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Quick Overview
Fully featured Women's-specific backpack that maximizes comfort and stability during long trips.
- 55 Liters
- Active Suspension waistbelt
- Front zippered access
How to measure:
Torso: From the base of the neck to the narrowest part of the waist.
Waist: Around the narrowest part of the waist
A durable, full-featured women's-specific pack that maximizes comfort and stability during long days on the trail, the Black Diamond Women's Onyx 55 Backpack is ideal for weekend trips from Yosemite to the Ice Age Trail. Our ergoACTIV XP suspension system uses a custom, 3D pivoting hipbelt, women's-specific fit and SwingArmTM shoulder straps for increased stability, unparalleled freedom of movement and dynamic load transfer. The pack's front zippered panel gives you full access to the inside, while multiple pockets, dividers and straps help secure and organize your gear during extended trips.
- ergoACTIV XP suspension with OpenAir™ backpanel and SwingArm shoulder straps
- Top-loading with floating top pocket, plus front zippered access
- Waterproof taping on top and bottom
- Compartment divider, side and hipbelt pockets, front and internal organizer pockets
- Retractable trekking pole/ice axe loop, sleeping pad straps, hydration compatible
- Also available as men's-specific Mercury
- Volume: 55 Liters
- Average stock weight: S = 2060g, M = 2100g
- Materials: 400d polyester twill, 420d nylon twill
Active Suspension
Black Diamond packs built with our award-winning active suspension systems—ergoACTIV, ergoACTIV XP, reACTIV and reACTIV XP—are unparalleled in comfort, efficiency and load transfer. Because the shoulder straps and hipbelt move with you, friction and hot spots are eliminated. The pack's load stays perfectly balanced at all times—without adjustment—and allows your body to move naturally in any direction. This results in a more efficient, comfortable, longer stride—meaning you can cover more ground, more quickly.


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DYER, Tenn., April 24 (UPI) -- A Tennessee teenager says she was denied access to her high school prom because she wore a dress that resembled the Confederate flag.
Texanna Edwards, a senior at Gibson County High School, wore the dress to prom Saturday, but was not allowed to enter because the dress was deemed offensive, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported.
Edwards said she talked to fellow students about the dress before prom and they seemed supportive, but added that a teacher suggested she speak to school administration before wearing the dress.
"I didn't talk with administration because we wore rebel flags all through my four years at Gibson County," she said. "I didn't ask for approval because I didn't think I needed to. I had one teacher tell me it was a bad idea, but I just thought she only said that because it would offend people. But I asked a bunch of people before I had the dress made and they all loved the idea."
Eddie Pruett, director of schools for the Gibson County School System, said there have been race-related issues at the high school in the past and Principal James Hughes thought the dress may cause a problem.
"She was told because of the dress and what it would look like, it would be considered inappropriate," Pruett said. "She had talked with the prom sponsor and they told her it would be inappropriate. ... I feel like Hughes followed legal precedents set by other court cases. Students have legal rights, and we don't infringe upon those. But we have to follow legal precedents, and if there is a reason to believe something could happen, we don't wait until after the fact to do something."

subset: commoncrawl


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Typical uses are for cabinet drawers, machine fences of all kinds, and shop jigs such as cut-off boxes. This is a transparent, PSA-backed, 5 mil tape that is incredibly tough. A small piece on the cross rail under a drawer will give you a silky-smooth action. Excellent on jointer fences or under miter guides. Well worth it just to fix all the drawers around the house.
About 18' (216") long by 1" wide. A durable tape with excellent adhesive qualities.
Made in Canada.


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The most surprising thing about "Her," the new Spike Jonze movie, is not that it dares to suggest an otherwise sane person might fall in love with the operating system that runs his computer and his smartphone. Or that middle-aged men look good in high-waisted pants. Or that it will be possible someday soon to ride a subway from downtown Los Angeles to the beach.
It is something simpler: that the near future is more interesting, culturally and architecturally, than the recent past.
Thanks to the digital revolution of the last two decades, it has become remarkably easy for filmmakers — and for songwriters, architects, novelists and car designers — to dip into a bottomless back catalog and borrow or remix work from the past.
This hasn't just produced a rampant anachronism in popular culture, with artists of all kinds churning through what the British music critic Simon Reynolds has called "Retromania." It has also made the future a lonelier and less appealing place.
There have still been movies imagining life 50 or 100 years from now, of course, during this period of wide-ranging cultural nostalgia. But they've tended to portray violent dystopias or post-apocalyptic wastelands. And star Tom Cruise.
And increasingly they have been pushed aside in the cultural conversation by films and TV series — "Computer Chess," "The Way Way Back," "Downton Abbey," "Mad Men," "Inside Llewyn Davis" — that either re-create an entire historic era with detailed ease or seem to exist in a nimble time machine, mixing elements of past and present the way a Spotify user can jump from Lorde to KRS-One and back again.
"Her" bucks the retro moment by jumping enthusiastically, and blindly, into a future that is neither utopian nor dystopian but — like our own era, and like every era —somewhere in the slippery in-between. The film is set in the Los Angeles of two or three decades from now; the year is never specified.
The city has dense clusters of tall towers and a mass-transit system to rival London's. Cars seem to have been banished. The thoughtful but hopelessly needy hero, Theodore Twombly, lives in a large and serene apartment in a downtown high-rise and either walks or takes the train everywhere.
The sidewalks and the rail stations are crowded with people. It's as if a benevolent Robert Moses, a planning dictator with a green agenda, had taken over the political realm in Los Angeles.
To create this colorfully remade L.A., Jonze and his production designer, K.K. Barrett, digitally plumped up the city's existing skyline. Jonze spoke at some length as he was preparing the movie with the New York architect Elizabeth Diller, whose firm is designing Eli Broad's new contemporary art museum in downtown Los Angeles.
The filmmakers also shot a number of scenes in Shanghai's Pudong district, which not only has an impressive collection of new skyscrapers but is laced with pedestrian sky bridges that allowed Jonze to film his actors without worrying whether the cars in the background looked futuristic enough.
The double setting also highlights the movie's interest in themes connected to surrogacy: to one person or thing standing in for another.
The operating system, called Samantha, stands in for the real girlfriend Theodore can't seem to find after his divorce. A young woman stands in for Samantha in what turns out to be a disastrous attempt at sexual intimacy between man and software.
Theodore stands in for the people who hire him, in his job at the candy-colored offices of a company called BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com, to ghost-write personal notes to friends and relatives. In the same way, Shanghai stands in for the future Los Angeles.
Surrogacy, of course, is a basic ingredient of moviemaking. Actors stand in for characters made up by screenwriters. The action captured on film stands in for real life.
And Los Angeles has always stood in on-screen for other cities. The generic quality of its downtown streets in particular has made it attractive to directors of feature films and car commercials alike.
But another city standing in for the Los Angeles of the future? That's new, or at least extremely rare. And Jonze doesn't just do it simply because Shanghai looks more believably dense and developed than present-day Los Angeles.
Filming in Shanghai also allows him to capture something significant about the character, and the anxieties, of contemporary L.A. This is a city caught in limbo between two very different kinds of urbanism: between its private and car-dominated past and denser, more public and more connected future.
Clearly we are heading toward a Los Angeles with more and taller skyscrapers, livelier sidewalks and better public transit. But the process of building a mature rail system has a long way to go; we still love our cars. We're trying to put the private L.A. in the past but haven't quite reached the future many of us are hoping for and working to create.
Alternating between scenes shot in Los Angeles and Shanghai gives this limbo cinematic form. The city is stuck between two realms just like Theodore, with his feet on the ground in Los Angeles and his mind and heart in a digital reverie.
Those gestures by Jonze and Barrett turn "Her" into an extended and surprisingly kindhearted meditation on how we grapple with major change — personal, cultural, technological and architectural.
The reason the culture has become creatively stuck, endlessly reusing our own recent past, is not only that it has become so easy for artists and consumers to call up old material. It is also because we are in the midst of a dramatic and profound digital upheaval that is remaking our personal and professional lives.
We have had a tough time moving forward in part because we haven't had a chance to make any coherent sense of what this digital revolution means culturally.
The question seems so huge and unwieldy, so existential, that it has been easier to turn our backs and find either comfort and inspiration in the newly accessible past.
This retro turn hardly kills creativity; it has produced some energetic and important work, a lot of which seems to fully inhabit and animate past styles rather than simply ape them. This is particularly true of records and novels by artists in their 20s and early 30s, digital natives who effortlessly give fresh energy to discarded or antique genres.
Think of "Days Are Gone," the addictive 2013 debut from three twentysomething sisters from the San Fernando Valley in the band Haim, which shamelessly borrows tricks from '80s pop and still manages to sound fresh. Or "The Luminaries," the Booker Prize-winning novel by Eleanor Catton, a 28-year-old New Zealand writer who mines Victorian fiction for inspiration.
In architecture, too, the ease of looking backward has made looking forward tougher or simply more rare. Younger architects are relying on historic pastiche to a degree not seen since the heyday of postmodernism in the 1980s. Consider the work of the recently disbanded London firm FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste), which in recent years rescued tongue-in-cheek historicism from the margins of architectural practice.
Or the newly opened Ace Hotel on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles; occupying the ornate 1927 United Artists tower by the firm Walker & Eisen, the hotel has interiors remade by the Los Angeles design firm Commune as a loving tribute to 1920s architecture, with nods to Rudolph Schindler, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Viennese modernist Adolf Loos.
Like "The Way Way Back," which is essentially set in the 1980s and the present day at the same time, the hotel's design scheme is comfortable mixing historical eras: Layered atop the throwback architectural details are artworks by contemporary L.A. artists, including pencil drawings on the walls by the Haas Brothers.
At a certain point, though, we are going to have to confront the growing gap between the relentless pace of innovation in the high-tech world and the ever-faster cycle of rehash and rediscovery that dominates the cultural one.
"Her" is one of the first high-profile efforts to do so. Jonze sidesteps the retro riptide that has trapped so many of his peers. And he eagerly takes on the question of what it might mean to live in an era when nearly everything is capable of being delivered (and theoretically improved) in digital form — not just newspapers, music, novels and architectural blueprints but love affairs too.


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Our frieze style Modern Times Uptown Ebony Rug by Milliken is the perfect rug to cover your dorm room floor while accenting your dorm room decor! This dorm rugs tufted construction is durable while providing a rich look and feel. Even better, Milliken rugs are stain resistant, odor resistant, mildew resistant and come with a 2 Year wear warranty making them the perfect decorative rug for your college dorm room, campus, or off campus apartment.
What is frieze style rug? Fibers in a frieze style rug twist slightly to create an informal look which covers a multitude of sins. For this reason, frieze style rugs are sometimes recommended for high traffic areas such as dorm rooms, as they will not show footprints and dirt as much as other styles of rugs. Often times variegated yarn is used to add more texture and color to the carpet; meaning, the pile may be flecked with lighter and darker shades of color to make the rug more visually interesting. Nylon is the typical fiber of choice for a frieze style rug.


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Employer Dan Peterson speaks of his life
Staff writer
Konley Harding, 21, of Burdick, was killed at about midnight Oct. 27 when he was struck by a vehicle on U.S. 24 while walking about two miles east of Manhattan. Why he was walking on the highway is unclear.
Witnesses told Pottawatomie County sheriff's officers that they observed an eastbound white vehicle run over Harding and continue eastward.
Harding was a student at Manhattan Area Technical College and planned to graduate in December. He graduated from Centre High School in 2009. He was popular with students and staff and was selected fall homecoming king in 2008.
Harding worked for farmer Dan Peterson of Burdick for six years beginning at age 15. He worked summers and weekends.
Peterson said Harding was an ambitious young man and very pleasant. When Peterson first gave him a list of things to do, Harding said,
"You're missing something on your list. Up at the top, it should say, 'Enjoy your day.'"
That has stayed with Peterson ever since.
"Konley had quite a smile," Peterson said. "He never had a bad word to say about anybody, and he would do anything for anybody."
Harding had dreams of having his own farm. He picked up jobs wherever he could. While attending technical school, he hauled trash before school started in the morning, worked as a clerk at a convenience store, and came out to Burdick to work on the farm. Peterson said he sometimes unexpectedly showed up on weekdays during the busy season and worked all night in the field before returning to Manhattan.
Several years ago, he rented 240 acres of land and acquired some cattle and hogs. Peterson shared facilities and equipment with him.
Harding had his sights set on purchasing the Burdick homestead of Peterson's mother, the late Myrtle Peterson. A month ago, he informed him that he had the necessary cash and was ready to make a deal. But it was not to be. His life was cut short.
"We were caught up in his hopes and dreams and were helping him make it happen," Peterson said. 'We are glad to have known him and to have worked with him these six years."
Harding has two younger brothers, Kordell and Kendall. Kendall is a senior at CHS. They live with their father, Kelsey, and stepmother, Candace, at Diamond Springs east of Burdick. They lost their mother, Lois, to cancer in July 2004.
Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Council Grove is in charge of arrangements. Visitation will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at Herington Community Building.


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A total of 16 Hope College students are being recognized by Michigan Campus Compact (MCC) for their dedication and commitment to service.
The awards will be presented during the organization's 2013 Outstanding Student Service Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 13, at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing.
Each year, MCC recognizes students from member colleges and universities across the state for their outstanding commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Three types of awards are given: the Outstanding Community Impact Award, the Commitment to Service Award, and the Heart and Soul Award. This year, more than 450 students from 33 member campuses will receive awards.
A Commitment to Service Award will be presented to senior Daniel Owens of Rocky River, Ohio. The award recognizes up to two students per member campus for breadth or depth of community service. Only 33 students statewide will receive the award.
Heart and Soul Awards will be presented to senior Derek Blok of Schoolcraft; senior Jessica Breslin of Palatine, Ill.; junior Christopher Davis of Shelby Township; senior Iliana Garcia of Los Angeles, Calif.; junior Samantha Gindl of Crown Point, Ind.; senior Jasmine Harris of Columbus, Ohio; senior Kevin Krueger of Traverse City; senior Felicia Marshall of La Grange, Ill.; sophomore Erica Porzondek of Belleville; senior Magdaline Rohweder of Troy; junior Kayleigh Schneider of Lake Leelanau; sophomore Holly Thompson of Traverse City; junior Lydia Thornburg of Indianapolis, Ind.; junior Amelia Townsend of Zionsville, Ind.; and senior Kara VanOordt of Jenison.
The students' service spans the wide range of such activity by students across the campus, from commitment individually in working with local organizations, to participation in major charitable fund-raising efforts involving hundreds of students. Prominent examples of the latter include the annual student-organized Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society each fall and the Dance Marathon held on behalf of Helen DeVos Children's Hospital each spring. In January 2011, Hope received national recognition for exemplary service-learning as one of only 115 colleges and universities across the country named to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's "2010 Community Engagement Classification."
Michigan Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purpose of higher education. The compact promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college students to be civically engaged citizens, through creating and expanding academic, co-curricular and campus-wide opportunities for community service, service-learning and civic engagement. Some 40 Michigan colleges and universities are members of MCC. More information may be obtained online at www.micampuscompact.org.


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Updatd on November 3 at 9:00 a.m. with additional information about Dell Core i7 systems.
Intel's Core i7 processor will first appear in fast gaming desktop PCs, as reviews arrive confirming its speed advantage over the Core 2 architecture.
The first comprehensive reviews hit Monday leaving little doubt that Intel's Nehalem chip architecture will greatly surpass anything Intel offers now.
Reviews cover the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition used with Intel's "SmackOver" motherboard, aka the DX58SO Extreme.
Core i7 processors expected to launch later this month include 2.66GHz (Core i7-920) and 3.20GHz (Core i7-965) versions. Prices will range roughly between $285 and just under $1,000.
Dell said Monday it is expecting to launch four desktops that include the new Core i7 Intel processor technology. These desktops will range in price depending on the accompanying technology, starting at $949. Timing will be tied to Intel's official launch of Core i7.
Other PC makers expected to bring out boxes include Gateway and Hewlett-Packard.
What is Nehalem/Core i7 exactly? The architecture will scale from two to eight processor cores, have faster chip-to-chip communication (Intel calls this technology QuickPath), do a better job of adjusting performance levels to suit power needs, and have a higher level of integration (more logic will be built directly onto the processor die).
Other salient features include more scalable memory (each processor will have its own dedicated memory), the ability to do more stuff simultaneously (up to 16 threads with simultaneous multi-threading), and new instructions to increase efficiency (called SSE4.2 instructions).
And who's going to buy i7 systems initially? Here's what CNET Reviews editor Rich Brown says: "We don't expect mainstream users will adopt Core i7...at first, at least until the motherboard prices come down."
Brown continues: "In the short term, it will benefit gamers and digital media types. The initial systems will be gaming oriented." (See these ExtremeTech gaming benchmarks.)
"We ran our own tests and found the flagship $999 Core i7-965 Extreme chip is the new fastest game in town," CNET Reviews said.
The i7 identifier will apply to the first crop of high-end desktop processors. Other identifiers will come later that will complement the i7. There will be a separate black logo for the highest-end offering called the Extreme Edition. Model numbers will differentiate each chip.
NASA drops insane map of 4,000 planets outside our solar system: In just a few decades, we've gone from knowing of no planets beyond the solar system to thousands.
Using CRISPR to resurrect the woolly mammoth: Bringing extinct species back from the dead is now on the table thanks to the gene-editing technology.


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Brussels, 12 October 2010
Commissioner Šemeta launches Tax Policy Group to push forward fundamental issues in taxation
Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta will today chair the first meeting of the new Tax Policy Group, which brings together personal representatives of EU Finance Ministers to discuss key tax policy issues. The Group will work on fundamental topics such as how taxation can contribute to a stronger Internal Market, to the growth and competitiveness of Europe's economy and to a "greener" economy. It will also serve as a forum for deeper discussion on priority matters, such as financial sector taxation, common consolidated corporate tax base and the new VAT Strategy.
Commissioner Šemeta said: "Fiscal coordination is essential if the EU is to re-build a strong and robust economy. The Tax Policy Group will be a very important tool in ensuring that Member States' tax policies complement, rather than contradict each other, and that the right measures are taken at EU level to promote growth and prosperity."
Commissioner Šemeta announced the establishment of the Tax Policy Group as one of his top priorities as Taxation Commissioner, seeing it as a crucial means of maintaining political momentum on key issues related to taxation at EU level.
The Group will provide a regular fixed forum for high-level discussions to explore the scope and priorities for tax policy coordination within Europe. It will help the Commission and Member States to exchange views on proposals before they are put on the table, and to push forward discussions on important taxation dossiers.
At today's meeting, the group will look at the recommendations in Professor Monti's report on the re-launch of the Internal Market (click here), including how to address obstacles and bottlenecks in areas such as corporate taxation, consumption taxes and environmental taxation. It will also look at how tax policy coordination could better contribute to fiscal consolidation and improve the effectiveness of national strategies.
At the request of the ECOFIN Council at the end of September, the Tax Policy Group will also focus today on the issue of financial sector taxation, taking into account the Commission's recent policy orientations in this area (see IP/10/1298, MEMO/10/477).
The Tax Policy Group was established in 1996 as a high-level group for strategic discussion on tax policy issues at a European level. It played an important role in the success of the "Tax Package" in the late 90s.
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Updated: Oct. 21, 2010
By David Dalton
Depending on your point of view, Andy Warhol is the greatest American artist of the second half of the 20th century or a corrupter of art who destroyed painting and took us down the slippery slope of postmodernism. He is either a cultural transformer or a purveyor of campy kitsch. Descriptions of his personality range from "legendary sweetness" to "cold as a meat locker," naïf peasant to cynical sophisticate, fine artist to con artist. In the first part of his career he was an iconoclast, in the second, the artist as businessman.
From Warhola to Warhol
Why such diverging views? Well, look at his origins. As the only Pop artist to come from a blue collar background, he was an enthusiastic believer in the American Dream, but coated it with a layer of icy camp. Born in 1928 into the slums of Pittsburgh, Andrew Warhola was the fourth child of immigrant parents who barely spoke English. Just how odd and remote from mainstream America were his origins can be seen in "Absolut Warhola," a hair-raising and hilarious documentary about Micková, the village in northeast Slovakia his parents came from. Andy was a sickly, often bedridden child, who played with dolls, idolized Shirley Temple and at an early age began drawing women's shoes, cartoon characters and movie stars.
By the time my sister, Sarah, and I became Andy's first assistants in 1962, he was a successful commercial artist, famous for his whimsical drawings of shoes, cats, flowers and angels. Still, he craved recognition as a fine artist, and had begun making brutal paintings of nose jobs and campy reproductions of comic strips. His first iconic image, a painting of a Campbell's soup can, would appear later that year. It was an idea he'd bought from the gallery owner Muriel Latow for $50.
The Leader of the Pack
Although the last Pop artist to get a gallery, he soon became the leader of the pack, his modus operandi being shock value and a newly minted persona — shades, the white wig, leather jacket, silver boots and uncommunicative responses to reporters' questions. (I'd met Andy before he became Andy Warhol. At that time he was shy, sweet and extremely talkative — especially about the sex lives of movie stars.)
Never happy with the messy business of painting ("I want to be a machine") he made his last hand-painted canvas, "129 Die in Jet" (the front page of a New York tabloid), in May 1962. Unhappy with the blobby image of the crashed plane, Sarah suggested to Andy that he use the photo-silkscreen process, a method of reproducing photographic images on canvas. Andy instantly grasped the potential of this new technique. Silk-screening wasn't simply a novel process — the appropriation of photographs as art — it amounted to a radically new art movement. From now on art would be a conceptual matter. Warhol, often seen as a kind of idiot savant of the avant-garde, had, with this act, changed art into something kitsch and strange: postmodernism.
First, in 1963, came the idealized portraits of movie stars — Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Troy Donahue and Liz Taylor. Next came the Death & Disaster series, disturbing images based on photographs of gruesome car crashes, race riots and electric chairs. The following year, 1964, he radically changed direction again, creating his Flower paintings, brightly-colored images of giant flower petals, once again appropriated — this time from a photography magazine.
The Moviemaker
Bored with painting, Andy began making movies in 1963. He made movies that didn't move, with actors who couldn't act. "Sleep" is a six-and-a-half-hour movie of the poet John Giorno sleeping (actually 28 minutes looped), and "Empire" is an eight-hour movie of the Empire State Building at night. Period.
In January 1964 he moved his studio to the commercial loft on East 47th Street that soon became known as the Factory. Its floating population of drag queens, speed freaks, hustlers and exhibitionists became Warhol's new repertory company — known as Superstars — for his next phase of movie-making. "Horse," "Blow Job," "Vinyl" and "Kitchen" were deliberately provocative films involving gay sex, S-and-M and absurdist plots written by Ronald Tavel. The most luminous of these superstars was the doomed charismatic heiress Edie Sedgwick. Warhol's fame and infamy soon increased exponentially.
In 1965 Warhol announced he was quitting painting for good. "It's too hard," he told me. (I never knew when he was kidding.) In 1966 he made his most famous film, "The Chelsea Girls," essentially vignettes of various Factory types flaunting drugs, sex, violence and outré behavior in the Chelsea Hotel. It became an immediate commercial success. The so-called "Screen-Tests," three-minute films that seem to expose the anxious souls of various friends, celebrities and artists sitting in front of a fixed camera, are devastating 20th century portraits.
A Shooting, and a Life Change
In June 1968 Valerie Solanas, a paranoid-schizophrenic writer and fanatical feminist, shot Warhol, seriously wounding him. Miraculously he survived. After he recovered, Andy expelled the freaks from the Factory and essentially became the chief executive of his own very lucrative brand, with endless portrait commissions and Warhol films now made by Paul Morrissey.
He lived almost another 20 years, during which he produced some amazing paintings — the portrait of his mother and the self-portraits in a fright wig. Unfortunately, these works tend to get buried under a mass of insipid portraits and desultory commissioned art. The shooting seemed to neatly divide his life in two. The first part, the life of an eccentric genius, the second that of an embarrassingly dizzy, society-schmoozing, money-mad artist manqué and shopaholic.
He died as the result of a routine gallbladder operation on Feb. 22, 1987. Appropriate for such a prankster, a massive memorial service was held for him at St. Patrick's Cathedral on April Fool's Day.
His Legacy
Twenty-three years after his death, his face and art are on T-shirts, iPods, blue jeans, sunglasses, Christmas cards, handbags, skateboards and wallpaper. He's everywhere, like an aesthetic vampire haunting the culture, taunting the art world, making cash registers sing. Now that everything in the culture is in quotation marks, we have embraced Warhol without irony. In some ways Warhol's innovations have become too successful. As the culture changed and absorbed his ideas — about art as a commodity and the artist as C.E.O. — what had once been shocking is now all too common. Warhol had become less an artist than a trademark — he had become his own brand, with Andy Warhol as its logo.
To add insult to injury, his pop-cult approach made any criticism of him look fuddy-duddyish. Living at the end of his art form, Warhol simply delivered the coup de grace to outmoded ideas of what art should be. Art could be, and would be anything — or nothing.
Under the cynical, scanning eye of postmodernism, all art, even of the recent past, appears dated. Pop art — a 1960s movement that focused on everyday objects, comic books and mediated images — now seems quaint and whimsical, but not Warhol. So far he has resisted fossilization — because with Andy you can have your cake and eat it, too. You can have him with or without irony, and it all still works. And because he was a master of the double-take, everything about him remains ambivalent. Once you choose one aspect of Warhol over another, you miss the point. Like Jean Cocteau's definition of himself, Warhol is "the lie that tells the truth." His paintings have the paradoxical quality of being both sexy and icily mechanical, and this ambivalence is at the core of his art. Even the affectionate nickname he was given at the Factory — Drella — is double-edged, a fusion of two disturbingly irreconcilable images: the waif-like Cinderella and the sinister, manipulative Dracula.


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Nation & World
Guantánamo: 2 detainees quit hunger strike; calm in communal prison
Two Guantánamo captives have quit their hunger strike, the military said Thursday, reporting the first dip in the prison camps protest and a cessation of clashes between guards and prisoners that coincides with the Ramadan holiday.
"It's quiet," said the prison camps spokesman, Navy Capt. Robert Durand, reporting no detainee threw his bodily fluids at a guard and no soldiers tackled and shackled a captive to force him out of cell for at least 24 hours.
"It may be Ramadan is generous," he said, invoking Islam's traditional greeting for the month of prayer and daytime fasting — Ramadan Kareem, Ramadan is generous.
The U.S. military marked the start of the holiday this week by allowing about 75 of Guantánamo's 166 captives to pray and eat in groups at the communal Camp 6 prison building. All 75 had been under lockdown since mid-April, confined inside individual cells up to 22 hours a day, praying and eating alone.
Now, about 40 men are being allowed to roam 18 hours of the day inside their cellblock, and are being locked inside individual cells six hour a night. Captives in communal pods have access to televisions, small recreation yards and showers without being taken there shackled at the wrists and the ankles.
Others were being locked inside their cells 12 and 18 hours a day but being allowed to pray and eat together in the evenings when the Ramadan fast comes to an end.
And, said Durand, "they're eating." An evening meal this week featured a dinner of lamb and rice and "it was pretty well enjoyed," he said.
Still, as of Thursday, the military counted 104 captives as hunger strikers, and said 45 were listed for night-time force-feedings, during hours when Ramadan observers eat. Since June 28, the military had reported 106 on hunger strike. Thursday's figure removed two hunger strikers from the steadily growing list for the first time this year.
The military would not say who ended his hunger strike, or why.
Guantánamo's medical hunger strike management procedures allow a doctor to no longer consider a captive on a hunger strike if he has voluntarily eaten 1,500 calories a day for seven days. Alternatively, the March 5, 2013 procedures say, the prison's senior medical officer "may also remove a detainee from the Hunger Strike List based on medical assessment that the caloric intake is sufficient and it is suspected that the detainee's intent is not to hunger strike."
Durand also said the forced-feeding figures can be deceptive. Rather than get a tube stuck up his nostril and snaked into his stomach to deliver a nutritional supplement, a detainee can choose at the restraint chair to drink a can of Ensure instead and still be listed as "an enteral feeding," which is Guantánamo lingo for those being force-fed.
The reported dip also comes a day after Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Richard Durbin asked President Barack Obama to order the military to stop "large-scale force-feedings" and adopt a Bureau of Prisons standard to force-feed when it's "medically necessary to save a detainee's life." Doctors at Guantánamo put a detainee on the forced-feeding list after he's refused a certain number of meals or weighs 15 percent below optimum.
A Defense Department official said, absent an order from Obama, the forced-feeding policy would not change. Separately, the military said it eased conditions for some after nearly 90 days of lockdown to test the prisoners' behavior.
In April, troops raided the communal prison and imposed the sweeping lockdown, saying the once-cooperative captives had defied their guards. They systematically refused to allow guards to deliver food inside the communal pods and covered up their surveillance cameras, prompting fears by the U.S. military that some were planning suicide by starvation.
It was not possible to independently confirm the military's claim that the captives were eating. A Miami Herald reporter was last were allowed to visit the prison in April, within days of the lockdown when the hunger strike and forced-feedings were on the rise.
Detainees have typically not met with their attorneys during Ramadan. Lawyer Carlos Warner said he spoke this week with Yemeni captive Idris Idris, in his 30s, and he was "still hunger striking, being tube fed and suffering."
Plus, Warner noted, the military itself reported that 45 captives were on its forced-feed list.
"The military's numbers are not credible and are unreliable," said Warner, a federal defender in Ohio. But, he said, if the military truly was restoring "amenities" and easing conditions, the numbers could go down. "We still believe approximately 130 men are hunger striking with a majority being tube fed each day."
Military commanders attributed the widespread hunger strike to a sense of despair at being at Guantánamo years after President Barack Obama pledged to close the Navy base prison. Four years ago, a federal task force approved transfer of 86 of the 166 captives, many home, some with conditions. But Congress blocked those moves. Defense lawyers said the detainees complained that the guards disrespected their Quran and seized personal items during a Feb 6-7 raid on the communal prison.
Since the hunger strike, Durand noted, Obama mentioned the captives twice in public speeches and dispatched a special envoy from the State Department to tour the camps July 2. "They're not declaring victory and we're not declaring victory, either," said Durand, "but we're just encouraged by the fact that we have good behavior in the camps."


text:
Motorola Photon 4G vs. HTC EVO 3D
posted by Brian K. Aug 18, 2011, 4:45 AM
This is a discussion for a review. To read the whole review, click here
44 Comments
1. pandamaja unregistered
One very important feature of the photon I didn't see mentioned is that its global GSM
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 7:10 AM 3
59. NeXoS
Posts: 292; Member since: May 03, 2011
Can you guys test to see which phone can phone book sync with older Bluetooth 2.x cars? All these phone makers are so quick to rush to the latest tech, Bluetooth 3.x, without really testing for backwards compatibility.
posted on Sep 01, 2011, 1:42 PM 0
2. SuperAndroidEvo
Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011
So Qualcomm's S3 Snapdragon processor is THE better chip compared to NVIDIA's Tegra 2. Wow & everyone says that Qualcomm's chips were the worst. I always knew the S3 was a sick chip plus the Adreno 220 GPU is completely bada$s when playing games. I can't wait to get CM7 on my HTC Evo 3D so I can really put the phone through its paces. I really want to overclock the HTC Evo 3D to 1.8 to 2.0 GHz & see that beast really fly. From what I read when the phone is at 1.5 to 1.8 GHz the battery life is not impacted too drastically, but on 2.0 GHz they do see a real battery difference. I just can't wait. I already rooted my phone, now I am waiting to get some sweet ROMS. I am so glad I got the HTC Evo 3D, I have NEVER been more satisfied with a phone. This is a CLEAR WINNER!
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 7:51 AM 3
9. HTCiscool
Posts: 449; Member since: Jul 16, 2011
Basically if you run Linpack on all of them it clearly shows that in terms of pure oomph, The S3 is actually better than the Exynos. The problem is that Applications must be optimized to make use of its full power, with Exynos and Tegra ll however, both cores are automatically used simultaneously. The Quadrant scores that you and I take on our HTC's rarely exceed 2400 because They are only using one 1.2GHz core. I'm really looking forward to overclocking mine too XD
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:16 AM 5
10. SuperAndroidEvo
Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011
FINALLY someone who understands. To get a Quadrant score of 2300 to 2400 on 1 core is insane. The Exynos & Tegra 2 chips get higher only on 2 cores. Imagine the Quadrant score if BOTH cores were running at the same time like the Exynos & Tegra 2 chips. Yes HTCiscool, I can't wait for CM7 or MIUI with an overclocked dual-core at 1.5 to 1.8 GHz. Man I am salivating! lol :-) I love HTC phones, their developer support is second to none!
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:29 AM 4
11. Niners13 unregistered
You are both COMPLETELY clueless. Quadrant only supports one Core. Snapdragon is just a turd, there is nothing to "understand". A8 based cortex is ancient. @1.8ghz it's still weak and barely keeping up with Tegra 2 @1.0ghz You notice all the Tablets are still using Tegra 2 even Samsung not some crummy Snapdragon. Exynos, Omap, Tegra 2, all better
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:54 AM 4
14. SuperAndroidEvo
Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011
Dude Quadrant doesn't just run one core, it sees the dual-cores of the Exynos, OMAP, & Tegra 2 as 1 core because it hasn't been updated to recognize both cores. Exynos, OMAP, & Tegra 2 use BOTH cores at the same time not 1 core as you said. Qualcomm's S3 Snapdragon is the only chip that uses 1 core at a time & only uses the other core when needed. That is why it's great on battery life. The S3 is an asynchronous dual-core chip, while the Exynos, OMAP, & Tegra 2 are synchronous. Here is a link so you can better understand the difference from asynchronous vs. synchronous multi-core chips. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 11:39 AM 3
19. IEatApples
Posts: 66; Member since: Jul 06, 2011
nah your wrong quadrant uses 1 core on all dual core phones. Why do you s3 users never speak of smartbench 2011 benchmarks, which is known to utilize both chips in all dual cores including the s3. the results are the same, lower benchmarks. Its a good chip but as usual qualcomm is trailing the rest of the pack.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 8:28 PM 1
20. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
i can't blame you for wishful thinking based on the little bit you know but you need to think for a minute, how is one A8 Scorpion Core as fast as Dual A9 Cores with different kinds of SoC? i understand the Qualcomm MSM8660 (S3) is asynchronous but as you said Quadrant reads both cores as one because it's not calibrated for Dual-Core handsets but it's not like the MSM hides away the other core under lock & key from Quadrant when it does Benchmarks. they all behave as Quadrant wants them to whether it knows it's Dual-Core or not. the MSM8660 simply uses an inferior processor infrastructure which is ARM Cortex-A8 (or was it A7? help me out here remixfa, we just figured it out in another discussion.) whereas the Exynos & the OMAP uses ARM Cortex-A9 processors and i know for a fact the OMAP uses a power management cycle itself without it having to be asynchronous. i mean the proof is in the pudding. the battery life on an LG Optimus 3D or a Galaxy S II isn't so drastically different from an EVO 3D or a Sensation being that they're supposedly running both cores at 100%, 100% of the time the phone is being used. like Alan here from PA says take the scores with a grain of salt because they aren't 100% accurate but from what Quadrant understands phones with OMAP processors and certainly phones with Exynos are faster and that's what you're getting from normal use. the rest is up to how polished the interfaces are which in most cases it is Sense 3 but i've seen for myself evidence of lag on the Sensation.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 8:59 PM 2
24. thatoneguy.... unregistered
you seem to know alot about phone processors so could you tell me why the hell htc only uses Qualcomm chips???
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 2:15 AM 0
25. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
because they're having sex? i dunno. i just know what i know from light research and discussions.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 2:27 AM 1
27. SuperAndroidEvo
Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011
Hey Thump3rDX17, you know way more about this than I do. I guess what you are saying is these Quadrant scores are NOT 100% correct. What I thought was that the S3 chip (which are underclocked to be 1.2 GHz because it really was a 1.5 GHz chip) would be faster than the newer 1.0 GHz chips from OMAP & Tegra 2. (I excluded the Exynos chip because it is 1.2 GHz & it's the most powerful one.) I know S3 runs on the A8 technology, but at 1.2 or 1.5 GHz I thought it would be faster than a 1.0 GHz OMAP or Tegra 2 using the newer A9 technology. From what you are saying I guess it's wrong. So my understanding of the topic was completely wrong. Hey I am a man & I can completely admit that. You can explain things in a manner that doesn't make me feel stupid. Thank you now I know more about the topic than I did before. That is why I like having discussions with you. You can educate in a positive way, some people would argue with you EVEN if they are wrong. I know when I am right & I also know when I am wrong. My understanding was flawed but now I know better. Thanks for making me see the light! lol :-)
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 8:08 AM 2
29. HTCiscool
Posts: 449; Member since: Jul 16, 2011
Quadrant is not accurate for representing the full potential of the CPU that would be for Smartbench 2011 and Linpack. Ironically however, the scores on Linpack represent the number of MFLOPS per second, so in essence, its like its performance on paper without any regard to the GPU. Smartbench 2011 and Quadrant, test the GPU as well, this is the part where the S3 lags, the GPU is nothing compared to an Exynos or Hummingbird chip. My conclusion is, Overall Exynos and Tegra ll are better chips with better Graphics processing units, but the S3 excels in terms of pure power. I've seen a desire HD reach over 1900 with its S2 1GHz core. It makes Sense that the Sensation can top it with one 1.2GHz core and an upgraded Graphics unit. and thats what Quadrant reads. Most of you will just yell at me for being a wishful thinking fanboy with a phone with an underpowered processor but I stand my ground.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 2:16 PM 0
30. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
i think "excels" is quite an over statement. in which case you can clearly see the Galaxy S II is a much snappier device and the benefit of it's juicy GPU is just icing on the cake.
http://www.tested.com/news/hum mingbird-vs-snapdragon-vs-omap-vs-tegra-2-arm-chips-explained/1704/
the S2 and the Hummingbird excelled with their GPU in the Single Core wars. if i did a Quadrant test on say a Droid 2 which has an OMAP3630 processor with GPU as good as what's found on an S2 then theoretically it will be in the 1800-1900 range as well. the S2 wasn't really a bad processor but it came much too late and only came in Devices that were faced with dual-core packing devices either about to be or already on the market. the single core war was dead. i can bet a single, evenly clocked Nvidia, OMAP or Exynos core can score better than an S2 core in a S3 set as they're the newer cores built with A9 processors and better GPU but we're not going to see that happen because the cores in the Nvidia, OMAP & Exynos are brand new and can't be tested as single core SoC. the possibility of Quadrant running a test any differently than an Nvidia, OMAP or an Exynos is highly unlikely because there isn't going to be THAT drastic of a difference between the newer cores in the competitors dual-core chip sets and the S2 cores in the S3 series. the means just isn't there so your theory is really just fantasy because even though we know Quadrant isn't optimized for dual-core phones you can just back track and see the scores of slightly older processors and project what the newer scores will be based on the newer manufacturing methods and GPU that they're equipped with.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 9:18 PM 0
40. Kin unregistered
I've even seen a Desire HD running 3200 with MIUI! 1GHz single core.
posted on Aug 21, 2011, 7:54 AM 0
31. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
i appreciate that you really took the effort to really think about my explanation and not let your pride make you stubborn and ignorant. you know how often people react as such here. thank you, i'm really only trying to help as long as anyone is open to discussion. it doesn't bother me at all when i think someone may be wrong or even when someone proves me wrong it's when people act like annoying d**ks with what they think they know. it's okay, we're all here to learn, i'm still learning a lot myself. this is a tough topic filled with variables.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 9:32 PM 1
34. HTCiscool
Posts: 449; Member since: Jul 16, 2011
I know its an old core, idc as long as it can do web browsing and the likes. I have seen lag on my phone when navigating Sense 3.0 however, I don't think they can release Sense 3.5 when 3.0 still isn't optimized. Hopefully the 2.3.4 update will fix that.
posted on Aug 20, 2011, 12:32 AM 0
35. BH unregistered
Its funny how you all act like you developed the SoC's themselves... put away the E-p3nises guys.
posted on Aug 20, 2011, 2:18 AM 0
3. ngo2dd
Posts: 896; Member since: Jul 08, 2011
The photon 4g has a pentile display which suck
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 8:50 AM 1
23. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
it's really not bad at all when you get used to it. i don't even notice it any more but you see Phone Arena themselves say that the Photon's screen looks better than the EVO 3D's and if you won't take their word on that then their praise for the processor may also be in question.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:33 PM 0
7. protozeloz
Posts: 5396; Member since: Sep 16, 2010
Thanks for the comparison :D Love to see two great sprint choices going head to head on a match
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 9:29 AM 0
8. lubbalots unregistered
Comparing oranges to oranges? Why not comparisen Apples to oranges or to Mango, etc.. Makes more sense.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:04 AM 0
12. Niners13 unregistered
I almost burst out laughing at the best of the best at the "hardware" You mean the opposite? Weakest of all of the dual-cores.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 10:56 AM 2
Posts: 36; Member since: Apr 01, 2009
thats funny i did the same with your comment. do some research the new msm 8260, 8660 is the strongest dual core. tegra 2 doesnt even support neon. and if you new anything about snapdragon u would know its not a cortex a8 its closer to a a9. it will do some out of order. raw power when both cores are being used.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 9:53 PM 1
33. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
yeah..you need to read the higher comments.
posted on Aug 19, 2011, 10:16 PM 0
13. Tmachaveli
Posts: 425; Member since: Apr 01, 2011
i have the photon and its really a dam good phone.i luv HTC but in my heart i all ways liked Moto.the photon is quicker than u think.i like the webtop feature on the phone it is awesome and the dock for it is pretty cool as well just being able to watch netflix on my tv from my phone is a plus.Both phones are the bomb it up to you on which one you want
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 11:05 AM 1
21. Thump3rDX17
Posts: 2160; Member since: May 10, 2010
dude..i get your point, less caps please? xD yeah, that's pretty much what set apart the EVO 3D and the Photon with me too was the processor and the Webtop capabilities which i see as a more productive feature than gimmicky 3D.
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 9:02 PM 2
37. William13
Posts: 27; Member since: Mar 10, 2011
Agreed completely, I love HTC much better as a manufacturer and found no single-core phone to even touch my Evo (not necessarily performance wise, but the overall package HTC presented). The big differentiation in this comparison is that HTC chose to go with a gimmick and Moto chose to pack extras we will actually use into the phone, i.e. 16 GB internal storage (I know only 9 is accessible), the webtop dock functionality, and the kickstand (most don't use it but it's really slow at my store so we'll all sit and watch Netflix on our phones between customers so we like the kickstands). Either way though, I don't know why people are so angry about a comparison between 2 phones. If you don't like the 3D, get the Photon, if you don't like the Photon, get the 3D. There's no need to go on PA and post in forums how your phone is the coolest and neatest phone ever and all others totally suck... They're just freaking cell phones, productivity tools people, quick looking at them as status symbols.
posted on Aug 20, 2011, 5:34 PM 0
Posts: 1459; Member since: Mar 09, 2010
I had both phones, and I can tell you the Evo 3D only was better when it came to going from one home screen to the next. The app home screen on the EVO 3D sucked when it comes to scrolling....the EVO 4G app screen is way better no slowing down like the EVO 3D. Speaker wise everyone knows the EVO 3D has a terrible speaker, and the antenna signal makes you wanna puke....is it obvious that I ditched the smoke and mirrors EVO 3D for the Photon; which if 3D don't matter and you want a phone that works the Photon is the obvious choice
posted on Aug 18, 2011, 7:15 PM 1
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text:
I'm interested in starting one. I think we need to take a lot of the positives from religion, and none of the negatives. What do you think?
Views: 1285
Isn't sports already the largest secular religion?
I believe so... it isn't one for me though.
I think there are two components to a religion: personal, and public. The public side is all about doing things together with other believers. The personal side is what we do separately, the other 6 days of the week - our inmost spiritual aspirations, and how to get through life with some semblance of hope, optimism and integrity. Something like that anyway. I've got a theoretical basis worked out for the personal side, which I did with some help from the existing religions. It's functionally identical to theirs, but in a clear, simple and streamlined form. To most people it seems to go straight over their heads, but so what. Any Christian or Eastern Buddhist I have described it to gets it straight away. As for providing a public side to this - right now there's nothing in place, and unless someone wants to start getting sermons and services together, we'll be forced to tag along with the other religions' forms of worship, which is not a bad thing, as we can have some mixing of cultures, and this is always fruitful in my experience. In fact, the project was born out of falling in love with a conservative Christian lady, and I'm an atheist anarchist. I realised that her values were the same as mine, and set about investigating.
Speaking for me, I'm not a joiner. I feel little or no need for "fellowship." The need to feel like "I belong to something bigger than myself" or "I need to be around people I can agree with" is simply a sign of a weak mind.
That's quite a judgement Unseen.
Making judgments (decisions, determinations) is what a brain does. But hey, I understand not everyone is strong.
Indeed, it also filters, makes assumptions, and deals with cognitive dissonance, among many other things. I appreciate your sharing, but I dislike your accusations. :)
I recently went to a Christian service with my friend who's just been baptized and is into Jesus. I found I could understand everything they were talking about. I especially liked the part where everyone says "I bless you" or something similar to everyone else and shakes their hand. This made me feel good.
Religion - real religion - is based on morality, and morality is about how we get along with our fellow humans.
When Jesus said "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20), he had a very good point, if we accept this on metaphorical and spiritual terms.
I agree with the two components comment.
I've noticed that my goals (not values) are the same as others from various religions, even some religious leaders. Interesting indeed!
That is because they are likely to be human goals and values, so humans in all religions will share those. It isn't the religion that drives morals, its humans. Our moral code evolves continuously, and has far outstripped the moral code of the religions who can only struggle to catch up, in vain.
I like the idea of a community club. Call it just that. Community Club. Find some like minded people and set one up. Someone has to set it up - why not you? :)
"Club" is fine, but "philosophy" covers a whole load of stuff which is nothing to do with religion. The name has to have something religious about it, like "church". Church club.
Why? Why would a bunch of people who aren't interested in church want to join a 'church' club?


text:
To break away from my usual Models Own nail polish purchases, i thought id try the much raved about Mint Green by Barry M to see if it lives up to the hype… and let me tell you, it doesnt disappoint!
|Mint Green by Barry M
Application was smooth but the colour did appear quite streaky and the colour wasnt very vibrant after one coat. The consistency of the polish seemed quite watery. That was until i applied a second coat…
|Mint Green after 2 coats
A second coat later and this nail paint was transformed into the vibrant, creamy, gorgeous colour that ive heard everyone talking about! I always apply a second coat of nail varnish anyway so this really doesnt bother me.
|2 coats, before a top coat
As for the colour, it is exactly what you'd expect from a nail paint named Mint Green. Its a gorgeously light, pastel shade of green that looks as good in the bottle as it does on the nail.
I bought my nail paint from Superdrug, they're usually £2.95 each but they had a 3 for 2 offer on so i got a couple of other things to try. Barry M also have a website http://www.barrym.com/ where you can buy absolutely everything Barry M from the comfort of your living room!
Have you tried this nail paint? Im definitely going to buy some more Barry M nail paints. I absolutely love this one, its right up there with my fave nail paints!


text:
Hotéis em Austrália
Experience life in the southern hemisphere with beaches, modern cities and all that travellers could wish for. The Radisson Blu Hotel in Sydney is perfect for exploring all that the city and nearby regions have to offer. Visit the beautiful coastlines, cosmopolitan cities centres, expansive scenery and become accustomed to healthy lifestyles that places 'down under' have in store for the travelling visitor.
Australia is a large island nation bordered by the Indian Ocean in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the east. It is known for its abundance of geographical splendours and for the laidback nature of its people.
Australia is the world's sixth-biggest country, roughly equivalent in size to continental USA, but with only 22 million people sprinkled mainly along the east coast.
While human habitation in Australia dates back 40,000 years, Australia's modern history began just 224 years ago when it was founded as a penal colony by the British in 1788. Australia gained independence from the British in 1901 but continues to hold the Queen of England as its head of state.
Known for its natural beauty, Australia's size makes it home to a wide array of landscapes and climates. From the Great Barrier Reef in the northeast to the central desert rock of Uluru, the stunning beaches on its coastlines, and skiing resorts in the mountains of the southeast, there is something remarkable to discover in every corner of Australia.
Australia is an advanced economy known for its high standard of living. It is a member of the G20 nations, as well as the OECD and plays a leading role in Asian and Pacific politics. Australia has recently been experiencing a commodity boom, which has attracted significant global investment.
In 2012 four Australian cities ranked in the top 10 of the world's best cities to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
- Take a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Located off the coast of Queensland, it is the world's largest coral reef with more than 3,000 individual reef systems and 1,500 species of tropical fish.
- Get to know Australia's biggest city, Sydney, whose harbour has been dubbed the world's most beautiful. Sydney has beautiful beaches, world famous restaurants and a bustling business district.
- Explore World Heritage sites in Australia's interior. Uluru, also known as Ayres Rock, is massive sandstone rock with particular cultural significance to Australia's Aborigines. Then head north to Kakadu National Park, a national park the size of Slovenia, that is the site of extraordinary natural beauty as well as many significant Aboriginal cultural sites.
- Get away to WA. The biggest city in Western Australia is Perth, known for its laidback pace and outstanding beaches. Just south of Perth is the Margaret River, which produces some of the world's best quality white wines. In the north of the state you'll find Broome, bordered by impeccable white sand and turquoise water on one side and the rich red soil of the Kimberley Mountain Range on the other.
- Camp on Fraser Island, another World Heritage site. The island is the only place in the world where rainforests grow in sand dunes. Its white sandy beaches, colourful sandy cliffs and fresh water lakes will inspire you.
- For a dose of Aussie culture, head to Melbourne for great restaurants, good theatre and a thriving art scene.


text:
New law good
Your July 14 cover story, "Gas by the Glass: North Garden's Contaminated Water" was well written and addressed multiple sides to a very complicated story with years of history and trauma. Most importantly, the article informed the public about a very timely issue that could affect the lives of others in this county and state.
Additionally, Albemarle County BOS and staff are to be commended for creating and enacting an ordinance aimed at assuring that all new wells within a short distance of petroleum contamination are potable before issuing a building permit.
This is a health and safety issue. The ordinance and its alert to home builders could save thousands in costly remediation efforts and health issues. I would have welcomed it 12 years ago before my family was exposed to toxic substances.
Although I have been concerned about the need for additional legislation, enforcement, and public awareness, I am very grateful to the state and the many people who work in the Leaking Underground Storage Tank program. They have shown professionalism and have a great wealth of knowledge about the issues. Their support has been appreciated.
My continued concern is that no other family be exposed to carcinogens, as mine was. All people deserve safe drinking water!
Ann Messina
Albemarle County


text:
The NFC Championship Game features quite a matchup: the high-powered offense of the Atlanta Falcons taking on a San Francisco 49ers defense that is regarded as one of the best in the NFL. While traditionalists still believe that defense wins championships, I contend that the Falcons' offense certainly is good enough to carry them to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.
After digging into the All-22 Coaches Film to see how the Falcons have evolved over the course of the 2012 season, here are a few things I expect offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to incorporate to create problems for the 49ers' defense:
1) Get Roddy White and Julio Jones at least 15 combined touches.
The primary objective of an NFL offensive coordinator is to put the ball in the hands of his best players as much as possible. In Atlanta, White and Jones are the most explosive offensive weapons in the lineup. Each is a big, physical playmaker with outstanding speed and quickness, possessing running skills to transform short passes into big gains. White and Jones have the capacity to win on vertical routes, while also excelling on underneath routes over the middle of the field. Given the interchangeable nature of their respective games, the Falcons have the ability to mix and match their formations and play calls to capitalize on favorable matchups in the passing game.
In the NFC Championship Game, Koetter will utilize some creativity to get the ball to White and Jones against San Francisco's stifling coverage. The 49ers don't employ a complex scheme, but their defenders are fundamentally sound and their attention to detail makes it tough to create big-play opportunities. However, the Falcons' dynamic passing catching duo is ultra-talented and highly capable of winning isolated matchups on the outside. I expect Koetter to implement some tactics utilized by the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots to exploit the 49ers' coverage.One of the tactics that I anticipate seeing early and often in this game is the wide receiver screen. The Falcons have made this play a staple of their offensive playbook to take advantage of the running skills of White and Jones. In addition, the play serves as an effective counter to the press coverage sometimes used by the Niners. The screen also serves as a potential blitz-beater against San Francisco's pass rush. Although the 49ers are not a blitz-heavy outfit, the need to move Matt Ryan off his sweet spot in the pocket could prompt a more aggressive approach from Vic Fangio in this contest. Thus, the screen could give Ryan a fail-safe play to turn to in every situation.
In the screengrab below from the Falcons' Week 16 win over the Detroit Lions, White is positioned at the top of the screen. Atlanta is running a wide receiver screen against the Lions' Cover 2 defense:
At the snap, White takes a couple strides upfield before peeling back to field the pass. Tight end Tony Gonzalez kicks out the defensive back and White follows the convoy down the field for a 39-yard touchdown:
Click here to see full video of the play.
In the next screengrab from Atlanta's Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Jones is aligned at the bottom of the screen. The Falcons have another WR screen called with Jones as the intended receiver:
At the snap, he works a few yards up the field before retreating to catch the pass. Slot receiver Harry Douglas kicks out the defensive back and Jones looks for a crease behind his offensive linemen working up the field:
Jones finds a seam and scoots to the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown:
Click here to see full video of the play.
Koetter will also incorporate a few deceptive pass plays to create big-play opportunities for White and Jones. The Falcons' offensive coordinator is regarded as a masterful play designer, and he has shown the capacity to exploit opponents' weaknesses with creative schematics. Last week, I watched from the press box as he attacked the Seattle Seahawks with a few deceptive plays that exploited the secondary's aggressiveness.
In the video clip to your right, the Falcons fake a bubble screen to draw a quick reaction from the Seahawks before hitting White on a post. The Falcons routinely run the WR screen to get the ball quickly to Jones, but they recognized earlier in the game that the Seahawks were flying up to attack the screen. Ryan used a hard pump fake to Jones to move the secondary in that direction, taking safety Kam Chancellor out of the middle of the field. White slipped past Richard Sherman and scored a 47-yard touchdown.
Finally, I would expect Koetter to dial up a handful of deep shots to Jones to see if the second-year pro can run past Carlos Rogers, Chris Culliver and Tarell Brown. Culliver, in particular, has been susceptible to the deep ball, so he could be the likely target in the game plan, based on film study. Given Jones' speed, explosiveness and big-play ability, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan take four to five deep shots in his direction, particularly if Culliver is assigned to him.
2) Work the middle of the field with Tony Gonzalez.
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The Falcons certainly deserve kudos for building an offense that accentuates the strengths of their franchise quarterback. With explosive playmakers on the perimeter (White and Jones) and a veteran pass catcher in the middle of the field (Gonzalez), the Falcons' lineup provides Ryan with a wealth of options to target against any defensive tactic. Gonzalez, in particular, has been key to Ryan's recent success, providing superb route running and exceptional hands. Despite his diminishing physical skills, he has a knack for getting open against superior athletes, which allows Ryan to target him as a safety valve in critical moments. This particularly shows up in third-down and red-zone situations. Gonzalez has converted 67.7 percent of his receptions into first downs, with only three of his 93 regular-season receptions totaling 20 yards or more. This is indicative of his ability to work the intermediate areas of the field, particularly the 8-10 yard area between the hashes.
Gonzalez's red-zone prowess is reflected in his nine touchdowns this season (including postseason play). Gonzalez has become Ryan's top target near the end zone, and defenses have been unable to stop him, despite knowing it's coming. Part of Gonzalez's success can be attributed to his exceptional body control and previous experience as a basketball player. He understands how to obtain "post-up" position on smaller defenders to make difficult grabs, which expands the strike zone for Ryan.
The video clip to your right -- from the Falcons' Week 15 shellacking of the New York Giants -- is the perfect illustration of Ryan taking advantage of Gonzalez's size and athleticism in the red zone. Gonzalez is aligned in the slot in the Falcons' trips formation to get him isolated with the middle linebacker on a seam route. The Giants are playing a two-deep coverage with Michael Boley assigned to Gonzalez down the pipe. Ryan ignores the tight coverage and throws the ball "high and away" to give Gonzalez an opportunity to make a terrific grab in a crowd. Gonzalez does just that, notching a 12-yard score.
Against San Francisco, the ability to throw to Gonzalez in the middle could serve as the perfect counter to the 49ers' 2-Man tactics. The coverage, which features two deep safeties and five underneath defenders in trail coverage, reduces the open windows down the field and forces the quarterback to make pinpoint throws. Although NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis are exceptional cover linebackers, the fact that Gonzalez is so effective making plays over the middle of the field should make him the primary option on most of the Falcons' passing plays.
3) Use Jacquizz Rodgers as a change-of-pace weapon.
Michael Turner is listed as the starter for the Falcons, but the most dynamic running back on their roster is Rodgers. During the regular season, the second-year pro totaled 764 yards from scrimmage on 147 touches with two scores. Rodgers excels at making plays on the perimeter with his speed and quickness, which encourages Koetter to give him the ball on off-tackle runs and toss sweeps. The Falcons cleverly mask their intentions by utilizing bunch and cluster formations, creating the illusion of the pass.
In the following screengrab from Atlanta's Week 12 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Falcons are aligned in a bunch formation with Rodgers offset to the right. Gonzalez and White are closely aligned to the right, as well:
At the snap, Gonzalez and White crack down on their assigned defenders, with right tackle Tyson Clabo pulling around the corner to kick out the first defender on the edge. Rodgers takes the pitch and attacks the crease for a 20-yard gain:
Click here to see full video of the play.
In addition, Rodgers displays the toughness and tenacity to run effectively between the tackles. He attacks the crease with urgency and displays stunning stop-start quickness in the hole. The Falcons have capitalized on his versatility by featuring him in one- and two-back formations.
The Falcons also feature Rodgers in the pass game on various screens and check downs that routinely result in big gains. This adds another dimension to Atlanta's pass game, giving Ryan a big-play opportunity with minimal risk. Given the 49ers' sterling defensive reputation, the Falcons could heavily lean on Rodgers to provide a spark on Sunday.
4) Change the tempo with the no-huddle offense.
The Falcons have been one of several NFL teams to flirt with the no-huddle offense in 2012. Koetter has routinely entrusted Ryan to call the game from the line of scrimmage, while utilizing a hurry-up tempo to limit the options available to defensive coordinators. By quickening the tempo between plays, the Falcons wear down opponents and restrict them from using exotic substitution packages in key situations. Most importantly, the frenetic pace leads defensive play callers to adopt a conservative approach due to concerns about blown assignments and communication issues. As a result, the Falcons routinely face vanilla defensive looks, allowing Ryan to attack coverage aggressively from the pocket.
The utilization of the no-huddle offense could give the Falcons a significant edge against the 49ers' defense in the Georgia Dome. A hurried pace combined with a sting of successful plays puts the offense in a rhythm that energizes the home crowd. Most importantly, the quickened tempo could turn the game into the track meet that the Falcons prefer on their home turf.
When I studied the All-22 tape of the 49ers' Week 15 win over the Patriots, I noticed that San Francisco's defense appeared to struggle containing Tom Brady and Co. when the Patriots used the no-huddle. The Pats scored on five of eight drives, including four touchdowns, when they employed the approach against San Francisco, overcoming a 28-point deficit before falling just short.
Some would suggest that the 49ers altered their defensive approach with a big lead, but it is apparent watching the tape that the defense started to wilt under the barrage of successive plays from the Patriots. The pass rush, in particular, started to wear down late with the 49ers unable to rotate defensive linemen due to the pace.
If the Falcons can speed up the game and push their play count to 70-plus snaps, the offense could wear out the 49ers' vaunted defense over the course of the game, allowing them to prevail down the stretch in a tight one.
Follow Bucky Brooks on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.


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You don�t have to play a dulcimer or even own one to attend the Fifth Annual HymnFest on Sept. 28 at Elizabeth Baptist Church, 301 N. Post Road, Shelby.
You don�t have to play a dulcimer or even own one to attend the Fifth Annual HymnFest on Sept. 28 at Elizabeth Baptist Church, 301 N. Post Road, Shelby.
Sponsored by The Foothills Dulcimer Club of Shelby, the event includes dulcimer workshops for beginners through advanced students, a choral clinic and an old-fashioned jamboree.
�If you have never played the mountain dulcimer, that is not a problem,� Joe Collins of Shelby, 2007 National Champion and a member of the club, said in an email. �We�ll have a class for rank beginners. If you do not have a dulcimer, that is not a problem either. We�ll have some extras to lend out.�
In the past, people have attended the event from north Georgia, eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. The furthest came from the east coast of Virginia, Collins said.
People are drawn to the dulcimer for two reasons, he said.
�I think the main reasons people are drawn to it is because it makes a beautiful sound, and it is a very easy instrument for even beginners to play,� he said. �We�ll be able to teach (beginners) to play a hymn that people will actually recognize within one workshop.�
Collins will conduct one of the workshops along with Michael Shull, a multi-time national finalist from west Columbia, S.C. The dulcimer workshops begin at 1 p.m. Mike McGee, minister of music at Elizabeth Baptist, will conduct the choral clinic, beginning at 3 p.m.
Shull was introduced to the mountain dulcimer and hammer dulcimer in the spring of 1995 and won the Georgia state dulcimer championship in 1997. He released his first dulcimer recording in 1998. Since then, he�s recorded 10 more albums and has written eight books of tablature.
Collins began playing the mountain dulcimer in the late 70s in coffeehouses, churches and schools. Since that time, he has written several books of dulcimer music, produced five CDs, and has performed across the country in a number of different venues.
McGee and Collins began playing together in 1988. Serving together on the same church staff for more than 11 years, they had plenty of time to develop a unique folk sound with dulcimer and guitar. They play a variety of music which includes their interpretations of well-known and lesser-known Celtic tunes, modern folk arrangements of traditional hymns, fun fiddle tunes and a host of original pieces they have written over the years.
During the last 90 minutes of the event, dulcimer players, guitarists, singers and other instrumentalists will join in the hymn jamboree, Collins said.
�We alternate playing hymns on our instruments, singing the choral pieces, or just joining in with instruments and voices,� he said. �There�s a loose structure to it, but it is much like an old-time hymn sing with people gathered around the instruments. Some choose to play, some sing, some do both while others just listen and tap their feet. It�s a really fun, worshipful time.�
Want to go?
The Foothills Dulcimer Club of Shelby is co-sponsoring its Fifth Annual HymnFest on Sept. 28, along with host Elizabeth Baptist Church, 301 N. Post Road, Shelby.
The event is free and open to anyone who would like to come for all or any part of the afternoon. The day�s activities will include mountain dulcimer workshops, a choral clinic and an old-fashioned jamboree featuring hymns about heaven.
1 p.m., dulcimer workshops
3 p.m., choral clinic
4:30, jamboree of heavenly hymns; all are invited to join in with any instrument or your voice
For more information, call 704-484-8414, or go to www.jcdulcimer.com and click on the Hymnfest link.
Monthly meetings: The Foothills Dulcimer Club meets every second Saturday at Elizabeth Baptist Church. For more information, visit http://jcdulcimer.com/club/foothills.htm.