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Filed under: .General
Why are research and conservation efforts focused on such a small percentage of the population? Why are research tools not readily available to the general public? Why are rare papers at the National Archives only available to those with a "special authority" from the director? Why do people sell their lolo's old office papers por kilo at the bote-garapa?
Behind my questions is the poor state of interest in history and preservation in the Philippines. Ambeth Ocampo, with his writings, has done a lot to bring the lives of Filipino heroes closer to the the average Pinoy; but so much more needs to get done. I feel that the best way to get kids and young adults today interested in the time before Facebook games and Android phones is to get them researching about something personal — their own families.
Sadly, little has been done to effectively present history research as an interesting personal journey. Aside from the CLDS Family History Centers, their is no repository of data that is conducive to research (my trips to the National Library and National Archives will be the topic of a separate entry — a looong one). So much of the fascinating tales of our lolo's and lola's, often shared in family reunions, are based on oral histories — which, as some of us have observed, grow grander over time. There is no organized group of genealogy enthusiasts who are championing the preservation of the personal histories of the common tao.
We need a Philippine Genealogical Society.
I am in search of equally passionate Filipino family history researchers to form the nucleus of the organization. I am looking for individuals who have, through first-hand documented research, built their family trees and communicated their findings to their relatives or other interested parties, either through printed materials or digital media. They should be willing to volunteer their time to toward improving genealogy practices and increasing interest in family history in the Philippines.
Please fill out this on-line sign-up sheet (http://bit.ly/pgs-intro-form). It will ask you some contact details as well as three questions on your genealogy experience — you will need about ten minutes to fill it out. You can also join the discussion in this forum.
I know there are not a lot of Pinoy genealogists out there, so I will wait for as long as it takes. Individual invitations will also be extended to historians of note. When a critical mass is achieved, I will call for a start-up meeting, in Metro Manila. I am eager for the sharing of ideas on how to move ancestry and family history research into the mainstream.
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Sent it by email and count me in!
a worthy project. i am a hard core philippine genealogy researcher and i am interested in your project of creating a philippine genealogy society. why not set up the society and then people can submit their applications rather than people applying when nothing is formalized yet. thanks!
HI – I'm trying to trace my Filipino daughter-in-law's family history for my grandson. I have details of his European history back to the 12th century but am having problems going back further than two generations for his Filipino roots. We have no "paper" records so rely soley on "word of mouth" – SO good luck with your project – just what is needed.
Hi Mona…I'm starting our own family tree and trying to trace our ancestors. I'd like to know some tips on what tools you've used to be able to research. Right now, I've only used familysearch.org and has provided a lot of positive results but are still lacking. I did try the National Archives along Kalaw St. but I was not able to find any record. (Either that or tinamad sila maghanap kasi I gave them a bunch of records to look for). Most of my ancestors kasi I don't know the specific years kaya I was not able to find them at the National Archives. I hope you can help me, too. Thanks. By the way, some of my ancestors were married to Magnos of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, as well. I don't know if there's a link to your family. More power!
Thanks, Mona. I did inquire on their online help and told me to go to the nearest Family Research Center to order the microfilms. The one nearest us (along Buendia) is currently under renovation. Do you have any idea how much the microfilm rentals are? Do I get to print them as well in the FHL also? Thanks again!
Hi Mona, I visited the Family History Center in White Plains and was able to get a few recent documents (documents which the National Archives said they didn't have). I had limited time so I just focused on the more recent relatives. I think I would need more time to sort through the handwritten Spanish documents and will just come back again. If only I can devote a whole day sifting through the microfilms…I will definitely come back. I just gave a donation and told them that I will be back. Your blog is indeed very helpful. Thanks.
been dreaming of this for years. I will be of great help. much eager to join. looking forward to more interactions with you
I would be very happy to answer any question you might have as to resources in the Family History Center. Right now, i am very interested in helping you out with your Magno line. I have a close friend named Martin Tinio Jr. who has extensive research on that line. I think his Magno line is from Bicol. Perhaps I can connect you to him.
Well, you'll be glad to know that he is already up and about. I visit him frequently because I maintain his computers. i am also working on putting his work online for the public to use. i'll tell him about PGS when i visit him this weekend most probably. i am sure he'll be thrilled to hear about it. I have proposed the idea to him a few years back and he mentioned that they have tried to set up one with Sis. J, but were not pursue it.
*were not able to pursue it
hi, an aunt of mine (my dad's eldest sister) is asking if i could find a professional genealogist here in Manila and how much they would charge for their service.
she wants to trace the roots of my grandmother's Sevilla line from Liloan, Cebu.
hope you could help us out.
My Dad's 70th birthday is coming up and would like to give him his family history for his birthday. Please tell what i need to do my email is firstname.lastname@example.com i would really like to hear from you guys soon.
hi mona,
i was conducting family research and came across geni.com were you had articles and also created the family tree of vilma santos. we have since established that our family (del rosarios) are related to her through her father, amado constantino santos.
a little family background i guess would be of interest
my great great parents are tiburcio del rosario and teresa sempio. lola teresa is the sister of felipa sempio (the mother of gregorio del pilar)
lolo tiburcio and lola teresa had 7 children, 4 of which were child bearing
judge simplicio del rosario (my lolo and one of the signatories to the malolos constitution)
timoteo del rosario
andrea del rosario aguinaldo
esteban del rosario
timoteo del rosario married marcela constantino. marcela and and timoteo were cousins which meant that all the constantino relatives of lola marcela were related to the del rosarios
my aunt visited the house of amado constantino santos way back when and they both said they were cousins (am guessing 2nd)
so, to be able to establish the constantino branch (which includes ms. vilma santos and her aunt charito solis , carmen rosales as well as famed filipino director felicing constantino) i was wondering if you knew the names of ms. santos grandparents and great grandparents. our current tree lists irene constantino as a sister of marcela but we have not established if this is ms. vilma santos great grandmother.
this would make ms. vilma santos my 3rd cousin (or more appropriately, ate vi (lma) as she is older.
hope you can kindly assist. you can email me at email@example.com
we used my heritage.com to create our online family tree.
thank you.
buddy del rosario
I did an extensive research on the Bustamante family of Bulacan, Bulacan a while back and I have connected this to the Del Rosario and Sempio of the same town. I was just wondering if you already have data about the parents of Felipa and Teresa Sempio. If you need that, I have some interesting details about the patriarch of the Sempio line who is an immigrant from China.
hi mona and felvir,
sorry for the late reply. i just saw your comments today.
mona, that would be great if you could link our tree to my cousin ate vi.
felvir, actually, the only data we have about the two sister is the is their siblings and the the branches that fall under them. that would be awesome if you could provide some sempio history.
Hi. My great great grandfather Latinu Rodriguez was the early settler in Estancia, Iloilo ( according to history records ) but the information about him and where he came from is missing. Not even a word of mouth info from relatives. This big void in my family tree is driving me mental hence I started to do some research but didn't get very far yet. It can be frustrating but I am not giving up. In my lifetime I want to know who I am and where I came from. The web links you guys posted will be very helpful. I will be working hard and keep you informed. I'm ever so grateful.
Just in case any genealogist would be interested in helping me out my family line is Magbanua-Rodriguez-Mosqueda. Many thanks. Roma


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Open Source CMS Kajona V3.4.0 "berlin" is ready
The development of the new Kajona version 3.4.0 took nearly ten months, but it was worth waiting. The Kajona team used the time to refactor many aspects of the system, providing both, visible changes at the user-interface and invisible changes under the hood. Like the release name "berlin" hints at, most of the feedback from this year's LinuxTag in Berlin was already implemented in Kajona 3.4.0. Portaleditor Editors responsible for maintaining the websites' content will love the improved in-site-editing. For the first time it's now possible to even create new pages right in the portal.… Read More →

subset: commoncrawl


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Big Leaguers Notebook: July 14
Martin passes up playing time for first-time All-Star Wieters
Three-time All-Star Russell Martin knows how special it feels to play in baseball's Midsummer Classic, and that's exactly why he passed his playing time in this year's All-Star Game to first-time honoree Matt Wieters. "I went into [manager Ron Washington's] office and told him, 'I'm ready to play, but I think it would be pretty cool if you give Wieters a chance to play in his first All-Star Game.' For me, I just put myself in his shoes. I just thought it was a good idea," said Martin. "It's huge," said a very appreciative Wieters, who was unaware of Martin's good deed until after the game. "It makes me think that much more of that guy. It's a real unselfish act." (New York Daily News)
Bearded wonder Brian Wilson was the clear choice for Best Dressed on last night's ESPY Awards red carpet in a spandex tuxedo suit. Said Wilson of his unique look, "It's a onesie, so it has built-in gloves that are a little dirty because I've been getting a little awkward here on the carpet. And I've got my cougar cane -- my 'plus one' tonight. The [ninja] socks came in the fan mail from a San Francisco Giants fan. You know who you are -- thank you. It said: 'Enjoy." That was the letter. And I'm currently enjoying them." (Yahoo Sports!)
Honorable mention goes to Evan Longoria and his entourage with their "Anchorman meets Dumb & Dumber" suits. (Twitter)
Jacoby Ellsbury's very first All-Star Game was more than just the chance to fulfill a baseball dream -- it was the chance to honor his Native American heritage and play near the Arizona reservation where he lived with his grandmother as a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. "This was a dream of mine as a little kid," said Ellsbury, the first Navajo player in the Major Leagues. "It's exciting for me to be out here, to come back. I still keep in touch with some of these people. It's something I'm very proud of. I'm very proud to be a Native American." (ESPNBoston.com)
Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson was born and raised in Illinois, but somewhere along the line he became a "diehard" fan of Kansas basketball. (Kansas City Star)
For Major League veteran Michael Cuddyer, teammates like Nick Punto aren't just co-workers -- they're family. Blogged Cuddyer, "The one thing average baseball fan doesn't realize is how much time ballplayers spend at the park or spend on the road. A clubhouse is a special place to go to work, and it is an honor to share it with the guys I call teammates. Your teammates become an extension of your family. Baseball is a game you can't do alone, and because of that, the word 'teammate' has a much stronger meaning than many will ever know." (FOX Sports North)
It's '80s night at the Rogers Centre, and Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia is looking for suggestions for his walk-up music. (Twitter)
Congratulations to Roy Halladay, who took home the 2011 ESPY Awards for Best MLB Player and Best Moment after racking up 21 wins and tossing a no-hitter in 2010 National League Division Series. (Philadelphia Daily News)
Tweet of the Day: "Just deleted 'Bossy' by #Kelis from my I-tunes, what was I thinking when I bought that one?" -- Indians closer Chris Perez (@ChrisPerez54). Twins third baseman Danny Valencia replied, "@ChrisPerez54 I remember you were blasting Barbara Streisand and Celine dion back in 05 and singing to it on the way to work outs at 515am." (@dannyvalencia18)
Quote of the Day: "Wow, it has to be the first web gem I ever made, when I had just come up back in Cleveland. It wasn't between-the-legs or behind-the-back or anything like that. A ball hit to my left and I dove to keep it in front of me, spun and made the throw. That has to be the one because it was the first." -- Human highlight reel Brandon Phillips on the web gem he's proudest of making. (ESPN.com)
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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BERLIN- While Stephen Decatur's varsity football team narrowly missed the state Class 2A playoffs last year, the Seahawks face a more difficult task to reach the post season and play for a potential state championship this year with the move to Class 3A.
The Seahawks open their 2007 campaign tonight at home against Washington, a small school from Somerset County that Decatur typically handles with ease. Unfortunately, largely because of simple geography, Decatur will continue to play smaller schools on the Lower Shore despite being moved up to Class 3A last fall, which could hurt its chances of making the state playoffs regardless of what happens on the field this season.
The state last fall announced reclassifications of high schools across Maryland and Decatur was moved up to Class 3A based on increased enrollment figures over the last several years. As a result, Decatur is the only school from the Bayside Conference, or anywhere on the Eastern Shore for that matter, in the state's Class 3A-East region.
The change came too late to make adjustments in this year's schedule to include Class 3A teams from the other side of the bridge, and Decatur's commitment to the Bayside Conference will keep them playing Class 2A and 1A schools for the most part, As a result, it could be difficult for the Seahawks to earn enough points to make the Class 3A playoffs no matter how their win-loss record turns out.
Nonetheless, the Seahawks appear armed and ready to take on all comers after an off-season conditioning program and two-a-days for the last few weeks. While Decatur did lose some key players from last year's 6-4 team, the Seahawks appear to have the talent, if not the experience, to improve on that mark this year.
Decatur will have to get off to a better start than it did last year, when it opened the season with a 1-4 record before winning its last five games. The Seahawks' opponent in the opener tonight, Washington High, provides the perfect opportunity to get off to a good start. Decatur beat Washington, 41-0, in the second to last game last season and should be able to duplicate that success this year.
After that, Decatur goes out of state to play always tough Indian River before a couple of difficult conference games against Kent Island and Easton. The key part of the Seahawks' schedule could be a three-game stretch at the end including tough games against Bennett and Wicomico with the usual finale against county rival Snow Hill.


text: TuTh 11:15am-12:30pm (meets with another section of SPEA V-450) Espionage may be the world's second oldest profession and certain fundamental concepts remain constant, but its importance, targets and methods do change with the times. Change may result from new technologies or from new political realities. Two major and related shifts came with the end of the Cold War in 1991 and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. Since the end of WW II, the primary focus of America's intelligence services had been the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and other communist-oriented states. After 1991, there were still many intelligence targets, but they were much more fragmented. After the September 11th attacks, the work shifted even more from nation-state entities to targeting small terrorist groups or even individual fanatics. This course will begin with a brief look at the way it was during the last decades of the Cold War so as to provide a base line upon which to recognize the changes. We will then discuss the massive reduction in intelligence personnel and budgets in America and around the world during the 1990's and examine what was left to spy on. The third section will look at all the changes in America's espionage apparatus after the shift to chasing terrorists in a post- 9/11 world. Billion-dollar satellites that were great for counting Russian tanks and missiles have proven almost useless in finding Osama Bin Laden. It may not have been easy to recruit a Russian or Chinese diplomat to become an American spy, but at least the CIA always knew where to find the targets – at the Russian and Chinese embassies. Today, how do American or British or French intelligence officers even find a possible terrorist to talk to and what can you offer a fanatic to convince him to become a spy rather than be a suicide bomber? How does the NSA find the one important terrorist phone call out of the millions of hourly worldwide calls? We'll explore all the legal changes that have occurred in America that now allow the CIA and FBI to more easily share information under the logic that the United States border is just an artificial separation of the investigative work needed to stop terrorist attacks. How does all this affect our privacy and civil liberties? How coercive should an interrogation of a captured terrorist be in order to prevent a terrorist act from occurring? Has the creation of the Director of National Intelligence really improved how the American Intelligence Community functions? Have the Congressional Oversight Committees kept up with the new challenges? We'll examine these and related questions in what is no longer your father's world of intelligence. The course is taught by a recently retired CIA operations officer.


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Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Rediscovering Mike Raven (part three)
Part One
Part Two
"It wasn't a great film or a great performance, and personally I would have liked someone like Stephen Weeks (director of I, Monster) to direct Mike, as he could easily have too much of his own way! We both liked Tom (Parkinson, the director) very much. He had an art school background and was very similar to Mike's radio audience, so it was quite easy to go to the next step and do another film."
- Mandy Fairman, Mike Raven's wife, on Crucible of Terror (1971)
That other film was Disciple of Death (1972), Raven's second starring vehicle and a very different animal from Crucible.
While the first was essentially a conventional British horror film, albeit with a few very unusual moments, Disciple is intensely personal, and really quite unlike any other movie.
That's a much overused observation, but it really does apply here. Indeed, viewed today, it is hard to imagine how Raven could not have seen that he was serving up something that was just too bizarre, too esoteric and too personal to suit the tastes of his time.
But at the time his confidence was such that he finally and decisively cut his ties with BBC Radio, where he had been comfortably ensconced as a respected blues DJ for many years.
"Mike gave up the BBC during the post production of Disciple," remembers Mandy. "He was the first DJ to leave Radio 1 of his own accord and they really didn't want him to go. I still have the farewell letter from Doreen Davis saying that he could go back at any time. Several people did the show afterwards but I don't feel it had the same impact. The official line by the BBC was that he was taking a break."
What he couldn't have foreseen was that Disciple would prove to be his last film appearance of any kind, his horror career undone before it had really started by a combination of bad luck, bad management and bad reviews.
While Crucible just about scraped by as a low budget mainstream release, Disciple is more obviously amateur (in the best – and literal - sense of the term) and individualistic. The budget is obviously much lower, and the fact that it is a period piece only enhances the home movie ambiance.
As the parson who takes on Raven, Van Helsing-style, Ronald Lacey makes a welcome return from the Crucible cast, as does Betty Alberge, and other recognisable faces (notably Virginia Wetherell, Louise Jameson and George Belbin, the old Baron in Jimmy Sangster's Horror of Frankenstein), pop up as well. But the general feeling is of a rep company of – again, no pejorative meaning intended – amateur players.
"I think they all had fun shooting it, and we all had parts as extras," recalls Raven's son Dominic. (If you want to spot them, Mandy and some of the children are "very cheap extras" in the funeral scene, and Raven's eldest daughter is one of the zombie girls.)
Rereading the above paragraphs, I am aware of what is going to be a persistent problem when writing about this movie: trying to describe what makes it so unusual and distinctive, without making it sound like it isn't any good.
Let's be clear at the outset: if you don't like having to use your imagination, or enjoy the work of film-makers similarly obliged, if you'd rather have it all thrown at you so as to achieve that perfect state of CGI brain-death, then certainly this is not the movie for you.
But if you are a fan of those supreme individualists that exploitation cinema occasionally throw up; amazing, creative, sincere madmen like Ed Wood or Ray Dennis Steckler, then there is plenty here to reward your attention. It's a film you have to get into a particular mindset to fully appreciate, and – crucially – it is not a Hammer/Amicus/Tigon mindset.
This is a film for people who enjoy seeing an individual vision transplanted to the screen with as little filtering through consensus, committee and studio sensibilities as possible. A low budget can only enhance such qualities: it prohibits short-cutting and reliance on cliché; it forces unusual solutions to logistic and creative problems.
It's the kind of environment in which one-of-a-kind imaginations like Raven's can thrive.
Though Tom Parkinson is again in the director's chair, Raven is much more the driving force this time, with "a lot of Dad's interest in religion and the occult… reflected in the plot" according to Dominic.
In fact, while most sources credit Raven as screenwriter, under his real name of Austin Fairman, Parkinson as director and the pair as co-producers, the print I watched has one joint credit that simply reads 'a film by Austin Fairman and Tom Parkinson' and no separate credits at all, indicative of the closely collaborative nature of the production.
As Mandy remembers: "It was very much Mike and Tom's own work. They shared this 'jokey but unjokey' sense of humour, a bit undergrad, but with a serious layer hidden underneath."
Though in many ways a more complicated and intricate production than Crucible, with the added financial burden of a period setting, Raven managed to scrape together only half the budget of the first film.
According to several sources, the script had originally been offered to Hammer, who had shown some interest and even announced it as forthcoming. But when Michael Carreras returned to the company at the end of 1971 it was one of many slated productions to be swept away by his new broom. Accordingly, Raven was forced to look for private financing, stumping up some of the budget himself with a bank loan.
Mandy is surprised that Hammer had ever been consulted, given their mutual history, and has no memory of their involvement: "I wouldn't have thought that anyone connected with Disciple would have gone near Hammer: two different mind-sets. I wouldn't have ruled out Tom approaching Amicus, but not to my knowledge, or rather memory."
The budget, needless to say, was tight: "Both films were shot on a shoestring, but this was an even smaller shoestring, and with no distribution deal arranged beforehand. The money men were out of their depth. Tom actually sold this film in America for $250,000, and two days later the head of studio he had shaken hands with got fired! It definitely had the kiss of death on it. It has now become a bit of a cult movie and it was a shame that it was denied the audience it was meant for but somehow they have over the years found their way to it in America."
"As I remember Dad lost quite a bit of money trying to get Disciple of Death a distribution deal and it ended up with a court case," adds Dominic. "I don't know where the DVD copies have come from, actually: after the court case it was never meant to see the light of day."
Billed simply as 'the Stranger', Raven plays a Satanic emissary, raised from the depths when blood is accidentally spilled on his grave, compelled to supply the Devil with an endless succession of virgin sacrifices, surrounded and served by his white-faced former victims. Only when one of his victims comes willingly to his altar and agrees to die and be his companion in eternity will he be freed from his onerous duties…
At least, I'm reasonably certain that is the extent of the idea, but the narrative is developed so obliquely, with so much left for us to assume, or giving up its meaning long after we have experienced it, that you can never feel entirely sure what is going on or why.
The Stranger, for example, gets visibly older and younger from scene to scene like Stoker's Dracula, but there's never any clear indication whether this is dependent on how recently he has undertaken a blood sacrifice. (We see him drinking from a chalice of blood in one sequence, but he doesn't then get younger, and he's at his most sleek and dyed-black-haired at the beginning, before he's killed anyone.)
Both plot and setting are uncommon in a film of its type; I suppose Blood on Satan's Claw is its closest cousin, but the two films are quite unlike each other in style and presentation. As befitting a film written by a man of Raven's interests, the plot is steeped in mysticism, magic, ritual and symbolism. It goes further into such realms than just about any other British horror film, bucking the general trend towards rationalism, established and rarely violated since Hammer's original Dracula had haughtily dismissed the notion of vampires turning into bats as "a common fallacy".
Not for Raven such empiricist cynicism: his film is a rich stew of bizarre esoteric touches, and one which – to say the least – is not afraid to rely on purely magical plot developments, not least in its climax.
While many reviewers have balked at the sudden leap into the supernatural at the end of Crucible, here by contrast is a film that starts in that frame of mind and gets progressively stranger as it moves on.
There are some strikingly beautiful images. The early funeral sequence, in which several members of the Raven clan appear walking the coffin along the lowering Cornish skyline, the weeping of the mourners and the howling of the wind mingling to form a single uncanny noise, is one such, and indicative of the unshowiness of the film's best effects.
"I thought Tom shot that really well," agrees Mandy. "He wanted to have a funeral exactly as it would have been during that period." The point of influence may well be the eerily wordless pre-credit sequence of Witchfinder General, Raven's favourite horror film, but if so it comes close to eclipsing its source.
Like Ken Russell's television films, there is a pictorial simplicity that is far more effective than the kind of elaborate set-ups that draw attention to themselves but distract from the general mood. The film makes good use of skylines especially – Raven and Parkinson were not the first period film-makers to notice that the sky is the one part of any location that is guaranteed not to have changed over time - and a later sequence in which the avengers gallop on horseback past a gibbet, complete with gently swinging corpse, is simply superb.
Lovely use throughout is made of natural light – note the scene where the heroine encounters the gypsy woman and asks her to tell her fortune, with the two silhouetted against the waning sun.
There are many other great touches, some ideas which impress in their very simplicity and willingness to risk naivety. Look at the moment when the hero is led to the Stranger's lair by the ghoulish face of his dead sister appearing at his window and summoning him outside: generically basic stuff, but presented with a striking kind of straightforwardness that could only be diluted by any additional effects or tricks of presentation.
The same goes for the abrupt cuts to split second shots of Raven's eyes (really his this time, not Christopher Lee's) accompanied by the sound of a crow, or the scene where his shadowy form appears in the heroine's bedroom, set to the first line of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, looped to notably odd effect.
The film is intensely scored throughout to classical organ pieces, often assumed to be library recordings, but in fact specially arranged and recorded for the film, and very effective they are too. (According to Mandy, the additional responsibility of overseeing the film's score was a decisive factor in Raven's decision to leave Radio 1: "He was responsible for all the music, which was played on the organ in St Clement Danes, and he felt he didn't have enough time. I can't remember the name of the young organist, but he was brilliant." It was Robert Cornford, the multi-talented musician and composer, who died tragically young in 1983.)
The two sequences that tend to attract most derision are both in the film's second half.
The first sees the young hero and the parson visiting a Jewish cabbalist for help in defeating the Stranger. As well as lurching much further into the realms of magical fantasy than the more darkly folkloric narrative had hitherto hinted, the really odd thing about this sequence is that it is played for laughs, and very broadly, in a film that has displayed not one trace of tongue in cheek at any time prior (and we're fifty minutes in).
Not only is he given a great deal of comic Jewish dialogue, there is an outrageous moment when, immediately after leaving his house, the Parson returns for more information to find him inexplicably transformed into a cobwebby skeleton. Instead of expressing horror, he looks away and embarrassedly mumbles, "it can wait", as if he had just walked in and caught him in the nude.
Then, while all this is going on, we see The Stranger conjuring up a vampire dwarf to assist him: the dwarf (played by former Oompa-Loompa and future Jawa Rusty Goffe) them attempts to waylay the heroes in a variety of supernatural ways, and every time he is thwarted he stamps his feet and waves his fist. Again, the intention can only have been for the effect of this to be comic, which is strange enough in itself at this late stage in the movie, but when the dwarf then goes on to kill the Parson by overpowering him and ripping out his throat with his teeth the juxtaposition is frankly bizarre.
"The jump from horror to jokiness was meant to be sort of Saturday morning pictures," explains Mandy. "It was intentional, but perhaps a step too far for most people. Typical Mike."
It is at these moments – when the film's detractors become most vociferous – that I was first struck by the links between this film and those of Ray Dennis Steckler, notorious for his abrupt narrative gear-changes, seen to most magisterial effect in his certain masterpiece Rat Pfink a Boo Boo. You may find yourself recalling the talking wig blocks from Herschell Gordon Lewis's Gruesome Twosome also, and the exhilarating way in which both of those film-makers refuse you the reassurance of knowing how their movies will progress from one scene to the next.
And provided you do not find such things an unconscionable violation of the rules of verisimilitude you demand of your movies, you'll like the weird stylistic mix here too. It's certainly odd to see The Stranger, at first so sinister, taciturn, stealthy and black-clad, suddenly revealed by the Cabbalist's remote-viewing skills as an eccentric, red-gowned magician, with the latter commenting on his skills as he goes about his hocus-pocus. ("A neat trick, that! Unquenchable fire!")
And actually, there's something authentic-seeming even about this degree of weirdness if we think of the film, as Raven surely did, as a piece of Cornish folklore. Anyone with even the smallest acquaintance with the rich store of bizarre and sinister legends in which the county is steeped will have no trouble with its seeming eccentricities, which are not really all that outlandish in comparison.
Raven's performance lacks entirely the odd hints of uncertainty detectable in the previous film and is twice as full-blooded: just listen to his joyous delivery of his exit speech, as he prepares to torture the young lovers on a vertical rack:
"For seven days and seven nights you will be racked in torment. But long before your sinews crack and you are torn apart you will have prayed for death a thousand times. Oh, well, I must be on my way. No doubt we all shall meet again… in Hell!"
The first lines are said slowly, half-whispered, with subdued sadistic anticipation, building to a crescendo on "a thousand times." Then, the "oh well, I must be on my way" is delivered with definite bathos, as a deliberate comic punchline; but cut short as he snaps back to devilishness, until "in Hell!" is yelled with a triumphant glee that Tod Slaughter might have envied.
It's hard not to feel that Raven was just getting started in this film, but it was not to be.
The original critics weren't entirely unanimous in their derision, according to Mandy: "At the press showing there was an 'establishment' critic, I believe from the Mirror. Not at all the sort of person we thought would 'get' the film. However, to Mike's delight he got it spot on, and gave it a very good short review."
But one good review does not a hit movie make, and the sad truth about Disciple of Death is that it didn't really have the chance even to fail. Swamped in distribution problems it played for a week in London before disappearing in a morass of legal complications. It has rarely been seen since, and unlike Crucible - a perennial treat for curious insomniacs - it has never played on British television.
With it, alas, went Mike Raven's hopes of being a British horror film star, though his family remember little by way of disappointment or gloomy introspection.
The Raven way was to plunge into some new diversion, and after settling into his Cornish farm that proved to be sculpture, the form of artistic expression that satisfied him for the rest of his life.
Austin Fairman, aka Mike Raven, passed away in Cornwall in 1997, at the age of seventy-two.
He was buried on his farm, in a scene strangely reminiscent of the sequence in Disciple of Death in which his family had participated, twenty-five years earlier.
As Mandy recalls: "On the 1st May, 1997, that scene more or less took place, on this farm when he was buried. All our neighbours carried the coffin quite a way across the fields to the grave. It only struck me later that this had all happened before, in the film."
(with thanks to Mandy and Dominic Fairman)
9 comments:
- Holger Haase said...
Thank you so much again, Matthew. What a terrific series of articles. I really have no excuse anymore not to explore Raven's most famous productions.... that I am afraid to admit I have still yet to see. But not for long!!!
- March 7, 2012 at 6:24 PM
- Mark said...
Fascinating. Still long to catch this.
Incidentally, this may be of interest
- March 7, 2012 at 6:53 PM
- Mark said...
Not sure about that link, try this
- March 7, 2012 at 6:55 PM
- Matthew Coniam said...
I'll say! What wouldn't I give to get my hands on that!
- March 8, 2012 at 8:40 AM
- Mark said...
I bid, but forgot to set a reminder :(
- March 8, 2012 at 1:21 PM
- Mark said...
Just seen this on ebay
- April 12, 2012 at 12:46 AM
- ledatape said...
fascinating article! Thanks - Mike is featured at length in Horace Ove's classic 1970 movie "reggae" (aka Boss Sounds etc). Mike was way ahead of his time to be hip to this music. His comments in the film are very insightful.
- February 5, 2013 at 5:14 AM
- ledatape said...
and here's a link - Mike is even in the thumbnail!
- February 5, 2013 at 5:16 AM
- Holger Haase said...
Thanks for those links! Great find.
- February 5, 2013 at 8:51 PM


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iPad 3G customers may soon be getting a lot
Security exploited AT&T's overly permissive web
interface to obtain
114,000 email addresses of iPad 3G buyers, including a host of
A-list politicians, military officials, business chiefs, and
celebrities. Goatse Security previously indicated that it may
have disclosed the flaw to interested third parties before it was
closed, raising the likelihood that malicious parties may have
harvested iPad owners' emails for spamming or other ill purposes.On
Sunday, AT&T's VP of public policy and Chief Privacy Officer
Dorothy Attwood today sent out an apology
email to all of AT&T's iPad 3G data plan
subscribers.In the email Attwood writes, "We apologize
for the incident and any inconvenience it may have caused. Rest
assured, you can continue to use your AT&T 3G service on you iPad
with confidence."Later in the email, AT&T warns
customers to be on the lookout for new spam emails. They write,
"While the attack was limited to email addresses and ICC-ID
data, we encourage you to be alert to scams that could attempt to use
this information to obtain other data or send you unwanted email.
You can learn more about phishing by visiting the AT&T
website."One interesting thing about the letter is its
characterization of the Goatse Security analysts as "hackers"
and the breach as an "attack". AT&T also writes
in a letter that the attack was "malicious", despite the
fact that Goatse Security purportedly informed AT&T of the
hole.AT&T is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to investigate
the breach. The investigation could yield criminal charges
against the Goatse Security analysts, if they reside in the U.S.
In AT&T's letter it says that it does not tolerate leaking of
personal information and will "prosecute violators to the
fullest extent of the law."In the case of Goatse
Security, one thing that may hinder criminal charges is just how easy
to find the information was. The only "hack" of any
sort Goatse Security had to engage in was to send AT&T's web
application a request header that looked like it came from an iPad.
Sending fake request headers is nothing new, and not particularly
illegal. For example, many smartphones have the option to set
your request header to either indicate you're on mobile phone, or to
spoof websites to think you're on a PC and display the normal
website.With the easy-to-make iPad header in place, Goatse
ran an extremely simple PHP script to guess a variety of ICC-ID
numbers and store the resulting emails. Harvesting private
information that's accidentally exposed is a gray area of the law
(abusing such
info is obviously a crime, though, under various laws, such as
anti-spamming legislation). Since Goatse did not break into
password-protected systems or conduct any sort of serious attack on
AT&T's servers, it's hard to say whether AT&T and the FBI
will be able to successfully prosecute the team.Goatse
Security has issued a response, in which it argues that iPad owners
had a right to know about this security flaw and that it did nothing
wrong. It writes:
disclosure needed to be made. iPad 3G users had the right to know
that their email addresses were potentially public knowledge so they
could take steps to mitigate the issue (like changing their email
address). This was done in service of the American public. Do you
really think corporate privacy breaches should stay indefinitely
secret? I don't. If you're potentially on a list of exploit
targets because someone has an iPad Safari vulnerability and they
scraped you in a gigantic list of emails it is best that you are
informed of that sooner than later (after you've been successfully
exploited). We did this to help you.
thing that could complicate prosecution is that the Goatse team
appears to at least be partially be based out of France.
A WhoIS lookup on
the domain (security.)goatse.fr reveals that it is hosted by a French registrar by the name of "GANDI" which resides in Paris (the company's contact
email and phone number appear to be included in the registration).
Gandi's website can be found here and
appears to offer hosting and security services.Combining
information provided by the team page on the Goatse Security site and
simple Google name searches, we discovered that a couple of the team
members indeed reside in the U.S.
--Escher Auernheimer (Calif.), Christopher
Abad (Calif.). Others -- such as Sam
Hocevar (France) -- reside outside the country.


text:
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text:
agree, maybe if think back to 98, when fan's favorite John Starks was traded to Golden State for Latrell Sprewell we'll see some coincidence
i'm not saying that sprewell of 98 = keith van horn 03, but he might not be that bad
do what you gotta do!
give him a break???Originally Posted by Swifftey
after having the balls to ask for the #2 jersey?? man i know he'll be under pressure all the time
well, he could have ask for the #8
No signature
that still don't mean i'll like him


text:
Tuesday March 20, 2012
Her eldest daughter Beyonce is a global superstar, and her youngest, Solange, an achingly cool DJ and fashionista.
But the girls' mother, Tina Knowles, gave her daughters a run for their money when all three stepped out in New York.
Rocking a fierce monochrome suit and killer heels, the superstar mum was a guest at Michelle Obama's fundraiser.
Daughter Beyonce had left her newborn Blue Ivy at home to join her mum and sister at the event – thrown to raise money for President Obama's re-election campaign.
The fashion forward pair have collaborated to create their own House of Dereon fashion line.
Read full story
Photo: & copy; Rex


text:
Yonder wrote:
I was trying to clarify that the electromagnetic force had an identically massive 1/r^2 term, but that the coefficient for the electromagnetic force was much, much larger than the coefficient for the gravitational force. I was not arguing that the rest of the term for the muon-proton electromagnetic force was larger than that in the electron-proton system.
That's a good back-of-the-envelope argument for why gravity isn't important. At these scales to really understand the effect of the electromagnetic force you need quantum mechanics. We don't have a good theory of quantum gravity to say what its effects may be. However I'd say that if gravity became significant for something a mere 200 times heavier than an electron then we'd have seen a lot more effects with more massive particles and that quantum gravity theory wouldn't remain so elusive -- basically the same argument as the envelope calculation saying gravity is just too weak compared to the other forces at play.


text:
All quotes tagged Baffle
(35 quotes found)
"Nothing so completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself, than straightforward and simple integrity in another."
"The real difficulty, the difficulty which has baffled the sages of all times, is rather this: how can we make our teaching so potent in the motional life of man, that its influence should withstand the pressure of the elemental psychic forces in the"
"For Freedom's battle once begun, / Bequeathed by bleeding Sire to Son, / Though baffled oft is ever won."
"At that point, I was just baffled; I couldn't believe it. I told the guys that they needed nine runs and we got 11. We tied the game before we got our first out. It took everyone to get that job done. Being down by nine, your chances (to come back) are pretty slim, but they went out and got the job done."


text:
CDA Issues 2012 Colorado Livestock Disease Recap
- Nov 18, 2012
- Topics:
The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and horse and livestock owners in that state have had a busy summer protecting livestock from diseases that affected this state's largest agricultural sector: the animal industry.
"The collaboration between livestock producers, private practice veterinarians, our veterinary diagnostic laboratories and our Department were important in reducing the risks and mitigating the effects of livestock disease in our state," said CDA's State Veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM. "In ... disease investigations, the timely and effective laboratory diagnostics at the Colorado State University's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory were vitally important."
To date in 2012, authorities have investigated the following equine-related disease outbreaks:
Anthrax: This investigation began in 2012. In all, approximately 55 cattle died due to an anthrax outbreak; four Logan County premises were quarantined and subsequently released after fulfilling disease control requirements. Although no horses in Colorado contracted the disease this year, owners in affected areas should be on the lookout, as the disease can prove fatal for equids. Anthrax can develop naturally in soil; the spores can become active in association with periods of marked climatic or ecologic change such as heavy rainfall, flooding or drought which can then expose the anthrax spores to grazing livestock. In these areas the spores apparently revert to the vegetative form and multiply to infectious levels so that cattle, horses, mules, sheep and goats can readily become infected when grazing such areas.
Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1): In early May, one horse residing in Douglas County tested positive for EHV-1. Prior to exhibiting signs of disease the affected horse had recently traveled to Colorado from Iowa. This horse was euthanized after showing severe neurological signs associated with the disease. After the initial case was diagnosed, several exposed horses were monitored closely and fortunately there was no further spread of disease. Good preventative disease measures instituted by the horse owners helped to control any possible disease spread. EHV-1 is not transmissible to people; however, it can be a serious disease of horses that can cause respiratory, neurologic disease, and death. The most common way for EHV-1 to spread is by direct horse-to-horse contact. The virus can also spread through the air, contaminated tack and equipment, clothing, and hands.
Vesicular Stomatitis (VS): Two quarantines were issued in August after two horses in Las Animas and Conejos County tested positive for VS; the quarantines have now been lifted. The state veterinarian's office continues its travel requirement for horses, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, and camelids entering the state from states with confirmed cases of VS. This requirement states that health certificates should include the following statement from the issuing veterinarian, "I have examined the animal(s) represented on this Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) and have found no signs of vesicular stomatitis and they have not originated from a premises under quarantine for vesicular stomatitis."
West Nile Virus (WNV): The number of equine cases of WNV increased in 2012. The 14 cases were spread throughout a wide area of Colorado as there were horses diagnosed in Delta, Fremont County, La Plata, Larimer, Mesa, Montrose, Pueblo, and Weld County. Horse owners should consider vaccination and insect control as effective tools to prevent disease.
"Livestock move throughout the state and across the country on a daily basis making investigating and monitoring livestock diseases an enormous task but the state veterinarian's office is committed to doing our best to protect the health of the animals and the economy of the livestock industry," said Roehr.
Related Content
2013 EHV-1 Tracker Map
Equine Herpesvirus-1 Refresher
Veterinarians Urge Vaccination against West Nile Virus
Increased Equine West Nile Virus Activity in 2012
Complicated Equine Skin Diseases
EHV-1 Inactivated Vaccine Efficacy Tested (AAEP 2011)
Equine Infectious Disease Control in Developing Countries
Neurologic EHV-1: An Overview
Diagnosing Neurologic EHV-1: Back to Basics
EHV-1 Outbreak: Case Total Holding Steady


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COLLEGE STATION, Texas, October 9, 2008 (ENS) - The U.S. landscape industry has enjoyed decades of prosperity, but that will continue only if operators find more environmentally-friendly growing and selling methods, and embrace sustainability, says the executive vice president of the American Nursery and Landscape Association.
Speaking Wednesday at Texas A&M University, Robert Dolibois, delivered the keynote address for the Distinguished Lecture Series of the Ellison Chair in International Floriculture.
Dolibois said his Washington, DC-based organization represents some 2,300 companies that provide products and services to about 80 million U.S. households, but he said the relative good fortune of the industry faces crucial challenges that must be overcome for future success.
For one, the industry "has ridden on the back of the Boomer behemoth" for the past 15 years, he said, but now must realize that the primary purchasing population - the middle-aged households - are diminishing.
The industry certainly must pursue the Gen Y'ers - those who now are 18 to 30 years old - as they transition toward maintaining their own homes, Dolibois said, but the industry must also look for ways to extend the Boomers' interest in buying plants and landscape items.
"In all instances, we need to reverse an alarming trend of reducing the proportion of plant materials relative to hardscaping in residential and commercial design," he said.
Hardscaping is the use of non-plant materials such as sand, gravel or rock to landscape a space. It is preferred by residents weary of yardwork or those in arid urban environments such as Las Vegas who must decrease the amount of water they use to maintain their properties.
Dolibois said new programs such as the Sustainable Sites Initiative being developed in Austin in cooperation with the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanical Gardens, can show the way.
Just as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® rating system measures a building's environmental impact, the Sustainable Sites Initiative will measure the sustainability of designed landscapes of all types including public, commercial, and residential projects using a site rating system now under development.
The U.S. Green Building Council is lending its support to this project and anticipates adoption of the Sustainable Sites metrics into its LEED system once they are finished.
"Embracing sustainability," said Dolibois, is a vital key for the industry's success.
"At this point, it is invoked as both blessing and curse," Dolibois said. "It is time for us to more fully pursue the concepts, define its threats and opportunities and, in significant measure, declare industry ownership of its implications for us."
"Let's re-engineer, re-use, revert and recycle like we never have before," he said.
But pursuing customer groups and stepping up environmental efforts, along with possible increased regulation and the industry's lack of research and development funds, can only be met with better problem-solving skills, Dolibois said.
"Our defense must now be built on hard data and communicated by industry business owners in their terms with authentic examples, repeatedly," he stressed. "Such a defense will require much more research and understanding than we currently enjoy."
Dolibois said meeting the industry's challenges successfully is achievable "provided we build on a strong foundation of collaboration."
The Sustainable Sites Initiative will issue its next major report on sustainable landscape design for public comment in November. A preview was presented at the American Society of Landscape Architects annual meeting and trade show that concluded Tuesday in Philadelphia.
The Texas Nursery and Landscape Association has a sustainability discussion on its website, visit: http://tnlaonline.ning.com/
{Photo: Native to the United States, this Wright's desert honeysuckle bush is growing in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Joseph Marcus courtesy Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)}
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.


text:
By Peter McWalters and Circe Stumbo
School districts and school boards traditionally have had the authority to evaluate their teachers and principals, but new programs coming out of the U.S. Department of Education, including Race to the Top and proposals for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, call for states to play a stronger role in evaluation as a way to push for improvements in education.
This development is a double-edged sword: It could strengthen the ability of local leaders to transform education, but it also has the potential to override local authority.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has crafted a set of standards for teacher practice that could help school leaders deal with the increased federal and state demands while still maintaining local control.
The council's Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), made up of representatives of the teaching profession, including practicing teachers, teacher educators, and state education agency staff, spent the past 18 months updating the standards, which were first drafted in 1992 and adopted by at least 38 states. The updated standards focus on how teachers can help students achieve to standards, including the Common Core State Standards released this year.
The consortium is seeking extensive input for the revised standards, including from school board members and administrators. Please consider providing your opinions and perspectives before the public comment deadline of Oct. 15. The consortium will revise the model core teaching standards based on comments received, then will help states adopt or adapt them to transform teaching and learning across the country.
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Copyright © 2018, National School Boards Association. American School Board Journal is an editorially independent publication of the National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed by this magazine or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of the National School Boards Association. Within the parameters of fair use, this article may be printed out and photocopied for individual use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise, linked, transmitted, or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6739.
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text:
A spokeswoman for Whirlpool said 826 hourly workers and eight salaried employees left the company's employment Friday. Whirlpool reduced the number of workers at its Fort Smith plant for years before deciding to stop production altogether.
The production of side-by-side refrigerators has transferred to Mexico, while built-in refrigerators are now being produced at a plant in Amana, Iowa.
The Southwest Times Record reported a handful of workers will remain until late July to complete the closure of the Fort Smith facility. Whirlpool said a drop in demand for side-by-side refrigerators caused the closure.
The factory had 4,600 workers as recently as 2006.


text:
Mozilla is working on a new smartphone operating system called Firefox OS that hopes to compete with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. The project was first announced back in 2011, and earlier this month, it was reported that Mozilla had made TCL Corporation its hardware partner.
It's still early days for Firefox OS, but if you'd like to see what Mozilla has in store, you can now run the platform on your Mac using a Boot2Gecko (B2G) "nightly" build.


text:
© 2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Ichiro nabs second Silver Slugger
Mariners outfielder continues to excel at record-setting pace
By Bob Sherwin / Special to MLB.com
SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki is in mid-offseason form, accepting the laurels for yet another stellar season. On Friday, the Seattle Mariners center fielder won his second career Silver Slugger Award, which recognizes the best offensive producer at every position in both leagues. He also won the award in 2001, his rookie season in which he captured the batting title (.350), the stolen-base title (56) and the American League MVP. The award comes three days after Ichiro won his seventh straight Gold Glove. The Silver Slugger winners are determined by a vote of Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Selections are based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, as well as the coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value. Managers and coaches were not allowed to vote for players on their own teams. Ichiro finished the 2007 season with a .351 average, second in the AL behind Detroit's Magglio Ordonez (.363). He had a Major League-leading 238 hits, reaching the 200-hit plateau for a seventh straight season. Only Wee Willie Keeler had a longer streak of eight seasons (1894-1901). Ichiro led the league in infield hits (53) and multihit games (76), was fourth in steals (37), eighth in runs (111) and ninth in on-base percentage (.396). He had the league's second-longest hitting streak, a club-record 25 games, was first in average against right-handers (.396), and had the highest average in Interleague Play (.486). While power guys traditionally dominate this award -- Ichiro hit just six home runs -- the 33-year-old native of Japan earned his way into this elite group with the league's second-best average with runners in scoring position at .397. Among the other formidable achievements for Ichiro last season were: MVP of the All-Star Game in San Francisco. He went 3-for-3, including the first inside-the-park home run. First player in modern history to have three 230-plus-hit seasons (262 in 2004; 242 in 2001). Played in his 1,000th big league game on May 24, and his 1,414 hits were the second most in that span. Finished the season with 1,592 hits, most for any player in any seven-year period. Hit .427 in June, highest average in club history for that month, his sixth career month at .400-plus. Set the AL record with 45 consecutive stolen bases without being caught. Led the Majors with a club-record .998 fielding percentage, one error in 433 chances. Joining Ichiro with Silver Slugger Awards in the AL are: first baseman Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay; second baseman Placido Polanco, Detroit; third baseman Alex Rodriguez, New York; shortstop Derek Jeter, New York; outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles; catcher Jorge Posada, New York; designated hitter David Ortiz, Boston; and Ordonez. The National League team is comprised of: first baseman Prince Fielder, Milwaukee; second baseman Chase Utley, Philadelphia; third baseman David Wright, New York; shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia; outfielder Carlos Beltran, New York; outfielder Carlos Lee, Houston; outfielder Matt Holliday, Colorado; catcher Russell Martin, Los Angeles; pitcher Micah Owings, Arizona. The specially designed Silver Slugger Award will be presented to each player by a representative of the Hillerich & Bradsby Co., makers of Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, in a ceremony early in the 2008 season. The trophy is three feet tall and bears the engraved name of the winner and his Silver Slugger teammates in his respective league. The Silver Slugger Award was instituted by H&B in 1980 as a natural extension of the Silver Bat Award which is, as its name indicates, a silver-plated bat presented by Louisville Slugger to the batting champions in the AL and NL. This year's Silver Bat Award winners are Colorado's Matt Holliday and Ordonez. Holliday hit .340 to win the NL batting title. Both will receive their Silver Bat Awards in on-field presentations early in the 2008 season.
Bob Sherwin is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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With your help, we will put a stop to maternity leave discrimination
Last week, we announced a $20,000 settlement, the latest in a series of important HUD enforcement actions across the country to address denials of home loans to women because they are pregnant or on maternity leave. We are able to aggressively pursue this type of discrimination because of the help and engagement of MomsRising and all of its members.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Refusing to approve a mortgage loan or provide refinancing because a woman is pregnant or on maternity leave violates the Fair Housing Act's prohibitions against sex and familial status discrimination.
The couple in this case reported they applied for the mortgage with Land Home Financial Services (LHFS) and received a loan pre-approval letter. However, after the wife gave birth, LHFS required her to return to work and earn a full two-week paycheck by the time escrow closed on the loan. Consequently, in order to obtain the loan, she terminated her maternity leave early and returned to work just 19 days after the birth of her child.
Under the terms of the Conciliation Agreement, LHFS will pay the couple $20,000. LHFS will also ensure that its underwriting polices conform to Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) guidelines with regard to treatment of maternity and pregnancy leave income.
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has successfully resolved a number of important maternity leave cases in recent years. MomsRising has been instrumental in getting word out to parents around the country who have faced different treatment when seeking a loan and often did not realize the treatment they received could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
When one mother steps forward, we are able to protect her and her family's rights as well as other borrowers at the lending institution into the future. And with each case that is publicized, more people learn about the law and discrimination is prevented. Thanks to you and everyone at MomsRising, we are doing more than ever before and, with your help, we will put a stop to maternity leave discrimination.


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Verified Purchase
god til å strø over cottage sheese eller blande med litt vann når du er søthungri. kalorifattig +
Posted by iHerb Customer on Dec 12, 2012 | Verified Purchase
god til å strø over cottage sheese eller blande med litt vann når du er søthungri. kalorifattig +
Posted by iHerb Customer on Feb 20, 2012 | Verified Purchase
I love adding this to my protein powder. You can also make your own chocolate with using 2 tbsp of this, cocoa powder, some stevia and melted coconut oil. It's perfection!
Posted by iHerb Customer on Sep 13, 2012 | Verified Purchase
This peanut butter powder is great in oatmeal, shakes, and soo many many more foods! I am in love ... purchased 2 jars of the regular and 2 jars of the chocolate about 4 weeks ago and they are already gone :) will be ordering more ASAP!
Posted by iHerb Customer on Oct 11, 2013 | Verified Purchase
After placing my first order on this chocolatey peanut buttery goodness, I placed another order for more! I mixed this in to make a chia seed pudding and it tasted great with a bit help of Sweet Leaf Stevia! Highly recommend!! I like this better than the original..maybe it's because I just love chocolate
Posted by iHerb Customer on Sep 05, 2012 | Verified Purchase
YUMMMMMM ... so so so yummy. So glad I found this. Really helps with the pregnancy cravings and it's actually good for you... full of protein! and you don't need to have much to settle your PB cravings. So glad Iherb stock this... very very difficult to find in Australia. Virtually impossible to get here.
Posted by iHerb Customer on Jul 20, 2012 | Verified Purchase
This also smelled delicious!! It is perfect when I get cravings for something unhealty, so much better to just mix in a spoon of this in my shake than to eat a Snickers.
Posted by chrysalis on Jul 14, 2013 | Verified Purchase
I love regular PB2, so naturally I also love PB2 with chocolate. The hint of chocolate is nice, but I found this to be quite a bit sweeter than normal PB2. I have to say I actually prefer PB2 without chocolate but this is still delicious.
Posted by iHerb Customer on Jul 17, 2013 | Verified Purchase
Super low calorie with all the taste!
Posted by Sweetx-Shorty on Mar 09, 2013 | Verified Purchase
Awesome substitute for peanut butter. You won't even miss the fatty-ness of real PB at all. Really like how i could adjust the consistency of the finished product. Want it stickier? Add less water! Want it more fluid? Just add a few drops of H2O! Easy to prepare and a delight to savor (: Act today and grab this low calorie substitute for PB NOW! (:
Posted by iHerb Customer on Feb 03, 2013 | Verified Purchase
Amazing in oatmeal, pb+banana sandwiches! Oh my goodness I need to get more.


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In Not Fade Away, we take a look at the legacy of some of the greatest albums of the past few decades – some iconic, some lesser known – as they celebrate significant anniversaries. Here, we focus on Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut, 'Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd,' which turns 40 this week.
Calling a genre "southern rock" is a bit redundant, if you ask Gregg Allman, whose group, the Allman Brothers Band, is part of the movement. His feeling was that most rock music comes from south of the Mason-Dixon anyway, so the geographical qualifier is unnecessary. But if, like many rock fans, you do buy into the idea of "southern rock" — an unpretentious, working class, guitar and piano driven brand of rock music primary played by guys whose long hair just about covered their rednecks — you can make the argument that ground zero is right here, on 1973's Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd.
Think of it like this: Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin preceded Black Sabbath, but Sabbath is attributed with creating heavy metal with their 1970 debut. Similarly, even though the Allmans and ZZ Top had already released some classic albums by '73, the aforementioned were more like blues bands making rock music. With Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, the south had its own radio and arena-ready act.
Let's get "Freebird" out of the way first. Along with Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven," it was one of the epic deep-ballad-that-morphs-into-deep-rocker songs that dominated the radio in the '70s and continues to be a staple on classic rock stations to this day. Depending on where you sit, "Freebird" either symbolizes everything you love or everything you hate about Skynyrd and '70s rock. Four decades later, the song has become one of music's biggest cliches, inescapable at concerts and large events thanks to The Most Annoying Dude In The Crowd. But if, somehow, you haven't heard the song in, say, five years and you return to it with open ears, you might be surprised by how well it holds up. "Freebird" would not have become so irritatingly legendary were it not a great song.
Then there's "Gimme Three Steps." In a genre filled with machismo, this is the rare song that celebrates high-tailing it out of harm's way. "I was scared and fearing for my life/I was shakin' like a leaf on a tree," Ronnie Van Zant sang. "'Cause he was lean, mean, big and bad, lord, pointin' that gun at me!" It's one of the funniest songs in the classic rock canon.
In an era before the phrase "power ballad" was coined and certainly before it became a dirty word, the album highlighted two classic power ballads, "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone." Sung from the narrator's memory of advice given to him by his mother, the former was something of a mission statement for the band: "Take your time, don't live too fast/troubles will come and they will pass/go find a woman and you'll find love/and don't forget son/there is someone up above." One could argue "Simple Man" is as influential to today's country music as any of Hank Williams' songs.
— Brian Ives, Radio.com


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|Staff Sgt. Lance Koenig
"Lance Koenig." Associated Press, 27 September 2004.
The Carrington doctor, who returned home from Iraq on Wednesday, was driving to Jamestown for the birth of his fifth child when he got a call saying his best friend had been killed.
A few hours later, Page's wife Kristi gave birth to their son, Luke.
"It turned out to be a hard day to celebrate," Page said. "I never had a friend as close to me as Lance - and I probably never will."
Staff Sgt. Lance Koenig, 33, of Fargo, died early Wednesday when a bomb exploded along a road near Tikrit, Iraq. He was serving with the North Dakota National Guard's 141st Combat Engineer Battalion.
Page, a North Dakota National Guard field physician from Carrington, had been providing medical services for a unit from Washington state in Baghdad. Before he was deployed in June, Page got some advice from Koenig, who had been serving in northern Iraq for several months.
"He kind of laughed and told me to keep my head down," Page said. "None of us were over there to be heroes, and the most important thing was to come home."
Their friendship began in the first grade. Page was the new kid in class, and Koenig volunteered to show him around.
The bond lasted through high school, when the friends stayed at each other's homes several nights a week.
"My father thinks of Lance as a son and is taking it pretty hard that Lance is gone," Page said.
Koenig is survived by his wife, Angie, and their two daughters, Alexandra, 12, and Brooklynn, 2. He often boasted about the girls to Page during the pair's regular hunting and fishing trips.
Koenig also talked about having another child, a son with whom he could share his love of wrestling, Page said.
"Most of the things he did in his life were to better his family," Page said.
The men had not seen each other since Christmas, when Koenig left for the Middle East. Their paths never crossed in Iraq, but they shared e-mails and spoke on the phone regularly.
"Lance is a very quiet, shy person," Page said. "He's somebody who leads by example, not words. Even if he was struggling inside, he wouldn't tell you that."
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Hope Lutheran South Campus Church in Fargo. Funeral services are planned in Carrington, but a date has not been announced.
"He's a hero in everybody's eyes - certainly in Carrington and this state," Page said.


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May, 08 2010
Information Technology Committee (ITC) Minutes
April 8, 2010, 12:00 pm-1:30pm, OM304
Present: Lorraine Capobianco (chair), Rich Montague, Mitch Wagener, Todd McInerney, Veronica Kenausis, Rebecca Woodward, Rona Gurkewitz, Kit Hinga
Absent: Dan Goble, William Joel
- CSUS 2020 funded purchases – Three separate CSUS 2020 funded orders have been placed to date. It took approximately 40 to 45 days from the point of submitting the request to the SO and then to DPW to the point of actually placing the order with the vendor. The orders were for 40 projectors and cabling, Cisco EOL network equipment and PC desktop computers and monitors. All three orders are complete. Desktop computers installed for faculty and staff will be deployed with Windows XP. Instructor stations replaced over the summer will be deployed with Windows 7.
- Lorraine reviewed the Desktop Bond Money and increased the amount from $100k to $150k. The ITC machine allocation spreadsheets were updated and distributed to the technology chairs and Veronica. UC (University Computing) had good used Macs so we assessed Macs for faculty and machines were upgraded as necessary, if they were better. The installations were recorded on the appropriate school/library machine allocation spreadsheet. Lorraine budgeted money for the new Macs for HA012, the new Theatre Arts technology classroom. The good used Macs that were initially slated for HA012 were then migrated to faculty/other areas.
- Lorraine Capobianco had to put together possible 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% cuts in supply (OE) budgets and talk of the impact. The President needed this for a university report. Total spent in FY10 on hardware/software renewals and maintenance fees is $480k. 83.4% of the $480k is spent on teaching and learning and every year these costs increase by 5 to 20%. The other 17.6% is spent on infrastructure hardware/software renewals and maintenance fees. The President stated that across-the-board approach would not be appropriate for cuts in the future.
- Some other UC budget facts:
- toner and printer consumables for the entire university (FY09 was $227,200, FY10 estimate $220,000)
- non-residence hall telephones (approximate FY10 total $128,000)
- residence halls telephones (approximate FY10 total $248,000)
- all network charges including residence halls (approximate FY10 total $367,000)
- data/voice/video adds and changes due to office moves, construction, expansion, etc. (approximate FY10 total $185,000)
- Student scholarships from the Information Technology Fee (approximate FY10 total $190,000)
- Student employees for specialized technology lab hours = $6100
- Student employees for MTCC, WSCC, CCCC, STTC, and ResNet = $290,000
- John Caruso and Rick Bassett sent Lorraine an email describing how to save money for toner by changing the fonts. The default fonts used at WestConn (for MS Office) have a low ink usage rating as per the articles cited by John and Rick.
Projects – Update
Spring Projects Completed (Partial Listing)
- Relocate reference printers in Haas to the MTCC
- Server project for Computer Science Department
- ForeFront anti-spam cloud Implementation to replace Sonic Wall and save $16,226
Spring Projects In Process (Partial Listing)
- Banner Degree Audit (CAPP)/Online Catalogue/Program Sheets
- Online CUCAS Application & Enter AY0910 approved curriculum changes
- Replace the main Mac in the Ives Hall Sound Booth
- Install VMware Player 4 in WS103 and public areas
- Windows 7 research and implementation timeline
- SPSS 18 & PASW Statistics Pilot and implementation timeline
- Blog and Wiki software: WordPress Mu & MediaWiki implementation and training
- Implement IPEDS ethnicity regulation
- Implement "no blank grades to submit" option for final grades
- Replace old G3 and G4 Macs with newer used Macs
- Set all printers to duplex
- Make minor adjustments to Election web application for SGA elections
- Convert all web applications from using Banner PIN to use WestConn username and password
- Replace older projectors at WCSU and Western at Waterbury (19 replaced; 25 pending)
- Replace computers in Haas Library floors 2 through 5
- Implement Pharos with WestConnect Card in WSCC, CCCC, MTCC, STTC and other areas to better control printing costs
Summer 2010 Projects (Partial Listing)
- Clean Access for students and wireless access – new platform/version
- Implement new federal regulation for text books by July 2010
- MIS Information Security classroom/lab
- Desktop video conference solution
- Replace all instructor stations at MT, WS, and Waterbury
- Implement Webcheckout for Media Services and Library
- Purchase and implement iPod touches with required software for Nursing students
- Replacement Plan (need to prioritize the replacement of computers)
- Freshman Resource Center (10 PCs); Math Clinic (11 PCs); Writing Lab (12 PCs)
- SB244 (10 PCs)
- HA012 – Theatre Arts is requesting 12 additional iMacs for a total of 28 machines
- WS117a (30 PCs)
- WS212 (30 PCs)
- WS377b (28 PCs)
Completed ACTION ITEMS from September, October, November, December, March meetings:
- Lorraine will order machines by the middle of January 2010. Complete..
- Lorraine will draft a memo to faculty on how budget reductions will impact technology for faculty and share it with the ITC. This item is closed.
- Lorraine updated the school's and library's budgets and she will advise the ITC technology chairs and Veronica at the next (4/8/10) meeting. Machine allocation spreadsheets were updated and distributed. Dan Goble will receive the SVPA spreadsheet by email. Complete..
- Marge Steinberg's computer needs to be assessed for re-imaging or replacement. Machine was re-imaged and is working fine. New computer removed from School of Professional Studies machine allocation spreadsheet. Complete..
- Mitch Wagener noted that the last list of machine allocations were not on the spreadsheet. Gail Walsh to update A&S spreadsheet. Complete..
- Rich Montague said that there was problem with mapping to the H: drive in WS241. Problem was assessed and fixed. Complete..
Open ACTION ITEMS from September, October, November and December meetings:
- Lorraine asked Rebecca to document a procedure for the use of Magic DVD Ripper by Media Services.
- Mitch and Veronica agreed to test free bibliography software and EndNote and do a write-up with a recommendation. Testing is complete. Write-up in process.
- To finalize a few machine allocations in Professional Studies, Kit Hinga needs to request an inventory of what faculty have more than one machine.
- Loraine will order PC laptops, printers/scanners and Macs on the next 2020 order.
Software Requests & Installations Update – As of 4/8/10 (attached)
- An updated software status report was distributed to the ITC. The goal is to have all of the outstanding software installed by the end of the semester. Lorraine asked the ITC technology chairs and Veronica to share the information with the schools/area for their feedback (e.g. missing requests, urgent requests, etc.)
- Because of the overwhelming number of projects, UC will create a process with deadline dates for software installations, April 1th be the deadline to submit classroom/lab software requests for use in the fall of the same year, and September 1th for spring of the following year. Of course, even with deadline dates, complexity of the software installation, impact at the university, UC staffing, and money availability would also affect what semester the software would be available.
Media Services Initiatives – Deferred to the May meeting.
ITC Meeting Schedule: May 13, 2010, 12-1:30pm, OM304


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Indefinite curfew: uneasy calm prevails in Kashmir
Curfew continued in Kashmir for the second day today following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru in Delhi's Tihar jail. Guru was not so bad: Sopore villagers | Closure after 11 yrsindia Updated: Feb 10, 2013 12:39 IST
Curfew continued in Kashmir for the second day on Sunday following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru in Delhi's Tihar jail.
The restrictions on the movement of people in the Valley were tightened this morning as there were many violations on Saturday, official sources said.
The sources said heavy deployment of police and paramilitary CRPF remained in place in all vulnerable areas of the Valley to maintain law and order.
Deployment of security forces has been strengthened in areas where protests took place on Saturday, they said.
Meanwhile, mobile, internet service remained down for the second day as a precautionary measure and news channels were also not being aired by cable TV operators. Newspapers also failed to hit stands this morning due to curfew.
At least 36 people, including 23 policemen, were injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcing agencies across the Valley after Guru's hanging on Saturday.
In a guarded statement, Jammu and Kashmir chief minsiter Omar Abdullah appealed to people to allow the "time to pass peacefully", adding that he had issued orders to paramilitary forces and police to show "utmost restraint".
Curfew in Jammu and Kashmir in likely to stay till February 11, the death anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Maqbool Bhatt.
Union home ministry on Saturday, issued an advisory to all state police forces to remain alert.
The Centre is particularly very cautious of evolving situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Once the decision to hang Guru was cleared, the Centre did a review of the situation in the state. Accordingly, it was decided to impose curfew and suspension of phone, internet and cable services immediately after the hanging.Guru was an operative of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) that is led by Maulana Masood Azhar. Masood Azhar was freed from Indian prison along with two more terrorists in 1999 during the IC-814 hijack in swap for passengers who had been held hostages in Kandhar of Afghanistan.
After being released by Indian authorities Azhar found Jaish in Pakistan with full state patronage.
But after involvement of some of Jaish operatives in the attack on the then Pakistani president general Pervez Musharraf became known, the ISI sidelined Masood Azhar.
But now with Afzal Guru's hanging Jaish may try to make a comeback.
Jaish is known for its strikes on high-security targets like Jammu and Kashmir state assembly building, the Parliament house and the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Besides, other terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba may try to exploit the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. All border security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have been asked to remain on high alert.
With PTI inputs


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I think, from comments that have come up from time to time, that many of the older members (mostly baby boomers? yep.) of DW first encountered Eastern religions and philosophy in general, and Buddhism in particular, through books and authors we can no longer take at all seriously. Can I mention a few names and see how many people cringe? Okay, here goes:alan wrote:Hi meindzai. I also read Alan Watts as a teen and oh boy did I think he had it all figured out. He was my hero for a year or two. Embarrassing to admit it now...but it did inspire me on towards more serious study later. There must be some value in that.
Sorry, no Hesse quotes. Back to you, Hanzze.
Lobsang Rampa (The Third Eye, etc), Alan Watts, I Ching (the version translated from Chinese to German to English), Persig (Zen and the Art of...), Krishnamurti, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Ram Dass (Be Here Now), Gurdjieff, ...
Not so specifically Asian, but of the same period: Carlos Castaneda, Aldous Huxley (The Perennial Philosophy and others) ...
Okay, that's ten. Is anyone (else ) game to admit that they read all of them?
Before someone tells me I'm off-topic: Hesse's Siddhartha and Steppenwolf belong on that list.
And don't think I look down on all of them or regret reading them. They were important in the sixties and seventies, particularly for one very simple reason: they were around at the time, and very little else was readily available. Without them, it's quite possible there would be no DW today, no American Buddhism, no Theravada monasteries in the UK, etc, etc.


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WWE filmed three weeks of NXT tapings tonight at Full Sail University, with WWE Champion CM Punk as the special guest of the night. A big thanks to Scott Brooks and Wrestling News World for the following spoilers:
Dark Match
* Dean Ambrose defeated CJ Parker via Rings of Saturn.
* They showed a video of Richie Steamboat attacking Kassius Ohno earlier in the day near the entrance to the Full Sail Venue.
Dark Match
* Damien Sandow defeated Garrett Dylan.
Episode 1
* Drew McIntyre defeated Richie Steamboat via Future Shock DDT after Kassius Ohno distracted Richie allowing Drew to get the win.
* Big E. Langston defeated Aiden English via the five count. Crowd asked for it again and Big E. hit it. They asked one more time after that and he hit it.
* Michael McGillicutty said that he is the #1 contender to Seth Rollins' NXT Title in what will be his first defense and also his last. He wants to talk to Seth and calls out the "paper champion." Rollins comes out and asks if anyone has told him that he talked too much. He says no one can deny how talented he is, but Michael makes it easy to forget it with how much he runs his mouth. McGillicutty says that he will never respect him and calls him a paper champion. Rollins holds up the title and says it is proof that he isn't and says Michael looks like he is ready and Rollins was born ready so he wants to wrestle right now. McGillicutty says he will do this when he is ready and leaves.
* Kassius Ohno defeated Percy Watson via rolling elbow. Richie Steamboat attacked Ohno before the match but referees broke them up.
* Jim Ross came out for the main event.
* Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd defeated The Ascension when Gabriel hit a 450 Splash on Cameron.
Have a news tip? Attended an event and want to send a live report?


text:
All quotes tagged Drastically
(87 quotes found)
"Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape."
"A tendency to drastically underestimate the frequency of coincidence is a prime characteristic of innumerates, who generally accord great significance to correspondences of all sorts while attributing too little significance to quite conclusive but l"
"There are three effects of attenuating private property rights that ultimately change individuals' perceptions in a drastic way. First, there is the loss of trust in the government to enforce the law, which dramatically affects foreign investors' views of the country. Second, the loss of property titles dramatically limits the amount of borrowing and entrepreneurial activity by disrupting the banking sector. Individuals no longer can offer banks their property as collateral for a loan. Third, there is the loss in the incentive to pass along entrepreneurial knowledge, and work initiatives are sharply stymied as well, since one's investment is not retained."
"You may have your suspicions, your fears, you may even believe there is something, somewhere, terribly, drastically wrong, but because someone else is in charge, because there is a part of the system above you which you don't know, you don't question it, you even distrust your own doubts."
"If the least drastic option works, then we're satisfied. When it doesn't work, then they need some more drastic changes."
"Exactly why the assailants resorted to deadly force is not clear, nor why a drastic shift in 2005 versus 2004. Although one can presume, from past history and experience, that many of these victims and perpetrators were engaged in illegal activity at the time of the event, both in 2004 and 2005."
"Costs are definitely coming down drastically. A lot of good things have happened. Other states are going to look to California."


text: I still think Jason Fleyming or Idris Elba are the way to go for the doctor, but Elba has expressed interest in becoming the next Bond, so I doubt he could be both the doctor and Bond. No one gets that lucky (if he gets at least one of the roles, I'm a happy man). It looks like there's more chance of Elba becoming Bond than the doctor, so my main vote might lean towards Fleyming at the momment. Can't really think of another actor I'd like to become the doctor right now. Alot of people want the guy from Sherlock to become doctor #12, but I can't see why. I can't stand that guy, and the doctors are getting too young now. The next doctor will probablybe a teenager at this rate, I could actualy see that happening. For all we know, Andrew Garfeild might become the next doctor.


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Sefko: Mavs simply are not in same class as San Antonio
The Mavericks surely broke an NBA record Friday night for most misleading score in league history.
Don't let the 113-107 loss to San Antonio fool you. You'd need a space shuttle to cover the gap between the Mavericks and Spurs. For the third time in little more than a month, the Spurs humiliated the Mavericks.
Would it be fair to call this loss an embarrassment?
You bet. The Mavericks were down by 26 points in the third quarter. Junk time allowed them to save face, at least if you think that was possible in a severe blowout from a team that didn't have Tim Duncan, who had a sore knee, or coach Gregg Popovich, who was home in San Antonio with an illness.
"They have our number," Shawn Marion said in understated tone.
You want numbers as to why the Mavericks looked out of their weight class against the Spurs, start with the number 97. If you combine the biggest leads San Antonio had in the three meetings so far (25, 46, 26), you come up with a 97-point difference.
"I mean, if you beat a team three times, pretty handily all three — it wasn't like one of them was close, that I remember — I guess you could say that, if you want," Dirk Nowitzki said.
"They played at a higher level than we did," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We had some stretches where I thought we were doing OK. The run to start the third quarter was decisive. That put us in a huge hole. I probably should have called three timeouts during that [stretch]."
That's when the Spurs' lead went from nine to 72-49. From there, it was simply a matter of style points.
So much for the momentum of five wins in six games for the Mavericks.
They slipped to 18-25 and while they are closer to the eighth seed in the West than the cellar, it's hard to generate any enthusiasm for an argument that the Mavericks have a legitimate shot to rise in the standings.
At this rate, the last thing the Mavericks will have to worry about this season is angling for a preferred playoff matchup in the first-round in April. But if they ever get to that point, they would be wise to avoid the Spurs at all costs.
By the end Friday, Carlisle was looking for anybody to provide a spark. He got it from Roddy Beaubois, who went from the inactive list Sunday in Orlando to 19 points in 16 minutes.
"He was terrific," Carlisle said. "It's not about the points, but about the energy, enthusiasm and disposition. It's up to him. If he plays like this, he has a chance to secure the backup [point guard] position and will challenge for the starting position.
Beaubois had only 15 points in December and only 29 in eight January games before Friday.
"I think when he was deactivated for the Orlando game, that got his attention. It shouldn't have to be like this. I'm a long-time supporter of his, and when he does things like he did tonight, he tells on himself," Carlisle said.
"And when he doesn't give it to us all the time, you know, that's where the problem is. We've got 39 games left. I'm very open-minded about everything, believe me, and we need to see him doing this every time he steps on the floor."
Consistency remains the problem.
"I haven't been myself lately," Beaubois said. "I did some good things, but I have to stay focused and everyday do the same thing. Obviously, I have to do a better job to be more consistent."
While he had his best statistical game of the season, he wasn't close to the top point guard on the floor. That was Tony Parker, who had 23 points and 10 assists despite suffering two cuts near his left eye early in the first quarter. One of the cuts required three stitches. He returned in the second quarter.
The Spurs were so set on cruise control that Manu Ginobili never had to get off the bench in the second half.
He left it to Parker, DeJuan Blair Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal to outclass the Mavericks.
The Mavericks had to score 11 points — all of them meaningless — in a span of 49.3 seconds to make it seem like a game at the end.
Follow Eddie Sefko on Twitter at @ESefko


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LAS VEGAS – With the defection of former Strikeforce champs Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz and Dan Henderson, the UFC's sister promotion finds itself a little short in the titleholder department.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today said he hopes to rectify that by mid-2012.
However, perhaps as part of the "business as usual" mantra of the promotion, Coker declined to speculate on whether or not a few key names could be expected to figure into the picture.
"I think by mid-year, we'll have all titles pretty much filled in Strikeforce's vacant divisions," Coker said at Thursday's "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine" pre-event press conference.
One of those key welterweight matchups takes place at Saturday's Showtime-broadcast event in Las Vegas, as the undefeated Tyron Woodley (9-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) meets Canadian youngster Jordan Mein (23-7 MMA, 1-0 SF). Woodley has taken to calling himself the uncrowned champion at 170 pounds, and you won't find too many MMA pundits willing to argue.
While Coker admitted Woodley would seem a logical choice should he down Mein, there was also no "win and you're in" guarantee. Instead, the Strikeforce boss pointed to matchmaker Sean Shelby for guidance on who would contend for the belt vacated by Diaz.
"We're definitely going to keep our eyes on the fight," Coker said. "I mean, 'T-Wood' has definitely proven himself.
"I know that in the next couple fights that we have, we're going to have some top welterweights fighting, but that's something that we're going to sit down with Sean after this event and plan something out, just like we're going to plan out the light heavyweight division and get our champion in that division."
One Strikeforce division that does boast a champion is 185-pounds, and titleholder Luke Rockhold defends his belt against longtime veteran Keith Jardine in Saturday's main event. Jardine took a slot that was originally intended for 32-year-old Tim Kennedy (12-3 MMA, 5-1 SF), who has dropped just one of his six career Strikeforce outings.
Kennedy was forced to withdraw from the planned matchup with an undisclosed training injury, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's waiting in the wings to challenge the winner, according to Coker.
"That hasn't been determined yet," Coker told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "After this fight, let's see how the fights go, and then we can reevaluate from there and then get back to you on the next fight."
Strikeforce tour rolls on
In 2011, Strikeforce officials declared The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas the permanent home of the promotion's "Challengers Series" events. However, when Strikeforce and Showtime partnered for another year of events on the premium-cable channel, the prospects-driven series was immediately scrapped.
Strikeforce is kicking off its 2012 schedule in Sin City, but the company moved crosstown to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Coker declined to speculate on the likelihood of a 2012 return to either venue but did say that the company would not be tied down to Las Vegas.
"It's nice to be in Vegas," Coker told MMAjunkie.com. "This is the home of Zuffa and the headquarters of the family. There are tremendous resources here. But this was an event where we felt the free preview weekend would be a great opportunity to have a showcase for our talent, and we made a decision to pull this fight off in a relatively quick manner.
"We felt this was a great opportunity, and luckily the Hard Rock opened up their doors, and here we are. We're looking forward to putting on more events here in Las Vegas, but we're also going to go on the road. We're going to be a traveling show and going all over the country."
The company is next expected to touch down in Columbus, Ohio, for a March 3 event.
For more on "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Scott Coker)


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NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED Notice is hereby given that Matanzas Mortgage Co., holder of tax certificate No. 1685 issued May 24, 2000, has filed same in my office and has made application for a tax deed to be issued thereon. Said certificate embraces the following described property in the County of St. Johns, State of Florida, to-wit: PARCEL NUMBER 050685-1868 SEC 17 TWP 10 RGE 28 PART SE 1/4 165 X 323.5 FT (EX N & W30 FT) OR TRACT 1868 UNIT 2 FLAGLER ESTATES UNRECORDED PLAT OR493/569 The assessment of the said property under the said certificate issued was in the name of EVE M. ENGLEHART & HOPE E. REEVES. Unless said certificate shall be redeemed according to law, the property described therein will be sold to the highest bidder at the front door of the St. Johns County Judicial Building, 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, Florida, 32084, on JUNE 6, 2007 at 12:00 o'clock noon. Dated this Apr. 18, 2007. (OFFICIAL SEAL) Cheryl Strickland Clerk of Circuit Court of St. Johns County, Florida In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act persons needing a special accommodation to participate in this proceeding should contact the Clerk of Court at 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32095 no later than seven days prior to the sale date. Telephone: (904) 819-3657; 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (V), via Florida Relay Service. L1152-7 May 2, 9, 16, 23, 2007
Posted from 2-May-07 to 23-May-07
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