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Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2, by Edward Gibbon, [1781], at sacred-texts.com
Six years after the death of Constantine, the destructive inroads of the Scots and Picts required the presence of his youngest son, who reigned in the Western empire. Constans visited his British dominions: but we may form some estimate of the importance of his achievements, by the language of panegyric, which celebrates only his triumph over the elements or, in other words, the good fortune of a safe and easy passage from the port of Boulogne to the harbor of Sandwich. 112 The calamities which the afflicted provincials continued to experience, from foreign war and domestic tyranny, were aggravated by the feeble and corrupt administration of the eunuchs of Constantius; and the transient relief which they might obtain from the virtues of Julian, was soon lost by the absence and death of their benefactor. The sums of gold and silver, which had been painfully collected, or liberally transmitted, for the payment of the troops, were intercepted by the avarice of the commanders; discharges, or, at least, exemptions, from the military service, were publicly sold; the distress of the soldiers, who were injuriously deprived of their legal and scanty subsistence, provoked them to frequent desertion; the nerves of discipline were relaxed, and the highways were infested with robbers. 113 The oppression of the good, and the impunity of the wicked, equally contributed to diffuse through the island a spirit of discontent and revolt; and every ambitious subject, every desperate exile, might entertain a reasonable hope of subverting the weak and distracted government of Britain. The hostile tribes of the North, who detested the pride and power of the King of the World, suspended their domestic feuds; and the Barbarians of the land and sea, the Scots, the Picts, and the Saxons, spread themselves with rapid and irresistible fury, from the wall of Antoninus to the shores of Kent. Every production of art and nature, every object of convenience and luxury, which they were incapable of creating by labor or procuring by trade, was accumulated in the rich and fruitful province of Britain. 114 A philosopher may deplore the eternal discords of the human race, but he will confess, that the desire of spoil is a more rational provocation than the vanity of conquest. From the age of Constantine to the Plantagenets, this rapacious spirit continued to instigate the poor and hardy Caledonians; but the same people, whose generous humanity seems to inspire the songs of Ossian, was disgraced by a savage ignorance of the virtues of peace, and of the laws of war. Their southern neighbors have felt, and perhaps exaggerated, the cruel depredations of the Scots and Picts; 115 and a valiant tribe of Caledonia, the Attacotti, 116 the enemies, and afterwards the soldiers, of Valentinian, are accused, by an eye-witness, of delighting in the taste of human flesh. When they hunted the woods for prey, it is said, that they attacked the shepherd rather than his flock; and that they curiously selected the most delicate and brawny parts, both of males and females, which they prepared for their horrid repasts. 117 If, in the neighborhood of the commercial and literary town of Glasgow, a race of cannibals has really existed, we may contemplate, in the period of the Scottish history, the opposite extremes of savage and civilized life. Such reflections tend to enlarge the circle of our ideas; and to encourage the pleasing hope, that New Zealand may produce, in some future age, the Hume of the Southern Hemisphere.
Every messenger who escaped across the British Channel, conveyed the most melancholy and alarming tidings to the ears of Valentinian; and the emperor was soon informed that the two military commanders of the province had been surprised and cut off by the Barbarians. Severus, count of the domestics, was hastily despatched, and as suddenly recalled, by the court of Treves. The representations of Jovinus served only to indicate the greatness of the evil; and, after a long and serious consultation, the defence, or rather the recovery, of Britain was intrusted to the abilities of the brave Theodosius. The exploits of that general, the father of a line of emperors, have been celebrated, with peculiar complacency, by the writers of the age: but his real merit deserved their applause; and his nomination was received, by the army and province, as a sure presage of approaching victory. He seized the favorable moment of navigation, and securely landed the numerous and veteran bands of the Heruli and Batavians, the Jovians and the Victors. In his march from Sandwich to London, Theodosius defeated several parties of the Barbarians, released a multitude of captives, and, after distributing to his soldiers a small portion of the spoil, established the fame of disinterested justice, by the restitution of the remainder to the rightful proprietors. The citizens of London, who had almost despaired of their safety, threw open their gates; and as soon as Theodosius had obtained from the court of Treves the important aid of a military lieutenant, and a civil governor, he executed, with wisdom and vigor, the laborious task of the deliverance of Britain. The vagrant soldiers were recalled to their standard; an edict of amnesty dispelled the public apprehensions; and his cheerful example alleviated the rigor of martial discipline. The scattered and desultory warfare of the Barbarians, who infested the land and sea, deprived him of the glory of a signal victory; but the prudent spirit, and consummate art, of the Roman general, were displayed in the operations of two campaigns, which successively rescued every part of the province from the hands of a cruel and rapacious enemy. The splendor of the cities, and the security of the fortifications, were diligently restored, by the paternal care of Theodosius; who with a strong hand confined the trembling Caledonians to the northern angle of the island; and perpetuated, by the name and settlement of the new province of Valentia, the glories of the reign of Valentinian. 118 The voice of poetry and panegyric may add, perhaps with some degree of truth, that the unknown regions of Thule were stained with the blood of the Picts; that the oars of Theodosius dashed the waves of the Hyperborean ocean; and that the distant Orkneys were the scene of his naval victory over the Saxon pirates. 119 He left the province with a fair, as well as splendid, reputation; and was immediately promoted to the rank of master-general of the cavalry, by a prince who could applaud, without envy, the merit of his servants. In the important station of the Upper Danube, the conqueror of Britain checked and defeated the armies of the Alemanni, before he was chosen to suppress the revolt of Africa.
III. The prince who refuses to be the judge, instructs the people to consider him as the accomplice, of his ministers. The military command of Africa had been long exercised by Count Romanus, and his abilities were not inadequate to his station; but, as sordid interest was the sole motive of his conduct, he acted, on most occasions, as if he had been the enemy of the province, and the friend of the Barbarians of the desert. The three flourishing cities of Oea, Leptis, and Sobrata, which, under the name of Tripoli, had long constituted a federal union, 120 were obliged, for the first time, to shut their gates against a hostile invasion; several of their most honorable citizens were surprised and massacred; the villages, and even the suburbs, were pillaged; and the vines and fruit trees of that rich territory were extirpated by the malicious savages of Getulia. The unhappy provincials implored the protection of Romanus; but they soon found that their military governor was not less cruel and rapacious than the Barbarians. As they were incapable of furnishing the four thousand camels, and the exorbitant present, which he required, before he would march to the assistance of Tripoli; his demand was equivalent to a refusal, and he might justly be accused as the author of the public calamity. In the annual assembly of the three cities, they nominated two deputies, to lay at the feet of Valentinian the customary offering of a gold victory; and to accompany this tribute of duty, rather than of gratitude, with their humble complaint, that they were ruined by the enemy, and betrayed by their governor. If the severity of Valentinian had been rightly directed, it would have fallen on the guilty head of Romanus. But the count, long exercised in the arts of corruption, had despatched a swift and trusty messenger to secure the venal friendship of Remigius, master of the offices. The wisdom of the Imperial council was deceived by artifice; and their honest indignation was cooled by delay. At length, when the repetition of complaint had been justified by the repetition of public misfortunes, the notary Palladius was sent from the court of Treves, to examine the state of Africa, and the conduct of Romanus. The rigid impartiality of Palladius was easily disarmed: he was tempted to reserve for himself a part of the public treasure, which he brought with him for the payment of the troops; and from the moment that he was conscious of his own guilt, he could no longer refuse to attest the innocence and merit of the count. The charge of the Tripolitans was declared to be false and frivolous; and Palladius himself was sent back from Treves to Africa, with a special commission to discover and prosecute the authors of this impious conspiracy against the representatives of the sovereign. His inquiries were managed with so much dexterity and success, that he compelled the citizens of Leptis, who had sustained a recent siege of eight days, to contradict the truth of their own decrees, and to censure the behavior of their own deputies. A bloody sentence was pronounced, without hesitation, by the rash and headstrong cruelty of Valentinian. The president of Tripoli, who had presumed to pity the distress of the province, was publicly executed at Utica; four distinguished citizens were put to death, as the accomplices of the imaginary fraud; and the tongues of two others were cut out, by the express order of the emperor. Romanus, elated by impunity, and irritated by resistance, was still continued in the military command; till the Africans were provoked, by his avarice, to join the rebellious standard of Firmus, the Moor. 121
His father Nabal was one of the richest and most powerful of the Moorish princes, who acknowledged the supremacy of Rome. But as he left, either by his wives or concubines, a very numerous posterity, the wealthy inheritance was eagerly disputed; and Zamma, one of his sons, was slain in a domestic quarrel by his brother Firmus. The implacable zeal, with which Romanus prosecuted the legal revenge of this murder, could be ascribed only to a motive of avarice, or personal hatred; but, on this occasion, his claims were just; his influence was weighty; and Firmus clearly understood, that he must either present his neck to the executioner, or appeal from the sentence of the Imperial consistory, to his sword, and to the people. 122 He was received as the deliverer of his country; and, as soon as it appeared that Romanus was formidable only to a submissive province, the tyrant of Africa became the object of universal contempt. The ruin of Caesarea, which was plundered and burnt by the licentious Barbarians, convinced the refractory cities of the danger of resistance; the power of Firmus was established, at least in the provinces of Mauritania and Numidia; and it seemed to be his only doubt whether he should assume the diadem of a Moorish king, or the purple of a Roman emperor. But the imprudent and unhappy Africans soon discovered, that, in this rash insurrection, they had not sufficiently consulted their own strength, or the abilities of their leader. Before he could procure any certain intelligence, that the emperor of the West had fixed the choice of a general, or that a fleet of transports was collected at the mouth of the Rhone, he was suddenly informed that the great Theodosius, with a small band of veterans, had landed near Igilgilis, or Gigeri, on the African coast; and the timid usurper sunk under the ascendant of virtue and military genius. Though Firmus possessed arms and treasures, his despair of victory immediately reduced him to the use of those arts, which, in the same country, and in a similar situation, had formerly been practised by the crafty Jugurtha. He attempted to deceive, by an apparent submission, the vigilance of the Roman general; to seduce the fidelity of his troops; and to protract the duration of the war, by successively engaging the independent tribes of Africa to espouse his quarrel, or to protect his flight. Theodosius imitated the example, and obtained the success, of his predecessor Metellus. When Firmus, in the character of a suppliant, accused his own rashness, and humbly solicited the clemency of the emperor, the lieutenant of Valentinian received and dismissed him with a friendly embrace: but he diligently required the useful and substantial pledges of a sincere repentance; nor could he be persuaded, by the assurances of peace, to suspend, for an instant, the operations of an active war. A dark conspiracy was detected by the penetration of Theodosius; and he satisfied, without much reluctance, the public indignation, which he had secretly excited. Several of the guilty accomplices of Firmus were abandoned, according to ancient custom, to the tumult of a military execution; many more, by the amputation of both their hands, continued to exhibit an instructive spectacle of horror; the hatred of the rebels was accompanied with fear; and the fear of the Roman soldiers was mingled with respectful admiration. Amidst the boundless plains of Getulia, and the innumerable valleys of Mount Atlas, it was impossible to prevent the escape of Firmus; and if the usurper could have tired the patience of his antagonist, he would have secured his person in the depth of some remote solitude, and expected the hopes of a future revolution. He was subdued by the perseverance of Theodosius; who had formed an inflexible determination, that the war should end only by the death of the tyrant; and that every nation of Africa, which presumed to support his cause, should be involved in his ruin. At the head of a small body of troops, which seldom exceeded three thousand five hundred men, the Roman general advanced, with a steady prudence, devoid of rashness or of fear, into the heart of a country, where he was sometimes attacked by armies of twenty thousand Moors. The boldness of his charge dismayed the irregular Barbarians; they were disconcerted by his seasonable and orderly retreats; they were continually baffled by the unknown resources of the military art; and they felt and confessed the just superiority which was assumed by the leader of a civilized nation. When Theodosius entered the extensive dominions of Igmazen, king of the Isaflenses, the haughty savage required, in words of defiance, his name, and the object of his expedition. "I am," replied the stern and disdainful count, "I am the general of Valentinian, the lord of the world; who has sent me hither to pursue and punish a desperate robber. Deliver him instantly into my hands; and be assured, that if thou dost not obey the commands of my invincible sovereign, thou, and the people over whom thou reignest, shall be utterly extirpated." *_0082 As soon as Igmazen was satisfied, that his enemy had strength and resolution to execute the fatal menace, he consented to purchase a necessary peace by the sacrifice of a guilty fugitive. The guards that were placed to secure the person of Firmus deprived him of the hopes of escape; and the Moorish tyrant, after wine had extinguished the sense of danger, disappointed the insulting triumph of the Romans, by strangling himself in the night. His dead body, the only present which Igmazen could offer to the conqueror, was carelessly thrown upon a camel; and Theodosius, leading back his victorious troops to Sitifi, was saluted by the warmest acclamations of joy and loyalty. 123
Africa had been lost by the vices of Romanus; it was restored by the virtues of Theodosius; and our curiosity may be usefully directed to the inquiry of the respective treatment which the two generals received from the Imperial court. The authority of Count Romanus had been suspended by the master-general of the cavalry; and he was committed to safe and honorable custody till the end of the war. His crimes were proved by the most authentic evidence; and the public expected, with some impatience, the decree of severe justice. But the partial and powerful favor of Mellobaudes encouraged him to challenge his legal judges, to obtain repeated delays for the purpose of procuring a crowd of friendly witnesses, and, finally, to cover his guilty conduct, by the additional guilt of fraud and forgery. About the same time, the restorer of Britain and Africa, on a vague suspicion that his name and services were superior to the rank of a subject, was ignominiously beheaded at Carthage. Valentinian no longer reigned; and the death of Theodosius, as well as the impunity of Romanus, may justly be imputed to the arts of the ministers, who abused the confidence, and deceived the inexperienced youth, of his sons. 124
If the geographical accuracy of Ammianus had been fortunately bestowed on the British exploits of Theodosius, we should have traced, with eager curiosity, the distinct and domestic footsteps of his march. But the tedious enumeration of the unknown and uninteresting tribes of Africa may be reduced to the general remark, that they were all of the swarthy race of the Moors; that they inhabited the back settlements of the Mauritanian and Numidian province, the country, as they have since been termed by the Arabs, of dates and of locusts; 125 and that, as the Roman power declined in Africa, the boundary of civilized manners and cultivated land was insensibly contracted. Beyond the utmost limits of the Moors, the vast and inhospitable desert of the South extends above a thousand miles to the banks of the Niger. The ancients, who had a very faint and imperfect knowledge of the great peninsula of Africa, were sometimes tempted to believe, that the torrid zone must ever remain destitute of inhabitants; 126 and they sometimes amused their fancy by filling the vacant space with headless men, or rather monsters; 127 with horned and cloven-footed satyrs; 128 with fabulous centaurs; 129 and with human pygmies, who waged a bold and doubtful warfare against the cranes. 130 Carthage would have trembled at the strange intelligence that the countries on either side of the equator were filled with innumerable nations, who differed only in their color from the ordinary appearance of the human species: and the subjects of the Roman empire might have anxiously expected, that the swarms of Barbarians, which issued from the North, would soon be encountered from the South by new swarms of Barbarians, equally fierce and equally formidable. These gloomy terrors would indeed have been dispelled by a more intimate acquaintance with the character of their African enemies. The inaction of the negroes does not seem to be the effect either of their virtue or of their pusillanimity. They indulge, like the rest of mankind, their passions and appetites; and the adjacent tribes are engaged in frequent acts of hostility. 131 But their rude ignorance has never invented any effectual weapons of defence, or of destruction; they appear incapable of forming any extensive plans of government, or conquest; and the obvious inferiority of their mental faculties has been discovered and abused by the nations of the temperate zone. Sixty thousand blacks are annually embarked from the coast of Guinea, never to return to their native country; but they are embarked in chains; 132 and this constant emigration, which, in the space of two centuries, might have furnished armies to overrun the globe, accuses the guilt of Europe, and the weakness of Africa.
112 Hyeme tumentes ac saevientes undas calcastis Oceani sub remis vestris; . . . insperatam imperatoris faciem Britannus expavit. Julius Fermicus Maternus de Errore Profan. Relig. p. 464. edit. Gronov. ad calcem Minuc. Fael. See Tillemont, (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 336.)
113 Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. xxxix. p. 264. This curious passage has escaped the diligence of our British antiquaries.
114 The Caledonians praised and coveted the gold, the steeds, the lights, &c., of the stranger. See Dr. Blair's Dissertation on Ossian, vol ii. p. 343; and Mr. Macpherson's Introduction, p. 242-286.
115 Lord Lyttelton has circumstantially related, (History of Henry II. vol. i. p. 182,) and Sir David Dalrymple has slightly mentioned, (Annals of Scotland, vol. i. p. 69,) a barbarous inroad of the Scots, at a time (A.D. 1137) when law, religion, and society must have softened their primitive manners.
116 Attacotti bellicosa hominum natio. Ammian. xxvii. 8. Camden (Introduct. p. clii.) has restored their true name in the text of Jerom. The bands of Attacotti, which Jerom had seen in Gaul, were afterwards stationed in Italy and Illyricum, (Notitia, S. viii. xxxix. xl.)
117 Cum ipse adolescentulus in Gallia viderim Attacottos (or Scotos) gentem Britannicam humanis vesci carnibus; et cum per silvas porcorum greges, et armentorum percudumque reperiant, pastorum nates et feminarum papillas solere abscindere; et has solas ciborum delicias arbitrari. Such is the evidence of Jerom, (tom. ii. p. 75,) whose veracity I find no reason to question.
Note: See Dr. Parr's works, iii. 93, where he questions the propriety of Gibbon's translation of this passage. The learned doctor approves of the version proposed by a Mr. Gaches, who would make out that it was the delicate parts of the swine and the cattle, which were eaten by these ancestors of the Scotch nation. I confess that even to acquit them of this charge. I cannot agree to the new version, which, in my opinion, is directly contrary both to the meaning of the words, and the general sense of the passage. But I would suggest, did Jerom, as a boy, accompany these savages in any of their hunting expeditions? If he did not, how could he be an eye-witness of this practice? The Attacotti in Gaul must have been in the service of Rome. Were they permitted to indulge these cannibal propensities at the expense, not of the flocks, but of the shepherds of the provinces? These sanguinary trophies of plunder would scarce'y have been publicly exhibited in a Roman city or a Roman camp. I must leave the hereditary pride of our northern neighbors at issue with the veracity of St. Jerom.
118 Ammianus has concisely represented (xx. l. xxvi. 4, xxvii. 8 xxviii. 3) the whole series of the British war.
119 Horrescit . . . . ratibus . . . . impervia Thule. Ille . . . . nec falso nomine Pictos Edomuit. Scotumque vago mucrone secutus, Fregit Hyperboreas remis audacibus undas. Claudian, in iii. Cons. Honorii, ver. 53, &c - Madurunt Saxone fuso Orcades: incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule, Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne. In iv. Cons. Hon. ver. 31, &c.
See likewise Pacatus, (in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 5.) But it is not easy to appreciate the intrinsic value of flattery and metaphor. Compare the British victories of Bolanus (Statius, Silv. v. 2) with his real character, (Tacit. in Vit. Agricol. c. 16.)
120 Ammianus frequently mentions their concilium annuum, legitimum, &c. Leptis and Sabrata are long since ruined; but the city of Oea, the native country of Apuleius, still flourishes under the provincial denomination of Tripoli. See Cellarius (Geograph. Antiqua, tom. ii. part ii. p. 81,) D'Anville, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. iii. p. 71, 72,) and Marmol, (Arrique, tom. ii. p. 562.)
121 Ammian. xviii. 6. Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p 25, 676) has discussed the chronological difficulties of the history of Count Romanus.
122 The Chronology of Ammianus is loose and obscure; and Orosius (i. vii. c. 33, p. 551, edit. Havercamp) seems to place the revolt of Firmus after the deaths of Valentinian and Valens. Tillemont (Hist. des. Emp. tom. v. p. 691) endeavors to pick his way. The patient and sure-foot mule of the Alps may be trusted in the most slippery paths.
*_0082 The war was longer protracted than this sentence would lead us to suppose: it was not till defeated more than once that Igmazen yielded Amm. xxix. 5. - M
123 Ammian xxix. 5. The text of this long chapter (fifteen quarto pages) is broken and corrupted; and the narrative is perplexed by the want of chronological and geographical landmarks.
124 Ammian xxviii. 4. Orosius, l. vii. c. 33, p. 551, 552. Jerom. in Chron. p. 187.
125 Leo Africanus (in the Viaggi di Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 78-83) has traced a curious picture of the people and the country; which are more minutely described in the Afrique de Marmol, tom. iii. p. 1-54.
126 This uninhabitable zone was gradually reduced by the improvements of ancient geography, from forty-five to twenty-four, or even sixteen degrees of latitude. See a learned and judicious note of Dr. Robertson, Hist. of America, vol. i. p. 426.
127 Intra, si credere libet, vix jam homines et magis semiferi ... Blemmyes, Satyri, &c. Pomponius Mela, i. 4, p. 26, edit. Voss. in 8vo. Pliny philosophically explains (vi. 35) the irregularities of nature, which he had credulously admitted, (v. 8.)
128 If the satyr was the Orang-outang, the great human ape, (Buffon, Hist. Nat. tom. xiv. p. 43, &c.,) one of that species might actually be shown alive at Alexandria, in the reign of Constantine. Yet some difficulty will still remain about the conversation which St. Anthony held with one of these pious savages, in the desert of Thebais. (Jerom. in Vit. Paul. Eremit. tom. i. p. 238.)
129 St. Anthony likewise met one of these monsters; whose existence was seriously asserted by the emperor Claudius. The public laughed; but his praefect of Egypt had the address to send an artful preparation, the embalmed corpse of a Hippocentaur, which was preserved almost a century afterwards in the Imperial palace. See Pliny, (Hist. Natur. vii. 3,) and the judicious observations of Freret. (Memoires de l'Acad. tom. vii. p. 321, &c.)
130 The fable of the pygmies is as old as Homer, (Iliad. iii. 6) The pygmies of India and Aethiopia were (trispithami) twenty-seven inches high. Every spring their cavalry (mounted on rams and goats) marched, in battle array, to destroy the cranes' eggs, aliter (says Pliny) futuris gregibus non resisti. Their houses were built of mud, feathers, and egg- shells. See Pliny, (vi. 35, vii. 2,) and Strabo, (l. ii. p. 121.)
131 The third and fourth volumes of the valuable Histoire des Voyages describe the present state of the Negroes. The nations of the sea- coast have been polished by European commerce; and those of the inland country have been improved by Moorish colonies.
Note: The martial tribes in chain armor, discovered by Denham, are Mahometan; the great question of the inferiority of the African tribes in their mental faculties will probably be experimentally resolved before the close of the century; but the Slave Trade still continues, and will, it is to be feared, till the spirit of gain is subdued by the spirit of Christian humanity. - M.
132 Histoire Philosophique et Politique, &c., tom. iv. p. 192.


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|Authored By: Polly Pitchford, Full Spectrum Health
|This is a good recipe to use one of those whole grain pastas you may have been hesitant to use. Quinoa, corn, spelt or rice will work well here, as well as the traditional pastas, of course.
|Diet Type: Sugar Free
|Serves: 4
|Cooking Time: 30 minutes - one hour
|Preheat broiler or grill. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. In a medium bowl, combine oil, lemon juice and pepper. Add tuna chunks and toss to coat. Place on broiler pan or skewer to grill and cook until just opaque throughout, 2-4 minutes per side. Cut into bite-size chunks and set aside. While tuna is cooking, cook pasta, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it just starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, the grilled tuna and cooked pasta; cook, tossing, until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, mix in the basil and season with pepper to taste. Top with cheese, if using, and serve.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Last week, we started our ongoing quest to debrief 2011 and look ahead to 2012 by raising the key question the Phillies will need to answer as they formulate their offseason strategy. How much do they need to improve their offensive personnel, and how much can their existing personnel improve by altering their approach at the plate?
The key points from that post, which you can read in its entirety here, are as follows:
- The Phillies are clearly showing the signs of their age.
- No NL team with as many players aged 32+ has ever finished in the top half of the league in runs scored.
- Although Charlie Manuel's teams have always had a grip-it-and-rip-it reputation, they finished in the top four in their league in pitches-per-plate-appearance in each of his first five full seasons as manager. Over the last four seasons, the Phillies have finished seventh, fourth, sixth and eighth in pitches per plate appearance.
- Manuel had three different players log at least 200 plate appearances and post an on base percentage under .296. In his first six seasons in Philly, he had zero.
- Four of the Phillies' regulars finished at or better than their career marks in batting average and on base percentage
Pretty much, everything is Ruben Amaro Jr.'s fault. Grab the torches and pitchforks and meet on Pattison Ave. at 10 p.m!
Whoa - relax. That was sarcasm. In reality, nobody is to blame. Frankly, we should not even evaluate the situation using the word "blame." The Phillies won a team-record 102 victories. They lost to a hot team that is now in the World Series. Aces No. 2 and 4 allowed five runs each in their NLDS starts. More than anything, the Phillies' season serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of baseball's practice of following a 162-game regular season with a Best of Five playoff.
The simple point is that if the Phillies are going to get appreciably better, it is going to have to come on offense. And as much as we would like to blame the manager and hitting coach for the offense's postseason failures, the approach at the plate probably wasn't the only biggest problem.
But unless the Phillies are able to make a fortunate signing like the Cardinals did with Lance Berkman, there is a good chance the bulk of their improvement is going to have to come from within. Which means they are going to have to change their approach.
Which begs the questions. . .
What, exactly, is approach? And how can the Phillies change theirs?
1) Manuel's approach
When the Phillies hired Manuel in the fall of 2004, he told reporters his approach was simple: relax, and make solid contact as consistently as possible. It is an approach that worked extremely well coming off the Larry Bowa era. Many people in the organization felt like Bowa's intense attitude and fiery rehetoric sometimes had a negative affect on the club's hitters, prompting them to be too uptight and afraid of failure. Manuel's easy-going demeanor had the opposite affect. When you get a good ball to hit, hit it hard, and don't worry about it when you fail to do so.
At the same time, it is difficult to pinpoint the technical details of Manuel's work with the team's hitters. Mostly because Manuel does not want to appear like he is micro-managing his hitting coach. Numerous times over the last four years I have heard him defer to Milt Thompson or Greg Gross when somebody asks him a technical hitting question. In a nutshell, though, Manuel seems to believe that the role of a manager or hitting coach is to let a player do what he does best, and attempt to fix things when they get out of whack. Manuel views Ted Williams as the authority on hitting, and Williams used to say that 50 percent of hitting is above the shoulders. He also said that an instructor can improve a hitter.
"More mistakes are made hitting than in any part of the game," he once told Sport Magazine.
Williams' philosophy jibes with what Amaro is challenging Manuel to do. Because the Phillies are slower and less powerful than they were when Manuel first took control of the team, they need to become smarter hitters.
At the same time, a manager can talk until he is blue in the face and still not get his hitters to change. Manuel has said this on a number of occasions. Once the pitcher releases the ball, the hitter is the only person who can identify the pitch, the only person who can decide whether to swing or take, the only person who can decide what type of swing to unleash, and the only person who can control what part of the bat meets the ball.
So what, exactly, can Manuel and Gross control?
2) Know thyself
Manuel has said these two words on countless occasions during the time I have covered him. Know thyself. Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses. Know what you are capable of. Know what you are not equipped to do. It sounds easy, but getting players to understand themselves is probably the hardest part of a manager's job.
Let's look at Manuel's objectives, player by player:
Jimmy Rollins -You can break Rollins career into two distinct sections: pre-MVP and post-MVP. His anomalous 2007 campaign is the only time he did not hear the usual criticisms of his approach. The first: he needs to walk more. The second: he hits too many fly balls.
Before 2007, Rollins walked in 7.3 percent of his plate appearances and averaged 0.72 groundballs-per-flyballs, both of which are slightly below league average (and well below the normal production of most leadoff men). Over the last four seasons, he has improved his walk rate to 8.4 percent, but his groundball rate remains at 0.73.
If Rollins returns, Manuel's challenge will be to get him to play in a manner that nobody has been able to get him to play in his first 11 seasons in the majors. More on this later.
Chase Utley -Utley could end up being the biggest referendum on Manuel's success in changing the approach of his hitters, because Utley is probably best equipped to change his style. He has a good feel for the strike zone and a good ability to recognize pitches, and nobody spends more pre-game study time than he does.
Utley also might be the player who most needs to re-invent himself. In his first eight seasons in the majors, Utley was a hitter whose strength was driving the ball to right field. Of his 167 home runs, 97 went to right field. Only six went to left. From 2003-09, half of his 404 extra base hits went to right field, while 45 went to left. Of 935 balls he hit to right, 10 percent went for home runs and 22 percent went for extra bases. Those rate stats remained the same in 2010. In 2011, however, his power to right field dipped. Of the 120 balls he pulled, only two went for home runs. Only 11 percent of his balls to right resulted in extra base hits.
That is concerning because Utley's power up the middle had already dropped. In Utley's first seven seasons in the majors, 12 percent of the balls he hit in the middle of the field went for extra bases. Of his 370 hits in the middle, 37 percent went for extra bases.
Over the last three seasons, those numbers dropped to seven percent and 29 percent. That would not be as problematic if the drop in power was accompanied by a rise in singles. But Utley's batting average up the middle fell from .333 in his first seven seasons to .260 in his last three.
We'll get into the details in a subsequent blog post, but for now, Utley's situation can be summed up thusly: He is still hitting the ball to right field with the same frequency as he did in his prime, but he is hitting it with far less power and is reaching base far less often.
Which indicates that he needs to change the way he hits the ball. In fact, the criticisms that Rollins has always faced could now be leveled at Utley. In his nine seasons in the majors, he has averaged a well-below-average 0.60 groundballs-per-flyball. But those flyballs are not traveling as far. His first seven seasons, 10.5 percent of his fly balls went for home runs. His last two seasons, that rate has dropped to 7.1 percent. Which would seem to indicate that he needs to put more of an emphasis on getting on base than hitting for power, which would mean he needs to hit fewer fly balls and draw more walks (his 8.6 percent walk rate was right at the league average and below his career rate of 9.7 percent).
Shane Victorino -Like Rollins, Victorino's approach is different from the one you see out of most speedy-but-undersized top-of-the-order hitters. Like Utley, he represents one of the Phillies' best hopes for change. But unlike Rollins or Utley, his power numbers have not dropped. In fact, they have risen. Which makes him perhaps the most complicated case that Manuel and Gross will have to tackle.
What, exactly, is Victorino supposed to be? Which way do you push him? Is he better off as a true leadoff type who reaches primarily via walks, groundballs and line drives? Or is he a hitter who can replace some of the power the Phillies have lost?
Over the last three seasons, Victorino's groundball rate has dropped from .84 to .80 to .75. His line drive rate has dropped from 20 percent to 19 percent to 16 percent. But his power has increased. In 2009, 4.1 percent of his flyball went for home runs, followed by 7.7 percent in 2010 and 7.9 percent in 2011. His ABs-per-HR has dropped from 62.0 in 2009 to 32.6 to 30.5. In 2011, he set career highs in walk rate (9.4 percent) and percentage of hits for extra bases (10.2 percent).
The reason why Victorino presents such a challenge is that he might be the hitter who least needs to change his approach. He does not need to re-invent himself. He was one of the Phillies' best two-strike hitters this season. From the left side of the plate, he still has good success pulling the ball. As we saw for the better part of the regular season, Victorino is just a little polish away from becoming a bona fide star. Maybe he will never take that final step. But the Phillies certainly do not want to risk messing with his head and taking him out of his comfort zone. Because unlike some of the other players on the team, Victorino's comfort zone is still working.
Carlos Ruiz - This is the guy who probably needs the least amount of work. Aside from 2008, Ruiz has done exactly what he is supposed to do in his first five-plus seasons in the majors. His on base percentage over the last two seasons was .400 and .371. He does not strike out. He does not get home-run-happy. He works the center of the field. If anything, Ruiz has made an argument for moving up in the batting order, where his walk rate will do more damage if he has somebody other than the pitcher hitting behind him.
Placido Polanco -Amaro said in his end-of-year press conference that Polanco is the kind of hitter the Phillies are looking for. The question is whether he is still Polanco. It's the sad irony of the Phillies' rise and subsequent plateau. From 2007 to 2009 he hit .310 with a .356 on base percentage for the Tigers. He did not strike out. He hit the ball to all fields, and he hit them on the ground and on a line. What would have happened had the Phillies had Polanco at third base during those three seasons? What if they made their big pitching acquisitions a couple years earlier, dealing for C.C. Sabathia in 2007 or 2008 and Roy Halladay in 2009? What if the Phillies had Sabathia, Hamels and Polanco in 2008 and then added Halladay in 2009?
Dynasties are like relationships - it all comes down to the right person at the right time. The Phillies of the early-Manuel era had a powerful offense but lacked pitching and a contact hitter like Polanco. By the time they added the pitching, their offense was declining. And by the time they added Polanco, the veteran third baseman was 34 years old. If Polanco can put together a whole season of the .300 batting average and .350 on base percentage he has posted when healthy, then he is the perfect fit for this new-look offense. But after two straight seasons of lingering injuries that left him as a shell of himself in the postseason, it is fair to wonder whether 2012 will be any different. As Amaro said, there is nothing wrong with Polanco's approach. It's his aging body that is the concern. And no managing or coaching can control that.
Ryan Howard -A couple years ago, Manuel labelled him the Big Piece. The designation remains accurate. Except then, he was the biggest piece of the lineup. Now, he is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Like Rollins' MVP year, we must forget about Howard's first two-and-a-half seasons in the majors. For the sake of this evaluation, we will also forget about his Achilles injury and assume that he is back in the lineup for the final four months of the season. Although Howard's power production has dropped significantly over the last two seasons, his strength is still his top tool. Besides, remaking him into a Joey Votto or Albert Pujols is probably a pipe dream, particularly since he will be spending the bulk of his time rehabbing his injury this offseason. The fact is, Howard hits the ball when he sees it well. He doesn't hit the ball when he doesn't see it well. His at-bat against Kyle Lohse in Game 1 was everything you want out of a $25 million player. He stayed alive by fouling off change-ups until he got himself a meatball over the heart of the plate. In the last three games of that series, you saw the other side of Howard: swinging at inside breaking balls well off the plate, failing to much of a charge into the pitches he did make contact with .
Since 2008, Howard's walk rate, strikeout rate, groundball rate and line drive rate have all remained relatively constant. In 2011, he hit a home run on 15.3 percent of his flyballs, the fifth-best rate in the National League. Maybe the Phillies can make him into a better two-strike hitter. Maybe they can get him to use more of the field, convincing him to settle for a single to left-center instead of waiting for a pitch he can drive to right-center.
But a manager can't teach a hitter to recognize pitch type and pitch location. If he could, all of us would be good hitters.
3) In Conclusion
All of the aforementioned objectives are contingent on a player's abilities and his willingness to adapt them to a manager's philosophy. We'll delve into further detail on each one over the course of this week. First, on Tuesday afternoon, we'll complete our look at Manuel's side of the bargain by examining the one thing he has complete control over: his line-up. We'll look at how a new Chase Utley might fit into the leadoff hole, and how Carlos Ruiz might belong at No. 6. Right now, though, it's well past time for the wrap-it-up box.
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2001 INFINITI I30 Reviews and Ratings
Sedan 4D
Expert Reviews
Wow! We were expecting a mid-size luxury car when we climbed into the Infiniti I30t. What we got was a luxurious sports sedan.
The I30 performs well whether it's in heavy metropolitan traffic, on mountain passes or long, undulating desert roads. We've driven this latest-generation I30 through sweeping turns in Washington's Columbia River valley, and through the heavy traffic of Southern California and Washington, D.C. We found the Infiniti I30 boasts exceptional handling, a smooth ride and lots of performance from its twin-cam V6 engine. This car is stable at high speeds and under hard braking. Its elegant interior offers supportive leather seats that are comfortable on long trips.
To this, the I30t Touring model adds a sports suspension and other equipment designed to turn this Infiniti into a sports sedan. Both models offer a great value among mid-size luxury sedans.
Infiniti's I30 is available in two models, I30 Luxury Sedan ($29,465) and I30t Touring Sedan ($31,540).
Trim levels are identical. Both models come with the same 227-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 and 4-speed automatic transmission, a smooth, quiet drivetrain that provides excellent performance.
Ride and handling are the main differences between the I30 and I30t. The I30 offers a more luxurious ride, while the I30t is tuned for sporty handling.
The I30 Luxury Sedan comes with numerous features we'd expect to find on a luxury sedan, plus some others that surprised us. Large and roomy, the interior sports an elegant design with handsome leather seats. Automatic temperature control, leather wrapped steering wheel and supple leather seating surfaces add comfort and warmth. A 200-watt Bose AM/FM/Cassette/CD audio system, tuned to the I30's interior, further enhances the car's elegance. Heated seats and heated outside mirrors are a $420 option.
The I30t Touring Sedan receives all the luxurious treatment of the I30, but is tuned for more precise handling. Its Touring suspension reduces body roll in corners, while wider, larger-diameter tires (225/50VR17) mounted on alloy wheels provide greater grip. A viscous limited-slip differential is added to provide better grip when accelerating out of tight corners. I30t also comes standard with High Intensity Discharge Xenon low-beam headlights offer improved visibility on dark roads.
Infiniti is Nissan's luxury car division and the Infiniti I30 is based on the same basic platform as the superb Nissan Maxima. When Nissan redesigned the Maxima and I30 for 2000, the company made a conscience decision to give each vehicle its own character and image. Designed to offer performance, practicality and value, the Nissan Maxima sports radical styling.
I30 is more conservative, designed to offer luxury and attention to detail. The Infiniti retailers (the dealerships) are trained to reflect this, offering a higher level of service and attention to the needs of their customers. Infiniti owners demand this.
The I30 is actually 2 inches longer than the Maxima, but this isn't noticeable from the outside. Unique styling projects elegance. The soft, gentle slope of the hood and front fender line draws your eye to the redesigned front-end treatment that features Infiniti's trademark grille and powerful lighting design. The rear-end design is less distinctive than the front, although the taillight treatment adds sparkle.
In addition to the wheels and tires, the I30t is distinguished by a smoked headlight treatment. An optional Touring Sport Package ($1,000) adds a rear spoiler and aerodynamic side sills.
It may not be evident from the outside, but glide into any of the I30's seating positions and you immediately get the sense of roominess. Front-seat legroom and headroom have been increased over the previous-generation (1999) I30; rear-seat legroom is increased as well. The expansive amount of glass gives excellent visibility in all directions.
Up front are comfortable bucket seats. An eight-way power driver's seat complements a four-way passenger seat. Both the forward movement of the steering wheel and the driver's seat have been increased to offer an improved ergonomic position. The front seats incorporate an active head restraint system designed to help reduce injury from whiplash by automatically moving the headrest forward to support the head and neck in an accident.
Instruments are highly visible and switches are easy to operate. The instruments are virtually blacked out until you turn the key, then they come alive with a backlit design that makes the needles seem to hang in mid air. Climbing into the rear seats we immediately noticed the additional legroom. On paper it is a scant 1.9-inch improvement, but it seems as though it is much larger. Headroom is good front and rear. A foot-operated parking brake pedal has replaced the hand brake of the previous generation. While we prefer a hand-operated parking brake, moving it to the floor has uncluttered the center console and improved the appearance.
Steering wheel-mounted audio controls have been added for 2001 for enhanced safety and convenience. An automatic anti-glare rear view mirror with integrated compass is also new for 2001. Every car should have a compass.
I30's big trunk offers a low lift-in height to make loading cargo much easier. Trunk lid hinges intrude upon the cargo space when you shut the trunk lid, however. For 2001, an emergency inside trunk release was added for increased safety.
Infiniti might classify the I30 as a luxury car, but it could have fooled us: we thought we were behind the wheel of a sporty midsize coupe with luxurious interior. The ride, handling and transmission of the I30 Touring Sedan are all extremely impressive. We felt comfortable the moment we drove away in the car, and for the next week our opinion of the performance of the suspension only got higher, while the only time we even thought about the transmission was when we marveled at how seamless it was.
We drove maybe 300 miles on Washington's two-lane Highway 14, winding along the Columbia River, back and forth to Portland International Raceway for a CART race. There were opportunities to challenge the suspension, steering, transmission and brakes, and try as we might we couldn't get the I30 to complain or misbehave. Stable and even-keeled are the key words. There's virtually no body lean, even driving aggressively through switchback turns, yet there's nothing stiff feeling about the suspension. You can pitch the I30t into a sharp turn harder than is necessary, and it will turn quickly without any sort of negative feedback at all.
As for the ride, Infiniti is masterful in working with the independent front and multi-link rear. The superb leather seats have a lot to do with the feeling of comfort of the ride, but not so much that you can't tell it's the suspension that's somehow erasing the bumps. The I30t also maintained its composure on long waves of roller coaster desert roads in California with miniature peaks and valleys that compress then quickly unload the suspension. This is a car that you can drive forever and be almost oblivious to the condition of the road surface.
Besides driving quickly through turns, we found two other situations where the I30t passed the test with flying colors. Changing lanes on the freeway, back and forth, there was never a hint of wandering. And on bumpy surfaces, in a curve, under braking, again: rock steady-and this is a test that few cars can ace. Even during a panic stop to test the four-wheel ABS ventilated discs, there was very little nose dive. During normal use, the brake pedal has an excellent feel. This remained true following numerous hard braking maneuvers; the brakes performed consistently no matter how we abused them.
The twin-cam V6 engine is celebrated for its smoothness, and its 227 horsepower seems like plenty. The torque peak comes at 4000 rpm, which doesn't make it a (low-rpm) grunty engine; the car gathers speed, it doesn't throw it at you. Under normal acceleration, you can scarcely feel the upshifts; when you hold your foot to the floor, they come like the silent slice of a knife at about 6200 rpm, with the rev limiter electronically triggers at about 6600. We think this is one of the best V6 engines available.
Though the standard I30 works fine, the Touring equipment raises the I30t's abilities a notch. The steering seemed to be just a bit vague in the I30, but felt much tighter in the I30t. The I30 is easier to maneuver in tight parking garages, however, because it offers tighter turning circle (35.4 feet curb-to-curb versus 40.0 feet). Optional electronic traction control ($300) minimizes wheelspin when accelerating over slippery surfaces. A viscous limited-slip differential comes standard on the I30t that helps distribute torque between the front wheels.
This is a great luxury sports sedan. The cabin is quiet and comfortable when all you want to do is settle into the drive, turn up the Bose system and cruise on down the highway. It comes with one of the best V6 engines available. The engine is smooth and quiet in normal use and the transmission shifts so smoothly that you can scarcely feel it. But stand on it and the I30 delivers thrilling acceleration performance.
Starting at less than $30,000, the Infiniti I30 offers a luxurious interior wrapped in a stylish package with excellent performance and handling.
We preferred the I30t (Touring) for its improved handling. It's extremely stable and easy to drive at high speeds.
The I30 also comes with Infiniti's Total Ownership Experience, designed to pamper the owner whenever visiting the dealership for service. This is a vehicle one can live with for years and never be disappointed in your choice of wheels.


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What's in your trash? A few moldy apples, half a can of spoiled tomato paste, limp veggies, Saturday's leftovers? That might not seem like much, but it adds up: The average household creates about 1.28 pounds of daily waste, equal to 14 percent of the family's food purchases.
It's bad enough that discarded items take up space in landfills. But rotting food also releases methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
The good news: We can reduce food waste. Here, experts tell us how to shop and eat a little more carefully.
For one week, take note of what's in your trash. Don't just look at it, but analyze everything that goes in the bin or down the disposal. (If you're really serious, you might jot down your observations in a notebook.)
Then adjust your habits. If you threw away half a box of stale cereal, either buy a smaller box or store cereal in an airtight container immediately after opening. If week-old leftovers are still taking up real estate, prepare less next time or make a more conscious effort to eat the remainder (for instance, pack it in your lunch bag and leave a note reminding yourself to take it to work).
"When you pinpoint why and what you toss, you can make changes to your behavior," says Jonathan Bloom of wastedfood.com.
Keep an orderly fridge, and you won't push ingredients to the back and forget them. "Knowing what you have is more important than you think," Bloom says.
In addition to cleaning out the fridge once a week, keep leftovers as well as odds and ends (half-eaten onions or sweet potatoes) in sight. Bloom stores them in clear plastic containers and then places them in the front upside down, since "it's easier to see the contents."
Before you dish out another restaurant-sized portion at home, ask yourself if you really will finish what's on your plate (or, for that matter, if you should). Since it's unlikely you'll save that piece of nibbled-on casserole, stick to smaller portions; you can always get seconds.
Declare one dinner a use-it-up meal, suggests ecologist and chef Aaron French, designing it around things that are about to go bad. Casseroles, frittatas, soups, and smoothies are all forgiving dishes that embrace food that's close to turning, like overripe bananas, limp asparagus, or slightly wilted carrots.
"Imperfect doesn't mean inedible," Bloom says. Just cut the bruises off fruits and veggies; if they're moldy, though, it's time for the trash. Same goes for bread. Moldy cheese? Cut 1 inch around the unpleasantness and save the rest.
Setting your fridge at 39 degrees can help keep foods safe, says Angela Fraser, associate professor at Clemson University. Studies show that the average person's fridge tends to be too warm, encouraging faster spoilage. A fridge thermometer will ensure it stays at the right setting.
If you know you won't get to those leftovers soon, store them in individual servings, which will make thawing easier, and cover them in freezer-grade wrap.
Extra ingredients, like broth or tomato paste, can be frozen in ice cube trays to be used later as a base for sauces. Nuts, which eventually turn rancid when stored at room temperature, get a long life in the freezer, since the cold stabilizes their oils. If you have extra fruit, store it in the freezer, too.
And just like the fridge, freezers tend to be too warm: Make sure yours is set at zero degrees.
Broccoli in the produce aisle has already endured a trip of at least 7 to 10 days -- that's half its life span.
It would be nice if we all lived in California, where there's an abundance of in-season produce year-round. But the rest of us can still make a commitment to shop as locally as possible, so we're purchasing perishables that last longer, says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at New York University and author of "What to Eat."
You had high hopes for that ratatouille made from scratch -- but then a late night at the office foils your good intentions. "The reality is, life happens, and we want a 10-minute meal," French says.
So before you hit the store, look at the calendar and develop a weekly menu around your schedule, flagging days you're more likely to be able to cook. Plan three or four days to make recipes and two to eat leftovers; reserve one or two "free" days for impromptu events, like dinner with friends.
Shop at the deli counter or in the bulk aisle so you can buy precisely what you need. Do you never finish that full pound of turkey? Ask for five slices instead. Want pumpkin seeds for a muffin recipe? Scoop out the exact quantity from a bin instead of buying a whole package that will go rancid in your pantry.
According to a 2009 study from the Bulk Is Green Council, you can save an average of 35 percent by just buying what you need.
"Sell-by" or "use-by" dates don't always mean "toss-by." The sell-by date is the last recommended day you should buy a product in the store, but you can eat it several days to a week after. "Use-by" is the date through which the item will be top-quality.
However, "if stored properly, most foods stay fresh several days longer than the use-by date, even meat," says Fraser. "I've eaten plenty of foods past the date."
Of course, if you note any off odors, textures, or colors, don't risk it. And you never want to use baby formula past its date. (For a handy food storage guide, check out stilltasty.com.)
Itching to try out a new green curry recipe? The first hurdle is to actually make it. In a study by Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, more than 50 percent of thrown-away food items were purchased for a specific meal or special occasion that never happened.
To avoid abandoning cabinet castaways, have a backup plan handy. For example, before you buy okra for a soup, think about how you might roast it instead.
Make the best use of what's already in your kitchen with these use-it-up meals.
Leftover-Friendly Recipes


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Miracle of Sound: Age of the Dragon (Dragon Age 2 Song)
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Awesome, about time the Escapist hired you on Miracle!
Very, very cool. Can't wait for the next installment!
Great job, dude! Thouroughly enjoyable listen. Keep it up, and congratulations on your very own segment!
This game was not worthy of such a great song!
Oh...WOW. Congratulations, Miracle. Glad to see you've finally got a show of your own, and that you've still got your touch. I mean, this song was so awesome that I almost forgot that I hate this game.
Congrats on the feature! That said, damn you thrice for this awesome earworm that's about to get stuck in my head.
Goddammit man, stop being so talented.
This is the best one you've made so far, IMO. The style really fits me, and the mood of the song is great for a pick-me-up. Five stars.
Congratulations. Your songs are really good ;)
About time you got a show, I knew it had to be coming. I just hope the escapist has some plan it release the music still, I don't know what the distribution rights are, but we need to at least be able to buy the music.
Where were the verses about all the gay romance options?
But great song.
DAMN good song.
I had not heard of these before but I have to say that this is a good song :)
Excellent as always! Good to see The Escapist has given you your own channel.
This is probably your best one...next to I suck at Call of Duty.
Hurrah. The escapist has found a source of even blander heavy rock than their own credits-music guy. woot woot.
this is awesome, i hope this becomes a more normal thing, you're music is awesome.
Holy crap, you got a deal on the site?!
Well, this is an nice, unexpected surprise.
This song is about 500% cooler than the entire game.
Awesome song
Nope, just a very general outline of the story!
Glad to hear it :)
I wanted it to be like a cross between Iron Maiden and Muse ... or something!
You got featured on the main page!?
Awesome song man!
What is it going to spoil? "The main character goes rags-to-riches and saves the world"?
OT: Excellent video and song. I was wondering if a new musical feature would be coming along soon, seeing that Rebecca M. was buried somewhere. Hopefully not in a field.
Looking forward to more!
Awesome song,love the lyrics!
Wow! Congrats on getting a slot on the Escapist! Been following your music since Gordon Freeman Saved My Life, keep it up!
That was...really good! Wow, you guys are awesome! That was so much better than anything Rebecca Mayes!
Didn't see it because I still haven't played DA2 and I'm on of those people who hates spoilers. I loved your previous songs though, so I'll check it out after I play the game.
And congratulations on getting a feature on the site.
Loved it! Congrats on getting your own section :)
Ah wow Miracle Of Sound, congrats! I've gotta stop buying your songs now though, you've just gone too commercial. :p Actually, on that note, are your songs still going to be uploaded to iTunes and Amazon?
You may enjoy the next song more then, it's Bowie/Prince style electro-pop :)
Woah, mind blown.
Awesome! He got a show! Seriously, I'm so excited and happy for him. I remember when he debuted here, got the official post and all; awesome music. :D
Congratulations on the featured content (and front page) MoS (about time too). Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.
I'm used to the more campy humor of most escapist shows, so it will be interesting whether ot not I get into this.
This gonna be a weekly thing?
Great song as usual!
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The Arkadia service was created by Trudi Petri and Sigmund Schütz in 1938 in honor of the porcelain manufactory's 175th anniversary. Relief medallions in bisque porcelain narrate the story of the Arkadian dreamland, that region of ancient Greece where happiness prevailed and whose inhabitants were known for simplicity and contentment.
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Don't Sad because your bags are Ugly, smile.
Yes, it's made of those square plates with a non-osseous joint in the middle, I think their name was "tablets" or something like that.
And notice the guy doesn't even have eyes, the fake red glowing eyes are just a couple of those "heycorn" parts.
BTW, malson means "nightmare" in my language. I think it fits him perfectly, just imagine this guy slowly crawling out from under your bed while you're asleep.
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Copper has been used to make utilitarian items, such as teakettles and cooking pans, since the days of the early American colonists. Copper became a popular metal with the Arts & Crafts makers of the early 1900s, and decorative pieces, like desk sets, were made. A company called Copper Craftsman used copper in decorative pieces like teapots and desk sets at the beginning of the 20th century. Other pieces of copper may be found in the Arts & Crafts, Bradley & Hubbard, Kitchen, Roycroft, and other categories.
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Adaptively Weighted Numerical Integration in the Finite Cell Method. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. 311, 250-279.(2016).
Effective contact measures. Computer-Aided Design. 70, 134-143.(2016).
Homogenization of material properties in additively manufactured structures. Computer-Aided Design. 78, 71-82.(2016).
The new frontiers in computational modeling of material structures. Computer-Aided Design. 77, 73-85.(2016).
Efficient 3D analysis of laminate structures using ABD-equivalent material models. Finite Elements in Analysis and Design. 106, 41-55.(2015).
Random heterogeneous materials via texture synthesis. Computational Materials Science. 99, 177-189.(2015).
Representation and analysis of additively manufactured parts. Computer-Aided Design. 67,(2015).


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Austerity measures may be kicking in around the world, but governments are keener than ever to use financial incentives to attract inward investment from international film productions. Geoffrey Macnab reports
The global economic crisis has not done anything to curb national governments' enthusiasm for film incentive schemes. If anything, the financial squeeze has had the reverse effect.
With traditional industries in decline and unemployment rising across Europe and the US, governments and state authorities are desperate to attract inward investment. They know what benefits international production can bring. There are film incentives available all over the world in territories including the US, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well as across all of Europe. Some incentives (such as those in Australia and the state of Michigan) can offer rebates of up to 40% on eligible expenditure.
In Ireland, even as the country's economic woes have worsened, no-one is calling for the abolition of the Section 481 Film Tax Relief scheme.
"Culture is probably the most cost effective export Ireland has," notes Irish Film Board chief executive Simon Perry. "[Culture] is massively efficient. It's one thing [Ireland] certainly can afford, even if it is almost broke, because the return is so immense in terms of invisible earnings in diplomacy, promotion and tourism."
Politics, as well as the desire for inward investment, are driving more and more countries to offer incentives in a bid to be a part of the international media network.
Producers, in turn, are factoring tax credits into their financing more than ever before. "Tax credits around the world are very important because they can make the difference between a film being made and not made," says UK producer Iain Smith, whose credits include Cold Mountain,Children Of Men and The A Team .
"It's very rare that we see a film without a tax credit in the finance plan," agrees Ivan Mactaggart, director of film and media funds at London-based BMS Finance.
Smith cites Canada as a particularly attractive territory. "The Canadian combination of federal, provincial and visual-effects rebates is considerable. You can get 25% back on your Canadian spend but the spend is seen as everything you spend in Canada. If you bring in people, you're recovering their hotel living and half their airfare. Anything to do with visual effects is another 10% on top of that."
Producers seek stability
Another factor affecting producers' decisions is the stability of the incentives. When the new British coalition government announced its decision this summer to scrap national film body, the UK Film Council, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt went out of his way to emphasise that the UK Film Tax Credit was safe. The UK has continued to attract big US studio films, among them Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. However, the decision to axe the UK Film Council startled foreign producers looking to bring production to the UK.
At time of writing, Belgium had yet to form a government after an inconclusive election. If Belgium were to split in two, its robust film tax shelter system would have to be renegotiated.
Producers in European countries which do not yet have fiscal incentives to attract international film-makers are lobbying hard to have them put in place. In the Netherlands, where big cuts were being predicted for the budgets of national arts organisations including film bodies, local producers are calling for a system akin to Belgium's tax shelter or Luxembourg's CIAV. Without it, they argue, these countries are at an enormous competitive disadvantage. As one producer notes, "It's difficult to co-produce with the Netherlands because they can't bring a lot of money to the table."
Eastern European territories have introduced new incentives, such as the rebate scheme that came into effect in the Czech Republic this summer. The new Czech Film Industry Support Programme, which offers producers rebates of up to 20% of eligible local expenditure, has nudged some big productions towards the Czech Republic, among them Mission: Impossible IV.
Meanwhile, there are always calls for tax incentives to be tweaked and revised. As competition for production intensifies, governments try to relax regulations where they can. "I think all the countries will understand that spending more than 100% of what you finance is blocking the system," says Nicolas Steil, president and CEO of Luxembourg-based Iris Productions. He points out that if you need to spend $2.7m (€2m) in one country in order to access a $685,000 (€500,000) advantage, this will make it considerably more difficult to raise the financing in the other countries that may be part of the co-production.
"The proliferation of tax schemes across Europe, the Americas and Australasia are causing increased competition for the UK. The current situation with regard to funding with soft money in the UK throws up an opportunity," points out Mike Downey, managing director at Film & Music Entertainment. "The Americans will always be fickle and go where the best deal is. The opportunity is to skew the tax credit in terms of promoting co-production with Europe and by the UK rejoining Eurimages. There are an increasing number of films being made in Europe — 1,168 films were made in Europe in 2009; 28 more than 2008. There is business on our own doorstep that we aren't even trying to get. The tax credit is skewed in favour of US production, and this does not benefit British producers in any way."
Anomalies remain. For example, some say the UK is losing out because its tax credit is not available to television drama at a time of increasing convergence between high-end television shows of the kind produced by HBO and conventional cinema.
The challenge for an independent producer is — and always has been — how best to put together the film-financing jigsaw. Tax breaks in themselves are just one part. New incentives may be worth 40% but if the territories offering them do not already have an infrastructure in place or offer low costs and a competitive currency, it will probably still make more sense to look elsewhere.
Bank lending: the slowdown
As producers around Europe are noting, banks have caught a chill. "There is nothing like the number of banks lending [to film] that there was five years ago," says BMS Finance's Ivan Mactaggart.
"Definitely, there was a holding back. [The banks] reduced lending quite markedly and pretty much across the board," says producer Iain Smith.
"Discount lending is down. It's still there but you have to work hard for it. Certainly, equity is also down. Even in Hollywood, [producers] are finding the big funds are less and less keen. They will invest in a studio because that's a completely vertically integrated system. But for independent pictures, it's become pretty dire."
There have been several high-profile exits from the film sector in recent years. In Ireland, the travails of the debt-laden Anglo-Irish Bank are well known. The bank is no longer active in Section 481 financing.
In the UK, the banks which are active in the film industry tend to be at the more conservative end of the lending scale. They lend primarily against pre-sales and the UK tax credit. Bank Leumi, Barclays and Coutts are all known to lend against tax credits. Coutts also lends against pre-sales.
French banks Cofiloisirs and Coficine continue to lend to the film sector as do a number of German and US banks.
If bank financing is not available, producers will look to intermediaries.
In the UK, providers such as the Aegis Film Fund, Aramid, Future Films, Quickfire Films, Limelight, BMS and Goldcrest remain active in film financing.
"Producers tend to look towards banks for the best pricing when they have a decent-sized project and are trying to secure a low-risk loan," says Mactaggart. "If they want more than that, they look to lenders like us. We have a greater appetite for risk but consequently cost more."
The producers themselves continue to fret about how difficult and expensive it is to cashflow their films.
"The onerous business affairs requirements involved in cashflowing the tax credit and any kind of contract will have to change," states Mike Downey of F&ME. "Already there are smaller, more entrepreneurial financiers willing to get involved for lower fees and simplified contracts and without the need of a completion bond. It's up to the lawyers and accountants to find efficient ways of making this work."
However, the traffic is not only one way. In certain cases, the banks are taking over from — or offering an alternative to — intermediaries, who are perceived to be too aggressive. In Belgium, a 4.5% cap has been placed on the return intermediaries can guarantee to investors using the Belgian tax shelter. This is intended to stop the shelter being used as a financial product. Now, any returns above 4.5% are dependent on a film's profits.
When it comes to banks and the film industry, two competing theories are often advanced. On the one hand, producers suggest, the film industry now looks a relatively safe and solid investment by comparison with some of the areas in which banks have lost fortunes during the economic slowdown. On the other, banks question whether it is worth having dedicated teams to deal with an area such as film which is likely to remain a small part of their overall business.
Extracted from Screen International's Global Guide to Soft Money 2011. The downloadable PDF report is provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of the leading financial incentives for film production in 19 territories. To purchase visit http://softmoney.screendaily.com/


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Well the libtards begged for investigations.. they got it. Looks like the unmasking of Trump and associates and leaking of that material which was widely disseminated in the Obama administration is growing. Don't look to CNN as I'm told by them this is not news... RUSSIA!!!
A major development in the Obama spy/leak scandal: former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice has been identified as a person who repeatedly requested that associates of Donald Trump (and perhaps Trump himself) be unmasked in raw intelligence intercepts. Eli Lake of Bloomberg reports:
White House lawyers last month learned that the former national security adviser Susan Rice requested the identities of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.If true, this is a bombshell, if not exactly a surprise. We know from her tour of the Sunday morning talk shows to misrepresent Benghazi that Rice was a political hack, more than willing to do dirty work on behalf of President Obama. Her alleged role here would fit with that history.
The pattern of Rices requests was discovered in a National Security Council review of the governments policy on unmasking the identities of individuals in the U.S. who are not targets of electronic eavesdropping, but whose communications are collected incidentally. Normally those names are redacted from summaries of monitored conversations and appear in reports as something like U.S. Person One.
The National Security Councils senior director for intelligence, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, was conducting the review, according to two U.S. officials who spoke with Bloomberg View on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. In February Cohen-Watnick discovered Rices multiple requests to unmask U.S. persons in intelligence reports that related to Trump transition activities. He brought this to the attention of the White House General Counsels office, who reviewed more of Rices requests and instructed him to end his own research into the unmasking policy.
Rice apparently has not yet commented:
Rice did not respond to an email seeking comment on Monday morning.Lake notes that Rices requesting raw intelligence in which Trump associates figured might not be illegal:
The standard for senior officials to learn the names of U.S. persons incidentally collected is that it must have some foreign intelligence value, a standard that can apply to almost anything. This suggests Rices unmasking requests were likely within the law.That strikes me as a generous interpretation. In any event, if Rice and others conspired to leak confidential information or publicly disclose information about individuals like General Flynn, it would be a crime.
For an optimistic take on where the multiple Russia-related stories are heading, check out Kurt Schlichters piece at Townhall: The Russiagate Scam Will Blow Up In The Democrats Smug Faces.
This part certainly seems correct:
[I]ts safe to say that there was absolutely no collusion of any kind between Team Trump and anyone Russian. None. How do I know this to a near certainty? Because we havent seen anybody leak any evidence of any in the six-plus months that theyve been pushing this nonsense.Which, as Schlichter says, is the only crime we have any evidence of in the entire Russian saga.
You think the geniuses leading our intelligence community not the brave and dedicated folks in the trenches but the clowns and political suck-ups lording over them could have or would have kept real collusion secret? Do you think if Trump was cavorting with the former commies we wouldnt have heard about it from the NYT, the WaPo and the rest of the Democrat steno pool about a week before November 8th?
Get. Real.
Does anyone here think for a millisecond that the Obama-appointed leadership in the intelligence community, whose loyalty is to their own political class and not to the country, would hesitate for a microsecond before leaking something they thought would hurt Trump? We know they wouldnt hesitate because they didnt hesitate they feloniously released a classified transcript involving Mike Flynn just to shaft him and the Administration.


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ST. PAUL - Signs that the Minnesota government shutdown soon may end are surfacing, but work remains.
Gov. Mark Dayton ordered the state Capitol to open again at 9 a.m. Tuesday and budget bills have begun to be posted on line.
A Monday night statement from Dayton's office said: "The governor ordered the doors opened to allow public access and transparency as the Legislature prepares to reconvene to pass a budget."
There was no indication when Dayton could call a special legislative session to pass the two-year budget and end the shutdown.
Dayton and Republican legislative leaders also approved four bills that negotiators had worked out since Thursday.
The first two finished budget bills appeared on line at mid-afternoon Monday.
Transportation, public safety and courts spending are outlined in the first bills and show minor changes from what had been proposed by Dayton and Republicans who control the Legislature.
Transportation spending would be $4.7 billion in the next two years, up slightly from what the Legislature and Dayton proposed. It also is up from $4.4 billion spent in the two years that ended June 30.
Another budget bill, spending $1.9 billion on public safety and the courts, showed little change from the Dayton and legislative plans.
Also posted on line was the environment spending bill. Tentative agreements were reported on five of the nine budget bills Monday afternoon.
A bill funding a variety of outdoors, arts and culture programs, not part of the regular budget, also went on line Monday night.
Part of government is shut down because Dayton and legislative leaders have agreed on a new budget.
Bills are released to the public only after House, Senate and administration negotiators in each budget area come to an agreement; legislative staffers put the bills in the proper form; and Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch read through them and agree they are ready.
Once the three leaders approve them, the bills are posted at www.house.leg.state.mn.us/ss2011.
Republican leaders say they have enough votes to pass a budget developed from a vague outline Dayton and Republican legislative leaders worked out Thursday, but there was some doubt if Senate Republicans were united.
"We young guns actually want to read the bills," Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-Brainerd, said .
Once the Legislature passes the bills, they will go to Dayton for his signature. When he signs them happens, state government gradually can begin to reopen.
Courts, the Legislature and some other offices have remained open during the shutdown, but 22,000 state employees are laid off.
Democrats who have talked about the budget deal generally criticize two forms of borrowing. First, the state basically borrows money from school districts by delaying $700 million of payments. Second, another $700 million would be borrowed, to be repaid by tobacco lawsuit proceeds in future years.
Gazelka said the budget agreement probably offers the most state government reform of any time in Minnesota history, including the beginning of slowing government growth.
It was impossible to learn what reform, policy or budget issues were in bills funding most of government since those involved in negotiations have been tight-lipped since Thursday
The silent treatment state leaders are giving Minnesotans does not sit well with open-government advocate Rich Neumeister.
Deal making happens in the Capitol all the time, Neumeister wrote in his Open Secrets blog. "What's different (is) there's no public to see, watch, to ask questions and put two and two together."
Legislators, staff, some Dayton administration officials and credentialed media were allowed in the Capitol during the shutdown, but the public and lobbyists were banned.
State leaders are pushing for a short special legislative session.
"It means that there is a big push to zip these bills through and that there will be changes of language, with shifts of money going from one program to another, language and money allocations in bills disappearing, possible new language being added and an array of legislative slights of hand without any public scrutiny," Neumeister wrote.
"From the small non-profit who worked on language in a specific area with funding to the large corporate entity that wants less government regulation are all interested where the money and resources go. ... But we are all locked out."
On Monday, Judge Kathleen Gearin ruled that restaurants, liquor stores and bars must wait until after the shutdown to renew cards that allow them to buy alcoholic beverages. Hundreds of bars report they are running low on alcohol because their permission to buy it has expired.
Don Davis reports for Forum Communications Co.


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Your Load 60 vario
Frame colour
IntuviaAs standard###
500 WhAs standard###
Sidewalls / Weather protection
Without sidewalls / weather protectionAs standard###
Accessories cargo area
No accessories cargo area–
Equipment option
No optional equipment–
No additional chain lock–
No carrier–
Basic price: 11609.0 AU$
Additional equipment: 11609.0 AU$
Total price: 11609.0 AU$
Configuration code:
The Load 60 vario in detail
The Load 60 vario in detail
Frame colour coal grey matt*; sunset*; tundra grey matt*; white*
Suspension fork Suntour XCM32, 20", 70mm
Rear shock X-Fusion Glyde
Headset Acros AZX-221, block lock; TH No. 9, semi-integrated
Seatpost JD/Riese & Müller, Alu, 34,9 x 430mm
Seatclamp TranzX, 40,0 mm, QR
Tires Schwalbe Big Ben Plus 55-406 Reflex; Schwalbe Big Ben Plus 55-559 Reflex; Schwalbe Smart Sam 57-559*
Tubes Schwalbe SV13; Schwalbe SV7
Rims Alex MD30, 20"; Alex MD30, 26"
Rear hub Enviolo 380 R&M Custom, 36H
Battery Bosch PowerPack 500 Performance, 36 V, 13,4 Ah/500Wh; Bosch PowerPack 500 Performance, 36 V, 13,4 Ah/500Wh ( 2x )*
Motor Cargo Line Cruise (Gen4)
Display Bosch Intuvia; Bosch SmartphoneHub*
Crankset FSA/Riese & Müller, 170 mm
Chain ring 55T, for Gates drive belt CDX
Chain guard Riemenschutzring
Chain Gates drive belt CDX
Pinion 22T, for Gates drive belt CDX
Saddle Selle Royal New Lookin Moderate Male
Pedals VP-183; VP-538*
Shifter Enviolo grip shift, continuous
Handlebar FSA V-Drive, 31,8 mm, Alu
Stem Riese & Müller, adjustable height and angle
Grips Ergon ergonomic
Brakes Tektro Auriga E-Comp HD-E500, disc brake
Front light Supernova M99 Mini Pro-25
Tail light Supernova M99, integrated brake light
Mudguards SKS A65R
Luggage rack Riese & Müller*
Rubber Bibia*
Bell Billy
Lock ABUS Shield*; ABUS Chain*
Frame geometries
The Load 60 vario in numbers
Frame geometries
The Load 60 vario in numbers
Top tube length [cm] 59-77
Head tube angle [°] 69
Seat tube angle [°] 68
Trail [mm] 54
Wheelbase [cm] 182,5
Bottom bracket height [cm] 30,5
Top tube height [cm] 62,5
Stand-over height [cm] 59
Chainstay length [cm] 46,5
Overall length [cm] 248
Wheel size [''] front:20/rear:26
Head tube length [mm] 100
Headset size [''] 1 1/8
Front suspension travel [mm] 70
Effective rear suspension travel [mm] 80
Rear shock length [mm] 165
Front shock mounting width [mm] 22
Rear shock mounting width [mm] 22
Front shock locking screw 8
Rear shock locking screw 8
Suspension ratio 2,2
Rear dropout width [mm] 135
Gear ratio [m] 2,33-8,85
Weight [kg] 36,5
Weight [lbs] 80
Gross vehicle weight rating [kg] 200
Weight rating: Luggage rack [kg] 20
Weight rating: Handlebar bag/basket [kg] Nein
Childseat compatibility Ja
Trailer compatibility: Single wheel/single attachment point Nein
Trailer compatibility: Two wheel/single attachment point Ja
Compatibility: Bike-Trailer (through hub/quick release attachment) Nein
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LEEC's Weekly eNews: A Compilation of Environmental Education News from Across Louisiana
2011 From H-2-O Water Quality Workshop for Teachers (Deadline: September 19)
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) is announcing the 2011 From H-2-O Water Quality Workshop for Teachers. From H-2-O is a dynamic teacher training workshop for LUMCON's Bayouside Classroom Program. The Bayouside Classroom program is designed to use water quality monitoring to connect students to the rich and unique environments within the Mississippi River drainage basin and the Gulf of Mexico. This year special emphasis will be placed on the impacts of last spring's Mississippi River flooding and the formation of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.
Workshop Specifics:
Cost: None. The workshop is fully funded by the Barataria – Terrebonne National Estuary Program.
Where: DeFelice Marine Center in Cocodrie, LA
When: October 7-9, 2011: Application Deadline: September 19, 2011
Eligibility: Open to all Louisiana middle school and high school teachers
Highlights: Research cruise aboard the R/V Acadiana,Free water monitoring equipment kit valued at ~$400, Networking opportunities with scientists, informal educators, and other teachers, laboratory activities, CLUs provided
For more information about the workshop or how to apply please contact Murt Conover, Marine Education Associate, (985) 851-2860, email@example.com
Audubon Zoo Fall 2011 Teacher Workshop Schedule
Please see PDF below for workshop details and registration. Workshops run September 17-December 3. For more information, contact: 504-212-5378 or email@example.com.
LATECH College of Education Parental Involvement Course and Free Resources Course
Scholarships are currently available for a multitude of courses being offered through the College of Education's Office of Professional Education and Outreach. Two of the many courses being offered include a course addressing parental involvement and a course identifying sources of free classroom resources and materials to meet student needs .Flyers for each are attached. Both courses will be delivered electronically, and students completing the courses will receive a certificate for 45 clus and 3 hours of course credit from the Louisiana Tech University College of Education. If you need any additional information about these courses or others, please give us a call or visit: http://www.latech.edu/education/opeo/
Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan – What's Important to YOU?
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is currently developing Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan which will recommend specific actions for restoring our coastal wetlands and protecting our coastal communities. With limited funding and time, we know we can't restore and protect the entire coast, so we need your input on what is most important to you.
We have developed a community exercise and online survey to help us understand your preferences. Individual preferences can vary greatly – preferences about what is important for a specific community, and preferences for what is important for the entire coast of Louisiana. This online survey allows you to identify what you feel is most critical to the coastal restoration and protection efforts and will be used to inform what is represented in Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan. Please click here to participate in a survey and pass this link on to your friends, family and co-workers so they can provide their input. This survey will take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous. One survey per person please. If you provided your preferences at one of the community meetings, please do not fill out this online survey as your preferences have already been documented. This survey will be available until September 16, 2011. To find out more about Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, please visit our website at www.coastalmasterplan.la.gov or attend a community meeting. Click here for a schedule of upcoming meetings.
Visit the Louisiana Unified Coastal Community Calendar at http://lacoast.gov/calendar/
The goal of LUCC is to drive Web users to one location to find out about all wetland outreach activities including symposiums, conferences, meetings, educational opportunities, volunteer opportunities and the related support materials. This is an interactive Web based calendar that all wetland related national and state agencies and approved NGOs can post information to. The Web calendar will also provide local governments and other organizations to work with these agencies to post wetland activities. LUCC was the vision of the Louisiana Sea Grant. LUCC is hosted on the LaCoast.gov Web site. Currently the LaCoast.gov site gets 1,000,000 hits per month, the goal is to provide users with a "one-stop" location for Louisiana's wetland activities.
Venise Ortego, Environmental Education Coordinator, 337-948-0255, firstname.lastname@example.com
Juliet Raffray, Environmental Education Assistant Coordinator, 225-765-0124, firstname.lastname@example.com
Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – www.wlf.louisiana.gov/eec


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The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District says several dozen samples of mosquitoes in Davis and Woodland have tested positive for the virus.
Luz Maria Rodriquez with the District says aerial spraying has begun in rural areas of Yolo County and Sacramento County is being monitored closely.
She says recent rain followed by extreme heat creates ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
"When you have the moisture and then the high temperatures, not only does the virus replicate faster but then you also have mosquitoes that are completing their life cycle faster, which means we just have more mosquitoes," she says.
The number of mosquitoes showing up in the district's traps is the highest it's been in a long time.
There's been one human case of the virus reported so far in Sacramento County.