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OutKast associate Killer Mike earned his own hit in 2003 with "A.D.I.D.A.S." He debuted two years earlier on "The Whole World," from the greatest-hits Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast. After signing to Columbia, his first single, "A.D.I.D.A.S.," hit the pop charts in March 2003, and the subsequent album, Monster, debuted in the Top Ten. In 2006 he released the first volume of his mixtape series I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind. Two years later a second volume appeared and then,... Read more


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Dark Souls
Successor to Demon Souls if you ever played it.
If you think games now days are too esay give this a whirl.
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I may have to buy this.. I already platinumed Demons Souls.
Dark Souls Murders Early Players
Sep 21, 2011 - From Software has sent max-level enemies to punish anyone playing the game before its release.
The Dark Souls Review Diary: Part 1
Read how we're getting on with Dark Souls in the run-up to review.
This is Part One of our Dark Souls review diary, where we tell you how we're getting on with the game in the run-up to review. SPOILER WARNING: minor spoilers about the early stages of the game ahead!
I already know that reviewing Dark Souls is an experience I'm never, ever going to forget. Putting in 10+ hour daily shifts on huge games isn't an alien concept to most people in my profession – but a game that's this dark, this punishing, this emotionally demanding? And – of course – a game this fist-eatingly, heart-achingly, soul-crushingly difficult? This is a whole other thing. Having spent 12 hours of the last 24 immersing myself in its world, Dark Souls is actually starting to affect my mental health.
I'd love to say that things get off to a gentle start, but they really don't. Dark Souls' first proper boss is still the hardest of any I've faced so far – partly because you are, by necessity, so underpowered when you meet him. He's called the Taurus Demon, and he's utterly hateful. You stride out onto a bridge, and he drops down from nowhere, a bull-headed, winged, aggressive satyr ten times your size, sporting a club that can end you in two hits if you get unlucky. Run away from him, he chases you. Attack him, he crushes you. Get behind him, he steps back and spikes you with metal protrusions on his legs. He is proper hard, and he lives at the top of a tower that you have to climb every time you want to face him. He is, all told, a woefully obstinate introduction to the game – and one that seems to set the tone for the rest of this mammoth, psychotic endeavour.
I can't quite explain that special gamer's psychological process that enables you to fail at something over and over and over again and still maintain the will to go on. I think you have to be a certain type of thrill-seeking masochist to even entertain the notion of a game like Dark Souls. Every death at Taurus' hands brought me closer to sheer mental exhaustion. Time after time I'd get him to within a few hits of death, then feel my hands turn to jelly as the nerves ruined my reflexes and he caught me in a one-two attack loop, dispassionately ending my life over and over again on the end of that massive club.
I slayed Taurus – after more than three hours of continuous failure – with a final, desperate swipe, a death throe, milliseconds before he crushed me beneath his club for what felt like the 600th time. As "YOU ARE DEAD" flashed up on the screen, I was ready to give up games journalism and go become a lawyer like my school careers advisor always said I should – but then, in the background, just before the screen faded to black, I saw that bull-headed bastard fall to his knees, felt the head-spinning rush of triumphant adrenaline that only games have ever given me, and I knew that Dark Souls now owned me completely. Just like Demon's Souls did before it.
Things are so difficult in Dark Souls that, after the first fifteen hours, the question I keep asking myself is "have they gone too far?" Truth is, for Demon's Souls devotees, there's *almost* no such thing as too far. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward, and the more thrilling the final victory. For anyone who hasn't played through Demon's Souls before it, though, I'm not sure that Dark Souls does enough to tease you with that thrill before dropping you straight into the deep end. You have to fight tooth and claw here right from the off.
It's also huge. In the Chain of Pain – the little email support group that a collective of Dark Souls reviewers is currently relying upon for tips and moral support, in the absence of the online community that will grow up around the game when it actually launches – one of my fellows reckons he's about a quarter of the way through the game after 60 hours. This is something that people will spend months playing.
This a very different game from Demon's Souls, with a different rhythm and structure. The bonfires change the way you play entirely, removing the option to run back to a safe haven and regroup before heading back out into the fray. And without wanting to give too much away, its tone is different too; it's darker, more distressing, and more claustrophobic despite its open-world structure. It encroaches subtly on your mental well-being.
I'll be writing more about that in the next instalment of this review diary. For now, though, we can answer at least one question: is Dark Souls harder than Demon's Souls? Well, yes – much harder – but for some reason I've not quite put my finger on yet, it's not more dispiriting.
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The Dark Souls Review Diary: Part 2
Read how we're getting on with Dark Souls in the run-up to review.
There are so many moments that define the Dark Souls experience. Moments of improbable triumph, of lucky escape, of superhuman skill; the times where you find a game-changing sword at the bottom of a chasm after running away from pustulous chimerae, or where you fell a boss with a dying blow, or where the enormous fossilized skeleton you've been skirting around suddenly comes to life and murders you.
Then there are the times you spend an hour and a half hiding behind a rock shooting arrows at a dragon.
Today, after twelve hours of very solid progress yesterday, I hit one of the brick walls that inevitably crop up when you're caught between bosses, unsure of where to go or how to progress. Bored of my well-worn stomping grounds in the Undead Parish, I decided to venture further afield into Dark Souls' open world, only to find that I'd become so comfortable in my old habits that the mere sight of new enemies was enough to throw me right off my game and get me killed within ten seconds. For hours. In all my joyful reminiscences on Demon's Souls, I had forgotten exactly how much of the game was spent achieving exactly nothing.
It's one these games' great strengths that even when you're making no tangible progress at all, you're passively acquiring the combat and survival skills that will eventually lead you further and further on. Dark Souls rarely feels like grinding; it feels like learning. Because this is an open-world game now, you can easily venture back to areas you've already conquered, and surprise and delight yourself with the ease and flair with which you're suddenly navigating sections that took you forever to conquer first time around.
That's what I ended up spending most of my day doing: retreading old ground to build up my confidence (and my soul level). It was at the entrance to the Undead Parish, standing at the other end of a bridge guarded by an eff-off enormous great dragon, that I had a sudden thought born more out of boredom than any wiser impulse. I thought: I bet this guy's not so hard. I reckon I could pick him off with a couple of hundred arrows.
Standing just out of range of his fiery exhalations, I fired arrow after arrow at his face, doing miniscule damage with each one. After about five minutes of this, he got pissed off with me and, to my horror, jumped down onto the actual bridge and stomped over to say hello. Terrified, I scampered back to an alcove further down, hiding from his thrashing attacks. I was trapped. All I could do was dart out and fire the odd arrow at him whenever there was a break in his raging.
About one hour and 300 arrows later, with the dragon about halfway towards death, I accidentally pressed the wrong button and stepped backwards off the bridge. So it goes.
People read this review diary, and they ask me "how in the hell is this game supposed to be fun?" Truth is, Dark Souls isn't fun, 95% of the time. It's the other 5% that you play for. Things are so incredibly difficult that even the tiniest victories bring you close to tears of joy and relief. Tonight, at the bottom of a fungal, lurid cavern filled with lots and lots of dangerous things that I'd managed to creep past, I found an incredibly useful new poison-resistant shield on the body of a less fortunate adventurer and could barely contain my excitement. If I could, I would have kissed it.
I'm going deeper underground, and I sense things are about to get serious. It might be a few days before the next instalment of this review diary, but I feel like I'm starting to hit my stride.
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The Dark Souls Review Diary: Part 3
Read how we're getting on with Dark Souls in the run-up to review.
After Part 1 and Part 2, Keza's time with Dark Souls before the review is coming to and end. SPOILER WARNING: Very minor spoilers ahead.
What's striking me about Dark Souls, after five days in its company, is how open-ended it is compared to Demon's Souls. Every single time I talk to someone about this game, I learn something new – where to find an ashen lake hidden down below a swampy mire, what that bird in Fire link Shrine does, which characters are hidden in the game's dungeons, or which rare items can be found by chance, through valiant deeds or as the result of careful exploration.
There's no fixed route through the game. There's a chain of progression, but most things can be done in any order. It means there's always something else to attempt, some new corner to peek around. It also means that there are entire areas of the game that you might never see, unless someone casually alerts you to their existence.
The Dark Souls Reviewers' Support Group (or the Chain of Pain, as I called it back in Part One) has been an invaluable source of information and emotional comfort during this week. This feeds into something that's essential to Dark Souls: it not only encourages, but actively necessitates communication and co-operation. It's difficult to overstate how crucial the online component is to Dark Souls. Without it, you're a wanderer lost alone in a vicious and cruel world, almost unable to survive. With the help, soapstone messages and strategic advice of other travelers, though, you can prevail.
Dark Souls' online elements are similar to Demon's Souls', but it's more nuanced and developed. You can still offer your services to other players as a Blue Phantom (in all but name), helping them take down a boss to gain yourself souls, humanity and a sense of achievement and well-being. Souls are what you use to level yourself up and boost your abilities, giving you slightly more chance of survival. Humanity is what you use to kindle bonfires, giving yourself more Estus Flasks to boost your health. It also lets you revive yourself from your Hollow undead form to a flesh-and-blood Human, which in turn lets you summon other players into your world.
It's a clever system, this. It was clever in Demon's Souls too, but given Dark Souls' increased difficulty and the way that it's more tightly designed around community, it's absolutely integral now. When you reach a dead-end in your own game, you can pop into someone else's and help them out for a while. Similarly, when you're butting your head up against a brick wall of a boss, a helpful stranger can make things approximately 500% easier. It's this that stops Dark Souls from being straightforwardly impossible, even at its worst, most punishing moments. There is always someone around to help you out with their knowledge, experience or discoveries.
Over the weekend, I've taken a break from my own game to go online with a retail version, starting again from scratch. Around bonfires, you see the ghostly forms of other travelers crouched and resting, preparing themselves for their next challenge. Messages already litter the game world, making you feel less alone. You catch the ghostly echoes of other players' deaths and triumphs; walking around Undead Burg, you sometimes hear the tolling of the bell at the top of the gargoyle tower, letting you know that some other soul has just had a monumental victory. It spurs you on to try harder yourself, or makes you smile at the memory of your own conquest if you're already further on.
It's as a result of this sense of camaraderie and community that your experience with Dark Souls will almost certainly be easier and, probably, more enjoyable than mine. The online experience casts Dark Souls' difficulty in a different light. In any of my Demon's Souls play throughs, nothing gave me as much trouble as I've been having with some of Dark Souls' worst confrontations. I now realize that it's because Dark Souls is designed more tightly around online than Demon's Souls was; certain sections of the game push you towards co-operation, offering you rich rewards for helping others.
Meanwhile, I'm pretty much on my own out here, and it's getting to my head. Yesterday was largely wasted trying to fight two bosses simultaneously, on my own, having long since run out of arrows for my bow or Humanity with which to kindle my bonfire. If I had been playing the retail version, I'd have been able to call upon some help – or offer help myself, guiding another player through an earlier confrontation that's giving them as much trouble as this one is giving me.
The game does offer non-player characters that you can summon for fights like these, if you're stuck offline and on your own like I am. But if you run out of humanity, that's it – you can't summon anymore. It's not impossible. It's never impossible. It's just almost impossible. With another day, some careful grinding and some repeated attempts, these bosses will fall just as all the others did before them. But I know – and this is a problem that reviewers of online-enabled games often face – that this time around, I'm not getting the Dark Souls experience that was intended for me.
The upshot of all of this? I can't wait to start again once the game's actually out. Until then, Dark Souls is incomplete; a tantalizing teaser of the breathtaking communal effort that it will eventually become. I've had a taste of that now, and my final impressions of this exceptional game are starting to crystallize in my mind.
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IGN gives it a 9.0
There are some things that only videogames can do. For me, Dark Souls' predecessor Demon's Souls was emblematic of all of them. Where most games do their best to be something else – to tell a story like a novel, to impress with cinematic techniques like a film – Demon's Souls is pure game, a complete and darkly fascinating vision that makes no concessions to the modern conception of how games should be. Instead, it was an exploration of how games could be; how bleak, how twisted, how focused and – most famously – how challenging. Most developers take pains to protect you from failure. FROM Software turns it into an artform.
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You can buy a TI-81 graphing calculator by Texas Instruments on Amazon.com or on eBay. Because the TI-81 is an older model that is no longer manufactured by Texas Instruments, it is not available new or through traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
The Texas Instruments TI-81 was first introduced in 1990 and has since been superseded by the newer calculators TI-82, TI-83 and TI-84, therefore it is no longer manufactured and not available new.
The TI-81 is available used, albeit indirectly, through Amazon.com and eBay. Using Amazon.com, a purchaser can order through a number of different third-party merchants that sell the TI-81 in used or refurbished condition. Some of these merchants have Amazon.com storefronts but do not have their own websites and therefore don't offer goods for sale except via Amazon.
Because eBay is an online auction site where private individuals can sell their goods, prices and availability of the TI-81 graphing calculator varies depending on who happens to be selling one at any given time. In addition to Amazon.com and eBay, the TI-81 Graphing Calculator by Texas Instruments can also be purchased at Bonanza.com, an online marketplace similar to Amazon.com.
Because this calculator is available exclusively used, availability at all retailers varies. In order to ensure that you're getting the best price and condition, be sure to compare various retailers and to look at the Amazon.com reviews of those retailers.


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Growing up, we all knew grandparents or neighbors or old family friends who had worked hard and had something to show for it.
They had the monthly pension check from Sears, General Motors, Motorola or county government to supplement Social Security. Medicare paid the big medical bills.
Most retirees had to watch their pennies, of course. But frugality was the mark of earlier generations. For the middle class in America's golden post-World War II era, retirement didn't smell of desperation.
But by 2021, the old concept of sunny, active self-sufficiency could be out of reach for the children of comfortable retirees of generations past. By 2031, with the last of the Baby Boomers turning 67 and likely leaving full-time work, the pressures of supporting an aging population could bring profound changes to Medicare and Social Security as we know them. What will be left for the Gen Xers departing the workforce in 2041?
For many over 40 today, the specter of an impoverished retirement looms, if not as reality, as a real possibility. Arizonans say they are less confident than ever before that they will have the money to sustain a middle-class retirement - enough cash to meet their needs, with a little left over.
Career patterns and corporate policies over the past 40 years have changed the landscape.
Jobs no longer are lifetime contracts between employer and employee. Companies leery of long-term obligations ditched pension plans in favor of 401(k)s. Career independence and self-directed retirement planning offer opportunities, but for many of those contemplating their retirement, it feels like being alone on an island.
Those who can keep socking money away. But confidence that they will be able to retire when they like, or have enough money when they do, has evaporated, along with the monthly pension check in the mail. Many others have been stymied by job losses, pay cuts, the challenge of supporting adult children and parents - and yes, their own spend-today, deal-with-tomorrow-later ways.
A middle-class retirement will look different in this decade and the decades to come, retirement experts believe. Even if the end of full-time work continues to fall, as it does for most, in our early 60s, retirement likely will include a job. Many homeowners will need to downsize. Others will have to take more responsibility for their finances, managing their spending, their investments, their IRA withdrawals and the like. Medical expenses will become even more important to prepare for.
Self-sufficiency could become harder to attain.
The future is by nature uncertain. Developments yet unknown will shape Arizonans' retirements, just as surely as have past events.
Here are three fictional scenarios of how future retirees, all of them previously workers solidly in the middle class - might spend their time 10, 20 and 30 years from now.
What it could look like: Declining home values and depleted retirement accounts take a toll. Entrepreneurial ventures don't pay off for some people. Downsizing offers a choice, as Ken and Cyndi Braxton prepare to move in with their oldest son and his family.
Ken Braxton stared at the grainy Polaroid. It showed his parents on vacation, dressed in floral garb with leis draped around their necks. Probably taken in the '70s, someplace in or around Waikiki.
His parents were gone now but had lived a good life. Until medical problems overwhelmed them those last few years, they had had a comfortable retirement. They certainly looked happy in this photo. Not bad for two people who had never set foot on a college campus.
At 71 and in relatively good health, Ken himself wasn't so cheerful. After years of struggling, he and Cyndi finally agreed to share a roof with their son Andrew and his wife, Kelly. The younger couple certainly had enough room at their Scottsdale Canalview home, especially now that their daughters were growing up. Bethany was in college, and Megan on track to follow.
Still, there was something deflating about moving in with your oldest son, even if it made sense financially.
"Boomer boomerangs" - wasn't that the term used to describe people like him and Cyndi who moved back home with their kids? Ken had found the photo while packing boxes for the movers. Home prices had finally recovered enough for them to sell their Squaw Peak place and break even on the mortgage.
But housing equity, or the lack thereof, wasn't the worst of the Braxtons' financial predicament. Ken had left an unsatisfying engineering job to open a digital-editing shop, financing the move by tapping into his 401(k) account early.
The idea was to attract post-production work from high-cost, hyperunionized Hollywood. Yet Arizona's vision to become a back-office hub for the entertainment industry mostly remained just that - a dream.
By the time he closed the facility several years later, for lack of orders, all Ken had to show was a room full of equipment and a crater where his 401(k) account had been.
Later, he tried his hand with a Caribbean-themed restaurant, using some of Cyndi's retirement money. But that venture struggled from the get-go and was finally doomed by hyperinflated food prices in 2018.
He didn't miss those customers who would text all through dinner and then print out a coupon adjustment when you handed them the bill. But he did regret having invested so much time, money and effort in pursuit of his dream.
He and Cyndi still did have Social Security, but their combined $2,500 a month didn't stretch far. Besides, it was fully taxable now - the latest effort to shore up the system's viability. Still, he felt sorry for those younger retirees who had to pay taxes on their full benefits and contend with rising retirement ages and means testing, which cut payments for those with significant amounts of other income.
He had missed the more severe reforms by just two years, and Cyndi, still working part time as a medical receptionist, by a matter of months.
Medicare, of course, was in even more dire financial shape, though Congress was phasing in changes to try to keep it solvent. These included allowing private insurers to bid for Medicare services in local markets, enabling patients to negotiate prices for care and making the system more efficient with electronic records. Still, the jury was out on whether the federal health-insurance system would stay afloat.
Ken never envisioned retirement quite this restrained.
Where was the money to splurge? Man, he hadn't even uttered the word in a while.
Ken remained hopeful that he could pick up a part-time job, but nothing had materialized yet. Many younger retirees like him still wanted to work, but jobs weren't exactly plentiful.
Well, things could be worse. He certainly didn't want the kids or grandkids seeing him moping around all the time. You never knew when someone might snap your photo - then rediscover it decades later on an old portable drive.
What it could look like: Many people assume greater control of their retirement portfolios after a period of tumultuous global events. Medicare has been significantly reformed. Old Social Security is gone for many people, requiring them to take even more responsibility for their funds. Jan Avila-White, 69, no longer fears becoming a bag lady but keeps close tabs on her money.
Jan Avila-White stood in the shade of the Hang Seng Tower, a downtown Phoenix high-rise renamed for its new Chinese owners.
While waiting for the light rail, she had her air-dehydrator out and operating. The palm-sized device hummed as it coaxed moisture out of the sultry afternoon air, allowing her to refill her bottle.
"Why pay for the stuff when you can make it for free?" the always-frugal Jan wondered.
She boarded the train when it arrived. By the time it began its westerly ramble toward Avondale Gardens, Jan was tapping her seat screen to check on the stock-and-alternatives market.
She was monitoring that wind-farm devastation in Madagascar, caused by yet another freak typhoon moving up from Antarctica. She checked her Fidelity Indian Ocean Fund. Down just a couple of cents so far.
You had to pay attention to global events. The crisis of 2025-26 was a case in point. Chinese and Brazilian investors, unnerved by America's ongoing debt woes, refused to buy any more Treasury bonds.
The news shocked the financial markets and initially was greeted by panic in the U.S. But later, a sense of unity, commitment and compromise generated by the crisis allowed for key reforms to be approved.
Medicare, strained by ever-rising numbers of retiring Baby Boomers and the nation's biggest entitlement problem, was stabilized by higher payroll taxes, some benefit cuts and an increase to age 72 for full eligibility, reflecting rising life expectancy.
At the same time, free-market innovations were introduced, with more involvement of private insurers and with retirees allowed to choose among various Medicare programs in open enrollment. Medicare still oversaw seriously sick patients directly, but those in good health were given health credits that they could use to pay for service. That allowed participants to bargain with doctors, hospitals and other parties that, in turn, appreciated not having to deal with the government as much.
The reforms had cut Medicare's annual deficits, though demographic pressures remained. Plenty of younger workers complained, understandably, about their high tax burden.
Then there was Social Security and retirement.
For years, Jan had largely ignored her investments. To the extent she thought about retirement at all, she assumed she'd be fine with the pension she was destined to get as a state worker in Chicago. But when Illinois defaulted on its bonds and restructured its debt in 2015, cutting her projected retirement benefits in half, everything changed.
That's when the bag-lady anxiety began, which provided the catalyst she needed to take control of her financial future.
She started talking to friends about money and taking online courses. She saved more of her pay and spread her money around. She later moved to Arizona and enrolled at the new Columbia-Stanford satellite campus in Casa Grande, earning a degree in the emerging field of bioethics.
She felt confident enough to opt for a Social Security Private Account when given the chance in 2022, after years of financial crisis in the system caused by the huge number of Baby Boomer retirees. She still had to pay taxes to support Old Social Security. The taxes, along with various other reforms, stabilized its finances.
But Jan liked being in charge of her destiny, with the ability to earn higher returns by accepting more risk. Now 69, the twice-divorced mother of one adult child felt she was finally getting there.
With the global markets settling down, Jan was growing more confident that she could make her money last.
She subscribed to two financial-planning websites, periodically checking them to conduct probability analyses and stress tests on her portfolio. They continued to project her money would last well into her 90s.
And that assumed she would fully retire at some point, but at which point she wasn't certain. She didn't pursue bioethics on a lark; it was a field that allowed her to pick up work as a consultant for three or six months. And she took her Roth Portable 401(k) with her, filling it with employer matching funds at each stop along her career path.
Saving had become second nature, Jan realized, as she tightened the cap on her replenished bottle of water.
What it could look like: As metro Phoenix grows to 8 million residents, many retirees still struggle to make ends meet. Oil and some other resources are growing scarce, though technology advances help to minimize the disruptions and people find ways to adjust. Many rely on part-time work, community gardens and other assistance. Alberto Pinchon, 73, tries to remember if he was ever this busy during his earlier working years.
Alberto Pinchon parked his Tata Motors Newbie, pulled a bag of kitchen waste from the car's suitcase-size trunk and entered Chandler Community Garden No. 6.
The sun was just peeking over the San Tans, but he could tell all was right on this morning.
"No javelinas last night," he muttered as he walked among plots of corn, carrots, squash and okra.
Alberto placed the bag of waste into the solar-powered mulchifier. It would be rich topsoil by the time Randy, his plot partner, dropped by that evening.
Alberto worried about Randy. Sheesh, the guy was still working in the garden at age 96. Randy said he did it to stay fit, which was partly true, but Alberto knew he also depended significantly on what they grew. That's why Alberto would place a few extra ears of corn or a cabbage in Randy's basket when the old man wasn't looking.
Retirement for most people wasn't a time of uninterrupted leisure. It hadn't been for a while. Hardly anyone received pension income anymore, and many individuals continued to work - advances in health care made that realistic. Many shared housing and other resources.
Reforms in earlier decades had helped to stabilize Medicare and Social Security programs, but that meant scaled-back benefits coupled with higher taxes, with fewer people qualifying.
Now, time itself was becoming an ally, with roughly half the giant Baby Boomer generation no longer around. At the extreme, back in the 2030s, just two workers were supporting each retiree. The ratio now was rising again.
Unfortunately, the debt overhang from past decades and still-hefty tax rates on current workers were keeping a lid on the economy. America had been averaging 1 to 2 percent annual growth in recent years, down from 3�to 4 percent in past decades.
It was a time of belt-tightening for many.
Alberto had met Randy years ago at the Chandlertukee Food Bank - Alberto as a volunteer, Randy as a regular. Randy knew everyone there since, years earlier, he used to volunteer himself. It wasn't unusual for ex-volunteers to show up one day on the other side of the ropes.
Social Security, traditional pensions and a humming economy during the late-20th century had trimmed the elderly poverty rate from about 35 percent in 1960 to 10 percent by 1995. As recently as the 2010s, the proportion of elderly people living in poverty was similar to that of the general population. But now the government said one-fifth of Americans 65 and up were poor.
Rising longevity was part of the problem, but so, too, were entitlement cutbacks and the failure of many Americans to save enough.
Randy was just getting by. He lived with three other roommates - two women and a man - in a Long-Term Care Dorm. Medical and boarding costs ate up 90 cents of every dollar he consumed.
At 73 and widowed, Alberto still liked to work and needed the spending money.
Well, "spending money" wasn't the right term - everyone knew he was paid in health credits, which allowed retirees to stretch their medical dollars further, combining as they did regular employer pay, modest federal matching funds and private charitable donations.
For real cash, Alberto still could make withdrawals from a rollover IRA he had started while working as a space mechanic at the new launch site near Yuma.
Always good with machinery, he had repaired buses and then hybrid autos before transitioning to the private shuttles serving the space-tourism trade. He retired when arthritis made it just too difficult to work the intricate tools.
Alberto also had a rental house in New Maryvale that he co-owned with his sister. With the Phoenix metro area approaching 8 million residents, finding tenants wasn't a problem.
Still, he watched what he spent.
Alberto still considered himself part of the middle class but wondered if he might wind up like Randy one day. The older man, who had worked in retail, had taken early retirement too soon, in his late 50s, and had been battling rising living costs ever since.
When Alberto's wallet-watch buzzed, he wiped the sweat from his brow and set out a new can of Javelina Off.
"They can put a man on Mars, but you never know if this stuff will work," he quipped to the scarecrow guarding the tomatoes.
Then it was off to work. In his fifth year of so-called retirement, Alberto felt as busy as ever.
A sizable number of Americans appear to be financially unprepared for retirement - and the recession and housing slump didn't help, not to mention stock-market gyrations and low yields on deposits.
Separate studies from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimate that roughly half of Americans in various age groups are at risk of running short of money to pay for basic retirement expenses and uninsured medical costs.
Here are details from the two studies, which differ mainly in their assumptions regarding the effectiveness of 401(k)-style retirement accounts:
-�Early boomers (ages 56 to 62): 47 percent at risk (EBRI study), 41 percent at risk (CRR study).
-�Late boomers (ages 46 to 55): 44 percent at risk (EBRI), 48 percent at risk (CRR)
-�Gen Xers (ages 36 to 45): 45 percent at risk (EBRI), 56 percent at risk (CRR)
Despite some improvement in the economy and financial markets, metro Phoenix residents appear to be pessimistic about retirement. According to a recent survey of 500 local residents by Country Financial:
28% believe it's possible for a middle-income family to save for a secure retirement.
50% said they weren't confident about their current retirement savings plan, yet 58 percent indicated they're saving less for retirement now.
Americans nationwide are roughly as glum about retirement as Valley residents are.
28% think it's possible for a middle-income family to save for a secure retirement.
43% are not confident in their own retirement plan.
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A flat belly gives you confidence when you're on the beach or sporting your skinny jeans. Crunching endlessly isn't the way to reach this goal, however. Small dietary changes and little tweaks to your workouts are what get you a defined middle.
Use these 10 strategies to get you a trim tummy.
1. Eat Fewer Carbs
Think twice before you reach for that bowl of pasta or french baguette. A high carbohydrate intake can keep you from the svelte stomach you desire. No need to cut out all carbs, just the extras — especially refined white flours, sugar and processed snacks.
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2015 showed that when participants reduced carb intake to about 40 percent of daily calories on a reduced-calorie plan, they lost more abdominal fat than participants who consumed 55 percent of their calories from carbs. You can still afford a piece of fruit and a 1/2-cup serving of whole grains at meals, but your dietary emphasis should be on lean protein and healthy fats.
2. Chow Down on Protein
Lean proteins take longer to digest, so they make you feel full. You also use slightly more energy to digest protein, which gives you a little boost in your metabolism. High-protein diets, compared to standard protein diets improved cardiovascular risk factors and body composition — including reduction of belly fat — according to research published in 2009 Nutrition and Metabolism.
It's easy to fit a little extra protein into your day. Have eggs at breakfast at breakfast, grilled chicken with lunch and broiled salmon at dinner. Protein at snack times could be low-fat, plain Greek yogurt, string cheese, cottage cheese or a whey protein shake.
3. Take an Active Happy Hour
Hanging out for a few drinks after work seems like a great way to wind down, but it may be padding your middle. Alcohol has calories that do add to your day's total consumption and could cause you to put on a few pounds if not kept in check. A paper in Current Obesity Reports from 2015 proposed that alcohol intake can be a risk for obesity, which definitely keeps you from having a trim middle.
Instead of throwing back a few cold ones or a fruity margarita, hit the trail with friends. You can still catch up and kvetch about the boss, but burn calories instead of taking them in.
4. Hoist Some Iron
Strength training helps you develop muscle all over your body, which contributes to a higher metabolism. When you burn more calories at rest, it's easier to rid yourself of any extra fat padding your abs.
Do at least two total-body strength-training workouts per week, lifting heavy weights for eight to 12 repetitions. You'll become stronger, stand taller and scorch fat. Sample moves to include are pull-ups for the back, bench presses for the chest, leg curls for the hamstrings, squats for the hips and quadriceps, curls and dips for the arms and military presses for the shoulders.
5. Amp Up Your Cardio
You've been dedicated to hitting the treadmill or elliptical at least three times per week. Kudos! But, steady-state exercise isn't the best way to burn fat — especially stubborn belly fat. Make these three sessions consist of high-intensity intervals to stimulate the metabolic changes that increase fat oxidation.
After a warmup, alternate 60 to 90 seconds of all-out effort with 60 to 90 seconds of easy effort. Cool down and you're done in 30 to 45 minutes. As an added bonus, watching these intervals makes your workout time fly by.
6. Plank
You may think of the sit-up when you go to work your abs, but this move isn't comprehensive when it comes to giving you a flat stomach. Plank holds target the entirety of your core, including the fronts, sides, back and deep abdominal muscles that improve your posture and function.
When you stand taller and move with ease, your abs look flatter and more defined. Do the plank by getting into the top of a push-up position, hugging the belly button to the spine and holding for 20 to 60 seconds at a time.
7. Elevate Your Crunches
Move from a mat to a stability ball to perform classic crunches. A study published in a 2007 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that abdominal muscle activity seriously increased when crunches were performed with the low back on a stability ball, compared to standard crunches.
8. Eat Fewer Flatulent Foods
If you're doing all the right things, but feel swollen and bloated often, it might be what you're eating that's preventing you from having a flat stomach. Everyone is different when it comes to sensitivity, but some foods to watch for include beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions and artichokes. Pears, apples and peaches, as well as bran and dairy, can cause bloating in some people, too.
Keep a food diary for a few days and see if you notice a trend in what you eat and how your belly swells. Eating slowly and staying away from carbonated drinks may also help you reduce bloat.
9. Maintain a High-Fiber Intake
Fiber keeps you regular, and being irregular can back you up, causing an uncomfortable pooch. Eating enough fiber also keeps your body weight down, as pointed out in a Journal of Nutrition 2009 study that showed that a high intake of fiber, particularly whole-grain fibers, associated with leaner torsos. Aim for a minimum of 25 grams of fiber daily if you're a woman and 38 grams if you're a man.
10. Drink Your Water
If your belly is swollen due to an extra-salty meal or being constipated, you may avoid water because you worry it will only exacerbate your bloating. But, if you drink extra water, you send a signal to your body that it doesn't have to fear dehydration and hold on to excess water. You'll flush it out and feel slim in no time.
In addition to drinking to quench your thirst, add a few extra glasses if you live in a hot climate or worked out extra-intensely. Also, include plenty of watery foods in your diet, such as cucumbers, leafy greens and tomatoes.


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(Pat Curran, King Mo, and Michael Chandler — co-nominees in the "Best Kiss" category. / Photo via Getty Images)
Bellator's eighth season kicks off tonight on Spike TV (10/9c), and now that the promotion has left Friday nights, you might even be thinking about watching the show. Here's why that's a good idea…
1. Michael Chandler is the second-greatest undefeated fighter in the world. Since winning Bellator's lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez in November 2011, Chandler has competed exactly once — a 56-second TKO of Akihiro Gono in a non-title mismatch last May. Now carrying a perfect record of 10-0, Chandler is once again facing a legit challenge in the form of Rick Hawn, the former Olympic judoka and Bellator mainstay who dropped down from welterweight last year and swept the Season 6 Lightweight Tournament.
2. Pat Curran is also an entertaining son-of-a-bitch. Undefeated at 145 pounds, Curran also competed just once last year, when he very nearly ended Joe Warren's life to win Bellator's featherweight title. We've been itching to see him back in the game, and he'll be leading off tonight's Spike broadcast with a belt-defense against Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. Speaking of guys who have been sidelined for a while, Pitbull hasn't been in the cage since he won the Season Four Featherweight Tournament in 2011, partly due to a broken hand suffered in training last year.
3. The card features an orgy of UFC light-heavyweight castoffs. In LHW tournament quarterfinal action, Renato "Babalu" Sobral will be making his Bellator debut against Mikhail Zayats, and Seth Petruzelli will face Jacob Noe, in his first appearance since KO'ing Ricco Rodriguez in August 2011. In addition, the Spike.com prelims (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT) feature a match between Jason Lambert and Hector "Sick Dog" Ramirez. (I had to check Wikipedia to make sure those two didn't previously fight on a UFC card sometime in 2006-2007. They didn't.) Nobody would mistake these guys for top-ranked 205′ers, but they do have a proven track record of exciting slugfests — and at least you know who they are.
4. Mike Guymon continues his lightweight comeback. Joker's 2010-2011 stint as a welterweight in the UFC ended in a disappointing 1-3 tally, with all three of his losses coming by first-round submission. Since then, Guymon has dropped to lightweight, picking up a pair of rebound wins for BAMMA USA. Now he's back on a bigger stage, facing journeyman Savant Young on the Bellator 85 prelims. A win here could revitalize his career.
Honorable mention: Jamie Yager, one of TUF's most aggravating heels of all time, will be making his Bellator debut against Joe Williams during tonight's prelims. Who knows — maybe he'll get his ass kicked.


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How to Have a Nerf War
Three Parts:Getting StartedDifferent Ways You Can PlayStrategies and TacticsCommunity Q&A
Nerf wars are tons of fun to play with friends and family, or with local nerf players you connected with online. There are many different ways to organize a nerf game, and you can play several of these in one day if you'd like to organize a big nerf war event.
Part 1
Getting Started
1Choose a location. Nerf wars are usually more fun in large, outdoor areas, such as parks and playgrounds, but if you have access to a large, indoor space or backyard, consider them as well. Make sure the location you select has the following features:[1]
- The area should be clear of other people, especially young children.
- Restrooms should be available nearby. Water fountains and places to buy food are optional, but recommended.
- Cover for people to hide behind. Almost any location besides an open field will have this.
2Choose a backup location nearby. Most Nerf wars are played in public spaces, and you may arrive to find the location already in use. Plan around this in advance by looking for a backup location within walking distance.
- Some public spaces can be reserved in advance through your local community center or school, but this is not always possible.
- If both locations are occupied, politely ask the people present when they will be done. Don't pressure them into leaving, and don't begin the Nerf war until they have left.
3Choose a date and time. Plan the Nerf war at least three weeks in advance, especially if you are trying to recruit new people. Choose a time slot about four hours long if you are holding a typical nerf war. If you are recruiting more than twenty people or planning for a special occasion, you might plan a longer Nerf war, but eight hours is an exhausting upper limit.[2]
- Remember to include meal breaks if necessary. Allow at least half an hour if people are bringing their own lunches, and at least an hour if people plan to eat at restaurants or hold a potluck picnic.
- Pick a time to start wrapping up, at least fifteen minutes before the official end of the war. This lets everyone help gather darts and clean up together, and avoids irritating parents who don't want to wait around for this to happen.
4Recruit Nerfers. You can have a Nerf war with three or four players, but if you're doing all this planning in advance, you probably have a bigger event in mind. Start contacting your friends as far in advance as you can, and send out a reminder to people who haven't responded within a few days. If you'd like more players, you can try to recruit local players from the Nerf Internet Community, using websites such as NerfHaven or NerfHQ.
- Be aware that Nerf players you find online may be used to a strict set of rules, and will often show up with modified Nerf guns and homemade ammo that can shoot farther and faster than regular Nerf darts. Make rules clear when you post online.
5Announce the rules you'll be using. Once you have enough people, let them all know the rules you'll be using in advance. There are many different rules you can use in a nerf war, but the important part is to announce them in advance so everyone is playing by the same rules. Here are a couple common sets of rules you could use:[3][4]
- "West Coast rules:" Each player has five "hit points." When someone is hit, he loses one hit point. He then counts down from 20 slowly with his gun held up in the air. He may pick up ammo and walk around, but is not allowed to fire and cannot be hit during this time. He counts down the last five numbers loudly and says "I'm in," and is then back in the game. He leaves the game permanently if he is down to zero hit points.
- "East Coast rules:" Each player has ten hit points, and loses one each time they are hit. There is no 20-second invulnerability period, but if several darts from the same automatic weapon hit you at the same time, this typically only counts as one hit. You leave the game once you are out of hit points.
6Tell everyone about safety equipment and allowable weapons. Eye protection is mandatory for every person present at a Nerf war. In addition, some Nerf weapons and ammo are often banned for safety reasons, or to make it fairer for all players. These vary from game to game, but here are some suggested rules to follow:
- All homemade weighted darts must have a tip covering the weight.[5]
- Nerf guns that can shoot 130 feet (40 meters) or farther are banned.
- All ammo that contains sharp materials is banned, even if the point is hidden inside the ammo.
- Melee weapons such as swords or clubs must be made out of Nerf foam. (In some games, even these are banned.)
7Decide on one or more Nerf games. A Nerf war can last many hours, but usually, one game doesn't take nearly that long to finish. Read about different Nerf games below, and choose at least two or three to play in case the players get bored of one type and want some excitement.
- You don't need to figure out an order to play these in in advance. Sometimes it's best to see whether everyone is enjoying themselves, and suggest a switch to a new type of game once people seem bored.
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Part 1 Quiz
Which of the following is a common Nerf war rule?
Part 2
Different Ways You Can Play
1Hold a straightforward Nerf battle. You don't need much structure to have a fun Nerf war. Pick one of the rules for getting hit described in the section above before the war starts. Divide the group into teams and separate onto opposite ends of the area before you begin the game. You can even have a free-for-all, with each player fighting every other player until one remains.
- If you have a good sense of which players are better than others (or have better equipment), you can divide the group into two equal teams. Otherwise, make the teams at random, and switch the teams after each game.
2Play Humans vs Zombies. This is a popular Nerf game that is especially useful if you don't have enough weapons for everyone. Divide the group into two teams, the Humans, and the Zombies. The Human team has Nerf weapons as usual, but the Zombies have no weapons at all. When a Zombie touches a Human, the Human becomes a Zombie. Zombies have "hit points" as usual and lose them when hit by Nerf darts.[6]
- Use a bandana to easily identify team members. Humans wear bandannas on their arm, while Zombies tie it around their head.
- Zombies are not allowed to use weapons even if they steal one.
3Organize a Capture the Flag game. Each team keeps a flag (or any other recognizable object) near the "base" they start out in, but far enough away that it's difficult to defend the base. The team that brings both flags back to its own flag station wins the game.[7]
- Instead of using the usual rules you decided on, when you're hit, return to your base and count for 20 seconds before returning to the game.[8]
- Consider a 20-minute time limit to avoid the game dragging on too long. Whichever team gets the enemy flag closest to its base by the end of the time limit wins.
- For an alternative without flags, divide candy among the players. When a player is hit, they must drop any candy they are holding and return to base. Once one team has all the candy, it wins.
4Try a quick Defend the Fort game. The Defender team gets to choose a defensive position, often a play structure or an area of high ground with plenty of cover. If the Defender team survives for 10 minutes, it wins the game. If the Attacker team knocks all the Defenders out of the game before then, it wins.[9]
- Optionally, you can have a Defender leave the fort and become an Attacker once he is hit three times. This may be a good idea if the Fort is especially easy to defend.
5Play Hunter with just one Nerf gun. This is a simple game of tag played with a single Nerf gun. When someone is hit, they take the Nerf gun. The last person to avoid getting hit by a nerf dart wins.[10]
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Part 2 Quiz
Which Nerf game is most like a simple game of tag?
Part 3
Strategies and Tactics
1Use a backpack to hold your magazines and darts, and preferably a blaster you can use if your primary is jammed to the point where you would need to take it apart to use it.
2Put someone on the team in charge of strategy. If you have a large team, picking one player to be the leader can make everything go much more smoothly during the game. The leader decides when to attack, set up an ambush, or retreat, but he should listen to input from the other players.
- You can switch the leader role between games, so everyone gets a chance at playing the leader. You may also want to have someone be second-in-command.
3Use code words or gestures with teammates. Come up with a few simple code words or hand gestures with your team in advance, so you can talk about strategy without the other team catching on. Pick code words for "attack," "retreat," and "set up an ambush."
4Pick a weapon and choose tactics that go with it. If you have a long-range weapon, you could pick a spot with cover and be a sniper for your team. A small, quiet weapon might be a good for a stealthy assassin. A fast-firing Nerf weapon with a large clip of ammunition is great for a straightforward assault, or to cover a teammate's advance.
- If possible, bring a Nerf pistol as a secondary weapon for emergencies, or for situations in which your primary weapon isn't useful.
5Claim the high ground. Whenever possible, move to a hill, play structure, or another high-up area. You'll be able to see farther and shoot at longer range. Try to stay behind cover if possible, or you will also be a more visible target.
- Due to how nerf darts arc, you will have a longer range than an enemy using the same blaster.
6Lure the enemy into a trap. Choose a location with plenty of covers, such as trees or walls. Pretend to flee from an enemy, then disappear behind cover, turn around, and shoot when the enemy runs after you. This is even more effective if you have teammates lying in wait.
7Keep the wind in mind while firing. Unmodified Nerf darts are very light and easily blown to one side by the wind. Avoid shooting into strong wind, and practice adjusting your aim to make up for breezes.[11]
8Hide ammunition refills if you need to. Keep stores of extra ammunition hidden in several caches around the area. Remember where these are so you can quickly retrieve extra Nerf darts when you run out.
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Part 3 Quiz
In which situation would you choose a fast-firing Nerf weapon?
Community Q&A
QuestionHow should I dress for a Nerf war?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerWear the Nerf N-Strike Elite vest, or something that has three to five pockets that are easy to get to so you can reload fast.
QuestionIf you're a sniper with the long shot or the long strike, can you use it as an ambush weapon if you have the barrel off?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerOf course. I personally would run a recon with its barrel off, and all three guns have a quick rate of fire if you have a fast trigger finger.
QuestionWhat if I want to be with my friends in one team but some people think that's too overpowered?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerUse a team randomizing app on a phone or iPad to split up the teams. That will make it fair.
QuestionCan I do a free for all without cover?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerIt's unlikely to work out. If you have cover, the game will probably last longer.
QuestionHow do I win a 1 vs 5 nerf war?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerMake rules that the one person has more lives than the five. Consider a better gun and better equipment then the other 5. It is definitely possible, good luck!
QuestionWhat do I need to make a nerf war fort?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerOld cardboard boxes work just fine. Just stack them up how you want and you are ready to go.
QuestionWhat would you do if you had lots of people in your group, such as 30?CT TCommunity AnswerYou could make more than two teams, and divide the people accordingly.
QuestionIs it possible to have a Nerf war with only two people?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerYes. More people is better, but most Nerf wars are 1 v 1. As long as you and your enemy have the same or similar weapon, you won't have a problem at all.
QuestionCan I plan a game with nine people in my house? It has a playground and a backyard. The game will be capture the flag or something similar.wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerYou can play in your backyard if there is enough room available, and the teams are not next to each other. Otherwise, it will not be fun.
QuestionShould I have a drone watching the players in case of emergency (and for entertainment) purposes?wikiHow ContributorCommunity AnswerIt is not necessary and some people may not be okay with being filmed, so probably no, not without permission from everyone involved. An alternative may be giving a couple of trusted people some walkie-talkies or ask them to use their phones to contact you in case of emergency.
Quick Summary
Before you have a Nerf war, talk to everyone about safety equipment, like eye protection. Then, agree on ground rules, such as how many hit points you get, and how long you need to wait after you're hit before you can start firing again. When you play, pick 1 person to be the leader, and make them responsible for strategy, such as when to attack or retreat. Try to take as much high ground as possible, so you can see farther and shoot at longer range. Additionally, set traps using trees or walls for cover, then lure your opponents in for the hit.
- Bring plenty of darts. You'll end up losing more than you think.
- If you are using a clip system gun, make sure you have spare refill clips.
- Get a second gun in case of emergency.
- Try to stalk the other team and find their Medic, Leader, and Assassin. Keep the role of your own Medic secret. The other team will attempt to snipe and assassinate the Medic.
- Have everyone put their names on their darts and weapons.
- If you want, you can take someone on the other team captive as a trap. Sneak up behind and gently grab them.
- Give people the time to pick up their darts at the end. If you know a dart is not yours, don't take it. Stealing is never the answer to things.
- If you're the leader, be very wary. You need to be sneaky and ready for anything.
- Understand that you may lose some darts in the Nerf war. To prevent this, bring plenty of extras and be prepared to restock.
- Don't step on the darts. Instead, use a clip to push down the head of the dart and slide the next dart in.
- If you want maximum versatility whilst playing, try to find and buy customisation parts (upgrades). These could be scopes, grips, stocks, and barrels.
- Cover for your medic if he/she is recovering someone.
- Run with two or three friends in a zig-zag formation. To defeat an enemy, run in a zig-zag formation with two or three friends and end up surrounding him/her bit by bit.
- If you're using two primary guns, do NOT try to shoot two targets at once. It's nearly impossible, so try alternating if you're a run 'n' gun.
- Make sure you are in an enclosed area, which consequently means the chance of darts being lost is lowered.
- Always have a base or safe place to hide. Some good locations may include a cave or playground.
- If someone is yelling for help, it is a good idea to check it out or tell the host of the event.
- Pretending to be out of the game (by raising your gun in the air) in order to ambush another player is usually considered bad Nerf war behavior, even if it is not specifically disallowed by the rules.
- Ensure that every player has eye protection before the Nerf War starts. Getting hit in the eye will be painful.
- Make sure that you (or others if you are a host or are helping the host) are not messing with, engaging, or attacking bystanders (or players who are "out", if playing a game-mode where players can get "out") during your war if you are playing in somewhere like a public park.
Sources and Citations
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3922
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3922
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3922
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8682
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8682
- ↑ http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Humans_vs._Zombies
- ↑ http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8682
- ↑ http://basicnerf.com/2014/05/22/how-to-play-nerf-war-games-game-types-rules-from-the-nerf-internet-community/
- ↑ http://basicnerf.com/2014/05/22/how-to-play-nerf-war-games-game-types-rules-from-the-nerf-internet-community/
- ↑ http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Nerf_war
- ↑ http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Nerf_Wiki:Nerf_tactics
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Article Info
Featured Article
Categories: Featured Articles | Nerf Games | Winning Nerf Wars
In other languages:
Русский: выиграть в Nerf War, Español: tener una guerra de Nerf, Português: Fazer uma Guerra com Armas Nerf, Italiano: Organizzare una Guerra Simulata, Français: organiser une guerre aux armes Nerf


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The frames created in Italy during the Renaissance are unequaled in their range of design, richness of decoration, and craftsmanship. Often works of art in themselves, they have suffered nonetheless from their subordinate role. The objects framed might be treasured but the frames were expendable, and frequently they were altered or discarded to keep pace with changes in taste over succeeding generations. The result of such neglect is that comparatively few Renaissance frames survive and little is known today about the artists and artisans who designed and made them. The study of Italian Renaissance frames, as of frames in general, is a study in its infancy.
Drawing on the outstanding collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this book presents a unique, fully illustrated survey that traces the Italian frame from its origins in the great Gothic altarpieces through its various, often elaborate manifestations as an independent unit up to the seventeenth century. Within this chronological context, selected examples are grouped by type, and centers of production are identified wherever possible. Profile drawings provide specialist information. The discussion includes frames for mirrors as well as pictures and reliefs, and bronze and terracotta frames as well as wood.
ForewordPhilippe de Montebello
IntroductionGeorge Bisacca and Laurence B. Kanter
CatalogueTimothy J. Newberry and Laurence B. Kanter
I. Pre-Renaissance Frames (1–6)
II. Tabernacle Frames (7–34)
III. Gallery Frames (35–51)
IV. Tondi (52–60)
V. Cassetta Frames (61–80)
VI. Renaissance-Style Frames (81–84)
Selected Bibliography
Timothy J. Newbery is a frame maker and restorer and an expert in the study of European frames.
George Bisacca is Conservator in the Metropolitan Museum's Department of Paintings Conservation.
Laurence B. Kanter is Curator of the Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum.
Koeppe, Wolfram. "Collecting for the Kunstkammer." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.


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Thank you for your interest in contacting Jesuit Refugee Service Eastern Africa. Please use the form below if you are seeking further information or assistance. We will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
If you are a member of the media and would like to learn more, please contact our communications staff.
If you are interested in working or interning for JRS, please see our vacancy announcements.
If you would like to sign up for our weekly e-bulletin "Headlines" or our annual print newsletter please fill in the information below and click "Add me to the JRS email list."
If you are a refugee in need of assistance in eastern Africa, you can seek services in the locations below. Please note that we are unable to respond to every email:
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Phone: + 251 11123 2335
Dollo Ado, Ethiopia in Kobe or Melkadida refugee camps.
Northern Ethiopia in Adi-Harush or Mai Aini refugee camps.
Nairobi, Kenya on Gitanga Road, behind Mary Immaculate Hospital.
Phone: +254 72860 8045
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Phone: +211 92177 7880
Maban, South Sudan in Doro refugee camp as well as Huffra IDP camp and Bunj town.
Phone: +211924027850
Yambio, South Sudan at the Catholic Diocese of Tomura-Yambio (CDTY) compound, behind Bishop's Residence House, Yambio Town.
Phone: +211 924227601
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Phone +256 414501790
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Kampala, Uganda off Kabega Road, Nsambya plot no. 959, opposite St. Augustine Community Centre
Phone +256 414501790
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
JRS Eastern Africa mailing address is:
Jesuit Refugee Service Eastern Africa
P.O. Box 76490
00508 Nairobi, Kenya
Our main phone number is +254 (0) 20 3874152 or 3877927
Our mobile number is +254 (0) 722788814
Please Provide the Following Information


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- slide 1 of 4
What is a Stereotype?
- A stereotype is an oversimplified and fixed idea of what a particular group of people are like or do. Stereotypes take into account characteristics, personality types, or behaviors.
- Stereotypes have been used in the past to justify prejudicial attitudes and beliefs.
- Authors use character stereotypes to help readers understand what is happening. For example, if a story contains an overweight businessman who wears suits and smokes large cigars, the reader immediately recognizes a greedy person with no feelings. In literature, stereotyped characters are also called stock characters.
- slide 2 of 4
Stereotype Characters v. Reality
Stereotype: As I write this article in a coffee shop while chain-smoking, I call my friend Jaques who took his laptop to the mountains and is probably staring inquisitively into the sky waiting for inspiration. My friend Orlando walks in and throws a deck of cards on the table. I see the Jack of Hearts. I have now discovered the premise for my best selling novel. I head out to my Volkswagon Bus and hammer away on my typewriter. I'm an artist.
Reality: I neither smoke nor drink coffee. My wife got angry last week because I bought a Red Bull for a $1.99. That was the last one I ever drank. I have no friends (named Jaques or Orlando). Inspiration has yet to strike. I don't even play cards. I'm in my office typing up stereotype activities I did last year. I drive a Honda Odyssey. I write for money.
- slide 3 of 4
Stereotype Characters v Reality, Part 2
Stereotype: I am an English teacher. I can't wait to ruin somebody's day tomorrow. After school I'm going to read essays for 6 hours and use the ink in all 23 of my red pens. When I get home, I'm going to discuss Pride and Prejudice with my wife, Millicent. Then we're going to analyze poems for three hours and write a stereotype activities lesson plan. I eat beans and rice every night for dinner because that's all I can afford.
Reality: I am an English teacher. I enjoy teaching and look forward to helping young scholars tomorrow. After school I'm going to read essays for about 15-minutes and start crying. I use green pens. When I get home, I'm going to read Dr. Seuss to my son and jump on the trampoline. I will not even think of lesson plans. I eat rice and beans about once a week because they taste good.
- slide 4 of 4
Stereotype Activities
Use the following activity before reading a work that contains stereotypes:
Make a chart:
- Column 1: Type of person
- Column 2: Stereotype
- Column 3: Reality
- Column 4: positive or negative
Here are some ideas:
- Teacher: see above
- Businessperson - Stereotype: sits around in a suit, makes tons of money, thinks only about money; Reality: works very hard, provides opportunity and jobs for thousands; thinks about things most people think about--family, friends, economic stability.
- Lawyer - Stereotype: eloquent, good looking, spends all day in the court room prosecuting or defending high profile criminals; Reality: mostly mundane work, spends all day negotiating, doing paperwork, and occassionally going to court.
- Doctor - Stereotype: wears a lab coat, saves lives, performs surgery, dates beautiful nurses; Reality: wears regular clothes, spends more time checking for hernias than performing surgery, dates women in many careers.
- Your list can also include race, ethnic, and religious groups. Be sensitive.
- Make a similar chart as you read. Find stereotyped characters and complete a similar chart.
- Make a chart:
Lesson Plan: Stereotype Characters Activity
Check out these language arts lesson plans.


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After a weak offensive performance for much of the 2010-2011 campaign, the front line of the Harvard men's ice hockey team knew it had to make big changes.
There were certainly improvements in the offseason regimen. For the first time in its history, the team had access to Bright Hockey Center over the summer, allowing skaters to improve over the break. But questions remain, as the team must fill the void left by the loss of some of its top offensive weapons.
If the first period and a half of last Friday's exhibition game against the University of Western Ontario serves as any indication, the offense will have no trouble getting going.
While the Mustangs didn't manage a win on its four-game NCAA exhibition tour, none of its opponents matched the Crimson's seven goals, including five in the first 26 minutes en route to a comfortable 7-4 victory.
Junior forward Conor Morrison, who was born in the opponent's hometown of London, Ontario, punished his childhood neighbors, leading the team with four points. Assistant captain and forward Alex Killorn also had a big day, tallying an additional two goals and an assist.
Harvard also dominated the power play, scoring four times with a man advantage, including twice in the third period to put the game away.
Though the game was just an exhibition, the Crimson looks more like it did in last year's second half of the season than in its first, when it consistently struggled on the offensive end.
While Harvard averaged 2.3 goals per game last season, it did almost a full goal better over its last 21 contests, averaging 3.2 per game. Its 32.7 power-play percentage during this span was a drastic improvement on its season average of 19.4 percent.
The team attributed this success to a change in mentality going into the season's final stretch.
"I think towards the end of the year, we stopped trying to look so much for the pretty play and tried to get players and pucks to the net," said captain and defenseman Ryan Grimshaw. "We are looking to establish that right now and get it started from the get-go."
As a result of the Crimson's late-blooming offensive firepower, Harvard didn't lose in its final seven regular season games. After an upset in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs, the surprising contenders finally bowed out to Dartmouth in the second series of the tournament. In the best-of-three playoff, the Big Green needed all three games, barely skating by Harvard with a 4-3 victory in the final contest.
But if the Crimson wants to remain competitive this year, it will have to fill some sizeable holes. Harvard graduated four senior forwards last May, including Michael Biega '11, who scored 11 goals and had 16 assists last season. Both marks were second-best on the team.
Junior forward Alex Fallstrom, who missed much of the beginning of last season due to injury, should provide some of the necessary spark.
"I think for him to be in the lineup is huge because he can protect the puck so well and be such a dominant player," Killorn said.
According to Crimson coach Ted Donato '91, a host of players have the potential to step up and fill the seniors' void.
Read more in SportsA Dynamic New Wave of Talent
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NOTEBOOK: Richter Anchors Defensive Effort in LossKyle Richter kept bending and bending, until he finally broke. The senior goalie did all he could to keep his team in the game, but in the end, the Harvard men's hockey team was unable to keep up with a high-powered Union attack for most of Friday evening, falling, 2-1, in the team's season opener at the Bright Hockey Center.
Biega and Men's Hockey Step Up Late in Season


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The new factory is on the way to be built and preorders for Model 3 is surprisingly high. For Elon Musk and his ambition to change the auto industry, the only problem left was money and is still money. Tesla burnt huge amount capital on R&D and will need more to implement its home battery plan by buying Solarcity. Tesla has done more than 2 rounds of money raising in this year and still need the support from Deutsche Bank to conduct the car leasing program. Yet, Tesla may still raise funds from public market.
The deal is Tesla can borrow up to $300 million for its vehicle leasing program through an agreement with Deutsche Bank as part of a broader effort to bolster the company's finances. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said the new liquidity meant its own cash requirements for its direct leasing program would be "significantly reduced." As a result, Tesla can raise fewer funds from the public market as it gears up for its much-anticipated Model 3 mass-market vehicle.
The amount outstanding from the loan and security agreement is due on Sept 20, 2018.
Tesla, which burned through over $600 million of cash in the first half of the year, faces a cash crunch as it ramps up manufacturing capacity for the Model 3 next year and completes construction of its massive "Gigafactory" battery factory in Nevada.
Tesla's planned $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity, which itself has pressing cash needs, will add to its liquidity issues. Combined, the two companies' debt totaled $5.43 billion with a combined cash burn of $830 million last year.
Tesla said in previous SEC filing that it plans to raise additional money this year to help fund development and production of its new Model 3 sedan and build out a giant battery factory.
In August, the company said it had $3.25 billion in principal sources of liquidity as of June 30, 2016, but in July it repaid $678 million on a revolving credit line and planned to redeem $411 million of 2018 convertible notes, warning it could spend more on the securities.
The company also warned that the value of its secured assets had limited its ability to borrow under its asset-based revolving credit agreement with a syndicate of banks. In response to such speed of burning money, the stock price went down more than 2% today and investors are concerning the potentials for not meeting its debt obligations.


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Notice of BidLegal Notice Notices and Announcements Classified Ad
Notice of Bid
Untitled ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed bids will be received by the County Commission of Mobile County, Alabama, in the Mobile Government Plaza, Eighth Floor South Tower, Mobile, Alabama, until 10:00 A.M. on OCTOBER 31, 2018, and then publicly opened for furnishing all labor and materials, and performing all work required by Mobile County and described as follows: Project: CHRISTIAN ACRES COURT, CHRISTIAN ACRES ROAD, CREPE MYRTLE ROAD AND DODGE ROAD Project No.: MCR-2014-304 ONE HUNDRED FIFTY (150) working days are allowed for the construction of the project. All bids must be on blank forms provided in the specifications and submitted in its entirety. A cashier's check drawn on an Alabama bank or a bidder's bond, payable to Mobile County, Alabama, for an amount not less than five percent (5%) of the amount bid, but in no event more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), shall be filed with the bid, as a bid guaranty. The bidder's bond shall be prepared on the form specified and issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Alabama. A performance bond in the form and terms approved by the County in an amount not less than the contract price will be required at the signing of the contract. A labor and materials bond in the form and terms approved by the County in an amount not less than the contract price, insuring payment for all labor and materials, shall also be required at the signing of the contract. In addition, the contractor must furnish to the County at the time of the signing of the contract a certificate of insurance coverage as provided in the specifications. The right is reserved to reject any and/or all bids and to waive informalities and to furnish any item of material or work to change the amount of said contract. Liquidated damages for non completion of the work within the time limit agreed upon will be assessed in accordance with the terms of the contract. Specifications are on file and may be viewed in the Mobile County, Alabama, Engineering Department, or in the office of MCCRORY & WILLIAMS, INC., 3207 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE, SUITE G, MOBILE, ALABAMA 36606. Specifications may be obtained by prime contractor bidders by depositing ONE HUNDRED AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($100.00) with the Project Engineer for each set. This deposit shall be refunded in full upon return of the documents in reusable condition within ten (10) days after bid opening. The cost of and return of additional sets of specifications shall be in accord with Section 39-2-3(b), Code of Alabama (1975). No Specifications will be issued later than twenty four (24) hours prior to the time indicated above for receiving bids. A pre-bid conference will be held on OCTOBER 24, 2018 at 10:30 A.M., in the Mobile County, Alabama Engineering Department, Mobile Government Plaza, Sixth Floor South Tower, Mobile, Alabama. All prospective bidders should have a representative present at the pre-bid conference. No bids will be considered unless the bidder, whether resident or non resident of Alabama, is properly licensed and qualified to perform the work described herein in accordance with all applicable laws of the State of Alabama. This shall include evidence of holding a current certificate to engage in general contracting in the State of Alabama, issued by the State of Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors, Montgomery, Alabama, as required by Section 34-8-2, Code of Alabama (1975). Any contractor that desires to bid as a prime contractor must have at least one of the following major classifications of license per Section 230-X-1-.27 of the State of Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors Administrative Code: b.) Highways and Streets c.) Municipal and Utility d.) Heavy and Railroad Construction Out of state corporations shall furnish a certificate of authority to transact business in Alabama. Out of state limited liability companies shall provide proof of registration to transact business in this state. Prior to the award of a competitively bid contract to a contractor having one or more employees in the State of Alabama, Alabama law requires that the contractor provide the County proof of enrollment in E-Verify (see www.uscis.gov/everify). If applicable to a contract resulting from this bid invitation, the successful bidder must comply with the Mobile County Contractor Felony Investigation Policy, available in the Engineering Department, or online at www.mobilecountypublicworks.net No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the consent of the County Commission of Mobile County, Alabama. A tabulation of the bids will be available for public viewing within two (2) weeks of the award of the bid by visiting the following web address: www.mobilecountypublicworks.net. COUNTY COMMISSION OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA BY: CONNIE HUDSON, PRESIDENT PRESS REGISTER October 5, 10, 17, 2018
Related Categories: Notices and Announcements - Legal Notice
Published in The Press-Register/Mississippi Press 10/5. Updated 10/17.
Find A Local Business


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As cities and states from New York to California to Minnesota race to invent policies to address global warming, new mandates for investment in green energy will produce many billions of investment dollars. In the short run, the Bush Administration stands in the way, but major federal legislation this year or next is almost a foregone conclusion–and the carbon market it will establish will generate hundreds of billions of dollars a year and create thousands, even millions, of new jobs. But the realities of how Americans will work and what jobs they will have in a green future are only beginning to be addressed.
Nearly 1,000 trade unionists, environmentalists, green businesspeople, political leaders and allies came together recently in Pittsburgh to explore these issues at the first annual conference on " Good Jobs, Green Jobs," sponsored by the Blue-Green Alliance of the United Steelworkers Union and the Sierra Club.
It has taken labor a long time to address the threat of global warming–the AFL-CIO even lobbied against the Kyoto Protocol. It doesn't help when environmentalists don't stand up to insist on protecting workers from the pain that may accompany environmental protections. But all that may be changing. For example, the AFL-CIO Executive Council issued a statement March 4 on "greening the economy" that said, "It is time for our nation to take bold steps to meet the 21st century challenges related to climate change."
There are both risks and opportunities for labor in the shift to a green economy. For coal miners, for example, restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions might mean real job losses, and many environmentalists are deeply concerned by the insistence by some union leaders on continuing a coal-based economy. But for Midwestern steelworkers, the building of parts for wind turbines is already a source of thousands of jobs.
There is a growing consensus that greening will on aggregate produce more jobs, but they are likely to be spread across a wide range of occupations and industries. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Teamsters sent significant delegations to the conference but didn't call attention to jobs that are threatened or those likely to expand as a result of new climate change policies. Indeed, the conference focused more on the overall implications of those policies than on their consequences for particular unions. Marianne McMullen, SEIU communications director, told the conference that in years to come, "The environmental movement may be the only movement" as different groups come together to build a new economy.
But session after session at this conference produced pointed questions, the answers to which could help define meaningful strategies for labor unions and environmentalists to tackle the climate change crisis. Here's a sample:
What Are Green Jobs?
As Blue-Green Alliance executive director David Foster noted in his opening remarks, green jobs are about "both product and process." They include jobs that produce low-carbon energy, such as solar and wind power. But they are also jobs that perform any kind of work in a way that reduces greenhouse gas emissions: a job on a farm that uses less fertilizer or in a steel plant that uses less electricity would also be green. And most green jobs will look a lot like the old jobs, because that's what they are: welders fabricating windmill parts, HVAC mechanics retrofitting heating systems, construction workers building energy-efficient buildings. Each is using old skills in green ways.


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LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - Texting and driving is an issue that is often discussed, but what about walking while texting with cell phones?
A new study from Ohio State University shows that a lot of people are injured while walking and texting with a cell phone. Emergency room visits have soared in recent years from distracted walking.
The nationwide study shows more than 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms in 2010. The number of injuries has doubled since 2005.
"I've tripped many times and lost my balance texting and trying to walk," said Makeitta Broussard. "I know that sounds real clumsy, but it happens to the best of us."
Researchers said they see the problem doubling again by 2015.
"We're trying to answer e-mails and answer texts and I've definitely seen people miss a curb or step on a rock and kind of stumble," said Broussard.
Many people might think most injuries are caused from texting and walking, but the study said almost 70 percent of injuries are from walking and talking, and almost 10 percent of injuries are from texting.
The study found people ages 16-25 were the most injured.
"I think it's terrible, and they shouldn't be doing that," said Theresa Hoot. "They need to be paying attention to what they're doing."
Different apps are also chiming in by letting someone text and see at the same time. However, researchers said people are still less aware of their surroundings when walking and talking.
Some cities are holding pedestrians accountable. A small town in Idaho will give a $50 ticket for walking and texting at the same time.
Copyright 2013 KPLC. All rights reserved.


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Unaccompanied Django
Book/CD set. Learn authentic Gypsy chord voicings and melodic patterns from the most accurate transcriptions of Django Reinhardt ever published! CD Includes all of Djangos original unaccompanied recordings. 176 p.
Romane Impair et valse Book
Transcriptions of classic Gypsy jazz and Musette waltzes. Written by the great French guitarist Romane. Note/Tab 100 p.
Django Reinhardt Improvisations 1935-1949
Book/CD set. Note-for-note transcriptions of eight pieces from this legendary Gypsy jazz guitarist.
Fabio Lossani - Django Reinhardt in Italy with CD
Fabio Lossani - Django in Rome with CD
Romane Django Vision
Book/CD set. Transcriptions of Romanes Django Vision CD. p.71 (French)
Pere Soto Gypsy Jazz Fake Book
86 original gypsy jazz compositions written out in standard notation.
Daniel Givone - 25 pieces dans le style gypsy jazz (French and English) w/CD
Daniel Givone - 25 pieces dans le style gypsy jazz (French and English)
Daniel Givone - Gypsy Guitar Songbook (French and English) w/CD
Angelo Debarre, Samy Daussat & Denis Roux Gypsy Guitar: The Secrets as Played by the Masters Vol.2
Book/CD set. This time Angelo Debarre and Sami Daussat cover Djangos standards: Djangology, Minor Swing, Troublant Bolero, Daphne, Nuages, As well as two compositions by Angelo Debarre: Manege, Stand by. Rhythm play back offered that allows you to practice over the changes. Note/tab. 59 p.
Django Reinhardt Tab and CD
Book/CD set. Transcriptions of Djangos famous songs. Imported from France. 60 p.
Django Reinhardt Undiscovered - Inedit
Book/CD set. Transcriptions of Djangos famous waltzes: Montagne Sainte-Genevieve, Gagoug, Chez Jazquet, Choti, and Djalamichto. CD includes classic performances of these waltzes by Matelo Ferret. Note/tab. 36 pp.
Romane La guitare manouche: Les themes et playbacks
Book/CD set. Transcriptions of songs and solos from Romanes Acoustic Quartet CD. Includes detailed analysis of the solos, chords, and other techniques. CD includes high quality of play-along tracks. 59 p. In French.
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Altamira Model M
10/20/2018 01:52:00 PM:The most bang for the buck of any Gypsy guitar available!
Vladimir Muzic Vladiator (ships in 2 weeks)
10/20/2018 10:57:17 AM:Ultra warm sounding pick, hand made in France!
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