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Unless otherwise noted, information contained in each edition of the Kansas School Naturalist reflects the knowledge of the subject as of the original date of publication.
Volume 56 - Summer 2009
Sericea Lespedeza in Kansas
Published by Emporia State University
Prepared and Issued by The Department of Biological Sciences
Editor: John Richard Schrock
Editorial Committee: Tom Eddy, R. Brent Thomas, William Jensen, Marshall Sundberg, Eric Yang
Mailing: Roger Ferguson
Circulation (this issue): 10,000
Press Run: 15,000
Press Composition: John Decker
Printed by: ESU Printing Services
Online edition by: Terri Weast
The Kansas School Naturalist is sent free of charge and upon request to teachers, school administrators, public and school librarians, youth leaders, conservationists, and others interested in natural history and nature education. Back issues, some photocopied, are sent for one dollar postage/handling charge per issue. A back issue list is sent free upon request. The Kansas School Naturalist is sent by third class mail to all U.S. zipcodes, and first class to all other countries. The Kansas School Naturalist is published by Emporia State University. Editor: John Richard Schrock, Department of Biological Sciences. Third class postage paid at Emporia, Kansas. Address all correspondence to Kansas School Naturalist, Department of Biological Sciences, Box 4050, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS 66801-5087. Opinions and perspectives expressed are those of the authors and/or editor and do not reflect the official position or endorsement of ESU. The KSN is listed in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, indexed in Wildlife Review/Fisheries Review, and appropriate issues are indexed in the Zoological Record. Publication and distribution of this issue of the Kansas School Naturalist was partially underwritten by contributions from readers like you. Librarians Note: The KSN is an irregular publication issued from one to four times per year.
Photos: The two photos of the caterpillars - both on page 11 - were courtesy of Greg Sievert.
Authors: Melissa A. Rossow is author of the major front section surveying the erect bush-clovers of Kansas. After pursuing graduate studies at the University of Kansas, she served as an Americorps volunteer in the southwest, teaching elementary children about plants and creating school gardens. Currently she is working at the New York Botanical Gardens as a Curatorial Assistant on the "Catalog of Vascular Plant Species of Central Brazil" project funded by the National Science Foundation. Tom Eddy compiled the prevention and control section and is professor of biology at E.S.U. The updated map of sericea in Kansas is courtesy of J. Vogel of the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The sericia lespedeza calendar was developed by Jeanne Heuser, Technical Information Specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Including Erect Bush-clovers of Kansas
by Melissa A. Rossow
Sericea lespedeza, or Chinese bush-clover (scientific name Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don), is a member of the bean family (Fabaceae). It was introduced to the U.S. from East Asia as a useful species, but has become a serious pest in Kansas, out-competing native species and impacting grassland and woodland communities. There are 18 species of the genus Lespedeza in the U.S., seven introduced and 11 native. Nine species occur in Kansas. Of the seven natives, four share an upright—or erect—growth form with sericea lespedeza and are occasionally mistaken for it. Because the native species can be difficult to distinguish from sericea lespedeza, and because sericea lespedeza sometimes grows in mixed stands with native species, efforts to control sericea lespedeza may impact native bush-clovers. This booklet recounts the history of sericea lespedeza in Kansas, describes some biological attributes that make it such a successful pest, and serves as a guide to help distinguish the four erect, native Lespedeza species from one another and from the invasive sericea lespedeza.
The North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station first introduced sericea lespedeza to the U.S. in 1896. By 1924, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was cultivating the species at the Arlington Virginia Experiment Farm. Sericea lespedeza was originally thought to be useful for erosion control, hay, and wildlife cover. It was employed as a ground cover on poor soils and, by the 1940s, as a pasture crop. The USDA reported that the leaves make excellent mulch, and the plant's fibers make decent paper. It is also a good honey plant. However, these benefits are greatly outweighed by its impact on native plants in Kansas.
During the 1930s, sericea lespedeza was introduced to southeast Kansas where it was planted as cover on strip-mined land. It was planted as wildlife habitat around state and federal reservoirs from the 1940s into the 1970s. In the 1950s, it was used in soil bank plantings along with introduced grasses. In recent years, native grass seed contaminated with sericea lespedeza has been implicated in spreading plants to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) plantings in central and western Kansas.
There are many definitions for the word "weed." Simply stated, a weed is a plant growing where humans do not want it. When a weed becomes a threat to humans and their activities, especially economic activities, the species may be defined by law as "noxious." Sericea lespedeza was declared a "county option noxious weed" in Kansas in 1988 and a "state wide noxious weed" on July 1, 2000, making Kansas the only state in the U.S. to list sericea lespedeza as a noxious weed. The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) Plant Protection and Weed Control Program lists 12 species as noxious in Kansas. State law requires landowners to "control the spread of and... eradicate all weeds declared by legislative action to be noxious on all lands owned or supervised by them and to use such methods for that purpose and at such times as are approved and adopted by the department of agriculture."
Sericea lespedeza has been so successful in spreading because it is drought tolerant, thrives in nutrient-poor, shallow soils, has few natural predators in North America, reproduces both sexually and asexually, and sets large numbers of seeds.
Sericea lespedeza is drought tolerant and will grow in poor quality (acidic to alkaline), shallow soils. The combination of a taproot and a fibrous root system give plants the ability to survive when soil moisture is limited. This hardiness gives it a competitive advantage over many native species, especially in degraded habitats.
Bush-clovers produce two kinds of flowers: chasmogamous ones, which open for insect-pollination, primarily by bees, and cleistogamous ones, which are greatly reduced in size and morphology, and are self-pollinated. Cleistomamy is induced by a variety of environmental factors, including drought, heat, and day length.
Cleistogamous flowers are generally produced after chasmogamous ones, towards the end of the growing season. Both kinds of flowers are distinguished by their elongated, recurved, and persistent style, which is shorter and straight on chasmogamous fruits (Figure 2).
One stem of sericea lespedeza (called a ramet) may produce up to 1500 seeds. There are about 350,000 seeds in a pound, and one acre of sericea lepedeza may produce 300-600 pounds of seed. A single acre of sericea lespedeza may produce one to two hundred million seeds, of which 10–15% germinate. Germination studies have shown that native bush-clovers may remain viable for more than a half a century, but there are no published studies on seed longevity in sericea lespedeza. It is likely that they are long-lived, however, and this is a problem because, even if the mature plants are eliminated from a site, many viable seeds may remain in the soil.
Rhizomes (underground stems, incorrectly referred to by some researchers as "underground stolons") of bush-clovers are short and woody, and often grow near the surface of the soil. Buds on rhizomes do not break dormancy until late spring. Asexual reproduction is accomplished through vegetative propagation; new plants are formed by longitudinal fragmentation of the woody rhizome, which follows the development of the taproot on the part of the rhizome that becomes separated from the parent plant.
There are few natural predators of sericea lespedeza in North America, and it is seldom affected by disease and insects here. The leaves are occasionally stripped by grass armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth), lespedeza webworm, Tetralopha scortealis (Lederer), and American grasshopper, Schistocera Americana (Drury). Mature plants are mostly ungrazed by livestock due to the high levels of tannins. Tannins are phenolic compounds found in plants. They are used by humans to tan hides. Tannins interfere with protein absorption in the gut. Livestock may graze young plants that have not yet accumulated high tannin levels.
The only bush-clover known to have been used in North America is Lespedeza capitata or round-head bush-clover. Daniel Moerman's reference work Native American Ethnobotany (Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 1998) cites L. capitata as a poison antidote, a moxa (a substance placed on the skin and ignited to act as a counter-irritant), a neuralgia and rheumatism treatment, a remedy for "bad blood" and sometimes as a tea beverage.
In A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants: Eastern and Central North America (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1990), Stephen Foster and James A. Duke report that Lespedeza capitata is used for chronic kidney disease, lowering blood cholesterol, anti-tumor activity, and in reducing nitrogen levels in urine. Hemeocan, Loiron, and Dolisos are Canadian companies that manufacture and market a homeopathic form of Lespedeza capitata. Homeocan lists it as a remedy for treating both renal failure and clogged arteries.
The colloquial name for Lespedeza in Japanese is Hagi zoku, while the specific name for sericea lespedeza is Medogi-hagi or as it is most often abbreviated Medo-hagi. Medogi (pronounced shi) indicates the Chinese character yi, which means divinition, and hagi means bush-clover. In the past, woody stems of the plant (usually 50) were used as divining rods by Chinese divinators.
Key to and Descriptions of the Erect Bush-clovers of Kansas
Introduced or native perennial herbs with woody underground stems (often flowering first year); stems erect or ascending, often branched, smooth or hairy. Leaves alternate, petiolate, compound with three leaflets; leaflets entire, about equal in shape, with pointed tips; stipules persistent, linear or whisker-like to narrowly triangular. Inflorescences in panicles, spikes, or head-like clusters along the upper half of the stem. Flowers pea-like, borne in pairs; calyx bell-shaped, 5-toothed, the teeth somewhat equal, persistent in fruit; petals purple, pinkish, or yellowish to white; upper petal (banner) rounded to oblong, with narrowed base; lower (keel) and side (wings) petals about equal; stamens in two groups; style long, thread-like. Fruits 1-seeded pods; seeds dark-colored, smooth.
Introduced or native perennial herbs with woody underground stems (often flowering first year); stems erect or ascending, often branched, smooth or hairy. Leaves alternate, petiolate, compound with three leaflets; leaflets entire, about equal in shape, with pointed tips; stipules persistent, linear or whisker-like to narrowly triangular. Inflorescences in panicles, spikes, or head-like clusters along the upper half of the stem. Flowers pea-like, borne in pairs; calyx bell-shaped, 5-toothed, the teeth somewhat equal, persistent in fruit; petals purple, pinkish, or yellowish to white; upper petal (banner) rounded to oblong, with narrowed base; lower (keel) and side (wings) petals about equal; stamens in two groups; style long, thread-like. Fruits 1-seeded pods; seeds dark-colored, smooth.
[Botanical terms used here are labeled on Figures 2 & 3]
1a. Leaflets widest near the tip, mostly wedge-shaped ......................................................................... Lespedeza cuneata
1b. Leaflets widest near the middle, linear, oblong, oval or oval to circular ....................... go to lead 2
2a. Calyx teeth nearly equal to, or longer than, flowers and fruits; flowers white to yellowish with a purple base ....................... go to lead 3
3a. Leaflets 1 1/4–1 3/4 times longer than wide, oval to circular; inflorescences long-stalked, with few too many head-like to elongate clusters arising above the leaves; extreme SE Kansas (Cherokee Co.) ....................... Lespedeza hirta
3b. Leaflets 2 ½–5 times longer than wide, oval, oblong, or somewhat diamond shaped; inflorescences stalked, cylindrical, round-topped clusters, arising above the leaves; E 2/3 of Kansas ....................... Lespedeza capitata
2b. Calyx teeth nearly equal to, or longer than, flowers and fruits; flowers white to yellowish with a purple base ....................... go to lead 4
4a. Leaflets 1 ½ –3 times longer than wide, oblong to oblong-oval, rarely oval or circular, upper surface more or less hairy, lower surface densely hairy; stems unbranched above; S ½ of Kansas, especially in sandy prairies and woodlands ....................... Lespedeza stuevei
4b. Leaflets 3–7 times longer than wide, linear to narrowly oblong, smooth to hairy on both sides; stems branched above; E ½ of Kansas, sporadic in the west ............. Lespedeza virginica
Lespedeza capitata Michx; round-head bush-clover. (Figures 6 and 9)
Stems erect or ascending, 1 ½–6 ft tall, simple or branched above, very hairy. Leaves shortstalked; leaflets widest near the middle, oval, oblong, or somewhat diamond shaped, 1–2 in long, 1/8–3/4 in wide, 1 ½–5 times longer than wide, upper surface smooth to sparsely hairy, lower surface densely silky; stipules long, slender, narrowly tapering towards the tip, 1/8–1/4 in long. Inflorescences stalked, cylindrical, round-topped clusters, arising above the leaves. Flowers 1/2–3/4 in long; calyx teeth ½–3/4 in long, petals white or yellowish with a purplish base; banner longer than keel and equal to or longer than the wings. Fruits to 1/8 in long; seeds less than 1/8 in long, olive, brown, or black. Upland tallgrass, mixed-grass, and sand prairies. Frequently planted in CRP and reseeded prairies. Occurring in the eastern two-thirds of the state.
Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don; sericea lespedeza, Chinese bush-clover. (Figures 4 and 10)
Stems erect with spreading or ascending branches, 1 ½–6 ft tall, hairy. Leaves crowded; stipules whisker-like to ½ in long; leaves stalkless or with a very short stalk; leaflets mostly wedge-shaped, ½–1 in long, with flattened hairs, gray-green, tips blunt or sometimes with a tiny point. Inflorescences few flowered clusters, arising above the leaves. Flowers 1/4–1/2 in long; white or yellowish, banner often with a purplish spot; calyx teeth 1/8–1/4 in long. Fruits to 1/8 in long; hairless or short hairy at maturity; seeds less than 1/8 in long, olive to brown, often splotchy. Disturbed sites, including old fields, roadsides, pastures, and occasionally introduced in CRP. Invading woodlands, tallgrass prairies, and other native plant communities. Occurring in the eastern half of the state, and to be expected westward.
Lespedeza hirta (L.) Hornem.; hairy bush-clover. (Figures 7 and 11)
Stems erect or ascending, 1 ½–6 ft tall, branched above, densely hairy. Leaves long-stalked; leaflets widest near the middle, oval to circular, ½–1 ½ in long, 1/4–1 1/4 in wide, 1 1/4–1 3/4 times longer than wide, upper surface smooth to hairy, lower surface hairy; stipules threadlike. Inflorescences long-stalked, with few to many head-like to elongate flower clusters arising above the leaves. Flowers 1/4–1/2 in long; white or yellowish with a purplish base; calyx teeth 1/8–1/4 in long. Fruits oval to elliptic, 1/8–1/4 in long; hairy; seeds to 1/8 in long, brown or purplish-black, shiny. Open woods and stream valleys. Occurring in the Ozarks, confined to Cherokee County.
Lespedeza stuevei Nutt.; tall bush-clover. (Figures 8 and 11)
Stems erect or ascending, 1 ½–4 ½ ft tall, unbranched above, densely hairy. Leaves longstalked; leaflets widest near the middle, oblong to oblong-oval, rarely oval to circular, 1/4–1 ½ in long, 1/4–3/4 in wide, 1 ½–3 times longer than wide, upper surface more or less hairy, lower surface densely hairy; stipules linear to whisker-like, 1/8–1/4 in long. Inflorescences dense racemes along the upper part of the stem. Flowers 1/8–1/4 in long, purple; calyx teeth less than 1/8 in long; banner and wings about equal, both longer than keel. Fruits oval to elliptic, 1/4–1/2 in long, usually hairy; seeds to 1/8 in long, olive to dark brown, shiny. Open woodlands, sand tallgrass prairies, and sand prairies. Occurring in the southern half of the state.
Lespedeza virginica (L.) Britton; slender bush-clover. (Figures 5 and 12)
Stems erect or ascending, 1–3 ft tall, usually branched above, hairy. Leaves long-stalked; leaflets widest near the middle, linear to narrowly oblong, 1/4–1 ½ in long, 1/8–1/2 in wide, 3–7 times longer than wide, smooth to hairy on both sides; stipules thread-like, 1/8–1/4 in long. Inflorescences racemes on stalks shorter than to slightly longer than the leaves, crowded toward the end of the stems. Flowers 1/2–1/2 in long, purple; calyx teeth less than 1/8 in long; keel usually a little longer than banner and wings. Fruits oval to elliptic, 1/4–1/2 in long, usually hairy; seeds to 1/8 in long, olive to brown. Open woodlands, sandy stream valleys, thickets, and tallgrass prairies. Rarely introduced in CRP. Primarily in the eastern half of the state, sporadic in the west.
Distributions of erect bush-clovers in Kansas are presented in Figures 4–7. Distributions for all species except L. cuneata are based exclusively on herbarium specimens housed at Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University and the University of Kansas. Distributions for L. cuneata are based on a combination of herbarium specimens and sightings reported to KDA State Weed Specialist Bill Scott.
|Figure 9. Distribution of Lespedeza capitata in Kansas. (Closed circles represent precise locations; triangles represent records for which only county of collection is known.)
|Figure 10. Distribution of Lespedeza cuneata in Kansas. (Closed circles represent precise locations; triangles represent records for which only county of collection is known; open circles represent sightings reported to KDA State Weeds Specialist Bill Scott.)
|Figure 11. Distribution of Lespedeza stuevei and Lespedeza hirta (star, Cherokee Co.) in Kansas. (Closed circles represent precise locations for L. stuevei; triangle represents a record for which only county of collection is known.)
|Figure 12. Distribution of Lespedeza virginica in Kansas. (Closed circles represent precise locations; triangles represent records for which only county of collection is known.)
Help track the spread of sericea lespedeza in Kansas. Send plant specimens to the R.L.McGregor Herbarium. Directions for collecting, preparing, and submitting plant specimens are posted on the Herbarium website: http://nhm.ku.edu/herbarium/herbinfo.html. For more information, call (785) 864-4493.
Clewell, Andre F. 1966. Native North American species of Lespedeza (Leguminosae). Rhodora 68: 359–405.
Clewell, Andre F. 1966. Natural History, cytology, and isolating mechanisms of the Native American lespedezas. Bulletin of Tall Timbers Research Station 6. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida.
Davidson, J., Walter H. Fick, Gary Kilgore, and Paul D. Ohlenbusch. 1999. Sericea lespedeza: History, characteristics, and identification. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.
Kansas State Research and Extension. 2000. Sericea Lespedeza and the future of invasive species: A Symposium with a Look to the future. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.
Sericea Lespedeza: Facts for Biology Teachers, a Summary of the Sericea Lespedeza Symposium held at Emporia State University March 14, 1998. 1998. Kansas Biology Teacher 7(2): 72–77.
by Tom Eddy
Sericea lespedeza is a serious problem for Kansas farmers and ranchers. The control of sericea lespedeza will require a long term effort because cattle will not graze the mature plant and traditional eradication methods have not been effective. The KDA defines control of this invasive plant as "preventing production of viable seed." Early spring burning and mowing both increase seed germination. However, late mowing or burning (mid-July through late summer) reduces the vigor of stands.
Traditional spring burning in April alone is not effective. It stimulates the germination of seeds by breaking the seed coat so that more new plants can grow. Fall burning reduces the vigor of the sericea lespedeza plants but will also reduce the production of grass the following spring and summer.
Mowing, after burning, is somewhat effective if it is followed by an herbicide treatment. The timing of this treatment is the key to success. Burning should occur in early May, mowing a month later, and the herbicide should be applied in October for best results.
Chemical control
Seeds from the plant remain viable in the soil for many years and they can be spread by water, wildlife, and human activities. Chemical control is most effective when sericea lespedeza first invades a pasture. Spot spraying individual plants is cost effective. It is also less damaging to the environment than aerial spraying because there is less spray drift and runoff into water ways. Broadcast applications on the ground are less expensive as well. Aerial spraying may be the only way to reach the plants when the terrain is too hilly or rocky for vehicles. However, herbicides injure other broadleaf prairie plants. A native tallgrass meadow can have over 200 species of wildflowers.
Three chemicals recommended by Kansas State University are Remedy, PastureGard, and Escort XP. Remedy and PastureGard applications work best when new growth is 12 to 15 inches tall, which usually occurs in June. The broadcast rate for Remedy is 1.5 pints per acre. The rate for PastureGard is 2.0 pints per acre. Escort XP is most effective when applied to the plants in the fall when both types of flowers are produced. If fall weather is dry, application should be delayed until these flowers are present. Spray should not be applied in dry weather because poor herbicide uptake and poor control can result. Escort XP should be applied at the broadcast rate of 0.5 ounces per acre. A surfactant, a surface wetting agent, is needed to help the chemical adhere to the leaves.
Biological Control
A natural control of sericea lespedeza is the lespedeza webworm. This moth's larvae will wrap a stem in a silken web and then consumes the leaves. Without leaves the plant cannot make enough energy to produce seeds. Webworms are not as dependable as other methods of control because they do not tolerate extended periods of drought and high temperatures.
Grazing Control
Grazing young sericea lespedeza plants in the early spring when the plants have lower tannin content has shown some promise for control. Cattle, confined in small pasture units, can be used to intensively graze the plant's new growth. Another promising method for control is patch burning. This technique concentrates cattle on small burned areas within a larger pasture. The cattle are drawn to the burn sites where they feed on the newly emerged plants. Scientists have also found that the chemical polyethylene glycol, when applied to the foliage of sericea lespedeza makes it more digestible for cattle. Polyethylene glycol keeps tannins from interfering with the animal's absorption of protein. It also may make it more likely that the plant will be eaten because the plant will be less bitter without the tannins. Currently the cost of this treatment prohibits its widespread use.
Goats are another management option. Goats tolerate the higher tannin content in sericea lespedeza plants; in fact they seem to like the tannins. They also will consume the plants in all stages of growth. In addition to reducing the number of sericea lespedeza plants, grazing goats lower seed production, and eat other introduced plants.
2005 Reported Sericea Lespedeza Acres
On 3/31/10, the image presented here in the original edition of this issue was removed per the author due to the dated material presented.
|The Kansas School Naturalist
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|Send questions / comments to
Kansas School Naturalist.
|Emporia State University


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1900 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97201
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The Bureau of Development Services, which is located at 1900 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201, issues building permits, performs land use reviews, and promotes compliance with the zoning codes and the state-adopted construction codes.
The permitting and inspection services provided by the Bureau of Development Services encompass the entire City of Portland and some unincorporated pockets of Multnomah County. Note that other cities such as Oregon City, Milwaukie, Estacada, Gresham, and Lake Oswego as well as other counties such as Clackamas County and Washington County issue their own permits.
To view a complete list of permits applied for on a property since January 2000, please use our Permit Search tool. To obtain information on permits applied for prior to January 2000, please visit the Development Services Center.

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Tests Show Driver Was Intoxicated In Icy Crash
WINONA, Minn. (AP) — Toxicology results show a Minnesota woman was legally drunk when she drove an SUV into the Mississippi River last month, killing herself and her three male passengers.
Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand says test results on the driver came in Tuesday. The Winona Daily News reports 36-year-old Christina Lee Hauser of Winona had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent, twice Minnesota's legal limit for driving.
Hauser failed to make a curve Jan. 5 and landed in the river.
Riding in the SUV were 29-year-old Matthew Patrick Erickson of Chatfield, 28-year-old Blake Overland of Stewartville and 29-year-old Andrew Kingsbury of La Crosse, Wis. Erickson was found in the vehicle with Hauser. Overland's body was found the next day, and Kingsbury's body was found in the river nearly two weeks later.


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A very busy night shift the other night nearly ended in my crew mate and myself being launched into orbit through certain drivers inabilities to use their ******* rear view mirrors or to be able to hear the ******* sirens on our big yellow flashing truck!!!
Most drivers are very good at pulling over safely or judging distances to enable us to pass them without everyone concerned having to change their underwear! But…!!! There is always at least one who does things differently…always one who defies the laws of normal intelligence or plain common sense…always one who either:
* slams on the brakes in front of us!
* tries to accelerate away from us and ends up impeding progress at next set of lights!
* realises at the last moment that 'yes we are on an emergency' and suddenly throws the car into a dangerous manoeuvre
* or just plainly ignores us and bimbles along in front of us either totally oblivious to the big yellow, flashing, noisy thing behind them or just does not care!!!
I don't know why but we had a combination of all these in one shift! As I say most people are good at letting us past but we seemed to be coming up against some really bad drivers! Have a look at the 'Road Safety' video explaining what to do when dealing with an Ambulance on an emergency call. The second video shows what can (and unfortunately does) happen when things go a bit 'Pete Tong'!
This happened in London when a Gas van crashed into a RRV. Blues and Twos were on but the van did not see the RRV. The RRV pilot escaped serious injury (as did the Gas van driver) but a member of the public was injured and suffered a fractured leg! The RRV vehicle was a complete write off! Given that it happened in a busy High Street its lucky that it wasn't far worse!
Please drive safely, use your REAR VIEW MIRRORS and
listen out for the sirens approaching. And DONT panic!


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Ten channels the CRTC's pick-and-pay proposals could kill
À la carte cable sounds good, but it could also reduce the number of Canadian channels on the dial.
Canadians may soon be allowed to pick their cable options from an à la carte menu, but they may get a lot less than they bargained for.
In fact, a few of their favourite channels may disappear if the plans go ahead full steam. Children's programming and channels like Treehouse TV would be in particular danger, as would Canadian mainstays like Showcase.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is mulling a $30 maximum for basic cable and a new pick-and-pay model to allow consumers to buy just the channels they want instead of bundles of programming.
"For most people, they're probably going to come out with fewer channels but for the same price."
"Yes, if you really only want a small number of channels, then you're probably going to come out ahead, but for most people, they're probably going to come out with fewer channels but for the same price," said Michael Hennessy, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Production Association.
Many channels included in bundles count on the fees they receive as part of mass subscription, Hennessy said. Being a part of the bundle allows them to sell more ads, whereas removing them from bundles would reduce both income streams and, in turn, many channels would raise their prices and lose more subscribers.
The CRTC is also considering eliminating "simultaneous substitution" — the fancy word for why we don't see American Superbowl ads. Canadian providers and stations are allowed to pipe local ads over American ones to help them offset the cost of buying big events like the Oscars or hot network TV series. Removing that provision will kill another revenue stream for Canadian networks already struggling to compete against online options.
"This could be very dangerous for the system," said Ian Morrison, a spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, an independent broadcasting and media watchdog. "Generally speaking, American channels will win," and Canadians ones will lose.
Children's programming is of particular concern, because channels like Treehouse TV are entirely subscription based and ad-free.
"To sacrifice children's programming simply to market forces… would be an egregious offence," Hennessy said.
The CRTC encourages Canadians to add their thoughts to the discussion online. Spokesperson Patricia Valladao said they have to consider market forces against the "real risk" some specialty channels will be lost.
"If these channels have to survive alone, they might not be as popular," she said.
Here are 10 channels that might disappear if the full suite of CRTC changes are adopted:
Treehouse TV
The toddler-friendly TV channel offers ad-free, often education programming for young kids and toddlers. Its subscription rates would fall drastically if it were dropped from a larger package of channels since most Canadians don't have little ones at home.
Family Channel
The channel survives on saccharine tween rom-coms that are age appropriate. Because it's offered by an independent company and not part of a big vertically integrated company like Shaw, Bell or Rogers, it could lose a lot of revenue if sold independently. Hennessy wondered why we don't consider kids' TV the same as the education system: everyone pays for it because they either used it at some point or will again through their children or grandchildren.
The channel plays movies and offers Canadian drama like Lost Girl, a supernatural thriller about a succubus. An adaptation of the bestselling novel Outlander premieres on the network this weekend.
It's most recent Canadian offering, The People's Couch, let's you watch fellow Canucks watch TV. It also carries Suits and the Dallas reboot.
The Biography Channel
History nerds and Hollywood buffs share a love of this channel but it could have a hard time meeting its Canadian content promises if pick-and-pay is introduced and it loses subscribers.
The Mystery Channel
Even Sherlock Holmes might have a hard time unraveling the intricacies of how Canadian broadcasting works (and when it doesn't) but his descendants may need a new home.
Travel and Escape
The independent channel fills Canadian wanderlust with shows about our national treasures and the world's greatest sites, but it also engages with shows like BBQ Pitmasters, ghost-hunting shows and Happily Never After, a show about people who met their untimely ends close to their wedding days.
Vision TV
Canada self-described multi-faith religious cable television network may have a hard go of it in our increasingly secular society if it's not part of a bundle.
Local news
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, media unions and other stakeholders jointly funded a study that suggest 19 local, independent stations would be put at risk by the suite of proposed changes. It states: "independent stations in Canada's smallest markets, like Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Thunder Bay, and Rivière du Loup are particularly vulnerable.
The same report also states: "CTV2 network of stations in London, Ottawa, Barrie, Victoria and Pembroke would be at risk."


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Remember When George Strait Went to Prison?
It was the wildest show behind bars, and George Strait was in the thick of it for one year in the early '80s. He wasn't the only one. Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Tom T. Hall … they all did time behind the walls of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
For over 50 years, the Texas Prison Rodeo entertained inmates, employees and spectators. Every Sunday in October, tens of thousands of fans would gather to watch traditional rodeo events like bull riding, and not so traditional events like wild cow milking, goat roping and wild mare milking.
The favorite event was the Hard Money Event. Forty inmates in red shirts were sent into the arena with a wild bull that had a sack of money tied between it's horns. The object was to get the sack and bring it to a judge. With donations, the pot would grow as large as $1,500!
Not surprisingly, two inmates died and many were injured during the rodeo's long history. That's not why in closed after the final rodeo in 1986, however. The stadium -- built by inmates -- was crumbling and becoming unsafe.
In 2012, it was demolished. How does Strait and the rest of his country brethren fit it? They were called upon to entertain -- with their music. The 'Give It All We Got Tonight' singer was still a country newbie when he was asked as a fill-in when someone else cancelled at the last minute.


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HOMELAND INSECURITYWND Exclusive
Weinergate 2: Huma mom tied to boomin' bombers
You won't believe sordid links to congressman's mother-in-law
Saleha Mahmood Abedin
The mother of Huma Abedin, Hillary's Clinton's chief of staff, has represented a Saudi-funded Muslim charity accused of terrorism financing and ties to al-Qaida.
Huma is the wife of former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York.
Huma's mother is Saleha Mahmood Abedin, an associate professor of sociology at Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She formerly directed the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs in the U.K.
Learn how the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating America in "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.
Abedin has reportedly represented the Muslim World League, or MWL, a Saudi-financed charity that has spawned Islamic groups accused of terror ties. One of the groups was declared by the U.S. government to be an official al-Qaida front.
Saleha Abedin has been quoted in numerous press accounts as both representing the MWL and serving as a delegate for the charity.
In 1995, for example, the Washington Times reported on a U.N.-arranged woman's conference in Beijing in September of that year that called on governments throughout the world to give women statistical equality with men in the workplace.
The report quoted Abedin, who attended the conference as a delegate, as "also representing the Muslim World League based in Saudi Arabia and the Muslim NGO Caucus."
The U.N.'s own website references a report in the run-up to the Beijing conference also listing Abedin as representing the MWL at the event.
The website posted an article from the now defunct United States Information Agency quoting Abedin and reporting she attended the Beijing conference as "a delegate of the Muslim World League and member of the Muslim Women's NGO caucus."
In the article, Abedin was listed under a shorter name, "Dr. Saleha Mahmoud, director of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs."
WND has confirmed the individual listed is Huma Abedin's mother. The reports misspelled part of Abedin's name. Her full professional name is at times listed as Saleha Mahmood Abedin S.
Al-Qaida links
The MWL, meanwhile, was founded in Mecca in 1962 and bills itself one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations.
But according to U.S. government documents and testimony from the charity's own officials, it is heavily financed by the Saudi government.
The MWL has been accused of terror ties, as have its various offshoots, including the International Islamic Relief Organization, or IIRO, and Al Haramain, which was declared by the U.S. and U.N. a terror financing front.
Indeed, the Treasury Department, in a September 2004 press release, alleged Al Haramain had "direct links" with Osama bin Laden. The group is now banned worldwide by United Nations Security Council Committee 1267.
There long have been reports citing accusations the IIRO and MWL also repeatedly funded al-Qaida.
In 1993, bin Laden reportedly told an associate that the MWL was one of his three most important charity fronts.
An ADL profile of the MWL accuses the group of promulgating a "fundamentalist interpretation of Islam around the world through a large network of charities and affiliated organizations."
"Its ideological backbone is based on an extremist interpretation of Islam and several of its affiliated groups and individuals have been linked to terror-related activity."
In 2003, U.S. News and World Report documented that accompanying WML's donations, invariably, are "a blizzard of Wahhabist literature."
"Critics argue that Wahhabism's more extreme preachings – mistrust of infidels, branding of rival sects as apostates, and emphasis on violent jihad –laid the groundwork for terrorist groups around the world," the report continued.
An Egyptian-American cab driver, Ihab Mohamed Ali Nawawi, was arrested in Florida in 1990 on accusations he was an al-Qaida sleeper agent and a former personal pilot to bin Laden. At the same time he was accused of serving bin Laden, he also reportedly worked for the Pakistani branch of the MWL.
The MWL in 1988 founded the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, developing chapters in about 50 countries, including for a time in Oregon until it was designated a terror organization.
In the early 1990s, evidence began to grow that it was funding Islamist militants in Somalia and Bosnia, and a 1996 CIA report detailed its Bosnian militant ties.
The U.S. Treasury designated Al Haramain's offices in Kenya and Tanzania as sponsors of terrorism for their role in planning and funding the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa. The Comoros Islands office was also designated because it "was used as a staging area and exfiltration route for the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings."
The New York Times reported in 2003 that Al Haramain had provided funds to the Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which was responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. The Indonesia office was later designated a terrorist entity by the Treasury.
In February 2004, the U.S. Treasury Department froze all Al Haramain's financial assets pending an investigation, leading the Saudi government to disband the charity and fold it into another group, the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad.
In September 2004, the U.S. designated Al-Haramain a terrorist organization.
In June 2008, the Treasury Department applied the terrorist designation to the entire Al-Haramain organization worldwide
Bin Laden's brother-in-law
In August, 2006, the Treasury Department also designated the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the MWL-founded IIRO as terrorist entities "for facilitating fundraising for al Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups."
The Treasury Department added: "Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, a high-ranking IIRO official [Executive Director of its Eastern Province Branch] in Saudi Arabia, has used his position to bankroll the al Qaida network in Southeast Asia. Al-Mujil has a long record of supporting Islamic militant groups, and he has maintained a cell of regular financial donors in the Middle East who support extremist causes."
In the 1980s, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, ran the Philippines offices of the IRRO. Khalifa has been linked to Manila-based plots to target the pope and U.S. airlines
The IRRO has also been accused of funding Hamas, Algerian radicals, Afghanistan militant bases and the Egyptian terror group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya.
The New York Post reported the families of the 9/11 victims filed a lawsuit against IIRO and other Muslim organizations for having "played key roles in laundering of funds to the terrorists in the 1998 African embassy bombings," and for having been involved in the "financing and 'aiding and abetting' of terrorists in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing."
'Saudi government front'
In a court case in Canada, Arafat El-Asahi, the Canadian director of both the IIRO and the MWL, admitted the charities are near entities of the Saudi government.
Stated El-Asahi: "The Muslim World League, which is the mother of IIRO, is a fully government funded organization. In other words, I work for the Government of Saudi Arabia. I am an employee of that government.
"Second, the IIRO is the relief branch of that organization, which means that we are controlled in all our activities and plans by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Keep that in mind, please," he said.
Despite its offshoots being implicated in terror financing, the U.S. government never designated the MWL itself as a terror-financing charity. Many have speculated the U.S. has been trying to not embarrass the Saudi government.
With research by Brenda J. Elliott


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Chancellor Cigarroa, Chairman Powell and President Powers on the UT Austin Medical School
Statement from Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.:
"I am thrilled that the University of Texas will soon be home to a medical school. Senator Kirk Watson and so many wonderful individuals have worked tirelessly to make this a reality and we cannot thank them enough for their dedication to the University of Texas System and to the people of Central Texas. A UT Austin medical school will fulfill a societal need to educate a new generation of physicians and health care professionals. It will conduct biomedical research with unlimited potential to improve countless lives, and it, along with its teaching hospital, will serve Austin and Travis County well, both as a quality-of-life asset and as an economic development boon."
Statement from Chairman Gene Powell:
"This is a win-win for both the University of Texas System and residents of Central Texas. A school of medicine at UT Austin will not only benefit the university and its students, but also the residents of Austin and surrounding communities and all Texans. This is a perfect example of how a public/private partnership can work for the benefit of society. Not only will more doctors be educated and stay in Texas – addressing a pressing shortage – but through collaborations between a university system, a hospital system and a health district, all residents of Central Texas will have greater access to quality healthcare. I also want to sincerely thank Senator Kirk Watson and his team for the tireless work they did to educate the citizens of Central Texas and to get Proposition One passed. Without Senator Watson's efforts we would not be celebrating this significant event this evening."
Statement from UT Austin President Bill Powers:
"This is a historic night for Austinites, the UT community and world-changing medical research. I'm thrilled and grateful that Central Health residents voted to invest in health care and to help us move ahead with a UT Austin medical school.
"I can't offer enough praise for Sen. Kirk Watson, a true friend of UT who has dedicated himself to improving health care in Central Texas. I also want to thank the UT System Board of Regents for committing the resources that are crucial to a new medical school.
"Now that the vote is over, the hard work of building a medical school begins. Provost Steve Leslie and I will appoint a committee of faculty members and health care officials to help recruit an inaugural dean, choose a location for the school and finalize details with Central Health, Seton and other partners. We hope to have a new medical school building and teaching hospital in place for our first class of 50 students in 2015."


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Shilo — Today's Suicide Girl
A modern-day burlesque enthusiast, Shilo is also an aspiring artist.
Name: Shilo
Age: 18
Location: Illinois
Occupation: Art Student
Current Crush: Dorian Starchild.
Stats: 5'5, 100lbs, long black hair, green eyes
Heroes: Dita Von Teese, Shirley Manson, Bettie Page, Oscar Wilde
Favorite Position: Not fussy.
Fantasy: Quite a lot.
Most Humbling Moment: Getting an art scholarship.
I Lost My Virginity: And haven't been able to find it.
Cigarettes: I have black lungs.
My Diet: Vegetarian
Alcohol: Nope
My Drug Use: Drug Free
My Kink Factor: I'll try anything once, especially if you beg for it.
I Spend Most of My Free Time: Making art, writing, sleeping, modeling for my friends photography projects, or on Tumblr wasting time.
SuicideGirls is a community that celebrates alternative beauty and alternative culture from all over the world. Since 2001, tens of thousands of models have submitted millions of photos to their website hoping to become SuicideGirls


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Eddie "E-Boy" Gomez and Daquan "King" Arnett discuss their upcoming boxing match
Eddie "E-Boy" Gomez and Daquan "King" Arnett discuss their upcoming boxing match
By way of Doghouse Boxing (Jan 22, 2014)
Follow @DoghouseBoxing
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Jan. 22) - With just over a week until their super welterweight bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY which will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes, undefeated rising stars Eddie "E-Boy" Gomez and Daquan "King" Arnett took time out of training to discuss their upcoming matchup, their Super Bowl predictions and much more.
As the co-main event of the evening on Thursday, Jan. 30, Gomez and Arnett will meet immediately preceding the WBA International Welterweight title bout between former world champions "Vicious" Victor Ortiz and Luis Collazo. Gomez and Arnett will meet for a second time, the first being an amateur bout when the two were nearly 12-years-old. Now as professionals, Gomez will showcase his talents for the fourth time at Barclays Center while Arnett prepares for what he calls the biggest fight of his career.
EDDIE GOMEZ, Undefeated Super Welterweight Rising Star
"I beat him in the amateurs and now we are just going back at it again. When we fought in the amateurs, I knocked him down three times. We were just young guys then and now we are grown men and someone's '0' has to go on January 30. I can tell you it won't be mine.
[On fighting a 10-round fight] "We always train to push it. We train to go 15 rounds, but we are always working hard and pushing extra hard like we always do.
"We were all over during this training camp. We were in Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, basically on a tour of New York City.
"The best man is going to win on January 30 and I feel like I'm the best man.
"I think I have more experience in the professional game than him. I have fifteen fights with better opposition.
"I have a lot of people that have come out and supported me. I have gained more fans. My family has come to Barclays Center and people come to support me. There's no added pressure fighting so close to home.
"I see the fight going four or five rounds. My opponent is a good fighter, but I'm not worried about him. I hope he's ready because I know I am.
[On his Super Bowl prediction] "Denver should win because of Peyton Manning, he's had an outstanding season. He's also a future Hall of Famer and he has the experience of being to the Super Bowl before."
DAQUAN ARNETT, Undefeated Super Welterweight Rising Star
"This is the biggest fight of my career thus far. Being at Barclays Center for the Malignaggi vs. Judah fight got me excited to fight there. I have fought on big stages in the past and it hasn't rattled me. I don't expect this to be any different.
"Fighting in his [Eddie Gomez] backyard doesn't bother me. When it comes down to it we are in the same ring, no one in the crowd or around the ring can help you. Fighting in his hometown doesn't make a difference.
"I expect to win a good entertaining fight, something the fans would love to see. I definitely see myself coming out with the win.
"I prepare for every fight as the toughest fight of my career. This fight is no different, just another day, another fight.
[On his goals for 2014] "I want to stay active in the sport and keep winning. I also want to keep getting bigger and better fights for the fans.
"My father got me into boxing at an early age. I was two-years-old when he began training me as an amateur. My dad was a fighter back in his day. Boxing has really been my entire life. From the moment I was walking, I was punching.
[On fighting Eddie Gomez as amateurs] "It was an entertaining fight. He came out early and jumped on me in the second and third round. It was a really good and entertaining fight. It was in the back of my mind, I thought that we would fight again.
"I have a younger brother that's getting ready to turn pro. I have a younger sister, an older sister and an older brother. My older brother and my older sister live in New York City. I know people all over so I'm sure I'll have fans cheering for me at Barclays Center.
[On his Super Bowl prediction] "I'm picking the Broncos by a touchdown. You can't beat Peyton Manning. He is the best and that's the bottom line. He controls the game from the sideline and on the field."
# # #
Ortiz vs. Collazo is a 12-round fight for the WBA International Welterweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and Casamigos Tequila. Barclays Center doors open at 6:00 p.m. ET with the first bell sounding at 6:30 p.m. ET. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets priced at $25, $43, $80 and $160 plus applicable taxes and service charges are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 800-745-3000 and at Barclays Center American Express Box Office. For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK. A limited number of suites are available for the event. For more information on how to reserve one, please call 718-BK-SUITE (718-257-8483).
DHB truly offers more content daily than any other boxing resource! For much more videos and boxing news, GET THE REAL BITE by visiting our homepage here at Doghouse Boxing.
Thank you for using
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing Inc. 1998-2014


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It's like a train wreck---I keep trying to turn away, but can't.
I stated earlier that I'm not going to defend myself, and I won't. All opinions are valid, and I appreciate everyone sharing them.
There were many folks who emailed me rather than posted. Thank you as well. Here's the final tally:
26 people think I'm fine with how I'm doing things. Thanks for the support, but if I'm hurting people's feelings, that isn't fine at all. I'm not concerned with the people who view me peripherally and find me obnoxious. Someone once said, "The people who don't like you are never going to like you. The ones who do like you will forgive you."
But if I did hurt your feelings, it wasn't intentional. And again, I apologize. My goal is to be entertaining, not to traumatize my peers.
7 people think I'm the anti-christ, and should be put to death. Fair enough. Even though I'm sure he doesn't want my endorsement, I'd like to express my appreciation to Charles Benoit, who had the cajones to rip me a new one and sign his name to it. Very cool. I much prefer someone saying that to my face than talking behind my back. If you can stomach standing next to me, I'll buy you a beer at B'Con 2006.
8 people think I need to tone it down a little, or maybe more than a little. You may be right.
7 people urged me to seek help for a drinking problem, and one even offered to sponsor me in AA. Thanks for the concern. I did a little Googling, and according to this test http://www.habitsmart.com/chkup.html I have a low dependence on alcohol. I also lack any of the symptoms of alcohol addiction. B'Con was the first time I've gotten annihilated in public since college.
4 people asked me for blurbs, even while in the midst of all of this controversy. I'm way behind in my reading, but dammit, I will read your books, and if I like them I'd be thrilled to blurb them. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
2 people complimented me on the fact that I helped raise $8000 for charity at the auction.
Why is it when I act like a loudmouth on a panel and drink too much that's grounds for excommunication from the mystery world, but when I work my butt off and do some good, no one cares? Rhetorical question.
I think that is all that needs to be said. Personally, I'm sick of hearing about myself---which may be a first. But here's a caveat to all who read:
The mystery community is pretty tight, but not so tight that secrets can't be kept. I've learned that there are people who have disliked me for years, and I've never known.
I'm not alone in my ignorance. If you think you're universally liked, guess again. People talk. Gossip. Bitch. Moan. Complain. Point fingers. There are people who don't like you, and chances are you'll never hear about it.
Watch your glass houses, folks.
Love and success to all, even to the ones who can't stand me.
Friday, September 09, 2005
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Stefon Photo Bombs 'Saturday Night Live's' Norman Rockwell Christmas Card [IMAGE]
Here's a great holiday treat for 'Saturday Night Live' fans: Weekend Update's club guru Stefon shows up on the show's official Christmas card this year.
And it's not just any picture that's used for the card, it's the Norman Rockwell classic "Freedom From Want" painting, with the woman serving a turkey to her happy family. A wholesome scene perfect for a Stefon "photo bomb."
The card was sent out to 'SNL' family and friends and put online by promoter Aaron Meier. Stefon can be seen just to the left of the mother (or grandmother?) in the photo above, holding his hands over his mouth as Stefon is prone to do.
It's a little disconcerting to see him there like that, disturbed by a this traditional holiday setting that doesn't involve dancing midgets. Check out the full card below.
[via BuzzFeed and I'm With Kanye]


text: Artist Biography Lenka Graner: www.lenkagraner.com Lenka studied at the University of Toronto, Sheridan College, and Universitat Heidelberg in Germany and traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America. She has been involved in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Mississauga, Toronto, NYC, and South Korea. She currently lives and works in Mississauga. Travel, cityscapes and landscapes inspire Lenka. Through the colour and shapes in her paintings and photography, she tries to capture the beauty and soul of the place or person, and tries to bring feelings of happiness, joy, love and peace to the owner and viewer. She is also interested in exploring and enjoys working on oil and acrylic painting, photography and graphic design. Lenkas artwork can be found in private collections within the Greater Toronto Area, and in Europe. Adjectives to describe Lenkas work: Ataractic, Bold, Elegant, Lively, Playful, Vivid


text: On 11/9/10 3:29 PM, Reece Dunn wrote: > On 9 November 2010 22:13, Charles Davis<cdavis at mymail.mines.edu> wrote: >> On 11/9/10 1:58 PM, James Mckenzie wrote: >>> Charles Davis<cdavis at mymail.mines.edu> wrote: >>>> On 11/9/10 12:13 PM, James Mckenzie wrote: >>>>> No, it is not a bug in GNU sed. The authors.c file needs to have the erroneous characters for the language used by >>>>> MacOSX changed to be acceptable? >>>> That ain't gonna fly. I think we should explicitly use a UTF-8 locale >>>> (like en_US.UTF-8 or some such) instead of the C locale when sed goes >>>> over the AUTHORS file. >>> Don't shoot the messenger. >> Sorry. >> >> The problem with your first idea--removing the bad characters directly >> from the authors.c file--is that we'd need to use a utility like sed or >> awk to implement it automatically--which puts us right back where we >> started. (We could use diff/patch, but is it worth the effort to >> maintain a patch for this? And would AJ let us put the patch file in >> Wine? And if not, where would we put it?) >>> Maybe we can force the use of sed if it exists in the /usr/bin directory then to get around the 'brokenness' of GNU sed on the Mac? >> Maybe. But that seems like a hack. A better way might be to detect if >> we're on Mac OS and using GNU sed; in that case, we use /usr/bin/sed. >> That's less of a hack, but still a hack. >>> If not, it is a real bear to set the language on a Mac per previous discussions on the Users list. >> That was about setting LANG. Wine always obeys LC_*, and so does sed. >> >> It's not the language that's the problem. It's the encoding. The AUTHORS >> file is encoded in UTF-8, but GNU sed isn't using UTF-8 because we told >> it not to (i.e. we told it to use MacRoman because that's the default >> encoding for the C locale). If we tell it to use UTF-8 (by setting >> LC_ALL to, for example, 'en_US.UTF-8'), it will process the file correctly. >> >> Unfortunately, I just remembered that the name of the UTF-8 encoding is >> different on Mac OS ('UTF-8') and Linux ('utf8'). That might prevent us >> from setting LC_ALL differently. We might end up having to hack around >> this the way either you or I described. > You could use autoconf to detect: > 1/ broken handling of UTF-8 characters by sed; > 2/ name of LC_ALL flag that handles UTF-8 > > NOTE: You will need to enumerate available locales as the user may not > have en_US present with UTF-8 encoding (e.g. a Spanish-only or > Chinese-only system). > > Something like: > > cat> get_locale.sh< EOF > locale -a | while read locale ; do > if [[ LC_ALL=$locale sed< authors.c> /dev/null ]] ; then > echo $locale > exit > fi > done > EOF > > This should print a locale that can process the UTF-8 file. It needs > cleaning up a bit, but that is the basis of it. > Thanks Reece. Charles: You want to do this? James McKenzie


text: Please note that the World Wide Lotto Network contains links to other sites and occasionally allows other sites to be co-branded with the TinBu name. Web sites that are linked to World Wide Lotto Network sites or carry the TinBu brand for co-branding or marketing purposes may have privacy policies which differ from that of the World Wide Lotto Network.1. What information of yours does the World Wide Lotto Network collect?Our goal is to become your favorite Internet destination by providing the information, services, and product offerings that are most relevant to you at our web sites or at the web sites that use TinBu data modules. To achieve this goal, the World Wide Lotto Network must collect information so we can understand what makes you different from its millions of other unique users. While you are not required to register for any services on the World Wide Lotto Network, some Products and Services may not function properly or may not be accessible unless you do.Information collected online is usually defined as being either anonymous or personally identifiable.


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Thanks to everyone who made this weeks community meetup. Tom shared the Beetlecam project which brings a fresh perspective to wildlife photography. We hope to have Will chat over skype at a future meetup to answer many of the questions raised. Naomi spoke about mobile computing and robotics in Japan and how the spaces are co-evolving. Conversations continued long into the night on subjects ranging from federated identity to 3DTV to speech recognition.
Everyone agreed on the temporary space currently on offer. We are working on finalising details in time for our June 8th community meetup at the Galway Bakery Company. Come upstairs to the back section when you arrive and we will order from there. Congratulations to our friends in TOG on their new space in Dublin. This months Open Coffee Galway takes place Friday at 11:00am in Webworks.


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Headline Trip
Gareth Pugh for the masses? According to an email we got today, his NY video presentation will be open to the public, proving he's nothing if not a risk-taker.
Move over Kanye West (please?), Yohji has enlisted graffiti artist MOMO to bomb a limited run of Y-3 sneakers. [The Moment]
Making Mama and Papa proud, or at least one of them, Georgina May Jagger rolls around half-clad for Hudson jeans. [Daily Beast]
Is Taylor Momsen the latest fashion victim? With bleached hair and ripped tights, the Gossip Girl starlet might be following in Lindsay's footsteps. [Page Six]
Gareth Pugh
Labels: Burberry, Christopher Bailey, Gareth Pugh, Georgina May Jagger, Gossip Girl, Headline Trip, Y-3, Yohji Yamamoto


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Ed Murray, Mayor
SUBJECT: Mayor recognizes Pacific Fishermen for resiliency, design innovation, environmental stewardship
Karin Zaugg Black, Office of Economic Development (206) 733-9810
Mayor recognizes Pacific Fishermen for resiliency, design innovation, environmental stewardship
In Good Company business recognition program
SEATTLE – Today Mayor Mike McGinn recognized Seattle-based Pacific Fishermen for its resiliency, design innovation, and environmental stewardship, all accomplished while simultaneously preserving Seattle's maritime legacy and representing Seattle's rich heritage.
"In order for Seattle's economy to continue to grow, we need to nurture different types of businesses across a diverse array of industry sectors. Pacific Fishermen is an example of a company that is dedicated to maintaining the heritage of its industry and its owners," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "Implementing innovative new designs to protect and enhance the environment not only creates a sustainable future for the industry, but also demonstrates a commitment to environmental stewardship."
A part of the Seattle Jobs Plan, the In Good Company program is an ongoing showcase of businesses that spotlights one locally-owned business every month for being unconventional, transformative, and exemplary. There are a lot of incredible businesses in Seattle, and if your business is recognized here, you know that you're in good company.
Pacific Fishermen Shipyard and Electric was founded in 1946 by 400 Norwegian heritage fishermen and their wives as a co-operative style shipyard on the site of the 1870s Ballard Marine Railway. Historically significant ships built there include: Joshua Green's Bailey Gatzert, the world's largest diesel tug Mahoe for Hawaiian Tug and Barge, John Wayne's Wild Goose and Jacques Cousteau's Calypso.
Today Pacific Fishermen services tugboats, passenger cruise boats, charter boats, yachts, and traditional fishing vessels through fine craftsmanship and a dedicated workforce. The company's three drydocks are equipped for hull cleaning, high-pressure washing and sandblasting, and are designed for full environmental containment and on-site shipyard run-off wastewater treatment. While many other shipyards have closed over the last decade, Pacific Fishermen is still in business due to its ability to change with the times and regulations in order to serve its customers.
"Pacific Fishermen's shipyard maintains experienced shipwrights, machinists, and boilermakers at its ship canal facility. The experienced caulkers on staff in the oakum loft are a diminishing resource in the wooden boat trades," said Doug Dixon, general manager of Pacific Fishermen.
"Today the shipyard specializes in repair and consists of three haul-out facilities and docks on the freshwater side of the ship canal locks. The Board has directed management to make the capital investments necessary to ensure the long-term continued operation of the business."
Currently, Pacific Fishermen employs 70 local workers, a notable achievement for a relatively small blue-collar shipyard in the heart of an ever-growing and ever-changing Ballard. Pacific Fishermen has hired additional skilled union workers and administrative employees, increasing the core employee level by 20 percent, up from the previous 45 employees. Their subsidiary PFI Marine Electric, formed with their purchase of Lunde Electric Company in 2004, provides not only marine electrical service, but industrial controls as well for Seattle's emerging companies like socially-responsible Theo's Chocolates.
"Commitment to environmental protection issues is extremely important to our local waters as well as our shipyard and shareholders, who are fishermen, and their livelihoods," said Dixon. "We were first to install an industrial process water treatment plant for our drydocks in the 1980s. Now we have installed a rainwater processing system to treat our industrial storm water, as well as a system to discharge cleaned upwater into the shop canal with less copper content than drinking water, all at our expense."
Pacific Fishermen also believes in being socially responsible. Pacific Fishermen works with the community, donating alder-smoked salmon and cod barbeques for numerous charity functions, including: the Fall Fishermen's Festival, the Fishermen's Memorial, the Nordic Heritage Museum, and the Ballard Chamber of Commerce Seafood Fest.
The company actively donates manpower, equipment, materials, and funding to civic projects, charities, and non-profits. Donations have been made to the following: Market Street Holiday Decorations, Ballard City Hall Bell, Bergen Place Flagstaff (now at American West), Bergen Place Flag Poles (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Finish, and American), Bergen Lance Mural, 24th Street Pier, Sea Scout Ship "Yankee Clipper" (maintenance and repairs), Sea Scout Ship "Propeller" (maintenance and repairs), "SS Virginia V" (maintenance and repairs), Ballard Food Bank (freezer grating and donations), Foss Home, Norse Home, Youth Maritime Training Association K-12, Ballard Maritime Academy at Ballard High School, Nordic Heritage Museum, and Norwegian Commercial Club Scholarship Program.
The company has demonstrated commitment to the community by utilizing a stimulus grant to install a 70-foot-long spray paint booth to reduce its environmental footprint. Pacific Fishermen has also installed a new sandblast booth with a steel-grit recycling floor, which has reduced the annual number of landfill trips and reduced the total tons hauled by more than 90 percent. These efforts have reduced carbon dioxide emissions associated with the company's work.
Pacific Fishermen also collaborates with the community by offering MBA students an opportunity to impact the local economy by developing marketing strategies for Pacific
Fishermen through a partnership with the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. MBA students have developed plans to help Pacific Fishermen fill its booth with business, great jobs, and opportunity.
"The Chamber strongly supports our maritime industry and is proud to have this opportunity to recognize an innovative industry leader like Pacific Fishermen," said Maud Daudon, president & CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. "We applaud their long-term vision and their community and environmental stewardship."
Businesses recognized in the In Good Company program receive several meaningful prizes to help their business grow and celebrate their employees, including a mayor proclamation; a high-quality video profile featured on the Seattle Channel; a one-year membership or an upgraded tier of membership at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber; and a special gift basket for employees containing food, drinks and prizes from some of Seattle's most beloved local companies.
The highlighted businesses are chosen by the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce by a committee of staff members who meet quarterly to select businesses to recognize. Individuals and businesses may also suggest recommendations via the Office of Economic Development.
For nomination criteria and more information, please visit the In Good Company website page.
In Good Company is brought to you by: Mayor Mike McGinn as part of the Seattle Jobs Plan;
Seattle Office of Economic Development; Seattle Channel; Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Flying Spot; and 206 inc.
Prize partners include: Alaska Airlines Board Room Airport Lounges; Banya 5; DRY Soda; Fran's Chocolates; Seattle Mariners; Theo Chocolate; The Crumpet Shop; and Uber.
Seattle Jobs Plan
Mayor Mike McGinn's vision for next generation economic development that creates a sustainable economy with shared prosperity in Seattle was launched in August 2010. It consists of new and existing policies, programs and investments designed to help create quality jobs, protect the environment, and ensure that taxpayers get true value from the city of Seattle's public investments. Visit www.seattle.gov/mayor/jobsplan/
City's Office of Economic Development (OED)
OED supports a healthy business environment and empowers companies to grow and compete. We provide services directly to businesses through advocacy, retention and expansion assistance, and workforce development. Visit www.growseattle.com to access city services for businesses, and for more information about our office, visit www.seattle.gov/economicdevelopment
Seattle Channel
SEATTLE CHANNEL is the award winning local TV station that puts video to work to build and strengthen community. SEATTLE CHANNEL presents programs on cable television (channel 21 on Comcast and Broadstripe) and via the Internet to help citizens connect with their city. www.seattlechannel.org
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
The Seattle Metropolitan (Seattle Metro) Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most diverse network of influential business leaders in the Puget Sound region. Founded in 1882 by local business leaders, the Chamber today is an independent organization of 2,200 businesses representing a regional workforce of approximately 700,000 people. Visit www.seattlechamber.com
Pacific Fishermen
Pacific Fishermen is a full-service shipyard established in 1946 to service tugboats, passenger cruise ships, charter boats, yachts, and traditional fishing vessels. Located on Ballard's Salmon Bay just east of the Government Locks on the freshwater side, Pacific Fishermen continues its rich heritage, including the building of Jacques Cousteau's Calypso with fine craftsmanship and a dedicated workforce. Pacific Fishermen offers the following: overhauls, repairs, and conversions; maintenance services; basic structural work; navigational system installations, repairs, and troubleshooting; propulsion systems repair and maintenance; close-tolerance machine work; hydraulic and machine repair; sandblasting, high-pressure washing, and painting; certified welding of stainless, aluminum, and mild steel; full-service shipwright shop; full-service pipe shop; and general ship supply store. Visit www.pacificfishermen.com
All Mayor's Office press conferences, town halls and general public meetings are archived by Seattle Channel. Many town halls and press conferences are also broadcast live to the web. Sign up for The Reader, our office newsletter, at our website. And learn more about your neighbors and the mayor's activities on our blog.


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Are you from NJ? I am moving to Fort Lauderdale on Jan 1st and recognize the area code. I am from Morristown, where were you from? Okay hopefully we can hit.
i am moving to fort lauderdale Jan 1. I went to Nationals on USTA team, I would love to hit and get in shape. Okay send me your email, it will be easier since I dont know my new phone number yet. Thanks
do you want to hit at Holiday Park. Email me at firstname.lastname@example.com am 4.5 and went to USTA nationals several years ago. Thanks
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When a dark mood overtakes me, I force myself to feel grateful.
"Think of three things you're thankful for," a small, wise voice inside will say. "Just three little things."
"OK. I'm grateful for the dinner I had last night. And for having friends. I'm usually grateful I'm alive."
If that little recitation fails to turn the tide, I'll try to name three more things for which I'm grateful. And three after that.
As I build a little mental pile of my personal blessings, it becomes easier to bear whatever fictitious burden I imagine myself to be carrying.


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Raymond Benson has been a buddy of mine for years. He wrote nine James Bond novels and a slew of others, including tie-ins for the the video games Homefront and Metal Gear Solid, and a few Tom Clancy spin-offs.
He's made his backlist and a few unpublished novels available as ebooks, but they aren't selling as well as they could.
So what's going on? He's a name author with a fanbase, his covers are decent, his formatting is professional, and his ebooks are priced right.
Here's Raymond to talk about it...
By Raymond Benson
My good friend Joe Konrath has become the poster boy of e-book publishing. I really admire him. I step back and watch him and shake my head and say to myself, "Good for him. It's so amazing that he's had such success with e-books." And I think: "Maybe I can do that, too!"
So, like many of Joe's other author buddies, I have uploaded several of my titles to Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. I figured that if Joe, who produces a new, wonderfully entertaining Grindhouse-style horror or crime novel every day (it seems) and earns oodles of cash, then why can't I?
But I don't write the same kinds of books Joe does. Mine are straight thrillers, for the most part, although one of the new books I uploaded has a supernatural slant.
I'm mostly known for my James Bond novels published between 1997-2002. Unfortunately, these titles are owned by Ian Fleming's literary company, so it's up to them to make the books available in digital form (supposedly they're coming soon). Other work-for-hire books for which I'm known are available but, again, I don't own them.
The way to do it, Joe says, is put all your books that you own up there, even ones that were stashed away in a drawer long ago, price them at $2.99, and sit back and collect 70% royalties. So I did that. I have ten titles up there now—seven novels and three short stories. Five of the novels and one short story were published "traditionally" in print a few years ago (and are still somewhat available in that format). Only two novels came from the "vault," so to speak. They didn't sell originally but I personally thought (and my agent thought) they were sure-fire winners. So they should be selling well, right?
It hasn't worked out that way. Not yet, anyway.
I did all the things Joe says to do. Get good covers, generate some buzz on the Kindle message boards, announce their availability on Facebook and the like, and market them the best I can. And yet, my sales are puny. As the author of twenty-five published books, and one who has made money from traditional publishing, I am now scratching my head and rubbing my chin and looking at my friend Joe and asking, "What's wrong with this picture?"
Here's what I have available. The two books from the vault were written in 2006. The first, Artifact of Evil, is a thriller with historical fantasy elements. A prehistoric relic has become a coveted object of destruction, and it's up to "Rusty" Red River, a freelance forensics consultant from Texas and his ex-girlfriend, a Jewish expert of Hebrew myths and legends, to solve a series of horrid crimes that stretch from Iraq to Chicago.
The other one, Torment, is about love, obsession, and voodoo. Our protagonist is on a business retreat in Jamaica, where he becomes simultaneously "cursed" and "protected" by two different voodoo charms. He also meets the love of his life, who mysteriously vanishes the morning after. Tracing her steps backwards, our hero must undergo unimaginable torment to find her.
Previously published novels available as e-books are my two rock 'n' roll thrillers—A Hard Day's Death and Dark Side of the Morgue. These feature Spike Berenger, a P.I. who works in the rock 'n' roll world, which, of course, has been skewed to be a very dangerous place. With lots of references to music, cameos by real rock stars, and a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor, these are simply a lot of fun. There's a Spike Berenger "hit single" (short story), too, entitled On the Threshold of a Death.
My early novels Evil Hours and Face Blind have been available as e-books for years. Evil Hours was written back in the late 90s while I was doing the Bonds. It's "Larry McMurtry meets David Lynch"; in other words, it's a crime thriller about the underbelly of a small West Texas town. Inspired by true events that took place when I was in junior high and high school, Evil Hours remains a favorite among my own novels. Face Blind concerns a young woman with "prosopagnosia," or "face blindness," a real neurological condition that prevents a person from recognizing faces. It's "Wait Until Dark meets Memento"!
All of these titles are $2.99 or less in all formats. Other books of mine, for which the e-book rights are owned by different publishers, are also available at slightly higher costs. That's standard for every author out there who still has books with traditional publishers—and despite what Joe says, I do believe that traditional publishing is still an important and necessary means of distributing one's work.
In fact, I am extremely grateful and excited to work with the independent publisher Oceanview Publishing, which is publishing my thriller The Black Stiletto in September, both in hardcover and as an e-book. The first in a series featuring a female vigilante working in 1950s New York City, The Black Stiletto is very close to my heart. For a sneak preview, check out the ultra-cool video I recently wrote and produced in Hollywood at www.theblackstiletto.net. (Joe sez: best book trailer I've ever seen.)
But back to e-books. From what Joe and a handful of other author friends tell me, this is the future of publishing. I had a long talk with fellow authors at the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago this past weekend about the subject. Most everyone is having the same kind of luck I am with e-books, i.e., it's nothing to write home about. A couple of folks are selling books "okay," but nowhere near Joe's range.
So for me, at this moment anyway, the e-book thing is an enigma. It's the jewel inside the puzzle box that one can't seem to open. It's the carrot dangling on a string that pulls away just as one grabs for it. As a result, I don't trust it. I'm not convinced.
Hence, I've come to the mountain to seek the wisdom of the shaman who lives in the Forbidden Cave.
"Hey, Joe!" I call out. "Toss me a rope! I'm coming up!"
Joe sez: Raymond can write.
I like Raymond's Bond novels more than I like the Ian Fleming and John Gardner novels. They're a lot of fun.
Faceblind is a wonderful novel that needs to be made into a movie.
That both Torment and Artifact of Evil couldn't find homes with the Big 6 is criminal. They're terrific thrillers that should have sold.
So what's the deal?
Armchair quarterbacking Raymond's career, I believe he should have written a spy novel right after his tenure with Bond was up. That's what his fans were expecting. Instead, he delved into noir with Evil Hours and Faceblind, and while those are good books, he lost some momentum and still hasn't recovered.
His Spike Berenger Rock and Roll P.I. books are great, but they were released by Dorchester. Anyone who knows anything about Dorchester's history can understand why the books didn't do well.
The tie-in novels are all well-crafted and a joy to read, but Raymond wasn't writing those for his fanbase, he was writing them for hire.
But that's all in the past, a remnant of the legacy publishing world. In the brave, new world of digital, Raymond should be able to find the wide audience that has eluded him since Bond.
Let me reiterate some tips that I've successfully used to sell ebooks.
Trading Excerpts in the Back Matter. Not only with your own ebooks, but with other authors. Every ebook should have three or four sample chapters from other work by the author, and by work by similar authors (who can then do the same for you in return.)
Linkable Bibliography. At the end of your ebook should be links to buy your other ebooks. You can also link within your narrative text, like I've done with Banana Hammock and did with Black Crouch for Serial Killers Uncut.
Collaborating. Sharing and swapping fanbases is always a good idea, and with Google Docs and Dropbox, stories can be written in less than half the time.
Professional Formatting. You wouldn't serve a fine filet Mignon on a paper plate. Presentation is almost as important as content.
Compiling. Several 99 cent short stories can be combined into a $2.99 collection. Two $2.99 novels can be a $4.99 omnibus. This increases your shelf space, and gives you price points for several demographics.
Deluxe Editions. The collaborative novel Draculas, which has over 80,000 words of bonus features, is a great way to offer the reader more than plain old vanilla text.
Putting Ebooks on Sale. I've had a bit of success dropping prices on ebooks, getting high on bestseller lists, then returning them to the regular price. Sales and revenue inscrease.
Print Editions. Some people still want paper. Give it to them inexpensively, using Createspace.
Multiple Platforms. Make sure your ebooks are available in all formats, wherever ebooks are sold.
Tie-ins. Readers like a series. But there is nothing stopping you from taking characters from stand-alones and putting them in new stories with other stand-alone characters. Serial Killers Uncut has more than 25 characters from my books and Blake Crouch's books. This is fun for fans, and helps sell your backlist to new readers.
Different Genres. While you shouldn't try to chase what's hot, if you enjoy reading different genres there is no reason you shouldn't try writing those genres. All of your fans may not follow you, but this can introduce you to a whole new set of readers.
Some of these Raymond has already done. Some he hasn't, but should try. The one thing that might be the most effective is putting ebooks on sale. If he's not selling well, it can't hurt to drop everything to 99 cents for a month and see what happens. It's a risk, but it often works in jump starting sales, which gets books on the bestseller lists, which spurs more sales. (Note to Raymond: If you try this, do it on the 13th of June, two days before Amazon's current Sunchine Deals Sale is over, because those books will all fall off the map when they go back to full price, leaving room for others to take their places.)
I've also been begging Raymond for years to write another spy novel. His upcoming Black Stiletto is pretty close, but if he did something in modern times similar to Fleming or Ludlum, I think he could lure back his Bond fans.
Ultimately, though, it comes down to the one thing all writers hate to rely on: Luck.
We all have to keep plugging away, story after story, book after book, and hope that lightening strikes.
The more you write, the more you keep at it, the greater your chances at finding success.
I got lucky. That's why I'm selling so well. Events played out which allowed me the perfect opportunity to exploit a new technology. Sure, hard work and talent play a part. But luck is the linchpin. If Amazon never invented the Kindle, I'd be writing sci-fi novels for $6k a pop, working two extra jobs to support my family.
Remember that this isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Ebooks are forever. Forever is a long time for fans to discover a title. What's selling poorly now could be a hit in ten years. When shelf-lives and shelf-space are infinite, all we can do is keep chugging away until we reach that critical mass/tipping point.
I know it's discouraging. I have a few titles that aren't selling up to my expectations, and I have no idea why. The goal is to keep feeding the machine, to never give up, and to constantly be open to experimentation.
Also, try not to compare yourself with other writers. Others can inspire you with their sales, because this proves high sales can be achieved, but the whole "why him and not me?" mentality only leads to misery.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
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Highlights the role of safe motherhood within the reproductive health framework and summarizes global commitments to safe motherhood from conventions and international conferences held in the last decade. English (1997) (GSM09).
Developed by the Safe Motherhood Inter-Agency Group.
Download (465 KB pdf)
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