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TOM TOTALLY NUDE — AGAIN: What Tom Ford did five years ago for full-frontal male nudity in his ads for the M7 fragrance for Yves Saint Laurent, he's about to do for the opposite sex in the ones for Tom Ford for Men. Though the designer took a more demure approach in his original ad campaign for his new fragrance, he's decided to shock the masses once again, switching images shot by Marilyn Minter in April for racier photographs of a dewy woman's body taken by Terry Richardson. The photos range from tame to titillating — the most shocking being the Tom Ford for Men bottle wedged between a woman's glistening thighs, with the bottle barely covering her bare genitalia. "We loved the original Marilyn Minter images, but while on a shoot with [Richardson] in Milan, we decided that a sharper, more graphic approach clearly communicated the bold and provocative mood of the fragrance," said a spokeswoman for Tom Ford Beauty, a division of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.
WWD reported in June that Ford took a more staid approach with his latest fragrance, but that eventually his affinity for nudity would return. "I think we're living for a moment where maybe we saw so much nudity, at least in the press and magazines, that it doesn't seem the freshest solution; it almost seems too easy right now as a solution for advertising to get someone's attention," he said at the time. "So whenever everything tightens up again, of course, all of a sudden it's going to seem interesting and surprising to see someone nude again."
How quickly that time has arrived. In addition to the baring-all shot, the latest campaign includes a photo of a clothed Ford reclining with his shirt open, and another of the perfume bottle resting between a woman's breasts cupped by her hands. Ford handpicked the images for each magazine based on their core audience, according to Andrea Robinson, president of Tom Ford Beauty. Vanity Fair is running the ad in its October issues, but would not confirm which image it was given to run. GQ has been approached, but it could not be learned if it will run the ad. The upper body photographs are running in the October issues of Interview and V Man, while Details is running the more risque lower body shot.
This story first appeared in the August 20, 2007 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
"The ad was provocative, sexy, keeps with the Tom Ford brand and is something our readers would appreciate. It will raise eyebrows, but it errs on the artistic side instead of the gratuitous side," said Chris Mitchell, Details vice president and publisher. — Stephanie D. Smith
POP GOES THE WEASEL: London-based Emap Consumer title Pop is coming out with its fall issue on Thursday. Lindsay Lohan — shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott — is on the cover, and there's a Steven Klein shoot inside with Beth Ditto. The singer is wearing specially-made clothing by Giles Deacon, Louis Vuitton, and Gareth Pugh.
So far, so normal. It's what fashion magazines do every month, publish stories and pictures of celebrities wearing designer clothes. But in the case of Pop and some other titles, those words and images are quickly taking on sacred cow status.
Take, for instance, the contract — on Emap's letterhead — sent to WWD before Pop would allow it to write about the latest issue. The contract stipulates, among other things, that the cover photo must be reproduced in color, at a height no less than 50 mm, and the image must be clearly distinguishable from any surrounding artwork on the page. The magazine, and the title of the issue, must be "in a prominent position" at the end of the article.
And the contract goes on — to a total of 11 bullet points. With regard to any potential story, "at least" two sentences from Pop editor in chief Katie Grand must be included in the accompanying piece; no "derogatory comments" should be made toward Ditto or Pop, and the magazine's title "must be written and included in the heading or sub-heading" of the piece.
"Any breach of this agreement will be subject to a fine of 10,000 pounds [about $20,000], payable to Emap Consumer Media," it stipulates.
While the contract may seem to be a new level of absurdity in public relations' attempts to control the flow of information — even that about a magazine — Mandi Lennard, a longtime London p.r. agent who represents Pop, defended her position. "We have a responsibility to celebrities who [we] feature in Pop that such material is appropriately featured and accurately credited," Lennard said in an e-mail Friday.
"Before supplying imagery, it is usual practice for me to confirm that certain points may be carried out — size of the magazine's cover image, that it won't be altered in any way, correct credit for the issue….
"This is Pop's story, and if we didn't insist on key points, it could easily be a WWD story on Beth Ditto, or misinterpreted — I think a lot of points listed are actually helpful to you as an editor, and enable you to more readily have a great story — so everyone wins!"
Lennard later conceded that, "It is a standard Emap agreement that we send out as an insurance, particularly (as I'm sure you can imagine!) with the tabloids. However we would be quite happy to take it out of our agreement with you based on our close relationship with both yourself and WWD."
"In the past, we've been heavily burned by respected magazines and Sunday newspaper supplements that have run preview pictures and interviews from Pop — and made it look like their own work," Grand said in a telephone interview. "Pop is barely mentioned, quotes have been taken out of context, credits are inaccurate, and the photographers and celebrities that we've worked hard with have gone mad. It's very nice when people want to write about what is coming out in Pop, but it's easy for them to cross the line," she continued. "That is how these contracts come into being." — Samantha Conti
OH, THERE ARE ARTICLES, TOO: In the ever-rushing trend for editorial Web sites to develop additional bells and whistles, nymag.com is adding personal shopper to its list. On Tuesday, the site is launching Shop-a-Matic, which will debut with nearly 1,000 home items, from beds to lamps to dining room tables. And in September, the site will expand to include accessories and fashion. But while Vogue and other titles enable visitors to click through and actually buy the items they view, that won't be the case on nymag.com — at least not yet. So why bother? Well, Shop-a-Matic will enable readers to view items that normally wouldn't be seen unless they went to the actual store. Even retailers such as ABC Carpet & Home surprisingly don't offer click-to-buy opportunities, said editorial director Ben Williams. Shop-a-Matic will offer details on where each item can be found, including an address and phone number — but, of course, a consumer will still have to trek to the store to buy anything.
Editors have spent the past two months visiting stores in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs to find and photograph items, said Williams. He added the site wasn't done with advertisers in mind, "but obviously there will be opportunities." And so far, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nexxus and Net-a-Porter are on board. "We will frequently add more categories to our store," he added. "This is one in a series of new things we are launching."
In the same vein of more-for-the-Web, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire are rolling out new mobile sites today. And unlike some of their competitors, the sites are free of charge and include absolutely no banner ads. However, on Bazaar's site, visitors can download vintage covers for $1.99 and Marie Claire's mobile site will have downloadable wallpaper. Sophia Stuart, mobile director of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, said the company now has nine magazines available on mobile phones. — Amy Wicks
STAND IN: It will surprise no one that reality television involves a fair amount of artifice, and the day the hit MTV show "The Hills" took its cameras to Condé Nast's Times Square headquarters proved no different. (Cast members have been variously employed at Teen Vogue, though the bulk of shooting has been on the West Coast). Last week, the longtime receptionist on the ninth floor briefly disappeared, and word was that she was to be replaced by a more telegenic youngster. But a spokeswoman for Teen Vogue denied that was the reason. "When MTV has filmed in any of our offices we leave it up to employees as to whether or not they want to appear on camera," she said. "In the past the receptionist on the Teen Vogue floor at 4 Times Square has not wanted to be on camera and we have honored that request and had an intern sit in as the receptionist during filming." Perhaps the receptionist had her fill from her previous television appearance — when "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" came to film a segment with GQ, also on the ninth floor. — Irin Carmon


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Pasture Management for Parasite Control
- Apr 12, 2017
- Basic
- Topics:
Your horse could be ingesting harmful internal parasites with each bite of grass.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
Horses grazing lush green pastures paint an idyllic picture. But things might not be as serene as they seem—these animals could be ingesting harmful parasites with each bite. Researchers have shown that on most horse farms the vast majority of "internal" parasites lurk in pastures, waiting to be consumed.
The objective of parasite control programs is to interrupt transmission by targeting specific parasites at the proper times, which vary by climate. Because worms have developed (and are continuing to build) resistance to deworming drugs, horse owners should investigate other feasible options for parasite control—for example, pasture management.
Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, an assistant professor in parasitology at the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, in Lexington, says horse owners are becoming more interested in pasture management for parasite control, even though there's little scientific information to guide them in their efforts. "This is an area that hasn't been studied lately," he says. "For several decades we didn't think we needed to do any pasture management." Rather, horse owners assumed they could depend on deworming drugs.
"Now we are waking up from that and facing many questions," he continues. In this article we'll address some of those questions and describe ways you can manage your property to reduce worm loads.
The Main Culprits
The two major categories of parasites owners and veterinarians must worry about are ascarids (large roundworms) and strongyles. "These groups are different in their external stages on the pasture," Nielsen explains. "Strongyle larvae hatch from their eggs and migrate onto forage plants in wet conditions. In comparison, ascarid larvae actually stay inside the eggs, which makes them less susceptible to environmental conditions."
Foals acquire ascarid infections by ingesting these larvae-containing eggs. If you plow a pasture, ascarid eggs can be relocated to 30 centimeters—nearly a foot—below the soil. Because they cannot move independently, plowing and reseeding every few years can place these eggs in a location where they will remain inaccessible to foraging horses, possibly reducing ascarid populations in pastures. But Nielsen warns that ascarid eggs can survive in the soil for a year or more.
"Because ascarids are mainly a problem in foals, this (life cycle) is a perfect strategy for them," he says. "Once foals become 8 to 10 months old they kick these worms out. As adults, they don't get significant burdens again, but the eggs they passed as foals are still waiting in the environment, ready for another crop of foals."
On most breeding farms broodmares go through the same foaling barn year after year and are turned out with their foals in the same paddocks. "In many places, those paddocks are never plowed," Nielsen notes. "If eggs can survive several years, depending on climate and environment, plowing every three years might reduce the numbers of eggs waiting in the environment for next years' foals."
Sure, there are drugs on the market designed to reduce parasite loads through less labor-intensive means, but, as mentioned, many are losing efficacy against worms such as ascarids. Nielsen says the macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin and moxidectin) are no longer effective on most farms and there's evidence that worms are also developing resistance against the other two drug classes (benzimidazoles and pyrantel formulations).
"We don't have any new drugs around the corner, so we may start seeing larger ascarid burdens on farms that have foals every year," he says.
Managing pastures can also help you control the small strongyles (cyathostomes) that plague more mature horses. "On any horse farm, the majority of these worms are out on the pasture and not in the horses," says Andrew S. Peregrine, BVMS, PhD, DVM, Dipl. EVPC, ACVM, associate professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College. "How you manage the pasture is more important than deworming when trying to keep parasites down to reasonable levels."
Small strongyles winter inside the horse in a dormant stage, embedded in the gut lining, then wake up in the spring to mature and lay eggs that are passed out with feces. The eggs hatch and larvae develop through two stages within the manure pile. Third-stage larvae, which are capable of infecting a new horse, leave the manure and migrate onto forage plants to be swallowed. Successful establishment in a new host represents the beginning of a new parasitic cycle.
Employing rotational grazing (moving horses from one small parcel of the pasture to another, leaving them in each area for only a short time so they never graze it very close to the ground) can thwart transmission. The strongyle larvae only access the lower part of forage plants.
"The less aggressively a pasture is grazed, the less the horses are grazing near high-contamination areas," Nielsen explains; they tend to avoid areas where they defecate.
"How you manage the pasture is more important than deworming when trying to keep parasites down to reasonable levels."
Dr. Andrew S. Peregrine
Researchers conducting several studies during the 1920s and 1930s (before the advent of deworming drugs) looked at pasture management. "One study was done in the northeastern U.S. where winters are cold," Nielsen recalls. "It showed that mowing pastures at the end of the grazing season, after horses were removed but before snow cover arrives, reduced winter survival of parasites. Tall forage, and then snow cover, helps insulate and protect the parasites. If the tall grass is gone, however, undulating temperatures, freezing and thawing, before and after snow cover, is detrimental to the strongyles."
Plowing pastures, however, is not as effective for strongyle control because some strongyle larvae can migrate through as much as 30 centimeters of soil and make their way back to the surface.
Stocking Density and Pasture Rotation
Under natural conditions where horses roam freely, they rarely eat grass next to manure, says Thomas Craig, DVM, PhD, of the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University. This is nature's way of minimizing parasite loads.
"Once in a while, such as during a drought when feed is short, they will eat grass next to manure piles and pick up a heavy load," Craig says. "Generally, however, in large pastures they get exposed to just a few worms—enough to stimulate some immunity. If the worm load is low, they can handle it."
We intervene in this natural process by confining horses to grazing the same small pasture repeatedly.
Parasite populations tend to be greater if pasture stocking densities are high and horses are overgrazing the land, says Nielsen. Signs of an overgrazed pasture include roughs (areas of tall grass where horses defecate) and lawns (areas of shorter grass where they prefer to graze). One way to avoid overgrazing is to establish the rotational grazing methods described. Some horse owners also practice "mob grazing," which some cattlemen do to improve pasture and soils, using portable electric fencing and grazing small areas with a high number of animals for a very short time. The animals relocate daily—sometimes even two or three times a day. They eat the top parts of plants and trample the rest to provide litter and organic matter to help build the soil. They rarely eat a plant close enough to the ground to pick up parasites. Ideally, owners won't place the animals back onto that piece of pasture until the plants regrow—which in some climates can take six months to a year.
"But if you rotate horses back to that pasture only three to four weeks later, this is when worms are ready to be ingested," Peregrine warns. "You need to give the pasture time for parasites to be dying off. This will be a lot slower during a hot, humid summer than a hot, dry summer (as heat and drying are detrimental to worms)."
If you are managing a lot of horses on a small pasture you must be especially careful about managing stocking density and grazing rotations. You can determine whether your management practices are paying off by monitoring horses' fecal egg counts to determine their worm burdens.
Alternating haying and grazing a field is another way to break the parasite cycle, says Craig. "Horses could graze it briefly in the spring, then it could be allowed to grow for hay," he explains. "The plants the parasites migrated onto were not grazed, but cut for hay instead. Those larvae wouldn't survive on the drying forage. It's safe to let horses graze the regrowth on those hay fields in late summer/fall, without danger of picking up worms."
Composting Research
Mary Rossano, PhD, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky's Department of Animal and Food Science, in Lexington, has been researching the effect of composting and windrowing (the production of compost by piling organic matter or biodegradable waste into long rows) manure on parasite populations in horse pastures. In her recently published study, she showed that no strongyle or ascarid eggs survived more than a few days with windrowing. Rossano and her students measured temperature in windrows and determined that the core temperature only had to reach 40°C (about 104°F) to kill the eggs.
"If you windrow manure, this is more effective than traditional compost piles out behind the barn," explains Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, an assistant professor in parasitology at the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, who says he has recorded temperatures up to 70°C (158°F) in compost piles.
"This is one of the first papers on practical parasite management in decades," he continues. "Many people are thinking about recycling the manure on farms, and if they pile it up for composting before they spread it, it's not difficult to check the temperature of piles. In (Rossano's) study, if the temperature stayed that high for five consecutive days, it would kill all the parasites."
"We've always considered roundworm (ascarid) eggs the most resistant of all parasite eggs, able to withstand extremes in heat and drying," adds Andrew S. Peregrine, BVMS, PhD, DVM, Dipl. EVPC, ACVM, associate professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College. "To discover that the heat of composting can kill these eggs in a relatively short time (four or five days) is fantastic, because an even shorter time would kill strongyle eggs."
Heather Smith Thomas
Harrowing: Helpful or Harmful?
Dragging pastures to break up existing manure piles can be good or bad for parasite control, depending on your climate. "In moderate, moist weather, spreading manure around the pasture defeats the horses' protective mechanism against worms—their selective grazing," Nielsen says. "If you spread the feces all over the pasture, horses don't have a chance to stay away from their parasites."
Conversely, in climates with several weeks of constant high temperatures and relatively little precipitation, harrowing might help kill strongyle larvae. "Once larvae reach the infective third stage (waiting to be ingested) they can't eat and don't acquire any more energy," Nielsen explains. "They only have the lipids and carbohydrates stored in their body. Once those are used up, they die unless they are eaten by a horse. The warmer the environment, the quicker the larvae use up their energy."
Thus, if you can keep horses out of a pasture for a few weeks after spreading manure during a hot, dry period, the field should host fewer parasites. This is true for strongyles but not ascarids, which are still in egg form and more hardy.
Multi-Species Grazing
Alternating or co-grazing horses and ruminants in a pasture can also help reduce worm populations. "These species don't share parasites, except for a couple very rare ones," Nielsen says.
Further, cattle graze the tall grass horses avoid near manure piles. The worm larvae on that forage cannot complete their life cycle within the cow; no eggs will pass.
The same is true with sheep. "They graze everywhere and don't have specific defecation areas," Nielsen adds. "They also graze down the roughs left by horses. The taller grass in those areas helps protect parasites from heat and drying; it shades them from direct sunlight and helps them hold moisture. Grazing these down with cattle or sheep leaves worms more vulnerable to drying." Depending on climate, mowing the tall grass can be beneficial for this same reason, exposing manure to more heat and causing desiccation.
Manure Removal
In areas where overgrazing or overstocking are unavoidable, Nielsen says, pasture hygiene becomes the next best step toward reducing parasite loads. Owners can gather or vacuum manure from these pastures and use it for compost. He adds that this is particularly cost-effective in high-risk environments, such as pastures filled with foals, because managing the manure costs much less than hospitalizing foals due to parasite damage.
In spring or fall, the larvae hatch from the eggs and become infective over two to three weeks. "If you remove feces once a week, this will significantly reduce pasture infectivity," Nielsen adds. "There may be some horses with egg counts at high enough levels that anthelmintic treatment might be recommended, but with this approach it would be possible to reduce deworming frequency."
Peregrine says there is evidence that removing feces from fields twice a week will have as big an impact on parasite burdens as the most rigorous deworming program (sans resistance). "Picking up feces was the way people controlled worms, historically, before the advent of deworming drugs," he says. "This practice can be highly effective. I recommend picking up manure twice a week, and even more frequently if the pasture is wet (from rain or irrigation)."
He recalls one farm housing 80 Standardbreds that had significant parasite problems in all ages of horses. The owners spent $50,000 on a pasture vacuum they use twice a week and no longer have a high parasite load.
Take-Home Message
Some parasitism is natural and, as long as worm burdens are low, likely won't harm the horse. After all, horses must come into contact with a few parasites to develop immunity. "It's impossible to eliminate the worms completely," Nielsen says. "We tried that, and the end result is drug resistance." The next step is managing pastures to ensure horses don't pick up many worms in the first place.
About the Author
Heather Smith Thomas
Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey's Guide to Raising Horses and Storey's Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at http://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.
Related Content
Deworming, Part 1: Then vs. Now
Common Pasture Weeds
2012 International Conference on Equine Infectious Disease
Rotational Grazing: Time it Right for Optimal Pastures
Grazing Management During Drought
Besnoitiosis in Donkeys (AAEP 2011)
Weed of the Month: White Snakeroot
Persimmon Ingestion and Colic: A Retrospective Study
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subset: commoncrawl


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Best Office Chair Giveaway!
Our weekly giveaway for this week is sponsored by Best! (Now that's a smart name for a brand!) They are giving away TWO Best Black Fabric Task Chairs with Mesh Backs. Here's a little more about them-
-Tilt lock with tension adjustment
-Gas lift height adjustment
-Built-in lumbar support
-Greenguard Certified for schools and children
Want to win one? Here's how to enter:
Leave a comment telling us why you need a new office chair!
Get extra entries:
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(Make sure to leave one separate comment for each extra entry you do!)
We'll pick two winners using random.org and announce them on Monday, June 11th! Good luck!


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By Kristin
Picking out your wedding favors is one of the many exciting part of planning your wedding. I think using some handmade favor boxes is a great way to give your guest a special little "Thank you".
A fun idea for using favor boxes is setting up a bar filled with your favorite candies and confections. You can pick candies that coordinate with your wedding colors or ones that remind you of your childhood. Place the candies in pretty jars, vases or bowls and have the boxes on the side for your guests to fill at their leisure.
You can also use the boxes as seating cards. Write your guest's name and table number on a little card and tuck or tie it on top of the favor box. The boxes can be placed on tables and your guest will be sure to enjoy opening up their little gift from you.
The favor boxes are very easy to make and can be personalized in a variety of ways. Stamp your monogram on the side, glue on a photo or tie them with a coordinating ribbon, topped with a cute button or flower.
You can fill the boxes with anything you like such as candies, cookies or candle. I find edible favors to be the most popular and most enjoyed by guests.


text: Hey y'all, I'm curious to see when you retire a pair of shoes. I've been cycling through 6 pairs of Nike Vapor 8's for the last year, and none of them have any tread left on the big toes area (I slide on hard courts). I have some Vapor 9's that I will start cycling once the V8's are done. So I'm debating whether or not to retire the V8's. On one hand, I am concerned about the lack of tread in the most abused area and my safety. On the other hand, tennis shoes ain't cheap and they're still wearable technically. Or, you can think of it as: "How cheap are you? :twisted: " Thanks, and have fun!


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The minute and 30 second jam, created with the assistance of New York marketing firm Draftfcb, is supposed to synch up with the Sochi bobsled track, directing driver Winston Watts (if he were to listen while competing) to go "to the right! to the right!" as the icy course shifts in that direction.
In 1988, the lack of funding available to the Olympic dreamers forced them to compete in a hand-me-down sled that crashed in one of their Olympic runs — a moment captured in the 1993 "Cool Runnings" film inspired by the unlikely group. This year, veteran driver Winston Watts and newbie Marvin Dixon nearly had to give up their Sochi slot because of financial reasons.
Thanks largely to the team's big screen fame, however, donations poured in from sites like Crowdtilt, Indiegogo and Dogecoins, solving their money woes in a matter of days.
After finally arriving in Sochi the drama continued, however, when some of their luggage failed to arrive.
"The sled is here," Watts told The Associated Press last week. "But the blades that we put our heart out to get, the airline maybe left them back in New York. None of us have clothing."


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INTERPOL training session in Turkey aims to boost regional anti-bioterrorism efforts
ANTALYA, Turkey – Experts from law enforcement, policy makers, academics, health-protection agencies and the World Health Organization, took part in an INTERPOL "Train-the-Trainer" session for the prevention of bioterrorism to train participants from the Eastern European and Central Asian regions in the prevention, preparedness and response to a bioterrorism incident.
The five-day session (21 - 25 February) was the ninth such exercise since 2007 and was hosted by the Turkish National Police. It brought together 40 participants from 15 countries (and 29 observers), including Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Three observers from the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, the United Nations Biological Weapons Convention and Implementation Support Unit and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) also attended the training.
With INTERPOL's Bioterrorism Prevention Train-the-Trainers sessions constituting one of the key pillars for the Organization's Bioterrorism Prevention Programme, the Head of the NCB Ankara, Mr Isildar Süleyman, also a member of the INTERPOL Executive Committee for Europe, stressed 'the importance for law enforcement being prepared for this type of crime' during his opening speech.
INTERPOL train-the-trainer sessions are organized and delivered in an interactive way with the aim of enhancing the capacity of countries to provide their own bioterrorism-preparedness training. The regional sessions are led by a team of experts from various agencies around the world. In addition to enhancing the bioterrorism prevention efforts and capacity of trainers, Train-the-Trainer priorities also include fostering inter-agency co-operation, identifying strategies and resource gaps, forging sub-regional communications and co-operation, and recommending law-reform measures.


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Stephenson, Winker lead Reds' updated Top 20 list
Cincinnati's top two prospects also rank in Top 100 of Major Leagues
By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com
With the passing of the Draft signing deadline, teams have had a recent influx of talent into their farm systems, and with that, we've updated the Top 20 Prospects lists of all 30 teams.
To be on a list, a player must have rookie eligibility. To qualify for rookie status, a player must not have exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues, or accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the 25-player limit period, excluding time on the disabled list or in military service.
Players are graded on a 20-80 scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.
Check out all 30 team Top 20 lists and the Top 100 on Prospect Watch.
1. Robert Stephenson, RHP
Preseason rank: 1
MLB Top 100 rank: 21 (Preseason: 19)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 70 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 60
The Reds were cautious at first with Stephenson -- their 2011 first-rounder -- but they let him loose in 2013. He responded by pitching his way from Class A Dayton to Double-A Pensacola by the end of the year, moving him into the upper levels of Cincinnati's system.
Stephenson throws his fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s, and he can touch 100 mph. He also throws a big breaking ball and a solid changeup, giving him three pitches with the potential to be above-average offerings. Stephenson has smoothed out his delivery as a professional, leading to an improvement in his command. He throws all of his pitches for strikes, and he has an advanced understanding of his craft.
Stephenson combines the size, stuff and makeup to be a front-line starter in the Major Leagues.
2. Jesse Winker, OF
Preseason rank: 4
MLB Top 100 rank: 45 (Preseason: None)
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 40 | Arm: 40 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55
Most conversations about Winker begin with his bat, and for good reason. He has the chance to hit his way to the big leagues.
Winker has already shown the ability to hit for average from the left side of the plate, with an advanced approach and a smooth left-handed swing. There's more power to come, and it should be noted that Winker had the same amount of home runs with Class A Dayton that Jay Bruce hit there, and Winker did it in fewer games. While he will never be known for his glovework, the Reds feel Winker has gotten a bad rap for his defense and that he is more than just a bat being hidden in left field.
That said, Winker's ability to swing the bat is his calling card, and he has the chance to develop into a run producer at the highest level.
3. Phil Ervin, OF
Preseason rank: 3
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
Ervin has always been slightly overlooked, from his stature at 5-foot-11 to having attended a smaller college in Samford. If his pro debut was any indication, he won't be underappreciated for long.
Ervin has done nothing but hit wherever he's gone, including his first pro summer. He has the chance to continue to hit for average, thanks to a solid approach and bat speed. That quick bat also generates a good amount of power, especially for someone Ervin's size. He dealt with an ankle issue for much of his Draft season, but his speed should make him a basestealing threat and allows him to play center field every day, at least for now. Ervin's bat profiles well at a corner spot if needed.
It's that bat that is the attraction with Ervin, and those offensive skills should help him hit his way up the ladder fairly quickly.
4. Michael Lorenzen, RHP
Preseason rank: 5
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50
While at Cal State-Fullerton, Lorenzen was an everyday center fielder who closed on the mound. Now he's a pitcher only, and the Reds are developing him as a starter.
Lorenzen will be a bit of a project as a starter, but he has the arm strength and raw stuff to potentially get there. He can run his fastball up into the upper-90s in shorter stints, and it has good movement to it. Lorenzen's breaking ball has the chance to be average, and his previously seldom-used changeup could give him a viable third pitch. His outstanding athleticism -- he was a terrific defensive center fielder -- should help him learn to repeat his delivery and improve his overall command.
Joe Kelly of the Cardinals was a college closer and has developed into a solid starter, a path Cincinnati hopes Lorenzen takes, knowing he could be a lights-out closer if starting doesn't work out.
5. Nick Howard, RHP
Preseason rank: None (2014 Draft)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50
A two-way player who had started in Virginia's weekend rotation as a sophomore, Howard served as the Cavaliers' closer this past season during their march to the College World Series. The Reds, in taking him No. 19 overall in the 2014 Draft, think he might have the chance to head back into a rotation.
As a starter, both at Virginia and in the Cape Cod League, Howard would throw his fastball in the 90-93 mph range, occasionally touching 94. In short relief, he's been up to 95-97 and has been touching 98 mph. Howard's mid-80s slider has tilt and bite when it's good, but it can get slurvy at times. He doesn't use his changeup much, and it's the development of that third pitch, along with refined fastball command, that will determine if the athletic Howard can start at the next level.
Cincinnati has had some success turning former college relievers into starters and getting them to the big leagues, so this process is worth watching.
6. Ben Lively, RHP
Preseason rank: 13
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50
Lively's average stuff combined with plus deception have some thinking of him as the right-handed version of Tony Cingrani. The Reds can only hope this Central Florida product can follow the same quick path to Cincinnati.
None of Lively's pitches jump off the page, but he does have four of them that he can throw for strikes. His fastball can touch 93-94 mph, and his slider shows signs of being a potential above-average pitch, as well. Lively mixes in his curve and changeup well to keep hitters guessing. All of his stuff plays up because of his unusual delivery in which his arm stays hidden, making it tough for hitters to pick up the ball.
It only took Cingrani a year to make an impact in Cincy. Lively could be on a similar fast track.
7. Carlos Contreras, RHP
Preseason rank: 6
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 50
In 2012, Contreras started putting things together as a closer in Class A ball. In '13, he jumped on radar screens by reaching Double-A as a starter. In '14, Contreras reached the big leagues when the Reds needed bullpen help.
The '13 All-Star Futures Gamer has taken some time to develop, but Contreras is ready to contribute. Out of the bullpen, he'd get up into the upper-90s, but he was still 92-95 mph as a starter. Contreras has always had a very good changeup, but it's the development of his breaking ball that has allowed him to start. If that continues to improve, along with better command -- an issue thanks to a long arm swing -- he has the chance to stay in that role.
Even with Contreras' turn in the bullpen in 2014, he could return to a rotation in the future, depending on need, though his long-term role is yet to be determined.
8. Alex Blandino, SS
Preseason rank: None (2014 Draft)
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 40 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
The second of the Reds' two first-round picks in the 2014 Draft, Blandino parlayed strong Cape Cod League performances and a decent junior season at Stanford to land at pick No. 29 overall.
Blandino has a quick bat and an ability to hit to all fields. He's displayed a solid approach at the plate, with good plate discipline. The infielder has shown extra-base pop, but there is some question over how much over-the-fence power he'll have in the future. The Reds sent Blandino out as a shortstop during his pro debut, and he does have the arm strength for the spot. He has the actions and hands to play third, but he could end up at second base if a team doesn't think he'll have the power profile needed to man the hot corner.
Stanford hitters have had a checkered track record at the next level, but Cincinnati feels Blandino has what it takes to play every day in a big league infield.
9. Nicholas Travieso, RHP
Preseason rank: 8
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
Cincinnati has not shied away from drafting young high school arms and then being patient in their development. Travieso might take longer than some due to his previous lack of mound experience.
A Florida high school product who was a reliever until his senior year, Travieso does have a fresh arm, one that sat at 92-93 mph with his fastball in 2013. His slider has the chance to be average or better. Travieso still throws his changeup too hard, something he'll need to improve to remain in a rotation. He's very competitive with an edge on the mound.
If Travieso can get past the growing pains and learn how to bring the same stuff to the mound every fifth day, he has the chance to start, but he has the power stuff and the mean streak to succeed in short relief, as well.
10. Ismael Guillon, LHP
Preseason rank: 10
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 40 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
Guillon led the Midwest League in strikeouts in 2013. He also led that circuit in walks, a quick way to sum up what this young left-hander is about right now.
Guillon has big-time stuff from the left side, with a fastball that will touch the mid-90s. He has a well-above-average changeup to go along with that heater. Guillon's curveball is behind the other two pitches, but it has the chance to be a usable weapon. He needs to learn to trust his considerable stuff in the strike zone more, and when he commands that breaking ball, he's awfully tough to hit.
Guillon finished the 2013 season with a very strong August, something the Reds hope carries over as he continues to get work as a starter in '14. If his command doesn't improve, a career as a lefty power reliever could be in his future.
11. David Holmberg, LHP
Preseason rank: 7
Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
While Cincinnati's Minor League system might be better known for power arms who might be best suited in the bullpen, Holmberg stands out as a polished pitcher who has a future as a starter.
The left-hander joined the Reds' organization in December 2013 as part of a three-team trade with the Rays and Diamondbacks, with Holmberg having made his big league debut the previous August. More command than pure stuff, he can throw four pitches for strikes. Holmberg's fastball is fringy, but he commands it to both sides of the plate. His slider is the better of his two breaking pitches, but it's his changeup that is his best pitch, a plus offering with a lot of fade.
Holmberg may not light up radar guns or have a high ceiling, but he's just about ready to fill a role as a back-of-the-rotation starter.
12. Daniel Corcino, RHP
Preseason rank: 11
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
After seeing the wheels fall off during his first trip to Triple-A in 2013, the Reds sent Corcino back to Double-A in 2014 in the hopes he could right the ship.
When Corcino has had success as a starter, his fastball was a tick above average, with good sink to it. His average slider would flash plus, with good bite and depth. Corcino's changeup was solid as well, thrown with deception and fade. He became too timid in 2013, and he didn't attack hitters like he had in the past. Corcino was guilty of throwing too many strikes at times, making him much more hittable. Cincinnati sent Corcino back to Double-A in 2014 to try and right the ship. Corcino's best role might end up in the bullpen, where his fastball gains a few ticks of velocity and his overall command wouldn't be as much of an issue.
13. Yorman Rodriguez, OF
Preseason rank: 9
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 65 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
If Rodriguez were an American amateur, he'd be in his junior year of college. That's important to note when analyzing where this toolsy outfielder's career has gone.
Sometimes labeled as a poor makeup player, it's true that Rodriguez did not respond well initially to life as a pro, especially after receiving a $2.5 million bonus to sign out of Venezuela. But sometimes, immaturity is confused with poor makeup, and it appears that Rodriguez might be figuring some of that out now. That would enable him to maximize his significant tools. Better strike-zone judgment will help Rodriguez's offensive game, but he has legitimate raw power to tap into. He runs well, and he has a strong arm in right field.
If the mature Rodriguez continues to show up, he still very much has the chance to reach his potential as a prototypical toolsy right fielder.
14. Tucker Barnhart, C
Preseason rank: 12
Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 30 | Run: 30 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 45
Barnhart's profile, that of a defensive-oriented backstop, has everyone penciling him in as a career backup. It might be a mistake, though, to typecast him just yet.
There is little question Barnhart's work behind the plate will earn him a Major League gig. He can really catch and throw, having thrown out better than 40 percent of would-be basestealers in his career. Barnhart moves well behind the plate, and he is a natural leader with plus makeup. He's the kind of catcher who will grow on a big league pitching and coaching staff. A switch-hitter who's much better from the left side, Barnhart does have the ability to spray line drives to all fields, but he has no discernible power.
At worst, Barnhart is about ready to embark on a long career as a valuable backup. In the right spot, though, he could be a big league regular.
15. Jeremy Kivel, RHP
Preseason rank: 14
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
If you're a fan of high-ceilinged power arms, then Kivel might be the pitching prospect for you.
Kivel is an extremely athletic right-hander who used to be a kickboxer in high school, one the Reds gave a bonus well beyond pick value to sign, thanks to the savings they had for signing first-rounder Travieso at a discount. Kivel is still much more thrower than pitcher, but he has a very live fastball that can get up into the upper-90s. His slider has a chance to be a solid secondary pitch, though he overthrows it at times. Kivel also needs to learn how to soften his changeup. Once he learns that he doesn't have to throw everything hard, he could make progress.
Kivel is still young and a work in progress, but he has as much upside as anyone in the system.
16. Jon Moscot, RHP
Preseason rank: None
Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
Moscot had an unusual first full season of pro ball in 2013, going 2-14 in the hitting-frinedly California League, yet he earned a promotion to Double-A. He finished well in the Southern League, and he led all Reds Minor League pitchers with 140 strikeouts and then continued to throw well at that level in '14.
Moscot mixes his three-pitch arsenal well, and he misses a good amount of bats despite having average stuff across the board. His fastball will touch 93 mph, and he adds in his slider and changeup nicely. Moscot is generally around the plate, having walked 2.9 per nine innings in 2013.
The Pepperdine product doesn't have a huge upside, but with his size and durability, Moscot could be a rotation workhorse in the future.
17. Sal Romano, RHP
Preseason rank: 15
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
When the Reds drafted Romano out of the Connecticut high school ranks in 2011 and gave him an over-slot deal to sign him away from Tennessee, they knew it might take a while for the big right-hander to figure things out.
So there was no sense of panic when Romano struggled with his first taste of full-season ball at age 19 in 2013. He still has a good chance to develop into a solid starting pitcher, with a fastball in the 91-94 mph range, a curve that can be a big breaking ball with bite and a feel for a changeup, though it's behind the other two pitches. Romano struggles to repeat his ability, and he will need to learn better balance to improve his command.
Romano is still figuring out both his body and his stuff. When he does that, the end result could be a part of a big league rotation.
18. Jackson Stephens, RHP
Preseason rank: 16
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
A multisport player in high school, Stephens is another athletic pitcher with upside in Cincinnati's Minor League system.
Though he was a two-way baseball player in Alabama, Stephens has an intriguing combination of pitchability and stuff, with more of the latter currently and more of the former to come. He has plenty of fastball, touching the mid-90s, though he'll sit in the 92-93 mph range. Stephens throws two breaking balls, and both have the chance to be Major League average, if not better. His changeup is behind the other three offerings, but in time, it could turn out to be a viable fourth pitch for the right-hander.
All Stephens needs is to keep pitching. With innings will come refinement and a good chance to shoot up this list in the future.
19. Amir Garrett, LHP
Preseason rank: 20
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
With Garrett's basketball odyssey perhaps over, Cincinnati is excited to see what this big left-hander can do with his focus solely on baseball.
The Reds signed Garrett knowing he would split time between college hoops and the Minors. After two years at St. John's and then a transfer to Cal State-Northridge, it appears Garrett might be turning his sights to the mound full-time. He has always had a big arm, firing fastballs up to 96 mph without much baseball experience. Garrett's secondary stuff is understandably inconsistent, but both his breaking ball and changeup show signs of being solid weapons. His athleticism should help him with his delivery and to improve his command and control.
Cincinnati was excited by Garrett's potential when the club gave him $1 million to sign in 2011. It looks like the Reds are about to get a true look at what he can become.
20. Chad Rogers, RHP
Preseason rank: 17
Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
While Rogers has started throughout his professional career, he looks like he could impact the big league staff soon as a reliever, especially after an impressive turn out of the bullpen in the Arizona Fall League.
Because of his solid yet unspectacular stuff and his outstanding command, Rogers gets compared frequently to Reds reliever Sam LeCure. LeCure also was a starter during his climb up the system, and he has become a valuable part of Cincinnati's bullpen. Rogers throws a fastball that sits at 91 mph as a starter, with a ton of movement, and he might be able to crank it up a tick or two as a reliever. He complements the fastball with a short cutting slider and deceptive sinking changeup. Rogers is around the strike zone with all three pitches.
Rogers won't pitch high-leverage innings or close, but he's the type of reliable arm winning bullpens tend to have.
Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLBPipeline.com and writes a blog, B3. Follow @JonathanMayoB3 on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
International Student Green Chile Roast
Date: Thu. 30 Aug, 2012 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Duration: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Location: Joseph E. Fidel Center
The Writing Center, the Oral Presentation Center and the Office of International Exchange Programs are hosting a green chile roast for international students. Come learn about New Mexico's signature food, help peel roasted chile and eat some great New Mexico food. 3:30 p.m. at the picnic area on the south side of the Fidel Center. All students and their families are welcome to join in the fun.


text:
Hello! When you say the drabble must be in British English, do you mean spellings as well? Or just... not offensive to British ears? (i.e. trunk/boot, elevator/lift)
I'd really like to see you practice your British spelling! It is mainly the 'z's in words like "realised" and the 'u's in words like "Colour"
I realise that is is mean to concentrate on this every week, but seen as this is a pretty open prompt I'd really like to see you all making a conscious effort to stick to British
That tooOr just... not offensive to British ears? (i.e. trunk/boot, elevator/lift)
Thanks for the question, Lori. I'll go and make it a bit clearer in the thread
~Madam Russia xxxxx
*sits in a bar in Portugal*
*considers the question whilst sipping Butterbeer (cough) Butterlager*
Yes, Lori. JK Rowling has stated in an interview that Hermione found her parents and restored their memories, so that's canon enough for me.
For the August Monthly Challenge, I sent my drabble to Russia yesterday. Then I realized she is away. Should I send it to Carole, or someone else, or is it okay?
You can send it to me. Sorry, I didn't know Russia was away, but I'm back now.
That goes for anyone else. Send me drabbles now, and hurry hurry hurry, this comp closes in um two days time ...
Lia, you can submit as many as you want.
I'm glad you girls are leaving the "roads" comp up until Sept 1. My question is: is that the normal 10pm gmt deadline on the 1st, or midnight tonight?
*may turn into a pumpkin*
Also, I just happened to notice that the instructions said "setting off on a journey" ... does this mean it has to take place at the beginning of the journey, or can it be at any point? If the answer is the beginning only, no need to address my first question, as mine will not qualify.
It can be any part of the journey as long as it's not after the journey has ended. Hope that makes sense.
Regarding the time, as the boards are snafu'd at the moment with the timing, we'll leave the comp open for the rest of today and I'll close at 10pm GMT.


text:
© 2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Lewis looking for first All-Star selection
Three Giants with Midsummer Classic credits on ballot
By Chris Haft / MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- The left fielder for the San Francisco Giants possesses five-tool talent, a flair for the dynamic and has played impressively to begin the season. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
But this isn't Barry Bonds, the 14-time All-Star who last played in 2007. It's Fred Lewis, who never has made an All-Star team but appears destined to make a strong bid for this year's Midsummer Classic on July 14 at Busch Stadium.Through Wednesday, Lewis was batting a robust .356. He entered the day leading the National League with a .519 on-base percentage. Lewis has maintained consistency despite moving among the first, third and fifth spots in the Giants' batting order, which also reflects his versatility. Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until July 2 at 8:59 p.m. PT. Starting rosters will be announced during the 2009 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on July 5. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote at MLB.com. And the voting doesn't end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet at the Midsummer Classic via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint MVP Vote at MLB.com. The All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio play-by-play, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage. For San Francisco fans, balloting at AT&T Park will begin May 1 and end June 21. Lewis has displayed All-Star traits several times. Two seasons ago, he became the only Major Leaguer to have his first two home runs be part of a cycle and a grand slam. He also was the first Giants rookie to hit two grand slams in a season. Last year he earned the distinction of being the first left-handed batter to rap four hits off future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, now his teammate. Lewis, 28, won't let himself get preoccupied with the fan voting. "It's really nice to know that I'm on there for the first time. But it's nothing that I can get worried about right now or even think about," he said Wednesday. "You've got a lot of great outfielders out there. I'm thankful that I'm just on the ballot." The ballot includes three Giants who are former All-Stars: shortstop Edgar Renteria (1998, 2000, 2003-04, 2006), outfielder Aaron Rowand (2007) and outfielder Randy Winn (2002). Catcher Bengie Molina, who has made several strong All-Star bids in previous years, also is on the ballot. Giants besides Lewis who are on the ballot for the first time include first baseman Travis Ishikawa, second baseman Emmanuel Burriss and third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
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text:
whats wrong with Novak?
his shot has been off and even put up an air ball last week, never thought i'd see that.
He's been rushing shots and putting up too many contested shots.
Is it possible his faster release has been harming his shot?
Novak just needs to sit still. Stand in the corner with his feet planeted. Hes been hustling around far too much he isn't that kind of player. Once he sets his feet its in every time. But it seems like hes trying to evolve and expand his game which I understand why he would want to, but when he can put up 16 points easily when he just does what he did before there is zero reason to.


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Wow... anyone see this trade?
Phoenix out:
- Boris Diaw
- Raja Bell
- Sean Singletary
- Jason Richardson
- Jared Dudley
- 2nd Round Pick
They also pick up Dudley who could possibly turn into a serviceable bench player. He is young too... just his second season.
This leaves Phoenix a little thin as far as big men are concerned. Robin Lopez has shown flashes, but not really a guy you want to rely on a playoff team. I wonder if Phoenix might look to ship Barbosa out for depth at C/PF and PG.
Also makes you wonder if they will pick up the pace again, as JRich obviously fits in that mold.


text:
Russian forces seize two Ukrainian bases in Crimea
The United States warned Moscow it was on a "dark path" to isolation as Russian troops seized two Ukrainian naval bases, including a headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol where they raised their flag.
The dramatic seizure came as Russia and the West dug in for a long confrontation over Moscow's annexation of Crimea, with the United States and Europe groping for ways to increase pressure on a defiant Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation," said US Vice President Joe Biden, referring to reports of armed attacks against Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea.
Biden was in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, part of a quick trip to reassure Baltic allies worried about what an emboldened Russia might mean for their nations. Lithuania, along with Estonia and Latvia, are NATO members.
"There is an attempt, using brutal force, to redraw borders of the European states and to destroy the post-war architecture of Europe," Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon meets Putin in Moscow tomorrow and travels to Kiev on Friday. He will urge a peaceful end to a crisis that began when Ukraine's president abandoned a trade pact with the European Union and turned instead to Moscow, prompting violent street protests that led to his overthrow.
Russian lawmakers raced to ratify a treaty making Crimea part of Russia by the end of the week, despite threats of further sanctions from Washington and Brussels.
The Russian military moved swiftly to neutralise any threat of armed resistance in Crimea.
"This morning they stormed the compound. They cut the gates open, but I heard no shooting," said Oleksander Balanyuk, a captain in the navy, walking out of the compound in his uniform and carrying his belongings.
"This thing should have been solved politically. Now all I can do is stand here at the gate. There is nothing else I can do," he told reporters, appearing ashamed and downcast.
Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Admiral Serhiy Haiduk, was driven away by what appeared to be Russian special forces.
Russian troops seized another Ukrainian naval facility in Crimea late.
"Russian troops came and asked us to leave the base, which we did," Ukrainian navy major Eduard Kusnarenko told Reuters outside the base in Bakhchisaray, about 30 km (20 miles) southwest of the regional capital Simferopol.
In Washington, the White House condemned Russian moves to seize Ukrainian military installations, saying they are creating a dangerous situation. NATO accused Russia of trying to "redraw the map of Europe".


text: Last month we wrote a small piece about the upcoming Skype 2.0 features that are only enabled for Intel processors. AMD is hoping to add another spear to its ranks by demanding Skype documents that prove or disprove Intel provided incentives to Skype for this favor. Intel denies the allegations. A Skype executive declined to comment earlier this month when asked whether the company had tested the performance of its software on both Intel's and AMD's dual-core chips. An Intel representative confirmed that there are no instructions that specifically enhance the performance of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software like Skype's in Intel's dual-core chips.This is not the first time this year for an AMD-Intel legal battle. AMD has been building anti-trust cases against Intel in Japan, the US and Korea for over a year, claiming that Intel leverages its buyers and distributors to not carry AMD products. Of course, AMD's 21.4% marketshare is looking pretty good to the company right now, monopoly or not.


text:
The Cartwheeling Verger and Other Stars of the Royal Wedding
Who was the little girl holding her ears on the balcony? Where are Kate and Will going on their honeymoon? And why can't Angelina "Trashbags" Pivarnick be as happy as those two? Saturday gossip is wearing lace sleeves.
- What was the best part of Friday's Royal Wedding extravaganza? If you said, "no part at all," you're wrong! The answer is the little girl on the balcony frowning, as you can see in the above photo. The girl's real name is Grace van Cutsem, and she is Prince William's goddaughter; she was holding her ears because there were loud planes. Other best parts of the wedding included Princess Beatrice's hat, which was designed to accentuate her dead-eyed stare, and this video of an Anglican verger cartwheeling in Westminster Abbey:
[There was a video here]
- Speaking of the best parts of the Royal Wedding: The Royal Sex will be occurring at an undisclosed location in the United Kingdom, where Will and Kate will spend the weekend "privately." The Royal Honeymoon will come on a later date, at an undisclosed location. [People]
- America's ex-sweetheart Lindsay Lohan will plead no contest to misdemeanor theft charges relating to a stolen necklace. This means that Lohan will likely serve out her 120-day sentence for violating probation without seeing any additional jail time. [TMZ]
- Our own Princess Diana, former Jersey Shore cast member Angelina "Trashbags" Pivarnick (who is, maybe, pregnant) was apparently dumped by her fiancé after she cheated on him. It was with a firefighter, though, so I think that's okay? [Radar]
- Seventeen-year-old Tallulah Belle Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, was caught with hard liquor on Friday night. Demi had to go pick her up at the police station, wondering the whole time if her boyfriend was going to jump out with a video camera. [TMZ]
- Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, who was arrested for marijuana possession last summer, has agreed to deal that would stop him from going to trial: He has to check in with a probation officer once a month, he can't be arrested for one year, and he has to do 24 hours of community service. In a row! Not really. But wouldn't that be fun? Like the show 24, but community-service based, and starring Chace Crawford? [NYDN]
- Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne owe like two million bucks in taxes. [TMZ]


text:
Discover a selection of top forums thread coordinators on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums thread coordinators and meet other fans of thread coordinators. Then, why don't you create your own forum of thread coordinators ?
We are a group of women who enjoy tags, psp and friendship. We have daily theme threads, some games, a wonderful chat thread, psp challenges and more! Come check us out! Members MUST be active upon jo
creative, impressions, group, women, enjoy, tags, friendship, have, daily, theme, threads, some, games, wonderful, chat, #thread, challenges, more!, come
Start here, If you're new, welcome! This will be the only thread that can be viewed until your membership is approved.
general, start, you're, welcome!, #thread, viewed, membership, approved


text:
I think it's important that we all keep taking our evening walks and not allow these incidents to scare us off our streets. What else can we do?
Town Square
Is latest robbery related to the one on Cowper?
Original post made by Worried walker, Crescent Park, on Aug 4, 2006
I think it's important that we all keep taking our evening walks and not allow these incidents to scare us off our streets. What else can we do?
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Aug 5, 2006 at 8:12 am
After reading about the incident, I wondered if the ladies were just leaving someones house and getting into their cars, or if they had been shopping, or if they had just been taking a walk. I think it's true we shouldn't allow things like this to scare us off our streets. I think it is wise when going out for a walk, especially at night, not to carry your purse around with you. Putting your cell phone, keys and some ID in your pocket, seems a safer idea.
a resident of Professorville
on Aug 5, 2006 at 1:13 pm
oh, do you mean like that engineer that was jumped by 3 guys a few years back and killed on that street near the postoffice in downtown Palo Alto? Yeah, putting his keys, no id and no money in his pocket sure helped him. He ended up dead.
At least if he had some money he could have thrown it up in the air and tried to run.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Aug 21, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Here's Anne Taylor's 1st person account of the mugging, reprinted with her permission:
Web Link
Web Link
a resident of Barron Park
on Aug 22, 2006 at 9:35 am
Enoch, In your blog, you say that you "scooped" the police announcement. I saw it on Backfence the day after the crime.
Web Link
a resident of Green Acres
on Aug 25, 2006 at 10:56 pm
It would not have made any difference if the engineer jogger had any money...Rich or poor, the people who attacked him were "high" and with a gang...it was like he was being confronted by a pack of wolves...he had no chance.
I was on the steps of the Palo Alto Police Dept building that very night just two blocks away. I heard a commotion, then the screeching wheels of their vehicle breaking complete silence and wisk them away into the night.
Just thankful that the police apprehended the cowards and took them off the streets...We all have to remember too, that someday, most of the offenders will again be free to walk the streets....(except for the ones that are sentenced to life or to execution.....)
Our State of California has it's hands full, jails and prisons are full...How many inmates are "rehabilitated" before being let out??? Or do they just sit in a cell all day? CAN they be rehabilitated or doomed to be part of what they call "the revolving door", jail to streets, streets back to jail? What REALLY goes on???? The newspapers or television stations should investigate all this.
We all deserve to not only feel free to walk the streets of this town without fear, but to really believe it.


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The Wonder Boys used a 20-13 run in the last 8 1/2 minutes Tuesday night to snap an eight-game losing streak as they defeated Rhema Bible Training Institute 85-68 at Tucker Coliseum. The win was the first for Tech since defeating Lincoln (Mo.) University on Dec. 31, 2006.
"It was really nice for us to get this win tonight," Wonder boy coach Mark Downey said. "I hope that we can take the things that we know worked tonight and carry them over to our conference games."
While Tech did not lead wire to wire, it was close as Rhema held the lead once at the 16: 36 mark of the first half. Both teams would battle as Tech, hungry for a win, tried to obtain the upper hand early in the contest. The numbers were really close in the first half of play as both teams had good showings from the field and beyond the arc. The difference came from the free-throw line, where the Wonder Boys held the advantage.
Tech was 16-of-33 from the floor in the first half for 48.5 percent, 3-of-6 from 3-point land for 50 percent and 3-of-6 from the charity stripe for 50 percent. The Wonder Boys biggest lead of the first half came with 4:52 remaining as they held a seven-point advantage.
"We struggled a little bit in the first half of shooting 3-pointers," Downey said. "But I was really proud of how we were able to step up and hit some big free throws in the first half. We did a good job all night shooting free throws."
Rhema shot 15-of-31 from the field for 48.4 percent in the first half. The Eagles were 2-of-4 from beyond the arc for 50 percent and 2-of-5 from the free-throw line for 40 percent.
The second half was all Tech as the Wonder Boys held a 19-point lead with 42 seconds remaining in the game. While Rhema held a advantage in 3-point shooting for the game, Tech dominated from the free-throw line.
The Wonder Boys were 31-of-66 shooting form the floor for 47 percent, 3-of-13 from beyond the arc for 23.1 percent and 20-of-28 from the charity stripe for 71.4 percent.
Rhema ended the game shooting 26-of-61 from the floor for 42.6 percent, 6-of-19 from beyond the arc for 31.6 percent and 10-of-21 from the free-throw line for 47.6 percent.
Three Wonder Boys scored in double figures, while one had a double-double.
Terrence Whiters had 20 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals. Donald McCoy had 19 points, 10 rebounds, one assists and one steal. Brandon Friedel had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Antonio Harrison had eight points, one rebound, three assists and three steals. Irvin Humphrey had seven points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and three steals. Rafal Stolarek had six points and four rebounds. Derrick Burgess had four points, two rebounds, one block and one steal. John Clark had four points and four rebounds.
Rhema turned the ball over 21 times, while Tech committed 15 turnovers. The Wonder Boys scored 21 of their 85 points off of turnovers, while the Eagles had only nine points off turnovers. Rhema out rebounded Tech 41-40.
The Wonder Boys will return to Gulf South Conference action Thursday night as they, along with the Golden Suns, host Henderson State at Tucker Coliseum. Tipoff for the women's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the men's game will follow at approximately 8 p.m.


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Giovanni (anime)
| Giovanni
サカキ Sakaki
Art from the Best Wishes series
|Eye color
|Hair color
|Viridian City
|Madame Boss (mother)
|Trainer class
|Gym Leader
|Game counterpart
|Leader of
|Viridian Gym
|Earth Badge
|Specializes in
|Ground types
|Member of
|Team Rocket
|Anime debut
|Battle Aboard the St. Anne
|English voice actor
| Ed Paul
(EP015-AG132, DP080-present)
Craig Blair
|Japanese voice actor
| Hirotaka Suzuoki
Kenta Miyake
Giovanni (Japanese: サカキ Sakaki) is the head of Team Rocket, and formerly served as the Gym Leader of Viridian City's Gym, known officially as the Viridian Gym.
While Giovanni very rarely takes the role of antagonist, his agents often have him in mind during missions due to the chance of power, be it through promotion or other means. This gave him a unique series of appearances, mainly during the Hoenn saga, where Meowth often imagined how the Pokémon in each episode could be used to help Giovanni and win the trio promotions. These boss fantasies never show his actual personality and occasionally even show Giovanni in chibi form.
His first appearance was in the episode Battle Aboard the St. Anne, showing to have a Persian as his "top cat" over Meowth, and talking to Jessie, James, and Meowth through a TV screen. His face always remained hidden in the shadows, usually with only his mouth visible. In Island of the Giant Pokémon, it was revealed that he owns the theme park Pokémon Land, and the giant mechanical Pokémon in it. He was not happy to hear that it had been destroyed.
Up until his appearance in the episode The Battle of the Badge, his voice was altered with a vocoder effect, masking his identity. It can be inferred that they were trying to imitate the games, as in Generation I it is not outright revealed that Giovanni, the Team Rocket boss, is the Viridian Gym Leader. As this episode corresponds to the point at which players of the games would discover that the two were the same, Giovanni finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing his face in a Gym battle against Gary Oak, and eventually defeating him utterly using Mewtwo.
Unexplained events in the episode (other than that the events in question necessitated the use of Mewtwo) caused Giovanni to abdicate his position as the Viridian Gym Leader, handing the Earth Badge to the Team Rocket trio that constantly follows Ash (although his orders implied that he wanted the trio to defend the Gym from a possible attack). Through a combination of their own incompetence and Ash's willpower to win the Earth Badge, the Viridian Gym was destroyed at the end of the episode. Due to this, and perhaps other circumstances, Giovanni permanently resigned as Viridian's Gym Leader, as Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four had taken over the Gym temporarily when Ash next returned to Viridian City after his journey in Hoenn.
Giovanni appears not to care for his Pokémon aside from Persian, as during Giovanni's position as Gym Leader, they were all locked away in cages when not used for a Gym battle.
In the episode Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, Giovanni's building was blown up by Mewtwo. He and his Persian survived the explosion and he angrily told Jessie, James, and Meowth to do their job (ironically, they were about to quit).
Giovanni also appeared near the beginning of the movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, as he was the one who had Dr. Fuji clone Mewtwo for him. After Mewtwo destroyed the lab, Giovanni told Mewtwo that he saw him as a valuable partner, putting armor on Mewtwo and using him to defeat Trainers in Gym battles (including Gary's Nidoking and Arcanine, as seen in the anime) and help Team Rocket in their attempts to steal Pokémon. Eventually Mewtwo confronted Giovanni about his treatment and Giovanni admitted that he didn't see Mewtwo as a partner but as a servant. This enraged Mewtwo and it was this incident which drove it to destroy Giovanni's base, allowing it to escape.
Giovanni is the main antagonist in the movie Mewtwo Returns, seeking out Mewtwo, who by this time was living in peace with the cloned Pokémon at Mount Quena. Once Giovanni discovered it, he tried to recapture it by threatening to use Mewtwo's cloned Pokémon friends in their experiments, experiments that he also claimed would certainly result in their death. He used two machines to try to make Mewtwo submit to his will, but though Mewtwo stepped into the orb, it was still unwilling to serve Giovanni, threatening to destroy his body first. Ash and the others were able to stop the machines, and it was around this time that they faced off against Giovanni and several Team Rocket soldiers. Their Pokémon fought as a distraction so Ash could get Mewtwo into the spring. Once Mewtwo was healed from its injuries, it moved the spring under the mountain to protect it, and then erased the memories of Giovanni and the other Team Rocket soldiers (excluding Jessie, James, and Meowth) of it, making him forget entirely about Mewtwo. Standing next to Domino and Persian wondering what they were doing, he got the strange feeling as though he had been utterly defeated.
During Advance Generation series, Giovanni was seen monitoring the actions of Team Magma and Team Aqua and ordering minor actions to Jessie and James.
In the beginning of the Best Wishes series Giovanni took on a far more significant and antagonistic role than before, now being in regular contact with Jessie, James and Meowth and assigning them on various missions throughout the Unova region. He was now often seen with a secretary, that helped him in giving orders to Jessie, James and Meowth. Giovanni appeared traveling to Unova in A Venipede Stampede!. He was set to appear again in two following episodes, but these never aired and ultimately were retconned out of canon. He did not make any more appearances for a long time afterward, with Matori explaining that he was too busy to be in regular contact with Jessie, James, and Meowth anymore. During this time, his role as the trio's leader was filled by Dr. Zager.
After a long absence, Giovanni returned in Unrest at the Nursery!, making a brief appearance in his office. He then appeared in Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! spearheading Team Rocket's "Operation Tempest," a mission to capture Meloetta and use it to take control of Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus to conquer Unova. For the first time in the history of the series, he battled against Ash directly, with Persian defeating Pikachu. He then captured Ash, Pikachu and Meloetta and escorted them to the ruins in preparation for the next stage of the mission, using Meloetta's song to summon the Reveal Glass in the temple. At the beginning of Unova's Survival Crisis!, he used the Reveal Glass to summon the Kami trio and transform them into their Therian Formes before setting them against Ash, Iris, Cilan, Ridley and Cynthia. However, during the battle, Meloetta was dislodged from the mechanism controlling the trio's power, and after looking directly into the Reveal Glass, Giovanni became possessed by the power and went insane, declaring against his followers' wishes that he would instead destroy Unova. With the Kami trio's power, he began freezing the land in ice, but when he was saved from a possibly life-threatening explosion by Jessie, James and Meowth, the possession was broken. On Dr. Zager's advisement he then ordered a full retreat from the Unova region and was last seen flying off in his airplane to return to Kanto with Jessie, James, Meowth and Dr. Zager.
The first time Giovanni had been seen in battle was in The Battle of the Badge. He used powerful Pokémon against Gary but later left the Gym to deal with an unexplained emergency, leaving Ash to battle Jessie. By the time Ash returned from Hoenn, Agatha was in charge of the Gym until a new Leader could be found. Giovanni's reasons for leaving it have not been explained. In Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!, Giovanni finally confronted Ash in a battle and won easily.
Very little is known about his past in any timeline; he is generally shrouded in mystery. His mother was the head of Team Rocket before him. However, this is presumed to be canon in the anime timeline only, as the games have no precedent for this.
This listing is of Giovanni's known Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.
Persian is Giovanni's pet, as a reference to most villains owning a cat as a pet, such as James Bond supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Meowth has a never-ending rivalry with it as "top cat."
|Battle Aboard the St. Anne
|Voice actors
|Rica Matsumoto
|Rica Matsumoto
| Golem was first seen in its cage while Giovanni went to see Mewtwo. It was the first Pokémon that Giovanni used in his Gym battle with Gary, sending it against Gary's Nidoking. The Megaton Pokémon was easily defeated.
Golem's only known move is Tackle.
|The Battle of the Badge
|Voice actors
|Eric Stuart
| Giovanni used his Kingler in his Gym battle with Gary, sending it to battle against Gary's Nidoking. Gary, however, quickly withdraws his Pokémon and calls out Arcanine. Despite having a type advantage, Kingler proved to be no match for the Fire-type Pokémon, and was finally taken out by Arcanine's Fire Blast.
Kingler was also later loaned to Jessie for Ash's Gym battle. She used it to battle against Bulbasaur, but lost, although not before dealing heavy damage to Bulbasaur with its Bubble attack, and by consequence, Ash experienced its pain.
It was seen again in a flashback in Bad to the Bone, where it was defeated in a Gym battle by Otoshi's Marowak.
Kingler's known moves are Crabhammer, Harden, and Bubble.
|The Battle of the Badge
|Voice actors
|Rikako Aikawa
|Rikako Aikawa
| Giovanni loaned his Machamp to Jessie for her Gym battle against Ash. It battled against Ash's Squirtle, but lost, although not before dealing heavy damage to Squirtle with its Karate Chop attack, and by consequence, Ash experienced its pain.
Machamp's only known move is Karate Chop.
|The Battle of the Badge
|Voice actors
|Eric Stuart
| Giovanni loaned his Rhydon to Jessie for Ash's Gym battle. It was defeated by Ash's Pidgeotto's Double-Edge.
Rhydon was seen again in a flashback in Bad to the Bone, where it was defeated in a Gym battle by Otoshi's Marowak.
None of Rhydon's moves are known.
|The Battle of the Badge
|Voice actors
|Katsuyuki Konishi
|Katsuyuki Konishi
|There's nothing to be known about Giovanni's Cloyster, as it has only been briefly seen in a water tank in Viridian Gym's basement.
|The Battle of the Badge
Meloetta was the key to Team Rocket's "Operation Tempest," and was attacked several times by the Team Rocket trio before finally being captured by Giovanni. He then used it to open a seal on the Abyssal Ruins, summoning the Reveal Glass.
|Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!
|Voice actors
|Megumi Nakajima
|Megumi Nakajima
| Landorus was summoned by Giovanni with Meloetta and the Reveal Glass. By using the Reveal Glass, Giovanni forced Landorus to transform into his Therian Forme, where he wreaked havoc by freezing a nearby town. After Giovanni had abandoned him, Meloetta calmed Landorus down with its singing.
Landorus's known moves are Stone Edge and Hyper Beam.
|Unova's Survival Crisis!
|Voice actors
|Kenta Miyake
|Marc Thompson
| Tornadus was summoned by Giovanni with Meloetta and the Reveal Glass. By using the Reveal Glass, Giovanni forced Tornadus to transform into his Therian Forme, where he wreaked havoc by freezing a nearby town. After Giovanni had abandoned him, Meloetta calmed Tornadus down with its singing.
Tornadus's known moves are Hurricane, Air Slash, and Hidden Power.
|Unova's Survival Crisis!
|Voice actors
|Kensuke Satō
|Scott Williams
| Thundurus was summoned by Giovanni with Meloetta and the Reveal Glass. By using the Reveal Glass, Giovanni forced Thundurus to transform into his Therian Forme, where he wreaked havoc by freezing a nearby town. During the battle, Pikachu absorbed some of his electricity, greatly powering up his Electro Ball. After Giovanni had abandoned him, Meloetta calmed Thundurus down with its singing.
Thundurus's known moves are Thunder and Focus Blast.
|Unova's Survival Crisis!
|Voice actors
|Unshō Ishizuka
|Sean Schemmel
Giovanni held control of this Mewtwo created by his scientists for some time, until it learned that Giovanni had meant its purpose to be fighting for him, and escaped.
While controlling Mewtwo, Giovanni used its overwhelming Psychic powers to capture new Pokémon for Team Rocket and in his Gym battles, where it defeated all of his challengers effortlessly. When Mewtwo discovered Giovanni's real intentions for it, Mewtwo broke out of his bonds and escaped.
|The Battle of the Badge
|Voice actors
|Masachika Ichimura
|Phillip Bartlett
In the manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Giovanni makes a cameo appearance in The Electric Tale of Pikachu's Ash vs. Gary where it is revealed that the giant Slowpoke that Ash and Gary attempted to catch was in fact created by Team Rocket. He reveals that he intended to use its calming abilities to take over the world by having it make his enemies lose their will to fight. The plan instead backfired on him, the scientists who created the giant Slowpoke soon found themselves losing their will to dominate anything. As he bangs his head in anger over the fact that he defeated himself, he finds that recollecting about the giant Slowpoke caused his own anger to fade away.
Persian was seen watching its owner as his anger fades away from remembering the giant Slowpoke that Team Rocket's scientists created.
|Ash vs. Gary
Voice actors
- In Pokémon Live! it is stated that he dated Delia Ketchum, though this is both unmentioned and unconfirmed in the anime.
- In the English dub, Giovanni is the first character to regain his original voice actor following the voice actor switch.
- Both Pokémon that Giovanni has rejected in the anime – Jessie's Yanmega and Misty's Togetic – have evolved once after being reunited with their owners.
|サカキ Sakaki
|Sakaki (榊) is a sacred tree in Shinto which resembles the Earth Badge. Also from 坂/阪 saka, slope.
| English, French, German,
Italian, Spanish
| From Italian Giovanni, equivalent to John, gift from God; gio rhymes with geo, from Greek γῆ gē, earth.
May also be a play on his resemblance to a Mafia boss in control of his mob.
|비주기 Bijugi
|From 비쭈기나무 Bijjuginamu (Sakaki).
|Chinese (Mandarin)
| 坂木 Bǎnmù*
阪木 Bǎnmù*
| From 坂木/阪木 Sakaki, an alternative way of writing the name. 坂 contains the radical 土 tǔ (earth).
坂/阪 (slope) is also a homophone to 板 of 老板 lǎobǎn (boss).
|Chinese (Cantonese)
|沙加 Sāgā
|Partial transliteration of Sakaki. Also contains 沙 sā (sand).
Related articles
|Members of Team Rocket
| Giovanni (anime • Adventures • Pocket Monsters)
| Archer • Ariana • Petrel • Proton
| Trios:
| Jessie, James, & Meowth (JJM)
Koga, Lt. Surge, & Sabrina (Triad*)
Ken, Al, & Harry (TRET)
Carr, Sird*, & Orm (T3B)
|Butch & Cassidy • Attila & Hun • Annie & Oakley*
| Others:
| Executives • Scientists • Grunts • Rocket Brothers • Gideon • Dr. Fuji
Domino • Iron-Masked Marauder • Tyson • Wendy • Dr. Namba
Sebastian • Viper • Mondo • Pierce • Dr. Zager • Christopher
Miyamoto • Rocket Scout • Matori • Kaede • Blaine*
|Anime characters
|This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.


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ExpressionView is an R package that provides an interactive environment to explore biclusters identified in gene expression data. A sophisticated ordering algorithm is used to present the biclusters in a visually appealing layout. From this overview, the user can select individual biclusters and access all the biologically relevant data associated with it. The package is aimed to facilitate the collaboration between bioinformaticians and life scientists who are not familiar with the R language.
Launch and download
Launch the ExpressionView Flash applet
- Launch ExpressionView
- Launch ExpressionView with ALL data (8 modules)
- Launch ExpressionView with ALL data (108 modules)
Download the R package (includes the Flash applet)
Download the stand-alone viewer (adobe AIR)
If you prefer a stand-alone viewer, you can download and install the Adobe AIR build ExpressionView.air.
To run the program, you need the AIR runtime environment, which you can get from Adobe.
Download some sample data
- Gene expression profile of adult T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) with 8 modules
- Gene expression profile of adult T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) with 108 modules
There are several tutorials describing how to use ExpressionView:


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STAGE TUBE: EVITA Releases New Trailer 'EVITA's Journey'
Check out the new trailer for EVITA on Broadway, starring Ricky Martin, Elena Roger and Michael Cerveris! Watch the video below.
Producers Hal Luftig and Scott Sanders present the first new production of the seven-time Tony Award-winning Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical EVITA, since it debuted on Broadway more than 30 years ago. The production stars Grammy-winning international pop icon Ricky Martin as Che, Olivier Award-winning Argentinean actress Elena Roger making her Broadway debut as Eva Peron--a role that earned her critical acclaim in the 2006 production in London's West End--and Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris as Juan Peron. The cast also features Max von Essen as Magaldi and Rachel Potter as the Mistress. Directed by Tony and Olivier Award-winner Michael Grandage and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford, EVITA opened April 5, 2012 at The Marquis Theatre.
The creative team includes Tony Award-winning Scenic and Costume Designer Christopher Oram (Red), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Neil Austin (Red), Olivier Award-winning Sound Designer Mick Potter (Woman In White), Wig and Hair Designer Richard Mawbey (Frost/Nixon), Projection Designer Zachary Borovay (Rock of Ages), and Music Supervisor/Director Kristen Blodgette (The Phantom of the Opera), Orchestrations are by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Cullen (Sunset Boulevard), and dance arrangements are by David Chase (Billy Elliot).
EVITA tells Eva Peron's passionate and tragic story through Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's most dazzling and beloved score, including "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" and "High Flying Adored," together with "You Must Love Me," the Oscar-winning hit from the film EVITA.
After researching the life of Eva Peron for many years, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber released EVITA in 1976 as a concept album with Julie Covington as Evita and it became a world-wide hit. Soon after, the production debuted on stage in London's West End starring Elaine Paige and directed by Hal Prince. The production transferred to Broadway and opened in 1979 starring Patti LuPone, who went on to win one of the seven 1980 Tony Awards the show earned. A major 1996 film of the musical was made starring Madonna as Evita and Antonio Banderas as Che. Michael Grandage's production of EVITA, which opened in 2006, took London by storm and garnered critical acclaim for the show and its leading lady, Elena Roger.
Click Here to Watch the Video!


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How long can a bubble float?
Lake Technology Limited(LAK - delisted 2005)
Unlock this content
Take a look at the recent floats. Do you laugh at the ridiculous valuations or curse yourself for having missed out? We suggest you keep the self-recriminations to a minimum - it won't last and when the bubble bursts, many will take a drenching. Of course, that won't stop the enthusiasm, which is why we reviewed some of the more popular offerings in the last issue.
Admittedly, some of the floats closed too early for subscribers to grab a slice of the action, a couple listed early and a few were recommended too late. With many of these stocks we suggested a wait-and-see approach and...


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Town Square
real estate craziness
Original post made by hoops, Mohr Park, on Mar 15, 2013
a resident of Livermore
on Mar 15, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Please esplain how you've come to believe that $650,000 is a too high?
besides, it has a lovely view of a gas station...duh
plus...if it sells to somebody from another part of the world, is that cool?
a resident of Dublin
on Mar 15, 2013 at 7:30 pm
dublinmike is a registered user.
There is a major problem in the Bay Area. Low inventory, high demand. Investor groups gobbled up the cheap homes. Silicon Valley worker have moved up to Pleasanton. Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin want to provide for more high-tech employment and that attracts people wanting to live in the Tri-Valley.
It all adds up to increasing home prices. Only relief is to build out more homes. We live in another south bay and peninsula environment. As a life-long resident of the valley and of the east bay, I speak with authority.
a resident of Mohr Park
on Mar 16, 2013 at 9:58 am
I understand all about supply and demand.The problem is when the investors buy everything cash and deny regular people looking to buy a home at a decent price.Of course they can still buy the home from the investor if he is flipping it,but of course for a lot more money.Money rules the world as always.The investors rationalize it all saying they are putting people to work fixing up these homes,but who exactly are they putting to work?Lets be real here.Cheap labor to maximize their profits.So the bottom line is majority of the work is not done by licensed contractors and the reality is it simply makes it much more difficult for someone to afford a house.So that 1529 ft house costs 650,000 instead of 550,000,even if it is just a normal resale.The investors create the shortage.
a resident of Stoneridge
on Mar 16, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Well, see, because of the large-scale mass exodus from California, housing prices have taken a plunge. No, wait, let me rethink this one. Hey, Edith, pass me another tootsie roll!
a resident of Highland Oaks
on Mar 16, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Mes Amis,
If you have money and use it wisely, you benefit.
a resident of Mohr Park
on Mar 16, 2013 at 6:10 pm
You benefit,but society may not.
a resident of Pleasanton Meadows
on Mar 16, 2013 at 8:19 pm
Home prices are still below what they were in 2005. And yes, there is an exodus of private sector jobs out of CA. The Bay Area, fueled by Silicon Valley, is significantly outperforming the state as a whole. We have the second worst credit rating of any state and our recent bond issue didn't go so well.
Yet folks are concerned that home prices are too high as the "rich" continue to get richer. A record number of billionaires in the U.S. in 2012. So how's that redistribution of wealth thing working out?
a resident of Charter Oaks
on Mar 18, 2013 at 4:44 pm
The redistribution of my wealth seems to be moving forward at an alarming rate. Stuck here in the state I was born in for another 5 years, then I'm gone. My house will sell to the highest bidder no matter what country they are from or purpose they have for it.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 18, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Yeah, home prices in 2005. Now there's a standard to judge other years.
And, yikes, almost 200 companies shuttered and moved from Cal last year, while over 1800 moved in/started up.
But Jason'll keep blowing his horn nonetheless. 3 Zucchinis.


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Hi all,
Im just about to move from Dev C++ to Vs C++ 08 and im trying to use console applications, but when i compile i cannot get the console window to pop up when run is selected (I think i have set up the project wrong). Can somebody give me the steps to setup a c/c++ project in this enviroment?
Thanks tuurbo46


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Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady have revealed the name of their newborn son.
In a new message posted on her personal Web site, Gisele announced that she and her NFL beau have named their son Benjamin.
"I want to thank you all with all my heart for the immense love I have received here on the website. It is a pleasure to receive messages from each one of you here," the message said. "I am living a very special moment in my life, Benjamin is a blessing and I could not be happier."
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, the couple welcomed their son earlier this month and Tom – the QB for the New England Patriots – told reporters it has been "a wonderful experience in my life."
Gisele, 29, and Tom, 32, were married twice this spring. They first walked down the aisle in a very private ceremony on February 26 at St. Monica Catholic Church in Los Angeles and then again in early April in the Nicoya Peninsula region of Costa Rica, where the Brazilian beauty owns a home.
This is Gisele's first child. Tom has a son, John, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
In her message, Gisele also took time to spread a little holiday cheer.
"I would also like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and 2010 with lots of light! Kisses Gisele," she concluded.
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