text:
Russia's notoriety as a home for cybercriminals was highlighted in the conviction of the creator of the infamous Gozi malware and a new report that found the majority of exploit kits were built in the country.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment that charged Russian national Nikita Kuzmin with creating the Gozi Trojan. The malware infected more than 1 million computers globally and led to 10s of millions of dollars in losses at several major U.S. banks.
On Tuesday, managed security provider Solutionary released a report showing that 70% of the exploit kits reviewed by its Security Engineering Research Team were released or developed in Russia.
"A lot of these exploit kits are not simple little things that script kiddies have written," Rob Kraus, director of research for Solutionary, said. "They are robust applications that almost emulate those of enterprise solutions. There's a lot of time and effort put into these exploit kits to make them profitable."
Almost 60% of the vulnerabilities targeted by the kits are more than two years old, showing that exploiting known vulnerabilities remains a lucrative business.
Russia is home to some of the world's most notorious malware writers and distributors. Lax law enforcement and an economy favoring the wealthy have pushed many computer programmers underground. A large number of the developers build the malware and then sell or rent it to others.
"I think a big part of it is the brilliant mind syndrome," Stuart McClure, chief executive and founder of security firm Cylance, said. "So many talented mathematicians and scientists with few positive applications for that brilliance."
[In depth: Inside the global hacker service economy]
Russian cybercriminals tend to focus on bank fraud, which is why a lot of specialized Trojans like Gozi originate from the country, Ryan Sherstobitoff, senior security researcher for McAfee, said.
"That's why Russia tends to be a malware hotspot (for bank fraud)," Sherstobitoff said. "Most Russian cybercriminals are interested in profit and financial gain, as opposed to stealing state secrets."
In general, 60% to 70% of all malware is aimed at stealing from bank accounts or making illegal fund transfers, Sherstobitoff said.
Kuzmin designed the Gozi Trojan in 2005 and passed along his list of technical specifications to computer programmers to write the source code, according to the indictment. Kuzmin then opened a business called "76 Service" that charged a weekly fee for use of the malware. Buyers could configure it to steal data of their choosing and Kuzmin provided the storage for the data. In 2009, he sold the malware outright for about $50,000 plus a share of the profits.
McAfee believes there could be a connection between Kuzmin selling the malware and another cybercriminal who goes by the nickname vorVzakone planning to use a Gozi variant in a coordinated attack this spring on U.S. banking customers. The timing of the events make them "highly suspicious," Sherstobitoff said.
VorVzakone announced Project Blitzkrieg last September while trying to recruit other criminals on a semi-private, Russian-language underground forum.
Kuzmin was arrested in the United States in November 2010 and pled guilty six months later to a variety of computer intrusion and fraud charges, the indictment said. Two other men involved in the creation and distribution of the Gozi malware were also charged.
Deniss Calovskis, a Latvian national suspected of writing some of the Gozi source code, was arrested in his home country in November 2012. Mihai Ionut Paunescu, a Romanian national suspected of running a hosting service for distributing Gozi and other malware, was arrested in his country in December 2012.
Read more about malware/cybercrime in CSOonline's Malware/Cybercrime section.
Join the newsletter!
Have an opinion on security? Want to have your articles published on CSO? Please contact CSO Content Manager for our guidelines.


text:
Jessy7 needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 97 designs submitted by 20 freelance designers.
We are organising a fund raising project for a local school. We require 10 christmas card designs that are incorporated with a family photo.
The family Christmas Cards will be available to the school community with a percentage being donated to the school as part of annual fund raising activities. Each card will be personalised with a photo of the family, kids, pets etc as well as a christmas message.
We require a variety of designs to satisfy a wide variety of tastes and budgets. Modern and clean to cute and quirky - our families have children aged 5 -13yrs. Loads of colour and christmas cheer to be expressed in the designs. You will need to be able to wear a variety of hats to fulfil the final design pool.
This is a fun and positive project for us and we look forward to reviewing the submissions and working with you.
- Variety and style is important for this project.
- We would like to view minimum 2 designs from entrants to demonstrate a variety of styles.
- We would like to have the final design pool within 7 days of the contest closing.
- Each design is to include some level of stock photo to indicate placement only - these are not required in the final artwork.
- Clever and not typical use of images is encouraged, simple placement into a border is something we can achieve in-house.
- We want our families to be able to convey the positive message and personality of christmas and their family.
- Sizes that are available will be DL (99mm x 210mm), A6 (105mm x 150mm) & Square (120mm).
- Files must be provided in vector format in either Illustrator or Indesign CS3. No photoshop files please. Any links will be required for any final editing.
- Stylish and modern designs, all the christmas characters and themes - Santa, Rudolph and all the little elves that go with him are welcome.
- The photo needs to be displayed on the front of the card and the imagery is there to enhance/support it.
- Cards can be flat or folded, single or double sided.
- No religous denomination to be expressed.
- No wintery, snowy scenes.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Please select the PICKUP DATE and click on search to book a cab.
6+1₹ 24.0/km ₹ 19056.0 Excludes: DA, State/Permit Tax, Tolls & GSTEstimated : Fare Details+
Description Fare/km (₹) Estimated km Estimated Fare (₹) Regular Price 24.0 794 19056.0
Additional Cost
- Driver Allowance ₹ . 500
- GST at 5% ₹. 977
- Estimated Total Trip Cost is ₹. 20533.0
- After 794 km Per km charge ₹. 24.0 along with GST 5%
- After 11 Hours, Per Hour charges ₹. 100 along with GST 5%
- State/Permit taxes on actual basis whenever enter into a new state
- Any toll taxes, parking charges for one-way on actual basis
- Driver would take care of his food and stay
- Min. km charge is 150 km
- Vehicle not allowed to Driven on unpaved roads
- AC will be switched off in hilly areas
- Local travel is not allowed in Delhi
Exclusive Price
Please check the fare details carefully, so as to know additional
components like parking and waiting charges.
The fare shown is dependent on a pre-selected route, and might rise in case you decide to change the regular route.
We are always available on 801 032 0000 to help you in case of any queries.


text:
Some are almost ready and some are still under preparation, but in any case, we want to encourage you to join us on those events and why not... propose new ones:
(Check the Panoramio Events Calendar for latest information)
23-25 March: Festival of Colors in Utah, US
Photo by +Scott Jarvie
5th-8th April: Las Vegas Area G+/Panoramio Photowalk
21st April: Zurich Google Photowalk by +Thomas Leuthard
Photo by +Thomas Leuthard
4th-7th May: Yosemite National Park G+ Photowalk: Rainbows at Night
4th-5th May: Panomeeting in Heidelberg, Germany
12th May: 4th Edition of the Annual Dutch Panomeeting
12th May: The Catalan Panoramio Friends will meet today in Vic to have some photo-fun.
Full details here.
17th-20th May: Panomeeting of the Czech Photo Community in Jetřichovice, Czech Republic
Czech Panoramio meetings group
Forum Announcement of the event with more details
1st-4th June: G+ Photowalk June 1-4 in the Eastern Sierra Nevada
So as you can see the agenda is kind of full of very exciting opportunities that you should not miss.
If there is any event you want us to sponsor in our Events Calendar, please let me know and feel free to invite me to attend too... I love traveling, taking photos and meeting all of you in the field ;)
Happy trips!
Posted by +Gerard Sanz, Panoramio Community Manager


text:
Paynes Bay, St. James, Saint James
4 habitación
5.5 baño
The elegance of times gone by is reinterpreted for a postmodern world, graced by tropical breezes and panoramic sea views. From the impressively high vaulted terrace you will be welcomed by the most impressive sea views, where the clear Caribbean horizon is met by the bluest of skies. Indulge in 6,200 sq ft of luxurious and comfortable living space, including the finest features and fixtures, cool marble floors, vaulted ceilings, grand doorways and cutting-edge kitchen and bathrooms. The stunning classic modern interiors were created by leading designer Lynne Pemberton and truly reflects the exclusivity of the space. Italian loungers line the 60ft wide terrace, which also holds the private Jacuzzi pool. The highly professional management includes; an attentive concierge staff, housekeepers, maids, cooks and butlers. Smugglers Cove is located on Paynes Bay, one of Barbados' best beaches - swim, play, relax and then take a short walk to the world famous Sandy Lane Hotel. Golf at Sandy Lane or Royal Westmoreland, as well as boutique shopping, are all within a few minutes drive. Dine at one of the many excellent nearby ocean front restaurants, then stroll the tropically landscaped grounds to your pool or the sun loungers on the glorious beach to mingle with the best of neighbours.


text:
Love and Theft's Eric Gunderson Expecting Baby Boy!
It's a boy for Love and Theft's Eric Gunderson, who is expecting his first child with his wife, Emily, next spring.
The 'Runnin' Out of Air' singer broke the news with a statement to the Boot, sharing, "I'm so excited to have a boy! Emily would be happy either way, but I've been secretly planning father/son hunting and fishing trips all along."
Adds the proud papa-to-be, "I might even let him try his hand at guitar, although, you know those musicians are a handful."
The happy couple revealed their pregnancy to Taste of Country last month, and are expecting Baby Boy Gunderson on May 18 -- just weeks after the two will celebrate their third wedding anniversary. The singer married Emily, his then-longtime girlfriend, in a romantic Henderson, Tenn. ceremony in April 2010.
"My wife is very patient and supportive," Gunderson says of his beautiful bride. "She was my girlfriend from the beginning (of Love and Theft) and has watched us grow and grown with us ... I couldn't ask for a better wife. I'd be like a lost puppy without her."
Gunderson will no doubt remain busy leading up to the birth of his first child. Love and Theft is set to wrap their road responsibilities opening for Jake Owen later this month, just days after the duo will compete for Music Video of the Year: Group or Collaboration for 'Angel Eyes' during the second-annual American Country Awards ceremony.
The duo will continue to promote their new single, 'Runnin' Out of Air,' well into 2013. The R&B-influenced track is the radio follow-up to the duo's breakthrough No. 1 single, 'Angel Eyes.'


text:
Monaco GP 2008
Thursday Team Quotes
Kimi Raikkonen (3rd, 1:15.572): "I would say this was a normal day of free practice. We went quite well, especially on used tyres in the morning. But we struggled a bit to do a time on new tyres in the second session and now we have to look at the data carefully to understand how to improve. There is plenty of time to do that and so I am not particularly worried, at least at the moment. A wet race? It would make matters complicated but it would be the same for everyone."
Felipe Massa (4th, 1:15.869): "Our rivals are very strong here, even allowing for the unknown factor of fuel loads. I wasn't able to do a good lap on the soft tyres, but things went well on the hard ones: we have to study the situation calmly and try to get all the details right. If we compare today with the same time last year, I think we have made a step forward. We have changed the settings on the car compared to the past and now we hope we will see the benefits of this choice."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "A busy day of free practice on the streets of the Monaco Principality: in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, the F2008 racked up over four hundred kilometers, with no technical problems arising on either car. These three hours on track can be described as pretty useful. We gathered a lot of data which we now have to analyse to try and be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and Sunday's race. In particular, we have to try and improve our performance on the first lap, especially with the softer tyre, an aspect with which we struggled a bit today, compared to our main rivals. It will be a very tough weekend, which is in fact just what we had expected. There are so many variables to take into account: apart from the usual ones there will be the weather to consider, as the forecast is for it to worsen over the weekend, with a strong chance of rain. There is much work to do in the coming hours."
Luca Baldisserri, Head of Trackside Operations: "We were expecting a particularly difficult weekend and these three hours of free practice have not give us any reason to change our minds. While it is true that our preparations for this race have produced some results, it is equally true that our main rivals have not been twiddling their thumbs either and therefore have turned up here in very competitive shape. Our weak point today was mainly to do with performance on new tyres, especially on the softer tyre. We must carefully study the day and try and make the necessary changes so as to be competitive at the highest level. On top of that, we must also keep a careful eye on the weather, which could be the decisive factor for Saturday's qualifying and especially in Sunday's race."
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica (6th, 1:16.296): "The two practice sessions were quite ok today. It was a very busy Thursday and we covered a lot of laps. We now have to see how we can improve the car for Saturday."
Nick Heidfeld (11th, 1:16.426): "In the first session I realized the engine was losing power, so then looked to find a good spot to stop. Of course the failure cost us running time and data, but we still managed to make several changes to the car for the second session. It was a general improvement. Taking into account it is Monaco, I would say my car is very driveable."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "We were not able to complete our normal programme. This was because there were some interruptions during the sessions. Beside that we had to change the engine on Nick's car after the first session. We repeated some of the things we did at our latest test in Paul Ricard, because the track characteristics here in Monaco are very special. Because of this we used the wheel covers at the front. Now we have more than a day to evaluate the data, before we concentrate on the qualifying set-up for Saturday."
Fernando Alonso (7th, 1:16.310): "Overall the two sessions have gone well for us. The track was very dirty this morning, but we made good progress with our programme and the car reacted well to the changes we made. We seem to be on the pace in the long runs, but we must now improve our performance over a single lap because qualifying here is vital. That is where we will put our efforts."
Nelson Piquet (15th, 1:17.246): "Monaco is a difficult circuit and so I spent the day learning and familiarising myself with the track. We were able to evaluate some different set-ups, but I am still missing a bit of speed and I did not feel totally comfortable in the car. I hope that by Saturday I can make some progress with my engineers, so that I can make the most of the final free practice session. Then I need to approach qualifying calmly, especially as it' s more important here than anywhere else."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "A normal first day of practice in Monaco. Nelson covered a lot of laps to try and get comfortable with the circuit, although his run on soft tyres was interrupted when he hit the wall. With Fernando we were able to work on set-up as much as you can in Monaco, as it is always quite difficult to understand the car here. His progress looks good and apart from some slight damage we have had a successful day."
Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager: "Today we saw that finding the limits is not easy and you can quickly find yourself in the barriers. That was the case for our two drivers, which cost us a bit of track time. So we have not been able to completely finish our preparation, but the data we have gathered should be sufficient and we will add to that on Saturday morning before qualifying. As far as the engine is concerned, Monaco is a circuit that we know well and so we haven't had any big surprises."
Nico Rosberg (2nd, 1:15.533): "First of all, it's really nice to be driving here again because it's just a really fun track. I was looking forward to this weekend because I thought we were going to have a good car here and it now looks like we've arrived with a good set-up. I was going well all day and felt comfortable in the car. I am also able to push quite hard so I'm hoping that I can keep it up do a good job in qualifying and then have a good race. We worked on a few set-up variants today. We didn't finish the session using our optimum set-up, but we know where we need to go and we still have some reserves up our sleeves, so I am pretty happy with how things are looking."
Kazuki Nakajima (9th, 1:16.372): "It wasn't an easy day for me, but I think we've made some improvements when it comes to understanding the car and I'm getting used to the track as well. Because of the free day tomorrow, we have lots of time to go through today's data which will help us prepare for qualifying."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "It was a reasonably productive day for the team. Both drivers completed their set programmes, and it was good to get through both sessions without any incidents. The weekend is still young so the drivers need to keep their concentration up round this track. In terms of tyre choice, it's pretty clear which one is faster. In Monaco, we have an extra day in comparison to the normal schedule because there's no running on Friday, so we have plenty of time to prepare the cars for qualifying and the race."
Red Bull-Renault
Mark Webber (13th, 1:17.094): "We got through all our programme, but there is still some work to do, assuming we are looking at a dry qualifying and a dry race. At the moment the car is not suiting the track that well, but we know what we need to do to sort it out."
David Coulthard (14th, 1:17.131): "I lost some track time this morning with a throttle actuator problem and it's never good to miss out on any track time, especially here in Monaco. It meant we had to adjust our programme for this afternoon, to make sure I got more laps in and got myself back up to speed. I think I've recovered reasonably well, but in Monaco, the time you have the most knowledge of the track is on the last of the 78 laps on Sunday afternoon. So, not the best of starts, but I think we are now in good shape for the rest of the weekend."
Timo Glock (12th, 1:16.688): "It was an interesting experience to drive around Monaco in a Formula 1 car. This is a special event as there is no other track like it and the circuit is fun to drive. You are quite busy out there and you have lots to do. So far I am happy with the car but we still need to improve a few things to make it a bit quicker. I still need a bit more experience to get the most out of the car but it was a good start. Overall it was a good free practice - no damage and we made it through the whole programme. Now I hope to push hard for a better result at the weekend."
Jarno Trulli (17th, 1:17.379): "That was a difficult day for me. This morning I made a mistake and touched the wall on the way into the tunnel. That broke my rear suspension so I missed some running. Then in the afternoon we had a problem with the floor that made me lose a lot more track time so it is hard to draw too many conclusions so far. It's difficult to make predictions here because anything can happen. We are expecting to see a wet track during the weekend which will make things especially tough. So there are a lot of variables that make this a unique place to race but the atmosphere is always special."
Dieter Gass, Chief Race Engineer: "As usual in Monaco that was not an easy day. Jarno's first session was cut short because he made contact with the wall late on. Then in the afternoon we had a problem with the floor that we had to fix so his running time was further disrupted. Timo had a trouble-free day and he was able to run smoothly through his programme. The problem here is that with the circuit evolving so much, you have to take a step back and analyse the data. Now we have plenty of time tomorrow to come up with the best set-up for Saturday. With rain forecast for later in the weekend, the weather could still play a major part in proceedings."
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Sebastien Bourdais (18th, 1:17.581): "This morning when I woke up, I thought, 'this is it, I'm finally going to drive Monaco in an F1 car!' It was a case of finding out about the new car which was always going to be difficult on this demanding track. We always ran with a heavy fuel load so we should not read anything into the lap times. We are not where we want to be but I don't think we are as far behind as it might look. However, I was expecting us to be in slightly better shape than this, which means Saturday and Sunday are going to be interesting. We are lacking a bit of grip, maybe because we lack a little downforce in this maximum downforce set-up, which our top speeds would also suggest. At least my past experience here has been a help and this morning I got into a rhythm quite quickly."
Sebastian Vettel (20th, 1:18.225): "Certainly not the best first two sessions of a race weekend. It is the first time we have had the new car at a race, so it was always going to be difficult to know what to expect and I seemed to struggle a lot. I was fighting with the car on a circuit that I have always liked in the past. I have nothing against street circuits; quite the opposite in fact. We were struggling to find the right direction to go in, but by the end of the second session we made a step forward but it is not yet enough."
Jenson Button (8th, 1:16.351): "It's always very exciting to be back in Monaco and out on track for the first day of running. We had two good opening sessions and I had a reasonable balance right from the start, particularly on the harder tyre. This afternoon has really been about getting the long runs in, getting used to the balance and making some improvements. We have a lot of useful information from the two sessions today, however as always there is still work to do. We are not quite where we would like to be yet, and as qualifying does not take place until Saturday, I have plenty of time to work with the engineers. I'm confident that we will be in a good position for qualifying and also well prepared for any changes in the weather conditions."
Rubens Barrichello (10th, 1:16.418): "Our programme today was focused on the set-up of the car as the track improves a great deal here over the sessions. We completed a good part of our work as the car feels competitive this afternoon, so I am happy with what we achieved. As always, we don't really know where we stand in terms of the competition yet as everyone will have been running different set-up and fuel programmes. Monaco is always a very open race where it is important to have a good qualifying session. Based on our work today, I believe we can have a good weekend; so let's hope that this is the case. The weather will no doubt play a part on Saturday and Sunday as it looks like we will have some rain."
Steve Clark, Head of Race & Test Engineering: "This morning was spent conducting race preparation work, whilst the second session was dedicated to set-up work and evaluating the tyres for qualifying. Neither driver had a particularly good run on the option tyre, which is brand new for this race. This is not surprising for a Thursday here as the track grip will continue to improve considerably, so we still expect the option to be a good tyre for qualifying and the race. We had a good test at Paul Ricard last week and it appears that our relative performance is back to where we were at Barcelona. It is never wise to be over confident at Monaco as there are so many variables affecting the race outcome. From a performance point of view we are hopeful of getting into the points on merit. There is a chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday which at this track amounts to a big roll of the dice. We will be looking to take advantage of any opportunity to move further up the field."
Force India-Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella (16th, 1:17.251): "I was quite happy with today and am looking forward to qualifying on Saturday. Apart from a small problem in the last session that stopped me from doing my new tyre run, I was quite happy with the set up and the balance. We're working well around the track but we will have to see what happens over the weekend as the weather could change and the track conditions too."
Adrian Sutil (19th, 1:18.176): "It was interesting free practice. Obviously the track is a street circuit so you take some time to get used to it and also for the track to get some rubber back on it. In general it was OK, but we have a few problems with the understeer on the car again and the same procedure with the tyres as in all the previous events - it is very difficult to get the tyres to work well. The long runs are quite quick and I am quite happy about it but over the shorter runs we have to work with the tyres a bit more. I think though with a bit of work we can be quite competitive over the weekend."
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A reasonably good day, although both drivers had problems on their last runs on new tyres in the last session this afternoon. Giancarlo had a hydraulic problem that meant he couldn't run at the end and Adrian was on a much quicker lap but unfortunately just clipped the barrier at the last corner. These things can happen though, especially in Monaco. We did however get through a large amount of running and worked through the tyre programme. Overall the cars look quite competitive here so I am sure there is more to come over the weekend."
Lewis Hamilton (1st, 1:15.140): "I simply love Monaco and enjoy every single moment I get to spend on the track. The car felt great almost immediately and I was able to show a good pace from the very beginning. As the circuit evolved throughout both practice sessions we made some good progress with both the set-up and tyre evaluation. I spent the first session on the same set of tyres. There is a long way to go, but I enjoy this so much and we will work hard to continue making progress."
Heikki Kovalainen (5th, 1:15.881): "A positive start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, and I am confident there is still more to come. Towards the end of the second session when I put on a new set of tyres we had made some set-up changes which were not as positive as we thought they would be. In addition I wasn't pleased with my lap, so I am confident that we will continue to improve in Saturday's practice session. It's always great to drive around this track, and it's almost impossible to describe what it feels like. I can't wait for the rest of the Monaco Grand Prix."
Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "Two uneventful practice sessions which is always the best start to a Monaco Grand Prix weekend. We made good progress with both cars and evaluated the tyre options. There is still some work to do but we are looking forward to the weekend and will continue to work hard to add another victory to our 14 Monaco race wins. However it's not going to be easy as our competition is strong, and the weather might make things more unpredictable."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "A very good first practice day for us and a good job from all our team members. Lewis obviously feels at home in-between the guardrails; he was fast and didn't put a foot wrong today. Heikki's lap times looked good and consistent, too. In Saturday's qualifying we now want to build on the basis we achieved today. The weather forecast predicts rain for the race on Sunday, but on Saturday there is a chance for a dry qualifying."


text:
Time for a public service announcement. We've reported on the demise of Microsoft Points on the Xbox platform in the past. The community has been divided on whether they like or dislike the point system. Well it doesn't matter anymore how you feel, because Microsoft is moving away from points to local currencies. And it's starting today.
A few readers have tipped us this morning about an update for the Xbox 360. What's new in the update? We're hearing that MS Points have been retired alongside some aesthetic changes. Sure enough, Major Nelson and Xbox have confirmed that the 2013 Xbox Live update is slowly rolling out to users. This update does include a conversion of MS Points to local currency.
After you receive and install the update you'll walk through a guide detailing the change. Your current MS Point balance will be converted to your local currency. It will round up, not down, in situations where you don't get a nice number. The amount will be applied to your Microsoft account so you can purchase content in other places like the Windows Phone Store.
Read up on the FAQ posted to the Xbox website. It details a few other changes like needing to use the amount added to your account at the time of transition by June 1, 2015. Codes and gift cards you get for MS Points will be redeemable for the remainder of the year.
Source: Major Nelson
Thanks for the tip Hitesh S!


text:
The musicians you see on these pages were not chosen by me. For the first time, we opened up the nomination process to the public, resulting in one of the most eclectic, and representative, ballots ever. Longtime bands this paper has never nominated--The Feds, Fair to Midland, Olospo--stood proudly alongside bands we'd never even heard of. In the end, it didn't make too much difference: The Burden Brothers swept.
But wait, it did make a difference. Because this year, the awards truly belonged to the fans of our local music scene--the ones who stand in line, who buy the CD and the shirt, who go to the in-store and the club gig, who know all the lyrics and elbow their way down front every Friday night. Let's be honest: In Dallas, there aren't as many of us as we wish. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with people about how--how!?!--to get this city more excited about local music. Well, take a look at that picture. There's a lot of talent there. I hope you're not missing out on it.
If you're reading this, you're probably not. The bands probably know your face; the bartenders probably know your drink. And if so, this issue is for you. Because you know that while Austin is the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world and Houston is the new rap capital of the South, Dallas is something entirely its own--a mix of talent and personality, mood and mettle, art and quirk. There is something hardscrabble and flinty about the musicians of Dallas--because they have to fight for every ounce of respect they get. When the clubs are empty, when the money runs out, when major-label deals go sour, when everything flat out sucks, they do not quit. And we love them for that.
On the following pages, you will find a wide array of musicians: from a young, ambitious band that won the reality-television-show lottery to an older, ambitious band that beat back anger and disappointment to find success a second time around. From two bookish teenage sisters from Tyler with ribboned, mythical visions to the devil-be-damned band of the late Dimebag Darrell. We raise our glasses to all of you with this promise: We will keep coming, if you keep on going.
A few people to thank, because I can: Amanda Bigbee, Amber Abdullah and Jacquie Washington, for the thankless (well, not quite!) task of entering ballots; all the writers, but especially Zac Crain and Sam Machkovech, who tempered my angst with equal measures help and humor; Mike Simmons and Mark Graham, for putting together what, as far as I can tell, is the most artful music awards issue ever; Lindsay Graham, for inspiration and counsel; and the people out there brave enough to take the stage. It is yours to enjoy. So is this issue. --Sarah Hepola
Burden Brothers
Best Act Overall, Best Guitarist (Corey Rozzoni), Rock/Pop, Best Male Vocalist, Best Songwriter, Best Bassist (Casey Orr), Best Drummer (Taz Bentley), Best Song (Shadow)
True story: The Burden Brothers were playing some radio-sponsored concert in Chicago to promote their new single "Shadow." It was one of those do-what-ya-gotta-do gigs, in which they were one of a gajillion up-and-coming bands, the rest of whom were a little less '70s arena rock and a little more shut-up-and-shred-asshole. So one look at this hardcore crowd, and the Burden Brothers know it's not their scene. I mean, these are dudes wearing nail polish and eyeliner onstage, for Christ's sake. Still, they hadn't guessed how bad it would get. The kids started booing them, throwing shit at them, calling them fags, and at that point there are two things you can do: You can leave--or you can rock. As Best Guitarist award winner Corey Rozzoni tells the story, the band flew right in the face of it, yelling back at the audience, playing even louder and fiercer, laughing at every epithet hurled, a full-throttle punk-rock middle finger of a set.
I tell this story for three reasons. 1) Maybe it will make other artists feel better about the fact that the Burden Brothers won practically every award they were nominated for. 2) I still seek revenge for the night band members got me drunker than a Kennedy at prom. 3) Most important, though, it shows the serious stuff these guys are made of. Theirs is the story that comes after VH1's Behind the Music, after the rise and the crash and the aftermath, when there is simply a band that wants to play music for you, less interested in fame than longevity, with a simple, clear mission: Rock Your Face Off Like a Motherfucker. That's the inspiration for the name of their DVD, in case you were wondering: RYFOLAMF. Catchy little acronym, isn't it?
By now, the story that precedes the Burden Brothers' awards sweep here is local lore. Burned by major-label woes and band turmoil, Toadies front man Vaden Todd Lewis calls it quits and, for the hell of it, teams up with buddy Taz Bentley, former ace drummer for Reverend Horton Heat. The two start churning out hard stuff--fast and dirty and loud. And, because they can, they put the songs online. Only the songs turn out to be good--a little too good to pass up. In short: Band signs with Kirtland Records, band offers up radio-ready single (last year's Best Song award winner, "Beautiful Night"), band releases Buried in Your Black Heart and then sits back and waits, right? Actually, no. This past year saw the Burden Brothers--which also includes Best Bassist award winner and veteran player Casey Orr and the young, talented guitarist Casey Hess--hoofing it around the country, filming videos, playing thankless gigs like the one in Chicago, opening for Billy Idol at SXSW, all the while promoting their slow burn of an alternative-rock single, "Shadow," which readers voted overwhelmingly to crown best song of the year. Not to mention the fact that they're still writing new material. That nightmare gig I told you about? It inspired Lewis to write a song called "Goodnight From Chicago," which brings up what really sets the Burden Brothers apart from other bands. Because some let their anger eat them alive, and some use it to rock your face off like a motherfucker. True story, I swear. --S.H.
Chris Holt
Musician of the Year
No one will be more surprised about Chris Holt winning Musician of the Year than Chris Holt. Endlessly self-deprecating and just plain nice, the 32-year-old Holt is almost too polite to be a rock star. When the Dallas Observer photographer asked him to sit for a second photo for this issue, he worried his first batch of portraits had just been that bad. But Holt, without making much of a fuss about it, has quietly become one of the busiest, and most reliable, musicians in town: This year alone, he played with Olospo, The Lonelies, Petty Theft, Hard Night's Day, Jones Thing, Rahim Quazi and Sorta, in addition to playing weekly all-request gigs at the Barley House, finishing a solo album, Summer Reverb, and generally being the go-to guy for guitar and keys. His talent and musical dexterity have almost become a handicap; he does so much it's sometimes hard to figure out what he actually does. His band Olospo (cringe-inducing name inspiration: Polo Sport) packs in the patchouli-wearing, tank-topped lovelies by playing wildly intricate music that is part Rush, part Ben Folds. Holt shirks the "jam band" label ("I hate Widespread Panic!" he once said), but how else do you describe a band that plays self-described "13-minute musical odysseys"? Meanwhile, his work with cover bands has revealed what a versatile player he is, while his all-request gigs (sometimes performed under the name "Chris Holt's Jukebox") spotlight a near-encyclopedic facility with pop music and a charming willingness to throw caution three sheets to the wind. And yet, not enough people have heard Chris Holt the singer-songwriter, who draws inspiration from Elliott Smith and Wilco to craft songs that can be as memorable as they are melodic. But his side projects are so popular, and entertaining, that it's sometimes a battle for Holt to get even his biggest fans to listen to his new work. Well, not anymore. --S.H.
Flickerstick Tarantula
Best Album (Idol Records)
There is nothing wrong with liking Flickerstick. That wasn't so easy to admit back in 2001, when the group was on its way to winning VH1's Bands on the Run. Flickerstick (especially then-drummer Dominic Weir) made for phenomenal television, fighting and hooking up and drinking like all great reality-television superstars are contractually bound to do. But musically--well, at least they looked good on TV. Their live shows were charismatic, but their album Welcoming Home the Astronauts (re-released by Epic in the wake of Bands on the Run), while at times catchy and melodic, was ultimately safe. And by "safe," we mean "boring." The only exception was "Beautiful," an anthem for young drunk girls everywhere.
But plenty of young drunk girls (and their young drunk boyfriends) became fans of the band. Fortunately for Flickerstick, those new fans stuck by the band during a four-year gap between new albums with only a live record (2002's Causing a Catastrophe--Live) and EP (To Madagascar and Back) to tide them over. The wait was worth it: While Tarantula, released last year on Dallas' Idol Records, isn't exactly dangerous, it's a more diverse album than Astronauts, the kind that not only maintains a fan base but also builds it. Astronauts sounded like a band in search of a major-label deal. Tarantula, on the other hand, sounds like a band happy to be liberated from corporate clutches; the music and the musicians have never sounded freer. "When You Were Young" echoes the Bunnymen with a symphonic sound, and "Teenage Dope Fiend" is the kind of teen anthem that made The Vines (briefly) stars, with its "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon" chorus.
We tried not to like it--really, we did--but our toes began tapping in spite of themselves, and soon enough, we were singing along. So go ahead and start liking them. Seriously, there's nothing wrong. --Merritt Martin
Stacy and Sherri Dupree (Eisley)
Best Female Vocalist
"Melodic," "angelic," "melancholy," "lovely," "crystalline," "cloying"--these are but a smattering of rock-crit adjectives slathered upon the sisters DuPree, whose Eisley bowed, at last, with a full-length, Room Noises. Those who would dismiss them as cloying--and, Rolling Stone, we're looking in your direction--miss the point entirely. Or perhaps they simply can't stomach so much loveliness in one sitting. This is light stuff but not lightweight, sweet stuff but not saccharine, moody stuff but never so mellow you could roast it over a campfire between graham crackers and chocolate bars. There's a reason Coldplay loves them so, and why Snow Patrol took them on tour: They make modern rock for people not yet ready to move into the future, for those who prefer their heartbreak comforting and their romance discomfiting and their salty tears just a tad bit sweeter than everyone else's.
Sure, the DuPrees write and perform material that's not hard to mock ("how the pollen fell all around your face in strange, yellow patterns"; "all the war horses wore rubber bands"). Anything's easy to dump on if you refuse to get it. But make no mistake: It takes guts to get out there and pretend punk (or, for that matter, rock of any kind) never happened, to open your mouths and let fly with some of the most florid imagery and baroque vocals this side of Tori Amos or Kristen Hersh or that chick from the Cardigans. Punk doesn't take guts. Singing about dreary birds parading across dreary skies and bats with butterfly wings, Holmes, that takes real balls. It's deceptively simple--the innocent longings of young women not yet ready to give up little-girl things, not yet ready to accept that what's out there is far less interesting or rewarding than what remains untouched and unblemished in here. --Robert Wilonsky
A Dozen Furies
Best New Act
A few weeks after their guitarist Marc Serrano first appeared on MTV's reality show Battle for Ozzfest, the five sufficiently scruffy, black-clad members of A Dozen Furies piled into my office for an interview. Back then, they were nobodies--kids from Plano with metal in their mouths, who quit their day jobs and toured the country in a crappy van (that is, until the van broke down). But an odd benefactor presented himself in the form of Ozzy Osbourne, reality-show guru, possible loon, whose new enterprise was a kind of Real World/Road Rules Challenge for the black hoodie set. The band beat out 300 hardcore acts at an L.A. audition to land a spot on the show, which picked Serrano as ADF's on-camera representative.
"I was really excited the night the show came on," said Serrano, a pint-sized pretty boy with tattoos wrapping around his arms. "The minute the credits started rolling for the show before ours, my heart started fluttering."
"It could turn out to be really big," said lead singer Bucky Garrett. "It's like American Idol for metal bands."
In those days, the boys were adjusting to their minor fame, grappling to explain the show's concept to local news anchors and wondering, privately, what all the attention would mean. Of course, A Dozen Furies went on to win Battle for Ozzfest, landing $60,000, a slew of Guitar Center gear, a record contract with Sanctuary Records and a slot on the second stage of this summer's Ozzfest. The band is currently at work on its first full-length, which follows up last year's Rip Down the Stars, an EP that flaunts its commitment to noise and speed above all else.
So now, those sweet, unwashed boys with marquee dreams have become bona fide local heroes with one of the city's biggest draws. Serrano rocked a leather bikini on national television. And they have no doubt collected enough stoned-with-celebrity stories to last a decade. But I will always think of them as the goofballs in my office, cramped four to a couch, cracking so many in-jokes that Serrano finally threw up his hands and said, "See, this is why I do all the interviews by myself." --S.H.
DJ Merritt
Year after year, DJ Merritt pulls off a win in the DJ/Electronic category, and on some level, the reason is simple: Everyone has heard, and heard of, DJ Merritt. Dallas has its fair share of nightly DJ hot spots, and more regulars are making their names known around town with residence gigs, but Merritt has the lock on our attention with his work on Edge Club, a live club-mix show that's been around since 102.1 was 94.5 on the dial. The show has survived not only a switch in frequencies but also last year's unofficial station merger with the late 97.1 The Eagle. Luckily, Merritt has maintained Edge Club's quality, making dance station 106.7 KDL sound boring in comparison, with rapid-fire mixes of recent dance tracks, self-produced beats and rock-song segues. That work alone is enough to deserve the award, but Merritt doesn't rest on his radio laurels, as you'll find him spinning at every nook and cranny in town, from hot clubs to DJ competitions to even museums like the Nasher Sculpture Center. It's one thing to have a known name as a DJ, but Merritt wins by working his butt off to earn that recognition. --Sam Machkovech
One O'Clock Lab Band
Remember when jazz was for the young and rebellious, the kids who dared to turn off the squeaky clean Tin Pan Alley classics and get turned on to music a little sexier, a lot less predictable and--gasp--improvised? Yeah, neither do we. Nowadays, jazz seems as dated as zoot suits and stockings with seams. To the average music buyer, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington are just names on cheap compilation CDs, and jazz is something you hear in restaurants or elevators. But there is at least one place where jazz is still for the young. The University of North Texas has been offering a bachelor of music in jazz studies since 1947 (it was the first university to offer such a program), and it's still the place college freshmen come looking for their own Birth of the Cool, toting trumpets, guitars and other instruments in black cases strapped across their backs, talking up faculty members and professional musicians such as Neil Slater and Ed Soph and, most important, sweating the annual auditions for the lab bands--nine jazz performance bands with the top one, the One O'Clock Lab Band, featuring 20 of the best jazz musicians from a school of nearly 400 outstanding undergrad and graduate student musicians. The One O'Clock is more than an extracurricular activity. The band has headlined the Montreux International Jazz Festival, been nominated for Grammy Awards and toured Europe, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan and more. In addition to being world-renowned, the One O'Clock Lab Band has affected local music, too: All of the four other groups nominated in this category have UNT jazz studies connections, including some lab band alumni. --Shannon Sutlief
Slick 57
Were this some high school poll, and not the Dallas Observer Music Awards, John Pedigo and "Big Ward" Richmond would surely win for class clowns. Hilarious and never above (below?) a cheap gimmick, the high school buddies sharpened their schtick as drama geeks at Woodrow Wilson High, where they crafted absurd home videos before turning to the far more respectable (and lucrative!) career of touring rockabilly band. Along with drummer Rob "the Heartthrob" Schumacher, they make Slick 57 not just a good show but an entertaining one--Richmond furiously plucking those stand-up bass strings, Pedigo jumping around the stage with his guitar, flinging his wounded Billie Joe Armstrong howl to the back of the rafters. Their aptly named second album, LOVE/LOST/EXHAUST, is like a beer-soaked, roaring midnight drive with a guide who probably shouldn't be behind the wheel. The best songs here barely pause for breath: They're celebrations of riffage, speed, booze and other proper forms of young male suffering. But funny enough, the more these guys bleed, the more we smile. Slick indeed. --S.H.
No one here will ever pretend, even at this late date, that we ever quite got Damageplan or, before that, Pantera; the Observer archives are too stuffed with unflattering words to try to take them back. We felt the loss of guitarist Darrell Abbott, absolutely, but from the distance reserved for those who write about local musicians and cross paths with them. I'd met the man several times--he and brother Vinnie Paul even showed up to a Dallas Observer Music Awards shindig several years ago to claim a prize they needed as much as another doorstop--and found him charming and guileless, a superstar who pretended as though he were unaware of the status bestowed upon him. And certainly, we were all stung by the news of his murder on December 8 on a Columbus, Ohio, stage--at the hand of a deranged fan, no less. But it didn't hit us as hard as it did those who, on December 14 of last year, crowded into the Arlington Convention Center to mourn his passing and share their grief and final fuck yeahs for the man called Dimebag. They were his family, immediate and extended and forever.
But getting it isn't so important anymore, because we're well past having to; Abbott and Damageplan and Pantera have now passed into myth, the realm of legend to which beloved and tragic figures are allowed instant access. Abbott is another Marvin Gaye now, another Sam Cooke, another Peter Tosh, another Tupac--or, at least, another Mia Zapata or Bobby Fuller--a rock-and-roll martyr whose death guarantees he will live forever, a rock god made immortal by an assassin. For proof, look no further than the countless rock-mag covers he graced after his death, listen no further than the hallelujah choruses sung by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Zakk Wylde and the other guitarists who filed onto the stage in Arlington. Now, everyone in town will claim to have known Dimebag, to have partied with him at the Clubhouse, to have built a guitar for him, to have ruined his liver with him in 18 states (as Wylde mentioned from the stage that night).
What becomes of Damageplan now? No one is quite sure, though there have been the inevitable rumors of a DVD release, of a second album mostly completed, of outtakes from the New Found Power sessions. There's also talk of old, unreleased Pantera tracks finding their way into stores, including some from a never-completed post-Reinventing the Steel disc. And what will become of the music made by Rebel Meets Rebel, Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's country collaboration with David Allan Coe? Answers will come shortly, but the music business has taught us that dead musicians live profitable afterlives on the new-release schedules.
If nothing else, Abbott's murder did get some of us, the disinterested or the unfairly dismissive, to go back and listen to what we might have missed the first time around, and sure enough you can hear what so many others got from the very beginning--the groove beneath the growl, the rumble beneath the roar, the look-at-how-much-fuckin'-fun-I'm-havin' smile of a talented man who dug playing sidekick to front men (Phil Anselmo in Pantera, Pat Lachman in Damageplan) who always seemed so pissed off about something. So, to Damageplan we offer our congratulations on this award, handed to you not just by us, but also from the thousands who voted for you and the millions who cheered for you then and now. --R.W.
The Polyphonic Spree
The first mistake The Polyphonic Spree made was recording an album. The second was recording another one. I'm not trying to piss on their parade. You may enjoy The Beginning Stages of... or Together We're Heavy, and that's perfectly OK. But you'd be hard-pressed to make a compelling argument that either record is revolutionary. Go ahead and take that case to a jury. They'll be out less than an hour.
Here's why they shouldn't have made a record, or two of them: While there's nothing much avant-garde or experimental about the band in the studio, there is plenty of it onstage. With 20 some-odd people in matching robes singing and swaying and stomping like a church choir as imagined by David LaChapelle, The Polyphonic Spree's stage show is a breathtaking happening that lures in even the most cynical observer. It's an overwhelming blast of sight and sound, leaving your eyes and ears as helpless as the last Texan rebels at the Alamo. Go to one of their shows and you will be entertained, whether you like it or not. But none of that, not one single bit, comes across on a CD. Which is a shame. They should have taken their show on the road, invading a town for a few days as the word of mouth built into a tidal wave, then scurried off to conquer another city. They would have had an air of mystery, that certain something that turns rock shows into events. They did this in Austin at South by Southwest and New York at the CMJ New Music Marathon, never needing an album to put asses in the seats. It would have worked. They've actually talked about this. (Broadway, perhaps?) After a couple of tours, then they could put out a DVD, so people could hear and see The Polyphonic Spree, the way the group should properly be experienced. I'm telling you: genius. Would that make any money? I don't know. That's why I don't manage bands. --Zac Crain
Boys Named Sue
Country and Western
Texas is made up of two kinds of folk: people who get country music and people who can't stand it. The latter will point to Shania Twain, Brooks & Dunn and Randy Travis while making a gagging noise, but what they don't know is that many people who love country music do the same thing, too. See, that's watered-down, mainstream junk, and there's great music to be heard in the country genre, but for newcomers, sitting at home with Willie, Merle and Johnny records isn't the best way to start. What y'all need is a dirty bar, a few beers and Boys Named Sue. Easily Dallas' best gateway to the country genre, the Boys, whose members come from fine local bands like Slick 57, Trainwreck and Deadman, are a cover band trapped in the days when Sun Records meant something, yet also have one foot planted firmly in the present. Classic country jewels written by Roger Miller and Doug Sahm get mixed up in the set list with Southern versions of Violent Femmes and Pixies songs, and whether the band re-creates Eminem beats with pedal steel or plays the hell out of its Johnny Cash namesake, it does its damnedest to unite the two kinds of country listeners with a good, boozy time. --S.M.
Fishing for Comets
Fishing for Comets may be the poster children for 2005's DOMAs, a year that marks the first time fans' votes created the ballot. Because Fishing for Comets is here for one reason: fans. Fans who voted in the ballot phase. Fans who voted in the award phase. They credit their fans for everything; they're fortunate, they say, to have people who like them. (Counting Cindy Chaffin from TexasGigs.com as one of those fans doesn't hurt either.) As a group, Fishing for Comets has been playing for less than six months. They're not widely known, they've played mostly opening gigs, their debut CD isn't well-distributed. In fact, the female-fronted quartet didn't start a nomination campaign until the week before the ballot voting was over, and even then it was at a fan's urging. So, for those who haven't heard this dark-horse contender--an all-acoustic band that also features Sam Romero on guitars, Eric Swanson on bass and mandolin, and John Solis on drums--the easiest comparison is The Sundays, a band that singer-songwriter Camille Cortinas hadn't even heard of until recently. Both have sweet, simple vocals trilling over equally sweet, simple lyrics. But the Lisa Loeb comparison works, too. Neither would be bad company for Fishing for Comets, but the band members prefer to think of their music as intimate and personal, which is how they like their shows, too. They like smaller clubs such as Ginger Man, Club Dada, Liquid Lounge and Standard & Pours (though they've also played Trees). This is one folk/acoustic winner with no aspirations of plugging in and taking off; they just want more gigs in more venues in more cities and to finish their first full-length within the next three or four months. Sweet and simple, just like their music. --S.S.
Common Folk
On "Jukebox," the third song on Common Folk's 2003 debut, Souled Out, brothers Terry Williams and Tony Ballard tick off their musical influences: "We put stock in Lauryn Hill/Miss Badu 'cause she keeps it real/Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway/BeBe Winans and Marvin Gaye/Alicia Keys with some Macy Gray." With that in mind, Common Folk sounds exactly like you might expect: warm, back-in-the-day soul with plenty of room for handclaps and Bootsy Collins bass. Their songs are honest, earnest laments of good black men getting right in the world--and bringing their culture along with them: "Seven G's on your pinky ring/It's all right if you like the bling-bling/And if you like the finer things/As long as they don't control you," they sing on "Consumed," the album's opener and finest track. In a musical climate where crunk passes for innovation and violence seems practically a prerequisite for a successful career, a band like Common Folk is like a cool breeze cutting through the dank room: musicians who make good music but also seem like good people, which is awful nice for a change. --S.H.
Dot Matrix
Hip Hop/Rap
This year's battle for best hip-hop/rap is encouraging for a city whose rap radio ratings are sky-high but hasn't seen a national superstar since the days of the D.O.C. In March, voters put three of Dallas' hottest MCs on the ballot: There's Pikahsso, the one-man posse who drops jokes and rhymes as smoothly as he sings Funkadelic-inspired hooks; there's Tahiti, the craziest, wittiest old-school rapper in town who drops all blingin' pretenses and moves a crowd by admitting that he's "whack"; and there's definitely Steve Austin, the self-proclaimed "champ" who rocks a mike with so much fire and confidence it's hard not to call Damon Dash or P. Diddy and beg him to sign this guy now. Still, these three rising Dallas hip-hop icons weren't enough to dethrone six-member Dot Matrix from the group's top spot at the DOMAs for the third year in a row. Their rap-rock attack finds a unique boost in a sax player who balances the band's jazz and rock elements, and their dual MCs kick verses back and forth on the old-school tip without falling into hip-hop clichés. It was easier to call Dot Matrix a lock for the contest years ago, but this year's neck-and-neck vote hints at an even more exciting race next go-round. --S.M.
Rob G. and the Latin Pimps
When I received a CD by a band called Latin Pimps, I made sure to procrastinate opening the plastic seal. After working in a kitchen where every generic Latin band in the world became the soundtrack to flipping hamburgers, I was burned out on the genre. And the band's goofy name didn't help. But I noticed Centro-matic's Matt Pence (winner of the Best Producer award) credited with mixing Me Voy (translation: I'm Going), and it was enough to pique my interest. Turns out the music is more than merely palatable--somewhere between Gipsy Kings and Calexico, which means it's mainstream enough for a casual listener but has interesting musical twists for the discerning ear. This full-on Latin band succeeds in both traditional Latin rhythms, with lovely horn melodies over strumming guitars and Robert Gomez's Tecate-soaked vocals, and also more experimental sounds, like the ringing bells and xylophones peppered through "Me Voy Postludio." Don't write off this category as I almost did. Rob G. and the Latin Pimps are making music that deserves even bigger awards than this one. --S.M.
You might be surprised at the number of blues clubs around town: Keys Lounge, Deep Ellum Blues, Lota's Goat, Hole in the Wall, 6th Street Grill, J&J's, to name a few. It's hard to believe they can all stay in business, what with no radio station to support the genre like rock, hip-hop and Latin music receive. Even more interesting is that one band plays so many of these joints it could single-handedly keep them all afloat. The Silvertones, three-time winners of the best blues award, have been rustling around Dallas since 1993, and to put that in perspective, blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan has been dead only three years longer than they've been together. It's an appropriate touchstone, as Leo De La Vega leads his rock-leaning blues quartet with loud howls and guitar wails that would make Vaughan a proud papa. The guys are currently at work on a third LP, and in the meantime, you can always catch them live. Don't worry if you miss a show--you'll just have to wait a couple of days. --S.M.
Hard Night's Day
Cover Band
Show me someone who doesn't like the Beatles, and I'll show you a grouch who hasn't actually listened to them. Look, I don't care what kind of music you're into--the Beatles wrote a song for you, whether it's the buzzmuffle of "Revolution 9" or the pure heartbroken perfection of "Junk." People who hate the Beatles are just being difficult, which is exactly how I feel about people who don't like Hard Night's Day. Sure, they're a cover band. Sure, it's the least controversial music ever. Get over it. This Fab Four tribute act (oddly numbering five) are not only great musicians, but they also put on a show that is as hard to resist as a two-scoop ice cream sundae. HND's regular happy-hour gigs at Club Dada, The Bone and Lakewood Bar & Grill (among other locales) are sunny, toe-tapping evenings that bridge the chasm between moms and granddads, little girls and their daddies, couples of all ages, even snarky music journalist-types nursing a beer or seven. And by show's end, you'll find the whole strange crew on the dance floor, awkward and unconcerned, singing along to, say, "Come Together," which is exactly what this band makes happen. There's a reason Hard Night's Day has won the cover band category three years in a row. You like them. You really, really like them. --S.H.
The Adventure Club
Best Radio Program That Plays Local Music
Josh Venable's Sunday-night show The Adventure Club is DOMA's safest bet--with eight awards received in its 11 years on The Edge. But it's not just his home on a Clear Channel station, his longevity, a prime-time slot (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.), rabid fans, industry connections and great prize giveaways that cinch his victories. He has the music, too. Where else can you hear Christy Darlington cover Morrissey's "Sister I'm a Poet," not-yet-released tracks by The Deathray Davies and an acoustic session with the pAper chAse? It's those rarities that keep fans TiVoing The Simpsons and Arrested Development so they can tune in to The Adventure Club. Granted, Venable doesn't play local music exclusively, but he places it on an even scale with Bright Eyes, Morrissey or The Libertines--opening ears and, possibly, wallets of people who might not spend their weekends in bars catching local talent. In this category, Venable is like the local band on a major label--homegrown talent with the wattage and financial support that the other guys don't have (except for fellow Edge program/DOMA nominee The Local Show with Chris Ryan, The Adventure Club's harder-edged, red-headed stepchild). But the indie kids, some of whom credit Venable for encouraging them to start their own shows, deserve props as well. KTCU's The Good Show brings bands into the studio each Sunday night to perform a few of their songs, play some others and maybe request a few of their favorites. And KNTU's Frequency Down this year added a new segment called "Playing Favorites," in which local bands play one song that best represents them and a handful of tracks that influenced or inspired them (The Happy Bullets and Black Tie Dynasty are among the participants so far). Tune in if you can; it's not like you're cheating, since they air after The Adventure Club ends anyway. And, of course, you can catch Texas Radio1 online, all day, every day, at TexasRadio1.com. When you get down to it, they're all pretty safe bets. --S.S.
If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.
You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!
Matt Pence
Best Producer
I've had a theory for a while now that drummers make good producers. Partly because they have to listen to more of the band than anyone else, partly because they have to keep the whole mess together, partly just because. I don't really know why. Just something about them. If you want to extrapolate on that theory, the best drummers make great producers, and that's where Matt Pence comes in. I stood next to the stage near where his drums were set up during his band Centro-matic's show in Austin during South by Southwest, and his playing was so tight, so mesmerizing, I barely noticed the rest of the band. Jason Garner and Jeff Ryan, both talented drummers themselves, stood next to me, more or less in awe as Pence turned each fill into a jazz solo without ever losing the beat. That said, maybe it makes more sense to give this award to one of the guys whose recording calendar has more local names on it--say, Paul Williams, maybe, or Stuart Sikes. But you can't really fault Pence just because his reputation has outgrown the confines of the D-D-FW area. So he's spent the last year recording bands that have to dial long distance to call home (like The Long Winters, Glossary and American Music Club). So what? Just be happy that people from outside our little scene (such that it is) are acknowledging the genius of someone in the thick of it. --Z.C.
Idol Records
Record Label
Erv Karwelis used to be virtually guaranteed to leave the music awards show with one of those 15-pound doorstops with the name of his company, Idol Records, on it. There weren't many other labels in town, and Idol was easily better than the ones that were. But then Idol's best-selling bands, Chomsky and The Deathray Davies, decided to ply their trade elsewhere, and a new crop of labels emerged--like Summer Break and, more recently, Kirtland--which gave Idol a run for its doorstop. But Karwelis circled the wagons successfully. Now Idol is arguably better than before, releasing the Best Album winner (Flickerstick's Tarantula), another disc that was just as deserving ([DARYL]'s Ohio) and a nice set by one of Dallas' up-and-comers (Black Tie Dynasty's This Stays Between Us). That's a pretty suh-weet year by anyone's standards, even the guy who (once again) finds himself 15 pounds heavier. --Z.C.
Lizard Lounge
Best Dance Club
Those thieves knew exactly what they were doing. On April 4, 2005, the Lizard Lounge fell victim to a massive burglary, and though we would never condone such behavior, it's hard not to credit the guilty parties for staking out the most consistent, star-studded dance club in town. In fact, the thieves allegedly camped out inside the Lounge the previous night after a packed Paul Oakenfold concert, and it wasn't the international DJ sensation's first appearance at the club, either. In the past year, Lizard Lounge has hosted an amazing number of dance and wax masters, including Richard "Humpty" Vission, Mix Master Mike and Fatboy Slim, and the downtown nightclub has also become a favorite destination for burlesque revivalist Dita Von Teese's Dallas appearances. Granted, the latter might have more to do with the club's twice-weekly "Church" theme nights, in which patrons dress in their finest bondage, leather and goth outfits and speakers pump vampire-loving songs, but it'd be easier to call the "Church" nights silly if so many people didn't keep on packing the place. Dita, Fatboy and Paul know this, and, apparently, so do Dallas voters. The club's safe may be gone, but the thieves can't take the Lizard Lounge's dance cred. --S.M.
Gypsy Tea Room
Live Music Venue
Gypsy Tea Room has consistently kicked out the jams for seven years now. And by "jams," we're referring to the venue's balance of high-profile national and international acts (Muse, Patti Smith, The Roots, ...Trail of Dead, The Futureheads, Robert Plant) and local talent (Black Tie Dynasty, [DARYL], Eisley, Burden Brothers, Jack Ingram). Its roster reads like the perfect mix tape, with equal opportunity given to each genre along with welcome slices of hometown flavor. Originally opened in 1918, the Gypsy Tea Room waited 90 long years for its ingenious 1998 reincarnation as one of the most impressive and beloved music venues in North Texas, with a plush décor and, more important, a perfectly mixed monitor and a competent sound guy. But the Gypsy offers more than just comfort and sonic superiority. Frank Campagna's murals, displayed on the Good-Latimer Expressway side of the building, not only call attention to shows but also suggest the venue really does give two shits about who's on the stage. Jimmy Eat World thought enough of the gesture to place a link to Campagna's Web site from the band's. Patti Smith photographed her portrait, and David Cross used the work in CD liner notes. Plus, GTR has something that's rare and sacred, something few other clubs have: clean and working restrooms. And that, my friends, is priceless. --M.M.


text:
Friday, September 21, 2012
Learn about our groundbreaking paralegal program. At this free information session, you will
- learn about the course's structure and format
- discuss financial assistance
- learn about the unique UNLV paralegal website
- review the course materials
- discuss job potential.
Information sessions are free and open to the public. Call 895-3394 to register and receive location and parking permits. For more information, take a test drive at www.unlvparalegal.com, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call 895-5922. See the complete Paralegal Certification Information Schedule. We now require you attend an information session before embarking on our paralegal studies program.Location: UNLV Paradise Campus (PAR), Room 302


text:
There was concern how the Mets would do with their tough April schedule, but they've responded with 11 victories, including sweeps of Atlanta and Miami at home, and winning two of three in Philadelphia.
Tag Archives: Heath Bell
Omar's infamous moves ….
This time next week, Mets GM Omar Minaya will be in Indianapolis, working the room to make a deal. The flip side is also true, agents and GMs trying to work Minaya.
And, several have been successful in doing so.
Minaya has had an interesting tenure with the Mets, making some good and bad decisions. I'm interested in your opinion of the worst Minaya deals.
Here are some of the nominations:
OLIVER PEREZ: Re-signing lefty Oliver Perez last winter to a three-year, $36-million contract could go down as one of the worst deals in Mets history.
LUIS CASTILLO: Re-signing second baseman Luis Castillo to a four-year, $24-million deal after the 2007 season. Castillo redeemed his miserable 2008 season with a good year in 2009, but signing him meant the Mets couldn't go after Orlando Hudson or any other viable second baseman. Two more years.
MOISES ALOU: After playing in just 87 games in 2007, the Mets picked up outfielder Moises Alou's $7.5 million option. Injuries to the 41-year-old Alou limited him to 15 games the following season. Of course, it wasn't a great idea to have the option in there in the first place.
Continue reading


text:
Jones Ensemble Collection Rope Curtain Tieback, Duchess in Chilli. Part of the new sophisticated collection of opulent trimmings and tiebacks designed exclusively by Jones Interiors. A luxurious tieback with a selection of co-ordinating trimmings and other tieback styles.* Available in a range of stunning colours.* Co-ordinating trimmings and tassels available to purchase separately.* Sold in singles.If you are unsure of colour or finish please request a sample. This will then be added to the basket.
There are currently no reviews of this product.


text:
Associated Press
Let it never be said that Jo Nesbo is afraid to take risks with his writing.
In all fairness, it's unlikely many would say that. This is an author, after all, who gave us a device that forces victims to choke on their own blood and a murderer without nipples. But Nesbo's most recent book, "Phantom," is twisted in a more psychological way than his past novels.
"Phantom" once again features Harry Hole, the physically and mentally tortured detective with a talent for catching serial killers. This time, though, Hole is on a more personal mission than usual.
The investigator returns to Oslo from self-exile in Hong Kong to prove that the son of the woman he loves is not a killer.
The young man, Oleg, stands accused in the death of a fellow drug user, Gusto, who is a key narrator from beyond the grave in the book. Harry, who essentially views Oleg as his own son, simply cannot accept what the evidence says about him.
Hole takes a journey through Oslo's drug world where a new, highly potent substance called violin is rapidly destroying lives. And this time Hole is pretty much on his own (he's no longer a part of the police force), but yet he still has to deal with plenty of police and political bureaucracy.
There are many strands and characters, even a rat, in this multilayered novel, and that's both a strength and a weakness.
The many voices, the seemingly disparate events that ultimately lock together — such elements keep the reader hooked on Nesbo's literary substance.
But at times it's like an overdose. After all, there are only so many coincidences in life, and "Phantom" is really pushing it. A more simple approach (maybe two or three fewer characters) could have made the book even more addictive.
Nation & World
Mapping marijuana legalization politics: Not just red vs. blue
Maine Crime
Kennebec Journal March 26 police log
Maine Crime
Morning Sentinel March 26 police log
Nation & World
Charges dropped against 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett, attorneys say
Local & State
Lewiston police find no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by former mayor


text:
New episode in saga of cruise disappearance
The search for answers to the tragic disappearance of 26-year-old George Allen Smith IV on his honeymoon cruise nearly eight years ago is the focus of yet another television show Saturday night: "48 Hours: Murder at Sea?"
"Important new evidence," promises the tease for the broadcast, "from a videotape in the hands of the FBI made by some of the last men to see George alive."
About the videotape, CBS correspondent John Miller says, "You've got these men joking about George's death, very callous and at one point incriminating."
"The evidence is huge," chimes in Bree Smith, George's sister.
The show will air at 10 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
It was a case that produced sensational headlines as well as legislation to improve cruise safety. Smith, of Greenwich, disappeared from a Royal Caribbean ship on July 5, 2005. His body was not recovered, though bloodstains were found beneath the balcony of the cabin he was sharing with his new wife, Jennifer Hagel-Smith.
The videotape in question was the work of three Russian-Americans who have long been suspected of involvement in Smith's disappearance because of their actions during the night and early morning of July 4 and 5, 2005. It was reportedly filmed on the ship, shortly after Smith went missing, but only made known to the Smith family and their lawyer Michael Jones a couple of years ago, Jones said.
"The FBI has had the tape all this time," said Jones, who has been representing the Smith family for seven of the nearly eight years since the tragedy.
"The Russian-Americans filmed themselves, where they are joking on his death, and making incriminating statements," said Jones. "They have carried the investigation further."
Speaking for the Smith family, who declined to be interviewed, Jones said, "We've decided we're going to tell the public what is on the tape ... to break the news on the show."
Smith's widow, now married with a child, declined to be involved with the show, said Jones.
The story of that July 4 night of George and Jennifer's honeymoon includes the couple's first encounter on ship with Gregory Rozenberg, cousin Zachary Rozenberg and friend Rostislav Kofman. It was a night of heavy drinking, gambling and acting out, with Smith supposedly revealing he was traveling with "heaps of wedding-gift cash" by one report.
Smith was said to need help returning to his cabin by the three Russian-Americans, who were accompanied by a fourth friend, while wife Jennifer had passed out elsewhere. From there the story has many accounts of what happened in the Smith cabin. But the upshot was that a loud thud was heard and the next morning sizeable bloodstains identified as Smith's were found on a metal lifeboat canopy below Smith's cabin balcony.
"They pass a video camera around filming themselves commenting about George's death in a very callous way," Smith tells CBS's Miller on the show. "But the really incriminating statement is one of them stands up at the end of the tape and sort of hunches his shoulders and flashes gang signs and says, 'Told ya I was gangsta' and in the context of the discussion about George's death, almost as if he's bragging about having done something to George."
The man talking on the tape? "Greg Rozenberg," Jones says.
There have been no arrests. Gregory Rozenberg has subsequently served three years in prison, reportedly for trafficking in narcotics that apparently supported his taste for fine jewelry and watches. Smith was said to be wearing on his honeymoon a wedding gift of a Brietling watch, worth many thousands of dollars.
Viewers of the CBS broadcast will see Smith's parents, George and Maureen Smith, and daughter Bree standing before a commemorative tree planted in memory of their son near where he worked in Cos Cob with his father. The tree was planted as a sapling and is now nine feet tall.
"Why hasn't someone been arrested?" Bree Smith asks in the CBS tease. "We are still sitting here seven and a half years later and we still do not have justice."
George Smith IV would have turned 34 this year.


text:
February 8, 2006
The Little Giant moniker has perhaps never been more appropriate than it was Wednesday night at Chadwick Court. Reserve guards Jimmy Owens and Earl Rooks sparked Wabash College to an improbable 72-66 overtime NCAC win against Earlham.
Trailing by 10 points with 10:56 to play, Coach Mac Petty had seen about enough of his starters for the night. "The first group wasn't doing anything," Petty said. "If we're going to lose we might as well lose with some guys who are going to try to do something." (See game photo album.)
So at 9:25, Petty inserted starter Gary Simkus and reserves Ryan Stephens, Kyle Coffey along with Owens and Rooks. The energy level picked up appreciably and immediately. The unlikely bench combo stormed back and tied the game at 48-all with 4:02 to play but could never take the lead. Then with nine seconds to play, the Quakers' LaRon Henry hit a free throw to extend the Earlham lead to 61-58 but he missed the second.
"Coffey grabbed the rebound and gave it to me," Owens recalled of the final seconds of regulation. "I looked up at the clock and there was well under 10 seconds so I took a couple of dribbles and pulled up and hoped for the best.
"I kept it in my mind that I could make that shot so I took it and it went in."
The three-pointer at the top of the circle sent the Chadwick Crazies into delirium and completed the bench-inspired comeback. In overtime, it was the diminutive Rooks providing the spark with a three-pointer at 2:09 from the corner, 66-64, to give the Little Giants a lead they would never relinquish.
"We just had to step in and do the job," said Rooks, listed generously in the program at 5-feet, 8-inches. "The starters have done the job for us all year so we just had to come off the bench and help them out this time."
Coffey, the biggest man on the Wabash roster, took over the rest of the way. He claimed two rebounds, two baskets and two free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
"I didn't win this game," Petty said, who admitted the win might have been one of the most improbable in his long Wabash career. "I didn't have anything to do with it. They just didn't want to lose and they did a great job. The guys off the bench just did a super job."
The win was not only exciting but important. Wabash and Earlham were locked in a tie for fourth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings prior to the game with 7-5 records. The Little Giant win gives Wabash a leg up on the fourth spot and a chance to host a first-round NCAC playoff game. The Little Giants are now 14-8 while Earlham drops to10-12.
Energy was the main ingredient in the Wabash win, but rebounding was the foundation for this victory. The Little Giants owned the boards with a 40-27 advantage but impressively dominated the offensive glass with a 15-6 edge.
Caleb Lyttle and Gary Simkus led Wabash with 15 each and 9 and 8 rebounds, respectively. Rooks finished with 8, Owens 7, and Coffey 9 points.
Henry led Earlham with 23 points, Brandon Miller scored 13 before fouling out in overtime, and Markous Jewett added 12.
Wabash travels to Div. III top-ranked Wooster Saturday afternoon, then returns Feb. 15 for the season's final regular season home game to play Wittenberg.
Hewitt is Wabash College's Director of New Media/Web Editor.
In photos:
Top right: Rooks scores an acrobatic layin during the overtime.
At left: Coffey hits an important free throw.
On home page: Owens scores on a driving layup.
On sports home: The Chadwick Crazies help celebrate the comeback win.


text:
There were so many Republican talking points in the Oct. 12 Forum letter from Anita Meister-Boyd that it made me curious about her background ("Commentary: Jobs bill fails to address unemployment").
She is not only a resident of Newport Coast, but she is also a member of the Newport Harbor Republican Women and is the committee chairwoman for special projects. This explains her comments — particularly her defense of Eric Cantor's comments — her unsupported implication that regulations significantly and negatively impact job growth, and her accusation of demagoguery.
Meister-Boyd stated that the previous writer should speak to the facts. Well, that should apply to her as well.
For example, she references "Congress should pass jobs act" by Samantha O'Dell. This letter was in the Oct. 7 Daily Pilot. It should be read if you missed it. Second, she implied that regulations have had a significantly negative impact on job growth.
However, the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't support that. The biggest problem by far seems to be lack of demand for products. Demand for goods comes from people with jobs who have purchasing power. Third, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was sponsored by a Democrat (Paul Sarbanes) and a Republican (Michael Oxley). The bill was enacted as a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom.
Now Meister-Boyd calls this act burdensome. The current economy couldn't take these kinds of scandals. Keep in mind that much of the overspending (Iraq war, etc.) and lack of oversight of Wall Street that has weakened the economy occurred on Republican watch.
I could go on and make comments/corrections/counter-arguments for every point in her letter, but I will end with her comment on demagoguery. She implied that O'Dell was using demagoguery in her letter.
Demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public — typically via impassioned rhetoric, over-generalized and unsupported comments, and propaganda. From my reading of books on propaganda, usually accusing another of demagoguery is a tactic to discredit their argument, when they know that their own position is weak.
Also, being the first to accuse the other of demagoguery prevents the second party from making the same claim even if it appears to be true. When Meister-Boyd uses terms or unsupported and generalized comments like "crony capitalism," "pendulum has swung too far on the side of unions solely for political reasons" or "languished on Obama's desk," she should review her own work for demagoguery — and it wouldn't hurt to be more open about her affiliations.
Charles Mooney
Costa Mesa


text:
Shares are higher by about 1.1 percent.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) was upgraded today by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to overweight from neutral with a price target of $62, as the company stands to benefit from the current remodeling cycle.
Shares are higher by about 1.6 percent.
For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm Sayoko Murase.


text:
|2009-11-13, 00:01
|Link #42
Has a life IRL
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon Sphere
It's not a commitment, and I certainly wouldn't do anything more than pieces here and there, but idle hobby is rethinking/planning anime series, and Index struck me as one that could be much improved with modest changes in general. Since I might/might not, it may as well be posted here. Sort of 'rewrite of index', mainly going of the anime.
...well, that's what I will outline later, but it's late. Some general points to chew on in general.
-Eliminate harem. Love triangle/more might remain, but the default female character status will not be family/lesbian/lusting for Touma. First love interest to go is Index: completely platonic/filial love, but it works better in context. But you don't need love interest to have a strong connection/friendship, and not everyone centers around Touma anyway. Touma also isn't so much clueless as not interested for various reasons; while Misaka may get butterflies in her stomach, for example, she's still a middle schooler and he's older than to fall for kiddy love. (As she herself matures, though...)
-Change ages for some characters. Style, for example, really will be as old as he looks. Touma is in highschool. Index, actually is older at 22, and not a loli at all. She's taller and older than Touma... but her memory issues sort of inverts it in some ways. Others, not so much. While Touma is slightly older as well (18), Index is the biggest change. Not a loli, and a Sister with a legitimate backing for being able to protect others.
-Mix more guys, so it's not so much 'Touma and girl of the week, with exception of guy of every four weeks'. Mainly means giving more role to the male characters.
-A wider focus on international aspects of psychics in general (as an emerging force), and the diplomatic issues involved with Academy city. Most OC's come in from this aspect, though none are to be overpowered (the one esper involved, while rapidly growing with treatment, starts at level 1 and has a single ability: make barrier). So while Academy City is technically all peaceful and stuff, there's really a lot of espionage going on. Anti-skill isn't just anti-esper: it's counter-espionage as well.
-A Religion of Science. I kid you not, there is a branch of Christianity called Christian Science, and it has very similar themes to Espers philosophy. There is healing through prayer, for example, but part of the Christian Scientist philosophy is that god is all, god is truth, and knowing that truth will be demonstrated in reality. In context of series, they would be some of the earliest psychics, though they attribute it to god and not pure science. But a real-life religion provides a link between the arcane churches and the aethiest espers. Index, while not a follower, ends up taking a day job at such a church in order to help pay for stuff, like Touma's hospital bills
-More focus on anti-skills/judgement. Kuroko gets a supervisor (the foreign esper who makes barriers), and gets a larger role in observing/affecting things. She also gets some character development. Touma, of course, runs into Anti-Skill more often.
-More Accelerator good/evilness, including some esper battles that make him work to win. (!)
Stuff like that. Tweaks across season 1, really, with some new characters/concepts/alterations thrown in to make more interesting.
Oh, and Touma loses a fight because, yes, some people can brawl much better (or more ruthlessly) than him, and imagine breaker don't mean jack if you think you can win with it alone.
|2009-12-01, 17:16
|Link #45
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: all and none
I'm seriously hoping that hyper's post was a joke post.... because SI's is one of the main reasons why poorly written fan-fiction is poorly written.
Dean - interesting idea though in review it sounds more like a westernization of the to aru universe, which isn't a bad thing as the series many standard japanese clinches and memes seem to hold it back at times.
|2009-12-01, 18:08
|Link #47
Good-Natured Asshole.
Join Date: May 2007
Age: 29
|2009-12-01, 19:28
|Link #48
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
But then it's not "New character X runs around and gets involved with the main characters from the story" which I really don't like, but "New character does their own thing separate from the plot to further explore the setting and tell a good story in it in a non-canon violating way" I'm cool with and get the urge to do from time to time.
|2009-12-01, 20:53
|Link #49
Has a life IRL
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon Sphere
For an international perspective, for example, you'd want non-magical people from abroad, who are pretty lacking. And if you want to add a religion of science, new characters are necessary.
It's a balance between scaling them and limiting them so they don't steal the show. Which, in the case of most, is far from impossible.
|2009-12-01, 22:17
|Link #50
~ Your Smile ~
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: 346Pro
Age: 33
Looks what the Nanoha Fanfiction and Original Character threads spawned. There's a lot of chaff, but we try our best to make it work.
We've started a Railgun minific over there, granted its only a few authors rather than the whole lot of us in it.
|2009-12-02, 03:28
|Link #51
Join Date: Dec 2009
Woah my suggestion was taken sooo badly x(
I was saying you write a fanfic with a new character in that world and WITHOUT messing with the original plot.
And by "inserting yourself" i meant looking to the ToAru world in another perspective,since it's a big universe so it gives a lot of freedom to Fanfic.You create your own event,your own role in that event,you are free to add the exisiting characters in that event or not...i guess it's clear(not easy to do,but i've seen some good existing ones though).
Well,anyway it's only an idea so...
|2009-12-02, 04:35
|Link #52
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Somewhere far beyond
Myself got up some OC with certain story as well some interactions with canon characters. But since the fear of rejection of the readers overwhelm me I've done nothing (just some petty drawings and written ideas over there)
But maybe one should just write at our heart's content whatever story comes up. Just with warning that a lot of people won't like it. Someone(s) would... I bet
|2009-12-02, 08:23
|Link #54
Has a life IRL
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon Sphere
One problem with OCs in general, and a reason they have a stigma, is that they often seen as self inserts. Part of it is natural: people draw from their own experiences and knowledge, and who do you know better than yourself? Of course you'll draw on your experiences, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams. But the near inevitable tendency is to project your idealized self onto them, to make them outshine the main characters of the series, and at that point you've crossed the line.
Handling OC's is tricky. There are some ways to force yourself to keep them acceptable: limit them to minor roles (but makes important ones harder to use), limit interaction with normal characters (but that requires a larger cast of OCs), insure they have real flaws (without using a crutch of sympathetic flaws), or just limit the interaction to the main plot, or make it tangential.
|2009-12-02, 10:20
|Link #55
Join Date: Dec 2009
I guess that what most people do in OCs is making themselves almost God-like or even making the main female characters fall for him (sadly..) which is,i admit,very unpleasant to read.
|2009-12-02, 11:35
|Link #56
Has a life IRL
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon Sphere
Creating an OC isn't a demand that the story be OC centric; instead, an OC can provide a new look or tool for the narrative, demonstrating another view that the original narrative didn't.
|2009-12-02, 12:58
|Link #57
Join Date: Dec 2009
That's why you can make a good OC with a new char (as a hero) and where he is the center of the story (not mostly the original one of course) while respcting the universe plot of course (can be a sort of a Prologue or something like that).
|2009-12-02, 13:00
|Link #58
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: In my room
fan fic fan fic fan fic....
here goes nothing.... I don't have anything store on my mind right now its just my
blood is boiling after reading that 2 are expecting my fan fic . While the major
plate is away I can do it! .............
It may be a bit jumbled from other anime, games and manga that I like and maybe a
bit different from the original some are alive and yet to be killed.
Well here goes nothing.....
btw I have limited information about the character so I can only use the ones I
know best
Spoiler for Hope someone will read this:
Depends on the others on what they think about it if I will continue it or not.
Hope you guts like it as well as I like writing it on the spot
|2009-12-06, 22:39
|Link #60
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: In my room
what accelerator shouldn't be called a lolicon? then what? A pedophile? isn't a lolicon a better ring on your ears then being called pedophile. I don't want to be arrested by someone calling me a pedophile.
And LO despite her being the same age as misaka and imouto her physical appearance indicate she's around 10 years old. Just like touma a lolicon Their both LOLICONS!
btw is it good enough for it to have a continuation?
|character, crack, crossover ideas, discussion, fanfiction
|Thread Tools


text:
Latest Gear Live Videos
- Subscribe:
- YouTube
- iTunes High Definition
- iTunes Standard Version
Vinamor wine aerator review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, Smart Home, Product Reviews,
The Vinamor wine aerator, the concept of Gary DeJohn, was featured on ABC's Shark Tank with an impressive demo that showcased just how well the product can bring out all the flavors of a just-opened bottle of wine. The Vinamor has a stainless steel filter and a glass sphere that work together to aerate your wine. It sits atop your wine glass, and as you pour wine through the filter, it's exposed to the large surface area of the glass sphere, which in turn softens tannins and brings out flavor while the filter catches and sediment that may be present. Or, at least, that's the promise. How well does the $40 Vinamor actually perform? Join us in our full Vinamor review for our thoughts.
Click to continue reading Vinamor wine aerator review
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.