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There's an unforgettable moment in Songcatcher, Maggie Greenwald's 2000 film about a university musicologist doing field work in Appalachia in 1907, when the musicologist is compelled to assist in a difficult home birth in a remote mountain cabin. Way out of her element, at first the professor attempts to flee, insisting that she has no training in this area—which is, in her experience, the province of licensed physicians. The matriarch of the mountain community—who by all appearances has been delivering babies all over the mountain for decades—demands that the professor stay and help the hemorrhaging mother push out the baby, bellowing, "DO IT, WOMAN!" Like many movies, Songcatcher makes high drama of childbirth, portraying it as a perilous, monumentally painful event—which, many times, it is, as only those who have personally experienced difficult births can authoritatively attest. But without saying a whole lot about it, Songcatcher also makes a point that's rarely advanced in contemporary films, which is that women have been delivering one another's babies for eons, and they've managed to get the job done even under challenging circumstances with no hospital wards or men in white coats within a country mile of the successful birth. Songcatcher doesn't make this point aggressively; this scene is simply part of the story, just as home births and nonbiomedical births have been part of the lives of women and their families from time immemorial.
Recently, I had the strange and wonderful privilege of watching a contemporary home birth film that is not explicitly about advocating home birth or dramatizing childbirth, although in its own way, it achieves both. Produced by two Central Florida studios, the Nielsens Photography & Design (www.nielsensonline.com) and Cinema Chic Films (www.cinemachicfilms.com), Born at Home is an intimate and inspiring family film.
Within a few days after it was first posted on Vimeo, Born at Home went viral, garnering more than 24,000 views in its first week online. (A month later it's at 37,000.) Many of us have gotten used to the idea of superstar wedding films accruing large and disparate audiences through the magic of viral video— remote as this possibility may have seemed a few years ago. But in a way, it's even more remarkable that we find ourselves watching a film of another family's home birth in our own homes, offices, and studios; after all, there's always a certain public performance element to a wedding, and no matter how personal we try to make it, spectacle always plays a role. But Born at Home is the story of a mother named Lisa Dunham birthing her third child in her own Florida home, in the presence of her family, midwife, and doula—and as documentable events go, it doesn't get more personal or intimate than that.
I spoke with Cinema Chic's Kat Small, the cinematographer on the shoot, who says this was her first time shooting a birth, although it will almost certainly not be her last. The idea, she says, came from photographer Cristy Nielsen of the Nielsens Photography & Design, who had shot births in the past but only with still images. She had several ideas about how the project might grow with video and sound. "She wanted to show women how beautiful birth is, and not to be afraid," Kat says. "So much of what you see on TV is women screaming and cursing and pain, pain, ugly, pain. She wanted to show the other side. There is also a midwife that she's worked with who wanted a teaching tool, something that she could show her future clients on her website."
Kat says she had worked with Cristy once before, when they were booked for the same wedding, but she had never met the Dunham family before arriving at their house the day of the birth. Although she and Cristy had had some basic discussions of the shoot and what to expect at the home birth, there was really no plan and no concrete set of expectations regarding how to document this most intimate of family events. "The family was just kind of open to it. One reason Cristy had approached me was because I had an unobtrusive style. That was what she was looking for. Beyond that, I didn't get a whole lot of direction. I just had to go on instinct."
Kat acknowledges that circumstances worked very much in their favor with this particular birth, both in terms of the family they were working with and the shooting environment of the Dunhams' house. "The mother, Lisa, was very calm considering the amount of pain she was in. She never screamed, she never yelled, she just did her best. I was really ready for the whole screaming, cursing, swearing ugliness, so I was really surprised."
What's more, Kat says, "One of the nice things about the location we were in was that we had natural light. We were right next to sliding glass doors. I didn't have to use a light, and Cristy didn't have to use a flash. We wanted to be flies on the wall, just capturing the birth in its natural form," and the natural light gave the two-woman camera crew (one photographer, one cinematographer) a huge assist in that regard. But the simplicity and, if you will, "natural" vibe of this production went beyond unobtrusiveness into a less cinematic approach than Kat would take at a wedding.
Driving to the Dunhams' house, she says she went through the usual thought process of planning her shots, mulling over how to create a dramatic opening, what gear to use, and so forth. "When I first arrived there, I had all my equipment—I had my Glidecam, my Glidetrack, all this stuff. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I thought, 'How am I gonna start this? Go into their nursery and get all these artistic shots of the crib and slider shots of the toys?' I never even saw the nursery because I don't think they had one— this is a real home and it's their third kid. I was just looking around and wondering what to do, then I got really lucky and Lisa's boy picked up We're Having a Homebirth"—a children's book written by the midwife attending the birth—"and said, 'Read this to us.' From there it just unfolded on me--this is about the family. This isn't about getting some artistic shots--can you imagine if I would have just grabbed a Glidecam and circled around the mom giving birth?"
As with a wedding, Kat found that this shoot was about letting the vibe and emotions of the day drive the shooting and the storytelling, but the vibe and emotions were notably different with a birth. "There was just this vibe: 'Keep it calm. Keep it quiet.' And it was all about the mom. So what I did was just pick up on the vibe and hang back and capture it."
What resulted was something a world apart from what we associate with birth on film: a family, together at home, very much at peace. There are gorgeous moments in this film, from the doula reading to the children before the birth, to the unguarded intimations of intimacy of the father and mother, to still and moving images of the midwife and doulas quietly doing their work, to shots of the mother's fatigue, to the very instant of birth, to the moment when the mother is holding the baby for the first time and remembers to tip him to one side just enough to check the sex. She smiles at her husband and daughter and says, "It's a boy," and they all laugh. It was a sweet, genuine, quietly offhand moment of family bliss. Throughout, the delicate and purposeful interweaving of Kat's film footage and Cristy's still images works seamlessly.
Image by Nielsens Photography and Design
And what comes next for the Nielsen/ Small team? The first step is getting Born at Home seen, which hasn't been too challenging so far. "Right now, we're just telling people, 'Feel free to repost it,' and it's started to take on a life of its own," Kat says. "But Cristy did reach out to a few birthing blogs and pages to help it get out there."
Beyond that, Cristy is developing a documentary called Birth in America (which already has a Facebook page), and she says Born at Home will be the first of eight birth films that will comprise the documentary.
Kat says Born at Home was strictly a fly-on-the-wall shoot, but she did offer to interview the midwife before the actual day of the birth and use the interview as voiceover. Although they didn't do an interview this time around-- "Right now," Kat says, "she's just happy with the way it is"--there may be interview components to the documentary. Kat also notes that Birth in America will be about much more than planned home births. Nielsen intends to shoot hospital births with midwives, hospital births without midwives, Caesarean sections, as well as films of different ethnic groups, "so she can show that birth is all the same in the end but can be very different in the process. That's her plan right now. She hopes to do that in America and she also possibly wants to expand it around the world."
Kat hopes to continue to do these shoots and help Cristy develop the documentary, but she admits that certain logistical issues could get in the way. "Right now, I'm saying 'yes' to working with her on this, but we'll see how it goes. The problem with births is that you just don't know when they're going to happen. I still have to do other work. This one was done within a slow time for both of us, so we knew that within a 4–6 week time frame we could both make it there. She's got one coming up in May and I told her I'm booked solid in May, so unless the mother goes into labor in the middle of the week, I can't make it. Right now, we're just going through the thought process of trying to expand this into something more."
But as much as weddings may get in the way of shooting births, Kat says she sees birthing films as a logical extension of her wedding work and the relationships she builds with couples when she shoots their weddings. "I've had brides contact me in the past saying they wanted to do something [with a birth], but then they decided not to for some reason." Since Born at Home went online, she says, "I've been getting calls from people saying, 'We have photos, but we never thought about doing video.' Video just adds that additional emotional layer to it, especially with the audio. You hear the baby cry for the first time. I just thought that was amazing. Now that this is out there, I think it will encourage more women to want to get it documented as a keepsake. It's a continuation of life—wedding to family."
Stephen Nathans-Kelly (stephen.nathans at infotoday.com) is editor-in-chief of EventDV and EventDVLive and program director of EventDV-TV.com.


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Fluval C-Series Aquarium Power Filters are five-stage filter units. These filters hang on the side of your aquarium and provide superior filtration of your aquarium water.
The Fluval C Series Power Filter Systems are the first power filters that use five stages of filtration for excellent water quality. This five stage system features two mechanical filter layers, one chemical filter layer, and two biological filter layers. Hang on back HOB power filter for easy installation.
Stage 1 - Mechanical Filter which uses a porous foam filter to trap large particles and other impurities in your Aquarium water
Stage 2 - Mechanical Filter which uses a dense poly-foam pad to rid your Aquarium of debris
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The Fluval C Series Power Filters are high performing filters which provide your Aquarium with maximum filtration to prevent clogging, resulting in beautiful clear water!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pacific Southwest, Region 9: Superfund
Serving Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and Tribal Nations
Omega Chemical Corporation
Superfund Site
Fact Sheet
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
|Title / pdf File
|Omega OU-2 Proposed Plan for the Groundwater Contamination, Comment Period from August 23-Sept. 21, 2010


text:
"Port of Arrival" - Guidelines for Visa Applicants
i. Applicants may mention 'ALL PORTS' against 'PORT OF ARRIVAL ' and PORT OF EXIT under column 'E' of the application.
Example : PORT OF ARRIVAL: ALL PORTS; PORT OF EXIT: ALL PORTS
ii. The High Commission of India, Colombo strives to provide better service to Visa applicants and welcomes further suggestions in this regard.
Information regarding Surrogacy Law
With immediate effect, any person seeking a visa to India for purpose of entering into a surrogacy arrangement must ascertain beforehand whether the law of that country permits surrogacy and will provide appropriate travel documents to the child for accompanying the surrogate parents. Entering into surrogacy arrangement under any other visa not sought for surrogacy is punishable under the Indian law.
|2017-05-20 20:38:52


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A- Lowry would need to play at his highest level to cause a matchup problem that would require them to put james on him for a bit. He would also need to bother their PG's constantly on defense, forcing miami to use Wade and James to be the ball-handlers more often.
B- Demar would need to go at wade, and make his shots. In the post, off the drive, catch and shoot off screens- and get him into foul trouble. He would also need to play at least average defense on him. His athleticism has always given him potential to play good defense, he'd need to utilize some of it.
C- Ross needs to play his best defense on James. And he needs to keep moving- we saw how it tired james out to run through screens chasing ross when the Heat played us earlier in the year. James can do it, but over a seven-game series?
D- 2-Pat and Amir need to do what they do best. Patterson needs to make them defend the pick-and-pop, forcing the Heat to not be able to trap so aggressively. And Amir needs to fight for boards, create chances, and anchor the defense.
E- JV needs to play at the high level we've seen flashes of at a consistent level. Force the heat to pay for going big. Gobble up rebounds, make himself a problem in the post, and keep the damn ball high.
In addition to this, Casey would have to be smart with his rotations, use his timeouts properly, and use more variation on offense. If all this happens, we'd have a shot.


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How do you earn a living? If you are going to Gillette the Forum and Photo team wants your name number and picture. But there is a special group the team will be searching for. Are you a
- Detroit Auto Worker
- Pittsburgh Steel Worker
- Carpenter
- Retail Sales Worker
- Fireman
- Mailman
- Kansas Wheat Field Farmer
- Coal Miner
- Big Rig Driver
- Warehouse Worker
- Waitress
- Mechanic
- Policeman
Look for the photo team with their spiffy badges, say hello and let us take your picture whether you are from "Alabama" or not.


text:
"Last Night" Trailer Finds Worthington & Knightley in Race to Infidelty
Sam Worthington and Keira Knightley star as a married couple who spend a night apart, during which they both find themselves tempted to stray. The film will be showing at the Tribeca Film Festival.
We don't waste our time on anything not worth your time. We celebrate the best of what's coming on film and TV. We cheer when our expectations are met and criticize when we're let down.


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Stick shifts only account for 30% of Porsche 911 sales. Let's be honest, the GT3 will sell more units with the PDK. The vehicle will also need to compete with the likes of the 458 Italia and R8 GT. "When we launched the 911 Turbo S, we did not offer a manual, but we have not had a single complaint," Achleitner stated.
The only issue here is that the report from Insideline claims only one transmission will make it to production.
If both were to make it this would be great news as purists will still have the manual option but those seeking max performance will be able to get the PDK. That would be a win-win as far as we are concerned. It seems very un-Porsche like to choose the PDK over manual but things seem to be going in that direction.


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BSU Catalog Home | Environmental Studies Course Descriptions
Dr. Fu-Hsian Chang (Director; email@example.com), Dr. Dragoljub Bilanovic, Mr. Jason Dahl, Dr. Tim Kroeger, Dr. Steven Spigarelli, Dr. Patrick Welle
Students in the Environmental Studies program are concerned with both the technological problems and social aspects of environmental issues. Working in cooperation with the Center for Environmental, Earth, and Space Studies, they may participate in applied research. Their interdisciplinary course work includes the study of scientific principles used in environmental problem solving, and the study of the impact of economics, politics, and other social systems on environmental policies and practices.
Because of the breadth of study necessary to prepare for upper division Environmental Studies courses, students are urged to declare in the major during their freshman or sophomore year.
See Section II, Enrollment for required high school preparation.Recommended High School Courses
Students are encouraged to discuss with their advisor the option of a second major or minor that might strengthen or complement their major.
- Chemist
- Ecologist
- Engineering Technician
- Environmental Consultant
- Environmental Scientist
- Hydrogeologist
- Natural Resources Specialist
- Research Lab Technician
- Researcher
- Teacher
- Wastewater Monitor
- Wastewater Treatment Operator
- Water Quality Specialist
- Water Treatment Operator
- Also: Graduate Study
Transfer Students: At least one-third of the credits to be included in the major must be successfully completed at Bemidji State University.


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Italy vote hits Euro stocks, but Wall Street up
Uncertainty generated by Italy's elections rattled global stock indexes and European bond markets for a second day on Tuesday, though testimony Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and strong housing figures lifted US stocks.
A closely watched gauge of European stock market volatility hit a 2013 high after the muddy election outcome raised fresh concern about the outlook for the euro zone's debt crisis.
Investors are fearful that the strength of the vote for anti-austerity parties will weaken efforts to reform Italy's public finances and its labor laws, damaging the euro zone's efforts to resolve its three-year old debt crisis.
Markets across Europe fell on the vote results, with Italy's FTSE MIB among the hardest hit, tumbling 4.9 per cent.
US stocks rose as Bernanke strongly defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus, though worries about Italy and the euro zone kept a lid on S&P 500 gains.
"Europe is just one of the things that suggest we need to temper our enthusiasm further... this (vote) this should remind us the crisis has only been in remission," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. McCain sees further downside for stocks, including a possible correction.
The uncertainty has led to a sharp rise in volatility, with Europe's VSTOXX index, which reflects demand for protection against a drop in major European equities, hitting a new year's high on Tuesday at 24.73.
The MSCI world equity index was down 0.6 per cent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended 1.4 per cent lower.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 105.39 points, or 0.76 per cent, at 13,889.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.52 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 1,494.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.79 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 3,120.05.
Southern European government bond prices sank. Italy's 10-year bond yields were up as much as half a point to 4.86 per cent, their highest since mid-December.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro dropped against the dollar and remained highly susceptible to further selling as political gridlock in Italy caused the government's borrowing costs to jump.
"The bad part of the results is that there is now a 'hung parliament,' or divided government," said Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX, in New York.
The euro last traded at $US1.3048, down 0.1 per cent on the day, but above $US1.3017 hit during early London hours, which was its lowest since Jan. 7.
The dollar erased early gains and was down for a second straight day against the yen. It last traded at 91.34 yen , down 0.5 per cent on the day and not far from a low of 90.92 yen on Monday, its lowest in nearly a month.
US bonds up after Bernanke
US Treasuries prices rose, leaving yields at one-month lows, following Bernanke's testimony and as worry about Italy and the euro zone fed the bid for safe-haven US debt. However, they subsequently dipped slightly after a $US35 billion sale of 5-year debt.
Bernanke's testimony to Congress eased worries that monetary policymakers might be getting cold feet about the Fed's bond-buying program. He also urged lawmakers to avoid sharp spending cuts set to start taking effect on Friday.
US financial markets were rattled last week when minutes of the Fed's January meeting showed some officials were thinking of scaling back its monetary stimulus earlier than expected.
"Bernanke's commentary showed the Fed chairman wants to continue quantitative easing (i.e. bond purchases) and keep its general stance of monetary policy accommodation," said Eric Stein, vice president and portfolio manager at Boston-based Eaton Vance Investment Managers.
The Fed is currently buying $US85 billion in bonds each month and has said it plans to keep purchasing assets until it sees a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was last down 2/32 , the yield at 1.872 per cent.
Also helping US stocks, US home prices closed out 2012 with the biggest annual gain in more than six years, according to the S&P/Case Shiller index. US government data showed that sales of new homes spiked in January, the latest sign that the long-suffering housing market was on the mend.
A separate report showed US consumer confidence rose more than expected this month as Americans shrugged off worries about fiscal policy.
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text: Craig Tierney wrote: >I talked to a guy at SC2002 from Quadrics and he said >that list pricing on a Quadrics network was about $3500 >per node when you are in the 100s of nodes and up. >The price includes the cards, cables, switches, >etc. This doesn't include any sort of discount that you >might get. Myrinet is about $2000 for an equivelent >network at list price. Dolphin/SCI falls around $2245 list >per node (if the system is > 144 nodes and you have to get >the 3d card). > A couple of corrections to this, the 2D card lists at $1695 per node and is suitable for up to 256 nodes. No one has built one that size and it is correct that is it is recommended to use 3D (lists $2245/node) for larger than 144 nodes. This is due to a potential saturation of a ring for certain communication patterns, it is not always the case. By going to 3D you shorten the rings and avoid this up to 1728 nodes. Anyone interested in building one? > > >I heard that Quadrics had a customer that just had to have >an Intel/Quadrics system so either they or he was working >on porting the drivers. The web page says they support >Linux and Tru64. You could probably get the hardware without >going through Compaq, but Compaq is most likely buying up >most of the supply. > >Craig > The Quadrics looks interesting, but I haven't the resources to afford the pleasure of playing with it. The major issue with it is pricing and lack of nodes out there using it pricing. Myricom and Dolphin tend to come to about the same price per node, chalk it up to friendly competition. Regards, Tim Wilcox


text: I always tended to think of it as being "their" kind of society, that's to say that, unlike in totalitarian societies on earth, the majority of the population isn't behind it because of state propaganda or brainwashing, but because they like it that way. That's not to say the dissident movement isn't genuine, only to suggest that they're perhaps atypical for their race - like a Ferengi who isn't interested in profit. I prefer to think of Cardassians as a people who, unfathomably to humans, live in a dictatorial system out of choice, that they're comfortable with it; and they truly do prefer general order, however it's ensured, over personal freedoms. It makes things more intriguing. For much the same reason I never liked Rom becoming Nagus either. I loved the whole Ferengi female liberation theme and Moogie was a hoot!, but she was in actual fact being thoroughly Ferengi - she wanted a slice of the cake. I liked the idea of there being some planet where the pursuit of profit really is the highest moral good. There should be incompatible value systems! Of course all the different races are there to reflect on aspects of us, but on the level of the story in and of itself, a mere mirror isn't all they should be. You can make a point about the repression of totalitarian governments, or the evils of exaggerated greed, by contrasting these with Federation/human culture, without having all the "good and true" Cardassians/Ferengi secretly aspiring to be just like us.


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Notes: Lineup hindered in Colorado
With Ortiz shifting to first, either Youkilis or Lowell to sit
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
Without a designated hitter, David Ortiz will have to play first base to stay in the lineup. If manager Terry Francona opts to do that, he'll then have to sit either red-hot Kevin Youkilis (.500, three homers in the American League Championship Series) or his top RBI man from the regular season, Mike Lowell.
Though Youkilis plays first base regularly, his natural position is third base. All year long, third baseman Lowell (120 RBIs) has been a key force behind the big bopper tandem of Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.
The other issue is that Ortiz has been playing with pain in his right knee all year, so there's no guarantee he'd be in the lineup for all three road games at Coors Field. Lefty ace Jeff Francis is on tap for Game 5, so if Ortiz was to be out of the lineup, that could be the night.
"It is difficult," said Francona. "It puts us at a disadvantage. The team that we set up to play 154 of our games, we don't get to send out there. Some of it may have to depend on how David's knee feels. So we're really not set. Youkilis, Lowell and Ortiz, two out of three play. We'll get to that when they know more."
Youkilis will not be surprised if he doesn't play any games at first in Denver.
"You have to look back to the 2004 World Series," said Youkilis. "I think David will play first base."
In '04, Ortiz started Games 3 and 4 in St. Louis and was replaced on defense in the late innings. There was no Game 5, because the Red Sox swept the series.
Outfield alignment: With Francis drawing the nod for the Rockies in Game 1, Francona had to make a decision between left-handed-hitting Jacoby Ellsbury and switch-hitter Coco Crisp. Ellsbury, who took over for the slumping Crisp in Game 6 of the ALCS, will get the nod. Crisp's health is also a factor. He caught the final out of Game 7, running into the wall and banging his left knee.
"Coco banged himself pretty good the other night," Francona said. "He was actually unavailable for most of the workout today. He's getting treatment. He came out and got in the box off of [Jon] Lester just to see some pitches, but he's not feeling real good. Not to the point where we'll take him off the roster, but probably to the point where -- it made a very difficult decision maybe not quite as difficult."
Though Bobby Kielty twice drew starts against lefty C.C. Sabathia in the ALCS, Francona will stick with J.D. Drew in right field against Francis.
Formidable foe: Though the AL is known for all deep lineups, the Red Sox don't see any letup from the Rockies.
"They've got some speed at the top, they've got their thumpers in the middle," said Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. "They do kind of remind me a little bit of an American League team the way that they're set up. They've got some really good at-bats at the bottom of their lineup. They can hit."
"They've got every guy from top to bottom that will either have speed, put the ball in play or hit home runs," said Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. "We've got to go out there and find a way to combat that and make pitches."
Gagne willing to do whatever: After taking the loss in Game 2 of the ALCS with a rough outing, Eric Gagne rebounded with a pair of scoreless outings, including a 1-2-3 ninth in Game 6.
Will that help Gagne's confidence in his first World Series?
"It was just good to go out there and put up a zero," said Gagne. "I feel great physically. I just have to go out there and do my job."
In his last two outings, Gagne was used in situations where the game was not hanging in the balance.
"All I care about is winning," Gagne said. "I don't care when I pitch. I just want to help the team win the World Series. That's all I came here for and that's all I'm focused on."
Pregame festivities: Just as they did to start the 2004 World Series, the Red Sox will bring out captain Carl Yastrzemski to throw out the first pitch before Wednesday night's Game 1. Yastrzemski, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, played his entire career (1961-83) with the Red Sox, amassing 3,419 hits and 452 home runs. Yaz won the triple crown in 1967, a feat no Major Leaguer has matched since.
All year long, the 1967 Red Sox have been celebrated by the Red Sox. With that in mind, Yaz will be joined by several of his '67 teammates during the pre-game ceremony.
John Williams, a renowned American composer and conductor - not to mention a five-time Academy Award winner - will conduct the Boston Pops in playing the national anthem. Recording artist Ashanti will sing God Bless American during the seventh inning stretch.
There will be a flyover from the 158 Fighter Wing of the Vermont National Guard. First pitch is set for 8:35 p.m. ET on FOX.
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
"All I can do is share my experience, and you're either going to relate to it or not," Chaz Bono says firmly. The 42-year-old is sitting on the edge of a deep leather sofa with his legs crossed, ankle on knee. He's finally ready, perhaps even eager, to discuss his new book and film after being unable to speak publicly following a lengthy management-imposed media lockdown to heighten the impact of these two tell-all projects.
On May 10 the simultaneous publication of Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, his perceptive, exceptionally well written memoir (Bono's third) and broadcast premiere (on the Oprah Winfrey Network) of the bold, unflinching, often very witty film Becoming Chaz, which documents his gender-reassignment surgery, thrust Bono back into the spotlight with which he's had a love-hate relationship for nearly four decades. Though his demeanor is serious and matter-of-fact, his newfound happiness is also apparent. His face frequently breaks into a beaming grin that his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Elia, will later describe to me as a smile that can light up a room.
But why did Bono decide to be so public about this most private of transformations? He says he didn't have a choice. "I've learned that if you don't tell your own story, someone else will, and they'll do a bad job of it," Bono says with a smile, surely recognizing the understatement.
His life has been well chronicled by this point. Until two years ago, Bono was widely known as Chastity, the only child from the union of superstar entertainer Cher and the late record producer and singer turned congressman Sonny Bono. While living as a biological female, Bono endured gossip and a tabloid outing before taking control of the story and self-identifying as a lesbian in a 1995 cover story for The Advocate. After coming out, Bono would write numerous articles for this publication, author two books, and eventually become a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. He also served a controversial stint as entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, during which time he was misquoted in the press as describing Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom as "too gay." Bono says he was treated "like a pariah."
In the documentary Bono tells of going to bed at night as a little girl and praying that he'd wake up as a boy. In the book Bono also recounts his youthful love of classic horror movies such as Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. Are there parallels between these supernatural tales of transformation and the desires of a young boy trapped in a female body? Bono is momentarily perplexed. "I never even thought of that," he says. "Maybe subconsciously, but at that point I didn't even know this type of transformation was possible."
Bono cringes at the memory of living in the 1990s as a lipstick lesbian, comparing it to being trapped in an awkward work uniform. "It was torture," he says. "I was uncomfortable every minute of my life." But then Bono watched Boys Don't Cry, the Academy Award–winning 1999 film about murdered transgender man Brandon Teena, and suddenly the possibility of change seemed real in a new way. Bono also sensed that the film coincided with a general shift in the cultural attitude toward transgender people. America was a little more open to the idea of someone like Chaz, whose understanding of himself didn't match his body.
Bono began to contemplate whether he was transgender. He became acquainted with Masen Davis, a California-based transgender male activist, who helped Bono recognize the truth about his desire to become physically male. He soon began to see a transgender therapist and catalog his fears about transitioning. "Every single fear you can think of, from wondering what the neighbors would think to being disowned by family," he recalls. "I just kind of slowly worked through the list, seeing that [my fears weren't] realistic, so the list got smaller and smaller." Bono began to realize that how everyone else reacted to his decision wasn't his responsibility. "It wasn't my job to make other people feel OK about this," he says. "It was time to take care of myself. When that clicked it was full steam ahead."
With so much media attention focused on him, Bono has been forced to reflect on not just the physical changes but the emotional and temperamental changes as well, both of which are due to the surge of testosterone now coursing through him. "I had to look at the kind of man I wanted to be," Bono says. "I had to learn how to behave as a man, what kind of behavior was cool, and what kind of behavior was me being a jerk."
This trial-and-error aspect of Bono's transformation is vividly depicted as the documentary cameras capture a trivial argument between Bono and Elia while they prepare food for a party. Bono's hormonal changes have made him edgy and short-tempered, and he snaps at his girlfriend. "The arguments in the film were a combination of a lot of stuff going on in our lives that was all happening at once," he says. "I'm not going to say that Jenny and I never fight, but you see the kookiness of the woman I share my life with."
That woman is Jennifer Elia, a 35-year-old private tutor. She's an attractive, free-spirited brunet, whom Bono describes as "a modern-day Lucille Ball." Elia says that if forced to label her sexual orientation, she's bisexual. Elia met Bono on a blind date in 2005, and though both say it wasn't exactly love at first sight, she remembers being instantly drawn to Bono's toothy smile. "We hit it off on more of a spiritual level," Elia recalls. "We just got each other pretty quickly."
Elia never suspected that Bono was transgender. "I just thought he was a very masculine woman," she recalls. "Butch." It was an ill-meaning ex-girlfriend of Bono's who informed Elia that her lover was planning to transition. When Elia asked if it was true, Bono confessed. "He told me he wanted me to kill him before letting him grow old as a woman," Elia remembers. "I knew in the back of my mind that he'd have to transition or he wouldn't be able to live happily."
Elia's bisexuality may have served as a sort of bridge, a factor that helped their relationship change from a lesbian relationship into their current male-female dynamic. Elia doesn't disagree. "Chaz and I interacted with a male-female dynamic from the very beginning," she says. "There were definite changes beyond just feeling a male essence after he transitioned."
In September 2009, Bono underwent top, or chest, surgery, to have his breasts removed. (He'd had a hysterectomy in 2005 due to endometriosis.) Waiting for medical advances to catch up, Bono is currently undecided whether to have bottom surgery. "At this point the ratio of risk and reward are a little off," he says. "Hopefully there will be better options as time goes on. That's what I'm waiting on. To me, the options of bottom surgery aren't that great, considering the time, money, and pain you have to go through."
Bono insists there's been no downside to his life as a man. He even describes the excitement of experiencing puberty a second time, in his 40s. "The first time was so traumatic that I literally felt like my body was turning against me," he says. "Life was really difficult, but now it's fun and I'm on the same footing as everyone else. I finally feel comfortable in my body for the first time. I look in the mirror and see reflected how I've always felt inside. It's almost impossible to calculate the difference."
Elia agrees, offering a checklist of improved characteristics in the person with whom she's spent the past six years. "He's happy, productive, motivated, and he's more social," Elia says. "He'd put himself in a depression because he was so unhappy in the body he inhabited. Naturally, once you change that and you're more comfortable within yourself, you're going to be more social. He's also been a lot more productive. In his two years as a man he's written a book, coproduced a documentary. He works with a children's group. He's been out there living to the fullest."
Living life to the fullest will likely mean that Bono will become a spokesman for an underrepresented community. He has a high profile and has the experience of having worked in the past as an LGBT activist. "When I was struggling for many, many years whether to transition, I read other people's books and watched documentaries on the subject that helped me to finally gain the strength to be who I needed to be and who I am," Bono recalls. "So I want to give back."
The anticipation is almost palpable in the transgender populace, which has a paucity of strong role models, particularly for trans men. Bono's Facebook page is filled daily with well-wishing posts from other transgender people eager to see his film and read his new book. "People are excited to see someone who already has such a positive image come out and show that transgender people are just like everyone else," says Jake Finney, a transgender man who manages the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center's Anti-Violence Project. "Chaz is a very down-to-earth person and easy to relate to. He can dispel a lot of negative stereotypes about transgender people."
There's a moment at the beginning of Becoming Chaz when Bono reflects on what it meant to be the child of two in-demand celebrities. "I just learned to stay under the radar," he says.
But Bono's place in the public eye is unique, so it's not difficult to imagine the media feeding frenzy over a story with this much potential to titillate. On one side of his family there's his mother, Cher, a household name, a bona fide gay icon, and an entertainer of the highest magnitude. On the paternal side of his family is politics—Republican politics. Bono's late father, Sonny, famously served as mayor of Palm Springs, Calif., before being elected to Congress is 1994. After he died as a result of a skiing accident in 1998, his third wife, Mary—with whom he had two children, a son, Chesare, and daughter, Chianna—won a special election to succeed him. Still in the House of Representatives, she is now married to fellow Republican congressman Connie Mack IV of Florida.
First there's Cher, forever in a class by herself. She's notoriously unflappable, a performer whose five decade-career has earned her respect and devoted fans. Her endurance has made her the punch line of a hackneyed joke about what would survive after a nuclear apocalypse. Notwithstanding her indisputable credentials with her LGBT fans, Cher didn't handle Chaz's initial decision to transition entirely smoothly. Bono admits that it was more difficult to tell his mother than it was to come out as trans to other family members. Mother and child experienced a temporary estrangement that followed Chaz's decision to transition. In the documentary Cher expresses the concerns she initially had—chiefly, whether she'd recognize her child, and that she feared for Chaz's health. She's since come around, and during the media blitz for her film Burlesque last year, she spoke candidly about this. Cher acknowledged the bravery of her oldest child and admitted to her difficulty with getting the gender pronouns right. Bono thinks it's mostly due to the generational difference.
"She's my 65-year-old mother, and that has nothing to do with her being Cher," he says. "She's referred to me one way for 42 years of her life, so this is a big adjustment. My mom is pretty liberal, but once in a while she'll come up with something and I'll be like 'Are you kidding me?' I mean, she was a huge Ross Perot supporter!" Bono laughs when he mentions that his mother still occasionally slips up with pronouns. "She's getting better," he says. "She's a work in progress." The documentary ends with the two arm in arm at the premiere of Burlesque.
How Bono's transition has affected other family members varies by generation, though not necessarily in predictable ways. His 83-year-old maternal grandmother, Georgia Holt, is unfazed. "She's been great through this, though she didn't really understand it at first but didn't care," Bono says. "She asked me if I was the first person to do this. I was like 'No, grandma, I'm not.' "
Mary Bono Mack and her children appear in the documentary, and their acceptance that Chaz is finally content is genuine. "I have always respected and supported Chaz's decision to live life on his own terms, and it is deeply gratifying to see him so happy and fulfilled," Bono Mack says in an e-mail for this story. "I am extremely proud of Chaz and will always love him and be there for him."
Bono says his 34-year-old half-brother, Elijah (from Cher's marriage to rock star Gregg Allman), was initially disturbed by the news. "For a while it was this shocking thing because I was his big sister," Bono recalls. "I think it was the fear of change and the unknown—thinking that he was going to lose me was scary. When he spent time with me, he could see that I hadn't gone anywhere."
Bono thinks his father, Sonny, who allowed his daughter to dress in boys' clothing and to be a tomboy as a child, would have handled the news without difficulty. "He was always cooler with that stuff than my mom, so I think it would have been easier for him," Bono speculates. "As a kid I wanted to be just like him, which made him feel good. Though it was hard for my mom, who was the one I probably should have been trying to emulate, but I didn't want to be anything like."
Despite all the early years spent wishing he had been born male and regardless of the time he's previously invested as vocal proponent of LGBT rights, Bono believes he transitioned when he was meant to. "Had I done this 15 years ago, it would have been more difficult and really traumatic on my life," he says. "I wasn't ready, and I don't know the culture was ready either."
Bono is now devoted to preventing others from spending decades suffering as the wrong gender. "I want to help people avoid going through what I went through," he says. "I don't want people to wait until they're 40 to be who they are." Bono has become close friends with Dawn Berg, the mother of a young transgender son. He donates time each month to Los Angeles–based Transforming Family, a playgroup and support group for families of trans kids that Berg helped found. "There's a peer support group that I facilitate with another trans guy," he says.
"Sometimes in our group it's like pulling teeth to get them to talk to each other," he adds. Some of what Bono does is play with the kids. In play, gender issues are not discussed, but the kids learn how to be at ease with themselves and each other. "It's just worked out that all the older kids are trans guys, so we all talk about things trans guys are obsessed with, like facial hair and this and that," he says. "They ask questions like 'When can you do this?' and 'When did this start growing?' "
Bono acknowledges the power that shared experiences can have to educate people and that a generation that grew up watching him on television or reading about him in magazines now suddenly knows a transgender person.
"I don't feel that it's a mistake that I had the life I've had," Bono says. "I feel fortunate, from being put in front of the camera as a very small child and growing up to be transgender and being able to get this education out there." It seems that Bono is finally the man he always wanted to be.


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Fused Glass Workshop
Date: Sat. 14 Sep, 2013 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Duration: 4 Hours
Location: Fine Arts Center
"Autumn Leaves" is the theme of the September workshop at the Fine Arts Center. Learn to create and take home beautiful glass artwork, even if you have never worked with glass before. Cost is $25 at the door, which includes all materials. 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fine Arts West, across from the golf course on Canyon Drive at New Mexico Tech.


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I am trying to install a HP J4680 wireless printer on a on a HP Pavilion Entertainment Laptop
During the installation I get an error from the HP installer asking me to enable UDP port 161 in my firewall.
Error Message:
Status communication problems detected. Your PC may not be able to retrieve the printer status and ink levels properly.
If you are using firewall software, verify UDP port 161 is unblocked from your PC to your printer at 10.0.0.4.
I can not find information on how to enable a UDP port, on the Zone Alarm console. I am using ZA Free antivirus & Firewall version 11.768.000.
Can anyone help with this or direct me to a thread that explains how to fine the port settings on the ZA Console?


text:
Job Description
Salary: $75,000 per year
Start Date: Approximately December 5, 2011
Tour of Duty: Full-time (includes benefits) for 12 months with possibility of extension depending on project funding and performance.
Colorado State University (CSU) cooperates with the National Park Service (NPS), Resource Information Services Division (RISD) to develop and complete research and information management projects that benefit NPS and CSU. The RISD is part of the National Information Systems Center in the Office of Information Resources, a Washington, D.C.-based program, located in Lakewood, Colorado. The RISD services portfolio includes planning and coordinating implementation of web mapping to meet park and program management requirements for 390+ park units throughout the National Park System. In addition, RISD is responsible for the development, deployment, and maintenance of Service-wide GIS databases that allow park staff to utilize geospatial data and tools to support high quality and scientifically-credible information products. The primary focus of this position is to develop, document, and maintain web mapping applications in support of the NPS mission.
For more detailed job description and information on how to apply, see:
Web Map Developer (Research Associate II)
Started by Tom Patterson , Oct 26 2011 01:17 PM
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Madonna has never been one to bite her tongue, so after the Russian punk band Pussy Riot was convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" on Friday (August 17), she spoke out.
The singer released a statement through her website condemning their two-year jail sentence.
"I protest the conviction and sentencing of Pussy Riot to a penal colony for two years for a 40 second performance extolling their political opinions," Madonna said in a statement on her website. "Even if one disagrees with the location or how they chose to express themselves, the sentence is too harsh and in fact is inhumane. I call on all those who love freedom to condemn this unjust punishment. I urge artists around the world to speak up in protest against this travesty. They've spent enough time in jail. I call on ALL of Russia to let Pussy Riot go free."
The feminist band was jailed five months ago after they put on a guerilla-style performance at the country's main Orthodox church, singing a "punk prayer" with the lyrics "Mother of God, drive Putin away."
While in Moscow on her MDNA tour earlier this month, Madge scrawled the band's name on her back in black ink and read a statement to the audience asking for their release.
But this isn't the only controversy Madonna's stirring up in Russia. The Material Girl is being sued for $10.5 million by a group of activists from the country for "moral damage" after she challenged St. Petersburg's gay pride ban by handing out pink bracelets in support of the LGBT community.
"We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show on August 9th," a spokeswoman for the Union of Russian Citizens said. "We must defend our right to normal cultural life without propaganda of values and views that contradict the Russian culture."
A lawyer representing the group said the "psychological stress and emotional shock" disturbed not only those at the show, but those who saw the concert footage or the reports on the Internet.
Madonna has yet to comment on the suit.
– Shannon Carlin, CBS Local


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text:
Time. None of us ever seems to have any. We're all too busy tweeting, texting, posting and Google Plussing. (That's what I've decided to call it.)
Although many of us spend countless hours writing on social networks, most of us could probably use a refresher in the art of actual writing.
With the lack of time yet a desire—and need in many communications careers—to communicate well via the written word, is there a way to improve our skills while still managing our busy lifestyles?
You have 15 minutes a day to spare. Trust me, you do. Try these three techniques that, when used together, take less than 15 minutes, and watch your writing improve.
Pick a topic; it can be anything. For example, say your topic is "How to become a better communicator." In 10 minutes, aim to write three well-written paragraphs on this topic.
1. Practice writing creatively
Set a timer for one minute. During your allotted minute, come up with three talking points on your topic. As you get better at this, really challenge yourself to think innovatively and choose topics with which you aren't very familiar. You might surprise yourself.
For example:
a. Learn to use body language that engages your audience.
b. Speak with assuredness—avoid "umms" and "uhhs."
c. Read often so you're able to speak confidently about a number of topics.
a. Learn to use body language that engages your audience.
b. Speak with assuredness—avoid "umms" and "uhhs."
c. Read often so you're able to speak confidently about a number of topics.
2. Learn to write quickly and clearly
After your minute is over, set your timer for 10 minutes and power out a clear, concise essay on the topic and talking points that you chose. This exercise will help you not only to think on the spot, but also to save time as you learn to get your ideas on paper quickly.
3. Practice editing your work
You have four minutes left. Use these four—and only four—minutes to edit your essay.
Do this every day, perhaps twice a day, and watch as your writing improves.
Bonus tip: Read at least one post a day from your favorite writing advisors: Ragan.com (shameless plug), PR Daily (shameless plug No. 2), Grammar Girl, or resources like Purdue's online writing lab. Put what you learn into practice in the above writing challenges.
I know this technique helps because I witnessed a very good friend improve his writing skills in a week—a week, folks!
It's your turn. You have 15 minutes—GO!
This story first appeared on PR Daily in September 2011.
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text:
The most complete database on Chinese herbal medicine
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Healthy and Quiet Pill; Healthy Peaceful Pills; Curing Pills
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|Shen Qu Cha
Shen Qu Tea; Massa Fermentata Tea
|Disperses Summer-Heat; Disperses Dampness; Promotes digestion; Eliminates food retention; Releases Wind-Cold from the Exterior (during summer).
|Wind-Cold and Dampness during summer or hot climate.
|Anorexia; Diarrhea; Digestive disorders; Fever; Gastroenteritis; Intestinal flu; Nausea; Pain of the abdomen; Pain of the body; Sensation of heavy body; Slight chills; Vomiting; Difficult adjustment to new life-style (climate, food); Motion sickness.


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Roundabout paving rescheduled
The paving, originally planned for Thursday, Nov. 8 was cancelled due to cold temperatures and the anticipated first snowfall of the season. Crews hope the warmer temperatures and no precipitation next week will allow the work to proceed. Should weather prohibit the paving, plans call for shifting the work to Wednesday/Thursday. It is critical to get the roads paved and up to grade prior to the seasonal plant closings.
Cars traveling north on Route 7A will be routed over Wyman Lane and Cottage Street to Depot/Rtes. 11/30. There will be no access to Depot Street from its intersection with Cottage Street to the Junction. Flaggers and sheriffs will be on hand to direct drivers. Trucks, buses and vehicles pulling trailers should use Union Street to travel north via Richville Road and Center Hill.
For more information contact Tricia Hayes, public information officer for the Roundabout project at 802-362-0207 or email@example.com.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


text:
Results 11 to 20 of 83
Thread: Who's got some cold temps?
12-09-2013, 08:07 PM #11Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2008
- Location
- Eugene OR
- Posts
- 1,786
Scott I wish we were getting snow but Oregon has been dry. I know hard to believe. Cold temps and no snow. My Mt. is stilling at 13 inches. We need 35 to get the snow cats out to get the hill open.2008 Outback V - Sold but never forgotten.
Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." -Napoleon Hill
Cold without snow is not a lot of fun. We ski at Alta most of the time and they are at 102 inches so far. It has been a good start to the season. Hope you guys get some snow quick.Scott
2007 Mobius LSV with a lot of great upgrades and mods
Who's got some cold temps?
mild compared to some of you maniacs but 52 hours straight with below freezing temps in central TX. pretty much unheard of for these parts
Sent from my iP5s on an app called Tapatalk 2Jason
Go Hard or Go Home.......it's MOOMBA time!!
2009 Moomba Mobius LSV
12-10-2013, 12:56 AM #14Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- Calgary Alta Canada
- Posts
- 922
We are in a temporary lul from some really cold weather we have had for the last week and a half. We dropped down to - 30 C with wind chill down to -40C one night with blowing snow etc. At these temps everything freezes solid, and you do not want to be out in this unless you are dressed properly.. People die in this . I,m glad we are in a temporary reprieve ,hopefully it does not get that cold again this winter. snow comes and goes. And is now lowing and drifting causing more chaos. our ski hills are on track for possible record snowfall seasons though.07 Outback DD
We've just got enough snow for our resorts to be open. I've only been up twice so far, but it was fun on Saturday.
Zero degrees when we pulled into the parking lot at Mt Hood Meadows:
Had all the warm gear on! Love the puffy jackets and pants. Handwarmers were a must.
Beautiful blue sky and sunshine at the resort...
And since I still had on my down jacket and polyfill pants, when I got home I finished putting up some more christmas lights. Well, that was after brushing off the couple inches of snow from my boat cover. I can't wait until I can afford a metal carport.2008 Moomba Mobius XLV. Monster Cargo Bimini, WS Rev 410's, Polk Cabins, Infinity Subs, PPI amps, WS420, Exile BT, upgraded ballast pumps, up to 3,500+ pounds of ballast, Blue LED's...
1992 Supra Sunsport. **SOLD** 2k pounds ballast, Surf System, Blue LED's everywhere, decent audio system.
Tow Rig: 2013 F150 Ecoboost FX4 (wife's rig) Other money pits include:1998 BMW M3 Cabrolet, 2002 Audic S6 Avant, 2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R 636.
Here's the forecast for tonight. I'm sure all of you can appreciate this, whether you are in the warmth of the south, or chillin out up north with me! Hahahaha!! Wind chill.jpg2009 Mobius LSV. 325hp Indmar Assault
@Mikey - don't miss that stuff at all! Was in Grande Prairie and Nisku working when you guys got your first big blast of snow and brutal temps.
It has been darned chilly here south of Houston too. The locals are bundling up like crazy. The humidity is the killer however that didn't stop me from getting out and doing a set last Sunday!
Currently 45F with a projected high today of 52F - geez if I can leave work early today I might be able to get another set in before dark tonight!2014 Centurion Carbon Pro
2004 Ski Nautique 196 LE - SOLD
2004 Outback DD - SOLD
1995 Supra TSM6 Comp - SOLD
2017 - 67" Radar Lithium Vapor Pro Build w/ Radar Vapor Boa Bindings
Stay STACKED & Pull HARD!!!
12-11-2013, 06:11 PM #18Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- Calgary Alta Canada
- Posts
- 922
Geez i feel for you. Since your going for a set, do one for me and showem what Canadians are all about. Those sound like some summer temps here so go out and enjoy, a wetsuit if need might be acceptable...07 Outback DD
Ice rescue and diving on Thursday. You want to join in? First time since I joined Dive Rescue three year ago that we have ice to practice on. I'm jazzed. I'll try and get some pics.1998 Mobius
What we haven't had is any damn rain/snow to speak of, driest year since they started taking records, previous record was about 9" of rain and it looks like we wont break 6" for the calendar year. It had better start in January.Sent by the random thoughts from the voices in my head...


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Chapman could face batters as soon as Wednesday
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- The timetable for getting Reds closer Aroldis Chapman in front of hitters again seems to be accelerating even quicker than expected.
Chapman, who is trying to return from being hit in the face by a line drive last month, could likely throw live batting practice to hitters as soon as Wednesday at PNC Park. Originally, the club was targeting this milestone by the end of the road trip in Atlanta.
"It's hopefully the last thing he needs to do before he goes out there and pitches in games [on a rehab assignment]," Reds manager Bryan Price said on Monday.
Chapman threw a 45-pitch bullpen session on Sunday in Chicago. The team wanted to make sure he still felt good before committing to his facing hitters on Wednesday. If he isn't ready, then Chapman would have another bullpen session on Wednesday and face hitters on Saturday.
"He's thrown all of his pitches -- fastball, slider, changeup. There's really no concern at this point in time that his arm and body aren't ready to pitch," Price said. "But like anything else -- he threw yesterday. We want to find out how he responds today in his game of catch."
Chapman sustained fractures above his left eye and nose in a horrific March 19 moment where he was struck by a line drive from Royals catcher Salvador Perez. He had surgery to repair the injuries and has made dramatic improvement since the incident.
There's no debating that Chapman is itching to get back to pitching with the Reds.
"He loves being with his teammates. I've never seen him so happy to be a baseball player than I've seen this year," Price said. "He's embraced his job, even to a completely new level. I've enjoyed seeing that process evolve. I would absolutely say he wants to pitch. I think he understands there is process as far as going out and pitching in some rehab games just to make sure he is sharp, to make sure he that he faces hitters again for the first time since that incident and it validates that he's ready to pitch for us here."
Mesoraco wielding red-hot bat at bottom of lineup
PITTSBURGH -- Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco didn't even try to think about when the last time he had been this hot at the plate. That's because it hadn't previously happened.
"Never ever. Not rec ball, Little League, high school, Minor Leagues," Mesoraco said. "I'll stay with the routine, go out there and keep doing exactly what I've been doing the past week or two. Just keep riding it. It just seems like everything is falling in. Every ground ball I hit is finding a hole. You know at some point you will square up some line drives and it will go right to the shortstop or left fielder."
Mesoraco, who leads the club with 12 RBIs despite missing the first week with a strained left oblique, entered Monday with hits in each of his nine games played, and made it 10 early with a single in the second inning. That's the longest Reds streak to start a season since Barry Larkin opened 1995 with a 12-game hitting streak.
Despite going 3-for-4 in Monday night's 6-5 loss to the Pirates to raise his batting average to .541, Mesoraco remains in the lower third of the Reds' lineup, batting seventh. There are no immediate plans by manager Bryan Price to move him up in the order.
"If there comes a time, be it injury or some real significant long-term struggle, then I could see making some adjustments," Price said. "But right now, I kind of like the flow of the lineup as it is. I like having some weaponry there at the bottom."
Mesoraco hasn't minded batting behind middle-of-the-order hitters Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier and Ryan Ludwick.
"It's definitely not like I'm coming up with nobody on base every time up," Mesoraco said. "I like to help the team score runs. If being in the middle of the order would do that, maybe that's something we'll look at. I think right now, I'm very comfortable with where I'm at. I just trying to go out there and have good at-bats."
Reds cautious as Schumaker makes progress
PITTSBURGH -- Injured Reds utility player Skip Schumaker, who hasn't played since dislocating his left shoulder last month in Spring Training, has been taking batting practice with the club on the road trip and making progress.
Schumaker could soon begin a rehab assignment in the Minor Leagues, but the club would like him to get stronger first.
"I think he's over the pain hurdle," Reds manager Bryan Price said on Monday. "When you have an injury like that, where it really hurts him is his ability to maintain his strength because he is so limited in what he can do with his shoulder. We're really focusing on increasing his strength and once he gets to that place, we'll get him back out into games. He's chomping at the bit to play. We're going to be a little bit conservative just to make sure we can get Skip back as close to 100 percent as we can get him this year."
Worth noting
• Entering Monday, the Reds had allowed only one unearned run this season, which was best in the Majors. The team had only seven errors, which was one more than the MLB-leading Astros with six.
• Since April 13, the Reds were leading the Majors with 46 runs, a .313 average, .379 on-base percentage and a .522 slugging percentage. Joey Votto moved into the second spot in the lineup on April 12.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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A tour bus that departed Sunday night from Los Angeles with 19 people onboard crashed near Temecula on its way to a casino.
The crash occurred on Pala Temecula Road, south of Temecula. The bus was headed to Pauma Casino, about 50 miles north of San Diego.
The driver told California Highway Patrol officers there was a brake problem before the bus crashed into a ditch. The bus hit a metal guardrail, trees and boulder before coming to a stop.
Ten of the 18 passengers were hospitalized. Details regarding the injuries were not immediately available, but CHP officers described the most serious injury as a cut to the head.
"We don't really know any of the history of the company right now," Officer Jim Bettencourt said. "Everything is still pretty fresh.
"We're going to do a full mechanical investigation on it to determine if there was anything else wrong with the bus, if it was mechanical or driver error."
The crash comes more than one week after a tour bus bound for San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino crashed on the 210 Freeway near the 605 Freeway, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles in Irwindale.
Refresh this page for updates.
More Southern California Stories:


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SourceBobcats rookie forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was taken off the floor vs. Houston on a stretcher after he suffered a head injury when teammate Jeff Taylor's knee collided with his head. The play occurred early in the fourth quarter on a fast break. Toney Douglas pushed off in mid-air on Kidd-Gilchrist, pushing his head back just as Henderson's knee came in.
Kidd-Gilchrist collapsed to the floor and lay motionless for several minutes without opening his eyes. Eventually he was taken off the floor by paramedics and to a local hospital. He did not open his eyes or signal to the crowd with his hands while exiting the court.
Kidd-Gilchrist was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston for evaluation. Precautionary X-rays and CT scan were negative. He was diagnosed with a concussion and held overnight for observation. MKG was awake, speaking and with full use of his extremities before departing the arena for the hospital.
Here's video of this scary sequence.


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"Richly peopled and ambitious and oh, so lovely, Lauren Groff's Arcadia is one of the most moving and satisfying novels I've read in a long time. It's not possible to write any better without showing off."Richard Russo
"Readers doomed to miss their subway stops will wish the cover also included a warning: 'This novel will swallow you whole.' Arcadia centers on Bit Stone, the kindhearted only child of Hannah and Abe Stone, two of the finest freaky parents in recent literary memory, who raise him in the western New York commune they helped found in the 1970s. In Arcadia, they intended to establish a home 'outside the evil of commerce' and 'a beacon to light up the world.' This experiment lasts until Bit is 14. The novel then abruptly leaps to post-9/11 New York City, where the Stones fled when Arcadia failed them.... Arcadia reminds us that 'when we lose the stories we have believed about ourselves, we are losing more than stories, we are losing ourselves'."NYTBR


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For the 2011 Asia Pacific Project, New Balance invited Streething and Singapur store Leftfoot to design a series of H574 sneakers.
"The collection is divided into three sets. New Balance has engaged us and Leftfoot to re-imagine the classic 574 running shoe in Past, Present and Future representations. There will be only 600 pairs available for each of the three exclusive designs."
The PAST H574 mid top sneaker was designed by Streething, featuring a navy upper. The PRESENT H574J was designed by Leftfoot, presenting the sneaker in a beautiful dark green and brown leather version. And the FUTURE HS77 was designed by both together, with the result being a new hybrid version of the 574 in a mid top version with clean seamless uppers. A general release version of the HS77 sneaker will also drop, with a larger distribution.
The collection launches October 15th, 2011, at Leftfoot and of course other select retailers.
Check out all sneakers from the collection after the jump.


text: My 4.0 team played last night. I wasn't there. But I know what you're thinking: "Cindy, was there any drama?" You betcha! One of my doubles teams had won the first set. They managed to break at 4-4 and were getting ready to serve out the match. The reason for the break was that one opponent -- let's call her Natasha -- hit a shot well long. Disgusted with herself, Natasha boiled over in rage, picked up a ball and sent it whizzing over to the other side as hard as she possibly good. Unfortunately, Natasha hadn't realized her partner was right next to her. Her racket nailed her partner directly in the face. I am told the wailing from Natasha's partner was so loud and so long that every person in the bubble and the two staffers dropped everything to attend to her or gawk. Eventually, ice was administered to a huge bruise over the lady's eye and a retirement was declared. Natasha's partner drove herself home, with one of my players following her to make sure she didn't veer off the road. The moral of the story: If you're going to behave like a toddler, check your surroundings carefully first.


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Here's a comment of mine on the current state of the robot industry and how the next great revolution in consumer technology is being held back by the current economy.
Currently nobody wants to create a toy that costs more than about $70 USD now and far better if it's around $30 to $40 (forget the $200 to $400 toy robots of the previous years). Unemployment is still rising and the credit card companies have jacked up rates on good and bad customers alike while closing many accounts just to shore up their debt ratios; two huge market forces which directly and significantly reduce both the discretionary income (cash) and layaway income(credit) a consumer has to buy goods. This leads to a vicious cycle because the vendors whose goods they would buy panic, cut their product lines (like robots this year), and lay off employees (who are after all consumers themselves and now have no salary to buy goods with).
It's so bad that in Japan, despite the fact it has one of the fastest aging populations in the world and desperately needs assisted robotics, those companies bringing those innovations to market can't get people to buy their goods (which admittedly are expensive but would have sold anyways in better times).
On the utility side of consumer robotics you might as well just call that market the Roomba market since there really isn't anything else that dominates. There is the promise of the telepresence and home surveillance market, but iRobot dropped iConnectR like a bad habit, Meccanno released Spykee but never followed up with their announced SDK, leaving WowWee to fight the good fight on with Rovio. At least they are soldiering on by continually upgrading Rovio's firmware and helping customers fix their units when it's a parts failure. The home teleprescence market should be moving ahead a lot faster and stronger than it is. It's up to WowWee to capitalize on it before a new player eats their lunch.
I'm looking forward to 2010. How about you?


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A bomb-sniffing dog alerted on the bag, which turned out not to contain any explosive material, but the investigation led officials to halt departing flights briefly at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, spokesman Shane Carter said.
Four flights were canceled and an evacuation forced hundreds of people from the airport as passengers waiting for departing flights were escorted out, Carter said. Passengers on arriving flights were also escorted away from the terminal while authorities investigated the bag, Carter said.
The bag had apparently been at the airport since Wednesday night, Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Jason Weaver said.
A bomb-sniffing dog alerted on it during a sweep Thursday afternoon, prompting authorities to X-ray the bag, which was in a luggage-holding area, Weaver said. It contained personal items, but Weaver said investigators planned to swab it to figure out what the dog was reacting to.
"It may have been exposed to something in the past," Weaver said, adding that no one was in danger Thursday.


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If the following returns a temporary and you call a member function on it that modifies member data, why is it legal when the temporary is an rvalue? Remember, temporaries can't be bound to non-const references - to prevent modification - because they're non-addressable just like a literal number 5 is (at least conceptionally). So why is this allowed, when the other is not and they're both rvalues?
Code:class X{...}; X().ModifyMembers(); // modifies member data of a temporary object


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I changed one on Helen's '05 S around 40K as it had the chain slap when we bought it and the tensioner upgrade did not take the issue completely away..forget the cost, but it took a bit of time with all the pieces to get the valve cover off. The BMW tool to lock the engine at TDC was another expensive piece...but I have used it enough to justify .
Now if I could get around to changing the chirpy/juddery clutch out in hers An issue that went away on the '07 models it seems when they redesigned the clutch pack.
My lower mileage '05 got the tensioner and guard way before the chain got sloppy...will revisit at 30K.


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SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The owner of Raina's boutique on Broadway said she was moved out of her current storefront to make way for a new restaurant.
Lorri Birmingham, the owner of Raina's, said the building's owner is selling 384 Broadway to DZ Restaurants Inc., which owns restaurants Chianti and Forno Bistro in Saratoga Springs and Pasta Pane in Clifton Park. She closed up shop Dec. 31.
However, Tony Calvi, one of the owners of the building and Pizza on Broadway, which is located in the building and also closed, said he was not in a position to comment at this time.
"We're in confidential business discussions," he said.
Nancy Bambara, manager of operations for DZ Restaurants Inc., said "we're in negotiations," but said "I can't really comment on where we're at until it's done."
Birmingham said she only learned of the potential sale recently.
"They kept me in the dark until they were in here measuring," she said Thursday. Raina's will actually move just three doors down to the former location of Zola Kids at 380 Broadway.
Birmingham said she was happy the move would keep her business on Broadway.
"We'll be smaller, but at least we'll still be here," she said, adding her new storefront will be half the size of her former one. "I'm just happy we'll stay on this strip."


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Senators talk about intelligence
Key Republican senators briefed Tuesday on the Boston Marathon bombings raised concerns about potential problems with exchanging key investigative information among law-enforcement agencies.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said after the classified briefing that she was "very concerned" with what she believed were "serious problems with sharing information, including critical investigative information."
Story Continued Below
"That is troubling to me, that this many years after the attacks on our country in 2001 that we still seem to have stovepipes that prevent information from being shared effectively not only among agencies but also within the same agency, in one case," Collins told reporters Tuesday.
( PHOTOS: Boston Marathon explosions)
Collins declined to go into specifics, citing the ongoing investigation. And Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, shared similar concerns.
"Post 9/11, we thought we had created a system that would allow for the free flow of information between agencies," Chambliss told reporters. "I think there has been some stonewalls and some stovepipes reconstructed that probably were unintentional.
"We've got to review that issue again and make sure that there is free flow of information," he added.
Chambliss said it's difficult to tell whether any shortcomings in sharing information impeded the investigation into the two suspects, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
"Look, this is an ongoing investigation," Chambliss said. "It's very fluid."
Chambliss said investigators have been able to retrieve "minimal information" from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who has been charged with using a "weapon of mass destruction" by federal authorities. His older brother, Tamerlan, was killed early Friday.
The Senate briefing was held by three senior law enforcement officials, including FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) defended the FBI and its investigation so far. When asked about the concerns over sharing intelligence, Feinstein declined to comment, saying simply that officials are continuing to discuss the investigation and that if loopholes in communication are identified, they be fixed.
Still, "I have never in my lifetime seen an effort as positive as this one is in terms of cooperation and communication between law enforcement and investigative agencies," Feinstein told reporters. "I believe they will get to the bottom of it eventually."
Feinstein remained tight-lipped on details of the investigation, cautioning reporters that new information was constantly coming in. She warned that the probe will be a "long, arduous task."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another member of the Intelligence Committee, said following the briefing that he believed the Tsarnaev brothers were radicalized "over a period of time."
"Radicalized by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists using Internet sources," he told reporters. "Not just the types philosophical beliefs that radicalized them, but also learning how to do these sort of things.
Tarini Parti contributed to this report.


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which is part of Easter Seals Adult Day Health Services, accepts a $5,000 check
on behalf of Easter Seals Delaware and Maryland's Easter Shore presented by Discover Bank. The funds will be used
to promote overall health of program participants. Pictured, from left, are
Bill Adami, President/CEO of Easter Seals; Karen Dollmeyer of Discover Bank;
Chris Favilla, president of Discover Bank; Barbara Snyder, Director of
Corporate and Foundation Relations at Easter Seals; and Gwen Harris, Director
of Adult Day Health services.


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Big tick for Richmond over Jake King's bikie friend Toby Mitchell
King and Richmond fans know parameters.
Jake King has given Richmond a lot. The Tigers have character and he's one of the reasons why.
Chest out, eyes ablaze, he patrols the forward line like a small armoured vehicle. He's fearless and he burns with a deep passion. He's a little man who makes bigger men think twice. Looking down from footy Valhalla, I have no doubt Richmond legend Jack Dyer would approve of the way Jake King plays the game
He's got skills, too. Last year, I thought he kicked a number of goals that in previous seasons he would have missed because of their degree of difficulty. Indeed, last season he produced a fine edge to his play and that is something else about him as a player - he's getting better. In 2013, he went from being a player who made up the numbers to one who was central to the chemistry of a winning Richmond team. If you were a Tiger fan or a club administrator, you wouldn't want to lose him.
King has refused to sever his association with former notorious Bandidos motorbike club member Toby Mitchell. Having some knowledge of how King is regarded by his teammates and by others within the Richmond club, my impression is that the player strongly believes he's doing nothing wrong. Indeed, I imagine that, by King's code, the wrong thing to do would be to walk away from a friend just because he's a media target.
As one of King's teammates once remarked of him, "He doesn't take a lot of things as seriously as other people - but when he does, he takes them more seriously than other people do." In the dying stages of Terry Wallace's tenure as coach of Richmond, with the soap opera being played daily in the media as if little else in the world mattered, King was seriously upset by a story which alleged - incorrectly - that he had fronted Wallace along with captain Chris Newman and requested Wallace resign. I'd say Jake King has strong doubts about the media.
He may believe the bad publicity about outlaw bikie groups is a beat-up by the media and certain politicians. But there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said this week that he had discussed with King the contents of the Australian Crime Commission report which sounded the alarm about links between organised crime, bikie gangs and professional sport.
Richmond and King have clearly come to an agreement. They're not going to tell him who he can socialise with, but he has been warned. Gale was quoted in this newspaper as saying, "So far as who Jake mixes with in his own time and his own private capacity, that's up to him and that's the choices he makes provided he acts in a lawful way, and doesn't involve other players."
Referring to the incident last year, when King took Toby Mitchell into the Richmond rooms, Gale said, "We prefer he would not come to our rooms and [it] was made very clear to him that will not happen again. We have a duty to provide a safe workplace for all of our staff and stakeholders." The last sentence is an oblique reference to the fact that Mitchell has survived two murder attempts.
Having an AFL player being seen in public with a figure like Mitchell is not a good "look" for the club, or the AFL. Nonetheless, I believe Brendon Gale's statement is an example of sound footy management. Signing up for a career in the AFL is not the same as entering North Korea. You don't forfeit all rights and liberties.
Last year, Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon asked a pertinent question: ''What is my right to play moral policeman about what they [AFL players] do, in the sanctuary of their home, in the off-season? There is no moral right." As he pointed out, the only right which exists - he was speaking in relation to the AFL's drug policy - is the contractual one arising from the AFL player contract. He also admitted that the impetus for the AFL and its clubs to control their players' private lives to this extent came from the need to keep sponsors happy.
The threat posed by outlaw bikie gangs to Australia is a much more serious matter than a few players' activities in their downtime. Jake King has made a stand but each time he is seen with Mitchell the issue will flare. As for Richmond supporters, they've been warned too. Here, in clear and simple language, are the terms upon which one of their favourite players stays at the club.
Football clubs are not an extension of polite society, however much they are pressured to become so. They take young men from all manner of social backgrounds - as they should. To do otherwise further reduces an already diminishing talent pool. It also detracts from the claim of the game to be truly and wholly Australian.
Privileged people often forget how privileged they are and if AFL clubs take young men from all backgrounds, then it follows that there is inevitably going to be trouble now and then. When that happens, it is best dealt with, as in this case, in a calm and sober manner.
Martin Flanagan is a journalist and author who writes on sport, Australian culture and the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.
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B J Upton to Hold Celebrity Bowling Event
I am more than just a little surprised it has taken this long for another Tampa Bay Rays player to promote a fundraising event which involves the lost art of Bowling. Maybe it is a sport that has seen its better days, but it is still one of those family and friends type activities that can bring out the best in all of us.
So when Rays outfielder B J Upton recently announced via his Twitter account his fundraising plans to hold the B J Upton Celebrity Bowling Event at Splitsville lanes located in the Channelside District of Tampa, I was more than pleased to know someone remembers their youth too.
There have been several ex-Rays who have been known to polish their balls and talcum up and toss a few down the oiled lanes of Spiltsville, including neighboring Harborside Island resident ex-Rays Southpaw Scott Kazmir. He used to be among the spares and splits loving masses when local 97X radio DJ Fisher used to have his weekly public appearance outings at the bowling alley in the off season.
With Rays teammates Evan Longoria and David Price also living within walking range of Splitsville, the spectators at the event could possibly see some of the prominent young talent of the 2011 Rays toss a few benders down the slick lanes. Sure to also be in the crowd should be Upton's younger brother, D-Backs CF Justin Upton plus many more MLB celebrities and players
Upton seems to have move from his usual Celebrity Golf Tourney format for the January 24,2011 extravaganza, which will soon be selling spots among the lanes for bowling enthusiasts within the Rays Republic. Corporate sponsorship is still available which includes several interesting bowling event options.
The Bowling with B J event will again feature Upton's long time charity, the Society of St. Vincent's du Paul as its main beneficiary, St. Vincent's operates homeless shelters and centers to help those in distress in both St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. Another organization that will benefit from the fundraising effort is two neighborhood South St. Petersburg youth groups located within a stone throw of Tropicana Field.
This is not the first time a Rays player has embarked on sponsoring such a more fan-friendly event much like the same Celebrity bowling events once put on yearly by former Rays catcher Toby Hall. He also provided a night out on the slick Spiltsville lanes rubbing elbows with Rays Republic friends and local celebrities when he played with the Rays.
This time the event feels different to me. Maybe it is the plain fact that openly this year people have accused Upton of being a bit stiff and an unapproachable athlete when things did not start out rosy for Upton in 2010. But I have known him since he was first called up by the Rays at 17, and the guy has a heart of gold and definitely gives back to those in the community.
Take the Diamondback Sunday series finale when some accused him of lollygagging on a ball hit to deep centerfield. Upton showed up that night at the Season Ticket event held at Gameworks in Ybor City and signed for hours for the fans, even in the midst of an impending firestorm of controversy. Upton has his moments, but is heart and mind are in the right place.
This charity event should show more than a few Rays skeptics the human side of Upton that only a few outside of the Rays clubhouse have witnessed. Some might be surprised to learn of the late night trips to I-HOP when former teammate Kazmir was in town this past season.
Another group that will receive funds and aid from the event is the ever expanding BJ's Bunch program which is made up of local youth from all around the Tampa Bay region. There will also be a VIP/Sponsor reception before the public side of the event, and there will be a live silent auction, numerous raffles during the event and refreshments like pizza and sushi including some ice cold Heineken beer provided by a local beer merchant.
Also helping Upton as co-sponsors of the event will be local 1040 EPSN Radio, which will be broadcasting their afternoon show, Primetime with Ronnie (Night Train) Lane and former Bucs WR Mark Carrier live from Splitsville before the January 24th VIP/Sponsor reception. Scheduled to appear are plenty of Upton's Rays teammates plus sports celebrities from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Lightning and the numerous other local Tampa Bay celebrities.
All involved will have a chance to participate in the Bowling with BJ event that will encompass a speed-bowling. Information will be available soon if you want to purchase separate tickets or spectator passes to the event, but anyone wanting to help sponsor the event by donating for a lane sponsorship, pin sponsorship should go to:B J Upton 2011 Celebrity Bowling Event for up to moment pricing and sponsorship information.
The event should be an amazing time spent with some of your favorite Tampa Bay athletes and celebrities who will all come together for the common bond of helping those less fortunate in the Tampa Bay region. It is great to see one of the Rays starters coming out and giving back to the Tampa Bay community before they have to report to Spring Training.
This event is just another in an ever expanding list of tremendous community support and outreach the Rays have shown to their adopted seasonal home here in Tampa Bay It I also another great example of just how down-to-earth and humble this young Rays team is right now, and they have their hearts in the right place. Hope to see you there.
6 Comments
Great effort by BJ. Sounds like a fun event. I personally love bowling, even if I haven't gone to an alley in years. During college in Rochester where it snowed every six seconds, bowling was our favorite form of recreation. I wasn't bad if I do say so myself!
That was a pleasant surprise. I actually pictured you as a tennis player more than a bowler. See how impression can lead to bad errors in judgment.
I have no doubt you hide the fact you were a good bowler than came out of nowhere to be the spoiler. Maybe you missed you calling….WPBA in your future?
BTW, I stole a pair of bowling shoes in college and wore them for two years….
Rays Renegade
It is taking all of my will power to refrain from innuendo ;-) On a serious note, I'm glad to see events like this taking place. Unfortunately, they don't tend to get much press, so kudos to you.
We all know that players host charity events for many reasons, but in the end, the charity gets help and that's all that counts. Good Job BJ.
PS. Love the baseball card picture.
I agree totally with you there.
If a player get stopped by the local police, or gets into even a shouting match in which they are not the agressor, it is front page of the Sports section/website the next day.
Charity events not within the team's scope of control basically fall from the wayside unless someone picks up on it and runs witrh it. I am not afraid to run with the ball.
As for innuendo….It is my friend sometimes, but then againit has bitten me in the tush a few times too.
Rays Renegade
I remember when I was playing ball I actually enjoyed doing these type of events and personal charities. It not only helped me bond with my community, but showed others that the persona on the field was not the person I was off the field.
Some athletes push up a wall or even portray a different character on game day as a defense mechanism to not let the stress andpressures of the day get into their minds. Events like this let you see that they are as human as we are. Giving back to the community is a great thing, especially when those who are our sports role models participate and show their local charities and community groups the love and respect they deserve.
Rays Renegade


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Dengkil Seafood Restaurant is located in a small Chinese township nearer to the KL International Airport than the city proper. Considering its remote locale and rather spartan "kopitiam" atmosphere, the prices of its famous list of steamed freshwater fish dishes can be astoundingly high.
Our lunch today consisted of:
- Steamed patin fish (around 1kg) with soysauce, topped with crisp-fried ginger and fresh coriander leaves, which costed RM360 (USD115). The fish was utterly fresh and sweet-fleshed, whilst the balance of flavors were perfectly controlled by the chef.
- Braised spinach with Asian yam, salted duck's egg-yolks, century egg and hen's egg. Again, a simple dish perfectly executed here.
- "Sung har" lor mein: large freshwater prawns with braised egg noodles. This dish was subtle, given a spike of flavors with the addition of slivers of fresh ginger and a generous dash of Shaoxing wine. The prawns were extremely fresh.
- Poached, slightly salted "Kampung" (free-range) chicken, which packed quite a bit of flavor. The minced ginger-scallion dip complemented the chicken perfectly.
- Steamed frog's legs, topped with minced ginger. Utterly delicious!
It was a relatively long drive from KL (1 hour or so) but well worth it.
Be forewarned - do check the prices of the fish first. The top range ones like the "empurau" can cost up to RM750 (US$240) each.
Address details
Dengkil (Ng) Seafood Restaurant
51, Jalan Besar Dengkil
43800 Selangor
Tel: +603-8768 7868