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Arsenal end trophy drought with FA Cup win
Arsenal ended its nine-year trophy drought on Saturday, coming from two goals...
After a 36-game home unbeaten run, the Houston
Dynamo has now lost two straight games at BBVA Compass Stadium after a 2-0
defeat to the New England Revolution on Saturday.
Diego Fagundez netted the opening goal in the 51st minute for the Revs, while
a Ricardo Clark own goal six minutes from time sealed the victory for New
England, snapping a three-game winless streak.
Both teams had a player sent off in a contentious first half as Houston's
Bobby Boswell and New England's Dimitry Imbongo both saw red for an
altercation five minutes before halftime.
The incident was the biggest talking point in a lackluster first half, but
Fagundez brought the match to life in the 51st minute.
The forward exchanged passes at the edge of the penalty area with Clyde Simms
and calmly slotted the return ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Tally Hall.
Will Bruin sent a header narrowly over the crossbar for Houston, while Lee
Nguyen struck the post with a first-time shot for the Revs.
Bobby Shuttleworth reacted well to keep out a shot from Brian Ching, and the
result was safe six minutes from time when Juan Agudelo's shot went in off the
leg of Clark.


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Many aspects of dance can be found in the Main Library's collections of books, periodicals, encyclopedias, clipping files, concert programs, photo collections and videos, as well as through online resources that are accessible from this Website.
At the Art, Music and Recreation Center
- Search the files of Bay Area Musicians and Performing Artists for information from the late 1960s to the present on local dancers.
- Search for information on local dance companies, performances, festivals and reviews in the general clipping files.
- Selected programs of dance concerts (since the 1960s) are available.
- Find critical articles, histories, videographies and bibliographies from the complete body of dance literature in International Encyclopedia of Dance (AMR Ref 792.6203 In8), International Dictionary of Modern Dance (AMR Ref 792.803 In8) and International Dictionary of Ballet (AMR Ref 792.8 In8).
- Stern's Directory (AMR Ref 793.3 D195a) is the single most inclusive directory of all dance services and dance companies worldwide.
- Refer to Guide to Dance Periodicals 1931-1962 (AMR Ref 016.793 G941) and the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (AMR Ref 050 R22c) for articles on dance and dancers.
- Dance Magazine College Guide (AMR Ref 793.3 D195d) can guide the student seeking a dance degree.
Using the Library's Online Resources
- Search the individual, company name, country or dance style (e.g. tango, modern dance or ballet) in the Library's catalog to locate books and video recordings (VHS tapes and DVDs).
- Search Art Full Text (costume and set design); Arts and Humanities Citation Index; Biography and Genealogy Master Index; EBSCOHost Magazines; Oxford Music; InfoTrac OneFile; Newspapers (ProQuest) and others using the Library's collection of Web resources.
Elsewhere in the Main Library
- Audiovisual Center's numerous VHS tapes and DVDs:
- Dance self-instruction, performance and demonstration (call numbers Video 792.8 and Video 793.3)
- Folk and social dance in JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance (call number VIDEO 781.62 JV), a 30-part series produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian/Folkways label that showcases traditional and social dances of the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa
- Magazine and Newspaper Center - periodicals containing articles on dance and dancers
- San Francisco History Center - books, files and photographs of local dancers

subset: commoncrawl


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One roster decision remains between Pearce, Jackson
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles moved one step closer to their Opening Day roster Friday, officially naming Jake Arrieta for the final rotation spot, solidifying their bullpen and leaving one more decision for the last bench spot in either Steve Pearce or Conor Jackson.
Arrieta will start the team's home opener for the third year in a row, with Brian Matusz -- a final rotation candidate -- returning to the bullpen, and right-hander Jair Jurrjens -- the other final candidate -- going to Triple-A Norfolk. Rule 5 Draft pick T.J. McFarland will join Matusz in the bullpen.
The 27-year-old Arrieta, who recorded a 1.56 ERA this spring, never doubted he would make the club.
"No, absolutely not," said the right-hander, who started Opening Day a year ago, but had a disappointing season in which he went 3-9 with a 6.20 ERA. "Whether that's cockiness or overconfidence, whatever you want to call it, that's just the way that I personally had to approach the situation, with that mindset, knowing that I had to go out and actually show it and not just know it in my mind. I think the combination of having that mindset and knowing I had to kind of prove myself helped me get to the point where I am now."
Ryan Flaherty was also informed Friday that he will make the club, as expected, with Wilson Betemit's injury opening up one more bench spot for either Pearce or Jackson. It's a close call for the organization, with both players making a solid impression this spring.
"To be able to help the team out, it was kind of my goal coming into camp and I'm excited to get the opportunity," said Flaherty, a Rule 5 pick a year ago, who will be on his second Opening Day roster. "You never know what's going to happen. You can give the best effort, and outside of that, it's out of your control, so obviously you hear things. You hear this and hear that. The thing I've learned is you can't control everything, so you've got to show up and play hard and be valuable to the team."
Pearce has appeared in 25 games, going 15-for-44 (.341) with six homers and 17 RBIs, while Jackson has played in 22 games, going 16-for-53 (.302) with three homers and six RBIs. They both provide the team with a backup option for first baseman Chris Davis, as well as outfield depth, and that decision could come down to the wire, although Pearce is believed to have a slight edge. The 25-man roster must be set by 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Outfielder Chris Dickerson was reassigned to Minor League camp Friday and is expected to play for Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles' bullpen will have eight pitchers, including three lefties -- Matusz, McFarland and Troy Patton -- to start the season. Darren O'Day, Pedro Strop, Tommy Hunter, Jim Johnson and Luis Ayala will also be on the Opening Day roster -- barring an injury or trade -- with Chris Tillman on the disabled list, allowing the team an extra roster spot for the first four games before he returns.
"I'm so happy, I'm ecstatic," McFarland said. "It's surreal. This is incredible. I can't really sum it up into words right now. It's a dream come true. Since 2007, when my career started, that's what I've been hoping for, and it finally happened. I'm just so excited."
Tillman's DL stay was backdated, and he will be activated and start the team's fifth game on April 6 at home against the Twins. He threw 81 pitches over five innings Friday and did not experience any more abdominal issues against the State College of Florida, allowing one run and striking out six with two walks.
"I think I'm ready [for April 6], especially after today," said Tillman, who finished his outing in the bullpen and was a little behind schedule after suffering the abdominal injury earlier in camp. "Big step for me. It's not the matter of pitches. It's the number of times you get up and down. That's a big reason I got up one more time in the bullpen."
Backup catcher Taylor Teagarden will also have a spot on the bench, along with infielder Alexi Casilla. Betemit and left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada will start the season on the disabled list, while right-hander Steve Johnson will be placed there shortly, as well.
Roberts in nine-hole for O's likely the norm
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts met with manager Buck Showalter prior to Thursday night's game to discuss batting ninth against Rays ace David Price in their Grapefruit League matchup. The assignment, which will happen on Opening Day, could very well be a familiar sight this season.
"We talked about moving forward for right now," said Roberts. "It could be 162 games for all I know. That's how we're going to begin it, and let's go from there."
"It's the right thing right now, we feel like," Showalter said. "I think as the season goes on, he'll move up. This is the best way for us to start right now and let him get his feet on the ground. The guy's really been out of action for a couple of seasons, and I think this will take a little focus off. I just want to create the best situation for him to get started, and we'll see where it takes us."
Roberts hasn't batted ninth in a Major League game since July 31, 2004, and he has hit atop the order in 1,115 out of 1,200 career starts. While Showalter hasn't made anything official, Nick Markakis is the most likely candidate to bat leadoff for the Orioles with Nate McLouth another option. If Roberts did have a problem with the move, he didn't show it Friday afternoon, joking with reporters that it was a "heated exchange" and he's now going to try to hit more home runs.
"It's a batter order," Roberts said. "I'm happy to be healthy and playing, and my job for the past 13 years had been to be the best leadoff man in the game I could be. And now I'll be the best nine-hole hitter I can be."
"I am who I am. It really doesn't matter where I hit. I'm going to do the same things I've always done, and all that changes is that you don't hit for an hour."
Showalter said Roberts didn't try to talk him out of it and thinks having the veteran as a second leadoff hitter of sorts gives the Orioles a well-balanced lineup.
"I think Robby, he sees what went on last year with the needs we had, and you can hit him about anywhere in the order," he said. "When you look at lineups, especially in the American League East, you look at how you stack up with other teams seven, eight and nine. And the batting order means one time around for sure. He might lead off some innings. I think it's the best way for him to get off [to a good start]. We're all going to have enough challenges as it is without creating some that we don't have to.
"I want to take some of the pressure off him and let him get started at something he hasn't really done for a couple of seasons."
Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, Britt's Bird Watch, and follow her on Twitter @britt_ghiroli. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Luke Murton Jersey - NY Yankees 2013 Spring Training Road Game Used #94 Mesh BP Jersey (Size 50) (EK423786)
This jersey was used during the Yankees 2013 Spring Training. This jersey is guaranteed authentic by MLB Authentication and the Yankee-Steiner Team Partnership. Steiner Sports is The Official Memorabilia Provider of the New York Yankees.
**This Item May Not Be Eligible For Some Discounts Or Promotions**


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Carbon reporting will get more scrutiny
Corporations and industries can expect greater scrutiny of their carbon footprints under changes U.S. EPA proposed to its mandatory greenhouse gas registry yesterday.
Beginning this year, companies must detail emissions from about 10,000 facilities representing some 85 percent of the nation's total carbon output, according to the greenhouse gas reporting regulation EPA completed in September.
Under the new proposal, these individual emitters -- from power plants and oil refiners to large manufacturers -- would have to include their U.S. parent company and an industry classification code in their annual reports. The change will inform sectorwide air pollution and climate strategies the agency is evaluating, the proposal notes.
Significantly, the new data will also help EPA aggregate corporate greenhouse gas emissions profiles and compare the performance of companies and facilities relative to their sectors, the draft rule says.
Because the reports will be public, the move would also ease the way for watchdog groups, investors and researchers to do the same.
Right now, "it's really difficult to figure out who really owns the emissions," said James Salo, strategy and research vice president for Trucost, a company that analyzes corporate carbon footprints for businesses in the Standard & Poor's 500 index and others.
In a comment letter last year, 57 independent researchers said they generally conduct fewer studies on corporate environmental performance because of the time it takes to correlate EPA reporting to their parent companies. In one example, a researcher spent six months matching up thousands of facilities to over 700 owners.
"This would be an added feature that would really strengthen public disclosure of information," Salo said.
Article continues: http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MzgwMzU


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Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street Finalist
|Back to Finalists Page
Sonia's of Boston
351 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Mrs. Patria Valenzuela started Sonia's Bridal in 1987, as a small Bridal Boutique that served the Hyde Jackson Square Neighborhood community. Sonia's of Boston is the premier full-service quinceañera, wedding and event planner, serving clients throughout New England for more than 25 years. They take the stress out of party planning by managing every detail, helping find that perfect dress, selecting dazzling decorations and more.
"The Be an Angel and Donate a Toy (window) is dedicated to the children of Massachusetts," said owner Patria Valnzuela. "Because we want to bring smiles and joy to the kids who need it the most, we are asking clients to come to the store and donate a toy. We'll be collecting toys until December 16th."


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Friday, April 20, 2012 - Wank Party 2012 #4, Part 2
Latest Sets at SubmissionWrestlingNude.com
Today we have excellent wrestling match with two really good looking models, the recently returned Kristof Hertz and Kaja Kolomaz. It was a very enjoyable match, with both guys trying their best to win.
You can go to www.submissionwrestlingnude.com to watch the preview. But remember, we edit out the hot stuff over there because the viewers over there are str8. If you purchase the download here, you get the uncensored version.


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The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of AgWeb or Farm Journal Media. The opinions expressed below are the author's own.
Enjoy some good one-liners and bits from your favorite late-night comedians.
Jay Leno: "A new survey finds that although his approval ratings are low, President Obama is still ahead of the most prominent Republicans. Have you seen his tax plan? He is the most prominent Republican."
Jay Leno: "President Obama read his new children's book to a classroom of second-graders in Virginia. It did not go well. Fifty-nine percent of the kids disapproved, and 83 percent of the children felt the story was headed in the wrong direction."
Jay Leno: "The census shows there are more than 308 million people living in America. The amazing part is: More than half of those people are Americans."
Jay Leno: "On a flight from Cuba to Canada, a man threatened to shoot flight attendants after they stopped serving him drinks. He has been charged with making death threats and if convicted, he could lose his pilot's license."
No comments have been posted to this Blog Post


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Funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m., Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, at Humphrey Chapel in Russellville. Burial will be at Atkins Cemetery by Humphrey Funeral Service. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the River Valley Kidney Center, 3121 W. Second Court, Russellville, AR 72801; or First Baptist Church of Russellville, P.O. Box 36, Russellville, AR 72811.
Online obituary and guestbook are available at www.humphreyfuneral.com.


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Personal computing discussed
Moderator: Hoser
Hawkwing74 wrote:Finally doing Pandarens, eh? I agree with tanker, they are too slow on content.
druidcent wrote:I guess it remains to be seen if all Pandaren models in game are fat...they do seem to borrow liberally from movies and other sources for their "lore".I'd have been fine with Panderans if it didn't look like Kung-Fu Panda.. I keep hearing Jack Black every time I look at them...
Hawkwing74 wrote:Something that surprised me. Blizzard is finally selling gold. By creating an in game pet that you buy with real money and then can sell, that's essentially what they did. Was a time when they would never have considered it, but profits must be obtained, I guess. How long before they simply sell epics?
5150 wrote:The worst part is that this game has ruined almost every other game for me. I'm not sure I can explain how, but it's like nothing is as easy or intuitive or social. It's very frustrating.
Hawkwing74 wrote:5150 wrote:The worst part is that this game has ruined almost every other game for me. I'm not sure I can explain how, but it's like nothing is as easy or intuitive or social. It's very frustrating.
I agree...I tried Star Wars: TOR and it was close but just not quite there. I miss old school solo RPGs but those seem to be a dead genre. WoW is a trap, you get bored with it yet it sets a very high bar that other games seemingly can't surpass.
Bensam123 wrote:but WoW is most definitely sickly and on it's knee.
Bensam123 wrote:The new expansion looks more schizophrenic and lacking in direction then Cata was
Starfalcon wrote:It is all about reaching the widest audience.
tanker27 wrote:Bensam123 wrote:but WoW is most definitely sickly and on it's knee.
Not with 10+ Million active subs still. When that number gets down to 2 or 3 million I may call it that. But I bet that Blizzard has a trigger built in, when Active subs get to some arbitrary number, WoW will be F2P with micro-transactions. (it wont happen over night but it will)
Starfalcon wrote:Yeah, my guild has been more or less dead since D3 dropped. We haven't had anyone really on at all besides me...kinda makes me sad as I was only a month away from my legendary daggers....guess that's going to wait until mop drops now. I am sure all our regulars will be back once the expansion comes out so we will be rocking again.
DeadOfKnight wrote:I quit playing after killing Deathwing and have had no desire to pick the game back up as there has been no new content since. I just got burned out on playing the same stuff over and over and watching the game get dumbed down more and more. I think I've had a good run after playing this game for 6 years, and I'm not impressed with whats being offered in the next expansion. Honestly, I'm glad to be over this addiction. I've been spending a lot more money on games now, but each time I beat one I look forward to the next new experience. It's also nice to be able to pause the game to get a drink without worrying about my team wiping. Now if only I hadn't signed up for that annual pass...


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SA paceman Sayers emerges as Ashes bolter
South Australian swingman Chadd Sayers reckons he's an honest trundler, not an Ashes bolter.
But others may think differently after he destroyed NSW's batting line-up on Tuesday.
Sayers took 5-54 as the Blues were bowled out for 157, before SA's batsmen struggled to 5-101 at stumps on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.
Sayers' success continues a stunning Shield season for the 25-year-old - he's the competition's leading wicket-taker, with 35 victims at an average of 19.02.
Impressive statistics for a bloke who couldn't crack a regular game in past summers, despite prolific wicket-taking in grade ranks.
Sayers, who this season has played eight of his 10 first-class games, refuses to rate himself an outside chance for Australia's Ashes tour of England this winter.
"If you keep performing, then your name gets thrown up there. If that does happen, then I will grab it with both hands," Sayers said.
"I'm not thinking that far forward ... I will just keep performing for the Redbacks and you never know what happens."
Sayers stands only 1.80 metres tall, or 5'9 in old-speak.
He's not overly quick, bowling around the 130-135kmph mark.
But he can swing a ball, mainly outswing. And he can jag it both ways off the pitch.
And Sayers has uncanny accuracy, operating with a simple mantra of making the batsman play at each ball.
"When you're asking a batsman to make a decision 100 per cent of the time, the odds are in your favour," he said.
"Not many people around Australia at the moment can play outswing bowling so if you can swing the ball, you're in the game."
Sayers' victims on Tuesday included Blues veteran Brad Haddin, who top-scored with 56. Opener David Dawson (26) and tailender Trent Copeland (26) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
Copeland then did some serious damage with the ball, taking three wickets as the Redbacks wobbled to 5-51 before Tim Ludeman (27) and Jake Brown (23 not out) steadied the home side.
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The 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-handed hitter won the title over Schreiner University's Chase Valdez, who hit .399. Prince, a native of Jonesboro, Ark., also led the league in hits with 63. Prince posted a .500 average in the month of April to secure the title. On the season, he had 11 doubles, one homerun and 22 RBI. Prince led the team with 20 multiple-hit games and owned a 13-game hit streak during the season. He posted six three-hit games and went 5-for-6 with three RBI against nationally-ranked Texas-Tyler on March 29. Ozarks finished the season with a league-high .299 batting average.
"Freddy was our most consistent hitter all year and was hot in the last half of the year," said Head Coach Jimmy Clark. "Without a doubt, winning a batting title is not an easy thing to do. He showed signs of that type of potential in the past and now he has emerged into the player we thought he would become. We are glad to have him back for another."
It is the second time an Ozarks' player has won the ASC batting title. All-America shortstop Cory Briggs accomplished the feat in 2008 with a .467 average.
Prince hit .529 his senior season at Westside High School in Jonesboro.
Special Olympics
CLARKSVILLE—University of the Ozarks student-athletes recently joined hundreds of volunteers at Metheny Field in assisting with the 2013 Special Olympics Arkansas State Track and Field Meet held Thursday, April 25 in Clarksville.
Ozarks' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee led the way, teaming with Special Olympics Arkansas to help make dreams come true for Special Olympians from across the state. Events included walk races, run races, a softball throw and numerous other activities.
Over 100 Ozarks' student-athletes participated in the annual event, as volunteers from all ten of Ozarks' varsity sports assisted. Student-athletes helped stage the events, measured distances jumped and thrown, and timed the Olympians in the different racing competitions. Yet the student-athletes' biggest contribution to the event was their support and encouragement.
"All I saw yesterday were faces that had pure joy on them," said Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Secretary and two-time volunteer Whitney Lewis.
"It really opened my eyes because the people involved in Special Olympics want to compete, but they want to have fun and enjoy themselves while doing it. People with disabilities can do amazing things, and it is such a rewarding experience for the volunteers."
Ozarks' student-athletes are no strangers to the Special Olympics program and participants.
Aside from helping with the track and field event, the Lady Eagles softball team hosts an annual softball tournament at Hurie Field in the fall, and Ozarks' basketball teams recently assisted with the Unified Basketball Tournament which was held on campus this spring.
"As a student-athlete, you should always try to give back and represent your school and your community in the best way possible," said Lewis. "And I feel like I get more joy from giving than receiving."


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Hi -
I have created wrapper classes around Win32 API calls in GNU C++ (v 4.3.1) using Win32API library (v 3.11). I am having difficulty in the implementation of API functions that require callback functions as arguments (presumably since I have declared the callback functions as member functions of the class instead of in the global scope and have not implemented the c++ equivalent of a delegate function).
Here is a simple example using the EnumWindows Win32 API call:
I receive the following compile-time error using the MinGW compiler (version 3.14):Code:
class MyClass {
void AccessorFunc() {
EnumWindows(this->EnumWindowsProc, 0);
BOOL CALLBACK MyClass::EnumWindowsProc(HWND hWnd, LPARAM lParam) {
// do whatever...
MSDN put together an article on "How to: Implement Callback Functions" with this same scenario using .NET, C# and VC++ frameworks, which makes use of the delegate function.Code:
In member function 'void MyClass::AccessorFunc()' argument type 'BOOL (MyClass::)(HWND__*,LPARAM)' does not match 'BOOL (*)(HWND__*,LPARAM)'
I'm still working on getting up-to-speed on the c++ implementation of the delegate function, though I would like to avoid the use of additional functions outside the class scope in preference of an inline solution, if feasible. At this point, any suggestions are welcome to get the code to compile.


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It's been a frustrating start to the season, don't we all know it. Now, as NYK fans' patience teeters on the edge of a knife, Michael Jordan's Bobcats are in town to make an attempt at adding to our woes.
Tonight, in front of what will potentially be a hostile MSG crowd, the time arises in which we'll...................
We are a team that's in dire need of turning the tide. We can not continue to vie for supremacy with this soft, non team inclusive offense. Toughness, teamwork and a refusal to lose MUST be enforced by our Captains and our leaders on both ends of the floor.
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if - like the Knicks - you do not know yourself nor your enemies, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Bobcats' Numbers
So, as you can see, the Bobcats get the majority of their offensive production from their backcourt. They are heavy through the front court, and can impose their weight on opponents in the paint.
Players To Contain
Boris Diaw in particular has an incredibly versatile game, as the stats reflect, is a crafty defender, and defends the post reasonably well. Melo is a handful for him, and I believe he and Maggette will split the duties on guarding him.
Get to the stripe Melo!
According to WikiLeaks, he brought Michelle Obama to orgasm anally. Nice one!
There are rumors that he once threw a midget in to the sun.
Laundry Folds
A reliable source has said that he was conceived as a twin, but ate the other post birth. Cool!
Some say Toney was tutored in passing by a Bonobo Chimp
The Man Handler
Amar'e Stoudemire
In his 3 appearances thus far this season, the now 6'11", 260 pound, self proclaimed beast has been the most amicable defender in the game.
On several occasions, he has lost his defensive assignment, misconstrued communication on double teams, his timing has been horrendous, and he's traded positioning for attempts at blocking shots.
And that's just the defensive end.
STAT needs to bring it, and bring it hard. He has looked discombobulated on both ends, and though the offense leaves him to create for himself on a team with poor ball movement, he seems to think he's the second coming of George Gervin.
knicksonline.com POSTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Despite the presence of one of the leagues top scorers in Carmelo Anthony, the New York Knicks have struggled offensively for the majority of the young season.
The return of Amare Stoudemire may help.
Stoudemire expects to be in the lineup Wednesday night when New York seeks to beat the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden for the fourth straight time.
Anthony is averaging 27.0 points per game for the Knicks (2-3) after a 35-point performance in Mondays 90-85 home defeat to Toronto. New York has scored 85 points or fewer in all three of its losses, and its 40.2 percent team field-goal percentage ranks near the bottom of the league.
Stoudemire has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, but said hes excited to return to the court Wednesday. Hed averaged 17.3 points through the first three games.
I cant wait, Stoudemire said. It was tough watching (Monday), so I cant wait to get back out there to really give us that push that we need.
New York may also get a boost from the potentially surprising return of first-round draft pick Iman Shumpert, who coach Mike DAntoni said will be a game-time decision.
Shumpert injured his knee in a collision during the Knicks season-opening win over Boston on Christmas Day and originally was expected to miss up to four weeks.
I know we lost a game we should have won (Monday), DAntoni said. But again, weve just got to hang in there, get through this period, get guys healthy, and then see what holes we have and see what we have to add to fix them. I asked my dog what he thought we should do, and he barked 3 times, meaning we should launch no less than 35-40 3s. I then masturbated to pictures of hogs."
Anthony is averaging 29.4 points in his last 11 games against Charlotte, which has lost four straight since a Dec. 26 season-opening win over Milwaukee.
The Bobcats (1-4) fell 115-101 at Cleveland on Tuesday despite 26 points from D.J. Augustin. Following a 96-95 loss to Miami on Dec. 28, Charlottes last three defeats have come by an average of 24.7 points.
Its just not gonna work if we dont play hard all the time, coach Paul Silas said. Were not talented enough to not play hard all the time. You cant just give (the game) away and let it happen.
Traveling to New York wont make things any easier if recent history is any indication. The Bobcats have lost three straight at Madison Square Garden, where they are 3-9 all-time. However, the last five of those defeats at MSG have come by four points or fewer.
The Bobcats nearly overcame a 16-point deficit the last time they visited New York on Nov. 23, 2010, but came up short by a 110-107 score. Augustin scored 24 points in the loss.
Charlotte defeated the Knicks 114-106 at home March 26 despite a 36-point effort from Anthony.
What a douche!
Of course, this reminds of Michael Jordan's infamous catcall at late Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin from the 1998 lockout negotiations, when Jordan yelled, "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team," at the longtime owner (Jordan has owned the Bobcats for 17 months, Pollin had owned his Wizards for three decades by that point). But that's neither here nor there for a pair of sides that have been duplicitous (though the owners are better at it) and unreliable (the players, 'natch) since "negotiations" began.
Beck went on to report the Jordan-led group of owners initially wanted to give the players just 37 percent of all income the league earns from people who pay money for things that are associated with basketball players playing basketball.


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May 8, 2009
Stephenie Meyer is On Set & Dakota is an Evil Red Riding Hood!
14 comments:
I think you are the only one today feeding us!!!ReplyDelete
Thank you!!!
- AnonymousMay 8, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Haha...I just saw that a while ago!ReplyDelete
- Mary GMay 8, 2009 at 3:07 PM
I was so excited to see Michael post something.. they are really busy.. love his and Jamie's updates.. now to get them to post a picture of something.. anything...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 8, 2009 at 3:08 PM
I love how actively he tweets. He rocks.ReplyDelete
OOHHHH JANE LOOKING LIKE RED RIDING HOOD??? LOLZ NOT EXACTLY WAT I IMAGINED BUT HOPEFULLY WILL BE AWESOME... CAN'T WAIT!!!ReplyDelete
Thank you SO much for this, I was getting worried today was going to be really slow. :PReplyDelete
Yay! Keep twittering Michael! Each update gets me more exited for November.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 8, 2009 at 4:19 PM
when is this addiction going to stop? I can't get enough.ReplyDelete
I love that he's so faithful to the fans!! Thanks for feeding us, Michael!ReplyDelete
Ooo this is good stuff TCA! Thank you! I love it!ReplyDelete
Thanks TCA - You are the best!ReplyDelete
What a cool English guy! Sorry very biased of me. :)
Ok, so if they are doing the Volturi scenes in Vancouver what scenes will they actually be doing in Italy? Hopefully the Clock Tower one with Bella running through the water fountain? Plus the beautiful scenery but I wonder what else?
- riddleinsideMay 8, 2009 at 7:37 PM
Michael Sheen rocks!!!! I don't have a Tweeter but those who have one, please tell this guy many thanks!!!!I love his updates!!Awesome!!!!ReplyDelete
English lads are the best :D
Michael Sheen is awsome! He tweets the best stuff!ReplyDelete
I cant believe Stephenie is in town. No one's seen her at all. I know she's been here a few times but no pictures or sightings. That woman is good.ReplyDelete


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- Japanese Grand Prix
Raikkonen squeezed out at the start
- Race:
- Japanese Grand Prix
- Drivers:
- Kimi Räikkönen
- Teams:
- Lotus F1
Kimi Raikkonen says Fernando Alonso left him with nowhere to go ahead of the accident that took the Ferrari driver out of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Raikkonen and Alonso touched on the approach to turn one as the Ferrari driver squeezed the Lotus towards the grass. The contact resulted in a puncture for Alonso and he spun out of the race while Raikkonen managed to carry on with a damaged front wing.
"I was on the left-hand side all the way since the very beginning of the start and they came to the left more and more," Raikkonen said. "I tried to go more left but had nowhere to go and they all came to my side and touched my front wing. I couldn't go anywhere."
Raikkonen later lost out on fifth place to Lewis Hamilton, but believes he got the best from his car.
"Sixth wasn't the result we were hoping for but unfortunately we didn't have the speed to do better today," he added. "We lost some time [at the start] and our second pit stop wasn't the best, so overall it was quite a difficult race. The good thing is we still managed to score points to stay in touch in the championship."


text:
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― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:03 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:03 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:06 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:07 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:09 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:11 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― George the Animal Steele, Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:17 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Yep. She had that Lustra song ("Scotty Doesn't Know") from Eurotrip up on her MySpace page for a while. (Sidebar: I think that song rocks.)
Also, they like the Yellowcard, I believe.
Some of that stuff is bad and boring, and some of it is foot-tappy and cute.
― Hillary Brown (Hillary Brown), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:21 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Chuck "I still haven't heard Robyn or Rachel Stevens or Girls Aloud, though though I want to. What's so great about them again?" Eddy, man, I'm happily anticipating the joy that awaits you. Not so much with Rachel - her few singles are fantastic (plus of course, 'Crazy Boys') but the albums really haven't endured in the same way that GA's 'What Would the Neighbours Say?' and 'Chemistry' have. And Robyn's Robyn works.
One thing, is that the new younger Emma Roberts/ Aly and AJ (who I believed to be teenpop antichrists pre- Rush) are remarkable in how LESS/ emptier their sounds are; watered down, less commited to either rocking or popping or punking out at all.
Lilix, they haven't been dropped yet? Bad songs.
The new Hilary stuff - as I tried to discuss in a convaluted mess with cis and Lex (?) was how neatly she's shifted from the grrl-rock game, now Ashlee and Lindsay are there, and into the electro 80s synth sounds, appropriating the Killers elements rather than Avril. Which, if 'Beat of my heart' is to be judged, and 'wake up', seems a smart move. The earlier 'come clean' era was good, but I'm liking the new shift. Didn't the Maddens produce those Most Wanted bonus tracks?
McFly - Dadrock indeed, only their aesthetic is bemusing now too, looking at the '5 colours' era to their latest video which was very '2002 nu-metal alienation graphics' - not at all teenpop looking, more grey suits and flat hair.
― Abby (abby mcdonald), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:29 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Has she really shifted genres, though? Or is it just some '80s electro accoutrements on the same style songs? Listening to the clip of "Wake up" on iTunes makes me wonder.
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:37 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Abby (abby mcdonald), Thursday, 5 January 2006 22:42 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 03:27 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― DoG67, Friday, 6 January 2006 03:37 (twelve years ago) Permalink
1 TONY CHRISTIE FT PETER KAY (IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO 2 CRAZY FROG AXEL F 3 JAMES BLUNT YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL 4 MCFLY ALL ABOUT YOU/YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND 5 SHANYE WARD THAT'S MY GOAL 6 AKON LONELY 7 PUSSYCAT DOLLS FT BUSTA RHYMES DON'T CHA 8 WESTLIFE YOU RAISE ME UP 9 2PAC FT ELTON JOHN GHETTO GOSPEL 10 MADONNA HUNG UP 11 DANIEL POWTER BAD DAY 12 SUGABABES PUSH THE BUTTON 13 MARIO LET ME LOVE YOU 14 NELLY FT TIM MCGRAW OVER AND OVER 15 SNOOP DOGG/WILSON/TIMBERLAKE SIGNS 16 NATALIE IMBRUGLIA SHIVER 17 GORILLAZ FEEL GOOD INC 18 MARIAH CAREY WE BELONG TOGETHER 19 BODYROCKERS I LIKE THE WAY 20 SCISSOR SISTERS FILTHY/GORGEOUS 21 BLACK EYED PEAS DON'T PHUNK WITH MY HEART 22 ROBBIE WILLIAMS TRIPPING 23 CHARLOTTE CHURCH CRAZY CHICK 24 COLDPLAY SPEED OF SOUND 25 WILL SMITH SWITCH 26 GWEN STEFANI FT EVE RICH GIRL 27 KEANE THIS IS THE LAST TIME 28 JENNIFER LOPEZ GET RIGHT 29 CORAL IN THE MORNING 30 UNITING NATIONS OUT OF TOUCH 31 LEMAR IF THERE'S ANY JUSTICE 32 OASIS THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IDLE 33 GREEN DAY BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS 34 STEREOPHONICS DAKOTA 35 SUNSET STRIPPERS FALLING STARS 36 GORILLAZ DARE 37 GREEN DAY WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS 38 OASIS LYLA 39 50 CENT CANDY SHOP 40 BLACK EYED PEAS DON'T LIE 41 KELLY CLARKSON SINCE U BEEN GONE 42 EMINEM LIKE TOY SOLDIERS 43 USHER CAUGHT UP 44 U2 SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN 45 AMERIE 1 THING 46 ROB THOMAS LONELY NO MORE 47 SEAN PAUL WE BE BURNIN' 48 MVP ROC YA BODY (MIC CHECK 1 2) 49 RIHANNA PON DE REPLAY 50 GWEN STEFANI COOL This is the Smash Hits Chart compiled
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 03:44 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 03:48 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Well, with nine shopping days left until Pazz & Jop, I'm in the midst of what's always equivalent to the Bataan death march an end-of-year delight, which is to reevaluate my favorite records of the year for possible poll ranking, and trying to catch up on the many records I've missed. To report on the latter endeavor:Madonna - I love the single, hate the rest of it. Lindsay Lohan - I hate the single, love the rest of it. (Isn't this what fundamentalists urge us to do: hate the single but love the singer?) Kelly Clarkson - way better than Christgau says it is, of course, but I can hear how incipient Faithisms and Celinetudes could weigh it down for him (and even for me, to some extent). Tatu - finely flimsied Europop at its finest, which surprises me (not the flimsiness or the Europop, but the fineness, since the single they emerged with several years ago had struck me as finely diced dime-a-dozen Europop and I didn't believe the hype; maybe the difference is no Trevor Horn this time).
-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 17th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
Let's see, in the previous post I should have deleted the comma after "ranking" and changed "and trying to" to "and try to"; and I should have changed "way better than" to "far better than," so that the sentence wouldn't have been weighed down by a surfeit of "ways" and "weighs."
But to relate these albums to the putative subject matter of this thread:
Madonna wore a cowboy hat on the cover of her previous CD, which has nothing to do with the new album, or with the previous either, as far as I could tell, but here she is and I'm talking about her. The new CD is even duller than the others she's put out in the last fifteen years, which shocks me though probably shouldn't have, but I had hopes for this thing because (1) I love the single, and (2) I'd liked chief collaborator Stuart Price's Les Rythmes Digitales album from 1999 enough to have put it on my Pazz & Jop ballot (after which I totally forgot about him and it until seeing some ILM discussion several weeks ago lauding his subsequent career remixing any and everything under pseudonyms such as Jacques La Cont, Thin White Duke, Zoot Woman, Pour Homme, Paper Faces, Man With Guitar).
So the single samples the riff from Abba's "Gimme Gimme a Man After Midnight," putting it in a beautiful setting and when the riff is absent giving a beautiful texture to the chords. And the rest of the album has equally beautiful textures, and wonderful troughs and swells whenever a song transitions from verse to chorus or chorus to verse or verse to break. What it doesn't have is a single melody worth transitioning too, anywhere, except for that one Abba riff on track one. So you end up with soggy high-class mood music, all the beautiful swells and stuff just weighing everything down - er, wait, I mean, hold on, I can't use "weigh" again, um, dragging everything down? drenching everything up? (Oh, I don't know.) Her voice makes the tracks draggy too, I don't know why; it's the sort that needs a melody, not an atmosphere, I guess. "Hate" is probably an exaggeration - no, it isn't, I really don't like the thing, but I'll admit there are musically worthy moments. The obnoxious "I Love New York" song is as stupid as Joan Morgan says in her Voice review (she loved the album except for this track) but is actually one of the few signs of life, probably because it cops the chord pattern to Iggy's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (an odd riff for a Detroit chick to use in a tribute to New York, given that the Stooges' home base was Ann Arbor, but maybe she or Price didn't notice the resemblance to "Dog").
Maybe I'm listening wrong and can come to hear it differently.
Ah, Lindsay. Her voice is a loose blat in comparison to Ashlee's tough little battering ram, and so far she hasn't pulled her music together as powerfully as Ashlee has; but the loose blat and the woman's basic Lohanicity make everything feel playful no matter how devastated or introspective she thinks she's being. The band sounds like it's having a rollicking good time. This is probably inaccurate - my copy has no album credits, but I assume that rather than a band there's just some guy doing overdub upon overdub, which is how most of these things are made. Some spirit is in this. (Strange if the tenth spot on my P&J list comes down to who is more fun: Lindsay Lohan or the Hold Steady. Craig Finn of the Hold Steady clobbers her in the category throw-you-to-the-floor funny lyrics ("Tramps like us and we like tramps"!), not too mention basic goofiness of vocal delivery, but she scores high on general pizzazz and ongoing shamelessness. Speaking of which, remember when words like "pizzazz" and "shameless" pertained to Madonna?But to get bring us back to this thread, the best song on the Lohan, "I Live for the Day," matches "Kerosene" in virulence if not in stompability: "I live for the day, I live for the night, that you will be desperate and dying inside." (Glad to see that Lindsay has found a purpose in life) (though this was one of the songs she didn't co-write [writer's credits are available at allmusic.com].) And there's a meta moment worthy of Big & Rich where at the start of a the title, "A Little More Personal," she and a producer (or someone) are arguing over whether songs should have spoken intros (Lindsay in favor of them because they make the record a little more personal). But I kinda don't think Big & Rich will ever begin a song by singing: "God won't talk to me. I guess she's pretty busy." Or if they do, it won't get on the radio.
(My rationalization for posting this here is that by exploring what noncountry can and can't do, this tells us something about what country can and can't do. My real reason is that this is a more congenial thread than most to post on. And more fun.)
Close parenthesis after "pertained to Madonna?" And "at the start of a the title" should be, "at the start of the title song."
Kelly Clarkson - She's someone who could conceivably jump to country if she wanted to, since several of her songs (esp. "Breakaway") aren't far from the basic land of pop-country crossover, if she were ever to choose it. I don't think she knows yet which genre she'll settle into. She's playing big on CHR pop and adult contemporary so she'll probably continue offering the loud-bright-rock-and-gentle-ballad combo special. As of now she wants wall of guitars on her wailing choruses, which is something country has yet to allow.
She's got a love-is-the-drug my-love-for-you-is-toxic song (called "Addicted," appropriately enough) that is more flat-out pained and less knowing than you'd get in the country equivalents (or in Sheryl's or Britney's, for that matter): "It's like you're a leech, sucking the life from me/It's like I can't breathe without you inside of me."
the first time i felt like i was invading, that i was engaging in something inapporite, that seemed too personal, too raw for public consumption in a v v long time, was the artless but heartbreaking video for lohan's too personal. it was harder to consume than any of the confessional singer songwriter shit that i engaged in, and was liminal b/w public and private personae in a way that seemed genuinely transgressive/taboo breaking.
not in the sense of oh my god this is so shocking (ie the ultra conceptual madonna of like a prayer) but in the sense of leave the poor girl alone, hasnt she suffered enough...
its something i dont have the crtical vocab for--and it doesnt matter if its nto v. good musically (and it isnt)--strangely enough, that overshare personal detail stuff seems to come in two places, girl pop (and i hear it in the shangri las, in the crystals, in other places) and in country--and the only place i felt it this year was in my inital reaction to the awful mindy mccready situtaion. (ie:finally we have tammy back)
does that a) make me a bad personb) make sense
-- anthony easton (anthonyeasto...), December 18th, 2005. (anthony)
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 04:12 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Another interesting topic might be the way that country utilizes the child-abuse trope. Child abuse has been the subject of songs (T. Graham Brown "Which Way to Pray": "A little girl down on her knees/Saying 'Now I lay me down to sleep/Lord bless us with a happy home/And please make daddy leave me alone'"). Hank Snow had been an abused child, and he spoke out about child abuse, but as far as I know (which isn't very) he didn't make it an integral part of his image. Whereas in modern teenpop - Pink, Ashlee, Lindsay - singing about their suffering (don't know if there was abuse or just the usual divorce and/or abandonment) is an integrity move, something that's supposed to give songs and singers depth. (Which doesn't mean that it isn't gutsy, especially Pink's Missundaztood!. Ashlee's "Shadow" is a powerful song, but there are things in it that feel wrong to me.)
(This year on P&J's abandoned child front, M.I.A.'s said that she entitled her album "Arular" (which is her dad's political alias, just as "Lenin" was Vladimer Ilyich Ulyanov's poltical alias) in the hope that he'd see it and get in touch with her. That was one reason, anyway.)
-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 19th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
Listening to Linsay Lohan now. Kinda thinking that way too much of it sounds like the single! The Cheap Trick cover is okay. I like the new wave synthesizers in "A Little More Personal." Beyond that, I dunno. I definitely I think I prefer Linsay more when she's LESS personal. (Oh wait, "If You Were Me" is on now. What a bouncy little bassline:) But she may have no more business doing ballads than Gretchen Wilson.
I really liked a disco song Hilary Duff did last year that Metal Mike sent me the video of, but I forget its name. Thought both of her actual albums were okay, but not okay enough to keep them. Never heard the greatest hits CD. May still have a soundtrack that's half songs by her and half songs by other people in the storage garage.
-- xhuxk (xedd...), December 19th, 2005.
There could also be a goth influence on country via Stevie Nicks (he says as Lindsy Lohan's seemingly quite good "Edge of 17" cover plays) or via Metallica (as in, say, harmonies on the first Big&Rich album). (What as Kim Carnes's and Bonnie Tyler's connection to goth, anyway?) -- xhuxk (xedd...), December 19th, 2005.
but which teenager doesnt over share, the adults around her should say something about it no? we keep forgetting with the tits, and the voice, that lohan is still basically a child.
-- anthony easton (anthonyeasto...), December 19th, 2005. (anthony)
"Who Loves You" on Linsay's album bounces too! I just may need to take more time with all those big bloated confessional slow ones.(I really know nothing about her life, so I'm staying out of that discussion. She was really entertaining in *Mean Girls,* however.)
(By the way, speaking of lives, Frank, you know Ashlee supposedly collapsed after a show in Asia late last week, right? Last I heard, on Saturday I think, she was still being hospitalized. Hope she's OK.)
Lindsay is old enough to join the Marines! Old enough to fight, old enough to direct your own video, I say. (I really don't know enough about the biz to know how such decisions are made.) -- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 20th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 04:23 (twelve years ago) Permalink
-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 20th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
(Ashlee's back in the U.S. with her family. Official reason for the collapse is exhaustion.) -- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 20th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
>I really liked a disco song Hilary Duff did last year that Metal Mike sent me the video of, but I forget its name.<
'Twas "Wake Up."
-- xhuxk (xedd...), December 21st, 2005.
(By the way, if anybody's interested, Lindsay Lohan does "I Want You To Want Me" better than Cheap Trick ever did. It was never even close to one of their best songs, I've always thought, but then again, not until now did I ever notice what a great line "I'll get home early from work if you'll say that you want me" is. Getting home early from work is such an important thing in everyday life! Lindsay singing that line hit me the second time through. I've heard the Cheap Trick version thousands of times, probably, and the line never grabbed me.) -- xhuxk (xedd...), December 23rd, 2005.
Also, the bassline in "Fastlane" comes from "Roxanne" by the Police! -- xhuxk (xedd...), December 23rd, 2005.
Now I'm up to Hilary Duff. Never in the course of human events have so many melodies been lavished on such a tiny voice.
Well, for the Churchillian effect I wanted I should have said, "Never in the field of human artistry was so much melody lavished by so many on such a tiny voice."-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 24th, 2005. (Frank Kogan)
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 04:35 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 04:36 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Hillary Brown (Hillary Brown), Friday, 6 January 2006 13:35 (twelve years ago) Permalink
In terms of Max Martin rock action, let us not forget The Veronicas' awesome "4 Eva".
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 6 January 2006 13:54 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Anyway. *Come Get It: The Very Best of Aaron Carter.* More fun than the Backstreet Boys's best of album? Maybe, I'm not sure. Best tracks: "Bounce," "A.C.'s Alien Nation," "To All the Girls," "Another Earthquake" (which was his pop-punk move, apparently; never knew he had one). Fun: "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" (a "Parents Just Don't Understand" rip which I reviewed in a singles column in the voice several years ago), "My Internet Girl," "I Want Candy," "Oh Aaron." Still pretty bad, though justifiable for its ridiculousness: "That's How I Beat Shaq." Missing: "Iko Iko"; he covered that right? Maybe people thought including it would be offensive in the wake of Katrina?
I heard the Veronicas album a couple months ago (listened to it to write a show preview of their New York show), and thought it was ok, not all that distinctive, and wound up trading it in. Should I not have? (I think I probably thought it wasn't teen-pop *enough.* Though I vaguely remember the singer vaguely reminding me of Joan Jett once.)
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 14:02 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 6 January 2006 14:05 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 6 January 2006 14:06 (twelve years ago) Permalink
holy shit, stop the presses, on the stereo right now: 1982 john cougar song of the year: "crazy summer nights" by hope paltrow. sorry, silvertide, you just got beat!! (has metal mike heard this yet? he will spit out his diet pepsi for sure!!)(okay, that had nothing to do with country, i guess. but i had to say it.)
-- xhuxk (xedd...), July 25th, 2005. Oh, you were asking about Anna Nalick: she's 21, did "Breathe(2 A.M.)" -- don (dmxz...), September 28th, 2005.
Is she considered country, pop, r&b, or what?Also, who is Emma Roberts? Just got the CD in the mail; she appears Nickelodeon connected. (Also appears to have nothing to do with country music, but who cares.) It wouldn't play in my computer; gotta take it home I guess. But I really like these song titles: "Punch Rocker," "Say Goodbye to Jr. High," "94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)," "Dummy," "Mexican Wrestler," "New Shoes"! I wonder if Shania has heard that last song. I already want her to be the next Skye Sweetnam or at least Hope Partlow, but she probably isn't, I dunno.
-- xhuxk (xedd...), September 28th, 2005.
Anna's in September 26, 2205 issue of People.Yeah, I read it; gotta keep up, yknow. "Nalick has toured almost nonstop since her debut CD, Wreck of the Day, came out in April." College student. But also "kicks off a headlining tour Oct. 6 and opens for Rob Thomas starting on Nov. 6," so headlining tour's more a tourette. I've seen the "Breathe" vid on VH-1 and on CMT's aforementioned "Wide Open Country"(with Mellanin, Crow, Truckers, Hootie, etc.) "On Meeting Rob Thomas: I rewrote matchbox twenty's "Push" when I was younger. I told him about it. He was like, 'That's awesome. Wait. When you were 12, you thought you could write my songs better than I could?'" Somebody had to tell him. -- don (dmxz...), September 28th, 2005.
On the other hand, I would definitely take the totally morally conflicted Hope Partlow song where she makes out with her friend's boyfriend ("Sick Inside") over the Big&Rich song where John Rich makes out with his friend's girfriend ("Never Mind Me") any day. (That'd be the second or third best song on the Partlow album, behind the great "Crazy Summer Nights", tied with "Everywhere But Here," slightly above "Cold" and the Disney hit "Who We Are", which has a cool blues riff by the way. Also, "Let Me Try" sounds like a cross between David Johansen's "Flamingo Road" and Lionel Richie's "Three Times a Lady," sort of. She has a really ace band, whoever they are. I forgot her album when listing top 10 candidates above; right now, I'd put it somewhere below Lambert/Carter but above MIA/Fannypack, I think, though logically I can see why others might totally disagree. Bottom line is, I'd rather *listen* to it than MIA or Fannypack.) -- xhuxk (xedd...), October 3rd, 2005.
(Actually there's a good chance "Sick Inside" > "Cold" > "Who We Are" > "Everywhere But Here" , now that I think of it. But why nitpick?) -- xhuxk (xedd...), October 3rd, 2005.
And speaking of noncountry singers whom we can talk about on this thread because Chuck talked here about someone whom she reminds me of, "Life After You" on the Brie Larson album is better than anything on the Hope Partlow - it starts with great sexy electro-disco oohs and ahs, similar to Pauline Rubio, then shifts effortlessly into a just-as-danceable Ashlee-Avril-Kelly-Marion I'm-over-you/I-will-flourish/I-will-survive brat-voiced bubblerock monster. The track is produced by the great Ric Wake, the man who helped invent Taylor Dayne and is usually the fellow working the dials on Celine Dion's best moments. The disco on the Brie Larson tends to fade after the second track, unfortunately, and the melodies plummet from "great" to "not bad, though there's another pretty good Ric Wake production (and a couple not so good) and a funny smart song about Brie's not getting along with her gym teacher (guess she doesn't want the gym teacher's perfume on her pillowcase, though she would like a C so she doesn't have to take the damn class anymore). Generally smart lyrics, mostly Brie-written. Promising. Exec. producer Tommy Mottola. -- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), October 18th, 2005.
Actually, "Life After You" eventually sounds kind of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"! But I like Hope's "Crazy Summer Nights," which sounds kind of like "Jack and Diane," about a hundred times as much. Brie sounds good, though.
-- xhuxk (xedd...), October 19th, 2005.
I like the "Finally Out of P.E." song on Brie Larsen's album more than the "Life After You" song; the former's just way more distinctive. There's something really generic about the former that I can't put my finger on (just like there's something really generic about Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone", which I like a lot but don't love, that I can't put my finger on; nothing generic to me about Ashlee's "La La" or Hope's "Crazy Summer Nights" at all). I mean, in "Life After You," I *guess* I hear the Rubio ooh-ahh beats Frank's talking about, *when I listen really really really close for them,* but even then they seem incidental; they're not nearly as in bubbliciously in-your-face and effervescent as they'd be in a great Rubio track. Honestly, I don't really even buy the comparison. Sounds more like pretty run-of-the-mill Hillary Duff gurgling to me. Which, again, is fine; I *like* Hillary Duff. And I like this song, but I think I like any number of other Brie songs just as much. (Right now it sounds to me like the album really picks up in the middle -- "Done With Like" which I keep hearing as "Done With Life," "She Shall Remain Nameless" which seems to have some really good high school cultural map specifics in it, "She Said," etc. That could change, though. Either way, a really good album. Better than any album Hillary or the Bratz have made. But not Partlow, I don't think. Yet.) -- xhuxk (xedd...), October 20th, 2005.
I meant "something really generic about the LATTER (i.e, "Life After You") that I can't put my finger on." "Finally Got Out of P.E.," in its own way, is unprecedented, just like "Crazy Summer Nights" in its own way is unprecendented. "Life After You," as the laundry list of teen I-will-survivers Frank likened it to suggests, is anything but. (But of course the thing about generic music is that it's great if you love the genre. I get the idea Frank has more use for that genre than I do. I also think John Cougar was better than Taylor Dayne!) -- xhuxk (xedd...), October 20th, 2005.
Btw, Hope Partlow is a tremendously gifted singer who makes everything sound easy and natural rather than capital-S "Spectacular," while actually what she does with her voice is rather spectacular, if only she'd make a spectacle of herself - which maybe she should, this being art and not life. I'm sure she'd be a good country singer if that's what she were to choose. In fact, she'd probably be a good anything singer, even death metal. As a stylist she's got a lot more sense and smarts than either Faith Hill or Celine Dion has (Celine's somewhat rooted in countrypolitan when she isn't being rooted in disco). Definitely in the pop-country range if she wants to be (where the Faith and the LeAnn play, and Cougar-style rockers worm their way midstream these days, and the skies are not cloudy all day except whenever LeAnn cries rivers).I haven't played the Partlow enough for it to really sink in. The things is, what Partlow would choose if she could, it seems, is to be Lisa Stansfield: stylized mastery and control and all that, with maybe an extra freshness in her smooth glides, and certainly more boom from the kick drums and more kick from the snare drums (I prefer Mellancamp riffs to Norman Cook beats, when it comes to backing one's stylishness); but veering Adult Contemporary nonetheless, which will be her destination unless the bucks lead her elsewhere. That could be a drawback, though not necessarily (AC is hardly devoid of passion and rock these days); but so far my other problem with the Partlow album is my failure to love any of the songs. This could change with more listenings; a stylist who makes things easy often sneaks her passion in on you. I certainly appreciate the girl, but I'm not aching for her yet.
-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), October 20th, 2005.
>kelly clarkson on mtv, the video that looked like some lost melodrama, all blonde on black, with heart break and a sort of undersung sadness/meloncholy...i dont remember the song, but how it was sung was more country and less girl singer, more lambert and less lohan...[anthony easton]Could be either "Breakaway" or "Because of You" (the blonder of the two) either or which could be country with (or without) a few tweaks, as could Hope Partlow's "Crazy Summer Nights," if you want to vote for any of them.
-- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 28th, 2005.
Hope Partlow's "Girlfriend" - fast ZZ fizzies on the guitars. Another reason to consider the album country, though my favorite track is "Everywhere But Here," which is the least country/most teenpop feisty wail of a sad-happy I'm gone 'n' you'll miss me lament-triumph Ashlee-Lindsay-Lohan thing. -- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 29th, 2005.
I meant Ashlee-Kelly-Lohan thing. Otherwise, I'm being redundant. -- Frank Kogan (edcasua...), December 29th, 2005.
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 14:32 (twelve years ago) Permalink
P.S.S.) I also liked the Hope 7 album last year. Which means, if nothing else, that 2005 was a *hopeful* year for U.S. teen-pop.
P.S.S.S.) So hey, whatever happened to Skye Sweetnam??
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 14:37 (twelve years ago) Permalink
more fun hope'n'ashlee facts!1. hope does a song where she makes out with your boyfriend and pretends to feel sorry about it; ashlee does one where you accuse her of making out with your boyfriend, and she pretends she didn't and gets pissed off. (except i don't really know if either is pretending.)
2. ashlee opens her CD with a song that sounds like franz ferdinand; hope opens hers with a cool blues riff, just like frank says franz f. open theirs with, though i didn't personally notice it yet. (i think he compared it to a '60s garage punk doing "smokestack lightning.")
3. hope's "don't go" is a red light green light song (see also: ashlee kix reference), though not for the reason its title suggests.
4. ashlee does a song called "boyfriend"; hope does a song called "girlfriend." "girlfriend" is probably 2005's best abba song.
-- xhuxk (xedd...), October 20th, 2005.
Yikes, the Abba song "Girlfriend" sounds like is "Does Your Mother Know," which could have been written by Vladimir Nabokov. Creepy! But it was also Abba's hardest rock song. Maybe this is an answer record?Dullest track on Hope's album: Probably "Through It All."
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 14:48 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Friday, 6 January 2006 16:12 (twelve years ago) Permalink
"12. Skye Sweetnam, untitled (June 20): This is not necessarily an endorsement – just fair warning regarding which bubble-gum rocker the preteen at your house will likely be obsessed with this summer – you know, the shorty you already took to see Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff."
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 16:16 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 16:52 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 16:53 (twelve years ago) Permalink
It would not have been possible for me to forget it, in that this is the first I'd ever heard of it.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 16:57 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Ha, this just came in the email:
DAMONE RE-EMERGES FROM BOSTON 'BURBS WITH ISLAND RECORDS DEBUT6-WEEK TOUR WITH LESS THAN JAKE BEGINS JANUARY 18th IN ATLANTA 5-song EP, "Out Here All Night," making waves in advance of 2006 summer release (January 3, 2006 – New York, NY) Damone is coming! After a recent local Boston show, The Boston Globe hailed Damone as the band that was "born for arenas and is simply biding it's time until it gets to headline in them.," In advance of their long-awaited second album and first for Island Records, with a 2006 summer release, Damone hits the road for six weeks of shows with Less Than Jake, opening January 18th at the Masquerade in Atlanta.
Damone – charismatic lead singer and guitarist Noelle, Dustin Hengst (drums, vocals), Vazquez (bass, vocals), and Mike Woods (lead guitars, vocals) – took their sweet time putting the pieces back together over the past couple years and the early results are catching the ears of savvy programmers and rock cognoscenti via the Out Here All Night EP. The 5-song sampler – "Out Here All Night," "What We Came Here For," "Get Up And Go," "Never Getting Mine (demo)," and "Time and Time Again" – serves notice that Damone has not lost its flair for "unbelievably hook-laden rock songs," as CMJ raved back in the day.
Instilled with a strong love of '80s glam-metal, some Runaways/Joan Jett-size girl-rock (to see Noelle in action is to believe), big Marshall stack guitar solos and badass attitude, Damone is all about the joy and excess of rock.
With the help of legendary mixing engineers Tom Lord-Alge (U2, Weezer, Marilyn Manson) and Mike Shipley (Def Leppard, Green Day, Andrew WK) putting the finishing touches on their upcoming self produced album, Damone has created a timeless piece of rock'n'roll, ready to be sandwiched in a "rock block" of Guns 'N Roses, Queen and AC/DC. "For me," says newest member Mike Woods, "the story should go this way: it looked like it was going to end, quite literally for some of us, but it didn't, so we made a kick-ass record and took over the world."
For further information on Damone go to www.DAMONE.net<
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 17:32 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 17:38 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 17:40 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Who are "Pantra"? Does she mean "Pantera"? "Tantra"?? Also, I hope she covers "Back in the Mud" on her new album!
― xhuxk, Friday, 6 January 2006 17:43 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 17:48 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 6 January 2006 17:52 (twelve years ago) Permalink
>>Instilled with a strong love of '80s glam-metal, some Runaways/Joan >>Jett-size girl-rock (to see Damone's Noelle in action is to >>believe), big >>Marshall stack guitar solos and badass attitude, >>Damone is all >>about the joy and excess of rock.
Damone was so not Marshall stack and guitar solo on their debut. And if it had been more like Joan Jett, I would have actually liked it. And she was as badass as my housecats. Nothing wrong with that, but geeez.
>>With the help of legendary mixing engineers Tom Lord-Alge (U2, >>Weezer, Marilyn Manson) and Mike Shipley (Def Leppard, Green Day, >>Andrew WK) putting the finishing touches on their upcoming self >>produced album, Damone has created a timeless piece of rock'n'roll, >>ready to be sandwiched in a "rock block" of Guns 'N Roses, Queen >>and AC/DC.
Ha-ha. I don't get the reverse in adsmanship. Damone's never going to pass as a bunch of heavy rockers. What's wrong with being what they were and just improving it with, like, some passion in those songs?
This blurb reminds me of the blurb that was being peddled with Hanson's live album. "Guitar brutality!" it was said, excerpted from a review from USA Today or Entertainment Weekly. So I asked for a review copy. Big mistake.
― George the Animal Steele, Friday, 6 January 2006 17:52 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 18:04 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Hillary Brown (Hillary Brown), Friday, 6 January 2006 18:07 (twelve years ago) Permalink
I don't know. Nothing else on Most Wanted comes close. You should try Lindsay Lohan's "I Live for the Day," which is doing something very different (a vengeance rocker, basically, and joyous on its vengeful terms), and oddly enough is one of the few Lohan songs that Kara DioGuardi has no hand in, but it nonetheless has the same reverbed-mystery-lament feel. And then you should try Ashlee's "I Am Me," which is even more of a ferocious Dance Of The Woman Scorned and so is even farther in intent from "Fly"'s tremulous beauty ache - but buried in the song's melody (especially during the dancing-on-your-grave ending) the beauty is there, aching. Which isn't altogether surprising, given that Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks are among the song's writers, and John Shanks is its producer.
So, Tim F., if you're worried that by going for Lindsay and Ashlee you'll be diluting your love for Hilary, you should instead conceive this as expanding your love outward via Shanks and DioGuardi.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 18:31 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 18:32 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Abby (abby mcdonald), Friday, 6 January 2006 19:32 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 6 January 2006 20:01 (twelve years ago) Permalink
Some will say that I'm counterfeitBut I will be who I want toSome will look at me and vomitBut I will do what I want to
Which is extra funny because to make "vomit" fit the meter and rhyme you have to mispronounce it, which she does but without hamming up the mispronunciation. I think she lifted this comic device from that Billy S. guy she likes so much.
Also, in a behind-the-scenes making-of-the-video short for "Tangled Up in Me" she demonstrated to us how they prepared the instruments for the shoot, so she's showing us the muffles they put on the drums; then she turns to the camera and silently mouths "We're not really playing our instruments" to the camera, as if imparting a great but confidential secret.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 20:42 (twelve years ago) Permalink
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 6 January 2006 20:43 (twelve years ago) Permalink
I'm listening to clips of some of these on itunes. Sounds like a bigger production and she's got a good singing voice, but is it as ... believable or something? Does it not just kind of sound like some covers band doing a kind of average/blah assortment of songs, but dressed up in the studio?
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 6 January 2006 21:01 (twelve years ago) Permalink


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Gingrich/Cain 2012: GOP Dream TeamSunday, September 25th, 2011
What about a Gingrich/Cain Republican presidential ticket for 2012? Lost in the news media's obsessive and excessive analysis of the Perry/Romney feud and their poor performances during Fox News Channel's GOP presidential debate was who the real winner was. Without question I think the one candidate who shined in his ability to communicate and offer solutions any American was Newt Gingrich. Gingrich's performance in credibility and capability was nearly matched by Herman Cain, which got me thinking during the debate of a Gingrich/Cain ticket for president.
Admittedly, I was caught up in the rapture of Texas Governor Rick Perry's candidacy from the start. But Perry's disappointing performances, sophomoric responses and weak immigration policy, granting in state tuition to illegal immigrants in Texas among other things, has changed the landscape of the GOP race.
Many of you are thinking that's a long shot but with Cain's 37% win in Florida's straw poll, I'm convinced they both are dark horses in the race. (Yes, I realize Herman Cain is black but I'm still calling him a dark horse, so get over your political correctness.)
In past debates, Newt proved he's a deft communicator that doesn't need a teleprompter (like Obama) to talk. During this week's Florida tour de force, Newt didn't disappoint either, proving as one person in my Twitter stream described that he "could mop up the floor in a debate with Obama" and he's not afraid to lead. Gingrich articulates clearly how he would govern as president of the United States.
One of Newt's best moments was when he answered how he would turn around the US economy. "Thirty-two years ago we were in the same place . . . A leader came along. He said when your brother in law is unemployed it's a recession, when you're unemployed it's a depression. When Jimmy Carter is unemployed it's a recovery. Nothing will turn America around more then election night when Barack Obama loses decisively!"
But one liners aside, Newt offered sound positions on nearly every issue from foreign policy to education. When faced with the question about extending costly unemployment benefits, Newt was wise in stating "people should not get money for doing nothing" and if Americans receive 99 weeks of unemployment training they should be required to participate in a jobs training program or some type of work for this money.
On dealing with the nation's debt, Newt pointed to his experience as Speaker of the House in the 1990s when under his leadership the federal budget had a surplus. With respect to illegal immigration, Newt said we should have 100% control of our borders, mandate English as the official language and have a reliable E-verify program.
As president, Newt said he would end giving US aid to enemy states like Pakistan who shielded Bin Laden from the US for years before his capture and are a nuclear nation, declaring: "Our bureaucrats giving their bureaucrats money is a guaranteed step towards corruption . . . When you have countries vote against you in the United Nations consistently, you rally have to ask yourself why are you giving them anything."
Regarding education reform, Gingrich agreed with most of the candidates the Education Department's power needs to be radically reduced, even eliminated and proposed parents be able to receive Pell Grants at state level to choose where their kids go to school!
Based on what I've seen, Newt is looking like one of the most qualified candidate to be the GOP presidential nominee with Herman Cain coming in as a close second. Cain continues to put forth winning ideas for job creation, reducing the country's debt and pulling the economy out of the toilet. Cain again talked about his-9-9-9 tax policy plan in the debate which proposes a 9% business flat tax, a 9% personal income tax and a 9% national sales tax. It would eliminate corporate, personal income, estate and capital gains taxes. "Unlike Governor Romney's plan, my plan throws out the old one; he's still hooked to the current tax code. That dog won't hunt," said Cain.
A defiant, plain spoken, passionate Cain also reminded Americans that Social Security was indeed broken and privatizing it with personal retirement accounts like Chile has done successfully over the past 30 years is a good solution. When asked which government agency he would eliminate, Cain said he would eliminate the "out of control" Environmental Protection Agency because "it has a regulation to regulate dust," which becomes effective in January of 2012.
Besides out performing everyone else during the debate, Newt and Herman exuded the most passion for the job of President of the United States and offered sound solutions for pulling this country out of its economic malaise. Another tell tale sign, that a Gingrich/Cain ticket may be more than wishful thinking, is when the nine candidates were asked who they would pick as a running mate the majority voted for Gingrich or Cain. Governor Rick Perry couldn't decide between the two "If you could take Herman Cain and mate him up with Newt Gingrich, I think you would have a couple of really interesting guys to work with."
In the hypothetical game of naming a vice-presidential candidate, Cain said he "would play the game" and picked Speaker Gingrich. Gingrich coyly answered he "had no idea who he would pick as a vice- presidential nominee." I think he's got a good idea now. We'll see what happens but in a GOP field of dreams Gingrich for President and Cain for VP look like a winning ticket.


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Dexter Filkins Explains The Arts & Leisure Of Iraq
A few weeks ago, Gawker Weekend had an idea. We had just read George Gurley's piece in the New York Observer, the one where he went to Bungalow 8 and asked the partygoers what they thought about the war in Iraq. It was a pretty funny article—the people all said really shameful things, and it made you realize how frivolous we are here in America and how stupid all our problems are.
We read that, and we thought we'd try something similar—except, you know, with weekend media. We wanted to know: what are the papers like on Saturday and Sunday over there in Iraq? Is it all arts, leisure, and reflective whimsy like it is here? So we e-mailed Dexter Filkins, who had been recovering from a widely celebrated tour of reportorial duty as Baghdad correspondent for the New York Times.
About a week later, the answer came, and yes and no were beyond the point: Filkins was simply severe. Polite but stern, his note was above all short, and it left a mark we will not soon shed. "Sorry," the journalist wrote:
I am just getting this. I don't think I'd be of much help. Iraq is in the middle of a civil war, and there isn't much to say about arts and leisure there at the moment.
All best,
And that's how we learned that you can't just go around e-mailing people whenever you feel like it and ask them questions for your little website every time you think you might have a cute thought.—LEON


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Julian Tavarez is benefiting from something of a cultural exchange on the Boston Red Sox this season.
The right-hander, who has made an effort to befriend Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, is asking Matsuzaka to show him how to throw a cut fastball.
"There are little things I want to learn," Tavarez told the Boston Globe. "He's going to work with me twice a week on a cutter. That pitch has kept a lot of guys in baseball. Mike Timlin, Doug Jones. He says it's OK with him."
Matsuzaka has left quite an impression on Tavarez this season.
"I told him, 'I think you're one of the greatest pitchers I've ever seen,'" Tavarez said. "'The way you go 88, 89 the first three innings, then 95 later. You walk around the mound, and all of a sudden you come out with so much power.'
"I asked him, 'Do you get sore at all?' He said, 'No, it's all mental.' He has seven pitches and command of all of them. He's at another level, that guy."
Tavarez has also been impressed with what he has seen from Okajima, who has not allowed a run in his last 12 appearances.
"He throws a change, a splitter, a fastball, and a hell of a rainbow breaking ball," said Tavarez. "No doubt, everybody who comes from Japan knows how to pitch. They're all good, they play year-round. So many different pitches, so many different mechanics.
"No doubt, he's good. He's not an overpowering guy, but he knows how to pitch. He's one of the best lefties in baseball right now."
Willingham's roll keeps Marlins going: Josh Willingham continued his hot hitting with a five-RBI night, helping the Marlins to a 5-2 win over the Mets, which evened Florida's record at 13-13 for the season.
"It's a combination of feeling good at the plate, getting into good hitter's counts and getting good pitches to hit," Willingham told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I'm getting them on the barrel."
Willingham had a bases-loaded triple in the first inning, one in which he broke character by jumping on the first pitch.
"Most of the time, I like to see a pitch," Willingham said. "In that situation, I can't let him get ahead of me."
Willingham also homered in the game. He's now 8-for-16 in his last four games, with six of those hits going for extra-bases.
Garciaparra trusts Little to keep him fresh: Dodgers manager Grady Little likes to give his veterans days off to keep them fresh. He did that last season with J.D. Drew and this year he's paying special attention to Nomar Garciaparra.
After the Dodgers' 17-inning game Sunday, Little removed Garciaparra during Monday's game and did not have him in the starting lineup on Tuesday.
"We would have stretched his playing out to the off-day Thursday if it wasn't for (the 17-inning game)," Little told the Los Angeles Times.
Garciaparra felt ready to play, but he puts his trust in his manager.
"The older you get, the less you question what the manager does," Garciaparra said. "You put faith in him because he must have a plan. I never ask why or what.
Garciaparra came on as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning Tuesday night and played the remainder of the game.
"He's been very impressive so far," Little said. "You just do everything in your power to make sure it continues on. His playing time will depend on the schedule.
K-Rod looks much like he did a year ago: Francisco Rodriguez led the American League with nine saves in the month of April. On the first day in May, he added his 10th save, closing the door on the Angels' 7-5 win over the Royals. Rodriguez is ahead of last year's pace, when he set a franchise-record with 47 saves.
"I'm looking to have a better year," Rodriguez told the Los Angeles Times. "I know that it's not going to be easy. But I know if I get enough opportunities, I'll have a great year."
Rodriguez now has saves in four consecutive games.
"He was about as consistent as any relief pitcher I've ever seen, especially a closer," manager Mike Scioscia said of 2006. "You couldn't ask for much more. He certainly has the capability to repeat that. But the focus has to be pitch to pitch and game to game.
Sheets looks back in form: Heading into Tuesday night's game against St. Louis, Ben Sheets knew one thing before he took the mound -- he wasn't going to take it easy on his right leg.
"You can't do that," the Milwaukee right-hander told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You can't go out there and then later say you're not feeling good."
Sheets had to leave his last start in Chicago after three innings due to a right groin strain. On Monday, he participated in a pitcher's fielding practice, fielding ground ball and bunts.
"He bounced around out there pretty good," manager Ned Yost said.
After the fielding practice, Sheets then had to pass an examination by team physician William Raasch.
"We're taking zero chances with him," Yost said.
It appears Sheets is perfectly fine judging from Tuesday's outing against the Cardinals. Sheets (2-2) allowed only two runs on six hits and one walk in six innings of work as the Brewers won, 12-2.
Cora delivers: Alex Cora had proven himself to be a key member of the Boston Red Sox this season, even if he's not getting regular starts.
Cora has been red-hot over the past 10 days. And while he isn't about to say he deserves to start more, he is like any player in that he would like to start more if given the chance.
"You have to feel that way," he told the Boston Globe. "You feel you're a starter who isn't playing. We've got four of them: Doug [Mirabelli], Eric [Hinske], Wily Mo [Pena], and me. You come to the park thinking you're going to play. You've got to keep that edge."
Cora can play second, shortstop and third base, giving manager Terry Francona the ability to slot him at any of those positions. His play has always impressed Francona as well as his teammates.
"Smart guy," declared designated hitter David Ortiz. "He knows what he's doing all the time. I'm tellin' ya, that's what it takes to have a good team. When you have someone who doesn't play every day come out and play like this. I don't know how they do it. Alex is the smartest player I've seen in a long time -- with the glove and with the bat."
"He's a baseball player," said catcher Jason Varitek. "We've always known that. His wits on the field are phenomenal. Even if he doesn't hit, there isn't a situation that doesn't go by that he's not aware of."
Johnson's splitter gains more use: Randy Johnson has always been known for his fastball and slider. But the Arizona left-hander has been throwing a split-finger fastball since 2002. During his start on Sunday, he threw the pitch 30 times.
"I think it is kind of a progression. He's just trying to get better and have some new tricks in his bag," manager Bob Melvin told the East Valley Tribune. "When 96 (mph) isn't there one day, he has some other weapons to go to."
It's not as if Johnson still can't throw hard. His fastball hit 95 mph Sunday as he pitched six innings before leaving with the game tied 3-3 against San Francisco. Arizona went on to win 5-4.
The split-finger pitch allows Johnson to further mix his pitches and keep hitters a little off balanced at the plate.
"He had a good feel for what was working for him," Melvin said. "He's faced these guys enough to have a good feel for what they are looking for. He adjusted his stuff to what pitch was working for him and with what the reaction of the hitters was."
Tulowitzki benefits from a few days of watching: The Colorado Rockies were counting on Troy Tulowitzki to be an offensive presence in the lineup this year.
The rookie shortstop is starting to live up to those expectations.
Tulowitzki hit his first two home runs of the season this past weekend against Atlanta and collected his second four-hit game of his career Monday night against San Francisco, extending his hitting streak to four games. His batting average has jumped nearly 60 points to .244 during the streak.
"This is huge, not only for myself, but for the team, too," Tulowitzki told the Rocky Mountain News.
Manager Clint Hurdle gave Tulowitzki three games off in late April, telling the young shortstop to just sit back and watch teammates Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins hit and study their approach at the plate. Tulowitzki also was slotted into the second spot in the lineup upon his return, a position he believes is beneficial to his success.
"I feel it's a lot better position," he said. "I don't know if it is because I feel I have a bigger role, but I've done a better job laying off pitches and swinging at pitches I can handle."
"(Tulowitzki) is going very well," Hurdle said. "He has made strides forward. Encouraging things are happening for him on both sides of the baseball."
Ponson looks for big things from himself, Twins: Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Sidney Ponson gave the Twins exactly what they've been hoping to get from him on Tuesday night, working seven innings while allowing just one run in the Twins 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
While retiring the last nine hitters he saw -- and 14 of the last 16 -- Ponson picked up the much-needed victory.
"We were excited about his adjustment during the game more than anything else," manager Ron Gardenhire told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "He gave up some long flies and stuff like that, but once he got on top of it, the last couple innings were great."
Ponson, who had thrown just 90 pitches when he left the game, said afterwards that he doesn't mind coming out a little early. "It's still early in the year," he said. "The fresher I stay for August, September, the better."
Meanwhile, Ponson is looking optimistically toward the future. While speaking of the World Series championship ring he will soon be receiving for his contribution to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals championship, he said that he expects the same thing to happen in Minnesota.
"We're going to get one for this team, too," he said.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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This photo of a lantern bug with an ant appearing to be taking a drop of sweet liquid from it was taken in the Sinharaja Forest in Sri Lanka in October 2013. Could this be indicative of some sort of symbiosis between the two insects?? I would love to know what it is.
The lantern bug is Pyrops maculatus, though I'm not sure which of the two subspecies:
P. m. delessertii (Guérin-Méneville, 1840) or P. m. maculatus fulvirostris (Walker, 1858).
Here are some more
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/botalex/3120650459/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/32837851@N05/11592360503
There are lots of species of Pyrops - more to look out for
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrops
That's a lovely photo and a nice observation.
I photo a lot of moths in my garden here in Cyprus (at lights atop low walls), and often there are ants about. Most of the time the ants ignore the moths, or if an ant stumbles into a moth, it sometimes steps back (almost apologetically!) while the moth just sits there. However, from time to time, I find that an ant is particularly interested in a moth. It may go back and forth around it, obviously 'sniffing' something of interest. In some of those cases, the ant seems to pay particular attention to the moth's 'knee' joints (or should that be arm-pits?)!
This is not leading up to an explanation for the behaviour you observed; it is just another observation along similar lines, and wanting explanation.
(Did you know that the scent used by ants for trail-marking is so powerful (and/or the ants' sense of smell is so acute) that one gramme of it would be enough to lay an effective trail right roung the earth?!)


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Vans Washburn BackpackThe Washburn is a premium backpack that offers unmatched storage and style. Its design includes stylish leather detailing, leather locking straps that secure a tight closure, and adjustable straps that even allow you to modify the size of the backpack by collapsing the top into the bag for lighter loads.
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Shania Twain began her Vegas residence of her "Shania: Still the One" show at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace on Saturday with a 100-minute set that included dancing violinists and cellists, a flying motorcycle and horses as well as a video screen comparable to IMAX, reports the Las Vegas Sun. The show also includes a backup trio that features her younger sister Carrie Ann, confetti, pumped-in fragrances and dancers.
"This has been a dream for eight years, including the two since we made the announcement," Shania said after the show. "It all came together; I surprised myself. It was a big challenge. At one point, I thought I was taking on more than I could handle, but I stuck with it. I surprised myself and am so relieved and happy."
With a show made for the Vegas strip, there's no rest for the weary. Shania has several costume changes throughout the show. Between set changes and returning to the stage for the first time in eight years, she was prepared for fatigue to set in after night one.
"I'm exhausted, happy, thrilled, satisfied, but those quick changes will keep you pretty fit," she said. "I'm not as tired as I thought I would be from running backstage like a mad woman in and out of the costumes. I'm in good shape. I feel good. My voice is in good shape. I thought for sure I would be vocally exhausted by now having been here eight weeks, but I feel really good."
The show opened with a video montage of Shania on horseback which morphed into a motorcycle ride, ending with Shania flying in above the stage on the motorcycle. She kicked off her set with "I'm Gonna Getcha Good" as her musicians, dances and backup singers slid onto the stage on rock-styled music pods, bringing the audience to their feet for the first of many standing ovations.
"This is an overwhelming night for me," she said during her set. "I'm so emotional, my eyelashes may fall off! It's been a lot of years since I was out here. I realize what I have been missing, and I am very humbled to be invited here on the same stage as my icons Rod Stewart, Elton John and Celine Dion. I'm not alone up here because it's a big effort by everybody. It's been a long time to get back up here, but there is now no way but up."
"She is so genuinely happy to be performing again, and the audience can see it and sense it," AEG chief John Meglen said. "Tonight, she let loose – at least another 25 percent we hadn't seen before. This is a beautiful show with so many elements, it just flows along. Right now, I'd say it's the best show I've seen."
"Shania: Still The One" runs through December 15 and returns on March 19 with a 14-show engagement.


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DETROIT - The Wayne County Building Authority voted Thursday to end its jail construction deal with Walbridge-dck.
It ends the $70,000-a-day cost of not building the over-budget jail project. However, the $120 million in taxes sunk into downtown Detroit ground will go largely wasted.
Rod Meloni: Wayne County jail project: It's over downtown!
The wind-down cost is estimated between $5-$10 million.
"I'm not so proud that I go down a road that if it's not working out that I don't correct it and move on at that point," said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano on Wednesday. "At this particular junction I think that it becomes a win-win for everybody."
That is what Ficano's team tried to sell the Building Authority on Thursday. It left the construction manager AECOM-Ghafari's contract in place. Ficano claims it is responsible for $42 million in change orders -- or cost orders -- that no one in his administration knew about.
The Building Authority's members, whose job it was to oversee that process, are frustrated. Chairperson Eileen DeHart pointed out the authority has been kept in the dark all along and did not even get the proposal that would allow the state, the city and the county to partner on a new jail at the old Mound Road site until Thursday, pushing a decision into the fall.
"We have to make sure that all the options are done and we're not going to jump into this simply because it looks like a way out. We're going to look at all the options and make a determination based on all the facts," said DeHart.
The Building Authority met with the Wayne County Auditor General, Willie Mayo, after its morning meeting to hear his assessment of what went wrong. Mayo took part of his audit to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy believing there was criminal wrongdoing in this project.
Read: Wayne County jail project under investigation
That report should be seen sometime next week.
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