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The Burning Crusade 2006-2008
Once upon a time in 2006 a group of raiders in a Classic guild called "The Sleepers" felt that their potential as a serious raid was to form a new path, and thus <The Church> was born. Led by the first battlepope Semeris, <The Church> forged itself in the fel fire of TBC under his iron reign, when the raid was passed to the Torger, our beloved Mussolini who pushed the raid to new heights completing every tier and culminating in server 1st Eredar Twins in Sunwell and sparking a battle for server dominance with <Vox Radix> on alliance and some Horde rivals.
Wrath of the Lich King 2008-2010
At the end of The Burning Crusade, the torch was passed to Mofftarkin, the double Hitler whose oppressive regime managed to result in <The Church> realizing a string of Server 1sts and the highest ranks ever achieved in 2009 in Ulduar. Our successes in Ulduar were a golden era that many of us remember with great pride.
Tier 8 Church Ranks
Tier 9 with Trial of the Grand Crusader was a rough tier, first some Horde guild <Bloodlust Theorycrafters> came out of nowhere and nabbed server 1st Anub'Arak from both us and Vox, then we lost again with the stupid "no wipe" achievement for server 1st. Have to hand it to <Vox Radix> they beat us out on that one, but we did clear the tier with the no-wipe achievement on a very difficult Anub'Arak. Anyone remember practicing penetrating cold in a simulator?
Tier 9 Church Ranks
Tier 10 was a strong overall tier, but the oppressive difficulty of 25 man Heroic Lich King caused us to miss that final kill in Icecrown Citadel. We DID get him on 10-man but the 25m kill eluded us. We managed to snag a server 1st in the tier before we lost steam though!
Tier 10 Church Ranks
Cataclysm 2010-2012
Cataclysm was an appropriate time for some reformation in <The Church>. The transition into Tier 11 was rocky, with 2 main groups running 10m raids, one led by Quadraxes who was passed the torch by Valaron who had succeeded Mofftarkin, the second was led by Daha, who was one of the most important members to never officially hold GM. With some momentum, the 2 raids were merged into a single 25m and progression resumed, but halfway through the tier some friction caused a sudden collapse and exodus of a few officers! Through the turmoil our communist era began under comrade Tekniques' leadership. This was an era of rebuilding, which set us back in T11, but culminated in killing Nefarian before firelands released!
Tier 11 Church Ranks
Firelands was where we whipped our raid into shape and developed our raiding core. Many of the friends we made in Firelands are still around today. We culminated in a US 188 kill of Majordomo! We were not able to complete the tier before the next tier came out, but this would soon change.
Tier 12 Church Ranks
Dragon Soul is where wind caught under our sails. With our community strong we had actually launched 2 25 man raids! We culminated with a US 133 kill of Heroic: Spine of Deathwing which was an all time record for <The Church> and we finished the tier for the first time since our near collapse after the Lich King! Server 1st still eluded us as <Vox Radix> was just ahead of us.. but this would soon change.
Tier 13 Church Ranks
Mists of Pandaria 2012-2014
Mists was a strong expansion for <The Church> Kirae aka Castaanu took the torch from Tekniques and began his glorious 2 expansion reign. We started the expansion with 2 full 25 man groups, and a new push to make server 1st statements. With a new raid schedule, and a raid better than ever we hit MoP hard and had some big highlights!
Tier 14 we started strong and snagged some server 1sts including will of the emperor! We lost some steam by the end of the tier and hit some progression speed bumps.
Tier 14 Church Ranks
Tier 15 with Throne of Thunder saw a resurgence and rebuild period that launched us forward to 13/13 and rank 98 US kill of Ra-Den!! This put us in a much better position for the final tier of the expansion.
Tier 15 Church Ranks
Tier 16 we rebounded with a huge push for our highest rankings ever! US 66 kill of Mythic Garrosh! 14/14 (M)
Tier 16 Church Ranks
Warlords of Draenor 2014-2016
WoD started as a strong expansion with the release of the Mythic 20-man raid size. We split into two raids a casual weekend raid called "Sunday School" and our main progress raid during the week.
In Tier 17 we started strong with a battle with <Friend Zone> for server 1sts, we ran behind them in the beginning but caught speed and passed them during Blackrock Foundry culminating an a Server First Mythic Blackhand!!
Tier 17 Church Ranks
Tier 18 was a dark time, we started so strong off our high from Blackhand Server 1st, but we fell behind <Friend Zone> in this tier, and due to some leadership malaise we finally disbanded our main raid halfway through the tier and active mythic raiders split to other raids.
Tier 18 Church Ranks
Legion 2016-Current
Resurrection! Legion sparked the desire to play again for many of our veteran raiders and leadership. Tekniques donned the Battlepope mantle once again and veterans from expansions past rallied for a new push! With a more casual approach than before, the raid was started up again and recruitment began anew.
This is our section of the story to write now. What will happen in Legion and beyond?
<The Church> GUILD HISTORY
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Systemic police prejudice against the poor, drug-addicted sex workers who convicted killer Robert Pickton targeted in Vancouver allowed him to spend years hunting his victims unimpeded by authorities, said a report released Monday by a public inquiry into what police have called Canada's worst serial killing case.
Commissioner Wally Oppal's 1,448-page final report chronicles years of mistakes that allowed Pickton to lure dozens of women to his farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, with little interference from police and even less concern from the public.
Pickton was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of sex workers. He slaughtered the women at his suburban pig farm and fed some of the remains to his pigs. Pickton was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Pickton picked the women up from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, several square blocks of squalid hotels, drug dealers and street-level prostitution, luring his victims with promises of money, alcohol and drugs.
There were reports of missing women in Vancouver dating back to the 1980s, and those disappearances increased dramatically in the mid-1990s.
When relatives and friends attempted to report those women missing, officers and staff with the Vancouver police department told them the women were transient drug addicts who weren't in any trouble or were simply on vacation, Oppal's report notes, referring back to testimony from those families at the inquiry.
Oppal wrote in his report, "Forsaken," that police did not take the disappearance of the women seriously because the victims were poor, aboriginal and addicted to drugs.
"The missing and murdered women were forsaken by society at large and then again by police," said Oppal.
While Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, 20 other charges of first-degree murder were stayed.
Commission lawyer Art Vertlieb said DNA from 32 identified missing women and one unknown woman were found at the farm Pickton owned with his siblings in Vancouver's Port Coquitlam suburb.
The report said the first major investigative blunders began in 1997, when Pickton attacked a sex worker at his farm. It was later revealed DNA from other missing women were on his clothes that day. Pickton was charged with attempted murder, but prosecutors stayed the case in 1998, after which 19 more women later connected to Pickton's farm vanished.
Oppal said it was "patently unreasonable" that that investigation was not further pursued.
Pickton had been tagged as a prime suspect in 1999 as police investigated reports of missing sex workers and Pickton bragged to police after his February 2002 arrest that he had killed as many as 49 women and intended to kill more.
Oppal, a former judge, concluded police failed to fully investigate Pickton, 63.
"Recurring patterns of error . . . went unchecked and uncorrected," Oppal said.
Vertlieb told Oppal in his opening statement to the inquiry that Vancouver police officer Kim Rossmo said a serial killer was at work but his assertions were dismissed by police superiors.
In his report, Oppal said the women's lives were marked by violence, addiction, racism and mental health issues.
He said the relationship between police and sex workers is marked by distrust. He said poor report taking and follow-up of missing women lead to "critical failures" by police. He said leads about Pickton would have been generated had police acted on reports.
He also concluded police "utterly failed" to warn women of dangers to their safety.
Oppal began the inquiry hearings in October 2011 after the Supreme Court of Canada rejected Pickton's final conviction appeal in 2010.
The report contains 63 recommendations, among them establishing a regional police force for the Vancouver area and that police must be more accountable to their communities.
Diane Rock was among one of the victims in the 20 charges stayed against Pickton by prosecutors.
Her sister, Lilliane Beaudoin, hopes the report will be taken seriously and that people in Pickton's poverty-stricken hunting ground will be helped.
"I'll never have closure," she said. "It's hard to feel one's lost a loved one when there's no burial. There are no remains of my sister. I can't comprehend that."
The case was the largest criminal investigation in Canadian history.
A Vancouver Police Department August 2010 report said 11 women may have been spared had city police or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police acted on information available four years before Pickton's arrest.

subset: commoncrawl


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Orson Welles
An eight-week
Film Forum
209 West Houston Street
Thru April 15, 212-727-8110
Collected posters
239 Centre Street
Thru April 15, 212-226-2207
Orson Welles retrospective at Film Forum
By Jerry Tallmer
Photo courtesy of Photofest/Film Forum
Tim Holt (left), Dolores Costello and Joseph Cotten in Welless THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942).
A great movie is like a great novel, or for that matter a great painting: You can always learn something new. I must, over the years, have seen The Third Man two dozen times, but this past weekend, when I took another look for present purposes, three things that had never registered before jumped out at me.
1. Holly Martinss repeated misspeaking of Major Calloways name (Trevor Howard, blowing smoke through his nose, to blundering, naãve Joseph Cotten: Its Calloway, not Callahan, Im English, not Irish) is paralleled by all-American Hollys repeated misspeaking of villainous Viennese Dr. Winkles name (VIN-kle, not Winkle).
2. When Holly and Anna (gorgeous Alida Valli) are poking around the late Harry Limes flat, shooting questions at the unlucky porter whod seen a third man help carry Harrys body toward the Emperor Joseph statue across the street, she casually, by habit, opens a drawer, extracts a comb from it, runs the comb idly through her hair. A reflex. Of course. This is where she has slept many nights and awakened many mornings.
3. It is not until one full hour has passed that Harry Lime makes physical entry into the 104-minute masterpiece the most famous delayed entry in all cinema with Annas kitten nosing at the shoes of someone in a dark doorway who will turn out to be a naughtily half-smiling Orson Welles, right?
Wrong. Quite some minutes before that, Dr. Winkle and two other conspirators known to us have had a strategy meeting that takes place midway across a bridge over the Danube. We get a quick glimpse of this get-together from a great distance away a long, overhead angle shot. The plotters are mere dots. There are four of them four dots. Three plus one. Harry Lime!
The novel on film that is The Third Man was created by Alexander Korda (original idea), Graham Greene (screenplay), Carol Reed (direction), Anton Karas (zither), Orson Welles (acting, some key dialogue), plus various others.
You can reread this spellbinding novel once again at your leisure during the week of April 9-15, when it closes out the two-month Orson Welles retrospective series at Film Forum that opened recently with a new 35mm print of The Magnificent Ambersons, the reflective, detailed portrait of an American family with which Welles chose, in 1942 to follow that other, all-encompassing, all-enduring American profile, Citizen Kane.
In all, the series put together by Bruce Goldstein and Harris Dew embraces some 40 motion pictures that were either directed (and/or written) by Welles, or in which Welles is an actor, or assembled by others are about Welles.
This brilliant parade supplies the chance of chances to catch up on such long-neglected, rarely scheduled works as Mr. Arkadin (1955 ur-Welles thriller about a mystery billionaire expunging his past); The Lady From Shanghai (Irish boyo Welles paying 1948 tribute via a shootout in a House of Mirrors to the beauty and sexuality of wife Rita Hayworth); The Trial, 1962 (through a doorway and another doorway into the enormous, crowded, factory-sized courtroom of Kafkas nightmare); Compulsion, 1959, in which through one-to-one osmosis Welles conveys the deep humanity of Clarence Darrow, lawyer for Loeb and Leopold; or even Someone to Love, in which a benign, worldly-wise Welles lends his thoughts to acolyte Henry Jagloms sweet sad 1987 examination of the emotional track record of some friends.
Welles never goes out of date. Well, I take that back. Some of the movies in which he appeared as an actor, in order to pay for the movies he himself was making, or hoped to make, are laughably obsolete bad movies, and some of his work case in point, as the sad-sack long-lost MIA of Tomorrow Is Forever, a soppy 1945 clinker if ever there was one is hack work, pure and simple.
But some quite a lot is not. And the true Welles does not date. Indeed, watching The Third Man just this past weekend, waiting along with Holly Martins for Harry Lime to stroll jauntily from far away across that empty stretch of fairground up to the giant Ferris wheel, I was shortly to be hit with another little jolt of past and present.
Everybody knows what Harry Lime said at that Ferris wheel to moralistic Holly; what Orson Welles had him say:
In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
Yes, and in Switzerland, it would just now occur to me that Switzerland of neutrality, brotherly love, and the cuckoo clock they also had Nazi bank accounts, wealth squeezed from the corpses of millions who went up in smoke. The same Switzerland, be it said, in which in this very moment in 2004 some miscreants of the 1940s are being officially forgiven, I kid you not, for having saved from the smokestacks as many Jews as they could by sneaking them in over the border, out of the hands of the Gestapo.
Harry Lime would have appreciated all that. In fact, he foresaw it.
I have lived with Orson Welles all my life, which means since the Mercury Players Doctor Faustus and Julius Caesar of high-school field trips, but more particularly since the summer of 1941, when, with college mate Charles G. Bolte, who looked like Welles, spoke like Welles, and would, a year-and-a-half later lose a leg at Alamein, I came out of Citizen Kane and walked, stunned, the two of us, up Times Square, both knowing we would never in all our days see a greater movie than that. Which turned out to be true.
Citizen Kane is in the retrospective at Film Forum the weekend of March 5-8. You might want to go from there to the exhibition of Orson Welles posters at Posteritati, 219 Centre Street, opposite the old Police Headquarters, through April 15.
People should cross themselves when they say his name, Marlene Dietrich is reported to have declared of Welles. What she also did say, does say, in Touch of Evil (1958 at FF March 12-14), is: He was some kind of a man.
Listen, do you remember when Charles Foster Kane pushes drunken Jedediah Leland away from the typewriter and sits down to bang out, on deadline, completion of the negative review (of Kanes mistress as an opera singer) that Jedediah would have written.
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Five worst cases of classical music abuse
November 2, 2017 by norman lebrecht
Since the issue has been trivialised to the point where a minister resigns for a hand on a journalist's knee, let's try to haul it back to serious criminal abuse. I've seen and heard plenty over 40 years, but these are probably the worst.
1 The conductor who raped a teenage soloist in his green room, destroying her confidence and career.
2 The conductor who had teenage boys delivered to his room.
3 The magazine editor who forced male PRs into sex.
4 The orchestra boss who preyed on female admin staff.
5 The opera star who demanded sex from female PRs.
I'm not naming names, nor will I permit any names to be posted in Comments. This is not a witch-hunt. It's a summons to the classical music world to recognise that abuses have persisted in full public view for several decades and no-one said a word because the perpetrators were – still are – considered too important.
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Comments (54)
You may not be naming names, but I trust you or someone has reported these people?
Obviously, too important for you Norman? Shameful cowardice, if you have been aware of persistent criminality it must be taken to the Police. Maybe once they are in the ground and nothing can be done everyone will come forward? Just like with Saville everyone knew but nobody dare.
Oh be realistic; Lawsuits are expensive. Probably most of us know exactly who half of these are? I'd like to know the green room name though.
Well, that's the thing: most of us have heard rumors about who half these people are, but none of us have any evidence. It's all hearsay.
And we all know that the proverbial rumor mill isn't scrupulous about fact-checking.
It is far more complicated than calling some of us cowards.
It seems to be comparable with the roman catholic church past and present, where spiritual authority happened to be a useful cover-up of misdeeds. But that does not mean that religion as such is to be blamed, as it would be nonsensical to blame the classical music world for being responsible for the misbehavior of people who are supposed to serve it.
Therefore exposure of such abject behavior, which cannot enough be encouraged and welcomed, should lead to punishment, to protect people and especially, the art form.
If the classical music world takes-on the appearance of a swamp, it will invite initiatives to drain it, and fuel the populist attacks on the art form in general. Performers, however 'famous', who abuse their position to commit such aggressive abject behavior, should be kicked-out of the profession, whatever their contribution to that profession. Such contributions become severely compromised and damaging, so: better have talented performers who are also normal, decent people. There are enough of them around.
And I agree with you that the music itself is not to blame nor is the religion itself in the case of the church, but the institutions and hierarchies that have developed in both cases are clearly at the heart of the problem. In many ways music has the potential to be worse, in that speaking out about abuse in the church is not usually a threat to livelihood and career.
That is true.
I think I would include mention of the prolific rapes of underage students by boarding school music teachers in here.
Failure to name names only protects those who prey on the young and vulnerable. Why is it that you want to protect such monsters? What's in it for you? Baseless or frivolous accusations are one thing, but rape and pedophilia are serious crimes that need to come to light. Failure to report such crimes to the authorities is a crime in itself.
Agree with you. Unfortunately, often the victims themselves don't have courage to reveal the secrets. But if we know something and keep silence for the perpetrators, we will be in the same line as the perpetrators.
Norman is not "protecting such monsters". He's presumably protecting himself: he, like many of the rest of us, has heard many stories but doesn't have any actual proof and probably hasn't personally witnessed any monstrous acts.
Please don't blame Norman. All will unravel eventually like the politicians. One man can't take this on at nearly 70 and a bust working life. The situation is far more complicated and life's end up.in tatters on both sides.
Than what was his point of bringing the subject up, and banning persons, who may have first hand knowledge from naming names? He states flat out "I've seen and heard plenty over 40 years, but these are probably the worst." Seen? really? This implies first hand knowledge. He'd be the best thing for the arts if he used the blog for good rather than sanctimonious hypocrisy.
Maybe I'm picky but your title implies the abuse of classical music. Doesn't steer anybody in the right direction & this is too serious to guise in cuteness..
Only 5 ?!?
When one names actual names, unless you have real verification, you open yourself to serious legal action. Just saying . . .
How pathetic! I know the names of sexual predators but I won't name them. Thankfully a few strong souls (mainly women) have the strength to call out these Hollywood men for their crimes. It's just a case of more old white men sitting on their hands doing nothing.
"White"? Bill Cosby.
You didn't read what I said. Old white men protecting their own. Cosby??
My point was that race wasn't necessary or an issue.
The only way to change things is to name names !! There isn't really any point in describing some horribly abusive event if no one except you has any clue who the perp is.
Refusal to name names allows the predatory behavior, the assaults, to continue – even if the perps you refused to reference above are no longer alive or no longer preying, plenty are currently. The fear of public humiliation has to be put into them.
"Naming names". Mmm….now where have I heard that before?
If you know for a fact that certain people committed sexual assaults, publicizing their names is not a "witch hunt," Norman. A witch hunt by definition is a betrayal of an innocent person (because there is no such thing as a witch).
I have a feeling that Norman isn't naming names, because all he has to go on are recounts by – possibly first – but mostly second and third parties and, depending on applicable laws, wishes not to face charges of libel or defamation.
In any case, I agree that those in the know, and even better, those with proof should realize that they have a moral, if not legal obligation to ensure such lowlifes are held accountable.
But more often, things end up going the way they possibly did with the second case listed in the starter. While I can't be certain whom Norman is referring to, #2 reminds me of persistent stories and rumors surrounding (since at least the early 1980s) a very well known opera conductor with now very limited mobility.
I am in Norman's corner. Anecdotal evidence is absolutely not enough to go on. And, if he's anything like me, he probably wants to avoid being sued. Guilty people have a habit of getting around the law at other peoples' expense.
I agree with you…hence my using a description of said conductor rather than his name.
Well you've described him in sufficient detail that I think we all know exactly who you mean. I don't know about you, but I think I'd want to consult with a lawyer before publishing something that all but identifies the subject of a defamatory libel.
@Mr. Davies
You would want to consult legal council before merely mentioning having heard "stories" and "rumours" told by others in public forums and media about a person you don't name?
What country so you live in?
*…do you live in?
Try harder people: that conductor was named, only a few weeks ago and for exactly these actions, in the comments on this very blog. The story was sourced to a named lawyer.
Norman may eventually have removed the comment – haven't gone looking today – but it was around on here for a fair while.
@Max Grimm: You said that you had used "a description of said conductor rather than his name". All that I was pointing out was that if you were doing so because you were concerned about the legal position, i.e. defamatory libel of a living person, you may wish to check whether it is actually necessary to use that person's name in order to be vulnerable to a legal claim, or whether it is sufficient to provide what is known as a jigsaw identification, i.e. so much information that you may as well have named the person. There are certainly some areas of English law, e.g. the law affording anonymity to victims of sexual offences, where jigsaw identification can be prosecuted in exactly the same way as if the person's actual name had been given.
By the way, I live in England, and we are famous for having some of the toughest libel laws in the world. Crucially, the burden of proof is on the defendant, i.e. there is a presumption that the defendant is guilty unless he is able to prove his innocence. This is of course the precise opposite of English criminal law, where the defendant is presumed innocent unless his guilt can be proved beyond reasonable doubt. It means that if you are publishing something that is subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts, which I assume includes this blog, conductor X does not need to prove that he did not commit A, B, and C, you need to prove that he did.
Well, Norman is quite prominent in England in the musical world. It is for those who have actually been abused in a big way to talk, not those of us to go shouting names when perhaps some of us have been spoken to in confidence. I am helping two abusers at the moment, having visited two different prisons but I wouldn't say who.they are. Norman could well gave been told in confidence.
Oh,I see now why you couldn't understand the matter of Bernier's victims…but I don't intend to dispute you about it. I know that it's not unusual that abusers themselves were victims in the past, and we can't justify their actions but they also need help. The only thing I hope you…When the victims finally sued the perpetrators, don't never think " He(abuser) is already dead " or " He is now too old ". Because Time never heals the wounds of the victims and they will die with it. I say it, I'm helping a organisation to assist the victims in connection with my occupation.
I well remember reading in a biography of Judy Garland the fact of Louis B. Mayer sitting her on his knee when she was still under-aged, petting her and referring to her as "my little hunchback". That man was a disgusting predator. But who acting in the best interests of Judy Garland? NOBODY. Her mother was a pushy theatrical mother, her father a pedophile and everyone at MGM was in fear of Mayer and his power to make or break. Strange that the story of "Citizen Kane" focussed on the 'abuses' of W.R. Hearst and made no mention of the perverse, cruel and wanton abuse of young actors and actors in the very city that made the film!!
Debbie Reynolds took her mother along to every meeting at the studio. The actresses willing to play the game made it worse for everyone else. Arthur Freed called Judy his "daughter" and said it made their relationship "incestuous." From a first-hand source. But they made great movies, just as Harvey Weinstein does. And Roman Polanski. Why are people shocked that they aren't saints? Why do they want to impose today's values on the past? And have we turned into Puritans?
You raise some interesting moral issues, not least of which is the role complicit women played in having these felons continue with their abuse. It's the hectoring and moralizing which comes from Hollywood which makes me the most sick on the stomach.
Dont have to go as far as Hollywood, just my small town in England!
Don't have to go as far as Hollywood, just my small town in England!
Mister Chairman, I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names . . .
Thanks for adding wood to the bonfire, Norman. The witch hunt expands. No, one does NOT have a right to name names, except in legal actions. Young people have to protect themselves, and yes, great people do awful things. They are too busy to have normal social lives. And the fawning young are just too tempting. I was pounced on a couple of times by well-known figures, I merely pushed them off. And I should have known what they would want when I was invited to their apartments. I was leading them on, though I wasn't conscious of it. Most young people are too hypnotized by fame to refuse. Regrets are not evidence of a crime.
Smearing [redacted: we stipulated no names] is pointless. The boys who were "delivered" to his dressing room or where ever were probably paid. He could have what he needed. And he had [redacted]. There is nothing horrible about it. If he had been as handsome as Bernstein, he'd have been admired for it. Shame on you for bringing it up as somehow scandalous. Many young men want to be with older men. The Socratic relationship is a powerful model for a successful relationship. How many straight men marry women in their 20s when they are over 50? All of them?
Well, you've named a name. And are apparently okay with teenage boys being paid? It's not unusual for older men to prefer to date younger woman in their mid 20s or 30s. Yet it is just that- younger woman- and not teenagers. You give a weak defense for such indefensible actions. You lead me to believe that you have more than just a passing knowledge of such relationships.
Are you kidding? Shame on him? If you're so outraged at one calling dressing room sex acts with teenage boys scandalous, take it up with the LAW. A man in his 60s, 70s, 80s, who marries a woman in her 20s, call it revolting if you want, but it's legal. A man having sexual relations with a boy, much to the shagrin of your NAMBLA brothers, is illegal. Those laws are not going to change, so deal with it by welding yourself in a metal box and eroto-asphyxiate yourself.
The question is, of course, in how far such thing is wished by the vulnerable party.
Socratic relationships? Lol. Times have changed. We no longer walk around in pieced together sandals, nor do we drink milk straight from the goat. You obviously are keen on getting with young innocent boys only to have them develop disorders in their 40's. You be all sorts of creeping, move to a third world country where, sadly and unfortunately, you can quench your young boy thirst.
Norman, if you want to be serious about this, you need to get Opera Europa and Opera America to assure everyone that they will take non-prejudicial action when instances of abuse are reported to them.
Sexual abuse is prevalent in Opera, and until those two organisations formulate a safe manner of reporting, much as the UK parliament is planning to do, then NOTHING will change. Bullying is also rife in Opera – how soon we've forgotten what happened at the Grand Théâtre de Genève?
Action needs to be taken, and it needs to be taken soon.
From history, one word: castrato.
I'm perplexed by this flurry of stories…. why have I been left-out??
A covert wearable bodycam recorder is the answer.


text: Lanvin has giving the necktie an interesting spin in their Autumn/Winter 2011 collection combining silk and wool splits. As you can see above the long end of the necktie is finished in a wool. Similarly, the bowties have a wool application that personally I think sits well with the silk. What do you think? Would you wear these split neckties?


text: PICK AND MIX: American designer Earl Pickens' first Paris show scored with one local political star. The onetime — and potentially future — Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal praised the designer's smocked blue shirt and fluid beige jersey dress. Turns out that the Bocage Avenir Couture factory, which makes Pickens wares, is located in Royal's native Deux Sevres region, and her first order (two jackets, trousers and a woven denim pencil skirt) was hanging backstage, ready for delivery. Also on hand was J. Alexander, who, having wrapped the finale for "America's Next Top Model," was returning to New York to finalize proofs for his upcoming autobiography/self-help tome, "Follow the Model," due from Simon & Schuster in November.


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Catherine misses gymnastics
Catherine Cambridge was not with Princes William and Harry as were agonising over men's gymnastics yesterday and Team GB's remarkable achievement. Instead she was probably getting ready to attend the UK's Creative Industries Reception at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Here's Kate in dove grey and a regal updo which, I mean, I know she's a royal person and these hairstyles are kind of expected from royal ladies but I dunno, it's not my favourite and I also think it's way too fancy for what she's wearing. It would be one thing if she was in a floor length gown. But this, this is barely a cocktail dress.
Anyway, you know what I forgot to mention (because I was, um, too distracted by Olympic gymnastics) in this post from yesterday? Royal Sunglasses! And...Royal Affection...on the thigh! See attached - Will and Kate are holding hands on top of his leg. That totally means they want to make babies, ok?
Wenn, Bauer


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|Avg Pitch Speed (mph)
|Avg Spin Rate (rpm)
|Avg Exit Velocity (mph)
|MLB Avg
|Pitch Type
|Avg Pitch Speed (mph)
|Avg Spin Rate (rpm)
|Avg Exit Velocity (mph)
|MLB Avg
|St. Louis
|Lehigh Valley
|Lehigh Valley
|5th in NL
|22nd in AL
|24th in NL
|18th in NL
|5th in NL
|May 4, 2018
|Memphis Redbirds activated RHP Edward Mujica from the temporarily inactive list.
|May 1, 2018
|Memphis Redbirds placed RHP Edward Mujica on the temporarily inactive list.
|April 4, 2018
|RHP Edward Mujica assigned to Memphis Redbirds.
|March 15, 2018
|St. Louis Cardinals signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract.
|October 3, 2017
|RHP Edward Mujica elected free agency.
|August 15, 2017
|Detroit Tigers sent RHP Edward Mujica outright to Toledo Mud Hens.
|August 13, 2017
|Detroit Tigers designated RHP Edward Mujica for assignment.
|August 3, 2017
|Detroit Tigers selected the contract of RHP Edward Mujica from Toledo Mud Hens.
|August 3, 2017
|Detroit Tigers activated RHP Edward Mujica.
|January 10, 2017
|Detroit Tigers signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
|January 10, 2017
|RHP Edward Mujica assigned to Toledo Mud Hens.
|November 7, 2016
|RHP Edward Mujica elected free agency.
|August 20, 2016
|RHP Edward Mujica assigned to Rochester Red Wings.
|August 19, 2016
|Minnesota Twins signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract.
|August 10, 2016
|Omaha Storm Chasers released RHP Edward Mujica.
|July 16, 2016
|RHP Edward Mujica assigned to Omaha Storm Chasers.
|July 14, 2016
|Lehigh Valley IronPigs reassigned RHP Edward Mujica to the minor leagues.
|April 2, 2016
|RHP Edward Mujica assigned to Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
|March 30, 2016
|Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract.
|March 29, 2016
|Philadelphia Phillies released RHP Edward Mujica.
|December 17, 2015
|Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
|November 2, 2015
|RHP Edward Mujica elected free agency.
|June 19, 2015
|Oakland Athletics activated RHP Edward Mujica from the 15-day disabled list.
|June 15, 2015
|Oakland Athletics sent RHP Edward Mujica on a rehab assignment to Stockton Ports.
|May 22, 2015
|Oakland Athletics placed RHP Edward Mujica on the 15-day disabled list. fractured right thumb
|May 11, 2015
|Oakland Athletics activated RHP Edward Mujica.
|May 10, 2015
|Boston Red Sox traded RHP Edward Mujica and cash to Oakland Athletics for Player To Be Named Later.
|May 8, 2015
|Boston Red Sox designated RHP Edward Mujica for assignment.
|December 7, 2013
|Boston Red Sox signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica.
|August 1, 2012
|St. Louis Cardinals activated RHP Edward Mujica.
|July 31, 2012
|Miami Marlins traded RHP Edward Mujica to St. Louis Cardinals for 3B Zack Cox.
|July 18, 2012
|Edward Mujica roster status changed by Miami Marlins.
|July 13, 2012
|sent RHP Edward Mujica on a rehab assignment to Jupiter Hammerheads.
|June 30, 2012
|Miami Marlins placed RHP Edward Mujica on the 15-day disabled list. Fractured right pinky toe.
|November 13, 2010
|San Diego Padres traded RHP Edward Mujica and RHP Ryan Webb to Florida Marlins for CF Cameron Maybin.
|March 31, 2009
|RHP Edward Mujica roster status changed by Cleveland Indians.
|August 26, 2006
|Cleveland Indians activated RHP Edward Mujica.
|July 23, 2006
|Cleveland Indians reassigned RHP Edward Mujica to the minor leagues.
|March 15, 2006
|Cleveland Indians activated RHP Edward Mujica.
|October 22, 2001
|Cleveland Indians signed free agent RHP Edward Mujica to a minor league contract.
Married to Erika...The couple has one daughter, Brianna.2014
In his 1st season with BOS, made 64 appearances out of the bullpen, T-3rd most on the club with Koji Uehara...Appeared in 60-plus games for the 4th straight season (266 games total since 2011)...Ended the season posting a 2.08 ERA (9 ER/39.0 IP) over his final 42 games (since 6/6) after beginning the year with a 7.29 ERA (17 ER/21.0 IP) in his first 22 games...No runs allowed in 32 of his final 42 games of the season...Allowed runs in 9 of his first 22 games of the year...Did not allow an ER in 14 consecutive appearances (11.0 IP) from 7/27-8/22...That stretch lowered his season ERA from 5.45 on 7/24 to 4.18 on 8/22...Recorded 8 saves in 9 chances overall, including 5 in his last 7 games of the season...Allowed 6 HR on the season, all of which came in his first 31 appearances (29.2 IP) of the season...No HR allowed over his final 33 games (30.1 IP)...Posted a 2.76 ERA (9 ER/29.1 IP) in 31 road games compared to a 4.99 ERA (17 ER/30.2 IP) in 33 games at Fenway Park...Earned his 1st win as a Red Sox in the club's walk-off victory on 4/20 vs. BAL...His 2nd victory came in another Sox come-from-behind win on 5/26 at ATL (overcame a 5-run deficit).2013
Went 2-1 with 37 saves and a career-low 2.78 ERA (20 ER/64.2 IP) in 65 games for the NL Champion Cardinals. Led all ML relievers with a 0.70 BB/9.0 IP ratio (5 BB), and led all NL relievers with a 9.2 SO/BB ratio (46 SO). Ranked 5th among NL relievers in saves with 37, and 6th in the NL with a 90.2 save percentage…Converted each of his first 21 save chances of the season. Posted a 1.01 WHIP, the 12th-best mark among NL relievers, and the 2nd-lowest mark of his career (0.93 in 2010). Stranded 21 of his 25 inherited runners (84.0%)…50 of his 65 appearances were scoreless. Pitched more than 1.0 inning 9 times, including 4 outings of 2.0 innings…Had 4 multiple inning saves: 4/18 at PHI (1.1 IP), 6/17 vs. CHI (1.1), 8/11 vs. CHI (2.0), and 8/21 at MIL (1.1). Had a season-best 20.1-inning scoreless streak that spanned 18 games from 7/5-8/19…Converted 11 of 12 save opportunities in that span…Had 11 SO compared to 1 BB and held opponents to a .192 AVG (14-for-73) over that stretch2012 Began the season with the Miami Marlins where he appeared in 41 games, pitching 39.0 innings. Came to the Cardinals on 7/31 in a trade for minor league infielder Zack Cox. Posted a 1.03 ERA in 29 games with 19 holds the final two months of the season as a Cardinal. Allowed just three runs on 20 hits in 26.1 IP. Established career-highs with 70 total appearances (T24th, NL) and had 31 holds (4th, NL). Had nine holds in September which ranked 2nd in the National League. Induced eight double plays,ranking T13th among National League relievers. Did not allow a run in his first 18 appearances after being acquired by St. Louis (17.0 IP, 8/1-9/9). Snapped the streak on 9/11 at SD. After joining the Cardinals, pitched in the 7th inning in 23 of his 29 outings. Held RH batters to .219 BA (28-128). Was placed on the Disabled List for first time in career with a fractured right toe while with the Marlins (6/30-7/18). Made two rehab starts with Jupiter(A), tossing 3.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. 2012 POSTSEASON: Experienced his first post season and appeared in a total of nine games ... allowed one run in 0.2 IP of the Wild Card game at Atlanta, coming in the game in the top of the 7th ... appeared in Division Series Games 1, 2 and 5, pitching 1.0 inning in each outing against the Washington Nationals...was unscored upon in his five (4.0IP) League Championship appearances vs. San Francisco...struck out the side in the 7th of LCS Game 1 and was credited with the win. 2011 Led Marlins' relievers and ranked third on Club in wins. Tied Alfredo Aceves for second among Major League relievers in wins, trailing Matt Belisle (10). Tied a Club record for wins by a reliever, equaling a mark set by Robb Nen in 1997...Ranked third among Marlins' bullpen arms in appearances, behind Mike Dunn (72) and Juan Carlos Oviedo (68). Led relief corps and ranked eighth in National League in innings pitched. Had second-most strikeouts out of bullpen, behind Mike Dunn (68) ... Ranked seventh among NL relievers in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.50; allowed 1.66 walks-per-9.0 innings, fifth-best in NL...Went 6-1 in seven road decisions; six road wins set a Club record for road wins by a reliever...Won three straight decisions from April 15-May 16, and began a career-best, four game win streak on May 28 at Los Angeles-NL...Retired first batter faced 73.1 percent of time (49x67), second-best percentage on team behind Randy Choate's 74.1 (40x54). 2010 In his eighth professional season, led all Major League relievers with a 12.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio (72 SO/6 BB). It is the best ration all-time for a National League reliever, and fifth-best in Major League history. It marked the highest strikeout-to-walk ration in the Majors since Mariano Rivera had a 12.83 ratio (77 SO/6 BB) in 2008 ... Allowed 14 home runs, the second-most among Major League relievers and the most ever allowed in a season by a Padre reliever (previous: 13 by Jeremy Fikac in 2002 and Willie Blair in 1996) ... Six of his 14 home runs allowed were to first batters faced, which were the most in the Majors in 2010 and the most ever allowed by a Padre reliever ... Went 79 straight batters without allowing a walk from June 10-August 4, the second longest stretch of his career ... Posted a 2.61 ERA (38.0 IP/11 ER) and .201 (28x139) opponents batting average in 31 outings at home against a 4.83 ERA (31.2 IP/17 ER) and .254 (31x122) opponents average in 28 appearances on the road ... Held left-handed hitters to a .202 (22x109) opponents average while right-handers hit at a .243 (37x152) clip. 2009 Made 67 appearances for the Padres, serving primarily as a reliever before making four starts to close out the season...saw his first Major League action as a starting pitcher, while also collecting his first Major League save in 2009...Set career highs in appearances, innings pitched and strikeouts while tying his previous career mark with three wins...Went 3-4 with two saves and a 3.51 ERA (30 ER/77.0 IP) in his 63 relief appearances...worked scoreless ball in 44 of 63 outings while allowing a .259 opponent batting average...Allowed six of 28 inherited runners to score (21.4 percent)...Did not allow a run over 15.0 consecutive innings spanning 13 outings from 5/4-6/3...struck out 17 and walked three during that stretch, allowing a .189 opponent average...Moved to the starting rotation and made his first career start 9/11 vs. COL, working 4.0 shutout innings...Padres went 1-3 in his four starts...Put together a career-best 15.0-inning scoreless streak over 13 relief outings from 5/4-6/3. 2008 Mujica split the season between AAA Buffalo and Cleveland and showed signs of becoming an effective relief option for Eric Wedge at the big league level...Did not allow a run over 12.0 consecutive innings from June 28-July 28 (10 games), a season-high for Tribe relievers in consecutive scoreless innings...Over his last 5 games of the season he allowed just 2 runs (2ER) in 5.0 innings (3.60ERA, .235AVG, 4H, 5K)...Did have moments of ineffectiveness that skewed his ERA, posting 4 outings this season where he allowed 4 or more runs/earned runs...Compiled an ERA of 7.36 in 8 June outings (11.0IP, 11H, 9ER) & a 12.86 ERA in 7 August outings (7.0IP, 12H, 10ER)...Overall 7 of his last 10 outings were scoreless from 8/29-on...Had 2 blown saves (8/6 & 8/11)...Garnered his first Major League win on August 11th vs. Baltimore despite the blown save...Big league hitters batted .301 (46-153, 5HR) off him, including a mark of .318 (28-88) by RHH... Batters hit .333 (24-72) with runners on and .286 (12-42) with RISP...Batters were 4 for 5 off him with the bases loaded...AAA- Began the season at AAA Buffalo after his option out of spring training on March 15...Allowed 7 runs (7ER) in his 2nd outing of the season at Norfolk on April 6 (1.2IP, 7H, 7R/ER, 2BB, 1K)...Over his last 16 outings at Buffalo prior to his May 24 recall his Buffalo ERA was 1.93 (23.1IP, 22H, 5ER, 25K)...AAA hitters batted .284 (29-102, 2HR), including a mark of .250 (14-56) against LHH... Batters hit .236 (13-55) with runners on and .216 (8-37) w/RISP (0 for 16 w/RISP-2outs)...Recalled from Buffalo on May 24 and spent the remainder of the season with the Indians. 2007 Split the season between Triple-A Buffalo and Cleveland, making five stints with the Big League club...Finished tied for the team lead in saves (14) with Buffalo, second in games finished (27) and fifth in appearances (34)...Converted all six save opportunities in April, working 10.0 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts...Underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee 9/19 at Lutheran Hospital...injured the knee during pre-game activities on the field the previous week...surgery performed by Dr. Marck Schickendantz. 2006 Mujica split the 2006 season between AA Akron, AAA Buffalo and the big leagues and did not allow an earned run over his first 46.2 innings on the season combined over the three stops (27 games)...Started the year at AA Akron and went 1-0 w/8 saves and a 0.00ERA (19.0IP, 11H, 1R/0ER, 9BB, 17K) before being promoted to AAA Buffalo on May 14...With the Bisons he went 3-0 w/a 0.00ERA in 12 outings (19.2IP, 14H, 1R/0ER, 3BB, 18K) and did not allow a run over his last 10 games (16.2IP)...At the time of the June 20 promotion to Cleveland he had not allowed a run in 38.2IP...Combined between the two stops he has limited hitters to a .191 (25-131) average against before June 20...Made his Major League debut on June 21 vs. the Chicago Cubs (2.2IP, 3H, 0R) and made 2 more scoreless appearances on July 4 and July 8 to bring his season total to 46.2 scoreless innings over 27 games before streak was snapped in his first big league loss in extra innings on July 14 at Minnesota (0.2IP, 3H, 1R)...Allowed runs in 3 straight outings from July 14-21 (5.2IP, 11H, 4ER) before being optioned back to AAA Buffalo on July 24...In his 2nd stint at Buffalo he went 0-1 w/5 saves and a 6.23 ERA in 10 games (13.0IP, 17H, 9ER)...Was 5 for 7 in save opps with Buffalo and allowed 4 of 12 inherited runners to score...RH hitters hit .215 (14-65) and lefties at Triple A hit .309 (17-55)...Batters hit .220 (9-41) with RISP...Recalled from AAA Buffalo and began 2nd stint in Cleveland on August 26...In his 2nd stint with the Tribe he was 0-0 w/a 3.86 ERA in 4 outings (4.2IP, 6H, 2ER) and did not allow a run over his last 3 outings (3.2IP, 3H, 6K)...Major league batters hit .333 (25-75) off him with 1HR allowed, including a mark of .341 (14-41) by RHH...Indians were 1-9 when he appeared as 7 of his 12 inherited runners scored...Batters at the big league level hit .366 (15-41) with runners on and .391 (9-23) with RISP... 2005 Had a breakout season as he spent his first season pitching exclusively in relief...Split the season between A Kinston and AA Akron as his 24 combined saves finished 2nd in the entire Indians organization and his combined 2.54 ERA was the 5th lowest mark among organizational pitchers with at least 60.0IP...Started the year at A Kinston and recorded saves in 14 of his 25 appearances...After recording an ERA of 7.50 in April (6.0IP, 9H, 5ER), went on to post an ERA of 0.45 (20.0IP, 8H, 1ER, 24K), including 11.1 scoreless innings in May (7 saves, 12 games)...Did not allow a run over his last 6 outings with Kinston (7.2IP, 3H, 10K) and was promoted to AA Akron on June 18...At the time of his promotion he was tied for 2nd in the Carolina League with 14 saves...CL batters hit .183 (17-93) off him w/3HR allowed, including a mark of .176 (6-34) by LHH and .200 (5-25) with RISP...Made his Akron debut on June 23 vs. Reading (1.2IP, 1H, 0R) and moved into the closers role on July 6 w/a save at Reading...Had a 6 apperance/7.0IP scoreless IP streak from July 5-20 and did not allow a run over his last 7 outings from August 19 thru the end of the season (7.1IP)...Over his last 14 outings from July 30th on at Akron his ERA was 2.00 (18.0IP, 19H, 4ER)...Went 0-0 w/4 saves and a 1.35 ERA in 6 Eastern League playoff outings for the EL Champion Aeros (6.2IP, 5H, 1ER, 6K)...Eastern League hitters hit .273 (36-132) off him, including a mark of .247 (19-77) by RHH...Combined on the year he was 3-1 w/24 saves and a 2.54 ERA (60.1IP, 53H, 17ER, 65K) and limited minor league hitters hit a .236 (53-225) average against... Contract was purchased from AA Akron and added to 40-man roster on November 18...Pitched for Oriente in the Venezuelan Winter League following the season (1-3, 3.34ERA, 27G, 29.2IP, 31H, 11ER, 23K). 2004 Spent the season at A Lake County...Was 6-7 w/a 4.03 ERA in 19 starts (98.1IP, 102H, 44ER) and 1-0-2 w/a 7.01 ERA in 7 relief outings (25.2IP, 28H, 20ER)...Won his last 3 starts on the season...Was 1-2 w/a 2.57 ERA in 4 June outings (21.0IP, 17H, 6ER). 2003 Spent the season at Rookie A Burlington after spending the 2002 at the club's Venezuelan academy.


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|Mercer Island, Wash.
|High School:
|Seattle Preparatory School
|House Affiliation:
Junior • 2013
Rowed in the second and fifth seat for the first varsity all season including an undefeated season including a win at the IRA National Championships.
Sophomore • 2012
First-team All-Ivy League ... Rowed for the varsity eight all
season ... Finished a perfect season by setting the men's
lightweight course record and capturing the gold medal at the IRA
National Championships ... Won Eastern and Ivy League titles at
EARC Sprints ... Helped Harvard to cap extend streak of perfect
dual seasons to three with 9-0 record ... Took the Goldthwait and
Vogel Cups at the HYP regatta over rivals Yale and Princeton ...
Helped take down No. 3 Georgetown and No. 8 Navy setting a course
record and winning the Haines Trophy for the fourth time in a
row... Contributed to the varsity eight's victory over No. 6
Dartmouth and No. 11 MIT to win the Crimson's fourth straight
Biglin Bowl ... Also helped to wins against No. 5 Cornell, No. 9
Penn, and Delaware.
Before Harvard
Was a member of the varsity crew for four years at Seattle Preparatory School, serving as captain for two seasons … Member of the youth national championship team in the lightweight boy's four in 2008 and the double in 2009 … Finished third at the Youth National Championships in the quad in 2009 and the single in 2010 … Finished first in the youth men's double at the Head of Charles in 2009 … Captured second place at the U.S. Under-23 World Championship Trials in the men's single in 2010
High school teammate of Michael Lukas '14 … Was an Eagle Scout … Enjoys sailing, salsa dancing, biking, fishing and yoga.


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Online Collections
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The following must appear in ALL CAPS and with a space on each side.
AND—Indicates that the records found must contain all the words joined by the AND operator. For example, to find objects that contain the words wizard, oz, and movie, enter wizard AND oz AND movie.
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Fyrflyz Cyclone
string spinner
The year 2011 saw no Cabbage Patch Doll craze, nor did buyers trample each other seeking a Tickle-me Elmo. However, some new toys sold steadily and well throughout the year. FyrFlyz spinning toys represent an innovative take on a classic folk toy known as the string spinner or string top. A piece of string and a large button create a simple example of this toy, which is also sometimes called a "buzzer." Toy inventors Marty Abrams and Joel Rosenzweig added colored LED lights, motion activated, to create a new light-pattern-making toy series called FyrFlyz. Customer reviews name this toy a good value for the price, and kids seem to love it. Fyrflyz earned a 2011 TAGIE award for excellence in toy design.
- Inventor: Marty Abrams | Joel Rosenzweig
- Material: plastic
- Origin: China
- Style: dexterity
- Object ID: 112.53
All artifact images, interpretive information, and website text © The Strong.


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Metallica, Iron Maiden + Black Sabbath Get Folk Makeover by The Avett Brothers on 'Jimmy Fallon'
Are you an indie-loving hipster scared of listening to something manly? Are you curious about making the jump from flower-sniffing, ironic mustache wearing, jingle-jangle ditties to music with actual testosterone? Jimmy Fallon and the Avett Brothers have you covered.
On last night's (Sept. 30) edition of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' the show's host and musical guests collaborated for a piece of indie-meets-metal hilarity. Under the moniker of Steve Joshua, Jimmy Fallon sported a truly awful wig and hazelnut brown suit while introducing the world to 'The Avett Brothers Sing Heavy Metal' (watch above).
Selling the record like a 3AM infomercial, Fallon introduced the songs included in the fictional Avett Brothers record. The folk group took it from there, performing folky renditions of Iron Maiden's 'Run to the Hills,' Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' and perhaps funniest of all, Metallica's 'One.' With a fiery and evil background setting the scene for the Avett Brothers, the act banjo-ed their way through the tracks with a perfect near-deadpan style. For metal fans, this sketch is a must-see, so check out the footage above.
Other bands receiving a shout-out in the skit include Judas Priest, Slayer, Morbid Angel and Megadeth, along with the fictional groups Clowns of Torment and Skull Rot.
Later on in the show, the Avett Brothers returned to perform the real-life new song 'Vanity,' with a guest vocal from Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. Check out that performance in the video below. 'Vanity' appears on the Avett Brothers' eighth studio album, 'Magpie and the Dandelion,' which is set for a Oct. 15 release.
The Avett Brothers + Chris Cornell, 'Vanity' (Live on Jimmy Fallon)


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It is week 4 of Dancing With The Stars, and the competition continues to get steep, as tonight will bring a different scoring format. Each of the dancing couples will receive two scores, one for their performance, and the other for technique.
Kate Gosselin's Tough Week – As if getting low scores wasn't bad enough, the mom of eight has also had to endure another tough week in the press. First came news that ex-husband Jon Gosselin was taking her back to court in an attempt to get custody of their eight children, and then came the UsWeekly cover accusing her of acting like a major celebrity and basically being a 'super bitch from hell.' Professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy made a good point in his blog this week, saying: "I've spoken to Kate, and I don't think she gets the point of this thing yet. The pain on her face says it all, which is unfortunate. The show is about finding a way to come out, enjoy yourself and have fun." It will be interesting to see how Kate performs tonight.
Erin Andrews Denies Romance – Despite their PEOPLE magazine cover story proclaiming Erin and partner Maksim in a "hot romance." The ESPN reporter slammed the story, saying any romance report is news to her and Maks. "According to People, our "romance" is official, but People must know people because we don't know the people that they know. The thing is, what Maks and I do joking around gets taken seriously. After looking at the article, Maks said to me, "You would've thought we were on some beach riding a horse. It was like a romance novel." Allrighty then, romance or not, those two seem to have some great chemistry between them.
Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Romance? – Romance rumors also continue to heat up for dancing duo, Chad and partner Cheryl Burke. And it didn't help that Chad gave Cheryl a $10,000 ring last week, but according to Chad the ring was just a thank you gift to Cheryl for putting up with him. More than likely it's just flirting between the two, and why you might ask? Well for one, Chad has signed a deal with VH1 to stare in his own dating reality show, titled The Tournament, set to air later this year.
The couples will be dancing the rumba or tango dance tonight. Nine couples remain, and one couple will face elimination tomorrow night.


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If you decide you want to start a family, the stored sperm will be thawed in a laboratory. It can then be directly inserted into your partner's womb (artificial insemination) or used for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). During IVF, your partner's eggs are mixed with your sperm in a laboratory to see if an egg fertilises and becomes an embryo. The embryo is then transferred into your partner's womb.
Sometimes a technique known as ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) may be used. This involves injecting a single sperm directly into an egg. This is helpful when:
- cancer treatment has to start quickly
- the cancer or its treatment has slowed sperm production
- the sperm quality of the frozen samples is poor.
Unfortunately, there aren't any guarantees that stored sperm will be able to fertilise an egg and result in a pregnancy. Your fertility expert will discuss this with you before your sperm is stored. However, many couples have had babies as a result of storing sperm and fertility treatments.
Possible risks
Using frozen, stored sperm has been carried out for many years and there don't appear to be any risks to the child. IVF has been used for over thirty years and appears to be safe. ICSI has been used for over twenty years and is generally considered a safe procedure. There may be a slightly higher risk of rare disorders in babies born from the treatment. Removing and using sperm directly from the testicle is a relatively new technique. Your fertility specialist can give you more information about any possible risks with these treatments.


text: I have a 7 year old Trane xl80 2 stage furnace and recently purchased a new thermostat (a Nest). I noticed the old thermostat was installed jumping W1 and W2 at the motherboard of the furnace. My question is this: Should I keep it jumped and let the furnace handle the stages or remove the jumper and hook up the w1 and w2 wires on the t-stat? Thanks guys!


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Howdy everyone. I haven't been around much in the last couple of weeks so someone pass me a glass. I will sip on the drink while I catch up on the posts here.
I'll never forget my last week of College when I discovered the fruity goodness of the Granny Smith variety...Barkeep, send me down a nice one
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WE HAVE A NEW FORUM! TO SEE OUR CURRENT DOGS PLEASE VISIT http://www.fourpawsanimalrescue.org.uk/forum/
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Although a bit on the pricey side, this app is aimed at aspirant Wimbledon competitors. It lets players store detailed information about their performances, helping them hone that cross-court backhand.
Tennis 109 with Jimmy Connors (Windows Phone 7)
Jimmy Connors won a legendary 109 singles titles. Bask, then, in his reflected glory with this collection of tips and videos that offers an inside look at the sport from the man himself.
Hit Tennis 2 (iOS)
Tired of the inevitable moans of the crowd as yet another British hope is dashed? Show the pros how it should be done from the comfort of Henman Hill.
Take your own game to the next level by recording every stat imaginable in the form of detailed match logs which include scores as well as tracking shot types, errors, aces and more. The perfect way to record just how terrible a player you really are.


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Artists and Rodents Descend on the Pit in "Reveal the Rats"
Rebecca Morris paints challenging large-scale abstractions. Known for writing "Abstraction never left, motherfuckers" in a 2004 painting manifesto when abstraction was out of favor in the art world, Morris has developed an unconventional, post-Bauhaus visual language that suggests new directions for abstract painting. Her canvases teem with unusual, seemingly disconnected shapes, each rendered in a different technique and floating freely through space. "I want my work to be a dynamic presence, to create visual and physical impact in a space," Morris said in a 2012 interview. "In general I've found that people respond to my work over time, so the highest compliment would be if someone wanted to spend lengthy and repeated time with my work."
American, b. 1969, Honolulu, Hawaii, based in Los Angeles, California
Artists and Rodents Descend on the Pit in "Reveal the Rats"
Five Questions for Anthony Elms
Artsy Editorial


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Since the job forums have been pretty inactive for awhile, I thought I'd start a new topic in each devoted to things you'd like or wish that Square Enix would do with each job. They can be legitimate things you'd like to see, or they could be absurd, and, while they can be, they don't have to be any serious or groundbreaking changes you think each job needs, just something you think would improve them a bit in some form. Just try to keep the topic clean and drama free (emphasis on try). Just have some fun with this and let your ideas soar.
A small thing really, cause I think that everyone can agree that, right now, Dark Knight is pretty solid, but maybe adjust Entropy's damage a bit so that it's a bit more in line with Resolution. Given how powerful Resolution is, it's almost universally better for a Drk to be using Great Sword over a Scythe, and I think being able to have that option to go either way would let Drks choose which they wanted instead of arguably being forced into a single choice.


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This Milestone solution provides more features for installations of up to 25 cameras.XProtect Basis+ is an expanded version of Milestone video surveillance software that is the perfect choice for installations of 1-25 cameras. It is an attractively priced, robust performance solution, well suited to the SMB (Small to Medium sized Business) market.XProtect Basis+ will turn a Windows PC into a state-of-the-art digital video surveillance system. The software supports the widest choice of network cameras and video servers, with the equipment connecting directly to an office LAN or other TCP/IP network, such as the Internet. Digital recording is saved directly onto the hard drive(s) of the PC. For an excellent solution to expanded surveillance needs, XProtect Basis+ is the right product at the right price.
Viewing and Recording for up to 1- 25 Cameras
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Recordings: 1-4 camera viewing
AUDIO: 1 Channel Recording with Listen-in
Advanced PTZ Control with Preset Positions
Input Event Control
Motion/Event Alerting via email
JPEG and AVI export formats
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Password Protection
PC Specs: Single CPU systems only
OS Specs: Windows 2000, XP Pro, 2003 Server, XP Pro (64-bit), 2003 Server (64-bit)
Licenses: 4 Cameras
Integration Option with XProtect Transact


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Headaches, insomnia, tinnitus, DNA breakdown. . . These are just a few of the myriad problems mentioned when people talk about the constant bombardment of EMFs or electromagnetic frequencies, a huge by-product of the new Smart Meters being installed by public utilities around the country.
But wait! We have been told that the Smart Grid, with it's Smart Meters would be a good thing for all of us. Now we find out that this scheme poses very real dangers to human health?
Information on the effect of installing millions of Smart Meters, all equipped with wireless transmitters that are constantly filling the environment with EMFs, is just starting to trickle in. An electrical engineer named Rob States has been looking into this problem:
"Since individuals with no history of RF disease are experiencing symptoms the first day the meter is installed, we can assume the meter's RF emissions are not the only problem. The RF network is activated months after initial meter installation. Extensive measurements have demonstrated that all of the meters measured so far, including ABB, GE, and Landis Gyr, emit noise on the customer's electric wiring in the form of high frequency voltage spikes, typically with an amplitude of 2 volts, but a frequency any ware from 4,000 Hertz, up to 60,000 Hz. The actual frequency of the phenomena is influenced by the devices that are plugged into the customer's power. Some houses are much worse than others, and this observation has been confirmed by PG&E installers that have talked to us."
Rob's comments come from an online article posted by Stop Smart Meters.
Thanks to the work of people like Stop Smart Meters, communities are waking up to the problem. Especially in California.
Generally speaking, people in California seem to accept new government programs with open arms, especially anything with the words 'green' or 'smart' attached to it. So Smart Meters seemed to be a no-brainer as they promised to make the planet greener and who doesn't want a smart electrical meter?
You should know that the so-called Smart Meters are the typical energy monitoring devices with a little extra bonus added. It is a wireless transmitter (think cell phone) that is constantly sending the power company updates on your electrical use. The meters are now bombarding the environment with EMFs, all day, every day. That electronic carpet-bombing of your home, apartment complex, subdivision is being blamed for health problems in people who are 'electrically hypersensitive.' (a real term)
The argument that Smart Meters will lower energy consumption has also been debunked. Reuters published a piece showing no real long-term savings in homes with Smart Meters vs the old meters.
"Participants who kept the monitor (…) did not manage to sustain their electricity savings any better than those without a monitor."
"A second finding is that certain groups of people seem more receptive to energy-saving interventions than others. A 'one-size-fits-all' approach for home energy monitors cannot be justified."
No real savings, potential health problems. . . so why the rush to install these so called Smart Meters in 200 million homes?
Some skeptics claim the new meters will allow government access to more information and control over individuals. From our new friends at StopSmartMeters.org:
Do you value civil liberties and the right to privacy? When a 'smart' meter is installed, your utility has access to a treasure trove of information about you- when you wake up in the morning, when you go on vacation, what kinds of appliances you are using, etc. They will be able to sell this information to a series of corporations and the government.
YES, the words 'Big Brother' definitely come to mind here.
Oddly enough, California may be leading the charge against Smart Meters. There are almost 30 local governments formally opposing the installation of the Smart Meters. Two weeks ago the tide started turning:
The anti-Smart Meter people actually scored a victory of sorts against this governmental invasion as news broke yesterday that PG&E offered an 'opt-out' program, but it is going to cost you. Early estimates say that choosing the old meter will cost an additional $14-$20 per month, plus a 'set-up' fee.
Let's review what we know about Smart Meters:
European studies have shown no significant energy savings.
Great potential exists for serious and wide-spread health problems caused by constant bombardment of EMFs.
Loss of personal freedom to consume energy as you see fit is inherent in this kind of metering.
Government now has access to even more information about how you live, with the potential to interfere in your life via control of power.
And, if you choose NOT to have a Smart Meter, you will pay a 'tax' for the right to retain your privacy and freedom of choice.
Any questions?


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BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. is raising its annual dividend by 25 percent and making the payout in December in an apparent move to help shareholders avoid possible higher taxes next year.
Disney's board said Wednesday that the company will pay a dividend of 75 cents per share on Dec. 28 to shareholders as of Dec. 10. That is up from its prior dividend of 60 cents.
Disney, based in Burbank, Calif., had been paying its annual dividend in January in recent years. The company did not say why it was moving up the payout.
Several companies have been announcing end-of-year dividends and special cash payments. Historically low tax rates on dividend income will expire in January unless Congress and The White House strike a deal on taxes and government spending.


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Video Archive
Diana Chapman Walsh is the twelfth President of Wellesley College, the nation's leading college for women. During her tenure at Wellesley, she has emphasized the practice of dialogue as a vital aspect of campus intellectual and cultural life.
Diana Chapman Walsh
Keynote Talk, Difficult Dialogues
November 1, 2006
Razzo Hall, Traina Center for the Arts, Clark University
RT: 98 minutes
Sponsored by:
Difficult Dialogues
Press Release


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Michael Totten has posted a riveting account of "Christopher Hitchens and the battle of Beirut." Hitchens comes across a bit like an American innocent abroad, an idealistic fool among murderous thugs, while Totten is the gimlet-eyed sophisticate. But the story Totten tells is of interest beyond Hitchens's roughing-up and the group's narrow escape.
Via Instapundit.
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