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Smoking is a known risk factor for snoring, and is reported to be associated with an increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). The purpose of this was to determine the relationship of smoking to the severity of OSAS and examine what local histological changes in the uvular mucosa of OSAS patients might influence this relationship.
Fifty-seven OSAS subjects were included and classified according to smoking history and OSAS severity. Twenty-eight subjects were heavy smokers and 29 were nonsmokers; these 57 patients were divided according to moderate or severe OSAS. Histologic changes in the uvular mucosa were evaluated in all subjects as well as smoking duration and OSAS severity.
Among smokers, moderate-to-severe OSAS was more common, and apnea, hypopnea, and oxygen desaturation indices were higher. Moreover, smoking duration and OSAS severity were significantly correlated. Increased thickness and edema of the uvular mucosa lamina propria were observed in moderate and severe OSAS patients, and only smokers had significant changes in uvular mucosa histology. Positive staining for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuroinflammatory marker for peripheral nerves, was increased in the uvular mucosa of smokers.
Our results suggest that smoking may worsen OSAS through exacerbation of upper airway collapse at the level of the uvula, and that histological changes of the uvular mucosa correlated with smoking might be due to increased CGRP-related neurogenic inflammation.
Kim KS; Kim JH; Park SY; Won HR; Lee HJ; Yang HS; Kim HJ. Smoking induces oropharyngeal narrowing and increases the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(4):367-374.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a complex, chronic disorder characterized by snoring, periodic apnea, hypoxemia during sleep, and daytime hypersomnolence.1 Its prevalence is 16% to 33% in men and 8% to 19% in women.2,3 OSAS has been shown to increase the risk of hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.4–6 In addition, clinical studies have reported that OSAS increases morbidity from crashes caused by daytime somnolence, and have focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of OSAS.2
Obesity, male sex, older age, alcohol use, genetic factors, and a narrowed upper airway are well-known risk factors for OSAS, and smoking may be a risk factor for sleep apnea or snoring.3,7–9 Epidemiologic studies have confirmed the influence of smoking on OSAS and found that the morbidity of sleep related respiratory disorders is increased in smokers, depending on their smoking history, and that habitual smoking appears to be associated with OSAS.7–10 The correlation between smoking and OSAS has not been studied in detail. In particular, the direct influence of smoking on OSAS and the correlation between the amount of cigarette smoking and the severity of OSAS have not been adequately demonstrated.
OSAS is characterized by repetitive upper airway collapse during sleep. Narrowing of the upper airway can be accompanied by breathing difficulty during sleep and is a predisposing anatomic factor for OSAS.11–13 Pathological conditions such as a redundant or long uvula and enlarged tonsils are thought to be the predominant causes of upper airway collapse during sleep and are indications for surgery to decrease snoring, apnea, and snoring-related cardinal symptoms. The upper airway mucosa can be easily affected by smoking, and longer exposure to smoking may cause abnormal histological changes to the upper airway mucosa. Therefore, evaluation of the uvular changes after exposure to smoking is important for understanding how smoking directly affects the uvular mucosa.
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: The fact that the morbidity of sleep-related respiratory disorders is increased in smokers has been confirmed through epidemiologic studies. However the direct influence of smoking on OSAS at upper airway has not been adequately demonstrated.
Study Impact: We propose that longer exposure to smoking results in a higher prevalence of moderate or severe OSAS and cessation of smoking may be required to prevent upper airway narrowing that worsen OSAS.
This study was designed to determine the relationship between smoking and OSAS. We reviewed the sleep studies of smokers and nonsmokers who were diagnosed with OSAS to examine the relationship of smoking to OSAS, especially the severity of OSAS. To better understand the influence of smoking on OSAS severity, we obtained uvular mucosa from OSAS subjects during snoring surgery and investigated smoking-induced histological changes in the upper airway mucosa resulting in narrowing of the upper airway.
This study included 122 patients referred to the Sleep Disorder Clinic in the Department of Otolaryngology and Head – Neck Surgery of Chung-Ang University College of Medicine (Seoul, Korea) between March 2005 and February 2008 with a diagnosis of OSAS due to a narrowed oropharynx, who underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP). All patients gave their informed consent to participate. Surgical samples for histologic study were obtained from all patients who met the criteria for UPPP, the diagnosis of OSAS was established by overnight respisomnography, and a narrowed oropharynx was confirmed via the Müuller maneuver using a flexible endoscope and lateral cephalometric roentgenogram. The records of 57 male patients with a clear smoking history and a normal anatomical cephalometric index except for a narrowed oropharynx were reviewed retrospectively, and the histological reports of their uvular specimens after UPPP were examined. Thirty-five patients treated with continuous positive airway pressure, 29 patients with hypertension, diabetes, or atherosclerotic vascular disease, and 11 patients who had an unclear smoking history were excluded.
Before UPPP, all patients underwent a pulmonary function test using forced spirometry. No patients had chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma or COPD. Patients with an active smoking history > 2 years before undergoing UPPP were considered current smokers, and patients with no smoking history were nonsmokers. Smoking history was quantified in number of pack years (PYs) as (packs smoked per day) × (years as a smoker), defined as 20 cigarettes smoked every day for one year. Smokers were divided into 2 groups: > 10 PY and ≤ 10 PY.
All patients were examined prior to surgery by respisomnography ≥ 6 h using an Embletta PDS (Embla System, Reykjavik, Iceland) consisting of a pressure transducer system (pressure cannula), a thermistor sensor for oral and nasal airflow, a piezoelectric belt for thoracic and abdominal impedance, and a pulse oximeter (finger flex sensor) for O2 saturation and pulse. Sensors were attached in the evening and recording was initiated immediately. Respisomnographic recordings were analyzed using Somnoligica Studio (PSG software; Embla Systems, Bloomfield, CO, USA).
Based on the respisomnographic results, apnea was defined as complete cessation of airflow ≥ 10 s, and hypopnea was defined as a reduction in airflow associated with ≥ 4% drop in O2 saturation. Subjects with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 were considered to have OSAS, and OSAS severity was classified as mild (5 ≤ AHI < 15), moderate (15 ≤ AHI < 30), or severe (AHI ≥ 30). The oxygen desaturation index (ODI) measuring the number of oxygen desaturations ≥ 3% per sleeping hour was determined. Body mass index (BMI) and ODI were measured for each group in order to analyze the relationship between these variables and OSAS severity.14,15
Surgical specimens were obtained from the uvulas of the 57 patients who underwent UPPP and fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde. Histological studies were performed using morphometric and qualitative methods. One pathologist measured each factor within one window of a light microscope and read, interpreted, and classified the histological findings.
1. Morphometric study
We measured the following 6 factors with a light microscope (×100): (1) thickness of the epithelium, (2) thickness of the lamina propria, (3) degree of vascular dilation (0, no vascular dilatation; 1, mild dilatation; 2, moderate dilation; 3, severe dilatation), (4) degree of fibrosis (0, no fibrosis; 1, mild fibrosis; 2, moderate fibrosis; 3, severe fibrosis), (5) amount of inflammatory cell infiltration, and (6) degree of submucosal gland proliferation. The number of submucosal glands was counted under a light microscope and graded according to the following scale: 1, number of submucosal glands < 3; 2, number of submucosal glands 3-10; 3, number of submucosal glands 11-30; and 4, number of submucosal glands > 30.
2. Qualitative Study
We noted the following histological findings in specimens under the light microscope (×100): hyperkeratosis, acanthosis in the epithelium, edema, vascular congestion in the lamina propria, hyperplasia in the submucosal glands, and atrophy of muscle tissues.
3. Immunohistochemistry
Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using the neuroendocrinological markers protein gene product (PGP) 9.5, substance P (SP), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), to determine the expression of peripheral sensory nerves in patient uvulas or soft palates. The monoclonal antibodies used were PGP 9.5 (1:50; DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark), SP (1:100; Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), and CGRP (1:200; Chemicon International, Inc., Billerica, MA, USA).
Briefly, 5-μm sections were fixed in acetone for 10 min at room temperature (RT). Nonspecific protein staining was blocked with goat serum. Slides were treated with 0.5% hydrogen peroxidase to eliminate endogenous peroxidase for 10 min at RT and incubated with primary antibody overnight at RT. After washing with Tris-buffered saline (TBS, pH 7.5), slides were incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody (Thermo, Asheville, NC, USA) for 30 min at RT. Chromogen (3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole) was applied to the specimens, followed by Mayer's hematoxylin for counterstaining.
ANOVA, independent sample t-tests, and Fisher exact test were used to assess the association between patient factors and respisomnography results. Statistical correlations were calculated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 12.0) and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
We recruited 57 men who fulfilled the inclusion criteria: 28 with a smoking history and 29 nonsmokers. The mean age was 40.1 years (17-72 years). We classified the smokers into 2 groups on the basis of a 10-PY smoking history, with 12 in the ≤ 10 PY group and 16 in the > 10 PY group. The ages of smokers and nonsmokers were not significantly different, but patients with a > 10 PY smoking history were older than patients with a ≤ 10 PY smoking history (Table 1).
Mean age and BMI according to smoking history and exposure to smoke
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We classified OSAS severity as mild, moderate, or severe based on respisomnography results. The mild group had 11 patients (19.3%), the moderate group had 26 (45.6%), and the severe group had 20 (35.1%). Significant differences were not noted in mean age or BMI according to OSAS severity, contrary to AHI and ODI (Table 2).
Mean age, BMI, and AHI of patients by severity of OSAS
The classification of patients according to smoking history or PY was independent of influences of other OSAS risk factors such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, male sex, and history of chronic medication use. It has been known that old age may be one of the risk factors of OSAS and the age of smokers in the > 10 PY and ≤ 10 PY groups was significantly different in our data. However, no difference of mean age was observed according to severity of OSAS and smoking history (smokers vs nonsmokers). We found that nonsmokers had relatively less severe OSAS than with smokers, even though mean age of nonsmokers was higher than that of smokers (Table 1). Therefore, the influence of age on OSAS severity would be excluded in our study and increased severity of OSAS in smokers with > 10 PY might be due to longer exposure to smoke.
Next, we investigated the relationship between smoking history and OSAS severity. For nonsmokers, the number of subjects in each OSAS severity group was evenly distributed. In contrast, more smokers were in the moderate (50%) and severe OSAS groups (43%) than in the mild OSAS group (7%), and the difference was significant (Table 3). Thus, smoking negatively affected patients, resulting in increased OSAS severity.
Results of the statistical analysis of smoking history and severity of OSAS, AHI, and ODI
For patients with a > 10 PY smoking history, we observed an equal prevalence (50% each) of moderate and severe OSAS, and there were no patients with mild OSAS. The rate of moderate or severe OSAS in smokers with a > 10 PY smoking history was higher than in smokers with a ≤ 10 PY smoking history (Table 3). We also found that OSAS severity according to AHI was higher in smokers, especially those who had a longer period of exposure to smoking (Table 3).
Unlike the AHI, the ODI was not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers. However, it was significantly higher in smokers with a > 10 PY smoking history compared to nonsmokers and smokers with a ≤ 10 PY smoking history (Table 3).
We examined the histological findings of the uvular mucosa and OSAS severity in nonsmokers and smokers to assess the effect of smoking on upper airway narrowing. First, we evaluated the histological findings of the uvular mucosa by morphometric analysis and compared our findings with OSAS severity, irrespective of smoking history. We found that the lamina propria was significantly thicker in the uvular mucosa with increased OSAS severity (Table 4A, Figure 1). No significant differences were observed in terms of thickness of the epithelium, degree of vascular dilation, degree of fibrosis, amount of inflammatory cell infiltration, or degree of proliferation of the submucosal glands (Table 4A). The lamina propria of the uvula was thicker in smokers than nonsmokers, and there was a significant correlation between the thickness of the lamina propria and OSAS severity in smokers (Table 4B, Figure 2).
Histologic changes in the uvula mucosa according to the severity of OSAS in nonsmokers and smokers (morphometric study)
The thickness of the lamina propria increased in the uvula mucosa of moderate and severe OSAS patients. (A) mild OSAS, (B) moderate OSAS, (C) severe OSAS (H – E, × 40).
Histological changes in the lamina propria of the uvula mucosa in OSAS patients according to OSAS severityThe thickness of the lamina propria increased in the uvula mucosa of moderate and severe OSAS patients. (A) mild OSAS, (B) moderate OSAS, (C) severe OSAS (H – E, × 40).
Lamina propria thickness increased with longer smoking duration. The most severe thickening of the lamina propria was observed in the upper airway mucosa of smokers with a history of over 10 PY. (A) Nonsmoker, (B) < 10 pack years, (C) > 10 pack years (H – E, × 40).
Histological changes in the lamina propria of the upper airway mucosa in OSAS patients according to smoking historyLamina propria thickness increased with longer smoking duration. The most severe thickening of the lamina propria was observed in the upper airway mucosa of smokers with a history of over 10 PY. (A)...
Second, we carried out a qualitative investigation of the histological findings of the uvular mucosa. We classified findings according to OSAS severity and analyzed the correlation with smoking history. We found that edema of the lamina propria was increased in moderate and severe OSAS patients (Table 5A), while findings of hyperkeratosis or acanthosis of the epithelium, vascular congestion in the lamina propria, hyperplasia of the submucosal glands, and atrophy of the muscle tissue were not observed in the uvular mucosa of OSAS patients (Table 5A). Edema of the lamina propria was observed in the uvular mucosa of 14 smokers (n = 28, 50%) and was more definitive than the mucosal edema of nonsmokers (n = 29, 27%). In addition, the proportion of smokers with edematous lamina propria in the uvular mucosa was increased significantly according to OSAS severity, but the difference was minimal in nonsmokers (Table 5B).
Histologic changes in the upper airway according to OSAS severity in smokers and nonsmokers (qualitative study)
Finally, we sought to determine why smoking results in a thicker and more edematous lamina propria in smokers. Stimulation through afferent peripheral nerves is reported to cause neuroendocrinological inflammatory changes, resulting in edema and vascular dilation in the tissue mucosa. CGRP, SP, and PGP 9.5 are proteins secreted from afferent peripheral nerves that are used as histological markers for the detection of afferent nerves. We examined the expression of these proteins in the uvular mucosa of smokers to determine the cause of increased edema and thickening of the lamina propria.
Immunohistochemistry revealed increased positive staining for CGRP in the uvular mucosa of smokers, and no significant differences were observed between smokers and nonsmokers in staining for SP or PGP 9.5 (Figure 3). We observed that expression of CGRP was significantly higher in the uvular mucosa of patients with a > 10 PY smoking history (Table 6). In nonsmokers, the mean value of CGRP expression was 0.52 ± 0.27 and significantly lower compared with smokers' CGRP expression (1.94 ± 0.95, p = 0.003).
Immunohistochemical staining for CGRP, PGP 9.5, and SP by smoking history
The results of immunohistochemistry for afferent peripheral nerves in the uvula mucosa according to smoking history
In this study, we found that moderate and severe OSAS were more prevalent in smokers, and that smoking might induce narrowing of the upper airway through an increase in edema and thickness in the uvular mucosa. The severity of OSAS and the narrowing of the upper airway were particularly increased in smokers with a > 10 PY history of smoking.
Although proving an independent effect of smoking on snoring is difficult, some studies have recognized that smoking might have an effect on sleep related disorders.8–10,14 Previous epidemiologic studies have suggested that smoking may be an independent risk factor for habitual snoring,7–9,10,14 and that snoring frequency increases with the number of cigarettes smoked or the duration of exposure to smoking.15–22 However, most studies compared patients' smoking history with OSAS prevalence or snoring-related diseases, and the relationship between smoking exposure and OSAS severity was not rigorously investigated or fully understood.
In this study, we attempted to verify the correlation between smoking and the severity of OSAS using medical records and patient specimens. We used consistent criteria to recruit patients in order to exclude the effects of other risk factors and to investigate the influence of smoking on OSAS. We excluded patients with systemic risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular or neurovascular diseases either currently or in the past. Age and BMI did not differ between smokers and nonsmokers; only male subjects were included to examine the influence of smoking more objectively.
We found that OSAS patients who were smokers had a higher AHI and ODI, and this increased with a longer smoking history, especially for smokers exposed to > 10 PY compared to nonsmokers. We determined that smoking increased the incidence of apnea and hypopnea and decreased oxygen desaturation during sleep in OSAS patients, and that longer exposure to smoking was a high-risk factor for severe OSAS.
Narrowing at the level of the oropharynx or palate is reportedly one of the most common predisposing factors for snoring and palatal surgeries, such as UPPP, uvuloplasty, and transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty, which are popular modalities for correcting upper airway narrowing, resulting in decreased snoring at the level of the oropharynx.23,24 Anatomical variation has been less frequently reported at the uvula than at other oropharyngeal tissues25; redundant uvular mucosa directly induces upper airway narrowing independent of other systemic factors such as hypertension, obesity, and neurovascular diseases. We suggest that the uvular mucosa is the most suitable tissue of the oropharynx for comparing histological changes in OSAS subjects and for examining the local influence of smoking on upper airway narrowing and OSAS severity.
We found that increased thickness and edema of the lamina propria in OSAS subjects' uvular mucosa were predominant if OSAS subjects were smokers and that the histologic changes in the uvular mucosa were intensified according to OSAS severity. These histological changes were consistent with the findings of previous studies.25,26 In our limited study, we did not obtain uvular mucosa from nonsmoking healthy volunteers without snoring history and did not compare histologic changes in the uvular mucosa among healthy volunteers, nonsmoking OSAS patients, and smoking OSAS patients. However, the changes were more definitive in smokers with OSAS, and when the uvular mucosa was exposed to smoke for a long period of time, it was thicker, with a more edematous lamina propria. We examined only the local influence of smoking on airway narrowing or collapse. The severity of OSAS results from a cascade of multiple physiological processes interacting with features such as muscle tone, craniofacial structures, anatomical variations, mucosal edema of the airway, and total lung function. Although it was difficult to analyze the systemic effect of smoking using patients' clinical data, the patients included in this study were diagnosed with OSAS through radiographic methods, a pulmonary function test, flexible endoscopy, or respisomnography; and patients who had normal lung function and normal cephalometric structure, except redundant oropharyngeal mucosa, were recruited irrespective of smoking status in order to exclude the systemic effect of smoking. Therefore, we suggest that smoking may result in thickening and edematous changes of the uvular mucosa, thus leading to increased OSAS severity through upper airway narrowing.
We also investigated how smoking might induce histological changes of the uvular mucosa in OSAS patients. Mucosal edema is closely related to mucosal inflammation, and tobacco fumes may be involved in the induction of neuroendocrinologic inflammation.27,28 The afferent peripheral nerves in the airway mucosa respond to stimulation by fumes by secreting tachykinin, CGRP, and SP, which are required for neuroendocrinological inflammation.29–31 We found that CGRP-positive staining was substantially more prevalent in the uvular mucosa of smokers compared to PGP 9.5 and SP staining. In particular, CGRP staining was increased in the uvular mucosa of patients exposed to smoking for > 10 PY. CGRP-positive afferent peripheral nerves stimulate local vascular dilation, smooth muscle strength, and gland secretion; they also induce mucosal inflammation and edema.27,32–34 We determined that CGRP expression might be more specifically stimulated by smoke, and smoking may stimulate the secretion of CGRP from afferent nerves in the uvular mucosa, thereby increasing edema or thickness of the lamina propria in the uvulas of OSAS patients. In this study, we did not determine whether cessation of smoking can lead to the reversal or recovery of the histological changes seen in the uvular mucosa, and this remains unknown. Smoking is thought to lead to an increased risk of COPD, and patients with both COPD and OSAS suffer from more frequent episodes of oxygen desaturation and more total sleep time with hypoxemia and hypercapnia than OSAS patients without COPD.35 Therefore, we propose that smoking is an independent risk factor for OSAS subjects and that cessation of smoking may be required to prevent upper airway narrowing and systemic lung diseases that worsen OSAS.
In conclusion, we strongly suggest that smoking changes the uvular mucosa of OSAS subjects to become more thickened or edematous through CGRP-induced neurogenic inflammation, resulting in upper airway narrowing. Our findings suggest that longer exposure to smoking results in a higher prevalence of moderate or severe OSAS.
This was not an industry supported study. The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
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Maps and Fantasy
The first book review I ever published was in the fanzine Niekas when I was in my mid-teens, a review of L.E. Modesitt's The Magic of Recluce, a glowing review that, if I remember correctly, made only one criticism: that the book didn't have a map. I was not a regular reader of fantasy novels at the time (I was a science fiction snob; I read Recluce because I knew the writer and he'd assured me it was a rational, scientific fantasy novel, a fantasy novel written by a science fiction writer), but I was a regular player of role-playing games, and I liked RPGs as much because of their detailed maps and books of rules and information as for the imaginative play, which was usually a let-down compared to what I could create in my head from the raw material.
At Readercon this weekend, China Mieville said, in his guest of honor interview, that one of the things he notices in both the audience for his work and in himself is a tension between a desire for otherworldly mystery and a desire for detail, detail, detail. He noted RPGs as an expression of this tension, a sublimation of geekiness within the rules and tables and worldbooks of the game that was often at odds with the fantastic potential of the material, and sometimes of the source material itself -- he noted that the game of Call of Cthulhu seemed to utterly miss Lovecraft's point: Cthulhu goes from being a creature so great and terrible that it can't possibly be described or comprehended to being a creature with 100 hit points. (I may be mangling China's argument, since it's based on memory, so please blame me if you disagree, not him.)
This tension between the desire for that-which-is-so-amazing-it's-incomprehensible and that-which-can-be-quantified is one most of us who are readers of SF probably share to some extent or another, and it can be a productive tension, perhaps even one of the foundational tensions in fantastic literature, the tension that propels much good fantasy writing into a realm that borrows from traditions of allegory, surrealism, and slice-of-life realism but doesn't comfortably fit into any one camp, and, at its best, is therefore richer than each.
M. John Harrison has said of his Viriconium series:
"What would it be really like to live in the world of...?" is an inappropriate question, a category error. You understand this immediately you ask it of the inscape of, say, Samuel Beckett or Wyndham Lewis. I didn't want it asked (and I certainly didn't want it answered) of Viriconium, so I made that world increasingly shifting and complex. You can not learn its rules. More importantly, Viriconium is never the same place twice. That is because -- like Middle-Earth -- it is not a place. It is an attempt to animate the bill of goods on offer. Those goods, as in Tolkien or Moorcock, Disney or Kafka, Le Guin or Wolfe, are ideological. "Viriconium" is a theory about the power-structures culture is designed to hide; an allegory of language, how it can only fail; the statement of a philosophical (not to say ethological) despair. At the same time it is an unashamed postmodern fiction of the heart, out of which all the values we yearn for most have been swept precisely so that we will try to put them back again (and, in that attempt, look at them afresh).I assume Harrison's sort of fantasy is of the kind that Johan Jönsson says "a map would be totally uncalled for", but it's hard to tell, because he barely explains how and why maps are called for or uncalled for. Apparently, only quest fantasies with multiple volumes call for maps, but why is this? Crime and Punishment doesn't need a map? Then why do some editions come with one?
Maps possess an air of objectivity, and a good map can of course be extremely useful, but they are entirely subjective and in many ways fictitious. In Maps of the Imagination, Peter Turchi notes that a map "fires the imagination" through "the balance of detail and blankness, suggestion and opportunity". A map is a selection, a fantastic creation where landscape is simplified and arranged and colorized. A map is an expression of choice, imagination, and ideology as much as a story is. I wonder if there are fantasy novels that make this a part of their structure -- it would be fascinating to read, for instance, a new Viriconium novel that included maps as part of its structure of subversion. That we accept the maps in standard fantasy trilogies as accurate says as much about our expectations from those works as does the presence of the maps themselves.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Increase your folic acid intake
Studies show that the earlier you start taking folic acid, and ideally, you'll have taken it for the three months leading up to conception, the lower the chances that your baby will develop neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
Folic acid is found in leafy green vegetables and whole grains, but many mums-to-be take an additional prenatal supplement of folic acid to ensure they are meeting their daily requirement at this time. Choose a prenatal supplement with 400 to 600 mcg (micrograms) of folic acid to be sure you're getting your fill.
Ditch the junk food
Refined sugars and grains and saturated fats are what makes most junk food so appealing. Which is fine in small amounts most of the time but when you're preparing your body for conception, it's best to stay away from these empty calories that only undo your best efforts at eating well.
Eat the right stuff
Increase all the good things that your body needs to be healthy: leafy greens, delicious fruit, whole grains and low-fat dairy. Make sure you include foods rich in protein, calcium and iron each day. Good dietary sources of iron include lean red meat, pork, poultry, fish, wholemeal bread, cereals, legumes and green, leafy vegetables. If you are a vegetarian, consider taking an additional iron supplement at this time.
Be honest about your eating habits
When considering your pre-pregnancy diet, it's best to take an honest look at the way you eat now. While no-one is suffering (except you!) if you skip meals, eat junk food, or binge eat right now, once you do conceive you will have someone else to consider - someone who is physically reliant on you treating your body well at all time.
While it can be challenging to undo the habits of a lifetime, it is better to tackle them now than later when your bad eating habits may pose a health risk to both you and your baby.
Sources include the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide.


text:
Nelson, Dunlap join former rivals to boost Bengals
Playing in Jacksonville on Sunday brought back memories for Bengals teammates Reggie Nelson and Carlos Dunlap. However, those recollections are a little different for the former Gators. While Nelson couldn't help but reminisce on his three years as a Jaguar, Dunlap couldn't help but recall one particular game as a freshman at UF in 2007. That's because two of Dunlap's current teammates won't let him forget. Receiver A.J. Green and defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who was on the Georgia team… Read More »


text:
Budget $30-250 CAD
IT who can make the installation of Microtik
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text:
«Thanks to e-LICO and the KUPKB I can now do a job that used to take me two weeks in less than two minutes!»
The goal of the e-LICO project is to build a virtual laboratory for interdisciplinary collaborative research in data mining and data-intensive sciences. The e-lab comprises three layers: the e-science and data mining layers form a generic research environment that can be adapted to different scientific domains by customizing the application layer. e-LICO uses both Taverna and RapidAnalytics/RapidMiner to design and enact data analysis workflows. It provides a variety of general-purpose and application-specific services and a broad toolkit to assist the user in designing such workflows.


text:
Anaheim Ducks hold off Kings 2-1 after late LA goal disallowed in testy rivalry gameNHL.com @NHLdotcom
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Patrick Maroon scored the go-ahead goal, Frederik Andersen made 37 saves, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Saturday night for their third straight win in the Freeway Faceoff rivalry.
Andersen and the Pacific Division leaders barely held off the Kings, who had a 38-20 shots advantage. An apparent tying goal by Anze Kopitar was waved off with 6:23 left because of incidental contact with Andersen, prompting Kings fans to litter the ice with debris.
Tim Jackman scored an early goal for the Ducks, who have won two straight after a four-game skid knocked them from their longtime perch atop the overall NHL standings.
Tyler Toffoli scored a power-play goal and Martin Jones stopped 18 shots for the Kings, whose eight-game winning streak was snapped Thursday by Toronto.
Los Angeles had won each of Anaheim's last five visits to Staples Center since November 2011. The late-game controversy added to the lively rivalry in the Southern California clubs' first meeting since their outdoor game at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25.
Kopitar's shot through traffic hit Andersen's crossbar and apparently rattled in, but the officials immediately waved off any goal, later claiming Andersen had been hit. Replays showed the puck barely crossed the goal line while Marian Gaborik and Anaheim's Jakob Silfverberg were next to Andersen.
Dozens of fans threw drinks, water bottles and concession items on the ice, prompting a short pause in play while employees with snow shovels removed the garbage.
Andersen faced 29 shots in the first two periods during the second straight win for the Ducks, who snapped their skid with a victory at Colorado on Friday night.
The Kings scratched captain Dustin Brown, who played sparingly against Toronto on Thursday after coach Darryl Sutter said Brown's entire line looked tired. The U.S. Olympian missed practice Friday with what Sutter said was an illness.
Jackman put the Ducks ahead late in the first period with his fourth goal of the season, coming out of the corner to score on a slick pass from Mathieu Perreault. The fourth-line grinder has two goals in three games.
The Kings evened it on a power-play goal midway through the second period when Jarret Stoll's shot hit Andersen's pads and went straight to Toffoli for just his second goal in 26 games since Dec. 19.
Los Angeles hadn't scored against Anaheim in more than 148 consecutive minutes, going scoreless against their rivals since Kopitar's first-period goal early in their last meeting at Honda Center, two days before Jonas Hiller's shutout in Chavez Ravine.
Maroon put the Ducks back ahead on the game's next shot just 1:09 later. Sprawling Kings defenceman Jake Muzzin deflected the puck past Jones for Maroon's first goal since Jan. 30.
Anaheim scratched U.S. Olympic defenceman Cam Fowler, who incurred a lower-body injury Friday in Calgary. The Ducks also played without 43-year-old forward Teemu Selanne, who has sat out of the back end of several back-to-back sets this season.
NOTES: New Anaheim D Stephane Robidas took the pregame warmup, but didn't make his Ducks debut. The veteran blue-liner, acquired March 4 from Dallas, is nearly recovered from a broken leg. ... Jones started for the second time in three games after Jonathan Quick missed practice Friday with an illness. ... Anaheim's power play went 0 for 3, dropping to 2 for 42 in its last 13 games.


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The book is called The Fingerprints of God by Brad Cummings. I've had it in my my possession for less than a day yet but I find forcing myself through it to be both hard and bad for my health due to excessive facepalming. I'm not yet through the first chapter and already the ignorance, confirmation bias, equivocations, non-sequiturs, and bald-faced-lies are intolerable. Has anyone else read this book and if so, does it get better after the first chapter?
Views: 607
I wanted to give it a shot, but I think at this point I'll compile a list of it's errors in the first chapter. I may or may not return the list, the book, or both. I read it because I over-credited the intellect of the man who gave it to me and assumed that he'd give me a book with some compelling arguments as opposed to the bloodied remains of arguments which have served their tenure and then some in the debate arena with less than remarkable results.
I've developed a speed reading technique where I could go over the first 50 pages or so in 5-10 minutes and get just the major points so I could decide whether I want to go back and actually a book earnestly. That helps quickly separate the somewhat useful and the absolutely useless.
I would return the book and tell the friend, friendly, if he really is a friend, that I've read the first chapter and it wasn't my thing. My philosophy is if someone wants a debate, let them initiate it and I'll just respond... in real life of course; online, I post unsolicited all the time (most of the time it gets me nowhere, but I still do it).
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text:
A Detailed History of the Law Library
The Appellate Division Law Library for the 4th Department
was established in 1849 and has a long and distinguished history.
The Library actually pre-dates the court for which it is currently
named by almost fifty years.
When the State adopted a new constitution in 1848, which abolished the Court of Chancery and the Office of the Chancellor, the Chancellor's large legal library in Albany became available for other purposes. After much lobbying from local communities, it was decided to split the Chancellor's collection, sending half to Rochester and half to Syracuse. Those libraries were named Court of Appeals Libraries. The collection of approximately 1,000 books transferred to Rochester became the core collection of the Appellate Division Law Library. This core collection - currently housed in the library's Rare Book Room - is still known today by the name of the last Chancellor, Reuben Hyde Walworth. The oldest book in the collection was printed in 1565. The second Rochester Courthouse was under construction in 1849, and it became the library's first home upon completion in 1850.
The library moved to the third Rochester Courthouse when it was constructed in 1896. This building also housed the new Appellate Division Court. Pursuant to Chapter 258 of the Laws of 1900, the library was renamed the Appellate Division Law Library. Chapter 258 also transferred administrative control of the library to the justices of that Court. By that time, the library had grown significantly from its initial 1,000 volume collection to approximately 25,000 volumes, making it one of the largest law libraries in the nation. It also remained open to the public, making it the only public appellate court library in New York.
As the Library approaches its 160th anniversary, it continues to rank among the largest court libraries in the nation. Its collections have grown to include 300,000 volumes, a massive microform collection, audio and video materials, and many electronic databases. It is also one of the first court libraries to have developed a substantial reference collection available on a free CD-ROM network, and to hire a librarian specifically dedicated to the task of maintaining and enhancing electronic legal resources. Though the CD-ROM network has faded into history, the library now has free on-line access to lexis, loislaw, heinonline and other legal and general databases. Wireless access has been available to library patrons since 2005. The majority of the print collection is shelved in open stacks and is readily available to patrons of the library. Some superseded materials are housed in a basement archive which is not open to the public. The staff will retrieve materials from the archive upon request.
All staff members are available to help library users locate materials, answer questions concerning library content, and explain library services. None of the staff members is an attorney and the staff cannot answer questions which involve the interpretation of laws. Limited assistance is available via telephone.
The Fourth Department consists of the counties within the Fifth (Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, Oneida, Herkimer, and Onondaga counties), Seventh (Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, Cayuga, Yates, Livingston, and Steuben Counties), and Eighth (Niagra, Orleans, Genesee, Erie, Wyoming, Chataugua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties) Judicial Districts - twenty-two western New York counties stretching westward from the Adirondack Mountains to Lake Erie.
©2007 - All Rights Reserved.


text:
- To filter impurities — use a two-step bath filter like the Crystal Quest Bath Filter
- To neutralize chlorine and chloramines — add Vitamin C tablets or Vitamin C powder directly to your bathwater
The Details
Typically, 60% of the chlorine that most people absorb daily comes from showering or bathing in chlorinated water. Chlorine damages your hair and skin — you can read about the hazards of showering in chlorinated water here. Bath water also contains things like heavy metals and VOCs (volitive organic compounds). Ideally, all these things should all be filtered out.
Filtering bath water is a similar process to filtering shower water, If you have a shower head incorporated in your bath you can use my recommend shower filters (a VitaMax Vitamin C In-Line Filter together with a Sprite HOB-CM Brass Shower Filter), and use your shower to fill your bath. This means you only need one set of filter for both shower and bath.
Otherwise, I recommend using a dedicated bath filter like the Crystal Quest Bath Filter. This bath filter has a 2-step filtration process — it features both KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) filtration (good for removing heavy metals) and Granular Activated Carbon filtration (good for removing sediment, chlorine and radon).
The Crystal Quest Bath Filter available from Amazon for around $50.
Vitamin C Tablets or Powder
Vitamin C tablets or Vitamin C powder will remove 99% of free chlorine and 99% of chloramines from bath water. Chloramine or NH2Cl (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) is now commonly being used in place of chlorine for disinfection, but chloramine is not easily removed from water. However, Vitamin C can neutralize 99% of the chloramines from water. To back this up, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission now states on their website that only Vitamin C can be used to remove chlormaines from municipal water. Here is the quote from the Commission:
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has recently been included in AWWA Standard (AWWA, 2005b) as one of the methods for dechlorination of disinfected water mains. SFPUC and other utilities have used Vitamin C for dechlorination prior to environmental discharges of chlorinated and chloraminated water. Since ascorbic acid is weakly acidic, the pH of water may decrease slightly (Tikkanen et al., 2001). Ascorbic acid has been used for a long time as one of the dechlorinating agents for preservation of chlorinated or chloraminated water samples for laboratory analysis.
The full document can be found here.
Vitamin C tablets are slight more convenient since the some in measured amounts (tablets) and they also "fizz" to release the Vitamin C. However, Vitamin C powder is quite a bit less expensive overall.


text:
Khaki City Shorts - BSM 2/2011 #122
Added May 31, 2011
by jenss-1
New York, New Yo...
Shorts with front welt pockets & one welt pocket on the back. I wanted shorts that really fit well (for a change), so I made some very specific alterations – particularly to the inseam. I learned something about fitting, so maybe I'll try to make pants next! Anyway, although Burda has a reputation for extra room in the back, I found that the was not really the case here. I would not say I have very much extra, so that is something to think about with this pattern. I had to both lengthen and deepen the inseam so that the front fit well also. Also made them somewhat longer. I'm quite happy with the result. However, as a warning I have to say that the instructions were dreadful – especially on the zipper and waistband construction. I ended up constructing these parts in my own way.
Update: I later added a fabric tab and button because the underlap on the zipper proved to be too narrow. (Resulting in excess wrinkling of the waistband). So, for making this pattern I recommend 1) make sure there is adequate underlap, 2) use 2 trouser hooks instead of 1 – placed vertically parallel. I think that would result in a more secure closing & I'll do it on the next pair.
Material Notes
khaki tan colored 100% cotton poplin (fabric & binding), cotton broadcloth (facings), YKK metal trouser zipper (self shortened to 5-1/2"), 1 trouser hook. Plus, 1 clear plastic button.
3 Comments Sign in to add a post
May 31, 2011, 06.57 PMby jenss-1
Thanks for the kind comments! It was a challenge for me. I did make a couple of muslins because I haven't done inseam alterations before and I knew that I'd need them. I'm planning on making two more pairs of shorts, based upon my altered pattern and so I wanted it to be as good a fit as possible.
May 31, 2011, 06.24 PMby lienepien
Looks good! I am also working on this short as well! But than no alterations, as this is the first short. But indeed the instructions were not easy to follow! The waistband I am also doing my own way and zipper also. (I have also sewing lessons so I good ask my instructor) But I think it will turn out to big… I hope I have finished it by next week (I do every time just a little bit so it takes longer haha) This one looks great however!
May 31, 2011, 01.50 PMby nellyvdb
These look very professionally made, I am impressed. Well done.
Add to Favorites 3 people added it
This project is based on
02/2011 Safari shortsMake it


text:
Automatically playing similar songs. To disable, switch Autoplay to 'OFF' under Settings
Get Notified about the latest hits and trends, so that you are always on top of the latest in music when it comes to your friends.
Add to queue
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The Absolutely Essential Rosemary Clooney - 50 Unfogettable Hits
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text:
Then you make your way to the kitchen, eat your waffles and head to the Spa. You take a swim in the eternity pool, followed by a hot mud bath and massage.
As you drift off while your sore feet are being rubbed, you feel 4 chubby fingers that smell like peanut butter trying to pry your eyes open only to realize that this was all a dream and while yes, you have a wonderful husband who actually gave all the kids breakfast this morning so you could 'sleep in' (til 7am) you now have to face the day.
And if there is anything in the world that you don't feel like doing, its just that.
Well, we all have those days. So here are a few things that got me through one such day, that hopefully will come in handy should you ever encounter one too...
Absolutely gotta start it with a nice big cup of Joe. Tastes even better when your hubby makes it and has it waiting for you as you make your way into the kitchen.
Then you need to turn on some good Jewish music. Instant mood enhancer.
You should then hum or sing along. This usually happens automatically if the tunes are good. Kids may get a bit confused if you don't usually do this, but they will soon join along.
Now this one may sound a bit out there, but listen to me- it works.
Through out the day, every time you pass by a mirror, you should smile at yourself. Seriously. Your kids may think mommy's a little strange today, but there is some interesting smile meditation out there that says if you smile at yourself, it will automatically enhance your mood. Go ahead. Try it. :)
Once you've made it half way through the day, and the little ones are napping and the big ones are having their down time, make yourself this incredible smoothie that not only tastes insanely delicious, but gives you a really great energy boost.
Mango Almond Smoothie:
1 ripe mango
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 handful raw almonds
1/2 cup almond milk
Blend together and WHAM--- serious, serious yumness...
And what do you know, I actually made it through the day which turned out to be a pretty awesome one.
Enjoy your week~


text:
|2013-01-28, 11:46
|Link #1141
formerly ogon bat
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Mexico
Age: 48
Spice & Wolf was a low magic setting, while in the LN and the manga MaouYuusha is a high magic setting, but the anime is attempting to portrait the world of MaouYuusha as a low magic setting, hence anything relating to it (the hero overwhelming power, high level magic spells, etc.) has been removed altogether.
|2013-01-28, 12:19
|Link #1142
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Episodes 1-4
My feelings are mixed for this show. There are some interesting elements here like the agricultural revolution, and Demon King's negotiations, but they're not connected well enough to the story for my liking. My first issue is the lack of proper names. A lack of names in a show like Humanity Has Declined is fine because it's a satire, and this lack serves a narrative purpose. The same lack in Maoyuu works against it because the characters and places are supposed to be concrete entities with unique characteristics. Without proper names, they lose impact and become genericized.
Next, it's good for Hero to lose his stupid headband, but why did Demon King have to lose her horns? They were her best feature, and she looks unbalanced without them.
I know that there have been a lot of comparisons between Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and Spice & Wolf, but I don't think that they are very justifiable at this point. Spice & Wolf is characterized by the interaction of the leads and how each brings their unique talents into play in their adventures. However, this show can be summed up as "Demon King does stuff while she explains it to Hero". The lack of balance is exemplified in Episode 4 as Hero finally does stuff, and he has to be nowhere near Demon King to do it.
I'm dropping this show as of now, but I may pick it up if later episodes get better.
|2013-01-28, 16:13
|Link #1143
Black Steel Knight
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Indonesia
|2013-01-28, 21:01
|Link #1144
formerly ogon bat
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Mexico
Age: 48
|2013-01-28, 22:28
|Link #1145
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
I sense that the anime may be avoiding the over-reliance on magic. If someone can use magic to power up a light source, then the next logical question would be : can magic not be used to do other things? In a world in which magic is common-place, is it not logical to use it to improve our lives?
Why, then, would the anime need to show Maou's various innovations? Why not have the council of mages (or whoever is in charge of magic) provide magical high-yield, pest-resistant crop that can grow in rocky, dry soil? Why use a compass, if magic can provide unerring GPS-like navigation accuracy?
If magic can be used to provide safe, reliable heat or kinetic energy, then basically magic has become the power source that would usher in the industrial revolution.
|2013-01-28, 22:49
|Link #1146
formerly ogon bat
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Mexico
Age: 48
1) Magic is not an energy source, it is a means to an end, the energy comes from world itself *flashbacks of Goku doing a genkidama* The results of over reliance on magic can be seen in the latest manga chapters of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic or in Dark Sun setting for good old pen & paper D&D.
2) Magic is powerful and world changing, but only a few people can wield and magic users usually aren't into feeding the populace by themselves; if everyone could wield magic and with a mere thought blast his enemy into pieces, well, you will get the results seen in the anime
|2013-01-28, 22:56
|Link #1147
Black Steel Knight
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Indonesia
|2013-01-29, 01:38
|Link #1148
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
|2013-01-29, 04:45
|Link #1152
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 38
You seem to be confused. This is not a war of good and evil. That was the whole point; killing the other side achieve nothing. I would explain more, but I would wait for you to re-watch the episodes with the idea that humans are NOT the "good guys" and the demons are not the "bad guys".
|2013-01-29, 06:27
|Link #1153
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
When did i ever say humans are good or evil. They could all be the same race for that matter but the fact is they are 2 sides that are at war. Helping the other improve their food production and navigation ability would not make them think "hey, we got enough food. Lets stop fighting." Just look at our history. Once a country is strong, they will think of invading and exploit other weaker countries.
In times of peace with an allied country maybe it would make sense. Maybe she hopes that the south country will get strong enough to invade the central countries.
|2013-01-29, 07:45
|Link #1154
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 38
You need to see that in this world, there is no incentive for peace. Both sides have forgotten how to NOT have wars. There is no plan, no project, for how to run a country that isn't fighting somebody. There is no industry that can survive in peacetime.
People are fighting not because they want to win, but because that's the only thing they know. Because there is no other way to keep the economy moving, and to ensure everyone is employed.
Is there going to be some fighting later? Yes. Eventually there will be actual battles as those who want war will use force to maintain the current world. But the Demon King and Hero is making sure when the time comes, they got both allies and resources to win the fight.
|2013-01-29, 07:54
|Link #1155
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: InterWebs
|2013-01-29, 07:56
|Link #1156
Art Block Specialist
Join Date: Jun 2007
the key is that the southern country are essentially the "mercenaries" for the central nations if they want to start a war with demons. The wager being that they could provide food to Southern Countries and use them to control those countries.
By providing the means for the Southern countries to self-sustain, there's no need for them to listen to the words from the Central, which means that the human will have less size for an invading army.
Conversely, by making them self-sustained, they are able to support their own armed forces to protect themselves if Demon decides to start another battle, and doesn't have to rely the support from the Central to arrive.
You have to realise that human are not one uniformed nation. They each have their own agenda, and while the war is keeping a nice balance at the moment, sooner or later it will crumble down hard if nothing is being done about the root of the problem. While it's a legitimate reason to worry about the possible ambition of the Southern Countries, by helping them to grow and defend themselves, both maou and yuusha could potentially have a say in their politics. Not to mention Yuusha is powerful enough to force things to happen if people are being idiots. Ideally, it's a win-win strategy.
|2013-01-29, 09:32
|Link #1157
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Alliance is another problem. Unless they can profit from other ventures over war, they may become powerful enemies since war is driving the current economy.
|2013-01-29, 10:26
|Link #1158
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Safe from the BETA
Age: 30
Anime is not failing to portray Hero's character. The rest of the feelings about Hero in your post are exactly what you are expected to have in your head. This is evidence that the anime is doing fine on this issue.
|2013-01-29, 14:50
|Link #1159
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
|2013-01-29, 16:12
|Link #1160
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
1- It's anime with demon king and hero = so it's normal that action fan will watch it...
2- If you see hero side than you will understand that not just he is strong but he is better as Maou then demon queen since in demon world > power = justice, they even call her coward demon queen that not even by her own ally respect her.
But they start to thing that she might change after seeing hero take action to stop rebellion with pure force plus his promise to restore dragon city using demon queen name before the dragon clan attack human by themselves ( and end up dying for nothing since it's strongest human city in demon world >>> that why dragon chief decided to offer his own daughter as wife if he succeed)
|economics, fantasy, harem
|Thread Tools


text: P erhaps the most endangered natural resource in times of war is truth. This became very evident during the Kosovo Conflict. When the Rambouillet accord failed and NATO air strikes started on 24 March 1999, alarming reports began to appear about the environmental damage caused by the bombing. Images of Panc˘evo and Novi Sad oil refineries on fire, toxic chemicals leaking into the River Danube, and bomb craters in protected areas were competing with those of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing their homes in Kosovo.


text:
Exclusive Video
Cops were called to an L.A. Costco yesterday -- after comedian Joan Rivers HANDCUFFED herself to a shopping cart during a one-woman protest against the wholesale store ... comparing the place to "Nazi Germany" ... and we got video of the entire debacle.
TMZ broke the story ... Joan claims Costco banned her new book "I Hate Everything ... Starting with Me" because of several racy jokes on the back cover -- so yesterday, she staged a protest in Burbank against what she called unjust censorship.
Joan yelled into a bullhorn, "Costco should not be like Nazi Germany. Next thing they'll be burning the bible."
Joan then walked into the store and handcuffed herself to a random woman's shopping cart, where she continued to scream. Costco management called the cops, who then asked Joan to leave -- which she did. And that was that.
But the footage is hilarious. Even the cops can't help but laugh.


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Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks co-chair one of L.A.'s quirkier show business traditions: the Shakespeare Center's annual fundraiser, "Simply Shakespeare." Now in its 21st year, the benefit, a celeb-studded reading of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," comes to UCLA's Royce Hall on Monday. On Wednesday, Wilson guest stars on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" as the mother of a troubled teen.
I see you've been popping into some high-profile TV dramas lately. What did you do on "The Good Wife"?
I did two episodes this season, really, really fun and they left it open-ended. My character is trying to steal Alicia [ Julianna Margulies] away from her [law] firm. It's revenge for Christine Baranski's character, Diane, stealing a client of mine.
So you're a villain.
I'd never played that kind of character, and I had such a blast. I thought it was completely liberating. And now I've told my agents, "Only find me nuts … crazies, kooks."
So is that what your "SVU" role is?
"SVU" is a very complex woman, yeah. Without giving too much away, she's the mother of a 14-year-old. Have you ever met those kids who are a little bit bad seed but then you think maybe not? So you can't quite make out if someone is bad or just a teenager, right? And this boy, who's my son, and my character, the mom, have a very interesting relationship, and it's not a typical mother-son relationship.
I've noticed that "SVU" in particular has been getting these great movie actresses to guest star. Does it have special appeal for people in film?
I think the writing in television nowadays is just outstanding, not just on cable but on network television. Television has become the independent film world. These shows have honed themselves. Well, "The Good Wife" has only been on for two seasons, but the people who are on that show have been around for a long time and have been super successful and accomplished. But "SVU," you take just the talent that's on the show — Mariska [Hargitay] and Chris [Meloni] — and the producers, like Ted Kotcheff. Our episode was great because we had a female director, Holly Dale, and writer, Dawn DeNoon. That episode in particular had a lot of female energy around, which was great. It was also the [time when] Mariska adopted her baby, so we were all waiting for the news.
Television has the advantage that it doesn't have to appeal to adolescent boys.
Well, thank you. This is a joy. No offense to adolescent boys, but there are a lot of other people out there.
So tomorrow is the 21st "Simply Shakespeare" fundraiser that you and Tom co-chair. I have the sense that it's pretty different from what unsuspecting audiences expect. How so?
Let's call it "Shakespeare Unplugged." It's everything you know about Shakespeare. We stick to the text. But there's a lot of freedom and a lot of play and a lot of improvisation. That's why the event is really fun. We get a lot of people who've never done Shakespeare come in and do it, and they're thinking, "Oh, my gosh, I have to be Anthony Hopkins," who has, by the way, done the show.
Shakespeare's work really lends itself to a bunch of silliness. We always do a comedy. And in the day, Shakespeare would have a troupe of actors, but then when they would tour villages, they always cast a few actors locally. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," it would be the actor who played Bottom or the one who played the Wall. There was the ability to enjoy the familiarity of somebody you knew doing something out of their comfort zone. This has the same vibe.
How do you cast this? Do you grab stars at the supermarket?
I call my friends. Now we have a little rep company of people who've done it over the years. The regulars are William Shatner, Christina Applegate, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Eric Idle, Tracey Ullman, Arte Johnson. Arte is actually trained as a Shakespearean actor, if you can believe that. And he's so good. So over the years we've had all these great friends we've called. Then we'll hound other people to do it. Like this year we have Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and Reba McEntire.
Isn't Kenneth Branagh in it this year?
Yes, Kenneth Branagh is in it too.
When did you start including music?
We always had music. My brother [Chris Wilson] is the musical director. And it used to be that just the actors would sing, so if one of the Shakespeare characters would say, "Give me a song, boy," they would sing something. Sometimes it was what Shakespeare had written, which we added music to. Then one year we decided maybe we wanted to have professional singers, so Natalie Cole came in and did it. Then we had Lyle Lovett a couple of years, we had Jackson Browne last year, Alanis Morisette one year. This year it's set in the West, so we're doing country music. I think we're doing old Hank Williams songs.
What about Martin Short?
Marty has been unbelievable. He always goes off the rails, and you never know what he's going to do. One year Bronson Pinchot played Malvolio, and he had rigged a costume for himself where, at a certain point Malvolio says, "I've tied up my stockings and garters," because he was in love with Olivia. He had rigged it so that at a certain point, his pants fell completely down around his ankles and exposed the most insane underpinnings of, I believe, there was some kind of gold sparkly leggings. It was a gold codpiece, and then he had the stockings and the garters. No one knew he was doing it, and I cannot tell you, the audience went insane. It was so unexpected and so brilliant.


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It was a good run for the Sunnyvale Metro Little League Red Sox in the District 44 major division Tournament of Champions–that is, until the Sox ran into the Santa Clara Westside Giants in the semifinals.
Metro blanked Serra 10-0 and edged the Cupertino American Giants 5-4 to open the TOC, but lost 11-1 to Westside in the semi's.
At the same time, Robins of the Campbell Little League shut out the A's of Tri-Cities 10-0 to set up a title match-up with the Giants.
Robins knocked off Westside 8-6 in the finals to win the Major TOC.
Metro's Red Sox finished the tourney with a 2-1 record after winning their league title. Players included Nico Swank, Dheeraj Talluri, Carlo van Dijken, Sam Bobick, Kenneth Chun, Shaan Dias, Matthew Huettel, Hollister Lin, Aiden Maddison, Nicholas Malvini, Denver Mayes, Sean Miller and Goh Saruwatari.
The CA Giants, who reached the TOC by beating the Yanks in a best-of-three league playoff, included Arjun Kuman, Bharath Kumar, Coby Chuang, Dev Bhakta, Luke Mitbo, Matthew Keelan, Nathan Fang, Nicolas Nguyen, Peter Fan, Rio Suzuki Shree Phadke, Tetsuo Eng, Jackson Prudhon and Fred Lee.
The Tri-Cities A's edged Los Altos 3-2 to advance to the semifinals.
A's players included Madison Lay, Jack Carsel, Dylan Phillips, Evan Cook, Shaun Wu, Aaron Jew, Lofton Lechner, Lucas Widjaja, Casey Park, Jimmy Taylor, Sayf Hafidi and Adam Nobunaga.
League champions that did not get past the first round included the Cupertino National Reds and the Sunnyvale Southern Giants.
Southern's Stephen Poe singled home Brandon Pitts in the fourth inning, but it was not enough in an 8-1 loss to the Briarwood Braves.
Other Southern players were Thomas Denome, Zachary Douglas, Dylan Gray, Toma Grundler, Jason Kaprelian, Justin Krukar, Alex Mortensen and Samarth Shah.
Sammy Yang had two hits and an RBI for the CN Reds, but the Moreland Phillies won 14-2.
Last-inning heroics had helped the Reds win the Cupertino National major division championship. The Reds scored a pair of dramatic playoff wins over the rival Astros, 4-2 and 8-7. A game-ending double play secured the first triumph, as Alex Suppiah fielded a sharp grounder, stepped on third base and fired a throw to second baseman Sean Yang to end a bases-loaded threat.
Suppiah, who worked 4 1/3 innings was the winning pitcher, and Tate Boynton earned the save with five outs of scoreless relief.
In Game 2, the Reds rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Nitin Subramanian's walk-off hit through the middle chased home Henry Lassa with the game winner, moments after Lassa's single knocked in his brother, Owen.
Other members of the Reds included Kelvin Lee, Mitchell Fong, Arjun Ghuman and Rohit Kumar.
Minor TOC
The Tri-Cities Red Sox won their first two games of the D-44 Minor TOC before losing in the semifinals to the Santa Clara Homestead Tigers 22-12. The Homestead champs went on to lose 16-2 to the Westside Pirates in an all-Santa Clara final.
Tri-Cities reached the semifinals with wins over the Sunnyvale National Cardinals, 10-2, and the Briarwood Yankees, 9-6.
Pitchers Niko Hersh, Wonny Kwak and Zachary Nobunaga combined to strike out 14 Cardinals in the opener. Oliver Still had four hits, including two doubles, one which triggered a five-run fifth. Connor Van Huijgevoort, Phillip Long, Christopher Oh, John Bestul and Hersh also delivered in the rally.
The Cardinals broke up the shutout in the sixth when Jay Hernandez and Silas Brailey (double) scored on Cameron Mobley's single. National pitchers Rafeh Muzafar and Rohit Kuppireddy struck out six.
Oh's triple and Justin Oliver's three RBI's were highlights in the T-C loss to Homestead.
Cade Jordan, Jonathan Ekman, Steven Chong and Andy Jun also contributed to the A's effort.
The Cupertino American A's were first-round winners, 10-0 over the Los Altos Mets, but were eliminated by Homestead 14-4 in the second round. William Chang paced the A's victory, pitching a 2-hitter with 10 strikeouts and batting in four runs. Other members of the CA champs included Jake LeTourmy, Jason Lo, Vivek Iyer, William Huang, Jonathan Huang, William Chang, Ethan Lin, Justin Jeng, Bennie Chang, Jonathan Fu, Roy Chien and Connor Markert.
Ryan Murphy of the Southern Red Sox rapped two hits and drove in three runs, but his team lost 14-6 to Briarwood. Bronson Stein smacked an RBI hit and scored two runs for the Red Sox, Jesse Jordan added a single, Kaden Gamble scored two runs and Danny O'Sullivan had one.
Other Southern players were Nicholas Bilsborrow, Aidan Callahan, Joseph Cox, Seiji Matsuda, Adrian Rivera and Ethan Watson. Metro players Aiden Casas, Rohan Gupta, Christopher Han, Brennan Kelly, Kyle Maddison, Anton Nagahashi, Parin Patel, Joshua Perez, Aniket Podge, Evan Ramirez, Ken Saruwatari and Travis Soares.


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Pope Francis seeks decisive action in church sex abuse cases
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis indicated Friday that he will seek to have the church act `'with determination" against clergy sex abuse cases.
The pope pushed for decisive action during a meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the Vatican said in a statement.
`'The Holy Father recommended that the congregation continue the line sought by Benedict XVI, to act with determination in regard to cases of sexual abuse," the Vatican said.
Francis cited measures to protect minors, help victims of sexual violence and necessary action against perpetrators, and emphasize that drafting and implementing directives by bishop conferences around the world is important to the credibility of the church.
U.S. victims of clergy abuse have demanded swift and bold actions from the new Jesuit pontiff.


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I got into a minor fender-bender once near downtown Los Angeles and suggested to the other driver that we pull off the highway and deal with the matter on a safer city street.
She said OK, then disappeared.
Was she uninsured, or maybe unlicensed?
It wouldn't be surprising. A national study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that unlicensed drivers are much more likely to leave the scene of an accident. And the California Department of Motor Vehicles recently reported that unlicensed drivers are three times as likely to cause a fatal crash as licensed drivers.
That's bad news in a state with an estimated 2 million unlicensed drivers, many of them ineligible for licenses because they're here illegally.
The news emboldened two groups with radically different solutions. From one side came renewed calls for allowing illegal immigrants to get licenses and go through the screening process that might make them safer drivers. From the other side came calls for doing more to keep unlicensed drivers off the roads and sending illegal immigrants back to where they came from.


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|Aug 23, 2013
University of Utah investigating allegations of manipulated research paper on nanotechnology
|(Nanowerk News) The University of Utah is investigating allegations that chemical engineering researchers might have altered microscopic images in a research paper to prove that their theory involving nanotechnology was correct.
|The paper was published in June, but the monthly research journal Nano Letters retracted it Aug. 15, citing concerns over data integrity. Nano Letters is one of 40 peer-reviewed research journals published by the American Chemical Society.
|The paper explored a new method of manipulating microscopic matter, which its authors said could be used to create synthetic antibodies.
|The probe into the research was started after a blog questioned microscopic images in the article, alleging they appeared to have been digitally manipulated.
|University Health Cares medical ethics chief Jeffrey Botkin says the school also is investigating claims of altered images in another paper published by the same researchers.
|The lead author of both papers is Leonard Pease, an assistant chemical engineering professor. Rajasekhar Anumolu, a graduate research assistant, also is listed on the articles, The Salt Lake Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/16nuifA ).
|Pease did not respond to requests for comment from the Tribune or The Associated Press. Anumolu declined to make a statement to The Associated Press and referred comment to the university.
|The universitys investigation is expected to take about four months, Botkin said.
|We have concerns enough to prompt a thorough investigation, but we havent made a determination yet about what happened, he told The Tribune.
|Earlier this month, the school announced it found an internal medicine lab had recklessly manipulated information in 11 papers over five years, including doctored images and fabricated data.
|Ivana De Domenico, an assistant professor and the lead author on most of those papers, was fired in the wake of the universitys investigation. In a statement released through an attorney, De Domenico said she didnt purposely falsify research and worked as conscientiously as possible.
|Source: Associated Press
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In this kinesthetic activity, students learn how photons may be transmitted, absorbed, or scattered. Materials required include a small ball, an overhead projector, 4 clear cups, different liquids (milk, water, black ink, grape juice), and a... (View More) flashlight. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications. (View Less)
Keywords: Kinesthetic activity
Audience: Middle school
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students


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Two batters later with two outs, Ben Davidson gave Coker a little cushion, as he blasted a solo home run over the fence at Fleming Stadium, for a 7-5 lead. Then it was just up to Kyle Strickland (3) to stop the Crusaders attack and that is exactly what he did, earning his third save of the season.
With the win the Cobras advance to the second round of the CVAC Tournament where they will face the winner of the Pfeiffer/Barton game at 10:00 a.m. at Fleming Stadium.
Chris Thomas (1-1) earned the win for the Cobras on the mound.
Davidson was the leading hitter, going 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBIs, while Ryan Schaeffer was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Nally was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
For the latest news and results on the CVAC Baseball Tournament visit www.cvac.net.


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Spanish on del Bosque: 'We have the best, why change?'
The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) wants Spain coach Vicente del Bosque to remain in the job despite the team's failure at the World Cup in Brazil, according to secretary general Jorge Perez.
Del Bosque, who has a contract until after the 2016 European Championships in France, said he would consider his position after the holders lost their opening two Group B games to the Netherlands and Chile and were eliminated from the tournament.
Perez said there had not yet been any formal discussion about del Bosque's future and it had been decided to wait until the team, who play their final match against Australia on Monday, was back in Spain before holding talks.
"It is better to let some time elapse and wait to discuss things calmly in Madrid," Perez said on Spanish radio.
"When del Bosque signed the contract (to 2016) he said that if for any reason we thought he should not continue he would leave," he added.
"Del Bosque has not presented his resignation and if he did we would ask him to carry on.
"His family might convince him not to continue but we will not find anyone better.
"From the top to the bottom at the federation we are with del Bosque. If we have the best, why change?"
Del Bosque, 63, has already earned his place in the pantheon of soccer's greatest managers despite the unexpected setback in Brazil.
After taking over from Luis Aragones following Spain's Euro 2008 victory, he led the nation to their first World Cup triumph in South Africa in 2010 and a second straight continental title at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.


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RHS, Inc. recently announced the addition of Yield Monitor Connection Kits that enable any operator to hook the Outback S GPS Guidance System directly to their combine yield monitor.
When connected, the Outback S provides one of the industry's most accurate GPS differential signals. And, there is no annual subscription fee.
Connection Kits are available for Case AFS (old and new style), John Deere Greenstar (old and new style), Ag Leader-PF 3000 and 3100, AGCO-Fieldstar and Microtrak-Grain Trak.
Recent university studies prove the Outback S Receiver is one of the industry's most accurate GPS guidance systems. Over a five-day test period, the Outback S, using WAAS, delivered better accuracy than any other receiver tested, even those using OmniStar correction.
The Outback S is optimized for WAAS technology and provides high accuracy without the annual subscription fees associated with competitive GPS receivers.
The Outback S is designed for the mainstream farmer to use year-around for guidance, but as a bonus it can be used for precision yield maps. Its low cost, easy installation and simplicity make it a "must have" for every combine.
Learning time to operate the Outback S is less than 15 minutes, even for first-time guidance users. In addition, the Outback S can be quickly moved to other pieces of equipment for increased accuracy during tillage, spraying, spreading and planting operations.
Outback GPS Guidance sales and support is available by telephone at (800) 247-3808 and Online at OutbackGuidance.com.
Local Outback Guidance Centers are being established nationwide to provide even more personalized support to Outback Guidance customers.
RHS, Inc. is located at 2005 West Oregon Street, Hiawatha, KS 66434.


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Thursday, 08 March 2012 08:59 AM
Greece moved closer to sealing the biggest sovereign restructuring in history as investors indicated they'll participate in the nation's debt swap.
Holders of about 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the deal, including Greece's largest banks, most of the country's pension funds and more than 30 European banks and insurers including BNP Paribas SA and Commerzbank AG, have agreed to the offer so far. That brings the total to about 124 billion euros ($163 billion), based on data compiled by Bloomberg from company reports and government statements.
The euro and stocks gained on speculation Greece will reach its participation target by the deadline of 10 p.m. in Athens today. The goal of the exchange is to reduce the 206 billion euros of privately held Greek debt by 53.5 percent and turn the tide against the debt crisis that has roiled Europe for more than two years.
The swap "will go through" and markets won't be jarred should a majority fall short of the targeted amount, Peter Bofinger, an economic adviser to the German government, said in an interview from Berlin today with Bloomberg Television.
While Greece would prefer a voluntary deal, the government has said it will use collective action clauses to force holders of Greek-law bonds into the swap if the so-called private sector involvement falls short and it gets sufficient approval from investors to change the bonds' terms.
"I think that the markets are aware of the risk that a majority for voluntary restructuring is not available, and so I think the surprise won't be too big if tonight when they realize the collective action clauses will have to be applied," Bofinger said.
Under the rules of the exchange, investors holding at least 50 percent of the eligible bonds must vote on the swap, and 66 percent of those must agree to amend the bonds to enable the government to impose the collective action clauses, Commerzbank AG's head of fixed-income strategy, Christoph Rieger, said in a note yesterday.
"Adding up the commitments to participate in the Greek PSI, it is now clear that the CAC hurdles will very likely be cleared," Reiger said.
The 17-nation euro added 0.5 percent to $1.321, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.3 percent to 263.35 at 10:48 a.m. in London.
Deal Condition
Hans Humes, president of Greylock Capital Management, expects holders of more than 80 percent of Greece's government bonds to accede to the swap, he said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. Humes is a member of a committee of private bondholders that negotiated the deal with the government.
Niek Hoek, chief executive officer of Amsterdam-based Delta Lloyd NV, said today the insurer plans to take part in the swap deal on condition that the CAC clause applies to all parties.
"We have indicated we will participate if everyone else does," he told reporters on a call. "Our base case expectation is the clause will be declared applicable and that the debt will be restructured in that fashion."
Greece's six largest banks, cumulatively the biggest private holders of the country's debt, plan to accept the offer, the Finance Ministry said March 6. Greek pension funds with about 17 billion euros of bonds will also join, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Real FM Radio yesterday.
Banks, Insurers
More than thirty banks and insurers that were on the private creditor-investor committee for Greece plan to accept the swap, according to an e-mailed statement from the Institute of International Finance yesterday. Those investors hold an aggregate 84 billion euros of bonds, the IIF said.
Investors who participate will get new bonds with a face value of less than half the previous securities, longer maturities and reduced interest rates, leading to a net present value loss of more than 70 percent. The new bonds do come with warrants that will provide extra income in years when Greek economic growth exceeds certain thresholds.
Greece expects holders to accept the offer and is ready to force them if necessary, Venizelos said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Athens this week. The government has said it wants participation above 90 percent and is seeking a minimum level of 75 percent, including with use of the collective action clauses.
Swaps Trigger
"I do fully expect to be part of the collective action clause," Patrick Armstrong, managing partner at Armstrong Investment Managers in London, said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview. He won't voluntarily join in the swap because of the "minuscule" chance his bond maturing March 20 will be redeemed at face value.
Compelling holdouts to take part will likely trigger insurance contracts on the debt known as credit default swaps.
"I can't see any scenario where people are forced to participate against their will and they aren't triggered," Armstrong said.
The swap provides "a moment for a real turning of the page," that should allow Greece to "regain some economic vitality," IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara, who led negotiations for private creditors in the debt-swap discussions, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The Washington, D.C.- based IIF represents more than 450 financial firms globally.
The members of the IIF creditor-investor committee who agreed to participate are Ageas, Allianz SE, Alpha Bank SA, Axa SA, La Banque Postale, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Bank of Cyprus, BNP Paribas, CNP Assurances SA, Commerzbank AG, Credit Agricole SA, Credit Foncier, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, Deutsche Bank AG, Dexia SA, Emporiki Bank of Greece SA, EFG Eurobank, Generali, Greylock, Groupama SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, ING Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, KBC Groep NV, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Marfin Popular Bank Plc, Metlife Inc., National Bank of Greece SA, Piraeus Bank SA, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Societe Generale SA and UniCredit SpA.
In Germany, Munich Re, DZ Bank AG and KfW Group also said they will take part in the exchange. FMS Wertmanagement, the bad bank created to prevent the collapse of German property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, and Erste Abwicklungsanstalt, the restructuring unit of state-owned lender WestLB AG, are both planning to take part in the exchange, according to people familiar with the matter. The two bad banks together hold as much as 9.8 billion euros in Greek debt.
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Review: Craig, Weisz star in stunning 'Betrayal'
NEW YORK (AP) — If revenge is a dish best served cold, betrayal is one apparently lubricated by plenty of booze.
A stunning revival of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" opened Sunday at the Barrymore Theatre with alcohol flowing in every one of its nine scenes: Beer, red wine, scotch, vodka, white wine. Repeatedly cheating on your spouse clearly necessitates liquid courage.
Director Mike Nichols adds more spirits than even Pinter's script suggests, a way the master craftsman can connect the scenes and explain the stiff-upper-lip repression on the stage. Liquor is the lubrication that keeps each participant from going on a table-flipping screaming rant or utterly collapsing. Nichols proves once again — as if anyone needed it — that he is brilliant at stripping away everything that is not the meaning of the play.
Pinter's work, ultimately, is about a triangular relationship — wife, husband and husband's best friend, who all care for each other — that uses reverse chronology to chart the corrosive force of infidelity. This is clearly not a date-night play: More than one couple shifted uneasily in their seats during one recent performance.
Superbly acted by Rachel Weisz, Daniel Craig and Rafe Spall, the production sparkles in its simple, powerful beauty. The fact that Craig and Weisz are married in real life adds a dash of spice to performances roiling under the surface.
Ian MacNeil's handsome sets — lit gorgeously by Brian MacDevitt — drift in and out of view in pieces effortlessly, as if reinforcing the notion of hazy memories. A stuffed animal in one scene casually tossed aside is a reminder of the stakes involved. James Murphy, best known as part of LCD Soundsystem, makes an auspicious Broadway debut with between-scenes instrumental music that puts punctuations on moments without undermining them.
Weisz is luminous — pitiful in a scene when she confesses her affair, toussled and off-kilter when in deep infatuation and yet also coolly disconnected in a scene in her love nest at the end of the secret relationship. Craig still has some 007 swagger about him but it falls away in scenes when his cuckold anger keeps bubbling beneath his calm surface.
"I hope she looked after you all right," he says sharply to his friend at one confrontation. It doesn't get much more venomous than that. When he confronts his wife and she confesses to a yearslong affair with his best friend, this is all he has: "Must be a bit awkward. I mean we've got two kids, he's got two kids, not to mention a wife. ..."
But it's Spall, making his Broadway debut, who perhaps shines the brightest as the best friend who wears his emotions on his sleeve the most. Spall is jittery and passionate and conveys the horror and paranoia of a man hiding his true feelings to both his best friend and the man's wife.
Pinter based the play on an affair he had with a television newscaster when he was married in the 1960s. It movingly captures the highs of intoxicating love and the hurt when real life intrudes.
This production is also shot through with humor — dark, perhaps, but very present. Much of it comes from the peculiar calmness of all three main actors, who all love each other so much that they can't stop hurting each other. It would drive you to drink, too.
Online: http://www.BetrayalBroadway.com
Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits


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Yeah...they usually show that stuff on the live show nights...because Julie always intro's it, so I am sure that Thursday we will see Lydia enter the Jury House!! It will be pretty good!! haha
my perdiction is that lydia sceard the day lights out of jessy in her out fit and crazy hair. although he might be us to those kinds of costums bing in wresing. but i can see him now rooling his eyes as she walks up.. and yes u r so right she will be all over him hahahaha he will probly dor out of the jury house.omg
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