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Time to Upgrade: Oly OM-D EM-5 vs. Nikon D7000
Posted 03 January 2013 - 02:10 PM
While I have been very pleased with the results, the limitations and slow autofocus are finally driving me to upgrade. However, there are simply too many other options on the market. I have narrowed down my upgrade options to the OM-D or going SLR, but I am looking for some feedback from others. Cost is a relative factor, as I am hoping to keep the cost to about $5,000.
Option 1: Make a complete overhaul with the new Olympus OM-D E-5 with Nauticam housing, Sea & Sea YS-D1 or INON Z240 dual strobes with arms, and 60mm and 8mm lenses? Approximately $6,000 upgrade. This is more costly, but it offers a much lighter and travel friendly option.
Option 2: Use my existing Nikon D7000 and purchase the Ikelite housing, port assembly, 105mm, 60mm, Tokina 10-17mm lenses and 1.4x teleconverter. Approximately $5,000 upgrade. This is less expensive, but I can use my existing Ikelite strobes since I just purchased the DS-160. The new lenses can also make above water photography more appealing.
Please assist in providing ideas, options, and alternatives for someone who is interested in macro photography with the flexibility for wide angle.
Posted 03 January 2013 - 02:39 PM
I could not be more happy with this rig. It is superb in all respects. I am very glad I went with the 7-14 instead of the 8mm fisheye, but that is personal taste.
The 12-50 in its dedicated macro port is an amazing all-around rig. The 60mm macro is a truly excellent lens and gives extremely high magnification even without diopters.
I recommend Option 1, wholeheartedly.
Just see the OM-D thread for more (I have photos posted there in the more recent pages). it is the hottest thread here, and for good reason.
Posted 03 January 2013 - 02:47 PM
Posted 03 January 2013 - 03:20 PM
Posted 03 January 2013 - 05:40 PM
I have both systems, except both are in Nauticam housings: OMD Em5 with Pan 8mm fisheye, Oly 60 macro and Oly 12-50 zoom and the d7000 with 105 macro, 60 macro, Tokina 10-17, shooting with z240s and S-2000s. Ok, I know what you are thinking....so NO I'm not a spoiled gear ho, my wife shoots one of the systems when we go on dive trips --she's rarely underwater without a camera in her hand. Also, I've owned Ikelite systems as well, so I know there is a $ appeal of going that route too.
Anyway, I am honestly am not sure what system I would choose if I had to pick one, they both have their pros and cons. The OMD EM5 just won the dpreview camera of 2012, and I think that honor is well deserved. Certainly the OMD setup is more compact, easier to travel with, and I have to say I'm really impressed with the easy ergonomics of diving with it, especially holding the housing directly with the right hand instead of a handle. Also the EM5 has the most amazingly customizable menu, and I love the large OLED monitor while shooting underwater. You can hold the system out at arms length sometimes to get a shot and still see how you are framing a subject, live! Very cool. I'm leaving mid-January for 2 weeks in Australia but will only be on the GBR for 4 days. We've decided to only take one system and its going to be the EM5, partly cuz its new for me and I want to learn what it can do, and partly because of the reasons I've stated above. But if I were going to be diving the whole 2 weeks, I think I'd deal with the heavier and bulkier system and take the d7000, mostly because I might give a slight image quality nod to that system. Its a proven, high quality system, and has great glass options both above and below water. Plus I love shooting supermacro and the 105 plus a Macromate lets me shoot the really tiny stuff. The optical viewfinder lets you see incredible detail before pulling the shutter.
But I can tell you, the thought has actually crossed my mind to sell the whole d7000 system to downsize the kit to make it easier to fly, travel and dive with cuz lugging two camera setups is a pain. My initial experience with the EM5 has been that positive. But one other thing that is also holding me up, is that I am very impressed with the Nauticam NA-D7000 housing. Its fantastic. There is a big difference in the build quality and feel between the EM5 and D7000 Nauticam housings with a big edge to the latter.
Anyway, there's plenty of threads discussing features of both setups but I think you can get amazing shots and have fun with either system.
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Posted 04 January 2013 - 09:14 AM
Travel size does matter!
And that is why I decided to buy the OM D
I can pack everything in a small Backpack ( om-d + nauticam housing + Oly 12-50 zoom and macro port, Sea & Sea YS-D1 dual strobes with arms + Sola 800 focus light and 13" Laptop and I think that I still have more room for the pany 8mm and 4"domeport.( My next purchase )
I use the Temba shootout rolling backpack medium size.
Any decision you make will be the right one, the two cameras are very good
Posted 06 January 2013 - 07:14 AM
This is what I am looking at, but I am still trying to keep it about $6k.
OM-D and housing
12-50mm kit and 60mm lens
Macro Port 65, which I am hoping will be the flat lens that fits both lenses??
2-Inon Z-240s
Fisheye focus light (Any recommendations that are within $300-400?)
Diopter for more supermacro shots, but I want the flexibility to do it under water (Any recommendations?)
I really want to get the 8mm or 7-14mm with the 4" dome port, but I think that is going to have to wait. I need something that I can get more flexibility from with macro until I can afford more.
Thanks for any additional input on this initial upgrade. I will be heading to Socorros in April, so I want to get this rig purchased and tested before heading half way around the world.
Posted 06 January 2013 - 02:29 PM
The same port will work for the 12-50 and 60 lenses. You can find more discussion of this in the big OM-D thread
Depending on your ambitions for macro, the 12-50 with a Subsee+10 might be enough and you may or may not want the 60 right away. Have a look at the shots Dominque posted yesterday, especially shots 9 and 12 which make this exact comparison:
Finally, if macro is your primary goal, and travel will be frequent, consider the Inon S2000 strobes. They are really fantastic for closeup work and just about fit in your pocket, at 2/3 the cost of the Z240. They are not really up to the job for wide angle work however
Edited by troporobo, 06 January 2013 - 02:30 PM.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 09:19 AM
You will not need a dedicated macro lens right away with this rig. It is the best all-around combo going, But, when the time comes, the 60 mm macro works perfectly in the 12/50 port and gives even higher magnification. I have images posted in the recent pages of the OM-D thread to show just how well this set-up works.
The macro port 65 will not even give you the ability to zoom the lens unless you by a $100+ zoom gear, but then you still have no macro with the 12-50 unless you buy diopters, adapters, etc and what is the point of that? It is a more awkward compromise that will actually end up costing more.
I offer this because there is a well-intentioned frenzy of cheapness on the boards where people are trying to "beat the system" by getting the cheaper macro port and making do with compromises, instead of paying the $250 more for the dedicated 12-50 port/gear. This makes no sense to me given the overall cost of the system.
You are buying into the top compact system and housing set-up. Why deprive yourself of the absolutely unique capabilities of the 12-50 in its dedicated port?
Posted 07 January 2013 - 08:14 PM
Should I stick with the 12-50mm and 60mm since both will use the 12/50 port or should I go with the 8mm fisheye?
Any last recommendations are how to reduce the cost or final changes? Am I missing anything??
Thanks again for all the input!! I look forward to sharing my experience with the OM-D as many of you have shared your input.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Camera with 12-50mm Power Zoom Lens 1 $1,199.99
Nauticam NA-EM5 Housing for Olympus OMD EM5 Camera 1 $1,350.00
Nauticam Macro Port and Zoom Gear Set for Olympus ED 12-50 EZ Lens 1 $800.00
$150.00 mail in rebate on 12-50 lens good until 1/27/13
LMI Sola 800 Photo Light (no mounts included) 1 $499.00
LMI Sola Photo Ball Mount & D-Ring Combo Kit 1 $35.00
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f2.8 Macro 1 $499.99
Nauticam M67 Flip filter holder for 36161 port 1 $220.00
ReefNet SubSee Magnifier +10 1 $225.00
Nauticam Flexitray with Left Handle 1 $130.00
Nauticam Adjustable Right Handle for Easitray or Flexitray 1 $40.00
Nauticam M8 Strobe Mounting Ball for Easytray and Flexitray Handles 2 $32.00
Inon Z-240 Strobe (Z240) 2 $1,598.00
Inon Optical D Cable L Type (17 in) With Rubber Fixing Bushing 2 $182.00
Ultralight Inon Strobe Adapter 2 $49.90
Ultralight New Style Clamp (15 degrees side movement) 4 $119.80
Ultralight 5" Double Ball Arm 2 $95.90
Nauticam M10 strobe mounting ball (Current) for housing 1 $30.00
Ultralight Large Longer Clamp for use with Focus Lights 1 $34.95
Total: $7,140.54
Edited by MyLensandMore, 07 January 2013 - 08:24 PM.
Posted 08 January 2013 - 12:04 PM
First, the 12-50 lens in the dedicated port has excellent "true macro" capability. You can fill the frame with an SD card, literally. In 35mm terms it is 1:1 (filling the frame with a 24x36mm object). So, for now, you do not need the flip adapter or any diopters. I had ordered the exact same set-up with the flip adapter and subsee. After shooting the system, I cancelled both of those. Similarly, you do not need to get the 60mm right now. The better macro performance from that lens just does not add the extra dimension that justifies the money. Because of the versatility on all subjects, I use the 12-50 for many, many macro shots and I use the 60mm a much smaller percentage of the time. If you become an ultra-macro addict, you can add the 60mm or adapter/diopter later on, you do not need both.
So, you save $925 right there (60mm, flip adapter, diopter).
Next, look at the strobes. There is an e-bay seller from Hong Kong that sells the S&S YS-D1 strobes for around 600 including shipping. My experience with him was fantastic. These are truly great strobes and come with all mounts included. They are all the updated version and mine has worked flawlessly for about 1500 shots now. I was urged by several friends to go with the Inons, but I am actually glad I went with the S&S instead because they are very versatile and give great control over lighting ratios, and work perfectly with the OM-D optical sync. Saving well over 400 has paid for about 10 dive trips as well!
So, you save $450 over the Inons and ball adapters.
You have now saved $1375, and your system is costing $5,765 and will do everything you want to start with. Congratulations!!!
For your next step, adding a wide angle set-up (8mm and dome, or 9-18mm zoom and dome) would be much more advisable than adding the 60mm/ flip adapter/ diopter, because it opens a whole new dimension for shooting, as opposed to merely refining your already-good macro capability. The wide set-up would cost about the same as what you have saved, just so you know.
Posted 08 January 2013 - 02:05 PM
As you have said, I am sure the Z240s are top notch, but even the D2000 3 is a less expensive option. It sounds like you have had great success with the YS-D1s, which is what I orignially was looking at. I did notice these on ebay as well, but wasn't sure about the quality or compatibility. You mentioned the strobes came with the mounts, so I still need to buy the ultralight arms.
It is funny you mention the 8mm because I was actually buying this camera for an upcoming Socorros trip, which is all larger subjects. Even though my passion is macro, I will be buying the starter options for this trip. Therefore, it looks like I will be getting the 12-50 and the 8mm with applicable ports. What port do you have for your 8mm?
Thanks again for your input. It was very helpful.
Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: OM-D, SLR
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March 9, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Seven unanswered goals by Endicott College during the second half proved to be the difference in its 18-16 victory over MIT in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Saturday. Casey Flynn and Erica Little paced the Engineers (0-1) with four goals apiece while Laura Watson tallied 12 draw controls, seven groundballs, and two goals.
MIT opened the game with four straights goals as Stephanie Leger, Flynn, Little, and Watson each scored. The Gulls countered with five consecutive goals capped by a free-position shot at the 15:20 mark. Flynn tallied the equalizer at 13:46, but Endicott regained the lead (6-5) exactly 11 seconds later. The Engineers went on another four-goal run that was sparked by Molly McCartin's free-position shot. She then registered the go-ahead goal which was followed by a free-position shot from Samantha O'Keefe. Little capped the spurt when she connected on a pass from O'Keefe with 9:14 on the clock. The Gulls scored twice to narrow their gap to 9-8 at halftime.
Like the first half, Leger led off the scoring for the Cardinal and Gray with a free-position goal after 42 seconds elapsed. Endicott quickly cut its deficit in half, but goals from Flynn, O'Keefe, and Watson put the Engineers ahead, 13-9, at the 24:20 mark. The Gulls posted back-to-back goals during the next two minutes however a free-position shot from Flynn raised MIT's margin to three (14-11). With 20:30 on the clock, Endicott mounted its pivotal seven-goal run that spanned the next 17 minutes. Little wrapped up the scoring for the Engineers with a pair of unassisted strikes inside the final 53 seconds.
In net, Monique Squiers collected 15 saves while Leger bolstered MIT's defense with four groundballs.

subset: commoncrawl


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UPLAND — Chick-fil-A, 1949 N. Campus Ave., will host a LifeStream community blood drive on Tuesday.
The drive will be from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Donors receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich and a VIP pass for two to the Ontario Improv.
All prospective donors should be free of infections or illness, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not be at risk for AIDS or hepatitis.
Information: 800-TRY GIVING.


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Reviewed By anthony l (MARTINEZ, CA) Reviewed for a 2007 Hummer H2 —2/2/2017 11:27 AM
I like how much faster the F5 is compared to the F4 . It has better graphics than the F4 and is just a good product overall and it made my truck a lot better to drive with more power and better shifts. I have a cold air intake , cat back exhaust which makes this tuner work even better.


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"If you don't eat all of your supper, you can't have dessert."
"If you don't eat all of your supper, you can't have dessert."
How many times did you hear that as a child?
In the middle of every evening meal, while you pushed your pintos or peas around your plate with your fork, managing to slip a few off and out of sight so you wouldn't have to eat them, someone recognized what you were doing and made the threat. What is it about parents and grandparents that they resort to withholding dessert as a punishment?
I want to make it clear right now, right here, that I believe that if you plan to eat dessert you should eat it first. Before the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and greens. Before the fried liver and onions; before the stewed tomatoes and boiled potatoes. Before your entrée whatever it is, no matter how appetizing — eat your dessert first.
Oh, I know; desserts are supposedly not good for you. You need the vitamins, minerals and fiber, and what-all else that's in the veggies, and you don't need the sugar and extra carbs that desserts contain, say nothing of the fat. You can still receive all the benefits of a balanced meal, you just eat the stuff that's good for you after you eat what tastes good — your dessert. By eating the chocolate pie first, you avoid being too full to eat it after ingesting all those other lesser appealing things.
You're right, eating your dessert first is not psychologically correct. Probably not politically correct, either (few things are these days it seems). We're supposed to be into delayed gratification. Deferred gratification is about a person's ability to wait for something desired. It's the intellectual approach to what is known as exercising impulse control, willpower or self-control. "First earn the reward." Good things come to those who wait."
That's all well and good for the big things in life, the important things. For dessert, why wait?
One of the few profound things I remember my father saying was, "Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today, cause you might enjoy it enough today to want to try it again tomorrow." I don't think he had dessert in mind when he paraphrased that old saying, but it works for me.
There is another benefit to eating dessert first: You're sure to get some.
At a covered-dish dinner, unless you practically inhale your meal and make your way to the dessert table quickly, there is nothing left but a half a serving spoon of banana pudding, or some frosting along the edge of the cake plates. Maybe some brownie crumbs. Seems other folks learned to eat dessert first, too.
The kitchen of an orphanage I spent a couple weeks in with my brothers wasn't the well-managed operation such institutions are today. No matter how many mouths there were to be fed, the staff opened just so many cans of vegetables, cooked just so many pounds of potatoes and prepared just so many pans of a mystery meat that resembled meatloaf but didn't taste like it.
As children passed through the serving line, portions became increasingly smaller as the servers stretched the meal. If one was near the end of the line, the serving would be decidedly smaller than if you were at the head of the line. Desserts were prepared the same way; there was no attempt to ensure all the children had a serving. When the pan of bread pudding or gelatinous cobbler was gone, the end of the line would be lucky to receive a teaspoon of some crust scraped from the corners of the pan.
The foster home in which we spent the longest time provided plenty of veggies and a meager serving of meat, usually wild game in season. We could have all the vegetables we wanted. The problem was that the veggies served were whatever was in season and in abundance: squash, cabbage (oh how we hated cabbage season) and potatoes. We didn't mind frequent meals with stewed apples, but cabbage grows old when you eat it twice a day for a month, then again all winter in the form of sauerkraut. The only dessert we saw was a rare serving of suet pudding or an occasional cookie.
My grandmother believed we ended the meal with dessert unless we made a meal of dessert, like strawberry or peach shortcake (I've substituted a Barbecue Center banana split on one or two occasions). My grandfather believed you could eat dessert any time. He could make a scrumptious dessert out of plain sugar or molasses cookies just by spreading butter between two of them. He would sneak a couple of butter-filled cookies to us while grandma cooked dinner. I think that was the root of my dessert-first philosophy.
Whatever its origins, eating dessert first is far better than getting no dessert at all.
Denny Whalen understands how eating dessert first might be against everything you were taught growing up but hastens to point out that you shouldn't knock it until you try it. You might like it so well as to want to do it again, and again — and at least occasionally let your children and grandchildren do it, too.


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Part of National Museums Liverpool
20th century British studio pottery bequeathed to National Museums Liverpool by Dr. Len and Mrs. Pamela Ratoff.
The Walker Art Gallery's Craft and Design Gallery is an impressive place to be, with ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewellery, furniture and even musical instruments on display; together covering some three hundred years of design history.
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- Sussex Double Tube Sconce $189
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Bathroom Sconces
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Simplicity 2766
Added Apr 19, 2014
Austin, Texas, U...
This pattern has many pieces I want to make yet, but I started with the long jacket and I now I wear this all the time! I decided to line my jacket because the cotton I used on the outside wasn't super heavy and I needed just a little more weight for the cool spring mornings. I had some adventures while lining this thing, but it all worked out great in the end! I tried adding pockets and they do exist… except they're TINY. I'm obsessed with pockets, so on my next jacket I will have to plan them out a little better. I've had requests on my blog for a sew along so I think I'll do that later this year… stay tuned!
Material Notes
This project turned out to be a fabric stash buster! The green sateen cotton was originally supposed to be for a dress that never got made and the pink lining was left over from some other project, too. I had a blog sponsor at the time and had left over money in my monthly shopping allowance so I purchased the abalone shell buttons — I am still in love with these buttons!!
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Diana Picek Photography
Calgary & Airdrie Newborn and Maternity photographer
Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane Newborn Photographer, Baby & Maternity Photography
Session information
Meet Diana
Chronicle Your Motherhood Journey with Pregnancy Photography
Diana Picek
Monday, April 30, 2018
Baby Neil/ Calgary Newborn and Maternity Photographer
Baby Neil was a dream come true. He came to my studio a week after he was born and he was so content and happy throughout the entire session. My assistant and I were extremely excited to have him in the studio as he was easygoing and incredibly cute too! Neil's session lasted 3 hours and I was able to capture over 15 different poses and his family was so happy with the gallery and appreciated all the work done for their session. Neil's parents chose dark cool colours, which is always a great
Calgary Maternity Photographer- Diana Picek Photography- Calgary Winter Outdoor Maternity session
A maternity session done during the winter in Calgary can be a truly memorable experience. As a Calgary maternity photographer, I find love in every season and I try to get the best of each of them to create stunning portraits. Winter is very intense as we go from extreme to mild temperatures and I always adapt to those conditions to plan our sessions. During the fall and winter, I like to take advantage of Chinook days as we can get nice breaks from the cold and freezing temperatures. I
Calgary Cake Smash Photographer/ Afsahali's session
Happy Birthday Afsahali <3 Her Mom was so excited to celebrate Afsa's first birthday and we did a lot of planning to design a beautiful session for her big day. At first, Afsahali was a bit unsure about this whole celebration but after working hard as a team we managed to get a few good smiles for the session. Her Mom was a bit worried that she wasn't smiling a lot but after giving her time to explore and get comfortable she did really good. I am so thrilled to see many amazing images from
Calgary Newborn Photographer/ Baby Cynthia
Baby Cynthia was one of the most adorable and happy baby I have seen in months. She slept throughout the entire session and my assistant and I were absolutely delighted to have her at the studio. I met Cynthia's parents at the end of the summer and we did a beautiful maternity session and I still remember how much fun we had that day! I believe her parents were so excited and surprised to see how well their baby did during the session. They told me that trusting me as their newborn
Calgary Professional Newborn Photographer/ The journey
Newborn Photography: The journey Custom Newborn photography requires professionalism, creativity and skillful training. Newborn Photography is a very important investment that requires special attention and consideration. Hiring a professional photographer can be a very difficult task these days in a market with so many choices for prices and services. Newborn Photography should only be in the hands of educated and licensed photographers who can offer a service that is reliable and safe.
Why to hire a professional Newborn and Maternity Photographer?
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By Buster Gunning
The vote is in and the NBA has a new face as the most handsome man. Chris Kaman, in his third year in the League, has come from nowhere to defeat the Clippers' summer acquisition, a Mr. Sam Cassell.
Cassell had won the award the previous 6 seasons and was poised for an unprecedented 7th title in a row, that is until the second year phenom Chris Kaman stole the award from Cassell, backed up by his greasy blond flowing looks and chiseled brow which often draws him comparison to Brad Pitt, particularly when dining on Hollywood's trendy restaurants on the Sunset Strip.
"I am at a loss for words, to take home the NBA's most coveted award; well I did not expect this. To be in the same category as such Adonis's like Dikembe Mutombo, Tim Duncan, Bill Walton, AC Green and my teammate Sam Cassell, of course, it is just such an honor."
Kaman has been slated to appear on the cover of the April edition of GQ and that is just the beginning. He is already up for some big parts as Hollywood's next hunky leading man.
So what is next for the striking 7'0" center?
"Well, it's Friday, I'm probably grab a sixer of Pabst and rent Good Will Hunting."
Kaman Beats Out Teammate Cassell As NBA's Most Handsome Man
Discuss anything related to Golden State Warriors basketball here
Moderators: Mr. Crackerz, JREED, Guybrush, 32


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Reflections of Time is a sophisticated and reflective peice that can provide a positive and classy feel to your visual content. I can picture a Mercedes Benz comercial, or a scene for a film, the posibilites are limitless with what you can use the track for.
Reflections of Time.wav
Reflections of Time.mp3
Thanks for listening. Stay Beautiful!
Stereo Hive.


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In DMZ as we know all sensitive information is located under interlal network and all public services in DMZ zone.
How it is done, in the case of E-comerce services?
Does web page located in DMZ and its database under internal network?
Results 1 to 4 of 4
Thread: Dmz


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Skip navigation.
The HPE6000-3 cylinder fill enclosure fills three cylinders at a time. This enclosure provides increased safety during the fill process, only operating when the door is closed and locked. The HPE6000-3 is designed to contain the destructive force of an accidental cylinder failure or hose rupture, while allowing the air blast to be vented away from the operator.
The Class 2 Containment from HYPRES is NFPA 1901 compliant. A rupture test was performed by a third party certified licensed engineering testing facility. The rupture test followed NPFA recommended guidelines for a rupture test.
Standard Features:
Construction of Fill Station:
Dimensions: 38.5"W x 23.5"D x 65"H
Approx. Weight 1400lbs.
Safety Interlock System prevents SCBA or SCUBA filling unless the front access door is completely closed and locked in place. All air control components are located inside the compartment. The carriage design "tilts" toward the operator whenever the door is opened. This facilitates loading and unloading cylinders and minimizes operator fatigue.
Fabricated by an ISO 9002 Company, Laser Cut, Robot Welded and Zinc Powder-Coated. NFPA 1901-71, 23.9.1-4 CERTIFIED BY LICENSED ENGINEERING TESTING FACILITY.


text: Tailgate Talk: Share Your Top Basketball Teams and Win February 11, 2012 04:00 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Jen Russell AgWeb Product & Project Manager Email Enter to win tickets to the big game in the 'Road to No. 1' contest It's college hoops season! Who do you think will make it to the championship game? Now is the time to gather around the big screen and cheer on your favorite team as they make their way down the "Road to No. 1." AgWeb is partnering with Valor Herbicide to get in on the basketball fun with our "Road to No. 1" contest. Here's how it works. Each week, we'll compile our own unique list of top 25 teams based on college basketball rankings from across the country. Think we got it wrong? Tell us who you think should make it to the big game. Submit your top 10 basketball teams and enter to win two tickets to the championship game in New Orleans. The contest ends March 15. We'll make sure to post your reader rankings each week along with our top 25 teams. Not enough basketball for you? Hop on our discussion boards and talk college hoops with other AgWeb readers. Learn more and enter to win now! Stat Rack 2011's weather is still making news: 23rd warmest year on record for the lower 48 states; it was also the 45th driest in the 117-year period of record. 53.8°F The nation's annual average temperature, only 1° above the long-term mean. The last time the U.S. experienced an annual average temperature below the 20th-century mean was 1996. 28.78" Average precipitation (99% of normal), the driest year since 2002. Texas endured its driest year on record, supplanting 1917, and its second hottest year, behind 1921. 46% of the nation had abnormally wet or dry conditions during March, April and May—the largest area in the 102-year period of record. 16% of the contiguous U.S. experienced above-average to heavy one-day precipi-tation events in spring, a record high. The 102-year average is 9%. Back to news


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Maybe Google's Android isn't as "fragmented" as Steve Jobs thought. Android continues to challenge Apple's hold on the smartphone market, despite any claims Jobs has made in recent months. Tech industry analysts from Canalys reported today that for the third quarter, Apple still leads the pack as the best-selling US vendor and has a 26.2 percent share. The same report also found that smartphones using Android's OS accounted for 43.6 percent of US shipments – representing a huge growth for the company. Falling into third was BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (RIM) which experienced a six-percent fall in its share.
Since Apple only has one phone, the iPhone, on the market, and Android has multiple devices, these numbers don't come as a complete surprise. Still, Apple insists it and Android activate approximately the same amount of devices a day, but those calculations include iPads as well as iPhones.
The NPD Research Group also released its numbers for the third quarter today, supporting Canalys' report: The iPhone was the smartphone of choice, and Android's platform was the OS of choice. NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin did clarify exactly where Android took its growth from. "Much of Android's quarterly share growth came at the expense of RIM, rather than Apple," Rubin explained. "New high-end Android devices have been gaining momentum at carriers that traditionally have been strong RIM distributors, and the recent introduction of the BlackBerry Torch has done little to stem the tide."
While Apple is consistently maintaining its industry position (and gaining a little), the giant leap Android took this quarter might make Jobs take his open source-competitor a little more seriously. At the same time, if the iPhone's rumored introduction to Verizon stores in the near future is true, this could easily propel its numbers for next quarter.


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Sobotište (Trnavský kraj, Slovakia)
Sobotište (Sobotiste; German, Freischütz; in Hutterite sources Sabatisch), a town in Senica District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia near the Moravian border (coordinates: 48° 44′ 30″ N, 17° 24′ 20″ E). Sobotište is the site of a large Hutterite Bruderhof that is still inhabited by descendants of the Hutterites, the only Bruderhof which continued in existence throughout the entire period of Hutterite history in Central Europe (1546-1762). In the 16th century this market village belonged to the manorial nobleman Franz Niary of Bedek, lord of the castle of Branc (in the Chronicle Bränisch). Since he needed good tillers of the soil and tenders of the vineyards he invited the Hutterites from nearby Moravia to settle on his estate in 1546. Soon times of great hardship set in (see Slovakia), but in 1554-1605 the peace was not disturbed. Then followed a Turkish invasion, and it was not until 1613 that the brethren began anew to build a Bruderhof. From then on until today this Bruderhof has existed nearly unchanged. All the Vorsteher or "bishops" of the Hutterite brotherhood lived here, including particularly Andreas Ehrenpreis. The lords gave the brethren a charter of privileges (Hausbrief) in 1613 and another in 1640 (see Klein-Geschichtsbuch, 128 n); the latter is still in the possession of the Hof and was reported in 1937 and 1938. In 1621, Franz Walter started an exodus of some 180 Brethren from here in Transylvania (see Alwinz). The best time was the Ehrenpreis period, 1630-1662, which might be called the high point of the Sobotište congregation.
In 1665 a marked decline set in. A delegation was sent to the Mennonites in the Netherlands for material help, but even though this was granted it could not stop the rapid deterioration of the Sobotište group, both economically and spiritually. Eventually the practice of complete community of goods was given up, although many elements of it still remained. The 18th century saw the coming of the Jesuits and with it a real crisis set in. The brotherhood was no longer strong enough to resist the aggressive manipulations of both the Jesuits and the governmental authorities (details in Beck, Geschichts-Bücher, and in the Klein-Geschichtsbuch). The last Vorsteher was Zacharias Walther, a descendant of the oldest still living Anabaptist family (see Walter family). In his days the congregation numbered about 220 souls, and in 1753 they built a clock tower (Beck, 574; a picture of it in Friedmann, Habaner) and in 1754 a "Bet-Haus" (that is, a meetinghouse; picture in Lydia Müller). Beck found records of these years showing that Hutterite, or more correctly now Habaner, midwives were very popular and much in demand with the local population. In 1748 and again in 1752, Walther wrote to the Mennonites in Amsterdam, apparently hoping again to receive both material and moral support in the hard struggle of the time. (All the correspondence both of 1665 and of 1748 and 1752 is found in the archives of the Mennonite Church of Amsterdam.) But in 1761 the Jesuits decided to act: a number of brethren were taken into custody, including Zacharias Walther, who was sent into a monastery in Budapest where eventually he yielded and became Catholic in 1763, Heinrich Kuhn who turned Catholic in 1762, and Tobias Pullman (or Polman) who did the same in 1763 in the city of Neutra (Klein-Geschichtsbuch, 238, note; Beck 606, 610, 613, 617).
These conversions, however, were of little value. Privately these Sobotište people continued in their old Hutterite faith as far as possible (infant baptism was obligatory now), and thus much hypocrisy developed. The brethren knew of course of the new settlements in the Ukraine which had been started by the Transylvanian group, and there was much discussion about whether or not to leave everything behind and try to join these brethren. One of the strongest in character among the men of Sobotište was a Jacob Walter, of whom the Klein-Geschichtsbuch relates an interesting story. In 1782 he left Sobotište alone, and traveled via Herrnhut (the German center of the Moravian Brethren Church, to Vyshenka (Wischenka), Ukraine, where the new Bruderhof had been started circa 1770. The next year he came back in order to take his wife and child along to these brethren; one daughter had to be left behind as she had married a Catholic. With the help of several other brethren who were sent back from Russia to assist Sobotište, 11 families managed to escape the surveillance of the clergy, and some 56 souls eventually reached the new Ukraine Bruderhof, 1782-1783 (the Klein-Geschichtsbuch, 373-74, lists all their names; some of them were also from nearby Veľké Leváre). The last visit of these Vyshenka brethren in Sobotište occurred in 1795, but after 1782 no further transfers took place. Those who decided to stay in Sobotište were resigned in their new religion (Catholicism), glad that the clergy allowed them at least to continue most of their old communal institutions.
In 1937 two American Hutterite brethren visited this place, and from the unpublished diary of David Hofer we learn the following details. The Bruderhof buildings had survived essentially unchanged since 1613, consisting all in all of 39 straw-thatched houses, dominated in the distance by the ruins of the former castle of Branc. Some of the names of the inhabitants were Baumgartner, Pullmann, and Tschetterle (Ceterle, Tschetter), all well-known Hutterite names (see Hutterite Family Names). All in all there were about 40 families who still lived in this large-scale Hof or colony. All of them spoke German besides the native Slovakian. In 1937 the mill, the dye house, the inn, the wine cellars, and the woods were still held as communal property by the present-day Habaner. The mill, erected in 1739, was still working. The Chapel was still standing, but the clock and bells had been removed from the old clock tower during World War I. In the Town Hall the visitors found an old clock of their forefathers. In the cemetery most tombstones had disappeared except one of 1755, for Tobias Seidel. The once famous pottery workshop (producing the famous Habaner fayence; see Ceramics) no longer existed, but some people had started digging and had found in the ground potsherds and a few fine specimens of this lost art. (Most of the Habaner fayence that has survived is found in museums in Bratislava, Budapest, and elsewhere.) In the houses and in the Town Hall the visitors found ancient heavy oak tables of Hutterite origin and other household goods, even old books. The charter of 1640 (Hausbrief) was likewise shown to the guests from America, who were received with warm hospitality by these Catholic Habaner. But, naturally, they showed little interest in their own history and the tradition of a time long gone by. Nothing of the old things described was for sale, hard as the American brethren tried to buy a few souvenirs.
In 1945 in the wave of anti-German feeling following the war, most of the German-speaking people were expelled from Czechoslovakia, and it must be assumed that this fate also hit most of the Habaner of Sobotište, unless they declared themselves openly as Slovaks.
Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967.
Friedmann, Robert. Die Habaner in der Slowakei. Wiener Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, 1927.
Friedmann, Robert. "Hutterites Revisit Their Old Homesteads: the Diary of David Hofer, 1937." Mennonite Quarterly Review XXXIV (1960).
Müller, Lydia. Der Kommunismus der mahrischen Wiedertaufer. Liepzig, 1927.
Zieglschmid, A. J. F. Die älteste Chronik der Hutterischen Brüder: Ein Sprachdenkmal aus frühneuhochdeutscher Zeit. Ithaca: Cayuga Press, 1943.
Zieglschmid, A. J. F. Das Klein-Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder. Philadelphia, PA: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation, 1947.
|Robert Friedmann
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Friedmann, Robert. "Sobotište (Trnavský kraj, Slovakia)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 17 Jan 2019. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Soboti%C5%A1te_(Trnavsk%C3%BD_kraj,_Slovakia)&oldid=143750.
APA style
Friedmann, Robert. (1959). Sobotište (Trnavský kraj, Slovakia). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 17 January 2019, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Soboti%C5%A1te_(Trnavsk%C3%BD_kraj,_Slovakia)&oldid=143750.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 557-558. All rights reserved.
©1996-2019 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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PROPHETSTOWN – Richard Walter Sommers, 88, of Prophetstown, passed away Saturday, July 20, 2013, at his home.
Dick was born March 12, 1925, in Prophetstown to Walter Arthur and Leona Clara (Egert) Sommers, and graduated from Prophetstown High School in 1943. He served in World War II from 1943 to 1946, in the Marine Corps V Amphibious Corps Artillery 155 MM Battalion.
He then worked at Sommers Song Shop in downtown Prophetstown with his father before embarking on a 46-year career with the U.S. Postal Service, and delivering the Sunday morning Quad-City Times for 21 years.
Dick married Margaret Ruth Schehl on July 19, 1952, in Prophetstown. This year they celebrated 61 years of marriage.
Dick was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Prophetstown.
Growing up, he was a standout three-sport athlete in high school, earning the nickname "Samson." He was a part of the undefeated football teams of 1941-1942. He also excelled in baseball and fast-pitch softball. He went to the International Softball League World tournament with the Tampico Merchants in 1953; they finished second. He was an accomplished bowler, inducted into the Mississippi Rock River Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1999, and loved to tell people that he won a Hudson from bowling in the early 1950s.
He was a Boy Scout/Cub Scout commander, and active in the Scouts when his sons were young. He was involved with Little League baseball and softball programs and was the American Legion Baseball manager/coach for 25 years.
With the help of his father Walt's PA system, Dick was the public address announcer for home football games from 1946 to 1976, and he supported the football teams by never missing a home game until 1986.
Dick served on the Prophetstown Board of Education, where he was proud to have been involved with the first addition to the high school and its new gym. He was a member of the Prophetstown Athletic Booster Club and the Prophetstown Lions Club. He helped form the Prophetstown Historical Society and Prophetstown Main Street – he wanted everyone to know the history of his town as to promote the town to everyone. He was a lifelong member of Prophetstown American Legion Post 522, where he served as post commander and held several other offices.
After marrying Marge, he took great joy in being a part of the Fitzgerald reunions that took place every summer in many different states; he truly enjoyed his time with this extended family. In his later years, he was thrilled to be reunited with those he served with in the Marines, attending countless Marine Corps reunions that also took him around the country – his fondest one to Washington, D.C., where he got to see the World War II Memorial.
Dick rarely missed his children's extracurricular events and especially enjoyed supporting his grandchildren in their endeavors; he was a fixture in the stands for many years, making countless road trips and enjoying the variety of popcorn he got to sample along the way.
He is survived by his wife, Marge; three daughters: Kim (Greg) Schmitt, Kate (Tony) Cody, and Karyn (Trent) Buck, all of Prophetstown; one daughter-in-law: Margie Sommers of Prophetstown; three sons: Kurt (Carolyn) Sommers of San Diego, Kerry (Kathy) Sommers of Coal Valley, and Kraig (Jessie) Sommers of Freeport; 13 grandchildren: Jon (Erin), Kiley, Tessa, Maggie (Adam), Brady (Melissa), Taylor, Allie, Morgan, Marquise, Allisa, Emma, Kory, and Kennedy; three step-grandchildren: Erica (Jeremy), Matt, and Alex; three great-grandchildren, Mykinzie, Dakota, Benjamin and one on the way; one sister: Diane (Robert) Roman of Prophetstown; three sisters-in-law: Shirley McKenna of Prophetstown, Marilyn (Bernard) Null of Erie, and Eileen Detra of Prophetstown; two brothers-in-law: Dennis (Maureen) Schehl of Sykesville, Md., and Bill (Judy) Schehl of Cambridge; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Kris W. Sommers; his granddaughter, Nikole Sommers; and three brothers-in-law, Ron Holtz, Robert McKenna, and Neil Detra.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Bosma-Gibson Funeral Home, 320 Lafayette St., Prophetstown. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Prophetstown, with the Rev. Dan Peters of St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Sugar Grove officiating. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown.
Memorials may be made to Prophetstown Historical Society, Prophetstown American Legion Post 522, Prophetstown Main Street Organization, and Prophetstown High School Athletic Scholarship.
Visit www.bosmagibson.com to send condolences.


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Jack White Releases Single... By Launching 1,000 Balloons With Flexi Discs Attached
from the ah,-the-amazing,-flying-flexidisc dept
Third Man Records, the label White created, admits that "the typical recovery rate on similar balloon launches... is around 10%", making these flexi-discs pretty likely to be extremely rare for those who find them. As the Creators' Freedom Project points out:
It's super unique, the balloon distributed discs will be a hot item when they're eventually recovered, and the instructions on how to tell the rest of the world via social media will help to spread the word about the record since the actual release of the album is the next week.Indeed, the label is already tracking where the balloons are being found and reported.
I know that some of our usual critics will come up with ways to mock this, but it's yet another example of an artist doing something fun and creative that is a unique way to connect with fans.


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Reviewed by Kyle D. (age 8)
My favorite part is when Hank teases the coyotes about their mama. It was a very, very funny part. I liked the character of Hank because he was grumpy sometimes, but he did a lot of things that made me laugh. When Hank hit the skunk under the cakehouse, it was exciting. I really liked the book, and I would like to read some more Hank the Cowdog books.
I recommend this book for kids to read because it's funny and it will help young children read better.


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CRESTVIEW �Crestview High School senior Kerrie York fulfilled a longtime dream Wednesday morning as she signed scholarship papers to play at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. The scholarship is worth $42,000 annually.
CRESTVIEW �Crestview High School senior Kerrie York fulfilled a longtime dream Wednesday morning as she signed scholarship papers to play at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.
The scholarship is worth $42,000 annually.
The 6-foot-1 inch York averaged 12.4 points, 8.9 rebound and 2.4 assists per game last season while shooting 85 percent from the free throw line as a Bulldog post player.
Easy decision
York, who also considered The University of Mobile and Webber International in Babson Park, said Spring Hill was the best fit.
"It was kind of close to home, but not too close," she said. "I went on tour a few weeks ago and I fell in love with it. It was really nice.
�And I felt like I would fit in there when I went to work out with their team during the tryout and was playing with their returning players."
Yorksaid she will mainly be a post player for the Badgers, but Spring Hill head coach Karen McConico knows she also has an outside game and could end up playing a position on the wing.
Proud coach
Crestview girls basketball coach Kathy Combest had several players sign scholarships when she coached at Baker School, but York is her first from Crestview.
"This is special because I've only had her for one year," Combest said. "Kerrie didn't have a lot of playing time until this year.
"When I talked to all of the coaches when they called me about her, I told them, 'She has a ton of potential. She just needs to get stronger. If she gets stronger, it's just going to enhance her potential and what she can do now.'"
York has all the intangibles a coach seeks in a player, Combest said. She has great feet, she's smart and she has a good feel for the game.
"She's a little lanky now, but put a little meat on her from time in the weight room and her potential is unlimited," she said. "She shoots the 3-pointer. She shoots the jump shot, but she can also penetrate the lane in the paint."
Working to get better
York believes her fundamentals are her game�s strength, as is her ability to work hard and not get down on herself in tough situations.
Combest has seen that hard work pay off; since the end of basketball season, York�s ball handling skills have improved.
"She has worked real hard after the season and she handles the ball 10 times better now," Combest said. "She was MVP (Most Valuable Player) at that all-star game in Pensacola.
"She has a lot of confidence at that, which makes her have so much potential. She has the confidence and now she has to work and get stronger."
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin�s sports editor. Email him at email@example.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.


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Arnie Giancana (Feat. Paradox, CZA, Sicnis, Simz, Metamore, Lady Leshurr & Knox Brown) - Keep Fresh Remix [U.K. Hip Hop]
ARNIE GIANCANA presents his new music video Keep Fresh The Remix Ft. Paradox, cZa, Sic'Nis, SIMZ, Metamore, Lady Leshurr & Knox Brown. Taken from the T.R.U.S.T album
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Kellan Lutz & AnnaLynne McCord Caught Kissing
Twilight's Kellan Lutz and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, 90210's AnnaLynne McCord, share a kiss in Los Angeles on Monday (October 26).
Kellan, 24, and AnnaLynne, 22, who appeared on screen together on the first season of 90210, were spotted earlier this week together at the Blackberry VIP Lounge at the U2 concert on Sunday.
According to People, "the Twilight star arrived with his brother and his brother's girlfriend but just before U2 took the stage they were joined by McCord, and the tight-lipped pair seemed super giddy as they horsed around and laughed together."
Kellan was all smiles as he stopped by the Levi's showroom to check out the new collaboration with Shepard Fairey of Obey on Wednesday (October 28).
10+ pictures inside of Kellan Lutz and AnnaLynne McCord caught in the moment…


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DuPont Pioneer launched its new Pioneer Field 360 services to the public at Commodity Classic 2013. John Chism, senior marketing manager, Pioneer, highlights some of the features on the new app available called Pioneer Field 360 Notes. Visit pioneer.com. Find more information on the app here.
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Species: Fabulous green sphinx moth (Tinostoma smaragditis)
Status: Endangered (EN)
Interesting Fact: This beautiful Hawaiian moth was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1998.
More information: Aptly named for its vibrant green colouration, the fabulous green sphinx moth is a rare species found only on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i. Although its forewings and body are green, its hind wings are pale brown and its antennae are orange. The caterpillars of the fabulous green sphinx moth have a large, spine-like 'horn' on the rear end of the body, which can measure around half of their body length. The host plant on which the caterpillars of this species feed is not yet known.
The fabulous green sphinx moth has an extremely restricted range, being found only in a few areas of forest on Kaua'i. In 110 years of searching, this rare moth was recorded just 15 times. The island of Kaua'i has a high diversity of threatened plants, but these native species are under threat from destruction by feral goats and pigs, as well as by invasive, non-native plants, which have increased as a result of damage to the native forests by hurricanes. Although the food plant of the fabulous green sphinx moth is unknown, it is likely that it, too, is under threat. Unfortunately, its rarity means that the fabulous green sphinx moth is potentially valuable to unscrupulous collectors. No conservation measures are currently in place to protect this rare moth, and attempts to list it on the U.S. Endangered Species Act have so far failed due to a lack of information.
Find out more about conservation in Hawaii at the Hawai'i Wildlife Fund.
Find out more about Moth Night, an annual celebration of moths and moth recording in Britain and Ireland, which will be taking place on the 8th-10th August.
See more images of the fabulous green sphinx moth on ARKive.
Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author


text: 04/22/2013 (08:00PM - 10:01PM) (Monday) : THE BATTLES CONTINUE - THE COACHES ENLIST GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ARTISTS, HILLARY SCOTT, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, SHERYL CROW AND VOICE AUSTRALIA COACH JOEL MADDEN TO PREPARE THEIR ARTISTS FOR BATTLE - The "battle rounds" continue and the coaches enlist the help of the music industry's top recording artists to offer their knowledge and skill as advisers. Adam Levine teams up with Hillary Scott, Blake Shelton with Sheryl Crow, Shakira with Joel Madden, and Usher with Pharrell Williams. In this phase, the coaches pit two of their own team members against each other in a dueling duet. After the vocal face-off, each coach must choose which artist from their team is the strongest, and has the option of stealing losing artists from an opposing coach. Each coach has two steals during the battle rounds where their artists will proceed to the new knockout rounds. Carson Daly ("Last Call with Carson Daly") hosts. Christina Milian ("Be Cool") serves as Social Media Correspondent.


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It's not everyday my oldest friend (known her since I was 3!) has a baby, so of course it was my pleasure to co-throw this shower with her mom, my mom, and her sister. I only have nephews, so it was fun to plan a party for a little girl!
I decided to DIY the decorations and of course make all the food. Well, at least that was the plan. Most of you know I was in a little car accident a few weeks ago. I'm fine, but I definitely needed lots of help pulling all the food together for this party!
I love a luncheon for a shower. I think it's nice and obviously I'm a big fan of food at all parties! It happened to be a gloriously sunny day in San Diego, so we decided to do lunch outside.
When people walked in, they were greeted by this table, with flowers from the local flower market, homemade pom pom's (that will hang in the baby's room after), pink and chevron bunting, glasses with pink paper straws, and hand stamped napkins with a "K" for baby Kennedy.
We filled the beverage dispensers with pink lemonade, and water with floating strawberries to keep with the theme and of course served pink champagne. For appetizers, I served my Italian Layer Dip with toasted baguette, Hearts of Palm Salad in a cup, and Hummus and Crudite in a cup. Side note: I just love anything in a cute bite size and these little shot glasses from Party City were just perfect for this.
For the place settings, I always like to use scrapbook paper as a placemat. I think it's super cute, a great way to add a pop of color, and the guest of honor can repurpose them (as long as you have clean eaters) into her scrapbook of the party.
The little pink dresses are napkins folded and cut with a little bow hot glued on. For the favor, every place setting had a little baby food jar filled with pink candy, spray painted pink lid adorned with a flower, and finished with a little bow.
Lunch was a mix of rolled sandwiches and salads. We served Sandwich Roll-ups, Spinach Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad, Quinoa and Kale Salad, and Zucchini Carpaccio.
After lunch we went inside to open some presents and of course have dessert 😉 We made bunting for the mantle with clothesline and used clothes pins to secure the flags spelling out the baby's name. Scattered through the house we also had framed copies of cute girly books.
I repurposed the appetizer table into the dessert table while everyone was outside. We served Lemon Cake, Individual Strawberry Poundcake Parfaits, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting.
I saw this on Pinterest the other day and just loved it, if I had found it before the party, I probably would have framed it to have on the dessert table:
Here's me with the mothers to be! My oldest friend Jennifer, her pregnant sister Jackie, and my pregnant sister-in-law Kelly! How incredible do they all look?!
And of course we had to take a "PQ" photo. PQ is the nickname of the town I grew up in and we lived on a very special street where a lot of the families were very close. We did everything together! It was such a fun way to grow up! Here's me with my mom, my friends and their moms.
I just love throwing showers! If you feel like you need help with any party planning, I'm always available for consulting, throwing, and skype calls to guide you through your party


text: Description For tea time or party time, Quillaree's shimmering full-skirted lace frock does the trick. Three-quarter sleeves and an above-the-knee hem strike the right balance between elegance and playfulness. Back zip with hook-and-eye closure. Nylon shell; polyester satin lining. Dry clean. Imported. Slip straps can be removed for a strapless look Removable grosgrain ribbon belt fastens with hook closure Exclusive to BHLDN Falls 20.5" from natural waist Style #26657403


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Hey, ladies. Do you have troubles with your man? When you're out on a date, do you catch him peeking at other women? Does he have a bad case of what the poets call "Wandering Penis Syndrome"? Can he simply not keep it in his pants despite your very, very serious and earnest monogamous commitment? Well, first of all, it sounds like you have a really healthy relationship there that is totally worth saving at all cost. And secondly, don't even worry about it! Science has figured out how to keep your man faithful, and all it takes are four simple words: "BREATHE INTO THIS RAG."
A new study has uncovered some surprising effects of the hormone oxytocin (you know, that stupid orgasm chemical that gives you love feelings) on monogamous heterosexual men. When dosed with a nasal spray of oxytocin and then introduced to a sexy laday, the monogamous men were all, "Ugh, GAH-ROOOOOSSSS" and then pushed her into the garbage. Or something kind of.
A study published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience has uncovered a surprising new property of oxytocin, finding that when men in monogamous relationships got a sniff of the stuff, they subsequently put a little extra space between themselves and an attractive woman they'd just met.
Oxytocin didn't have the same effect on single heterosexual men, who comfortably parked themselves between 21 and 24 inches from the comely female stranger. The men who declared themselves in "stable, monogamous" relationships and got a dose of the hormone chose to stand, on average, about 6 1/2 inches farther away.
When researchers conducted the experiment with a placebo, they found no differences in the distance that attached and unattached men maintained from a woman they had just met.
What. Shut it. SHUT IT, SCIENCE. You're saying there's a way to administer a simple chemical supplement to a swollen testostoroni-Tony dongmonster and turn him into a meek, monogamous baby fawn? Well, you know what that means, grasping paranoid lamprey-wives! Just figure out how to get a hefty does of oxytocin into your man's nostril and you'll literally have the happiest problem-free relationship of all time for the rest of your life! It is a foolproof plan. Hakuna matata, bitchez!
But if, for some reason, he doesn't want to breathe into this rag, here are some back-up tips for keeping your man's dick in his pants.
7 Easy Ways to Keep Your Man's Dick in His Pants
1. Seriously, just try the rag thing again. Tell him it's some sort of ab-defining tincture and you read about it in Details. Tell him you heard that Joseph Gordon-Levitt rag-breathes, like, every day, bro.
2. Borg suit. Question. Do you have access to and/or are you the queen of any sort of intergalactic cybernetic hive-mind? Once he's plugged in, it's easy as pie to drip some romance-juice into his cortical node. Resistance is futile.
3. Create a smaller pair of pants just for his dick. Then create a larger pair of pants that engulfs your entire house. Then chain him to the radiator. Loophole! Even if he takes off his pants, he's never getting out of THESE pants! And he won't want to, since you secretly dosed his water dish with rag-drippings. You minx!
4. Cook a chicken.* Men love chicken. Afterwards, wipe his face off sexually with a "napkin." (RAG.)
5. Tell him that there's a dick sniper on the loose and it's TARGETING DICKS. He could be next! Then comfort him with an extended hug. While your hands are caressing his back, stare deeply into his eyes while you inject some oxytocin directly into his cerebrospinal fluid. Jackpot! When this procedure was performed on rats, science found that they got an instant rat boner (boi-oi-oinngggg!!!) and then fell in love with the syringe. In this scenario you are the syringe.
6. Before you have sex, just line your vagina with flypaper and/or a Chinese finger trap. Good prank! Now that you're permanently docked like a couple of horny coal cars, simply breathe really hard in his face until he loves you forever. (Background: Earlier you chewed up the rag and ate it, turning your gastrointestinal tract into a kind of oxytocin gas cannon.)
7. Try building a relationship based on mutual respect, admiration, personality, and various and sundry qualities other than base physical lust. That way, if you go through a dry spell, you might actually fucking like each other as human beings and won't need to resort to chemical warfare and/or witchcraft. Just a thought. Or, you know, do the rag thing.
*Chicken Recipe:
Remove beak.
Place chicken in warm water until white.
Image by Jim Cooke.


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Today's blip: Is Boo Japan's hide-and-seek champion?
A Pomeranian called Boo has been heralded by internet critics as the world's cutest dog and even has his own Facebook page with over 4 million followers. Adding to his resume, he might just be Japan's unofficial hide-and-seek champion (although it is unknown if this is actually Boo or just a look-alike). Regardless, this cute ball of fur is sweeping the web! Can you spot him? (Be sure to click the image to see him in action!)


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In November 1996, New York Times reporter and rock critic Neil Strauss crawled into the hot tub at a Holiday Inn in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with desperate-to-shock rocker Marilyn Manson. Strauss was there to write an article for Rolling Stone, and Manson was ready to take full advantage of the opportunity. "This is going to be an important piece of press," Manson told Strauss.
The resulting cover story did indeed change both men's lives: It marked the apex of Manson's emergence as one of the most notorious musicians of the '90s and an enthusiastic bogeyman for the Right. Strauss, meanwhile, went on to become Manson's business partner and the co-author/mythmaker behind his just-released autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell.
A hot tub sure isn't Robert Johnson's legendary crossroads, and despite his well-crafted image, Manson isn't Satan. But Strauss seems to have sold his soul to the self-proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar." In the last 14 months, the young writer has served as a virtual one-man hype machine for the garish star. Between the first cover story and the publication of the book, he did a follow-up news item for Rolling Stone and wrote 17 pieces mentioning Manson in the New York Times. Seven of those pieces were significant news stories portraying the singer as a crusader for free speech.
Somewhere along the way, Manson and Strauss landed a big-money deal with Regan Books, the new Harper-Collins imprint started by Judith Regan, the woman behind Howard Stern's best-selling Private Parts. The Long Hard Road Out of Hell was excerpted as the cover story in the February 1998 edition of Spin. (The New York Post used portions of the book as well.)
Two sources familiar with the book deal say that Strauss earned an advance of $200,000 for the work, and he presumably has a cut of the royalties for every copy sold. Strauss has refused to grant an interview about his dealings with Manson. In a brief fax, the writer called the $200,000 figure "very inaccurate and grossly overestimated." But he declined to say how much he did earn.
Did Strauss fall prey to a serious conflict of interest, keeping Manson in the headlines of the country's most influential newspaper at the same time that he had a lucrative financial arrangement with the artist? The question is more important than pondering whether the mascaraed Manson really belongs to the church of Satan, or whether he actually had some ribs removed so that he can fellate himself. But it has received much less attention.
"Entertainment writers, just like reporters who cover politics and business, ought to play by a set of ethical rules, and those rules should include not writing about anyone that you have a financial arrangement with," says Howard Kurtz, the media critic at the Washington Post. "This is pretty basic journalism, and the fact that you're covering rock music or baseball or some other far-flung field doesn't exempt you from those minimum nutritional requirements of journalism. To me, it crosses the line when you're actually in business with the person."
A native of Chicago, Strauss moved to Manhattan in the early '90s and started his career by freelancing for publications including the New York Press, Egg and Option. Before long, he became a favorite rock writer at the Village Voice, distinguishing himself as a dogged reporter by breaking stories for the weekly's music-news column, "Rockbeat." That led to a position as a contract writer for the New York Times, working under another Voice graduate, head rock critic Jon Pareles. Strauss became a full-time staffer at the Times about two years ago. In mid '97, the wiry, late-twentysomething writer became the paper's man on the pop beat in Los Angeles, positioned to challenge Los Angeles Times music business reporter Chuck Philips. "Neil's posting to L.A. is to beef up the paper's music business coverage with an L.A. angle," Pareles says.
The work Strauss did for the Times while in New York includes some of the most substantive rock journalism of the last decade. Among his most memorable efforts were a piece that charted how the majority of the tickets at many New York club shows are purchased in advance for press and industry insiders (thus shutting out the paying fans), and numerous stories covering the censorial policies of such chain stores as Wal-Mart and Kmart, which refuse to sell albums that carry parental warning stickers.
Through it all, Strauss has contributed to both Rolling Stone and Spin. He is one of only two or three writers able to move with impunity between the two fierce competitors, and his features command $2 a word and up. In contrast to his relatively sober newspaper stories, his magazine work tends toward glib, attitude-laden stories in which he is a prominent character hanging out with his subjects. He got drunk with Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner. He busted a move on-stage with Beck. Then he met the former Brian Warner of Canton, Ohio.
"For the past two years, [guitarist] Twiggy [Ramirez] and I have listened to Dr. Hook's 'Cover of the Rolling Stone' ritualistically, as if maybe it would actually land us in the magazine," Manson writes in a tour diary included in The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. "Strangely enough, that interview came today. I'm not sure if the writer was gay or not, so I did most of the interview in the hot tub to either confuse or excite him. I think it did both."
Strauss in fact was extremely excited about Manson: "Never has there been a rock star quite as complex as Marilyn Manson," he gushed in the second paragraph of the Stone profile. It's a line that has the same hyperbolic qualities of Jon Landau's infamous "I have seen rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen." Where Landau went on to become Springsteen's manager, Strauss would go on to become Manson's friend and co-author.
First, though, he had to finish the Stone piece. But Strauss was apparently too distracted to do the same kind of reporting that would have been expected of him at the Times. Midway through the article, he describes a Manson concert that he attended.
"The cops have one door barred and are videotaping the entire show, hoping for enough nudity or obscenity to justify an arrest," he writes. "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened to Manson. The last time he performed in St. Petersburg, Florida, he was arrested for indecently exposing himself on-stage. Before the police threw him in jail, they ridiculed him, warning him to remove his lip ring because somebody might tear it out while beating him up."
Tim Roche and Eric Deggans, two diligent reporters at the St. Petersburg Times, read the Rolling Stone story and followed it up. They discovered that Manson was never arrested in St. Petersburg. What's more, the pair reported that "police had planned to take a video camera to the concerts Nov. 13 and 14, but before the show started, the officers were called away to respond to disturbances [elsewhere] in the city."
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell changes the city of arrest to Jacksonville, Florida, and a police spokesman for the city confirms that Manson was busted there in 1994. Nonetheless, the book carries a disclaimer: "To protect the innocent, many of the names and identifying features of individuals in this book have been changed and several characters are composites." Strauss never steps forward in the book to clarify this blurred line between hard reality and embellishment. That may not be expected of a hired co-author, but a reporter is bound to investigate and confirm actual facts. And the line between co-writer and reporter is clouded by the book's jacket, which prominently mentions Strauss's employment at Rolling Stone and the New York Times. Manson, for his part, invokes the names of these journalistic institutions to lend credibility to his version of his life story.
Strauss is happy with the results. "I had the option to take my name off it if I wasn't happy with the way it came out, and it ended up so much better than I could have hoped, as suspenseful and well-structured as a novel," he wrote on the "Ask Neil Strauss" message board of the New York Times Online. The book is credited to "Marilyn Manson with Neil Strauss."
In a sidebar interview accompanying the recent Spin excerpt and cover story, Manson (who declined to be interviewed for this story) gives more details about the pair's working relationship. "[The book] was mostly dictated," the singer says. "I would tell Neil Strauss stories, because I don't have the patience or skill to write them down myself. I'm sure in a month or so I'll deny things I've said and attribute them to drug use or coercion by Neil."
In fact, it wasn't long before Manson was denying things. On a subsequent edition of MTV News, the rocker furiously claimed that Spin had fabricated quotes in the seemingly innocuous sidebar, which was just a small part of eight pages of free publicity for his book. "These are not the questions I was asked, and not the answers I would give to those particular questions," Manson railed. A Spin spokesman says the magazine stands behind its story and has tapes of Manson saying exactly what was quoted.
The incident illustrates the extent to which Manson -- a onetime rock writer who interviewed the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Debbie Harry and Nine Inch Nails, among others -- is a control freak who wants to call the shots when it comes to what is printed about him. And it calls into question how much Strauss had to tailor what he wrote to please his subject. Which, again, the co-author has every right to do. Provided he doesn't continue covering Manson as a reporter.
The Washington Post's Kurtz points out that a newspaper business reporter who profited from an autobiography of Bill Gates would probably not be allowed to continue covering Microsoft, and a political writer who collaborated on a book with Newt Gingrich would probably be pulled off the Gingrich beat to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. Pareles seems to generally agree: "Neil is now disqualified forever from writing any critical endorsements of Manson," he says.
But the senior critic has no problem with Strauss writing further news stories about Manson. Pareles notes that Times TV critic Bill Carter wrote a successful book about Jay Leno and David Letterman called The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for Late Night, and Carter continues to cover the talk-show hosts.
That comparison doesn't wash, though. Carter's book was an independent work of reporting, and he was not involved in a financial relationship with his subjects. Strauss's role in Road was essentially editing and rewriting Manson's anecdotes with more compelling language. In doing so -- and in joining with Manson as co-author (and co-benefactor) -- he abdicates all objectivity about his subject. Given such, it would seem that news stories should be doubly off-limits for Strauss, since they ostensibly require a reporter's neutrality on his topic.
But Strauss has continued to write about Manson in the New York Times since receiving his book contract. Exactly how many times he has done so depends on whose version of the contract's timetable you believe. Attempts to get Strauss's side of the story were mostly unsuccessful. When an interview with him was first requested through Regan Books, the publicist said that he "doesn't want to be a spokesman for Marilyn Manson," but that he could be reached at the New York Times's L.A. bureau for questions about his role as co-author. Strauss called back the next day, sounding frantic. "Have you called my publicist?" he asked. Yes. Do you want to do the interview now? "No, I have to call my publicist, then I'll call you right back," he said. He never did.
The publicist later requested that the questions be sent via fax so she could forward them to Strauss. Two pages of detailed queries about Strauss's role as Manson's co-author were sent; a two-paragraph fax was the response.
"As for your conflict of interest accusations, the book was first mentioned to me in August, 1997, and a contract was first presented to me in October," Strauss wrote. "In the time since August, I haven't written any articles, reviews or otherwise on Marilyn Manson in any publication whatsoever. Regarding any other pieces written for the New York Times that touched on or involved Manson, upon submitting each story I reminded my editors about the book, and they checked with their superiors for potential conflict of interest. Every instance was approved."
A source familiar with the book deal contradicts Strauss, saying that it was in the works as early as March 1997. That date appears more realistic: Strauss took several weeks off from the Times in August and went on the road with Manson to do interviews for the book (according to transcripts in Road, he had already made seven tapes by August 9), so it's likely that there were discussions about him being co-author well before then.
But even by Strauss's own chronology, he wrote two significant Manson-related news stories for the Times well after he signed the book contract. A November 17 "Pop Life" column addressed Senator Sam Brownback's hearings into rock lyrics, focusing on testimony from a father who blamed his son's suicide on Manson's music. The father wasn't quoted, but Manson was. "I think it's bad that they exploit parents who say that their kids have been injured because of music," Manson said in the piece. "That's far more despicable than anything I could do." And in a December 1 news story (headlined "R-Rated Rock Concerts? Marilyn Manson and Mom?") Strauss reported that "in an attempt to save their businesses from complaining parents, restrictive legislation and increased police scrutiny, concert hall operators are considering a rating system for performances similar to those used for movies, television shows and recordings." He went on to write that this "consideration" stemmed from reaction to Manson's last tour.
In the weeks since the piece ran, no one has taken concrete steps to institute a rating system, and major players in the industry do not believe it will ever happen. The legislation is essentially a pipe dream of two conservative state representatives, one from Michigan and one from South Carolina. But because the story ran in the venerable New York Times, it (and thus Manson's involvement) was given considerable weight, with Rolling Stone and daily newspapers across the country following up on it. Pareles says that the Times has tough standards for avoiding conflict of interest, and that Strauss always met them.
"Basically, Neil did pretty much everything by the book," the senior critic says. "He didn't do anything endorsing Manson, really. He wrote about Manson in news stories because Manson was a newsmaker.
"Whenever Neil covered Manson, he asked [the paper] not to put a picture in, which would sort of pop Manson out of the story as the most important part," he adds. "The concert ratings story did have a Manson picture, but he asked them not to, and they overruled him."
All of which continues to bolster Manson's controversial public image -- which, in turn, bolsters the appeal of his autobiography. Pareles confesses that he hasn't read the Strauss/Manson book. It's unlikely that higher-ranking editors at the Old Gray Lady have read it either, but it would be interesting to hear what they think of the behavior that Strauss chronicles, including sexual escapades that can be politely described as psychopathic.
The centerpiece of Road is, appropriately enough, Chapter 13, which is titled "Meating the Fans / Meat and Greet." Strauss presents it as a straight Q&A with Manson, who brags at length about an incident in a Miami recording studio involving a deaf groupie named Alyssa (a pseudonym that's close to her real name, according to a source who knows her). The girl likes metal because she can feel the vibrations of the music, and she is thrilled to be invited into Manson's lair. Once there, she is stripped to her boots, covered in raw meat, sodomized by guitarist Twiggy Ramirez and keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy, whose penises are scotch-taped together, engaged in fornication by the two men, urinated on by Manson and Twiggy, again penetrated, this time by guitarist Daisy Berkowitz, and finally assaulted with a dead salmon in a modern analogue to the infamous shark incident in the Led Zeppelin biography The Hammer of the Gods.
As Manson relates this story, Strauss interjects statements such as "That's good; so go on," and "Hold on; how did he separate himself from Twiggy?"
A reporter might have balanced Manson's account with the girl's side of the story. A cultural critic might have ventured an opinion about what such behavior means, or challenged Manson on whether or not this behavior was really as consensual as he says it was. Strauss does neither. For his part, Manson is extremely savvy about the way the press works, and he knows that controversy sells. In his book, he describes his band as a "science project" designed to "see if a white band that wasn't rap could get away with acts far more offensive and illicit than 2 Live Crew's dirty rhymes." By any standard, he has succeeded wildly. In the midst of a six-city book tour to hype Road, Manson told the Chicago Tribune that he'd be disappointed if government and religious officials stopped attacking him.
"I wouldn't know what to do with myself while on tour," he said. "I'd have to start playing checkers. I expect my next tour to be just as bad as the last one, though I think people are going to have to find something new to hate eventually."
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Strauss has reportedly been hanging out with Manson around L.A. quite a bit in recent months, and a longtime friend has heard him boast of the amount of "primo pussy" that he's been getting. He attended Manson's New York book signing two weeks ago and told Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto that "I definitely got a lot more than I expected [from the experience of writing the book]. I probably realized this in Marilyn's hotel one morning at 4 a.m. wearing a blonde wig and staring at a bottle of wine, two unidentifiable blue pills, and a nosehair trimmer."
Along with many other questions, Strauss declined to answer queries for this story about his personal relationship with Manson. "As for anything else that occurred during the making of the autobiography, I'll leave it up to your very active imagination," he wrote in his brief faxed response.
If Strauss's mission on the West Coast is to challenge Philips of the L.A. Times, he has so far fallen short. The L.A. paper published one of the most explosive music news stories of the year on February 22, the result of a month-long investigation by Philips (who refuses even free albums and concert tickets) and Times staffer Michael Hiltzik. Just days before the Grammys, the story detailed charges that the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Santa Monica organization that sponsors the awards, has given only 10 percent of the charity money it has raised to the intended recipients, while organization president Mike Greene has been earning $757,000 annually and pushing the major labels to release his own solo album.
As of last Sunday, Strauss had yet to write a follow-up report on the NARAS controversy in the New York Times. The weekend that the L.A. paper ran its expose, he was in Hawaii covering a Pearl Jam concert for Rolling Stone. But even though they got scooped, Strauss's editors at the New York Times could at least find some consolation within their own pages: The Long Hard Road to Hell debuted at number 12 on the paper's bestseller list, and has since been steadily climbing.