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Larry Lessig Challenges ASCAP Boss To A Debate Over Whether Or Not Creative Commons Undermines Copyright
from the throwdown dept
So here's my challenge, ASCAP President Paul Williams: Let's address our differences the way decent souls do. In a debate. I'm a big fan of yours, and If you'll grant me the permission, I'd even be willing to sing one of your songs (or not) if you'll accept my challenge of a debate. We could ask the New York Public Library to host the event. I am willing to do whatever I can to accommodate your schedule.So, will ASCAP and Williams -- who has been on an anti-Lessig rampage for a while now -- step up and actually debate? And if Williams agrees to such a debate, will he finally stop making false claims about these groups?
Let's meet and address these perceived differences with honesty and good faith. No doubt we have disagreements (for instance, I love rainy days, and Mondays rarely get me down). But on the issues that your organization and mine care about, there should be no difference worthy of an attack.


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'Harry Potter' Actor Richard Griffiths Dead at 65
Famed actor Richard Griffiths, known for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter series, has passed away at age 65 from complications following heart surgery, USA Today reports.
Richard died on Thursday (March 28), according to his agent Simon Beresford, at the University Hospital in Coventry, central England.
Simon stated that Richard was "a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors."
"I was proud to say I knew him," Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe commented about his death.
Our thoughts go out to Richard's family and friends during this tragic time.

subset: commoncrawl


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By JON HAGLOF
By JON HAGLOF
Sports Editor
DARTMOUTH — The Dartmouth High School boys' soccer team was on a roll, but one rocket of a shot, and the top-seeded Needham Rockets put an end to that roll on Friday night in the semifinal round of the MIAA Division 1 South Tournament.
While the Indians had some good fun at the expense of Taunton and Nauset in rounds one and two, racking up nine goals in back-to-back home wins and a berth in the South semifinals, they were on the wrong end of a 3-0 final Friday night at Taunton High School.
Despite Dartmouth's best efforts and usual style of fast-paced, attacking soccer, Needham scored an early goal and dictated the pace and controlled the ball for most of the game.
The first Needham goal came just 1:15 into the game, on a long shot which Dartmouth Head Coach Steve Franks described as a "rocket," and with another goal late in the first half, Needham had a two-goal lead at the half. The dagger came early in the second half, when the Rockets added a third goal on a long, left-to-right free kick finished with a head ball.
"(Needham) got a quick start, the kid just hit a rocket," Coach Franks said. "I thought we had a lot of possession in the first half, but they had a big save in the first half, and then they saved another one on a header (in the second half). I mean, if they're not there, yeah know, we have a different complexion of the game.
"But they're very good. We can't take anything away from them. Two things that do us in are trying to play the ball in the air — there's just no way we were gonna win the ball in the air with these guys, I mean everyone of them has four to eight inches on our guys — and playing on the turf — we haven't been a very good turf team. It seems like we were off our game a little, but I think (Needham) had a lot to do with that."
Dartmouth was outmanned physically, but the attacking trio of Noah Martins, Jarred Correia and Matt Vidal were up to the test, and outside midfielders Ben Silva and Jarred Brandso were effective, too. But Dartmouth struggled to get a clean look at the net in the face of a big, physical Needham defense.
"They had a very good defense, they were really very tough," Coach Franks said. "We just really didn't get many quality opportunities. The two quality opportunities that we had, somebody was there to pick it out of the back of the net before it could get there."
Dartmouth closes out the 2012 season at 15-2-3, after one of their best efforts in recent memory. The team won a second straight Old Colony League title and secured the fourth seed the D1 South tourney.
In round one, they rolled to a 5-1 win over Taunton, Martins leading the way with a hat-trick as the Indians scored five goals in the first half. That nearly duplicated that effort in a 4-0 win over Nauset in the quarterfinals last Tuesday night. They scored four goals in the first half, and Martins was good for another hat-trick, scoring three goals in the opening 18 minutes.
"This team is tremendous, a pleasure to coach," Coach Franks said. "We were talking the other day and were like 'you know we've been at it for like eleven and a half weeks now.' It just seemed to fly, it just really did.
"They're a very coachable group. They listen, they play hard. I mean, all you can ask for, really, is just leave everything on the field, and the kids did that, they all did that. Right to the end, they were plugging away, playing for the goal to end the shutout, but it wasn't meant to be."


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Lawton Woman Pleads Guilty To Large-Scale ATM Theft
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Maria Estelle Martin, 47, of Lawton, pled guilty today to embezzling cash from a credit institution before United States District Court Judge Robin J. Cauthron, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
According to court records, Martin worked for a security company that serviced Lawton-area ATM machines for local banks and credit unions. Her duties included replenishing ATM machines with cash from financial institutions' vaults. In late 2011 and early 2012, Martin embezzled cash by taking it from the vaults and keeping it rather than using it to replenish the ATM machines.
Martin faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine at her January 7, 2014, sentencing hearing. She will also be required to pay $846,670 in restitution to the corporate victims of her theft.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lawton Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Chris M. Stephens.


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Deities at Dhalpur ground for Kullu Dusshera
Deities at Dhalpur ground for Kullu Dusshera. Kullu Dussehra is the Dussehra festival observed in the month of October in Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. It is celebrated in the Dhalpur maidan in the Kullu valley. Dussehra at Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon, i.e. on 'Vijay Dashmi' day itself and continues for seven days. Its history dates back to the 17th century when local King Jagat Singh installed an idol of Raghunath on his throne as a mark of penance. After this, god Raghunath was declared as the ruling deity of the Valley.Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download
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Pets, Pets, Pets
It's written that Noah built an ark to ensure zoological diversity. Back then, he didn't know (or care) that genes were the blueprints for life. He probably wouldn't have believed it. Being a typical man, he didn't take a map either. Scientists now have a new type of map- genome maps- to unravel the mysteries within the species Noah allegedly saved. Here are a few post-diluvian findings about genomes:
The typical mammal genome has about 24,000 genes. Cats have 38 chromosomes (19 pairs); dogs have 78 chromosomes (39 pairs); and humans have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs) - all with about 24,000 genes. That's not many in itself, but these are turned on and off in various combinations in different ways, multiplying the possibilities. Genes are inherited in blocks. With some species mapping already documented, scientists can search for genetic markers. They line chromosome profiles up- side by side, cut and paste, focus on tinier sections, and find similarities of position between inherited conditions in comparable species. For example, the defective gene for progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) was found on chromosome 9 in dogs before discovering it on chromosome 17 in humans.
Species might even have genes for traits they no longer have. A porpoise with leg stumps made headlines a few weeks ago. Genetic researchers (like Dr. Niels Pedersen of UC Davis who gave us a crash course in the feline/canine genome at the Cat Writers Conference in San Francisco last week) weren't shocked. Porpoises have about 24,000 genes and in this porpoise, the leg genes had failed to turn off.
The canine genetic sequence is complete. A Boxer named Tasha served as the model. All genes come as pairs- one from the mother and one from the father. The breed choice wasn't important because all dogs are about 99% identical at the DNA level. They wanted a dog with the most "homzygosity"- the least variation between maternal/paternal gene pairs. This highly inbred Boxer was chosen.
From a vial of Tasha's blood, 2.5 billion pieces of DNA, or genetic data, were reassembled in the proper order after researchers decoded each individual piece. To draw an analogy, scientists say it is like all of the pages of a book going through a paper shredder, each scrap analyzed, and then pasted back as proper pages.
The cat genome project is not finished yet. Scientists have sequenced "Cinnamon's" blood twice but will do so 4 more times to create the consummate map. Cinnamon is an Abyssinian, a breed with ancient roots, with a welldocumented pedigree. She's at the veterinary ophthalmology lab at the University of Missouri. She will go down in scientific history as one of the most important
cats that ever lived. In addition, findings from Cinnamon's genetic map may ultimately restore eyesight by curing PRA in humans and in her Abyssinian relatives.
Scientists can now identify genes for simple recessive traits like hemophilia. They are beginning to use genes to search for complex traits, such as canine hip dysplasia, a condition that Dr.Pedersen calls the researchers' "Holy Grail". People have about 5,000 genetic disorders with 1 in 500 affected; dogs have only 500 genetic disorders, but with 1 in 10 affected- manifested more in dogs because the defective genes surface via the many purebred lines.
Domestication plays a crucial role. Genome mapping helps to pinpoint the time when man intervened in a species' evolution. Dogs have been alongside us 14-17,000 years, whereas cats merely 4-7,000 years. With selective breeding, we have "shape shifted" dogs' look and purpose more than any other mammal. (Think companion Chihuahua vs. guarding Mastiff.) Cats are an excellent animal model to study because their genetic makeup has stayed consistent.
Researchers are examining certain behaviors as complex genetic traits. Can the pointing behavior in a sporting breed be traced to a block of genes? Where in the process of domestication does a wolf's stalking of prey turn into a Collie's herding of sheep? Perhaps the goal of taming is to perpetuate that Peter Pan relationship.
Is there a genetic component to the canine life span paradox? In mammals, usually the larger ones, like elephants, live the longest; the small ones, like mice, survive briefly. However the opposite is true in dog breeds. Small dogs tend to outlive the giant breeds. Why?
Manipulating genes and gene therapy may be the wave of the future. With these techniques, veterinarians have already restored the sight of 3 Briards with a hereditary retinal disorder and prolonged survival of 12 dogs with malignant melanoma. Pedersen says that every gene is a protein. Alter the protein, alter the gene, so drugs may be able to do that and the canine and feline maps open up new highways.
This week our poster dogs at Oyster Bay Town Shelter (677-5784) Miller Pl. Syosset don't want anyone to count their 78 chromosomes or chart their DNA. They just want someone to come see how endearing they are, so they can make their adoption plea. "Powder" #1129 is an 8 year old lovable, white Boxer. She has lived with kids. "Pebbles" #1093 is a 6-year-old Wheaten/Shihtzu. Her owner is terminally ill. She was very well-behaved for her grooming at the shelter. See more photos on the shelter's Petfinder site.
Males: "Bob"- the hefty tabby in the lobby window showcase;"Sarge" #1082- a big boned Shepherd mix; "Sebastian" #1119- a bent ear Shepherd who likes other dogs.
Female: "Kelly" #860- the gold Shepherd mix has been waiting a long time for a forever home.


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Fourteen Is Such An Awkward NumberPosted by KCarpenter on October 13th, 2011
Whether you are against ACC expansion or a fervent proponent of a wildly dominant Atlantic Coast Mega-Conference, there is one thing that we can agree on: Fourteen is a really awkward number. Mike Krzyzewski, supposedly one of the driving forces behind expansion, spent a good deal of Duke's media day explaining the problem with fourteen team conferences. Citing a distaste for pods, he discussed a two-division based strategy for scheduling that, while reasonable, would yield a nineteen-game conference schedule and an uneven number of home and away games. While Krzyzewski kind of brushes it off, this is the kind of schedule imbalance that can end up deciding which team wins the ACC regular season title. In Krzyzewski's mind, however, the problem with his plan just bolsters the case for a sixteen-team league.
Of course, the problems don't stop with the regular season conference schedule: Fourteen teams would significantly complicate the ACC Tournament. Craig Littlepage, the athletic director at Virginia, has broken down a number of possibilities for the conference tournament, none that really seem particularly appealing. His concerns seem legitimate in that it's hard to make a fair bracket with fourteen teams. Unless the conference were to resort to some form of multi-round byes, we're looking at an extra day of competition or morning games. Considering the fact that Thursday is a pretty sparsely attended part of the conference tournament, adding Wednesday games might be stretching things out far too much. When the Big East had fourteen teams, the conference solved the problem by simply excluding the last two teams. This approach seems like it would be despised in the ACC, but it's hard to see many other effective approaches. Obviously, there could be an elegant solution to the fourteen-team problem, but at the moment, no one can seem to put their finger on it.
The expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference seemed to reach a point of stability in the last few weeks, despite the uproar over Boston College's role in denying Connecticut's admittance. It seems, however, that true stability on the basketball side might be impossible with fourteen teams. Fourteen is an awkward, challenging number. With all of the accompanying challenges, complications, and troubles, it's easy to see that sixteen is a more appealing configuration. Things may not be as stable and set as they seem.


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Drip proof (DP)enclosure has vents in end shield and/or frame to prevent drops of liquid from falling into motor within a 15 degree angle from vertical. Designed for use in areas that are reasonably dry, clean, and well ventilated (usually indoors). If installed outdoors, it is recommended that the motor be protected with a cover that does not restrict the flow of air to the motor.
NEMA C face mount has machined face with a pilot on the shaft end which allows direct mounting with a pump or other direct coupled equipment. Bolts pass through mounted part to threaded hole in the motor face.
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Budget $250-750 USD
Chinese Translate to English , We are development and research company of game from China, we have a game seems like World of Warcraft need to be translated to English, we hope you are:
A company, which have abundant experiences.
29 freelancers are bidding on average $397 for this job
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Bee'ah is a Public Private Partnership Environmental Company, founded in 2007 and headquartered in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Bee'ah is an integrated environmental management company that touches and transforms thoughts, attitudes and behaviours in individuals, communities, businesses and countries enabling them to lead positive sustainable growth by providing the infrastructure, tools and support that they require to achieve their environmental goals.
Bee'ah aims to transform the environment through sustainable practices and achieve better value through sustainable commercial ventures ensuring that our commitments to our stakeholders are the priority.Less...
Contact Information:
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Boaters rescued from burning Stonington vessel off Watch Hill
Westerly — A Stonington boat caught fire off Watch Hill early Friday, and five adults were pulled from the water by a good Samaritan, Petty Officer Jeff Thor of Coast Guard New London said.
All of those onboard were rescued within minutes and did not require medical attention, Thor said.
A distress call came at 7:15 a.m. from the 29-foot Dyer, at the same time that a Coast Guard boat from Southeast New England was out on an unrelated search out of Block Island, Thor said.
He said a good Samaritan nearby communicated with the Coast Guard by radio, then pulled people from the water within minutes and brought them to a dock at the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club.
All onboard — whose names were not released — had life jackets and did not require medical treatment, Thor said. One had tried to put out the fire, which began in the engine, by using three fire extinguishers, but was unsuccessful, Thor said.
After the fire was out, the boat sank, he said.
Capt. Jack Balint, owner of Fish Connection in Preston, was out on his boat with three clients on his charter fishing service.
He said he left Walker's Dock in Stonington about 7 a.m. He said that he noticed the first smoke at about 7:10, by which time his boat was a few hundred yards out from the dock and nearing Sandy Point. He said he knew the boat had just started to burn around that time because otherwise he would have seen the smoke sooner from his marina.
"When a boat burns, it burns very, very black," he said.
He said he rode over to see if he could help but saw the boat's occupants were already riding on the boat of the good Samaritan.
Balint said he watched the boat for about 15 or 20 minutes. He said between 8:30 and 9 a.m. he noticed the boat burn down to the water and the anchor line melt.
Mystic Fire Department Deputy Chief Anthony P. Manfredi Jr. said the Coast Guard called the department at 7:21 a.m., and was at the scene with the Watch Hill Fire Department when the Mystic fire boat arrived.
"It was fully involved," he said of the blaze.
Firefighters put out the fire within 3 or 4 minutes, Manfredi said.
Stillman Brown said he lives across the street from where the boat launched from a private dock about 6 a.m. He also watched its passengers return on a different vessel. They were brought to a nearby boat slip, he said.
He said the boat had only been there about two months and was being refurbished. "They were bringing it back meticulously," he said. "It was really going to be a showpiece."
Staff writer Tess Townsend contributed to this report.
Twitter: @DStraszheim
Dispute over legal fees delays criminal case of indicted utility officials


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Last week, i got a very good book recommended by a dear friend. "Meng lao shi"...a book from Taiwan. My mandarin is terrible larr, don't know how to write..;p
Well, this is one of the recipe in this book...."Super Soft Loaf".
Its really super super soft....nice! If you've been following my work here, you'll know that this is the 2nd time baking a bread loaf. Very nervous again!! haha!
Nervous throughout the whole process....heehee! Luckily it's successful..."phew"!
Kind of like the 'skin' here, crispy....and yet super soft inside...yummy! I'll just post the ingredients here for those who like it, and don't know which book i'm talking about..haha! Especially my 'gang' (all my old buddies), who hardly cook but did baking lately....bravo!!
For those ingredients for sausages and red bean buns are from my previous post.
Here's the ingredients for the Super Soft Loaf...
1 Egg yolk
10g Castor sugar
15g Bread flour
65g Fresh milk
250g Bread flour
30g Castor sugar
15g Milk powder
4g Instant yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
100g Water
25g Unsalted butter
~ Whisk all ingredients (A) together until well mix, then cook under low fire (continue stirring) until mixture become thick and sticky. (like custard).
~ Pour mixture into a bowl, cool slightly and wrap with cling foil and chill for an hour.
~ Mix all ingredients (B) with the (chilled)-(A) in the mixer bowl, and knead till a dough form
~ Add in (C) and continue to knead on high speed till form an elastic dough. (about 10 minutes)
~ Let proof in an airtight container for 90 minutes.
~ Take out dough and divide into 3 portions (or 2 portions, as your wish). Roll into balls and let rest for 15 minutes.
~ Roll flat each dough with a rolling pin, and slightly roll up each like a swiss roll.
~ Place each rolled dough in a greased loaf tin. (i used 9"x4.5"x4.5" loaf tin)
~ Let proof for another 60 minutes
~ Egg wash the top then bake at 180'C for 30 minutes.
~ Take out loaf and cool on wire rack.
Yummy yummy! All the breads already half gone! hee hee!.........:)
So glad that everybody loves it! My daughter already packed some herself to bring to school tomorrow...haha! She has been asking for more breads for the next few days...really loves bread.....and she's my NO.1 fan!!!...hee hee...:)


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#TeamBlackBerry, rejoice: The newest member of the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone family is coming this month! The BlackBerry® Bold™ 9790 is the latest addition to the Bold series taking its place alongside the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones running the new BlackBerry® 7 OS.
We wanted to get the inside scoop on the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone, so we tapped product manager Miko to talk about what this new device has to offer. Check it out and get excited!
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone delivers an elegant design in a compact size
BlackBerry Bold smartphones have always been known for their impeccable design, and the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone continues this tradition with its instantly recognizable form factor. Constructed of quality materials and crafted with precision detailing, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is proof that form and function can co-exist harmoniously. The iconic BlackBerry keyboard, brilliant display and streamlined silhouette come together to provide users with a compact yet powerful smartphone.
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is an ultimate productivity tool for both professional and personal use
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone delivers the high performance that users have come to expect from a BlackBerry Bold, allowing you to be more efficient in both your work and personal life.
The high-res touch screen complements the iconic QWERTY keyboard beautifully, delivering what I like to call "a true productivity machine". The QWERTY keyboard makes typing emails, using BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) and social networking updates much easier and quicker, and the fluid touch screen provides a truly responsive, refined touch experience so you can enjoy the web, media or photos with a swift swipe, zoom, pinch or pan.
What I think makes the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone a compelling choice is how it's equally well-suited for both professional and personal use. It has the power to support today's busy professional with great tools like voice-activated Universal Search and Documents to Go® for mobile collaboration, yet it can also transition to social networking. Plus, its compact form factor makes it easier for users to take it along wherever they go.
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is a powerful, feature-packed smartphone
Under the hood, this smartphone sports a powerful 1 GHz processor, a whopping 8 GB of memory and a 5 MP auto-focus camera. Another cool technology in the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC technology allows you to read smart tags on signs and posters, and connect with other NFC enabled devices – all with a simple tap.
I'm sure you'll agree the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is a very worthy addition to our lineup of new BlackBerry 7 smartphones! This handset will be available from carriers around the world starting later this month. For more information on pricing and availability, please contact your local carrier, and check out our BlackBerry Bold 9790 Where to Buy page for updates in the meantime.
Let us know what you think of this great new addition in the comments below.


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North Florida opened the scoring at 6:14 when Matthew Hollyoak found the net.
DaSilva tied the game when he scored at 25:56. It was his fourth goal of the season, tops for the Bisons this season.
In the second half the Bisons took the lead at the 59-minute mark when Longinotti scored.
At 81:51 North Florida's Adam O'Neill scored with Hollyoak earning the assist to tie the game.
The Bisons are 3-8-3; 0-3-2 in the A-Sun. North Florida is 2-8-1, 2-1-1 in the conference.
Sunday afternoon at 2:30 the Bisons are back at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex to face Jacksonville at 2:30.
Jacksonville, 3-8-1, 1-3-0 in the conference, lost 2-1 in overtime to Belmont Friday night. It was the first conference win of the season for Belmont. The Bruins will close out the home portion of the regular season for the Bisons Thursday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.


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Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Anchorage woman is being held on $1 million bond after being accused of setting a gasoline-fueled fire to kill her boyfriend.
Gina Virgilio, 25, was arraigned Monday on first-degree murder, reckless endangerment and assault and two counts each of arson and criminal mischief.
She's charged in Friday's death of her live-in boyfriend, Michael Gonzalez, 24.
"Sure," Virgilio said when asked if she would like an attorney appointed to represent her. She appeared behind glass in the jail courtroom at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. She wore a yellow jail jumpsuit and her hands were shackled behind her back with metal cuffs during the hearing, which lasted just over three minutes.
According to charging documents, police claim Virgilio's mother, Michelle, and a registered nurse at an Anchorage hospital both claimed she confessed to them that she committed the murder.
The judge on Monday ordered she have no contact with potential witnesses, including her mother.
"I'm like shocked, hurt that he said she couldn't contact me," Michelle Virgilio told reporters following the hearing. "She is my world."
According to the charging documents, police allege Gina Virgilio went to a nearby convenience store and bought gas in a container, even though her vehicle was not working and tagged for towing in the apartment complex.
She returned to the apartment early Friday morning. Her boyfriend was asleep on the couch and she sat next to him and looked at him. According to the charging documents, she then doused the couch and the area around it, positioned herself at the front door, lit some paper and threw the burning paper into the apartment.
She then fled, walked to a nearby elementary school and borrowed someone's cellphone to call her mother, the charging documents say.
At that time, according to the documents, Virgilio told her mother Gonzalez had been drinking with friends. Later, he began taking sips of the gasoline, spitting it out on the carpet and couch. Michelle Virgilio is quoted in the charging documents as saying that her daughter said Gonzalez was using an aerosol can as a flame thrower.
The Anchorage Fire Department responded to the apartment fire at 2:25 a.m. Friday, and found Gonzalez's body after the fire was extinguished.
Police say they tracked Gina Virgilio to her mother's house and she was taken in for interviews.
"Gina's statements through the day changed when confronted with physical details from the scene of the fire," the charging documents say.
Police released her about 7:30 p.m. Friday. By 10 p.m., she and her mother were at the emergency room for an undisclosed reason. Police Lt. Dave Parker said she wasn't injured in the fire.
During the intervening 2 1/2 hours before arriving at the hospital, according to a summarized interview with Michelle Virgilio in the charging documents, she confronted her daughter about what happened.
Gina Virgilio confessed to her mother to getting the gas and setting the fire, according to the charging documents.
"Gina described the gas as igniting. Michael woke. Gina described Michael as saying, `hot-hot.' Gina said that she closed the door with Michael inside the apartment and ran from the location," according to the document's summary of their interview with her mother.
Police returned to the hospital Saturday morning when staff members reported she had made confessions to the fire, according to the documents. A registered nurse told an officer Virgilio called her into her room.
According to a summary in the charging documents, the nurse "said that Gina was not medicated and that Gina told her, `I did it, I killed Michael."
Talking to reporters outside the jail courthouse, Michelle Virgilio said she read that published account and disputed some of the facts, including that her daughter spread gasoline over the victim and couch. Instead, she says her daughter told her she spread the gasoline in front of the bathroom.
"Gina, she wouldn't hurt nobody, she wouldn't," Virgilio said. "Something caused her to do that."
She said for the past month, her daughter has been suffering severe mental depression.
"I know the last month or two, something was really wrong at that house," she said.
Just days before the fire, Michelle Virgilio said she won court custody of Gina's 3-year-old son, saying the apartment was not a safe place for a child.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Pastor offers free Concealed Handgun License course for area educators
A preacher, teachers and guns are not a combination that usually comes to mind, but on Saturday, Feb. 2, this was indeed the case. James McAbee, pastor of Lighthouse Worship Center in Beaumont, offered a free Concealed Handgun License course to around 150 teachers from the Southeast Texas area. McAbee usually charges $50 for the course but waived the fee for educators.
"These aren't 'Little House on the Prairie' days anymore," McAbee said. "(Teachers) are the first in line for defense. If our teachers can conceal a firearm, and if the law, superintendents and school board decide to give them permission, I want to give them a free CHL and get them prepared."
McAbee said that he was inspired to become a CHL instructor after two men broke into his church and tried to stab him with a broken 2x4.
"They tried to take my life, and I had to hold them at gunpoint," he said.
Deana Bunting, a Vidor High School nurse who attended the class, was also the victim of a break-in when someone entered her house while her husband was not home. She was alone with her three children.
"It was a very scary situation," Bunting said. "I didn't have a way to defend myself."
Bunting said the intruder fled after the alarm system went off and although she wasn't harmed, the incident inspired her to learn how to defend herself with a firearm.
"I started practicing shooting at that point," she said. "I went to a gun range with a friend. I just want to be able to protect my family and myself if anything happens. We live in a crazy world."
Bunting said that she is unsure if Vidor Independent School District will allow teachers to carry weapons, but she would not be against it if they decide to do so in the future.
"I don't think teachers are a danger to the students in any way, shape or form," Bunting said.
Sgt. Danny Moore from Beaumont ISD Police Department said, however, that as of now, there is a state law prohibiting teachers from doing so.
"You can't carry a concealed weapon into a school, sporting event, place of worship or hospital," Moore said. "This is part of the law regarding the concealed handgun license and also applies to UIL events. As far as the parking lot, that's up to the employer. We're not going to search vehicles unless we have probable cause to."
But Anna Riley, a theatre teacher from Central High School in Beaumont, said she believes that some form of protection is needed for teachers and students.
"My district allows police on campus, so we have a little protection, but other districts don't," she said. "I believe those schools do need some form of protection."
Riley said that schools should have some way of locking the school down, much like is done at a prison.
"It's kind of sad, but I don't know other ways to protect our kids," she said. "My school locks the gate so people can only go in and out of the front office area. I don't know if that's good for the kids to be imprisoned like that, but it's a form of protection."
Mike Buffington, a driver's education instructor from Lumberton ISD, said, guns should be kept out of reach of students.
"That gun should be on the teacher's person or locked away in a very secure place," he said.
Other measures besides arming teachers should be implemented by school districts as well, Buffington said.
"Some schools are using metal detectors," he said. "Doors need to be locked. You have to have a more secure environment."
Buffington did say that even with these measures in place, no school would be perfectly secure.
While it is unclear whether teachers will ever be able to carry concealed handguns on campus, the debate as to whether they should be able to will continue, and the many waves of teachers who showed up to Dirty Harry's Gun Range in Orange will be prepared just in case.


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(Image: Aurora, Ontario website, used without permission.)
A court in Ontario has ordered a former mayor to pay $21,275 in legal bills accumulated by bloggers defending themselves against a local politician's attempt to silence online criticism.
In 2010, Phyllis Morris, then mayor of Aurora, Ontario, waged a litigation campaign against online critics while she was running for re-election. Notably, she got the town council to foot the bill for the lawsuit with taxpayer money. Months later, well after she lost the election, she voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit.
But defendants William Hogg, blog proprietor-moderator, and Richard Johnson, a blog contributor, kept the case file open to press the court for a money award to pay their defense bills.
Their push paid off.
According to the Toronto Star, in making the award, the Ontario Superior Court characterized Morris' lawsuit as an attempt to hit her critics "quickly and hard," in order to quiet her opponents "sooner rather than later in the weeks leading up to the October 2010 elections."
Blogger Christopher Watts has more about the court's award, plus a link to the court's opinion, on his blog, Temporary Sanity.
Prior coverage on Blog Law Blog:
- October 26th, 2011: It's Over in Aurora: Ex-Mayor in Ontario Gives Up on Lawsuit Against Blog
- January 13, 2011: Town in Ontario Stops Footing Legal Bills for Blog Lawsuit
Coverage of the fee award:
- Aurora Citizen blogJudge Rules Morris Tried to Silence Her Critics–Ordered to pay $21,000 in Costs for SLAPP Litigation
- Toronto Star:
Former Aurora mayor Phyllis Morris must pay critical website's $21,000 legal bill
- Christopher Watts on the Temporary Sanity blog: B****h SLAPPED
- Sean Pearce on YorkRegion.com: Former Aurora mayor on hook for legal costs


text: Hi! I'm a bit new on ISPConfig3, but I've installed it, configured to my needs, it's great tool! I use Roundcube instead of Squirrelmail, although ispconfig3_xxxx plugins. Can You please tell me how to modify this plugin to save new passwd in SQL with plain text (as I already modified ISPC to keep mail users passwds as a plain text in SQL) ? Thank You. pszemaz


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Medical examiner: 20 children killed in twister
May 21, 2013
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma state medical examiner's office says that 20 children are among the dead in the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City suburbs.
The twister has killed at least 51 people and officials fear the death toll will rise.
Medical examiner spokeswoman Amy Elliott confirmed the children's deaths Monday night.
The tornado made a direct hit on an elementary school in Moore, Okla., and authorities were seen pulling children alive from the rubble. Authorities are still searching for victims throughout the community.


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Hyperspatial Musha Hole:
* Destroy 1 of your opponent's creatures with a cost of 4 or less.
* Put 1 fire psychic creature with a cost of 7 or less into the battle zone from your hyperspatial zone.
(At the start of your game, separate your psychic creatures from your deck and put them into the hyperspatial zone. If a psychic creature would leave the battle zone, return it to the hyperspatial zone instead.)
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Prosecutors have told a UK court that a planned attack by a husband-and-team pair of would-be terrorists fell apart after the couple became embroiled in a domestic dispute.
Police were called when 33-year-old Mohammed Sajid Khan and his 38-year-old wife Shasta got into an argument at their Manchester-area home in northern England last July.
Officers there found beheading videos, al-Qaida propaganda, bomb-making guides, safety goggles, syringes, peroxide, bleach and electrical equipment.
An examination of the satellite navigation in Shasta Khan's car showed several trips to a particular area in Manchester.
Shasta Khan, who denied wrongdoing, was found guilty on Thursday. Mohammed Sajid Khan pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite a late rally, the Beacons' thirteen hits and two home runs were too much for the Engineers to match, as non-conference opponent University of Massachusetts Boston defeated the MIT baseball team, 8-5, Thursday on Briggs Field. With the win, the Beacons improved to 19-13 on the season, while the Engineers fell to 11-14.
The Beacons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, putting up three runs in the first. A triple by UMass Boston sophomore Mark McCormack and RBI single by junior Ryan Walsh opened the scoring, and a lofty shot to left field from senior Jeff Outzen was aided by the gusty winds and sailed over the fence for a 2-run homer.
UMass extended its lead in the third when McCormack found his way on base again and was brought home by a single through the left side from junior Tim Fontaine, opening the Beacons' advantage to 4-0.
MIT responded in the bottom of the inning when, after a pair of walks from UMass starting pitcher Andrew LeBrun, senior Stewart Park singled down the left-field line, driving home MIT's Brian Doyle from second. Next at the plate, freshman James McKinney hit another single up the middle, scoring two and narrowing the deficit to 4-3.
With the game's momentum in their favor, the Engineers kept pushing in the fourth. Freshman Grant Iwamoto doubled to left center while Ben Bersanti and Park loaded the bases before McKinney notched another two RBI's with a single to left field. The Beacons managed to cut the inning short by running-down Park, but not before the Cardinal and Gray took the lead at 5-4.
Anxious to be trailing, UMass was quick to answer as hits by McCormack and Walsh became suddenly lethal when an MIT fielding error scored both, restoring the lead to the Beacons, 6-5.
Two quiet innings followed before the Beacons found their big bats again. Freshman Matt Consiglio reached base on a single through right side, setting up a two-run blast from senior Drew Tambling, his seventh home run of the season.
UMass notched another run in the ninth when a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Mike Mattei scored pinch-runner Pat Lynch from third, giving the Beacons a 9-5 lead.
MIT mounted a rally in the ninth, starting the inning with a double from freshman Ricardo Perez and Park launched a deep fly that barely escaped the grasp of Tambling in left field, coming down on the far side of the fence to score two and narrow the gap to 9-7. With sophomore pitcher Matt Young feeling the pressure, UMass brought in closer Tony Damon, who—despite allowing two base runners—managed to shut down the Engineers' efforts, forcing a pair of fly outs to seal victory for the Beacons.
Seven pitchers took the mound for the MIT in the course of the game. Sophomore Columbus Leonard led Engineers with 3 strikeouts in 2 innings, while freshman Max Ockner was the only one that failed to allow a hit. Freshman Aric Dama (1-2) was tagged with the loss, having dropped 2 runs (0 earned) in two outs on the mound.
LeBrun (4-2) was credited with the win, tallying 2 strikeouts, 3 walks and 5 runs in 4 innings pitched. Damon notched his third save of the season, striking out 1 and walking 1 in his only inning on the hill.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, May 1. Having finished conference play for the season, the Engineers are home and will host non-conference opponent Trinity College in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. UMass Boston next travels to face Little East rival Plymouth State University in a doubleheader also starting at noon.


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I pulled a tray of shortbread cookies out of the oven the other day and my son, 19, said with a smile: "It smells like Christmas, Dad!"
That, in turn, made me smile and realize that in many homes, including ours, the start of the countdown to the big day often begins with the baking of something homemade and sweet.
In our house, whipped shortbread, a beaten dough that is easy to roll and shape, is always a hit, and in today's recipe, for texture and flavour, I've added unsalted, chopped pistachios.
To make two different cookies, I cut the dough in half and rolled one half into balls, set them on a baking sheet and made a deep dimple in the centre of each ball. In that dimple went a small spoonful of cranberry sauce.
I mixed chopped, dried cranberries into the other half of the dough and shaped it into crescents.
Because shortbread is so butter-rich, I chilled the cookies in the fridge before baking them. If you bake them right away, the butter in the dough, made warm by your hands when shaping, can run out of the cookies when they bake.
Eric Akis is the author of the best-selling Everyone Can Cook series.
Makes 48 cookies
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted, shelled pistachios (see Note)
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) dried cranberries
- 3/4 lb. (350 g) butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) icing sugar
- 1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 21/4 cups (550 mL) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) cornstarch
- 2 tsp (10 mL) finely grated orange zest
- 1/4-1/3 cup (50-75 mL) cranberry sauce
- icing sugar for rolling (optional)
Place the pistachios on a cutting board and finely chop (there should be small pieces of pistachio still visible). Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Place the dried cranberries on the cutting board and coarsely chop. Transfer to a second bowl and set aside.
Line two, 13-x-18-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat until very light. Mix in the chopped pistachios, flour, cornstarch and orange zest until well combined. Gather and press the dough into a ball and cut it in half.
Roll one half of the dough into 24, 1-inch balls and place them on one of the baking sheets, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Flour a finger and use it to make a deep dimple in the centre of each ball. Fill the dimple with a small spoonful (about 1/4 tsp) of the cranberry sauce. Chill the cookies in the fridge at least 20 minutes.
While the first tray of cookies chill, roll the second half of the dough into 24, 1-inch balls and set on the second baking sheet. Roll one of the balls in your hand into a 3-inch long log. Shape the log into a crescent and set back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough balls, spacing each cookie about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Chill the second sheet of cookies at least 20 minutes.
Set an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, for 20 minutes, or until they begin to very lightly brown around the edges. Cool the cookies to room temperature on a baking rack. Store in a tight-sealing container until ready to serve. If desired, roll the crescent-shaped cookies in icing sugar just before serving.


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AGCO's new Fendt 828 Vario tractor just earned Europe's prestigious "2011 Tractor of the Year" award. The announcement was made in early November at the global farm show called EIMA International 2010. The 828 Vario is equipped with the new Interim Tier 4-compliant SCR engine. It also features a new electronic control system with a 10.2-in. touch-screen display. Farmers have at their fingertips the ability to control all functions of the tractor and any attached equipment.
New Holland's T7.210 won the "Golden Tractor" award in this same contest. This award is based on tractor design. The other finalists in the contest include: Claas Xerion 5000, Deutz-Fahr 430 TTV, John Deere 8345R, Ladini 7-230, and Massey Ferguson F.7499 Dyna-Vt.
The Tractor of the Year contest is judged by a panel of journalists on European farm publications. Twenty journalists nominate, field test and score tractors for the awards. Tractor manufacturers do not pay a fee to be in this contest.
During judging, the journalists must take into account the engine, transmission, standard on-board electronics, hydraulics, cab comfort, innovative technical features, design, horsepower-to-price ratio and options.
Last year, New Holland's T7070 Auto command won the top award.
EIMA International is held in Bologna, Italy, every two years.


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I just got a new *ISA Sportster Voice 56k* modem, and ive been having some problems instaling it in mandrake, it is compatable with mandrake (i checked the aproved hardware list) and some wieird things have been happening.
when i bind a comm port to my modem, it changes the /dev/modem shortcut to ttys* and it will change the * to what ever comm port i bind it to, like comm port 1 is 0 =*, anyway so /dev/modem creates a shortcut to /dev/ttys6 (comm port 7 and it isint being used by any other device) and the ttys6 is a shortcut to /dev/tty/6 (<-- in my case) and in the /dev/tty dir there is only 3 driver files (0, 1, 2) and they are empty, and i checked harddrake and my modem is set up right (it displays the right name) so i guess i need the driver to that modem in my /dev/tty dir and name it 3, but i dont know how to get the driver for it. Also this ISA card has a PnP jumper setting and i have it jumpered to PnP, i also have the comm port jumpered to comm 7, so i dont know whats wrong, please help...
i have mandrake 8.1 if any of you want to know
and if you want to double check for me (heh) the aproved hardware list is http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/hardware.php3
thanks in advance


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The Hobbit
An Unexpected Journey: Quint on the set of The Hobbit! Part 1 - Concerning Hobbiton
Published at: Oct 31, 2011 6:13:46 AM CDT
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here currently writing from the overgrown wilds of New Zealands North Island. Ive been rather secretive about my trip to the southern hemisphere and for that I apologize, but it had to be done.
Heres the deal. Im kicking off a new, temporary, regular column that Im calling An Unexpected Journey because thats exactly what it is. A little over a month ago an email arrived asking of my interest in embedding myself on the set of The Hobbit for the entirety of their location shoot, spending over 2 months in New Zealand rolled in with the crew and writing up their adventures, hassles, triumphs and tribulations as they traveled all over the country shooting bits and pieces from the upcoming two-parter prequel to Lord of the Rings. As Winston Zeddemore taught us all, the answer to this kind of question is always YES!
Calling The Hobbit a prequel doesnt exactly feel right, though. This isnt a film cooked up to cash in on an absurdly successful franchise. As most Tolkien readers and human beings over the age of 7 know, The Hobbit burst forth from the pen of JRR Tolkien first. There are many Middle Earth stories, but The Hobbit is the natural choice. Its high adventure and lets us revisit some of our favorite locations and characters within its own, unique story.
Case in point, the very first location visited on this trip: Matamata, Waikato, New Zealand North Island, also known as Hobbiton.
Gorgeous, isnt it? As amazing as it looks in those pictures or in the movies theres something incredibly surreal and humbling to stand ON TOP of Bag End and overlook The Shire. I love (good) CGI, I have a lot of respect for the digital artists that toil away for hours and days and weeks and months in a dark room so we can go to Ancient Greece or Pandora or spend some time with Jurassic Park dinosaurs or Gollum or Caesar or those fookin prawns, but if there was ever a shred of doubt that real wins it was obliterated as the sheep bayed, horses neighed, wind blew and smoke started pouring out of hobbit hole chimneys dotting the lush green landscape in the valley below me.
And when I say green I mean GREEN. The grass in this North Island New Zealand farmland is like Wizard of Oz Technicolor. Its so bright it almost hurts the eyes.
But we all know New Zealand is beautiful. Thats a given at this point. By the end of December youll be given your fill of unbelievable scenery images as I travel from location to location (especially when I hit the South Island). Lets get into what was actually happening in Hobbiton.
Wake up time was 5:15am, which barely gave me enough time to get showered and presentable before making the 40+ minute drive from my Hamilton hotel to the location deep in the rolling green hills of Matamata.
Once past security I found myself driving along a small dirt and gravel road following signs to crew parking. Sure enough, the countryside was beautiful and Tolkeinesque, but it wasnt until I made a turn and saw the incredibly iconic stone bridge leading to The Green Dragon that it really struck me where I was.
That feeling intensified standing at base camp, perched on top of Bag End, looking over Hobbiton with dozens of Hobbit holes laid out over acres of green hills and the massive party tree anchored in the middle of everything.
The crew was setting up a crane out on the narrow walkway in front of Bag End for their first shot actually in Hobbiton in over 10 years. Because of the narrow and steep path down, the crew had to bring crane parts down and assemble much of it there. It took a little while, but before too long the familiar circular green front door of Bag End cracked open and out stepped an even more familiar face.
Munching on jellied toast, Frodo Baggins sauntered out and hopped down the steps leading to the mailbox, grabbed some mail and headed back inside.
Whats Frodo doing in The Hobbit? I dont want to spoil too much, but I can say that Frodo is part of the connecting tissue between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring.
In fact, the next shot was an over the shoulder on Elijah Wood hammering a sign up on Bag Ends front gate: No Admittance Except On Party Business. You guys should have an idea where that puts this moment in the timeline.
Martin Freeman stood in for Ian Holm, who shot all of his scenes and close-ups in London. They would sometimes play footage theyve already shot to remind themselves of what they had done previously and to help them match up shots. Peter and crew did that for these reverse shots on Elijah and I got to see Ian as Bilbo once again. It was quite extraordinary, actually. Seeing Ian in close up, wearing the wig, the vest and the pointy ears just put a smile on my face.
While I didnt talk to Elijah about it, I bet it meant the world to him to have Martin there actually giving a performance for him to act off of. Freeman even adopted a little bit of Ian Holms speech patterns for these scenes and was so good at impersonating Ian Holm that more than once I wondered if the voice I was hearing over the coms was Ians on playback or Martins in real life. Usually in these situations theyll have the script girl or one of the dialect coaches read the lines and while that works a charm, theres something extra special about a performer giving a performance. Like I said, I didnt talk to Elijah about it, but I bet he appreciated Martin doing that for him.
Their conversation is about Gandalf and if Bilbo thinks Gandalf will show up. Bilbo says He wouldnt miss a chance to let off his whiz-poppers. Hell put on quite a show, youll see, and Frodo grins, saying hes going to go surprise him and bounds off down the path like a kid at Christmas. When I say he bounds down the path thats not an exaggeration for illustrative purposes. He was damn near skipping, a glimpse of that pre-ring Frodo we meet in Fellowship.
After Frodo leaves the frame is very wide featuring The Shire in all its glory; The Green Dragon and mill smack dab in the middle.
Its my understanding this shot will transition to 60 Years Earlier with Young Bilbo sitting in front of Bag End contently smoking a pipe and casually blowing smoke rings as Gandalf comes along and presents him with his adventure.
At lunch I caught up with Elijah who was wide-eyed and smiling, obviously enjoying being back in Hobbiton with the furry feet on. He ran off and I said, Where do you think youre going? His reply: Back to Bag End, my friend!
I had to run over to wardrobe to get fitted for my cameo the next day, but soon made my way back to set. We had the same scene going and this time they had the camera tight on Frodo. While it was a tighter shot than before, it still captured the landscape behind him. I mean, thats the whole reason we were out there in the first place, so I wasnt going to see a whole lot of close-ups and insert shots being filmed. In this case, it was a full on front shot of Frodo, the massive Party Tree behind him.
Seeing the footage of Ian as Old Bilbo was crazy, but nothing compared to seeing Elijah as Frodo in the furry-footed flesh. Ive gotten to know Elijah pretty well over the last 13 years and it was the very definition of surreal talking to Frodo. Not Elijah. Frodo. I was literally not talking to a friend, but a fictional character, not to mention the magnifier of actually seeing him in Hobbiton.
I have to talk about the livestock. This will be the first time Ive traveled internationally where I will have to check off the Yes box when asked if Ive been near livestock on the arrival card. All forms of livestock were on set. There was even a runaway cow who decided she didnt like the film business on the first take and bolted right the hell out of Hobbiton.
It was quite funny, actually. I feel bad for the production having to pause, but from my high-up point of view (remember I was standing on top of the hill overlooking Hobbiton this whole day) it was very entertaining watching this cow haul ass along the path between the hobbit holes with a poor A.D. running about 20 feet behind her, desperately trying to catch up.
There were all manner of animals on the set ranging from goats to roosters, pigs, oxen, horses and all of them had handlers there to make sure they were fed, watered and safely munching on the lush green grass of Matamata. They would quickly duck out of frame whenever shots would go up.
Shortly after getting the shot on Frodo the unmistakable sound of chopper blades hit our ears. It was circling us. Obviously someone had hired it to fly above and take photos of the set.
An hour or two later a small, single-engine prop plane did the same thing, flying low and circling. Photos hit the net shortly after, I noticed. The crew was quite annoyed, not because Hobbiton was being exposed to the world, but because the choppers and planes were constantly getting in the shot and the sound of the engines was either ruining takes or making the production halt until they got out of earshot which could be a long while if they are circling.
So, it was an unwanted intrusion, especially frustrating when you consider they were already waiting for the light to be right, to get behind a cloud or peak out from behind a cloud depending on the previous shot.
It got to the point that producer Zane Weiner asked me to take a photo of the plane so we can try to get its tail number. I had the 18mm-55mm lens on my camera (which means its a shorter lens and doesnt zoom in too far), so I ran back to my bag, grabbed my 200mm lens and popped it on, but I was too late. The plane had already gone. Zane wanted me to let you guys know I failed at that particular task. And on my first day of location reporting, too.
That was one day of location shooting on The Hobbit. One day down, two months to go! Before I conclude this article, Id like to set up a little space where Ill be featuring a member of the crew. God willing Ill be able to do this with each of my pieces, introducing you to the fine folks who I spend my days with. These guys are the unsung heroes of filmmaking, so I feel they should be represented.
Kicking things off will be Kiran Shah.
If youve watched the appendices on the Extended Editions of the Lord of the Rings films you should recognize Kirans name. Hes a much loved character around the set. Hes an actor, stunt man and scale double. On Rings he doubled Elijah Wood, but before Lord of the Rings he had a massive career.
For instance, hes in Raiders of the Lost Ark hes the guy who brings the poisoned dates into Indy and Sallah. He doubled Short Round in Temple of Doom, he was a character in Ridley Scotts Legend (Blunder) and even knew Stanley Kubrick.
The story he told me was that he got to know Kubrick a little bit, but even being on friendly terms with the maestro didnt save him when he popped in for a visit on the set of Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley spotted him and said, Kiran, out! We all know the stories about how Kubrick didnt like a lot of crew around and that was Kirans little tale about it.
He also mentioned that LOTR and Hobbit illustrator/designer Alan Lee did the character designs for Legend and even drew the character that Shah ended up playing to look just like him. Shah attributes getting the role to Lee because he remembered auditioning for it and seeing Ridley Scott do a double take when Shah entered the room, looking back at the character design and up at him again.
In The Hobbit, Shah is up to his usual shenanigans, making the crew (and visiting movie geek reporters) crack up in-between takes and doubling hobbits. In the above picture hes waiting to double Martin Freemans Bilbo, which is why his eyes are reverse raccooned in his picture. Theres an eerie silicone mask of Bilbos face that hell put on when Bilbo is needed to be seen in a close to correct proportion.
Shah will also be a Goblin in the film and is just an overall joy to be around and as such he is this columns inaugural featured crew member.
The next report will cover my cameo appearance during a Hobbit market in front of The Green Dragon. There is a particular actor in this scene named Leroy that Im especially excited to tell you about. He has huge talents and thats even an understatement. I expect that report to land in a few days, but taking my own pictures means a bit of a clearance process.
I know the watermarks are annoying. I hate them, you hate them, so I made them as unintrusive as possible. If I see a bunch of sites take these images without credit and a linkback future pictures will have bigger watermarks. So, dont be a dick. I dont care if you use the image, just give a link back here, will ya? Dont ruin it for everybody.
More soon! This is going to be a crazy couple of months! Oh, and Happy Birthday to Peter Jackson! Thanks for letting me join the circus for a spell, sir!
-Eric Vespe
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Biggest complaint with the movie was how the Goblin King died. The guy just plops down in front of Gandalf, puts his hands on his hips, and says "what're you going to do now, wizard?" Gandalf, who's ****ing 5 times more powerful than he is, sticks a sword in his gut and the GK LITERALLY SAYS "well, that killed me" and FALLS OVER. WHAT THE HOLY HELL.
You don't become Goblin King by making moronic decisions like challenging people far more powerful than you to kill you without even attempting to defend yourself. What a supremely stupid moment.
I can understand it, maybe, in the sense that he simply has no idea what Wizards are made of so he's just like "there's no way this guy can be that lethal," but Gandalf literally got done slaughtering like 35 orcs in front of the guy's face.
Also stupid: the movie goes through pains trying to give Radagast more screentime, which I really enjoyed, but in the end he contributes pretty much nothing, defeating the purpose of his inflated screen time.
All in all, I enjoyed the film, but those two things ate at me.
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I will add that most of the plot-oriented complaints about this film are complaints about Tolkien's actual book. Jackson hews closely to it -- he probably should have embellished a few things.
Like, for instance, escaping the Goblin cave without losing a single dwarf? They should have at least killed a couple.
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**** you Radagast rules!
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The Appendices come "standard" at the end of any version of Return of the King that you buy. Appendix A is where all the good stuff is, by and large.
Appendix B can also be helpful, as it contains a timeline which includes some substantive stuff which answers your questions above (keeping in mind that Peter Jackson has played substantially with the timeline and even with some character motivations (Saruman, especially) in the movies versus the books, such as:
"2850 [Third Age]: Gandalf again enters Dol Guldur, and discovers that its master is indeed Sauron."
"2851: The White Council meets. Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him. (Footnote 1). Saruman begins to search near the Gladden Fields." [for the One Ring]
"Footnote 1: It afterwards became clear that Saruman had then begun to desire to possess the One Ring himself, and he hoped that it might reveal itself, seeking its master, if Sauron were let be for a time."
[note, fast forward 88 years!]
"2939: Saruman discovers that Sauron's servants are searching the Anduin near Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore has learned of Isildur's end. He is alarmed, but says nothing to the Council."
2941: [all the events relayed in The Hobbit transpire] Included are one key sentence relating to Saruman: "The White Council meets; Saruman agrees on an attack on Dol Guldur, since he now wishes to prevent Sauron from searching the river."
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yeah how the GK died was awkward since Gandalf kills him in the book when he first arrives and blinds/stuns them all with magic. Also the whole 'thorin cutting off azogs arm' thing was just rediculous and not even close to how it happened. Still a enjoyable movie nonetheless.
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Well Radagast did play the important part of giving that sword to Gandalf which turned out to be an important piece at the meeting with the Elves. It was used for a lot of foreshadowing (which we already know but the characters don't).
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The Soviets made their own version of The Hobbit. It is beyond terrible. We're talking Manos: Hands of Fate territory here.
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Hate to break the news, but this movie sucks.
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Apparently, Tolkiens son hates these movies and what Jackson has done...
"I could write a book on the idiotic requests I have received," sighs Christopher Tolkien. He is trying to protect the literary work from the three-ring circus that has developed around it. In general, the Tolkien Estate refuses almost all requests. "Normally, the executors of the estate want to promote a work as much as they can," notes Adam Tolkien, the son of Christopher and Baillie. "But we are just the opposite. We want to put the spotlight on that which is not Lord of the Rings."
The Tolkien Estate was not able to prevent an American cartoon called Lord of the Beans, but a comic-strip version of it was halted. This policy, however, has not protected the family from the reality that the work now belongs to a gigantic audience, culturally far removed from the writer who conceived it.
Invited to meet Peter Jackson, the Tolkien family preferred not to. Why? "They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25," Christopher says regretfully. "And it seems that The Hobbit will be the same kind of film."
This divorce has been systematically driven by the logic of Hollywood. "Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed into the absurdity of our time," Christopher Tolkien observes sadly. "The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has overwhelmed me. The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing. There is only one solution for me: to turn my head away."
Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning:
Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down.
One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
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Mapping, combining abilities, heritabilities and heterosis with 4x x 2x crosses in potato
University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1985 - Cooking - 238 pages
From inside the book
10 pages matching double crossovers in this book
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 10
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Genetic Mapping of Three Linked Genes
Comparisons between 2x FDRCO and 2x FDRNCO
2 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
2n eggs 2n gamete formation 2x clones 2x crosses 2x FDR-CO 2x genotypes 2x level 2x parents 4x cultivars 4x progeny 4x x 2x centromere chromosome combining abilities coupling phase cytokinesis depending on frequency diploid distal locus division restitution dominance variance double crossovers double exchange tetrads endosperm epistasis epistatic estimates expressed as map FDR and SDR FDR or SDR form 2n gametes form 2n pollen Frequencies of parental frequency of single gametic series produced GCA variance genotypes in coupling haploid heterosis heterozygosity heterozygous heterozygous loci homozygous linked genes map units marketable tuber yield meiocytes mode of 2n periderm Phureja ploidy polyploidization potato progenies from 4x proximal locus random chromatid exchange repulsion phase rH rH S. J. Peloquin SDR mode SET.I single and double single exchange tetrads Solanum Solanum tuberosum specific gravity Table tetrad analysis tetraploid total tuber yield tuber shape types of 2n unpigmented


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Template:Frankel align="center"
Welcome to the Frankel Group
We are interested in the forces that hold together biological systems. For example the forces that hold together cancer cells in a tumor and the forces that bind drugs to a cell surface. The misfiring of these biological interactions can lead to,or be a result of disease. Thus the ultimate goal of our research is to inform the development of disease treatments based on knowledge of biological interactions. Work is highly interdisciplinary involving physics, engineering, biomedicine and chemistry.
Specifically we are looking at the following systems:
▪. Unfolding Disease One Molecule at a Time - Proteins involved in disease such as HIV, cancer and arthritis are potential therapeutic targets. Their unfolding and self assembly behaviour is examined at the single molecule level revealing insight into their function.
Biorobot paper accepted!!
4 new papers in print related to protein unfolding
Welcome to the Lab to new PhD student Ana from Ecuador.
Cyberplasm receives media attention, here is the original press release living microrobot
Congratulations to Orr Yarkoni for passing his PhD viva for a thesis entitled "Engineering an inducible NO pathway to facilitate cell-electronics communication"
Congratulations to Darman Nordin for passing his PhD viva for a thesis entitled "Interaction of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin with model cell membranes"


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Available To: Faculty, Staff
The Remote Desktop Services deploy Windows-based applications to computing devices across the campus.
Several users can work simultaneously on the Remote Desktop Services; each user only sees their individual session and is independent of any other user logged on to the Remote Desktop Services. The application software is executed on the server and only the keyboard, mouse and video is transmitted over the network.
The Remote Desktop Services servers are installed with the following applications:
This assortment of software enables users to do their word processing, database entry, web development, check their email, etc., either at their office or from a remote location.
Access to the NAU Terminal Services is enabled for everyone with an NAU domain account including faculty, staff and affiliates.


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|Red Ventures
|Bangalore, India
|Web Developers/Team Leads
Fomax is a global software consulting company providing quality and cost effective software services that deliver measurable results. We provide services and solutions in a wide spectrum of Information Technology. Our infrastructure, experience in Information Technology solutions and our emphasis on Quality make us different from our competition. At Fomax, we focus on developing longterm partnership with the clients to enhance their competitive edge.
Our goal is to exceed your expectations by combining the performance of our consultants and infrastructure to deliver the right services for improved productivity and profitability for your business.
Fomax is committed to providing technology solutions for success in the new digital economy. We specialize in creating a dynamic approach to building client process that utilize the power of Internet technologies and excels in the custom design and implementation.
We believe effective Project Management is the key to successful completion of any project. Our expertise in managing small to large projects from feasibility study to implementation and maintenance of the projects can help you in successfully completing your needs.
We offer wide range of Project Development options / facilities in various technologies. With our strong off-site and offshore development centers, we can help you reduce your project costs. We can take up your project on a Time and Material basis or on a Fixed bid Basis from any stage of completion. We provide the following advantages over competition.
We are seeking a Junior and Senior Programmer who is able to function as a Lead Developer for a small team of programmers. This persons should have experience in real-world LAMP (Linux/FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl) development as well as a proven record participating and working with the business side of a company. The primary job responsibility for this position is to provide PHP programming and functionality for a wide variety of consumer-related websites, intranets, extranets and web-based applications. This entails designing, evaluating, updating and maintaining object oriented applications in PHP. This position requires the developer to have some business savvy to translate vague business requirements into tangible and accurate technical requirements as well as to anticipate future requirements within the design of new systems. This is the perfect opportunity for LAMP Developers looking to play a key role in creating enabling technology for a successful online and offline marketing company. Successful candidates will have demonstrable experience building real online applications in a LAMP environment and will be able to make a meaningful contribution from day one. They will be comfortable working with team members at all levels and departments within the organization. These individuals will be willing to share their opinions and insights with business leaders on a daily basis in order to affect rapid decision cycles and effective technical solutions to business requirements.
We offer a competitive salary, a superior work environment and excellent benefits.
|More Information


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The Big Change To WhatsApp That They Don't Want You To Know
WhatsApp has sneakily updated its privacy policy for the first time, and it now gives you the chance to give permission to connect your Facebook accounts with your WhatsApp.
Published on Thursday, the police is four years in the making, and it claims the new policy means they can give the site more data about users, allowing the social network to suggest phone contacts as friends.
"By coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp,statement." Whatsapp said in a statement .
"By connecting your phone number with Facebook's systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.
"For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you've never heard of."
The move could spark huge privacy concern amongst users, who could worry that their private number is being shared among-not-so close friends on Facebook. WhatsApp is promising the opposite, saying it is just going to help with better friend suggestions.
"We won't post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won't sell, share, or give your phone number to advertisers," the company said.
You can still use the app without a Facebook connection but you will need to turn it off in settings.
However, if you fail to agree to the terms, you will not be able to use the app.


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Luckily for The Ramones fans, one of the best, Hey! Ho! Let's Go!, is from the San Diego area.
Named for the Ramone's signature chant and, like the Ramones, taking a unified family surname, the band started in 2008 with the current lineup of vocalist Alan Ho, guitarist T.J. Ho, drummer Chris Ho and bassist Dee Bee Ho, together since 2011.
According to bassist Dee Bee Ho, the reason for forming the band was simply to champion its musical heroes' music.
"We're all huge fans of The Ramones," he said. "They were such a fun band. They weren't in it for commercial success. They weren't trying to change the world. They were having fun. They were expressing themselves. They were saying, 'Hey look, you don't have to be amazingly talented to express yourself through music.' We wanted to do our part to make sure the Ramones were never forgotten."
The quartet does its best re-create both the look and the sound of the group they are honoring.
"I feel the guys do a great job looking the part," Ho said. "I have a little more difficult of a time looking the part of Dee Dee Ramone. He was a little smaller than me. Basically, it's just a T-shirt and tore-up jeans with a leather jackets and some Chucks."
While the look isn't too difficult to achieve, the band puts a lot of effort into getting its sound just right.
"It was important to use the same instruments as The Ramones," Ho said. "I think mostly for the guitar. Johnny Ramone had such a unique, raw and powerful sound. Our guitar player Tim does have pretty much the same setup as Johnny. Tim does a great job with playing all downstroke. It's very tiring to play downstrokes that fast for a long period of time."
Hey! Ho! Let's Go! tries to give an accurate depiction of a typical Ramones concert back in the day, with a major exception.
"The Ramones were famous for playing 20-minute sets. Clubs today wouldn't appreciate that," Ho said. "The songs are short and sweet, just like songs should be. We play sets ranging from 45 minutes to playing three one-hour sets. In true Ramones fashion, we don't spend a lot of time talking on stage. We like to go from one song to the next."
The band plays all of The Ramones' best-known songs, from "Blitzkreig Bop" to "I Wanna Be Sedated." but also tries to include a lot of less-obvious choices.
"We go pretty deep into the catalog," Ho said. "We all have our different favorites. I think some of The Ramones' best songs are ones you don't hear on the radio, (like) "I Believe in Miracles" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."
It's been five years since Hey! Ho! Lets Go! First hit the club circuit, but according to Ho, the band members all still enjoy The Ramones' music as much as ever. He considers the band ambassadors of sorts for the original punk rockers.
"The best part to me is introducing The Ramones to people who may not know much about them," he said. "And for people who are already Ramones fans, we give them an opportunity to relive the past and enjoy the music and the band that influenced so many of the biggest bands in the world."
Hey! Ho! Let's Go! performs at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 at Winston's, 1921 Bacon St. www.winstonsob.com


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American Express Understanding The Nature Of Online Ads
from the make-people-seek-it-out dept
Slowly but surely, it looks like some online advertisers are getting it. The internet is different. It's not the second coming of TV. It truly is interactive, and therefore, expecting users to happily be interrupted in order to watch a TV commercial is ridiculous. BMW got this early on, with their BMWFilms effort, and we've been talking about others who realize the importance of realizing that there's no difference between content and promotion. People will seek out good content - even if it's directly promoting something else. Honda also figured this out with their cog commercial. They didn't play it on American TV because, at two minutes, it was way too long. However, plenty of Americans online have sat through that advertisement multiple times - because it's entertaining. American Express appears to have figured this out as well. Over at E-Media Tidbits, Steve Klein points out that he just happly sat through a four minute short from American Express starring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman. American Express is only putting the short film online, and (if you like Seinfeld) it's worth watching - even if it is promoting American Express. They knew to make it entertaining so that people would seek it out and watch it on their own, rather than be pissed off at having it interrupt what they were doing online. Advertisers need to learn they no longer have a "captive" audience. Some are getting it, while others are just getting desperate.


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Andrea's Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce Quick Weeknight Meals Recipe Contest 2009
Recipe: Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce
How long does it take? 30 minutes
Category: Omnivore
Name: Andrea
Why is it a favorite meal? This meal is healthy, takes under 30 minutes to make, and is most importantly, tasty and satisfying. I always keep these ingredients, sans fresh clams, stocked in my cupboard and refrigerator for a quick weeknight meal or impromptu dinner party.
Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce
When a dinner party of 8 is called together at the last minute on a workday afternoon for that same evening, I look to what is always stocked in the cupboard to make a delicious under 30-minute pasta meal that has been passed on in my Sicilian family. Growing up, my mother made this very frequently on weeknights for dinner, and my addition of fresh parsley, white wine, butter and fresh littleneck clams makes a beautiful presentation suitable for guests, while satisfying my childhood nostalgia.
Our Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, garden sets a charming and tranquil setting far away from our chaotic days working in the City. As the weather gets cooler and work gets busier as everyone re-focuses after the summer vacation, it feels almost necessary to take any opportunity to enjoy an impromptu outdoor evening of friends, family and food. Leave work at 6 and pick up two loaves of crusty Italian bread at the corner deli, complete prep by 7, guests arrive at 7:30 and dinner at 8.
INGREDIENTS (for 8 ppl main course)
2 lbs. of Spaghetti
10-12 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pot)
2 cans of chicken broth (14 oz. cans)
1 cup of dry white wine
2 bottles of clam juice (8 fl. oz. bottles)
4 cans of minced or chopped clams (6.5 oz. cans)
1 packed cup of fresh chopped flatleaf Italian parsley
2-3 lbs. of littleneck clams or cockles, if available
pinch of crushed red pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter
1-2 tablespoons of flour (for a thicker sauce, use more flour)
salt & pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese, if desired (pecorino romano)
PREP: Soak fresh clams in water and change the water a few times while prepping to rid the clams of any sand. Rinse parsley at the same time. Chop parsley. Chop garlic.
Boil a large pot of salted water for spaghetti. Cover to help the water boil faster. Once boiling, add spaghetti and cook until al dente about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In the meantime, while water for spaghetti is boiling, in another large pot, heat olive oil on medium. Add chopped garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Do not let garlic burn.
Add chicken broth, white wine, 2 jars of clam juice and drained juice from the cans of chopped/minced clams. Reserve actual canned chopped/minced clams for later. Add parsley and crushed red pepper. Increase heat on stove and bring sauce to boil.
If using, add fresh littleneck clams and cover the pot to steam them for 4-5 minutes. Open lid after 3 minutes to see if the clams are opening. After 5 minutes, all of the clams should be opened. If they do not open, then discard them because they are bad. With a large slotted spoon, take out fresh clams in shell and set aside in bowl for later presentation.
Lower heat on stove to medium-high. Add cans of drained chopped clams.
Add butter. Stir in flour and whisk to slightly thicken the sauce.
Taste. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
Turn the heat on stove to low until spaghetti is ready. Both spaghetti and sauce should be done around the same time, and this should take 20 -25 minutes total cooking. Toss spaghetti with clam sauce. Serve in bowls, making sure there is ample broth in each bowl for dunking the bread. Add 3-4 littleneck clams in shell to each bowl.
Serve with Italian bread.
*I also usually serve a salad on the side, too. For this meal, I made a tomato, basil onion salad with olive oil because I had many leftover tomatoes from the garden. I also made a spinach salad with red onions, Valdeon Espana blue cheese, and roasted almonds (broken in half).
Thanks Andrea, and good luck! Readers, give Andrea a thumbs up if you like this recipe!
You could win some


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Individual game tickets for the 2011-12 basketball season are on sale now. Tickets start at $7 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.
Lipscomb basketball games are Nashville's best value for family-friendly entertainment. Every game features a Kids Zone with inflatables, games and other fun activities, player autograph sessions, and post-game shooting on the court.
Basketball season tickets are still available for $150. They include a reserved seat for each of the Bisons and Lady Bisons 28 home games. Mini-plans start at $45 and most packages include a reserved seat to the "Battle of the Boulevard" against Belmont. For more information, call Bayron Binkley at 615-852-5506.
It's not too late to have your youth basketball team, cheer squad, or martial arts group perform in front of a cheering crowd. For more information on group outings including Birthday parties with the Bisons, call Tim Freese at 615-966-5456.
Because of ever-increasing demand for the men's basketball game versus Belmont, the Lipscomb athletic department does not anticipate selling reserved seats in advance that are not a part of a season ticket or mini-package. General admission tickets to the Belmont game will go on sale at a future date.
Purchase Tickets OnlineINDIVIDUAL TICKET PRICES
|General Admission
|Kid's (12 & under)
|Reserved - Belmont Men's Game
|General Admission - Belmont Men's Game
|General Admission
|Kid's (12 & under)
|Reserved - Belmont Men's Game
|General Admission - Belmont Men's Game
Season Ticket Prices
$150 - Single Ticket
$450 - Four Season Tickets
$100 - Each Ticket after four
Purchase season tickets online
20-Game Total Flex Pack ($120)
Looking for fun and family-friendly entertainment to fit around your busy schedule? The total flex pack provides twenty undated ticket vouchers valid for any game other than the men's Battle of the Boulevard. Simply redeem your vouchers at the box office prior to the games of your choice.
8 Game Pack (inc. Belmont) ($80)
This is the perfect plan for the Bisons fan who attends several games a year but can't make the full schedule. It includes a reserved seat to the men's Battle of the Boulevard game plus seven undated ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any other game of the year.
4 Game Pack (inc. Belmont) ($45)
With the Battle of the Boulevard expected to sell out once again, you can reserve your prime seat to the marquee match-up of the year before individual tickets go on sale. This pack includes a reserved seat to the Battle along with three undated ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any other game of the year.
Gold = Reserved Seat
Black = General Admission Seat