text:
While foraging though a local record shop's bargain bin recently, I ran across two Billboard compilation CDs from about a generation ago: 1989, to be exact. The first volume of Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits was hardly comprehensive. Covering the years 1935 to 1954, it comprised a mere 10 songs, nine of them instantly recognizable to anyone who's ever spent a December in America: Eartha sings "Santa Baby,"Bing sings "White Christmas." (The 10th, "Christmas Island," seems to have fallen out of favor, even though Bob Dylan covered it on his 2009 puzzler Christmas in the Heart.)
The second volume had the same number of songs — including, in ascending order of heinousness, "The Chipmunk Song," "Nuttin' for Christmas," and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" — but from a survey period almost twice as long, 1955 to the "present" of 1989. Ten songs for 35 years. Nine, actually, because vol. 2 includes a different version of "White Christmas."
If Billboard made a similar compilation of popular Christmas songs written after 1989, what would be on it?
Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and that's all. It's at No. 1 on Billboard's Holiday Digital Songs chart this week. At this writing, it's also at No. 1 on the Holiday page of the iTunes Store. But if that irresistible candy cane of a love song, co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, were a candy, uh, man, he'd be old enough to vote now. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" came out in 1994. It is, if anything, more ubiquitous now than it was then. At this time last year, a delightful video of Carey performing the song for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon while Fallon and the Roots and four moppets played and sang along on toy instruments renewed its cachet. When Michael Bublé and CeeLo Green elect to cover the same tune, it can safely be called a standard.
But what else? There hasn't been another original holiday single in the 19 years since "All I Want for Christmas Is You" that's had anything close to that song's commercial or cultural impact. Despite the gigabytes of Christmas music released each year — big stars making their first charge into the yule breach this year include Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, and, alarmingly, the cast of Duck Dynasty — they are, overwhelmingly, reiterating yuletide warhorses. It's up to you whether you'd rather hear Clarkson or the Robertsons of Duck Dynasty do "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but both options are available.
What gives? Where are the new Christmas standards?
The release of holiday-themed material may no longer be de rigueur in artists' recording contracts, but it isn't as though big pop names have stopped writing Christmas songs. It seems we've just stopped embracing them. Lady Gaga released "Christmas Tree," which she wrote with Martin Kierszenbaum and Space Cowboy, in 2008. It's wretched, but at least it wasn't another cover of "Santa Baby." Coldplay's "Christmas Lights," from 2010, is terrible, too, but you'd expect them just to do "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," right?
Gaga and Coldplay are two of the biggest acts of the 21st century. Do you remember either of those songs? Or Brad Paisley's "364 Days to Go" from 2006? Or Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" from only two years ago? Or the New Pornographers' "Joseph, Who Understood?," from 2007, which spares a thought for a guy who might not have found the Immaculate Conception quite so miraculous?
That New Pornographers song, at least, is terrific. But none of those had the cultural penetration of Christmas pop originals from the generation before: Paul McCartney's beloved and despised "Wonderful Christmastime" (1979) or Wham!'s feather-haired "Last Christmas" (1984) or Run-D.M.C.'s simply unfathomable "Christmas in Hollis" (1987). Love 'em or hate 'em, these songs get played year after year, and they all came from artists who were at or near the height of their fame when they released them, as Gaga and Coldplay and Paisley and Bieber were when they released theirs.
The yule canon, it seems, isn't just closed — it's a location-undisclosed black site that's locked down tighter than Santa's workshop. In 2006, when the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers released a list of the most-performed holiday songs in the U.S., the newest song to crack the top 10 was "Jingle Bell Rock," from 1957. The most recent song in the top 25 was "Do They Know It's Christmas?" an all-star charity single from 1984.
It makes sense, sort of, that during the nostalgia-drunk holiday season, people crave old songs. But nostalgia is a deeply strange and deceitful concept. We needn't have lived through the era of Polaroid or vinyl or Phil Spector's Wall of Sound to feel comforted by our modern simulations of these antiquated cultural totems. And nostalgia and Christmas, at least in its secular observance, are inextricably linked.
No wonder the best of this year's new Christmas records sound sort of old. Clarkson's Wrapped in Red marries the bounce of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" to the style of the classic A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector, first released the same day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Of "Wrapped in Red's" five originals, I'd say that at least the title track and "Underneath the Tree" have reasonable odds of remaining in the yuletide rotation five years from now. So does "One More Sleep," the original lead-off track from Leona Lewis' holiday offering, Christmas With Love. Lewis' album has fewer new songs than Clarkson's, but their sound is even more self-consciously Spector-y: Its second track is a "Winter Wonderland" that's almost indistinguishable from Darlene Love's version of 50 years earlier. Its cover art, too, is a throwback to the graphic design of the Mad Men era.
Nick Lowe's Quality Street — which shares this year's "A Christmas album by who?" category with Kool & the Gang's brand-new-though-you'd-never-guess-it Kool for the Holidays — contributes four worthy new songs to the holiday missal: My favorite, "A Dollar Short of Happy," which Lowe co-wrote with Ry Cooder, is in the honorable tradition of forlorn yule standards like Charles Brown's "Please Come Home for Christmas." But they're all too subtle to stand a chance of breaking through. You might hear one of them in a Starbucks, but broad cultural buy-in ain't gonna happen.
It never happens anymore even though plenty of great artists have released great Christmas songs since Mariah first donned her Santa furs. The 10 Christmas EPs Sufjan Stevens has released (in the form of two boxed sets) since 2006 comprise more than 100 songs, dozens of them original compositions. On the whole, they're tremendous, by turns giddy and somber, insolent and reverent, capturing the whole range of complex emotions the holiday season engenders. Check out "Put the Lights on the Tree" or "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" ("Mr. Frosty Man" is in the middle of the pack, songwise, but its zombie-splatterin' claymation video is — like the Sufjan Christmas EPs as a whole — superb counterprogramming for when you've had a few sugar cookies too many.)
The Killers have released an original Christmas charity single every year since 2006, an admirable custom even if none of them have been as great as the first, "A Great Big Sled." It's a bell-ringing, hall-decking specimen of '80s U2-style bombast with a chorus that sounds ripe for the covering by other artists. I would've loved to hear Mary J. Blige belt out this song on her new collection, A Mary Christmas, instead of sticking to the overfished dozen she's recorded. (We're good on "The Little Drummer Boy," ladies and gentlemen, forever. Please just stop.) But "A Great Big Sled" has become a seasonal staple only to me, apparently.
It's a shame that A Mary Christmas, like an increasing number of holiday albums, doesn't bother to submit any new songs for our consideration. Since consumers can simply cherry-pick the songs they want, why make the effort? It's yet another way that the iTunes-YouTube era's commercial imperatives have altered the aesthetics of music making: Once upon a time, consumers had to purchase a full album to get the version of "Silent Night" they craved. So a handful of original Xmas tunes on a record helped new songwriters earn some royalties, even if it was often the requisite holiday standards driving the sale. And if one of those new songs hit? Ho-ho-ho, it could be Christmas every day for the rest of your life. Stephen Colbert underlined this point in 2008's "Another Christmas Song," which has a lyric about how writing a calculated yuletide staple will help fund his retirement and concludes with the soothing words, "Copyright Stephen Colbert."
Ironically, the soundtrack album from his special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, is composed, save for one cover, of all originals, and they're some of the best holiday songs of the 21st century. (He and Jon Stewart duet on "Can I Interest You in Hanukkah?") They're funny, of course — but the Colbert tunes are also surprisingly relistenable, as would-be standards must be. They're tart but absent the bitterness that makes most song parodies instantly wearying. "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In," written and performed by Colbert and Elvis Costello, isn't even all that much of a parody. In fact, it implores listeners to trade in their cynicism for sincerity.
That's actually the same sentiment expressed in "Love Is Everything," the better of the two original songs on a new holiday-themed EP from Ariana Grande, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter and actress. It's a not-bad attempt by Grande to join Mariah in the holiday hall of fame. As I write this, it's at No. 2 on Billboard's Holiday Digital Songs chart, right behind "All I Want for Christmas Is You." But on the iTunes chart, it's being beaten out by another Grande holiday track: A cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas."


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Our annual Bridal Guide is coming out next month, and we're looking for beautiful brides and handsome grooms to fill the pages.
Our annual Bridal Guide is coming out next month, and we're looking for beautiful brides and handsome grooms to fill the pages.
The annual booklet will be published Feb. 27, so make sure you look for it in your copy of the Middletown Transcript.
Here are a few things to look forward to in this year's guide:
How to pick the right dress for your body type – Ladies, no matter what dress you put on, you're bound to look gorgeous for your big day – but there may be a style out there that is the perfect fit for you. Depending on your frame, size, and height; there may be a certain cut that is more than right for you.Cake trends – What are the most popular desserts? Whether it's a traditional wedding cake or something that looks like it belongs on the cover of a magazine, we all have different tastes. But you'll want to make sure your sweet tooth is satisfied.Are you on a budget? Your wedding is an important day, and even if you have to be careful with what you spend, it should still be as memorable as possible. We'll explore different ways to plan your big day without completely cleaning out your wallet.What's hot, and what's not hot – A white gown is always in style, flowers are always a must-have, and the music will keep your guests going; but this is 2013. Check out some of the hottest styles and trends for weddings, and what may be a tad-bit out of date.Your pictures! We want your wedding pictures in our Bridal Guide! Share your big day with the community by sending them to firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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I recently ordered some Warp Feed hose from the AGD store to try some other setups, and I got the new thinner black hose, but I didn't get the O-rings that were supposed to friction fit them. Any chance I can get two of those sent to me, AGD?
I recently ordered some Warp Feed hose from the AGD store to try some other setups, and I got the new thinner black hose, but I didn't get the O-rings that were supposed to friction fit them. Any chance I can get two of those sent to me, AGD?
it comes with a one-piece mounting plate that allows you to mount the warp on the right or left side of the marker with plenty of angles to play with.how do you mount this on a gun? I've been thinking about getting one someday, but I want to know all the details. And will this make my gun really unbalanced?
DoubleDutch - PM me your address and I'll send ya some(OR you can take your hose with you to Home Depot and find some o'rings that fit)
www.havoc-online.com <--- Your AGD Lifeline
Products & Services
warp hose doesn't come w/ the o-rings,but dude just go to Home Depot and just pick some up from the plumbing section, cuz AGD isn't doing anything until after World Cup.
P.S. havoc is quite possibly the greatest guy on AO, well maybe second or third, there is tom and I
Forest Green Unmilled Viking #475
(black razor blade and black sticky3s)
black 14in Powerlyte Scepter Kit
Black Halo B
88/45 Centerflag Hyperflow Stub
What kinda of motor drives the warp? What's the model number and rating?
im gettin a minimag and I wanna get a warp for it which powerfeed should I get for it, left or right?
well classic that depends on a few things
if you are right handed you will want a hopper right powerfeed
and if you are a lefty then hopper left
its also preference
lol he likes me! he really really likes me!P.S. havoc is quite possibly the greatest guy on AO, well maybe second or third, there is tom and I
It's a carbon brush motor. I'm not sure on it's model number but my guess on it's rating is 18v @24,000RPM(no load).What kinda of motor drives the warp? What's the model number and rating?
k, thx!
Havoc wouldn't it be a 12v motor b/c you can't run 18v's into it,(2 9v batteries, thats y you need the 12vregulater)
just wondering
you need the 12v regulater for the board(which is actually rated for 18v but it's not stable) you can run 18v straight to the motor with no problems, but I'll tell you right now, your not going to sneak up on anyone with how loud the motor will spin.
You can bypass the board and run 18v right into the motor?
If you bypassed the board and ran 18v directly to the motor (activated by an Intelliframe - roller switch setup), how many balls would it spit out with each trigger pull?
Since each trigger pull is extremely brief in time, how many turns would the friction disc actually make with each pulse? Since the board is bypassed, I'm guessing the dwell time would be extremely short as well. Would it be enough to consistantly feed?
yes, you CAN bypass the board and go straight to the motor, BUT not with an Iframe hook-up(that needs to board to close the signal). It can only be done with a marker that sends a pulse(an Emarker) like the Emag.
If you ran the 16.8 volts from the Emag battery straight to the warp motor, you'd get something in the low-mid thirties. This is obviously overkill. No hopper can come close to keeping up with that so it's worthless, the 12v mod is perfect cause the HALO B can feed just under the 12v's abilities. Also, not having the warp board means that you will have to run your Emag in Emode all the time and not only will your battery drain twice as fast but once it's dead and you switch to manuel mode, you won't be able to load because you will have taken out your vib. control. (did I mention you'll be able to hear the warp spin from other cities? THAT' HOW LOUD IT IS! lol j/k)
Also, can you explain in detail "how-to" lube the warp wheel? Do I have to take the warp apart?
I personally use the same oil I use on my marker
cover my finger in oil
take the bottom hose-warp adaptor off
stick my finger in
use the handy white button to turn the disks
I repeat till both disks are nice and slippery all the way around
Drop test results...
Although these results are subjective by nature, I believe that after 5 samples of data, a good idea of what is happening becomes predictable and fairly consistant (i.e. you get the picture of which is faster than the other).
BTW, "FRESH" and "BRAND SPANKING NEW" batteries makes a BIG DIFFERENCE in performance!
But then again, you probably already knew that...
Last edited by Jack & Coke; 10-19-2002 at 01:40 AM.
like the chart Jack
How'd you time the test? If it was for more than a fraction of a second then the 12v warp will only feed as fast as the HALO because if your using good sized paint and lubed disks, the disks should slip past the balls(it's unnoticeable) while it's waiting for the HALO to catch up so it's only as fast as the HALO.
leaving batteries in the warp will drain something like 4volts a month(slower with a bigger cell) so yes fresh batteries are key
I just purchased a used Warp Feed. After I cleaned it and got it back together I hooked it up to my RT and was tunning it in when I noticed smoke coming from the board. I then really tried to remove as much paint as possible and tried it again. I still noticed the smoke. I then felt around and the top left... thingy ?(Q1) was realy hot. When the motor is running the... thingy ? cools off. I am using a 9V batterie.
Is the board on the edge of burning out or just Q1? Is this normal? Could I glue a small heat sink onto Q1?
I do not have a Iframe, what do I need to do, to hook up a micro switch to activat the Warp Feed?
Yes it is on the edge of burning out. It's not normal and no you can't use heatsinks.
paintballs in the warp?I then really tried to remove as much paint as possible and tried it again.
was smoke coming from Q1 itself or it's solder connections? does it look like there was any resoldering? Is the solder touching and closing a connection between two independent pins?
even if you did, you would still have this little problem of yours.I do not have a Iframe, what do I need to do, to hook up a micro switch to activat the Warp Feed?
All connections are looking good. I will be using the warp feed in a few days and then will look into grtting a new board.
The warp feed works fine on "sens" on my RT but I would still like to hook the warp feed up to a micro swith in the trigger frame.
I will be changing frames in the future, hopefully to a Iframe/Z-grip or one of the two.
When the previous owner had it, a paintball hit the warp feed where the button is and sprayed paint up inside. the smoke is comming from ither the remaining paint under Q1 or Q1 itself.
which way does the 90 degree adapter go on, I'm trying to set mine up to use on an angel tomarrow yet am cluless and can't get this to go. If somebody could post a pic or explain to me how I get the 90 adapter to work. Thanks
Good Traders
Shirow, that's pretty normal. I haven't noticed a big change in my friction discs, however I've been shooting pretty small paint as of late.
If they REALLY start to get bent outwards, to the point where they don't grip the paint anymore, just flip them inside out.
My Trading Feedback
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
-Edmond Burke
Yeah, it's not even bent outwards, just warped a little, flipping it wouldn't change them.
could you dye the shells with rit dye?? lmk.
i hook up the 12v mod to my warp and plugged in the regulator and batteries
all connections are good but the warp continues to spin and spin and spin then when i take the batteries off it stops
any ideas
what do you think
thanks will
This is known as the "run-in" period...
Please read the instructions that came with the warp. TK explains it there.
If you don't have the instructions, go here: http://www.airgun.com/downloads/WarpInstructions.pdf
Read the section titled "Run In"
Good luck!
if the board hasnt completely fried by now, you need to get all of the paint out of the board and see if that does the trick. If it does or has fried, the easiest thing to do would be to buy a new board.
as long as it's loading you should be fine.
yeap, same as you would a revy. Dont worry about the sensor, it wont ruin. Just make sure it's dry before trying to use it again.
on some warps, the 12v mod needs a capacitor(100uf) to get rid of the "noise" that gets through the regulator, that should do the trick.
where do i get it??
and how do i hook it up
any help would be good
should i let it run and see if works in
or not
any info would be great


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does anyone have a rough estimate of how many are actually around?
does anyone have a rough estimate of how many are actually around?
http://www.automags.org/forums/showt...RKM-3D-Designs"You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes." RU
i know of 2,
and now i have correia3's
I have one. I sold one to a guy in Texas iirc. I also had one that I sold to a guy in Canada.
and how many dont have cut feednecks?
One of the ones I sold had an uncut feedneck and basket. One had no basket and the feedneck was cut. One I still have has no bucket, but the feedneck is full length.
I sold one that was uncut. After years of searching for one it was one of the more stupid things Ive done. But at the time I needed cash more.
I forget now who bought it but he was gonna cut it. I remember someone who wanted a tall one traded him a cut one for it or something like that saving it. No idea where it went now.
I have one
I sold the one I found on Craigslist last year either here or on MCB. I got more into euro-RT's and lost interest in vert feed Minimags. The un-cut ones are very rare though. Took me a couple years to find one out of the blue. It was always said that there was originally 400 of the high-rise centerfeed Minimags made originally to be sold as the special Digger's Minimags. Don't know how accurate that is though. There's only a handful of guys who have them now though. Ando also has a few, he has everything rare.
I've got two, one's a complete Diggers Valve Minimag, the other has had a barrel wedged in it for years that won't come out, and a partially cut feedneck.
Is there something you guys actually like about these bodies, or is it just a novelty like most other things?
"Accuracy by aiming."
Definitely not on the A-Team.
I can understand wanting a center-feed mag.
I can understand wanting something that isn't a ULE or Sluggo based, for cost reasons.
But seeing as these are so rare, I don't think the cost point winds up working out.
Maybe someone has a sentimental CF TL barrel that they absolutely have to use.
Or it's just a novelty.
Anyways, seeing as these were a special, it's realistic to get an actual number for how many of these there are, because only one company made them. Someone on PBreview says they have #266, so you know there's probably at least 266 of them.
Not sure how anyone would know what number they have since I've never seen any sort of number anywhere on any of the ones I've had pass through my hands.
The reason they are desireable is because they are rare. Some people value rare things more than common ones. They are no better functionally than any other CF SS body. I happen to prefer CF bodies over L or R feed bodies. No real reason other than simple preference. There's nothing magical about them.
I've modified quite a few (removed the factory feedtube) over the years so that would affect "factory original" numbers.
me i try for the rare stuff, i like rare, and one off stuff. yeah and there isnt a serial on mine.
I thought that the serial number would have been on the valves, along with extra lasering or something.
But along the lines of the original question, there is probably a way to solidly put a bounds/upper limit on how many there possibly are.
As rarely as they come up I would have a hard time believing there were 2-400 of these made. That's a lot of bodies sitting in people's closets/collections.
The Automag was neck-in-neck for best tournament grade marker for a decade - it had far fewer private label versions than the competition (WGP Autococker) and thousands upon thousands were sold in that time and beyond. AO is a pretty small community, and the average regular user probably had 2-3 Automags (though plenty like me have a small fleet). 400 may sound like a lot of mags but still is a small run; the personal markers of our userbase is a drop in the bucket when it comes to how many markers AGD made over the years, and the Diggers were 15+ years ago. I'm amazed that AO can account for about a quarter of them.
[QUOTE=GoatBoy;2827817]Hrm. Since you have this on a newer RTP style rail... did you have to file down the pim to get it to fit? Or did the body already come with a round pim? Or is the pim hole on that rail enlarged?
I had to drill a hole in the rail to fit the barrel pin. I have a X valve in it now and it's my best looking marker.
**Diggers also sold just the body and barrel. "Chrome and Teflon bodies are also available seperately. Either body comes with a 12 inch J&J ceramic barrel.Price: $225.00"
My guess would be around 350....... Seriously
Interesting splash patterns. I had a centerfire valve once. Only one I've actually seen.
Hey fellas, so I purchased the black teflon model back in college and my apartment was broken into and those clowns took it! Several years later I was determined to get lucky, well I did and I was able to get my hands on a body, barrel and valve. Here is a pic of how I have it set up today, valve still has all four stars and is numbered 0162. Hope the pics come out. Attachment 87757Attachment 87758


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No cost to county, MoDOT
The cost to fix a higher than anticipated slope on the new County Road 5240 bridge being constructed over Beaver Creek south of Rolla will be at least $24,500.
The good news for Phelps County is that no county funds will be used to pay for the fix. Additionally, there will be no cost to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
County commissioners Tuesday approved a change order in the amount of $24,500 on the original contract with Brenneke Construction, LLC, the general contractor, bringing the new total cost of the project up from the original contract amount to $323,901.
The $24,500 includes the cost to cut the concrete cap off of the center pier of the bridge and remove and reset the girders.
Brenneke and the project engineer, Great River Associates, will share in the cost to remedy the higher than anticipated slope, which was caused when the contractor was building the center pier and used the engineer's plans, which had a discrepancy in the elevations and dimensions. The center pier was built about 1 foot higher than planned.
A letter from Great River Associates to Brenneke states that the engineer will pay the $24,500 and the contractor has agreed to cover all other costs, including labor, equipment and materials required to complete the fix.
The change order states that the contractor will have 21 working days to perform the work needed to cut the cap and remove and reset the bridge girders.
It was noted earlier this month that an inspector from both MoDOT and Great River Associates would be on the construction site every day and that the elevations would be checked once the beams are set aside.
Work on the bridge has been stopped since around Nov. 7, 2012.
After the 21 days, the contractor will then have 24 working days to finish the rest of the project.
The remedy, which has been approved by all parties involved, is expected to give the bridge the same life expectancy as the original project plan.


text:
This January, after the driest calendar year in California history, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency. He called on residents to reduce their water intake by 20 percent.
But downtown Los Angeles doesn't look like a city devastated by the state's worst drought in decades. The city is green with landscaping, and fountains are running. People still water their lawns, wash their cars and fill their pools.
Earlier this week, Brown announced that, compared to last year, water use this May actually went up in some parts of the state — including in coastal Southern California, the region including LA, where water use rose 8 percent. The state has responded by voting to fine water-wasters up to $500.
Mixed Messages, Partial Data
Molly Peterson, an environment correspondent at member station KPCC, says the situation is more complicated than it appears.
Take those fountains burbling in downtown LA. "This is recirculated water," Peterson explains.
Even at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, fountains are still operating — but they turn off at mid-morning, and haven't been running full-time since the spring.
"They're leaving the water in so it's not ugly, but they're minimizing the possibility that it's going to be evaporating," Peterson says.
And if some people don't feel a sense of urgency about the drought, there might be a reason for that. Peterson points out that since Gov. Brown announced the drought emergency, water agencies across the state have been emphasizing that they had enough water to last them through the year.
"In January, when the governor said, 'We're going to have a drought,' [the agencies] said, 'Oh, don't worry, we've got this covered, we've got water in our reserves,' " Peterson says.
The numbers on residential water use might also be misleading. "We only even have part of the data to tell us about the 8 percent going up," Peterson says, "because we only have voluntary responses."
This week, the state released new rules to address the drought, including for data collection.
"[The water agencies are] going to have to start coughing up their data about how much water they're actually getting through the tap every month," Peterson says.
Sending A Warning To Water Offenders
Residents, for their part, will have to limit their outdoor water use, only watering lawns two days per week and no longer washing down driveways or sidewalks.
Breaking the rules could carry a $500 fine. But Peterson says the city understands that not all water violations are intentional.
"Power goes out, and [people] start watering on the wrong day of the week, because their sprinkler system is automated and it's all messed up," she says. "Or their gardener does it, and they don't know what's going on."
So the city's approach relies more on the carrot than the stick, as quickly becomes apparent on a ride with LA's "water cop," Rick Silva.
Armed with a clipboard and a camera, Silva hits the streets. "We're gonna take a look for people that may be irrigating on the wrong day, runoff onto the street, or people washing down hardscapes," he explains.
Just a few minutes into his patrol, Silva spots his first violator: a man washing down a trash can.
His approach with the offender, Jesse Toranzo, is conversational: "You know, in the drought, you're not allowed to wash down stuff," Silva says.
Silva, whose official title is "water conservation response unit supervisor," doesn't issue a ticket this time. Most of Silva's stops don't end in tickets, actually. His approach is more about education than punishment: The city figures that once people know what to do, most will do it.
Silva says some people do get upset with him. "A lot of times it starts off that they're very defensive," he says. "Also, when we mail the letters on it, it has my phone number on there, and I get a lot of calls from people ready for a fight."
Silva says a big part of his work is letting people know that conservation is a group effort.
"We want people just to realize that it's a drought and that we're all in it together," he says. "We have to try to save water, and that's why we have these rules in effect."
And, he says, conserving water is necessary for LA's survival.
"We're not going to find any new [water] sources," he says. "We're pretty much tapped out for that. The only way we're going to meet our future needs is through water conservation."
Water Haves And Have-Nots
In another attempt to cut consumption, the Department of Water and Power has been paying cash to LA homeowners and businesses that rip out water-guzzling lawns and replace them with more eco-friendly options.
But the impact hasn't been huge. "They've replaced at least 5 million square feet of turf," KPCC's Peterson says. "That might sound like a lot, but that's a 10th of a percent of the potential irrigated land" located at single-family homes across Southern California.
And even if homeowners heed Rick Silva's warnings on water waste or take up the incentive to rip out their lawns, there's one important fact to note: Most of California's water is not used by cities.
More than three-quarters of the state's water is used by farms, according to research from the University of California, Los Angeles, although Peterson points out that the California Farm Water Coalition, which represents the state's agricultural industry, claims the number is closer to 37 percent.
Peterson says it's also important to remember that the consequences of the drought are hitting some residents much harder than others.
"California is a very, very diverse state economically, and so you have haves and have-nots," she says.
"Cities are generally haves," Peterson says. "Even though there are poor people within them, the cities keep the water on." "Have-nots, for water, are in El Dorado County," a rural area east of Sacramento: "They're taking bucket showers."
Rural residents tend to rely on wells, some of which have dried up. Friday, the federal government announced $9.7 million in emergency drought aid for those areas.
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR West. I'm Kelly McEvers.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 1: Tonight the drought. Governor Brown declared a drought emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: A drought emergency has prompted people to start ripping out their lawns and some people are getting paid.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 2: The fate of the state. California's drought crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 3: Is this the apocalypse?
MCEVERS: If you haven't heard, California is in the middle of a big drought. This week Governor Jerry Brown announced that even though he called on people to reduce their water use by 20 percent, water use actually went up in some places. Like here in coastal Southern California. Places where people still water their lawns, wash their cars and fill their pools.
MCEVERS: Driving here from our studios in Culver City to here, to downtown LA, the sense was you don't really feel like California's in the middle of a drought. Basically the city is like green with landscaping and there are fountains running, like the one we're standing in front of right here. And we're here with Molly Peterson, environment correspondent from member station KPCC. Molly explain to us why this is happening. Why are fountains like this one on?
MOLLY PETERSON, BYLINE: Yeah, I feel like I want to defend the city in a certain sense against the onslaught of national attention but this is recirculated water. And across the street, at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, there are fountains that go off midmorning. They've had them turned off from being full-time since spring because they're leaving the water in so it's not ugly. But they're minimizing the possibility that it's going to be evaporating. So, there's some level of concern about this.
MCEVERS: Why do some people here in the city still have the sense that there isn't a drought? What is it?
PETERSON: I mean, all the water agencies have emphasized ever since January, that we have enough water to keep going this year. So, in January when the governor said, we're going to have a drought, they also said, oh, don't worry we've got this covered. We've got water in our reserves.
MCEVERS: All right, fast-forward to this week and there's these new numbers that are released. In some certain places water use actually went up. In coastal Southern California here, it went up 8 percent.
PETERSON: Here it's more complicated because we only even have part of the data to tell us about the 8 percent going up, because we only have voluntary responses from all the big urban water agencies.
MCEVERS: OK, so then those numbers are a little bit misleading.
PETERSON: Yeah, possibly because San Diego is the community that has refused to give up a lot of its data and San Diego in particular has a high historic gallons per-person, per-day number. And they love their gardens and golf courses.
MCEVERS: You've been doing a lot of reporting on a program here in this region, that would actually pay people to rip up their lawns and turn their lawns into something else. First, how many people are actually doing that? And does it really make a difference?
PETERSON: They've replaced at least 5 million square feet of turf. That might sound like a lot but that's a 10th of a percent of the potential irrigated land in a single-family home by our estimate.
MCEVERS: Oh wow. So, it's not a whole lot.
PETERSON: No. So, the state made some rules this week about limiting outdoor urban water use. Only allow outdoor watering two days a week, prevent washing down anything, you know, driveways or sidewalks and then for the water agencies, they're going to have to start coughing up their data about how much water they're actually getting through the tap every month.
MCEVERS: That got us wondering, you know, how exactly these officials are going to enforce these rules. And so we asked our colleague, NPR's Sam Sanders, to go out with the one man in Los Angeles who's responsible for doing that.
RICK SILVA: My full name's Rick Silva and I'm a water conservation response unit supervisor with the Department of Water and Power of Los Angeles.
SAM SANDERS, BYLINE: Or a water cop. Rick Silva's Squad cars is a white Honda Civic. His tools are a clipart and a camera.
SILVA: We're going to take a look for people that might be irrigating on the wrong day, runoff onto the street or people washing down hardscapes.
SANDERS: Just a few minutes into his patrol Silva spots his first violator.
SILVA: Oh, someone's washing down a trashcan. We can stop him.
SANDERS: Silva's approach with Jesse Teranzo (Ph) is conversational.
SILVA: Hi. Ya, I'm with Water and Power. And we're - we're with water conservation. We're sponsoring it - 'cause you known in the drought you're not allowed to, you know, wash down stuff. What were you doing?
JESSE TERANZO: Washing the cans.
SILVA: The cans? On the outside?
SANDERS: No, ticket this time. Most of Silva's stops don't end in tickets actually. His approach - the city's approach is more about education than punishment. They figure once people know what to do, most will do it.
SILVA: Just so you know we are in a drought, so...
TERANZO: Yeah, I know that. That's why I'm - I just keep it up very quick and that's it.
SILVA: Yeah and you are using a shut off, so that is good, so it's not running continually.
SANDERS: Silva says some people do get upset with him.
SILVA: A lot of times it starts off that they're very defensive. And, you know, like, what am I doing? Also when we mail the letters out, it has my phone number on there and I get a lot of calls with people ready for a fight.
SANDERS: People can also report water violators to Silva over the phone and through email. Silva finds another house in violation. No one's home but Silva can still issue a warning. He notates a few things on his clipboard.
SILVA: The time I was here and the type of violation and the address. The violation is watering on the wrong day and I will also add a line on there concerning runoff.
SANDERS: And so you can tell that they've sprinkled, even though it's not sprinkling right now.
SILVA: Right, because the water's there and the grass is still wet.
SANDERS: He takes a picture for evidence. Silva says a big part of his work is letting people know that conservation is a group effort.
SILVA: We want people just to realize it's a drought and we're all in it together. And we have to try to, you know, save water and that's why we have these rules in effect.
SANDERS: And he says, conserving water is necessary for LA's survival.
SILVA: Water - we're not going to find any new sources, right? And we're pretty much tapped out for that and the only way we're going to meet our future needs is through water conservation.
SANDERS: Spreading that message is Rick Silva's job.
MCEVERS: That was NPR's Sam Sanders and now back to downtown LA and our conversation with Molly Peterson, the environment correspondent a member station KPCC. So, it sounds like the approach is more about carrots than sticks. That they're not really trying to harshly crack down on people. That right now it's about soft encouraged. Is that right? Does that work?
PETERSON: Yeah, they're still saying more carrots than stick. They point out that more people - power goes out and they start watering on the wrong day of the week because there sprinkler system is automated and it's all messed up. Or their gardener does it and they don't know what's going on.
MCEVERS: See, I think it's really important to say that most of California's water is not used by cities, right? I mean, what, three quarters to 80 percent of the states water is used by farms.
PETERSON: Well the farm - the California Farm water Coalition would dispute that number - 80 percent. They say farming isn't that big of a culprit. California is a very, very diverse state economically. And so you have, haves and have-nots. Have-nots for water are in El Dorado County and they're taking bucket showers and cities are generally haves. Even though there are poor people with in them, the cities keep the water on.
MCEVERS: That was Molly Peterson, environment correspondent at member station KPCC. That place she mentioned, El Dorado County, is a rural place East of Sacramento near the Nevada border. Officials say 80 percent of California is now in an extreme drought. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Well you can't have everything.
Really another non Informative Q & A. What is the purpose of these anymore? Don't we know all the "PC answers" we are gonna get?
The one that set me off was ....Quote:
Instead of Orko
If Prince Adam is released on his own card, instead of Orko as the accessory could we see Dree Elle or Yukkers with him
No. A Trollan is way to big to be an accessory on a basic figure.
Really!!!....I hope that was a joke. If not,what is the purpose? We are adults,How about talking to us as that or market to children!
As much as I love MOTU, I am just getting tired of the BS. Price increases (Which I do Understand),but how about some improvement on Customer service,Quality control Etc.... I could go on and on about the same stuff we have been complaining about for a few years now,but it doesn't seem like any of it is hitting the mark. If this line is truely for adults,how about making it possible for an adult to buy the figures they want,without having to commit tpe $700 or more bucks a year to do it? Just my opinion and like a doorknob most everybody has one.
Sorry if it offends,but it is how I feel. Also it is your hard earned money buying these figure,so you should care too!!
This sucks.Quote:
Since production numbers are going down to subscription numbers for next year, does this mean that items outside of the subscription will have fewer production numbers as well?
If yes, can subscription holders (since we're the one's keeping the line alive as you stated) have first picks of items ouside of the sub. (Ex: We can buy items days before actual sale)?
This would be a great incentive to join for 2013.
It is something we are actively working on but won't be a feature we'll have ready for Jan. Hopefully it is something we can execute later in 2012. Still working on this. But it is something we want to do.
I get that the subscribers are the "life blood" of the line now (though we were all "cherry pickers" at first and the sub would never have existsed if the line wasn't strong enough to live without it). I have no problem with subscribers getting a better price and items shipped early, in fact both of these seem very fair and should have been done earlier). I can even accept the exclusive figure being a major character like Shadow Weaver (I'll just have to suck it up and pay secondary market price for her).
But to say subscribers can now have "day of sale" earlier is just not fair and kinda defeats the point of "day of sale" especially if there's no limit and popular characters (like Horde Troopers) can sell out before their sale date! Subscribers have their products earlier and cheaper and guaranteed (without risking WSOD), give the rest of us a fighting chance! Just because people can't afford a sub doesn't mean they should be treated as 2nd class citizens. However, I can understand doing this for non-sub items like Bubble Power She-Ra.
If Mattel really wants to do this it should be in VERY limited quantities (say 1 per sub held, maybe 2 for army builders) and limited to items that are outside the sub or characters who come with a second head that collector's may want to display both. Basically where it can be easily justified as collecting rather than buying masses to re-sell.
If Mattel is really that worried about not selling out a production run, why don't they just move to a pre-order system? Let's say they need to start their production run 6 months before release, 7 months before release put up the images of the prototype and do a week of pre-order. If they know they have say 2000 subs and they get another 1000 pre-orders then they do a run of 3000 (plus whatever percentage they do for replacements/review sites/etc) or for a character like Sorceress they may get 3000 pre-orders so they know to do a run of 5000. They could even take payment at time of pre-order and production would be paid for before it even begins!
Be on the lookout for the SUBSCRIBE OR DIE: Death of a cherry picker WORLD TOUR COMING IN 2012!!!
Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any guesses about who / what is coming with Keldor's 200X swords? (Aside from the logical guess of "some kind of multi-head Keldor variant.")
This thread does nothing but prove that some people are going out of their way to be angry about one thing or another.
As for the Jitsu question:
i LOVE that Fisto can go from 80's to 2000x *hope we see lots of that* but i was wondering is there hope that Jitso can do that to? his 2000x belt, long hair and sword are so cool looking
We will cross the bridge when and if we get to Fisto.
They meant to type Jitsu and instead wrote Fisto. Fisto will be here February of next year.
A LOT of new posts are up, guys!
...and he totally missed the point of my create-a-character question. :hmroll:
I wasn't asking if the character's name could be on the sheet... I was asking if the person's name who created the character could be on the sheet, since they said in a different thread that the judges won't know the names of the creators when judging them.
Sigh... Guess I need to ask again.
Here's actually the question I'm remembering!
Q: Dear, Mattel/Scott. I have sent in two designs with my signature and a text saying created by myself. Will these two submissions now be disqualified for not being anonymous? I didn't see anywhere on the contract asking for the name of the character so I made sure to let you know on the design who created it just in case they were separated for any reason. Also I'm use to signing all my artwork. Force of habit.
Should I resend these two designs again or is this something not to worry about?
Thanks once again for your time.
A: No your entries will NOT be disqualified if you sign your name. It just means the judges will know who did it and the entry will not be anonymous.
Also, it might not be cool to put your name on the back. I know TG said in your answer the back would not be reviewed, but in one of his other answers it says to only put stuff on 1 side. So, to play it safe, I would stick to one side. :)
Q:I know Mattel will be the one who has the final say of the characters name and bio but I was wondering if we could put a bio with our submissions as a possible suggestion on our original designs. If so where should I put the bio? Right next to the artwork on the front, on the back of the paper, or on a separate sheet. Thanks
A:You can put anything you want on one single side of an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper. But Mattel reserves the right to choose the final name and bio as needed legally etc...
I subscribe to Toyguru on Matty, so it's super easy to search my e-mail for the answers. Shake me, I'm a magic 8 ball! :sklol:
Battle Raptor!!! I want a Classics styled version of it!
I think they just have two or three canned answers.
1. Logistics
2. We can't comment past xxxxxxxx
3. Keep reading the bios
When was the last time we actually got any kind of real answers or scoop? Anyway, it is still interesting reading these, even though we already know the answer before we ask the question.
Sounds like there will be no more 2.0 figures, at least not for a very long time. I was just warming up to the idea of Teela 2.0. :(
They could still do such a thing in a quarterly variant. Make it so you can switch it out to the regular version with the new improved buck. There's no need to talk about knocking out Mosquitor or Castaspella, I don't see how it correlates. They would be monthly figures in their own slot.
Well there has to be a good reason for a 2.0 slot like riding Swift Wind.
I generally cringe every time someone mentions a '2.0' for something, but Teela is one that makes sense as there is lots that can be corrected. The new bracer articulation, waist articulation, corrected snake armor, and lack of a bobblehead would draw a lot of interest. I love the one we have but a new one could be cool.
If they make another variant of Teela--and you know they will--it would be neat if they tried to design it in a way like Bubble Power She-Ra, so that you can mix the parts and get a new and improved regular Teela.


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I have only seven Astin's so far in my family tree – it is a name I haven't researched very much. The earliest Astin is my 3x great grandfather Robert who was born about 1805 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The other six are Robert's children including my 2x great grandmother Ann who was born about 1831 in Rough Lee, Lancashire.
According to surnamedb Astin is of Old Scandinavian (Norse) origin, and is a Norman form of the Old Norse personal name "Asketill". It was apparently a popular male personal name before the Norman Conquest of 1066, having been introduced by Viking invaders many years earlier.
The name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Aschil". There is a Robertus filius (a son of) Astin mentioned in 1219 in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire.
The surname itself was first recorded in the early 13th Century, and one Hugh Astyn was listed in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297. Also John Asketyn and William Hastin were both noted in the Assize Court Rolls of Kent in 1317.
Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Ales Astin and Amys Allin at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on April 13th 1602, and the marriage of Henrie Astin and Jane Ginninges on October 16th 1615, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. There is a William Astin buried in the parish of St. Michael's, in the Barbadoes, on July 30th 1678.
Modern day variants include Askin, Astins, Ashken, Haskin, Haskins and Hasting. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Astin, which was dated 1230, in the "Pipe Rolls of Devonshire"


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Mark Munoz
TRAINING: In the morning I do cardio. At 10am I go the Reign Training Center and do the MMA pro practice and afterwards I either do strength and conditioning or mittwork with Jason Parillo. 2 days a week in the evening I do Jiu-Jitsu with Casey Halstead at Reign Training Center as well.
When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training in 2007. I needed to compete.
What ranks and titles have you held? 2001 NCAA Div. 1 National Champion Wrestler, 2 time NCAA All American – Oklahoma State
Do you have any heroes? My parents, Randy Couture, John Smith, and Jesus Christ.
What is your favorite technique? Wrestling.
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? This is an amazing opportunity for me and I look forward to showing my skills.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I have a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State in Health Science.
What was your job before you started fighting? I was a wrestling coach at UC Davis.
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When Laura Boggs was elected to the Jefferson County Board of Education two years ago, it caught a lot of people by surprise. It looked like incumbent Sue Marinelli was headed for re-election in an uncontested race until Boggs pulled and returned candidate papers just before the deadline. Running under the radar, Boggs upset the incumbent and has been a controversial and polarizing member of the school board in her first two years.
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