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Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto's distinguished career, spanning five decades, has marked him out as one of the most consistently innovative international fashion designers. After graduating from Bunkafukuso Gakuin school of fashion in 1969, he went on to present his first womenswear collections in Tokyo, Paris and New York in 1977, and his first menswear collection in Paris, 1984. Renowned for the simple appearance of his designs, coupled with the sophistication of their construction, Yohji has accrued numerous awards. In addition to designing for his own mainline collections and his additional line, Y's, Yohji has collaborated with a diverse range of creatives from filmmakers Wim Wenders and Takeshi Kitano to the Opera de Lyon, the Wagner Opera, the Kanagawa Art Festival Opera, the Pina Bausch Company and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Selected Projects
- Designed costumes for Takeshi Kitano's film 'Brother', 2000
- Designed costumes for Ryuichi Sakamoto's production of 'Life', 1999
- Contributed to the 25th anniversary of the Pina Bausch Company in Wuppertal, 1998
- Designed costumes for the Wagner Opera's production of 'Tristan and Isolde' in Bayreuth, 1993
- Designed costumes for the Opera de Lyon's production of Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly', 1990
- Collaborated on Wim Wenders' film 'Notebook on Cities and Clothes', 1989
Selected Awards
- International Award, 18th Annual Council of Fashion Designers of America, 1999
- Arte e Moda Award, Pitti Immagine, Florence, 1998
- Designers Award, 40th Fashion Editors Club, 1997
- Chevailer de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture, 1994
- Designers Award, 35th Fashion Editors Club, 1991
- 4th Mainichi Fashion Award, 1986
Selected Publications
- Baudot, Francoise. 'Yohji Yamamoto (Memoirs)'. Thames and Hudson, 2005
- Knight, Nick and Lindbergh, Peter Ed. Sozzani, Carla. 'Yohji Yamamoto: Talking to Myself'. Steidl, Nov 2002
- Yamamoto Yohji. 'Yohji Yamamoto: Rewind/Forward: 238 Fashion Pictures, 1995-2000'. Zoo, 2000
Photo: Koichi Inakoshi
- Yohji Yamamoto presents a live stream.
- Yohji Yamamoto presents a live stream.
- Yohji Yamamoto features in a project.
- Yohji Yamamoto features in a project.


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McClain: AFC South is Texans' to win
All of a sudden, there is pressure on the Texans to win the AFC South. Not to just make the playoffs but to win their division.
Indianapolis has dominated the division to a point where the Colts are trying to become the first team in NFL history to reach the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons.
Now Indianapolis' stranglehold on the division is vulnerable because of quarterback Peyton Manning's neck injury. We'll find out just how much Manning meant to his team while he recovers from neck surgery.
Just because the Colts will play without Manning for an undetermined time doesn't mean they should forget about the playoffs. History is replete with examples of teams that succeeded after losing their starting quarterbacks.
Last season, Pittsburgh was 3-1 while quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended. The Steelers went on to reach the Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger was third on the depth chart in 2004, his rookie season, behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch. Batch was injured in preseason; Maddox went down in the second game. Roethlisberger started the third game and didn't lose until the playoffs.
Remember what happened to New England when Drew Bledsoe was injured in 2001. The year before, the Patriots had used a compensatory pick in the sixth round to draft Tom Brady. He replaced Bledsoe in the third game and led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory over St. Louis.
We all know what happened to the Rams in 1999 when they lost starter Trent Green in preseason. His injury opened the door for a former Arena Football League quarterback named Kurt Warner to lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory.
Collins a good fit
We're not predicting the Colts to make the Super Bowl, but they have enough talent on both sides of the ball to help Kerry Collins, Manning's replacement, give them a chance for another playoff appearance.
In 2008, Collins replaced Vince Young in September and led the Titans to a 13-3 record and a division title before losing in the divisional round.
As replacements go, the Colts are in good hands with Collins. Whether those hands are good enough to keep a team like the Texans from bypassing them and winning the division remains to be seen.
Jacksonville did the Texans a huge favor this week by dumping quarterback David Garrard. As a starter, he was 6-2 against the Texans. Not as impressive as Manning's 16-2 record, of course.
The Jaguars replaced Garrard with Luke McCown, who hasn't started a game since 2007. It's only a matter of time before Blaine Gabbert, their first-round pick, is starting.
As long as running back Maurice Jones-Drew stays healthy, he will take an enormous load off his quarterback.
Matt Schaub is the division's best starting quarterback, but another Matt - Hasselbeck - isn't too shabby. He left Seattle for Tennessee after helping the Seahawks defeat New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs.
Last season, though, Hasselbeck threw 12 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions for a 7-9 team that was fortunate to play in the NFC West, the NFL's worst division.
Like McCown, Hasselbeck is caretaking for a first-round pick. When Hasselbeck is injured, Jake Locker will play. If Locker shows progress, he will stay in the lineup.
Johnson will deliver
Hasselbeck and Locker also are blessed with an outstanding running back. Chris Johnson may get off to a slow start because of his holdout, but once he shifts into the next gear - a gear no other back possesses - he'll make life a lot easier for his quarterbacks and first-year coach Mike Munchak.
As for the Texans, well, they have talent on both sides of the ball. They have much to prove beginning Sunday, and perhaps for the first time they won't have that propensity for letting down their fans and those who pick them to reach the playoffs.
firstname.lastname@example.com twitter.com/mcclain_on_nfl

subset: commoncrawl


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By Wendy (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Last week, I looked at undrafted NCAA players and discussed how they can be a resource to teams looking for cheap organizational depth. I also looked at what schools these players came from and pointed out that there wasn't one school superior at producing talent in that area, as the top school, Boston College, produced a total of six UDFA's who blossomed into NHL players. However, something I did notice was that most of the UDFA players from the NCAA were coming from the WCHA conference and most of those who turned into NHL players came from either there or the CCHA.
What about NHL players in general, though? Is there one school (or group of schools) that is superior at generating NHL talent compared to their peers? One would assume so because there are more kids playing hockey in states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, so we would expect there to be more draft picks and NHL talent generated from schools in those states. That assumption can be very misleading, though as there are many successful hockey programs out east that have also produced NHL talent.
To see which schools have produced the most NHL-ers, I looked at every NCAA player who was either drafted by an NHL team (entry & supplemental) or signed as a free agent out of college.
Who gets drafted?
List of draft picks from each school
The University of Minnesota leads in terms of overall players who have either been drafted or signed as a free agent. They have a pretty comfortable lead over the Universities of Michigan and North Dakota who had 127 and 125 total players either drafted or signed respectively. It is also worth noting that of the top-10 schools who have produced NHL draft picks or free agents, all but three come from the WCHA or CCHA. The other three are Boston-area Massachusetts schools, so it's pretty easy to tell that a good chunk where a good chunk of the NCAA talent comes from.
This data is a little misleading, though because it counts all NCAA players, including those who never played for an NHL club or any of their affiliates. NHL teams are obviously looking for players who can have somewhat of a career at the pro level, so it probably doesn't mean much if a school produces a lot of draft picks if over 50% of them don't even make the NHL. To determine whether or not that is the case with the schools above, I limited the data to players who had at least 100 games played. Were the results any different? See for yourself.
Draft picks who play at least 100 NHL games
After we weed out the players who had no NHL careers, we start to see some more eastern schools emerge, the most notable ones on this list being Maine and New Hampshire. We also see another mid-western school appear in Bowling Green but the schools at the top of the list are mostly the same. The difference is that Minnesota and Boston College dropped in the rankings while Michigan, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan State rose to the top-four. This may indicate that those schools have produced more NHL talent but if you look at the raw numbers, the difference isn't terribly significant. Those top five schools are still the leaders when it comes to producing NHL talent.
Trends over time
Another thing that needs to be considered with this study is that it covers many different eras since this is over 30 years of data. While schools like Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota have maintained good ice hockey programs during that time, there have been others which have come in gone. Take Bowling Green for instance. During the early-70's and most of the 80's, they were a great hockey program but have fallen off quite a bit since then. Of the 20 NHL players they have produced, Kevin Bieksa is the only one who played for them after the year 2000. Outside of him, the next closest player to an NHL-er they have produced since then was Dan Sexton with 88 NHL games played.
While programs such as Bowling Green have struggled in recent years, other schools have seen their hockey programs emerge and produce more NHL-ers. A good way to illustrate that is by looking at the number of draft picks & NHL-ers coming from each school over the years. Let's look at the top 20 schools in each category.
Draft picks by school in each era
Ever since the beginning of the entry draft, NHL teams have targeted players from the University of Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota pretty regularly. Michigan saw more draftees during the mid-80's and most of the 90's but there still were a lot of Wolverines drafted in the last 13 years. Michigan State has also seen a lot of their players drafted in all three eras, but they had a pretty noticeable peak in the 90's. The number of players coming out of Minnesota-Duluth and Denver has also remained pretty consistent over the last 30 years, but there were fewer players being drafted from those schools than the national powerhouses.
Schools that NHL teams have been targeting more in the last 20 years are Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Maine, New Hampshire, Colorado College, Miami and Cornell. BU and BC were pretty popular during the early 80's but more teams seem to be drafting players from there now than they were before. Wisconsin also falls into that category since they have always been very popular but they have seen more players drafted in recent years than ever before. The Badgers actually have the fourth most players drafted and signed by an NHL club since 2000.
School that have declined in popularity in terms of draft picks are Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, Michigan Tech and Providence College. I mentioned Bowling Green earlier and I'm not sure what contributed to their downfall these past few years but it is pretty staggering. The low amount of draft picks coming from Michigan Tech since the millennium is very noticeable, as well. Maine has also seen a bit of a decline in popularity since the turn of the millennium despite having over 20 players drafted or signed.
Now let's see how much NHL talent these school have produced over the years.
NHL players by school in each era
North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota appear to be the schools that have consistently been able to produce NHL talent over the three different eras. Michigan State is also high up on this list, but the number of NHL-ers coming from there has decreased a fair bit since the turn of the millennium. The same goes for Boston University, who have produced a lot of draft picks but not many of them have turned into NHL-ers as of late. They are still ahead of most of the pack, though.
Something you may notice from looking at this chart is that Michigan didn't become a powerhouse at producing NHL talent until the mid-80's/early 90's. Before then, the Wolverines had only five players that went onto have NHL careers but they have had quite a knack for producing pro-level talent since that time. So much that they are tied with North Dakota for most NHL players produced since the introduction of the entry draft. Boston College has a similar situation only they haven't produced nearly as many NHL players as Michigan.
The declines of Bowling Green and Providence are easy to see here but one other school I didn't touch on earlier was Lake Superior State. The Lakers had produced 37 draft picks and free agents from 1979 to 1999 and have produced only 13 since then, none of which went onto have NHL careers.
Programs on the Rise
I [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons
Since the cut-off point to be considered an NHL player by this study is 100 games played, it does not take into account some of the rookies and younger players such as Matt Read and Justin Faulk. There are also schools with a lot of players drafted in recent years who could turn into NHL-ers somewhere down the line. It's very possible that we could see some newer schools emerge as ones that are known for producing NHL if some of their more high-end draft picks end up panning out. There are a good number of schools that fall into this category but I'll talk about a few of them below.
Notre Dame: The Irish's hockey program has slowly been improving over the years and they have produced 32 draft picks & free agents since the millennium, with 15 of those players being drafted since 2008. The only NHL-ers the Irish have produced since the millennium are Brett Lebda and Erik Condra, but they have also produced quite a few promising young players who could be playing in the NHL regularly soon. Among them are Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Thang and Ian Cole. There have also been quite a few early round picks coming from Notre Dame in recent years whose chances of making the NHL are currently unknown but the potential is definitely there.
Minnesota-Duluth: This might sound silly because the Bulldogs have been a good hockey program for quite some time now and have a history of producing NHL talent, but there seems to be a lot more higher-end players coming from this school since the millennium. The school has produced only 12 NHLers since 1979 and three since the millennium, but there have also produced 27 NHL draft picks and free agents during that time and a good few of them are likely going to become contributing NHL-ers. Justin Faulk is obviously the most recognizable name of the bunch, but other players from UM-Duluth include Dylan Olsen, JT Brown and Evan Oberg who already have some NHL experience. With the school producing 12 NHL draft picks & free agents over the last five years, we'll have to wait and see who else they churn out.
Cornell: Matt Moulson, Ryan O'Byrne and Colin Greening are the only every-day NHL-ers since 2000 to come from Cornell, but the Big Red have produced the 10th most draft picks & free agents from an NCAA school during that time, so I'm willing to bet they won't be the only Big Red alumni in the NHL for long. They haven't produced that many draft picks in recent years, but there is still some good young talent in NHL farm systems from this school.
Miami (Ohio): The Redhawks started to gain some ground in the 90's and lately, they have produced some very good NHL prospects. The reason why I say prospects is because there are only three players currently in the NHL who played at Miami after 2000, but it's worth noting that the school has produced a lot of good prospects since the millennium and some of these guys could be in the NHL soon. A few of them such as Alec Martinez of the LA Kings and Tommy Wingels of the San Jose Sharks currently have some NHL experience while others like Reilly Smith and Andy Miele have bright futures ahead of them.
A couple other schools I would be on the lookout for are Ohio State and St. Cloud State, as more NHL picks and players seem to be coming from those schools in addition to the ones I listed above.
There are always going to be players in the NHL from a wide variety of schools but after looking at this data, I think it's safe to assume that most NHLers generally come from either WCHA or CCHA schools, with Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan State leading the way. There are a lot of good programs that have been gaining some steam in recent years, but most of the powerhouses appear to be centralized in the Northern Midwest of the United States.


text: Mobile Storage Pennsylvania Mobile Storage Darlington Mobile Storage Darlington Mobile Storage Search Results We've found 1 Darlington mobile storage companies that deliver to Darlington - Click on any one of them for more information. Refine Search Size 5x5 5x10 5x15 10x10 10x15 10x20 10x30 Features Climate Controlled Drive-up Access Auto/Boat/RV Neighborhood None Found MyWay Mobile Storage "Moving & Storage Solutions!" Darlington, PA 866-480-7712 More Info


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Benefits & Features
There is no better addition to your SKINS A400 Crop Top or A400 Tank Top than the SKINS Plus Women's Revive Tank. It is a loose cover over your first layer and provides a thoroughly sporty look.
The top is slightly transparent and can be worn in a variety of ways thanks to the draw cord in the hem. You can wear it loose or pull it together at the hip for a modern, trendy look – there are many possibilities. This tank also features reflective logos and a fabric that absorbs moisture and transports it to the surface.
The SKINS Plus Women's Revive Tank constitutes a new piece of your wardrobe that can be ideally combined with other garments. Try it, you will be surprised and your girlfriends will envy you.
Functional Design
Fabric Technology
Reviews+ Add a Review
Rating Snapshot
Rating Snapshot
I will definitely recommend it


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Homelab 2015.3
[This is a snapshot of the Hardware Page above, taken on March 7th, 2014. The hardware page above is a live document, where this post will remain static.] This is my home lab. It is something I have been developing, I … Continue reading
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When I scheduled this trip down to New York for a Martha Stewart packed 3-day trip (click here for all of my posts about the trip!), I knew exactly where I wanted to stay.
I've been anxious to visit at The Bedford Post Inn ever since I saw it featured on The Martha Show. Owned by Richard Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, The Bedford Post is a luxurious, cozy 8-room inn just 30 minutes north of Manhattan in Westchester County.
Our stay at The Bedford Post was everything I'd imagined it would be - luxurious, cozy and pampering. It felt like staying at a lovely country inn... that just happened to be incredibly restored and designed with reclaimed wood, soft muted interiors, and rustic embellishments. It was a feast for design inspiration!
We arrived at 9pm from a long drive and walked into this perfect little foyer. My eyes couldn't stop - I think I even instantly got out my camera. I adore the natural bare wood, heavy bronze hardware, and stunning fixtures.
Beyond the beautiful setting, the staff was graciously accommodating. We arrived later than planned, so they arranged for our dinner from the "Barn" restaurant on the property to be ready and waiting for us. Now that is service!
Yes, those are fresh baked cookies from the inn's bakery waiting for us on our bed... just exactly what this pregnant lady needed after traveling.
I was taking mental (and digital) notes of all of the color and material choices. Notice the wall color - the softest whisper of blue. I'll be calling them for the exact color soon.
The space was very cozy and lofty - every detail was perfect. Aren't the beams beautiful?
Ahh, the bathroom!
The claw-foot tube was such a treat. We stayed two nights and I took at least two bubble baths.
Look at the beautiful mosaic pattern on the marble floor. Subtle touches such as this that make the inn so unique and special.
I love, love, love the light blue vanity - another shade of blue. I am thinking it would make a great DIY project for my next dream bathroom.
The walk-in shower was amazing - it was the size of my current kitchen and had two shower heads.
This was a comfortable little sitting room just off of the foyer. I really like the grey linen sofa (the coloring is a little off in my photo) and pale blue chairs. I thought the teal painted rustic tables were a great eclectic touch.
This was one of the king suites - it has a balcony overlooking the garden. I'm really liking that rug... and notice how the drapes are hung all the way at the top of the wall - one of my favorite tricks.
This was the front garden that lead to the restaurant.
Isn't this pool amazing? I'm convinced that Mike and I could build something similar ourselves... right?
Oh, the parties I could throw in here! It is the perfect setting for an after dinner cocktail and dessert... perhaps s'mores?!
Another fun spot of blue. I really like all of the lanterns and hardware on the property. So rustic.
The Inn features two restaurants - a very casual "Barn" and a more special "Farmhouse." The menus feature Farm to Table fare focusing on local ingredients. Both restaurants have received superb reviews... worth a trip to Bedford on their own!
This is the entrance to the Barn. I think sitting outside in the summer would be so great.
Inside the "Barn," the restaurant is very casual and rustic - don't you love the stone fireplace?
We had a really great dinner. Mike had "Johnboy's Chicken" and I had the most amazing burger with a pepper relish and fontina cheese. For dessert I had an unbelievable chocolate gelato with peanut butter mouse and peanut brittle crumbled on top. Oh wow...
In the morning, the Barn serves house-made pastries, muffins and scones. Many of the Bedford locals stopped in for their morning treat - we found that the Inn was quite famous in the area for its baked goods.
The Pain Au Chocolat had me hooked... I'll be making my own version very soon, hoping to relive our stay at The Bedford Post Inn!
Thanks to everyone at The Bedford Post Inn - we had an amazing stay!
To see all of the details from our Martha Stewart trip to NY (including a personal tour of the offices, and a party at Darcy Miller's home...) click here!


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Hi, my first proper tutorial!
Its not super in depth, and require some decent knowledge of photoshop, but it has a lot of the tricks I've learned over the years and is my current 'go-to' method.
I paint in different ways a lot, as I like to explore and find it more relaxing, but this has proven to be a pretty stable method so far.
Hope you enjoy!
Right click to open in new tab to see full resolution, because blogspot image management is stupid :<


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|Oracle® Enterprise Manager Advanced Configuration
10g Release 1 (10.1)
Part Number B12013-01
|View PDF
This chapter contains the following sections:
Enabling Multi-Inventory Support for Configuration Management
Manually Configuring a Database Target for Complete Monitoring
For each target you manage, Enterprise Manager sets up a default set of metrics to collect. For example, when install the Oracle Management Agent, Enterprise Manager automatically begins gathering a default set of metrics that you can use to monitor the performance and availability of the host computer. Similarly, when you add or configure a database target, you can select from three collection options. You can select Minimum, Recommended, or Complete. Each of these options enables a different set of performance metrics and default thresholds for those metrics.
See Also:"About Thresholds" in the Enterprise Manager online help
Enterprise Manager stores the default collection criteria for each target in the following location on each Oracle Management Agent host:
For some targets, you can use the Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control to modify the default metric collection settings. For example, you can change the level of monitoring for your database targets or modify the default thresholds for your host targets. When you make these types of modifications, Enterprise Manager creates a new default collection file in the following directory:
This collection file overrides the default collection information stored in the
sysman/admin/default_collection directory.
If you have made modifications to the metric thresholds for a particular target, you can restore the default metric collection settings by deleting the customized collection information in the
sysman/emd/collection directory.
For example, if you want to restore the default collections for a particular database target, remove the customized collection file for that target from the
sysman/emd/collection directory. Enterprise Manager will begin using the metric collection information stored in the
sysman/admin/default_collection directory.
Every time you install an Oracle software product on a host computer, Oracle Universal Installer saves information about the software installation on your hard disk. The directories and files that contain this software configuration information are referred to as the Oracle Universal Installer inventory.
When you use Enterprise Manager to monitor your Oracle software installations, Enterprise Manager takes advantage of information saved in the Universal Installer inventory.
As it gathers information about the configuration of your host computer, by default, Enterprise Manager assumes that you have one Oracle Universal Installer inventory on the host. Specifically, Enterprise Manager recognizes the inventory that Oracle Universal Installer uses when you run the Universal Installer on the host.
However, in some cases, you may have more than one inventory. For example, you may have worked with Oracle Support to clone your Oracle software installations. For those cases, you can use the following procedure to be sure that Enterprise Manager can track and manage the software information in multiple inventories on the same host.
Caution:Enabling support for multiple inventories is optional and available only for advanced users who are familiar with the Oracle Universal Installer inventory architecture and who have previously worked with multiple inventories on a managed host. This procedure is not required for hosts where normal installations have been performed.
To set up Enterprise Manager so it can read multiple inventories on a host:
Locate the
OUIinventories.add file in the following directory:
OUIinventories.add using a text editor.
Instructions within the file describe the format to use when identifying multiple inventories, as well other techniques for mapping Oracle Homes.
Carefully review the instructions within the file.
Add entries to the file for each additional inventory on the managed host.
Save your changes and close the file.
During its next collection of host configuration information, Enterprise Manager will start gathering software configuration information from the inventories that you identified in the
OUIinventories.add file, in addition to the default inventory that Enterprise Manager normally collects.
Alternatively, to see the data gathered from the additional inventories before the next regularly-scheduled collection, navigate to the Host home page in the Grid Control, click the Configuration tab, and click the Refresh Data icon next to the page timestamp.
Note:If there any irrecoverable problems during the collection of the default inventory (for example, if the inventory file or directory protections prevent Enterprise Manager from reading the inventory), inventories listed in
OUIinventories.add file are also not collected.
If the Enterprise Manager is able to read the default inventory, but there is a problem reading an additional inventory listed in the OUIinventories.add file, Enterprise Manager issues a collection warning for those inventories, but Enterprise Manager does collect the configuration information for the other inventories.
When you monitor Oracle Database 10g database, no additional configuration is necessary the Grid Control requires no additional configuration required after you discover the database target.
However, when you monitor an Oracle9i database or an Oracle8i database, there is some additional configuration required if you want to monitor certain types of database performance metrics. using the Grid Control.
To monitor these additional performance metrics Enterprise Manager requires that Oracle Statspack and some additional Enterprise Manager packages be installed and configured in the database you are monitoring.
See Also:"Using Statspack" in Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide in the Oracle9i Documentation Library
If these additional objects are not available and configured in the database, Enterprise Manager will not be able to gather the data for the complete set of performance metrics. In addition, Enterprise Manager will not be able to gather information that otherwise could be readily available from the Database home page, such as Bad SQL and the Top SQL Report.
You can use the Configure Database wizard in the Grid Control to install the required packages into the database, or you can use the following manual procedure.
See Also:"Modifying Target Properties" in the Enterprise Manager online help for information on configuring managed targets, including database targets.
To manually install Statspack and the other required database objects into an Oracle9i database that you are managing with Enterprise Manager, you can use SQL*Plus and the following procedure:
Log in to the database host using an account with privileges that allow you to write to the database home directory and to the Management Agent home directory.
For each of the commands in this procedure, replace AGENT_HOME with the actual path to the Oracle Management Agent home directory and replace ORACLE_HOME with the path to database home directory.
Start SQL*Plus and connect to the database using the SYS account with SYSDBA privileges.
For example:
$PROMPT> ./sqlplus "connect / as sysdba"
Enter the following command to run the Database dbmon script:
SQL> @AGENT_HOME/sysman/admin/scripts/db/config/dbmon
The script will display the following prompt:
Enter value for dbm_password:
When prompted, enter the password for the DBSNMP account.
The script performs several configuration changes and returns you to the SQL*Plus prompt.
For example:
SQL> connect DBSNMP
Enter the following command:
SQL> @AGENT_HOME/sysman/admin/scripts/db/config/response.plb SQL> grant EXECUTE on dbsnmp.mgmt_response to OEM_MONITOR;
Connect as SYS enter the following command to create the PERFSTAT user:
SQL> @ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/spcreate
spcreate script will prompt you for a default tablespace and default temporary tablespace for the PERFSTAT user. Do not specify the SYSTEM tablespace as the default tablespace for the PERFSTAT user. For more information, see "Using Statspack" in the Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide.
Connect as the PERFSTAT user.
For example:
SQL> connect PERFSTAT;
Enter the following commands from the PERFSTAT user account:
SQL> define snap_level='6'; SQL> define cinterval='1'; SQL> define cjobno='-1'; SQL> @AGENT_HOME/sysman/admin/scripts/db/config/spset
Connect as the SYS user and enter the following command:
SQL> grant OEM_MONITOR to dbsnmp;
If the database you are modifying is an Oracle8i database, also enter the following commands as the SYS user:
grant select on sys.ts$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.seg$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.user$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.obj$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.sys_objects to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.file$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.attrcol$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.clu$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.col$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.ind$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.indpart$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.indsubpart$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.lob$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.lobfrag$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.partobj$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.tab$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.tabpart$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.tabsubpart$ to OEM_MONITOR;grant select on sys.undo$ to OEM_MONITOR;
For any supported database version, enter the following command from the SYS account:
SQL> show parameter job_queue_processes
If the output from the show parameter command is zero, then perform the following steps to modify the
job_queue_processes initialization parameter:
If you start the database using an spfile, enter the following command:
SQL> alter system set job_queue_processes = 2 SCOPE=BOTH;
Otherwise, do the following:
Enter the following command:
SQL> alter system set job_queue_processes = 2;
Exit SQL*PLUS and update the
init.ora database configuration file with the following entry so the parameter will be applied whenever the database is restarted:
Exit SQL*Plus and change directory to the following directory in the home directory of the Management Agent that is monitoring the database:
Reload the agent by entering the following command:
$PROMPT> ./emctl agent reload
Using Grid Control, return to the Database home page and verify that the Bad SQL and Top SQL Report metrics are now being gathered.
To prevent unauthorized access to the Grid Control, Enterprise Manager will automatically log you out of the Grid Control when there is no activity for a predefined period of time. For example, if you leave your browser open and leave your office, this default behavior prevents unauthorized users from using your Enterprise Manager administrator account.
By default, if the system is inactive for 45 minutes or more, and then you attempt to perform an Enterprise Manager action, you will be asked to log in to the Grid Control again.
To increase or decrease the default timeout period:
Change directory to the following location in the Oracle Application Server home directory where the Management Service was deployed:
Using your favorite text editor, open the
emoms.properties file and add the following entry:
For example, if you want to change the default timeout period to one hour, add the following entry:
Save and close the
emoms.properties file.
Restart the Management Service.
Note:The default timeout value does not apply when you restart the Web server or the Oracle Management Service. In both of those cases, you will be asked to log in to the Grid Control, regardless of the default timeout value.


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His house in Azaz used to be prime real estate, jokes Ahmet Sheko Ajeel. "It was the best part of town," he says, pointing to the cemetery next door. "You couldn't find quieter neighbors." Unfortunately for Ajeel, his prized home was also within spitting distance of the local branch of Syrian military intelligence. For three weeks, the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) had pounded the building, as well as surrounding areas, hoping to drive out the Syrian soldiers holed up inside. The rebels eventually succeeded, and took the town, about five miles from the Turkish border, on July 22.
Several days ago, Ajeel returned to Azaz to find much of his house pulverized by the shelling. Few of his possessions remained among the debris. Syrian troops who had requisitioned the house several months ago had plundered it before fleeing, he explains.
Ajeel's plight is hardly unique, however; few of the buildings on his street are still intact. The rubble of a nearby mosque, the site of a major battle, is strewn over the carcasses of several army tanks. Further west, overturned furniture, sheets of paper, and broken glass litter the floor of the local elementary school. Someone picks up an 11-year-old girl's report card. On one page, the girl's grades appear, scribbled in blue ink. On the next page, there are marks for behavior. Cooperative – yes. Dependable – yes. Likes the regime – yes.
(PHOTOS: As Syria Grieves: Photographs by Nicole Tung)
As Ajeel and his teenage sons scavenge for scrap metal inside the burnt out, gutted offices of the military intelligence building, a young fighter limps over, cell phone in hand, to play a video recorded several weeks earlier. It shows a man, lying face down on the ground, a slush of brain tissue oozing from the back of his head. The man in the video was his cousin, the young man explains. He had been a devout man. When Syrian troops entered the nearby mosque without removing their shoes, he chided them, and paid the price.
Two weeks after its capture by the FSA, Azaz, though badly ravaged, appears to be coming back to life. At the town market, most of the shops have reopened. Of those that remain closed, many belong to regime loyalists who've skipped town, says one shopkeeper. (They're not welcome back unless it's in handcuffs, he adds.) When the army ran things, says Mohammed Ramdo, a butcher, virtually all of the shops were forced to close. Snipers positioned atop the minarets of the now-destroyed mosque, he says, would try to pick off anyone entering the area. Today, says Ramdo, business is fine, though food prices are rising. (Many supplies are being smuggled across the border from Turkey.) Few people have access to gas. Over the past two weeks, says the owner an appliance shop, the price of an electric hot plate has trebled.
At a mosque near the market, a 25-year-old imam, his thin, choppy voice amplified by a loudspeaker, rails against the regime before the noon prayers. "Bashar [al Assad] is the enemy of the people, of Syria, and of humanity," he proclaims. Syrians should stand united against him, he adds, "even if other Islamic countries have not come to their aid."
(MORE: Brief History of Aleppo: A Great World City Now in the Grip of War)
"I had always wanted to say, 'This is right, this is wrong,' and to criticize Bashar," the imam, Yosef Fateh al Ashawi, told me and another journalist inside a small office outside the mosque. Before the revolution, he complained, "the government would allow alcohol shops to open [across the province], but I wasn't even allowed to give Koran lessons."
Finally free to speak his mind, the young imam doesn't hold back. "Sharia [Islamic religious law] should be the basis for law, because 80 percent of Syrians are Muslims," he says, responding to a question about Syria's future. "But we need an Islamic government that will respect all the sects in Syria, whatever they are. We won't oppose any non-Muslims, and we won't force them to follow sharia."
Al-Ashawi, in addition to leading services at mosques around Azaz, has been moonlighting as an FSA fighter. In August of last year, he says, when the town celebrated the death of its first martyr, he did what no imam in Azaz dared to do — he prayed publicly for the fallen man. The same night, after his sermon provoked anti-regime demonstrations, he was arrested by security officials and sent to jail in Aleppo.
It was after being detained for the second time that al-Ashawi decided to join the fighting. "We were a group of seven men, the first from Azaz to take up arms against the regime," he said. "After we started carrying guns, people began to feel more free in demonstrations, because they felt we were protecting them."
(MORE: Syrian Paradox: The Regime Gets Stronger, Even as It Loses Its Grip)
As a man of faith, the imam had initially had some misgivings about firing a weapon, he admits. "I asked a senior sheikh, 'What if I kill an innocent man?' " he recalls. "If you kill an innocent man by mistake, it won't be a sin, because you did not know that he was innocent," was the elder preacher's reply. "There are things only God knows."
The town of Azaz, at least for the time being, sits comfortably inside a corridor of FSA-held territory that stretches all the way from the Turkish border down to northern Aleppo. The Syrian army's only regional stronghold, the rebels claim, is an air base outside the town. It is from there, they say, that helicopters are sent to shell Aleppo and the surrounding countryside. The day before I arrived, FSA forces had launched a six-hour assault on the base. "We'll capture it in four to five days," Ahmed al-Ghazaleh, a local FSA commander, assured me.
Putting his optimism on hold, al-Ghazaleh, who identified himself as the town's military leader, complained about his men's lack of weapons. "The only ones we have are those we've captured from the Syrian army, or the ones we've bought," he said, seated behind a desk at the local Ba'ath Party building, where some of the fighters had set up shop. (Another FSA commander acknowledged that the rebels had been running a makeshift explosives factory in Azaz, but added that few of the arms produced there were battle worthy.) As a result, al-Ghazaleh said, he was able to dispatch only about 10 fighters per day to reinforce the FSA's ranks in Aleppo.
Of the weapons that the rebels had purchased, the commander explained, some had come directly from the Syrian military. One time, he said, a recent army defector had informed fellow FSA fighters that a Syrian general from his former base was ready to sell them an assortment of weapons, including assault rifles, RPGs, and Doshka heavy machine-guns. The two sides managed to strike a deal. "We had to pay him double the value, or 22.5 million Syrian pounds ($350,000)" al-Ghazaleh said. "These guys are only interested in making money," he added. "We have the names of those officers who've sold us weapons. And if we arrest them, we will punish them doubly. Because they are traitors to their people and to their army."
PHOTOS: Syria's Slow-Motion Civil War


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Our beloved Sonny is still missing. It was three months ago, on October 25, 2012, that I last saw him.
We haven't given up hope. I have distributed about 600 door hangers near our home over the past couple of months. When Sonny first when missing, I distributed fliers to the closest 30 or so homes; and put up posters and craigslist ads. I have been in all the adjacent homes' yards and other yards where Sonny had been seen before his disappearance. I had a trailcam set up for the first couple of months, and have been following advice from the MissingCatAssistance Yahoo Group (see my "Resources" page for more helpful links).
Sonny was last seen early Thu, Oct 25 at our home on the 300 block of Robinwood Lane near Hayne, in Hillsborough. He's an indoor/outdoor cat, but he has always come in at night. We have a four-way cat door we keep locked at night.
Sonny is a shorthair Siamese/Marbled Tabby mix, white with tan markings, a dark brown tail with a white ring near the end, and blue eyes. He is two years old and he weighed 9 lbs. when he disappeared. He was not wearing a collar.
Sonny is very skittish and afraid of strangers, so he would probably not let you approach him if you saw him. But he is a very sweet and gentle cat.
We are desperate to know what happened to him, even if it's bad news. I visit the PHS every week or two even though Sonny has a HomeAgain microchip.
Sonny has a brother Teddy who has similar markings but Teddy is darker brown. We have gotten reports from neighbors of Teddy being seen since 10-25, but no reports of Sonny being seen. Nine Lives Foundation (a wonderful organization) saved these brothers from being euthanized at a shelter as stray kittens because they were born with defective eyelids, which have since been surgically improved. Sonny's eyes still look "different," but he can see fine. He is supposed to be getting severe dry eye gel applied 3x daily though. Read more about Sonny and Teddy's history
Thank you for helping us find Sonny, he is an important part of our family and we miss him a lot. His brother probably misses him too, they were inseparable.
Please call or text 650-400-8561 any time of day or night, email firstname.lastname@example.com if you think you have seen Sonny since Thu, Oct 25.
Thank you!


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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sold $4.9 million in Facebook shares last week at prices between $27.49 and $28.28, according to a report she filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
She made the sales under a 10b5-1 trading plan, which provides a safe harbor for company executives with insider knowledge to make regular sales.
Under the plan, Sandberg has been steadily divesting small amounts of her Facebook shares since lockups expired. She still owns shares worth about $485 million, according to the filing, so this sale represented about 1 percent of her holdings, not counting unvested stock awards.


text: You can spend hours looking for the best Roll off dumpsters for rental rates and prices in NJ from home depot, lowes, dumpster brokers, national dumpster companies, pre-screened dumpster rental sites, or you can just spend a few minutes at DumpsterRentalNJ.com and see the lowest dumpster rental rates and deals. We can show you the most affordable and reliable Morris County NJ dumpster rental deals on any dumpster size you need, from 10 Cubic Yard residential homeowner special to 30 Cubic Yard contractor construction dumpster rental. When you want to find the lowest dumpster rental prices in Mine Hill or any other city, make sure you call (973) 347-6266 or visit our website Dumpster Rental Mine Hill .com


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Apple iPhone 8
Search for a guide or problem below or select a topic.
It's not possible to make voice calls
If you have problems making voice calls, there may be several causes of the problem.
We found 8 possible solutions to your problem.
Click Start the guide to see the solutions.
Start the guide


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Iliamna Lake, home to the United States' only population of freshwater seals, is Alaska's deepest and most massive body of freshwater, located some 200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Among its many mysteries, the lake is reputed to harbor the fabled "Illie," a huge, white lake monster said to "bite holes in natives' bidarkas" (canoes). Iliamna Lake's clear, pristine waters provide important spawning habitat for the largest sockeye salmon runs in the world; brown bear, moose, wolverine and other wildlife far outnumber human residents. Given the remoteness of the area, it's not entirely surprising that the seals of Iliamna Lake are little known and sometimes confused with folklore.
Alaska natives, who have hunted small numbers of Iliamna Lake seals for centuries, describe the seals as fatter, larger and darker in color than saltwater seals, with a unique fur pattern. When processed for fur and meat, these seals are also described as "oilier," possibly due to a diet rich in salmon.
Scientists know little about the Iliamna Lake seal, but the most recent information suggests that the seals are most likely a distinct population segment of Pacific harbor seals. Scientists do not know exactly how many seals live in the lake or where the seals spend the winter. Further research needs to be conducted to discover the seals' annual movements, population numbers, habitat use, diet and behavioral patterns.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition on November 19, 2012 to protect these unique and mysterious seals under the Endangered Species Act. In May 2013, the federal government announced that the seals may need protection.
Although much about the Iliamna Lake seal remains a mystery, there is no confusion on the fact that this seal faces serious and growing threats to its survival from large-scale mining operations and from climate change.
Pebble Project, a massive copper and gold mine proposed for the Iliamna Lake area, would destroy the pristine waters of the lake and fill in and pollute the rivers and streams that feed into it. Pebble Project would also build a road along the lakeshore, right next to the islands and streams where Iliamna Lake seals haul out, raise their pups and hunt for fish. Disturbance from the massive vehicles travelling the road, runoff and dust from traffic, and increased human presence in the area would all have an impact on Iliamna Lake seals.
Pebble Project would also have major impacts on Iliamna Lake's huge salmon runs. Salmon are critical both as part of the Iliamna Lake seal's diet and as a mainstay of the entire lake ecosystem. Freshwater fish, small invertebrates and plant life would also be affected; without any available prey, Iliamna Lake seals would starve.
Climate change will also affect salmon and result in increased water runoff, warmer water temperatures, greater water flows and increased siltation in the streams and rivers in which salmon spawn and lay their eggs. Young salmon fry and salmon eggs may be washed downstream before maturing, while conditions suitable for salmon spawning may cease to exist.
Climate change will also decrease the quality of Iliamna Lake seals' habitat. A rise in water level during the summer may cover up important dry-land haul-out sites for seals; changes in ice thickness and timing of ice cover may hurt their winter habitat. Climate change could also affect the timing of salmon runs, so that Iliamna Lake seals have little food during the most energetically demanding moments in their life cycle.
|Get the latest on our work for biodiversity and learn how to help in our free weekly e-newsletter.
2012 federal Endangered Species Act petition
Press releases
Search our newsroom for the Iliamna Lake seal
Climate Law Institute
Arctic Oil Development
Climate Change Is Here Now
Saving Wild Salmon
The Endangered Species Act
Contact: Dune Lankard


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We love Demi Lovato's "naked" photos when she goes makeup-free. Selfies of her lovely face aside, alleged nude photos of the singer and actress are being shopped around. They were offered to a website, which has decided to not publish them.
Lovato could have been the victim of a hack, if the images are indeed real. They have not been posted online and we hope for Lovato's sake that they are fakes.
The singer, who celebrates her 21st birthday tomorrow, Aug. 20, is said to be the subject of over 20 images. RadarOnline, which was offered the shots and has seen them, said that a dark-haired woman looks identical to Demi, and is seen in a variety of revealing poses, including in a bathtub and on a bed while topless. Radar said that it cannot verify the authenticity of the images, but that the woman's tattoos, like 12 black birds on her forearm, would suggest that it is indeed Lovato in the pics.
The person offering to sell the images said, "These are Demi. The collection I have show some nude, including face, some including parts of the body Demi is known for — tattoos, butt, chin. Then, I have pictures of her getting rowdy… I can guarantee you these photos are legitimately of Demi."
In the past, a hacker breached the security of the phones of Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and more, grabbing private photos. Lovato's name has been mentioned in prior hacking scandals.
We hope these photos remain buried and that they are not Lovato, and that they were faked or Photoshopped. Lovato is deep into the promo cycle for 'Demi,' and she is about to begin her second season as an 'X Factor' judge. Plus, tomorrow is her bday. She doesn't need this! Even if the photos are real, they are her private pictures and there is no need to splash them all over the web.


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Location: Frank Carlson Federal Building, 444 S.E. Quincy Street, Topeka, KS 66683*
Candidate check-in: 9:30 AMCeremony: 10:30 - 11:30 AMReception following ceremony: Frank Carlson Federal Building Atrium
Candidates for citizenship MUST check in at 9:30 AM as directed by the N-445, Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony. Please follow those instructions. Candidates MUST call the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding questions about participation in the ceremony.
*NOTE: Cell phones are NOT permitted in the building. Cameras (only) are permitted. Public parking is available at the Townsite Plaza Garage adjacent to the Frank Carlson Federal Building at an hourly rate.


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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
This publication is issued by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, in cooperation with the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service, as authorized by Mike Thralls, executive director. Copies have not been
printed but are available through the agency website, http://conservation.ok.gov.
September 2011
Upper Red Rock Creek Watershed Project
The Upper Red Rock Creek Watershed Project consists of forty-three flood control dams in a 197,000 watershed in Garfield and Noble Counties.
The dams were constructed by the Red Rock Conservancy District, Garfield County Conservation District and Noble County Conservation District with the assistance of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program.
Severe flooding occurred in the watershed prior to the construction of the dams. There were 14 major floods (flood waters covered over one-half of the floodplain) and 129 smaller floods from 1935 to 1954. Floods destroyed crops, drown livestock, washed out roads and bridges and eroded the land. One of the most severe floods occurred in 1957, causing over one million dollars in damages to the property of 126 landowners. Families along Red Rock Creek had to be rescued from the flood waters by boat.
After the 1957 flood the Red Rock Conservancy District and the Garfield and Noble County Conservation Districts requested assistance from NRCS in developing and implementing a watershed project which included flood control dams and conservation practices.
The plan was finalized in 1960 and included 56 proposed flood control dams. The first dam was constructed in 1964 and the most recent one in 2006. Forty-three of the 56 planned dams have been constructed (25 in Garfield County and 18 in Noble County).
The most recent constructed dam (Upper Red Rock Creek Watershed Dam No. 52 in 2006) provides flood protection for agricultural land and for Interstate-35. If the remaining 13 planned dams were constructed they would add an additional $377,000 in annual benefits to the watershed
The Upper Red Rock Creek Watershed Project is one of 129* projects in Oklahoma that have been planned and implemented by local people with assistance from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
2,107 NRCS-assisted flood control dams have been constructed in 61 Oklahoma counties. These watershed projects that also include thousands of conservation practices provide over $81 million in average annual benefits.
For additional information about watershed projects in the state visit the Oklahoma Conservation Commission website at: http://conservation.ok.gov or visit your local conservation district and NRCS office.
This is one of 129* examples of how local, state and federal government agencies have worked together to utilize the Natural Resources Conservation Service Watershed Program to address natural resource needs and improve the quality of life for thousands of Oklahomans.
Benefits of the 43 Flood Control Dams in the Upper Red Rock Creek Project
Provides $524,000 in average annual benefits from reduced flood damages
Provides flood protection for bridges, highways and county roads
Provides flood protection for 186 farms and ranches
Impounded water has created fish and wildlife habitat, waterfowl nesting areas and livestock water
Sedimentation is reduced by 217,000 tons annually
1,300 acres of wetlands have been created or enhanced
Upper Red Rock Creek Watershed Dam No. 52 protects I-35 and agricultural land from flooding
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.


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The brunette beauty has no problem keeping busy, dividing her time between her film projects; her Internet start-up, the Honest Company; and her two daughters. So when it's time for a vacation, she seeks serenity in Kyoto's peaceful hills.
To get away from it all, I go to … I fell in love with Kyoto on my most recent vacation to Japan. Between walking the towering bamboo forests, meditating in the beautiful temples, and enjoying the amazing cuisine, I found it all very romantic.
My favorite way to travel there is … A serene boat ride up the Hozugawa River (it's the only way to reach the hotel).
My favorite place to stay is … A friend recommended that we stay at the Hoshinoya Kyoto hotel. It didn't disappoint. The scenery was breathtaking—the hotel felt like a magical place situated high atop the riverbank and nestled between many trees.
My ideal travel companion(s) are … Cash and I brought the girls, but maybe next time we'll go as two.
My favorite travel pastime is … When I'm on the plane I use my iPad and Beats by Dre headphones, but once I've arrived I prefer to get out of my hotel room and experience everything local.
When I'm in the mood for room service, my favorite order is … The traditional Japanese breakfast with lots of veggies and tofu.
My favorite place to indulge in delicious Japanese cuisine is … If you've seen my Instagram feed, you know I'm a big foodie and take my meals seriously. So, I look to eat at local restaurants with fresh dishes that I can't get anywhere else. I had the best dining experience of my life at Okariba, a rustic, intimate restaurant where the chef is an artist and I truly experienced authentic Japanese cuisine. We enjoyed the best of his home-brewed sake, too!
Upon arrival, I most look forward to … I love to immerse myself completely in the culture, so I'll grab Japanese magazines at local newsstands for a bit of inspiration.
To stay in shape, my on-the-go fitness regime is … Walk, walk, and more walking. I think the best way to soak up the local culture is to travel by foot.
My suitcase must absolutely contain … When I travel, I never leave home without a scarf because it can double as a blanket or hide any unexpected spills on my shirt. I always pack a mini makeup bag with Hourglass concealer, a Shu Uemura eyelash curler, Tarte cream blush, and the Honest Company's healing balm and lotion. The healing balm mixed with the lotion is the best moisturizer ever, as hotels tend to leave my skin really dry.
When it comes to luggage … I'd say I'm an efficient packer. I have it down to a science, where I pack individual Flight 001 travel bags with my various outfits, so once I arrive I don't have think twice about what I'm going to wear—and it doesn't need unpacking.
My favorite best-kept secret about Kyoto is … I don't know how secret it is, but the Kiyomizu-dera temple was otherworldly. Meditating in its beautiful gardens was beyond blissful.
When I'm in the mood for some retail therapy, I visit … Kyoto has a little-known but very cool shopping district with some amazing local designers and vintage-clothing stores where I discovered beautiful silk kimonos and jewelry. I also couldn't leave without exploring the city's flea markets—when traveling I love finding treasures and keepsakes unique to the country.
When I'm in the mood to paint the town red, I go to … Kyoto actually has a great nightlife. We had the best time bar-hopping on Kiyamachi-dori Street in the Pontocho district.
Upon departing, I am most happy to leave behind … When I take off from California, I'm happy to wave good-bye to my schedule. But as much as I love taking a break from my busy days, I welcome the return to routine by the time I fly home.
From top: by Michael Tran/FilmMagic, courtesy of the Hoshinoya Kyoto hotel (3), courtesy of Jessica Alba (2).


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The Independent launched Independent Minds last week, a blogging platform for the newspaper's journalists and readers.
While most newspapers have blog sections now, only a couple of nationals (The Sun and Telegraph) have tried the reader's blogs idea so far, so I've been having a look at Independent Minds…
Independent Minds uses the LiveJournal blogging platform, which is nice and easy to use for the beginner bloggers that the Independent will hope to attract.
Also, the new platform looks much better than the previous Indy Blogs, which had white text on a dark background:
Unlike the Telegraph, Independent Minds displays content from its journalists alongside that of its readers, and it does a better job of promoting the blog on the rest of the site.
While The Telegraph buries the link to its readers' blogs in the footer, Independent Minds is promoted halfway down the homepage:
The fact that the LiveJournal header remains on the site throughout may confuse some users, as using the search bar or clicking on home takes you out of the Independent Minds site, though this does at least give the Independent's bloggers access to the rest of the LiveJournal community.
It could have been made easier to search and browse through the blogging section though; a dedicated blogging homepage with links to the latest posts and topics, as with MyTelegraph, would have been helpful to help readers find interesting content.
Having lagged behind other newspaper websites in adapting to the internet and Web 2.0 features like blogging, The Independent seems to be catching up online.
It relaunched its website earlier this year with more multimedia content, and had 8.4m uniques in last month's ABCe figures, up 93% on 2007.
Related articles:
Daily Telegraph launches blogs for readers
Is blogging a dead-end profession and business?


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LOS ANGELES >> The spectacle that is pop culture sensation Miley Cyrus touched down for nearly two hours Saturday night at Staples Center and despite twerking, lots of tongue and kissing Katy Perry, the world did not end.
The 21-year-old brought her colorful circus-like show to L.A. with no major issues visible, despite previous reports of protests from parents who have been trying to get her tour canceled.
During the singer's latest single "Adore You," Cyrus casually walked off the stage and kissed pop star Katy Perry on the mouth. After the kiss, Cyrus said onstage,"I just kissed a girl and I really liked it a lot" in reference to Perry's hit "I Kissed a Girl."
According to MusicFix, parents responded to the shows in Canada by attempting to sell their tickets on eBay and StubHub with others refusing to attend, demanding refunds or wanting the concerts canceled. Her shows have included simulated sex acts on someone with a Bill Clinton mask and stuffing a thong in her mouth.
But Pollstar, the concert industry publication, reported on Friday these protests were phony.
In an emailed statement Saturday night, Live Nation said there was "no truth whatsoever" to rumors or stories of venues pulling out of Cyrus' Bangerz tour, named after her most recent album.
"Miley has created a tour that's big, spectacular, entertaining and everything you would expect from Miley Cyrus," according to the statement by Live Nation, the live-events company based in Beverly Hills focused on concert promotions for mega shows like Cyrus'. "Reviews have been amazing and most important, fans are loving the show and having a great time."
At Staples Center on Saturday, protester signs appeared to be religious based. Crowd members, mostly young women with many wearing Cyrus' shirts with some couples and a few parents, just walked right past on their way in the venue.
What concertgoers saw was Cyrus taking the stage sliding down a massive tongue, performing with oversized stuffed animals in a variety of colors and the Disney star-turned-raunchy popstar grabbing her crotch while showing off her backside with several revealing outfits.
One of the biggest surprises was The Flaming Lips playing "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" with Cyrus while she was on the back floor of the Staples Center. The young singer incorrectly introduced the song as "Yoshimi" but added "I'm a true fan of these amazing guys" while Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne wore all red and joked he was drunk.
The crazy combo performed the song twice with half the crowd yelling and the other half looking like they weren't completely sure who The Flaming Lips were.
The audience roared the loudest during Cyrus' three-song encore that consisted of her biggest hits "We Can't Stop," "Wrecking Ball" and "Party In The U.S.A." But fans danced to many of her songs from her latest album "Bangerz," which the energetic pop star performed between changing from one revealing outfit to the next.
Outside of the album songs, Cyrus also effortlessly sang a countrified version of OutKast's "Hey Ya," a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and the appropriately titled "Can't Be Tamed" off the 2010 album with the same title.
Before Cyrus, risque pop stars Sky Ferreira and Icona Pop kept the Staples Center audience engaged.
Ferreira battled through what looked like fatigue from getting stitches in a fall to make it through her short 30-minute set while Icona Pop used high energy instrumentals and sing along chorus' on hits like "I Love It" to get the crowd moving.
After the concert, audience members said they were impressed with Cyrus' colorful set that included balloons, lasers and, of course, twerking.
"It was just amazing," said 18-year-old Olivia Greco of Rancho Palos Verdes. "My mind is blown."
Her friend, Mikaela Chacon, 17, also of Rancho Palos Verdes said she was "speechless."
Before the show, Braxton Adams, 20, of Layton, Utah and Kolleen Dresser, 18, of Las Vegas said they looked up to Cyrus as an inspirational figure.
"I find her to be a great role model, but for some it might not fit," Adams said.
Dresser said she admired Cyrus for getting out of her Disney created "Hannah Montana" image and evolving.
"Her fan base grew up with her," Dresser said, "they're not watching that show now."


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Damn this game is fun. If you played the first Arkham Asylum they did an amazing job on the sequel.
By far the best comic-based game and one of the best action/adventure games out there.
The island of Arkham City is huge. Trying to get 100% in this game will be crazy hard.
The combat system is better too with more ways to chain your combos now with tech-combos.


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How HUMAN Are YOU? Take the Human Test and Find Out!
After watching this video, I found out that I'm MORE human that I'd ever imagined! Watch the Human Test Video and see how many of these annoying, silly, or just plain DISGUSTING things you've done. Maybe you'll find out that YOU'RE human just like the rest of us!


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Actress Kristen Bell has won a small fortune from her "House Of Lies" co-star Don Cheadle because he's forever making bets with her on the set of the racy TV show.
The mom-to-be reveals the "Hotel Rwanda" star is so convinced he's a winner, he doesn't even ask her to match his odds – or stump up anything at all.
Bell explains, "He plays cards on set all day and there have been more than a few times where he has gotten his per diem or he has 20 bucks in his pocket and just randomly said, 'Wanna bet on this?' And I go, 'Sure,' and he'll make a bet. But I don't gamble anything; I'm not putting any money up. He's got so much bravado.
"When we went to shoot in (Las) Vegas, you get like … $40-a-day for food and they handed it to him and he said, 'You wanna roshambo for this,' which is Rock, Paper, Scissors (hand game). I said, 'Yes.' We did it, I won and took the money… I also won a bunch of his (gambling) chips because he was complaining that he didn't want to stand in line to cash 'em in and I said, 'I'll do it for you…' He said, 'Do you wanna Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?' and I said, 'Sure'. Again, I won.
"I have won $800 from Don Cheadle (and) I don't plan on giving any of it back."


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A new law in Oregon will allow the state's distilleries to open additional tasting rooms and retail sales centers:
The bill allows distillers to offer tastings and sell their products at their distillery and five other locations. Current law allows distillers to perform tastings and sell their spirits one other location in addition to the distillery.
Distillers still must purchase their liquor from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the same way liquor store owners do now. And distillers must enter into a contract with the OLCC to sell bottles of their craft spirits.
The goal is to help the increasing number of craft distilleries continue to grow, though as it currently stands only two of them (McMenamin's and Rogue) have enough locations to take advantage of the new opportunities. Spirits produced in Oregon now account for about 12% of the state's liquor sales. That's really impressive, and some of the spirits made in Oregon are fantastic. I hope this trend continues.
However this new law might not be the best way to help craft distillers. It may be nice in the short-run, but is it constitutional? I think that it's vulnerable to legal challenge by out-of-state producers as a violation of the Commerce Clause, following the arguments that allowed wine producers to strike down discriminatory direct shipping laws in Granholm v. Heald. (I have no formal legal training, so take this as a layman's reading. The case isn't too complicated.)
Granholm explicitly addressed the balancing of the Twenty-first Amendment, which gives states broad authority to regulate alcohol, and the Commerce Clause, which generally forbids states from discriminating against out-of-state producers.
The Twenty-first Amendment reads in part:
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
This has been interpreted to allow states great flexibility in deciding how to regulate alcohol, including the power of outright prohibition. The Court's ruling in Granholm made clear, however, that these regulations must treat in-state and out-of-state producers evenly, not giving undue favor to the former. As Justice Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion:
The mere fact of nonresidence should not foreclose a producer in one State from access to markets in other States. […] States may not enact laws that burden out-of-state producers or shippers simply to give a competitive advantage to in-state businesses.
The Twenty-first Amendment does not exempt states from this requirement:
The aim of the Twenty-first Amendment was to allow States to maintain an effective and uniform system for controlling liquor by regulating its transportation, importation, and use. The Amendment did not give States the authority to pass nonuniform laws in order to discriminate against out-of-state goods, a privilege they had not enjoyed at any earlier time.
In Granholm, the question at issue was whether states could allow their own wineries to ship directly to consumers while denying the privilege to wineries from other states. The Court ruled that they cannot. States can choose whether to ban or to allow direct shipping of wine, but they must treat in- and out-of-state wineries consistently.
The case doesn't address liquor directly, but it's easy to extend to the logic. Oregon's new law allows in-state distilleries to open up to five retail stores, a privilege denied completely to distilleries from anywhere else. The law's supporters say explicitly that its purpose is to promote local businesses:
"It takes advantage of Oregon agricultural products, it promotes tourism and it promotes small business development," said Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, who is one of the bill's sponsors.
The law clearly discriminates in favor of Oregon distilleries. For this to be permissible under the Commerce Clause, the discrimination must be necessary to achieve some other legitimate purpose. In Granholm, the states argued unsuccessfully that their laws were necessary for the collection of taxes and to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors.
It's difficult to imagine either of these arguments faring any better for Oregon. All of the spirits sold in Oregon, including those in the new tasting rooms, retail at a set price through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). The state has no sales tax. Collection of revenue, then, is not a concern.
As for sales to minors, it would be hard to argue with a straight face that local distilleries are uniquely qualified to sell only to adults.
So if Oregon distilleries can open tasting rooms and retail centers anywhere in the state, why not distilleries from across the river in Washington? Or from Kentucky? Or anywhere else, for that matter? It's easy to imagine an out-of-state distillery suing for access to Oregon's market on equal terms,
This hypothetical case may be strengthened by the fact that through its monopoly on liquor distribution, the OLCC can grant de facto preferential treatment to Oregon producers. Though the agency doesn't explicitly do this, there's good reason to believe that it has this effect. From a recent article about the state's craft distillery boom:
OLCC officials stopped short of saying the agency shows a preference for stocking Oregon-made products at its warehouse — but it hasn't created many obstacles for start-up distilleries.
"We make it easy. They get a listing," said Brian Flemming, director of retail services for the OLCC.
The makeup of the Court seems favorable to extending the Granholm interpretation. As Garrett Peck notes in his book The Prohibition Hangover, dissent in the case was associated with age, with all of the justices who were alive during Prohibition siding with the states. Dissenters Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Stevens have all since retired. If a new case involving distillers does reach the Court, they may get a sympathetic hearing.
That's a big "if." Even if a case is brought, it may never go that far. And lower courts may decide that since Oregon's law presents a different set of facts, the ruling in Granholm doesn't apply.
Nonetheless, promoting craft distilleries through laws that discriminate in favor of local producers is a risky strategy that may backfire when and if they are challenged in court. There are other ways to open up the market for craft distillers that would rest on more secure legal footing.
[Photo: Still at Grand Traverse Distillery in Michigan, 2008.]
[Disclosure: I do contract work in the spirits industry, often with brands not based in Oregon.]


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Interview: Tony Rose, ACGI
I never said it was easy. On the contrary, it's not easy because you don't come out unscarred but you can come out, if you don't succumb. Unfortunately, most don't get out. And you are right; it is easier said than done. But since I come from it, I can say that you have to find ways and means by doing other things, by moving your skills forward. There are gangs who prey on weak people and the weakest person in the projects is a 10 to 12 year old girl. Do you honestly believe that a girl wakes up in the morning and tells herself, I want to be a prostitute?
Tony Rose is Founder, Publisher and CEO of Amber Communications Group, Inc. (ACGI), the nation's largest African American Publisher of Self-Help Books and Celebrity Biographies. Among his long list of affiliations, Mr. Rose is also the Co-founder of the African American Pavilion at BookExpo America (BEA) and Coordinator for the Community of Color Pavilion/African American Exhibitors at the American Library Association Annual Conference. Rose is also a member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). Among his many accolades, he is also a leading book publisher and a mentor for authors and publishers. Tony Rose is a fine example of what determination, insight and the belief in one's dreams can produce. Mr. Rose was gracious to share some of his vast knowledge and insight.
Lipsey: Please tell us about yourself.
TONYÂ ROSE: I make sure to take time to meditate daily and try to be healthy as I can. From a personal standpoint, I like running and try to run every day, usually starting at around 4:00 am. I believe in God and in having a spiritual connection with him. I am married to a wonderful woman, Yvonne, who supports our endeavors and works along side me to help accomplish our dreams and reach our goals in life.
Lipsey: What is your mission for Amber Communications, which is already an award winning company and quite successful in the literary arena?
ROSE: I hope from day to day that we are doing the right thing. We want something positive in the world for the African American community. We all need as much as we can get, so for me, it's a mission to spread a positive message through utilizing ourselves, our own African American titles, our own African American authors, and our embodiment as an extension of something that ¡s positive. We at Amber Communications pride ourselves in providing numerous resources for the benefit and betterment of the African American community.
Lipsey: How are Amber self-help books different from other self-help books?
ROSE: First of all, the difference is in the language. Our titles tell the real story. For example, here is one of our titles, How to Get Rich When You Ain't Got Nothing. We make a conscientious effort to remain real. Secondly, the difference is that we, African Americans, grace the covers. Third, the titles are published by an African American publisher.
Lipsey: Have you always worked in the literary field?
ROSE: No, this is actually my second career. We were very big in the music industry in the 80's and 90's. During our 20 plus years in the music business, we produced and recorded with such musical stars as Prince Charles and the City Beat band, Maurice Starr, New Kids On The Block and many more international stars. We also had production deals with Virgin, Atlantic and Sony Records. I became a very well known record producer, songwriter and owned management companies and music production companies. It was a great career.
Lipsey: What inspired you to leave the music business and venture into the arena of publishing as well as some of your other successful business ventures?
ROSE: I love books. Even as a child, books were my life. When I graduated from UCLA with a degree in English literature, I set out to become a writer. However, people seemed to like my music more than my writing, which is why I chose to go the musical career path. Upon making the decision to retire from the music industry, I sold my companies and I went home. Home meaning, I returned to that which I always loved, writing. So Amber Communications was like coming home. It was the career that I always wanted but there was no room in the 70's. It was difficult for an African American writer back then and so I chose the music business. This business of literature is a great, great business. It's a business of great respect. There are so many people you have an opportunity to meet and it is a wonderful career. What I love is the fact that today there are more and more younger publishers, men and women in their early 20s. They're coming to the African American Pavilion (at Book Expo America) with their books and seeking information about how to get their books in the Pavilion. It's wonderful to see a whole new generation of young African Americans publishing books. And our retailers are also great. We are very appreciative of our retailers who purchase our books. We're always happy to talk to them. At Amber Communications we have a good time with the books that we publish and cherish the people that help us to be successful.
Lipsey: What do you have to say about the all too familiar words, "Black people don't read?"
ROSE: It's a stereotype; plain and simple. African Americans have been reading and writing all along. Remember, we were Africans coming to the United States. We had to learn the language. But once we learned the language, our mouths have been running and we've been writing and telling people all about our plight for centuries --Â stemming all the way back to the 17th century. We are the most self-published people in this world. Phyllis Wheatley wasn't the first writer. All throughout the 19th century we were writing books. We wrote during the Harlem Renaissance. There are Frederick Douglas Dubois, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, among hundreds of others. We were writing during the Civil War and after the Civil War. We have been writing and self-publishing for over 200 years! So to say, Black people don't read or write is one of the biggest lies ever perpetuated in the history of our country. Once you learn and know your history, you can walk and talk with anyone because now you know who you are - not told who you are. Believe me, it's a great thing.
Lipsey: Why self-help books?
ROSE: I grew up very, very poor, beyond poverty. I grew up in a violent, destructive and detrimental world of no hope -- The Whittier St. Housing Projects in Roxbury, Massachusetts -- one of the most violent places there is. And the sad thing is that it still stands today and today it is still hell. It was understood at Whittier that you won't survive and you will never see the light of day. When I was growing up in the projects, I owned two buildings from the age of six to the age of fourteen. I fought for the people in those two buildings. I sold newspapers. I ran their errands. I got their numbers. I got their medicine. The older people I would take them out for walks and was the one who would protect them. After all, these were my people in these two buildings. As I became older, I decided on a different path I wanted to take in my life. Once I made enough money, I forged ahead on my own. So to answer your question, in choosing self-help books I'm publishing for that woman who still lives in the projects, in the ghetto with three children and her only income is a welfare check. She has no hope deep down, but maybe, just maybe, she buys an Amber Book on real estate, make-up or skin care, or how to get a job and she learns how her life can be different. Then there is the other woman. This woman is in her 50's or 60's with grandchildren and she's looking for some way to improve their lives. That is what Amber Communications is all about. Improving people's lives. We show the realism of our people too by celebrating our African American stars and how they struggled, survived, and made it to the top. It's a worthy mission to invest our time, energy and money into those authors that we want to announce to the world.
Lipsey: Is there a particular reason you named your company Amber Communications?
ROSE: The name, Amber, came so rapidly from God. It was just there. Out of nowhere, it appeared.
Lipsey: How did Amber Communications get its start?
ROSE: Amber Communications was conceived when my wife and I lived in California. We loved to go to the beach and we would go almost every day. She was a model back in the day and she'd bring along a bag filled with books and pamphlets, some she had written, on etiquette, or how to talk to people and various other subjects. I kept looking at her stash of books, and the idea formulated in my mind. I said, Let's compile and rewrite all of this and turn it into something. Thus, the book, "Is Modeling for You-The Handbook and Guide for the Young Aspiring Black Model" It is an accumulation of her work. That's how it developed. The whole company developed from an idea of what a model did. It was positive in terms of how Black models maneuvered in life and how it made a positive statement on dress, hair, clothes, make-up. In a sense, it can go back to that lady living in the projects. I thought it could help her because you can aspire to be something in life. A model is just an aspiration. For every model, there are a hundred thousand who want to models. But if you aren't a model, here's a hand guide for you and if you learn how to walk right, talk right, display confidence, stand straight, you know what? You'll get that job, or you'll realize that you can attend school and college. That book sold a lot of copies and it is still one of our best selling books at Amber. So, as I'm sure you already guessed, Amber is definitely in honor of my wife.
Lipsey: Where is Amber Communications located and what are some of its imprints?
ROSE: Arizona and New York City. Some of our imprints include Amber Communications imprints for self-help and career guide book titles, the Busta Books imprint for celebrity bios, then there's Colossus Books imprint which is geared toward African American achievers in the entertainment world and Amber/Wiley imprint, which offers financial, self-help and beauty titles. We also have Ambrosia Books imprint for historic docudrama and Amber Communications2 imprints which publishes in general specialty books.
Lipsey: That is quite an impressive list, Mr. Rose. In light of your already busy schedule and prestigious resume of accomplishments, is it true that you are also the Founder of the Katrina Literary Collective?
ROSE: Yes, that's true. Seeing the devastation of our African American sisters and brothers after Hurricane Katrina, prompted us into action. There is no way that we, as African Americans, should sit back while our fellow brothers and sisters are suffering mentally, physically and emotionally. The Katrina Literary Collective has donated over 80,000 books to the Katrina Survivors. I would like to believe that the Katrina Literary Collective provides some sense of relief by allowing our people to, if only for a moment, escape the hardships they encounter as a result of such a devastating storm through our self-help titles and imprints.
Lipsey: What can you tell us about the television show, Literary Living?
ROSE: To extend our reach in the African American community and throughout the nation, and as an added mechanism of literary advancement for African Americans, we recently ventured into the field of television. My partner, Rosette Union and I executive produced the new show on The Black Family Channel (BFC), called Literary Living.
Lipsey: Please tell us, what your television show, Literary Living is about.
ROSE: Literary Living is a dynamic weekly television show exclusively aimed at the African American book buying market. The show features African American book publishing professionals, personalities and celebrities. It airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. and again at 12 midnight.
Lipsey: What message would you share with others who have dreams and aspirations, but somehow seem to be stuck and don't know how to bring their dreams into fruition?
ROSE: The first thing they should know is time is your enemy. Next, anything negative that is in your life right now, everything you see in your environment that is negative, you have to stay away from. You have to realize that where you are is not where you can be. Anything you can do to make sure that where you are becomes more positive by your presence is a help, not only to you, but to others. This is hard because most African Americans in the United States live in bad environments, attend bad schools, and we're on a rolling stone that has no end in sight. In this particular instance, I'm talking about our African American children. Children are the victims. Our children are the ones that we must encourage not to give up on their dreams and hopes, to stay away from drugs, to stay away from negative situations. If you're sitting on the sofa reading about pimps, whores and crime, you're wasting your time. But if you're reading an Amber book about ways to improve your life, you're going to walk away with something positive.
Lipsey: But isn't what you're saying, easier said than done?
ROSE: I never said it was easy. On the contrary, it's not easy because you don't come out unscarred but you can come out, if you don't succumb. Unfortunately, most don't get out. And you are right; it is easier said than done. But since I come from it, I can say that you have to find ways and means by doing other things, by moving your skills forward. There are gangs who prey on weak people and the weakest person in the projects is a 10 to 12 year old girl. Do you honestly believe that a girl wakes up in the morning and tells herself, I want to be a prostitute? No, she doesn't. She's either been raped or molested. We go to church on Sunday and make believe it's not there, but it is there. The question isn't very hard to answer. What are we going to do to take them all, all of the African American children, out of a bad situation? Did you know that out of the 60-70 million African Americans in this country, only five million are doing well? By the term well, I mean from Shaquille to Oprah all the way down to you and me. The other 55 million people are living in hell. Black people don't have any money. We're still living in slums, ghettos and projects. You're asking me about dreams? I'll tell you that now we have books about pimps, whores and gangs. Most of the people who publish these books come from middle class families. They weren't victims. They didn't live the kind of life I'm talking about or come from the type of environment like I did. So when we talk about dreams, we have to realize that we are in a fight of good and evil. Our people who have to live in such an environment day by day, year by year are the ones that must be steered toward the light of hope. That's why Amber Communications exists. We are part of the fight of good and evil.
Lipsey: Mr. Rose, It has been an honor and privilege learning about you and about Amber Communications.
ROSE:Â Thank you, the pleasure is mine.
For more information on Amber Communications Group, Inc. visit WWW.AMBERBOOKS.COM .
Shelia E. Lipsey is a reporter for AMAG – Awareness Magazine
Latest comments
- Ann GarrisonFebruary 22,2018 @ 08:03 PM
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
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text:
UNIFORM | Paddle Tennis
Photo via Blogging Los Angeles.
It wasn't until I started playing Paddle Tennis in L.A. that I realized there are actually two sports by the same name. There's Paddle Tennis, which is popular in Los Angeles among many other beach cities in the world, and then there's Platform Tennis, a similar sport, that many people call paddle—and is popular in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The differences are small and include court size and whether one may play the ball off the caged fence, but mostly the difference lies in the season. Platform Tennis is a winter sport played on a heated platform and often accompanied by hot cocoa, and Paddle Tennis is more of a sunny summer sport. Both games can be super fast and a great work out, but I have to say Paddle Tennis has become my most favorite sport. I play once a week in West Hollywood at Plummer Park (there's only one court there, so don't tell anyone), but the best public courts in L.A. are definitely at Venice Beach where you can watch some crazy games. I combed through a bunch of the history of the two sports and the best thing I came across was this quote from an old article from the USPTA:
"Unlike tennis players, paddle-tennis players like to dress down, perhaps because of the beach's influence on the game. And the strict etiquette that is required in tennis is almost completely ignored. [Players] are renowned for screaming—at teammates—during matches. Tournaments get nasty—players have been known to purposely smash overhands at opponents' torsoes from point-blank range."
Maybe that's the reason John McEnroe likes paddle? Do you guys play paddle? If so what kind and where?
Paddle tennis: Knockaround sunglasses ($14); KP MacLane polo shirt ($155); Sid Mashburn Day-Glo Tretorn Nylites ($95) or Classic white Tretorn Nylites ($60); Bird Audio Cube ($90); McClure's Bloody Mary Mixer ($13).
Platform tennis: Saint James hat ($25); Wool blanket ($245); William J. Mills & Co. canvas duffel ($136); Enamel mug ($18); Boast long sleeve polo ($78).
8 comments:
- reginag said...
That was indeed a classic move!
volleyball clinic washington
- February 5, 2013 at 7:05 AM
I live outside of Boston and play in a paddle league (Platform), but always thought the west coast paddle was just a form of tennis in miniature. I want to try it now!
- February 5, 2013 at 8:18 AM
I never thought of Paddle as a dirty or agressive sport, I always thought it was for old people. But if McEnroe plays...
- February 5, 2013 at 9:02 AM
Sadly, I had never heard of either sport. I live in the Detroit suburbs and looked up platform - turns out there are a couple places to play in metro Detroit but not near me. I love that you posted a link for McClure's though as they are a local Detroit company. :)
- February 6, 2013 at 4:53 AM
- Lizzie said...
@Katie you have to bring back Paddle Tennis to Michigan, the state in which the sport was invented!
- February 6, 2013 at 9:23 AM
- Amielle said...
I've never really heard of either of them but now I'm interested! An intense sport? Count me in! And those outfits are stellar! Especially that second top. Love it!
- February 6, 2013 at 12:07 PM
- blue roses said...
ahhh, mcclures has the best pickles as well, if you want to add a salty garnish to the bloody mary!
- February 11, 2013 at 9:16 AM
- Ariel Eckblad said...
I really love your write-ups guys continue the good work. design custom sports uniforms
- December 8, 2015 at 12:12 AM


text:
Kittehs! Where are you in this week's New Yorker cover?
At first, I was verrah excited, cuz I could see my sisfur, Suzy, the black and white kitteh wif teh panicky, "get me outta here" eyes, bottom right corner, and even my brother, Taffy, laying down on teh job, per usual, behind Mr. Obama. But where am I?
I figure I am way out there in front of Mr. O, leading teh charge. In fact, I am prolly out of frame cuz my speedy cheetah-like sprinting means I've already overshot Congress and am currently taking a lap around the Supreme Court, which would be very hard to draw. But still. You would think a bold, streaky blur of tiger stripes would be easy for man of his talents, but I'll let it pass.
BUT I do take umbrage (or I would, if I knew how to do that…I mean, do you take umbrage by teh scruff of teh neck? pounce on it as it lumbers past, shredding it to bits? pin it under a steely claw until it squeaks for mercy? anyone know…?)
Sorry, I was saying, I take umbrage at the fact that Mr. Blitt is comparing us kittehs to…*sputter* *cough*…Congress.
Shocking, right? Here we have teh proud and noble predator, Felis Catus, hunter of vermin, lap warmer, beloved and useful domestic companion to teh Mans since time began, compared to members of Congress? Those Guys? Those argumentative arrested adolescents, stubbornly obstructing the democratic process in order to make someone else look bad? Those guys who, while already millionaires, still spend their day chasing money bags dangled by Corporate Sponsors, and then turn around and tell school teachers and police officers and Hurricane Sandy victims to "stop whining." Those guys who must have been neutered because they ain't even got the cojones to talk about reasonable gun control? Those guys = kittehs?
I don fink so.
I would draw a different picture, one in which Mr. Obama has a nice sit down wif teh kittehs, a little purr and snuggle stress-relief session, to help the Man prepared for another day dealing with these buffoons. I hear Mr. President is allergic or sumthin', which is sad, but still I'm sure he'd put up with itchy eyes to hang out with cats who would neveh EVAH be so tactless as to yell "YOU LIE," or call him "Hitler," or make up make up conspiracy stories that he won the election because an invasion of space aliens or something like that. No. Kittehs have class.
Herd us into teh halls of Congress and you know what would happen? Things would get done. Heads would be bonked, sometimes fur would fly, it's true, but – Establishing Justice? Ensuring Domesticated Tranquility? Promoting the General Welfare? Kittehs would be all over that like spit on a catnip mouse.
Good Luck, Mr. President. Give us a call if you need helps.