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Did you watch last night's game? Did you see Rajon Pierre Rondo rack up 29 points, dish out 13 dimes and grab 18 boards? If you didn't, you must feel like a fool.
Last night's performance was on an almost subhuman level. Only two players before R2 have put up numbers like that in an NBA game. Two. One was Wilt Chamberlain, who once scored 100 points in a game and the other was Oscar Robertson, who once averaged a triple-double in a full season. Not Bird. Not Magic. Not Jordan. Not Kobe. Not LeBron. Just "The Big Dipper", "The Big O" and now Rajon "Ragin" Rondo. If you watched last night, you were watching Celtic history and, indeed, NBA history. Nothing more, nothing less.
Last night, Rajon Rondo carried the Boston Celtics. No matter what happens in this series (which, by the way, we could still win, provided Rondo has games like Game 4), Boston will have Rajon Rondo to build around when the Big Three is no longer there. He will be able to carry them if he just puts his mind to it. That was pretty obvious after last night. The future, my friends, is looking very, very bright.
7 Responses so far.
JR says:
Love the title ACF. Pretty rare company with Wilt and Oscar. Two guys I'd like to see with Rondo post Big 3 are Amar'e and Iggy.
Bailey's got a great column on Rondo's performance posting later tonight. Keep an eye out for it.
tb727 says:
I bet Michael Finley did that in a high school game lol.
Great article ACF.
Stephen Bailey says:
Well done ACF. I agree with JR, great title!
Jenda says:This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenda says:
To be fair, it's not just the title that is great.
ACF says:
I didn't realize Bailey was about to do a piece on Rondo (Which by far outdid mine). I never plan on when I will write something, I just do it as a spur-of-the-moment thing. I just wanted to share my feelings on R2's beautiful game :) Thanks for the words.
Bohemian says:
Rondo is simply on another level. No matter what happens in the next games, you will always have reasons for hope, optimism and high spirits when you think of Rajon Rondo's game in the last 1 1/2 seasons...AMAZING RONDOOOOOOOO!


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Ganesh necklace 50cm
The Ganesh necklace is a combination of silver and metal.
The length of the necklace is 50cm.
Match the Ganesh necklace with the Royal coin necklace!
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subset: commoncrawl


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How Trump plans to change the Endangered Species Act
Clip: 08/13/2019 | 5m 21s
The Trump administration has announced major changes to the Endangered Species Act, the landmark law signed by President Richard Nixon that's credited with saving iconic species like the bald eagle and the grizzly bear. William Brangham talks to Lisa Friedman of The New York Times about new rules around how scientists designate species as in need of protection and anticipated court challenges.
Aired: 08/13/19Video has closed captioning.
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Romulo Yanes
- Active Time
- 1 1/4 hr
- Total Time
- 1 3/4 hr
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (2 1/2-lb) center-cut beef tenderloin roast, trimmed and tied
- 1 1/2 lb fingerling or baby Yukon Gold potatoes (about 16), halved lengthwise
- 1/2 lb pearl onions (about 16), blanched in boiling water 1 minute, drained, and peeled
- 12 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
- Special Equipment
- 12-inch-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil; a 22 1/2-inch kettle grill with a hinged top rack (if using charcoal); a large chimney starter (if using charcoal); long metal tongs; a 17- by 12 1/2- by 3 1/2-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan (if using charcoal); an instant-read thermometer
- Coarsely crack peppercorns (see cooks' note, below). Stir together pepper and salt in a small bowl, then add oil and stir until combined well. Rub spice mixture all over beef.
- Tear off 8 (2-foot-long) sheets of heavy-duty foil and arrange in 2 stacks of 4. Divide potatoes, onions, garlic, and sage between stacks, arranging in 1 layer in center of foil, then drizzle each with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Working with top sheet of foil, fold each side over potato mixture to enclose, then turn package a quarter turn and repeat folding and turning package with each piece of remaining foil. Make second hobo pack in same manner.
- To cook beef and hobo packs using a charcoal grill:
- Open vents on bottom of grill. Light charcoal (80 to 100 briquettes) in chimney starter. Leaving about one quarter of grill free of charcoal, bank lit charcoal across rest of grill so that coals are about three times higher on opposite side.
- Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack over area where coals are piled highest for 3 to 4 seconds. Using long metal tongs, lift up one hinged side of rack and put hobo packs, folded sides down, on portion of bottom rack with no coals on it. (One side of packages will be in direct contact with coals.) Cook hobo packs, turning a quarter turn with tongs every 15 minutes, 45 minutes total.
- While hobo packs are cooking, sear beef on lightly oiled grill rack directly over hottest part of coals, uncovered, turning occasionally and, if necessary, moving around grill to avoid flare-ups, until well browned, 12 to 15 minutes total. Move beef to coolest part of grill, then cover with inverted roasting pan and grill, turning occasionally, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 120°F for medium-rare, about 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
- To cook beef and hobo packs using a gas grill:
- Preheat all burners on high, covered, 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low on 2 burners if your grill has 3 (or 1 burner if your grill has 2) and cook hobo packs, folded sides down, on grill rack, covered with lid, over moderately low burner(s) 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sear beef on lightly oiled grill rack over remaining burner on high, covered with lid, turning over occasionally, until well browned, 12 to 15 minutes total. Reduce heat to moderate and cook beef, covered with lid, turning over occasionally, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 120°F for medium-rare, about 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
- Serve beef and hobo packs:
- Thinly slice beef, then remove potato mixture from packages and serve with sour cream, bacon, and chives.
Cooks' notes:
• To crack peppercorns, coarsely crush with a mortar and pestle or wrap in a kitchen towel and press with bottom of a heavy skillet. • If you aren't able to grill outdoors, beef can be seared in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until well browned, about 15 minutes total, then transferred to a large roasting pan with potato mixture scattered around it and roasted in middle of a preheated 450°F oven until thermometer registers 120°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer beef to a cutting board and continue to roast potato mixture until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes more. Keep vegetables warm in a bowl, covered, while beef stands.


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The biggest race in Rhode Island isn't being fought between a Democrat and a Republican. Instead, this year's ballot pits the state of Rhode Island against Massachusetts in a casino gambling arms race.
Rhode Island voters decide Tuesday whether to allow the state's two slot machine parlors to install table games. Whether the state's gambling parlors win or lose, the ballot question won't end the arms race. As states pile into the ultra-competitive casino gambling market, they're finding that the only way to deliver on the promise of huge piles of money and easy jobs is in amping up their gambling operations and raiding someone else's casino business — an act that invites reprisals in the form of yet more expanded gambling. Massachusetts lawmakers didn't end the gambling debate when they authorized the construction of three casinos last year; they put down a marker that they're going to have defend, and revisit, ad nauseum.
Voters in Rhode Island defeated a similar casino-legalization referendum in 2006, but the landscape looks far different this time around. The current bid to convert Twin River in Lincoln and the Newport Grand in Newport into casinos enjoys the support of Governor Lincoln Chafee, and the ballot question has been polling well. Rhode Island voters have turned because they suddenly have a lot to lose, thanks to the casino law that passed on Beacon Hill last year.
The Massachusetts law allows for the construction of three resort casinos, as well as a stand-alone slot machine parlor. So now Rhode Island's two slot parlors, which siphon money away from Connecticut's two tribal casinos, are staring down the prospect of a new tribal casino across the border in Taunton, or full-scale commercial casinos in Milford, New Bedford, or Middleborough, on top of a likely slot facility in Plainville or Raynham.
As evidenced by Twin River's 2009 bankruptcy filing, Rhode Island's small facilities were already smaller players, compared with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. A surge in competition from Massachusetts could gut their business, or wipe them out altogether. A report filed with the Rhode Island Department of Revenue earlier this year estimated that Twin River and Newport Grand stood to lose anywhere between $77 million and $152 million per year to Massachusetts, draining between $45 million and $91 million from the state budget.
In any normal business, strong competitors would drive weak ones out of business. That's capitalism. Legalized gambling isn't much of a capitalist enterprise, though: When competition gets tough, casino firms put their money to work, bending the law to tilt the market in their favor. In Rhode Island, this means spending millions on a campaign to convert Twin River and the Newport Grand to full-scale casinos, rather than concede the state's lucrative-enough cut of casino proceeds to Massachusetts and Connecticut.
If Rhode Island's casino push is successful, it will mean that New England will soon be home to eight full-blown casinos. (One opened in Maine in July.) Last year, that figure stood at two. Casinos are multiplying because states are responding in kind to each other's embrace of gambling. Slots parlors beget more slots parlors, and new casinos spur the construction of more casinos. There's no sign of this dynamic stopping.
Cross-border gambling reprisals are becoming common across the country. Pennsylvania legalized casinos and swiped a huge piece of Atlantic City's gambling business, so Atlantic City worked feverishly to implement sports betting. New York grew jealous of the money flowing into Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, so the state chased a huge urban casino in Queens. West Virginia found itself in the same place Rhode Island is now in: It had a good slot parlor business hit the skids when neighboring Maryland opened slot parlors, so it converted its struggling slot parlors to full-blown casinos. Of course, Maryland didn't stand pat in the face of West Virginia's escalation; the state is now pushing a ballot question to dramatically expand gambling and let it, too, open full casinos.
States have sold gambling as a jobs stimulus, and now they're locked in a race to corner a limited market. In Connecticut, casinos have responded to new competition by expanding their operations. But even though the state has thousands more slot machines than it did a decade ago, the machines are handling less money. The calculus only works if gambling erodes ever-greater portions of the real, productive economy. Otherwise, the arms race ends with ever-expanding state gambling operations grasping for crumbs.
Paul McMorrow is an associate editor at CommonWealth magazine. His column appears regularly in the Globe.


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Test drive: 2009 Nissan Versa 1.6 – It generally takes 2 to 5 years to bring a car to market, so if a car happens to be well-timed, it's usually a coincidence. Assuming that's the case here,... Source: cars.about.com
Nissan Versa 1.6 sedan is a budget ride: A short stint review: – OUR TAKE: There are two basic reasons for de-contenting a vehicle. You have the performance reasons, as with the Dodge Viper ACR and the Honda S2000 CR, to save weight and eke out a few extra tenths per lap. Source: www.autoweek.com
Car Brakes: How Do You Know When to Change Them?
By Zach Bowman For those who suffer a daily commute through heavy traffic, your vehicle's braking system can bring thousands of pounds of metal, plastic and empty Starbucks cups to a stop hundreds of times before you get to work. It goes without saying that these pieces wear out, but they do so slowly, meaning you may not notice they need attention until ...


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ON DEMAND | Gallo Radio Show (1st Hour)
6:00 am - December 3
Mississippi's #1 morning news and entertainment talk show. The home of movers, shakers and playmakers. It's a MUST listen on the way to work and in the office. Start your day smarter, with The Gallo Radio Show.
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Gallo Radio Show (3rd Hour)
April 26
Gallo Radio Show (1st Hour)
February 10
Gallo Radio Show (2nd Hour)
Timothy H. Moore, President/CEO of Mississippi Hospital Association (Topic: Rural hospitals) ,
Gallo Radio Show (3rd Hour)
Robert Farris, Vice President Expansion at Palmer Home For Children,
Gallo Radio Show (2nd Hour)
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner (talking about the contract dispute between UMMC and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi),
Gallo Radio Show (3rd Hour)
Michael Borkey, Head to Head Producer (talking about where Mississippians landed in the draft),


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Visee is a Japanese beauty brand which isn't qute high end (like Lunasol or MAQUillage) but not as cheap, I think as Majolica Majorca and KATE.
I haven't had much luck with Visee, there's nothing from their range that I love, but this cute Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish Blush looked too cute not to buy (there's a lot of "mineral' stuff out at the moment in Japan!).
Pretty! I choose PK-4:
I actually chose PK-4 because pretty much all of the other colours were sold out. Well, gotta try something new!
The packaging is a cheap but pretty plastic case, no mirror inside:
You get 4 shades inside, a dark hue, medium, light sparkly and a highlighter. All in one place which is handy – reminds me of the far more expensive Jill Stuart one.
It looks like it is going to be chalky, and it isn't really, it's not creamy but it's a nice mix of being pigmented and glowy.
The swatch doesn't quite show the colours as well as I'd like but you get an idea of the pigmentation levels:
On the downside overall the blusher can be quite shimmery. If you concentrate on the darkest shade then that's not too bad but mix in too much of the highlighter at your peril!
PK4 I thought would be too pale on my face but in fact it's very natural:
I like this blusher actually, I guess because I can use it in a number of ways with the highlighter on the top of the cheek bone etc.
I'd recommend this for all skintones too.
I bought this from adambeauty.com for about £10 (not that cheap!).


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And I quote for posterity (because the Web is not "an archive"):
I went to see a local Milwaukee "new wave" band called Blake 7 with a Burger King manager named Mike when I was 14. I helped him cuff his white baggies and slipped on his checkerboard Vans™ for him. He was 6′4″ and had an enormous tongue and the sweetest, dumbest face.
Anyway, during the "golf" segment of Physical Education in my senior year of high school, I almost got a kid mad enough to hit me with a golf club. He was tall and thin and grotesquely hairy, even by my standards.
He called me a "fairy." I called him a "fucking low-class half-wit." The substitute gym coach (stubby, blond, red-faced) barked, "Okay, Kusch! Gimme twenty push-ups! Now!"
"You are absolutely out of your mind," I replied dryly, and went home.
This one brings me back to my biketrials days. So an interregnum first.
Circa 1998 or 1999, I, an aged homosexualist with two left feet, who only learned to ride a bike at age 28 and still cannot hop a curb (which Jeff can do in his wheelchair), started a biketrials club, Rock & a Hard Place. We got on TV, I met a few lads (two of them queer), it worked well for a while, then ceased to. Nothing has an unlimited lifespan, and anyway, I was ahead of my time: Now, even in cold weather (though not winter per se), I see trialz-h00dlumz riding around town several times a month. I recognize none of them, except for Ryan Senechal and his pals outside of Hart House a month or so ago. I still read MTB-Trials, though I do not post.
I miss some of my lads, even one of the queers. I do not, however, miss that era.
Trials will always – always – be the most-underground, least-practiced, highest-skilled cycling discipline. Over here, anyway: In Eastern Europe, Spain, and Japan it's actually quite popular. It's a perpetual minority taste, but the minority is growing. I get all wistful when the h00dlumz ride by (partly because I cannot do the shit: the typical Joe duality), but I also carry a small sliver of pride that I was part of trials history.
I knew it was over for sure, though, when I saw Ryan and his pals. A pal launched off the steps and landed to a stop (a neologism that accurately explains what happens in trials) on a brand-new full-suspension bike, the worst kind for trials. (You need reliable resistance.) In a flash, I knew that even if I could learn to do the shit, I could never learn to maintain a bike in 99% shipshape. I'm not mechanical; I thus bailed from engineering.
Now. Ultramundane:
I've been secretly seeing a strange man late at night. He's 6′2″, 230 lbs., muscular, tattooed, with a little soul patch. He appears before me dressed in nothing but Spandex shorts, short boots, and kneepads. I lay on the futon and let him do wild, crazy things with his body, and after I've played with him and scored, he's left bleeding and sweaty but ready for more.
His biggest turn-on is the Start button.
Basically, I've created a gay male version of BMXXX out of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. Call it "Chicken Hawk Pr0n Skater." Is it bad that I'm motivated to play because he's pleasant to look at, or is that any worse than straight guys watching Lara Croft? Is it narcissistic of me that I've given this sexpot character my own name, or can I claim that's a practical matter, like writing your name on the memory card?
Homosexualist former Amerikanski MTV "VJ" Dave Holmes (quoted in Out, October 2002):
He says perceptive viewers have always been able to pick up on his sexuality. ..."But so often, if you don't fit people's perceptions of what a gay man is, people just don't get it. I was literally getting on top of furniture shouting, 'God, Justin Timberlake is a piece of ass!' And there'd be nothing."
The strange power of Ixuxsxtxixn Limbertake persists. It embarrasses me to recognize it, but I'm not the only one who does.
Another of those delightful You Are There!–style entries:
En route to the metro via eetcarstray, at Victoria I spot a 6′1½″ redhead in Dockers® and a blue shirt. "Stop the press," I channel the Joker saying. "Who is that?"
By coincidence, the eetcarstray lets us off before he strides manfully into the subway. He's top-fifth-percentile in appearance, but could use some work at the gym. (A good body for Tantek-style hooping, just not a good body for Tantek, presumably.)
I stood and waited. A chick finished smoking her fag by the entrance. Majestically did he pass by. In he went, then in we went. On the escalator, hoping for a better view, I peered slightly around the chick, who turned her head and gave me a giggle-smile that totally busted what I was doing. And she topped herself by turning straight ahead again and giving no other acknowledgement!
This, friends, is how to get ginger-busted by chicks.
On the subway, by coincidence we shared a car, but by incredible coincidence he stayed half a car away.
The gingers and their self-loathing.
I am actually and truly upset to be missing the auction for an Betamax SL-HF1200, the absolute bestest Betamax ever, two orders of magnitude superior to my HF900, itself a gem of a machine.
It's twelve years old and will exceed eleven hundred U.S. dollars on eBay. You find this model at auction about three times every two years, and never in pristine condition like this.
I stare into the middle distance and shake my head with a frown. Retro-tech is a mistress who will break your heart.
Ian Roberts – about whom the question was posed "No longer interesting?" – may have elicited a tad more interest. Like every other homosexualist man with a net connection, it appears he has his own personal ad. The details seem too credible to be a hoax, and where else could the bf photos have come from?
Possibly the Australian egalitarianism at work.
Now, what's his userID on instant messaging?
I gave a presentation on accessibility and the digital library to New York Public Library staff on April 25. I've had basic notes up for a while, but now, thanks to the red-haired Eric Meyer, I got pictures.
Later, I'll show you the incredible ADA-compliant design spectacle of the auditorium's permanent signage. It was nothing short of a religious experience.
Ten Years Ago in Spy now illustrated. It's a distributed process: I write it, this guy in Washington State scans illos, I eventually post them.
One emphasizes "eventually."
Laura Ashley MacIsaac in current Outlooks entrevue (hideous PDF version):
MacIsaac says being gay is "the most important thing that there is for me. It's the Shift key, it's the Enter key, it's the Delete key. It's all of the above."
I did one of my occasional searches for the keyword redhead on the various mash sites and found a BigMuscleBears page from a lad who linked to his own Weblog. (He's an aficionado.) The fellow's ad on the site clearly stated the kinds of guys who interest him, plus the activities he'd like to engage in. (Can we get those illustrated?)
Now, how is this unusual? So far, it isn't: Fags post their ads online all the time. (Mine are still up!) And with almost no such thing as a closet anymore, of course you're gonna link to your personal site. Why not?
How about this for why not? You're in the U.S. Air Force.
So here we go:
I know that people that I work with are still reading my little Weblog here. Welcome. Look around. Leave a comment or two. Let yourselves be known. I mean, it's only fair that if you get to know so much about me, that I should at least get to know who you are. Join my happy little online community. Learn everything you need to know about Sam. He has the potential to be pretty entertaining sometimes. Or maybe I'm just incredibly paranoid and I think that the Man is going to be kicking down my door any minute. Because you know, once it's written down, it's evidence.
Today was my [one-]year anniversary of blogging. Most of my site is no longer available for your entertainment because people that I work with found it. I'm sure you remember. I don't know if they still read it because they never even mentioned it to me. Now I'm the new, censored Sam.
So last night I went to Tucson's gay country bar. It's called November. I had no idea that Tucson had a gay country bar, but apparently it does. Nothing makes me laugh harder than seeing two men slow dancing to country music. It's some funny shit. That's one of the main reasons that I hang out with gay people. They provide countless hours of amusement and entertainment.
I had a disturbingly strong crush on someone who didn't want me back.
I'm serving in the United States Air Force. I raised my hand and swore that I would give my life to defend this country and its Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. It is a very real possiblity that I will go overseas for this war. And I could fucking die over there.
It is not widely known that the don't-ask/don't-tell policy has been expanded – in fact, so many times it's becoming ridiculous. You can be queer in the U.S. armed forces, but you cannot manifest it in any way and, on paper, nobody can inquire. Isn't there a word for this? "Purgatory"?
At any rate, "Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue, don't harass" is the true extent of the policy. In principle, Air Force investigators would be forbidden from going on a fishing expedition (à la the Navy officer famously ratted out by AOL).
But that isn't the reality. SLDN's annual report states (PDF):
- "Have you ever been to a gay club?"
- "Are you currently dating anyone?"
- "How long has it been since you dated anyone?"
- "What do you do when you are off work?"
- "How do you feel about gay people?"
- "Have you had any visitors since being stationed here from back home or anywhere?"
- "What are your plans for the weekend?"
– Questions asked of Airman Judson Smith by Captain Craig Dumos in violation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass"
Airman Judson Smith, an Air Force firefighter/paramedic for more than two years and assigned to Patrick AFB, was inappropriately investigated for being gay after his command received an allegation about his sexual orientation from a civilian unknown to the command.... [O]nce the inappropriate investigation began, Airman Smith was subjected to very intrusive questions, some of which are listed above, designed to elicit details about his personal life. The questions violated the "Don't Pursue" element of the policy in that they went far beyond what the civilian is said to have alleged.
So the climate is harmful in the Air Force. That's not gonna help when the author of the BigMuscleBears page clearly states "a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts."
Now, quite self-evidently this is all bullshit, and if the man lived in a constitutional democracy he'd be openly gay in the service and that would be that, but this is all bullshit with serious ramifications because of the discrimination that is officially sanctioned in the U.S. military.
But: I would not necessarily counsel this fellow to do anything differently. He's got nothing to be ashamed of, and, outside of a few echo chambers among Toronto fags who don't understand the Internet and never will, self-disclosure online is the norm among homosexualists today.
The problem is that he is setting himself up to become a test case. Perhaps that is the intent: "Welcome. Look around. Leave a comment or two. Let yourselves be known. I mean, it's only fair that if you get to know so much about me, that I should at least get to know who you are."
It will be amusing to read the Weblog entries in response to this one. They pretty much write themselves: "That Joe Clark has used his research skills to locate publicly-available documents, most of them linked by an original source itself, to call attention to a man who just wants his privacy." Because obviously people who want their privacy run Weblogs and post personal ads, right?
Some of us understand what "publishing" really means. And I think this lad is one of them. Now, are you?
I am now, for the first time in four months, completely caught up in my accessible movie reviews, a curiosity that could only be found on the Web. The Matrix Reloaded review details a particularly eventful experience.
Neologist-in-Chief for 2003 Eric Orner nails it: We finally have a convenient term for depilated steroidal circuit-party homunculi. Ladies and gentlemen, drop a K for... dinostroids!
I can't say that I mind. "Single" is "celibate" with a boyfriend in your past, of course. One or more, actually.
My mental Mr. Right image is not, in fact, one of strapping black negroes of colour or ox-strong stocky redheads with strawberry-blond chest hair, both of whom are real examples from the past. (I have not done all that badly.) Spontaneously months ago, the phrase compact, æsthetically appealing came to mind. One such model was available before, and a second more recently. The duration in each case was a full day, like a fantasy lifespan in science fiction, or that of a gnat. So I actually know what I'm missing. That part I'm somewhat melancholy about, notwithstanding the following exegesis.
Homosexualists belong in cities so we won't be alone. But nobody signed you a contract. Homosexualist rugger Jimbo:
Today the biggest treasure I possess in D.C. is my friends, not the gay community at large. My friends are probably the only things keeping me here. I can't envision living anywhere else right now anyway. There's a gay ghetto in any big city, with different demographics, of course. Here, most of my friends have a degree.... They're smart and have opinions other than where the place to shop is. Sounds snobby and pretentious, but that's the kind of person I like to hang out with.
But lately the urban setting has been getting to me. The noise, bad air, crack whores, pushy people and the skyrocketing cost of living. Why am I here? Am I happy here? One of my unmet goals was to find a relationship, or at least try my hand at one. I felt that moving into a big city with a big, educated, well-traveled gay population would increase my chances of finding a relationship. That having been done and failed, I often find myself questioning my need to be in a city at all. If I can't find a relationship in the city after seven years, it's obvious my chances never really increased by moving into the city. While gay men in rural settings are desperate, lonely and emotionally underdeveloped, gay men in urban settings are preoccupied with who's next, and aren't all that emotionally developed either.
At least you've got a selection. Once in a great while, tabs and slots do line up.
I am not looking forward to the 20-year reunion of my engineer class in 2005. My assumption – really a fear, and it is based on no interviews or evidence – is that the engineer d00dz are conformist and conventional and consider their lives fulfilled. Those lives consist of middle-management positions at Lavalin, a girlfriend on the West Island, and quite possibly a child, whom I somehow always imagine as a daughter, a fact that disappoints the engineers. (The two engineertrixen I recall are surely leading full lives.)
My assumption is that engineers would consider my lack of predictable traditional career path a fatal personality flaw. An entire journalistic career ("the accidental journalist"), a published book, and expertise on a number of topics, some of them technical, would not simply count for nothing, they would fail even be counted.
Being queer – well, "it figures" would be their response. I'm not the only one. It would be neither here nor there. What would be incriminating, though, is showing up alone. Paul Gallant (a good New Brunswick name):
Single people are left to play the defensive. Without the physical evidence of another breathing human being, certain questions loom. Why are you alone? Is it because you're having so much promiscuous fun or is it because you're a big loser? Are you merely between relationships or are you staring into a future filled with nothing but canned cat food eaten alone in front of a porn video?
Hardly. I'm a vegetarian, and PrideVision has rather soured me on porn. But to continue:
Being queer in a straight society amplifies these doubts: If I'm a single homo, is there something fundamentally wrong with me and the nature of homosexuality...?
The last time I had something vaguely resembling a relationship, a neologism I never remember having heard when growing up, the result was a set of litanies of deep-seated, immutable character flaws. (The first such litany was 90 minutes long. In an example of forgiveness, I treated him to Lord of the Rings two days after. And took him back when he begged for it three months later.)
Just how much better off am I gonna be, actually? I have, as adduced previously, a straight guy's sex drive, and become concerned with isolation only if I haven't been out with my friends recently. In such cases, I can't get any work done. Like some male cats, I require the Victorian concept of propinquity, not the psychobabble concept of intimacy.
If the theory holds that I, who self-describes as so stiff I make Irshad Manji look like Gumby, would loosen up if I were getting more sex, well, be advised that empirical evidence has disproved the theory. This is, quite simply, the way I am.
Men come and they go.
I don't have to agree that a vague, nonspecific shame should accrue from being queer, old, and single in order to feel it anyway. I am of two minds about many things. (And it was much worse when I was battling adversity. Some adversity has in fact been battled, in case you didn't know.) But I know it's time to call an end to an experiment. I posted two full ads on M4M for, I assured myself, amusement only. It turned out to be slightly more and less than that, but the principle of amusement was actually there.
I gained absolute proof that acolytes exist in high number. I even met a couple of them. (In some cases, only met.) In traditional terms, that's an ego-boost, but if one does life-cycle analysis of the whole enterprise, it is not more likely to result in friendship or even any kind of warm feelings than any other enterprise. I met more jerks this way than any other way, in fact. It isn't a net time-saver, either. Quite the opposite.
I got some amusing chat sessions out of it. It was fun while it lasted. But I knew Toronto fags would bail like rats asked to pay a cover charge once the site ceased its free-preview tease. So it has come to pass, and that seemed like a cue to bail myself. Once the M4M staff get their act in gear (like AOL, they are much less interested in cancelling you than signing you up), my ads will disappear from the system.
I will leave the realm of online personals to older, gayer men with higher sex drives. To paraphrase Sinéad O'Connor, I want to just sit here and write it all down and work for a while.
Ask me later if I am still melancholy about compact æsthetic pleasure.
MC May Techno Dance Remix (op. cit.):
The line I see between polemics and flames is that polemics, seen through the lens of time, were
thought through thoroughly enough
to stay valuable in context.
David Sedaris, in "Full House," plays strip poker with teenage boys:
An hour later, I was missing one shoe, Scott and Brad had lost their shirts, and both Walt and Dale were down to their underwear. If this was what winning felt like, I wondered why I hadn't tried it before. Confidently in the lead, I invented little reasons for the undressed to get up and move about the room.... His underwear was all bunchy in the back, saggy, like a diaper, but his legs were meaty and satisfying to look at....
He walked toward the curtains, and I ate him alive with my eyes, confident that no one would accuse me of gaping....
In retrospect, I probably went a little far in ordering Scott to sit on my lap. "But I'm naked!"
...I moved onto the easy chair and wearily patted my knee, as if this were a great sacrifice. All my life I had dreamed of this moment, and now that it was within my grasp, I was already imagining the next level.
Whereas when the film actor Colin Farrell walked right past me this week, there was scarcely any galvanic or cardiovascular change at all. I was waiting for the eetcarstray, visible a block away, had noticed a film crew set up in front of the derelict storefront, and watched as a guy with a walkie-talkie went right over to a Dodge minivan parked too far into traffic. The passenger window eased down, words were exchanged, and C. Farrell walked out of nowhere into the front seat, followed immediately by those grizzled, raspy-voiced echt-working-class mid-40s vulgarians who populate film crews. (And they were chicks!)
He's two inches shorter than me, quite slim, not as dark-skinned as he seems in photos, nothing more than cute and in no way charismatic, with upturned duck's-arse hair that does not work at all and gigantic Magic Marker caterpillar eyebrows that do. Off he went. He's a physical rather than cerebral actor and wasn't very physical today – just a lad far away from home being driven through unfamiliar streets.
The next day, a flyer in my box:
Leaving Cleveland Inc. would like to film scenes for the feature film A Home at the End of the World... on Thursday, May 15....
The screenplay, written by Michael Cunningham (The Hours), is based on his best-seller of the same title, tells [sic] the story of the close friendship of Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts). As boyhood friends growing up in Cleveland in the late Sixties and Seventies, Bobby and Jonathan form a relationship that is both average and far beyond what most kids would consider "normal." After high school, Jonathan moves to New York City, where Bobby soon follows. They become involved with Clare (Robin Wright Penn), a slightly older woman [sic] who finds each one appealing in his own way. The film also features Sissy Spacek and is directed by Tony-award-winning Michael Mayer (A View from the Bridge).
When dealing with celebrities, you can't treat them special. Confirmation of C. Farrell's foreskin status was, however, unavailable.
A confluence of meta-events this week. I forwent Pinheads & Skunks Night, preferring a grander entrance next month. Instead, there I was at home watching the "series finale" of Dawson's Creek, which resorted to the rankest form of TV deus ex machina: Unmentioned until now, Jen is suddenly revealed to have a heart defect so aggressively terminal that everybody needs to say goodbye right in this episode. How's that for meta?
It gets worse. Budding director Dawson finally gets his show on the air, and it's a simulacrum of his own life, which, we viewers realize, is already a TV show. A Joey manquée crawls through a window and, after the manner of Divine in Hairspray, artlessly declaims song lyrics: "I don't want to wait for our lives to be over. I want to know right now: What will it be?" Cue end credits, which, in this show-within-a-show, use the same typography as Dawson's Creek's.
I could have frigging hurled.
In the same week, further news was delivered of the demise, impending the way Salon's has been for so very long, of Television Without Pity, né Mighty Big TV, sibling to Hissyfit (Cf. "Attitude queens: A success story"; "Un-'fit"). The site that traces its roots to Dawson's Wrap might finally be falling off the dock at Capeside:
Despite its popularity – and in many ways because of it – the site has run at a deficit for so long that its future is uncertain. People with the site declined to specify its financial situation. [...] [Sarah] Bunting would not disclose how much the site owes, and she described the debt as "big" but "manageable." "There are nights when I'm sorting a pile of bills and trying to figure out who's going to get paid and who's going to have to wait another week," she said. "That's depressing at this age." [...] Bunting said she and her partners will continue the site through the May sweeps, but then will meet to discuss its future.
One does not wish Wing Chun and Glark (or Sarah "Sar[e]s" Bunting) ill. Good sites die; or wither; or cannot be updated anymore because they are too burdensome for the owner; or simply become superseded by events.
I euthanized two Weblogs and a page this week. It was necessary and not very painful. It was good to stanch the denial.
The circumstances are not entirely transferable: I don't have a payroll or ridiculous ad contracts (or even-more-ridiculous site designs engineered to maximize advertising exposure at the expense of reader comfort). But the necessity is unchanged in either case.
Creatures of the Web have lifespans. Wing Chun and Glark's sites may have reached the end of theirs.
While I don't wish them ill, I don't wish them well, either. But they don't need me to: David T. Cole has ample expertise to work in online content development and infrastructure, and Tara Ariano is already writing more frequently for the print press. They'll do all right; Toronto's own Meg and Jason manqués will think of something else. I would suggest a Burn Rate–style exposé if I didn't already know that the perceived market for such books among publishers is nil.
There's body fascism and there's simply being out of fucking shape. Which one was I guilty of?
I was a member of the Y since at least 1991, if not 1989. I think I no longer have my first membership card, though I remember my hairstyle. I lived through the Y's interrogation-like Membership Assistance Program, whose guidelines I later rewrote for them. (Eighty percent of my suggestions were implemented.) And by coincidence, in a later OL session, I edited their system-wide manual on the topic.
But I have endured a four-year interregnum of not having enough money even for a subsidized membership. (Impossible? No. Certainly not under the guidelines.) For that period, the only exercise I had was riding my bike to the Beach for a double espresso. A long-term health issue, I knew. And the term was becoming long enough to matter.
Since I am now old and heart disease is known in my family, I could not live in denial that I was somehow exempt. Articles on the body-mass index published in the popular press, which I would not adjudge as accurate, still list calculations that are probably correct in order of magnitude. I was not in trouble today, but I had reason to believe I'd be in trouble tomorrow.
Now, keeping up with fags: As with so very much else, I am of two minds at once. I have no interest in keeping up with the depilated dissolute homunculi who throng interchangeably at circuit parties. I am not even particularly attracted to that type, never having been keen on cross-addicted Aryan Nations–style conformist HIV-propagating masochists. Nonetheless, while I know I'm not in their league, a part of me would have liked to be. It's never gonna happen, if only because these fags have fewer hairs on their head than I do on my left shoulder, but the little voice continued to squeak in the background.
(There's the related issue that I have never had anything resembling adequate back muscles. I got threatened with physio when I was 15 and was examined by a muscular-dystrophy specialist ten years ago under the hypothesis that I had a benign and minor case, which do in fact exist. I don't. I am simply at the extreme left of that bell curve. The predicament results in a thin and ill-padded rear half of my torso while the front half looks like a hirsute 38-year-old's. Sometimes I look a month and a half pregnant. Related issue: Weak shoulders.)
But back in the day, I attended the Y some 200 times a year, and Hart House before that. I did weights; I biked in position (supremely painful on the stock saddle) even when I biked to and from the gym; I used the occasional other cardio machine. For several periods, I was not unfit, but I was also not æsthetic, unless you're an hair fetishist.
I tell myself I could have done more (look at all the other guys!), yet, consistent with the duality mentioned before, I'm also aware that I was working at the redline. Exercise is allegedly proven to relieve depression, but not really for me. Exercise was simply not me, and I hit many brick walls mid-workout that I attribute to simply being ill. I eventually learned to bring food to eat post-workout (and in some cases also pre-), which kept me from enduring a protein crash on top of things. ("You have such a weird metabolism," I was told once. Gee, thanks. You think I signed up for it?)
We are not, however, even remotely finished with the ironies. During my gym period, I also wrote about sport(s), mostly for the Voice (Cf. Jeff-Z-Klein). While I did not hang out with the hot lads (unless watching Troy Aikman pull his underwear on counts – ask me about that sometime), I learned much about sport psychology.
Separately, through observation, I learned that athletes are one species and I'm another. (I am probably of the intellectual species.) They think with their bodies and take up space: Watch a team, any kind of team, male or female, waiting at an airport gate. Whereas we think with our minds, and our bodies are... what... vessels?
The pencil-necked geek's pencil neck and matching pigeon chest and Kermit the Frog legs are consequences of a life confined to thought and speech. The athlete types add, or at least have, action.
(The scholar-athlete, now being promoted in the U.S., is an interesting hybrid I know next to nothing about.)
Gay overcompensations at the gym are well documented, and all the conventional theories are true, at least for my generation. We didn't do anything physical when we were kids, or we stopped when we realized we were queer. (Playing on teams? Where, when, how?) Then the globalized market economy of the muscular physique exerted its forces and we started going back to the gym, teaching long-sedentary muscles a limited range of new tricks, ten reps at a time.
The result was an army of fit, muscular, suspiciously hairless fags who still walked and acted like fags. In essence, the result was a legion of trannies ("male impersonators"): Starting out gay, they attempt to graft straight activity onto a body long dissociated from the mind.
Do a side-by-side comparison: Find any straight guy who's played sports since his teenage years, and still plays, and has kept up with weight training. (There are a lot of those guys. Even at gay gyms, they're abundant.) Check all the tiny muscles that are difficult to build using regimented weight training, like the infraspinatus, rhomboids, dorsiflexors, front delts, and the many components of the legs.
You see any of that on a gym fag?
I don't think so.
Now watch the two of them move. No contest, right? And if you think we dance better than they do and that counts for something, forget it: Gay bars are built around dancing, while straight bars are not. We have simply had more experience.
Perhaps there's an evolution. Kids today, not bothering with the closet, also don't bother to drop out of sport if that's what interests them. I am simply conjecturing here, because succeeding Olympiads have not really borne this theory out. (Yes, more out gay athletes. No, not as many as expected.) The first openly-gay professional athletes in the Big Four American sports will never have been in the closet in the first place. (And the very first will be a hockey player from Europe or Canada, probably Quebec.)
Thus: I know I'm fighting against my essential nature, and that the goal of working out, as accepted by nine-tenths of the gay world, is unattainable and a fraud anyway. But I can't keep on like this: I don't want to end up as a fat bastard with angina. I'm willing to work out purely for maintenance.
I have put my money where my mouth is. I have re-upped at the Y at full fare, a costly process. (I got paid. I snapped out of denial.) I am acting as though I am rehabilitating myself from a debilitating injury; I am going impossibly, even laughably, slow. Shoulders, abs, legs, and that's it. (The leg part I've always been lucky with. I will build on one strength.) But I am weaker than I had ever imagined. I can't do fifteen reps of some exercises – with eight-pound dumbbells. I haven't exceeded 30 situps yet. The legs are weaker than they used to, but they are my relative strength: I can do all the exercises.
I am working out. I'll never look like musclefags and now I know for a fact I truly do not care.
And while I'm shaping up, none of these guys will have ever written a book, I'm staying straightedge, and I'm not gonna catch the big H. I think I'm doing all right.
An accurate transcription – I'm a journo and I've learned a few things from captioning – of a conversation between a young, masculine, blond streetcar driver (more and more of those on the job these days, what with the retirements) and his old-fart colleague. It was the blond guy's four year anniversary on May 3.
– Oh, yeah? You got what, your five-three?
– Five-two. You're what, five-six?
– Five-six.
– 16 down, 14 to go.
– Where are you now, on Wheel-Trans?
– No, subway.
– You like it?
– Ehh, it's all right, if you like using bodies as speed bumps.
– Oh, you got one of those, did you?
– Yeah, just this month. Southbound at St. Patrick station.
– Did you take time off?
– Naw.
– I would have taken six weeks.
– They say it's worse if you linger on it. And I was all right. You would've taken it off and gotten looked after?
– No, I would've just used the six weeks!
– The counsellor came down to the site. I don't know if that's procedure or not. I've never been in this before. He gave me his card and said, "It's not your fault. You were a means to their end."
– If it didn't happen to you, it would've happened to somebody else's subway.
– But I was ready to do a 111. I wanted to go home – after I wrote up my reports. And they were like, "There. You're in denial".... I don't know how to say this. You think excrement smells bad when it's outside the body? Well, when it's still inside the body, it's much worse. All the bile and the other substances and that, ewww.
– So the guy was still alive?
– Yeah, he held on for a while there. When they brought him up, the smell, I mean, I heaved. I lost it. They were all like "See?"... I could hear him under the truck.
– Oh, yeah? Was he talking or moaning or –?
– Yeah. "Please, God, help me."
– Did he last long?
– He lasted a short while.
– Because some guys, they hang on and on and on.
– Well, this guy expired soon after.
– Maybe he got what he wanted!
– Yeah. Be careful what you ask for; you might get it.
I am not making this shit up. And I'm not even writing down what had happened with the tweeked-out schizophrenic five minutes before.
"Who does that dame think she is?" exclaims Nancy Reagan in an article I do not actually properly recap in this month's instalment of Ten Years Ago in Spy.
But a lot of advertising. Who the hell is Tommy Tang, and why can't I take him seriously?
Next time I'm in New York, Trump Tower, I've got your number.
fawny.blog is sibling to four other Joe Clark Weblogs (AccessiBlog, Axxlog, Bookblog, NUblog). ¶ New file additions to all sites have their own page. ¶ You may mail me. ¶ Archives are available, or one may search:
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text:
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text:
Enjoy fabulous Foxton Locks
Foxton Locks
The locks were designed by Benjamin Bevan.
Foxton Locks
Building work started on Foxton Locks in 1810 and finished in 1814.
Foxton Locks
Water in the locks is controlled by paddles - red paddles to fill the locks and white paddles to empty them.
Foxton Locks
In its heyday at busy times it could take five hours, or even longer, to get through Foxton Locks.
Foxton Locks
In 1900 the boat lift was built and the locks were allowed to fall into decline.
Foxton Locks
By the end of the 1900s the canal was in poor condition.
Foxton Locks
The development of rail transport saw a decline in canal traffic and the lift closed in 1911.
Foxton Locks
The increase of leisure traffic has seen the canals and Foxton Locks experience a new lease of life.
Foxton Locks is a fabulous family day out whatever the weather.
The whole family will enjoy a fun-packed visit to Foxton Locks, situated within a few miles of Market Harborough. Surrounded by Leicestershire's beautiful countryside, you will experience all that this unique waterways landmark has to offer – colourful narrowboats, the famous flight of 10 locks and the Canal Museum virtual experiences.
Canal Museum
Visitors to Foxton Locks can experience the amazing inclined plane in a remarkable way. At The Canal Museum you can step back in time and see in breathtaking clarity how the boats travelled in the boat lift.
Using the very latest in digital technology you are able to stand alongside the inclined plane and use your smart phone or tablet device and see the boat lift magically appear in front of your very eyes.
Discover more at Foxton Locks
Foxton Locks is home to two amazing feats of engineering in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside.
The Grade II listed locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal are over 200 years old. They demonstrate how 19th century canal engineers solved the problem of getting boats up and down a steep hill.
This impressive flight of ten locks are the longest set of staircase locks in Britain. It takes an average of 45 minutes for boats to travel the entire flight and on a busy day as many as 40 boats can make the trip. The lock keepers will be busy directing the traffic, making use of the passing pond in the middle of the flight.
Alongside the locks you can see the side ponds which provide reserves of water for the locks and prevent wastage.
These ponds are a haven for local wildlife, including ducks, heron and water vole.
To find out more about how the locks operate, make sure you pay a visit to The Canal Museum.
Designed at a time when canals were the mass transport system for England it was to help improve the capacity of the canal network. The full story is told in The Canal Musuem.
Behind the BoilerHouse you will see the evidence of another amazing feat of engineering: A fine example of Grand Victorian industrial engineering – the inclined plane boat lift.
At the base of the locks is a canal-side shop and two pubs; Bridge 61 and Foxton Locks Inn.
The locks and surrounding area are open and accessible to the public all year round. The network of footpaths and towpaths provide ideal walking and cycling opportunities with a choice of many routes.


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1. De-Clutter Your Home
One thing you can do to help simplify your life is to get rid of the clutter in your home. A living space full of items that you don't need, and may not even want anymore, really does affect how you feel. Plus, having all that stuff can weigh down on you, even if you aren't planning on moving it anywhere. I'm always amazed at what a difference it makes when my home feels more open and clean. You can go slowly, or tackle all the clutter at once, but get rid of those things you don't use or want anymore. You can sell it, donate it or give it to loved ones who need it.
2. Limit Your Family's Activities
Extracurricular activities can be fun. It may be important to you to volunteer. But if everyone in your family has three different places to be, it starts to get ridiculous. Many of us are over-scheduled, and it becomes stressful — not to mention expensive. Evaluate where you are in life, and what activities is makes sense to do. Choose one or two things that you enjoy for now, and cut back on the rest. Limit your children to one or two extracurricular activities each term. It may force your family members to choose what the really want to focus on, but it will significantly reduce the scheduling stress in your life. And you'll have more quality time to spend as a family.
3. Stop Buying Things
This isn't a blanket ban on buying things. But it is a call to carefully consider your purchases. Make conscious spending decisions. Think about whether you really need (or want) the item in question. Give yourself a week to think about it. I've bought many things that I thought were just great — until I realized half the stuff was ignored after a couple of weeks. Even if it looks like a really good deal, stop and think. You'll have more money in the bank, and less clutter in your home, if you reduce the amount of stuff that you buy.
4. Distance Yourself from Negative People
Life becomes complicated when you have negative people in your life. While you might not be able to cut some people out altogether, there are some "emotional leeches" that you can slowly distance yourself from. Look for supportive people, and strive to be a supportive person yourself. You will feel more uplifted, and you will feel less of a drain from toxic relationships.
5. Plan Your Meals
It's amazing how much simpler your life seems when you take time to plan meals. Plan ahead, and make a shopping list. You can plan meals that are simple and fast to make. Consider crock pot meals that require little energy. Slow down and share a meal with your family. Getting back to the simplicity of the kitchen reminds you to relax and enjoy the company of your loved ones. Plus, you'll spend less money on takeout.
6. Get Automated
When possible, consider automating what you can. Running programs on your heating/cooling system, setting timers on your sprinklers, and setting up automatic bill pay (to go with automatic deposit) are just a few ways that you can reduce stress and simplify your life, since you won't have to actively do all of these items. Technology has provided us with options to streamline our lives, and in many cases a small amount of set-up work can greatly simplify your life down the road.


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Once you've found a new real estate property to move to, and maybe even booked decent NYC movers, it's time to clean the place you live in for the move-out. It's no secret that leaving the place clean when you leave it is the only way to get your security deposit back. Make the landlord satisfied with what he or she sees during the inspection. Have a look at our move-out cleaning tips.
Make It Spotless
If you have put some staples or nails into the walls, remove them and fill the holes. Maybe walls need a fresh coat of paint in case there are some spots on them? Talking about move-out cleaning tips, we should say that all the walls, floors, and windows should be impeccably clean. Sweep and mop the floors, wash the windows, and clean the walls using the magic eraser. All the mirrors should be looking brand new as well. There are lots of all-purpose cleaners to use during the major cleaning process. Continue reading


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Why Drinking Water Is Good For Your Skin
What Drinking Water Actually Does For Your Skin
We're two weeks into the new year, and it's time to start drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. And while we've all heard that drinking water is good for our skin, here's why you really need to be drinking all of that H2O. Medical esthetician Craig Shishido of San Francisco's Gentle Star Medspa explains how drinking water is good for your skin.
"I always kind of equate skin to be kind of like your kitchen sponge," Shishido explains. "If you look at your kitchen sponge, when it is dry, it is pretty contracted, shriveled, and rigid, so it's hard to bend. But if you put it under your sink and turn on the water, then all of a sudden the sponge expands." And just like a sponge, your skin needs that moisture to expand. "If you dehydrate your skin with caffeine, alcohol, or just lack of water, your skin does contract like the sponge in your sink, too," says Shishido. "So when you drink water, basically you reach a higher level of potential of expanding the moisture potential of your skin."
And expanding the moisture potential of your skin is linked directly to your pores. When the skin is dehydrated, the pores are more firm and rigid, just like the "pores" of a dehydrated sponge. But hydrated skin has more flexible pores, which are then able to stretch and release naturally secreted oils. "The dehydrated pores do not flex," Shishido explains. "And then you have a better chance of getting bumps, future acne, or even blackheads. So the more pliable your pores are, the more able it is to release what needs to come out. And then once it's released, it will contract back to what you ultimately want: tighter pores."


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The Right Place and the Right Mime (オーキド研究所!全員集合!! Oak's Laboratory! All members gather!) is the 42nd episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle.
Episode Plot
Ash's mom is happy that Ash returned to Pallet Town. She does know that he has a lot to tell about the journey, but instead he came to Prof. Oak's lab. Suddenly, someone rings - May and her Pokémon have arrived to Pallet Town as well. At the lab, Misty feeds Squirtle, who is along with Charmander and Bulbasaur. Max goes to reach for Squirtle, but Squirtle cries and is upset, so Max pulls back. Tracey tells Max that he does not need to worry, while Max sees his drawing of them. Max thinks Tracey is one-of-a-kind, being an assistant to Oak and an artist. Tracey tells Max that Oak was once an artist as well. The Pokémon are tired, so Tracey decides to give them some rest.
Max calls the Pokémon back, but Squirtle runs away. May comes and gets Squirtle. May wonders why is Max in the lab, so Prof. Birch comes to explain - he brought Max with him as a companion. Ash greets May, so Max tells her that he found Birch and Birch took him here. May thanks Prof. Birch, who has a Muk on his back. Later, Ash explains to May that he plans to go to the Battle Frontier - six areas and 1 secret, only detectable by having the 6 other symbols. Ash's mom tells him that May already plans to enter the Kanto's Pokémon Contests. Birch says to May that she could capture some Pokémon that are rare to Hoenn, so she is tempted to start. Ash proposes to join with May, so she accepts - they will leave tomorrow, though Ash's mom is not pleased.
Max also wants, so May tells him he might come... if Caroline and Norman, their parents, agree. Max is sad, but Ash tells him they'll all ask them to allow him to come with them. Ash's mom tells them she will make lunch, so May, Max and Ash tell her their wishes. Team Rocket is in bushes and sees them together, so they plan to capture all Pokémon. Oak spots Delia, Ash's mom, troubled, so she tells him that she expected Ash to leave, even Oak told her that. Meanwhile, Ash, May and Max visit Ash's Snorlax, who wakes up and greets them. May sends her Pokémon to greet Snorlax. Ash wonders where Beautifly and Skitty are, so May explains mom wanted Beautifly to stay, while Skitty did not want to leave the greenhouse.
They suddenly hear something - it is Ash's other Pokémon - Tauros, Totodile, Heracross, Noctowl, Kingler, Bayleef, Phanpy, Cyndaquil and Bulbasaur. The Tauros pass Ash, while the others stay. However, Ash is on one of the Tauros. Pikachu greets Phanpy and electrocutes it (weakly), to which Phanpy is happy. May's Bulbasaur greets Ash's. Tracey and Misty come, so Tracey sends Marill, who uses Water Gun, pushing the Tauros Ash is on, so Bayleef uses Vine Whip to get Ash back. Ash thanks Bayleef for assistance. May, Max and Ash's other Pokémon come, so the Squirtle May held before comes to May, so she hugs him. Tracey tells Ash that Bulbasaur was telling the other Pokémon Ash is coming.
Ash sends his current Pokémon for others to meet - he sends Swellow, Glalie, Torkoal, Grovyle and Corphish. Max is amazed by so many Pokémon, while May reminds him Ash has Charizard and Squirtle as well. The Pokémon meet each other, while Team Rocket sees all of them and plan to capture every last one of them. Team Rocket comes, dressed as reporters. They decided that Ash gives the interview, so he tells them he was in Ever Grande City for the Hoenn League. Meowth decides to get a better angle, so they all will be on TV. They go back so they are caught in the camera, but they fall into a hole. Noctowl and Swellow go to escape, but a net covers the top. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but the net is electric-proof. Team Rocket comes and takes off their disguises.
Grovyle uses Leaf Blade, cutting the net. Jessie demands an explanation to Meowth, as she requested a net that is resistant to all attacks, so Meowth tells her he got an electric-proof one, wanting to save money. Meowth presses a button, so they bring a giant robot. The robot begins to suck the Pokémon inside, so Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip to pull Totodile and Charmander. Squirtle cries, so May tells it everything will be fine. Meowth goes to pull to get more power, but Snorlax tackles the robot, so Team Rocket are pushed out of it. They plan to get Pikachu, so Jessie sends Seviper and James Cacnea. Birch, Oak and Ash's mom come, seeing Team Rocket. Birch decides to bring a Pokémon, but Delia stops him, letting the children handle them. Seviper starts with Poison Tail, but Ash's Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip to negate the attack and hit Seviper.
Cacnea uses Pin Missile, however May's Bulbasaur uses Petal Dance, negating the attack and hurting Cacnea. Seviper goes to bite and Cacnea uses Needle Arm, but Bulbasaur launches a Solar Beam, blasting Seviper and Cacnea off. Team Rocket attempts to escape, but Misty and Tracey order Marill and Azurill to use Water Gun, pushing them to the fallen robot. Combusken uses Fire Spin, hurting them and Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, blasting them off. Birch is surprised, but believes what Delia said. Later, Tracey calls Charmander and Bulbasaur back, but Squirtle cries and comes to May. Birch realizes Squirtle wants to come with May, so May accepts this idea. May will also leave Bulbasaur, to learn from Ash's. Also, Ash will leave Torkoal and Glalie here, so it is going to be crowded.
Also, Oak gives May and Ash new Pokédexes. Max also wants a one, but Tracey gives him the PokéNav, with the info about the Battle Frontier facilities. Max searches for the nearest facility, and that one is near Cerulean City, so Misty will join them. Birch recites poetry, so Oak corrects him, being a veteran of poetry himself. The next day, Ash says goodbye to mom, who tells May, Max and Misty to take care of Ash. Suddenly, Ash's Phanpy came from the lab, so Ash decides to bring it on his journey. They all go, so Ash's mom wishes him luck in this new journey. As they go, Brock comes, joining the gang as well.
- "Ash, Pokémon start to act like their trainers, you know. And I know a certain trainer who's been running wild." - Misty
- "Oh, you do, huh?" - Ash
- "Team Rocket!" - Ash, May, Max, and Tracey
- "I can see you three haven't changed a bit!" - Misty
- "That's not true at all! You didn't notice? The motto?!" - Jessie
- "AAH! Stop! My clothes are all wet!" - Jessie
- "Combusken, let's dry them off!" - May
- "Combusken!" - Combusken
- "Stop! We're clean and dry now!" - James
- "Pikachu, we're gonna have to charge 'em for this!" - Ash
- "Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuu!" - Pikachu
- "I knew it was too good to be true!" - Meowth
- "This couldn't have gone worse!" - Jessie
- "You're right! Our clothes are all dirty again!" - James
- "Quit complaining. At least youse got clothes." - Meowth
- This episode's name is a pun to "At the right place and the right time".
- Featured Pokémon: Swalot, Castform, Kecleon
- This is the last episode where Tracey, Professor Oak, and Delia are voiced by Ted Lewis, Stan Hart and Veronica Taylor, respectively.
- During a shot of Ash and Bayleef, a part of Ash's hair is missing.
- In the scene where Team Rocket attempts to vacuum up the Pokémon, the insides of Marill's ears are white instead of pink.
|This article is missing an image.
Please help the Pokémon Wiki by adding one.
|Pokémon: Advanced Generation
|Other series: Original · Diamond & Pearl · Best Wishes! · XY · Sun & Moon · Sword & Shield


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Re-do search in this area
Fenton Winery & Brewery
Fenton, MI
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Lake Leelanau, MI
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Suttons Bay, MI
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Jackson, MI
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Traverse City, MI
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Castle Farms
Charlevoix, MI
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Bay Pointe
Shelbyville, MI
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The day you'll always remember deserves a location you'll never forget! When you celebrate your wedding or special event at Bay Pointe, you and your guests will experience distinct personalized service centered around you and your dreams. Conveniently located between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo or...
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Livonia, MI
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The Townsend Hotel
Birmingham, MI
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The Townsend Hotel is a Forbes Four Star and AAA Four Diamond venue that combines pure luxury and historic European elegance. Your wedding dreams will materialize in this beautiful, walkable suburban locale. Stroll into the expansive foyer to find sparkling marble floors, cherry wood trim and Wa...
The Harris Building
Grand Rapids, MI
Banquet Hall/Restaurant, Event Center, Modern
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Industrial chic strikes gold at The Harris Building with its historic charm, flexible event spaces, and dedicated staff. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Harris Building was built in 1892 and retains much of its original design with an expansive domed ballroom complete with 18-ft ceilings, exp...
Zingerman's Cornman Farms
Dexter, MI
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Zingerman's Cornman Farms is the ultimate in relaxed elegance with its tree-lined drive, historic buildings and sprawling gardens. The 42-acre farm and its venues were restored from their 1834 foundations with the most discerning guests in mind. Featuring a beautiful exhibition kitchen, chef's garde...
FireKeepers Casino
Battle Creek, MI
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Experience the day—and night—of your dreams. Choosing the site for your reception is one of the most important decisions you will make. Let our Wedding Team guide you and provide for you every step of the way. From the perfect room and ideal menu to the luxury accommodations for all of your guest...
Crossroads Conference Center
Grand Rapids, MI
Banquet Hall/Restaurant, Event Center
Crossroads Conference Center is a modern wedding venue in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can visit www.crossroadsbanquet.com for additional details! "[Crossroads] handled everything from beginning to the end. If we had a concern they were prompt to handle it. My guests had nothing but good things to...
Tina's Country House & Gardens
Macomb, MI
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The Wedding Garden at Tina's Country House & Gardens is a floral paradise, picture perfect for your outdoor ceremony. The lush, landscaped garden, complete with an Italian fountain, a vine covered gazebo and thousands of beautiful flowers sits adjacent to the country house's banquet center and is si...
Grandville Banquet Center
Grandville, MI
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Conveniently located just a short drive from the Grand Rapids City Center, Grandville Banquet Center sets itself apart from other wedding venues in the area with its dynamic banquet hall and comprehensive catering packages. With 8,000 square feet of space, it easily hosts up to 350 guests for an opu...
The Iroquois Club
Bloomfield Hills, MI
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Upscale, distinctive and refined -The Iroquois Club is the premier wedding venue in Oakland County. The decor of the Iroquois Club is understated, yet luxurious; the menu features classic contemporary American fare; and the white-glove service is impeccable, all together providing the discerning gue...
The Masonic Temple
Detroit, MI
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Located in the historic Cass Corridor, the Masonic Temple is an irresistible wedding venue that exudes grandeur and antiquity. There is no shortage of space, as the maze-like Temple features multiple theaters, ballrooms and banquet halls. Constructed in 1920, it is the most expansive building of its...
Grand Rapids Art Museum
Grand Rapids, MI
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Intertwine art and love at Grand Rapids Art Museum! A one-of-a-kind wedding venue based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the museum offers a stunning, sophisticated backdrop for your big day. With six locations to accommodate up to 400 of your guests, Grand Rapids Art Museum features both indoor and both ...
The Fillmore Detroit
Detroit, MI
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If you have been seeking a unique alternative to traditional wedding venues then you have found it here. Located in the heart of Detroit's entertainment district, The Fillmore Detroit is an elegant venue that offers a one-of-a-kind setting for your nuptials. From customized gobo lights, interactive ...
Cobblestone Farms
Traverse City, MI
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Nestled on ten picturesque acres just outside of Traverse City, Cobblestone Farms offers an unrivaled setting for your wedding celebration. Its stunning farmhouse, built in 1914, boasts beautiful craftmanship and country charm and offers up an amazing space for the bride and her bridesmaids to get ...
Willowbrook Mill
Northport, MI
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Weddings Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners and other Events at Willowbrook Mill~ A casually elegant destination wedding and event center in the heart of Northport, and a few steps from Grand Traverse Bay in Leelanau Peninsula wine country, Willowbrook Mill will bring romance and sophistication to you...
Freedom Hill Banquet & Event Center
Sterling Heights, MI
Event Center, Outdoor
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The Freedom Hill Banquet and Event Center is a gorgeous and flexible space perfect for a sophisticated and elegant wedding ceremony and reception. Freedom Hill has a beautiful outdoor space ideal for a romantic outdoor ceremony. Imagine saying your "I Dos" in the shade of a quaint, intimate gazebo c...
The Rust Belt Market
Ferndale, MI
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The Rust Belt Market is home to Michigan entrepreneurs who've pioneered a path of small business in art, design and carefully collected goods. With 50 independent shops surrounding a 4,000 square foot event space, this scenic weekend marketplace will keep you exploring with fascination and engaged w...
Courtyard by Marriott Grand Rapids Downt...
Grand Rapids, MI
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The Courtyard by Marriott in Grand Rapids offers a cozy and convenient venue for a wedding ceremony and reception. The amenities will make you feel right at home, from the plush rooms to the welcoming lobby, with The Bistro. It's a place where you can relax with friends and family after a day of exp...
Michigan Union - University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Banquet Hall/Restaurant, Historic/Landmark Building, Event Center, Ballrooms
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Nestled in the heart of University of Michigan's Central Campus, the Michigan Union offers the ideal wedding venue for a U of M alum or local! This facility offers a multitude of different spaces that are sure to suit any occasion, from a casually elegant affair to a shamelessly formal event. For an...
The Grecian Center
Southgate, MI
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The Grecian Center is a beautiful property that combines glamor with a dramatic flair for an unforgettable celebration. Exchange vows in Grecian Center Park, a lush, six-acre landscape filled with cheerful flowers and gardens, a pond and fountain, a quaint bridge, and a pavilion. The sunlight stream...
University of Michigan - Flint
Flint, MI
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Known across the region as a top venue for ceremonies and receptions, the University of Michigan-Flint is the ideal location for a personalized wedding. The University of Michigan-Flint offers a variety of indoor and outdoor locations in the heart of Downtown Flint. The Grand Ballroom, located in th...
Lake Doster Golf Club
Plainwell, MI
Banquet Hall/Restaurant, Golf Course, Outdoor
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The wooded grounds of Lake Doster Golf Club offer a secluded, peaceful venue for your wedding ceremony and reception. With beautiful greenery and vibrant foliage on a 180 acre property, it has the adventurous, pure atmosphere of untouched nature. Have your wedding ceremony on the golf course amongst...
Journeyman Distillery
Three Oaks, MI
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Michigan League - University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
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Tucked away on the University of Michigan's Central Campus, the Michigan League provides our couples and their guests with a breathtaking setting for a romantic big day! From intimate cocktail rooms to grand ballrooms, this facility has a little bit of something for every kind of occasion. Imagine e...
Zingerman's Greyline
Ann Arbor, MI
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Stonegate Manor
Benton Harbor, MI
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Ste. Anne Parish de Detroit
Detroit, MI
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First Unitarian Church at EMEAC at Cass ...
Detroit, MI
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Located on a historic building complex at the edge of Detroit Cultural Center and Wayne State University, the First Unitarian Church at Emeac at Cass Corridor Commons offers a heartwarming place not only for community gatherings, but also for couples that hope to become one under the eyes of God. Si...
St. Josaphat Banquet Centre
Warren, MI
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St. Josaphat Banquet Centre is your answer to an elegant and distinctive wedding event. The stunning venue prides itself in hosting one celebration at a time. Your special day will receive all the attention, giving you the opportunity to enjoy yourself while the dedicated staff takes care of all the...


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SHANGHAI, China(AP) Norway outplayed the defending Olympic champion United States 2-0 on Wednesday and women's football gave the Beijing Games an opening day of top quality comebacks, performances and goals.
Other gold medal contenders Germany and Brazil drew 0-0 in a game that could well have finished 2-2 and host China edged Sweden 2-1.
In a meeting of the only two teams to have won the Olympic women's title, 2000 champion Norway looked far better than the 1996 and 2004 gold medalist Americans in Qinhuangdao and scored twice in the first four minutes.
Leni Laursen Kaurin headed the first goal after only two minutes and Melissa Wiik added the second two minutes later.
``We are very grateful for the tremendous start we had in this game,'' Norway coach Bjarne Berntsen said. ``After the great start, I think we played a very, very good defensive game, and there were very few big chances for the United States.''
The Americans, who have been in all three Olympic finals, are aiming to bounce back by beating Japan on Saturday.
``My glass is always half full, so for us it's a new experience to lose a game,'' said U.S. coach Pia Sundhage. ``I'm happy that it's the first game and not the last, so we still have two more games to go, and we'll take out this part - the second half - for when we play against Japan and New Zealand.''
In the other Group G game, Japan rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 with debutant New Zealand so that Norway tops the standings. After Kirsty Yallop and Amber Hearn's penalty had given New Zealand a comfortable lead by the 57th minute, Japan hit back through midfielders Aya Miyama and Homare Sawa.
With just a few thousand fans scattered around the Shenyang Olympic Stadium, World Cup finalists Germany and Brazil played their opening Group F game as if it were the final.
Marta, who has established herself as the game's top player, set up a great heading chance for strike partner Cristiane who missed from close range. Germany's Sandra Simek hit the bar at the other end.
Smisek fired wide after being put clear by Birgit Prinz and Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer pushed a powerful angled shot from Cristiane around the post. From the corner, Renata Costa headed against the post.
Marta then missed the best chance of the game, side-footing wide of the German goal in the 69th minute.
``I think it was a good game for our team. The defense was perfect. We did quite well covering Marta,'' Germany coach Silvia Neid said.
In the other Group F game in the same stadium, North Korea beat Nigeria 1-0 thanks to a goal by Kim Kyong Wa and tops the standings after the first round of games. Nigeria faces Germany and North Korea meets Brazil on Saturday.
Han Duan scored China's deflected winner in Tianjin after Sweden threatened to silence the home fans at the TJ Olympic Center. After Xu Yuan had given China a sixth minute lead, Lotta Schelin equalized in the 38th.
Canada edged Argentina 2-1 in the other Group E match and scored probably the best goal of the opening day.
Candace Chapman scored with a low shot from 30 meters after Argentina failed to clear a 27th minute corner. Kara Lang added a second in the 72nd and Mariela Coronel's strike five minutes from the end was little more than consolation.
``Overall, we're a very strong, physical team. That's kind of our style,'' Chapman said. ``Them being small, they probably got the worst of it.''
The results mean that China and Canada are level atop the group ahead of their meeting on Saturday.


text:
This month, we're bringing back some of your past favorite fragrances for a limited time in our classic Medium Heritage® candle.
Gold Canyon provides families and communities life-changing products and opportunities.
By setting the Gold Standard of Quality for candles, scented products and home decor, we've helped millions of people make their home and lives better.


text:
At first blush, nothing seems more boring than talking about a new U.S. patent office coming to San Jose.
But in Silicon Valley, the opening of a new outpost for the U.S. Patent and Trademark office means it will soon get significantly easier to do business in this innovation-crazed community.
Here's why.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awards patents to inventors of new products, processes, and machinery.
While that seems simple enough, the process is anything but. To begin with, the office is located in Alexandria, Virginia, about as far away as you can get from Silicon Valley while still being in the United States.
Until a recent plan to place four new centers in innovation hubs around the nation, that has meant expensive trips to Alexandria, Va., where the department is headquartered. Add to that a three-year backlog of patent processing and the whole idea quickly becomes a nightmare.
One out of every eight patent requests comes from Silicon Valley, an area containing less than one percent of the nation's population.
And given the global competition to get things done fast, three thousand mile journeys and three-year backlogs aren't very helpful.
U.S. & World
They're particularly onerous to the thousands of start-ups that need precious funds for product development, not endless government meetings far away as competitors elsewhere speed ahead.
A few years back the Obama administration figured out as much when it authorized the four new patent offices.
San Jose and 600 other cities applied.
In Silicon Valley, local interests--private and public--seized the moment.
The City of San Jose filled out the paperwork, supported extensively by the 375-member Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a tech-heavy trade association. Local members of Congress--Zoe Lofgren, Mike Honda, and Anna Eshoo--did the heavy lifting in D.C. And today the announcement.
"To the credit of U.S. Patent Director David Kappos and the Obama Administration, they wisely decided that a $3 billion business - the U.S. Patent Office - should actually be located close to their customers, rather than making those customers expend the time and treasure to trek all the way across the country," said Silicon Valley Leadership Group President and CEO Carl Guardino.
If this success story sounds a bit odd it's because it is. These days, policymaking, or the lack thereof, is marked by strident polarization and political bitterness.
Gridlock dominates the political environment, while cut-throat competition trumps collaboration.
So it's great when industry groups and lawmakers work together for the greater good.
What a concept.
Larry Gerston teaches political science at San Jose State University and is the political analyst for NBC Bay Area.
Send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


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FCPA Guidance Is Here!
Compliance officers, corporate lawyers, in-house counsel and anyone else at a multinational company whose job includes fearing the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act: Listen up.
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have a 130-page guide for you — the most comprehensive effort to date by the agencies to dispel confusion surrounding their enforcement of the 1977 antibribery law.
But let's cut to the chase. Broadly, the guidance recites positions long held by the government and avoids the firm policy pronouncements sought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other critics of the law.
You'll find some meat in the "gifts, travel and entertainment" section (page 15). There, the agencies suggest –note: they do not promise — that paying for a foreign official's cab fare or buying him or her a cup of coffee wouldn't alone trigger an FCPA investigation.
Have a look at the agencies' section on who qualifies as a "foreign official" beginning on page 19. It's a rehash of positions DOJ and SEC have advanced in court. Facilitating payments? Page 25. You'll find an articulation of the agencies' views on successor liability on page 28.
Give it a read and send in your thoughts, FCPA nerds. Click here for our first take on the guidance in the Journal.