, this truthfulness is the one overwhelming defect. An original idea that — to laud the accuracy with which the stone is hurled that knocks us in the head. A little less accuracy might have left us more brains. And here are the critics absolutely commending the truthfulness with which only the disagreeable is conveyed."
The italics in the above paragraph are our own. Did Poe foresee Zola, and Ibsen, and Tolstol, and Hardy, and Meredith? We are just now at the full tide of a criticism which commends only the truth that is disagreeable, only the art that depicts dishonor as the one thing worth depicting. Poe, even at his drunkest, was above the highest plane of Walt Whitman in both style and substance. He was impolite, as Mr. Stedman points out; he was sometimes inexcusably vulgar; but he was never filthy. He was never low enough to praise the accuracy with which a poet, a painter or a novelist bombarded the sanctity of marriage, or to excuse the subtlety with which a so-called realist poisoned, in the name of truth, the deepest fountains of character.
The careful student will be apt to make note of this singular masculine purity manifested in Poe's criticisms, even at their coarsest. However lewd the man may have been, there is no pandering to lewdness in his writings. Doubtless Poe was physiologically a degenerate; but the degeneracy never reached his understanding of the function of art. His artistic vision was not broad, but it was absolute: he saw that true beauty was the end of art, and that its sole function was wholesome spiritual delectation.
In taking leave of this splendid recension, which reflects so much credit upon American scholarship as well as upon the art of publishing in America, we commend it without reserve to all who would have the best. The ten Poe portraits are of themselves a crowning feature. Mr. Stedman's essays reach a high level of judicial value, and are couched in classical terms. Mr. Woodberry's labors show scrupulous painstaking to speak by the record and to present only what is worth presenting. In a word, no American author has ever been so well edited and so beautifully published.
[The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 16, column 3:]
* THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLEN [[ALLAN]] POE; NEWLY COLLECTED AND EDITED, WITH A MEMOIR, CRITICAL INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES. By EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN and GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY. The Illustrations by ALBERT EDWARD STERNER. Chicago: Stone & Kimball. Ten Volumes. $1 for the volume.
[S:1 - IND, 1896] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - A Poe Bookshelf - A New Edition of Poe's Works (M. Thompson, 1896)